An American's view on Futbol/Football/Soccer

At the Half: USA 0 - 1 England

2008-05-28T14:56:00.002-05:00

I have seen worst things. I have seen better things.

Mostly what I have noticed is that the USA is slower off the ball than the England players are. The USA is also giving away too many free kicks, and the bulk of them are being gifted by the defenders. England already burned the USA with one of those freekicks, and had too others that should have been in the goal as well.

If the defenders weren't the worst showing in the first half... Rico Clark definately was. Clark is starting to really worry me with his impression of Pablo "Hulk Smash" Mastroeni. He picked up the huge Red card at the end of the MLS season and the lengthy suspension and seems to have carried more of a chip on his shoulder in his latest matches. I know that his role is the defensive midfield position, but you can play the position without crushing guys every time you come near them.

All in all, considering that Donovan isn't on the field, down 1 goal isn't the worst situation and if the game ends 1-0, then it is an ok result. England needs to pick it up a bit, they should be ahead 3-0 right now.

Manchester United: Champions of Europe

2008-05-21T16:56:00.003-05:00

This was one of the better matches I have watched for quite a while.

Ronaldo scored his first goal against Chelsea, Drogba picked up a very important Red Card, and Edwin Van Der Sar came up HUGE for Sir Alex and Manchester United.

Manchester United looked the better club in the first half; Chelsea looked better in the second half. I was worried once it came to extra time as Chelsea looked like they would get their goal. Once the extra time was started, I was even more worried as thought that it would come down to Ronaldo.

I figured that Ronaldo would take the fifth kick and blow it. I was off by two spots. When he took his shot in the third spot, I instantly remembered his blown PK take in Barcelona. Unfortunately, he blew it like he did in Barcelona. Luckily for him, it did not completely destroy his season.

So as John Terry set up to take his kick, I layed down and looked at the ceiling. I heard the kick and Tommy Smith say that it wasn't meant to be for Chelsea.

In all honesty... in a match between these two clubs, a match that ends in a 1-1 draw and goes to penalty kicks is probably the best way for their series to end.

I am going to enjoy this Championship by United. I think I will wear all of my United jerseys over the next five days to celebrate. That and drink alot of Boddingtons.

Congratulations to Manchester United, Sir Alex, the Glazers, the players and most importantly, the Manchester United supporters.

FC Dallas fires Morrow; Soehn still employed

2008-05-20T14:12:00.005-05:00

Steve Morrow was fired today as the FC Dallas Head Coach. FC Dallas currently sit 4th in the MLS Western Conference with a record of 2-3-3 with 9 points.

So Morrow can get fired for only losing three matches.... but Tom Soehn is still managing a DC United side that has lost three in a row, five out of it's last six matches and has been outscored 14 to 6 in those six matches.

Where is the logic?

The Captain is going down with his Ship.

2008-05-19T10:08:00.001-05:00

We have all heard the old saying; that a Captain goes down with his sinking ship. A captain is ultimately responsible for the actions of his crew, regardless of what they do. Hell, Captain Kirk even took responsibility for the actions of his crew in Star Trek VI.

In sports, we have the manager/coach of the team that seems to always go down with his sinking team. Coaches get fired routinely in baseball, soccer, football, basketball and such. Usually you cannot go a month into a sports season without some reporter printing a story that already lists those coaches/managers that are already on the hot seat. MLS is no different.

DC United is suffering, if not sinking. The rest of the Eastern Conference is quickly leaving the Black & Red behind as United fail time and time again, to put in a full 90 minutes of soccer. Saturday night, United traveled to Los Angeles and took on Chivas USA, another club that is stuck in quicksand. After scoring their first road goal of the 2008 season, United wilted in the second half and allowed 3 quick goals and lost 3-1. You can blame who you want, the players for not completing the game, or for not having heart or a fire in their belly, but regardless of whom you blame, their needs to be a change in some way, shape or form.

A change is needed simply because the status quo is definitely not working. As in most other sports, when the results are not found on the field, the coach is usually the one left with the bill… or left on the sinking ship.

Coach Tom Soehn is not a bad coach. He proved that he was able to correct problems last year and he was able to guide United to its second consecutive Supporters Shield and qualify for both the CONCACAF Champions Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League. However, due to how many changes were thrust upon him this season, Tom Soehn is in over his head.

A lot of people blame the fact that DC United is playing poorly because of losing Ben Olsen and Josh Gros. I actually do not buy this idea. I can understand where people are coming from, but considering the whole picture, losing Josh Gros and Ben Olsen are not as big a problem as the fact that Soehn had to incorporate four players who have never played in MLS before, or with the other members of the club. MLS is not like other leagues, as it is much more physical and the type of play where you have time to dribble the ball is not one that really prospers here. Getting his new players to come to grasp with MLS play has not been a success for Soehn.

Furthermore, Coach Soehn doesn’t seem to truly know how to motivate and encourage his players in order for them to play a full 90 minutes. Now in this area, I do agree that the loss of Ben Olsen has really hurt Coach Soehn. When Ben Olsen was running around the field like a mad man, he was the one who provided that lift for the players who started to slack off. Hell, even when Benny wasn’t out there, Christian Gomez was able to convince guys to keep running and stay on focus. Without these two players wearing United jersey’s on the field, the responsibility for getting guys in the proper mindset for a match falls to Soehn, and he has failed.

What United needs is a great motivator. Someone who will come in and bench Emillio, not only for one half of a match, but for the whole match. Someone who will get in people’s faces when they start to slack off for 20 to 30 minutes in a match. They also need someone who will be able to properly manage the whole match, all 90 minutes. Neither of these qualities seems to be in Tom Soehn’s toolbox.

I called for a removal of Tom Soehn last week, and I am still finding myself waking up every morning expecting to see a report that he has been released. This season of change, bringing in a new core of starting players has shown that Tom Soehn lacks the true tools to coach a team. He hasn’t been able to get the same type of results out of what many claim to be a club that actually has better talent this year than last year’s club. Week after week, we see the same lazy play from the Black & Red and afterwards, we hear of how players and the club have to go back to work and dig deeper. I do not know about most people, but I can hit my head against a wall only for so long until I realize that the wall is not going to move and my head hurts.

So, if Soehn does get the boot, which I fully believe will happen after United loses this Wednesday evening in Toronto, who should be the one or ones who comes in to fix the problems?

Honestly, I have said it before, but I think that United should look into the past to fix the current club. Bruce Arena is available, as is Marco Etcheverry. I think that if these two guys were brought in as head Coach (Arena) and Assistant Head Coach (Etcheverry) then United would get the two intangibles that they are missing. They will get a coach (Arena) who would be able to manage the club, its substitutes and is someone who isn’t afraid to bench a player or two. They will also get a coach (Etcheverry) who has the fire in his belly and knows how to play in MLS. More importantly, he played pretty much the same type of game that Gallardo plays, so he would be able to help mold the club around Gallardo’s skills and style, something that after 12 competitive matches this season, the club is still failing to do.

Two weeks ago I said that the next four matches will define our season. I also said that United will be lucky to get 2 points out of the possible 12. We dropped our first 3 Saturday night and have a very short week before the next match… which happens to only be three days before the third match in this stretch. Follow that up with another short week before a trip to New England. 2 points might even be out of reach, if United fails to put in a full 90 minutes in any of these matches.

It might be just as bad a situation if United replaces Soehn during this stretch as opposed to waiting until June. I really cannot see the club getting any better with Soehn at the helm. Maybe it is time for him to go down with his ship?

And there was much rejoicing!!!!

2008-05-12T10:31:00.005-05:00

We should see a scene very similar to this on the 21st. Guys in red jersey's hoisting a trohpy. Gotta love a sight like that!

My Take: DC United 0 - 2 Chicago Fire

2008-05-09T11:28:00.004-05:00

Last night's match showed alot more than just how good Chicago is this season. It showed how United is really not that great even after the massive amounts of change was went through over the offseason. It also showed how poor a coach Tom Soehn is.

First things first, Chicago was the better club and deserved to win last night. They took their shots and took advantage of what United gave them. Furthermore, they have one of the best defenses that I have seen in MLS in a long time. The way that their midfield and defenders completely snuffed out any attack that United tried was impressive.

However, as good as they were, United's players were that bad. Again, last night I saw too many attempts to walk the ball into the 6 yard box and try a nifty shot. I saw too many times a guy would have the ball inside the 18 yard box and his first and only decision was to pass. Guys, you win games by scoring goals. You score goals by taking shots.

Clearly the Fire were the better team, but United helped them last night by failing to take shots and to play the full 90 minutes. They also helped Chicago by the way that they were coached. I blame Tom Soehn for this.

Emillio should have been benched last night, newly signed DP or not. He has sucked it up on the field the past 8 or so matches and has failed to pull out of the funk he is in. Benching him and his new bonus might get things into his head that he needs to wake the hell up.

Neill really hasn't been the shining light that the Front office made him out to be over the break. He is too small of a forward and gets knocked around too often to really cause a problem for defenders. If Doe is good enough to get a contract, he should be good enough to get more playing time than he did last night.

Coach Soehn has yet to really show that he has the coaching skill needed to bring these guys together, or to properly manage a squad. If he did, Emillio and Gallardo would already have the kind of rapport that Emillio had with Gomez. Soehn would know when to pull players and bench them. He showed these qualities last season, but seems to be out thinking himself this season. This season his use of subs in matches has been truly baffling. I really don't know exactly how much longer the Front office or the club in general can hold out the hope that the on the field performances and the coaching get better.

With United facing a long week of training and three matches of four on the road, this is major crunch time. DC United's season will hinge on these next four matches. I do not really think that the club has it in itself, with the current coach, to get through these matches with anything more than maybe, 2 points.

If the Front office does remove Soehn, then I honestly think that the most logical steps would be to hire Marco Etcheverry as the head coach and bring Ben Olsen, who's career seems to be cut short as an assistant. Either that, or bring in Bruce Arena with Olsen as an assistant.

Whatever is done, a change needs to be done soon. As they do have a long week, if they do remove Soehn today and install someone today, the players and whomever they bring in will have a full 7 days to work together, which isn't much in the scheme of things, but it would be better than if they had even less time.

A breath of fresh air is needed. Change needs to come. The time is now.

The People's MLS Club

2008-05-06T13:58:00.005-05:00

I like the partnership and the logo looks very nice on the jersey's, especially the road jersey. I think that this will be one of the more important steps that this club has taken as it grows.

What is important is that United was able to get a partner that will be able to assist United in its efforts to grow in two of the hardest areas for United to try and grow into, Europe and South America. The fact that Volkswagen's are huge in Latin America and that Gallardo will be one of their spokesmen, will definately help the club in its efforts down in South America.

United's efforts into Europe will benefit as well, with the announcement that Victor MacFarlane will travel to Germany later this month to visit VfL Wolfsburg, which is owned by Volkswagen to check out the Wolfsburg stadium and to see the clubs day to day operations. I cannot think of a better place for an MLS club to go to study operational proceedures that a German Football club.

I am very happy about this deal. It puts money into the club which should be able to help with the second DP slot, if the Front office and Soehn decide to use it, which at this point, a pretty crafty German winger might look good right now.

I might have ended Ben Olsen's career

2008-05-02T13:33:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I have this unlucky knack of jinxing people.

It all started when I played Yahoo Fantasy Football a few years back. I drafted Terrel Davis of the Denver Bronco's in the first round. He was coming off of a huge season and I figured that I would get a ton of points off of him in that season. Instead, he went down in something like the second game of the season with a leg or thigh injury and retired at the end of the season.

Then a few years after that I drafted Micheal Vick in the first round, and he broke his leg in the first game of the season. I did get lucky in that Carson Palmer was my back up and he had a good season, but Vick going down was something my team, or his team would never recover from. I have since stopped playing fantasy football.

Moving to my selection of soccer jersey's, I bought my very first customized soccer jersey a few years ago, it was a DC United jersey with Dema Kovalenko. He left the club shortly after I bought it. I then bought a Manchester United jersey with Ruud van Nistelrooy's name and number on the back, and he was promptly sold to Real Madrid.

As I was having no luck with jersey's, the next two I bought (DC United & Manchester United), I went totally fan boy and put my last name on them, in hopes of not screwing a player with my jersey. That said, thinking that my luck had gotten better, I bought a DC United away jersey last year... with Christian Gomez on it and he left the club.

So that brings us to Ben Olsen. As DC United introduced new jersey's this year (which seem to be gearing up for a little VDub action) I promptly plopped my cash down for a home jersey and decided that I wanted a players name instead of mine on the back. So I thought about it and I figured that the one guy who would never be traded from United, on the current roster, was Ben Olsen. So I picked Olsen and #14 for the back and I have his jersey....

...and now Goff is reporting that Olsen's career might be over due to his ankle problems.

Ben, I am sorry that I cursed you when I bought my jersey.

My Take: DC United 1 - 2 Columbus Crew

2008-04-18T09:19:00.003-05:00

Ok, I admit it, I stopped watching the game on ESPN2 right after the second Crew goal. I couldn't stand, er, my fiancee couldn't stand me yelling and screaming at the TV for much more and she was worried that I might throw something at the TV.

So I played a computer game instead.

In the small amount of time I did watch the match, I saw alot of things. I saw that DC United has two very large problems with it's offense. First, United retains the ball too long. What I mean is that our players try and hold the ball at their feet longer than they should and this allows for defenses to track back and get ready for any type of attack. I lost count of how many times a United player has tried to dribble the ball into the 6 yard box or make a short pass inside the box, rather than take a short on goal.

Second thing I saw was that United is scared to shoot. I lost count of how many times a United player would make a back pass or a short pass, rather than take a shot at the goal. Namoff took that long range shot in the first half and right afterwards, he was able to get inside the box and cause the own goal. United seems to think that they are only allowed to score from inside the 6 yard box.

If you add these two things together, you can see why the offense has had its problems and why the defense is getting rushed so much now. However, these two problems, IMHO, are more direct results of two outlaying problems that DC United is suffering from. They are the coaching and a player absense.

I am losing more and more confidence in Tom Soehn as the days go bye. As in all other major team sports, the fault should lay with the players, as they are the ones who aren't getting it done on the field. However, as always, the coach shoulders the blame for on the field problems. Soehn needs to get his guys up for these matches. He needs to get the right info across to his guys, mainly that they need to take more shots and stop trying to dribble through 4 defenders. he needs to adapt the game plan, or he needs to go.

The player absense is something that I brought up earlier in the season, and his name is Gomez. The absense of Christian Gomez, regardless of Gallardo's abilities, has IMHO, caused a major problem with the performance of Emillio. Last season, with an offensive midfielder moving in right behind Emillio, defenders had to give Emillio more room, because if they focused only on Emillio, Gomez could kill them, based on how he positioned himself. If they focused on Gomez, then Emillio was free, as was the case some 30 + times last season.

Now you have Gallardo, who plays a much deeper role in the attack, creating a gap in the offensive third of the field. Moreno doesn't play like Gomez had, so he doesn't fill the role, as neither does Niell or Quaranta. Fred could maybe fill the hole, but then we need another guy on the flank. Emillio is left all alone without any type of support, so we are seeing more "holes" in Emillio's play as he is having to fight for more balls with his back to goal, something he is failing at. Losing Christian Gomez, IMHO was a huge mistake and we are seeing that right now.

Gallardo is a very good player and sees a much different game than most on the field. That said, as others have said, the process of getting Gallardo and the rest of the club in the same page is taking much longer than it should, especially considering that United have now played 8 matches this season. This is the type of problem that the coach is supposed to sort out. I am starting to wonder if Soehn can bring this group together or if the FO needs to bring in another coach who can.

What a Goal!!! Manchester United vs. Arsenal: 4/13/2008

2008-04-14T08:32:00.001-05:00

This was one wonderful goal to watch, ask the Arsenal wall, they all watched it too!

Too early for mashing the panic button?

2008-04-14T07:40:00.005-05:00

There is always one weekend in the beginning of the MLS season where I miss one of DC United's matches. Sara has her birthday in early April, so I spent that weekend either out of town or out to dinner with her for her birthday. Last weekend was that weekend for this season and against the norm, I was actually able to catch part of United's match against RSL. I only watched 5 or so minutes of the match before I turned off the TV.

I am not going to go into what happened, as I didn't watch more than 5 or so minutes. What I did see was that Carvallo was useless in goal on the first two goals. I played goalkeeper in high school, and I have seen video of my play, so I know what useless in goal looks like. Carvallo was useless in goal on the first two goals. I am not certain why Soehn felt that an away trip to Utah to play on a carpet was a good idea for a guy's first MLS start, Steve Goff even asks the same question.

The biggest thing I have come up with is I am wondering what is going on with Ton Soehn. I am not 100% sure on what he is doing with the line-ups. Yes, I know that we have had about 5 matches in 14 days now and have yet another one this coming Thursday, giving guys a rest is something that the coach needs to be doing. I understand that, but why have your starting goalkeeper on the bench for an away match at a venue that you have utterly failed in the last two seasons? Give the backup goalkeeper the home start, on grass, in front of your supporters.

In addition to the goalkeeper issue, I am trying to figure out why Soehn refuses to use Fred in a central playmaking position, if our current central playmaker is out of the match. Rod Dyachenko is no Christian Gomez or Marcelo Gallardo, yet for some reason for the last two seasons, Soehn has felt the need to insert Rod in for both of them and ask him to fill their shoes. Rod simply cannot do the things that Gallardo does. I honestly think that if Gallardo is not going to be on the field, Fred should move from the flank to the inside and take up the role of the playmaker.

I realize that we have just started the season and in MLS, unless you go an entire month without a point, you make the playoffs, so there is really not that much to sweat about right now.

However....

Several of Tom Soehn's decisions this early season, and at the end of last season, have troubled me. Why not use the other two subs in the first match at Harbour View when your team has run out of gas? Why have Emillio and Moreno play in the final match of the 2007 season, when they risk injury, and got injured? Why try the three man defense line with players who have yet to prove that they should really be starting in a four man line?

I am not one to start a witch-hunt for Soehn to be fired. I think that he did a very good job last season with his first year in charge. However, I am starting to think that in order for DC United to be the club that everyone wants them to be, the FO, the players, the coaches, Garber & Co. and the supporters, maybe it is time that the head coach should begin to coach as if his job depended on each result? Coaches in Europe and South America play each match as if it were their last in charge, most of the time they get results because they have to. A swift kick in the butt from time to time gets results; maybe Soehn needs a swift kick in the butt.

My Take: DC United 2 - 1 Pachuca

2008-04-10T07:12:00.005-05:00

I hate it when I get the score right.

I have mixed feelings about what happened last night at RFK. On the one side, United did win the match, finally fighting back to score two late goals and win their third straight home match of the short season. Was that more to do with the fact that Pachuca did what they needed to do, and were sitting back? I am not certain.

What I am certain of is that the better club did win the series. Last night I saw a very discomposed DC United out on the field. I saw several passes that were made blindly and to no one. I saw many miscues when trying to play together, too many for a club that has been together for two and a half months. Pachuca on the other hand had the type of "feeling" for each other that they were able to quickly break out with quick passes, accurate passes, and cause havoc for the United backline. However, the backline did very well, as they have in every other match this short season, which once again gives me hope for the future.

Do we blame the miscues and errant cohesiveness on the fact that United have only been together for about two and a half months? Do we blame the fact that almost half of the starters last night were new players to the club? Again, I am not certain.

Considering that once again we had both MLS clubs knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, I say that right now, both of those clubs should simply chalk the tournament up as an intense early season primer. Who should be worried about the fact that MLS clubs have again failed to reach the mountain top is Garber & Co.

Yes, the CONCACAF Champions Cup is finished after Pachuca and Saprissa face off in their home & away series, but next season MLS clubs will have to face pretty much the same situation with the Quarter Finals of the CONCACAF Champions League. According to Steve Goff at the Washington Post, the 2009 part of the Champions League schedule is identical to the current Champions Cup schedule -

Feb. 24-26, 2009: Quarterfinal, Game 1
March 3-5: Quarterfinal, Game 2
March 17-19: Semifinal, Game 1
April 7-9: Semifinal, Game 2
April 21-23: Final, Game 1
April 28-30: Final, Game 2

If the league (MLS or SUM, whoever really runs things) wants MLS clubs to compete and win this tournament, they are going to have to figure out something new for the clubs. Maybe a real increase in the salary cap to actually attract better players to fill out the 28 man roster, which would give MLS clubs more than the "real" 16 players that they truly have.

Maybe they need to provide the CONCACAF clubs with more and meaningful winter training, and earlier in the calendar year. Bundesliga clubs have January off, yet they still schedule warm up matches to prepare for the second part of their season, why not have MLS clubs travel to Germany to train and face off against two or three Bundesliga sides? Get the players more than just stretching and running drills before they hit the first Quarter Final match, assuming that they reach the Quarter Finals.

So United is out of CONCACAF play until the SuperLiga (July) and the CONCACAF Champions League (September). I say that United should take the positives from last night and the supposed better match fitness to Salt Lake and kick the hell out of Real on Saturday night. Take the good from the bad and take the points from the league.

Match-Prep: DC United vs. Pachuca 4/9/2008

2008-04-09T08:48:00.006-05:00

It's return leg time at RFK Stadium for DC United. United hosts Mexican super-club Pachuca in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Semi-Finals tonight. Pachuca took advantage of the higher altitude and a less than sharp United squad and grabbed a 2-0 win in the first leg last week.

A 2 goal hole isn't the worst of situations to be in. We are at home and we seemed to have found a much better shape for the side with Santino starting up front with Emillio, in front of Gallardo. It would be interesting to see Moreno start up front with Emillio and have Gallardo, Fred, Quaranta and Simms in the midfield. I think that Santino would be a bit of a better option on the right flank, passing wise and shooting wise.

United coach Tom Soehn summed it up the best when he said, "You don't have to win the game in 15 minutes; you do it over a course of 90 minutes, you have to be patient and we will get our chances."

