by Greg Seltzer - Most popular for 2009
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U.S. midfielder Jose Francisco Torres blasted the stand-up winner in Pachuca's playoff opening 3-1
victory at Jaguares on Thursday night. Do enjoy the highlights...- Greg Seltzer
In case you somehow missed it all... The highlights Reactions from Michael Bradley and his dad, who
is always around the team for some reason (I kid!). And, of course, the USMNT has been outed as
cheaters, which is of course he only way to beat Mexico... I'm now rolling my eyes, in case you
can't see me.
I've had several people write in to ask if NAC Breda technical director Earnie Stewart might go
after Eredivisie winker and former D.C. United teammate Freddy Adu.I have your answer: no. I spoke
with Earnie today, and he says their squad is complete.I'm actually trying to figure out the one or
two Dutch clubs that are interested, more by eliminating possibilities first.
"I am here to score goals."With those words, fresh Sochaux catch Charlie Davies announced his
French ambition during his presentation. And in case you're wondering what squad number he's been
issued...- Greg Seltzer
[Photo: Sĩ Huyên/HAGL]U.S. international Lee Nguyen scored both goals to spark Ho ng Anh Gia Lai
to a sorely needed 2-1 home win over Thể Công. The win snapped a four-game league victory
drought and moved to the preseason title contenders up to eighth (and to within three points of
second place).
I'm in a hurry now, but will try to come back later to fill this out some (and will post a D.C.
United-Real Madrid Top 5 from Alex Abnos even sooner).Jozy Altidore is now officially a Hull
player. His work permit was approved just moments ago.I have learned that Fulham ace Clint Dempsey
is set to sign a fresh four-year deal with the club (pending a new work permit, which won't be a
problem).
(click photo for desktop size)First, the bad news from last night's 2-2 rally draw for the USMNT:
Oguchi Onyewu is expected to miss about 3-4 months with a torn tendon in his knee.And now, the
better news: My U.S. Player Ratings will go up in a while and we have videos...- Greg Seltzer
Are you enjoying the Cut of the Day? Sound familiar? You long ago heard it here:Line-ups for what
we hope will be a jogo bonito encounter between the USMNT and Brazil should be available around the
top of the hour. For those of you getting up before work in the States, this game will be televised
on both espn2 and TeleFutura, and you can also follow the action with stats on the U.
Well, whaddya know?!The USMNT has pulled off a small miracle by rallying in game three to advance
to the Confederations Cup semifinals by topping Egypt 3-0. Combined with Italy's 3-0 loss to
Brazil, the Americans proceed from group play despite losing their first two games by a combined
6-1 tally.All the video clips and such still to come.
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a:hover{color:#67bee2;text-decoration:underline;}The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p /
10cFelonious
And I don't understand it. The silly season is well underway and these pieces of brilliance are
still with clubs in leagues below their level - some well below it.Each has had numerous suitors
come and go without a transfer taking place and each would be a bargain of well less than €10
million - in fact, our top three wouldn't require half that much money to pry loose.
The MLS season kicked off Thursday with the expansion Seattle Sounders putting a 3-0 hurting on
2008 runners up New York at a manic Qwest Field.I told ya Fredy Montero was the goods...- Greg
Seltzer
Okay, I've been working on this transfer saga for a couple of days, and this is whhat I have
learned:U.S. backline cop Oguchi Onyewu now has three Prem offers (Birmingham, Fulham and mystery
meat), two La Liga offers (shrug), one Bundesliga offer (der schrug), one Ligue 1 offer (presumably
PSG or Marseille, though Lyon is a possibility) and the seemingly also-ran bid from Fenerbahçe.
With super-secretive MLS contract terms making the research for this a real bastard, I finally am
here to submit my picks for the players who look most set to head to Europe in the offseason.Yura
Movsisyan and Chris Rolfe have already signed pre-deals to hop the pond, and they won't be alone in
augmenting the MLS alum association.
