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Zahir Belounis, a French-Algerian soccer player who has been unable to leave Qatar for more than two years because of a contract dispute with his former club, and whose case shined a light on the emirate’s labor laws, has been told he can return home. Belounis, 33, learned Wednesday morning that he would be granted a visa allowing him to leave Qatar. The decision ended an ordeal that he claimed had driven him toward contemplating a hunger strike and, at one point, suicide.
“It is a fantastic day; we are so happy,” Belounis’s brother Mahdi said in an interview after he announced the news on Twitter.
“He called me this morning, and his very first sentence was, ‘I have this bloody exit visa,’ which was quite funny,” he added, adding that Zahir was scheduled to land in Paris on Thursday evening. “For the first time in two years I heard him laughing. I’m really looking forward to holding my brother in my arms. So is our mother.”
Belounis’s case had come to symbolize Qatar’s much-criticized sponsorship labor laws after he was prevented from leaving the country, which will host the 2022 World Cup, after a dispute over unpaid wages with his club, El Jaish. Under Qatar’s kafala system of sponsorship, workers are tied to their employers, whether as a soccer player or one of the 1.3 million migrant laborers working in the country’s construction industry.
Employees are not allowed to leave Qatar without their employer’s permission. Human rights groups have been critical of the kafala system. Last week, Amnesty International released a scathing report on labor abuses in Qatar, and Human Rights Watch has blamed the sponsorship system for ensuring that hundreds of thousands of people “work under conditions of abuse.”
An investigation by The Guardian in September found that dozens of Nepalese workers had died this year building a new city in Qatar that will eventually host the 2022 World Cup final.
But it is not just Qatar that has been under fire over the treatment of workers in the country. FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, has been criticized for awarding its marquee event to Qatar in the first place. At last month’s meeting of FIFA’s powerful executive committee in Zurich, FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, agreed to meet with Qatar’s newly installed emir and raise the issue of worker rights.
Last week, Blatter met with the International Trade Union Confederation and called the situation regarding worker rights in Qatar “unacceptable.” The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, the body charged with organizing the World Cup, has released a so-called workers’ charter, which, it says, will guarantee rights for all those working on projects in the country.
But organizations like the trade union confederation, which has campaigned against the kafala system and called on FIFA to hold a new vote for the 2022 Cup, have pointed to the Belounis case to prove how little the situation has changed.
Zahir Belounis was a journeyman player who had struggled in the lower reaches of French soccer. But in 2010 he was offered a five-year contract in Qatar with El Jaish, the army’s soccer team. He was also fast-tracked through the naturalization process so that he could represent Qatar at the Military Games.
But when he returned from the games, he said, his Qatari passport was confiscated. He helped El Jaish gain promotion to the top tier of Qatari soccer but was then moved out on loan to another club, whereupon he says his pay from El Jaish stopped. After 18 months without pay, he pursued legal action but was told that he would be prevented from leaving Qatar until he dropped the case. FIFA, when asked about the Belounis case, said it was powerless to intervene because of the continuing legal case.
“I’m crying like a girl every night,” Belounis said in an interview last month.
Belounis said he and his family were surviving on money sent from relatives in France and from donations made by members of the French expatriate community in Qatar. His situation soon became a global cause; even Arsène Wenger, the French coach of the Premier League powerhouse Arsenal in England, had questioned why Belounis had not been allowed to return home.
Two weeks ago, Belounis wrote an open letter to the French World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane and the Bayern Munich coach, Pep Guardiola, who have strong ties to Qatar. “I know that you served as ambassadors for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid,” Belounis wrote. “You did this with good intentions, but the reality is that if Qatar does not scrap its ‘exit visa’ system, then there will be hundreds, maybe thousands, of people trapped here.”
At one point Belounis was visited by France’s president, François Hollande, who promised to help get him home. But the promises did little to change his status. “I told him that I am here just because I complained,” Belounis said in October of his meeting with Hollande.
When presented with reports of the case, the Qatar Football Association at first accused Belounis of defamation and threatened legal action against him. As recently as last week, soccer officials said that Belounis had been paid and that the accusations against them had been false.
Even after Belounis agreed to drop the claim, an exit visa was not forthcoming. He said he had sold all of his furniture and was living on the floor of his empty villa, waiting for news. It finally came Wednesday.
The next step, Mahdi Belounis said, is to undo the psychological damage he said had been inflicted on his brother. “Zahir is still a depressed person and needs to gain confidence,” he said.
He also hopes that Zahir will one day play soccer again. “I’m doing my best to get him training again, maybe with an English Premier League club,” he said. “It will be a symbol to say to Qatar: ‘You didn’t totally kill him.’ ”
www-nytimes-com/2013/11/28/sports/soccer/after-2-year-dispute-soccers-belounis-can-leave-qatar-html?hpw&rref=sports&_r=0
“It is a fantastic day; we are so happy,” Belounis’s brother Mahdi said in an interview after he announced the news on Twitter.
“He called me this morning, and his very first sentence was, ‘I have this bloody exit visa,’ which was quite funny,” he added, adding that Zahir was scheduled to land in Paris on Thursday evening. “For the first time in two years I heard him laughing. I’m really looking forward to holding my brother in my arms. So is our mother.”
Belounis’s case had come to symbolize Qatar’s much-criticized sponsorship labor laws after he was prevented from leaving the country, which will host the 2022 World Cup, after a dispute over unpaid wages with his club, El Jaish. Under Qatar’s kafala system of sponsorship, workers are tied to their employers, whether as a soccer player or one of the 1.3 million migrant laborers working in the country’s construction industry.
Employees are not allowed to leave Qatar without their employer’s permission. Human rights groups have been critical of the kafala system. Last week, Amnesty International released a scathing report on labor abuses in Qatar, and Human Rights Watch has blamed the sponsorship system for ensuring that hundreds of thousands of people “work under conditions of abuse.”
An investigation by The Guardian in September found that dozens of Nepalese workers had died this year building a new city in Qatar that will eventually host the 2022 World Cup final.
But it is not just Qatar that has been under fire over the treatment of workers in the country. FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, has been criticized for awarding its marquee event to Qatar in the first place. At last month’s meeting of FIFA’s powerful executive committee in Zurich, FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, agreed to meet with Qatar’s newly installed emir and raise the issue of worker rights.
Last week, Blatter met with the International Trade Union Confederation and called the situation regarding worker rights in Qatar “unacceptable.” The Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, the body charged with organizing the World Cup, has released a so-called workers’ charter, which, it says, will guarantee rights for all those working on projects in the country.
But organizations like the trade union confederation, which has campaigned against the kafala system and called on FIFA to hold a new vote for the 2022 Cup, have pointed to the Belounis case to prove how little the situation has changed.
Zahir Belounis was a journeyman player who had struggled in the lower reaches of French soccer. But in 2010 he was offered a five-year contract in Qatar with El Jaish, the army’s soccer team. He was also fast-tracked through the naturalization process so that he could represent Qatar at the Military Games.
But when he returned from the games, he said, his Qatari passport was confiscated. He helped El Jaish gain promotion to the top tier of Qatari soccer but was then moved out on loan to another club, whereupon he says his pay from El Jaish stopped. After 18 months without pay, he pursued legal action but was told that he would be prevented from leaving Qatar until he dropped the case. FIFA, when asked about the Belounis case, said it was powerless to intervene because of the continuing legal case.
“I’m crying like a girl every night,” Belounis said in an interview last month.
Belounis said he and his family were surviving on money sent from relatives in France and from donations made by members of the French expatriate community in Qatar. His situation soon became a global cause; even Arsène Wenger, the French coach of the Premier League powerhouse Arsenal in England, had questioned why Belounis had not been allowed to return home.
Two weeks ago, Belounis wrote an open letter to the French World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane and the Bayern Munich coach, Pep Guardiola, who have strong ties to Qatar. “I know that you served as ambassadors for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup bid,” Belounis wrote. “You did this with good intentions, but the reality is that if Qatar does not scrap its ‘exit visa’ system, then there will be hundreds, maybe thousands, of people trapped here.”
At one point Belounis was visited by France’s president, François Hollande, who promised to help get him home. But the promises did little to change his status. “I told him that I am here just because I complained,” Belounis said in October of his meeting with Hollande.
When presented with reports of the case, the Qatar Football Association at first accused Belounis of defamation and threatened legal action against him. As recently as last week, soccer officials said that Belounis had been paid and that the accusations against them had been false.
Even after Belounis agreed to drop the claim, an exit visa was not forthcoming. He said he had sold all of his furniture and was living on the floor of his empty villa, waiting for news. It finally came Wednesday.
The next step, Mahdi Belounis said, is to undo the psychological damage he said had been inflicted on his brother. “Zahir is still a depressed person and needs to gain confidence,” he said.
He also hopes that Zahir will one day play soccer again. “I’m doing my best to get him training again, maybe with an English Premier League club,” he said. “It will be a symbol to say to Qatar: ‘You didn’t totally kill him.’ ”
www-nytimes-com/2013/11/28/sports/soccer/after-2-year-dispute-soccers-belounis-can-leave-qatar-html?hpw&rref=sports&_r=0
Join:
2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
British police investigating soccer match-fixing have arrested six men in a probe of a suspected international betting syndicate.
The arrests, announced Wednesday, follow an investigation by Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper, which reported that at least three of the men held this week are soccer players.
It appears the affected games were at levels no higher than the Football Conference — the fifth tier of the sport in England.
Premier League matches are not reported to be under investigation, and the Football League, which runs the three professional divisions below the Premier League, said it had not been contacted by police.
The Telegraph made a covertly recorded video in which it alleges a fixer said lower league matches in England could be fixed for $81,380.
"Six men have been arrested across the country as part of an NCA investigation into alleged football match fixing," Britain's National Crime Agency said in a statement. "The focus of the operation is a suspected international illegal betting syndicate."
The NCA said during the "active investigation" it is working with the Gambling Commission and the English Football Association.
At meetings in Manchester this month, the Telegraph said one of the alleged fixers — a Singaporean man — correctly predicted how many goals would be scored during a match the next day, and offered to manipulate two British matches.
The man told the paper's investigator in a video that he would say to a player: "You tell me how many goals you can give." "Either 3-2, 4-1 or zero," he added in broken English. "I say I don't need five. For me four is enough ... if more than that up to you. But my deal is four ... I don't want less than four."
The alleged fixer is heard claiming he has a betting website, stressing: "We can bet (on) those goals."
He also claims he can pay a player about $8,140 to ensure he is given a yellow card in the first ten minutes of a match, an indication that the game is being fixed.
"Everyone really knew that match fixing is endemic in football," Chris Eaton, the former head of security for FIFA, told the Associated Press on Thursday. "And in this (alleged) case there is nothing new in terms of the corrupting method, its internationality or in the core betting fraud purpose.
"What is new is that it shocks England, the home of the game. That shock should be used to galvanize international efforts to regulate and supervise sport betting globally, which is the real motivation for modern match-fixing."
The integrity of the sport has drawn headlines since Europol, the European Union police liaison agency, said it reviewed 680 suspicious recent cases of match-fixing, including some World Cup games.
The fight against match-fixing appeared to have been boosted by the arrest in September of 14 people in Singapore, including Dan Tan, who has been accused of coordinating a global crime syndicate that made millions of dollars betting on rigged Italian matches and other games across the world.
"It was only a matter of time before the English game was caught up in this global wave of match-fixing in football," said Eaton, who is now director of sport integrity at the International Centre for Sport Security.
"International sport, especially football, is in serious trouble with corruption of its competitions," Eaton said.
Six arrested in English soccer match-fixing probe
The arrests, announced Wednesday, follow an investigation by Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper, which reported that at least three of the men held this week are soccer players.
It appears the affected games were at levels no higher than the Football Conference — the fifth tier of the sport in England.
Premier League matches are not reported to be under investigation, and the Football League, which runs the three professional divisions below the Premier League, said it had not been contacted by police.
The Telegraph made a covertly recorded video in which it alleges a fixer said lower league matches in England could be fixed for $81,380.
"Six men have been arrested across the country as part of an NCA investigation into alleged football match fixing," Britain's National Crime Agency said in a statement. "The focus of the operation is a suspected international illegal betting syndicate."
The NCA said during the "active investigation" it is working with the Gambling Commission and the English Football Association.
At meetings in Manchester this month, the Telegraph said one of the alleged fixers — a Singaporean man — correctly predicted how many goals would be scored during a match the next day, and offered to manipulate two British matches.
The man told the paper's investigator in a video that he would say to a player: "You tell me how many goals you can give." "Either 3-2, 4-1 or zero," he added in broken English. "I say I don't need five. For me four is enough ... if more than that up to you. But my deal is four ... I don't want less than four."
The alleged fixer is heard claiming he has a betting website, stressing: "We can bet (on) those goals."
He also claims he can pay a player about $8,140 to ensure he is given a yellow card in the first ten minutes of a match, an indication that the game is being fixed.
"Everyone really knew that match fixing is endemic in football," Chris Eaton, the former head of security for FIFA, told the Associated Press on Thursday. "And in this (alleged) case there is nothing new in terms of the corrupting method, its internationality or in the core betting fraud purpose.
"What is new is that it shocks England, the home of the game. That shock should be used to galvanize international efforts to regulate and supervise sport betting globally, which is the real motivation for modern match-fixing."
The integrity of the sport has drawn headlines since Europol, the European Union police liaison agency, said it reviewed 680 suspicious recent cases of match-fixing, including some World Cup games.
The fight against match-fixing appeared to have been boosted by the arrest in September of 14 people in Singapore, including Dan Tan, who has been accused of coordinating a global crime syndicate that made millions of dollars betting on rigged Italian matches and other games across the world.
