UEFA Champions League Final Preview (and the essential places to watch the game in LA)

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Coverage begins at 11 a.m. on Fox for the third consecutive year; kick off is at 11:45 a.m. FOX Deportes is also carrying the match live in Spanish.

Perhaps the best place for Bayern Munich fans to watch the game in the Los Angeles area is Alpine Village, which also is the location for an official Fox Soccer and American Youth Soccer Organization viewing party. Doors open at 11 a.m.

Freeway close, great beer selection including Stone’s smoked porter and Double Bastard and it’s a huge German style beer hall so getting a seat is never an issue (it’s where I’m likely heading).

Said Alpine Village’s Facebook page: “Chelsea fans are welcome but there’s no Fuller’s to be had!”

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Virtually any English pub will have plenty of Chelsea fans including Ye Olde King’s Head in Santa Monica where LA Chelsea fans hang out and The Old Ship in Santa Ana, 1120 W. 17th St Santa Ana. where OC Chelsea fans gather.

A word of warning from the latter location: “we open at 7:00 am and expect to be full. So come early because we will be limiting the crowd for safety.”

Neutrals may want to give this Hollywood event a try.

If you know of a happening place for the game feel free to leave a comment.

Finally, to get you primed, here’s a game preview from Associated Press Sports Columnist John Leicester:

MUNICH (AP) — The dream Champions League final, in pure soccer terms, would have been Barcelona vs. Real Madrid.

But the world’s two best players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both fluffed penalty kicks in the semifinals, leaving us with the thinking fan’s final, instead.

Which isn’t to say that Bayern Munich against Chelsea is a dull second-best. European club soccer’s most coveted trophy and, in some ways, its soul — not to mention UEFA boss Michel Platini’s ambitions for the future — will all be in play when the sober Bavarian and glitzy west London teams meet at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

A final with the Spanish giants might have produced a better show and a bigger global television audience. But Bayern vs. Chelsea could be more significant, philosophically.

Bayern touts itself as a model for the type of club Platini wants to see and is pushing for:
Financially sound and adroitly managed, profitable for the past 19 years, living within its
means, not beholden to a rich sugar daddy, and certain to field some homegrown stars on Saturday night.

Chelsea, on the other hand, is Roman Abramovich’s vanity project. Because he can, the Russian billionaire has poured in the region of $1.2 billion into the club he saved from possible bankruptcy in July 2003.

He has spent tens of millions of pounds on hiring and then firing managers who failed to meet his lofty expectations, hundreds of millions more on players (often buying at inflated prices), and enabled Chelsea to post eye-watering financial losses. And, unlike Bayern,
all of Chelsea’s starters on Saturday will likely be players bought in from other clubs.

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Big club, big money: Expensive signings like the much-maligned Fernando Torres, right, taking a ball around Salomon Kalou during a training session this week have come to define Chelsea (AP Photo).

So, in simplest terms, the final will be a contest of two business models — one, Bayern’s, which purists like Platini believe is both financially and morally right for soccer, against another which many feel is dangerous for the long-term health of the sport.

One shouldn’t be too simplistic. Abramovich isn’t Darth Vader and Bayern isn ‘t a ragtag bunch of rebels succeeding on determination alone.

Both clubs have spent fortunes to reach this pinnacle match. Bayern’s attacking trio of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Mario Gomez and its goalkeeper Manuel Neuer didn’t
come cheap. But proponents of the Bayern model argue, somewhat smugly, that its wealth
is generated sustainably, from huge commercial revenues, its regularly packed stadium,
and on-field success, and that Chelsea wouldn’t be competing at the top in Europe if not for Abramovich’s financial doping.

“Bayern never spends more money than it has,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said Friday. “We don’t make debts.”

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Last dance: Bayern’s Ivica Olic of Croatia trains today in Munich; he will play his final game for Bayern Saturday after agreeing to join Wolfsburg (AP Photo).

So a Bayern victory will feel like a cheer, too, for Platini’s Financial Fair Play rules which
aim to steer European clubs away from the Abramovich model and wean them off huge losses to make them more financially stable and sustainable.

A loss could also leave Chelsea in a financial hole, by depriving it of Champions League soccer next season and the wealth brought by participation in that competition.

