U.S. Youth Teams: August 2008 Archives

Over the next five days more than 25 of the nation's best girls youth teams will play over 40 games in the 2008 Women's Nike Friendlies at Home Depot Center.

Teams will participate in the Under-15, Under-16 and Under-17 age categories, although the Under-14 Girls' National Team will participate in the Under-16 age group, and the U.S. Under-15 Girls' National Team will participate at the Under-17 level. Got that?

"This is the kind of event that the best young soccer players in the country should be playing in," said U.S. National Staff Coach Mike Dickey, who oversees the Under-14 Girls' Development Program. "The Women's Nike Friendlies provide players an opportunity to play the sport in the right environment and for the right reasons, which ultimately helps players develop and reach their full potential."

U.S. defender Cat Whitehill and USC Women's Soccer Head Coach Ali Khosroshahin will address the teams at a 6 a.m. Thursday breakfast at the HDC Stadium Club to watch the U.S. Women's National Team battle Brazil for gold at the Olympics.

Not surprisingly, there's a healthy California presence among the participating teams.

Here's the schedule (and the public is welcome and invited to the free event):
Wednesday
Under-16
Team Field Time
U-14 GNT Stripes (2) vs. Real So Cal 1 7 p.m.

Thursday
Under-17
Team Field Time
Birmingham United vs. Real So Cal 3 10 a.m.
Surf vs. Colorado Rush 4 10:45 a.m.
FC Delco vs. U-15 GNT 1 12 p.m.
Seacoast vs. Real Colorado 4 12:45 p.m.

Under-16
U-14 GNT Stars (1) vs. Surf 1 10 a.m.
Irvine Strikers vs. PDA 2 10:45 a.m.
Slammers vs. Sereno 3 12 p.m.
Real Colorado vs. Mustangs 2 12:45 p.m.

Under-15
PDA vs. Slammers 5 10 a.m.
Sereno vs. Mustangs 6 10:45 a.m.
Real So Cal vs. Surf 5 12 p.m.
Crossfire vs. Irvine Strikers 6 12:45 p.m.

Friday
Under-17
Team Field Time
U-15 GNT vs. Irvine Strikers 1 10:45 a.m.
Colorado Rush vs. Seacoast 3 12 p.m.
Real Colorado vs. FC Delco 5 12 p.m.

Under-16
No games scheduled

Under-15
Sereno vs. PDA 2 10 a.m.
Mustangs vs. Crossfire 5 10 a.m.
Slammers vs. Real So Cal 4 10:45 a.m.

Saturday
Under-17
Team Field Time
Irvine Strikers vs. Real So Cal 4 10:45 a.m.
Surf vs. Birmingham United 4 12:45 p.m.

Under-16
Real So Cal vs. Irvine Strikers 3 8 a.m.
PDA vs. U-14 GNT Stars (1) 1 10 a.m.
Mustangs vs. Slammers 5 10 a.m.
Sereno vs. U-14 GNT Stripes (2) 1 12 p.m.
Real Colorado vs. Surf 5 12 p.m.

Under-15
Surf vs. Irvine Strikers 2 12:45 p.m.

Sunday
Under-17
Team Field Time
Birmingham Utd. vs. Colorado Rush 5 8 a.m.
U-15 GNT vs. Real Colorado 4 8 a.m.
Seacoast vs. Real So Cal 5 10 a.m.
FC Delco vs. Surf 6 10 a.m.

Under-16
U-14 GNT Stripes (2) vs. PDA 1 8 a.m.
Slammers vs. Real So Cal 2 8 a.m.
Surf vs. Mustangs 6 8 a.m.
Real Colorado vs. U-14 GNT Stars (1) 2 10 a.m.
Irvine Strikers vs. Sereno 4 12 p.m.

Under-15
Irvine Strikers vs. Mustangs 3 8 a.m.
Crossfire vs. Surf 1 10 a.m.
Slammers vs. Seren 3 10 a.m.
PDA vs. Real So Cal 4 10 a.m.

