Some Soccer News for Mon May 7, 2012
MEGA-OOF
As of late Saturday afternoon there is a new bottom to the barrel that is MLS.
Toronto FC has started the season with 8 losses in 8 games breaking the old record of 7 from 7.
Its a horrible way to start, especially in year 6 of the team's existence that has been pretty brutal on the field from day 1.
The fans of TFC has been amazing, one of the real bright spots in league history, and were a big part of ushering in a new era of fandom that has since spread of most of the other 18 teams.
These people deserve better. A lot better.
And sadly for them, with the ownership that is in place I don't see it changing a whole lot.
Toronto FC is owned and operated by a group of people that control an NBA and NHL team that has just as loyal a fan base but also have no clue how to build a winning team.
A nightmare is the best way to describe the whole scenario.
Here is how press has reacted to this new low:
-Daniel Girard of the Toronto Star: Toronto FC suffers record eighth straight loss to start MLS season
-Girard: Toronto’s worst-ever sports teams
-Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star: Dwayne De Rosario feels for Toronto FC fans, former teammates
-Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun: TFC suffers MLS record eighth defeat in a row
-Kurtis Larson of the Sun: De Rosario urges TFC fans to stay true
-Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press: Toronto FC establishes new low with eighth straight defeat to start season
-Rory Barrs of the National Post: Toronto FC breaks record for worst start to season with loss to D.C. United
-David Rowaan of Sports Net: SETTING A DUBIOUS RECORD
-Nigel Reed of the CBC: TFC's troubles coming to a head
And in the end how ironic was it that the Dwayne DeRosario led DC United were the team to land the ignominious new title of worst team in league history on TFC?
STARTERS
All is not horrible for Canadian soccer though as both Montreal and Vancouver had huge wins over the weekend - The Impact knocked off the top team in the East Kansas City, and the Whitecaps did the same to the top team in the West San Jose!
dN
The sync between audio and video on the MLS website has still not been fixed, with audio being slightly in front. How come after 9 weeks its still broken>
-And can anyone tell me why the definition of the video highlights on the MLS site is this poor? Its horrible.
dN
As much as Inter fans LOVE beating Milan in the derby, it came at a huge price as the loss of points for Milan meant that even more hated Juventus has won Serie A.
Huge congrats to Juventus on winning Serie A.
-Paolo Bandini of the Guardian on Juve's amazing championship and undefeated season (so far.)
dN
Montreal got a huge road win at first place Kansas City, and the three points moved them into the 5th and final playoff spot in the East.
dN
Its gonna get a lot worse now - The Turkish soccer federation has found all teams NOT GUILTY of match fixing charges.
-2 players got suspended for 2 and 3 years, while 8 other team officials and players got short suspensions or fines.
-But that means that the other 83 players and team officials were ALL cleared.
dN
Anderlecht with American Sacha Kljestan has won the Belgian championship. Huge congrats to them!
MINNESOTA STARS FC
Just what the doctor ordered - A win!
-Sat May 5
Minnesota Stars FC 2-0 Atlanta Silverbacks - MS goals by Ernest Tchoupe & Miguel Ibarra.
Venue: NSC Stadium
David La Vaque of the Star Tribune with a match report on the Stars win over Atlanta, and some good words for attacking midfielder Miguel Ibarra who since the first minute he stepped on the first in the opening game has looked like a key player!
Extended video highlights of the game.
Match & Score:
-You can see Ibarra's goal starting at the 9:32 mark, but turn down your volume because the microphone distortion is terrible.
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 140 teams in our league!
LateNight504FC managed by Alan Kansas is still in 1st Place!
-But Alan has to keep his eyes open cuz our main man Spencer Haugh and his RIOTMpls team has moved into 2nd place!
BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES
Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 5
Barcelona 4-0 Espanyol - the Derbi Barceloni was not close, no surprise.
-Sun May 6
Inter 4-2 Milan - Inter win the derby della Madonnina.
Newcastle 0-2 Manchester City - #5 lost late to #1.
dN
Race for the title in the five biggest European leagues:
Serie A - 1 game left
CHAMPIONS! 81 Juventus - LAST: Sun May 6 W 0-2 at Cagliari
77 Milan - LAST: Sun May 6 L 4-2 at Inter
Premier League - 1 game left
86 Manchester City (+63 GD) - LAST: Sun May 6 W 0-2 at Newcastle - NEXT: Sun May 13 v Queens Park Rangers
86 Manchester United (+55 GD) - LAST: Sun May 6 W 2-0 v Swansea - NEXT: Sun May 13 at Sunderland
Ligue 1 - 2 games left
76 Montpellier - LAST: Mon May 6 W 0-2 at Rennes - NEXT: Sun May 13 v Lille
73 PSG - LAST: Sun May 5 W 3-4 at Valenciennes - NEXT: Sun May 13 v Rennes
71 Lille - LAST: Mon May 6 W 3-0 v Caen - NEXT: Sun May 13 at Montpellier
Bundesliga
CHAMPION! - Borussia Dortmund
La Liga
CHAMPIONS! Real Madrid
FACT OF THE DAY
The Vancouver Whitecaps team made its debut 38 years ago Saturday against the same team they played this weekend - San Jose Earthquakes!
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Clint Dempsey scores his 17th Premier League goal of the season on a total screamer of a free kick! -The goal was Deuce's 50th in his Premier League career.
MLS MATCHES & SCORES
WEEK 9
-Wed May 2
New England Revolution 2-1 Colorado Rapids - NER goals by Saer Sene & Fernando Cardenas. CR goal by Jaime Castrillon.
