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In the early hours of Tuesday morning, before the triumphs and failures of World Cup eliminator games had played out across four continents, Bruno Metsu died in his native northern France.
Metsu, who was 59 and had multiple cancers, was known as “The White Sorcerer” after he coaxed and coached Senegal to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup.
The game paid its respect, and moved on.
By evening, Egypt had been swept away in a 6-1 defeat to Ghana at a stadium 300 miles, or 480 kilometers, north of the equator. It was left to Bob Bradley, the American coach of Egypt’s national team, to apologize for “letting down” a country that had adopted him amid its greater turmoil.
Some hours later, Roy Hodgson, a veteran coach and manager more venerated abroad than at home, suffered what he described as “a thousand deaths” before his England side finally won its passage to the finals. “My emotions are still churning around inside of me,” the 66-year-old Hodgson said. “But I have great trust in my players. We’re getting better all the time, and hopefully we will get better still.”
Brazil 2014 will be the judge of that.
But it has become accepted ritual, a part of the game, that in victory or defeat players do their thing and within hours they are gone, back to the clubs that pay their fortunes. National team play, like military service, is something they do as young men out of a sense of duty. The managers, though, live with the responsibility long after the results on the field.
Those of us who were around Metsu knew him first and foremost as a communicator of his own consuming passion for the sport. He did not stand on the sideline, like Bradley as silent as a Sphinx.
Metsu could not, as Hodgson tries to do, be seated thoughtfully, almost like a head tutor, while his teams played.
Yet we know these are only the outward signals that the coaches give off. Once, in a more self-effacing era, they were called “trainers,” and allowing for the fact that the national teams have only second call on players’ time, their role is to select a group of individuals, to give them a framework, and then, as Hodgson says, to trust them.
Metsu’s final posting was to take over from Diego Maradona at the Dubai club Al Wasl. And though most coaches are former players, Maradona’s failings as a manager are evidence that possessing innate soccer skill is no guarantee to conducting the whole orchestra from the dugout.
But sometimes we wonder how FIFA, and the expanding modern media, got themselves into a situation that makes it compulsory for team coaches to face the global media shortly after the final whistle blows. Do we need to know their suffering? Do we need to manage the news so that when 11 players succeed or fail in the stadium, the managers are instantly accountable for it?
Hodgson is a worldly man. He has had 22 career moves as a coach in different cultures spanning Scandinavia, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates. He took Switzerland to the World Cup in the United States in 1994, and now he takes England to the next tournament.
“We’ve got a chance,” Hodgson said in the interview room Tuesday night after the lights of the stadium dimmed and 85,186 fans — 18,000 of them Poles — had vacated the arena.
“There’ll be a lot of pressure on us in Brazil,” Hodgson continued. “But this team is growing and accepting the pressure. We’re unbeaten in the qualifiers, and the blend of senior and young players we’ve been working on for 18 months looks good.” He stopped there. He looked like a man whose emotions had been churning inside.
The manager is, almost by definition, too old to play and dependent upon the will, the skill and the desire of players to play for him. How quickly an apprentice becomes a senior citizen on a team.
England’s pivotal player, for example, is Wayne Rooney. He looked like the most likely game-winner when he was 18, and now that he is ever so old, at 27, Rooney refers to himself as one of the experienced players in the group.
Rooney’s value was and still is genuine vision and technique inside a competitor who will always run for the cause. His competitive streak is extreme. But in the last two England games, the crucial ones to get the country over the line in World Cup qualification, Hodgson surrounded Rooney with youth in attack. Andros Townsend runs on the wing as if his life depends on every second. Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck are young, they are fast, and they are willing to chase and to create for Rooney.
The reason Rooney gave for wanting to leave Manchester United for Chelsea a few months back was not, he claimed, money. It was the instruction he was getting from his former manager,Alex Ferguson, to play out of position, effectively to play second fiddle to Robin van Persie. Rooney still wants to be the main man, to score the goals, to take the glory. For England, the statistics prove his point. His header that broke the Polish resistance on Tuesday was his 38th goal in 86 England games. He is closing in on Bobby Charlton’s record of 49 England goals, and with many more years to play, he should top that. He will, provided England’s coach still builds around him, continues to trust his commitment and his ability, and provides the runners to sacrifice for him.
This is a team sport dependent on individuals. Maradona’s successor as the superstar player for Argentina, Lionel Messi, knows that. Messi’s rival as the most gifted individual in soccer, Cristiano Ronaldo, is suffering because Portugal has become overdependent on him alone — and Portugal is one of those countries relying on the second-chance saloon of the playoffs to make it to Brazil.
Players ultimately win or lose games. The coaches stand behind them in the process, and are often the ones held accountable for the results.
www-nytimes-com/2013/10/17/sports/soccer/in-world-cup-soccer-coaches-suffer-most-html?_r=0
Metsu, who was 59 and had multiple cancers, was known as “The White Sorcerer” after he coaxed and coached Senegal to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup.
The game paid its respect, and moved on.
By evening, Egypt had been swept away in a 6-1 defeat to Ghana at a stadium 300 miles, or 480 kilometers, north of the equator. It was left to Bob Bradley, the American coach of Egypt’s national team, to apologize for “letting down” a country that had adopted him amid its greater turmoil.
Some hours later, Roy Hodgson, a veteran coach and manager more venerated abroad than at home, suffered what he described as “a thousand deaths” before his England side finally won its passage to the finals. “My emotions are still churning around inside of me,” the 66-year-old Hodgson said. “But I have great trust in my players. We’re getting better all the time, and hopefully we will get better still.”
Brazil 2014 will be the judge of that.
But it has become accepted ritual, a part of the game, that in victory or defeat players do their thing and within hours they are gone, back to the clubs that pay their fortunes. National team play, like military service, is something they do as young men out of a sense of duty. The managers, though, live with the responsibility long after the results on the field.
Those of us who were around Metsu knew him first and foremost as a communicator of his own consuming passion for the sport. He did not stand on the sideline, like Bradley as silent as a Sphinx.
Metsu could not, as Hodgson tries to do, be seated thoughtfully, almost like a head tutor, while his teams played.
Yet we know these are only the outward signals that the coaches give off. Once, in a more self-effacing era, they were called “trainers,” and allowing for the fact that the national teams have only second call on players’ time, their role is to select a group of individuals, to give them a framework, and then, as Hodgson says, to trust them.
Metsu’s final posting was to take over from Diego Maradona at the Dubai club Al Wasl. And though most coaches are former players, Maradona’s failings as a manager are evidence that possessing innate soccer skill is no guarantee to conducting the whole orchestra from the dugout.
But sometimes we wonder how FIFA, and the expanding modern media, got themselves into a situation that makes it compulsory for team coaches to face the global media shortly after the final whistle blows. Do we need to know their suffering? Do we need to manage the news so that when 11 players succeed or fail in the stadium, the managers are instantly accountable for it?
Hodgson is a worldly man. He has had 22 career moves as a coach in different cultures spanning Scandinavia, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates. He took Switzerland to the World Cup in the United States in 1994, and now he takes England to the next tournament.
“We’ve got a chance,” Hodgson said in the interview room Tuesday night after the lights of the stadium dimmed and 85,186 fans — 18,000 of them Poles — had vacated the arena.
“There’ll be a lot of pressure on us in Brazil,” Hodgson continued. “But this team is growing and accepting the pressure. We’re unbeaten in the qualifiers, and the blend of senior and young players we’ve been working on for 18 months looks good.” He stopped there. He looked like a man whose emotions had been churning inside.
The manager is, almost by definition, too old to play and dependent upon the will, the skill and the desire of players to play for him. How quickly an apprentice becomes a senior citizen on a team.
England’s pivotal player, for example, is Wayne Rooney. He looked like the most likely game-winner when he was 18, and now that he is ever so old, at 27, Rooney refers to himself as one of the experienced players in the group.
Rooney’s value was and still is genuine vision and technique inside a competitor who will always run for the cause. His competitive streak is extreme. But in the last two England games, the crucial ones to get the country over the line in World Cup qualification, Hodgson surrounded Rooney with youth in attack. Andros Townsend runs on the wing as if his life depends on every second. Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck are young, they are fast, and they are willing to chase and to create for Rooney.
The reason Rooney gave for wanting to leave Manchester United for Chelsea a few months back was not, he claimed, money. It was the instruction he was getting from his former manager,Alex Ferguson, to play out of position, effectively to play second fiddle to Robin van Persie. Rooney still wants to be the main man, to score the goals, to take the glory. For England, the statistics prove his point. His header that broke the Polish resistance on Tuesday was his 38th goal in 86 England games. He is closing in on Bobby Charlton’s record of 49 England goals, and with many more years to play, he should top that. He will, provided England’s coach still builds around him, continues to trust his commitment and his ability, and provides the runners to sacrifice for him.
This is a team sport dependent on individuals. Maradona’s successor as the superstar player for Argentina, Lionel Messi, knows that. Messi’s rival as the most gifted individual in soccer, Cristiano Ronaldo, is suffering because Portugal has become overdependent on him alone — and Portugal is one of those countries relying on the second-chance saloon of the playoffs to make it to Brazil.
Players ultimately win or lose games. The coaches stand behind them in the process, and are often the ones held accountable for the results.
www-nytimes-com/2013/10/17/sports/soccer/in-world-cup-soccer-coaches-suffer-most-html?_r=0
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
Two days after saving Mexico's World Cup qualifying campaign, Victor Manuel Vucetich told ESPN Deportes he was fired Thursday as coach of the country's national soccer team.
"They've informed me that I'm out of the national team job," said Vucetich, who earned the nickname King Midas for his penchant for turning around struggling teams in Mexico's domestic leagues.
"I'm King Midas, not God," he told ESPN. "That is why we are where we are."
Mexico's national soccer federation has not announced a replacement, but numerous media reports say the new coach is expected to be Club America's Miguel Herrera, who will become the team's fourth manager in six weeks.
Vucetich's tenure as coach lasted just two matches -- or one match longer than the man he succeeded. But they were pivotal games with Mexico rallying to beat Panama, 2-1, last Friday to jump over the Central Americans into fourth place in the CONCACAF qualifying table. And when Panama lost to the U.S. in its final World Cup qualifier last Tuesday, that sent Mexico on to a two-leg playoff with New Zealand for a final berth in next summer's World Cup in Brazil.
For the time being that allowed Mexico to avoid the embarrassment of missing the World Cup for the first time since 1990. But with Thursday's decision to fire Vucetich, what has been a dismal and disappointing year for Mexican soccer took another odd turn.
Mexico was perfect in the third round of qualifying under Coach Jose Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre. But El Tri struggled this season, winning just one of its seven World Cup qualifers, getting eliminated in group play in June's Confederations Cup, then losing to Panama in the semifinals of the Gold Cup in July.
After another qualifying loss in September, Mexico's increasingly dysfunctional national soccer federation fired De la Torre and replaced him with Luis Fernando Tena, who led the country's U-23 team to its first-ever Olympic title in London in 2012.
Tena lasted one match before being dismissed four days after taking the job when Mexico lost to the U.S., 2-0.
