Month: June 2011

The A-League has a generous system encouraging Australian teams to sign global superstars. Yet no-one seems to be taking advantage of it.

For the second time this weekend a Gold Cup quarterfinal was decided in penalty kicks. This time it was Panama who came out on top 5-3 after they played El Salvador to a 120 minute 1-1 draw.

The match had everything you could ask for in a match; theatrics, late goals, physicality, red cards and then the suspense at the end. It even had a stadium full of angry El Salvadorian fans who couldn’t believe their team blew a late 1-0 lead.

There were a number of questions facing the U.S. heading into their Gold Cup quarterfinal against Jamaica. A regional power that was considered by some to be an underdog, the U.S. entered the match as a team struggling to finish and without their best player Landon Donovan in the starting lineup.

Yet the Yanks took advantage of their strength in midfield, dominating possession and controlling the flow of the match. Adding a few finishes in the second half, and benefiting from a questionable red card, the U.S. put on their best performance of the Gold Cup and advanced to the semifinals to be played in Houston Wednesday night.

On the day of the U.S.’ Gold Cup quarterfinal against Jamaica it’s seems like ages since the 2010 World Cup. Despite a tough extra time elimination at the hands of Ghana, the U.S. soccer program was riding high coming home from South Africa. Then the plane touched down and reality set in.

A lackluster year and three underwhelming Gold Cup group stage games later and the U.S. are facing a tough opponent in a match that they’re not a favorite in. With Jamaica standing in the way of a semi-final berth, Bob Bradley’s U.S. squad will have to fight a team that’s more athletic and in better form.

We now know one of Wednesday’s semi-final matchups. After two hotly contested matches Mexico and Honduras survived the first round of the Gold Cup knockout stages and will meet Wednesday in Houston for a spot in the finale.

FC Barcelona and Manchester United FC went to battle at Wembley for the 2010/2011 Champions League on 28 May, the Spanish giants running the English champions ragged in a 3-1…

It looks like the El Tri’s Gold Cup doping issue has reached a conclusion. Days after the five players were given clean test results from a June 10 sample FIFA has ruled that Mexico can replace the five players they removed from the squad.

After the reported failed tests on June 9 the Mexican squad has played with just 18 players – now 17 with Ricardo Osorio leaving due to illness – for much of the tournament. It’s not clear who they will bring in or when they will join the Mexican squad – which is preparing in New Jersey for their quarterfinal match with Guatemala.

The Puma manufactured 2011/12 home shirt for Tottenham is all-white with the only color coming from the manufacturer logos on the sleeves and the chest, the Spurs’ crest and the…

It has been 1305 days since Steve McClaren stood sombrely alone clutching the handle of an umbrella on a rain-sodden night at Wembley as the England national team failed to…

Sunday’s quarterfinal matches show just how imprecise predictions can be. Teams that were considered to be favorites in the Gold Cup coming in are now underdogs and an unlikely group winner looks to continue a good run. So while Saturday features tournament favorite Mexico and a clash between Costa Rica and Honduras, Sunday offers a bit of role reversal for those involved.

Manchester United and Liverpool have both be criticised for over paying for players, however, what about those clubs that got it totally wrong? Here are 11 of the worst signings…

One of the hottest names in this transfer window is Chilean International star, Alexis Sanchez. After leading Udinese to a historical qualification to the Champions League, scoring 12 goals (his…

One of the Premier League’s usual big spenders, Chelsea will be eager to redeem themselves having failed to claim a trophy in 2010/11. The pressure on the new manager will be…

Arsène Wenger is on the hunt for a striker who could help the Gunners end a trophy drought that has stretched from 2005, and their main target is Ivory Coast international,…

Looking beyond the city rivalry, there’s plenty of ammunition for Villa fans to suggest that ‘Big Eck’ is not the right man for the job. Alex McLeish has won just…

Liverpool and adidas have revealed their white 2011/2012 third kits. The inspiration came from the tracksuit tops worn by the teams of the mid 1980’s. The diagonal stripe across the…

United States stars Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan have been excused from Friday and Saturday training to attend separate weddings. The pair will be back to play in Sunday’s quarterfinal match against Jamaica.

While the U.S. will briefly miss two of their most valuable players, Mexico is still sorting out the fate of five players who failed May drug test. The five were in Los Angeles to receive the results of a second drug test – given June 10 – which came back negative. The question is where does the investigation go from here and could they be back for Saturday’s match with Guatemala.

Eight teams are left standing in the Gold Cup. With two good matches and teams such as Mexico and Jamaica playing good football, the bracket is set up to be…

It seemed a foregone conclusion this time last week that Alexis Sanchez would be ending his fairytale stay at Udinese to seek pastures new in Catalonia with European Champions Barcelona….

There are tough losses and then there’s what happened to Canada Tuesday night. Literally a fraction away from securing a spot in the knockout stages Panama pulled off a sobering…

English club Aston Villa gets their sports-goods manufactured by Nike. The club has officially revealed their home 2011/2012 kits in May. Recently, a new leaked image of the club’s away…

SPL’s defending champions Rangers have revealed their 2011/2012 kits. The Umbro manufactured home shirt is blue with a white collar and a white band with red borders around the shoulders….

The yellow submarine of El Madrigal, Villarreal have revealed their new Puma home shirt for 2011/2012. On the first look, the shirt seems to be merely a Villarreal t-shirt. The…

Their new manufacturers Joma have revealed their away shirt for the La Liga side Valencia for the 2011/2012 season. Joma have taken over from Kappa who have been manufacturing Valencia’s…

When we first examined the most important marksmen in the Big Four leagues, we looked at which players in Europe were the most crucial to their teams. This was done…

The consensus before the Gold Cup was this Jamaican team was the best assembled in quite some time. Still they were a popular pick to finish behind Honduras in the group. Monday night the Reggae Boyz dispatched Honduras with a 1-0 victory on the back of a Ryan Johnson goal to seal the group win and set up a match against the second place team in group C – currently slated as the USA.

While Jamaica won group B Guatemala booked passage to the quarterfinals with a 4-0 win pushing them past El Salvador as a third place team. The results puts the rest of the quarterfinals lineup on the line Tuesday night when group C finishes with Canada and the USA needing results to advance.

Image of a shirt which is the Manchester City home shirt is believed to be from the 2011/2012 kits. The Umbro manufactured shirt seems slightly to be on the darker…