Soccer Capsules - Mexico and U.S.: U.S. women soccer Olympic hopes at stake Friday
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — It doesn't matter that the U.S. women's soccer team is clearly one of the best — if not the best — in the world. It doesn't matter that the Americans have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 31-0 so far in Olympic qualifying.
All that truly matters is one game. At least when it comes to earning a trip to London.
The setup of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament puts the onus on Friday's semifinals — United States vs. Costa Rica and Canada vs. Mexico. The winners are Olympic-bound. The losers are not. Surely there must be a better way.
"We are one of the best teams in the world," U.S. forward Abby Wambach said Thursday. "And if we don't qualify straightaway from our region, there's something wrong. And it might not be the team, it might be the system that's in place."
It's a setup that can certainly go haywire. Roger Clemens was hoping to join the U.S. baseball team and pitch in the 2004 Olympics, but he never had the chance because the Americans didn't qualify. They had one bad day — a loss in a single-elimination quarterfinal against Mexico — and soon the national pastime was out of the Summer Games altogether.
Fourteen months ago, the U.S. women's soccer team lost a semifinal qualifying game to Mexico for a World Cup berth. At least that time there was a backdoor way in — a home-and-away playoff with Italy that snagged the last spot available.
There's no backup plan this time. Everything rides on Friday.
"It's definite pressure," Canadian forward Christine Sinclair said. "Because you could be the best team and not win, and that's just the nature of the sport. It's hard when it comes down to one game."
Mexican coach Leonardo Cuellar said this week he'd like to see CONCACAF use the system that's in place for men's World Cup qualifying: group play with home-and-away matches with every team, with the teams at the top of the standings advancing to the big show. He feels such an arrangement would also boost women's soccer throughout the region.
"You see the scores that we have here — it's almost like the two best teams are already in the World Cup and the other teams are trying to catch up," Cuellar said. "So hopefully pretty soon we can have that kind of system. And also I think it will make things a lot more even in some way."
Money and logistics stand in the way. It's easier to go to one place — like Vancouver's BC Place — and get it all done as quickly as possible. On Friday, the U.S. team will be playing its fourth game in eight days.
"We're not naïve about why this is the way it is," Wambach said. "If there was a longer qualifying process, it would be home-and-away matches and first legs and second legs and aggregate scoring, but women's sports doesn't have that kind of money yet. The good news is because of the (popularity of last year's) World Cup, maybe that gives us an opportunity to make that argument."
That might take a while. Spokesman Ben Spencer said CONCACAF has not considered any format changes to the Olympic qualifying tournament.
Even if there were changes in the works, it wouldn't make a difference for Friday's match. The Americans are heavy favorites. They've beaten Costa Rica every time they've played, outscoring Las Ticas 34-0 in seven meetings. They certainly ought to win.
But that doesn't mean they will. After all, there is the memory of that first-ever loss to Mexico in 2010. After practice Thursday, the players reviewed video of Costa Rica's 5-1 loss to Canada from earlier this week, then made sure to point out the high quality of that one Costa Rican goal when talking to reporters.
"All of us are focused," U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said. "And we learned a lesson. You can imagine a team that is winning so much — they did since '91 — it is sometimes a challenge not to take things for granted."
Injured Solo practices before Olympic qualifier
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Hope Solo stood in the net, leaned forward and grimaced. She had just dived to her right to make a save, and her injured leg was feeling the effects.
The goalkeeper for the U.S. women's soccer team was back on the practice field Thursday, one day before the game that will determine whether the Americans go to the Olympics. Whether she'll actually play was still in doubt.
"We still have quite some time to figure that out," Solo said after practice. "I have rehab scheduled right (now), another rehab session tonight, so we're just going to have to wait and see."
The U.S. plays Costa Rica on Friday to determine one of the two berths from the CONCACAF region for the London Olympics. Backup Nicole Barnhart will start if Solo can't go.
Solo pulled her right quadriceps during a workout Sunday and aggravated it during Tuesday's game against Mexico. The injury came about as part of the extra training she had been doing to get back into soccer shape after appearing on "Dancing With the Stars" after last year's World Cup.
Solo had her right thigh heavily wrapped by a trainer Rick Guter before taking the field Thursday on the artificial turf at BC Place. She worked through routine footwork, catching and stretching drills during the one-hour practice. She stopped to remove the thigh wrap about halfway through.
"I never like tape or bandages, even on my shoulder," she said. "I don't like it on my wrist. It is hard to get used to."
Solo said she wants to play against Costa Rica, but she'll understand if coach Pia Sundhage goes with Barnhart.
"Honestly, we have to do what's best for the team," Solo said. "This isn't a friendly. You get three subs, and nobody wants to waste a sub on the goalkeeper. We don't want to see me back there grimacing and holding my leg."
