Some News for Mon Mar 29, 2010
STARTERS
It will be announced on Tuesday that MLS Cup 2010 will be hosted by Toronto.
dN
It was like an old LA Galaxy match for Puebla in Mexico as Carlos Ruiz and Herculez Gomez scored the goals to beat Club America 2-1!!
-And Herculez now has an astonishing 7 goals in 8 games for Puebla!!!!!
dN
The big rumor going around today is that Manchester United will be the opponent for the MLS All-Stars down in Houston next summer. And if I knew the date I would have listed it.
dN
Marseille won the French Coupe de la Ligue 3-1 over Bordeaux. Vive La Cagole Biere!
dN
Frank Lampard scored 4 goals leading Chelsea to a 7-1 destruction of Aston Villa in the English Premier League.
dN
There's a new leader in the Bundesliga as Schalke go to Leverkusen and win while Bayern lose at home!
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Quarterfinals Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Mar 30
Lyon v Bordeaux - Live at 1:30PM Central on Fox Soccer Channel.
Bayern Munich v Manchester United - Live at 1:30pm on DirectTV and delayed at 4PM Central on FSC.
-Wed Mar 31
Arsenal v Barcelona - Live at 1:30PM Central on Fox Soccer Channel.
Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow - Live at 1:30pm on DirectTV & Fox Soccer Plus and delayed at 4PM Central on FSC.
CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
All 4 teams are from Mexico again this year.
Semifinals Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Mar 30
Toluca v Pachuca - Live at 8:30PM on Fox Soccer Channel.
-Wed Mar 31
UNAM v Cruz Azul - Live at 8:30PM on Fox Soccer Channel.
WHO KNEW?
Marvell Wynne has all the athletic tributes in the world, but appeared to be not developing as a soccer player in his spot at right fullback or midfield for Toronto despite them giving him 3 full seasons to get it right. Finally they ship him out to Colorado. So Wynne arrives on Friday in Denver, does not train with his new team, get stuffed into the starting line up as a CENTER BACK due to injuries etc, and what happens??? He has a terrific game. What is going on?
QUOTES OF THE DAY
Sure to royally piss off Toronto FC players and fans, giving them fuel for the return leg, Columbus' Guillermo Barros Schelotto on his team's 2-0 win on Saturday: "For us, it was very easy."
dN
Comment left by Cannon Girl at Center Line Soccer after article on San Jose acquiring goalkeeper Jon Busch: "...if this acquisition results in Busch as starting goalkeeper and [Joe] Cannon as head coach then I’m all for it."
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Dave Van Den Bergh is teamless right now, but was in New York last weekend and dispelled all those rumors that I never believed in the first place that claimed he forced his way out of the Red Bull team and into Dallas. Quote DVDB: "I didn't want to leave here in the first place." End of story. Now will someone just sign him already. He is a great player still.
FACT OF THE DAY
Infamous American soccer critic Bill Archer of Big Soccer gives us a pretty amazing fact:
What do these current MLS head coaches all have in common?
Dominick Kinnear - Houston
Jason Kreis - Salt Lake
Curt Onalfo - DC
Preki - Toronto
Martin Vasquez - Chivas
Peter Vermes - Kansas City
Robert Warzycha - Columbus
Frank Yallop - San Jose
They were all players in the MLS inaugural season of 1996!
-And I noticed that current Los Angeles head coach Bruce Arena was the head coach at DC United in 1996, while head coach Peter Nowak of Philadelphia came into MLS in Chicago's inaugural season of 1998.
THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT
Hey FIRE fans - a Damani Ralph siting. Via Big Apple Soccer.
WHY?
Why are 6 teams off on Week 2 of the MLS season? Columbus, Dallas, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Salt Lake & Toronto don't play, for no apparent reason.
MLS WEEK 1
First Kick Matches & Scores:
-Thu Mar 25
Seattle Sounders 2-0 Philadelphia Union - SS goals by Brad Evans & Fredy Montero.
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
Attendance: 36,241
-Fri Mar 26
Chivas USA 0-1 Colorado Rapids - CR goal by Omar Cummings.
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Attendance: 18,653
-Sat Mar 27
Columbus Crew 2-0 Toronto FC - CC goals by Andy Iro & Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
Venue: Crew Stadium - Columbus OH
Attendance: 13,536
FC Dallas 1-1 Houston Dynamo - FCD goal by Attiba Harris. HD goal by Mike Chabala.
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX
Attendance: 8,016
New York Red Bulls 1-0 Chicago Fire - NYRB goal by Joel Lindpere.
Venue: Red Bull Arena, Harrison NJ
Attendance: 24,572
Kansas City Wizards 4-0 DC United - KC goals by Kei Kamara, Davy Arnaud, Ryan Smith & Jack Jewsbury(PK).
Venue: Community erica Ballpark - Kansas City KS
Attendance: 10,385
San Jose Earthquakes 0-3 Real Salt Lake - RSL goals by Fabian Espindola & Javier Morales(2).
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium - Santa Clara CA
Attendance: 10,589
LA Galaxy 1-0 New England Revolution - LAG goal by Edson Buddle.
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Attendance: 21,376
dN
EJECTIONS:
-Chris Leitch - San Jose - Red Card
-Toni Stahl - Philadelphia - 2 Yellow Cards
MLS WEEK 2
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Apr 1
Houston Dynamo v Real Salt Lake - 8pm Central on ESPN2
LA Galaxy v Chivas USA - 10pm Central on ESPN2
-Sat Apr 3
Colorado Rapids v Chicago Fire - 4pm Central on TeleFutura
DC United v New England Revolution - 6:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Seattle Sounders v New York Red Bulls - 9:30pm Central on FSC
6 teams are off this weekend! WHY????
