Some Soccer News for Mon Nov 14, 2011

STARTERS

I'm getting goosebumps already! MLS Cup is 6 days away.

dN

Bruce Arena of the LA Galaxy has been named the MLS Coach of the Year.
-That was an easy one. No one else was even close.

dN

The New England Revolution has hired Jay "He also played basketball for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke" Heaps as their new head coach. It will be made official soon.
-I set the over/under at 17 for the number of times we will read that this week.

dN

Bob Bradley took a predictable loss in his debut in charge of Egypt as they went down 2-0 to Brazil. They were not terrible.

MLS CUP PLAYOFFS

Final
Match & Score:
-Sun Nov 20
LA Galaxy v Houston Dynamo - 8:00pm CT on ESPN
Venue: The Home Depot Center - Carson CA

dN

SEASON RECAP:

LA and Houston played twice this year in league play, with each team winning at home. Although the game in Houston was at the very end of the regular season and the Galaxy brought their second string.

GAME 1
-May 25
LA Galaxy 1-0 Houston Dynamo - LAG goal by Landon Donovan (PK).
Venue: The Home Depot Center

Video highlights of the game.

Lineups:
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant, Chris Birchall (Jovan Kirovski 89), Landon Donovan, Juninho, Michael Stephens, Juan Pablo Angel (Mike Magee 61), Chad Barrett (Miguel Lopez 74).
Subs Not Used: Gregg Berhalter, Paolo Cardozo, Frankie Hejduk, Josh Saunders.
Houston Dynamo: Tally Hall, Hunter Freeman, Bobby Boswell, Andre Hainault, Corey Ashe (Mike Chabala 46), Brad Davis (Je-Vaughn Watson 61), Lovel Palmer, Geoff Cameron, Colin Clark, Will Bruin, Koke (Cam Weaver 74).
Subs Not Used: Jason Garey, Kofi Sarkodie, Jermaine Taylor, Tyler Deric.

Cards:
LAG - Sean Franklin (caution; Delaying a Restart) 87
HD - Je-Vaughn Watson (caution; Reckless Foul) 90

GAME 2
-Oct 23
Houston Dynamo 3-1 LA Galaxy - HD goals by Adam Moffat, Bobby Boswell & Carlo Costly. LAG goal by Jack McBean.
Venue: Robertson Stadium

Video highlights of the game.

Lineups:
Houston Dynamo: Tally Hall, Andre Hainault, Bobby Boswell, Geoff Cameron, Corey Ashe, Danny Cruz (Colin Clark 81), Luiz Camargo, Adam Moffat, Brad Davis, Brian Ching (Carlo Costly 63), Calen Carr (Will Bruin 76).
Substitutes Not Used: Hunter Freeman, Jermaine Taylor, Je-Vaughn Watson, Tyler Deric
LA Galaxy: Donovan Ricketts, Frankie Hejduk (Ryan Thomas 76), Gregg Berhalter, Dasan Robinson, A.J. DeLaGarza, Hector Jimenez, Chris Birchall, Dan Keat, Michael Stephens, Jovan Kirovski (Chad Barrett 62), Jack McBean.
Substitutes Not Used: Paolo Cardozo, Sean Franklin, Juninho, Miguel Lopez, Brian Perk.

Cards:
HD - Andre Hainault (caution; Reckless Foul) 43
HD - Danny Cruz (caution; Reckless Foul) 44
LAG - Jovan Kirovski (caution; Reckless Foul) 49
HD - Carlo Costly (caution; Shirt Removal) 75

dN

General Playoff News

The LA Times has a Q & A with commissioner Don Garber.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear has reported that captain Brad Davis will definitely NOT be healthy enough to play in the final.

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle talks to San Jose head coach Frank Yallop about his former protege Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear.

Ortiz on the important contributions the team has received from Jermaine Taylor when it needed them most this season.

Ortiz says this transplanted team has done pretty good for themselves in just 6 years.

A big week of festivities all over Houston.

One of the Dynamo owners boxing legend Oscar de la Hoya says he going to don orange face paint and watch the game from the supporters section.

Glenn Davis at Fox Sports Houston on the versatile left footer Cory Ashe.

LA GALAXY

Scott French of ESPN with an article on goalkeeper Josh Saunders.

DU NORD AT THE CONTROLS

du Nord at the Controls - Sun Nov 13, 2011 - new music mix at Spotify.

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

The USA took another loss under Jurgen Klinsmann, now sitting at 1 win, 1 tie and 4 losses under his helm. Not winning at this stage is not a problem, but the games are just not very inspiring. I read several journalists USA player ratings and all of them seemed 1 full point higher across the board than I thought they should have been. Too many no-show performances from USA players in this game for me.

