Some News for Thu Aug 4, 2011

STARTERS

The NSC Minnesota Star will host Breast Cancer Awareness Night at their home game on Sat Aug 27 v Montreal and will be wearing, auctioning & selling one-off pink Admiral kits. Please give them your support.

dN

This will be the 20th season of the English Premier League. Begins on Sat Aug 13.

dN

Following the lead of the players in Serie A, the players of Spain's Primera Division are threatening to strike over provisions in their contracts with the leagues teams. No further details are available yet.

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

Greg Seltzer of MLSsoccer reports that Timmy Chandler may be OUT of the USA roster with a knee injury. No confirmation yet.
-If he is out, will he be replaced on the roster?

dN

So who do you think should have been called in for Jurgen Klinsmann's first roster? Here are some possibles that I came up with:
Alejandro Bedoya
Tony Beltran
Justin Braun
Geoff Cameron
Bobby Convey
Brad Davis
Benny Feilhaber
Herculez Gomez
Omar Gonzalez
Ugo Ihemelu
George John
Sacha Kljestan
Chad Marshall
Oguchi Onyewu
Michael Parkhurst
Robbie Rogers
Chris Rolfe
Chris Wondolowski

Did I forget anyone?

I think we can assume Clint Dempsey was left off on purpose.

Stuart Holden is just returning from injury.

Jozy Altidore is just coming back from injury too.

Eric Lichaj is injured.

Jonathan Spector just got to Birmingham this week, so he isn't coming back for this one.

And it will be much easier to call in more players for the full 10 days international break in September.

Keep in mind that 3 of 5 forwards called in usually play midfield (Adu, Beasley & Donovan), and that 1 of the defenders usually plays an attacking winger (Chandler).

dN

And who are going to be the assistant coaches for this first game of the new era?
-Tab Ramos - USA legend
-Thomas Dooley - another USA legend
-Martin Vasquez - worked with Klinsmann at Bayern
-Mike Curry - goalkeeper coach
-Mark Verstegen - Who? "Founder and President of Athletes' Performance, which has set the standard for providing athletes with cutting-edge training based on the latest in sports science."

dN

DC United snags a quick Q & A with their player Bill Hamid on his first USA senior call up.

Ann Killion of Sports Illustrated on what needs the most overhauling in the US Soccer system.

Alexi Lalas at the Daily Mirror on the spell that Klinsmann has the USA under.

Tom Marshall of MLSsoccer.com looks at Klinsmann's possible influence over players with both USA and Mexico connections.

dN

International Friendly
Match & Score
-Wed Aug 10
USA v Mexico
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field - Philadelphia

dN

USA Roster
G:
Bill Hamid - DC United
Tim Howard - Everton
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Saint-Etienne
Edgar Castillo - America
Timmy Chandler - Nurnberg
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Clarence Goodson - Brondby
Michael Orozco Fiscal - San Luis
Heath Pearce - Chivas USA
Tim Ream - New York Red Bulls
M:
Kyle Beckerman - Real Salt Lake
Michael Bradley - Monchengladbach
Ricardo Clark - Eintracht Frankfurt
Maurice Edu - Rangers
Jermaine Jones - Schalke
Brek Shea - Dallas
Jose Torres - Pachuca
F:
Freddy Adu - Benfica
Juan Agudelo - New York Red Bulls
DaMarcus Beasley - Puebla
Edson Buddle - Ingolstadt
Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy

FIFA MESSES

Sky Sports interviews former German great Karl Heinz Rummenigge of the European Club Association who wants to put pressure on Sepp Blatter to truly reform FIFA. (includes video)

STORY OF THE DAY

The Daytona Beach News Journal reports that former MLS player Eddie Johnson had his car rammed into by his wife in her car who is accusing him of having an affair.
-The wife was arrested.

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

Dallas, Seattle, Metapan, Santos Laguna & Morelia advance to the group stage.

Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times with post game quotes from Sounder coach and players and San Fran coach too.

3rd Degree has post game quotes from Dallas and Alianza coaches and players.

All 4 American and Mexican teams are through to the groups, and a 5th MLS advanced via Canada.

The last 2 participants will be finalized tonight.

dN

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Tue Aug 2
Real Esteli (Nicaragua) 1-2 Toronto FC (Canada) - TFC advances 4-2 on aggregate - RE goal by Manuel Rosas(PK). TFC goals both by Ryan Johnston.
-Wed Aug 3
FC Dallas (USA) 1-0 Alianza (El Salvador) - Dal advances 2-0 on aggregate - Dal goal by Ugo Ihemelu.
Seattle Sounders FC (USA) 2-0 San Francisco (Panama) - SS advances 2-1 on aggregate - SS goals by Alvaro Fernandez & Nate Jaqua.
Puerto Rico Islanders (Puerto Rico) 3-1 Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) - series ends tied 3-3 so IM advances on the away goals tie breaker - PRI goals by David Foley(2) & Gregory Richardson. IM goal by Mark Blanco.
Olimpia (Honduras) 2-1 Santos Laguna (Mexico) - SL advances 4-3 on aggregate - Oli goals by Roger Rojas & Bryan Beckeles. SL goal by Christian Suarez.
Tempete (Haiti) 0-2 Monarcas Morelia (Mexico) - MM advances 7-0 on aggregate - MM goals by Angel Sepulveda & Miguel Sansores.
-Thu Aug 4
Alpha United (Guyana) v Herediano (Costa Rica) (0-8)
Municipal (Guatemala) v Motagua (Honduras) (0-4)

dN

Group Stage begins Aug 16 - all matches still TBA.

Dallas will be in Group C
GROUP C
UNAM Pumas (Mexico)
Tauro (Panama)
Dallas
Toronto

Seattle will be in Group D
GROUP D
Monterrey (Mexico)
Comunicaciones (Guatemala)
Seattle
Winner Herediano v Alpha United

THE GUARDIAN 2011-12 PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON PREVIEWS

Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Mystery Meat
Norwich
Queens Park Rangers
Stoke
Sunderland
Swansea
Tottenham
West Brom
Wigan
Wolverhampton
Arsenal
Aston Villa
Blackburn
Bolton
Chelsea
Everton
Fulham

BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL DAY

Somehow I missed this over the last 6 months, but Luis Bueno has been back to writing his great blog Sideline Views. Really looking forward to getting caught up with his writing.

DO YOU REALIZE

To compound the problem of the USA not qualifying for the U20 World Cup is that the team that knocked them out, Guatemala, is proving to be the worst team in the tournament. They have lost their first two games by a total of 11-0. Embarrassing.

STAT OF THE DAY

I looked up the goal scoring record of Houston target Carlo Costly. Most of us have seen him performing for Honduras where he has been a beast and scored 18 goals in 39 games. A great rate. Buuuuuuut..... For clubs teams the first thing that leaps out at you is how often he has been injured. Since 2006 he has only played a fairly full schedule of games in 2 seasons (08 and 09). Otherwise he usually plays less than 15 games per season. Aaaaaaand on top of that his goal scoring record is only decent - 30 goals in 109 games in 6 seasons.

WHY NOT!

Barry Glendenning of the Guardian reports on the nomadic career of former Toronto player and heavy Twitter user Rohan Ricketts.

