Some News for Thu Apr 30

Starters

I am on Twitter: dunord
Are you?

UEFA Champions League

Semifinals

First Leg Matches:
-Tue Apr 28
Barcelona 0-0 Chelsea - A real dullards delight.
-Wed Apr 29
Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal - MU goal by John O'Shea, the least talented guy on the field gets it done!

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune on the goal scoring hero and his winning team.

Second Leg Matches (with First Leg scores included):
-Tue May 5
Arsenal v Manchester United (0-1)
-Wed May 6
Chelsea v Barcelona (0-0)

US Open Cup

MLS team 1st qualifying round:
-Wed Apr 29
San Jose Earthquakes 1-2 Red Bull New York - SJE goal by Pablo Campos. RBNY goals by Mike Petke & John Wolyniec
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara CA

In the 2nd & final qualifying round New York will face DC United, date and location TBD by a coin flip (aka RFK Stadium).

MLS

International Friendly Match:
-Wed Apr 29
Chicago Fire 1-2 Club America (Mexico) - CF goal by Chris Rolfe. CA goals by Juan Carlos Silva & Pavel Pardo.
Venue: Toyota Park, Bridgeview IL
Match report by Luis Arroyave of the Chicago Tribune. Fire third string keeper Andrew Dykstra stopped a PK!
-A return match will be played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City later this year.

dN

Sons of Ben tip us off to the fact that Philadelphia will announce the name of their new team on May 11.

dN

Andrew Hush at ESPN Soccernet gives us his thoughts on last week and looks ahead to this weekend in MLS.

dN

MLS Week 7 Matches
-Sat May 2
Toronto v Columbus - 3pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto ON
DC v Dallas - 6:30pm Central on FSC
Venue: RFK Stadium, Washington DC
Chicago v Seattle - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Toyota Park, Bridgeview IL
Colorado v Salt Lake - 8:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City CO
San Jose v Chivas - 9:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara CA
Los Angeles v New York - 9:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson CA
-Sun May 3
New England v Houston - 2pm Central on Telefutura
Venue: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough MA

Kansas City is on the bye week.

USL

BQ at Inside Minnesota Soccer sits down with Thunder coach Don Gramenz as the home season gets set to kick off! I better see all you Twin Citians on Saturaday night - bleecher tickets are only $5 and the new beer garden is pitchside - you have no excuse! Download or listen to the interview here.

dN

-Sat May 2
Minnesota Thunder v Vancouver Whitecaps - 7pm Central at the National Sports Center in Blaine
-Again, there are new $5 bleacher seats this season, $20 season passes for youth, and a brand new pitch-side beer garden!

England

The National of UAE interviews a Tottenham team executive about the impact manager Harry Redknapp has had on the team this season.

Europe

Sports Features with an article on Franck Ribery and the chances that he will stay at Bayern Munich after coach Juergen Klinsmann has been fired.

dN

The National of UAE tells the story of a tragic team from 1949 - Il Grande Torino were the most popular team in Italy who died in a plane crash.

dN

Other Cup competitions around Europe:

UEFA Cup Semifinals
First Leg Matches:
-Thu Apr 30
Dynamo Kyiv 1-1 Shakhtar Donetsk - DK goal by Dmytro Chygrynskiy(OG). SD goal by Fernandinho.
Werder Bremen 0-1 Hamburg - Ham goal by Piotr Trochowski.
-Second leg matches on May 7
-Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian writes about the battle between Ukraine's Big Two.

Puchar Polski Semifinals
1st Leg
-Wed Apr 29
Legia Warszawa 0-1 Ruch Chorzow
-Thu Apr 30
Lech Poznan 1-1 Polonia Warszawa
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Wed May 6
Polonia Warszawa v Lech Poznan (1-1)
-Thu May 7
Ruch Chorzow v Legia Warszawa (1-0)

South America

Tom Phillips of the Guardian with an article on my favorite player of all time Ronaldo, and his great comeback down at Corinthians. Some really good stuff here.

Huge Real Madrid v Barcelona Match This Saturday

-Sat May 2
Real Madrid v Barcelona



Kicks off at 1pm Central time
Only 4 points seperate them at #2 & #1 in the standings, and a Real win would make the last 4 games of the season really wild.
I am going to head to the Sweetwater in St Paul for viewing.
Anyone else?

Some News for Wed Apr 29

Starters

Me & You togetha on da Twitta: dunord

Best person I get Tweets from : Lil Jon! He even says YEEEEAHHH in his messages. And they are always ALL CAPS!

UEFA Champions League

Simon Kuper of the Financial Times with a nice history of the politics of FC Barcelona and Catalonia.

dN

UEFA Champions League Semifinals
First Leg:
-Tue Apr 28
Barcelona 0-0 Chelsea - A real dullards delight.
-Wed Apr 29
Manchester United v Arsenal - 1:30pm Central on ESPN2

Kevin McCarra of the Guardian with a match report from Barca v Chels.

And Sid Lowe of the Guardian sees it from the Spanish viewpoint.

MLS News

Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales has been named MLS Player of the Week.

dN

Kyle McCarthy & Jeff Carlisle writes this week’s Eastern Conference and Western Conference notes for MLSnet.

dN

US Open Cup - MLS team qualifying round:
-Tue Apr 28
Seattle Sounders 4-1 Real Salt Lake - So much for RSL's 6-0 win over New England. Former USL1 star Sebastian Le Toux bagged 2 goals for the Sounders.
Venue: Starfire Sports Soccer Complex, Tukwila WA
-Wed Apr 29
San Jose Earthquakes v Red Bull New York - Winner to face DC United, date and location TBD
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara CA

dN

Street & Smith's Business Journal has some info on the partnership just formed between the Chicago Fire and Mexican kings Club America.

And to commemorate the occasion here's a nice friendly match tonight:
-Wed Apr 29
Chicago Fire v Club America
Venue: Toyota Park, Bridgeview IL
-A return match will be played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City later this year.

dN

The MLS All-Stars will take on Everton of Liverpool England on Wed Jul 29 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy UT, home of Real Salt Lake.

dN

Bill Archer joins those tossing hand grenades at former Toronto coach John Carver. Yes, I do enjoy this stuff.

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Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated does a Q & A with current Seattle goalkeeper & former USA great Kasey Keller.

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Former Chicago, Vancouver & Puerto Rico player Jared Montz has a website for his soccer training business and also has a blog to go with it. Check it out now.
-He also recently posted an audio interview with Columbus Crew fullback Jed Zayner. Listen to or download here.

Mexico News

Mexico & Barcelona centerback Rafa Marquez tore up his knee in yesterdays Champs League game against Chelsea, and will need surgery to repair Meniscus damage. He will be out of action for at least 2 months. Hopefully he will be fully healed for the USA visit to Mexico City on Aug 12 for World Cup Qualifying. It will be fun to watch him have another meltdown.

dN

Due to the ongoing Swine Flu scare, all 9 Mexican Premiera League games this weekend will be played at empty stadiums. Wow!

dN

And, a reminder that the CONCACAF Champions League 2nd leg between Atlante and Cruz Azul that was scheduled for tonight has been delayed until May 12 due to the Swine flu scare. Atlante lead 2-0.

