Folks, it is Autumn in the USA and it's officially soccer season! If my loyal readers out there were wondering where in the heck I've disappeared to, I'd like to spend a few moments letting you know about a typical week for me this glorious time of year.
When I'm in town, I'm at soccer field at least four days each week. My daughter is training with her academy team on Monday and Wednesday with matches on Saturday morning/afternoon and Sunday morning/afternoon while my team is playing Sunday evenings.
Which means that on a typical week, counting commute time, I'd estimate I spend between 18 and 22 hours participating in soccer; which obviously leaves very little time to watch any TV, let alone soccer on TV. But alas, the glorious internet keeps me abreast of the goings on in England and elsewhere and it is early in the season after all.
Here is my typical week in footballBy that I mean, I'm spending probably f course I mean soc
29 September 2008
17 September 2008
Manchester United's shirts to now read, "USA" rather than "AIG"
I keed. I keed. But the dominoes falling on wall street have diverted my attention away from the game I love so much lately.
The failings in New York have been so unbelievably epic that it's hard not to pay attention, and I have yet to find how AIG's collapse and subsequent bail out by American taxpayers will impact their sponsorship of the Red Devils.
I know the deal struck yesterday between AIG and the US Government has some tight strings attached, so I imagine this will be the last year you'll see that label on any shirt. At any rate, I figured why not have a little fun with it!
16 September 2008
CONCACAF Champions League Preview
Well as I sit here watching both Chelsea and Liverpool beating on their French opponents in the UEFA Champions League, I must point out that over here in North America the group stage of our own Champions League is starting tonight. After both the New England Revolution and Chivas USA were eliminated in qualifying the only MLS teams left are DC United and the Houston Dynamo. Hopefully this will turn out to be a repeat of the CONCACAF Gold cup with both reaching the semi-finals. However, this time around hopefully one of the teams will advance to the finals to have an MLS team win this innogural tournament.
Now lets take a look at each group:
Group A: DC United, Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica), Cruz Azul(Mexico), Marathon (Honduras)
Group B: Houston Dynamo, LA Firpo (El Savador), San Fransisco (Panama), UNAM Pumas (Mexico)
Group C: Atalante (Mexico), Olimpia (Honduras), Joe Public (TnT), Montreal Impact (Canada)
Group D: Santos Laguna (Mexico), CSD Municipal (Guatemala), Puerto Rico Islanders, Tauro (Panama)
Looking over the groups I would say that the toughest group is going to be Group A and I say that without any bias. I think that Group C would probably be just as hard as Group A and may even surpass it as the most difficult group. The biggest shockers I would say would be that a team from Canada's Lower Division and a team from USL1 have made it all the way to the group stage. Congrats to both the Montreal Impact and the Puerto Rico Islanders. On the other end, its surprising to me that CF Pachuca didn't even make it to the qualifiers after winning the Champion's Cup and Gold Cup earlier this year. The door is open for every team with no one having an absolute advantage over anyone else. Here is the schedule for our local teams this week.
DC United vs Deportivo Saprissa, 8 PM tonight. TV: FSC
Houston Dynamo vs LA Firpo, Postponed.
Montreal Impact vs Joe Public, 8 PM tomorrow.
Now lets take a look at each group:
Group A: DC United, Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica), Cruz Azul(Mexico), Marathon (Honduras)
Group B: Houston Dynamo, LA Firpo (El Savador), San Fransisco (Panama), UNAM Pumas (Mexico)
Group C: Atalante (Mexico), Olimpia (Honduras), Joe Public (TnT), Montreal Impact (Canada)
Group D: Santos Laguna (Mexico), CSD Municipal (Guatemala), Puerto Rico Islanders, Tauro (Panama)
Looking over the groups I would say that the toughest group is going to be Group A and I say that without any bias. I think that Group C would probably be just as hard as Group A and may even surpass it as the most difficult group. The biggest shockers I would say would be that a team from Canada's Lower Division and a team from USL1 have made it all the way to the group stage. Congrats to both the Montreal Impact and the Puerto Rico Islanders. On the other end, its surprising to me that CF Pachuca didn't even make it to the qualifiers after winning the Champion's Cup and Gold Cup earlier this year. The door is open for every team with no one having an absolute advantage over anyone else. Here is the schedule for our local teams this week.
DC United vs Deportivo Saprissa, 8 PM tonight. TV: FSC
Houston Dynamo vs LA Firpo, Postponed.
