Some News for Mon Jan 24, 2011

STARTERS

Honduras won the Central American championship on Sunday. Huge congrats to them. Cerveza Hurra!

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Dempsey and Spector scored goals again this weekend, while Jermaine Jones made his debut in England.

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The three favorites Japan, South Korea and Australia are all in the Asian Cup Semifinals, joined by big surprise Uzbekistan.

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The 6 two legged preliminary match-ups in the Copa Libertadores kicks off tonight Tuesday night! See details below in Copa Libertadores section.

STORY OF THE DAY

Two of Sky Sports biggest names in TV football commentary, Andy Gray and Richard Keys, were suspended after being caught speaking harshly about women in football when they thought they were off the air. They made comments about a female assistant referee, and West Ham FC executive Karen Brady who has recently been complaining publicly about the blatant sexism in the game.

The pair of high-grade morons were suspended from calling a game today. But no word has come on whether there will be further repercussions. Doubtful.

Sky had this to say.

The Mirror has the full story.

Anna Kessel of the Guardian on the subject of sexist idiots with a microphone.

Personally I think they should both be fired. If they made racist comments like that I believe they would be fired, and I see this as no different.

TEAM USA

The annual January training camp for young and out-of season players with national team potential has ended with a friendly game against Chile.

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And if nothing else came out of that game at least we have this video clip: I Like The Boon-Boo-Ree

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Match & Score:
-Sat Jan 22
USA 1-1 Chile - USA goal by Teal Bunbury(PK). Chi goal by Esteban Paredes.
Venue: Home Depot Center, Carson CA
Attendance: 18,580

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Match report from US Soccer.
Match report by Mike Woitalla of Soccer America.
Player ratings by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
Post game analysis by Ives Galarcep of Fox Sports.
Post game analysis by Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.
Match report & player ratings by Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.
Post game analysis by Nick Green of the Daily Breeze.
Post game analysis by Jeffrey King of Fanhouse.
Match report by Phil Collin of the LA Daily News.
Match re-cap, with video, from US Soccer via the team's official blog.

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Scott French of ESPN LA reviews the night for Sean Franklin.

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My Thoughts

It was a good attendance, but we need to get to a point were even a small game like this should sell out the 27,000 tickets Home Depot Center. To me anything less is embarrassing.

A very sloppy game over all, but I did not expect much else. When guys are so amped up and spend little time together on the field you can't ever fully pull off exciting soccer.

Both teams played with that crazy young energy that borders on frantic.

That goal was one hell of finish by Paredes!

I am always baffled by the lack of offense the USA shows.

Once we got 2 forwards on the field the attack became a whole new world. I HATE 4-2-3-1. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaate it.

And if you are only going to go with one guy up top then why stick Chris Wondolowski up there when he is clearly out of his best position. Hell, Bunbury plays that roll for KC, give him the job, at least he has pro experience at it.

Who was good for the USA? No one was great that's for sure, but a couple were decent and we will leave it at that.

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du Nord Three Stars of the Game
1. Dax McCarty - stepped up as the captain and was the one guy who showed good skills for the full 90.
2. Esteban Paredes - great finish on the Chile goal.
3. Tim Ream - looked good in the centerback spot.
HATE TIP: has to go to Teal Bunbury & Juan Agudelo for turning on the lights in the last 1/3 of the field.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Where oh where is DaMarcus Beasley? It would be nice if he checked in with us.

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

George Dohrmann of Sports Illustrated on how the progress of Juan Agudelo needs to be managed.

PODCASTS

After a quick 2 month break the crew from United Mania are back with their first new podcast of the season. A must listen for DC fans, and always enjoyable for the rest of us too. Download or listen here.

MLS/USA & RELATED RUMORS

Could you see Diego Forlan in a Seattle uniform? The rumor from Spain is that the Sounders have made contact.