Vucetich, recently sacked as coach for Liga MX club Monterrey, took Tena's place but he lasted just two matches. Now Herrera, should he get the job, has three weeks to prepare the team for the two-game playoff with New Zealand, one it must win to punch its ticket for Brazil.
“If you had told me I’m going (to coach) for two games of course I wouldn’t have (become coach)," Vucetich told ESPN. "In the conditions under which the team is located is a very delicate situation, with a cracked foundation, no strength in many areas. But I think in that sense, a period of six working sessions it can not be fixed.”
Two of Mexico's top players -- forward Carlos Vela and goalkeeper Memo Ochoa -- have been in and out of the national team because of feuds with the Mexican federation. And many of the players who have suited up for El Tri this year have played far below the level they've displayed with their club teams.
Mexico's soccer coach says he's been fired - latimes-com
"They've informed me that I'm out of the national team job," said Vucetich, who earned the nickname King Midas for his penchant for turning around struggling teams in Mexico's domestic leagues.
"I'm King Midas, not God," he told ESPN. "That is why we are where we are."
Mexico's national soccer federation has not announced a replacement, but numerous media reports say the new coach is expected to be Club America's Miguel Herrera, who will become the team's fourth manager in six weeks.
Vucetich's tenure as coach lasted just two matches -- or one match longer than the man he succeeded. But they were pivotal games with Mexico rallying to beat Panama, 2-1, last Friday to jump over the Central Americans into fourth place in the CONCACAF qualifying table. And when Panama lost to the U.S. in its final World Cup qualifier last Tuesday, that sent Mexico on to a two-leg playoff with New Zealand for a final berth in next summer's World Cup in Brazil.
For the time being that allowed Mexico to avoid the embarrassment of missing the World Cup for the first time since 1990. But with Thursday's decision to fire Vucetich, what has been a dismal and disappointing year for Mexican soccer took another odd turn.
Mexico was perfect in the third round of qualifying under Coach Jose Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre. But El Tri struggled this season, winning just one of its seven World Cup qualifers, getting eliminated in group play in June's Confederations Cup, then losing to Panama in the semifinals of the Gold Cup in July.
After another qualifying loss in September, Mexico's increasingly dysfunctional national soccer federation fired De la Torre and replaced him with Luis Fernando Tena, who led the country's U-23 team to its first-ever Olympic title in London in 2012.
Tena lasted one match before being dismissed four days after taking the job when Mexico lost to the U.S., 2-0.
Vucetich, recently sacked as coach for Liga MX club Monterrey, took Tena's place but he lasted just two matches. Now Herrera, should he get the job, has three weeks to prepare the team for the two-game playoff with New Zealand, one it must win to punch its ticket for Brazil.
“If you had told me I’m going (to coach) for two games of course I wouldn’t have (become coach)," Vucetich told ESPN. "In the conditions under which the team is located is a very delicate situation, with a cracked foundation, no strength in many areas. But I think in that sense, a period of six working sessions it can not be fixed.”
Two of Mexico's top players -- forward Carlos Vela and goalkeeper Memo Ochoa -- have been in and out of the national team because of feuds with the Mexican federation. And many of the players who have suited up for El Tri this year have played far below the level they've displayed with their club teams.
Mexico's soccer coach says he's been fired - latimes-com
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2006/12/07
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It was a simple of act of faith that paid a handsome return. A delighted grandfather announced his retirement Wednesday after banking more than $200,000 on a bet that his grandson would one day play international soccer for his home country.
Peter Edwards made the $80 bet in January 2000 when Harry Wilson was just 18-months old.
He secured odds of 2,500-1 for the wager after watching the toddler chase a ball around the family home in the small town of Corwen in north Wales, part of the United Kingdom.
“It was spur of the moment,” the 62-year-old told NBC News' U.K. partner, ITV News. “He was crawling after the ball in the living room, so I just thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to put a bet on that he might play for Wales.” He added that he had to call the London headquarters of betting firm William Hill in order to place the bet.
His persistence was rewarded on Tuesday night when Wilson, now 16, was introduced in the second half of a game against Belgium.
It was not only a lucrative family moment, but also one for the record-books: Wilson is the youngest man ever to play for Wales.
The teenager regularly plays for Liverpool F.C., the English Premier League club owned by Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry.
Edwards, an electrical engineer, told The Guardian newspaper that he works away from home most of the year, spending only one weekend in three, with wife Dorothy, 58.
After nervously watching Tuesday's game on his iPad, he said he knew he’d worked his last day.
“I retired immediately,” he told the paper. “I told my manager yesterday that if Harry plays I wouldn't be coming back. “I've retired one year early.”
Refraining from the tradition of swapping kit with his opponents at the end of the game, the youngster instead proudly presented his match shirt to his grandparents, the Daily Post newspaper, reported.
A spokesman for the betting firm William Hill said the company was pleased to pay out.
“Mr Edwards has been able to quit his job as a result of his amazing ability to spot fledgling talent earlier than almost anyone else we've ever taken a bet from,” said Graham Sharpe.
Sharpe added that, prior to Tuesday, Wilson had also been eligible to play for England because his grandmother had been born there. “If England had snapped him up this bet would have been a loser,” he said.
Man wins $200,000 for betting grandson would one day play soccer for country - World News
Peter Edwards made the $80 bet in January 2000 when Harry Wilson was just 18-months old.
He secured odds of 2,500-1 for the wager after watching the toddler chase a ball around the family home in the small town of Corwen in north Wales, part of the United Kingdom.
“It was spur of the moment,” the 62-year-old told NBC News' U.K. partner, ITV News. “He was crawling after the ball in the living room, so I just thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to put a bet on that he might play for Wales.” He added that he had to call the London headquarters of betting firm William Hill in order to place the bet.
His persistence was rewarded on Tuesday night when Wilson, now 16, was introduced in the second half of a game against Belgium.
It was not only a lucrative family moment, but also one for the record-books: Wilson is the youngest man ever to play for Wales.
The teenager regularly plays for Liverpool F.C., the English Premier League club owned by Boston Red Sox owner John W. Henry.
Edwards, an electrical engineer, told The Guardian newspaper that he works away from home most of the year, spending only one weekend in three, with wife Dorothy, 58.
After nervously watching Tuesday's game on his iPad, he said he knew he’d worked his last day.
“I retired immediately,” he told the paper. “I told my manager yesterday that if Harry plays I wouldn't be coming back. “I've retired one year early.”
Refraining from the tradition of swapping kit with his opponents at the end of the game, the youngster instead proudly presented his match shirt to his grandparents, the Daily Post newspaper, reported.
A spokesman for the betting firm William Hill said the company was pleased to pay out.
“Mr Edwards has been able to quit his job as a result of his amazing ability to spot fledgling talent earlier than almost anyone else we've ever taken a bet from,” said Graham Sharpe.
Sharpe added that, prior to Tuesday, Wilson had also been eligible to play for England because his grandmother had been born there. “If England had snapped him up this bet would have been a loser,” he said.
Man wins $200,000 for betting grandson would one day play soccer for country - World News
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2006/12/07
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One soccer highlight video generated quite a buzz last week on the Internet, and it was not what was on the screen that had people talking and tweeting and re-tweeting links all over the world.
It was audio of the rant by TV Azteca announcer Christian Martinoli, ripping into the Mexican national team as the U.S. team scored two stoppage-time goals against Panama to keep Mexico’s World Cup dreams alive.
The Mexican network was showing a split screen with Mexico losing 2-1 to Costa Rica at the same time that U.S. players Graham Zusi and Aron Johannsson squashed the Panamanians’ World Cup chances with two goals that sealed a 3-2 win for the Americans.
Had the U.S. team lost, Mexico would have been eliminated for the first time since 1990 and Panama would be heading to a playoff against New Zealand next month.
As Zusi’s shot hit the back of the net to tie the score, Martinoli screamed in English into the microphone: “We love you! We love you forever and ever! God Bless America!”
And he was just getting started. By the time Johannsson scored, he was in full diatribe. (If you haven’t heard it, do yourself a favor and find it.) Here’s what he had to say:
“It is because of the USA that we are being placed in the playoff … because of THEM, not due to you! NOT ANY OF YOU in the green shirts. IT WAS THEM! NOT YOU! THEY DID IT!! NOT YOU! Remember this forever! KEEP THIS CLEARLY IN MIND FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES! You do NOTHING for the shirt, you do NOT put any effort for the team, you have NOT placed us in the playoffs. You have NOT placed us in the WORLD CUP! You would NOT have kept us alive!
“IT WAS ESTADOS UNIDOS, NOT YOU! NOT YOU AND YOUR ARROGANCE AND CONCEIT! NOT YOU AND YOUR INFAMY! NOT YOU AND YOUR MORONS AND PUNKS!
“IT IS A FAILURE AND UNDESERVED (to go through to the playoff). We had no arguments to earn the playoffs. THE USA, WITH SUBS, WITH MANY SUBS as the visiting team shows us once again what the USA is all about … how to play the game with dignity, how to approach the sport. Mexico is a horror, just terrible, a FAILURE!
“THE USA HAS SURPASSED US! They are better than Mexico in SOCCER! THEY EVEN HAVE THE LUXURY OF PLAYING THEIR SUBS AND KEEPING US ALIVE! I hope our coach wears the pants and resigns. He has failed!”
Martinoli got his wish.
Victor Manuel Vucetich stepped down as coach Friday and was replaced by Club America coach Miguel Herrera. Herrera is Mexico’s fourth coach in three months. He will lead “El Tri” against New Zealand on Nov. 13 and Nov. 19 in an inter-regional World Cup playoff.
“I have achieved the unconditional support from all the club owners to back Miguel Herrera so that he gets us qualified,” federation president Justino Compean said Friday. “I am grateful to Club America for loaning us their entire technical staff for this important test. We have 180 minutes left.”
Jose Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre began the qualification rounds, but the team struggled and was in fourth place with only three games left. After the national team lost its first home qualifier since 2001 (a 2-1 loss to Honduras), Chepo was let go.
Interim coach Luis Fernando lasted one game — a 2-0 loss to the United States. Vucetich was brought on board, but after two losses, he’s out.
El Tri has qualified for five consecutive World Cups. The last time they missed out was 1990, when the team was banned for using ineligible players in a junior tournament. As Compean said, they have 180 minutes to redeem themselves.
After Tuesday’s games, U.S. Soccer posted on Twitter: “#You’re Welcome Mexico.”
• Euro playoffs: Nine European teams already have qualified for the 2014 World Cup — Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain and Switzerland. Another four will come from a playoff among the eight-best runner-up teams through qualifying rounds.
The four highest-positioned teams (Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Ukraine) will be placed in one pot. The other pot will include France, Sweden, Romania and Iceland. The draw is Monday.
Other teams that have booked their spots for the Brazil World Cup are: Argentina, Australia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, the United States and host Brazil.
• Brazil vs. Honduras: Tickets are selling fast for the Nov. 16 match between Brazil and Honduras at Sun Life Stadium. Both $35 and $45 tickets already have sold out for the 7 p.m. game.
