Some News for Tue Jul 21

STARTERS

While David Beckman may tell us all it's Sunshine, Puppies and Roses in LA, he tells the AC Milan website something slightly different: DAVID BECKHAM: "I hope to come back to Milan. They stayed in my heart and sincerely I am confident we can see each other again in November. The whistles of the American crowd? Incomprehensible." That does not come off as a commitment to MLS and the LA Galaxy to me. That says, "My heart is somewhere else, but I have a contract for a couple more months, and I will ride it out the best I can. Then I will blow this popsicle stand for the glory & beauty of Milano."

dN

Greg Seltzer at No Short Corners is reporting that Livorno in Italy is interested in Landon Donovan.

LAMAR HUNT US OPEN CUP

Semifinals Matches:
-Tue Jul 21
DC United v Rochester Rhinos - 6:30pm Central
Venue: Maryland Soccerplex - Boyds MD
Seattle Sounders v Houston Dynamo - 9pm Central
Venue: Starfire Sports Complex - Tukwila WA

dN

Jeff Diveronica of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle previews the Rhinos.

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The Washington Times Blog FC with a short preview of DC v Roch.

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The Washington Post previews DCU v RR, and gives us the scoop on DCU roster issues.

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The Seattle Post Intelligencer with an article previewing Seattle Sounder v Houston Dynamo tonight.

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Jose Miguel Romero of the Seattle Times does just the same.

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Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle with a brief preview of Seattle v Houston too.

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Final to be played on Sep 2.

TEAM USA GOLD CUP

The US squad lost yet another player yesterday as goalkeeper Luis Robles left to head off for preseason training with his team in Germany - Kaiserslautern.

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Ives Galarcep at Soccernet looks ahead to Honduras.

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FIFA.com paints Brian Ching as the leader of this particular USA squad.

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USMNT Official Blog

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Up Next - Semifinal Match:
-Thu Jul 23
USA v Honduras
Venue: Soldier Field - Chicago IL

MLS

New York Red Bull centerback Mike Petke writing for ESPN Soccernet tells us all about the Cirque du Beckman coming to town. Petke also tells how he feels about the MLS Disciplinary Committee?? "...the equivalent to listening to a Rod Stewart/Meatloaf mix tape on loop for a week straight."

dN

Kristian Dyer of ESPN Soccernet with an article on Chicago centerback Bakary Soumare who is having a second great season in a row, and needs some tips on dance moves.

THE BEX MELTDOWN

I want to start by saying that I think the fan who jumped on to the field to confront Bex was wrong. I personally know the feeling of anger toward the opposition at the matches, cuz I get carried away by it too, but the physical confrontation is going to far in my book.

dN

The self professed 17 year professional that is David Berkman told the media after the LA v AC Milan game that his confrontation in the corner of the field at half time was him "telling the fans to calm down." Well I hate to tell you this Dave, but this video clip clearing showing doing nothing of the sort - he is challenging fans to "come down" (watch the hand movements of Bex - quite obvious what is going on), and you don't see it but a guy does just that, jumps down out of the stands to confront Bex, then security tackles the guy, and low and behold Bex holds out his hand as if to shake hands and make peace. What is going on?

dN

Billy Witz of the NY Times talks to the guy who jumped down to accept Bex challenge, and others involved. The title of the article is interesting too: "The Unwelcome Mat Is Out for Beckham".

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Yahoo Sports with their version of what went down and the aftermath.

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Grahame Jones of the LA Times gets more reaction from LA fans on what went down. There is a photo with this article that amazingly shows a guy giving Bex the finger. I didn't think I would see that in a popular American newspaper anytime soon.

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Reuters gives a fairly sober view of the situation, and completely sees where the angry fans are coming from.

dN

So what does our main man in the great Los Angeles area think of this whole deal - Dan Loney Says It All. (And he wasn't even there!) Quick sample of what you are about to receive: "The Galaxy are a travelling circus, but Beckham isn't the strong man or the lion tamer anymore. He's the clown in the dunk tank."

dN

Yesterday in talking about the guy who jumped onto the field to take Bex challenge for a fight I wrote "The fan has been given a lifetime ban by his fellow fans", but I have been informed by several members of the LA Riot Squad that this is not true.

WORLD FOOTBALL CHALLENGE

Some of the worlds biggest clubs come to America for preseason training and exhibition matches.

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jul 21
Chelsea v Inter Milan
Venue: Rose Bowl - Pasadena CA
-Wed Jul 22
AC Milan v Club America
Venue: Georgia Dome - Atlanta GA

USL FIRST DIVISION

Our FIF (Friend In Futbol) Jeremy Olson captured the incident on film that cost Montreal's Sandro Grande his job - a report from the Montreal Gazette.

BLOGGING NEWS

Former LA Daily News writer Paul Oberjuerge has launched Countdown To South Africa, a look ahead to the next World Cup.

