Some News for Wed Sep 30, 2009

STARTERS

All my best go out to those folks in American Somoa and Somoa. Let's hope your lives can get back to normal soon.

dN

From the U20 World Cup: Dilly Duka scores one of the most amazing goals in all of USA soccer history (third USA goal of this game). Completely insane! He looks off the keeper as if he is going to cross, then just chips it to the back post for a Golazo! Here is video of that goal and all the other highlights from USA 4 - 1 Cameroon. (thanks to Jay for the much higher quality video link)


dN

Twitter from Dwayne DeRosario of Toronto FC: "At kensington grabbing a bite. Word is grass is approved at BMO for next season... Great News!"

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

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

dN

Group Stage
Matchday 5:
-Tue Sep 29
Columbus Crew 1-1 Saprissa - CC goal by Robbie Rogers(PK). Sap goal by Alex Robinson.
Cruz Azul 2-0 Puerto Rico Islanders - CA goals by Mario Ortiz & Emmanuel Villa.
Arabe Unido 6-0 Metapan - AU goals by Orlando Rodriguez(3), Camilo Aguirre(2) & Eduardo McTaggar.
-Wed Sep 30
DC United v Jabloteh
UNAM Pumas v W Connection
Houston Dynamo v Pachuca
Real Espana v Comunicaciones
-Thu Oct 1
Marathon v Toluca

dN

Standings:
Group A
10 Arabe Unido(5 GP)
9 Pachuca(4 GP)
7 Houston Dynamo(4 GP)
0 Metapan(5 GP)
Group B
12 Toluca(4 GP)
6 DC United(4 GP)
6 Marathon(4 GP)
0 San Juan Jabloteh(4 GP)
Group C
13 Cruz Azul(5 GP)
7 Columbus Crew(5 GP)
5 Saprissa(5 GP)
2 Puerto Rico Islanders(5 GP)
Group D
10 UNAM Pumas(4 GP)
6 Comunicaciones(4 GP)
4 W Connection(4 GP)
3 Real Espana(4 GP)

MLS

Official Web Site

dN

Week 29
Matches & Scores
-Wed Sep 30
FC Dallas v New England Revolution - 6pm Central on Direct Kick
-Fri Oct 2
Los Angeles Galaxy v Chicago Fire - 10pm Central on ESPN2, Deportes

dN

Peter Wilt at Pitch Invasion tells us about the art of putting together a winning MLS roster.

dN

Steve Sirk with his latest fantastic round up of all news and notes from the Columbus Crew. Always one of my favorite reads.

dN

With both an injured shoulder and knee DC will be without goalkeeper Josh Lt Worf Wicks for the next month or so.

dN

Friend of du Nord - Mark Fishkin of The Kin of Fish blog - goes to Red Bull Arena and picks out his season ticket seats! Photo slide show.

dN

Mike Petke of the New York Red Bulls writing for ESPN Soccernet talks about getting old and suffering back pains. Oof.

dN

Kristian Dyer at ESPN Soccernet tackles more post season awards - the Best 11.

dN

Ives Galarcep at ESPN Soccernet looks at the teams battling for the playoff spots.

dN

Andrew Hush of ESPN Soccernet with his usual midweek news roundup.

MLS STADIUM BUILDING

Mike at Down The Byline took pictures of the site where the KC Wiz are proposing to build their new stadium.

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Yanks Abroad talks to Fernando Clavijo, the man behind player development in the USA for Traffic, the Brazilian soccer marketing company who owns Miami FC.
-Say what you want about Clavijo's coaching skills, but his eye for talent is quite fantastic. Both New England and Colorado have benefitted greatly from players he brought to those teams.

USA U17 TEAM

The Oregonian with an article on Dustin Correa who's family left South Central LA for a safer life in the suburbs of Portland. (thanks to BC for this one)

USA U20 TEAM @ U20 WORLD CUP

Official team blog

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Sep 26
USA 0-3 Germany - Ger goals by Semih Aydilek(PK), Florian Jungwirth & Manuel Schaeffler.
-Tue Sep 29
USA 4-1 Cameroon - USA goals by Bryan Arguez, Tony Taylor, Dilly Duka & Brian Ownby. Cam goal by Banana Yaya(PK).
-Fri Oct 2
USA v South Korea - 11:45am Central on ESPN2

dN

Post game quotes by coach & players from US Soccer.

dN

This game is all about goals. No other score is kept. So if the USA was out performed in areas of the field by Cameroon then so be it. The final score is all that matters. On the other hand, they still have a long way to go if they want to beat South Korea and advance to the knock out stages where anything is possible.

dN

One thing I have always loved in soccer is the reaction to goals from the bench. For some reason seeing a coach celebrate a goal brings me extra joy. And it was fun to see Rongen and his staff get to have some fun yesterday.

TEAM USA

Luke Cyphers of ESPN Magazine looks at the 2 qualifiers in September and what a huge difference those wins and 6 points made toward qualifying.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Ryan Raybould - Gelfe - Tue Sep 29 at Brommapajkarna

dN

Coming Up:

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - Matchday 2
-Thu Oct 1
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - v Basel
Tim Howard - Everton - at BATE Borisov
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - v Basel

CONCACAF WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Honduras has announced their roster for the Oct 10 game v USA and Oct 14 at El Salvador.
G:
Ricardo Canales - Motagua
Donis Escober - Olimpia
Noel Valladares - Olimpia
D:
Víctor Bernardez - Anderlecht
Osman Chavez - Platense
Maynor Figueroa - Wigan
Oscar Boniek Garcia - Olimpia
Emilio Izaguirre - Motagua
Erick Norales - Motagua
Carlos Palacios - Real Espana
Mauricio Sabillon - Marathon
M:
Edgard Alvarez - Bari
Julio Cesar de Leon - Torino
Amado Guevara - Toronto
Ramon Nunez - Cruz Azul
Wilson Palacios - Tottenham Hotspur
Hendry Thomas - Wigan
Danilo Turcios - Olimpia
Melvin Valladares - Real Espana
F:
Carlo Costly - GKS Belchatow
Walter Martinez - Marathon
Jerry Palacios - Marathon
Carlos Pavon - Real Espana
David Suazo - Inter Milan

SPAIN

Did you know that Leo Messi signed a contract extension at Barcelona through the 2015/16 season.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune reviews Tuesday's match results plus the glory of 2 newcomers: Bosnian Miralem Pjanic of Lyon, and Montenegrin Stevan Jovetic of Fiorentina.

dN

Matchday 2
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Sep 29
Fiorentina 2-0 Liverpool - Fio goals both by Stevan Jovetic.
Debreceni 0-4 Lyon - Lyo goals by Kim Kallstrom, Miralem Pjanic, Sidney Govou & Bafetimbi Gomis.
Rubin Kazan 1-1 Inter Milan - RK goal by Alejandro Domínguez. IM goal by Dejan Stankovic.
Barcelona 2-0 Dynamo Kyiv - BAr goals by Leonel Messi & Pedro Rodriguez.
Unirea Urziceni 1-1 Stuttgart - UU goal by Serban Dacian Varga. Stu goal by Serdar Tasci.
Rangers 1-4 Sevilla - Rang goal by Nacho Novo. Sev goals by Abdoulay Konko, Adriano, Luis Fabiano & Frederic Kanoute.
Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos - Ars goals by Robin Van Persie & Andrei Arshavin.
AZ Alkmaar 1-1 Standard Liege AZA goal by Mounir El Hamdaoui. SL goal by Moussa Traore.
-Wed Sep 30
Bayern Munich 0-0 Juventus
Bordeaux 1-0 Maccabi Haifa - Bor goal by Michael Ciani.
CSKA Moskva 2-1 Besiktas - CM goals by Alan Dzagoev & Milos Krasic. Bes goal by Ekrem Dag.
Manchester United 2-1 Wolfsburg - MU goals by Ryan Giggs & Michael Carrick. Wol goal by Edin Dzeko.
Milan 0-1 Zurich - Zur goal by Hannu Tihinen.
Real Madrid 3-0 Marseille - Cristiano Ronaldo(2) & Kaka(PK).
APOEL 0-1 Chelsea - Nicolas Anelka
Porto 2-0 Atletico Madrid - Por goals by Falcao & Rolando3.

dN

Standings

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

The 2nd of 6 Group Stage games is on Thu Oct 1.

