Recently in A Few Words With Category

Read the column here.

Check out the trailer.

BTW, one of the worst parts of any soccer movie is invariably the soccer scenes played by actors. That's not the case with The Damned United. Why? Because the soccer scenes are mercifully brief. Here's producer Andy Harries explaining why:

"Part of the tricks is not feature football too much. We've chosen judicious moments and we're playing a lot of it off reaction shots off Clough and Taylor so you're watching football, you're seeing football, but you're not emotionally involved in the game. You're emotionally involved in their watching it - and through their reactions you know what's happening on the pitch."

I had the pleasure of speaking recently with actor Michael Sheen about the film and his role as Brian Clough. Below is our Q&A almost verbatim. I just wished we were talking at a pub rather than on the phone.

CloughiePhotos by Laurie Sparham, courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Question: Do you find yourself having to do a lot of explaining over here about the significance of Leeds United and Brian Clough?
Answer: Yeah, I knew that nobody was ever going to hear of Brian Clough over here so that wasn't much of a surprise. I don't think you need to know much about Brian Clough or football itself to enjoy the film. I was kind of heartened in Britain by how many people said, "I've got no interest in football, (I) didn't know anything about Brian Clough, but I still really loved the film." I think, obviously, there's a whole (further) level of enjoyment if you are into football and you do know Brian Clough that you get from it.

Q: Are you a football fan?
A: Yeah, I was a huge football fan. That's all I wanted to do when I was a kid. When I was 12 I was offered an apprenticeship at Arsenal. But it would have meant our whole family relocating to London - I'm from a small town in Wales - so my dad said, well if he's still interested when he's 16 he can decide for himself. So that was that. By the time I was that age it was too late. You've got to go when you're young and by then I was into other stuff - I was into acting - so it wasn't a path I went down. But part of the attraction of doing the film was to be able to sort of live out that life.

Q: So is Arsenal your team? Because considering they did the (league and cup) double in 1971 you must bloody well hate Leeds.
A: No, Arsenal is not my team. In fact when I was young my team was the Liverpool team that I walk out next to in the Charity Shield match in the film. It was (Kevin) Keegan, (John) Toshack, Tommy Smith, Emlyn Hughes' team. I lived in Liverpool for three years between age five and eight so they were my team at that point. And then my dad was a rugby man, he wasn't a soccer man. So when we moved from Liverpool when I was eight back to Wales again I thought you could only support teams if you lived in the area. So I thought I had to stop supporting Liverpool then and nobody ever explained to me that wasn't the case, so I sort of ending up growing up without a team really.

Q: Nigel Clough, Brian's son, is now manager at Derby County. Did you go spend time with Nigel or what kind of research did you do for the role?
A: Nigel became manager of Derby not long before the film came out after we finished filming. The research I did, there's a lot of footage of Brian, there's a lot of books written about him, there's a lot of stuff you can get your hands on, so I did all that. I knew I was going to be doing the film about two, two and a half years before we started shooting and then I did a solid three or four months (of research) before we started doing the film so I just watched everything I could watch, I just read everything I could read and ended up knowing more about his life than I know about my own really. And reading the book the film is based on - it's an adaptation of (the novel) "The Damned United" by David Peace. So it was really just trying to immerse myself in Brian's life and his world.

Q: You pointed out that the character of Clough in the movie is based upon a novel that itself was an extremely liberal novelization of events and not everything that occurred in the film actually occurred in real life.
A: That's right. David Peace, who wrote it, called it a fictionalization of Brian Clough's time at Leeds.

Q: In your career you seem to have specialized in this sort of fictionalization - I saw "Frost/Nixon" last night and then you also did a turn as Tony Blair in "The Queen." So here you are playing famous people and yet you get to take liberties with who they are as a person and their character. Is that part of the appeal of taking these roles?
A: I don't know if I'm taking liberties. The scripts to all these (movies) are written by the same man - they're written by a man called Peter Morgan - so it's not like I go out seeking these characters. It's just that they're all written by the same man and they're the best scripts that come my way. I enjoy the process. I really enjoy researching and finding out about these people's lives because they're all fascinating characters. I like the discipline of sort of having to work within an existing framework of someone's life, but at the same time having to find a way to connect with them to sort of make that imaginative connection. I try to find a way to make it accessible to an audience so people can empathize with it and sympathize with it and go on a journey with this character. I find it's an exciting mixture of the work that you need to do on fictional characters, but with the added dimension that a lot of people are going to be very familiar with this character. They're great roles and great stories and he's a great writer so it's coincidence. ... It's not like I set out to only play roles that are based on real people.

Q: The character of Brian Clough in the novel is more of a brooding, introspective loner kind of character and in the movie you play him as a in your face maverick who delights in actually daring people to like him. How did that difference come about?
A: The book takes place inside Brian's head where you hear his every thought and you get a real sense of this claustrophobic sense of being in this one man's mind. It's a very dark, obsessive, alcoholic world that's depicted in the novel. That would mean we'd have to do the film all in voice over, which y'know wouldn't have worked. So inevitably once it's not inside someone's head and you see him from the outside then a lot of that stuff is covered up. I'm sure everyone would agree that if everyone heard everything that was going on inside our heads all the time it would be a very different view of ourselves that people would have. So inevitably there's a certain amount of covering up of that and disguising it. I think the Clough I play in the film is a man who covers up his vulnerabilities and his insecurities and his anxieties with all kinds of things. One of them is his humor and wit and sometimes his arrogance and self-confidence and outrageousness and all those kinds of things. So I think in the film ... we wanted it to be more celebratory of this man, a more rounded portrayal of him and to show different facets of his character that everyone was aware of.

