Thursday, May 20, 2010

Some News for Thu May 20, 2010

RANT

Why are we going to have to put up with English announcers calling the USA v England World Cup game??? Did I move or something and don't know it yet? Am I the only one who cares about this? I am really pissed off about having to listen to these guys. I just might prefer Dave O'Brien.

If you have listened to this crew doing UEFA Champions League games all year long on Fox Soccer Channel you will have by now realized that they only know about player and coaches in the English Premier League or have been in that league in the past. During the Bayern Munich v Lyon semifinal it was obvious they knew nothing about either team except for Arjen Robben cuz he had been at Chelsea.

Mark my words, people in the USA are going to have a melt down when they realize what we have to put up with from the "Worldwide Leader in Sports."

STARTERS

With a win on Wednesday Eddie Johnson & Freddie Adu's team Aris qualified for the Europa League next season. Will these 2 be on the squad is the question.

dN

The Mexican Primera Finals start tonight with the 1st Leg of Santos Laguna v Toluca!

dN

Sevilla has won the Spanish League Cup.

USA WORLD CUP 2010 SOUTH AFRICA

Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Chad Marshall and Eddie Johnson were all reported to be in full training on Thursday. Although they may not be at 100%. Jay DeMerit is the last injury hold out.

dN

Paul Kennedy of Soccer America sees Eddie Johnson and Chad Marshall as the most likely first 2 of 7 cuts Bob Bradley will have to make to the USA roster.

dN

Yahoo Sports with a video report by Martin Rogers on the confidence of the USA team.
-So why the negative headline asking if the USA is overconfident? Do the editors at Yahoo Sports have some anti-Team USA bent?

dN

Glenn Davis on his Soccer Matters blog does a brief Q & A with Brian Ching.

dN

The NY Daily News on the redemption of Edson Buddle.

dN

Yanks Abroad with articles on several USAers:
-Stuart Holden
-Steve Cherundolo
-Maurice Edu
-Jose Torres
-Jonathan Spector
-Edson Buddle

dN

Can anyone tell me what this design is? I can see the snake etc, but what is the furry lookin' thing its twisting around? Would you wear this?






























dN


Official Team Blog

The US Soccer video page at You Tube. Fantastic stuff!

dN

USA OPPONENTS

Algeria
-Two Friendly Matches: May 28 v Ireland - Jun 5 v UAE
-The BBC reports that one of their best goalscoring prospects has been left off the World Cup team. Thanks to Bart for this one.

England
-Two Friendly Matches: May 24 v Mexico - May 30 v Japan

Slovenia
-One Friendly Match: Jun 4 v New Zealand

WORLD CUP 2010 - SOUTH AFRICA

Brazil are playing NO warm up matches before the World Cup.

dN

Bordeaux coach and former French international Laurent Blanc has been hired to take over the French national team head coaches position AFTER the World Cup.

dN

And reports from Italy say that Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli will be named the new head coach of the Italian national team after the World Cup.

dN

Spain has announced their final 23. But are there too many key players battling injuries on this list? Star players Fabregas, Hernandez, Iniesta & Torres are all in tough spots right now.
G:
Iker Casillas - Real Madrid
Pepe Reina - Liverpool
Victor Valdes - Barcelona
D:
Raul Albiol - Real Madrid
Alvaro Arbeloa - Real Madrid
Joan Capdevila - Villarreal
Carlos Marchena - Valencia
Gerard Pique - Barcelona
Carles Puyol - Barcelona
Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid
M:
Xabi Alonso - Real Madrid
Sergio Busquets - Barcelona
Cesc Fabregas - Arsenal
Xavi Hernandez - Barcelona
Andres Iniesta - Barcelona
Javi Martinez - Athletic Bilbao
David Silva - Valencia
F:
Jesus Navas - Sevilla
Juan Mata - Valencia
Fernando Llorente - Athletic Bilbao
Pedro Rodriguez - Barcelona
Fernando Torres - Liverpool
David Villa - Valencia

