Some News for Fri Jul 15, 2011

STARTERS

Jozy Altidore on Twitter today: "To all my amazing fans, I have indeed agreed to terms to join AZ In holland! Thanks for all the love and the hate it's all making me better!"
-The Technical Director of AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands in none other than former USA national team great Earnie Stewart.
-Brian Sciaretta of Yanks Abroad reports that the deal is not final, but very very close.

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Brian Mullan was set to appear with the Colorado Rapids in Seattle this weekend, but he was left OFF the travel squad. It would have been his first trip to play the Sounders since his horrible tackle this spring broke the leg of Seattle's Steve Zakuani.

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The Superliga in Denmark begins a new season this weekend with 6 Americans in the league.

STORY OF THE DAY

Its been a couple of weeks now since the New England Revolution front office management and their most ardent supporters got into a brouhaha over treat at the hands of security. The team says stop chanting "You Suck Asshole" and the supporters say "stop sending in the goon squad." They had a meeting to clear the air, and it didn't seem to solve much. Their first home game since the clash comes on Sun Jul 17 at 6pm CT. Tune in to see what happens now.

MATCH FIXING IN TURKEY

Hurriyet reports that it was the Besiktas supporters group Carsi who urged the club to surrender the 2011 Turkish Cup until they are cleared of match fixing.

THE FIFA SCANDAL STORY NEVER ENDS

Owen Gibson of the Guardian reports that Mohamed bin Hammam, who's Caribbean bribery hearing begins on Thursday, has refused to cooperate with FIFA investigators.
-The 12 Caribbean Football Union federations who have also refused to cooperate could all face charges.

TEAM USA AT THE 2011 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP

The Women's World Cup - Germany 2011

While the USA is the FAVORED team in the final, Japan is definitely the FAVORITE of the rest of the world. Hard to blame anyone for wanting something good to happen to Japan.

In 25 meetings between the two teams the USA has won 22 and tied the other 3.

5 of the USA's 6 games in this tournament have been against teams ranked in the top 8 by FIFA.

How has the tournament gone so far for the 2 finalists (including FIFA ranking):
GS1 - Japan #4 2-1 New Zealand #24
GS1 - USA #1 2-0 N Korea #8
GS2 - Japan 4-0 Mexico #22
GS2 - USA 3-0 Colombia #31
GS3 - Japan 0-2 England #10
GS3 - USA 1-2 Sweden #5
-Japan - 2nd place in Group B
-USA - 2nd place in Group C
QF - Japan 1-0 Germany #2
QF - USA 2-2 Brazil #3 - W 5-3 in PKS
SF - Japan 3-1 Sweden #5
SF - USA 3-1 France #7

Final
-Sun Jul 17
USA v Japan - 1:45pm (pregame at 1) CT on ESPN, ESPN3.com and Galavision
Venue: Commerzbank-Arena - Frankfurt

Read full tournament coverage by Jerrod Roh (U of M Women's asst coach) at IMSoccer News.

COPA AMERICA

The 2011 South American championship is being hosted by Argentina.

All games live on You Tube, and TeleFutura or Univision.

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Quarterfinals

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jul 16
1 Colombia v Peru - 2pm CT on Univision and YouTube
2 Argentina v Uruguay - 5:15pm CT on Univision and YouTube
-Sun Jul 17
3 Brazil v Paraguay - 2pm CT on Univision and YouTube
4 Chile v Venezuela - 5:15pm CT on Univision and YouTube

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Semifinals

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jul 19
Q1 v Q2 - 7:45pm CT on Univision and YouTube
-Wed Jul 20
Q3 v Q4 - 7:45pm CT on Univision and YouTube

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I watched the Gold Cup and when Bornstein came in, everything went down from there. To tell you the truth, I was watching at home and I was thinking I could have been there, but coulda-woulda, I can't say anything."
-Edgar Castillo

Adam Serrano of MLSsoccer.com talks to Castillo who is fighting for a starting role at Club America.

TWITTERVERSE/FACEBOOKING

@jacob__peterson: "Feels nice to be treated like an adult again..almost forgot what that felt like"

Peterson was traded on Thursday from Toronto to San Jose. Ouch. Not the trade, what he said.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

"Johnson happy to be a part of TFC's rebuilding process"

That was a headline today at MLSsoccer.com.
-Don't you have to have built something in the first place in order to "rebuild" it?