The Clough quagmire

Q: Football movies in general have a patchy reputation. There's been some pretty awful ones. Do you have a favorite soccer movie?
A: (Laughs). There's not many to draw on really. My favorite sports movie would probably be "Raging Bull" because ostensibly it's about a boxer, but it's (really) about a man and his relationships and that's sort of what our film is a bit like. For pure fun I love "Escape To Victory." Just to see Sylvester Stallone as a goalkeeper is always good fun in the same scenes as Mike Summerbee, the Manchester City player - that's always a good partnership on film. Seeing the 1970s Ipswich (Town) and Manchester City teams mixing with Michael Caine and Pele is great. There's things like "This Sporting Life" that Richard Harris did about Rugby League, which I think is a terrific film as well. There's precious few to choose from in terms of soccer films, I think.

Q: What's the strongest part of this movie?
A: The strongest thing is the character it's about. He's such a compelling character I hope we do him justice. He's such a fascinating, complex character. If you're going to make a film about someone it's a pretty good starting point you've got someone like Brian Clough to make it about.

Q: Do you think Brian Clough would have liked your portrayal of him - after he had removed his fingers from your neck?
A: Yeah, exactly. I think he'd want to know why if "Lord of the Rings" can have a trilogy of films made about a book why can't he?

Q: What kind of reception did this movie get in England?
A: Everybody in Britain knows who Brian Clough is football fan or not, I think. I've never felt so much pressure in the build up to this film. Everyone was saying 'oh, I'm really looking forward to that film, I love Cloughie.' Everyone had something to say about Brian Clough. The reception was very positive - amazing, really to be honest - from within the football world, but also across the board. There's so much affection for Brian Clough. Back in the day when he was managing he used to really divide people and people used to love to hate him, but it's all turned into affection I think because he symbolizes a period of time when in Britain, certainly in football, but also in the country (in general) that's sort of gone now. Sport has changed so much, football has certainly changed so much and Clough represents a time that was very different. No one like him could come along now. His achievements can't be emulated because you would never get a team (like Derby County) coming from the bottom of the second division to the top of the Premiership (and) winning the European Cup. It just couldn't happen. You wouldn't get a top-flight manager managing a team like that. Something has definitely gone. That age is over with so I think there's a lot of affection for him and for that period of time.

Q: One can argue this film isn't about soccer, but about the relationship between Peter Taylor and Cloughie.
A: These were two men who loved each other. They had a hugely intimate relationship with each other. It was like a marriage really with all its complexity and love and intimacy and resentment. What happened eventually after they did get back together again - they had all the achievements at Nottingham Forest - but then they fell out again and didn't speak to each other right up to Peter Taylor's death. And Clough, when he was interviewed or talked about Taylor after that, would be choking back the tears literally because he loved him so much and yet their relationship ended. So it's a hugely powerful relationship that these two men had with each other. The structure of the story really is about a relationship, about a love story. We're not in any way suggesting there's anything homoerotic about it, but it's certainly a story about a very loving relationship, a very complicated love story between these two men. It was definitely something we wanted to explore, what that relationship was between them and the fact they do come back together at the end was very important. It was the climax of the film.

Q: And that's probably an apt place to end this conversation. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I hope you get nominated for something or other.
A: I hope I just keep getting work.

Here's a clip from the movie showing Cloughie's first day as Leeds United manager

Updated:
At the request of readers, here's where the film opens on Friday:

Laemmle's Town Ctr 5
17200 Ventura Blvd.
Encino, CA 91316

Laemmle's Playhouse 7
673 East Colorado Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91101

The Landmark
10850 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064

Finally, there's lots of Leeds United/Brian Clough related stuff on YouTube. Those of you planning to see the movie might want to skip the video below; it's the original Don Revie-Brian Clough TV debate after he was fired as Leeds manager:

There are some times when you can't help reverting from journalist to fan.

Meeting and talking to Pele at the opening of Home Depot Center in 2003 courtesy of AEG was one of them; interviewing Zinidene Zidane Saturday in El Segundo via a French language interpreter thanks to adidas was another.

Here's our (brief) interview.

Question: Is it conceivable you could come out of retirement and play for Major League Soccer?
Answer: As of today I would say no. It's true I've had offers since I retired from my career three years ago. And I can assure you I've been tempted by the offers. I took the decision not to return. And maybe in 10 years I might regret it.

Q: What did you think of the U.S. upset of Spain at the Confederations Cup?
A: The U.S. played very well. Spain was maybe a little off. It proves the soccer in the United States is coming to another level.

Q: Do you think there is prejudice against American players in Europe?
A: Yes, I do. I would say here in the United States the game isn't exactly up to par - that it's still a little behind. But things can change in the future. I think there are talented players in the United States. (And here I think the translation completely broke down, but to paraphrase I believe he said "that will change when U.S. National Team players also play for the best European clubs and that was the case when France won the World Cup in 1998). We had all the best players; they were all belonging to the best European teams.

Q: What American player has most impressed you?
A: He's the one who represents soccer in the U.S. - (Landon) Donovan. In fact, he played abroad in Germany, no? I knew him a little bit when he was playing over there.

Former Galaxy midfielder Sasha Victorine scored two goals in five games after arriving from Kansas in mid-season last year and then suffered the worst injury of his career. I caught up with him the other day after training to get an update on his progress.

Question: How are you doing with rehab?
Answer: I'm not full practicing yet - hopefully in the next couple of weeks. The first four months or so has been good recovery-wise. ... The full use of my knee and my body has been a little difficult these last three weeks. We're still in the process of trying to get my full range of motion - the feeling I can do anything I want on the field without feeling any pain.

Q: So when do they project you should return?
A: Projections for these things are incredible. One guy recovers in nine months, one guy recovers in five months - it just depends. The projection (for me) has always been six to eight (months). But my feeling has always been close to five, so five would put me in the middle of April. I think I'm still on track for it. ... I still get occasional pain on certain moves - my turns and acceleration.

Q: It must have been frustrating sustaining an injury of this magnitude so soon after your arrival back in the South Bay?
Q: It was frustrating to me because after I had my injury I felt like I had a chance to make it on the playoff roster and I was two days away from getting back in the lineup ... and we found a couple of pieces floating around in my knee and the doctors shut me down and said you're done for the year. So at that point it was tough because obviously I'm sitting there watching the team play and I knew I felt I could help them if I could just get out there, but I wasn't allowed to. That was the tough part.

