Category → American Soccer

DC United’s Dwayne De Rosario Suspended

27 March, 14:28, by admin Tags: , ,

I’m sure you soccer fanatics have heard that Dwayne De Rosario, captain of DC United and MVP of the major league soccer team in 2011, was suspended for the first two major league soccer games of the 2013 season. De Rosario was suspended for violent conduct on midfielder Danny Cruz of Philadelphia Union in a pre-season game on February 23rd. Not only did De Rosario missed DC United’s home opener against Houston Dynamo and the March 9th match against Real Salt Lake, he was fined an undisclosed amount for his violent conduct.

This season so far, DC United has beat Houston Dynamo 1-0, tied Real Sal Lake 0-0, and lost to Columbus 1-2. Their next game will be against Kansas City on April 5th, which will be the first game in which De Rosario will be allowed to play following his suspension.

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U.S. National Team Beats Jamaica Following Last Week’s Loss

12 September, 13:05, by admin Tags: ,

Following last week’s devastating loss against Jamaica, the U.S. soccer team bounced back last night to beat the team 1-0 and remain in striking distance of advancing to the next round of World Cup qualifying. The win was especially poignant given the date – the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This win keeps the U.S. tied at the top of Group A along with Jamaica and Guatemala. Each team has seven points after four games and the top two teams in the group will advance to the Hexagonal.

Last week, the Jamaican team beat the U.S. for the first time ever with a 2-1 final score after Rudolph Austin and Luton Shelton scored on free kicks. The only point scored for the American team was made by Clint Dempsey in the first minute of the match.

Last night’s sole goal was scored by Herculez Gomez, off a free kick in the second half. It was Gomez’s fifth international goal and second in qualifying this year.

“I feel comfortable on the ball, on a free kick, striking the ball,” Gomez said. “Thankfully coach had confidence in me. So did my teammates. I struck it and it went on. I’m fortunate and happy.”

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MLS Star Landon Donovan Kicks Around Idea of Retirement

14 August, 14:33, by admin Tags: ,

At the end of the 2013 Major League Soccer season, midfielder Landon Donovan’s contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy will expire. The player, who is arguably the face of U.S. soccer, has hinted recently that he is unsure of his next move. Will he retire? Will he play abroad? Many questions remain unanswered.

“At the end of this season, I’m going to re-evaluate everything and see how I feel,” he said in a recent interview. “If I want to keep playing, I’ll keep playing. If I don’t want to keep playing, I won’t keep playing… I don’t know the answer to that right now.”

During his 13 years as a professional soccer player, he’s done almost everything there is to do. He was awarded the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2009 and 2010, earned an MLS MVP award in 2009 and won an MLS title with the Galaxy in 2011. His two loan spells with English Premiership team Everton in 2010 and 2012 were both successful stints abroad.

There’s still one big accomplishment Donovan would like to reach before he retires, however. “I’ve always wanted to be the captain of the national team,” he said. “I think that’s a great honor the few times that I have in my career, I’ve played well and the team has responded well.”

U.S. Women Hope To Clench Olympic Gold

08 August, 14:12, by admin Tags: ,

Tomorrow, the U.S. Women’s soccer team will have a chance for redemption. Thirteen months ago, the women’s national team fell to Japan in a dramatic finale to the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. On Thursday, the two teams meet again to battle for Olympic gold.

“I’ve been hoping for this final from the moment I stepped off the podium in Germany,” U.S. forward Abby Wambach told the press.

The Americans are currently favored to win Thursday’s game. They are still ranked No. 1 in the world and are the two-time defending Olympic champions. The Japanese women’s team is hoping to pull off both World Cup and Olympic gold in back-to-back years. To say that Thursday’s game will be intense would be an understatement.

“The truth is, this is going to be a great day,” Wambach said. “A great day for soccer, a great day for women’s sports, and something that hopefully we’ll be able to remember for the rest of our lives – and hopefully it’s in a good way.”

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United States Soccer Defeats Italy For First Time

01 March, 12:08, by admin Tags: , ,

Though it’s not the Fourth of July, today’s SoccerInferno news will have readers feeling especially patriotic. For the first time ever, the U.S. Men’s soccer team beat Italy in a historic match held Wednesday night. Clint Dempsy scored the game’s singular goal during the 55th minute. This is the American’s first win over the Azzuri in their 11 meetings spanning 78 years.

“It’s a work in progress,” Dempsy said about the victory. “I’d like to think that we’re closing the gap and hopefully we can do something special.”

American soccer has made advances in the past decade but has slipped in recent years. In 1990, the team made its first World Cup appearance in 40 years; in 2002 they advanced to the quarterfinals. In both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments, the team lost early to Ghana (first and second round respectively). Last June, the Americans lost to Mexico in the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, their regional championship. In July, the U.S. Soccer Federation replaced Coach Bob Bradley with Jurgen Klinsmann.

So does the win mean a change in luck for the team?

“Obviously as a coach you’re pleased because you see them progressing, you see young players stepping up and playing against these amazing, experienced Italian players who have won the World Cup and played big tournaments year in and year out,” Klinsmann, a former German national team star player and coach, said. “Obviously it was a big step for us.”

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U.S. Women’s National Team Headed to 2012 Summer Olympics

08 February, 09:58, by admin Tags: , ,

Defending their Olympic gold medals in Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008, the U.S. Women’s National Team will travel to London to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympics. The team clenched a spot in the games following a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) tournament.