“Tickets are pacing faster than any previous soccer match at Sun Life Stadium, including Barcelona, Spain vs. Haiti, and the International Champions Cup,” said Todd Boyan, senior vice president of Sun Life Stadium operations. “It is clear that people are not waiting until the last minute to get their tickets for this match.”
The matchup between Brazil and Honduras at Sun Life Stadium will feature the best players from each country, among them Neymar, Oscar, Hulk, David Luiz, Marcelo and Dani Alves for the Brazilians and Carlo Costly, Maynor Figueroa, Roger Espinoza, Noel Valladares, Wilson Palacios and Victor Bernardez for the Catrachos.
The $35 seats were gone in 17 minutes, and the $45 seats sold out Wednesday morning after Honduras qualified for the World Cup. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster-com
Read more here: Michelle Kaufman: Much ado about Mexican soccer - Michelle Kaufman - MiamiHerald-com
It was audio of the rant by TV Azteca announcer Christian Martinoli, ripping into the Mexican national team as the U.S. team scored two stoppage-time goals against Panama to keep Mexico’s World Cup dreams alive.
The Mexican network was showing a split screen with Mexico losing 2-1 to Costa Rica at the same time that U.S. players Graham Zusi and Aron Johannsson squashed the Panamanians’ World Cup chances with two goals that sealed a 3-2 win for the Americans.
Had the U.S. team lost, Mexico would have been eliminated for the first time since 1990 and Panama would be heading to a playoff against New Zealand next month.
As Zusi’s shot hit the back of the net to tie the score, Martinoli screamed in English into the microphone: “We love you! We love you forever and ever! God Bless America!”
And he was just getting started. By the time Johannsson scored, he was in full diatribe. (If you haven’t heard it, do yourself a favor and find it.) Here’s what he had to say:
“It is because of the USA that we are being placed in the playoff … because of THEM, not due to you! NOT ANY OF YOU in the green shirts. IT WAS THEM! NOT YOU! THEY DID IT!! NOT YOU! Remember this forever! KEEP THIS CLEARLY IN MIND FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIVES! You do NOTHING for the shirt, you do NOT put any effort for the team, you have NOT placed us in the playoffs. You have NOT placed us in the WORLD CUP! You would NOT have kept us alive!
“IT WAS ESTADOS UNIDOS, NOT YOU! NOT YOU AND YOUR ARROGANCE AND CONCEIT! NOT YOU AND YOUR INFAMY! NOT YOU AND YOUR MORONS AND PUNKS!
“IT IS A FAILURE AND UNDESERVED (to go through to the playoff). We had no arguments to earn the playoffs. THE USA, WITH SUBS, WITH MANY SUBS as the visiting team shows us once again what the USA is all about … how to play the game with dignity, how to approach the sport. Mexico is a horror, just terrible, a FAILURE!
“THE USA HAS SURPASSED US! They are better than Mexico in SOCCER! THEY EVEN HAVE THE LUXURY OF PLAYING THEIR SUBS AND KEEPING US ALIVE! I hope our coach wears the pants and resigns. He has failed!”
Martinoli got his wish.
Victor Manuel Vucetich stepped down as coach Friday and was replaced by Club America coach Miguel Herrera. Herrera is Mexico’s fourth coach in three months. He will lead “El Tri” against New Zealand on Nov. 13 and Nov. 19 in an inter-regional World Cup playoff.
“I have achieved the unconditional support from all the club owners to back Miguel Herrera so that he gets us qualified,” federation president Justino Compean said Friday. “I am grateful to Club America for loaning us their entire technical staff for this important test. We have 180 minutes left.”
Jose Manuel “Chepo” de la Torre began the qualification rounds, but the team struggled and was in fourth place with only three games left. After the national team lost its first home qualifier since 2001 (a 2-1 loss to Honduras), Chepo was let go.
Interim coach Luis Fernando lasted one game — a 2-0 loss to the United States. Vucetich was brought on board, but after two losses, he’s out.
El Tri has qualified for five consecutive World Cups. The last time they missed out was 1990, when the team was banned for using ineligible players in a junior tournament. As Compean said, they have 180 minutes to redeem themselves.
After Tuesday’s games, U.S. Soccer posted on Twitter: “#You’re Welcome Mexico.”
• Euro playoffs: Nine European teams already have qualified for the 2014 World Cup — Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain and Switzerland. Another four will come from a playoff among the eight-best runner-up teams through qualifying rounds.
The four highest-positioned teams (Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Ukraine) will be placed in one pot. The other pot will include France, Sweden, Romania and Iceland. The draw is Monday.
Other teams that have booked their spots for the Brazil World Cup are: Argentina, Australia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, the United States and host Brazil.
• Brazil vs. Honduras: Tickets are selling fast for the Nov. 16 match between Brazil and Honduras at Sun Life Stadium. Both $35 and $45 tickets already have sold out for the 7 p.m. game.
“Tickets are pacing faster than any previous soccer match at Sun Life Stadium, including Barcelona, Spain vs. Haiti, and the International Champions Cup,” said Todd Boyan, senior vice president of Sun Life Stadium operations. “It is clear that people are not waiting until the last minute to get their tickets for this match.”
The matchup between Brazil and Honduras at Sun Life Stadium will feature the best players from each country, among them Neymar, Oscar, Hulk, David Luiz, Marcelo and Dani Alves for the Brazilians and Carlo Costly, Maynor Figueroa, Roger Espinoza, Noel Valladares, Wilson Palacios and Victor Bernardez for the Catrachos.
The $35 seats were gone in 17 minutes, and the $45 seats sold out Wednesday morning after Honduras qualified for the World Cup. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster-com
Read more here: Michelle Kaufman: Much ado about Mexican soccer - Michelle Kaufman - MiamiHerald-com
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2006/12/07
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29893
Harper Beckham showed that athleticism runs in the family as she scored a goal while playing soccer with friends in LA over the weekend. David was on hand in doting dad mode, taking photos of his daughter and kicking around a ball with his older sons Romeo, Brooklyn, and Cruz. Mom Victoria was also in sports mode in a casual t-shirt and baggy jeans. Harper's now-signature topknot kept her hair out of her face while she followed in her father's soccer star footsteps on the field. This is just the latest completely precious picture-perfect moment from the Beckham's trip to Los Angeles. David and Harper shared adorable kisses during an outing last week.
Pictures: Harper Beckham Playing Soccer | Pictures
Pictures: Harper Beckham Playing Soccer | Pictures
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2006/12/07
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After European group stage qualifying for the 2014 World Cup ended last week, eight nations are left to play for four spots in Brazil. The four final European slots will be decided by a playoff, and Monday afternoon’s unlucky draw in Zurich ensured that one of the world’s greatest players will be absent from next summer’s tournament. The four spots will be decided over two legs, home and away, and the winners will join the eight European group winners in the 32-team field in Brazil.
Iceland was paired with Croatia, Greece with Romania, Ukraine with France. In the cruelest twist of fate, Sweden will play Portugal.
Why is that such a big deal? Well, both Portugal and Sweden feature one of the top-5 players in the world. Striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, from Malmö, regularly scores eye-popping and jaw-dropping goals .
Ibrahimović helped Sweden advance to the round of 16 in the 2006 World Cup, but the country failed to qualify in 2010. At the age of 32, it’s unlikely that Ibrahimović will be around in to 2018 to represent Sweden in Russia. Brazil 2014 is his last chance.
Portugal, meanwhile, is home to Cristiano Ronaldo..
Ronaldo’s international career has been, in general, heartbreaking. Here are his results in major tournaments since 2004.
Lost in the finals of Euro 2004 (to Greece)
Lost in the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup (to France)
Lost in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008 (to Germany)
Lost in the round of 16 in the 2010 World Cup (to Spain)
Lost in the semifinals of Euro 2012 (to Spain)
At 28, there’s a chance that Brazil won’t be Ronaldo’s last World Cup, but he’s currently at the height of his powers. A World Cup without Ronaldo would be like a Masters without Tiger Woods.
One of these men will not be in Brazil next summer. Injustiça!
One of the best soccer players in the world will not be in the 2014 World Cup | For The Win
Iceland was paired with Croatia, Greece with Romania, Ukraine with France. In the cruelest twist of fate, Sweden will play Portugal.
Why is that such a big deal? Well, both Portugal and Sweden feature one of the top-5 players in the world. Striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, from Malmö, regularly scores eye-popping and jaw-dropping goals .
Ibrahimović helped Sweden advance to the round of 16 in the 2006 World Cup, but the country failed to qualify in 2010. At the age of 32, it’s unlikely that Ibrahimović will be around in to 2018 to represent Sweden in Russia. Brazil 2014 is his last chance.
Portugal, meanwhile, is home to Cristiano Ronaldo..
Ronaldo’s international career has been, in general, heartbreaking. Here are his results in major tournaments since 2004.
Lost in the finals of Euro 2004 (to Greece)
Lost in the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup (to France)
Lost in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008 (to Germany)
Lost in the round of 16 in the 2010 World Cup (to Spain)
Lost in the semifinals of Euro 2012 (to Spain)
At 28, there’s a chance that Brazil won’t be Ronaldo’s last World Cup, but he’s currently at the height of his powers. A World Cup without Ronaldo would be like a Masters without Tiger Woods.
One of these men will not be in Brazil next summer. Injustiça!
One of the best soccer players in the world will not be in the 2014 World Cup | For The Win
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2006/12/07
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The moment that Portugal and Sweden were paired in a winner-take-all elimination process, media attention concentrated on the fact that either Cristiano Ronaldo or Zlatan Ibrahimovic would not be going to next year’s World Cup finals. The absence of one or the other will affect the tournament. Their presence unquestionably lifts any team they play for. While Sweden arguably has the greater team spirit to cope should anything happen to Ibrahimovic, the Portuguese have time and again been transcended by the singular skills, bordering on genius, of their captain, Ronaldo.
But the playoff games are not until Nov. 15 and Nov. 19.
This is soccer. This is a sport, a business, that leaves little time for buildup or preparation.
Maybe on Monday, when the playoff draw was made in Zurich, Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic, and their countrymen, thought about the World Cup. But by Tuesday, they had more urgent priorities.
Ronaldo is the highest paid player in the most expensive club side ever put together. He is part of the Real Madrid collection of players who meet Juventus in the Champions League — and the same collective travels to Barcelona for Saturday’s “Clásico,” the pivotal contest in the Spanish league season.
Is there is any other walk of life in which the principal protagonists are expected to be at peak performance in three such diverse tournaments in such a short time?
The schedule affords them no time to think. They play, they rest and recuperate, and if they are not injured they have to be ready to play again, in different circumstances, on different grounds, and perhaps with different teammates on their side.
Right now, perhaps, Ibrahimovic has the easier schedule. His Qatari pay-masters at Paris Saint-Germain have thrown enormous funds at lifting the French club and expect at least a run into the latter stages of the Champions League.
But Real has spent more, and will keep on spending more until the biggest prize in soccer — the European Cup — is back in its trophy cabinet.
