What was he thinking?

Last night's U.S. Open Cup final had plenty of Southern California interest what with the likes of former Galaxy team members Sigi Schmid, Pete Vagenas and Ezra Hendrickson (as an assistant coach) involved for Seattle and Josh Wicks starting for D.C. United.

Wicks, who seems to have learned from his traumatic experience last year in L.

After all the head coaches to pass through with the New York Red Bulls and the MetroStars before them, it is easy to forget who the first man to run the club was.

That man is Carlos Queiroz, current head coach of the Portuguese national team. Although he is currently employed, Portugal's shaky position in World Cup qualifying could mean that Queiroz will be looking for a job in a month.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola had what we can only imagine was an incredible evening for him, attending the Coldplay concert last night at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium, as one of over 63,000 spectators. Pep, there with his wife Cristina, was recognized and recieved by the fans with a standing ovation before the concert began.

The CONCACAF region has three matches on Wednesday as qualification begins winding down. Trinidad & Tobago lost on Saturday and their chances are very low while the United States kept their chances in great shape with a home win over El Salvador. Both teams have a lot at stake as they face each other on Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

Amos Magee

I've known Portland Timbers Director of Soccer Development and Assistant Coach Amos Magee for 15 years. He played for me both with the A-League Minnesota Thunder and several times as a call up with the Chicago Fire. Amos was one of the most tenacious and savvy players I've ever known.

Head Coach Chip Dutchik, former assistant for the Missouri State Bears, has opened play in Boca Raton FL where his Fighting Knights of Lynn University will host a pair of games this weekend. The Lady Knights go into the weekend with a 4-3 record. Dutchik got his first win as Head Coach in the first game of the season

The Chip Dutchik era started off with a bang as Lynn University's women's soccer team won 2-1 over Northwood in their season opener Sunday afternoon.

Could Richie Williams be the answer for the Red Bulls? He has a 6-4-2 record as the interm head coach, and as Kristian Dyer reports, Williams is certainly making a case for himself.
Too bad the Red Bulls probably will deem it fitting to bring in a "name" European coach to take over the team next season.

(photos by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

John Spencer was made the fourth member of Colorado Rapids' Gallery of Honor on Sunday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The 38-year-old assistant coach for the Houston Dynamo was in town for a fixture between the two teams, and the Rapids honored him at halftime.

Could this man be sitting out his last season in MLS?
According to Kristian Jack at The Score (click here for the original article and all the details), Danny Dichio looks to be on the way out of Toronto FC at end of this season and may be an assistant coach or player in USL.

Persela Lamongan are not one of Indonesia's glamour clubs. Far from it. I once described them in this here blog as the Middlesbrough of Indonesian football.
Yet over there in East Java a quiet revolution is taking place. Guided by former Indonesian assistant coach Widodo Cahya Putra the Las have been quietly making some very astute signings to prepare them for the new season.

Sol Campbell (left, age 34) is recently unretired and revealed some intentions to play on the English national team at the World Cup. He also said Notts County would give the Galaxy a good go.
Dwight Yorke (right, age 37) is recently retired and will be an assistant coach for the Trinidad & Tobago national team, the next opponent for the USMNT.

FP is sick – but he's not exactly sure why.
Maybe it's the seemingly legit Manchester United T-Shirt (with Rooney on the back) his brother received today which makes him wants to throw-up.
Or maybe it's the flu he's contracted at the start of spring, which has taken away his ability to swallow.

ERIC SAMUEL
PETALING JAYA: Peter Butler has resigned as coach of Kelantan, throwing the team's preparations for next week's Malaysia Cup competition into disarray.
Azman Ibrahim, the chairman of the team management committee, said Butler had on Thursday informed the Kelantan FA (Kafa) via fax of his intention to resign with immediate effect as his wife was ill.

Former England captain Bryan Robson is set to become Thailand's national team coach, Football Association of Thailand (FAT) president Worawi Makudi said yesterday.
"There is a very high chance that Robson will become the next coach of Thailand," Worawi said.
Robson, 52, would replace Peter Reid, another ex-England international, who parted company with Thailand recently to become Stoke City's assistant coach.

Every year the MIAC Mens Soccer conference ends up being a dog fight and this year is no different. For better or worse, MIAC men's soccer benefits from not having a division one program in the State of Minnesota. The players who chose to stay in Minnesota and play for Division-3 schools where no scholarships are awarded are also getting technically and tactically better.

Here's a little interview I did with Fire defender Brandon Prideaux after last Wednesday's training session. The 33-year-old Prideaux is retiring at the end of 2009 to become an assistant coach at his alma-mater, the University of Washington. Our conversation touched on a lot of topics; including his future plans, his infamous MLS record, and the 2009 Fire season.

The 2009 fall league opened this afternoon with the lady warriors road trip'n down to Eugen to take on the always tough EMFC 95 Magic.
To prove a point the Sodium squad came out with something to prove, to squelch all the naysayers who said Sodium wasn't deserving of a Gold Division spot. Well, silence them they did.

Head Coach Chip Dutchik, former assistant for the Missouri State Bears, has opened play in Boca Raton FL where his Fighting Knights of Lynn University will host a pair of games this weekend. The Lady Knights go into the weekend with a 4-3 record. Dutchik got his first win as Head Coach in the first game of the season

The Chip Dutchik era started off with a bang as Lynn University's women's soccer team won 2-1 over Northwood in their season opener Sunday afternoon.

Major League Soccer's disciplinary committee gave additional one-game suspensions to Chivas USA midfielder Marcelo Saragosa and Houston assistant coach John Spencer after both were sent off during their teams' games this past weekend.

Saragosa was issued an extra game to his suspension for kicking Seattle Sounders forward Fredy Montero in the face.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

Major League Soccer's disciplinary committee gave additional one-game suspensions to Chivas USA midfielder Marcelo Saragosa and Houston assistant coach John Spencer after both were sent off during their teams' games this past weekend.

"Didier had a scan and there's no problem with his calf," assistant coach Ray Wilkins said Tuesday. "It was just the most horrendous bout of cramp.

"We thought he couldn't release the muscle and it might be something more nasty but he'll be able to take part on Saturday.

Fantastic display on the weekend at home to Tottenham sans the Drogba scare, of course.

Now that we know the terrifying Ivorian is going to be just fine, we can get on with the business at hand. Namely this Carling Cup third-round tie at Stamford Bridge against Championship side Queens Park Rangers.

ERIC SAMUEL
Former national coach B. Sathianathan has accepted an offer from Kelantan to take charge of their team for the Malaysia Cup competition which kicks off on Saturday.
Sathianathan, who met KFA president Tan Sri Annuar Musa in Kota Baru yesterday, said that details of the contract would be drawn up soon.

Every year the MIAC Mens Soccer conference ends up being a dog fight and this year is no different. For better or worse, MIAC men's soccer benefits from not having a division one program in the State of Minnesota. The players who chose to stay in Minnesota and play for Division-3 schools where no scholarships are awarded are also getting technically and tactically better.