Some News for Thu Mar 31, 2011

STARTERS

See you at the Sweetwater for the huge Derby della Madonnina:
-Sat Apr 2
AC Milan v Inter Milan - Live at 1:30pm CT on FSC
-Milan is in first place in Serie A by just 2 points over Inter, who at the end of 2010 were 9 points back and in 7th place. This is as big a game in Serie A as we have seen in a while.

STORY OF THE DAY

IM Soccer News gives us the full NASL season preview. A separate look at all 8 teams, written by locals with the knowledge. 9 days until the season kicks off.

dN

Open Weekend
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 9
Carolina RailHawks v Puerto Rico Islanders
FC Tampa Bay v Montreal Impact
Atlanta Silverbacks v NSC Minnesota Stars
Fort Lauderdale Strikers v FC Edmonton

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Through the guise of smoke!”

-Announcer calling goal strike from Chicago's Jalil Anibaba in the US Open Cup last night. Fire supporters had conjured up their usual brew of smoke from the stands clouding one whole end of the field, and Anibaba let fly with a long long long range bomb that beat the Colorado keeper.

DO YOU REALIZE

How raw is Juan Agudelo? He has played 3 professional games, for New York, scoring 1 goal, and has 4 caps for the USA scoring 2 goals. Remarkable.

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 3

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Apr 1
Columbus Crew v FC Dallas - 6:30pm CT on FSC
Venue: Crew Stadium
-Sat Apr 2
Toronto FC v CD Chivas USA - 12:00pm CT on Direct Kick & TSN (Canada)
Venue: BMO Field
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Sporting Kansas City - 6:00pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Empire Field
New England Revolution v Portland Timbers - 6:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium
New York Red Bulls v Houston Dynamo - 6:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Red Bull Arena
LA Galaxy v Philadelphia Union - 9:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center
San Jose Earthquakes v Seattle Sounders FC - 9:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
Sun Apr 03
Colorado Rapids v DC United - 6:00pm CT on Galavision
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

DC UNITED

DCU has signed goalkeeper Bill Hamid to a new contract, meaning he is no longer considered as part of their academy salary exemption roster.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

NER has signed centerback Otto Loewy who played for Winthrop Univ last season, but was not selected in either college player draft.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

The Red Bulls finally signed a new local TV deal. About time.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Geoffrey Arnold of the Oregonian with an article on the teams big Superdraft pick Darlington Nagbe, who is dying to get into a real game.

Arnold also reports that New York isn't the only team playing a 3rd string keeper as Portland is using Jake Gleeson.
-Is he on your fantasy team?

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Joshua Mayers of the Times reports that Fredy Montero has had minor surgery on one of his wrists and may be out this weekend.
-The Sounders are also considering expanding seating capacity for some upcoming home games.

TORONTO FC

TFC has signed 24 year old Jamaican defender Dicoy Williams from Harbour View in Jamaica.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

The Caps announced the signing of 28 year old French centerback Mouloud Akloul who was on their D2 roster in 2010. Prior to that he played for Kalba Club in the UAE.

US OPEN CUP

MLS Qualifying:

1st Stage
-Wed Apr 6
DC United v Philadelphia Union

2nd Stage
-Wed Mar 30
Chicago Fire 2-1 Colorado Rapids - CF goals by Gaston Puerari & Jalil Anibaba. CR goal by Andre Akpan.
-Wed Apr 6
Houston Dynamo v Sporting Kansas City
-DATE TBD
DCU/PU winner v New England Revolution
San JoseEarthquakes v Portland Timbers

3rd Stage
-DATE TBD
CUSA/PT/SJE winner v Chicago Fire
SKC/HD winner v DCU/PU/NER winner

USA U20 TEAM

CONCACAF U20 World Cup Qualifying is underway.

dN

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 29
USA 4-0 Suriname - USA goals by Bobby Wood, Joe Gyau, Conor Doyle & Kelyn Rowe.
-Sat Apr 2
USA v Panama - 5 pm on ESPN3.com

dN

Roster
G:
Zac MacMath - Philadelphia Union
Cody Cropper - Ipswich
D:
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgardens
Greg Garza - Estoril Praia
Moises Hernandez - FC Dallas
Sacir Hot - New York Red Bulls
Sebastien Ibeagha - Duke
Perry Kitchen - DC United
Zarek Valentin - Chivas USA
Korey Veeder - Columbus Crew
M:
Sebastian Lletget - West Ham
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Moises Orozco - UANL Tigres
Dillon Powers - Notre Dame
Kelyn Rowe - UCLA
F:
Eder Arreola - UCLA
Conor Doyle - Derby County
Joseph Gyau - Hoffenheim
Omar Salgado - Vancouver Whitecaps
Bobby Wood - 1860 Munich

CONCACAF U20 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

The tournament has begun in Guatemala, and 4 teams will advance to the World Cup in Colombia.

dN

A draw between Cuba & T&T has allowed Mexico to be the first team to advance to the knock out rounds after playing just one game.

Guadeloupe is out.

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Mon Mar 28
Canada 2-1 Guadeloupe - Can goals by Lucas Cavallini & Derrick Bassi. Gua goal by Christophe Houelche.
Cuba 0-3 Mexico - Mex goals by Renay Melblanche(OG), Alan Pulido & Ulises Davila.
-Tue Mar 29
Suriname 4-0 USA - USA goals by Bobby Wood, Joe Gyau, Conor Doyle & Kelyn Rowe.
Guatemala 2-0 Jamaica - Gua goals by Jhamie Hyde(OG) & Gerson Lima.
-Wed Mar 30
Guadeloupe 0-3 Costa Rica - CR goals by Joel Campbell(2) & Deyver Vega.
Trinidad & Tobago 0-0 Cuba
-Thu Mar 31
Panama v Suriname
Honduras v Jamaica
-Fri Apr 1
Costa Rica v Canada
Mexico v Trinidad & Tobago
-Sat Apr 2
USA v Panama
Guatemala v Honduras

dN

The top 2 from each group advance to the knockout rounds, and the 4 winners of those games advance to the World Cup.

dN

Standings:
Group A
3 Guatemala
- Honduras
0 Jamaica
Group B
3 USA
- Panama
0 Suriname
Group C
3 Canada
3 Costa Rica
OUT-0 Guadeloupe (2 GP)
Group D
ADV-3 Mexico
1 Trinidad & Tobago
1 Cuba (2 GP)

ENGLAND

David Conn of the Guardian talks to former player and manager Gareth Southgate who has been put in charge of improving the development of elite English youth.

GERMANY

Raphael Honigstein of Sports Illustrated on Bayern's next head coach, and the shadiness of the hiring.

COPA LIBERTADORES

Cruzeiro & Estudiantes both advanced to the knock out rounds with wins last night.

Meaning the other 2 teams in the group Tolima & Guarani are out. Jorge Wilstermann was also eliminated.

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Mar 30
Deportes Tolima 1-1 Estudiantes - DT goal by Felix Noguera(PK). Est goal by Federico Fernandez.
Internacional 3-0 Jorge Wilstermann - Int goals by Oscar, Andres D'Alessandro & Ze Roberto.
Guarani 0-2 Cruzeiro - Cru goals by Thiago Ribeiro & Jose Ortigoza.
-Thu Mar 31
Penarol v Godoy Cruz

dN

Standings:
Group 1
ADV-11 Libertad (Paraguay) (+6 gd) (5 gp)
6 Univ San Martin (Peru) (-2 gd) (5 gp)
5 San Luis (Mexico) (-1 gd) (5 gp)
4 Once Caldas (Colombia) (-3 gd) (5 gp)
Group 2
ADV-12 Junior (Colombia) (+4 gd) (4 gp)
7 Gremio (Brazil) (+4 gd) (4 gp)
OUT-4 Leon de Huanuco (Peru) (-4 gd) (5 gp)
OUT-3 Oriente Petrolero (Bolivia) (-4 gd) (5 gp)
Group 3
7 Argentinos Juniors (Argentina) (+2 gd) (4 gp)
6 America (Mexico) (0 gd) (4 gp)
5 Fluminense (Brazil) (0 gd) (4 gp)
4 Nacional (Uruguay) (-2 gd) (4 gp)
Group 4
7 Univ Catolica (Chile) (+1 gd) (4 gp)
6 Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) (+2 gd) (4 gp)
6 Caracas (Venezuela) (-1 gd) (4 gp)
4 Union Espanola (Chile) (-2 gd) (4 gp)
Group 5
5 Cerro Porteno (Paraguay) (+3 gd) (3 gp)
6 Colo-Colo (Chile) (0 gd) (3 gp)
2 Santos (Brazil) (-1 gd) (3 gp)
2 Depor Tachira (Venezuela) (-2 gd) (3 gp)
Group 6
10 Internacional (Brazil) (+10 gd) (4 gp)
7 Emelec (Ecuador) (+1 gd) (4 gp)
6 Chiapas Jaguares (-2 gd) (4 gp)
OUT-0 Jorge Wilstermann (Bolivia) (-9 gd) (4 gp)
Group 7
ADV-13 Cruzeiro (Brazil) (+16 gd) (5 gp)
ADV-10 Estudiantes (Argentina) (+1 gd) (5 gp)
OUT-5 Depor Tolima (Colombia) (-5 gd) (5 gp)
OUT-0 Guarani (Paraguay) (-12 gd) (5 gp)
Group 8
7 Gody Cruz (Argentina) (+1 gd) (4 gp)
6 Liga Quito (Ecuador) (+6 gd) (4 gp)
6 Penarol (Uruguay) (-5 gd) (4 gp)
4 Independiente (Argentina) (-2 gd) (4 gp)

Some News for Wed Mar 30, 2011

STARTERS

A Spanish court has ordered the Primera Division to play their games this weekend. The teams had been prepared to walk out over a dispute of TV revenue.

