You get a phone call from Red Bull.
It's Erik Stover.
Is this another automated call to buy season tickets? Not this time.
You are offered the position of teams Sporting Director. And you jump at the chance.
But now what? Well, I turn it over to you -
What would you do to turn around this franchise ahead of the 2010 season?
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Soccerblog 23 October @ 12:53 AM EST
Its become almost automatic for the US to qualify for the World Cup nowadays. But there were
forty years in the wilderness before the US qualified for the 1990 World Cup when Paul Caliguiri in
the grandiloquent "The Shot Heard Around The World" scored against T&T to put the US through. He is
therefore the grand poobah of clutch performers.
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Soccerblog 11 October @ 09:29 AM EST
Haminu Dramani catches Reyna napping on the ball
(2006 World Cup)
Buried deep in the mountain of sports news on college football, NFL, and the baseball playoffs
in the NY Times, Jere Longman writes about the US qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. It was not
exactly on top of the sports news in the major broadcasting networks either.
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Head over to ESPN Soccernet and read a nice piece about one-time Rowdies midfielder, Hugo Perez.
The article is by Jeff Carlisle and details the career of one of the better US national team
players of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Before Claudio Reyna and Landon Donovan, there was
Hugo.
He played just two seasons with Tampa Bay and unfortunately his career coincided with the dark
years after the collapse of the NASL.
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Du Nord 25 September @ 04:48 AM EST
By Carl Carpenter
This summer I had the chance to interview two players, Claudio Reyna and Salomon Kalou, after Steve
Nash's second annual celebrity soccer match. Proceeds from the event went towards the Steve Nash
Foundation and the Claudio Reyna Foundation. The set-up is a free, 8-a-side match featuring NBA
players and professional soccer players.
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For all of the praise that Bob Bradley has gotten and deserved for his win in Switzerland
(breaking a 5 game European losing streak), 2007 Gold Cup champions, wins against Egypt and Spain,
and 2009 Confederation Cup runners-up, he has gotten condemned for unimaginative performances
against El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Trinidad and Tobago in World Cup Qualifying.
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Our postgame podcast will be taped in a few hours. Guests will be Richard Farley of Inside the
Six and World Soccer Reader, along with Jamie Trecker of FOX Sports.
What I plan to address on the pod.
- Officiating at Azteca. Honduras lost on a pk.
- Bob Bradley's job performance: I rate him highly given the USSF's constraints, but I am certain
my guests will differ.
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Bob Bradley has far too many critics. Some people who believe the US is a big time program and
should be led by the likes of Guus Hiddink, just do not get the realities of dysfunctional US
Soccer Federation who blew the hiring of Jurgen Klinsmann for the simple fact that they are control
freaks and do not take well to any type of criticism.
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This past week it was officially announced that Vincenzo Bernardo had opted out of his contract
with Italian Serie A club Napoli and is now a free agent. For some weeks there has been speculation
that the New Jersey native, who joined Napoli's primavera squad in 2006, would be coming to Major
League Soccer; however, no MLS side has publically expressed a strong interest in signing the small
but talented Italian-American midfielder/striker.
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Which is good because I interviewed Landon Donovan on the weekend.
More on that in a bit.
I asked Donovan, who is likely to take sole possession of the all-time U.S. Men's National Team
World Cup qualifying appearance record when he plays against El Salvador in Rio Tinto Stadium
Saturday (he's currently tied at 32 games with Kasey Keller, Eddie Pope, and Claudio Reyna), about
the importance of the game:
"It's a massive, massive game," he said.
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As Landon Donovan's national team career ticks on, previous records continue to fall. With the
all-time goal scoring title firmly his, a cap on Saturday night will give him the overall lead in
World Cup qualifiers with 32.
At the moment Donovan is currently tied with Kasey Keller, Eddie Pope, and Claudio Reyna at 31
qualifying appearances and barring unforeseen circumstances will make the record his own on
Saturday night in Sandy, Utah.
