Slim Ankles News

American U20 star Sal Zizzo has signed with Hannover in Germany. American Steve Cherundolo is the team's right back.

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Word from the West Coast says it's Chivas USA that is chasing after Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron.

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It's gonna be Iraq v Saudi Arabia for the Asian Cup! (see details below)

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I am in search of place in the Twin Cities to watch the Asian Cup final on Sunday Morning - 7:30am central time on Setanta!

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USA coach Bob Bradley speaks with Jack Bell of the New York Times about Copa America. And a few more words on the Times soccer blog Goal.


SuperLiga - MLS v FMF - The first nights action was fantastic!!!
-As I watched the LA v Pachuca game I noticed a very odd thing happen - LA put in a FOURTH substitute. Wha??? So I looked it up. Yes folks, in the SuperLiga you get to use 4 subs, and you can sub your goalkeeper for the backup keeper listed on your game day roster. This stinks!
-I also looked, and they will play the 30 minutes of Extra Time if knock out round games are tied after the 90. PK's will follow Extra Time if the game is still tied.
Round 1 matches & scores:
FC Dallas 1-1 Chivas Guadalajara - Dal goal by Arturo Alvarez. Guad goal by Antonio Olvera.
My match notes:
-Ray Burse started in goal for Dallas. It was his first ever start for the senior team. Regular keeper Dario Sala was out with a leg injury.
-Dallas right back Drew Moor was red carded in the 72nd minute for retaliating with a shove to the chest/neck on Guada defender Hector Reynoso. Reynoso had thrown an intentianal elbow into Moor's face which the referee did not see.
-Chivas's goal was controversial in that Olvera hit the ball down with his left hand before shooting.
-Is it a requirement that all Mexican coaches must have a goatee and must wear a dress shirt, sport coat and blue jeans when on the sideline?
-The goal scored by Alvarez was a thing of true beauty. Juan Toja got the ball in his own end, charged down the middle of the field, hurdling a Chiva along the route, dropped a nice pass over to El Pescadito who had his back to goal. Ruiz dished the ball sideways to a running Alvarez, who looked up, saw the keeper off his line, and chipped him from 25 yards out! Golaso! Aso! Aso! Aso!
-And how about those bones crunching tackles Juan Toja was laying on the Chiv's. Holy Spicoli! He had three balls to the wall sliding tackles to take possession, then get up and charge straight in the other direction. Incredible. What a monster this guy is.
Match report from MLSnet.
Match report by Gabriel Cabarrouy of the Dallas Morning News.
Match report by Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Stream Of Consciousness by DJ Walker from 3rd Degree.
Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 Pachuca - LA goals by Alan Gordon & Landon Donovan. Pach goal by Rafael Marquez.
My match notes:
-Landon Dononvan set up LA's first goal with a long cross field pass to the chest of Gordon who settled the ball and scored.
-Pachuca keeper Calero wore a pirate skull & cross bones scarf on his head.
-I think you gotta love the way Pachuca play the game. Attack attack attack, then bring on some substitutes and attack some more. What team wouldn't love to bring Damian Alvarez in off the bench?
-LA defender Abel Xavier is playing out of his mind right now. No he is not on drugs again. He is playing some brilliant and breathtaking defense. which is saving his team from being pummeled.
-Donovan said after the game that the Galaxy were lucky to win. I would agree with him. But I also believe that you have to put yourself in a position to take advantage of luck.
Match report from MLSnet.
Match report by Grahame Jones of the LA Times.
Match report by Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union Tribune.
Match report by Billy Witz of the Daily Breeze.
Match report from the Orange County Register.
-Wed Jul 25
DC United v Monarcas Morelia - RFK Stadium - Washington DC - 7pm central
Match preview by Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
Match preview from the Washington Times.
Houston Dynamo v Club America - Roberston Stadium - Houston TX- 9pm central
Match preview by Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle.
-Round 2 matches are Sat Jul 28 & Sun Jul 29.
-Round 3 matches are Tue Jul 31 & Wed Aug 1.
-Semifinals Tue Aug 14 & Wed Aug 15.
-Final Wed Aug 29.
Standings:
-Group A
3-Los Angeles Galaxy
1-Chivas Guadalajara
1-FC Dallas
0-Pachuca
-Group B
0-Club America
0-DC United
0-Houston Dynamo
0-Morelia Monarcas
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Andrea Canales on her Sideline Views blog points us in the direction of some good photos from last nights LA v Pachuca match courtesy of Medio Tiempo. Including a great Beckham celebration shot.
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Canales also has a SuperLiga story at Soccer 365. Her angle is that this is just the start of much bigger possibilities down the road a few years.
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MLS
Matches & scores this week:
-Thu Jul 26
New York v Chivas USA - 6pm central on ESPN2
-Sat Jul 28
Salt Lake v New England - 8:30pm central on FSC & FSE
-Sun Jul 29
Toronto v Chicago - 2pm central on TeleFutura & CBC
Kansas City v Chivas USA - 6pm central on Direct Kick
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Dallas midfielder Ramon Nunez has asked to be moved to another team. He did not dress for the SuperLiga match last night and has not started any games lately. He had the same problems with the last coach too, so it makes you wonder if its the team that has a problem, or the player.
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Costa Rican striker Paulo Wanchope is in Chicago and has met with the Fire, and the team is said to be planning a press conference for Thursday. But nothing more is known.
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Word is out in England that KC striker Eddie Johnson turned down a chance to play for Derby, newly promoted to the English Premiership.
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John Meyer of the Denver Post says former Colorado player Kyle Beckerman was shocked when he was sent packing, especially to Real Salt Lake.
