Sunday, August 30, 2009

Some News for Mon Aug 31, 2009

QUESTION

Should US Soccer have a Fans Representative on their World Cup Bid committee?

STARTERS

Congrats to the Richmond Kickers who won the USL Second Division Championship on Saturday night!

dN

Freddy Adu has been sent on loan from Benfinca to another Portuguese team Belenenses aka Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses.
-Here is Freddy's Twitter: "ok for those who dont know i just completed a 1 year loan move to Belenenses. And im excited to join the team tomorrow for training"
-Guess who the next opponent for his new team is? Yes, Benfinca!

TEAM USA

There are only 3 MLS games on the schedule this weekend, so that certainly helps with scheduling! That is a little better.

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The team began gathering in Utah on Sunday for next weekends game.

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Oguchi Onyewu will NOT play against El Salvador on Saturday due to Yellow Card accumulation. But check out how assinine the Yellow Card rule is: If you receive 2 Yellow Cards at any time during qualifying you will be suspended for 1 game. That's "ANY TIME", meaning he could have gotten one 15 months ago against Barbados, and then a second in Mexico City 2 weeks ago and be forced out now. That rule is beyond idiotic.

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Official team blog

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Matches & Scores:
-Sat Sep 5
USA v El Salvador
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy, UT
-Wed Sep 9
Trinidad & Tobago v USA
Venue: Hasley Crawford Stadium - Port of Spain, Trinidad

MLS

Official Web Site

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Week 24
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
Real Salt Lake 4-0 Chivas USA - RSL goals by Pablo Campos, Fabian Espindola & Robbie Findley(2).
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy UT
Attendance: 14,747
-Sat Aug 29
Seattle Sounders FC 0-0 Toronto FC
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
Attendance: 32,679
New England Revolution 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes - NER goals by Steve Ralston & Wells Thompson. SJE goal by Ramon Sanchez.
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA
Attendance: 7,286
Chicago Fire 0-1 DC United - DCU goal by Bryan Namoff.
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL
Attendance: 16,324
Kansas City Wizards 0-1 Real Salt Lake - RSL goal by Pablo Campos.
Venue: Community America Ballpark - Kansas City KS
Attendance: 9,924
Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 Chivas USA - LAG goal by David Beckham.
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Attendance: 27,000
-Sun Aug 30
Colorado Rapids 1-0 Houston Dynamo - CR goal by Julien Baudet.
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City CO
Attendance: 10,897
New York Red Bulls 1-0 Columbus Crew - NYRB goal by Dane Richards.
Venue: Giants Stadium - East Rutherford NJ
Attendance: 10,323

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EJECTIONS:
Ned Grabavoy - Salt Lake - Red Card
Maykel Galindo - Chivas USA - Red Card
Brad Davis - Houston - Red Card

dN

Real Salt Lake forward Pablo Campos has been named Player of the Week.
-Just 3 weeks ago he was a member of San Jose, and saw only occasional playing time, then he leaves and thrives. This can't help with the confidence in the management at San Jose.

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Both New England and Los Angeles are on a red hot streak right now (it would be fun to see them play this coming weekend), with NE going 5-1-1 (16 points) in their last 7 games, and LA 7-1-2 in their last 10 (23 points). Wow.

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After winning his first 2 games as head coach of New York Red Bulls, I think we can safely declare Interim head coach Richie Williams as a modern day Einstein.
-With that win the team now has 16 points and cannot be proclaimed the leagues Worst Team Ever. That honor still belongs to the 2001 Tampa Bay Mutiny who finished with just 14 points (and that was in the days when the league did not allow ties).

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Greg Lalas of Sports Illustrated even uses his column this week on the New York resurrection. But, this rise in quality is a mile to late, and everyone involved with this team should be embarrassed that they let it get so bad.

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Brian Lewis of the NY Post with lots of New York team notes following yesterday's surprising win. Maybe the biggest surprise of all is that centerback Andrew Boyens was a big reason they won!

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Chivas USA gave a debut to centerback Yamith Cuesta. He just got his work permit this week, aftering being acquired on loan Expreso Rojo of Colombia, where they currently play in Categoria Primera B.

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On Monday Dallas sent fullback/centerback Drew Moor to Colorado in exchange for fullback/centerback Ugo Ihemelu.

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Speaking of Dallas - midfielder Pablo Richetti who has sported the 80's bad metal band mullet has gone and done the hair equivalent of the Full Monty - the ultra buzz cut!

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Fox Sports has a video interview with Landon Donovan. He talks about the POSITIVES from the Beckman book.

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Gareth Wheeler of the Toronto Sun with an article on TFC's young Gambian midfielder Amadou Sanyang.

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The Denver Post tells us who that guy was that won the game for Colorado over Houston.

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Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe with an article on the season so far for New England midfielder Wells Thompson and the great goal scored on Saturday night.

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Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle with an article on the Dynamo Academy.

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Glenn Davis of the Chron on the importance of fan growth to MLS.

US OPEN CUP

The Final is this Wednesday. And the game between DC and Seattle has become a grudge match between dueling whining team Presidents.

USL NEWS

Inside Minnesota Soccer and Major League Soccer Talk have promised to give us all the insider dirt on the sale of the league. The claim going around is that the organization who won the bid were insiders that other bidders were not really aware of, and apparently neither were team owners already in the league.

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One very important thing to note here is that the league does not own the teams like in MLS. Each club in every division of USL is simply a franchise. So the "ownership" of the league is more about the name, and the management of direction and executive decision making.

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IMS reports that the league was sold to NuRock Holdings LLC.

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Official press release from the league.

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IMS reports that Jeff Cooper of St Louis, who has been trying to buy into MLS for several years now was said to be the top bidder and thought he had a deal to buy the league when it was sold out from under him.

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The Miami Herald reports that Miami FC may fold after the sale of the league because that teams owners, Traffic, were a failed bidder.

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IMS talks to USL Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Tim Holt.

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IMS ponders the future of the league.

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More articles are expected from IMS and MLST.

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In the meantime USLNEWS.com has an article stating that several clubs in the league First Division as "considering their options".

USL FIRST DIVISION

Official Web Site

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Portland, Carolina, Charleston & Puerto Rico have clinched playoff spots.

Cleveland is the first team eliminated from the playoffs.

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Matches & Scores:
-Thu Aug 27
Minnesota Thunder 3-0 Cleveland City Stars
-Fri Aug 28
Charleston Battery 0-0 Portland Timbers
-Sat Aug 29
Puerto Rico Islanders 3-1 Minnesota Thunder
Austin Aztex 1-0 Miami FC Blues
Vancouver Whitecaps 1-1 Rochester Rhinos
-Sun Aug 30
Montreal Impact 1-1 Carolina RailHawks

USL SECOND DIVISION

FINAL
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Aug 29
Richmond Kickers 3-1 Charlotte Eagles

USA U20 TEAM

Greg Seltzer at Soccer365 talks to Mix Diskerud of Stabaek in Norway who is set to play for the USA at the U20 World Cup later this month.

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Vincenzo Bernardo tell us via Twitter that he is no longer a Napoli: "thanks napoli for the wonderful experience. it was an honor to be part of a club like napoli. the fans will remain in my heart forever." He has to find a new home now.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Is DaMarcus Beasley going to get a new home today during the final few hours of the summer transfer window?
-Another bad signal for DMB at Rangers is that the team today signed outside midfielder Jerome Rothen on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.

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Game Action from last Friday:

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Kenny Cooper - 1860 Munich - went the full 90 but the game ended in a goalless draw at Ahlen.
David Yelldell - Koblenz - went the distance but lost 0-2 at home against Energie Cottbus.

NETHERLANDS - Erste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - played the entire game and drew 1-1 at home against Dordrecht 90.

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Weekend Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

DENMARK - Superliga
Benny Feilhaber - Aarhus - started and played 70 minutes as they won 0-2 at Norsdsjaelland.
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - played the whole game but lost 0-2 at home to Aarhus.
Jeremiah White - Aarhus - started and played 61 minutes as they won 0-2 at Norsdsjaelland.

ENGLAND - Premiership
Jozy Altidore - Hull City - came on as a sub in the 63rd inute of a 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - played the full 90 but they lost 2-0 at Aston Villa.
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - went the distance winning 2-0 over Fulham.
Tim Howard - Everton - played all 90 winning 2-1 at home over Wigan.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - made his season debut for the team coming on as a sub in the 76th minute, but they lost 2-0 at Aston Villa.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - went the distance in a scoreless draw on the road at Blackburn.

