Some News for Fri Apr 29, 2011

STARTERS

Monterrey are CONCACAF Champions! Huge congrats to them. They are deserving winners, having not lost a single game in the tournament.

dN

Brian Mullen, midfielder for the Colorado Rapids, was given a 9 game suspension in addition to a 1 game red card suspension for the horrible tackle that severely broke the leg of Seattle winger Steve Zakuani.

dN

Marseille got a huge win Wednesday and leaped over Lille into 1st place in France's Ligue 1.

STORY OF THE DAY

In what I believe to be a league first MLS has withdrawn a red card that was given to Sporting Kansas City centerback Aurelin Collin. He and New England goalkeeper Matt Reis had a strong midair collision and was quickly given a straight red card. But the league like everyone saw the replay that showed that only a foul on Collin was warranted as both players went for a high ball cleanly.

NSC MINNESOTA STARS

Home Opener
-Sat Apr 30
NSC Minnesota Stars v Carolina RailHawks - 7:30pm
Venue: National Sports Center Stadium - Blaine MN

Tickets

Tailgating begins around 5:30.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Final

Heart Break City.

Monterrey's win in Salt Lake make them the CONCACAF Champions!

They are deserving winners, having not lost a single game in the tournament.

Humberto Suazo's goal off a feed from Sergio Santana was a work of brilliance. The way the two of them danced on that ball was a saddening joy to watch. Great goal. A perfect winner.

The visitors from Mexico snapped Salt Lake's 37 game unbeaten streak at home to do the job.

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg (1st Leg score included)
-Wed Apr 27
Real Salt Lake 0-1 Monterrey - Mon wins series 3-2 on aggregate - Mon goal by Humberto Suazo.

All the stories from the Deseret News:
-Monterrey wins CONCACAF Champions League, 3-2 on aggregate
-Real-ity moment as Monterrey prevails
-Kyle Beckerman's absence hurt
-Twitter roundup
-The ending RSL fans didn't expect
-Tactical analysis
-Report Card
-Real Salt Lake players praise fans, bemoan missed chances
-Fans disappointed but not deterred in their love for Real

All the stories from the Salt Lake Tribune:
-RSL falters at home in CONCACAF Champions League final
-Mighty Mo’ takes big blow
-Real’s rock-solid defense is chipped
-Kreis says Beckerman might have made the difference
-In RSL’s magic moment, dreams go poof
-Real’s opportunities were strong in first half
-For RSL, it’s game on, life on, in victory and defeat

Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America with RSL player ratings.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Semifinals

Both Manchester United and Barcelona struck serious blows to their opponents with 0-2 wins on the road. That is huge. We are now on the path toward a potential rematch of the 2009 final.

Rob Hughes of the New York Times with a review of that ugly Madrid - Barcelona game.
-"Mourinho has since had seven players sent off against Barca, with three different teams — Chelsea, Inter Milan and Madrid. In each of his team’s last five matches against Barcelona, his team has finished a man down."

Andrew Das of the NY Times on the conspiracy Mourinho believes is lined up against him.

As much as I thought the red card to Pepe that changed the whole game was bogus, Real Madrid got their just desserts in the Karma category. The 8-0-1 formation they played was horrible.

And with the destroyer off the field Lionel Messi was free again to do his magic. Two magnifique goals. The second topping the first.

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Apr 26
Schalke 0-2 Manchester United - MU goals by Ryan Giggs & Wayne Rooney.
Venue: Arena AufSchalke - Gelsenkirchen
-Wed Apr 27
Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona - Bar goals both by Lionel Messi.
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu - Madrid

2nd Leg games will be played next week, on opposite days from this week.

THE QUADRACLASICO - MADRID V BARCA 2011

Real Madrid & Barcelona face off 4 times in 3 competitions in 18 days beginning on Saturday April 16.

With 3 of the 4 played the teams are dead even at 1 win, 1 loss and 1 tie.