"It was only a matter of time before the English game was caught up in this global wave of match-fixing in football," said Eaton, who is now director of sport integrity at the International Centre for Sport Security.
"International sport, especially football, is in serious trouble with corruption of its competitions," Eaton said.
Six arrested in English soccer match-fixing probe
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2006/12/07
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29893
The Virginia Tech women’s soccer team made some more history Friday.
The top-seeded Hokies jumped, sang and hugged each other after beating unseeded Duke 3-0 in an NCAA tournament quarterfinal on a cold afternoon at Thompson Field.
“Final Four!” some of the 1,282 fans chanted in the final minute.
The Hokies (19-4-3) advanced to the Women’s College Cup — the soccer version of the Final Four — for the first time.
“It’s amazing,” said Tech senior goalkeeper Dayle Colpitts, who recorded five saves. “That was my last [home] game at Tech and I couldn’t be any more thrilled with it.
“We’re extremely tough this year. It’s not easy for anyone to make it through all the rounds of the NCAA tournament, playing tough teams.”
Friday marked the first time Tech had ever played in the NCAA quarterfinals.
“Everybody was pumped,” said junior midfielder Katie Yensen, who scored the game’s first goal just before halftime. “The energy in the locker room was the best it’s ever been. I could just tell everybody wanted this game so much and I think it showed.”
Tech will face another No. 1 seed, ACC rival Florida State (22-1-3), in a semifinal on Dec. 6 in Cary, N.C.
The Seminoles won 2-1 at Tech on Oct. 24 and beat Tech 1-0 in the ACC title game on Nov. 10 in Cary.
“We’re where we’re we want to be right now, … playing in Cary,” Colpitts said. “We were trying to get back there after the ACC tournament.”
Tech is 0-13-1 in its history against FSU. “As soon as we walked off the field in Cary last time, we were all [saying], ‘We want to play them again,’ ” Colpitts said.
After Friday’s win, the jubilant Hokies hugged each other before racing over to the stands to celebrate in front of their fans. They then gathered around coach Charles “Chugger” Adair.
“You guys did a great job tonight!” Adair told them.
“It’s not done.”
Tech, which lost in the first round last year, is 4-0 in the NCAAs this year. Colpitts recorded her third shutout of this tournament.
The Hokies beat Duke (9-9-6) for the first time since 2008. The Hokies had been 0-5-1 in the series since then, including a 1-1 double-overtime tie at Duke two months ago.
With 13 seconds left in the first half, Yensen scored on a header from about 6 yards out to give Tech a 1-0 lead. Morgan Conklin got the assist.
“It was a beautiful ball from Morgan,” Yensen said. “There was a huge momentum shift.”
“They served it in and then there was just a ton of players crashing in,” said Duke goalkeeper Meghan Thomas, who had four saves. “I just felt a ton of pressure.”
The goal “completely changed” the game, said Duke coach Robbie Church.
“That’s like a double goal almost,” Church said. “We could unfortunately feel it in the locker room. … It was just hard to get everybody back.
“As we’re still thinking about it, our reactions [in the second half] were slower and then they just really came at us in waves in the second half.
“We panicked. … We just lost a little bit of our composure in the second half.”
Each team had seven shots in the first half, but Tech had 11 shots to Duke’s five in the second half.
Shannon Mayrose scored from about 6 yards out in the 65th minute.
“Some of our players thought she might have been [offsides] and therefore … we weren’t tight on her,” Thomas said. “I do think she was offsides.”
Taylor Antolino had the assist on Mayrose’s goal.
Jazmine Reeves scored from about 12 yards out in the 82nd minute.
Women's soccer quarterfinal win makes history for Virginia Tech | roanoke-com
The top-seeded Hokies jumped, sang and hugged each other after beating unseeded Duke 3-0 in an NCAA tournament quarterfinal on a cold afternoon at Thompson Field.
“Final Four!” some of the 1,282 fans chanted in the final minute.
The Hokies (19-4-3) advanced to the Women’s College Cup — the soccer version of the Final Four — for the first time.
“It’s amazing,” said Tech senior goalkeeper Dayle Colpitts, who recorded five saves. “That was my last [home] game at Tech and I couldn’t be any more thrilled with it.
“We’re extremely tough this year. It’s not easy for anyone to make it through all the rounds of the NCAA tournament, playing tough teams.”
Friday marked the first time Tech had ever played in the NCAA quarterfinals.
“Everybody was pumped,” said junior midfielder Katie Yensen, who scored the game’s first goal just before halftime. “The energy in the locker room was the best it’s ever been. I could just tell everybody wanted this game so much and I think it showed.”
Tech will face another No. 1 seed, ACC rival Florida State (22-1-3), in a semifinal on Dec. 6 in Cary, N.C.
The Seminoles won 2-1 at Tech on Oct. 24 and beat Tech 1-0 in the ACC title game on Nov. 10 in Cary.
“We’re where we’re we want to be right now, … playing in Cary,” Colpitts said. “We were trying to get back there after the ACC tournament.”
Tech is 0-13-1 in its history against FSU. “As soon as we walked off the field in Cary last time, we were all [saying], ‘We want to play them again,’ ” Colpitts said.
After Friday’s win, the jubilant Hokies hugged each other before racing over to the stands to celebrate in front of their fans. They then gathered around coach Charles “Chugger” Adair.
“You guys did a great job tonight!” Adair told them.
“It’s not done.”
Tech, which lost in the first round last year, is 4-0 in the NCAAs this year. Colpitts recorded her third shutout of this tournament.
The Hokies beat Duke (9-9-6) for the first time since 2008. The Hokies had been 0-5-1 in the series since then, including a 1-1 double-overtime tie at Duke two months ago.
With 13 seconds left in the first half, Yensen scored on a header from about 6 yards out to give Tech a 1-0 lead. Morgan Conklin got the assist.
“It was a beautiful ball from Morgan,” Yensen said. “There was a huge momentum shift.”
“They served it in and then there was just a ton of players crashing in,” said Duke goalkeeper Meghan Thomas, who had four saves. “I just felt a ton of pressure.”
The goal “completely changed” the game, said Duke coach Robbie Church.
“That’s like a double goal almost,” Church said. “We could unfortunately feel it in the locker room. … It was just hard to get everybody back.
“As we’re still thinking about it, our reactions [in the second half] were slower and then they just really came at us in waves in the second half.
“We panicked. … We just lost a little bit of our composure in the second half.”
Each team had seven shots in the first half, but Tech had 11 shots to Duke’s five in the second half.
Shannon Mayrose scored from about 6 yards out in the 65th minute.
“Some of our players thought she might have been [offsides] and therefore … we weren’t tight on her,” Thomas said. “I do think she was offsides.”
Taylor Antolino had the assist on Mayrose’s goal.
Jazmine Reeves scored from about 12 yards out in the 82nd minute.
Women's soccer quarterfinal win makes history for Virginia Tech | roanoke-com
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2006/12/07
Messages:
29893
Five months after D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced an ambitious plan to build a new soccer stadium, the administration has missed a series of self-imposed deadlines, including a promise to deliver a land deal for the D.C. Council to vote on this year.
The timeline — as well as the secrecy of negotiations — has sparked frustration on the council, where even boosters say Gray (D) is trying to move too quickly without council input. Council members will not bow to pressure, several said, to rush through a complex and expensive stadium deal about which they know little. With the council still deeply divided about having spent well over $600 million to build the Washington Nationals baseball park, which the city financed almost entirely, approval of a stadium for Major League Soccer team D.C. United was bound to come under intense scrutiny. Now, as the timeline for approval slips into next year, a project that Gray hopes will be one of his most recognizable achievements is also likely to become entangled in election-year politics.
“Sure, we’re ready to vote on it now, right?” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) quipped when asked if the council could still meet the mayor’s year-end target. “We were asked to approve it before the end of the year . . . but I haven’t seen anything.”
City Administrator Allen Y. Lew, a top aide to Gray, said he intends to make substantial progress in coming weeks. Lew said he is pressing to complete a complex land swap before Christmas with developers, utilities and business owners to obtain the land for the proposed 20,000-seat stadium and adjacent bars and restaurants on Buzzard Point. Located between Half and Second streets SW, south of Potomac Avenue and a few blocks southwest of Nationals Park, the stadium would add another link in a chain of developments along the city’s waterfront.
Under an agreement the city signed with one of the main landowners, Lew was given a Nov. 15 deadline to share with the council the terms for how the city would obtain the stadium property, enough time, Gray had said, for the council to approve the plan before the end of the year.
Lew said through a spokesman last week that he is nearing a stadium pact with D.C. United. He is also making progress toward a plan to trade a city-owned office complex in the U Street corridor to a developer in exchange for two acres on the stadium footprint. Pepco, which operates a substation on the land, is also involved in the deal. The city already owns smaller portions on the site’s northern end.
Lew now hopes to submit a package of proposed deals to the council before Dec. 25, spokesman Tony Robinson said.
Still, Mendelson said he is loath to pressure the council to rush approval. “Intentionally or not, I fear the council is going to be jammed, and this is too expensive a project for us not be careful about it.”
Four council members are running to replace Gray as mayor, and even those who have been most supportive of the soccer stadium expressed reservations last week about the closed-door manner in which the administration is seeking to strike the deal with landowners after announcing publicly that it wanted the land for a stadium.
Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), a strong supporter of a new stadium who is running for mayor, said it was “very bizarre” the way Gray’s administration seemed to want to negotiate the deals in secret.
“I have no idea where it stands. Absolutely nothing, zero, I don’t know,” said Evans, who chairs the Finance Committee, which would have to approve the plan, and who has been deeply involved in every stadium project in the city for two decades.
“I hope to get it done. I support the whole idea, but to do it all so privately and secretively, that’s when you announce it and suddenly have all kinds of critics because you haven’t done the legwork to build support.”
Lew said through his spokesman that he hoped to acquire the needed property for $100 million or less. Gray initially committed to providing up to $150 million of the stadium’s estimated $300 million cost through land and infrastructure.
Before Lew said the timeline had changed, Gray said late last month that the larger proposed timeline of getting a stadium built by 2016 remained on track. Gray has also regularly expressed confidence in Lew, who has built a reputation of completing major city construction projects at lightning speed.
The city is negotiating land swaps with three private property owners on Buzzard Point. They are developer Akridge, Pepco, and businessman and venture capitalist Mark D. Ein, who owns land at the site’s northern end and has also been leading negotiations for owners of the Super Salvage scrap yard next door.
In setting ground rules in September for a swap in which the District would trade the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center, at 14th and U streets NW, Lew said he expected to submit agreements with all the landowners to the D.C. Council by Nov. 15. The land deals would close 30 days after council approval.
Along with the District-owned properties, the Akridge and Pepco parcels constitute about 85 percent of the land that must be acquired for the soccer stadium. The remaining parcels are also being negotiated, and the “District expects to reach a fair and equitable arrangement with all property owners,” Lew said in a statement.
Akridge President Matthew J. Klein did not respond to a request for comment. Donna M. Cooper, Pepco Region president, issued a statement saying the utility was “evaluating the impacts that building the stadium in the area might have on the existing underground electric infrastructure that serves this portion of the city.”
“Pepco remains supportive of efforts to bring new economic development opportunities to the District of Columbia while providing safe and reliable electric service to our customers,” she said.
Ein declined to comment on the status of his talks with the mayor’s offi
The timeline — as well as the secrecy of negotiations — has sparked frustration on the council, where even boosters say Gray (D) is trying to move too quickly without council input. Council members will not bow to pressure, several said, to rush through a complex and expensive stadium deal about which they know little. With the council still deeply divided about having spent well over $600 million to build the Washington Nationals baseball park, which the city financed almost entirely, approval of a stadium for Major League Soccer team D.C. United was bound to come under intense scrutiny. Now, as the timeline for approval slips into next year, a project that Gray hopes will be one of his most recognizable achievements is also likely to become entangled in election-year politics.
“Sure, we’re ready to vote on it now, right?” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) quipped when asked if the council could still meet the mayor’s year-end target. “We were asked to approve it before the end of the year . . . but I haven’t seen anything.”
City Administrator Allen Y. Lew, a top aide to Gray, said he intends to make substantial progress in coming weeks. Lew said he is pressing to complete a complex land swap before Christmas with developers, utilities and business owners to obtain the land for the proposed 20,000-seat stadium and adjacent bars and restaurants on Buzzard Point. Located between Half and Second streets SW, south of Potomac Avenue and a few blocks southwest of Nationals Park, the stadium would add another link in a chain of developments along the city’s waterfront.
Under an agreement the city signed with one of the main landowners, Lew was given a Nov. 15 deadline to share with the council the terms for how the city would obtain the stadium property, enough time, Gray had said, for the council to approve the plan before the end of the year.
Lew said through a spokesman last week that he is nearing a stadium pact with D.C. United. He is also making progress toward a plan to trade a city-owned office complex in the U Street corridor to a developer in exchange for two acres on the stadium footprint. Pepco, which operates a substation on the land, is also involved in the deal. The city already owns smaller portions on the site’s northern end.
Lew now hopes to submit a package of proposed deals to the council before Dec. 25, spokesman Tony Robinson said.
Still, Mendelson said he is loath to pressure the council to rush approval. “Intentionally or not, I fear the council is going to be jammed, and this is too expensive a project for us not be careful about it.”
Four council members are running to replace Gray as mayor, and even those who have been most supportive of the soccer stadium expressed reservations last week about the closed-door manner in which the administration is seeking to strike the deal with landowners after announcing publicly that it wanted the land for a stadium.
Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), a strong supporter of a new stadium who is running for mayor, said it was “very bizarre” the way Gray’s administration seemed to want to negotiate the deals in secret.
“I have no idea where it stands. Absolutely nothing, zero, I don’t know,” said Evans, who chairs the Finance Committee, which would have to approve the plan, and who has been deeply involved in every stadium project in the city for two decades.
“I hope to get it done. I support the whole idea, but to do it all so privately and secretively, that’s when you announce it and suddenly have all kinds of critics because you haven’t done the legwork to build support.”
Lew said through his spokesman that he hoped to acquire the needed property for $100 million or less. Gray initially committed to providing up to $150 million of the stadium’s estimated $300 million cost through land and infrastructure.
Before Lew said the timeline had changed, Gray said late last month that the larger proposed timeline of getting a stadium built by 2016 remained on track. Gray has also regularly expressed confidence in Lew, who has built a reputation of completing major city construction projects at lightning speed.
The city is negotiating land swaps with three private property owners on Buzzard Point. They are developer Akridge, Pepco, and businessman and venture capitalist Mark D. Ein, who owns land at the site’s northern end and has also been leading negotiations for owners of the Super Salvage scrap yard next door.
In setting ground rules in September for a swap in which the District would trade the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center, at 14th and U streets NW, Lew said he expected to submit agreements with all the landowners to the D.C. Council by Nov. 15. The land deals would close 30 days after council approval.
Along with the District-owned properties, the Akridge and Pepco parcels constitute about 85 percent of the land that must be acquired for the soccer stadium. The remaining parcels are also being negotiated, and the “District expects to reach a fair and equitable arrangement with all property owners,” Lew said in a statement.
Akridge President Matthew J. Klein did not respond to a request for comment. Donna M. Cooper, Pepco Region president, issued a statement saying the utility was “evaluating the impacts that building the stadium in the area might have on the existing underground electric infrastructure that serves this portion of the city.”
“Pepco remains supportive of efforts to bring new economic development opportunities to the District of Columbia while providing safe and reliable electric service to our customers,” she said.
Ein declined to comment on the status of his talks with the mayor’s offi
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Senior midfielder Alec Sundly scored his fifth goal in four matches and Alex Magels had five saves for the shutout as No. 6 Cal beat No. 18 Coastal Carolina 1-0 in Berkeley on Sunday afternoon to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
The Bears (14-4-2) will host fifth-seeded and fourth-ranked Maryland on Saturday at Edwards Stadium for a chance to go to the College Cup, soccer's Final Four.
Sundly finished a rebound past goalkeeper Devin Cook in the 65th minute for the game's only score.
"Coastal Carolina obviously is an outstanding team and had a great season," Cal head coach Kevin Grimes said. "We knew that we would have to be at our best in order to get the victory today and our players played an outstanding game."
In the first half, both sides created quality opportunities, though the Bears outshot the Chanticleers 10-6 and created back-to-back opportunities, as senior defender Steve Birnbaum and Sundly were turned away by Cook. The Chanticleers fell to 19-5-0.
Cal finally had a breakthrough in the second half when Jalali took a shot from inside the penalty area that Cook dove to save. Sundly's corralled the rebound and finished.
It was Sundly's third goal of the tournament, and his fifth in his past four games, dating back to Nov. 10 at Washington.
"We put so much into the team, so much work both on and off the pitch," Sundly said regarding the team's success. "Anything I can do to help the team, I will. We are really truly like a family, which is why we have been successful so far, and we hope to keep it going into next week."
Host Maryland defeated UC Irvine 1-0 on Sunday. Cal and Maryland met in September, when the host Bears won 3-2.
#2 Washington 1, Stanford 0: Ian Lange scored the game's only goal in the 84th minute and the host Huskies (16-1-4) advanced to the Elite Eight, ending the Cardinal's season.
The Cardinal (10-7-4) went 0-3 against the Huskies this season, losing twice in Pac-12 play. Stanford hadn't made the NCAA tournament since 2009.
Cal men's soccer advances to Elite Eight - SFGate
The Bears (14-4-2) will host fifth-seeded and fourth-ranked Maryland on Saturday at Edwards Stadium for a chance to go to the College Cup, soccer's Final Four.
Sundly finished a rebound past goalkeeper Devin Cook in the 65th minute for the game's only score.
"Coastal Carolina obviously is an outstanding team and had a great season," Cal head coach Kevin Grimes said. "We knew that we would have to be at our best in order to get the victory today and our players played an outstanding game."
In the first half, both sides created quality opportunities, though the Bears outshot the Chanticleers 10-6 and created back-to-back opportunities, as senior defender Steve Birnbaum and Sundly were turned away by Cook. The Chanticleers fell to 19-5-0.
Cal finally had a breakthrough in the second half when Jalali took a shot from inside the penalty area that Cook dove to save. Sundly's corralled the rebound and finished.
It was Sundly's third goal of the tournament, and his fifth in his past four games, dating back to Nov. 10 at Washington.
"We put so much into the team, so much work both on and off the pitch," Sundly said regarding the team's success. "Anything I can do to help the team, I will. We are really truly like a family, which is why we have been successful so far, and we hope to keep it going into next week."
Host Maryland defeated UC Irvine 1-0 on Sunday. Cal and Maryland met in September, when the host Bears won 3-2.
#2 Washington 1, Stanford 0: Ian Lange scored the game's only goal in the 84th minute and the host Huskies (16-1-4) advanced to the Elite Eight, ending the Cardinal's season.
The Cardinal (10-7-4) went 0-3 against the Huskies this season, losing twice in Pac-12 play. Stanford hadn't made the NCAA tournament since 2009.
Cal men's soccer advances to Elite Eight - SFGate
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A professional men's soccer franchise is coming to Colorado Springs, and a proposed multi-use downtown stadium could be its eventual home.
Nicholas Ragain, president of Ragain Sports LLC, confirmed a United Soccer Leagues PRO team will move to the city. The team, which does not yet have a name, would begin play in March 2015.
A news conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday at the Penrose House, 1661 Mesa Ave. That event was organized by the Colorado Springs Sports Corp., said its chief executive officer Tom Osborne. Others scheduled to attend include Mayor Steve Bach, franchise owner Martin Ragain and league president Tim Holt.
"You will have to wait until Thursday for all the details," Nicholas Ragain said.
That announcement is scheduled a day after the multimillion-dollar City for Champions project will be pitched to the Colorado Economic Development Commission in Denver.
The City for Champions proposal calls for a stadium to be built in southwest downtown Colorado Springs adjacent to a U.S. Olympic museum and 3,000-seat indoor arena in an effort to revitalize the area. Funds also would go toward a new Air Force Academy visitor center and a sports medicine center at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
In January, Major League Soccer, which includes the Colorado Rapids, and USL PRO announced its franchises will sign affiliation agreements for player development by next season.
"In the soccer world, this will be a lot of fun for people," Osborne said.
The outdoor league averages 2,611 fans a game, not including the 20,886 at the championship Sept. 7 at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Other area stadiums could accommodate the average attendance, but scheduling could be difficult for a season that (March until early September) overlaps college and high school seasons. Most league stadiums seat 3,500 to 6,000.
"There aren't too many facilities on the Front Range we could move to and we definitely will be in Colorado Springs," Ragain said.
Martin Ragain is founder and part-owner of ME Engineering, which specializes in designing lighting at stadiums around the world, including Sports Authority Field at Mile High. It will be his first sports franchise.
"It's been a lifelong dream of his," Nicholas Ragain said of his father.
The league will have 13 teams in 2014: Charlotte, Charleston, S.C.; Dayton, Ohio; Harrisburg, Pa.; Los Angeles; Orlando; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Rochester, N.Y.; Richmond, Va.; Wilmington, N.C.; and new teams in Oklahoma City and Sacramento.
Two-time champ Orlando City announced it will be the fifth franchise to move up and join the MLS in 2015. United Soccer Leagues oversees nine men's and women's leagues including USL PRO and the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Read more at USL soccer franchise coming to Colorado Springs
Nicholas Ragain, president of Ragain Sports LLC, confirmed a United Soccer Leagues PRO team will move to the city. The team, which does not yet have a name, would begin play in March 2015.
A news conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday at the Penrose House, 1661 Mesa Ave. That event was organized by the Colorado Springs Sports Corp., said its chief executive officer Tom Osborne. Others scheduled to attend include Mayor Steve Bach, franchise owner Martin Ragain and league president Tim Holt.
"You will have to wait until Thursday for all the details," Nicholas Ragain said.
That announcement is scheduled a day after the multimillion-dollar City for Champions project will be pitched to the Colorado Economic Development Commission in Denver.
The City for Champions proposal calls for a stadium to be built in southwest downtown Colorado Springs adjacent to a U.S. Olympic museum and 3,000-seat indoor arena in an effort to revitalize the area. Funds also would go toward a new Air Force Academy visitor center and a sports medicine center at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
In January, Major League Soccer, which includes the Colorado Rapids, and USL PRO announced its franchises will sign affiliation agreements for player development by next season.
"In the soccer world, this will be a lot of fun for people," Osborne said.
The outdoor league averages 2,611 fans a game, not including the 20,886 at the championship Sept. 7 at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Other area stadiums could accommodate the average attendance, but scheduling could be difficult for a season that (March until early September) overlaps college and high school seasons. Most league stadiums seat 3,500 to 6,000.
"There aren't too many facilities on the Front Range we could move to and we definitely will be in Colorado Springs," Ragain said.
Martin Ragain is founder and part-owner of ME Engineering, which specializes in designing lighting at stadiums around the world, including Sports Authority Field at Mile High. It will be his first sports franchise.
"It's been a lifelong dream of his," Nicholas Ragain said of his father.
The league will have 13 teams in 2014: Charlotte, Charleston, S.C.; Dayton, Ohio; Harrisburg, Pa.; Los Angeles; Orlando; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Rochester, N.Y.; Richmond, Va.; Wilmington, N.C.; and new teams in Oklahoma City and Sacramento.
Two-time champ Orlando City announced it will be the fifth franchise to move up and join the MLS in 2015. United Soccer Leagues oversees nine men's and women's leagues including USL PRO and the Major Indoor Soccer League.
Read more at USL soccer franchise coming to Colorado Springs
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Sacramento is on a sports winning streak that has nothing to do with the Kings.
On Tuesday, the owners of Sacramento Republic FC, the minor league soccer team set to begin play in March, gathered at the midtown bistro Hot Italian to raise their glasses for a toast wrapped in an ambitious goal: Land a Major League Soccer franchise for downtown Sacramento.
“Our goal is to be in MLS by 2016,” said Warren Smith, president of Sacramento Republic. “If Orlando (Florida) can do it, so can we.”
Orlando was just awarded the 21st MLS franchise after a successful run in USL Pro, a league one developmental step below MLS and the one in which Sacramento Republic will play its games. Smith and his group have already sold 2,500 season tickets for the Republic and are in the process of establishing their home field at the Cal Expo fairgrounds.
For many reasons, Sacramento would be a perfect fit for MLS.
The state capital enjoys great weather nearly year round and has a diverse population. The downtown core is showing its greatest signs of life in a generation and Sacramento is a city of active people. This is a city and a region of athletes. Being active and playing sports are as loved in Sacramento as participating in communal events.
We just saw nearly 30,000 people turn out for the Run to Feed the Hungry, the largest Thanksgiving race in America. This Sunday, Sacramento will host its premiere competitive run, the California International Marathon. The buildup to this event inspires the daily sight of runners crisscrossing the region in preparation for the big race. The Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau has seized on this spirit to bid on many athletic events that resonate with local athletes.
After a two-year absence, the Amgen Tour of California will bring elite cyclists back to Sacramento in May. Once the site of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials, Sacramento will become a track city again when it hosts the 2014 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June.
Steve Hammond, president and CEO of the visitors bureau, said his group is attempting to keep the momentum going by bidding on dozens of NCAA events, including championships in track, cross country, volleyball, gymnastics and golf. Once a new downtown arena for the Kings is finished in 2016, the agency has its sights on bringing the NCAA men’s basketball tournament back to Sacramento.
“While events like the Amgen Tour of California and the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships bring significant and measurable economic impact to the region, they also offer tremendous national and international exposure for Sacramento that position us in a very positive light,” Hammond said.
These events – along with Sacramento Republic, the Kings and River Cats – also create connections and expressions of community. That’s a worthwhile trend for Sacramento to encourage.
Read more here: Marcos Breton: Pro soccer would burnish Sacramento’s sports reputation - Marcos Breton - The Sacramento Bee
On Tuesday, the owners of Sacramento Republic FC, the minor league soccer team set to begin play in March, gathered at the midtown bistro Hot Italian to raise their glasses for a toast wrapped in an ambitious goal: Land a Major League Soccer franchise for downtown Sacramento.
“Our goal is to be in MLS by 2016,” said Warren Smith, president of Sacramento Republic. “If Orlando (Florida) can do it, so can we.”
Orlando was just awarded the 21st MLS franchise after a successful run in USL Pro, a league one developmental step below MLS and the one in which Sacramento Republic will play its games. Smith and his group have already sold 2,500 season tickets for the Republic and are in the process of establishing their home field at the Cal Expo fairgrounds.
For many reasons, Sacramento would be a perfect fit for MLS.
The state capital enjoys great weather nearly year round and has a diverse population. The downtown core is showing its greatest signs of life in a generation and Sacramento is a city of active people. This is a city and a region of athletes. Being active and playing sports are as loved in Sacramento as participating in communal events.
