June 2009 Archives
Charleston Battery 3 Chivas USA 1
Notable:
*Jesse Marsch scored in the 28th minute for Chivas USA to tie the game at one apiece, but it wasn't enough to see the club win a U.S. Open Cup game for the first time in four years.
*Chivas USA goalkeeper Lance Parker made his second start of year after playing last Saturday in SuperLiga against San Luis. Defender Bobby Burling saw his first minutes in 2009 after recovering from sports hernia surgery.
Quotable:
"Overall, I thought we were the better team the whole game," said Chivas USA Coach Preki. "They got lucky breaks. ... I thought we played really well. ... We made them chase the game. ... They just defended the second half and they didn't want to play."
Chivas USA XI: Lance Parker, Sasha Victorine, Jim Curtin, Carey Talley, Jorge Flores, Chukwudi Chijindu (Bobby Burling, 70'), Paulo Nagamura, Jesse Marsch, Bojan Stepanovic, Atiba Harris (Michael Lahoud 84), Eduardo Lillingston (Maykel Galindo, 58').
Sports Illustrated has a sneak peek at the forthcoming book by writer Grant Wahl.
Looks like Galaxy fans aren't the only ones unconvinced of David Beckham's supposed commitment to the Galaxy.
Landon Donovan:
"He's not. He's not shown that. I can't think of another guy where I'd say he wasn't a good teammate, he didn't give everything through all this, he didn't still care. But with [Beckham] I'd say no, he wasn't committed."
Sounds like the Galaxy are going to have a splendid time when/if Beckham returns doesn't it?
Read more here.
Almost as instructive as the U.S. loss to Brazil Sunday in the final of the Confederations Cup if we are looking forward to gauge the national team's chances of future success on the world stage, was the Mexican scoreless draw with Guatemala in San Diego.
The U.S. goes down blazing against the world's best; Mexico struggles to get anything out of a game with a modest soccer nation.
It's all about attitude.
Briefly:
*The Battery, second in the USL First Division with a 7-2-6 record, lost in last year's U.S. Open Cup final to D.C. United. They advanced to the third round with wins over Atlanta FC and Miami FC Blues. Charleston is unbeaten at Blackbaud Stadium in 2009 with five wins and three ties.
*Chivas USA haven't won a U.S. Open Cup game in four years. Chivas USA has one win in the last nine games in all competitions. This is the first-ever meeting between the clubs.
*The game will be streamed live at 4:30 p.m. on USLlive.com.
Get caught up on the weekend's soccer in 60 seconds or less:
*The Galaxy had three shots on goal, scored on one of them and beat the MLS-leading Dynamo Sunday at Home Depot Center.
*Highlights:
*Heartbreak for the Americans in South Africa.
*Reaction:
*Mexico and Guatemala drew Sunday in San Diego in Gold Cup warmup.
It's over: U.S. 2 Brazil 3
Coach Bob Bradley: "It feels pretty lousy to let this one get away."
The Galaxy's Landon Donovan: "We're at the point where we don't want respect. We want to win."
Half time: U.S. 2 Brazil 0
From the "if you thought that win over Spain was massive" department comes the final of the Confederations Cup.
I scarcely dare write this post.
The game is on ESPN.
Perhaps the most important 45 minutes of American soccer coming up since the 1950 World Cup.
Four links for Sunday:
*Chivas USA were dumped out of SuperLiga Saturday.
*Spain beat South Africa in the Confederations Cup today.
*U.S.-Brazil coverage begins at 11 a.m. Sunday live on ESPN. Freddy Adu tweeted at 9 a.m.: "bumping some eminem to get ready for this game. we are hyped right now."
(Updated 11 a.m.: U.S. lineup.)
I plan to blog from the game.
Sol 4 Chicago Red Stars 0
Torrance's Shannon Boxx opened the scoring in the 14th minute, Camile Abily scored the second five minutes later and Marta added the third and fourth goals in the second half.
The 10-1-4 league-leading Sol are undefeated in 10 games; the Red Stars are winless in nine games.
Notable: Marta and Abily are tied for the WPS lead with eight goals apiece.
Quotable:
"It was a big challenge today as it was our third game in seven days, but I thought we played very well," said Coach Abner Rogers. "Obviously, the result speaks for itself. The number of opportunities that we created was very satisfying."
Announced attendance: 4,653
Sol Lineup: Karina LeBlanc; Stephanie Cox, Allison Falk, Marina Franko, Katie Larkin, McCall Zerboni (72: Aly Wagner), Shannon Boxx ©, Camille Abily (80: Maya Makoski), Aya Miyama, Han Duan, Marta.
Next: Sol hosts Saint Louis Athletica at noon Wednesday, July 8.
Worst meets first in the WPS Bagel Bowl at the HDC at 10 a.m. (!) today as the visiting Chicago Red Stars (2-5-5), without a win in eight, meet the league-leading Sol (9-1-4), who are without a loss in nine games.
Motivation for going: every fan gets a free Sol T-shirt.
Motivation for heading to the free Wi-Fi at your local coffee shop: a live Webcast here. Los Angeles Sol Director of Media Relations Nick Ammazzalorso has the call with color commentary provided by Aaron Heifetz, press officer for the United States Women's National Team.
Meanwhile, if Chicago don't beat Tigres in a game that kicks off at 5 p.m. it may not be worth going to the Chivas USA-San Luis SuperLiga game that kicks off at 7 p.m. at the HDC (assuming you're a Chivas fan).
Lastly, it appears many of you believe the U.S. has already made a point to the world regardless of the Confederations Cup finale's outcome Sunday against Brazil. Agree? Disagree? Vote here.
Coliseum officials announced today they had been forced to cancel the Independence Day exhibition game that was to star Lionel Messi after receiving word football's worldwide governing body had objected to the event:
Coliseum officials were notified by CONMEBOL that it has received communications from FIFA, dated June 23rd and 24th, stating that it is FIFA and CONCACAF's position that the exhibition scheduled for July 4th in the Coliseum is not permitted.The Coliseum hopes to resolve any FIFA concerns as soon as possible, so that the nine Futbol All-Stars events previously agreed to (annually) may proceed.
Refunds will be made available at the point of purchase.
The 4th of July Fireworks Extravaganza will go on as scheduled, without charge, with the 60 minute pyrotechnic display set to start shortly after sunset. Efforts are currently under way to introduce a soccer component to the day's festivities at the Coliseum.
Coliseum officials didn't specify what FIFA's concerns were. Fans had already questioned the credibility of the event especially after 100 Percent Soccer reported exclusively this week that Mexican striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco was not "confirmed" for the game as organizers were claiming (and advertising).
In Galaxy news, rookie defender Yohance Marshall left for Austin Thursday where he joined the USL Aztecs on loan at least through their U.S. Open Cup game Tuesday against the Houston Dynamo.
