Thursday, July 19, 2012

SomeSoccer News for Thu Jul 19, 2012

STARTERS

The du Nord Futbol Show podcast - Episode 3 has been posted and is ready for your ears!

dN

Sad news coming out that former USA captain Claudio Reyna lost his son Jack to cancer. Our best thoughts go out the family at such a sad time. Damn.

dN

Geoff Cameron now just needs an English work permit to join Stoke City.

dN

Brian Sciaretta of Yanks Abroad unearths a long term injury that Michael Parkhurst has been trying to play through - a broken toe.

STORY OF THE DAY

Greg Howard of the Dallas Observer with a giant story on FC Dallas enigma Brek Shea. Lots of myth busting going on here.

I know its small potatoes, but when an article starts off by getting something as wrong as saying the Houston Dynamo mascot is an Orange, then I have to wonder about everything else in the article. From my perspective as a guy who worked with rock bands for almost half my life I remember how many "facts" the weekly papers used to get oddly wrong. It was a staggering amount of weird shit that just seemed to change or get exaggerated. We used to laugh about it. I am not saying that I think that is what is going on here, but I do recognize some strange smells from my past life.

MINNESOTA STARS FC

The Stars lost in most frustrating fashion on Wednesday night as they wasted nearly a dozen scoring opportunities and let the opponent score on 2 of their 3 chances. Making it worse was watching the team flail away the final 15 minutes but pounding the ball forward in almost chaotic fashion while the measured approach had gotten them more than enough chances to dominate the game in the previous 75 minutes. Simply put, they beat themselves, while the fantastic Mike Anderson of Ft Lauderdale made them pay.

dN

Matches + Scores:
-Wed Jul 18
Minnesota Stars 1-2 Fort Lauderdale Strikers - MS goal by Simone Bracallelo. FL goals both by Mike Anderson.
Venue: National Sports Center Stadium - Blaine MN
-Sat Jul 21
Carolina RailHawks v Minnesota Stars
Venue: WakeMed Soccer Park - Cary NC
-Sat Jul 28
Puerto Rico Islanders v Minnesota Stars
Venue: Bayamon Soccer Complex
-Sat Aug 4
FC Edmonton v Minnesota Stars
Venue: Clarke Stadium
-Sat Aug 11
Minnesota Stars v San Antonio Scorpions
Venue: National Sports Center Stadium - Blaine MN

TASTIEST MLS GAME OF THE WEEK

Three big grudge matches coming up on Saturday with New York Red Bulls v Philadelphia Union, the Rocky Mountain Cup Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids, and the Super Clasico LA Galaxy v CD Chivas USA! A great day of soccer!

DU NORD AT THE CONTROLS

du Nord at the Controls - Tue Jul 17, 2012 - new music mix at Spotify.
http://spoti.fi/Mv563A
FIFASCANDALIZATIONINGS

Tariq Panja of Bloomberg reports that the European Court of Arbitration for Sport has overturned the lifetime ban handed out by FIFA to former Asian confederation president Mohamed bin Hamman.
-The ruling basically said that FIFA didn't make their case of bribery against bin Hamman efficiently enough.
-Remember this though, earlier in the week the Asian federation suspended bin Hammam pending a financial audit.

ODD BUT 100% TRUE

Tom Marshall of MLSsoccer.com introduces us to William Yarbrough, the 6'3" blonde haired blue eyed "Mexican" goalkeeper at Club Leon (on loan from Pachuca) with Texas heritage.

DID YOU KNOW?

Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times asks Sounder head coach Sigi Schmid about teammates getting into fights at practice - Schmid, the great story teller that he is, has an excellent response and anecdote.

HMMMMM, VERY INTERESTING

Folks like Gizmodo are very excited for MLS to start using the new Adidas micoach biometric tracking system on all players.
-Is it just me that doesn't see this as much of a big deal? I understand some of it, but for the most part its about as exciting to me as goal line technology. Not very. I wanna see money spent on players, not gadgets.

FACT OF THE DAY

Jonah Freedman of MLSsoccer.com talks to Roy Lassiter, who still holds the MLS record of 27 goals scored in one season, about Chris Wondolowski and his goal scoring acumen.
-Lassiter set the record in the league's debut year of 1996.