Q: What do you think is causing all these injuries at the club?
A: It's something we have to look at and see what's causing it- training-wise, staff-wise, players-wise and see what we can all do to make it better.

Q: Is Preki too tough on you guys?
A: The benefit for playing at a coach at this level, who has played even at a higher level than you, is that he obviously knows what he has done on the field, how to get teams prepared - he's kind of gone through the same thing. ... He does an amazing job preparing guys and getting in hard trainings.

Q: Do you like yoga? (Preki is famous for his adherence to yoga)
A: I like yoga. It's one of the things I do in the off-season myself just to stay flexible and limber and stuff. I think it is useful. I was talking to Chis Henderson when I was back in Kansas City talking about it is that what he used to do it in New York. And one of the things they had found was if you do yoga, do it on a consistent basis, otherwise you're more likely to create injuries. You've got to do it (at least) weekly, if not then probably not do it at all.

Today's rubber-stamping of the widely leaked announcement that the Portland Timbers would become the latest USL team to jump to MLS renewed memories of the NASL's legacy in Portland that bears more than a few similarities to that seen earlier in the week in Seattle and Portland and recounted here.

A well-supported team, the Timbers were NASL Soccer Bowl finalists way back in 1975 and gave us such soccer icons as the late Clive Charles and and Glenn "Mooch" Myernick.

The team enjoyed a spirited rivalry with the Seattle Sounders and lived on after the NASL's demise in one form or another before finally being reborn today.

To many the NASL is a fading memory (and a grainy reality if you check out the clip below), but one fan keeping its heritage alive is Austin, Texas resident Dave Brett Wasser on his Web site that celebrates the sights and sounds of the league via historic soccer videotapes.

Wasser, 42, who by day is the executive director of The Space Settlement Institute, claims the largest collection of NASL videotapes in the country (he provided ESPN with the '70s-era Sounders clips for last night's broadcast).

As someone who has a disparate collection of of sports video tapes (the 1985 Milk Cup final between Norwich and Sunderland, the final game of the 1989 Stanley Cup final with Lanny McDonald scoring the winner for the Calgary Flames and, yes, a collection of the NY Cosmos' greatest goals among them) I was interested to learn more about Wasser and his interest.

We conducted this Q&A via Facebook earlier today:

Question: You noted that with today's announcement naming the Portland franchise, about 20 percent of MLS teams have adopted NASL names. You approve of the trend?

Answer: I think it is terrific. Nostalgia is great. Fans want to feel they are contributing to the legacy of a team, and the best way to do that is to use the historic name associated with soccer in each city.

The MLS team in New York (MetroStars/Red Bulls) would have been far more successful if MLS had just bought the rights to the name "Cosmos." Yes, I am well aware that MLS has a strict salary cap. So a team in NY named Cosmos now would not be loaded with stars like the old Cosmos. But fans would still identify with the historic name and logo.

The current situation is just stupid. It's like if Major League Baseball put a team in the Bronx, and called it something other than "Yankees."

I am glad that the Red Bull corporation is building a great new stadium for their team in Harrison, NJ. But it is going to be 27,000 seats. If they want to fill the place, they are going to have to stop naming the team after themselves, and instead buy the rights to the name and logo of the Cosmos.

Q: Why did you start collecting NASL tapes in 1993, nine years after the league folded? A strange obsession even given that you said you supported the Cosmos as a kid.
A: You've got to remember where soccer was in this country in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Soccer was pretty much dead at the time. There was no American soccer on TV where I lived. (I am talking about outdoor soccer, not the indoor variety.) So for me, finding these old Cosmos tapes was just a way to keep in touch with the sport that I grew up with and loved as a kid.

Growing up in New York, I watched Cosmos games on WOR-TV, channel 9. Jim Karvallas and Seamus Malin were the announcers. I still say that Seamus Malin is the best soccer broadcaster this country has ever had.

In the early '90s I was just curious to see if anyone taped these old games. As you know, VCRs were very expensive in the late '70s. The price for the machines didn't really come down until around 1984 - the same year the NASL collapsed. So few people in those days had VCRs, and even fewer people recorded sporting events. But I have managed to find an amazing number of old tapes of my three favorite teams -- the Cosmos, the Mets, and the Jets.

Q: How difficult was it to accumulate these tapes? How did you do it (wish I'd kept some of my old Calgary Boomers games for you)?
A: It was very difficult at first. I tracked down everyone associated with the NASL - players, managers, athletic trainers, team executives, broadcasters. For every 15 people I called, one would have a stash of old tapes in a closet. Some of those games were recorded by a friend or a relative, but some were from the NASL office itself.

When the NASL office was about to close, someone in the office called a few players and coaches, and said "I've got some tapes of games you were in. Do you want them?" The problem is that the games were in a bulky, one-inch video format called "Umatic." Few people have equipment to play these tapes. So years later, when I found these people, I offered to convert their tapes to VHS. That's how I started my collection.

Q: What's No. 1 on your NASL tape want list?
A: August 10, 1976: Miami Toros at Cosmos at Yankee Stadium. Pele scored perhaps his greatest bicycle kick goal.

In the spirit of this back to the future-like NASL/MLS week here's a blast from the past and the shape of things to come - Sounders verses Timbers in 1979:

I'm heading out to the first-ever L.A. Sol practice shortly and realized I still had an interview with Kljestan recorded last week I had yet to post.

Kljestan is injured and didn't play Sunday in Chivas USA's win over the PDL Ventura County Fusion in Santa Clarita. He spoke about his expectations for the upcoming season, the interest shown by Glasgow Celtic in him and the U.S.-Mexico World Cup qualifier:

Question: Last year was a break-out season for you. What do you need to do for an encore?
Answer: I've got to be more of a leader, more of a guy the team can really count on in every game. I think I've got to create more for the offense and also have to be a box to box guy that helps out the defense as well. There's going to be a lot of (World Cup) qualifiers this year and hopefully some big tournaments in the summer as well. My first goal is to win the MLS Cup - something we haven't ever done.