Montreal Impact vs Joe Public, 8 PM tomorrow.
2 Week MLS Recap
Being busy here at Tech I haven't had an opportunity to recap on the MLS matches I caught. However, here is what I have seen since the last time i posted.
DC United 1-2 San Jose Earthquakes
The only match I got to see two weeks ago was DC United travel to the west coast to take on the Quakes of San Jose. I missed most of the first half, but got all of the second half. After being down 1-0 DC was looking for some pivitol road points. However, as is usually the case, the defense let the team down and allowed the Quakes to go up 2-0. With DC pressing hard Santino Quaranta steps up for a side missing both Luciano Emilio and Jamie Moreno and scores a fabulous goal to bring the side within one goal. However, even though United tried as hard as they could, the Quakes held strong and the final scoreline was 2-1 with the Quakes getting all 3 points.
After looking back on all the games that have happened in the last two weeks, it seems that I only caught 2 of them. Chalk that up to the semester getting extremely busy. Anyway here is the recap on last week's United match against FC Dallas
DC United 2-2 FC Dallas
Again this match DC starts without Emilio in the squad, although this time he subs in during the second half. With a quick start Kenny Cooper absolutely shredded the midfield and defense to put Dallas up 1-0 in only the nineth minute. Being at home, United called on the strength of all the supporters and in the 26th minute Hamie Moreno delievered a cracking header into the goal to tie game. At half it looked like DC were containing Cooper and in turn looked to be the stronger side. Coming back out and with the strength of Emilio, United wanted the win badly. Playoff spots are on the line this late in the season and every point counts. That's why in the 69th minute with the help of Ivan Guerrero and Jamie Moreno, Satino Quaranta gets his 5th goal of the season to put United up 2-1. With only 20 minutes left to play at home, DC was still trying for the third goal and looked to be able to put the game away. That all came crashing down when the team was caught napping and Andre Rocha scored a devestating equalizer. That would be the way the game ended and DC would only get a point and concede forth place in the east to the NY Red Bulls after their win over Real Salt Lake.
DC United 1-2 San Jose Earthquakes
The only match I got to see two weeks ago was DC United travel to the west coast to take on the Quakes of San Jose. I missed most of the first half, but got all of the second half. After being down 1-0 DC was looking for some pivitol road points. However, as is usually the case, the defense let the team down and allowed the Quakes to go up 2-0. With DC pressing hard Santino Quaranta steps up for a side missing both Luciano Emilio and Jamie Moreno and scores a fabulous goal to bring the side within one goal. However, even though United tried as hard as they could, the Quakes held strong and the final scoreline was 2-1 with the Quakes getting all 3 points.
After looking back on all the games that have happened in the last two weeks, it seems that I only caught 2 of them. Chalk that up to the semester getting extremely busy. Anyway here is the recap on last week's United match against FC Dallas
DC United 2-2 FC Dallas
Again this match DC starts without Emilio in the squad, although this time he subs in during the second half. With a quick start Kenny Cooper absolutely shredded the midfield and defense to put Dallas up 1-0 in only the nineth minute. Being at home, United called on the strength of all the supporters and in the 26th minute Hamie Moreno delievered a cracking header into the goal to tie game. At half it looked like DC were containing Cooper and in turn looked to be the stronger side. Coming back out and with the strength of Emilio, United wanted the win badly. Playoff spots are on the line this late in the season and every point counts. That's why in the 69th minute with the help of Ivan Guerrero and Jamie Moreno, Satino Quaranta gets his 5th goal of the season to put United up 2-1. With only 20 minutes left to play at home, DC was still trying for the third goal and looked to be able to put the game away. That all came crashing down when the team was caught napping and Andre Rocha scored a devestating equalizer. That would be the way the game ended and DC would only get a point and concede forth place in the east to the NY Red Bulls after their win over Real Salt Lake.
10 September 2008
US men win big over a depleted T&T
The US men won big over Trinidad and Tobago in World Cup qualifying tonight. I plugged in to the TV at the Marriott Renaissance club room and enjoyed a decent crowd of interested business travelers.
The match itself was not exactly riveting, as the US made pretty easy work of a young T&T who were missing Dwight Yorke. It didn't matter much in the end as early goals by Bradley and Dempsey took a lot of the pressure off. Brian Ching nodded home the third and the US basically just went through the motions on the way to the win.
Good job fellas!