MLS MATCHES AND SCORES

Week 20 (15 games)

Matches + Scores:
-Wed Jul 18
New York Red Bulls 1-0 Chicago Fire SC - NYRB goal by Thierry Henry.
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Atten: 15,814
CD Chivas USA 1-0 Portland Timbers - CUSA goal by Miller Bolanos.
Venue: The Home Depot Center
Atten: 13,827
Toronto FC 2-1 Colorado Rapids - TFC goals by Ryan Johnson + Andrew Wiedeman. CR goal by Conor Casey.
Venue: BMO Field
Atten: 18,225
Montreal Impact 2-1 New England Revolution - MI goals by Patrice Bernier + Sanna Nyassi. NER goal by Lee Nguyen.
Venue: Saputo Stadium
Atten: 15,615
Houston Dynamo 2-1 Sporting Kansas City - HD goals both by Calen Carr. SKC goal by Kei Kamara(PK).
Venue: BBVA Compass Stadium
Atten: 19,761
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2-2 LA Galaxy - VW goals by Gershon Koffie + Barry Robson. LAG goals by David Beckham + Jose Villarreal.
Venue: BC Place
Atten: 21,000
San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 FC Dallas - SJE goals by Marvin Chavez + Alan Gordon. FCD goal by Hernan Pertuz.
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
Atten: 9,481
-Sat Jul 21
New York Red Bulls v Philadelphia Union - 1:30PM CT on ESPN
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Columbus Crew v DC United - 6:30PM CT
Venue: Crew Stadium
Sporting Kansas City v New England Revolution - 7:30PM CT
Venue: Livestrong Sporting Park
Houston Dynamo v Montreal Impact - 7:30PM CT
Venue: BBVA Compass Stadium
FC Dallas v Portland Timbers - 8:00PM CT
Venue: FC Dallas Stadium
Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids - 9:00PM CT
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
LA Galaxy v CD Chivas USA - 9:00PM CT Telefutura
Venue: The Home Depot Center
-Sun Jul 22
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v San Jose Earthquakes - 6:00PM CT
Venue: BC Place

MLS MATCH NOTES

EJECTIONS:
Peterson Joseph - Kansas City - rec card

dN

18 year old LA Galaxy midfielder Jose Villarreal hit a fantastic goal for his first professional tally, earning his team a stolen point on the road.

dN

Colorado will be without Jeff Larentowicz this weekend against Salt Lake due to a suspension for yellow card accumulation.

dN

Every time the best team in the league, San Jose, can't sell out a stadium that holds less than 11,000 the organization should be embarrassed about how bad a job they do selling tickets. Like last night. The whole rest of the season should already be sold out. No excuses.

MLS STANDINGS

EAST
36 Sporting Kansas City (+7)
35 New York Red Bulls (+6)
33 DC United (+8)
31 Houston Dynamo (+3)
31 Chicago Fire SC (0)
-----
24 Montreal Impact (-9)
22 New England Revolution (0)
22 Columbus Crew (-2)
20 Philadelphia Union (+1)
19 Toronto FC (-12)
WEST
43 San Jose Earthquakes (+18)
36 Real Salt Lake (+5)
31 Seattle Sounders FC (+4)
31 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-2)
27 LA Galaxy (+1)
-----
23 CD Chivas USA (-6)
22 Colorado Rapids (-1)
19 FC Dallas (-10)
19 Portland Timbers (-11_

dN

Here is the MLS Standings as sorted by Points-Per-Game:

2.05 SJE
1.80 SKC
1.75 NYRB
1.74 DCU
1.71 RSL
1.55 SS (+4)
1.55 HD (+3)
1.55 CF (0)
1.48 VW
1.29 LAG (+1)
1.29 CC (-2)
1.28 CUSA
1.18 PU
1.16 NER
1.10 CR
1.09 MI
1.00 PT
0.95 TFC
0.90 FCD

NOTICE

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

MLS TEAM AND PLAYER NEWS

General News

Jeff Carlisle of ESPN looks at several key topics around the league, like the ineptitude/bad attitude of Brek Shea, Ramiro Corrales quiet but long career and the Vancouver roster shake up.

Heath Pearce is injured and has been replaced on the All Star team by San Jose fullback Justin Morrow.

Player Transactions

Kansas City has signed 20 year old centerback Oriol Rosell from the Barcelona system. He never played for the FCB senior team.

