Some News for Thu Dec 2, 2010

STARTERS

The USA hosting the World Cup 2022 would have given us the Jet-Fuel needed to bring the game WAAAAY up in status in the USA. Now we must all go back to doing it the hard way. Let's dig in and get to work!

dN

And now we can get back to talking about the actual soccer on the field! Hooray Beer!

dN

Goias took a 2-0 in the Copa Sudamericana final.

dN

The first leg of the Mexican final is tonite with Santos Laguna (captained by the dreaded Oswaldo Sanchez - do you need a better reason to despise a team) hosting favored Monterrey.

dN

Wanna watch a good game during the day on Friday? How about Lazio v Inter Milan at 1:30pm Central on Fox Soccer Channel. The Serie A leader against the struggling 5 times champs.

BRIBING TO HOST WORLD CUP 2018 & 2022

Russia to host World Cup 2018.

dN

Qatar to host World Cup 2022.

dN

FIFA released the breakdown of voting for 2022. It wasn't even close:
-Round 1: Australia 1 vote, Japan 3 votes, Korea Republic 4 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 3 votes (Australia eliminated)
-Round 2: Japan 2 votes, Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 10 votes and USA 5 votes (Japan eliminated)
-Round 3: Korea Republic 5 votes, Qatar 11 votes, USA 6 votes (Korea Republic eliminated)
Round 4: Qatar 14 votes and USA 8 votes (Qatar obtained an absolute majority)

And the voting for 2018 went like this:
-Round 1: England 2 votes, Netherlands/Belgium 4 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes, Russia 9 votes.
-Round 2: Netherlands/Belgium 2 votes, Spain/Portugal 7 votes and Russia 13 votes (Russia obtain absolute majority)

dN

REPOST: Here is an idea of the unbelievable stadiums that Qatar wants to build.

USA WORLD CUP 2022 BID

I have 4 items on my minds after this all went down:
1) The first question I wanted to ask someone was, how many votes did US Soccer think they had going in to today's vote. In the first round of voting they only got 3 votes, and I hope those were the 3 CONCACAF votes. But do you think they had no idea that no one else was on board with them?
2) Coincidence?: USA had a seemingly easy path to 2010 World Cup glory and failed - US Soccer had a seemingly easy path to host 2022 World Cup and failed.
3) Will people now call for Gulati to step down from his position after this failure? But seeing as Gulati did not fire Bradley for failing at the World Cup, Gulati is going nowhere either.
4) And not that I think it mattered in the voting, but did anyone else who watched Wednesday's presentation from the USA think Morgan Freeman and Bill Clinton were pretty tepid?

dN

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated is in Zurich and this is his immediate reaction.

dN

Gabrielle Marcotti writing for Sports Illustrated too, tells us why the winners won.

dN

Here is a letter of disappointment from US Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati.

HOW ABOUT SOME GOOD FRIGGIN NEWS BUDDY

The Houston Dynamo finished the last piece of paper work today and officially announced their new stadium! Yes!
-Here is video of head Dynoman Chris Canetti telling us all about it.
-Opening day is April 2012.

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES COMING UP THIS WEEKEND

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Dec 3
Lazio v Inter - the surprise leader against the struggling champs.
-Sat Dec 4
Schalke v Bayern Munchen - Schalke needs this one real bad.
Real Madrid v Valencia - RM has something to prove, and why not do it against the #5 team.
-Sun Dec 5
Villarreal v Sevilla - #3 v #4
PSG v Brest - The old dog at #4 takes on the upstart at #3

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Another one of those killer new Portland Timbers billboards! Yes!
-I am pretty sure I met this dude in Toronto too. I was so in awe of his sideburns that I had a hard time speaking. Plus I thought he was considering snapping my neck with those huge arms.



















WTF???

Mexican courts have cleared Club America of paying for any medical bill for their former star player Salvador Cabanas who was shot in the head in a night club almost a year ago. Cabanas is supposedly broke.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

MLS Young All Stars in Spain

The Generation Adidas team won their first game today, over the reserves from Real Madrid. Good way to start. The most interesting aspect of this game is that I think Brek Shea started at centerback!

Matches & Scores:
-Thu Dec 2
MLS Up & Comers 2-1 Real Madrid Reserves - MLS goals by Teal Bunbury & Dilly Duka. RMR goal by Salinas.
-Tue Dec 7
MLS Up & Comers v Rayo Vallecano Reserves
-Wed Dec 8
MLS Up & Comers v Atletico Madrid Reserves

Brian Sciaretta of Yanks Abroad talks to Amobi Okugo about his just finished run with the USA U20 team.