In the match against Toronto last Saturday, United was very fortunate to have a 2-0 lead by the 6th minute mark... I will be happy with a 1-0 lead by the 15th minute. I am hoping that being at home, back down to earth and fresh off of a very good victory, United is able to retain it's shape and get the goals it needs. Most important thing is that United needs to be patient and play it's game. If United let's Pachuca dictate the pace and the style of play, it will be over.

Unfortunately, I really don't see us winning 3-0, which we need to. A 2-1 win tonight seems more likely.

My Take: DC United 4 -1 Toronto FC

2008-04-06T07:58:00.004-05:00

Now that is how you start a game! I had barely hit my seat when we were all cheering for MVP's goal in the second minute. Santino scoring in the fifth minute was the perfect dagger for a really bad Toronto side.

Not to take anything away from United's offensive explosion, but Toronto really didn't look that great last night. Getting the stupid Red Card in the 22nd minute really didn't help the Canadian's either. For as bad as Toronto looked, United looked amazing.

I called for Santino to get the start over Niell and I am was happy to see him on the pitch at the opening whistle, as he deserved it with how well he has done recently. He has picked his game up so much since returning. The payoff came quick for Santino with his first goal of the season. United over all looked like a much faster and deadlier unit with Santino up front with Emillio.

With all the goals and shots, I would have to say that the most reassuring part of watching last night's match was that our defense continued to show that it has a much better shape than the one we had last season. Peratla and Martinez in the middle, along with Simms in front of them, have been massive in shutting down threats to Zach's goal. Wells looked very strong last night. The 88th minute goal was a last second flub to a great match, but I honestly have to figure that goal came from more of a mental break down of the whole team, rather than the goal keeper.

We have picked up our first 3 points of the season and our first home win. We were able to pull Gallardo, & Emillio early in the second half, as well as get Niell and Moreno time out on the pitch. All of this is building to the Wednesday night match against Pachuca. We still have that 2-0 hole to climb out of. Pachuca is no where near the club that Toronto FC was, they will be ready to play. If we play against Pachuca, they way we played against Toronto FC, we stand a much better chance of climbing out of that hole and making it to the CONCACAF Champions Cup finals, but we still have work to do.

West Ham are in 1st... in the MLS Western Conference

2008-04-04T08:14:00.008-05:00

I decided to randomly check the MLS standings today and I saw this on Fox Sports -

If you look closer -

Now I know why MLS is having West Ham for the All Star game... They are joining the Western Conference!!!

MLS All Star Game announced: vs. West Ham

2008-04-03T11:22:00.002-05:00

MLS announced what most people heard a while back: that West Ham will face the MLS All Stars in the 2008 All Star game in Toronto.

In no offense to West Ham or it's supporters (especially this one) but I still cannot understand why MLS had to "settle" for West Ham. If MLS couldn't get one of the larger clubs from Europe or South America to use this game as a season warm up, they should have canceled or just set up another East vs. West match. I say settle because we have played two of the larger European clubs before, Chelsea and Celtic. I am sure that SUM could have tossed a few million at Liverpool or Bayern Munich to make the trip. Adidas sponsors both of those clubs as well as MLS, so they could have helped broker the deal.

The All Star Game in general doesn't make sense for me anymore, but this years opponent makes even less sense, given the recent opponents.

My Take: DC United 0 - 2 Pachuca

2008-04-01T23:05:00.005-05:00

I honestly have a lost for words. I expected better. Yes, I know that this is the fourth match of the year and that we were playing on the Moon when you consider the altitude. I don't give a damn. I expected better play.

The thing that bugs me is that I saw better play at times, but I saw some really stupid play at others, and I saw some other things in between. As this young season moves forward, I am getting more and more questions forming in my head about our squad than I am answers.

Zach Wells really did not need to get that Yellow Card. So early in the match, it was plain stupid for him to have constantly held the ball for as long as he did on his goal kicks. Regardless of the altitude, these guys have been training for the better part of 6 weeks, even up in the thin air; they should have been able to get through the first 30 minutes without him holding the ball that long. It was a stupid mental lapse that was in truth, a foreshadowing of other mental farts that the rest of the team would do. One of those was Wells' failure to protect his near post on the first goal.

Paging Mr. MLS MVP!!!! Can someone please find Mr. Emillio? He was thought to have been sighted at RFK a few weeks ago, but it appears that a lazier form of the MVP has taken the #11 shirt. Emillio, WTF?! You shouldn't be playing that deep man! You are a goal scorer, a goal poacher. You sit up high and wait for the service. You don't come back to collect the ball near midfield and "try" (which is stretching the word, as his moves are just a slight step over mine) and juke and jive your way towards goal.

I think I am starting to understand how Gallardo plays and what he tries to do. Unfortunately, I am starting to think that the rest of the team doesn't have a clue how he wants to play the ball. As was mentioned during the match, Gallardo looks to really need someone to play close to him, which might force Soehn to revert back to a 3-5-2 in order to give better play support for Gallardo. He might be a great player, but every time I see one of his passes not get to the intended man, I want Gomez to run on the pitch.

I like Franco Niell, but I would really like to see Santino start the next game. Santino has a better passing ability and if Emillio would play in his proper position, Santino would be able to float in between Gallardo and Emillio to provide a passing option to both of them.

Fred looked much better tonight on the wing, and in all honesty, I wouldn't mind seeing him move into the middle with Gallardo, but I am not so certain how that would work.

So we are in a 2-0 hole, with what could be considered our third international match of the short year, against Toronto FC this Saturday at RFK. If Jamie Moreno doesn't start on Saturday, I would like to see Santino and Emillio up front, with Simms (who again was huge in the midfield tonight) Gallardo, McTavish, & Fred in the midfield. Namoff, Peralta, Burch and Martinez starting in front of Wells. That would give us at least three guys who have some sense of a creative attack (Gallardo, Fred & Santino) to match with Emillio in the offensive third. Bring Jamie on in the second half for holding play and Niell for speed up top.

So much for being at a lose for words. See you all at RFK on Saturday.

My Take: DC United 5 - 0 Harbour View FC

2008-03-18T21:55:00.004-05:00

Sitting on the quiet side of RFK tonight, I really wasn't expecting too much. We were five days removed from a very poor performance in Jamaica, one the exposed our fitness levels all too well in the later minutes of the match, which allowed the in form club score and get back into the match up. Five days later, I really didn't see how a nicer field and a colder night would cause any type of drastic turn around.

Happily, I was wrong. I guess someone forgot to tell me that Tom Soehn found one of Superman's capes and decided to hand it over to Devon McTavish, who is currently leading the club in scoring. Leaving RFK, after watching a much better over all performance makes my mind a little more settled, but I still have some questions.

I liked to form of our defense, much more than I did last week. Peralta, Martinez, Burch and Namoff all looked much more comfortable and composed in front of Zach Wells. Burch didn't have the troubles with holding the ball too long and didn't get into any of the troubles that he had last week. assuming that the collective defense continue to improve with their overall collectiveness, we should have a much better defensive shape this year.

Clyde Simms had one helluva match, improving on his good performance from last week. Simms was very timely in his passes and his positioning, which allowed him to break up attacks and to cover for a lot of missed passes.

McTavish... what is there to say? He goes an entire season without a goal and now has three in two matches? His flank play, in my opinion, still needs some work as he missed several opportunities to make runs, a few that directly lead to turnovers, but over all, his work with Burch improved over last week.

Fred looks like he is still trying to break off the rust from the off season. He made a fine pass that released Emillio for the second goal and finished off the match with the final goal, but there were several situations in the first half where I felt he needed to look up and find a teammate more often and other times he needed to be more ruthless. He showed these signs last season, but snapped out of it, I hope he does so earlier this season.

Gallardo, I have to wait on him. I need to see more, because I really have a bad taste in my mouth with him right now. I guess it is because the guy wearing his jersey last year plays the game very differently and I was used to that. On the other side of that, I really haven't seen anything from him in two matches that makes me understand really why he is the DP. I watched him tonight and I really thought that Christian Gomez could have done better. Hopefully I am wrong and in a month's time I am singing his praises. Until then, I really don't know.

Emillio had a brace and several other chances tonight, but nothing really made me think he is ready for the season. Hopefully the next week allows him to work out the kinks and gives him the chance to turn it on against Kansas City. All in all, he did was he was brought in here to do, score goals.

Neill was a work horse up front, causing all types of trouble for the Harbour View defense. His work rate is without question, his left foot on the other hand, I question. He had several chances in both sides of halftime to take a shot on goal, each time it seemed that he took an extra second or touch to move the ball to his right foot and each time he missed the goal or completely launched one into the gravel pit behind the north goal. I like his speed and effort, but I want to see him get some use out of his left foot.

The man of the match, in my opinion, was Santino Quaranta. Yes, the very guy who tarnished his image by scoring on United two years ago, then ran over to Barra and grabbed his crotch as he smugly smiled, has come back to the good side. Tino was brought on right after Emillio made it 2-0 and immediately made an impact. He essentially setup the next three goals, being the spark that sent the United offense into high gear. I asked last week to see him used and I got my wish. Hopefully the guy just played himself into a larger role on the team.

A 6-1 aggregate score line is great and I will take it any day of the week. However, the two matches were closer than the score line shows. Harbour View could have easily shown up tonight with a 3-1 goal lead, which would have never allowed United to play the slow control game that they played in the first half. On the flip side of things, Harbour View, in my opinion, really abandoned ship right after the second Emillio goal, and never really put anything together offensively or defensively after that. So 6-1 is great, but this is only a foundation to build on for the Kansas City road match and the CONCACAF Champions Cup Semi-Finals.

This was a great introduction to the 2008 home season, hopefully we will see more matches like this one this year, rather than the one we saw last week on the TV.

MLS All Stars vs. West Ham????

2008-03-13T11:26:00.002-05:00

WTF???

I thought the idea of the All Star games with guest clubs was to bring over a foreign club that has some type of star quality. Chelsea made sense, as did Celtic. Playing Chivas was a perfect match as Chivas USA was announced right around that match. Hell, playing Fulham made sense as Brian McBride was on the squad then.

So other than playing against Jonathan Spector, why would MLS/SUM be lining up West Ham for the All Star Game?

I have said it before and I will say it again, the All Star game needs to be retired. If MLS cannot convince one of the larger clubs that will be touring the US during the summer, then don't have the match. If MLS announced that Bayern Munich or Liverpool were scheduled, that would be a much better match than watching a mid-level club that has no real connection to MLS take on a less than All Star squad.

Please say that this is false.

Match Recap: DC United 1 - 1 Harbour View FC

2008-03-12T21:16:00.004-05:00

DC United, after a major overhaul during the offseason, began their 2008 campaign with a very lackluster 1-1 draw away to Jamaican champions, Harbour View FC.

Starting four new players from last season's squad, United never really looked that great. The central defense looked respectable as did Namoff. Marc Burch, with the exception of his goal, never really settled down and failed to show the skills that he showed last season.*

The forwards, Emillio, Moreno (for the 20 or so minutes he was on the field), Neill never really got any service from the midfield. To be honest, had they received any service, they probably wouldn't have done any better than what they did when they got the ball. Emillio fell out of the match for 85 minutes, but when he took a shot, he never had anything on them.

It is very unlucky that Moreno went out with a hamstring injury so early into the match. As mentioned so many times last season, the entire United make up changes when Moreno enters or leaves a match. Without Jamie, everything had to go through Gallardo, which meant all Harbour View had to do was hack Gallardo and that would halt the offense.

Zack Wells looked very good tonight. His command and control of the goal box and the penalty box was very good and his control in the air looked strong. he was hung out to dry on the Harbour View goal, as whomever was assigned the back post, failed to show up for duty. That was one of a number of mental mistakes that I expect to not see repeated. Hopefully the mental misteps were more to do with the fitness levels than straight focus.

I have to hope that the overall performance tonight was more due to the lack of fitness than anything else. United were completely gassed by the 70th minute. We had no way of keeping up with the Harbour View players, which was the direct reason of how Harbour View was able to pressure and get the equalizer.

So I guess that the big question is how can United regain some strength in five days? Last season, United traveled to Honduras and looked very, very good in a 4-1 romp over CD Olimpia. United last year, looked like the club that was in midseason, rather than the club starting a campaign. Tonight, United looked worse than a club starting a campaign, they looked like a club who was two weeks in training.

Next week at RFK, I would really like to see guys like Quavas Kirk and Santino Quaranta with some time. I feel that if either one of them had been brought on around the 75th minute, we might have seen more spring in the teams step. Losing Jamie really put United on a back foot too early for this to happen though.

This was one game, so we have to wait and see. Last season started with a bang, and ended with a whimper... if we start with a snooze, do we finish with a trophy? We wait and see.

* EDIT - WTF was I typing last night????? McTavish scored the goal, not Burch. This makes me even less happy with Burch than I was last night. Damn, I shoulda had some coffee before i wrote last night.

SuperLiga Groups Announced... sort a.

2008-02-22T12:42:00.007-05:00

According to the Houston Chronicle, the 2008 North American SuperLiga participants have been decided and groups have been drawn.

Group A
- PUMAS
- New England Revolution
- Chivas USA
- Atlante

Group B
- Houston Dynamo
- Chivas de Guadularara
- Pachuca
- DC United

DC United will host all of their matches at RFK Stadium.

It does appear that the actual schedule for this tournament has yet to be determined, as DC United's schedule only has the All Star game listed for July. Now unless MLS has finally realized that a month break in the summer would actually help the quality of play in the league (which I doubt that they would ever do) the lack of schedule matches for July leads me to believe that SuperLiga will take place in July, but they aren't sure as to when exactly. Houston only has one match listed on their schedule, as does New England. Chivas USA have two on their schedule.

All in all, the group looks very tough, so the guys who do take part in the group stage matches should have good matches. I assume that Tom Soehn's priority list for 2008 might look a little like this:

1a. CONCACAF Champions Cup (as it comes first)
1b. MLS Cup
2. Supporters Shield
3. CONCAF Champions League
4. SuperLiga Championship
5. US Open Cup

I haven't heard or seen anything either for or against this, but as the CONCACAF Champions League will be taking place during the same time frame as the CONMEBOL Copa Nissan Sudamericana, I would assume that CONCACAF clubs will not be taking part in that tournament any longer. I will keep an eye out for this one.

I am one of those people who actually likes the SuperLiga. Yes, it is a made up tournament, but most tournaments have to start somewhere. Yes, the matches don't truly test the MLS clubs as they do not have the travel "quirks" of heading to Mexico for group matches. All in all, as I said last year, the tournament is a very good idea and has to begin somewhere.

I would ultimately like to see the group stages involve 6 games, 3 home and 3 away. unfortunately, this type of thing will not be done until MLS rosters get larger and the salary caps get bigger. MLS clubs would pass out if they had the mid week travel matches in Mexico, then the MLS matches, then right afterwards the CONCACAF Champions League matches, which will require more travel matches.

Until MLS increases the roster sizes and the salary caps, the SuperLiga, in its current format, is a good stepping stone to giving more MLS clubs exposure to matches outside of MLS. This is a good start.

Why Pan the Pan-Pacific Championship??

2008-02-21T10:07:00.001-05:00

I am trying to figure out why so many people are having such a huge problem with the Pan-Pacific Championship Tournament that is being held in Hawaii? Most of the venom that is being spewed forth from soccer supporters rates around the same level as the bitching that was tossed at the SuperLiga. I am trying to figure out why?

The way I see it, the Pan-Pacific Championship is no more than the Vodafone Cup that Manchester United used to host before their season would start or the Amsterdam tournament that Ajax hosts every year and the Emirates Cup that Arsenal started hosting as well. What do they all have in common?

They are all pre-season tournaments.

Each tournament has a trophy that the tournament winner receives for winning. This tournament (Pan-Pacific Championship) seems to just be following the same path that these tournaments were designed for: a chance for competitive preseason matches.

Yes the SUM talking heads have mentioned that originally Pachuca was invited to take part, and after declining, the LA Galaxy were invited instead, which makes one think that this is less of an MLS warm up tournament than a chance to crown a "champion." I also know that there has already been talk of increasing the number of clubs that take part, which would move the tournament away from the mold that those other tournaments I mentioned use, but so be it if they do.

I honestly think that this and other types of preseason tournaments (Charleston Cup) are great chances for MLS clubs to face off in full speed matches, before they count. As the Dynamo will be taking part in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (a tournament that the games count) getting this tournament experience should help them in the CONCACAF tournament. I just wish that DC United was taking part in a small tournament as well.

FIFA Rankings: USA #26

2008-02-13T09:38:00.004-05:00

The latest FIFA Rankings were released today and the USA fell down 6 spots to #26. This after beating #25 ranked Sweden in a non-FIFA match day match and drawing 2-2 with #16 Mexico last week.

Ghana was the biggest mover on the list, moving up 29 spots to #14.

I guess this would make more of a difference if these rankings really, really mattered for much more than just a conversation piece.

EPL & Ze Roberto heading to the USA?

2008-02-07T11:52:00.000-05:00

Oh, please say it's so!

According to Goal.com, Ze Roberto will be leaving Bayern Munich after his current contract expires at the end of the 2008/09 season. He plans on heading back to the Western Hemisphere after leaving the beer capital of the world, expect instead of once again returning to Brazil, it seems that Ze is looking at joining up with MLS.

Assuming that this does come about, I would love to see him join up with Emillio and Fred here in DC and anchor the defensive midfield role for DC United. Ze Roberto, in my opinion, has been one of the key reasons why Bayern has shown such better fortunes this season in regards to their efforts last season. His ability to anchor the midfield, while still get ahead and produce in the attack has freed up van Bommel and Ribery to explode in the offense. Imagine how much of an improvement Ze would be over Clyde Simms (not to say Clyde sucks)?

In other news, it appears that the Premier League is following the NFL, NBA, MLB & NHL and will begin holding league matches outside of England starting in 2011. New York, Tokyo & Beijing have all been named as potential venues for Premier League matches.

Hell, if Manchester United are set to face off against anyone at Giants Stadium or even Red Bull park, I will go see it, even if I live in Iowa at the time. You think that Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal have alot of foreign supporters right now, just wait until they can see a league match in their own country.

The only problem I see with this is that were England doesn't have an American Football league, or China have a pro baseball league, China, Japan & the USA do have pro soccer/football leagues. Having a pro league match in their country, might do more harm to the domestic leagues than they will good for the Premier sides.

Hell, I would still go watch.

Match Recap: USA 2 - 2 Mexico

2008-02-06T23:52:00.000-05:00

This was a very different match compared to the last two in the series between Mexico and the USA, I can tell you that. Unfortunately, I am not really sure as to how the differences came into play. Different players obviously and different venue have to be mentioned, but the match really had a different feel to it.

On the one hand, you have Mexico, whom has had a huge monkey on their back where it comes to playing the USA outside of Mexico. This match they came out like they did last February and started to push their weight around and put on a display of force. Maybe it is because the Mexican players are all in one way or another, in season; but they were much faster on the ball and quicker with their man marking than the USA.

A much bigger difference between this match and the one last February is that Mexico put away their chances on goal, something that hasn’t exactly been their MO when playing us in the last few years. Although they put away their chances, I do have to question on whether or not their goals were more a result of a better Mexico offensive performance or a result of a pretty poor performance by the USA?

That leads me to the other hand, the USA played a pretty poor match in my opinion. Yes, Onyewu’s goal and Altidore’s goal were great and I honestly think that Deuce was robbed of a goal in the first half (even though he was offsides); the USA didn’t look good pretty much over the whole field.

Our passing and set piece passes looked like they were taken by guys who were too scared to commit the kicks. Michael Bradley spent a lot of the first half making pretty weak passes, a lot of them being ones that lead directly to a Mexico attack.

Our defense, central defense (Gooch & Carlos) looked very uneasy, but then again, the main problem for them was that they were getting run at a little too much, as Bradley and Clark really failed to show that well in the central midfield. I really can’t blame them, they both play the same position and one was really needed to have stepped up to play the offensive midfield position that Benny Feilhaber stepped into once Michael came off the field.

Drew Moor didn’t show me that much, beyond his great pass on Altidore’s goal. He was directly responsible for the two Magallon goals. He failed to stay with Magallon on both set pieces; burn you once, shame on you… burn you twice, shame on Bradley.

Bobby Convey really didn’t show me anything on the left side of the field that should have DMB worried. Convey has a great cross, I know, I have seen him do it once or twice, but he didn’t do anything tonight. His pace was way, way off and he looked like he wasn’t sure what to do with the ball once he got it.

All in all, despite the fact that I think that the USA played poorly and looked at times completely out of sorts and out of sync with itself, I think that this result against Mexico, in the USA, is a very good thing for the USA. First off, it gets that idea that if we face Mexico outside of Mexico we will always win, out of our minds. This is a good thing, especially where it comes to the younger guys. Adu, Edu, Bradley, Feilhaber, Altidore, Moor, and the rest really need to have a different mindset that the other players. They need to know that they are in for a real fight every time they face Mexico. The fact that we didn’t beat them tonight, hopefully it will make a change in their minds.

I am also thinking that this is a good result for the coaching staff. Last season, we went 10-0-1 until the Copa America, which was essentially mailed in anyways (as I think it should have been, it was to give guys overseas experience). Hopefully the coaching staff will be much harder on their preparation for the next few matches, hopefully they will be able to iron out the kinks that we all saw with our defense and passing.

As this match is a perfect simulator for World Cup qualifying (short gathering time for the players and coaching staff) the coaching staff should have a huge amount of info to work on with the players. The result wasn’t great, but it is definitely something that the players and coaching staff can build on.

Let’s just hope that they do.

All in all, a poor performance by the USA and a pretty inspiring performance by Mexico. Mexico played much better tonight than they did 12 months ago. A 2-2 draw isn’t the end of the world. A loss wouldn’t have had Bob Bradley fired, but I wanted to see a much better performance by the USA. They have a few more matches to get their shit together before the matches really start to count.

USA vs. Mexico: USMNT Roster

2008-02-04T08:20:00.000-05:00

Bob Bradley released his final roster over the weekend for this Wednesday night's match against Mexico. He called in a few more Euro based players than expected.

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC).

