Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Some News for Tue May 31, 2011

OH BOY

From the Twitter feed of Tariq Panja of Bloomberg, @tariqpanja: Statement, Acting President of CONCACAF Lisle Austin has terminated the services of General Secretary Chuck Blazer with immediate effect.

And then CONCACAF finally releases their first press statement on the whole affair to say that Austin does not have the authority to dismiss Blazer.

I think there is only one proper response to all this FIFA/CONCACAF madness - right here.

STARTERS

Huge congrats to Barcelona on winning the the UEFA Champions League! Hooray, and don't drop the trophy.

dN

The High and Low of international soccer all in one day - George Vecsey of the New York Times on the intersection of a glorious Champions League victory for Barcelona and wild FIFA executive committee corruption accusations.

STORY OF THE DAY

After Saturday's game Sergio Koke told the Houston Dynamo he wanted out of the team, and they granted his wish by terminating his contract immediately.

No firm reasons have been given for his departure.

Koke only signed with the team a little over a month ago, has started 2 games, made 5 other appearances, scoring 1 goal.

The big Spanish sports daily Marca is where I first saw the story. (in Spanish)
-This is the Marca headline:
Koke leaves the Dynamo on request
"Koke came into the locker room and said he wanted to end his contract with the team and go home," said club president.
-The key line from their article: "Apparently Koke was angry for not playing enough and took that decision."

Here is the story from Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle, which does not contain the line about his being angry over lack of playing time.
-Ortiz shares his opinion of Koke on the papers blog, and he does not mince words. I think this is a pretty damning opinion.

JACK WARNER/SEPP BLATTER/FIFA ODDITIES

The Telegraph of London now is reporting that FIFA executive member Chuck Blazer has filed ANOTHER charge against his long time ally Jack Warner, stating that Warner has continued to conduct CONCACAF business, including meeting with federation members, even though he is suspended from all soccer related activities.

One item that has not really been addressed beyond the amazing account of Chuck Blazer turning on his decade of over two decades Jack Warner, is that the man who led the secret investigation against Warner is a Chicago lawyer John Collins, who is said to have been at Warner's side through many other questionable actions in CONCACAF in FIFA.
-What exactly caused these two to turn on Slappy Jack?

Jere Longman of the New York times has quotes from Chuck Blazer.
-Blazer: “It was clear to me that rules were broken and were very serious. The idea that money would be paid for votes would have been a change I couldn’t bear. I’m hopeful this will set a reasonable standard for others and people will be encouraged when faced with this sort of corruption, they will deal with it.”

Esteban Pagan Rivera of Primera Hora talks to the President of the Puerto Rican federation who received some of the money that was supposedly provided by Mohamed Bin Hammam in exchange for votes. This is another piece of the weird puzzle. Via IMSoccer. Thanks to Brian.

FIFA reports on Herr Blatter's opening comments to the annual Congress of federations that began today in Zurich.
-And then Grace Jones entertained the troops (supposedly yelling "Wake Up" at one of the old duffers in the front row):
























A full run down on the FIFA circus from the past few days can be found here at du Nord.

CONCACAF

Lisle Austin of Barbados has been named interim President of CONCACAF.

Simon Evans of Reuters reports that Austin's first act as new President was to order an inquiry into Chuck Blazer and his investigation into Warner. And then to direct all federation members that they are not to use the law firm that conducted the investigation into Warner, even though that law firm has been used by Warner for many years to do all his behind the scenes work.

And in all of this, the Gold Cup kicks off this Saturday. Nice timing guys.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

Barcelona is the 2010-11 Champion. What can you say. They played a nearly perfect 2nd half in the final to clinch their 4th European championship.

dN

I think we saw the next logical step in the move toward the 4-6-0 formation. Maybe you can call David Villa the lone forward in a 4-5-1, but he plays so much wide right that he almost becomes a winger. Same goes for Pedro on the right side. And there there is Messi. And like the other two he plays an awful lot like a forward. But how many forwards are in the middle of their team taking passes and spraying them in all directions as others ebb and flow toward the opposition goal. He plays like a midfielder a lot too. Then there is the triangle of Sergio Crybaby Busquets, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. The first two are definitely midfielders. But what is Iniesta? He is a forward at times too. No wonder no one can stop them with 6 guys that all handle the ball like Curly Neal.

dN

Rob Hughes of the International Herald Tribune with a review of the big game.

dN

Match & Score:
Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United - Bar goals by Pedro, Lionel Messi & David Villa. MU goal by Wayne Rooney.
Venue: Wembley Stadium - London

TEAM USA

Pre-Gold Cup

The team is training in Cary NC.

dN

Ticket sales for Saturday's game against Spain has passed the previous Boston attendance record for a USA game of 57,407. Will they sell all 67,000 tickets?

dN

Benny Feilhaber rolled his ankle in New England's game on Saturday, so Alejandro Bedoya has been brought in to train with the team in case Feilhaber cannot go.
-No word yet on the severity of the injury, but it did not look good when it happened.
-Teams have until 24 hours before their first game to make a roster change for injury.

dN

Brian Straus of the Sporting News talks to both Michael Bradley and Freddy Adu about long and trying club seasons, and being in camp with the USA.
-I feel like we have heard Freddy Adu say at least a half dozen times the he has learned from his mistakes, put them behind him, and is finally ready for the real challenge. Is this time any different?

dN

Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated ponders Adu's inclusion on this team.

dN

US Soccer has an interview with Carlos Bocanegra.

dN

Brian Sciaretta of Yanks Abroad talks to Steve Cherundolo.

dN

The official team blog.

dN

Matches & Scores:
Friendly
-Sat Jun 4
USA v Spain
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA

CONCACAF GOLD CUP

Shalrie Joseph has decided not to go play for Grenada in this tournament, and would rather suit up for his club team New England Revolution who he says really needs him right now.

dN

Former Galaxy midfielder Pando Ramirez picked up an injury and is out of the Guatemala team.

dN

Both Tyrone Marshall (injuries to others in CO) & Omar Cummings (injured ankle) of the Colorado Rapids will miss some or all of the Gold Cup for Jamaica.
-Jamaica will need to decide 24 hours before the first game whether or not to keep them on the roster.

dN

All team rosters.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Hypothetically, is there be any chance that we could see a break away from CONCACAF with maybe the North and Central America teams leaving, and taking a couple others with them? Mexico, USA, Canada, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and Belize. Why not bring in Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and a few others too.

Then they could let Jack & The Jackasses twist in the wind.

STAT OF THE DAY

Lionel Messi of Barcelona finished the 2010-11 season with 56 goals scored in 62 games played in all competitions. Stunning.

FACT OF THE DAY

Two go out in one day!

Carlos de los Cobos has been fired from his job as head coach of the Chicago Fire. Sad. But not unexpected.
-The team's record is 1 win, 4 losses and 6 ties, for 9 points from 11 games.
-Len Zeihm of the Chicago Sun Times with the story.
-Technical director Frank Klopas will take over as interim head coach.

Teitur Thordarson has been fired from his job as head coach of the Vancouver Whitecaps.
-The team's record is 1 win, 5 losses and 6 ties, for 9 points from 12 games.
-Marc Weber of the Vancouver Province with the story.
-Director of soccer operations Tom Soehn will take over as interim head coach.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

A near-surreal scene in Portland as not 1 but 2 Penalty Kick saves were nullified by the referee due to goalkeeper encroachment, and finally the third attempt from a different taker hits the back of the net.
PK #1
PK#2
PK#3

WHY?

Brian Mullan played for the Colorado Rapids reserve team on Sunday. Why is it that he can play while he is serving a 10 game suspension? I'm sure something is in the rules that allows it, but I think its wrong.

