Soccer By Ives

BY ANTHONY ZILIS Over two years have passed since Fire technical director Frank Klopas and managing director Javier Leon met Nery Castillo for coffee while on a scouting trip in England.At that point, Castilo was on loan to Manchester City and in stellar form after leading Mexico to a third-place finish in the 2007...
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By: KURTIS LARSON For Toronto, it's the story behind the MLS' 5-2 loss to Manchester United. TFC head coach Preki let it be known Tuesday, following a CONCACAF Champions League match with Motagua, that under no circumstances should Dwayne De Rosario play in the MLS All-Star exhibition in Houston. Still, All-Star head coach Bruce...
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Photo by ISIphotos.com BY ADAM SERRANO Sal Zizzo is a player in need of a new beginning. After being heralded as one of the next great American wingers and an impressive showing in the 2007 U-20 World Cup, the UCLA product headed to the Bundesliga for Hanover 96, but after a series of injuries...
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photo by ISIphotos.com By FRANCO PANIZO Bob Bradley's long-term future as head coach of the U.S. national team might be uncertain, but what is known is that he'll coach at least one more game. Bradley will coach the United States in the team's first post-World Cup friendly against Brazil on Aug. 10, USSF confirmed...
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By Jose M. Romero The Sounders today announced the signing of midfielder Alvaro Fernandez, who played for Uruguay in the recent World Cup in South Africa. Fernandez is with the team this morning at its practice session. The 24-year-old becomes the club's third designated player, joining Blaise N'kufo and Freddie Ljungberg, and his signing...
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The list of Designated Players grew by one more in MLS Thursday, as the Seattle Sounders announced the signing of Uruguay World Cup veteran Alvaro Fernandez. A 24-year-old midfielder, Fernandez joins Seattle after last playing for Universidad de Chile in Chile's Primera Division. He made four appearances for Uruguay at the World Cup in...
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By TRAVIS CLARK Mid-week USSF Division 2 provided a rather surprising result in the Midwest, shaking up this week's version of the power rankings. Struggling A.C. St. Louis beat Portland Wednesday evening rather emphatically, winning 3-0 behind a Mike Ambersley hat trick. Other mid-week action saw Rochester defeat Carolina 1-0 on Tuesday, while the...
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By Jose M. Romero Qwest Field just didn't look quite the same with all those empty seats, but home was still good to Seattle Sounders FC Wednesday night in its first-ever CONCACAF Champions League match. The Sounders, decked out in their third "electricity" kits, provided all the energy in their 1-0 preliminary knockout-round, first-leg...
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Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com By TRAVIS CLARK It only took 23 seconds for Manchester United to open the scoring Wednesday night in Houston. Italian starlet Federico Macheda took an errant backpass from Kevin Alston and beat Donovan Ricketts, a harbinger for the rest of the evening, as Manchester United beat the MLS All-Star team...
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Will he stay or will he go? That question is following Landon Donovan around wherever he goes. Donovan, who signed a new contract with MLS last year, told Reuters at Wednesday night's All-Star game that he is considering offers from overseas. The 28-year-old has attracted interest during what has arguably been the most successful...
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The MLS All-Star game is here, and Houston is ready to go. A sellout crowd will be on hand to watch as the All-Stars take on Manchester United (ESPN2, Telefutura). In case you missed it, here is my earlier preview of tonight's game. In what is an exhibition where nothing hinges on the outcome,...
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BY ADAM SERRANO The United States Under-20s advanced to the final of the Milk Cup on Wednesday with a 3-2 victory over Denmark. A pair of goals by Santos Laguna product Adrian Rueglas and a goal by Toronto FC's Faud Ibrahim put the Americans through to the final in a match that the team...
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By TRAVIS CLARK In the middle of a hectic league schedule, MLS is set to take a short break to face Manchester United in Wednesday evening's All-Star game in Houston (8:30 p.m., ESPN2, ESPN3.com). Even though the allure of United is immense, Sir Alex Ferguson will likely field a much younger side as he...
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The U.S. U-20 men's team plays a second Milk Cup match in Northern Ireland this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. against Denmark. A win would give the U.S. a spot in the tournament's final. If you want to get a glance at new MLS signing Omar Salgado, New York Red Bull Juan Agudelo, or any...
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If Freddy Adu is to find consistent playing time in Europe next season, it likely won't be with Aris Salonika. While Aris departed for a Europa League qualifier on Tuesday, Adu was busy trialing for Swiss club FC Sion. The club, which finished seventh in the 10-team Swiss League last season, is looking to...
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By: KURTIS LARSONHas a 1-0 win ever felt so uneasy? "On another day we finish one or two more chances and go to Honduras two or three goals up," Dwayne De Rosario said while walking to the changing room. The players didn't know what to feel following Terry Vaughn's final whistle, neither did the...
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Photo by Michael Janosz/ ISIPhotos.com BY ADAM SERRANO "It was embarrassing." Those were the words of Edson Buddle after the Los Angeles Galaxy suffered a stunning 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Puerto Rico Islanders in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round Series. Islanders forward Nicolas Addlery added a...
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By TRAVIS CLARK For Diego Maradona, the message was clear: change or get out. The stubborn and enigmatic manager elected for the latter, ending his run as coach of Argentina. The Argentinian FA had made Maradona a new offer for a four-year contract that would have seen him lead Argentina at the 2014 World...
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BY ADAM SERRANO The CONCACAF Champions league kicks off tonight as the Los Angeles Galaxy host the USL Puerto Rico Islanders at the Home Depot Center. The Puerto Rico Islanders are currently in last place in their respective division while the Galaxy are currently the tops in Major League Soccer. The Islanders will look...
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By FRANCO PANIZO Sacha Kljestan has had less than two months to adjust to life in Europe and with new club RSC Anderlecht, but he is already making his presence felt. In his first UEFA Champions League start on Tuesday, Kljestan opened the scoring in the first leg of the third round qualifying fixture...
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