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For most Americans who identify as soccer aficionados (including many émigrés) this time of
year is exciting because of the start of the European season. In this crowd the fact that it is
also the start of the American college season is mostly of no note at all, or perhaps a cause for
casual derision.
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Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England).
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo
(Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu
(AC Milan, Italy), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United, England).
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You won't ever really know how much you hate the sound of a phone ring until you've heard it a
thousand times in two days. Let's pop a cool one and watch some TV...HAGL's Lee Nguyen smashed home
a free kick 4-3 winner on the weekend.Claudio Reyna joins the ESPN crew to preview the Bundesliga
season, which starts Friday.
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WVHooligan 29 July @ 03:44 PM EST
Editor's Note: Geoff Reid appears on WVHooligan.com each week. Today he is back to discuss
the state of the world's game in New York. Feel free to leave him a note below.
On Saturday evening, the New York Red Bulls were on the end of a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of
the Colorado Rapids in what was a perfect example of their 2009 season up to this point.
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Yonga in orange training top heads a ball in an ESP practice session.
Paul Yonga has had a lot of success in his very young soccer career. He has done well whether
playing for the Arsenal Super Eagles, Minnesota Thunder Academy, Totino Grace High School or his
ODP teams. But never did the 17 year old Yonga think his talent would land him in a game with the
great Zizou.
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Yonga in orange training top heads a ball in an ESP practice session.
Paul Yonga has had a lot of success in his very young soccer career. He has done well whether
playing for the Arsenal Super Eagles, Minnesota Thunder Academy, Totino Grace High School or his
ODP teams. But never did the 17-year-old Yonga think his talent would land him in a game with the
great Zizou.
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I'm pretty open-minded. Really I am. But there is something funny about Cleetus & Claudio doing an
infomercial for yoga. I mean Reyna I get because he is aged (pronounced "age-jed") and at this
point he was probably trying anything to keep his kneecap from exiting his skin and landing on the
Giants Stadium turf in the 76th minute.
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Soccerblog 16 July @ 08:37 AM EST
Bruce Arena returns to his old digs.
Mike Magee, Todd Dunivant, and Dema Kovalenko all played for the Red Bulls.
There are a number of players who grew up in the New York area. Veteran defender Gregg Berhalter
grew up in Tenafly, NJ and attended St Benedicts High School along with Claudio Reyna.
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Jimmy Conrad made his return for the United States in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Haiti. Conrad had
been left out of the previous 27 US match squads, a remarkable statistic for such a gifted player
with unique leadership skills.
Conrad's solid organization and play helped to save a result for the United States against a
superior Haitian side, Saturday.
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The Offside 08 July @ 11:30 AM EST
With all respect to DaMarcus Beasley's spell at PSV, Claudio Reyna at Rangers and, erm, Cobi Jones
at Coventry City, Oguchi Onyewu signing for Milan is arguably the most high profile move by an
American soccer player, ever. I'm not counting Tim Howard's move to Man Utd, because Howard is a
goalkeeper and the world already [.
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Chicago's Wilman Conde, left, heads in the winning goal over the head of Rapids defender
Kosuke Kimura and beyond the reach of goalkeeper Matt Pickens.
(photo by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)
Â
The game was a dud, and so were the fireworks.
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The Offside 26 June @ 10:26 AM EST
The 2009 Showdown in Chinatown was this past Wednesday. If you're unfamiliar, that's where the
NBA's Steve Nash organizes a game of soccer in New York City featuring big names from the worlds of
basketball and football. In attendance this year were... from the world of football: Claudio Reyna,
Thierry Henry, Javier Zanetti, Salomon Kalou, Ryan [.
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John O'Brien's goal started the 2002 World Cup run
Sunday will make the first tournament final ever in a non CONCACAF event for the United States.
However, the US has made deep runs in major tournaments before. Let's take a quick look at these
tournaments.