DEFENDERS: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Ramiro Corrales (SK Brann), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Eddie Robinson (Houston Dynamo).

MIDFIELDERS: Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Eddie Lewis (Derby County).

FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Pat Noonan (Aalesund FK).

With injuries aside, I can only think of two other players who I would have liked to be brought it, but as Kenny Cooper doesn't really look like he is on the USMNT radar, this is the strongest line up I can think of for this up coming match. The other is Eddie Johnson... yes, I am actually asking for Eddie to be called in. His speed against the Mexican defense, (even if he doesn't take a shot) would cause problems that would have been able to open up things for Deuce and Donovan. However, as Eddie has just made the move to Fulham, he looks to be best served with being left out to take care of his affairs in London.

With this line up, my starting 11 would be:

Howard

Parkhurst ------- Onyewu ------- Bocanegra ------- Pearce

Adu ------- Bradley ------- Edu ------- Convey

Donovan ------ Dempsey

I would like to see Feilhaber and Altidore get some time on the pitch for this one, but considering that Benny hasn't played regular minutes for Derby and Jozy only has a few caps under his belt, seeing them play Wednesday night isn't that big a shot IMHO.

With Feilhaber not expected to start, I had trouble selecting who player were in the midfield. As Donovan is listed as a forward, I put him up there, but I can easily see Freddy and Landon rotating back and forth from midfield to forward through out the match. I like the idea of Freddy on the right, as his left foot cutting across the goal could provide some pretty good sweeping crosses.

Last year, when Bradley called in only four Euro based players for this match, I expected a loss to our neighbors to the south. Instead we saw an inspired defensive performance and that all too familiar score line in a USA vs. Mexico match: 2-0. As we have what looks to be a much stronger looking squad being brought in for this match, I fully expect to see us pick up our second victory of the new year.

New USMNT Home Jersey....

2008-01-30T09:03:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I understand that the sponsorship deals stipulate that the different jersey suppliers will change a teams jersey every two years. I got that. What I don't really get is how they can let some jersey designs through. I am wondering if this jersey design is one of those that someone should have stopped before it was released.

Don't get me wrong, I actually like this one more than the current home jersey with the blue/red stripes down the left side, but in the past when the USSF releases the new jersey, I am not that shocked with its look. This is the second straight one that I have had to think for a moment about. I guess that as it is much better than the previous one, I am shocked that they made a better looking jersey.

According to US Soccer, this jersey will make it's debut on February 6th against Mexico. You can order it here.

Ives had some funny things to say about this one.

DC United Designated Player Madness

2008-01-29T08:17:00.000-05:00

With the 2008 training camp kicking off yesterday, DC United introduced four of their five new South American signings. Their fifth signing evidently will be introduced today, Marcelo Gallardo. Gallardo seems to be the replacement for Christian Gomez, the transmission of the club for the last three and a half years. We all knew that Gallardo was joining the Black & Red for a few days now, but the biggest question was if he was going to be the club's first Designated Player Allocation (DPA).

Well, he is.

So now let us all take a step back and look at this entire picture here for a moment, shall we?

We had a guy who was our #10, a guy who over the last three and a half seasons, was either the best player on the pitch, or was only the second best because the 2007 MLS MVP was wearing the same jersey as he was. Gomez had already proven that he had the chemistry with Moreno, Fred, Emillio and Olsen. He was the 2006 MLS MVP to boot. Yet when it came to contract time, DC United was adamant that Gomez was not DPA material, but was willing to offer him the highest non-DPA salary possible for two years. When Gomez balked on the contract offer, United walked away and landed Gallardo, whom they do feel is DPA material.

Now, I am honestly going to reserve judgment here. Gallardo might be a true step up from Gomez and if we see United bust open the 2008 MLS season with 6 straight victories and a spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup final, then spending DPA money on Gallardo will be fine with me. Hell, if United are hoisting up the MLS Cup in November, I am not going to be one bit unhappy that Gomez isn't on the pitch or on the bench.

What troubles me is that a guy gives you 3 and a half years, puts in an MVP season, saves the entire club from being embarrassed by our biggest rival at home (RBNY 2006) in the playoffs and still looks to have at least one to two years left in the tank, but he isn't worthy of a DPA spot? I guess being MVP in this league isn't what it should be. I feel that both sides, United and Gomez, appear to have handled this contract and break up very badly. This isn't the first time that United has not been the best at communicating with players, ask Alecko about his trade to Toronto.

I hope that the front office are right about Gallardo. I am looking forward to this upcoming season, but it looks like I have to buy a new road jersey, as the one I have with C. Gomez doesn't quite fit the roster anymore.

US Soccer making the headlines lately.

2008-01-23T14:44:00.000-05:00

With the USMNT coming off of an important 2-0 victory over a domestic heavy Sweden side, focus has primarily changed over to the February 6th match up in Houston with Mexico.

I say that the 2-0 win was important because not only was important for Bob Bradley and his charges to start the season off on the right foot, but it gave those who were the rookies in camp a very good taste of the international level, without suffocating them with an intensive, emotional type of match... just like the Mexico matches. Bob has started 2008 just as he did with the 2007 campaign, so hopefully we will see the same type of success as we saw last season.

One difference from last year to this year is that the USMNT seem to be getting ready to break out the passports earlier this year. The confirmation of the match up against Poland on March 26th in Europe is a very welcome sign for the build up for the start of World Cup Qualifying. Yes it seems that we are always playing against Poland in some way shape or form, but as Bradley has already shown that only a few of the guys who made the trip to Kaiserslautern in 2006 will be on this trip in March. Giving Freddy, Josy, Feilhaber, Little Bradley, Edu all a taste of international matches in Europe, especially against a side that will be in full gear for the Euro Championships is as good a learning experience as anyone can ask for.

Following up that trip to Poland, it seems that the Yanks will be heading over to the Iberian Peninsula for a match up against Spain, this scheduled for June 4th. This is one match up that I am really stoked for. Playing Spain over in Europe is one of possibly the top five best types of matches that the USMNT can schedule. This is a definite gold mine of a match.

This still leaves the March 21st FIFA date open, one that I hope is utilized as an away match as well, maybe against Belgium, or Denmark as they both have that match date open (according to FIFA.com). Hell, England seems to be without a match scheduled that date and as they seem to have an open summer schedule, they might want to try and get a match penciled into their schedule quick. Why not try and have the USMNT take on Capello's boys at Wembly in March?

Having the first of the two March matches in England would make it easy for most of the European based players, as most play in England. Hell, Eddie Johnson just joined up with Fulham with a new three and a half year contract. EJ joins Deuce & Bocanegra as current USMNT players. Depending on his health and if he gets a call up, Kasey Keller might make the list of Fulham Yanks as well.

I think that this is a good move for EJ. He is going to get a very different view of how soccer is played and how you get a spot on the roster. He is going to have to be tough on the training pitch and fight against guys who have been doing the training pitch scramble for years, while he was assured of a spot in Dallas and in Kansas City. Just like how having to fight for a starting job seemed to have lifted Freddy's play in Benfica, EJ should get a lift in his play. Hopefully that carries over to the USMNT. Hopefully Fulham avoid getting relegated and remain in the Premier League, but it isn't looking good.

2007 was great season for the USMNT. The team was able to move younger players into spots that were getting vacated by the old guard and they were still able to pick up wins and impress on the pitch. They were able to retain the CONCACAF Gold Cup and book a trip to South Africa for the World Cup preview tournament in 2009, coming back from a goal down to Mexico in their greatest match in recent history. Bradley took a very raw and inexperienced side down to the Copa America and was able to see who would sink and who could swim, and regardless of the match results, I am certain that the travel and tournament experience that the players and coaching staff got out of the Copa America will help us out in World Cup Qualifying and in the finals.

The year was also a great one for the fans. The supporters were able to finally get the sour taste of 2006 Germany out of our mouths and we could celebrate again as Donovan hit a hat trick against Ecuador and as Feilhaber hit his Goalazo against Mexico to win the Gold Cup. We were able to embrace the younger players who stepped up to fill the voids left by Renya, Pope & McBride.

Following the 2-0 victory over Sweden last weekend, the 2008 season seems to have picked up right where the 2007 season left off.

Weekend Update - Las Vegas

2008-01-22T11:35:00.000-05:00

Sorry for skipping out over the weekend, I made a quick trip out to Las Vegas for a friend's 30th Birthday. I had a great time, won some money, drank less than I should have and enjoyed the whole weekend.

One thing that I did manage to miss was the USMNT match. As I was there for a birthday, I was sorta stuck with birthday related things, compounded to that was the fact that I couldn't find a Sports Book in either the Venitian or Ceasars Palace that would show the match. Not only that, but the following day I couldn't find a local paper that had any type of update on the score. I ended up calling my brother here in DC to find out who won.

In anycase, if you are going to Vegas, good luck finding a score or report if your match isn't on ESPN.

BTW - I was going to head over to McMullan's Irish Pub in Vegas to watch the Manchester United vs. Reading clash... that was untill I staggered back to my room around 5am and the match kicked off at 7am Vegas time. Next time I need to pace myself and just stay up.

LA Galaxy: The Enron of MLS?

2008-01-15T11:10:00.000-05:00

Ok, so how can one club with the same salary cap as the rest of the league, afford to be paying for who they have?

It is being reported that the LA Galaxy have traded for forward Carlos Ruiz from FC Dallas. Ruiz is one of the "grandfathered" DPA that aren't really DPA's. Which really means that there is no real way of knowing how much of his or Donovan's salaries count against the LA Galaxy salary cap. I am assuming that this is why Joe Cannon was shipped off to San Jose.

So where does this leave FC Dallas? They give up their main forward, but they have at least one guy who is possibly capable with filling this role in Abe Thompson. Is this also a way of making room for a higher contract for Kenny Cooper, as there seems to be some friction between FC Dallas management and Cooper?

One thing that is pretty certain, the Galaxy have some potential here. They either have the potential to have some really good offensive targets for Beckham to launch balls at, or they have just traded for one of the worst possible locker room cancers that they could afford. Probably the only way to top Ruiz off as a locker room cancer would be to sign Amado Guevara. It will be interesting to see what happens. Will we see Lalas stick his foot in his mouth yet again?

Manchester United 6 - 0 Newcastle United

2008-01-14T12:18:00.000-05:00

Here is video of the 6 that Man Utd. dropped on Newcastle United.

News & Notes: 1/14/2007

2008-01-14T09:55:00.000-05:00

InterLiga 2008
Club America and Atlas secured their place in the 2008 CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores tournament with wins this last Saturday in the finale of the 2008 InterLiga tournament. Atlas knocked of San Luis 3-0 with Club America winning 4-3 over Cruz Azul in penalty kicks. Club America were crowned the 2008 InterLiga Champions.

Eddie Johnson heading to Fulham?
Steve Goff at the Washington Post is reporting that Eddie Johnson has left the USMNT camp in Carson, California in order to conduct serious negotiations with Fulham. Assuming that EJ hooks up with Fulham, Fulham should have some type of contract stipulation with the US Soccer Federation, as Eddie would make the number of US internationals on their roster at 5. Fulham currently has Kasey Keller, Brian McBride, Carlos Bocanegra and Clint Dempsey on their first team roster.

With Fulham laying second to last in 19th place, I am not so sure how much better a move to Fulham might be for EJ, as opposed to the rumored move to Derby over the summer.

Tevez the key to United Success.

2008-01-14T09:52:00.000-05:00

Manchester United used a 6-0 drubbing of Newcastle United to carry them to the top of the Premier League table on Saturday. With a dour first half, Sir Alex’s men turned on the style and dropped 6 goals on a hapless Newcastle that failed to find any type of response. Yes, there were some horrid calls in the first half, namely the Giggs penalty that was never given and the off-sides call that canceled out the possible Michael Owen goal. Despite these officiating gaffs, United was able to put on a wonderful performance that displayed the essential parts of the side that looks to be staying atop the table.

Cristiano Ronaldo picked up his first United hat trick with three second half goals, increasing his season tally to 22 goals. He was a terror on the wings for the entire match. Despite his heroics and highlight reel goals, I would argue that the player who was most responsible for United’s victory wasn’t Ronaldo, but Carlos Tevez.

Tevez showed true grit and a bottomless amount of energy and hustle that few other United players exhibited on the pitch for an entire match Saturday. His prowess as a striker was evident when he was in the perfect position to get on the end of a Ryan Giggs pass that made the score line 2-0. Despite picking up a brace, Tevez’ best attributes on the day was that he continually tracked back into defense, snuffing out several Newcastle build ups. Whenever Patrice Evra move up into the attack, Tevez was there in the midfield providing cover for Evra’s side to ensure that Newcastle couldn’t exploit the absence on that side.

The addition of Carlos Tevez and his style of play has opened up the United offense in ways that a striker like Louis Saha and Ruud van Nistelrooy never really could. Tevez’ play has been able to open up better and more scoring chances for Ronaldo, Rooney and the rest or United’s potent attack. I would argue that Ronaldo’s success this season might be a direct result of Tevez being in the line up. Having that trio on the pitch brings such a problem for opposing players and coaches to attempt to solve, one that they are failing to do.

Having Tevez in the line up allows United to compensate for matches when despite doing damn near everything right, Rooney fails to get on the score sheet, just as he did Saturday. When other clubs have their main striker fail to find the score sheet, they usually fail to get the full three points and a draw is usually their best bet. With Manchester United, with Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo, Rooney can have an off night and still see United pick up the three points. Before Tevez joined the club, if Rooney wasn’t on target, there had been matches where the result was in doubt. The Red Devils have a very different look to themselves with Tevez on the pitch, on that looks more confident and secure.

The summer transfer window saw Sir Alex bring in Nani, Andersen, Hargreaves and Tevez. All four have made huge contributions to the club, but Tevez seems to be the one player who is staking his claim to best new player for the club.

Klinsmann the new Boss for Bayern?

2008-01-11T08:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, now this is some really great news.

Jurgen Klinsmann will be introduced later today as the new head coach of Bayern Munich. Klinsmann will replace Ottmar Hitzfeld at the end of the 2007/08 season.

Damn, this has got me giddy all over.

USMNT Roster set for Winter Camp

2008-01-01T12:06:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone, 2008 is now upon us. Hopefully for the USMNT, we will see 2008 as a year were the side builds on the success that they had in 2007 and continue to march towards 2010 and a third trip to South Africa in four years.

Bob Bradley released his 26 man roster for the winter USMNT camp in preparation for the January 19th match against Sweden and the February 6th match against Mexico. His roster is -

GOALKEEPERS(4) – Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Will Hesmer (Columbus Crew), Matt Pickens (Chicago Fire), Zach Wells (D.C. United)

DEFENDERS (9) –Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Ramiro Corrales (SK Brann), Todd Dunivant (Toronto FC), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Eddie Robinson (Houston Dynamo), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

MIDFIELDERS (7) –Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Pat Noonan (New England Revolution)

FORWARDS (6) –Josmer Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution), Jeremiah White (AGF Aarhus)

I am surprised to see that Altidore was called into the senior camp, as the U-23 squad will be assembling in Bradenton for training camp in preparations for the Olympic Qualifying that will take place in March. If Bradley believes that Altidore's development will best be served with time in the senior team training camp, rather than the U-23 camp, I agree with him. i would have been a little upset had he not been called into this camp.

On the other hand, I am a little shocked to see that Taylor Twellman was called in. Twellman had another pretty good season with New England in MLS, but his performance on the field for the USMNT over 2007 wasn't exactly the greatest. I used to be a big fan of him being brought into these camps. However, I am getting to the point where Twellman (IMHO) has used up all of his chances to show that his play in MLS can translate to the USMNT level.

One guy who I am a little torn about not seeing on this roster in Kenny Cooper. I understand that Copper is currently or will be in the next few days, going over to England to train for two weeks with Manchester United, his former club. On one hand I think that getting two weeks of training with United will be very good for Cooper, especially after coming off his broken leg that he suffered in 2007. On the other hand, I would have liked to have seen him in the USMNT camp to see if he can try and get move of a look from Bradley. Who knows, maybe he spends two weeks with United, then flies back to Texas and gets a roster spot on the side that takes on Mexico in Houston?

Over all, this roster is pretty much what was expected for this training camp. We might see about four or five of these guys not actually dress for the Sweden match, but their time in the camp will be good for them none the less.

DC United get Harbour View in CONCACAF

2007-12-19T08:54:00.000-05:00

CONCACAF held their final draw yesterday for the CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC), as the 2008 tournament is to be the final running of that regional club championship. CONCACAF will be rolling out their CONCACAF Champions League sometime around August of 2008, which will replace the CCC. In any case, DC United found out that they will be facing Harbour View of Jamaica in the first round of the CCC, with a potential match up with Mexican powerhouse Pachuca looming for the Semi-Finals of the tournament.

So how do I think DC United will do in this tournament? Honestly, I have no idea. I don't know because it seems as if we are in for a major roster restructuring that really has yet to take shape as of today. Yes, we have already lost a starting defender and are on the verge of losing our starting goalkeeper, but according to other sources, there should be some rather large changes in the club that will happen next month for sure. As we don't even know who will be in our starting 11, or really even have a good idea, I don't know how we will do in the tournament. I don't think we will do any worse than the Semi-Finals, but who really knows.

After looking at the brackets, I do have to say that I believe that Houston has a very, very good shot at reaching the finals this time. Their main opposition looks to be Deportivo Saprissa from Costa Rica, who they can potentially face in the Semi-Finals. I fully expect to see Saprissa knock off Atlante FC in the Quarter-Finals.

So we now know that DC United kicks off its 2008 season in Jamaica around the 11th-13th of March, which I can honestly say, isn't a bad place to start a soccer season. We will be at "home" for the second leg the week of the 18th-20th of March, which should either take place at RFK or at the Maryland Soccerplex. I guess I should start putting money away now for a ticket for the home leg of the first round series.

Veron to United: Next Week

2007-12-14T09:23:00.000-05:00

CNN/SI.com is reporting that Juan Sebastian Veron will sign a multi-year contract with DC United and be introduced next week. The salary is in the $3-4 million range per year.

Ok, at least we now have a time frame for an announcement. I can't wait for this saga to be done with.

*Update - Maybe this saga is over before it truly began. According to here & here, Veron ain't coming. If this is true, is it too late to get Gomez a second year and a signature?

*Final Update* - Ok, Veron is not leaving Estudiantes de la Plata to join DC United. At least we can move on, can't we now?

What happened to "The Best Person for the Job?"

2007-12-14T08:53:00.000-05:00

I find this funny and almost ubsurd.

Three English coaches are critical that the English FA have hired Fabio Capello to replace fired England coach Steve McClaren. They did so simply because the England FA failed to hire a British coach.

WTF??

What the hell ever happened to hiring the best guy for the job? I can think of several other coaches who would have been great picks for the England job... none of them are British. Capello is going to be able to bring a certain panache to the role as coach/manager that McClaren never had and England hasn't really had in a long time, even under Sven. Being critical of a guy simply because he doesn't have a British passport is simply a stupid thing.

Honestly, I think that this goes much deeper. I honestly think that this is a backlash from a group of coaches who know that they don't have what it takes to coach internationally, especially for a side such as England. The job of England Manager is such a high pressured job, what with the expectations that come with the job from the press and the fans. Which British coach is good enough to get England back on track? Sir Alex Ferguson maybe? Why would he leave Manchester United? He has the world at his fingertips and would be giving up his god like status there. Beyond him, I cannot think of a British coach who could even rate. Go deeper and I cannot even fathom which English coach would be able to manage the England team in this day and age.

All English coaches need to take a step back and re-examine their coaching styles and try and understand why pretty much none of them were even considered. Steve McClaren might be the perfect place to start. Why did he fail to get England qualified for Euro 2008? Did his managing style fail him or did his players fail him? Did his choice of players fail him?

Until an English coach steps up and proves that he is capable with results on the field, I cannot blame the English FA for looking outside of Britain for their next coach.

Cult of Bozilla no more

2007-12-12T14:28:00.001-05:00

Bobby Boswell has been traded to the Houston Dynamo for goalkeeper Zach Wells , as reported by Steve Goff.

I am not so sure about this trade. You get a back up goalkeeper to potentially replace your current starter who might be heading to the Norseland, by trading away one of your central defenders? Did Greg Vanney suddenly get faster in the off season and younger? Is this the sign that Devon McTavish is getting a shot at central midfield or does Kevin Payne have the rumored international central defender lined up and ready to sign?

As this trade has been agreed upon, I would now assume that Perkins will be sold to Norwegian club Valerenga in the very near future. Hopefully Troy's development improves and this move gets him the much needed experience that will help him try and edge his way into the USMNT player pool. Best of luck to Troy if he does leave.

If Troy doesn't get sold to Valerenga, having Zach Wells as the deputy goalkeeper gives us much more depth in the nets, but as Goff first reported, all of this trade business started with the offer for Troy, so I assume that we will see Wells as our starter and Jay Nolly backing him up next season.

So long Boz, enjoy Houston and FC Fanta, they have a great supporters group, so you should feel at home.

Cannon in for Perkins?

2007-12-11T10:46:00.000-05:00

Steve Goff is reporting that DC United appears to be in the mix to trade for current LA Galaxy goalkeeper, Joe Cannon. Assuming that this happens, Troy Perkins would no longer be in the picture with United.

Ok, here is my take on this. If this trade comes about, simply based on DC United getting Joe Cannon, I think it is a great thing. Joe is a very, very good keeper who was burned last season playing behind a horrible defense. If he joins up with United and is manning the pipes behind a defensive line with Namoff, Boswell, Burch and maybe even Vanney, I have to believe that Cannon and United would have one of the best defensive seasons in a very long time. Cannon has so much experience in goal and has a greater amount of timing and judgment than we have seen in goal in a long time.

That isn't a knock on Troy, it is the plain truth.

Now, the biggest question comes in as to why United is trading for Cannon, if this is a real situation. Are they trading due to the chance presenting itself and it is one that the coaches and front office staff feel is way too good to pass up? Or are they doing this because it is an area that they suddenly feel that they need to address, such as Troy possibly moving on himself? If troy is moving on, to Europe as Goff suggests, then I am very happy for the guy and I wish him all the best. If this is a situation where Lalas called up Kevin Payne and offered Cannon up for trade, I still think that United should move on it.

