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MLS Commissioner Don Garber suspended Seattle Sounders defender Marc Burch for three games and fined him an undisclosed amount Saturday night for using unacceptable and offensive language toward an opponent Thursday night in a playoff game against Real Salt Lake.
Garber also ordered Burch to attend diversity and sensitivity training.
Burch will sit out the two-game Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
If the Sounders advance to the MLS Cup, he will sit out the title game.
Garber also ordered Burch to attend diversity and sensitivity training.
Burch will sit out the two-game Western Conference finals against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
If the Sounders advance to the MLS Cup, he will sit out the title game.
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The Galaxy out-witted Seattle on Sunday night by acting like a bunch of dummies.
A play that looks complicated - a player makes it look like he's about to take a pass instead makes a run for the goal, letting a teammate take control - was artfully performed by the Galaxy, who stormed to a 3-0 victory over the Sounders in the first leg of the MLS Western Conference final at Home Depot Center.
The teams will meet again next Sunday in Seattle, with the team that finishes the series with the most goals advancing to the Dec. 1 MLS Cup.
"We're not foolish enough to believe that this thing's over," coach Bruce Arena said.
No, they're dummies. Or are they?
"We've got a lot of dummies on this team," forward Landon Donovan said, laughing. "It's just clever players knowing how to create space. If defenders do a really good job of trying to mark us out of the game, then you have to be clever with how you create space and create opportunities.
"I thought we did a good job of that tonight."
Against a team that had allowed only two goals in its previous seven games, it would take something extra to break through. The Galaxy scored in first-half stoppage time, then couldn't be stopped in the second half.
Forward Robbie Keane scored two more goals and Mike Magee continued his postseason magic with his sixth goal in eight playoff games over the past two seasons. The Galaxy could have piled on with more goals and they actually were fighting over who might get the next one.
Heck, even defender Todd Dunivant was making runs in the second half as he sniffed his way toward the goal.
"It was important we kept the patience and that certainly was the case," Keane said. "We know that it was going to be difficult. We knew they were going to defend well, so I think the goal just before halftime was a big boost for us and killed them a little."
It began innocently enough, with defender Sean Franklin carrying the ball in on the wing. He passed into the penalty area toward midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson, who dummied. Donovan pounced on it, took it in deep and floated a cross in front of the goal that cleared defender Adam Johannson and went to Keane, who was there for a sharp header.
The Galaxy struck twice in a three-minute span in the second half.
In the 64th minute, Wilhelmsson chested the ball down about 20 yards in front of the Galaxy goal and sent a pass forward to David Beckham, who got it to Keane moving forward. Keane hit a charging Franklin in stride along the side and Franklin sent a perfect cross to Magee, who buried his shot for a 2-0 lead.
Just two minutes after the Sounders added striker Eddie Johnson to their attack, midfielder Marcelo Sarvas sent a long pass to Donovan, who sent in a pass to Wilhelmsson, who out-dueled defender Zach Scott. The ball went off Wilhelmsson's chest and he flicked it toward the goal. Just as it was about to cross the goal line, Keane banged it in.
"He nearly (scored). Boy, he was too slow, huh?" Keane said, drawing laughter. "Well, listen. My coaches when I was a kid always said make sure the ball hits the back of the net."
Wilhelmsson didn't mind.
"It was on its way in, but it's OK," he said. "As long as we win.
"He's a striker, that's how they should think. Better to be one time too much than one time too little."
It remains to be seen if three goals will be enough of a lead to stand up in Seattle, where the Galaxy went 0-2 during the regular season. They lost, 2-0, on May 2 and were wiped out, 4-0, on Aug. 5.
Read more: Soccer: Galaxy gets a leg up on Seattle - San Bernardino County Sun
A play that looks complicated - a player makes it look like he's about to take a pass instead makes a run for the goal, letting a teammate take control - was artfully performed by the Galaxy, who stormed to a 3-0 victory over the Sounders in the first leg of the MLS Western Conference final at Home Depot Center.
The teams will meet again next Sunday in Seattle, with the team that finishes the series with the most goals advancing to the Dec. 1 MLS Cup.
"We're not foolish enough to believe that this thing's over," coach Bruce Arena said.
No, they're dummies. Or are they?
"We've got a lot of dummies on this team," forward Landon Donovan said, laughing. "It's just clever players knowing how to create space. If defenders do a really good job of trying to mark us out of the game, then you have to be clever with how you create space and create opportunities.
"I thought we did a good job of that tonight."
Against a team that had allowed only two goals in its previous seven games, it would take something extra to break through. The Galaxy scored in first-half stoppage time, then couldn't be stopped in the second half.
Forward Robbie Keane scored two more goals and Mike Magee continued his postseason magic with his sixth goal in eight playoff games over the past two seasons. The Galaxy could have piled on with more goals and they actually were fighting over who might get the next one.
Heck, even defender Todd Dunivant was making runs in the second half as he sniffed his way toward the goal.
"It was important we kept the patience and that certainly was the case," Keane said. "We know that it was going to be difficult. We knew they were going to defend well, so I think the goal just before halftime was a big boost for us and killed them a little."
It began innocently enough, with defender Sean Franklin carrying the ball in on the wing. He passed into the penalty area toward midfielder Christian Wilhelmsson, who dummied. Donovan pounced on it, took it in deep and floated a cross in front of the goal that cleared defender Adam Johannson and went to Keane, who was there for a sharp header.
The Galaxy struck twice in a three-minute span in the second half.
In the 64th minute, Wilhelmsson chested the ball down about 20 yards in front of the Galaxy goal and sent a pass forward to David Beckham, who got it to Keane moving forward. Keane hit a charging Franklin in stride along the side and Franklin sent a perfect cross to Magee, who buried his shot for a 2-0 lead.
Just two minutes after the Sounders added striker Eddie Johnson to their attack, midfielder Marcelo Sarvas sent a long pass to Donovan, who sent in a pass to Wilhelmsson, who out-dueled defender Zach Scott. The ball went off Wilhelmsson's chest and he flicked it toward the goal. Just as it was about to cross the goal line, Keane banged it in.
"He nearly (scored). Boy, he was too slow, huh?" Keane said, drawing laughter. "Well, listen. My coaches when I was a kid always said make sure the ball hits the back of the net."
Wilhelmsson didn't mind.
"It was on its way in, but it's OK," he said. "As long as we win.
"He's a striker, that's how they should think. Better to be one time too much than one time too little."
It remains to be seen if three goals will be enough of a lead to stand up in Seattle, where the Galaxy went 0-2 during the regular season. They lost, 2-0, on May 2 and were wiped out, 4-0, on Aug. 5.
Read more: Soccer: Galaxy gets a leg up on Seattle - San Bernardino County Sun
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The reaction was somewhat delayed but forceful when New Mexico flashed up on the screen Monday afternoon at Coaches Sports Bar & Grill as the Lobos men‘s soccer team gathered to watch the pairings for the NCAA Tournament.
“That’s great,” UNM coach Jeremy Fishbein said as he clapped his hands in response to seeing the Lobos with the 13th seed. “That’s nice. I’ll take that. They want nothing to do with us. I’m good with that.”
New Mexico on Sunday will play host to the winner of Thursday’s opening-round match between Lafayette and Virginia.
“You always want to be optimistic going into these things, but I think you always prepare for the worst,” said Fishbein, whose teams have too often been handed the worst. “Our main thing was getting that bye. And we wanted to play somebody who had never been to this field, who had never experienced this environment and we got both of those.”
The players were satisfied with the seeding, as well.
“I was a little nervous that we weren’t going to get the bye, just because you never know what the NCAA is going to do,” said forward Devon Sandoval. “I think it took me a second to kind of figure out that we did get the bye and got what we wanted. We’re definitely happy and we’re excited to play.”
Midfielder Blake Smith said the team is not looking back at the disappointing outcome of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation final Sunday when it lost to Air Force on penalty kicks.
“The team is fired up,” he said. “Obviously we’re a little disappointed about the conference finals but this is another part of the season. We’re not looking back. We’re looking forward. We’re excited and we’re hungry like coach said. It should be a good one.”
The Lobos believe the home field advantage will prove to be the undoing of their opponents.
“This is a tough place to come when teams from other regions come here, they don’t know what hit them,” Fishbein said. “And when they deal with our field, our crowd and with the altitude, I think we’re going to make it pretty tough.”
It’s the second straight year New Mexico has gotten an opening-round bye. Last season, the Lobos beat Duke in their first game at home, before losing at South Florida in a penalty kick shootout.
Following that match, UNM goalkeeper Victor Rodriguez had an altercation that landed him a suspension that included the Lobos’ first NCAA Tournament game.
So he will be replaced by Patrick Poblete, who was in net for Sunday’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation against Air Force, as well as New Mexico’s season-opening win over UCLA.
“Poblete has done great,” Fishbein said. “He can more than handle the role. I think he showed that yesterday; he had an excellent game. He was in goal for our win against UCLA to open the season. So that’s not even an issue. We’ll be firing on all cylinders come Sunday.”
And the Lobos are looking forward to a long tournament season.
“I think we’re better than last year,” Sandoval said. “We have a lot more experience than last year. We’re ready to go. We’re hungry. I think we can make a run at it.”
ABQJournal Sports » Lobo Soccer Team Gets 13th Seed
“That’s great,” UNM coach Jeremy Fishbein said as he clapped his hands in response to seeing the Lobos with the 13th seed. “That’s nice. I’ll take that. They want nothing to do with us. I’m good with that.”
New Mexico on Sunday will play host to the winner of Thursday’s opening-round match between Lafayette and Virginia.
“You always want to be optimistic going into these things, but I think you always prepare for the worst,” said Fishbein, whose teams have too often been handed the worst. “Our main thing was getting that bye. And we wanted to play somebody who had never been to this field, who had never experienced this environment and we got both of those.”
The players were satisfied with the seeding, as well.
“I was a little nervous that we weren’t going to get the bye, just because you never know what the NCAA is going to do,” said forward Devon Sandoval. “I think it took me a second to kind of figure out that we did get the bye and got what we wanted. We’re definitely happy and we’re excited to play.”