Let's hope he doesn't meet the same fate as the Galaxy's Julian Valentin, scheduled to undergo surgery today for a broken right foot sustained while he was on loan to Cleveland of the USL.
A busy weekend of soccer with all three pro teams playing at home and the U.S. in the final of a FIFA competition for the first time:
10 a.m. Saturday - The runaway WPS-leading Sol plays its last weekend game of the season at the early hour at Home Depot Center against the Chicago Red Stars. There's a ticket special: two for $30 plus a Marta bobblehead and a $50 ESPN Zone game card. Call 1-877-4-SOL-TIX.
7 p.m. Saturday - Chicago must defeat Tigres Saturday and then Chivas USA must beat San Luis by at least two clear goals to advance in SuperLiga. Tickets start at $15. Call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 for tickets.
11 a.m. Sunday - Coverage begins on ESPN and Univision for the U.S. showdown with Brazil in the Confederations Cup final. BTW, the National Soccer Hall of Fame tweeted that the organization "is requesting a game ball from Sunday's championship match for display What else should we ask for?" What about a U.S. win?
7 p.m. Sunday - $1 beer, $1 dogs as the 2-3-9 Galaxy play the Western Conference leading Houston Dynamo in Carson. Call 1-877-3GALAXY for tickets.
In related news, the Galaxy's Landon Donovan has again been nominated for an ESPY.
So has the Sol's Marta. The current and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year is up against Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa, Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice and Russian tennis player Dinara Safina in the category of Best Female International Athlete. I'm told only ESPN's international viewers can vote in this one.
ESPN hands out the awards in July at the Nokia Theater at LA Live.
Or should that be Brazil for brunch? After all, the South Americans only narrowly beat South Africa today in the second Confederations Cup semifinal.
Vote below and elaborate in the comments section if you wish.
Only six players on the 23-man roster have caps in the double digits - Freddy Adu, Brian Ching, Jimmy Conrad, Steve Cherundolo, Heath Pearce and Santino Quaranta.
Chivas USA and Galaxy fans will not doubt be more interested in the players not picked; there is no Landon Donovan, Jonathan Bornstein or Sacha Kljestan on the U.S. roster.
There are only four carryovers from the Confederations Cup squad: Adu, Pearce, Charlie Davis and goalkeeper Luis Robles.
Barcelona. Chelsea. AC Milan. And Burnley.
Add the humble Lancashire team to this summer's packed international soccer calendar
Newly-promoted EPL team Burnley, a founding member of the English Football League in 1888, will play in Ventura as part of a two-game U.S. tour July 21 against PDL team the Ventura County Fusion.
Tickets are a modest $10 for adults in advance.
Apparently South African-born Canadian Kevin Harmse was homesick - for Southern California.
Chivas USA acquired the 24-year-old defensive midfielder from Toronto today for allocation money.
"Kevin is a strong, technical player who can play in both midfield and defense," said Chivas USA Coach Preki. "We're excited to welcome him to the club and eager for him to contribute to our team."
Harmse played 17 games for the Galaxy in 2007 before joining Toronto last year.
"Kevin requested a move back to the U.S," said Toronto manager Mo Johnston. We tried very hard to hang on to him, but this move is what's best for Kevin right now."
He will join Chivas USA after he represents Canada at the Gold Cup, requiring the club to make a roster decision of some kind at that point, club officials said.
A somewhat surprising move from Chivas USA given that Paulo Nagamura is having a career season, but perhaps he's seen as a long-term replacement for veteran Jesse Marsch.
One of the greatest performances in national team history (yes, let's veer from horror to hyperbole) even if it is a lightly-regarded tournament.
Where have these guys been?
Sheer effort, movement off the ball, closing attackers down, goalkeeper Tim Howard looking unruffled and seemingly increasing in confidence with every save; the U.S. had it all today.
And the world's best team couldn't break down that defense.
Wow!
Updated 3:35 p.m.: Freddy Adu just tweeted - "whattttttttt. greatest win in US Soccer history straight up. finals here we come."
The game will be shown again at 8 p.m. on ESPN2, BTW.
Barring two super results Saturday Chivas USA is done with SuperLiga.
Highlights:
Prediction: SuperLiga will soon go the way of this tournament.
U.S.-Spain Confederations Cup preview.
The game starts at 11:25 a.m. today on ESPN.
So just who is playing in the July 4 South American all-stars verses a Rest of the World team at the exhibition game?
Even the game organizers are still trying to figure that one out it appears.
And it's not just Blanco who is either not coming or remains a question mark. For instance, Brazilian great Roberto Carlos is still listed as participating on the Coliseum Web site as I write this. But he's not named among those playing in a press release I received Monday. Hmmm.
For what it's worth, here's the (unedited) list of the players on that latest press release:
South American All-Stars
1. Lionel Messi, NT Argentina - FC Barcelona
2. Andres D'Alessandro, NT Argentina - Internacional
3. Alexis Alejandro Sánchez Barbè, NT Chile - Udinese
4. Fabián Orellana, NT Chile - Udinese
5. Gary Medel, NT Chile - Universidad Católica
6. Jose Cevallos, NT Ecuador - LDU Quito
7. Walter Ayovi, NT Ecuador - Monterrey
8. Joffre Guerron, NT Ecuador - Getafe
9. Juan Arango, NT Venezuela - Real Mallorca
10. Diego Lugano, NT Uruguay - Fenerbahce
11. David Quiroz, NT Ecuador -Emelec
12. Jefferson Montero, NT Ecuador - Villareal
13. Pedro Quiñones , NT Ecuador - Santos Laguna
14. Cristian Benítez, NT Ecuador - Santos Laguna
15. Paolo Montero , NT Uruguay - Peñarol
Rest of the World All-Stars
1. Jared Borgetti, NT Mexico- CD Guadalajara
2. Francisco "Paco" Palencia, NT Mexico, UNAM
3. Marco Materazzi, NT Italy - Inter
4. Mauro Camoranessi, NT Italy - Juventus
5. Patrick Vieira, NT France - Inter
6. Stefano Fiore, NT Italy - Mantova
7. Edgard Davis, NT Netherlands - Ajax
8. Mariano Andrés Pernía -NT Argentina - Atletico de Madrid
9. José Antonio "Perla" Reyes, NT Spain - Benfica de Portugal.
10. Giourkas Seitaridis, NT Greece - Atlético Madrid
11. Fernando Couto, NT Portugal - Parma
12. Pedro Migel Carreiro "Pauleta", NT Portugal - Paris-Saint Germain
13. Ivan Helguera, NT Spain- Valencia CF
14. Fernando Morientes, NT Spain- Valencia
15. Jozy Altidore, NT United States - Villareal (Xerex)
The game begins at 5 p.m. and is followed by a one-hour-long fireworks show, BTW.
