Recently in Mexican Futbol Category

Home Dept Center will host six InterLiga games Jan. 8, 9 and 11 in the eight-team competition that determines Mexico's participants in the Copa Libertadores, it was announced today.

Morelia plays Pachuca at 7 p.m. on Jan. 8, followed by Toluca verses UAG in the third and potentially pivotal group games for the four teams in Group A.

The big night is Friday when Mexico's two biggest clubs take the field. Atlas faces Club América at 7:30 p.m. followed by Tigres-Chivas in Group B action..

The finals of the sixth annual competition (and fifth year in Southern California) are on Sunday beginning at 4 p.m.

The first eight games take place in Texas on Jan. 2, 3, 5 and 6.

Competition details from the Soccer United Marketing press release:

InterLiga 2009 will determine two Mexican club berths for Copa Libertadores known as "Mexico 2" and "Mexico 3." The other spot known as "Mexico 1" has been awarded to San Luis de Potosi due to the club's finish as SuperLider of the Mexican Torneo de Apertura 2008, or the regular season champions of the current Mexican season.

Following the draw for the 2009 Copa Libertadores, it was revealed that Mexico 2 will be part of Group 6 with Lanús (Argentina), Everton (Chile) and Caracas (Venezuela). Mexico 3 will play a two-leg play in series against la Universidad de Chile. If victorious, Mexico 3 would be placed in Group 3 with Aurora (Bolivia), Boyaca Chico (Colombia) and a team to be determined from Brazil.

The new qualification system for InterLiga 2009, announced in March of 2008 by the FMF, to accommodate the CONCACAF Champions League, is as follows: the eight best teams in the general standings at the end of the current Apertura season of the Mexican domestic league move on to InterLiga, except for the club that finishes first in the regular season standings, which will qualify directly to Copa Libertadores as "Mexico 1," per FMF regulations. Due to their participation in the 2008-2009 CONCACAF Champions League, Atlante, Cruz Azul, Pumas and Santos will not participate in InterLiga regardless of their place in the Apertura standings.

InterLiga was a great spectacle earlier this year, BTW. Highly recommended viewing.

A pre-sale for Visa cardholders begins Dec. 8.

Incidentally, Fox Soccer Channel announced today it has secured English-language rights for the 2009 and 2011 editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

A few quick items before I head out to the HDC this morning:

*Tickets priced as low as $15 remain for MLS Cup Sunday, but officials have begun to sell $36 "seats" on the grass berm in an indication the game between the Columbus Crew and New York Sunday is heading for a capacity crowd.

*The Chicago Fire's Cuauhtémoc Blanco became the latest MLS player to go out on loan during the MLS offseason, joining Santos Laguna of the Mexican Primera Division for the playoffs of the Apertura. He will rejoin the Fire for next season.

*Former Galaxy midfielder Jovan Kirovski is training with the club and is under consideration for a spot on the roster for the New Zealand trip, club officials said. He remains the property of San Jose. Also on the team's training field in recent days: former Galaxy holding midfielder Simon Elliot, Torrance's Jack Stewart, last seen with Real Salt Lake in MLS and Cedric Uras, a guest player from Litex Lovech in Bulgaria who played with Greg Vanney at Bastia, according to the Galaxy blog. Coach Bruce Arena just returned from a scouting trip to Argentina.

*Pac-10 champion UCLA (10-4-6) opens NCAA Tournament play at 7 tonight against Cal Poly (10-5-6) at Marshall Field at Drake Stadium. Tickets are $9 for adults, $7 for students and youth.

Game preview here.

MLS today named Cal State Northridge product and Galaxy defender Sean Franklin as its Rookie of the Year. Franklin is scheduled to talk to reporters later today from the U.S. Men's National Team training camp in Colorado.

How big of an accomplishment is this?

Franklin played all year in the center of a bad Galaxy defense, yet according to Coach Bruce Arena he's not a central defender.

In other MLS awards-related news, Rolling Hills Estates Robbie Rogers is one of the five finalists for Goal of the Year. Vote here. Roger already beat out Beckham to become one of the finalists; can he do the same to Blanco?