ENGLAND - Championship
Jay DeMerit - Watford - played all 90 drawing 1-1 at Swansea City.

ENGLAND - League One
Jemal Johnson - Milton Keynes - started and played 62 minutes as they won 1-2 at Exeter City.
Jon-Paul Pittman - Wycombe - came on as a sub in the 60th minute and scored the game winning goal as they beat Bristol Rovers 2-1 at home.

FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes - played the full 90 as they drew 2-2 at Lens.
Charlie Davies - Sochaux - started and played 85 minutes, drawing the penalty that led to the only goal as they won 1-0 at home over Monaco.

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - played the full 90 but lost 0-1 at home to Hoffenheim.

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Kenny Cooper - 1860 Munich - played the entire match but could only draw 0-0 at Rot Weiss Ahlen.
Matt Taylor - Frankfurt - came on as a sub in th 88th minute as they lost at Alemania Aachen 3-0.

NORWAY - Tippeligaen
Clarence Goodson - Start - played all 90, got a Yellow Card, and lost 0-1 at home against Brann.
Troy Perkins - Valerenga - went the full game and won 2-1 at home over Molde.

NORWAY - Adeccoligaen
Joe Lapira - Nybergsund - played all 90 but lost 4-1 at Sarpsborg

SWEDEN - Superettan
Ryan Miller - Ljungskile - went the full 90 but lost 2-1 at Vasby United.
Etchu Tabe - Ljungskile - played all 90, scored his teams only goal, but lost 2-1 at Vasby United.

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Coming Up:

NORWAY - Tippeligaen
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - Mon Aug 31 v Lillestrom
Tyrel Lacey - Lyn Oslo - Mon Aug 31 at Rosenborg

NORWAY - Adeccoligaen
Jay Needham - Alta - Tue Sep 1 at Kongsvinger

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - Mon Aug 31 v Gelfe
Ryan Raybould - Gelfe - Mon Aug 31 at Orebro

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Game Action: (only those who played are listed)

PRIMERA DIVISION
Edgar Castillo - UANL - went the full 90, scored the tying goal as they finished 2-2 at Santos Laguna.
Michael Orozco - San Luis - played the entirety of a scoreless draw at home with Puebla.
Jose Francisco Torres - Pachuca - went the distance as they drew 2-2 at Guadalajara.
Marco Vidal - Indios Juarez - played the full 90 but drew 1-1 at home against Atlas.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official Web Site, and video highlights from all the games.

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Luis Bueno at Sports Illustrated wonders what it will take for MLS teams to win games in Mexico in a tournament like this.

CONCACAF

World Cup qualifying matches coming up on Saturday:

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Sep 5
Costa Rica v Mexico
USA v El Salvador
Honduras v Trinidad & Tobago

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Current Standings after 6 of 10 matches:
12 Costa Rica (0 GD)
10 Honduras(+4 GD)
10 USA (+3 GD)
9 Mexico (-1 GD)
5 El Salvador (-2 GD)
5 Trinidad & Tobago (-4 GD)

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The USA has scored the most goals, and given up the second least.

ENGLAND

The Observer with an article on England's first black football players.

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The Observer also has an article on Wayne Rooney who England coach Fabio Capello says can become an elite player.

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John Terry of Chelsea has signed a new 5 year contract with the club that will keep him there through the 2013/14 season.

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The Guardian with 5 things learned from the EPL this past weekend.

SPAIN

The 6 Gazillion Dollar Men of Real Madrid beat a pretty weak Deportivo La Coruna 3-2 in their debut. It will be interesting to see if the two new centerbacks RM bought from Valencia & Racing Santander (Raul Albiol & Ezequiel Garay) get the job done, or if Pepe, Metzelder, Ramos etc get there old jobs back. I suppose Arbeloa could play in the middle too if need be.

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Sid Lowe of World Sport feels that La Liga is the one to watch this year. Why? Cuz one team went on an obscene spending spree?

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Lowe writing for the Guardian on the debut of the new Galacticos and the rest of round 1 in La Liga.

GERMANY

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian writes about the team now being jokingly referred to as the Baylacticos, and the rest of the weekend in the Bundesliga.

ITALY

Juve is in love with Diego. He has lead them to big wins 2 weeks in a row!

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How did Rino Gattuso not get a Red Card for hauling down Samuel Eto'o in the box on a break away in the Milan derby? The ref gave him Yellow, and Diego Milito slammed home the penalty. Justice was served minutes later when old slow Gattuso made an ugly tackle from behind that got him a 2nd Yellow and a well earned ejection.

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Susy Campanale of Football Italia calls Milan's loss a depressing disaster. She sees Pato as the band playing on the deck of the Titanic.

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Paolo Bandini of the Guardian on Inter's demolision job, and the rest of Serie A.

EUROPE

Andriy Shevchenko has finally left Chelsea to return to his first professional club Dynamo Kyiv. It's about time.

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

-Sat Aug 29
Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal - Arsenal outplayed the hosts for most of the games, but as one person said to me on Saturday, Manchester United scored the most goals and that's the only thing that counts. Fair enough.
Milan 0-4 Inter - I know I questioned Inter last weekend. Not this time around. They looked like they mean business.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Wolfsburg - Never count out Bayern. All they needed was a dose of Arjen Robben to blow the defending champs away. Can they keep this up?
-Sun Aug 30
Roma 1-3 Juventus - Juve declared that they are going to challenge for the title.

UEFA SUPER CUP

The winners of last seasons UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup faced off.

-Fri Aug 28
Barcelona 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk - Bar goal by Pedro Rodriquez in added extra time after regulation ended scoreless.

SOUTH AMERICA

FIFA.com does a Q & A with former Argentine great Diego Simeone, currently coaching San Lorenzo.

U17 WORLD CUP NIGERIA 2009

The Associated Press has a story saying FIFA will test players at this tournament with some sort of "bone test" to verify their age. I had no idea such a test exsisted. I can smell the lawsuits from all the way over here. Paging Dr Strangelove, paging Dr Strangelove. Please pick up the pychedelic colored courtesy phone.

ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Patrick Barclay of The Times of London tackles the topic of diving.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Some News for Fri Aug 28, 2009

STARTERS

Soccer By Ives Twitters: "Michael Bradley is suspended for today's Moenchengladbach's match after his reaction to being pulled at halftime last week."
-Is Michael Bradley a total psycho just waiting to explode or what? He seems to be getting worse.

USL SECOND DIVISION

FINAL
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Aug 29
Richmond Kickers v Charlotte Eagles - 10pm Central on FSC

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

-Sat Aug 29
Manchester United v Arsenal - 11:15am Central on FSC
Milan v Inter - 1:30pm Central on FSC
-Sun Aug 30
Roma v Juventus - 11am Central on FSC

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official Web Site, and video highlights from all the games.

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Group Stage - Matchday 2
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 25
Pachuca 5-0 Isidro Metapan
Saprissa 3-1 Puerto Rico Islanders
-Wed Aug 26
DC United 1-3 Toluca - DCU goal by Chris Pontius. Tol goals by Vladimir Marin & Hector Mancilla(2).
Cruz Azul 5-0 Columbus Crew - CA goals by Jaime Lozano(2), Ramon Nunez and Chad Marshall(2 OGs).
Arabe Unido 1-1 Houston Dynamo - AU goal by Orlando Rodriguez. HD goal by Kei Kamara.
Marathon 3-1 San Juan Jabloteh - Mar goals by Mario Berrios, Mauricio Sabillon & Walter Martinez. SJJ goal by Noel Williams(PK).
-Thu Aug 27
W Connection 1-2 Communicaciones - WC goal by Clyde Leon. Comm goals by Transito Montepeque & Rolando Fonseca(PK).
Real Espana 1-5 UNAM Pumas - RE goal by Douglas Mattoso. UNAM goals by Dante Lopez(3), Pablo Barrera & Jehu Chiapas.

MLS

Official Web Site

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Week 24
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
Real Salt Lake 4-0 Chivas USA - RSL goals by Pablo Campos, Fabian Espindola & Robbie Findley(2).
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy UT
Attendance: 14,747
-Sat Aug 29
Seattle Sounders FC v Toronto FC - 3pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
New England Revolution v San Jose Earthquakes - 6:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA
Chicago Fire v DC United - 7:30pm Central on FSC & FSE
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL
Kansas City Wizards v Real Salt Lake - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Community America Ballpark - Kansas City KS
Los Angeles Galaxy v Chivas USA - 10pm Central on ESPN2 & ESPN Deportes
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
-Sun Aug 30
Colorado Rapids v Houston Dynamo - 2pm Central on Telefutura
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City CO
New York Red Bulls v Columbus Crew - 5pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Giants Stadium - East Rutherford NJ

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Kartik Krishnaiyer of Major League Soccer Talk has a new podcast this week featuring an interview with Kansas City Wizards Technical Director and interim Head Coach Peter Vermes. Does he answer the question of why coach Curt Onalfo was fired? Download or listen here.

