Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur will play a preseason exhibition match at Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes on June 17. It will be the first time the Earthquakes host a Premier League club since a 1-1 tie against Aston Villa in 1997. Spurs also will also take part in the in the four-team tournament at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., from July 22-25, which includes Manchester City, the Red Bulls, and possibly Portugal’s famed club, Sporting Lisbon.
To borrow a quote from Mark Twain, reports of Alex Ferguson’s retirement have been greatly exaggerated. The Manchester United coach says he will not retire at the end of the Premier League season. Several British papers had reported that the 68-year-old was going to step down after 24 years in charge at at United. Ferguson said on Friday that “there is no truth in it.”
Brazilian ace Kaka is back from a groin injury and will be available for Real Madrid in the Spanish league game at Zaragoza on Saturday. The Brazil midfielder hasn’t played much since a Champions League match against Lyon on March 10. Madrid trails Spanish leaders Barcelona by one point in the table with five games to play.
Good news for America’s World Cup team. American midfielder Stuart Holden is reported to being close to resume training with Premier League club Bolton after breaking his right leg while playing for the U.S. team nearly two months ago. The 24-year-old, was injured on March 3 in a game against the Netherlands when he was tackled by Nigel de Jong. Holden could be back for Bolton’s final Premier League games, at Spurs on May 1 and home against Birmingham on May 9. Holden hopes to make the U.S. World Cup roster.
More good news for the American World Cup team. Despite his French club saying he won’t play this season, U.S. forward Charlie Davies has not given up on making the World Cup team.The 23-year-old Davies suffered severe injuries in a fatal car accident in Virginia last October. He has returned to training for Sochaux but the club president Alexandre Lacombe said on Thursday that Davies won’t recover in time to play this season. Davies, however, told The Associated Press he is “still very hopeful of playing this season” and that “we will see come the next couple of weeks.”
The American World Cup team must submit preliminary 30-man rosters to FIFA by May 11 and final 23-man rosters by June 1.
“We are all very proud of the determination and the attitude that Charlie has displayed throughout his rehabilitation process,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said in a statement. “It has always been understood that the timing of his return to playing would be difficult to predict. We are continuing to keep track of his progress as we look to make the final decisions on the training camp roster for next month.”
This article is the copyrighted property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media. REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.
