Cheeky Dracula News

It's official - Mexico v USA on Sun Sep 9 in the DF at Estadio Azteca. The game will be shown on ESPN2 & Univision and kicks off at 3pm central. This is an official FIFA date, so all players should be available.

~and~

The Scottish Football Association announced that they will use retrospective video review to punish divers. YES!

~and~

For some reason my intuition tells me that Beckman will end up having surgery on his ankle before he plays again.


SuperLiga - MLS v FMF - Round 3 began with 11 goals scored down in Dallas! ELEVEN! Same as the number of time zones across Russia. Sheer insanity. If you missed it, you should be ashamed.
-See all the matches En Vivo on TeleFutura. You can also see all the matches live online at the website linked above. (thanks to everyone who gave me the heads up on that one)
-The Superliga website also has video highlights from every game.
-Round 1 matches & scores:
FC Dallas 1-1 Chivas Guadalajara - Dal goal by Arturo Alvarez. Guad goal by Antonio Olvera.
Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 Pachuca - LA goals by Alan Gordon & Landon Donovan. Pach goal by Rafael Marquez.
DC United 1-1 Morelia Monarchas - DC goal by Christian Gomez. Mor goal by Diego Martinez.
Houston 1-0 Club America - Hou goal by Nate Jaqua.
-Round 2 matches:
FC Dallas 1-1 Pachuca - Dal goal by Carlos Ruiz. Pach goal by Christian Gimenez(PK).
Los Angeles Galaxy 1-2 Chivas Guadalajara - LA goal by Landon Donovan. Guad goals by Francisco Rodriguez & Omar Bravo.
DC United 1-0 Club America - Goal by Rod Dyachenko.
Houston Dynamo 1-1 Monarcas Morelia - Hou goal by Joseph Ngwenya. Mor goal by Marcio Batista.
-Round 3 matches
Tue Jul 31
FC Dallas 5-6 Los Angeles Galaxy - LA goals by Alan Gordon(2), Chris Klein, Kevin Harmse, Landon Donovan & Carlos Pavon. FCD goals by Arturo Alvarez(2), Juan Toja, Carlos Ruiz & Abe Thompson.
Match report by Gabriel Cabarrouy of the Dallas Morning News.
Match report by Tobias Xavier Lopez of the Fort Worth Telegram Star.
Match report by Grahame Jones of the LA Times.
Match report by Billy Witz of the Daily Breeze.
Match report on video by Shogun.
My Notes From This Match:
-LA lined up in a4-5-1
-Dallas had Drew Moor in the center of defense and Bobby Rhine on the right.
-There is a banner in the stadium that reads: Bench It Like Beckman.
-A plane was flying over the stadium with a streamer that read "FRANKI WILL YOU MARRY ME". I hope that worked out.
-The announcers call LA forward Alan Gordon, "Flash Gordon", throughout the whole game.
-Here is what I wrote next:
LA has 2 goals in the first 12 minutes.
LA has 3 goals in the first 15 minutes.
LA has 4 goals in the first 18 minutes.
-The first half was a complete slaughter.
-When Chris Klein got LA's 2nd goal the announcer said "C-C-C-C-C-C-Chris Klein!!"
-Dallas subbed out Rhine in the 26th minute. He got royally toasted. But it sure wasn't all his fault. The whole team forgot to play defense.
-Moor put in a superb cross for Arturo Alvarez to head home. It reminded me of the cross Moor put in to ? in the Copa America for a goal.
-Dallas superhero Juan Toja got a yellow for diving. Good job Mr. Referee.
-Carlos Pavon came on in the 2nd half and proceeded to get popped in the nether regions just minutes later.
-Dallas striker Carlos Ruiz his a monster of a goal on a bicycle kick, better known as a chileno. But he was offside due to laziness in getting back. Sad.
-Toja scored and again the announcer used the stutter step "Toe-Toe-Toe-Toe-Tokha"
-The announcers seemed like they were having a blast.
-What are those bags of drink that I see players run to the sideline, rip open, and squeeze into their mouth during matches?
-Landon Donovan put in LA's 6th goal and ran at the crowd doing the throat slashing motion with his hand and screamed "Game Over". Fairly stupid, but I admit I did laugh pretty hard. He got a yellow card for it.
-3 goals were scored after the 90th minute. Wow.
Chivas Guadalajara 0-1 Pachuca - Goal by Rafa Marquez Lugo.
Match report from the Denver Post.
Wed Aug 1
DC United v Houston Dynamo - Robertson Stadium - Houston TX - 7:00 central
Match preview by Steven Goff of the Washington Post
Match preview by John Haydon of the Washington Times.
More pre-game notes by Goff on his Soccer Insider blog.
Club America v Monarcas Morelia - Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL - 9:00 central
-Semifinals
-Tue Aug 14
A-1 v B-2 (Venue & Time TBD)
-Wed Aug 15
B-1 v A-2 (Venue & Time TBD)
-Final Wed Aug 29.
Standings:
Group A
6-Los Angeles Galaxy
4-Pachuca
4-Chivas Guadalajara - eliminated
2-FC Dallas - eliminated
Group B
4-Houston Dynamo
4-DC United
2-Morelia Monarcas
0-Club America - eliminated
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ricardo Clark MAY play for Houston tonight.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some people in Dallas are really pissed off that Beckman was injured and could not come to their town for the LA v FCD game last night. Ok. The guy is injured. He didn't pull out to go flying with Tom Cruise or something. He is genuinely hurt. And we have known for 10 days that he was hurt. If you wanna be mad at someone, get mad at Dallas for pumping him up knowing he was hurt. Sure there was a slim chance he would be ready to go. Slim. None of that matters to mainstream sports commentators though. They will use any excuse they can get their hands on to bash the game. Any. Even lies. Sad but true. I think James Hetfield said that. (I'm sure I will get some heat for that paragraph, oh well.)