England News

Our pal Rich Allen of the Craven Cottage Newsround writing for The Times in London gives us the 50 greatest players in Fulham Football Club history. Awesome job man. Thanks to BQ for the heads up on this one.
-Johnny Haynes is #1 on the list playing from 1952-70, with 658 appearances, and 158 goals! Does Brian McBride make the list? Clint Dempsey?

dN

FIFA has a Q & A with Aston Villa & England forward Emile Heskey.

Europe News

Bayern Munich has turned to an old war-horse and hired Jupp Heynckes as their interim coach. He has an extensive coaching resume and had a great deal of success winning 2 Cups with Bayern in the late 80's/early 90's and the European Championship with Real Madrid in the late 90's. On the other hand, that was a looooooooong time ago.

dN

NRC Handelsblad in the Netherlands with a report on deep financial trouble at legendary club Feyenoord of Rotterdam.

dN

Juventus will be playing their home game this weekend against Lecce in an empty stadium as punishment for their fans racist chanting. That is a loss of nearly 2m Euros in ticket revenue.

dN

Ben Lyttleton of the Guardian looks in on Ligue 1 as it becomes a 2 horse race between Marseille and Bordeaux. Bye bye Lyon? And a round up on the rest of the French top flight.

dN

Romania has hired Razvan Lucescu as their new national team coach.

dN

Other Cup competitions around Europe:

Puchar Polski Semifinals
1st Leg
-Wed Apr 29
Legia Warszawa 0-1 Ruch Chorzow
-Thu Apr 30
Lech Poznan v Polonia Warszawa
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Wed May 6
Polonia Warszawa v Lech Poznan (-)
-Thu May 7
Ruch Chorzow v Legia Warszawa (1-0)

Landspokal Semifinals
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Tue Wed 28
Kobenhavn 2-1 Nordvest - Kob advance 6-1 on aggregate.
-Wed Apr 29
Aalborg 1-1 Brondby - series tied 4-4 after 2 legs, with AaB advancing due to the away goals tie breaker.

dN

An Arsenal fan in the Twin Cities - Carl - has started a Facebook page for his favorite team! Join him here.

South America News

Tim Vickery at Sports Illustrated with an article on long time Boca Juniors standout striker Martin Palermo.

dN

Ronaldo has now scored 8 goals in 10 games for Corinthians! He sure would have looked good in a MLS team shirt.

FIFA News

Have to give credit where it is due: Reuters reports that FIFA has overturned the suspension of 5 federations in Asia who had opposed the reelection of current AFC President (and FIFA executive committee member) Mohamed Bin Hammam. The countries who will now be allowed to vote are Kuwait, Laos, East Timor, Afghanistan and Mongolia. This seems to go against the Sepp Blatter conspiracy theories that so many of us live by. On the other hand, maybe Sepp is backing the other candidate!

dN

FIFA says that "more than 300,000 tickets have been sold for the Confederations Cup." The 8 team tournament in South Africa kicks off on June 14 in Johannesburg with the host country v Iraq, and New Zealand v Spain.

Special Reports

Der Spiegel reports on a true sign of economic crisis - the beer mat industry, where the #1 manufacturer (97% of all US beer mats) has gone broke. Includes a fantastic photo gallery. Personally, while I don't drink beer, I do appreciate the old fashioned simply designed mat's.

Any long time du Nord reader will understand the importance of this particular beer mat:

Is That You Mr. Magoo?

I just really like this picture.

Some News for Tue Apr 28

Twittering away again in Coca-Cola-ville: dunord

dN

The Toronto Star talks to now former TFC coach John Carver. He is no longer part of the league, but he continues to be a bag of hot air. Hey John: Shut the hell up, and don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. He claims the league was against him, but the team had his back. Bull. If they had his back he would not be gone.
-Again Ben Knight of Onward!, up in Toronto himself, calls Carver on his garbage excuses.

dN

Chivas USA's virtually unknown young midfielder Gerson Mayen leads the league in assists with 4. Pretty damn good!

dN

US Open Cup - MLS team qualifying round:
-Tue Apr 28
Seattle Sounders v Real Salt Lake - Winner to face Colorado Rapids, date and location TBD
Venue: Starfire Sports Soccer Complex, Tukwila WA
-Wed Apr 29
San Jose Earthquakes v Red Bull New York - Winner to face DC United, date and location TBD
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara CA

dN

The word from Chicago (although still unofficial) is that the Fire have signed a working agreement with Mexican kings Club America. What this means no one really knows yet.

But to commemorate the occasion here's a nice friendly match to check out:
-Wed Apr 29
Chicago Fire v Club America
Venue: Toyota Park, Bridgeview IL

dN

UEFA Champions League Semifinals
First Leg:
-Tue Apr 28
Barcelona v Chelsea - 1:30pm Central on ESPN2
-Wed Apr 29
Manchester United v Arsenal - 1:30pm Central on ESPN2

Nothing is quite as cool as getting your Champions League game updates on Twitter from Steve Nash! @the_real_nash

dN

Other Cup competitions around Europe:

Scottish Cup Semifinals
-Sat Apr 25
Rangers 3-0 Saint Mirren
-Sun May 26
Falkirk 2-0 Dunfermline Athletic
-Date of Final TBD

Puchar Polski Semifinals
1st Leg
-Wed Apr 29
Legia Warszawa v Ruch Chorzow
-Thu Apr 30
Lech Poznan v Polonia Warszawa
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Wed May 6
Polonia Warszawa v Lech Poznan (-)
-Thu May 7
Ruch Chorzow v Legia Warszawa (-)

Ukrainian Cup Semifinals
1st Leg
-Date TBD
Dynamo Kyiv v Shakhtar Donetsk
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Wed Apr 29
Vorskla Poltava v Metalist Kharkiv (0-0)
-Wed May 13
Shakhtar Donetsk v Dynamo Kyiv (-)

Landspokal Semifinals
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Wed Apr 29
Kobenhavn v Nordvest (4-0)
Aalborg v Brondby (3-3)

dN

One of my co-workers just returned from 3 weeks in South Africa and reported that the entire country is swept up in "2010" fever! Great to hear.

And Business Day in South Africa reports that a deal has been struck to help stabilize the electricity supplies during the big event.

Minnesota Thunder Season Opener - Sat May 2

Join me as my team, Minnesota Thunder, play the 1st home game of the new season
Saturday May 2
National Sports Center in Blaine
Kick off is at 7pm

And you should be there!


You can sit in the North End for just $5!!!
(Fellow fans have humbled me by dubbing it the Stand du Nord. Wow!)
And you can bring your kids (under 18) to every game for a grand total of $20 (full season pass).

There are no excuses.

Inside Minnesota Soccer with a special report on the brand new massive beer garden just built at the stadium. And it sits on the north end-line!

Tailgating begins at 4pm on the grassy knoll just north of the main entrance.

The opponent this weekend is the defending league champs from Vancouver, who the Thunder nearly knocked out of the playoffs last year, losing 5-4 on aggregate. (Still rueing that late goal given up on the road in the first leg)

See you there!

Music from My Bloody Valentine

I thought I would send you all some music today, from My Bloody Valentine, a band I thoroughly enjoyed working with in the early 90's. This is an EP (not a single, but not a full length either) that proceeded their highly acclaimed album Loveless.

There's is an otherworldly style of pop music. The sounds have the harmony of things as upbeat as 70's hit-machines the Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach or the Carpenters, but push the limits of conventional tones and structures. Despite the thick swelling resonance, it also feels really light and uplifting. The production ebbs & flows like the tides in a rocky barren cove, yet in a futuristic, non-earthy, way.