We just saw nearly 30,000 people turn out for the Run to Feed the Hungry, the largest Thanksgiving race in America. This Sunday, Sacramento will host its premiere competitive run, the California International Marathon. The buildup to this event inspires the daily sight of runners crisscrossing the region in preparation for the big race. The Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau has seized on this spirit to bid on many athletic events that resonate with local athletes.
After a two-year absence, the Amgen Tour of California will bring elite cyclists back to Sacramento in May. Once the site of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials, Sacramento will become a track city again when it hosts the 2014 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June.
Steve Hammond, president and CEO of the visitors bureau, said his group is attempting to keep the momentum going by bidding on dozens of NCAA events, including championships in track, cross country, volleyball, gymnastics and golf. Once a new downtown arena for the Kings is finished in 2016, the agency has its sights on bringing the NCAA men’s basketball tournament back to Sacramento.
“While events like the Amgen Tour of California and the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships bring significant and measurable economic impact to the region, they also offer tremendous national and international exposure for Sacramento that position us in a very positive light,” Hammond said.
These events – along with Sacramento Republic, the Kings and River Cats – also create connections and expressions of community. That’s a worthwhile trend for Sacramento to encourage.
Read more here: Marcos Breton: Pro soccer would burnish Sacramento’s sports reputation - Marcos Breton - The Sacramento Bee
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It’s certainly a beautiful time for local fans of the Beautiful Game.
Just days before the New Mexico Lobo men’s soccer team faces Washington in the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight, Albuquerque has landed a new franchise in the USL Premier Development League. The Journal has learned that a news conference is scheduled for today at 2:30 p.m. at Hotel Cascada to announce the Albuquerque Sol as a member of the PDL.
“It’s a great thing all around,” says UNM coach Jeremy Fishbein, whose Lobos face Washington in Seattle on Saturday. “The PDL is a big national league. This is great for the community, and it’s an opportunity for our guys to compete against some of the best players in the country at a high level soccer in the offseason.”
The PDL begins its 20th season in May. Last year, it had 64 teams from throughout the United States and Canada.
The players are all amateurs, thus are not paid. But most have the goal of playing professionally, and the league is a steppingstone toward those dreams.
There are four conferences – Eastern, Southern, Central and Western – and nine divisions. The playoffs are in July.
The Sol will be in the Western Conference and will include a number of Lobo players.
NCAA rules allow no more than five current players from a college team to participate on the same offseason team. Fishbein says he plans to allow five of his players to be members of the Sol. He said he is unsure which five.
As for Albuquerque soccer fans, the Sol will fill a void of top-notch soccer when the collegiate soccer season ends.
“This is a great time for this to happen,” Sol president Ron Patel said. “We’ve been working on getting this done for a while, and with the Lobos doing so well, it helps put Albuquerque on the map for soccer. They have been one of the national leaders (top 10 in the last five years) in attendance.
“Having this franchise can only help to show the talent we have in New Mexico. And that’s what the PDL is all about, developing talent for the next level of soccer.”
The PDL falls under the umbrella of the United States Soccer Leagues.
Larry Espinosa, who played for the defunct New Mexico Chiles professional team, is the Sol’s general manager, and Chris Cartlidge is head coach. Cartlidge is director of coaching for the Rio Rapids Soccer Club.
“Our soccer community continues to grow in size and quality, and the addition of a PDL team is the next logical step for our players and supporters,” Cartlidge said. “The league will greatly enhance the opportunities for quality young players developed in our state to continue their development as they strive to join the professional ranks.”
Cartlidge said the success of former UNM player Devon Sandoval, now with Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer, “highlights our readiness to join one of the premier soccer leagues in the country.”
Patel, an Albuquerque businessman who owns Just Dine In restaurant delivery service, said the team is still negotiating where it will play.
The Journal has learned that the franchise is close to signing a contract to play its home games at St. Pius X High School.
Patel and Fishbein said the eventual goal is that the franchise helps lead an effort for the city to build another soccer complex, where the Sol would play.
“We’re facility-challenged in New Mexico,” Patel said. “We’re hoping a team like this will help to get a nice facility and more fields for kids to play on in Albuquerque. There are just not a lot of really good fields for kids to play on here.” The Sol and a new facility could also be another major step to another major addition in the Duke City.
“The Sol is the first step towards an MLS team one day,” Espinosa said. “Albuquerque is often overlooked by other soccer markets around the country. Our strong performance at the youth level and at the collegiate level year after year has proven that. This timing is perfect to further help the Albuquerque soccer community propel forward.”
Patel, 33, spent his early childhood in England and moved to the United States when he was 12. He says soccer has always been “my love, my passion,” but it took the joint effort of many to bring help the Sol rise.
He said he was introduced to Michael McKernan, president of McKernan Sports and Entertainment, who had previously tried to bring a franchise to the city. Along with Espinosa, they got the ball rolling this go-around.
“We had been trying to get a PDL team for about three years,” McKernan said. “It turned out that Larry was, too. Then Ron called me a few months ago and we all worked together on it, but Ron is really the driving force.”
Patel said the organization also has a number of silent owners.
“Not one of us wants to be ‘the guy’ who got this done,” Patel said. “We’re doing this more for the game of soccer, for Albuquerque and to give the kids an environment where they can grow.
“The sport of soccer does things worldwide that a lot of people don’t realize. We want to show that it’s called the Beautiful Game for a reason.”
Top-notch amateur soccer league coming to town | ABQJournal Online
Just days before the New Mexico Lobo men’s soccer team faces Washington in the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight, Albuquerque has landed a new franchise in the USL Premier Development League. The Journal has learned that a news conference is scheduled for today at 2:30 p.m. at Hotel Cascada to announce the Albuquerque Sol as a member of the PDL.
“It’s a great thing all around,” says UNM coach Jeremy Fishbein, whose Lobos face Washington in Seattle on Saturday. “The PDL is a big national league. This is great for the community, and it’s an opportunity for our guys to compete against some of the best players in the country at a high level soccer in the offseason.”
The PDL begins its 20th season in May. Last year, it had 64 teams from throughout the United States and Canada.
The players are all amateurs, thus are not paid. But most have the goal of playing professionally, and the league is a steppingstone toward those dreams.
There are four conferences – Eastern, Southern, Central and Western – and nine divisions. The playoffs are in July.
The Sol will be in the Western Conference and will include a number of Lobo players.
NCAA rules allow no more than five current players from a college team to participate on the same offseason team. Fishbein says he plans to allow five of his players to be members of the Sol. He said he is unsure which five.
As for Albuquerque soccer fans, the Sol will fill a void of top-notch soccer when the collegiate soccer season ends.
“This is a great time for this to happen,” Sol president Ron Patel said. “We’ve been working on getting this done for a while, and with the Lobos doing so well, it helps put Albuquerque on the map for soccer. They have been one of the national leaders (top 10 in the last five years) in attendance.
“Having this franchise can only help to show the talent we have in New Mexico. And that’s what the PDL is all about, developing talent for the next level of soccer.”
The PDL falls under the umbrella of the United States Soccer Leagues.
Larry Espinosa, who played for the defunct New Mexico Chiles professional team, is the Sol’s general manager, and Chris Cartlidge is head coach. Cartlidge is director of coaching for the Rio Rapids Soccer Club.
“Our soccer community continues to grow in size and quality, and the addition of a PDL team is the next logical step for our players and supporters,” Cartlidge said. “The league will greatly enhance the opportunities for quality young players developed in our state to continue their development as they strive to join the professional ranks.”
Cartlidge said the success of former UNM player Devon Sandoval, now with Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer, “highlights our readiness to join one of the premier soccer leagues in the country.”
Patel, an Albuquerque businessman who owns Just Dine In restaurant delivery service, said the team is still negotiating where it will play.
The Journal has learned that the franchise is close to signing a contract to play its home games at St. Pius X High School.
Patel and Fishbein said the eventual goal is that the franchise helps lead an effort for the city to build another soccer complex, where the Sol would play.
“We’re facility-challenged in New Mexico,” Patel said. “We’re hoping a team like this will help to get a nice facility and more fields for kids to play on in Albuquerque. There are just not a lot of really good fields for kids to play on here.” The Sol and a new facility could also be another major step to another major addition in the Duke City.
“The Sol is the first step towards an MLS team one day,” Espinosa said. “Albuquerque is often overlooked by other soccer markets around the country. Our strong performance at the youth level and at the collegiate level year after year has proven that. This timing is perfect to further help the Albuquerque soccer community propel forward.”
Patel, 33, spent his early childhood in England and moved to the United States when he was 12. He says soccer has always been “my love, my passion,” but it took the joint effort of many to bring help the Sol rise.
He said he was introduced to Michael McKernan, president of McKernan Sports and Entertainment, who had previously tried to bring a franchise to the city. Along with Espinosa, they got the ball rolling this go-around.
“We had been trying to get a PDL team for about three years,” McKernan said. “It turned out that Larry was, too. Then Ron called me a few months ago and we all worked together on it, but Ron is really the driving force.”
Patel said the organization also has a number of silent owners.
“Not one of us wants to be ‘the guy’ who got this done,” Patel said. “We’re doing this more for the game of soccer, for Albuquerque and to give the kids an environment where they can grow.
“The sport of soccer does things worldwide that a lot of people don’t realize. We want to show that it’s called the Beautiful Game for a reason.”
Top-notch amateur soccer league coming to town | ABQJournal Online
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An international match-fixing syndicate was "clumsy" in its efforts to rig Victorian soccer matches, with people shouting suspicious instructions from the sidelines.
English defender Reiss Noel and goalkeeper Joe Woolley have been convicted and fined for fixing games while playing with the Southern Stars in the semi-professional Victorian Premier League this year.
The syndicate's alleged local ringleader, Segaran "Gerry" Gsubramaniam, 45, of Malaysia, also pleaded guilty on Friday to a match fixing charge and will face a plea hearing in April.
Noel and Woolley's defence lawyer, Anthony Brand, told the Melbourne Magistrates Court the two players were "expendable" parts of the syndicate, which was well-orchestrated but clumsy in its plans to fix games in Australia.
Mr Brand said people had been seen on the sidelines at Southern Stars games shouting suspicious instructions and opposing teams questioned the dubious results.
Prosecutor Peter Rose SC said the two players would help manipulate the scoreline to pre-determined levels, as well as passing on instructions to other players.
The Southern Stars won just one of their 21 games in season 2013, and their results have since been declared invalid by the Football Federation of Victoria.
Mr Rose said Woolley and Noel were skilled players who had reached a high level in England.
"They were able to change the results of the games with some ease," he said.
Mr Rose said both players had made full admissions about their conduct and had agreed to testify against two other Southern Stars players and manager Zia Younan. He said they did not make much money out of the scheme.
Data company Sportradar alerted Australian authorities to the potential of Southern Stars matches being fixed after noticing large amounts of money being wagered, Mr Rose said.
Mr Brand told the court the instructions to fix matches were given to the players by Younan.
Mr Brand said Noel and Woolley were ashamed and embarrassed about their conduct.
"They appreciate that their careers in soccer are completely finished," he said.
Mr Brand said the two made stupid decisions, but believed that match fixing was already going on at the club before they arrived.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen fined Woolley $1200 for his part in fixing three matches, while Noel received a $2000 fine for helping to fix four games.
Mr Vandersteen said the offending was serious, but conceded the two men had no idea about the wider implications of their conduct.
Younan, 37, and English players David Obaze, 24, and Nicholas McKoy, 27, have been charged with match fixing offences, and will return to the Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 20.
Gsubramaniam's plea hearing on a single charge of engaging in conduct that corrupts or could corrupt the outcome of a betting event will be held in the Victorian County Court on April 11.
Players admit fixing Vic soccer matches - Yahoo!7
English defender Reiss Noel and goalkeeper Joe Woolley have been convicted and fined for fixing games while playing with the Southern Stars in the semi-professional Victorian Premier League this year.
The syndicate's alleged local ringleader, Segaran "Gerry" Gsubramaniam, 45, of Malaysia, also pleaded guilty on Friday to a match fixing charge and will face a plea hearing in April.
Noel and Woolley's defence lawyer, Anthony Brand, told the Melbourne Magistrates Court the two players were "expendable" parts of the syndicate, which was well-orchestrated but clumsy in its plans to fix games in Australia.
Mr Brand said people had been seen on the sidelines at Southern Stars games shouting suspicious instructions and opposing teams questioned the dubious results.
Prosecutor Peter Rose SC said the two players would help manipulate the scoreline to pre-determined levels, as well as passing on instructions to other players.
The Southern Stars won just one of their 21 games in season 2013, and their results have since been declared invalid by the Football Federation of Victoria.
Mr Rose said Woolley and Noel were skilled players who had reached a high level in England.
"They were able to change the results of the games with some ease," he said.
Mr Rose said both players had made full admissions about their conduct and had agreed to testify against two other Southern Stars players and manager Zia Younan. He said they did not make much money out of the scheme.
Data company Sportradar alerted Australian authorities to the potential of Southern Stars matches being fixed after noticing large amounts of money being wagered, Mr Rose said.
Mr Brand told the court the instructions to fix matches were given to the players by Younan.
Mr Brand said Noel and Woolley were ashamed and embarrassed about their conduct.
"They appreciate that their careers in soccer are completely finished," he said.
Mr Brand said the two made stupid decisions, but believed that match fixing was already going on at the club before they arrived.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen fined Woolley $1200 for his part in fixing three matches, while Noel received a $2000 fine for helping to fix four games.
Mr Vandersteen said the offending was serious, but conceded the two men had no idea about the wider implications of their conduct.