For the good of the club, I think having Joe Cannon in goal will present DC United a much better opportunity to make a stronger run at any of the 6 possible trophies that United will be up for next season. Troy is a great goalkeeper, but over this last season, he has had a few "gaffs" in key moments that one has to ask when he is truly going to step up. He was huge in the home playoff draw against Chicago (minus the two goals) but the two goals, along with the gaffs against CD Chivas de Guadalajara as well as the away match at Chivas USA, all add up to a guy who shows that he might need more training time than spot light time.

If this trade doesn't work out and Troy is still our #1, I am not going to be in any way unhappy. We still won back to back Supporters Shields with him in the net, and I feel that he will still give us a chance this season... I just feel that Cannon would be a stronger chance that Troy.

Ok, I'm Back....

2007-12-06T08:26:00.000-05:00

I need to find a new job that doesn't get in the way of life, but pays better.

Anyways, alot has happened over the last week.

Kaka wins Ballon D'Or
Was there any doubt that Kaka wouldn't win this award? When he dropped his two goals on Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League, it wasn't that much of a shock. Ronoldo had a wonderful season and is still holding to that form, but Kaka was huge last season and Milan won the Champions League, so it had to go to him.

Arsenal win Copa Nissan Sudamericana
Arsenal won the Copa Nissan Sudamericana last night, defeating Club America on away goals, after losing 2-1 at home. Arsenal won the first match in Mexico City 3-2. This win caps a very, very strange year for Argentine football. Arsenal wins the Copa Nissan Sudamericana, Boca wins the Copa Libertadores, Estudiantes won the Clausura championship and Lanus just won the Apertura championship. Talk about spreading the wealth.

On a different note, Club America came a goal from keeping the title in Mexico. It is a positive sign for CONCACAF that for the third straight year, a Mexican club reached the final and has actually made a match of the final series. Pachuca heads into the FIFA World Club Cup knowing that they are still the only Mexican club to have won the Copa Nissan Sudamericana.

Mexican Playoffs finals set
Pumas are back in the Mexican League playoff finals since 2004 and will face Atlanate, who denied Chivas de Guadalajara a second straight championship. The first match is tonight. The winner will take part in the 2008 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

UEFA Euro 2008 Draw held
Still drunk from the previous day of drinking beer and watching way too much college football, I did wake up and watch the ESPN2 telecast of the Euro 2008 draw. I actually thought I was hallucinating when they announced that France, Italy and Holland were in the same group. I feel bad for Romania and they "appear" to be the lone whipping boy of that group. This is the very definition of group of death. I am looking forward to watching the matches this summer.

DC United announce first two league matches of 2008
DC United announced that they will be starting their 2008 defense of the Supporters Shield on March 29th against Kansas City...in a baseball stadium. They return home the following week to host Toronto FC at RFK stadium. Will we see Gomez, Moreno, Emillio, Fred & Veron all wearing the Black & Red at the start of the season? I doubt it.

Be back soon....

2007-12-05T10:21:00.000-05:00

Sorry, but I haven't been all that free to post anything lately, work and life getting the best of me. I will write more soon.

Veron to DC United close?

2007-11-29T12:19:00.000-05:00

Goal.com is reporting that Juan Sebastian Veron is very close to signing a contract with DC United. His current contract with Estudiantes de la Plata ends this December, which is the end of the Argentine Apertura.

This is nothing new, and I am not holding my breath on this one. I would be very happy to see Veron in a DC United jersey, but until he signs and is introduced, I will reserve full judgement. This saga has gone on a little too long.

Brian Carroll now a Cowlumbus Crew

2007-11-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

The San Jose Earthquakes traded Brian Carroll to the Columbus Crew today, right after he was selected in the MLS Expansion draft. Kei Kamara was shipped out to San Jose in return.

Considering that no one is really safe in MLS (ask Alecko Eskandarian or Cleetus) a trade this quick after being selected by Yallop isn't a shock. Steve Goff mentioned that it was expected that he was going to be traded and Ives suggests that it's because of his salary.

I never really felt that great about our midfield when Brian was in there. He had his moments, but with Clyde Simms showing him up at every chance he got, losing Brian to the Expansion draft was not that bad in my opinion.

That said, I do feel sorry for the guy, now that he will be wearing yellow in Ohio.

2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying: USMNT

2007-11-26T09:17:00.000-05:00

The 2010 FIFA World Cup officially kicked off for most of the soccer playing world yesterday (CONMEBOL has already started their qualifiers) as the Qualifying draw was held in Durban, South Africa. CONCACAF will be using three groups during the first group stage, with knock out matches deciding who makes it into the groups. The USA found out that it will be in Group 1, which will break down like this:

Group 1:
- Winner of Dominica/Barbados vs. USA
- Winner of Turks and Caicos Islands/S. Lucia vs. Guatemala
- Winner of Aruba/Antigua and Barbuda vs. Cuba
- Winner of Bermuda/Cayman Islands vs. Trinidad and Tobago

Most are expecting the USA to face Barbados in a home/away series in order to advance to the group phase. The groups are expected to shake out to look like this:

Group 1
USA
Guatemala
T&T
Cuba

Group 2
Mexico
Jamaica
Honduras
Canada

Group 3
Costa Rica
Guyana
Panama
Haiti

The USA definitely has a better group than Mexico & Canada do. Guatemala has never been a push over and as we faced them twice this year, drawing 0-0 and winning 1-0, playing them twice again this round should be interesting, especially in Guatemala.

T&T qualified for the last World Cup, but at last that I had heard, their regular players hadn't made peace with the T&T football federation, so who knows who will be playing for them in the Qualifying.

Cuba is definitely the weakest link in this possible group. The USA hasn't had any trouble with the Cubans in recent memory. Granted that a match in Havana would be one of the more "interesting" matches that the USMNT has played in recent years, I do not see the potential two matches against Cuba as anything other than 6 points, 4 at the least.

All in all, the USMNT were drawn into a pretty easy path to the Hexagonal stage of the CONCACAF Qualifying. Considering that only two teams from each group advance, the two that move on from Group 2 will be the most watched in CONACACAF. Will Canada be able to grind out points in potential trips to Jamaica or Honduras? How about the potential trip to Azteca? Will the Canadian's do as the USSF has done in the past and try and schedule the Mexico match for Toronto when the weather is just above freezing?

I am looking forward to these matches. I want to see the USA advance based on some very good, solid performances and not just the ones that are at home.

CONCACAF Champions League

2007-11-21T08:33:00.000-05:00

As first reported by Steve Goff, CONCACAF will be scraping the Champions Cup after the 2008 tournament in favor of a "UEFA style" Champions League. It will run from Summer of 2008 to the spring of 2009 and MLS will have four clubs taking part: DC United, Houston Dynamo, New England Revolution & CD Chivas USA. The Revolution & Chivas USA will have to play in the preliminary round to gain entry into the group stage, were as DC United & Houston have already qualified for the group stage. This tournament sounds like something I thought of a time ago, I hope that it works out.

Before we get to the Champions league, we have the final rendition of the Champions Cup to deal with. As of this last Sunday, two final spots in the eight club tournament are up for grabs, which go to the 2007 Mexican League Torneo de Apertura champion & the third place club from the Torneo Interclubes de UNCAF 2007. The current qualifiers are:

- DC United (MLS Supporters Shield Winners)
- Houston Dynamo (MLS Cup Champions)
- Pachuca CF (2007 Mexican League Torneo de Clausura champion)
- Harbour View FC (CFU Champion)
- Deportivo Saprissa (UNCAF)
- CD Motagua (UNCAF)

LD Alajuelense will face CSD Municipal in a third-place series in the Torneo Interclubes de UNCAF 2007 to determine the third UNCAF club to advance to the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

The 2007 Mexican League Torneo de Apertura champion will be determined in December as the Mexican League playoffs are only entering the Quarter Final stages.

MLS Cup XII: Dynamo retain title.

2007-11-18T16:26:00.000-05:00

Ok, where do I really start this? Do I start this with how I was torn to going to RFK Stadium to watch two MLS clubs play in my clubs stadium? I commented to Sara as we walked up to the stadium this morning, "I feel like I am going to cheat on my girlfriend." Sara suggested that DC United, by failing to advance to the final, sort of gave me the permission to "cheat."

So we went to the MLS Cup final today at RFK Stadium and watched, well, where the Houston Dynamo retained their MLS Cup with a 2-1 victory of the New England Revolution. I really didn't get to watch that much of the match as we were in our season ticket seats, but the entire section that we sit in was assigned to the Texan Army and they all came for the match. I have to say, maybe it is because it was the Cup final, or because this was a different group that the ones we were used to, but the Texan Army knows how to bring it and they were awesome! They never really stopped their singing and flag waving and such. They also have higher powered smoke bombs than Barra do at our matches, strong enough to make the entire section feel like the Police were trying to gas us out of our seats.

Of what I saw of the match, it was actually pretty boring. I saw Twellman's goal which was more of a result of a great cross from Ralston and the two Houston Defenders never really closing in on Twellman. I have seen that guy score that goal so many times in RFK that it was a joke. Other than his goal, Twellman looked like he was a little slow and weaker than the tough guy we have come to expect from him.

I missed the two Dynamo goals, but I caught De Ro's on the bigscreen and it looked pretty good.

The best thing of the entire match, from my point of view, was the Adrian Fenty banner that Bara Brava held up for most of halftime and at the end of the match. I was in the stadium when he said the quote and I guess he forgot that he said it. Great job by Bara, you guys rock.

So the MLS season is over for the winter. The 2008 regular season kicks off on March 29th and as United won the Supporters Shield, we get pre-season CONCACAF matches to look forward to in February (most likely) so the off season won't be as short as we think. The activity during the off season will be the interesting thing to look for. Does Gomez stay or does he go? What about Moreno? Will we see Veron come into the club?

I look forward to seeing these questions answered; hopefully the answers will benefit the club.

Emilio adds MVP to Golden Boot

2007-11-15T16:12:00.000-05:00

As first reported by Steve Goff earlier today, Luciano Emilio was named the 2007 MLS MVP, beating out Juan Pablo Angel & Cuauhtemoc Blanco. Emilio won the MLS Golden Boot earlier this year as he won the MLS regular season scoring title with 20 goals.

Congratulations to Emilio, he deserves this honor. I was a little worried that he would get the shaft and either Angel or Blanco would be named to the award. I don't think that a guy who plays half a season should be considered for the MVP award, regardless of what he did in that half season. I would have honestly had no problem with Angel winning, they guy was remarkable on a horrible side. All that said, I am happy that Emilio won.

So last year Christian won the MVP award and now Emilio wins this years MVP award. I would honestly trade both Emilio's MVP award & Christian's award to be able to see DC United play this Sunday in RFK Stadium and pick up their 5th title. Individual awards are nice, but there is no I in team. LaDainian Tomlinson had a commercial where he said that you are only remembered by the number of championships you have. Winning the MLS Cup means more than an MVP award, at least in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy that Emilio won, I am just tired of seeing our guys win post season awards without finishing the march to a 5th ring. Hopefully we will see one of our guys win next years award as they are training for the 2008 MLS Cup.

South Africa World Cup Problems, Part 10

2007-11-15T15:15:00.000-05:00

In the latest chapter of the growing debacle that is the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, two bits of new came out this week, pouring more fuel on the fire.

This past Monday, it was reported World Soccer that the organizing committee admitted that the target date for Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth might not be met. Granted, this deadline does not affect the actual World Cup, as the deadline is set for 2009 in order to host at least one FIFA Confederations Cup match in a dry run for the World Cup the following year. The organizers are also concerned that the Green Point stadium in Cape Town might not make the deadline either. They did point out that Soccer City, in Soweto is on course to be completed five months ahead of schedule.

So two of the brand new stadiums that are being built for the 2010 World Cup might be ready for the 2009 Confederations Cup. Ok, that doesn't really sound that bad. I would assume that the organizers can adjust the Confederations Cup schedule around to get two other stadiums in line for hosting of matches in 2009. The idea that the Soccer City Stadium upgrades will be finished five months ahead of schedule sounds promising as well. So generally, this story on it's own doesn't really create any cause for concern.

Then, the AP ran this story, which if you look at it along with the construction delays, then we have another potentially huge problem on our hands.

So let me get this right, two of the four new stadiums might not be built in time for its deadline. That was the word before a possible nationwide Union strike halts all construction on all stadiums. Somebody tell me that this is not a bad thing? We go from two new stadiums potentially being finished behind schedule to the possibility that none of the five new stadiums nor the four stadiums that are being upgraded will be finished on schedule due to a labor union strike?

The current tally is that two of the new stadiums are struggling to meet their deadlines, one stadium upgrade is ahead of schedule; but none of this will matter if the Union has a nationwide sympathy strike starting next week. Even if the strike is only for a week or two, how much of a halt will that really do for the new stadium construction? If a two week strike does happen, I would be shocked if the organizers would be able to showcase any of the new stadiums for the 2009 Confederations Cup, which would be a blow for them.

I hope that this is something that can be resolved quickly and that there is no break in the construction schedule. Considering all of the negative press that South Africa has received surrounding the 2010 FIFA World Cup, having yet another blemish on the build up to the tournament would be horrible.

News & Notes 11/14/2007

2007-11-14T08:15:00.000-05:00

USMNT announce date with Mexico
The USSF officially announced the February 6th match with Mexico. It will be held in Houston at Reliant Stadium. The USMNT has faced Mexico there once before, playing them to a 0-0 draw in what was seen as Tim Howard's coming out party on his way to being signed by Manchester United.

I have said it before, I like that we seem to always play Mexico each year. It marks the best type of regional competition that we can get and it is always a heated match. I don't really like the fact that we always play them in the USA, with the one trip to Azteca every four years being the exception to the rule. I understand that even in the southern USA, when we play Mexico, it is a pro Mexico crowd, so home field advantage isn't "as" strong (when was the last time they beat us here???) but playing Mexico in Mexico is an entirely different beast. That is one beast that we should see more of. Hell, losing to Mexico might actually do our guys some good.

America advance to Copa Sudamericana Finals
America of Mexico (Blanco's former club) has advanced to the finals of the CONMEBOL Copa Nissan Sudamericana, winning their series with Millonarios of Colombia 5-2. They won the first leg 3-2 in Columbia only to return to Mexico and win 2-0. They will face either River Plate or Arsenal in the finals. That series is tied 0-0 going into tonight's match.

It is good to see another CONCACAF club is crashing the party down south. As the Mexican clubs continue to flex their muscles with the CONMEBOL clubs, MLS will sooner or later have to increase the club salary caps to allow for deeper rosters and the ability to sign the best young domestic talent.

Chris Armas Retired
Chris Armas of the Chicago Fire retired yesterday, after capping a 12 year MLS career with a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Armas player the last 10 years with Chicago, winning one MLS Cup and four US Open Cups.

I will give props to the guy, he had a great MLS career. Best of luck to him in the future.

MLS Thoughts....

2007-11-12T09:32:00.000-05:00

So we are now heading into the swan song of the 2007 MLS season. The Conference finals were damn near replica's of last seasons conference finals. Taylor Twellman scores a highlight reel goal to carry the Revolution into the finals, this time their third straight. On the other side of things, Houston marches in to the finals to face their foe from last year. Funny how we go the entire season to find the same two teams in the finals, again.

So Seattle will join the league in 2009? Interesting choice, one that I think will be good for the league. One would assume that with Seattle joining in 2009, MLS will also be bringing in an Eastern Conference club to balance out the league, Philly or St. Louis? Adding teams increases the profile of the league, but in order to do this right, Garber & Co. are going to have to look at making other types of increases along with the league size.

The main increase that the league is going to have to do is increase the salary cap. I think, that the salary cap is right around $2.9 million, but I am not sure. In order for the league to truly continue to grow, not only domestically, but regionally and truly internationally, the salary cap is going to have to get a bump, at least up to something like $4.2 million a season. Doing that will allow for larger squads and for real salaries, two things that will help the clubs handle the regular season and help them make their stand internationally. When It is no longer a better option to decline an MLS contract and go and play for more money in the USL, then MLS will truly be on a good foundation. When clubs will not live or die through one or two players, then the clubs will be able to compete regularly in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Copa Sudamericana, the USOC & the SuperLiga without having to pick and choose which to throw away.

I am happy that the league is expanding, it shows that the league has moved past the quick hits and is ready to be here for a long time. I just think that the league needs to start addressing the players more, in order to attract the best that we can get.

USMNT Roster for South Africa Friendly

2007-11-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

Bob Bradley released his roster for the November 17th friendly match against South Africa, in Johannesburg.

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC)

DEFENDERS: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege)

MIDFIELDERS: Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Eddie Lewis (Derby County)

FORWARDS: Josmer Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

It is good to see that Freddy is getting a second straight call up for this match. Seeings how his level of play has on the rise ever since he was moved to Portugal, a place where you must fight for your job every day, instead of MLS where your job is secured, getting more USMNT callups is a good thing. I would like to see how he does in a midfield with Bradley and Feilhaber, I think that the three of them could do some really, really great things.

Look who finally got invited to the dance? Altidore is finally going to see what the senior level camp looks like and I bet he comes on in the second half of the match. Good for him.

As for the rest of the side, I have a feeling that this is beginning to be the same group that we will start to see on most FIFA dates. 11 of the 17 called up are already regulars, with Lewis and Dolo being the only two guys who are on the higher end of the age bracket. This should be the same type of squad that we see once the World Cup qualifying starts later next year.

This match is one of the better scheduled matches of this season. Playing Switzerland & Sweden were great choices and ones that I hope will lead to other matches in Europe. This one however, represents a great chance for the players and coaching staff to get a good away match, away from pretty much any USA supporters and in an environment that they are guarenteed to see at least once, and should see twice after this match. Having the FIFA Confederations Cup scheduled for 2009, the USSF will get a first hand account of the South African scene, even if it "might" look different in 2 years.

I will be at Summers watching this match early Saturday morning along with several other members of the US soccer blogosphere who will be in town for the MLS Cup. Hope to see many of you there.

MLS Cup Final & LA Galaxy Guillit

2007-11-09T10:54:00.000-05:00

The New England Revolution knocked off the Windy City Hunchback and the rest of the Chicago Fire to advance to their third straight MLS Cup Final. Will they finally get the 1000 pound monkey off their back? Will the Revolution pull of the domestic double?

On a different note, one of the Western Conference clubs that failed to make the almost all encompassing MLS Cup playoffs, the LA Galaxy, hired former AC Milan and Dutch National Team maestro Ruud Gullit as their head coach. Will Gullit, who has coached before for Chelsea, Newcastle and Feyenoord, do anything better than Yallop or Sampson before him? Will the Galaxy really see changes in their fortunes once the talking mouth of Alexi "I'm an ass" Lalas is no longer steering the ship?

Red Bull fires Arena

2007-11-05T13:27:00.000-05:00

Just when I thought our season was bad, the Bruce gets fired by Red Bull.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!

This is just too good. Who are they going to bring in to try and "fix" that cluster fuck of a club?

Yallop Out in LA

2007-11-05T09:02:00.000-05:00

The first step in the off season moves for the LA Galaxy has been taken; Frank Yallop is out as Head Coach. It looks as if he resigned from his position because the San Jose Earthquakes bought out his contract from the Galaxy, which makes Yallop the new Head Coach in San Jose.

This doesn't shock anyone. Yallop has had one foot out the door since the middle of the season and when San Jose was announced as the next expansion club, Yallop was an obvious choice for the top job in San Jose. Now the big question will be is who the Galaxy get to replace him. With David Beckham and Landon Donvovan being the central players in the club, the need for a high profile manager is definitely in the cards. Expect to hear Lalas refer to his club as the "Crown Jewel" of MLS at least once, maybe twice whenever the announcement is made.

For my money, I wouldn't be shocked if Klinsmann is named the new head coach. If that happens, expect a very different Landon Donovan for both the league, and the USMNT, that is if Donovan isn't shipped off to New York or San Jose.

Salary cap Sports and the Playoffs

2007-11-02T08:34:00.000-05:00

So DC United fell in the playoffs to the Chicago Fire once again, this time losing 3-2 in total goals. The best regular season team in MLS fell to the #8 seeded side in MLS. Yes, I know that a #16 can knock off a #1 in the NCAA tournament, but when the regular season record for United against the Fire was 1-0-2, how does a club just fold like it did over two games? It folds because the best team wasn’t allowed to truly be fielded in either match, and that is Tom Soehn’s fault.

Let me first say that I think that Coach Tom Soehn did a great job with DC United this season. He was able to get the club through to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup; correct the early season funk that United started the season with; was correct in sending a group of reserves to the USOC; steered the club to the semi finals of the North American SuperLiga; made a real match of the two legged CONMEBOL Copa Nissan Sudamericana series with CD Guadalajara; and won the MLS Supporters Shield which qualified United for both the SuperLiga and Champions Cup next year.

Coach Tom Soehn has done a great job in his first season as head coach. At the end, he stumbled a bit and that stumble did not allow United to really do anything in the playoffs. He stumbled because he was trying to manage the club in soccer, rather than manage the club in salary cap soccer. Salary cap soccer, especially in the playoffs, is a much different beast.

To say that I am blaming Tom Soehn for how United was knocked out of the playoffs is not 100% correct, I mostly blame the players for not showing up. However, I do blame coach Soehn for not managing the club properly at the end of the regular season. I blame him because he didn’t protect his players once the Supporters Shield and the “home field advantage” was secured.

To think of it in an other way, in the NFL, you never, ever see Payton Manning in an end of the season game when the Colts have secured home field advantage in the NFL Playoffs. If he does make an appearance, he maybe plays one or two offensive series, but never the entire game. He is held out to ensure that he doesn’t pick up any type of injury that would prevent him from playing in the playoffs, which is when the real NFL season begins.