Tuesday is Slovenia and what on paper should be an easier game.

dN

International Friendlies
Matches & Scores:

-Fri Nov 11
France 1-0 USA - Fra goal by Loic Remy.
Match report from US Soccer.
Some more post game notes from US Soccer.
Post game quotes by USA coach and players from US Soccer.
Post game analysis by Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.
Player ratings by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
Post game analysis by Mike Woitalla of Soccer America.
Player ratings by Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated.
Player ratings by Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.
Post game analysis by Ives Galarcep of Fox Soccer.
Post game analysis by Brian Straus of Sporting News.
Player ratings by John Godfrey of the NY Times.

-Tue Nov 15
Slovenia v USA - 11am CT on ESPN2

How about this graphic from the Slovenia website?!?!

















Jeff Carlisle of ESPN declares that the Jurgen Klinsmann honeymoon is now over.

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated previews the Slovenia game.

John Godfrey of the NY Times asks 4 questions of the USA before the Slovenia game.

Richard Farley of Fox Soccer makes a comparison of Jurgen Klinsmann coaching the USA to Rick Pitino coaching the Boston Celtics.

Brian Straus of Sporting News on Brek Shea.

dN

U23 Training Camp

Lots and lots of goodies on the team here at the Youth National Team Blog.

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Nov 11
USA U23 3-1 Bochum Reserves - USA goals by Terrance Boyd, Tony Taylor & Dilly Duka.
Liveup: Sean Johnson; Sheanon Williams, Ethan White, Royal Dominique Fennell, Zarek Valentin; Joe Benny Corona, Amobi Okugo, Mixx Diskerud, Greg Garza; Terrance Boyd, Juan Agudelo
USA U23 v Azerbaijan U21
Liveup: Cody Cropper; Perry Kitchen, Will Packwood, John Anthony Brooks, Sean Cunningham; Caleb Stanko, Sebastian Lletget, Luis Gil; Jerome Kieswetter, Omar Salgado, Bobby Wood
Tue Nov 15
USA U23 v Leverkusen U23
USA U23 v Leverkusen U19

dN

USA Roster-
G:
Bill Hamid - DC United
Tim Howard - Everton
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Rangers
Timmy Chandler - Nurnberg
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Clarence Goodson - Brondby
Alfredo Morales - Hertha
Michael Orozco Fiscal - San Luis
Oguchi Onyewu - Sporting CP
M:
Kyle Beckerman - Real Salt Lake
Michael Bradley - Chievo
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Maurice Edu - Rangers
Fabian Johnson - Hoffenheim
Jermaine Jones - Schalke
Robbie Rogers - Columbus Crew
Brek Shea - Dallas
Danny Williams - Hoffenheim
F:
Jozy Altidore - AZ
DaMarcus Beasley - Puebla
Edson Buddle - Ingolstadt

dN

Special USA U20/23 Training Camp Roster-
G:
David Bingham - San Jose Earthquakes
Cody Cropper - Ipswich Town
Sean Johnson - Chicago Fire
Jon Kempin - Sporting Kansas City
D:
Gale Agbossoumonde - Eintracht Frankfurt
Anthony Brooks - Hertha Berlin
Sean Cunningham - Molde
Royal-Dominique Fennell - Stuttgart Kickers
Greg Garza - No club
Perry Kitchen - DC United
Will Packwood - Birmingham
Zarek Valentin - Chivas USA
Sheanon Williams - Philadelphia Union
Ethan White - DC United
M:
Joe Corona - Tijuana
Mixx Diskerud - Stabaek
Dilly Duka - Columbus Crew
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake
Jared Jeffrey - Mainz
Sebastian Lletget - West Ham
Tyrone McCargo - Nurnberg
Amobi Okugo - Philadelphia Union
Charles Renken - Hoffenheim
Caleb Stanko - Freiburg
Jose Villarreal - LA Galaxy
F:
Juan Agudelo - New York Red Bulls
Terrence Boyd - Hertha Berlin
Conor Doyle - Derby County
Josh Gatt - Molde
Joe Gyau - Hoffenheim
Jerome Kiesewetter - Hertha Berlin
Jack McInerney - Philadelphia Union
Omar Salgado - Vancouver Whitecaps
Tony Taylor - Atletico CP
Bobby Wood - 1860 Munich
Andrew Wooten - Kaiserslautern

