Soumare set for Boulogne switch

August 26, 2009

Major League Football side Chicago Fire’s player Bakary Soumare is set to move to Boulogne-sur-Mer, the Ligue 1 club said.

And the player has also agreed a four-year contract, the club said on its Web site Monday.

The 24-year-old Mali defender was named to the MLS’ Best IX last year but was fined an undisclosed amount following a halftime altercation with coach Denis Hamlett during a 3-2 loss at Houston on Aug. 9.

He didn’t return to the team after the incident.

Soumare was born in Mali before moving to France as a youth and later moved to New York City as a teenager. He was drafted by Chicago in 2007 after just one year playing at the University of Virginia.

Promoted to Ligue 1 last season, Boulogne-sur-Mer is currently seventh with two wins and a loss, three points behind title holder and leader Bordeaux.

Abhimanyu Rajput

Tags: abhimanyu, altercation, bakary soumare, Bordeaux, Boulogne, Chicago, chicago fire, denis hamlett, France, Houston, league football, Ligue 1, mali, new york city, teenager, university of virginia

Goodson, Cooper send United States to third straight Gold Cup final

July 24, 2009

CHICAGO – The United States returned to the Gold Cup final for a third straight time, subduing Honduras 2-0 Thursday night in its bid for a record fifth title.

Stuart Holden set up goals for Clarence Goodson just before halftime and did much of the work on the left side before feeding Kenny Cooper in the 90th for his second goal in as many games.

The Americans will make their sixth appearance in the final on Sunday in Giants Stadium outside New York City.

The United States attacked from the opening kickoff, creating a corner within the first minute and putting a shot wide in the second when Jay Heaps headed a low ball just short of the post. It was the first in a half where the United States outshot Honduras 10-5.

The victory was the Americans’ third over Honduras in six weeks, including a 2-0 win in group play on July 8. The United States created three consecutive chances before Goodson leaped between two defenders and powered his header through the middle of the goal from the edge of the six-yard box.

He was the 10th different player score in the Gold Cup for the United States, which has outscored its opponents 12-3 in six games.

Honduras’ best chance in the first 45 minutes came when Martin Chavez’s left-footed strike from the edge of the penalty area had to be slapped upward by USA goalkeeper Troy Perkins and off the crossbar in the 20th minute.

The Americans dominated the second half as well, controlling possession but unable to convert for a second goal and nearly paid for it in the 85th minute.

Carlo Costly had two consecutive chances inside the area, the first hitting Perkins in the chest, while the second one bounced was blocked by a diving Jay Heaps.

Cooper, who converted an extra-time penalty to get the United States past Panama in the quarterfinals on Saturday, replaced Davy Arnaud in the 86th and added his second goal four minutes later. Holden traded passes with Brian Ching on the left side of area and then sent a sharp low ball across the face of the goal, where Cooper redirected it into an open net.

The match started under a light drizzle after thunderstorms with lightning threatened kickoff.

With the victory, the United States extended its unbeaten streak at home against CONCACAF opponents to 58, its last loss coming against Honduras in 2001 in World Cup qualifying.

By: By Kathryn L Knapp

Tags: brian ching, Carlo Costly, Chicago, clarence goodson, crossbar, davy arnaud, extra time, four minutes, giants stadium, Goalkeeper, gold cup, Honduras, jay heaps, Kathryn L Knapp, kenny cooper, martin chavez, new york city, opening kickoff, Panama, quarterfinals, six games, sixth appearance, Stuart Holden, time penalty, troy perkins, United States, USA

Confederations Cup teams permitted to boost Gold Cup rosters

July 1, 2009

NEW YORK – Any team playing in both the Confederations Cup and Gold Cup in the same year will be allowed to increase its roster from 23 to 30 players, CONCACAF announced Tuesday. The decision will enable the United States to add seven players to its already announced squad for the tournament that starts Friday.

“In light of the consecutive competitions, the Confederations Cup and the Gold Cup, with the objective of providing the best performance possible for the public, and in recognition that the back-to-back tournaments strain players and their clubs, CONCACAF will give permission to any team who also is participating in the Confederations Cup in the same year to enlarge their roster to 30 from the 23 already permitted,” CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer said.