I'm still sweating whether my feed will hold up all the way through, but it's about 98% that I'll
have one.I'll be back around 8.30 PM ET with my thoughts, with the line-ups and a prediction to
follow at around 9 PM. This is what I expect will be the line-up:Howard; Cherundolo, Onyewu,
Bocanegra, Hejduk, Bradley, Clark, Holden, Donovan, Davies, AltidoreSee ya in a while.
And all it took was a second half rally, a Conor Casey double, a Landon Donovan free kick, a whole
lot of Tim Howard and a late Honduras penalty miss!The USMNT scored a lively 3-2 win at Honduras,
repeating their qualification feat of eight years ago.Of course, wouldn't ya know it, I had a
perfect stream for the final 15 minutes.
While I slept, US Soccer released a full account of the injuries suffered by Charlie Davies in
Tuesday's fatal car accident outside Washington D.C. and his recovery prognosis.For those of you
going to the U.S. v Costa Rica game at RFK tonight, the American Outlaws supporters group and Shin
Guardian blog are teaming up to construct a get well gesture to Charlie: a 9th minute salute to our
#9 shirt
We are just over an hour away from kickoff of the Confederations Cup semifinal between the USMNT
and world #1 Spain. You folks in the States not at work can watch on either ESPN or Univision,
while those limited to the interwebs can also follow the action at the U.S. Matchtracker.Line-ups
to come shortly, followed by some comments and a prediction from me.
I know we are all ready to kick off Gold Cup, but after reading Sam Alipour's infuriating ESPN
Magazine story on the "case" against former UC-Santa Barbara ace Eric Frimpong, I was immediately
compelled to share it.I'd meant to read it yesterday, but forgot and now am ruing the lost exposure
for his story due to the routine occurrence of lower weekend traffic.
The Distracter said to me, she said 'Don't you stay up too late' with her usual stern concern over
my health a moment after I had decided to just go ahead and finish The Beckham Experiment late last
night. When I finally closed the hardbound, I looked at the clock to notice the Kansas City-Los
Angeles tilt was about to start.
As defined by NSC reader Mike, for our purposes, a "dark horse" is basically anyone outside the 23
guys that USMNT coach Bob Bradley would choose if the roster deadline was tomorrow.At this late
stage, he my well be right about that. However, it wasn't that long ago that a youngster came
seemingly from almost nowhere to win a World Cup place.
A mere five months after beginning competition, the Seattle Sounders have bagged their first
silver, besting home side D.C. United 2-1 in Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup final. We have post-game
reactions, and of course, the reel...- Greg Seltzer
Just because nasty Man United halted the FA Cup song doesn't mean Clint Dempsey still can't hit the
charts: It's only halftime at Craven Cottage, but Fulham will go to the clubhouse with a 1-0 lead
thanks to the American's second minute strike.Once the video surfaces, you will find it here...-
Greg Seltzer
Another casualty of my weekend technical difficulties, and I nearly forgot to post this...- Greg
Seltzer
[Photo: Hull City]Very gracious, properly excited new Tiger Jozy Altidore gave me a moment of his
time not long ago, and the local daily has video from the unveiling.And...Just so it doesn't get
lost in a previous post update: I have been told that UK reports linking Aston Villa defender Eric
Lichaj with a move to Bolton are total rubbish.
This weekend, we've had 'Gladbach's Michael Bradley give his team a late shot with a fine
shot...... Matthew Dallman bag another pair for Sportfreunde Siegen (in red) in Germany and Ryan
Guy ring the bell for St. Pat's (video to come... we hope).- Greg Seltzer
Danish outlet 442 has a brief video interview with fresh Aalborg recruit Marcus Tracy, longingly
entitled "The American Henry?". Unfortunately, I have no idea what AaB chairman Lynge
Jakobsen (one of the nicest and funniest execs in Europe to my experience) is saying. On this note,
I had an excellent interview with Marcus today, and you will find that up at Soccer365 in the
morning.