Midfielder Blake Smith said the team is not looking back at the disappointing outcome of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation final Sunday when it lost to Air Force on penalty kicks.
“The team is fired up,” he said. “Obviously we’re a little disappointed about the conference finals but this is another part of the season. We’re not looking back. We’re looking forward. We’re excited and we’re hungry like coach said. It should be a good one.”
The Lobos believe the home field advantage will prove to be the undoing of their opponents.
“This is a tough place to come when teams from other regions come here, they don’t know what hit them,” Fishbein said. “And when they deal with our field, our crowd and with the altitude, I think we’re going to make it pretty tough.”
It’s the second straight year New Mexico has gotten an opening-round bye. Last season, the Lobos beat Duke in their first game at home, before losing at South Florida in a penalty kick shootout.
Following that match, UNM goalkeeper Victor Rodriguez had an altercation that landed him a suspension that included the Lobos’ first NCAA Tournament game.
So he will be replaced by Patrick Poblete, who was in net for Sunday’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation against Air Force, as well as New Mexico’s season-opening win over UCLA.
“Poblete has done great,” Fishbein said. “He can more than handle the role. I think he showed that yesterday; he had an excellent game. He was in goal for our win against UCLA to open the season. So that’s not even an issue. We’ll be firing on all cylinders come Sunday.”
And the Lobos are looking forward to a long tournament season.
“I think we’re better than last year,” Sandoval said. “We have a lot more experience than last year. We’re ready to go. We’re hungry. I think we can make a run at it.”
ABQJournal Sports » Lobo Soccer Team Gets 13th Seed
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Soccer is an extremely popular team sport, and one of the few that doesn't require any protective head gear. But, a small study of professional soccer players from Germany suggests that even in players without evidence of a serious head injury, playing soccer may cause changes to certain areas of the brain.
"We used sophisticated MR imaging to investigate the white matter in the brains of professional soccer players who had no symptoms and no known concussions, and compared to a group of swimmers, we found white matter changes in the brain," said the study's lead author, Dr. Inga Koerte. She is a visiting senior research fellow at Harvard Medical School's psychiatry neuroimaging laboratory in Boston, and a senior research fellow at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany.
"These changes have been found in other players in contact sports. They were subtle, but they were there. It's difficult to say if symptoms will develop in the future, but the changes are in regions of the brain that are important for things like memory and attention," she explained.
Results of the study are published as a research letter in the Nov. 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
More than 250 million children and adults play soccer, making it the most popular sport in the world, according to background information in the study. And, it's the only sport where the unprotected head is a primary point of contact with the ball.
The potential problems linked to traumatic brain injuries, such as concussions, are fairly well known. What isn't clear is if repeated blows to the head that don't result in obvious injuries can lead to brain damage.
To get an idea of whether or not playing soccer could lead to any changes in the brain, Koerte and her colleagues recruited 12 professional German soccer players who had been training since they were children for a professional sports career, and compared them to a group of swimmers, a sport with a low risk of head trauma.
Both the soccer players and swimmers underwent an imaging scan called high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging that provides detailed images of the brain. The researchers had neuroradiologists look at the scans, and none was found to be abnormal.
But, there were differences in the structure of the white matter in the brain. White matter is the communication network that transmits messages between neurons (gray matter) in the brain.
Study senior author Martha Shenton, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, noted that the researchers don't know what caused the changes in the white matter of the soccer players, only that there were changes. "It could be from heading the ball, or due to impact of hitting other players or from sudden acceleration," she said.
Both study authors said they wouldn't discourage children from playing soccer at a recreational level, but that more study needs to be done to see if these changes cause any long-term damage.
Dr. Jeffrey Bazarian, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, agreed that this study shouldn't cause parents to worry about their child heading a soccer ball. He said in professional players, head-to-head contact is a much more likely cause of brain injury.
"It's also important to remember that when you ask athletes whether they've had a concussion before, they may underreport injuries. If they have a concussion, it means they can't play. Plus, they don't always know if they've had a concussion," he said.
"Trying to answer this question is very important, but following athletes forward in time, rather than back, would be more likely to give us the answer," Bazarian said.
Can Playing Soccer Lead to Brain Damage? - US News and World Report
"We used sophisticated MR imaging to investigate the white matter in the brains of professional soccer players who had no symptoms and no known concussions, and compared to a group of swimmers, we found white matter changes in the brain," said the study's lead author, Dr. Inga Koerte. She is a visiting senior research fellow at Harvard Medical School's psychiatry neuroimaging laboratory in Boston, and a senior research fellow at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany.
"These changes have been found in other players in contact sports. They were subtle, but they were there. It's difficult to say if symptoms will develop in the future, but the changes are in regions of the brain that are important for things like memory and attention," she explained.
Results of the study are published as a research letter in the Nov. 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
More than 250 million children and adults play soccer, making it the most popular sport in the world, according to background information in the study. And, it's the only sport where the unprotected head is a primary point of contact with the ball.
The potential problems linked to traumatic brain injuries, such as concussions, are fairly well known. What isn't clear is if repeated blows to the head that don't result in obvious injuries can lead to brain damage.
To get an idea of whether or not playing soccer could lead to any changes in the brain, Koerte and her colleagues recruited 12 professional German soccer players who had been training since they were children for a professional sports career, and compared them to a group of swimmers, a sport with a low risk of head trauma.
Both the soccer players and swimmers underwent an imaging scan called high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging that provides detailed images of the brain. The researchers had neuroradiologists look at the scans, and none was found to be abnormal.
But, there were differences in the structure of the white matter in the brain. White matter is the communication network that transmits messages between neurons (gray matter) in the brain.
Study senior author Martha Shenton, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, noted that the researchers don't know what caused the changes in the white matter of the soccer players, only that there were changes. "It could be from heading the ball, or due to impact of hitting other players or from sudden acceleration," she said.
Both study authors said they wouldn't discourage children from playing soccer at a recreational level, but that more study needs to be done to see if these changes cause any long-term damage.
Dr. Jeffrey Bazarian, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, agreed that this study shouldn't cause parents to worry about their child heading a soccer ball. He said in professional players, head-to-head contact is a much more likely cause of brain injury.
"It's also important to remember that when you ask athletes whether they've had a concussion before, they may underreport injuries. If they have a concussion, it means they can't play. Plus, they don't always know if they've had a concussion," he said.
"Trying to answer this question is very important, but following athletes forward in time, rather than back, would be more likely to give us the answer," Bazarian said.
Can Playing Soccer Lead to Brain Damage? - US News and World Report
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Mix Diskerud scored his first international goal in the third minute of injury time, giving the United States a 2-2 tie against Russia on Wednesday in an exhibition game at Krasnodar, Russia.
Michael Bradley, who scored in the 76th minute, sent a long ball into the penalty area toward Terrence Boyd, who was battling defender Sergei Ignashevich. The ball rebounded off Ignashevich to Diskerud, who had entered in the 87th minute. He bounced a 20-yard, right-footed shot in off a hand of goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov.
The 22-year-old, whose mother is from Arizona and who grew up in Norway, was playing just his third game for the U.S. He was a member of the American Olympic team that failed to qualify for the London Games.
"We saw a very entertaining game," said U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann. "Russia proved why they are one of the best teams in Europe, and we wanted to see how good we are against such a strong team. The way our team fought back twice after being down a goal was great and it showed a lot of character."
Ibrahimovic stuns England
Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic highlighted the opening game at Friends Arena outside Stockholm with four goals, including a spectacular bicycle kick from 30 yards, in a 4-2 exhibition win over England.
Ibrahimovic's one-man show overshadowed two high-profile matches between fierce European rivals, with host Netherlands and Germany drawing 0-0, and France coming from behind to beat host Italy 2-1.
In East Rutherford, N.J., Neymar scored in the 64th minute and then skied a penalty kick well over the crossbar in the 81st, leaving Brazil with a disappointing 1-1 draw against Colombia.
U.S. men, Russia tie in soccer, 2-2 | A.M. Briefing | Other Sports | The Seattle Times
Michael Bradley, who scored in the 76th minute, sent a long ball into the penalty area toward Terrence Boyd, who was battling defender Sergei Ignashevich. The ball rebounded off Ignashevich to Diskerud, who had entered in the 87th minute. He bounced a 20-yard, right-footed shot in off a hand of goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov.
The 22-year-old, whose mother is from Arizona and who grew up in Norway, was playing just his third game for the U.S. He was a member of the American Olympic team that failed to qualify for the London Games.
"We saw a very entertaining game," said U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann. "Russia proved why they are one of the best teams in Europe, and we wanted to see how good we are against such a strong team. The way our team fought back twice after being down a goal was great and it showed a lot of character."
Ibrahimovic stuns England
Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic highlighted the opening game at Friends Arena outside Stockholm with four goals, including a spectacular bicycle kick from 30 yards, in a 4-2 exhibition win over England.
Ibrahimovic's one-man show overshadowed two high-profile matches between fierce European rivals, with host Netherlands and Germany drawing 0-0, and France coming from behind to beat host Italy 2-1.
In East Rutherford, N.J., Neymar scored in the 64th minute and then skied a penalty kick well over the crossbar in the 81st, leaving Brazil with a disappointing 1-1 draw against Colombia.
U.S. men, Russia tie in soccer, 2-2 | A.M. Briefing | Other Sports | The Seattle Times
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No matter how Thursday night's NCAA Tournament first-round match at the UK Soccer Complex turned out, there would be no denying that Kentucky has enjoyed a turnaround season.
That didn't ease the disappointment, though, when Xavier came in and ended the Wildcats' season 1-0.
Luke Spencer's goal with 4:40 left was the difference.
"It's a tough loss for us, of course," UK Coach Johan Cedergren said. "You don't want to go out this early in the tournament.
"But, at the same time, I think you have to look at where we're coming from. I think it's 2003 since we've been dancing last time. I'm not happy with how we played today. I think the occasion maybe got the better of us at times — we looked a little nervous, a little tentative. But at the same time, it's been a heck of a season. I couldn't be any prouder of the guys."
Read more here: Xavier eliminates UK men's soccer 1-0 | More Sports | Kentucky-com
That didn't ease the disappointment, though, when Xavier came in and ended the Wildcats' season 1-0.