STORY OF THE DAY

The Guardian reports that the Chinese government paid for the rebuilding of the national stadium in Costa Rica.

TEAM USA

A loss in a friendly match.

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 29
USA 0-1 Paraguay - Par goal by Oscar Cardozo.
Venue: LP Field - Nashville TN

dN

Over 29,000 in attendance. Fantastic.

dN

The second half of the game featured three German born American players on the field at the same time.

dN

Match report from US Soccer.
-And post game quotes.

Match report by John Gleeson of the Tennessean. Including lots of photos.

Player ratings by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.

Player ratings by Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated.

Post game analysis by Fox Soccer Channel commentator for the game JP Dellacamera & Kyle Martino.

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated looks at Timmy Chandler's debut with the national team.

Martin Rogers of Yahoo on the qualities of the newcomers.

dN

The official USA team blog.

dN

USA Roster
G:
Marcus Hahnemann - started, subbed out at half time
David Yelldell - sub in for 2nd half
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - sub for injured DeMerit at CB in the 41st min
Jonathan Bornstein - started LFB, subbed out at 77th min
Timothy Chandler - started RFB, moved to RM, subbed out at 80th min
Jay DeMerit - started at CB, left injured in the 41st min
Eric Lichaj - sub at RFB in the 60th min
Tim Ream - started at CB, went the distance
Jonathan Spector - sub on as RM in 80th min
M:
Michael Bradley - started at DM, went the distance
Clint Dempsey - started as LM, moved to F, went the distance
Landon Donovan - started as RM, moved to LM, went the distance
Mo Edu - started as DM, subbed out at half time
Jermaine Jones - sub at DM in for 2nd half
Sacha Kljestan - sub in at LFB in 77th min
F:
Juan Agudelo - started at F, went the distance
Jozy Altidore - started at F, subbed out at 60th min

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Out of the MLS office comes the news that Jeff Agoos is becoming the league's Technical Director... whatever that means. More importantly, his stay with RBNY is finally, mercifully, over."

-Metrofanatic, showing no lost love.

WHO KNEW?

The Telegraph of London with the story of Jose Mourinho playing goalkeeper in a pickup game with his staff against members of the media. Includes video!!

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

Gabrielle Marcotti of the Wall Street Journal makes a trip home to the United States to take in the USA v Argentina game and check up on the progress of soccer in our land.
-He also takes way too much time beating on the tired subject of CONCACAF AND CONMEBOL fusing into one federation. NEVER GONNA HAPPEN.

FACT OF THE DAY

SuperLiga is dead.

OOF

I think its funny that every mainstream news outlet reported that Chad Ochocinco earned a spot on the Sporting Kansas City reserve team, when the team's press release specifically said he was named an "honorary member" of the reserve team. Quite different. One is real, the other is just a piece of paper with nice printing on it.

As a matter of fact the first sentence in the article on the SPK website reads in full: "It may be a token title at best, but Chad Ochocinco is officially an honorary member of Sporting Kansas City."

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

Dave Zeitlen of CSN Philly with a great article on soccer haters.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Forbes has long video interviews with 3 of the big business names in MLS (each video is over 30 minutes):
-Don Garber - commissioner
-Jonathan Kraft - owner New England Revolution
-Will Chang - owner of DC United

WHAT???

Alejandro Perez & Tim Sturtridge of the Independent report that supporters of Cucuta in Colombia smuggled a coffin containing a dead body into the stadium as they beat Envigado!

This is what I want to happen to my body after I die!!!!!

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 3

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Apr 1
Columbus Crew v FC Dallas - 6:30pm CT on FSC
Venue: Crew Stadium
-Sat Apr 2
Toronto FC v CD Chivas USA - 12:00pm CT on Direct Kick & TSN (Canada)
Venue: BMO Field
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Sporting Kansas City - 6:00pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Empire Field
New England Revolution v Portland Timbers - 6:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium
New York Red Bulls v Houston Dynamo - 6:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Red Bull Arena
LA Galaxy v Philadelphia Union - 9:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center
San Jose Earthquakes v Seattle Sounders FC - 9:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
Sun Apr 03
Colorado Rapids v DC United - 6:00pm CT on Galavision
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park

dN

Both Chicago and Salt Lake have the weekend off.

dN

Standings (2 Games Played):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
6 Philadelphia Union (+2 GD)
4 Chicago Fire SC (+1 GD)
4 New England Revolution (+1 GD)
4 New York Red Bulls (+1 GD)
3 DC United (+1 GD)
3 Sporting Kansas City (0 GD)
3 Toronto FC (0 GD)
1 Houston Dynamo (-1 GD)
1 Columbus Crew (-2 GD)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
6 Real Salt Lake (+4 GD)
6 Colorado Rapids (+3 GD)
4 LA Galaxy (-2 GD) (3 GP)
3 San Jose Earthquakes (+1 GD)
3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (+1 GD)
1 FC Dallas (-2 GD)
1 Seattle Sounders FC (-2 GD) (3 GP)
0 CD Chivas USA (-2 GD)
0 Portland Timbers (-4 GD)

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

CD CHIVAS USA

Jimmy Conrad suffered a concussion last weekend and is out of action this weekend.

Interim general manager Jose Domene has been named the official general manager. Welcome aboard.

COLORADO RAPIDS

Colorado didn't know how good their timing was in signing forward Caleb Folan two weeks ago from Hull City, but with Conor Casey suffering an injured calf muscle the new player stepped right in last weekend and played 80 minutes. And they won on the road. A good debut.

The Raps also picked up their former defender Danny Earls who they shipped to Seattle in the offseason and was then released by the Sounders. So he is back. And, the sent a future draft pick to Toronto for young former academy midfielder Josh Janniere.

COLUMBUS CREW

Steve Sirk makes us all happy with his latest fun filled Crew-centric Notebook.

Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch on the Crew's utter lack of an offense.

FC DALLAS

FCD's two most prized young players Ruben Luna & Bryan Leyva both scored for the reserves on Tuesday night in Salt Lake.

Todd Date of 3rd Degree talks to coach Schellas Hyndman after training this week.

The team is trying to sign Maykel Galindo who's rights are still held by Chivas USA.

DC UNITED

The Washington Post with an article on very high priced bench warmer Branko Baskovic. Or is that Bosko Brankovic?

DCU has officially formed a women's team in the USL's W-League. Good for them.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle says the Dynamo are still looking to get better players on their roster.

Ortiz also saw top quality in the play of goalkeeper Tally Hall last weekend.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

SKC also announced that they will play a friendly against an English Premier League team this summer:
-Wed Jul 20
Sporting Kansas City v Newcastle United
Venue: Livestrong Sporting Park

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Brian Lewis of the Post talks to GM Erik Soler who says the team is still searching for a classic #10 player for the roster.

Dane Richards scored 2 goals for Jamaica on Tue night.

PHILADELPHIA UNION

Head coach Peter Nowak has now also been handed the title of "executive vice president of soccer operations."

REAL SALT LAKE

James Edward of the Deseret News writes about RSL having this weekend off to prepare for their huge Champions League trip down to Saprissa next Tuesday.

Michael C Lewis of the Tribune reports that prodigy Luis Gil made his league debut on Saturday against the Galaxy.
-The team is very excited about his prospects.

RSL has recently acquired 2 young strikers Conor Chinn (released by New York a few weeks ago) and Donny Toia from their academy. Both started for the team last night in a reserve league game.

TORONTO FC

Steve Buffery of the Sun feels that while Dwayne DeRosario may be playing hard, his heart does not appear to be anywhere near the field.

Paul Attfield of the Globe & Mail checks in with Julian de Guzman to see how his rehab is going.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Jay DeMerit heads back from Team USA action with a groin muscle strain that could keep him out of action.