But, on a human level, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and their Chelsea teammates fully deserve to be in this final. What warriors. At 34 for Drogba and 33 for Lampard, they’re proving wrong those who said they were too old.

Chelsea’s semifinal defeat of Barcelona wasn’t pretty. By defending doggedly in numbers and scoring three goals against the run of play, Chelsea offended fans of Barcelona’s artful style and of its master, Messi. But Barcelona isn’t somehow entitled to places in finals simply because it plays the most visually pleasing soccer. Chelsea had the better
luck but also put away its chances. Barcelona couldn’t make its superiority count.

Which gives thinking fans something else to ponder on Saturday night: Is it more important to play beautifully or to win? Ideally, of course, neutrals would like to see both. But not all teams can do that. History remembers teams that are engraved on trophies, not always who they beat to get there, how they did it, or that it cost their owner $1 billion
to buy the win.

Abramovich has chopped and changed his way through seven managers in nine
years. It would be deliciously ironic if the coach who gets him what he wants — Chelsea’s first Champions League trophy — is Roberto Di Matteo, the former assistant and now “interim” coach in charge only because Abramovich ditched the last guy, Andre Villas-Boas, in March.

The big regret Saturday is that six players who should play will be absent.

Bayern’s David Alaba, Holger Badstuber and Luiz Gustavo, and Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires are suspended for one of the biggest matches of their careers.

So, too, is John Terry, Chelsea’s captain. Terry kneed Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez in the back in the semifinal and got sent off.

The other six, however, are banned only because they picked up their third yellow cards of the competition in the semifinals.

That they and Terry, whose offense was far graver, should essentially receive the same
punishment — being kept from the final — seems cruel and disproportionate.

So the final will not be a Spanish ‘clasico’ but it will still have plenty for fans to get their
heads around.

John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated
Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester

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Friday Kicks: Galaxy’s Leonardo returns, Boyens on DL & more

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The Galaxy’s David Beckham holds the Olympic torch today during a ceremony to mark the arrival of the Olympic flame to Britain from Greece. Good to see he’s preparing for a game against the Galaxy’s biggest rivals Saturday with his usual (ahem) diligence and respect for MLS and fans (AP Photo).

In other soccer news today:

*Galaxy Brazilian center back Leonardo has come off the disabled list, while former Chivas USA center back Andrew Boyens has gone on it, the club reported today.

That means Leonardo is eligible for action in Saturday’s derby against Chivas USA, while Boyens, who will undergo sports hernia surgery next week, must miss a minimum of six MLS games. He’s made two error-riddled appearances for the Galaxy this season after joining the team from the Goats.

Leonardo, 24, returned to training last month and played 45 minutes of the club’s reserve game against San Jose last week before he was replaced at half time by Boyens.

Leonardo signed a permanent deal with MLS in February after spending the last two seasons on loan at the club. He has made 17 starts for the club, including the first seven games of 2011, which seemed to include a major error in every game, before injuring his right knee.

*The June 12 U.S. World Cup qualifier won’t be on free TV. Blame money-grubbing Guatemala:

HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) — The United States’ World Cup qualifier at Guatemala on June 12 will be shown on pay-per-view over the objection of the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Traffic Sports USA purchased the rights from the Federacion Nacional de Futbol de Guatemala and announced an agreement Friday with Integrated Sports Media to distribute the match in the U.S.

It will have a suggested retail price of $29.95 and will be available on iN Demand,
DIRECTV, DISH Network and Avail-TVN.

FIFA gives home teams rights to World Cup qualifiers. The Americans’ home qualifiers against Antigua and Barbuda on June 8 and Jamaica on Sept. 11 will be televised by ESPN2.

USSF spokesman Neil Buethe says “the pay-per-view route is definitely not our preference.”

*I guess they won’t find new investors for the LA Sol after all; the Women’s Professional Soccer league folded today after three seasons. Does anyone really care? Here’s more from the Associated Press:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – The WPS had canceled the 2012 season in January, at the time hoping to return next year.

“We sincerely regret having to take this course of action,” T. Fitz Johnson, owner of the
Atlanta Beat and chairman of the board of governors, said in a statement today.

