Bubble Headed News
CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinal round first leg matches - both today:
Houston v Pachuca - live at 5pm central time on Fox Soccer Channel - delayed from yesterday due to a power outage at the stadium.
DC v Guadalajara - live at 7pm central time on Fox Soccer Channel
-Return leg matches will be April 3 in Guadalajara & April 5 in Pachuca.
-Steven Goff at the Washington Post with his DCU match preview.
-John Haydon at the Wash Times with his preview.
-With an extra day before the Houston-Pachuca game it gave Glenn Davis of the Houston Chronicle the chance to write another preview of the Dynamo-Pachuca game.
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US Soccer announced their team roster for next weeks 2 international matches. (see schedule in the right hand column) They also have a nice front page photo mosaic (I think the most interesting part is the ghost of Claudio Reyna looking over Clint Dempsey's shoulder).
-Bob Bradley talks about his roster, via podcast from the official USA site.
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Luis Bueno talks to Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein about his injured knee and missing this next set of USA games. From LA Soccer News.
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Check out the latest installment of Buzz Carrick's always fantastic coverage of FC Dallas practice sessions. Filled with quotes, observations, and insider goodies. A must read for any Dallas fan, and a good read for the rest of us.
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The Dallas Morning News looks at FCD's injury riddled back line.
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Fred2 is in the house! He will be in attendance for tonight's Screaming Eagles v Goatboys battle royale.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I have alluded to a certain new website that is Coming Soon. Well it seems that Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog has blown the lid off this non-secret. Excellent stupid stuff. I mean it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Andrea Canales of LA Soccer News with a 3 part series on the LA Galaxy goalkeeper scene. First up we have the keeper coach - Tim Hanley. Next comes the back up - Steve Cronin. And last we have the starter - Joe Cannon. (It seems very weird to type Joe Cannon next to LA starting keeper.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Toronto FC has announced that they are SOLD OUT of season ticket packages. This is astonishing news! They had decided to cap season tickets sales at 14,000 for their 20,000 seat stadium, and they achieved their goal. They have also sold of out their sky boxes. There has been no word on when single game tickets will go on sale, but 2 different multigame packages will be available soon. There is a good chance that they could sell out every game before a single ball has been kicked in anger.
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Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America talks to the 3 Americans playing at Fulham in England.
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Crystal Palace USA - the American arm of the London club - have officially chosen Anapolis Maryland has the home of their new club and academy. The main team will play in the USL Second Division this season.
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Fox Soccer Channel has announced their USL First Division broadcast schedule for 2007. My Minnesota Thunder will be shown the first two weeks of the season on the road, but sadly they will not be on the schedule again. This link is from Blue Sky Soccer.
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Luckily the world did not come to an end yesterday when Jack Warner was re-elected CONCACAF president for a 5th term! He ran unopposed. Yeah! Long live corporate crooks!
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DaMarcus Beasley did not even dress for his teams 0-1 loss to Chelsea last night. This team is in dire trouble. (See more about Man City team turmoil below.)
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Copa Libertadores - here are the week's matches:
Mar 13
Alianza Lima 1-3 Audax Italiano
Cucuta Deportivo 1-1 Cerro Porteno
Maracaibo 1-1 Real Potosi
Mar 14
Parana 0-1 Flamengo
Toluca 2-0 Boca Juniors
Velez Sarsfield 3-0 Internacional
Santos 3-0 Gimnasia
-Match reports via Sports Illustrated.
Mar 15
Deportivo Pasto - Defensor Sporting
LDU Quito - River Plate
Deportes Tolima - Gremio
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
UEFA Cup - Round of 16 second leg matches (with first leg scores included) yesterday & today:
Wednesday scores-
Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Lens - Leverkusen win it 4-2 on aggregate.
Werder Bremen 2-0 Celta de Vigo - Bremen win it 3-0 on aggregate.
Osasuna 1-0 Rangers - Osusuna win it 2-1 on aggregate.
Tottenham 3-2 Braga - Tottenham win it 6-4 on aggregate.
Thursday matches-
AZ Alkmaar v Newcastle (2-4)
Espanyol v Maccabi Haifa (0-0)
Shakhtar Donetsk v Sevilla (2-2)
Benfica v Paris St Germain (1-2)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Rob Smyth at the Guardian joins the list of us crowing about the talents of Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov. This guy is amazing!
-Someone calling themselves Enter The Pitbull has created a DB video highlight clip at You Tube.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
FIFA.com has a Q & A with Australian coach Graham Arnold. Like USA main man Bob Bradley, Arnold is an interim hoping to make the job his permanently while big name coaches are rumored to be swirling all around him.
