US Soccer Snob

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:30:00.000-08:00

Updated my list of MLS Supporters Club....true I left some off, so if you know any that I'm not reppin' please let me know.

Thankful list:
1. The FIRE will have one more fan next year (my newborn son or daughter).
2. The league finally got it's Beckham Cup. After all, they had to deal with quite a bit of hubris to get to that point.
3. Jesse Marsh calling Houston's bluff. You know the guy spent time in Chicago.
4. John Harkes being out of a job. Cold hearted, yes, but man that guy could make a winning lottery ticket seem lame.

Midfield Throw-ins

2011-10-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

As you know, I'm a huge supporter of MLS fan clubs (with a special affinity for Chicago's Section 8). Here's a great article from ESPN on the rise of the MLS fan clubs. I've also updated the fan club links on the main page.
Tell me if this sounds familiar, MLS based US defensive midfielder loses head, acts out, gets sent off and puts team in bad position. If you are a Real Salt Lake fan, that sounds very familiar as Kyle Beckerman flushed any hope of a supporters shield down the toilet getting sent off in the 10th minute of Wednesday's game against Chicago. If Kyle's head can't handle (or maybe it handled it too much) Daniel Paladini, how is he going to be able to handle the antics of any Central America player? I have a feeling we may find out in the next year and will not like the results.
Frank Klopas certainly didn't dream that he would have a hard time selecting a team for the Open Cup final after the triumph over Richmond. Sure he knew he'd be facing three matches in seven days, but he surely couldn't have guessed he'd have his team in position to not only make the playoffs, but still have a shot at the division crown. Every game is a must win now. I think he has Interm-Manager of the Year on lockdown.
Sure seems to be a number of slight, nagging injuries that pop up when Henry and Becks have to get on planes these days. If fans outside of NY and LA are showing up to see Henry and Becks, then that ticket purchase is a gamble these days isn't it?
Since Open Cup matches go to the highest bidder and attendances have been good, you think they could pony up a bit more for the finalists. $50K for the runner-up, ouch! And only twice that for the winner. Sell the naming rights and pump some cash into this grand old tournament.

Tuesday Night Football

2011-09-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

I love the NFL and I'm happy that its back and that my beloved Bengals are amazingly 1-0, but the real show is tomorrow on Fox Soccer Channel, where the stakes top Week 1 in the NFL!
CONCACAF Champions League Showdown: USA V. Mexico
8PM EST - The Galaxy travel to Morelia to try to keep MLS perfect record in Mexico entact (I have to use it while we got it!). I'm sure the accomodations and hospitality won't be anything Robbie Keane hasn't seen before in Europe.
11PM EST - Defending champs Rapids take on Bob Bradley snubbers Santos Laguna at the Big Sporting Goods Park.

A few thoughts

2011-08-21T06:30:00.001-07:00

A.On Facebook, Fox Soccer just asked "What EPL stadium would you most like to visit?" My answer, Craven Cottage of course. A sampling of some other answers:
1. Ibrox
2. Wembley Stadium
3. Estadio De Luz

Granted, Facebook is not my go to source for soccer knowledge, but come on people!

B. Congrats to FC Dallas for breaking the MLS curse in Mexico. Now I can laugh whenever I see a Pumas jersey.

C. A statement by the Eddie Gavenless Columbus Crew last night. Looks like a few Columbians have started to notice that a first place team is back at MLS' First stadium.

D. Victory for the Dynamo and MLS Academies as Alex Dixon fired the Orange into second place in the eastern conference with the last kick of the match.

The Celtic Swoop

2010-12-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that Freddie Ljungberg has transferred to Celtic. Depending on his form this could really wind up being the final stage of a watershed move for MLS.

If Freddie can be a strong contributor to Celtic, it will kick open the door for players unwilling to accept transfers to Bottom 10 or Second Division (or lower teams) and rather accept transfers for DP money stateside regardless of age with the hopes of rebuilding their careers, cashing in and returning to former glories. Ironic eh?
For my money, Becks and Donovan have already proved that top caliber MLS players can step into top level European teams and be contributors. Can Freddy affirm this?

Could the MLS, make up for the next ten years be:
1. 65%- CONCACAF and fringe African up and comers (examples: Ream, Pappa, Nyarko)
2. 20% - Just shy of national team or fringe national team players from South America (Fernandez, Conde, etc.)
3. 10% -Rehabbing/Reclaimation Euro/Mexican "Stars": (Ljundberg, Castillo Collins John, etc.)
4. 2%- Retiring Euro Stars (Henry, Stoitchkov)
5. 3% - Height of power, world class (or near world class) players (Donovan, Bravo, Beckham, DeRo, Marquez)

Certainly some bone can be picked as to the time periods where I'm classifying some of these guys, but I think the major buckets have been hit. It is also important to note that without the DP rule, #3 and #5 would not even be options.

The other big Celtic/MLS story is the "unauthorized" training of DeRo with the Hoops. There is quite a bit of press over the Freddie move in Glasgow, but this DeRo thing should be the front page news. Although he is only one year younger than Freddie (32!, I know I was shocked too), he has always had "it" and would be a huge loss of MLS. Heck, just the historical significance of being the only strong pick up of the Trader Mo era makes DeRo worth keeping. Jeez, this thing is really coming full circle!

US Soccer Snob Update - 12/6

2010-12-06T16:50:00.000-08:00

I'm just throwing this update out there as I figured I'd have the MLS news market cornered today.

A couple of things on my mind since my last post (three years ago...).

1. I think it is safe to say that the 2010 MLSCup was a disaster:

2. As was the announcement that the next playoffs will have 10 teams.
3. Speaking of unmitigated disasters: The Chicago Fire

De Los Cobos
Busch Release
Nery Castillo

Post Season: 8 departures and counting: McBride (retirement), CJ (retirement), Lowry (expansion draft), Thorrington (expansion draft), Krol (released), John (released), Ljunberg (get me out), Conde (get me out). More to come!

4. Sporting KC - Ugh, with a side of barf
5. Amazing Stadiums: From RedBull Arena and PPL Park last year to BC Place and Sporting KC next year. Crew Stadium is virtually on the scrap heap already (with Toyota Park not far behind).
6. The Denilson Award goes to Mista for outstanding underachievement.
7. The streak is alive: No designated player has ever hoisted an MLS cup. Well, I guess there was one thing to like about MLSCup 2010.

Please check out: beerandsoccer.com for "real" fake soccer news.

US Soccer Snob's US Soccer Update - 5/28/08

2008-05-28T04:59:00.000-07:00

MLS Game of the Week
Chicago FIRE 5 - NYRB 1
The Bulls game into match riding a nice unbeaten streak, while the FIRE were still smarting from dropping just their second match of the year. What a difference 90 minutes makes! Again on the edge of a benching the maddening Chad Barrett completes the brace while DP Blanco, showed DP Reyna what it’s like to actually earn your paycheck with a goal and two assists. You think there’s any correlation between Arenas firing and the Reyna transaction? Nah! Pure speculation. Barrett even said what the rest of the team wouldn’t (again), that they were out to show Juan Carlos O$orio that he made a mistake going to the side where coaches go to die.
MOTM – Gonzalo Segares – Sega was a monster shutting down the dangerous Dane Richards and putting one in the back of the net to boot.

MLS Notes
Goal of the Week – Although Beck’s 73 yard bomb was the picture of accuracy, Tom McManus’ 40 yard sizzler to beat an actual keeper got my vote.

The Quakes stepped up on national TV to take down their former selves at the first opportunity. Ann Killion at the Mercury news declared it the day the Earthquakes were officially reborn.

Steve Nash – why wouldn’t you invest in a Montreal team?

State of the Nation
Learning from Arena’s pre-World Cup(cake) warm-ups in ‘06, Bob Bradley prepares the boys for Barbados with a brutal three game stretch against England, Spain and Argentina. While the matches are all friendlies, if the US can get four theoretical points from these matches, it would amount to a statement.
First, the Red, White and Blue step onto the revered Wembley pitch on Wednesday intent on handing England their latest loss. The Three Lions, clearly overlooking the US, were still focused on the results of the Champions League final and the EPL at recent press conferences. This was taken to an extreme as Fabio Capello handed John Terry the captain’s armband in what amounts to a “Get Well Soon” card. Look for a motivated US to get at least a draw from a less than full strength England side.

On the Eurorail
Gooch looks for an escape route out of Belguim, but still must have Titus Bramble cooties on him. Think he’ll be motivated Wednesday.

The other half of the presumed US starting central defense, Carlos Bocanegra, was sent packing by Fulham and will also be looking to impress.

Freddy Adu received less than 200 minutes of first team action in his first season at Benfica. Freddy’s got a big summer coming up and always seems to step it up when wearing the national team jersey, however, it will be interesting to see if the Portuguese splinters (cork?) affect his play in upcoming string of games.

Kasey Keller is right where you never want to be as a keeper, stranded. While he is a year away from a near certain move to MLS’ Seattle franchise, his starting role at Fulham is likely gone due to the signing of Aussie Mark Schwartzer. All Keller did was stand on his head at times to give Fulham the opportunity to save their butts. Keller could point to the goal differential that saved the Cottagers as the reason he should be between the posts next season.

Eddie Johnson, please report to the nearest team trainer. We need to get a pulse check.

US Soccer Snob's US Soccer Update - 4.17.08 -

2008-04-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Snob is Not Dead
Well, I'm sure many of you are upset that I haven't been helping you lose your money with my pics for the week, so I'll throw out this one.

Crew over United - Take the surprising Crew to ambush a confused United squad at RFK.

Full scale Snob blogs will return in the near term. Thanks for checking in.

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 11/20/07

2007-11-20T16:31:00.000-08:00

Quick congrats to the Dynamo for their back to back championships. Thanks for again proving that Steve Nichol’s defensive take on EPL football just doesn’t cut it in this league at the highest level and that attractive football will rule the day! But enough on this, we got a team to stock.

EXPANSION DRAFT SPECIAL
Some tremendous quality available here, but I see Yallop tending to get players the have either: trade value, played for Yallop, MLS experience or significant upside. Who will not be selected then: players who are major question marks to either ruin chemistry (Amado Guevara, Clint Mathis, Andy Herron). You,ve to weigh in the value proposition of these players, after we will be playing MLS Moneyball next year. Given that my predictions have been so spectacular this year, I give to your 2008 San Jose Earthquakes:

1. Pat Onstad – just the ultimate draft player, experience, former Yallop guy, and a sure fire trade bait with UFC.
2. Ned Grabavoy – In the shadow of Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Grabavoy had a tremendous season and is finally on a strong upward swing.
3. Mike Petke – A model MLS defender for years.
4. Kelly Grey – Former Quake and Yallop player.
5. Andrea Lombardo – His first year trial by fire will be a boon going forward.
6. Josh Gros – a versatile back, mid who was a key cog in DC’s string of wins this year.
7. Andy Dorman – The underappreciated Dorman found himself on the bench despite a fast start. Dorman is bargain basement player who easily returns the investment every year.
8. Ivan Guerrero – His pace and experience makes him dangerous in this league, but his injuries might prevent a move from the Fire.
9. Clarence Goodson – FC Dallas was just better with Goodson who scored some clutch goals this year.
10. Alan Gordon – Another former Yallop guy who has big, big upside.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob's US Soccer Update - 11/16/07

2007-11-16T07:08:00.000-08:00

Return of the Snob

Well, the new grounds are tidy and we've even upgraded to a laptop around here!

MLS CUP
The Revs made it to the cop (again) by, how else; going through the FIRE (again). More on that later. The Dynamo arrive in DC on the backs of 60,000+ screaming fans that cheered them on to the Final. So there you have it, the first consecutive year rematch in MLS Cup history. The atmosphere is expected to be tremendous as the Kraft family is busing in the Revs nation, er, province from the north east to root on the Revs. Chances are that the Dynamo rooting contingent will be even greater given the amazing support that the Houstonians have garnered (amazing what true media support can generate, huh?).

As for the Snobs prediction, more of the same. Neither team has changed drastically much in the last year so look for New England to look to bunker then run all attacks over the top to Twellman or on the wing via Ralston. Shalrie Joseph will be in the spotlight as he looks to again mute DeRo's presence in the pressing Houston attack. Jaqua will do his best Brian Ching impersonation and that should be enough for regular time. A tie will send it to extra time, but in the mini-game (isn't that what we call it during MLS Playoffs?) the Revs walk away with their first MLS title and the double. It will be pure torture for the on-site snob and TV audiences to see yet another Boston team to raise a title! Please note that not one designated player will be taking the pitch on Sunday for the mostly North American stocked. That just makes me smile.

THE FIRE
Certainly Juan Carlos Osorio's coaching decisions on that fateful day in New England left much to be desired, but the mere fact that the FIRE played in the Eastern Conference Finals is nothing short of a miracle given where the team was only three months ago. JCO has been an upgrade for the team, but his tenure has still been a mixed bag. The FIRE turnaround was as much a product of Blanco's savvy and brilliance as it was JCO's direction. In the end, when the Revs clamped down on the DP as expected, JCO panicked and went with pure talent over form. While Wanchope is a good example of this, nothing is a clearer example of flawed coaching as was the insertion of Justin Mapp into the match. It had been about four months since Justin's cleats had touched an MLS pitch. Meanwhile, Calen Carr, the ideal player to break down, the Revs tight but plodding defense continued to stretch his quads on the sideline.

The brilliant Conde pick-up has balanced out the disastrous Wanchope tenure (reported to be ending soon), but JCO has some big shoes to fill in the middle with Armas' retirement. I certainly don't feel the either Diego Gutierrez nor Logan Pause are the quality to replace Armas at this time. The team will be further depleted by the expansion draft which will likely claim a promising young player (Carr?). But, will JCO even be around to patch the holes? Rumors out of NYC suggest that yet another Chicago coach is on the Metrobulls theft radar.

BECKS IS BACK
Not only has he fully recovered from his ailments to pack houses in Vancouver and Minneapolis, but David Beckham is now going to have to carry the weight of England on his shoulders again as buffon manager Steve McClarren (and every Tom, Dick and Ian) is counting on the LA based Becks to rescuing England's hilariously inept Euro 2008 campaign. Look out here comes mighty England, football gods. Oh, crap we have to play Macedonia!! I just get such a kick out of reflecting on the barbs tossed MLS' way from these fools who have really no perspective on the game outside of the EPL. Being English is actually a handicap to assessing the game from a global perspective! Only the realization of this shortcoming will allow this country and team to utilize their obvious talent to its maximum. Just stepping on the pitch and being England hasn't worked in 25 years.

MLS' VISION QWEST
Amid zero drama, Don Garber announced that Seattle had landed MLS' 15th franchise. Within 24 hours of this announcement the team had sold 3,000 season ticket packages. The news even landed on Monday Night Football the night before the announcement in the form of minority owner and Hollywood's soccer ambassador, Drew Carey. While I'm sure the pursuit of a Soccer Specific Stadium is implied it has received nary a mention by the suits. As a league fan, I'm a bit bothered by the last two franchises being awarded to groups with either unsettled (San Jose) or inappropriate (Seattle) stadium situations. San Jose will be a team without a true home field advantage for their first two years of re-existence with their owners bent on providing the boys with a rotating home field. What will be the locker room fine for showing up at the wrong home stadium on game day? Up north, MLS moves into another massive NFL stadium. While I fancy myself an optimist, can anyone picture a Toronto-like situation replicating in Qwest Field? I agree with all that it is a great soccer market, but the stadium is a detractor no matter how much you downsize, of course if that downsizing included sideline covering awnings.....

USA vs. SA
If they lose this one, its going to point to a long qualifying campaign. Where is Landon? I know he isn't busy this weekend. I hope BB the King isn't lending an ear to those who don't believe that Lando is the best player in this country. Sorry y'all, I'm still picking Landon first in the hypothetical sandlot game.

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 10/12/07

2007-10-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

TOP STORIES
Next week: Denilson and the state of the FIRE

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (3-3)
SEASON (49-79)

Saturday
FIRE v. United – FIRE pay for their midweek foolishness with a devastating loss.

Crew v. Revs – Not the place to get on track. Revs roll.

Wizards v. Flagship – Two teams looking for some mo’ heading to the playoffs. Sounds like a tie to me.

Dynamo v. RSL – Dynamo take out frustration on RSL players just happy to see the end is in sight!

UFC v. Gals – The Galaxy continue to make it interesting down the stretch.

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 10/05/07

2007-10-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the patience – The Snob is still preparing the new grounds to play to the teams strength. In the meantime, please enjoy this training session.

TOP STORY

US Open Cup
Congrats to the Revs for finally getting a result out of PHP when it counted. Unfortunately, no one knows about the tournament they won thanks to the continues poor promotional efforts of the folks behind the Open Cup. Attendances do seem to be climbing, but this tournament of underdogs versus the big dogs is just the thing that casual American sports fans can get behind.

Quick Notes:
- Glad to see the Crew pick-up Glidden as a sponsor. Glidden has been stepping to the plate for a while here and now has taken the next step. If you find yourself in Home Depot, check out the Glidden paint display. They have a “Team Colors” brochure that features rooms done up in Rapids and FIRE colors.

- Garber the Don threw the gauntlet down on Rico Clark for his absurd attack on Carlos Ruiz. Garber fined Rico more than half a developmental players salary and suspended him for nine games. In effect saying, you don’t mess with stars or national broadcasts.

- Did Bruce Arena bribe Steve Morrow to pick-up Denilson? You know Il Bruce will go to great lengths to put Claudio Reyna in the best light. The Brazilian couldn't even make the Open Cup roster because Dallas could only carry five foreign players. Denilson has sunk sub-Oduro!

- Oh, look whose training with the Galaxy again (for the first time?, for the last time?) Can’t wait for the Beckham v. Blano showdown October 21. There might be a playoff spot in the balance.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Post (3-2)
SEASON (45-75)

Kansas City v United - Look for the Wizards to pull out a tie over a spent United. (although they didn’t really seem to be exerting much energy south of the border)

RSL v LA Goats – RSL is doing it’s too little too late routine once again. Should be enough for a draw.

FIRE v REVS – Another sellout for Blanco and another blown lead, but this time FIRE find a way to win and stay ahead of the crew.

Columbus v Dallas – Crew drops a fading Dallas side.

Rapids v UFC – Another playoff contender tries keep the interest of the masses as the Rapids roll over Mo’s bhoys. (Let’s face it, its not a friendly pitch to Scots.)

Dynamo v Gals
Gals playoff hopes take a hit as the Dynamo chase the West crown and the Supporters Shield in front of one of the best crowds MLS has seen (south of the US-Canada border)

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 08/30/07

2007-08-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

TOP STORIES

Superliga Final
Well its been about twelve hours since I finished watching the Superliga final and I’m still in disbelief. That sure looked and sounded like more than 12,500 didn’t it? The MLS side fought valiantly, but were outlasted in sudden death penalty shootout. This game will be remembered for Miguel Calero’s save on Landon in the fifth frame of the shootout, but the match was peppered with moments and amazing saves by both keepers. Joe Cannon and Calero looked like two of the top keepers in any league as they frustrated their opponents who were handed plenty of quality chances by spotty defending. Becks took to the pitch and had to be taken out after injuring his right leg around the 37th minute. Cobi Jones’ experience helped the Galaxy persevere and led to the eventual tying goal and what a goal. The most unlikely goal from the most unlikely source. Much maligned Chris Klein buried a spectacular bicycle kick off a weak Pachuca clearance in the third minute of second half stoppage to effectively send the game into overtime. Overall the final reflected what the entire tournament prooved that the gap between Mexican and MLS teams is effectively zero. Both leagues are capable of producing some attractive soccer, although the Mexican versions is much prettier to watch on a consistent basis. Something else that we've come to expect, poor refereeing, was also evident as the CONCACAF crew did their worst again. This tournament was a success and I look forward to watching next year's version in Spainish or English.

MLS Week 21 – Separation and Flagging
FIRE v. Wizards – A little something for everybody at Arrowhead, which enjoyed the Blanco bounce at the gate for this Wednesday fixture. The FIRE had the home team on the ropes early, but Kevin Hartman called Blanco’s bluff and stood his ground, blocking the Mexican’s early penalty kick attempt.
MOTM: Kevin Hartman

Thursday
Goats v. Gals – Chivas Explosion!! Beckham Explosion!! Marsh v. Becks! Galindo shows who is boss of LA pitches at least until Pachuca rolls into the HDC. You get the feeling that this team is one Designated Players away from being a serious championship contender. Oops!
MOTM: Maykel Galindo – Opportunism and pure skill result in two for Chivas’ break-out star.

Saturday
Crew vs. Dynamo – While it took Nate Jaqua to pull a Dynamo draw Schelotto’s dazzling footwork enroute to his league leading assist was worth every bit that the league is paying.
MOTM: No position to judge

Wizards vs. FIRE – Different day, different teams. The FIRE follow their new leader to three points at home over a limp KC side earning me a free lunch in the process. Life is sweet.
MOTM: Cuauhtemoc Blanco – One goal, one assist in a 2-0 victory. Enough said.

Sunday
Gals vs. Rapids – You leave Becks at home and you will pay. A massively depleted Galaxy line-up got sliced and diced at DSGPark. You can’t be good if you give up three goals in the first half to the Rapids and the Galaxy aren’t. I think there was only one outbreak of “Bouna-time”.
MOTM:

RSL vs. Chivas USA – Chivas just can’t be stopped at home. Proof? They haven’t lost at the HDC this year. Chivas has enough gas left in the tank to slip by RSL and take three more points as the 2005 expansion derby sees the sides on opposite ends of the table.
MOTM: Jesse Marsh – Marsh’s sleek flick past Nick Rimando was all the home side needed to seal a solid week.

Other Week 21 Notes
The Flagship gets deflated and loses two thanks to some spotty defending and poor keeping.
United’s massive week pulls them within three points of the Revs.

Signing of the Week
Am I the only person who though Denilson was 45 years old? A long forgotten cog in the Samba King football machine, the midfield maestro came to MLS this week inking a deal with the Hoops. The 30 year old Denilson comes to MLS via Saudi Arabia, thus making him subject to excessive search at all US airports.

Sinking Lower
You’ve got to hand it to Eddie Johnson. He knew before any of us that the Wizards were on the cusp of ultimate MLS off field success when he spurned the offer from EPL bottom dwellers Derby County. Looks like next year they are going to be packing the house finally! Of course that house looks to be a minor league baseball stadium, but hey, it’s a start.

Quote of the Week
St. Louis Attorney Jeff Cooper who is trying to bring MLS to the hotbed on the possibility that his application for an MLS franchise be revoked by the league after presenting stadium development plans to the city of Collinsville, IL.:
“I’ll not only lose a lot of money,” Cooper told the newspaper, “but I’ll look like a dumb-ass at the same time.”

Yallop all but Gone?
Word is a certain Southern Californian-based German is waiting in the wings should Frank Yallop’s Galaxy. Good news for this gentleman is that he won’t have to change his Addias based wardrobe.

Ann Killion
Last week Ann Killion wrote a piece about Becks and US Soccer that was supported by twisted facts and perpetuated a great deal of myths.

Below is my reply, her rebuttal and my reply.

Ann,
I had to come to expect so much more from you when you start talking about soccer. Of course being a true MLS believer might dampen my views in your eyes, but en route to your “more of the same” point you skipped over two significant occurrences last week that us true believers took note of. One was your incorrect claim that the league “wallows around the 12,000 mark”. This might be true for the NY RedBulls, but is off by about 3,000 for the league. According to MLSnet.com, the league is averaging 15,917 this year. Backing out Beckham matches, the average is right around 15,000.
Secondly, you seemed to miss the attendances in non-Beckham matches this past weekend. True there were the typical attendance woes in Sunday’s Wizards and Thursday’s Rapid matches (7,000 and 10,000 respectively), but the story was very promising elsewhere. Columbus drew it’s largest crowd since 2004 (23,000), RSL put nearly 19,000 in the stands and Houston had over 19,000 show up for their in-state rivalry. Earlier this week DC United drew 18,000 on a Wednesday! This is not more of the same. This is a clear and measurable upwards trend.

To make matters worse, you go on to perpetuate the myth that by somehow stepping foot on European soil, American players improve. There is no evidence to show that being added to a roster of a European team improves American players other than goalkeepers. The results have been a mixed bag at best. Most American players show little to no improvement after transferring overseas. Clint Dempsey and DaMarcus Beasley have shown little improvement at the club or international level since leaving MLS. Clint Mathis set himself back years by playing in Germany and only now has regained any of his earlier MLS form. Bobby Convey’s club form had improved, but he has yet to have any significant impact on our national team. On the flip side, Landon Donovan has neither improved or regressed by choosing MLS over foreign options. Certainly if a starting MLS player starts for and EPL or LaLiga team on a consistent basis, they will likely improve their form, but otherwise the transfers have been tantamount to a water treading cash grab and who can blame the players for the later.

Ann’s Reply:
Thanks for the email. Re: attendance: 1) After the experience with the Earthquakes, I know better than to believe MLS' figures and 2) there is still a Beckham effect because there are ticket plans that require buying tix to other games in order to see Galaxy.
Re: Europe - I don't know anyone in the soccer world who doesn't think players get better and tougher by playing in the best leagues, including Bruce Arena and our current national team coach whose own son is playing in Europe. Landon absolutely regressed between 2002 and 2006.
AK

US Soccer Snob Rebuttal:
AK,

Thanks for your reply. I certainly appreciate it.

1. What's at debate is reported attendance numbers. I certainly know there is a difference between reported and actual in MLS. Your mixing and matching of what you think the numbers are and the reported numbers is misleading, but hey, it makes your point.

2. The European move is a myth. Look for any signs of proof of this claim outside of the goal keepers box and they will be limited at best.

3. Donovan did not regress between the last two world cups. He just played out of position. Did you expect LD to win headers from the Czech back line? His greatest 2006 moment was against Italy where he was arguably the best player on the pitch because the red cards forced him into is natural attacking midfielder role.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (3-6)
SEASON (42-73)

Saturday
FIRE vs. The Flagship – The Metros are out rooted in their home by Blanco fans, but still get a draw against a FIRE team whose stock is rising.

United vs. Hoops - This is why Direct Kick was invented. East vs. West in what could be a preview of the MLSCup. United looks to put together something more substantial than the fluky 1-0 victory they scored last week.

Wiz vs. Dynamo – Another blockbuster showdown! This should be an exciting match that sees the Western Conference team start building up en route to October with a convincing win over the Wizards who have played a Beckham-like schedule in the last two weeks.

RSL vs. Gals – RSL returns to So Cal to get three points from Klingsman’s Galaxy.

Sunday
Rapids vs. Crew – Look for a draw between two adrift sides. Colorado’s got the Mo’, but the road can be an unfair place.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob Filler Update 8/29/07

2007-08-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Apologies to loyal readers, but the column will be delayed a day and shorted due to FC Soccersnob’s Pitch Relocation Efforts which will be more Chicago-style than San Jose if you know what I mean.

SuperLiga
It all comes down to this. The worst team in MLS getting pounded into Bolivia by a Mexican club. Really, would anyone feel that less confident in the American entry if RSL donned Galaxy jerseys tonight? At least the Gals are staying in the news, so they got that going for them.

Tonights predictions:
Wednesday
KC vs. RSL – Again, I’m a fool, but I gotta think that KC’s rough and tumble backline is going to have trouble with the speed of Robbie Findlay. This should allow RSL to pull out a draw.

Pachuca vs. Gals – The is no way the Galaxy win this game. Pachuca is the only team in this hemisphere that could currently be considered one of the top five in the world. The Galaxy are one of the few teams in this hemisphere that would actually be know in europe…..as punchline.

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 08/23/07

2007-08-22T08:50:00.000-07:00

TOP STORIES

The Tipping Point
Please tell me that someone got a picture of Don Garber around 11PM EST on Saturday. At that point, the smallest crowd of the four MLS games played Saturday was 18,913 in Salt Lake City. Columbus had drawn nearly 22k and UFC sold-out BMO (pronounced Bee-Mo, Rob Stone) field again. Cuauhtémoc Blanco had scored a golazo of immense proportions and Maykel Galindo continued to press for a human interest story in SI. As immense as these accomplishments would be on any other given weekend, they were over shadowed by the landmark LA Galaxy v. New York Red Bulls game that took place at Giants stadium in front of 66k plus.
In a game that managed to simultaneously please hardcore fans, MLS suits and legions of soccer/Beckham curious sports fans, the home team dispatched the LA Galaxy 5-4 with a late Juan Pablo Angel goal. The game featured two Beckham assists, braces by three players (Carlos Pavon, Jozy Altidore, and Angel), and tension throughout the night. They myths about the weakness of soccer player, complains about low scoring, the general “no one cares” rumor were drown out for one night by the cheers (and boos) of a record crowd in Giants stadium 12 years after the league’s first kick. Nothing says soccer has arrived in America like Saturday night. Never mind the fact that ESPN Classic has deemed it an “instant classic” and is rebroadcasting it this week, it is the duty of the league and it’s diehard fans to make sure that soccer never fades again in the country. I’m up for it!

FIRE Fan Forum with Head Coach Juan Carlos Osorio
Juan Carlos “The Professor” Osorio took time to speak to a group of Fire season ticket holders last Thursday and I was luck enough to be in the audience. Osorio left all in attendance with a positive impression of a very thoughtful and methodical man who is focused on conditioning and will not accept any slacking off. He stressed his commitment to attacking football, all but vowing to play three in the back at home at all times. Osorio conveyed that if he is to bring in a Senior International player (as he did this week by adding Wilman Conde), he would expect that player to be a starter, a welcome relief to FIRE fans who’ve had to suffer through the Bedrossian-era. Among the varied questions that Osorio was asked, two of his opinions really stood out. As opposed to many pundits, he does not believe that NCAA regulations are hurting the progress of players in this country due to the top players finding summer leagues and PDL experience. He believes that the shortcomings of the college games lie in the coaching. Osorio was at his most animated when asked to compare MLS to EPL. He took offense to those who downplay the quality of MLS. Having the unique perspective of coaching in both leagues, Osorio believes that MLS-quality is equivalent to that of lower half EPL. “These are teams that can be beaten by MLS teams.” He believes that MLS teams could beat upper half EPL teams, but it would take some remarkable effort. On that note……….

Quote of the Week I:
Steve McClerran on the standard of MLS (source Liverpool Daily Post):
“I think it was possibly, top-of-the-Championship-lower Premier League. But I get the sense that in type of game, and that type of atmosphere, David will be okay.”

Read it and weep haters! This is a great vindication for our league particularly in light of all the harsh media accounts domestic and overseas and the constant Euro snob batter that MLS takes. The foreign press should know better, however we can’t expect Euro snobs or American sports writers to know anything about the sport.

Quote of the Week II:
Spanish player Xavi on the quality of the Greek pitch they are to play on today (source LA Times): "Anyone who plays on that pitch has a good chance of killing themselves."

SuperLiga
It seems like eons ago that David Beckham launched a perfect ball over the DC United wall and into the side netting setting off a world cup final level celebration amongst fans and providing some sweet relief for MLS. Later in the match, Becks turned Josh Gros with a beauty of a lead pass to Landon who coolly put it in the back of the net. Donovan, with all his great attributes, may just have established himself as the top breakaway artist in MLS history during the past week. The Galaxy meet Pachuca in the Superliga final at the HDC next week. It should be quite the spectacle.

Dynamo Net Jersey Sponsor
The Houston Dynamo became the sixth MLS team to wear a corporate logo on their jersey after inking a four year $7.5 million deal with Amigo Energy. The comprehensive deal includes signage, hospitality and pre- and post game naming. The size of the deal falls right in the middle of the five teams that are not named RedBulls.

MLS Week 20 – Our Finest Moment
(NOTE: Due to a hectic non-soccer schedule these days, I’m only reporting on the games that I actually had the pleasure of watching.)
Thursday
Revs v. Rapids – The WTFs (Revolution) put on a classic display of head scratching for 90 minutes delighting the 10k at beautiful DSG park. The Rapids put three past Matt Reis and the punchless Revs only force a single outbreak of Bouna-time. Oh Fernando, your team bought you another two weeks.

Saturday
Gals vs. The Flagship – I won’t spend too much time on this game here. Amazing game, some wonderful skill, and a pair of goal keepers hung out to try by their terrible defenses.
MOTM: Clint Mathis – without Mathis’ control and explosiveness in the midfield the Flagship falls at home. The Empire Supporters club should make sure frail Reyna never sees the pitch again.

RSL vs. FIRE – The FIRE, that’s to Blanco, controlled this one from start to finish. Osorio, who had been working hard with his team all week on set pieces, was overjoyed when Blanco’s corner met net via Paulo Wanchope’s head. Despite that victory ensuring goal, this match will be remembered for the shot Blanco blasted from the 25 yard line into the far side corner. It was great to see so many “Fire” fans turn up in Salt Lake, although someone should tell them that the FIRE does not wear yellow.
MOTM: Cuauhtémoc Blanco – Blanco is in the process of reversing the curse of MLS for Mexican stars. His rugged style (when appropriate) is well suited to the league.

Week 20 Notes:
Chivas gets the job done against a dreadfully shorthanded UFC.
United disappoint the Crew’s biggest crowd since 2004 with a 2-0 road victory.
Houston reclaims west with clutch Ching goal in front of 19k+.
Revs rebound and shut down a disjointed Wizards.

MLS Commentators
Much has been made about ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel. While four commentators jammed into a booth can get annoying, particularly if one is Michael Wilbon, it is still far more preferable to the single announcer format. That form of commentating is dreadfully boring, despite being filed under “traditional” by footie-philes. The optimal format would be the classic American play-by-play guy with a knowledgeable and opinionated color guy, a role that Eric Wynalda perfectly fills. His ideal compatriot would be the terrific Glenn Davis or the highly knowledgeable Max Brentos, however, you’ll have plenty that “can’t stand” Brentos either. I could take or leave the sideline report, but the interviewing coaches in the middle of matches has to go!

Sir Bobby’s Big Mouth
English football legend Sir Bobby Robson again cast doubt on Beckham’s ability to play for England while playing for a US club team. “In the short term, he looks OK. But the longer he plays in America, with respect to the football being played there, the less competitive he will become, “ Robson told The Daily Telegraph. Robson cited the reels of MLS films he had reviewed as well as his onsite study about MLS quality this year. Oh wait, rather, these are the ramblings of an irrelevant washed up manager looking to stay in the papers in England. Formula for that: bad mouth America while mentioning David Beckham.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (2-5)
SEASON (42-73)

Wednesday
The Flagship v. DC United – The good ship Arena takes the Mo from Saturday and blows by their rivals for a change.

FIRE v. Wizards – The reborn FIRE and their new found road fanbase take Arrowhead by storm and do their best impersonation of early season Wizards.

Thursday
Goats v. Gals – Superclassico becomes the inflightclassico as Becks and Landon rush back from the land of Euro to play limited minutes. Too back Chivas USA is sick of living in their shadow and punish the Gals on their home pitch.