U20 WORLD CUP EGYPT 2009

FIFA.com's tournament news feed.

dN

Match schedule

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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Sep 24
Egypt 4-1 Trinidad & Tobago - Egy goals by Afroto, Hussam Arafat(2) & Mohamed Talaat. T&T goal by Jean Luc Rochford.
-Fri Sep 25
Paraguay 0-0 Italy
Nigeria 0-1 Venezuela - Ven goal by Yonathan Del Valle.
Spain 8-0 Tahiti - Spain goals by Aaron Niguez(2), Emilio Nsue(2), Fran Merida, Kike(2) & Ander Herrera.
-Sat Sep 26
USA 0-3 Germany - Ger goals by Semih Aydilek(PK), Florian Jungwirth & Manuel Schaeffler.
Cameroon 2-0 South Korea - Cam goals by Andre Akono Effa & Germain Tiko.
Ghana 2-1 Uzbekistan - Gha goals by Ransford Osei & Dominic Adiyiah. Uzb goal by Sherzodbek Karimov.
England 0-1 Uruguay - Uru goal by Tabare Viudez.
-Sun Sep 27
Brazil 5-0 Costa Rica - Bra goals by Alan Kardec(2), Giuliano, Alex Teixeira & Rafael.
Czechia 2-1 Australia - Michael Rabusic & Tomas Pekhart(PK). Aus goal by James Holland(PK).
UAE 2-2 South Africa - UAE goals by Al Kamali Hamdan Ismaeel(PK) & Al Musabi Theyab Awana. SA goals both by Kermit Erasmus.
Honduras 3-0 Hungaria - Hon goals by Mario Roberto Martinez(2) & Arnold Peralta.
-Mon Sep 28
Italy 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago - Ita goals by Michaelangelo Albertazzi & Silvano Raggio. T&T goal by Juma Clarence.
Egypt 1-2 Paraguay - Egy goal by Afroto. Par goals by Federico Santander & Aldo Paniagua.
Nigeria 0-2 Spain - Spa goals both by Fran Merida(one via PK).
Tahiti 0-8 Venezuela - Ven goals by Jose Rondon(3, one via PK), Yonathan Del Valle(3), Jose Manuel Velazquez & Oscar Rojas.
-Tue Sep 29
South Korea 1-1 Germany - SK goal by Kim Min Woo. Ger goal by Richard Sukuta-Pasu.
USA 4-1 Cameroon - USA goals by Bryan Arguez, Tony Taylor, Dilly Duka & Brian Ownby. Cam goal by Banana Yaya(PK).
Uruguay 3-0 Uzbekistan - Uru goals by Nicolas Lodeiro, Jonathan Urretaviscaya & Santiago Garcia.
Ghana 4-0 England - Gha goals by Dominic Adiyiah(2), Andre Ayew & Ransford Osei.
-Wed Sep 30
Australia 0-3 Costa Rica - CR goals by Diego Madrigal, Luke Devere(OG) & David Guzman.
Brazil 0-0 Czechia
Hungaria 4-0 South Africa - Hun goals by Zsolt Korcsmar, Vladimir Koman(PK), Andras Debreceni & Adam Presinger.
UAE 1-0 Honduras - UAE goal by AHMED Khalil.
-Thu Oct 1
Trinidad & Tobago v Paraguay
Italy v Egypt
Venezuela v Spain
Tahiti v Nigeria
-Fri Oct 2
Germany v Cameroon
South Korea v USA
Uruguay v Ghana
Uzbekistan v England
-Sat Oct 3
Costa Rica v Czechia
Australia v Brazil
Hungaria v UAE
South Africa v Honduras

dN

See all the games live on ESPN2, ESPN Classic or ESPN360.com.

dN

The top 2 from each group and the four best 3rd place teams advance to the knock out stages.

dN

Standings:
Group A - 2 Played
4 Italy
4 Paraguay
3 Egypt
0 Trinidad & Tobago
Group B - 2 Played
Adv - 6 Spain
Adv - 6 Venezuela
0 Nigeria
0 Tahiti
Group C - 2 Played
4 Germany
3 USA
3 Cameroon
1 South Korea
Group D - 2 Played
Adv - 6 Uruguay
Adv - 6 Ghana
0 England
0 Uzbekistan
Group E - 2 Played
4 Brazil
4 Czechia
3 Costa Rica
0 Australia
Group F - 2 Played
4 UAE
3 Honduras
3 Hungaria
1 South Africa

ALL AROUND THE WORLD

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune on the things that could bring down football from its glorious heights - bad refereeing and match fixing.

Will You Be There? - USA v Costa Rica - Oct 14 in Washington DC

I will be in attendance at this can't miss World Cup qualifier!

Wed Oct 14
USA v Costa Rica
RFK Stadium
Washington DC

Will you do there?

Let's have a party!

Some News for Tue Sep 29, 2009

STARTERS

USA U20 redeem themselves with a great 4-1 win over Cameroon at the World Cup.

Scoring for Cameroon: Banana Yaya! One of the great names of all time!

dN

Reuters reports that Mexico has withdrawn their bid for hosting the 2018/2022 World Cups due to the economy. Odd. That doesn't show much faith in their financial situation improving over the next 9 to 13 years.

dN

Hawk-Eye Innovations, the makers of highly sophisticated technology used in professional tennis world wide to tell if a ball touches the lines has sent an open letter to FIFA pres Sepp Blatter essentially telling him to "put up or shut up." Blatter has said the Hawk-Eye technology needs more work before it can be used in Football on goallines, but the makers of Hawk-Eye says he is not telling the whole truth, and they hint that if he does not stop disparaging their product that they will do something about it!
-Blatter insists he wants high tech gear to help the game, but refuses to use any. I love this kind of challenge. And of course Blatters questionable past makes you wonder if there are other motives at work.

dN

Did you hear that? That was the sound of Liverpool choking on their own vomit in the UEFA Champions League.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

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

dN

Group Stage
Matchday 5:
-Tue Sep 29
Columbus Crew v Saprissa
Cruz Azul v Puerto Rico Islanders
Arabe Unido v Metapan
-Wed Sep 30
DC United v San Juan Jabloteh
UNAM Pumas v W Connection
Houston Dynamo v Pachuca
Real Espana v Comunicaciones
-Thu Oct 1
Marathon v Toluca

dN

Standings (after 4 of 6 Games Played):
Group A
9 Pachuca(4 GP)
7 Houston Dynamo(4 GP)
7 Arabe Unido(4 GP)
0 Metapan(4 GP)
Group B
12 Toluca(4 GP)
6 DC United(4 GP)
6 Marathon(4 GP)
0 San Juan Jabloteh(4 GP)
Group C
10 Cruz Azul(4 GP)
6 Columbus Crew(4 GP)
4 Saprissa(4 GP)
2 Puerto Rico Islanders(4 GP)
Group D
10 UNAM Pumas(4 GP)
6 Comunicaciones(4 GP)
4 W Connection(4 GP)
3 Real Espana(4 GP)

USL FIRST DIVISION PLAYOFFS

The Playoffs!

Semifinal Round
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Thu Oct 1
Vancouver v Portland
Montreal v Puerto Rico
2nd Leg
-Sun Oct 4
Portland v Vancouver
Puerto Rico v Montreal

dN

All the games can be seen at USLlive.com.

MLS

Official Web Site

dN

Week 29
Matches & Scores
-Wed Sep 30
FC Dallas v New England Revolution - 6pm Central on Direct Kick
-Fri Oct 2
Los Angeles Galaxy v Chicago Fire - 10pm Central on ESPN2, Deportes

dN

Columbus has now gone 24 home games without defeat.

dN

Nick Green of the Daily Breeze with an article asking the important question - What has happened to Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan this season? He has been a non-factor.
-Green with more quotes on the subject on his blog.

dN

Steve Davis of MLSnet looks at this really tight race for the playoff spots to see who is up for the challenge.

dN

San Jose backup goalkeeper Andrew Weber got his first game of the season, filling in for Joe Cannon who got the day off.

USL FIRST DIVISION

Here is the USL First Division All-League Second Team

G:
Bill Gaudette - Puerto Rico Islanders
D:
Stephen deRoux - Montreal Impact
Cameron Knowles - Portland Timbers
John Krause - Puerto Rico Islanders
Mark Schulte - Carolina RailHawks
M:
Martin Nash - Vancouver Whitecaps
Lawrence Olum - Minnesota Thunder
Jonathan Steele - Puerto Rico Islanders
David Testo - Montreal Impact
F:
Marlon James - Vancouver Whitecaps
Eddie Johnson - Austin Aztex

MINNESOTA THUNDER

Brian Quarstad of Inside Minnesota Soccer looks at attendance for the Minnesota Thunder.
-This season was an all time low since they went totally professional in '96. A sad state of affairs especially when you consider how cheap their tickets are.

USA U20 TEAM @ U20 WORLD CUP

Official team blog

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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Sep 26
USA 0-3 Germany - Ger goals by Semih Aydilek(PK), Florian Jungwirth & Manuel Schaeffler.
-Tue Sep 29
USA 4-1 Cameroon - USA goals by Bryan Arguez, Tony Taylor, Dilly Duka & Brian Ownby. Cam goal by Banana Yaya(PK).
-Fri Oct 2
USA v South Korea - 11:45am Central on ESPN2

dN

Bryan Arquez looked better than anyone else on the field in the Germany game when he came on as a late sub, and looked even better today, but nearly didn't make this team only replacing Sam Garza on Sep 9. Where would they be without him?

dN

Brian Ownby came in late and immediately drew his second Yellow Card of the tournament meaning he will sit out game against South Korea.

dN

Brek Shea has some of the worst hair I have ever seen. And this is coming from a guy who doesn't exactly look handsome with his male pattern baldness and a giant beard.











dN

Yanks Abroad talks to Jorge Flores who looks to be the teams left fullback now that Kyle Davies is injured.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Chuck Culpepper of the LA Times with an article on Jozy Altidore. (thanks to JJ for this)

dN

Yanks Abroad rolls out the interviews:
-Jay DeMerit at Watford
-Freddy Adu at Belenenses
-Jon-Paul Pittman at Wycombe

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Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

DENMARK - Superliga
Benny Feilhaber - AGF Aarhus - played all 90 but they lost 3-2 at Esbjerg.
Jeremiah White - AGF Aarhus - came on as a sub in the 82nd minute as they lost 3-2 at Esbjerg.