Luke Spencer's goal with 4:40 left was the difference.
"It's a tough loss for us, of course," UK Coach Johan Cedergren said. "You don't want to go out this early in the tournament.
"But, at the same time, I think you have to look at where we're coming from. I think it's 2003 since we've been dancing last time. I'm not happy with how we played today. I think the occasion maybe got the better of us at times — we looked a little nervous, a little tentative. But at the same time, it's been a heck of a season. I couldn't be any prouder of the guys."
Read more here: Xavier eliminates UK men's soccer 1-0 | More Sports | Kentucky-com
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Courtney Verloo scored two second-half goals and No. 1 Stanford withstood a late rally to beat No. 17 Santa Clara 2-1 in the second round of the NCAA women's soccer tournament on Friday night.
Stanford (19-1-1) advances to a third-round match against unranked Denver (17-2-4), which rallied from a two-goal second-half deficit to beat No. 9 Maryland 3-2 in overtime in the doubleheader opener at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. The Sweet 16 match will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Stanford.
-- Cal lost in the second round 2-1 at San Diego State. Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick scored for the Bears, who finished the season at 16-5.
-- The top-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team clinched the Pac-12 title with a 25-22, 25-18, 15-25, 27-25 win over No. 5 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The Cardinal (25-3, 17-1 Pac-12) have won the conference six of the past seven years.
-- The NCAA extended Tennessee's football probation by two years as part of additional penalties following a ruling that former assistant coach Willie Mack Garza provided impermissible travel and lodging to a former prospect. Garza worked at Tennessee on former coach Lane Kiffin's staff.
Read more: Stanford women into NCAA soccer Sweet 16 - SFGate
Stanford (19-1-1) advances to a third-round match against unranked Denver (17-2-4), which rallied from a two-goal second-half deficit to beat No. 9 Maryland 3-2 in overtime in the doubleheader opener at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. The Sweet 16 match will be at 1 p.m. Sunday at Stanford.
-- Cal lost in the second round 2-1 at San Diego State. Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick scored for the Bears, who finished the season at 16-5.
-- The top-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team clinched the Pac-12 title with a 25-22, 25-18, 15-25, 27-25 win over No. 5 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. The Cardinal (25-3, 17-1 Pac-12) have won the conference six of the past seven years.
-- The NCAA extended Tennessee's football probation by two years as part of additional penalties following a ruling that former assistant coach Willie Mack Garza provided impermissible travel and lodging to a former prospect. Garza worked at Tennessee on former coach Lane Kiffin's staff.
Read more: Stanford women into NCAA soccer Sweet 16 - SFGate
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U.S. rapper Snoop Dogg says he would be ready to splash his cash and invest in Scottish soccer champions Celtic.
The 41-year-old, who is as well known for his love of sport as he is his music and drugs busts, fell further in love with the Glasgow club after watching highlights of Celtic's heroic 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League this month.
"I got a lot of interest in soccer. It's not a new thing for hip hop stars to invest in sports teams but it is a new thing for hip hop stars to invest in soccer teams," Snoop Dogg was quoted as saying in the Scottish Daily Record newspaper on Sunday.
"I didn't catch the whole Barcelona game but I watched the highlights. I know Barcelona are a big deal and it shows Celtic are a big deal as well.
"I see how passionate Celtic fans are about their team and I could see myself making an investment if any of the board wanted to sell.
"I haven't really thought how much. I don't need to run a soccer club but enough of a percentage to get me on the board so I can be heard.
"I want to bring a bit of Snoop to things."
Former England captain David Beckham was consulted by Snoop, who said he had even thought about courting the Los Angeles Galaxy player for a stint at 'the Hoops'.
Soccer-Celtic sparkle catches US rapper Snoop Dogg's eye - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
The 41-year-old, who is as well known for his love of sport as he is his music and drugs busts, fell further in love with the Glasgow club after watching highlights of Celtic's heroic 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League this month.
"I got a lot of interest in soccer. It's not a new thing for hip hop stars to invest in sports teams but it is a new thing for hip hop stars to invest in soccer teams," Snoop Dogg was quoted as saying in the Scottish Daily Record newspaper on Sunday.
"I didn't catch the whole Barcelona game but I watched the highlights. I know Barcelona are a big deal and it shows Celtic are a big deal as well.
"I see how passionate Celtic fans are about their team and I could see myself making an investment if any of the board wanted to sell.
"I haven't really thought how much. I don't need to run a soccer club but enough of a percentage to get me on the board so I can be heard.
"I want to bring a bit of Snoop to things."
Former England captain David Beckham was consulted by Snoop, who said he had even thought about courting the Los Angeles Galaxy player for a stint at 'the Hoops'.
Soccer-Celtic sparkle catches US rapper Snoop Dogg's eye - Yahoo! Eurosport UK
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There are few surprises in the new Fox Sports/SBS television deal which underpins the medium-term future of Australian soccer with a four-year $160 million agreement.
Most of the details have been strategically leaked and floated over several months, so neither the quantum nor the structure – which will see the A-League on free-to-air television for the first time – come as a great shock.
But there are key questions which need to be asked: could the FFA have done better and secured a higher price for their product; and will the cash and kind – $40 million a year – they have secured be enough to underwrite the existing soccer infrastructure and expedite development for the future, especially at the grass roots?
The negotiations have been tortuous and long-running, hardly surprising in an economic climate where media is undergoing a revolution, companies are losing money and shedding jobs, and all the old certainties and models have come into question.
Read more: Can soccer's new TV deal secure the sport's future?
Most of the details have been strategically leaked and floated over several months, so neither the quantum nor the structure – which will see the A-League on free-to-air television for the first time – come as a great shock.
But there are key questions which need to be asked: could the FFA have done better and secured a higher price for their product; and will the cash and kind – $40 million a year – they have secured be enough to underwrite the existing soccer infrastructure and expedite development for the future, especially at the grass roots?
The negotiations have been tortuous and long-running, hardly surprising in an economic climate where media is undergoing a revolution, companies are losing money and shedding jobs, and all the old certainties and models have come into question.
Read more: Can soccer's new TV deal secure the sport's future?
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Former England captain David Beckham, hailed as a success for soccer in the United States, will say his farewell to LA Galaxy in next month's MLS Cup final with one more mission yet to accomplish. It was only in January that Beckham signed a new deal with the Galaxy but his departure, announced on Monday, paves the way for him to enjoy a last hurrah elsewhere while the Galaxy could take the chance to look for a new big name in his place.
After five-and-a-half seasons in Los Angeles, where Beckham moved from Real Madrid in 2007, the midfielder insists he feels ready for "one more challenge" before he hangs up his boots.
The 37-year-old Beckham has struggled with injuries of late, missing almost two months of action before this month's play-offs, and it is hard to imagine him being recruited by a top European team.
A year ago he was strongly linked to French club Paris St Germain but in the past 12 months not only has Beckham's ability to deal with the aches and strains of the game declined but PSG have moved on with a series of high profile signings.
However the Englishman's noted ability to grab media attention, sell merchandise and boost attendances while still curling in his trademark free-kicks and spraying cross field passes, makes him an attractive proposition for an emerging club or league looking for a marketing breakthrough.
A source close to Beckham told Reuters that while it was still early in the process of him finding a new team, several clubs from several countries had already shown interest.
The Football Federation of Australia (FFA) said last week that they had made an approach for Beckham, looking to bring him into the A-League where former Italy and Juventus star Alessandro Del Piero is already playing.
Australia would offer him a chance of a repeat performance - as with MLS he would again be trying to increase the profile of the game in one of the few countries where soccer is not the number one sport.
But it would also be a low-key way for Beckham to bow out of the game and given that one of his reasons for re-signing with the Galaxy last year was because his family enjoyed life in California, it would perhaps only appeal as a short-term option.
LUCRATIVE OPTION
So far, reports have suggested a 10-game cameo for an A-League club, such as Melbourne Heart, and that could be a lucrative and enjoyable option.
The Chinese league, whose clubs have increasingly targeted well-known international players such as Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, would surely appeal to the marketers of 'Brand Beckham' but that would have the same draw-backs as Australia.
Beckham had a taste of Italian football during loan spells with AC Milan during MLS's long off-season and while that club could certainly do with a morale boost, it is hard to imagine a return at this stage.
What could well appeal more to Beckham's pride would be a brief but romantic return to English football.
Beckham has never said goodbye to the game in his homeland - injury cost him a place in the 2010 World Cup finals for England and then he was disappointed not to be picked for the Olympic team this year.
So the chance to make an impact once again in English football, albeit at a lesser club level, may be tempting.
While it is hard to see Beckham battling through a long Premier League season, as a free agent he could offer a late-season boost to a team chasing promotion to the Premier League or scrapping for survival.
But Beckham has also made clear that he intends to continue his involvement in MLS beyond his playing days and to use his option to have an ownership role in a future new franchise.
With his children having spent the last five-and-a-half years growing up in the States, it would not be an outlandish shock if he eventually switched to another MLS team, and the New York Red Bulls have been rumoured as a possible destination.
Although A-League clubs are the only ones to have publicly made their interest known there will no doubt be several suitors for a player who still manages to generate plenty of interest. (Reporting by Simon Evans; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)
Soccer-Where next for Beckham after Galaxy exit? - chicagotribune-com
After five-and-a-half seasons in Los Angeles, where Beckham moved from Real Madrid in 2007, the midfielder insists he feels ready for "one more challenge" before he hangs up his boots.
The 37-year-old Beckham has struggled with injuries of late, missing almost two months of action before this month's play-offs, and it is hard to imagine him being recruited by a top European team.
A year ago he was strongly linked to French club Paris St Germain but in the past 12 months not only has Beckham's ability to deal with the aches and strains of the game declined but PSG have moved on with a series of high profile signings.
However the Englishman's noted ability to grab media attention, sell merchandise and boost attendances while still curling in his trademark free-kicks and spraying cross field passes, makes him an attractive proposition for an emerging club or league looking for a marketing breakthrough.
A source close to Beckham told Reuters that while it was still early in the process of him finding a new team, several clubs from several countries had already shown interest.