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Brian Lewis of the NY Post says Red Bulls coach Richie Williams is demanding accountability from his players. I guess this is a new concept for this team.
-And several other team notes of note.

MLS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

These are the players I think are the top candidates for a very overrated post season award.

Top Rung:
1. Chris Pontius
2. Omar Gonzalez
3. Darrius Barnes
4. AJ DeLaGarza
- - - -
Next Batch:
5. Steve Zakuani
6. Sam Cronin
7. Kevin Alston
8. Rodney Wallace
9. Stefan Frei
- - - -
Outside Chance:
10. Jeremy Hall
11. Pablo Campos

MLS NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

These are the players (listed alphabetically) that I think are the top candidates for a pretty decent post season award, as awards go.

Osvaldo Alonso
Gregg Berhalter
Eric Brunner
David Ferreira
Cornell Glen
Andrew Hainault
Santiago Hirsig
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado
Dejan Jakovic
Kasey Keller
Eduardo Lillingston
Freddie Ljungberg
Fredy Montero
Emmanuel Osei
Alfredo Pacheco
Mariano Trujillo
Pablo Vitti

MLS EXHIBITIONS

Just announced:

The ChivaClasico
-Wed Sep 23
Chivas USA v Guadalajara Chivas
Venue: Rose Bowl Stadium - Pasadena CA

US OPEN CUP

The Final is next Wednesday.

USL FIRST DIVISION

Official Web Site

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My Minnesota Thunder got a badly needed win last night 3-0 over toothless Cleveland. (Although slagging Cleveland while being a Minnesota fan is about as classy as making out with your neighbors dog - They have 3 wins on the season, and 2 of them are against us!). This leaves Minnesota 9 points out of the last playoff spot with 6 games to go. Odds are very poor, but it's not over yet.

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Matches & Scores:
-Thu Aug 27
Minnesota Thunder 3-0 Cleveland City Stars
-Fri Aug 28
Charleston Battery v Portland Timbers
-Sat Aug 29
Puerto Rico Islanders v Minnesota Thunder
Austin Aztex v Miami FC Blues
Vancouver Whitecaps v Rochester Rhinos
-Sun Aug 30
Montreal Impact v Carolina RailHawks

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Twitter from Vincenzo Bernardo: "Probably not going on loan either guys. I'll know the final update by monday."

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Fulham, without Clint Dempsey or Eddie Johnson playing, and Tim Howard & Everton advanced to the Group Stage of the Europa League.

While Mikkel Diskerud & Stabaek, Brad Guzan and Brad Friedel (on the bench) & Aston Villa, and Ryan Guy & St Patrick's Athletic were eliminated from the same tournament.

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Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

EUROPA LEAGUE - Playoff Round 2nd Leg
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - played the full 90 but lost 4-1 at Valencia, and was eliminated 7-1 on aggregate.
Ryan Guy - St Patrick's Athletic - went all 90 but lost 1-2 at home against Steaua Bucuresti, and were eliminated 5-1 on aggregate.
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - went the distance in goal winning 2-1 at home over Rapid Vienna, but were eliminated on the away goals tied breaker after the series ended tied 2-2 on aggregate.
Tim Howard - Everton - played the whole match drawing 1-1 at Sigma Olomouc, and advancing on a 5-1 aggregate score.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official Web Site

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Official Web Site

UEFA SUPER CUP

The winners of last seasons UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup face off.

Match & Score:
-Fri Aug 28
Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk - at Stade Louis II in Monaco

USA U20 World Cup Roster Is Announced

The 2009 U20 World Cup is being played in Egypt.

The USA play their first Group Stage game on Sat Sep 26 v Germany

Here is the USA roster:

G
Sean Johnson - Central Florida
Josh Lambo - FC Dallas
Brian Perk - UCLA
D
Gale Agbossoumonde - Miami FC Blues
Kyle Davies - FC Dallas
Aaron Maund - Notre Dame
Ike Opara - Wake Forest
Anthony Wallace - FC Dallas
Sheanon Williams - No Club
M
Danny Cruz - Houston Dynamo
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek
Dilly Duka - No Club
Jorge Flores - Chivas USA
Jared Jeffrey - Club Brugge
Brian Ownby - Virginia
Dillon Powers - Notre Dame
Michael Stephens - UCLA
F
Sam Garza - Denver
Peri Marosevic - FC Dallas
Brek Shea - FC Dallas
Tony Taylor - Jacksonville

USA Group Stage Schedule
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Sep 26
USA v Germany
-Tue Sep 29
USA v Cameroon
-Fri Oct 2
USA v South Korea

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Some News for Thu Aug 27

STARTERS

An little-known company called NuRock Soccer Holdings has purchased the USL from Nike. Here is the official announcement from the league. For those who don't know, USL is the predominant "minor league" soccer structure in America, consisting of among other things the 2nd, 3rd & 4th divisions of mens soccer. Nike and their subsidiary Umbro will continue as league sponsors.

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Last night in USL First Division action Carolina crushed Miami 9-0. Now that is embarrassing.

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Speaking of bad situations - the referee let the Arabe v Houston Champions League game get so out of hand last night that 5 Red Cards were handed out, then the fans in Panama pelted the field with debris, and the power at the stadium went out twice. What a joke. But then again Jack Warner is the head of CONCACAF so what do you expect but third rate.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official Web Site, and video highlights from all the games.

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Group Stage - Matchday 2
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
DC United 1-3 Toluca - DCU goal by Chris Pontius. Tol goals by Vladimir Marin & Hector Mancilla(2).
Match report from CONCACAF.
Cruz Azul 5-0 Columbus Crew - CA goals by Jaime Lozano(2), Ramon Nunez and Chad Marshall(2 OGs).
Match report from CONCACAF.
Arabe Unido 1-1 Houston Dynamo - AU goal by Orlando Rodriguez. HD goal by Kei Kamara.
Match report from CONCACAF.
Marathon 3-1 San Juan Jabloteh - Mar goals by Mario Berrios, Mauricio Sabillon & Walter Martinez. SJJ goal by Noel Williams(PK).
Match report from CONCACAF.
-Thu Aug 27
W Connection v Communicaciones
Real Espana v UNAM Pumas

dN

Here's a real fiasco for ya: Houston had a lead on the road going into stoppage time, but gave up a goal, then mysteriously the power went out at the stadium and the home side Arabe Unido salvaged a point from the match. Houston also saw Red Cards handed out to Corey Ashe (straight Red - from watching the highlights he appears to have been sent off for landing on a player who slid under him as he crossed the ball!), Andrew Hainault (2 Yellows) & Stuart Holden (2 Yellows both within 1 minute for abusive language) down in Panama, while 2 Arabe players were also ejected.

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The fiasco in the other two games with MLS teams was simply the performance of those teams. DC again melted down on defense and lost by a 3-1 score, this time at home(!), while Columbus traveled to Mexico City and got blitzed 5-0 with their regular starters in the game an Chad Marshall netting not 1 but 2 own goals!! Ramon Nunez, formerly of FC Dallas, led the charge for the Cementmen.

MLS

Official Web Site

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Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
Real Salt Lake 4-0 Chivas USA - RSL goals by Pablo Campos, Fabian Espindola & Robbie Findley(2).
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy UT
Attendance: 14,747
Match report by Michael C Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune.
Match report by James Edward of Deseret News.

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With their big win last night Salt Lake turned things around a bit and get into a playoff spot for the first time in a very long time.

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Michael C Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune with an article on RSL fullback Anthony Beltran. (published before yesterday's game)

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Lewis on the SLT blog with thoughts on new RSL striker Pablo Campos.

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Lewis also had this funny note on last nights game:
Strange look
For the first time, RSL wore the unusual combination of white tops with blue shorts.
The reason?
Team officials said the referees thought the dark blue Chivas road jerseys too easily could be mistaken for the blue on the sleeves of the RSL home uniforms. But Chivas had not brought any other uniforms, so RSL had to change.
"It was a league error, so I'm expecting a check from them," coach Jason Kreis joked, referring to his numerous fines. "We make errors, we're always sending checks their way. I'm expecting a check in return."