Saturday
United vs. UFC – The futility record is set and extended as Mo’s MASH ward grows. United drops UFC again by the lake.

The Flagship vs. Revs – Who the heck knows what to make of the Revs? I’ll go with a spirited draw here between the two least predictable teams in MLS.

Crew vs. Dynamo – With a myopic focus, the Dynamo are a dangerous team and the Crew seem to be running on empty.

Wizards vs. FIRE – It is darn tough to beat a team twice in a week, so I’ll say the Wizards get a draw in front of a capacity Toyota Park crowd.

Sunday
Gals vs. Rapids – The Clavejo phoenix manages a draw against the Galaxy who have their playoff backs against a wall.

RSL vs. Chivas USA – Chivas is on a roll and RSL is always getting rolled. No trend change here.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 08/15/07

2007-08-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

TOP STORIES

Beckham Enters
I’m not sure what you expected on those Beckham long passes and his one free kick. On the free kick, Carlos Pavon met it at the near post was completely covered and did fairly well getting the ball anywhere near the goal. Long pass number one, was easily dealt with by Troy Perkins, while his long pass to Donovan should have resulted in a PK. It’s not like every time Beckham passed in EPL or La Liga it lead to a goal. I sometimes wonder whether the MLS critics watch anything other than highlights from other leagues.

LA is a better team than they’ve showed this year, but they need time in training with Beckham. I thought their biggest error is playing Donovan as a forward. He is always more effective when he get more touches as an attacking mid. The problem for LA is that they have Beckham, Donovan and Kyle Martino with Attacking Mid as their best position. I say leave hothead Martino on the bench and play Becks right in the center, with Donovan just in front of him and Buddle/Pavon up top.

To the dismay of a great Revs crowd, Becks sat out against the Revolution a couple of days after his United debut due to his arch nemesis Field Turf coating the field. Just as Becks and the Gals get people on board the flying and ankles and swelling and swamp gas excuse, word comes out that by apparently flying the plane backwards to LA, Beckham is suddenly “78%” ready to play in Thursday’s Superliga fixture. Here’s the bottom line: Becks isn’t going to play on Field Turf unless he’s 100%. Sorry New York, but you still might get a token appearance, after all the game is on national TV.

Here’s a quick Becks PT equation:
National TV:
ABC (+6), ESPN (+4), Fox Soccer (+2), All Other Channels (0)

Field:
Grass (+2), Field Turf (-2)

Flight:
Eastbound (-2), Westbound (+2), No flight (+1)

Advance Ticket Sales:
36,000+ (+4), 22,000 – 36,000 (0), 0 – 22,000 (-2)

Scoring
Negative – Hugo Boss Suited Becks
0-4 – Warm-up bench Becks
4-8 – Limited Minutes Becks
8+ - Full 90 Becks

Enough ankle gate for now……..

SuperLiga
The Dynamo/Pachuca rematch lived up to the hype and became an instant Superliga classic. This game had everything ugly in it, but made for a thrilling evening for 21,000+ at Robertson Stadium. Playing a role in the match; a face volley, three ejections, a shootout, last minute heroics. The Dynamo took a lead thanks to some great right side work by Brian Mullan who smoked his defender on the way to the endline. At the endline, he sends in a low cross to the feet of an open DeRo who takes a crack at it. The ball ricochets off of his face and into the back of the net from 10 yards out! Not a goal of the year candidate, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. The Dynamo topped this feat by poorly heading a ball back to the keeper from near midfield ten minutes later. It fell to the feet of a Pachuca forward who was brought down by Patrick Ianni who was given a straight red card. While the ensuing free kick from just outside the box amounted to nothing, Pachuca did manage to tie the game before the half. The second half saw more excellent ball possession by Pachuca and eventually a great goal from Andres Chitiva. The outmanned Dynamo seemed headed toward the inevitable until the 83rd minute when Eddie Robinson powered home the tying goal, setting off wild celebration throughout the majority of fans in Robertson. The game was headed toward overtime, but not before Chitiva was awarded his second yellow for diving of all things. Back on level terms, the Dynamo found some decent offense in the first extra frame until substitute Cory Ashe was sent into the midfield camera stand by a Pachuca defender. While still on the ground, a dazed Ashe then attempted to cleat a nearby Pachuca player earning him a dismissal as well. Both team’s defenses held and off to the shoot out we go. Neither keeper could stop the first three chances. The first miss came courtesy of US national team striker Brian Ching, who had keeper Miguel Calero leaning the wrong way and still managed to hit the post. Houston keeper Pat Onstad rescued the moment by saving the next Pachuca attempt. Joseph Ngwenya tried to really put the pressure on the Mexican side by rolling the limpest penalty kick taken by an MLS side since Ante Razov’s MLS Cup 2003 attempt. Calero stood his ground and used his groin to stop the shot since he didn’t even need his hands, while wagging a finger at Ngwenya. Rafael Marquez Lugo finished over a diving Onstad to seal Pachuca’s place in the Superliga final. This game was a tribute to the potential of this new tournament and the equality of the top teams in CONCACAF.

Stars and Stripes Swap Sides
Due to irreconcilable contractual differences ($), the Red, White and Blue (nicknames for our national team are welcome in feedback), will not get the pleasure of visiting Azteca Stadium on September 9th. Our boys have to settle for Brazil at Solider Field. Drat! I mean, now I get to see the Yanks give the Samba boys a shot within walking distance of my house. Oh, cruel fate! I have seen a quality for quality swap like this since Deep Purple replaced legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore mid-tour with legendary guitarist Joe Satriani. I guess that makes it three victories we’ve scored over Mexico this year.

MLS Week 19 –
Thursday
LA vs. United – With Becks clearly ready to take his MLS bow serial idiot, Kyle Martino foolishly dives in on Fred’s ankle and gets sent off, sending his team to certain doom. In the UK they would call it a “horror tackle” here we just call it dumb! Few in the crowd likely saw the tackle given that it coincided with Becks removing his warm-up shirt. I’m surprised that any of the ESPN cameras even were trained on the action. I’m mean, there was a man running back and forth on the sideline for 20 minutes! Landon Donovan did a good disappearing job for 60 minutes. Shocking that this would happen when he was playing up top. The good news is that the home team won and everybody when home happy. Except for LA. Hey went to New England frustrated.

Saturday
Crew vs. Dallas – This might be Fox’s match of the year. A rather anemic first half gave way to a wild finish at PHP. Dallas had to shelve Juan “The Revelation” Toja due to a Superliga injury. Oft injured Adrian Serioux started the match but was shockingly injured in the first half and was replaced. Only Columbus could score in the first half that saw each team taking control of the action. The second half began with a great deal of Columbus pressure, but it was Dallas that scored off a nice bit of opportunism from a Arturo Alvarez who finished in a classy manner when the ball deflected to his feet in the box. The score wasn’t tied for long as Columbus converted a penalty kick after Chris Gbandi dragged down Wild Man Hedjuk just near the end line. Andy Herron handled the PK with ease. The goal of the game began at the foot of goat in waiting Marcelo Saragosa. Who finished Oddly, the crowd seemed to steadily grow from minute 0 to 70.
MOTM: Dax McCarty

Dynamo vs. Rapids – It was Bouna time and is still Clavejo time at DSG Park, however, all this result got him was a stay of execution. I only managed to see highlights of this game due to the HDNet Blackout, but it didn’t appear that I missed much.
MOTM: No Position to Judge

Sunday
UFC vs. The Flagship – What do we do when you are being marked closely and Mo Johnston I your coach? You punch the defender in the gut and get away with it! I wouldn’t expect to see Andrea Lombardo for a bit UFC fans. He can visit the rest of the team in the ER this week. This match also gave us the great National Post headline “Toronto FC Crushed by New York Teenager.”
MOTM: Jozy Altidore – His second goal may have sealed his transfer to Euroland.

LA vs. Revs – Yallop pulled his head out of his butt for one game to start a line-up that has a modest chance at success. Two forwards up top backed by Landon Donovan at attacking mid. Crazy, I know! However, it was the same old result for the Galaxy who were without Abel Xavier who would have prevented the Revolution goal. What was also made clear in this match is that Ty Harden is not improving. Only the play of Joe Cannon and some Revolution misfires kept this match from getting ugly. The Galaxy had some moments, but it would be nice if they could ever field the same team twice. If LA manages the playoffs this year, it will make Real Madrid’s 2007 feats seem small by comparison. Frank Yallop knows Alexi Lalas has fired managers for less, but Yallop is not a miracle worker. A combination of rash front office moves, key injuries and media whirlwind have combined to turn the Galaxy into the most publicized soap opera on grass and Yallop it’s all too weak adhesive.
MOTM: Shalrie Joseph for being everywhere all evening.

MLS Commentators
Much has been made about ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel. While four commentators jammed into a booth can get annoying, particularly if one is Michael Wilbon, it is still far more preferable to the single announcer format. That form of commentating is dreadfully boring, despite being filed under “traditional” by footie-philes. The optimal format would be the classic American play-by-play guy with a knowledgeable and opinionated color guy, a role that Eric Wynalda perfectly fills. His ideal compatriot would be the terrific Glenn Davis or the highly knowledgeable Max Brentos, however, you’ll have plenty that “can’t stand” Brentos either. I could take or leave the sideline report, but the interviewing coaches in the middle of matches has to go!

A Friend in the MediaYesterday morning, I was watching C-Span2's Book Symposium (I dig deep for you people!) featuring Dave Zirin. Zirin is a non-conformist American sports writer who was discussing his latest book, "Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports" The title alone made me think about soccer of course. Although the audience didn't touch on our favorite sport, I did manage to find quite a bit about Zirin online. As part of an interview, he had this interesting observation that many of us can relate to:
“You know, when you talk about liking soccer in the U.S., people act like you're taking French lessons at the local Muslim school. You might as well burn the flag in your backyard. The fact is, it's the most popular youth sport in the United States. Whether people want to admit it or not, soccer is a major sport in this country.”
At his website, he did have this must read article about a life changing event at a soccer match.

Quote of the Week (source ESPN Soccernet)
Sigi Schmidt on David Beckham: "When you look at his face, he's not here for retirement. He's not here for a paycheck. He's here to step on the field to win games. That's not something you can hide or disguise."

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (3-2)
SEASON (40-68)

Thursday
Revs vs Rapids – poetic that the Revolution will be the team to send Clavijo out to the unemployment line again.

Saturday
Chivas vs. UFC - the woes continue for Mo’s Street Fighting team as rested Chivas blasts a broken team.

United vs. Crew – A classic match-up that finally means something again. Look for the Crew to rebound from last weeks let down and score a big win over the Eastern Conference foes.

Galaxy vs. The Flagship – 15 minutes of Becks isn’t enough to save the Gals from their third consecutive league defeat.

FIRE vs. RSL – These two struggling, but rising sides battle to a well played draw. The point earned does little to inspire playoff dreams amongst their fans.

Sunday
Dallas vs. Dynamo – Fear the Fish! Dallas is a very dangerous team now and should dump the Dynamo on their home turf.

Revs vs. Wizards – This is one to Tivo! I believe in the Wizards at home.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 08/08/07

2007-08-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

TOP STORIES

SuperLiga
Well, well well. Look who isn’t so damn superior after all. Chivas, America and Morelia went crashing out of Superliga leaving Pachuca as the only remaining Mexican side to face the three surviving MLS teams (LA, Houston, and DC). Pre-season was never recognized as an excuse during CONCACAF Champions Cup and I don’t want to hear it now, either. The Mexican teams didn’t even contribute to the most entertaining game, leaving that to Dallas and LA Galaxy.

Let’s call it like it is now. The Mexican and American football are on even footing in the quality department at the league and international levels. Luckily that is due to a rise in quality here, rather than a decline south of the border.

Shame on MLS
Add Beckham’s Ankle-gate to the list of MLS contradictions, right behind wanting passionate fans, but also wanting the fans to tone it down for the soccer moms and their young-ins. On one hand you have Alexi Lalas telling everybody that when you buy a ticket to see the LA Galaxy you are paying to see a team. The other hand put together a back loaded road schedule, a gala press conference and a player-centric portion of mlsgear.com. The MLS brass is not fooling anybody! Alexi, is the Galaxy’s schedule back loaded due to the high demand of seeing the Galaxy post July? I’ll agree with brass that no refunds should be issued, because no one can guarantee that a player will not be injured or suspended, but let’s not BS about why record crowds are showing up in the first place.

Speaking of the foolishness of the league, believe it or not, they sure have a blind spot in their Beckham marketing. Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen David Beckham play in a short sleeve jersey in the past five years. I’m not seeing any hands at this time. Now raise your hand if you’ve seen any long-sleeve Beckham jerseys for sale in the Beckham Collection online. I’m still not seeing any hands. Wake up MLS!!! With Becks sidelined indefinitely, you can’t afford to drop these many balls!

Shame on the Commentators
All week, commentators have been weighing in on Freddy Adu’s transfer to Benfica. While most of the pundit chatter has been accurate (right time, good price, correct style of play), I’m shocked at the amount of people that have spoken about him NOW having to earn his playing time. Didn’t he transfer to RSL because he was having to earn his playing time? Wasn’t he put out on the wing because Christian Gomez and Mhedi Ballouchy were in his natural position? Didn’t Pitor Nowak make this kid earn a spot in the DC United line-up from day one breaking the ground for Beckham’s high priced cameos? Freddy and the pundits should be praising Nowak for teaching him the lesson about earning his place in the starting line-up. That experience alone will keep Adu from becoming Cletus II. As for the other major question about Freddy: “Why does he perform so well with the national teams, but not in MLS.” I’ve got an answer for that too! Ready…….
HE WAS NEVER ALLOWED TO PLAY HIS NATURAL POSITION IN MLS.
This isn’t rocket science people.
For the second time in a year, Adu has transferred to a side that plans to play him at his natural position. We’ll see if those promises ring as hollow as they did on this side of the pond.

Shame on the Rapids
I don’t care how MLS or the Rapids want to dress up their 5-0 trashing at the hands of A-League side Seattle Sounders, that result is an absolute disgrace for a team that was vying for their first Cup. It could be a blessing in disguise for Rapids fans who can’t wait to see Fernando Clavijo axed.

MLS Week 17 – Goal Seekers
Thursday
KC v. Revs – An entertaining showdown resulted in the Revs staking their sole claim to first place and KC wondering where their second half offense went. Perhaps they should ask some of the bruised members of The Fort who were no doubt clipped by wild shot from Yura Movsisyian and Kerry Zavagnain. While he didn’t get much PT, Adam Christman showed how to stoke a counter attack with a brilliant (and I don’t throw that term around like they do in Jolly Olde) pass to Steve Ralston in the closing minutes of the match. Christman then turned around and sprinted down the field. He was rewarded with a perfect pass from Ralston (expect the best) and calmly slotted past Kevin Hartman to seal the deal at 2-0.
MOTM: Matt Reis – Kept KC off the scoreboard and was huge in the first half.

Saturday
Crew v. FIRE – Blanco, Wanchope and Rolfe on the pitch at the same time. Here come the fireworks! This is exactly what a sell-out crowd on a gloomy Chicago night was expecting. However, the Trident of Death failed to skewer the Columbus defense nor change the complexion of a dull match. After the match the Crew’s Frankie Hedjuk whined about the all the fouls that Cuauhtemoc Blanco drew (6). However, he didn’t mention the amount of times that the referee waved the “get up” signal at the new Chicago star without blowing the whistle (6).
MOTM: Matt Pickens for an amazing, game saving stop in the 87th minutes.

Rapids v. Dallas – Dallas shut out the anemic Rapids offensive and Drew Moor decided to help out my weak fantasy team with a goal. Dallas did what the needed to do despite coming off a brutal Superliga campaign.
MOTM: Drew Moor scored the games only goal and contributed to the Dallas shutout.

Dynamo v. RSL – The Superliga did claim the spirit of the Dynamo who got dropped by another timely Robbie Findlay goal. Despite the Dynamo’s weariness, this is certainly one of the shock results of the year. Combined with the Dallas win, it certainly makes things more interesting out west.
MOTM: Robbie Findlay – To send the deserving RSL fans home with a smile for once.

Sunday
United v. Revs – Speaking of shock results, who saw this DC demolition coming. The Revs simply did not show up to play. From Matt Reis, lax play that led to the first goal to an “attack” that failed to have any good ideas all afternoon, the Revs got outclassed when everything was in their favor. The Revs had home field advantage. Fred was suspended for DC. Jamie Moreno and Christian Gomez started on the bench and only Moreno made an appearance. Apparently the Revs defense though Luciano Emelio was on the bench too, because no one bothered to mark him. The result? A brace and a 3-0 beat down administered by the wobbly, but dangerous United.
MOTM: Luciano Emelio for two quality goals.

Galaxy v. UFC – The World Greatest Sideline show traveled to Toronto and Hugo Boss suits got some nice press from Becks, Alexi Lalas and Frankie Yallop. Beck’s decided against the stylish LA Galaxy lapel pin, but did manage to scowl the entire match. ESPN again decided to broadcast a long block of a bench player, but also had the good sense to make the Toronto crowd its second biggest star of the evening. The Galaxy reverted to the non-Superliga form and tried to make all watchers believe that the six goal outburst earlier in the week was a mirage. Toronto really pushed any attack in this match and looked the more likely to score, but was continually thwarted by Joe Cannon.
MOTM: Maurice Edu pushed the Toronto game and played with emotion all match.

Fair and Balanced Journalism
This article is a fair take on soccer’s misfires from a casual fan perspective and this is the type of article that journalists of the future will write in the country. It is good to see that after the bashers had their fun, that the soccer-open journalists are still following the Beckham story even if all the press does not reflect well on MLS. It is great to see the “Well, show me” articles rather than the typical “I don’t care” ones. Of course, there are still the Euro Snobs which Bill Simmons falls directly into the category of with his continual MLS bashing and recent jibe at the Beckham situation. Anyone still harping on the, “Why Soccer Won’t Work Here” train of though, have really missed the boat. Soccer is already working here and is well on its way to passing the NHL in the national consciousness, if it hasn’t already. And for the record, I don’t judge the national consciousness by what ESPN shows. They managed to avoid most Gold Cup highlights despite some NFL level crowds.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (1-5) (much like RSL, I’m just focusing on getting back to .500%)
SEASON (37-66)

Thursday
LA vs. United – After watching that game in New England, you’d be afraid to pick against United too! I’d be shocked if Becks isn’t dressed for this one on natural turf.

Saturday
UFC vs. The Flagship – The Arena Bulls crush a spirited, but clunky Canadian team.

Crew vs. Dallas – In what should be the most entertaining match of the weekend, the Crew and Dallas fight to a draw.

Dynamo vs. Rapids – I would not want to be in the Rapids shoes now. The only worse place to be would be Fernando Clavijo’s shoes. A loss and he’s gone.

Sunday
LA vs. Revs – Becks sees more than 12 minutes, but LA still can’t handle a motivated Revolution.

Quote of the Week (source USA Today)
Bruce Arena on the State of the RedBulls when he arrived last season:
"You'd sit around every day and wait around for the Giants to say if you can use the field, and it's generally, 'No.' And then you got in the vans to go to a high school field or another field. I was shocked. ... There's no reason why anyone should expect this franchise to be any better than it is today. Frankly, it's overachieved."

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 08/01/07

2007-08-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

TOP STORIES

SuperLiga – Solo un Partido
Let’s face it, there is only one game that anyone will talk about when the first round of Superliga is brought up in discussion. That would be the 6-5 goal fest between FC Dallas and LA Galaxy that put the Gals through to the Semi-finals. Dallas fans were already on edge after hearing that Becks wasn’t allowed on the Galaxy Cruiser headed to the Big D. To add insult to injury, Dallas allowed four goals in the first 18 minutes. Arturo Alverez pulled one back before the half for the Hoops, but they were still staring a significant deficit in the face at halftime and the frustration showed as Juan Toja and Alvarez were issued yellow cards in first half extra time. Dallas came back on the pitch with a mission and it almost paid immediate dividends with Carlos Ruiz drilling a bicycle kick into the back of the net two minutes into the half. Unfortunately, the linesman correctly judged Ruiz to be in an offside position. LA’s defenses held due to some stellar keeping from Joe Cannon until the 78th minute when all hell broke loose. First Dallas narrowed the gap to two goals thanks to Toja. Four minutes later, Alvarez got his second narrowing the score line to 4-3. Apparently this didn’t sit well with Landon Donovan who put together a Maradona-style ¾ of the pitch run, darting through the Dallas defense, juking Dario Sala and finishing calmly before making the throat slash celebration, which earned him a yellow. This match was still far from over.
Extra time, was plenty of time for Dallas to slip another past Cannon narrowing the gap to one again. In the 95th minute the Gals answered with a counter attack in which Donovan found Carlos Pavon wide open at the far post, who blasted the ball past Sala for a 6-4 score line. With a last gasp Dallas AGAIN narrowed the deficit to one goal with an Abe Thompson header off a Dax McCarthy corner. The game had to end at that point to the disappointment of the fans who saw nothing short of an amazing game and had no reasonable gripes with management despite the absence of Becks. Although you can’t tell that to Dave Thomas of the Star-Telegram, who don’t even have an FC Dallas section on their sports page.

Check out these statistics:
Donovan – 1 goal, 3 assists
Gordon – 2 goal, 1 assist
Alvarez – 2 goals
Toja – goal, assist

The great thing about Superliga is what many of us US Soccer supporters have hoped for has been the case, MLS teams and FMF teams seem to be on equal footing. Only Chivas has managed a win over a MLS side to this point. DC has been aided by a couple of red cards, while Houston left their foot off the gas against Morelia to put both DC and Houston on the bubble tonight.

MLS Week 16 – Meanwhile in Non-Border War Action
LA Goats v. The Flagship – Something tells me that MLS defenses have figured out JPA. Chivas did a great job of shutting down a flat Flagship and sent them off into a long break on a down note.
MOTM: Ante Razov

Revs v. RSL – Those RSL boys can’t seem to keep their frustrations to themselves! Beckerman was a lynchpin for the tea, but RSL, yet again, gave up a late goal to fall at home against the Revs. Again, I believe that this match was a positive step for RSL. Falling to a late goal, while playing a man down against one of the best in the league isn’t as shameful as some of RSL previous losses.
MOTM: No position to judge

FIRE v. UFC – The revamped FIRE managed to take down a bruised UFC in convincing fashion on Sunday. Blanco was every bit the field general he was expected to be when he was signed. His presence has been what was missing from this team since the departure of Peter Nowak. Yeah, it’s been a while. This fixture was also an audition of sorts for Calen Carr and Chad Barrett to play opposite new signing Paulo Wanchope. Barrett may have played himself off the team with his uneven performance, while Carr was arguably the best player on it. Carr played with an extra gear all match and should be starting with Wanchope up top come Saturday.
MOTM: Calen Carr

LA Goats v. KC – Another thriller in KC, but this time Yura Movsisyian was actually on target! His late goal sends the Wiz to win following last weeks disappointing draw with the Rapids. Kerry Zavagnain, who hadn’t scored since 2003 now has three goals this season, two of which might be up for Goal of the Year discussion.

Friendly Action
Aston Villa swash buckled through North America last week and diced up UFC and the Crew in what were entertaining, but disappointing matches for MLS fans. Neither side took the games too seriously and it showed in the goal tallies, but made for fun watching.

Transfer of the Week
Paulo Wanchope joined the FIRE this week and John Guppy has managed to completely remake this team midyear. The Wanchope move is massive no matter which way you look at it. The FIRE instantly have one of the regions most recognized players, a great finisher and a leader for an aimless group of forwards. Blanco has a quality player to pass to and the Costa Rican fans have another FIRE player to root for. Great news all around!

Freddy
I couldn’t use another Adu, Adieu, etc. reference that has been used in every single paper in the country. As expected on the heels of an amazing U-20 World Cup performance, Freddy Adu is off to Euroland to play for Benefica. An excellent choice by Adu and his agent! The Portuguese league is great for Freddy’s development, but if he though it was tough getting off the bench in DC, wait until he arrives in the land of Port and Cork. Here’s hoping Adu can make it work for the sake of our national team.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (1-3)
SEASON (36-61)
Thursday
KC v. Revs – A rematch of an early season classic, in which EJ scored a hat trick. Don’t expect the same. KC’s defense has been shaky as of late and the Revs play tough at home. Revs take the three points.

Saturday
Crew v. FIRE – A resurgent FIRE tops the Crew as Blanco and Wanchope have their home coming out party.

Rapids v. Dallas – A rested Rapids manage a draw versus a depleted Dallas.

Dynamo v. Salt Lake – Just RSL’s luck that once they start putting together some promising play, they have the hottest teams in the league lining up on their schedule. Dynamo in a tight one.

Sunday
United v. Revs – Another Eastern super battle. I’ll take the Revs to topple a road weary DC United.

Galaxy v. UFC – Will he or won’t he? If you were Frank Yallop, would you let David Beckhams’ fragile ankle near a Mo Johnston team. Mo might just stomp on it in the Friday presser! Look for the Galaxy to build on the Superliga momentum over a gutted UFC.

Podcast
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour – Glenn talks about Becks.
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 07/24/07

2007-07-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

TOP STORIES

The Beckham Phenomenon
Can we all agree now, that the phenomenon that is David Beckham joining the Galaxy has been much greater than anyone could have predicted or imagined? From the 100+ security restrained photogs vying to get a picture of him sitting on the bench to the frenzied reaction of the LA fans new and old, this January transfer has proven a masterstroke to this point. It really didn’t seem to matter that the player of focus only stepped on the pitch for 16 minutes or that LA was miraculously holding Chelsea to one goal, the game was a coronation ceremony, the likes of which are rarely seen in any sport in any country. The fact that I watched the game on 2 big screen TVs in the middle of a Colorado casino is an indicator of the impact MLS’ of the Beckham transaction. 110 countries carried this “glamour” friendly, I can’t imagine that they, and the rest of LA, won’t sign-up for more Galaxy games. Lastly, a sure sign that Beckham-mania is to the point of absurd, this article is about the man that truly ushered in the Becks era, the fourth official.

SuperLiga – Dia Uno
The SuperLiga is off to a decent start for MLS squads trying to prove their worth to Mexican Americans. Chivas immediately lived up to the diving stereotypes as Dallas’ new find ran within a foot of a diving Ernesto Miguel. Immediately Miguel feigned being clipped by Richardhino’s run and prompted a nearly five minute delay with his theatrics. FC Dallas managed to jump to a 1-0 lead due to a complex chip from Arturo Alvarez in the 56th minute, ushering in the crazy portion of the game. A minute after his insertion into the match, Chivas’ Antonio Olvera blasted a shot past a diving Ray Burse, Dallas third string keeper making his first start in place of injured Dario Sala and Shaka Hislop. What the referee failed to notice was Olvera clearly settling the ball with his left hand prior to his excellent strike. Despite the pleas of the Hoops, the goal stood. Tempers flared minutes later as Drew Moor received an elbow to the face by a Chivas defender. Unnoticed, again, by the refereeing crew, Moor ill advisedly took matters into his own right hand, striking the defender and receiving a red card in the process. This action prompted a near brawl involving every player on the pitch. Dallas managed to hang on for a draw. The draw has to be seen as a disappointment for the MLS side, given the nearly reserve squad that Chivas fielded. Only four Chivas players that saw action in their last competitive match took the field in Dallas. Further the Hoops had trouble connecting on passes all match.

The Galaxy shocked North America as they managed to top a nearly full strength Pachuca at the Home Depot Center. Joe Cannon was a beast between the pipes while Abel Xavier consistently cleared the area of danger as LA was under siege all evening. The Galaxy opened the scoring on a one-time strike from Alan Gordon, bringing Becks and son Cruz out of their skybox chair. Gordon was the recipient of a positively Beckham-esque pass from “Capitan Landon” that found Gordon’s chest between two defenders. Pachuca though they had sealed a draw in the 78th minute with a neat flick past Cannon by Rafael Marquez Lugo, but the Galaxy had other plans. Pressing the attack near the end of the match Donovan again sent a pass, cross field to Cobi Jones. Jones dribbled past his defender and rocket a shot toward goal directly into the path of Donovan. A leaping Landon deflected the ball past Pachuca keeper Miguel Calero for the three points.

Blanco Stokes Friendly FIRE
Yet again the chorus must be sung (“it was only a friendly”), but for one afternoon Cuauhtémoc Blanco made the 2007 version of the Chicago Fire appear to be a respectable football club. Celtic, fresh off being embarrassed in Colorado by the MLS All-Stars, strolled into Toyota Park expecting an easy win at the house of the Eastern Conference cellar-dwellers and not many home fans would disagree with them. What both parties received was a show that left league officials wishing that Blanco had donned a Beckham costume the evening before in LA. Temo put on a display of showmanship that left Celtic bumping into each other and his new teammates giggling. Blanco’s combination of skill and theatrics were on full display during the afternoon. He trapped a long pass with his ass, threw in the famed Blanco hop/bounce, dummied a Celtic defender out of his kilt, backheeled with precision and even scored a goal that looked eerily similar to that of Juan Pablo Angel’s three days prior. This is a player that the casual fan will pay to see, although one can’t help but be disappointed with the far-from-a-sell-out crowd that was in the stands Sunday. Despite the attendance failing, for the moment it looks like John Guppy is re-writing the entry on his tenure with Chicago. The Gupster hires Blanco, fires a coach who was only slightly less popular than he, and now on the verge of delivering Costa Rican assassin, Paulo Wanchope.

Other Friendly Action
Aston Villa kicks off their preseason this week with two tough matches against the best MLS crowd and one of the hottest MLS teams. Villa likely will be wondering if they landed on the right continent when they walk out on the BMO field pitch and are subjected to the howls of U-Sector and the Red Patch Boys. Then Villa travels to Columbus to take on GBS and the Crew. Marty O’Neill’s EPL side better be wary! The shock of the friendly season took place in Utah last week as MLS laughing-stock RSL took down UEFA-cup bound Everton 2-0. RSL had fitness and substitutions on their side, however only Tim Howard looked like a professional footballer for the Merseysiders. A few days later, RSL managed a draw against mighty Boca Juniors.

MLS Week 15 – Actual League Games Too?
Sunday
Dynamo v. Revs – I’ve heard it mentioned in numerous circles that many fans of the league were disappointed that MLS did not do a better job of promoting this big match between the top Eastern and Western sides in lieu of hyping the Beckham debut. Even if they did, would it have gotten the attention it deserved? Likely not. Heck, most of the people that turned out for this showcase of a match were still at the concession booths when DeRo smashed in the Goal of the Week. Seem difficult for fans and the league alike to get their timing right.

United v. The Flagship – Woly’s header tops United and officially takes them out of the “hottest team” discussion. The Flagship, meanwhile, finds themselves tied for the Eastern Conference lead with New England. Five teams are within three points of each other in a race that can count out Toronto or a re-loading Chicago.

UFC v. Crew – Wil Hessmer and the Columbus defense continued it’s strong form blanking the masquerading mixed martial arts squad, but GBS dazzles the home crowd with two big goals and continues Columbus’ unrelenting surge up the Eastern Conference standings. The Hunt family announced that GSB’s jersey is set to be retired by the end of the week.

Rapids v. Wizards – EJ hits for two more, but a feisty Rapids side twice climbed back into the match to salvage a draw at Arrowhead. The Rapids, down by one, were boosted by the ejection of Jose Burciaga Jr. in the 67th minute and took advantage ten minutes later with DC reject Facundo Erpen putting the ball in the back of the net. Rapid fans know things are going well when Jovan Kirovski hits the score sheet. He scored the only way he could, unmarked and from the spot.

Quote of the Week
Chris McGuire, sports marketing manager for adidas soccer:
"At this time the LA Galaxy David Beckham jersey is the number one-selling shirt in the world."

Why Pay to See an MLS Game?
Here is a breakdown of players and other reasons to get you out to see live football in the USA!
Eastern Conference
New England Revolution – Andy Dorman – The most underpaid player is a joy to watch.
New York Red Bulls – Juan Pablo Angel – The Columbian can read defenses like a book.
DC United – Christian Gomez – Deadly from set pieces and a passing wizard.
Kansas City Wizards – Eddie Johnson – A scoring machine, in league play.
Columbus Crew – Guillermo Barros Schelotto – Turned the team around and saved Sigi’s hide.
Toronto FC – The Fans – Staking their claim to “Best Fans in the League” since day one.
Chicago Fire - Cuauhtémoc Blanco – The showman has arrived.

Western Conference
Real Salt Lake – A New Beginning – You can’t compare the team to a Phoenix since 1) it has yet to begin to rise and 2) there was nothing to create any ashes in the first place, but Kries has restocked this club with youth and quality. Perhaps a Designated Player is on the way, but who would put extra butts in seats in Salt Lake? Keith van Horne? Bill Paxton?
LA Galaxy – David Beckham – As if I needed to type that.
Chivas USA – Maykel Galindo – The Cuban speedster is a great story and the primary reason Precki’s side isnt’ fighting RSL for division basement space.
FC Dallas – Juan Toja – The pick-up of the year thus far has big game to match his big hair. This Columbian international will not be around long if he continues.
Houston Dynamo – The Houston Dynamo – Mentioning any one player would slight the rest of this loaded team.
Colorado Rapids – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – It’s a mouthful, but this venue is stunning. No details were overlooked (ala’ Chicago) and it makes for an incredible experience.

Transfer of the Week
It is not a done deal, but Freddy Adu is on his way to Europe. If the league gets the $7.5M they are looking for then it is a coup. Young Fredrick’s pricetag is not going to get any higher through league play. Here’s hoping that he gets some PT in Euroland or else I see a free transfer back to MLS in three years.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (3-2)
SEASON (35-58)

LA Goats v. The Flagship – The goats just can seem to work out their road troubles and the Flagship starts putting a streak together.

Revs v. RSL – The Jason Kreis youth movement is making me a beliver, but not over the top team in the East. RSL manages a draw.

FIRE v. UFC – A recharged FIRE remains winless against UFC, but gets a point for their troubles.

LA Goats v. KC – The road nightmare continues as KC makes amends for their poor showing last week.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour – Glenn talks about Becks.
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

7/21/07 – US Soccer Snob’s All-Star Emergency Report

2007-07-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

Being one of those fortunate enough to attend this year’s MLS All-Star Game, to be renamed the MLS Legendary Club Ass-Kick Fest; I wanted to post my impressions of the evening.