“Real’s philosophy remains the same,” the veteran goalkeeper of Juventus, Gianluigi Buffon, commented in the Madrid sports paper Marca on Monday. “Buy great champions, entertain the fans, and maintain the historic prestige of Real Madrid.”
He was referring to Madrid’s so-called galáctico policy through which the current president, Florentino Pérez, has constantly spent world record sums to buy the players he deems to be the ones to bring “La Décima,” the elusive 10th European Cup, to his Bernabéu Stadium.
Pérez, a construction magnate, is unashamed about his spending of Real’s fortunes. As a boy, he watched with his father, Eduardo, as the greats, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskas et al., outplayed any opponents on earth. That team set the ball rolling on the first nine Cups, but not since 2002, not since the team built around Zinedine Zidane, has Real conquered the continent.
It is an obsession on which this president has spent all that the club earns, and more through bank loans. Real Madrid, Pérez says, is historically bound to be the best in the world. He once told me in the board room at the Bernabéu: “Whatever it takes, we will be again the institution that the whole world looks up to. Our history requires it.”
Sports give you nothing for your history. You must buy it, build it, earn it afresh with every passing year, every tournament.
“The reality today is that buying great players is not enough,” Juve’s Buffon said in Marca. “It is better to have a project, balance and patience. Money is a starting point, but it’s not enough in itself.”
Buffon spoke of Juventus as a team of quick tempo, highly organized, pressuring the opponents all over the field. Then he paused. Now 35, Buffon has won everything, including the World Cup, except the Champions League.
“But all the organization,” said Juve’s key man, “can go out of the window the moment Cristiano Ronaldo gets the ball, beats three players, and scores.”
To Madrid’s president, that must sound almost like an endorsement of the galáctico philosophy. Buffon mentioned only Ronaldo, but Real Madrid has paid more, in transfer fee terms, this summer to get Gareth Bale.
It has others — Ángel Di María, Karim Benzema and the exciting young Spaniard Isco — as attacking options. And if all those talents have yet to take La Liga by storm, the squad has shown its priority — its Real Madrid priority — this season by accumulating 10 goals in 2 Champions League games against Galatasaray and Copenhagen.
They will not find scoring such an easy touch against Juventus on Wednesday, despite the Italian champion’s sudden loss of concentration in last Sunday’s 4-2 Serie A defeat against Fiorentina.
But win, lose or draw against Juve, the Madrid players must regroup for the Clásico in Barcelona. This is a contest that stands apart from anything in Spain. It is fueled by politics, by Barça representing Catalonia against rule from Madrid.
In simple terms, it pits Ronaldo (again) against Lionel Messi. It matters beyond the outcome of the league title and beyond the fact that neither side, not Madrid nor Barcelona, has hit its stride in domestic soccer so far this season.
That might sound ridiculous, given that Barça is clear at the top of the league, with eight straight wins and a draw. But Messi has not yet been Messi this season. He has a court case over unpaid taxes hanging over him, he has been battling thigh injury and traveling to lead his country, Argentina, safely through World Cup qualification in the tough South American section.
Still brilliant. But so far this season, this has not been the Mesmeric Messi who year after year has outscored Ronaldo and inspired Barcelona to win the Champions League, and to capture world player of the year awards.
Messi will, barring injury, be at the World Cup next year. Ronaldo has hurdles to overcome, a nation to lift, before he can get there.
Relentless is our expectation.
But the playoff games are not until Nov. 15 and Nov. 19.
This is soccer. This is a sport, a business, that leaves little time for buildup or preparation.
Maybe on Monday, when the playoff draw was made in Zurich, Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic, and their countrymen, thought about the World Cup. But by Tuesday, they had more urgent priorities.
Ronaldo is the highest paid player in the most expensive club side ever put together. He is part of the Real Madrid collection of players who meet Juventus in the Champions League — and the same collective travels to Barcelona for Saturday’s “Clásico,” the pivotal contest in the Spanish league season.
Is there is any other walk of life in which the principal protagonists are expected to be at peak performance in three such diverse tournaments in such a short time?
The schedule affords them no time to think. They play, they rest and recuperate, and if they are not injured they have to be ready to play again, in different circumstances, on different grounds, and perhaps with different teammates on their side.
Right now, perhaps, Ibrahimovic has the easier schedule. His Qatari pay-masters at Paris Saint-Germain have thrown enormous funds at lifting the French club and expect at least a run into the latter stages of the Champions League.
But Real has spent more, and will keep on spending more until the biggest prize in soccer — the European Cup — is back in its trophy cabinet.
“Real’s philosophy remains the same,” the veteran goalkeeper of Juventus, Gianluigi Buffon, commented in the Madrid sports paper Marca on Monday. “Buy great champions, entertain the fans, and maintain the historic prestige of Real Madrid.”
He was referring to Madrid’s so-called galáctico policy through which the current president, Florentino Pérez, has constantly spent world record sums to buy the players he deems to be the ones to bring “La Décima,” the elusive 10th European Cup, to his Bernabéu Stadium.
Pérez, a construction magnate, is unashamed about his spending of Real’s fortunes. As a boy, he watched with his father, Eduardo, as the greats, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskas et al., outplayed any opponents on earth. That team set the ball rolling on the first nine Cups, but not since 2002, not since the team built around Zinedine Zidane, has Real conquered the continent.
It is an obsession on which this president has spent all that the club earns, and more through bank loans. Real Madrid, Pérez says, is historically bound to be the best in the world. He once told me in the board room at the Bernabéu: “Whatever it takes, we will be again the institution that the whole world looks up to. Our history requires it.”
Sports give you nothing for your history. You must buy it, build it, earn it afresh with every passing year, every tournament.
“The reality today is that buying great players is not enough,” Juve’s Buffon said in Marca. “It is better to have a project, balance and patience. Money is a starting point, but it’s not enough in itself.”
Buffon spoke of Juventus as a team of quick tempo, highly organized, pressuring the opponents all over the field. Then he paused. Now 35, Buffon has won everything, including the World Cup, except the Champions League.
“But all the organization,” said Juve’s key man, “can go out of the window the moment Cristiano Ronaldo gets the ball, beats three players, and scores.”
To Madrid’s president, that must sound almost like an endorsement of the galáctico philosophy. Buffon mentioned only Ronaldo, but Real Madrid has paid more, in transfer fee terms, this summer to get Gareth Bale.
It has others — Ángel Di María, Karim Benzema and the exciting young Spaniard Isco — as attacking options. And if all those talents have yet to take La Liga by storm, the squad has shown its priority — its Real Madrid priority — this season by accumulating 10 goals in 2 Champions League games against Galatasaray and Copenhagen.
They will not find scoring such an easy touch against Juventus on Wednesday, despite the Italian champion’s sudden loss of concentration in last Sunday’s 4-2 Serie A defeat against Fiorentina.
But win, lose or draw against Juve, the Madrid players must regroup for the Clásico in Barcelona. This is a contest that stands apart from anything in Spain. It is fueled by politics, by Barça representing Catalonia against rule from Madrid.
In simple terms, it pits Ronaldo (again) against Lionel Messi. It matters beyond the outcome of the league title and beyond the fact that neither side, not Madrid nor Barcelona, has hit its stride in domestic soccer so far this season.
That might sound ridiculous, given that Barça is clear at the top of the league, with eight straight wins and a draw. But Messi has not yet been Messi this season. He has a court case over unpaid taxes hanging over him, he has been battling thigh injury and traveling to lead his country, Argentina, safely through World Cup qualification in the tough South American section.
Still brilliant. But so far this season, this has not been the Mesmeric Messi who year after year has outscored Ronaldo and inspired Barcelona to win the Champions League, and to capture world player of the year awards.
Messi will, barring injury, be at the World Cup next year. Ronaldo has hurdles to overcome, a nation to lift, before he can get there.
Relentless is our expectation.
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
Orlando took a big step toward joining Major League Soccer on Tuesday when the Orange County, Fla., board of supervisors approved a funding plan for construction of a downtown soccer-specific stadium.
Orlando City SC, the USL Pro champion, will begin expedited negotiations toward becoming an MLS expansion franchise in time for the 2015 season. An expansion franchise has already been approved in New York for the 2015 season.
"We'd like Orlando to be the next expansion franchise," MLS President Mark Abbott told the Orlando Sentinel. "We have in place a number of the factors that we think are needed to be successful, a strong leadership and a strong fan base. Once we finalize [a stadium plan], we will have a Major League Soccer team here."
The price tag for the stadium is estimated at $85 million, of which Orlando City FC will contribute $30 million. County commissioners followed city officials in approving the use of funds generated by a local tourist development tax to pay for various venue projects, including the soccer stadium.
When New York's expansion plan was approved earlier this year the expansion fee was an MLS-record $100 million. The league is expected to ask Orlando for $70 million.
Adding a franchise in Florida will help MLS expand its reach into the Southeast, where the league has no presence. But there is some fear the league might be expanding too far, too fast. When New York and Orlando join the league in 2015, MLS will have 21 teams, more than any major European league. Eight years ago MLS consisted of just 12 teams.
The league has several struggling franchises, including Chivas USA. There is also concern that the talent level of top-flight soccer in the U.S. might not be deep enough for continued expansion, with the two new teams creating positions for about 60 more players.
Major League Soccer expansion to Orlando on fast track - latimes-com
Orlando City SC, the USL Pro champion, will begin expedited negotiations toward becoming an MLS expansion franchise in time for the 2015 season. An expansion franchise has already been approved in New York for the 2015 season.
"We'd like Orlando to be the next expansion franchise," MLS President Mark Abbott told the Orlando Sentinel. "We have in place a number of the factors that we think are needed to be successful, a strong leadership and a strong fan base. Once we finalize [a stadium plan], we will have a Major League Soccer team here."
The price tag for the stadium is estimated at $85 million, of which Orlando City FC will contribute $30 million. County commissioners followed city officials in approving the use of funds generated by a local tourist development tax to pay for various venue projects, including the soccer stadium.
When New York's expansion plan was approved earlier this year the expansion fee was an MLS-record $100 million. The league is expected to ask Orlando for $70 million.
Adding a franchise in Florida will help MLS expand its reach into the Southeast, where the league has no presence. But there is some fear the league might be expanding too far, too fast. When New York and Orlando join the league in 2015, MLS will have 21 teams, more than any major European league. Eight years ago MLS consisted of just 12 teams.
The league has several struggling franchises, including Chivas USA. There is also concern that the talent level of top-flight soccer in the U.S. might not be deep enough for continued expansion, with the two new teams creating positions for about 60 more players.
Major League Soccer expansion to Orlando on fast track - latimes-com
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2006/12/07
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With Russia preparing to host two of the biggest sporting events in the world, a professional soccer team from Moscow has been involved in a racism controversy that has led to calls for tougher action.
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, who is black and grew up in Ivory Coast, said he was racially abused by opposing fans during a Champions League match at CSKA Moscow on Wednesday.
The Russian club denied it, but the governing body of European soccer opened disciplinary proceedings against CSKA on Thursday.