And in other Galaxy-related news, Bayern Munich's Web site has more on Landon Donovan's German adventure. Hmmm, is he going to be there 10 days or 10 weeks?

Oh, and even though this was reported a while back the Galaxy has officially announced that Tristan Bowen, 17, of Van Nuys has become the first player to come through its youth academy to sign a multiyear contract with the club.

"Tristan is an exciting and talented young player who has impressed me and all of our coaches during his time training with the club," Galaxy General Manager and Head Coach Bruce Arena said. "He has many of the attributes which are required in order to become a good player in MLS and has shown the drive and desire to improve all areas of his game. We are excited to have him join the club and look forward to seeing him grow in a Galaxy uniform."

In Wednesday night games, Mexico beat Ecuador 2-1 in Arizona and CD Guadalajara lost 2-0 in the first leg of their Copa Sudamericana semifinal.

At 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2 the Crew and Fire face off in the Eastern Conference final with the winner heading to MLS Cup on Nov. 23 at Home Depot Center.

Even though former Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid is being circumspect about what it would mean to him to walk out on the home field of the club that fired him in the league's title game, Crew forward Alejandro Moreno - who played for him in L.A. - isn't as reticent:

"We know it's special and we know he's a California guy. I think what's special is that I was in L.A. when Sigi got fired and probably at the time I thought it was wrong and even now I thought it was wrong and even with the Galaxy having won the MLS Cup after that I still think it was wrong.

"There was a lot of people who wrote him off and there was a lot of people who didn't think he was the coach he was when he was back with the Galaxy and I'm here to tell you he's still the coach (he was)."

Sigi talks here:

Blog housekeeping that it is.

Keen-eyed readers will notice I've eliminated some outdated links, scrubbed some of limited interest entirely (most of the junior colleges are gone, for instance) and generally streamlined the list that's on the right-hand side of the blog.

I added a few here and there, too, that were long overdue for inclusion (such as the official Chivas USA blog) and Luis Bueno's new offering The Touchline (the successor to Sideline Views minus Andrea Canales). The list still needs to be worked on a bit, so if you have suggestions for links (especially those with a Southern California flavor) don't hesitate to jump in.

Thanks to Web master supreme Chris Berry for the (very) quick work updating those.

The fall housecleaning gave me the opportunity to look at blogs and sites I don't always have time to check out and so with that in mind (and the absence of much actual news this morning), here's a look at what folks are chatting about around the Web:

*First off, Mexico plays Ecuador in Arizona tonight (live at 7 on Telemundo) in a friendly that could nevertheless have a bearing on the future of Sven-Goran Eriksson, according to one writer.

*While we're on the subject of coaches and job security, although conventional wisdom has held this season that Chivas USA Coach Preki was largely helpless to do much in the playoffs given the team's crushing number of injuries, there are dissenters out there who believe otherwise and are calling for his head (or at least ouster).

Some valid points there.

Chivas USA likes to point out just how many enforced changes there were over the course of the season (the team fielded 30 different line-ups in 32 games) because of a "total of 183 man-matches (lost) due solely to injuries, averaging nearly six players per game."

True enough, but Preki also made some alterations to his line-up (or failed to in a few cases) that had more than a few observers scratching heir heads.

The tubby and past it Zach Thornton starting ahead of fan favorite Dan Kennedy in goal for the final playoff game? Jonathan Bornstein playing center back in the first playoff game for the first time in his entire life? And the signing of a clearly out of his depth Roberto Nurse from the Mexican second division that had panic written all over it.

I could go on (and probably will in a future column), but add it all up and it's not surprising some hard-core Chivas USA fans are questioning Preki's future.

Preki won't get fired, but the fact fans are discussing the possibility is healthy for a team that still needs to cultivate a larger base of support. And it's fun reading, too.

Meanwhile, there are already rumblings of potential problems for Women's Professional Soccer, while Brazilian star (and would-be L.A. Sol player) Marta is apparently demanding big bucks.