MLS INJURY REPORT
Lots of injuries in Week 1:
-Clyde Simms of DC was subbed out early due to a hamstring tear that will keep him out for up to 6 weeks.
-Eddie Robinson of Houston came out just before half time, also suffering from a hamstring strain.
-Kevin Alston of New England re-tweaked his hamstring late in the game at LA.
-Eddie Lewis of LA came out with a foot injury after a hard tackle.
-Kyle Davies of Dallas suffered a broken arm.
Did I miss any?
MY THOUGHTS
Here was my first Twitter message for today: Epic weekend in KC: Roadtrip, BBQ, KC Wiz demolish DC U, UFC-GSP, Late Night Party!, Biscuits N Gravy, The Clash, LMAO, Very Happy!
Yeah, 16 of us from the Twin Cities road-tripped down I-35 for the MLS season opener in Kansas City. And none of us are KC fans. Or DC fans either.
That makes it 7 years in a row for me at the Zards home opener. And it always treats me right.
When you leave my city at this time of year, everything is brown and dead, but when you step out of your car 6 hours south of here, the grass is green and the trees are budding. It’s joyful. I know that reads as pretty corny coming from me, but it’s a real sentiment.
The absolute best thing in KC is their Bar-B-Que. Many great choices: Arthur Bryants is an old favorite of mine, but lately its all about Oklahoma Joes. Nothing beats BBQ from a gas station!
It's pretty fun going to the games in KC these days too. Sure the place is a bit odd, with a minor league baseball park being called home for a soccer team, not to mention the fact that it is a good 10 miles west of the KC suburbs out in the country. strangely you are plopped right in the middle of this weird modern outdoor shopping mall area. A vast sprawling shopping-eating complex, that also includes a big old NASCAR track. All the worst restaurants in the world are within walking distance - Olive Garden, Applebees, Hooters, you name it. And still I love it.
(In full disclosure we ended up at Applebees after the game so that I could watch the UFC title fight between George St Pierre and Dan Hardy. No one joint in the whole area was showing the fight. And I understand where this might just make you think that I am exactly like the meatheads I rail against. Yes I have faults. Enough though.)
The game was a lot of fun. For 3 years in a row I have gotten tickets on the West end behind the goal. I would prefer something in the middle, but there are very few seats anywhere close to the field so we make due. We saw goals galore, but all from the Wizards, leaving the mighty DC smelling just plain rotten. The worst I have ever seen them in person. So bad that we sang a little ditty to former the former KC coach who is now in charge of DC:
Curt Onalfo
Rhymes With Awful
Old Falafel
Curt Onalfo
Yes, I can see where that might come across as odd/dumb to you, but believe me it made perfect sense at the time. On the other hand we also laid out this one on the unsuspecting good people of KC: "Give me an E. Give me a B. Give me an O. Give me an L. Give me an A. What's that spell? EBOLA! What? EBOLA! What? EBOLA."
And we can't go to a game without a rousing rendition of "Stand Up If You Hate Milwaukee!" One guy in our section eventually stood!
The rain never bothered us either, and a few minutes into the game it stopped completely, making it a nearly perfect night out.
Did I mention that DC really stunk? They had the first chance to score, right in front of us, and the usually unshakable Jaime Moreno shot it right at the KC keeper – Danish Billy Idol! (Who flexed for the crowd after the win!)
Minnesota's own Teal Bunbury made a late game cameo for the winners. Nice for him.
That last KC goal, a PK, was a complete joke, as Dejan Jakovic was called for handball, but he was literally being headlocked to death by Kei Kamara when his arm hit the ball. We all figured the ref was calling the foul against KC when the whistle went, and even the Wiz players seemed a bit sheepish accepting the free goal that was coming.
The rest of the night continued to just get louder and crazier for all of us, and thankfully we had enough rooms in the hotel all together to buffer us from the other guests, cuz we didn’t hold back until quite late! Yes!
The next morning we went to church of course, then had a huge southern style breakfast to pack our bellies for the drive back north.
It was a completely glorious 36 hours!
I want to say thanks a ton to Sam Perron of the KC Wiz Futebol Clube for setting up the tickets, and coming by to shares some one liners with us!
And finally, I must say it was great to see my Friend In Football and occasional du Nord contributor Graham Fox before the game. He was sporting a heroic blue cowboy hat, and a big beard. Nice!
Until next year!
MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS
Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated gives us Five things to note from Week 1.
-Including one hell of a Best XI from the weekend's games.
dN
And Davis at Daily Soccer Fix on opening weekend attendance. Not intended for FC Dallas front office apologists.
dN
Michael Black of the Deseret News with an article on RSL's Javier Morales who got his new season off to a sensational start.
dN
Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch on the Crew getting off on the right foot, especially against Toronto, this season. Last season was a tough one in the opening 2 months.
dN
Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer talks to Red Bulls players about the first league game at their new home. Needless to say, they are very happy.
dN
Our man Dave Walker at the 3rd Degree with his excellent game analysis - Steam of Consciousness: Houston vs FC Dallas.
dN
The Chicago Tribune on the performance of Fire debutant goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra.
dN
Nick Green of the Daily Breeze gives us post game treats from both the LA v New England game - AND - the Chivas v Colorado game. Both were at Home Depot Center this weekend.
USA U20 TEAM
The team is playing in the prestigious Dallas Cup tournament.
dN
The USA has had players sent off in each of the first 2 games.
dN
Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Sun Mar 28
USA 0-1 Mexico - Mex goal by Taufic Guarch.