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 18

Matches & Scores
-Sat Jul 16
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Real Salt Lake - 3:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Empire Field
Seattle Sounders FC v Colorado Rapids - 3:00PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: CenturyLink Field
Columbus Crew v San Jose Earthquakes - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium
Houston Dynamo v Sporting Kansas City - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Robertson Stadium
Chicago Fire SC v Portland Timbers - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Toyota Park
FC Dallas v DC United - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Pizza Hut Park
CD Chivas USA v New York Red Bulls - 9:30PM CT on Galavision
Venue: The Home Depot Center
-Sun Jul 17
New England Revolution v Philadelphia Union - 6:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium

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Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
28 Philadelphia Union (+5 GD) (18 GP)
28 New York Red Bulls (+10 GD) (20 GP)
27 Columbus Crew (+2 GD) (18 GP)
23 Houston Dynamo (+1 GD) (19 GP)
22 DC United (-5 GD) (17 GP)
22 Sporting Kansas City (-1 GD) (18 GP)
18 Chicago Fire SC (-4 GD) (19 GP)
18 Toronto FC (-19 GD) (21 GP)
16 New England Revolution (-8 GD) (18 GP)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
39 LA Galaxy (+11 GD) (21 GP)
35 Seattle Sounders FC (+8 GD) (21 GP)
34 FC Dallas (+7 GD) (19 GP)
30 Real Salt Lake (+11 GD) (17 GP)
27 Colorado Rapids (-1 GD) (20 GP)
22 San Jose Earthquakes (+1 GD) (18 GP)
22 CD Chivas USA (+1 GD) (19 GP)
18 Portland Timbers (-10 GD) (17 GP)
14 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-9 GD) (20 GP)

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times with an article on Manchester United coming to that city, and manager Alex Ferguson taking note of the growth of the game in America. Includes a good video from the press conference.

COLUMBUS CREW

The Crew traded Andy Iro & Leandre Griffit to Toronto for Tony Tchani.
-I think that's a good deal for Columbus.

Legendary player Brian McBride will be honored by the Crew this weekend at their home game by inducting him into their Circle Of Honor.

FC DALLAS

3rd Degree/ESPN Dallas has articles on 2 of FCD's topic prospects:
-Todd Date on Andrew Wiedeman.
-Master Tesfatsion on Richard Sanchez who just won the U17 World Cup starting in goal for Mexico.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

KC is said to be announcing a new player acquisition on Sunday.
-I was just thinking the other day that Pavel Pardo would make a good central midfielder for KC.

LA GALAXY

The Original Winger has a video interview with veteran centerback and assistant coach Gregg Berhalter.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

NER centerback AJ Soares was in heaven playing against his idols from Manchester United. He tells us all about it in his column for the Boston Globe.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Brian Lewis of the Post has words from new veteran German goalkeeper Frank Rost.
-Talk on the interwebs is that Greg Sutton will be the keeper released.

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Big trade for the team - starting center forward Ryan Johnson has been shippped off to Toronto in exchange for 3 players - Alan Gordon (his 3rd team in less than a year, young defender Nana Attakora (who has been at odds with team management all season) and winger Jacob Peterson.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Head coach Sigi Schmid has signed a contract extension with the team through the 2015 season.

TORONTO FC

TFC has jettisoned Alan Gordon, Nana Attakora & Jacob Peterson to San Jose in exchange for Ryan Johnson.
-TFC is also getting cash and an additional internation player spot on their roster in the deal.

Toronto then turned around and acquired centerback Andy Iro and midfielder Leandre Griffit from Columbus in exchange for central midfielder Tony Tchani.

And then TFC bought central midfielder Terry Dunfield from the Vancouver Whitecaps.

So they now have 1 less player than they had when everyone woke up yesterday morning.

LS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Mon Jul 18
New England Revolution v Philadelphia Union
-Thu Jul 19
Sporting Kansas City v Chicago Fire

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Standings Etc.

NORTH AMERICA SUMMER CLUB FRIENDLY SCHEDULE

Big friendlies will be played this summer all around North America featuring mainly European teams in their preseasons.

Matches & Scores:
-Thu Jul 14
FC Tampa Bay (NASL) 1-0 Bolton Wanderers (England) - TB goal by Matt Clare.
Venue: Al Lang Field - St Petersburg FL
Attendance: 3,914
-Sat Jul 16
LA Galaxy v Real Madrid (Spain) - World Football Challenge
Venue: Memorial Coliseum - Los Angeles CA
-Sat Jul 16
Manchester City (England) v Club America (Mexico) - World Football Challenge
Venue: AT&T Park - San Francisco CA
-Sun Jul 17
Orlando City SC (USL Pro) v Bolton Wanderers (England)
Venue: Florida Citrus Bowl - Orlando FL
-Mon Jul 18
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Manchester City (England) - World Football Challenge
Venue: Empire Field - Vancouver BC

NASL SCOREBOARD

Matches & Scores:
-Sun Jul 17
Montreal Impact v Atlanta Silverbacks
FC Edmonton v FC Tampa Bay
NSC Minnesota Stars v Puerto Rico Islanders
-Wed Jul 20
Puerto Rico Islanders v Fort Lauderdale Strikers

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Standings (as of Wed Jul 13):
38 Carolina RailHawks (+21 GD) (16 GP) 2.38 PPG
25 FC Edmonton (+3 GD) (15 GP) 1.67 PPG
23 Puerto Rico Islanders (0 GD) (15 GP) 1.53 PPG
22 NSC Minnesota Stars (+3 GD) (15 GP) 1.47 PPG
18 FC Tampa Bay (-4 GD) (15 GP) 1.20 PPG
18 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (-1 GD) (16 GP) 1.13 PPG
- - - OUT OF PLAYOFFS - - -
11 Montreal Impact (-4 GD) (15 GP) 0.73 PPG
8 Atlanta Silverbacks (-18 GD) (15 GP) 0.53 PPG

US OPEN CUP

Semifinals

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Aug 30
Chicago Fire SC v Richmond Kickers - 7:30pm CT
Venue: Toyota Park
Seattle Sounders FC v FC Dallas - 9pm CT
Venue: Starfire Stadium

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Garrett Quinn of the Boston Globe says that not only has soccer "arrived" in America, it has been here for a while.

US SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY

2011 U17/18 Championship:

Final

Match & Score:
-Fri Jul 15
FC Dallas v Pateadores - 12pm CT on ESPNU & ESPN3.com

Placement Matches

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Jul 15
3rd/4th Dallas Texans v CASL Chelsea FC Academy
5th/6th New York Red Bulls v Baltimore Bays Chelsea
7th/8th Players Development Academy v Weston FC

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U15/16 Championship:

Final

Match & Score:
-Sat Jul 16
LA Galaxy v PA Classics - 12pm CT on ESPNU & ESPN3.com

Placement Matches

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jul 16
3rd/4th Real So Cal v Real Salt Lake AZ
5th/6th Seattle Sounders v North Carolina Fusion
7th/8th Dallas Texans v CASL Chelsea FC Academy

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action:

FINLAND - Ykkonen (2nd Division)
Dan Stevens - PS Kemi Kings - Thu Jul 14 - went the distance and scored the second goal in stoppage time as they drew 2-2 v Oulu.
Jeremy Vuolo - AC Oulu - Thu Jul 14 - in goal as they drew 2-2 at Kemi Kings.

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Coming Up:

DENMARK - Superliga
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - Sun Jul 17 v AaB
Conor O'Brien - SonderjyskE - Sun Jul 17 v Kobenhavn
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - Sat Jul 16 at OB
Chris Rolfe - AaB - Sun Jul 17 at Brondy
Brad Rusin - HB Koge - Sun Jul 17 at Horsens
Marcus Tracy - AaB - Sun Jul 17 at Brondy

FINLAND - Veikkausliiga -
Giuseppe Funicello - Mariehamn - at TPS
Etchu Tabe - RoPS - v Honka
Mason Trafford - Mariehamn - at TPS
Josh Wicks - Mariehamn - at TPS

FINLAND - Ykkonen (2nd Division)
Kellan Wilson - HIFK - at PK-35

NORWAY - Eliteserien
Joe Bendik - Sogndal - v Sarpsborg
Erik Benjaminsen - Stabaek - v Rosenborg
Sean Cunningham - Molde - v Haugesund
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - v Rosenborg
Josh Gatt - Molde - v Haugesund

NORWAY - 1 Divisjon
Rhett Bernstein - Mjondalen - at Alta
John Borrajo - HamKam - v Sandnes Ulf
Colin Burns - Sandefjord - at Strommen
Steve Clark - Honefoss - v Kongsvinger
Kyle Helton - Mjondalen - at Alta
Kenneth Di Vita Jensen - Honefoss - v Kongsvinger

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgarden - v Mjallby
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro - at GAIS
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - v Elfsborg
Samuel Petrone - Mjallby - at Djurgarden

SWEDEN - Superettan
Brian Edwards - Degerfors - v GIF Sundsvall
Nick Noble - Ljungskile - v Angelholm
Matt Pyzdrowski - Angelholms - at Ljungskile
Michael Thomas - Ljungskile - v Angelholm

AMERICANS IN SOUTH AMERICA

Steve Goff of the Washington Post with an article on 16 year old Nicholas Gaitan who is currently at Argentinos Juniors, but is getting attention from Boca Juniors.
-Also word on Diego Restrepo at America of Cali, Colombia.

CONCACAF 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Preliminary Round

Five matchups between the 10 lowest rated teams in the region.
-The 5 winners will advance to join the next 19 lowest rated teams in a six group, four team stage.

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Sun Jul 17
Belize v Montserrat (5-2)

ENGLAND

In what seems a bit of an odd move Liverpool has signed Roma's Brazilian goalkeeper Alexander Doni.
-Will be really go from starter at Roma to bench warmer at Liverpool?

FRANCE

24 teams will begin the Coupe de la Ligue on Fri Jul 22.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

34 teams are in the 2nd Qualifying Round and the 2nd Leg matches will be play next week on Tue/Wed Jul 19/20. See all the matchups and scores here.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

80 teams in the Second Preliminary Round matches: 2nd Leg is Thu Jul 21.

BRAZIL

A huge round this weekend where all 6 top teams face off against each other!

2011 Brazil Serie A Standings
22 Corinthians (8 GP) - NEXT: Sun Jul 17 at Botafogo
19 Flamengo (9 GP) - NEXT: Sun Jul 17 at Palmeiras
18 Sao Paulo (9 GP) - NEXT: Sun Jul 17 at Internacional
18 Palmeiras (9 GP) - NEXT: Sun Jul 17 v Flamengo
16 Botafogo (9 GP) - NEXT: Sun Jul 17 v Corinthians

AFRICA

CNN with a report on South Sudan - the worlds newest country, and newest national football team.