Finally, let's end with a couple of minor news items:

*The always suspect FIFA rankings are out today with the U.S. dropping three places to 24th (just above Mexico) and England rising four places to 10th. Seven nations, including American Samoa are tied for 201st and last in the table, BTW. Complete rankings here.

*Fox Soccer Channel will air live at 10 a.m. Monday the sixth-annual Match Against Poverty from Morocco.

From today's (edited) FSC press release:

Captains Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo will lead teams that will include Victor Valdes and Seydou Keita (FC Barcelona), Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (Zenit St. Petersburg), Joseba Etxeberria (Athletico Bilbao), Ivan Leko (Club Brugge) and Lauren (Portsmouth).

Not a whole lot to set the pulse racing, but hey, it's for a good cause.

Mexico's Burden
With the head of the Mexican Football Federation in L.A. Monday, it seemed like a good time to look at the continuing struggles of that nation ahead of its final first round World Cup qualifying game for today's column.

As always, it's hard to fit everything into a column.

Here's a few bonus quotes from Lalas (and while he declined to speak in detail about his Galaxy experience until January - presumably he's still under some form of contractual obligation - you can read between the lines with some of his quotes).

On the new environment Eriksson finds himself in, despite his track record:

*"I have some experience with making a big splash in terms of who you sign, but ultimately it's in the results. Just because somebody has experience doesn't mean that translates into success. Just because somebody has made a name for themselves some place else doesn't mean it translates into coming into some place else.

He's a great coach and he thinks about things in a certain way, but he has his work cut out for him here in CONCACAF and I think he's recognizing some of the challenges."

*On where Mexico lags the U.S. and other nations:

"I don't think they have enough players who are playing around the world and I don't think they encourage enough players to come into the Mexican league to augment what they have because it is a great league and it is at times wonderfully entertaining.

"Certainly if you look at the Mexican futbol league compared to MLS they have a much greater history and much more to build on, but it's not translating into results."

*On what the U.S.has done right in comparison to Mexico:

"We've been open-minded in terms of the different types of coaches and different types of philosophies. We've encouraged players to play overseas and use that experience in terms of bringing them back.

"We've also recognized that maybe the physical advantage that Americans enjoyed for a while and used to their advantage wasn't enough - the tactical part of it had to be sound also. We also got more wily and less naive in our approach on and off the field in that we understand how to manage games, we understand the difference in playing a home and away game.

"We've thrown a lot of money and a lot of resources into developing our younger players and our national team. It's paid off."

Donovan in Germany
In the least surprising news of the day, the Galaxy's Landon Donovan will train with Juergen Klinsmann's Bayern Munich for 10 days to "stay fit." Yeah, sure.

Of course, Donovan is looking to play overseas, Klinsmann has had close ties with the Galaxy in the past and has said he's in search of a new striker when the January transfer window opens. Goodbye and good luck, Landon.

MLS Awards
Former Galaxy Coach and long-time Sigi Schmid was not surprisingly named MLS Coach of the Year today after leading his Columbus Crew to first in MLS during the regular season.

Here's a look at Schmid's career by the numbers, courtesy of the Crew:

*17 - His number of playoff wins is the best in MLS.

*57 - The Crew's point total this season was the best in club history.

*17 - The Crew's win total this season was the best in club history.

Lalas, who will continue as MLS analyst for Thursday's Crew-Fire playoff game and for MLS Cup, said Columbus is his pick to win the title:

"I am nothing if not a believer in karma and that you are rewarded for your efforts over a period of time. It doesn't always work like that in MLS and in fact we almost discourage that, but a team like Columbus that has played consistently well, that has given their fans an entertaining and ultimately successful product from the beginning of the season - that that will bear out."

Huck's Trucks
Finally, San Jose's Darren Huckerby was named MLS Newcomer of the Year today after scoring six goals and assisting on four others in just 14 games after joining the Earthquakes in mid-season.

I'll be back later in the day with the Honda Player of the Year winner and more.

A few things to mention briefly:
*FIFA announced today that the draw for the teams in the CONCACAF final qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup takes place Nov. 22. Teams will learn their opponents as well as home and away dates for all 10 qualifiers that will determine the three automatic berths for the region in South Africa. The United States, Costa Rica and El Salvador have already advanced to the final round, with the remaining three teams to be determined.

