New TFC coach Nelsen leaves QPR after City game
TORONTO, Ont. ● Ryan Nelsen will start his new job as coach of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC on Feb. 1. The 35-year-old defender from New Zealand will play his last game for Queens Park Rangers of the English Premier League at home against defending champion Manchester City on Jan. 29, Toronto said Tuesday. He [...]
Super Eagles grounded
NELSPRUIT, South Africa ● The African Cup of Nations produced all the colour, chaos and drama with which it has traditionally been associated on Monday, as well as a couple of surprising results in Group C. Leading the way was Ethiopia, whose return to the tournament after a 31-year absence drew an estimated 10,000 [...]
No Saints in Southampton: Adkins fired
SOUTHAMPTON, England ● Southampton have sacked manager Nigel Adkins and replaced him with former Espanyol boss Mauricio Pochettino, the Premier League club announced Friday. The Saints are 15th in English football’s top flight, three points above the relegation zone, after coming back from 2-0 down in a 2-2 draw away to European champions Chelsea on [...]
Pep: not Chelsea, but Bayern Munich
MUNICH, Germany ● German giants Bayern Munich won the battle to secure the most sought after coach in football when former Barcelona handler Pep Guardiola agreed to take over as head coach for the 2013/14 season. The 41-year-old Spaniard – who last week said he was ready to return to coaching after a brief sabbatical [...]
Barcelona’s Tito Vilanova to have cancer surgery
BARCELONA, Spain ● Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova will have surgery for a throat ailment and undergo several weeks of chemotherapy, the club said Wednesday. The 44-year-old coach, who had surgery to remove a tumour from the saliva gland in November 2011, was detected with a recurrence of the problem and will undergo surgery [...]
Brazil shock with firing Menezes
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil ● Mano Menezes was sensationally sacked as coach of five-time world champions Brazil on Friday, dealing a hammer blow to the misfiring hosts of the 2014 World Cup. “I gave him the news myself,” said Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) national squad director Andres Sanches. “Nobody likes to receive news [...]
Klinsmann close to being fired at 2006 World Cup
FRANKFURT, Germany ● The German Football Federation (DFB) had a secret plan to sack coach Juergen Klinsmann during the 2006 World Cup at home if the tournament had gone badly for the host team, according to former DFB president Theo Zwanziger. Zwanziger says he and three other top DFB officials, including World Cup organizing committee [...]
Red Bulls youth coach slashed to death in NYC
NEW YORK, NY ● British-born New York Red Bulls youth football coach Michael Jones was fatally slashed in the neck and torso, and his ear cut off in one of New York City’s busiest neighborhoods last weekend, as police Monday hunted for the suspected killer. The 25-year-old Liverpool native – a coach with the New [...]
Ukraine coach hospitalized, to miss qualifier
KIEV, Ukraine ● Ukraine coach Oleh Blokhin has had surgery to remove a blood clot from a carotid artery and is expected to miss his team’s World Cup qualifying match in Moldova on Friday. The Ukrainian soccer federation says assistant coach Andriy Bal will take over in Blokhin’s absence. Blokhin has said he will step [...]