-Mon Mar 29
USA 1-0 Vancouver Whitecaps - USA goal by Moises Orozco.
-Wed Mar 31
USA v Eintrecht Frankfurt
dN
Here is the USA roster:
G:
Justin Luthy - Boston College
Zac MacMath - Maryland
D:
Chad Barson - Akron
Jesus Gonzalez - CZ Elite
Ian Hines-Ike - Chivas USA Academy
Tyler Polak - CSA Legacy
Kofi Sarkodie - Akron
Zarek Valentin - Akron
Jared Watts - Wake Forest
M:
Jose Altamirano - San Diego State
Bryan De La Fuente - Chivas USA Academy
Ruben Gonzalez - Chivas USA
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Will Packwood - Birmingham City
Dillon Powers - Notre Dame
Cesar Zamora - Chivas USA
F:
Will Bates - Virginia
Ryan Finley - Duke
Francisco Navas Cobo - Houston Dynamo
Moises Orozco - UANL Tigres
AMERICANS IN EUROPE
Clint Dempsey played the full game on Saturday for Fulham as the loan striker up top. Didn't think I would ever see that.
dN
Jozy Altidore had a big game for Hull in their very important win. He drew fouls, cards, and even a penalty.
dN
Freddy Adu went the full 90 in an Aris Win! Hooray mini-beer.
dN
Johann Smith made his debut for Kalmar in Sweden this weekend.
dN
Ricardo Clark is still earning nothing but splinters in his butt at Eintracht Frankfurt.
dN
Yura Movsisyan got his first goal in Denmark with a late PK to finish off a 4-0 win.
dN
Game Action: (only those that played are listed)
DENMARK - Superliga
Yura Movsisyan - Randers - started and played 85 minutes, scoring his first goal late in the game on a Penalty Kick, as they cruised to a 4-0 home win over Esbjerg.
Chris Rolfe - AaB - came on as a 75th minute sub as they went to Nordsjaelland and tied 1-1.
DENMARK - 1st Division
Jamil Fearrington - Roskilde - match Sun Mar 28 v Kolding was postponed.
Euan Holden - Vejle - came on as a sub in the 83rd minute as they went to Naestved and won 0-1.
ENGLAND - Premier League
Jozy Altidore - Hull City - started and played 79 minutes, drawing a penalty that lead to a goal and getting a yellow card, and they won 2-0 at home over Fulham.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the distance but lost 2-0 at Hull.
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - went the full 90 but got drilled 7-1 at Chelsea.
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton - played the whole game and drew 0-0 at home v Everton.
Tim Howard - Everton - went the distance in a scoreless draw on the road at Wolverhampton.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - went the full 90 but lost 0-1 at home to Stoke.
ENGLAND - Championship League
Jay DeMerit - Watford - played the entire match and drew 1-1 at home to Middlesbrough.
ENGLAND - League One
Mike Grella - Leeds - came on as a sub in the 15th minute but lost 1-0 at Norwich.
Jemal Johnson - Stockport County - went the full 90, got a yellow card, and got creamed 5-0 at Millwall.
Eric Lichaj - Leyton Orient - played the whole game, got a yellow card, and lost 1-0 at Brentford.
Jon-Paul Pittman - Wycombe - came on as a sub in the 80th minute as they drew 1-1 at Colchester United.
FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes - played the entire game and won 1-3 at Le Mans
GERMANY - Bundesliga
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - played the full 90, and scored a late consolation goal, as they were badly beaten at home 1-4 by Cologne.
GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
David Yelldell - Koblenz - went the distance but lost 4-1 at Duisburg.
Greece - Super League
Freddy Adu - Aris Thessalonika - got the start and went the distance as they won 1-0 at home over Levadiakos.
Eddie Johnson - Aris Thessalonika - started and played 63 minutes as they won at home 1-0 over Levadiakos.
NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - went the distance as they went to Excelsior.
NORWAY - Eliteserien
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - went the distance, scored his teams first goal as they went to Aalesund and tied 2-2.
Hunter Freeman - Start - played the entire game and drew 1-1 with Molde.
Clarence Goodson - Start - played the entire game and drew 1-1 with Molde.
SCOTLAND - Premier League
Maurice Edu - Rangers - came on as a sub in the 63rd minute as they won 1-4 at Hearts.
SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - went the distance but lost at home -=2 to Mjallby.
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - played the entire match and they won 4-0 at home over Atvidabergs.
Johan Smith - Kalmar - came on as a sub in the 81st minute as they drew 2-2 at home against Elfsborg.
dN
Coming Up: (all possible players are listed)
SCOTLAND - Premier League
DaMarcus Beasley - Rangers - Tue Mar 30 at St Johnstone
Maurice Edu - Rangers - Tue Mar 30 at St Johnstone
AMERICANS IN MEXICO
PRIMERA DIVISION - Game Action
Edgar Castillo - UANL Tigres - started but came off injured in the 36th minute, and they lost at home 0-1 to Toluca.
Herculez Gomez - Pueblo - came on as a sub in the 59th minute and 18 minutes later scored the game winning goal as they beat America 2-1 at home.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - started and went 70 minutes as they beat Morelia 1-0 at home.
Marco Vidal - Indios Juarez - went the full 90, got booked, and lost 3-0 at Atlante.
BIG CLUB MATCHES THIS WEEKEND
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 27
AS Roma 2-1 Internazionale - #2 beats #1 and climbs to within 1 point in Serie A.
Bayer Leverkusen v Schalke 04 - BL stumbles again and with Bayern also losing, #2 leaps up to take the #1 spot! What a season!