The Football Federation of Australia (FFA) said last week that they had made an approach for Beckham, looking to bring him into the A-League where former Italy and Juventus star Alessandro Del Piero is already playing.
Australia would offer him a chance of a repeat performance - as with MLS he would again be trying to increase the profile of the game in one of the few countries where soccer is not the number one sport.
But it would also be a low-key way for Beckham to bow out of the game and given that one of his reasons for re-signing with the Galaxy last year was because his family enjoyed life in California, it would perhaps only appeal as a short-term option.
LUCRATIVE OPTION
So far, reports have suggested a 10-game cameo for an A-League club, such as Melbourne Heart, and that could be a lucrative and enjoyable option.
The Chinese league, whose clubs have increasingly targeted well-known international players such as Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, would surely appeal to the marketers of 'Brand Beckham' but that would have the same draw-backs as Australia.
Beckham had a taste of Italian football during loan spells with AC Milan during MLS's long off-season and while that club could certainly do with a morale boost, it is hard to imagine a return at this stage.
What could well appeal more to Beckham's pride would be a brief but romantic return to English football.
Beckham has never said goodbye to the game in his homeland - injury cost him a place in the 2010 World Cup finals for England and then he was disappointed not to be picked for the Olympic team this year.
So the chance to make an impact once again in English football, albeit at a lesser club level, may be tempting.
While it is hard to see Beckham battling through a long Premier League season, as a free agent he could offer a late-season boost to a team chasing promotion to the Premier League or scrapping for survival.
But Beckham has also made clear that he intends to continue his involvement in MLS beyond his playing days and to use his option to have an ownership role in a future new franchise.
With his children having spent the last five-and-a-half years growing up in the States, it would not be an outlandish shock if he eventually switched to another MLS team, and the New York Red Bulls have been rumoured as a possible destination.
Although A-League clubs are the only ones to have publicly made their interest known there will no doubt be several suitors for a player who still manages to generate plenty of interest. (Reporting by Simon Evans; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)
Soccer-Where next for Beckham after Galaxy exit? - chicagotribune-com
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2006/12/07
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When I first started playing, I was simply too young and too naive to realize what was going on. I just thought that the full back who was clipping the ball down the line and out of play was shit and there was no helping him. It was only years later that I found out what had been going on.
"In play" betting was a relatively new thing in those days. The internet was just taking off and the algorithms used to detect fraudulent gambling were nowhere near as sophisticated as they are now. Let me give you an indication of just how easy it was to manipulate the system back then ...
Let's say that you are the captain of the team. At the start of every game, you are involved in the toss of a coin to determine which team has the kick off and which end you are going to kick towards. No team wants to win the toss so that they can have the kick off; an away team only wants to win the toss so that they can choose which end to kick towards -- so the home team does not have the advantage of kicking towards their home fans in the second half. So, we know no team is interested in winning the toss to get the kick off. Now, imagine what would happen if, as the captain, you went in to each of these tosses with the sole intention of making sure that your team got the kick off. You could, in theory, kick-off every time and, if that happens, it becomes ridiculously easy to bet on which team will win the first throw in.
I want to go on record as saying I had nothing to do with this.
As I say, I was a young man who could barely find my way to the training ground. I also had aspirations of playing at the very highest level so anything that seemed even remotely "iffy" just wasn't for me.
Even so, regularly kick-offs that started a game led to the ball being played to a full-back who in turn would shank it out of play. I have no idea how much money was made but it would probably have been the equivalent to a player's full weekly wage.
It didn't take the bookies long to catch on and, these days, the levels of detection are as scary as they are effective. In the research I did for this article, I consulted a friend of mine who works for a leading online betting site to see what measures have been put in place since the early days of internet gambling. It turns out that they do not have anything specific to track irregular betting patterns but, instead, rely on a combination of tools that help their "operator traders" decide whether a bet is fraudulent or not.
The main tool is recognizing the repeat customers and their betting patterns.
There are reports that show the customers who repeatedly bet on the same outcome -- win, lose, draw, etc. These customers are then pooled together into "liability groups" that are monitored closely so that any betting pattern that changes is immediately flagged up on the system.
The operator traders monitor such behavior through "live alerts" that are set up to detect irregular bets in real time.
The traders look for sudden upshifts in betting and on particular selections.
A tell-tale sign that a bet may have sinister undertones is when a user places the maximum amount allowed in one bet. Again, this is all exposed through real-time alerts and reports.
Interestingly, almost every online bookmaker is extending the capabilities of these reports and alerts in order to make their software and, by extension their operators, more "clever".
But it is not because they are falling victim to increasing numbers of betting rings and scams, it is because their users are mushrooming at an alarming rate.
Gambling has been big business since Moses wore short trousers and, in these times of austerity and economic hardship, it is no great surprise that many people are once again turning to the vices that give them a modicum of pleasure at the minimum of cost.
Yet, as with all vices, there will be those who are unable to recognize and control the pitfalls.
There is a gambler in all of us, like it or not.
Very often, the biggest gamble in life comes in the working environment -- deciding when to stick and when to twist, when to realise that our own contentedness is determined not by the material things that we surround ourselves with but by the things that money can't buy, such as family.
Sometimes, however, like me, the wood is very much masked by the trees and what seems like the right career move ends up having terrible consequences for the people that you love the most.
My biggest gamble was to move my family hundreds of miles from their support network and, with hardly any warning, plunge them into a totally alien environment.
The impact that decision had on us as a family was immediate and only resolved itself a few years later after a gargantuan effort on our part to get things back to the way they had once been.
I gambled all the good things that I had in my life for a little bit more of the things that I had always been taught to strive for but which, in reality, mattered least of all. There is no prize on earth that would have ever made that gamble worthwhile, especially in football.
How English football cashed in on the rise of betting - CNN-com
"In play" betting was a relatively new thing in those days. The internet was just taking off and the algorithms used to detect fraudulent gambling were nowhere near as sophisticated as they are now. Let me give you an indication of just how easy it was to manipulate the system back then ...
Let's say that you are the captain of the team. At the start of every game, you are involved in the toss of a coin to determine which team has the kick off and which end you are going to kick towards. No team wants to win the toss so that they can have the kick off; an away team only wants to win the toss so that they can choose which end to kick towards -- so the home team does not have the advantage of kicking towards their home fans in the second half. So, we know no team is interested in winning the toss to get the kick off. Now, imagine what would happen if, as the captain, you went in to each of these tosses with the sole intention of making sure that your team got the kick off. You could, in theory, kick-off every time and, if that happens, it becomes ridiculously easy to bet on which team will win the first throw in.
I want to go on record as saying I had nothing to do with this.
As I say, I was a young man who could barely find my way to the training ground. I also had aspirations of playing at the very highest level so anything that seemed even remotely "iffy" just wasn't for me.
Even so, regularly kick-offs that started a game led to the ball being played to a full-back who in turn would shank it out of play. I have no idea how much money was made but it would probably have been the equivalent to a player's full weekly wage.
It didn't take the bookies long to catch on and, these days, the levels of detection are as scary as they are effective. In the research I did for this article, I consulted a friend of mine who works for a leading online betting site to see what measures have been put in place since the early days of internet gambling. It turns out that they do not have anything specific to track irregular betting patterns but, instead, rely on a combination of tools that help their "operator traders" decide whether a bet is fraudulent or not.
The main tool is recognizing the repeat customers and their betting patterns.
There are reports that show the customers who repeatedly bet on the same outcome -- win, lose, draw, etc. These customers are then pooled together into "liability groups" that are monitored closely so that any betting pattern that changes is immediately flagged up on the system.
The operator traders monitor such behavior through "live alerts" that are set up to detect irregular bets in real time.
The traders look for sudden upshifts in betting and on particular selections.
A tell-tale sign that a bet may have sinister undertones is when a user places the maximum amount allowed in one bet. Again, this is all exposed through real-time alerts and reports.
Interestingly, almost every online bookmaker is extending the capabilities of these reports and alerts in order to make their software and, by extension their operators, more "clever".
But it is not because they are falling victim to increasing numbers of betting rings and scams, it is because their users are mushrooming at an alarming rate.
Gambling has been big business since Moses wore short trousers and, in these times of austerity and economic hardship, it is no great surprise that many people are once again turning to the vices that give them a modicum of pleasure at the minimum of cost.
Yet, as with all vices, there will be those who are unable to recognize and control the pitfalls.
There is a gambler in all of us, like it or not.
Very often, the biggest gamble in life comes in the working environment -- deciding when to stick and when to twist, when to realise that our own contentedness is determined not by the material things that we surround ourselves with but by the things that money can't buy, such as family.
Sometimes, however, like me, the wood is very much masked by the trees and what seems like the right career move ends up having terrible consequences for the people that you love the most.
My biggest gamble was to move my family hundreds of miles from their support network and, with hardly any warning, plunge them into a totally alien environment.
The impact that decision had on us as a family was immediate and only resolved itself a few years later after a gargantuan effort on our part to get things back to the way they had once been.
I gambled all the good things that I had in my life for a little bit more of the things that I had always been taught to strive for but which, in reality, mattered least of all. There is no prize on earth that would have ever made that gamble worthwhile, especially in football.
How English football cashed in on the rise of betting - CNN-com
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2006/12/07
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A former colleague of Kweku Adoboli, the City trader jailed for seven years for gambling away £1.5bn of Swiss bank UBS's money, has set up an online betting company.
John Hughes, who was dismissed by UBS after the firm found strong evidence of collusion at local desk level according to evidence at Adoboli's trial, has now co-founded a football betting company called Bets of Mates, in which groups of friends gamble against each other in a league.
Hughes, who appeared as a prosecution witness at Adoboli's trial and told Southwark crown court he "cried all the way home" on the night his colleague was arrested, said he began work creating the website shortly after leaving UBS.
"Obviously, I've been without a job," he said. "I thought it [the website] was a good idea. My best mate is a professional footballer and he's invested in it."
Hughes, who is described as the brains of the operation on the Bets of Mates website, said he could not "pass comment on whether it's appropriate" for a man so closely linked to Britain's biggest ever fraud loss to be running a betting site.