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Today's name for the hopper: Marcos Senna

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The BBC reports that Robbie Savage has said thanks, but no thanks to an offer from Vancouver. I think that's the end of that. (thanks to Bart for the link)

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Soccer 365 gives us words on Ze Roberto (his annual mention), Ryan O'Leary, Jozy Altidore, Joan Capdevila, Sacir Hot, Giovanni dos Santos and more.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

CHICAGO FIRE

Here is the Fire's preseason schedule.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Jose de Jesus Ortiz on the opening of Dyna-camp. Lots of new players.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Michael Lewis of Big Apple Soccer ponders how the team will grow the talent of young Juan Agudelo.

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The Bull has announced the signing of 29 year old Norwegian right midfielder Jan Gunnar Solli from Brann.

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The team has also clarified that they did release Sinisa Ubiparipovic.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Geoffrey Arnold of the Oregonian on the new Timbers first day on the field.
-And words from head coach John Spencer.

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Kip Kesgard also of the Oregonian with loads of off the field Timbs notes. Good stuff here.

REAL SALT LAKE

Michael C Lewis of the Tribune introduces us to new folks at RSL preseason day 1.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

The El Paso Times on their hometown boy made #1 overall draft pick Omar Salgado.

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Bruce Constantineau of the Sun on the new signing - Alain Rochat from Zurich FC.

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Marc Weber of the Province ask 5 important questions the team must answer in training camp.

USA U20 TEAM

George Dohrmann of Sports Illustrated on who might be on the upcoming World Cup qualifying squad.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Clint Dempsey scored both of Fulham's goals this weekend, the 2nd from the Penalty Spot!

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Jonny Spector scored for West Ham.

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And repeating from last Friday, Edson Buddle scored in his debut for Ingolstadt.

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Jermaine Jones made his debut in England for Blackburn and got the win.
-The team's website has quotes from head coach Steve Kean about Jones debut.

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Game Action:

BELGIUM - Pro League
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - on the bench but did not play as they won 2-0 v Standard Liege.

ENGLAND - Premier League
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - went the distance scoring both goals (the 2nd via PK) as they won 2-0 v Stoke.
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - in goal as they won 1-0 at home over Manchester City.
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton - on the bench as they lost 0-3 v Liverpool.
Stuart Holden - Bolton - started and went 87 minutes but lost 0-4 v Chelsea. Oof.
Tim Howard - Everton - went the distance in a 2-2 draw v West Ham.
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - was not on the game day roster as they won 2-0 v Stoke.
Jermaine Jones - Blackburn - went the full 90 as they won 2-0 v West Brom.
Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa - was not on the game day roster as they won 1-0 v Manchester City.
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - played the whole match scoring their first goal as they drew 2-2 at Everton.

ENGLAND - Championship League
Conor Doyle - Derby County - not on the game day roster as they lost 0-1 v Nottingham Forest.
Robbie Findley - Nottingham Forest - was not part of the team yet as they won 0-1 at Derby Co.
Brad Guzan - Hull City - in goal for a 1-1 draw at Reading.
Zak Whitbread - Norwich - started and went 86 minutes as they won 1-2 at Sheffield United.

ENGLAND - League One
Anton Peterlin - Plymouth Argyle - sat on the bench watching the team lose 2-0 at Charlton.
Frank Simek - Carlisle United - went the distance in a 0-1 win at Notts County.

FRANCE Coupe de France - Round of 32
Charlie Davies - Sochaux - Fri Jan 21 didn't suit up as they won 2-1 v Paris FC.
Quentin Westburg - Evian - Sat Jan 22 had to watch from the bench as they lost 1-0 at Strasbourg.

FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Saint Etienne - team was out of the cup so they were off.

GERMANY - Bundesliga
DaMarcus Beasley - Hannover - nowhere in sight at they lost 0-1 at Schalke.
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach - came on as a sub in the 86th min as they lost 1-3 v Leverkusen.
Timothy Chandler - Nurnberg - came on as a sub in the 56th min of a 1-1 tie at Freiburg.
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - played the entire game but lost 0-1 v Schalke.
Ricardo Clark - Eintracht Frankfurt - went the distance in a losing effort 1-0 at Hamburg.
Daniel Williams - Freiburg - wasn't suited up for a 1-1 tie v Nurnberg.