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - came on as a sub in the 54th minute, got a Yellow Card in the 85th, and lost 3-0 at GAIS.

dN

Coming Up:

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Ryan Raybould - Gelfe - Tue Sep 29 at Brommapajkarna

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - Matchday 2
-Thu Oct 1
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - v Basel
Tim Howard - Everton - at BATE Borisov
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - v Basel

ENGLAND

Fernando Torres of Liverpool had a great weekend scoring 3 goals in a 6-1 win over Hull.

GERMANY

Hertha Berlin has fired their coach Lucien Favre after getting off to a horrible start to the season. Last year they made a very surprising push to near the top, raising expectations for this season. Frankly both the success and lack of are anomalies, but firing the coach is always a popular thing to do.
-And I bet he doesn't pronounce his name "FAR-v."

ITALY

Reuters reports on Roma who have announced that they want to build a new stadium. But where will the money come from, when they are perennially broke?

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official Web Site

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Matchday 2
-Tue Sep 29
Fiorentina 2-0 Liverpool - Fio goals both by Stevan Jovetic.
Debreceni 0-4 Lyon - Lyo goals by Kim Kallstrom, Miralem Pjanic, Sidney Govou & Bafetimbi Gomis.
Rubin Kazan 1-1 Inter Milan - RK goal by Alejandro Domínguez. IM goal by Dejan Stankovic.
Barcelona 2-0 Dynamo Kyiv - BAr goals by Leonel Messi & Pedro Rodriguez.
Unirea Urziceni 1-1 Stuttgart - UU goal by Serban Dacian Varga. Stu goal by Serdar Tasci.
Rangers 1-4 Sevilla - Rang goal by Nacho Novo. Sev goals by Abdoulay Konko, Adriano, Luis Fabiano & Frederic Kanoute.
Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos - Ars goals by Robin Van Persie & Andrei Arshavin.
AZ Alkmaar 1-1 Standard Liege AZA goal by Mounir El Hamdaoui. SL goal by Moussa Traore.
-Wed Sep 30
Bayern Munich v Juventus
Bordeaux v Maccabi Haifa
CSKA Moskva v Besiktas
Manchester United v Wolfsburg
Milan v Zurich
Real Madrid v Marseille
APOEL v Chelsea
Porto v Atletico Madrid

dN

Standings

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Official Web Site

dN

The 2nd of 6 Group Stage games is on Thu Oct 1.

U20 WORLD CUP EGYPT 2009

FIFA.com's tournament news feed.

dN

Match schedule

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Sep 24
Egypt 4-1 Trinidad & Tobago - Egy goals by Afroto, Hussam Arafat(2) & Mohamed Talaat. T&T goal by Jean Luc Rochford.
-Fri Sep 25
Paraguay 0-0 Italy
Nigeria 0-1 Venezuela - Ven goal by Yonathan Del Valle.
Spain 8-0 Tahiti - Spain goals by Aaron Niguez(2), Emilio Nsue(2), Fran Merida, Kike(2) & Ander Herrera.
-Sat Sep 26
USA 0-3 Germany - Ger goals by Semih Aydilek(PK), Florian Jungwirth & Manuel Schaeffler.
Cameroon 2-0 South Korea - Cam goals by Andre Akono Effa & Germain Tiko.
Ghana 2-1 Uzbekistan - Gha goals by Ransford Osei & Dominic Adiyiah. Uzb goal by Sherzodbek Karimov.
England 0-1 Uruguay - Uru goal by Tabare Viudez.
-Sun Sep 27
Brazil 5-0 Costa Rica - Bra goals by Alan Kardec(2), Giuliano, Alex Teixeira & Rafael.
Czechia 2-1 Australia - Michael Rabusic & Tomas Pekhart(PK). Aus goal by James Holland(PK).
UAE 2-2 South Africa - UAE goals by Al Kamali Hamdan Ismaeel(PK) & Al Musabi Theyab Awana. SA goals both by Kermit Erasmus.
Honduras 3-0 Hungaria - Hon goals by Mario Roberto Martinez(2) & Arnold Peralta.
-Mon Sep 28
Italy 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago - Ita goals by Michaelangelo Albertazzi & Silvano Raggio. T&T goal by Juma Clarence.
Egypt 1-2 Paraguay - Egy goal by Afroto. Par goals by Federico Santander & Aldo Paniagua.
Nigeria 0-2 Spain - Spa goals both by Fran Merida(one via PK).
Tahiti 0-8 Venezuela - Ven goals by Jose Rondon(3, one via PK), Yonathan Del Valle(3), Jose Manuel Velazquez & Oscar Rojas.
-Tue Sep 29
South Korea 1-1 Germany - SK goal by Kim Min Woo. Ger goal by Richard Sukuta-Pasu.
USA 4-1 Cameroon - USA goals by Bryan Arguez, Tony Taylor, Dilly Duka & Brian Ownby. Cam goal by Banana Yaya(PK).
Uruguay 3-0 Uzbekistan - Uru goals by Nicolas Lodeiro, Jonathan Urretaviscaya & Santiago Garcia.
Ghana 4-0 England - Gha goals by Dominic Adiyiah(2), Andre Ayew & Ransford Osei.
-Wed Sep 30
Australia v Costa Rica
Brazil v Czechia
Hungaria v South Africa
UAE v Honduras

dN

See all the games live on ESPN2, ESPN Classic or ESPN360.com.

dN

The top 2 from each group and the four best 3rd place teams advance to the knock out stages.

dN

Standings:
Group A - 2 Played
4 Italy
4 Paraguay
3 Egypt
0 Trinidad & Tobago
Group B - 2 Played
Adv - 6 Spain
Adv - 6 Venezuela
0 Nigeria
0 Tahiti
Group C - 2 Played
4 Germany
3 USA
3 Cameroon
1 South Korea
Group D - 2 Played
Adv - 6 Uruguay
Adv - 6 Ghana
0 England
0 Uzbekistan
Group E - 1 Played
3 Brazil
3 Czechia
0 Australia
0 Costa Rica
Group F - 1 Played
3 Honduras
1 South Africa
1 UAE
0 Hungaria

ENDERS

This is some beautiful video footage, but the story is a little baffling. I highly doubt it is referencing Chicago IL, and I also doubt it's the Ghanain national team, but still very cool looking. Thanks for GF for this one.

Some News for Mon Sep 28, 2009

QUESTION ON MY MIND

Will Richie Williams be the new head coach at DC United next season?

STARTERS

Tahiti has played in two U20 World Cup group stage games so far and lost them both 8-0. The first was to Spain. OK. But the second was to Venezuela, a country that barely plays the game. Doesn't this bring the whole point of the tournament into question? How do teams like this even get into the tourney?
-It's not unlike Bahrain playing New Zealand for a spot in the senior tournament next year. I don't think its a stretch to say the winner between those two teams will lose at least one game 8-0 in South Africa too.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Some big games coming this week highlighted by Houston v Pachuca.

dN

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

dN

Group Stage
Matchday 5:
-Tue Sep 29
Columbus Crew v Saprissa
Cruz Azul v Puerto Rico Islanders
Arabe Unido v Metapan
-Wed Sep 30
DC United v Jabloteh
UNAM Pumas v W Connection
Houston Dynamo v Pachuca
Real Espana v Comunicaciones
-Thu Oct 1
Marathon v Toluca - postponed due to political turmoil in Honduras

USL FIRST DIVISION PLAYOFFS

The Playoffs!

Quarterfinal Round
Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Sun Sep 27
Carolina 0-0 Vancouver - Van advance 1-0 on aggregate.
Puerto Rico 4-1 Rochester - PR advance 5-3 on aggregate.
Charleston 1-2 Montreal - Mon advance 4-1 on aggregate.

dN

Semifinal Round
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Thu Oct 1
Vancouver v Portland
Montreal v Puerto Rico
2nd Leg
-Sun Oct 4
Portland v Vancouver
Puerto Rico v Montreal

dN

All the games can be seen at USLlive.com.

