Wild Win For Galaxy In SuperLiga Play Lifts LA Into Semifinals; Pachuca Reach Semis, Too

Two games were played Tuesday in the North American SuperLiga:

Group A:

At Frisco, Texas:

Alan Gordon scored twice (3', 15') and Chris Klein (12'), Kevin Harmse (18'), Landon Donovan (84'), and Carlos Pavon (90') each scored once as the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy defeated FC in a wild, high-scoring 6-5 affair. The Galaxy assured themselves of a berth in the SuperLiga semifinals.

At Commerce City, Colorado:

Rafael Marquez Lugo scored the game's only goal at 62 minutes, as Pachuca clinched a semifinal berth in their 1-0 win over fellow Mexican club Chivas of Guadalajara.

RSL Bids Adu To Freddy

Libson:

Freddy Adu, late of Real Salt Lake, one of the highest-profiled American players in Major League Soccer, agreed to a deal to play for Portuguese Super Liga club SL Benfica.

Second Qualifying Round Series-Openers

Seven games were played on Tuesday as the second round of qualifying for the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League commenced:

At Glasgow:

David Weir and Lee McCulloch provided the second-half goals to propel Rangers to a 2-0 home win over FK Zeta in the opening match of the two clubs' two-game home-and-away series.

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Marcus Allback's early goal paced FC Copenhagen to a 1-0 home win over Beitar Jerusalem in game one of their two-game series.

At Tampere, Finland:

Tomi Petrescu scored the lone goal (16') of Tampere United's series-opening 1-0 home win over Levski Sofia.

At Yerevan, Armenia:

Oleksandr Gladkiy and Brandao each scored once for Skakhtar Donetsk as the visiting club from Ukraine registered a 2-0 series-opening road win over Pyunik.

At Debrecen, Hungary:

Daniel Mobaeck's goal at 64 minutes provided visiting Elfsborg with the opening game's only goal as the Swedish club held off Debrecen 1-0.

At Lubin, Poland:

Dorin Goian's second-half tally lifted Steaua Bucharest to a 1-0 series-opening road win over Zaglebie Lubin.

At Genk, Belgium:

Thanks to Veldin Muharemovic's late goal, FK Sarajevo will be heading back to Bosnia after their 2-1 road win over KRC Genk.

DCU Beats America; Dynamo and Morelia Draw

In Sunday Group B play in the North America SuperLiga:

At Washington:

Rod Dyachenko scored the lone goal at 12 minutes to give DC United a 1-0 home win over Club America.

At Houston:

Marcio Batista equalized at 74 minutes to enable Moriela to gain a 1-1 road deadlock with the Houston Dynano. Joseph Ngwenya gave Houston the early lead with his first minute score.

Fire and Wizards Pick Up Wins

Two games were played Sunday in Major League Soccer:

At Toronto:

Ivan Guererro (37'), Calen Carr (58'), and Floyd Franks (75') provided the scoring which lifted the struggling Chicago Fire to a 3-0 road whitewashing of Toronto FC.

At Kansas City:

Yura Movsisyan's goal at 89 minutes proved to be the game winner, lifting the Kansas City Wizards to a 3-2 triumph over visiting Chivas USA.

Eleven More UEFA Cup Entries

Here are the eleven clubs who earned berths in the second round of qualifying for the 2007-08 UEFA after winning through from the UEFA Intertoto Cup:

2007 UEFA Intertoto Cup winners
Aalborg BK (DEN)	Blackburn Rovers FC (ENG)
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP)	FC Otelul Galati (ROU)
FC Tobol Kostanay (KAZ)	Hamburger SV (GERMANY)
Hammarby (SWE)	RC Lens (FRA)
SK Rapid Wien (AUT)	UD Leiria (POR)
UC Sampdoria (ITA)

Historic Win For Iraq

At Jakarta, Indonesia:

Iraq stunned Saudi Arabia 1-0 to win the Asian Cup championship on Sunday. Younis Khalef (pictured here, in the white jersey, battling the Saudis' Osama Hawsawi for the ball) scored the game's only goal at 71 minutes. Photo from Dita Alangkara/Associated Press.

Chalk Up Another Loss For RSL

At Salt Lake City:

Goals from Pat Noonan (38') and Jeff Larentowicz (82') powered the New England Revolution to a 2-1 road win over hapless Real Salt Lake. Carey Talley scored RSL's lone goal on a successful penalty kick at 72 minutes.