"It's not as though it's the first gambling website," he said. "It's an appropriate use of my skills, hopefully.
"I appreciate there's a story here, but I don't want to be the one to tell it. Obviously the judge has made his comments on that [the role of gambling in Aboboli's fraud]."
Sentencing Adoboli earlier this week, Mr Justice Brian Keith told him there is "a strong streak of the gambler in you. You were arrogant to think the bank's rules for traders did not apply to you."
Hughes told the trial he was aware Aboboli was hiding his unauthorised trades in an "umbrella" account more than six months before the bank discovered the losses, but failed to report it.
The court heard that after Adoboli told him how much money was in the account, Hughes sent a chat message to Adoboli saying: "Nice. It can piss down with rain after this. You're a legend. I don't know how you sleep at night."
He told the court he was "stupid not to have reported Adoboli as soon as he became aware of the unauthorised trades.
Hughes said he had to receive six weeks of counselling iafter Adoboli's arrest in September 2011. "This was a huge trauma," he told the court. "I nearly drove my car into the middle of the motorway. I wasn't a rational human being. I cried all the way home from London to Middlesbrough."
On his profile page on the website, Hughes is described as "a Middlesbrough fan by trade, but seven years in the City removed all sense of optimism from his character, and made him absurdly superstitious".
"Having worked in the City since 2005 John is all numbers and spreadsheets, numbers and spreadsheets, numbers and spreadsheets," it adds.
The website, which uses the slogan "there is always a winner", was set up by Hughes and two friends who had a "drunken idea [to set up the gambling site while] watching the Champions League semi-final in 2012".
Hughes' partners are Adam Haywood, a business development manager, and Dave "TY" McGurk, a centre half for York City.
"I know a lot of professional footballers," Hughes said. "The idea was they were going to promote it for me … but it doesn't look like I need them to now."
£1.5bn UBS fraud case witness sets up football betting website | Business | The Guardian
John Hughes, who was dismissed by UBS after the firm found strong evidence of collusion at local desk level according to evidence at Adoboli's trial, has now co-founded a football betting company called Bets of Mates, in which groups of friends gamble against each other in a league.
Hughes, who appeared as a prosecution witness at Adoboli's trial and told Southwark crown court he "cried all the way home" on the night his colleague was arrested, said he began work creating the website shortly after leaving UBS.
"Obviously, I've been without a job," he said. "I thought it [the website] was a good idea. My best mate is a professional footballer and he's invested in it."
Hughes, who is described as the brains of the operation on the Bets of Mates website, said he could not "pass comment on whether it's appropriate" for a man so closely linked to Britain's biggest ever fraud loss to be running a betting site.
"It's not as though it's the first gambling website," he said. "It's an appropriate use of my skills, hopefully.
"I appreciate there's a story here, but I don't want to be the one to tell it. Obviously the judge has made his comments on that [the role of gambling in Aboboli's fraud]."
Sentencing Adoboli earlier this week, Mr Justice Brian Keith told him there is "a strong streak of the gambler in you. You were arrogant to think the bank's rules for traders did not apply to you."
Hughes told the trial he was aware Aboboli was hiding his unauthorised trades in an "umbrella" account more than six months before the bank discovered the losses, but failed to report it.
The court heard that after Adoboli told him how much money was in the account, Hughes sent a chat message to Adoboli saying: "Nice. It can piss down with rain after this. You're a legend. I don't know how you sleep at night."
He told the court he was "stupid not to have reported Adoboli as soon as he became aware of the unauthorised trades.
Hughes said he had to receive six weeks of counselling iafter Adoboli's arrest in September 2011. "This was a huge trauma," he told the court. "I nearly drove my car into the middle of the motorway. I wasn't a rational human being. I cried all the way home from London to Middlesbrough."
On his profile page on the website, Hughes is described as "a Middlesbrough fan by trade, but seven years in the City removed all sense of optimism from his character, and made him absurdly superstitious".
"Having worked in the City since 2005 John is all numbers and spreadsheets, numbers and spreadsheets, numbers and spreadsheets," it adds.
The website, which uses the slogan "there is always a winner", was set up by Hughes and two friends who had a "drunken idea [to set up the gambling site while] watching the Champions League semi-final in 2012".
Hughes' partners are Adam Haywood, a business development manager, and Dave "TY" McGurk, a centre half for York City.
"I know a lot of professional footballers," Hughes said. "The idea was they were going to promote it for me … but it doesn't look like I need them to now."
£1.5bn UBS fraud case witness sets up football betting website | Business | The Guardian
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2006/12/07
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RAFA Benitez has taken the reins of Chelsea knowing he has seven months to prove to Roman Abramovich that he can do it on a permanent basis.
Starting with Sunday's big game at home to Manchester City, Benitez must quickly try to render himself unsackable – just as Roberto Di Matteo was for a few weeks after the club's first Champions League triumph in May.
Several managers have tried to tame Abramovich's power at Stamford Bridge and all have ended up on the floor, but Benitez's innate self-belief will give him a head-start.
Despite the fact that Chelsea fans were carrying anti-Benitez banners on day one at the gates of the club's Cobham training complex, the "interim" manager is intent on getting down to business.
The ex-Liverpool boss even admitted last night that didn't have time to meet Abramovich – the owner who has removed seven managers in eight years – but said it would be "easier" at Chelsea than working for two owners at Anfield.
"I will meet (Abramovich) today," Benitez said. "The main thing is that I have spoken to Michael Emenalo, the technical director and he is my link. I like to speak about football with him. That's my priority."
Benitez would not comment on the news that Mark Clattenburg had been cleared following accusations of racial abuse. 'Prospect,' the referees' union, have called for an apology, compensation and a charity donation from the London club. "I want to concentrate on football issues if I can," Benitez said.
The former Intern Milan boss hopes he will forge a good working relationship with Abramovich. "Hopefully, I will see the owner and talk about things," he said.
"The info I have from different people is that he likes to see his team playing good football, but he's not involved every day, telling the manager to do this or that. He just wants to see the team playing well."
Joining the new man at Stamford Bridge will be former Liverpool and Chelsea midfielder Boudewijn Zenden as well as coaches Paco de Miguel and Xavi Valero.
While Benitez is only the interim manager, with a contract until the end of the season, he insists that his future lies in his hands. "If I do well and win trophies, I'd be really happy and then we will see," he said.
"At this moment I'm here. I got the job. This is very simple: winning games. Winning games is a guarantee for everything – if you can win them in a row, you can win trophies."
The appointment of Benitez was unpopular with some Chelsea fans, given comments made in the past, but he defended his remarks.
"We were playing against Chelsea, a top side, in the semi-finals of the Champions League," he explained. "If I'm a fan, I'd like to see my manager fighting for my team, my club, and doing almost everything. So I don't think it's a lack of respect for the Chelsea fans.
"It's more a manager defending his team. I'm sure the fans here would like to see me doing the same now that I am here, defending their club."
The Spaniard will have to work out how he handles the expectations concerning Fernando Torres, the Mark Clattenburg fallout, and the style and shape of the team, which have improved since Andre Villas-Boas tried to alter too much too quickly.
The one thing the Champions League-winning manager can be sure of is that there is no proven survival manual.
Jose Mourinho was the best manager in Chelsea's history, but was sacked. Carlo Ancelotti won a league and FA Cup double, but took a bullet 12 months later.
Benitez can't even be sure he will still be Chelsea boss next August even if he wins the Premier League.
And, does he stick with Di Matteo's system or revert to a more cautious style? If he does that, how will it go down with Mata, Oscar, Hazard and Abramovich?
Also, he is unlikely to go out of his way to indulge John Terry, the kind of barrack-room sergeant the new manager never tolerated at Liverpool.
One thing in his favour is a rhino skin. He is a strong man in a thoroughly weak position.
Benitez sets goal of becoming unsackable - Soccer, Sport - Independent.ie
Starting with Sunday's big game at home to Manchester City, Benitez must quickly try to render himself unsackable – just as Roberto Di Matteo was for a few weeks after the club's first Champions League triumph in May.
Several managers have tried to tame Abramovich's power at Stamford Bridge and all have ended up on the floor, but Benitez's innate self-belief will give him a head-start.
Despite the fact that Chelsea fans were carrying anti-Benitez banners on day one at the gates of the club's Cobham training complex, the "interim" manager is intent on getting down to business.
The ex-Liverpool boss even admitted last night that didn't have time to meet Abramovich – the owner who has removed seven managers in eight years – but said it would be "easier" at Chelsea than working for two owners at Anfield.
"I will meet (Abramovich) today," Benitez said. "The main thing is that I have spoken to Michael Emenalo, the technical director and he is my link. I like to speak about football with him. That's my priority."
Benitez would not comment on the news that Mark Clattenburg had been cleared following accusations of racial abuse. 'Prospect,' the referees' union, have called for an apology, compensation and a charity donation from the London club. "I want to concentrate on football issues if I can," Benitez said.
The former Intern Milan boss hopes he will forge a good working relationship with Abramovich. "Hopefully, I will see the owner and talk about things," he said.
"The info I have from different people is that he likes to see his team playing good football, but he's not involved every day, telling the manager to do this or that. He just wants to see the team playing well."
Joining the new man at Stamford Bridge will be former Liverpool and Chelsea midfielder Boudewijn Zenden as well as coaches Paco de Miguel and Xavi Valero.
While Benitez is only the interim manager, with a contract until the end of the season, he insists that his future lies in his hands. "If I do well and win trophies, I'd be really happy and then we will see," he said.
"At this moment I'm here. I got the job. This is very simple: winning games. Winning games is a guarantee for everything – if you can win them in a row, you can win trophies."
The appointment of Benitez was unpopular with some Chelsea fans, given comments made in the past, but he defended his remarks.
"We were playing against Chelsea, a top side, in the semi-finals of the Champions League," he explained. "If I'm a fan, I'd like to see my manager fighting for my team, my club, and doing almost everything. So I don't think it's a lack of respect for the Chelsea fans.
"It's more a manager defending his team. I'm sure the fans here would like to see me doing the same now that I am here, defending their club."