Benfica 1-0 Braga - The big brothers at #1 give their #2 crosstown rivals and little brothers the stiff arm in Portugal.
-Sun Mar 28
Real Madrid 3-2 Atletico Madrid - AM chokes in El Derbi Madrileno!
Lille 4-1 Montpellier - it wasn't even close as the surprise #2 team gets put in their place on the road to #5, and another slip up next week could see them drop all the way to 6th.
Galatasaray 0-1 Fenerbahce - Oh Yes! The road teams grabs the spoils in one of the all time great rivalries. And Fener leaps Gala into the #3 spot in the league. Oh Papas!
ENGLAND
The Guardian is making a big deal out of a government plan to put some regulation on the Football Association, but I see very little here that isn't completely toothless.
-I doubt very much this will happen, and if it does I don't see it having much effect on how the leagues work.
dN
John Ashdown of the Guardian gives us Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend.
dN
Patrick Barclay of the Times on the destruction being done by super-rich owners buying Premier League teams and piling up the debt, while walking away with the revenues.
dN
Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Final
-Sun Mar 28
Carlisle United 1-4 Southampton - huge congrats to The Saints for winning the trophy. My visit to see you play last month is still giving you the magic!
dN
Top Premier League Team Standings (32 of 38 games played)
72 Manchester United - Last: W 0-4 at Bolton
71 Chelsea - Last: W 7-1 v ASton Villa
68 Arsenal - Last: D 1-1 at Birmingham
58 Tottenham - 31 Played - Last: W 2-0 v Portsmouth
- - - - -
56 Manchester City - 31 played - Last: Mon Mar 29 W 3-0 v Wigan
54 Liverpool - Last: W 3-0 v Sunderland
51 Aston Villa - 31 played - Last: L 7-1 at Chelsea
SPAIN
Sid Lowe at the Observer wonders if Spain and complete dominance by Barca & Real is becoming Scotland.
dN
Lowe writing for the Guardian on Atletico's inferiority complex, and the rest of the weekend in Spain's Primera Division.
dN
Phil Ball of Soccernet takes in the always interesting vibes at Espanyol, and the rest of the weekend in La Liga.
-He also counters Lowe's accusations of Spain becoming Scotland by pointing out that attendance is still good everywhere in La Liga, while only the Old Firm draw crowds in Scotland.
dN
Top La Liga Team Standings (29 of 38 games played)
74 Real Madrid - Last: W 3-2 v Atletico Madrid
74 Barcelona - Last: W 0-1 at Mallorica
53 Valencia - Last: L 3-0 at Zaragoza
47 Mallorca - Last: L 0-1 v Barcelona
- - - - -
45 Sevilla - Last: L 3-0 at Villarreal
42 Athletic Bilbao - 28 played - Next: Mon Mar 29 v Santander
42 Deportivo La Coruna - Last: L 1-3 v Getafe
FRANCE
Marseille beats Bordeaux for the Coupe de la League crown!!
COUPE DE LA LIGUE - Final
-Sat Mar 27
Marseille 3-1 Bordeaux
dN
Top Ligue 1 Team Standings (30 of 38 games played)
56 Bordeaux - 28 played - Next: off this weekend
56 Montpellier - Last: L 4-1 at Lille
55 Auxerre - Next: Mon Mar 29 at Monaco
- - - - -
54 Lille - Last: W 4-1 v Montpellier
54 Lyon - Last: W 2-0 v Grenoble
53 Marseille - 28 played - Next: off this weekend
GERMANY
Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian wonders if Kevin Kuranyi's form for Schalke will force him back into the German national team, and the rest of the weekend in the Bundesliga.
dN
Top Bundesliga Team Standings (28 of 34 games played)
58 Schalke - Last: W 0-2 at Leverkusen
56 Bayern Munich - Last: L 1-2 v Stuttgart
53 Bayer Leverkusen - Last: L 0-2 v Schalke
- - - - -
49 Dortmund - Last: D 0-0 at Hertha
48 Werder Bremen - Last: W 4-2 v Nurnberg
44 Hamburg - Last: L 1-0 at Monchengladbach
ITALY
Paolo Bandini looks at Claudio Ranieri who has coached Roma to 20 games without a loss now and with 1 point of league leaders Inter, and the rest of the weekend in Serie A.
dN
Top Serie A Team Standings (31 of 38 games played)
63 Inter - Last: L 2-1 at Roma
62 Roma - Last: W 2-1 v Inter
60 Milan - Last: D 1-1 v Lazio
51 Palermo - Last: W 3-1 v Bologna
- - - - -
48 Napoli - Last: W W 1-0 v Catania
48 Juventus - Last: W 2-1 v Atalanta
48 Sampdoria - Last: D 1-1 v Cagliari
44 Fiorentina - Last: W 4-1 v Udinese
EUROPE
Gabriel Marcotti of the Times is trying to get us to believe that the big Euro leagues are not dominated by just a few teams. Give him credit for trying.
SOUTH AMERICA
Tim Vickery of the BBC teaches us about Paraguay and their old unknown "star" Denis Caniza. Don't forget about him come World Cup time.
ENDERS
Do you know how many international caps Kristine Lilly has for the USA? 343! Yes, 343! That is beyond stunningly amazing! Wow, wow, wow!
It will be announced on Tuesday that MLS Cup 2010 will be hosted by Toronto.
dN
It was like an old LA Galaxy match for Puebla in Mexico as Carlos Ruiz and Herculez Gomez scored the goals to beat Club America 2-1!!
