Some News for Wed Jul 27, 2011

STARTERS

The Serie A season will kick off the weekend of Aug 27, and here are the first round matches (exact dates/times still TBA):
Atalanta v Cesena
Bologna v Roma
Cagliari v Milan
Inter v Lecce
Lazio v Chievo
Napoli v Genoa
Novara v Palermo
Parma v Catania
Siena v Fiorentina
Udinese v Juventus

dN

Will Greece be the next country to have club doors kicked in by police from a major match fixing investigation?

THE FIFA SCANDAL STORY NEVER ENDS

AFP reports that the Japan Football Association is asking FIFA for a "detailed explanation" on the lifetime ban of Asian federation president Mohamed Bin Hammam. Via Yahoo.

STORY OF THE DAY

Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian reports that the European Club Association is laying plans to challenge FIFA on their governance world football. This could be huge.
-What is the European Club Association you ask?

2011-12 CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Preliminary Round

Home and away play-in round before the group stage.
-The 8 teams who win these series have already been drawn into groups that will begin play the week of Mon Aug 15.

dN

Seattle went to Panama and put forth a very weak effort against a physical but not so talented San Fran. The Sounders went with their usual starting 11 but just could not make the right passes at the right time, and more than a few players had plain old bad games. The soft turf and high humidity seemed to really take it out of them.

On the other hand Herediano of Costa Rica showed what you do to minnows in your home leg. 8-0 winners.
-Jose Cancela who played in MLS for 4 years is one of the leaders of Herediano.

Toronto plays at home tonight.

dN

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Tue Jul 26
San Francisco (Panama) 1-0 Seattle Sounders FC (USA) - 7pm CT on Fox Soccer - SF goal by Roberto Brown(PK).
Herediano (Costa Rica) 8-0 Alpha United (Guyana) - Her goals by Jorge Barbosa(3), Jose Cancela, Olman Vargas, Yosimar Arias, Pablo Salazar & Jose Cordero.
-Wed Jul 27
Toronto FC (Canada) v Real Esteli (Nicaragua) - 7pm CT on Fox Soccer
Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) v Puerto Rico Islanders (Puerto Rico)
Santos Laguna (Mexico) v Olimpia (Honduras)
-Thu Jul 28
Monarcas Morelia (Mexico) v Tempete (Haiti)
Alianza (El Salvador) v FC Dallas (USA) - 9pm CT on Fox Soccer
Motagua (Honduras) v Municipal (Guatemala)

dN

2nd Leg matches will be played next week.

Group Stage begins Aug 16.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I am done with Europe. I was fortunate enough to win everything on the national team and club level. I’m happy with that and I’m happy here to help my team win something. And I’ve been saying since I arrived here that it’s been more than amazing for me. We played in Seattle before 48,000 people. There are some amazing players in this league who maybe have a future playing in Europe. I’ve been surprised by the level of physicality and understanding of the players in the league.”
-Thierry Henry on his past, present and future.

QUOTE OF THE DAY 2

"We have had a couple of training sessions over here and there were more spectators there than I experienced during matches in my time in Denmark and Norway. And this is supposed to be a country that doesn't like football. It is amazing. When you come somewhere like this, you really see how massive Manchester United is."
-Anders Lindegaard - Manchester United goalkeeper on their preseason in the USA

PODCASTS

Ryan Knapp of NSCAA does an interview with our FIF Brian Dunseth of Fox Soccer, Bumpy Pitch and The Original Winger. (Thanks to BQ for the link.)

OOF

According to OptaJack - James Riley has the 3rd most passes failed this season. See last nights performance in CCL.

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Brian Straus of Sporting News wonders if Juan Agudelo being named an All Star puts extra pressure on the Red Bulls.
-I think it causes tension with at least the head coach. And maybe teammates too.

dN

Jeremy Cadmus of NJ.com with a love letter to Thierry Henry.

2011 MLS ALL STAR GAME

Mexican star Javier Hernandez was not scheduled to play for Man U tonight, but he is definitely out now as he suffered a concussion during training yesterday.

dN

Tim Ream of the Red Bulls writing for the New York Times tells us that he is really looking forward to in this game.

dN

Some of the MLS gang (Tally Hall, Juan Agudelo, Jamison Olave, Nick LaBrocca & Shalrie Joseph) were signing autographs at the Adidas store in NYC last night:
























Shalrie almost always smiles:



















And the Houston contingent (Brad Davis, Geoff Cameron, Corey Ashe & Hall) really seemed to be having a great time being All Stars:














dN

Match & Score:
-Wed Jul 27
MLS v Manchester United - 7:30pm CT on ESPN2
Venue: Red Bull Arena - Harrison NJ

MLS/SUM BUSINESS

Adweek with an article on the significance of the MLS All Star game.