"We regret the incident, even though we consider the accusations of racism to be unfounded," CSKA said Thursday in a statement.
Russia will host the Sochi Olympics in February and the 2018 World Cup.
Opinion polls show that many Russians dislike dark-skinned migrants from ex-Soviet nations, and violent xenophobic groups have beaten and killed non-Slavs and anti-racism activists.
Russia has come under scrutiny as host of the 2014 Winter Olympics after a law was passed this year outlawing "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors," which many worry may apply to gay athletes and visitors to the games.
On Wednesday, Toure said a section of CSKA fans abused him with racist chanting during the match, and the City player then complained to the referee.
Besides denying the incident, the Russian team went further by quoting Seydou Doumbia, a striker from Ivory Coast who plays for the Russian team, as saying Toure was overstating what had happened.
"Yes, they're always noisy in supporting the team, and try to put as much pressure as possible on our opponents," Doumbia said, "but they wouldn't ever allow themselves to come out with racist chants. So my Ivory Coast colleague is clearly exaggerating."
City won the match 2-1, but Toure called on UEFA to take action against CSKA.
"I think UEFA has to be stronger, and hold all the clubs and all the fans that do that (responsible)," Toure said. "Maybe they have a stadium ban. For me as an African player it is always sad to hear something like that and we need to do something about it."
Toure also raised the prospect of teams boycotting the 2018 World Cup in Russia if the racism issue isn't dealt with in the interim.
"If we aren't confident at the World Cup, coming to Russia, we don't come," he said, according to RIA Novosti.
On Wednesday, City manager Manuel Pellegrini had echoed the call for action over the chants, saying "it was a pity and I hope we have the right measures."
In the past, Russia has tried to deal with the issue of racism at its stadiums. Some, including Anzhi Makhachkala players Roberto Carlos and Christopher Samba, repeatedly had bananas thrown at them by fans.
After an incident with Samba last year, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko vowed to reduce racism. But such promises haven't been backed up with action and authorities remain reluctant to investigate and punish the culprits.
On Thursday, CSKA also said it was "surprised and disappointed" about Toure's statements, and added that it hadn't found any such chants after checking the video recording of the game, saying that the fans were booing some of the players during the game, irrespective of their ethnicity.
"It's unclear what made the Ivorian midfielder think that it was directed against him," CSKA said.
Bobby Barnes, Europe's top official in the international players' union, said Thursday that the match officials failed to carry out their own protocol.
Toure said he told referee Ovidiu Hategan about the racist chants, expecting that he would speak to the safety officer who should warn the fans that the game will be stopped if the chants didn't end.
"I would certainly hope in line with the hard line stance that UEFA has stated and intends to use in these circumstances they will make a meaningful sanction in this case," Barnes said in a story posted on the FIFPro website. "It's important we send a message now."
UEFA has recently decided that racist chants should involve a partial stadium closure for the first offense and a full stadium closure for repeat offenders. Three clubs this season have had full stadium bans for racism and five had had partial closures.
Previously in Russia, Lokomotiv Moscow fans held up a banner in 2010 thanking an English team for signing their black striker Peter Odemwingie with a picture of a banana. The head of Russia's World Cup bid awkwardly said it wasn't racism, but rather an innocent reference to a colloquial expression meaning a student failure at an exam.
Last year, fans of Zenit St. Petersburg called for non-white and gay players to be excluded from the team. Landscrona, the largest Zenit supporters' club, said that "dark-skinned players are all but forced down Zenit's throat now, which only brings out a negative reaction," and said gay players were "unworthy of our great city."
Moscow Soccer Club Involved in Racism Controversy - ABC News
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, who is black and grew up in Ivory Coast, said he was racially abused by opposing fans during a Champions League match at CSKA Moscow on Wednesday.
The Russian club denied it, but the governing body of European soccer opened disciplinary proceedings against CSKA on Thursday.
"We regret the incident, even though we consider the accusations of racism to be unfounded," CSKA said Thursday in a statement.
Russia will host the Sochi Olympics in February and the 2018 World Cup.
Opinion polls show that many Russians dislike dark-skinned migrants from ex-Soviet nations, and violent xenophobic groups have beaten and killed non-Slavs and anti-racism activists.
Russia has come under scrutiny as host of the 2014 Winter Olympics after a law was passed this year outlawing "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors," which many worry may apply to gay athletes and visitors to the games.
On Wednesday, Toure said a section of CSKA fans abused him with racist chanting during the match, and the City player then complained to the referee.
Besides denying the incident, the Russian team went further by quoting Seydou Doumbia, a striker from Ivory Coast who plays for the Russian team, as saying Toure was overstating what had happened.
"Yes, they're always noisy in supporting the team, and try to put as much pressure as possible on our opponents," Doumbia said, "but they wouldn't ever allow themselves to come out with racist chants. So my Ivory Coast colleague is clearly exaggerating."
City won the match 2-1, but Toure called on UEFA to take action against CSKA.
"I think UEFA has to be stronger, and hold all the clubs and all the fans that do that (responsible)," Toure said. "Maybe they have a stadium ban. For me as an African player it is always sad to hear something like that and we need to do something about it."
Toure also raised the prospect of teams boycotting the 2018 World Cup in Russia if the racism issue isn't dealt with in the interim.
"If we aren't confident at the World Cup, coming to Russia, we don't come," he said, according to RIA Novosti.
On Wednesday, City manager Manuel Pellegrini had echoed the call for action over the chants, saying "it was a pity and I hope we have the right measures."
In the past, Russia has tried to deal with the issue of racism at its stadiums. Some, including Anzhi Makhachkala players Roberto Carlos and Christopher Samba, repeatedly had bananas thrown at them by fans.
After an incident with Samba last year, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko vowed to reduce racism. But such promises haven't been backed up with action and authorities remain reluctant to investigate and punish the culprits.
On Thursday, CSKA also said it was "surprised and disappointed" about Toure's statements, and added that it hadn't found any such chants after checking the video recording of the game, saying that the fans were booing some of the players during the game, irrespective of their ethnicity.
"It's unclear what made the Ivorian midfielder think that it was directed against him," CSKA said.
Bobby Barnes, Europe's top official in the international players' union, said Thursday that the match officials failed to carry out their own protocol.
Toure said he told referee Ovidiu Hategan about the racist chants, expecting that he would speak to the safety officer who should warn the fans that the game will be stopped if the chants didn't end.
"I would certainly hope in line with the hard line stance that UEFA has stated and intends to use in these circumstances they will make a meaningful sanction in this case," Barnes said in a story posted on the FIFPro website. "It's important we send a message now."
UEFA has recently decided that racist chants should involve a partial stadium closure for the first offense and a full stadium closure for repeat offenders. Three clubs this season have had full stadium bans for racism and five had had partial closures.
Previously in Russia, Lokomotiv Moscow fans held up a banner in 2010 thanking an English team for signing their black striker Peter Odemwingie with a picture of a banana. The head of Russia's World Cup bid awkwardly said it wasn't racism, but rather an innocent reference to a colloquial expression meaning a student failure at an exam.
Last year, fans of Zenit St. Petersburg called for non-white and gay players to be excluded from the team. Landscrona, the largest Zenit supporters' club, said that "dark-skinned players are all but forced down Zenit's throat now, which only brings out a negative reaction," and said gay players were "unworthy of our great city."
Moscow Soccer Club Involved in Racism Controversy - ABC News
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For Orlando's Major League Soccer proponents, it's like trying to decide if you want to go for a Toyota Camry or a Lexus.
Central Florida is buying its way into good company with the $84 million soccer stadium that Orange County leaders approved this week, which is expected to be enough to score an MLS expansion franchise. But for a little extra green, the downtown stadium could be elite.
So, even though Orlando boosters were rebuffed by the Legislature last spring when they sought a sales-tax rebate for the stadium, plans are afoot to ask again for $30 million in tax breaks, which could pave the way for the grander $114 million version.
"I think it's something that's good for the community, it's good for the state, and boy, does it help make this city more of a world-class community," said Sen. David Simmons, an Altamonte Springs Republican who plans to push for the tax break next spring.
Those extra state dollars would pay for amenities designed to generate more profit for the building's main tenant, the Orlando City Soccer Club. That includes more luxury suites and premium club seats, a second "executive club," a bar for fan groups, additional regular seats and more video screens that can display sponsors' advertising.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's office says it's too soon to say when the city would need lawmakers to approve the incentive. Construction on the 18,000-seat stadium isn't expected to begin until sometime next spring once the city finishes acquiring the land along Church Street in Parramore, a block west of the Amway Center. Construction could take 15 months, with a summer 2015 opening.
"Every option is open to us, so we'll see," said Orlando lobbyist Kathy Russell.
It is unclear if the state action could wait until 2015, when Central Florida will have two lawmakers running the Legislature again: House Speaker-designate Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and Senate President-designate Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando.
"I generally support the idea of funding," Gardiner said. "I have not looked at the agreement that just passed the county to understand when the funding would be necessary."
Both pushed the stadium deal hard last spring, but it ultimately got weighted down to a $350 million incentive deal for renovating the home of the Miami Dolphins. Other sports facilities, including the Jacksonville Jaguars and Daytona International Speedway, also got in line.
That prompted Gardiner to offer a bill that would have required state economists to rank which projects would produce the biggest return on investment to taxpayers. They would then have to compete for $13 million annually in subsidies. That idea ultimately died in the House, but lawmakers plan to revive it.
"I would rather see [Orlando's stadium] rated and let the Legislature see what the return on investment for taxpayer dollars is," Crisafulli said. "You're responsible for taxpayer dollars, and I think we need to see what the best investment is. That would be an across the board answer for all these organizations."
Soccer boosters could seek $30M more from lawmakers - Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida is buying its way into good company with the $84 million soccer stadium that Orange County leaders approved this week, which is expected to be enough to score an MLS expansion franchise. But for a little extra green, the downtown stadium could be elite.
So, even though Orlando boosters were rebuffed by the Legislature last spring when they sought a sales-tax rebate for the stadium, plans are afoot to ask again for $30 million in tax breaks, which could pave the way for the grander $114 million version.
"I think it's something that's good for the community, it's good for the state, and boy, does it help make this city more of a world-class community," said Sen. David Simmons, an Altamonte Springs Republican who plans to push for the tax break next spring.
Those extra state dollars would pay for amenities designed to generate more profit for the building's main tenant, the Orlando City Soccer Club. That includes more luxury suites and premium club seats, a second "executive club," a bar for fan groups, additional regular seats and more video screens that can display sponsors' advertising.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's office says it's too soon to say when the city would need lawmakers to approve the incentive. Construction on the 18,000-seat stadium isn't expected to begin until sometime next spring once the city finishes acquiring the land along Church Street in Parramore, a block west of the Amway Center. Construction could take 15 months, with a summer 2015 opening.
"Every option is open to us, so we'll see," said Orlando lobbyist Kathy Russell.
It is unclear if the state action could wait until 2015, when Central Florida will have two lawmakers running the Legislature again: House Speaker-designate Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, and Senate President-designate Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando.
