Atlante to face Barcelona, beats Auckland at Club World Cup

December 13, 2009

CONCACAF champion Atlante earned a semifinal encounter with European counterpart FC Barcelona, getting a first-half goal from David Arreloa and cruising to a 3-0 victory over Auckland City on Saturday at the Club World Cup.

Christian Bermudez added a second-half goal and Lucas Silva tacked on another in injury time to send Atlante to the Wednesday clash against the perennial world club power.

The Mexican side dominated possession from the start and went ahead in the 36^th minute when Auckland City failed to clear a corner and the ball fell in the penalty area to Arreloa, who capitalized by sending the ball to the bottom corner.

Atlante continued to control the match in the second half with Rafael Marquez, who in the first half shot wide and had a chance saved by Auckland goalkeeperJacob Spoonley, was thwarted a third time by defender Ivan Vicelich in the 53^rd minute.

The Oceania champion then managed its best period, getting a shot from distance by Chad Coombes and a close-range effort from Adam Dickinson.

Bermudez, however, stifled the surge and doubled Atlante’s lead in the 69^th, getting the ball in the area and beating Spoonley a second time.

Silva replaced Santiago Solari in the 74^th minute and completed the victory with a goal in the first minute of injury time.

A victory over Barcelona would earn Atlante a berth in the title game against either the Asian champion Pohang Steelers of Korea Republic or Copa Libertadores winner Estudiantes of Argentina.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates

Tags: abu dhabi, abu dhabi united arab emirates, adam dickinson, Argentina, asian champion, atlante, Auckland, auckland city, Barcelona, bottom corner, Chad, christian bermudez, close range, club world cup, concacaf, coombes, copa libertadores, David Arreloa, dhabi united arab emirates, european counterpart, injury time, korea republic, Lucas Silva, rafael marquez, Santiago, santiago solari, th minute, title game, united arab emirates

MLS Cup contenders Galaxy cancel German tour

November 19, 2009

The Los Angeles Galaxy cancelled their planned post-season German tour, citing organizational hitches and a need to focus on their upcoming Major League Soccer championship clash with Real Salt Lake.

Galaxy were scheduled to face FC Kaiserslautern on Thursday, November 26, and a second opponent the following Tuesday in Germany.

“We are very disappointed to announce the cancellation of our 2009 Postseason Tour due to a lack of communication and performance by the tour’s organizer and promoter IMC Group, Incorporated,” Galaxy President of Business Operations Tom Payne said in a statement released Wednesday night.

“Unfortunately, IMC Group has not performed their obligations of the agreement thus far, nor do we have faith that they will be able to do so in the future.

“With MLS Cup 2009 this weekend in Seattle, we feel that it is important to make this decision now and remove the potential distractions to our team, rather than continue to hold out hope that the tour will indeed take place.”

A Galaxy side featuring England midfielder David Beckham and US standout Landon Donovan captured MLS’s Western Conference title last Friday to book their spot in the title game against Eastern Conference champions Salt Lake, to be played Sunday in Seattle.

LOS ANGELES (AFP)

Tags: business operations, cup contenders, David Beckham, distractions, eastern conference champions, german tour, hitches, imc group, kaiserslautern, lack of communication, landon donovan, last friday, los angeles galaxy, Major League Soccer, midfielder david beckham, real salt lake, soccer championship, standout, title game, tom payne

San Francisco returns, Jabloteh debuts in Champions League

July 29, 2009

Panama’s San Francisco FC return to the international stage on Wednesday looking to reverse last year’s Champions League fortunes when they host Trinidad and Tobago’s San Juan Jabloteh who will be making their first appearance in the tournament.

San Francisco failed to win a match in the Group Stage of last year’s tournament, but returned for this year’s edition by defeating Chorrillo on penalties in the 2009 Panamanian Apertura title game in June, their seventh title since the club’s formation in 1971.

Manager Ruben Guevara announced at a July 24 news conference the re-signing of Colombian striker Carlos ‘El Loco’ Vilarete, midfielder Amir White and defender Joel Solanilla.

Since its league season doesn’t begin until August 9, it warmed up for its Champions League Preliminary Round opener with a 2-1 friendly win over league rivals Alianza on Sunday on goals by Vilarete and White.

Jabloteh will need to thwart Boris Alfaro, San Francisco’s leading scorer last season with eight goals, and midfielder Victor Hererra Piggott, who had five.