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Atten: 6,149
Seattle Sounder FC 2-0 LA Galaxy - SS goals by Eddie Johnson & Fredy Montero.
Venue: CenturyLink Field
Atten: 39,002
San Jose Earthquakes 5-3 DC United - SJE goals by Steven Lenhart(2), Chris Wondolowski(2) & Justin Morrow. DCU goals by Dwayne DeRosario, Daniel Woolard & Hamdi Salihi.
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
Atten: 8,734
-Fri May 4
CD Chivas USA 1-2 Chicago Fire SC - CUSA goal by Juan Pablo Angel(PK). CF goals by Austin Berry & Marco Pappa.
Venue: The Home Depot Center
Atten: 14,652
-Sat May 5
Toronto FC 0-2 DC United - DCU goals by Chris Pontius & Hamid Salihi.
Venue: BMO Field
Atten: 18,364
Seattle Sounders FC 1-0 Philadelphia Union - SS goal by Mauro Rosales.
Venue: CenturyLink Field
Atten: 38,399
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes - VW goals by Gershon Koffie & Eric Hassli. SJE goals by Chris Wondolowski.
Venue: BC Place
Atten: 19,271
Real Salt Lake 2-1 New England Revolution - RSL goals both by Alvaro Saborio. NER goal by Blake Brettschneider.
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
Atten: 18,219
LA Galaxy 0-1 New York Red Bulls - NYRB goal by Joel Lindpere.
Venue: The Home Depot Center
Atten: 27,000
Sporting Kansas City 0-2 Montreal Impact - MI goals by Felipe Martins & Patrice Bernier(PK).
Venue: Livestrong Sporting Park
Atten: 20,404
Portland Timbers 0-0 Columbus Crew
Venue: JELD-WEN Field
Atten: 20,438
-Sun May 6
FC Dallas 0-2 Colorado Rapids - CR goals by Jamie Castrillon & Martin Rivero.
Venue: FC Dallas Stadium
Atten: 11,702
Bye: Houston Dynamo
MLS MATCH NOTES
EJECTIONS:
Will Johnson - red card
Fernando Cardenas - red card
Daniel Hernandez - 2 yellow cards
Blaz Perez - red card
Bill Hamid was back in goal for DC in their win in Toronto.
Eric Hassli got his first goal of the season, and it was huge! A game winner in second half stoppage time.
Dallas is not good enough to give up any red cards and expect to win, so instead they give up 2, in the 34th and 36th minutes. Result? Ugly home loss.
-Oh yeah, and Dallas had 1 shot too. And it was off target.
-Dallas played without Brek Shea who is suffering from the painful injury they call turf toe.
If the Disciplinary Committee does not overturn the red card that Fernando Cardenas received then something is very wrong with that committee. The player committed no foul on the play at all, (see it here,) and the call was 100% inaccurate. It was purely and simply a even-the-score call because RSL already had gotten a red card.
Alvaro Saborio was pretty lucky to have been given his first goal of the night after he initially bowled over his defender, then brought the ball down with his arm before firing home. He got away with 2 infractions on that play. Lucky boy.
Goals we dig:
-Hamdi Salihi from CD with a great side winder volley.
-This is becoming common place for San Jose - Marvin Chavez whips in a great cross, and Chris Wondolowski adds a dashing finish!
-The announcer gets the name all wrong, but the amazing blast from wide left is a thing of beauty of Blake Brettschneider gets his debut goal in a New England shirt.
-The goal is not the good, but the drama is high and the announcers call is straight out of Hockey Night In Canada, as Eric Hassli wins it for Vancouver.
-Extremely nifty passing from Chicago leads to a stoppage time winner for Marco Pappa. Its a blast to watch teams pass like this.
MLS STANDINGS
EAST
21 Sporting Kansas City (+7)
18 DC United (+5)
16 New York Red Bulls (+5)
11 Chicago Fire SC (0)
11 Montreal Impact (-4)
-----
9 New England Revolution (-4)
8 Houston Dynamo (-1)
8 Columbus Crew (-4)
7 Philadelphia Union (-4)
0 Toronto FC (-12)
WEST
22 San Jose Earthquakes (+10)
22 Real Salt Lake (+6)
19 Seattle Sounders FC (+8)
17 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (+2)
15 Colorado Rapids (+3)
-----
12 FC Dallas (-5)
10 LA Galaxy (-3)
9 CD Chivas USA (-6)
8 Portland Timbers (-4)
MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS
General News
Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com with his breakdown of the weekend, focusing on the Rapids change of style and strong victory this weekend.
Graham Parker and Joe Prince-Wright of the Guardian with 5 things we learned in week nine.
FC DALLAS
After a strong start to his MLS career, the bad side of Blas Perez is now coming to the forefront. Right as he returned from a 2 game suspension for a terrible elbow, he then played 36 minutes on Sunday and got a red card for a terrible high kick. The last thing a team needs when it is struggling is for a key player to repeatedly be a liability.
LA GALAXY
Summer friendly just announced:
-Thu Aug 2
LA Galaxy v Real Madrid(Spain)
Venue: Home Depot Center
TORONTO FC
Henrick Hogholt Lonne at Politiken, tells the Danish readers about his love of MLS and Toronto FC. Great stuff from our FIF!
-Canadian Soccer News translated the article into English and reposted it here.
MLS SUMMER FRIENDLIES
Two news games were announced today - LA v Real Madrid and Chelsea v PSG. See details in link below.