"I generally support the idea of funding," Gardiner said. "I have not looked at the agreement that just passed the county to understand when the funding would be necessary."
Both pushed the stadium deal hard last spring, but it ultimately got weighted down to a $350 million incentive deal for renovating the home of the Miami Dolphins. Other sports facilities, including the Jacksonville Jaguars and Daytona International Speedway, also got in line.
That prompted Gardiner to offer a bill that would have required state economists to rank which projects would produce the biggest return on investment to taxpayers. They would then have to compete for $13 million annually in subsidies. That idea ultimately died in the House, but lawmakers plan to revive it.
"I would rather see [Orlando's stadium] rated and let the Legislature see what the return on investment for taxpayer dollars is," Crisafulli said. "You're responsible for taxpayer dollars, and I think we need to see what the best investment is. That would be an across the board answer for all these organizations."
Soccer boosters could seek $30M more from lawmakers - Orlando Sentinel
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English soccer team Manchester United have issued an unreserved apology after a weekly email was sent out to supporters bearing a Swastika-style team logo and a phrase linked to Nazism.
In addition to the image, that bears a remarkable similarity to the logo of the German Nazi Party, the “United Uncovered” email carries the headline “New Order” – a term linked to Nazism after Adolf Hitler’s 1941 call for a European New Order – above images of key players Adnan Januzaj, David de Gea and Danny Welbeck.
The image immediately caused widespread outrage on Twitter and forced Manchester United – who play in the British Premier League—to issue the apology via their Head of Media, David Sternberg.
Sternberg tweeted “The creative is completely inappropriate; we apologise unreservedly and are taking appropriate internal action.”
The UK Daily Telegraph reports that the soccer giants have taken action to prevent further distribution of the United Uncovered email, with senior figures expressing shock at the incident.
It is not the first time British soccer has suffered from controversy related to Nazism. In 1996 Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich, playing for Aston Villa, was fined $1,600 for making a Nazi salute to opposing Tottenham Hotspur fans – a team known for their sizeable Jewish following.
In 2013, Premier League team Sunderland sparked outrage by hiring Paolo Di Canio as head coach - a self proclaimed fascist who as a player had caused controversy for praising Mussolini and making fascist salutes after scoring goals when he played for Italian team Lazio.
Soccer giants Manchester United apologize after Swastika-style logo sent to fans | Fox News
In addition to the image, that bears a remarkable similarity to the logo of the German Nazi Party, the “United Uncovered” email carries the headline “New Order” – a term linked to Nazism after Adolf Hitler’s 1941 call for a European New Order – above images of key players Adnan Januzaj, David de Gea and Danny Welbeck.
The image immediately caused widespread outrage on Twitter and forced Manchester United – who play in the British Premier League—to issue the apology via their Head of Media, David Sternberg.
Sternberg tweeted “The creative is completely inappropriate; we apologise unreservedly and are taking appropriate internal action.”
The UK Daily Telegraph reports that the soccer giants have taken action to prevent further distribution of the United Uncovered email, with senior figures expressing shock at the incident.
It is not the first time British soccer has suffered from controversy related to Nazism. In 1996 Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich, playing for Aston Villa, was fined $1,600 for making a Nazi salute to opposing Tottenham Hotspur fans – a team known for their sizeable Jewish following.
In 2013, Premier League team Sunderland sparked outrage by hiring Paolo Di Canio as head coach - a self proclaimed fascist who as a player had caused controversy for praising Mussolini and making fascist salutes after scoring goals when he played for Italian team Lazio.
Soccer giants Manchester United apologize after Swastika-style logo sent to fans | Fox News
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One American enjoys a unique view of life in Iran – from the sidelines of Tehran’s main soccer stadium typically packed with more than 100,000 screaming fans.
Dan Gaspar, 58, is the assistant coach of the Iranian national soccer team.
"My experience is not one I've seen on TV or read in a newspaper. I live here, it's real life," said Gaspar.
"It may sound strange to most people, but I've worked on four continents and Iran is one of the safest places I've worked in," he said. "When I read and hear and see things through the media and then go out to the balcony of my apartment and look into Tehran that is not what I see."
'No negative reactions'
Gaspar, who spends all but six weeks of the year living in Tehran, says the typical American representation of Iran as an isolated place does not resemble his experience.
"You would be surprised, it is very multicultural, far more than I had anticipated," he said. "In the apartment complex I live in you often see lots of other internationals."
Socially, Gaspar says he spends time with the other staff on the soccer team, cooking meals for each other at home. Although, he did speak highly of Tehran’s restaurant scene.
"I have eaten Mexican food, I have eaten Italian food, French food," he said. "There are no bars and no night-life, publicly, so going out to restaurants is a big part of the way people socialize. Their restaurants are of a high standard, compared to any other country in the world."
While conceding that the universally warm reception he has received may have something to do with his involvement in the increasingly successful national team, he said he’s generally had a positive experience.
"Out and about in the city, when people discover that I'm an American they are interested by it," he said. "It opens up a discussion, in a positive way. I have had no negative reactions."
Winding path to Tehran
Gaspar took a winding path to Tehran. He began coaching in the 1970s in the amateur soccer leagues in Connecticut. From there, he went on to several roles in Portugal -- Gaspar has duel Portuguese-American citizenship and is multilingual -- before returning in 1996 for a stint on the staff at the New York Metro Stars, where he reached the MLS playoffs.
He has also worked in Japan’s J-League and in South Africa. But it was working under head coach Carlos Queiroz on the Portuguese national team which offered his unusual avenue to Tehran.
Queiroz is something of a legend in coaching circles, having won trophies at Real Madrid and Manchester United. But he was fired as head coach of Portugal in 2010 after allegedly insulting an anti-doping team attempting to take samples at his training ground.
In April 2011 Queiroz was announced as Iran’s new head coach -- quite a coup for a relatively small soccer nation -- and he asked Gaspar to come with him as his assistant and goalkeeping coach.
“Professionally I felt this was an incredible and interesting challenge. It’s a unique opportunity,” Gaspar said.
While in the U.S., soccer takes a back seat to the pigskin, baseball mitt, and basketball hoop. In his new home, the world’s biggest sport is firmly center stage.
“Iran is a passionate country about football,” said Gasper, using the term for soccer outside the U.S. “There is no doubt that the Iran fans are one of the most passionate fans in the world -- they love their football.”
“It’s not uncommon to have 120,000 fans attend our matches at the Azadi stadium, in Tehran. The atmosphere is electric with a sea of green, red, and white flags filling the stadium, along with the most intense noise-levels I’ve ever heard from the crowd, supporting their football heroes,” added Gaspar, who has been in the job as assistant and goalkeeper coach since 2011.
Gaspar claims his "expertise is not politics," but he has met both the recently elected President Hassan Rouhani and his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – who he said had an impressive knowledge of soccer.
A moment of 'national optimism'
Rouhani's election on June 15 came at a particularly interesting time. It was followed three days later by Gaspar helping guide the Iranian soccer team to victory in Ulsan, South Korea -- and with it, to qualification for next year's World Cup in Brazil. He said these two events created a "perfect storm" which created an "incredible feeling of national optimism."
"There was a happiness among the people and you could sense there was this hope that things would improve," he said.
He described helping Iran to qualify for the World Cup as the happiest moment in his career.
"Imagine this: You have the pressure of 75 million people on your shoulders, with the hopes and aspirations that we qualify their nation to the 2014 Brazil World Cup, and we delivered that mission,” he said.
“The celebration after in the locker room after the South Korean match, when we qualified for the tournament, was very emotional. There were tears of joy, hugs, singing, and plenty of high fives.
But he said even he was surprised when the Iranian ambassador to South Korea brought a ballot box to the team's hotel where they were staying in the run-up to the qualifier, just so players and staff could vote in the election even though they were out of the country.
"I don't think anyone from the outside world would believe that kind of thing would take place," he said. The two countries have only played twice before. Iran beat the U.S. 2-1 at the 1998 World Cup in a game of historic significance, both in terms of sport and diplomacy. This was followed by a non-competitive game in Pasadena, Calif., 18 months later.
Gaspar realizes the how important playing another match next year could be, coming at a crucial diplomatic stage between the nations.
“For 90 minutes it will be an ideal gesture towards diplomacy,” he said “Who knows, football may be a launching pad towards respectful, honest and peaceful solutions between nations?
“
Dan Gaspar, 58, is the assistant coach of the Iranian national soccer team.
"My experience is not one I've seen on TV or read in a newspaper. I live here, it's real life," said Gaspar.
"It may sound strange to most people, but I've worked on four continents and Iran is one of the safest places I've worked in," he said. "When I read and hear and see things through the media and then go out to the balcony of my apartment and look into Tehran that is not what I see."
'No negative reactions'
Gaspar, who spends all but six weeks of the year living in Tehran, says the typical American representation of Iran as an isolated place does not resemble his experience.
"You would be surprised, it is very multicultural, far more than I had anticipated," he said. "In the apartment complex I live in you often see lots of other internationals."
Socially, Gaspar says he spends time with the other staff on the soccer team, cooking meals for each other at home. Although, he did speak highly of Tehran’s restaurant scene.
"I have eaten Mexican food, I have eaten Italian food, French food," he said. "There are no bars and no night-life, publicly, so going out to restaurants is a big part of the way people socialize. Their restaurants are of a high standard, compared to any other country in the world."
While conceding that the universally warm reception he has received may have something to do with his involvement in the increasingly successful national team, he said he’s generally had a positive experience.
"Out and about in the city, when people discover that I'm an American they are interested by it," he said. "It opens up a discussion, in a positive way. I have had no negative reactions."
Winding path to Tehran
Gaspar took a winding path to Tehran. He began coaching in the 1970s in the amateur soccer leagues in Connecticut. From there, he went on to several roles in Portugal -- Gaspar has duel Portuguese-American citizenship and is multilingual -- before returning in 1996 for a stint on the staff at the New York Metro Stars, where he reached the MLS playoffs.
He has also worked in Japan’s J-League and in South Africa. But it was working under head coach Carlos Queiroz on the Portuguese national team which offered his unusual avenue to Tehran.
Queiroz is something of a legend in coaching circles, having won trophies at Real Madrid and Manchester United. But he was fired as head coach of Portugal in 2010 after allegedly insulting an anti-doping team attempting to take samples at his training ground.
In April 2011 Queiroz was announced as Iran’s new head coach -- quite a coup for a relatively small soccer nation -- and he asked Gaspar to come with him as his assistant and goalkeeping coach.
“Professionally I felt this was an incredible and interesting challenge. It’s a unique opportunity,” Gaspar said.
While in the U.S., soccer takes a back seat to the pigskin, baseball mitt, and basketball hoop. In his new home, the world’s biggest sport is firmly center stage.
“Iran is a passionate country about football,” said Gasper, using the term for soccer outside the U.S. “There is no doubt that the Iran fans are one of the most passionate fans in the world -- they love their football.”
“It’s not uncommon to have 120,000 fans attend our matches at the Azadi stadium, in Tehran. The atmosphere is electric with a sea of green, red, and white flags filling the stadium, along with the most intense noise-levels I’ve ever heard from the crowd, supporting their football heroes,” added Gaspar, who has been in the job as assistant and goalkeeper coach since 2011.