-And Herculez now has an astonishing 7 goals in 8 games for Puebla!!!!!
dN
The big rumor going around today is that Manchester United will be the opponent for the MLS All-Stars down in Houston next summer. And if I knew the date I would have listed it.
dN
Marseille won the French Coupe de la Ligue 3-1 over Bordeaux. Vive La Cagole Biere!
dN
Frank Lampard scored 4 goals leading Chelsea to a 7-1 destruction of Aston Villa in the English Premier League.
dN
There's a new leader in the Bundesliga as Schalke go to Leverkusen and win while Bayern lose at home!
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Quarterfinals Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Mar 30
Lyon v Bordeaux - Live at 1:30PM Central on Fox Soccer Channel.
Bayern Munich v Manchester United - Live at 1:30pm on DirectTV and delayed at 4PM Central on FSC.
-Wed Mar 31
Arsenal v Barcelona - Live at 1:30PM Central on Fox Soccer Channel.
Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow - Live at 1:30pm on DirectTV & Fox Soccer Plus and delayed at 4PM Central on FSC.
CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
All 4 teams are from Mexico again this year.
Semifinals Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Mar 30
Toluca v Pachuca - Live at 8:30PM on Fox Soccer Channel.
-Wed Mar 31
UNAM v Cruz Azul - Live at 8:30PM on Fox Soccer Channel.
WHO KNEW?
Marvell Wynne has all the athletic tributes in the world, but appeared to be not developing as a soccer player in his spot at right fullback or midfield for Toronto despite them giving him 3 full seasons to get it right. Finally they ship him out to Colorado. So Wynne arrives on Friday in Denver, does not train with his new team, get stuffed into the starting line up as a CENTER BACK due to injuries etc, and what happens??? He has a terrific game. What is going on?
QUOTES OF THE DAY
Sure to royally piss off Toronto FC players and fans, giving them fuel for the return leg, Columbus' Guillermo Barros Schelotto on his team's 2-0 win on Saturday: "For us, it was very easy."
dN
Comment left by Cannon Girl at Center Line Soccer after article on San Jose acquiring goalkeeper Jon Busch: "...if this acquisition results in Busch as starting goalkeeper and [Joe] Cannon as head coach then I’m all for it."
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Dave Van Den Bergh is teamless right now, but was in New York last weekend and dispelled all those rumors that I never believed in the first place that claimed he forced his way out of the Red Bull team and into Dallas. Quote DVDB: "I didn't want to leave here in the first place." End of story. Now will someone just sign him already. He is a great player still.
FACT OF THE DAY
Infamous American soccer critic Bill Archer of Big Soccer gives us a pretty amazing fact:
What do these current MLS head coaches all have in common?
Dominick Kinnear - Houston
Jason Kreis - Salt Lake
Curt Onalfo - DC
Preki - Toronto
Martin Vasquez - Chivas
Peter Vermes - Kansas City
Robert Warzycha - Columbus
Frank Yallop - San Jose
They were all players in the MLS inaugural season of 1996!
-And I noticed that current Los Angeles head coach Bruce Arena was the head coach at DC United in 1996, while head coach Peter Nowak of Philadelphia came into MLS in Chicago's inaugural season of 1998.
THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT
Hey FIRE fans - a Damani Ralph siting. Via Big Apple Soccer.
WHY?
Why are 6 teams off on Week 2 of the MLS season? Columbus, Dallas, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Salt Lake & Toronto don't play, for no apparent reason.
MLS WEEK 1
First Kick Matches & Scores:
-Thu Mar 25
Seattle Sounders 2-0 Philadelphia Union - SS goals by Brad Evans & Fredy Montero.
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
Attendance: 36,241
-Fri Mar 26
Chivas USA 0-1 Colorado Rapids - CR goal by Omar Cummings.
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Attendance: 18,653
-Sat Mar 27
Columbus Crew 2-0 Toronto FC - CC goals by Andy Iro & Guillermo Barros Schelotto.
Venue: Crew Stadium - Columbus OH
Attendance: 13,536
FC Dallas 1-1 Houston Dynamo - FCD goal by Attiba Harris. HD goal by Mike Chabala.
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX
Attendance: 8,016
New York Red Bulls 1-0 Chicago Fire - NYRB goal by Joel Lindpere.
Venue: Red Bull Arena, Harrison NJ
Attendance: 24,572
Kansas City Wizards 4-0 DC United - KC goals by Kei Kamara, Davy Arnaud, Ryan Smith & Jack Jewsbury(PK).
Venue: Community erica Ballpark - Kansas City KS
Attendance: 10,385
San Jose Earthquakes 0-3 Real Salt Lake - RSL goals by Fabian Espindola & Javier Morales(2).
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium - Santa Clara CA
Attendance: 10,589
LA Galaxy 1-0 New England Revolution - LAG goal by Edson Buddle.
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Attendance: 21,376
dN
EJECTIONS:
-Chris Leitch - San Jose - Red Card
-Toni Stahl - Philadelphia - 2 Yellow Cards
MLS WEEK 2
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Apr 1
Houston Dynamo v Real Salt Lake - 8pm Central on ESPN2
LA Galaxy v Chivas USA - 10pm Central on ESPN2
-Sat Apr 3
Colorado Rapids v Chicago Fire - 4pm Central on TeleFutura
DC United v New England Revolution - 6:30pm Central on Direct Kick
Seattle Sounders v New York Red Bulls - 9:30pm Central on FSC
6 teams are off this weekend! WHY????
MLS INJURY REPORT
Lots of injuries in Week 1:
-Clyde Simms of DC was subbed out early due to a hamstring tear that will keep him out for up to 6 weeks.
-Eddie Robinson of Houston came out just before half time, also suffering from a hamstring strain.
