Irmin Schmidt Has A Go-Cart Track News

US Soccer will announce the team roster for the USA matches v Ecuador & Guatemala on Thursday.


The ground break MLS-Bundesliga deal has been announced - take a seat before you read this: Major League Soccer announced Monday in Miami that the league has forged a new partnership with the Bundesliga, its soccer contemporaries in Germany. In the new linkage, the two organizations will work together to share experience, expertise and best practices. Isn't that kinda like a couple going out on a date and "confessing" that they think each other is "cute".
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I am finding the FC Dallas blog to be a very interesting source of information lately. And let me say that the team having this informal yet official mouthpiece is fantastic.
-Here is the latest little gem I found there - An MLS big wig met with both Dallas and Columbus players this weekend to inform them of new league on-field policy, the biggest being that players are not supposed to kick the ball out of bounds when someone goes down injured. It will be left up to the referee to stop play. I like the way this has worked in other countries, and it has stopped some players from the old "we have the lead so now I can lay on the ground and waste some time."
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Nick Green at the Daily Breeze talks at length to former Captain America and new Red Bulls midfielder Claudio Reyna.
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Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer talks to Jeff Agoos, technical director of the New York Red Bulls, about the teams search for an experienced forward, and other preseason notes.
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Ives Galarcep at the North Jersey Herald says the first year of NYRB was a very poor financial showing - maybe the worst the league has ever seen. He paints a really ugly picture.
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LA Soccer News has a Q & A with USA U20 & New York 17 year old striker Jozy Altidore.
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Kansas City are on their way to Buenos Aires for 2+ weeks of training. From Bob Luder of the the KC Star.
-2nd year defender Matt Groenwald will miss the entire season due to blood clots in his legs. What a drag.
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RSL fan blog Are You Loyal? has mp3's of interviews with players Jeff Cunningham & Danny Torres. Some good stuff here.
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Frank Dell'apa at the Boston Globe checks in with New England coach Steve Nicol to see which young players can have an impact with the team this season.
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New England defender Michael Parkhurst has suffered a separated shoulder training in Mexico. Not a good start.
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The Times of London talks to Englishman Terry Cooke of the Colorado Rapids about the arrival of David Beckham and his views on MLS overall.
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Colorado is in London training at the Arsenal facilities.
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You gotta admit that this is a pretty cool banner hanging in the Denver airport.
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The website Houstonist has a Q & A with Dynamo star Brian Ching. (Without reading this I predicted that they would ask him a stupid Hawaii question. I was wrong! They didn't! Hooray Mai Tai!) There are some good wide ranging questions here.
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Toronto is lining up to sign English midfielder Andy Welsh from Sunderland.
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Jesse at TFC MLS reports that Toronto midfielder Carl Robinson has been called in to his national team for the Wales Euro qualifiers on March 24 v Ireland & March 28 v San Marino.
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Sahar Milani at the US Players Assoc does a Q & A session with former great MLS defender Robin Fraser, now retired from the game.
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CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinal round first leg matches this week:
Wednesday
Houston v Pachuca - live at 7:30pm central time on Fox Soccer Channel
Thursday
DC v Guadalajara - live at 7pm central time on Fox Soccer Channel
-return leg matches will be April 3-5
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Luis Bueno previews both CCC games for Sports Illustrated.
-He then uses his weekly column in the Press Telegram to cover similar ground.
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Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle previews Pachuca who will face the Dynamo tomorrow.
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Fallas also reports on the health of Houston midfielder Dwayne DeRosario, who says he doesn't think he will be starting.
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Yanks Abroad talks to USA & Heerenveen midfielder Michael Bradley about the upcoming U20 World Cup. U20 coach Thomas Rongen stopped by to visit Bradley recently too.
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I stole this from Sideline Views - How great is the cover of the new issue of Futbol Mundial magazine!?!?
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Copa Libertadores - here are the week's matches:
Mar 13
Alianza Lima - Audax Italiano
Cucuta Deportivo - Cerro Porteno
Maracaibo - Real Potosi
Mar 14
Parana - Flamengo
Toluca - Boca Juniors
Velez Sarsfield - Internacional
Santos - Gimnasia
Mar 15
Deportivo Pasto - Defensor Sporting
LDU Quito - River Plate
Deportes Tolima - Gremio
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UEFA.com profiles Liverpool defender, and big du Nord favorite, Jamie Carragher.
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Andrew Jennings of Transparency In Sport (behind the English bung scandal) with a great journalistic find - Last summer's FIFA investigation of Jack Warner did not end as cleanly for old Jackie Boy as FIFA made us believe. TIS has documents that show Jack was secretly punished for his World Cup ticket transgressions (probably because he didn't share his windfall with Sepp) and that Warner's son was fined $1 million dollars by FIFA. But can or will they collect? Check it out now.
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Jamaica will play Switzerland March 22 in Ft Lauderdale.
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Paul Gardner of the New York Sun calls Cristiano Ronaldo the best player in the world.
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There is a strong chance that Canada will hire Brazilian Rene Simoes as their men's national team coach. Simoes took Jamaica to their only World Cup, in 98.
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Soccernet show Press Pass has a video of an interview with great Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.