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James Edward of the Deseret News with an article on the teams new forward Pablo Campos.

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Nick Firchau of Chicago's Southtown Star and Orrin Schwarz of Chicago's Daily Herald on the falling out and departure of Fire centerback Soumary Bakary. After a big blowout wit coach Denis Hamlett he has been sold to French club Boulogne.

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Paul Gardner of Soccer America with an editorial on Ivan Gazidis, the former #2 at MLS who is now the main man at Arsenal in England. Gazidis even gets to say a couple of words. But only a couple.

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John Molinaro of the CBC with an article on Toronto centerhack Nick Garcia who is pushing toward the playoffs. He isn't the answer to their defensive woes.

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Molinaro always wonders, where has Danny Dichio's playing time gone?
-Molinaro also posted this Twitter on Aug 25: "just got back from TFC practice where I was chewed out in private for 5 min by Cummins over Dichio. Is there more to this saga? I think so."

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Kristian Dyer of ESPN Soccernet with an article on the comeback season for goalkeeper Zach Thornton at Chivas USA. I even had to stop calling him Snacks Thornton.

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TV comedy writer & producer Peter Mehlman does a video interview with Landon Donovan. Honestly though, it's not that great of an interview. It's more about Mehlman trying to be odd/clever, and he comes off as close to neither.

USL FIRST DIVISION

Official Web Site

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Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
Carolina RailHawks 9-0 Miami FC Blues
-Thu Aug 27
Minnesota Thunder v Cleveland City Stars
-Fri Aug 28
Charleston Battery v Portland Timbers

USA U20 TEAM

FIFA.com with an article on USA coach Thomas Rongen as he prepares his team for the World Cup.

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-The tournament begins in 1 month from Egypt.

MEXICO

The 2 starting forwards for Puebla last weekend were Carlos Ruiz and Jared Borgetti!

SPAIN

ESPN Soccernet does a Q & A with new Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.

GERMANY

Reuters reports that Bayern Munich is going to give away free beer to fans this weekend to help soothe the pain from the team worst start to a season in 43 years. But what if they lose again. Won't this just makes the fans more insane?
-I will say again that I believe the coach and players are not the main problem at Bayern. It's the Honchos who are in charge. There are too many of them, all with huge egos, all sending their own seperate messages. Clusterfuck is the word I would use to describe the mess.

ITALY

Inter has bought Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder from Real Madrid.

EUROPE

UEFA handed out their awards for best players of the past season today. Here are the winners
-Player of the Year: Lionel Messi - Barcelona
-Goalkeeper of the Year: Edwin Van Der Sar - Manchester United
-Defender of the Year: John Terry - Chelsea
-Midfielder of the Year: Xavi Hernandez - Barcelona
-Forward of the Year: Lionel Messi - Barcelona

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official Web Site

dN

The Group Stage draw took place today. Here are the results:

Group A
Bayern Munchen
Juventus
Bordeaux
Maccabi Haifa
Group B
Manchester United
CSKA Moskva
Besiktas
Wolfsburg
Group C
AC Milan
Real Madrid
Olympique Marseille
Zurich
Group D
Chelsea
Porto
Atletico Madrid
APOEL
Group E
Liverpool
Olympique Lyonnais
Fiorentina
Debrecen
Group F
Barcelona
Internazionale Milan
Dynamo Kyiv
Rubin Kazan
Group G
Sevilla
Rangers
Stuttgart
Unirea Urziceni
Group H
Arsenal
AZ Alkmaar
Olympiacos
Standard Liege

dN

So which one is the group of death? Isn't that always the appropriate question?

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Official Web Site

dN

Reuters with an article on UEFA's plan to test out having 5 field referees (the 2 extras will be stationed near the goals) during group stage matches. UEFA Pres Michel Platini has said he thinks it will be a revolutionary move.

USA 24 Player Training Roster For Upcoming World Cup Qualifying Games

Here is the USA 24 player training roster for the 2 World Cup qualifying games against El Salvador at home on Sat Sep 5 and away to Trinidad & Tobago on Wed Sep 9.

G:
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa
Tim Howard - Everton
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes
Jonathan Bornstein - Chivas USA
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Jay DeMerit - Watford
Clarence Goodson - Start
Chad Marshall - Columbus Crew
Oguchi Onyewu - Milan
Jonathan Spector - West Ham
M:
Kyle Beckerman - Real Salt Lake
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach
Ricardo Clark - Houston Dynamo
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Landon Donovan - Los Angeles Galaxy
Benny Feilhaber - Aarhus
Stuart Holden - Houston Dynamo
Robbie Rogers - Columbus Crew
Jose Francisco Torres - Pachuca
F:
Jozy Altidore - Hull
Conor Casey - Colorado Rapids
Brian Ching - Houston Dynamo
Charlie Davies - Sochaux
Robbie Findley - Real Salt Lake


Any surprises here? Any disappointments? Anyone left out?

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

A Few Flakes Of News for Wed Aug 26, 2009

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official web site

dN

American Jose Fransisco Torres and his team Pachuca had a much better time on Matchday 2 (Tuesday) beating Metapan 5-0.

dN

Group Stage - Matchday 2
Some Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
DC United v Toluca - 7pm Central on FSC & Telefutura
Cruz Azul v Columbus Crew - 9pm Central on FSC & Telefutura
Arabe Unido v Houston Dynamo - broadcast delayed to Thursday at 7pm Central on FSC

MLS

Official League Web Site

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
Real Salt Lake v Chivas USA - 9pm Central on Direct Kick

dN

I made a guest appearance this week on the excellent podcast United Mania. Martin, Chris & Mike talk about their beloved DC United every episode, but they are also well versed in all things MLS and USA. So they had me on to talk about my trip to Mexico City, the Mexico v USA game, and World Cup qualifying. It was a blast. Download or listen here.

dN

Shalrie Joseph of New England became and USA citizen - congrats to him, and Luciano Emilio of DC got his green card.

MLS EXPANSION

The Vancouver Province with an article about possible stadium trouble in Vancouver. Not what you want to hear about right now. (thanks to BR for this link)

USL FIRST DIVISION

Beau Dure of USA Today with an article on the Portland Timbers, their 23 games unbeaten run, the Timbers Army, and a look ahead to a move up to MLS. (But don't get me started on their head coach.)

dN

Official Web Site

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Pitch Invasion has it's second article from Peter Wilt in which he discusses Customer Service. Almost every American soccer organization I have ever dealt with could use a massive upgrade in this department.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Jozy Jozy Jozy! He got his first start for Hull and it all came up roses. He nabbed his first goal, and it was the game winner.

dN

Jonathan Spector was on the field for West Ham against in ugly mess with fans trying to kill each over. It would be very interesting to hear what he has to say about it all.

dN

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

ENGLAND - League Cup 2nd Round
Jozy Altidore - Hull City - played the full 90, scoring the winning goal as they beat Southend United at home 3-1.
Mike Grella - Leeds - started and played 83 minutes as they won 2-1 at home over Watford.
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton - got his shot in goal, taking the game scoreless through extra time, got himself a Yellow Card for time wasting, then won it 6-5 on PK's over Swindon Town.
Frank Simek - Sheffield Wednesday - went the distance but they lost 2-0 at Port Vale.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - played the entire game as they won 3-1 over Millwall.

EUROPA LEAGUE - Playoff Round 2nd Leg
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Thu Aug 27 at Amkar Perm (3-1)
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - Thu Aug 27 at Valencia (0-3)
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - Thu Aug 27 v Rapid Vienna (0-1)
Ryan Guy - St Patrick's Athletic - Thu Aug 27 v Steaua Bucuresti (0-3)
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - Thu Aug 27 v Rapid Vienna (0-1)
Tim Howard - Everton - Thu Aug 27 at Sigma Olomouc (4-0)
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - Thu Aug 27 at Amkar Perm (3-1)

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - Group Stage Matchday 2
Jose Fransisco Torres - Pachuca - played the full 90 as they beat Metapan 5-0 at home.

MEXICO

There's a pretty cool exhibition game for those of us in the midwestern USA to check out: Guadalajara v America in Kansas City on Wed Sep 16! Oh yeah. Love to see the big kids beat each other up even if it doesn't count in the standings. Plus it's my brother's birthday, hard to top that combo.

ENGLAND

Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail writes about an old fashioned ugly scene last night in London with Millwall and West Ham fans trying to kill each other and the game.

Dominic Fifield of the Guardian on the mess too.