The league’s predecessor, WUSA, also lasted only three seasons, burning through more than $100 million in investments in the euphoric aftermath of the U.S. victory at the 1999 World Cup.

American fans again watched the Women’s World Cup in large numbers last summer, but it wasn’t enough to save the WPS.

The 2012 WPS season was scrapped amid a legal dispute with ousted owner Dan Borislow of the magicJack South Florida franchise. WPS said Friday it had reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with Borislow, who sued the league last summer.

Striker Abby Wambach Tweeted Friday: “The greatest accomplishments usually come after the biggest let downs. Never give up.”

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Chivas USA scoop up Agudelo, Califf for Lahoud, cash*

Post updated below*

If you’ve been following the Twitter frenzy this morning you know that in one fell swoop, Chivas USA may have solved their defensive issues and attacking woes today by picking up promising U.S. striker Juan Agudelo for cash from the New York Red Bulls and exchanging midfielder Michael Lahoud with the Philadelphia Union for veteran former Galaxy center back Danny Califf, multiple sources are reporting.

Neither team has officially announced the trades, which The New York Post has blogged is not quite finalized yet in the case of the Agudelo acquisition.

Chivas USA fans are rightly ecstatic about the trade, which could make Saturday’s Galaxy-Chivas USA derby a whole lot more interesting than it was at the outset of this week depending on how soon the new recruits arrive in Southern California.

The trades could be beneficial for both New York and Chivas USA (I’m betting poor Union fans wouldn’t join in with that sentiment as Peter Nowak seems intent on destroying a team he built into a contender last year).

Agudelo gets more playing time, Chivas USA gets an exciting young player capable of world class moves and a proven center back in Califf whereas Pearce was never too convincing and Lahoud never matched his potential for one reason or another.

Chivas USA plays the Red Bulls next Wednesday in New York, BTW.

Do Chivas USA fans need a reminder of Agudelo’s obvious talents? Probably not, but this is worth a peek anyway:

Meanwhile, the Galaxy (with obvious center back issues of their own) might want to note that this American center back is now available.

What do you think about the moves?

*Updated:

Staff Writer Phil Collin has more on the trades here.

*Here’s more on the back story involving the trades for Agudelo and Califf from the Newark Star-Ledger and Philadelphia Inquirer respectively. Fascinating reads.

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Torrance to host AYSO National Games in 2014, honors MLS coach Sigi Schmid & father

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Soccertown USA honors hometown soccer heroes Fritz Schmid and son, Sigi Schmid: From left, Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto; long-time AYSO referee Fritz Schmid; Valerie Schmid, wife of Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid, an original AYSO player in the inaugural season in 1964; and Roland Schmid, of Seattle, Sigi’s brother, are honored Tuesday evening by the Torrance City Council for their contributions to soccer in the South Bay.

On the same evening AYSO announced Torrance would co-host the 2014 National Games in the community where the nonprofit was founded 50 years ago, the city honored long-time Torrance residents Fritz Schmid and his son, Sigi, former coach of UCLA, the Galaxy, Columbus Crew and currently, the Seattle Sounders.

Sigi Schmid moved to the city from Germany with his parents as a child and didn’t move away until he took the jobs in Columbus and Seattle.

“There’s a lot of East Coast guys who are discovering what we knew all along,” Sigi Schmid told the City Council, “that Torrance is basically where soccer was born as an American sport and truly became engrained in the American culture. It was always part of the United States, but it was part of the immigrant (experience).

“Torrance is the birthplace of that. It’s something Torrance will always be proud of and I’m proud to have been associated with it and to be associated with AYSO all these years.”

Here are the pair of proclamations honoring father and son:

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Fontana’s Edu, former Chivas USA goalkeeper Guzan make U.S. pre-WC qualifying roster

No Sacha Kljestan though, despite the former Chivas USA midfielder winning the Belgian championship with Anderlecht.

Here’s who did make the first/initial roster:

CHICAGO (AP) — Defender Timmy Chandler has declined an invitation to attend the United States’ training camp ahead of its opening qualifiers next month for the 2014 World Cup.

The 22-year-old, a regular starter for Nuremberg in the Bundesliga, made his U.S. national team debut in March 2011 and has eight international appearances.

