Some Soccer News for Wed May 30, 2012

STARTERS

All 16 MLS teams in the US Open Cup got to begin the tournament against lower division opposition this week. And last night in 14 games 7 of them were sent packing!

The most incredible of those wins goes to the Harrisburg City Islanders of 3rd division USL Pro beating the New England Revolution!!!

Here is how the game played out - New England goes down to 10 men in the ? min and the 90 minutes ends 0-0. In Extra Added Time New England blows the doors out going up 0-3. And then amazingly Harrisburg comes back to tie it 3-3 in dying seconds. The game goes to a Penalty Kick Shootout, and with Harrisburg up 4-3 their goalkeeper saves the shot of USA international Benny Feilhaber and the City Islanders snatch a huge victory!
-Read the full game report (video included) and news on many of the other upsets by Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com.

dN

Calcio Mercato reports that there is a bidding war in Italy for Michael Bradley between Palermo, Napoli and Roma. (In Italtian)
-Other teams have been mentioned in other articles.
-And he has said for a long time that he watched Milan all the time growing up. So tell me he doesn't dream of playing for them.

MINNESOTA STARS FC

Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jason Kreis On the match:
"First and foremost I want to make sure we do the right thing here and give credit to Minnesota, because I don’t want to talk too much about how poorly my team played, I want to talk quite a bit about how well they played. From minute one to minute 90 it looked like their team wanted it more than we did. At the end of it all, I think the score was fair, because the effort just wasn’t good enough."

From the front page of the MLS website this morning!

Open Cup
Match and Score:
-Tue May 29
Real Salt Lake 1-3 Minnesota Stars FC - RSL goal by Luis Gil. MS goals by Kevin Venegas, Neil Hlavaty(PK) & Simone Bracalello.
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium

My play of the game last night for the Stars was a double save by goalkeeper Matt VanOekel on Paulo Jr and Ned Grabavoy. Outstanding! The game was tied 1-1 at the time.

Video of RSL post game press conf with head coach Jason Kreis.

RSL/MS post game coach and player quotes.

Brian Quarstad of IMSoccer News with a full match report.

More articles from the 2 Salt Lake City newspapers:
-Real suffers stunning U.S. Open Cup loss to Minnesota Stars
-Real Salt Lake upset by Division 2 Minnesota
-Jason Kreis promises hard work ahead after "embarrassing" performance
-Real Salt Lake vs. Minnesota FC Report Card

dN

Now the Stars face a huge road test in San Antonio, a team that is playing great soccer and not acting like an expansion team at all. Here is the run they are on right now:
D 2-2 at Edm
W 2-0 v Edm
W 1-2 at TB
W 2-0 v TB
W 0-1 at Car
D 2-2 v FtL
L 0-4 v PR
D 0-0 at Atl

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

dN

And then they continue on the road for the Fourth Round of the Open Cup at San Jose.
Match and Score:
-Tue Jun 5
San Jose Earthquakes v Minnesota Stars - time TBA
Venue: Cagan Stadium - Stanford University
-Hopefully there will be an internet broadcast.
-Here is some incredibly detailed information about Cagan Stadium, where SJE has never played an official game before this one.
-"Surface: Grass, Bermuda Rye Blend, mowed to one inch."

FYI: The Stars are in the middle of a 7 games in 22 days road trip! 4 down 3 more to go. 3 wins and 1 tie so far.
-Fort Lauderdale, Florida
-Des Moines, Iowa
-Tampa, Florida
-Salt Lake City, Utah
-San Antonio, Texas
-San Jose, California
-Cary, North Carolina

dN

And Episode Four of the ongoing documentary of the Minnesota Stars debuted last night. Shine On Episode Four - It's Not Going To Be Easy

NOTICE

Sign up today for MLS Fantasy Soccer Manager, and then become a member of the du Nord Futbol league using this code: 3815-897

There are 142 teams in our league!

We have a new league leader! Jersey Fillers managed by Jersey Filler now leads our league!

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

I was lucky enough to be one of the few in the stands that night in winter 1998 when the USA beat Brazil for the one and only time. It sure would be fun if they could pull it off again tonight.

Brian Straus of Sporting News with an article on Jose Torres.
-Tonight will be a huge test to see if he has grown in the part of his game that has cost him the most - defense! Against a team that attacks with every player on the field!

Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union Tribune on Joe Carona.

Chris Boehm of the Soccer Wire does a Q & A with a blunt Herculez Gomez.

Ron Blum of the Associated Press previews the game.

O Globo compares Brazil head coach Mano Menezes to Jurgen Klinsmann when he was coach of Germany and facing a World Cup on home soil. (In Portuguese.)

Craig Stoufer of the Washington Examiner previews.

Thomas Floyd of the Washington Times previews.

Floyd also writes about Clint Dempsey.

Steven Goff of the Washington Post previews.

Brian Straus of the Sporting News with a preview.

Jeff Carlisle of ESPN previews.

Ives Galarcep of Fox Soccer previews.

The 23 players and 18 coaches and staff visited the White House:

Video of Brazil as they prep for this friendly and then the Olympics.
-Thanks to Greg D for the link.