Younan, 37, and English players David Obaze, 24, and Nicholas McKoy, 27, have been charged with match fixing offences, and will return to the Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 20.
Gsubramaniam's plea hearing on a single charge of engaging in conduct that corrupts or could corrupt the outcome of a betting event will be held in the Victorian County Court on April 11.
Players admit fixing Vic soccer matches - Yahoo!7
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In many ways, the U.S. national soccer team’s draw for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil makes perfect sense.
Of course the Americans ended up paired with Ghana, which crushed their dreams in each of the past two competitions. Of course they’ll face Germany, the global titan that ousted them a dozen years ago and is the birthplace of U.S. Coach Juergen Klinsmann as well as several of his dual-nationality players. And of course, a program still selling the sport to an increasingly engaged public will step into the spotlight with the brightest star in the game right now, Cristiano Ronaldo, from a Portugal team victimized by the Americans in their 2002 opener.
Perfectly logical but hardly perfect in terms of advancing beyond Group G — that’s G, as in goodness gracious. The Americans may need group therapy.
“Obviously it’s one of the most difficult groups in the whole draw,” Klinsmann said Friday. “It couldn’t get any more difficult or any bigger, but that’s what a World Cup is about.”
While there was almost no avoiding a treacherous group, there was also hope for a little better outcome. As the splashy presentation unfolded at a resort in Brazil’s Bahia state and balls were pulled from four pots, the Americans remained in the running for a spot in the group with the weakest seeded team, Switzerland.
Contrary to Klinsmann’s assertion, it could have been worse. Consider Australia, which has almost no chance of finishing among the top two in Group B with 2010 finalists Spain and Netherlands plus Chile.
Klinsmann’s crew will also face the prospect of long journeys in a country almost as large as the United States. From its southern base in Sao Paulo, the Americans will have to charter to Natal, a coastal city in the northeast, to play Ghana on June 16; Manaus, situated in the Amazon region in the northwest, for Portugal on June 22; and Recife, near Natal, for the June 26 group finale against Germany.
The USSF estimates the team will travel some 8,800 miles over 11 days. Only Italy, which received the same venue assignments, will collect comparable frequent flyer miles.
“We hit the worst of the worst,” Klinsmann said of the first-round itinerary.
Travel aside, the Americans will confront three difficult 90-minute tasks against teams with strength, skill and experience.
“Sexy group,” U.S. forward Aron Johannsson posted on his Twitter page.
With talent placed all over European leagues, Ghana has risen to the top of Africa, a potent but underachieving soccer continent. Three-time champion Germany has reached the semifinals in each of the past three tournaments and draws a wealth of players from 2013 UEFA Champions League finalists Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
The United States defeated Germany, 4-3, in May at Washington’s RFK Stadium, but because of club conflicts, the German federation sent a watered-down roster.
Klinsmann, one of Germany’s most accomplished players and a World Cup champion in 1990, coached his native land on home soil in 2006. His assistant and primary tactician, Joachim Low, has guided the squad ever since.
World Cup draw: FIFA does U.S. soccer no favors in group with Germany, Portugal, Ghana - The Washington Post
Of course the Americans ended up paired with Ghana, which crushed their dreams in each of the past two competitions. Of course they’ll face Germany, the global titan that ousted them a dozen years ago and is the birthplace of U.S. Coach Juergen Klinsmann as well as several of his dual-nationality players. And of course, a program still selling the sport to an increasingly engaged public will step into the spotlight with the brightest star in the game right now, Cristiano Ronaldo, from a Portugal team victimized by the Americans in their 2002 opener.
Perfectly logical but hardly perfect in terms of advancing beyond Group G — that’s G, as in goodness gracious. The Americans may need group therapy.
“Obviously it’s one of the most difficult groups in the whole draw,” Klinsmann said Friday. “It couldn’t get any more difficult or any bigger, but that’s what a World Cup is about.”
While there was almost no avoiding a treacherous group, there was also hope for a little better outcome. As the splashy presentation unfolded at a resort in Brazil’s Bahia state and balls were pulled from four pots, the Americans remained in the running for a spot in the group with the weakest seeded team, Switzerland.
Contrary to Klinsmann’s assertion, it could have been worse. Consider Australia, which has almost no chance of finishing among the top two in Group B with 2010 finalists Spain and Netherlands plus Chile.
Klinsmann’s crew will also face the prospect of long journeys in a country almost as large as the United States. From its southern base in Sao Paulo, the Americans will have to charter to Natal, a coastal city in the northeast, to play Ghana on June 16; Manaus, situated in the Amazon region in the northwest, for Portugal on June 22; and Recife, near Natal, for the June 26 group finale against Germany.
The USSF estimates the team will travel some 8,800 miles over 11 days. Only Italy, which received the same venue assignments, will collect comparable frequent flyer miles.
“We hit the worst of the worst,” Klinsmann said of the first-round itinerary.
Travel aside, the Americans will confront three difficult 90-minute tasks against teams with strength, skill and experience.
“Sexy group,” U.S. forward Aron Johannsson posted on his Twitter page.
With talent placed all over European leagues, Ghana has risen to the top of Africa, a potent but underachieving soccer continent. Three-time champion Germany has reached the semifinals in each of the past three tournaments and draws a wealth of players from 2013 UEFA Champions League finalists Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
The United States defeated Germany, 4-3, in May at Washington’s RFK Stadium, but because of club conflicts, the German federation sent a watered-down roster.
Klinsmann, one of Germany’s most accomplished players and a World Cup champion in 1990, coached his native land on home soil in 2006. His assistant and primary tactician, Joachim Low, has guided the squad ever since.
World Cup draw: FIFA does U.S. soccer no favors in group with Germany, Portugal, Ghana - The Washington Post
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Juergen Klinsmann struggled to put a bright spin on what was clearly a black Friday for U.S. soccer. But his face told the story his words couldn't.
On most days, the perpetually exuberant Klinsmann looks like a boy who just got a puppy. But after the U.S. team he coaches was drawn into the most difficult four-team group for next summer's World Cup, he looked like a boy whose puppy had just been run over.
"Well, I think we hit one of those real big killer groups," Klinsmann said from the Brazilian beachfront resort of Costa do Sauipe after the U.S. was paired with Germany, Portugal and Ghana in a group from which only two countries can advance. "It is what it is."
What it is was disappointing, depressing and disheartening for Klinsmann. But it shouldn't have been surprising because two months ago he predicted it would happen.
The World Cup draw, he complained then, was unbalanced and capricious. With only eight of the 32 teams seeded into the selection process, a team like the U.S., which dominated its regional qualifying tournament, was treated no differently than any other unranked team.
As a result Mexico, twice shut out by the Americans in qualifying before winning a two-leg playoff with lowly New Zealand just to reach Brazil, can be drawn into a relatively easy group, as it was, while the U.S. gets two of the world's top five teams in Germany and Portugal.
And Mexico's group, which includes Croatia, Cameroon and Brazil, isn't even the softest of the eight. The four teams in Group H (Belgium, Algeria, South Korea and Russia) combined to win only two games in the last two World Cups and Group F, headed by Argentina, features three teams (Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nigeria) that haven't won a World Cup game this century.
Oh, and remember that 15-hour, 6,900-mile trip Mexico made to New Zealand last month as punishment for its dismal qualifying campaign? The U.S. will cover more than 9,000 miles in 10 days in Brazil, including one trip to the Amazon city of Manaus, where the temperature and the humidity will be in the high 80s. The Americans will spend five times as many hours in the air as they will playing games; no other World Cup team will travel as far in group play.
"We'll deal with it," Klinsmann said, "with a smile on our face."
Many of U.S. players parroted Klinsmann, at least publicly.
"The hard part is getting to the World Cup, and that's something that we have done already," forward Eddie Johnson said. "We couldn't have a better opportunity than to play against such amazing countries as Ghana, Portugal and Germany.
"When they say the 'Group of Death,' we have to look at ourselves as well. We're the U.S. national team and if it's considered the 'Group of Death' [because we are a part of it], it shows how far the country has come."
Added Clint Dempsey:
"You can't think about 'Am I the favorite, am I the underdog? What's it going to be like playing in the heat or with the travel?' Those are factors that come into it, but at the end of the day both teams have to deal with them. You both deal with the conditions, with injuries, with yellow cards. It's all part of the World Cup. Anything can happen and anything can happen on a given day."
There is some cause for optimism, though. The last time the U.S. played Portugal, in the 2002 World Cup, the Europeans were among the favorites to win the title before losing to the Americans, 3-2, in group play. But Cristiano Ronaldo, 17 then, watched that game on television.
Germany, ranked second in the world and, like Portugal 12 years ago, a World Cup favorite, lost once this year, 4-3 to the U.S. in June. But that was a German "B" team featuring only three regulars.
That could make the U.S. opener with Ghana — on paper, the weakest team in the group — key to the U.S. hopes. In the last World Cup it took at least four points to advance out of group play, leaving the Americans needing at least a draw with Ghana to have anything more than a mathematical chance of rising from the "Group of Death."
How ominous, then, to note it was Ghana that spoiled the last two World Cups for the U.S., each time winning, 2-1, to send the U.S. home, the most recent coming in overtime in the round of 16 in South Africa. Ironically, that might turn out to be the one truly positive thing about the luck of the draw for the U.S. players, who no doubt will spend the next six months with a giant chip on their shoulders and revenge on their minds.
"The memory will still be very fresh of the loss in the round of 16 in 2010," goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "I think that will help us more than it will them. We're a much stronger team than we were, and they'll know that going into the game. We'll look to set that result right."
U.S. men's soccer team stays positive despite tough draw for World Cup - latimes-com
On most days, the perpetually exuberant Klinsmann looks like a boy who just got a puppy. But after the U.S. team he coaches was drawn into the most difficult four-team group for next summer's World Cup, he looked like a boy whose puppy had just been run over.
"Well, I think we hit one of those real big killer groups," Klinsmann said from the Brazilian beachfront resort of Costa do Sauipe after the U.S. was paired with Germany, Portugal and Ghana in a group from which only two countries can advance. "It is what it is."
What it is was disappointing, depressing and disheartening for Klinsmann. But it shouldn't have been surprising because two months ago he predicted it would happen.
The World Cup draw, he complained then, was unbalanced and capricious. With only eight of the 32 teams seeded into the selection process, a team like the U.S., which dominated its regional qualifying tournament, was treated no differently than any other unranked team.
As a result Mexico, twice shut out by the Americans in qualifying before winning a two-leg playoff with lowly New Zealand just to reach Brazil, can be drawn into a relatively easy group, as it was, while the U.S. gets two of the world's top five teams in Germany and Portugal.
And Mexico's group, which includes Croatia, Cameroon and Brazil, isn't even the softest of the eight. The four teams in Group H (Belgium, Algeria, South Korea and Russia) combined to win only two games in the last two World Cups and Group F, headed by Argentina, features three teams (Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nigeria) that haven't won a World Cup game this century.
Oh, and remember that 15-hour, 6,900-mile trip Mexico made to New Zealand last month as punishment for its dismal qualifying campaign? The U.S. will cover more than 9,000 miles in 10 days in Brazil, including one trip to the Amazon city of Manaus, where the temperature and the humidity will be in the high 80s. The Americans will spend five times as many hours in the air as they will playing games; no other World Cup team will travel as far in group play.
"We'll deal with it," Klinsmann said, "with a smile on our face."
Many of U.S. players parroted Klinsmann, at least publicly.
"The hard part is getting to the World Cup, and that's something that we have done already," forward Eddie Johnson said. "We couldn't have a better opportunity than to play against such amazing countries as Ghana, Portugal and Germany.
"When they say the 'Group of Death,' we have to look at ourselves as well. We're the U.S. national team and if it's considered the 'Group of Death' [because we are a part of it], it shows how far the country has come."
Added Clint Dempsey:
"You can't think about 'Am I the favorite, am I the underdog? What's it going to be like playing in the heat or with the travel?' Those are factors that come into it, but at the end of the day both teams have to deal with them. You both deal with the conditions, with injuries, with yellow cards. It's all part of the World Cup. Anything can happen and anything can happen on a given day."
There is some cause for optimism, though. The last time the U.S. played Portugal, in the 2002 World Cup, the Europeans were among the favorites to win the title before losing to the Americans, 3-2, in group play. But Cristiano Ronaldo, 17 then, watched that game on television.
Germany, ranked second in the world and, like Portugal 12 years ago, a World Cup favorite, lost once this year, 4-3 to the U.S. in June. But that was a German "B" team featuring only three regulars.
That could make the U.S. opener with Ghana — on paper, the weakest team in the group — key to the U.S. hopes. In the last World Cup it took at least four points to advance out of group play, leaving the Americans needing at least a draw with Ghana to have anything more than a mathematical chance of rising from the "Group of Death."
How ominous, then, to note it was Ghana that spoiled the last two World Cups for the U.S., each time winning, 2-1, to send the U.S. home, the most recent coming in overtime in the round of 16 in South Africa. Ironically, that might turn out to be the one truly positive thing about the luck of the draw for the U.S. players, who no doubt will spend the next six months with a giant chip on their shoulders and revenge on their minds.
"The memory will still be very fresh of the loss in the round of 16 in 2010," goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "I think that will help us more than it will them. We're a much stronger team than we were, and they'll know that going into the game. We'll look to set that result right."
U.S. men's soccer team stays positive despite tough draw for World Cup - latimes-com
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Kodi Lavrusky gave UCLA its first NCAA women's soccer title Sunday, scoring in the 97th minute to lift the Bruins past Florida State 1-0 in overtime in cold and rainy conditions.