MLS

Official Web Site

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Week 28
Matches & Scores
-Wed Sep 23
Colorado Rapids 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes - CR goal by Conor Casey(PK). SJE goal by Chris Wondolowski(PK).
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City CO
Attendance: 6,234
-Sat Sep 26
Columbus Crew 2-0 Los Angeles Galaxy - CC goals by Eddie Gaven & Steven Lenhart.
Venue: Crew Stadium - Columbus OH
Attendance: 20,966
New England Revolution 2-1 Seattle Sounders FC - NER goals both by Shalrie Joseph (1 via PK). SS goal by Fredy Montero.
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA
Attendance: 15,961
Kansas City Wizards 0-0 Colorado Rapids
Venue: Community America Ballpark - Kansas City KS
Attendance: 9,784
FC Dallas 3-0 Real Salt Lake - FCD goals by Jeff Cunningham(2) & David Ferreira.
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX
Attendance: "mystery meat"
Chicago Fire 2-2 Toronto FC - CF goals by Nick Garcia(OG) & Brian McBride. TFC goals by Dwayne De Rosario & Chad Barrett.
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL
Attendance: 16,890
Chivas USA 1-1 New York Red Bulls - CUSA goal by Sacha Kljestan. NYRB goal by Juan Pablo Angel.
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Attendance: 14,211
-Sun Sep 27
DC United 1-2 San Jose Earthquakes - DCU goal by Jaime Moreno. SJE goals by Ramon Sanchez & Ryan Johnston.
Venue: RFK Stadium - Washington DC
Attendance: 14,375

dN

Houston did not play during this round.

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No Ejections in the 8 games last week. Amazing!

dN

New England midfielder/striker/superstar Shalrie Joseph was named Player of the Week.

dN

But New England lost Steve Ralston for the rest of the season with a blown out knee. Ugh! This is one of the great players in the history of the league and for the 2nd year in a row an injury has taken him down. Damn!

dN

With their convincing win Columbus clinches a playoff spot and takes over the lead for the Supporters Shield by 3 points over Houston, and the Crew have a game in hand.

dN

San Jose had not won on the road for 15 months! DC is really hurting now.

dN

After a comeback win at home New England moved into playoff spot #8, dumping DC out.

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Jaime Moreno and Jeff Cunningham are going toe to toe these days in the goals-scored-all-time category. Moreno got #130 this weekend (8 this year), while JC rolled with 2 more bringing his career total to 119 (15 on the season).

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Brian Ching got a new contract extension from Houston.

USA U20 TEAM @ U20 WORLD CUP

Official team blog

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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Sep 26
USA 0-3 Germany - Ger goals by Semih Aydilek(PK), Florian Jungwirth & Manuel Schaeffler.
Match report by Paul Kennedy of Soccer America.
Player ratings by Kennedy.
Match report by Brent Latham of Yanks Abroad.
-Tue Sep 29
USA v Cameroon - 11:45am Central on ESPN2
-Fri Oct 2
USA v South Korea - 11:45am Central on ESPN2

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My thoughts after game 1:
-USA lose 3-0 to Germany, and if the announcer is to be believed Germ had 20 players held out by club teams - so this is a B team for them.
-My real question is - Who picked this team?
-Rongen is a mystifying coach. I'm never satisfied with him in charge. His DC United, Chivas USA & USA U20 are all mismanaged underachievers.
-A friend-in-football sent me a note says that Rongen is a very good guy and an entertaining TV announcer. Fair enough. But my dad is a good guy too, and an entertaining non-TV announcer, and I would never want him near my U20 team.
-Why didn't the USA bring any fullbacks to Egypt? Centerback Davies started on the left, and midfield wingers Mayen and Flores played there during the game too!
-They only brought 5 defenders & now 2 are hurt.
-They only brought 2 forwards as well.
-So that means they have 11 midfielders on the roster.

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Brent Latham of Yanks Abroad looks at what the USA does now to turn this ship around. No knee jerk reactions here, thankfully.

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Greg Lalas at Sports Illustrated tells us all to keep our shirts on, things will be just fine, if far from perfect.

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Here is the USA roster:

GOALKEEPERS (3):
Sean Johnson (Central Florida; Lilburn, Ga.)
Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.)
Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (5):
Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC; Syracuse, N.Y.)
Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.)
Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.)
Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.)
Sheanon Williams (Unattached; Boston, Mass.)

MIDFIELDERS (11):
Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin, Miami)
Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.)
Mikkel Diskerud (Stabak; Oslo, Norway)
Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.)
Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.)
Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas)
Gerson Mayen (Chivas USA; Los Angeles)
Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.)
Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas)
Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas)
Michael Stephens (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.)

FORWARDS (2):
Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.)
Tony Taylor (Jacksonville; Jacksonville, Fla.)

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

ENGLAND - Premiership
Jozy Altidore - Hull City - came on as a sub in the 83rd minute as they were badly beaten 6-1 at Liverpool.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the full 90 but they lost 0-1 at home against Arsenal.
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - played the entire match losing 2-1 at Blackburn.
Tim Howard - Everton - played the full 90 and they won 0-1 at Portsmouth.

ENGLAND - League One
Mike Grella - Leeds - went the distance as they won 0-1 on the road at Milton Keynes.
Jemal Johnson - Milton Keynes - went the full 90, got a Yellow Card, and lost 0-1 at home to Leeds.
Jon-Paul Pittman - Wycombe - Started and played 76 minutes as they drew at Swindon Town 1-1.

FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes - played the entire match but lost 1-0 at Bordeaux.
Charlie Davies - Sochaux - went the distance but lost 2-1 at Nancy.

GERMANY - Bundesliga
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach - came on as a sub at half time but lost 3-0 at Freiburg.
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - went the distance in a 4-2 loss at Wolfsburg.

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Kenny Cooper - 1860 Munich - played the full 90 but could only draw 0-0 at home against Paderborn.
Matt Taylor - Frankfurt - came on in the 73rd minute, but they lost 3-0 at Energie Cottbus.
David Yelldell - Koblenz - went the distance and drew 1-1 at Augsburg.

IRELAND - Premier Division
Ryan Guy - St Patrick's Athletic - went the full match as they drew 1-1 at Cork.

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - started, played 83 minutes, and scored the first goal as they won 1-3 at Emmen.

NORWAY - Tippeligaen
Hunter Freeman - Start - played the full 90 but lost 1-0 at Sandefjord.
Clarence Goodson - Start - played the full 90 but lost 1-0 at Sandefjord.
Tyrel Lacey - Lyn Oslo - went the distance in goal but lost 0-1 at home to Tromso.
Troy Perkins - Valerenga - played the entire game as usual and won 0-2 at Bodo Glimt.

NORWAY - Adeccoligaen
Joe Lapira - Nybergsund - started and played 64 minutes as they drew 3-3 at Mjondalen.

SWEDEN - Superettan
Ryan Miller - Ljungskile - went the full 90 and they won 3-0 at home over Falkenbergs.
Etchu Tabe - Ljungskile - played the full 90 as they won 3-0 at home over Falkenbergs.

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Coming Up:

DENMARK - Superliga
Benny Feilhaber - AGF Aarhus - Mon Sep 28 at Esbjerg
Jeremiah White - AGF Aarhus - Mon Sep 28 at Esbjerg

ENGLAND - Premiership
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - Mon Sep 28 at Manchester City

PORTUGAL
Kamani Hill - Guimaraes - Mon Sep 28 v Uniao de Leiria

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - Mon Sep 28 at GAIS
Ryan Raybould - Gelfe - Tue Sep 29 at Brommapajkarna

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - Matchday 2
-Thu Oct 1
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - v Basel
Tim Howard - Everton - at BATE Borisov
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - v Basel

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Game Action:

For the 2nd weekend in a row it was rough on the Americans as no one won.

PRIMERA DIVISION
Edgar Castillo - UANL Tigres - went the full 90, drawing a Yellow Card, and losing 2-1 at Atlas.
Michael Orozco - San Luis - started and played 59 minutes, picking up and Yellow Card, and losing 0-3 at home to Chiapas.
Jose Francisco Torres - Pachuca - played the entire game, but got beat 4-0 at Santos Laguna.
Marco Vidal - Indios Juarez - watched from the bench as they lost 1-2 at home against UAdG Tecos.

THE WIDE WORLD OF FOOTBALL

Simon Kuper of the Financial Times on the weird, shady and business side of football, behind closed doors.

ENGLAND

FIFA.com has a Q & A with Chelsea's German captain Michael Ballack.

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John Ashdown of the Guardian gives us 5 things we learned from the weekends games in the Premiership.

SPAIN

Sid Lowe of the Guardian on Barcelona who keep winning, and are spying on their own board of directors, plus the rest of La Liga.

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Phil Ball of ESPN Soccernet tells us about Real Madrid current and past, both professionally and personally.

GERMANY

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian on Schalke's powerful derby win over Dortmund and the rest of the Bundesliga.

ITALY

Paolo Bandini of the Guardian on Fiorentina and the rest of Serie A.

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES FROM LAST WEEKEND

-Sat Sep 26
Sampdoria 0-1 Inter - Samp makes a huge statement and also goes to #1 while Inter are stuck in 3rd place.
Hamburg 1-0 Bayern Munich - Ham makes a great effort to stay at #1, tied on points with Leverkusen. Bayern drop back to 7th.
Porto 1-0 Sporting - leaving the 2 always-challengers in 3rd & 5th, but way behind leaders Braga!
-Sun Sep 27
Bordeaux 1-0 Stade Rennes - Bord stay at #1 ahead of Lyon, but Rennes drop down from 4th to 5th.
AEK Athens 0-1 Panathinaikos - Pana stay at #1 with a road win over one of their biggest rivals.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Official Web Site

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Matchday 2
-Tue Sep 29
Fiorentina v Liverpool
Debreceni v Lyon
Rubin Kazan v Inter
Barcelona v Dynamo Kyiv
Unirea Urziceni v Stuttgart
Rangers v Sevilla
Arsenal v Olympiacos
AZ Alkmaar v Standard Liege
-Wed Sep 30
Bayern Munich v Juventus
Bordeaux v Maccabi Haifa
CSKA Moskva v Besiktas
Manchester United v Wolfsburg
Milan v Zurich
Real Madrid v Marseille
APOEL v Chelsea
Porto v Atletico Madrid

ARGENTINA

Estudiantes beat Boca Juniors 2-1 this weekend to stay at #1 after 6 rounds.