Here is the complete schedule of all the big club matches going on this summer pitting MLS teams against European teams.
MLS STADIUMS
Houston's brand new BBVA Compass Stadium will have its unofficial opening on Thursday night in a private match pitting the Dynamo U18 v USA U17!
-This official opening is Saturay when the Dynamo senior team faces DC United.
NASL SCOREBOARD
Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 5
Minnesota Stars 2-0 Atlanta Silverbacks - MS goals by Ernest Tchoupe & Miguel Ibarra.
San Antonio Scorpions 2-0 Tampa Bay Rowdies - SAS goals by Hans Denissen(PK) & Aaron Pitchkolan.
-Sun May 6
FC Edmonton 3-0 Carolina RailHawks - FCE goals all by Shaun Saiko(3).
-Sat May 12
Atlanta Silverbacks v FC Edmonton
Puerto Rico Islanders v Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Tampa Bay Rowdies v San Antonio Scorpions
Minnesota Stars v Carolina RailHawks
Watch online
Standings
10 Puerto Rico (+6)
9 Minnesota (+3)
9 Fort Lauderdale (0)
8 Tampa Bay (0)
7 San Antonio (-1)
4 Edmonton (0)
4 Atlanta (-2)
4 Carolina (-6)
USL PRO NEWS
Standings
AMERICANS IN EUROPE
Sacha Kljestan & Anderlecht won the Belgian championship!!
dN
Oguchi Onyewu's season ends 1 game early as he got 2 yellow cards this weekend and was ejected in a loss.
dN
Tony Taylor & Estoril have been promoted from the 2nd division to the top flight in Portugal for next season. Fantastic.
dN
With 3 games left to play Michael Parkhurst & Nordsjaelland as 1 point behind leaders Kobenhavn.
dN
SPECIAL With the German Bundesliga now over lets see how our boys finished:
Terrence Boyd - Dortmund - 1st place
Timmy Chandler - Nurnberg - 10th place
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - 7th place
Joe Gyau - Hoffenheim - 11th place
Fabian Johnson - Hoffenheim - 11th place
Jermaine Jones - Schalke - 3rd place
Alfredo Morales - Hertha Berlin - 16th place - relegation playoffs
Daniel Williams - Hoffenheim - 11th place
Andrew Wooten - Kaiserslautern - 18th place - relegated
David Yelldell - Bayer Leverkusen - 5th place
dN
Game Action:
BELGIUM - Pro League
Mikkel Diskerud - Gent - on the bench as they lost 2-3 v Kortijk.
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - started and went 73 min as they tied 1-1 v Club Brugge.
DENMARK - Superliga
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - played the whole game as they lost 1-0 at Aalborg.
Conor O'Brien - SonderjyskE - went the distance as they tied 1-1 v Midtjulland.
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - went the full 90 as they won 0-2 at Lyngby.
Brad Rusin - HB Koge - played the entire game but lost 1-3 v Aarhus.
ENGLAND - Premier League
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - played the entire game scoring a goal as they won 2-1 v Sunderland.
Brad Friedel - Tottenham - went the full 90 as they tied 1-1 at Aston Villa.
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - on the bench as they tied 1-1 v Tottenham.
Tim Howard - Everton - played the whole match as they tied 0-0 at Wolverhampton.
Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa - played the whole game and tied 1-1 v Tottenham.
Tim Ream - Bolton - played the whole match as they tied 2-2 v West Brom.
FINLAND - Veikkausliiga
Daniel Antunez - Inter Turku - went the distance but lost 2-1 at HJK.
GERMANY - Bundesliga
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - went the distance as they won 2-1 v Kaisterslautern.
Fabian Johnson - Hoffenheim - played the entire match but lost 3-1 at Hertha.
Jermaine Jones - Schalke - went the full 90 with NO yellow card coming his way and they won 2-3 at Schalke.
Andrew Wooten - Kaiserslautern - came on as a sub in the 68th min but lost 2-1 at Schalke.
ITALY - Serie A
Michael Bradley - Chievo Verona - on the bench as they tied 4-4 at Palermo.
NETHERLANDS - Eredivisie
Jozy Altidore - AZ - started and went 66 min as they won 1-0 v Groningen.
NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - came on as a sub at half time and they won 2-1 v Dordrecht.
NORWAY - Eliteserien
Ricardo Clark - Stabaek - played the whole game but lost 3-1 at Rosenborg.
Steve Clark - Honefoss - played the full match but lost 1-0 at Sandnes Ulf.
Sean Cunningham - Stabaek - went the full 90 as they lost 3-1 at Rosenborg.
Josh Gatt - Molde - came on as a sub in the 56th min getting a yellow card as they won 2-1 v Aalesund.
NORWAY - 1 Divisjon
Rhett Bernstein - Mjondalen - played the entire match but lost 2-0 at Tromsdalen.
Kyle Helton - Mjondalen - went the full 90 as they lost 2-0 at Tromsdalen.
PORTUGAL - Primeira Liga
Oguchi Onyewu - Sporting - started but got 2 yellow cards and was ejected in the 67th min as they lost 2-0 at Porto.
PORTUGAL - Liga de Honra
Caleb Patterson-Sewell - Atletico CP - played the whole game as they tied 1-1 v Uniao Madeira.
Tony Taylor - Estoril - started and went 69 min as they won 0-1 at Leixoes.
SCOTLAND - Premier League
Alejandro Bedoya - Rangers - came on as a sub in the 66th min as they tied 0-0 v Motherwell.
Carlos Bocanegra - Rangers - played the full match as they tied 0-0 v Motherwell.