"The whole game we knew we had it in us," Lavrusky said. "Once we got to that first overtime, we knew our chances were coming. We just had to finish one." Making a run from the back, Megan Oyster brought the ball down the left side of the field before crossing over to the middle. She slipped a pass in front of the goal to Lavrusky, who left-footed the ball into the bottom right corner of the net past diving goalkeeper Kelsey Wys.
It was the first title game decided in overtime since 2002.
"Honestly, I just took my chances," Oyster said. "I knew we were going to get one eventually. I just stayed composed, and it was probably the best pass of my life. I've never done that before. I guess it was a good time to do that."
UCLA was winless in three previous appearances in the championship game, all since 2000.
The Bruins (22-1-3) finished the season with a 21-game unbeaten streak. They had 15 shutouts during that span, including five of six matches in the NCAA tournament.
UCLA beat the past two national champions on its way to the crown, a record 110th NCAA team championship for the school. The Bruins won their last three games against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, which placed six teams in the quarterfinal round and three in the College Cup.
"I think if you look back, it might be one of the best runs ever," first-year UCLA coach Amanda Cromwell said. "It really might be. This team is phenomenal. The amount of talent we have, and what we brought forth throughout that run was the mentality and the resolve. I think the toughness of those games brought us to this point. I knew these girls were destined to win it."
Wys made seven saves for Florida State (23-2-3), which had its nine-game winning streak snapped. The Seminoles were making their third consecutive appearance in the College Cup.
"Going through the season and being successful has been great," Florida State senior defender Kassey Kallman said. "But this was our third year back, and we're not satisfied with losing in the championship. I wish the best of luck to them next year and hope that they get it done then."
UCLA outshot Florida State 15-5 in regulation and controlled the run of play in each half. Taylor Smith had the best two chances at a goal for the Bruins in regulation. She blasted a shot off the crossbar in the 30th minute and hit the left post just before halftime.
The second opportunity was especially dangerous. Caprice Dydasco blasted a shot that Wys saved. After a failed clearance attempt by Florida State, the rebound ended up at Smith's feet. She had the left side of the net open from about 12 yards away, but her left-footed shot hit the frame.
The Bruins kept the pressure on throughout, outshooting the Seminoles 12-3 after halftime.
"Often times if you're not controlling the tempo of the game and having more of the ball, you're looking for that moment for a big chance," Florida State coach Mark Krikorian said. "We had a couple of half chances or partial chances or whatever that with a little bit more luck, it turns in our direction. But overall, it wasn't meant to be."
The temperature on the rain-soaked field was 35 degrees when the game began, more than 40 degrees colder than the high temperature Friday for the semifinals. Players opted for various combinations of long sleeves, gloves and headbands in the cold rain.
"The weather and the conditions were the same for both teams," Kallman said. "I didn't think it was too bad around the field. We were able to play. It wasn't like we were slipping all over the place. "
UCLA Bruins win women's soccer title in overtime over Florida State Seminoles
"The whole game we knew we had it in us," Lavrusky said. "Once we got to that first overtime, we knew our chances were coming. We just had to finish one." Making a run from the back, Megan Oyster brought the ball down the left side of the field before crossing over to the middle. She slipped a pass in front of the goal to Lavrusky, who left-footed the ball into the bottom right corner of the net past diving goalkeeper Kelsey Wys.
It was the first title game decided in overtime since 2002.
"Honestly, I just took my chances," Oyster said. "I knew we were going to get one eventually. I just stayed composed, and it was probably the best pass of my life. I've never done that before. I guess it was a good time to do that."
UCLA was winless in three previous appearances in the championship game, all since 2000.
The Bruins (22-1-3) finished the season with a 21-game unbeaten streak. They had 15 shutouts during that span, including five of six matches in the NCAA tournament.
UCLA beat the past two national champions on its way to the crown, a record 110th NCAA team championship for the school. The Bruins won their last three games against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference, which placed six teams in the quarterfinal round and three in the College Cup.
"I think if you look back, it might be one of the best runs ever," first-year UCLA coach Amanda Cromwell said. "It really might be. This team is phenomenal. The amount of talent we have, and what we brought forth throughout that run was the mentality and the resolve. I think the toughness of those games brought us to this point. I knew these girls were destined to win it."
Wys made seven saves for Florida State (23-2-3), which had its nine-game winning streak snapped. The Seminoles were making their third consecutive appearance in the College Cup.
"Going through the season and being successful has been great," Florida State senior defender Kassey Kallman said. "But this was our third year back, and we're not satisfied with losing in the championship. I wish the best of luck to them next year and hope that they get it done then."
UCLA outshot Florida State 15-5 in regulation and controlled the run of play in each half. Taylor Smith had the best two chances at a goal for the Bruins in regulation. She blasted a shot off the crossbar in the 30th minute and hit the left post just before halftime.
The second opportunity was especially dangerous. Caprice Dydasco blasted a shot that Wys saved. After a failed clearance attempt by Florida State, the rebound ended up at Smith's feet. She had the left side of the net open from about 12 yards away, but her left-footed shot hit the frame.
The Bruins kept the pressure on throughout, outshooting the Seminoles 12-3 after halftime.
"Often times if you're not controlling the tempo of the game and having more of the ball, you're looking for that moment for a big chance," Florida State coach Mark Krikorian said. "We had a couple of half chances or partial chances or whatever that with a little bit more luck, it turns in our direction. But overall, it wasn't meant to be."
The temperature on the rain-soaked field was 35 degrees when the game began, more than 40 degrees colder than the high temperature Friday for the semifinals. Players opted for various combinations of long sleeves, gloves and headbands in the cold rain.
"The weather and the conditions were the same for both teams," Kallman said. "I didn't think it was too bad around the field. We were able to play. It wasn't like we were slipping all over the place. "
UCLA Bruins win women's soccer title in overtime over Florida State Seminoles
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Samuel Eto’o is planning for life away from Chelsea and targeting a lucrative summer move to the United States.
Jose Mourinho’s frustration with his misfiring strikers intensified over the weekend after Eto’o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba all failed to score against Stoke.
Eto’o was pictured hugging two hot water bottles at the Britannia Stadium to keep warm and the 32-year-old has struggled since his switch to the Premier League.
He has scored only four goals after signing from Anzhi Makhachkala on a one-year contract and it appears his stay will be short-lived. MLS side Toronto have already made an £8 million-a-year offer for the centre-forward but he is not thought to want to move to Canada.
However, he is understood to be excited by the prospect of finishing his playing days in America and expects to receive more offers from the richer MLS sides such as LA Galaxy, Chicago Fire, Seattle Sounders and DC United.
The Chelsea manager has been criticised about his decision to loan out Romelu Lukaku to Everton, especially since he has been more prolific this season than Eto’o, Torres and Ba. Chelsea had planned to let Ba go on loan to Arsenal and keep Lukaku as their third-choice striker until Arsenal’s refusal to pay a fee sparked a late change of policy.
Mourinho was keen to sign Wayne Rooney in the summer, but the club took both Eto’o and £30 million Willian from Anzhi instead. Willian has scored once in only three Premier League starts for Chelsea.
The manager is not confident of landing any new strikers next month but may overhaul his forward options at the end of the season. He is still monitoring Rooney’s situation at Manchester United. Rooney is yet to sign a new United contract and Mourinho will recommend that Chelsea make another bid for him if he enters the final year of his present deal.
Ashley Cole is close to returning to full fitness after fully shaking off a rib injury and is hoping to make Chelsea’s starting XI for the Champions League match against Steaua Bucharest on Wednesday night.
Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o eyeing up a summer Major League Soccer move - Telegraph
Jose Mourinho’s frustration with his misfiring strikers intensified over the weekend after Eto’o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba all failed to score against Stoke.
Eto’o was pictured hugging two hot water bottles at the Britannia Stadium to keep warm and the 32-year-old has struggled since his switch to the Premier League.
He has scored only four goals after signing from Anzhi Makhachkala on a one-year contract and it appears his stay will be short-lived. MLS side Toronto have already made an £8 million-a-year offer for the centre-forward but he is not thought to want to move to Canada.
However, he is understood to be excited by the prospect of finishing his playing days in America and expects to receive more offers from the richer MLS sides such as LA Galaxy, Chicago Fire, Seattle Sounders and DC United.
The Chelsea manager has been criticised about his decision to loan out Romelu Lukaku to Everton, especially since he has been more prolific this season than Eto’o, Torres and Ba. Chelsea had planned to let Ba go on loan to Arsenal and keep Lukaku as their third-choice striker until Arsenal’s refusal to pay a fee sparked a late change of policy.
Mourinho was keen to sign Wayne Rooney in the summer, but the club took both Eto’o and £30 million Willian from Anzhi instead. Willian has scored once in only three Premier League starts for Chelsea.
The manager is not confident of landing any new strikers next month but may overhaul his forward options at the end of the season. He is still monitoring Rooney’s situation at Manchester United. Rooney is yet to sign a new United contract and Mourinho will recommend that Chelsea make another bid for him if he enters the final year of his present deal.
Ashley Cole is close to returning to full fitness after fully shaking off a rib injury and is hoping to make Chelsea’s starting XI for the Champions League match against Steaua Bucharest on Wednesday night.
Chelsea striker Samuel Eto’o eyeing up a summer Major League Soccer move - Telegraph
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Mexican billionaires Carlos Slim and Emilio Azcarraga, who typically go head-to-head for phone customers and TV viewers, are taking their rivalry to the soccer field this week in their country’s championship game.
Slim, the owner of the nation’s biggest wireless carrier, is an investor in Club Leon, which is a finalist in Mexico’s national soccer league. The team is squaring off against reigning champ Club America, controlled by TV magnate Azcarraga, in a two-game series starting tomorrow in Leon’s home stadium.
Caught in the crossfire are the legions of Mexican soccer fans who won’t be able to watch because of an agreement to televise the match only on cable for the first time. After Slim’s America Movil SAB (AMXL) acquired a stake in Leon last year, the club signed a broadcast-rights deal with cable’s Fox Sports.
That means the first match of the finals won’t be available across the nation on free, over-the-air TV -- the realm dominated by Azcarraga’s Grupo Televisa SAB. (TLEVICPO)
“Soccer in Mexico is not only a popular sport,” said Miguel Angel Lara, a media and sports professor at Iberoamericana University in Mexico City. “It moves economic and politic interests. It’s more than a sport here.”
Many Mexicans watch big games in cantinas or gathered around street-food stands, whose owners mount small TVs on their carts. Only about 44 percent of Mexican households have access to cable or satellite TV, the lowest penetration rate among Latin America’s biggest countries, according to data from the Latin American Multichannel Advertising Council.
Collecting Assets
The Leon investment is part of Slim’s effort to collect media assets, including a stake in soccer team Club Pachuca and the rights to air the Olympics, to attract viewers to America Movil’s website with exclusive programming. While the company doesn’t have its own pay-TV service, it has said recent changes in Mexican law may give it the opportunity to enter the market.
Slim will also broadcast the games through America Movil’s online news outlet, Uno TV Noticias, which a growing number of Mexicans with smartphones can access, according to Lara. That’s aiding the billionaire in his battle against Azcarraga’s Televisa, which owns the nation’s most-watched over-the-air TV channel and has invested in cable TV and mobile-phone carriers, putting it directly in competition with Slim.
“Soccer is one of those scenarios where they can fight each other openly,” Lara said.
Mexicans without access to pay TV or Internet will have to miss out on one of the most important matches of the year. Soccer is the nation’s most popular sport, according to a January poll by Consulta Mitofsky. Club America, playing for its 16th first-division championship, is a divisive team. While 17 percent of respondents to the Mitofsky poll called it their favorite, trailing only Club Guadalajara, 41 percent said it’s the one they hate most.
Azteca Stadium
Televisa, the nation’s largest broadcaster, will air the second leg of the final on Sunday when both teams play in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, owned by Televisa. Press officials for both companies didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
The rivalry shows signs of intensifying further after the government approved a law this year designed to create more competition in the phone and media industries. America Movil has an option to acquire a controlling stake in Dish Mexico, the second-largest satellite-TV company, once Slim is able to obtain a TV license, a potential outcome of the reform law.
Televisa, meanwhile, is counterattacking America Movil through a mobile-phone joint venture with another broadcaster, TV Azteca SAB. (AZTECACP) That effort will get a boost if the new law succeeds in chipping away at America Movil’s 70 percent share of the wireless market.
“There is an open battle,” Lara said. “Slim wants to enter TV through soccer, and what better way to enter it?”
Slim
Slim, the owner of the nation’s biggest wireless carrier, is an investor in Club Leon, which is a finalist in Mexico’s national soccer league. The team is squaring off against reigning champ Club America, controlled by TV magnate Azcarraga, in a two-game series starting tomorrow in Leon’s home stadium.
Caught in the crossfire are the legions of Mexican soccer fans who won’t be able to watch because of an agreement to televise the match only on cable for the first time. After Slim’s America Movil SAB (AMXL) acquired a stake in Leon last year, the club signed a broadcast-rights deal with cable’s Fox Sports.
That means the first match of the finals won’t be available across the nation on free, over-the-air TV -- the realm dominated by Azcarraga’s Grupo Televisa SAB. (TLEVICPO)
“Soccer in Mexico is not only a popular sport,” said Miguel Angel Lara, a media and sports professor at Iberoamericana University in Mexico City. “It moves economic and politic interests. It’s more than a sport here.”
Many Mexicans watch big games in cantinas or gathered around street-food stands, whose owners mount small TVs on their carts. Only about 44 percent of Mexican households have access to cable or satellite TV, the lowest penetration rate among Latin America’s biggest countries, according to data from the Latin American Multichannel Advertising Council.