Q: Offensively, your game took on a new dimension last season. Is there room for improvement there, too?
A: I need to get better around the goal. Five to six goals (a year) is OK, but 10 to 12 is probably a lot better - that would probably help my team win a few more games. You can always work on your first touch, I can always work on my awareness on the field and I think (as far as ) my relationships with the forwards we need to spend more time playing together. Getting some good time with (Maykel) Galindo and Alecko (Eskandarian) and Ante (Razov) when he's back will really help.

Q: Now that you've trained in Scotland with a big club like Glasgow Celtic, are you even more determined to move overseas, perhaps as soon as this summer?
A: If something comes up in the summertime then I have to sit down with my family and look at it. I try not to think about it, really. I tried not to think about the Celtic thing when I was playing with the national team and now that I'm here it's Chivas USA 100 percent.

Q: Are you concerned about making a big move only to struggle for playing time as DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu have done at Glasgow Rangers? Have you talked to them about their situation?
A: I've spoken to them a lot. Maurice and I are a lot closer than Beaz and I, but he's a pretty cool guy and I've been around him a lot on the national team so I talk to him a lot (as well). (Mo) is in a tough situation where he's not getting minutes right now. I heard they maybe wanted to put him out on loan, but he wanted to stay and fight for minutes at Rangers, which shows his character. Mo is a really smart kid and really driven ... It's just a different style over there and it's obviously very hard to break into a team when your team is in first place.

For me, personally, I don't see myself going to a big club. I don't necessarily want to go to a big club. I want to go to a place where I'm important to the team and I'm helping the team win games, not somewhere where I'm just lost in the shuffle.

Q: How was the Mexico-U.S. World Cup qualifier in Columbus?
A: For my first experience of USA-Mexico I thought I had a pretty good game. Maybe attacking-wise I wasn't as good as I was in the (January) game against Sweden, but in the role that I played alongside Michael Bradley in the midfield I think I did what Bob asked me to do. I think Michael and ourselves imposed ourselves on the game and I think our midfield really carried the team in the game. So I was proud of the effort everybody brought forward, but I was also proud of myself to get the experience and especially get the win in front of our home fans. It was quite an amazing feeling.

Few players are more qualified than former Galaxy and likely future Chivas USA left back Ante Jazic (Jonny Bornstein has been playing left half during preseason) to provide a perspective on both clubs. Jazic played more than 40 games with the Galaxy over the last three years before being traded to their intra-stadium rivals in the off-season. I spoke to Jazic earlier this week (and used some of his comments in Tuesday's column) before he headed off to a yoga session. Ante didn't dish on the Galaxy as much as I'd hoped, but you can read between the lines a little. BTW, Jazic and Chivas USA play a charity game against the PDL Ventura County Fusion at 5 p.m. Sunday in Santa Clarita at the College of the Canyons. Tickets are $20 apiece or $40 for a family of four.

Question: What was your reaction when you got traded to Chivas USA?
Answer: If you're going to get traded then this is probably the easiest way to do it - just grab your boots and go 50 feet down the hall, so relocation-wise it was easy on me. I'm happy to be here (it's) a great locker room here at Chivas. It was a little strange at first, but I'm getting used to everything around me now.

Q: How do the Galaxy guys and Chivas USA guys get along?
A: I knew a lot of the guys, you see them every day in the gym, so it's not like this "hate thing" as people might like to say. We see each other daily, we share the stadium. There's a little pride who rules this stadium. The Galaxy guys think they own the stadium, the Chivas guys think we own the stadium, so we'll see, it will be interesting. I'm looking forward to the SuperClasico that's for sure.

Q: How do the two locker rooms compare?
A: Here at Chivas we don't have a marquee player, we don't have any designated players - not that I know of anyway. Everyone's pretty much on an even keel, guys are good friends off the field. In the Galaxy locker room (there's) a great bunch of guys - I had a lot of friends there - it's just a different dynamic. It's just different because of people on different (wage) scales; (there's) just a different aura around the club, whereas (with) everyone here it's almost like a lunch pail mentality.

Q: Were you glad to get the hell out of the Galaxy considering what's been going on there the last couple of years?
A: You know what, I enjoyed my time at the Galaxy, it was a great experience. A change of scenery definitely at this point in my career was good for me. The locker room (at Chivas USA) is great. Everyone jokes around with each other. Everyone is on an even keel - there's no one ahead of anybody here on the team, so the young guys have their voice in the locker room and it's fun. Everyone has a go at each other. It's just a different dynamic. It's tough at the Galaxy when you have David who's a great guy, but it's hard sometimes - you can't really make fun of David, y'know. Well you can, but most guys are afraid to. Here everyone can make fun of everyone. ... Hopefully, the Galaxy get things together, but now I'm with Chivas and we rule the stadium now.

Q: What was your relationship with David Beckham?
A: With David I had a great relationship. More on the road we'd hang out. He was fine, but it's not easy being David as well, y'know? Coming here, it was different surroundings for him. He's not used to MLS and the salaries and all that. David does his best - it takes time.

Q: Is it better for the Galaxy that David stay in Italy?
A: David is a good player. You have a better chance of winning games if David is on the field. I'm not in the locker room anymore, I don't hear what guys are saying and I don't really ask. But I would think if I was with the Galaxy (still) we'd have a better chance of winning with David Beckham than without David Beckham. If (someone says) it's going to be a better team without David in the side, I don't really know what that person is talking about.

Q: Some fans are trying to figure out what was going on with you leaving the Galaxy and left back Todd Dunivant returning to the team. What was your take on the trades?
A: (Laughs) Similar salaries. Similar surgeries - Todd had a micro-fracture (like me). I needed a change of scenery. I'm glad I was traded to Chivas. I thank Bruce for that because who knows where I could have been traded to. I like Los Angeles and wanted to stay in LA. I'm happy to be with Chivas, (where there's) a good bunch of guys and we've bonded well through training in camp and we're working hard and looking forward to the new season.