The Hoopla
I arrived in Denver on Wednesday night and headed to one of the few Denver pubs on the FSC Pub Guide. Not exactly teeming with patrons donned MLS gear, but at least The Dream Team was on. I found out a day too late that I should have been at the British Bulldog or ESPN Zone. My bad, but how can you consider yourself unfortunate when you can score double tall Crown and Cokes for the price of a regular. The next day, both Denver papers were packed with All-Star information. I mean the game was on the front page with plenty about the team, Beckham and Celtic on the inside. There were even, fairly written pieces by sports columnists in both papers. Sadly, the Rocky Mountain News soiled their good name the next day by publishing a Bernie Lincicome piece. However, this anti-soccer piece was missing the typical Lincicome venom. This was a pleasant surprise given the terrible coverage the All-Star game received last year in Chicago. The Denver press treated the game as a major league All-Star of any league and for that I applaud them.

Outside the stadium, there was a bit of an All-Star village with skills challenges and player autograph signings. This was the site of the only FIRE representation of the evening. Ivan Guerrero and Matt Pickens were at separate booths and seemed to be pleasantly surprised to see a FIRE jersey at the proceedings. Diego Gutierrez was also in the Park promoting his charitable work.

The Facility
Simply stated, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is the best soccer facility I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. The complex is sprawling with a ton of lighted soccer fields for the yutes. Parking was free and it was on a paved surface. Are you reading this FIRE fans? Free and Paved. Rather than being subjected to the odors of the Argo Corn Starch facility, the DSG complex smells more like a golf course. The exterior of the stadium is nice and about the only area of the stadium that doesn’t surpass Toyota Park. After entering the park the opulence of DSG versus TP became clear. Management here figured out how to install a stadium club store that featured not only a ton of Rapids merchandise, but jerseys and scarves of every team in the league as well as a number of popular teams from around the globe. C’mon league wake up! Further, they managed to work all their merchandising facilities into the building and had no need for cluttering their wide concourses with blue and white outhouse merch booths. Imagine that! MLS or the Rapids did drop the ball here in that they didn’t offer two big-ticket items that would have flown off the shelf: 1. David Beckham jerseys (only 100 delivered to the park) 2. Mastroeni All-Star jerseys. The stadium has plenty of concessions areas with reasonable queues. It is also possible to easily walk all the way around the park. As one circles the facility, the south concourse has something that will make every FIRE fan green with envy. In what looks like a garage (but easily could be, of lets say a firehouse) sits a Cantina. The Cantina opens to the concourse with two large garage doors. There are also two large garage doors opening to the outside of the stadium. The outdoor portion of the Cantina features seating a beer booth and a couple of foosball tables. The garage structure has concessions on one side and a full bar on the other. The roof was adorned with flags from around the world. The Cantina is, in short, the perfect addition to a soccer stadium. Another nice feature of the park flanks the club seating section on the eastern concourse. On the concourse and the first level of seating, the Rapids offer box seating for four at a patio table with a server. Tremendous idea!! On top of all that, we were far from the first people to leave the game and it only took five minutes to exit the parking area. Kudos to Kronke for creating this facility it is truly top-notch.

The Match
Delayed for ten minutes due to lightening, the match eventually kicked off with Celtic only fielding a handful of their normal starters. This gamble by the Celtic coach seemed to work well for the first fifteen minutes as the MLS All-Stars could seem to find a rhythm producing a tedious feel to the match. Then DeRo and the Boyz (no H in that one) got rolling and started testing the flanks via Ronnie O’Brian and MLS revelation and number one Jimmy Page fan Juan Toja. Ricardo Clark was an early standout and seemed to really give the rest of the All-Stars confidence with a run right through the Celtic defense that was eventually snuffed out. Eddie Johnson started playing a bigger and bigger role in the match and eventually drew a clear penalty kick in the 30^th minute, but Johnson’s effort was saved but Celtic keeper Artur Boruc who had a tremendous night despite the score line. The All-Stars broke through in the 36^th minutes as DeRo fed Juan Pablo Angel in the box. Angle took a deft tough to evade a charging Boruc the slid the ball between the posts. Eight minutes later, Celtic failed to clear a DeRo free kick that bounced to the feet of an onside Toja who slipped the ball under the leg of a sliding Celtic defender to put the All-Stars up 2-0. The second half witnessed wholesale changes by both sides, but none of the subs would hit the back of the net. The 2-0 score line would hold for the second half maintain the MLS All-Stars undefeated status under the “vs. the World” format.

The Crowd
It was refreshing go to an MLS all-star game with a heavy pro-MLS crowd. Certainly the Celtic fans had greater cohesion of wardrobe, but the numbers were 70/30 in favor of MLS supporters. Heck, the Rapids supporters even tried to get an “MLS, MLS” chant going, which is more than could be said for the FIRE’s Section 8 last year. The Rapids fans did their best to make FIRE fans feel at home by displaying signs and wearing T-shirts begging for the ouster of their coach and GM. Ah, the comforts of home! I also had the pleasure of taking my cousin to his first professional soccer match. Although I don’t thing he’ll be buying Rapids season tickets anytime soon, he is likely to visit the facility again. Small steps!

Depeche Mode once sang, “I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumors, but I think that God has a sick sense of humor.” This line took on relevance on Thursday as the soccer gods sat the writer of the US Soccer Snob Blog next to, yes, a Euro Snob. For most of the evening we sat in blissful ignorance of each other. I did pick up that he wasn’t rooting for MLS despite not donning a green and white striped jersey and not having a trace of an accent. No big deal, however the dam broke near the end of the second half, likely as combination of his frustration with his team and my vocal drunkenness which you’d think a Celtic fan would celebrate. Without any further adu, I give you, the conversation from hell:

Me to my cousin: This score is surprising since I’m sure that the All-Star would be the underdogs in this match.

ES: Actually, they were favored.

USSS: That’s surprising given the way the league is looked down upon around the world.

ES: Well it is an all-star team.

USSS: That’s true! I have no doubt that all the MLS players could play in the EPL.

ES(laughing dismissively): You’ve got to be kidding! Donovan is too much of a wussy to play in Europe. Did you see the World Cup last year?

USSS (set off): First, Donovan doesn’t want to play in Europe and second of all his performance was largely due to Bruce Arena’s positioning. You can’t expect Donovan to be effective chasing headers all game against a massive Czech backline. Have you watched a soccer game before today?

ES (noticing my jersey): You’re a FIRE fan, what the hell do you know?

(Cousin observing nervously)

USSS: I know enough about the f*%kin game to tell that you have no idea about what your taking about you f*$kin Euro poser.

ES (sheepishly): I don’t appreciate the profanity; there are children around here.

USSS: Ok, I’ll give you that one, but please try to watch a game sometime.

(Five minutes of silence elapse until full time is blown.)

USSS (extending my hand): I appreciate your passion for the game. Have a nice evening.

Evening Summary:

Had a few laughs in a facility, saw an interesting game, got a good result and got to go off and a Euro Poser. I highly recommend experiencing all four!

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 07/18/07

2007-07-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

TOP STORIES

Quakes to Return
According to press reports out of the Bay Area, Don Garber will announce during the State of the League Address that the Quakes will return to the Bay Area despite not having a place to play next season. “Understandings” have been met between the Lew Wolff ownership group and the City of San Jose, just don’t ask Wolff for an address. Congratulations to the loyal Quakes fans and to Soccer Silicon Valley. Let this be a lesson to the groups across the country that are acting to save or bring soccer to their city (Philadelphia!).

Blanco Reports to FIRE
Most FIRE fans were worried about Blanco’s impact on the locker room when he signed for the FIRE, now those same fans can’t wait for him to arriving and start slamming slackers like Calen Carr and Chad Barrett against lockers! After watching this team mope its way through the last three months, it is clear that someone is needed to fight FIRE with fire! The no-BS injection of Coach Osorio and Temo will have underperforming players fearing for their lives after games. Can you imagine what will happen when Brian Hall makes the next terrible call against the FIRE while Temo is on the pitch? While, I don’t relish the though of the FIRE’s most high priced talent sitting out games due to suspension, it would be nice to see someone in a FIRE jersey look like they care about the team’s form. However, Luis reports that he did see the Houston game. Watch out!!

FIREsale part Three
All reports say the Fire are as good as sold to the family that brought you the Son of the better half of 7 and 7’s (potential Jimmy Buffett song?) will be the new owner of the FIRE. Andell Holdings will be taking over the fledgling FIRE in 30 to 45 day (crafted by a former Metrostar front office guy?). The only drawback is that this does not include the implicit ouster of GM John Guppy. Of course, it may be the wrong time to boot the surging Gupster after his hiring of Osorio, easily his most savvy move to date, despite the events of the past week.

Records go down in MLS
Three important records fell this week:
1. Houston Dynamo broke the league shutout record. The previous holders, walked away with the MLS cup the year they broke the record.
2. Steve Ralston broke the league assist record. The previous holder, walked away from the league with the biggest blond afro in history.
3. LA Galaxy shattered the MLS record for press passes given out for a player announcement. The previous record was 8.

MLS Week 15 – Can’t Stop Addicted to the Shindig
Thursday
Dynamo vs. FIRE – This game was sadder than sad and unfortunately for us FIRE fans, a 4-0 spanking on the alleged night of hope (sell out, new coach, Mapp’s return) wasn’t the low point of the week (see: Cup, Open). At least Juan Carlos Osorio learned a great deal about his team during this debacle and now may have a clear view of just how far he has to bring this team to get to the promised land.
MOTM: Joseph Ngwenya – for his hard work and sublime skills on the third goal against the FIRE.

Saturday
Hoops vs. United – United buries Dallas and the Hoops rise back to life thanks to the reappearance of Carlos Ruiz and the continued timeliness of Juan Toja. Tommy Soehn was rightly livid after this one that United had in the bag.
MOTM: Juan Toja – for sweeping the dust of the Dallas grave and pulling the rest of the team out of the ground.

Revs. vs. The Flagship – The Flagship has done rather well at home and you can’t expect to keep Angel off the score sheet forever.

RSL vs. Wizards – This one went almost according to plan by the 19th minute with EJ doing what he does (in league play), but RSL shut down the KC offensive juggernaut the rest of the match. Defense has not been a problem under the Kreis regime. The comical mistakes in the back that cost the team early on have, for the most part, gone away.
MOTM: No position to judge

Crew vs. LA Goats – Chivas USA is making Beckham’s home their own! This was a big win for Chivas and stay well situated in the playoff race ladder, just above Columbus thanks to the three points. This is the type of win that teams can point to as a reason they made the playoffs.
MOTM: No position to judge.

Sunday
UFC vs. Dynamo – Here’s the deal. No team in the league is better prepared than UFC to handle red card situations. I’ve got to believe that this squad practices 10 on 11 more often than even strength. It is almost becoming inevitable and now number one draft pick Maurice Edu has been indoctrinated into the culture of violence! However, Houston did have every opportunity in the world to put this thing away, but couldn’t managed to put their shots on frame. A shocking development given the events of Thursday night.
MOTM: Carl Robinson – Directing traffic and shutting down attacks, Robinson was everywhere for UFC and helped salvage a point for his side.

Quotes of the Week
FC Dallas coach Steve Morrow on the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup:
"It's a big cup competition. I want to win and get my bonus."

Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas on English press potshots on MLS quality:
"It irritates me so much I want to put my fist through a wall--or through a television set playing Benny Hill,"

Beckham Update
OK, there is much to unearth here that hasn’t been reported 1,000 times over in every paper, but was nice to see that the LA Galaxy have sold in excess of 250,000 jerseys prior to their unveiling and that upon meeting some of his teammates, one of them introduced themselves, then asked Becks, “Nice to meet you. What’s your name?” Victoria’s show was quite entertaining and could be worth picking up for NBC (ratings dependent). We’ll know the Beckham’s are having if everyone starts saying “major”.

“Major” Inroad of the Week
This one is a bit dated, but HBO’s “Entourage” featured entourage leader Vince falling ass backwards into a betting syndicate led by Dennis Hopper. Vince was on the edge of losing big money on Manchester United until Hopper’s pal noted that he hadn’t called in the bets. Hopper then convinced Vince to bet on the next game featuring Brazil. No word on FIFA on if these back-to-back matches were on a official FIFA international match day.

MLS Trade of the Week
Jason Kreis and RSL fleeced the Rapids and obtained rising US National Team force Kyle Beckerman for inconsistent Mhedi Ballouchy. Each side had a clear motivation for the trade, with Colorado already having a Beckerman in Pablo Mastroeni and RSL already having a Ballouchy in Adu. Perhaps Freddy’s play in center at the U-20’s was the final straw in proving to RSL that he needs to play in the middle, this making Ballouchy expendable.

U-20 World Cup
They gave us some thrills and hope against Poland and Brazil, but ultimately reverted to their form against South Korea. They managed to salvage an extra time win against the poorest sports in the tournament Uruguay, but couldn’t manage to come from behind against a very good Austria side. At least we learned that Adu and Altidore are not flukes. The Crew has to be encouraged by the play of Danny Szetela.

US Open Cup
While this remains my favorite competition, it is disappointing to see the early ouster of some MLS sides who trotted out B teams and paid the price as the USL teams have proven more than up to the task! D.C. United was dispatched in farm country by the Harrisburg City Islanders. Richmond Kickers ousted the LA Galaxy, while the Charleston Battery ended Houston’s double hopes. Perhaps, Houston and LA were looking at their schedule and decided that it was crowded enough, but FC Dallas was also on the brink of elimination at the feet of the Atlanta Silverbacks before finally topping the USL side in a penalty kick shootout. Houston’s ouster prevented another meeting between the Texas in-state rivals. These results alone warrant expanded Fox Soccer Channel coverage of these matches.
On the other hand, New England and Colorado topped Rochester and California Victory by two goal margins. Both the Revs and Rapids fielded close to full strength sides, but the Revs needed two goals in extra time to dispatch the underlings.
Then there was the Chicago FIRE marking their franchise low point by dropping a 1-0 match to the Carolina Railhawks. The FIRE fielded a full strength team and was blanked by an A-league club that started a keeper that had yet to play a league match. That is as low as you can go folks!

Quote of the Week II:
Fox Soccer Channel’s David Steinberg to Multichannel news on if he was surprised about the Gold Cup final ratings topping the Stanley Cup finals average rating by 40%:
“Not at all. Soccer is definitely poised to supplant hockey as the No. 4 major team sport in this country. You can already see some indications of that happening. One is TV ratings and another is live attendance. MLS attendance is either on a par or slightly above average NHL attendance. If you look at the country as a whole as opposed to specific regions where hockey may be strong, you just don’t see the same level of awareness of that sport as you do with soccer. Those are all signs of soccer growing more popular.”

Soccer Hater of the Week
A perfect follow-up to our quote of the week II. Every time Joe American sports fan feels threatened by soccer (which should be all the time this week), the ignorant haters come out of the woodwork don’t they? I know that the entities vying to bring MLS to St. Louis can’t be happy after reading this joke of a column in the St. Louis Post-Distpatch by Bryan Burwell. I mean, there is poor research and then there is just straight-up denial. How do you define denial? I’d start by writing this sentence: “Even in a soccer hotbed like St. Louis, is there anyone who believes it will ever rise above the NHL or even the WNBA, and become a core American sporting pastime?” Hasn’t soccer (not just MLS, but all levels of soccer in this country) supplanted these sports already? The NHL is a close call, but if you think about national team games of all countries, friendlies and minor league soccer, even the NHL may trail attendance-wise. I guess this is the mindset developed by only watching Sportscenter (until recently).

Soccer Lover of the Week
Here is an all too rare knowledgeable soccer ink from a major sports mainstream sports columnist. Mike Downey joined the Chicago Tribune a number of years ago and wrote a column about how excited he was to be part of the Chicago sports scene. He mentioned the FIRE and his love of soccer. Unfortunately, as many of us know, the Chicago Tribune, historically has been reticent to provide space in their sports pages to the FIRE of any kind. I would rate their coverage, as far as space devoted to soccer, the worst in the United State among cities with MLS teams. Yes this includes Kansas City and the New York papers. Being immersed in this culture, Mike certainly was never encouraged to write about soccer, more than once every World Cup, where his great column would be offset by a typical “Who Care?” article from one of the other columnists. Although this trend is clearly changing on the heels of the construction of Toyota Park and the successful Gold Cup at Solider Field, it is all to rare that we see columns like this in either of the Chicago papers.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (2-4)
SEASON (32-56)

MLS All-Stars vs. Celtic FC – The off season Celtic are no match for a group of in-form players playing for potential European vacations. Oops, I broke soccer writer code. Players only come over to the US for vacations and semi-retirements. I forgot… Either way lifelong Rangers fan Stevie Nichol has a stacked squad to pick from and will be starting a three man back line. Should be a crac’…um’ exciting game. Sorry, I’ll get used to that.

Soccer Sunday?
Dynamo v. Revs – The Dynamo come into the Big Razor a manage a draw.

United v. The Flagship – The Flagship starts taking on water due to the big Angel hole up top. United over their rivals here.

UFC v. Crew – UFC bookends their road odyssey with losses as the Crew rebound from California disappointment.

Rapids v. Wizards – Shock! Ballouchy is not the answer. Wizards reclaim pole position in the east with a pretty win against the Rapids.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour – Glenn couldn’t keep up with me this week, so you’ll have to settle for archives.
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 07/10/07

2007-07-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 14 – Fireworks
Wednesday
D.C. United at Kansas City Wizards – There are few sure things in life, but the Wizards will be at the airport to greet the return of Eddie Johnson. Much like the USA’s Copa America effort, the Wizards have had a great deal of difficulty finding the back of the net. You can blame it on some spectacular keeping in the last two matches, but too often they are holding onto the ball far too long and getting dispossessed. The chief culprit of this is Yura Movsisyian who is quite adept that putting himself in great attacking positions, but rarely has a clue about what to do from there except shoot in the direction of the net. Some crisper passing and better awareness of his teammates might have nailed down a starting spot for him once EJ returns. The Wizards attack is so potent that regardless of the caliber of defense in front of them, they will get looks at the goal. It is no surprise that the mid-week addition of Greg Vanney for Facundo Erpen had a lot to do with United’s poise in back. If Erpen had been back there he would have made at least one typically foolish error against the swarming Wizard offense.
MOTM: Troy Perkins - showed the form that won him the MLS goalkeeper of the year award last season and commanded the area giving him a rare clean sheet.

Chivas USA at FC Dallas – Chivas USA looked a bit slow all match and didn’t get the type of performance out of Maykel Galindo that Goats fans wanted. Laurent Merlin had a great game, but failed to convert his chances. Also, Chivas USA fans were conspicuously absent from the PHP, at least they weren’t show on TV at all. Dallas put forth an effort strong enough to top the visitors, and applied some icing late in the game.
MOTM: Ramon Nunez – for what surely should have been the goal of the week. His twenty yard blast left Preston Burpo a spectator.

Columbus Crew at Colorado Rapids – Due to the overlap in matches on DirectKick, I wasn’t able to bear witness to much of this match, however I think both sides privately will be happy with this result. The exponentially improving Crew are still not solid enough to expect a point on the road, while the depleted Rapids, just need to prevent losses until Beckerman and Gomez return from Venezuela.
MOTM: No Position to Judge

UFC at Real Salt Lake – When Robbie Findlay’s sixth minute shot dinged off the post, RSL fans though it might be a night to remember. Jeff Cunningham made them remember ten minutes later, when he converted an opportunity nearly identical to Findlays. Esky added a PK for the home side before the half, but RSL conceded yet another late goal and fell again at home. Sadly, UFC’s wonder goalie Sam Reynold’s who was in the midst of another solid match
MOTM: Jeff Cunningham – under pressure to perform infront of his former fans, Cunningham’s gorgeous first half strike reminded the RSL faithful of a month ago.

FIRE at Los Angeles Galaxy – OK, the Fire did not deserve to win this match. Their forward movements could hardly be called attacks and their only two shots of the evening were generated by CJ Brown. However, the Galaxy didn’t deserve to win it either, but they still managed to walk out with three points. Due to the typically poor refereeing of Brian Hall who awarded TWO penalty kicks to the Galaxy on “fouls” that did not even warrant yellow cards. Both poor calls were spurred by the considerable thespian skills of Kyle Martino. The first came as he approached the box and felt Chris Armas’ had near his, immediately he spun around and went to ground. The second came as he drove in the box toward Ivan Guerrero. Before, Guerrero could even get a foot in, Martino was two flying through the air grabbing his ankle. Again Hall pointed to the spot, then awarded yellow cards to Thiago and Brown, when they questioned the appropriateness of the relationship between Hall and Martino, or something to that effect. Hall showed why no MLS ref deserved to be in World Cup last year. The only other items to take out of this match were Abel Xavier having his best MLS match, Jon Busch looking like the smartest pick-up of the John Guppy era and the FIRE defense solidifying.
MOTM: Kyle Martino – sure I think his play was disgusting, cynical and immature. He likely should have been sent off before the half, but when it comes down to it, his two flops that Hall bought led to an LA victory.

Thursday
The Flagship at Houston Dynamo – Is this about the time the Red Bulls are supposed to look old? NewYork didn’t even show up for this match and got blow off the pitch by a short handed Dynamo. Without, Rico Clark or the injured Brad Davis and Eddie Robinson the Dynamo made it an easy day for Pat Onstad and held NY without a shot on goal. On a positive note, Claudio Reyna has played in ten games this year, shattering my predicted over/under by 6 games and counting.
MOTM: Stuart Holden – he’s stepped it up when the Dynamo have needed him and may have cemented his place in the starting eleven with a goal and two assists in this one.

Saturday
Chivas USA at New England Revolution – El Emporador strikes early while Andy Dorman continues to answer his critics, and cementing his title as the most underpaid player in the league.
MOTM: Preston Burpo – His eight saves allowed the Northern Goats to leave with a point.

Real Salt Lake at Columbus Crew – OK, RSL fans. This is rock bottom. After a few encouraging games at home RSL goes to Columbus and completely implodes. While Freddy and Nathan Sturgis were covering themselves in glory, directly north, their club was showing in shame capped by an ugly tackle on Schelotto, by a clearly frustrated Esky. The fact is, beyond Eddie Pope, Andy Williams (when completely healthy) and Nick Rimando, RSL just doesn’t have many players that are ready to be full time starters in this league. Jean-Martial Kipre and Atiba Harris are complete roving disasters waiting to happen. Daniel Torres managed to make it through this game without a major error, but you have to believe that Sturgis will start immediately. Hopefully, Kaptain Kreis will take a coaching lesson from Thomas Rongren and play Freddy in the middle. For the Crew, Jakob Thomas continues his return from injury and put together a Hedjuk-like effort. Also, the Columbus fans in the north end zone should write a letter to FIFA thanking them for mandating nets be put on goals. If that wasn’t the case, Schelotto’s blast from the spot might have destroyed the entire north stand with it’s sheer power. Sigi has once again, figured things out, and is beginning to reward the fans and front office for their patience.
MOTM: Alejandro Moreno – His hold up work and great possession and layoff paced the Crew to another victory.

UFC at FIRE – I went to this game with my buddy Kurt and appropriately lowered his expectations during the drive out there. Kurt, don’t look for much from the FIRE. This team is offensively challenged. Fifteen minutes into the match, he though I hadn’t watched a FIRE match all year. The FIRE, perhaps trying to win one for Denis Hamlett during his last interim game, came out firing on all cylinders. I’m not sure what the difference could have been, but the FIRE’s performance left fans with optimism for the first time in months. Some slick passing between Bakary Soumare (who was everywhere) and Chad Barrett led to the FIRE’s first goal since Peter Wilt was axed. Toronto rewarded their sizable road support with a great hustle goal by number one draft pick Maurice Edu. There is hope FIRE fans!
MOTM – Bakary Soumare – After being suspended for a match Soumare played the most solid game of his career in a sweeper role for the Fire. His height and athleticism blunted any Toronto attack for the vast majority of the match. He still needs some polish, but he is beginning to justify his lofty draft slot.

Kansas City Wizards at Los Angeles Galaxy – The Keystone LA defense did make a shambles of two plays and paid for them, on a couple of goals that will likely be cynically replayed around the world as an example of the “quality” of the team that Becks is heading. Chris Klein had a rough touch that Yura Movsisyan took and deposited in the back of the net. Four minutes later, Ante Jazic poorly and ill-advisedly headed the ball back to his keeper, Joe Cannon, but cannon bobbled the pass. KC’s Davey Arnaud pounced on it and headed into the virtually open net. For most of the match the Jimmy Conrad bolstered KC defense was doing a great job blunting the talents of Landon Donovan and Carlos Pavon. However, the insertion of veteran Cobi Jones was all LA needed to get back in the game. Six minutes after Cobi entered the match, Pavon blasted a shot past Kevin Hartman. Pavon’s slammed off the far post and fell into Cobi’s path. He made no mistake and drilled shot into the back of the net. Then in the 75th minute Donovan curled a low cross around a defender and found Jones on a near post run. Cobi’s clinical one-touch finishing left Hartman without a prayer.
MOTM: Cobi Jones – Off the bench Cobi was in the right place twice to pull the Galaxy level against the stingy KC defense.

Sunday
The Flagship at Colorado Rapids – Despite a near superhuman effort from Jacob Peterson, who surely cemented his spot in the starting line-up, the Rapids fell again to a rare period of lax defending. Without any Rapids pressure, a rebounded shot was calmly put away by the grey haired and well traveled John Wolyniec. The Flagship held on for the rest of the match against a Rapids attach that was gaining steam by the second. Another five minutes in this one and the Rapids would have likely pulled out a draw, however, the Commerce City squad will have to look back at post shot and a crossbar rattler for signs that their offense is improving.
MOTM – John Wolyniec – Another veteran puts on a good show! Woly’s strike is all the Flagship needed to top the flaccid Rapids.

D.C. United at Houston Dynamo – The predicted shoot our never occurred, but tempers were flaring at this match-up of the two hottest teams in MLS (apologies to Columbus). As per usual, a poorly refereed match by Brian Hall led to the game nearly getting out of control, with pushing and shoving becoming a major feature of the match. Both teams had decent opportunities, but Houston’s poise and possession saved the day for the home side. The Dynamo got all they would need when Brian Ching’s foot when all hockey-style and redirected a Richard Mulrooney shot past a hockey keeper posed Troy Perkins. This game was a showcase for the league and featured some wide-open attacking play at times. These are clearly the top two teams to fear in the league.
MOTM – Brian Ching – He was a handful for DC’s defense all night and made the most of his positioning on the goal.

Discipline Committees Time to Shine
This week the MLS Discipline Committee was handed two golden opportunities to make examples to players who committed nasty frustration fouls on “star” players. I believe the league should seize this chance and hand long suspensions to Aleko Eskandarian and Nick Garcia for their very dangerous challenges on Schelotto and Donovan respectively. On the eve, of Lord Beckham’s arrival a clear message needs to be sent to all the players that these challenges will not be tolerated. Sure it is unfair to hand down stiffer penalties, because the fouls occurred on high priced players, but the league has to protect their big investments and there were no excuses for these terrible fouls.

FIRE Hire Juan Carlos Osorio
I’ll confess that I don’t know much about Osorio. He has experience in MLS with the then Metrostars and has also been the Bridesmaid in DC, Chivas USA and other open posts throughout the league. The fact that he was a fitness coach at Man City should help a team like the FIRE which has been crippled by injuries over the past two seasons. His short, but successful stint at Bogata’s Millionarios, points to good things to come. This could be the defining positive stamp of the John Guppy era. I’d expect Osorio to keep Denis Hamlett on board for the remainder of the season, but certainly Hamlett will be looking to spread his wings after whetting his beak.

FIREsale part Three
If you are looking for great info on the fire Luis Arroyave’s blog has been priceless these last few weeks digging up some great tidbits on the FIREsale. A number of items have been widely misreported. First, Frankie Klopas’ group is not a group. He’s frontin for the Greco family which owns a food production company. And the competing is not a European Soccer club, but rather the Seagram’s’ company that peddles wares familiar to most my readers.

Beckham Update
As expected ESPN is throwing down the big-time coverage for what is widely expected to be Becks debut in a Galaxy uniform against Chelsea at the HDC on July 21. 19 cameras will be in place for the match. ESPN will carry three hours (or half hour depending on how you read the press release) of pre-game coverage, which only the Super Bowl can top! There will also be an extended SportsCenter (because they still can’t find time for soccer in the regular SportsCenter) and a hour-long documentary on Becks. Anyone still think he isn’t worth the money?

Copa America
Let’s throw some dirt on this American campaign right away! Despite completing the mission of blooding players, BB the King and the rest of us, didn’t really learn much about our young players. A couple took a step down, but will still remain firmly in the mix. Jonathan Bornstein and Justin Mapp come to mind. A number, such as Sasha Klejestan and Eddie Gaven showed that they don’t belong on international pitches at this moment. Aside from the teams first ten minutes of the tournament EJ was a massive disappointment. Rico Clark looked solid until the Columbia game, where he was determined to set up as many dangerous free kicks for the opposition as possible. Kasey Keller looked like he was collecting social security already, while El Guzano inched closer to that #2 keeper slot. Benny Feilhaber came of followed up his epic Gold Cup final with a couple off and on performances. Only Ben Olsen emerged from this tournament looking like he could challenge for a starting spot, unfortunately is awash in better than average defensive midfielders. What BB and the fans were looking for was someone to that the attacking midfield reigns. That savior never materialized in Venezuela. Maybe that player was in Montréal?

U-20 World Cup
Man, did we all need this after Copa America! Even ESPN seized the moment, as the US was ready to take on Brazil, the US sports taste maker announced it was pre-empting the Hot Dog Eating Challenge to broadcast the USA vs. Brazil match-up. This unheard of move is yet another positive sign that ESPN has surely changed its mind about soccer in the last few years and is finally waking up to the true popularity of the sport with in our borders. The USA didn’t disappoint as two of MLS’ brightest young names, Adu and Jozy Altidore put on a show and helped team USA top Brazil 2-1. Altidore broke the tie and the Brazilians spirit with a goal minutes after the Brazilians equalized. The Americans effectively shut down the Samba Kings for the rest of the match after Jozy’s third goal of the tournament. From all MLS fans to Danny, Freddy, and Jozy: Have fun in Europe, we hardly knew you. That is unless MLS is ready to pony up for their brightest.

Soccer Basher of the Week
As expected, Beckham’s LA arrival this week once again brought out the knives from the “traditional” sports columnists like this widely syndicated columnist Tim Dahlberg. Dahlberg who you can contact at tdahlberg@ap.org take wrote this pile of trash. So I responded with this pile of trash:

Tim,

So you start writing about soccer the second you hear something about Mr. Beckham coming here, and suddenly you judge yourself worthy of a soccer taste monger? Someone qualified to call the Los Angeles Galaxy “something of a minor league team.” That statement clear that your objective was not objectivity, but rather ignorant bashing. Why should we soccer fans expect anything less? God forbid a serious discourse about the boost that Mr. Beckham will provide to an already thriving league. Sure it may play to your traditional big-four audience, but soccer aficionados do not look across the LA line-up and see a minor league soccer team, with or without Beckham. I know you it is probably in your blood as an American sports columnist to downplay soccer at every turn (at least that is what all your articles suggest), but your tired argument are more suited for the 1970’s than the modern age. How did the Gold Cup final this year out draw the Stanley Cup final by 40% on TV? Did you know that the 2006 World Cup final had more viewers than the average World Series game? Soccer needs a savior? The only thing that is in jeopardy of expiration is your credibility as a sports writer in a changing American sports landscape.

Regards,
Mark

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (5-7)
SEASON (30-52)

Thursday
Dynamo vs. FIRE – It looks like Coach Osorio will get a rude awakening on Thursday. The FIRE in current form are no match for sizzling Houston.

Saturday
Hoops vs. United – United sends the Barra and the Eagles into a tizzy with a performance showcasing the South American flair up top unlocking a shaky Dallas backline.

Revs. vs. The Flagship – The Flagship has done rather well at home and you can’t expect to keep Angel off the score sheet forever.

RSL vs. Wizards – KC will look to take last weeks disappointment on someone, something, anything! Oh, look it’s RSL! RSL just doesn’t have a prayer in this one, but does manage to put up a good fight.

Crew vs. LA Goats – The hot Crew should be able to salvage a draw from the Goats who always seem to shine at home.

Sunday
UFC vs. Dynamo – Mo and the new bhoys take on the Dynamo, but to no avail. Even with a hectic schedule, the depth that the Dynamo built during the last month will overwhelm the road weary UFC.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour – Glenn Interviews Shep Messing and Oliver Luck
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 07/03/07

2007-07-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 13 – Tables Turning
WEDNESDAY
Colorado vs. United – Perhaps scoring early and then giving up a bevy of unanswered goals was the theme for the week. Fred had close to a break out game and Nicholas Addlery, with identical stats to Fred, did have a breakout game while claiming the MLS Player of the Week honors.
MOTM: Fred –he has slowly been rounding into better form and this was his peak MLS performance.

THURSDAY
Dynamo vs. Dallas – Because of the poor timing of this fixture, I had no opportunity to witness the scoreless draw. From all accounts, I didn’t miss much as the word “defense” featured prominently in all reports.
MOTM: No position to judge.

SATURDAY
The Flagship vs. Crew – OK, the Crew are officially hot. As impressive as their win over the Flagship was, they managed to keep Juan Pablo Angel off the scoring column. The Schelottoless Crew had the run of play throughout the match and limited the visitors to ONE shot on goal. Andy Herron made an instant impact in the match by setting up Kei Kamara’s game wining strike less than two minutes after he stepped on the pitch.
MOTM: Kei Kamara – His cool finish netted three points for the home team.

Revs vs. Chivas – Just when one’s about to proclaim the greatness of the latest Revs youth movement in the stellar play of Adam Christman and Wells Thompson, the two and the rest of the East leaders get classed out of the Joint out west in a game that had more players missing from the roster than paid fans in attendance! Aside from the massive egg laid by the east leaders, the biggest disappointment of the match had to be the crowd. A beautiful California night and only a shade over 9k show up? What does this team have to do to draw the so called educated Mexican fan base we heard so much about? Chivas USA plays the second most exciting football in the league and they draw flies! How can they prove themselves? The next Honda (or is it still Honda, Mr. John Guppy?) Superclassico is Thursday August 23 and it is on ESPN2. No pressure!
MOTM: Maykel Galindo – his seventh of the year was typical of the class he has exuded all year and was a punctuation mark on the Revs’ Chivas USA football lesson.

SUNDAY
Rapids vs. FIRE – Was anyone at Toyota Park paying attention to this game? It wouldn’t have mattered anyway because it was amongst the dourest matches played all season in the league with two slumping teams showing why they are slumping. With the Chicago Bulls’ Luol Deng, MLS Commish Don Garber, and prospective new FIRE owner and Ring of Fire inductee Frankie Klopas (see below) in the house why pay attention? Actually, why show up may have been the question asked as the FIRE’s form is having a noticeable impact on attendance. At least until Mexico’s Mr. Manners 2001-2006 shows up in a week or two.
MOTM: Matt Pickens – Matt, don’t get too excited about this. It’s more or less an award for king of the mediocre in this tussle.