John Knox at the Sun says supporters and the team have come to an agreement over away game tickets.

Nigel Reed of the CBC on the red card ejection of Eric Hassli last weekend.

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 29
Real Salt Lake 0-2 FC Dallas - FCD goals by Ruben Luna(PK) & Bryan Leyva.
-Sun Apr 3
San Jose Earthquakes v Seattle Sounders
-Sat Apr 9
FC Dallas v Colorado Rapids
-Sun Apr 10
Philadelphia Union v New York Red Bulls
Chivas USA v Seattle Sounders
-Mon Apr 11
Houston Dynamo v Sporting Kansas City
-Thu Apr 14
Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids

dN

MLS Reserve League

MLS/SUM BUSINESS

Sports Business Journal reports that AEG is set to build the centerpiece stadium for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.














MLS STADIUMS

Charles Gooch of the KC Star brings us brand new photos (including the laying of the turf) at Livestrong Sporting Park. It looks AMAZING!

NSC MINNESOTA STARS

The Stars will unveil the new home uniform to the public on Thu Apr 7 at 7pm at La Cantina #1 at the Mall of America in Bloomington. The shirt supplier for 2011 is Admiral.

Filmmaker Damian Petrou and his Brave New Media company are tracking the Stars all season long. Here is the first glimpse of how its looking through his lens. (Thanks to Brian for the link)

US OPEN CUP

MLS Qualifying:

1st Stage
-Tue Mar 29
Portland Timbers 2-0 Chivas USA - PT goals by Jack Jewsbury & Eric Brunner.
-Wed Apr 6
DC United v Philadelphia Union

Dropping Timber has lots of words, photos and video from last nights big Timbers win.

dN

2nd Stage
-Wed Mar 30
Chicago Fire v Colorado Rapids
-Wed Apr 6
Houston Dynamo v Sporting Kansas City
-DATE TBD
DCU/PU winner v New England Revolution
San Jose Earthquakes v Portland Timbers

3rd Stage
-DATE TBD
CUSA/PT/SJE winner v CR/CF winner
SKC/HD winner v DCU/PU/NER winner

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Kyle Nelson of IMSoccer News with Part 2 of a behind the scenes story from late 2004/early 2005 when the USA national team went on a strike of sorts and a rag tag team of minor leaguers trained together and almost played a game as the national team. It also lead to the discovery of Clyde Simms.

USA U20 TEAM

CONCACAF U20 World Cup Qualifying is underway.

dN

A strong win for the USA in game 1.

dN

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 29
USA 4-0 Suriname - USA goals by Bobby Wood, Joe Gyau, Conor Doyle & Kelyn Rowe.
-Sat Apr 2
USA v Panama - 5 pm on ESPN3.com

dN

Here is video of each of the goals from US Soccer:
-Wood
-Gyau
-Doyle
-Rowe

US Soccer with a match report on USA v Suriname.

A match report - and - post game analysis by Noah Davis of MLSsoccer.com. (Davis is attending the tournament in Guatemala.)
-The four goal scorers are basically playing as rotating forwards in the teams unique lineup.

dN

Roster
G:
Zac MacMath - Philadelphia Union
Cody Cropper - Ipswich
D:
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgardens
Greg Garza - Estoril Praia
Moises Hernandez - FC Dallas
Sacir Hot - New York Red Bulls
Sebastien Ibeagha - Duke
Perry Kitchen - DC United
Zarek Valentin - Chivas USA
Korey Veeder - Columbus Crew
M:
Sebastian Lletget - West Ham
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Moises Orozco - UANL Tigres
Dillon Powers - Notre Dame
Kelyn Rowe - UCLA
F:
Eder Arreola - UCLA
Conor Doyle - Derby County
Joseph Gyau - Hoffenheim
Omar Salgado - Vancouver Whitecaps
Bobby Wood - 1860 Munich

CONCACAF U20 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

The tournament has begun in Guatemala, and 4 teams will advance to the World Cup in Colombia.

dN

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Mon Mar 28
Canada 2-1 Guadeloupe - Can goals by Lucas Cavallini & Derrick Bassi. Gua goal by Christophe Houelche.
Cuba 0-3 Mexico - Mex goals by Renay Melblanche(OG), Alan Pulido & Ulises Davila.
-Tue Mar 29
Suriname 4-0 USA - USA goals by Bobby Wood, Joe Gyau, Conor Doyle & Kelyn Rowe.
Guatemala 2-0 Jamaica - Gua goals by Jhamie Hyde(OG) & Gerson Lima.
-Wed Mar 30
Guadeloupe v Costa Rica
Trinidad & Tobago v Cuba
-Thu Mar 31
Panama v Suriname
Honduras v Jamaica
-Fri Apr 1
Costa Rica v Canada
Mexico v Trinidad & Tobago
-Sat Apr 2
USA v Panama
Guatemala v Honduras

dN

The top 2 from each group advance to the knockout rounds, and the 4 winners of those games advance to the World Cup.

Standings:
Group A
3 Guatemala
- Honduras
0 Jamaica
Group B
3 USA
- Panama
0 Suriname
Group C
3 Canada
- Costa Rica
0 Guadeloupe
Group D
3 Mexico
- Trinidad & Tobago
0 Cuba

CONCACAF

Recap du Nord: Costa Rica did a great job holding Argentina to a scoreless draw, while Mexico played to a stalemate too, but the USA lost at home to Paraguay.

FRIENDLY
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 29
Costa Rica 0-0 Argentina
USA 0-1 Paraguay
Mexico 1-1 Venezuela

CANADA

Gerry Dobson of Sportsnet with post game analysis of Canada's win in Belarus yesterday.
-Should the USA be concerned about that first game in the Gold Cup? I think no, but they sure as hell better take them seriously.

GERMANY

Uli Hesse of ESPN writes about the German national team's confusion on how to get Phillip Lahm onto the field in a productive position.

ITALY

Roberto Gotta of ESPN sees a genuine improvement in the Italian national team since Cesare Prandelli became the head coach.

SCOTLAND

Ewan Murray of the Guardian on a potential new buyer for Rangers.

EUROPE

AP reports on chaos at Ajax as the board of directors has clashed with technical director and team legend Johan Cryuff on the direction of the team, leading to their mass resignation.

UEFA EURO 2012

Jonathan Wilson at Sports Illustrated writes about the teams who are struggling with qualifying. (first half of article)

SOUTH AMERICA

Tim Vickery of the BBC sees Brazil being ahead of Argentina in growth for the near future.

dN

Will O'Doherty of the Guardian with an article on CD Pereira of Colombia who has not won a game in 12 months. This is the same team that had a player kicked a wounded owl off the field a few weeks ago. The owl later died but not necessarily from the kick.

COPA LIBERTADORES

Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Wed Mar 30
Deportes Tolima v Estudiantes
Internacional v Jorge Wilstermann
Guarani v Cruzeiro
-Thu Mar 31
Penarol v Godoy Cruz

dN

Standings:
Group 1
ADV-11 Libertad (Paraguay) (+6 gd) (5 gp)
6 Univ San Martin (Peru) (-2 gd) (5 gp)
5 San Luis (Mexico) (-1 gd) (5 gp)
4 Once Caldas (Colombia) (-3 gd) (5 gp)
Group 2
ADV-12 Junior (Colombia) (+4 gd) (4 gp)
7 Gremio (Brazil) (+4 gd) (4 gp)
OUT-4 Leon de Huanuco (Peru) (-4 gd) (5 gp)
OUT-3 Oriente Petrolero (Bolivia) (-4 gd) (5 gp)
Group 3
7 Argentinos Juniors (Argentina) (+2 gd) (4 gp)
6 America (Mexico) (0 gd) (4 gp)
5 Fluminense (Brazil) (0 gd) (4 gp)
4 Nacional (Uruguay) (-2 gd) (4 gp)
Group 4
7 Univ Catolica (Chile) (+1 gd) (4 gp)
6 Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) (+2 gd) (4 gp)
6 Caracas (Venezuela) (-1 gd) (4 gp)
4 Union Espanola (Chile) (-2 gd) (4 gp)
Group 5
5 Cerro Porteno (Paraguay) (+3 gd) (3 gp)
6 Colo-Colo (Chile) (0 gd) (3 gp)
2 Santos (Brazil) (-1 gd) (3 gp)
2 Depor Tachira (Venezuela) (-2 gd) (3 gp)
Group 6
7 Internacional (Brazil) (+7 gd) (3 gp)
7 Emelec (Ecuador) (+1 gd) (4 gp)
6 Chiapas Jaguares (-2 gd) (4 gp)
0 Jorge Wilstermann (Bolivia) (-6 gd) (3 gp)
Group 7
10 Cruzeiro (Brazil) (+14 gd) (4 gp)
9 Estudiantes (Argentina) (+1 gd) (4 gp)
4 Depor Tolima (Colombia) (-5 gd) (4 gp)
OUT-0 Guarani (Paraguay) (-10 gd) (4 gp)
Group 8
7 Gody Cruz (Argentina) (+1 gd) (4 gp)
6 Liga Quito (Ecuador) (+6 gd) (4 gp)
6 Penarol (Uruguay) (-5 gd) (4 gp)
4 Independiente (Argentina) (-2 gd) (4 gp)

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS

Jonathan Wilson at Sports Illustrated writes about the teams who are struggling with qualifying. (second half of article)

ASIA

AFC 2014 World Cup Qualifying begins this summer with the 16 lowest rated teams paired up to face off in a home and away series.

