Some Soccer News For Mon Jul 16, 2012

STARTERS

Michael Bradley is now officially a player for AS Roma in the Italian Serie A. Roma bought him from Chievo for $4.6 million and he signed a 4 year contract. Huge congrats to him.
-They have 3 upcoming friendlies here in America, and then start their regular season on Aug 25.
-Roma finished 7th last season and outside of any European league spots for this season.
- Mug shot:

dN

The BBC reports that Carlos Bocanegra and Maurice Edu have both been given permission to find new teams for the upcoming season.

dN

With his 100th assist in MLS on Saturday Landon Donovan becomes the 2nd player in league history to cross the 100 goals/100 assist marker. (Jaime Moreno is the other.)
-Steve Davis of Pro Soccer Talk doesn't see Donovan as close to the end of his achievements.

dN

du Nord favorite Danny Koevermans of Toronto FC jacked up his left knee in New England on Saturday night, and word from the doctor today is that he has blown out the ACL and is done for the season.
-Did the fake turf play a part in this?.

dN

Vancouver has signed 32 year old Scottish forward Kenny Miller from Cardiff City.
-Marc Weber talks to Scottish soccer expert Bobby McMahon of Fox Soccer about the signing.

STORY OF THE DAY

Sam Borden of the New York Times with a profile of French star and current member of the New York Red Bulls Thierry Henry.

MINNESOTA STARS FC

Matches + Scores:
-Wed Jul 18
Minnesota Stars v Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Venue: National Sports Center Stadium - Blaine MN
-Sat Jul 21
Carolina RailHawks v Minnesota Stars
Venue: WakeMed Soccer Park - Cary NC

dN

Franco Panizo of Soccer By Ives does an interview with NASL commissioner David Downs, but there is no mention of the future of the Minnesota Stars.

LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS

Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated previews the men's tournament.

dN

Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian gives us 7 players to watch.

FIFASCANDALIZATIONINGS

The AP reports that FIFA will appoint a prosecutor on Tuesday to investigate possible corruption in the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

dN

Former Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed Bin Hammam has been suspended by the AFC pending an investigation of financial transactions while he was at the helm.
-He has already been suspended for life from FIFA for bribery, which he is appealing.

CONCUSSIONS ARE BAD, MKAY

Long time Colorado Rapids captain Pablo Mastroeni has been moved to the team's disabled list, due to lingering effects of concussions, thus opening up a spot on their roster.

This is not good news for those of us hoping to see him back on the field soon.

BEST NEWS I'VE HEARD ALL DAY

Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story documentary film is now available on iTunes in the USA, Canada & UK.

Y'ALL READY FOR THIS?

Soccer America reports that CONCACAF has named Enrique Sanz as the new General Secretary, replacing Chuck Blazer.

FACT OF THE DAY

The full MLS All Star Team has been named.

On Sunday they added to the previously announced first 11 with picks by coach Ben Olsen and commissioner Don Garber.

Here is the full roster:
G:
BO Dan Kennedy - Chivas USA
11 Jimmy Nielsen - Sporting Kansas City
D:
11 Steven Beitashour - San Jose Earthquakes
11 Aurelien Collin - Sporting Kansas City
DG Ramiro Corrales - San Jose Earthquakes
11 Jay DeMerit - Vancouver Whitecaps FC
11 Heath Pearce - New York Red Bulls
DG Carlos Valdes - Philadelphia Union
M:
BO Osvaldo Alonso - Seattle Sounders FC
11 David Beckham - LA Galaxy
BO Kyle Beckerman - Real Salt Lake
11 Dwayne De Rosario - DC United
11 Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy
11 Graham Zusi - Sporting Kansas City
F:
11 Thierry Henry - New York Red Bulls
BO Eddie Johnson - Seattle Sounders FC
BO Chris Pontius - DC United
11 Chris Wondolowski - San Jose Earthquakes

11 - selected for the team by fan voting as the First XI
DG - selected for the team by MLS commissioner Don Garber
BO - selected for the team by ALL Star head coach Ben Olsen

STAT OF THE DAY

Toronto FC under new head coach Paul Mariner - 9 games - 13 points.

Toronto FC under old head coach Aron Winter - 10 games - 3 points.

OOF

Brad Guzan makes it official with a new contract at Aston Villa.

On one hand its great for him to get a new deal. On the other, why in the world would he re-sign with the same team that has left him to rot on the bench for the past 4 seasons?

THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT

Alex Labidou of Goal.com talks to Seattle Sounder forward Eddie Johnson who has seen some real lows on the path to his again becoming one of the top strikers in MLS with Seattle this season.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

The NFL Seattle Seahawks posted pics of a visit from Chelsea to their training facility. And its very funny how the players all look awkward trying out each others sport!
-Tip of the hat to Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times.