Still, not an auspicious start to organizing what is supposed to be an annual event. And just how big the crowd will be given the Galaxy game that same night and other major friendlies involving the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona and AC Milan scheduled for Southern California this summer remains to be seen.
"We're not expecting a sellout by any means or anything close to it," said Coliseum General Manager Pat Lynch.
Updated:
I received a response to the column from Fire VP of Communications Becky Carroll. Here is her (edited) response:
"Regarding Mr. Blanco's commitment to the upcoming game at the LA Coliseum...there was never a commitment or promise from either him (or the Fire) to participate in the July 4 match. As you know, the Fire has a regularly scheduled game that day against the Colorado Rapids, which has been on our schedule for the last several months. The only games that Mr. Blanco may play outside of the MLS at this point would be as a member of the Mexican national team."
And yeah, I know D'Alessandro plays for Brazil's Internacional and not Italy's Inter. I just didn't write that in the column.
Just so we're all keeping track:
Tuesday
SuperLiga - Chivas USA at Chicago Fire 5 p.m. on TeleFutura in the second game of the tournament. Chivas USA were outplayed 2-1 game at Home Depot Center against Tigres last weekend. Chivas USA striker Eduardo Lillingston is suspended after his red card. Chicago beat San Luis 1-0 last weekend on a Brian McBride goal. A game preview from a Chicago perspective is here.
Online chat - Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter chats with ESPN SportsNation at noon. Follow this link.
Wednesday
Confederations Cup Semifinal - U.S.-Spain 11:25 a.m. ESPN. No. 1 ranked Spain, undefeated in 35 games and on a 15-game winning streak. Ulp. Defender Carlos Bocanegro remains "questionable." Absolutely useless factoid from U.S. Soccer: Michael Bradley's goal against Egypt was the sixth of his career; that matches the total scored by Bert Patenaude. He had six goals in four appearances back in 1930, according to my MNT media guide; Bradley has played more than 25 games. Get your finger out, lad!
WPS - Sol (8-1-4) at St. Louis Athletica (4-4-2). The Sol are unbeaten in eight games, a sequence stretching back to May 2; Athletica have yet to score on the Sol in two games this season, a scoreless draw and a 2-0 loss at the HDC in April.
Thursday
Confederations Cup semifinal - Brazil-South Africa 11:25 a.m. ESPN.
Saturday
WPS - Chicago Red Stars at Sol at 10 a.m. (!) at Home Depot Center. Deal of the week to soften the early hour: two tix, a Marta bobblehead and $50 ESPN Zone gamecard for $29.99. Call 1-877-4-SOLTIX. Quality bobblehead, BTW.
SuperLiga - Chivas USA -San Luis 7 p.m. at Home Depot Center.
Sunday
MLS - Best reason to attend the 7 p.m. Galaxy-Dynamo game at the HDC: $1 beers and $1 hot dogs before the game. Also, the first 10,000 fans get a free Galaxy Sinch Sack; the first 7,500 a free Galaxy Car Flag. The Dynamo are first in the West with an MLS-best 28 points; the Galaxy lost last time out to struggling San Jose. I'll have another hot dog, please. Weird fact: the Galaxy's current two-game losing streak is just the second in Bruce Arena's tenure with the Galaxy. ... Notable: Van Nuys' Tristan Bowen, the first player in MLS history to be signed by a club through the league's youth development initiative, made his MLS debut Saturday. The 18-year old forward is the fourth youngest player to ever play a game for the Galaxy; younger were Izzy Sesay, Memo Gonzalez and Quavas Kirk. Not good company.
Busy this weekend?
Get caught up here in 60 seconds (or less):
*The U.S. overcame staggering odds Sunday to see Italy suffer its biggest loss to Brazil in 33 years combined with the first American win ever over Egypt and improbably scoring three after only managing one in the tournament to that point. The no margin for error result: a semifinal berth in the Confederations Cup against Spain Wednesday. The world's No. 1 ranked team are unbeaten in 35 games.
*The Sol continued to shine Sunday.
Sol 2 FC Gold Pride 0
A league-leading 10th shutout for the 8-1-4 Sol who were never seriously challenged in this one.
The Sol could have had more goals, but Aya Miyama couldn't convert two excellent second half chances and is still looking for her first goal of the season.
FC Gold Pride have still never scored against the Sol in three attempts and haven't won in their last five games.
Announced attendance today: 4,593.
Next for the Sol: Wednesday in St. Louis against Athletica.
Sol 2 FC Gold Pride 0
Marta just ran onto a long Shannon Boxx pass from the Sol's own half to claim the game's second in the 25th minute, just six minutes after Sol scored the first.
That's Marta's fifth goal of the season and first since May 15.
Belated greetings from Carson on a day the Sol is celebrating the game that spawned WPS and the U.S. men are catching their breath after seeing everything go exactly right in South Africa (that "we'll take it" look on Coach Bob Bradley's face at game's end said it all).
Runaway WPS leaders the Sol have never even conceded a goal to FC Gold Pride winning two previous encounters 1-0 and 2-0.
Sol striker Han Duan is on the bench with back issues; the Sol waived defender Greer Barnes earlier this week.
The game is on Fox Soccer Channel.
Updated: The Sol just scored in the 19th minute from a Aya Miyama corner kick. Canadian defender Martina Franko did well to keep the ball in the danger area and poked it toward the goal where Camile Abily appeared to turn the ball inside the post for her league-leading seventh of the season. Right now, officials are giving the goal to Franko though; they plan to review the play at the half.
Chivas USA defender Jonny Bornstein retains his place in the U.S. defense against Egypt on ESPN2.
I'll be paying more attention to Italy-Brazil over on ESPN.
Tigres' "B" team handily beat Chivas USA Saturday 2-1 in SuperLiga with Coach Preki saying "it was one of those nights when we didn't come out of the locker room ready to play."
Which pretty much sums it up.
Preki's conclusion: Chivas USA was merely "slow."
Chivas USA 1 Tigres 2
Chivas USA were let down by two veterans of the Mexican league tonight: Eduardo Lillingston, who received a second yellow for a silly foul in midfield and Mariano Trujillo, who gave the ball away in his own half, which led to the decisive second goal for Tigres.
Not such a SuperLiga performance by Chivas USA.
Chivas USA 1 Tigres 2
Chivas USA defender Mariano Trujillo got caught in possession in the 82nd minute, coughed up the ball and Jesus Duena stabbed it home from short range after an initial shot by Alan Pulido was parried by Zach Thornton.
Attendance tonight: 11,197.
Chivas USA are down to 10 men for the last 23 minutes or so; striker Eduardo Lillingston just picked up a second yellow in the 67th minute for a lazy tug on an opposing player in midfield. Completely unnecessary. Preki will not be happy with that undisciplined act.