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Top 5 Standings:
16 Estudiantes La Plata
14 Velez Sarsfield
14 Banfield
13 Rosario Central
12 Argentinos Juniors

U20 WORLD CUP EGYPT 2009

FIFA.com's tournament news feed.

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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Sep 24
Egypt 4-1 Trinidad & Tobago - Egy goals by Afroto, Hussam Arafat(2) & Mohamed Talaat. T&T goal by Jean Luc Rochford.
-Fri Sep 25
Paraguay 0-0 Italy
Nigeria 0-1 Venezuela - Ven goal by Yonathan Del Valle.
Spain 8-0 Tahiti - Spain goals by Aaron Niguez(2), Emilio Nsue(2), Fran Merida, Kike(2) & Ander Herrera.
-Sat Sep 26
USA 0-3 Germany - Ger goals by Semih Aydilek(PK), Florian Jungwirth & Manuel Schaeffler.
Cameroon 2-0 South Korea - Cam goals by Andre Akono Effa & Germain Tiko.
Ghana 2-1 Uzbekistan - Gha goals by Ransford Osei & Dominic Adiyiah. Uzb goal by Sherzodbek Karimov.
England 0-1 Uruguay - Uru goal by Tabare Viudez.
-Sun Sep 27
Brazil 5-0 Costa Rica - Bra goals by Alan Kardec(2), Giuliano, Alex Teixeira & Rafael.
Czechia 2-1 Australia - Michael Rabusic & Tomas Pekhart(PK). Aus goal by James Holland(PK).
UAE 2-2 South Africa - UAE goals by Al Kamali Hamdan Ismaeel(PK) & Al Musabi Theyab Awana. SA goals both by Kermit Erasmus.
Honduras 3-0 Hungaria - Hon goals by Mario Roberto Martinez(2) & Arnold Peralta.
-Mon Sep 28
Italy 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago - Ita goals by Michaelangelo Albertazzi & Silvano Raggio. T&T goal by Juma Clarence.
Egypt 1-2 Paraguay - Egy goal by Afroto. Par goals by Federico Santander & Aldo Paniagua.
Nigeria 0-2 Spain - Spa goals both by Fran Merida(one via PK).
Tahiti 0-8 Venezuela - Ven goals by Jose Rondon(3, one via PK), Yonathan Del Valle(3), Jose Manuel Velazquez & Oscar Rojas.
-Tue Sep 29
South Korea v Germany
USA v Cameroon
Uruguay v Uzbekistan
Ghana v England

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See all the games live on ESPN2, ESPN Classic or ESPN360.com.

ENDERS

Viewers in the USA can now see UEFA Champions League, and English Premier League highlights on the internet via Hulu. (Thanks to JJ for this)

Some News for Fri Sep 25, 2009

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

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

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Group Stage
Matchday 4:
-Tue Sep 22
Puerto Rico Islanders 1-1 Saprissa - PRI goal by Josh Hansen. Sap goal by Kenall Watson.
Metapan 0-4 Pachuca - Pac goals by Ulises Mendivil(2), Edy German Brambila & Edgar Benítez.
Houston Dynamo 5-1 Arabe Unido - HD goals by Eddie Robinson, Cam Weaver, Corey Ashe & Stuart Holden(2). AU goal by Orlando Rodriguez.
-Wed Sep 23
Columbus Crew 0-2 Cruz Azul - CA goals by Pablo Zeballos & Alejandro Vela.
Toluca 3-0 Jabloteh - Tol goals by Isaac Brizuela, Manuel Zarate & Nestor Calderon.
Comunicaciones 0-3 W Connection - WC goals all by Jonathan Farias.
-Wed Sep 24
DC United 3-0 Marathon - DCU goal by Luciano Emilio(2) & Jaime Moreno.
UNAM Pumas 4-0 Real Espana - UNAM goals by Victor Rosales, Ismael Iniguez, Maynor Martinez(OG) & Javier Cortes.

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Standings (with 4 Games Played):
Group A
9 Pachuca(4 GP)
7 Houston Dynamo(4 GP)
7 Arabe Unido(4 GP)
0 Metapan(4 GP)
Group B
12 Toluca(4 GP)
6 DC United(4 GP) [CORRECTED]
6 Marathon(4 GP)
0 San Juan Jabloteh(4 GP)
Group C
10 Cruz Azul(4 GP)
6 Columbus Crew(4 GP)
4 Saprissa(4 GP)
2 Puerto Rico Islanders(4 GP)
Group D
10 UNAM Pumas(4 GP)
6 Comunicaciones(4 GP)
4 W Connection(4 GP)
3 Real Espana(4 GP)

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Matchday 5 will be played on Sep 29, 30 & Oct 1.

USL FIRST DIVISION PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinal Round Playoffs
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Thu Sep 24
Vancouver #7 1-0 Carolina #2 - Van goal by Randy Edwini-Bonsu.
Rochester #6 2-1 Puerto Rico #3 - Roc goals by Kenney Bertz & John Ball. PR goal by Nicholas Addlery.
Montreal #5 2-0 Charleston #4 - Mon goals by David Testo & Rocco Placentino.

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Ejections:
Cristian Arrieta - Puerto Rico - Red Card
Matt Bobo - Charleston - 2 Yellow Cards

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2nd Leg
-Sun Sep 27
Carolina v Vancouver (0-1)
Puerto Rico v Rochester (1-2)
Charleston v Montreal (0-2) - live at 6pm Central on FSC

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All the games can be seen at USLlive.com.

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#1 seed Portland Timbers have a buy to the next round.

MLS

Official Web Site

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Week 28
Matches & Scores
-Wed Sep 23
Colorado Rapids 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes - CR goal by Conor Casey(PK). SJE goal by Chris Wondolowski(PK).
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City CO
Attendance: 6,234
-Sat Sep 26
Columbus Crew v Los Angeles Galaxy - 6:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium - Columbus OH
New England Revolution v Seattle Sounders FC - 6:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA
Kansas City Wizards v Colorado Rapids - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Community America Ballpark - Kansas City KS
FC Dallas v Real Salt Lake - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX
Chicago Fire v Toronto FC - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL
Chivas USA v New York Red Bulls - 9:30pm Central on FSC & FSE
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
-Sun Sep 27
DC United v San Jose Earthquakes - 2pm Central on Telefutura
Venue: RFK Stadium - Washington DC

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Colorado lose midfielders #2 and #3 for the season. A month or so ago it was left winger Colin Clark with the blown out knee, and now it's right midfielder Jacob Petersonk, and Clark's replacement on the left ? Smith. Wow. They are in trouble.

USA U20 TEAM

Here we go with the U20 World Cup!

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US Soccer gives us lots of news and notes as the team prepares to open against Germany on Saturday.

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Official team blog

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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Sep 26
USA v Germany - 9am Central on ESPN Classic
-Tue Sep 29
USA v Cameroon - 11:45am Central on ESPN2
-Fri Oct 2
USA v South Korea - 11:45am Central on ESPN2

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Nike on Dempsey.

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

-Sat Sep 26
Sampdoria v Inter
Hamburg v Bayern Munich
Porto v Sporting
-Sun Sep 27
Bordeaux v Stade Rennes - #1 v #4
AEK Athens v Panathinaikos

U20 WORLD CUP EGYPT 2009

FIFA.com's tournament news feed.

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Match schedule

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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Sep 24
Egypt 4-1 Trinidad & Tobago - Egy goals by Afroto, Hussam Arafat(2) & Mohamed Talaat. T&T goal by Jean Luc Rochford.
-Fri Sep 25
Paraguay 0-0 Italy
Nigeria 0-1 Venezuela - Ven goal by Yonathan Del Valle.
Spain 8-0 Tahiti - Spain goals by Aaron Niguez(2), Emilio Nsue(2), Fran Merida, Kike(2) & Ander Herrera.
-Sat Sep 26
USA v Germany
Cameroon v South Korea
Ghana v Uzbekistan
England v Uruguay
-Sun Sep 27
Brazil v Costa Rica
Czechia v Australia
UAE v South Africa
Honduras v Hungaria
-Mon Sep 28
Italy v Trinidad & Tobago
Egypt v Paraguay
Nigeria v Spain
Tahiti v Venezuela

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See all the games live on ESPN2, ESPN Classic or ESPN360.com.

Interviews With Claudio Reyna and Salomon Kalou at The Steve Nash "Showdown in Chinatown" Charity Soccer Game

By Carl Carpenter

This summer I had the chance to interview two players, Claudio Reyna and Salomon Kalou, after Steve Nash's second annual celebrity soccer match. Proceeds from the event went towards the Steve Nash Foundation and the Claudio Reyna Foundation. The set-up is a free, 8-a-side match featuring NBA players and professional soccer players. The match was held at Sara D. Roosevelt Park (Chrystie Street & Houston Street) in Manhattan's Lower East Side.