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 11

Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 28
Toronto FC 2-6 Philadelphia Union - TFC goals both by Maicon Santos. PU goals by Gabriel Farfan, Justin Mapp(2), Kyle Nakazawa & Danny Mwanga(2).
Venue: BMO Field
Attendance: 20,122
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-1 New York Red Bulls - VW goal by Eric Hassli(PK). NYRB goal by Luke Rodgers.
Venue: Empire Field
Attendance: 21,000
Columbus Crew 3-3 CD Chivas USA - CC goals by Andres Mendoza(2) & Emmanuel Ekpo. CU goals by Nick LaBrocca, Andrew Boyens & Jorge Flores.
Venue: Crew Stadium
Attendance: 9,431
New England Revolution 0-1 LA Galaxy - LAG goal by Miguel Lopez.
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Attendance: 21,793
Chicago Fire SC 2-2 San Jose Earthquakes - CF goals by Dominic Oduro & Cory Gibbs. SJE goals by Ramiro Corales & Chris Wondolowski.
Venue: Toyota Park
Attendance: 11,926
Houston Dynamo 2-2 FC Dallas - HD goals by Cam Weaver & Colin Clark. FCD goals by Andrew Jacobson & Ugo Ihemelu.
Venue: Robertson Stadium
Attendance: 16,709
Colorado Rapids 1-1 Sporting Kansas City - CR goal by Conor Casey. SKC goal by Ryan Smith.
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Attendance: 16,439
Real Salt Lake 1-2 Seattle Sounders FC - RSL goal by Nelson Gonzalez. SS goals by Patrick Ianni & Lamar Neagle.
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
Attendance: 14,674
-Sun May 29
Portland Timbers 2-3 DC United - PT goals by Jack Jewsbury(PK) & Jorge Perlaza. DCU goals by Perry Kitchen, Chris Pontius(PK) & Josh Wolff.
Venue: JELD-WEN Field
Attendance: 18,627

dN

EJECTIONS:
-Jorge Flores - Chivas - 2 yellow cards
-Kofi Sarkodie - Houston - 2 yellow cards
-Jamison Olave - Salt Lake - red card

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
20 Philadelphia Union (+5 GD) (11 GP)
18 New York Red Bulls (+7 GD) (12 GP)
15 DC United (-4 GD) (11 GP)
15 Houston Dynamo (+2 GD) (13 GP)
14 Columbus Crew (-2 GD) (11 GP)
13 New England Revolution (-5 GD) (12 GP)
12 Toronto FC (-10 GD) (13 GP)
9 Chicago Fire SC (-4 GD) (11 GP)
5 Sporting Kansas City (-7 GD) (9 GP)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
29 LA Galaxy (+8 GD) (15 GP)
22 FC Dallas (+4 GD) (13 GP)
20 Seattle Sounders FC (+3 GD) (14 GP)
18 Colorado Rapids (+2 GD) (13 GP)
17 Real Salt Lake (+6 GD) (9 GP)
17 Portland Timbers (-2 GD) (11 GP)
13 CD Chivas USA (+1 GD) (11 GP)
13 San Jose Earthquakes (0 GD) (11 GP)
9 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-4 GD) (12 GP)

dN

Early Week 12

-Wed Jun 1
CD Chivas USA v Vancouver Whitecaps - FC 9:30PM CT on Direct TV
Venue: The Home Depot Center
-Fri Jun 3
LA Galaxy v DC United - 10:00PM CT on FOX Soccer
Venue: The Home Depot Center

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Steve Davis of Sports Illustrated with his regular five things you should know about Week 11.

Justin Mapp of the Philadelphia Union has been named the MLS Player Of The Week.

Goals
-Mapp scored a nice goal. But when no defenders step up to stop you, this is not difficult. See it here.
-Commentator Bobby Rhine calls Ugo Ihemelu's number on this goal. See it here.
-Great teamwork from Houston leads to a great goal by Colin Clark. See it here.
-And here is my fave goal of the weekend by Andrew Jacobson, who is in the right place at the right time to drill this header home off a ferocious rebound. See it here.
-Almost as impressive is this far corner pin pointer from Lamar Neagle. See it here.
-Not to be outdone, Ryan Smith has a far post lazer beam shot of his own. See it here.
-Emmanuel Ekpo has my second fave of the week, making a great run into the box to get things started then corraling a loose ball, turning fast and slamming it home. See it here.

On the flip side, this performance for TFC might be some of the worst defending I have seen in a long time. See the full match highlights against Philadelphia here.

CHICAGO FIRE

Sean Johnson became the starting goalkeeper for the Fire this weekend, beating out Jon Conway who had replaced him after a series of mediocre performances early in the season.

COLORADO RAPIDS

I have to say that the attendance numbers in Colorado are much better than the past bunch of seasons, and the fans really take great joy when their team scores goals. Just listen to their roar when Conor Casey scores this one off a KC mistake. See & Hear it here.
-Bonus: Watch KC keeper Jimmy Nielsen flinch when the fireworks go off behind him.

PHILADELPHIA UNION

The Farfan Twins are starting at fullbacks and now in just a few weeks they have both scored. Michael has played 3 games, and Gabriel has played 5.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Stephen Alexander of the Portland Trib reports on a heated verbal discussion between head coach John Spencer (does he have one of these every week now?), captain Jack Jewsbury and forward Kenny Cooper during their loss to DC on Sunday.
But everything seems to be hunky dory now. Great stuff.

Geoffrey Arnold of the Oregonian tells us about Portland's first home loss in league play.

TORONTO FC

Like some kind of perverted scene from a horror movie, TFC centerback Adrian Cann suffered a season ending torn ACL at training today. Wow. How much bad luck can one team have. Or do you create your own luck. Any way you slice it, its terrible news for Cann.

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Sun May 29
Colorado Rapids 1-1 Sporting Kansas City - CR goal by Brian Mullan. SKC goal by Korede Aiyegbusi.
Houston Dynamo 2-3 FC Dallas - HD goals by Chance Bergen & Jason Garey. FCD goals by Eric Avila & Ruben Luna(2).
Toronto FC 0-0 Philadelphia Union
-Mon May 30
New York Red Bulls 1-6 Columbus Crew - NYT goal by Marcos Paullo. CC goals by Cole Grossman, Justin Meram, Bernardo Anor, Mike Jones & Chris Davis(2).
NOTE: New York scored the first goal of the game before Columbus destroyed them.
NOTE 2: Hip-hop star Mike Jones suited up for Columbus on Saturday, he is a Crew fan, and scored a goal against New York! Oh yes he did!
Portland Timbers 0-2 Seattle Sounders - SS goals by Servando Carrasco & David Estrada.

-Sun Jun 5
Chivas USA v Portland Timbers
-Mon Jun 6
San Jose Earthquakes v LA Galaxy
-Tue Jun 7
Houston Dynamo v Colorado Rapids
DC United v New England Revolution
Seattle Sounders v Vancouver Whitecaps

dN

Standings Etc.

IF MLS HAD SINGLE TABLE STANDINGS

STANDINGS:
29 LA Galaxy
22 FC Dallas
20 Philadelphia Union
20 Seattle Sounders FC
18 New York Red Bulls
18 Colorado Rapids
17 Real Salt Lake
17 Portland Timbers
15 DC United
15 Houston Dynamo
14 Columbus Crew
13 CD Chivas USA
13 San Jose Earthquakes
13 New England Revolution
12 Toronto FC
09 Chicago Fire SC
09 Vancouver Whitecaps FC
05 Sporting Kansas City

MLS OFFENSIVE STATS LEADERS

As of Tue May 31

Goals:
8 Landon Donovan
6 Charlie Davies
6 Thierry Henry
6 Chris Wondolowski
5 Luke Rodgers
5 Maicon Santos
4 Will Bruin
4 Diego Chaves
4 Brad Evans
4 Eric Hassli
4 Shalrie Joseph
4 Marco Pappa
4 Chris Pontius
4 Emilio Renteria
4 Brek Shea
4 Cam Weaver

Assists:
8 Brad Davis
7 David Beckham
5 Kalif Alhassan
5 Davide Chiumiento
5 Jack Jewsbury
4 Marvin Chavez
4 Fredy Montero
4 Jan Gunnar Solli

NSC MINNESOTA STARS

The team debuted their second kit last Saturday night. And to say it is tribute would be very accurate.