Mo Edu - Rangers - went the distance but they tied 0-0 v Motherwell.
SWEDEN - Superettan
Brian Edwards - Degerfors - played the entire match as they won 3-2 v Brage.
Patrick Hopkins - Ljungskile - went the distance and won 3-1 v Brommapojkarna.
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - went the full 90 but lost 2-1 at Osters.
Matt Pyzdrowski - Angelholms - played the full 90 and tied 2-2 at Jonkopings Sodra.
Billy Schuler - Hammarby - came on as a sub in the 69th min and tied 1-1 v Varberg.
Steffen Vroom - Ljungskile - started and went 62 min as they won 3-1 v Brommapojkarna.
dN
Coming Up:
ENGLAND - Championship Division - Promotion Playoffs - Semifinals - 2nd Leg
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Wed May 9 - v Blackpool - Trailing 1-0 from 1st Leg
SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Brian Span - Djurgarden - Tue May 7 at AIK
AMERICANS IN MEXICO
Herculez Gomez was the only 1 of 5 Americans to advance to the Semifinals of the playoffs.
dN
Game Action:
La Liguilla - Quarterfinals - 2nd Leg
Edgar Castillo - Tijuana - Sat May 5 - went the full 90 getting a yellow card as they tied 2-2 at Monterrey, but were knocked out 4-3 on aggregate.
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - Sat May 5 - started and went 70 min as they tied 2-2 at Monterrey, but were eliminated 4-3 on aggregate.
Greg Garza - Tijuana - Sat May 5 - on the bench as they tied 2-2 at Monterrey, but got eliminated 4-3 on aggregate.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Sun May 6 - came on as a sub in the 68th min as they won 2-1 v Jaguares, and advanced 6-4 on aggregate.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - Sat May 5 - went the full 90 as they won 0-1 at America, but were eliminated 3-2 on aggregate.
dN
Coming Up:
La Liguilla - Semifinals
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - 1st Leg - Thu May 10 at Tigres
MEXICO
Clausura - La Liguilla
Tigres break up the perfect sweep of top seeds, but 1,2 & 3 did advance. A very strong semifinal round awaits.
Matches & Scores:
Quarterfinals
2nd Leg
-Sat May 5
America 0-1 Pachuca - Ame advances 3-2 on aggregate.
Monterrey 2-2 Tijuana - Mon advances 4-3 on aggregate.
-Sun May 6
Santos Laguna 2-1 Jaguares - SL advances 6-4 on aggregate.
Morelia 1-4 Tigres - Tig advances 5-1 on aggregate.
Semifinals
Seeds 1,2 & 3 all advanced, and Tigres went and ruined a clean sweep.
1st Leg
-Wed May 9
America v Monterrey
-Thu May 10
Tigres v Santos Laguna
2nd Leg
-Sat May 12
Monterrey v America
-Sun May 13
Santos Laguna v Tigres
If the teams are tied after the two legs, then the higher seed advances.
CANADA
Canadian Championship - Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Wed May 9
Toronto FC v Montreal Impact (0-0)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v FC Edmonton (2-0)
ENGLAND
Championship Division - Promotion Playoffs - Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Fri May 4
Blackpool 1-0 Birmingham
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Mon May 7
West Ham 3-0 Cardiff WH advances 5-0 on aggregate.
-Wed May 9
Birmingham v Blackpool (0-1)
Final
West Ham v ???
dN
FA Cup - Final
Chelsea has won the FA again, for the 4th time in 6 years.
Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 5
Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea
SPAIN
Sid Lowe of the Guardian reports on a paranoid meltdown at Granada, as they fight to avoid relegation, and the rest of the round in La Liga.
GERMANY
Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian on yet another Koln relegation, and the rest of the final round of the Bundesliga season.
Bundesliga/2.Bundesliga - Promotion/Relegation Playoff
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Thu May 10
Hertha Berlin v Fortuna Dusseldorf
2nd Leg
-Tue May 15
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Hertha Berlin
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE
The Final
-Wed May 9
Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid
Venue: National Arena - Bucharest, Romania
COPA LIBERTADORES
The Knockout Stage
2nd Leg matches are this week, beginning Tuesday night.
dN
Round of 16
Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg (with 1st Leg scores included)
-Tue May 8
Libertad v Cruz Azul (1-1)
Velez Sarsfield v Atletico Nacional (1-0)
-Wed May 9
Union Espanola v Boca Juniors (1-2)
Corintians v Emelec (0-0)
Lanus v Vasco Da Gama (1-2)
-Thu May 10
Fluminense v Internacional (0-0)
Universidad Chile v Deportivo Quito (1-4)
Santos v Bolivar (1-2)
BRACKET
Fluminense v Internacional
Union Espanola v Boca Juniors
Universidad Chilev v Deportivo Quito
Libertadv Cruz Azul
-----
Corintians v Emelec
Lanus v Vasco Da Gama
Santos v Bolivar
Velez Sarsfield v Atletico Nacional
As of late Saturday afternoon there is a new bottom to the barrel that is MLS.
Toronto FC has started the season with 8 losses in 8 games breaking the old record of 7 from 7.
Its a horrible way to start, especially in year 6 of the team's existence that has been pretty brutal on the field from day 1.
The fans of TFC has been amazing, one of the real bright spots in league history, and were a big part of ushering in a new era of fandom that has since spread of most of the other 18 teams.
These people deserve better. A lot better.
And sadly for them, with the ownership that is in place I don't see it changing a whole lot.