Matches & Scores:
Malaysia v Chinese Taipei
Bangladesh v Pakistan
Cambodia v Laos
Sri Lanka v Philippines
Afghanistan v Palestine
Vietnam v Macau
Nepal v Timor Leste
Mongolia v Myanmar
-1st legs to be played on Jun 29 and 2nd legs on Jul 3.

The 8 winners advance to be paired off with the next 22 lowest ranked teams for another home and away series, and then those 15 winners will meet up with the 5 highest seeds and formed into a group stage competition.

FIFA

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated asks FIFA and a couple of executive committee members about finances. They gave him very few answers.

Some News for Tue Mar 29, 2011

STARTERS

Happy Birthday to newly minted USA international Timmy Chandler.

dN

Are you ready?
-Sat Apr 2
AC Milan v Inter Milan - 1:45pm CT on FSC
-Come join me at the Sweetwater to watch this humdinger.

dN

The United States National Soccer Hall of Fame announced today that the new inductees are Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope, Earnie Stewart, Bruce Murray & Bob Gansler. All greats.

STORY OF THE DAY

Matt Slater of the BBC tells the story of a true original - Arthur Wharton, the first black professional football player in the world. Great stuff. Thanks to both Kevin and Brian for sending me the link.

MANCHESTER UNITED IN AMERICA

MLS and its marketing partners have announced an exhibition series to be played this summer called the World Football Challenge.

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Here is the initial schedule, with more dates & teams to be added:

-Wed Jul 13
New England Revolution v Manchester United
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxboro MA

-Sat Jul 23
Chicago Fire v Manchester United
Venue: Soldier Field - Chicago IL

-Sat Jul 30
Barcelona v Manchester United
Venue: FedExField - Landover MD

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Additionally Manchester United will play two more games in their preseason training.

-Wed Jul 20
Seattle Sounders v Manchester United
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA

-Wed Jul 27
MLS All-Stars v Manchester United
Venue: Red Bull Arena - Harrison NJ

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In conjunction with all of this the America based Manchester United fans are encouraged to check out One United USA for ticket details etc.
-They will have exclusive dedicated sections, open trainings and special events (in each respective city.)

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Don Ruiz of the Tacoma News Tribune has quotes from Alex Ferguson, Sigi Schmid, Kasey Keller and others on the Man U game in Seattle.

TEAM USA

Friendly match tonight!

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Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 29
USA v Paraguay - 7pm CT
Venue: LP Field - Nashville TN

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John Glennon of the Tennessean with an article on Juan Agudelo. Who btw still lives with his parents.
-Glennon also writes about all the Americans playing in Europe.

Bryan Mullen of the Tennessean previews the game with words from Landon Donovan.

FC Nurnburg does a Q & A with Timmy Chandler on his first cap for the USA. (In the German)

US Soccer with a detailed game preview.

Ives Galarcep of Fox Soccer with a preview.

Kristian Dyer of Metro New York on Juan Agudelo.

John Godfrey of the New York Times suggests 5 changes the USA should make for this game.

Avi Creditor of Sports Illustrated on two potential future stars for the USA - Mix Diskeruud and Timmy Chandler.

Andrew Hush of ESPN leads a round table discussion of the current state of the team. Joining him are Jeff Carlise, Alexi Lalas, Taylor Twellman and more.

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The official USA team blog.

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Paraguay roster.
G:
Justo Villar - Valladolid
Diego Barreto - Cerro Porteno
D:
Paulo Da Silva - Real Zaragoza
Victor Hugo Mareco - Brescia
Marcos Caceres - Racing Santander
Antolin Alcaraz - Wigan
Aureliano Torres - San Lorenzo
Dario Veron - UNAM Pumas
Miguel Samudio - Libertad
M:
Enrique Vera - Liga de Quito
Marcelo Estigarribia - Newell's Old Boys
Osmar Molinas - Olimpia
Cristian Riveros - Sunderland
Nestor Ortigoza - San Lorenzo
Celso Ortiz - AZ Alkmaar
Edgar Barreto - Atalanta
F:
Osvaldo Martinez - Monterrey
Oscar Cardozo - Benfica
Edgar Benitez - Pachuca
Lucas Barrios - Borussia Dortmund

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USA roster
G:
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton
Tim Howard - Everton
David Yelldell - Duisburg
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - St Etienne
Jonathan Bornstein - UANL Tigres
Timothy Chandler - Nurnberg
Jay DeMerit - Vancouver Whitecaps
Eric Lichaj - Leeds
Oguchi Onyewu - Twente
Tim Ream - Red Bull New York
Jonathan Spector - West Ham
M:
Michael Bradley - Aston Villa
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Mikkel Diskeruud - Stabaek
Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy
Mo Edu - Rangers
Benny Feilhaber - AGF
Jermaine Jones - Blackburn
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht
F:
Juan Agudelo - Red Bull New York
Jozy Altidore - Bursaspor

FACT OF THE DAY

My team, NSC Minnesota Stars, will be in Chicago this weekend as part of their preseason training, and will take on the Fire, as they have a buy this week.
-Sat Apr 2
Chicago Fire v NSC Minnesota Stars - 10am
Venue: Toyota Park exhibition/training field

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 3

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Apr 1
Columbus v Dallas - 6:30pm CT on FSC
Venue: Crew Stadium
-Sat Apr 2
Toronto v Chivas - 12:00pm CT on Direct Kick & TSN (Canada)
Venue: BMO Field
Vancouver v Kansas City - 6:00pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Empire Field
New England v Portland - 6:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium
New York v Houston - 6:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Red Bull Arena
LA v Philadelphia - 9:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center
San Jose v Seattle - 9:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
Sun Apr 03
Colorado v DC - 6:00pm CT on Galavision
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Nick Green of the Daily Breeze sees lots of room for improvement for TV coverage of the game.
-I could not agree with him more.

DC UNITED

The Washington Post with early week United team notes.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

KC has announced no surprise in that Chad Ochocinco will not be offered a contract to play for them. But they are naming him an Honorary member. OK.

SKC also announced that they will play a friendly against an English Premier League team this summer:
-Wed Jul 20
Sporting Kansas City v Newcastle United
Venue: Livestrong Sporting Park

LA GALAXY

There is a rumor is Sweden that the Galaxy are going to make a mid-summers trip to Europe and play against their sister club (AEG owned) Hammarby of Stockholm. We shall see. Thanks to the person who sent me that.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Frank Dell'Apa of the Globe and Kyle McCarthy of the Herald write articles number 9,000 & 9,001 on the Revs looking to build their own stadium.
-Is this story just dusted off twice a year? We have been hearing this same crap for many years now.

Rookie AJ Soares of the Revs writes another post at the Globe.

We missed this late last week - Shalrie Joseph will not face any further suspension from the league over his run in with cops down in Arizona during preseason, but he was fined $1000.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Geoffrey Arnold of the Oregonian reports that with both veteran goalkeepers Troy Perkins and Adin Brown out injured the Timbers are going to roll with 20 year old New Zealander Jake Gleeson, who they signed from their PDL team last year.

With some games already sold out the Timbers announced yesterday that the rest of their home games this season each has left than 500 ticket still available.
-In other words, very shortly the team will announce that their first season in MLS is a complete sellout. Fantastic.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times talked to Alvaro Fernandez who has lost his job in the first 11.

Blaise Nkufo who walked away from the Sounders 2 weeks ago has announced his retirement.

TORONTO FC

Jack Bell of the New York Times with a great article on rookie Demitrius Omphroy who is not only a first year professional but has somehow overcome multiple-sclerosis to get there.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Bruce Constantineau of the Sun says forward Eric Hassli seems to regret the actions the earned him a red card last weekend.

MLS/USA & RELATED RUMORS

Doug Sams of the Atlanta Business Journal reports that Brazilian club Cruzeiro is talking about building a serious youth academy in Atlanta and starting a MLS team too.
-How many times have we heard this?