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Jul 26
Chivas USA 1-1 San Jose Earthquakes - CUSA goal by Marcos Mondaini(PK). SJE goal by Georges Ba.
-Sun Jul 31
Vancouver Whitecaps v LA Galaxy
-Sun Aug 7
DC United v Toronto FC
San Jose Earthquakes v Portland Timbers
-Mon Aug 8
Sporting Kansas City v Colorado Rapids
-Tue Aug 9
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Seattle Sounders FC

dN

Standings Etc.

NORTH AMERICA SUMMER CLUB FRIENDLY SCHEDULE

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

Games Played

Columbus got thumped by Newcastle, Juve eeked out a win over America and Portland cruised past Independiente.

Scores:
-Tue Jul 26
Columbus Crew 0-3 Newcastle United (England) - New goals by Shola Amoebi, Fabricio Colocinni & Haris Vukcic.
Venue: Crew Stadium - Columbus OH
Atten: 11,224
-Tue Jul 26
Juventus (Italy) 1-0 Club America (Mexico) - World Football Challenge - Juv goal by Cristian Pasquato.
Venue: Citi Field - New York NY
Atten: 20,859
-Tue Jul 26
Portland Timbers 2-0 Independiente (Argentina) - PT goals by Sal Zizzo & Brian Umony.
Venue: JELD-WEN Field
Atten: 18,627

dN

Upcoming

Matches:
-Wed Jul 27
Charleston Battery (USL Pro) v Portsmouth (England)
Venue: Blackbaud Stadium - Daniel Island SC
-Thu Jul 28
Juventus (Italy) v Guadalajara (Mexico) - World Football Challenge
TV: 7pm CT on ESPN2, ESPN3.com & Galavisión
Venue: Carter-Finley Stadium - Raleigh NC
-Sat Jul 30
Barcelona (Spain) v Manchester United (England) - World Football Challenge
TV: 6pm CT on ESPN2, ESPN3.com & ESPN Deportes
Venue: FedExField - Landover MD

dN

Emirates Cup in London
-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

NASL SCOREBOARD

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Jul 27
FC Tampa Bay v FC Edmonton
-Sat Jul 30
Carolina RailHawks v Atlanta Silverbacks
Fort Lauderdale Strikers v FC Edmonton
-Sun Jul 31
Montreal Impact v Puerto Rico Islanders

dN

Standings (as of Sat Jul 23):
41 Carolina RailHawks (+24 GD) (17 GP)
29 Puerto Rico Islanders (+3 GD) (17 GP)
25 NSC Minnesota Stars (+3 GD) (17 GP)
25 FC Edmonton (-1 GD) (17 GP)
21 FC Tampa Bay (-4 GD) (17 GP)
18 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (-3 GD) (17 GP)
- - - OUT OF PLAYOFFS - - -
12 Montreal Impact (-5 GD) (17 GP)
12 Atlanta Silverbacks (-17 GD) (17 GP)

SOCCER IN AMERICA

Mike Wilson of WBEZ in Chicago gives an Englishman's view of the growth of the game in this country.

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

Current World Ranking:
-FIFA: 30
-Elo: 35

USA U18 TEAM

The Milk Cup tournament

dN

USA comes back to tie nemesis Mexico 1-1 in 2nd game.

And with 4 points the USA only gets to play for 3rd place because they scored a total of 3 goals while 2 other teams tied with them at 4 points, Denmark and the hosts Northern Ireland both scored 4 goals.

Matches & Scores:
-Mon July 25
USA 2-0 Israel - USA goals by Omar Salgado & Jerome Kiesewetter.
-Wed Jul 27
USA 1-1 Mexico - USA by Jalen Robinson.
-Fri Jul 29
USA v Georgia - (3rd/4th place game)