Toronto FC is owned and operated by a group of people that control an NBA and NHL team that has just as loyal a fan base but also have no clue how to build a winning team.
A nightmare is the best way to describe the whole scenario.
Here is how press has reacted to this new low:
-Daniel Girard of the Toronto Star: Toronto FC suffers record eighth straight loss to start MLS season
-Girard: Toronto’s worst-ever sports teams
-Cathal Kelly of the Toronto Star: Dwayne De Rosario feels for Toronto FC fans, former teammates
-Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun: TFC suffers MLS record eighth defeat in a row
-Kurtis Larson of the Sun: De Rosario urges TFC fans to stay true
-Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press: Toronto FC establishes new low with eighth straight defeat to start season
-Rory Barrs of the National Post: Toronto FC breaks record for worst start to season with loss to D.C. United
-David Rowaan of Sports Net: SETTING A DUBIOUS RECORD
-Nigel Reed of the CBC: TFC's troubles coming to a head
And in the end how ironic was it that the Dwayne DeRosario led DC United were the team to land the ignominious new title of worst team in league history on TFC?
STARTERS
All is not horrible for Canadian soccer though as both Montreal and Vancouver had huge wins over the weekend - The Impact knocked off the top team in the East Kansas City, and the Whitecaps did the same to the top team in the West San Jose!
dN
The sync between audio and video on the MLS website has still not been fixed, with audio being slightly in front. How come after 9 weeks its still broken>
-And can anyone tell me why the definition of the video highlights on the MLS site is this poor? Its horrible.
dN
As much as Inter fans LOVE beating Milan in the derby, it came at a huge price as the loss of points for Milan meant that even more hated Juventus has won Serie A.
Huge congrats to Juventus on winning Serie A.
-Paolo Bandini of the Guardian on Juve's amazing championship and undefeated season (so far.)
dN
Montreal got a huge road win at first place Kansas City, and the three points moved them into the 5th and final playoff spot in the East.
dN
Its gonna get a lot worse now - The Turkish soccer federation has found all teams NOT GUILTY of match fixing charges.
-2 players got suspended for 2 and 3 years, while 8 other team officials and players got short suspensions or fines.
-But that means that the other 83 players and team officials were ALL cleared.
dN
Anderlecht with American Sacha Kljestan has won the Belgian championship. Huge congrats to them!
MINNESOTA STARS FC
Just what the doctor ordered - A win!
-Sat May 5
Minnesota Stars FC 2-0 Atlanta Silverbacks - MS goals by Ernest Tchoupe & Miguel Ibarra.
Venue: NSC Stadium
David La Vaque of the Star Tribune with a match report on the Stars win over Atlanta, and some good words for attacking midfielder Miguel Ibarra who since the first minute he stepped on the first in the opening game has looked like a key player!
Extended video highlights of the game.
Match & Score:
-You can see Ibarra's goal starting at the 9:32 mark, but turn down your volume because the microphone distortion is terrible.
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 140 teams in our league!
LateNight504FC managed by Alan Kansas is still in 1st Place!
-But Alan has to keep his eyes open cuz our main man Spencer Haugh and his RIOTMpls team has moved into 2nd place!
BIG EUROPEAN CLUB MATCHES
Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 5
Barcelona 4-0 Espanyol - the Derbi Barceloni was not close, no surprise.
-Sun May 6
Inter 4-2 Milan - Inter win the derby della Madonnina.
Newcastle 0-2 Manchester City - #5 lost late to #1.
dN
Race for the title in the five biggest European leagues:
Serie A - 1 game left
CHAMPIONS! 81 Juventus - LAST: Sun May 6 W 0-2 at Cagliari
77 Milan - LAST: Sun May 6 L 4-2 at Inter
Premier League - 1 game left
86 Manchester City (+63 GD) - LAST: Sun May 6 W 0-2 at Newcastle - NEXT: Sun May 13 v Queens Park Rangers
86 Manchester United (+55 GD) - LAST: Sun May 6 W 2-0 v Swansea - NEXT: Sun May 13 at Sunderland
Ligue 1 - 2 games left
76 Montpellier - LAST: Mon May 6 W 0-2 at Rennes - NEXT: Sun May 13 v Lille
73 PSG - LAST: Sun May 5 W 3-4 at Valenciennes - NEXT: Sun May 13 v Rennes
71 Lille - LAST: Mon May 6 W 3-0 v Caen - NEXT: Sun May 13 at Montpellier
Bundesliga
CHAMPION! - Borussia Dortmund
La Liga
CHAMPIONS! Real Madrid
FACT OF THE DAY
The Vancouver Whitecaps team made its debut 38 years ago Saturday against the same team they played this weekend - San Jose Earthquakes!
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Clint Dempsey scores his 17th Premier League goal of the season on a total screamer of a free kick! -The goal was Deuce's 50th in his Premier League career.
MLS MATCHES & SCORES
WEEK 9
-Wed May 2
New England Revolution 2-1 Colorado Rapids - NER goals by Saer Sene & Fernando Cardenas. CR goal by Jaime Castrillon.
Venue: Gillette Stadium
Atten: 6,149
Seattle Sounder FC 2-0 LA Galaxy - SS goals by Eddie Johnson & Fredy Montero.
Venue: CenturyLink Field
Atten: 39,002
San Jose Earthquakes 5-3 DC United - SJE goals by Steven Lenhart(2), Chris Wondolowski(2) & Justin Morrow. DCU goals by Dwayne DeRosario, Daniel Woolard & Hamdi Salihi.