He holds American and German passports and because he has not yet played in a competitive match, he still could switch to Germany’s national team.

“I have had long conversations with Timmy about where he is in his professional career and his commitment to playing international football,” U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said Tuesday. “He has expressed his appreciation for all the opportunities we have given him, but he also feels at this point he needs to take a break.

“It’s disappointing not having him as a part of the team at this important juncture of building our team, but ultimately a player must decide what is best for him. The door is certainly not closed on Timmy, but in the moment we move on without him.”

Klinsmann announced an initial group of 16 players, mostly from European clubs, that started reporting Tuesday to Kissimmee, Fla. He will make 13 additions Sunday following the weekend games in Major League Soccer, then cut the roster to 23 on May 25.
Tijuana midfielder Joe Corona was the only player picked with no national team experience. He scored four goals for the American under-23 team as it was eliminated in Olympic qualifying.

Klinsmann said forward Clint Dempsey “should be fine within the next couple of days” following a groin strain that caused him to miss Fulham’s Premier League season finale Sunday.

The U.S. has exhibitions against Scotland (May 26 at Jacksonville, Fla.), Brazil (May 30 at
Landover, Md.) and Canada (June 3) at Toronto. The Americans open qualifying on June 8 against Antigua and Barbuda at Tampa, Fla., then play at Guatemala on June 12.

The top two teams in the group, which also includes Jamaica, advance to next year’s six-nation final round in North and Central America and the Caribbean. The top three teams in the finals qualify for the 2014 tournament in Brazil and the fourth-place team has a two-game playoff for a berth against the Oceania winner, likely New Zealand.

The roster:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Tim Howard (Everton), England, Nick Rimando (Salt Lake)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Edgar Castillo (Tijuana, Mexico), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin, Germany)

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona, Italy), Joe Corona (Tijuana, Mexico), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim Germany), Jermaine Jones (Schalke, Germany), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim, Germany)

Forwards: Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England)

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Video: The Galaxy visit the White House*

*Updated with video

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Big shots: President Barack Obama congratulates the Galaxy on their MLS Cup triumph last year — and David Beckham for his Sper Bowl underwear ad (AP Photo).

The President shoots and scores as he greets the Galaxy today:

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is ribbing soccer star David Beckham over his age and his outside interests, saying it’s a “rare man who can be that tough on the field and also have his own line of underwear.”

Obama welcomed Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy to the White House Tuesday to celebrate their third Major League Soccer Cup. The president joked that the star-studded Galaxy, led by Beckham, midfielder Landon Donovan and forward Robbie Keane, are the “Miami Heat of soccer.”

Obama told the 37-year-old Beckham that half of his teammates “could be his kids. We’re getting old, David.” The president said the model and athlete was “holding up better than me.”

Beckham generated attention in February when H&M aired ads for his new undergarment collection during the Super Bowl.

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Weekly Column: Will two bad local MLS teams equal one bad SuperClasico?

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Sadly, I think the answer is yes.

You can read the column here.

It was not, frankly, one I enjoyed writing.

But then I cover virtually every MLS game played at Home Depot Center and this year I haven’t enjoyed many of those either. And yes, I hope it’s a thrilling game and I am proved totally wrong.

But I’m not optimistic after reading a quote like this: “I can give you that answer at the end of the year,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena told The Washington Post about the reasons for the Galaxy’s rough start. “I have a lot of understanding why our issues to date have been what they are, but that’s not anything I will make public right now. I have a very good sense why.”

You can read the rest of the blog post that includes the above quote here.

What about you? Will you skip this derby game? How much would you pay to watch this contest?

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Late goal, Long Beach’s Gordon dog Goats again

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Former Chivas USA striker Alan Gordon likes playing against his old club.

For the second time in two years the lanky Gordon popped up to equalize for his new club against his old – last April it was for Toronto FC, this Sunday it was for San Jose — as the Earthquakes equalized in the 88th minute for a 1-1 draw at Buckshaw Stadium.

It was the third straight week that Chivas USA, winless in its last four outings, had allowed a goal in the final 10 minutes of the game.

It had all started so well, too, when Jose Correa, making his MLS debut, scored what was just Chivas USA’s sixth goal of the season in the fourth minute.