dN

Slovenia roster-
G:
Vid Belec - Crotone
Jasmin Handanovic - Maribor
Samir Handanovic - Udinese
D:
Miso Brecko - Cologne
Bostjan Cesar - Chievo
Branko Ilic - Lokomotiv Moscow
Bojan Jokic - Chievo
Matej Mavric Rozic - Kapfenberger
Miral Samardzic - Sheriff
Marko Suler - Gent
M:
Armin Bacinovic - Palermo
Josip Ilicic - Palermo
Andraz Kirm - Wisla Krakow
Rene Krhin - Bologna
Dejan Lazarevic - Padova
Darijan Matic - Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
Ales Mertelj - Maribor
Dare Vrsic - Olimpija Ljubljana
F:
Valter Birsa - Genoa
Zlatko Dedic - Bochum
Zlatan Ljubijankic - Ghent
Tim Matavz - PSV
Nejc Pecnik - Krylya Sovetov

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

Members of the Houston Dynamo supporters group Texian Army and other fans have organized an open letter written to one of the Dynamo owners, the famous ex-boxer Oscar De La Hoya. They would like to see him take at more visible and active role in team leadership.

An Open Letter To Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya)

Oscar,

I'm one of the Dynamo supporter group leaders who you met after the stadium ground breaking ceremony in Houston.
I'm sure by now you're irritated by Dynamo supporters demanding you help get them to the MLS Cup next Sunday.
On the surface, it may appear that you've been put in a lose/lose situation. If someone demands money or property from you and you give it to them, you're giving in to those who unjustifiably feel entitled to your hard earned possessions and rewarding bad behavior.
If you reject their demands, then you are vilified - unfairly labeled greedy and apathetic towards the fan base, many of whom have idolized you for much of their lives.
I'd like to suggest to you that there is actually a way for everyone to win in this situation. The answer lies in a simple question that some of us believe you may not have ever asked yourself:
What do you want your relationship with the Houston Dynamo supporters and fan base to be?
From the moment you bought a stake in this club, you have had an opportunity to form a real relationship with a community of some of the most passionate people you will ever meet in your life - a bond that means much more than walking into a section and beating on a drum for 60 seconds. I respect that everyone's situation is unique... but I'd posit that a minority owner like Drew Carey has found a lot of fulfillment being involved with the Sounders and having a close relationship with its supporters and fans. And the people love him for it. But its not about the popularity. Living for popularity is like trying to fill a bucket with holes in it. What is meaningful and where I think Mr. Carey has found a lot of fulfillment, is the real connection to the fans and a real presence with his organization.
Your time and your money are yours. You've earned them and no one has the right to demand either from you. But I hope you see that you have an opportunity to write a new chapter of your legacy. These people... they love you. And I think a lot of the rude comments and unreasonable demands coming your way are frustration over people not really knowing whether or not you give a fuck about this team, this city, or its people.
As I look up on my office wall and see the orange construction helmet that you signed, I remember you talking about how you were counting on us to do it up big in the new stadium. Since then, our groups have reunited, we've reclaimed our place in the elite tier of MLS Supporters, and the Dynamo are the hottest team in the league. We'll be ready to do it up big in the new stadium Oscar. We just have one little piece of business to take care of in Carson, California first.
In the meantime, I thought I'd just write and point out that if you'd like to reach out / support / or just tell them that they matter and you care, there's never been a better time than now.

Chris Smink
Texian Army
cjsmink@gmail.com

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

David Beckham of the LA Galaxy was named the league's Comeback Player of the Year.

COLUMBUS CREW

The Crew has signed Eddie Gaven to a new multi-year contract.
-Now lets hope they really do the smart thing and make him captain for next season.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Terez Paylor of the Star reports that SKC head coach Peter Vermes has no problem with star striker Omar Bravo being upset about his lack of playing time in the seasons last game. Its how players who care should react when they are on the bench.

REAL SALT LAKE

Martin Renzhofer of the Tribune says the Lakers must now play the difficult game of keeping all their veterans under contract for next season.
-It will be next to impossible.

MLS STADIUMS

The Houston Dynamo gave us video today of the ceremonial last piece of steel being lifted onto the roof of the new stadium.

AMERICANS IN MEXICO

DaMarcus Beasley has a new head coach at Puebla and its none other than Juan Carlos Osorio.

UEFA EURO 2012 QUALIFYING

The final 4 places are now up for grabs. 8 teams were paired up and now face off home and away to claim the last places in the next summers big tournament.

Croatia and Ireland both had huge road wins and have a great command going into the final games on Tuesday. Portugal got the scoreless road draw which sets them up nicely. Montenegro will have to make big things happen at home to advance.