Following a sloppy first half in which the American team put just one goal on the scoreboard (made by Tobin Heath), both the team and fans were worried whether the U.S. team would pull out a victory. The Costa Rican team is currently ranked 41st in the world women’s soccer team rankings, but has never qualified for the Olympics or a World Cup and has never scored on the U.S. team.

“There were moments where I think Costa Rica were outplaying us, and it just shows you how important it was to all of us,” said team member Abby Wamcabh in an Associated Press interview. “Nobody wanted to make that mistake. And luckily we didn’t.”

Two additional goals by Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan in the second half (72nd minute and 89th minute respectively), solidified the U.S. Women’s victory.

For any soccer fanatics in Texas, head over to the FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco on Friday, Feb. 10, to attend a public training session for the U.S. Women’s National Team between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. CST. Admission is free. This practice comes before the team’s match against New Zealand on Saturday in the stadium.

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Beckham Won’t Go to Europe, Future With Galaxy Unclear

04 January, 18:46, by admin Tags: ,

After many months of speculation, American fans of David Beckham can breathe a sigh of relief – the British soccer star isn’t leaving the states just yet. Just this week, Beckham declined an offer to join the French team Paris Saint-Germain. The club had reportedly offered the star an 18-month, $18.7 million deal. His reason for turning them down? Beckham didn’t want to move his family of six across the world for a European stint

“We feel a little disappointed,” said PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi this week. “But both sides agreed it would be better that wee not do the deal… Maybe in the future.”

The 36-year-old midfielder’s 5-year contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy expired in November after Beckham helped them win the MLS Cup. He hopes to finalize a new one-year contract with the Galaxy in the coming days. Part of Beckham’s stipulations to resigning with the Galaxy is whether the team would accommodate the star if he were selected to play for England in this summer’s Olympic Games in London. Speculation on the subject points toward Beckham staying in L.A., especially with the team’s recent success in the MLS and the recent signing of Ireland captain Robbie Keane.

“I am very proud of the time that I’ve spent with the Galaxy and it might continue,” Beckham said recently.

U.S. Men’s National Team Beats Honduras 1-0

11 October, 07:42, by admin Tags: , ,

Score one for the U.S. Men’s National Team! On Saturday, the men’s national team defeated their regional rival Honduras 1-0. It was the first win for head coach Jurgen Klinsmann as the new leader of the U.S. team.

The team’s sole goal game less than 10 minutes before halftime and was scored by Clint Dempsey; it was his 23rd international goal. The team came close to scoring again in the game’s 45th minute but Honduran player Maynor Figueroa blocked a diving header from Danny Williams just before it went in the goal. Unfortunately, the U.S. missed two wide-open goals in the second half of the game due to the soggy field conditions. During the match, officials issued five of eight yellow cards to the U.S. team.

Even though this weekend’s match was played in the rain, the men’s team has a sunny record in Florida; 15 wins, 3 losses and 9 ties to be exact. And their record against Honduras is even brighter; 11 wins, 3 losses and 3 ties since the two teams began playing back in 1965. The men’s team, however, had not played in Miami since 1994.

Celebrity Soccer Challenge in DC

02 August, 12:48, by admin Tags: , , , , , , ,

FC Barcelona and Mia Hamm are presenting the 4th annual Celebrity Soccer Challenge in Washington D.C. Sunday, July 31 at the Kastles Stadium.

Many celebrity and famous athletes will be attending such as Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant (who used to plat soccer as a young adult), John Carlson from the Washington Capitals, Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath, Ali Krieger and Heather O’Reilly from the USA Women’s Soccer team and Washington Redskins DeAngelo Hall.
Alex Morgan‘s twitted, “Our team was pretty stacked today… Kobe, Pep, Mia,  @TobinHeath @Yael_Averbuch only to name a few.” which does seem like a pretty awesome team. The game is not meant to be competitive as the players are out there to have a good time as Mia Hamm’s FC Mia squad took on her husband, Nomar Garciaparra’s Nomar United.

Here is a list of some of the other athletes/celebs that attended the event:
Source: Bleacher Report

Celebrity Affiliation
Kobe Bryant LA Lakers
Alex Morgan USA Women’s National Team
Ali Keriger USA Women’s National Team
Heather O’Reilly USA Women’s National Team
Tobin Heath USA Women’s National Team
Eddie Pope Former DC United Star
Jeff Green Boston Celtics
John Carlson Washington Capitals
Tony Reali Around the Horn
Pep Guardiola FC Barcelona
John Harkes Former DC United Star
Mike Wise Washington Post Columnist
Ivan Carter Washington Post Live Host
Dan Hellie NBC4 Sports Anchor
Britt McHenry WJLA Sports Anchor
Pam Brown WJLA Anchor
DeAngelo Hall Washington Redskins

Holden Goes Down in the UK

26 March, 15:10, by admin Tags: , ,

Last Saturday Stuart Holden had to be stretchered off after Manchester United defender Jonny Evans challenged him on the field. Holden was cut on his left knee and needed 26 stitches to close his wound. He will undergo further tests to see if there is any ligament damage and to see if he has to end his season early.

Evans was given a red card for the tackle as United got the 1-0 victory. Before Holden’s injury, he completed 28 passes and intercepted six balls. He also drew three fouls. The former Houston Dynamo man was dropped from next week’s US friendly matches.

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