UFC vs. Wizards- Now here is a match that the league should broadcast around the world! Of course, they might want to CGI some crowd into vast Arrowhead. I suggest dubbing the growing and rockin’ Cauldron. The Argies are out to help in Columbus and more notably KC! KC put Toronto to the test by the New Boys stood up well, thanks to some brick wall goalkeeping by …… Sam Reynolds? Having a keeper crisis’ Mo dipped into the MLS pool and struck gold! Reynolds had nothing short of a blinder in the second half and took everything the Carlos Marinelli inspired Wizards could throw at him, which was the kitchen sink, three hula hoops, a Fixx tape and balded radial tire. Greg Sutton’s headache just got bigger and Toronto pulls a draw from what should have been a very ugly game for the Canucks.
MOTM: Sam Reynolds – for throwing down a steel curtain in front of goal.

FIREsale part Two
In town for the blinder that was FIRE vs. Rapids, Don Garber’s mere presence acknowledged what his mouth confirmed, that the FIRE are in the process of being sold to one of two groups. Group A is Shep Messing’s Clandestine Euro Syndicate (SMECS). In two separate occurrences, one of MLS’ best broadcasters has dropped cryptic hints that the FIRE are going to be purchased by an European based group that will be a big shot in the arm to MLS (which is pretty much the definition of any new ownership group.) No one has been able to decode who the SMECS is at this time. Group B is the FIRE Fan dream team! Ring of Fire inductee Frank Klopas seems to be the lynchpin of the group with former FIRE marketing wiz Steve Pasterino and other unnamed local investors in tow. If Klopas’ group takes over, he will become the GM of the FIRE, with John Guppy getting the heave-ho! Now there is a promo event that will pack Toyota Park! The transaction could not come at a better time as FIRE fan frustration with the team’s play and the attitude of management is causing discontent from The Stage, to Section 8, to the Club seats.

Former FIREmen Swapped
Nate Jaqua and Kelly Gray traded locations this week in another puzzling move by the Galaxy. Nate the Tall was though to be the main beneficiary of Beckham’s sizzling crosses, but Frank Yallop’s fond memories of Kelly Grey must has scuttled those well laid plans. Jaqua’s scoring output of single goal this season greased the rails out of town. Jaqua will join a glut of forwards in Houston, but may find himself in the midfield more often than not. I mean when he isn’t riding the pine.

UFC Transaction of the Week
Mo sent embattled and shaky back Kevin Goldthwaite to The Flagship for Todd Dunivant. Seems to be an even trade to me, but wouldn’t you rather have Richard Mulrooney over these two? Then again, the Canadian food didn’t really agree with Mulroon. Of course, the moment Mo said, "Just send me Reynolds" might be the UFC Transaction of the Week.

Beckham Update
LA has chosen the ominous Friday the 13th (of July) to introduce its newest signing: Kelly Grey David Beckham. The new Gals jerseys go on display July 11th and July 12th is when Beckham lands in town. Too bad no one will be paying attention because the FIRE are playing the Dynamo. Sorry Becks!!

Copa America
The USA (aka The Bleeding)
I mean, we knew this could happen. But we were tricked by Eddie Johnson’s penalty conversion against Argentina in the 10th minute of the Tournament. The Argies answered immediately, but the US hung in and made a game of it! Then BB the King subbed out Ben Olsen for Eddie Gaven. Gaven’s lack of defensive skills were exploited by Lionel Messi almost immediately, as he backed Gaven up at will and slid a gem of a pass into Hernan Crespo to take a 2-1 lead and flatten the American’s confidence. This is what world class teams do and we learned a valuable lesson. The next match was the real problem.
Paraguay gave the US every chance possible to put away the match in the first half. The US spliced together was a near gag reel of missed opportunities. TWO unmarked headers from less than five feet out by Sasha Klejestan and Drew Moor and went unconverted as they were put wide and into the arms of the keeper respectively. Justin Mapp had a one on one with the keeper with Eddie Johnson sitting at the far post, but blasted it over the crossbar. Two or three other chances went begging as well. I do appreciate the fact that these young players are getting a much needed rough international baptism, but finishing has to be better and it has become the Americans top problem regardless of who we put on the pitch.
Lastly, Kasey Keller has looked about 105 years old during this tournament, while he has been stranded on a few occasions; his lack of decisiveness and slowed reflexes has cost the Americans a minimum of two goals and counting. Keller is cementing Howard as the States top keeper and playing his way out of numerous contracts. Maybe he can beg for a DP allocation in the A-league?

El Tri (aka The Succeeding)
Beautiful, attacking, wide-open and defensively sound football is being played by this Mexico team as they have romped through their first two matches. Nery Castillo has been a revelation and is probably making his agent very busy these days. His strike against Brazil was an uber-Golazo! His world class pace causes headaches for even the spryest defenders. Look for Castillo to be on the move from Greece to a major player soon.

Notes:

1. It sure seems like Columbia has better options than Angel. Right!
2. Moreno shows Bolivia what they've been missing for the past five years. He also proves a point about MLS quality.

U-20 World Cup
Despite the finishing struggles of the Senior side, the US U-20 squad threw down a scary beating on an amped Polish side on Tuesday. The Poles entered the match on a high after downing Brazil in their opening match while the Americans were held to a disappointing draw by South Korea. The Poled jumped out in front in the tenth minute via some nice combination play in the middle of the field and some US ball watching. You often hear about a surrendered goal waking up a team, but rarely do you see it waking up a team to this extent. Over the next 80 minutes the USA, led by Freddy Adu, absolutely exploded for six unanswered goals. Adu and Danny Szetela made like Messi and Kaka and mercilessly carved up the stunned Polish side. First Szetela answered the opening strike with a perfectly placed header from the top of the 18. Then, Adu when to work on the right center back. After driving along the right side of the box, Adu spun and curved a shot around the diving keeper that found the far post and went into the goal, sending the commentator in near giddiness. Adu added two more well taken goals and Szetela made it a hat trick for the tournament as well. Adu’s performance was nothing short of masterful. MLS fans must be asking if that is the same Freddy Adu that had been playing in the League the last four year. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Coach Thomas Rongren plays Adu in his natural position? Note to Jason Kreis: SIT OR MOVE Mehdi Ballouchy! He is killing your team! Then again Jason, maybe you can keep him there, because if Freddy puts together another performance like that on Friday against Brazil, he’ll be off to Europe.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (2-4)
SEASON (25-46)
NOTE: Plenty of opportunity for me to make incorrect predictions this week.

Wednesday
D.C. United at Kansas City Wizards – United rolled over Colorado, but this is a different story. KC will delight the biggest home crowd of the year and make amends for their Sunday draw.

Chivas USA at FC Dallas – I just don’t see an answer for Galindo in Dallas’ back. Chivas continues to climb the table and gets within three points of West leader Dallas.

Columbus Crew at Colorado Rapids – The sellout crowd will have to look to the skies for fireworks because their limp side doesn’t have a prayer against the rampaging Crew.

UFC at Real Salt Lake – This should be an exciting one, but one that will end in another draw. Place your bet on the next UFC player to get booted from a match. Dichio is even money.

FIRE at Los Angeles Galaxy – The Gals faithful have something to cheer about as the lost FIRE wander in and out of the HDC without even realizing they are supposed to be playing a match. Galaxy take three points.

Thursday
The Flagship at Houston Dynamo – The Crew showed the league how to mute The Flagship attack and the Dynamo have all the tools too execute that plan as well. Dynamo take three for a share of the Western lead.

Saturday
Chivas USA at New England Revolution – On short rest, Chivas runs into a revenge motivated Revolution side that likely will be bolstered by a returning Taylor Twellman.

Real Salt Lake at Columbus Crew – RSL is heading into a buzz saw.

UFC at Chicago Fire – Will the FIRE also give UFC their first road victory? I hope not. This ones a draw as the FIRE finds a little bit of gelling on the pitch. The real fun maybe in the stands as Section 8 and the Red Patch Boys try to out shout each other.

Kansas City Wizards at Los Angeles Galaxy – KC carves up the Keystone LA defense and Yallop continues to sweat.

Sunday
New York Red Bulls at Colorado Rapids – The Flagship continues their slump and draws the lowly Rapids.

D.C. United at Houston Dynamo – This could be fun. Goals a plenty in this one, but the Dynamo D does just enough to pull out three points.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 06/27/07

2007-06-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 12 – Parity and Clarity
Wednesday
KC vs. Crew –KC was missing EJ, but still had a team more than capable of producing results. What KC didn’t have was an answer for Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The midfield maestro, sprayed passed throughout the pitch and assisted on the game winner. The happy fans were stuffed with dollar brats and the Crew responded in kind by stuffing KC’s still potent attack until late in the game yielding a late goal to KC runner-up funnyman Jack Jewsbury. Wil Hesmer replaced Andy Gruenebaum in the Crew nets and made Sigi look smart for the first time in months.
MOTM: Guillermo Barros Schelotto

Thursday
Chivas USA vs. Dynamo – Every week for the last month on Glenn Davis’ tremendous Dynamo Power Hour, the topic of “who will step into the Gold Cup void” was brought up. Houston was arguably the hardest hit squad by the call-ups and needed a knight! That man was Brad Davis as he torched the Dynamo’s rivals for a hat trick. A good crowd was on hand despite the terrible scheduling of the match opposite the Gold Cup semi-finals.
MOTM: Brad Davis

Saturday
UFC vs. Revs – With Toronto fresh off a tremendous thumping of Dallas and the gutted Revs looking shaky versus the lowly Crew, you’d think UFC would finally put the smack down on the road. Wrong! Kevin Goldthwaite gifted a goal to Andy Dorman early on and the Revs never looked back. The next two Rev’s goals were things of beauty as Noonan’s flick to the far post beat UFC keeper Srdjan Djekanovic. The third and final Revs goal was a marvel of team passing (and UFC) ball watching. Ronnie O’Brien fired some blistering shots on goal, but failed to put any past the formidable Matt Reis.
MOTM: Andy Dorman

Hoops vs. Rapids – Didn’t catch too much of this one, because I had to watch one of the most over hyped fights since DeLaHoya vs. Mayweather. That Juan Toja always seems to be in the right place doesn’t he? Dallas gets Richetti back and pitches another shutout. Now if only Morrow could find some consistency in this squad.
MOTM: No position to judge

United vs. RSL – OK, how many of you though that the MLS website was wrong when you saw this score? Kreis is looking like a genius for the moment, and really hasn’t done all that poorly since he took over the reigns at RSL. Robbie Findlay goes for the brace and shows some finishing variety from distance. On nearly identically set-ups, Findlay put one in the far post and one in the near post past ex-RSL keeper Jay Nolly. Whodathunk it that RSL’s first win of the season would come without Adu, Klein, Kreis or Cunningham. Despite the shutout, Kreis will need Nathan Sturgis to play a huge role in this team to get them back in the playoff race.
MOTM: Robbie Findlay

Crew vs. Galaxy – Speaking of Lazarus-like skeelz! Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you your resurgent Columbus Crew! Vying for team of the month right now, the Crew looks reborn! It is almost as if Guillermo took the team in to the locker room and explained to them exactly where and how he expects everybody to play. He is the unquestioned driving force of this team. This match had some interesting footnotes in it as it featured a first half red card, two unsuccessful penalty kicks, and two goals by a undermanned team. Frank Yallop’s seat might be getting a little hot as we all know Alexi has fired coaches for far less.
MOTM: Wil Hesmer

Sunday
Dynamo vs. KC – A steamy afternoon leads to a blistering finish! Patrick Ianni’s first in MLS is one to remember as his header beats Hartman & Co. to the near post to take three in KC.
MOTM: Patrick Ianni

Sarachanned
Last week, the Chicago FIRE unceremoniously dumped embattled coach Dave Sarachan following the FIRE recording only one win in the last eight matches. This streak came on the heels of the best start in franchise history. Saddled with injuries and national team call-ups an inexperienced FIRE squad’s 3-1 loss turned into Sarachan’s last game at the helm. The firing immediately drew criticism from FIRE captain Chris Armas, who felt the firing was poorly timed and not warranted based on the available player obstacles that Sarachan faced over the last month. Like most player and organization moves under the dark tenure of John Guppy, you can file this one into the PR cabinet as well. FIRE fans have been looking for the head of Sarachan for the past three years. Guppy saw his opportunity to raise his stock amongst the FIRE faithful and made a rash decision. Sarachan, not even a year removed from a US Open Cup championship deserved better. There were plenty of times over his tenure that would have warranted an ax, but this was not one of them. Look for Guppy to further pander to Chicago’s Mexican community by naming a bi-lingual and likely Latino coach based on comments he made to the Tribune’s Luis Arroyave.

FIREsale?
Rumor around the bigsoccer board (via Shep Messing comments), is that the FIRE are to be sold. No word on who the suitor is just yet, but any team name/color change would be a disaster for already dwindling FIRE fan base. In the span of five years, AEG and MLS could betray almost all the fans upon who’s backs and dollars this formerly proud franchise was built.

Kreis Continues to Clean RSL’s Camp
RSL dealt starter Chris Klein to the Gals for Findlay and Nathan Sturgis. Ironically it was Buddle’s arrival in LA that made Findlay expendable. Buddle only arrived in LA after UFC secured Jeff Cunningham from RSL. Dizzy yet? This is a really great pick-up for the Wasatch Brigade. Both Findlay and Sturgis have shown an ability to compete at the MLS level, so from that perspective they are not much of a gamble. Sturgis can solidify the massive backline crater that is the Jack Stewart-Daniel Torres mess and learn from the retiring Eddie Pope. (Please believe me that I wrote these comments prior to Findlay’s brace against United) Amazing that July is not even here and Jeff Cunningham, Chris Klein and Jason Kreis are no longer RSL players. Eddie Pope will be gone at the end of the year. Let’s hope that the RSL scouting staff has been working overtime because RSL has a ton of cap space. The Klein trade is interesting from LA’s perspective. Aren’t they supposed to be getting a fairly decent right sided midfielder soon? Hmm… which leads us right into the weekly….

Quaranta heads back East
With Santino Quaranta clearly not in Frank Yallop’s plans, the Galaxy dealt the one-time player of the future for the US for a second Superdraft Pick. Quaranta should find more success in KC with its dynamic attack and will provide some much needed depth on the Wizards thin bench. Almost as importantly, Quaranta will easily have the best hair on the team, a position he lost recently in LA even before the addition of David Beckham, thanks to defender Abel Xavier.

UFC Transaction of the Week
As rumored for the past three years, Mo finally inked former Dundee United striker Collin Samuel. The T&T striker is only 25 and could be the long awaited heir to Stern John’s MLS throne.

Beckham Update
The man himself kept a very low profile this week, but there was some news surrounding him this week. Addias is kicking off their “Futbol vs. Football” ad campaign in the US this week featuring Becks and Reggie Bush swapping gear. DC United announced that they expect the LA Galaxy match to be a sellout at RFK. (Garber smiles) And most importantly, rumors are circulating that Beckham will see his first MLS action at the All-Star game, which is just as fitting as a glorified friendly against Chelsea.

Copa Oro – Round-up
Didn’t everything just stay the same until Sunday? Thursdays Gold Cup semi-finals witnessed underwhelming performances from the regional giants, USA and Mexico. The refereeing continued to be controversial with a line judge whistling a late Canadian equalizer off sides, when replays showed, it clearly was not. The call incensed the (for the moment) pro-Canadian crowd, and drew the expected Mexican fan beer tossing. At $7 a pop, those are some expensive missiles! At the end of the action Thursday, the matchup everyone (and seemingly both teams) was waiting for materialized: USA vs. Mexico for the Gold Cup. Come Sunday, Soldier Field became Azteca Norte. Despite the overwhelming majority of Mexican Fans, the American has a decent turn out of fans. All of which had to know what they would be walking into. Let’s face it, USA vs. Mexico in Chicago is not a family event. The drama of the match and the high temperatures produced as much sweating in the stands as there was on the pitch. The Americans and Mexicans shed their poor form and broke out their A-game for this Final which was a Classic(o). Both teams left everything on the pitch and played a classy game of football. The game was a coming out party for young players on both sides of the ball. The Mexican youth struck first with Nery Castillo torching the clumsy Gooch to cross to a wide open Andres Guardado at the back post. Buoyed by the insertion of Ricardo Clark for the volatile and already yellow carded Pablo Mastroeni, the Americans took the game to El Tri in the second half. An underrated pass from Jonathan Spector to Brian Ching and Ching’s subsequent sublime turn led to him being taken down in the box by the Mexican defender. Surrounded by 60,000 of his biggest detractor (supporting both teams), Landon Donovan calmly slotted home the PK to equalize. The Copa was settled on a world class strike from a rising force on the American team. Rafa Marquez cleared a corner to the top of the box, but before it reached the ground Benny Feilhaber volleyed the ball into the far netting, setting of wild celebration amongst the vast minority of USA fans. So confident that their work was done, the US muffed two easy scoring chances hitting the post and crossbar respectively. The US had to rely on a point blank save from Tim Howard on Bofo Bautista to preserve the win and retain the massive Copa Oro.

Major Annoyance
As classless as some of the Mexican fan chants and behavior could be (flying beers and nachos anyone?), it was matched by the cluelessness of some of the American fans I bumped into this extended weekend. Most seemed to have built their entire pedigree on top of being in Germany last summer or owning a Man U scarf. Many of those occasionally rooting for the Americans showed up in every jersey in the world except a US jersey or even MLS jerseys. That would be heresy for the true euro-snob contingent. Regardless of their performance on the field, every Euro-based player was “spectacular”, while Donovan and Hedjuk “totally sucked”. Gooch was a “beast” despite getting toasted over and over, while repeatedly forgetting his field position. After getting beaten by DeRo on a free kick (only to have his ass saved by the post) then covering a ball that could have been blown his way by the wind, rather than shot, Shakey Kasey Keller, was showered with name chants from these buffoons. I guess when you are only used to watching pro soccer on TV, you have no idea what to root for when you are at the games in person. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for every US fan that walked into the steamy cauldron of Solider Field this past week. I just wish some of them would wake up to what it takes to truly support your national side and start following all the national team players regardless of what side of the pond they ply their club trade.. The majority of Mexican fans in attendance issued a pretty good lesson in fan support.

A quick comment on Sam’s Army:
These patriots are really up against it because of:
Infrequency of US games (particularly in Chicago)
The breeding of US Sports Fans (sit on hands until prompted by scoreboards or organ.) Great shots of the stands on Sunday with all the US fans sitting in the first few rows and the legion of Mexicans standing behind them.
Aversion to singing by US Sports fans.
Lack of organization.
Geographic inconsistency of games.
Lack of understanding by stadium personnel about cheering/supporting soccer teams. (Flags good, etc.)
These things being said, it is NO excuse for Sam’s Army not singing and chanting all game long. There are normally very long breaks between chants/songs from this group. Can’t Sam’s Army collude with the local team fan bases (at least in Chicago, Houston and DC) and get some folks in there that know how to lead cheers for 90+ minutes straight?

My All Oro Squad:
Goalkeeper:
Franck Grandel (Guadeloupe)

Defense:
Richard Hastings (Canada)
Carlos Salcido (Mexico)
Samuel Cabellero (Honduras)
Carlos Bocanegra (USA)

Midfield:
Benny Feilhaber (USA)
Juan DeGuzman (Canada)
Pavel Pardo (Mexico)
Landon Donovan (USA)

Forwards:
Nery Castillo (Mexico)
Carlos Pavon (Honduras)

Copa America
Sadly, if you are reading this you know that Team USA that landed in Venezuela is not exactly the A-team. I’m not sure if it is even the C team! BB the King is sticking to his plan of using Copa as a blooding (or blood letting) for the yutes in the pool. I think some hope is there given the experience available up the middle from Kasey Keller, to Jimmy Conrad to Ben Olsen. Up top, a Johnson/Twellman front can be dangerous, but the likes of Justin Mapp, Feilhaber, Rico Clark and Eddie Gaven are going to have to figure out ways to get the ball to these strikers. The though of which makes me shudder. Just read it again. We are depending on two of the biggest question marks in MLS history, in Mapp and Gaven, to unlock the likes of Argentina, Paraguay and Columbia. Jay Demerit will also get every opportunity to prove his worth after spending most of his time on the Gold Cup bench.

During the opening round, Jamie Moreno acquitted himself well, by setting up an own-goal. Moreno drove into the Venezuelan box, juked a defender and fired a shot toward the back post, which was redirected into the net by another defender. In fairness, a goal likely would have been regardless, because another Bolivian player was charging the backpost and would have tapped in the Moreno ball.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (0-6)
(NOTE: If you ever want to make a tremendous ass of yourself, just try predicting MLS matches. What happens when we fall of the horse?)
SEASON (23-42)

Colorado vs. United – United will be looking to rebound from their disappointment in Salt Lake and should be able to manage versus a limp Colorado attack.

Dynamo vs. Dallas – El Capitan is at stake again and the Dynamo are primed to disappoint the home crowd.

Flagship vs. Crew – Ok, I’m going to make a mistake again, but I’ll take a draw in this Eastern Conference showdown.

Revs vs. Chivas – The Revs manage a draw in a Copa America depleted match up.

Rapids vs. FIRE – FIRE finally get another win as a road weary Rapids can’t keep pace with the FIRE youngsters.

UFC vs. Wizards- Off the top corner, its UFC with a draw in Cowtown. The slumping Wizards start praying for an early end to the Americans Copa America adventure.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour
(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 06/20/07

2007-06-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 11 – All Hands on Deck
Thursday
kFCD vs. RSL – Classic RSL late game flop with Jack Stewart gifting a late goal to Dominic Oduro. Stewart and Daniel Torres are clearly not MLS quality defenders and cost their team at least two points this week with some horrible play. More on Torres later.
MOTM: Nick Rimando – again Rimando did everything he could to get a result for his team, but by the 90th minute, Stewart had had enough of the scoreless thing and decided to break the deadlock.

Saturday
Revs vs. Crew – Too much overlap this weekend for me to catch all the games and this one that I didn’t get to see. A massive result for the struggling Crew as the manage a tie against a threadbare Revolution side. The development of Adam Christman has to be a pleasant surprise for the Revs as he staked out a spot in the Rookie of the Year race with two goals.
MOTM: No position to judge.

FIRE vs. United – Thanks to the efforts of the junk heap erector set that is the CTA, by the time I walked into The Globe Pub the FIRE had already given up two goals and didn’t show any sign of life by the half. The sides traded goals in the second half and Jerson Monteiro netted his first MLS goal as a consolation for FIRE fans who went out of their way to catch the HDnet broadcast. The story of the night had to be DC crisp passing that kept the FIRE defense chasing the ball all match. Luciano Emilio was clinical and the FIRE didn’t find any answers in their new line-up.
MOTM: Luciano Emilio – Two goals and some Blanco taunting in front of the big crowd. The Brazilian is rounding back into his CONCACAF Gold Cup form.

KC vs. The Flagship –You have to wonder why Juan Pablo Angel was not called into the Copa America squad. The guy scores goal after goal after goal. He is now the Flagship’s record holder with goals in six straight games. His first came over the top of Jimmy Conrad, who is a world class defender. Now, I know there could be some backlash because of his reserve status at Aston Villa then his mega-star performance on this side of the pond, but it sure is fun watching him. This story here has to be KC’s ability to get a draw on the road in tough circumstances. Down two goals, without Eddie Johnson, not problem. The Flagship needed some a late PK to get the draw in their house. This games also spoke volumes about the depth of the league. Quite a bit has been made about teams being gutted with call-ups, but you still had Cletus, Captain America, Conrad, Zavagnin, Angel and Watterus out on the pitch for a nice (by NY soccer standards) crowd.
MOTM: Yura Movsisyan – Two goals in ten minutes to push KC into the lead as a substitute.

Rapids vs. Chivas USA – Maykel Galindo keeps his name in the MVP race with a goal, while the American Goats received a little help from Terry Cooke who crossed it into his own net. El Guzano posted another shutout and the fast rising Goats walk away with the three points.
MOTM: No position to judge.

Sunday
kFCD vs. UFC – A record MLS crowd turned out at the madhouse on the lake Sunday afternoon to see UFC off in grand style. (Might BMO Field be MLS’ first with South American style fences between the fans and the pitch?) The number one draft pick Maurice Edu finished off a wild scramble in the box 22nd while Danny Dichio scored his team leading fourth three minutes later. The Hoops looked out of gas from the beginning (after playing on Thursday) and missing defensive wiz Pablo Richetti due to suspension only worsened Dallas’ problems. UFC added two more in the second half to convincingly crush the Hoops before their six week road odyssey begins. On that trip the pretender or contender question will be answered. They might have to do without Dichio for most of that trip as he left the match injured, early in the second half.
MOTM: Maurice Edu – right place, right time all afternoon.

RSL vs. Galaxy –
MOTM:
Copa Oro:
Who had two?
Whoever picked two as the Cuban defection total wins a prize! Lester More and Osvaldo Alonso ditched the team prior to their 5-0 throttling at the feet of Honduras.

Five Topics Being Addressed at Soldier Field this Week
1. Redemption – El Tri comes to the Gold Cup semi-finals this week playing poor than have at any point in the last decade. The Mexico that took Argentina to the brink of elimination at World Cup is a distant memory. This is not to say that the caliber of the players is any lower than last summer, arguably, this team should be strong supplemented by a few names such as Nery Castillo and the unpredictable, but passionate Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Like the United States, anything other than a Gold Cup victory would be unacceptable. Mexico will have an overwhelming home field advantage not matter who they play in Chicago, but have more than their problems scoring against the US to contend with this week.

2. For Real? – Ladies and Gentlemen of the soccer world, may I introduce to you Guadeloupe. This tiny French dominion has shocked everyone paying attention to Gold Cup buy knocking off Canada and red-hot Honduras to book their tickets to Chicago. This is not a team that will be intimidated by the pro-Mexican crowd and will provide a stern test to the struggling El Tri.

3. Ready for Prime Time? – After years of headscratchingly poor performances, Canada is turning this Gold Cup into their coming out party. Lead by a midfield as strong as any in the tournament and strong goalkeeping from Pat Onstad, Canada shredded Guatemala 3-0 en route to the windy city. Canada’s second goal would have torched any defense in the world and offered a glimpse of what the true level of talent lies just to our north. Canada vs. US will be an epic battle that will provide the victor the confidence and experience necessary to take the Cup.

4. Domination – Can the US, who has looked solid, but not spectacular throughout the tournament, stamp itself the team to beat in CONCACAF. This trophy would be a definitive statement capping a ten year change of leadership in the region. Despite Mexican, claims to the contrary, US has done everything, but make it official that they are el mas macho. Everything is in place for this team to claim their second consecutive Gold Cup title. The Americans will be playing on US soil with the deepest roster in team history. A few things that can unravel the Americans would be Oguchi Onyewu, Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan. Onyewu has looks pedestrian to just plain bad throughout the tournament. Since his breakout in the 2005 Gold Cup, Gooch had slowly eroded his position in the squad. This card attracting play burned the US in World Cup and would have hurt in this tournament had the US been playing a side that could take advantage of his missteps. Luckily, Panama was down a man and had three key players suspended when Gooch’s failure to take charge of a situation led to the only goal surrendered by the Americans. The coach’s son has not had a good tournament. Apparently, Jamie Trecker and I are the only people to see this since his performances have been nearly universally praised. For me, his poor passing and chasing do not trump Ricardo Clark’s experience and poise. He just doesn’t seem to have that bite that Rico does. It’s not to say that it won’t develop in time, but this is not the stage for him to hone his skills any further.

5. Competency – The refereeing in this tournament has been an absolute joke. From frequent phantom offside calls to the mass red carding of Mexican opponents, the CONCACAF referees have lent credence to FIFA’s decision last summer to limit their participation in World Cup to one. The red cards against Mexican opponents Panama and Costa Rica led to cries from their coaches of match fixing (in so many words). Panama was still rattled when they played the US on Saturday and contested every foul and card that went against them. The US team was nearly reduced to bystander as the battle between the Panamaniacs and the refereeing crew raged on. Although some American shins and ankles might disagree with that as they were caught in the crossfire a number of times.

Good to See
Arguably the most dangerous player in Gold Cup is headed to the LA Galaxy. Carlos Pavon has said that he is transferring to the Galaxy for the remainder of the season. Suddenly the doormats will look like world beaters upon the return of Gold Cup players, the addition of, Abel Xavier, Pavon and the impending arrival of the subdued Englishman nicknamed Becks.

The Unthinkable: UFC Trades a Striker
Always afraid to let the hinges on his door cool down for a second, Mo Johnston dispatched unproductive Edson Buddle to La-La land for veteran Tyrone Marshall. Marshall arrives after being handed a 3 game ban for this reckless, leg-breaking tackle on Kenny Cooper. The motivation for obtaining Marshall is clear on UFC’s side: Pick up a veteran MLS back to help the inexperienced defense. The Galaxy’s motivation for this trade is a little more difficult to understand. Marshall was the stalwart of the Galaxy back line, and if there was ever a time that his club needed him, it was now. His departure, was more or less a white flag for Yallop until the concurrent arrival of Abel Xavier and the return of his estranged Gold Cup players. I’m not sure of Yallop’s policy or reaction to Marshall’s last moment on the pitch for the Galaxy, but that might have been a final straw. The Buddle equation is clear as, but yet another travel into reclamation land for Buddle, is closing in on the Jeff Cunningham jersey collection statistics. The only difference is that Buddle rarely has to change his number like Jeff. On a serious note, a front trio of Nate Jaqua, Buddle and Landon Donovan looks great on paper, but it also looks like it can take five years off Riot Squad members lives!

Beckham Update
We can’t go a week without this can we? Depending on which paper you read, Becks either had a Hollywood ending at Madrid or he didn’t. He did because he is heading to the Gals with a Spanish league title medal around his neck. He didn’t because both of Real Madrid’s goals came with him off the pitch. The world’s comeback player of the year ironically hobbled off the pitch prior to the conclusion of the match due a nagging his ankle problem. Again he watched from the sideline in tears as his team played on without him, except contrary to last summer, the tears were of joy. TomKat and Posh were in attendance and seemed to be having a good time. Phil Schoen’s mention of them sent Ray Hudson into such a tizzy, that they might have had to call the remainder game in separate rooms. The post match celebration saw him carrying his three “Daddy” jersey wearing sons onto the pitch to some of the loudest applause every heard at the Santiago Bernabeau. The celebration itself was a sight to behold as it looked more like an Olympic opening ceremony, that the last gasp surprise it turned out to be. Now nothing separates Beckham from MLS. Will anything be the same? Certainly not for LA players, but it says here that the Beckham addition will be like anything else with the league since the hiring of Don Garber; another step in the right direction. Then again, this staircase has had rather uneven steps over the years hasn’t it? It could also be argued that Beckham has already changed the face of MLS since the league may not have Richetti, Carlos Marinelli, Able Xavier, Guillermo Schilloto, Carl Robinson, Blanco, Angel or Pavon without him.

With La Liga behind Becks, the foreign press corps have now taken the gloves off for a new round of jabs and speculation about MLS’ quality. Which sent Alexi Lalas in to a global headline making assault on the EPL. While most of his comments were ill advised to foolish, his latest tirade was welcome by those of us who know the sun does not revolve around the EPL. On that note lets look at a letter I shot off to Paul Hayward who was about 4 months late in accusing MLS of being a lower tiered standard than the almighty EPL.

Paul,

Your attempts to portray MLS as multiple levels down from the EPL are as laughable as they are misguided. You forget that MLS fans, like myself, have not only been exposed to MLS, but we have watched the Mexican league, La Liga, Bundesliga and the Argentinean league. Therefore, unlike the English we are adept to recognizing that there are multiple styles of play. Funny how every foreign player playing in the league, such as Carl Robinson and Juan Pablo Angel have had nothing, but good things to say about the quality of play. Now, I have no idea if Sunday’s 3-2 LA victory was your first MLS experience, certainly the play of the two bottom feeders are no greater representation of MLS than say a Wigan/Watford fixture from last season’s EPL campaign. Need I remind you how Chelsea fell 1-0 to an MLS all-star team last summer? Now, I know Chelsea was in pre-season, but they lost to a team that had never played together before! Fulham was demolished the previous summer under similar circumstances. Real Madid, Liverpool and a host of other clubs have arrived in the US expecting to steamroll the MLS competition, only to find that they had been misinformed about the quality of the league by press reports overseas. Of course, after avidly reading press reports from the UK since Beckham inked the Galaxy contract, it is apparent that global football knowledge is not a precursor for publication in the sport sections over in Jolly ol’.

Cheers is it?
Mark

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (3-3)
SEASON (23-37)

Wednesday
KC vs. Crew – Buck a Brat? How many for Sigi? He’ll need something to do while his team get sent back to earth by hot KC.

Thursday
Chivas USA vs. Dynamo – Chivas is tough on the road, but a rested Houston will manage a draw.

Saturday
UFC vs. Revs – Look for road win #1 for Toronto here.

Hoops vs. Rapids – Rapids have shown that they are a tough nut to crack at home. Herculez puts the Rapids over the top.

United vs. RSL – RSL isn’t going to right the ship against United. DC in a close one.

Crew vs. Galaxy – Galaxy looks like they might be on to something. Columbus’ match earlier in the week will take a toll on their defense and allow the Buddle/Jaqua connection a few.

Sunday
Dynamo vs. KC – Wizards make six points this week by topping the Dynamo at home.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour

(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 06/13/07

2007-06-13T08:12:00.000-07:00

Quick note: My viewing of MLS matches was rather limited this weekend due to Gold Cup overlaps and the lack of TIVO and the attendance of a killer Roger Waters show.

MLS Week 10 – MIA
Wednesday
The Flagship v. UFC – It was very considerate of these teams to play anemic soccer until the late-arriving UFC crowd, and a flock of seagulls, got to the ground. Upon receiving notice that 85% of the sold-out crowd arrived Jeff Cunningham volleyed a cross into the roof of the net opening his UFC account in the process. All seemed to be going well until Juan Pablo Angel was put in a position where he could not be marked, behind a free kick. JPA blasted it over the wall and into the near post, leaving keeper Srdjan Djekanovic gaping like someone trying to pronounce is name for the first time. A minute later, a poor UFC clearance in the box flew in the general direction of JPA and a 2-1 Flagship lead ensued. The irony of all ironies occurred as Claudio Reyna played his best match of the year on Field Turf. UFC didn’t live up to its moniker during the match, however the fans contributed with a beer shower for JPA after his second goal, which resulted in a Flagship player tossing a cup back into the stands. Off the pitch was a different story as some pushing and shoving occurred in the tunnel between the two teams, but nothing that wasn’t “boys being boys” according to Il Bruce.
MOTM: JPA – The definition of a deadly striker. Certainly his skill level is well above that of the average MLS character, but could he really not cut it a Aston Villa? Probably in the same way that David Beckham was not cutting it at Real Madrid and with England. More and more I see that politics can play as much of a role in European football as skill does. I’m sure Cletus and Captain Landon would agree.

