Click here to view the embedded video.
Union
Faryd Mondragon said, "If we play the way we know how to play, we can beat anyone."
Sebastien Le Toux on Houston: "We know we can beat them."
And, as Marc Narducci reports, Danny Califf knows it can be done. Califf was on the LA Galaxy
team that, in the 2003, beat San Jose 2–0 in the first leg, was up 2–0 in the second half, and
lost 2–5 in extra time.
Next time you find yourself in Ohio searching for the best soccer action the Buckeye State has
to offer, skip Crew Stadium and drive the 121 miles northeast to Lee Jackson Field, where the
Akron Zips are fast becoming the pride of American college soccer. Following up his side's
heart-breaking penalty shoot-out loss in the 2009 national championship to Wake Forest, Coach Caleb
Porter led this year's edition of the Zips to the promised land, knocking off number one seeded
Louisville 1-0 to claim this year's crown, the first D1 national championship in the school's
history.
It's Akron Coach Caleb Porter's world, we just live in it: Five of the first eight
selections were from the NCAA champion Zips, and two more went in the second round.
(Goff)
So was the FO's failure to land him last year due more to something they did (or didn't do) or to
his desire to stick with his program (or the college ranks in general)?
Much has been made of the record breaking selection of seven players from the University of
Akron in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft.
Rightly so. After all, five of them were among the first eight picks in the draft.
That coach Caleb Porter and his staff have gotten it right when it comes to player development
is only underscored when you recall that five of this year's Generation adidas class of nine also
played at Akron.
Thirty-one players were called in for the combined U-20/U-23 training camp in Duisburg, Germany,
from Nov. 7-16.
GOALKEEPERS David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes; Pleasanton, Calif.), Cody
Cropper (Ipswich Town; Athens, Ga.), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire, Lilburn, Ga.
Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz
Philadelphia Union
The "2011 in Review" articles for the Philadelphia Union are now up on the MLS website. One
provides decent insight, the other, not so much. In the Q & A cobbled together from the last press
conference of the season, in addition to relating that Freddy Adu was at "60 percent" for much of
the end of the season due to a back injury and the need for defensive additions and competition
within the various positions on the field, Peter Nowak discusses the mindset the team needs to win
a championship:
"I told you guys at the press conferences we've had all year long that we believe in what we're
building, we believe what is the culture around the team.
Caleb Porter will now lead the U-23 National team. (Photo via Akron Athletic Department)
A bit of news we heard about yesterday over on Twitter. University of Akron head coach Caleb
Porter has been officially named the US U-23 head coach more importantly the Olympics head coach
for the US.
Photo courtesy of MLSsoccer.com
The call
Peter Nowak: "Did you guys see the replay [of the free kick goal that was ruled offside] or not
yet? I saw it, the frame. The ball is off Séba's foot already by two or three yards...All
I can say is that we live in a country where you can criticize everybody, including the President
and the federal government.
Philadelphia Union
John Hackworth explains what the Union is looking for going into the 2012 season. "When you're
retooling, you have to make sure you're managing the roster and the salary cap. We're not
necessarily trying to get younger; we're trying to get better. And we're going to look at every
avenue do that.
By Puck Ladies and Gents, welcome back into the Happy Hour. This week has been a series of
disappointments for Puck and company. Both Manchester teams uneventfully crashed out of the UEFA
Champions League, and Charlie Weis is leaving the Sunshine State to coach the woeful Kansas
Jayhawks. Needless to say, many alcoholic libations are [.
Philadelphia Union
Kerith Gabriel reports that the Philadelphia Union will announce a "blockbuster deal" with
Panamanian international Gabriel Gomez. Gabriel says that Gomez is the "the same box-to-box
defender/midfielder that was a beast in Panama's 2-0 win over the United States in the group stage
of this summer's Gold Cup.
Philadelphia Union
Tweet from Freddy Adu: "Happy Holidays to everyone. Love the holiday season."
In Goal.com's survey of the Eastern Conference there is this review of the the Union's 2011
season in a sentence: "Another season of incremental growth for a young squad still in need of a
couple of pieces to compete for MLS Cup.
Photo: Paul Rudderow
Philadelphia Union
Ives Galarcep reports at Fox Soccer that Freddy Adu is heading to with Spanish side Rayo
Vallecano for a two-week training stint. The report notes, "Rayo Vallecano is also a club that had
been in talks with Adu about signing him last summer before Adu settled on a return to MLS.