Q: One of the criticisms of Chivas USA is they haven't seemed to have added an impact player or two that might give them a better chance of getting through the first round of the playoffs. How do you see the situation here?
A: You can tell you're coming into a stable locker room. They've had a couple of good seasons - (and been) a little unlucky not to get past the first round. They're still looking to add players in this training camp period. I've been impressed, guys work hard, training sessions are extremely difficult. Everyone works hard, we're grunting our way through it. Hopefully the work will pay off and we can get past the first round of the playoffs because that's obviously our goal. There's a lot of good players, a lot of good characters in the locker room and it has just been a joy. I'm enjoying my soccer, that's for sure.

Q: How close is your spot in the locker room to the other Ante (Razov)? And is that confusing?
A: (laughs) He's a few seats down. It's a little weird. I feel like I'm in Croatia again. Ante is a common name in Croatia, but definitely not in America, so when I hear someone say "Ante" I'm always turning around. So it's definitely weird. I never thought I'd experience that. He's Croatian himself so sometimes we can chat in Croatian. We have a whole melting pot of guys in the locker room, it's a good group of guys. He's been injured, but when he gets on the field we'll have to sort something out. Maybe I'm Ante Junior, he's a little bit older.

Q: Compare the two teams' training sessions?
A: I'm hoping this training camp ends soon because it has been different with Preki, that's for sure. We run a lot - that's what I've noticed here. Every training session is difficult. Preki has a philosophy that you train once a day, but that one a day covers about two training sessions, I think. Fitness won't be an issue; hopefully we can keep healthy this year and start to win some games, if we have a healthy squad. I think our team is pretty deep this year - a good blend of young guys and experienced players. I want March 21st to roll around as soon as possible.

I'd never really spoken to Mike Magee before when he was with New York, but after he converted two penalty kicks Saturday in the Pan-Pacific alleged Championship and appears likely to make the roster I figured I should get acquainted:

Question: What did you think of the team's performance tonight compared to Wednesday?
Answer: I thought it was a little more inconsistent today. Last game we were pretty solid across the board and I think today our legs kind of showed a little bit. Some guys were a little bit heavy. They started maybe five or six new guys and I think we only started three, so that kind of showed. I thought we were a little bit inconsistent and that has a lot to do with Wednesday's game. I thought in the second half we picked it up a little bit and we gave ourselves the chance to win the game.

I thought Wednesday we were a little bit better. I think maybe in the final third today and Wednesday we were a little bit off. Our crossing, our finishing, our through balls were a little bit off.

Q: How is your comfort level?
A: It's getting there. Fitness has been a little bit of a problem for me the last couple of years, but I'm finally getting fit, y'know. ... The guys are great. Bruce is an incredible coach. I've been welcomed with open arms. I couldn't think of a better place to be.

Q: Was Arena a big reason for you coming here?
A: Bruce is great. I'm not sure why New York didn't work out for him. But he's a great manager, a great coach. He's a great man and he's definitely righting the ship here in L.A., I believe.

My contract had expired in New York and things weren't going as well as I would have liked there. And I needed a fresh change and Bruce expressed some interest in me and I told him if he could get me here I'd love to be here.

Q: How does Bruce seeing you contributing to the team?
A: He saw me as a kind of versatile player. He knows I like being by the goal - I'm not too defensive-minded. Obviously, I'll put in the work like anybody else, but he said he was going to try me at forward, or play me in midfield, wherever the team needs me at the time or wherever he feels I am at the time. Last year I was healthy on and off and he didn't really have too much to judge from last year. He was, more or less, taking it from the couple of weeks we had in New York.

Q: How did you guys view the Galaxy last year?
A: Whenever you guys came to us there were about 65,000 people in the stands cheering for you guys so, we didn't like you guys too much.

Kljestan hasn't signed a new MLS contract.

He hasn't joined Glasgow Celtic.

Yet Chivas USA was moved to confirm this evening that the club have "officially announced that midfielder Sacha Kljestan, U.S. Soccer's 2008 Young Male Athlete of the Year and Chivas USA's reigning team MVP, will return to the Red-and-White for the 2009 MLS season, which kicks off on March 21."

O.K. That's good. Figured as much.

The press release was apparently prompted by inquiries from (apparently worried) fans wondering about his status.

I shouldn't poke fun: more info about players is always more welcome than less (are you listening Bruce Arena and the Galaxy?).

And at least he's cut that ratty hair of his (and yes, I sound like my grandfather).

More from the Huntington Beach kid here:

Oh, and if he keeps playing out of his skull like he is, a European club or two will come calling when the transfer window opens this summer anyway and he'll pull a Brad Guzan.

A prophetic statement by Omar Gonzalez' college coach on his Maryland player profile at the start of the 2008 season came true and the huge central defender was made the Galaxy's top draft choice.

Born and raised in Dallas, Gonzalez learned just a couple of days before the draft that the Galaxy were interested in him.

I spoke with Gonzalez (briefly) Monday after his first day of practice with the team:

Question: How was your first day as a professional?
Answer: Coming out here from East Coast and the cold weather to the nice warm weather, it takes a beating on you. I think the first morning session went pretty well. I struggled a little bit with the quickness of play, but I'm sure I will bounce back really quick and hopefully within the next week I'll be at my best."

Q: Some critics raised concerns before the draft about your mobility and quickness given your size. How do you respond to that?
A: I've really just got to go on the field and show them I can be agile and be quick on my feet, which I believe I am. So I just have to go in day in day out and show them what I'm made of.

Q: Given the Galaxy's well-documented problems at central defense, Coach Bruce Arena has already apparently penciled you in at that position. What's your reaction to that?
A: I'm really happy he has me in his mind to go in right away and start. There's a lot of good players here, so I've just to fight for my position and really show them I can play and I'm ready to play against most elite players out there.