Panama’s third-most successful club has had midfielder Ricardo Phillips back for more than a week since his Gold Cup experience with the Panamanian national team, and will have a defense anchored by Carlos Ruben Rivera, veteran Argentine Victor Suarez and goalkeeper William Negrete.

Jabloteh replaced popular English coach Terry Fenwick with Earl John in June, who has the club atop Trinidad and Tobago’s pro league standings, one point ahead of Joe Public and Caledonia with a game in hand.

The club arrives in the Champions League coming off a 4-3 victory over Police Force FC on Friday thanks to Cyrano Glen’s 66th-minute equalizer and striker Jason Marcano late winner.

Jabloteh remains Trinidad’s most successful team having won four titles since the founding of the nation’s pro league in 1999.

Although they represented Trinidad at the 2004 CONCACAF Champions Cup, this is its first appearance in the Champions League.

Glen, along with midfielder Marvin Oliver, lead the team with three goals each while Marcano, midfielders Ataullah Guerra and Lester Peltier have two apiece.

Midfielder Elton John has emerged as one of Jabloteh’s top players and was a standout in their third-place finish at the CFU club championship, where it beat Haitian club Tempete for its berth.

Jabloteh’s defense has looked inconsistent during some matches and this could be a factor which San Francisco could exploit in front of a home crowd in Wednesday’s opener.

During a July 7 loss, Joe Public played numerous through balls that Jabloteh failed to solve in a 4-0 loss.

After Wednesday’s game in La Chorrerra, Jabloteh will return home for the second leg in Marabella on August 6.

By Peter Mallett

Tags: CONCACAF Champions' Cup, english coach, first appearance, gold cup, hererra, international stage, joe public, league rivals, league standings, negrete, piggott, ruben rivera, san juan jabloteh, successful club, title game, trinidad and tobago

USA, Mexico fulfill expectations by meeting in final

July 25, 2009

CHICAGO – The Gold Cup final most were expecting is the one they will get.

The United States will face Mexico in a rematch of the 2007 title game.

The teams will meet in the championship match for the fourth time, this year on Sunday in New York at Giants Stadium.

“It’s the final that everyone wanted to see,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. “We expect a difficult game and I think our guys are going to be excited about it.”

The United States will look to defend its title. It beat Mexico 2-1 in 2007 at Soldier Field where Thursday’s doubleheader decided the finalists in different styles.

The United States needed two late goals in each half to muster a 2-0 win over Honduras, their third victory against the Catrachos in the past six weeks.

Both teams have met 15 times with the United States winning 10 and Honduras twice.

Clarence Goodson scored just before halftime via header off a corner kick by Suart Holden, and Kenny Cooper capped the scoring for the Americans in the 90th.

Goodson and Cooper are two players on a roster filled with young talent, mostly from Major League soccer.

It will take on a similarly youthful Mexico team.

Mexico beat Costa Rica but not without late-match drama that included a goal in injury time by Costa Rica’s Froylan Ledezma to send the game into extra time and eventually penalty kicks.

Ledezma had his penalty shootout attempt blocked by Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa while Mexico converted all of its attempts for a 5-3 result in the shootout.

Costa Rica played Mexico evenly for most of the match.

“I saw a tight game,” Mexico coach Javier Aguirre said. “We neutralized the match but we went into penalty kicks which are a coin toss.”

“What do I think about the United States? I think they live off opponents’ errors, and stack eight in the back and use the clock in their favor. It’s going to be a good test for us. It’s a final we wanted and I’m assuming the fans wanted the same thing.”

By: Ivan Orozco

Tags: bob bradley, catrachos, Chicago, clarence goodson, coach bob, coin toss, corner kick, Costa Rica, doubleheader, giants stadium, guillermo ochoa, holden, Honduras, injury time, Ivan Orozco, Javier Aguirre, kenny cooper, Major League, Major League Soccer, Mexico, mexico team, New York, penalty kicks, penalty shootout, soldier field, team mexico, tight game, title game, U.S., United States

Mexicans blank Guadeloupe in Gold Cup

July 13, 2009

Gerardo Torrado’s header in the 42nd minute and Miguel Sabah’s goal in the 85th gave Mexico a 2-0 victory over Guadeloupe on Sunday and the Group C title in the Gold Cup football tournament.

The concluding result in group play completed next weekend’s quarter-final pairings in the CONCACAF regional football championship tournament.