Thursday
Rapids v. Dynamo – This poorly timed match occurred opposite of a US Gold Cup fixture, but you have to be impressed with the performance of the depleted champs.
MOTM: Stuart Holden for his spectacular late winner.

Saturday
Chivas USA v. FIRE – I missed my first FIRE home game of the year to attend a spectacular Roger Waters concert. I did tape the game and attempt to watch it beginning at 3AM Sunday morning. I passed out during the match…no problem. Except that I woke up at the 90th minute very disappointed. Another great MLS crowd was largely unrewarded as the FIRE failed to find the net again. Chivas’ consistently excellent passing led to the only goal of the match, late in the game by Pablo Nagamura.
MOTM: Nagamura gets it for scoring his first career MLS goal and for his strong defensive work in Chivas’ midfield.

Gals v. kFCD – I did not see a minute of this match. Kenny Cooper wishes he could say the same thing. Are Dallas players just magnets for leg breaking tackles?
MOTM: No position to judge.

Sunday
The Flagship v. United – As much as us fans of other teams love to hate United’s feisty midfielder, you have to love seeing the guy go for the had trick. DC now has a top form Olsen, the South American front four are really starting to understand each other and they managed to put two goal on the Flagship a man down. Look out MLS! The pre-season predictions are starting to look less and less foolish.
MOTM: Benny Olsen

Dynamo v. Crew – This game took a back seat to the Gold Cup for me, so I didn’t see much, but both Joseph Ngwenya and Alejandro Moreno. The Champs seem to be back on track after grabbing
MOTM: No position to judge.

Copa Oro Surprises Rundown!
Pleasant:
Guadeloupe – Minnows coming into the tournament, now have to be seen as a rising force in the region. With a number of current and former top flight players available to this side, their international experience and the composure that comes with it, helped them easily stand up to sides that supposedly outclassed them.

Panama – Their takedown of Honduras at Giants stadium shows that they will not be intimidated when they arrive at a pro-Mexican Reliant stadium on Wednesday.

Attendance – Gold Cup attendance has been reported up from the tournament two years ago and featured a massive crowd of 68,128 at Giants Stadium largely for the Honduras vs. Mexico match on Sunday.

Not So Much:
El Gigante ES Muerto? - Mexico has been very unimpressive at this tournament. After scraping by a shockingly strong Cuba, El Tri fell to Honduras thanks to an early second half red card that had FIRE written all over it. After trying with limited success in the first half, ex-FIRE defender Samuel Caballero finally got under the skin of Temo Blanco to the point where Blanco applied a significant elbow to Caballero’s chest. Sold well enough by the Honduran to get the attention of the side judge, Blanco was quickly shown the red card and escorted off the field in front of the massive Giants stadium crowd. Up until that point, Temo had been the hero of the Mexican side after converting a penalty kick in the first half.

US Form- While fielding a very experimental side against the T&T back-ups, the Americans’ also failed to impress with their droll victories against T&T and Guatemala. Taylor Twellman and Landon Donovan looked in top form, but uninspired play from DaMarcus Beasley, Gooch, and Kasey Keller are causes for concern. Justin Mapp continued to drift in and out of the game and Benny Feilhaber was unable to find the form he had displayed earlier against the likes of Ecuador and China. Gooch’s sloppy play in both of his matches has put him on the starting line-up chopping block, with DeMerit, Bocanegra, Conrad and even Spector able to step in for him. The US did rebound from their poor outing to wax El Salvador in Foxboro. This was a strong turnaround game for Beasley. Spector had a very strong outing as well. The rest of the side played up to snuff with the exception of Michael Bradley, who is inching closer and closer to being saddled with the weight of nepotism cries.

Haiti - It is back to the drawing board for the team expected to experience a break out Gold Cup this year. Despite its near home field advantage, Haiti looked sluggish and unorganized during their three matches.

Refereeing - As with our domestic league, the refereeing has been wildly inconsistent throughout the tournament, particularly on the flanks. With line judges frequently trailing plays and erring on the side of the defense, a number of promising attacks have been snuffed by offside flags. Get those judges on a diet so they can keep up with the plays!

Callups Affect more than MLS:
With a season and a cup on the line La Liga side Sevilla may be without two of its top players in Fredric Kanoute and Daniel Alves who have been called up by Mali and Brazil respectively.

“Washed up” Becks is England Savior
David Beckham’s man of the match performance against Estonia on Wednesday all but assures some major scheduling and ticketing headaches for MLS. After the Three Lions’ expected drubbing of an Estonia team that would have it’s hands full at the Gold Cup, our man Becks said "I will definitely be at the Euros, I believe I can carry on playing for a long time. The L.A. Galaxy will do everything possible to help me keep playing for my country." This statement was affirmed by former rock god, current Galaxy GM and rising UK sports tabloid star Alexi Lalas. "We consider it an incredible honor to have our players playing for their national team, and think it's a wonderful statement on David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy," Lalas said to the AP.

Beckham – Winners and Losers
When the Gals signed Becks they knew they were buying a three ring circus , however with his resurgence in form that circus has expanded to seven rings and features a daily parade down main street. Who are the grand marshals of that parade and who is cleaning up the elephant dung?
Winners:
Major League Soccer – It’s all over the papers these days. Everyone trying to measure the quality of our league. Is it Championship? Is it Conference? Is it Pub League? Well the only way to know is to watch. What is it? It’s not English style football. It’s not South American either. It is a still developing American style that is the blend of both. English dump and chase, but with back heels. South American bravado, but with structured defending. Carl Robinson who has experience in the EPL, Championship and MLS stated that the style of play in MLS is more like the international game. Since it does not resemble exactly what is seen in Europe or Mexico, it is deemed unworthy by those used to their own domestic game.
It is further though or assumed that the best American players are all in Europe. Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson, Taylor Twellman might disagree with that. When Beckham arrives, he might not even be the hands down best player in the league thanks to great seasons by EJ and Juan Pablo Angel. Regardless, it says a lot about the league that the best English player on the earth will call MLS home. (Yes, he is currently better than Terry, Gerrard, Rooney and the lot of them.)

True MLS Believers (fans like us) – Vindication is right around the corner for us fans that have always believed in the league. We’ve know that the quality on the pitch is far greater than the jeering folks from overseas (who haven’t witnessed a match) or the American writers who question the word “major” (who wouldn’t know football quality if it smacked them in the face). Heck, even Jamie Trecker grudgingly admitted that this season the level of football in MLS is quite high. Let’s quote double down Trent: “Our little baby’s all growns up.”

Alexi Lalas – I’m not sure if media whore is the right word, but Lalas has become Paris Hilton level tabloid fodder for papers world wide. They can even use the name “Lalas” in a headline ov’r there without explaining who he is. Isn’t this why he wanted to be a rockstar?

MLS Players – As much as some of us felt that American players were being poached prior to this summer, we are really going to feel the pain during this winter transfer season. It will be fun hearing all the rumors of MLS players like Donovan, Maykel Galindo and Dane Richards headed over the EPL to save some relegation pegged side or another. It won’t be fun when some of those players do leave our league. The increased quality of MLS will help all players develop their game and their pocketbooks.

Losers:
New/Potential American Soccer Fans – You know these people at games. You have to explain the offside rule to them every time the whistle blows. They all bought tickets to the Beckham match in their home town. They probably were also roped into buy tickets to another game for that purpose. Then they read the future Sir Becks will not be showing up in their hometown! Outrage! Scandal! Call the Mayor! The ticketing situation is going to be a major league headache for MLS sides hit by Beckham’s international date conflict.

Steve McClerran – Wouldn’t it be great if he just came out and admitted that his original decision to exclude Becks from the squad had nothing to do with there being better players available. (see Aaron Lennon below). I certainly questioned some of Bruce Arena’s call-ups (or lack thereof), but how can any fan of Her Majesty’s team have any confidence in their manager selecting the best players? How can they be assured that the manager isn’t trying to send political messages with his selection. A vote of no confidence is in order for McClerran.

The English – I just love seeing their little football world being shattered. The whole of the isle is beginning to wake up to the realities of a global sport where the US is now a player. The EPL is largely comprised of non-domestic players, their icon is playing in the US and they’ve been reduced to sweating out games against Estonia. Let’s face it, England will always be vastly overrated and the depth of the current pool of English players is that of a kiddie pool.

Aaron Lennon – The future is when? The heir to his Beckness’ throne has just been defrauded. Lennons long term promise may still be there, but Beck’s resurgence has highlighted Lennons shortcomings on the right.

Posh – What she thought was going to be a Motley Crue level light show trained solely on her LA touchdown is turning into an isolation spotlight. Unfortunately, this may open the door for her to seek religion. Look! It’s Tom and Katie at the front door with a welcome basket complete with a copy of Dianetics!

Blueprint for Establishing A Soccer Bar
As avid readers know, I am working hard to establish Manhattan’s as Chicago’s Downtown Soccer Bar of choice for MLS fans. Here is a letter/e-mail that I composed that might help you get the ball rolling in your area:

I am writing to gauge your interest in hosting viewing parties for [LOCAL TEAM] road games. In addition to providing a needed service to [LOCAL TEAM] fans in our growing area, you will be able to attract new customers to your establishment. Certainly, soccer fans’ craving for drinks and appetizers is well known!

COSTS:
This opportunity will not cost your establishment a dime! While some [LOCAL TEAM] games are not televised locally at all, many are available exclusively on MLS DirectKick (the soccer equivalent of the NFL’s Sunday Ticket).While DirectKick does carry a cost, it is very small (establishment charge of $100) compared to that of the NFL package. This cost could be absorbed or defrayed by our group. The fact that your establishment carries this package can be advertised; free of charge, on many MLS fan sites on the internet, thus potentially drawing non-[LOCAL TEAM] fans to your business.

ACCOMODATIONS:
All our group would require is a single (1) television with sound for no more than two hours. One of the great things about soccer is that you can set your watch to games beginning and ending. We are open to being seated in a side room if one is available or in the main bar area.

ATTENDANCE:
Given that this is a new venture, I have no idea how many people will show up for a given game. The number of attendees will be highly dependent on the availability of the match. I would expect the games available on DirectKick to be more highly attended than those that are available on basic cable. Most likely, each game will attract between 5 to 20 people.

TEST PROPOSAL:
There are games available on basic cable on [GAME DATE AND TIME]. If you are interested in hosting these gatherings, please contact me at xxx.xxx.xxxx and we can discuss this proposal more in depth.

I look forward to hearing from you,

[YOUR NAME AND CONTACT INFO]

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (3-3)
SEASON (20-34)

Thursday
kFCD vs. RSL – Tying is what they do, so I’ll take a tie here.

Saturday
FIRE vs. United – Moreno or no Moreno, United rolls over the fledgling FIRE.

KC vs. The Flagship – Without EJ in the mix, even with Wizards will struggle. More goals for Angel and another home win for the Arenas.

Rapids vs. Chivas USA – Chivas’ passing will continue to dazzle and will lead to another three points for Preki’s men.

Sunday
kFCD vs. UFC – A rested Toronto FC will know the importance of a home win before hitting the road for a while. Take UFC!

RSL vs. Galaxy – I’ll take a tie here as well, which will not please the “sellout” crowd.

Podcast:
The Soccer/Dynamo Power Hour

(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 06/06/07

2007-06-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 9 – This is a Journey
Saturday:
Toronto vs. Colorado – Great Crowd! European-like Atmosphere! (Just felt like torturing fans of the other twelve teams in the league.)
Man of the Match (MOTM): Bouna Condoul – Without Bouna-time between the posts, the Rapids would have been buried in goals. Great game in a losing effort for greater Denver’s number one dashiki wearer.

KC vs. The Flagship – Another lovely game at the old football stadium, lines and all! Seems like the crowd is on the rise in KC particularly the exponentially growing Cauldron. The RedBulls for their part gave the Kansas City fans a game that was a good summary of their season: early Juan Pablo Angel goal and an early Cletus ejection. The only thing out of sorts was the appearance of a RedBull player running around with Claudio Reyna’s jersey. EJ treated the RedBulls and the crowd to a summary of his performance last week: precision finishing.
MOTM: EJ of course. Man, I love playing through international match dates. Damn you economic and climate realities!

NE vs. RSL – Another MLS classic scenario! Season high crowd leads to anemic performance by MLS clubs. A crowd reminiscent of the Alexi Lalas, Foxboro glory days was on had expecting a trouncing of the reigning league doormat. Ninety minutes later, the score was the same and RSL gets out of town with a point.
MOTM: Nick Rimando – 13 saves. (That’s a period after the word saves.)

Gals vs. United – An injury and call-up riddled LA Galaxy somehow defused a flat DC United. The biggest disappointment was the performance of Landon Donovan prior to his departure to the Gold Cup team. Donovan’s terrible performance was capped by a sitter miss in the second half that just has to be buried. Nate Jaqua seemed to actually be playing soccer this week, but coach Frank Yallop failed to give Nate the Tall the coordinates of the opposing teams goal. This turned out to be bad news for fans as a $6.95 beer and $3.50 pack of Twizzlers were victim to Jaqua’s errant attempts at goal.
MOTM: Peter Vanegas – Shutting out a dangerous DC front four is no small feat, but Pete was all over the pitch and helped Cannon organize the patchwork back line all evening. He even had a chance to join in LA’s limited attack and started the most dangerous sequence of the evening.

Sunday
Dynamo vs. kFCD – Ricardo Clark played a key role in all three of the goals scored, during this match, but bummer for him that one was Dallas’ opener in the 32nd minute converted by Abe Thompson following a bad giveaway by Clark. Rico more than made amends for his mistake with a goal and an assist early in the second half to put Houston ahead of their intra-state rivals for good.
MOTM: In no position to judge since I was tailgating at Toyota Park and didn’t see the match.

FIRE vs. Crew – For a match with seven yellow card and two red cards, the game never really seemed nasty or out of control. I guess that is a sign of good refereeing. Although Calen Carr’s two foot dive at the feet of a defender an the end of the match went unpunished by Mark Gieger.
MOTM: Frankie Hedjuk – Yes, I’m naming a defender on the wrong side of a 3-2 match the man of the match. Hedjuk was a demon all evening on the right flank and created many problems for the Chicago defense. It was good to see his tireless work rate back in full display after a number in injury riddled seasons.

USA! USA!
Is there anything more satisfying than a win that leads to calls for the ouster of the opposing teams coach? Granted, following a 1-0 loss to Thailand, China’s coach, Zhu Guanghu, was already on the hot seat, but the temperature of that seat was turned up another 100 degrees following the 4-1 trashing at the hands of the Red, White and Blue. Enough about China, the real story here was the overall performance of our boys. The US looked great after China’s goal, which resulted in large part from some very confused defending by the US and a competent finish from the Chinese. After that moment it was all US. The depth and overall quality of the players in the pool has to be viewed as amongst the deepest and strongest in the history of our country. Another positive is that no longer interim BB the King is not saddled with any unexpected and problem occurrences like headlines that read “Breakout Performance from Jesse Marsh!” On to Gold Cup we go and Guatemala awaits. The measuring stick is a finals appearance. Any draw in the first three matches of Gold Cup would be considered a setback for our national team.

Quick Media Note:
Beginning tonight, a wild six weeks of international tournaments with US involvement begin and the US sports media is not turning a blind eye to it! It was very heartwarming to see extensive articles on Gold Cup from every media outlet where the action is taking place (including the quarters and finals). The soccer wires were abuzz with great articles reminding even us most ardent football maniacs that this tournament has a building history and that the teams playing have stories behind them. Surely, the availability of all the matches on English language TV (for the first time?) doesn’t hurt.

Debate of the Week: Is MLS Beckham Worthy?
With the unexpected (unless you read my blog frequently) resurgence of English and Real Madrid dead weight that was David Beckham, pundits around the world (and even two in the US) are weighing in the ability of MLS be able to support a high level of match fitness for Beckham. With the Gals current terrible form, Beckham will be entering a team where wins are just as important as they are in any league in the world. As US Soccer fans, we know fitness will not be a question. MLS is a very difficult league to play in from a fitness perspective given the weather and travel demands on the MLS player. After all another one time English demi-god Gazza (who Becks was compared to when he signed with Galaxy) couldn’t even hack it with the United reserves and many former top-flight players like Steve Guppy or Peter Canero and even Lothar Assheus and Luisia Hernandez could not adjust to league for just that reason. Let’s see what the “experts” are saying Becks and the League:

Cheerers:
Rangers Boss Walter Smith to www.leaguemanagers.com: "I don't think there's any doubt about that. I think the one thing that there'll be at LA Galaxy is that they have a great level of fitness and the American lads who play will never be short of that. They all had decent pace and were all very fit. It's like every other league. Regardless of the level of play that you come in at, you won't get an easy ride when you come into it.”

RedBulls Juan Pablo Angel to The New York Times: “''Honestly, I did not expect the league to be so good. This is a very tough league to play in. It's physical. It's fast. And it looks like the teams are pretty even, which makes it more competitive because in Europe most leagues only have a few top teams.''

Former England Boss Glenn Hoddle to Daily Express: “"In my day when you hit the 30 mark people started saying your international career may be over, but the way they train now their fitness levels are so much better. David is a fit young man and one thing he has never relied upon is blistering pace, so he will be able to play until he is 38 or 39 if he wants to. I see no reason why he can't keep playing for a long time."

Jeerers:
Former England Captain Alan Shearer from Western Daily Press: "I don't know if David is regretting going to Los Angeles Galaxy. But he's better than that standard, without a shadow of a doubt.”

Former England Captain Ray Wilkins to the Evening Standard: “It will be difficult for him to stay in the England side once he moves to the States as the standard of the MLS is far below La Liga and the Premiership. If his fitness levels stay the same he would have a chance but he will find it difficult to maintain those. Football in America is on the up but it will always be difficult because it is not the number one sport there. In fact it is not even in the top four.”

(Note: Something in common between Alan and Ray: never played vs. MLS competition.)

The Final Word:
Former England Captain David Beckham to the AP: "The move to LA will not have any adverse effect on me. Physically I will be fine and as good as I was against Brazil. Traveling is not going to be a problem because I would travel from anywhere to play for my country."

Blogwriter Soccer Biz Mark to this Blog: “I’ve always felt that a players call-up should depend on their current form. Steve McClerran finally recognized this two weeks ago. Fabio Capello realized this three months ago. MLS will provide to Becks all the challenges he sought and then some.”

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (2-4)
SEASON (17-31)
Wednesday
The Flagship v. UFC – The Flagship zooms in and takes three points, despite a full fledged wrestling match between Dichio and Dema.

Thursday
Rapids v. Dynamo – Dynamo are going to have a tough time without their stars, while the Rapids have a number of hungry forwards. Rapids take the three.

Saturday
Chivas USA v. FIRE – Chivas’ passing and speed and road fan support will confound the FIRE at times, but the home side should be able to manage a draw. Fans in attendance will be reminded about Blanco’s pending arrival every 5 minutes.

Gals v. kFCD – Dallas grabs the three and the home fans go home happy. kFCD is dominant in the midfield and Kenny Cooper begins a mid year resurgence.

Sunday
The Flagship v. United – United at RFK is just a buzzsaw and bruised Flagship can’t hold together in a showcase shootout.

Dynamo v. Crew – Another team that was disappointed last week, the Crew, tear into the depleted and tired Dynamo and finally notch another win.

Podcast:
The Dynamo Power Hour with Glenn Davis
Does anyone know where Glenn Davis gets his attendance figures? Every week he is off of the MLS reported statistics by 2-3k. Up and down!

(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link.)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 5/31/07

2007-05-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my supersized update.

MLS Week 8 – Rebound

Thursday
FIRE vs. RBNY – In what hopefully will be the low point of the Chicago season as The Flagship scored their fastest goal in franchise history when Jozy Altidore put one past Matt Pickens with only 0:55 coming off the clock. The second RBNY goal set a MLS record for the fastest two goals scored to begin a game in league history. Let’s look at goal number two as key Chicago defensive weaknesses were exploited: lack of pace and poor central defending. To begin the play, Gonzalo Segares got absolutely smoked by Dan Richards on the right flank. I think Sega is still spinning around in the turf given the pace he was passed with. Richards send a nice, but not deadly cross into the middle of the Chicago box that was met by CJ Brown’s head. Not only was Brown’s clearance poor, but it looped over poorly positioned Jim Curtain, who left his mark to also attempt to clear the ball. That man was Juan Pablo Angel. The ball is about to fall to JPA’s feet when he takes a one touch to settle the ball in the air then hammered home his own volley. A lovely strike and the nail in the coffin for a team that can’t put away more than one than one goal a match. And with Chris Rolfe out of the line-up, this goal a match average is heading south.

Saturday
Wizards vs. Revs – What a showcase for the league, following a glamour friendly featuring the Irish national team. Unfortunately, the Irish team was rounded up from local Boston pubs by Kevin Kilbane a week earlier and more fans were on hand to see the MLS match than the International friendly. I’m not sure but that might be a first! EJ netted his first MLS hat trick while showing a wide range of attacking skills.

TFC vs. Crew – Welcome back Andy! Another thrilling match played between Eastern Conference rivals saw the teams sharing the spoils. Fresh of a suspension for a vicious elbow, which Mo Johnston and Danny “it’s a mans game” saw nothing wrong with, Andy Herron put two in the back of the net before going down to injury all in the first half. Attacking soccer was on display all evening with Jeff Cunningham back in his old ground and set up pro-wrestler turned soccer player Danny Dichio for the first goal of the match. Toronto tied the game for good of a spectacular Jim Brennan free kick that took goal of the week with a heavy assist from the Toronto faithful In the stands, Toronto’s Red Patch Boys showed Columbus that a group other than Section 8 can take over their stadium at will. Crew fans, if any of you are reading: Why the hell does your team have three separate cheering sections? There the thinning one behind the net, the new seemingly Argie one to the left of that group and now this new one on the sidelines! Do your team, the league and us viewers a favor and consolidate your efforts.

Dynamo vs. DCU – HDNet Blackout warning. Only got to see highlights of this one, but DC United seems to have recovered from its Champions Cup hangover.

Galaxy vs. Rapids – Will this evening go down as the top nights of football in Denver? Huge crowd turns out for MLS and for once isn’t disappointed by the home team! It didn’t hurt that Kyle Martino was rightly sent off in the 25th minute. Herculez Gomez’ snap header off a picturesque Terry Cooke cross to beat Joe Cannon in the second half was all the Rapids needed to finish off a short handed LA team.

FCD vs. Chivas – And then like that Dallas is flat again. Galindo’s brilliance and determination proved the decisive blow to the Hoops, but Chivas quick one touch passing kept the visitors chasing the game all night. Dallas will be the head scratching team of the season and certainly not a team to bet the mortgage on.

Sunday
RSL vs. FIRE – The FIRE’s effort was far more respectable in this match than their effort earlier in the match week. However, bottom feeder RSL still blanked them on the back of a stellar goalkeeping exhibition from Nick Rimando. The changing of the Curtins was well overdue because the old one was dusty as hell! With the exception of the haircut they look almost identical, except that Jeff, in his first MLS start, looked crisper than his bro has all year.
According to the Chicago Tribune when asked if the FIRE’s recent struggles led to the trial of Marcelo Salas, GM John Guppy said, "It's fair to say that. We need more quality on offense. Obviously, our recent challenges raised our attention to the matter.”
Maybe trading away the vast majority of 2006 goal scorers in the off-season should have raised your attention to that you bumbling fool! FIRE fan’s worst fears of the FIRE becoming Metrostars West with Guppy’s appointment have been quickly realized. We got all the hallmarks of the Metroscum now: underachieving team, attendance worries and worthless management. Thanks those responsible! It’s as if Guppy’s game plan for the season was: Sign Blanco not matter the cost, get revenue, do nothing else other than open the doors to Toyota Park.
Unlike many of the FIRE faithful, I’m not quite ready to throw the gauntlet down on Dave Sarachan yet. Whether it was Steve McClerran-esque desperation or simple injury problems (which most calling for Sarachan’s head seem to be oblivious to) his blooding of the young players against RSL at home was a great move. At least there was a glimmer of light on Sunday for the FIRE. Will Dave’s great drafting/scouting save him again? Tune in next Sunday.

Early Season MLS Awards (one award per player/team)

MVP – (tie) Eddie Johnson (KC Wizards) and Taylor Twellman (NE Revolution) – While asking myself, “Who is the first player I would build a team on the back for the first part of this season?” it always came down to these two players whose teams would be nowhere close to their current standing without them. As lame as it is to: 1) have a tie and 2) it be between the two top goal scorers, I can’t see it any other way. Each player requires the attention of nearly the entire back line. Neither’s team has another player even close to their capabilities and opens doors for their teammates that would only be open with their presence. Isn’t that what an MVP is all about?
Runner-up: Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire) - Win with him, lose without. That is also the definition of Value.

Comeback Player of the 1/3 Year - Clint Mathis (The Flagship) – Who else? Why couldn’t Bruce do this with Cletus on the National Team? Whatever it is, Clint Mathis is the lynchpin to RBNY’s suddenly explosive offense. I’m not discounting the significant upgrades that this team has made, but this seemingly insignificant move to the alleged junk heap has really blossomed for the Bruce. Match after match Cletus’ presence in the middle of the Flagship’s O has been dangerous and effective. Mathis’ strong free kick and dead ball abilities are almost just a bonus this season as his passion and competitiveness continues to drive this team forward.
Runner-up: Herculez Gomez (Colorado Rapids) – Gomez has been a demon on the pitch for opposing defenses and his revenge header this weekend to lift the Rapids over the Gals was a nice bonus for this MLS good guy.

Rookie of the Year (acquired in 2007 Superdraft) – Dane Richards (The Flagship) – Just give him the trophy now! Richards has locked
Runner-up: Michael Harrington (KC Wizards) – Fastest goal by a rookie in league history and a dangerous defender who can push up ala Frankie Hedjuk

Best Designated Player Pick-up – Juan Pablo Angel (The Flagship) -
Runner-up: Claudio Reyna (The Flagship) – Well he’s the only other one to have played in the league and he has yet to justify the money or allocation space.

Newcomer of the Year – Maykel Galindo (Chivas USA) – Robbed of this week’s Goal of the Week away by UFC’s fanbase, Galindo has show some extraordinary pace and acclimation to MLS. His physical presence as a striker is a revelation that hasn’t been seen in LA since Pescadito flopped into town. Do you think his success will convince any other Cuban national teamers to defect during Gold Cup this simmer?
Runner-up: Juan Toja (FC Dallas) – An added dimension. That is what this kid brings to the pitch.

Franchise of the Year – Toronto FC (UFC) – Between the ticket sales, the reaching out to the community, the fan support, the stadium from day one and the assembly of a competitive team, UFC simply has buried the rest of the league off the pitch.
Runner-up: FC Dallas – The Hoops seem to slowly be hooking into a solid fanbase in their new digs. The team hired a coach that is not afraid to shake things up in Steve Morrow. I mean the guy give the armband to Ruiz then benches him once he starts to fade. That will get you the respect of your team and it sends a great message that you have to work hard every week to stay on the pitch. The Richetti and Toja signings are also amongst the tops in the league.

Biggest Disappointment – The Amado Guevara Situation – OK, trade a DP allocation for a career mercurial player, then cut him from the team when he plays the way he always has. There are gutsy moves by coaches or front offices and then there are monumentally idiotic moves and this one qualifies as the latter, particularly for a club such as Chivas USA which could score some seriously bank on a designated player. Was I alone in thinking that they would be one of the first clubs to us this new toy? Now, the club has no true star and no DP allocation until 2010.
Runner-up: Houston Dynamo – If there was one team that spit in the face of the designated player rule it was the Dynamo. The one saving grace for this team has been the announcement of “going exclusive” with downtown Houston for a stadium. Let’s hope this happens because, it would be an instant front runner for best ground in the league.

Biggest Surprise – Quality of Play – Wasn’t there a talent diluting expansion draft this past year, which Mo turned into his personal swap meet? Note: Not one of the players selected in the expansion draft ever stepped foot on the pitch for Toronto in an MLS match. Instead of talent dilution, MLS countered the effect with the passage of the designated player rule that did exactly what everyone hoped it would do. Get David Beckham! Just kidding, but not really. The acquisition of Becks paved the way for talented players such as Andy Welsh, Carl Robinson, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Carlos Marinelli and many others who may have not considered MLS without his presence. The additional spotlight created by this and the new TV contracts has created and great incentive for players who typically regard the regular season as next to worthless.
Runner-up: KC Wizards – While Carlos Marinelli is no small addition, Curt Onolfo has been the difference maker and has embrace entertaining soccer at all costs.

MLS creates YouTube Channel
Following in the footsteps of the NHL and MLB, not much else to say. I guess it can’t hurt.

Team to Know
Making it to the final 16 of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup: Lynch’s Irish Pub. The boy’s from Jacksonville’s finest tap travel to Charlotte to take on USL-2’s Eagles on June 12th.

Quote of the Week:
“I tend to not concentrate the whole 90 minutes” – Jeff Cunningham to The Globe and Mail this week.

FIFA Says Getting High is Bad
Last week FIFA has banned international matches in stadiums above 8,200 feet sea level for health related reasons. Unfortunately, nemesis to the US national team, Stadio Azteca, sits at 7,800 feet above sea level. Amazingly that is over 2,800 feet above Denver's Mile High Field. No mention of any minimum air quality standards. A FIFA sanctioned air quality rule might do more to save the earth than 50 Al Gores!

Beckham’s Recall and MLS
David Beckham has been recalled by skittish England skipper Steve McClarren onto a desperate side for an upcoming Euro 2008 qualifier again opening the door for the uninformed MLS boo-bird from across the pond continue to trash the league. I just have to ask, where the hell to these fools get off bashing MLS? Their team is worried about a match with Estonia!!! Is that what the “supremacy” of the EPL gets you? This from the league where Teddy Sherringham continues to play? Players that are expected to struggle against Estonia? I watched “The Miracle Match” (a.k.a. The Game of their Lives” this weekend and it contained the perfect line about the British. “Just because they invented the game they believe it is their God given right to be the best at it.” Now, the entire island can’t see that their best day of their national team are well behind them. Only in betting parlours across the UK did anyone realistically think that the team that showed up for World Cup 2006 had a chance in hell in taking home the trophy.

Last week, Becks correctly stated that his conditioning will be better that it currently is after his first Galaxy tour due to the demands of playing in MLS in heat and style of play. This statement was met with dismissals from the likes of Sir Bobby and current teammate Ruud Van Nistelroy lamenting the summer move of Becks. The same papers that wrote Beckham off six months ago are now crying over his eminent departure from so-called “top flight football.” Certainly any football fan can see that there is a gap in the quality of play between the top American level and the top leagues in Europe, but while the sensationalists will describe this gap to be roughly the distance of Los Angeles and the last recognized planet in our galaxy, reality would place it much closer than that. Witness that every player that has made the leap from England or other top flight areas express surprise at the level of play in MLS. UFC’s Robinson continues to play for Wales as his manager made the astounding statement that he would make his decision on Robinson based on his current form rather than geography. What a novel concept! This policy paid off as Robinson rated above the likes of Ryan Giggs and Simon Davies in the most recent friendly with New Zealand according to the Daily Post. Luckily for MLS fans and Becks, McClerran has affirmed that despite playing in MLS, Beckham will be counted on, depending on form, throughout the Euro 2008 campaign.
For MLS this is a double edged sword. Thousands of tickets have been sold on the promise of the global superstar being on the pitch for the Gals. And man do they need him! The Galaxy currently sit in last place in the combined MLS table. Another challenge for the Galaxy and other MLS front offices is the lack of understanding about international duties among the casual American sports fans expected to turnout in droves for Becks. At the same time, MLS could have the good fortune of having a current England national team player on their league. If he continues to play for her Majesty’s team after while plying his trade with the Galaxy, the profile of MLS will be raised beyond its wildest expectations and may help shatter this retirement/semi-pro league moniker that the league has been saddled with overseas. However, MLS believes it can consistently attract this level of player it will have to begin to adhere to the international calendar. This summer the depth of MLS rosters will be tested like never before and while the growing reserve system helps offset this problem, nothing makes up for losing all the top players for league matches.
Here is a list of affected matches that and FIFA dates that may cause a problem with Lalas and Becks:
Aug 10 DC United (a)
Aug 13 New England (a)
Aug 15 Friendly v Germany (h)
Sep 2 Real Salt Lake (h)
Sept 8 Euro qual v Israel (h)
Sep 9 Colorado (h)
Sept 12 Euro qual v Russia (h)
Sep 14 Chivas (a)
Oct 13 Euro qual v Estonia (h)
Oct 14 Toronto (h)
Oct 17 Euro qual v Russia (a)
Oct 19 New York (h)
Nov 21 Euro qual v Croatia (h)

Dynamo meet the Prez
Dero and the boys got to press the flesh with George W. Bush Tuesday as he congratulated the team for their MLS Cup victory. Thanks to the efforts of Houston retailer, Lucho, the reigning champs will be stylin! Lucho tailored 26 custom suits complete with orange and gold ties for free. Maybe they could get some tips from him and Karl Rove on how to steal a victory or two. It might help them out on their current campaign.

Euro-Snob of the Week
This goes out to new soccer “fan” ESPN’s Bill Simmons who pledged his allegiance to Spurs after loving the World Cup so much. So first the former-Boston Sports Guy disses his local team for a foreign club based on reader suggestions, which is about as low as one can get in my book. Then in his recent continuing series of why he loves sports, he finds the MLS DirectKick commercial offering every MLS game for $74.95 guffaw worthy. Bill, if you need some guffaws or just straight laughter look at how much ink, money and time you’ve devoted to the Celtics over the last year. That is something to laugh or more likely cry at! The NBA lottery was just deserts for you buddy.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (3-4)
SEASON (15-27)

Colorado v. Toronto – Toronto was always going to be amongst the teams most hurt by International callup. Take the Rapids here.

RSL v. Revs – Another depleted team, the Revs, will fall as a full strength RSL gets their first win on the road.

RBNY v. KC – The Wizards made the first part of the statement last week, now they make the second part of that statement topping The Flagship.

DC v. LA – One of the hottest teams in the league against one of the coldest. DC over the languishing Gals. Boo birds come out at the HDC.

Hoops v. Dynamo – The I-41 rivalry and “El Capitan” is on the line. Without DeRo on the pitch the Dynamo focus more on the flanks. Brad Davis and Brian Mullan start targeting Brian Ching and the Dynamo get a much needed win.

Crew v. FIRE – Was there ever a match that had more of a draw feel around it? Oh, that was last week’s game vs. RSL that I picked wrong. Two teams looking distinguish themselves.

Podcast:
The Dynamo Power Hour with Glenn Davis
These broadcasts are taking on a bit of a funeral type feel these days aren’t they?

(NOTE: If you know a Podcast that needs to be added please let me know and post a link)

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 5/24/07

2007-05-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 7 – A step backwards
This weekend we were treated to some terrible soccer (and weather) almost across the board. Luckily there were a few moments of brilliance sprinkled between the hacking and incomplete passes.