Truth be told, I've always remembered midfielder Dema Kovalenko more for his temper and two crunching tackles that broke the legs of Dallas defender Brandon Pollard (ending his career) and Ronnie O'Brien (almost ending his) than his work rate on the field.

Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena, who had Kovalenko in his team with the Red Bulls, was I'm guessing looking for a bit of steel in what was on occasion a rather limp midfield last season and looked even worse this year with the departures of Pete Vagenas and Alvaro Pires.

"From the roster that was inherited and remained at the end of the year we needed to shore up our defensive midfield position," Arena said of the thinking behind signing Kovalenko from Real Salt Lake in a draft eve deal. "I think Stefani Miglioranzi and Dema make us stronger in that position.

"He's a ball-winner, he's an experienced player there and again that's a position where we didn't have an experienced player last year and it showed," Arena added. "He can win the ball, he's a good passer and he's a good communicator."

I spoke with Kovalenko Friday after his first training session with the Galaxy:

Question: You've played with eight teams (including two overseas) in an 11-year professional career. Is this it for you?
Answer: It's tough to move all the time, but it's the way you live - it happens that way in a soccer player's life. But hopefully it's the last stop for me. I've known Bruce a long time, I respect him a lot and I'm glad that I'm here. He gave me that chance - I played for him in New York and then he left and I'm glad I'm playing for him (again). I know what he expects from me and I know what I have to do - play hard and make the team better.

Q: How can you help the Galaxy?
A: He knows what I can bring - it's what this league is about. It's about working hard. Its not always about players who can score goals. You've got to have a chemistry, you've got to have different kinds of players. This team has to get better - it's three years now they've not been in the playoffs.

Q: How much longer can you play?
A: I'm not ready to stop y'know. I'm going to be 32 this summer, I still want to play a few more years. But, I think I can still physically do it and I want to win and that's the main thing. Every time I step on the field I want to compete - I still want to win a championship. I only won one with D.C. and that's what we all play for - to win something - because when you're done you're done. It's important when you're done with your career you remember something.

At age 37, former U.S. international Tony Sanneh is on trial with the Galaxy in a bid to extend his injury-riddled career.

Sanneh began his MLS career winning back to back titles with Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena at D.C. United. But Sanneh has battled injuries of one sort or another ever since moving from MLS to Hertha Berlin in 1998, where he managed just 31 appearances in four years. Since moving back to the U.S. in 2004 he's played a mere 50 times in five years for four teams, most recently in 2007 with the Colorado Rapids.

After sitting out - but never officially retiring - last year, Sanneh explained after the third day of camp today why he's giving the pro game one last shot:

Question: How are you feeling?
Answer: I feel a little bit rusty and I'm trying to get in shape, but I think everybody is a little sore. Obviously, haven't played at this level in a little bit so it feels good to be out here day by day and test my body

Q: What do you offer on the field?
A: I can offer leadership, I can offer experience and obviously a winning mentality. And I know what Bruce wants, so hopefully I can lead by example .

The biggest thing is: can I be injury free and I can I get to my old playing weight?

Q: What does Bruce want?
A: He wants winners. He wants guys to fight to the end. He wants guys to be team players. He wants you to sacrifice. He wants you to do the extra, just in case.

Q: Why come back? Do you have something to prove?
A: I had a lot of injuries and so I haven't put too many miles on the last five years. I had two hip surgeries and I was playing pick up (soccer) and most of my pain was gone so I decided to get back into shape.

I'm not stupid. I know I'm very old for the game, but it has been done before: Preki was (MLS) MVP at 42 (actually 40, according to Wikipedia) and (Paolo) Maldini is still playing at 43 (he's actually 40, according to Wikipedia) and I was as good an athlete as both those guys.

Q: What happened last year?
A: I had labrium (shoulder) surgery at the end of the year in Colorado. I was hoping to go somewhere else and it didn't work out.

So I was training to get back into shape in Minnesota and and (suffered) a bad tackle and ( I had) a deep bone bruise on my knee and I thought that maybe that was a sign from God that I'd had too many injuries and to take it easy. So I did for a couple of months and had a good time. And then I started playing in the local pick up leagues just for fun and as I took care of my body it hurt less.

Obviously I wasn't playing at a high level, but it hurt less and I thought y'know why not see what would happen if I was in shape, because when I was younger I was so much faster than other people that me losing a step or two might not have as big an impact as it would on other people.

Q: What do you need to do to make the roster?
A: I'm injury free. If everything goes well, I would like to get through the camp (and make the roster). And I need to lose another eight to 10 pounds maybe in 2 1/2 months and I think that's achievable and playing every day will do that to you. I'm pain free and they have an excellent medical staff here that is familiar with me and I know at this stage I have to do extra stuff to be a better pro.

Q: Is this your last chance to continue your career?
Q: I never really thought of it like that - it's an opportunity and it was worth exploring and I'm just taking it a day at a time right now.

I wouldn't want to come here and make a fool of myself. I took eight months off and went to Colorado and I trained a week and a half and I was starting there y'know? So obviously it's a whole 'nother year later, but if I didn't think I couldn't do it, I wouldn't try.

I should really have called this post "Catching up with Danny Califf."

For some reason I don't think I had talked to Califf at length since he left the Galaxy after the 2004 season (outside of grabbing a few comments at a packed mixed zone after a national team game).

He was positively giddy on the opening day of the U.S. National Team camp Monday, having just seen his third child, Jude, enter the world at 2:23 p.m. Dec. 31 at 8 pounds 2 ounces (and 19 inches), which meant he needed to add another tattoo to his burgeoning collection.

Sporting long sideburns (note to self, remember camera next time), Califf reflected on his career since leaving the Galaxy.