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 26
New England Revolution 1-4 DC United - NER goal by Ilija Stolica. DCU goals by Branko Boskovic, Blake Brettschneider(2) & Marcus Salandy-Defour.
Columbus Crew v New York Red Bulls - postponed
-Tue Mar 29
Real Salt Lake v FC Dallas
-Sun Apr 3
San Jose Earthquakes v Seattle Sounders

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MLS Reserve League

MLS/SUM BUSINESS

Former USA international and MLS veteran Jeff Agoos has left his job as sporting director with the New York Red Bulls and has been named the first technical director for the league itself.

US OPEN CUP

MLS Qualifying:

1st Stage
-Tue Mar 29
Portland Timbers v Chivas USA
-Wed Apr 6
DC United v Philadelphia Union

2nd Stage
-Wed Mar 30
Chicago Fire v Colorado Rapids
-Wed Apr 6
Houston Dynamo v Sporting Kansas City
-TBD
DCU/PU winner v New England Revolution
San JoseEarthquakes v PT/CUSA winner

3rd Stage
-TBD
CUSA/PT/SJE winner v CR/CF winner
SKC/HD winner v DCU/PU/NER winner

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Kyle Nelson of IMSoccer Newz with a behind the scenes story from late 2004/early 2005 when the USA national team went on a strike of sorts and a rag tag team of minor leaguers trained together and almost played a game as the national team. This is Part 1.

USA U20 TEAM

CONCACAF U20 World Cup Qualifying is underway.

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US Soccer with a preview.

Brent Latham of The USA 10 Kit previews.

Noah Davis at MLSsoccer.com previews USA v Suriname.

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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 29
USA v Suriname - 7pm CT on ESPN3.com
-Fri Apr 2
USA v Panama - 5 pm on ESPN3.com

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Roster
G:
Zac MacMath - Philadelphia Union
Cody Cropper - Ipswich
D:
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgardens
Greg Garza - Estoril Praia
Moises Hernandez - FC Dallas
Sacir Hot - New York Red Bulls
Sebastien Ibeagha - Duke
Perry Kitchen - DC United
Zarek Valentin - Chivas USA
Korey Veeder - Columbus Crew
M:
Sebastian Lletget - West Ham
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Moises Orozco - UANL Tigres
Dillon Powers - Notre Dame
Kelyn Rowe - UCLA
F:
Eder Arreola - UCLA
Conor Doyle - Derby County
Joseph Gyau - Hoffenheim
Omar Salgado - Vancouver Whitecaps
Bobby Wood - 1860 Munich

CONCACAF U20 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

The tournament has begun in Guatemala, and 4 teams will advance to the World Cup in Colombia.

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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Mon Mar 28
Canada 2-1 Guadeloupe - Can goals by Lucas Cavallini & Derrick Bassi. Gua goal by Christophe Houelche.
Cuba 0-3 Mexico - Mex goals by Renay Melblanche(OG), Alan Pulido & Ulises Davila.
-Tue Mar 29
Suriname v USA
Guatemala v Jamaica
-Wed Mar 30
Guadeloupe v Costa Rica
Trinidad & Tobago v Cuba
-Thu Mar 31
Panama v Suriname
Honduras v Jamaica
-Fri Apr 1
Costa Rica v Canada
Mexico v Trinidad & Tobago
-Sat Apr 2
USA v Panama
Guatemala v Honduras

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The top 2 from each group advance to the knockout rounds, and the 4 winners of those games advance to the World Cup.

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Standings:
Group A
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Jamaica
Group B
- Panama
- Suriname
- USA
Group C
3 Canada
- Costa Rica
0 Guadeloupe
Group D
3 Mexico
- Trinidad & Tobago
0 Cuba

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action:

ENGLAND - League One
Mike Grella - Swindon Town - Tue Mar 29 - watched from the bench as they lost 1-0 at Exeter City.
Frank Simek - Carlisle United - Tue Mar 29 - played the whole game but lost 1-0 at Yeovil Town.

CONCACAF

Recap du Nord: Canada got a nice road win in Eastern Europe on a goal by Houston Dynamo fullback Andrew Hainault. Never easy. Panama keeps on truckin'.

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FRIENDLY
Matches & Scores:
-Mon Mar 28
Guatemala 1-1 Bolivia
-Tue Mar 29
China 3-0 Honduras
Belarus 0-1 Canada
Cuba 0-1 Panama
Costa Rica v Argentina
USA v Paraguay
Mexico v Venezuela

ENGLAND

David Conn of the Guardian writes that the British government may need to step in a fix the Football Association.

SCOTLAND

The real story has emerged on the accusation of racism on the part of Scottish fans directed at Brazil player Neymar. A German teenager who was sitting with Brazil fans is the culprit and he came forward to say what he had done, claiming it was not meant as a racist gesture. But yes the Scottish fans booed the hell out of Neymar, as they have a perfect right to do.

UEFA EURO 2012

Recap du Nord: Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey & Belgium among others all won like they were supposed to. The Czech's might be the most surprising, and they won again too. No upsets today.

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Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian sees Russia moving backwards.

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QUALIFYING
Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 29
Lithuania 1-3 Spain
Netherlands 5-3 Hungary
Czech Republic 2-0 Liechtenstein
Sweden 2-1 Moldova
N Ireland 0-0 Slovenia
Turkey 2-0 Austria
Belgium 4-1 Azerbaijan
Romania 3-1 Luxembourg
Israel 1-0 Georgia
Estonia 1-1 Serbia

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Standings

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS

QUALIFYING
Matches & Scores:
-Mon Mar 28
Libya 3-0 Comoros

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Standings

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Recap du Nord: Holy smokes - Germany got whacked at home by Australia and Russia could only manage a tie at Qatar. France & England were held to ties at home too. Portugal and Italy cruised to wins.

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Matches & Scores:
-Mon Mar 28
Guatemala 1-1 Bolivia
-Tue Mar 29
Germany 1-2 Australia
Portugal 2-0 Finland
Ukraine 0-2 Italy
England 1-1 Ghana
France 0-0 Croatia
Greece 0-0 Poland
Ireland 2-3 Uruguay
Oman 2-1 Tunisia
Belarus 0-1 Canada
Cuba 0-1 Panama
Slovakia 1-2 Denmark
Chile 2-0 Colombia
Peru 0-0 Ecuador
China 3-0 Honduras
Cyprus 0-1 Bulgaria
Jordan 1-1 N Korea
Qatar 1-1 Russia
Kuwait 0-1 Iraq
Equatorial Guinea 1-0 Gambia
Nigeria 3-0 Kenya
El Salvador v Jamaica
USA v Paraguay
Mexico v Venezuela
Costa Rica v Argentina
-Wed Mar 30
Morocco v Botswana

Some News for Mon Mar 28, 2011

STARTERS

I had a great weekend in New York attending the USA v Argentina game. Nothing is better than being there in person.

I mostly need to thank Geoff, my host. My deepest gratitude to you sir.

I also need to thank Adam and Yvonne who let me hang around their place a lot.

And then all the great folks I spent time with: Susan, Will, Brett, Don, Shawn, Greg, Jack, and finally, Geoff's excellent friends.

JACK WARNER ODDITIES

Slappy Jack will have a 6th term as CONCACAF dictator as he is unopposed in the upcoming election.

TEAM USA

The second game of Friendly Match Week is Tuesday in Nashville!

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Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated tell us to expect USA lineup changes in Nashville on Tuesday.

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Edson Buddle was released from the squad and has gone back to Ingolstad. Only Juan Agudelo and Jozy Altidore are left as genuine forwards.

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George Vecsey of the New York Times gives us a rare inside look at Team USA and coach Bob Bradley planning.

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My Thoughts:
I have heard a lot of talk, and now read several articles discussing the USA coming out against Argentina in what would be called a 4-2-3-1 formation. The problem is that they put players on the field who's natural positions would fit into a 4-3-2-1 position much better. On Saturday they lined up Mo Edu in front of Jermiane Jones and Michael Bradley. But Edu kept drifting back into the spot he is most comfortable, and none of those three EVER plays with two fellow defensive midfielders, so none of them are comfortable in the end. Then you leave Jozy Altidore all to himself up top, and he is neither a holdup or speed forward to can make a defense pay all by himself. Finally, you start the game with two very weak fullbacks, and two ill-passing centerbacks, forcing the two wide midfielders Dempsey and Donovan who should be in the attack, all the way back helping cover against crosses. What a useless lineup. No wonder Tim Howard worked hard to keep his team in it and looked good doing so, he was the only one given the best chance to do so.

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Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated writes about Juan Agudelo the hottest property in town.

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The official USA team blog.

