Some Soccer News for Thu Nov 10, 2011

BREAKING NEWS:

LA Galaxy starting forward Chad Barrett suffered a dislocated ankle in training today and will miss the MLS Cup Final.

STARTERS

Official MLS Best 11 for 2011:
Kasey Keller - Seattle
Jamison Olave - Salt Lake
Omar Gonzalez - LA
Todd Dunivant - LA
Landon Donovan - LA
Brek Shea - Dallas
Brad Davis - Houston
David Beckham - LA
Chris Wondolowski - San Jose
Dwayne DeRosario - DC
Thierry Henry - New York
-7 of 11 are American

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Soccer By Ives announced their 2011 MLS Best XI.

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There are tons and tons and tons of huge international games beginning tomorrow and continuing into the middle of next week - scroll down to the bottom of today's post for all the details and schedules. I love this time of year.

STORY OF THE DAY

These are the notes I took from MLS commissioner Don Garber's State of the League conference call today:

1500 fans from Houston got tickets to the Cup Final through the team. That is the largest amount ever sold.

Tickets for the Cup Final are a very hot item. They are trying to jam in as many extra seats as possible.

Last year at this time the league had 13 Designated Players. This year its up to 23.

87 league games were sellouts this season.

Due to construction Montreal will only be able to play about half their first season in the new stadium.
-They are behind schedule.

Houston is ahead of schedule on building there new home, and play to be ready by the start of the season or very close to it.

Merchandise sales showed a massive growth this year! You could literally see it in the stands. So many people wearing the colors.

The Competition Committee has been meeting frequently to set the regulations for next season. Here are some of the topics being looked at closely:
-There will be a 34 game season again. That means that we will not see every team play each other home and away. They will go to an unbalanced schedule. Sacrifices will be made.
-Top seeded would most likely host the Cup Final. This is not a done deal but quite probable.
-Discussing all playoff scenarios.
-Promoting attacking soccer.
-Tougher with discipline.
-More scouting.
-Put even more effort into improving officiating. But Garber feels that "officiating is a hell of a lot better than we are given for." I agree with him 100%.

Marc Geiger was named Referee of the Year.

New York City is the focus for expansion:
-MLS likes what they see from the new Cosmos ownership group and will meet with them at MLS Cup weekend. But they are not the front runner for owning the expansion team.
-A stadium deal must come first before a team can be awarded. Building on Randall's Island is still a viable option open for discussion.
-The Wilpon family is not currently in the mix for ownership.
-But other groups are.

Other areas for possible expansion:
-There is a new Florida group. But the city is not named at this time.
-Las Vegas group
-Detroit group
-No Miami group
-And no mention of Twin Cities, but I did send an email to MLS HQ asking for any updates.

Some of the general goals for measuring MLS success:
-Improved quality on the field is #1 priority.
-Winning the CONCACAF Champions League.
-Developing a young player to sell to and play for a top team in a top league.
-Have a world class national team.
-Have world class youth/academy teams.

So does the league believe that travel plays a significant role in the quality of play we see on the field? Check out this stat:
-This past season the Vancouver Whitecaps traveled almost 60,000 miles for league games. Where as Manchester United traveled 3500 miles for league games, and Boca Juniors traveled 5500 miles.
-Teams at the low end of the MLS travel spectrum went almost 30,000 miles.
-Later Dan Courtemance of MLS Tweeted to us these additional travel stats: Real Madrid - 7,482 miles for 19 away matches, Bayern Munich - 8,106 for 17 away matches.

The 2012 MLS schedule will be released as soon as possible which hopefully will be in late Dec or early Jan.

Recently Jurgen Klinsman spent a full day at the MLS offices in New York. He went around meeting with everyone and told them that the league needs a longer season, and players need more important games.

Brek Shea is going to England train with Arsenal. Klinsman helped make that happen. Working on the same for Bill Hamid, Tim Ream and Sean Johnson.

The commissioner finished by talking about attending a playoff game in Kansas City last weekend: "Lasts weeks playoff game in Kansas City brought tears to my eyes. If you can make it there (KC) after what we had been experiencing, then we can do it anywhere."

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

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Chronicle introduces us to Gabriel Brener who is Oscar de la Hoya's business partner in owning half of the Dynamo. Many see him playing a big part in the team's future.

Greg Lucas of Fox Sports Houston says more locals need to be on the Dynamo bandwagon!

LA GALAXY

Scott French of ESPN says LA is taking no chances and is preparing for Brad Davis to play for Houston just in case.

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

US Soccer with a match preview for the France-USA game.

Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America on the maturing and improving Jozy Altidore.

US Soccer tell us about Stade De France.

US Soccer has words from Tim Howard and Carlos Bocanegra who played in the 2003 Confederations Cup there.

dN

Paul Kennedy of Soccer America previews France.

Julien Pretot of the AP writes that Franck Ribery says he is ready to give his all for France.

Trung Latieule of the AP previews France.
-France is planning on using some of its newer prospects in this game.

France is unbeaten in its last 15 matches.

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Dave Brett posted video from the last time the USA played France - 1979.

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International Friendlies
Matches & Scores:
-Fri Nov 11
France v USA - 2pm CT on ESPN2
-Tue Nov 15
Slovenia v USA - 11am CT on ESPN2

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U23 Training Camp
Matches & Scores:
-Fri Nov 11
USA U23 v Bochum Reserves
USA U23 v Azerbaijan U21
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

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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

France Roster-
G:
Cedric Carrasso - Bordeaux
Hugo Lloris - Lyon
Steve Mandanda - Marseille
D:
Eric Abidal - Barcelona
Mathieu Debuchy - Lille
Laurent Koscielny - Arsenal
Jeremy Mathieu - Valencia
Adil Rami - Valencia
Anthony Reveillere - Olympique Lyon
Mamadou Sakho - Paris Saint-Germain
M:
Yohan Cabaye - Newcastle
Alou Diarra - Marseille
Yann M'Vila - Rennes
Florent Malouda - Chelsea
Marvin Martin - Sochaux
Samir Nasri - Manchester City
F:
Karim Benzema - Real Madrid
Kevin Gameiro - Paris Saint-Germain
Olivier Giroud - Montpellier
Jeremy Menez - Paris Saint-Germain
Loic Remy - Marseille
Franck Ribery - Bayern Munich

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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

RISE & SHINE: THE JAY DEMERIT STORY

Now showing in movie theaters across the country.

Here is the Minnesota schedule:

Twin Cities
Marcus Oakdale Cinemas - Thu Nov 10
Marcus Parkwood Cinemas - Thu Nov 10

Duluth
Marcus Duluth 10 - Thu Nov 10

More showings have been scheduled.

CONCACAF OLYMPIC QUALIFYING

The CONCACAF 2012 Olympic men's qualifying tournament is rounding in to shape.

Today we learned that it will be held from March 22 to April 2 in the USA, with 2 groups of 4 teams each. One playing at Home Depot Center in Carson CA. The other at LP Field in Nashville TN. Then Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City KS will host the Semifinals and Final on Mar 31 & Apr 2.

There are 6 teams already in the tourney:

Canada, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, El Salvador and USA.

The other 2 teams will come from the Caribbean, which has 4 teams playing off for those places: , Cuba, St Kitts & Nevis, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago.

FIFASCANDALIZATIONINGS

Tales Azzoni of the Associated Press reports on former Brazilian star turned politician Romario is gearing up to take on the "irregularities" he sees at FIFA and the Brazilian football federation.

TWITTERVERSE

From Washington DC Mayor Vincent Gray, commenting on a DC United stadium, via Twitter (Nov 3): "We value DC United & hope they stay in DC. But District is in a challenging fiscal environment now & publicly funded stadium not possible."

DID YOU KNOW?

Tom Marshall of MLSsocer.com talks to Herculez Gomez about his future for club and country.

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

The Huffington Post reports that in an interview with CBC Radio in Canada former Montreal Impact player David Testo came out as gay.
-He has a lot of regret about how long it took him to go public. He said that everyone in his life had known - family, friends and teammates.

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

I think there should be a Young Player of the Year award in MLS to go along with the Rookie of the Year. That way the league can reward the young guys who come up through academy's or sign at young ages and do not have the maturity to make that impact in their first year of professional play.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Video interview with Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger talking about FC Dallas midfielder Brek Shea.

VIDEO OF THE DAY 2

El pasado no cuenta. Todo vuelve a empezar. The past does not count. Everything begins again.
(thanks to Megan for the link)

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Oh Yeah! The MLS Cup arrives in LA and is carried around by none other than Mauricio Cienfuegos, Alexi Lalas, and some California Girls in a convertible. Life at its finest.















MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

FC DALLAS

"After the passing of bobby Rhine, FCD played 13 games in all competitions and allowed a staggers 23 goals. The record over that time 2 wins, 1 ties, and 10 losses."

Buzz Carrick of 3rd Degree reflects on FCD's 5 biggest problems in 2011.

DC UNITED

Steven Goff of the Post reports on the latest lack of good news on the DC stadium issue.

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION

Frank Dell'Apa of the Globe reports that the Revs plan to name their new head coach next week.
-Doesn't that effectively eliminates Houston asst Steve Ralston who will be a little busy with the MLS Cup Final?
-The day to day management structure of the team got an overhaul too.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Brian Lewis of the Post talks to Bulls GM Erik Soler who says Rafa Marquez will be in a Red Bulls uniform next season.

Lewis also quotes Soler as saying the Dwayne DeRosario deal was not a mistake. Hahahahaha.

PHILADELPHIA UNION

Kerith Gabriel of the Daily News writes about the Union's year two success on and off the field.