NSC Minnesota Stars 2011














Minnesota Kicks 1976













NASL SCOREBOARD


Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 28
Carolina RailHawks 2-0 Atlanta Silverbacks
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 0-0 Montreal Impact
NSC Minnesota Stars 0-0 FC Tampa Bay
-Tue May 31
FC Edmonton v FC Tampa Bay
-Wed Jun 1
Puerto Rico Islanders v NSC Minnesota Stars

dN

Standings (as of Sat May 29):
22 Carolina RailHawks (+12 GD) (9 GP) 2.44 PPG
13 FC Edmonton (-2 GD) (7 GP) 1.86 PPG
13 NSC Minnesota Stars (+3 GD) (9 GP) 1.44 PPG
10 Puerto Rico Islanders (0 GD) (6 GP) 1.67 PPG
10 FC Tampa Bay (0 GD) (8 GP) 1.25 PPG
8 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (-2 GD) (8 GP) 1.00 PPG
5 Montreal Impact (-1 GD) (7 GP) 0.71 PPG
2 Atlanta Silverbacks (-8 GD) (8 GP) 0.25 PPG

USA U18 TEAM

USA U18 team was in Portugal for the Lisbon International tournament.

The USA tied in their first game, lost their second, and tied again in their finale.

Matches & Scores:
-Wed May 25
USA 1-1 Netherlands - USA goal by Victor Pineda.
-Thu May 26
USA 0-1 Portugal
-Sat May 28
USA 0-0 Finland

Roster
G:
Jeff Gal - Sockers FC
Jon Kempin - Sporting Kansas City
D:
Michael Ambrose - FC Dallas Academy
Jack Coleman - FC Dallas Academy
Bryan Gallego - New York Red Bulls Academy
Jordan McCrary - U North Carolina
Juan Pablo Ocegueda - UANL Tigres
Boyd Okwuonu - FC Dallas Academy
Walker Zimmerman - Furman U
M:
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake
Daniel Metzger - New York Red Bulls Academy
William Packwood - Birmingham City
Victor Pineda - Chicago Fire
Alex Shinksy - U Maryland
Christopher Somerville - Baltimore Bays Chelsea
Wil Trapp - Crew Soccer Academy
F:
Villyan Bijev - Cal Odyssey
Luis Rendon - FC Richmond Magic
Khiry Shelton - Lonestar SC
Jonathan Top - FC Dallas Academy

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Game Action:

FRANCE - Ligue 1
Carlos Bocanegra - Saint Etienne - played the full 90 as they drew 1-1 v PSG. They finished the season in 10th place.

DENMARK - Superliga - (final game of the season)
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - Sun May 29 - went the distance as they won 0-2 at SonderjyskE. They finished the season in 3rd place.
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - Sun May 29 - played the full game as they drew 0-0 v Midtjylland. They finished the season in 6th place.
Chris Rolfe - AaB - Sun May 29 - on the bench as they lost 2-0 at Kobenhavn. They finished the season in 10th place.

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie - Promotion Playoff
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - 2nd Leg Sun May 29 - started but came out at half time and they lost 1-5 v Excelsior. They also lost out on promotion 9-3 on aggregate.

NORWAY - Eliteserien
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - went the full 90 and won 2-4 at Start.
Josh Gatt - Molde - subbed on at half time already down by 3 and lost 5-0 at Haugesund.

RUSSIA - Premier Division
Yevgeni Starikov - Tom' Tomsk - started but came off in the 58th as they lost 4-1 at Rubin Kazan.

SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Gale Agbossoumonde - Djurgarden - played the whole game but lost 0-1 v Elfsborg.
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - went the full 90 but lost 1-2 v IFK Goteborg.

CONCACAF

International Friendlies

Matches & Scores:
-Thu May 26
Cuba 1-1 Nicaragua
-Fri May 27
Grenada 2-2 Antigua & Barbuda
Barbados 0-0 St. Vincent & Grenadines
-Sat May 28
Mexico 1-1 Ecuador
Cuba 2-1 Nicaragua
-Sun May 29
El Salvador 2-2 Honduras
Barbados 1-1 Guyana
Panama 2-0 Grenada

CANADA

International Friendly
Match & Score:
-Wed Jun 1
Canada v Ecuador - in Toronto

ENGLAND

Long time Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has announced his retirement from football. He will always be remembered for playing with a fierce attitude, scoring some huge goals, and delivering some awful tackles.

dN

Championship Division - Promotion Playoff to Premier League - Final

Swansea becomes the 3rd and final team promoted to the Premier League next season. They join QPR & Norwich, replacing West Ham, Blackpool and Birmingham.

-Mon May 30
Swansea City 4-2 Reading

SPAIN

The behind the scenes battle that took place all season long at Real Madrid between technical director Jorge Valdano and head coach Jose Mourinho has ended with Valdona being relieved of his duties.
-The rumor is that Zinedine Zidane will take over as the new TD.

FRANCE

Recap du Nord: With Lille winning the title last week that race was over. We saw Marseille, Lyon and PSG stay at 2, 3 & 4, but Rennes lost and fell down while a winning Sochaux stole their spot at #5 to end the season.

Ligue 1 Top of the Table - 0 games to play
**76 Lille - Sun May 29 W 3-2 v Rennes
68 Marseille - Sun May 29 D 2-2 at Caen
64 Lyon - Sun May 29 W 0-2 at Monaco
60 PSG - Sun May 29 D 1-1 at St Etienne
58 Sochaux - Sun May 29 W 1-3 at Arles
**2010-11 Champions

dN

Monaco joins the ranks of the relegated.

Ligue 1 Relegation Battle - 0 games to play (three lowest placed teams relegated)
47 Montpellier (-11)
46 Caen (-5)
46 Brest (-7)
46 Nice (-15)
- - - - -
REL-44 Monaco (-4)
REL-35 Lens (-23)
REL-17 Arles (-49)

ITALY

COPPA ITALIA

Inter Milan claims the Italian League Cup for 2010-11.

Final
-Sun May 29
Palermo 1-3 Inter

dN

Paolo Bandini of the Guardian hands out season ending Serie A awards.
-If there was any doubt that he has no time for Inter, this outta clear that up.

ARGENTINA

Recap du Nord: #1 Velez lost all but guaranteeing a crazy finish to the season. Lanus jumped up to 2nd with a win and just 1 point from the top, while Godoy dropped to third with a tie. Olimpio remained in 4th after their tie with River Plate who were not nearly as lucky and fell from 5th all the way down to 8th. Oof. Independiente got a win and moved up to the #5 spot for now.

Primera Division Clausura - Standings - 3 games to go
30 Velez Sarsfield (+14) - Sun May 29 L 2-1 at Tigre
29 Lanus (+12) - Mon May 30 W 3-0 v Huracan
28 Godoy Cruz (+5) - Mon May 30 D 2-2 v Gimnasia La Plata
26 Olimpio (+6) - Sun May 29 D 0-0 v River Plate
25 Independiente (+7) - Sun May 29 W 0-2 at Estudiantes
- - - - -
24 River Plate (+1) - Sun May 29 D 0-0 at Olimpio

COPA LIBERTADORES

Semifinals

Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg (with 1st Leg scores included)
-Wed Jun 1
Club Cerro Porteno v Santos Futebol Clube (0-1)
-Thu Jun 2
Club Atletico Velez Sarsfield v Club Atletico Penarol (0-1)

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Matches & Scores:
-Thu May 26
Cuba 1-1 Nicaragua
-Fri May 27
Grenada 2-2 Antigua & Barbuda
Barbados 0-0 St. Vincent & Grenadines
Wales 2-0 N Ireland
-Sat May 28
Ethiopia 1-2 Sudan
Mexico 1-1 Ecuador
Cuba 2-1 Nicaragua
-Sun May 29
El Salvador 2-2 Honduras
Swaziland 1-1 Malawi
Barbados 1-1 Guyana
Tunisia 3-0 Central African Republic
Panama 2-0 Grenada
Ireland 1-0 Scotland
Germany 2-1 Uruguay

-Wed Jun 1
Nigeria v Argentina
Canada v Ecuador
Mexico v New Zealand
Japan v Peru
Guatemala v Venezuela
Ukraine v Uzbekistan

du Nord Special Edition: FIFA Madness - Jack, Sepp & Mohamed Turn On Each Other

Welcome one and all! Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls!

