Baby Freepy News
The USA will take on Angola in a closed door match on June 5 in Hamburg.
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Clint Dempsey rejoined New England yesterday after his two weeks suspension for fighting and pummeling teammate Joe Franchino.
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Phil Ball at Soccernet tries to unravel the 3 year Real Madrid flop, while hangin with Drew Carey who was in Spain to film some thing for the Real v Barca classico: Blame the benches
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A huge MLS & Colorado fan fave John Spencer is BACK! Sadly not on the field though. He joined the Houston coaching staff on Monday. I loved that guy, and hope he does great things. We need more fiery people in the league.
~ ~ ~ ~
After all this time, it seems as though the massive damage reportedly done to Roma & Italian star striker Francesco Totti's ankle may have been overstated. It was said that he has a bad break AND ligament damage. This injury would take 6 to 8 months to heal. But he is already back training with no cast on, which clearly says, either he is lying to the press about his progress, or he had no ligament damage in the first place. I have to admit that I was hoping we wouldn't see this diving, hacking, cry baby at the World Cup this summer.
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Reading captain Graeme Murty writes for the Guardian of his experience after clinching promotion to the Premiership last Friday! He says that our guy Marcus Hahnemann did not celebrate cuz his wife wouldn't let him! Hahahahahahaha. That is truly hilarious, and I bet it's a lie meant to poke some fun at Hahnemann! Thanks to John W for the tip on this one. Check out his web log So Many Balls while yer at it too.
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Some International youth soccer news from US Soccer: With the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Korea Republic expanding to 24 teams from the 16 who participated in 2005, FIFA announced that CONCACAF will receive two additional berths to the 2007 international tournament, giving CONCACAF 5 berths in total.
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Houston Dynamo will unveil their uniforms Thursday.
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This coming Saturday it's one of my favorite matches twice a year, Barcelona v Real Madrid. And while they do sit #1 & #2 in La Liga, Barca still holds an 11 point lead with 8 games left in the season. So even if Real were to avenge the brutal 0-4 loss they suffered at home late last year, they would still be 8 points back.
~ ~ ~ ~
Here is what I would call a disturbing trend in European club soccer: In Spain, England, France, Germany, Holland, & Italy (the big 6) last years champion is set to repeat, and by a large margin as well. There are really NO close races this season. Barca, Chelsea, Lyon, Bayern, PSV & Juve will all win. I don't see where this is good for the future of the game. The following is a break down of each team, country, how big their lead is, and how many games left to go:
Barcelona - Spain - 11 points - 8 games
Chelsea - England - 12 points - 7 games
Olympique Lyonnais - France - 9 points - 7 games
Bayern Munich - Germany - 9 points - 7 games
PSV Eindhoven - Holland - 9 points - 4 games
Juventus - Italy - 8 points - 7 games
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USA & Nordsjaelland defender Heath Pearce writes about the humbling loss to Germany for the US Players Assoc site. How often do you see an active player, besides the amazing Jimmy Conrad, write about the game?
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Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer talks to Claudio Reyna and asks if there is any chance that Reyna would ever come home and play for the Red Bulls.
~ ~ ~ ~
There is word circulating that Barcelona will play some matches on US soil in August as they prepare for next season. Here are the dates and opponents that are supposedly being prepared:
v LA Galaxy August 6, 7 or 8
v DC United August 9 or 10
v New York August 11 or 12
~ ~ ~ ~
Ives Galarcep starts off his column today with a sentence that will make New York fans go nuts, and New York haters laugh their asses off: Consider the panic button at New York Red Bulls' headquarters officially pushed.
~ ~ ~ ~
Some more post-game analysis from the Germany v USA match by Scott French of the LA Daily News.
~ ~ ~ ~
Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune on the glory days of the beautiful game: A life spent with O Jogo Bonito
~ ~ ~ ~
One of my favorite MLS defenders, Eddie Robinson of Houston, messed up his knee during the Carolina Challenge Cup last weekend. He has a partial tear of a ligament, but will not require surgery. How much you wanna bet that it bothers him all year, and he ends up having surgery anyway? This is not good news for Houston's back line, seeing as they lost their other top quality center back Danny Califf to Aalborg in Denmark during the January transfer window.
~ ~ ~ ~
Oh Yeah! Today & tomorrow are 1st legs of the Quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, with the 2nd legs played on the 4th & 5th of April.