Collecting Assets
The Leon investment is part of Slim’s effort to collect media assets, including a stake in soccer team Club Pachuca and the rights to air the Olympics, to attract viewers to America Movil’s website with exclusive programming. While the company doesn’t have its own pay-TV service, it has said recent changes in Mexican law may give it the opportunity to enter the market.
Slim will also broadcast the games through America Movil’s online news outlet, Uno TV Noticias, which a growing number of Mexicans with smartphones can access, according to Lara. That’s aiding the billionaire in his battle against Azcarraga’s Televisa, which owns the nation’s most-watched over-the-air TV channel and has invested in cable TV and mobile-phone carriers, putting it directly in competition with Slim.
“Soccer is one of those scenarios where they can fight each other openly,” Lara said.
Mexicans without access to pay TV or Internet will have to miss out on one of the most important matches of the year. Soccer is the nation’s most popular sport, according to a January poll by Consulta Mitofsky. Club America, playing for its 16th first-division championship, is a divisive team. While 17 percent of respondents to the Mitofsky poll called it their favorite, trailing only Club Guadalajara, 41 percent said it’s the one they hate most.
Azteca Stadium
Televisa, the nation’s largest broadcaster, will air the second leg of the final on Sunday when both teams play in Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, owned by Televisa. Press officials for both companies didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
The rivalry shows signs of intensifying further after the government approved a law this year designed to create more competition in the phone and media industries. America Movil has an option to acquire a controlling stake in Dish Mexico, the second-largest satellite-TV company, once Slim is able to obtain a TV license, a potential outcome of the reform law.
Televisa, meanwhile, is counterattacking America Movil through a mobile-phone joint venture with another broadcaster, TV Azteca SAB. (AZTECACP) That effort will get a boost if the new law succeeds in chipping away at America Movil’s 70 percent share of the wireless market.
“There is an open battle,” Lara said. “Slim wants to enter TV through soccer, and what better way to enter it?”
Slim
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An effort to construct a temporary soccer stadium at Cal Expo to house the newly formed Sacramento Republic FC has been delayed.
Still, team officials said Wednesday that they are optimistic the 8,000-seat stadium will be completed in time for Republic FC’s first home match in late April. The team is planning to play 14 league matches at the stadium, along with a series of “friendlies” against international and Major League Soccer teams.
The Cal Expo board of directors had been scheduled to vote on the plan to build the stadium at the board’s meeting on Friday. That vote will now likely happen at the board’s Jan. 31 meeting.
Ovations Fanfare, the company building the privately financed stadium, has asked for an extension of its exclusive negotiating agreement with Cal Expo “to allow for additional time to effectively continue the discussion,” according to a news release issued jointly by Cal Expo, Ovations and Republic FC.
“Although the timeline for strategic evaluation and project completion has been aggressive in an attempt to meet the Sacramento Republic FC 2014 season, all parties recognize the merit of engaging in a thorough and thoughtful process,” the news release read.
Warren Smith, president of Republic FC, said in the news release that the team has secured 2,700 season ticket packages from fans who “are excited to begin the seat assignment process in what could be a remarkable new asset.”
In an interview, Smith said he was “95 percent” sure the plan would be finalized by the January Cal Expo board meeting. However, he described that date as “kind of drop-dead for us” to get the plan approved in time to have the facility open for the 2014 season opener.
If the project is further delayed, Smith said, the team is still exploring the option of playing its home games at Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College. He said he plans to meet with college officials next week.
Officials with the Sacramento City College athletics department could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
“Even if we had to play a couple of games at Hughes Stadium, or even the first season, we’re still going to move forward with (the Cal Expo) facility,” Smith said. “We want to deliver sooner rather than later.”
If the stadium plan is approved by the Cal Expo board next month, team officials said they expect construction to be completed in two months.
Smith has set a goal of averaging 6,750 fans per home game for Republic FC, which will play in the lower-division USL Pro league. The team has also set a goal of being awarded an expansion spot in Major League Soccer in 2016.
Read more here: Cal Expo soccer stadium delayed - City Beat - The Sacramento Bee
Still, team officials said Wednesday that they are optimistic the 8,000-seat stadium will be completed in time for Republic FC’s first home match in late April. The team is planning to play 14 league matches at the stadium, along with a series of “friendlies” against international and Major League Soccer teams.
The Cal Expo board of directors had been scheduled to vote on the plan to build the stadium at the board’s meeting on Friday. That vote will now likely happen at the board’s Jan. 31 meeting.
Ovations Fanfare, the company building the privately financed stadium, has asked for an extension of its exclusive negotiating agreement with Cal Expo “to allow for additional time to effectively continue the discussion,” according to a news release issued jointly by Cal Expo, Ovations and Republic FC.
“Although the timeline for strategic evaluation and project completion has been aggressive in an attempt to meet the Sacramento Republic FC 2014 season, all parties recognize the merit of engaging in a thorough and thoughtful process,” the news release read.
Warren Smith, president of Republic FC, said in the news release that the team has secured 2,700 season ticket packages from fans who “are excited to begin the seat assignment process in what could be a remarkable new asset.”
In an interview, Smith said he was “95 percent” sure the plan would be finalized by the January Cal Expo board meeting. However, he described that date as “kind of drop-dead for us” to get the plan approved in time to have the facility open for the 2014 season opener.
If the project is further delayed, Smith said, the team is still exploring the option of playing its home games at Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College. He said he plans to meet with college officials next week.
Officials with the Sacramento City College athletics department could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
“Even if we had to play a couple of games at Hughes Stadium, or even the first season, we’re still going to move forward with (the Cal Expo) facility,” Smith said. “We want to deliver sooner rather than later.”
If the stadium plan is approved by the Cal Expo board next month, team officials said they expect construction to be completed in two months.
Smith has set a goal of averaging 6,750 fans per home game for Republic FC, which will play in the lower-division USL Pro league. The team has also set a goal of being awarded an expansion spot in Major League Soccer in 2016.
Read more here: Cal Expo soccer stadium delayed - City Beat - The Sacramento Bee
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Jurgen Klinsmann, the coach of the United States men’s soccer team, agreed to a four-year contract extension Thursday, a strong show of support from U.S. Soccer only six months before the World Cup in Brazil. The deal means he will remain in charge of the team through the 2018 World Cup in Russia. As part of the deal, he added the title of technical director for U.S. Soccer, the sport’s national governing body, a role that will give him broad oversight over national team programs, player development, coaching and grass-roots soccer.
“I am very fortunate to continue the work we started more than two and half years ago,” Klinsmann said in a statement released by U.S. Soccer. “It’s exciting to see the progress we have made, and we continue to make improvements on all fronts.”
Although the discussions about the new contract no doubt preceded the World Cup draw last week, the timing of the announcement was surprising. The Americans were drawn into a daunting first-round group, with Ghana, Portugal and Germany. A disappointing showing in Brazil could leave Klinsmann and U.S. Soccer in an awkward position, especially if the team plays poorly.
But the president of U.S. Soccer, Sunil Gulati, who courted Klinsmann for years before hiring him, emphasized the long view. Klinsmann is 27-10-7 since replacing Bob Bradley in July 2011, a tenure that has included milestone wins at Italy and Mexico — the first United States win on Mexican soil — and at home against Germany.
The United States won a team-record 16 games in 2013, including 12 in a row, another team record, from June through August. The team captured its regional championship, the Gold Cup, for the fifth time and finished first in its World Cup qualifying group.
Klinsmann’s winning percentage (69.3) is higher than that of any of his recent predecessors, all of whom also qualified teams for the World Cup.
“One of the reasons we hired Jurgen as our head coach was to advance the program forward, and we’ve seen the initial stages of that happening on the field and also off the field in various areas,” Gulati said in the statement. “In the past two years he has built a strong foundation from the senior team down to the youth teams, and we want to continue to build upon that success.”
The role of technical director could be the most important part of the deal, since it will allow Klinsmann to influence development and coaching at all levels of American soccer. It is a role he has long coveted, and one he called “a huge opportunity.”
“These are fascinating topics and I am excited to work with so many talented people and hear fresh ideas,” he said. “For sure it means more work, but also many more fulfilling opportunities.”
Klinsmann’s first task will be preparing the Americans for the World Cup. The team will gather for a weeklong training camp in California in January, then travel to Brazil for two more weeks of camp at its planned World Cup base in São Paulo.
U.S. Soccer has scheduled a friendly against South Korea on Feb. 1 in Carson, Calif., and the team is expected to play another in Europe in March.
At least two more games are expected before the team departs for the World Cup; The Guardian reported last week that the Americans would face England in Miami in May. At the World Cup, the United States will open against Ghana on June 16, then play Portugal (June 22) and Germany (June 26).
www-nytimes-com/2013/12/13/sports/soccer/klinsmann-agrees-to-four-year-extension-with-us-soccer-html?hpw&rref=sports&_r=0
“I am very fortunate to continue the work we started more than two and half years ago,” Klinsmann said in a statement released by U.S. Soccer. “It’s exciting to see the progress we have made, and we continue to make improvements on all fronts.”
Although the discussions about the new contract no doubt preceded the World Cup draw last week, the timing of the announcement was surprising. The Americans were drawn into a daunting first-round group, with Ghana, Portugal and Germany. A disappointing showing in Brazil could leave Klinsmann and U.S. Soccer in an awkward position, especially if the team plays poorly.
But the president of U.S. Soccer, Sunil Gulati, who courted Klinsmann for years before hiring him, emphasized the long view. Klinsmann is 27-10-7 since replacing Bob Bradley in July 2011, a tenure that has included milestone wins at Italy and Mexico — the first United States win on Mexican soil — and at home against Germany.
The United States won a team-record 16 games in 2013, including 12 in a row, another team record, from June through August. The team captured its regional championship, the Gold Cup, for the fifth time and finished first in its World Cup qualifying group.
Klinsmann’s winning percentage (69.3) is higher than that of any of his recent predecessors, all of whom also qualified teams for the World Cup.
“One of the reasons we hired Jurgen as our head coach was to advance the program forward, and we’ve seen the initial stages of that happening on the field and also off the field in various areas,” Gulati said in the statement. “In the past two years he has built a strong foundation from the senior team down to the youth teams, and we want to continue to build upon that success.”
The role of technical director could be the most important part of the deal, since it will allow Klinsmann to influence development and coaching at all levels of American soccer. It is a role he has long coveted, and one he called “a huge opportunity.”
“These are fascinating topics and I am excited to work with so many talented people and hear fresh ideas,” he said. “For sure it means more work, but also many more fulfilling opportunities.”
Klinsmann’s first task will be preparing the Americans for the World Cup. The team will gather for a weeklong training camp in California in January, then travel to Brazil for two more weeks of camp at its planned World Cup base in São Paulo.
U.S. Soccer has scheduled a friendly against South Korea on Feb. 1 in Carson, Calif., and the team is expected to play another in Europe in March.
At least two more games are expected before the team departs for the World Cup; The Guardian reported last week that the Americans would face England in Miami in May. At the World Cup, the United States will open against Ghana on June 16, then play Portugal (June 22) and Germany (June 26).
www-nytimes-com/2013/12/13/sports/soccer/klinsmann-agrees-to-four-year-extension-with-us-soccer-html?hpw&rref=sports&_r=0
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A familiar formula helped the Maryland men's soccer team advance to its sixth NCAA final.
Senior forward Patrick Mullins scored two goals and freshman goalkeeper Zack Steffen made two critical saves in the second half to propel the Terps to a 2-1 semifinal victory over Virginia before an announced 4,172 at PPL Park on Friday night.
Maryland (17-3-5), the No. 5 seed, will have an opportunity to capture its fourth national title — and third under coach Sasho Cirovski — when the Terps face No. 3 seed Notre Dame in Sunday's final. The Fighting Irish defeated No. 7 seed New Mexico, 2-0, in Friday's earlier semifinal to reach its first championship game.
Mullins, who has six goals and three assists in his past nine starts, continues to build on his resume to repeat as the Hermann Trophy winner — college soccer's version of the Heisman. His goals Friday were his team-leading 17th and 18th.
Virginia (13-6-5), the No. 8 seed, appeared to establish the tempo in the early stages, controlling time of possession and beating the Terps to 50-50 balls.
But Maryland opened the scoring 10:39 into the first half. After a Cavaliers turnover, Terps junior midfielder Mikias Eticha spotted Mullins sprinting down the middle of the field with Virginia senior defender Kevin McBride on his right hip.
Ten yards behind the midline, Eticha floated the ball over McBride, and Mullins bunted the ball from the top of the box over junior goalkeeper Calle Brown and into the net.
With 14:31 left in the second half, sophomore midfielder Tsubasa Endoh lobbed a pass to Mullins, who slipped past a pair of defenders, settled the ball, and booted it with his left foot from 10 yards to up the Terps' advantage to 2-0.
Mullins, who has scored four goals and assisted on another in three meetings with the Cavaliers this season, credited Eticha and Endoh with getting him loose downfield.
“Great vision from both Mickey and Tsubasa because as a forward, all you can do is make hard runs and hope the ball gets there,” Mullins said. “When you have great players feeding you the ball, more times than not, they're going to get there. I got two great services and made sure to put them away.”
While Mullins was converting on one end of the field, Steffen made sure Virginia was not doing the same. With just 3:08 elapsed in the second half, freshman midfielder Darius Madison took the ball down the left side of the box and fired a shot that appeared to skip under Steffen. But Steffen — who finished with a game-high five saves — got just enough of his palm on the ball to redirect it off the left post and out.