Gaspar claims his "expertise is not politics," but he has met both the recently elected President Hassan Rouhani and his predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – who he said had an impressive knowledge of soccer.
A moment of 'national optimism'
Rouhani's election on June 15 came at a particularly interesting time. It was followed three days later by Gaspar helping guide the Iranian soccer team to victory in Ulsan, South Korea -- and with it, to qualification for next year's World Cup in Brazil. He said these two events created a "perfect storm" which created an "incredible feeling of national optimism."
"There was a happiness among the people and you could sense there was this hope that things would improve," he said.
He described helping Iran to qualify for the World Cup as the happiest moment in his career.
"Imagine this: You have the pressure of 75 million people on your shoulders, with the hopes and aspirations that we qualify their nation to the 2014 Brazil World Cup, and we delivered that mission,” he said.
“The celebration after in the locker room after the South Korean match, when we qualified for the tournament, was very emotional. There were tears of joy, hugs, singing, and plenty of high fives.
But he said even he was surprised when the Iranian ambassador to South Korea brought a ballot box to the team's hotel where they were staying in the run-up to the qualifier, just so players and staff could vote in the election even though they were out of the country.
"I don't think anyone from the outside world would believe that kind of thing would take place," he said. The two countries have only played twice before. Iran beat the U.S. 2-1 at the 1998 World Cup in a game of historic significance, both in terms of sport and diplomacy. This was followed by a non-competitive game in Pasadena, Calif., 18 months later.
Gaspar realizes the how important playing another match next year could be, coming at a crucial diplomatic stage between the nations.
“For 90 minutes it will be an ideal gesture towards diplomacy,” he said “Who knows, football may be a launching pad towards respectful, honest and peaceful solutions between nations?
“
Join:
2006/12/07
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29893
Retired England soccer star David Beckham has chosen Miami for a new U.S. Major League Soccer expansion team, a source familiar with the negotiations said on Tuesday.
The former England captain who retired earlier this year after stints with Manchester United, Real Madrid and the MLS club L.A. Galaxy, had been considering several locations and toured Miami this summer, meeting with city and county leaders.
His MLS player contract included an option to create a new team for $25 million.
Beckham was still putting together a team of investors, the source said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Beckham's plans have yet to be officially announced.
His representatives are already looking at sites for a purpose-built soccer-only stadium, according to a well-placed source in Miami's business community.
"They have people looking real hard. They want to be in the urban core," the person said.
A fan group which has been campaigning for a team to come to the city welcomed the news. Julio Caballero, spokesman for the group, which calls itself MLS Miami Bid, posted "It's our time," on the group's Facebook page.
MLS confirmed it was in discussions with Beckham but declined to confirm if a deal had been struck.
"We are continuing our discussions with David Beckham regarding future ownership of an MLS expansion team," said Dan Courtemanche, a spokesman for MLS.
"Our policy regarding discussions with potential expansion team owners is that we keep those conversations private until the individuals we are speaking with decide they want to go public with their plans. Thus, it is more appropriate for David Beckham to comment on his plans."
Miami officials also reacted cautiously to the news. "We've not had any official notification that David Beckham has chosen Miami for a new Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise," Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a statement.
"That said, I join the hundreds of thousands of soccer fans throughout South Florida who are ready and eagerly waiting for an MLS team to be established in Miami. A world-class community like Miami-Dade County, also known as the Gateway to the Americas, would be a fitting home for the world's most popular sport."
The greater Miami area has a large and growing Latin American population and local sports bars always draw large crowds during the World Cup soccer tournament every four years.
More than 70,000 fans attended an International Champions Cup match in Miami between Real Madrid and Chelsea in August.
PREVIOUS TEAMS
The city briefly had an MLS team, the Miami Fusion, which played in neighboring Fort Lauderdale. It joined MLS in 1998 but was closed by the then struggling league after four seasons.
The only professional team in the area is the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, which plays in the second-tier North American Football League.
When he was in Miami in June, Beckham visited two potential stadiums and declared Miami an "exciting" venue for a top-flight soccer team.
Beckham visited Sun Life Stadium, home to the NFL's Miami Dolphins, whose owner Stephen Ross has expressed interest in investing in soccer events, and met with the Dolphins Chief Executive Mike Dee.
Sun Life can hold around 75,000 fans and has hosted several international soccer friendlies in recent years but may be considered overly large for an MLS team.
Together with British entrepreneur Simon Fuller, whose management company 19 Entertainment handles Beckham's business affairs, Beckham later visited a 20,000-seat stadium at Florida International University.
Beckham was also accompanied by Bolivian-born billionaire Marcelo Claure, chief executive officer of Brightstar Corporation, a Miami-based wireless services company, who is also an avid soccer fan and owns one of Bolivia's top clubs, Bolivar.
Some sources have suggested Beckham might also be looking at the Miami Marlins baseball stadium as a temporary venue until a new soccer-only stadium is built.
David Beckham picks Miami for new U.S. Major League Soccer team -source | Reuters
The former England captain who retired earlier this year after stints with Manchester United, Real Madrid and the MLS club L.A. Galaxy, had been considering several locations and toured Miami this summer, meeting with city and county leaders.
His MLS player contract included an option to create a new team for $25 million.
Beckham was still putting together a team of investors, the source said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Beckham's plans have yet to be officially announced.
His representatives are already looking at sites for a purpose-built soccer-only stadium, according to a well-placed source in Miami's business community.
"They have people looking real hard. They want to be in the urban core," the person said.
A fan group which has been campaigning for a team to come to the city welcomed the news. Julio Caballero, spokesman for the group, which calls itself MLS Miami Bid, posted "It's our time," on the group's Facebook page.
MLS confirmed it was in discussions with Beckham but declined to confirm if a deal had been struck.
"We are continuing our discussions with David Beckham regarding future ownership of an MLS expansion team," said Dan Courtemanche, a spokesman for MLS.
"Our policy regarding discussions with potential expansion team owners is that we keep those conversations private until the individuals we are speaking with decide they want to go public with their plans. Thus, it is more appropriate for David Beckham to comment on his plans."
Miami officials also reacted cautiously to the news. "We've not had any official notification that David Beckham has chosen Miami for a new Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise," Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in a statement.
"That said, I join the hundreds of thousands of soccer fans throughout South Florida who are ready and eagerly waiting for an MLS team to be established in Miami. A world-class community like Miami-Dade County, also known as the Gateway to the Americas, would be a fitting home for the world's most popular sport."
The greater Miami area has a large and growing Latin American population and local sports bars always draw large crowds during the World Cup soccer tournament every four years.
More than 70,000 fans attended an International Champions Cup match in Miami between Real Madrid and Chelsea in August.
PREVIOUS TEAMS
The city briefly had an MLS team, the Miami Fusion, which played in neighboring Fort Lauderdale. It joined MLS in 1998 but was closed by the then struggling league after four seasons.
The only professional team in the area is the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, which plays in the second-tier North American Football League.
When he was in Miami in June, Beckham visited two potential stadiums and declared Miami an "exciting" venue for a top-flight soccer team.
Beckham visited Sun Life Stadium, home to the NFL's Miami Dolphins, whose owner Stephen Ross has expressed interest in investing in soccer events, and met with the Dolphins Chief Executive Mike Dee.
Sun Life can hold around 75,000 fans and has hosted several international soccer friendlies in recent years but may be considered overly large for an MLS team.
Together with British entrepreneur Simon Fuller, whose management company 19 Entertainment handles Beckham's business affairs, Beckham later visited a 20,000-seat stadium at Florida International University.
Beckham was also accompanied by Bolivian-born billionaire Marcelo Claure, chief executive officer of Brightstar Corporation, a Miami-based wireless services company, who is also an avid soccer fan and owns one of Bolivia's top clubs, Bolivar.
Some sources have suggested Beckham might also be looking at the Miami Marlins baseball stadium as a temporary venue until a new soccer-only stadium is built.
David Beckham picks Miami for new U.S. Major League Soccer team -source | Reuters
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The wife of a kidnapped soccer star was left horrified after discovering her husband’s severed head on her doorstep.
Brazilian Joao Rodrigo Silva Santos was last seen getting into a car earlier this week and his wife and police became concerned for his welfare after he failed to return home.
Police in Rio de Janeiro said they believed the former star had been targeted by drug gangs due to his wife Geisa’s job at a police station.
The 35-year-old had played for several teams in his native city as well as internationally, the Mirror reported.
His head was found inside his own backpack with the eyes and tongue removed.
A relative of the family spoke of his shock over the death and said it had come as a complete surprise to Geisa.
“She was getting ready to go to work at 5.30am when she heard a noise, opened the door and saw his rucksack. Inside was his head. From what I know, neither had any enemies,” he said.
It is understood the body of the soccer player has not yet been found.
Wife of soccer star finds his severed head | New York Post
Brazilian Joao Rodrigo Silva Santos was last seen getting into a car earlier this week and his wife and police became concerned for his welfare after he failed to return home.
Police in Rio de Janeiro said they believed the former star had been targeted by drug gangs due to his wife Geisa’s job at a police station.
The 35-year-old had played for several teams in his native city as well as internationally, the Mirror reported.
His head was found inside his own backpack with the eyes and tongue removed.
A relative of the family spoke of his shock over the death and said it had come as a complete surprise to Geisa.
“She was getting ready to go to work at 5.30am when she heard a noise, opened the door and saw his rucksack. Inside was his head. From what I know, neither had any enemies,” he said.
It is understood the body of the soccer player has not yet been found.
Wife of soccer star finds his severed head | New York Post
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2006/12/07
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David Beckham fits South Florida like café con leche. The global soccer icon and his pop star wife, Victoria, are glitz and glamour personified. They would look perfect sitting courtside at Miami Heat games, and dining amongst the rich and beautiful at Prime 112.
Which is why the thought of Beckham owning a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami has had local fans and media hyperventilating since last June, when he showed up to explore the area (and watch a Heat playoff game) with Bolivian billionaire Marcelo Claure, founder and CEO of Brightstar Corp., a Miami-based global wireless distributor.
The Beckham hype machine was running full steam last Wednesday, when it leaked that Beckham, who had targeted Miami as his No. 1 choice all along, had, in fact, chosen Miami as the place he’d like to bring an MLS team.
As part of his contract with MLS six years ago, he was given the option to buy a franchise for a deeply discounted $25 million upon his retirement. He retired last spring, said he’d like to exercise the option, and word is he hopes to present his plan to the league board of directors by the end of the year.
The Beckham marketing people are masters at keeping his name in the news, so last week’s book launch, a global digital book signing, and the Miami MLS news grabbed worldwide headlines.
Can Miami become a big-time MLS market? That is Beckham’s $25 million question.
