The USA's run in the Confederations Cup got the beautiful game some coverage on the Colbert Report. He asks if its time to care about soccer.

With the World Cup barely a year away, there's a packed slate of results I'll be watching this week. Will the US continue its relatively straightforward qualification to another appearance? Can Bolivia maintain the slimmest hopes of qualifying alive?

1. Costa Rica vs USA - Wednesday, June 3rd.

Beckham Deal Finalized - Soccer Insider

Beckham will not count against the Galaxy's 20-man senior roster or the salary cap until he returns to MLS.

So, will the Galaxy let the poor sap that is holding Beckham's roster spot know he'll be cut in July or just let that hang over the locker room for half a season?

Great read in preparation of tonight's kickoff. [ht mfishkin] Futbol rivalries are rooted in primary colors - Los Angeles Times

But on Wednesday, we'll be on opposite sides of a rivalry that divides a big chunk of Southern California between supporters of the green, white and red, and supporters of the red, white and blue.

I'd be tremendously happy to see D.C. United get its own stadium anywhere that is Metro accesbile. But the tone at the end of the article, about the county not being able to offer the team any incentive is confusing. AFAIK, the team hasn't been looking for any locality to fully fund construction of a stadium, ala the Nationals, but would ask for investment in infrastructure improvements.

Beau Dure linked to a file containing a map of Major League Soccer players by the country of birth.

Some candid talk from Tino about what was (is?) lacking in him as a professional soccer player. Kicking it into gear -- -- baltimoresun.com

In a recent interview, Quaranta (Archbishop Curley) said he often took his life as a professional athlete for granted.

The Sports Economist notes that the latest rule proposed by FIFA, limiting pro teams to a mix of 6+5 domestic and foreign players, would negatively impact Americans playing Europe. It would also lower the quality of play at home, since MLS would not be able to import more skilled players from the region and South America as it expands.

I hope US Soccer can find, and cap, more players like Jorge Flores, although there's a lot of debate about how many undiscovered, diamonds-in-the-rough like him are out there. Still, if MLS and US Soccer can give opportunites to players like him, we could add some much needed Latin-flair to the game here.

Dear Landon, now lets see you put on such a performance against a team near the top of the FIFA standings.
Americans Get It Right at Home, Cruise in Qualifier - washingtonpost.com

"We were excellent," forward Landon Donovan said. "The first half was one of the most dominating performances I have ever been a part of.

The US beats Poland 3-0 yesterday. Color me a bit unimpressed that A) all 3 goals were off of set pieces and B) we are capable of beating just about anyone as long as its not the World Cup. I think I'm just as excited about this win as I was when we beat Austria.

WaPo reports that RFK is in serious pursuit to host a World Cup qualifier this fall. I really hope this is true, its been a long time since I've been to a qualifier at RFK.

The dates and potential opponents are:

Sept.

For any American soccer player, playing abroad is always a career goal. I never though that the Bolivian professional circuit would be such a destination. I'd have to figure it ranks way, way down there in leagues to play in, not only is the level of play not as high, but the pay is low and sporadic - just ask the players from Bolivar.

For any American soccer player, playing abroad is always a career goal. I never though that the Bolivian professional circuit would be such a destination. I'd have to figure it ranks way, way down there in leagues to play in, not only is the level of play not as high, but the pay is low and sporadic - just ask the players from Bolivar.

Virginia Tech's mens soccer teams makes its first appearance in the NCAA College Cup today. The game will be on ESPN2 at 5pm. Adam Kilgore in the Washington Post tells us how the Hokies made it to the tournament this year. Much like DC United's 2004 title run, Va Tech also has a talentend young Ghanaian on its roster.