In many ways their notoriety is not in any popularity they achieved, but in the number of artist's around them that they inspire, much like the Velvet Underground did two decades earlier and an ocean away.

I know this music is not for everyone, and some will even find it unpleasant, but I have always found a great affinity for artists who put out a challenge in their music.

This is the Tremolo EP from My Bloody Valentine.


















1. To Here Knows When
2. Swallow
3. Honey Power
4. Moon Song
















Bilinda Butcher cuts loose on the axe!

Some News for Mon Apr 27

Locate me on das Twitter: dunord

dN

Grinsi Klinsi got the boot from Bayern Munich. You still sure you want him as coach of the USA? I never did.

dN

Toronto's head coach John Carver resigned from his job before the team’s home win over Kansas City on Sunday. His top assistant Chris Cummins is at the wheel of the company truck for now.
-Ben Knight of Onward! gives us his own version of the lowdown, the scoop, the skinny.

dN

MLS Week 6 Matches:

-Wed Apr 22
Toronto FC 1-0 Chivas USA - TFC goal by Amado Guevara.
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto ON
Attendance: 19,915

-Thu Apr 23
Kansas City Wizards 1-0 New York - KCW goal by Claudio Lopez(PK).
Venue: Community America Ballpark, Kansas City KS
Attendance: 10,385

-Sat Apr 25
Columbus 2-2 Chicago - CC goals by Chad Marshall & Alejandro Moreno. CF goals by Brian McBride & Gonzalo Segares.
Venue: Crew Stadium, Columbus OH
Attendance: 16,628
Salt Lake 6-0 New England - RSL goals by Jamison Olave, Clint Mathis, Yura Movsisyan, Luis Miguel Escalada, Andy Williams & Robbie Findley.
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy UT
Attendance: 14,051
Colorado 1-1 Los Angeles - CR goal by Colin Clark. LAG goal by Landon Donovan.
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City CO
Attendance: 12,180
Chivas 2-0 Dallas - CUSA goals by Atiba Harris & Alecko Eskandarian.
Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson CA
Attendance: 14,611
Seattle 2-0 San Jose - SS goals by Steve Zakuani & Brad Evans.
Venue: Qwest Field, Seattle WA
Attendance: 28,838

-Sun Apr 26
New York 2-3 DC - NYRB goals by Juan Pablo Angel & Dane Richards. DCU goals by Rodney Wallace, Luciano Emilio & Chris Pontius.
Venue: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford NJ
Attendance: 10,303
Toronto 1-0 Kansas City - TFC goal by Danny Dichio.
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto ON
Attendance: 20,056

Ejections:
-Atiba Harris - Real Salt Lake - 2 Yellow Cards
-Gino Padula - Columbus Crew - Red Card
-Dario Sala - FC Dallas - Red Card
-Carlos Johnson - New York Red Bulls - Red Card

dN

Steve Davis of ESPN Soccernet gives us 10 things you need to know from Week 6 in MLS.

dN

Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller has yet to allow a goal against this season. Amazing.

dN

Top MLS goal scorers:
5 Brian McBride - Chicago
4 Robbie Findley - Salt Lake
4 Conor Casey - Colorado
4 Kenny Cooper - Dallas
4 Luciano Emilio - DC

dN

If a single table were used in MLS this is what it would look like today:
16 Chivas USA +7
12 Seattle Sounders FC +6
11 Toronto FC 0
10 Chicago Fire +3
10 Kansas City Wizards +1
9 Real Salt Lake +6
9 DC United +1
8 Colorado Rapids 0
8 New England Revolution -4
5 Houston Dynamo -1
5 San Jose Earthquakes -4
5 Red Bull New York -4
4 Los Angeles Galaxy -1
4 Columbus Crew -4
4 FC Dallas -6

dN

CONCACAF U17 World Cup Qualifying
All games played in Tijuana Mexico

NOTE: CONCACAF has announced that due to the Swine Flu scare they are CANCELING the rest of this tournament. With all 4 teams already determined for the next U17 World Cup they saw no reason to take risks.

By finishing as the top 2 teams in each group the USA, Honduras, & have clinched spots in the World Cup next fall in Nigeria.

Standings (with goal difference):
Group A
9 USA +10 - QUALIFIED
4 Honduras +3 - QUALIFIED
3 Cuba -10
1 Canada -3
Group B
9 Mexico +11 - QUALIFIED
4 Costa Rica +2 - QUALIFIED
4 Guatemala 0
0 Trinidad & Tobago -13

Group Stage Matches:
-Tue Apr 21
Honduras 1-1 Canada
Cuba 0-5 USA
-Wed Apr 22
Guatemala 1-1 Costa Rica
Mexico 7-0 Trinidad & Tobago
-Thu Apr 23
Honduras 6-0 Cuba
USA 4-2 Canada

-Fri Apr 24
Costa Rica 3-0 Trinidad & Tobago
Mexico 3-0 Guatemala
-Sat Apr 25
Canada 1-2 Cuba - Can goal by Justin Maheu. Cub goals both by Yaudel Lahera.
USA 3-0 Honduras - USA goals by Nick Palodichuk(2) & Jack McInerney.
-Sun Apr 26
Trinidad & Tobago 0-3 Guatemala - Gua goals by Gabriel Navas, Kendel Herrate & Gerson Lima.
Mexico 1-0 Costa Rica - Mex goal by Adrian Mora(OG).

Semifinals & Final - CANCELED

USA Matchday 3 Details:

Match report from US Soccer
Match report from CONCACAF

The USA U17s have won their group in World Cup qualifying. they now play ? in the Semifinals. with a big 4-2 win over Canada on Matchday 2.




















USA got 2 more goals from forward Jack McInerney (pictured above), the first on a Penalty Kick, and 1 each from midfielders Sebastian Lletget & Joseph Gyua.

Like both previous games, the USA lead 3-0 at half time.

Lineup:
G:
18-Spencer Richey
D:
3-Tyler Polak
2-Eriq Zavaleta
14-Zachary Herold
4-Perry Kitchen
M:
15-Carlos Martinez
5-Marlon Duran
17-Juan Agudelo
16-Nicholas Palodichuk
F:
9-Jack McInerney
13-Joseph Gyau

Substitutes - for - minute subbed in:
12-Emilio Orozco for Eriq Zavaleta - 46
11-Dustin Corea for Jack McInerney - 46
7-Stefan Jerome for Marlon Duran - 65

Goals by - minute scored:
Nicholas Palodichuk - 28
Jack McInerney - 36
Nicholas Palodichuk - 45

dN

Very big European matches this past weekend:
-Fri Apr 24
Lyon 0-0 Paris Saint-Germain - #3 & #4 don't do themselves any good in their chase after Marseille at the top, as a matter of fact they fell behind.
-Sat Apr 25
Valencia 2-2 Barcelona - Barca loses 2 points in the standings to Real Madrid. Their lead is now just 4 points with 5 games to play, and guess who play each other next Saturday at 1pm Central time?!?! Valencia is now 1 point behind Sevilla for the last UCL spot.
Fiorentina 4-1 Roma - A serious ass-kicking by the Purple, move them back into the 4th and final Champions League spot for next season.
Bayern Munich 0-1 Schalke - the loss costs Bayern coach Juergen Klinsmann his job and drops them to 3rd place.
-Sun Apr 26
Sevilla 2-4 Real Madrid - Sev fall closer to losing out on a Champs League place, and RM jump to within 4 of first place Barca who they host next Saturday.
Napoli 1-0 Internazionale - Another fine choke job for #1 Inter, who see Milan climb back to within 7 points with 5 games to go.
Lille 1-2 Marseille - The Martians push their lead at the top to 5 over Bordeaux who don't play until Wednesday, and 6 to Lyon who were held to a scoreless draw.

dN

Since Juande Ramos took over as coach of Real Madrid they have played 19 league games, winning 18 and drawing 1. Unreal! (Hahahahaha)

dN

From the pages of the Guardian:

Paolo Bandini on the crumbling of Roma, and the rest of Serie A.