“This year, we have the Confederations Cup ending just five days before the start of the Gold Cup. This allowance will be extended to any team in the future that finds itself in the same situation.”

All teams still will be limited to 18 players for any one match.

The United States played two World Cup qualifiers in four days to start June, then traveled to the Confederations Cup in South Africa where it played five more games including the title match against Brazil, losing 3-2 on Sunday in its first FIFA tournament final.

The two-time defending champion USA opens its Gold Cup schedule on Saturday against Grenada in Seattle, the second game of a doubleheader following Honduras vs. Haiti. It was expected to announce its roster additions by Wednesday.

Canada will play Jamaica to open the Gold Cup on Friday at The Home Depot Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, with a second game between Costa Rica and El Salvador.

The 23-day event will be staged in a record 13 venues across the United States, concluding with the final at Giants Stadium outside New York City.

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Champions League Team Summit baptizes new teams, reviews for returnees

June 17, 2009

MIAMI – Some clubs made the trip last year; others were making the excursion for the first time.

The returnees to the CONCACAF Champions League Team Summit were there to refine their procedures; the newcomers were in Miami to get up to speed.

“With having done it before, this year we were able to include the Champions League in our season ticket packages and it improved branding to get fans interested,” said Jonathan Yardley, Houston’s communications manager and one of three representatives from the Dynamo, who advanced the quarterfinals of last season’s event.

“The team did well last year and we’re looking to do better this year. We have some off weekends this year so the schedule should not be as intense.”

The summit, held Monday and Tuesday at the Intercontinental West Miami hotel, was staged to give officials of teams making their debut — and remind the returnees — of the protocols, procedures, requirements and general plans for the tournament, which will begin its second season after replacing the Champions Cup on July 28.

After general welcomes by CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer and Deputy General Secretary for Marketing and Television Italo Zanzi, Deputy General Secretary for Operations Ted Howard spent Tuesday morning outlining areas ranging from television production to financial reporting to game operations.

Press officer Ben Spencer laid out media guidelines while Manager of Business Partnerships Pamela Galvis briefed the team representatives on sponsorship and the various programs surrounding the tournament. Director of Television and Production Broadcast Services Dario Boronat explained how the international television feed will be generated and maintained, with control monitored from CONCACAF’s television studio at its headquarters in Trump Tower in New York City.

Representatives from the 24 qualified teams were introduced to the various CONCACAF staff members, from the New York headquarters to the satellite offices in Miami and Guatemala City, who will interact with them throughout the season.

“This meeting served to answer the questions and doubts that we had,” Cruz Azul team manager Carlos Villar said. “As Chuck said, the tournament has improved a lot from the first year and will continue to do so as it progresses. It will continue to become more relevant, especially in Mexico.”

Blazer finished the session encouraging the teams not to be pre-occupied with all the rules, regulations and requirements swamping them in less than 24 hours.

“We’ve taken the initiative to show you the way to make it better,” Blazer said in remarks to teams to close the summit. “It’s so you will be able to say, ‘I was there in the beginning, and I remember the early days, and it makes a difference now.”

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Tags: Ben Spencer, broadcast services, business partnerships, Carlos Villar, champions cup, Chuck Blazer, city representatives, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, deputy general, galvis, game operations, guatemala city, Houston, Intercontinental, international television, italo zanzi, jonathan yardley, Mexico, Miami, New York, new york city, Pamela Galvis, s communications, season ticket packages, team representatives, team summit, ted howard, television feed, television studio, trump tower in new york city, west miami, york headquarters

Teams to learn CONCACAF Champions League fate in Thursday’s draw

June 11, 2009

NEW YORK – Teams will learn their CONCACAF Champions League fate Thursday when the draw will set the Preliminary Round pairings and allocate the sides for the Group Stage.

Eight teams will be seeded directly into the Group Stage: Toluca and Pumas UNAM from Mexico, the Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo from the United States, Costa Rica’s Saprissa, Marathon of Honduras, Isidro Metapan from El Salvador and either Comunicaciones or Municipal of Guatemala.