To the The Amazing
Jack Warner - Sepp Blatter - Mohamed Bin Hammam
FIFA Flea Circus!


FIFA is nearing fully chaotic meltdown with new scandals being thrown around almost everyday. Its like the greatest circus of all time. Thrills and spills galore. Not to mention more clowns piling out of a car than you could ever imagine!

A quick recap: Chuck Blazer stabs Jack Warner > FIFA stabs Warner and Mohamed Bin Hammam > Sepp Blatter stabs Warner and Bin Hammam > Bin Hammam stabs Blatter > Warner stabs Bin Hammam.

Extraordinary stuff!

Last Friday an ethics committee heard testimony about supposed bribes paid by Bin Hammam to Warner and other CONCACAF countries. They had been turned in by another FIFA & CONCACAF executive, and long time Warner ally, Chuck Blazer.

On Sunday both Jack Warner and Mohamed Bin Hammam were suspended indefinitely by FIFA.

Bin Hammam then withdrew from the race for the FIFA Presidency.

And Sepp Blatter once again is the only candidate left standing.

The timing on all of these allegations is just priceless.

That election is scheduled to happen on Wed Jun 1.

dN

On Monday FIFA pres Sepp Blatter held a most mandatory viewing press conference. See it here.
-Make sure you watch all the way till the end where it all seems to come apart.

Here are a few of my favorite moments from Blatter answers:
-Blatter literally said, "Crisis? What crisis?" Unbelievable.
-Blatter said there is no issue with the World Cup being in Qatar for 2022.
-When asked why has he let all of this happen under his watch, he replied, "We are too comfortable. We have to fight against the little devils. We have the opportunity, and we have a chance to restore the credibility, It is up to the executive committee to change things or not."
-Blatter said that faith, energy and morals will get us through this.
-Were were told that each Federation chooses their own leaders, so blame the federations if those people are corrupt. Blatter said that he cannot change who these people are.
-From here on out Blatter wants "Zero Tolerance" on ethics.
-An African magazine reporter refereed to the weekends infighting as "The night of the long knives." That's more than a little over the top, and actually not very funny, but still in some way a decent description of all the events.
-The closer Blatter got to the end of the press conference the journalists in attendance began to laugh at his answers. Which made Blatter angry and he said something about them having no class and no respect, and that they were not taking the entire incident serious.
-The press reacted furiously when Blatter walked away from press conference while many more people were still waiting to ask their questions.

dN

The Telegraph of London reports on an email to Jack Warner from a FIFA executive confirming that Qatar used bribes to acquire the 2010 World Cup.

dN

Warner's home country of Trinidad & Tobago has a special interest in all this international football madness mainly because he is a top dog in the nations ruling party, and officially the Works and Transport Minister, which controls the single largest portion of the budget in the whole country.

The 3 Trinidad & Tobago daily newspapers all are running multiple front page stories relating to the Warner crisis. Some of the headlines are just fantastic. Here is the roll-out:

Monday:

Guardian
-FIFA suspends Jack over bribery charges
-Jack responds to FIFA ruling: Abuse of process!
























Express

-Jack hangs in the balance
-JACK in shock























Newsday
-Jack: I will defend my reputation
-FIFA: THERE IS A CASE TO ANSWER
-Local Politics - PM: I have not asked Jack to resign

























Tuesday:


Guardian
-‘Blatter must go’
-Local Politics - Warner: Neglect ‘beyond the bridge’ amazing
























Express
-JACK HITS BACK
-CONCACAF: Blazer must explain
-Awesome impact on local football
-Local Politics - UNC backs up Warner
























Newsday

-BLATTER MUST BE STOPPED
-Local Politics - Government MPs stand by Jack

























dN

I figure that the only thing that will make FIFA change is if their big money sponsors stand up and demand answers.
-The biggest are Adidas, Budweiser, Castrol, Coca-Cola, Emirates Airlines, Hyundai, McDonalds, Sony and Visa.

Qatar federation president, and now suspended FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed Bin Hammam has demanded that he be declared innocent. Here is his press release.

One very interesting variable in all of this is that outside of England other big European countries don't really seem all that bothered by the story. Here are just a few of the big daily newspapers that have barely covered this story at all, much less with vigor:
-Marca - Spain
-AS - Spain
-Bild - Germany
-L'Equipe - France
-Gazzetta - Italy

And finally lets look at the three latest articles from Al Jazeera has on this story, seeing as they are run by the government of Qatar, who are also basically Bin Hammam's employers:
-Beckenbauer says FIFA is 'Blatter's baby'
-Qatar hits back over Valcke email
-Ethics member says FIFA needs 'deep' reform
(I would not call any of that much of a defense for Bin Hammam.)

Friday, May 27, 2011

Some News for Fri May 27, 2011

JACK WARNER/SEPP BLATTER/FIFA CIRCUS

And the train kept a rollin' all night long!

The Telegraph reports that Sepp Blater has been added to the list of people being investigated for FIFA ethics violations.

David Conn of the Guardian asks and does his best to answer 10 questions regarding the whole farce.

STORY OF THE DAY

Jere Longman of the New York Times takes us inside the Barcelona training academy, where all those great players are created.
-From their current team, 8 of the usual 11 starters were home grown.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

Rob Hughes of the New York Times previews the huge game.

Sid Lowe of the Guardian tells us about Barca's Sergio Busquets, a great player.
-He is also a massive diving wanker.

dN

Match & Score:
Barcelona v Manchester United - 1pm CT on Fox
Venue: Wembley Stadium - London

The game should kick off around 1:45pm CT.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Who has the best centerback pairing, Barcelona with Carles Puyol & Gerard Pique, or Manchester United with Rio Ferdinand & Nemanja Vidic?

Vote in the official du Nord Poll.

TEAM USA

The team is training in Cary NC.

The official team blog.

Matches & Scores:
Friendly
-Sat Jun 4
USA v Spain
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Lionel Messi is going to wear these eyeball burning shoes in the UCL final. They weigh just under 6 ounces! Holy Crap.



















Here are some more cool Messi photos from his facebook page.

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 11

Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 28
Toronto FC v Philadelphia Union - 11:30AM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: BMO Field
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v New York Red Bulls - 4:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Empire Field
Columbus Crew v CD Chivas USA - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium
New England Revolution v LA Galaxy - 7:00PM CT on Galavision
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Chicago Fire SC v San Jose Earthquakes - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Toyota Park
Houston Dynamo v FC Dallas - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Robertson Stadium
Colorado Rapids v Sporting Kansas City - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Real Salt Lake v Seattle Sounders FC - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
-Sun May 29
Portland Timbers v DC United - 4:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: JELD-WEN Field

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
17 Philadelphia Union (+1 GD) (10 GP)
17 New York Red Bulls (+7 GD) (11 GP)
14 Houston Dynamo (+2 GD) (12 GP)
13 Columbus Crew (-2 GD) (10 GP)
13 New England Revolution (-4 GD) (11 GP)
12 DC United (-5 GD) (10 GP)
12 Toronto FC (-6 GD) (12 GP)
8 Chicago Fire SC (-4 GD) (10 GP)
4 Sporting Kansas City (-7 GD) (8 GP)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
26 LA Galaxy (+7 GD) (14 GP)
21 FC Dallas (+4 GD) (12 GP)
17 Real Salt Lake (+7 GD) (8 GP)
17 Portland Timbers (-1 GD) (10 GP)
17 Colorado Rapids (+2 GD) (12 GP)
17 Seattle Sounders FC (+2 GD) (13 GP)
12 CD Chivas USA (+1 GD) (10 GP)
12 San Jose Earthquakes (0 GD) (10 GP)
8 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-4 GD) (11 GP)

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

CD CHIVAS USA

I think this is a great sales idea: For the first time the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chivas USA will offer ticket packages for a Dodgers game on Jun 19 v Houston Astros and a Chivas USA match on Jul 16 v New York Red Bulls. Heath Pearce will also throw out the first pitch at the Dodgers game.

