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.

dN

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

dN

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.

dN

Official team blog

dN

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

dN

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

dN

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.

dN

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.

dN

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).

dN

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.

dN

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!

dN

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.

dN

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

dN

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!

dN

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

dN

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

dN

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

dN

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.

dN

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

dN

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.

dN

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.

dN

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

dN

Official press release from the league.

dN

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.

dN

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

dN

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

dN

IMS ponders the future of the league.

dN

More articles are expected from IMS and MLST.

dN

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

dN

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

Cleveland is the first team eliminated from the playoffs.

dN

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.

dN

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.

dN

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.

dN

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.

dN

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.

dN

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

dN

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)

dN

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.

dN

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

dN

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

dN

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.

dN

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?

dN

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!

dN

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.

dN

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.

dN

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.