Deadlock For Pachuca And Hoops; Goats Top Galaxy

Saturday action in the North American SuperLiga:

Group A:

At Frisco, Texas:

Christian Gimenez, with his successful penalty kick at 87 minutes, enabled visiting Mexican club Pachuca to gain a 1-1 draw with FC Dallas. Carlos Ruiz put the hosts in front in the 75th minute.

At Los Angeles:

Francisco Rodriguez (60') and Omar Bravo (85') provided the scoring to lift Chivas of Guadalajara to a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy. Landon Donovan scored for the Galaxy in the 88th minute. David Beckham was in uniform but did not play because of his continuing ankle problems.

Goats Blank Bulls

At East Rutherford, New Jersey:

In Thursday's only Major League Soccer contest, Ante Razov (38') and Sacha Kljestan (87') provided the scoring that lifted Chivas USA to a 2-0 road win over the New York Red Bulls.

It's Like Feyenoord All Over Again

Here's another one from the "People Are No Damned Good Department:"

Partizan Belgrade was (or were) tossed from the UEFA Cup competition in the wake of crowd trouble in their opening qualifying match against Zrinjski Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) earlier this month, the Serbian club announced on Thursday.

They have been banned from European competition for a year and fined 50,000 Swiss francs (roughly $41,600 US).

You think people would learn after what happened last season with Feyenoord Rotterdam.

DCU and Morelia Draw; Dynamo Blank Club America

Two games were played on Wednesday in Group B action of the North American SuperLiga:

At Washington:

Diego Martinez scored the tying goal at 79 minutes as Mexican club Morelia gained a 1-1 road deadlock with DC United (whose Christian Gomez scored at 7 minutes).

At Houston:

Nate Jaqua provided the lone goal (41') in the Houston Dynamo's 1-0 home win over Club America.

Hoops and Goats: Fit To Be Tied; Galaxy Win Minus Becks

Two games were played Tuesday as the Superliga 2007 commenced:

At Frisco, Texas:

In the opening match, Chivas of Guadalajara and homestanding FC Dallas battled to a 1-1 draw. Arturo Alvarez scored at 56 minutes to put FCD in the lead, before Jose Antonio Olvera equalized for the Goats at 67 minutes.

At Carson, California:

Even with sore-ankled David Beckham on the bench, the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated visiting Pachuca (Mexico) 2-1. Alan Gordon (50') and Landon Donovan (81') provided the scoring for the Galaxy.

First Qualifying Round Concludes

The first round of qualifying for the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League came to a close on Wednesday. IF Elfsborg (Sweden), FC Pyunik (Armenia), Tampere United (Finland), FK Ventspils (Latvia), FC Levadia Tallin (Estonia), FH Hafnarfjordur (Iceland), MSK Zilina (Slovakia), and NK Domzale (Slovenia) all advanced to the second round of qualifying.

Here are the matchups for the next round (for the record, FK Crvena Zvezda is also known as Red Star Belgrade):

2007/08 UEFA Champions League Second qualifying round First leg: 31 July/1 August Second leg: 7/8 August
FC Pyunik (ARM)	v	FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
FK Crvena Zvezda (SRB)	v	FC Levadia Tallinn (EST)
Rangers FC (SCO)	v	FK Zeta (MNE)
Debreceni VSC (HUN)	v	IF Elfsborg (SWE)
Zagłębie Lubin (POL)	v	FC Steaua Bucuresti (ROU)
KRC Genk (BEL)	v	FK Sarajevo (BIH)
FK Ventspils (LVA)	v	FC Salzburg (AUT)
FC Astana (KAZ)	v	Rosenborg BK (NOR)
FH Hafnarfjördur (ISL)	v	FC BATE Borisov (BLR)
FC København (DEN)	v	Beitar Jerusalem FC (ISR)
MŠK Žilina (SVK)	v	SK Slavia Praha (CZE)
Tampere United (FIN)	v	PFC Levski Sofia (BUL)
NK Domžale (SVN)	v	NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Beşiktaş JK (TUR)	v	FC Sheriff (MDA)

Argentina Cops U-20 World Cup Crown

At Toronto:

Argentina picked up their sixth FIFA Under-20 World Cup championship on Sunday with a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic.


Pictured here is Matias Cahais (right) and his teammates celebrating another U-20 championship.