Host United States will meet Panama and Canada will face Honduras next Saturday at Philadelphia while the Mexicans will face Haiti and Guadeloupe will play Costa Rica next Sunday in Dallas.

The semi-finals will be July 23 at Chicago with the title game three days later at New York.

Mexico coach Javier Aguirre served the first match of his three-game suspension on Sunday. If the Mexicans should lose to Haiti next weekend, he will be sidelined for next month’s World Cup qualifier against the arch-rival US squad.

GLENDALE, Arizona (AFP)

Tags: arch rival, Arizona, Canada, Chicago, concacaf, Costa Rica, cup football, Dallas, football championship, football tournament, game suspension, gerardo torrado, Glendale, glendale arizona, guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Javier Aguirre, match, mexicans, Mexico, Miguel Sabah, MLS, New York, Panama, Philadelphia, Sabah, semi finals, title game, tournament host, U.S., United States, world cup qualifier

Domestic hopes fading, Champions League gains even more meaning for Altante, Cruz Azul

April 16, 2009

Trying to preserve resources for the Mexican Clausura while also seeking the CONCACAF Champions League crown is becoming less necessary for Cruz Azul and Atlante.

Having made it to the final of the confederation championship while balancing the two competitions, both can focus on one with their domestic title hopes all but completely faded.

“The way things are going, I think we do not have any other option but to go for the (Champions League),” Cruz Azul striker Alfonso Blanco said. “At the beginning we opted for both, but we are in the finals, and it’s time to start thinking of that.”

Cruz Azul will host the first leg of the title series on April 22, then travel to Cancun for the second leg a week later.

With one win its last 11 league games, Atlante has fallen to 14th in the Mexican league, although only four points out of the last “Liguilla” playoff berth.

Cruz Azul is winless in its last six in the league, and is 16th in the 18-team league.

“Cruz Azul is a good team, and while mathematically we are not eliminated, the team must continue to work,” Cruz Azul manager Benjamin Galindo said. “I think it’s two different tournaments, where the team has worked well since the first game of the (Champions League). I think it takes a little poise to be in the final and win it.”

This is Cruz Azul’s first trip back to the title game of the CONCACAF club championship since 1997, when it won the last of its five crowns.

Atlante has raised the trophy only once, in 1983, and hasn’t been this far since it reached the 1994 Champions Cup final, when the club lost to Costa Rican side Cartagines.

“We’re going to prepare intensely for the away game at Cruz Azu, because it’s evident that it’s not every day you get to these moments and finals, which you have to play them to win them,” Alante coach Jose Cruz said. “It’s not the same to get to a final and lose it, that’s clear.”

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Tags: Alfonso Blanco, atlante, azu, Benjamin Galindo, champions cup, concacaf champions league, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, confederation, cruz azul, first game, first trip, five crowns, four points, jose cruz, league crown, league games, liguilla, mexican clausura, playoff berth, poise, striker, title game

Costa Rica outlasts Honduras on penalties to reach CONCACAF U-20 Championship final

March 14, 2009

MACOYA, Trinidad — Costa Rica outlasted upstart Honduras 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw Friday, advancing to the title game of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship and a chance at a second title.

The Ticos will play the winner of the second game between host Trinidad & Tobago and the United States, which has qualified 12 times for the U-20 World Cup, but has never won the CONCACAF title. This is the first time since 1996 that CONCACAF has conducted its under-20 tournament at a single venue to determine a champion.

Costa Rica, which won its other title in 1988, has scored only three goals in four games but has allowed only one. Honduras was eliminated after becoming the last team to qualify for the eight-team field, beating St. Vincent & the Grenadines in a one-game playoff four days before the start of the tournament.

All four semifinalists already have qualified for the U-20 World Cup in Egypt September 24-October 16.

The match was the first in CONCACAF U-20 play to into extra time since December 2000, when Honduras beat Panama 2-1, and the first to go to penalties since August 1980, when the United States outlasted Honduras in Washington.

Costa Rica extended its unbeaten streak in the CONCACAF U-20s to 11 matches and improved its record against Honduras to five victories with two draws in eight matches.