Leander Schaerlaeckens on the confirmation of Marco Van Basten as a poor manager ("Embarrassment"), and the rest of Eredivisie.

Sid Lowe on Real Madrid's relentless pursuit of Barcelona, and the rest of La Liga.

Raphael Honigstein on the fall of Bayern manager Juergen Klinsmann, and the rest of Die Bundesliga

dN

The English Football Players Association has given their Player Of The Year award to Ryan Giggs. Which just proves that players are even dumber than fans when it comes to awards voting.

dN

2 pictures from the Guardian this weekend show the extremes of world football fandom:

The fans of AZ in Alkmaar Netherlands celebrate their teams Eredivisie Championship with a huge party on the canals!



















The fans of Partizan in Belgrade celebrated their teams Serbian Championship by flying a giant banner honoring the truly evil bastard Radovan Karadzic.













dN

With just 2 rounds left to play in the Mexican Clausura, Pachuca, Monterrey & UNAM Pumas join Toluca as 4 of the 10 teams guaranteed a playoff spot. While Cruz Azul is the only team to have been officially elimidated.

Here's the standings.

The playoffs or Liguilla works something like this:
-The top 2 from each of 3 groups advance.
-They are given a buy in the first round.
-The next 4 with the best records playoff for 2 more spots.
-Those two join the other 6 in quarter, semi and finals.
-All round are home and away affairs.
-Ties are broken by higher seed.

dN

UEFA Champions League Semifinals

First Leg:
-Tue Apr 28
Barcelona v Chelsea - 1:30pm Central on ESPN2
-Wed Apr 29
Manchester United v Arsenal - 1:30pm Central on ESPN2
dN

This weeks CONCACAF Champions League Final 2nd leg has been postponed until May 12 due to Swine Flu scare.

Strange Days in Mexico City

Got an email from Andrew MacDonald in Mexico City this weekend:

Things around here have seemed quite surreal the last couple of days.

How's this for futbol news...the Pumas vs. Chivas game at CU, and the America vs. Tecos game at Azteca are going to be played behind closed doors because of this flu epidemic that´s killed 60 people here in Mexico City. It´s some new strain of flu.

They also canceled all school yesterday (Friday) for the first time since the monster earthquake of 1985. The streets are very quiet, with residents being advised to stay inside, and lots of people are wearing face masks.

Strange days, Andrew

Andrew MacDonald contributed a great piece to us at du Nord last week on his adventurous trip to a Club Amerca v UNAM Pumas derby match in the DF.

Some News for Fri Apr 24

Find me on the Twittamachine: dunord

dN

MLS Week 6 Matches:

-Wed Apr 22
Toronto FC 1-0 Chivas USA - TFC goal by Amado Guevara.
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto ON
Attendance: 19915

-Thu Apr 23
Kansas City Wizards 1-0 New York - KCW goal by Claudio Lopez(PK).
Venue: Community America Ballpark, Kansas City KS
Attendance: 10,385
-Video highlights from MLSnet.

Notes about that game:
-Looked like they had a great crowd in KC. (How many times have you ever read those words strung together.) Good job everyone!
-There is no way in hell that early foul committed by Carlos Johnson of New York was a Red Card. Are you kidding me? Penalty, fine. Yellow Card, OK, but the Penalty is a stiff enough punishment. But Red? Get outta here! And coming in the 2nd minute it simply ruined the entire game.
-That is 2 games and 2 Red Cards for Johnson. That has to be some kind of dubious record.

-Sat Apr 25
Columbus v Chicago - 6pm Central on FSC
Venue: Crew Stadium, Columbus OH
Salt Lake v New England - 8pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy UT
Colorado v Los Angeles - 8:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City CO
Chivas v Dallas - 9:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson CA
Seattle v San Jose - 9:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Qwest Field, Seattle WA

-Sun Apr 26
New York v DC - 2pm Central on Telefutura
Venue: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford NJ
Toronto v Kansas City - 4pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto ON

dN

Nice friendly to check out next week:
-Wed Apr 29
Chicago Fire v Club America
Venue: Toyota Park, Bridgeview IL

dN

Jozy Altidore checks in from Spain on the New York Times blog Goal. What is going on with his freakin toenails.
-Is Jozy upset about being on loan at Xerez and still not seeing the field? Here is what he says: "I want to be clear about this: I’ve never voiced any displeasure or had any problems since I came here. It was a difficult time, I was excited, but the club was winning games and I just had to wait, because no one can expect a coach to break up a team when things are going well."

dN

CONCACAF U17 World Cup Qualifying
All games played in Tijuana Mexico

With their wins on Matchday 2 both the USA and Honduras have clinched spots in the World Cup next fall in Nigeria, and advance to the Semifinals of this tournament.

Standings (with goal difference):
Group A
(after 2 matches)
6 USA +7 - QUALIFIED
4 Honduras +6 - QUALIFIED
1 Canada -2
0 Cuba -11
Group B
(after 1 match)
3 Mexico +7
1 Costa Rica 0
1 Guatemala 0
0 Trinidad & Tobago -7

Group Stage Matches:
-Tue Apr 21
Honduras 1-1 Canada
Cuba 0-5 USA
-Wed Apr 22
Guatemala 1-1 Costa Rica
Mexico 7-0 Trinidad & Tobago
-Thu Apr 23
Honduras 6-0 Cuba - Hon goals by Antony Lozano(3),
USA 4-2 Canada - USA goals by Jack McInerney(2), Sebastian Lletget & Joseph Gyau. Can goals Jaineil Hoilett & Coulton Jackson.
-Fri Apr 24
Costa Rica v Trinidad & Tobago
Mexico v Guatemala
-Sat Apr 25
Canada v Cuba
USA v Honduras
-Sun Apr 26
Trinidad & Tobago v Guatemala
Mexico v Costa Rica

Semifinal matches:
-Wed Apr 29
USA v B2
B1 v Honduras

USA Match Details:

Match report from US Soccer
Post game quotes from USA coach and players
Match report from CONCACAF

The USA U17s have qualified for the World Cup to be held this coming fall in Nigeria with a big 4-2 win over Canada on Matchday 2.




















©isiphotos.com - taken from US Soccer

USA got 2 more goals from forward Jack McInerney (pictured above), the first on a Penalty Kick, and 1 each from midfielders Sebastian Lletget & Joseph Gyua.

Like in game 1, the USA lead 3-0 at half time.

You can now watch the full match on YouTube.