*While I've been columnizing much of the day, plenty of other stuff is going on in the soccer world with one highlight being former Galaxy defender Chris Albright slamming departed Galaxy Coach Ruud Gullit at SI.com:

"My thought was that he'd be gone by midway through this year - I thought that two days after meeting him," said the 29-year-old defender, who was part of the Galaxy squad that made preseason trips to Australia and New Zealand.

What was the problem? "Lack of respect for the players. No real concern about wanting to know MLS or caring to know MLS. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff [he did]."

I would. Dish, Chris, dish.

*Talking about knifing, (how's that for a segue) David Beckham is spending part of his time in England where he is ostensibly on national duty Wednesday playing in his nation's friendly against the Czech Republic (live noon on Fox Soccer Channel) taking part in an anti-knifing campaign.

Handguns are banned in England so they're stabbing each other instead. Nice.

By the way, Becks will fly to China after the game where he will take part in the Olympics closing ceremonies (London has the games in 2012).

*Fontana's Maurice Edu has apparently completed his $5 million move from Toronto FC to Glasgow Rangers.

*Meanwhile, former UCLA and Chivas USA striker Matt Taylor has surfaced in the Bundesliga second division. From the U.S. Soccer Players newsletter:

Surprise signing Matt Taylor started and went 62 minutes for new club TuS Koblenz. Taylor, who only signed three days before the game, scored the second Koblenz goal in their 3-0 win over RW Oberhausen in 2Bundesliga action.

He didn't score, naturally.

*You really got a sense of the extent of the injuries Chivas USA is grappling with when the club released its injury list on Monday.

The latest to go down is defensive midfielder Jesse Marsch with a broken jaw suffered in Thursday's game against the Galaxy. His jaw was wired shut on Friday (which may be the only way to shut Marsch up) and will remain so for the first four weeks of his recovery. Reminder to self: send Jesse an e-mail and ask if he wants to blog. Give the man a voice!

Here's a telling stat from Chivas USA:

Through the first 19 games of the season, the Red-and-White have missed a total of 91 man-matches - or an average of to 4.79 players missing per game due to injury (not counting international absences).

And here's their (lengthy) injury report:

INJURIES (11):

Justin Braun Right ankle sprain Out

Jesse Marsch Fractured jaw Out

Lawson Vaughn Right knee sprain Out

Raphaël Wicky Right ankle surgery Out

Alex Zotinca Right knee surgery Out

Maykel Galindo Sports hernia surgery Questionable

Jonathan Bornstein Right hip strain Probable

Alecko Eskandarian Sports hernia surgery Probable

Jorge Flores Right ankle tendonitis Probable

Ante Razov Left knee sprain Probable

Claudio Suárez Concussion Probable

Oh, and Sacha Kljestan is on international duty with the U.S. National Team.

*On Saturday, Hayley Bolt scored two second half goals to lead Long Beach State to a 2-1 exhibition win over San Diego State. The 49ers open the regular season Friday against Gonzaga.

*The U.S. Under-15 Girls' National Team will play three matches at the 2008 Women's Nike Friendlies Wednesday through Sunday at Home Depot Center against Under-17 FC DELCO Thursday, Under-17 Irvine Strikers Friday and Under-17 Real Colorado Sunday.

The U.S. squad includes: defender Loeau LaBonta (Rancho Cucamonga), midfielders Haley Rosen (Palos Verdes), Marie MacKenzie (Palmdale) and Christina Murillo (Ojai).

Check back in the morning for more on Bruce Arena's appointment to the Galaxy coaching job.

Memo to the Galaxy: U.S. Men's Olympic Coach Peter Nowak is now available.

The U.S. played with 10 men for 87 minutes, saw Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan score an 88th minute penalty and Benny Feilhaber hit the post in second half stoppage time, but it wasn't enough as Nigeria beat the U.S. 2-1 early today in China.

With the defeat the U.S. failed to reach the next round of the Olympics and are eliminated from the tournament.

Game story.

U.S. lineup: 18-Brad Guzan; 2-Marvell Wynne, 6-Maurice Edu, 15-Michael Parkhurst, 3-Michael Orozco; 14-Robbie Rogers, 7-Stuart Holden (9-Charlie Davies, 77), 16-Sacha Kljestan, 8-Danny Szetela (5-Dax McCarty, 69); 17-Brian McBride, 12-Jozy Altidore (10-Benny Feilhaber, 46).