FIFA will also conduct the draw that day for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup scheduled for June 14-28 in South Africa. Participants are the United States, hosts South Africa, Brazil, Egypt, Iraq, Italy, New Zealand and Spain.

*Mexico announced the roster today for Wednesday's game against Ecuador in Arizona, which includes American Edgar Castillo and Manchester City's emerging star Nery Castillo. Here's the complete squad.

Lastly, the No. 4-ranked Cal State Dominguez Hills men opened the defense of its two consecutive CCAA titles, advancing 5-3 on penalty kicks in the semifinal over Chico State today, after a 1-1 double-overtime tie in regulation. The 16-2-3 Toros meet the winner of the Sonoma State- Cal State L.A. semifinal on Sunday.

Lots to talk about this morning including Chivas USA's playoff hopes, Brad Guzan, history for Long Beach State, joy for CD Guadalajara and more.

Let's get to it:
*An undermanned New England Revolution predictably succumbed to the Chicago Fire Thursday and now it's Chivas USA - in a similar situation in terms of personnel and facing a must-win game in Carson - that's feeling the pressure.

*Not surprisingly, RSL are preaching defense to preserve their slender one goal advantage.

*I'll be back later today with a Q & A with Chivas USA striker Justin Braun, who could have a key role to play Saturday. And yes, tickets starting at $14 are still available for the 7:30 p.m. game that's also live on Fox Soccer Channel. The first 10,000 fans get a free T-shirt. Call 1-877-CHIVAS-1.

*Meanwhile, former Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan earned a shutout Thursday in only his second senior appearance for England's Aston Villa. Coach Martin O'Neill calls his performance "briliiant."

*Also brilliant: CD Guadalajara Thursday, who dealt shock Argentine bottom feeders River Plate yet another blow.

*Long Beach State won its first post-season game in program history Thursday and now has a chance Sunday at an even bigger prize: a first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

*Other college action in Southern California this weekend includes Pac-10 champion UCLA (8-4-6 overall, 6-1-2 Pac-10) hosting Big West leader Cal Poly (10-4-4) in its home finale. Game time is 7 p.m. Saturday at Drake Stadium.

*The pick of the televised games this weekend:
7 a.m. Saturday Fox Soccer Channel Sunderland-Portsmouth
9:30 a.m. Saturday FSC Liverpool-West Bromwich Albion
8 a.m. Sunday FSC Fulham-Newcastle United
10 a.m. Sunday KAZA Puebla-Guadalajara
11:30 a.m. Sunday FSC Lecce-Inter Milan
Noon Sunday Telefutura Houston Dynamo-New York Red Bulls

CNN confirmed with David Beckham's agent today that the Galaxy midfielder will head to Italy's AC Milan on a two-month loan in the wake of the club's tour Down Under after the MLS season concludes so he can retain his fitness for England.

It does not sound like he's going to miss much, if any, of the MLS preseason, according to this quote in England's Daily Mail from Beckham agent Simon Oliveira:

"Nothing is confirmed yet, but the intention is to go to AC Milan on loan for January and February. He would be going there with the view to keeping fit and being available for selection for England.

"The idea is he then goes back to the Galaxy to join up with their pre-season in March. He will not be joining AC Milan permanently. He had a five-year contract with the Galaxy
and has three years left and every intention of fulfilling that."

AC Milan are currently sitting fifth in the league.

Updated 10:28 a.m. Got off the phone a few minutes ago with the Galaxy PR folks who tell me his Beckhamness will not be addressing the media on the issue after training today (he usually only deigns to speak to reporters once a week). We'll see. But that would be par for the course: a global news story, Beckham in our back yard and he's not talking.

In other Beckham-related news, he's agreed to do his bit for England's 2018 World Cup bid.

Speaking of the World Cup, there's much gnashing of teeth south of the border over Mexico's World Cup qualifying status - or lack thereof.

Finally, this just in from the "I live in a glass house" department - North Korean nutjob Kim Jong Il is not at all pleased with the nation's hairy soccer players.