Lineup:
G:
1-Earl Edwards
D:
4-Perry Kitchen
3-Tyler Polak
6-Jared Watts
2-Eriq Zavaleta
M:
5-Marlon Duran
10-Luis Gil
20-Sebastian Lletget
8-Alex Shinksy
F:
7-Stefan Jerome
9-Jack McInerney

Substitutes - for - minute subbed in:
15-Carlos Martinez for Lletget - 76
13-Joseph Gyau for Gil - 84
17-Juan Agudelo for Jerome - 65

Goals by - minute scored:
Jack McInerney(PK) - 2
Jack McInerney - 30
Sebastian Lletget - 39
Joseph Gyua - 85

Cards to - type - minute given:
Perry Kitchen - Yellow - 18
Alex Shinsky - Yellow - 85

Shinsky will miss the Semifinal game due to Yellow Card accumulation.

dN

The Global Post with a very interesting article on Poland, who is a host of the 2012 European Championship. Seems they are having problems just getting the roads built. That can't be a promising sign.

dN

Troubled Brazilian forward Adriano is no longer a member of Inter Milan, or any other team for that matter: "Inter would like to communicate that Adriano's contract has been mutually rescinded, taking effect from April 1."

dN

Louise Taylor of the Guardian looks at the new wedding of Roy Keane and Ipswich Town.

dN

Yahoo Sports has a Reuters article about Real Madrid centerback Pepe who had a total meltdown the other day, and for his lunacy he gets a 10 game suspension! 10 games!

dN

Gregory Sica of Sports Illustrated tells us about Argentine great Diego Simeone who has won a title and finished last in two of his 3 years as a manager. He now takes over 18th place San Lorenzo.

dN

Check out the Adidas ball for the Confederations Cup this summer. Hot!

dN

I love it when the big-wigs of FIFA beat the hell out of each other! From Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune.

dN

FIFA.com gets a Q & A with the man - Zinedine Zidane.

dN

Very big European matches this weekend:
-Fri Apr 24
Lyon v Paris Saint-Germain - #3 v #4, are respectively 3 & 4 points away from first place Marseille.
-Sat Apr 25
Valencia v Barcelona - #4 hosts #1, and its important to both teams even though Val is 26 points back.
Fiorentina v Roma - #5 v #6 as both chase 4th place and the Champions League for next season.
Bayern Munich v Schalke - #2 v #6 with jobs on the line for the coaches.
-Sun Apr 26
Sevilla v Real Madrid - #3 v #2 as Sevilla want to keep Champions League spot and Real want to catch Barca at the top.
Napoli v Internazionale - #1 Inter travel to the home of the Cholera sufferers.
Lille v Marseille - the Martians need to keep winning to stay at #1

dN

3 rounds left to play in the Mexican Clausura, and Toluca are the only team guaranteed a playoff spot right now, and no team has been officially elimidated either.

Here are this weekends games, with point totals included:
-Fri Apr 24
San Luis (16) v Necaxa (12)
-Sat Apr 25
Jaguares (19) v Morelia (17)
Pachuca (27) v Cruz Azul (12)
UANL Tigres (12) v Santos Laguna (18)
Atlas (20) v Toluca (29)
Atlante (13) v Monterrey (23)
-Sun Apr 26
UNAM Pumas (24) v Guadalajara Chivas (19)
Puebla (24) v Indios Juarez (14)
America (17) v UAG Tecos (18)

A Round-up of some of Europe’s Lesser-Cared-About Cups & Leagues

Justin Paul tells us about some lesser known Cup competitions & leagues in Europe that are quickly building to their seasonal conclusions, and teaches us a few cultural things along the way.


Let’s begin with the Coupe de France shall we, the Rennes-Guingamp final-- this will be an all-Brittany match up and should be a lot of fun. En Avant Guingamp were the team that gave Didier Drogba his real push, 20 goals in 45 games is what got him noticed by Marseille. (Rennes is the team of USA defender Carlos Bocanegra.)

Another Brittany side has won the Coupe de France fairly recently, Lorient FC (the side sporting a cardboard stand with a painted crowd behind one goal at present) did so in 2001 over SC Bastia.
Looking back to that earlier era, Nantes is another historic Breton city, whose football club won Coupe de France in 2000 over part-timers Racing Calais. But they are officially part of the Pays de La Loire Region these days, and Nantes fans are probably still trying to recover from the confusion of the actions of owner Waldemar Kita stripping the word "Atlantique" from the club's name. Or perhaps it is a hangover from Fabien Barthez's ill fated "retirement comeback" at the geographically confused city's club.

Nantes were also the last team to win the Ligue 1 before Lyon’s long current run, and their league Player Of the Year Eric Carriere used the season as a springboard to a relatively unglorified but productive time at Lyon. Ahhh 2001, when Nantes Atlantique's plucky Tahitian forward Marama Vahirua was a France U 21 starlet, who has never made it to Les Bleus. Sitting here today, in a year in which Lyon may lose their crown, 2001 is indeed a season worth reflecting on.

Moving on, Fenerbahce v Besiktas in the Turkish Cup final might not sound so surprising, but the storyline is that the way FB are playing they may not finish in the top 4 in the league claiming an automatic UEFA Cup spot, so winning the final might be crucial to see my boys in Europe next year. BJK topped FB in the Cup a couple years back when Jean Tigana was still in charge at Besiktas. For one of the Turkey's "big 3," Fenerbahce have only won the cup 4 times and not since 1983.
And keep your eyes on Sivasspor, the team from a city more known for its influential 16th century humanist Sufi poet Pir Sultan Abdal, and in more recent times for the violence between Sunni Muslims and Alevi Muslims, who are now on the verge of being the 2nd non-Istanbul team to win the league title (the other being black sea based Trabzonspor.)

Sivasspor are led by prolific Turkish striker Mehmet Yildiz, who has scored an incredible 81 goals in 85 games for the club. They also feature an Australian keeper in Michael Petkovic, who was a product of the Hellenic steeped club South Melbourne FC before his move to Turkey, in which he began as Trabzonspor. Petkovic may be an ethnic Croatian, but his success is proof that something Hellenic can still take root deep in the heart of Anatolia. Sivasspor also feature a popular Israeli striker named Pini Balili [CORRECTED], who is the most high profile Israeli to play in the Turkish league since prominent attacking midfielder Haim Revivo suited up for Fenerbahce and sold out and joined arch enemies Galatasaray (bias of the author is intentional).

Also I find it interesting that both Hamburg-Werder Bremen and Dynamo Kiev-Shakhtar Donestsk meet each other in their country's Cup Semis as well as the UEFA Cup Semis. I personally was sad to see the Ukrainians from Kiev and Donetsk beat both Paris St Germain and L'Olympique Marseille respectively, but I do think the UEFA Cup final will still be very intriguing, especially since it could be a 3rd Slavic winner in five years. France is still waiting for its first UEFA Cup winner.
Finally, the Ukrainian Cup Semifinal features rising club Metalist Kharkiv-- whose European scalps this year include Besiktas, Galatasaray, Olympiacos, and Benfica-- versus comparatively unheralded FC Vorskla Poltava. Kharkiv's European run was ended only by another Ukrainian Side, that being Dynamo Kiev. There is also a nice historical wrinkle in this one. Look at Metalist Kharkiv's uniform. It is yellow and blue, much like that of the Swedish national team. History has shown as that Poltava is the place where great Swedish aspirations to be an empire have died, as they did in the Great Northern War on June 27, 1809. Maybe a third strip may be in order for Kharkiv.

