Columnist Nick Green has written 100 Percent Soccer
since 2005. A
native of England, he began writing about soccer in
the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat
in the stands for one in
the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home
Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas
USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer.
Married to a long-suffering soccer widow, he has a cat
named Pele.Football Friday: MLS Playoff Update & More
D.C. Done
D.C. United, the best team in MLS during the regular season, crashed out of the playoffs Thursday night.Chivas USA plays at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Home Depot Center trailing 1-0 to the Kansas City Wizards.
With strikers Ante Razov out and Maykel Galindo doubtful, Chivas USA will be lacking the firepower fans saw this season:
Adding fuel to the rumors of goalkeeper Brad Guzan heading to England's Arsenal in the New Year, Jens Lehmann fears he's played his last game for the Gunners.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy have announced their exhibition game in Vancouver will be shown live at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Channel 22.
College Update
Cal State Dominguez Hills begin the collegiate equivalent of the playoffs today in Carson.Reduced to 10 men in the second half, the Loyola Marymount men (2-12-1) lost 2-0 to Oregon State Thursday in a non-conference game in Corvallis, Ore.
FIFA Beach World Cup
Virtually unnoticed in the U.S., the FIFA Beach World Cup is under way in Brazil.The U.S. begins tournament play today against Spain in a game to be shown delayed at 8 tonight on Galavision.
The lone Southern Californian on the team is forward Raphael Xexeo of Lawndale, a city not exactly known for its beaches.