Some Soccer News for Wed Sep 28, 2011

STARTERS

Stuart Holden has suffered an injury setback in his recovery from the badly broken and lacerated knee he incurred last spring. No word on the exact nature of the new injury but it will require surgery and another 6 weeks of rehab. Damn!

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Since its 2011/12 season kicked off in all competitions on Aug 1 Bayern Munich has won 11 and lost 1, and only conceded 1 goal! This is a staggeringly great start for any team to any season. That 1 goal came in their only loss, Aug 7 the opening day of the Bundesliga season at home to old school rivals Monchengladbach.

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3 MLS games tonight & tomorrow night sees 4 of those teams currently in playoff spots and trying to improve their lie, while the other two are battling to grab one of the last playoff spots.

STORY OF THE DAY

After refusing to warm up as a sub for Manchester City, head coach Roberto Mancini says star Carlos Tevez will never play for him again.

Rob Hughes of the New York Times with an examination of the story.

Tevez says it was a misunderstanding of languages.

The fans are more furious than ever with Tevez, who tried to leave the team all summer long.

What happens next?

Tevez current contract pays him $311,487 US dollars per week.

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

We have rosters for both upcoming USA opponents, but still waiting to hear who Jurgen Klinsmann calls in for our team.

International friendlies
Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 8
USA v Honduras - 5pm CT on Fox Soccer
Venue: Sun Life Stadium, Miami
-Tue Oct 11
USA v Ecuador - 6pm CT on ESPN2
Venue: Red Bull Arena, Harrison NJ
-2 more friendly games coming in November.

Honduras has announced their roster for the game in Miami.
G:
Donis Escober - Olimpia
Donaldo Morales - Motagua
D:
Bryan Beckeles - Olimpia
Osman Chavez - Wisla
Maynor Figueroa - Wigan
Erick Norales - Marathon
Johnny Leveron - Motagua
Mauricio Sabillon - Marathon
M:
Roger Espinoza - Kansas City
Oscar Garcia - Olimpia
Julio Cesar De Leon - Shandong Luneng Taishan
Mario Martinez - Espana
Alfredo Mejia - Espana
Wilson Palacios - Stoke
F:
Jerry Bengtson - Motagua
Marvin Chavez - Dallas
Carlo Costly - Houston
Roger Rojas - Olimpia

Ecuador has announced their roster for the game in New Jersey.
G:
Maximo Banguera - Barcelona (Ecuador)
Adrian Bone - SD Quito
Alexander Dominguez - LDU Quito
D:
Gabriel Achilier - Emelec
Walter Ayovi - Monterrey Rayados
Giovanny Caicedo - LDU Quito
Diego Calderon - LDU Quito
Jairo Campos - SD Quito
Fricson Erazo - CD El Nacional
Eduardo Morante - Emelec
Juan Carlos Paredes - SD Quito
M:
Alex Bolanos - SD Quito
Segundo Castillo - Pachuca
Edison Mendez - Emelec
Jefferson Montero - Betis
Cristhian Noboa - Rubin
Luis Saritama - SD Quito
Antonio Valencia - Man United
F:
Michael Arroyo - San Luis
Jaime Ayovi - Pachuca
Christian Benitez - America
Joffre Guerron - Atletico PR
Cristian Suarez - Santos FC

2011-12 CONCACACHAMPIONS

Matchday 5

Recap du Nord: With a tie last night Seattle becomes the first team to advance to the knockout rounds. Herediano was eliminated. The tie between Pumas and TFC leaves them both having to wait until the final matchday to learn their fate. And Monterrey continued their resurgence as a regional power.

Video highlights from all the games.

4 more big games tonight, with Dallas, LA and Colorado all in action.

Luis Bueno of the Press Enterprise says a win would do big things for the Galaxy tonight.

LA is battling a lot of injuries at the wrong time of the season.

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Group Stage - Round robin, home & away - matches played Aug 16 to Oct 20

Matches & Scores:
-Tue Sep 27
Toronto 1-1 Pumas UNAM - Tor goal by Peri Marosevic. UP goal by Marco Palacios.
Comunicaciones 2-2 Seattle Sounders - Com goals by Transito Montepeque & Rafael Morales. SS goals both by Osvaldo Alonso.
Monterrey 1-0 Herediano - Mon goal by Aldo De Nigris.
-Wed Sep 28
Real Espana v Santos Laguna
Tauro v Dallas - live at 7pm CT on Fox Soccer
LA Galaxy v Morelia - live at 9pm CT on Fox Soccer
Isidro Metapan v Colorado Rapids - delayed at 11:30pm CT on Fox Soccer
-Thu Sep 29
Alajuelense v Motagua

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Advanced: Seattle
Eliminated: Herediano, Motagua

Standings:

GROUP A
9 Monarchas Morelia (Mexico) (+6)
9 Alajuelense (Costa Rica) (+2)
6 LA Galaxy (USA) (+2)
OUT-0 Motagua (Honduras) (-10)
GROUP B
9 Santos Laguna (Mexico) (+8)
6 Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) (-4)
4 Real Espana (Honduras) (-1)
4 Colorado Rapids (USA) (-3)
GROUP C
8 UNAM Pumas (Mexico) (+5)
7 Dallas (USA) (0)
7 Toronto (Canada) (-3)
2 Tauro (Panama) (-2)
GROUP D
ADV-10 Seattle Sounders (USA) (+4)
9 Monterrey (Mexico) (+6)
7 Comunicaciones (Guatemala) (-2)
OUT-3 Herediano (Costa Rica) (-8)

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Matchday 2 is this week.