The Guardian also has an article from a West Ham fan who is completely embarrassed by his fellow supporters.

SPAIN

Sid Lowe of the Guardian gives us a preview of La Liga for 09/10. And there is even more to life than Real Madrid. Barely.

ITALY

Kevin McCarra of the Guardian with an article on Inter, Samuel Eto'o and the their hopes of big success in the Champions League this season.

EUROPE

After several months hemming and hawing Pavel Nedved has finally announced that this playing days are over.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official web site

By winning their Play-off Round series this week Olympiacos, APOEL, Arsenal, Stuttgart, Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid, Debreceni, Lyon, Maccabi Haifa and Zurich join 22 pre-ordained teams in the group stage that begins on Sep 15. The draw for those groups will be held Thu Aug 27 in Nyon, Switzerland.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Some News for Tue Aug 25, 2009

STARTERS

Two of the USA's brightest young prospects are headed for Germany. Justin Rodriquez of ESPN Soccernet reports that both Charles Renken and Joseph Gyau of the USA U17 Residency Program have signed with Hoffenheim. The German club also has a connection to the Vancouver Whitecaps (this is breaking news to me as well) and the players will see some of their time spent in BC at the residency program there as well as with the senior team in Germany.

dN

Jozy Altidore slammed home the game winner as Hull City advance in the Carling Cup 3-1 over Southend United. Fans on SkySports rated Jozy's performance a 9.4 out of 10, with his next highest teammate getting an 8.0!

dN

This is pretty ugly stuff: A Dallas fan from day 1 has written a letter to the team telling them to stuff it. He is tired of their 2nd or 3rd rate organization doing nothing at all to make a better team, or take care of their customers. He is right on the money. (A commenter took it all one step better and proposed ways to make the team better, not just complain.)
-Thanks to Tom at Pitch Invasion for the heads up!

dN

And in my opinion there are 2 more MLS team owners beyond the Hunts who are only paying lip service to their fans. Yeah, I am talking about you New England and Colorado. It's a joke.

dN

Kenny Cooper nabs his 2nd goal for 1860! Great start to his German career for Frankencooper.

dN

Twitter from Fulham Football Club (in Russia for Europa League game against Amkar Perm on Thursday): FFC has arrived in Perm to an interesting welcome party including fifteen grim reapers and a banner of coffins and AJ in a grave. Nice.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The official web site of the tournament for all the up to date standings and game schedules.

dN

All 3 MLS teams play on Wednesday night this week:

Group Stage - Matchday 2
Some Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
DC United v Toluca - 7pm Central on FSC & Telefutura
Cruz Azul v Columbus Crew - 9pm Central on FSC & Telefutura
Arabe Unido v Houston Dynamo - broadcast delayed to Thursday at 7pm Central on FSC

MLS

Official League Web Site

dN

Paul Oberjurge is one of Landon Donovan's most trusted journalistic contacts and asked LD about the rumors of him going to Paris St Germain to which LD says "No comment." That says a lot. Great stuff here, including a good look at exactly what kind of team PSG is these days.

dN

Kheli Dube was named Player Of The Week. No surprise when you bag 3 goals.

dN

My friend Pat sent me an email today reminding me of the sheer idiocy of Chicago Fire centerback Dasan Robinson - last weekend he scored the winning goal in stoppage time then ripped off his shirt in celebration, but the shirt removal gets you a free Yellow Card, and seeing as he already had one card he saw Red and will miss next weeks game. Was it worth it buddy?? I bet your coach and teammates don't think so! Dasan Robinson = Big Dummy. If you ran the team, how much would you fine the player for that move?

dN

Nick Green of the Daily Breeze looks ahead to Saturday's big LA derby.

dN

Boulogne looks to be the team that will buy Chicago Fire centerback Bakary Soumare. But the deal is not done, so don't hold your breathe.

dN

The Washington Post blog Soccer Insider with the story on DC attacker Boyzzz Khumalo who had surgery on his wrist, and nearly found out too late that he got a nasty infection. What a story!

dN

The Post also has an article on the illness of DC coach Tom Soehn, which was NOT swine flu. It was also NOT llama flu, bird flu or goatfucker flu either.

dN

Steve Davis at MLSnet gives us a good look at the not so obvious things from the past weekends games. He focuses on the teams with strong defense.

dN

Dylan Butler at MLSnet gives a great rundown of all the players that MLS teams have signed during the summer transfer window, and there have been a lot of them. Very cool to see. And the window is not shut in some places yet.

dN

Michael C Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune wonders if the end is near for Real Salt Lake this season.
-Lewis also reports that things between the team and forward Yura Movsisyan have gotten cloudy.

dN

John Molinaro of the CBC feels its time for referee's to put a stop to the "clutching, grabbing" that goes on during the games.

dN

Molinaro also writes about what Toronto FC needs to accomplish to make the playoffs this year, with quotes from coach Chris Cummins. The team currently sits on 30 points, and the first spot out of the playoffs.

dN

Ives Galarcep of ESPN Soccernet looks at the disaster that we know as Red Bull New York.

dN

Galarcep over at Soccer By Ives does a Q & A with Red Bulls honcho Erik Stover.

dN

And Metrofanatic gives us the eloquent: A Requiem for Osorio.

dN

Big Apple Soccer with words from New York's Kevin Goldthwaite who was excited about his team finally winning, but upset about getting a Red Card.

MLS TOP GOAL SCORERS

11 Conor Casey
10 Fredy Montero
10 Landon Donovan
10 Guillermo Barros Schelotto
9 Jeff Cunningham
9 Dwayne De Rosario
9 Juan Pablo Angel

USL FIRST DIVISION

Official Web Site

dN

Jack Bell of the New York Times gives us some info on the sale of the USL, and any involvement from MLS.

dN

Vancouver forward Charles Gbeke has been named the league's Player Of The Week.

dN

USL First Division Team of the Week:
G:
Hunter Gilstrap - Cleveland - Three saves in 1-0 win over Minnesota
D:
Jeremy Tolleson - Carolina - Led team in 0-0 draw at Rochester
Cedric Joqueviel - Montreal - Led team in 2-0 win over Austin
Takashi Hirano - Vancouver - Led team in draw and win
M:
Ian Fuller - Charleston - Goal in 1-1 draw against Vancouver
Nano Short - Rochester - Goal in 3-3 draw against Minnesota
Jason Hotchkin - Cleveland - Goal, assist in win and loss
Jeremiah Bass - Minnesota - Goal in 3-3 draw at Rochester
F:
Peter Byers - Montreal - Two goals in pair of wins
Charles Gbeke - Vancouver - Three goals in win and draw
Mandjou Keita - Portland - Two goals, assist in 3-1 win over Miami

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Ollie Irish of Premier League Tales writes about the end of the Steven Cohen era of soccer radio in America.

US SOCCER NEWS

Justin Rodriquez of ESPN Soccernet tracks down the members of the 2003 USA U17 squad to see where they are now. (I enjoy these articles)

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Yanks Abroad talks to Connor Tobin of Nybergsund in Norway's 2nd tier.

dN

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

ENGLAND - Premiership
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - went the distance and got a big 1-3 win at Liverpool.

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Kenny Cooper - 1860 Munich - started and played 74 minutes, scoring his teams only goal, but they lost at home 1-3 to Karlsruhe.

NETHERLANDS - Erste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - played the full match as they won 3-1 at home over Excelsior. After 4 games they are in 2nd place.

dN

Coming Up:

ENGLAND - League Cup 2nd round
Jozy Altidore - Hull City - Tue Aug 25 v Southend United
Jay DeMerit - Watford - Tue Aug 25 at Leeds
Mike Grella - Leeds - Tue Aug 25 v Watford
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton - Tue Aug 25 v Swindon Town
Ian Joyce - Southend United - Tue Aug 25 at Hull City
Frank Simek - Sheffield Wednesday - Tue Aug 25 at Port Vale
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - Tue Aug 25 v Millwall

EUROPA LEAGUE - Playoff Round 2nd Leg
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Thu Aug 27 at Amkar Perm (3-1)
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - Thu Aug 27 at Valencia (0-3)
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - Thu Aug 27 v Rapid Vienna (0-1)
Ryan Guy - St Patrick's Athletic - Thu Aug 27 v Steaua Bucuresti (0-3)
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - Thu Aug 27 v Rapid Vienna (0-1)
Tim Howard - Everton - Thu Aug 27 at Sigma Olomouc (4-0)
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - Thu Aug 27 at Amkar Perm (3-1)

CONCACAF

El Salvador has announced their initial 22 player roster for the game on Sep 5 in Salt Lake City against the USA. Only 18 will make the game day roster.
G:
Miguel Montes - Aguila
Dagoberto Portillo - Alianza
D:
Alex Escobar - Metapan
Ramon Flores - FAS
Marvin Gonzalez - FAS
Mardoqueo Henriquez - FAS
Luis Miguel Hernandez - Aguila
Alfredo Pacheco - New York
Manuel Salazar - Firpo
Victor Turcios - Firpo
Deris Ariel Umanzor - Aguila
M:
Denis Alas - Firpo
Arturo Alvarez - San Jose
Salvador Coreas - Municipal Limeno
Juan Carlos Moscoso - FAS
Eliseo Quintanilla - Ermis Aradippou
Osael Romero - Vista Hermosa
Ramon Sanchez - San Jose
F:
Rudis Corrales - Aguila
William Reyes - FAS
Rodolfo Zelaya - Leon

ENGLAND

The first big Premiership derby of the season is this weekend as Manchester United host Arsenal on Sat Aug 29 at 11:15am Central on FSC.