The match itself was not exactly riveting, as the US made pretty easy work of a young T&T who were missing Dwight Yorke. It didn't matter much in the end as early goals by Bradley and Dempsey took a lot of the pressure off. Brian Ching nodded home the third and the US basically just went through the motions on the way to the win.
Good job fellas!
03 September 2008
US Open Cup final preview. Battery vs. D.C. United
The Charleston Battery of the United Soccer League's Division 1 take on MLS' D.C. United tonight in the final of the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
With its official beginning dating back to 1914, the U.S. Open Cup is the oldest tournament in any sport in the United States. The Open Cup is America's version of the FA Cup by organization as it gives all US Soccer affiliated sides, both amateur and professional, an opportunity to play for the title. This tournament has been flying under the radar for decades so it's certainly not the same as the FA Cup in terms of prestige or history - however, with the introduction of professional teams in 1995, the US Open Cup is slowly starting to carve out a more prominent place in professional soccer in the US.
This year's tournament is culminating with two excellent sides vying for the title as the normally consistent yet recently skidding Battery - still sitting at the third spot in the USL-Div 1 table, but who also haven't won a league match since August 3rd - will take on D.C., who are coming off of an 0-0 draw with New York after an emphatic 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids.
The match kicks off at 7:30PM Eastern at RFK Stadium and will be live on Fox Soccer Channel.
02 September 2008
Football Week In Review - 26 August-1 September
As I sit here watching the start of the CONCACAF Champions league second leg I have to look back at all the happenings this past week in football. This week featured more tournament play, the start of La Liga and Serie A and the close of the fall transfer season for the EPL. The big transfer news is that Man City stole Robinho out from under Chelsea and Manchester United finally got Berbatov from Tottenham. The rest of the transfers can be seen here. Now lets get to some match recaps.
The start of the week saw more Carling Cup action. Newcastle was paired with Coventry City in what I have to call the match of the week. This match flew under plenty of people's radar, but was extremely exciting. I thought it was going to be a fairly big blow out, but after Newcastle went up 2-0 Coventry dug deep and brought it back. They pressed hard on the Magpies and netted their first goal at the close of the first half. As the second half went on it was a back and forth struggle with Coventry trying to press in to find the equalizer. It finally came at the close of the half again which must have had Newcastle fans fuming. With the tie the game went into extra time and newly returned Michael Owen got the go ahead goal in the first 15 minutes. With a match this exciting I knew it wasn't going to be the end and Coventry pushed with all their might to try and set it to penalties. Their wish was almost granted, but the ball was just an inch high and flew off the crossbar. When the final whistle came both teams knew the outcome was fair and there was nothing but good sportsmanship on the way out.
Later Tuesday night was the start of CONCACAF Champions League and the New England Revolution traveled down to Trinadad and Tobago to take on Joe Public. The Revs just looked terrible and were lucky to come out of the game only losing 2-1. Joe Public was just on cruise control the entire game and right now (in the second game) are winning 2-0 at half time. Seems like New England won't be able to net 4 goals to go ahead and advance so that is one less MLS team in the group stage.
Wednesday afternoon was the second half of the Carling Cup matches. I got a chance to see Nottingham Forest take on Sunderland. As with the Newcastle/Coventry match it was exciting for the full 90 minutes. However, this one didn't go into extra time much to the chagrin of the Forest supporters (myself included as I have adopted them as my Championship team). The game was 1-1 for the longest time and was about to end before Sunderland put a beautiful shot into the net. Forest couldn't get the equalizer in the tiny amount of time that was left and the game ended with Sunderland advancing.
Thursday was an off day/night, but Friday picked back up with the UEFA Supercup. Manchester United and Zenit St. Petersburg traveled to Monaco for the battle of champions. Although it seemed like United would win because of possession, Rooney, Tevez and Scholes could not get a ball into the net to save their lives. O'Shea got a good deflection to put the Red Devils back into the game. However, the Zenit attack with their Argentinian striker proved to be too much and they got the go ahead goal in the middle of the second half. Try as they might United couldn't get another equalizer and ended up losing for the first time since Middlesbrough in last season's EPL. Next up is the always exciting and brutal Liverpool/Manchester United match.
Saturday morning I only got to see one match as it was the start of College Football (American Football). It was worth it though as I got to see West Ham United take on the Blackburn Rovers. Both teams are very attack minded and thats always something I like to see. In what was a close game turned out to be a blow out when the Hammers netted two goals in stoppage time at the end of the game. Blackburn suffered its first loss under its new boss, but seemed not too deterred. It may have something to do with the loss of Santa Cruz as Blackburn searched for a new name to get them some goals. The Hammers on the other hand looked superb and thankfully kept Ashton after the close of the transfer market. I can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds for them and certainly think its within their power to make a European competition.