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Apr 16
Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona - Primera Division - RM goal by Cristiano Ronaldo(PK). Bar goal by Lionel Messi(PK).
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu - Madrid
-Wed Apr 20
Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid - Copa Del Rey Final - RM goal by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Venue: Estadio Mestalla - Valencia
-Wed Apr 27
Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona - UEFA Champions League Semifinal Leg 1 - Bar goals both by Lionel Messi.
Venue: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu - Madrid
-Tue May 3
Barcelona v Real Madrid - UEFA Champions League Semifinal Leg 2 - 1:45pm CT on FSC
Venue: Camp Nou - Barcelona

SCOREBOARD
Team - Win - Tie - Loss
Barcelona - 1 -- 1 --- 1
Real Madrid 1 -- 1 --- 1

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"You get an apology and it was kind of insincere. I really didn't feel it from him."

-Seattle Sounders centerback Jeff Parke comments on the apology delivered by Colorado's Brian Mullan who badly broke the leg of Seattle's Steve Zakuani last week.

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

Serie A could be won this weekend - this is game 35 of 38
-A win for Milan combined with a loss for Inter and its over.
-Sat Apr 30
Cesena v Inter - #2 on the road
-Sun May 1
Milan v Bologna - 8 point lead - #1 at home

Bundesliga could be won this weekend - this is game 32 of 34
-A win for Dortmund combined with a tie or loss by Leverkusen will end it.
-Sat Apr 30
Borussia Dortmund v Nurnberg - 5 point lead - #1 at home
Koln v Bayer Leverkusen - #2 on the road and its the Rheinderby II

Others:
-Sat Apr 30
Chelsea v Tottenham - a London derby pitting #2 v #5
Besiktas v Galatasaray - one of the three classic Istanbul derbies
West Brom v Aston Villa - a lesser Birmingham derby
Mainz v Eintracht Frankfurt - the Rhein-Main-Derby
-Sun May 1
Arsenal v Manchester United - #3 v #1 and big rivals over the past decade

STAT OF THE DAY

Clint Dempsey raised his goal total at Fulham this season to 12, but even bigger he has set a new standard for Fulham in the Premier League era with 33 career goals. He broke Brian McBride's record of 32.

It blows my mind to think that the two biggest goal scorers at an English Premier League team are both Americans. Just fantastic.

BRAZILIAN PLAYER NAME OF THE DAY

Chinesinho

Sadly he passed away this week at age 75. But what a name! (thanks to Leaders in Football for the heads up)

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

Lazio was fined less than $12,000 for racist chants by their fans last weekend.

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 7

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Apr 29
Houston Dynamo v DC United - 7:30pm CT on Fox Soccer Channel
Venue: Robertson Stadium - Houston TX
-Sat Apr 30
Philadelphia Union v San Jose Earthquakes - 3:00pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: PPL Park - Chester PA
Columbus Crew v Vancouver Whitecaps - 6:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium - Columbus OH
New York Red Bulls v Sporting Kansas City - 6:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Red Bull Arena - Harrison NJ
Colorado Rapids v Chicago Fire SC - 8:00pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park - Commerce City CO
Seattle Sounders FC v Toronto FC - 9:00pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Qwest Field - Seattle WA
Portland Timbers v Real Salt Lake - 9:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: JELD-WEN Field - Portland OR
CD Chivas USA v New England Revolution - 9:30pm CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center - Carson CA
-Sun May 1
FC Dallas v LA Galaxy - 6:00pm CT on Galavision
Venue: Pizza Hut Park - Frisco TX

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
11 New York Red Bulls (+7 GD) (7 GP)
10 Philadelphia Union (+2 GD) (5 GP)
9 Houston Dynamo (+2 GD) (6 GP)
9 Columbus Crew (+1 GD) (6 GP)
9 New England Revolution (-1 GD) (7 GP)
7 DC United (-3 GD) (6 GP)
7 Toronto FC (-3 GD) (7 GP)
5 Chicago Fire SC (-3 GD) (6 GP)
4 Sporting Kansas City (-2 GD) (5 GP)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
15 LA Galaxy (+3 GD) (8 GP)
12 Real Salt Lake (+7 GD) (4 GP)
9 Colorado Rapids (+1 GD) (6 GP)
9 Seattle Sounders FC (0 GD) (7 GP)
7 FC Dallas (-1 GD) (6 GP)
7 Portland Timbers (-4 GD) (6 GP)
6 CD Chivas USA (-1 GD) (6 GP)
6 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-2 GD) (7 GP)
5 San Jose Earthquakes (-3 GD) (6 GP)

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

COLORADO RAPIDS

Brian Mullan's official apology: "It is with regret that my tackle resulted in the injury of Steve and I am deeply sorry to Steve and all those impacted by his injury."