-Kevin Alston of New England re-tweaked his hamstring late in the game at LA.
-Eddie Lewis of LA came out with a foot injury after a hard tackle.
-Kyle Davies of Dallas suffered a broken arm.
Did I miss any?
MY THOUGHTS
Here was my first Twitter message for today: Epic weekend in KC: Roadtrip, BBQ, KC Wiz demolish DC U, UFC-GSP, Late Night Party!, Biscuits N Gravy, The Clash, LMAO, Very Happy!
Yeah, 16 of us from the Twin Cities road-tripped down I-35 for the MLS season opener in Kansas City. And none of us are KC fans. Or DC fans either.
That makes it 7 years in a row for me at the Zards home opener. And it always treats me right.
When you leave my city at this time of year, everything is brown and dead, but when you step out of your car 6 hours south of here, the grass is green and the trees are budding. It’s joyful. I know that reads as pretty corny coming from me, but it’s a real sentiment.
The absolute best thing in KC is their Bar-B-Que. Many great choices: Arthur Bryants is an old favorite of mine, but lately its all about Oklahoma Joes. Nothing beats BBQ from a gas station!
It's pretty fun going to the games in KC these days too. Sure the place is a bit odd, with a minor league baseball park being called home for a soccer team, not to mention the fact that it is a good 10 miles west of the KC suburbs out in the country. strangely you are plopped right in the middle of this weird modern outdoor shopping mall area. A vast sprawling shopping-eating complex, that also includes a big old NASCAR track. All the worst restaurants in the world are within walking distance - Olive Garden, Applebees, Hooters, you name it. And still I love it.
(In full disclosure we ended up at Applebees after the game so that I could watch the UFC title fight between George St Pierre and Dan Hardy. No one joint in the whole area was showing the fight. And I understand where this might just make you think that I am exactly like the meatheads I rail against. Yes I have faults. Enough though.)
The game was a lot of fun. For 3 years in a row I have gotten tickets on the West end behind the goal. I would prefer something in the middle, but there are very few seats anywhere close to the field so we make due. We saw goals galore, but all from the Wizards, leaving the mighty DC smelling just plain rotten. The worst I have ever seen them in person. So bad that we sang a little ditty to former the former KC coach who is now in charge of DC:
Curt Onalfo
Rhymes With Awful
Old Falafel
Curt Onalfo
Yes, I can see where that might come across as odd/dumb to you, but believe me it made perfect sense at the time. On the other hand we also laid out this one on the unsuspecting good people of KC: "Give me an E. Give me a B. Give me an O. Give me an L. Give me an A. What's that spell? EBOLA! What? EBOLA! What? EBOLA."
And we can't go to a game without a rousing rendition of "Stand Up If You Hate Milwaukee!" One guy in our section eventually stood!
The rain never bothered us either, and a few minutes into the game it stopped completely, making it a nearly perfect night out.
Did I mention that DC really stunk? They had the first chance to score, right in front of us, and the usually unshakable Jaime Moreno shot it right at the KC keeper – Danish Billy Idol! (Who flexed for the crowd after the win!)
Minnesota's own Teal Bunbury made a late game cameo for the winners. Nice for him.
That last KC goal, a PK, was a complete joke, as Dejan Jakovic was called for handball, but he was literally being headlocked to death by Kei Kamara when his arm hit the ball. We all figured the ref was calling the foul against KC when the whistle went, and even the Wiz players seemed a bit sheepish accepting the free goal that was coming.
The rest of the night continued to just get louder and crazier for all of us, and thankfully we had enough rooms in the hotel all together to buffer us from the other guests, cuz we didn’t hold back until quite late! Yes!
The next morning we went to church of course, then had a huge southern style breakfast to pack our bellies for the drive back north.
It was a completely glorious 36 hours!
I want to say thanks a ton to Sam Perron of the KC Wiz Futebol Clube for setting up the tickets, and coming by to shares some one liners with us!
And finally, I must say it was great to see my Friend In Football and occasional du Nord contributor Graham Fox before the game. He was sporting a heroic blue cowboy hat, and a big beard. Nice!
Until next year!
MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS
Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated gives us Five things to note from Week 1.
-Including one hell of a Best XI from the weekend's games.
dN
And Davis at Daily Soccer Fix on opening weekend attendance. Not intended for FC Dallas front office apologists.
dN
Michael Black of the Deseret News with an article on RSL's Javier Morales who got his new season off to a sensational start.
dN
Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch on the Crew getting off on the right foot, especially against Toronto, this season. Last season was a tough one in the opening 2 months.
dN
Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer talks to Red Bulls players about the first league game at their new home. Needless to say, they are very happy.
dN
Our man Dave Walker at the 3rd Degree with his excellent game analysis - Steam of Consciousness: Houston vs FC Dallas.
dN
The Chicago Tribune on the performance of Fire debutant goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra.
dN
Nick Green of the Daily Breeze gives us post game treats from both the LA v New England game - AND - the Chivas v Colorado game. Both were at Home Depot Center this weekend.
USA U20 TEAM
The team is playing in the prestigious Dallas Cup tournament.
dN
The USA has had players sent off in each of the first 2 games.
dN
Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Sun Mar 28
USA 0-1 Mexico - Mex goal by Taufic Guarch.
-Mon Mar 29
USA 1-0 Vancouver Whitecaps - USA goal by Moises Orozco.