DC UNITED

A muscle tear in the left foot will keep right fullback Robbie Russell out of action for a month or more.

PHILADELPHIA UNION

Three former academy players, Zach Pfeffer, Cristhian Hernandez and Jimmy McLaughin, started for the Union last night in their friendly against Aston Villa.

MLS SUMMER FRIENDLIES

Matches + Scores:
-Wed Jul 18
Seattle Seattle FC 2-4 Chelsea FC - SS goals both by Fredy Montero. Che goals by Romelu Lukaku(2), Eden Hazard + Marko Marin.
Venue: CenturyLink Field
Atten: 53,309
Philadelphia Union 0-1 Aston Villa(England) - AV goals by Nathan Delfouneso.
Venue: PPL Park - Chester PA
Atten: 17,195
-Sat Jul 21
Toronto FC v Liverpool FC - World Football Challenge - 3:00PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: BMO Field
Chicago Fire v Aston Villa(England)
Venue: Toyota Park - Bridgeview IL

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

MLS/SUM BUSINESS

Columbus Business First reports that the Crew will be host to the MLS business summit on Sep 12 + 13, with over 250 league staff meeting to talk about their trade.

NASL SCOREBOARD

Matches + Scores:
-Wed Jul 18
Minnesota Stars 1-2 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 (+2)
24 Fort Lauderdale (-3)
21 Carolina (+2)
14 Atlanta (-14) 13 Edmonton (-5)

US SOCCER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY

The 2011-12 Academy League Finals in Houston

The two age groups both have 8 teams in the final and they will play a group stage followed by a placement stage.

dN

U17/18

After 2 rounds we see 4 teams out of the running for the championship crown.

GROUP 1
6 Vancouver Whitecaps (+5)
3 North Carolina Fusion (-1)
1 Colorado Rapids (-2)
1 De Anza Force (-2)
Group 2
6 Solar Chelsea (+4)
4 FC Dallas (+1)
1 Chivas USA (-2)
0 Baltimore Bays Chelsea (-3)

Matches + Scores:
Group Stage
-Mon Jul 16
North Carolina Fusion 1-4 Vancouver Whitecaps
De Anza Force 2-2 Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas 1-1 Chivas USA
Solar Chelsea 2-0 Baltimore Bays Chelsea
-Wed Jul 18
Chivas USA 0-2 Solar Chelsea
Baltimore Bays Chelsea 1-2 FC Dallas
Vancouver Whitecaps 4-2 De Anza Force
Colorado Rapids 2-4 North Carolina Fusion
-Fri Jul 20
North Carolina Fusion v De Anza Force
Vancouver Whitecaps v Colorado Rapids
FC Dallas v Solar Chelsea
Chivas USA v Baltimore Bays Chelsea
Finals
-Sun Jul 22
Seventh place 1-4 v 2-4 - 9am CT at Houston Amateur Sports Park
Fifth place 1-3 v 2-3 - 10am CT at Houston Amateur Sports Park
Third place 1-2 v 2-2 - 5pm CT at Houston Amateur Sports Park
Championship 1-1 v 2-1 - 8pm CT at BBVA Compass Stadium

dN

U15/16

GROUP 1
3 Chicago Fire (+2)
3 New York Red Bulls (+2)
0 Charlotte Soccer Academy (-2)
0 Pateadores (-2)
Group 2
3 St Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri (+3)
1 Crew Soccer Academy Wolves (0)
1 DC United (0)
0 PA Classics (-3)

Matches + Scores:
Group Stage
-Tue Jul 17
New York Red Bulls 3-1 Pateadores
Charlotte Soccer Academy 1-3 Chicago Fire
Crew Soccer Academy Wolves 1-1 DC United
PA Classics 0-3 St Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri
-Thu Jul 19
DC United v PA Classics
St Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri v Crew Soccer Academy Wolves
Pateadores v Charlotte Soccer Academy
Chicago Fire v New York Red Bulls
-Sat Jul 21
New York Red Bulls v Charlotte Soccer Academy
Pateadores v Chicago Fire
Crew Soccer Academy Wolves v PA Classics
DC United v St Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri
Finals
-Mon Jul 23
Seventh place 1-4 v 2-4 - 9am CT at Houston Amateur Sports Park
Fifth place 1-3 v 2-3 - 10am CT at Houston Amateur Sports Park
Third place 1-2 v 2-2 - 5pm CT at Houston Amateur Sports Park
Championship 1-1 v 2-1 - 8pm CT at BBVA Compass Stadium