EUROPE

The first big European derby of the season is this weekend as Milan host Inter on Sat Aug 29 at 1:30pm Central on FSC!

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official web site for all match and tourney info. Playoff Round 2nd leg matches on Tue & Wed this week.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

UEFA has given Dinamo Bucharest a 0-3 home forfeiture defeat against Slovan Liberec stemming from a match last week in which fans rioted in the stands and tried to storm the field. They will also play their next 2 home European matches in an empty stadium. There is also a stipulation for further punishment if they have any more problems in the next two years.

ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian on "the diamond midfield."

Monday, August 24, 2009

Some News for Mon Aug 24, 2009

STARTERS

Huge congrats to Sky Blue FC on winning the first ever WPS championship!

dN

Who was that corpse calling the game for Colorado yesterday??? He barely registered a wavelength when their team scored 2 goals to go ahead on the road in Chicago. What the hell was that? And then they gave up three to the home team, including the game loser in stoppage time and he was only slightly more animated. Someone get this guy a cattle prod!

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The Group Stage is underway! Here is the official web site of the tournament for all the up to date standings and game schedules.

dN

All 3 MLS teams play on Wednesday night this week:

dN

Matchday 2
Some Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 26
DC United v Toluca - 7pm Central on FSC & Telefutura
Cruz Azul v Columbus Crew - 9pm Central on FSC & Telefutura
Arabe Unido v Houston Dynamo - broadcast delayed to Thursday at 7pm Central on FSC

MLS

Official Web Site

dN

Well, I'll be Jimmy Jingled! Osorio goes out the door in New York, and the Ankle Biting Midget Of Death himself Richie Williams takes over leading the team to their first win in what seems like since last seasons semifinals. Holy Smokes! Who knew it would be this easy?

dN

Beyond that shocker there were two other interesting outcomes from the weekend:
-Colorado was up 0-2 at Chicago in the second half and managed to choke away all three points with Dasan Robinson scoring in stoppage time for a Fire win.
-Kheli Dube nabbed 3 goals for New England, no doubt he will be named the leagues Player of the Week, and they beat Salt Lake 3-1, whose only score came from a Darius Barnes own goal.

dN

New signings Jesus Padilla and Maicon Santos debuted for Chivas USA, who saw Sacha Kljestan play great for the first time all season long, and they beat Toronto going away.

dN

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated compares David Beckham to Dennis Rodman. Yes!

dN

Luis Bueno at Sports Illustrated looks at the arrival of Jesus Padilla at Chivas USA.

dN

I have seen more than one publication says that Los Angeles coach Bruce Arena is the easy winner of the Coach of the Year Award. But I beg to differ. How can you discount what Sigi Schmid has done with newcomers Seattle. Then you have Robert Warzycha not missing a beat in Columbus, and Dominic Kinnear keeping Houston at the top of pile even after losing their best player Dwayne DeRosario to Toronto, and most of their back line to injury. So there's 3 other top choices.

USL SECOND DIVISION

The Playoffs
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Aug 22
Richmond Kickers 1-0 Harrisburg City Islanders
Wilmington Hammerheads 0-1 Charlotte Eagles
-Sat Aug 29
Richmond Kickers v Charlotte Eagles - 10pm Central on FSC

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Sport Hull on Jozy Altidore's frustration while he was waiting for his work permit, and then the dramatic start to his career in England at Hull City.

Martin Rogers of Yahoo says to succeed in England Jozy Altidore is going to have to learn how to bring his best every single week.

The Guardian on Jozy's excellent debut for Hull.

The Daily Mail says Jozy did it in borrowed shoes.

dN

Jonathan Spector went the full 90 for West Ham at left fullback. This could be a great thing if that position works out for him. The USA needs a left back desperately.

dN

Oguchi Onyewu started the season on the bench at AC Milan (they won 1-2 at Siena) behind centerbacks Alessandro Nesta & Thiaquinho, who the team bought from Vasco da Gama in the summer. In all the season previews I read from Itayl Onyewu was barely mentioned while a healthy Nesta & Thia got lots of talk. Even Kakha Kaladze was mentioned more than Gooch, putting our boy essentially 4th on the depth chart at the centerback spot. Not good. But honestly, who didn't see this coming? Let's hope he is up for the task and wins a starting job soon.

dN

Michael Parkhurst was booked again this weekend for Nordsjaelland, which probably gives him more cards in his short stint in Denmark, then his entire career in MLS, in which I believe he got 1 Yellow total.

dN

Greg Seltzer of No Short Corners gives us his insider info on potential moves for the likes of Landon Donovan etc.

dN

Soccer 365 suggests that FC Dallas is chasing after Heath Pearce. It's better than nothing.

dN

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

DENMARK - Superliga
Dan Califf - Midtjylland - played the full game but lost 1-4 at home to Copenhagen.
Benny Feilhaber - Aarhus - started and went 71 minutes in a 2-2 home draw against Silkeborg.
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - played the entire match, getting a Yellow Card, and losing 1-0 at Sonderjyske.
Jeremiah White - Aarhus - started and went 60 minutes in a 2-2 home draw against Silkeborg.

ENGLAND - Premiership
Jozy Altidore - Hull City - came on as a sub in the 60th minute and immediately set up the games only goal as they won 1-0 over Bolton Wanderers at home.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the full match but lost 0-2 at home to Chelsea.
Tim Howard - Everton - went the distance but lost 1-0 at Burnley.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - played the entire match but lost 1-2 at home to Tottenham Hotspur.

ENGLAND - Championship
Jay DeMerit - Watford - went the distance in a 2-2 home draw against Blackpool.

ENGLAND - League One
Mike Grella - Leeds - came on as a sub in the 84th minute as they won 3-0 at home against Tranmere Rovers.
Jemal Johnson - Milton Keynes - started and went 81 minutes in a 2-1 home win over Colchester United.
Jon-Paul Pittman - Wycombe - played the entire game and scored his teams first goal, but they lost 5-2 at Norwich City.

FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes - went the distance as usual but they could only draw 1-1 at home against Olympique Marseille.
Charlie Davies - Sochaux - started and played 71 minutes but they lost 2-0 at Montpellier.

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach - started but only lasted the first half, claiming a Yellow Card too, as they lost 3-0 at Werder Bremen.
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - played the whole game as they went to Nurnberg and won 0-2.

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
David Yelldell - Koblenz - went the full 90 but lost 1-0 at Furtuna Dusseldorf.

IRELAND - Premier Division
Ryan Guy - St Patrick's Athletic - played all 90 but lost 1-0 at Derry City.

NETHERLANDS - Erste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - played all 90 at they won 1-4 on the road at Stormvogels

NORWAY - Tippeligaen
Hunter Freeman - Start - played the full match, got a Yellow Card, and lost 4-1 at Lyn Oslo.
Clarence Goodson - Start - played the entire game but lost 4-1 at Lyn Oslo.
Tyrel Lacey - Lyn Oslo - went the distance in goal on his debut and beat Start 4-1.
Troy Perkins - Valerenga - played all 90 but lost 3-2 at Stabaek.

NORWAY - Adeccoligaen
Joe Lapira - Nybergsund - scored a goal as they won 2-0 at home over Bryne
Jay Needham - Alta - played all 90 and they won 5-3 at home over Hamarkamaratene.

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - came on as a sub in the 75th minute but lost 2-1 at Elfsborg.