Venue: Buck Shaw Stadium
Atten: 8,734
-Fri May 4
CD Chivas USA 1-2 Chicago Fire SC - CUSA goal by Juan Pablo Angel(PK). CF goals by Austin Berry & Marco Pappa.
Venue: The Home Depot Center
Atten: 14,652
-Sat May 5
Toronto FC 0-2 DC United - DCU goals by Chris Pontius & Hamid Salihi.
Venue: BMO Field
Atten: 18,364
Seattle Sounders FC 1-0 Philadelphia Union - SS goal by Mauro Rosales.
Venue: CenturyLink Field
Atten: 38,399
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes - VW goals by Gershon Koffie & Eric Hassli. SJE goals by Chris Wondolowski.
Venue: BC Place
Atten: 19,271
Real Salt Lake 2-1 New England Revolution - RSL goals both by Alvaro Saborio. NER goal by Blake Brettschneider.
Venue: Rio Tinto Stadium
Atten: 18,219
LA Galaxy 0-1 New York Red Bulls - NYRB goal by Joel Lindpere.
Venue: The Home Depot Center
Atten: 27,000
Sporting Kansas City 0-2 Montreal Impact - MI goals by Felipe Martins & Patrice Bernier(PK).
Venue: Livestrong Sporting Park
Atten: 20,404
Portland Timbers 0-0 Columbus Crew
Venue: JELD-WEN Field
Atten: 20,438
-Sun May 6
FC Dallas 0-2 Colorado Rapids - CR goals by Jamie Castrillon & Martin Rivero.
Venue: FC Dallas Stadium
Atten: 11,702
Bye: Houston Dynamo
MLS MATCH NOTES
EJECTIONS:
Will Johnson - red card
Fernando Cardenas - red card
Daniel Hernandez - 2 yellow cards
Blaz Perez - red card
Bill Hamid was back in goal for DC in their win in Toronto.
Eric Hassli got his first goal of the season, and it was huge! A game winner in second half stoppage time.
Dallas is not good enough to give up any red cards and expect to win, so instead they give up 2, in the 34th and 36th minutes. Result? Ugly home loss.
-Oh yeah, and Dallas had 1 shot too. And it was off target.
-Dallas played without Brek Shea who is suffering from the painful injury they call turf toe.
If the Disciplinary Committee does not overturn the red card that Fernando Cardenas received then something is very wrong with that committee. The player committed no foul on the play at all, (see it here,) and the call was 100% inaccurate. It was purely and simply a even-the-score call because RSL already had gotten a red card.
Alvaro Saborio was pretty lucky to have been given his first goal of the night after he initially bowled over his defender, then brought the ball down with his arm before firing home. He got away with 2 infractions on that play. Lucky boy.
Goals we dig:
-Hamdi Salihi from CD with a great side winder volley.
-This is becoming common place for San Jose - Marvin Chavez whips in a great cross, and Chris Wondolowski adds a dashing finish!
-The announcer gets the name all wrong, but the amazing blast from wide left is a thing of beauty of Blake Brettschneider gets his debut goal in a New England shirt.
-The goal is not the good, but the drama is high and the announcers call is straight out of Hockey Night In Canada, as Eric Hassli wins it for Vancouver.
-Extremely nifty passing from Chicago leads to a stoppage time winner for Marco Pappa. Its a blast to watch teams pass like this.
MLS STANDINGS
EAST
21 Sporting Kansas City (+7)
18 DC United (+5)
16 New York Red Bulls (+5)
11 Chicago Fire SC (0)
11 Montreal Impact (-4)
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9 New England Revolution (-4)
8 Houston Dynamo (-1)
8 Columbus Crew (-4)
7 Philadelphia Union (-4)
0 Toronto FC (-12)
WEST
22 San Jose Earthquakes (+10)
22 Real Salt Lake (+6)
19 Seattle Sounders FC (+8)
17 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (+2)
15 Colorado Rapids (+3)
-----
12 FC Dallas (-5)
10 LA Galaxy (-3)
9 CD Chivas USA (-6)
8 Portland Timbers (-4)
MLS TEAM & PLAYER NEWS
General News
Kyle McCarthy of Goal.com with his breakdown of the weekend, focusing on the Rapids change of style and strong victory this weekend.
Graham Parker and Joe Prince-Wright of the Guardian with 5 things we learned in week nine.
FC DALLAS
After a strong start to his MLS career, the bad side of Blas Perez is now coming to the forefront. Right as he returned from a 2 game suspension for a terrible elbow, he then played 36 minutes on Sunday and got a red card for a terrible high kick. The last thing a team needs when it is struggling is for a key player to repeatedly be a liability.
LA GALAXY
Summer friendly just announced:
-Thu Aug 2
LA Galaxy v Real Madrid(Spain)
Venue: Home Depot Center
TORONTO FC
Henrick Hogholt Lonne at Politiken, tells the Danish readers about his love of MLS and Toronto FC. Great stuff from our FIF!
-Canadian Soccer News translated the article into English and reposted it here.
MLS SUMMER FRIENDLIES
Two news games were announced today - LA v Real Madrid and Chelsea v PSG. See details in link below.
Here is the complete schedule of all the big club matches going on this summer pitting MLS teams against European teams.
MLS STADIUMS
Houston's brand new BBVA Compass Stadium will have its unofficial opening on Thursday night in a private match pitting the Dynamo U18 v USA U17!
-This official opening is Saturay when the Dynamo senior team faces DC United.
NASL SCOREBOARD
Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 5
Minnesota Stars 2-0 Atlanta Silverbacks - MS goals by Ernest Tchoupe & Miguel Ibarra.