Not to mention: Is Beckham’s star power enough to turn the fickle South Florida sports market into a passionate MLS audience? Will Miami’s sophisticated soccer-savvy fans, who lead the nation in TV ratings for World Cups and European league matches, ever care as much about Real Salt Lake as they do Real Madrid? FC Barcelona drew 71,000 at Sun Life Stadium for an exhibition match against Chivas Guadalajara last summer. But will those same fans (some might call them soccer snobs) show up to watch a Miami MLS team play FC Dallas?
Can Miami come close to the Seattle Sounders’ league-leading average attendance of 44,038 — which is double the Mariners’ attendance and would rank second in Major League Baseball behind the L.A. Dodgers?
It is a complicated set of questions, which is why Beckham has spent the past six months vetting potential investors and consulting with business advisors. The project will likely cost a couple of hundred million dollars when you include a stadium and player salaries. Beckham’s management company, 19 Entertainment, is run by British entrepreneur and American Idol creator Simon Fuller, who figures to be a major player in Beckham’s MLS team, if it happens.
Beckham and Fuller are not known to make rash decisions. They do their due diligence. And right now, they’ve got as much homework as a Harvard medical student.
“It ain’t gonna be easy, no matter how big a celebrity David Beckham is,” said Tom Mulroy, president of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, who play in the second-tier NASL. “Yes, Beckham’s huge. He bends over, people write about it. He’s news. He’s a celebrity. And anything that helps the sport I love is great. But it’s not as simple as, ‘OK, Beckham wants to be here, let’s do this.’ ”
Domestic soccer is a much harder sell in South Florida than international soccer. The melting pot of nationalities makes it a natural soccer hotbed, but those immigrants’ hearts remain with their favorite teams abroad. Their perception of American soccer must be changed.
Full Story: David Beckham’s bid to bring soccer to S. Fla. and win over fans is no easy task - Soccer | Fútbol - MiamiHerald-com
Which is why the thought of Beckham owning a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami has had local fans and media hyperventilating since last June, when he showed up to explore the area (and watch a Heat playoff game) with Bolivian billionaire Marcelo Claure, founder and CEO of Brightstar Corp., a Miami-based global wireless distributor.
The Beckham hype machine was running full steam last Wednesday, when it leaked that Beckham, who had targeted Miami as his No. 1 choice all along, had, in fact, chosen Miami as the place he’d like to bring an MLS team.
As part of his contract with MLS six years ago, he was given the option to buy a franchise for a deeply discounted $25 million upon his retirement. He retired last spring, said he’d like to exercise the option, and word is he hopes to present his plan to the league board of directors by the end of the year.
The Beckham marketing people are masters at keeping his name in the news, so last week’s book launch, a global digital book signing, and the Miami MLS news grabbed worldwide headlines.
Can Miami become a big-time MLS market? That is Beckham’s $25 million question.
Not to mention: Is Beckham’s star power enough to turn the fickle South Florida sports market into a passionate MLS audience? Will Miami’s sophisticated soccer-savvy fans, who lead the nation in TV ratings for World Cups and European league matches, ever care as much about Real Salt Lake as they do Real Madrid? FC Barcelona drew 71,000 at Sun Life Stadium for an exhibition match against Chivas Guadalajara last summer. But will those same fans (some might call them soccer snobs) show up to watch a Miami MLS team play FC Dallas?
Can Miami come close to the Seattle Sounders’ league-leading average attendance of 44,038 — which is double the Mariners’ attendance and would rank second in Major League Baseball behind the L.A. Dodgers?
It is a complicated set of questions, which is why Beckham has spent the past six months vetting potential investors and consulting with business advisors. The project will likely cost a couple of hundred million dollars when you include a stadium and player salaries. Beckham’s management company, 19 Entertainment, is run by British entrepreneur and American Idol creator Simon Fuller, who figures to be a major player in Beckham’s MLS team, if it happens.
Beckham and Fuller are not known to make rash decisions. They do their due diligence. And right now, they’ve got as much homework as a Harvard medical student.
“It ain’t gonna be easy, no matter how big a celebrity David Beckham is,” said Tom Mulroy, president of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, who play in the second-tier NASL. “Yes, Beckham’s huge. He bends over, people write about it. He’s news. He’s a celebrity. And anything that helps the sport I love is great. But it’s not as simple as, ‘OK, Beckham wants to be here, let’s do this.’ ”
Domestic soccer is a much harder sell in South Florida than international soccer. The melting pot of nationalities makes it a natural soccer hotbed, but those immigrants’ hearts remain with their favorite teams abroad. Their perception of American soccer must be changed.
Full Story: David Beckham’s bid to bring soccer to S. Fla. and win over fans is no easy task - Soccer | Fútbol - MiamiHerald-com
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2006/12/07
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On the eve of the state playoffs, there was still some important high school soccer happenings on Sunday and NJ-com had you covered.
At Kean University, No. 8 Scotch Plains had four different goal scorers as it three-peated as Union County Tournament champs, after defeating Elizabeth, 4-2, in the championship game. // Full Game Report
In Gladstone, James Durcan had a hat trick as Gill St. Bernard's won its second consecutive Prep B Tournament, defeating Montclair Kimberley, 4-1. // Game Recap
In regular season action in West Orange, No. 5 Seton Hall Prep won a 3-2 overtime thriller over No. 9 Montclair and clinch the Super Essex Conference-American Division title for the fourth time in five years. // Game Recap
Also, coming Monday, NJ-com previews all 20 sections for the NJSIAA Boys Soccer State Tournament.
Boys soccer: Results and links for Sunday, Nov. 3 - NJ-com
At Kean University, No. 8 Scotch Plains had four different goal scorers as it three-peated as Union County Tournament champs, after defeating Elizabeth, 4-2, in the championship game. // Full Game Report
In Gladstone, James Durcan had a hat trick as Gill St. Bernard's won its second consecutive Prep B Tournament, defeating Montclair Kimberley, 4-1. // Game Recap
In regular season action in West Orange, No. 5 Seton Hall Prep won a 3-2 overtime thriller over No. 9 Montclair and clinch the Super Essex Conference-American Division title for the fourth time in five years. // Game Recap
Also, coming Monday, NJ-com previews all 20 sections for the NJSIAA Boys Soccer State Tournament.
Boys soccer: Results and links for Sunday, Nov. 3 - NJ-com
Join:
2006/12/07
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Belgrade, Serbia’s, “Eternal Derby” is always among soccer’s most heated games. Fans of both teams, Red Star and Partizan Belgrade, did their best to reinforce that image Saturday. The Superliga (Serbian first division) game between the fierce city rivals was halted for 10 minutes early in the second half after Partizan fans lit several bonfires in Red Star’s Marakana stadium. Smoke billowed through the 40,000-seat stadium, threatening the safety of players and fans alike, and it took two fire trucks (along with scores of riot police) to put out the blazes. Crowd trouble usually mars the Eternal Derby, and the latest edition followed the script. Police arrested dozens of hooligans for fighting on the outskirts of Belgrade — miles away from the stadium — in the hours before kickoff. Red Star fans lit flares and set off fireworks inside the stadium before the start of the game. Partizan fans were standing on concrete steps because Red Star officials removed the plastic seats (where they would have been sitting) to prevent rival fans from using them as missiles or kindling. Yet, the Partisan fans still managed to set fire to anything they could. The game continued after order was restored. Red Star won 1-0 to move within a point of their league-leading rivals in the Superliga standings. The Partizan fans’ attempts at lighting an eternal flame may have failed, but the Eternal Derby remains hot and nonsensical and probably will stay that way.
Read more at: Serbian Soccer Fans Set Fire to Stadium, Continue Madness of ‘Eternal Derby’ (Video) | Soccer | NESN-com
Read more at: Serbian Soccer Fans Set Fire to Stadium, Continue Madness of ‘Eternal Derby’ (Video) | Soccer | NESN-com
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2006/12/07
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It's no coincidence that some of the world's most prolific writers have Bovada Sportsbook in there list of what I feel to be the Nr: 1 greatest sports books ever.
Welcome!!
Welcome!!
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If Orlando’s ongoing, seemingly unstoppable efforts to land that official MLS expansion invitation was a player on the field, we’d say that man of the moment “in form.” Everything that area leaders or the Orlando City organization does seems to nail the sweet spot – even if only accidentally so.
Today the club announced its intention to move into a smaller venue for the 2014 season, a 5,000-seat venue at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. This is a stop-gap while the club’s home, the Florida Citrus Bowl, undergoes renovation.
Thing is, it works out great. There’s nothing wrong with creating some demand while the momentum builds for an MLS entrance. And having a smaller venue will give the Lions a look of success (assuming they can fill the smaller venue, that is). Not saying that what the club hasn’t done inside the big ol’ Citrus Bowl. Just saying that appearances count for a lot … and a small, full ground sometimes rings that bell of success more than greater numbers inside a larger ground.
Speaking of MLS expansion, this piece is all about why St. Louis doesn’t have a team in the league.
It’s a weird report, though. Because it doesn’t mention local attorney Jeff Cooper and the MLS bid that wasn’t so far from fruition a few short years ago. Cooper and his group had energy, good ideas and a stadium plan, but came up short in the major-money department. Cooper was merely rich, not ridiculously rich, and that was a concern.
Finally, if you read the reports of Alessandro Nesta about to become top man at Montreal, well, that’s not going to happen.
Rounding up Major League Soccer news | ProSoccerTalk
Today the club announced its intention to move into a smaller venue for the 2014 season, a 5,000-seat venue at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort. This is a stop-gap while the club’s home, the Florida Citrus Bowl, undergoes renovation.
Thing is, it works out great. There’s nothing wrong with creating some demand while the momentum builds for an MLS entrance. And having a smaller venue will give the Lions a look of success (assuming they can fill the smaller venue, that is). Not saying that what the club hasn’t done inside the big ol’ Citrus Bowl. Just saying that appearances count for a lot … and a small, full ground sometimes rings that bell of success more than greater numbers inside a larger ground.
Speaking of MLS expansion, this piece is all about why St. Louis doesn’t have a team in the league.
It’s a weird report, though. Because it doesn’t mention local attorney Jeff Cooper and the MLS bid that wasn’t so far from fruition a few short years ago. Cooper and his group had energy, good ideas and a stadium plan, but came up short in the major-money department. Cooper was merely rich, not ridiculously rich, and that was a concern.
Finally, if you read the reports of Alessandro Nesta about to become top man at Montreal, well, that’s not going to happen.
Rounding up Major League Soccer news | ProSoccerTalk
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the new agreements are for five years; in Europe, they’ll last two years. Financial terms were not disclosed. Matches will be shown across Fox International Channels, Fox Sports and Sky Italia. The deals kick off with the 2015-16 season for all 306 Bundesliga matches per year. The Bundesliga is one of the premiere soccer leagues in the world with one of the best known teams in Bayern Munich, whose players include France’s Frank Ribéry and Germany’s Bastian Schweinsteiger. Fox is deep into soccer around the world with notable recent deals including BSkyB‘s £2.28B spend on rights to 116 English Premiere League matches for three seasons beginning this year, and Fox Sports’ record $425M for U.S. broadcast rights to the 2018-2022 World Cup package.
Fox Scores Rights To German Soccer In 80 Territories Including North America - Deadline-com