Roster
G:
Cody Cropper - Ipswich
Jon Kempin - Sporting Kansas City
D:
Michael Ambrose - FC Dallas Academy
Bryan Gallego - New York Red Bulls Academy
Jordan McCrary - U North Carolina
Juan Pablo Ocegueda - UANL Tigres U20
Boyd Okwuonu - FC Dallas Academy
Jalen Robinson - DC United Academy
Javan Torre - Pateadores
Walker Zimmerman - Furman U
M:
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake
Will Packwood - Birmingham City
Victor Pineda - Chicago Fire
Marcus Salandy-Defour - DC United Academy
Jose Villareal - Pateadores
F:
Jerome Kiesewetter - Hertha U19
Luis Rendon - Richmond Magic
Omar Salgado - Vancouver Whitecaps

dN

Overall Tournament

Matches & Scores:
-Mon Jul 25
USA 2-0 Israel
Mexico 1-2 Georgia
N Ireland 1-1 Denmark
-Wed Jul 27
Denmark 3-1 Israel
USA 1-1 Mexico
Georgia 1-3 N Ireland
-Fri Jul 29
Placement matches:
Denmark v N Ireland
USA v Georgia
Mexico v Israel

Team standings:
4 Denmark (+2) (4 GS)
4 N Ireland (+2) (4 GS)
4 USA (+2) (3 GS)
3 Georgia (-1)
1 Mexico (-1)
0 Israel (-4)

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Greg Seltzer of MLSsoccer.com with an article on Chris Rolfe who has gotten the new season in Denmark off to a good start.

dN

Game Action:

FINLAND - Ykkonen (2nd Division)
Jeremy Vuolo - AC Oulu - Wed Jul 27 - went the distance but lost 0-1 v KPV.

dN

Coming Up:

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 3rd Qualifying Round
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Thu Jul 28 at Split (Croatia)
Jozy Altidore - AZ - Thu Jul 28 v Jablonec (Czech Republic)
Clarence Goodson - Brondby - Thu Jul 28 at Ried (Austria)

ENGLAND

Manchester City has got their man - signing 23 year old Argentine forward Sergio "Kun" Aguero from Atletico Madrid.

FRANCE

Super Cup

Marseille won a completely insane game. They trailed 0-1 at half time, but as the game hit 89 minutes it was tied at 3-3. Then they scored in the 90th to presumably win it, only to see Lille tie it again 2 minutes into stoppage time. But not to be outdone Marseille scored again 5 minutes into stoppage time to win it! Wow!

Match & Score:
-Wed Jul 27
Olympique Marseille (Cup winner) 5-4 Lille (league winner)

ITALY

Details of the 2011-12 Coppa Italia were announced today:
-1st round - Aug 7
-2nd round - Aug 14
-3rd round - Aug 21
-Top Serie A teams don’t begin until 5th round - Dec 8, 13 or Jan 11
-Final is on May 20 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome

EUROPE

The Turkish federation has announced that Fenerbahce will play two home games in an empty stadium this year due to ongoing crowd violence.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

30 teams are in the 3rd Qualifying Round which will see some bigger names enter the tournament, with the 1st leg played on Jul 26/27 and the 2nd Leg on Aug 2/3. All matchups and scores are here.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

68 teams are in the 3rd Qualifying Round with 1st Leg matches on Thu Jul 28, and 2nd Leg matches on Thu Aug 4. Here is the full schedule.

BRAZIL

Brazil - Serie A Standings:
28 Corinthians (11 GP) - NEXT: Wed Jul 27 at Atletico GO
22 Sao Paulo (11 GP) - NEXT: Wed Jul 27 at Cortiba
21 Flamengo (11 GP) - NEXT: Wed Jul 27 at Santos
20 Vasco da Gama (11 GP) - NEXT: Thu Jul 28 v Bahia
19 Palmeiras (11 GP) - NEXT: Wed Jul 27 at Figueirense

AFRICA

Senegal has suspended forward El Hadj Diouf for 5 years because he told media that Senegalese and all of African football was corrupt.
-I think most people who pay attention to world football would assume he is fairly accurate with that assessment.

ASIA

AFC 2014 World Cup Qualifying - Round 2

The eight 1st Round winners and the next 22 lowest ranked teams are playing a home and away series in the 2nd Round on Jul 23 & 28.
-Those 15 winners will meet up with the 5 highest seeds and formed into a group stage competition.

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Thu Jul 28
Palestine v Thailand (0-1)
Bangladesh v Lebanon (9-4)
Laos v China (2-7)
Indonesia v Turkmenistan (1-1)
Philippines v Kuwait (0-3)
Myanmar v Oman (0-2)
Hong Kong v Saudi Arabia (0-3)
Maldives v Iran (0-4)
Tajikistan v Syria (1-2)
Vietnam v Qatar (0-3)
Yemen v Iraq (0-2)
Malaysia v Singapore (3-5)
Kyrgyzstan v Uzbekistan (0-4)
India v United Arab Emirates (0-3)
Nepal v Jordan (0-9)