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

WEEK 21

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Aug 3
Sporting Kansas City 2-0 Real Salt Lake - KC goals by Roger Espinoza & Teal Bunbury.
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Atten:
Chicago Fire FC 1-1 Philadelphia Union - CF goal by Pavel Pardo. PU goal by Veljko Paunovic.
Venue: Toyota Park
Atten:
Portland Timbers 3-0 LA Galaxy - PT goals by Mike Chabala, Jorge Perlaza & Eric Brunner.
Venue: JELD-WEN Field
Atten:
-Fri Aug 5
Colorado Rapids v Columbus Crew - 8:30PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
-Sat Aug 6
New England Revolution v CD Chivas USA - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium
DC United v Toronto FC - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: RFK Stadium
Philadelphia Union v Houston Dynamo - 7:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: PPL Park
Sporting Kansas City v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Real Salt Lake v New York Red Bulls - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
LA Galaxy v FC Dallas - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center
San Jose Earthquakes v Portland Timbers - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
-Sun Aug 7
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Chicago Fire SC - 6:00PM CT on Galavision
Venue: Empire Field

dN

EJECTIONS:
Roger Espinoza - Kansas City - red card

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
34 Columbus Crew (22 GP) (+4 GD)
32 Philadelphia Union (21 GP) (+7 GD)
30 Sporting Kansas City (22 GP) (+3 GD)
30 New York Red Bulls (23 GP) (+7 GD)
27 Houston Dynamo (22 GP) (0 GD)
26 DC United (20 GP) (-4 GD)
21 New England Revolution (22 GP) (-10 GD)
19 Chicago Fire SC (21 GP) (-5 GD)
19 Toronto FC (24 GP) (-22 GD)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
45 LA Galaxy (24 GP) (+13 GD)
42 FC Dallas (23 GP) (+9 GD)
38 Seattle Sounders FC (23 GP) (+7 GD)
34 Colorado Rapids (24 GP) (+2 GD)
33 Real Salt Lake (20 GP) (+11 GD)
26 CD Chivas USA (22 GP) (+3 GD)
25 Portland Timbers (21 GP) (-7 GD)
24 San Jose Earthquakes (22 GP) (-5 GD)
15 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (22 GP) (-13 GD)

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman has been named the league's Player Of The Month for July.

CHICAGO FIRE

Orrin Schwarz of the Daily Herald reports that as absurd as it all sounds the Fire could still get into the playoff hunt if they turned a few of these ties into wins.

CD CHIVAS USA

The team has signed two new veteran players to help boost their stretch run:
-33 year old left midfielder Laurent Courtois from Grenoble (France).
-29 year old centerback David Junior Lopes from Universitatea Craiova (Romania).

FC DALLAS

30 year old Colombian midfielder Daniel Cruz was signed by the club today from Beerschot of Antwerpen Belgium.
-He came up through the Ajax academy.

dN

The team website has a Q & A with head coach Schellas Hyndman.
-Jackson does not have a broken ankle as was feared after a nasty tackle he took last night.

DC UNITED

Thomas Floyd of the Washington Times on the impact Dwayne DeRosario is having on his new team.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated gets a personal tour of Livestrong Sporting Park and the newly rebuilt KC club idea.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Peter Gobis of the Sun Chronicle says the Revs know its do or die for their season and their jobs.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Brian Lewis of the Post reports that the Red Bulls fear forward Luke Rodgers injured foot might put him out for the rest of the season.

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

Geoff Lepper of MLSsoccer.com does a Q & A with forward Chris Wondolowski.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Russell Berrisford of the Sun wonders if Chicago is exactly the right team at the right time for the Caps to play this weekend and keep their season alive.

dN

Marc Weber of the Province looks at the Caps most promising academy prospects.

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

Big win for Chivas of Guadalajara over mighty Barcelona. Including two highlight reel goals by Marco Fabian. See those here:
-MF1
-MF2 (especially this one!)