Wednesday
Toronto v. Dynamo - Nothing can keep these fans away from the madhouse on the lake. Can 2,000 DeRo supporters be wrong? They were last Wednesday and Houston got outplayed and new acquisition Joseph Ngenyna made like his predecessor, Alejandro Moreno and squandered a couple of prime scoring opportunities. Andy Welsh slammed home a Ronnie O’Brien free kick to send the Torontonians into a frenzy. Most amazing stat of the day: Complaints by Mo: 0. More on this later.

Thursday
FIRE v. Dallas – Another Brimstone Cup match, another Dallas win. Dallas outclasses the FIRE for 65 minutes and then managed to hang on for a 2-1 victory over the home team. Juan Toja was the man of the match in my book. His dominance across the field kept the 32 FIRE defenders fielded by mini-Coach “Defensive” Dave scrambling all evening. After Kenny Cooper almost broke the stage side Toyota Park crossbar in the 54th minute with a screamer from well outside the box, Toja doubled the Dallas advantage in the 60th with a rocket that would have scored without the slight deflection by Logan Pause. The FIRE with the fresh injection of Brian Plotkin, Thiago, and Chad Barrett besieged the Dallas goal for the remainder of the match and converted in the 73rd minute after Thiago won a ball from two Dallas defenders, split two more with a pass to Barrett, which was crossed to an on rushing Calen Carr. Carr poked the ball past Sala to halve the lead. The FIRE almost leveled in the match when Thiago slammed a Justin Mapp corner into the near post. This match revealed that the FIRE can no longer afford to play converted defenders such as Gonzalo Segares, Ivan Guererro and Robinson as midfielders and expect them to cover for an aging central defensive tandem of CJ Brown and Chris Armas. Armas in particular looks like he aged ten years in the off season.

Saturday
Toronto v. DC United – Now here’s a game brought to you by Mo Johnston! UGLY! The first half lacked any cohesion whatsoever, but did bring the interesting footnote of Aleko Eskandarian scoring his first non-DC United goal vs. DC United. Aside from that, there was little to take away from the first half aside from the foul festival that is becoming commonplace at BMO field. I mean, we are talking about a team that is coached by a man who thought a red card was too harsh when one of his players tried to bite an opponent. DC was flat until the insertion of Guy-Roland Kpene in the 56th minute for walking yellow card Facundo Erpen who was on the verge of earning his second of the match. Shortly thereafter, DC tied the match off a Bobcat Goldthwaite own goal and continued pressing. In the 79th minute a great over the top ball found Luciano Emilio who was subsequently dragged down in the box by TFC’s Marvell Wynne. You guessed it, Mo didn’t agree with the call. That made no difference to Jamie Moreno, who tied Jason Kreis’ MLS all time goal record with a well struck penalty kick. Moreno who has only been able to score via the spot this season may well be running on fumes, despite his recent call-up to the Bolivian national side.

RBNY vs. Crew – I didn’t get to see too much of this game, but I did witness Dane Richards ROY campaign take another step forward with a great cross to ageless journeyman John Wolyniec for the opener. After that, Columbus pretty much got hammered into the ground by a merciless Red Bull side. The Red Bulls did very well considering they had to deal with the shock of Claudio Reyna not on the roster due to injury. Ronny Waterrus and Young Jozy were not on the pitch either with Waterrus nursing an injury and Jozy going to a Prom. Props to Bruce for letting Altidore attend an important event. There will be plenty of more games for him to take part in. I think Arena knows what he has on his hands in NYC and it should scare the hell out of anyone who loves MLS. I mean anyone, because it is clear to tell from attendance that no one in NY/NJ loves MLS.

Dynamo v. Revs – Shalrie Joseph fires a low liner past Pat Onstad early on to give the Revs all they needed against a tepid Dynamo attack. The Dynamo look very lost at the moment and might start to think about some serious changes. Rarely this year have Brian Ching, DeRo, Brad Davis and Joelajandro Dagrenya look close to being on the same page.

Colorado v. Wizards – Thank God for HDNet! That is so exclusive no one except Mark Cuban can watch the games! The draw here saw Carlos Marinelli back on the pitch, which is good news for KC’s fans. The fan base that has the distinction of putting up a “no rating” on their local TV game broadcasts according to the KC Star. That is sub 0.1 territory which means that less than 900 or so TV’s were tuned to the match. That’s got to hurt more than Jimmy Conrad’s jaw!

Sunday
Chivas v. Galaxy – Superclassico and another “sell out”! Ever watch a match with no connection between either teams midfielders and their strikers? Watch this on MLS replay and you’ll be able to claim that distinction. Tough match for spectators and that includes those lying down on blanket on Lalas hill.

Dallas v. RSL – A great Sunday afternoon crowd witnessed yet another droll first half , which gave way to a RSL showcase (and Jeff Cunningham swan song) in the second half. But the RSL Williams/Adu show was stolen by Dallas’ finishing, including the no-look Goal of the Week stunner launched by Chris Gbandi in the 82nd minute. I was shocked to see that eight cautions were issued in this match. What is this? Toronto?

Friendly Notes:
This week LA fell to Rangers 1-0 at the Home Depot Center while Toronto held Benefica to a scoreless draw. Not to bad all things considered. What other conclusions are there to draw from this?

Sheva open to America
According to the Evening Chronicle in Newcastle, Chelsea striker came away from last summers MLS All Star game impressed enough to move him to the following statements about the league. Shevchenko said: "I would like to play there, actually. Soccer is growing in the US and I'd like to be a part of that. I played there last summer against the MLS All-Stars and I saw myself that it's definitely improving.” Upon reading this, Alexi Lalas picked up the phone.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (2-6)
SEASON (12-23)

Thursday
FIRE vs. RBNY – As much as it hurts, I’ve got to go with the Red Bulls on this one. Bruce has got the whole team playing up to (Richards) and beyond (Mathis) their potential. With Angel getting familiar with his surrounding, the FIRE’s terrible (there I said it) central defense will look stupid all night.

Saturday
Wizards vs. Revs – The Revs keep winning, but something tells me that Marinelli and the Wizards will be able to get a draw out of this one.

TFC vs. Crew – The TFC UFC takes on the Crew (who’s logo is probably more appropriate for the visitors given their style of brawl ball). Toronto gets their first road win here in a shoot out.

Dynamo vs. DCU – Tommy’s boys are back on track as Dominic continues to look for answers and Saturday night at RFK is no place to search for those answers. I’ll take DCU comfortably.

Galaxy vs. Rapids – All Rapids all the way here. Jacob Peterson and Connor Casey got some much needed time in the Rapids mid-week Open Cup victory over RSL. Look for these players to have a role in this match.

FCD vs. Chivas – Steve Morrow figured something out over the last month and it is going to be trouble for any team in FCD’s path. Chivas’ midfield is having some difficulty in connecting to its attacking players and Pablo Ricchetti will ensure that remains the case.

Sunday
RSL vs. FIRE – Woe is RSL. This team is too good to continue to struggle the way they are, but alas, their struggles will not end on the road. The FIRE win their first in four and Carr begins to make a name for himself.

New Soccer Basher Enemy: Norman Chad – It’s great when a nationally syndicated writer uses every opportunity to bash MLS. Find his articles your own! I mean this stuff is hold over anti-soccer junk from days begone.

Euro-Snobs of the Week

The AP ran an article about two twenty year old American college students, Dan Dahlin and Ian Smith, who won tickets to the Champions League final via a UEFA lottery. Good for them, until the last quote of the page came up. When asked about David Beckham’s move to the Galaxy Smith quipped, "He's obviously shifting away from soccer to the movies." Obviously!!! Bite me Ian!

Writer of the Week:
Brian Dohn for this nice piece.

Podcast:
The Dynamo Power Hour with Glenn Davis special guest Marcus Hahnemann.
(P.S. – Is Thomas Rongren the spokes person for Danish Inspirations?)

NEXT WEEK: Early Season MLS Awards

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 5/16/07

2007-05-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 6 – A Week of Firsts

The week kicked off with the Rocky Mountain Cup, in a game that featured great pace and a strong step-up on national TV from the leagues tarnished golden boy. Young Freddy was on a mission as his work in the first half kept Colorado under constant pressure. His blast in the 15th minute deflected off the bottom of Pablo Mastroeni’s outstretched boot and went into onion bag past my player of the week Bouna Coudoul. RSL managed to give up another embarrassing goal as former Fireman Jack Stewart positioned his shoulder perfectly to allow the ball to deflect off it, into the back of his own net early on. The second half featured some great football, but failed to product a goal. The game ended as the first ever draw that featured only own goals in league history and the sixth time that each team scored an own goal. The Colorado crowd of 13K+ looked and sounded great! Another tribute to the soccer specific stadium agenda.

FSC came out to cover the FIRE vs. Toronto FC match. Two hundred brave FIRE fans made the trek and witnessed the worst game their team had played all season. The FIRE offense was a shambles all match as Toronto controlled the tempo of the game and the FIRE were kept on their heels all afternoon. Toronto got on the board First when Jan Koellers uglier brother Danny Diccio put in the first in franchise history off an Edson Buddle feed. This also set off the first mass seat cushion toss in TFC history. (P.S. Dave Sarachan stole my joke about this incident, so The half of firsts wasn’t over for Diccio yet as his rugby style of play led him to crash into keeper Matt Perkins during a cross. After the ball was cleared, half the FIRE team went after Diccio and the melee sparked more flying seat cushions. Because of the intensity of the scrum, the referee decided to award the first red card in TFC history to Diccio. The FIRE’s Diego Gutierrez was also sent off. Upon review of the play, Mr. Diccio might find his vacation from the MLS pitch last a bit longer than just one match. Diccio completed the rare hat trick of firsts with a club and league first: First attempted Mike Tyson v. Evander Holyfield impersonation. No joke! The ogre attempted to bite Gutierrez! The change in the number of team representatives seemed to favor Chicago. Hell, Brentos even thought so. The opposite turned out to be true as CJ Brown decided to take a vacation from the back post during the second half and TFC put in the second and third goals of their inaugural campaign to walk away with their first win. Brown and Curtain’s weaknesses were on full display as their tortoise–like reactions and lack of cohesion allowed the FIRE to be doused for the second week in a row. This game became a perfect example of what the Chicagoans have given up to obtain Sr. Blanco. Now Andy Herrons’ elbows will be filled by Temo, but the defense sorely misses Tony Sanneh’s poise and organization skills, particularly with Matt Pickens embarking on his first full season as a starter. Brown and Curtain’s play may force Sarachan’s hand to put in first round draft pick The Big Baker, opting for talent over experience. Either way, it looks to be a shaky two months for a team that can’t seem to put up more than one a game.

Columbus vs. Chivas/KC vs. Dallas
OK, first Ante Razov is a freak of nature and one of the most underrated players in the league. For all the gushing about Jamie Moreno, Razov is doing it in less game and with less penalty kicks! Not that Moreno, is going Romario on us, but he is just not the opportunist that Razov is! Schelotto set up Ned Grabavoy (move over Eddie) for the tying goal and that is how the match ended. Ali Moreno did nothing again. Not all that much else happened, although I was flipping between the cosmopolitan hubs of Columbus and Kansas City during the games so I may have missed Eddie Gaven sulk off the pitch.

KC and Dallas proved that it is possible to lose A LOT of money betting on soccer. Dallas comes in struggling, but is boosted from the reappearance of Dario Sala between the pipes. KC’s flying high, but wunderkind Carlos Marinelli is on the bench. Result? A convincing 2-1 win for the visitors. The non-Dave Dir Dallas announcer was so beside himself that he dismissed Kenny Coopers opening headed as “not a thing of beauty.” A backtracking Cooper, back-nods (its a word now) the ball into the far corner, beating a slightly off his line Kevin Hartman and its not a thing of beauty? I must be watching the wrong game! The Wizards conceded another goal to Dallas late in the first half and couldn’t take advantage of a blinder of a game by Davey Arnaud until the end of regulation when rookie of the year candidate Michael Harrington convincingly headed in his second of the season.

The Taylor Twellman show came to LA and didn’t fail to disappoint. TnT beat Joe Cannon twice in the second half as the Revs came from behind to beat the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. Kyle Martio showed up for the game and notched the opening goal in the 14th minute. The score stood at that point until just after the half, where Adam Cristman circled around and snuck a shot past a frozen Cannon. Ralston on the assist, in case that isn’t implied at this point. Five minutes later Twellman put one off the crossbar, but followed his shot and headed into the back of the net. The home team though they had secured at least a tie in the 84th minute when Tyron Marshall deftly headed Captain Donovan’s corner kick past Matt Reis to set off a wild celebration (well wild for this side of the Canadian border). The revelry was short lived though as Twellman scored on a Pat Noonan pass on the next possession. Thus ended Saturday’s Major League Soccer action.

Sunday witnessed the grand welcome to the Red Bull Home Faithful to NY/NJ for Juan Pablo Angel. I think I briefly spotted a Columbian flag at midfield. Just a terrible showing of support for a Designated Player, but none the less, an appropriate welcome. Captain Wheelchair was on the bench and Ronny Waterreus was still ailing. Colorado took it to the Bulls all match and went ahead on a nice Herculez Gonzales, Nico Hernandez connection midway through the first half. Props to Nico and Herculez for the Bull inspired celebration. Toro! Toro! The Red Bulls looked slow all game, but did manage to direct some shots at net, but Condoul was equal to the task and had his second seven save game of the year. Mike Petke and Mastroeni were also very important to the strong Colorado defense all afternoon.

BB is the King!
Congratulations to former FIRE, Flagship and Chivas USA coach Bob Bradley who will have the interim removed from his name by US Soccer Wednesday. Bobby, you earned it! Now go out there and show the country why we will never need a foreign coach at the helm of our team!

Xavier in LA
No, it is not this nation’s classiest college basketball program doing a movie, it is well traveled Portuguese defender Abel Xavier who will join the Galaxy June 15th on a free transfer from EPL side Middlesboro. Word is also that Mr. Ruiz, another “bargain” attraction is plotting his return to LA. How the f%*k does this league claim to have a salary cap? Please let me know! This is growing beyond the smoke and mirror typically employed by MLS front offices. This is just straight up ignorance of the rules.

Basher Alert
It is rare these days that a young sports columnist churns out an idiotic piece of crap like this. Of course, I could keep my fingers off the keyboard. And yes, I decided against a constructive e-mail, after all, he said that he knows everything already while saying he doesn’t understand the game! I’m not kidding!

My Response:
Mr. Robinson,

If you willingly admit you know nothing about the beautiful game, why do you write about it? Since when do American’s care about tennis? Check the attendance for tennis events vs. soccer events in this country and you will be surprised. Sorry about the lack of cohesion in my response, but I thought you’d enjoy it given the caliber of drivel that seeped from your pen when you wrote “looking for a tie.” No, it doesn’t deserve to be capitalized.

Adios Hack,
US Soccer Snob

Sorry for putting you readers through that! To reassure your faith in humanity, please read this great Bob Hunter piece from the Columbus Dispatch.

MLS Prediction Central
Last Week (2-4)
SEASON (10-17)

Wednesday
Toronto v. Dynamo - The locals are raging soccer lunatics! But that won’t stop DeRo form showing them what they’ll get in a year or two when he joins TFC. Houston send Toronto back to earth.

Thursday
FIRE v. Dallas – I don’t know what the hell to make of either of these teams! The Fire have given up six goals in the last two games while Dallas put together just an awesome performance at KC last Saturday. The FIRE should be able to draw this team because Dallas team speed isn’t too much for Chicago’s snail like central back tandem of Brown and Curtain.

Saturday
Toronto v. DC United – United still are trying to work out the bugs and have to settle for a draw at the Madhouse on the Lake.

RBNY vs. Crew – Boca! River! Schelotto! Angel! Someone get Chris Sullivan’s hand out of his pants! Red Bulls bounce back with Jozy and Angel showing the RedBulls largest crowd of the season why there is hope this season.

Dynamo v. Revs – You wanna mess with the Revs? I don’t wanna mess with them! He don’t wanna mess with them? Take the Revs as the Twellman show rolls on.

Colorado v. Wizards – No Conrad, No Marinelli, No Win. Maybe even a Connor Casey sighting! Funny that Connor is on the same team as Jovan Kirovski. I think they got the identical career path from their high school guidance counselors.

Sunday
Chivas v. Galaxy – Watch out now its HONDA SUPERCLASSICO TIME. The Gals take out their recent frustration on their building squatters.

Dallas v. RSL – Holy Kreis! Checkett’s favorite Jason remains undefeated and notches his first win and fresh RSL legs prevail in the Dallas heat.

Sorry, but Glenn hasn’t posted his podcast yet.

US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update

2007-05-11T06:42:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 5

Come, join me on a shoddy week of match reporting! Luckily, I have more than match recaps in my head.

Week five started with a great match in our nation’s capital between DC United and the Revs. Sadly, this match was marred by a ridiculous straight red card handed to Shalrie Joseph on an all ball tackle from the side in the 59th minute. Even with a man advantage, misfiring United could only manage a 1-1 draw and lost big addition Fred to an injury that is expected to keep him four a few matches. Facundo Erpen was back in the line-up for Tommy Soehn’s side but failed to hand any clear goal scoring opportunities over to the Revolution.

Some refreshing atmosphere was added to Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday afternoon as a vocal Argentinean contingent was on hand to witness the Wizards down the Crew 1-0 on a dramatic extra time goal from Jose Burciaga Jr. The beautiful game was not on display in KC though as the teams combined for 34, mostly ugly fouls. While the Argentineans seemed to be rooting (all game) for the home side, it was unclear if their attendance was driven by the presence of Carlos Marinelli, the debut of Guillermo Barros Schelotto or the aura of Ryan Pore. Either way, the Wizards to keep selling those tickets as well as about 10,000 more per game. KC has yet to crack 8,000 tickets sold in each of their first two home games with one of the highest paid American players in top form again.

Oh, to see RSL’s stunning comeback versus the Flagship with two goals in added time. Unfortunately, I only purchased the Direct Kick package that gives you access to all the games on TV. Try to go with this. All the MLS games this season are televised according to Garber the Don many, many times during the off season. Therefore, I couldn’t get the game, because for some idiotic reason only some of the HDnet games are broadcast on Direct Kick. I can mention that the Brown goal should be goal of the week, not only for the skill involved, but also for the circumstances under which it was scored.

Also eluding my eyes this weekend was the Houston vs. Colorado match. Apparently, DeRosario was notified that if he wants DP money he better start playing like a DP. DeRo responded with two goals. The first was a vintage DeRo blast from well outside the box. The second was some good follow-up that surprisingly didn’t result in a major head injury for a Colorado players. After a collision between goalkeeper, defender and attacker, the ball was still free and rolling ever so slowly towards the line. Humorously, the Colorado defender who was buried underneath the wreckage tried to head the ball off the line while lying flat on the ground. DeRo finished the goal scoring sequence ensuring the defender the “I’ll bite your ankles” award of the week.

Sunday’s DC – Chivas match witnessed some great finishing from Christian Gomez and Mykiel Galindo. Jamie Moreno converted another penalty kick and DC rolled on to a 2-1 win over the Guevara-free Goats in a fairly even match. Ante Razov fired some threatening balls toward the net, but Troy Perkins, easing back into form, was not troubled. (Unfortunately this game kicked off at the same time as the Real Madrid vs. Sevilla tilt and I missed a great deal of the MLS match. Can ESPN please pay Ray Hudson what ever it takes to be part of their MLS broadcasts? Is he ever really that far off of the John Belushi news desk stints in the early days of Saturday Night Live? I fully expect at any moment he is just going to start spewing unintelligible words then go flailing off of his chair. Here’s a classic Ray line during the RM match about Guti, “This player is bringing tears to my eyes with his performance. The flamencos will be singing his name throughout the streets of Madrid this evening”

Now we go from the sweet strains of Ray Hudson to the Sominex duo of Kenn and Kenny who broadcast the Fire matches for Comcast Sports in Chicago. These two are a better fit for a golf broadcast or perhaps competitive chicken hatching than a futbol contest! Regardless, the match was very well played despite the choppy play in the opening minutes. The early star had to be the pitch. The roll on the high tech field turf seemed to play very true. Jeff Larentowicz stole the spotlight in the 16th minute with an amazing diving volley to beat Matt Pickens. The Fire pulled a goal back on another blasted goal by Chris Rolfe at the best possible time, right before the half. As much as I try I can’t erase the second half from my mind. Stevie Ralston and the Rev’s used a twelve minute span to convincingly bury the previously unbeaten Fire. Ralston never should have scored in the second half. Pickens elected to stay on his line as a slow cross rolled past him onto the foot of the hard charging Ralston who put it into the back post. That ball HAS to be Perkins’. The Revs sealed the deal when Wells Thompson scored his first MLS goal in the 81st minute. Up until that point, all Thompson did was draw fouls by putting his butt between the ball and Chicago defender. This match will not be mentioned again.

Salaries Posted
The players union posted salaries this week and they’ve become the hottest webpages this side of D-listed. This has been so dissected and mis-analyzed that there isn’t much to add except that Andy Dorman is the best value in the league since the first days of the Little Fish (who might be on the move again). 30K for three goals already this season. You’ve got to figure this young man may also be working his way in to the Welsh picture. Andy! Get yourself a real agent! Of course, this salary release draws out the boo birds who like to point out the discrepancy in the numbers. You know the folks who never pay attention to the league for 364 (or perhaps 362 after Beckham) days a year. Which brings us to award winning Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Smallwood’s column. Below is my response to Mr. Smallwood

John,
Thanks for writing the column on MLS and the similarities at the far ends of the payroll bell curve. Luckily for us soccer fans, the similarities with the defunct NASL do end at the payroll for the most part. Only the NY Red Bulls are stuck in a terrible stadium lease agreement these days. That will be rectified within three years when the team moves into its own stadium which is already under construction. By the time the RedBulls move into their new stadium, only four MLS teams (DC United, Kansas City, Houston and New England) will be playing in stadiums designed for American Football. All of these teams are in the process of looking for places to build their own stadiums. The soccer specific stadium is the key component in differentiating then from now in American professional soccer. MLS is getting rights fees from ESPN, Telefutura and Fox Soccer Channel. The league has other revenues sources including its licensing of television and marketing of soccer matches through its subsidiary Soccer United Marketing. According to all reports out of Los Angeles, Mr. Beckham has already generated enough revenue to not only justify, but also pay off his year one salary. Mr. Blanco has yet to generate that level of income, but based on his reception in Chicago, it will not take long!

While Beckham and Blanco rightly fall into the category of those who need to be successful on and off the pitch, neither of the two NY pick-ups meet that criteria. Juan Pablo Angel will attract Columbian fans, however, he is far from a household name for casual American soccer fans. Claudio Reyna, despite his national team pedigree, will not draw fans in on name recognition or on his play because of its unflashy nature.

The side effect of the Designated Player rule is raising the level of play in the league, not only through the players acquired through this rule, but through residual signings. Players the quality of Carl Robinson (Toronto), Fred (DC), Carlos Marinelli (KC) and Guillermo Barros Schletto (Columbus) would likely not be in this league had it not attracted Beckham to it in the first place.

The days of questioning MLS’ viability and whether it will be around next season are long gone. Now the only question is, when will the league rise to the level of the top leagues in the world.

Ngwenya and Moreno Swap Cities
Alejandro Moreno stated after his trade to Columbus for Joseph Ngwenya that it was “no secret that (he) had fallen out of favor” in Houston. Ali! Could that be due to your finishing that leaves the fans in back of the goal hiding under their seats? Sorry, Sigi, you got fleeced on this one.

OPEN CUP ACTION
Now on to the best kept secret in American Sports, the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Talk about stars on the pitch, at one time or another Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones, Claudio Reyna, Juan Pablo Angel and Clint Mathis were on the pitch. From the match reports, all but the school night capacity crowd of 10,774 at the Home Depot Center missed out on a thrilling Open Cup qualifier between the Flagship and the Galaxy. The intensity of this game must have been off the charts as Jones was ejected in the 54th. Arena quickly put Angel in for Altidore. Yallop countered with Donovan off the bench. This was followed by the long awaited first Dema Kovalenko ejection of 2007 in the 73rd.. The match was scoreless at the end of regulation largely due to the efforts of LA’s keeper Steve Cronin who entered double digits in the save column. The match was decided in extra time by a final score of 3-1 in favor of the Galaxy who exploded for three in the extra thirty. Angel making his North American debut in this match, scored the lone RedBulls goal. I have to give Bruce Arena respect for fielding a full strength Red Bull side, while his adversary Frank Yallop put out a B-team that should have lost the match. Perhaps Yallop was looking to give his team a breather during the summer by bowing out of Open Cup play early. The fact that a MLS B team held a team of starters with two Designated Players (DP) to a draw in regulation, speaks volumes about the quality of the league and the depth that LA has quietly built.

MLS Prediction Central:
Season Record thru yesterday (8-13)
Last Week (2-4)

Saturday –
Chicago at Toronto – The Fire recover from their NE loss to down the expansion team. The atmosphere again delivers as 200+ Fire fans, egg on the Canucks. Mass beer drinking ensues.

Chivas at Crew – Chivas’ road odyssey takes another bad turn and the Crew tops the Californians.

FC Dallas at Wizards – KC delivers another masterpiece and rewards my buddy Joel for bringing his family out for the evening.

Revolution at Galaxy – Revolution top a dead and depleted tired Galaxy side.

Sunday –
Colorado at RBNY – The Rapids draw the Flagship, who are still trying to catch their breath from the Open Cup fixture.

PODCAST :
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

Quick Prediction

2007-05-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Rocky Mountain Cup
I'll take a multi-goal draw between the Salt Lake Freddys and the Mastroeni Machine.

US Soccer Snob’s Bi-Weekly US Soccer Update – 5/3/07

2007-05-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 4 – Questions, Answers and More Questions

The first question that went through my mind during the opening shots of Bee-Mo field was, “Are they just giving away scarves there?” While the answer to that was “Yes” for season ticket holders, the Toronto FC fans immediately cemented their position amongst the best in the league and their organized fan clubs are right near the top too. There was a great difference between the first franchise game for a Houston or RSL and then the first game we witnessed on Saturday. This crowd was not out for curiosity’s sake! Nay! They were out for the blood that their team has yet to draw. While TFC couldn’t reward their fans with any points, they did have their top performance of the year! Danny Diccio showed why Connor Casey got to go home to Denver as his physical presence asked questions of KC all game. That is a tremendous statement given that Jimmy Conrad and Nick Garcia are amongst the roughest defenders in the league! Perhaps following the advice in my TFC related entry, Mo replaced Marco Reda in the starting eleven in favor of Andrew Boyens and the result was a far more competent defense. Jim Brennan also elevated his game from previous outings. Despite having most of the run of play, TFC conceded a late near post Eddie Johnson tally. EJ was rewarded for his score by the Canuck fans with a dousing of Molsen. KC did well considering the early loss of superstar in the making, Argentine, Carlos Marinelli to a hamstring injury.

The Crew entertained DC United and continued the visitors woes by shutting out the side that most predicted to dominate the league this year. Columbus will become far more dangerous in the attacking end when Guillermo Barros Schelotto arrives, however an overall solid performance from the Crew helped them retain their unbeaten status. A real stand out this season has been the play of Joseph Ngwenya who caused DC headaches and probably bruises all night.

Saturday wrapped up with a Superclassico in the sold out Home Depot Center, where the Gals put two early goals on the other home team. Unfortunately, I was unable to watch the rest of the match due to technical difficulties, but it was nice to see Cobi hit the scoresheet.

Sunday was Texas Football matches which were amongst the most spiritless of the entire season. First the Revs topped an out of gas FC Dallas 1-0 under the midday sun at PHP. The Rev’s got their goal off the hands down goal of the week winning strike by Taylor Twellman. Twellman’s volley into the far side netting cam off a great pass from Steve Ralston, who is likely to top Carlos Valderrama’s all time MLS assist record this season. He is unlikely to adopt El Pibe’s hairstyle, although I think everybody would love to see that!

The Fire got the better of Houston at Robertson stadium for the second consecutive year as Chris Rolfe and company put together another solid, but unspectacular win. The lone goal in the match started with a long ball from Gonzalo Segares into the right hand corner that Rolfe tracked down. Rolfe then streaked to the corner of the box before faking a shot, then cooly taking it after the fake to beat Pat Onstad to the near post. The Fire immediately went into an even greater defensive shell and managed to hold on to the lead. While the 3-5-2 formation will not show it, the Fire have actually been starting five defenders, two defensive midfielders, two attacking mids and a lone forward. The absence of Justin Mapp was felt as his replacement Thiago again failed to show any of the spark that has been missing for well over a year. The stadium fell very quiet in the second half as the Dynamo supporters groups El Batillion and The Texian Army walked out of the stadium after a dispute with security. When will MLS front offices educate their security about soccer fans? This has happened in just about every city in the league with any sort of sizable support group. These groups are part of the attraction for (North) American fans now. Support the supporters and give them a long leash!

RSL unnecessarily dropped three points on its home pitch to rivals Colorado Rapids on Monday despite dominating possession and clearly having the better of the play all evening. A couple of mental breakdowns in the span of four minutes doomed the home team. The first goal came as RSL defender Daniel Torres tracked down a long lofted ball to the edge of his own box. Deciding to play the ball back to the keeper Torres turned to the left and was absolutely shocked to see the Rapid’s Roberto Brown in his face. Brown took the ball into the box and put a move on Torres that sent the RSL defender sliding to the ground. Brown easily converted past a deserted Chris Seitz to mark the occasion of Seitz’ first MLS start. Seitz added to his woes minutes later as he handled a ball that may or may not have been a pass back. I guess he never heard the “when in doubt” addage. This wrinkle was unfortunate for Seitz because he had played a great match up until that point. Overall, this match was a great viewing experience, because despite these lapses, high quality football was on display at Rice-Eccles and the crowd let it be know that there was no love for the visitors.

Let’s face it Coach John Ellinger is on borrowed time in Salt Lake. We know owner Dave Checketts recognizes that RSL is in the spotlight out there. He recognizes the need to show the fans that they are trying to improve. Freddy’s signing was a first step, now Ellinger needs to go. The Coach has gotten everything he’s asked for and has just been unable to make this talent line-up click, he couldn’t get anything out of Mathis, now he gets Freddy and despite all the trumpeting about Adu returning to his natural position, where do we find him? On the wing playing second creative fiddle to Mehdi Ballouchy! They flipped sides at the half, but Ballouchy was responsible for most of the attacking midfield responsibilities. To make matters worse, most of Ballouchy’s first touches were criminally bad, showing all the ball had to offer to the defense again and again. RSL needs to relegate Ellinger to the Rongren Pile and hire a proven winner.

MLS Prediction Central:
Season Record (5-9)
Last Week (3-5)

Thursday
DC – Revs – The hot Revs keep DCU scratching their head and head out of RFK with another win.

KC – Crew – The Crew remain undefeated with a draw at Arrowhead.

RSL – NYRB – With Torres on the bench, RSL draws at home versus the Flagship.
Colorado – Houston – The Rapids got it going on and put on a showcase for their fans.

Sunday

DC – Chivas – Finally DC’s breakout performance and a big W for the preseason darlings. In doing so, DC bucks the trend of Thursday Night teams underperforming.

Revs – FIRE – The Fire cool the exhausted revs and leap to the top of the table.

PODCAST :
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

Quick Prediction

2007-04-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

RSL vs. COL - Look for RSL and Cunningham to get on track versus the Rocky Mountain EastSiders.

US Soccer Snobs Bi-Weekly Update -4/28

2007-04-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Good news! I managed to pull myself away from the X-Box 360 for a moment, even though I’m in the midst of guiding a significantly revamped Recreativo side to a third straight Champions League Title!

MLS Week 4

I finally had the opportunity to watch Toronto FC for a full game and what a disaster this side is! Clearly Greg Sutton and Marco Reda are in over their heads in MLS. It is shocking that Mo let Jon Busch go in favor of Sutton! Reda was victimized on all three KC goals. On the first, he lost track of his mark and allowed Eddie Johnson his second of the season virtually unmarked. Johnson just owned Reda all night. The middle of the Toronto FC defense was completely exposed on the second goal as Johnson easily beat Reda to the sideline and blasted a shot into Sutton. Unable to deflect the ball into a friendly area, the ball popped into the middle of the box. After Toronto’s other lost sheep, Marcelo Saragosa, wiffed at a clearance KC’s Kerry Zavagnain calmly put away his first goal since 2003. Another disappointment for TFC has to be the play of their some of their hailed English Championship signings, Jim Brennan and Carl Robinson. Brennan was completely invisible during the game and Robinson was just a bystander most of the time who seemed completely overwhelmed by the pace of the match. The news isn’t all bad for the expansion side! Late substitute, Miguel Canizalez impressed. His play led to the majority of Toronto’s quality chances. I though that Andy Welsh had a very solid game as well.

KC has got be enthused by their MLS start. They rebounded well from the previous week where they were booted from Open Cup play and fell to a dominant Fire team. The most dangerous player on the pitch against Toronto had to be newcomer Carlos Marinelli! This kid has class coming out of his ears! God help the rest of the league when he starts really gelling with EJ. There were flashes of that understanding on the night, but I’m sure that is only the beginning.

On Thursday, the Flagship is surprising everyone by not giving up a goal in its first four matches. RBNY keeper Ronald Watterrus has yet to be significantly tested, but none the less, zero goals is zero goals! The whole team turned in a solid match, but the standout (again) was the goal scorer Hunter Freeman. His crushed late second half goal gave NY all they needed to put down a limp Dallas side.

MLS PREDICTIONS:
TFC – KC: KC continues to roll over the league doormat.
COL – DCU: Draw here as DC’s struggles continue and Columbus continues to improve.
GALS – CHIVAS: Chivas with a superclasico victory!
REVS – DAL: Revolution top an exhausted Hoops
CHI – HOU: Sides draw as a hard fought game can’t find a winner.

RECORD – (2-4)

US Soccer Snob's - Bi-Weekly Update 4/26/07

2007-04-26T06:55:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 3
Ah, week three, or as I like to refer to it, the week I officially give up on my fantasy team. The Revs and the Crew got the week of to a great start with a 2-2 draw that was salvaged at the last minute by the Crew’s Kei Camara. The match was played at a very high level and was a good showcase for the league. As some of my readers (not sure I should use a plural) may know, I’ve been working to establish a soccer bar in Chicago’s Loop. It was a good start to see a few folks show up for this match and for 30 glorious minutes, this was the only thing on TV. The regular crowd was checking out the game and didn’t ask for the channel to be changed, so I’ll take that as a small victory. Getting back to the match, a lowlight was Andy Herron’s blatant WWF elbow to the face of Jay Heaps. Strange to see this from Herron, because he was never a dirty player during his time with the Fire.
Now we get in to Saturday. The day I felt compelled to post my weekend predications just before the kickoffs. Unlike Jamie Trecker, I’ll actually leave my predictions up without editing them. Needless to say, I was a bit off. 0-3 on Saturday! First to Toyota Park, where two evenly matched teams fought it out and played an exciting, although offensively uncreative game for 90 minutes. Chris Armas, put a great pass onto the foot of Chad Barrett, who beat the offside trap and then the keeper to put Chicago up 1-0 in the 36th minute. Barrett did a great job of shielding defender Nick Garcia, before beating Kevin Hartman. For the second week in a row, Barrett justifies the Fire conviction in his abilities. The teams traded questionable penalty kicks in the second period and settled on a 2-1 score line as a final. More about the announced crowd of 11,717 later on.