Video from US Soccer:
-U.S. MNT vs. Brazil Preview
-MNT in Scotland: Carlos Bocanegra, Pt. 2

dN

Matches and 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 v Brazil - Friendly - 7:00pm CT on ESPN2
Venue: FedEx Field, Landover MD
-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
S-Rafael - Santos
D:
Daniel Alves - Barcelona
S-Thiago Silva - Milan
David Luiz - Chelsea
S-Marcelo - Real Madrid
Alex Sandro - Porto
S-Danilo - Porto
Bruno Uvini - Tottenham
S-Juan - Inter Milan
M:
Lucas Moura - Sao Paulo
S-Sandro - Tottenham
Paulo Henrique Ganso - Santos
Giuliano - Dnipro
S-Oscar - Internacional
Casemiro - Sao Paulo
S-Romulo - Vasco da Gama
F:
Alexandre Pato - Milan
S-Neymar - Santos
S-Hulk - Porto
S-Leandro Damiao - Internacional
Wellington Nem - Fluminense

2012-13 CONCACACHAMPIONS

CONCACAF announced that there will be a change to the tournament format for this season. All 24 teams will go straight into a 3-team group stage, with the 8 winners moving on to the 2 Legged knock out rounds.

The Draw for the groups will be held on Tue Jun 5 and play will begin on Tue Jul 31.
-The 4 USA and 4 Mexico teams will all be kept separate in the group stage.

Group Stage Matchdays:
1 - Jul 31–Aug 2
2 - Aug 21–23
3 - Aug 28–30
4 - Sep 18–20
5 - Sep 25–27
6 - Oct 23–25

5 teams from MLS are in the tournament again this season, 4 from the USA: LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, Real Salt Lake and Houston Dynamo, and 1 from Canada: Toronto.

THE LAMAR HUNT US OPEN CUP

THIRD ROUND - Round of 32

Last night was one of the most epic nights for lower division teams in modern Open Cup history! Its been dubbed MLSassacre 2012!

New England, LA, Chicago, Columbus, Houston, Dallas and Salt Lake all LOST!

Harrisburg, Carolina, Michigan, Dayton, San Antonio, Charlotte and Minnesota all WON!

Daniel Casey of Soccer Newsday with a recap of Tuesday nights games.

Matches and Scores:
-Tue May 29
Harrisburg City Islanders 3-3 New England Revolution - HCI wins 4-3 in Penalty Kick Shootout
Richmond Kickers 1-2 DC United
Carolina RailHawks 2-1 LA Galaxy
Michigan Bucks 3-2 Chicago Fire
Charleston Battery 0-3 New York Red Bulls
Philadelphia Union 3-0 Rochester Rhinos
Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-3 Colorado Rapids
Columbus Crew 1-2 Dayton Dutch Lions
Sporting Kansas City 3-2 Orlando City
San Antonio Scorpions 1-0 Houston Dynamo
Dallas 0-2 Charlotte Eagles
Real Salt Lake 1-3 Minnesota Stars
Ventura County Fusion 0-1 Chivas USA
San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers
-Wed May 30
Seattle Sounders v Atlanta Silverbacks
Portland Timbers v 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-Atlanta winner v Portland-Cal winner (home team TBD)

UEFA EURO 2012

Begins Jun 8

Opening day matches:
-Fri Jun 8
Poland v Greece
Russia v Czech Republic

PICTURE OF THE DAY

WTF? Lionel Messi with Marky Ramone!
-Thanks to Erick for the pic.

MLS TEAM AND PLAYER NEWS

FC DALLAS

Buzz Carrick of 3rd Degree sees an insanely tough road ahead for FCD if they want to make the playoffs.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

The Dynamo host one of Spains finest for a friendly on Thursday night.
-Thu May 31
Houston Dynamo v Valencia(Spain)
Venue: BBVA Compass Stadium - Houston TX

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action:

FINLAND - Veikkausliiga

Daniel Antunez - Inter Turku - Wed May 30 - went the full 90 getting a yellow card as they won 2-0 v Lahti.

FINLAND - Ykkonen

Justin Moose - SJK - Wed May 30 - played the whole game as they lost 0-2 v OPS.
Pat Phelan - SJK - Wed May 30 - went the distance but lost 0-2 v OPS.
Aaron Wheeler - KooTeePee - Wed May 30 - on the bench as they lost 4-1 at Oulu.

ENGLAND

Liverpool has hired Swansea's Brendan Rogers as their new head coach.

Sunderland fired head coach Steve Bruce.

SPAIN

Sid Lowe of the Guardian gives out his own awards for the 2011-12 La Liga season.

FRANCE

Claudio Ranieri, the former head coach of Inter, Roma, Juventus, Parma, Valencia, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, Fiorentina, Napoli, Cagliari, Campania Puteolan and Vigor Lamezia, has been hired as the new head coach at Monaco.

GERMANY

Rapahel Honigstein of the Guardian hands out post season awards for the Bundesliga.

ASIA

Asian Champions League - Round of 16

Matches and Scores:
-Wed May 30
Ulsan(S Korea) 3-2 Kashiwa Reysol(Japan)
Guangzhou Evergrande(China) 1-0 Tokyo(Japan)

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