Chivas USA 1 Tigres 1
A horrible shot from Bojan Stepanovic that was going well wide was fortunately collected by half time sub Michael Lahoud for his first goal as a professional.
There was a nice buildup after Jorge Flores threaded it through to Eduardo Lillingston who pulled it back for Stepanovic though.
Lahoud came in for Jesse Marsch at half time, while Flores came on for Sasha Victorine, BTW.
Chivas USA 0 Tigres 1
Chivas USA have pressed, but haven't really broken down a young, but well-organized Tigres team.
The closest Chivas USA came to an equalizer was when Maykel Galindo flicked on a short ball from Eduardo Lillingston that bounced off Tigres goalkeeper Aaron Fernandez. Paulo Nagamura had done well to thread the ball through to Lillingston, but Chivas USA has lacked the final incisive ball against what is essentially a Tigres reserve team. The Mexicans are keeping numbers behind the ball and looking for the quick break.
Each team has just one shot on target and Chivas USA goalkeeper Zach Thornton has yet to make a save.
BTW, the Chicago Fire, who Chivas USA play Tuesday in SuperLiga, beat San Luis 1-0 on a Brian McBride goal in the early game.
Chivas USA 0 Tigres 1
Chivas USA went down a goal in the 11th minute after young Tigres striker Armando Pulido volleyed a ball into Zach Thornton's net from 14 yards out with what amounted to a half bicycle kick.
Chivas USA Coach Preki makes two changes from the team that lost to the Columbus Crew last time out, Claudio Suarez making his first start of the season in defense in place of Shavar Thomas (who is on the bench) and Sasha Victorine starting in midfield for Atiba Harris. Harris suffered from knee pain all week long, club officials said.
Chivas USA XI: Thornton, Trujillo, Suarez, Talley, Jazic, Victorine, Marsch, Nagamura, Stepanovic, Galindo, Lillingston.
None of Tigres' recent signings, including U.S.-born Edgar Castillo, have dressed for the opening SuperLiga game.
Pretty spotty attendance; not many Tigres fans either. This is the first competitive game ever between the two sides.
BTW, both Suarez and Lillingston are former Tigres players.
The Galaxy (2-3-9) took one shot on goal and scored. It was well-worked: a Mike Magee free kick was headed on by Alan Gordan and met by a ghosting Jovan Jirovski.
But Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon wasn't forced into making a single save the rest of the way. And the Galaxy continue to generously give struggling opponents a boost. The Earthquakes move to 3-8-3.
Central defender Gregg Berhalter was to blame for the early first goal holding Pablo Campos to give up the PK.
Let's recap: Former Pasadena City College star Yura Movsisyan completely turned Gregg Berhalter inside the penalty area last week to score Real Salt Lake's first goal in their road win; Berhalter was sent off against the Wizards for holding Claudio Lopez just outside the box as the last man back; he was sent off in similar circumstances on his Galaxy debut against Chivas USA.
Anyone sense a pattern?
Highlights:
The 2-2-9 Galaxy face the similarly struggling 2-8-3 Earthquakes at 1:30 p.m. today on ESPN2, the start of a seven-game stretch that sees LA play five matches on the road. The Galaxy, seeking to rebound from last week's 2-0 home loss to Real Salt Lake, are without the suspended Eddie Lewis, while Landon Donovan is on national team duty.
More from an Earthquakes perspective is here.
BTW, the Galaxy and Earthquakes have both scored just 15 goals this season (only the Red Bulls have scored fewer), but the Earthquakes have conceded 10 more than LA. Can Edson Buddle and the Galaxy take advantage of that on the road?
Chivas USA, meanwhile, embark on their SuperLiga campaign at Home Depot Center against Tigres. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. live on KFTR.
CONCACAF has released the 30-player rosters for the Gold Cup.
Here's the U.S. roster.
The Galaxy's Landon Donovan is absent, but Chivas USA Jonathan Bornstein is named as are Southern California products John Thorrington and Robbie Rogers. The most unfamiliar name: Aston Villa's Eric Lichaj.
Chivas USA was named to Canada's squad, BTW, and while we're at it here's Mexico's roster.
I'll blog from the Chivas USA game tonight, so please join me then.
MLS has responded to the latest pontificating by the FIFA boss. In case you missed it, here it is:
PRETORIA, South Africa - (AP)FIFA president Sepp Blatter renewed his call for Major League Soccer to adopt an August-May schedule, saying it will struggle to persuade more star players to follow David Beckham to the United States unless it matches its season to those in Europe. Blatter said that the current March-October season was the overwhelming reason that MLS cannot compete with Europe's top leagues.
"There is one big problem there and they know, the organizers know, that as long as you don't have your own stadia in the MLS, you have to use stadia from another sport, which is American football," Blatter said. "With the season played from March to October, you are not in the so-called good international season. The result is that you will not attract star players from Europe to play for only six or seven months, with the exceptional case of Beckham."
Beckham joined the Los Angeles Galaxy from Real Madrid in July 2007 but was loaned to AC Milan from January through the end of the Italian season last month to better his chances of maintaining a spot on England's national team.
Beckham is set to rejoin the Galaxy for its July 16 game at the New York Red Bulls.
Citing that 17 of the U.S. Confederations Cup players are based outside the U.S., Blatter said Beckham is likely to be MLS's sole star import for the foreseeable future.
"Your best players play in Europe," Blatter said. "You take your 23 players here and most of them play in Europe, so this is not the right solution for MLS."
MLS commissioner Don Garber agrees with Blatter in theory. By next season, 12 of the 16 teams will control their own venues, all but Washington's RFK Stadium, Houston's Robertson Stadium, Kansas City's Community America Ballpark and San Jose's Buck Shaw Stadium.
"We regularly evaluate all aspects of our competition, including the timing and format of our season," Garber said in a statement. "Because of the extreme winter weather in many of our markets in the U.S. and Canada, a switch to the international calendar would pose many challenges for MLS and its fans. I am convinced that the time will come when we do adapt to the international calendar. I just don't believe that time is in the foreseeable future."
Soccer's governing body demanded that the United States create a national league as one of its conditions for awarding the country the right to host the 1994 World Cup. The MLS began in 1996 and Blatter said organizers had long been aware of the problems regarding the clash in calendars.
MLS routinely schedules matches on international fixture dates.
"They have to play and adapt themselves to the international calendar," Blatter said. "If they do that, they can have success. I spoke several times and I spoke on this 10 years ago when I was still secretary general and nothing has changed in the USA.
Thoughts: I vote we give Blatter a ball in Toronto in February and see how long it takes for him to break a foot as he kicks the frozen thing around.
Hmmm, Brazil's best players are in Europe. Really hurt their national team hasn't it?
He's right about the stupidity of MLS playing on international fixture dates though. (Only Don Garber could make Blatter sound relatively intelligent).