Remember that teenager that arrived amid a bunch of fanfare and is expected to be the next big thing? Sorry Freddy, but Jozy is the young Man now! With all the acquisitions of older players, the youngsters are getting it done for RBNY. A great right side combination resulted in Hunter Freeman playing a ball on the ground to Jozy, who used a tremendous first touch to knock the ball into nearby space on his left. He then spun around and cracked a shot over Houston’s Pat Onstad on the underside of the crossbar for what turned out to be the winning goal and a goal of the week frontrunner. Jozy played a tremendous game considering he was the lone RBNY striker for a good portion of the match following the controversial ejection of Cletus for a high boot. Fox broadcasters were, of course, singling out Claudio Reyna after the match for his influence, which mainly consisted of passing the ball backwards. Regardless, things are coming together in NY and these developments should scare the rest of the surprisingly strong Eastern Conference.

Almost as humiliating as my 0-3 prediction record was RSL’s effort versus Chivas USA at the HDC on Saturday night. RSL’s previously sold defense was shredded by the speed of Maykel Galindo who netted two great goals during the first ten minutes of the match gave Chivas all they needed. The American Goats added a bit more history to the night with Ante Razov hitting the back of the net for the 100th time in the league. Congratulations to Ante. He has quietly been the most consistent and efficient striker in MLS. It is sad and funny that the career best American strikers that are currently part of the league, Jason Kreis, Jeff Cunningham, and Razov, have never really had an impact on our national team. Taylor Twellmann could soon be added to this overlooked group, although Taylor is more a victim of timing. Then think of some of the players who have gotten more of a fair shake: Jovan Kirovski and Connor Casey. It this it is clear to see Bruce’s opinion of MLS.

Wrapping up the weekend was a solid 3-1 kFCD victory over the previously undefeated Colorado Rapids. Ramon Nunez began his official coming out party by putting away the first two Dallas goals. Jovan Kirovski interrupted the Nunez show to display that his chipper was working fine as he beat Shaka Hislop to draw the Rapids even, but Dallas proved to be too much for the visitors. The “sellout” crowd of 20,500 went home happy.

Attendance Reporting 2007
As an avid attendance nut, I’ve been completely perplexed to see some of the attendance figures this year! Some seem pretty dead on and others seem to be complete fabrications. The Chicago Fire attendance this year has been very accurate. So much so, it seemed that the team has been underreporting attendance. The NYRB game on Saturday seemed to have spectacular attendance, but only a bit over 12K was announced. Fast forward to KFCD on Sunday, every section had people in it, but no section could really be described as packed. This was announced as a sellout. As was the Rapids opener, when it was very clear that some sections were not sold at all. So what is going on here? Are some teams adjusting their attendance for non-soccer related reasons? Are they just trying to make it challenging to be part of the Bigsoccer attendance prediction thread?

Zizu and the Deteriorization of MLS’ Safe and Sane Policy
Yes the rumor mill is about with Zizu to the Fire or LA! Let me preface my following comments by saying Zizu is my favorite footballer of all time and I would be the first person running out to by a “Zidane” Fire jersey. And then a week later, I'd by a second one when the new jersey sponsor is announced. But only for selfish reasons would I want to see Zizu on the Fire.
I just can't bring myself to see from a business standpoint how any of this Zidane in Chicago or LA stuff makes sense. The main point of contention amongst MLS supporters is about the nebulous buzz term, which has become like crack in MLS club front offices since Beck’s signing. Adding Zidane will create more buzz, they say. Creating buzz is exactly what Sr. Blanco is for in Chicago and Mr. Beckham is doing nationally. The mission has been accomplished to a much larger extent that I expected from the volume of questions I get about them from non-soccer fans (or maybe they just don't know they are fans yet). What is the marginal value of adding Zidane to either of these clubs? Many true soccer fans will be showing up to see them already. Zidane to either LA or Chicago is pointless because both will be near sell outs after July. The Galaxy will sell out (to stated MLS capacities) most if not all of their road games, while the Fire will sell out cities with large Mexican populations.
I'm sure that the Fire get some hefty revenues from Merch sales, but Designated Players or no Designated Players, I have to imagine that revenue generated off of games is an MLS teams’ primary source of income. As for a Chicago Zidane buzz, does anyone think really think Chicago sports writers like Rick Morrissey and Jay Mariotti will devote more than one column to a Zizu signing. Even that would likely be yet another platform for these idiots to craft lines that a hack writer like myself could come up with on the spot.

Example:
"With the signing of Zidane the Fire are trying to wrest attention away from the Cubs and Sox. As if the public will be swayed by threat of head butt? Did they really think a Frenchman would convince us that soccer is a sport for Americans? He may be viewed as talented in Europe, but in Bridgeview he is a glorified kickball player with a big contract."
(Please don't forward this to the Chicago Sun Times, they may have it ready to go like a famous person's obituary)
What sense does it make to load LA, NY, and CHI and leave the rest of the league fending for itself with three teams devoid of even their DP slots? I'm a very strong believer in slow and steady growth and I was also in favor of the DP rule, but for this league to say that they've learned the lessons of NASL and then start concentrating all the DP slots in the major markets is a complete joke!
I don't think the Zidane move is going to happen, but if it does, I'd like to see a player that "moves the needle" go to a team that has some seating capacity. Zidane to New England, Chivas or Salt Lake I could see. However, I think given the AEG involvement, Zidane to Houston would be the most likely move (although the playing surface could affect that).
As for attracting the long sought Euro snobs, signing Zidane would actually lend less credibility to the league! What it does lend credence to is the widely held world view that MLS is a retirement league. Prior to this year, that claim was easily defended. Even the Beckham signing could be defended. Beckham has plenty of gas in the tank as he's shown since Capello tucked his tail. Angel will turn out to be a decent signing too. However, once you move beyond those to signings what do you have? Reyna should be retired, Guillermo (not a DP but pricey) is on his last legs, Blanco close to that and Zidane is in retirement! These are the only six names that the Euro-folks know. Mo Johnston today was saying that many players on his team don't even know who Eddie Johnson is! The secret about the Euro-snobs is that unless you move Manchester United, Inter Milan and Real Madrid intact to US cities, nothing will be good enough for them. You get Ronaldo, they'll want Ronaldhino. You get Del Piero, they'll want Christiano Ronaldo. Anything else would be a pale comparison to them, and they'd be correct.

Do we really want a Zizu USA retirement tour to detract from the progress of a Justin Mapp, Chris Rolfe or even Chad Barrett? These three players could be major forces on our national team for years to come. It is highly debatable that adding these so-called World Stars will help American MLS players a great deal. Where are Valderrama's, Etcheverry's, Nowak's and Cienfuegos' protégés? The US National team should be awash in attacking and slick passing mids! There have not been any clear reign-passing from these highly successful foreign stars. The closest thing is the Beasley-Stoitchkov relationship. Is it any wonder that as the league took a decisive path away from high-priced aging stars and focused more on Americans and up and coming Central American talents, that the overall quality of the league has rocketed up? Look at the on-field progress of this league since 2002. It is nothing short of stunning. My overriding concern, is that MLS is on the verge of halting this continuing progress for the sake of "buzz".

Only in MLS story of the Week
Upset with smoke bombs, flares and other disturbances (i.e. a real football environment), Chicago Fire planned to crack down on all Section 8 ticket holders by forcing them, and them only, through metal detectors and giving them pat downs. Let’s just say that the relationship between Fire management and Section 8 has been, um, rocky throughout John Guppy era. Perhaps the Gupster was looking for a measure of revenge for the demonstrations against him following the ouster of his beloved predecessor, Peter Wilt. With the situation looking bleak, Section 8 found a savior in Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek. The mayor demanded that the Fire not go through with these measures because of its similarities to profiling. Section 8 also correctly argued that the league was sending a mixed message because league produced commercials featured fan generated smoke and pyrotechnics. Section 8 has been at capacity all season and is beginning to spread into nearby sections.. For a league that is struggling to inject passion into its fanbase to even think about taking actions like this against its most ardent supporters is reprehensible.

Toronto FC Lights Up Canadian Immigration and Reunification Bliss Abounds
I think Mo’s ran through three Blackberry’s last week. See if you can follow this. Expendable in NYC, Marvell Wynne was shipped over the border to TFC to play for the man that drafted him number one overall. In the airport, Wynne likely bumped into Danny Dichio who Mo ordered up from Preston North End. Dichio’s arrival in Toronto meant the departure of Connor Casey to his hometown Rapids. Unhappy in Toronto, Richard Mulrooney was reunited with his former teammates at the Dynamo Clash Quakes, who only had to part with a seldom used defender, Kevin “Bobcat” Goldthwait, and a first round draft choice. Perhaps Mo could use his phone to contact some of the 100,000 viewers that tuned in for the first TFC match and tuned out for the second.

Predictions:
RBNY – kFCD – Dallas salvages a draw against a surprising RBNY side.
Season Record: (2-3)

PODCAST (Glenn Interviews Fire coach Dave Sarachan):
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

Prediction Update

2007-04-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the slackin off! I've got a massive post that is going on the site tomorrow, but for now here is one more useless prediction:

RFC-KC: The Wizards and EJ bounce back to kick TFC while they are down. Look for Toronto's first goal of the season from Esky.

US Soccer Snob's - MLS Predictions

2007-04-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

Really quick here are my predictions for this week:
Chicago - KC: Draw - Entertaining match has goals, but no winner.
NYRB - Houston: Clash/Quakes - Ching and DeRo still too much for the Flagship
RSL - Chivas: Freddy and Co. - RSL loves the HDC
Colorado - FCD: Burn - Ruiz and company rebound in the home opener.

More on Monday

US Soccer Snob's Bi-Weekly Update - 4/18

2007-04-18T17:27:00.000-07:00

MLS Week 2
Spectacular entertainment burst from RFK stadium as the KC Wizards started the season in grand fashion and everybody’s championship pick, DC United, again was doubled up by their opposition again. Although the great crowd of 22K plus didn’t go home happy they were treated to high quality soccer by two very talented teams. The train wreck that is Facundo Erpen proved his worth to the opposition getting torched throughout the match. I really think Erpen went downhill after the All-Star game last year where he was a Man of the Match candidate. His play in CONCACAF was horrific and now is approaching hackish levels during the early season. The flip side of United is the continued great play of Luciano Emilio. This guy is going to be torching nets all season and based on United’s backline play, they are going to need all the goals they can get.

From a presentation and fan comfort standpoint, the RBNY home opener lived up to what we’ve come to expect from a NY franchise: Massive embarrassment on some sort of scale. A Nor’easter that blew through the upper Atlantic states and cancelled every baseball game scheduled, did nothing to deter the Telemundo game of the week from kicking off on time. Next time someone want to rip on soccer just show them a video of this match and let them know that while the baseball players were warming their feet by the fire, MLS players were out earning a living at the expense of their health. That’s right, Ronald Watterus and Clarence Goodson had to be subbed out due to experiencing hypothermia type symptoms! All that to entertain perhaps the 2,000 or so fans that showed up. Anyone who was in that building should be commended!
In other game related news, who had Claudio Reyna and Marvelle Wynne (more on this later) out for the RBNY’s home opener? Reyna was almost a given, but Wynne made that an exacta that was hard to pick! Although all went well for the Flagship on the pitch as they plastered (K)FCD 3-0. The colonel’s men looked depleted from their road odyssey and bewildered by the weather. Almost as shocking as the weather was the performance delivered by Clint Mathis. Mathis was the lynchpin of the RBNY offense, setting up the first goal with at wicked corner kick that was well finished by Josemer Altidore. Shortly after that, Mathis was the recipient of a lovely backheel from Altidore, which he slammed in to the back of the net to put the Flagship up 2-0. Dane Richards and Hunter Freeman filled the shoes of Reyna and Wynne quite admirably by flying up and down the field, RBNY ran a tired KFCD into the ground. Too bad for RBNY that once, Reyna plays, he’ll slow up that attack and play some of that possession that his proponent seem to love so much.

Then there was the Fire in windy Colorado. The Fire are handed a great opportunity early in the match and then proceed to do their best to squander that opportunity throughout the rest of the game. The Fire were again anemic when the offense was being run by Chris Armas. I’m convinced that something has to give with Armas and Diego Gutierrez in the midfield. I can’t see the Fire offense generating more than one goal with both of these defensive minded midst in the game. Following his red card, Colorado’s Roberto Brown found himself locked out of the home locker room and had to wait for a team rep to buzz him in. Mad ups to the Fire fans who made it out to DSG park. I think they each brought a ten foot banner with them! There has been a great trend this year in decent road support for visiting teams, however, it will be hard to top the Houston 12 that represented their team and the league in Pachuca.

Only in MLS Observation of the Week
The Designated Player Rule is passed! Beckham is signed! Captain America is coming home! Arriba Blanco! Hype, love, hysteria!! Major League Soccer has finally arrived! Exactly ZERO DP signees played in their home opener. Viva la Revolution!

Other DP News: Send me an Angel
Sorry about the title, but at least I didn’t use something with the term “gets wings” like every other media outlet in the world.
The Flagship signed Juan Pablo Angel for and undisclosed sum that was immediately disclosed through sources. Strange to see a signing in NY that might actually have a positive effect on the box office. During Angel’s press conference he sounded very confident and seemed to know more about the league than Becks did at his presser. RBNY needed an established striker and they got one. It doesn’t hurt that he’s Columbian too. The drawback is that Angel had trouble making the Aston Villa bench during the new year and has not been in form for quite a while.
Meanwhile Guillermo Barros Schelotto, signed a two year pact with the Columbus Crew. Can he fill the shoes of Sebastian Rosenthal? I’m trying not to laugh too. Somebody get the Discovery Channel on the line, because this will be a hell of a more interesting geographical switch story than what the Beckham’s have going. From Buenos Aries to Columbus! How long until Schelotto tries to order a Malbec and gets a Becks? Nice to see a flood of passionate futbol players from south of our borders continue make their way over here. There really has been a great tradition being established from Valderrama to Etch to Moreno to Gomez.
Anybody else notice that the most maligned DP signing, Cuauctemoc Blanco, is the only DP that has been consistently in his former/current club’s starting line-up over the past year?

Under the Radar
Il Bruce has been a busy man! In the fog of all these DP signings, star-to-be, Wynne, was shipped to Toronto to help them shore up a defense that has given up six goals in two games. Funny that both the pre-season champion and surprise team picks have given up six goals in two games, while C-Bus has yet to be scored upon. The defending champs have one goal, Colorado, Chicago, KC, and NYRB are undefeated, and a team that has never played a home game leads the league in season tickets sold.

COMING UP: It will be the “Two for the Money” MLS style. I’ll start embarrassing myself on a weekly basis with result predictions!

PODCAST:
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

US Soccer Snob's Bi-Weekly Update

2007-04-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

MLS Opening Weekend
Colorado Rapids opened their great new facility in grand fashion scoring two first half goal, both by newcomers, and holding on for a 2-1 win over last years Supporters Cup (yes I know it is actually a “Shield”) winners, DC United. Colorado fielded five new starters and was rewarded with Herculez Gomez delivering a goal and a man of the match performance. He also appeared to chair the Fred MLS welcoming committee by delivering some shoves, taunts and bruises to the Brazilian debutante. This also marked the first ESPN/ABC telecast for the year. With Honest Eric suspended for being honest, Julie Foudy’s voice managed to suck most of the life out of the TV broadcast. My favorite color commentary was when she reacted to a play with “Wow” followed by a long silence as pro broadcaster Dave O’Brien was expecting a bit more color. The broadcast was also dragged down by the corny “Famous Freds” montage. Nothing will convince the so-called red-blooded American’s that soccer is a pansy sports like a segment that features the music of Right Said Fred. Last on my list of broadcast no-no’s experienced was the incessant invocation of the word “sell-out”. I don’t think the producer realized that they were doing a TV broadcast, where every viewer could see the sparsely populated corners. I could understand if there were many no-shows because of the weather. I’d expect that, however when you see that all the areas that are sparsely populated were the last areas that are sold, it is clear that it isn’t a sell out. For a league that has come under fire for it’s past inflation of attendance figures, touting that so called “sell out” did nothing to make any one think the old days are gone!

Yes, there were things I did like about the broadcast. The half hour intro was very nice. Stoner did a good job as always, and the segments were well put together. Although, I am already getting sick of it, Dick’s Sporting Goods put together a heck of a nice commercial. The lettering on the seats of the stadium looked great. Why has it taken so long for an MLS team to get this done? I don’t want to hear any excuses about stadium ownership, leases, etc. MLS teams are the primary tenants, if they want to paint the seats with their names or logos they can do it. This should be a “Game First” Initiative. The entrance of the teams down the stairs was, if nothing else, interesting. I prefer the middle tunnel at Toyota Park, but the stairs look cool too. Colorado did a great job of having room for a stage, but not, explicitly having a stage as part of the stadium. ABC/ESPN did a solid job of micing the fans. The fans and the supporters group were in good voice all game, despite the noticeable departure of fans at halftime. The re-vamped halftime show was great too, with the MLS stats and even EPL action focusing on the league leaders and teams with American rooting interest.

I was unable to catch much of the FSC broadcast so I’ll have to chip in on that at another time. The LA-Houston tilt was marred by some camera troubles, however, I think that late Sunday afternoon time slot is great! Pre-HBO, post most baseball, not much sports competition. In addition, Chicago and many other cities with big Hispanic populations will have this broadcast on free TV. Quite a coup (or re-coup) for the league. Unfortunately the premier broadcast ended a 0-0, but the first half featured highly skilled football that had a definite attacking flair to it. What was also evident was the respect the announcers had for Donovan. Most players were referred to by their first and last names; however Donovan was routinely called “Capitan Landon”. It reminded me of the emphasis; the Mexican announcers would put on Hristo Stoitchkov’s name in the past. That sort of emphasis is not offered with out a great deal of respect.

MLS Thursday Night Football
Great to see the league in Primetime. This is a major upgrade from Saturday afternoons (AKA – the MLS Player June-August Bake-a-thon.) While it is good to see some pressure being put on an MLS side by its home fans, it is still the home opener. LA controlled the bookends of this match, but strangely the FCD O didn’t get kicking until their DM Marcelo Saragosa was injured in the 29th and replaced in favor of Aaron Pitchokolan (much to my fantasy joy). While Pitchkolan didn’t have much involvement in the attack, Saragosa absence seemed to move Dallas’ emphasis to the offense. The Hoops owned middle of the match, but their domination in that timeframe meant they deserved the victory in my book. Coopers goal off a wicked Nunez cross was top shelf stuff. What an upgrade from Foudy to Wynalda. I actually listened to the entire broadcast! Honest Eric for the most part was great, but he didn't do his homework on Jaqua last night. I certainly didn't feel like Yallop was scolding him by moving Nate to right mid in the second half. This was arguably Jaqua's most effective position for the Fire last year. While it was great to see LA's first round draft pick, Robbie Findlay, get a goal last night (due for a raise?), LA fans certainly weren't happy that it took nearly 180 minutes for the Gals to open their season account. The nice crowd of 23K+ let the Gals have it at the end of the 90.

Make sure you know what you are talking about
An April 11 column "Style over Substance" in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle an unnamed writer refers to so called "MLS journo" Wendell Brown as a "hack" for stating that “Players here need a style icon and Beckham is the perfect size to wear Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, Prada and Gucci." Ironically, the Newcastle writer proves to be a hack as a simple Google search reveals Wendell Brown to be Fashion Editor for Esquire magazine! Not surprising given Newcastle's standing amongst fashion epicenters (about three clicks south of Detroit.) Yet again, the UK press proves its lack of knowledge about MLS football at the expense of a cheap joke.

FSC and CBC step up to the plate
Props to the FSC for sticking with the USL through a three year agreement signed this week. Hopefully this and the strengthened MLS coverage will lead to additional coverage of Open Cup. I know this is a bit of a stretch, but any US soccer coverage is good promotion for the other two contracts. Toronto FC signed a strong 14 game pact with the CBC.

Developmental Player’s Salaries
I was involved in a spirited discussion this week with some of my soccer pals about this topic. As many of you know, MLS developmental players aren’t exactly tracking down Goldman Sachs money managers to handle their assets. Most, probably can’t even open bank accounts! During the conversation I came across as a cold hearted prick. Which is probably true, but hey someone has to or else we would have a league. Where I was coming from was two fold:
1. Market Forces - the lawsuit (backed by the NFLPA) against single entity was defeated because MLS said, "You don't like it, there are hundreds of other leagues in the world to go play in." The problem for young players is that unless a US player heads to a top tier foreign league, they've largely been forgotten by the National Team and MLS is leveraging this. I'm sure Michael Bradley's recent USMNT performance sent shivers down MLS’ spine.
2. Pay for performance - these developmental players have not shown anything yet, so why narrow the gap between them and proven performers who are also being pays relatively low salaries. There have been plenty of players that have stepped up to the plate and have been rewarded by the league. I think this provides massive incentive for these players to perform well. And who in MLS, aside from maybe the top ten players, are really being paid their worth? Mapp? Mastroeni? Cooper? Ruiz? Nary a player in MLS is being paid what they are worth on the world market.(See point 1)

In summary, would I like to see Developmental Players get paid more or get more benefits, sure. Will they get paid more in time, no doubt. However, there are really no great incentives for the league to do this now. As more and more drafted MLS players opt out of the league, the MLS minimum will be pushed higher. This issue has become a major issue in recent years, with players opting to play for some European based squads that would have a tough time with MLS reserve sides.

PODCAST:
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

US Soccer Snob's Weekly Update

2007-04-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

MLS Predictions:
Order of Finish:East: DC United*, Revs*, Columbus*, Toronto*, Chicago Fire, KC, NYRB
West: Houston*, RSL*, LA Galaxy*, Dallas*, Colorado, Chivas
* - Playoff teams

Supporters Shield: DC United
Again, United builds an early lead and then starts going through a rough patch dealing with injuries and general from the extended season and extensive competitions. Tommy Soehn and company right the ship and start to cruise again before the playoffs. Houston looks to and almost closes the gap after signing Omar Bravo in the summer transfer window, but loses him for much of the season after Blanco breaks his leg in their MLS debuts at Toyota Park.

MLS Cup: United over RSL
Adu’s storybook season is denied its end by an overpowering DCU offense in front of a sellout hometown crowd. Huge Beckham poster hung in the south end is knocked from it’s mooring by an attempted volley by Ben Olsen. Addias is not pleased.

Open Cup: LA Galaxy
A-league teams are asked to foot the bill for “security charges” and forfeit the first two rounds to the Gals. LA plays all its remaining games at home to sell as many Beckham tickets as possible. Christopher Sullivan reminds us again that when he played in South America, they referred a home game as “en casa”.

All Star Game: MLS 2 - Celtic 1
In an amazing move, the entire MLS roster is populated by field players that have yet to make their MLS regular season debut. Claudio Reyna (injured since the first step he took on the Giant’s field turf coming out of the locker room), makes his MLS debut in a wheel chair and feeds a streaking David Beckham for the first goal in the 15th minute. Celtic fans react by drinking more beer. Halftime arrives and Tommy Soehn is forced to sub Reyna as his wheelchair suffered extensive damange heading into the locker room as it rolled over a piece of astroturf on the sidelines. Celtic tie immediately in the second half as a confused Maciej Zurawski (recently inked by RBNY) puts one in for his former teammates. Celtic fans miss the goal as the halftime beer and bathroom lines set North American records. The MLS all-stars win in stunning fashion as 85th minute sub, Zinadine Zidane (signed at halftime by Kansas City) charges, head first, through the Celtic defense and walks the ball into the back of the net. After the final whistle, Don Garber decrees that the entire MLS All-star team be transferred to RBNY via an special “Allstar Disburement Allocation”. Deposed US national team coach Bruce Arena, guides the re-named RedBull Gallacticos to exactly one point the rest of the season. At his firing, he notifies the nation that they just don’t understand the top level of football in this country, expectations were set too high and that Claudio Reyna’s wheelchair is now available via MLS Auctions. The wheelchair is eventually purchased by the Claudio Reyna Museum Foundation and added the it’s extensive collection which is currently located in Bruce Arena’s fourth bedroom.

MVP: Dwayne DeRosario
Mr. Excitement outshines all others and has a season for the ages. After the season new mega-star DeRosario is often seen hangin’ out with Dave Chappelle and Cypress Hill.ROTY: Robbie Rogers (if eligible)
Seriously, who the hell can tell what players are and are not eligible for this award.

CONCACAF Champions Cup
Disappointment follows US based squads on Mexican soil again. Despite having leads, both DC United and the Dynamo failed to protect their advantages on the road. United came into their match with Chivas level on aggregate(1-1). United jumped to a surprising lead on a spectacular goal by Jaime Moreno. As defenders began to close on Luciano Emilio in the Chivas box, Emilio poked a pass to Moreno who had his back to the goal. Moreno vertically one-touched the ball then bicycle kicked a lofting shot into the back of the net. The loft of the show was absolutely physics defying! Unfortunately the lead withered shortly after that as Aldofo Bautista put home a cross just before the half. Throughout the match Facundo Erpen again proved his worthlessness in defense getting torched by every available Chivas attacker. Chivas jumped ahead for good as some nice build-up in United area lead to a strong shot by Gonzalo Pineda right at Troy Perkins. The MLS goalkeeper of the year decided to attempt to catch the shot, but seemed to rethink that approach and opted to push it over the bar. The only problem with that is half way through Perkins’ though process his indecisive hand touched enough ball to slow it and allow it to hit the back of the net. United had other opportunities, but those too fell by the wayside and another American team slunk back from Mexico dejected. Certainly Houston and their 2-0 aggregate lead gave our league a taste of the glory you say!

Where do I begin?

The referee for this match was Mauricio Navarro. Mauricio Navarro was born in Santiago Chile on April 7th 1966. His hometown is Vancouver, Canada. The reason I’m telling you this is that Mr. Navarro made sure that he was a part of every single story about this match. Mr. Navarro and his crew missed an easy offside call in the third minute and allowed Pachuca to cut into Houston’s lead. Apparently seeking approval from the freeloading crowd, Mr. Navarro saw it fit to award the home team a penalty kick ten minutes later. This call was at the very least, debatable. Dynamo defender, Craig Waibel made an ill advised lunge at the ball as a Pachuca attacker was attempting to navigate a maze of defenders and then easily fell when Waibel caught some leg with the ball. Twenty minutes after the penalty, Houston keeper Zach Wells was given a yellow card by Navarro. Here's the laughable part:In the thirty fifth minute, the keeper for a team that is even was awarded a yellow card for time wasting. Please! Somehow, Houston got out of the half level on aggregate, although Navarro did ask the stadium staff to place all available balls in the Houston’s net during halftime for karma’s sake. Again, Houston coach Dominick Kinner seemed to make all the right halftime moves as a fired up Dynamo squad retook the aggregate lead off a goal by Brian Mullan in the 52nd minute. Enter Navarro, who took the next opportunity to blow the whistle. This time it was as a Pachucan attacker attempted to go around Brad Davis where the box meets the endline. Having been shut down, the attacker dives and Navarro promptly points to the spot, Christian Giminez converts and the tilt is level again. After this point, the teams were allowed to decided the match. Undeterred Houston again put themselves ahead on aggregate off a free kick that found the head of an unmarked Brian Ching in the 79th minute. Had there been six minutes left in the match, Houston would have advanced, however seven minutes later Pachuca’s Gabriel Caballero scored on a magical header goal to draw the series even again. High in the mountains of Mexico, the two sides headed to overtime. Late in the overtime’s first half , Giminez completed his hat trick for the home side by unleashing a vicious bending shot that started right and then tailed back left into the top left corner of the net. Stunned Houston keeper Zach Wells could only watch and admire Giminez’s piece of artistry. In the second overtime frame Houston had an opportunity to draw even again, but Ching’s head refused to come to Houston’s rescue again. A great cross was squandered as the ball eluded Ching’s head and connected with his shoulder. Five minutes later, Navarro blew his cruel whistle on the match.

PODCAST:
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

US Soccer Update - 04/02/07

2007-04-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

US v. Ecuador
Wow! The crystal ball was working pretty good last week as I almost nailed the attendance and the line-up (off by 2), but I don’t think anyone could have predicted Landon Donovan’s three goal outburst! It feels good when you repeatedly back a player and they prove time and time again that they deserve the adoration. My captain, LD, got sailed into by everyone in the press while Arena only seemed to hear it from Wynalda. Speaking of Arena, I’m not sold on his presence in the booth. First, Bruce extremely defensive about any subject regarding his tenure at the helm of the national team. Second, he has this strange exhale-like sound that infiltrates all his sentence. I’ll do my best to spell it, “ahhhmmmm”, but really slow and Brooklyny. I’ll give him credit for his zinger to DOB on the possibility of the Red Sox taking the pennant this year. Arena fired, “Oh, really? Has it been 86 years already?”
Also maddening about Arena is his commentary about any US player on the pitch that was out there for World Cup seemed to directly contradict his coaching tactics during the summer. “Landon isn’t really comfortable being a full forward so he should play withdrawn.” Oh, is that why he was chasing headers against a monstrous Czech back line. I swear one of these days, I’ll stop bringing this stuff up, but it still burns too much to let it go.
As for Wynalda’s “Red Card, Yellow Card” segment, this is a cute little vehicle for E-dub to voice his opinions. This is a good solution since he as such a difficult time getting them out during the game.

US v. Gautamela (sp)
It was rather sad that the crack production team at ESPN2 could even figure out how to spell the name of the US’ opponent. Perhaps some foreshadowing to a “Night of Many Mis-ques”. While Sunday’s Ecuadorian match was a scintillating performance from a US perspective, Wednesday night’s affair failed to match that standard on just about all accounts. Despite the presence of Donovan Conrad, Dempsey and Keller, the US side was young and mostly unfamiliar with each other and that disconnect was evident. A bunkered down Guatemalan defense flummoxed old and new alike, but amid the confusion some Americans managed to make their mark. US newbie Frankie Simek stood out, making some strong pushes into the offense and doing well against the barely there Chapin attack. Most of the American offensive forays in the first thirty minutes flowed through Justin Mapp on the left leaving Deuce an observer on the right. Any chances Mapp created were squandered by sports psychologist patient candidate Eddie Johnson. The greatest entertainment of the evening was provided by MLS’ master thespian Carlos Ruiz, who treated the crowd to some physical comedy not witnessed since the zenith of the Chris Farley years. One thing that was evident during the night was the inflation of MLS attendance statistics. The US crowd was announced at just about 11,000. I’ve seen less people there for an announced 17,000 FCD match.

Blanco Hops to MLS
If this off-season need a yin to David Beckham’s yang (don’t get too excited ladies), he will be meeting fans tonight at Chicago’s Toyota Park. The long rumored transaction will likely result in pen to paper on Tuesday, as mercurial Mexican forward Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Reaping a payday of a reported $2 million, Blanco will attempt to do something no other Mexican star has been able to accomplish, produce at acceptable levels in Major League Soccer. No doubt Blanco will be a star at the home and road box office after joining the Fire in June or July, as fans will pay to cheer or more likely jeer him. Similar to John Starks or Denis Rodman on the Bulls, Albert Belle on the White Sox and Roger Clements in pinstripes; the comparisons of the villain that fans must learn to root for immediately spring to mind. I’m sure there are hundreds more, but Mo Johnston has yet to respond to my inquiry.
Most of my feeling about this transaction were purged from my brain into a blog a few weeks ago when the rumor started. In the stands, this move will result in a more Mexican atmosphere to the games at TP this year which has it’s plusses (fiesta!) and negatives (flying beer). This move will help creates even greater animosity and intensity between Fire and Fire West (Chivas) fans. On paper and hopefully the pitch, the Fire will have the most creative group of midfielders and forwards in the league. This line-up will have to produce as Tony Sanneh was cleared of the books for this move, creating an extremely frail back line that consists of either young or old and slow players.

A Guide to Establishing a Soccer Pub in your Neighborhood
I’ve recently had the good fortune to happen upon a bar that was very receptive to the idea of showing soccer games. After a couple of conversations with the owner, I have found a place that will welcome soccer fans with open arms. Here are a few things to keep in mind when trying go get the same thing going in your hood:
Look for new establishment – these places are looking to get an edge, and the soccer bar angle is still rather unique in our country. It doesn’t hurt if the owner is originally from another country. The more TV’s the merrier too. An owner won’t want to devote all the TV’s in the place to soccer fans right off the bat.
Establish a good rapport with the owner and be prepared. Get all the appropriate communication material (cell phone, e-mail) and stay in touch on a weekly basis.
Stress the low start up costs for this venture. Fox Soccer Channel is likely carried by most bars already. MLS DirectKick only costs $100 a year for commercial establishments.
Patience – these thing don’t happen overnight. Set expectations low and ensure that the owner will have patience.
Promote, Promote, Promote – make sure the local club and supports group know about the place. Post links all over bigsoccer.com. See what the local team can do as far as gear or promo for the bar.
Location – People just don’t like going out of the way. Try to target a place with a central location.
I’m at stage one of this, so I’ll try keep a journal of the steps and missteps I make along the way.

PODCAST:
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

US Soccer Update - 3/24/07

2007-03-25T06:08:00.000-07:00

Galaxy Livin’ the Life, BMO Deepens Committment
LA signed a five year pact with Herbalife for jersey sponsorship rights this week. The deal pays between $3.5 and $5 million annually. This is a great sign for the league because the team got the money it was looking for, unlike the Fire, which settled for a low-ball stadium naming rights deal last year after some other deals fell through. The Galaxy jersey sponsorship basically pays for Beckham’s footballing contract, so the financial ship seems to be afloat.
Meanwhile, BMO is now figuratively and literally draping all that is Toronto FC. Financial terms of the agreement are not available at this time, however this agreement continues Toronto’s unreal off the pitch success. The final piece of the puzzle for TFC is the TV contract, which from all indications has everything but the ink from Rogers Sportsnet on it.

MLS Hits the Journal
A sure sign that soccer isn’t for communists! As Al Pachino said about the Wall Street Journal in “The Insider”, it isn’t “exactly a bastion of anti-capitalist thought.” Jon Weinbach wrote a very positive article about MLS, basically summarizing the momentus off season the league is emerging from. There were a few revalations in this piece, such as all 28 MLS games on ESPN networks will be available in HD, Target will be pushing MLS gear and Addias has seen strong presales of MLS gear.