GERMANY - 2 Bundesliga
Edson Buddle - Ingolstadt - started and went 88 minutes scoring a goal in his debut that they tied 1-1 v Duisburg.
Alfredo Morales - Hertha Berlin - came on as a sub in the 85th min of a 4-2 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Luis Robles - Karlsruher - in goal but lost 4-2 at Alemannia Aachen.
Bobby Wood - 1860 Munich - in the 18 but did not play while they won 0-1 at Osnabruck.
David Yelldell - Duisburg - in goal as usual and drew 1-1 at Ingolstadt.

NETHERLANDS - Eredivisie
Oguchi Onyewu - Twente - went the full 90 picking up his first Dutch yellow card as they won 1-3 at Groningen.

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - came on as a sub in the 80th min as they won 1-2 at Cambuur.

SCOTLAND - Premier League
Mo Edu - Rangers - started and went 76 minutes but lost 1-0 at Hearts.

SPAIN - Primera Division
Jozy Altidore - Villarreal - on the bench but not the field for a 2-1 win v Real Sociedad.

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Coming Up: (all possible players are listed)

ENGLAND - League Cup Semifinals 2nd Leg
Jonathan Spector - West Ham - Wed Jan 26 at Birmingham leading 2-1

ENGLAND - Premier League
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Wed Jan 26 at Liverpool
Brad Friedel - Aston Villa - Tue Jan 25 at Wigan
Eddie Johnson - Fulham - Wed Jan 26 at Liverpool
Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa - Tue Jan 25 at Wigan

ENGLAND - Championship Division
Robbie Findley - Nottingham Forest - Tue Jan 25 v Bristol City

GERMANY - DFB Pokal Quarterfinals
Timothy Chandler - Nurnberg - Tue Jan 25 at Schalke
David Yelldell - Duisburg - Wed Jan 26 v Kaiserslautern

SCOTLAND - Premier League
Mo Edu - Rangers - Wed Jan 26 at Hibs.

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Games Action:

PRIMERA DIVISION
Isaac Acuna - Queretaro - on the bench but did not play as they lost 0-3 v Morelia.
Daniel Antunez - Estudiantes Tecos - on the bench for a 2-0 loss at Puebla.
Jonathan Bornstein - Tigres UANL - started and went 55 minutes as they won 1-2 at America.
Edgar Castillo - Puebla - did not dress for a 2-0 win v Estudiantes.
Herculez Gomez - Pachuca - came on as a sub in the 87th min of a 1-1 draw at Santos Laguna.
Sonny Guadarrama - Atlante - came on as a sub in the 82nd min but they lost 1-0 at Monterrey.
Sammy Ochoa - Estudiantes Tecos - didn't dress as they lost 2-0 at Puebla,
Miguel Ponce - Guadalajara - started but came out injured in the 22nd min as they tied 1-1 v San Luis.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - on the bench but did not play in a 1-1 tie at Santos Laguna.

LIGA DE ASCENSO (2nd division)
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - went the full 90 but lost 1-0 at Altamira. NEXT: Tue Jan 25 at Univ Guadalajara.
Joaquin Hernandez - Indios - did not suit up as they lost 1-0 at Leon.
Marco Vidal - Leon - played the entire match as they won 1-0 v Indios.

CONCACAF

Here are the full 12 teams for the 2011 CONCACAF Championship Gold Cup:
Canada
Costa Rica
Cuba
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guatemala
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Panama
El Salvador
USA

The tournament runs Jun 5-25.

CANADA

Nigel Reed of the CBC on a tug of war between Canada and Jamaica over young talented Blackburn forward Junior Hoilett. (second part of article - scroll down)

COPA CENTROAMERICANA

The Central American (UNCAF) championship is finished, hosted by Panama.