MLS RESERVE LEAGUE

Matches & Scores:
-Sun May 29
Colorado Rapids v Sporting Kansas City
Houston Dynamo v FC Dallas
Toronto FC v Philadelphia Union
-Mon May 30
New York Red Bulls v Columbus Crew
Portland Timbers v Seattle Sounders

dN

Standings Etc.

NASL SCOREBOARD

Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 28
Carolina RailHawks v Atlanta Silverbacks
Fort Lauderdale Strikers v Montreal Impact
NSC Minnesota Stars v FC Tampa Bay
-Tue May 31
FC Edmonton v FC Tampa Bay
-Wed Jun 1
Puerto Rico Islanders v NSC Minnesota Stars

dN

Standings (as of Mon May 23):
19 Carolina RailHawks (+10 GD) (8 GP) 2.38 PPG
13 FC Edmonton (-2 GD) (7 GP) 1.86 PPG
12 NSC Minnesota Stars (+3 GD) (8 GP) 1.50 PPG
10 Puerto Rico Islanders (0 GD) (6 GP) 1.67 PPG
9 FC Tampa Bay (0 GD) (7 GP) 1.29 PPG
7 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (-2 GD) (7 GP) 1.00 PPG
4 Montreal Impact (-1 GD) (6 GP) 0.67 PPG
2 Atlanta Silverbacks (-8 GD) (7 GP) 0.29 PPG

USA U18 TEAM

USA U18 team in Portugal for the Lisbon International tournament.

The USA tied in their first game. And lost their second.

Matches & Scores:
-Wed May 25
USA 1-1 Netherlands - USA goal by Victor Pineda.
-Thu May 26
USA 0-1 Portugal
-Sat May 28
USA v Finland

Roster
G:
Jeff Gal - Sockers FC
Jon Kempin - Sporting Kansas City
D:
Michael Ambrose - FC Dallas Academy
Jack Coleman - FC Dallas Academy
Bryan Gallego - New York Red Bulls Academy
Jordan McCrary - U North Carolina
Juan Pablo Ocegueda - UANL Tigres
Boyd Okwuonu - FC Dallas Academy
Walker Zimmerman - Furman U
M:
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake
Daniel Metzger - New York Red Bulls Academy
William Packwood - Birmingham City
Victor Pineda - Chicago Fire
Alex Shinksy - U Maryland
Christopher Somerville - Baltimore Bays Chelsea
Wil Trapp - Crew Soccer Academy
F:
Villyan Bijev - Cal Odyssey
Luis Rendon - FC Richmond Magic
Khiry Shelton - Lonestar SC
Jonathan Top - FC Dallas Academy

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Twente has declined on their option to buy Oguchi Onyewu from Milan. Back to the quicksand for him.

dN

Coming Up:

DENMARK - Superliga - (final game of the season)
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - Sun May 29 at SonderjyskE
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - Sun May 29 v Midtjylland
Chris Rolfe - AaB - Sun May 29 at Kobenhavn

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie - Promotion Playoff
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - 2nd Leg Sun May 29 at Excelsior - trailing 1-5.

ENGLAND

Championship Division - Promotion to Premier League - Final
-Mon May 30
Swansea City v Reading

ITALY

COPPA ITALIA
Final
-Sun May 29
Palermo v Inter

UEFA EURO 2012

Qualifying

Matches & Scores:
-Fri Jun 3
Faroe Islands v Slovenia
Kazakhstan v Azerbaijan
Liechtenstein v Lithuania
Croatia v Georgia
Austria v Germany
San Marino v Finland
Belgium v Turkey
Italy v Estonia
Romania v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Moldova v Sweden
Belarus v France
-Sat Jun 4
England v Switzerland
Iceland v Denmark
Russia v Armenia
Latvia v Israel
Slovakia v Andorra
Montenegro v Bulgaria
Portugal v Norway
Macedonia v Ireland
Greece v Malta
-Tue Jun 7
Faroe Islands v Estonia
Belarus v Luxembourg
Sweden v Finland
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Albania
San Marino v Hungary

ARGENTINA

Primera Division Clausura - Standings - 4 games to go
30 Velez Sarsfield (+15) - Sun May 29 at Tigre
27 Godoy Cruz (+5) - Mon May 30 v Gimnasia La Plata
26 Lanus (+9) - Mon May 30 v Huracan
25 Olimpio (+6) - Sun May 29 v River Plate
23 River Plate (+1) - Sun May 29 at Olimpio

COPA LIBERTADORES

Semifinals

Penarol holds serve at home.

There was only 1 goal scored in each 1st Leg game this week, so the door for a comeback is definitely wide open.

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Wed May 25
Santos Futebol Clube 1-0 Club Cerro Porteno - San goal by Edu Dracena.
-Thu May 26
Club Atletico Penarol 1-0 Club Atletico Velez Sarsfield - Pen goal by Dario Rodriguez.
2nd Leg (with 1st Leg scores included)
-Wed Jun 1
Club Cerro Porteno v Santos Futebol Clube (0-1)
-Thu Jun 2
Club Atletico Velez Sarsfield v Club Atletico Penarol (0-1)

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2012

Qualifying

Matches & Scores:
-Sat Jun 4
Zambia v Mozambique
Central African Republic v Tanzania
Morocco v Algeria
Cameroon v Senegal
Sierra Leone v Niger
Ghana v Congo
Uganda v Guinea-Bissau
-Sun Jun 5
Zimbabwe v Mali
Liberia v Cape Verde Islands
Guinea v Madagascar
Ethiopia v Nigeria
Comoros v Libya
Mauritius v Congo DR
Namibia v Burkina Faso
Egypt v South Africa
Burundi v Rwanda
Benin v Cote d'Ivoire
Swaziland v Sudan
Angola v Kenya
Botswana v Malawi
Tunisia v Chad

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Matches & Scores:
-Thu May 26
Cuba v Nicaragua
-Fri May 27
Grenada v Antigua & Barbuda
Barbados v St. Vincent & Grenadines
Wales v N Ireland
-Sat May 28
Mexico v Ecuador
Cuba v Nicaragua
-Sun May 29
El Salvador v Honduras
Swaziland v Malawi
Namibia v Kenya
Barbados v Guyana
Tunisia v Central African Republic
Panama v Grenada
Ireland v Scotland
Germany v Uruguay
-Wed Jun 1
Nigeria v Argentina
Canada v Ecuador
Mexico v New Zealand
Japan v Peru
Guatemala v Venezuela
Ukraine v Uzbekistan
-Fri Jun 3
Hong Kong v Malaysia
S Korea v Serbia
Luxembourg v Hungary
-Sat Jun 4
Brazil v Netherlands
USA v Spain
Bolivia v Paraguay
Peru v Czech Republic
-Sun Jun 5
China v Uzbekistan
Australia v New Zealand
Poland v Argentina
-Mon Jun 6
Ukraine v France
-Tue Jun 7
Paraguay v Bolivia
Norway v Lithuania
Brazil v Romania
Japan v Czech Republic
Ecuador v Greece
Venezuela v Spain
Russia v Cameroon
Gabon v Gambia
Australia v Serbia
Singapore v Maldives
S Korea v Ghana
Austria v Latvia
Italy v Ireland
Azerbaijan v Germany

This Week in American Soccer History: Minnesota Kicks v Glasgow Rangers

This week in Soccer History: Minnesota Kicks versus Glasgow Rangers, May 26 1976

Contributing Editor Dillon Young
(links posted are to images of the original documents from the era)


The Scottish powers Rangers toured North America in May 1976 with a stop in Minnesota, marking the first time a professional soccer team in Minnesota played an international squad.