San Antonio Scorpions 2-0 Tampa Bay Rowdies - SAS goals by Hans Denissen(PK) & Aaron Pitchkolan.
-Sun May 6
FC Edmonton 3-0 Carolina RailHawks - FCE goals all by Shaun Saiko(3).
-Sat May 12
Atlanta Silverbacks v FC Edmonton
Puerto Rico Islanders v Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Tampa Bay Rowdies v San Antonio Scorpions
Minnesota Stars v Carolina RailHawks
Watch online
Standings
10 Puerto Rico (+6)
9 Minnesota (+3)
9 Fort Lauderdale (0)
8 Tampa Bay (0)
7 San Antonio (-1)
4 Edmonton (0)
4 Atlanta (-2)
4 Carolina (-6)
USL PRO NEWS
Standings
AMERICANS IN EUROPE
Sacha Kljestan & Anderlecht won the Belgian championship!!
dN
Oguchi Onyewu's season ends 1 game early as he got 2 yellow cards this weekend and was ejected in a loss.
dN
Tony Taylor & Estoril have been promoted from the 2nd division to the top flight in Portugal for next season. Fantastic.
dN
With 3 games left to play Michael Parkhurst & Nordsjaelland as 1 point behind leaders Kobenhavn.
dN
SPECIAL With the German Bundesliga now over lets see how our boys finished:
Terrence Boyd - Dortmund - 1st place
Timmy Chandler - Nurnberg - 10th place
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - 7th place
Joe Gyau - Hoffenheim - 11th place
Fabian Johnson - Hoffenheim - 11th place
Jermaine Jones - Schalke - 3rd place
Alfredo Morales - Hertha Berlin - 16th place - relegation playoffs
Daniel Williams - Hoffenheim - 11th place
Andrew Wooten - Kaiserslautern - 18th place - relegated
David Yelldell - Bayer Leverkusen - 5th place
dN
Game Action:
BELGIUM - Pro League
Mikkel Diskerud - Gent - on the bench as they lost 2-3 v Kortijk.
Sacha Kljestan - Anderlecht - started and went 73 min as they tied 1-1 v Club Brugge.
DENMARK - Superliga
Clarence Goodson - Brondy - played the whole game as they lost 1-0 at Aalborg.
Conor O'Brien - SonderjyskE - went the distance as they tied 1-1 v Midtjulland.
Michael Parkhurst - Nordsjaelland - went the full 90 as they won 0-2 at Lyngby.
Brad Rusin - HB Koge - played the entire game but lost 1-3 v Aarhus.
ENGLAND - Premier League
Clint Dempsey - Fulham - played the entire game scoring a goal as they won 2-1 v Sunderland.
Brad Friedel - Tottenham - went the full 90 as they tied 1-1 at Aston Villa.
Brad Guzan - Aston Villa - on the bench as they tied 1-1 v Tottenham.
Tim Howard - Everton - played the whole match as they tied 0-0 at Wolverhampton.
Eric Lichaj - Aston Villa - played the whole game and tied 1-1 v Tottenham.
Tim Ream - Bolton - played the whole match as they tied 2-2 v West Brom.
FINLAND - Veikkausliiga
Daniel Antunez - Inter Turku - went the distance but lost 2-1 at HJK.
GERMANY - Bundesliga
Steve Cherundolo - Hannover - went the distance as they won 2-1 v Kaisterslautern.
Fabian Johnson - Hoffenheim - played the entire match but lost 3-1 at Hertha.
Jermaine Jones - Schalke - went the full 90 with NO yellow card coming his way and they won 2-3 at Schalke.
Andrew Wooten - Kaiserslautern - came on as a sub in the 68th min but lost 2-1 at Schalke.
ITALY - Serie A
Michael Bradley - Chievo Verona - on the bench as they tied 4-4 at Palermo.
NETHERLANDS - Eredivisie
Jozy Altidore - AZ - started and went 66 min as they won 1-0 v Groningen.
NETHERLANDS - Eerste Divisie
Charles Kazlauskas - Helmond Sport - came on as a sub at half time and they won 2-1 v Dordrecht.
NORWAY - Eliteserien
Ricardo Clark - Stabaek - played the whole game but lost 3-1 at Rosenborg.
Steve Clark - Honefoss - played the full match but lost 1-0 at Sandnes Ulf.
Sean Cunningham - Stabaek - went the full 90 as they lost 3-1 at Rosenborg.
Josh Gatt - Molde - came on as a sub in the 56th min getting a yellow card as they won 2-1 v Aalesund.
NORWAY - 1 Divisjon
Rhett Bernstein - Mjondalen - played the entire match but lost 2-0 at Tromsdalen.
Kyle Helton - Mjondalen - went the full 90 as they lost 2-0 at Tromsdalen.
PORTUGAL - Primeira Liga
Oguchi Onyewu - Sporting - started but got 2 yellow cards and was ejected in the 67th min as they lost 2-0 at Porto.
PORTUGAL - Liga de Honra
Caleb Patterson-Sewell - Atletico CP - played the whole game as they tied 1-1 v Uniao Madeira.
Tony Taylor - Estoril - started and went 69 min as they won 0-1 at Leixoes.
SCOTLAND - Premier League
Alejandro Bedoya - Rangers - came on as a sub in the 66th min as they tied 0-0 v Motherwell.
Carlos Bocanegra - Rangers - played the full match as they tied 0-0 v Motherwell.
Mo Edu - Rangers - went the distance but they tied 0-0 v Motherwell.