Take that to MLS soccer. The regular season does “count” with the Supporters Shield. The club with the best regular season is recognized as the regular season champion and get one of the two berths into the CONCACAF Champions Cup. So after United secured the Eastern Conference regular season title, in the scheme of the Supporters Shield race, it made sense for Soehn to keep Gomez, Emillio, Fred and Moreno (while not on Bolivian National team duty) in the line up. That said, the minute United secured the Supporters Shield, those guys, along with Ben Olsen and Troy Perkins should have been sent to the dressing room and only allowed to train lightly during the week. They should have never been allowed to play in the final match of the regular season.

As we all know, they all did. Our two main offensive players, Moreno & Emillio, both picked up injuries in the final match against the Columbus Crew. To add insult to injury, is there any way that anyone cannot believe that getting burned for three goals didn’t do anything to Troy’s mental approach to the playoffs? How else did the loss to the Crew affect the rest of the starting line up? The way our defense played against Chicago makes me think it had a small affect.

So heading into a knock out series with the Fire, we had our two starting forwards on the treatment table, when if they had just been held out of the final regular season game, they could have started in Chicago. This is why in salary cap sports, you hold out your star players before the playoffs.

The biggest reason is because in salary cap sports, you spend so much to get the primary guy (Emillio) that you have very little to spend on the guy next in line on the depth chart, so you buy who you can get (Kpene), rather than who you would want. The drop off from Emillio to Kpene is huge, as we saw in Chicago. The next guy in line (Adderly) is just about as much a drop off from Emillio as Kpene is. It’s not like in the Premier league where is Chelsea doesn’t start Drogba, they can start Sheva or in La Liga when van Nistelrooy wants a breather, Real Madrid just inserts Saviola into the starting line up. MLS doesn’t have that type of depth. In order to adjust, Soehn should have kept most of our starting line up out of the Crew match.

Hopefully, Coach Soehn and the rest of the United coaching staff learn from this. Next season is already in the minds of United supporters and hopefully we will see the same type of coaching adjustments that we saw earlier in this last season. The current format for the MLS playoffs needs to be tackled as an entirely different beast than the regular season. Once the regular season goals are accomplished, the coaching staff really needs to insert the reserves and get the first team focused on the playoffs.

Playoff Match Recap: DC United 2 - Chicago Fire 2

2007-11-01T22:22:00.000-05:00

Boy, did I pick the wrong time to go to the bathroom.

Who the hell would have thought that the Fire would score two goals in three or four minutes?

As I didn't see either Fire goal, I am not going to bitch and moan about who messed up or whut not. I am going to bitch and moan about how I watched yet another DC United match where the players in the United jersey's didn't show up with any heart. The supporters in the stands should have asked for their money back.

You are down a goal and you go down two more. Yet you continue to play slow soccer. Passes were slow and guys routinely failed to close in on the ball. There were three or four chances that we lost to have scoring opportunities simply because a United player didn't run full speed to collect a ball.

We deserved to lose tonight. DC United didn't show up until the 73rd minute. That is damn near criminal to do. Why the hell did Soehn put Rod in the match? Adderly would have been a better choice, he at least runs. If Rod isn't on this roster next year, I won't shed a tear. I might actually have a beer thanking whomever it was that finally sent that guy packing.

So, now we all get to go to RFK on the 18th and watch two other clubs with more heart play for our trophy. Next you are going to tell me that the Red Bulls will be one of them and that they will win.

I expect several changes this off season. Gomez (despite having another great year and being one of the only guys to wake up in the last 20 minutes of that laugher of a match tonight) is most likely gone from the club. If Jamie returns I will be shocked as well. If Fred didn't return, well, don't expect me to bitch about it, I really haven't been sold on that guy either.

One last thing and this sounds like sore loser syndrome, which it probably is, but what the hell.

MLS needs to seriously rework the playoffs. What is the point of having anyone seeded if you are going to give the teams an equal footing in the first round? Why have two matches, one at home and one away? How does sending the higher seeded team away from home give them any advantage? The first match in a two legged series is what sets the tone for the entire series. The Fire didn't have to do anything and they waited for United to come at them. I won't be shocked if the Dynamo or Chivas get knocked out of the playoffs. Make the playoffs one match each and have the higher seeded clubs host the matches. That would be the easiest way to at least give the illusion that the higher seed gets some type of reward for finishing higher. If not, I say United just flounder next season as long as they make the playoffs.

Well, the 2007 season if over for me. I have a ticket to the MLS Cup final, but right now I really don't want to go. I will though, I will be wearing my Bayern Munich jersey and I won't care who is on the field nor will I care who wins. If the pitch were to suddenly open up and swallow both teams at the same time, I doubt I would even care about that.

Playoff Match Preview: DC United vs. Chicago Fire

2007-11-01T08:08:00.000-05:00

MLS Cup Playoffs: Conference Semi-Finals
Match #2: DC United vs. Chicago Fire
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
7:30pm ESPN2

I usually don't do these anymore, but I figured that with how United's season hinges on the outcome of tonight's match, I figured I would toss out my two cents.

Forget the past. The Chicago Fire have this great record against United in the playoffs. Yeah, I heard that several places and I witnessed two of those matches live. Yes, they were able to get a 1-0 victory last week in Chicago and that gives them the goal and mental advantage heading into tonight.

Forget the past. All United needs to do is play it's own game. RFK Stadium is going to be rocking and all we need to do is play our game. We need to have Troy in the net and he needs to be the foundation that the entire defense is based on. His clutch performances this season and last need to shine through once again tonight.

Our best defense needs to be out there (Namoff, Vanney, Boswell, Burch). Without Boswell, we will honestly be helpless against the same type of goal situation we took last week. Boswell gives us the best chance we have to truly defend in the air, and we will need it tonight.

Our best available midfield needs to be out there (Fred, Gomez, Olsen, Simms) and they need to string better passes to each other and the forwards. Passing to a spot behind your teammate is not the way to go. If we can do the simple things correctly in the midfield, then we will have every chance possible to score tonight.

We need to have Emillio and Moreno start and get the bulk of the minutes up front. Moreno, as we saw in the second half last week, gives us an entirely different "vibe" on the ball. His pace and control when he has the ball as well as his positioning are all qualities that none of the other forwards have and we need that. Emillio is the lynch pin. We need his positioning and his attacking skills to get us the goal that we need to turn this ship around. If Emillio is given two chances, I honestly feel that we get a goal. That means we need a second from someone else and based on this clubs scoring record this season, that second goal could come from anyone.

If United plays their game, defends like we have seen them do match after match after match this season, then we will win tonight and have a date with either New York or New England. If our midfield controls their movement and passes like we have seen time and time again this season, then we will win tonight. If the Emilliboot shows up and shows the rest fo MLS why he should be the 2007 MLS MVP, then we win tonight.

If not, I am wearing my Bayern Munich jersey to the MLS Cup.

Match Recap: DC United 0 - 1 Chicao Fire

2007-10-25T21:55:00.000-05:00

It's not that horrible, but damn we looked slow and our passing was off and late. I wanted a better result.

So now we have a week to get our heads back into playing mode and to get our focus back.

In my opinion, Fred needs to work on his passing accuracy. Four of five times tonight I saw him make a soft, slow pass behind his target. These weren't passes in the air, they were on the ground. Most of United's passes were to the spot that the target player used to be. Do they not practice leading passes? Do they not expect their teammates to make any type of leading run?

I am upset with the play of United tonight. I expected more, despite any injuries we might have had. Chicago didn't show me anything that suggests that they were the better club, besides one guy hitting a great shot. I demand better play from DC United next Thursday. I do not want to watch the damn Fire celebrate in our house next Thursday. I have seen it before and it makes me want to puke. I for damn sure do not want to see two teams, neither one being United, face off at RFK on November 18th.

Focus and step up like you guys are supposed to do and as I have seen you do.

Half Time thoughts: DC United vs. Chicago Fire

2007-10-25T20:54:00.000-05:00

Here we are at half time, down 1-0 to the Chicago Fire. I have alot of questions from the first half. I want to know why Boswell isn't in the central midfield. I want to know why Kpene is the lone forward, couldn't Fred or Adderly been sent up front with Kpene? I know that Soehn must have tried to get out of Dodge with a 0-0 draw, but seeings how we aren't gonna get that scoreline, what change will he make in the second half?

I can definitely see that Chicago wants it more, at least in my opinion. They are closing in on our guys when they are on the ball. Chicago will not give our guys, Olsen, Fred and Gomez primarily any real time to collect the ball and see the field. We need quicker feet and we need to be doing the same thing to the Fire. If we put more pressure on them when they first get the ball, we will have a chance to get back into the match.

Our passing is horrible. Half the time Fred tries to pass the ball, he does so to an open spot, and because they are closing faster than we are, a Fire player collects the pass. We need to clean this crap up quickly or we will return home down 2 goals.

On a different note, I truly hope that ESPN didn't sprain anything kissing that much of Chicago's ass with their pregame coverage. I haven't seen that much of a biased love fest since the NLCS pregame coverage on the Colorado Rockies a few days ago. I couldn't believe how much Rob Stone was licking Blanco's ass in that pregame crap.

Anyways. We have a hole and we have got to get our asses out of it. I think we can do it, but if we play the same way in the second half as we did the first...we die.

Blatter... WTF!??

2007-10-25T07:49:00.000-05:00

Ok, I do get it. I understand that FIFA really isn't interested in organizing soccer/football matches and that they aren't really interested in helping developing nations enhance their way of life through sport. I get it, I really do.

FIFA is only in it for the money. They want as much money as can possibly be steered their way and they will do anything that will help them get it.

Just look at CONCACAF's President, Jack Warner. The guy sells his free tickets to the 2006 World Cup, when they should have been given away. FIFA gave him a slap on the slap on the wrist, almost saying, "Damn, Jack, we aren't mad you did it... we are mad that you came up with that idea first!"

Warner then tries to get the Scottish FA to pay him personally the money that was for the match fee of a match between Trinidad and Tobago & Scotland. Talk about one shady guy.

Wait! That's not the only thing, there's more!

FIFA instituted a continental rotation policy for the World Cup. They did this so that all of the confederations would have the chance to host at least one World Cup. So far we have had the 2002 World Cup in Asia (Korea & Japan), the 2006 World Cup in Europe (Germany), the 2010 World Cup will be held in Africa (South Africa) & the 2014 looks all but set for South America (Brazil). The only two confederations that haven't hosted a World Cup, in this rotation cycle are OCEANIA & CONCACAF.

So we have two more confederations that should be up for host rights, yet now FIFA Generalissimo Sepp Blatter wants to end the rotation system in favor of letting anyone (minus members of the continent that previously hosted one) to bid for the next World Cup, starting with 2018.

Uh, Sepp? Excuse me, but don't you have two more stops on your around the world trip of football/soccer? What is that you say, you can't make any money off of the other two regions so you don't want them to host? Is that right?

It has to be, along with the fact that when CONMEBOL essentially cut FIFA off at the knees when they only presented one member nation as the bidder for the 2014 World Cup. FIFA wasn't able to have multiple nations spend heaps of money on them for inspection visits or even really have any type of bidding war go on. FIFA lost money on the 2014 World Cup even before the 2010 cup kicked off. That scared the living hell out of their bank accounts.

Think of it. If CONCACAF were to get the sole right to bid for the 2018 cup, it would really be down to Mexico, Canada and the USA. FIFA rules for how a World Cup is hosted (stadium sizes, number of stadiums per city) and such would pretty much eliminate Canada (sorry neighbor) because the Canadians don't have the right number of stadiums that are large enough for the World Cup, by the rules. Further more, I suspect that the Canadians are smart enough to realize that even if they spent mass amounts of money on build huge stadiums, they would go to waste, just like the ones in Korea have. So Canada would be out.

So that leaves us with Mexico and the USA. Mexico has the stadiums to host, but are those stadiums truly up to the World Cup spec? Besides, Mexico has already hosted two World Cups, and granting Mexico a third before other countries like England or Spain even host their second cup, seem very doubtful. FIFA would get too much flak from the very countries that they have to keep happy.

That leaves the USA. That also leaves us with the problem that FIFA has seen with Brazil, and a bigger problem on top of that. First off, CONCACAF would probably go through the same elimination process as I have and finally just support the USA's bid, which would give FIFA the same problem as Brazil did, no bidding war.

Second, and this is the biggest problem; with the USA hosting, all the money that would be generated for FIFA "friends" would never be seen. "Friends" I say? Which friends? The friends that all get the lucrative stadium construction contracts. They won't get these because the stadiums are already in place, thanks to the NFL. Each NFL owner is going blind trying to build a bigger and more spectacular stadium, to entice another big money making event: The SuperBowl. Because these stadiums are so big and can already meet the FIFA regulations for World Cup stadiums, FIFA wouldn't be able to truly steer any of their friends to any of the construction contracts, which would mean no kick backs for FIFA.

Facing this problem, Blatter and FIFA have now decided that they stand to make more money without the rotation system and have an open bidding system. You have more people bidding, which means more expense paid visits to China, England, Australia, the USA, Italy and so on. FIFA will make record amounts of money through this new, open bidding system.

What we will finally end up with is that we will see the World Cup primarily played in Europe from now on. We might have one in China, one in the USA, and one in Austrailia, but we will get the 2018 World Cup in either England or in Italy. We will get this because as the 2006 World Cup showed, FIFA gets more money when people show up for the tournament. The USA will get another one, simply because the only one the USA ever hosted broke records for the number of fans in the stadiums and that means huge amounts of money for FIFA. The USA will only get one with an open bidding process, because that also makes money for FIFA.

The entire idea of a fair and impartial process being used for the rights to host a World Cup is a joke.

Does the football/soccer even need to get played anymore?

DC United Season Over: Playoffs begin.

2007-10-22T09:42:00.000-05:00

Due to Sara being sick, I wasn't able to make it out to RFK to see United fall to Columbus in the final match of the 2007 regular season. I periodically checked the MLSnet match tracker as Comcast was showing the Caps game instead. Other than the injuries to Emillio and Moreno, this loss really doesn't have me that worried.

I am not that worried about the playoffs, even though we are facing a pretty hot Chicago Fire club that seems to always have United's number in the post season. I am not worried because this group of guys seems to have a different "air" about them than previous United teams. Hell, even the team that advanced to the Eastern Conference finals last season didn't have the swagger that this group of guys does.

I have faith that Tom Soehn will get his guys rested enough and prepared enough for the Fire this Thursday night. From what Steve Goff is reporting, Emillio and Moreno should have both recovered from their knocks in time for the away match.

USMNT Schedule for 2008?

2007-10-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

In the wake of yesterday’s 1-0 road victory over Switzerland, I figured I would begin to try and come up with what I thought would be the perfect way for the USMNT to prepare for 2010 World Cup qualifying, which starts June 2008. More of the USMNTs schedule will be apparent once the preliminary draw is conducted in Durban, South Africa on November 23rd. However, considering that FIFA only has the preset dates to use for their official matches, their previously released calendar can give us a pretty good idea of their next year.

FIFA has set aside the following dates for match in 2008:

- February 6 (Friendly date)
- March 26 (Friendly date)
- August 20 (Friendly date)
- September 6 through 10 (2 official dates)
- October 11 through 15 (2 official dates)
- November 19 (Friendly date)

That gives us 8 specific FIFA dates to work with. FIFA has the bulk of June set aside for the European Championships, so you have to figure that the beginning of CONCACAF qualifying will take place in that time frame as well. If we assume that CONCACAF will schedule more qualifying matches for the four official dates in September and October, that will leave us with the four friendly dates for potential match ups.

It has been reported that the USMNT will be adding a match to this schedule, outside of the FIFA schedule. The USMNT will host Sweden at the Home Depot Center January 19th, similar to the Denmark match this last January. Considering that both teams will most likely be made up of domestic league players, this won’t exactly be a very good indicator of either squad, but it will give our MLS players a chance to break out of their winter hibernation and get their fitness levels back up to speed.

It is rumored that the February 6 friendly date is pretty much scheduled, as the USMNT will host our “friends” south of the border, Mexico. Considering that the match is set for 3 days after the NFL Super Bowl, I doubt we will see a rematch in Glendale, Arizona. Houston’s Reliant Stadium has been mentioned, although I wouldn’t be shocked if Raymond James Stadium in Tampa is used for this match either. As it is a FIFA date, European based US players should be called in and a shorter travel time to Tampa would be ideal. Playing Mexico isn’t the worst idea as they are the best competition in the region and we most likely won’t be facing them in the first round of World Cup qualifying anyway.

The March 26 date might be a very good opportunity to get some away match experience right before the USMNT has to open up World Cup qualifying in June. The question is, where should we try and get a match? Do we try and head over to Europe, where most of our players will be? Do we try and travel to a place like Columbia or Venezuela, where we will encounter a similar style of football to the ones we will face in World Cup qualifying? Assuming we can get the best of both worlds, I suggest that the USSF try and get a match schedule with Portugal in Lisbon or Porto. Portugal plays a more Latin flair type of game and playing in Europe gives us a chance to not jet lag our Euro based players and a match in a hostile stadium.

With the World Cup qualifying starting sometime in January, I assume that we will see the USMNT have two matches at least scheduled in June, most likely a home match and an away match. Who they will face we find out in just over a month.

The next FIFA friendly date is August 20, which will be the only time that Bob Bradley will be able to get a full squad in for review before what should be four straight matches of World Cup qualifying. As this date also falls during the Beijing Olympics, we can expect that a good number of the younger guys who made impacts yesterday against Switzerland will be either away with the Olympic team, or just returning from China. So well will probably see a squad made up of guys off the radar and guys who are over the age 23 restriction. Given that Bob will only have 48 hours before the match to gather his troops; a match in Europe again would be a good idea. Getting a match scheduled in Kaiserslautern, Germany (similar to the 2006 Poland match) against either a European side or an African side would be best. Playing Germany wouldn’t be that bad either, but the chances of getting that match in Kaiserslautern are remote. In any case, who we play isn’t as important as where this match is. The scheduling puts this match right at the beginning of the European domestic league seasons and during the Olympics. Having our Euro based players traveling shorter distances for this match will help them and help the USSF when they call up their players from the clubs for future matches.

The September & October match dates should be World Cup qualifying dates, so who the USMNT will be playing will be determined this November. That leaves us with the final FIFA friendly date in November.

Considering it is the final match date of the year, the opponent or location isn’t that important. Bradley can use this match to give some younger guys a run out or to give some of the MLS players one last match before they all head off for their winter vacations. The most important thing about this date is that the USSF schedule a match. The USSF has already wasted one official FIFA date this year (the failed Catalonia match) and it looks like they are going to miss out on the November 21st match date this year as well. Even though they lost, Mexico proved that you can schedule an international match a week in advance, as they did for their match last night against Guatemala in LA. Having the USMNT return from South Africa and face Jamaica in LA or Washington, D.C. would be better than having the team miss out on an official FIFA date. This is why next year, I hope that the USSF scheduled matches for everyone of the FIFA dates. Getting the squad together as many times in the year as possible will help build the type of chemistry that this team has at times shown it doesn’t have.

All in all, next year’s USMNT schedule will revolve around World Cup qualifying. The friendly match dates before and around the qualifiers will help Bob Bradley and his coaching staff not only get ready for the qualifiers, but will help the players get back into the rhythm of the national team. As CONCACAF qualifying doesn’t really look like it will be that much of a problem, scheduling matches outside of CONCACAF that challenges the players is the next logical step to ensure that they are prepared for their away matches and ultimately, the World Cup.

DC United win Supporter Shield

2007-10-14T19:09:00.001-05:00

DC United has successfully defended the MLS Supporter Shield, being the first MLS club to ever do so. United secured it due to a 2-1 Chivas USA loss today against the Colorado Rapids.

So this means that United have yet again picked up silverware and will be competing in a minimum of four competitions next season: MLS regular season, USOC, CONCACAF Champions Cup & the North American SuperLiga.

Congratulations everyone, now we gotta take care of business to ensure that no one else lifts the MLS Cup in our house.

Match Recap: DC United 0 - 0 Chicago Fire

2007-10-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

I had to wait until today to write this as I didn't want to rant and rave about how pissed I was at how horrible DC United played last night.

In any case, here I go anyhow....

I don't remember seeing United play that badly since last season. With the exception of Troy (who was HUGE in goal last night) the rest of the side really failed to do pretty much anything other than take up space. Yes we shut down Mr. White, but despite Clyde and Brian Carroll marking him very well, Blanco wasn't doing anything that was that dangerous, unless him flopping to the ground is dangerous to the new grass (field looks nice btw).

Our passing was horrible, as it seemed that ever time a United player tried to pass, they thought that United was wearing it's road white jersey's. Chicago was able to pick off so many passes last night that it looked like we were passing to them. Our offense was just as bad, as we couldn't get any type of service in to Emillio. Kpene was just as bad last night as he was in the first half of the Toronto FC match. I saw that he had his hand wrapped in ice after halftime, I hope he is alright.

How can one team allow 11 shots in the first half? Troy should have been exhausted at halftime, yet he came out for the second half and pulled off yet another spectacular performance. The entire club should be buying him dinner next week.

We aren't that bad a club when we are only missing Moreno. We beat New England 3-0 in New England without Jamie and I have seen the rest of the club produce when he was out, but last night it looked like we couldn't make anything happen up top. I am hoping that United takes care of this in the off season and picks up another forward that can actually do something... maybe trade for Kenny Cooper?

Sara mentioned to me as we left last night, "It's better than a loss, yeah?"

I guess so. In the scheme of the Supporters Shield, it is almost like a loss. Chivas USA dropped two points Thursday night and without Razov tonight, they "might" drop two more, but I don't expect them to. That means in order to win the Supporters Shield, United must win next Saturday at home against a Columbus Crew side that has nothing to lose and who just knocked off the Revolution last night. If United plays as they did last night, then Chivas has a very, very good chance of picking up the Supporters Shield.

Hopefully Jamie will return from World Cup Qualifying (Bolivia lost 5-0 btw) and brings that panache back.