SWEDEN - Superettan
Ryan Miller - Ljungskile - went the full 90 but lost 0-2 at home to Syrianska Sodertalje.
Etchu Tabe - Ljungskile - went the full 90 but lost 0-2 at home to Syrianska Sodertalje.

dN

Coming Up:

ENGLAND - Premiership
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - Mon Aug 24 at Liverpool
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - Mon Aug 24 at Liverpool

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Kenny Cooper - 1860 Munich - Mon Aug 24 v Karlsruhe

NETHERLANDS - Erste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - Mon Aug 24 at Excelsior

NORWAY - Tippeligaen
Matthew Allen - Sandefjord - Mon Aug 24 at Brann Bergen

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Ryan Raybould - Gelfe - Mon Aug 24 v Hammarby

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Game Action: (only those who played are listed)

PRIMERA DIVISION - games this weekend
Edgar Castillo - UANL - played the full 90 but they lost their innercity derby 1-2 at home against Monterrey.
Michael Orozco - San Luis - went the full 90 of a 1-1 road draw at Indios Juarez.
Marco Vidal - Indios Juarez - came on as a sub in the 81st minute of a 1-1 home draw with San Luis.

CONCACAF

The Guardian on Honduran Wilson Palacios and his great performances for Tottenham in England so far this new season.

MEXICO

Reigning champions UNAM Pumas lost again making their new season start a perfect 5 losses in 5 games. Ugly.

ENGLAND

Patrick Barclay of the Times goes off on divers. I hate divers. And even more than using video for goals etc they should be using retroactive video replay to penalize divers. This will stop the scourage immediately.

dN

Manchester City added to their summer booty by signing fullback Sylvinho of Barcelona and Brazil.

SCOTLAND

The Observer looks into the financial and talent drop in Scottish football.

EUROPE

Paolo Bandini of the Guardian on Adrian Mutu, Fiorentina and the opening weekend in Serie A.
-By the way, in case any of you care, Inter were absolutely horrible in a 1-1 home draw with newly promoted Bari.

dN

Football Italia with a review of Week 1 in Serie A.

dN

The worst performer for Inter yesterday was coach Jose Mourinho. He picked a lousy starting 11 and all three subs were for players who should have never been on the field in the first place. This guy is a self proclaimed genius! First he has to take out Suli Muntari after just 28 because the player is wiped out physically while fasting for Ramadan. He should not have played at all! They he subs out Patrick Vieira at half time because he is old and worn out, and contributes nothing anyway. And in his place he puts in the equally worthless Ricardo Quaresma. Then Mourinho also stars the old worthless cheap shot Marco Materazzi won contributes a brutal early tackle that somehow avoids a card, then and even worse tackle which should have been Red and was only Yellow, and is then pulled in the 61st for Ivan Cordoba. This is a cruel joke right??

dN

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune looks at the newer Brazilian influence on Italy.

dN

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian looks at Mainz who knocked off the deeply troubled Bayern Munich (way too many chiefs if you ask me), and the weekend in Germany's Bundesliga.
-Juergen Klinsmann's Bayern looks fantastic compared to these fools. They should out Uli Hoeness and Franz Beckenbauer on the first train out of town and let coach Luis Van Gaal run his own damn team.

dN

Global Post on Ukraine's struggle to co-host Euro 2012.

dN

Deutsche Welle with an article on 2.Bundesliga club Union Berlin who Der Speigel reports has ties to the old East German Stasi (the secret police).

dN

Barcelona beat Athletic Bilboa 3-0 to win the Spanish Super Cup 5-1 on aggregate. The new season starts this coming weekend.

ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Tim Vickery of the BBC lives in Brazil, but visited England and compares the footballing experience for fans in the two countries.

dN

FIFA.com has a Q & A session with former Brazil coach Big Phil - Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Some News for Fri Aug 21, 2009

STARTERS

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer reports that Red Bull New York coach Juan Carlos Osorio has resigned. His assistant Richie Williams will once again be at the wheel of the company truck.

MLS

Do you think Houston got a talented player in Luis Landin? This video clip says yes. (thanks to BP for sending it my way)
-To make room on the roster for Landin the Dynamo has released forwrd Ade Akinbiyi. He had contributed very little to the team.

dN

Welcome to America and New York Red Bulls to Walter Garcia! Here's your coach Juan Carl..... oh, wait, no, he's gone now, Richie Williams, for now..... The team signed Garcia on Wednesday. He is a 25 year old Argentine centerback who played last in 08 for Nacional in Uruguay.

SOCCER IN AMERICA

The Boston Globe blog Corner Kicks talks to the USA Ambassador to Italy about the beautiful game.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

The New York Times blog Goal does a Q & A with Oguchi Onyewu ahead of his first real game with AC Milan.
-On a bad note, odds are very strong that he will not be in the first 11 until one of the guys in front of him falters or is injured. Let's hope that changes quickly.

EXTRA EXTRA: Red Bulls For Sale?

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer is reporting that the New York Red Bulls team is for sale, and that FC Barcelona is the potential buyer!

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Then again it's not much of a surprise, as Red Bull has shown no real clue how to run a team in MLS. Yes, the stadium building project is beyond parallel in the league, but the rest of their project has been miserable most of the time.

ADDITION: Coach Juan Carlos Osorio has stepped down from the team. Assistant Richie Williams will become interim coach yet again.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Some News for Thu Aug 20, 2009

STARTERS

When I was flying home from Mexico City last Saturday we stopped off in Houston, and had to go through customs there. As we approached the main terminal there was a huge "Welcome To Houston Texas" sign. It featured images of the city skyline and natural beauty. It also featured aspects of the area's culture. But what surprised me was the image of a pro sports athlete representing the city. Was it a member of the Houston Astros baseball team? No. Was it a member of the Houston Rockets basketball team? Nope. How about the Houston Texans football team? No again. It was none other than Brian Mullan of the Houston Dynamo soccer team decked out in the customary orange shirt. Very cool indeed.

dN

It's official, Houston has signed Mexican forward Luis Landin. See details in the MLS section.

dN

The Los Angeles Times web site no longer has a specified section for their soccer coverage. To find this stories that are not on their front spots page you have to do a search and you get a ton of other non-soccer stories mixed in on their shabby search engine. [CORRECTION: There is now another small box below and to the right of the headers section, titled MORE SPORTS, with Soccer listed in that section. Thanks to James for smartening me up.]

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The Group Stage is underway!

dN

Here is the official web site of the tournament for all the up to date standings and game schedules.

dN

Matchday 1
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 18
Columbus Crew 2-0 Puerto Rico Islanders - CC goals by Steven Lenhart & Robbie Rogers.
Marathon 3-1 DC United - Mar goals by Walter Martinez, Jerry Palacios & Mario Berrios. DCU goal by Luciano Emilio(PK).
UNAM Pumas 1-0 Comunicaciones - UNAM goal by Luis Fuentes.
-Wed Aug 19
Houston Dynamo 1-0 Isidro Metapan - HD goal by Brian Ching.
Match report from CONCACAF.
Match report by Bernardo Fallas of the Houston Chronicle.
Post game notes by Fallas on his blog Soccer y Futbol.
Arabe Unido 4-1 Pachuca - AU goals by Orlando Rodriguez, Victor Medieta, Manuel Mosquera & Reynaldo Lewin. Pach goal by Paul Aguilar.
Match report from CONCACAF.
Cruz Azul 2-0 Saprissa - CA goals by Christian Riveros & Joel Hiqui.
Match report from CONCACAF.
-Thu Aug 20
San Juan Jabloteh v Toluca - 7pm Central on Galavision
Real Espana v W Connection - 9pm Central on Galavision

dN

Steve Davis at ESPN Soccernet says this tournament has still not fully caught the attention of MLS teams.