Photo from Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press

Six Clubs Advance To Second Round Of CL Qualifying

Six two-game total-goal sets concluded on Tuesday as FC Borisov (Belarus), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), FK Zeta (Montenegro), FC Astana (Kazakhstan), FC Sheriff (Moldova) and FK Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) all advanced to the second round of qualifying for the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League.

Four-Game Sunday In MLS

Four matches were contested Sunday in Major League Soccer:

At Foxboro, Massachusetts:

Pat Noonan's goal at 32 minutes ended the Houston Dynamo's MLS record shutout streak at 727 minutes. His New England Revolution teammates Taylor Twellman (51') and Sharlie Joseph (PK-66') also scored as the Revolution gained a 3-3 home draw with the defending champions. Dwayne DeRosario (49') and Brian Ching (60', 61') provided the scoring for visiting Houston.

At Columbus, Ohio:

Guillermo Barros Schelotto provided both goals (50', 56') in the Columbus Crew's 2-0 home triumph at the expense of Toronto FC.

At East Rutherford, New Jersey:

John Wolyniec scored the lone goal (19') in the New York Red Bulls' 1-0 home win over DC United.

At Kansas City:

The visiting Colorado Rapids and Kansas City Wizards battled to a 2-2 stalemate. Eddie Johnson provided both Kansas City tallies (24', 43') while Jovan Kirovski (PK-42) and Facundo Erpen (77') put the Rapids on the scoreboard.

Blues Top Galaxy In "Becks'" LA Debut; Tigres Thump Bluewings

At Carson, California:

David Beckham made his Los Angeles Galaxy debut Saturday night when he was inserted in the 78th minute, replacing Alan Gordon. Nevertheless, with John Terry scoring the lone goal at 49 minutes, Chelsea defeated the Galaxy 1-0 in the World Series of Football.

There was one other game at the Home Depot Center, as Mexico's UANL Tigres belted South Korea's Suwon Bluewings 3-0. Jose Fonseca (11', 30') and Walter Nicolas Gaitan (14') provided the scoring for the Monterrey club.

MLS All-Stars Top Bhoys 2-0

At Commerce City, Colorado:

First-half goals from Juan Pablo Angel and Juan Toja lifted the Major League Soccer All-Stars to a 2-0 victory over Celtic of Glasgow in the annual MLS All-Star game on Thursday night.

Opening Day Of UEFA Cup Qualifying

Thursday marked the opening day of the first round of qualifying for the 2007-08 UEFA Cup, with the 74 clubs taking part in this opening round, split into three regional sections. The 37 series are two-game total-goals affairs.

More Champions League Qualifying Action

Action continued on Wednesday in first-round qualifying for the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League.

Return Of The Quakes

The San Jose Earthquakes are set to return in 2008 as a Major League Soccer expansion franchise.

The Road To Moscow Begins

Tuesday marked the opening day of the first round of qualifying for the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League.

New Shutout Record For Dynamo In Home Draw With TFC

At Houston:

In their final game before the All-Star break the Houston Dynamo held Toronto FC to a 0-0 home stalemate. Dynamo goaltender Pat Onstad---who was rarely tested (he made two saves)---helped the hosts set a new MLS record for scoreless minutes at 695. Houston's unbeaten streak has now stretched to nine games.

Brazil Overhauls Argentina For Copa America Crown

At Maracaibo, Venezuela:

Goals from Julio Cesar Baptista (9'), Roberto Ayala (OG-40'), and Daniel Alves (69') powered Brazil to their second straight Copa America title as they defeated Argentina 3-0. Pictured here are members of the Brazilian team celebrating their championship. Photo from Fernando Vergara/AP

Goats End Crew Unbeaten Streak; Revs and Wizards Win; DCU and Hoops Draw

Four games were played on Saturday in Major League Soccer:

At Carson, California:

Eddie Gaven's own goal (69'), coupled with Ante Razov's earlier tally (19'), led to a 2-1 home win for Chivas USA over the Columbus Crew, whose unbeaten streak ended at six games.

At East Rutherford, New Jersey:

Andy Dorman scored the lone goal at 38 minutes (courtesy of Steve Ralston, whose 115th career assist broke Carlos Valderrama's MLS record) as the New England Revolution racked up a 1-0 road win over the New York Red Bulls.

At Kansas City:

On his return from international duty, Eddie Johnson scored the lone goal (19') in the Kansas City Wizards' 1-0 home win over Western Conference tailending Real Salt Lake.

At Washington:

Goals from Carlos Ruiz (45') and Juan Toja (71', 81') enabled FC Dallas to overcome a 3-0 second-half deficit to gain a 3-3 road draw with DC United. Luciano Emilio scored twice (8', 47') and Fred once (45') for the hosts.

A Warm Southern California Welcome For "Becks"

At Carson, California:

David Beckham (pictured here) was formally introduced on Friday as the newest member of the Los Angeles Galaxy at a news conference at the Home Depot Center.

Photo from Associated Press

Fire No Match For Dynamo

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

In the lone Thursday Major League Soccer contest, goals courtesy of Stuart Holden (31'), Nate Jaqua (58'), Joseph Ngwenya (62'), and Chris Wondolowski (90') powered the visiting Houston Dynamo to a 4-0 frontier-styled fistbeating of the sputtering Chicago Fire, stretching their unbeaten streak to nine games. The defeat spoiled the debut of new Chicago head coach Juan Carlos Osorio.

1-0 Sunday Wins For Red Bulls and Dynamo

Two games were contested Sunday in Major League Soccer:

At Commerce City, Colorado:

John Wolyniec scored the game's lone goal at 19 minutes as the New York Red Bulls ended their four-game winless streak with a 1-0 road win over the Colorado Radips.

At Houston:

Brian Ching scored the lone goal of the match at 33 minutes as the Houston Dynamo shut out visiting DC United 1-0. The Dynamo have now gone 515 minutes without surrendering a goal.

Another Will Hesmer Shutout For Columbus; Three Draws On Saturday

Four games comprised the Saturday Major League Soccer schedule:

At Columbus, Ohio:

Will Hesmer recorded his third consecutive shutout as the Columbus Crew, powered by goals from Guillermo Barros Schelotto (PK-76') and Eddie Gaven (80'), blanked visiting Real Salt Lake 2-0.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

Toronto FC and the homestanding Chicago Fire battled to a 1-1 draw. The Fire's Chad Barret opened the scoring at 70 minutes with his successful penalty kick, only to see Toronto's Maurice Edu tie it up in the 78th minute.

At Carson, California:

Cobi Jones' double (61', 75') enabled the Los Angeles Galaxy to overcome a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 home deadlock with the Kansas City Wizards. Yura Movsisyan (47') and Davy Arnaud (51') tallied for the guests.

At Foxboro, Massachusetts:

Andy Dorman's equalizer at 64 minutes (thanks to Steve Ralston's MLS record-tying 114th career assist), lifted the New England Revolution to a 1-1 home stalemate with Chivas USA. Claudio Suarez gave the Goats the early lead with his 4th-minute goal.

MLS Wrapup

Five games were played on Wednesday in Major League Soccer:

At Kansas City:

Luciano Emilio scored the lone goal (44') of DC United's 1-0 road win over the Kansas City Wizards. The win propelled the visitors into first place in the Eastern Conference.

At Carson, California:

Landon Donovan provided both goals---on successful penalty kicks (16', 87')---as the Los Angeles Galaxy blanked the visiting---and sagging---Chicago Fire 2-0. The Galaxy's Joe Cannon registered a shutout without having to make a save.

At Frisco, Texas:

Dario Sala recorded his third consecutive shutout as FC Dallas blanked visiting Chivas USA 2-0. Ramon Nunez (41') and Dominic Oduro (86') provided the Hoops with their tallies.

At Salt Lake City:

Toronto FC picked up their first ever road victory, 2-1 over Real Salt Lake. Ex-RSLer Jeff Cunningham (19') and Collin Samuel (PK-79') notched goals for the guests.

At Commerce City, Colorado:

The Columbus Crew's unbeaten streak was stretched to five games with their 0-0 road deadlock with the Colorado Rapids. Crew goalkeeper Will Hesmer posted his second straight shutout.


One game was played on Thursday:

Joseph Ngwenya's double (28', 45') was part of a four-goal first-half barrage that lifted the Houston Dynamo to a 4-0 home fistbeating of the New York Red Bulls. The win stretched Houston's unbeaten streak to seven games.

Two Draw Sunday

Two games were contested Sunday in Major League Soccer:

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

The Chicago Fire battled the Colorado Rapids to a 0-0 home draw.

At Kansas City:

Danny Dichio's equalizer at 46 minutes lifted Toronto FC to a 1-1 road deadlock with the Kansas City Wizards. Michael Harrington scored the Wizards' lone goal at 18 minutes.