The teams website has words from Rapids managing director Jeff Plush who thinks the suspension for Brian Mullan was too severe.

FC DALLAS

Robert Casner of MLSsoccer.com has his weekly edition of 11 questions with FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman.

DC UNITED

Branko Baskovic who has really been improving over the past few weeks has a dinged up knee and did not travel with the team to Houston. He is expected to be ready for next week.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle with an article on new Spanish forward signing Koke who is training with the team and ready to go.
-Injured players Brian Ching and Jermaine Taylor are also back and ready for action.

Ortiz also reports that the Dynamo will honor their former goalkeeper Pat Onstad at Friday night's game.

LA GALAXY

Scott Reid of the Orange County Register on David Beckham's latest laugh at the expense of the team who pays his hefty wages. More of a photo essay.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

New York will play in the 4 team Emirates Cup in London this summer, hosted by Arsenal. Here is the schedule.
-Sat Jul 30
New York Red Bulls v Paris St Germain
Arsenal v Boca Juniors
-Sun Jul 31
Paris St Germain v Boca Juniors
Arsenal v New York Red Bulls

REAL SALT LAKE

Michael C Lewis of the Salt Lake Tribune on the team getting back to league play after a brutal loss.

James Edward of Deseret News on RSL coming back down to earth and returning to MLS play this weekend.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Steve Zakuani has sent out a message as he leaves Denver after surgery and heads back to Seattle.

Forward O'Brian White has had surgery to remove a blood clot from his left leg. It is not known yet how long he will be out.

The Seattle Times has quotes from several Sounders this week, including coach Sigi Schmid, and players Kasey Keller, Jeff Parke and Nate Jaqua.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Forward Atiba Harris has had surgery to fix a torn right knee meniscus that he injured over 2 weeks ago. Time of recovery is still unknown.

The Caps have signed veteran midfielder Peter Vagenas.

Bruce Constantineau of the Sun sees Omar Salgado and Joe Cannon on the trail to becoming starters very soon.

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Sun May 1
Colorado Rapids v Chicago Fire
-Tue May 3
Sporting Kansas City v Real Salt Lake
Chivas USA v LA Galaxy

dN

MLS Reserve League Standings Etc.

MLS YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

A very sad story: Chicago Fire Academy player Kabiru Adewunmi was shot and killed on Tuesday night. It is believed that he may have gotten caught in the cross fire of two gangs shooting at each other.

MLS STADIUMS

The Kansas City Star has 57 new photos of Livestrong Sporting Park.

















pic stolen from the KC Star

NASL SCOREBOARD

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Apr 29
Puerto Rico Islanders v Fort Lauderdale Strikers
-Sat Apr 30
FC Tampa Bay v Atlanta Silverbacks
NSC Minnesota Stars v Carolina RailHawks
-Sun May 1
FC Edmonton v Montreal Impact

dN

Standings:
9 Puerto Rico Islanders (+5 GD) (3 GP)
6 Carolina RailHawks (+2 GD) (3 GP)
6 FC Edmonton (0 GD) (3 GP)
4 NSC Minnesota Stars (-1 GD) (3 GP)
3 FC Tampa Bay (-1 GD) (2 GP)
1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (-1 GD) (2 GP)
0 Atlanta Silverbacks (-2 GD) (2 GP)
0 Montreal Impact (-2 GD) (2 GP)

MINNESOTA THUNDER ACADEMY

Both teams play 2 home games this weekend. All 4 games at the National Sports Center in Blaine MN.

U17/18
-Sat Apr 30
Minnesota Thunder Academy v Real Colorado - 12:00 pm
-Sun May 1
Minnesota Thunder Academy v Colorado Rush AJ Auxerre - 11:00 am

U15/16
-Sat Apr 30
Minnesota Thunder Academy v Real Colorado - 2:30 pm
-Sun May 1
Minnesota Thunder Academy v Colorado Rush AJ Auxerre - 1:30 pm

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Bolton fans have named Stuart Holden as their Player of the Year.

dN

David Smith of Yanks Abroad talks to Timmy Chandler about making his USA debut a few weeks ago.
-Chandler got a cut on his foot and will miss this weekends game.

