Super Sunday Soccer Surfing Alternatives: Croatian Soccer Blog & More

CFL fan?

Game (as usual) a blowout?

More excited about the opening Monday of the Chivas USA and Galaxy training camps?

Then try these new blogs, Web sites and grab bag of other non-pointyball stuff.

Following up from Saturday’s post about Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan, a few more details from the presser are here.

An organization in a nascent stage, the North American Soccer Reporters, is a group of humble scribes (including yours truly) that has launched a Web site here. intended as a one-stop venue for blogs, articles and other info from reporters who regularly cover soccer in the U.S.

A blog with a narrower focus is the new Croatian Soccer Report blog written by San Pedro resident Ante Kvartuc and aimed at the community’s estimated 35,000 Croatian Americans.

Another recommended blog: Women’s Soccer USA. Among the newsworthy items: an update on former U.S. Women’s National Team Coach Greg Ryan and new W-League expansion team Pali Blues based in Pacific Palisades.

With the MLS preseason almost upon us it’s an apt (and long overdue) time to recognize the newest Galaxy supporters group, the Angel City Brigade, which despite the name is based in the OC.

Incidentally, a long-overdue spring cleaning of the links at 100 Percent Soccer is about to begin so recommendations are welcome.

Finally, there’s weekend prep news from the Daily Breeze here and the Daily News here, here, here and here.

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Guzan Speaks

There aren’t many top soccer players who, after getting off a transatlantic flight at 6 p.m. the night before in the wake of the most crushing week of their professional career, would go to a national team practice and then immediately hold a media roundtable for half an hour.

But Brad Guzan did today after his proposed $4 million transfer to Aston Villa fell through because he was unable to meet the criteria for a U.K. work permit. That’s class.

Guzan was clearly trying to remain composed and expressed hope Villa could revive their interest in the summer transfer window.

“It’s definitely been a crazy past week,” he said of a period of frenzied negotiations and twists and turns that reportedly saw Villa double Celtic’s initial bid. “I think I’ve been able to deal with it. It’s a tough pill to swallow.”

“They’ll watch my progress over the next couple of months,” he added. “We’ll see what the summer brings.”

“It feels good to be back with the family,” Guzan said at one point, evoking a certain mob movie.

Indeed, Coach Preki seemed to go out of his way to try and cheer Guzan up.

“You’ve got to give me a few bucks to keep you in the line-up,” Preki joked at one point.

“It’s not about money,” he said later of what would have been a mega-bucks move for Guzan.”He just wanted to be here and train with me.”

Then Guzan was off to Texas for next week’s U.S.-Mexico game.

With clubs of the stature of Villa and Celtic interested in Guzan, it’s only a matter of time (and the requisite number of national team appearances) before he moves even further afield for good.

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U.S. Roster Named For Mexico Game

Blogging is late since I headed out to the U.S. training camp this morning just before the roster for Wednesday’s game in Texas against Mexico was announced.

Nine players from Bob Bradley’s 20-player Home Depot Center training camp joined another 13 – all but three with European teams – on the U.S. squad announced today for Wednesday’s game in Texas against Houston.

The major surprise inclusion: the Dynamo’s uncapped defender Stuart Holden.

The full roster – goalkeepers Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton); defenders Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), 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), Brian 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).

Guzan, Moor, Robinson, Parkhurst, Corrales, Donovan, Clark, Edu, Davis, Altidore and Noonan all played last month against Sweden in Carson.

The Wizards’ Jimmy Conrad, defender Clarence Goodson, the Fire’s Chris Rolfe and the largely unknown Jeremiah White, who plays in Scandanavia — and who all played against Sweden – were dropped.

Striker Taylor Twellman is out injured.

Full details here.

Guzan, who arrived back from Europe at 6 p.m. Friday, chatted with local media after practice about his abortive move to England’s Aston Villa. I’ll have more on that later.

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Friday Night Football: Galaxy Draft Pick Jumps Ship & More

Light and late blogging today.

Briefly: Former Creighton goalkeeper Matt Allen, picked by the Galaxy in the third round of the MLS draft, has become the latest young American to spurn the generally low salaries on offer from the league in favor of trying his luck in Europe.

Former Galaxy Coach and longtime South Bay resident Sigi Schmid has acknowledged he is on the hotseat in Columbus after two lackluster seasons with the Crew.

The Crew, by the way, is one of two MLS teams to set up preseason exhibition games later this month with the minor league Ventura County Fusion.

Finally, UCLA product Tony Beltran is making an impact at Real Salt Lake’s training camp.

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