Anticipation is building after January served up a nice set of appetizers for the season to
come, both for MLS and the US National Team. We begin with Klinsmann's first go-round at Camp
Cupcake, the annual January gathering of the "best of the rest" in the USMNT pool...
One-Nil to the USMNT
Results were slow to arrive early in Klinsmann's tenure as USA boss, but a pair of 1-0 wins
(home to Venuzuela and on the road in Panama) sees him start 2012 with an unblemished record.
The transfer window report from business advisory firm Deloitte calculates that Premier League
clubs spent around £60m, a decline of 70 per cent on the record level of £225m in January 2011
(admittedly something of an aberration).
Dan Jones, a partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, saw Uefa's financial fair play
rules as a factor in the comparative restraint of clubs and a more sober level of spending among
Premier League clubs.
Chris Perez, our newest Albion Road correspondent, takes a look at English football just
after the midpoint - revenge of the little guys, the contenders and pretenders, the latest news,
and predictions for February. Think he's right or wrong? As always have your say in the
comments.
Just like the cosmos the year 2011 died and in its place a supernova of excitement exploded onto
the scene in the form of 2012, which in turn brought the infamous "January Transfer Window".
The Home Internationals Soccer Tournament, 1946-84, A Complete Record by Gary Watton is
a match-by-match record of this annual tournament, once played amongst the four national teams of
the United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Each match gets its own page
and the details include lineup (interestingly including which club the player played for at the
time, a great touch), scorers, and a brief summary to give it context.
With the holiday season in our rearview mirrors, the MLS pre-season is about to kick into gear.
Likewise, the USMNT returns to action with the annual January camp and friendlies. But we begin
with the different roster trajectories of the two biggest names in American club soccer...
The Perils of Success
It seemed that the price of the Galaxy's 2011 success would be an off-season dismantling,
headlined by the long-rumored departure of David Beckham.
What can we expect in 2012 in terms of the business side of football? It's an almost unanswerable
question because no one knows for sure what is going to happen to the world's main football
economies, those of Europe. Asian countries are, of course, big and growing customers for televised
games and the prospects there look reasonably good.
Portsmouth have faced more challenges than most clubs in recent years and now they have to deal
with a new set of problems. In June the club was taken over by Convers Sports Initiatives which is
backed by Russian owner Vladimir Antonov.
At the end of November Antonov, and his business partner Raimondos Baranauskas were bailed until
16 December by Westminster Magistrates Court .
The Major League Soccer season's crescendo was a flat one, but there was barely a pause to
reflect upon it before the "draft season" got under way and speculation on Beckham's future
overshadowed his club's glorious present. All that, plus the US's first multi-goal performance
under Klinsmann in this month's State of the States.
Just a week after Stanford University captured the women's soccer title, four teams gather in
Hoover, Ala., for the College Cup to decide the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Champion for 2011.
Today, top-seeded University of North Carolina will meet the UCLA in one semifinal, while
UNC-Charlotte will square off against Creighton in the other.
There are many things that differentiate football in the United States – economics, cultural and
sports market, to name just a few. However, one of the more unique factors in the significant role
of college sports in the development of professional athletes. It is no different with football, as
universities play a prominent role in preparing soccer players for a possible professional career.
There's only one big game left on the domestic calendar and two friendlies scheduled on the
international front as we head towards winter. This month''s State of the States focuses on the MLS
playoffs, the dampening of Klinsmania, and the coming expansion of the US top flight.
MLS Playoffs - The final is set.
Last weekend's eight goal contest between Chelsea and Arsenal showed London football at its most
entertaining. But can London cash in on its position as a world city to also establish itself as
the football capital of England?
Conventional wisdom sees this year's title race as a contest between the two Manchester clubs
with Chelsea in the frame.
Full Name: Evian Thonon Gaillard Football Club
City: Thonon-les-Bains
Founded: 2003 (1924)
Stadium: Parc des Sports (15,600)
Colors: Red, White
If you're looking for a football club with a convoluted history you've come to the right
place.
Full Name: Dijon Football Côte-d'Or
City: Dijon
Founded: April 29, 1998
Stadium: Stade Gaston Gérard (15,995)
Colors: Red, White
Dijon FCO (the most common name for this French club) were formed by the 1998 merger of two
rival Dijon clubs - Cercle Sportif Dijonnais et le Dijon FC with the goal of creating one club from
Dijon who could compete at the national level.
Full Name: Stade Brestois 29
City: Brest
Founded: 1950
Stadium: Stade Francis-Le Blé (15,097)
Colors: Red, White
Brest were formed in 1950 by the merger of several local Brest clubs, most notably Armoricaine
de Brest (1903).
