WHITECAPS FC & MLS NEWS
Somebody needs to score for Whitecaps to advance – 24 Hours
The Major League Soccer playoffs have arrived here in town as Vancouver Whitecaps FC host Portland Timbers FC in the second leg of their Western Conference semifinal at BC Place on Sunday.
Whitecaps can’t defend their way to playoff win versus Timbers – Vancouver Sun
With the Caps’ season on the line Sunday at BC Place Stadium in the second leg of the Western Conference semifinal against the Portland Timbers, it’s time for the Welshman to be bold. Forced to play defensively too often because of the lack of a clinical finisher, it’s time for him to take some chances with his starting lineup.
News and notes: Morales ‘flying’ as ‘Caps return to training – Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC returned to training on Tuesday ahead of Sunday’s much-anticipated home playoff match against Portland Timbers.
Does it pay to have Morales play? – The Province
Never mind the three Whitecaps up for major MLS awards, although all are deserving nominees. The most interesting man at Tuesday’s practice was trying to kick soccer balls into the open trunk of a Kia as his teammates headed for the change rooms at UBC.
Whitecaps snag three MLS award nominations – 24 Hours
Even if the Vancouver Whitecaps fall short in their bid for the MLS Cup, they could still end up walking away from the season with some hardware.
Benny Feilhaber, Sebastian Giovinco, Kei Kamara contend for Landon Donovan MVP as MLS announces 2015 Awards finalists – MLS
Major League Soccer on Tuesday announced the finalists for the 2015 end-of-season awards.
‘The living, breathing example of how to set up a proper football club’ – Whitecaps FC
“The living, breathing example of how to set up a proper football club.” That’s how Vancouver Whitecaps FC co-owner Jeff Mallet described Carl Robinson at the club’s midseason media roundtable back in July.
Montreal Impact dismiss rumors of Didier Drogba weighing offseason loan to Bologna – MLS
The Montreal Impact poured cold water on reports out of Europe that emerged over the weekend claiming that Drogba was considering an offseason loan to Serie A side Bologna, who are owned by Impact owner Joey Saputo. A story appeared on the Impact website Tuesday saying the two teams never discussed the possibility of a loan.
Didier Drogba will not play in Bologna – Montreal Impact
“The Italian club, the Impact, nor Drogba have ever discussed this possibility.”
Steven Gerrard set for amazing return to Liverpool after holding talks with Jurgen Klopp – The Independent
Klopp has spoken to the former captain several times on the telephone since arriving at Anfield last month. The manager is now convinced that Gerrard’s presence will help define the standards of professionalism he expects around Melwood, Liverpool’s training ground.
Steven Gerrard unlikely to make Liverpool playing return – Goal
As Steven Gerrard, 35, approaches his final MLS season with the Galaxy, a playing return for Liverpool appears unlikely.
Kreis far from the only one to blame for NYCFC’s disappointing first season – Goal
When New York City FC announced that it had parted ways with Jason Kreis as the club’s first head coach Monday, it wasn’t difficult to read between the lines. “Parting ways” is code for the team has fired its coach, and in the process agreed to pay said coach off in exchange for his silence and what at least publicly is seen as face-saving semantics. After all, saying you parted ways with a team sounds better than saying you were fired.
Toronto FC president Bill Manning confirms Greg Vanney will remain head coach despite considering Jason Kreis – MLS
Rumors swirled on Tuesday that Toronto FC, ousted in the Knockout Round of the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, were looking at former NYCFC head coach Jason Kreis, who parted ways with the expansion team on Monday.
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BC SOCCER NEWS
BC Soccer Assoc. to Host Two Learn to Train Coaching Courses – BCSA
The two Learn to Train courses will each allow spots for 45 coaches to help assist the BC Soccer Assoc. Membership in achieving the upcoming Mandatory Coach Certification Mandate.
Dickson Named GNAC Freshman of Year, First Team All-Conference – SFU
Simon Fraser University forward Christina Dickson of Burnaby was today named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Conference by conference head coaches.
Hundal named Canada West All-Star for second-straight week – UVic
University of Victoria Vikes men’s soccer player Cam Hundal was named the Canada West Male First Star of the Week following his performance on Oct. 30 in the conference quarter-finals. This is Hundal’s second-straight appearance on the three stars list. Thompson Rivers volleyball outside hitter Iullia Pakhomenko was the Canada West Female Star of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 1.