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Lars Lifrak at Soccer 365 has a Q & A with Chivas USA wise veteran Jesse Marsch.
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The US Soccer Players Assoc has a Q & A with New York forward John Wolyniec.
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Goal.com has a Q & A with Kansas City midfielder Kerry Zavagnin.
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The rumor floating around says that if Colorado can coach Clavijo (yes, 4 C's in a row) they will replace him with their former player and current Houston assistant coach John Spencer.
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Edson Buddle has not been playing for LA cuz he has a bum achilles tendon.
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Real Salt Lake has 4 international players in training with them for possible contracts. Edgar Espinola & Javier Morales of Argentina, Nigerian Uche Chinyere & Tony Versailles from France.
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Here's a transcript of today's semi-regular online Q & A with Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
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Ryan Hunt at Sports Illustrated with his weekly MLS Free Kicks.
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Former Chivas USA forward Matt Taylor has signed with Portland of the First Division.
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Boulder's New West loved the MLS All-Star but hated the Beckham-this Beckham-that Beckham-blah-di-frickin-dah production from ESPN. Hooray New West. Hooray Beer. Boo Creepy Foot Doctor.
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MLS Golden Boot Chase:
12 Eddie Johnson
10 Luciano Emilio
9 Juan Pablo Angel
8 Taylor Twellman
7 Maykel Galindo
7 Andy Dorman
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MLS International Friendly's
Matches & Scores this week:
Tue Jul 24
Real Salt Lake 1-1 Boca Juniors RSL goal by Freddy Adu(PK). Boca goal by Mauro Boselli.
Match report by James Edward of the Deseret Morning News.
Match report (actually mostly an Adu report) by Michael C Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Wed Jul 25
Chicago v Santos Laguna in La Joya TX
Match preview from The Monitor of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.
Toronto v Aston Villa
Match preview by Larry Millson of the Toronto Globe & Mail.
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Morgan Campbell of the Toronto Star talks to Aston Villa players prior to the friendly.
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Dean McNulty of the Toronto Sun talks to Aston Villa's Swedish defender Olof Mellburg who says he and many other European players are intrigued by the growing popularity of MLS.
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The Vancouver Sun talks to Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neil who says that he really hopes big time soccer is here to stay and will grow strong in North America.
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The Deseret Morning News on the buzz created by a team like Boca Juniors.
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Chicago's opponent tonight, Santos Laguna, features Mexican goalkeeper Oswaldo Dirty Sanchez.
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Victoria British Columbia Canada is seeking a USL First Division team for next season. Here is a story from the Victoria Times Colonist on the subject. This would make for a tremendous rivalry with Vancouver which is right across the Bay.
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Yanks Abroad with a story on young American striker Gabriel Ferrari who has reported to his club Sampdoria's preseason training.
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Asian Cup
Semifinals
-Wed Jul 25
Iraq 0-0 South Korea Iraq(!) wins 4-3 on PK's. Can you believe that?
Japan 2-3 Saudi Arabia
Final
-Sun Jul 29
Iraq v Saudi Arabia - 7:30am central time on Setanta.
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German preseason Liga Pokal
See the games on GolTV.
Semifinals:
-Tue Jul 24
Nurmberg 2-4 Schalke
-Wed Jul 25
Bayern Munich v Stuttgart
-The Final will be played Sat Jul 28 in Leipzig.
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Canada's Durham Region News with a story on how soccer has hit a wave of genuine excitement in Canada this summer.
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England's The Independent with the latest on Stan Kroenke's pursuit of Arsenal.
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Liverpool has released the plans for their new stadium.
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Manchester United have made an announcement that their strike Giuseppe Rossi is going nowhere. He was on loan to Parma for the second half of last season and several Italian teams wanted to sign him.
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The Mirror in London with a story on what English TV production of football might steal from American productions.
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The Edmonton Sun with a story on what in the end was a triumph of sorts for Chile at the U20 World Cup. It also takes a stand that myself and others who criticized the players for their throwdown with Toronto police were wrong. I stand by my opinion.
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Peru has hired Jose del Solar as their new national team manager. He had been the manager at Chilean club team Universidad Catolica.
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The Guardian has an excerpt from a soon to be published book by a guy completely obsessed with West Bromwich Albion. Excellent stuff. (thanks to Our Donovan for sending me this)
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Brazilian club Corinthians has cut their ties with investor Kia Joorabchian, who is the man in the middle of the Carlos Tevez contract mess. I would bet good money that Joorabchian sues them for damages over this situation with Corinthians.
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The first round of UEFA Champions League qualifying is today. I will have scores tomorrow.
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Lastly, this is one weird ass picture of two stars.