What do you think?
The games that matter:
1:30 p.m. Saturday ESPN2 Galaxy at San Jose Earthquakes
5 p.m. Saturday KFTR San Luis at Chicago Fire
7 p.m. Saturday Tigres at Chivas USA
11 a.m. Sunday ESPN Brazil-Italy
11:25 a.m. Sunday ESPN2 Egypt-U.S.
3 p.m. Sunday Fox Soccer Channel FC Gold Pride at Sol
Meanwhile, the Galaxy tradition of shipping out apparently subpar players only to see them become reborn elsewhere continues in Portland with former goalkeeper Steve Cronin and in the nation's capital where Josh Wicks is supplanting Louis Crayton.
But former Chivas USA midfielder Panchito Mendoza has seen his time at the mothership come to an end.
A spineless and listless performance against a team that only had to play 20 minutes to walk over and through the U.S.
Of course that was 20 minutes more than the likes of DaMarcus Beasley (mercifully removed at half time in what should be his final appearance in a U.S. shirt because if you can't concentrate in the attacking third against Brazil you have no business being on the field), Clint Dempsey (who holds the ball far, far too long every time he gets it) and Sacha Kljestan (discovering intelligence counts for something in international football) played.
The first legitimate U.S. chance didn't come until the 83rd minute when Jonathan Spector combined with Landon Donovan to set up Benny Feilhaber's crossbar-bound shot. And the fact the U.S. hit the bar twice is misleading and doesn't indicate just how dominant the Brazilians were.
Despite the three goals, the defense wasn't as much of a problem as the static midfield.
Positives: full backs Spector and Jonathan Bornstein looked fairly sound, with the Chivas USA player at least demonstrating the effort many of his teammates lacked even on the third Brazilian goal.
Feilhaber continues to look among the most imaginative and technically proficient American players.
Negatives: Um, how about reconstructing virtually the entire midfield with just a year until the World Cup begins and finding strikers who look interested.
And that's just to start.
If Italy ties or beats Egypt later this morning the U.S. is flying home early.
Your input is welcome.
Updated: Italy-Egypt reaction
The Americans are still technically alive in the tournament, but need to score a jillion goals or so to move on against Egypt.
It's exactly half way through the inaugural season with 35 of the scheduled 70 games completed.
Player of the Week
It stands to reason that if you score the only goal in three WPS games last weekend that you'd win the Player of the Week award.
Saint Louis forward Eniola Aluko duly took the honor after scoring her third goal of the season to lead Athletica to a 1-0 road triumph over the Boston Breakers. The other two games - Washington Freedom-Chicago Red Stars and Sky Blue FC-Sol - ended in scoreless ties.
Here's the goal and game highlights:
Five different Sol players have won the award, BTW. Here's the full list:
Week 1: Aya Miyama (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 2: Marta (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 3: Kelly Smith (Boston Breakers)
Week 4: Aly Wagner (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 5: Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)
Week 6: Sonia Bompastor (Washington Freedom)
Week 7: Lori Chalupny (Saint Louis Athletica)
Week 8: Christine Sinclair (FC Gold Pride)
Week 9: Jillian Loyden (Saint Louis Athletica)
Week 10: Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 11: Camille Abily (Los Angeles Sol)
Week 12: Eniola Aluko (Saint Louis Athletica)
Yanks Shooting Blanks
Where are the American strikers anyway? Last weekend's goal by the English international means foreign players have now scored seven more goals in WPS than U.S. players. And no American has more than two.
Top scorers:
6 Camille Abily (Sol and France)
5 Kelly Smith (Boston Breakers and England)
4 Christine Sinclair (FC Gold Pride and Canada), Marta (Sol and Brazil)
3 Eniola Aluko (St. Louis Athletica and England), Sonia Bompastor (Washington Freedom and France), Lisa De Vanna (Washington Freedom and Australia)
BTW, WPS has seen 73 goals scored since the inaugural game, an average of 2.09 goals per game.
Attendance Update
WPS officials claim the league is averaging 5,008 fans per game, not including a pair of doubleheaders with MLS teams. That's about what the league anticipated it would draw.
Miscellanea
All dads get in free Sunday at Home Depot Center when the Sol play FC Gold Pride at 3 p.m. in a game that will also be televised on Fox Soccer Channel. ... Mia Hamm and Joy Fawcett will be honored at half time as part of the WPS' 10th anniversary recognition of the U.S. Women's National Team's iconic 1999 World Cup win at the Rose Bowl. Two other members of that team who play for FC Gold Pride - Brandi Chastain and Tiffeny Milbrett - will join Fawcett (but not the shy Hamm) in signing autographs after the game. ... Expansion team Atlanta will make a "major announcement" Thursday, presumably unveiling the team name and colors.
UCLA opens their season Sept. 4 against national champions Maryland.
The Bruins return eight starters from last season's Pac-10 Championship squad including 2008 Pac-10 Player of the Year and U.S. Under-20 National Team player Michael Stephens, U.S. Under-20 National Team starting goalkeeper Brian Perk and 2007 MVP Kyle Nakazawa of Palos Verdes Estates.
The schedule is here.
Pepperdine Coach Tim Ward announced the addition of three more players to his 2009 roster: midfielder Jenny Karson from Frazier Park in the far reaches of Ventura County, striker Kasey Kanada from Oregon and forward Terah Parker of Houston.
The Waves have 10 freshmen and 17 veterans heading into preseason training camp.
Hollywood Hitmen. Coldplay. Ballack. SuperLiga. Fireworks. Canada. Messi. NBA.
A FourFourTwo magazine spineline stumper? No, today's column.
Italy 3 U.S. 1
After taking a shock lead against the world champions via a Landon Donovan PK despite being reduced to 10 men after a half hour when Ricardo Clark was sent off for a late tackle, was it too much to expect the U.S. to hold on for its first-ever win over Italy.
It is when Clint Dempsey insists upon giving away the ball (again) in his own half.
After the seven-goal thriller earlier today, it's time to see whether the U.S. can beat Italy for the first time in the 75 years the two nations have played against each other.
The game begins at 11:25 a.m. on ESPN.
Crew 2 Chivas USA 1
Chivas USA (8-4-3) have one MLS win in six games going into SuperLiga; surging Columbus now haven't lost in nine games.
Notable: Chivas USA are tied with the Dyanmo for the lead in the Western Conference; Houston has two games in hand.
Quotable:
"We don't want to make any excuses but for whatever reason, we ran out of gas," said Chivas USA Coach Preki. "I'm surprised in the first goal that they got off a goal kick. It's the second time we concede a goal off a goal kick ... first in Houston. It's the exact same play. So it's disappointing ... It happens in soccer, it's a fast game, you got to think fast, react fast, and we certainly didn't react fast"
Chivas USA now has three consecutive Super Liga games beginning Saturday against Tigres.
