Soccer By Ives

Mid-Day Ticker: Portsmouth in trouble, FIFA wants more handshakes and more

All is far from well at Fratton Park.

League championship side Portsmouth has reportedly asked players and employees to hold off on collecting their salaries, after the club's administrator warned that it could run out of money within two months.

The club entered administration for the second time since 2010 last week, and the club's administrator, Trevor Birch, believes the tactic is necessary for the team to remain in business.

"To put it bluntly, Portsmouth Football Club has a Premier League cost base but only Championship income," Birch told reporters. "This is not a sustainable situation and one that needs to be addressed urgently if the club is to continue to exist.

"There is a serious risk that the club could run out of cash within the next couple of months. Portsmouth's survival depends on us being able to find a buyer for the club before the money runs out."

Here are a few more stories from around the soccer world:

Evening Ticker: Cooper gets on board, Redknapp awaits trial verdict and more

Photo courtesy of New York Red Bulls

Kenny Cooper opened his New York Red Bulls account on Tuesday, doing so against his former club in the process.

Cooper scored the opening goal in the Red Bulls' 2-0 preseason victory over FC Dallas in Cancun, Mexico, a game that was postponed from Monday because of field conditions. Acquired on the day of the MLS SuperDraft from Portland, Cooper, who played for Dallas from 2006-2009, started up top and finished off a feed from Dane Richards in the 33rd minute. Second-year forward Corey Hertzog converted from the penalty spot in the final minute to finish off the scoring.

Both sides trotted out first-choice-caliber lineups before switching to mainly reserves in the second half. FC Dallas had three shots hit the post, with Panamanian forward Blas Perez hitting the woodwork twice.

The two teams will meet in their regular season opener on March 11.

Here are a few more stories from around the soccer world:

Wednesday Kickoff: FIFA considers rule changes; United, Spurs close gap & more

By JOHN BOSCHINI

FIFA is considering a number of rule changes that could have a major impact on the international game going forward.

The major proposal that FIFA's board is facing would allow teams to use a fourth substitute in extra time in an attempt to cut down on player injuries. Several organizations on both the medical and player sides of the argument reportedly say that the change will also improve the quality of matches that extend to 120 minutes.

The decision will be made when the International FA board meets next month. The board is also expected to further evaluate introducing goal-line technology, moving to a five-referee system and whether denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity should be punished with a red card, among other proposals.

Here are some more stories to kick off your day:

Friday Kickoff: De Gea may need eye surgery, Pato hurt again and more

Goalkeeper David De Gea has not exactly lived up to expectations in his first season with Manchester United, and there is pretty legitimate reasoning to explain what has gone wrong.

He might need be able to see clearly.

De Gea reportedly requires laser surgery to repair a case of farsightedness. The 21-year-old Spaniard plays wearing contact lenses and was reportedly set to have the surgery last month before Atletico Madrid doctors suggested he put it off for a year.

Thought to be both Spain and Manchester United's goalkeeper of the future, De Gea has struggled with the Red Devils, losing starting duties to less-heralded Anders Lindegaard. He signed a five-year contract with the club back in June and was supposed to be the heir apparent to the spot left behind by the retired Edwin van der Sar. 

Here are a few more stories to get your Friday going:

Wednesday Kickoff: Henry strains calf, shooting at U.S. women's hotel & more

Thierry Henry has been able to provide a spark for Arsenal in his brief time on loan with the club, but the Gunners may have to look elsewhere for inspiration during their crucial match this weekend.

Henry picked up a calf strain in training, and his status is uncertain for Arsenal's match against Manchester United. The club is awaiting test results before determining his availability.

According to reports out of England, manager Arsene Wenger was considering starting the New York Red Bulls Designated Player in the match, trying to shake things up for a club that has dropped consecutive league games to Fulham and Swansea City.

So far in his brief time on loan with his former club Henry came off the bench and scored a game-winning goal against Leeds United in the FA Cup and appeared as a second-half substitute against Swansea.

Here are some more stories to kick off your Wednesday:

Mid-Day Ticker: Man arrested for racially abusing Edu, India starts league & more

With Martin Luther King's legacy being commemorated across the country, it's an eye-opening shame that blatant forms of racism still exist around the world, specifically in the soccer forum.

Over the weekend, U.S. midfielder Maurice Edu and Rangers teammate Kyle Bartley were the subject of racial abuse via Twitter, an incident that resulted in the arrest of a 41-year-old man who was due to appear in a Scottish court on Monday. 

Racism involving Scottish soccer is unfortunately nothing new. The Edu/Bartley incident was the second act of social media racial abuse in Scotland in January, as Inverness forward Gregory Tade was also the subject of a malicious tweet. 