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It is fair to say that US football is not seen in a very positive light on the British side of the
pond. There are years of prejudice to overcome, but the national team's impressive display at the
Confederations Cup are helping to change the attitudes of British football fans who cannot help but
notice the increasing number of American imports into their leagues.
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MLS Rumors 25 June @ 01:18 AM EST
If you're a New Yorker, or even a Jerseyite and a soccer fan you may have more reason to cheer than
simply for the escape from Giant's Stadium for NY/NJ's beleaguered MLS club. TH14 seems pretty
certain that he will be running down the pitch at the newly opened Red Bull Arena. Henry talked a
bit about a stateside move after a charity match in New York City.
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Steve Nash and friends throwdown for the showdown in chinatown, for charity, take
2
It's never as good as the first time. The rain, the grand stand bleachers, the wet turf, the
steady cam man on the field, the crane cam hovering over the crowd. What was an underground
experiment last year became the mainstream mainstay as Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna hosted their
2nd annual Showdown in Chinatown to benefit each of their namesake charities.
Click to continue reading...
Steve Nash and friends throwdown for the showdown in chinatown, for charity, take
2
It's never as good as the first time. The rain, the grand stand bleachers, the wet turf, the
steady cam man on the field, the crane cam hovering over the crowd. What was an underground
experiment last year became the mainstream mainstay as Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna hosted their
2nd annual Showdown in Chinatown to benefit each of their namesake charities.
Click to continue reading...
It's not that often a bunch of basketball superstars take the same field as some of the world's
greatest footballers, but today - Wednesday, June 24th - the Steve Nash celebrity soccer game is
happening.
If you're anywhere near the New York area, head down to Roosevelt Park at 6:00pm in Chinatown
(Manhattan) and witness this excellent spectacle.
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MLS Rumors 23 June @ 05:00 PM EST
The New York China Town charity exhibition from last year that involved NBA and world soccer stars
is back Wednesday June 24th at 6:00 PM(tomarrow). Steve Nash, Claudio Reyna, Thierry Henry, Tony
Parker, Javier Zanetti, Raja Bell, Adrian Mutu, Chris Bosh, Ivan Cordoba, Grant Hill, Giovanni van
Brockhurst, and Yao Ming will be the participating athletes.
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WVHooligan 23 June @ 04:09 PM EST
I meant to bring this up earlier in the day but nearly forgot. For those of you lucky bastards
in the New York City area, there is an event that you need to be at tomorrow in Chinatown. What is
it? The second annual Showdown in Chinatown featuring NBA stars and international soccer stars such
as Steve Nash and Thierry Henry.
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                                               Â
                        Photo by New York Times
In case you missed it last year, the Showdown in Chinatown was one of the most memorable soccer
events in New York City in recent memory.
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What do Thierry Henry, Javier Zanetti, Ryan Babel, Jason Kidd and Grant Hill
have in common?
They will all be playing at a park near you.
That's right! Back by popular demand, Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna will be presenting the second
annual "Showdown in Chinatown" charity event next week, June 24th (yes, that is tomorrow)
These are the details:
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Roosevelt Park
Right off of Delancy
Between Christie and Forsyth
For those unfamiliar with the event, players from the basketball and soccer worlds put on some
cleats Here are the featured players for this 8 a side classic charity clash:
Soccer:
Claudio Reyna (US/Former NY Red Bull)
Thierry Henry (France/FC Barcelona)
Javier Zanetti (Argentina/Inter Milan)
Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast/Chelsea)
Ryan Babel (The Netherlands/Liverpool)
Giovanni van Bronckhurst (The Netherlands/Feyenoord)
Mathieu Flamini (France/AC Milan)
Ivan Cordoba (Columbia/Inter Milan)
Adrian Mutu (Romania/ACF Fiorentina)
Basketball:
Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns)
Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs)
Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks)
Grant Hill (Phoenix Suns)
Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors)
Raja Bell (Charlotte Bobcats)
I'll be covering the event from inside the cage, so give me a holler if you see me (I'll have my
derby hat on).
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