You can watch all the games online at ESPN3.com

Matches & Scores:

1st Leg
-Fri Nov 11
Bosnia & Herzegovina 0-0 Portugal
Turkey 0-3 Croatia - Cro goals by Ivica Olic, Mario Mandzukic & Verdan Corluka.
Czech Republic 2-0 Montenegro - CR goals by Vaclav Pilar & Tomas Sivok.
Estonia 0-4 Ireland - Ire goals by Keith Andrews, Jonathan Walters & Robbie Keane(2, 1 via PK).

2nd Leg (with 1st Leg scores included)
-Tue Nov 15
Portugal v Bosnia & Herzegovina (0-0)
Croatia v Turkey (3-0)
Montenegro v Czech Republic (0-2)
Ireland v Estonia (4-0)

BRAZIL

Recap du Nord: The top 2 Corin and Vasco both won and stayed in their places. #3 Flu lost but also did not fall. Figueirense made the big jump though getting a win and moving from 6th to 4th, over Bota who lost and fell to 5th and Fla who also lost and dropped to #6.

Full round of midweek games coming up too.

Serie A Top 5 Standings (34 of 38 games played):
61 Corinthians (18 W) - LAST: Sun Nov 13 W 2-1 v Atletico PR - NEXT: Wed Nov 16 at Ceara
61 Vasco da Gama (17 W) - LAST: Sun Nov 13 W 2-0 v Botafogo - NEXT: Wed Nov 16 at Palmeiras
56 Fluminense (18 W) - LAST: Sat Nov 12 L 1-2 v America Mineiro - NEXT: Wed Nov 16 v Gremio
*56 Figueirense (15 W) - NEXT: Thu Nov 17 at Flamengo
55 Botafogo (16 W) - LAST: Sun Nov 13 L 2-0 at Vasco - NEXT: Wed Nov 16 at America Mineiro
- - - - -
55 Flamengo (14 W) - LAST: Sun Nov 13 L 2-0 at Coritiba

ASIA 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Nov 11
Jordan 2-0 Singapore
Qatar 4-0 Indonesia
Saudi Arabia 3-0 Thailand
United Arab Emirates 0-2 S Korea
Iraq 1-0 China
Kuwait 0-1 Lebanon
Uzbekistan 1-0 N Korea
Oman 1-0 Australia
Tajikistan 0-4 Japan
Bahrain 1-1 Iran
-Tue Nov 15
Lebanon v S Korea
N Korea v Japan
Kuwait v United Arab Emirates
Jordan v Iraq
Uzbekistan v Tajikistan
Thailand v Australia
Indonesia v Iran
Qatar v Bahrain
Singapore v China
Saudi Arabia v Oman

AFRICA 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

1st Round matches are Home & Away total goal series.

Liberia has already advanced due to the disqualification of Mauritius.

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Fri Nov 11
Lesotho 1-0 Burundi
Equatorial Guinea 2-0 Madagascar
Guinea-Bissau 1-1 Togo
Eritrea 1-1 Rwanda
Chad 1-2 Tanzania
Seychelles 0-3 Kenya
Swaziland 1-3 Congo DR
Sao Tome e Principe 0-5 Congo
Djibouti 0-4 Namibia
Comoros 0-1 Mozambique
-Sat Nov 12
Somalia 0-0 Ethiopia
2nd Leg(1st Leg scores included)
-Tue Nov 15
Madagascar v Equatorial Guinea (0-2)
Congo v Sao Tome e Principe (5-0)
Burundi v Lesotho (0-1)
Rwanda v Eritrea (1-1)
Togo v Guinea-Bissau (1-1)
Congo DR v Swaziland (3-1)
Tanzania v Chad (2-1)
Kenya v Seychelles (3-0)
Mozambique v Comoros (1-0)
Namibia v Djibouti (4-0)
-Wed Nov 16
Ethiopia v Somalia (0-0)

CONCACAF 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

SECOND ROUND

Only 1 matchday left this Second Round, but all 6 groups have been decided. The drama is over. These games are meaningless.

The big news is that Guyana and Antiqua & Barbuda have pulled off huge upsets and have advanced over Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti respectively.

This makes the road to the Hexagon a little easier for Third Round group favorites Mexico and the USA.

But Group C in the Third Round will be a doozy: Honduras, Panama, Cuba and Canada. The Canadians have a very difficult schedule to navigate and will be lucky to advance.