DaMarcus Beasley, who had his car set on fire while he played for Rangers almost two years ago, and Edu have been the subject of racial abuse on multiple occasions during their careers in Scotland as well. 

Here are a few more stories from around the soccer world:

Messi wins third straight Ballon d'Or, Sawa unseats Marta to win women's title

As if Lionel Messi needed any more evidence to prove that he is greatest player in the world.

Messi captured the Ballon d'Or for the third consecutive year, beating out Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi to add yet another item to his trophy case. The 24-year-old Barcelona maestro received 47.88 percent of the vote, while Ronaldo received 21.6 percent and Xavi earned 9.23 percent to rank as the three finalists from a shortlist of 23 players.

Messi joins Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Michel Platini as three-time winners of the award. Zinedine Zidane and Brazilian icon Ronaldo won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times as well, and the two awards merged beginning in 2010.

On the women's side, Japan's Homare Sawa ended Brazilian star Marta's five-year reign as Player of the Year, riding her tremendous performance in leading Japan to the championship at this past summer's Women's World Cup to capture the honors. U.S. women's national team forward Abby Wambach finished third in the voting.

As for the other awards handed out in Zurich:

Mid-Day Ticker: Warner releases FIFA details, Perez closing in on MLS and more

Some of the back-room workings between Jack Warner and FIFA are starting to come to the surface.

Warner reportedly claimed that in exchange for drumming up support to get Sepp Blatter elected in the 1998 FIFA presidential election, he secured the television rights to the World Cup for his native Trinidad & Tobago for a single dollar. 

Warner, who was ousted from his positions in CONCACAF and on FIFA's executive committee amid separate bribery and corruption charges, had threatened to out FIFA and the scandals of the past few decades as retribution for how he had been treated toward the end of his reign. He resigned from his post after being implicated in a bribery scandal as part of trying to get Mohamed bin Hammam elected as FIFA president this past summer. 

FIFA has yet to comment on Warner's latest statement.

Here are some more stories to get your Thursday rolling right along:

Wednesday Kickoff: FIFA to release documents, Ajax-AZ to start over & more

By JOHN BOSCHINI

FIFA has been ordered to release documents pertaining to its involvement with former marketing partner ISL by the Swiss supreme court.

The documents contain information about several FIFA members who took millions of dollars in kickbacks from ISL during the negotiation of television broadcast deals for the World Cup, with former FIFA president Joao Havelange and 2014 World Cup organizer Ricardo Teixeira at the forefront of the scandal.

FIFA said it will not appeal the decision, although it has 30 days for a change of heart. Current FIFA president Sepp Blatter is not implicated in the case and has stated repeatedly that he would release the documents willingly. Blatter orginally planned to release the documents this December, but a legal challenge prevented that from happening.

Here are some more stories to kick off your Wednesday:

Wednesday Kickoff: Beckham yet to sign, USA unmoved in FIFA rankings & more

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

Depending on whom you believe, David Beckham is either set to make a dent on the Paris-St. Germain payroll or is still very much a free agent.

Despite front-page reports in France that Beckham has signed an 18-month deal with PSG, people in his camp have strongly denied that a deal has been completed.

"No agreement with any football club has been reached," a Beckham spokesperson said. "Any talk of a deal is premature. David is presently considering his options."

It's not the first time this week that French media have jumped the gun on a PSG signing, which could still very well end up happening. French Football magazine reported that Beckham was attending PSG's match with Lille prior to signing his new deal, but Beckham ended up not even being in Paris at all. 

Here are a few more items to kick off your Wednesday:

FIFA Club World Cup semifinals: A Look Ahead

 


The opening acts at the FIFA Club World Cup were pretty entertaining. Now Lionel Messi and Neymar are ready for center stage and perhaps a final duel that would pit South America's preeminent attacking talents against each other.

The first few games at the tournament have provided some great theater, with host Kashiwa Reysol stealing the show with two victories, including a penalty-kick triumph over CONCACAF champion Monterrey.

While the hosts have carried the action so far, the two marquee entrants in the tournament are set to take over. Barcelona and Santos enter in this week's semifinals with each being a win away from setting up a dream championship matchup between two star-studded, attack-minded powerhouses that span the globe.

2011 FIFA Club World Cup: A Look Ahead

By JOEY SAMUEL

In previous years, many viewed the FIFA Club World Cup as a minor tournament that was inevitably going to be won by the European or South American teams. This time around, that could still happen, but the 2011 edition is shaping up to be the most competitive yet.