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Honduras are the champions! Defeating Costa Rica. Both teams are in the Gold Cup.

Panama beat El Salvador for 3rd place. Both teams are in the Gold Cup.

And Guatemala secured 5th place and the final spot in the 2011 Gold Cup.

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Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
-Fri Jan 21
Panama 1-1 Costa Rica - CR wins 4-2 in Penalty Kick Shoot out - Pan goal by Blas Perez. CR goal by Celso Borges.
Honduras 2-0 El Salvador - Hon goals by Johnny Leveron & Marvin Chavez.

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5th Place - winner gets the final spot in the Gold Cup.
-Fri Jan 21
Nicaragua 1-2 Guatemala - Nic goal by Felix Rodriquez. Gua goals by Gregory Ruiz & Manuel Leon.

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3rd Place
-Sun Jan 23
Panama 0-0 El Salvador - Pan wins 5-4 in Penalty Kick Shootout.

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Final
-Sun Jan 23
Honduras 2-1 Costa Rica - Hon goals by Walter Martinez & Emil Martinez. CR goal by Marcos Urena.

ENGLAND

Simon Burnton of the Guardian with five things we learned from the Prem this weekend.

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du Nord Recap: That gagging sound was just the billions of desert dried euros being choked down by Man City as they flopped again. The other 3 contenders, Man U, the Arse and Chelsea all won handily.

Top of the Table this weekend:
48 Man United - Sat Jan 22 W 5-0 v Birmingham (22 GP)
46 Arsenal - Sat Jan 22 W 3-0 v Wigan (23 GP)
45 Man City - Sat Jan 22 L 1-0 at Aston Villa (24 GP)
41 Chelsea - Mon Jan 24 W 0-4 at Bolton (23 GP)
38 Tottenham - Sat Jan 22 D 1-1 at Newcastle (23 GP)

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LEAGUE CUP
Semifinals
2nd Leg
-Tue Jan 25
Arsenal v Ipswich (0-1)
-Wed Jan 26
Birmingham v West Ham (1-2)

SPAIN

Phil Ball of ESPN gives us a fantastic history lesson on Spanish top flight soccer. Awesome.

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Gabriele Marcotti at the Wall Street Journal wonders if the current Barcelona team is the best 11 ever.

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Sid Lowe of the Guardian on the wild Valencia v Malaga game, and the rest of the weekend in La Liga.

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du Nord Recap: Nothing changed in the least with the top 5 all winning. Ho-hum.

Top of the Table this weekend:
55 Barcelona - Sat Jan 22 W 3-0 v Racing Santander (20 GP)
51 Real Madrid - Sun Jan 23 W 1-0 v Mallorca (20 GP)
42 Villarreal - Sun Jan 23 W 2-1 v Real Sociedad (20 GP)
40 Valencia - Sat Jan 22 W 4-3 v Malaga (20 GP)
37 Espnayol - Sun Jan 23 W 1-3 at Getafe (20 GP)

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COPA DEL REY
Semifinals
1st Leg
-Wed Jan 26
Barcelona v Almeria
Sevilla v Real Madrid

FRANCE

Ben Lyttleton of Sports Illustrated on the sinking of Monaco.

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COUPE DE FRANCE

du Nord Recap: Both Bordeaux and Lyon were knocked out of the tourney, while other big names like Sochaux, Rennes, PSG & Lille advanced to the Round of 16 which will be played on Wed Feb 2.

