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 [...]
United’s Fletcher will miss rest of season
MANCHESTER, England ● Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to cure his chronic bowel condition. Fletcher has been struggling with ulcerative colitis for nearly two years and missed the majority of last season as a result. This season the Scotland international had hoped [...]
Mainz signs striker Ivan Klasnic
MAINZ, Germany ● Mainz has signed former Bolton Wanderers and Croatia striker Ivan Klasnic. Klasnic was a free agent, and received a one-year contract. The 32-year-old striker returns to the Bundesliga, where he played for Werder Bremen between 2001 and 2008. He also played for Nantes. Klasnic had a kidney transplant in 2007. ● CFR [...]
Swiss club Lucerne fires coach Murat Yakin
LUCERNE, Switzerland ● Swiss club Lucerne says it has fired coach Murat Yakin after a six-match winless streak to start the league season. Yakin, a 37-year-old former Switzerland international, guided Lucerne to a second-place finish last season. The club hosts Genk of Belgium in a Europa League playoff round, first-leg match on Thursday. Lucerne is [...]
MLS announces first XI all-star game
NEW YORK, NY ● Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Thierry Henry highlight the Major League Soccer First XI team to face Chelsea on July 25 in the league’s all-star game. Fans voted for the team, which may not necessarily be the same one that starts the game against the European champions. D.C. United coach Ben [...]
Betis defender Roque (23) dies of cancer
MADRID, Spain ● Miquel Roque, a Real Betis defender who started out in Barcelona’s youth ranks and had a stint at Liverpool, has died of cancer at the age of 23, Betis said on Sunday. “Miki Roque had been fighting pelvic cancer since March 2011,” the La Liga club said in a statement [...]
Chiellini big concern for Italy
KRAKOW, Poland ● Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini is a major doubt for their Euro 2012 quarter-final in Kiev on Sunday and perhaps even the rest of the tournament after suffering a thigh problem. “The first tests are not great,” Italy coach Cesare Prandelli told a news conference on Tuesday when asked if Chiellini [...]
Manuel Preciado dies of heart attack
VILLAREAL, Spain ● Manuel Preciado, who was due to be unveiled as the new coach of Villarreal on Friday, has died of a heart attack. Villarreal announced on Wednesday they had reached an agreement with Preciado to take charge of the club next season, with the 54-year-old set to be presented to the [...]
La Roja: how Spain became the world’s soccer superpower
COMOX, BC ● It has been a while since the conquistadors tried to rule the world. Driven by a fanaticism to bring the ‘true faith’ to the Americas, they sailed the seas and conquered a big chunk of what was then the unknown world. Spain reigned, most of the times with an iron fist, [...]