UEFA champions Barcelona enter the tournament for the third time, having previously appeared in 2009 when they won the final in dramatic, overtime fashion over Estudiantes de la Plata of Argentina. The Spanish and European champions come in as favorites, but the road will not be as easy as in the past.

Their main challenger could prove to be Brazilian side Santos, who earned a spot in the Club World Cup by winning the Copa Libertadores earlier this year. Santos will be led by international sensations Neymar and Ganso, who have spurned moves to Europe mostly due to a desire to play in this tournament. Santos, in their first appearance in the Club World Cup, will receive a bye to the semifinals, just like Barcelona.

After two years of taking place in the United Arab Emirates, the competition returns to Japan this year, where the previous four editions were hosted. Storybook Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol take on OFC Champions' League winner Auckland City in Thursday's opening match of the tournament (5:15 a.m., Fox Soccer Channel).

Tuesday Kickoff: Galaxy win tour finale, Blatter hints at technology use & more

The Los Angeles Galaxy made it 3-for-3 on their Asia Pacific tour, defeating the Melbourne Victory in a penalty shootout, 4-3, after the teams played to a 2-2 draw in regulation.

The Galaxy trailed, 2-0, but Robbie Keane twice converted penalty kicks to pull the MLS Cup champions level. Landon Donovan struck the crossbar with the Galaxy's first attempt in the shootout, but the Australian side had Paulo Retre also hit the crossbar before Josh Saunders saved Marco Rojas' spot kick. Paolo Cardozo hit the clincher to cement the Galaxy's victory in their tour finale.

The match was the final one in the playing career of Gregg Berhalter, who came on as a late substitute for David Beckham. All eyes turn to Beckham, who drew the Galaxy's second penalty and nearly scored from his own half with the goalkeeper off the line, as he chooses whether to come back to MLS or continue his career elsewhere.

Highlights of the match can be seen here.

Here are a few more stories to get your Tuesday going:

Monday Kickoff: Ballon d'Or finalists announced, Socrates dies at 57 and more

By CALEB SONNELAND

When the French Football Association announced its men's and women's Ballon d'Or finalists for 2011, the usual suspects were all accounted for — with one American in the mix.

The La Liga trio of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo are set to contend for the men's award, while Marta, Homare Sawa and Abby Wambach will vie for the women's prize.

Messi, who will be going for his third straight award, already has 27 goals and 11 assists so far in all competitions for Barcelona, while his teammate Xavi has five goals and five assists in the same period. Ronaldo, who won the award in 2008 and was a runner-up in 2007 and 2009, has notched 21 goals and eight assists this season.

The women's finalists all shone through at this summer's World Cup with Sawa's Japan hoisting the trophy at the end of the competition while Wambach and the United States took the 2nd place spot. Brazil's Marta is considered by many to be the best female player in the world, and was the inaugural winner of the award in 2010.

Mid-Day Ticker: Lucas out for season, Europa League continues and more

By FRANCO PANIZO

If Liverpool is to overcome its less-than-stellar start to the season and get back in contention for a Champions League spot, it will have to do so without one of its top players.

Lucas Leiva has been ruled out for the remainder of the Premiership campaign after sustaining a knee injury in Liverpool's 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Chelsea in the Carling Cup on Tuesday. The 24-year-old midfielder was stretchered off the field following a collision with Juan Mata.

Having proven to be one of Liverpool's best players during the past two seasons, Lucas is set to undergo surgery after a scan revealed a torn ACL in his left knee.

The news comes as a crushing blow to the Reds, which currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League.

Here are more stories from Thursday:

Tuesday Kickoff: Blatter talks MLS, Twellman replaces Harkes and more

Sepp Blatter has gotten himself in hot water for recent comments, but the FIFA president steered clear of controversy when talking about Major League Soccer.

In an interview with Fox Soccer, Blatter addressed the MLS schedule, maintaining his position that it would be better if the league aligned itself with the European calendar as opposed to continuing the March-to-November schedule.

"If (U.S. Soccer) has the courage to change, they will do it," Blatter said in an interview that will be shown on Fox Soccer Channel during the week. "But they need some time to change that – to adapt to the international calendar. It means to the European calendar. It would be better for U.S. Soccer, and specifically also for the [United States] national team. And the popularity inside the country."

Prior to the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups, MLS officials appeared more open to the idea of shifting to the European calendar as a concession to having the United States secure hosting rights for the 2022 event, but that was before FIFA gave the hosting rights to Qatar. No radical change to an August-to-May schedule appears imminent, even though Blatter says that MLS is heading toward that direction. 

Here are a couple of more items to get your Tuesday going: