Thursday, May 31, 2012

Some Soccer News for Thu May 31, 2012

STARTERS

The final 2 MLS teams joined the US Open Cup action last night and again their success rate was only 50% as Portland was taken down by amateur team Cal FC managed by Eric Wynalda in one of the biggest upsets in modern Open Cup history! Seattle, who bought their home game, got the win over Atlanta Silverback of the NASL.
-A loss like that one last night for Portland is what gets a lot of coaches fired.

dN

Avi Creditor at Soccer By Ives writes that Terra in Mexico is reporting that 3 Guatemalan national team players are being investigated for match-fixing while playing for Municipal in the CONCACAF Champions League, and have been removed from the national team ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
-And those players are not nobodies either: Captain Gustavo Cabrera, former LA Galaxy player Pando Ramirez and Yoni Flores.

dN

Bob Bradley and Egypt begin World Cup qualifying tomorrow - Fri Jun 1 with a game against Mozambique.

MINNESOTA STARS FC

NASL
Match and Score:
-Sat Jun 2
San Antonio Scorpions v Minnesota Stars FC - 7:45pm CT
Venue: Heroes Stadium

dN

Open Cup - Fourth Round
Match and Score:
-Tue Jun 5
San Jose Earthquakes v Minnesota Stars - 10:00pm CT
Venue: Cagan Stadium - Stanford University

The latest episode the ongoing documentary of the Minnesota Stars: Shine On Episode Four - It's Not Going To Be Easy

DU NORD AT THE CONTROLS

du Nord at the Controls - Tue May 29, 2012 - new music mix at Spotify.

TEAM USA - EL EQUIPO DE TODOS

The USA came back to earth with a 1-4 loss to Brazil in front of a huge crowd of over 67K in the DC area.

An amazing crowd of 67,619!

Yes they got beat pretty bad, but there were times when they took it to Brazil as well, and only a brilliant game by goalkeeper Rafael kept the scoreline so wide.

Franco Panzio of Soccer By Ives writes that after the game USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann said he thought his team needs to be a bit nastier.

Many critics launched into tirades saying that is NOT what the USA needs to do.
I am not gonna link to all of them, but if you Google Klinsmann and Nasty you will see a lot of hand wringing.

Privately I have been telling people for years that I think the USA needs to be a lot tougher toward opponents. The bigger teams push them and the referees around. Some of the smaller CONCACAF teams do the same thing. They need to be a lot more intimidating. The captain of the team is too passive, with too small of a personality. Yes I know the captain is a good guy with good work habits, but NO ONE is afraid of him. No one is afraid of any of the USA players. No referee is ever intimidated by the USA. I hate that this is the way it has to be, but until the rules change then the USA has to be more aggressive. Has to be. Last night when Jermaine Jones got sick and tired of the Brazil players pushing the USA players around he simply lined up their best player along the sidelines (Neymar) and chopped him down. He was too aggressive, but he had the right idea. Why weren't our defenders and midfielder putting that little rat haired kid on his ass all night long. Especially in the first 20 minutes. Neymar's fancy little dribbles and moves toward the box would have been over before they even started. Did you see him the next time Jones came near him after that ugly tackle? Ratboy just turned quickly and back passed the ball. He wanted nothing to do with Jones. I think the USA needs more of that attitude.

And looky here, Jonah Freedman of MLSsoccer.com agrees with that sentiment.

If I gave Oguchi Onyewu a rating for the first half last night it would have been a big fat ZERO. He was absolutely horrible. I was actually wondering if he had taken a sleeping pill or something. He was slightly better in the second half. Total rating? 2.

It seemed like Brazil was on a mission to neutralize Landon Donovan from the first minute. Every time he touched the ball there were two guys on him and others were closing fast to invade the passing lanes. It was effective.

Tim Howard also seemed to have an unusually poor game. He just seemed to be getting beat too easily for his very high standards. I know his defense let him down, but it still seemed like he was a step behind on the third and fourth goals.

Clint Dempsey admitted that the groin injury has been bothering him for at least 6 weeks. So it was good to see him play for over 20 minutes last night. And lets hope he came out of it closing in on 100%.

Match report by US Soccer.
Post game analysis by Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.
USA player ratings by Avi Creditor of Sports Illustrated.
USA player ratings by Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.
USA player ratings by Jeff Carlisle of ESPN.
USA player ratings by Jack Bell of the New York Times.
Post game analysis by Ives Galarcep of Fox Soccer.
Match report by Steven Goff of Washington Post.
Post game quotes from Brazil coach and players by Simon Borg of MLSsoccer.com

Video match highlights from US Soccer.
Video of coach and players post game interviews from US Soccer.
Video of postgame analysis by Bob Ley,Alexi Lalas and Kasey Keller of ESPN.

US Soccer has other video too:
-A Real Test (posted after Scotland game and before Brazil game)

dN

Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 26
USA 5-1 Scotland - Friendly - USA goals by Landon Donovan(3), Michael Bradley & Jermaine Jones. Sco goal by Geoff Cameron(OG).
Venue: EverBank Field, Jacksonville FL
Atten: 44, 438
-Wed May 30
4 USA 1-4 Brazil - Friendly - USA goal by Herculez Gomez. Bra goals by Neymar(PK), Thiago Silva, Marcelo & Pato.
Venue: FedEx Field, Landover MD
Atten: 67,619
-Sun Jun 3
Canada v USA - Friendly - 6:00pm CT on NBC Sports Network
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto ON
-Fri Jun 8
USA v Antigua & Barbuda - World Cup Qualifying - 6:00pm CT v Antigua & Barbuda on ESPN
Venue: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa FL
-Tue Jun 12
Guatemala v USA - World Cup Qualifying - 9:00pm CT on PPV
Venue: Estadio Mateo Flores - Guatemala City

dN

USA Roster (So Far)
G:
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa
Tim Howard - Everton
Nick Rimando - Real Salt Lake
D:
Carlos Bocanegra - Rangers
Geoff Cameron - Houston Dynamo
Edgar Castillo - Tijuana
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover
Clarence Goodson - Brondy
Oguchi Onyewu - Sporting CP
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland
M:
Kyle Beckerman - Real Salt Lake
Michael Bradley - Chievo
Joe Corona - Tijuana
Maurice Edu - Rangers
Fabian Johnson - Hoffenheim
Jermaine Jones - Schalke
Jose Torres - Pachuca
F:
Jozy Altidore - AZ
Terrence Boyd - Dortmund
Clint Dempsey - Fulham
Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna
Chris Wondolowski - San Jose Earthquakes

dN

Brazil roster
G:
Jefferson - Botafogo
Neto - Fiorentina
Rafael - Santos
D:
Thiago Silva - Milan
Marcelo - Real Madrid
Alex Sandro - Porto
Danilo - Porto
Bruno Uvini - Tottenham
Juan - Inter Milan
M:
Lucas Moura - Sao Paulo
Sandro - Tottenham
Giuliano - Dnipro
Oscar - Internacional
Casemiro - Sao Paulo
Romulo - Vasco da Gama
F:
Alexandre Pato - Milan
Neymar - Santos
Hulk - Porto
Leandro Damiao - Internacional
Wellington Nem - Fluminense

dN

Canada roster
G:
Milan Borjan - Vaslui
Lars Hirschfeld - Valerenga
Kenny Stamatopoulos - AIK
D:
David Edgar - Burnley
Andre Hainault - Houston Dynamo
Ante Jazic - Chivas USA
Mike Klukowski - Manisaspor
Nik Ledgerwood - Wehen Wiesbaden
Kevin McKenna - Koln
Ashtone Morgan - Toronto
M:
Julian de Guzman - Toronto
Atiba Hutchinson - PSV Eindhoven
Will Johnson - Real Salt Lake
Issey Nakajima-Farran - Brisbane Roar
Pedro Pacheco - Santa Clara
Samuel Piette - Metz
Josh Simpson - Young Boys
F:
Dwayne De Rosario - DC United
Iain Hume - Preston North End
Simeon Jackson - Norwich
Olivier Occean - Gruether Furth
Tosaint Ricketts - Politehnica Timisoara

CONCACAF WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

The First Group Stage of qualifying begins a week from Friday.

Standings:
Group A
Antigua & Barbuda
Guatemala
Jamaica
USA
Group B
Costa Rica
Guyana
Mexico
El Salvador
Guyana
Group C
Canada
Cuba
Honduras
Panama

Matches and Scores:
Matchday 1
-Fri Jun 8
USA v Antigua & Barbuda - A
Jamaica v Guatemala - A
Mexico v Guyana - B
Costa Rica v El Salvador - B
Honduras v Panama - C
Cuba v Canada - C
Matchday 2
-Tue Jun 12
Guatemala v USA - A
Antigua & Barbuda v Jamaica - A
El Salvador v Mexico - B
Guyana v Costa Rica - B
Canada v Honduras - C
Panama v Cuba - C

Matchday 3 and 4 will be played on Fri Sep 7 and Tue Sep 11.

THE LAMAR HUNT US OPEN CUP

THIRD ROUND - Round of 32

Cal pulled off one of the biggest upsets in modern Open Cup history last night winning 0-1 at Portland Timbers. Wow! Again, wow!

Matches and Scores:
-Wed May 30
Seattle Sounders 5-1 Atlanta Silverbacks
Portland Timbers 0-1 Cal FC

The Bracket

FOURTH ROUND - Round of 16

Matches and Scores:
Harrisburg City Islanders v New York Red Bulls
DC United v Philadelphia Union
Michigan Bucks v Dayton Dutch Lions
Sporting Kansas City v Colorado Rapids
San Antonio Scorpions v Charlotte Eagles
San Jose Earthquakes v Minnesota Stars
Carolina RailHawks v Chivas USA
Seattle Sounders v Cal

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

Patrick Shields of the New York Times reports that an official meeting is taking place in New York City today to begin discussions on what to do with the Pier 40 site that MLS has acknowledged could be a location for a new soccer stadium.

WELL WELL WELL

Nike which bought Umbro less than 4 years ago confirmed today that the brand is for sale.
-Report from Market Watch.

OOF

In news that is not too surprising Flamengo does not have enough money to pay Ronaldinho the huge salary they agreed too. And today a court ruled that the contract is now invalid and Ronny is free to move about the cabin.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

What did the Seattle Sounders work on today at practice? Dodgeball. Of course. Amazing video by Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times!

MLS MATCHES AND SCORES

Week 13 and 14

Matches And Scores:
-Sat Jun 2
New England Revolution v Chicago Fire SC - 6:30PM CT
Venue: Gillette Stadium
-Sun Jun 10
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v Houston Dynamo - 6:00PM CT
Venue: BC Place

MLS STANDINGS

EAST
27 DC United (+9)
26 New York Red Bulls (+8)
25 Sporting Kansas City (+7)
18 Chicago Fire SC (0)
18 Columbus Crew (0)
-----
16 Houston Dynamo (0)
13 New England Revolution (-2)
12 Montreal Impact (-6)
8 Philadelphia Union (-6)
3 Toronto FC (-13)
WEST
29 Real Salt Lake (+8)
27 San Jose Earthquakes (+10)
24 Seattle Sounders FC (+7)
19 Colorado Rapids (+2)
19 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-1)
-----
15 CD Chivas USA (-5)
13 Portland Timbers (-3)
13 FC Dallas (-9)
11 LA Galaxy (-6)

MLS TEAM AND PLAYER NEWS

General News

DC United midfielder Dwayne DeRosario was named MLS Player of the Month for May.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

International Friendly
Match and Score:
-Thu May 31
Houston Dynamo v Valencia(Spain)
Venue: BBVA Compass Stadium - Houston TX

NASL SCOREBOARD

Matches and Scores:
-Sat Jun 2
Carolina RailHawks v Puerto Rico Islanders
Fort Lauderdale Strikers v Tampa Bay Rowdies
San Antonio Scorpions v Minnesota Stars
-Sun Jun 3
FC Edmonton v Atlanta Silverbacks

Watch online

Standings
17 Puerto Rico (+11)
16 Minnesota (+6)
15 San Antonio (+2)
12 Tampa Bay (0)
10 Fort Lauderdale (-4)
8 Edmonton (0)
5 Carolina (-7)
5 Atlanta (-8)

ENGLAND

Simon Kuper of the Financial Times sees the current English team as the most middle class in a long time.
-That is basically calling them highbrow by comparison.