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The Grand Finale!
-Sat May 22
Football Club Internazionale Milano v Fussball-Club Bayern Munchen - 1:30pm Central on Fox

The referee will be Howard Webb of England.

dN

I believe that the key match up of this huge game will be Inter trying to stop Arjen Robben.
-Jonathan Wilson writing for Sports Illustrated sees the same thing, and looks at the tactics that will be employed in the game.

dN

Gabriele Marcotti of the Wall Street Journal on the big showdown.

dN

The Associated Press with an article on Inter's first legendary coach Helenio Herrera, the man who invented catenaccio.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Former USA great Eric Wynalda on Landon Donovan:
"Contrary to popular belief, I am a huge LD fan. I always want what’s best for him. Sometimes I come off a little rude or jealous but it is only because I want him to push himself every day and not have regrets when it’s over. I do, and it’s not fun."
-Read the full interview by Clemente Lisi of the US Soccer Players Assoc below in the Soccer In America section.

FACT OF THE DAY

Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad at 42 is older than both parents of his 20 year old teammate Danny Cruz!
-See the full article on Onstad below in the MLS Team & Players News section.

STORY OF THE DAY

Nancy Armour of the Associated Press on the potential power the World Cup can have in pushing the game forward another step in our country. Great article.

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

The staff of the Guardian pick their favorite goals of the just finished season from across Europe. Watch and enjoy.

MLS WEEK 9

-Thu May 20
New York Red Bulls v Columbus Crew - 7PM Central on ESPN2
Venue: Red Bull Arena - Harrison NJ
FC Dallas v Los Angeles Galaxy - 7:30PM Central on Direct Kick
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

Joseph Ngwenya is back with Houston. The forward left the team after helping them win the MLS title in 2007 and has floundered around Europe ever since. He should be very happy to be back at a place he had his most success.

dN

Speaking of Houston, back up keeper Tally Hall will get his first ever MLS start this weekend when Pat Onstad heads to Argentina with Canada for a friendly on Monday.

dN

And speaking of Pat Onstad, Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle with an article on the long time outstanding keeper.

dN

While sitting on the bench last weekend Dallas midfielder Bruno Guarda go into it with Philadelphia fans, and things got so bad that he flipped them off and then kick a ball at someone. He has now been suspended for 1 game by the league. You can imagine that he is also on a short leash now.

dN

Steve Hunt of Fox Sports Southwest with an article on the man we call The Hun - Dallas attacker Attiba Harris.

MLS RUMORS

Has Frenchman Robert Pires told Philadelphia thanks, but no thanks?

Why wouldn't he want to play for the Union? According to Pires, "...if I'm leaving to take my family far away, I prefer that it's in a beautiful city." Oh-boy. Them words is ammo to Philadelphians!

The Phillyist has some great words back for Pires! I love this. They hope he lands with another MLS team so that when he comes to visit Philadelphia they can show what the town is really known for! You know, brotherly love and all that.

MLS EXPANSION

The Portland Timbers will unveil their new MLS team logo at a party they are hosting for the USA v England World Cup game on June 12.

dN

Speaking of Portland, one of our Friends-In-Football is Brian Costello from the Rose City, and he is the new man covering the home town Timbers for the weekly Portland Mercury. He kicks it off here.
-Huge congrats to Brian! He is one of the good guys.

dN

The Atlanta Journal Constitution on the possibility of NFL Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank building a new stadium with a future MLS team and World Cup games in mind.

MLS EXHIBITIONS

The summer friendly season got underway on Wednesday in Foxborough and Bridgeview, with wins for the visitors.

dN

-Wed May 19
New England Revolution 0-4 Benfica (Portugal)
Venue: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough MA
Attendance: 12,735
Match report from the Boston Globe.
-And not surprisingly one of Benfica's stars Pablo Aimar had some "passport problems" and didn't make the trip.

dN

Sister Cities International Cup
-Wed May 19
Chicago Fire 0-1 Paris Saint-Germain (France)
Legia Warsaw (Poland) 0-1 Red Star Belgrade(Serbia)
Match report by Len Ziehm of the Chicago Sun Times.
-Sat May 22
Paris Saint-Germain v Red Star Belgrade
Chicago Fire v Legia Warsaw
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL

dN

-Sun May 23
New York Red Bulls v Juventus (Italy)
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Los Angeles Galaxy v Boca Juniors (Argentina)
Venue: Home Depot Center - Carson CA

USSF DIVISION 2

Another surprising win Wednesday night for Baltimore.

dN

Arch Bell of Yanks Abroad with an article on the Englishman who is building the Austin Aztex - Phil Rawlins.

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Wed May 19
Rochester Rhinos 0-1 Crystal Palace Baltimore
Austin Aztex 3-3 Tampa Bay Rowdies
Portland Timbers 0-1 Montreal Impact
-Sat May 22
Crystal Palace Baltimore v Portland Timbers
Miami FC Blues v NSC Minnesota Stars
AC St Louis v Tampa Bay Rowdies
Vancouver Whitecaps v Rochester Rhinos

dN

Standings (As of Thu May 20):
14 Austin - 7 played
11 Montreal - 6 played
11 Rochester - 7 played
11 Portland - 7 played
9 Vancouver - 6 played
9 Tampa Bay - 6 played
7 Baltimore - 7 played
7 Minnesota - 8 played
6 Puerto Rico - 3 played
5 Carolina - 5 played
5 Miami - 5 played
4 St Louis - 7 played

dN

Standings base on Points Per Game:
2.00 Puerto Rico
2.00 Austin
1.83 Montreal
1.60 Tampa Bay
1.57 Portland
1.57 Rochester
1.50 Vancouver
1.00 Carolina
1.00 Miami
1.00 Baltimore
0.88 Minnesota
0.57 St Louis

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Clemente Lisi of the US Soccer Players Assoc does a Q & A with former USA star now turned broadcaster Eric Wynalda.

dN

Our main man Beau Dure writing for the Huffington Post on how the (some say flawed) US college soccer system is still able to kick out pro prospects.

USA U20 TEAM

The USA U20's will participate in the Cor Groenewegen Tournamentin Netherlands beginning Sat May 22.

dN

They started a 2 game warm-up on Tuesday.

USA Friendly Matches & Scores:
-Tue May 18
USA 0-0 Senegal
-Thu May 20
USA v South Korea

dN

Official USA Matches & Scores:
USA v Japan
USA Atl Mineiro
USA v Lokeren
USA v Utrecht
USA v Heerenveen

CONCACAF

Friendly Matches & Scores:
-Mon May 24
Argentina v Canada in Buenos Aires, Argentina
England v Mexico in London at Wembley Stadium
-Tue May 25
USA v Czech Republic - in East Hartford CT at Rentschler Field
-Wed May 26
Netherlands v Mexico in Freiburg, Germany
-Thu May 27
Honduras v Belarus in Villach, Austria
-Sat May 29
USA v Turkey - in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field
Venezuela v Canada - in Merida, Venezuela
-Sun May 30
Gambia v Mexico - in Bayreuth, Germany
-Tue Jun 1
Switzerland v Costa Rica - in Sion, Switzerland
-Wed Jun 2
Honduras v Azerbaijan in Zell Am See, Austria
-Thu Jun 3
Italy v Mexico - in Brussels, Belgium
-Sat Jun 5
USA v Australia - in Roodepoort, South Africa at Ruimsig Stadium
Honduras v Romania in St. Veit An Der Glan, Austria
Slovakia v Costa Rica in Bratislava, Slovakia

MEXICO

Clausura 2010 playoffs:

Matches & Scores - Final:
1st Leg
-Thu May 20
Santos Laguna v Toluca
2nd Leg
-Sun May 23
Toluca v Santos Laguna

VOYAGEURS CUP - CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

The 3 professional teams in Canada play each other home and away for the annual title.