The Spaniard will have to work out how he handles the expectations concerning Fernando Torres, the Mark Clattenburg fallout, and the style and shape of the team, which have improved since Andre Villas-Boas tried to alter too much too quickly.
The one thing the Champions League-winning manager can be sure of is that there is no proven survival manual.
Jose Mourinho was the best manager in Chelsea's history, but was sacked. Carlo Ancelotti won a league and FA Cup double, but took a bullet 12 months later.
Benitez can't even be sure he will still be Chelsea boss next August even if he wins the Premier League.
And, does he stick with Di Matteo's system or revert to a more cautious style? If he does that, how will it go down with Mata, Oscar, Hazard and Abramovich?
Also, he is unlikely to go out of his way to indulge John Terry, the kind of barrack-room sergeant the new manager never tolerated at Liverpool.
One thing in his favour is a rhino skin. He is a strong man in a thoroughly weak position.
Benitez sets goal of becoming unsackable - Soccer, Sport - Independent.ie
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2006/12/07
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Brazil Coach Mano Menezes was fired in a move disputed even with the soccer federation. The federation director Andres Sanchez said he did not agree with the decision, made by the federation’s president, Jose Maria Marin, who took over earlier this year.
Brazil Soccer Coach Fired Despite Recent Success - NYTimes-com
Brazil Soccer Coach Fired Despite Recent Success - NYTimes-com
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2006/12/07
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A run-down house that's now storage for shovels will soon be a bustling clubhouse for the largest youth soccer group in Southern Arizona.
Tucson Soccer Academy signed a no-cost 20-year lease with Pima County to fix up and use the Young House at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park.
The nonprofit youth soccer league plans to open the remodeled facility by next fall.
"We're going to spend at least $100,000 in renovating it and making it into a clubhouse for kids who play soccer, a place where they can do homework while they're waiting for practice, where they can have team meetings," said Ted Schmidt, president of the Tucson Soccer Academy.
It'll also have a workout room with equipment that could cost up to $60,000, a TV for watching game tape, offices and meeting rooms. Throw in desks, filing cabinets, computers and other needs and the final price tag will approach $200,000, Schmidt said.
Fenton Park is sort of like home field for the academy, which has played games and practices there for years.
Coaches and parents noticed the Young House wasn't being used, and the club's 1,000 kids needed their own place, Schmidt said.
Jon Fenton, who raised money for the park along the Rillito and named it in honor of his daughter, Brandi, helped get the ball rolling, Schmidt said.
Fenton will be the project manager, and he has found several local contractors to donate their time to the project, including some who are soccer team coaches.
Schmidt's wife, Ann, was active with the academy before she died of breast cancer almost two years ago, so he got involved to honor her.
Ann Schmidt was a Tucson Soccer Academy manager for eight years. Even after being diagnosed with what turned out to be terminal breast cancer in 2005, and going through its debilitating treatment, she maintained her enthusiasm and positive attitude, and continued to manage her team right up to the time of her death on her birthday on Jan. 3, 2011.
The building will be named the Ann Kathryn Schmidt Kickin' It Clubhouse.
Schmidt said it's "a marvelous example of partnership between the private sector and the county."
The academy is launching a capital campaign to raise the $200,000 to pay for the remodeling and new equipment. To help with a tax-deductible donation, mail a check to the Tucson Soccer Academy Clubhouse, 1790 E. River Road, Suite 300, Tucson, AZ 85718.
Did you know
The soccer fields at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park were once pastures in the Binghampton Mormon farming settlement in the late 1800s.
Soccer center planned at park
Tucson Soccer Academy signed a no-cost 20-year lease with Pima County to fix up and use the Young House at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park.
The nonprofit youth soccer league plans to open the remodeled facility by next fall.
"We're going to spend at least $100,000 in renovating it and making it into a clubhouse for kids who play soccer, a place where they can do homework while they're waiting for practice, where they can have team meetings," said Ted Schmidt, president of the Tucson Soccer Academy.
It'll also have a workout room with equipment that could cost up to $60,000, a TV for watching game tape, offices and meeting rooms. Throw in desks, filing cabinets, computers and other needs and the final price tag will approach $200,000, Schmidt said.
Fenton Park is sort of like home field for the academy, which has played games and practices there for years.
Coaches and parents noticed the Young House wasn't being used, and the club's 1,000 kids needed their own place, Schmidt said.
Jon Fenton, who raised money for the park along the Rillito and named it in honor of his daughter, Brandi, helped get the ball rolling, Schmidt said.
Fenton will be the project manager, and he has found several local contractors to donate their time to the project, including some who are soccer team coaches.
Schmidt's wife, Ann, was active with the academy before she died of breast cancer almost two years ago, so he got involved to honor her.
Ann Schmidt was a Tucson Soccer Academy manager for eight years. Even after being diagnosed with what turned out to be terminal breast cancer in 2005, and going through its debilitating treatment, she maintained her enthusiasm and positive attitude, and continued to manage her team right up to the time of her death on her birthday on Jan. 3, 2011.
The building will be named the Ann Kathryn Schmidt Kickin' It Clubhouse.
Schmidt said it's "a marvelous example of partnership between the private sector and the county."
The academy is launching a capital campaign to raise the $200,000 to pay for the remodeling and new equipment. To help with a tax-deductible donation, mail a check to the Tucson Soccer Academy Clubhouse, 1790 E. River Road, Suite 300, Tucson, AZ 85718.
Did you know
The soccer fields at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park were once pastures in the Binghampton Mormon farming settlement in the late 1800s.
Soccer center planned at park
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FIFA has named the mascot for the 2014 Brazil World Cup "Fuleco," a word which organisers say transmits a message of environmental awareness.
Almost half of the more than 1.7 million people who voted in an online poll chose Fuleco ahead of 'Zuzeco' and 'Amijubi'.
The mascot is a three-banded armadillo, which is an endangered species in Brazil.
The tradition of a World Cup mascot dates back to 1966, when a lion named 'World Cup Willie' was chosen for the tournament in England.
Since then, the mascots have ranged from two German boys "Tip and Tap" in 1974, to "Pique" the chili pepper in Mexico in 1986, and "Zakumi" the leopard, who represented the tournament in South Africa in 2010.
The yellow and blue armadillo was chosen in September and huge inflatable versions were set up in Brazil's 12 host cities. However, authorities were forced to take them down or increase security in at least three cities after vandals attacked them.
Fuleco is expected to make an appearance in Sao Paulo this week at the draw for the 2013 Confederations Cup. The draw for the World Cup warm-up competition takes place next Saturday.
The naming of the mascot came on the same day that FIFA unveiled the posters to be used to publicise the tournament. Each of the 12 host cities has its own poster. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Read More: Soccer-FIFA names Brazil's World Cup mascot 'Fuleco' - Yahoo! Sports
Almost half of the more than 1.7 million people who voted in an online poll chose Fuleco ahead of 'Zuzeco' and 'Amijubi'.
The mascot is a three-banded armadillo, which is an endangered species in Brazil.
The tradition of a World Cup mascot dates back to 1966, when a lion named 'World Cup Willie' was chosen for the tournament in England.
Since then, the mascots have ranged from two German boys "Tip and Tap" in 1974, to "Pique" the chili pepper in Mexico in 1986, and "Zakumi" the leopard, who represented the tournament in South Africa in 2010.
The yellow and blue armadillo was chosen in September and huge inflatable versions were set up in Brazil's 12 host cities. However, authorities were forced to take them down or increase security in at least three cities after vandals attacked them.
Fuleco is expected to make an appearance in Sao Paulo this week at the draw for the 2013 Confederations Cup. The draw for the World Cup warm-up competition takes place next Saturday.
The naming of the mascot came on the same day that FIFA unveiled the posters to be used to publicise the tournament. Each of the 12 host cities has its own poster. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Read More: Soccer-FIFA names Brazil's World Cup mascot 'Fuleco' - Yahoo! Sports
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A week after David Beckham announced Saturday's MLS Cup in Carson would mark his final Galaxy game, commissioner Don Garber spoke in his annual state of the league teleconference.
Not surprisingly, the first several questions Monday dealt with Beckham's 2007 arrival and his MLS legacy as he departs the league, in a playing role at least, although he has an option to buy a franchise, perhaps even the up-for-sale Galaxy.
Equally as unsurprising was Garber's effusive praise of Beckham for his part in the league's rapid evolution in recent years.
But that was also tempered by realism about the league's growth and that MLS today is much more than a league Beckham built.
"We needed David Beckham in 2007 to help drive our credibility, to help drive our potential and show the world that the U.S. and Canada was ready to support the league," Garber said. "We don't need anything today to get us to the next level.
"I have no regrets whatsoever with any aspect of the (Beckham) deal," added Garber. "I don't believe we're going to be hurting when David leaves. David helped us get to a certain point and we're going to take it from that point and take it even higher."
Garber's comment was in marked contrast to last week's hyperventilating in the wake of Beckham's announcement, notably by the hyperbolic Tim Leiweke, who heads up the Galaxy's corporate parent, Anschutz Entertainment Group.
"Seldom does an athlete redefine a sport, and David not only took our franchise to the next level, but he took our sport to another level," Leiweke panted.
Great sound bite, if utter twaddle.
You can argue persuasively that Beckham took soccer marketing or the awareness of MLS to another level in this country, but not the sport in general.
Beckham merely took the hype surrounding himself to unprecedented heights with his celebrity generally outweighing his on-field contributions.
In fact, Beckham was clearly more beneficial on the field for MLS than he was to the Galaxy or the continued growth of the sport in Southern California.
The Galaxy have not regularly sold out the 24,500-seat Home Depot Center in recent seasons, a consequence of a steady escalation in ticket prices to pay for Beckham's services against the sobering backdrop of the worst recession in decades.
The Galaxy are much more of a draw on the road, where the novelty of an appearance or two a year by Beckham remains alluring to fans who want to say they have seen him play in person.
In fact, one can make a case that the more lasting contribution to the sport will come not from Beckham, but the tens of thousands of 20-something and 30-something fans in places like Seattle, Portland and, yes, these days even former soccer backwaters like Kansas City.
Spurred by the construction of soccer stadiums near vibrant downtowns, it's that demographic that has become the most important, not the soccer moms and their offspring that MLS suits once believed were key to the success of suburban soccer-specific venues.