Scores:
-Wed Aug 3
Barcelona (Spain) 1-4 Guadalajara (Mexico) - World Football Challenge - Bar goal by David Villa. Gua goals by Marco Fabian(2), Giovani Casillas & Jose Veduzco.
Venue: Sun Life Stadium - Miami FL
Atten: 70,080

dN

Upcoming

Matches:
-Fri Aug 5
Manchester United v New York Cosmos - 1:30pm CT on Fox Soccer.
Venue: Old Trafford - Manchester England
-Sat Aug 6
Barcelona (Spain) v Club America (Mexico) - World Football Challenge
TV: 3pm CT on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN3.com
Venue: Cowboys Stadium - Arlington TX

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

He did it again! For the second game in a row Josh Gatt scored the game winner for Molde!
-They have also won 5 games in a row and 10 of their last 12, and now have a 6 point lead at the top of the table after 18 of 30 games.
-Everyone likes to hug the hero (#22):























dN

Clint Dempsey & Fulham and Jozy Altidore & AZ advanced to the next round of the Europa League, but Clarence Goodson & Brondby were knocked out.

dN

Game Action:

NORWAY - Eliteserien
Josh Gatt - Molde - Thu Aug 4 - went the full 90 scoring the difference making goal as they won 1-2 at Start.

NORWAY - 1 Divisjon
Colin Burns - Sandefjord - Thu Aug 4 - on the bench as they won 2-3 at Honefoss.
Steve Clark - Honefoss - Thu Aug 4 - went the full 90 but lost 2-3 v Sandefjord.
Kenneth Di Vita Jensen - Honefoss - Thu Aug 4 - on the bench as they lost 2-3 v Sandefjord .

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 3rd Qualifying Round - 2nd Leg
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Thu Aug 4 - started and went 81 minutes as they won 2-0 v Split, and advanced by that same aggregate score.
Jozy Altidore - AZ - Thu Aug 4 at Jablonec - didn't suit up but they advanced 3-1 on aggregate.
Clarence Goodson - Brondby - Thu Aug 4 - played the full 90 winning 4-2 v Ried, but the 2 away goals did them in as the series ended tied 4-4. They are out.

dN

Coming Up:

NORWAY - Eliteserien
Erik Benjaminsen - Stabaek - Fri Aug 5 at Fredrikstad
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - Fri Aug 5 at Fredrikstad

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

Game Action:

PRIMERA DIVISION
Isaac Acuna - America - Wed Aug 3 - came on as a sub in the 75th min but lost 1-2 v Estudiantes Tecos.
DaMarcus Beasley - Puebla - Wed Aug 3 - went the distance but lost 5-1 at Atlante.
Edgar Castillo - America - Wed Aug 3 - played the full 90 but lost 1-2 v Estudiantes Tecos.
Herculez Gomez - Estudiantes Tecos - Wed Aug 3 - went the full game as they won 1-2 at America.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - Wed Aug 3 - played the whole game as they won 1-0 v Cruz Azul.

ENGLAND

Rob Harris of the AP says Manchester United is the gold standard of the Premier League again with the new season just 10 days away.

dN

Sid Lowe of the Guardian sees Chelsea's signing of unknown Barcelona youngster Oriol Romeu as potentially quite a big event.

FRANCE

Ligue 1 begins Sat Aug 6.

Ben Lyttleton of the Guardian with a season preview.

Here are the opening round games.
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Aug 6
Ajaccio v Toulouse
Brestois v Evian
Caen v Valenciennes
Marseille v Sochaux
Montpellier v Auxerre
Nancy v Lille
Nice v Lyon
Paris St Germain v Lorient
-Sun Aug 7
Dijon v Rennais
Bordeaux v St Etienne

GERMANY

Bundesliga begins Fri Aug 5.

Raphael Honigstein of Sports Illustrated with season predictions.

Here are the opening round games.
Matches & Scores:
-Fri Aug 5
Dortmund v Hamburg
-Sat Aug 6
Bremen v Kaiserslautern
Hannover v Hoffenheim
Stuttgart v Schalke
Koln v Wolfsburg
Augsburg v Frieburg
Hertha v Nurnburg
-Sun Aug 7
Mainz v Leverkusen
Bayern v Munchengladbach

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The draw for the next round will take place on Fri Aug 5.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

The 68 teams played their 2nd Leg matches today in the 3rd Qualifying Round. Here is the scoreboard.