HICKS NAMED CANADA WEST SECOND STAR OF THE WEEK – TWU
TWU Spartans goalkeeper Andrew Hicks (Surrey, B.C.) was named the Canada West Male Second Star of the Week after he earned a season-high eight saves in the Spartans 1-0 upset win over the Calgary Dinos Saturday afternoon in Calgary.
Cascades open Canada West Final Four vs. host UBC Thunderbirds – UFV
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s soccer team is one win away from qualifying for the CIS national championship tournament for the first time in program history.
PACWEST Golden Athletes of the Week – PACWEST
Capilano’s Devan Woolley & Douglas College’s Danae Harding are the PACWEST Athletes of the Week.
National soccer team player Straith never forgets his Bays United roots – Times Colonist
The Bays United product sponsored a raffle draw held Tuesday at the Oak Bay Recreation Centre with the winner — Quinton Nicoll of U-12 — winning three tickets to the Canada versus Honduras CONCACAF World Cup qualifying match Nov. 13 at B.C. Place Stadium. Also part of the draw, which was open to all Bays United players, is hotel accommodation in Vancouver, a signed Canada jersey and a meeting with Straith following the important fixture which opens the fourth round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying for Russia 2018.
WolfPack Women’s Soccer: Operation Christmas Child –TRU
The WolfPack women’s soccer team continued their tradition of being involved in Operation Christmas Child. They put shoe boxes together to be sent to Third World Nations. These photos are courtesy of head coach Tom McManus.
UNBC recognizes 2014-15 Academic All-Canadians – UNBC
The UNBC Timberwolves’ proud history of merging academics and athletics continued Tuesday with their annual Academic All-Canadian reception and donor recognition. To be considered an Academic All-Canadian, a student-athlete must be an active member of a varsity team while achieving a GPA of 3.67 or higher throughout the academic year.
FIFA 2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
CANADA vs. HONDURAS
7:00 PM, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2015
B.C. PLACE, VANCOUVER, B.C.
FIFA World Cup Qualifying – Canada vs. Honduras at B.C. Place, Fri. Nov.13 – Buy Tickets Here
CANADA SOCCER NEWS
Cyle Larin nominated for MLS Rookie of the Year honours – OSA
Cyle Larin, who hails from Brampton, ON, has been selected as a finalist for the MLS Rookie of the Year award. Larin, who previously played for Sigma FC in League1 Ontario. finished tied for fifth in league scoring with 17 goals, which included four game-winning goals and it was the most goals every by a rookie in MLS.
Final 2015 CIS Top Ten Rankings – CIS
UBC tops the chart on the Men’s side, while Laval is the top ranked Women’s team in the nation.
2015 Review: Women’s Senior Talent Pool – League 1 Ontario
As part of the League 1 review of the 2015 season, we checked with the coaches of each of the teams and asked them to highlight the accomplishments of two or three of their top senior players (ie. players that left midway through the season for university and higher levels and/ or represent the senior end of a team’s respective roster).
2015 Review: Women’s Junior Talent Pool – League 1 Ontario
As part of the League 1 review of the 2015 season, we checked with the coaches of each of the teams and asked them to highlight the contributions of two or three of their top young players.
ISL: Iain Hume hat-trick helps Kolkata beat Mumbai City 4-1 – Hindustan Times
Mumbai City FC player-cum-manager Nicolas Anelka seemed to have too much on his plate on Sunday. Starting a game for the first time this season, the Frenchman failed to find his feet on the field and faltered while reading the Atletico de Kolkata tactics, losing 1-4 on the back of a classy hat-trick by Canadian striker Iain Hume.
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NASL & USL NEWS
The Championship To Air Live On ESPN3, ONE World Sports – NASL
In Canada, all three matches will be available on NASL.com. Additionally, various local television partners will carry the matches live in their respective markets.
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WOMEN’S SOCCER NEWS
Orlando Pride Happy With Expansion Draft Results – The Maneland
Orlando Pride took a big step with Monday’s NWSL Expansion Draft. Head Coach Tom Sermanni, General Manager Paul McDonough, and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris talked about today’s events.
Reign FC 2016 roster taking shape one month into off-season – Prost Amerika
One month past the NWSL title game and Seattle Reign FC have kept busy. After retirements, a trade, an expansion draft, and a return to Europe Seattle has seventeen names on the roster.
First women receive UEFA 100-cap awards – UEFA
Players from Denmark, Finland, Portugal, Scotland, Switzerland and Ukraine were among the first group of women to be honoured by UEFA for a century of international appearances.