SWEDEN - Superettan
Brian Edwards - Degerfors - played the entire match as they won 3-2 v Brage.
Patrick Hopkins - Ljungskile - went the distance and won 3-1 v Brommapojkarna.
Ryan Miller - Halmstad - went the full 90 but lost 2-1 at Osters.
Matt Pyzdrowski - Angelholms - played the full 90 and tied 2-2 at Jonkopings Sodra.
Billy Schuler - Hammarby - came on as a sub in the 69th min and tied 1-1 v Varberg.
Steffen Vroom - Ljungskile - started and went 62 min as they won 3-1 v Brommapojkarna.
dN
Coming Up:
ENGLAND - Championship Division - Promotion Playoffs - Semifinals - 2nd Leg
Jonathan Spector - Birmingham - Wed May 9 - v Blackpool - Trailing 1-0 from 1st Leg
SWEDEN - Allsvenskan Liga
Brian Span - Djurgarden - Tue May 7 at AIK
AMERICANS IN MEXICO
Herculez Gomez was the only 1 of 5 Americans to advance to the Semifinals of the playoffs.
dN
Game Action:
La Liguilla - Quarterfinals - 2nd Leg
Edgar Castillo - Tijuana - Sat May 5 - went the full 90 getting a yellow card as they tied 2-2 at Monterrey, but were knocked out 4-3 on aggregate.
Joe Benny Corona - Tijuana - Sat May 5 - started and went 70 min as they tied 2-2 at Monterrey, but were eliminated 4-3 on aggregate.
Greg Garza - Tijuana - Sat May 5 - on the bench as they tied 2-2 at Monterrey, but got eliminated 4-3 on aggregate.
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - Sun May 6 - came on as a sub in the 68th min as they won 2-1 v Jaguares, and advanced 6-4 on aggregate.
Jose Torres - Pachuca - Sat May 5 - went the full 90 as they won 0-1 at America, but were eliminated 3-2 on aggregate.
dN
Coming Up:
La Liguilla - Semifinals
Herculez Gomez - Santos Laguna - 1st Leg - Thu May 10 at Tigres
MEXICO
Clausura - La Liguilla
Tigres break up the perfect sweep of top seeds, but 1,2 & 3 did advance. A very strong semifinal round awaits.
Matches & Scores:
Quarterfinals
2nd Leg
-Sat May 5
America 0-1 Pachuca - Ame advances 3-2 on aggregate.
Monterrey 2-2 Tijuana - Mon advances 4-3 on aggregate.
-Sun May 6
Santos Laguna 2-1 Jaguares - SL advances 6-4 on aggregate.
Morelia 1-4 Tigres - Tig advances 5-1 on aggregate.
Semifinals
Seeds 1,2 & 3 all advanced, and Tigres went and ruined a clean sweep.
1st Leg
-Wed May 9
America v Monterrey
-Thu May 10
Tigres v Santos Laguna
2nd Leg
-Sat May 12
Monterrey v America
-Sun May 13
Santos Laguna v Tigres
If the teams are tied after the two legs, then the higher seed advances.
CANADA
Canadian Championship - Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg
-Wed May 9
Toronto FC v Montreal Impact (0-0)
Vancouver Whitecaps FC v FC Edmonton (2-0)
ENGLAND
Championship Division - Promotion Playoffs - Semifinals
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Fri May 4
Blackpool 1-0 Birmingham
2nd Leg (1st Leg scores included)
-Mon May 7
West Ham 3-0 Cardiff WH advances 5-0 on aggregate.
-Wed May 9
Birmingham v Blackpool (0-1)
Final
West Ham v ???
dN
FA Cup - Final
Chelsea has won the FA again, for the 4th time in 6 years.
Matches & Scores:
-Sat May 5
Liverpool 1-2 Chelsea
SPAIN
Sid Lowe of the Guardian reports on a paranoid meltdown at Granada, as they fight to avoid relegation, and the rest of the round in La Liga.
GERMANY
Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian on yet another Koln relegation, and the rest of the final round of the Bundesliga season.
Bundesliga/2.Bundesliga - Promotion/Relegation Playoff
Matches & Scores:
1st Leg
-Thu May 10
Hertha Berlin v Fortuna Dusseldorf
2nd Leg
-Tue May 15
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Hertha Berlin
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE
The Final
-Wed May 9
Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid
Venue: National Arena - Bucharest, Romania
COPA LIBERTADORES
The Knockout Stage
2nd Leg matches are this week, beginning Tuesday night.
dN
Round of 16
Matches & Scores:
2nd Leg (with 1st Leg scores included)
-Tue May 8
Libertad v Cruz Azul (1-1)
Velez Sarsfield v Atletico Nacional (1-0)
-Wed May 9
Union Espanola v Boca Juniors (1-2)
Corintians v Emelec (0-0)
Lanus v Vasco Da Gama (1-2)
-Thu May 10
Fluminense v Internacional (0-0)
Universidad Chile v Deportivo Quito (1-4)
Santos v Bolivar (1-2)
BRACKET
Fluminense v Internacional
Union Espanola v Boca Juniors
Universidad Chilev v Deportivo Quito
Libertadv Cruz Azul
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Corintians v Emelec
Lanus v Vasco Da Gama
Santos v Bolivar
Velez Sarsfield v Atletico Nacional
posted by brucio at 19:43
1 Comments:
What the hell is going on with MLS video? I thought for sure they'd fix it over time, but I'm starting to doubt. How can the league website have video the quality of a shitty video on a sub-youtube site?
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