Some News for Thu Jul 7, 2011

STARTERS

Jeff Cunningham scored a late goal for Columbus last night and is now tied for the lead as all-time goal scorer in MLS with 133. Jaime Moreno who retired after last season also has scored 133 times.

dN

Stuart Holden contributed $10,000 to the fund raising for Rise & Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story. Wow!
-And another $18,000 was raised on Wednesday bringing the total still needed down to $54,000. Even $10 helps. Seriously.

dN

Replacing Jorge Valdano as technical director at Real Madrid is none other than Zinedine Zidane.

dN

RUMOR: USA v Mexico - Friendly - Wed Aug 10 - location unknown - Time TBA on ESPN2

dN

The North American summer friendly season kicks off tonight with Club America of Mexico City visiting the Portland Timbers.

dN

Uruguay stunned Brazil 3-0 today in the first Semifinal match of the U17 World Cup.
-The will face the winner of Germany v host Mexico on Sunday.

dN

2 big MLS rivalry games coming up this weekend:
-Sat Jul 9
New York v DC
-Sun Jul 10
Portland v Seattle

TEAM USA AT THE 2011 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP

Germany 2011 is under way.

dN

Match report on the USA loss to Sweden from US Soccer.

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Sun Jul 10
USA v Brazil - 10am CT on ESPN, ESPN3.com and Galavision

dN

Read 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.

dN

Argentina again struggled and could only manage a scoreless draw with very happy Colombia.

Jonathan Wilson of Sports Illustrated visits Argentina's woeful performance.

dN

Group Stage

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Jul 1
Argentina 1-1 Bolivia - Arg goal by Kun Aguero. Bol goal by Edvaldo Rojas.
-Sat Jul 2
Colombia 1-0 Costa Rica - Col goal by Adrian Ramos.
-Sun Jul 3
Brazil 0-0 Venezuela
Paraguay 0-0 Ecuador
-Mon Jul 4
Uruguay 1-1 Peru - Uru goal by Luis Suarez. Per goal by Paolo Guerreo.
Chile 2-1 Mexico - Chi goals by Esteban Paredes & Arturo Vidal. Mex goal by Nestor Araujo.
-Wed Jul 6
Argentina 0-0 Colombia
-Thu Jul 7
Bolivia v Costa Rica - 5:15pm CT on TeleFutura and YouTube
-Fri Jul 8
Chile v Uruguay - 5:15pm CT on TeleFutura and YouTube
Mexico v Peru - 7:45pm CT on Univision and YouTube
-Sat Jul 9
Brazil v Paraguay - 2:00pm CT on Univision and YouTube
Venezuela v Ecuador - 4:30 pm CT on TeleFutura and YouTube
-Sun Jul 10
Colombia v Bolivia - 2:00pm CT on TeleFutura and YouTube
-Mon Jul 11
Argentina v Costa Rica - 7:45pm CT on TeleFutura and YouTube
-Tue Jul 12
Chile v Peru - 5:15pm CT on TeleFutura and YouTube
Uruguay v Mexico - 7:45pm CT on Univision and YouTube
-Wed Jul 13
Paraguay v Venezuela - 5:15pm CT on TeleFutura and YouTube
Brazil v Ecuador - 7:45pm CT on TeleFutura

dN

Standings:
GROUP A
4 Colombia (+1)
2 Argentina (0)
1 Bolivia (0)
0 Costa Rica (-1)
GROUP B
1 Brazil (0)
1 Ecuador (0)
1 Paraguay (0)
1 Venezuela (0)
GROUP C
3 Chile (+1)
1 Peru (0)
1 Uruguay (0)
0 Mexico (-1)

The top 2 from each group and the next best 2 advance to the Quarterfinals.

BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES

Here are the start dates for Europe's 5 big leagues:

Bundesliga - Aug 5

Ligue 1 - Aug 5

Premier League - Aug 13

Primera Division - Aug 20

Serie A - Aug 28

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

Gerson Mayen of Chivas USA has been the 3rd USA youth international in recent years to decide to switch national alliances and will now officially play for El Salvador.
-Arturo Alvarez and Steve Purdy are also playing for ES after playing for the USA youth teams.

FACT OF THE DAY

37 more players in S Korea have been arrested in the ongoing match fixing scandal!

-AND-

15 more people were arrested in Turkey today concerning match fixing including executives from Sivasspor and Eskisehirspor.

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle with an article on concussions in MLS.

THIS IS NOT GOOD

The Guardian tells us about the collapse of part of the roof at the stadium of TC Twente in the Netherlands. One person was killed in the collapse. Brutal.
-One end of the stadium was under re-construction when support beams buckled.
-Photos and video included.































MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 17

Matches & Scores
-Wednesday, July 6, 2011
New York Red Bulls 5-0 Toronto FC - NYRB goals by Thierry Henry, Luke Rodgers, Joel Lindpere & Juan Agudelo(2).
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 15,269
Sporting Kansas City 1-1 Colorado Rapids - SKC goal by Graham Zusi. CR goal by Conor Casey.
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Attendance: 15,209
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0-1 Columbus Crew - CC goal by Jeff Cunningham.
Venue: Empire Field
Attendance: 19,079
CD Chivas USA 2-0 San Jose Earthquakes - CUSA goals by Ben Zemanski & Nick LaBrocca.
Venue: The Home Depot Center
Attendance: 9,425
-Sat Jul 9
Sporting Kansas City v CD Chivas USA - 6:30PM CT on Galavision
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
New York Red Bulls v DC United - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Houston Dynamo v Toronto FC - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Robertson Stadium
Real Salt Lake v FC Dallas - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
Colorado Rapids v Vancouver Whitecaps FC - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
LA Galaxy v Chicago Fire SC - 9:30PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: The Home Depot Center
San Jose Earthquakes v Philadelphia Union - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
-Sun Jul 10
Portland Timbers v Seattle Sounders FC - 3:00PM CT on ESPN
Venue: JELD-WEN Field

dN

EJECTIONS:
Shea Salinas - Vancouver - red card

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
28 New York Red Bulls (+11 GD) (19 GP)
27 Philadelphia Union (+5 GD) (17 GP)
27 Columbus Crew (+2 GD) (18 GP)
21 Sporting Kansas City (-1 GD) (17 GP)
20 Houston Dynamo (-1 GD) (18 GP)
19 DC United (-6 GD) (16 GP)
18 Chicago Fire SC (-3 GD) (18 GP)
18 Toronto FC (-17 GD) (20 GP)
16 New England Revolution (-8 GD) (18 GP)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
36 LA Galaxy (+10 GD) (20 GP)
34 FC Dallas (+9 GD) (18 GP)
32 Seattle Sounders FC (+7 GD) (20 GP)
27 Real Salt Lake (+9 GD) (16 GP)
24 Colorado Rapids (-2 GD) (19 GP)
21 San Jose Earthquakes (+1 GD) (17 GP)
21 CD Chivas USA (+1 GD) (18 GP)
18 Portland Timbers (-9 GD) (16 GP)
14 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-8 GD) (19 GP)

MLS POINTS PER GAME STANDINGS

With teams having played between 16 and 20 games one of the few ways to see where they really stand against each other is measuring points earned per game. Here are those standings. Very interesting.

1.89 FC Dallas
1.80 LA Galaxy
1.69 Real Salt Lake
1.60 Seattle Sounders
1.59 Philadelphia Union
1.50 Columbus Crew
1.47 New York Red Bulls
1.26 Colorado Rapids
1.24 San Jose Earthquakes (+1 GD)
1.24 Sporting Kansas City (-1 GD)
1.19 DC United
1.17 CD Chivas USA
1.13 Portland Timbers
1.11 Houston Dynamo
1.00 Chicago Fire SC
0.90 Toronto FC
0.89 New England Revolution
0.74 Vancouver Whitecaps FC

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

COLUMBUS CREW

Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch gets a few words from Jeff Cunningham after he tied the leagues all time goal scoring record.

dN

Columbus has signed their centerback Julius James to a long term contract extension.

DC UNITED

Dave Johnson, TV commentator for DCU, writing for CSN Washington looks at the rivalry between DCU and the New York Red Bulls who they will travel to play this weekend.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Deeming that having only 1 Danny Cruz on their roster the Dynamo are currently giving a try out to 30 year old Colombian midfielder Daniel Cruz!

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

A guy from the Kansas City Star who calls himself "an unapologetic soccer-baiter" went to the SKC game last night and really enjoyed it. Guess what. He had never been to a pro soccer game before. Stunning.
-Do we give him credit for being honest?

dN

Terez Paylor of the Star with an article on head coach Peter Vermes who is also the team's technical director. One of a very few head coaches in the league with both jobs.

LA GALAXY

Scott French of ESPN checks in on the possible concussion suffered by AJ DeLaGarza.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Brian Lewis of the Post talks to Bulls goalkeeper Greg Sutton about rumors of the team seeking a new goalkeeper in the transfer window that is about to open.

PHILADELPHIA UNION

Philly has sold left fullback Jordan Harvey to Vancouver.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Kip Kesgard of the Oregonian tries to get to the bottom of the Timbers recent bumbling.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

Steve Zakuani updates us on his injury recovery.

dN

Grass is being installed at Century Link Field prior to the Sounders gave against Manchester United on Jul 20.

dN

Stephen Alexander of the Portland Tribune with an article on Kasey Keller who may be making his last visit to his native Portland as a professional.
-Features a great story of Keller and Timbers coach John Spencer facing off in a Penalty Kick Shootout in the English FA Cup.

dN

Joshua Mayers of the Times talks to coach Sigi Schmid about rumors that Marcus Hahnemann will be playing for Seattle.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

A late Penalty Kick by Terry Dunfield was saved by Columbus keeper William Hesmer and it ended up dooming the Caps who gave up the winning goal in the 90th minute last night.

dN

Vancouver has bought left fullback Jordan Harvey from Philadelphia.