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Bayern Munich's interim coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has agreed to a one year contract to stay with the team through next season.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Derek Rae's most recent column for Soccernet says Barca should ditch the 3 man back, and Germans should make more films. Agreed
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I have gotten a kick out of Manchester City captain Richard Dunne's pointing the finger for his teams failure this season at the "foreign" players. What an imbecile. Whatever acrimony was in that dressing room before has just been amplified by 1000. And Danny Mills stepped up and backed him. Great captain ya got there. Reminds me of the bonehead moves Roy Keane pulled in his later days at Ireland and Man United. This shit is private. In my opinion, as the captain you lead by example and handle the words inhouse. And blaming foreigner's surely smacks of racism, does it not?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And for those of you who now want to tear me a new one after dissing your hero, here's a very good article on Roy Keane as the manager of Sunderland. From the Guardian. This author says Keane reminds him of a young Jose Mourinho. In a good way. I really hope he is massively successful.
Houston v Pachuca - live at 5pm central time on Fox Soccer Channel - delayed from yesterday due to a power outage at the stadium.
DC v Guadalajara - live at 7pm central time on Fox Soccer Channel
-Return leg matches will be April 3 in Guadalajara & April 5 in Pachuca.
-Steven Goff at the Washington Post with his DCU match preview.
-John Haydon at the Wash Times with his preview.
-With an extra day before the Houston-Pachuca game it gave Glenn Davis of the Houston Chronicle the chance to write another preview of the Dynamo-Pachuca game.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
US Soccer announced their team roster for next weeks 2 international matches. (see schedule in the right hand column) They also have a nice front page photo mosaic (I think the most interesting part is the ghost of Claudio Reyna looking over Clint Dempsey's shoulder).
-Bob Bradley talks about his roster, via podcast from the official USA site.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Luis Bueno talks to Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein about his injured knee and missing this next set of USA games. From LA Soccer News.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Check out the latest installment of Buzz Carrick's always fantastic coverage of FC Dallas practice sessions. Filled with quotes, observations, and insider goodies. A must read for any Dallas fan, and a good read for the rest of us.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Dallas Morning News looks at FCD's injury riddled back line.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Fred2 is in the house! He will be in attendance for tonight's Screaming Eagles v Goatboys battle royale.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I have alluded to a certain new website that is Coming Soon. Well it seems that Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog has blown the lid off this non-secret. Excellent stupid stuff. I mean it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Andrea Canales of LA Soccer News with a 3 part series on the LA Galaxy goalkeeper scene. First up we have the keeper coach - Tim Hanley. Next comes the back up - Steve Cronin. And last we have the starter - Joe Cannon. (It seems very weird to type Joe Cannon next to LA starting keeper.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Toronto FC has announced that they are SOLD OUT of season ticket packages. This is astonishing news! They had decided to cap season tickets sales at 14,000 for their 20,000 seat stadium, and they achieved their goal. They have also sold of out their sky boxes. There has been no word on when single game tickets will go on sale, but 2 different multigame packages will be available soon. There is a good chance that they could sell out every game before a single ball has been kicked in anger.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America talks to the 3 Americans playing at Fulham in England.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Crystal Palace USA - the American arm of the London club - have officially chosen Anapolis Maryland has the home of their new club and academy. The main team will play in the USL Second Division this season.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Fox Soccer Channel has announced their USL First Division broadcast schedule for 2007. My Minnesota Thunder will be shown the first two weeks of the season on the road, but sadly they will not be on the schedule again. This link is from Blue Sky Soccer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Luckily the world did not come to an end yesterday when Jack Warner was re-elected CONCACAF president for a 5th term! He ran unopposed. Yeah! Long live corporate crooks!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
DaMarcus Beasley did not even dress for his teams 0-1 loss to Chelsea last night. This team is in dire trouble. (See more about Man City team turmoil below.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Copa Libertadores - here are the week's matches:
Mar 13
Alianza Lima 1-3 Audax Italiano
Cucuta Deportivo 1-1 Cerro Porteno
Maracaibo 1-1 Real Potosi
Mar 14
Parana 0-1 Flamengo
Toluca 2-0 Boca Juniors
Velez Sarsfield 3-0 Internacional
Santos 3-0 Gimnasia
-Match reports via Sports Illustrated.
Mar 15
Deportivo Pasto - Defensor Sporting
LDU Quito - River Plate
Deportes Tolima - Gremio
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
UEFA Cup - Round of 16 second leg matches (with first leg scores included) yesterday & today:
Wednesday scores-
Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Lens - Leverkusen win it 4-2 on aggregate.
Werder Bremen 2-0 Celta de Vigo - Bremen win it 3-0 on aggregate.
Osasuna 1-0 Rangers - Osusuna win it 2-1 on aggregate.
Tottenham 3-2 Braga - Tottenham win it 6-4 on aggregate.