Tuesday:
Arsenal v Juventus - on tv at 12:30pm central via Setanta
Benfica v Barcelona - on tv at 2pm central via ESPN2
Wednesday:
Lyon v Milan - on tv at 12:30pm central via Setanta & delayed to 4pm central on Thursday via Fox Soccer Channel.
Internazionale v Villarreal - on tv at 2pm central via ESPN2
Champions League player news:
-Milan center back Jaap Stam is out with a calf injury.
-Juve captain Alessandro Del Piero will miss the first leg with a thigh strain, and Pavel Nedved will not play because of excessive yellow cards.
-For Villareal, Midfielders Josico and Alessio Tacchinardi, & defender Rodolfo Arruabarrena are all out due to yellow card accumulation.
-Lyon will be without star Juninho due to yellow card accumulation as well.
-Barca capt & defender Carles Puyol is suspended after collecting the yellows, and bitch-ass Rafa Marquez is out with a torn hamstring.
-Benfica are without the suspended striker Nuno Gomes.
~ ~ ~ ~
CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinals 2nd legs Wednesday night, featuring Costa Ricans v Mexicans (first leg score included):
Saprissa v Toluca (0-2)
America v Alajuelense (2-1)
Note: They do NOT use the "away goals count double to break ties" rule. All ties will be settled with PK's after extra periods are played.
~ ~ ~ ~
Copa Libertadores Group stage!! This week’s matches and scores:
Mar 28
Caracas FC - Cienciano - Grupo 1
Bolívar - Independiente Santa Fe - Grupo 2
Mar 29
The Strongest - Unión Española - Grupo 3
Mar 30
Deportivo Cali - Universidad Católica - Grupo 4
UA Maracaibo - Pumas UNAM - Grupo 6
El Nacional - Libertad - Grupo 8
~ ~ ~ ~
Tales from the Ballack Watch: Tom McG writes in with a hot tip: Michael Ballack may be following his spiritual side as his representatives were seen back in discussions with Welsh side NEWI Cefn Druids, assuming they don't get relegated from the Vauxhall Masterfit Welsh Premier Division.
~ ~ ~ ~
Clint Dempsey rejoined New England yesterday after his two weeks suspension for fighting and pummeling teammate Joe Franchino.
~ ~ ~ ~
Phil Ball at Soccernet tries to unravel the 3 year Real Madrid flop, while hangin with Drew Carey who was in Spain to film some thing for the Real v Barca classico: Blame the benches
~ ~ ~ ~
A huge MLS & Colorado fan fave John Spencer is BACK! Sadly not on the field though. He joined the Houston coaching staff on Monday. I loved that guy, and hope he does great things. We need more fiery people in the league.
~ ~ ~ ~
After all this time, it seems as though the massive damage reportedly done to Roma & Italian star striker Francesco Totti's ankle may have been overstated. It was said that he has a bad break AND ligament damage. This injury would take 6 to 8 months to heal. But he is already back training with no cast on, which clearly says, either he is lying to the press about his progress, or he had no ligament damage in the first place. I have to admit that I was hoping we wouldn't see this diving, hacking, cry baby at the World Cup this summer.
~ ~ ~ ~
Reading captain Graeme Murty writes for the Guardian of his experience after clinching promotion to the Premiership last Friday! He says that our guy Marcus Hahnemann did not celebrate cuz his wife wouldn't let him! Hahahahahahaha. That is truly hilarious, and I bet it's a lie meant to poke some fun at Hahnemann! Thanks to John W for the tip on this one. Check out his web log So Many Balls while yer at it too.
~ ~ ~ ~
Some International youth soccer news from US Soccer: With the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Korea Republic expanding to 24 teams from the 16 who participated in 2005, FIFA announced that CONCACAF will receive two additional berths to the 2007 international tournament, giving CONCACAF 5 berths in total.
~ ~ ~ ~
Houston Dynamo will unveil their uniforms Thursday.
~ ~ ~ ~
This coming Saturday it's one of my favorite matches twice a year, Barcelona v Real Madrid. And while they do sit #1 & #2 in La Liga, Barca still holds an 11 point lead with 8 games left in the season. So even if Real were to avenge the brutal 0-4 loss they suffered at home late last year, they would still be 8 points back.