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

The Sounders picked up the contract option on midfielder Erik Friberg for next season.

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC

Jim Morris of the Canadian Press looks at the probable roster changes going on in Vancouver under the new leader.

SOCCER IN MINNESOTA

Brian Quarstad of IMSoccer News takes a long look at the 2 Minnesota clubs that play in the US Soccer Development Academy League as they get set to begin year 2 for them at this level.

AMERICANS IN ASIA

Christopher McCollum of Yanks Abroad with the story of Alex Smith who is now with the Wellington Phoenix of the A-League.

FRANCE

Due to season after season of crowd violence away fans will not be allowed in the stadiums at the two games this season between Marseille and Paris St Germain.

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.

You can watch all the games online at ESPN3.com

The Guardian with several articles on the playoff games:
-Jonathan Wilson on Bosnia-Herzegovina.
-Amy Lawrence on Croatia.
-David Hytner on Ireland.

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Fri Nov 11
Bosnia & Herzegovina v Portugal
Turkey v Croatia
Czech Republic v Montenegro
Estonia v Ireland
2nd Leg
-Tue Nov 15
Portugal v Bosnia & Herzegovina
Croatia v Turkey
Montenegro v Czech Republic
Ireland v Estonia

BRAZIL

Serie A Top 5 Standings (33 of 38 games played):
58 Corinthians (17 W) - NEXT: Sun Nov 13 v Atletico PR
58 Vasco da Gama (16 W) - NEXT: Sun Nov 13 v Botafogo
56 Fluminense - NEXT: Sat Nov 12 v America Mineiro
55 Botafogo (16 W) - NEXT: Sun Nov 13 at Vasco
55 Flamengo (14 W) - NEXT: Sun Nov 13 at Coritiba

ASIA 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

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

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Nov 11
Eritrea v Rwanda
Chad v Tanzania
Equatorial Guinea v Madagascar
Guinea-Bissau v Togo
Seychelles v Kenya
Swaziland v Congo DR
Lesotho v Burundi
Sao Tome e Principe v Congo
Djibouti v Namibia
Comoros v Mozambique
-Sat Nov 12
Somalia v Ethiopia
-Tue Nov 15
Madagascar v Equatorial Guinea
Congo v Sao Tome e Principe
Burundi v Lesotho
Rwanda v Eritrea
Togo v Guinea-Bissau
Congo DR v Swaziland
Tanzania v Chad
Kenya v Seychelles
Mozambique v Comoros
Namibia v Djibouti
-Wed Nov 16
Ethiopia v Somalia

CONCACAF 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

SECOND ROUND

The last two vital rounds are coming up this week and next. Who will advance? 4 spots left to fill.

Matchday 5

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

Matchday 6

-Mon Nov 14
Cayman Islands v Dominican Republic

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

Standings:

Group A
12 El Salvador
7 Suriname
7 Dominican Republic
0 Cayman Islands

Group B
10 Guyana
9 Trinidad & Tobago
4 Bermuda
0 Barbados

Group C
ADV-9 Panama
3 Nicaragua
0 Dominica

Group D
10 Canada
6 St Kitts & Nevis
3 Puerto Rico
1 St Lucia

Group E
ADV-12 Guatemala
4 Grenada
4 St Vincent & the Grenadines
3 Belize

Group F
12 Antigua & Barbuda
10 Haiti
1 Curacao
0 US Virgin Islands

dN

Beginning Next Summer:

THIRD ROUND

Group A
USA
Jamaica
Guatemala
2nd Rd Group F winner

Group B
Mexico
Costa Rica
2nd Rd Group A winner
2nd Rd Group B winner

Group C
Honduras
Cuba
2nd Rd Group D winner
Panama

Group Standings
-The 6 group winners advance to the next round.

CONMEBOL 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

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

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Matches & Scores:
-Thu Nov 10
Gabon 0-2 Brazil
-Fri Nov 11
Ukraine v Germany
Poland v Italy
Mexico v Serbia
Netherlands v Switzerland
France v USA
Panama v Costa Rica
Denmark v Sweden
Georgia v Moldova
Greece v Russia
Hungary v Liechtenstein
Burkina Faso v Mali
Guinea v Senegal
Cameroon v Sudan
Albania v Azerbaijan
Belarus v Niger
Cyprus v Scotland
Morocco v Uganda
Belgium v Romania
-Sat Nov 12
England v Spain
Algeria v Tunisia
South Africa v Cote d'Ivoire
Nigeria v Botswana
Ghana v Sierra Leone
Wales v Norway
-Sun Nov 13
India v Malaysia
Morocco v Cameroon
Sudan v Uganda
-Mon Nov 14
Brazil v 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
-Tue Nov 16
India v Malaysia

ENDERS

20 rare pictures of one of the coolest dudes of all time - Steve McQueen.