-- Joseph White
U.S. Men's Soccer
Ream gives up honeymoon for EPL move
LONDON (AP) — Sun and sand in Tahiti or the gray skies of northwest England? For Tim Ream, there was only one choice.
Contacted by English Premier League club Bolton the day after his wedding, the 24-year-old American defender canceled his honeymoon on the Pacific island and headed east instead.
Ream convinced Bolton manager Owen Coyle of his worth while training in December with Bolton's squad and completed a transfer from Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls on Thursday.
"I was married for all of 24 hours when I got the phone call," Ream said. "The manager asked if I'd be willing to cancel the honeymoon and come to Bolton and honeymoon here. As much as we were disappointed that we had to pass up the trip, I think we both knew it was in our best interests. Hopefully, it shows my commitment to being here and doing well here."
Ream's wife took a little more convincing.
"I can't really repeat what she said," Ream said. "But her and I have talked, and as long as we're together in whatever we do I think both of us will be happy. She wants the best for me, and I just want her to be happy.
"If she says tomorrow that she wants something, then I guess I'll have to give it to her."
Ream fills the gap in Bolton's roster created by the sale of Gary Cahill to Chelsea earlier in Europe's January transfer window.
Ream joins fellow American Stuart Holden, who signed with Bolton in January 2010. The midfielder, a member of the 2010 U.S. World Cup team, has been limited to one appearance since March because of a knee injury.
The transfer fee of about $2.75 million is the highest for an MLS defender and sixth overall, trailing only those for Maurice Edu, Jozy Altidore, Stern John, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey.
Ream signed a 3½-year contract. Coyle said Arsenal wanted to sign Ream before the current English season.
"I knew there was interest in me when I came over last year and trained for a couple of weeks, and then after Christmas time things really did start to ramp up," Ream said. "Negotiations started, and that's when I knew things were getting serious. Even before that week I aimed to challenge myself in England and, if an opportunity arose, I wanted to come over and try to make it here."
Coyle is sure Ream has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League.
"He is a U.S. international — a player that year-on-year has progressed and got better, and he will continue to do that," Coyle said. "Tim is everything that we want in the players we are bringing to the club when we spend in the transfer market. He is young, has a tremendous attitude and a winning mentality."
A finalist for the MLS Rookie of the Year award in 2010, Ream was selected to the MLS All-Star team last year and has played seven times for the U.S. national team.
"This was a hard decision for me considering the fact that I enjoyed playing for the Red Bulls and was looking forward to the upcoming MLS season," Ream said. "However, after consulting with those closest to me, I decided that this was a once in a lifetime chance that I could not pass up."
Bolton is 17th in the 20-team Premier League, just a point above the relegation zone after 22 of 38 matches.
-- Stuart Condie
England looks to U.S. sports to add glitz to FA Cup
LONDON (AP) — Seeking to restore the allure of the FA Cup, English soccer is looking to American sports to see how some glitz can be added to the final of world soccer's oldest domestic cup competition.
Once the main event in the English soccer calendar and a must-see TV event globally, some of the cup's appeal has been lost as the more lucrative Premier League and Champions League appear to be outshining the 140-year competition.
Wembley Stadium has staged NFL regular-season games for five years, giving a glimpse of how the FA Cup final could be spiced up with more entertainment and glamor there.
"We are always learning, we are investing more internal marketing resources alongside that (broadcaster) ITV and Budweiser put in," FA General Secretary Alex Horne said while overlooking the Wembley field.
"As a collective we all think we can make something more of the day of the final and the event — whether it's on the pitch or the buildup to the event.
"Of course we can learn from the NBA events or the NFL events ... there are many people who do this well."
While looking west across the Atlantic for inspiration on event management, Horne is not losing sight of the competition's big fan base in the East.
"The FA Cup continues to attract huge audiences throughout the world, especially in Asia," Horne said. "China and Thailand are huge markets for English football and the FA Cup in particular. We had a global audience of half a billion for the FA Cup final last year, so we know it's a very relevant product."
But the FA Cup final could be moved from its traditional kickoff time this season in a bid to boost British TV audiences, potentially hitting Asian viewing figures.
The final is set to be at 5:15 p.m. instead of 3 p.m, while talks are under way with the Premier League about preventing a repeat of last season when the match had to be played on the same day as a topflight league program for the first time in 50 years.
That led to Manchester United clinching a record 19th league title just before local rival City ended a 35-year trophy drought by lifting the FA Cup at Wembley.
"The important thing for us is giving (the final) an identity, even if it is not on the last day of the season," Horne said.