Round of 32
-Fri Jan 21
Sochaux 2-1 Paris
-Sat Jan 22
Chambery 1-1 Brest
Clermont 1-3 Reims
Angers 1-0 Bordeaux
Nimes 1-2 Nancy
Boulogne 0-1 Drancy
Nantes 2-1 Raon-l'Etape
Quevilly 1-1 Martigues
Fontenay 0-1 Lorient
Cherbourg 0-1 Le Mans
Strasbourg 1-0 Evian
-Sun Jan 23
Vaulx 0-2 Stade Rennes
Sedan 0-1 Metz
Agen 2-3 Paris St Germain
Lille 1-0 Wasquehal
Nice 1-0 Lyon

GERMANY

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian on Fremdschamen, Matthias Sammer as David Brent, and the weekend in the Bundesliga.

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du Nord Recap: Everone else is so far behind that it didn't matter if #1 Dortmunc only got 1 point, But Bayern did win big, so that threat is still there. And Leverkusen swapped spit with Hannover again.

Top of the Table this weekend:
47 Borussia Dortmund - Sat Jan 22 D 1-1 v Stuttgart (19 GP)
36 Bayer Leverkusen - Sun Jan 23 W 1-3 at Monchengladbach (19 GP)
34 Hannover - Sat Jan 22 L 0-1 v Schalke (19 GP)
33 Bayern Munich - Sat Jan 22 W 5-1 v Kaiserslautern (19 GP)
33 Mainz - Sat Jan 22 L 0-1 v Wolfsburg (19 GP)

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DFB POKAL
Quarterfinals
-Tue Jan 25
Schalke v Nurnberg
-Wed Jan 26
Energie Cottbus v Hoffenheim
Duisburg v Kaiserslautern
Alemannia Aachen v Bayern Munchen

ITALY

Gabriele Marcotti of Sports Illustrated on the high quality season so far at Lazio.

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Paolo Bandini of the Guardian on Udinese lining up to kick Inter in what my Mom would call "the Slats", and the rest of the weekend in Serie A.

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du Nord Recap: Milan and Napoli rolled on, as Roma moved up to #3, while Lazio and Inter fell on their collective face.

Top of the Table this weekend:
44 Milan - Sun Jan 23 W 2-0 v Cesena (21 GP)
40 Napoli - Sun Jan 23 W 0-2 at Bari (21 GP)
38 Roma - Sat Jan 22 W 3-0 v Cagliari (21 GP)
37 Lazio - Sun Jan 23 L 3-1 at Bologna (21 GP)
35 Inter - Sun Jan 23 L 3-1 at Udinese (20 GP)
35 Juventus - Sun Jan 23 D 0-0 at Sampdoria

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COPPA ITALIA
Quarterfinals
-Tue Jan 25
Palermo v Parma
-Wed Jan 26
Napoli v Inter
Juventus v Roma
Sampdoria v Milan

COPA LIBERTADORES

Intial Round (to fill the final 6 spots in the Group Stage)
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Jan 25
#5 Quito (Ecuador) v Independiente (Argentina)
-Wed Jan 26
#1 Tolima (Colombia) v Corinthians(Brazil)
#2 Chiapas Jaguares (Mexico) v Alianza (Peru)
#6 Gremio (Brazil) v Liverpool (Uruguay)
-Thu Jan 27
#3 Petare (Venezuela) v Cerro Porteno (Paraguay)
#4 Union Espanola (Chile) v Bolivar (Bolivia)

ASIA

Asian Cup
Jan 7-29
Qatar

dN

The three favorites Japan, South Korea and Australia are all in the Semifinals, joined by big surprise Uzbekistan.

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Quarterfinals
Matches & Scores:
-Fri Jan 21
Japan 3-2 Qatar - Jap goals by Shinji Kagawa(2) & Masahiko Inoha. Qat goals by Sebastian Soria & Fabio Montezine.
Uzbekistan 2-1 Jordan - Uzb goals both by Ulugbek Bakayev. Jor goal by Bashar Bani Yaseen.
-Sat Jan 22
Australia 1-0 Iraq - Aus goal by Harry Kewel.
Iran 0-1 South Korea - SK goal by Bit Garam Yoon.

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Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jan 25
Japan v S Korea - 6:30am Central
Uzbekistan v Australia - 9:30am Central