The mess that is the Revs
Now we all know the Rev’s aren’t my favorite team, but they are having some major issues getting their house in order. First, Clint Dempsey books overseas to ride the pine at Fulham. Not exactly something to rap about. The Revs reap a windfall from his transfer fees. Then Joey Franchino is stripped of his captaincy and is nabbed by the law for driving with expired plates. Noonan does down again, then they decide to dick around Shalrie Joeseph on his contract after the guy does nothing but solidify their defense for the last three seasons. What gives?

US v. Ecuador
Raymond James stadium will likely have nearly 30,000 in attendance early Sunday as BB the King and crew finally take full advantage of a FIFA match date. Looks like US Soccer finally decided to verify their subscription to FIFA’s e-mail list. Here’s my proposed line-up for the Ecuador match:
Howard
Dolo Gooch Conrad Spector
Dempsey Carroll Feilhaber Beasley
Donovan
Johnson

The absense of Rico Clark and Mastroeni (out for a hush, hush surgery) really creates a midfield defensive hole. Beasley has always been an excellent defender (on US soil) and should be able to help out the experimental mids.

PODCAST:
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

US Soccer Update - 3/17/07

2007-03-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

CONCACAF Semifinals Leg 1
Dynamo sizzle while United fizzle in leg one of the CONCACAF Champions cup. The Dynamo took full advantage of their home field advantage, tallying a 2-0 victory over Pachuca. The game was nearly 3-0 when Alejandro Moreno enacted his patented sitter miss. That may be a bit harsh, but a third goal was there for the taking. Mr. Clutch, Brian Ching (the guy who sat on the bench in favor of Ben Olsen in Germany while the US desperately needed a goal last summer) headed home the game winner during the mid second half. The Dynamo were very impressive throughout second half stringing passes together and looking very sharp. The insertion of subs Dwayne Derosario and Chris Wondolowski paid near instant dividends as DeRo’s clairvoyant pass into open space was met by a streaking Brad Davis who promptly centered to Wondo for the spectacular capper. It looks like Dom Kinnear has smacked the innocence out of Kelly Grey, because he is playing with a very nasty edge to his game these days. Aside from the scoreline, the biggest shocker of this match was the near absence of Pachuca fans! The same was not true for DC United as 15,000+ east coast Chivas supporters helped turn RFK into friendly territory for the visitors. While Mexican fans dominated the crowd, the DC fans were very loud and it resulted in a great atmosphere in terrible weather. I don’t understand why MLS teams in the CONCACAF tournament don't tie early season ticket subscriptions to free Champions Cup tickets. Chivas dominated the entire match and deserved their go-ahead goal from Omar Bravo, United suffered some bad luck in that it was deflected past 2006 MLS Keeper of the Year, Troy Perkins by defender Bryan Namoff. The situation was desperate when MLS 2007 Newcomer of the Year runner-up Luciano Emilio tied the match in the 91st minute off a header. The goal salvages some hope for United, however, they now have to get a positive result on Mexican soil to advance, a feat that has never been accomplished by a MLS side. Overall some very good results for the MLS teams considering that they are still in preseason. These matches will really raise both teams mentally above their competition from the onset of the MLS season.

RBNY Loses $14M in Year One
The kicking soft drink team amid high hopes and much pizzaz dropped $14 million into a hole in year one. Disclosed by Ives Galarcep on NorthJersey.com, the article states that a combination of poor opening day attendance and inexperience in the Managing Director spot led to an abysimal year that has left the team’s 2008 TV contract hanging in the balance. Despite the Arena hire, the Reyna pick-up and an overall stronger team in 2008, marketing in the NY/NJ area has been noticably absent. Are RBNY waiting out the new stadium? Is there true confusion amid the team ownership? How is this going down with MLS HQ and Donny? While $14m may be a drop in the bucket to the RB promotion department, are they seeing any sort of return on their investment? They should feel lucky that no one pays attention or the team might be causing damage to the brand!

Blanco Chicago Bound?
Papers are buzzing with the possibility of the Fire signing Mexican National Team star Cuauhtemoc Blanco. I am no Blanco fan, but I am becoming interested in seeing him on the field with Rolfe, Mapp and Thiago. That might be the most creative line-up the Fire have ever fielded. I can’t see Blanco coming to the US and dogging it. He might be frustrated by MLS defenses the way some of the other El Tri stars have been, but I just don’t think he is the type of guy to turn his competitiveness off, similar to Stoitichkov. I think the biggest downside to this whole transaction is the release of Tony Sanneh to make way for a signing. Anyone trying to convince themselves that the Fire would have won the USOC or been part of the MLS Playoffs without him is loco! Look what is left in defense, first full year keeper Pickens guiding a clearly aging Brown, off an injury Curtain, inconsistent Segares and Robinson. There is no "rock" in this D in the back.

Toronto Sells Out
Prior to setting foot on the pitch in real competition, Toronto FC has sold 14,000 regular season tickets. You are allowed to drop your jaw! From day one this franchise will not only play in its own facuilty, have some of the best press in the league, field a very competent looking team (on paper), but TFC will play to near sell outs for the majority of the year! This is further proof that MLS is being treated as major league all its new markets it heads into (Toronto, Houston, Salt Lake). This is also testament to the power of a stong organization backing the club. I’m already excited to take my first road trip there.

Bradley Names New Camp Invitees
Apparently BB the King has been listening to all the chatter, because the Euro’s are on their way! Among the fresh faces in the national team camp congregating for the March 25th and March 28th matches are first time invitees Watford’s Jay DeMeritt, Sheffield Wednesday’s Frankie Simek and Hamburger’s Benny Feilhaber. Jimmy Conrad is the lone MLS defender on the squad. As Euro dominated the defense is, the attackers are all MLS based with Kenny Cooper, Chris Rolfe and Eddie Johnson under the microscope. Landon Donovan, Oguchi Onyewu and Kasey Keller help bring this side the closest to a first team that we’ve witnessed under the reign of Bradley. I think BB’s doing a great job of getting looks at players that are deserving, not just "his guys". A welcome departure from the prior era where just about every eligible player from Il Bruces United tenure got at least a token cap.

PODCAST:
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

US Soccer Update - 3/10/07

2007-03-12T07:52:00.000-07:00

Beckham Injures Knee
The Beckham redemption story turned from drama to comedy in this week as Our Man Beck’s plowed into an advertising board and injured his knee, causing ligament damage that will sideline him for a month. If Real Madrid gets past Bayern Munich this week, look for DB to return in time for the send tie of the next series. Despite preventing Alexi Lalas from breathing for 24 hours, which also meant he couldn’t talk, the injury is perhaps the most humorous injury in years. Of all players to be injured by advertising! That is like Claudio Reyna being wacked by Il Bruce or a Costa Rican club team being run over by a busload of CONCACAF referees!

MLS Rosters Trimmed
The Chicago Fire trimmed their roster and left Leonard Griffin, a step too slow defender on the outside. The Fire also waived Craig Capano, a promising, but oft injured midfielder, Jared Montz, and John Thorrington. Amazing that Thorrington, who had been through the Man Utd. Youth system was not a god amongst MLS players. Perhaps, I’ve been reading too much British press. Also notable is that the Fire were unable to come to contract terms with Tony Sanneh who only solidified their defense and led them into the MLS playoffs and to the Open Cup title last season. Isn’t that worth $375,000? Based on Open Cup ticket sales, probably not. Among the names that were trimmed and are expected to or have been picked up are Capano (NYRB), former Crew players Jon Busch (TFC) and Chris Leitch.

Really a Step Up?
This week San Diego columnist Mark Ziegler awarded a “trophy” to local product Ryan Guy for snubbing FC Dallas to sign with St. Patrick’s Athletic Club of the Irish league. The Eurosnobs have really won if this is considered a step up from MLS. I don’t care what the criteria is, MLS is vastly superior to the Irish league by any account: Quality, Competitiveness, Attendance, Resources. Mr. Guy is also effectively removing himself from the national team radar much like Danny Califf and Nat Borchards did when they traveled to Europe with the belief that the process of osmosis would work and they would be absorbed into the fabled leagues thanks to their proximity.

I did send an e-mail to Mr. Ziegler and he was nice enough to send me a reply. Not only that, it was non-defensive! That $11,500 - $13,000 developmental salary was cited by Mark as a main reason for Guy's move.

PODCAST:The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

US Soccer Update - 3/5/07

2007-03-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

CONCACAF Champions Cup Leg 2
DC United continued their romp over CD Olympia and Houston Dynamo rebounded from their first leg loss as both MLS teams move on to face top Mexican sides Chivas and Pachuca. Luciano Emilio and Christian Gomez each had hat tricks during the tie as DC United’s new look front three appeared lethal against the out matched Olympia back line. Certainly some rust was being shaken off of the DC machine, however the team form was well beyond their form in last years competion. At the other end of the country, Dynamo fans were again out in force, all things considered, to root their team onto a 2-0 victory that allowed the team to advance 2-1 on aggregate. The referee had no problem with vicious tackles and other forms of violence, but had a short fuse for naughty language. Apparently his day job is with the FCC. A few times this fixture looked to spiral out of control, but cooler heads prevailed. The night wasn’t all celebration for MLS as Dwayne DeRosario, Troy Perkins and Pat Onstad will head into the next leg of the competition nursing injuries that may prevent them from taking part.

Response to Paul Gardner in The NY Sun
Always one to ignite controversy, NY Sun reporter lumped former Fire player Hristo Stoitchkov in with other MLS “disappointments” such as Lothar Matthaeus, Walter Zenga, Andreas Herzog, Richard Gough, Anders Limpar, Branco, and Hugo Sanchez. Of course this comment raised my ire and I had to respond.

Paul,

While I am a regular reader and big fan of your column, I was a bit dismayed at your classification of Hristo Stoitchkov in your recent ‘Beckham Rule” column. To lump Mr. Stoitchkov in with your group of MLS no-shows indicates an unexpected lack of knowledge about the man’s MLS career. Certainly Stoitchkov will never go down as one of the top foreign signings in league history, however, he was a key player in the Fire’s 2000 run to the championship and a major force in the development of DaMarcus Beasley and Dema Kovalenko as well as other young players on the Fire at that time. One thing you could always count on from him that you couldn’t from Branco, Matthaeus or Luis Hernandez was passion. Long after he left the Fire he would return to watch matches because of his passion for the team.Everytime Stoitchikov stepped on the field you could tell that he would slit the throat of every opposition player in order to win. That quality is difficult to find in any player or coach in MLS’ history.

I did not receive a response.

PODCAST:
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

US Soccer Update 2/24/07

2007-02-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

CONCACAF Champions Cup Leg 1
The MLS sides Houston Dynamo and DC United met with mixed results in their opening matches in this years installment of the Champions Cup. Playing a grueling midday game in Costa Rica versus Puntarenas the Dynamo kicked off 2007 competition playing for fitness and a tie. Despite Dynamo keeper Pat Onstad went down with a leg injury midway through the first half, the wheels didn’t start falling off until US National Teamer Eddie Robinson was sent off for yellow card accumulation early in the second frame. The game also saw a Dynamo assistant coach shown the door. The officiating in the match was what many of us have come to expect from CONCACAF officials: spotty, inconsistent and questionable game changing refereeing. Fighting heat, the officials and a racous, but not sold-out, crowd, the Dynamo held their ground until the home team’s Kurt Bernard, a rumored MLS transfer target, slotted home the game winner in extra time.

The polar opposite of the mid day tilt was DC Uniteds triumphant and emphatic opening of the season blasting CD Olympia 4-1 on their home turf. 2006 MLS MVP, Christian Gomez fired the opening shot in the 29th minute with a spectucular postage stamp goal. The scoring sequence was indicative of the differences between MLS and Latin American football, with Gomez too much time to pick out his spot from the corner of the sixteen yard box. DC’s celebration was cut short only three minutes later as Olympia striker Juan Carcamo headed a cross past Troy Perkins to equalize. Not willing to end the half behind, former Olympia striker and new United man Luciano Emilio backheeled a Josh Gros cross past his former teammate to put United ahead for good. Gomez added a second after halftime. Rescuing his reputation following an atrocious first half, Facundo Erpen rose high and headed home a corner to cap the scoring for the Americans and likely sending the Black and Red through to the Cup Semi-finals.

Shearer on MLS
Responding to questions about Beckham’s chances of playing with the England national side again, Shearer stated to the Sun newspaper "He (Beckham) has hardly played any football (for Real) this season. Not only that but he is about to fly off to America to play in a league which is probably on a parallel with our second division, with respect." Shearer failed to explain why Premiership champs Chelsea lost to a second division all-star team last summer.

Response to The Boss in The Guardian
The Boss stated this week that all rumors related to Zidane coming out of retirement should be put to rest when he signs with the Fire this week, eliciting this response from me:
I love all your potshots at MLS! It is so great to know that the English papers a so threatened by our growing league to make snide remarks about it at every opportunity.

In case you didn’t know Americas’ three point plan for overtaking football here it is:

Step 1: Infiltrate EPL and lower divisions with Americans. This portion is working out beautifully with 14 Americans in the EPL? A number of these even came from MLS! Since Brian McBride transferred to Fulham at the same age as when Becks trasferred to MLS, doesn’t that make the EPL a retirement league for MLS? I’m just trying to follow your logic.

Step 2: Purchase EPL Teams. Three EPL teams and counting are under American ownership. How do you say?.....”Brilliant!”

Step 3: Steal World Cup from England. I hear we are on board to challenge Jolly Ol’ for the World Cup. Well, given that the most successful World Cup in history was held in the USA why not? If England held it the stadiums wouldn’t be ready until two years after kickoff was scheduled.

Bruce Arena of The Soccer Hour
Glenn grilled Il Bruce on the program this week. It was very entertaining listening to Bruce squirm and deflect questions on topics such as the state of the national team and Red Bull. Il Bruce did a tremendous Bill Clinton impersonation by repeatedly asking Glenn what his definition of terms were. It isn’t that odd that Bruce needed definitions for success and entertainmenton the soccer pitch. Check the link at the bottom of the page for the complete interview.

PODCAST:
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis:

2007-02-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

Copa America Draw

The US drew Argentina in its opening game in Copa America this summer. Following the tilt with Argentina our guys go on to play Columbia and Paraguay posing a challenge that is only slightly less daunting than the draw for the last World Cup. Hopefully coming off a successful Gold Cup, the US will have every opportunity to prove that World Cup 2006 was a fluke. The US likely will not have the benefit of all the American fan who trekked to WC 2006 to voice their support for Arena’s folly. Will these two tournaments ultimately decide Bob Bradley’s fate? Will BB the King even be at the helm for these matches?

MLS Continues to lock down Playaz

In the last week MLS has done what many have begged it to do for a long time, keep the star players in the league. Sporting goods salesman, come goalkeeper Troy Perkins, was the latest to resign with the league. This week also witnessed the MLS lockdown of Taylor Twellmann and Brian Ching. With only Clint Dempsey being the only player of significance to depart, the player retention of the league is to be commended. True, Dwayne DeRosario and Shalrie Joseph’s status are still up in the air, but with both in-training with their respective teams, expect a deal to be cut any day. As good of job as the league has done this off season, next winter will be much more difficult for the league as millions of new eyes will be introduced to the league. Many will be shocked by the quality and fitness of the players. Some might even find a reason to rank the league higher than #72 in the world.

CONCACAF Champions Cup

The Cup of Questionable Significance (COQS )got under way this week with a shock as Trinidad’s W Connection lost it’s keeper to an early red card and went down a goal before storming back late for a 2-1 victory. Unfortunately this match was held in Trinidad, so look for a far less shocking score line during the return leg in Guadalajara. Great to hear the outrage amongst Houston fans that their “home” game in the COQS is to be played 95 out of town. Many fans, and certainly Dynamo fan #1 Glenn Davis, are taking this very seriously. Let’s hope Dynamo can rise to the challenge and represent the league well.

Stars, Check. Now how about that other thing that makes sports thrive in the US

Mr. Garber, time to put on a fake mustache and some sunglasses, buy a ticket to Vegas and take time to meet with every single sports book line setter in town! You need ratings on a Thursday night when you are up against baseball? Betting! You need an extra ¼ inch of press in the “Tonight’s Game” box in the Tribune. Betting! Like it or not professional sports are fueled by gambling. If you want to Americanize Soccer, the betting line is the place to do it. Let’s adopt a .5 goal line for MLS. Not only does this this convert typical soccer betting into a NFL like, easy to understand line, but just the providing the line give every new fan an instant point of reference as to who the underdog is in the match. Fire .5 Crew.. I like it!

Toronto FC

13,500 is the number of season tickets sold by Toronto FC before the team has even kicked one competitive ball! Major kudos to MLS and MLSE for the great work they have done on the business end from start to present up there. You set the bar pretty damn high for future franchises when from day one you’ll have about 14,000 season ticket holders and your own stadium. The club is even considering expanding the stadium by six suites before one game has been played there! Interesting correlation between the attendance in cities whose media treat them like a Major League venture and those that treat them like a side show. Let’s look at my media treatment chart ranked in order of least to most media treatment:

Team	Local Media Coverage	2006 Average Attendance
Colorado Rapids	Sideshow	12,056
NY Red Bull	Sideshow	14,570
Chicago Fire	Sideshow	14,111
Kansas City Wizards	Sideshow	11,083
Columbus Crew	Sideshow	13,294
Chivas USA	Sideshow	19,840
New England Revolution	Sideshow	11,787
FC Dallas	Sideshow	14,982
DC United	Major League	18,215
LA Galaxy	Major League	20,814
Toronto FC	Major League	N/A
Houston	Major League	18,935
Real Salt Lake	Major League	16,366

Of course there are many other factors to consider here, such as the boost Chivas got by the Barcelona game and the sister Chivas games. One could also consider that the historical success of the club is driving media attention, however RSL, Chicago Fire and certainly the Revs would likely not agree with that theory. Are soccer specific stadiums the answer? It doesn’t hurt, but it doesn’t guarantee sellouts either. However, considering the boost RBNY received from their star studded 2006 opening day and the Fire’s new stadium boost, the positive correlation between local media coverage and attendance is very strong. Looking forward to 2007, assuming the Beckham effect is that all teams boost their average by 500, but LA sells out the second half of their season. Let’s also assume that Toronto averages a modest 18,500 (modest given their season ticket sales) league average attendance will rise to 16,396, a 5.75% increase over 2006 and the largest average attendance since the league’s inception.

PODCAST:

The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

US Soccer Update - 2/10/07 - Best Week Ever?

2007-02-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

2-0

You gotta feel good for Jimmy Conrad. It is amazing that a world renown media icon can step onto a soccer pitch and have a man of the match performance! Conrad’s header and tremendous defense helped ensure the latest American triumph over our amigos. The first ten minutes of the match were terrible, with the balls spending more time out of bounds than in play. After settling down, the Mexicans set out to test Johnathan Boronstein who had trouble with the pressure early on, but gained his feet enough to discourage this tactic in the second half. A cause for concern is that BB the King, like his predecessor il Bruce, feels that Landon Donovan is a forward, but played him in Rolfe in what seemed to be a revolving 1-1, with both of them switching sides and patrolling the attacking mid space. After the initial 15 minutes, the Americans seemed to calm down and the teams went into the half level. However, the Americans got on the board with the aforementioned header in the 57^th minute. The celebration was short lived as the Americans weathered attack after attack from El Tri. The Mexicans continued to be frustrated Tim Howard and the all for one American defense, which was shaky but resilient. Fruitless in their attempts against Boronstein, the Mexicans set out to exploit, a step slow Chris Albright leading to him giving way to Josh Gros. Just into extra time, the Red, White and Blue sealed the deal after an Mexican pass bounced off referee Mauricio into the path of Ricardo Clark who one touched a pass to Donovan in the center circle. Juking two Mexican defenders, My Captain was past the defense and one-on-one with the keeper Oswaldo Sanchez. Donovan calmly pushed the ball past Sanchez and then buried it in the back of the net. Overall, a tremendous result for a team badly in need of such a win. BB the King took another step toward the full time throne. It didn’t hurt that the game was a ratings smash that send Univision into the top five networks for the evening in certain demographics. Over 8 million Americans watched this so called friendly. My only contention with Bradley’s decisions is that I would have liked to seen Justin Mapp get some time in for a struggling Bobby Convey. That being said it is difficult to argue with the results.

REal Salt Lake - There to Stay!

Great news for all of us fans of REal Salt Lake! The Utah Governor steps in and rams a bill through the house a week after Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon seemingly deep sixed the stadium and the team. Very similar circumstances to the saga of the Chicago White Sox in the late 80's. One thing that is ALWAYS overlooked throughout this saga is that while the taxpayers are chipping in $50 all told, the team is making a private investment upwards of $70 million. Great vision by Utah lawmakers to guarantee that some of the tourist dollars I have at my disposal will be spent in Utah in the next few years. And WOW, what a stadium design!

Rapids still Rapids

Despite much speculation, the owners of the Colorado Rapids, Kronke Sports Entertainment, retain the clubs name and introduce some spiffy new uniforms. While forging a formal relationship with Arsenal, the club does not take their new partners names. While I am an outspoken proponent of the name Real Salt Lake, renaming a franchise and adopting a foreign team name is just sad and an attempted short cut to creating passion (NY Franchise I’m looking your way.) FC Dallas, was just a move to a more traditional soccer name. Not a problem, however Arsenal Colorado would have been a seven syllable embarrassment.

Rayna vs. Beckham – American Soccer

Add Ray Hudson to the list of those in the US Soccer establishment that are enamored with Captain Boredom. Ray was flailing around the American Soccer desk like John Belushi supporting Beckham over Reyna as “style over substance”. Hudson went on and on, claiming that Reyna will have a much larger impact on the RedBulls than Becks will have on the Gals. I almost fell over laughing. I’m not sure how great of a cheerleader Claudio is, but it will be difficult to have a great season from the IR. Between the artificial surfaces at Giants Stadium, Toronto and Gillette, I give Claudio four games. Further, I can recall exactly one game where Reyna had a significant positive impact on a match, USA v. Germany 2002. Beckham won the Ecuador game for England this summer, while Claudio ensured that Ghana got off to a 1-0 lead. Style and substance, that is Beckham. Another failed “soccer savior”, that is Reyna. What has benefited Reyna is that he hasn’t been the target of political power plays by his club and national team coaches. As I type, Becks fed Hudson and his coach Fabio Capello crow, tying the Real Sociadad match at one with a tremendous free kick.

Awards:

Redemption of the Week:

Landon Donovan – Despite a poor first half that involved him chasing air balls sent into him and Chris Rolfe while being marked by much taller defenders, my Captain came charging back to have a hand in both goal to again topple Mexico 2-0. Often Donovan could be seen defending his own endline and was involved in every part of the match during the second frame.

Idiots of the Week:

The Mexican National Team – After a classless display during the game with GK Oswaldo Sanchez taking a swipe at Eddie Johnson after Donovans goal the Mexicans topped that by AGAIN refusing to shake hands and sulking off the field with their jerseys intact. The post game interviews with the team were no different. Almost to a man, the Tri felt they were the better team and deserved to win the match, yielding no respect to an American side that has held them scoreless for a decade on US soil.

PODCAST:
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

FFF: Can you please just fade away?

2007-02-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

Tuned in tonight to watch "Nick and Steve" on Fox Football Fone-in and Nick had been replaced with Max Brentos. What a lovely surprise! Normally I would never tune into this program due to it being everything that is wrong with soccer programming in this country, however I gave it a shot after they actually talked about American Soccer for an entire program a few weeks ago. All of 10 minutes of two hours were devoted to the state of the sport in the country that these folks reside in. No surprise since, unless you are speaking about some British ex-pat, N&S have no answers and look like deer in the headlights. But Max! We expect more from your. The ten minutes grudgingly conceded to US soccer were a terrible discussion about the US v. Mexico game which resulted in Max predicting a 1-1 draw and Steve mumbling a 2-1 Mexican triumph. No discussion about why these results might occur. Another minute was devoted to the MLS schedule and the fact that it was released. Steve took this opportunity to improperly predict Becks first appearance. And then it was back to the EPL. How about the RSL stadium situation? How about Toronto's amazing season ticket sales without even taking the pitch? How about the Revs retaining Twellman, Joseph and John due to MLS snubbing low-ball offers from across the pond. Perhaps Steve was to busy kissing his Chelsea shield to notice these events. N&S (and now Max) just re-affirm the view that nobody cares about MLS. I must be honest. This show makes me physically sick!

The anti-dote of course is American Soccer on GolTV and Glenn Davis' tremendous Soccer Hour radio program. If you talk about it, they will call! Davis proves that week in week out.

US Soccer Update

2007-02-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

RSL Stadium Falls Through
Hopefully, this isn’t the type of groundbreaking that Becks will be making in the US!
How can anyone the majority of Utah residents and their legislators to have vision? Look at some cities that play it safe: Cincinnati and Kansas City. Let’s look at cities that have had vision: Cleveland, Indianapolis, Denver. See any difference between the three. The last three used a combination of sports facilities and urban infrastructure investment to completely revamp their dying downtowns. Cincinnati and Kansas City have had opportunities to do the same thing, yet allow their visionary plans to become so tied in legislative red tape that poor decisions were inevitably made and once in a half-century opportunities were squandered.
Overall I though RSL, concert projections were a tad bit high, particularly given the poor concert schedule at Toyota Park in year one (2 concerts with about 20K average). However, that entire complex would have been a boon for Sandy and the entire Valley. Yes, some taxpayer money would have to be spent, but isn’t that contingent on a massive private investment by RSL? A park like this would have been a win-win. Now RSL will be off to St. Louis for 2008 and good! The legislators deserve the loss of the tax dollars that this franchise has raised for them over the past two years. Here’s hoping that RSL makes a deep playoff run and then pulls the plug on the town. Salt Lake deserves nothing less for jerking around a true visionary and chance taker.

RBNY Signs Watterus
I know there are plenty of puns with making a splash and a guy named Watterus, but that would assume that a splash had been made. Certainly the Energy Club upgraded their goalkeeping situation, but I can’t help but be disappointed by the clubs poor initial foray into the big-time transfer market. Reyna and Watterus are guys that could have been signed with or without the Designated Player rule. Plus, does anyone think that Claudio Reyna is worth $1M? With his injury rate, that will work out to be about $250,000 a game. Isn’t that more than Beckham? The whole Arena/Reyna thing has made me sick for the last nine years and anyone that sees this as anything other than a gift from Il Bruce to Captain Worthless needs a wake up call. Moving on, RBNY has one senior international slot and one designated player slot left, let’s see if they can attract anything other than B level talent. Now, it seems that Il Bruce has his sights set on DaMarcus Beasley. This can mean one of three things: 1. Arena is a closed Man City fan and is intent of picking off the whole team one at a time. 2. Arena is looking for a central defender (or right winger). 2. Arena is looking for someone to throw under the bus once the annual tanking of the New York franchise occurs. Let’s hope that Run DMB sends Bruce some of his choice quotes from this past summer in response to the transfer request.

MLS Adopts Qualification System for Open Cup
The rational for this move is to clear up some time on every teams schedule; however, I’m not sure how much time it will free up. It takes one game off the docket for the top three clubs in the divisions, but will add an extra game for the Galaxy and the number of matches will remain the same for the NYRB. On a separate, but related issue, the biggest problem with the US Open Cup is lack of promotion and reward for the participants. One of US Soccer top priorities, other than naming a full-time National Team coach, should be obtaining main sponsorship and expanded television coverage for the Open Cup. The tournament is a big deal in non-MLS cities and certainly there are benefits to offer a main sponsor, such as tournament naming rights, banners, etc. The sponsor money could be used to boost the paltry purse for the final participants. This bounty currently sits at $100,000 for the winner and $50,000 for the runners-up. Broken up between the players that are fielded during the tournament (lets say 20), we are looking at $5,000 per player on average, which in a league where the average salary is between $80,000 and $100,000, is certainly not “bust my ass” money. The thanklessness of becoming an open cup winner certainly doesn’t help either. If there is any country where this format should work well it is the US. This tournament is Hoosiers and Rocky rolled into one. An NCAA style tournament crossed with baseballs hierarchy system! Even better, upsets happen all the time. Lest not forget when an absolutely loaded Fire team dropped a 1-0 decision to Milwaukee Wave United in Beer Town with Pitor Nowak, Carlos Bocanegra, Run DMB and Hristo Stoitchkov on the pitch.

Awards:
Absurd Foreign Press Story of the Week:
Donovan Quits Galaxy in Response to Beckham Move – London Daily News

Idiot of the Week:
Peter Corroon – Who is looking the gift horse in the mouth? Without RSL, neither the national team nor Real Madrid would spend one day in your city. That is two days without the tax dollars or economic impact generated by 45,000 fans. Nearly 300,000 fans go through RSL gates every year for all competitions. In 2008, it may be zero.

PODCAST:
The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis: http://images.chron.com/content/news/photos/blogs/sportscast/podcast_soccer013007.mp3

US Soccer Update - Weekly Capsule

2007-01-27T13:10:00.000-08:00

A Retirement League Response:

As media reports from around the world stream in on the blockbuster Beckham transfer, the worlds perception of the league in which Beckham is heading to is not in line with the reality of what awaits the current Real Madrid players. Much of this view is a hold over from the day of
Pele and the defunct NASL. The average age of an MLS player is roughly on par with the average age of players at this year's World Cup, 27.

True, MLS has had its share of former international stars looking for paychecks such as Lothar Matteus, Hristo Stoitchkov, Youri Djorkaeff, and Hong Mihn Bo in recent years. Of this group, only Stoitchkov met with any success (mostly because he rarely played 90 minutes). The rest
were simply signings of folly in a league that requires as much fitness as any league in the world.

For the uninitiated, the Major League Soccer Season starts on April 1 this season and heads continues through mid November. The heart of the season is played during the summer months and it is not uncommon for matches to be played in excess 90 degree Fahrenheit heat. A team like the LA Galaxy will be involved in additional competitions during the MLS season as well such as the Superliga (a USA vs. Mexico Champions League) and the US Open Cup (similar to FA Cup). Further straining MLS players are the travel requirements of a large country (a LA vs. New York match will require a 5,700 round trip for one team) and summer international
matches which drain MLS team of their best talent throughout the season.

Buried in the piles of Beckham news was that US international Clint Dempsey completed a US $4 million transfer to Fulham in the English Premier League. At Fulham, he will join Americans Brian McBride and Carlos Bocanegra who also honed their skills in MLS before crossing the
Atlantic. Also on the Fulham roster is Kiwi Simon Elliot, formerly of the LA Galaxy and Columbus Crew. The list doesn't stop there! Tim Howard (Everton), Bobby Convey (Reading), Marcus Hannehman (Reading), DaMarcus Beasley (Manchester City), Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn), Cory Gibbs (Charlton) and Brad Friedel (Blackburn) all formerly manned MLS rosters
before graduating to the EPL. Freddy Adu is often linked with Manchester United and Landon Donovan is often rumored to head overseas too. MLS isn't filled with aging stars; rather it is a hotbed for budding stars!

MLS also limits the amount of "Senior International" players a team can sign to three, creating many opportunities for young Americans to get playing time. The US National team has qualified for the last five World Cups, with the last three rosters being comprised of players on
MLS rosters, which was good enough to snag a quarter-final appearance in 2002!

Once, LA Galaxy games are broadcast around the world this summer, the world will be shocked at the quality of the matches being played out in the team's soccer-only stadium. The days of Pele are long gone!

Captain America Comes Home:
As expected Claudio Reyna was signed by The Bruce Arena Red Bulls almost immediately after he was released by Manchester City. On paper this look like another quality signing, for the rest of the Eastern Conference. Although Captain Boredom was recently a starter for EPL
mid-tablers Manchester City, he's at the tail end of an injury plagued career. Opinions on Reyna differ vastly, but one cannot doubt that he is one of the highest quality players every produced by the US. What has been unfortunate for our national team over the years is that this
is his first opportunity to play in MLS. Over the past two World Cups, he has clearly been out of sync with the MLS raised players, yet continued to garner praise for his "poise" on the ball. Some call it poise, I'll call it slow down play. This slow-down, build up play is well suited for the EPL and Germany, where Claudio has been seen until recently, but is was a killer against the Czech's and Ghana. I apologize for getting off topic slightly, but I wanted to paint a picture of what Arena has traded Amado Guevara for! Surely, when on form, Guevara is more suited to the MLS pace than Reyna. Further, Guevara's durability cannot be question as we are talking about the player that took to the field for a sweltering 90 August minutes in DC
with two broken arms a couple of years ago. Surely, Arena is trading up in the locker room department as Guevara's talent was often overshadowed by his poor attitude under duress. Of course, Claudio may be seen in the Red Bull infirmary more than the locker room, where the heat and Astroturf involved in an MLS season are bound to result many days on the
IR for him. When you piece all these transactions together, NYRB is basically paying more money (and wasting a DP slot) for a player that will have a similar overall impact in the team as Guevara.

Denver oh Denver:

Our Boys take on their Bhoys! I like it! Another out of form team for the All-Stars to beat up on and on a Thursday to boot. If Chelsea couldn't handle the Enhanced DC United Crew, then the Scots should really have their hands full with the Uber Dynamo that likely will be
fielded. Should be a great showcase for the league, particularly of Mr. Becks can make it. Expect ticket demand to be resemble a crush as Beckhamania and legions of Celtic fans combine to pack the smallest stadium in the league.

USA 3 - Denmark 1

Oh, yes! The US played last week for the first time in 9 years. Good to see a MLS coach familiar with the current state of the league to get a run out! The result, surprise! Attacking Soccer! Expectedly the group looked tentative and out of sync early on as many newcomers
acclimated to the faster pace of the international game. During this period, the Danes took advantage of some wire crossing in the US defense to score a highlight reel goal that almost decapitated Matt Reis. Landon equalized from the spot shortly after. Fortunately for the home team, Justin Mapp entered at the half for flaccid former teammate Nate Jaqua
and ensured that, as Yoda might say, the visitors alone would not feature on the highlight reel. Following a steal in the center circle, Mapp headed against instinct to the right side while evading sliding would-be tacklers. As he approached the corner of the box he looked up
seeing no options and a pair of Danes. Undaunted, he split the defenders and headed to the endline. Upon reaching the line, Mapp crossed the ball to national team newbie Jonathan Boronstein who coolly finished the scoring sequence and put the Americans ahead for good.
Later Kenny Cooper entered and scored shortly after on a through ball from Heath Pearce and a 20-30 yard run. The finishing has been so poor for our side over the years, we've forgotten how much of a gimme Cooper's goal was after receiving the pass. Of course, credit is due to
Kenny for correctly reading the game and putting himself in excellent position to convert the opportunity.