Garber said Monday that no one could argue Beckham hasn't "overdelivered" on and off the field.
Yet Galaxy fans who saw Beckham start all of two games in 2007 when he arrived here injured might disagree.
Then there were the combined 16 starts over two years in 2009 and 2010 because of overseas loans and a catastrophic Achilles injury Beckham admitted was caused in part by playing too much overseas in the MLS offseason.
And in the 2008 season, when Beckham put in 25 games, the Galaxy could only struggle to a franchise-worst eight wins.
It's only in the past two years, with Beckham playing a couple of dozen times each season, that he belatedly rehabilitated his on-field image with an MLS career-high 15 assists in 2011 and seven goals in 2012. And perhaps not coincidentally, the Galaxy promptly reached two MLS finals in a row, including Saturday's 2011 MLS Cup rematch against the Houston Dynamo at 1:30 p.m. at Home Depot Center.
Yes, Beckham turned the rule created just for him six years ago into a wider MLS trend that in 2012 saw 31 so-called designated players (i.e. high-wage earners) sprinkled throughout MLS.
Yes, his presence in part prompted greater investment in venues designed specifically for the sport and a proliferation of expansion franchises with the MLS entry fee jumping from $10 million to around $40 million.
But if Beckham was the spark, it's enthusiastic fans providing the sustainable fuel that will keep the MLS flame burning long after he has flamed out. The 40,000 to 60,000 fans who regularly attended Seattle Sounders games this season weren't coming to see Beckham; they were there to see their team and their sport in their unique stadium.
"The sights and sounds of Major League Soccer are very organic and authentic," Garber said Monday, observing that soccer is now the second-most popular pro sport among young fans. "We are making more progress in what I call fan development than we had expected we would be able to reach a couple of years ago.
"There's no doubt that (the U.S. and Canada) have become soccer nations."
Soccer: David Beckham `overdelivers' for MLS, not Galaxy - DailyBulletin-com
Not surprisingly, the first several questions Monday dealt with Beckham's 2007 arrival and his MLS legacy as he departs the league, in a playing role at least, although he has an option to buy a franchise, perhaps even the up-for-sale Galaxy.
Equally as unsurprising was Garber's effusive praise of Beckham for his part in the league's rapid evolution in recent years.
But that was also tempered by realism about the league's growth and that MLS today is much more than a league Beckham built.
"We needed David Beckham in 2007 to help drive our credibility, to help drive our potential and show the world that the U.S. and Canada was ready to support the league," Garber said. "We don't need anything today to get us to the next level.
"I have no regrets whatsoever with any aspect of the (Beckham) deal," added Garber. "I don't believe we're going to be hurting when David leaves. David helped us get to a certain point and we're going to take it from that point and take it even higher."
Garber's comment was in marked contrast to last week's hyperventilating in the wake of Beckham's announcement, notably by the hyperbolic Tim Leiweke, who heads up the Galaxy's corporate parent, Anschutz Entertainment Group.
"Seldom does an athlete redefine a sport, and David not only took our franchise to the next level, but he took our sport to another level," Leiweke panted.
Great sound bite, if utter twaddle.
You can argue persuasively that Beckham took soccer marketing or the awareness of MLS to another level in this country, but not the sport in general.
Beckham merely took the hype surrounding himself to unprecedented heights with his celebrity generally outweighing his on-field contributions.
In fact, Beckham was clearly more beneficial on the field for MLS than he was to the Galaxy or the continued growth of the sport in Southern California.
The Galaxy have not regularly sold out the 24,500-seat Home Depot Center in recent seasons, a consequence of a steady escalation in ticket prices to pay for Beckham's services against the sobering backdrop of the worst recession in decades.
The Galaxy are much more of a draw on the road, where the novelty of an appearance or two a year by Beckham remains alluring to fans who want to say they have seen him play in person.
In fact, one can make a case that the more lasting contribution to the sport will come not from Beckham, but the tens of thousands of 20-something and 30-something fans in places like Seattle, Portland and, yes, these days even former soccer backwaters like Kansas City.
Spurred by the construction of soccer stadiums near vibrant downtowns, it's that demographic that has become the most important, not the soccer moms and their offspring that MLS suits once believed were key to the success of suburban soccer-specific venues.
Garber said Monday that no one could argue Beckham hasn't "overdelivered" on and off the field.
Yet Galaxy fans who saw Beckham start all of two games in 2007 when he arrived here injured might disagree.
Then there were the combined 16 starts over two years in 2009 and 2010 because of overseas loans and a catastrophic Achilles injury Beckham admitted was caused in part by playing too much overseas in the MLS offseason.
And in the 2008 season, when Beckham put in 25 games, the Galaxy could only struggle to a franchise-worst eight wins.
It's only in the past two years, with Beckham playing a couple of dozen times each season, that he belatedly rehabilitated his on-field image with an MLS career-high 15 assists in 2011 and seven goals in 2012. And perhaps not coincidentally, the Galaxy promptly reached two MLS finals in a row, including Saturday's 2011 MLS Cup rematch against the Houston Dynamo at 1:30 p.m. at Home Depot Center.
Yes, Beckham turned the rule created just for him six years ago into a wider MLS trend that in 2012 saw 31 so-called designated players (i.e. high-wage earners) sprinkled throughout MLS.
Yes, his presence in part prompted greater investment in venues designed specifically for the sport and a proliferation of expansion franchises with the MLS entry fee jumping from $10 million to around $40 million.
But if Beckham was the spark, it's enthusiastic fans providing the sustainable fuel that will keep the MLS flame burning long after he has flamed out. The 40,000 to 60,000 fans who regularly attended Seattle Sounders games this season weren't coming to see Beckham; they were there to see their team and their sport in their unique stadium.
"The sights and sounds of Major League Soccer are very organic and authentic," Garber said Monday, observing that soccer is now the second-most popular pro sport among young fans. "We are making more progress in what I call fan development than we had expected we would be able to reach a couple of years ago.
"There's no doubt that (the U.S. and Canada) have become soccer nations."
Soccer: David Beckham `overdelivers' for MLS, not Galaxy - DailyBulletin-com
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Hope Solo diffused the drama surrounding her personal life as the gold medal-winning U.S. women's soccer team prepared for an exhibition match against Ireland. "My life is great," the goalkeeper said. "My life is happy."
Solo made her first appearance with the national team since she was married to former NFL tight end Jerramy Stevens in Washington state on Nov. 13, a day after his arrest at a party for domestic violence. A judge determined there wasn't enough evidence to hold Stevens, but the matter remained under investigation.
Solo spoke after a workout with her fellow U.S. teammates at Portland's downtown Jeld-Wen Field. The national team plays Ireland on Wednesday night on its U.S. appreciation tour following a 2-1 victory over Japan in the final match at the London Games.
"It's unfortunate what the media can do to judge before the facts are out there. It's hard to see, but it's a hard truth, and it's part of life," she said. "I'm happy. I'm happily married. I would never stand for domestic violence. I've never been hit in my life."
Solo has had a stellar career with the national team, helping the team to two straight Olympic gold medals. But she's never shied from attention: From her Twitter criticism of former national team member Brandi Chastain during the London Games to appearing on TV's "Dancing with the Stars."
Read More: Solo puts focus on soccer, not personal life | NewsChief-com
Solo made her first appearance with the national team since she was married to former NFL tight end Jerramy Stevens in Washington state on Nov. 13, a day after his arrest at a party for domestic violence. A judge determined there wasn't enough evidence to hold Stevens, but the matter remained under investigation.
Solo spoke after a workout with her fellow U.S. teammates at Portland's downtown Jeld-Wen Field. The national team plays Ireland on Wednesday night on its U.S. appreciation tour following a 2-1 victory over Japan in the final match at the London Games.
"It's unfortunate what the media can do to judge before the facts are out there. It's hard to see, but it's a hard truth, and it's part of life," she said. "I'm happy. I'm happily married. I would never stand for domestic violence. I've never been hit in my life."
Solo has had a stellar career with the national team, helping the team to two straight Olympic gold medals. But she's never shied from attention: From her Twitter criticism of former national team member Brandi Chastain during the London Games to appearing on TV's "Dancing with the Stars."
Read More: Solo puts focus on soccer, not personal life | NewsChief-com
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A drafty storage room deep in the bowels of the Home Depot Center hardly seems an appropriate place to meet with sporting royalty.
Along one cluttered wall stand rolling racks of old uniforms and sweat suits. An oversize World Cup soccer ball sits ignored atop a dusty table, while hanging from the ceiling a tiny mirrored disco ball begins to spin slowly when David Beckham, wearing ragged jeans, a white V-neck T-shirt and a gray wool hat, steps in for another in a seemingly endless series of goodbye interviews.
It's a stark contrast with Beckham's introductory news conference six seasons ago, when he strode into the stadium in a sharp gray suit as confetti rained down and a crowd of more than 5,000 — including L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — cheered.
But then a lot has changed since Beckham joined the Galaxy and Major League Soccer in 2007.
For the team, Beckham's final competitive match in a Galaxy uniform — in Saturday's MLS Cup final against the Houston Dynamo — will mark its third championship-game appearance in four years.
For MLS, Beckham's departure figures to end one of the most dramatic growth spurts of any league in U.S. professional sports history, one that saw it go from 12 to 19 teams, add 10 new soccer-specific stadiums, more than double its overall attendance and increase worldwide merchandise sales by more than 230%.
"I don't think anybody would doubt that he has overdelivered on every one of those measures," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. "There's arguably not a soccer fan on this planet that doesn't know the L.A. Galaxy and Major League Soccer, and David played a significant role in helping us make that happen.
"He was an unbelievable ambassador for the league, for the Galaxy."
But forgotten among all the self-congratulatory back-slapping and ringing cash registers is the fact that Beckham's wildly successful U.S. tour had a rocky start.
Despite all the pomp and circumstance surrounding his arrival in Southern California, Beckham hardly looked like a savior at the beginning, starting just two games in his first Galaxy season because of injuries — yet hanging around long enough to alienate team captain Landon Donovan and several other teammates.