-Wed Mar 31
USA v Eintrecht Frankfurt
dN
Here is the USA roster:
G:
Justin Luthy - Boston College
Zac MacMath - Maryland
D:
Chad Barson - Akron
Jesus Gonzalez - CZ Elite
Ian Hines-Ike - Chivas USA Academy
Tyler Polak - CSA Legacy
Kofi Sarkodie - Akron
Zarek Valentin - Akron
Jared Watts - Wake Forest
M:
Jose Altamirano - San Diego State
Bryan De La Fuente - Chivas USA Academy
Ruben Gonzalez - Chivas USA
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Will Packwood - Birmingham City
Dillon Powers - Notre Dame
Cesar Zamora - Chivas USA
F:
Will Bates - Virginia
Ryan Finley - Duke
Francisco Navas Cobo - Houston Dynamo
Moises Orozco - UANL Tigres
AMERICANS IN EUROPE
Clint Dempsey played the full game on Saturday for Fulham as the loan striker up top. Didn't think I would ever see that.
dN
Jozy Altidore had a big game for Hull in their very important win. He drew fouls, cards, and even a penalty.
dN
Freddy Adu went the full 90 in an Aris Win! Hooray mini-beer.
dN
Johann Smith made his debut for Kalmar in Sweden this weekend.
dN
Ricardo Clark is still earning nothing but splinters in his butt at Eintracht Frankfurt.
dN
Yura Movsisyan got his first goal in Denmark with a late PK to finish off a 4-0 win.
dN
Game Action: (only those that played are listed)
DENMARK - Superliga
Yura Movsisyan - Randers - started and played 85 minutes, scoring his first goal late in the game on a Penalty Kick, as they cruised to a 4-0 home win over Esbjerg.
Chris Rolfe - AaB - came on as a 75th minute sub as they went to Nordsjaelland and tied 1-1.
DENMARK - 1st Division
Jamil Fearrington - Roskilde - match Sun Mar 28 v Kolding was postponed.
Euan Holden - Vejle - came on as a sub in the 83rd minute as they went to Naestved and won 0-1.
ENGLAND - Premier League
Jozy Altidore - Hull City - started and played 79 minutes, drawing a penalty that lead to a goal and getting a yellow card, and they won 2-0 at home over Fulham.
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the distance but lost 2-0 at Hull.
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - went the full 90 but got drilled 7-1 at Chelsea.
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton - played the whole game and drew 0-0 at home v Everton.
Tim Howard - Everton - went the distance in a scoreless draw on the road at Wolverhampton.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - went the full 90 but lost 0-1 at home to Stoke.
ENGLAND - Championship League
Jay DeMerit - Watford - played the entire match and drew 1-1 at home to Middlesbrough.
ENGLAND - League One
Mike Grella - Leeds - came on as a sub in the 15th minute but lost 1-0 at Norwich.
Jemal Johnson - Stockport County - went the full 90, got a yellow card, and got creamed 5-0 at Millwall.
Eric Lichaj - Leyton Orient - played the whole game, got a yellow card, and lost 1-0 at Brentford.
Jon-Paul Pittman - Wycombe - came on as a sub in the 80th minute as they drew 1-1 at Colchester United.
FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Rennes - played the entire game and won 1-3 at Le Mans
GERMANY - Bundesliga
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - played the full 90, and scored a late consolation goal, as they were badly beaten at home 1-4 by Cologne.
GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
David Yelldell - Koblenz - went the distance but lost 4-1 at Duisburg.
Greece - Super League
Freddy Adu - Aris Thessalonika - got the start and went the distance as they won 1-0 at home over Levadiakos.
Eddie Johnson - Aris Thessalonika - started and played 63 minutes as they won at home 1-0 over Levadiakos.
NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - went the distance as they went to Excelsior.
NORWAY - Eliteserien
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - went the distance, scored his teams first goal as they went to Aalesund and tied 2-2.
Hunter Freeman - Start - played the entire game and drew 1-1 with Molde.
Clarence Goodson - Start - played the entire game and drew 1-1 with Molde.
SCOTLAND - Premier League
Maurice Edu - Rangers - came on as a sub in the 63rd minute as they won 1-4 at Hearts.
SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - went the distance but lost at home -=2 to Mjallby.
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - played the entire match and they won 4-0 at home over Atvidabergs.
Johan Smith - Kalmar - came on as a sub in the 81st minute as they drew 2-2 at home against Elfsborg.
dN
Coming Up: (all possible players are listed)
SCOTLAND - Premier League
DaMarcus Beasley - Rangers - Tue Mar 30 at St Johnstone
Maurice Edu - Rangers - Tue Mar 30 at St Johnstone
AMERICANS IN MEXICO
PRIMERA DIVISION - Game Action
Edgar Castillo - UANL Tigres - started but came off injured in the 36th minute, and they lost at home 0-1 to Toluca.
Herculez Gomez - Pueblo - came on as a sub in the 59th minute and 18 minutes later scored the game winning goal as they beat America 2-1 at home.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - started and went 70 minutes as they beat Morelia 1-0 at home.
Marco Vidal - Indios Juarez - went the full 90, got booked, and lost 3-0 at Atlante.
BIG CLUB MATCHES THIS WEEKEND
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 27
AS Roma 2-1 Internazionale - #2 beats #1 and climbs to within 1 point in Serie A.
Bayer Leverkusen v Schalke 04 - BL stumbles again and with Bayern also losing, #2 leaps up to take the #1 spot! What a season!
Benfica 1-0 Braga - The big brothers at #1 give their #2 crosstown rivals and little brothers the stiff arm in Portugal.
-Sun Mar 28
Real Madrid 3-2 Atletico Madrid - AM chokes in El Derbi Madrileno!
Lille 4-1 Montpellier - it wasn't even close as the surprise #2 team gets put in their place on the road to #5, and another slip up next week could see them drop all the way to 6th.