Thursday matches-
AZ Alkmaar v Newcastle (2-4)
Espanyol v Maccabi Haifa (0-0)
Shakhtar Donetsk v Sevilla (2-2)
Benfica v Paris St Germain (1-2)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Rob Smyth at the Guardian joins the list of us crowing about the talents of Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov. This guy is amazing!
-Someone calling themselves Enter The Pitbull has created a DB video highlight clip at You Tube.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
FIFA.com has a Q & A with Australian coach Graham Arnold. Like USA main man Bob Bradley, Arnold is an interim hoping to make the job his permanently while big name coaches are rumored to be swirling all around him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bayern Munich's interim coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has agreed to a one year contract to stay with the team through next season.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Derek Rae's most recent column for Soccernet says Barca should ditch the 3 man back, and Germans should make more films. Agreed
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I have gotten a kick out of Manchester City captain Richard Dunne's pointing the finger for his teams failure this season at the "foreign" players. What an imbecile. Whatever acrimony was in that dressing room before has just been amplified by 1000. And Danny Mills stepped up and backed him. Great captain ya got there. Reminds me of the bonehead moves Roy Keane pulled in his later days at Ireland and Man United. This shit is private. In my opinion, as the captain you lead by example and handle the words inhouse. And blaming foreigner's surely smacks of racism, does it not?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And for those of you who now want to tear me a new one after dissing your hero, here's a very good article on Roy Keane as the manager of Sunderland. From the Guardian. This author says Keane reminds him of a young Jose Mourinho. In a good way. I really hope he is massively successful.
posted by brucio at 15:38
7 Comments:
I can't help but appreciate these stupid fratboy antics of Bobby Boswell. They do bring joy to my life. I think they also say something good about the state of the sport in America; that a guy who's rather famous can interact on such a personal level with fans is really amazing. I see the same thing in Chicago with the Fire, the way that players come over to Section 8 and interact with the crazy fans, it shows a sort of equality that doesn't exist in most other sports in this country.
Brucio,
Regarding Richard Dunne claiming that the foreign members of Man City are to blame for the team's demise this season, I think before you run and cry "racism !," one should have all the facts.
Racism is serious business, and we shouldn't cheapen it, by assigning it where we are yet unsure if it is applicable.
Do you know specifically which foreigners he was referring to ?
Also, doesn't Man City have at least a few foreigners who are white Europeans ?
Also, is it not possible that the foreign players have been disappointing this season, in their level of play ?
I know that Man City spent some big bucks on foreigners, and perhaps there is a consensus that the team didn't get a good enough return on their investments.
DeMarcus Beasley is one of the foreigners on the team, but just because someone criticizes his play, doesn't mean they are targeting his skin color.
Frankly, Beasley was quite disappointing for Team USA last summer.
On the other hand, it may turn out that Dunne was being a blowhard, but let's find out for sure before we cry "racism !"
I wonder Reyna leaving in the middle of the season also stirs up some bad feelings about foreign players? A healthy Reyna does make Man City a lot better.
Foreign players is a sticky issue and a two-way street.
Firstly, developing and integrating players is always a measure of the abilities of the scouting, coaching and management staff at any particular club, secondly, it is a measure of any player who integrates successfully (or not) within their team set-up.
As an example the 'traditional family club' West Ham recently aquired two noted young Argentine talents by the names of Tevez and Mascherano: while Tevez has declared his love of 'fish and chips' (although not yet jellied eels) and has stated his appreciation for the skill levels required while playing at the furious pace in EPL, he has also proved his commitment in the ugly and doomed relegation dogfight - at the percieved risk to his international chances and of a 'dream move' to a 'big' club.
On the other hand Mascherano has constantly hankered for said move to a title-winning club, whereupon he was bounced out to the first serious offer.
I think it would provide a salient lesson to have a future retrospective on their subsequent career trajectories and the esteem in which each are held.
Long evidence from team sports show that team-working ability is dependant on merging communication styles with commitment needs between the individual and the group - Man City currently offers an example of what happens to a club under pressure as it reaches the crunch.
Regarding Dunne, I have to agree with anon-7:52: racism isn't necessarily the issue and we should be cautious about levying that charge.
But I do think it's accurate to say it reeks of xenophobia - a not-small problem in much of Europe, England not excepted. Regardless, it's pure crap from the captain.
Two televised games for our beloved thunder actually seems quite fair considering they were the crappiest team in the league last year and play on a high school pitch with football lines. Doesn't exactly make for great tv viewing.
ok, maybe i should have went with xenophobic instead of racist, it falls into more of what i personally meant
i also should have followed my own rule of thumb and not written what i did until i had a day to cool off and really think it over
when i get worked up i dont always say things as well as i want to
but my point stands, i still feel that dunne is out of line, and even his coach has come out and said he wished it had not been made public
thanks to everyone here who made their points, they are much appreciated
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