The match fell on the same day the U.S. national team's historic victory over Spain in the Confederations Cup. An excited crowd of U.S. supporters adorned in Red, White, and Blue began to occupy the area outside the fence. A DJ was spinning hip remixes by artists like England's Gorillaz and Virginia's N.E.R.D. The rowdy, likely intoxicated, crew of U.S. victory celebrators joined in on a rousing version of the White Stripe's, "Seven Nation Army." It's been a popular football chant of the last couple years, originating with Serie A crowds in Italy. There was a persistent rain right up until kick-off, but things lightened up just in time for the match.

This year's match featured the following players:

BASKETBALL STARS PLAYING:
Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns)
Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs)
Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks)
Grant Hill (Phoenix Suns)
Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors)
Raja Bell (Charlotte Bobcats).

SOCCER STARS PLAYING:
Claudio Reyna (US/Former NY Red Bull)
Thierry Henry (France/FC Barcelona)
Javier Zanetti (Argentina/Inter Milan)
Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast/Chelsea)
Ryan Babel (The Netherlands/Liverpool)
Giovanni van Bronckhorst (The Netherlands/Feyenoord)
Mathieu Flamini (France/AC Milan)
Ivan Cordoba (Columbia/Inter Milan)
Adrian Mutu (Romania/ACF Fiorentina)

First half highlights started with Tony Parker netting the matches first goal for the Claudio Reyna captained blue shirts. Romania's Adrian Moutoo flew head first into a crowd of young supporters not long after. AC Milan's Mathieu Flamini struck first for the then trailing, Steve Nash captained, White jerseys. Parker struck again soon after, putting the blues back on top.d With the exception of Steve Nash, who grew up on the game in Canada and states he could have made it as a professional had it been his focus, Tony Parker was far and away the best soccer player of NBA bunch. This comes as little surprise when considering his French nationality. Jason Kidd likely came in at a distant third, showcasing decent ball control and some respectable field vision translating from his court viewing prowess. Grant Hill was able to poach a goal by hanging around the net, and also managed to pull of a hilariously executed nut-meg on seven-footer Chris Bosh.

As for the professional footballers, Salomon Kalou dominated the first half in terms of consistently flashy play. He did fall victim to an tactful megging by now retired Dutch veteran Edgar Davids. Mathieu Flamini, who moved from Arsenal to AC Milan last season, gave the few Gunner fans in attendance a taste of what skipper Arsne Wenger had let go. His passing and precise shooting kept the opposing goalie on his guard all afternoon. Serie A players made up the professionals in attendance, with Javier Zanetti from Inter Milan claiming the role as the biggest name. The attention in the second half fell entirely on Thierry Henry, the French legend who wow'd the crowd with his mere presence.

- - - - -

The du Nord interview with Claudio Reyna

Interview conducted and edited by Carl Carpenter


Claudio Reyna is irrefutably in the ranks of greatest players ever to suit up for the U.S. National Team. He was captain at the time of his retirement following the 2006 World Cup. He would go on to spend one final season at Manchester City in the English Premier League before moving to the MLS in 2007. He started 27 games for the New York Red Bulls in his first season, playing under his former University of Virginia and U.S. National Team coach Bruce Arena. His second season would be cut short by a herniated disc, forcing him to retire in July of 2008.

Claudio's foreign club career stands as one the finest by a U.S. national team member. After an impressive performance in the 1994 World Cup, he was picked up by German Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen. He was soon loaned out to fellow Bundesliga club, VfL Wolfsburg, where he became the first U.S. citizen to captain a European club. Reyna went on to have successful stints at Glasgow based Rangers F.C., and at Sunderland and Manchester City in the English Premier League. Reyna cohosted and organized the Steve Nash 'Showdown in Chinatown' charity soccer game on June 24th in Sara D. Roosevelt Park. I spoke with Reyna at an after match press event that evening.

du Nord: Claudio, how does it feel to see the U.S. National Team, an institution you dedicated much of your lives work to, claim a victory of this magnitude today against Spain?

Claudio Reyna: It's really hard to put into words what this means. The team looked world class out there today. They reached a level we've only seen from a few other sides on our national team's history, and for them to come out and do it on this stage, against this Spain side... it really is hard to put into words.

du Nord: As someone who played for the US National Team from 94' - 06', do you think, given the historic win streak and unbeaten streak that Spain was in the midst of, that this win ranks amongst the victories of the 94' and 02' World Cup teams?

C R: Ya know, I really do. Even though the World Cup is the pinnacle, the biggest stage, this is a victory that rivals any we've ever had. Spain is the number one team in the world at the moment, and was attempting to break into the realm of greatest team ever. For us to step up at this moment, with their side at full strength, and take them out, it truly is historic.

du Nord: You would have been proud of the Empire Supporters Club down at Nevada Smiths, many of whom found their way down here (motion toward a group of rowdy, Red, White, and Blue adorned fans). They were off the walls. They had some Spain fans on edge, especially when they started up the Team America chants...

C R: Ya, I know the one, I wouldn't expect anything less from that crew (laughs).

du Nord: It's exciting from a US soccer fan's perspective to see an increase in passion and interest at the moment. There are successful expansion teams in the MLS right now. There's increasing amounts of coverage on ESPN. The 2008 Euro Cup received high levels of interest when they aired that in it's entirety, which was a first. And now they've got two Premier League time slots for the 2009/2010 season that Setanta lost. Are you excited about what this could all mean for soccer enthusiasm in the US in general, or do you have some concerns about the EPL continuing to dominate in interest over the MLS?

C R: Ya know, in my time at Sunderland and Man City, I gained so much respect for the Premier League as one of the top sporting leagues in the world without question. I have no problem at all with Americans being exposed to it at a higher level, in fact, I think it will only generate more interest in the MLS in the long run. The more American sports fans we can convert to soccer, the better off the MLS is, and the US National Team will be in general. And I agree that the increase in time on ESPN is going to be a major factor in this movement. They were surprised at the number of viewers they were able to attract in 2008 when the played the Euro Cup. I genuinely believe that they'll find similar results this year with Premier League slots, and that'll be plus for US Soccer at large.

du Nord: One of ESPN.com's most popular writers, Bill Simmons, is covering Soccer a much higher rate now too. Have you had a chance to read any of his coverage? He's new to the sport, and fairly uninformed, but he's a tremendous writer with a massive following. He's very honest about his inexperience, but appears to really be taking a shine to soccer as of late.

C R: I have read a few of his Soccer pieces. He had an excellent one about the process of picking a Premier League team to follow as an American with no affiliations. It was really entertaining. I think a growing interest from him could really help overturn some long standing disdain for Soccer from some of the life long ESPN devotees.

du Nord: Ya, that was a really funny piece. He even mentioned in it that he at times out right disliked and ridiculed Soccer. As someone who, through your Claudio Reyna Foundation, recognizes the potential for Soccer to help the underprivileged and offer disadvantaged youths structure and discipline, it must be exciting to see that negative sentiment towards Soccer beginning to wane.

C R: Well ya, that's really what today is all about. We came out to bring attention and raise money for Steve and I's organizations. It helps to have these celebrities come out and create excitement, and for these NBA superstars to cross the divide and show their support for the game. I think Soccer and Basketball are very similar in the sense that they're not exclusive like Hockey or Baseball where it takes extremely specific facilities, and large sums of money to allow yourself to play. The beauty of Soccer is that all you need is a ball and some imagination. It doesn't discriminate, and it breaks down cultural divides. I think with the growing amount of American interest, that will be one of the biggest benefits. More people will take interest in other cultures as an extension of being around people from other countries, and through a shared appreciation for the world's game.

- - - - -

The du Nord interview with Salomon Kalou

Interview conducted and edited by Carl Carpenter


Salomon Kalou is one of the best young players in the English Premier League. He starts at left-wing for the perennial top four powerhouse club, the Chelsea Super Blues, based out of London. Equally as impressive, the recently turned 23 year old is a starter on the Côte d'Ivoire national team that's currently ranked 18th in the FIFA World Rankings. This is the highest of any African national team, with Cameroon a distant second at 29th.

Kalou started his professional career in the Netherlands playing for the Feyenoord satellite club Excelsior Rotterdam. After scoring 15 goals in 11 matches at the start of the 2002-2003 season, he was promoted to Feyenoord itself, joining his older brother Bonaventure Kalou. He stayed there for three years through the 2005-2006 season. His form was impressive enough over this time to draw encouragement from the Netherlands national team coach Marco van Basten to become a Dutch citizen. He was eligible as he had not yet played for the Côte d'Ivoire national team, and his brother warned him of the difficulty he had experienced with their native countries team officials and government. After being denied upon several attempts, he is now a fixture of the Côte d'Ivoire national team. He made his first start in March 2007, and scored 3 goals in route to Côte d'Ivoire's 4th place finish in the 2008 African Nations Cup.