Galatasaray 0-1 Fenerbahce - Oh Yes! The road teams grabs the spoils in one of the all time great rivalries. And Fener leaps Gala into the #3 spot in the league. Oh Papas!
ENGLAND
The Guardian is making a big deal out of a government plan to put some regulation on the Football Association, but I see very little here that isn't completely toothless.
-I doubt very much this will happen, and if it does I don't see it having much effect on how the leagues work.
dN
John Ashdown of the Guardian gives us Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend.
dN
Patrick Barclay of the Times on the destruction being done by super-rich owners buying Premier League teams and piling up the debt, while walking away with the revenues.
dN
Johnstone's Paint Trophy - Final
-Sun Mar 28
Carlisle United 1-4 Southampton - huge congrats to The Saints for winning the trophy. My visit to see you play last month is still giving you the magic!
dN
Top Premier League Team Standings (32 of 38 games played)
72 Manchester United - Last: W 0-4 at Bolton
71 Chelsea - Last: W 7-1 v ASton Villa
68 Arsenal - Last: D 1-1 at Birmingham
58 Tottenham - 31 Played - Last: W 2-0 v Portsmouth
- - - - -
56 Manchester City - 31 played - Last: Mon Mar 29 W 3-0 v Wigan
54 Liverpool - Last: W 3-0 v Sunderland
51 Aston Villa - 31 played - Last: L 7-1 at Chelsea
SPAIN
Sid Lowe at the Observer wonders if Spain and complete dominance by Barca & Real is becoming Scotland.
dN
Lowe writing for the Guardian on Atletico's inferiority complex, and the rest of the weekend in Spain's Primera Division.
dN
Phil Ball of Soccernet takes in the always interesting vibes at Espanyol, and the rest of the weekend in La Liga.
-He also counters Lowe's accusations of Spain becoming Scotland by pointing out that attendance is still good everywhere in La Liga, while only the Old Firm draw crowds in Scotland.
dN
Top La Liga Team Standings (29 of 38 games played)
74 Real Madrid - Last: W 3-2 v Atletico Madrid
74 Barcelona - Last: W 0-1 at Mallorica
53 Valencia - Last: L 3-0 at Zaragoza
47 Mallorca - Last: L 0-1 v Barcelona
- - - - -
45 Sevilla - Last: L 3-0 at Villarreal
42 Athletic Bilbao - 28 played - Next: Mon Mar 29 v Santander
42 Deportivo La Coruna - Last: L 1-3 v Getafe
FRANCE
Marseille beats Bordeaux for the Coupe de la League crown!!
COUPE DE LA LIGUE - Final
-Sat Mar 27
Marseille 3-1 Bordeaux
dN
Top Ligue 1 Team Standings (30 of 38 games played)
56 Bordeaux - 28 played - Next: off this weekend
56 Montpellier - Last: L 4-1 at Lille
55 Auxerre - Next: Mon Mar 29 at Monaco
- - - - -
54 Lille - Last: W 4-1 v Montpellier
54 Lyon - Last: W 2-0 v Grenoble
53 Marseille - 28 played - Next: off this weekend
GERMANY
Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian wonders if Kevin Kuranyi's form for Schalke will force him back into the German national team, and the rest of the weekend in the Bundesliga.
dN
Top Bundesliga Team Standings (28 of 34 games played)
58 Schalke - Last: W 0-2 at Leverkusen
56 Bayern Munich - Last: L 1-2 v Stuttgart
53 Bayer Leverkusen - Last: L 0-2 v Schalke
- - - - -
49 Dortmund - Last: D 0-0 at Hertha
48 Werder Bremen - Last: W 4-2 v Nurnberg
44 Hamburg - Last: L 1-0 at Monchengladbach
ITALY
Paolo Bandini looks at Claudio Ranieri who has coached Roma to 20 games without a loss now and with 1 point of league leaders Inter, and the rest of the weekend in Serie A.
dN
Top Serie A Team Standings (31 of 38 games played)
63 Inter - Last: L 2-1 at Roma
62 Roma - Last: W 2-1 v Inter
60 Milan - Last: D 1-1 v Lazio
51 Palermo - Last: W 3-1 v Bologna
- - - - -
48 Napoli - Last: W W 1-0 v Catania
48 Juventus - Last: W 2-1 v Atalanta
48 Sampdoria - Last: D 1-1 v Cagliari
44 Fiorentina - Last: W 4-1 v Udinese
EUROPE
Gabriel Marcotti of the Times is trying to get us to believe that the big Euro leagues are not dominated by just a few teams. Give him credit for trying.
SOUTH AMERICA
Tim Vickery of the BBC teaches us about Paraguay and their old unknown "star" Denis Caniza. Don't forget about him come World Cup time.
ENDERS
Do you know how many international caps Kristine Lilly has for the USA? 343! Yes, 343! That is beyond stunningly amazing! Wow, wow, wow!
posted by brucio at 19:12
7 Comments:
MLS All Star game is July 29
I have tickets for that game and cannot wait. Rooney, Rio and Nani or no, it's still the Mancunians.
Hey Il Brucio, you mention that Salt Lake is not playing in Week 2, and then (correctly) point out they're here in Houston playing Dynamo Thursday night.
343 caps? I can't even get my mind around that.
That Ebola chant is utterly offensive.
You should be ashamed.
Oklahoma Joes. You did your KC BBQ right.
Hey Bruce, I got my hat today! It looks awesome. Thanks so much and keep up the good work!
John C
6 teams are off in MLS probably due to the Final Four games being played on Saturday...
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