Question: How are you enjoying playing in Denmark? You're on your second club in three years with FC Midtjylland and captained previous club Aalborg to a national championship so you must be having fun.
Answer: I played my contract out in Aalborg and we had fantastic success and we won the championship, did well in Europe. But the coach left, a couple of other guys were leaving and so it felt like it was time to move on and another club came in and they had big aspirations and they had finished second (in the league) two years in a row. We're putting the money in to really try and push for a championship. It was an opportunity for me to step in to a club that had big ambitions and I was going to be a big part of the team. We got to move to a bigger city, it made sense (for my family), it gave me (financial) security.

Q: It seems like Scandinavia is increasingly the destination of choice for Americans.
A: It's weird. When I first got out there there was almost nobody. It was just Robbie Russell who had been in Norway for a bunch of years and had just come to Denmark and there was me. And now there's a ton of guys. There's guys in Sweden, a bunch of guys in Norway and now more in Denmark. It's a good jumping off point for Americans in many respects. ... Culture-wise, everyone speaks English which is a huge thing. It's an easy step - as easy a step you can get if you're moving to Europe and moving to another country as opposed to England.

It's fantastic, we really enjoy it. It's different and we still love Southern California and that's where we're going to end up, but it's a great stop. It's a great opportunity for the kids and it's a great opportunity to play. It's really cool.

Soccer is the number one thing out there so there's a lot of passion from the fans. With the single (12-team) table every game means something.

Q: How was it to captain a team to the Danish championship? Did that exceed your expectations?
A: Beyond it. We won the championship here in L.A. and it was amazing - I got to do it in front of my family. But (this one) felt different because it was the culmination of everything that had started in July, all the way until the end of May (the Danish season starts in July, takes a long break for winter and cranks back up in March; the summer break is about 10 days long, Califf said). So much had gone into it - it was more of a longer process to get to that championship. I was a foreigner - I don't speak the language - and to be able to be a captain and to lead the team - it was beyond anything I could describe. I think that's what kept me in Denmark. It was the opportunity to do that again with this team. ... I had such an amazing experience I want that again and I want that every year. So I think that was the big driving force of why I wanted to stay in Denmark as opposed to waiting it out and see if I could get a club in Germany or something like that.

Q: I assume you still follow the Galaxy's fortunes. What did you think of their season?
A: It was a tough situation - it was pretty top-heavy and you had to fill it in with guys that don't have a lot of experience. ... It's tough when you're thrown into the fire like that and you're expected to perform week in and week out and you're not really ready for that. It was a bit unfair I think to look at the young guys and say you need to pull everybody up.You've got a couple of superstars, but it seemed from the outside looking in it was tough to get the team to gel and really come together. In order to win consistently you need a whole bunch of Indians and a few chiefs and not a bunch of chiefs and a few Indians.

Q: How has playing in Europe affected your national team career?
A: It's been good. I can only point to the fact that I've grown a lot since I've moved and I've grown as a person and I've grown as a player and I've come into my own as far as professionalism and I think in turn that's helped with my career with the national team. Being out of your comfort zone makes you grow up I think. ... I think that's one of the reasons Bob likes to have me around. I hope to continue that.

Q: What are your goals for the next two or three years. Do you see yourself back in MLS or...?
A: I have three and a half years left on my contract in Denmark and so far as the foreseeable future I'll be there playing club soccer, but you never know.

U.S. Women's National Team Coach Pia Sundhage has signed a new four-year contract with U.S. Soccer that will be announced Monday, 100 Percent Soccer has learned.

The new deal will take the Swedish coach through the 2011 World Cup in Germany and was widely expected. Sundhage was given a short-term contract after the firing of Greg Ryan with the mission of winning an Olympic gold medal.

Mission accomplished.

It's been almost exactly a year since Sundhage took charge of the team at a camp at Home Depot Center, so I did a little Q & A with the coach in the wake of the China game Saturday in Carson in a year that saw the U.S. win a record number of games.

Question: Reflect on your year in charge. How was it?
Answer: It's been fantastic. It's almost a dream come true. ... Coaching the best players in the world - it has been better than I could have thought about and dream about. ... They have embraced the change because I wanted to change both a little bit of the playing style, but I guess also my leadership is a little bit different because I do not come from this country and I think U.S. Soccer was brave to hire me in an Olympic year. Its been fantastic even though Kristine Lilly got pregnant, Abby (Wambach) broke her leg and we lost the first game against Norway. But we found a way to have fun, we found a way to win and we really worked as a team. I think that is key.

Q: So what will change in the next four years?
A: We won the gold medal because of great defense and a great atmosphere in the team. I think we should go into Germany in 2011 and try to win another gold medal, but I hope people will talk about the way we attack. So now we have two years to adjust the attacking style because honestly I think Brazil played better attacking soccer than we did (at the Olympics). I like the way Japan is playing attacking soccer as well. They knock it around and they are comfortable with the ball. So we need to learn from the Asian team when it comes to technique and to read the game a little bit better and that is in the attack.

I watched the U-20 World Cup, hopefully we'll change the team a little bit. I'm impressed with the way they've changed their game - I've only been here 10 months so I can see many things happening with these players. I can promise you it will not be exactly the same players. We will try to change different players coming in and try to change the chemistry a little bit, the atmosphere a little bit and expectations and I think that's important going forward. Because, we want to win the gold medal in a different way.

Q: What was the key to success this year?
A: First of all, they were looking for a change, so that was a good start. Whatever I did, something they hadn't done before, they embraced that. Secondly, they work as a team. They respect the roles, they had different kinds of roles. If you look at the back four I expect them to keep possession, be comfortable, so we change the expectations and little by little going into the Olympics mentally we were strong. We knew that we have a lot of fun and we can do it.

Cal State Dominguez Hills Coach Joe Flanagan, in his 15th year with the program, has his squad in the Division II Final Four for the first time since 2001. The all-time winningest coach in Toros history (as well as their all-time leading goalscorer), the former L.A. Salsa player took time out to answer questions via e-mail from Tampa, Fla., where the Toros are preparing for Friday's semifinal against Tampa.