Because, of course, that rich, famine-free and non-authoritarian nation doesn't have more pressing issues than a "follicular clampdown".

The game of the weekend - for Chivas USA and Galaxy fans alike - is the L.A.-Houston Dynamo game at 5:30 p.m. Saturday live on Prime.

With a win, the Dynamo can clinch the Western Conference and eliminate any lingering Chivas USA hopes of the regional title.

The Galaxy are four points out of the last of the two MLS wild card playoff spots - currently occupied by Kansas City - but no longer have control over their own destiny even with a win.

Complicating matters is that incredibly the home team has won just once - the Dynamo did so in 2006 - in the all-time series between the two clubs. The Galaxy have two wins and a tie in their last three trips to Houston. A loss, then, is on the cards as any fatalistic soccer fan would agree.

The Wizards, BTW, play San Jose, statistically the worst team in MLS.

Chivas USA play at noon Sunday (live on Telefutura) at Home Depot Center against the desperate Colorado Rapids, losers in Carson last weekend to the Galaxy. Chivas USA are finishing strongly, riding a club-record four-game winning streak.

Swag alert: The first 7, 500 fans through the stadium gates get a Chivas USA hat. The team also has a $10 Internet ticket special. Check it out here.

The pick of the weekend's games include:
*7 a.m. Saturday Fox Soccer Channel Arsenal-Everton
*9:30 a.m. Saturday FSC Manchester United-West Bromwich Albion
*5 p.m. Satuday KAZA Indios-Club America
*5 p.m. Saturday KVEA CD Guadalajara-Atlante
*8 a.m. Sunday FSC Stoke City-Tottenham Hotspur
*1:30 p.m. Sunday FSC (delayed) River Plate-Boca Juniors

Among the local college games in Southern California this weekend:
*7 tonight UCLA men-Washington at Drake Stadium
*2:30 p.m. today Cal State Northridge women-UC Davis at Matador Field
*1 p.m. Sunday UCLA men-Oregon State at Drake Stadium
*2:30 p.m. Sunday Cal State Northridge women-Pacific at Matador Field

A young U.S. team lost 2-1 to Trinidad & Tobago in World Cup qualifying on a penalty scored by an experienced Dwight Yorke, Mexico tied Canada 2-2 meaning qualifying for the next round for El Tri goes down to the final game and Croatia and England won.

Meanwhile, Frank Yallop's chances of returning to MLS Cup at Home Depot Center are all but gone after the San Jose Earthquakes tied 1-1 lost 2-1 Wednesday to a 10-man Houston Dynamo (Lawndale's Kei Kamara was sent off early in the affair).

The Galaxy have officially announced as expected that they will return Down Under in the post-season and play two games, including one Dec. 11 against the Queensland Roar. They also play an all-star team in New Zealand Dec. 6.

And in case you're wondering why the Anschutz Entertainment Group-owned Galaxy decided to play this particular team - why, because they just happen to play in an AEG-owned stadium that needs a bit of a boost. Shocker, huh?

Luckily the Roar aren't much better than the Galaxy. They currently sit fifth in the eight-team A-League with a record of 2-2-3.

Finally, the Cal State Northridge men drew 0-0 with UC Irvine Wednesday and the Cal State Dominguez Hills men beat UC San Diego 2-0, while their female counterparts lost 2-1 to the same school.

The Mexican-American equation.

The U.S. thrashed Cuba 6-1, Jamaica beat Mexico and Croatia shot blanks.

I don't know about you, but the weekend can't quick enough for me after the less than cheery news this week about what one newsroom wit described as our 301.K plans.

And there's plenty of soccer on TV and live locally to distract us.

I'll be back with a Chivas USA preview Saturday and a Galaxy one Sunday, but the bottom line is although the 1-1 draw last night between Real Salt Lake and the Red Bulls did little to clarify the playoff picture Chivas USA can still qualify for the playoffs while the Galaxy can put themselves (and us) out of their misery and be eliminated from the post-season.

Oh, and the U.S. can make the next round of WCQ by defeating Cuba Saturday.