The result must be a stinging blow for the Americans considering how close they came to making the next round against the Netherlands outright in their second group game only for the Dutch to equalize in the dying moments of stoppage time.

Below, Nigeria's Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi, right, fights for a header with the
United States' Maurice Edu, left, of Fontana.

AP Photo

The U.S. men need a victory or draw against Nigeria (live at 2 a.m. PT on USA) to win the group.

The math, courtesy of U.S. Soccer: The U.S. can also advance if Japan defeats or draws the Netherlands in their match, which kicks off simultaneously. Both the U.S. and Nigeria have four points from their first two matches, and have the same goal differential of +1, but the U.S. has the edge on the second tiebreaker - goals for.

Group B Standings
Team W L T Pts GF GA GD
USA 1 0 1 4 3 2 +1
NGA 1 0 1 4 2 1 +1
NED 0 0 2 2 2 2 --
JPN 0 2 0 0 2 4 -2

Notable:
*Freddy Adu and midfielder Michael Bradley will both miss the game due to yellow card accumulation.
*The U.S. has used a total of 14 of the18 players on the roster during the first two matches. U.S. coach Peter Nowak sent out the same starting XI against Japan and the Netherlands.

The view from Nigeria.

Complete Olympics soccer coverage..

Before the Olympics began, U.S. midfielder Freddy Adu predicted the Americans would turn a few heads.

"A lot of people aren't giving us a chance to make it out of that group, but we're going to surprise a lot of people," he said. "I think we have a real good shot when you add guys like Brian McBride, Michael Parkhurst and Brad Guzan in goal. We've got some veteran leadership."

The U.S. certainly stunned the Dutch earlier today, which needed a goal late in second half stoppage time to tie 2-2 with the Americans.

A win would have sent the U.S. through to the next round with a game to spare.

"It's tough," said U.S.Coach Peter Nowak. "As I told the guys in the locker room, that's the way the game goes sometimes. Not too many people gave us a chance tonight against the European champions, but we were very close to beating them. We have unfinished business. Going into the game with Nigeria, any result other than a loss, and we will pass into the quarterfinals."

The game is live on USA at the humane time of 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan was deservedly named man of the match.

He started and finished the U.S. goal that brought the Americans into a 1-1 tie with the Dutch, displaying both leadership and creativity while undoubtedly catching the eye of any watching European scouts.

"We had possession for a little while," Kljestan said of his goal. "I think we kept it for a few touches and then I played it to Stuart (Holden) and he played it back, and then I played it to Freddy (Adu) and just made a run. My guy didn't stay with me and Freddy played a great through ball. I cut inside of the last defender and hit it as hard as I could, luckily, it went in."

Jozy Altidore scored the second.

"I think we opened up a lot of people's eyes tonight," Adu said. "We're here to play, and to go as far as we can. We're not worried about who we're playing, we just want to go out there and play our game and know that we're a handful for anybody. I'm very proud of how this team played tonight."

Adu and Michael Bradley will miss the Nigeria game after picking up their second yellow card of the tournament apiece against Holland.

The U.S. line-up: 18-Brad Guzan; 2-Marvell Wynne, 6-Maurice Edu, 15-Michael Parkhurst, 3-Michael Orozco; 7-Stuart Holden, 4-Michael Bradley, 16-Sacha Kljestan, 14-Robbie Rogers (12-Jozy Altidore, 65); 11-Freddy Adu (Benny Feilhaber, 80), 17-Brian McBride - Capt.

Game story.

Complete Olympic soccer coverage.

The game is at 4:45 a.m. on USA.

With a win the U.S. progresses.

Preview here.

The latest from the Olympic team is here.

Group B Standings
Team W L T Pts GF GA GD
USA 1 0 0 3 1 0 +1
NED 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
NGA 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
JPN 0 1 0 0 1 2 -1

Incidentally, I heard from Robbie Rogers' dad who said his son got to meet Kobe Bryant at the spectacular opening ceremonies. The U.S. team was apparently not originally slated to attend, but Coach Peter Nowak changed his mind.

