Archive for September, 2010

News in brief

THURS Sept 30 (PM): Europa League, USMNT Squad Notes, Messi and CONCACAF’s Calamity

In Thursday night’s Europa League group stage action, both Premier League representatives were held to draws. Adam Johnson helped Manchester City salvage a point against Juventus.

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina helped stave off more scrutiny of the club as he helped the team earn a disappointing goalless draw with Dutch team FC Urtrecht.

Holders Atletico Madrid also earned a draw off of Bayer Leverkusen thanks to a Simao penalty. Sevilla bested 10 men Borrusia Dortmund 1-0 thanks to a Luca Cigarini goal at the stroke of half time.

Villareal defeated Club Brugge 2-1 thanks to a second half goal from Gonzalo. Jozy Altidore and Giuseppe Rossi started the match. Sherrif Tiraspol produced the biggest shock of the night as the Moldovians blew by Dynamo Kiev with two first half goals.

 

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United States

Bob Bradley Names 20 Players for the October Friendlies

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Detailed roster)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Étienne), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers), Jermaine Jones (FC Schalke), Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
FORWARDS (3): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)

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United States, World Cup 2014

Is the Jermaine Jones Experiment Over Before it Begins?

NOAH DAVIS – Not quite, but his time in an American jersey could be limited.

The Schalke 04 central midfielder should get his first call into American camp later today and will earn his first cap during the second week of October against either Poland or Colombia. He’ll pair with Michael Bradley or Maurice Edu in the middle of the field and, hopefully, show what the U.S. missed out on when he was injured during the World Cup.

Jones has looked strong for his club side so far this year and is a positive addition to the side. But his role going forward with his new country remains unclear. (more…)

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News in brief

THURS Sept 30 (AM): Holden, Fire on Fire, MLS Coach of the Year

Owen Coyle can’t say enough nice things about Stuart Holden. While the Bolton Wanderers coach allowed that his American charge was “crestfallen” after allowing Michael Owen to slip by him and tally an equalizer, Coyle believes that was only a momentary slip-up.

“The energy he shows, the level of his play, fans are reacting to that,” he said. “We think the world of him, and the way he’s playing at the moment is terrific for the club.”

Holden has started each of BWFC’s last six Premier League fixtures and the club has earned a solid seven points in those matches. Bolton rewarded their Scotsman with a new three-year contract.
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United States

WPS’ 2010 Finale Bodes Well For Future

Photo by Julie Logan/http://allwhitekit.com

JENNA PEL – If the 4-0 score line and near sellout crowd were any indication, the 2010 WPS Championship game brought WPS’ season to a roaring finish. Last Sunday, the Bay Area’s FC Gold Pride blanked the expansion Philadelphia Independence en route to the WPS Championship. It was a stunning performance from the side that had finished dead last in 2009.

The upstart Independence were probably undone by WPS’ playoff system that saw the team play two 120 minute matches in one week before making the cross-country trip to Hayward, California. FC Gold Pride, meanwhile, were rewarded for their first place regular season finish with a playoffs bye and the right to host the match.

You got the sense that Philadelphia were done even before the whistle was blown at kickoff. They would have to overcome both the physical exhaustion and the neurosis that comes with playing WPS’ most dominant club, one that had comfortably beaten the Independence in their previous four meetings.

It was too much of an ask and FC Gold Pride dominated every aspect of the match. Some people have suggested that this is the best women’s club ever. The annals of women’s soccer aren’t exactly voluminous but on the back of Sunday’s title-winning performance, the claim is partly justified. The best female player in the world Marta was her best female player in the world self, assisting in two goals before scoring her own – her 20th  of the season – in the dying moments of the match. Canada’s ace striker Christine Sinclair bagged a brace while fleet-footed full-back Kandace Wilson contributed as well.

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News in brief

WED Sept. 29 (PM) Champions League, Harkes Coaching, and Will City be Patient

Day two of Champions League was in action today with only minor surprises.

Samuel Eto’o continues his strong form with a hat trick as Inter were able to thump Werder Bremen 4-0.  Tottenham also put the beat down in-group A as they ere able to defeat Twente 4-1 even with Rafael Van Der Vaart seeing red Roman Pavelyuchenko found the net twice.

Group B had Lyon taking down Hapoel Tel Aviv in Isreal 3-1 behind a Michel Bastos brace.  Schalke 04 was able to take Portugesse side Benfica 2-0 with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jefferson Farfan providing the goals. (more…)

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10 Kit Essay

Serie A: Balance or Lack of Top Teams

ANTHONY MANNINO - After only five games, the Serie A table is very confusing. Top teams are struggling to begin the season and usually relegation zone teams look like title contenders. Does this mean there is balance in Serie A or are the top teams just not as strong?