The 2009-2010 season will be Kalou's fourth at Chelsea FC. He was a favorite of Chelsea's 2007-2008 coach Avram Grant, playing in 33 matches that season and netting 7 goals. He saw a slight decline in field time under Luiz Felipe Scolari, who replaced Grant for the 2008-2009 season. Scolari was sacked by February of of the 2008-2009 season, and replaced by Guus Hiddink. Hiddink is 6th ranked Russia's current national team coach, and he finished out last season for Chelsea. Kalou was a starter again by the end of the season, and is expected to maintain that position in the upcoming season under current Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti.

du Nord: Salomon, how did it feel to play Soccer in the US in this setting? Had you played in any events like this before?

Salomon Kalou: I had not played in a game like this, with Basketball players and famous Soccer players before. It was very exciting for me. I wasn't sure how hard to play at first, but I got a feel for the game after a while.

du Nord: I remember reading that when you first arrived at Chelsea, you were in awe of some of your most famous teammates. I'm sure after having played in the Premier League for three years, and in international play for Ivory Coast, that feeling has warn off some. Were you in awe of any of the stars out there today?

S K: Well, Thierry Henry is one of my heroes, so it is always exciting to get to speak with him. He's one of the all time greats. Also, I played in the Netherlands for four years. Edgar Davids is a legendary player from their National Team. It was exciting to meet and play against him today.

du Nord: So did you let him Nutmeg you out of respect, or does he still have the skills from back in the day?

S K: (laughs) No, he is still very good. That was not intentional on my part. I did not see it coming.

du Nord: You were a very outspoken supporter of last years replacement coach Guus Hiddink. You saw your time increase significantly under his coaching. Do you expect you'll play as often under Ancelotti.

S K: I think the reason we all like Hiddink so much was because every player felt he had an equal chance to play if he deserved it from his performance in practice. I think Ancelotti is equally as fair, and I believe I will get to play often this season if I am playing my best.

du Nord: There's a lot of young talent in Africa. How big of an honor was it for you to be named the CAF Young Player of the Year in 2008?

S K: I felt very blessed and humbled to receive this award over all the other talented players coming up in Africa.

du Nord: Do you think that 2010 will see an African country win the World Cup for the first time? And do you think Egypt's dissapointing performance in the Confederations Cup casts some doubt on this given they won the 2008 African Nations Cup?

S K: I think there are several African countries with a very strong chance to win, especially with the tournament being held in South Africa. Egypt won the African Nations Cup, that's true, but they are no longer ranked as the best African country. Ivory Coast is now the highest at 18th, and I think that we should be higher up, but we don't often have the chance to play against Europe and South America's best teams. I think Ivory Coast has as good a shot as any other country to win the World Cup in 2010.

Some News for Thu Sep 24, 2009

STARTERS

I want to float this idea right now: Next season in Kansas City the head coach should be Preki! You read it here first.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

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

dN

Cruz Azul got a decisive win in Columbus last night and has officially advanced to the knock out rounds.

dN

Group Stage
Matchday 4:
-Tue Sep 22
Puerto Rico Islanders 1-1 Saprissa - PRI goal by Josh Hansen. Sap goal by Kenall Watson.
Metapan 0-4 Pachuca - Pac goals by Ulises Mendivil(2), Edy German Brambila & Edgar Benítez.
Houston Dynamo 5-1 Arabe Unido - HD goals by Eddie Robinson, Cam Weaver, Corey Ashe & Stuart Holden(2). AU goal by Orlando Rodriguez.
-Wed Sep 23
Columbus Crew 0-2 Cruz Azul - CA goals by Pablo Zeballos & Alejandro Vela.
Toluca 3-0 Jabloteh - Tol goals by Isaac Brizuela, Manuel Zarate & Nestor Calderon.
Comunicaciones 0-3 W Connection - WC goals all by Jonathan Farias.
-Wed Sep 24
DC United V Marathon
UNAM Pumas V Real Espana

dN

Standings (with Games Played):
Group A
9 Pachuca(4 GP)
7 Houston Dynamo(4 GP)
7 Arabe Unido(4 GP)
0 Metapan(4 GP)
Group B
12 Toluca(4 GP)
6 Marathon(3 GP)
3 DC United(3 GP)
0 San Juan Jabloteh(4 GP)
Group C
10 Cruz Azul(4 GP)
6 Columbus Crew(4 GP)
4 Saprissa(4 GP)
2 Puerto Rico Islanders(4 GP)
Group D
7 UNAM Pumas(3 GP)
6 Comunicaciones(4 GP)
4 W Connection(4 GP)
3 Real Espana(3 GP)

dN

Matchday 5 will be played on Sep 29, 30 & Oct 1.

USL FIRST DIVISION PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinal Round Playoffs
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Thu Sep 24
Vancouver #7 vCarolina #2
Rochester #6 v Puerto Rico #3
Montreal #5 v Charleston #4
2nd Leg
-Sun Sep 27
Carolina v Vancouver
Puerto Rico v Rochester
Charleston v Montreal - live at 6pm Central on FSC

dN

All the games can be seen at USLlive.com.

dN

#1 seed Portland Timbers have a buy to the next round.

MLS

Official Web Site

Week 28
Matches & Scores
-Wed Sep 23
Colorado Rapids 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes - CR goal by Conor Casey(PK). SJE goal by Chris Wondolowski(PK).
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City CO
Attendance: 6,234
-Sat Sep 26
Columbus Crew v Los Angeles Galaxy - 6:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium - Columbus OH
New England Revolution v Seattle Sounders FC - 6:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA
Kansas City Wizards v Colorado Rapids - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Community America Ballpark - Kansas City KS
FC Dallas v Real Salt Lake - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX
Chicago Fire v Toronto FC - 7:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL
Chivas USA v New York Red Bulls - 9:30pm Central on FSC & FSE
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
-Sun Sep 27
DC United v San Jose Earthquakes - 2pm Central on Telefutura
Venue: RFK Stadium - Washington DC

dN

Chivas USA midfielder Marcelo Saragosa got an additional game suspension for his nasty tackle on Freddy Montero of Seattle that earned Saragosa a Red Card. Now he sits 2 games.

MLS 2010

The league announced season home openers for next year today:

-Thu Mar 25
Seattle Sounders FC v Philadelphia Union

-Sat Mar 27
Columbus Crew v Toronto FC
New York Red Bulls v Chicago Fire
Kansas City Wizards v DC United
FC Dallas v Houston Dynamo
San Jose Earthquakes v Real Salt Lake
Los Angeles Galaxy v New England Revolution
-Sun Mar 28
Chivas USA v Colorado Rapids
-Sat Apr 3
Colorado Rapids v Chicago Fire
DC United v New England Revolution
Houston Dynamo v Kansas City Wizards
-Sat Apr 10
Philadelphia Union v DC United
New England Revolution v Toronto FC
Chicago Fire v San Jose Earthquakes
Real Salt Lake v Seattle Sounders FC

dN

No date set yet for Toronto - "Toronto FC's home opener will be determined pending the outcome of the club's proposal to install a grass surface at BMO Field"

MLS COACHES HOT SEAT

It's currently three who appear to be in trouble, and I don't see much difference in the severity of their plight:

1. Chris Cummins - Toronto FC
2. Tom Soehn - DC United
3. Jason Kries - Salt Lake
4. Frank Yallop - San Jose

dN

KC & NY are already looking for new coaches for next season, and I would not be surprised if Preki left Chivas USA either. How about Preki in KC!

MLS ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

Here's my list of top 10 rookie players:
1 Omar Gonzalez
2 Darrius Barnes
3 Chris Pontius
4 Stefan Frei
5 Sam Cronin
6 Kevin Alston
7 Steve Zakuani
8 Rodney Wallace
9 AJ DeLaGarza

I have to say, this is a very strong group of young players.

MLS EXHIBITION GAMES

El ChivaClasico
-Wed Sep 23
Chivas USA 0-2 Guadalajara Chivas (Mexico) - GC goals both by Omar Arellano.
Venue: Rose Bowl - Pasadena CA
Attendance: 22,879

dN

So why was this game played at the Rose Bowl??? It would have been a very respectable sized crowd at HDC, instead they got about 25% capacity. Shame.

USA U20 TEAM

At the U20 World Cup Starting Sep 24

dN

US Soccer gives us lots of news and notes as the team prepares to open against Germany on Saturday.

dN

Official team blog

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Sep 26
USA v Germany - 9am Central on ESPN Classic
-Tue Sep 29
USA v Cameroon - 11:45am Central on ESPN2
-Fri Oct 2
USA v South Korea - 11:45am Central on ESPN2

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Freddy Adu made his debut at Belenenses in a loss at Rio Ave of Vila do Conde in the Portugeuse League Cup, and according to his own Twitter: "I am def not happy about the fact that we lost. I was encouraged by my coach telling me i did a great job.Thats important to me."

dN

It just looks worse and worse for Oguchi Onyewu at Milan as centerback Thiago was rested yesterday, but old and terrible Kahka Kaladze got on the field instead of Gooch. Not to mention the fact that they are off to a miserable start this season, and the coach will just get more and more conservative. The best thing for him would be the coach getting fired, and a new guy giving him a shot.
-The other blow to Onyewu is that the rumors persist of Milan going after centerback Alex from Chelsea in January.

dN

Neither Carlos Bocanegra or Charlie Davies played yesterday as Rennes beat Sochaux 2-1 in the French Coupe de la Ligue Round of 32.

dN

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

English League Cup Round 3 games:
-Wed Sep 23
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - got the game in goal and they won 1-0 over Cardiff City.
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton - played the full 90 for the first time this season, but lost 1-0 at Manchester United.
Tim Howard - Everton - went the full 90 as they won 0-4 at Hull City.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - started and played 91 minutes of a game that went 120, but they lost 2-1 at Manchester City.