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Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 26
USA 1-1 Argentina - USA goal by Juan Agudelo. Arg goal by Esteban Cambiaso.
Venue: New Meadowlands Stadium - East Rutherford NJ
-Tue Mar 29
USA v Paraguay
Venue: LP Field - Nashville TN

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Paraguay roster.
G:
Justo Villar - Valladolid
Diego Barreto - Cerro Porteno
D:
Paulo Da Silva - Real Zaragoza
Victor Hugo Mareco - Brescia
Marcos Caceres - Racing Santander
Antolin Alcaraz - Wigan
Aureliano Torres - San Lorenzo
Dario Veron - UNAM Pumas
Miguel Samudio - Libertad
M:
Enrique Vera - Liga de Quito
Marcelo Estigarribia - Newell's Old Boys
Osmar Molinas - Olimpia
Cristian Riveros - Sunderland
Nestor Ortigoza - San Lorenzo
Celso Ortiz - AZ Alkmaar
Edgar Barreto - Atalanta
F:
Osvaldo Martinez - Monterrey
Oscar Cardozo - Benfica
Edgar Benitez - Pachuca
Lucas Barrios - Borussia Dortmund

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USA roster
G:
Marcus Hahnemann - Wolverhampton
Tim Howard - Everton
David Yelldell - Duisburg
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - St Etienne
Jonathan Bornstein - UANL Tigres
Timothy Chandler - Nurnberg
Jay DeMerit - Vancouver Whitecaps
Eric Lichaj - Leeds
Oguchi Onyewu - Twente
Tim Ream - Red Bull New York
Jonathan Spector - West Ham
M:
Michael Bradley - Aston Villa
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Mikkel Diskeruud - Stabaek
Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy
Mo Edu - Rangers
Benny Feilhaber - AGF
Jermaine Jones - Blackburn
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht
F:
Juan Agudelo - Red Bull New York
Jozy Altidore - Bursaspor

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

If the last name of Salt Lake head coach Jason Kreis pronounced K-rice, then why is the last name of New England goalkeeper Matt Reis pronounced Rees. Shouldn't it be Rice, or does it have a Farve in it?

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 2

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Mar 25
Seattle 1-1 Houston - Sea goal by Steve Zakuani. Hou goal by Geoff Cameron.
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
Attendance: 36,204
-Sat Mar 26
Toronto 2-0 Portland - TFC goals both by Javier Martina.
Venue: BMO Field - Toronto ON
Attendance: 20,086
Columbus 0-0 New York
Venue: Crew Stadium - Columbus OH
Attendance: 10,306 (record low opening day)
Philadelphia 1-0 Vancouver - Phil goal by Carlos Ruiz.
Venue: PPL Park - Chester PA
Attendance: 18,591
Chicago 3-2 Kansas City - Chic goals by Diego Chaves(PK), Gaston Puerari & Marco Pappa. KC goals by Matt Besler & Teal Bunbury.
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL
Attendance: 12,157
New England 2-1 DC - NE goals by Zack Schilawski & Shalrie Joseph(PK). DC goal by Charlie Davies(PK).
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA
Attendance: 12,914
Dallas 0-2 San Jose - SJ goals both by Chris Wondolowski.
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX
Attendance: 11,022
Salt Lake 4-1 LA - SL goals by Andy Williams, Javier Morales(2, 1 via PK) & Paulo Jr. LA goal by Juan Pablo Angel.
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium - Sandy UT
Attendance: 20,507
Chivas 0-1 Colorado - Colo goal by Quincy Amarikwa.
Venue: The Home Depot Center - Carson CA
Attendance: 13,027

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EJECTIONS:
Omar Bravo - KC - Red Card
Dejan Jakovic - DC - Red Card
Eric Hassli - Vancouver - 2 Yellow Cards
Mikael Yourassowsky - Toronto - 2 Yellow Cards

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Standings (2 Games Played):
EASTERN CONFERENCE
6 Philadelphia Union (+2 GD)
4 Chicago Fire SC (+1 GD)
4 New England Revolution (+1 GD)
4 New York Red Bulls (+1 GD)
3 DC United (+1 GD)
3 Sporting Kansas City (0 GD)
3 Toronto FC (0 GD)
1 Houston Dynamo (-1 GD)
1 Columbus Crew (-2 GD)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
6 Real Salt Lake (+4 GD)
6 Colorado Rapids (+3 GD)
4 LA Galaxy (-2 GD) (3 GP)
3 San Jose Earthquakes (+1 GD)
3 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (+1 GD)
1 FC Dallas (-2 GD)
1 Seattle Sounders FC (-2 GD) (3 GP)
0 CD Chivas USA (-2 GD)
0 Portland Timbers (-4 GD)

DU NORD PLAYER OF THE WEEK AND OTHER STUFF

I gotta give it to Marco Pappa of Chicago not just for his really good play but also the way he picked the KC defense apart to score the game winner.

MY THOUGHTS

The Attendance numbers fell into three categories:
Sold Out Strong
-Seattle - the usual loud green machine.
Toronto - despite all the talk of fan unrest the stands were still packed with red. No less an intimidating stadium.
-Philadelphia - expected, loud and proud.
-Salt Lake - has become the toughest place in all of MLS for away teams, and the crowds are growing.
Terrible Opening Day
-Columbus - 10,306 - all time low for opening day.
-Chicago - 12,157 - was Blanco really propping this team up for his two seasons and this what we should expect from now on? Not on opening day.
-New England - 12,914 - the ownership can clearly not be embarrassed into changing the way they operate.
Pathetic Drop Offs
Dallas - half the number from the week before makes opening day seem fake, not future.
Chivas - they did reshuffle the whole organization so it will take time, but this is year 6 and they still stink.

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More:

Wondo with 2 good goals, the first one was excellent.

Snacks Thorton is killing Chivas with his slow decisions and poor distance off the line (which has always plagued him.)

With Omar Cummings off playing for Jamaica and Conor Casey not starting due to a calf injury Colorado still gets it done.

RSL's Andy Williams is playing the best soccer of his MLS career right now. So is so calm and relaxed, yet hard working and perfectly positioned every time his team needs him.

And then there's his teammate Javier Morales. Wow.

It didn't hurt Salt Lake this weekend that the Galaxy played like a bunch of clowns.

Juan Pablo Angel got his first goal in a LA uniform.

Matt Reis in New England was up to his usual tricks again, coming out to claim a high ball with his knees and cleats up to warn away anyone going for the ball. Of course that means he injures a player or two every season and goes unpunished for it because "he is protecting himself." But he is the only keeper to consistently hurt players. And he does it on purpose with no remorse.
-It lead to yet another incident this weekend where Dejan Jakovich of was the victim and pushed Reis to get away from him, then when other Revs players confronted Jakovich he got a red card.

Marko Pappa had a spectacular goal for Chicago. Dancing through 3 KC defenders and drilling home a nice low shot to the corner. Gorgeous stuff.

Teal Bunbury used his great speed to get a goal for KC. We knew he was fast, but his cool finish was what he needs to do to be a top notch player in MLS.

Eric Hassli of Vancouver sure did earn his red card with two late cheap shots on Philly players legs.

Sebastien Le Toux and Pescadito Ruiz combined for an easy Union goal. I bet we see that combo several times this season.

TFC's second goal was just a thing of beauty! Portland had a corner kick and Steph Frei came out to claim the high ball, then he looks up-field and quickly punts it about 75 yards dead on to a running Javier Martina who lets it bounce once then lasers a a shot from the top of the box to the far corner. I love it.

New fullback Mikael Yourassowsky of Toronto had one of the funniest debut's in recent MLS history. He got booked once in the 55th min, then as they tried to kill off the game was slow play and stalling tactics he took his sweet time leaving the field when being subbed off and mad the ref so mad he finally got booked again making TFC play the final few minutes with 10 players. The look on his face was priceless.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales was named the league's Player Of The Week.

Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated with five things you should know about Week 2.

COLUMBUS CREW

Did you know that some hardcore Crew supporters opened their own bar last spring? Via Columbus Alive.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

With starting keeper Greg Sutton injured and backup Bouna Time off with his national team, the Bulls brought in a replacement on Friday named Alex Horwath who started on Saturday and kept a clean sheet on the road. Not bad at all.

REAL SALT LAKE

The team has just signed head coach Jason Kreis to a new 2 year contract extension.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Forward Omar Salgado has been given a special waiver by FIFA to play for Vancouver starting immediately. Being under 18 he was not allowed to play outside his home country without his parents being permanent residents too.

The team has signed crunching Canadian midfielder Kevin Harmse.

NASL NEWS

David Downs the former Chief Executive of the USA World Cup bid committee has been named the new Commissioner of the NASL. That's a pretty big name for such a small league.