Dida Banned for 2 CL matches

2007-10-11T13:32:00.000-05:00

UEFA banned AC Milan goalkeeper Dida from the next two UEFA Champions League matches for faking injury in Milan's 2-1 loss to Celtic. A Celtic supporter ran onto the field and made minimal contact with Dida as he ran through the goalbox. Dida then chased the supporter for a few steps, he then fell to the ground clutching his face.

I honestly think that both Milan & Dida dodged a huge bullet. UEFA could have easily used Dida as a way to make an example for those who fake injury or flop when there is minimal or no contact from anyone on the field. Doing so is stupid and cheap. Players who do that are scum and should not be playing professional soccer.

Rivaldo did something very similar in the first game of the 2002 World Cup when Hakan Unsal kicked the ball towards Rivaldo who was standing over the corner spot. The ball hit Rivaldo in the shin, yet he clutched his face, fell to the ground and rolled around like a sniper hit him in between the eyes from the lights. Unsal was sent off and Brazil won the match 2-1. Rivaldo said he did it to gain an advantage over Turkey.

This type of behavior is the exact crap that needs to be weeded out of global football. Dida should have seen a four match ban, which would rule him out of teh rest of the group stage matches. Rivaldo should have been banned by FIFA from the rest of the 2002 World Cup. If these types of acts aren't dealt with harshly, then they will continue to be done and used to cheat the other clubs/teams.

Oktoberfest Picts.

2007-10-11T08:33:00.000-05:00

If anyone was interested, you can check out some of the pictures of my trip to Munich for the 2007 Oktoberfest here.

USMNT Roster for Switzerland

2007-10-10T07:34:00.000-05:00

USMNT coach Bob Bradley announced his 21 man roster today for the 10/17 matchup against Switzerland in Basel.

Goalkeepers: Marcus Hahnemann (Reading, England), Tally Hall (Esbjerg, Norway), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham, England), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Dan Califf (Aalborg, Denmark), Jay Demerit (Watford, England), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege, Belgium), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock, Germany), Steve Purdy (1860 Munich, Germany)

Midfielders: Freddy Adu (Benfica, Portugal), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen, Netherlands), Maurice Edu (Toronto), Benny Feilhaber (Derby, England), Eddie Lewis (Derby, England), Danny Szetela (Racing Santander, Spain)

Forwards: Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Preston Zimmerman (Hamburg SV, Germany), Sal Zizzo (Hannover, Germany).

Overall, I am impressed with this roster. Think about it for a moment: the USMNT is currently in a five game funk where they haven't won, this after a ten game win streak for the year. The press is hyping the fact that Bradley has led the US to this "decade-worst five-game losing streak " and he still brings in a group of guys that is collectively long on experience on the senior level. Yes, Bocanegra, Cherundolo, Gooch, Lewis, Beasely & Deuce are on the roster (Deuce doesn't have that much experience over two years), but the rest have either only just cracked the seniors team (Bradley, DeMerit & Feilhaber) or like Hahnemann, hasn't really been a stalwart on the roster before this year.

Bradley looks to be a guy who isn't reading the press or worrying about what place the USMNT gets ranked every month by FIFA. He is a guy who is still looking towards the future. By bringing in guys like Edu, Szetela, Seitz, Zizzo, & Adu (guys who look to be the future of the squad along with Bradley & Feilhaber), Bradley is continuing with the program he started with the Copa America roster; getting the new, younger guys into the mix. By getting them into these camps and matches, Bradley is setting up for the 2008 Olympic Qualifier squad and for the 2010 World Cup Qualifier squad.

I am also happy to see that Bradley resisted bringing in several guys from MLS squads that are in the playoffs or in the playoff hunt. He could have easily have brought in Donovan, Twellman, Johnson, Mastroeni, Conrad and others, but he didn't. This gives both their clubs and the newer guys chances for the future. Their clubs still have chances to get into the playoffs or get ready for them. It also, as stated above, gives the new guys shots at playing time.

I honestly do not expect the USMNT to win this match against Switzerland. Given the situation, Switzerland should be fielding it's A Team, as they need to use every available match for training for the 2008 European Championships. The US doesn't need to win this game, despite what the media is saying. Bradley did his primary job for 2007: win the Gold Cup and get into the Confederations Cup. He now is charged with getting the newer players more international match experience and that is exactly what he is doing.

Oktoberfest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-09-29T22:31:00.001-05:00

I am taking a week off to go to Munich, Germany for the 2007 Oktoberfest. I will get to be in Munich while Bayern Munich plays their away match against CF Belenenses, so hopefully I will get to watch the match with some Bayern supporters.

I don't plan on any updates while I am away, just alot of beer drinking.

Prost!

See you all on the 8th!

Match Recap: DC United 4 - 1 Toronto FC

2007-09-29T22:05:00.000-05:00

What a difference a Bolivian and a Cavalier made tonight.

I brought my brother along with me to the game as he hadn't been able to make it out to any this season. We hung out at the SE tailgate and got to our seats around 7:15pm. The match started and as it slowly went on, my brother asked me if they looked this bad all season. I tried to explain to him that it really wasn't the entire team, but it was more of the fact that Kpene was in and that Moreno and Olsen were out.

Once the second half started, he became fully aware of why I said that. This was definitely one of those matches where there was two sides to the story. In a tail of two halves, United stunk up the joint in the first half and obliterated the second half. Scoring four goals in twenty minutes is amazing. Scoring four goals in twenty minutes after a half of play that looked like United couldn't find the other half of the field is even more amazing. So why does the match result sorta bother me?

Well, it shows that despite the fact that Kpene is listed as a forward on the roster, he doesn't still have a true grasp as for what he should be doing, mainly his positioning. The entire first half he was playing back in the midfield, deep in the midfield. Yes that is sort of what Jamie does, but Kpene doesn't have the skill of experience to carry or hold the ball anywhere near as good as Jamie does, so he should have just played up on the line with Emillio.

It also shows me that unless the opposing team has Olsen and Moreno on the field to worry about, Fred and Gomez can't do anything. It is pretty much just like last season when clubs would hack Go & Mo and basically shut down United's offense. Until Olsen and Moreno showed up, we looked lost.

Ok, so bad things aside, damn that second half was fun. Talk about beautiful goals. I am not certain which one was the best. Burch's goal was great, as was Fred's. Moreno's looked like he was offsid's when he collected the ball, but he put that away the way that Kpene should have put his break away in the first half: strongly. The final goal and yes, everyone's favorite, was Emillio's one timer volley into the net. SWEET! Nice way to score your 20th for the season. I loved that after Moreno & Emillio's goals Stamatopolous stood in his own goal and watched the video replays on the video screen behind his goal.

So with this win, United has three more regular season matches left. Away at Kansas City, who are without Jimmy Conrad for his Red Card against LA; home against Chicago, who are currently leading Chivas USA 1-0 off of a Blanco goal; and home to Columbus, who really haven't done much for the last part of the season. Jaime Moreno will miss the match at home against the Chicago Fire as he has been called into the Bolivian National team duty for their World Cup Qualifiers. United also have their away trip to Guadalajara for the second leg of the Copa Nissan Sudamerican against CD Guadalajara, who have a new coach.

An 11 match league unbeaten streak, nine of those are victories. Pretty not bad. Let's keep it up guys, we got ourselves a Supporters Shield to defend!

CD Guadalajara fires Manager after DC United Loss

2007-09-29T08:43:00.001-05:00

According to CNN/SI.com, CD Guadalajara fired their manager, Jose Manuel de la Torre after their first round loss to DC United in the Copa Nissan Sudamericana. Chivas are currently 4th in their Mexican league group and haven't exactly been scoring as many goals as they are expected to. Torre has been replaced by Efrain Flores.

This should make the Tuesday night match in Guadalajara alot more interesting. Not to say that they will fold like Chelsea did against Manchester United with their new manager, but considering that Flores will only have a few days to try and get his troops in line, this should bode well for DC United.

MLS Thursday Night: 9/27/2007

2007-09-28T08:04:00.000-05:00

I tried to watch the MLS Thursday Night match on ESPN last night. I really did. Unfortunately after watching the first twenty minutes of seeing neither side honestly try to do anything that resembled offensive soccer, Spies Like Us & Beerfest on HBO seemed so much of a better idea. I found myself switching back and forth between these three shows, but the soccer game never really got me to put the remote down.

Of what I saw, here are the interesting points:
- LA is pretty bad. They could barely get 1 goal when they had a 2 man advantage.

- Arnaud's and Conrad's Red cards should actually cost the Wizards 6 points. The two man advantage finally gave the Galaxy enough space to find their goal. On top of that, neither player will be available for the 10/5 match against DC United. It is hard to believe that the Wizards will be able to contain Emillio, Fred & Gomez without Conrad holding the back line.

- When did Cobi get his first name on the back of his jersey? The three "wise men" mentioned something that Cobi isn't retiring after this season? WTF?

- The scariest thought of all...that the Galaxy might actually be able to make the playoffs. They have to most likely win 4 out of their final five matches, which as they are playing Columbus and Toronto as two of those final five, if there is such a thing as a gimme for the Galaxy, those two matches would be them. They also face the Red Bulls, so in that match, anything is possible. They do have to travel to Houston, which isn't the easiest place to play in. I expect a Houston win in that one. The final match is against the Fire. As the Fire are fighting for the final playoff spot as well, this last match could be the clincher for either club. I honestly think that the Galaxy will go 2-2-1 in their final five matches and miss the playoffs.

Match Recap: DC United 2 - 1 CD Guadalajara

2007-09-27T07:24:00.000-05:00

This is turning out to be one very long season for DC United. They started it off a month before the most of MLS started play with the CONCACAF Champions Cup in late February. They would ultimately be knocked out of the tournament in the Semi-Finals by CD Guadalajara. They then marched right into the MLS regular season along with the rest of the league. In July, DC United ventured into the USOC, getting knocked out by the Harrisburg City Islanders (all be it while using a second string team). United followed that performance up with the inaugural North American SuperLiga, in which they advanced all the way to the Semi-Finals, losing to FC David Beckham.

Now as the MLS regular season is winding down and the playoffs are looming overhead, DC United once again makes an other trip outside of the league for more competition, the Copa Nissan Sudamericana. Not only is this tournament a chance to face off against outside opponents, but as United were matched up against the very club that knocked them out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, CD Guadalajara, revenge was definitely an item on the agenda.

Last night United hosted CD Guadalajara in the first match of the two match, home/away series, picking up a 2-1 victory in a very difficult situation. United was vastly outplayed for the first 25 minutes of the match, but was able to steal a 23rd minute goal. Both sides settled down after the Ben Olsen goal and the match looked pretty even handed until the 44th minute when defender Marc Burch picked up his second yellow card of the half and was sent packing to the showers. Considering the situation: playing an in season CD Guadalajara and just going down a man, being up 1-0 at halftime was pretty good.

The second half I expected to see Bobby Boswell come on to fill in for Bursch (as well as Boswell can do on the side) and either have Moreno or Fred be taken off for the extra defender. The way that Boswell was warming up during the break made me think he was infact coming in. Instead, Tom Soehn sent out the same 10 guys who finished the first half and ten minutes into the second half, United was able to pounce on a defensive lapse in the Chivas defense. Gomez sent a free kick right into the Chivas wall, but none of the Goats were able to clear it. Clyde Simms jumped on it and sent the ball into the bottom far corner through traffic. United, down a man, was now up 2-0.

United then weathered one helluva storm for the next 35 minutes. Chivas had about 4 shots in the first half, but they finished the match with 21, you do the math. Yes, Troy Perkins was beat on the 61st minute goal, but I honestly think it was more of total defensive lapse that allowed the cross to come through the box, rather than Troy getting caught on the wrong side of the goal mouth.

Troy looked like he was having a bad game. He was making some really great saves and came off his line when he needed to, but his goal kicks were awful. When I say he looked like he was having a bad game, his facial expressions made me think that he wasn't there last night. Ironically, he actually looked stronger after Chivas scored, hopefully he doesn't require that type of motivation next week in Mexico.

All in all, this is a great result. DC United only requires a draw in Mexico to advance and take on Arsenal of Argentina. If United were to advance, they would play their Quarter Final home/away series over mid to late October, which is right in the middle of the MLS Cup playoffs. Not trying to get ahead of ourselves, but even though advancing through this international tournament would be a huge thing for the club; is this the point where we start making the hard choices and decide which competition to put all of our eggs into? What's more important; MLS Supporters Shield....the MLS Cup....or the Copa Nissan Sudamericana? I for one think that the level of importance is in the exact order I put them in, as the Supporters Shield is the one title that United has the most control over, as in, they currently control their own destiny with that title.

Next up for United is the Saturday home match against Toronto FC, who recently broke out of their 15 year goal drought. See you all at RFK Saturday night.

Quick Match Recap: DC United 1 - 1 Chicago Fire

2007-09-24T07:58:00.000-05:00

When is a draw really a win?

When you essentially start your second string midfield against a club that is desperate for points and still leave with a point. That is basically what DC United did yesterday in Chicago with Olsen, Fred, Gomez and Simms all not taking the field at the opening. I liken this to the Redskins starting a game without Campbell, Moss, Cooley and Portis.

In any case, as I watched yesterday's tape delayed match on CSN, I tried my best to keep from switching channels as I watched the Fire midfield gobble up most of the play. Blanco's pass that setup Barrett's goal was very well placed and with the "luck" of Boswell failing to get back over to help out Namoff, Barrett beat Perkins for their goal. Once Cylde Simms was brought on the field in for Namoff, United's composure looked completely different. Yes we were still without Gomez or Fred making moves in the middle, but defensively, United looked much more solid.

Moreno's goal has got to be up for goal of the week. That was truly amazing, not only that it could go in from the angle that he hit it, but that Pickens completely flubbed it.

So we went in without our midfield and stole a point. Now that United took care of the bad situation, we have Wednesday nights Copa Nissan Sudamericana match to look forward to. With a full line-up expected (well, Namoff might be doubtful, I can't find any news) we should be able to put in a good match. We then have Toronto FC on Saturday, then at Chivas followed with at Kansas City and home to Chicago and the Crew.

USA vs. South Africa

2007-09-20T09:56:00.000-05:00

The USSF finally announced the much rumored November 17th match in Johannesburg against South Africa. This is the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup, which South Africa plays annually. The match will kick off at 10am EST. Not a bad way to start the MLS Cup weekend here in DC.

Hopefully the USSF is trying to line up another international friendly match for the 21st, as it is the second FIFA match date. How about having Ghana for a rematch? Ivory Coast? Fly up to Europe if they have to, but schedule a second damn game.

No More Jose

2007-09-20T07:55:00.001-05:00

Wow.

That's really all I have to say. Wow.

So the guy wins five titles in two years with one of the best clubs that money can buy, but isn't even kept on for a third season?

According to the Chelsea website:

"Chelsea Football Club and Jose Mourinho have agreed to part company today (Thursday) by mutual consent." - chelseafc.com

Mutual consent? This reeks of a contract buy out. Although considering the problems that have been reported between the owner and Mourinho, the 5th place standing and the UEFA Champions League draw against Rosenborg, one could figure that Jose was tired of the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.

This definitely shakes up the Premier League race. Does this completely drop Chelsea from contention? That, IMHO, depends on who they bring in to replace the Special One. If he couldn't get the best out the Chelsea Millionairs, who else is?

Wow.

New FIFA Rankings Out: Italy #1, USA #18

2007-09-19T08:03:00.000-05:00

The new FIFA rankings were released today with Brazil "tumbling" out of first, landing in third place. Italy took over the #1 spot with Argentina moving up into second place. The USA dropped one spot to #18. Other movers included England moving up to #9 from #12, Scotland moving up to #14 from #23.

Not that these really mean that much to anyone, but I am a little surprised that Brazil fell two spots, but Argentina stayed at #2. Brazil beat the then #11 & #17 ranked teams last week, along with posting a victory over Algeria in August. Argentina lost 2-1 to Norway in August, and then only had one match in September, beating Australia. I really fail to see how a record of 1-1-0 gets you better points than a record of 3-0-0?

Veron to DC United on Again?

2007-09-18T09:08:00.000-05:00

Ives reported Monday that the earlier reports of Juan Sebastian Veron’s possible move to DC United next season is closer than ever. Veron would become United’s Designated Player Allocation signing if this comes through. Assuming that this happens, what does this do for the club next season? Does anyone have to get the boot if Veron makes his way to the Black & Red?

I am not so sure if he will join up, but if he does join the club in it’s current configuration, United’s depth at midfield will be a whole helluva lot deeper. I wrote about how I see Veron changing the midfield possibilities for Tom Soehn and giving more guys chances to get rest rather than get gassed, but considering just how Veron would fit into the club is a bit of a mystery.

Based on the current situation, United has the DPA slot open, so having to trade for one isn’t required. United also has their fourth Senior International Roster spot open, so there isn’t a need to trade away someone to free up that type of roster spot. The main question is if United has the money to sign Veron, without being forced to give up anyone from the roster.

So if United needs to make some space on the roster, who goes? Do we see the retirement of Jamie Moreno make way for Veron to move into the midfield and see Fred get moved up into the withdrawn forward slot? Considering his out put this season, his age and the chance to retire on top of the league both goal wise and with a 5th MLS Cup, I wouldn’t blame the guy for riding out into the sunset. However, considering that he has found a new lease on his international career with the Bolivian National Team and the form of United when he isn’t on the field, I would think that Jamie feels that he has some mileage left in his legs.

Do we see current MLS MVP Christian Gomez move on as his current contract is up at the end of the season? Half of a season removed from his MVP performance, Gomez is a popular target for internet pundits as an under performer as he isn’t “tearing” up the league as he did last season. As he rejected the rumored $325,000 a year contract extension that United offered because he wanted the DPA slot, will he even consider returning if Veron is to be signed?

I would like, in a perfect world, to see both Jamie and Christian remain with the club and for them to bring in Veron. I personally do not subscribe to those who suggest that both Jamie and Christian are shadows of their former selves from last season to this. Is their production down from last season? Yes, neither of them are scoring as many goals as they did last season. When they are off the field, does United still look like a strong club? Sometimes, but not really in my opinion. I honestly think that the reason why we are not seeing Gomez and Moreno tearing up MLS is because they no longer have to. When United brought in Emillio and Fred, damn near all the pressure to score and create chances was taken off of Jamie and Christian’s shoulders. The re-emergence of Ben Olsen as an offensive threat has further relived Go & Mo of having to do everything on their own. In fact, I honestly think that Gomez and Moreno are actually enjoying a better season this year, because they have better support around them and can play a looser game than they did last season.

So if they are playing better this season because of Fred & Emillio, why even bring in Veron? Why not just sign Gomez to a new, higher paying, DPA salary and get Moreno to stay on with the club? I think that United should still try to sign Veron simply because he is a great midfield playmaker and as we have seen with the inclusion of Fred & Emillio; bringing in creative players allows those creative players already in the club more freedom to play the game, instead of having to carry the games.

Bringing Veron in would allow for better midfield rotation and more offensive chances for United. Before Fred & Emillio were brought in, clubs simply had to hack Go & Mo and United floundered and became predictable and dead in the water. United brought in Emillio & Fred and now (when all on the field) clubs have got to focus on Gomez, Fred, Moreno, & Emillio. Hell, if they forget to watch Benny, he can drop in a few goals and still kill you. If Veron is included in that grouping, consider the possibilities. You cover both Gomez and Fred, Veron still gets the ball to Moreno or Emillio. You cover Emillio & Veron, Gomez runs the ball into the box and passes to Fred or Olsen.

I honestly think that the biggest reason why DC United should sign Veron, along with trying to retain Gomez & Moreno is Veron’s impact off the field, as in that United can keep guys off the field at times. As we are seeing right now, Tom Soehn is doing a helluva job rotating guys into the defense and midfield. McTavish, Vanney, & Bozilla are all getting their chances to start and get rest, which when we hit the Copa Nissan Sudamericana and the MLS Cup Playoffs, will be huge for our defensive posture. With Gros coming back, he gives Soehn a chance to give Olsen a breather, or Fred a rest, without truly having the midfield suffer.

If you toss Veron into this mix, we could see Veron start on a Thursday night match, then Gomez start a Sunday afternoon match, without the loss of any creativity and seeing both guys remain fresh for the entire season. Fred and Gomez would be able to be used to give Emillio a night off or Moreno or Olsen. Bringing Veron into the club would further the depth and stamina of the club.

Now it is rumored that because of the “success” of the Designated Player Allocation, MLS might jump their timetable and increase the minimum number of DPAs a club can have from 1 to 2 (without having to trade for a second). If that does happen, United would be able to sign Veron and maybe trade the second one for either allocation money for Gomez, or even use the second one on Gomez. It is also rumored that Garber & Co. will provide a significant increase in the Salary Cap for next season, which would either allow United to increase their offer for Gomez, or actually pay money to some of the lower paid players. If either of these rumors do come true, United should move on Veron.

Adding Veron to DC United would be a huge thing for the club and the league. A player who has seen success in Italy & Argentina as well as having been through the UEFA Champions League and the EPL with Manchester United & Chelsea can bring in a wealth of knowledge that the league saw when David Beckham was actually on the field for the Galaxy. When he was on the field, they were an entirely different side. When he was off…they were horrible. Not to say that United is horrible, but I have a feeling that with Veron on the field, we will all see a DC United that is a step faster and sharper, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of MLS.

DC United/MLS Thoughts

2007-09-17T08:25:00.000-05:00

With DC United off this weekend, I spent more time watching College Football than I did paying attention to MLS league play. I did manage to switch back and forth between watching USC destroy Nebraska and Chicago fight back for a 2-2 draw with RBNY. Nothing really stood out in my mind from both clubs in this match; yes Chicago fought while they were down a man and Blanco seems to be pulling all the strings for the Fire, but nothing really made me feel that either club were that impressive.

I did see that Chivas USA were held 1-1 against Colorado, which means that they dropped two points off the Supporters Shield pace with DC United. To add insult to injury, Houston dropped 3 goals on the LA Pub team (LA Galaxy) to clinch the first Western Conference playoff berth and to move 1 point ahead of Chivas USA into first in the West. DC united are still first in the entire league with 49 points. New England is second with 45 points, with Houston tied with them on points, but having played one more match than New England and DC. Chivas USA and FC Dallas round out the top five, with 44 & 39 points respectively.