Houston have caught faltering Chivas USA in the Western Conference standings, but the Goats can reclaim the lead with a point on the road at noon in Columbus.
The game is live on Prime.
It's Iraq-South Africa at 6:55 a.m. and Spain-New Zealand at 11:25 a.m. both on ESPN2 as the competition gets underway.
The U.S. plays Italy Monday.
The best (relatively) succinct preview I've seen is here. Now you know why it's important.
Galaxy 0 RSL 2
Relive the game here (small children who play AYSO should not watch):
Not exactly a laugh a minute, but you wouldn't know it by listening to Eddie Lewis and Bruce Arena talk about the Galaxy midfielder's straight red card that occurred after he threw a ball at Javier Morales, who had just been fouled by sub Jovan Kirovski.
Here's Lewis laying on the lacerating sarcasm courtesy of reporter Phil Collin:
"I just tossed the ball at the player and said, 'Come on, get up,' because I knew . . . he's obviously laying around to draw a foul. That was it."
Well, it wasn't. Lewis was just warming up:
"Red cards this year have been a focus of a lot of attention, so in a lot of ways I guess I'm not too overly surprised. We've also been instructed that we're not to say anything negatively about the refs, which I understand."I suppose I'd have nothing but wonderful words to say about the ref. In fact, he got all the calls right tonight and is certainly one of the finer refs I've player under. In fact, maybe one day he can represent CONCACAF for a World Cup.
"In fact, he maybe one day will be too good for this league. Maybe somewhere else, I don't know. But that's his work."
Arena had the best one-liner of the night when asked whether that was a legitimate straight red:
"If you're in a U-8 game that's definitely a red card.
Arena who, despite the result looked drawn, (sorry) didn't mince words:
"We were outplayed. We didn't play well. It seemed in the first half they were a step faster than us all over the field."
Arena was asked whether the team lacked leadership or confidence:
"There are no excuses on our part; a number of players got outplayed tonight."
We shouldn't overlook the role RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando played. Here he denies Eddie Lewis.
RSL Coach Jason Kreis, meanwhile, welcomed the team's first win in eight games:
"I just told our guys in the locker room - 'welcome back.'""It's our first road win of the season; it's our first win in a long time. ... There's been disappointment around our team for way too long."
And Kreis proved he could deliver a punchline when asked about Nat Borchers finally scoring a goal his first in MLS in 76 games:
"He told us when he came here he was good for three goals a season off corner kicks. He owes us five more.
Movsisyan, a Pasadena City College product, loves coming back to Southern California and scoring at the HDC in front of family and friends.
Here's the RSL perspective.
Thank you ladies and germs, you've been a lovely audience. Good night.
Galaxy 0 RSL 2
No late comeback for the Galaxy tonight. It's the first Galaxy loss in 10 games.
It's the first road win for RSL (4-6-3) since September 27, 2008.
They now leapfrog the Galaxy (2-2-9) to move into fifth in the Western Conference on goal difference.
Are those boos for the Galaxy or the ref? If Bruce Arena says we're "getting better" (except in the win department), I'll scream.
More later.
The Galaxy are down to 10 men after Eddie Lewis received a 65th minute red card for throwing the ball at Javier Morales, who had just been fouled by sub Jovan Kirovski.
Galaxy 0 RSL 2
The Galaxy gave RSL defender Nat Borchers his first goal in 76 MLS games in the 52nd minute when he scored a header from seven yards after Eddie Lewis had deflected a Clint Mathis cross.
Chris Klein came on for Josh Tudela at the half, so perhaps we'll see a little more movement in the midfield.
Sky Blue FC 0 Sol 0
The Sol moved to 7-1-4 in soggy New Jersey to retain the WPS lead..
Sky Blue (2-5-3) outshot the Sol 7-2 and came closest to a goal when a Natasha Kai shot hit the post in the 15th minute. Sol goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc had her eighth shutout of the season.
Sol XI: Karina LeBlanc; Keri Sanchez, Allison Falk, Martina Franko, Stephanie Cox; Camille Abily, Shannon Boxx, Aly Wagner, Aya Miyama, Brittany Bock, Marta.
Next for the Sol: FC Gold Pride June 21 at Home Depot Center.
Galaxy 0 RSL 1
That didn't take long.
Former Pasadena City College star Yura Movsisyan completely turned Gregg Berhalter inside the penalty area and fired home in the 13th minute for his third on the season. Clint Mathis supplied the assist.
The last four meetings between the teams have ended in ties, including a 2-2 draw earlier this year that didn't really start until second half stoppage time when we saw three goals scored at Rio Tinto Stadium to cap a rather dull game.
RSL haven't won in seven games, while the Galaxy have one win in their last six outings.
So, it's another draw then?
It's muggy at the HDC to cap a week (or more) of June gloom and the crowd sparse.
Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena has made three changes from the team that beat Toronto last time out.
Striker Edson Buddle makes his first start since that 2-2 tie with RSL May 6, prompting Mike Magee to move into midfield at the expense of Chris Klein, who drops to the bench while Gregg Berhalter returns from suspension in place of Tony Sanneh in defense.
Galaxy XI: Ricketts, DeLaGarza, Berhalter, Gonzalez, Dunivant, Magee, Kovalenko, Tudela, Lewis, Buddle, Gordon.
For the second consecutive game RSL plays a 4-3-3 with Clint Mathis starting in attack for the first time this season.
Next blogging: Galaxy-Real Salt Lake 7:30 p.m. at Home Depot Center (delayed until 8:30 p.m. on Prime).
An alumni game precedes it at 5 p.m. featuring the likes of Cobi Jones, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Robin Fraser, Dan Calichman and Alexi Lalas.
The first 7,500 fans receive a soccer ball, just in case you need added motivation to get there early. And then you can promptly turn around and donate it to the Summer Santa Toy Drive. The first 200 fans to donate will receive an autographed player card from Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant. All fans receive a buy-one-get-one free ticket offer and a 25% discount at the Home Depot Center Team LA store for the Galaxy's June 28 game.
The toys will be delivered to pediatric patients at a local children's hospital in the upcoming weeks.
Also, tonight is the World Spicy Topokki Eating Challenge.
In praise of Edson Buddle. Now, can he just stay healthy?
The Galaxy needed late goals last month to get something out of the last game with RSL; this time around their opponents are trying to shake off a seven game winless slump.