USA U20 TEAM

The USA squad is in the CONCACAF U20 World Cup Qualifying with their first game on Tuesday.

dN

Group Stage Matches & Scores:
-Tue Mar 29
USA v Suriname - 7pm CT on ESPN3.com
-Fri Apr 2
USA v Panama - 5 pm on ESPN3.com

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Roster
G:
Zac MacMath - Philadelphia Union
Cody Cropper - Ipswich
D:
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgardens
Greg Garza - Estoril Praia
Moises Hernandez - FC Dallas
Sacir Hot - New York Red Bulls
Sebastien Ibeagha - Duke
Perry Kitchen - DC United
Zarek Valentin - Chivas USA
Korey Veeder - Columbus Crew
M:
Sebastian Lletget - West Ham
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Moises Orozco - UANL Tigres
Dillon Powers - Notre Dame
Kelyn Rowe - UCLA
F:
Eder Arreola - UCLA
Conor Doyle - Derby County
Joseph Gyau - Hoffenheim
Omar Salgado - Vancouver Whitecaps
Bobby Wood - 1860 Munich

CONCACAF U20 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

The tournament begins today in Guatemala, and 4 teams will advance to the World Cup in Colombia.

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FIFA.com with a tourney preview.

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Group Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Mon Mar 28
Canada v Guadeloupe
Cuba v Mexico
-Tue Mar 29
Suriname v USA
Guatemala v Jamaica
-Wed Mar 30
Guadeloupe v Costa Rica
Trinidad & Tobago v Cuba
-Thu Mar 31
Panama v Suriname
Honduras v Jamaica
-Fri Apr 1
Costa Rica v Canada
Mexico v Trinidad & Tobago
-Sat Apr 2
USA v Panama
Guatemala v Honduras

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The top 2 from each group advance to the knockout rounds, and the 4 winners of those games advance to the World Cup.

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Standings:
Group A
Guatemala
Honduras
Jamaica
Group B
Panama
Suriname
USA
Group C
Canada
Costa Rica
Guadeloupe
Group D
Cuba
Mexico
Trinidad & Tobago

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action:

ENGLAND - League One

Mike Grella - Swindon Town - started and played 83 min but they lost 2-1 at Brighton & Hove.
Frank Simek - Carlisle United - went the distance but lost 2-1 at Brentford.

TURKEY - 1. Lig
Freddie Adu - Caykur Rizespor - started but was subbed off at half time as they drew 2-2 v Altay.

dN

Coming Up:

ENGLAND - League One

Mike Grella - Swindon Town - Tue Mar 29 at Exeter City
Frank Simek - Carlisle United - Tue Mar 29 at Yeovil Town

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Game Action:

LIGA DE ASCENSO (2nd division)
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - started but was subbed off in the 65th min but they lost 2-0 at Irapuato.
Marco Vidal - Leon - started and played 73 min as they won 2-3 at Lobos BUAP

CONCACAF

FRIENDLIES
Matches & Scores:
-Thu Mar 24
Cuba 0-1 El Salvador
-Fri Mar 25
Panama 2-0 Bolivia
S Korea 4-0 Honduras
Jamaica 0-2 Venezuela
-Sat Mar 26
USA 1-1 Argentina
Mexico 3-1 Paraguay
Costa Rica 2-2 China
-Sun Mar 27
St Kitts & Nevis 0-0 Grenada
El Salvador 0-2 Jamaica

dN

-Mon Mar 28
Guatemala v Bolivia
-Tue Mar 29
Costa Rica v Argentina
USA v Paraguay
Mexico v Venezuela
Belarus v Canada
Cuba v Panama
China v Honduras

SCOTLAND

Controversy flashed back and forth in Scotland after Brazil took on the national team in London this weekend where the Scottish fans mercilessly booed little Brazilian wizard Neymar, which he later claimed was racially motivated. Several Scottish supporters groups have come forward to deny this saying that he was simply the villain who scored two goals against them, so of course he took the most heat.
-The biggest spark to the blow up was a banana on the field, but it was thrown out of the stands on the end that was almost all Brazilians.

UEFA EURO 2012

No upsets on Friday as Spain, Italy, Netherlands, France and Serbia all won.

On Saturday England, Germany and Ireland were victorious. While Norway & Denmark drew, and Russia was held to a scoreless tie.

dN

QUALIFYING
Matches & Scores:
-Fri Mar 25
Spain 2-1 Czech Republic
Hungary 0-4 Netherlands
Slovenia 0-1 Italy
Luxembourg 0-2 France
Serbia 2-1 N Ireland
-Sat Mar 26
Wales 0-2 England
Germany 4-0 Kazakhstan
Norway 1-1 Denmark
Bulgaria 0-0 Switzerland
Armenia 0-0 Russia
Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-1 Romania
Ireland 2-1 Macedonia
Albania 1-0 Belarus
Andorra 0-1 Slovakia
Cyprus 0-0 Iceland
Malta 0-1 Greece
Georgia 1-0 Croatia
Israel 2-1 Latvia

dN

-Tue Mar 29
Lithuania v Spain
Netherlands v Hungary
Czech Republic v Liechtenstein
Sweden v Moldova
N Ireland v Slovenia
Turkey v Austria
Belgium v Azerbaijan
Romania v Luxembourg
Israel v Georgia
Estonia v Serbia

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS

Egypt struggled with a road loss at South Africa.

Ghana won big on the road.

Senegal, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Algeria all won.

Togo, Morocco and Cameroon all lost.

dN

QUALIFYING
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Mar 26
Burkina Faso 4-0 Namibia
South Africa 1-0 Egypt
Mali 1-0 Zimbabwe
Senegal 1-0 Cameroon
Rwanda 3-1 Burundi
Kenya 2-1 Angola
Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Uganda
Chad 0-1 Botswana
Malawi 1-0 Togo
Cape Verde Islands 4-2 Liberia
Tanzania 2-1 Central African Republic
-Sun Mar 27
Cote d'Ivoire 2-1 Benin
Nigeria 4-0 Ethiopia
Madagascar 1-1 Guinea
Mozambique 0-2 Zambia
Algeria 1-0 Morocco
Congo DR 3-0 Mauritius
Niger 3-1 Sierra Leone
Congo 0-3 Ghana
Sudan 3-0 Swaziland
-Mon Mar 28
Libya v Comoros

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Mar 23
Chinese Taipei 0-2 Turkmenistan
Pakistan 1-3 India
Maldives 2-1 Kyrgyzstan
Bhutan 0-3 Afghanistan
Palestine 0-0 Philippines
Myanmar 0-2 Bangladesh
Cambodia 0-3 Tajikistan
-Thu Mar 24
Cuba 0-1 El Salvador
-Fri Mar 25
Lithuania 2-0 Poland
Montenegro 1-0 Uzbekistan
Estonia 2-0 Uruguay
Panama 2-0 Bolivia
Turkmenistan 1-1 India
Pakistan 2-0 Chinese Taipei
Maldives 0-0 Tajikistan
S Korea 4-0 Honduras
Afghanistan 2-0 Bhutan
Bangladesh 0-3 Philippines
Myanmar 1-3 Palestine
China 1-1 New Zealand
Jamaica 0-2 Venezuela
Austria 0-2 Belgium
Cambodia 3-4 Kyrgyzstan
-Sat Mar 26
Portugal 1-1 Chile
USA 1-1 Argentina
Mexico 3-1 Paraguay
Colombia 2-0 Ecuador
Costa Rica 2-2 China
Jordan 1-1 Kuwait
N Korea 0-2 Iraq
-Sun Mar 27
Brazil 2-0 Scotland
St. Kitts & Nevis 0-0 Grenada

dN

-Mon Mar 28
Guatemala v Bolivia
-Tue Mar 29
Germany v Australia
Portugal v Finland
Ukraine v Italy
England v Ghana
Costa Rica v Argentina
France v Croatia
USA v Paraguay
Mexico v Venezuela
Greece v Poland
Ireland v Uruguay
Oman v Tunisia
Belarus v Canada
El Salvador v Jamaica
Cuba v Panama
Slovakia v Denmark
Colombia v Chile
Equatorial Guinea v Gambia
Peru v Ecuador
Gabon v Cameroon
China v Honduras
Nigeria v Kenya
Cyprus v Bulgaria
Jordan v N Korea
Qatar v Russia
Kuwait v Iraq
Morocco v Botswana

A Chat with Tony Meola and Ocho's Trials

Contributing Editor Graham Fox

On Friday I got the chance to talk to Tony Meola on the phone for about 15 minutes as he was driving around New Jersey.

If you are going to the Argentina V. USA game tonight bring your memorabilia to the game. Tony will be outside in the AllState Fan Zone from 4-6 signing autographs, taking pictures, and kissing babies.

du Nord: How did you get involved with AllState and the upcoming National Team Game?

Tony Meola: This is AllState’s first year of sponsorship with US Men’s National Team, the Woman’s, and with Major League Soccer. AllState prides themselves on protection and I was apparently the first person who came to mind.

dN: How’d they get in contact with you? Call you up? Email? Do you still have an agent?

TM: I do ya. They got to me through the National Team and were doing a series of five or six events based around the men’s team and the woman’s team and Major League Soccer.

dN: So you’re not just doing the Argentina game but a couple other’s as well?