Matchday 5

-Fri Nov 11
Suriname 1-3 El Salvador
Dominican Republic 4-0 Cayman Islands
Guyana 2-1 Trinidad & Tobago
Bermuda 2-1 Barbados
Nicaragua 1-0 Dominica
St Kitts & Nevis 0-0 Canada
St Lucia 0-4 Puerto Rico
Guatemala 3-0 Grenada
Belize 1-1 St Vincent & the Grenadines
Antigua & Barbuda 1-0 Haiti
US Virgin Islands 0-3 Curacao

Matchday 6

-Mon Nov 14
Cayman Islands v Dominican Republic
Barbados v Bermuda
Puerto Rico v St Lucia

-Tue Nov 15
El Salvador v Suriname
Trinidad & Tobago v Guyana
Panama v Dominica
Canada v St Kitts & Nevis
Grenada v Guatemala
St Vincent & the Grenadines v Belize
Haiti v Antigua & Barbuda
Curacao v US Virgin Islands

Standings:

Group A
ADV-15 El Salvador
10 Dominican Republic
7 Suriname
0 Cayman Islands

Group B
ADV-13 Guyana
9 Trinidad & Tobago
7 Bermuda
0 Barbados

Group C
ADV-9 Panama
6 Nicaragua
0 Dominica

Group D
ADV-11 Canada
7 St Kitts & Nevis
6 Puerto Rico
1 St Lucia

Group E
ADV-15 Guatemala
5 St Vincent & the Grenadines
4 Grenada
4 Belize

Group F
ADV-15 Antigua & Barbuda
10 Haiti
4 Curacao
0 US Virgin Islands

dN

Beginning Next Summer:

THIRD ROUND

Group A
USA
Jamaica
Guatemala
Antigua & Barbuda

Group B
Mexico
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guyana

Group C
Honduras
Cuba
Canada
Panama

How did the two USA Third Round opponents do who qualified via the Second Round?

-Antigua & Barbuda
Through 5 games
25 goals scored, 3 surrendered (18 against US Virgin Islands)
Peter Byers who had played for Montreal at one time scored 8.
Taqmarley Thomas scored 5.

-Guatemala
Through 5 games
14 goals scored, 2 surrendered
Top goal scoring was very spread out.

Jamaica is the other team that was placed into the Third Round automatically.

Group Standings

CONMEBOL 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Matchday 3 & 4

Uruguay agains showed that they have become the power of South America, destroying Chile 4-0 behind a Luis Suarez quadruple.

And what is up with Argentina. When is the last time they scared anyone?

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Nov 11
Argentina 1-1 Bolivia
Colombia 1-1 Venezuela
Uruguay 4-0 Chile
Paraguay 2-1 Ecuador
-Tue Nov 15
Ecuador v Peru
Colombia v Argentina
Venezuela v Bolivia
Chile v Paraguay

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Nov 11
Ukraine 3-3 Germany
Poland 0-2 Italy
Mexico 2-0 Serbia
Netherlands 0-0 Switzerland
France 1-0 USA
Panama 2-0 Costa Rica
Denmark 2-0 Sweden
Georgia 2-0 Moldova
Greece 1-1 Russia
Hungary 5-0 Liechtenstein
Burkina Faso 1-1 Mali
Guinea 1-4 Senegal
Cameroon 3-1 Sudan
Albania 0-1 Azerbaijan
Cyprus 1-2 Scotland
Morocco 0-1 Uganda
Belgium 2-1 Romania
-Sat Nov 12
England 1-0 Spain
Algeria 1-0 Tunisia
South Africa 1-1 Cote d'Ivoire
Nigeria 0-0 Botswana
Wales 4-1 Norway
-Sun Nov 13
India 1-1 Malaysia
Morocco 1-1 Cameroon
Sudan 0-0 Uganda
-Mon Nov 14
Brazil 2-0 Egypt
Honduras v Serbia
-Tue Nov 15
Costa Rica v Spain
Germany v Netherlands
Italy v Uruguay
France v Belgium
England v Sweden
Slovenia v USA
Algeria v Cameroon
Macedonia v Albania
Poland v Hungary
Ukraine v Austria
Denmark v Finland
Nigeria v Zambia
Zimbabwe v South Africa
Senegal v Cote d'Ivoire
Ghana v Gabon
Guinea v Burkina Faso
Belarus v Libya
Luxembourg v Switzerland
Greece v Romania
-Wed Nov 16
India v Malaysia

ENDERS

With the break up of the long time marriage between Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, and the last tour date on the books for their band Sonic Youth, could this be the end of the band? Many in the know seem to think so. That is a very sad day for me if its true. Best of luck to all of them.

Kool Thing.