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Monthly Soccer Conditioning Tips

Considerations for Youth Soccer Players Utilizing Resistance Training.

Part 1-Safety Issues in Training

There are a large number of children, who play soccer during most of the year, and do not have the time to participate in other sports. This leaves youth soccer players more likely to develop injuries due to the repetitive stress on their bodies from playing the same sport for most of the year. Therefore, it might be a good idea for youth soccer players (12-14 years old) to start . . .

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Eriksson arrives in Mexico

Swedish coach Sven Goran Eriksson, whose year-long reign as Manchester City manager ended on Monday, has arrrived in Mexico to tie up a deal to coach the national side, local media reported.

"Sven arrives in Mexico," the sports daily Record headlined Monday.

The newspaper added that according to national committee member Jorge Vergara, the 60-year-old former England boss has already been hired to lead the national side.

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Major League Soccer Makes Inroads In USA

Attendance shows league should no longer be sneered at.

Last season was an unmitigated disaster for Toronto FC.

An expansion team, Toronto had the fewest points in the league (25), allowed the most goals (49), scored the fewest (25) and set a league record for a scoring drought (824 minutes).

Not surprisingly, Toronto saw a change in the number of its season tickets.

The numbers increased.

After having 14,000 season tickets for 2007, Toronto quit selling them for this season when it reached 16,000.

"They could sell out the whole place just with season tickets," said Bob Gansler, a former Toronto FC assistant coach. "It's a hot ticket. They certainly are in a great position in terms of their support."

Ditto for Major League Soccer. Just seven years after folding two teams, the league is on solid ground, despite the way it is perceived by the American sporting public.

The league's average attendance was 16,770 last year, the best since its inaugural season of 1996. This year the average crowd is 15,736, which will rise as the weather warms up and school lets out. The MLS figures to top 17,000 per game in 2008.

Critics will sneer that it pales in comparison with the NFL's average of 67,738, but every league's does. Major League Baseball's average a year ago was 32,785. MLS fits right in with the NBA (17,757 in 2006-'07) and the NHL (16,486 in '06-'07).

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U.S. Soccer Potential Venues 2010 World Cup Qualifiers

Chicago and Commerce City, Colorado, to Host World Cup Qualifiers for the First Time; RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Also Chosen For First Time Since 2004

The U.S. Soccer Federation has announced the three venues that would host home matches for the semifinal round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Before taking the field in these games, however, the U.S. must first advance past the second round, where they face a home-and-away series against Barbados. The U.S. will host the first leg on June 15 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. PT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and Galavision. The away leg will be played on June 22 at a site and time to be determined.

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U.S. Women's Face Brazil Twice Prio to 2008 Olympics

Pre-Olympic Schedule Set With Games on July 13 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. and July 16 at Torero Stadium in San Diego, Calif.

The U.S. Women’s National Team will face Brazil in its final two matches before the 2008 Olympics, starting the two-game set on July 13 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. (2 p.m. MT live on ESPN), before traveling to San Diego, Calif., for a July 16 game at the University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium (7 p.m. PT live on Fox Soccer Channel).

The announcement of the appetizing matches in San Diego and Commerce City, which is home to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, complete the USA’s pre-Olympic schedule that will also include three games at the Peace Queen Cup in June (and possibly a fourth if the U.S. makes the championship game) as well as a two-match trip to Norway and Sweden in early July. At the Peace Queen Cup, the U.S. will face Australia on June 15, Brazil on June 17 and Italy on June 19. The USA will depart for China one week after the match in San Diego

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CONCACAF Champions League Format

CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) unveiled today the qualification format for the inaugural 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League.

The new CONCACAF Champions League will be comprised of 24 teams, representing each of CONCACAF's regions. The CONCACAF Champions League will feature four teams from Mexico and USA; two clubs each from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama; and one representative from Canada, Belize, and Nicaragua and three teams from the Caribbean

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David Beckham Stays Focused On 2010 World Cup

David Beckham insists his chances of playing in the 2010 World Cup will not be hindered by his decision to play in the United States.

The former Real Madrid midfielder captained his country for the friendly against Trinidad & Tobago last night, however some critics claim that when England's qualifying campaign begins in September the constant long-haul fights back to Europe will take their toll on the 33-year-old.

But Beckham, who plays for Major League Soccer's (MLS) Los Angeles Galaxy, remains adamant that not only is the standard in the United States higher than people imagine, but that he will do everything possible to continue playing for his country.

"The standard in the USA is higher than anyone thinks and expects," he said. "America is a great place to play and the standard is improving all the time. People say 'can you play at this level or that level' but it doesn't change me as a player.

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SuperLiga 2008

Major League Soccer and the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol today unveiled the participating teams, venues and schedule for the 2008 edition of SuperLiga. Building on the success of the inaugural tournament last year, SuperLiga again will award the most lucrative purse in North American soccer history to the winner. The tournament will begin Saturday, July 12 and the championship game is scheduled for Tuesday, August 5.

For the 2008 edition of SuperLiga, competitive criteria determined which four teams would represent their respective leagues. From MLS, the four clubs earned berths based on their regular season records from 2007: Supporter's Shield winner D.C. United, Western Conference champion Chivas USA, MLS Cup 2007 champions Houston Dynamo and MLS Cup finalist New England Revolution. Representing Mexico's Primera Division are four of the top clubs from the 2007 Apertura season: 2007 Apertura champion Atlante, 11-time Mexican League champion CD Guadalajara, two-time Mexican Primera Division champions Santos Laguna and the 2007 SuperLiga champion Pachuca CF.

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Play Soccer With Pelé

We at 360 Soccer came into possesion of a "Play Football with Pelé", 1976, and honestly believe we needed to share the numerous invaluable soccer lessons provided by "O Rei" in this book. The game of Soccer will become more fun and rewarding if you take the time to learn his lessons about the game and life as presented in these pages. Just click on the Pelé image to link to this tremendous training guide.

Send An E-Card To A Friend

There are many great e postcard images on our site that you can send to friends. Heck, we even have some you can send to your enemies! Simply click on the the e postcard image you want to send and you'll get your chance to complete the card, preview it & send it. Simply click here to view all of our e card choices.

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