MLS MATCHES AND SCORES

Week 19

Matches + Scores:
-Wed Jul 11
Toronto FC 3-2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC - TFC goals by Luis Silva, Torsten Frings + Terry Dunfield. VW goals both by Darren Mattocks.
Venue: BMO Field
Atten: 19,821
-Sat Jul 14
Philadelphia Union 2-1 Montreal Impact - PU goals by Lionard Pajoy + Carlos Valdez. MI goal by Keon Daniel(OG).
Venue: PPL Park
Atten: 18,544
New England Revolution 0-1 Toronto FC - TFC goal by Luis Silva.
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Atten: 12,180
Columbus Crew 0-2 Sporting Kansas City - SKC goals by Jacob Peterson + Teal Bunbury.
Venue: Crew Stadium
Atten: 17,588
Chicago Fire SC 1-0 Vancouver Whitecaps FC - CF goal by Pavel Pardo.
Venue: Toyota Park
Atten: 16,820
Colorado Rapids 1-2 FC Dallas - CR goal by Omar Cummings. FCD goals by Carlos Rodriguez + Fabian Castillo.
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Atten: 13,284
San Jose Earthquakes 5-0 Real Salt Lake - SJE goals by Chris Wondolowski(3), Alan Gordon + Simon Dawkins.
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
Atten: 10,744
Portland Timbers 3-5 LA Galaxy - PT goals by Kris Boyd(2) + Kosuke Kimura. LAG goals by David Beckham(2), Robbie Keane(2) + Landon Donovan(PK).
Venue: JELD-WEN Field
Atten: 20,438
-Sun Jul 15
New York Red Bulls 2-2 Seattle Sounders FC - NYRB goals by Sebastien Le Toux + Joel Lindpere. SS goals by Alvaro Fernandez + Fredy Montero.
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Atten: 19,414
Houston Dynamo 4-0 DC United - HD goals by Brad Davis(PK), Will Bruin, Boniek Garcia + Brian Ching(PK).
Venue: BBVA Compass Stadium
Atten: 18,871

MLS MATCH NOTES

EJECTIONS:
-Kyle Beckerman - Salt Lake - red card
-Arne Friedrich - Chicago - two yellow cards
-Bill Hamid - DC - red card

dN

San Jose became the first team this season to hit 40 points.

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3.44 goals per game this weekend.

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Jacob Peterson has been on fire for KC but came out in 38th min with a sprained ankle. He has scored 3 times in past 6 games, starting in place of Bobby Convey.

dN

Freddy Adu came out at half time after he cracked knees with a Montreal defender. After the game he said he was OK and just came off as precaution, hmmmmmm.

dN

DC is 0-7-1 all time in Houston.

dN

New leader in the East as KC resumes the top spot.

dN

Portland falls to last place in the West.

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Dallas ended a 13 game winless streak - won their first on the road too.

MLS STANDINGS

EAST
36 Sporting Kansas City (+8)
33 DC United (+8)
32 New York Red Bulls (+5)
31 Chicago Fire SC (+1)
28 Houston Dynamo (+2)
-----
22 New England Revolution (+1)
22 Columbus Crew (-2)
21 Montreal Impact (-10)
20 Philadelphia Union (+1)
16 Toronto FC (-13)
WEST
40 San Jose Earthquakes (+17)
36 Real Salt Lake (+5)
31 Seattle Sounders FC (+4)
30 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-2)
26 LA Galaxy (+1)
-----
22 Colorado Rapids (0)
20 CD Chivas USA (-7)
19 FC Dallas (-9)
19 Portland Timbers (-10)

NOTICE

MLS Fantasy Soccer Manager - the du Nord Futbol league, code: 3815-897
-There are 142 teams in our league!
-The league leader is LateNight504FC managed by Alan Kansas.

MLS TEAM AND PLAYER NEWS

General News

San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski has been named the MLS Player Of The Week.

dN

Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com reviews the round with his Monday Morning Breakdown.

dN

Avi Creditor of Sports Illustrated with a 5 point bulletin on Week 19.

Player Transactions

The Red Bulls acquired French forward Sebastien LeToux from the Vancouver Whitecaps on Friday night.
-Going the other direction in the exchange was Jamaican winger Dane Richards and allocation money.

dN

New England has signed 22 year old forward Dimitry Imbongo Boele who played last season for Darmstadt in the German 3.Bundesliga.
COLUMBUS CREW

Adam Jardy of the Dispatch has 5 questions for Chris Birchall.

HOUSTON DYNAMO

Jose Ortiz of the Chronicle says Will Bruin has updated his list of goals for this season.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Paul Buker of the Oregonian sees Saturday's wipeout loss at the hands of the LA Galaxy as an indictment on the firing of John Spencer earlier in the week.