-Dallas Morning News says the no-show could hurt MLS.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here is the first paragraph of Grahame Jones FCD v LA match report - it's pretty great (see full report linked above, the whole report is excellent): In a season already replete with curious twists and inexplicable turns, the Galaxy headed off in an almost bizarre new direction Tuesday night.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ives Galarcep of the North Jersey Herald wonders if SuperLiga is showing that MLS is better that FMF.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Forward Rafael Marquez Lugo of Pachuca has told reporters that he wants to play in MLS. When? I don't know.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I think it was fairly obvious that Club America did not take this tournament very seriously. Sure they played many starters. But winning or losing didn't seem to matter much in the first two match (v Houston & DC) and are eliminated before they even get to Round 3 tonight.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MLS
Matches & scores this week:
-Thu Aug 3
New England v Kansas City - 6pm central on ESPN2
Sat Aug 4
Chicago v Columbus - 7:30pm central on HDNet
Dallas v Colorado - 7:30pm central on FSC & FSE
Salt Lake v Houston - 8pm central on Direct Kick
Sun Aug 5
New England v DC - 3pm central on Direct Kick
Toronto v LA - 6:30pm central on Direct Kick & CBC
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune has a Q & A with the newest Fire Dog, Paulo Wanchope. But the full unabridged version appears on his Red Card blog.
-Arroyave also has some choice new Chicago tidbits and observations.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I don't know if you saw Temo Blanco's Chicago MLS debut on Sunday v Toronto, but Blanco went to take a corner kick and got buried in streamers. Hilarious. I finally found a video clip last night for ya.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Here is a much more complete version of the new effort to bring MLS to Seattle. Atletico Seattle. From the Puget Sound Business Journal.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jack Bell of the New York Times has a Q & A with Houston manager Dom Kinnear.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Houston Chronicle with an article on Dynamo forward Joseph Ngwenya, who has exploded with goals since he arrived in May. Not many people can say they saw this coming.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bernardo Fallas of the Chronicle with an article on the man running the Houston Dynamo youth system.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And Fallas also has a story on the other big Dynamo surprise this season, Stuart Holden. A local kid too. Who looks like he has not had shave his chin yet.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Toronto Sun reports that they were told by TFC manager Mo Johnston and another team exec that Beckman will NOT play Sunday in Toronto. What happens now?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frank Giase of the Newark Star Ledger writes about the continuing high quality from Landon Donovan. He calls him our countries best. I don't think there is any doubt about that.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Reports from Argentina say Juan Sebastian Veron has decided to stay at his club Estudiantes, rather than come to MLS.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chivas USA defender Alex Zotinca is from Transylvania. I learned that from listening to the Jimmy Conrad show.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Deseret Morning News checks in on the group of foreign players on trial with Real Salt Lake right now.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ian Plenderleith of the US Soccer Players Assoc is peeved about the hype MLS has blown on Freddy Adu & David Beckman and then not been brave enough to stand up and admit when things don't go according to plan.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pete Gratoff of the KC Star with an article on injured 2nd year Kansas City defender Matt Groenwald who has decided to put away the cleats, and move on with his life.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A very artful picture from the FC Dallas official blog - the boot room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So this Toronto fan meets one of the reserve team players, David Guzman, and the player offers to get this guys shirt signed by everyone on the team. Then the player delivers it to the guys house! WTF? Fantastic. Only in MLS! (thanks to Brian for this one)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Boise Weekly helps sort out some of the reasons soccer has not been favored in America.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccer America with an article on the growing and now more educated world of sponsorships and advertising in the American soccer landscape.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