The problem of the FA Cup final sharing the day with other big matches in England could be exacerbated by the Champions League final returning to Wembley in 2013 after being staged there last May. UEFA needs the stadium for two weeks before the match.
But ahead of the fourth round this weekend, the FA has sought to highlight the enduring value of the cup, with a study showing that clubs have collectively earned around $1 billion over the past 10 years in prize money, TV payments and ticket revenue.
Such rewards can have a transformational effect on teams — particularly those lower down the pecking order.
"When Burton secured a replay at Old Trafford (against Manchester United in 2006) they earned $1.1 million in that year," Horne said. "That enabled them to pay off the debt on their stadium, invest in playing talent and ultimately progress into the Football League.
"Crawley last year earned $2.4 million from the competition, including a 1-million pound ($1.6 million) payday at Old Trafford."
The FA Cup is in the first year of a $38 million, three-year title sponsorship deal with American beer brand Budweiser.
-- Rob Harris
First network EPL telecast draws 1.3 million
NEW YORK (AP) — The first live telecast of an English Premier League game on a U.S. over-the-air network was seen by 1.3 million viewers last weekend, more than double the high for previous broadcasts on cable television.
Fox says Thursday that Manchester United's 2-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday received a 0.8 rating and 2 share. The 11 a.m. EST telecast drew a lower rating than three delayed broadcasts on Fox earlier this season, which averaged a 1.1. Those matches were aired before or after NFL games, depending on the market.
ESPN's high of 528,000 viewers was set in December 2010 for the Manchester United-Arsenal game; Fox Soccer's high of 418,000 was for last February's Chelsea-Liverpool match.
The rating is the percentage of television households tuned to a broadcast, and the share is there percentage watching among the households with TVs on at the time.
Toronto FC signs defender Eckersley
TORONTO (AP) — Toronto FC has signed defender Richard Eckersley, who had previously been on loan to the team from England's Burnley. The 22-year-old Eckersley joined Toronto last April and started in 22 of 23 matches.
Eckersley signed a four-year contract with Burnley in July 2009 and went on separate loan deals to Plymouth Argyle, Bradford City and Bury before coming to Canada.
Toronto FC coach Aron Winter says signing Eckersley was a "high off-season priority" and calls him "an important player for our club."
He began his youth career at Manchester United and made two appearances with the senior side. He was also part of Manchester United's League Cup-winning side against Tottenham in March 2009.
Orlando City signs younger brother of Rooney
ORLANDO, Florida (AP) — John Rooney, the younger brother of Manchester United standout Wayne Rooney, has signed to play with American third-tier club Orlando City. The 21-year-old midfielder's signing on Thursday is pending United States Soccer Federation approval.
Rooney most recently played with Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls, who claimed him in the second round of the 2011 draft.
Rooney appeared in five games for the Bulls and made two U.S. Open Cup appearances, where he scored his lone goal of 2011 against FC New York.
Orlando City won the US Pro Championship last year.
Mexico Soccer
Chivas hires Ignacio Ambriz as new coach
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican club Chivas introduced its new coach on Thursday, selecting little-known Ignacio Ambriz to replace Fernando Quirarte, who resigned on Saturday after the club's third straight loss to open the Clausura season.
Ambriz coached Mexican club San Luis until last year, and was an assistant for Javier Aguirre at Spanish club Atletico Madrid. Aguirre went on to coach Mexico in the 2010 World Cup. He was fired late last year as coach of Spanish side Zaragoza.
Chivas has won the most Mexican league titles with 11, but it has never before started a season with three straight losses.
"I'm aware of where I am," Ambriz told reporters, alluding to the club's popularity in Mexico. "I'm exicted. I know the challenge is very large, but I feel capable to making progress."
Chivas has been struggling for stability. Ambriz is the 14th coach since Jorge Vergara bought the Guadalajara club in 2002, and the fourth in the last year and a half.
Ambriz coached 70 matches with San Luis, winning 21, drawing 23 and losing 26.
"Perhaps I was not the favorite," he said. "But my career is very short. I know this will be a difficult challenge."
Ambriz played for Mexico in the 1994 World Cup in the United States. He will be on the bench Sunday in a match at Mexico City-based Pumas.
Mexico wants to field full team in Copa America
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hoping to improve its chance of winning the Copa America, Mexico is asking that it be allowed to field its full national soccer team in the South American championship rather than a youth team.
Mexico has played in the Copa America as a guest team with underage players, giving it little chance against the likes of Brazil and Argentina. It lost its three group matches in last year's Copa America, won by Uruguay.
Mexico is a member of CONCACAF, which governs soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean. Mexican federation general secretary Decio De Maria said Thursday his group is appealing to CONCACAF to change the rules under which Mexico must play.
