Monday, January 23, 2006

The Latest And Greatest Nobukazu Takemura News

-USA only manages 0-0 draw with Canada in San Diego. Ugh! The team gets booed off the pitch by pissed off fans. I am glad that one wasn't on TV! Here are a few highlights(?):
Freddy Adu claimed his first cap late in the second half, becoming the youngest American to ever play in an official match. He came on in the 81st minute, and got a yellow card in the 85th ..... for Diving! (The crowd sang out: "You dive like Jamie Watson" for several minutes after that one!) Adu was a replacement in the match for Eddie Johnson who came on in the 56th minute, only to go down with a calf injury less than 30 minutes later. No word on the severity of that injury.
Matt Reis gets his first cap in goal. He is also the 8th American keeper to get a clean sheet in his debut.
The last time the two teams played was July 05 in the Gold Cup with USA winning 2-0. Today the USA had 4 players from that match on its roster (all starters in both matches), while Canada suited & started 8 of 11 from that match, with a 9th starter in this match coming on as a sub in that earlier one.
Here was the USA starting 11 in a 4-3-3 formation:
G: Matt Reis
D: Frankie Hejduk, Jimmy Conrad, Eddie Pope (captain), Heath Pearce
M: Ben Olsen, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey
F: Josh Wolff, Brian Ching, Taylor Twellman
Subs:
Chris Klein for Hejduk - 46th minute
Kerry Zavagnin for Olsen - 46
Chris Rolfe for Wolff - 73
Eddie Johnson for Twellman - 56
Freddy Adu for Johnson - 81
Subs not used:
G: Kevin Hartman
D: Todd Dunivant
From US Soccer Federation: match report and game photos
See: USA v Canada game highlights, a match preview (now a couple days old), Player & Coach post game interviews, & a surprise interview with John O'Brien (at the end he "gets the band back together" - you'll see!). Video from USSF.
Newspaper coverage of the match:
San Diego Union Tribune - Mark Zeigler: match report - and - On Matt Reis
Toronto Globe & Mail: match report
Los Angeles Times - Grahame Jones: match report, in which Jonesy says USA fans booed the team! - and - Ben Olsen, angry USA fans who didn't get world cup tix, and other topics
also from LA Times: Galaxy players on Team USA, - and - Brad Guzan for Team USA, - and - Marvell Wynne & MLS Superdraft
Los Angeles Daily News - Scott French: match report
Orange County Register - Damian Calhoun: match report
AP: match report
Press Enterprise - Joseph D'Hippolito: match report
Yanks Abroad: match report
-The African Nations Cup kicked off Friday. Here are the weekend scores and today’s games:
Friday's score
Egypt 3-0 Lybia - an easy opener for Mido and the hosts
Saturday's scores
Morocco 0-1 Cote d'Ivoire - Chelsea's Drogba scored the only goal on a PK, then supposedly got hurt in the 61st minute.
Cameroon 3-1 Angola - Barcelona's Eto'o with the hat-trick
Togo 0-2 Congo - another World Cup bound team gets smoked
Sunday's scores
Tunisia 4-1 Zambia - The Cup holders got 3 from striker Silva dos Santos to cruise to victory. They are my pick to repeat in a final over hosts Egypt.
South Africa 0-2 Guinea - one of Africa's supposed powers shows how far they have fallen
Monday's games
Nigeria v Ghana
Zimbabwe v Senegal
Tuesday's games
Libya v Cote d'Ivoire
Egypt v Morocco
-Soccernet recaps MLS Superdraft
-Check this out. I saw this headline: "MLS to add scudetto to uniform next season". Huh? I guess I never really new what "scudetto" meant, and it baffled me a bit. I thought it was a Seria A thing. I figured it meant "champion" in Italian, cuz if you win Serie A, they say you have won the scudetto! Until now! Today we get the real meaning: Scudetto literally means "small shield"! And if you win the league, then your team gets to wear a special "shield" on their shirts the next season. So look for it on the 06 Galaxy kit. I think this is an excellent addition to the lore of MLS.
-Does anyone out there know who the du Nord fan is that does this website: Music Junkies? I have my suspicions, but am not exactly sure.
-BQ and I had a chat after Man U's 1-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday and he was commenting on the fact that he knows I am not a Gary Neville fan, but the guy really does do a great job on the field. I agreed. G Neville is very good. But here is why I don’t like the little rat faced bastard (and why is he still trying to grow his very first mustache): Gary Neville ran the length of the pitch to celebrate Rio Ferdinand's last-gasp, match-winning header in front of the Liverpool fans.
-West Ham have signed Norwich striker Dean Ashton.
-How did some of our boys who play in Europe do this weekend:
Bobby Convey & Marcus Hahnemann - Crystal Palace 1-1 Reading - Hahnemann named Man Of The Match
Oguchi Onyewu - Standard Liege 1-2 Z-Waregem
Brad Friedel - Newcastle 0-1 Blackburn
DaMarcus Beasley - PSV 2-0 RKC Waalwijk - DMB scores after coming on as sub
Claudio Reyna - Bolton 2-0 Man City - Reyna still out after ankle surgery
Eddie Lewis - Leeds 3-0 Sheff Wednesday
Cory Gibbs - Feyenoord 0-0 Roda JC Kerkrade - Gibbs still out from knee surgery, but back to full time training with team
-German Bundesliga matches resume this week after 5 weeks off
-Jonathan Spector talks to Yanks Abroad about playing against Chelsea.
-Phil Ball on Spains top scorers: Pichichi
-As a long time writer covering MLS and USA soccer, Marc Connolly joins us web-loggers with his own version as part of the US National Team Players Assoc.
-Syl Tang at the Financial Times tells about an American who just bought Italian soccer outfitter Lotto
-Gregory Sica previews Argentina's Clausura for Sports Illustrated
-Soccer America profiles The Pope, Eddie Pope aka Popie.
-Fiorentina's Luca Toni leads all European Goal Scorers
-More from Rob Hughes on the African Nations Cup: In a cradle of stars, act is not yet together
-2 Lazio players, Brazilian midfielder Aparecido Cesar & Italiano striker Simone Inzaghi (Pippo's brother), will sign with Inter today.
-Ives Galarcep gives his MLS Superdraft round-up, and talks about all the big trade/transfer rumors that didn't happen, or still might, or never were meant to be.
-USA assistant coach Curt Onalfo is in Egypt scouting Ghana at the African Nations Cup.
-Remember those pics of the new MLS team jerseys that I posted on Friday? My man Matt sent me the link, and it turns out they were screen captures from the tv feed grabbed by another regular reader, Jarrett, that he posted on the internet, only to turn up linked right here! The small world! Jarrett also does a great web-log himself called TriSoccerFan, dedicated to the North Carolina Triangle area. The Triangle is a huge hotbed for soccer action, especially on the college level. One of the newest items on his site is more word on a possible launch of a new First Division team with an ownership group led by the Rochester Raging Rhinos owners in the Triangle city of Cary. They already have that great little stadium there, so it makes perfect sense! Jarrett has the details, and it's pretty cool.
-Nick & Steven from Fox Football Friday & World Soccer Daily interviewed by the Las Vegas Sun
-Former MLS midfielder Devin Barclay is out of soccer completely, enrolled back in college and may even try to walk-on at Ohio State as a football kicker. Good luck dude, and I hope you got rid of that bad hair while you were busy making big changes in your life.