While I wait for the Mo Edu video (and hope for an Eddie Johnson clip), let's take care of some
business...Chelsea 3 Liverpool 1The Blues rally at Stamford Bridge on a surprise double by
seldom-used defender Branislav Ivanović before Didier Drogba provides some breathing room for the
trip to Anfield.
Well, the big day has arrived and the time is nigh. I'll be back in a moment with my view of the
impending CONCACAF World Cup qualifier between the U.S. and arch nemesis Mexico in a few. For now,
the Red, White & Blue line-up that will try to break the Azteca jinx:Howard; Cherundolo, Demerit,
Onyewu, Bocanegra, Bradley, Clark, Dempsey, Donovan, Davies, ChingI'm little surprised to see 'Dolo
over
For the second time in three games, 1860 Munich forward Kenny Cooper has rung an early bell.
Unfortunately, this time it came in a 3-1 home loss to Karlsruhe.Clip to come...- Greg Seltzer
I decided to lower the bar for this edition, picking only players who cost their new clubs less
than €7 million. Boy, am I glad I did.It turns out there was an awful lot of fine bargain
shopping this summer - so much that I entirely ignored any and all loan players, including ones
with buy options.
In dress shoes, even. With a wet ball.- Greg Seltzer
At the least, Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill hinted that #2 keeper Brad Guzan may be set to
challenge #1 Brad Friedel after last night's dominant Carling Cup display. The former Chivas USA
saw off a penalty in regulation and three more in the shootout to completely foil Sunderland.I'm on
the lookout for any highlights, but for now, you can just bask in O'Neill's Guzan fawning.
The game is in the 20th minute and U.S. ace Jack McInerney has just seen a penalty kick saved by
the the Italy keeper.As always, you can follow along at the U.S. Matchtracker or watch on
ESPN360.Back with the major updates only, followed by the wrap...--29'Beretta puts Italy ahead
1-0.- Greg Seltzer
I'm not in the mood to mince words or getting all wound up through great elaboration, so I'll cut
right to the point.Today, USMNT coach Bob Bradley called 23 players for a midweek friendly against
Denmark in Aarhus, yet stunningly ignored AGF attacker Jeremiah White. This, my friends, is a bush
league maneuver.
Resurgent Rangers attacker DaMarcus Beasley punctuated his 90 minutes by notching a late goal and
assist in a 6-1 rout of poor Motherwell.While we wait for the clip, I should also mention that
Clint Dempsey bagged an assist in Fulham's 3-0 destruction of Manchester United today.Back shortly
with the video evidence, the resurrection has been televised.
I've decided all relevant happenings should pause while I sleep. Until I can get that rule into
effect... #1 - Due to injuries, suspension and a few cases of on-set senility, Mexico will show up
in Columbus with an unusual amount of new names for a big World Cup qualifier against the nemesis.
In an effort to help these El Tri players ease into the rivalry, I think we should just go ahead
and
[Photo: KSV Superfund]Kapfenburg SV striker Preston Zimmerman has scored again, this one in a
losing Stiegl-Cup cause on Tuesday night. The American entered at the break and had his side level
in only a minute, netting his second in three games.Zimmerman would nearly put his side ahead
moments later, but the Superfund boys eventually fell 2-1 on a late goal by second flight leaders
SC Magna.
Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1 (Barcelona advance on away goals)I am stunned. Gobsmacked. In disbelief. Not
only that Chelsea massaged their slim lead earned through Michael Essien's wonder-strike for over
80 minutes, but mostly that referee Tom Henning Øvrebø somehow ignored three (if not four) clear
second half penalty fouls, at least one of which was also a clear red card.
President Barack Obama talks up another stateside World Cup on Mexican television.Meanwhile, Abby
Wambach and the Washington Freedom have invited Michelle Obama and the girls to take in a WPS match
(scroll down), and I'm guessing it won't be long before they accept. Both the Obama daughters play,
if I'm not mistaken.