Question: CSUDH is back in the Final Four for the first time since 2001. How did this season and the team stack up against the squads you took to the Final Four the previous two times, especially the 2000 national champions?
Answer: Even though in 2000 we hadn't been in the playoff before we were a more seasoned group, whereas this team is younger and if you compare the stats from the 2000 team they had some big goal scorers and this year we are getting it done as a whole team. This team seems to really play together and rely on each other game in and game out.

Q: Coming into this season off back to back CCAA titles, you expected to field a deep team. Did the season unfold as you thought?
A: The team has definitely exceeded my expectations. It's not that I didn't expect us to get this far, but anytime you get to the Final Four you feel very fortunate because we know how tough it is to get out of our region. The depth of our team, as usual, is a key part of our success, because we had guys with injuries and missing games. We had guys step in which makes our team better and healthier because we are not having to push guys who are injured and overworked.

Q: What do you know about your opponents Friday?
A: It is hard to really scout being that we don't have any common opponents and we never played them head to head. There is no real video tape available so you have to go off the stats and look for certain things. We are not changing what we do, we will make a couple of adjustments on game day, but we will play like we have so far to be the best on that day.

Q: The team has worn black armbands this season in recognition of former player Jaret Minami, who passed away at a young age just before the season began. How has that affected the team?
A: Its always a motivating factor for me to be focused and working hard just like J.T. always was. I think he has been a 12th man for us, he has been out there playing with us and I know it has been a great inspiration for our players, staff and coaches to play for him each and every game"

Q: Is this team capable of winning a national title?
A: Yeah, we are here and we are in the arena, and once we got here anything can happen. In 2000 I was just happy to get to the Final Four. I didn't know what it was all about. I didn't know if the field would be above and beyond us, but we won it. The next year I thought we had a great chance of winning it, but we didn't. If you talk to any coach in the CCAA, they feel that if you get out of our region you are a battle tested team. Hopefully we can get a semifinal win and we will have the chance to get to the championship on Sunday.

Earlier, I did a similar Q & A with Toros goalkeeper Miguel Benitez. Read it here.

When Cal State Dominguez Hills goalkeeper Derby Carillo left for Division 1 St. John's the job was up for grabs this year.

Daily Breeze 2004 Player of the Year Miguel Benitez of Gardena transferred over from Loyola Marymount where the former Bishop Montgomery High star played five games in three seasons and CSUDH never missed a beat. Now Cal State Dominguez Hills leaves Tuesday for Tampa, Fla., and a place in the Division II final four.

The Toros will host a pep rally on campus at 11:30 a.m. Monday ahead of their Friday game against Tampa.

Benitez chatted via e-mail:

Question: You came over from Loyola Marymount in search of playing time - and you got it. How has the experience of playing with the Toros been compared to the Lions?
Answer: It has been great. The time I spent with the Lions was a good learning experience for me, but I always lacked that game experience that I needed in order to get better and bring my game up. There was always something that kept me out of the line up at LMU, whether it was the coaches, injuries, or whatever. I needed the opportunity to get out on the pitch and get better. The Toros have given me just that. I feel that all the game experience that I have received here with the Toros has made me a much better goalkeeper, and honestly, I feel that I'm at the best I have ever been in my college career.

Goals actually haunt me now, whether it's in games or even at practice because I feel that I have gotten to a level now where I can make a save on every shot.

Q: Coach Flanagan called you a "difference maker" in your last game over Midwestern State where you made six saves. How was the game from your perspective? How does that game stack up from both a personal and team point of view with others you have played?
A: The Midwestern game was an incredible game. They had the best two central midfielders that I have seen all year, they were dangerous on the ball and moved it around well. The first half, I feel that we struggled a bit to find a rhythm offensively, but as soon as the second half came, we found it and together with the great support we got off the bench from Scott Mariano and Jordan Rover, we found the back of the net. The last 10 minutes though were honestly the longest 10 minutes I have ever played through.

Midwestern State was playing for their season so they were doing their best to outwork us and dump in as many balls as they could to try and get something. I knew that I was going to have to really stay on my toes mentally and physically, to both organize the team and make saves to keep us in it. But in the end, we really held it together and even though we gave up a goal in the last five minutes, I feel we all put a really great effort in to hold on to the win.

Q: You said in the CSUDH media guide that your goal was to win a national championship. You are now one game away from playing for the national title. Are you surprised that you came over from LMU and are promptly in the Final Four?
A: When I first came to Dominguez Hills last spring to talk to Joe Flanagan about becoming a Toro, I told him that I was tired of losing. I came here to win games. So to me it's no surprise to me that we're in the Final Four. At the beginning of the year when we first got together as a team for a pre-game dinner all the players sat together and established what our goals as a team were. We made it clear that we are here to win a championship, and now we're only two games away, we are where we are suppose to be.

Q: Do you know much about your opponents on Friday? Who are their main threats? What are you going to have to watch closely for?
A: We haven't really discussed them much as team yet in practice. Usually when we come up against a team we haven't seen or played before, we focus on the one thing we can control, us. If we go and play our game I feel we'll be fine. One thing I am worried about is playing Tampa at Tampa. It's always tough playing on the road but in this case I feel it will be especially hard because of the importance of this game, it's a national semifinal and Tampa is playing at home.

Q: Can the team win a national title? What's the mood of the team going into the weekend?
Answer: I definitely feel we can win a national title. Ever since our first game in playoffs, we started counting down the games to the title. Now, there are only two games left until we have that title. All we have to do as a team is get out there and play the way we know how, outwork our opponents, and most importantly finish our chances. Personally, I'm going to have to stay focused throughout both games so that I can come up big when I have to. I've had a couple of big saves this year in big games so I just have to keep doing what I have been doing and yell and scream to organize the team and be there to make those big saves when I have to. There's a huge buzz going around in our team right now, we all know what's at stake, but we're confident that we can go to Tampa and bring back an NCAA national title to Dominguez Hills.