DC United has 5 matches remaining in the league; away to Chicago (9/23), home with Toronto FC (9/29), away to Kansas City (10/5), home with Chicago (10/13) and home with Columbus(10/20). United also have two matches scheduled for the Copa Nissan Sudamericana against Chivas de Guadalajara; at home (9/26) & away (10/2). If we advance against Chivas, then a match up against either Arsenal (Argentina) or Goias EC (Brazil) on 10/10 & 10/31, which would provide some logistical issues with the MLS Playoffs.

Match Recap: DC United 2 - 1 Real Salt Lake

2007-09-13T08:52:00.000-05:00

That is a result I will take.

Considering the fact that United was playing it's third match in seven days, considering that Jamie Moreno was away in Peru losing 2-0 with the Bolivian National Team, and considering the recent history between these two clubs; I wasn't expecting much from this match. Tired legs going against a club that has had United's number and have recently figured out how to score, it didn't look pretty.

Neither did the actual game, nor did the officiating.

DC United picked up all three points last night by being able to adapt to its situation, an ability that good teams have and call upon when they aren't able to bring out the skill. United did that last night. Playing their third game in seven days, fourth in a week and a half, United had to adapt to everything around them. The United team of last year, be it because of coaching decisions or something else, never really showed that at this point in the season, it could adapt well to its situations, and just ran out there with the same players and was losing. This side is a little different in that area.

Emilligoal is still dropping goals like they are going out of style. 19 goals for the season definitely shows that reaching the United record of 23 set by Raul Diaz Arce is no longer just probable, but more likely going to get busted. He keeps this pace up and the Golden Boot might have to be renamed the "Emilliboot."

Gomez came to life last night scoring the game winner and setting up Emillio's goal in the first half. His PK goal wasn't exactly something for the highlight reels, unless those are showcasing Nick Rimondo's skills. I honestly think that Emillio should have taken the PK, as it would have given him a clear chance for 6 in three matches, #20 for the season and Emillio is someone who Nick is not as familiar with. You have got to believe that Nick has a better understanding of which way Gomez takes PK's more than Emillio does, as they were teammates for a few years. That is the same reason why I thought it was wrong for Esky to take RSL's PK. How many times had Troy faced Esky in training when practicing PK's?

Due to Moreno's absence, there was a definite lack of "presence" in the United formation. I am not really 100% sure what to call what Moreno brings to the side, be it form or composure or vision; but whatever it is, it was abundantly clear that United didn't have much of any of those skills last night. In all reality, United played the first half much like they did right after the 3-3 draw with Dallas. The main thing is that the team has figured out how to adapt to not having Moreno on the field to hold the ball or provide a pass or such. Because of this, United is winning bad matches.

On a different note, last night's match was a second straight match were I saw the officials run a match one sided. I didn't want to comment on the way that Okulaja officiated Sunday's match against the Revolution, namely because we were able to still light up the Revs defense. However, last night's match was damn near criminal. I can't believe how may times I saw Benny get hacked, or clipped or such. He caught an elbow to the eye and Gonzalez never even stopped play until it looked like Benny wouldn't get up. Benny goes up for a header near the RSL goal, and he gets a Yellow card for a 50/50 ball. What the hell did Gonzalez see as McTavish was thrown to the ground like a WWE move, to warrant the RSL PK? There were also several horrible offside's calls, where I could see guys being held onside from my seat in the 234 section, but the linesmen missed on the field. If there is one thing that either MLS or the USSF do during the off season, it should be to get better and proper training for their officials. Ok, I am done with that topic.

So now United are off for 11 days and return with an away match in Chicago to deal with. Ben Olsen, Christian Gomez and Fred are all going to be out due to "MLS Sponsored Holiday's" for their Yellow cards from last night. Baring any injury while in Peru, Moreno should be back with the club, which along with the return of Josh Gros to the line-up, leaves Tom Soehn less short handed than it would appear. Right after the Chicago match, United return to RFK for the first leg of their match up with CD Chivas de Guadalajara in the Copa Nissan Sudamericana. Considering that guys like Gomez, Olsen and Fred will have had two weeks off from match play, I have got to like our chances in that match.

So we have qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs and are now seven points ahead of New England in the East (with 1 more match played than NE), seven points ahead of Houston for the Supporters Shield (equal number of matches played) and nine points ahead of Chivas USA (with three more matches played, so could be even). As United takes some time off, the Supporters Shield and playoff race should start to get even clearer.

Other thoughts on last nights match here, here, here and here.

Emilligoal is MLS Player of the Week

2007-09-11T15:02:00.000-05:00

Lucio Emillio was named the MLS Player of the Week, picking up his third PotW of the season, DC United's six of the season and the second straight for United as Ben Olsen was last week's PotW.

Emillio scored his MLS league leading #15, #16, #17 & #18 goals against Chivas USA on Thursday night and against the New England Revolution at RFK on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully Emilligoal can continue to add to his score sheet tomorrow night against ReAl Salt Lake.

Match Recap: DC United 4 - 2 New England Revolution

2007-09-09T18:05:00.000-05:00

Well, that was a fun game.

Back from a very warm and humid RFK Stadium, digesting the 4-2 victory over the New England Revolution is a difficult one. So many things stand out from this match. Where does one begin?

As a whole, the team looked better than they did against Chivas on Thursday night. Our players didn't look like they only had 20 minutes of soccer in them and kept the pressure going, culminating with Fred's goal in the 30th minute. Twellman's goal to finish the first half was unfortunate and really was a cause for concern.

The second Revolution goal came from sloppy defensive play in front of the United goal. However, as we have seen several times before, the entire tempo of the match changed once Ben Olsen stepped on the field. His play on the right side on place of Fred gave United the swift kick in the ass to get the go ahead goal.

However, (and I cannot believe that I am typing this) the final nail was hammered in when Brian Carroll was brought on for Clyde Simms. Carroll is no favorite of mine and infact, before today, I would have been happy to see him be shipped off to San Jose. Today however, the guy stepped up and showed signs of his former self. Yes, the first play he was involved in after coming onto the field resulted in a Revolution free kick, but starting with that amazing run right up the left side of the field and the cross to Emillio's forehead, Carroll played completely different than he had over the last few months. He was making the great defensive stops in the midfield and tracking back to assist the back line. He was hustling to the ball and making better passes. The Brian Carroll that played today needs to stay; the Brian Carroll that had been riding the pine for the last few matches needs to stay away.

It was good to finally see Jamie get a non-PK goal, but I really think he could have had one more goal today. Jamie seems more interested, even when standing in front of the goal on the 6 yard line, with passing to someone else. It wasn't until he was right in front of the goal mouth, with Reis laying on the ground in front of him, that he took the shot, even then, he took a small amount of time with it.

Emilligoal keeps rolling along, picking up MLS leading goals #17 & #18 today. Pretty much after every goal he scores, I ask myself if Alecko Eskandarian would have scored that goal, or if he would have even been in that position to score. I honestly think that on about only 3 or 4 of them, Alecko would have buried the goal. The other 14 or so would have either been right at the goalkeeper or been flubbed in one fashion or another. The rate that Emillio is going with his goal scoring, picking up 23 or even 25 this season isn't that much of a fantasy now. That guy is money.

So after two matches in four days, United now sit alone on top of the Eastern Conference, with a four point lead over the New England Revolution. United also have a four point lead in the Supporters Shield standings over both New England and Houston, with United having a game in hand over the Dynamo and the tie breaker over New England.

United now wait three days and host the Freddy Adu-less Real Salt Lake Wednesday night. Really, who in MLS HQ scheduled the Real visit to DC for this late in the season? How much press could Garber & Co. picked up with the return of Freddy to United? Oh well, who cares now. Alecko is returning with his second club of the season. Real played a barn burner last night in a 4-3 loss to Houston, and they are coming in having won two of their last three matches. Hopefully we all will see United add to their league and Supporters Shield lead Wednesday night.

Match Recap: DC United 2 - 2 Chivas USA

2007-09-07T07:27:00.000-05:00

Should anyone who is a United supporter be happy with a 2-2 road draw, especially last night's? Where do I start with the problems I am having with last night's match?

Sporting a 2-0 lead, a freakishly freak of a goal completely changed the tempo and tune of the match last night. Yes, there is no way in hell Troy would or in all honesty should have figured that Razov would have been in the perfect position to score with his ass. Tommy Smith or Eric Wynalda on ESPN2 said that he should just booted it out to one of the sides. Yeah, being able to say that after the fact is easy, but considering that the entire sequence was probably in no ones mind at the time, Troy made the correct clearance, it just went bad on a freakish goal.

What happened afterwards wasn't so freakish, but more old DC United rearing its lazy head. United was in total control of this match until Razov and his ass brought Chivas back into it. Our midfield slowed their play down and started to stand around like they did at the beginning of the season. In the second half, we were even worse. Chivas USA helped United by pulling Razov, who up to that point had been giving the defenders fits.

For every great play that Boswell had last night, he made some pretty poor decisions as well. The attempt to stop that cross in the middle of the 6 yard box that was only saved by the post scared the hell out of me. I have to think that McTavish gets called back into the line-up for either Vanney (who really needs to control his temper) or Boswell.

What the hell is wrong with Brian Carroll? That guy gets subbed into the match late, then spends his whole time on the field standing and watch balls roll at him, just to see a Chivas player steal it. He then decides to actually make a move and head the ball, but he heads the ball down right into a Chivas player. Carroll's playing ability has because a huge, huge liability for United defensively. He has completely lost his starting job to Cylde Simms and right now, if he was taken by San Jose in the expansion draft, I would drink a beer in celebration.

So now we have a home match in two days time against the New England Revolution. We currently sit 1 point ahead of them in first place overall, even on games. Who in MLS figured it would be ok for a club to play two matches in four days, on either side of the country? Anyways, we need to pick up three points Sunday. I am hoping that Emillio continues to grab goals like they are going out of style. I am hoping that the midfield takes a step back and returns to the midfield that not only won in Dallas, but had a 2-0 lead last night. I am happy that this match is not on ESPN2.

WTF??? Start the match late, miss the first goal, then at 12:30am, just cut away from the run of play? Even before they decided that a commercial break was needed, they were going to try and show the god damn Goal of the Week during the match. That is the type of shit that needs to be shown during the half time show. Up until last night, I always thought that ESPN, as bad as this sounds now, was the best at producing soccer in the USA. Now I just hope they get the right teams on the graphics.

Other match comments/opinions/news here, here, here and here.

USMNT in need of an opponent.

2007-09-05T07:59:00.000-05:00

So as it was rumored yesterday, the Catalonia match set for October 13th has been canceled for the USMNT. As this has only happened six weeks before the match date, the USSF should now be in scramble mode trying to find a replacement opponent and venue for a match on the 13th of October. As I always enjoy trying to help out the USSF, I came up with a list of five countries that according to the FIFA website, do not have any matches scheduled for the 13th.

- Cameroon
- Canada
- Croatia
- Ivory Coast
- Ghana

If you consider any of these possible match ups, all would be good tests for the USMNT. Each side brings something that would provide a great challenge for the Yanks.

Cameroon are ranked right ahead of the USA in the current FIFA rankings, so it isn't like we would be playing Montenegro or Bermuda. Considering the recent lack of African match experience, matching up against Cameroon in Europe would kill two birds with one stone; give the USMNT more European match experience as well as match experience against African nations and their style of play. The chance to possibly have Samuel Eto'o return to international play against the USA would be an equally a great attraction.

Canada would be one of those mouth watering rematches that CONCACAF could use. As the result of the Gold Cup Semi-Final match probably still stings with the Canadian Soccer federation, scheduling a rematch either in Europe (most ideal) or in Toronto should be pretty easy to do. Considering it looked like Canada was going to go on to beat the USA, Canada should no longer be looked upon as an oversight in CONCACAF.

Croatia currently doesn't have a match scheduled (not sure if this is an error or not on FIFA.com) but if they are available, this is a match that should be pursued. The #6 ranked country according to FIFA would be a great test for the USA. Facing them in Croatia would be the exact type of situation Bob Bradley and his boys need to get a taste of for World Cup Qualifying. Croatia has a Euro 2008 qualifier on the 17th of October, so they should be in the market for a warm up match.

The Ivory Coast can provide several of the required tests that the USSF should be looking for. Matching our defenders up against Didier Drogba would be an eye opening experience for those who aren't in the Premier League. The Ivory Coast will already most likely be in Europe as they are scheduled to face Austria on the 17th, so why not see if they are interested in a match at Stamford Bridge?

The final country I suggest the USSF try and schedule is Ghana. The chance for a rematch from the final group match in the 2006 FIFA World Cup should be enough to get the USSF on the phone for this match up. Facing off against a Ghana lead by Michael Essian should be a good test for the USMNT. It could also be a great chance for Bradley to decide on whether or not he forces Freddy Adu's hand in which nation he wants to play for.

Any of these five countries would provide a good match up for the USMNT. Any of these could be held outside of the USA, even if it is only being held in Toronto. Having matches outside of the comfort zone of the USA will go a very long way towards getting the players more prepared for tournaments that aren't the Gold Cup. If we want our team to do well, they need more challenges outside of the USA.

USMNT Roster Set

2007-09-04T09:12:00.001-05:00

USMNT Head Coach Bob Bradley has set his 19 man roster for the September 9th match up against Brazil. Considering the fact that this is a FIFA date, the roster isn't that big a shock:

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton, England), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham, England), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard Liege, Belgium), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock, Germany), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday, England), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England)

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen, Netherlands), Bobby Convey (Reading, England), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Benny Feilhaber (Derby, England), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado)

Forwards: Davy Arnaud (Kansas City), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City), Josh Wolff (1860 Munich, Germany)

I have to figure that Bradley will use the following starting line-up:

Howard

Bocanegra ------ Gooch

Cherundolo ------------------------- Spector

Mastroeni ----- Bradley

Donovan -------------------------------Beasely

Johnson ----- Deuce

I would like to see DeMerit play in central defense instead of Gooch, but considering the way that Bradley has been playing the side, Gooch should be a lock for a start. A lot of people are speculating that Donovan and Dempsey will start up top with each other. I think that they will both start, but I think that EJ will get a start up top with Deuce, who seems to have found a calling at forward for Fulham.

I would have liked to have seen Jimmy Conrad play in the middle of defense, instead of Bocanegra, as I think he supports Gooch much better than 'Los does, but Jimmy got a pass on flying to Chicago this time around.

All in all, I really don't have any complaints for this line up. I am surprised that Bornstein was left off the roster, but considering that Chivas USA are in the middle of a playoff race, Preki must have called in a favor.

My biggest complaint is that the USSF has seemed to have failed at securing a second match for the two FIFA dates in September. I know that playing against CONCACAF teams is getting old, but hell, see if Panama wants to take a trip to Miami or LA or something like that. Getting our guys playing time together now will help them out later when they are trying to handle the hostile atmospheres of Costa Rica or Azteca.

BTW, it seems as if the Catalonia match is getting terminated as well. If this does happen, a second match in September seems more important than ever.

Weekend Update: DC United Roll with a 6 pack

2007-09-04T07:13:00.000-05:00

I had to admit, coming into Saturday nights match, I was a little concerned. United was set to face one of the top clubs in the Western Conference and face them on the road. FC Dallas were coming in with about two weeks worth of rest on their backs and some new Brazilian set to make his debut. It had the makings of the end of a 5 game winning streak.

Instead, it just became a 6 game winning streak.

That was one of the more complete matches I have seen United play in a long time. A quick strike to wrestle control early, a late first half goal to completely deflate the home side, followed up with two early second half goals to essentially put the game out of reach. That all said, with the exception of the fourth goal, this match was shaping up to be identical to the 3-3 draw that we all suffered from at RFK in July. The difference was that our defense looked much stronger and Dallas looked like they didn't have any type of cohesion in their side.

I was happy to see that Soehn is still rotating the starters out of matches, giving Emillio and Benny early exits, giving Boswell a start (which he looked very good in), giving Rod some time on the field "should" help him along as well. I would have liked to see Jamie get pulled during the second half, but considering Emillio and Benny's current injury status, pulling them made more sense. I do hope that if we are leading into the second half on Thursday, Soehn gives Jamie some rest.

Next up is Chivas USA, who had the weekend off and will be at home. Follow that up with a home match against New England and we should see just how far United can take this streak.

Weekend Update

2007-08-27T07:46:00.001-05:00

I really hate not having the internet at home, as it cuts down on the amount of soccer info I get, especially on the weekends. Despite the lack of web access, I did get to catch several matches this weekend.

DC United picked up another three points with an early goal and some great work from Troy Perkins. I tell you, for my money, Troy is actually playing better this season than he did last season. His command of the 18 yard box and his effectiveness in the air have seen huge improvements over last season. His defensive line in front of him has also gotten alot better. DC United has not allowed a non-PK goal in their last five matches. It is a little sad to see Boswell sitting on the bench, but why mess with something that works?

Considering the depleted offensive unit that Soehn took to Toronto, I fully expected a 0-0 draw. I knew that our defense would be able to weather any type of storm that Toronto attempted to throw at the United goal and considering that Toronto can't score any better than a high school nerd, I figured we wouldn't leave Canada with anything less than a point. However, it was good to see that United has the ability to go against the run of play and steal goals, even when neither Moreno or Emillio are on the field.

DC United travels to Dallas for a match up with the Western Conference leaders Saturday night. Dallas will have had two weeks off, so I expect a very tough match up in Texas.

My other United, Manchester United, took the pitch Sunday in probably one of the worse situations that they could have been in. Having only taken 2 points from a total of 9 possible, United have already put themselves against the wall in the Premier League. Facing off against Tottemham, who were in just as bad a situation in the league, it was a must win for Sir Alex and his boys.

I was shocked at how bad United played. They never looked that threatening. I am trying to figure out what is really going on at Old Trafford? It was good to finally see Hargreaves get on the pitch and he looked good in his defensive midfield role, but despite the goal, United's other midfield signing, Nani, never really looked that interesting. I was disappointed with how Carrick was playing, almost resigning himself to sit back with Owen and just let Tevez, Scholes, Nani and Giggsy try and do the most in offense. I really, really think that United should look to try and bring in another striker. Saha seems to always be injured and Ole isn't that much better in the health department. SAF really only has Tevez and Rooney, who is out for a while with his broken foot. Is the transfer deadline closed? This would be the perfect situation for Rossi to be brought in...oh wait, they sold him. Nevermind.

Over in Deutschland, Bayern Munich rolled on to their third clean sheet victory of the Bundesliga season, dumping Hanover 3-0, to increase their goal differential to +10. Anyone who is set to play in the UEFA Cup should start looking for another way to get some silverware because I really don't see Bayern missing out on any of the three trophy's they are contenting for this season. I really hope that they have a home UEFA Cup match when I am in Munich for Oktoberfest this year, it will be great to see a match in Allianz Areana.

Final note, I am happy to see that Yallop decided that it would be better for Beckham to sit out the trip to Denver considering his ankle and recent playing time. It was also interesting to see that whether or not Beckham plays, it seems that the Galaxy are now bleeding 3-0 losses. Has anyone got a Yallop/Lalas countdown clock going?

Sit Beckham, Sit. Good Brit.

2007-08-24T07:18:00.000-05:00

So let's just list off everything that is surrounding this issue.

Beckham is still recovering from a sprained ankle. He played 60 minutes on August 15th in a win against DC United in the SuperLiga Semi-Finals. He then flew to New York the following day to attend press junkets and media appearances all day on Friday. Saturday night, Becks went the distance on Field Turf in the 5-4 loss to RBNY. The following day, "Golden Balls" jumped on a plane and flew off to London for the Wednesday evening England match at Wembly Stadium against Germany, in which he and his bum ankle went the distance again.

Ok, catch your breath.

So after the 2-1 loss to Germany, Beckham jumped on another plane and flew from London to Los Angeles in order to suit up for the MLS Super Classico, LA Galaxy vs. Chivas USA. In this match he went the whole 90 minutes, got in a fight, and showed some signs that his ankle is still less than perfect. The Galaxy lost 3-0.

So...now the Galaxy are claiming that they are worried about Beckham?

The Galaxy have a road match this Sunday in the thin air of Colorado at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, a match that is sold out. Everyone pretty much knows that this bottom of the table match up isn't sold out because the fans want to see the Rapids...they are coming to see Becks. Considering the amount of mileage that Beckham has just put his ankle and considering that the Galaxy's one shot at any type of glory this season is a Wednesday night match against Pachuca in the SuperLiga Final, I say that the Galaxy should disappoint the sold out crowd at DSG Park and sit Beckham.

Beckham showed in the 2-0 win over DC United that when he is on, he can change the entire make up of the Galaxy side. If either Frank Yallop or Alexi Lalas are going to retain their jobs this year, they are going to have to win the SuperLiga Championship. They are already out of the USOC and they really haven't a chance in hell in making it to the MLS Cup Playoffs. So, sitting beckham this Sunday to allow both himself and his ankle time to rest in preparation for the SuperLiga Final makes perfect sense. Furthermore, the thin air really can't do that much good for his ankle in the first place. Beckham said that his trip to Denver for the MLS All Star Game had bad effects on his ankle. So why risk the guy in a match that at this point, is really meaningless?

Now all of this logic aside, we all know that "Golden Balls" will be out on the pitch, wearing the Captain's armband and trying to will the Galaxy to their first MLS victory since the 4th of July. Considering the lack of bench players for Yallop, we should all expect to see Beckham go the entire 90 minutes on Sunday, barring injury or a red card. Yallop, Lalas, Garber & Co. and just about anyone who works for SUM/MLS, will pretty much demand that Beckham is on the field for this match. If I were Yallop, I would be doing two things right now, in this order:

- Getting my resume ready for job hunting.
- Telling Beckham that he is staying in LA to get some rest and treatment on his ankle and to be ready for Pachuca on Wednesday night.