Some News for Thu Apr 23

Tweet me: dunord

dN

Over 30,000 tickets have been sold for USA v Honduras World Cup qualifier on Sat Jun 6 at Soldier Field in Chicago. (I will be there, will you?)

You make the call: How many are for USA? How many are for Honduras?

dN

Jeffrey Marcus of the New York Times addresses the real issue with MLS. The product on the field is not good enough yet to bring in all the soccer fans that are here in America. Those folks are not sold on the quality, and are busy watching TV of games from around the world. I agree completely, this is issue #1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 as far as I am concerned. MLS MUST open the purse strings.

But just so you all know, I Love MLS!

dN

MLS Week 6 Matches:

-Wed Apr 22
Toronto 1-0 Chivas - TFC goal by Amado Guevara on a scrappy play.
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto ON
Attendance: 19915
Video match highlights from MLSnet

-Thu Apr 23
Kansas City v New York - 7pm Central on ESPN2
Venue: Community America Ballpark, Kansas City KS

Couple of notes:
-Toronto pulled off a move last night that I would love to see more MLS do - They went with 3 forwards and an attacking midfielder to really push the pace. It wasn't exactly a success, but they did get the win, and the 3 points count for a lot. I would love to see a lot more of this around the league!
-Last nights loss was the first of the season for Chivas.

dN

Chivas USA has 9 people on the injured list, and I would say that those players would make a very good team:
G:
Dan Kennedy (right knee sprain)
D:
Bobby Burling (sports hernia surgery)
Ante Jazic (concussion)
Claudio Suarez (left calf strain)
Lawson Vaughn (left ankle surgery)
M:
Sasha Victorine (left knee surgery)
F:
Justin Braun (right knee sprain)
Maykel Galindo (sports hernia surgery)
Ante Razov (right ankle surgery)

dN

Grandpa is on the loose! DC United signs defender Avery John, and dispatches with forward Francis "Grandpa" Doe.

dN

US Open Cup Qualifier
-Wed Apr 22
DC 2-0 Dallas - DCU goals by Fred & Brandon Barklage.
Venue: RKF Stadium, Washington DC
Attendance: 5163

Pretty good video highlights from DC United themselves.


8 MLS teams are fighting for 2 spots in the regular rounds of the Open Cup. Last night was just the 2nd of 4 initial matches. Here is the bracket.

dN

Jonathan Wilson at the Guardian ponders the future of the hard-man midfielder who can also put a bulge in the old onion bag(TM).

dN

The great Simon Kuper at the Financial Times tells us that no matter how great the attacking stars are at Barcelona, it’s Xavi that makes their world go 'round.

dN

The rumor floating around Germany & Italy today is that Bayern Munich are lining up former Inter manager Roberto Mancini to take over from Juergen Klinsmann.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League Finals

First Leg
-Wed Apr 22
Cruz Azul 0-2 Atlante - Atl goals by Fernando Navarro & Christian Bermudez.
Second Leg
-Wed Apr 29
Atlante v Cruz Azul (2-0)

Huge road win for Atlante puts them in full control to win the inaugural CCL.

dN

Brian Quarstad of Inside Minnesota Soccer has a great article on the US Soccer Development Academy. The impetus of the article is that the two biggest academies in our state were rejected for entry by the USSFDA. But the people behind these two academies take the positives from the whole ordeal and move forward. There is some great insight here on youth soccer in America. The quotes are excellent.

dN

CONCACAF U17 World Cup Qualifying
All games played in Tijuana Mexico

Not to be outdone by the USA with their measly 5-0 win over Cuba on Monday, home team Mexico demolished Trinidad & Tobago 7-0 last night. Take that Gringos!

Standings (with goal difference):
Group A
3 USA +5
1 Honduras 0
1 Canada 0
0 Cuba -5
Group B
3 Mexico +7
1 Costa Rica 0
1 Guatemala 0
0 Trinidad & Tobago-7

Group Stage Matches:
-Tue Apr 21
Honduras 1-1 Canada
Cuba 0-5 USA
-Wed Apr 22
Guatemala 1-1 Costa Rica - Gua goal by Marvin Ceballos. CR goal by Joel Campbell.
Mexico 7-0 Trinidad & Tobago - Mex goals by Carlos Campos, Martin Galvan (3 - 1 via PK), Victor Manon, Luis Telles(PK) & Salvador Jasso.
-Thu Apr 23
Honduras v Cuba
USA v Canada
-Fri Apr 24
Costa Rica v Trinidad & Tobago
Mexico v Guatemala
-Sat Apr 25
Canada v Cuba
USA v Honduras
-Sun Apr 26
Trinidad & Tobago v Guatemala
Mexico v Costa Rica

dN

Aaaaaahhhhhh, the wee Irish laddy Rockem Sockem Royo Boyo Keano is back in the English football managerial ranks again, this time in charge of Ipswich Town. How long before he insults his players as a whole? I give him 6 months.

dN

Afshin Ghotbi who calls Southern California home has been named the new head coach of the Iranian national team. Here is what the English language Tehran newspaper Iran Daily had to say about his appointment (they didn't make a very big deal out of it):

Qotbi Iran’s New Boss
Afshin Qotbi is the new head coach of the Iranian football national team.
The statement was confirmed by the Iranian Football Federation’s (IFF) deputy head Mehdi Taj on Iranian television IRIB.
The appointment comes only a day after Mohammad Mayelikohan stepped down from the post, just two weeks after his appointment, without having helmed Iran for a single game.
The former analyst of Guus Hiddink and assistant coach to Dick Advocaat at the South Korean national team had already been one of the candidates to succeed Ali Daei, but Mayelikohan had initially gotten the nod.
Beside his job at the Korean national team, Qotbi had further jobs as scout, analyst and assistant coach for the USA’s national team, Korean club side Suwon Bluewings and MLS club LA Galaxy.
45-year-old Qotbi, who reportedly will bring two Dutch assistant coaches, had led Persepolis to the Iranian League championship in his first and sole season as head coach in 2008, before resigning after disagreements with the club’s management.
Iran is ahead of three crucial World Cup qualifiers against North Korea, the UAE and South Korea (June 6 - June 17). Afhsin Qotbi’s contract initially is only valid until July 17th.

Jack Bell of the New York Times does a Q & A with Ghotbi! What is really cool about this interview is that it was started before the Iran job was even open, and ends with him getting the job. Mr. Bell, your timing is impeccable.

dN

There is a list of great podcasts in the right hand column of this website. You really need to listen to them. All of them.

Do you have podcasts that you dig that I have not listed? Tell me about em.

Mike Skinner is The Streets

Are any of you readers out there big fans of the English musical outfit The Streets?


















If you are, then I suggest you sign up right away for Mike Skinner's Twitter feed (skinnermike), cuz he has been cranking out songs at a regular pace and posting links to them via the Twittmachine.

He also sends out links to music mixes he creates that are fantastic fun.

Some News for Wed Apr 22

NOTE: Upon proofreading todays episode I realize that I do a lot of ass-kissing. Therefore I am looking for a sponsorship deal with Chapstick.


