After more than seven years in Major League Soccer, the Seattle Sounders finally cut ties with coach Sigi Schmid. The two parties agreed to a mutual parting following Seattle’s thrashing at the hands of Western Conference rivals Sporting KC. However, to blame Schmid for the Sounders’ problems on the pitch would be erroneous. It is […]

As the MLS All-Star Game on Thursday marks the halfway point of the 2016 season, fans get to experience MLS Direct Kick for free as the teams return to action over the weekend. MLS Direct Kick is a pay TV sports package that allows fans to follow out-of-market MLS matches. All the major cable and satellite […]

Sigi Schmid finally met his end on Tuesday, fired after seven-and-a-half seasons in Seattle with his Sounders 21 points behind Western Conference-leading FC Dallas, ten points below the red line, and just one point out of last place. It was a position that even a manager of Schmid’s stature couldn’t survive – especially not after […]

Astana (Kazakhstan) (AFP) – Leigh Griffiths levelled 12 minutes from time to give struggling Celtic a 1-1 draw at Astana in their Champions League third qualifying round first leg clash on Wednesday. The result gave Brendan Rodgers's side the upper hand ahead of their return clash in Glasgow next week, but the Kazakh side were […]

It's going to be a busy summer for NBC Sports. During the month of August, they'll be broadcasting over 55 soccer games from the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the vast majority of them will be announced by NBC Sports talent. To put together such a task, NBC Sports is relying on a team of announcers […]

Berlin (AFP) – Star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is targeting titles next season with Borussia Dortmund, who have spent 117 million euros ($128.5m) in making eight new signings, to break Bayern Munich's stranglehold in Germany. Aubameyang, 27, has been linked to a bumper move to Pep Guardiola-led Manchester City, but poured more cold water on any […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona paraded Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes at the Camp Nou on Wednesday after his 55-million-euro capture from Valencia on a five-year deal. The 22-year-old, part of Portugal's European Championship-winning side, has a release clause of 100 million euros ($110 mn, £84 mn) and will cost an initial 35 million euros, with 20 […]

Shenzhen (China) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has denied dictating to his Manchester City squad exactly what they can eat and said no player is overweight, after Gael Clichy claimed the new manager had banned junk food and exiled out-of-shape stars. Speaking in China, where City are on a money-spinning pre-season tour, the French defender told […]

Berlin (AFP) – Wolfgang Niersbach, the former president of the German Football Association (DFB), said on Wednesday that he will appeal the one-year ban imposed on him by FIFA's ethics committee. The 65-year-old was banned on Monday over misconduct surrounding Germany's successful 2006 World Cup bid. Niersbach resigned from the German FA last November amid […]

Milan (AFP) – Gonzalo Higuain "betrayed" Napoli by joining rivals Juventus, claimed club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis despite pocketing 90m euros ($98.8m, £75.3m) for the sale of the Argentine striker. In the most unlikely move of the Serie A summer transfer period, Higuain ended his fairytale three-year spell with Napoli on Tuesday when he agreed […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker will be "out a few months" with the knee injury that prevented him from joining the Gunners' North American tour, manager Arsene Wenger said Tuesday. In a press conference looking ahead to Thursday's Major League Soccer All-Star Game in San Jose, where Arsenal will take on a […]

Milan (AFP) – On 36 occasions last season, Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain boosted Napoli dreams of ending a 26-year title drought as he inspired with goalscoring feats in the Scudetto race with Juventus. On Tuesday, Higuain went from hero to zero after completing the world's third most expensive transfer to join Napoli's rivals in a […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Brazilian international striker Alexandre Pato has joined Spanish club Villarreal from Corinthians, the Sao Paulo outfit announced on Tuesday. No details were given on the transfer fee or length of the contract, although local media reported the Spanish club paid an estimated three million euros ($3.2m) to obtain 60 percent of […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – The struggling Seattle Sounders parted ways with Sigi Schmid on Tuesday, bidding farewell to the only coach they've known since their Major League Soccer debut in 2009. The Sounders dropped to ninth — next to last — in the Western Conference after a lackluster 3-0 defeat to Sporting Kansas City on […]

Milan (AFP) – Gonzalo Higuain completed a sensational move to Juventus after the Italian champions agreed to pay a 90 million euros ($98.8m) fee, the third highest in history, to wrest the Argentine striker from Napoli on Tuesday. In what is the biggest ever transfer fee recorded between two Serie A clubs, Higuain's move to […]