7 Comments:

Blogger hartley said...

You need to fix your Jonathan Spector text. Charlton Athletic are NOT playing Chelsea in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

In EPL play, Charlton drew the Blues on Sunday at the Bridge -- new Addick Marcus Bent's header earned the point. This ended Chelsea's EPL perfect home record. Charlton also knocked the Blues out of the Carling Cup in the third round on PKs at the end of a 1-1 draw.

Charlton will be playing Leyton Orient this coming Saturday in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Chelsea will play at Everton in the fourth round of FA Cup.

Thanks.

4:30 PM  
Blogger brucio said...

hartley is the man
i was reading the story like it was new today
instead its from late last week, and the "next game against chelsea" that they are referring to already happened
thank you

11:17 PM  
Blogger hartley said...

No problem, man. Just so happens that Charlton is my EPL team of choice.

I was glad to see Spector join the squad this season. He and the Addicks have had their ups and downs. But I think Jonathan has a chance at staying with CAFC. He is young and could develop into a very good defender. He will have to get better at being an outside back now that Curbs is leaning toward taller central defenders.

9:37 AM  
Blogger kj said...

West Ham have signed Norwich striker Dean Ashton.

*throws things at Norwich management*

Yeah, I know, £7m is serious scratch, but still. Worthy out, damnit.

Y'know, I was thinking of going to a West Ham match when I'm over in London next month. Now that seems even more appealing, so I can taunt Ashton.

5:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Actually Bruce, I believe I said that I too don't particularly like Neville either. I also said he just doesn't look like much of an athlete but he does always get the job done. But you are correct. The guy is a wanker of the highest order.

7:11 PM  
Blogger brucio said...

Gary Neville gets the job done. I have said it. You have said it. Amen. He's a rat fucker too. Amen again.

7:23 PM  
Blogger brucio said...

ethan, are you saying that maybe they took swimming lessons together? and tried out the high board? for some.....diving?

12:40 PM  

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