Chivas USA — who may or may not be eying former Galaxy defender Danny Califf — spent the rest of the game fending off San Jose, something they looked to be doing successfully until Gordon showed up to spoil things again.

Now Chivas USA faces the Galaxy — also winless in their last four outings – next weekend at Home Depot Center with just one point separating the clubs and only Portland keeping them both out of the basement.

Incidentally, the Galaxy finally made a statement Sunday afternoon regarding absent goalkeeper Josh Saunders, confirming what we already unofficially knew anyway:

“Josh Saunders is currently in the league’s Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program and will remain unavailable for the club indefinitely. That program is administered by medical professionals appointed jointly by the league and the Players Union. Those medical professionals independently evaluate, treat, and determine the length of time that he will be in the program. The team does not control it.”

Galaxy update to Saunders statement 3:30 p.m. Monday

“With the approval of the club, MLS and the medical professionals who are in charge of the MLS Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program, Josh will be in attendance, along with a representative from the program, for the club’s White House visit on Tuesday before returning to the program that night.”

I’ll have more on the not so superclasico in Tuesday’s column.

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Sunday Chivas USA Gameday

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If, like me, you’re still rubbing your eyes from the most unbelievably heart-stopping finish to an EPL season in years this morning we will all have a chance to catch our collective breath later today when stumbling Chivas USA visit the soaring San Jose Earthquakes (live at 4 p.m. Galavision), although there is considerably less at stake.

Chivas USA have not won in their last three games, but might like their chances on the road — where all three of their victories have come so far this season against a San Jose side dealing with some injury issues.

More from Chivas USA is here:

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Ooo la la: Beckham bends it in Montreal, Galaxy come back to tie Impact

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A rare moment of David Beckham brilliance from a trademark free kick gave the Galaxy the equalizer needed to tie Montreal 1-1 today before a record 60,830 crowd for a soccer game at Olympic Stadium.

His superbly struck set piece left former Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts grasping at air an hour into the game, finally energizing what had been a sub-par Galaxy performance up until that point.

“In the first half we were a bit timid, I don’t think we played aggressively enough,” Beckham said. “I don’t think we had the belief after coming off a bad result last weekend.”

“It has to be precise,” he said of his free kick, observing that Ricketts is able to cover much of his goal. “It has to be a corner he’s not going to get to. … I knew it was a good one as soon as it left my foot.”

It was the Galaxy’s fourth game in a row without a win, but by game’s end were unlucky not to leave with all three points as they pressed forward in the last 30 minutes against a suddenly back-pedaling Impact.

But in the first half the Galaxy exhibited many of the familiar symptoms of an unconfident side that has marred their season so far including insipid finishing and a lack of midfield creativity.

The latest terrible mix-up in the Galaxy’s on-going center back saga saw A.J. DeLaGarza hang poorly positioned partner Dan Keat out to dry by misjudging a long ball ball, allowing veteran Davy Arnaud to punish Keat for the opener after just eight minutes. Keat, the latest in a long line of auditioning partners for A.J. DeLagarza in the middle of the back four, made a couple of early errors, including on the goal, but improved as the match wore on.

Coach Bruce Arena gave Palos Verdes Estates’ Kyle Nakazawa his Galaxy debut alongside potential Oympian Michael Stephens in midfield with Mike Magee dropping to the bench. Landon Donovan moved up front with Edson Buddle left at home nursing an muscle strain and goalkeeper Brian Perk was preferred to Bill Gaudette.

Nakazawa and Stephens were largely ineffective and Magee replaced the undistinguished Stephens at half time, a move that gave the Galaxy more urgency moving forward.

Robbie Keane’s now almost two-month long goal drought must be worrying for Ireland with Eurto 2012 looming and although he combined well on occasion up front still lacked the final killer touch in front of goal.

Still, the Galaxy finished with 15 shots on goal to Montreal’s 11, while the home side could only manage two on target as the Galaxy dominated possession in the second 45 minutes.

“We’ve lost some of these games this year,” said Arena. “So to come back and get a point is something for us to build on.”

Game story here.

Next for the Galaxy: A visit to the White House Tuesday before playing Chivas USA in the SuperClasico next weekend.

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