Brazilian soccer violence continues just months ahead of 2014 World Cup

Soccer violence continues to rear its ugly head in Brazil with the World Cup being just eight months away. The latest incident took place over the October 19 weekend when a game in the country’s second division had to be called off in the second half due to fans throwing explosives and rocks onto the pitch. To make matters even more puzzling, the fans were also pelting their own players as they weren’t happy with their performance.

The game took place at Curuzu Stadium in the city of Belem in northern Brazil on October 18. The home club Paysandu allowed a goal in the 75th minute to fall behind 2-0 in the match to visiting team Avai. All hell then broke loose and the referee abandoned the game for safety reasons while police officers tried to restore order. Police detained a number of fans from the home team, but reported that no serious injuries were suffered.

Just a week earlier, fans destroyed close to 100 seats at Arena Castelao, one of the World Cup stadiums, and police officers had to quell violence at two other venues. Two weeks ago, a pair of games were delayed due to overcrowding and fighting in the stands. In the latest incident in Belem, Paysandu supporters started to throw rocks at reserve players from Avai right after the team scored their second goal.

The players then ran onto the field to escape the trouble and to dodge items that were being hurled at them. This was when the referee decided to ask the police for help. The police managed to calm things down slightly and the referee attempted to continue with the game. However, things got out of hand a couple of minutes later when fans behind one of the nets started to throw explosive devices, oranges, and rocks.

USA clinches spot in 2014 World Cup in Brazil

The U.S. Men’s’ National Soccer Team clinched a spot in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with a 2-0 win over Mexico in Columbus, Ohio on September 10. It will be the seventh consecutive World Cup

for the Americans and the victory came courtesy of goals by Landon Donovan and Eddie Johnson. The Americans took the lead through Johnson in the 49th minute when he headed in a Donovan corner kick and Donovan scored the insurance goal in the 78th minute. Clint Dempsey should have made it 3-0, but shot wide on a penalty kick in the 93rd minute.

The U.S. is currently in first place in the CONCACAF qualifying group with a record of 5-2-1. Their 16 points are one more than second-place Costa Rica, who also clinched a berth at next year’s World Cup with a 1-1 tie against Jamaica. There are still two qualifying matches remaining, but the top three teams are guaranteed a place in the 32-team tournament and the Americans can’t finish any worse than third. Things don’t look too good for Mexico though as they’re presently in fifth place. The fourth place team in the CONCACAF group will meet New Zealand in a two-game playoff series with the winner heading to Brazil next June.

Russia to pass World Cup Law for Soccer fans

A lot of soccer fans across the globe balked when Russia was awarded the hosting rights to the 2018 World Cup, but the nation aims to do its best to make sure fans feel at home. It’s expected that over a million fans will be visiting the country for the tournament and Russian politicians are planning on passing something called a 'Fans Law' which will help to guarantee the safety of visitors.

The proposed legislation will allow fans with tickets to soccer games to enter the country without the need of a visa. In addition, there will be free travel by train and bus offered between the event’s host cities for fans. There will also be new laws introduced that are aimed at dealing with sports hooligans. The fans law has already been passed by Russia’s lower house of parliament and it will be looked over by the upper house later this year and then signed by president Vladimir Putin.

Fox Sports Gus Johnson to Lend his Voice to 2018 World Cup

Gus Johnson has made a name for himself in commentary over the last couple of decades most notably in college basketball’s March Madness tournament from 1996-2011. You might recognize him as the exuberant, enthusiastic, exciting guy calling most of the key moments during those games. He has made popular the phrases ”Oh my goodness!”, “Rise and fire… Count it!”, “Here comes the pain!”, “From the parking lot!”, “And the Runner….Bang!”, “Pure!”, “BAM!”, “Cold-Blooded!”, “What a game!”, and “HA-HAAA”

Brazil fires soccer coach Mano Menezes prior to World Cup

Brazil shocked most of the soccer world on Nov. 23 when the country’s football confederation (CBF) announced that national team manager Mano Menezes had been fired. It was announced that a new manager will be named in January. The timing is a little odd to many Brazilian fans since the country will be hosting the Confederations Cup in about seven months time and the World Cup a year later. The Confederations Cup is used as a trial run for the World Cup.

Menezes took over the team in 2010 just after it was eliminated from the World Cup in South Africa. He replaced former boss Dunga, but couldn’t beat the top teams in the world such as Germany and Holland. Menezes was also criticized for turning the creative and tacking team into a more boring and defensive unit.

Brazil hasn’t hosted a World Cup since 1950 and the CBF is more or less desperate to make sure it wins the trophy while hosting the tournament. The nation has earned a spot in every World Cup tournament in history and has also won it a record five times. Menezes leaves the team after managing it for 40 games. His record was 27 wins, seven losses and six ties.

U.S. Soccer launches new women’s professional league

U.S. Soccer announced on Nov. 21 that another professional women’s soccer league will be starting up in the New Year. The organization said the league will consist of eight teams and will kick off in the spring of 2013. There will be franchises in Washington D.C., Western New York, Chicago, Boston, Kansas City, Seattle, New Jersey, and Portland, but so far there isn’t a name for the league.

While women’s soccer is extremely popular in America at the Olympic and World Cup levels, it has failed to catch on with fans at the league level. There have been two previous attempts at women’s pro leagues, but they both folded. The WUSA ran for three years and ended operations in 2003, while Women's Professional Soccer also ran for three seasons and folded earlier this year.

The league is being launched so American national team members have a place to play before the next World Cup gets underway in 2015. It was reported that the franchises will be privately owned and the U.S. soccer federation will be paying the wages of the 24 American national team members as well funding the offices of the new league.