The game in Bloomington, MN on May 26, 1976 was publicized as a physical battle against a team who had won the Scottish Triple (the division, League Championship and the Scottish FA Cup) and that fielded 8 players from the national squad that had recently defeated the English National Squad 2-1. This resonated with the Kicks, a team loaded with English talent who wanted to enact some revenge.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw with over 11,000 in attendance watching a great back and forth match where a relatively unknown South African Chaka Ncgobo teamed up with fellow South African Ace Ntsolengque (who had good chemistry from playing together with Soweto's Kaizer Chiefs) to mesmerize the crowds with amazing footwork and the Kicks opening goal, and impress the Scottish press.

Though Rangers had a wonderful tour record wise, with wins against the Timbers and Sounders and scored some awesomely cheesy mosquito T-shirts while in Minneapolis, they were less than impressed with the astroturf out west.


BONUS IMAGE

(Ed Note: Dillon discovered this absolutely amazing (and post-ironic) pennant that pretty much says it all, especially considering the 1980's was by far the worst decade in American soccer's modern era.)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Some News for Thu May 26, 2011

JACK WARNER/SEPP BLATTER/FIFA CIRCUS

Check out the front pages from the T&T newspapers the Guardian and Newsday:















































The Trinidad Express has Slappy Jack's statement of full denial.

And the island nation's three biggest newspapers all chime in on the story:
-Express article.
-Newsday article.
-Guardian article.

dN

On a related note, Cycling News is reporting that Swiss lawmakers are currently working on new legislation that will bring far more pressure for accountability on international companies (like FIFA) based in their country. (thanks a ton to the Rook for this gem)

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

The Associated Press with a great article on the joy that Javier Hernandez is bringing to the deeply troubled people of Mexico with his Man U performances. Via the Globe & Mail.
-“He's the only thing Mexicans believe in right now."

dN

Sid Lowe of the Guardian on Barca's powerful centerback pair Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique.

dN

Fernando Duarte of the Guardian with an article on those annoying da Silva twins.
-Its like Gary Neville had two sons with a Brazilian woman. They are that annoying.

dN

Hungarian Viktor Kassa will referee the big game.

dN

Match & Score:
Barcelona v Manchester United - 1pm CT on Fox
Venue: Wembley Stadium - London

TEAM USA

Gold Cup

The team begins training today in Cary NC.

dN

How about this: Team USA has won 16, lost 1, and tied 5 all time in Foxborough MA, site of the Spain friendly nine days from now.

dN

And if you don't think that Spain wants at least a little pay back for the loss to the USA a the Confed Cup two years ago, then you are out to lunch.

dN

The official team blog.

dN

Matches & Scores:
Friendly
-Sat Jun 4
USA v Spain - 3:30pm CT on ESPN
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Who has the best centerback pairing, Barcelona with Carles Puyol & Gerard Pique, or Manchester United with Rio Ferdinand & Namanja Vidic?

Vote in the official du Nord Poll.

FACT OF THE DAY

9 of the 24 FIFA Executive Committee members are currently under investigation for corruption.

PODCASTS

The Two Footed Tackle podcast makes a surprise return!

In a special one-off podcast, Gary Andrews examines the issue of homosexuality within football and asks if enough is being done by the authorities and clubs to tackle homophobic abuse in the stands and on the pitch. Download or listen here.

MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS

Week 11

Matches & Scores:
-Wed May 25
New York Red Bulls 2-2 Colorado Rapids - NYRB goals by Thierry Henry & Luke Rodgers. CR goals both by Jeff Larentowicz(1 via PK).
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Attendance: 18,081
Seattle Sounders FC 0-1 FC Dallas - FCD goal by Brek Shea.
Venue: Qwest Field
Attendance: 36,026
LA Galaxy 1-0 Houston Dynamo - LAG goal by Landon Donovan(PK).
Venue: The Home Depot Center
Attendance: 14,458
-Sat May 28
Toronto FC v Philadelphia Union - 11:30AM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: BMO Field
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v New York Red Bulls - 4:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Empire Field
Columbus Crew v CD Chivas USA - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Crew Stadium
New England Revolution v LA Galaxy - 7:00PM CT on Galavision
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Chicago Fire SC v San Jose Earthquakes - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Toyota Park
Houston Dynamo v FC Dallas - 7:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Robertson Stadium
Colorado Rapids v Sporting Kansas City - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Real Salt Lake v Seattle Sounders FC - 8:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
-Sun May 29
Portland Timbers v DC United - 4:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: JELD-WEN Field

dN

EJECTIONS: None for Wed night.

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
17 Philadelphia Union (+1 GD) (10 GP)
17 New York Red Bulls (+7 GD) (11 GP)
14 Houston Dynamo (+2 GD) (12 GP)
13 Columbus Crew (-2 GD) (10 GP)
13 New England Revolution (-4 GD) (11 GP)
12 DC United (-5 GD) (10 GP)
12 Toronto FC (-6 GD) (12 GP)
8 Chicago Fire SC (-4 GD) (10 GP)
4 Sporting Kansas City (-7 GD) (8 GP)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
26 LA Galaxy (+7 GD) (14 GP)
21 FC Dallas (+4 GD) (12 GP)
17 Real Salt Lake (+7 GD) (8 GP)
17 Portland Timbers (-1 GD) (10 GP)
17 Colorado Rapids (+2 GD) (12 GP)
17 Seattle Sounders FC (+2 GD) (13 GP)
12 CD Chivas USA (+1 GD) (10 GP)
12 San Jose Earthquakes (0 GD) (10 GP)
8 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-4 GD) (11 GP)

MY THOUGHTS

You know things are changing for the good in New York when they outdraw LA!

All 4 goals in the NY-CR match were scored in a 6 minutes span during the first half.

The 1 point moves Colorado above Seattle, who lost, on fewer games played.

Dallas becomes the 2nd team of the season to break the twenty point barrier.

Who thought moving Brek Shea to defense was a good idea again? You need this kid as close to goal as you can. Check out this finish. A very cool customer. Now about that hair...

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

General News

Sports Business Daily has a fresh interview with commissioner Don Garber. Q & A and video. (Its about the 4th or 5th article down the list - just scroll down)

COLUMBUS CREW

Shawn Mitchell of the Dispatch with some Crew news bits and injury updates.

DC UNITED

Steven Goff of the Washington Post gets in the car and goes out in search of a new home for DCU.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Ajax topped Portland last night in another sold out game.

International Friendly
-Wed May 25
Portland Timbers 0-2 Ajax (Netherlands) - Aja goals by Lorenzo Ebecilio & Demy de Zeeuw.
Venue: JELD-WEN Field

US OPEN CUP

Kansas City has advanced to the main section of the tournament.

MLS Qualifying: - 3rd Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Wed May 25
Sporting Kansas City 5-0 New England Revolution - SKC goals by Chance Myers(2), CJ Sapong(2) & Aurelien Collin.

USA U18 TEAM

USA U18 team is in Portugal for the Lisbon International tournament.

The USA tied in their first game. And today lost the second. Details on the second game tomorrow.