First, a look at the other top leagues to find if there is balance worldwide. England there are no surprises with Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal, and Manchester City all in the top four and all title contenders. Next in Spain Valencia, Villarreal, Real Madrid, and Barcelona are all at the top, and although Barcelona and Real Madrid are not the top team, they sit only one and two points down, respectively. The Bundesliga is the only league that’s begun the campaign in similar fashion to Serie A. Uli Hesse attempts to make since what is happening.

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News in brief

WED Sept. 29 (AM): On CCL, UCL, Man U, Bidding, Beckham, and Neymar

Toronto FC has continued their downward spiral.  All but eliminated from the MLS playoffs as they sit seven points off the final berth, the Red’s 1-1 tie with Real Salt Lake in the Concacaf Champions League ended any hope of advancing in the tournament. The draw does put RSL through to the quarterfinals along with Cruz Azul.

In today’s Concacaf CL action, Municipal host Columbus (10 PM ET), Santos take on Joe Public (10 PM ET), and Marathón travel to Seattle to face the Sounders. Columbus has a chance to secure advancement to the quarters, while Seattle will be playing for pride after an embarrassing loss to Monterrey kept them without a single point through four matches.

European powers enjoyed largely good results Tuesday in the second match day of Champions League group stage action. Chelsea comfortably defeated Marseille without Frank Lampard or Didier Drogba, while Arsenal beat Partizan Belgrade despite a fairly sloppy showing. Real Madrid eeked out a 1-0 victory over Auxerre, Bayern won 2-1 on an 89th minute Bastian Schweinsteiger goal, and Roma dispatched Cluj thanks to this remarkable Marco Borriello goal. AC Milan settled for a draw away to Ajax, but the Rossoneri still sit three points above Ajax for second place in Group G.

A second helping of Match Day 2 kicks off at 2:45 PM ET. Highlighting the day’s fixtures is Internazionale v. Werder Bremen, FC Rubin Kazan v. Barcelona, Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04 hosting Benfica, Maurice Edu and Rangers hosting Bursaspor, and Manchester United traveling to Valencia without Wayne Rooney.

With Manchester United’s defense looking very suspect these days, Rio Ferdinand has taken extreme measures to make sure he is fit to face Valencia.

And a familiar name discusses the US Bid with Bid Director David Downs.

Another post-MLS trip to Europe appears unlikely for David Beckham, which given his recent injury and the lack of an upcoming World Cup, isn’t that surprising.

The New York Times looks at Neymar and his absence from the Brazil roster as the Selecao prepare for October friendlies.

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World Cup 2018/2022

The Terrifying Reality of the 2018/2022 World Cup Voting Process

NOAH DAVIS – Here’s the scary part about the 2018/2022 World Cup bidding process: I don’t get the impression that anyone knows what to expect on December 2.

“We will have discussions with people and we will get a sense,” David Downs, executive director of the United States 2018/2022 bid committee told me last month, but discussions do not equal confirmations.

In the high-stakes world of international soccer, even verbal confirmations do not equal votes. (To win the right to host the World Cup, a bid needs to secure votes from 13 of the 24 FIFA executive committee members.)

“I don’t think there is a way to know because ultimately the vote is not a publicly recorded thing,” Downs said. “They’ll vote in secret and then the results will be announced publicly.” (more…)

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United States

TUES Sept 28 (PM): UCL Rewind, CCL, Bedoya and WPS

Matchday two of the UEFA Champions League Group Stage kicked off this evening. Here’s what went down:

Group E: Bayern Munich tops the group after defeating FC Basel 2-1. Bastian Schweinsteiger played the hero role, leading last year’s finalists to victory with a brace.

AS Roma are in second place after staving off a late comeback from CFR Cluj to win 2-1.

Group F: Risking becoming a persona non grata in his native country, Nicolas Anelka guided his Chelsea side to a 4-0 victory against Marseille on home soil. Michael Essien and Daniel Sturridge completed the rout.

Spartak Moskow are tied at the top with Chelsea after undoing MSK Zilina 3-0.

Group G: Angel Di Maria saved his manager from enduring yet more embarassment when he pulled his Real Madrid side up against Auxerre. Jose Mourinho’s team merely eeked out a 1-0 win away. They still lead the group, however.

Historical European giants AC Milan and Ajax drew 1-1. It took a 37′ goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic to level matters.

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