Recap du Nord: The city that seemed invincible not long ago suffered badly yesterday as Man U was tied at home by Basel of Switzerland of all teams, and Man City went to Bayern and got throttled, proving that Bayern are REALLY that good.

Matches & Scores:

-Tue Sep 27
CSKA Moskva 2-3 Inter Milan - CM goals by A Dzagoev & Vagner Love. Int goals by Lucio, Giampaolo Pazzini & Mauro Zarate.
Man United 3-3 Basel - MU goals by Danny Welbeck(2) & Ashley Young. Bas goals by Fabian Frei & Alexander Frei(2, 1 via PK).
Otelul Galati 0-1 Benfica - Ben goal by Bruno Cesar
Lyon 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb - Lyo goals by Bafetimbi Gomis & Bakary Kone.
Real Madrid 3-0 Ajax - RM goals by Cristiano Ronadlo, Kaka & Karim Benzema.
Bayern 2-0 Man City - BM goals both by Mario Gomez.
Napoli 2-0 Villarreal - Nap goals by Marek Hamsik & Edinson Cavani(PK).
Trabzonspor 1-1 Lille - Tra goal by Gary Colman(PK). Lil goal by Moussa Sow.

-Wed Sep 28
Zenit 3-1 Porto - Zen goals by Roman Shirokov(2) & Danny. Por goal by James Rodriguez.
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 APOEL - SD goal by Jadson. APO goal by Ivan Trickovski.
BATE 0-5 Barcelona - Bar goals by A Volodko(OG), Pedro, Lio Messi(2) & David Villa.
Milan 2-0 Plzen - Mil goals by Zlatan Ibrahimovic(PK) & Antonio Cassano.
Valencia 1-1 Chelsea - Val goal by Soldado(PK). Che goal by Frank Lampard.
Leverkusen 2-0 Genk - - Lev goals by Lars Bender & Michael Ballack.
Arsenal 2-1 Olympiacos - Ars goals by Alex Oxlade Chamberlain & Andre Santos. Oly goal by David Fuster.
Marseille 3-0 Dortmund - Mar goals by Andre Ayew(2, 1 via PK) & Loic Remy.

Recap of today's games coming on Thursday.

Group Standings

CONMEBOL

Copa Roca - Special Home & Home Friendly Series: (only players from the domestic leagues are used)

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Wed Sep 28
Brazil v Argentina (0-0) - 8pm CT on ESPN3.com

QUOTE OF THE DAY

On his first visit to Livestrong Sporting Park, and what it represents for the growth of MLS:
"I've been in the league 15, 16 years, and when I came in, it was completely different. I am amazed how far we are right now, and we're still growing. I applaud all the owners who put in their hearts and their money, to make sure that the fans and the teams will have the best possible opportunity to play in the best environments.
It's a lot of changes. I'm sure that sooner or later, most teams will have a facility like that. I'm very impressed with what's going on here - the fans can even watch the press conferences. That's something new for me as well.
I believe that when we go in this direction, and have more teams with this kind of facility, and our facility, and Red Bull Arena - you name it, that's stuff that is going to make our league more internationally visible.
Everybody will want to come and play here. Not only the teams that you have a partnership with, but also international players will want to play in this kind of environment. All of us benefit from this kind of stuff, so it's great.
I've always believed in this league's future, because I know how much heart and money they have put in, and I believe it's going to get even better."

-Philadelphia Union head coach Peter Nowak responding to a question by Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com.

BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL DAY

RSL is expecting to use Javier Morales against Chicago tonight. It will be his return from the severely broken ankle he suffered in May.

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

Fred Dreier of the Sporting News with an article on Sporting Innovations the new high tech company that has been spun off from Sporting Kansas City.

FACT OF THE DAY

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle sees the connection between the Dynamo moving Geoff Cameron to centerback and the team getting hot and moving up in the standings.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Kyle McCarthy of MLSsoccer.com reports on the surprising sight of Edgar Davids training with the New England Revolution this week.















MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

WEEK 29

Matches & Scores:
-Wed Sep 28
Sporting Kansas City v Columbus Crew - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Real Salt Lake v Chicago Fire SC - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
-Thu Sep 29
Philadelphia Union v DC United - 7:00PM CT on ESPN2
Venue: PPL Park
-Sat Oct 1
Houston Dynamo v Chicago Fire SC - 3:00PM CT on Telefutura
Venue: Robertson Stadium
Toronto FC v New York Red Bulls - 6:30PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: BMO Field
New England Revolution v Seattle Sounders FC - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Colorado Rapids v FC Dallas - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center
San Jose Earthquakes v Sporting Kansas City - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
-Sun Oct 2
Columbus Crew v DC United - 3:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Portland Timbers - 3:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: BC Place
CD Chivas USA v Philadelphia Union - 7:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center

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Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
42 Houston Dynamo (31 GP) (0 GD)
41 Sporting Kansas City (30 GP) (+6 GD)
41 Columbus Crew (30 GP) (-3 GD)
40 Philadelphia Union (29 GP) (+6 GD)
39 New York Red Bulls (30 GP) (+5 GD)
38 DC United (28 GP) (+2 GD)
33 Chicago Fire SC (29 GP) (-3 GD)
30 Toronto FC (31 GP) (-23 GD)
27 New England Revolution (30 GP) (-15 GD)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
*61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
*54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (29 GP) (+15 GD)
46 FC Dallas (30 GP) (+3 GD)
42 Colorado Rapids (31 GP) (+1 GD)
37 Portland Timbers (30 GP) (-7 GD)
35 CD Chivas USA (31 GP) (+1 GD)
31 San Jose Earthquakes (30 GP) (-7 GD)
22 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (29 GP) (-20 GD)

*Playoff berth

MLS SUPPORTERS SHIELD STANDINGS

61 LA Galaxy (30 GP) (+22 GD)
54 Seattle Sounders FC (30 GP) (+17 GD)
51 Real Salt Lake (29 GP) (+15 GD)

IF THE MLS PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY

The 10 teams:

WEST
1 LA Galaxy
2 Seattle Sounders
3 Real Salt Lake

EAST
1 Houston Dynamo
2 Sporting Kansas City
3 Columbus Crew

WILD CARD
1 FC Dallas
2 Colorado Rapids
3 Philadelphia Union
4 New York Red Bulls

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

CHICAGO FIRE

Charlie Corr of ESPN reports that the Fire will be without their late season spark Sebastian Grazzini due to a hamstring strain. His status for the next batch of games is unknown.
-They will need him next week in the US Open Cup Final.

CD CHIVAS USA

Nick Green of the Daily Breeze writes that Chivas USA feel their team is now headed in the proper direction.
-After a failure two seasons ago, and a false start last year, Robin Fraser looks to be the person who can make things work.

DC UNITED

Craig Stouffer of the Examiner calls midfielder Stephen King the team's good luck charm.

Former DC player Fred has been named captain of his new team Melbourne Hearts.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Charles Gooch of the Star sees tonight's game as a possible "most important game of the season" for SKC.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Brian Lewis of the Post on the case for Rafa Marquez to stay in the NYURB lineup, in the midfield.

REAL SALT LAKE

Martin Renzhofer of the Tribune talks to Javier Morales who says that returning from his bad injury has him feeling like a rookie all over again.

TORONTO FC

John Molinaro of the CBC feels that Torsten Frings could be the fix to a TFC defense that hasn't worked since day 1 of the franchise.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Geoffrey Arnold of the Oregonian on Portland's trip north to help open the Caps new stadium this weekend.
-Nothing better than opening a new place with a derby.

Bruce Constantineau of the Sun examines Eric Hassli's barren goal patch.

NASL SCOREBOARD

Playoffs - Quarterfinals

One-Off Series

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Oct 1
FC Tampa Bay (3) v NSC Minnesota Stars (6) - 6:30 CT
Ft Lauderdale Strikers (4) v FC EDmonton (5) - 6:30 CT

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Greg Seltzer at MLSsoccer.com talks to Josh Wicks about life in Finland.

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Game Action:

DENMARK - Landspokal - 3rd round
Brad Rusin - HB Koge - Wed Sep 28 W 1-3 at Esbjerg. They move on to the Round of 16.

NORWAY - 1 Divisjon
Jonathan Borrajo - Hamarkameratene - Wed Sep 28 - went the full 90 as they won 2-0 v Alta.


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Coming Up:

UEFA - Europa League - Group Stage - Matchday 2
Jozy Altidore - AZ - Thu Sep 29 at Metalist
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - Thu Sep 29 at Vorskla
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - Thu Sep 29 at OB
Brad Friedel - Tottenham - Thu Sep 29 v Shamrock Rovers
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - Thu Sep 29 at Lokomotiv Moskva
Jermiane Jones - Schalke - Thu Sep 29 v Maccabi Haifa
Oguchi Onyewu - Sporting - Thu Sep 29 v Lazio
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Thu Sep 29 at Maribor

ENGLAND

Gabriele Marcotti of the Wall Street Journal sees Fernando Torres of Chelsea finally starting to re-emerge as a great soccer player only to self destruct with a horrible tackle.

Jere Longman of the New York Times on the nouveau riche style of Manchester City.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

Matchday 2 coming up on Thu Sep 29.

Group Standings

TACTICS

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian looks at what Claudio Ranieri has done differently to Gian Piero Gasperini at Inter to turn them to winners from losers.