Sit Beckham, Sit. Good Brit.

Match Recap: DC United 3 - 1 RBNY

2007-08-23T08:17:00.000-05:00

Now that was a pretty good match to watch. We had drama, scoring, a record and a trophy. Not a bad night out at the ol' ball park.

The scoreline says it all. United took it to the Red Bulls, especially their back line and punished them for being inept at defending and punished Waterreus for being unable to hold onto the ball. The first goal really set the tempo, much like the first goal against New England did when Josh ran in and toe poked the ball as Reis bobbled it; Olsen tore into the six yard box and hit the ball as Waterreus failed to hold onto it. The second goal was a great team build up and really sank their entire side. The third goal was a well deserved PK, considering that Angel's PK, IMHO, shouldn't have been allowed as I thought McTavish was fouled.

From the first whistle, United handled this match. Yes there were times where RBNY seemed to be forcing everyone back into the United half of the field, but even when they did that, their midfielders and forwards never really looked like they could figure out how to crack the United defense. Troy had an amazing night in goal. His judgment on the high crosses is getting much better and he is showing that he has shaken off anything that was bothering him at the beginning of the season.

This was a great match to be at. A great performance by the entire club.

Jamie finally got his goal. Three months removed from tying Jason Kreis with 108, Moreno finally hit #109. Considering all of the knocks that he has taken this season, his age and the goal title, if we add the MLS Cup to the list of accolades that the club grabs this season, I wouldn't be shocked if he retires during the off-season. I want whatever he feels is best for himself, the club and his family. Until that time, enjoy the scoring title.

United now have three straight road matches ahead of them. This Saturday in Toronto against the new boys, TFC. Considering that their offense seems to be stuck in customs and their defense isn't really showing up either, I expect to see another three points added to the clubs record against TFC. After a full week off, United then travel to Dallas to take on FC Dallas, which could be an interesting affair. Both clubs are having pretty good runs of play, so this top of the table clash should be a good one. After that, United head out to LA for a match against Chivas USA, the better LA club. This is on a Thursday night start, with a short weekend to return home to face the Revolution. It will be interesting to see who is first in the East when the Revs arrive at RFK.

Luis Bueno: Beg to differ.

2007-08-17T13:15:00.000-05:00

I was checking CNN/SI today and came across Luis Bueno’s article on Pachuca. Luis covers Mexican soccer for Sports Illustrated and does a very good job at it. I like that he calls out the Mexican players and Hugo whenever they produces excuses instead of results. IMHO, Luis is one of the better soccer writers on the net.

I disagree with him in his latest article, the end of the article that is.

Luis claims that with the breakdown of the USA vs. Mexico at Azteca Stadium;

“…Mexico supporters are left with essentially the same type of match. After all, Mexico replaced an opponent with no chance of winning in the Azteca with another opponent that has no chance of winning in the Azteca.” - CNN/SI.com

While I agree that Panama will be an easy match for Mexico, even if they field a group of younger players as reported; I do not agree that the USMNT would be “an opponent with no chance of winning in the Azteca.” A few years ago, maybe, but not any more. Azteca Stadium is the single greatest case of home field advantage that exists in World Football. If I am not wrong, I can count on one hand the number of time Mexico has lost an international match within the not so friendly confines of Azteca. That said, with the proper preparation, I give the current USMNT a 50/50 shot anytime they ever go there now.

My reasoning is because of how we did in 2005 and how we have done against Mexico over the last few years. With the exception of the shotty 10 minutes in which Mexico dropped a deuce on the USA, the World Cup Qualifier in Azteca was a very competitive match. The USA even scored there for the first time in how long? I honestly think that the mystique of the stadium is beginning to wear off. Hell, didn’t Paraguay beat them in Azteca?

Another reason is because outside of Mexico, the USA owns El Tri. We haven’t lost to them since March of 1999 in matches held outside of Mexico City. We’ve played them twice this year, both times we have beaten them 2-0 n Phoenix (in front of a totally pro-Mexico crowd) and 2-1 in the Gold Cup Finals. The Mexican National team doesn’t know how to beat the USA anymore, unless they play in Azteca. Why do you think the match was going to be played there? It was their last gasp for hope that they would be able to defeat the USMNT.

I agree that the Mexico team that plays anyone in Azteca is a different beast than the one that plays anywhere else. I also agree that when the USA has played there, we haven’t done that well. I see a different trend coming up with the USA vs. Mexico rivalry that is closely getting as heated as Barcelona vs. Real Madrid. The USA is getting a swagger that the Mexicans are scared of and their only hope is to bring the USA into Azteca to see if they still got it.

I have been on the fence as to if the third act of USA vs. Mexico should have been played this year. Now, after reading this, I wish that we still had the match and that we stuffed the all too familiar score line right down the collective throats of the entire group of Mexico supporters, including Luis. 2-0.

Match Recap: DC United 0 - 2 LA Galaxy

2007-08-15T23:02:00.000-05:00

What a difference a Brit makes.

David Beckham started the SuperLiga Semi-Final match tonight against DC United. He not only started, but he set the tempo for the entire LA Galaxy side and he showed why he isn't washed up. I have never seen the Galaxy play at that tempo and speed before. It was good to see him banging away at guys, making hard challenges and getting into it with everyone on the field. He damn near took Jamie's legs off with his late tackle that drew a Yellow card, but over all, he performed incredibly.

Beckham was the difference.

Without Beckham, I honestly do not see the Galaxy scoring on his free kick (Amazing goal btw) nor do I see anyone in a Galaxy jersey making that pass to Donovan as he ran passed Gros, who decided to try and stop and watch the ball roll under his feet. When he left the game, the Galaxy became an entirely different beast. They didn't bunker, but the really didn't do what they did the first 60 minutes. Without Beckham, I really don't see the Galaxy winning this game.

Then again, I really have a hard time seeing United winning either. We looked tough, we had great movement at times, but our trapping and finishing just wasn't there tonight. Joe Cannon had an amazing second half. He made some saves that were spectacular. I do question why he is trying to look like Dante Hicks from Clerks, but hey, if he plays like that, let him look like Dante.

I saw several passes go right bye guys tonight, simply because we failed to trap the ball. All of them killed offensive movements at the Galaxy goal. It's always the simple things that get you.

Some notes:

- Props to either the Riot Squad or the Galaxians or whomever was chanting, "Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Hey, Hey, Hey, Good Bye!" We do that at RFK when we win, and I believe we did it last week when we won 1-0, so payback is a bitch.

- Vanney trade. I am not that sold on it now. I guess I have to weight the Erpen SNAFUs against the slow white man in the back. Not sure yet, I would rather see Burch ahead of both.

- Referee Alex Prus called a very, very loose match. I honestly think that the Galaxy should have had a PK as United should have as well, maybe two.

- Oh My Gawd, the field at the Home Depot Center looks worse than the field Olimpia hosted United on in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. WTF??? It almost looked like they were trying to make it look like the floor of the old Boston Garden.

- Captain Beckham? That was quick.

Well, the Galaxy have one shot at glory this season, and if Beckham plays like he did tonight, even with Pachuca having their great form of right now, I think they will get the first SuperLiga trophy. Depends on the ankle.

As for DC United... they are off to Columbus for an Eastern Conference showdown with the Crew. Hopefully, we will see the back line that pitched two straight shutouts along with Gomez and Simms in the midfield. United looked better with Simms in instead of Carroll. We have three straight Eastern Conference matches, away to the Crew, home to RBNY and away to Toronto FC. Let's put the Beckham show behind us now and get back to business of collecting three points a match.

DC United Notes: SuperLiga & Barra Brava

2007-08-15T07:55:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the second Semi-Final in the inaugural North American SuperLiga tournament, DC United visiting the LA Galaxy. Pachuca advanced to the final last night by defeating the Houston Dynamo 3-2 on penalties after three red cards were handed out. The winner of tonight's match will host the final on August 29th.

Considering that these two clubs faced each other less than a week ago, with United winning 1-0, I have a good feeling about this match tonight. Yes Burch is suspended due to too many yellow cards and yes I know, HE will be playing, but considering everything else surrounding the Galaxy, they should hardly be in any real shape to play United. They are missing three of their main players, just finished a three match in a week road trip and have barely been in LA for 72 hours when the match kicks off. United hasn't played since the 1-0 victory over FC David Beckham and are in line to get Gomez back into the line up.

All in all, I expect a victory over Lalas's "Crown Jewel of MLS."

While everyone is waiting for the 10pm kick off, go check out the Washington Posts coverage of the match tonight & their expose of Barra Brava.

FIFA Club World Cup Tournament Twist

2007-08-14T14:48:00.000-05:00

FIFA announced today that they have add one extra spot in the FIFA Club World Cup, bringing the total number of clubs to 7. The 7th club will be a representative of the host nation and they will face the Oceania champion in the first round. Japan is hosting this years tournament, as they have for the last three years.

FIFA also announced that the total prize purse has been increased by $1 million dollars, with the champion taking home $5 million.

The third announcement is that FIFA will begin to rotate the FIFA Club World Cup tournament, based on a bidding process, starting with the 2009 tournament. Japan will again host the 2008 tournament, with the 2009 bidding starting in November 2007.

I like the idea of adding the 7th club and having them be from the host nation. According to FIFA.com, the Japanese representative will be determined by the J League regular season, which I think means the J League Champion. Considering the level of play in Oceania, this makes sense.

Hopefully Don Garber & Co. are reading this press release and are already starting to get the gears going on a bid for the 2009 tournament. They could easily hold the tournament in LA, Phoenix & San Jose.

What, no Adu?

2007-08-14T13:05:00.000-05:00

So no later than maybe 15 seconds after the USMNT roster for the International Friendly against Sweden was announced, all of the internet pundits started demanding to know why Bob left the MLS phenom and new Benfica midfielder Freddy Adu, off the 19 man roster. I on the other hand, would have been a little more shocked at Freddy being included than I am about Donovan being taken away from the LA Galaxy. Freddy needs to not be in this roster, for his own good.

It is pretty simple, and if anyone had read Bradley’s interview with Jack Bell in the NY Times, then you would have had a very good understanding that Adu would not be selected.

“Really what people need to do is to look on the FIFA calendar and if you see a single fixture date you know it is pretty much in and out. The Sweden game pretty much means the guys will play with their clubs on the weekend and then fly in to Sweden, which already should be a huge advantage for European-based players. That gives you a light training Monday and Tuesday then the players all leave.

Whenever you see a double date, there's an opportunity for us to have four-five days of training and make it more like a camp, that's importance of the double-fixture dates. If you look back to when we played Mexico in Phoenix I had said that it wasn't the right time to bring the younger guys in. I wouldn't want to bring a player in, and then a day or two later throw them on the field. We had not had a camp so I could assess some players. I said then that the double date in March would be a good opportunity, and it was.” – Bob Bradley

So from this viewpoint, considering that Adu hasn’t been in a Bob Bradley camp before, he wouldn’t get the right amount of time to evaluate Adu on his level of play, so it would be a wasted trip for him to go to Sweden. This does fail to show why Bradley did call in Sal Zizzo. The only guess I can venture is because Zizzo plays forward, which is pretty thin of a position to call up. Midfield, which Freddy plays, is stacked with experienced players to call up.

The bigger reason, in my mind of why Adu was not called up to the national team is that because he has only had a week and a half of training time with Benfica. I am assuming that Zizzo has been with Hannover 96 a little more than that. Given that Adu will be fighting for a starting spot with Benfica, having him leave for four days wouldn’t help him with the club. Having Adu stay in Portugal for this match will go along way towards getting him first team action with his club. Considering Bradley’s statements, I would actually expect Adu to be in the camp in September.

Freddy needs to get settled and used to Portugal and Benfica. Once he gets adjusted to his new club and gets first squad time, then it will be a better time for him to start collecting caps.

USMNT Roster Released vs. Sweden

2007-08-14T12:20:00.000-05:00

Bob Bradley announced his 19 man roster for the August 22nd friendly against Sweden today. 16 of the players currently play in Europe, with the remaining three being taken from MLS.

Goalkeepers (2) – Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC), Tim Howard (Everton FC)

Defenders (6) – Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

Midfielders (6) – DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Bobby Convey (Reading FC), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids)

Forwards (5) – Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Kamani Hill (VfL Wolfsburg), Josh Wolff (1860Munich), Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96)

Most of this roster doesn't surprise me but here are a few that do:

Landon Donovan: The LA Galaxy are putrid right now; so Bob Bradley calls Donovan up for a midweek friendly in Europe? The Galaxy have a Thursday night ESPN2 match against Chivas USA the following day, unless the US Air Force fly him back or the Concord is brought out of moth balls, Landycakes won't be suiting up against the best team in LA. I guess it is Don Garber's fault for the MLS schedule not allowing for FIFA dates, but tell that to the Galaxy fans.

Jonathan Bornstein: Chivas USA are currently third in the West and have a good look at a playoff spot, so they aren't in the same situation as the Galaxy are. However, they are playing in that same ESPN2 Thursday night match up, so I am shocked that he was brought in as well.

Bobby Convey: Convey is returning from injury and didn't even suit up for Reading this last weekend, due to fitness issues. So why even have him make the flight to Sweden from England? Convey might be better off staying in London and training with his club's trainers.

Giving more of the relatively unknown US players who work in Europe a chance with the squad is a good thing. I would have liked to see Heath Pearce brought in from Hansa Rostock, but Bornstein got that roster spot. All in all, it isn't a bad line up.

Here is my starting 11:

Howard

Bocanegra ----- Onyewu

Cherundolo -------------------------Bornstein

Bradley ------- Feilhaber

Donovan/Deuce ----------------------- Beasley

Wolff --- Deuce/Donovan

For all the shock I have with Donovan being called up, I understand it. The USMNT plays completely different when Donovan is not on the field. Is he a true #10? No, he isn't. Yet he still brings the creative spark that the team needs. Without him (or in matches that he disappears in) the team is very, very flat and cannot play their way out of a wet paper bag. This is why Bradley brought him in. I am just shocked that MLS didn't bring up a huge stink when LA was notified.

This should be a good match up. Both sides seem to be bringing their best teams available, so the on pitch performance shouldn't disappoint.

USMNT vs. Brazil

2007-08-13T14:18:00.000-05:00

It's official now, and they are bringing their big guns.

Here's to Big Bob's first home loss.

Soccer News & Notes: 8/12/2007

2007-08-12T20:32:00.000-05:00

Wayne Rooney Breaks foot, Manchester United held.
Manchester United were held 0-0 today against Reading at Old Trafford. Despite something along the lines of 70% of the possession during the match, United were unable to crack the Reading defense. Considering that Reading were able to hold United 1-1 twice last season, this seems like a fair result. United shouldn't have that much of a problem in the rest of the league.

Then again, with Wayne Rooney breaking his foot during the first half against Reading, the entire outlook for United might have to be re-examined. The addition of Carlos Tevez seems to be an even brighter point in the summer transfer market action now. During the match the announcers were listing off that Saha & Ole were down with injuries, so adding Rooney to that list isn't promising for Sir Alex Ferguson.

Steve McClaren is probably the only person who is going to be in more of a bind than SAF will be, as England really haven't any other options for striker in their upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers. The return of Michael Owen might be able to ease the pain of losing Rooney, but Owen has his own injury demons to deal with.

Bayern Munich start off Klose; 3-0 victory over Rostock
A very much retooled Bayern Munich dropped Hansa Rostock 3-0 in their Bundesliga opener Saturday behind two goals by new striker Miraslav Klose and one goal behind Italian striker Luca Toni. The Bayern defense looked very good in the match.

The inclusion of Ze Roberto, Frank Ribery, Toni and Klose showed to be an excellent grouping. Ribery was excellent in the midfield, especially working with German International Bastian Schweinsteiger. I'm not the only one picking Bayern to win the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the UEFA Cup this season.

USA vs. Mexico off; USA vs. Brazil on.
According to Washington Post uber Soccer Guru, Steve Goff, the September 9th away match in Azteca Stadium for the USA vs. Mexico has been canceled. Due to the cancellation, the USSF has been able to pull of a major coup and schedule a match in Chicago's Soldier Field against Brazil.

If this is in fact true, and Steve is rarely, rarely wrong, it is interesting. I have just as much mixed feelings about its cancellation as I did when the match itself was announced. The idea of getting our new guys and new look squad an away match in Azteca, in front of 110,000 Mexican fans would be huge in the way of getting them all ready for World Cup Qualifying and for playing in the World Cup. That said, having a third match against Mexico in one calendar year is a little over kill.

Playing against Brazil is another matter. I like this. I wish it could be held in Europe, but getting the Copa America Champions is a great match to line up. I am hoping that the USSF still gets a match scheduled for the Sept. 12 match date as well. Even if the match in the USA, get a match scheduled.

EPL Previews: Why Chelsea #1?

2007-08-10T14:49:00.000-05:00

Ok, so the English Premier League kicks off its 2007-08 season tomorrow, so everyone and their second cousin is running out their predictions for how everyone will finish. I haven't really been thinking that much about it, but as I read more and more people listing Chelsea as their pick to finish on top, I get more and more confused.

Naturally as a Manchester United supporter, I think that they will repeat as champs. They finally did something about some of the dead weight this season by moving Richardson, Smith and that Italian American who I won't name. Further more, United finally did something that it hadn't done in quite a while, it brought in a number of reinforcements. These guys are going to finally allow Sir Alex Ferguson to do what Jose has been doing in London, which is rotate players in and out and not see Giggsy get gassed half way through the season or have a scoring slump when Wayne gets tossed from a match for spewing fourth 100 F-Bombs at a linesman in 30 seconds.

I think that Teves, Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson, mixed in with Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, Saha (if he is ever healthy), Park and the rest will be a much stronger side this season. That said, I don't think the new additions to Old Trafford will be the reason that Chelsea do not win the EPL Championship. They won't win because of who they won't have.

Chelsea really haven't set fire to the transfer market as they have in the past, which might actually be a good thing as it means that the Special One's side has mostly a year's worth of chemistry together. However, that chemistry might not hold up if some of those returning players don't even make the starting 11.

First off, look at their Field General, John Terry. Terry's health the last 12 months has been anything other than stellar. He was almost decapitated like a cast member of Highlander in the Carling Cup Final last year; he broke his foot against the LA Galaxy this summer and is now out for a month due to a knee injury. His defensive role can be covered by possibly the best signing Chelsea have done this summer with Israeli international Tal Ben Haim, but his lack of leadership is going to be sorely missed the beginning of the season.

Second, as of right now, the wonder cog of Chelsea's side last season, Arjen Robben seems to be heading to Real Madrid. If that actually does happen, who is going to be the kick start that Chelsea needs, which Robben provided last season? Granted if Chelsea storms every match they play and is up 3-0 by the 20th minute, then they might not need a spark like Robben, but considering my third reason for Chelsea not winning the title, I think that they will need him badly.

Third is because of the African Nations Championship. Chelsea's stand to lose Drogba, Essian, Obi Mikel & Kalou for an entire month. Chelsea will be facing matches against Reading, Tottenham & Liverpool over the same time that they might be without these guys. Drogba and Essian are the two largest losses here. Without these two, who will Jose put into their positions?

Considering the amount of pressure that Jose has been put under to win the UEFA Champions league, added to the midseason absence of his African players, I really cannot see how Chelsea will be able to keep up with Manchester United for the EPL title. United have routinely used the late December/early January time frame to make their run at the title. I see it happening again this season.

Match Recap: DC United 1 - 0 LA Galaxy

2007-08-09T21:28:00.000-05:00

Well, he played.

David Beckham did play. Considering the situation he came onto the field in the 71st minute, he didn't do badly. He had a very nicely placed free kick into the penalty box and he sent a great pass into Landon Donovan. It looked like his ankle held up. LA fans, give him four more matches and he should be alright.

Ok, now that he is out of the way, United went out and picked up alot more than just three more points. They were able to build on the Sunday shutout of New England without Gomez. They were able to collect a second straight clean sheet. The back four of Boswell, Namoff, McTavish & Burch looked very well, even when they had defensive breakdowns, they covered for each other. Troy looked amazing in the box, controlling the crosses and displaying pretty good judgment on when to come off his line.

United picked up a narrow, yet not so narrow 1 goal victory over the same club that has destroyed United at RFK in several of the last few matches. They also beat the team that they face next Tuesday in the SuperLiga Semi-Finals.

All of this greatness happened in front of 46,000+ spectators and in alot of rain at times, however, the finishing still needs to be worked on. The score could have very well been 4-0, but the last touch for several players in the black & red failed them. United was very lucky to get the one goal passed Cannon, as he was on fire for most of the evening. I would rather not see United be forced to rely on a 1 goal victory on Tuesday*. Granted that the Galaxy have a match in between tonight's match and Tuesday nights match, we should be the fresher side, I want to see better finishing.

I have one bone to pick and it is with Fred. Fred returned from his red card holiday and played pretty well...but he also on several occasions, stopped runs and started ball watching. He stopped runs right when guys would pass the ball where he would have been had he continued the run. These all became turnovers. I am really trying to figure out why Fred has turned into a ball watcher as of late. If he would cut his site seeing times in half, he would be in so many more positions to create chances. Instead, he effectively turned the ball over by stopping his run and watching the play.

Over all, I was happy with the team composure and the team effort. United kept trying to crack the Galaxy defense and with one strong kick from Emillio, they broke through with the 1 goal that was needed. If United was the type of club that can score in the 12th minute then run the entire match into the ground for about 80 or so minutes like Chelsea can, then 1 goal a game would be fine. We all know that United haven't been able to do that very often, infact counting SuperLiga matches, United has only posted three 1-0 victories this season. They have also lost 1 1-0 lead, so I am still not that convinced that they can do it.

Anyways, United are now in second in the East, with a match in hand over Kansas City. Next up is an away match at LA (SuperLiga) then an away match at Columbus. United finish August at home to RBNY then away at BMO Field to take on Toronto FC. Hopefully the defensive trend of clean sheets carries the club to several more points over these next matches.

* - Edit. I thought that the SuperLiga match was on Tuesday. It is actually on Wednesday.