BRAZIL

Recap du Nord: No change at the top as #1 Corinthians & #2 Flamengo both won, but there is a new #3 as Vasco won leaping them over now #4 Palmeiras who could only draw and now #5 Santos who play on Thursday.

Brazil - Serie A Standings (14 of 38 games played):
31 Corinthians (13 GP) - LAST: Wed Aug 3 W 2-1 v America Mineiro - NEXT: Sun Aug 7 at Atletico PR
30 Flamengo - LAST: Wed Aug 3 W 0-1 at Cruzeiro - NEXT: Sat Aug 6 v Cortiba
27 Vasco da Gama - LAST: Wed Aug 3 W 2-0 v Santos - NEXT: Sun Aug 7 at Botafogo
26 Palmeiras - LAST: Wed Aug 3 D 1-1 at Cortiba - NEXT: Sat Aug 6 v Gremio
25 Sao Paulo (13 GP) - NEXT: Thu Aug 4 v Bahia - THEN NEXT: Sun Aug 7 at Avai

COLOMBIA 2011 U20 WORLD CUP

Jul 29 - Aug 20.

World Cup website

dN

Spain, Nigeria & Saudi Arabia are the first three teams to advance to the knock out rounds.

Croatia & Guatemala are the first two teams out of the tournament.

dN

Standings:
Group A
6 Colombia (+5)
3 S Korea (0)
3 France (0)
0 Mali (-5)
Group B
4 Portugal (+1)
2 New Zealand (0)
2 Uruguay (0)
1 Cameroon (-1)
Group C
ADV-6 Spain (+5)
3 Costa Rica (-2)
1 Australia (-1)
1 Ecuador (-2)
Group D
ADV-6 Nigeria (+8)
ADV-6 Saudi Arabia (+8)
OUT-0 Croatia (-5)
OUT-0 Guatemala (-11)
Group E
4 Brazil (+3)
4 Egypt (+1)
1 Panama (-1)
1 Austria (-3)
Group F
4 Argentina (+1)
3 Mexico (+2)
2 England (0)
1 N Korea (-3)

dN

Group Stage

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Jul 29
England 0-0 N Korea
Austria 0-0 Panama
Argentina 1-0 Mexico
Brazil 1-1 Egypt
-Sat Jul 30
Mali 0-2 S Korea
Cameroon 1-1 New Zealand
Colombia 4-1 France
Portugal 0-0 Uruguay
-Sun Jul 31
Costa Rica 1-4 Spain
Nigeria 5-0 Guatemala
Australia 1-1 Ecuador
Croatia 0-2 Saudi Arabia
-Mon Aug 1
Argentina 0-0 England
Mexico 3-0 N Korea
Brazil 3-0 Austria
Egypt 1-0 Panama
-Tue Aug 2
Colombia 2-0 Mali
France 3-1 S Korea
Portugal 1-0 Cameroon
Uruguay 1-1 New Zealand
-Wed Aug 3
Ecuador 0-2 Spain
Saudi Arabia 6-0 Guatemala
Australia 2-3 Costa Rica
Croatia 2-5 Nigeria
-Thu Aug 4
Argentina v N Korea
Mexico v England
Brazil v Panama
Egypt v Austria
-Fri Aug 5
Colombia v S Korea
France v Mali
Portugal v New Zealand
Uruguay v Cameroon
-Sat Aug 6
Ecuador v Costa Rica
Saudi Arabia v Nigeria
Australia v Spain
Croatia v Guatemala

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Matches & Scores:
-Thu Aug 4
Maldives 1-1 Mauritius
Seychelles 0-0 Comoros

ENDERS

I want to finish off today with a thanks to all the great readers out there who are constantly helping to fix my errors. I really appreciate it a lot. Even the snide ones (those can be very funny).