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.
Showing posts with label MLS Predictions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MLS Predictions. Show all posts
Friday, October 12, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 10/05/07
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.)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 07/24/07
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.)
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.)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
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.)
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.)
Thursday, May 24, 2007
US Soccer Snob’s US Soccer Update – 5/24/07
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
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
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Quick Prediction
Rocky Mountain Cup
I'll take a multi-goal draw between the Salt Lake Freddys and the Mastroeni Machine.
I'll take a multi-goal draw between the Salt Lake Freddys and the Mastroeni Machine.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
US Soccer Snob’s Bi-Weekly US Soccer Update – 5/3/07
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
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
Monday, April 30, 2007
Quick Prediction
RSL vs. COL - Look for RSL and Cunningham to get on track versus the Rocky Mountain EastSiders.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
US Soccer Snobs Bi-Weekly Update -4/28
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)
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)
Saturday, April 21, 2007
US Soccer Snob's - MLS Predictions
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
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
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