Beckham missed only five games the following season, but the Galaxy finished with a franchise-low eight wins. So when Beckham spent most of 2009 on loan to AC Milan, Galaxy fans rebelled, loudly booing him on his return to the Carson stadium where he had been so warmly received 24 months earlier.
"No one expect[ed] him to do signings at the local Home Depot or drink with the supporters after the game," says Brian Lynch of Angel City Brigade, the largest of the Galaxy's three main supporter groups. "What we did expect though was 100% commitment to the team. That was questionable his first two years in L.A.
"Then something changed. He realized that being David Beckham wasn't enough. He decided to play for the Galaxy like he was playing Champions League games. When he started showing the team dedication, he earned our respect."
Beckham finished 2009 playing in all but 12 minutes of the Galaxy's postseason run that ended in an MLS Cup final that his team lost on penalty kicks. And he says that season, although a difficult one for him and the fans, was a transformative one as well.
"I had my ups and downs with the fans. I've never had that with any other club that I've played at," Beckham says. "But things have turned around so much that doesn't come into play anymore. They've accepted what I've hoped I brought to the league and the club."
Whatever the reason, Beckham's last two seasons have clearly been his best with the Galaxy. He's played more games than Donovan, the team's iron horse, while setting personal MLS single-season highs in assists (15, in 2011) and goals (seven in 2012). And the team reached the league championship game each time.
"David's last two loan-free seasons here have been his best," says Isaac Menchaca of the L.A. Riot Squad, the supporters group that led the boos against Beckham in 2009. "He's put in visible effort, and he's been very much the David Beckham we expected when he arrived."
There's also been a shift in perception in the Galaxy dressing room, where Beckham has become a team leader, a prankster who often gives as good as he gets.
"I've grown a lot as a person since he's been here," Donovan says. "I've watched him closely with all the things he does and his leadership ability and how he handles himself. It's been an inspiration for me.
"We haven't always gotten along, especially in the beginning. But he's a good person and I think we're all happy for him."
What comes next for Beckham he hasn't made clear. At 37, his soccer days are running out, though he's been careful to avoid using the word "retirement" since announcing the end of his Galaxy career.
In the near future he's expected to return to MLS as a team executive, probably as a partner with AEG, the group that owns the Galaxy. First, however, he has to get through Saturday.
"I can feel the emotion kind of coming out," Beckham says. "Knowing that this is the last time I'll play in this stadium. This is the last time I'll wear this shirt. And to be heading into a Cup final in our own stadium in front of our own fans — it kind of doesn't get much better than that."
David Beckham bids a final goodbye to Galaxy play - latimes-com
Along one cluttered wall stand rolling racks of old uniforms and sweat suits. An oversize World Cup soccer ball sits ignored atop a dusty table, while hanging from the ceiling a tiny mirrored disco ball begins to spin slowly when David Beckham, wearing ragged jeans, a white V-neck T-shirt and a gray wool hat, steps in for another in a seemingly endless series of goodbye interviews.
It's a stark contrast with Beckham's introductory news conference six seasons ago, when he strode into the stadium in a sharp gray suit as confetti rained down and a crowd of more than 5,000 — including L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — cheered.
But then a lot has changed since Beckham joined the Galaxy and Major League Soccer in 2007.
For the team, Beckham's final competitive match in a Galaxy uniform — in Saturday's MLS Cup final against the Houston Dynamo — will mark its third championship-game appearance in four years.
For MLS, Beckham's departure figures to end one of the most dramatic growth spurts of any league in U.S. professional sports history, one that saw it go from 12 to 19 teams, add 10 new soccer-specific stadiums, more than double its overall attendance and increase worldwide merchandise sales by more than 230%.
"I don't think anybody would doubt that he has overdelivered on every one of those measures," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. "There's arguably not a soccer fan on this planet that doesn't know the L.A. Galaxy and Major League Soccer, and David played a significant role in helping us make that happen.
"He was an unbelievable ambassador for the league, for the Galaxy."
But forgotten among all the self-congratulatory back-slapping and ringing cash registers is the fact that Beckham's wildly successful U.S. tour had a rocky start.
Despite all the pomp and circumstance surrounding his arrival in Southern California, Beckham hardly looked like a savior at the beginning, starting just two games in his first Galaxy season because of injuries — yet hanging around long enough to alienate team captain Landon Donovan and several other teammates.
Beckham missed only five games the following season, but the Galaxy finished with a franchise-low eight wins. So when Beckham spent most of 2009 on loan to AC Milan, Galaxy fans rebelled, loudly booing him on his return to the Carson stadium where he had been so warmly received 24 months earlier.
"No one expect[ed] him to do signings at the local Home Depot or drink with the supporters after the game," says Brian Lynch of Angel City Brigade, the largest of the Galaxy's three main supporter groups. "What we did expect though was 100% commitment to the team. That was questionable his first two years in L.A.
"Then something changed. He realized that being David Beckham wasn't enough. He decided to play for the Galaxy like he was playing Champions League games. When he started showing the team dedication, he earned our respect."
Beckham finished 2009 playing in all but 12 minutes of the Galaxy's postseason run that ended in an MLS Cup final that his team lost on penalty kicks. And he says that season, although a difficult one for him and the fans, was a transformative one as well.
"I had my ups and downs with the fans. I've never had that with any other club that I've played at," Beckham says. "But things have turned around so much that doesn't come into play anymore. They've accepted what I've hoped I brought to the league and the club."
Whatever the reason, Beckham's last two seasons have clearly been his best with the Galaxy. He's played more games than Donovan, the team's iron horse, while setting personal MLS single-season highs in assists (15, in 2011) and goals (seven in 2012). And the team reached the league championship game each time.
"David's last two loan-free seasons here have been his best," says Isaac Menchaca of the L.A. Riot Squad, the supporters group that led the boos against Beckham in 2009. "He's put in visible effort, and he's been very much the David Beckham we expected when he arrived."
There's also been a shift in perception in the Galaxy dressing room, where Beckham has become a team leader, a prankster who often gives as good as he gets.
"I've grown a lot as a person since he's been here," Donovan says. "I've watched him closely with all the things he does and his leadership ability and how he handles himself. It's been an inspiration for me.
"We haven't always gotten along, especially in the beginning. But he's a good person and I think we're all happy for him."
What comes next for Beckham he hasn't made clear. At 37, his soccer days are running out, though he's been careful to avoid using the word "retirement" since announcing the end of his Galaxy career.
In the near future he's expected to return to MLS as a team executive, probably as a partner with AEG, the group that owns the Galaxy. First, however, he has to get through Saturday.
"I can feel the emotion kind of coming out," Beckham says. "Knowing that this is the last time I'll play in this stadium. This is the last time I'll wear this shirt. And to be heading into a Cup final in our own stadium in front of our own fans — it kind of doesn't get much better than that."
David Beckham bids a final goodbye to Galaxy play - latimes-com
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“I am so proud of the way the girls handled this game tonight,” head coach Marci Jobson said. “This group just has unbelievable character and integrity. Their ability to handle the adversity thrown at them was excellent.”
The Bears improved to 18-1-4 on the season, while upping their unbeaten streak to 19 games and their undefeated string to seven. The 18 wins are the most in program history surpassing the 17 victories posted by the 1996 club. With the loss, Arizona State completes its season with a 10-9-2 record.
BU scored first for the eighth straight game as Hanna Gilmore netted her seventh score of the season and fourth goal in the last three games in the 16th-minute. Following a throw-in from Kat Ludlow, Lisa Sliwinski headed over a ball to Gilmore who turned and slotted a shot past ASU keeper Chandler Morris from 13-yards out. It was Sliwinski’s fourth assist of the year.
“Hanna had a great game again,” Jobson said. “She has really just come into her own at the right time. She is playing the best soccer of her life. Her leadership on and off the field has been incredible.”
With that goal, Baylor has now scored six goals over the last four games in the 21st minute or earlier.
The Bears added to their lead in the 35th minute on a cross from Larissa Campos to Alex Klein. Campos out-hustled a Sun Devil defender to chase down a ball on the left side. At 10-yards from the end line, she crossed the ball into Klein, who gathered it in and shot to the near post for the goal from 15-yards out.
BU took that lead into the halftime break with goalkeeper Michelle Kloss only forced to make a pair of saves in the period. ASU’s best chance to score before the break came in fourth minute. Devin Marshall worked around her defender and pushed a shot towards the frame, but Kloss had moved off her line as snagged the shot out of the air.
In the second period, the Sun Devils finally got on the board in the 55th-minute as Cali Farquharson headed in her 10th score of the year.
Baylor responded 46 seconds later as Taylor Heatherly notched her first goal of the season and the first goal of her career. After an Arizona State foul, the junior blasted forward a free-kick from 42 yards out. The ball took once bounce inside the six-yard box and scooted past everyone to put BU up 3-1.
“It was a cool response,” Jobson said. “I was disappointed that we gave up the goal, but I thought our response was excellent. We didn’t sit back and we continued to press forward. It was great for Taylor to get that goal.”
In the game, Baylor outshot Arizona State 14-11 with 11 of BU’s shots coming on goal. The Bears were led by Sliwinski with three shots, while Gilmore, Heatherly and Klein each had two more.
The game was physical from the opening whistle with the teams racking up 33 fouls and six yellow cards in the contest. Kloss made three saves in the game as she improved to 18-1-4 on the year by playing the whole game in goal.
Just prior to Arizona State’s score a rain storm moved through and lasted for over 25 minutes of game time.
Baylor will now face the winner of Virginia Tech and Georgetown in the second round. The Hokies and Hoyas play on Sunday at 4 p.m. in Blacksburg, Va. The site of BU’s second round match has not been determined and will be announced on Sunday by the NCAA. However, the contest will take place on Friday, Nov. 16.
Game Notes: Baylor is now 2-3-0 all-time in NCAA Championship play…It is Baylor’s first win on the road in an NCAA Championship game…BU improved to 1-4 all-time against ASU and 1-2 under Jobson…It is the 10th game this season in which the Bears have scored at least three goals...BU stayed undefeated (10-0-3) in Friday games and night games (14-0-3).
Baylor Soccer Beats Arizona State in NCAA Opener