Matches & Scores:
-Wed May 25
USA 1-1 Netherlands - USA goal by Victor Pineda.
Match report from US Soccer.
-Thu May 26
USA 0-1 Portugal
-Sat May 28
USA v Finland

Roster
G:
Jeff Gal - Sockers FC
Jon Kempin - Sporting Kansas City
D:
Michael Ambrose - FC Dallas Academy
Jack Coleman - FC Dallas Academy
Bryan Gallego - New York Red Bulls Academy
Jordan McCrary - U North Carolina
Juan Pablo Ocegueda - UANL Tigres
Boyd Okwuonu - FC Dallas Academy
Walker Zimmerman - Furman U
M:
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake
Daniel Metzger - New York Red Bulls Academy
William Packwood - Birmingham City
Victor Pineda - Chicago Fire
Alex Shinksy - U Maryland
Christopher Somerville - Baltimore Bays Chelsea
Wil Trapp - Crew Soccer Academy
F:
Villyan Bijev - Cal Odyssey
Luis Rendon - FC Richmond Magic
Khiry Shelton - Lonestar SC
Jonathan Top - FC Dallas Academy

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

In a game played yesterday in the 3rd round of Norway's NM Cupen we had 3 Americans on the field at the same time! Steve Clark was in goal for 2nd Division Honefoss as they pulled the big 3-1 upset over top flight Stabaek featuring Mixx Diskerud. Kenneth Di Vita Jensen was also on the field for Honefoss and he even scored the final goal! Pretty cool stuff.

dN

Yesterday we overlooked the fact that Clarence Goodson scored another goal for Brondby.

dN

Game Action:

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie - Promotion Playoff
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - 1st Leg Thu May 26 - started but came off at half time and they lost 1-5 v Excelsior.

TURKEY - 1. Lig Promotion Playoffs
Freddy Adu - Caykur Rizespor - 2nd Leg Thu May 26 - went the full 90 as they drew 3-3 v Orduspor, but lost the series 7-3 on aggregate.

AMERICANS IN EUROPE - RUMORS

Brad Friedel is said to be on the shopping list of Liverpool, Tottenham and West Brom.

CANADA

Canadian Championship

The grand finale was canceled last night due to heavy rain and then lightning.

Vancouver was up 1-0 when the game was called in the 63rd min. A game must go at least 75 to be declared final, so the two teams will have to play the whole game again from 0-0.

The rescheduled game will now be played on Jul 2.

Jeff Blair of the Globe & Mail with a full report.

Final
2nd Leg (1st Leg scored included)
-Sat Jul 2
Toronto FC v Vancover Whitecaps (1-1)

ENGLAND

Because they play what UEFA deems honorable and exemplary football Fulham has again been granted a spot in next season's Europa League despite them finishing 8th in the Premier League this season. Good for them. I guess.
-Which means they will play their first games in mid-July giving a guy like Clint Dempsey no offseason because of the Gold Cup.

COPA LIBERTADORES

Semifinals

Santos gets the minimum win, leaving Cerro with a good chance to steal. At least Santos did not give up the dreaded away goal though.

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Wed May 25
Santos Futebol Clube 1-0 Club Cerro Porteno - San goal by Edu Dracena.
-Thu May 26
Club Atletico Penarol v Club Atletico Velez Sarsfield

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 2012

Egypt has moved their next African Nations Cup qualifier to a stadium on a military base to try and end the violence that has been taking place at their most recent games.

ASIA

Reuters is reporting that 2 players from S Korea's K-League have been accused of match fixing. Via Yahoo.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES

Matches & Scores:
-Thu May 26
Cuba v Nicaragua
-Fri May 27
Grenada v Antigua & Barbuda
Barbados v St. Vincent & Grenadines
Wales v N Ireland
-Sat May 28
Mexico v Ecuador
Cuba v Nicaragua
-Sun May 29
El Salvador v Honduras
Swaziland v Malawi
Namibia v Kenya
Barbados v Guyana
Tunisia v Central African Republic
Panama v Grenada
Ireland v Scotland
Germany v Uruguay

VERY OFF TOPIC

Take 2:18 out of your day and watch the brilliant Telefon. (thanks to MUBI for the suggestion)

du Nord Poll: Better Centerback Pairing in UEFA Champions League Final

Who has the better centerback pairing in the UCL final?
Man U - Ferdinand and Vidic
Barca - Puyol and Pique
du Nord - Bruce and his brother Bill
pollcode.com free polls

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Shine On - Part 1 of the NSC Minnesota Stars 2011 Season Behind the Scenes Video

The folks at Brave New Media have been with the NSC Minnesota Stars since day 1 of training in 2011 filming everything.

They have given us the first taste of what we can expect as the season goes along.

Shine On - Part 1

Some News for Wed May 25, 2011

STARTERS

Ben Rycroft of Canadian Soccer News brings us a great inspirational video, and an ethos I firmly believe: Support Local Soccer
-There is a funny part in there where a guy from Toronto begs you to love your local team, all the while wearing a Boston Red Sox baseball hat. Its hilarious how much the guy comes off looking a bit like a bumpkin.

dN

Copa Libertadores Semifinal 1st Leg games tonight and tomorrow night. See section below for details.

dN

A sneak peak at the Barcelona 2011-12 shirt:



















STORY OF THE DAY


The other shoe has dropped! And the charge is flat out bribery.

“I conducted the investigation. I interviewed a number of parties and collated a number of documents including sworn affidavits. I then passed the report to Fifa on Mr Blazer’s behalf.”
-John Collins, a Chicago based lawyer on the FIFA Legal Committee who investigated Jack Warner and Mohamed Bin Hammam. See full article from the Telegrah below.

CONCACAF General Secretary & USA FIFA representative Chuck Blazer turns the table on his blood brother Jack Warner and reports him to FIFA for possible ethics violations! Wowser!
(Thanks to Brian for the heads up.)

The man running for FIFA president Mohamed bin Hammam has also been reported.

Paul Kelso of the Telegraph reports that a lawyer named John Collins lead the investigation into Bin Hammam giving Warner $40,000 in cash during a meeting May 10 or 11.

The Press Association follows up with two articles: (via the Guardian)
-The first stating that the violations stem from a meeting between Warner, Bin Hammam, and 2 Caribbean Football Union representatives.
-The second contains a statement from Bin Hammam denying any wrong doing.

David Conn of the Guardian wonders if now is the time to be holding an election for the FIFA presidency (Jun 1.)
-I think that the only reason all this trash talking is going on is BECAUSE of the election. Without that event we would most likely be hearing nothing.

But Matt Snow of the Guardian thinks they might all be headed down the toilet together.

Al Jazeera with an article on the Qatar federation and Bin Hammam who deny that anything illegal has taken place.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

Who ya got? Why them?

FIFA.com has a Q & A with Man U's Michael Carrick.

Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian contemplates what strategy Man U will deploy against Barca.

To avoid any air travel muck-ups caused by the Icelandic volcano Grimsvotn Barcelona flew to London yesterday rather than tomorrow. Good plan.

Match & Score:
Barcelona v Manchester United - 1pm CT on Fox
Venue: Wembley Stadium - London

TEAM USA

Friendly & Gold Cup

The team will begin training tomorrow Thu May 26 in Cary NC.

Steven Goff of the Washington Post on Freddy Adu's return to the good graces of the national team.

US Soccer has an article on some of the veteran players that are headed home from Europe to play for the national team again.

dN

Matches & Scores:
Friendly
-Sat Jun 4
USA v Spain
Venue: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough MA

dN

Here is the Spain roster for the Jun 4 game. Note no Puyol, Xavi or Fabregas!
G:
Iker Casillas - Real Madrid
Pepe Reina - Liverpool
Victor Valdes - Barcelona
D:
Alvaro Arbeloa - Real Madrid
Raul Albiol - Real Madrid
Joan Capdevila - Villarreal
Andoni Iraola - Athletic Bilbao
Carlos Marchena - Villarreal
Gerard Pique - Barcelona
Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid
M:
Xabi Alonso - Real Madrid
Sergio Busquets - Barcelona
Santiago Cazorla - Villarreal
Andres Iniesta - Barcelona
Bruno Soriano - Villarreal
Borja Valero - Villarreal
F:
Fernando Llorente - Athletic Bilbao
Manu Del Moral - Sevilla
Alvaro Negredo - Sevilla
Pedro Rodriguez - Barcelona
David Silva - Manchester City
Fernando Torres - Chelsea
David Villa - Barcelona

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Here is a picture of the best birthday gift a boy could ever dream of. From Jam-es H Christ.
