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Greg Lalas of Sports Illustrated feels the buzz of soccer growing before our eyes in America. Can you feel it? I know I can, or is it just that my beard itches?

dN

Do you want to build your small soccer team from the ground up? Why not follow the path set up by the great Peter Wilt and his club the Chicago Red Stars. I couldn't agree more. (Thanks for the heads up to John G)

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Mike Noorish of the Telegraph in England writes that the nasty vibes being sent David Beckham's way by US fans means we have arrived as a soccer nation.

US SOCCER NEWS

Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America on his MLS Confidential page tries to make heads and tails of the probable USA World Cup squad.

USA U17 TEAM

The USA U17 team is headed to Brazil for the Copa Macae.

dN

Group Stage Matches:
-Sat Jul 18
USA 2-1 Flamengo - USA goals by Jack McInerney & Luis Gil.
-Sun Jul 19
USA 1-0 Artsul - USA goal by Jack McInerney.
-Tue Jul 21
USA 4-0 Cidade do Sol - details tba

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Quarterfinal Match:
-Thu Jul 23
USA v Caxias

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Semifinals on Jul 25 and Finals on Jul 26.

USA U18 TEAM

The team has headed to Northern Ireland for the annual Milk Cup. Here is the game schedule and team roster:

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Matches:
-Mon Jul 27
USA v Denmark
-Wed Jul 29
USA v Germany
-Fri Jul 31
Placement Game (against team from other group - N Ireland, Bulgaria, Israel)

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Roster:
G:
Justin Luthy - Boston College - Dublin OH
Zachary MacMath - U Maryland - St Petersburg FL
D:
Chad Barson - U Akron - Lewis Center OH
Paolo Del Piccolo - U Louisville - Lakewood CO
Scott Prozeller - Harvard U - Sudbury MA
Jossimar Sanchez - U Connecticut - Patterson NJ
Kofi Sarkodie - U Akron - Huber Heights OH
Zarek Valentin - U Akron - Lancaster PA
M:
Dion Acoff - Arsenal FC - Upland CA
Jose Altamirano - San Diego State - San Diego CA
Miles Byass - Arsenal FC - Highland CA
Gregory Garza - Sporting CP - Grapevine TX
Nicholas Millington - Wake Forest U - Raleigh NC
Amobi Okugo - UCLA - Sacramento CA
Harrison Petts - Carmel United SC - Zionsville IN
F:
Will Bates - U Virginia - Chester VA
Ryan Finley - Duke U - Lumberton NJ
Hasani Sinclair - U South Florida - Coral Springs FL

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Greg Seltzer of Soccer 365 talks to Eric Hort [CORRECTED] about his brand new home with Hapoel Ra'anana in Israel.

dN

Mix Diskerud - Stabaek
UEFA Champions League - 2nd qualifying round
Second Leg
-Tue Jul 21
4-0 W v Tirana - Mix was on the bench but did not play as Stabaek advance 5-1 on aggregate.
-Next round they take on the winner of Kobenhavn-Mogren, which will be Kobenhavn because they hold a 6-0 lead from the first leg. Those games will be played Jul 28/29 & Aug 5/6.

CANADA

The Washington Post blog Soccer Insider talks to DC United & Canada centerback Dejan Jakovic about the just ended Gold Cup run by his country.

ENGLAND

The Observer talks to Michael Owen about his new chance for a return to glory at Manchester United.

dN

Portsmouth is now officially owned by Sulaiman al-Fahim of the United Arab Emirates.
-The National newspaper in the UAE with an article on the new owner.
-The team has also handed the keys to the company truck to interim manager Paul Hart.

EUROPE

Bayern Munich has paid 30 Million Euro for 24 year old forward Mario Gomez of Stuttgart. It doesn't sound to be like they think Luca Toni is their long term answer up top. The Bundesliga website has words from Gomez.

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Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune takes a look inside the possible swap of players - Samuel Eto'o of Barcelona for Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Inter Milan. I think this could be great for both teams.

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The preseason German tournament DFB Pokal gets underway on July 31.

SOUTH AMERICA

Tim Vickery of the BBC tells us about a little known Brazilian midfielder from 20 years ago named Cerezo, and compares him to Estudiantes' & Argentina's Juan Sebastian Veron who just led his team to the Copa Libertadores title.

AFRICA

FIFA.com with a profile article on one of my favorite players in the past 20 years - Moustafa Hadji of Morocco!

dN

Reuters reports that Nigeria is going to get much stricter on their previously loose "age" questions. Many have always thought they and other African countries have always been lax in checking out the true ages of their young players.

WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010

New Vision newspaper in Uganda warns South Africa not to try too hard impressing some people who will never be impressed no matter what you do. "The stories will only stop when the people who write them realize that you don't give a hoot what they think." Words to live by.

dN

Reuters reports that what was once expected to be a 2-3 Billion Rand investment for the country to bring the World Cup here, has turned into a 13 Billion Rand mess.