The other 16 teams will be entered in the Preliminary Round draw. Teams in Pot A: Cruz Azul and Pachuca from Mexico, the New York Red Bulls and D.C. United from the United States, either Vancouver or Toronto from Canada, Olimpia of Honduras, Liberia of Costa Rica and Arabe Unido or the Panamanian Apertura champion, will be drawn against the teams in Pot B: Chalatenango of El Salvador, Real Espana of Honduras, Herediano of Costa Rica, the Puerto Rico Islanders, Trinidadian sides W Connection and San Juan Jabloteh and the No. 2 teams from Panama and Guatemala.

No team will be pitted against another team from the same country, except for potentially the third-placed teams from Honduras and Costa Rica, for the two legs scheduled to be played July 28-30 and August 4-6. Honduras and Costa Rica received a third berth due to the forfeiture of places by Belize and Nicaragua because of inadequate stadia and their third teams will be considered wildcards for the purpose of the draw.

CONCACAF Deputy General Secretary Italo Zanzi will conduct the draw with the assistance of Mary Lynn Blanks at the confederation’s headquarters in New York City. The draw will be recorded at the CONCACAF’s Trump Tower television studio and be available for viewing later Thursday at CONCACAF.com.

After the Preliminary Round is set, a second draw will be conducted to establish the groups, once more using the principle that no two teams from the same country will be placed in the same group with the exception of Costa Rica and Honduras.

The Group Stage will begin the week of September 18 and continue for six rounds, finishing on October 22. Two teams from each group will qualify for the Championship Round, and will learn their path through the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals in a subsequent draw to be held later this year.

Three berths remain undecided in the 24-team field: Canada’s lone berth as well as the second berths from Guatemala and Panama. Although Comunicaciones has claimed one of Guatemala’s berths, it still is awaiting to learn if it will be seeded directly into the Group Stage or be forced into the Preliminary Round.

Preliminary Round Seedings
Pot A
Cruz Azul (MEX), Pachuca (MEX), New York Red Bulls (USA), D.C. United (USA), Vancouver Whitecaps or Toronto (CAN), Olimpia (HON), Liberia (CRC), Arabe Unido or Apertura champion (PAN)
Pot B
Arabe Unido or Apertura champion (PAN), Comunicaciones or Jalapa (GUA), Chalatenango (SLV), Real Espana (HON), Herediano (CRC), W Connection (TRI), Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR), San Juan Jabloteh (TRI)

Group Stage Seedings
Toluca (MEX), Pumas UNAM (MEX) Columbus Crew (USA), Houston Dynamo (USA), Saprissa (CRC), Marathon (HON), Comunicaciones or Municipal (GUA), Metapan (SLV)

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Tags: Arabe, arabe unido, B., Belize, Canada, chalatenango, columbus crew, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, Costa Rica, cruz azul, D.C., deputy general, El Salvador, group stage, Guatemala, herediano, Honduras, Houston, houston dynamo, isidro metapan, italo zanzi, Liberia, Mary Lynn Blanks, Mexico, New York, new york city, new york red bulls, Nicaragua, pachuca, Panama, Puerto Rico, puerto rico islanders, san juan, san juan jabloteh, saprissa, television studio, Toronto, Tri, trump tower, two legs, United States, Vancouver, W. Connection, Whitecaps

Victoria Beckham Looking More Mannequin Like Than ever!

February 18, 2009

You’ve got to love Victoria Beckham if only for pictures like this…No this is not the latest Maddame Taussauds wax-work this is the real deal.

Giorgio Armani 5th Avenue Store Opening Reception

The WAG turned model attended Armani’s Fifth Avenue store opening in New York City last night, looking almost skeletal in a beautiful sparkly tunic.

We had hoped for a while that Victoria was seeing sense and getting a little more meat on her bones, but last night didn’t reflect this.

Whilst we will always admire this WAG for starting out as miss average and turning herself into an international superstar, we will never understand her unwillingness to eat some FOOD. You’re missing out Ms Beckham!

Victoria is currently the face of Armani Lingerie, which may explain her current lack of body fat.

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