Saturday night was another DC United MLS match with this week's opponents being the always hated NY Pink Cows. I am not going to hide my bias as if you are a true DC United supporter you could never give NY a fair shake and so if this bothers you, please skip to the next match recap. Anyway, as bad as the Pink Cows were, DC just couldn't get the ball into the net. Even with a PK the ball went just wide and the great penalty taker Jamie Moreno just stood there in disbelief. DC had some great chances, but it seems like the ball and the goal had the same polarity and the ball would curve wide every time it got close to the net. The most entertaining part of the game was new goalkeeper Louis Crayton who was faking out attackers with the ball and almost made it to midfield once with the ball before passing it. It may not have been the smartest thing to do, but dammit it was entertaining. He got another shut out though and that's all anyone can ask. DC has two games this week and one is the US Open Cup final against the Charleston Battery Wednesday night. Here's hoping the Black and Red can actually get the ball into the net in those two games.
Sunday I saw one half of two different games. First was the second half of the very boring Liverpool/Aston Villa match. The game ended 0-0 and really had nothing of note. The one bad thing for the Scousers was that Torres was injured and will be out for the next three weeks. The second match I saw was Real Madrid's opener against Deportivo. Unfortunately I turned it on after all the goals were scored, but seeing both teams play really impressed me. Real losing 2-1 didn't hurt things either. I am going to have to start watching more La Liga games as the players seem extremely skillful.
That's it for now until next week. Remember, no EPL matches this week (and possibly other leagues are suspended as well). World Cup Qualifying starts up again and the US takes on Cuba at Cuba Saturday night. Enjoy your week!
The start of the week saw more Carling Cup action. Newcastle was paired with Coventry City in what I have to call the match of the week. This match flew under plenty of people's radar, but was extremely exciting. I thought it was going to be a fairly big blow out, but after Newcastle went up 2-0 Coventry dug deep and brought it back. They pressed hard on the Magpies and netted their first goal at the close of the first half. As the second half went on it was a back and forth struggle with Coventry trying to press in to find the equalizer. It finally came at the close of the half again which must have had Newcastle fans fuming. With the tie the game went into extra time and newly returned Michael Owen got the go ahead goal in the first 15 minutes. With a match this exciting I knew it wasn't going to be the end and Coventry pushed with all their might to try and set it to penalties. Their wish was almost granted, but the ball was just an inch high and flew off the crossbar. When the final whistle came both teams knew the outcome was fair and there was nothing but good sportsmanship on the way out.
Later Tuesday night was the start of CONCACAF Champions League and the New England Revolution traveled down to Trinadad and Tobago to take on Joe Public. The Revs just looked terrible and were lucky to come out of the game only losing 2-1. Joe Public was just on cruise control the entire game and right now (in the second game) are winning 2-0 at half time. Seems like New England won't be able to net 4 goals to go ahead and advance so that is one less MLS team in the group stage.
Wednesday afternoon was the second half of the Carling Cup matches. I got a chance to see Nottingham Forest take on Sunderland. As with the Newcastle/Coventry match it was exciting for the full 90 minutes. However, this one didn't go into extra time much to the chagrin of the Forest supporters (myself included as I have adopted them as my Championship team). The game was 1-1 for the longest time and was about to end before Sunderland put a beautiful shot into the net. Forest couldn't get the equalizer in the tiny amount of time that was left and the game ended with Sunderland advancing.
Thursday was an off day/night, but Friday picked back up with the UEFA Supercup. Manchester United and Zenit St. Petersburg traveled to Monaco for the battle of champions. Although it seemed like United would win because of possession, Rooney, Tevez and Scholes could not get a ball into the net to save their lives. O'Shea got a good deflection to put the Red Devils back into the game. However, the Zenit attack with their Argentinian striker proved to be too much and they got the go ahead goal in the middle of the second half. Try as they might United couldn't get another equalizer and ended up losing for the first time since Middlesbrough in last season's EPL. Next up is the always exciting and brutal Liverpool/Manchester United match.
