Late Wednesday Night Kicks: Chivas USA racial discrimination lawsuit & more

*Could you see this one coming? I guess it’s the obvious end game of Chivas USA’s renewed philosophy on its Mexican heritage in a sense: respected former Anglo U.S. internationals and club youth coaches claim racial discrimination by the club and file a lawsuit.

*The U.S. and the Galaxy’s Omar Gonzalez got stomped by Belgium tonight, but coach Jurgen Klinsmann sounded positively upbeat: “I would rather play Belgium 10 more times than El Salvador 100 times because that is when you learn,” he said. School is in here.

*The LA Galaxy reserves lost tonight, too, in the U.S. Open Cup to the same minor league team that have ousted them before although I’m guessing the absent Bruce Arena doesn’t really care now that he won’t have to worry about midweek distractions and the annoyance of playing Chivas USA in the next round. Come to think of it, that applies to me, too. Game story here.

*Much rumored, but unseen Galaxy midfielder Frank Lampard scored for England to draw 1-1 with actual and oft-seen Ireland-led Galaxy striker Robbie Keane subbed out disappointingly relatively early on. Game story.

 

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Wednesday Kicks: Real Madrid at Dodger Stadium, Galaxy, U.S. Open Cup & more

*The Galaxy announced today that the first-ever soccer games played at 51-year-old Dodger Stadium are set for Aug. 3 when Real Madrid plays either Everton or Juventus in a doubleheader with the Galaxy, which will take on one of those two latter teams in the second game of the night. The four teams are part of the west region of the previously announced Guinness International Champions Cup.

From the press release: Dodger Stadium has seen many legendary baseball moments through the years, while hosting more than 147 million fans since it opened its doors. Dodger Stadium has also played host to events such as the 1984 Olympic Games baseball competition, the 2009 World Baseball Classic Final, a Mass conducted by Pope John Paul II, concerts by the biggest names in the business like The Beatles, Michael Jackson and U2 as well as a basketball game and championship boxing match. These will be the first professional soccer games played and come January, 2014, the stadium will host its first National Hockey League game between the Kings and Ducks.

*Chivas USA came from behind to beat minor league outfit the LA Blues in Fullerton Tuesday night, but needed goalkeeper Dan Kennedy to help them at both ends of the field to secure the win.

The Goats will face the winner of tonight’s Carolina Railhawks-Galaxy match (live at 4 p.m. on Time Warner Cable) in the next round.

*In other televised games, the Galaxy’s Robbie Keane is leading Ireland against England on Fox Soccer as I write this, while the U.S. faces Belgium at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

 

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Thursday Kicks: LA Galaxy’s Donovan stakes claim to USMNT roster spot in dominating performance against Philadelphia

In a spectacular public illustration of his desire for a spot on the U.S. Men’s National Team roster and his value to coach Jurgen Klinsmann ahead of upcoming friendlies against Belgium and Germany, the Galaxy’s Landon Donovan put on a show in LA’s 4-1 win  Wednesday over the Philadelphia Union.

The roster will be  was released this afternoon (and Donovan was not on it).

Here’s what Donovan had to say.

And there’s more reaction here.

What do you think?

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World Cup Qualifying Preview: U.S-Mexico

U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann doesn’t sound fazed by the criticism he and his team faced last week ahead of the Costa Rica game and now it’s his Mexican counterpart on the hot seat after blowing a two-goal lead against Honduras.

Where are you going to watch this one — and with who?

For more:

  • Read today’s column.
  • Read why the Mexican media has called Klinsmann “bogeyman.”
  • After initially saying they wouldn’t call in reinforcements in the wake of Jermaine Jones’ injury, the U.S. has belatedly done just that with a player very familiar with tonight’s venue.

From the Twitter feed of Herculez Gomez:

Snowy Saturday Soccer: USMNT, LA Galaxy, Chivas USA & More

There’s no escaping the weather this weekend, unless you’re the Colorado Rapids, in town tonight to meet the Galaxy at Home Depot Center in Carson. 

More here.

Back home, below are the farcical scenes that greeted Costa Rica in Denver, where it was the Americans that scored the lucky and deciding goal Friday of the World Cup qualifier, as our sister newspaper, The Denver Post, reports. Watch:

Next up for the U.S. Tuesday: Mexico.

Chivas USA, meanwhile, is in similarly snowy Chicago for a game Sunday against the Fire.

Good luck with that.

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Friday Kicks: AYSO Rose Bowl Float, Liga MX on ESPN & More

  • AYSO, founded in Torrance, is raising money for a soccer-themed city of Torrance Rose Float entry. Read more here.
  • Both starting American goalkeepers for the men’s and women’s national teams have gone down with injuries within 24 hours of each other. Hope Solo will be sidelined up to four months following surgery to repair torn cartilage in her left wrist, U.S. Soccer said Thursday, while today Everton’s Tim Howard went down with a back injury that’s expected to rule him out of the World Cup qualifiers later this month against Costa Rica and Mexico. Former Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan is Howard’s usual backup.
  • ESPN kicks off its English-language coverage of Liga MX at 5:25 p.m. today on ESPNews when Morelia plays Club America. Also, Cruz Azul faces Jaguares at 2:55 p.m. Saturday on ESPNews, while Puebla and Pumas clash at the same time on the same channel Sunday.
  • MLS embarks on its second slate of weekend games, although the Galaxy, between midweek CONCACAF Champions League games, are among three teams with the weekend off. Chivas USA is at home at 2 p.m. Sunday against FC Dallas (live on UniMas).
  • Finally, the Manchester United-Real Madrid UEFA Champions League game earlier this week was the third most watched game ever on Los Angeles-based Fox Soccer. An estimated 520,000 viewers watched the Red Devils get dumped out of the competition in controversial circumstances. The most watched games on Fox Soccer are the 2011 Gold Cup final between the U.S. and Mexico (1.1 million) and the Chelsea-Liverpool clash in 2011 (579,000).
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Thursday Name Dropping: Lampard, Gonzalez, Barrett & More

*Because of goals like that it’s unlikely we’ll see Frank Lampard in a Galaxy shirt any time soon and at least one influential English manager feels the the same way.

*The deconstruction of the U.S. loss in Honduras continues as does the discussion over the role LA Galaxy center back Omar Gonzalez played in the World Cup qualifying setback. My perspective: Gonzalez is young, he’s still a better option than the aging or inadequate options we’ve seen at the position previously. I’m not alone in that assessment.

*Staying with Wednesday’s qualifiers, check out the role former Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts played in Jamaica’s stunning result at the Azteca Stadium.

*And speaking of former Galaxy players, guess who is on his way back to MLS.

*Finally, National College Signing Day is a bigger deal for pointy-balll football than the real version, but here’s who signed where as far as the Galaxy Academy and Chivas USA Academy is concerned.

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