For now here's your basic list of games just so you don't forget to set up the TiVo.

World Cup qualifying games on TV Saturday include:
9 a.m. Fox Soccer Channel England-Kazakhstan
11:30 a.m. FSC Spain-Estonia
4 p.m. ESPN Classic Cuba-U.S.
5 p.m. KVEA Mexico-Jamaica

MLS games on TV this weekend include:
5:30 p.m. Saturday FSC Toronto FC-FC Dallas
7 p.m. Saturday KAZA Chivas USA-San Jose Earthquakes (or delayed at 9:30 p.m. on FSN)
Noon Sunday KFTR Columbus Crew-Chicago Fire
9 p.m. Sunday Prime (delayed) Galaxy-Colorado Rapids

Mexican league games on TV include:
3 p.m. Saturday KMEX CD Guadalajara-San Luis
5 p.m. Saturday KAZA Santos Laguna-Pachuca
2 p.m. Sunday KMEX Puebla-Club America

Local college games this weekend include:
3 p.m. today at McAlister Field No. 5 USC-No. 16 Washington
1 p.m. Sunday at McAlister Field No. 5 USC-No. 25 Washington State
7 tonight at Drake Stadium UCLA women-Washington State
1 p.m. Sunday at Drake Stadium UCLA women-Washington
4 p.m. today at Sullivan Field LMU men-Portland
2 p.m. Sunday at Sullivan Field LMU men-Gonzaga
1 p.m. Saturday at Sullivan Field LMU-Pepperdine

Just a couple of quick items of local interest to pass along:
*Chivas USA striker Ante Razov is out two weeks with a mild right calf strain. The club's all-time leading scorer hobbled out of Saturday's game against the Wizards in the first half.

*Chivas USA defender Eric Ebert, already on the season-ending injury list, underwent right knee surgery Tuesday afternoon in Santa Monica.

*Cal State Dominguez Hills' goalkeeper Alyssa Congdon has been named the Brine California Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Soccer Player of the Week. The former South Torrance High star has two shutouts in her last two games.

*Mexico will play Ecuador Nov. 12 in Phoenix in its fifth and final game of the year in the U.S.

*Lawndale's Kei Kamara is carving out a niche for himself in Houston and had a two goal outburst in a CONCACAF Champions League shootout Tuesday night between the Dynamo and Pumas. Check out the goalfest:

*Televised footie today includes-
11:30 a.m. ESPN2 Liverpool-PSV Eindhoven
2:00 p.m. ESPN Classic (delayed) Shakhtar Donetsk-Barcelona
5 p.m. Fox Soccer Channel D.C. United-Cruz Azul

After the realities of the last week - politicians seeking to bail out their banking buddies or (even worse) the Galaxy doing an excellent impression of a PDL team (no disrespect intended to that league) - I figured those of us with brains shaped like this (thanks to reader KLF for the link) could do with a laugh.

So check out these (mostly) true and (mostly) funny soccer-related items and have a good weekend:
*The Church of England is targeting soccer sinners.

*If you're heading to Vegas this weekend you might want head for the Riviera Casino and check out this huge freaking foosball tourny.

*Now this is taking youth soccer a little too far.

*This next one is not strictly soccer related, but could proove useful to those LA Riot Squad members who have been known to enjoy a beer (or four). The best part: it's a public service announcement by England's National Health Service (can anyone see our laugh a minute federal government doing this?). (Thanks to Joseph for the link).

*Finally, this one proves that the new Women's Professional Soccer league has not one shred of self-awareness.

Just like D.C. United, the WPA will be fussy how the media uses its acronym:

Please first reference the league in print or broadcast coverage using the full name of Women's Professional Soccer. Please do not abbreviate the league¹s name to Women's Pro Soccer, or qualify it as the Women's Professional Soccer, the WPS, Women's Professional Soccer league, WPS league, the Women's Professional Soccer league, or the WPS league.

Fair enough. But as observant reader Llew pointed here's the e-mail address the league will be using just in case anyone needs clarification: (leaguedepartment)@womensprosoccer.com.

Doh!