Saturday morning I only got to see one match as it was the start of College Football (American Football). It was worth it though as I got to see West Ham United take on the Blackburn Rovers. Both teams are very attack minded and thats always something I like to see. In what was a close game turned out to be a blow out when the Hammers netted two goals in stoppage time at the end of the game. Blackburn suffered its first loss under its new boss, but seemed not too deterred. It may have something to do with the loss of Santa Cruz as Blackburn searched for a new name to get them some goals. The Hammers on the other hand looked superb and thankfully kept Ashton after the close of the transfer market. I can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds for them and certainly think its within their power to make a European competition.
Saturday night was another DC United MLS match with this week's opponents being the always hated NY Pink Cows. I am not going to hide my bias as if you are a true DC United supporter you could never give NY a fair shake and so if this bothers you, please skip to the next match recap. Anyway, as bad as the Pink Cows were, DC just couldn't get the ball into the net. Even with a PK the ball went just wide and the great penalty taker Jamie Moreno just stood there in disbelief. DC had some great chances, but it seems like the ball and the goal had the same polarity and the ball would curve wide every time it got close to the net. The most entertaining part of the game was new goalkeeper Louis Crayton who was faking out attackers with the ball and almost made it to midfield once with the ball before passing it. It may not have been the smartest thing to do, but dammit it was entertaining. He got another shut out though and that's all anyone can ask. DC has two games this week and one is the US Open Cup final against the Charleston Battery Wednesday night. Here's hoping the Black and Red can actually get the ball into the net in those two games.
Sunday I saw one half of two different games. First was the second half of the very boring Liverpool/Aston Villa match. The game ended 0-0 and really had nothing of note. The one bad thing for the Scousers was that Torres was injured and will be out for the next three weeks. The second match I saw was Real Madrid's opener against Deportivo. Unfortunately I turned it on after all the goals were scored, but seeing both teams play really impressed me. Real losing 2-1 didn't hurt things either. I am going to have to start watching more La Liga games as the players seem extremely skillful.
That's it for now until next week. Remember, no EPL matches this week (and possibly other leagues are suspended as well). World Cup Qualifying starts up again and the US takes on Cuba at Cuba Saturday night. Enjoy your week!
DVD Review - Game Breakers: The Stars of Major League Soccer
I just finished the new DVD from Major League Soccer and A&E Home Video titled, Game Breakers: The Stars of Major League Soccer
and I’ve got to tell ya, I was quite impressed.The DVD was just released on August 26th and so – like Kramer in Seinfeld – that practically makes me the premier!
The video covers some of MLS’s hottest properties, including the homegrown talent you’d expect to see: Landon Donovan, Taylor Twellman, Brian Ching, Brad Guzan and Dwayne De Rosario as well as the leagues top imports: Of course David Beckham, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Juan Pablo Angel, and Luciano Emilio.
I also quite enjoyed the video exposes on MLS’s young talent – a section vindicated by recent transfers – as Jozy Altidore and Maurcie Edu have made their way across the pond. One of the other rising stars profiled was Sacha Kljestan of Chivas USA whose recent national team exposure has been more than decent and I fully expect he will continue to grow in to his attacking midfield role.
The video itself is packed with interviews from the old guard – guys like Jeff Agoos, Cobi Jones, Eric Wynalda, John Harkes, and former national team coach, Bruce Arena…add to that bit of American soccer history, some driving rock tunes and great goal highlights, and you have yourself a nice product from MLS.
Keep this one in mind for the MLS fan in your family; you can pick it up online from Amazon.com
:Check out all of our Soccer DVDs at Gruff's Soccer Store by amazon.com.
Jimmy Bullard: From House Painter to England International
International football has its share of Cinderella stories, and the heartbeat of Fulham’s midfield, Jimmy Bullard, is no exception.
According to the Guardian article, Bullard may earn his first international cap for England at aged 29 and he’s hoping his persistence will serve as inspiration to other aspiring footballers, who may be cut from amateur cloth rather than the typical early academy development stock which makes up most national sides.
The article goes on to quote Jimmy, who painted houses to make ends meet while he honed his considerable skills playing amateur football, "I hope what I have achieved will act as a spur to other players, other non-league players," said Bullard. "There are a lot of young players out there. There are a lot of older players out there. But you have always got time. My message is never give in, hang in there and play to the best of your ability.
"I was playing for Gravesend earning £60 a week which is a long way away from being picked for England. I remember it like it was yesterday. I played on the right wing and they were fantastic times. I enjoyed them immensely. Since getting the England call I've had text messages off everybody I have known down the years and it has brought back memories of a lot of old friends and great times in the past."
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