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Joe Benny Corona scored the only goal in the first leg of the promotion playoffs.

dN

Eben Lehman writing for This Is American Soccer gives us an intro/history/update on the Mexican 2nd division team Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente aka Tijuana Xolos.
-In just their 4th season Los Xolos are on the verge of being promoted to the Primera.

dN

Coming Up:

LIGA DE ASCENSO (2nd division) - Promotion Playoff Quarterfinals
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - Thu Apr 28 - went the full 90 scoring a goal as they won 0-1 at Cruz Azul Hidalgo - 1st Leg.
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - Sun May 1 v Cruz Azul Hidalgo - 2nd Leg leading 1-0

MEXICO

Playoff Standings as of Sun Apr 24:
Group A
ADV-32 UANL Tigres
25 Guadalajara
Group B
24 Atlante
23 Atlas (+3 GD)
Group C
ADV-35 UNAM Pumas
ADV-28 Morelia
Wild Card
25 Cruz Azul
23 Monterrey (+2 GD)
- - - - -
23 America (+1 GD) - B
20 Santos Laguna - A
21 Toluca - B

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Apr 29
Estudiantes Tecos v Santos Laguna
-Sat Apr 30
Jaguares v Queretaro
Guadalajara v Monterrey
Tigres UANL v Atlas
Pachuca v Necaxa
San Luis v Cruz Azul
Atlante v Toluca
-Sun May 1
Puebla v Morelia
Pumas UNAM v America

CANADA

Canadian Championship

The winner of the 4 team tournament goes to the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round.

Everything went the way of the favorites in the first Leg games last night. The two MLS teams were on the road but still got the wins.

Matches & Scores:
Semifinals
1st Leg
-Wed Apr 27
Montreal Impact 0-1 Vancover Whitecaps - VW goal by Terry Dunfield.
Match report from Montreal Gazette.
FC Edmonton 0-3 Toronto FC - TFC goals by Maicon Santos(2) & Alan Gordon.
Match report from the Toronto Star.
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Wed May 4
Vancover Whitecaps v Montreal Impact (1-0)
Toronto FC v FC Edmonton (3-0)

ENGLAND

Top of the Premier League Table: (34 of 38 GP)
73 Man United - Sun May 1 at Arsenal
67 Chelsea - Sat Apr 30 v Tottenham
64 Arsenal - Sun May 1 v Manchester United
59 Man City - Sun May 1 v West Ham (33 GP)
55 Tottenham - Sat Apr 30 at Chelsea (33 GP)

SPAIN

Top of the Primera Division Table: (33 of 38 GP)
88 Barcelona - Sat Apr 30 at Sociedad
80 Real Madrid - Sat Apr 30 v Zaragoza
63 Valencia - Sun May 1 at Osasuna
57 Villarreal - Sun May 1 v Getafe
51 Athletic Bilbao - Mon May 2 at Espanyol

FRANCE

Recap du Nord: We have a new league leader as Marseille got a very convincing win yesterday and jumps over Lille into the #1 position. Lille is now 2nd. #3 Lyon also won yesterday and solidified their place as a contender only 5 points from the top. 4 & 5 did not play, and stay the same.

dN

Top of the Ligue 1 Table: (32 GP of 38)
61 Marsielle - Sun May 1 v Auxerre
60 Lille - Sat Apr 30 v Arles
56 Lyon - Sun May 1 at Toulouse
53 PSG - Sat Apr 30 v Valenciennes
51 Rennes - Sat Apr 30 v Bordeaux

GERMANY

Top of the Bundesliga Table: (31 of 34 GP)
69 Borussia Dortmund - Sat Apr 30 v Nurnberg
64 Bayer Leverkusen - Sat Apr 30 at Koln
57 Hannover - Sat Apr 30 v Monchengladbach
56 Bayern Munich - Sat Apr 30 v Schalke
49 Mainz - Sat Apr 30 v Eintracht Frankfurt