I need to start off today by giving a ginormous thank you to my friend Paul Demko who does the blog Bunky County. During my hiatus from du Nord he let me hone my chops on his blog whenever I wanted to, without any restrictions. He is a great writer, and even better dude and deserves your affection. Read it everyday, and I promise your skin will glow like never before.

dN

In the past couple of years I have been on record with the prediction that the USA would host the World Cup in 2022, and win it! Yes, win it. Now I would like to update that prediction. The team will be coached by Jose Mourinho. Mark it down, put it in a time capsule, and dig it up in 13 years to see if I am a genius or a jackass. (I think we already know that answer.)

dN

Get on the Twitter feeder today: dunord

dN

Great picture of Bruce Arena right after his shitty defense gave up yet another easy early goal against San Jose. Thanks to my man Rubio for this image capture! Priceless. (Mmmmmm, Wendy's!)













dN

MLS Week 6 Matches get started a little sooner than usual:

-Wed Apr 22
Toronto v Chivas - 6:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto ON
-Thu Apr 23
Kansas City v New York - 7pm Central on ESPN2
Venue: Community America Ballpark, Kansas City KS

dN

Adam Spangler has the best soccer site on the web: This Is American Soccer. He doesn’t mess with the silly day to day stuff like I do. He goes for the deep vein. That vein that can render you dead in seconds if damaged. He tells full stories. Remember his 5 Parter on Clint Dempsey last year? Best American soccer writing of '09, hands down.

Today he brings us the story of another American prodigy who has yet to settle down at a place he can call home. This is Devann Yao. A precious talent, with quite the tale.

dN

Our main man Frank Dell'apa at ESPN Soccernet tells us about the big numbers of players coming to MLS from Africa, and how that number is expected to grow a lot over the next several seasons. His local team, he's a Bostonian, the New England Revolution has done as good a job as any recruiting in Africa.

dN

Kartik Krishnaiyer, the maniac from South Florida, must work 27 or 28 hours a day, 9 days a week to crank out the volume of soccer verbiage he does. IE. Major League Soccer Talk and the accompanying podcasts. Not to mention he has a full time job on top of this. Makes me feel lazy and whiny for burning out. I also consider Kartik to be a FIF - friend in football.

This is his brand new labor: The Kartik Report

dN

I sent an email to my pal George Tanner in Denver at Colorado Soccer Now asking him why the Rapids have goalkeeper Matt Pickens and centerback Cory Gibbs riding the pine. Here is his response:

Pickens: back spasms
Gibbs: groin

End of story.

dN

Luis Bueno writing for the Press Enterprise tells us all about our new fave Chivas USA player Chukwudi Chijindu, he of recent goal scoring fame!

dN

US Open Cup Qualifier Tonight

-Wed Apr 22
DC V Dallas
Venue: RKF Stadium, Washington DC

dN

Simon Evans on the Reuters Soccer Blog tells about his recent trip to see the current soccer culture in Miami. Great stuff here. Thanks to KK for the heads up.

dN

Got a twitter from Shaq yesterday - He is studying to be the Po-Po when his playing days are done. Howdy Sheriff!

dN

Dan Loney does a Q & A with Seattle Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer - the man who brought the team from USL First Division to MLS.

dN

Chris Harris of EPL Talk and Kartik Krishnaiyer of Major League Soccer Talk interview Keir Radnedge, "the former editor of World Soccer Magazine and an author of more than a dozen books including The Complete Encyclopedia of Soccer." Listen or download here.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League

The Finals for the inaugural season of the CCL kick off on Wednesday night. I have no idea who the favorite is.

First Leg
-Wed Apr 22
Cruz Azul v Atlante
Second Leg
-Wed Apr 29
Atlante v Cruz Azul (-)

I will repeat what I wrote the other day - Luis Bueno on his blog The Touchline gives us the lowdown on how this first leg will shake.

dN

Coupe de France

American Carlos Bocanegra and his team Rennes have advanced to the French Cup final! Hooray Beer! Les Rouges et Noirs has not made it this far in the Cup race in 38 years! They will take on a team from Ligue 2 for the glory.

Semifinals
-Tue Apr 21
Grenoble 0-1 Rennes
-Wed Apr 22
Toulouse 1-2 En Avant Guingamp

Final
-TBD
Rennes v En Avant Guingamp

dN

My friend Sean the Faux Ruskie will not let me get away without heaping praise on his boy Andrei Arshavin who banged home 4 goals for Arsenal yesterday in EPL action, as they drew 4-4 at Liverpool. If the Arse could find defenders/goalkeepers as good as Andrei they would be unstoppable!

dN

After being found guilty of their fans chanting something like "a black Italian does not exist" at Inter's Mario Ballotelli, Juventus will have to play their next home game in an empty stadium.

dN

CONCACAF U17 World Cup Qualifying
All games played in Tijuana Mexico

Group A
3 USA +5
1 Honduras 0
1 Canada 0
0 Cuba -5
Group B
Costa Rica
Guatemala
Mexico
Trinidad & Tobago

Group Stage:
-Tue Apr 21
Honduras 1-1 Canada
Cuba 0-5 USA
-Wed Apr 22
Guatemala v Costa Rica
Mexico v Trinidad & Tobago
-Thu Apr 23
Honduras v Cuba
USA v Canada
-Fri Apr 24
Costa Rica v Trinidad & Tobago
Mexico v Guatemala
-Sat Apr 25
Canada v Cuba
USA v Honduras
-Sun Apr 26
Trinidad & Tobago v Guatemala
Mexico v Costa Rica

Semifinals:
-wed Apr 29
A1 v B2
B1 v A2

Final & 3rd Place:
-Sat May 2

dN




















dN

Stolen from the New York Times today (in an article on creative ways to finance your business): "Cologne has been selling chunks of a Web portrait of Lukas Podolski to help finance the cost of acquiring him from Bayern Munich."

Report From A Mexico City Derby

Runnin’ With The Rebels

By Andrew MacDonald
March 22, 2009

Few stadiums in the world generate the type of historical recognition associated with that of Estadio Azteca, the National stadium of México’s Tricolor and home of Club América in México City. Having hosted two World Cups as well as Maradona’s infamous “Mano de Díos”, this day’s match-up at Azteca also had the potential to be memorable- a México City derby between América and UNAM Pumas. Some strongly argue that this rivalry is as heated, yet less commercialized, than the SuperClásico between América and Guadalajara’s Chivas club. The intensity surrounding the América-Pumas derby can be best traced to their three-game battle for the league trophy in 1985.

The ’85 Final will be remembered for a couple of ominous reasons- the death of eight Pumas fans, asphyxiated in one of the tunnels preceding the second game at Pumas’ CU stadium, as well as alleged match-fixing in favor of América by the referee in the third and deciding match. Played before 50,000 fans in the neutral venue of Querétaro, a city three hours North of México City, the third game controversy surrounds a questionable handball penalty call against Pumas, and the subsequent non-call for an even more obvious handball penalty committed minutes later by América. Some argue that, with Pumas having had the away-goal advantage in the first two matches, there should’ve never even been a third game. Such is the basis for the beginning of a storied rivalry.