An update on personnel moves from the Galaxy blog:
One day after keeping a clean sheet against CS Herediano, goalkeeper Josh Saunders sprained his right ankle in training on Wednesday and may be unavailable for the game against RSL. As a result of his injury, and one to MLS League Pool goalkeeper Miguel Benitez (of Cal State Dominguez Hills), the Galaxy have called up Kevin Guppy for Saturday's game. A League Pool keeper himself, Guppy was a four-year starter at Cal State-Northridge where he was a teammate of Sean Franklin. He was on the bench for LA in the Herediano game and has trained with the club for much of the season.Julian Valentin will not be in the lineup for the Galaxy Saturday; he's returned to the USL's Cleveland City Stars for a temporary extension to the loan agreement that saw him play five games for the club earlier this year. The City Stars have five games coming up in a two week span that begins on Saturday with a U.S. Open Cup game against Rochester. Valentin will be joined in Cleveland by Israel Sesay who joined up with the club earlier this week.
BTW, the Sol also play today.
A melted motherboard, hours spending updating software on another laptop and a busy week at work conspired to keep me from blogging extensively this week.
But the weekend is here and even though it doesn't exactly look like great beach weather it's perfect for playing soccer at the beach in Santa Monica.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy face Real Salt Lake at 7:30 p.m. at Home Depot Center Saturday (delayed until 8:30 p.m. on Prime), Chivas USA are in Columbus Sunday to face the Crew (noon on Prime) and the Confederations Cup opens at 6:55 a.m. live on ESPN2 when Iraq plays South Africa.
The U.S. doesn't play until Monday though so with the computer gods willing I'll return later today with a preview of the competition and a complete schedule.
Meanwhile, here's the always classy English Sun newspaper with Cristiano Ronaldo's quote unquote night in Paris.
One way to beat the June gloom, I guess.
After months of rumors, the deal is done and Cristiano Ronaldo will now do his pouting, um, playing in Spain with Kaka.
Well, that was a bit of an anticlimax for Chivas USA.
It was also a game that featured, said Chivas USA Coach Preki, "the dumbest goal ever."
See for yourself:
Mexico made heavy work of Trinidad & Tobago Wednesday, but are back (sort of) on track in WCQ. Lovely second goal though.
Finally, while we're on the subject of international football, it looks like a kid on his way to Cal State Northridge this fall is taking an unexpected detour.
It's Chivas USA on the road at the Houston Dynamo tonight in a match-up of the MLS leader against the hottest team in the league live at 5:30 on ESPN2.
Chivas USA have never won in Houston.
Chivas USA midfielder-forward Justin Braun did not travel with the team because of a concussion; the Dynamo is similarly missing leading scorer Brian Ching because of an injury sustained on national team duty.
Finally, here's a sweet story from Chris Cognac's new fan blog.
Full disclosure: I was not there.
Were more than a few hundred spectators there?
Anyone who was care to leave a report in the comment section?
Was it better than a Torrance City Council budget hearing? (Which is where I was).
Galaxy Preview
Yes, the Galaxy have a friendly at 7:30 tonight against Costa Rican team Club Sport Herediano at Home Depot Center.
International friendlies like these are usually of limited interest to all but the most hard-core fans. The Galaxy will use the occasion to give younger and/or squad players valuable minutes, while the Costa Rican team gets to connect with its not inconsquential Southern California fan base.
Don't expect to see much of the likes of Costa Rican internationals Andy Herron, Dennis Marshal and Ricardo González, who will undoubtedly rest up after two World Cup qualifying games in the last week.
The Galaxy's official blog has a preview and word of new players training with the team who will likely see some minutes.
Wonder if there will be more Galaxy or Costa Rica fans in attendance?
Meanwhile, here's an update on soon-to-be Galaxy player Chris Burchall from his hometown newspaper.
BTW, no live blogging from me. I'm still without a functioning laptop and have to go to a Torrance City Council budget meeting anyway (I'm not kidding).
Chivas USA Update
The MLS leaders play the team that sits six points behind them in the Western Conference, the Houston Dynamo, Wednesday in Texas in a game to be broadcast live on ESPN2 and W Radio 690 AM.
Justin Braun and Shavar Thomas are both listed as questionable with concussions.
And finally
It appears David Beckham will get a rare start on Wednesday for England against mighty Andorra, although just getting to the game sounds like a nightmare.
At least that's the context I attempted to place the U.S. National Team's World Cup qualifying effort in.
Read the column here.
Agree? Disagree? Unduly harsh? Or just realistic?
Updated:
Just ran across this blog post and thought it relevant given today's column. Now we know what the hardcore American soccer fan really watches.
Playing a little catch-up from Sunday:
*U.S. Coach Bob Bradley has announced the roster for the Confederations Cup.
There's not much difference from the squad that played Costa Rica and Honduras: oft-maligned defender Heath Pearce returns, as does striker Charlie Davis, who has yet to demonstrate much in six national team appearances, while uncapped goalkeeper Luis Robles comes along for the experience.
Veteran defender Frankie Hejduk, who has struggled with injury, is rested, while Brian Ching and the ineffective Pablo Mastroeni were left out. I'll have more on the U.S. National Team in Tuesday's column.
The Los Angeles Sol, meanwhile, continued their dominating ways Sunday by dispatching the Washington Freedom, 3-1.
The question is fast becoming, with the season reaching the halfway point, not who will win the regular season WPS title, but who the Sol will face in the final (the regular season champion automatically hosts the title game).
Consider:
*The league-leading Sol (7-1-3) now has 24 points, double that of the second-place Freedom (3-3-3).
*French striker Camile Abily, who scored from the spot as well as the Sol's slickly-worked opening goal now has five goals in the last four games and leads WPS with six.
*The dominant Sol defense just missed an eighth shutout, but has conceded just four goals in 11 games, half as many as the league's next best defense.
Stats aside, the Sol just look vastly superior to any other team in the league in virtually every department.
Sunday's stunning first goal created by the quick-thinking Shannon Boxx, whose long ball upfield found Aya Miyama who fed Abily, ripped the Freedom defense asunder with its speed and measured touches.
The defense, meanwhile, is virtually impenetrable with few attacks of any consequence even reaching goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, who deals with most of those that do with minimal fuss.
The Sol even had the luxury of trying usual defender Brittany Bock as a forward, a position she played in college. The result was an integral part of the league's best-defense quickly found her feet after a couple of shaky moments and dutifully scored on her sign-wielding mother's birthday, fulfilling the written request.
Quotable: "It was a great performance out there today," said Coach Abner Rogers. "We are very happy with the way we played. We did what we had to do today to control the rhythm and win the game."
No kidding.
Sol XI: Karina Leblanc; Keri Sanchez, Allison Falk, Martina Franko, Stephanie Cox; Aly Wagner (28: McCall Zerboni (88: Katie Larkin)), Camille Abily, Shannon Boxx ©, Aya Miyama; Brittany Bock, Marta.
Next: at Sky Blue FC on Saturday.