MLS

MLS Week 23 Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 19
Chicago Fire 0-2 Los Angeles Galaxy - LAG goals by Mike Magee & Landon Donovan.
-Thu Aug 20
Seattle Sounders FC v New England Revolution - 9pm Central on ESPN2 & ESPN Deportes
-Sat Aug 22
DC United v Los Angeles Galaxy - 6:30pm Central on FSC & FSE
San Jose Earthquakes v Kansas City Wizards - 9:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Chivas USA v Toronto FC - 9:30pm Central on Direct Kick
-Sun Aug 23
New York Red Bulls v FC Dallas - 2pm Central on Telefutura
Chicago Fire v Colorado Rapids - 5pm Central on Direct Kick
New England Revolution v Real Salt Lake - 5pm Central on Direct Kick
Houston Dynamo v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick

dN

The Houston Dynamo announce the signing of Mexican forward Luis Landin on loan from Cruz Azul. The deal was big enough that they needed to use their Designated Player spot of their roster for him. They have to wait for his work visa before he can play. He will also NOT be available to them for the Champions League because he has already played for Cruz Azul in this years tourney. I would guess that Houston pursued him because forwards Dominic Oduro, Cam Weaver and Ade Akenbiyi have not been enough help at forward for Kei Kamara and Brian Ching this season.

dN

Monique Walker of the Boston Globe talks to the New England Revolution about building their own soccer stadium. They keep saying all the right things, but nothing ever appears to happen. 4 years later and they are in the same spot as before. Talk talk talk. It's like listening to Charlie Brown's teacher.

dN

Former MLS assistant coach John Murphy who was named coach of Livingston in Scotland earlier this summer has been replaced. That is too bad for him.

dN

Bryan Alvarez at Soccer America with a Rising Star profile on centerback Eric Brunner of Columbus.

dN

Bill Archer of Bill Archer Blog asks the question (among other things) that I have been asking since day 1 - why in the world did MLS put a new team in San Jose when the last one couldn't turn a dime or get anyone in the Bay Area to assist them in financial aspects of their endeavors?

dN

Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch tells us about the Crew's new forward Emilio Renteria. He is still waiting for his work visa before he can play.

dN

Real Salt Lake has announced a home friendly v Mexican giants Chivas of Guadalajara on Wed Oct 7.

dN

Michael Lewis of the NY Daily News dissects the Red Bulls post season house cleaning ahead.

USL FIRST DIVISION

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 18
Carolina RailHawks 1-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
Cleveland City Stars 1-2 Montreal Impact
-Wed Aug 19
Rochester Rhinos 3-3 Minnesota Thunder
-Thu Aug 20
Charleston Battery v Vancouver Whitecaps
-Sat Aug 22
Cleveland City Stars v Minnesota Thunder
Rochester Rhinos v Carolina RailHawks
Portland Timbers v Miami FC Blues
-Sun Aug 23
Montreal Impact v Austin Aztex
Vancouver Whitecaps v Miami FC Blues

dN

Standings (with goal differential & games played out of 30):
48 Portland(+25)(23)
44 Carolina(+15)(23)
44 Charleston(+12)(24)
41 Puerto Rico(+9)(24)
33 Rochester(+2)(23)
29 Montreal(-2)(23)
27 Vancouver(+2)(22)
* * Out of Playoffs * *
25 Miami (-10)(21)
20 Minnesota(-9)(22)
15 Austin(-18)(23)
13 Cleveland(-26)(24)

USL SECOND DIVISION

Matthew Delicate of the Richmond Kickers ended the regular season as the leagues top goal scorer with 13 in ? games.

dN

The playoffs start last night with the #4 team hosting the #5 team from the regular season standings. The winner of that will take on the #1 seed in the next round, with #2 hosting #3 as well. The Final is on Sat Aug 29.

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 19
Charlotte Eagles(#4) 3-1 Real Maryland Monarchs(#5)
-Sat Aug 22
Richmond Kickers(#2) v Harrisburg City Islanders(#3)
Wilmington Hammerheads(#1) v Charlotte Eagles(#4)
-Sat Aug 29
FINAL

US SOCCER NEWS

US Soccer has shortened the list of potential World Cup stadiums to 32 in 27 [CORRECTED] cities across the country. My city of Minneapolis has been dropped from the latest list, but I knew that was coming eventually because our 2 stadiums, one of which is too small and the other is a crappy old dome that will just be older and crappier 9 or 13 years from now. I also bet that there will be new state of the art stadiums available by then that are not even in the plannings stages yet.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Greg Seltzer of Soccer 365 talks to Jeremiah White about life this eason at Aarhus.

dN

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

DENMARK - Superliga
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - played the full 90 in a 1-0 road loss at Aalborg.

ENGLAND - Championship
Jay DeMerit - Watford - went the full 90 as they beat Nottingham Forest 2-4 on the road.

ENGLAND - League One
Jemal Johnson - Milton Keynes - started and went 87 minutes in a 0-1 road win at Tranmere Rovers.
Jon-Paul Pittman - Wycombe - came on as a sub in the 22nd minute of a home 1-1 draw against Southend United.

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - Thu Aug 20 at De Graafschap.

SWEDEN - Superettan
Ryan Miller - Ljungskile - started and played the entire match as they drew 1-1 at Trollhattan
Etchu Tabe - Ljungskile - started and went the full 90 as they drew 1-1 at Trollhattan

EUROPA LEAGUE
Play-Off Round 1st Leg
-Thu Aug 20
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the full match, scored the game winning goal, and got a Yellow Card as they won 3-1 at home over Amkar Perm.
Mikkel Diskrud - Stabaek - came on as a sub in the 69th minute but the team got dumped on their heads 0-3 at home by Valencia.
Ryan Guy - St Patrick's Athletic - played the entire game but lost 3-0 at Steaua Bucuresti.
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - played the full match, but gave up a goal in the games 1st minute and lost 1-0 at Rapid Wien.
Tim Howard - Everton - went the distance in a 4-0 home win over Sigma Olomouc.

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Jose Francisco Torres - Pachuca - played all 90 minutes, got a Yellow Card, and lost 4-1 at Arabe Unido.

ENGLAND

Hoohoo! What a way to get the Premiership season off to a weird and wonderful start - Manchester United lose on the road at newly promoted Burnley in just the 2nd game of the season. We love chaos in the top leagues.

dN

Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail raves about the brilliance of Arsenal midfielder Andrey Arshavin. My friend Sean will get a stiffy over this one.

dN

The Guardian with an article on Deco who finally has a manager at Chelsea who will allow him to take to the field and be himself.

dN

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated does a Q & A with Chelsea & Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba.

EUROPE

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune sings the praises of Argentine forward Sergio "Kun" Aguero of Atletico Madrid. He really is something else.

dN

Stuttgart & Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has announced that he will retire when this season ends.

dN

Amy Lawrence of the Guardian says Big Phil, Luis Felipe Scolari, is happy coaching in Uzbekistan this season. Sure, it's better than jail or something like that I guess.

dN

The Serie A season kicks off this weekend.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official web site for all match and tourney info.

Play-Off Round 1st Leg
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 18
Sheriff 0-2 Olympiacos - Oly goals by Dudu & Kostas Mitroglou.
Kobenhavn 1-0 APOEL - Kob goal by Zdenek Pospech.
Celtic 0-2 Arsenal - Ars goals by William Gallas & Gary Caldwell(OG).
Timisoara 0-2 Stuttgart - Stu goals by Timo Gebhart(PK) & Aleksandr Hleb.
Sporting 2-2 Fiorentina - Spo goals by Simon Vukcevic & Miguel Veloso. Fio goals by Juan Manuel Vargas & Alberto Gilardino.
-Wed Aug 19
Panathinaikos 2-3 Atletico Madrid - Pan goals by Dimitris Salpingidis & Sebastian Leto. AM goals by Maxi Rodriguez, Diego Forlan & Kun Aguero.
Levski Sofia 1-2 Debreceni - LS goal by Cedric Bardon. Deb goals by Laszlo Bodnar & Peter Czvitkovics.
Lyon 5-1 Anderlecht - Lyon goals by Miralem Pjanic, Lisandro(PK), Michel Bastos & Bafetimbi Gomis
(2). And goal by Matias Suarez.
Red Bull Salzburg 1-2 Maccabi Haifa - RBS goal by Alexander Zickler. Mohammed Ghadir & Shlomi Arbeitman.
Ventspils 0-3 Zurich - Zur goals by Johan Vonlanthen, Silvan Aegerter & Dusun Djuric.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Europa League Play-Off Round first Leg matches take place on Thursday.

SOUTH AMERICA

A deal has been cut with the Argentine government to infuse their Primera Division with enough money to get the Apertura season started this weekend, two weeks after it was initially delayed due to deep financial troubles.

dN

Rodrigo Orihuela of the Guardian reports on the deal that will allow the start (finally) of the new season in Argentina.

AFRICA

Are you getting ready for some African Cup of Nations?? I know I am. I love this tournament. It kicks off January 10th and will be held in Angola.

ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Jonah Freedman of Sports Illustrated with his first World Club Power Rankings for the fall.

ENDERS

This doesn't look much like Blanco - for instance, if you know anything about Blanco you know he does not have a neck in real life.

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