As the accordion of Los Tigres Del Norte blasted from the speakers of the car, everybody except the driver was already starting to drink. Nearing the stadium on Avenida Tlalpan, the intensity of the match became visually apparent. On both sides of the street were heavily armed riot police, spaced about ten feet apart, starting about three or four blocks from the stadium. Still well over two hours until match time, we arrived at the stadium and parked on the Westside, Pumas turf for the afternoon. People were milling around with their drinks under the scorching heat of the sun. Every once in a while the police passed by, timed in such a way that one had ample time to hide their drinks. It seemed rather obvious, but apparently subtlety is the key. This also goes for the women walking around the parking lot with weighted-down backpacks, selling alcohol to those who hadn’t come prepared. Adding to the ambiance of the afternoon was a police helicopter that continuously circled overhead in the distance, doing surveillance on Pumas’ largest and rowdiest supporter’s group, “La Rebel”. Per tradition, every game that Pumas plays at Azteca, La Rebel marches all morning long from their home stadium a few miles away.

About an hour before the game, we entered Azteca. Passing through multiple police checkpoints it seemed as if nothing was beyond confiscation. Forget cameras, not even belts were allowed in the stadium. At this point all the primary upper level entrances on the South Side of the stadium had already filled to the roof with Pumas fanáticos. It looked like we’d be sitting well off to the side near the corner of the pitch, on the periphery of the supporter’s section, or porra. I watched in awe at the incredible mass of supporters a few sections down, wishing I could be where the energy was most passionate. Then, as if somebody had read my mind, we started making our way to the middle of the mayhem. It was about as respectful as one could expect when you’re climbing over people in an already-packed section of terrace seating. In what seemed to be an arbitrary decision, the 6 or so of us squeezed our way into an area for perhaps two people. The idea seemed problematic, until I realized that one row of seating wasn’t really just one row of seating- there would be fans standing on the terrace, as well as on the cement benches; some were even balancing on the short back-rests, steadying themselves on the shoulders of fans in front of them.

As the stands filled and the match got closer, the singing commenced as weed smoke permeated the air. Blue and gold flags were being waved intensely as smoke bombs sporadically reigned down onto the crowd in the lower level of the stadium. This would continue for the duration of the match. Along the balcony railing of the upper deck in front of our section was a ten-foot tall fence with barbwire on top. In front of the fence were riot police lined shoulder-to-shoulder. The police helicopter circled above the stadium. There were even cops whose sole purpose was that of trying to see where projectiles were coming from. The singing and drum playing slowly intensified, timed so that by the moment the Pumas team entered the field it had reached a deafening level. The supporter’s section was upwards of 20,000 people, filling the whole upper deck of Azteca behind the goal.

On the opposite side of the stadium facing La Rebel, sat Club América’s supporter’s, most notably “La Monumental”. Their porra consisted of parts of both the upper and lower levels, but their numbers still easily paled in comparison to those of La Rebel. Even though Pumas traditionally underperforms on the pitch, La Rebel rivals in size that of all other porra in the Western Hemisphere. Some call it the “Argentinization” of Mexico’s die-hard fans, an obvious nod to the well-established “barras” of Buenos Aires.

This truth is not lost on the average soccer fan in México- like it or not, La Rebel has definitely created an almost-mythic reputation for themselves. I would bear witness to a perfect example of where such a reputation comes from near the end of the game- the uprooting and tossing of one of the stadiums metal handrails in the upper deck of the stadium. From about twenty rows or so rows up, it gained speed as it tumbled end-over-end down the walkway, clearing a crowd of startled Puma supporter’s and riot police before it crashed into the fence at rapid velocity. Thankfully no fans were hurt. However absurd the reason for the fence had previously seemed to me, this act helped clear up any misunderstanding about its necessity.

Aside from the spectacular ambiance of the crowd, the game itself was chippy and defensive, ending in a scoreless tie. It appeared that the rivalry between the two clubs had caused a match mentality of not wanting to lose as opposed to wanting to win. As the game came to an end, a scuffle ensued right next to me as two guys, presumably friends, started throwing punches. The bigger of the two got in quite the shot on the smaller guy just to my right. As he was spitting blood, cries of team unity echoed all around in order to diffuse the situation. As the majority of the crowd filtered its way to the exits, both La Rebel and La Monumental continued to sing and chant. Every time La Monumental showed its strength, they were sarcastically mocked with clapping and cheers. This went on back and forth for another twenty minutes before the both sides seemed to accept what was accepted on the pitch- that there would be no decisive victory today.

Exiting the stadium I noticed that the bathroom floors were flooded and people were using the sinks as urinals. When I turned around to see where the rest of the crew was, I noticed the youngest guy from our group urinating against the wall of the concourse. Further down the walkway, a small contingent of La Rebel (including another guy from the group) broke through the police line in order to get in on some running skirmishes with América supporters in the parking lot. The majority of Pumas’ fans were corralled out, funnel-style, from the stadium by a solid wall of the riot police. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder all the way around the entire stadium, official numbers listed their presence at around 5,000 officers.

Once back in the parking lot, it was clear that some of La Rebel weren’t ready to call it a day. I sat back in my post-game haze and watched as a handful of young guys attempted to start fights with your average América fan heading home. After a few failed attempts a young guy in an América jersey strolled by, walking arm-in-arm with his girlfriend. Sadly, they proceeded to rip the jersey off him as something of a post-match souvenir. Much to my dismay, the young guy who both pissed all over the wall as well as stole the jersey, was chosen to be the one to drive us home.

Definitely not sober, but apparently more sober than everybody else, it was one of those moments where you know the best choice would be to walk home. So, I buckled the seatbelt and held my breath. After instigating some confrontations with other autos on the road that only one with a small-man’s complex could be proud of, I finally made it home. Next time I’m taking the bus, tough guy.















Andrew MacDonald is a freelance photographer, social justice activist, and futbol aficionado from Minneapolis living in México DF. To correspond or see photo work:
Email: amacdonaldphotography@yahoo.com
Web: Photographs

USA U17 Beat Cuba 5-0

UPDATED - 4-22-09 at 9:55am Central

CONCACAF U17 World Cup Qualifying

The USA U17s opened the tournament in dominant fashion tonight, dismantling Cuba 5-0!
















USA got 2 goals from forward Jack McInerney, 1 each from midfielders Luis Gil and Sebastian Lletget, with forward Stefan Jerome (pictured above) scoring the first goal that ultimately decided the match.

USA lead 3-0 at half time.

You can now watch the full match on YouTube right here from the US Soccer Youth National Teams blog.

Group Stage Matchday 1:
-Tue Apr 21
USA 5-0 Cuba - USA goals by Stefan Jerome, Sebastian Lletget, Luis Guil & Jack McInerney(2).
Honduras 1-1 Canada - Hon goal by Hector Matute. Can goal by Russell Teibert(PK).
-Match report on both games from CONCACAF

dN

USA Match Details:

Match report from US Soccer

Lineup:
G:
1-Earl Edwards
D:
4-Perry Kitchen
3-Tyler Polak
6-Jared Watts
2-Eriq Zavaleta
M:
5-Marlon Duran
10-Luis Gil
20-Sebastian Lletget
8-Alex Shinksy
F:
7-Stefan Jerome
9-Jack McInerney

Substitutes:
15-Carlos Martinez for Shinksy - 64
13-Joseph Gyau for Lletget - 70
19-Andrew Craven for Jerome - 75

Goals by - minute scored:
Stefan Jerome - 31
Jack McInerney - 34
Sebastian Lletget - 40
Jack McInerney - 48
Luis Gil - 63

Cards to - type - minute given:
Alex Shinsky - Yellow - 47