MLS SUMMER FRIENDLIES

Here is the complete schedule of all the big club matches going on this summer pitting MLS teams against European teams.

MLS STADIUMS

Robert Webster of the Examiner has an article on a potential stadium site for DC United in Pentagon City.
-Thanks to George for the heads up on the article.

NASL SCOREBOARD

Matches + Scores:
-Sat Jul 14
Atlanta Silverbacks 2-1 Puerto Rico Islanders
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2-2 San Antonio Scorpions
-Sun Jul 15
FC Edmonton 0-1 Tampa Bay Rowdies
-Wed Jul 18
Minnesota Stars v Fort Lauderdale Strikers
-Sat Jul 21
Carolina RailHawks v Minnesota Stars
Atlanta Silverbacks v FC Edmonton
Tampa Bay Rowdies v Puerto Rico Islanders
San Antonio Scorpions v Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Watch online

Standings
29 San Antonio (+9)
28 Puerto Rico (+7)
27 Tampa Bay (+2)
26 Minnesota (+3)
21 Carolina (+2)
21 Fort Lauderdale (-4)
14 Atlanta (-14) 13 Edmonton (-5)

USL PRO NEWS

Standings

USA U20 TEAM

US Soccer has a Q + A with coach Tab Ramos as he announces his team for this year's Milk Cup.

Roster:
G:
Cody Cropper - Unattached
Kendall McIntosh - Santa Clara
D:
AJ Cochran - Wisconsin
Holden Fender - Concorde Fire
Eric Miller - Creighton
Juan Pablo Ocegueda - UANL Tigres
Boyd Okwuonu - North Carolina
Walker Zimmerman - Furman
M:
Benji Joya - Santos Laguna
Mikey Lopez - North Carolina
Collin Martin - DC United Academy
Daniel Metzger - Maryland
Dillon Serna - Colorado Rapids Academy
Wil Trapp - Akron
F:
Daniel Cuevas - Santos Laguna
Alfred Koroma - Solar Chelsea
Victor Pineda - Chicago Fire
Mario Rodriguez - Kaiserslautern

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Charlie Davies new team Randers got off to a terrible start to the new season losing 6-1. Davies was on the bench but did not play. Oof.

dN

Conor O'Brien scored a goal in the game in which his SonderjyskE that beat Davies Randers so badly.

dN

Josh Gatt scored his 4th goal of the season for Molde.

dN

Michael Parkhurst was not in uniform today as this team Nordjaelland got the new season off to a great start with a 0-4 win.

dN

Game Action:

DENMARK - Superliga
Charlie Davies - Randers - on the bench as they lost 6-1 at SonderjyskE.
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - went the full 90 but lost 0-1 v Odense.
Conor O'Brien - SonderjyskE - went the full 90 scoring a goal as they won 6-1 v Randers.

FINLAND - Veikkausliiga
Mike Banner - Jaro - started and went 80 min but lost 2-0 at Honka.

FINLAND - Ykkonen
Justin Moose - SJK - came on at half time as they drew 0-0 v Kooteepee.
Pat Phelan - SJK - went the distance as they tied 0-0 v Kooteepee.

NORWAY - Eliteserien
Erik Benjaminsen - Stabaek - on the bench as they lost 3-1 at Sogndal.
Steve Clark - Honefoss - played the whole game but lost 2-1 at Viking.
Sean Cunningham - Stabaek - went the full 90 but lost 3-1 at Sogndal.
Josh Gatt - Molde - went the distance scoring a goal as they won 1-2 at Valerenga.
Kenneth Di Vita Jensen - Honefoss - on the bench as they lost 2-1 at Viking.

NORWAY - 1 Divisjon
Rhett Bernstein - Mjondalen - came on as a sub in the 82nd min as they won 1-2 at Ranheim.
Kyle Helton - Mjondalen - played the whole match getting a yellow card as they won 1-2 at Ranheim.
Sebastian Troupe - Baerum - went the full 90 as they won 1-2 at Strommen.

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Brian Span - Djurgarden - came on as a sub at half time as they tied 1-1 v Norrkoping.

dN

Coming Up:

SWEDEN - Superettan
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - Tue Jul 17 at Brage

MEXICO

The newly re-named Liga MX Apertura season begins this Fri Jul 20.

Opening Round - Matches + Scores:
-Fri Jul 20
Chiapas Jaguares v Tigres UANL
Tijuana v Puebla
-Sat Jul 21
Cruz Azul v Morelia
Queretaro v Leon
Monterrey v America
Santos Laguna v San Luis
Atlas v Pumas UNAM
-Sun Jul 22
Toluca v Guadalajara
Atlante v Pachuca

EUROPE

Fabio Capello has been hired as the new head coach of the Russian national team.