News & Notes: 1/14/2007

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.

Soccer News & Notes: 7/25/2007

LA Galaxy win first SuperLiga Match; FC Dallas Draw
God I love Landon Donovan! This guy has a nack for making people eat the same stuff that they throw at him. After the Beckham circus match Saturday night, pretty much everyone dropped Donovan on his head for missing the open header late in the match and basically being invisible through out the entire match. I even said that the Galaxy would finish dead last in their SuperLiga group.

Well, he proved me wrong and showed the rest of the media that he can still step up in matches. Donovan scored the match winner as the Galaxy, minus Golden Balls, defeated Pachuca 2-1 last night. As FC Dallas drew with Chivas de Guadalajara 1-1, the Galaxy currently sit at the top of the Group A standings.

FC Dallas draw with Chivas.
The other SuperLiga match of the night had FC Dallas draw with Chivas de Guadalajara 1-1, despite an apparent hand ball that lead to the Chivas goal that tied the score at 1-1. FC Dallas played a man short for the end of the match as Drew Moor was sent off for shoving Chivas captain Hector Reynoso.

I watched the first half of this match and I was shocked at how hard these guys were hitting each other. The hitting was fierce and the passing was horrible. FC Dallas had terrible passes through out the entire first half, and it made me wonder if it was only time until Chivas snuck in with a goal. Chivas themselves weren't that much better, but they did have faster build ups in the offense, which I thought would be the difference. I figured teh score would be 1-0 for Chivas.

Freddy off to Benfica?
The AP is reporting that MLS and Benfica have agreed to a $2 million dollar transfer for Freddy Adu, but Freddy and Benfica have yet to agree to personal terms of the contract. Freddy was back in the Real Salt Lake line up as they hosted Boca Juniors in an international friendly last night, which finished 1-1. Negotiations appear to be on going.

I really, really like this move, assuming that Freddy can agree to personal terms with Benfica. Moving to Portugal provides Freddy with the chance to face an entirely different environment and get alot more playing pressure on him, rather than marketing pressure. At Benfica, Freddy will have to fight for playing time in training, something that Peter Nowak was trying to get him to understand and what he said he figured out with his two week training session last year with Manchester United. He won't be the media darling of the entire league, like he head been over here. His game should improve greatly, assuming that he moves. I am just happy that he wants the greater challenge, unlike some other guys.

Eddie Johnson turns Derby down.
Speaking of Americans getting chances to move overseas, Eddie Johnson has reportedly turned down Derby's offer to joining the EPL side this season. Derby has just been promoted to the EPL and were looking to bring EJ in to bolster its offense. In 2005, Benfica offered MLS a reported $6 million for EJ's contract, but the league turned them down.

As I said before, I think that EJ should move, especially with his stock so "high." The guy has been lighting up MLS, 12 goals in 11 games, but his game needs to go higher, especially if he wants to truly be an international goal scoring threat for the USMNT. Playing in the EPL would have forced him to become quicker, not only on his feet, but in his head.

Poor decision EJ, poor decision.

Get a Move On EJ

So here is the problem. Eddie Johnson appears to be the #1 USMNT striker. This is something that I really, really don't understand and cannot quite come to accept. My thoughts on this guys International form are pretty apparent: I think he sucks.

That said, he does seem to have two things on his side; his age (he's 23) and that a lot more people disagree with me and think that he is a good forward. Those two things should allow him to either continue to be a USMNT forward for a while. So with EJ's spot on the USMNT roster almost as established as Landon Donovan's, I really wish he would do something that Lando failed to do; move to Europe.

According to reports, Derby County has a large amount of interest in signing Eddie from MLS. As Derby County has just been promoted to the EPL, they are looking to increase their presence up front and EJ seems to be in their plans. However, regardless of this interest, the Kansas City Wizards don't appear to be interested in listening to any offers. I think the biggest problem here is that EJ is not going anywhere, period.

What was it, three years ago when EJ burst onto the scene, dropping 3 goals on Panama at RFK Stadium? I was there, I saw it. My brother asked me who he was and I didn't have an answer. Shortly after that introduction, word came through the wires that Benfica had offered $6 million or so for Eddie's contract. MLS turned them down. That was strike 1. Eddie should have gone over to Portugal at the first offer. Had he done that, it would have been sink or swim.

So fast forward to the summer of 2007. We are hearing reports that EJ is being courted by another European club, but this time in England, the EPL no less. What should EJ do?

EJ should go, and he himself should have the sense enough to know that moving across the pond to play in England is the next logical step towards becoming a better forward. I would hope that he would relish that chance to go over to England and play against Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the other great clubs over there. If he learned anything at the Copa America is that the international defenders are much faster and skillful than the MLS defenders and if he wants to be on top, he needs to start playing against the better defenders.

Now I understand the desire of MLS and Kansas City to want to keep him, they think that he is a good player and having good American players in the league it a vital part of keeping the league going. Based on that, EJ and the USSF should step in and make requests for the transfer. Bob Bradley should be on the phone with Don Garber explaining how sending EJ across to England would actually help MLS. It would show that MLS has players that are good enough to take the international club stage.

The future of the USMNT is directly linked to the players getting better. With all respect for MLS, there is only a certain amount of growth that can happen for US players who stay in MLS. Clint Dempsey realized this, and he basically forced a transfer to Fulham. DeMarcus Beasley realized this as well and jumped at the chance that PSV offered him and fought tooth and nail to remain over in Europe rather than return to RSL. Eddie Johnson needs to recognize this and get the wheels moving on a transfer overseas.

Ric Flair once said -"If you want to be the Best, you've got to beat the Best."

If Eddie Johnson wants to be the best, hell, he has to at least play the best. Playing in MLS ain't the best.