Germany DFB Pokal Second Round:
-Wed Sep 23
Kenny Cooper - 1860 Munich - started and played 68 minutes, scoring a goal, and regulation time ending tied 2-2 they won at Hertha Berlin 4-2 on PKs after extra time.

Portuguese League Cup
-Wed Sep 23
Freddy Adu - Belenenses - came on as a sub in the 63rd minute but they lost 1-0 at Rio Ave.

U20 WORLD CUP EGYPT 2009

FIFA.com's tournament news feed.

dN

Match schedule

dN

The Opening Game!
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Sep 24
Egypt v Trinidad & Tobago - 12:45pm Central on ESPN360.com

dN

See all the games live on ESPN2, ESPN Classic or ESPN360.com.

ENDERS

One is a famous Catholic priest impostor, and the other led Jamaica to the World Cup. Which one just became coach of Costa Rica?

Some News for Wed Sep 23, 2009

STARTERS

Jens Lehman answers his team who suspended him for attending Oktoberfest celebration: “That evening, I drank only half a Radler and then mineral water after that. I drove myself home later on. The visit to Oktoberfest was for a charity event which had long since been planned, but had not been agreed with the club.”

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Houston and Pachuca both took steps toward advancing with big wins on Tuesday night, while Saprissa stumbled even more by only getting a 1-1 in PUerto Rico. The Costa Rican powerhouse only has 4 points from 4 games.

dN

Group Stage
Matchday 4:
-Tue Sep 22
Puerto Rico Islanders 1-1 Saprissa - PRI goal by Josh Hansen. Sap goal by Kenall Watson.
Metapan 0-4 Pachuca - Pac goals by Ulises Mendivil(2), Edy German Brambila & Edgar Benítez.
Houston Dynamo 5-1 Arabe Unido - HD goals by Eddie Robinson, Cam Weaver, Corey Ashe & Stuart Holden(2). AU goal by Orlando Rodriguez.
-Wed Sep 23
Columbus Crew V Cruz Azul
Toluca V Jabloteh
Comunicaciones V W Connection
-Wed Sep 24
DC United V Marathon
UNAM Pumas V Real Espana

dN

Tonight it's the Crew who are desperate for payback after losing 5-0 to Cruz Azul in Mexico City. This should be a very good game.

dN

And Toluca can clinch a spot in the knock out stage with a win.

dN

Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch on what a win could possibly do for the clubs coffers.

dN

Standings (with Games Played):
Group A
9 Pachuca(4 GP)
7 Arabe Unido(4 GP)
7 Houston Dynamo(4 GP)
0 Metapan(4 GP)
Group B
9 Toluca(3 GP)
6 Marathon(3 GP)
3 DC United(3 GP)
0 San Juan Jabloteh(3 GP)
Group C
7 Cruz Azul(3 GP)
6 Columbus Crew(3 GP)
4 Saprissa(4 GP)
2 Puerto Rico Islanders(4 GP)
Group D
7 UNAM Pumas(3 GP)
6 Comunicaciones(3 GP)
3 Real Espana(3 GP)
1 W Connection(3 GP)

MLS

Week 28
Matches & Scores
-Wed Sep 23
Colorado Rapids v San Jose Earthquakes - 8:30pm Central on Direct Kick

dN

The Philadelphia Daily News reports that the Union will open the league season next year with the very first game, at Seattle on March 25. No word yet on when Philly will play their first home game, seeing as their stadium will not be ready.
-In the past teams have just played a ton of road games until their place is finished. This has usually led to an ugly season, but if you don't get your act together and be ready for the season, then isn't that the price you should pay?

dN

Chicago Now with an article on Fire midfielder Peter Lowry who made a huge splash last weekend with 2 impressive goals.
-I have gotten a few emails about Lowry since I ask about him on Monday. It looks like he was a very very smart college player who didn't fit in last year and had to learn how to be a pro the hard way. Let's hope this is the start of something great for him, and us as fans.

dN

The Fan 590 radio in Toronto has an interview with TFC honcho Tom Anselmi. Download or listen here. (Heads up: Lots of hockey talk, and buffoonish soccer-bashing host.)

dN

Daniel Girard of the Toronto Star talks to TFC's newest player Julian De Guzman about what the team needs to do to make the playoffs.
-I know - get a real defense.

dN

Don Ruiz of the Tacoma New Tribune talks to Seattle GM Adrian Hanauer about stadium capacity for the 2010 season. Will it increase due to high demand?

dN

Andrew Hush of ESPN Soccernet with his weekly league news round up.

dN

The Denver Post on the Colorado Rapids push for a playoff spot. The team sits in 6th place with 5 games left to play.
-It's a nice thing to see the Post actually writing about the team.

MLS EXPANSION

The Oregonian with an update on stadium remodeling for Portland's entry into the league in 2011.

MLS EXHIBITION GAMES

El ChivaClasico
-Wed Sep 23
Chivas USA v Guadalajara Chivas (Mexico)
Venue: Rose Bowl - Pasadena CA

dN

Phil Collin of the Daily Breeze previews the game.

USL FIRST DIVISION

Season ending stats:

Top Goal Scorer – Charles Gbeke - Vancouver Whitecaps: 12

Top Assist Makers Leaders – Ricardo Sanchez - Minnesota Thunder and Wes Knight - Vancouver Whitecaps: 8

Goals Give Up Per Game: Dusty Hudock - Charleston Battery: 0.279

To me Hudock's number is simply astonishing. He only allowed 5 goals! But sadly for Charleston he blew out his knee last week and will not be guarding the net for the playoffs.

dN

For my Minnesota Thunder the top goal scorers this season were:
8 Melvin Tarley
7 Ricardo Sanchez
6 Marco Terminesi
5 Lawrence Olum
5 Brian Cvilikas

Captain and center midfielder Jeremiah Bass played in all 30 games!

dN

Thunder Supporters had a post-season party last night at the Sweetwater and gave out the follwoing awards:
-Nic Platter - Player of the Year (3rd consecutive)
-Lawrence Olum - Newcomer of the Year
-The Super Rookie - Jackass (Fan) of the Year
-Claude Duran - Buzz Lagos Lifetime Achievement Award

USA @ U20 WORLD CUP

Official team blog.

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Sep 26
USA v Germany - 9am Central on ESPN Classic
-Tue Sep 29
USA v Cameroon - 11:45am Central on ESPN2
-Fri Oct 2
USA v South Korea - 11:45am Central on ESPN2

U20 WORLD CUP

The Independent picks 10 players to watch at the tournament. No Americans make the list.

dN

FIFA.com's tournament news feed.

dN

Match schedule

The Opening Game!
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Sep 24
Egypt v Trinidad & Tobago - 12:45pm Central on ESPN360.com

See all the games live on ESPN2, ESPN Classic or ESPN360.com.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action

English League Cup Round 3 games:
-Tue Sep 22
Mike Grella - Leeds - came on as a sub in the 81st minute but they lost 0-1 at home against Liverpool.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - played the full match but lost 3-1 at Bolton.

Germany DFB Pokal Second Round:
-Tue Sep 22
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach - went the distance, picking up a Yellow Card in the final minute, but losing 0-1 at home to Duisburg.
David Yelldell - Koblenz - played the whole match as they won 4-2 at home over Energie Cottbus.

Netherlands Dutch Cup:
-Tue Sep 22
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - won 1-3 Omniworld.

dN

Coming Up

English League Cup Round 3 games:
-Wed Sep 23
Jozy Altidore - Hull City v Everton
Clint Dempsey - Fulham at Manchester City
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa v Cardiff City
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa v Cardiff City
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton at Manchester United
Tim Howard - Everton at Hull City
Eddie Johnson - Fulham at Manchester City
Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa v Cardiff City

France Coupe de la Ligue Round of 32:
-Wed Sep 23
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes v Sochaux
Charlie Davies - Sochaux at Rennes

Germany DFB Pokal Second Round:
-Wed Sep 23
Kenny Cooper - 1860 Munich v Hertha Berlin
Luis Robles - Kaiserslautern v Bayer Leverkusen

Italy Serie A:
-Wed Sep 23
Oguchi Onyewu - Milan at Udinese

Scottish League Cup Round 3:
-Wed Sep 23
DaMarucus Beasley - Rangers at Queen of the South

ENDERS

Check this out! I don't know if you are a Zune person, I am a Creative guy myself, (I know most of you prol dig the Ipod) but the new line of Zune mp3 players is out and you can get them engraved with your fave MLS team logo! No other sports teams are available, just Major League Soccer. Wild.












(Thanks to the Digital Gopher for the heads up on this one.)