ASIA

Asian Champions League - Quarterfinals

Matches and Scores:

Already advanced:
-Al Ahli(Saudi Arabia)
-Sepahan(Iran)
-Al Ittihad(Saudi Arabia)
-Al Hilal(Saudi Arabia)
-Adelaide United(Australia)
-Bunodkor(Uzbekistan)

ASIA 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Two Groups of five begin play this Sunday.
Group A
Iran
Lebanon
S Korea
Qatar
Uzbekistan
Group B
Australia
Iraq
Japan
Jordan
Oman

dN

Matches and Scores:
Matchday 1
-Sun Jun 3
JORDAN v IRAQ
JAPAN v OMAN
UZBEKISTAN v IRAN
LEBANON v QATAR
Matchday 2
-Fri Jun 8
QATAR v S KOREA
LEBANON v UZBEKISTAN
OMAN v AUSTRALIA
JAPAN v JORDAN
Matchday 3
-Tue Jun 12
S KOREA v LEBANON
IRAN v QATAR
AUSTRALIA v JAPAN
IRAQ v OMAN

AFRICA 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

The first games for African countries begin tomorrow Fri Jun 1.

Standings:
Group A
Botswana
Central African Republic
Ethiopia
South Africa
Group B
Cape Verde
Equatorial Guinea
Sierra Leone
Tunisia
Group C
Cote d'Ivoire
Gambia
Morocco
Tanzania
Group D
Ghana
Lseotho
Sudan
Zambia
Group E
Burkina Faso
Congo
Gabon
Niger
Group F
Kenya
Malawi
Namibia
Nigeria
Group G
Egypt
Guinea
Mozambique
Zimbabwe
Group H
Algeria
Benin
Mali
Rwanda
Group I
Cameroon
Congo DR
Libya
Togo
Group J
Angola
Liberia
Senegal
Uganda

dN

Matches and Scores:
-Fri Jun 1
Ghana v Lesotho
Egypt v Mozambique
-Sat Jun 2
Central African Republic v Botswana
Cameroon v Congo DR
Kenya v Malawi
Sierra Leone v Cape Verde Islands
Gambia v Morocco
Cote d'Ivoire v Tanzania
Tunisia v Equatorial Guinea
Burkina Faso v Congo
Senegal v Liberia
Sudan v Zambia
Algeria v Rwanda
-Sun Jun 3
Zimbabwe v Guinea
South Africa v Ethiopia
Togo v Libya
Niger v Gabon
Benin v Mali
Angola v Uganda
Nigeria v Namibia

CONMEBOL 2014 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

STANDINGS:
7 Uruguay (3 GP)
7 Argentina (4 GP)
7 Venezuela (4 GP)
6 Ecuador (3 GP)
----- 6 Chile (4 GP)
----- 4 Colombia (3 GP)
4 Paraguay (4 GP)
3 Peru (3 GP)
1 Bolivia (4 GP)

dN

Matches and Scores:

Matchday 5
-Sat Jun 2
Uruguay v Venezuela
Bolivia v Chile
Argentina v Ecuador
Peru v Colombia

Matchday 6 -Sat Jun 9 Bolivia v Paraguay
Venezuela v Chile
Uruguay v Peru
Ecuador v Colombia

3 Comments:

Blogger gMark said...

B,
Here, here!
I'm 100% behind you on the USMNT/aggro deficit. That's been my thought since the Arena years. Dempsey and J. Jones are the only two I've ever seen try to impose themselves on the other team. Gooch could easily show more backbone. Sometimes they seem to rise to the occasion when they face El Tri, but we should always have some enforcers (w/skills) of one type or another. Klinsi gets it right.

9:41 PM  
Anonymous Rich said...

I was surprised so many people were worked up with JK's comments after the game. I more took from it that we need to step up and get into the player's heads, and get more passionate about the game. I don't believe he was outright condoning acts that would get one carded.

7:25 AM  
Anonymous leper said...

While I don't disagree with the general sentiment, I do have a problem with Jones in particular. I don't think his mindset is one of being nasty to try and change the flow of the game or anything as clinical (cynical) as that. I think he's just a headcase. Which is fine, except that I think he's less likely to send a message and more likely to just get himself sent off for kicking somebody needlessly.

That's the only challenge with being nasty - you have to be nasty enough to send a message, but do it in a controlled enough way so as to not get yourself a red in doing it.

11:45 AM  

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