Readings: Future bright for young New Zealand – The Equalizer
New Zealand is an ever-growing and developing country when it comes to women’s soccer. The Football Ferns, currently No. 16 in the FIFA rankings, were able to show great promise at the World Cup as they played in a challenging Group A. Coach Tony Readings saw his players pick up draws against Canada (0-0) and China (2-2). An opening-match loss to the Netherlands ultimately prevented New Zealand from advancing from the group stage. New Zealand is poised to continue progression and player development as the the Football Ferns look to qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Sampson wants England to prove they belong among elite – The FA
Mark Sampson believes England’s meeting with Germany later this month is a chance for his team to prove they belong among the world’s elite.
How Katie Vanden Avond Became Soccer’s Unstoppable Scorer – ESPN W.
Katie Vanden Avond was one among tens of thousands of Americans who crossed the border to Vancouver, British Columbia, this past summer to watch the World Cup final in person. Which isn’t to say she was just like all her countrywomen and countrymen. For one thing, she scored more NCAA goals than anyone present that day. That includes those who were on the medal podium.
NCAA Women’s Soccer Division I Rankings – NCAA
Virginia remains #1. UConn jumps into the top ten.
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WORLD SOCCER NEWS
Karim Benzema in custody over Valbuena blackmail probe – ESPN FC
Real Madrid and France striker Karim Benzema was arrested on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a blackmail case over a sex tape involving fellow France international Mathieu Valbuena.
Madrid, Man City reach 2nd round of Champions League; Man United, Benfica top their groups – Canada.com
Real Madrid and Manchester City became the first teams to reach the second round of the Champions League on Tuesday with victories over Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla.
Bright moment saves Man United’s dark night – Sportsnet
It was far from vintage Manchester United and it might open up Louis Van Gaal to more scrutiny but it wasn’t the disaster it looked to be for the majority of the proceedings.
Guardiola says Bayern will take game to Arsenal – UEFA
Bayern München were held at the weekend and are up against “one of Europe’s top sides” but Josep Guardiola has vowed to take the game to Arsenal on Wednesday.
Wolfsburg to put big-money transfers on hold after Volkswagen scandal – ESPN FC
Wolfsburg will adapt their transfer policy in the aftermath of the emissions scandal that has engulfed parent company Volkswagen, sporting executive Klaus Allofs said.
Forget bent officials; match fixing and organised crime is the biggest threat to football – Inside World Football
The biggest threat to sport globally and football in particular is not corrupt administrators or athletes doping, but the infiltration of organised crime and the fixing of matches, said Chris Eaton, Director of Sport Integrity at the ICSS, speaking at the Securing Sport 2015 conference in New York.
Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino backs out of plan to sell to fans – ESPN FC
The Leeds Fans Utd group believed they had agreed a deal in principle to buy the club and were seeking a period of exclusivity to arrange a deal with Massimo Cellino, but after they asked for that to be made legally binding the Italian has changed his mind.
Carrard says you need an ‘insider’ to make reform happen – Inside World Football
The chair FIFA’s reform committee Francois Carrard says that he does not believe FIFA is systemically corrupt and that he hopes he will have the opportunity to speak to all the presidential candidates before the elections in February.
FIFA reform? An oxymoron – Soccer America
The biggest joke about FIFA is that anybody believed its members were truly serious about reforming the joint.
Nigeria, Mali hopeful U-17 World Cup success will yield senior growth – ESPN FC
In theory, the Under-17 World Cup is football’s crystal ball. It is supposed to give a glimpse into the game’s future. But if that was really the case, Nigeria should have won a World Cup, or at least made it to the semifinals by now.
Ba: African qualifying is full of surprises – FIFA
It is safe to say former Chelsea striker and Senegalese international Demba Ba is enjoying a new lease of life with Shanghai Shenhua.
Trabzonspor president handed 280-day ban after locking referee in stadium – The Guardian
The Trabzonspor president, Ibrahim Ethem Haciosmanoglu, and several members of his board have been given lengthy suspensions after a referee was locked in his dressing room at the club’s stadium.
Why do half-and-half shirts offend football fans? – BBC
If there’s one subject guaranteed to divide the global public, it’s the beautiful game. But if you look at social media chatter, an emerging trend seems to be uniting thousands of football fans: a shared animosity to the emergence of the “half-and-half” football shirt.