The Cavaliers halved the deficit when sophomore midfielder Todd Wharton converted a penalty kick created by Terps junior midfielder Dan Metzger's takedown of sophomore forward Marcus Salandy-Defour in the box.
Virginia's best chance at an equalizer came with 2:49 remaining. Madison crossed the ball from the right side of the box to sophomore midfielder Brian James in the middle of the field. But Steffen got enough of his right hand on James' shot from 15 yards away to influence it to stray wide left.
“I read the guy who crossed it,” Steffen said. “I got a quick jump to get over. … I stood my ground, and I dove and made the save.”
Notre Dame midfielder Patrick Hodan scored a goal in each half to power the No. 3-seeded Irish past No. 7 seed New Mexico (14-6-2) in the first semifinal.
The Irish, who suffered their only loss of the season to Virginia on Oct. 26, got all the offense they needed from Hodan, who has scored seven goals in his past six games and at least one in each.
Senior forward Harrison Shipp, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, assisted on both goals and leads the team in goals (12) and assists (10).
Read more: Patrick Mullins scores twice to push Terps into NCAA men's soccer final - baltimoresun-com
Senior forward Patrick Mullins scored two goals and freshman goalkeeper Zack Steffen made two critical saves in the second half to propel the Terps to a 2-1 semifinal victory over Virginia before an announced 4,172 at PPL Park on Friday night.
Maryland (17-3-5), the No. 5 seed, will have an opportunity to capture its fourth national title — and third under coach Sasho Cirovski — when the Terps face No. 3 seed Notre Dame in Sunday's final. The Fighting Irish defeated No. 7 seed New Mexico, 2-0, in Friday's earlier semifinal to reach its first championship game.
Mullins, who has six goals and three assists in his past nine starts, continues to build on his resume to repeat as the Hermann Trophy winner — college soccer's version of the Heisman. His goals Friday were his team-leading 17th and 18th.
Virginia (13-6-5), the No. 8 seed, appeared to establish the tempo in the early stages, controlling time of possession and beating the Terps to 50-50 balls.
But Maryland opened the scoring 10:39 into the first half. After a Cavaliers turnover, Terps junior midfielder Mikias Eticha spotted Mullins sprinting down the middle of the field with Virginia senior defender Kevin McBride on his right hip.
Ten yards behind the midline, Eticha floated the ball over McBride, and Mullins bunted the ball from the top of the box over junior goalkeeper Calle Brown and into the net.
With 14:31 left in the second half, sophomore midfielder Tsubasa Endoh lobbed a pass to Mullins, who slipped past a pair of defenders, settled the ball, and booted it with his left foot from 10 yards to up the Terps' advantage to 2-0.
Mullins, who has scored four goals and assisted on another in three meetings with the Cavaliers this season, credited Eticha and Endoh with getting him loose downfield.
“Great vision from both Mickey and Tsubasa because as a forward, all you can do is make hard runs and hope the ball gets there,” Mullins said. “When you have great players feeding you the ball, more times than not, they're going to get there. I got two great services and made sure to put them away.”
While Mullins was converting on one end of the field, Steffen made sure Virginia was not doing the same. With just 3:08 elapsed in the second half, freshman midfielder Darius Madison took the ball down the left side of the box and fired a shot that appeared to skip under Steffen. But Steffen — who finished with a game-high five saves — got just enough of his palm on the ball to redirect it off the left post and out.
The Cavaliers halved the deficit when sophomore midfielder Todd Wharton converted a penalty kick created by Terps junior midfielder Dan Metzger's takedown of sophomore forward Marcus Salandy-Defour in the box.
Virginia's best chance at an equalizer came with 2:49 remaining. Madison crossed the ball from the right side of the box to sophomore midfielder Brian James in the middle of the field. But Steffen got enough of his right hand on James' shot from 15 yards away to influence it to stray wide left.
“I read the guy who crossed it,” Steffen said. “I got a quick jump to get over. … I stood my ground, and I dove and made the save.”
Notre Dame midfielder Patrick Hodan scored a goal in each half to power the No. 3-seeded Irish past No. 7 seed New Mexico (14-6-2) in the first semifinal.
The Irish, who suffered their only loss of the season to Virginia on Oct. 26, got all the offense they needed from Hodan, who has scored seven goals in his past six games and at least one in each.
Senior forward Harrison Shipp, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, assisted on both goals and leads the team in goals (12) and assists (10).
Read more: Patrick Mullins scores twice to push Terps into NCAA men's soccer final - baltimoresun-com
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Patrick Hodan led Notre Dame to its first NCAA men’s soccer final, scoring twice in the Fighting Irish’s 2-0 semifinal victory over New Mexico on Friday night at PPL Park.
Notre Dame (16-1-6) will face Maryland in the title game Sunday. Maryland beat Virginia 2-1 in the second semifinal. Hodan has scored in six straight games, the last four in the NCAA tournament, and has 11 goals this season.
“He’s a little guy,” Notre Dame coach Bobby Clark said. “But he’s Superman when he puts on a uniform. ... He’s a special talent and a special kid.”
Harrison Shipp, a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy as the nation’s best player, assisted on both goals.
Shipp, who has 12 goals and 10 assists this season, controlled the tempo in the middle of the field to — frustrate the Lobos defense.
“Coming into this year, we had one ultimate goal: to bring the program to the final four and win a national championship,” Shipp said. “And I think we’ve assembled the right group of guys. I don’t think we have any weaknesses on the field.”
In the seventh minute, Shipp shook off a defender, made a couple of moves and found Hodan in the box for a shot that snapped New Mexico’s shutout streak at 317 minutes.
“They actually tried to foul me,” Shipp said. “They grabbed me from behind. I think I just kind of spun out of it and they thought, I’m pretty sure, that the ref was going to call a foul. The guy kind of froze and then I saw Patrick making a run. And it worked out perfectly”
The Irish, making their first College Cup appearance, scored again in the 65th minute when Hodan pounced on a rebound in the box after Vince Cicciarelli hit the crossbar.
“I wish I could say we were at our best today, but I think we were all disappointed with our performance,” New Mexico coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “It was because Notre Dame was good — that’s part of it — but I just didn’t feel like we had it today.”
Goalkeeper Patrick Wall made five saves to blank the Lobos (14-6-2), while Notre Dame’s backline, as well as defensive midfielder Nick Besler, helped limit New Mexico’s opportunities.
Besler’s brother, Matt, won the MLS Cup with Sporting Kansas City last weekend and is getting married Saturday. Nick will have to miss the wedding — but for good reason.
“I think our whole backline and Nick Besler all have confidence when we get a shutout,” Wall said. “We’re all looking forward to the next game. At the beginning of the season, we didn’t set out to get to the final. We set out to win the whole thing.”
Notre Dame advances to NCAA soccer final - The Washington Post
Notre Dame (16-1-6) will face Maryland in the title game Sunday. Maryland beat Virginia 2-1 in the second semifinal. Hodan has scored in six straight games, the last four in the NCAA tournament, and has 11 goals this season.
“He’s a little guy,” Notre Dame coach Bobby Clark said. “But he’s Superman when he puts on a uniform. ... He’s a special talent and a special kid.”
Harrison Shipp, a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy as the nation’s best player, assisted on both goals.
Shipp, who has 12 goals and 10 assists this season, controlled the tempo in the middle of the field to — frustrate the Lobos defense.
“Coming into this year, we had one ultimate goal: to bring the program to the final four and win a national championship,” Shipp said. “And I think we’ve assembled the right group of guys. I don’t think we have any weaknesses on the field.”
In the seventh minute, Shipp shook off a defender, made a couple of moves and found Hodan in the box for a shot that snapped New Mexico’s shutout streak at 317 minutes.
“They actually tried to foul me,” Shipp said. “They grabbed me from behind. I think I just kind of spun out of it and they thought, I’m pretty sure, that the ref was going to call a foul. The guy kind of froze and then I saw Patrick making a run. And it worked out perfectly”
The Irish, making their first College Cup appearance, scored again in the 65th minute when Hodan pounced on a rebound in the box after Vince Cicciarelli hit the crossbar.
“I wish I could say we were at our best today, but I think we were all disappointed with our performance,” New Mexico coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “It was because Notre Dame was good — that’s part of it — but I just didn’t feel like we had it today.”
Goalkeeper Patrick Wall made five saves to blank the Lobos (14-6-2), while Notre Dame’s backline, as well as defensive midfielder Nick Besler, helped limit New Mexico’s opportunities.
Besler’s brother, Matt, won the MLS Cup with Sporting Kansas City last weekend and is getting married Saturday. Nick will have to miss the wedding — but for good reason.
“I think our whole backline and Nick Besler all have confidence when we get a shutout,” Wall said. “We’re all looking forward to the next game. At the beginning of the season, we didn’t set out to get to the final. We set out to win the whole thing.”
Notre Dame advances to NCAA soccer final - The Washington Post
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Andrew O'Malley and Leon Brown scored to lift Notre Dame to its first ever national championship in men's soccer.!
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But it won't be Sepp Blatter or Michel Platini who take the lead on match fixing. Instead Chris Eaton, a former policeman in Victoria, Australia, is the man the criminals and the fixers have to fear.
Indeed, Eaton looks as if he has stepped straight off the set of LA Confidential, and his approach to crime-fighting is unapologetically old school.
"Criminality is pretty much amateurish in every sense," bristles the 61-year-old.
"But we have to face up to the reality that the infiltration of criminality into football for the purpose of match fixing - primarily for the purpose of betting fraud - has reached endemic proportions."
Eaton's message is clear; match fixing is not something that will become a scourge on our game – it already is.
After more than 10 years at Interpol, which in turn followed 30 years experience of federal policing in Australia, Eaton became FIFA's security advisor for the 2010 World Cup, working closely with South African police to monitor and eradicate criminal activity.
He then became full-time head of security with FIFA, helping to set up the federation's anti-match fixing and criminal behavior program.
He is now sports integrity director at the International Centre for Sports Security (ICSS), a Doha-based not-for-profit organization set up in 2010 to "work with all those responsible for sport security, safety and integrity", which counts governments and sport associations among its clients.
Eaton's role is to investigate fraud and travel the world bringing down criminal organizations and warning those illustrious clients of measures they can take to prevent match fixing from happening on their patch.
Yet you learn more about match fixing from the personal details, the individual stories that bring home quite how easy it can be to defraud supporters at every stage, than the bigger picture.
They also show how fixing has evolved from somewhat crude, small-scale involvement to potentially dangerous criminal activity.
Two Malaysians, a Chinese man and Charlton's security advisor were jailed in 1997 after a bribed security guard blew the whistle on a ploy to turn off the floodlights during a match against Liverpool at the Valley. The plan, which had succeeded on two previous occasions - at West Ham's Upton Park and Wimbledon's Selhurst Park - secured big-money payouts for Asian betting syndicates who profited from the games being brought to a premature halt.
In 2010 a Cremonese player crashed his car after a match against Paganese. It transpired he and his teammates had allegedly been doped by goalkeeper Marco Paolini, who had attempted to rig the match to clear his gambling debts. Paolini has since been banned from soccer for five years.
Also in 2010 there was the astonishing tale of a fake Togolese team playing Bahrain and losing 3-0 – a ruse that made headlines around the world.
The following year 11 players in Finland were convicted alongside a Singaporean match fixer.
In February of this year Interpol announced a list of up to 380 'suspicious' matches, including two Champions League games. Hungarian club Debrecen subsequently admitted that two of its matches, against Liverpool and Fiorentina, had been investigated by UEFA. The team's goalkeeper, Vukasin Poleksic, had been approached by fixers ahead of the game at Anfield, and was banned for two years for failing to report a corruption plot relating to the Fiorentina clash.
In September, four Englishmen were among 10 charged with match fixing while playing for Melbourne's Southern Stars. They had previously played for Hornchurch and Eastbourne Borough.
Days after those events in Australia, Singaporean police arrested Tan Seet Eng – otherwise known as Dan Tan – a man alleged to be a fixer, or even 'the glue between the match fixing operation and the betting operation'.
The arrest of the infamous Tan was thought to be a significant breakthrough but Eaton downplays his role, indicating he is simply a cog in a large and well-oiled machine.
The figures are striking. Eaton estimates between 1-2 billion pounds is wagered on sport – 70-80 percent of that on soccer – by just three Asian betting syndicates. He also claims that criminal gangs are veering away from drug trafficking to match fixing because it 'is easier – less risk and higher reward'.
According to Eaton, betting syndicates working primarily out of Asia and Eastern Europe prey on the weak – clubs and players that are in need of money, hence why the fixes so far uncovered are not among soccer's elite. It is possible that events in Spain could disprove that.
"Eight or nine games in the top two divisions will be fixed (every season)," the president of the Spanish footballers' association (LFP), Javier Tebas told a Leaders in Football conference earlier this year.
"It is not just a problem with the Spanish Leagues, it's a problem for other leagues and other sports, but it needs to be addressed and we need to find solutions.
"Nothing has affected the big clubs. It's clear that what's happening in the lower leagues can happen in the big leagues as well.
"We are completely aware of this corruption issue. It's a financial question – it's about pricing and what you can earn from the situation."
One game in particular stands out; Deportivo La Coruna's 4-0 win at Levante in April. Levante were destined for a mid-table finish and Deportivo in a desperate, and ultimately unsuccessful, fight against relegation.
As such the result raised eyebrows – particularly when Levante midfielder Javier Barkero questioned the commitment and effort of some of his teammates at halftime. Tebas confirmed an investigation, which is ongoing.
Listening to Eaton's views on match fixing is sobering in the extreme: "In the last 10 years we ha