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

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 – 06/20/07

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 – 06/06/07

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 – 5/16/07

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

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

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

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