Updated
Sol midfielder Aly Wagner, forced to leave the game Sunday with blood streaming from a nasty gash after a clash of heads is Twittering this morning about the incident:
"My head is definitely aching..wish i could say it came from brilliant brain activity, but i think it has something to do with 9 stitches. .. Heading 101- hit ball not player."
Perhaps it was out of empathy that my laptop apparently expired just as Honduras took an early lead against the U.S. Saturday in Chicago.
Still, the U.S. came from behind to win.
Nevertheless, I was unable to blog the Chivas USA win over Seattle later that evening.
And I will be forced to the sidelines for today's Sol-Washington Freedom game live at 3 p.m. on Fox Soccer Channel.
An economical win to be sure (the Galaxy had just four shots on target), but a win nonetheless over a rudderless Toronto.
The cynic in me now knows how bad a defense needs to be to make Alan Gordon (who had the opening goal and an assist today) look good.
The reporter in me wonders how many more games the now 2-1-9 Galaxy would have won if Edson Buddle, who has now scored his only two goals this season in the last two games, had managed to stay fit.
The fan in me notes there's less than two hours to do Saturday errands and chores before the U.S.-Honduras game begins.
Highlights:
Toronto FC-Galaxy.Lucky for the Landon Donovan-less Galaxy Toronto are also playing like crap.
Chivas USA-Seattle Sounders. Seattle have the Galaxy's draw disease.
U.S.-Honduras. Toronto's (and the Galaxy's) best player on show here.
By coincidence, three former Galaxy players were profiled in newspapers this week: Pete Vagenas, Kevin Hartman and Nate Jaqua.
At this rate I'll never have to get around to transcribing the interview with Pete I did while in Seattle.
All are back in town Saturday when the Seattle Sounders play Chivas USA at Home Depot Center.
World Cup qualifying gets out of the gate at 1 a.m. Saturday when North Korea plays Iran on Fox Soccer Channel and doesn't let up for the rest of the weekend. Complicating matters are the on-going MLS games, too.
Click to the links at top right for all the details, but to help you organize your weekend here are the times and channels of five pertinent games for most Southern Californians:
Saturday
*1 p.m. FSN Toronto FC-Galaxy
*5 p.m. ESPN U.S.-Honduras
*6 p.m. KVEA El Salvador-Mexico
*7:30 p.m. Prime Chivas USA-Seattle
Sunday
*3 p.m. FSC Sol-Washington Freedom
Horrible news for Chivas USA goalkeeeper Dan Kennedy who had such a promising start to his MLS career.
Kennedy required a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction of his right leg, which was performed Wednesday.
From the club's press release:
Kennedy's surgery was performed by Chivas USA Team Physicians Michael Gerhardt M.D. and Bert Mandelbaum M.D. in Santa Monica. The original injury occurred during a preseason scrimmage against the Chicago Fire on March 7; Kennedy attempted to return without surgery but was unable to gain full functionality of the knee, requiring the procedure.Kennedy was signed by Chivas USA on April 9, 2008, and made nine appearances (eight starts) in 2008, earning three shutouts and making 22 saves for a goals against average of 1.03. Selected by Chivas USA in the fourth round of the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft after a four year career at U.C. Santa Barbara, the goalkeeper opted to play professionally in Puerto Rico and Chile before returning to Chivas USA prior to the 2008 season.
U.S. Soccer announced this morning that the U.S.-Costa Rica World Cup qualifier has moved to ESPN2.
From the ESPN press release:
The broadcast will now include a 30 minute pregame show starting at 6:30 p.m. PT with kickoff slated for 7:06 p.m. PT (8:06 p.m. local).The game will still be televised live by Galavision.
The programming change prevents potential conflicts with ESPN's Wednesday Night Baseball running into the U.S. game's time slot on ESPN and was made possible by the Women's College World Series for NCAA softball ending early.
Meanwhile, the U.S. moved up one spot to 14th in the latest FIFA rankings released today.
Incredibly, there is actually a Sol game in Carson tonight.
Why?
And no, I won't be blogging from there.
NEW YORK(AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joined the group trying to bring the World Cup to the United States in 2018 or 2022. Schwarzenegger's support is considered a key element in U.S. Soccer's bids because several California venues traditionally are used for international games. The 1994 World Cup and 1999 Women's World Cup concluded at the Rose Bowl and the 2003 Women's World Cup final was at Home Depot Center.<
"Soccer is the world's most popular sport and California has been home to some of its most exciting games, and I am proud to be a part of bringing the World Cup back to the United States," Schwarzenegger said. "The millions of fans from around the globe that will travel to the United States to cheer their teams will prove a great benefit for our state, our nation and the world of soccer."
Six stadiums in California are among 58 venues in the U.S. under consideration for World Cup matches in 2018 or 2022 including the Rose Bowl and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
"California is a soccer state in every sense of the word, with participation and avid support at all levels, from its vast youth system to the professional ranks," said Sunil Gulati, chairman of the U.S. bid committee and president of U.S. Soccer.
The United States is one of nine candidates seeking the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
The others are Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico and Russia, with joint bids from Netherlands-Belgium and Portugal-Spain. Qatar and South Korea have applied as candidates only for 2022.
Both tournaments will be awarded in December 2010.
Mia Hamm and the Galaxy's Landon Donovan were added to the bid committee last week.
Updated: You can watch Arnold on the subject here:
As an English-born, naturalized Canadian citizen who lives in the U.S., nations don't mean that much to me.
Except when it comes to soccer.
Because in soccer different nationalities, cultures and races serve to remind me not how different people are, but how much many share an obsessive interest regardless of where they are from in a ball rolling around a pitch chased by 22 sweaty people.
And there are few places like Southern California where it's possible to find so many folks from different nations all watching soccer in a relatively small geographic area.
Clarification: The Iranian election occurs two days - June 12 - after the second Iran World Cup qualifier this month.
With a busy week of World Cup qualifying ahead, I have a column to write for Tuesday summing up the competition so far and looking ahead to next year's tournament.
With that in mind, I'll keep things brief here, but wanted to note that:
*Fontana's Maurice Edu will not travel with the U.S. to Costa Rica for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier while the knee injury he suffered in Rangers' final league game May 24 against Dundee is evaluated more. Initial reports of the severity of the injury do not sound good.
*David Beckham is done in Italy - for now, - but Galaxy fans should not expect to see much of him.
*The Sol plan to Webcast their rare Wednesday night game at Home Depot Center against the Chicage Red Stars. Calling the club's first-ever Webcast is Sol Director of Media Relations Nick Ammazzalorso, who has previously been behind the mike as the play-by-play voice for the University of Maryland's men's and women's teams and the Buffalo Blizzard of the indoor National Professional Soccer League
The color commentator will be Aaron Heifetz, press officer for the U.S. Women's National Team and one of the most knowledgeable observers of the women's game around. Listen here beginning at 7:25 p.m. Wednesday.
About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. 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 and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
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