~ ~ ~ ~
Here is what I would call a disturbing trend in European club soccer: In Spain, England, France, Germany, Holland, & Italy (the big 6) last years champion is set to repeat, and by a large margin as well. There are really NO close races this season. Barca, Chelsea, Lyon, Bayern, PSV & Juve will all win. I don't see where this is good for the future of the game. The following is a break down of each team, country, how big their lead is, and how many games left to go:
Barcelona - Spain - 11 points - 8 games
Chelsea - England - 12 points - 7 games
Olympique Lyonnais - France - 9 points - 7 games
Bayern Munich - Germany - 9 points - 7 games
PSV Eindhoven - Holland - 9 points - 4 games
Juventus - Italy - 8 points - 7 games
~ ~ ~ ~
USA & Nordsjaelland defender Heath Pearce writes about the humbling loss to Germany for the US Players Assoc site. How often do you see an active player, besides the amazing Jimmy Conrad, write about the game?
~ ~ ~ ~
Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer talks to Claudio Reyna and asks if there is any chance that Reyna would ever come home and play for the Red Bulls.
~ ~ ~ ~
There is word circulating that Barcelona will play some matches on US soil in August as they prepare for next season. Here are the dates and opponents that are supposedly being prepared:
v LA Galaxy August 6, 7 or 8
v DC United August 9 or 10
v New York August 11 or 12
~ ~ ~ ~
Ives Galarcep starts off his column today with a sentence that will make New York fans go nuts, and New York haters laugh their asses off: Consider the panic button at New York Red Bulls' headquarters officially pushed.
~ ~ ~ ~
Some more post-game analysis from the Germany v USA match by Scott French of the LA Daily News.
~ ~ ~ ~
Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune on the glory days of the beautiful game: A life spent with O Jogo Bonito
~ ~ ~ ~
One of my favorite MLS defenders, Eddie Robinson of Houston, messed up his knee during the Carolina Challenge Cup last weekend. He has a partial tear of a ligament, but will not require surgery. How much you wanna bet that it bothers him all year, and he ends up having surgery anyway? This is not good news for Houston's back line, seeing as they lost their other top quality center back Danny Califf to Aalborg in Denmark during the January transfer window.
~ ~ ~ ~
Oh Yeah! Today & tomorrow are 1st legs of the Quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, with the 2nd legs played on the 4th & 5th of April.
Tuesday:
Arsenal v Juventus - on tv at 12:30pm central via Setanta
Benfica v Barcelona - on tv at 2pm central via ESPN2
Wednesday:
Lyon v Milan - on tv at 12:30pm central via Setanta & delayed to 4pm central on Thursday via Fox Soccer Channel.
Internazionale v Villarreal - on tv at 2pm central via ESPN2
Champions League player news:
-Milan center back Jaap Stam is out with a calf injury.
-Juve captain Alessandro Del Piero will miss the first leg with a thigh strain, and Pavel Nedved will not play because of excessive yellow cards.
-For Villareal, Midfielders Josico and Alessio Tacchinardi, & defender Rodolfo Arruabarrena are all out due to yellow card accumulation.
-Lyon will be without star Juninho due to yellow card accumulation as well.
-Barca capt & defender Carles Puyol is suspended after collecting the yellows, and bitch-ass Rafa Marquez is out with a torn hamstring.
-Benfica are without the suspended striker Nuno Gomes.
~ ~ ~ ~
CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinals 2nd legs Wednesday night, featuring Costa Ricans v Mexicans (first leg score included):
Saprissa v Toluca (0-2)
America v Alajuelense (2-1)
Note: They do NOT use the "away goals count double to break ties" rule. All ties will be settled with PK's after extra periods are played.
~ ~ ~ ~
Copa Libertadores Group stage!! This week’s matches and scores:
Mar 28
Caracas FC - Cienciano - Grupo 1
Bolívar - Independiente Santa Fe - Grupo 2
Mar 29
The Strongest - Unión Española - Grupo 3
Mar 30
Deportivo Cali - Universidad Católica - Grupo 4
UA Maracaibo - Pumas UNAM - Grupo 6
El Nacional - Libertad - Grupo 8
~ ~ ~ ~
Tales from the Ballack Watch: Tom McG writes in with a hot tip: Michael Ballack may be following his spiritual side as his representatives were seen back in discussions with Welsh side NEWI Cefn Druids, assuming they don't get relegated from the Vauxhall Masterfit Welsh Premier Division.
posted by brucio at 10:21
1 Comments:
It may actually be better for the US to have Totti on the field but hobbled by an injury. Teams have been crushed by their own players who try to "tough it out" but only take up space. I don't know what condition he'll be in in two months but it's a possibility.
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