MLS MATCHES, SCORES & STANDINGS


Week 11

Matches & Scores:
-Wed May 25
New York Red Bulls v Colorado Rapids - 6:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Toronto FC v Vancouver Whitecaps FC - 7:00PM CT
Venue: BMO Field
Seattle Sounders FC v FC Dallas - 9:00PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: Qwest Field
LA Galaxy v Houston Dynamo - 9:30PM CT on Direct Kick
Venue: The Home Depot Center

dN

Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
17 Philadelphia Union (+1 GD) (10 GP)
16 New York Red Bulls (+7 GD) (10 GP)
14 Houston Dynamo (+3 GD) (11 GP)
13 Columbus Crew (-2 GD) (10 GP)
13 New England Revolution (-4 GD) (11 GP)
12 DC United (-5 GD) (10 GP)
12 Toronto FC (-6 GD) (12 GP)
8 Chicago Fire SC (-4 GD) (10 GP)
4 Sporting Kansas City (-7 GD) (8 GP)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
23 LA Galaxy (+6 GD) (13 GP)
18 FC Dallas (+3 GD) (11 GP)
17 Real Salt Lake (+7 GD) (8 GP)
17 Portland Timbers (-1 GD) (10 GP)
17 Seattle Sounders FC (+3 GD) (12 GP)
16 Colorado Rapids (+2 GD) (11 GP)
12 CD Chivas USA (+1 GD) (10 GP)
12 San Jose Earthquakes (0 GD) (10 GP)
8 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (-4 GD) (11 GP)

MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS

COLUMBUS CREW

The Other Paper talks to former Crew fullback Gino Padula about the new academy he has started in Cow-Town with legend Guillermo Barros Schelotto.

FC DALLAS

The team's website posts their weekly Q & A with head coach Schellas Hyndman.

SPORTING KANSAS CITY SC

Pete Grathoff of the Star talks to Teal Bunbury about not making the roster for the USA Gold Cup team.

Charles Gooch of the Star with 11 topics relating to SKC's ongoing terrible season.

NEW YORK RED BULLS

Patrick MacDonald of the Star Ledger on the limited playing time so far this season for Juan Agudelo.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

How did I miss this:

International Friendly
-Wed May 25
Portland Timbers v Ajax (Netherlands)
Venue: JELD-WEN Field

NSC MINNESOTA STARS

The Stars will debut their new second kit this Saturday when they take on FC Tampa Bay.

US OPEN CUP

Chicago advanced to the main section of the tournament.

MLS Qualifying: - 3rd Stage
Matches & Scores:
-Tue May 24
San Jose Earthquakes 2-2 Chicago Fire - CF wins 5-4 in Penalty Kick Shootout - SJE goals by Ellis McLoughlin & Justin Morrow. CF goals by Orr Barouch & Yamith Cuesta.
-Wed May 25
Sporting Kansas City v New England Revolution

The 2 winners of this stage advance to the tournament proper.

USA U18 TEAM

USA U18 team in Portugal for the Lisbon International tournament.

Matches & Scores:
-Wed May 25
USA v Netherlands
-Thu May 26
USA v Portugal
-Sat May 28
USA v Finland

Roster
G:
Jeff Gal - Sockers FC
Jon Kempin - Sporting Kansas City
D:
Michael Ambrose - FC Dallas Academy
Jack Coleman - FC Dallas Academy
Bryan Gallego - New York Red Bulls Academy
Jordan McCrary - U North Carolina
Juan Pablo Ocegueda - UANL Tigres
Boyd Okwuonu - FC Dallas Academy
Walker Zimmerman - Furman U
M:
Luis Gil - Real Salt Lake
Daniel Metzger - New York Red Bulls Academy
William Packwood - Birmingham City
Victor Pineda - Chicago Fire
Alex Shinksy - U Maryland
Christopher Somerville - Baltimore Bays Chelsea
Wil Trapp - Crew Soccer Academy
F:
Villyan Bijev - Cal Odyssey
Luis Rendon - FC Richmond Magic
Khiry Shelton - Lonestar SC
Jonathan Top - FC Dallas Academy

AMERICANS IN EUROPE

Stuart Holden has been named Bolton's Player of the Year. (thanks to Jeff for the link)
-The team also has a great interview with Holden.

















dN


Greg Seltzer of MLSsoccer.com talks to Michael Parkhurst about winning the League Cup in Denmark this past weekend with his club Nordsjaellan.
-After playing and losing 3 straight MLS Cup games with New England, he has now won 3 of the last 4 straight he has played in - New England Open Cup, USA Gold Cup and now Nordsjaelland 2 Denmark League Cups. [CORRECTED] (thanks to Brian for the corrections)

dN

Josh Gatt scored two goals today for Molde in Norwegian Cup play.

dN

Game Action:

DENMARK - Superliga -
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - Wed May 25 - played the full game and drew 1-1 v Nordsjaelland.
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - Wed May 25 - went the distance and tied 1-1 at Brondby.
Chris Rolfe - AaB - Wed May 25 - started and went 69 min but lost 1-2 v SonderjyskE.

NORWAY - NM Cupen - 3rd Round
-Wed May 25
Joe Bendik - Sogndal - W 2-0 v Asker
Erik Benjaminsen - Stabaek - L 3-1 at Honefoss
Rhett Bernstein - Mjondalen - L 1-2 v Stromsgodset
Colin Burns - Sandefjord - D 0-0, but L 5-4 on PKs at Lillestrom
Steve Clark - Honefoss - W 3-1 v Stabaek
Sean Cunningham - Molde - W 1-7 at Tiller
Mikkel Diskerud - Stabaek - L 3-1 at Honefoss
Josh Gatt - Molde - W 1-7 at Tiller - scoring 2 goals
Kyle Helton - Mjondalen - L 1-2 v Stromsgodset
Kenneth Di Vita Jensen - Honefoss - W 3-1 v Staebek - scoring a goal

dN

Coming Up:

NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie - Promotion Playoff
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - 1st Leg Thu May 26 v Excelsior

TURKEY - 1. Lig Promotion Playoffs
Freddy Adu - Caykur Rizespor - 2nd Leg Thu May 26 v Orduspor

CANADA

Canadian Championship

Final
2nd Leg (1st Leg scored included)
-Wed May 25
Toronto FC v Vancover Whitecaps (1-1)

The winner advances to the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League.

ENGLAND

Paolo Bandini of the Guardian reports on Manchester United's first new signing for next season - Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea from Atletico Madrid, who has been compared to current Man U keeper Edwin Van Der Sar.

GERMANY

Monchengladbach has won their promotion/relegation playoff and will remain in the top flight for next season.

Bundesliga - 0 games to go (two lowest placed teams relegated, with third lowest in playoff against third highest in 2.Bundesliga)
RP-36 Monchengladbach (-17)
- - - - -
REL-34 Eintract Frankfurt (-18)
REL-29 St Pauli (-33)
- - - - -
Promotion/Relegation Playoff:
2nd Leg
Wed May 25
Bochum 1-1 Monchengladbach - Mon win 2-1 on aggregate.

ITALY

Clarence Seedorf has signed a new 1 year deal to remain at Milan.

dN

But Andrea Pirlo was not interested in a 1 year contract that Milan is now offering to players over 30 and has signed for Juventus.

COPA LIBERTADORES

Semifinals

Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Wed May 25
Santos Futebol Clube v Club Cerro Porteno
-Thu May 26
Club Atletico Penarol v Club Atletico Velez Sarsfield
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