ITALY

Top of the Serie A Table: (34 of 38 GP)
74 Milan - Sun May 1 v Bologna
66 Inter - Sat Apr 30 at Cesena
65 Napoli - Sat Apr 30 v Genoa
60 Lazio - Mon May 2 v Juventus
59 Udinese - Sun May 1 at Fioretina

EUROPE

Top Goal Scorers In Europe's Biggest Leagues (as of Thu Apr 28):
31 Lionel Messi - Barcelona
29 Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
26 Edinson Cavani - Napoli
26 Antonio Di Natale - Udinese
23 Mario Gomez - Bayern Munich
22 Hulk - Porto
21 Alex - Fenerbache
21 Dimitar Berbatov - Manchester United
21 Moussa Sow - Lille
20 Djibril Cisse - Panathinaikos - Greece
20 Papiss Demba Cisse - Freiburg
20 Samuel Eto'o - Inter
20 Mads Junker - Roda JC
19 Dmitry Bulykin - ADO Den Haag
19 Carlos Tevez - Manchester City
19 Marco Di Vaio - Bologna
19 Bjorn Vleminckx - NEC Nijmegen

dN

Netherland
Top of the Eredivisie Table: (32 of 34 GP)
68 Twente - Sun May 1 v Willem II (+29 GD)
67 Ajax - Sun May 1 at Heerenveen (+39 GD)
65 PSV Eindhoven - Sun May 1 v Vitesse (+44 GD)
(Twente goes to Ajax on the final day of the season.)

dN

POLISH CUP
Final
Matches & Scores:
-Mon May 2
Legia Warszawa v Lech Poznan

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Semifinals

Porto got a monster win at home in the first leg, and Benfica won too, but barely and allowed Braga an away goal.

Its almost a certainty now that two Portuguese teams will play for the final.

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Thu Apr 28
Porto 5-1 Villarreal - Por goals by Falcao(4) & Fredy Guarin. Vil goal by Cani.
Benfica 2-1 Braga - Ben goals by Jardel & Oscar Cardozo. Bra goal by Vandinho.
2nd Leg (with 1st Leg scores included)
-Thu May 5
Villarreal v Porto (1-5)
Braga v Benfica (1-2)

ARGENTINA

Primera Division
Standings (after 11 of 19 games played):
21 Velez Sarsfield
20 Godoy Cruz
19 River Plate
18 Olimpio
18 Argentinos Juniors
18 Banfield

COPA LIBERTADORES

Round Of 16

Big wins for Velez & Fluminense at home, and powerful road wins for Cruziero and Universidad Catolica. Santos also won, while the other games ended in draws.

2nd Leg games next week.

dN

Matches & Scores:

1st Leg
-Tue Apr 26
Velez Sarsfield 3-0 LDU Quito - VS goals by Augusto Fernandez(2) & Sebastian Dominguez.
Gremio 1-2 Univ Catolica - Gre goal by Douglas. UC goals both by Lucas Pratto.
-Wed Apr 27
Once Caldas 1-2 Cruzeiro - OC goal by Luis Nunez. Cru goals by Wallyson & Jose Ortigoza.
Santos 1-0 America - San goal by Ganso.
Chiapas Jaguares 1-1 Junior - CJ goal by Jackson Martinez. Jun goal by Luis Paez.
Estuniantes 0-0 Cerro Porteno
-Thu Apr 28
Fluminense 3-1 Libertad - Flu goals by Rafael Moura, Marquinho & Dario Conca. Lib goal by Rodolfo Gamarra.
Penarol 1-1 Internacional - Pen goal by Mathias Corujo. Int goal by Leandro Damiao.

dN

2nd Leg (with 1st Leg scores included)
-Tue May 3
America v Santos (0-1)
-Wed May 4
Univ Catolica v Gremio (2-1)
Cruzeiro v Once Caldas (2-1)
Libertad v Fluminense (1-3)
Internacional v Penarol (1-1)
-Thu May 5
LDU Quito v Velez Sarsfield (0-3)
Junior v Chiapas Jaguares (1-1)
Cerro Porteno v Estuniantes (0-0)

PET LOVERS ONLY

Manimal