MLS youth roster:
G:
Stefan Frei - Toronto
Sean Johnson - Chicago
D:
Jeremy Hall - Portland
Ike Opara - San Jose
M:
Corben Bone - Chicago
Danny Cruz - Houston
Dilly Duka - Columbus
Luis Gil - Salt Lake
Baggio Husidic - Chicago
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia
Brek Shea - Dallas
Tony Tchani - New York
F:
Juan Agudelo - New York
Tristan Bowen - Los Angeles
Teal Bunbury - Kansas City
Peri Marosevic - Dallas
Jack McInerney - Philadelphia
Danny Mwanga - Philadelphia
Andrew Wiedeman - Dallas
-Head coach: Schellas Hyndman - Dallas

CHICAGO FIRE

Sam Stejskal of MLSsoccer.com does a Q & A with head coach The Conch. Yesterday, today and tomorrow.

COLORADO RAPIDS

The Raps signed their center/fullback Marvell Wynne to a new contract.

DC UNITED

DCU did not renew the contracts of Brandon Barklage, Juan Manuel Pena, Barry Rice & Carlos Varela. They are free to move about the cabin.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Talk about your changing of the guard: The Ds have not offered new contracts to a whole bunch of their veteran players: Ryan Cochrane, Richard Mulrooney, Joseph Ngwenya, Pat Onstad, Eddie Robinson & Adrian Serioux. Wow.

dN

Dwaine Capodice of MLSsoccer.com does a Q & A with head coach Dom Kinnear.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Josh Wolff has seen his contract with the Wiz dropped. He too is free to move about the cabin.

dN

On the flipside, the Sporks gave a new contract to goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

It looks like Tyrone Marshall will not see a new contract from the Sounders, and will be free to ..... yeah yeah yeah.

TORONTO FC

Tony Gallagher of the Province says Rogers Communications (like a mini-ESPN+CNN) is going to take a shot about buying TFC owners Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.

MLS RUMORS

Its being said that multiple teams are in the hunt for Colorado forward Omar Cummings. The Raps should seriously step up and pay this dude.

SOCCER IN MINNESOTA

Our 2 Minnesota teams in the US Soccer Development Academy are in Arizona this weekend for the Winter Showcase. All the teams from around the country converge for a big tournament.
-Here is the schedule for our teams:

U15/16
-Fri Dec 3
Minnesota Thunder v New York Red Bulls
Shattuck-St Mary's v Match-Fit Chelsea
-Sun Dec 5
Minnesota Thunder v New England Revolution
Shattuck-St Mary's v Potomac
-Mon Dec 6
Minnesota Thunder v CASL Chelsea
Shattuck-St Mary's v Oakwood SC

U17/18
-Fri Dec 3
Minnesota Thunder v New York Red Bulls
Shattuck-St Mary's v Match-Fit Chelsea
-Sun Dec 5
Minnesota Thunder v New England Revolution
Shattuck-St Mary's v Potomac
-Mon Dec 6
Minnesota Thunder v CASL Chelsea
Shattuck-St Mary's v Cosmos Academy East

COLLEGE SOCCER

Division I championship tournament:

Quarterfinals
Matches & Scores:
-Fri Dec 3
North Carolina v SMU
Venue: Fetzer Field - Chapell Hill NC
-Sat Dec 4
Louisville v UCLA
Venue: Cardinal Park Stadium - Louisville KY
Akron v California
Venue: Lee R Jackson Field - Akron OH
Maryland v Michigan
Venue: Ludwig Field - College Park MD

USA U17 TEAM

Playing 3 international friendlies in Phoenix AZ this week.

dN

USA beat S Korea in game 1, on first have goals by Matt Dunn and Mario Rodriguez. Korea scored at the end of the first half to close the gap. While the USA was great in possession and had several chances that they could not take advantage of, Korea seemed dangerous every time the ball was put into the box in the air.

dN

Our friend-in-football Odeen Domingo at AZ Central has some post game analysis and quotes from USA coach Wilmar Cabrera.
-Match report by Jose Garcia also of AZ Central.

dN

All games live on Fox Soccer Channel.

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Dec 1
USA 2-1 South Korea - USA goals by Matt Dunn & Mario Rodriguez. SK goal by Shin Il Soo.
Fri Dec 3
USA v Brazil - 6pm Central on FSC
-Sun Dec 5
USA v Turkey - 6pm Central on FSC

dN

An updated USA roster has been announced (6 changes):
G:
Kendall McIntosh - Mustang Academy
Fernando Pina - Houston Dynamo
D:
Kellyn Acosta - FC Dallas
Mobi Fehr - Tokyo Verdy 1969
Luis Martir - Guadalajara
Alessandro Mion - Kendall SC
Nathan Smith - Cal Odyssey
Andrew Souders - Crew Soccer Academy
M:
Joe Amon - South Carolina United FC
Alejandro Guido - Aztecs Premier
Matt Dunn - Koln
Nico Melo - Florida Rush
Marc Pelosi - De Anza Force
Esteban Rodriguez - Cosmos Academy West
Tarik Salkicic - Strictly Soccer
Dillon Serna - Colorado Rapids
F:
Paul Arriola - Arsenal
Daniel Flores - Cal Odyssey
Alex Muyl - Cosmos Academy East
Mario Rodriguez - Central Aztecs

US SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY

The 2010 Development Academy Winter Showcase begins to day in Phoenix AZ.
-Here is the full schedule of Matches & Scores.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

The Boston Globe says that what make Clint Dempsey special is that he has that "something different."

dN

Greg Seltzer at MLSsoccer.com says Jozy Altidore plans to stay at Villarreal and work his way into the 11.
-Jozy didn't play in the Europe League today.

dN

Game Action: (only those that played are listed)

FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Saint Etienne - Wed Dec 1 - played the full match as they drew 1-1 at Valenciennes.

MEXICO

Laguilla (Playoffs)

Final
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 2
Santos Laguna v Monterrey - 8pm Central
-Sun Dec 5
Monterrey v Santos Laguna - 6pm Central

THE CARIBBEAN

Caribbean Cup 2010 - The final group stage ended last night and we have our 4 teams for the semifinals in Fort-de-France, Martinique.
-Guadaloupe (I2) joins Grenada(H2), Jamaica(I1) & Cuba(H1) in the knock out stage.

dN

Group H
ADV-6 Cuba (+3)
ADV-5 Grenada (+1)
OUT-3 Trinidad & Tobago (-2)
OUT-1 Martinique (-2)
Group I
ADV-9 Jamaica (+8)
ADV-4 Guadaloupe (-1)
OUT-3 Antigua & Barbuda (-1)
OUT-1 Guyana (-1)

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Nov 26
Trinidad & Tobago 0-2 Cuba
Martinique 1-1 Grenada
-Sat Nov 27
Guyana 1-1 Guadaloupe
Jamaica 3-1 Antigua & Barbuda
-Sun Nov 28
Grenada 1-0 Trinidad & Tobago
Martinique 0-1 Cuba
-Mon Nov 29
Antigua & Barbuda 1-0 Guyana
Guadaloupe 0-2 Jamaica
-Tue Nov 30
Cuba 0-0 Grenada
Martinique 0-1 Trinidad & Tobago
-Wed Dec 1
Guadaloupe 1-0 Antigua & Barbuda
Guyana 0-4 Jamaica

dN

Semifinals
-Fri Dec 3
Cuba v Guadaloupe
Jamaica v Grenada

dN

Final
-Sun Dec 5
Semifinal Winners

ITALY

Bologna has been given a 1 point penalty in the standings for failing to pay taxes. The team President was also banned for 6 months.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Matchday 5 - The games are on Wed Dec 1 & Thu Dec 2.
-Big Wins: Zenit, AEK, PSV, Young Boys, Manchester City, CSKA Moscow, Dortmund, Paris St Germain, Villarreal, Porto, Dynamo Kyiv
-Poor Draws: Juventus, Napolis, Liverpool, Palermo
-Bad Losses: Anderlecht, Sampdoria, Stuttgart, Red Bull Salzburg, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Dinamo Zagreb

dN

Matches & Scores

dN

Group Standings

COPA SUDAMERICANA

Goias takes a 2-0 advantage in the Championship round to Avellaneda for next weeks second and final leg against Independiente.

dN

SIDENOTE: check out this map, and see how close together the stadiums are for Independients (Libertadores de America) and Racing Club (Juan Domingo Peron). Both are in the Avellaneda area of Buenos Aires.

dN

Final
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Dec 1
Goias 2-0 Independiente - Goi goals by Rafael Moura & Otacilio Neto.
-Wed Dec 8
Independiente v Goias (0-2)

ARGENTINA

With a 1-1 draw last night Arsenal de Sardini have been eliminated from the title race because they are 7 points off the lead with only 2 for them left to play.

dN

Just 3 rounds left in the Primera Apertura. Here are the leaders and who they face next:
36 Estudiantes - Next: Fri Dec 3 v Argentinos Juniors
34 Velez Sarsfield - Next: Sat Dec 4 at Godoy Cruz
OUT-29 (2 left) Arsenal de Sarandi - Last: Wed Dec 1 D 1-1 at Olimpio
27 Godoy Cruz - Next: Sat Dec 4 v Velez Sarsfield
25 Racing Club - Next: Thu Dec 2 v Gimnasia la Plata
25 River Plate - Next: Fri Dec 3 at Colon
25 Newells Old Boys - Next: Sat Dec 4 at San Lorenzo
24 Lanus - Next: Sat Dec 4 v Independiente

ENDERS

Few things make me feel better than getting new Adidas in the mail! These babies arrived today - Powerphase Casual 5: