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US Stuns No. 1 Spain, Advances to Confederations Cup Final

Posted: Jun 24th 2009 4:53PM ET by Michael Cardillo (RSS feed)
Filed under: International, Soccer, Soccer Posts, US Soccer

45 COMMENTS
Wednesday night in chilly Bloemfontein, South Africa, the U.S. national team lodged one of its greatest victories in its history, beating FIFA No. 1 Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup semifinals. The win snapped Spain's 35-match unbeaten run, denying them a chance to set a new record at 36.

This win almost made me pull out the thesaurus for the proper word to describe it. Stunning? Yes. Unbelievable? Pretty close. Deserved? You bet.
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US vs. Spain Live Blog

Posted: Jun 24th 2009 1:45PM ET by Michael Cardillo (RSS feed)
Filed under: International, Soccer Posts, U.S. Men's National Team

2 COMMENTS
Fernando Torres As a fan of the U.S. national team, you probably couldn't ask for more from Wednesday's Confederations Cup semifinal against Spain, especially considering how the first two games of the tournament unfurled for Bob Bradley's team. In short, the underdog Americans are up against FIFA's No. 1-ranked team, Spain, which has already set the all-time international record for consecutive wins (15) in this tournament and could break the all-time undefeated run (36) by defeating the Americans.

With a win, or even simply a strong performance, the U.S. can garner a boatload of goodwill toward the 2010 World Cup. At the very least it would erase the lingering doubts raised in the opening two games of this tournament.

All in all, the odds are surely stacked against the U.S., but that's why we follow sports, right? To see the chance of a colossal upset. The match kicks off from South Africa at 2:25 PM ET and we'll be blogging shortly before the opening whistle.
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Manchester United Keeps Hope of 5 Trophies Alive

Posted: Mar 2nd 2009 11:06AM ET by Michael Cardillo (RSS feed)
Filed under: European Soccer, English Premier League, Soccer, Soccer Posts

1 COMMENT
Apparently, there are some 1,312 Subway sandwich shops ("shoppes"?) in England. The reason I bring this up is to ponder whether the Brits are privy to the company's current "$5 Footlong" campaign (yes, it would be pounds over there.)

Because, as it turns out, "5" is the key number hovering around super-club Manchester United these days.

United defeated Tottenham in the Carling Cup final Sunday in penalty kicks, which keeps the club on pace for winning five trophies this term -- the Carling Cup, the FA Cup, the Premier Leauge, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. Perhaps it's a good thing they hand out winner's medals, as opposed to rings, because the players would run out of room on their hands.
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Indian Child Labor Exploited in Production of Soccer Balls

Posted: Sep 16th 2008 11:08AM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed under: Soccer, Soccer Posts

11 COMMENTS
Many of the soccer balls that children in the United States and Europe play with are hand-stitched by children in India who work under brutal conditions for pennies a day, according to a report that will air tonight on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

The report demonstrates that soccer balls sold at Wal-Mart and other American stores were produced by children who were sold into indentured servitude by their parents in India. After past scandals about soccer ball companies using child labor, many companies started putting labels on their balls that say the balls weren't made with child labor. But Real Sports shows that those labels are often sewn on the balls by children as young as 6 years old.

Real Sports correspondent Bernard Goldberg interviews one Indian man who is working to stop the use of child labor, but he's a lonely voice with a Herculean task ahead of him. Goldberg's report is a sobering look at the soccer ball industry, without a happy ending.

Real Sports first airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and re-airs throughout the month.

Sepp Blatter Thinks He Can Dance

Posted: Sep 15th 2008 3:24PM ET by Michael Cardillo (RSS feed)
Filed under: FIFA World Cup, International, Soccer Posts

0 COMMENTS
So, FIFA boss Sepp Blatter headed to South Africa today to once again proclaim that things are on track for hosting the 2010 World Cup despite a myriad of construction, infrastructure and security troubles. Blatter has reiterated his point that barring a natural disaster South Africa will indeed host the event in two years. This time it warrants a post for this absolute gem of a quote:
""When I left the plane and arrived on African soil, I started dancing."
The question, I suppose, is what kind of dance did Blatter bust out upon landing? A jig? An MC Hammer shake? Something from "America's Top Dance Crew"? A little bit of "Heidi" inspired twirls? (Personally, I'd have liked a Mr. T breakdance.)

Either way, regardless of what Blatter says the 2010 World Cup will look very different that any previous offering. Logistically it seems very tough to believe that teams and fans are going to be able to move easily across South Africa as they have at past tournaments. Are fans from around the world willing to pay exorbitant prices to get to South Africa when their safety might come into question?

Meanwhile, four stadiums are still in construction, while the other six are being upgraded. This doesn't even take into account criticism that multi-billion dollar projects hardly help the normal everyday citizens in a nation with a per captia income of $5,724.

Still, it's a noble idea for Blatter to bring the sporting world's biggest event to the African continent, which has become a major contributor on the world stage. It would be a shame that if things aren't ready the organizers push forward anyway when numerous countries (England, Germany, the U.S., etc.) could step in and host. Ideally, the 2010 event could have been moved to Brasil -- the 2014 host -- except the South American country is having similar stadium construction troubles as South Africa.