Beijing is about 70 miles from the team's training camp.

This puts things in perspective.

While I was relaxing by a San Diego pool much of this week, a member of the LA Riot Squad was dying so I could do that.

My condolences to Gunner and the Riot Squad.

More on Jairzhino.

The memorial service is Tuesday.

Soccer goes on:

Saturday
2 a.m. U.S. Women's Olympic Team-Japan on USA
5 p.m. Chivas USA-Kansas City Wizards on Prime

Sunday
4:30 a.m. U.S. Men's Olympic Team-Holland on USA
7 a.m. Charity Shield Portsmouth-Manchester United on Fox Soccer Channel (can you believe the English season is cranking up again already)?

A few days after Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas tells me Carlos Ruiz is not going anywhere, Steven Goff supplies the trade rumor of the week.

Have a safe weekend.

RIP Private Jair De Jesus Garcia

Even though the men's and women's Olympic soccer tournamanets are already under way, the games proper begin Friday.

Before we get to some suggested Web sites to maximize your Olympic soccer experience, here's a trivia question for you: what percentage of the 18-player U.S. Men's Olympic roster has ties to Southern California?

Answer at bottom of post (a roster is listed in the previous post for those who need a few hints).

With many Olympic soccer games occurring in the middle of the night our time, the Web is the essential resource for those of us who don't intend to disturb our sleep awaiting that 2 a.m. game.

While I hope many of you will come here, coverage depends on what time yours truly crawls out of bed in the morning, so here's a few alternatives:
*I already mentioned this a week or so ago, but it's worth reiterating that NBC has the most complete soccer coverage I've seen on the Web. Check it out here.

*MLS just launched an Olympics portal to keep track of how the league's players are faring.

*And Home Depot Center press box colleague Luis Bueno offers a few alternatives on his blog.

Want more?

Media columnist Tom Hoffarth offers these Web suggestions (and beyond).

Now to the trivia question.

A surprisingly large 44 percent of the 18-player roster has some Southern California connection.

Here's a list of the locals and their connection to the area:
*Michael Bradley, hometown Manhattan Beach, (although that's mainly because that's where father Bob Bradley moved the family from the East coast after joining Chivas USA. Somehow I doubt the junior Bradley has been in the South Bay much).

*Maurice Edu, hometown Fontana.

*Benny Feilhaber, hometown Irvine and college UCLA.

*Brad Guzan, former Chivas USA goalkeeper.

*Patrick Ianni, college UCLA.

*Sacha Kljestan, hometown Huntington Beach and plays for Chivas USA.

*Robbie Rogers, hometown Rolling Hills Estates (although U.S. Soccer lists it as Huntington Beach where he lived briefly before heading to college).

*Marvell Wynne, college UCLA.

In a group that includes quality teams like Nigeria and Holland, the U.S. needed to beat Japan today in its Olympics Group B opener.

A Stuart Holden goal proved enough for a 1-0 win and while not particularly convincing, the U.S. took its chance while Japan did not take their more plentiful chances. The U.S. was also fortunate not to have a penalty call go against them late in the game.

Game story.

With Nigeria and the Dutch drawing 0-0, the U.S. sits atop the group. Up next: Holland on Sunday.

Complete Olympics soccer coverage.

U.S. lineup: 18-Brad Guzan; 2-Marvell Wynne, 6-Maurice Edu, 15-Michael Parkhurst, 3-Michael Orozco; 7-Stuart Holden (10-Benny Feilhaber, 83), 4-Michael Bradley, 16-Sacha Kljestan, 14-Robbie Rogers (8-Danny Szetela, 87); 11-Freddy Adu, 17-Brian McBride - Capt. (12-Jozy Altidore, 74).

The day before the Olympics officially begin with the opening ceremonies, what is really the U.S. Men's Under-23 National Team (with three over-age players) plays at 2 a.m. our time on MSNBC against Japan in its Group B opener.