du Nord's MLS Coaching Hot Seat - No changes this week, but I did add a special guest.
1. Fernando Clavijo - Colorado
2. Frank Yallop/Alexi Lalas - LA
3. Jason Kries - Salt Lake
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USL First Division
Matches & scores this week:
Tue Jul 31
Charleston 3-0 Miami
Wed Aug 1
Montreal v Carolina
Seattle v Portland
Thu Aug 2
Vancouver v Puerto Rico
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jesse Erdmann of Blue Sky Soccer with new USL First Division Power Rankings.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mark Ziegler of the San Diego Union Tribune looks at the USL teams who knocked MLS teams out of the US Open Cup a couple weeks ago. (The 4th Round is next week.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

West Ham and USL have entered into a partnership of sorts, with the availability on both sides to exchange players, coaches, ideas etc. Very interesting. I wonder what this might mean in the long run.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Freddy Adu's move to Benfica was terrific. A big team like Man U or Real Madrid would have been a disaster. He needs a home, a nest, a place to grow. This is a good spot. Several teams in Holland would have been good too. Best of luck amigo.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jack Bell of the New York Times writes about the Freddy Adu move to Benfica.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frank Dellapa at Soccernet writes about Adu's new home - Benfica.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jen Chang at Soccernet also has his thoughts on Freddy. Plus a little on Beckman, and Atletico Madrid.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

American Soccer Daily has a roundup of American's recent preseason action in Europe.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Reading Evening Post says USA & Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann is doing everything he can to be ready for opening day. He broke his right hand quite badly in the last game of last season. The hand needed to 2 plates and 16 screws to be reset.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DaMarcus Beasley was on the bench last night for Rangers in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the Champions League, but he did not see the field.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

USA U17 World Cup news from US Soccer: The Under-17 Men’s National Team is training in Clemson, S.C. as they enter the final stages of preparation for the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup in South Korea. The 12-day camp includes a pair of games against USL opponents in the First Division Atlanta Silverbacks and the Second Division Charlotte Eagles before closing camp with a friendly against fellow World Cup qualifier Costa Rica on Tuesday, August 7 in Atlanta on the campus of Kennesaw State University.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

American goalkeeper DJ Countess has signed with DJ Countess has begun full-time training with Atletico Tigre in Argentina.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The US Soccer Players Assoc talks to former USA great Hugo Perez. He is currently an assistant coach with First Division team California Victory.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UEFA Champions League - The 2nd Qualifying Round
-First leg Jul 31/Aug 1 & the return on Aug 7/8
-Tue Jul 31
Rangers 2-0 Zeta
Kobenhavn 1-0 Beitar Jerusalem
Tampere United 1-0 Levski Sofia
Pyunick 0-2 Shakhtar Donetsk
Debrecin 0-1 Elfsborg
Zaglebie Lubin 0-1 Steau Bucuresti
Genk 1-2 Sarajevo
Astana 3-1 Rosenborg
-Wed Aug 1
Domzale v Dinamo Zagreb
Besiktas v Sheriff
Ventspils v Salzburg
Hafnarfjordur v BATE Borisov
Crvena Zvezda v Levadia Tallinn
Zilina v Slavia Praha
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Soccernet has a Q & A with Celtic manager Gordon Strachan.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Italian centerback Alessandro Nesta has retired from the national team. He will continue on at Milan.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In a friendly today, Inter beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford. Man U got a goal from Wayne Rooney and the other on an Adriano own goal. Inter got 2 from David Suazo & 1 from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune says money isn't everything to all players. But it is to some.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Gregory Sica of Sports Illustrated previews the Fall Argentine league. The amazing River Plate v Boca Juniors derby is scheduled for Oct 7.
-The Apertura begins this Friday. And here in America the first game we will get to see is Boca Juniors v Rosario Central on Sun Aug 5 at 2pm central on FSC.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Andrea de Pauli of World Soccer (via SI) has a Q & A with Milan & Brazil great Rikki Kaka, who belongs to Jesus.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Toronto Star has an article on the police report about the donnybrook that happened between Toronto's cops and the young Chilean team at the U20 World Cup last month. With video of press conference.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lastly today, lets leave with a YouTube gem centered around Premiership relegation. (thanks to Peter for sending me this great clip)