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

The Birmingham Mail with an article on Brad Guzan and his chances of seeing the field for Aston Villa this season.

dN

Game Action:

UEFA Europa League - Second qualifying round - 1st Leg
Daniel Antunez - Inter Turku - Thu Jul 19 - played the whole game as they tied 1-1 at Twente.
Giuseppe Funicello - Thor Akureyri - Thu Jul 19 - went the full 90 but got a yellow card as they lost 3-0 at Mlada Boleslav
Leo Krupnick - Maccabi Netanya - Thu Jul 19 -played the entire match but lost 1-2 v KuPS.
Etchu Tabe - KuPS - Thu Jul 19 - went the distance and they won 1-2 at Maccabi Netanya.

FINLAND - Ykkonen
Aaron Wheeler - KooTeePee - Thu Jul 19 - played the whole game but lost 0-1 v Oulu.

MEXICO

This week is the Liga MX Apertura season opener.

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

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian says Fabio Capello has a huge job ahead of him as the new head coach of Russia.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Rich said...

Move San Jose to Detroit, it worked out well for Houston.

8:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What's up with the quotes around "Mexican?" He was born and raised in Mexico, which makes him a Mexican without the quotes.

9:46 PM  
Anonymous ManchesterQuakesFan said...

Bruce, seriously, man, I have great respect for you and your site, but you're just embarrassing yourself with these repetetive, unwarranted attacks on the San Jose front office.

Mere hours after the league is humiliated by Herr Matteschitz's bizarre notion that playing at 1pm on a Wednesday in the height of an NYC Summer was anything less than insane... less than a day after the game in this country was embarrassed by a crowd of what 7,000, if that, for said Red Bulls fixture, the more important thing for you apparently is commenting negatively on a situation and sporting culture you clearly have no knowledge or understanding of.

On saturday the Quakes drew a crowd of 10,700 or so to old Buck Shaw for a top of the table clash against a side that is fast becoming one of our bitterest rivals. This figure is classed as "capacity" for the stadium.

On Wednesday night, against far less glamourous opposition (at least this year) we drew around 90 per cent capacity. On a work night, for a game that didn't start until 8.20 pm and was live on national cable TV.

Retaining around 90 per cent of capacity for this game is to be celebrated and recognised for the great effort it was by the dedicated SJE FO staff.

I'm not sure where this personal antipathy toward my team comes from but you really seem to dislike the Quakes intensely, taking every opportunity you can to dismiss and belittle the organisation.

Look back to your posts in the immediate aftermath of the Quakes' 4th of July Stanford Spectacular victory over the Galaxy (June 30):

50,304 - The highest attendance for any MLS game outside Seattle this year and all tickets sold with virtually no help from the league or local media. Worthy of at least a couple of words acknowledgement, no?

THERE WAS NOT ONE WORD OF CONGRATULATION ON THIS SITE.

Yet I can almost set my watch by your regular attacks on my club if our crowds dip by 1500 or so for a mid-season mid-week game.

When the (ludicrously named) NASL closes your club at the end of this season - and you have my sympathy here, it is a terrible feeling I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy - I dearly wish you luck in hopefully being able to retain the spirit and desire to maintain pro soccer in Minnesota.

But be prepared to be disappointed. Try to understand those of your fellow supporters who can't get over the loss felt when one's team is "contracted" or sold off to the highest bidder, and can't face the idea of starting again.

The hundreds or thousands in Minnesota who will be lost to the game, just like the 10,000 we lost here in San Jose.

They, we, all of us, need recognition, validation and support not petty points-scoring attack. I thought our fan culture was still in the build-em-up phase, let's leave it awhile before the inevitable knock-em-down years kick in, eh?

You use the term Friend-In-Football a lot on this site, Bruce. I'm curious as to what a vibrant soccer community in Northern California - the oldest extant soccer community in North America no less - has done to be deemed beneath your support.

Oh, and Rich? You go die in a fire, bitch.

8:00 PM  
Anonymous Rich said...

I almost didn't read all that, but really appreciated the end.

10:53 PM  
Blogger brucio said...

I liked it all expect the personal attack on Rich. That was out of line.

11:58 PM  

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