The U.S. roster:

goalkeepers Brad Guzan (Aston Villa) and Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake; defenders Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC); midfielders Freddy Adu (Monaco), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio); forwards Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Brian McBride (Chicago Fire), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew).

The Japan roster:

goalkeepers Kaito Yamamoto (Shimizu S-Pulse), Shusaku Nishikawa (Oita Trinita); defenders Hiroki Miumoto (Kyoto Purple Sanga), Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo), Masato Morishige (Oita Trinita), Michihiro Yasuda (Gamba Osaka), Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers), Maya Yoshida (Magoya Grampus); midfielders Takuya Honda (Shimizu S-Pulse), Hiroyuki Taniguchi (Kawasaki Frontale), Yohei Kajiyama (FC Tokyo), Hajime Hosogai (Urawa Reds), Keisuke Honda (VVV Venlo - Holland), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osake); forwards Yohei Toyoda (Montedio Yamagata), Tadanari Lee (Kashiwa Reysol), Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Takayuki Morimoto (Catania - Italy) .

Notable:
*The U.S. is winless and hasn't scored in its two tune-up games.

*Seven players were part of the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Among the goalscorers: Jozy Altidore (4) and Freddy Adu (3).

*The U.S. team ranges in age from 18 (Altidore) to 36 (Brian McBride). The other two overage players - former Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan and Michael Parkhurst - are just 24.

*Parkhurst was named Major League Soccer's Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 at just 23 years old, while Guzan was last year's MLS Goalkeeper of the Year at the same age. Fontana's Maurice Edu was also an award winner last year, as he was named the league's Rookie of the Year.

*Electronic Arts, maker of video game FIFA Soccer, announced today that Edu will join Brazilian International Ronaldinho and Mexican national team goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa as the cover athletes for the latest version.

From the press release:

Edu will also become the first and only Major League Soccer player to appear as a customized Mii™ character exclusively for the Wii™ home video game system in FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play. EA SPORTS has created a unique version of Edu and his character will be playable alongside some of the world's biggest soccer stars, including Ronaldinho, Wayne Rooney, Franck Ribéry and others-- all created as special Mii characters exclusively for FIFA Soccer 09 All-Play.

"I got a kick out of my Mii because it looks like he has a lot of fun on the pitch and he's capable of pulling off some wild moves," said Edu. "It's fun to take control of my character and blast outrageous shots on goal with a flick of the wrist. I've never played soccer like this before."

New for this version: up to 20 people playing fixed positions can play a single game at the same time.

Zach Thornton has landed in Chicago and Jesse Marsch looks pretty happy to see his former Fire teammate (and an experienced goalkeeper). Do we assume Thornton plays today? I think we do.

Two who won't play a part in today's Chivas USA-Chicago Fire game (5:30 p.m. live on Fox Soccer Channel) are Preki (at least on the bench-he's suspended) and Blanco. (ditto). Also absent: Sacha Kljestan (Olympics).

But Maykel Galindo and long-lost Alecko Eskandarian are probable.

Chivas USA, playing their first MLS game in a month, is 6-6-4 and fourth in the Western Conference; Chicago is 7-5-5 and third in the Eastern Conference.

Chicago haven't lost in five games, but that includes four draws; Chivas USA beat the Fire 2-0 at Home Depot Center in June.

Phil Collin has a game preview.

Also:
*Cameroon beat the U.S. Men's Olympic Team 2-0 early this morning our time on a penalty kick. It was the last game for the U.S. before the Olympics.

*Brad Guzan wasn't the only Southern California goalkeeper on the move this week. Loyola Marymount goalkeeper Patrick Lane signed a pro contract with Belgian club Cercle Bruges.

*Southern California could have two women's teams crowned national champions this weekend. Rolling Hills Estates-based Ajax America Women is in Sacramento for the Women's Premier Soccer League's Final Four.

The Sacramento Bee used the occasion to provide an update on the Women's Professional Soccer league, but managed to get the wrong name (and city) for Ajax.

Over in the W-League, the unbeaten Pali Blues play the Indiana Lionesses (how many of those do they have in Indiana?) in Virginia Beach, Va., for the championship. The game is on at 8 tonight on Fox Soccer Channel.