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Tags: 24 october, amp, concacaf, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, Costa Rica, Egypt, extra time, four games, game playoff, grenadines, Honduras, macoya, match, Panama, penalty kicks, second game, semifinalists, st vincent, ticos, title game, Tobago, tournament, Trinidad, u 20 world cup, unbeaten streak, United States, venue, Washington

World Cup Profile: Costa Rica climbing CONCACAF ladder alongside Mexico, USA

February 3, 2009

Costa Rica’s objective is simple: to win one of the three tickets to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. To do so, it’s going to have to measure up against perennial regional powers Mexico and the United States. In addition, Los Ticos are going to have to contend with the always competitive El Salvador and Honduras, and the always unpredictable Trinidad and Tobago.

But with its impressive run through the semifinal round of World Cup qualifying, outscoring its opponents 20-3 to win all six games, Costa Rica has reason to be confident.

Haiti and Suriname were not the most difficult semifinal round opponents, but it also finished with nearly double the points of El Salvador atop Group C.

And despite playing with a largely secondary roster, Costa Rica also advanced to third straight Central American Nations Cup title game on Sunday, allowing only one goal in four games before being edged out by Panama on penalties.

Since taking over for Hernan Medford in June, coach Rodrigo Kenton has been an inspiration to a team that many had discounted. Even he was surprised at how bad the atmosphere was.

“Everyone was talking about how the team had lost its way and everyone was very negative,” he said. “It wasn’t a great time to take over the team.”

With players like Froylan Ledezma, currently with VfB Admira Wacker Modling in Austria, Chicago Fire defender Ganzalo Segares, and scoring tandem of Roland Gomez from Saprissa and Rolando Fonseca of Comunicaciones, Kenton has surprised many.

The attack will be relying heavily on the creative play of midfielder Celso Borges. Having spent the last three years with Saprissa, Borges recently signed a contract with Fredrikstad FK of in Norway. While short of a revolution, his roster choices and the team’s overall fluid style have caused many to take notice.

Costa Rica has been winning with style, and has rightly asserted itself as the third best team in CONCACAF.

“The priority this year is to qualify for the World Cup,” has been Kenton’s oft-repeated mantra. Few are scoffing at Costa Rica’s chances for a third straight trip to the World Cup and fourth overall.

As the most recent of six coaches in five years, Kenton has brought a sense of stability.

With El Salvador in turmoil over its semifinal elimination and subsequent fourth-place finish at the Central American championship, and Honduras having lost to Panama in the other UNCAF semifinal, most in Costa Rica are feeling pretty good about their team’s chances to claim one of CONCACAF’s three guaranteed berths in the World Cup.

It remains to be done, but the way Costa Rica has been playing, many see Los Ticos taking a regular place alongside the United States and Mexico.

Writtn by: By Paul Oliu

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Tags: admira wacker modling, celso, chicago fire, concacaf, CONCACAF Champions' Cup, creative play, fluid style, four games, fredrikstad fk, ledezma, los ticos, mexico and the united states, midfielder, nations cup, regional powers, rolando fonseca, rsquo, saprissa, six games, title game, trinidad and tobago

Costa Rica, Panama win to earn rematch for Central American Nations Cup title

January 31, 2009

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Andy Furtado scored his third goal in as many games and Costa Rica beat El Salvador 1-0 on Friday to get within one victory of its fourth straight Central American Nations Cup title and seventh overall.

The game was abandoned in the 60th minute by Panamanian referee Roberto Moreno when El Salvador was reduced to six players. Moreno had red carded Alexander Escobar and Eliseo Quintanilla in the first half, and, after El Salvador had already made three substitutions, Deris Umanzor, Rodolfo Zelaya and goalkeeper Juan José Gómez were injured and had to leave the game.

Panama defeated host Honduras 1-0 in the other semifinal, and will play Los Ticos in Sunday’s title game in a rematch of the 2007 championship which Costa Rica won on penalties.

All four teams already had earned themselves berths in the CONCACAF Gold Cup along with Nicaragua, which beat Guatemala 2-0 on Thursday to claim the fifth and last place in the 12-team field.

Costa Rica beat Panama 3-0 in the Group B opener, which Furtado scoring twice. Panama will have to play Sunday’s final without goalkeeper Jaime Penedo, who was instrumental in its semifinal victory but drew a yellow card for the second straight game and will be suspended.

Furtado’s goal in the 18th minute gave him the tournament lead, taking over the scoring chores for a side missing many of its first-team regulars.

Ricardo Phillips accounted for Panama’s goal on a counterattack in the 39th minute, only the second goal for the team in three games. Honduras dominated much of the game, generating 15 corners to Panama’s two.

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