Toronto & Vancouver tied last night leaving the race still slightly open.

Vancouver has to win both of the remaining games to now steal the title from Toronto.

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Apr 28
Toronto FC 2-0 Montreal Impact
-May 5
Vancouver Whitecaps 1-1 Montreal Impact
-May 12
Montreal Impact 0-1 Toronto FC
-May 19
Vancouver Whitecaps 0-0 Toronto FC
-May 26
Montreal Impact v Vancouver Whitecaps
-Jun 2
Toronto FC v Vancouver Whitecaps

dN

STANDINGS (4 rounds total):
7 Toronto (3 played)
2 Vancouver (2 played)
OUT-1 Montreal (3 played)

The winner represents Canada in the CONCACAF Champions League.

SPAIN

COPA DEL REY - Final
-Wed May 19
Sevilla 2-0 Atletico Madrid - Sev goals by Diego Capel & Jesus Navas.

ARGENTINA

On Sunday Argentinos Juniors won the league title. Today they lost their head coach to Claudio Borghi Boca Juniors.

COPA LIBERTADORES

Sao Paulo joins Guadalajara in the Semifinals.

Matches & Scores - Quarterfinals:
2nd Leg (with 1st Leg scores included)
-Tue May 18
Libertad 2-0 Guadalajara - Gua advance 3-2 on aggregate - Lib goals by Adalberto Roman & Manuel Maciel.
-Wed May 19
Sao Paulo 2-0 Cruzeiro - SP advance 4-0 aon aggregate - SP goals by Hernanes & Dagoberto.
-Thu May 20
Universidad de Chile v Flamengo (3-2)
Estudiantes de la Plata v Internacional (0-1)

Away goals is the tie breaker.

dN

Here is the full Knockout Stage Bracket:
16 Flamengo v Universidad de Chile
13 Guadalajara
- - - - -
3 Estudiantes de la Plata v 6 Internacional
2 Sao Paulo

10 Comments:

Blogger CACuzcatlan said...

English commentary will be a Godsend compared to that crap we heard in 2006. Well, maybe it got better after the first few games, but I wouldn't know because I watched the rest of the World Cup on the Spanish channels, where they commentary was funny and insightful most of the time.

7:06 PM  
Blogger James W said...

I think the furry things on the US t-shirt are the letters DTOM for Don't Tread On Me.

7:14 PM  
Anonymous Doug said...

DOB! Gaack, never again. ESPN's lead annnouncer for its WC coverage, Martin Tyler, is very good. However, you are correct that not all English/British types are. I recently had the misfortune to listen to some Premier League Radio broadcasts on Sirius Satellite Radio and the announcers -- former players -- were horrible. They made little or no effort to keep up with the run of play, preferring to chat about almost anything other than the match they were supposedly broadcasting.

8:46 PM  
Blogger Super Rookie said...

I think that shirt is from a UFC pay-per-view fight. Swear I saw it on a guy at Sensors.

12:02 AM  
Anonymous Joe J said...

at the very least, JP should be doing the US/England match.

12:08 AM  
Blogger Roehl Sybing said...

I care. I've just been shouted down the last million times it's been brought up. Which is the way discourse in the soccer community goes these days.

2:23 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good call James W. It took me a minute of staring at the thing to see that even after you pointed it out.

9:43 AM  
Anonymous Kevin A. said...

I agree on the announcers...

Kevin A.--

P.S. Congrats on making Soccer America's daily news today with this story!

11:51 AM  
Blogger Martin Hajovsky said...

Phil Schoene is the best American football announcer around right now and would be broadcasting World Cup games if there was any justice in this world.

And even though Hudson is English, I'd take him as well and be VERY happy.

2:04 PM  
Blogger Mr.Brown said...

The Furry looking thing is a shield with the initials DTOM (Don't Tread On Me), as to why its furry is anybody's guess.

3:00 PM  

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