Stay tuned.

Manchester City Has Money to Burn

Posted: Sep 2nd 2008 1:25PM ET by Michael Cardillo (RSS feed)
Filed under: European Soccer, English Premier League, Soccer Posts

2 COMMENTS

It didn't take long for the Abu Dhabi takeover of Manchester City to jump off the deep end. Today the front man in the takeover -- Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim (above, left)-- claimed to be the new Roman Abramovich, i.e. a cash-flush foreign investor in the Premier League with aspirations of championships and glory.

A little later Tuesday Al-Fahim took it even further claiming he wants to sign among others -- Cristiano Ronaldo, Cesc Fabregas and Fernando Torres. Apparently Al-Fahim didn't notice the significant lack of trophies yielded from the Galatico era at Real Madrid a few years back.

The group might have more money than they know what to do with, but I'm not going to hold my breath on a flood of superstars pouring into Eastlands -- especially since it'll take a year or two to even sniff at a Champions League place. Then again, I don't exactly have £700 billion dollars burning a hole through my pocket. To them, buying the world's best soccer players is like the average man purchasing a $5 footlong from Subway.

If anything, the Abu Dhabi era at City ought to be fun. It's not everyday you get astounding quotes like this:

"We are going to be the biggest club in the world, bigger than both Real Madrid and Manchester United."
In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, "Good luck with all that.

Man Arrested for Biting Soccer Ref Arrested Again, This Time for Stabbing Dancer

Posted: Jul 2nd 2008 4:48PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed under: Soccer, Soccer Posts

3 COMMENTS
It's probably safe to say that Rannord A. Jones has some anger issues.

You'll recall that Jones was arrested two weeks ago for biting a referee during a soccer game in Newark, Delaware. Now Jones has been arrested again, this time on charges of second-degree assault, possession of a deadly weapon and conspiracy.

The Delaware News Journal reports that Jones and a friend were at a restaurant when a man and woman who were dancing bumped into Jones' friend. That led to a confrontation in which, police say, Jones and his friend both pulled knives, and two men were taken to the hospital with stab wounds.

Jones has been released on bail, which wouldn't make me feel very safe if I lived in Delaware.

Via Deadspin.

Soccer Player Arrested for Biting Referee

Posted: Jun 21st 2008 1:54PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed under: Soccer, Soccer Posts

153 COMMENTS
A 28-year-old soccer player in Newark, Delaware has been arrested after biting a referee who gave him a red card. Here's a TV news account of the incident:



Police charged the player, Rannord A. Jones, with several offenses, including assault and terroristic threatening. Said Police Cpl. Trinidad Navarro, "The player was so enraged that he just savagely attacked the official, biting him almost in an animal manner about the chin."

There have been no reports on the condition of the referee, whose name has not been released.

Said one witness of the attack, "You just don't bite somebody like that." Apparently you do if you're Rannord A. Jones.

Moscow Police Have Seen Much Worse Than English Soccer Fans

Posted: May 19th 2008 8:33AM ET by David J. Warner (RSS feed)
Filed under: Soccer, Premier League, Soccer Posts

0 COMMENTS

This news report out of Russia takes a closer look at the police force in Moscow and how they are preparing to deal with tens of thousands of English soccer fans for Wednesday's Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea. At least one officer doesn't seem too concerned:

"I've seen how British fans behave in the arenas. They're like kids compared to the Russian fans. There are sometimes problems in the streets, but I'm sure we'll manage it."

So a group called the Prawn Sandwich Brigade doesn't scare the cops too much. Shocking. Then again, perhaps they're just glad that no Polish clubs reached the Final.

Is ESPN Classic About to Become ESPN3?

Posted: May 18th 2008 12:00PM ET by David J. Warner (RSS feed)
Filed under: Soccer, ESPN, Premier League, Soccer Posts

12 COMMENTS
About a year and a half ago, ESPN announced that it was shutting down production on original programming for ESPN Classic. Since then, the network has shown everything from old American Gladiators reruns to run-off programming from the other ESPN networks, and everyone has been scratching their head wondering what would happen to ESPN Classic.

ESPN Soccernet columnist Ives Galarcep, who keeps his own blog at SoccerByIves.net, may have leaked the Worldwide Leader's plans for its least-watched channel.

The word I just got from a source at ESPN is that ... ESPN has big plans for expanding ESPN Classic into potentially an ESPN3, with the English Premier League as one of the station's marquee draws. That whole scenario may wind up being wishful thinking but what is clear is the ESPN is interested in the EPL rights.

ESPN has taken plenty of interest in European soccer lately. Look no further than its heavy promotion of Wednesday's Champions League final during SportsCenter and NBA Playoff games, not to mention its big plans for EURO 2008. The WWL is expected to bid on the Premier League TV rights starting with the 2009-2010 season, and it need a place to show those games. Why not put them on the channel it's not using very much?
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