TM: Ya, ya, I think I’m doing two men’s games, the All-Star Game, the Final, and we are mixing in two women’s games as well.

dN: That sounds like fun!

TM: Yeah! The whole scene has defiantly changed a bit from years past!

dN: What's on your schedule for today?

TM: Today we’ve been booked with interviews pretty much since 8 am. we’ve had one every 15 minutes (I feel special). We do have a cool event tonight (Friday night). We are going out to surprise the team during their practice, do a couple juggling competitions, and then AllState is outfitting the team with new home and away uniforms as well as new equipment for all the coaches.

dN: So what’s on your schedule for Saturday?

TM: The big event on Saturday, besides some other media stuff, is the AllState Fan Zone. I’ll camp out and sign autographs. That going from 3-7 outside the stadium and I’ll be there from 4-6 and we’ll do a raffle where a couple fans get to get closer to the game. We’ll take a couple fans in and give them a tour that they wouldn’t be able to get otherwise.

dN: Do you get recognized on the streets?

TM: In this area of New Jersey yeah. It’s such a big soccer hotbed.

dN: You know, I’ve been thinking, I’m 27 and around that time for a lot of soccer players, maybe not goal keepers, but field players that heading towards the end of their careers. For me, I feel like I’m at the start of my career, and have a ton left to do. It would be weird to feel like my first career was winding down. How did you decide what you wanted to do when you were heading towards retiring?

TM: Well you know, the decision was made for me by Bruce Arena when he released me from New York.

I was a little disenchanted because I certainly thought I had a couple more years to go. I had the opportunity to go to with Preki but I was really at the point where I didn’t want to pick up and move all the way across the country again, I’d been doing it for twenty years.

I still think about going back into goalkeeping. I watch games and see all these guys go back. Pat Onstad signed for DC after retiring. Jans Lehman just signed back with Arsenal. I think about it all the time, but then I kick myself and change my mind.

The thing you miss most is being in the locker room and taking 25 guys who come from so many different parts of the world and trying to accomplish the same thing. It was always a challenge and always the fun part for me.

dN: What are you doing now? What’s your full time job?

TM: Well, 3 years ago I started my own goalkeeping equipment and apparel company and we’ve now expanded that company, GK1 Sports, into basketball, baseball, and hockey and we are now expanding into lacrosse and football. It’s all team uniforms and compression ware.

I owned the business, sold it, and then bought it back in August. We’re now revamping everything. By the opening of school I think everything will be up and running full steam like we’d like it to.

That’s my full time job.

dN: I think I read on your wiki page that you run a mortgage company.

TM: Yeah, I did for four years. Now I’m back in sports where I think I belong.

dN: Do you think it’s easier for MLS players who have a college education to transition to from full time pro soccer to the American business world?

TM: Well in general it’s easier for anyone who has that education to transition out of sports. The important thing, and I’ve talked to so many guys about it, is preparing yourself a little bit.

The first thing everyone thinks about is save money, but what I’m thinking about is finding out what excites you. Nothing is going to excite you like playing does. And the last thing you want to do is to go to something that bores the daylights out of you.

DN: Like working a call center.

TM: That would be the message. You see so many guys who just stay in coaching. A couple guys who I know are now coaching in the league and they all say it’s the next best thing. Some people have landed in television, but it has to be something that excites you and that’s what you have to figure out.

dN: Have you thought about going into coach?

TM: Well I coach at the youth level. I have thought about it. Bob Bradley asked me to join when he first took the job but I just wasn’t ready to hang up playing, and I wasn’t ready to coach. Once you get married to that life you’re in it. You got to be committed to know you could be in a different city every three years.

It’s a strange position but now with all these new teams coming into the league there are so many openings. Some groups seem committed to having American coaches and some are sort of on the fence about what they want to do.

dN: Do you have a favorite National Team moment, a memory you really love?

TM:Well you know there are a couple that stick out but if I had to pick one it would be the win in Trinidad over Trinidad where Trinidad only had to tie the game to go through.

We hadn’t been to the World Cup in 40 years and we were certainty the underdog and out manned in the stand and for a good portion of the game we were plain outmanned. While they weren’t terrible dangerous they took control. But after we got the goal we really didn’t have to do anything else other than defend. We didn’t have to expose ourselves at all and it worked out.

I think it was the one game that really changed the face of our sport.

dN: What about a favorite MLS moment?

TM:It would probably be the championship in 2000, for a lot of different reasons.

My dad had been battling cancer for really, the entire time I was in Kansas City and that was the first time after his last round of chemo that he came out of the house. They literally drove him to the stadium, he made it to the game, and he didn’t have enough energy for the post party so they drove him back to New Jersey. That was really cool. And thank God he’s a survivor.

Also, for some reason, that particular Kansas City team, no one believed in. If you go look at it, from day one of the season we started in first place and we ran the entire table and were in first place every day of the season.

Only one guy picked us to win the Championship, that was Ray Hudson, and I’ll never let him forget it. All these “experts” were predicting we would lose, and Ray said “Kansas City is going to win 1-0.” And sure enough that’s how it ended up.

But again, we broke the record that year defensively and still no one thought we would win. We played a great Chicago team. They brought Josh Wolff off the bench, DaMarcus Beasley off the bench, and Kubik off the bench. There’s like seven world cups between those three guys.

It was a good day for us.

dN: Do you have a favorite goalkeeper in the world right now?

TM: Yeah, Tim Howard, and I’ll tell you why. I knew him when he was 18, and I know the obstacles he’s had to overcome. I know what he went through in the media when he first moved to England, and through all of that they somehow now love the guy. And as unfair as all that was I’m sure for him was the biggest lesson he’s ever learned.

dN: Do you have a favorite, younger, up-and-coming goalkeeper?

TM: Josh Saunders who plays for the Galaxy looked really good opening night. He didn’t panic, made two or three saves just by being in position, made one really difficult save, and he looked pretty solid.

dN: Since you came through the ranks, have you seen a lot of advances in training techniques or technology when it comes to goalkeepers?

TM: What you’re seeing is the goalkeeping coaches are guys who have actually played before. They coach you instead of just train you and I think that’s a huge advantage for goalkeepers now. Everyone just talks about saves but there are just so many other things that go into goalkeeping.

How you manage the pace of the game, how you start an attack, when you start it, when you don’t start it, how you read body language around you when you’re just kind of surviving as a team, and how you manage all of that stuff. It’s hard for someone who hasn’t been in there and experienced that to teach it. Now we are seeing so many guys who have been in that situation that you can have a conversation about it. We didn’t really use to have that.

Tony was a class act and a really nice guy to chat with. Thanks Tony I enjoyed learning about your memories and how players move into life after pro soccer.

dN

The Ochocinco Saga: Ocho is Going to Get a Reserve Team Slot
On Thursday, I took my lunch break to head down to Sporting KC's practice and watch Ocho train. The day before, the other bloggers told me there were 40 or 50 media members but on his second day there was just the regular crowd (plus ESPN who was allowed to walk around on the pitch).

All photo credit goes to my wife, Jenna Fox Photography, who is an amazing photographer and does portraits, weddings, and such.

Ocho wasn’t that bad, but you could tell he wasn’t a professional futballer. His touch was clumsy, and at time he looked out of place during a the keep away drills and the full 11 v 11 practice.

The Ocho I’ve seen on YouTube and been told about is loud and boisterous. Always talking shit, always full of it, but that’s not what I saw on the practice pitch. He had his head down working. He sprinted hard through the drills. He listened to directions. If you didn’t know he was a special one you wouldn’t think he was too out of place (just a bad college trialist who was built like a muscle torpedo).

Yesterday, we heard that Ocho’s trial had been extended through Monday for a reserve team game. Everyone, especially soccer die-hards are waiting for him to fail with baited breath. There is no way a non-soccer player can come in and win a spot! This is simply a sideshow! It’s almost a slap in the face! Simply a clever media ploy.

Yes, it may be all that but there’s more going on. Peter Vermes said he’s brought in a lot of trailist, and 90 percent of them have had less physical ability than Ocho. He’s also commented on how coachable he is. Take Ocho’s impeccable physical ability, his coachability, his willingness to play at league minimum salary, the media attention he will draw to Sporting, and the amount of money they will make in #85 Jersey sales, and you have a formula for success.

What reason do they have NOT to sign him, and then use him as a bit-player (or maybe more) in the newly re-formed reserve league?

Ocho doesn’t have anywhere close to the skills to start a regular game, but with the reserve league back, there is an opportunity for those who simply have promise and not all the immediate skills and talents to be a first teamer.

You heard it here first. Ocho is going to be a Sporting Kansas City player before this is all done.

ENDERS
The Strokes have a new album out – Angles


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