MLS LEADER LEADERS IN GOALS AGAINST

The 5 teams with the stingiest defenses (goals per game allowed):
LA - 0.75
Salt Lake - 0.75
Seattle - 0.90
Dallas - 0.94
Philadelphia - 0.94

MLS COACHES HOT SEAT

As of Thu Jul 7

Wobbly Ground:
Dominic Kinnear - Houston Dynamo
Steve Nicol - New England Revolution

Interim Anti-Safety:
Frank Klopas - Chicago Fire SC
Tom Soehn - Vancouver Whitecaps FC

First Year Question Marks:
Robin Fraser - CD Chivas USA
Ben Olsen - DC United
John Spencer - Portland Timbers
Aron Winter - Toronto FC

Fairly Secure:
Hans Backe - New York Red Bulls
Sigi Schmid - Seattle Sounders FC
Gary Smith - Colorado Rapids
Peter Vermes - Sporting Kansas City
Robert Warczycha - Columbus Crew
Frank Yallop - San Jose Earthquakes

Completely Safe:
Bruce Arena - LA Galaxy
Schellas Hyndeman - FC Dallas
Jason Kreis - Real Salt Lake
Peter Nowak - Philadelphia Union

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 7
Portland Timbers v Club America (Mexico)
Venue: JELD-WEN Field - Portland OR

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Promoters have announced the Hawaiian Islands Invitational to take place next spring in Honolulu on Feb 23-25 at Aloha Stadium.

The 4 teams participating will be Colorado Rapids of MLS, Yokohama FC of Japan, Incheon United of South Korea and Melbourne Heart of Australia.

TEAM USA

FIFA International dates that can be filled yet this year:
-Aug 10
-Sep 2-6 (Costa Rica and Belgium)
-Oct 7-11
-Nov 11-15

MEXICO 2011 - USA U17 WORLD CUP

June 18 to July 10.

Official website

All games are shown on ESPN3.com, and some are shown on TV channel ESPNU.

dN

Semifinals

Matches & Scores:
-Thu Jul 7
Uruguay 3-0 Brazil - Uru goals by Elbio Alvarez(PK), Juan San Martin & Guillermo Mendez.
Germany v Mexico - 6pm CT

dN

Final

Match & Score:
-Sun Jul 10
Uruguay v ??? - 6pm CT

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Greg Seltzer of MLSsoccer.com gives us the lowdown on Gale Agbossoumonde's current loan spell at Djurgardens in Sweden.

dN

Hull City is said to be interested in signing Marcus Hahnemann.

dN

Soccer By Ives has some more rumor news including Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey and others.

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

DaMarcus Beasley scored the winning goal for Puebla in a preseason game. Oh Yeah!





















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:
1st Leg
-Fri Jul 8
Anguilla v Dominican Republic
Aruba v St. Luca
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Sat Jul 9
Bahamas v Turks & Caicos Islands (4-0)
-Sun Jul 10
British Virgin Islands v US Virgin Islands (0-2)
Dominican Republic v Anguilla (-)

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

First Preliminary Round 2nd Leg matches & scores - today Thu Jul 7.

Who has advanced:
Aalesund
Dimano Tblisi
Elfsborg
Ferencvaros
Flamurtair Vlore
Fulham
Glentoran
Hacken
Honka
Irtysh
KR
Metalurgi Rustavi
Minsk
Olimpija
Paksi SE
Qarabag
Rabotnicki
Rad
Shakhter Karagandy
Spartak Trnava
St Patrick's Athletic
The New Saints
Tromso
Varazdin
Vllanznia Shkoder

-Without looking them up, can you name which city and country any of these teams are from? How many?

dN

These 25 winners will move on to join 55 more teams in the 2nd Preliminary Round to be played on Jul 14 & 21.

dN

One American will jump into the fray in the next round as well:
Alejandro Bedoya - Orebro

BRAZIL

Can you believe the Serie A season is already 8 weeks underway and I haven't even mentioned it once yet?

And Sao Paulo has already fired their head coach Paulo Cesar Carpegiani, and replaced him with interim Milton Cruz.

2011 Brazil Serie A Standings
19 Corinthians (7 GP) - NEXT: Sun Jul 10 at Atletico GO
16 Flamengo (8 GP) - NEXT: Sun Jul 10 at Fluminense
15 Sao Paulo (8 GP) - NEXT: Sat Jul 9 v Cruzeiro
15 Internacional (8 GP) - NEXT: Sat Jul 9 at Vasco Da Gama
14 Palmeiras (7 GP) - NEXT: Sun Jul 10 v Santos