Impressions are still fresh, which makes it easier to indulge in hyperbole, but during the first
45 minutes against Schalke, Gladbach delivered some of the finest team football the Bundesliga has
seen this season. On top, there was a goal for every personal preference in football artistry
anyone could have: a great individual goal by Marco Reus, an even greater team goal finished off by
Mike Hanke and a beautiful goal from a free kick by Juan Arango.
Aloha and good morning. Just a quick one from me. What to say about Bolton? Not a great deal if
I can help it. In his comparatively short turn at t'Reebok, Owen Coyle's managerial stock has
fallen somewhat rapidly. From the Glaswegian Wenger to Sue Barker in the time it takes to polish
and glue in those unfeasibly white teeth.
Okay, if the next England manager has to be English, who do we choose? Here are some of the
English manager currently employed as football managers (seems like a good filter), in order of
preference (some rational, some not):
Alan Pardew hmmmmmmmmmmm.
Lee Clark knows how to win, was a good player, should be a dark horse, but ideally would have
managed and succeeded in the Premiership.
David Beckham and Thierry Henry will hope to lead their clubs to a playoff win this weekend.
(Getty Images)
I already submitted some picks for the playoffs over at BigDSoccer.com, you can read them there
but seeing how I was wrong on one of them already I figured I can get a pass and just focus on the
final eight here.
Part III in our continuing review of who TSG will choose for the MLS Awards 2011. Help us out.
Add your voice.
Next up:
Rosales...singled out here...as a lock for newcomer?
Newcomer of the Year
The best newcomer in MLS during the 2011 regular season. For this award, "newcomer" is defined
as a player with previous professional experience who made his MLS debut in 2011.
Brek Shea sits atop the MVP race, can he hold on to it? (Getty Images)
With only a few weeks left in the season the awards race in Major League Soccer is pretty dang
hot. The MVP race alone is very interesting this season. In my book if I had to vote today for the
top three in the MVP race would be fairly simple but there are a few dark horse candidates to keep
a watch on.
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It's Champions League group stage time from now until the beginning of December Europe's elite
clubs will be going up against each other trying to reach the knockout stages and of course the
money that playing in the later stages brings.
It was only two weeks ago that we at Sounder at Heart were calling Mauro Rosales a "dark horse"
for Major League Soccer's MVP. With the Seattle Sounders being one of the clearly best teams in MLS
the chances are pretty good that a player would get recognition, and since Fredy Montero and Kasey
Keller are mere mortals in their numbers those who don't watch every single game may not find an
easy pick.
Sheanon Williams has come a long way since he signed with the Union in late August of 2010.
Williams is in the midst of a stellar year and he's a player Union fans are glad to have. His
physicality and prowess going forward have proven to be both threatening and impressive against
opposing teams. We spoke to Sheanon briefly about his season so far and his thoughts on the future.
Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com
By JOHN BOSCHINI
For much of last season, Louisville and Akron were fixtures near the top of the NSCAA Top 25,
and the voters expect much of the same for 2011.
Louisville received the No. 1 spot on the strength of a strong 2010 campaign and returns of key
attacking players Dylan Mares and Colin Rolfe.
Word has it that on Football Focus this weekend Ipswich Town were tipped to be this
season's 'dark horse'. I wonder if they're thinking a little differently now?As The Football League Show's Steve Claridge said on Saturday night following a disappointingly
short review of our match:
'Dark horse?
The first stage of the Women's World cup is over and we are down to the last eight teams and the
quarter-final knockout stages. So far, the tournament, being held in Germany, has
been a great success, and it looks like the women's game is finally getting the media recognition
it deserves.
Copa America 2011: Paraguay and an inspirational secret weapon is a post from: Just Football
Favourites they may not be, but if it's a dark horse you're looking for at this year's Copa
America then Paraguay motivated by special and heartwarming circumstances might be the one. Ralph
Hannah reports from Asunción:
Paraguay will kick off their 2011 Copa America campaign in
Argentina on Sunday afternoon against Ecuador in Santa Fe.
Coming into the Gold Cup, it was pretty much a forgone conclusion that the United States would
have a fairly routine, if not easy quarterfinal match up against one of the third place teams. What
were the odds that instead the Yanks would be heading into their quarterfinal game as an
underdog?
Jamaica was expected to advance out of the group stage and was tagged as a dark horse to advance
to the final of the Gold Cup before the tournament began.
Photo by mrmoneda
The 2011 Gold Cup is an interesting tournament, one almost designed specifically for the most
hard core soccer fan. The winner advances to the Confederations Cup, which is a very scaled down
version of the World Cup, and you have to really be into soccer to buy tickets for Panama versus
Guadeloupe (Tuesday in Detroit).
He may only be 30, at or only just past the peak of his abilities, and still arguably the best
option for Harry Redknapp at centre-back, but make no mistake about it- Ledley King, by most
popular accounts, has seen his best days come and go at Tottenham.
Having spent almost all of the past season under the cloud of groin and recurrent knee injuries
and with Michael Dawson emerging as a competent and trusted understudy captain, questions have
already started to emerge over just how long King's gilted Spurs career will last, with some
speculators already suggesting that he's already on the way to retirement.
The Philadelphia Union open PPL Park, in Chester, PA, for the first time in the 2011 MLS season
versus the Vancouver Whitecaps today. Like the Union, the Whitecaps won their opening game of the
season. Behind two goals from Eric Hassli, the Whitecaps beat lowly Toronto FC 4-2. In Texas, the
Union took down the Houston Dynamo, a preseason dark horse for the playoffs by many, 1-0 , behind a
goal from Danny Califf.
Missing the playoffs for the first time since arriving in Houston, the Houston Dynamo always had
the look of a team that could rebound quickly and return to the ranks of the league's best. After
one of the better off-seasons in MLS, the Dynamo stands poised to do just that.
Houston has added several quality players in the winter, including a pair of talented rookies in
Kofi Sarkodie and Will Bruin.
We're now only two days away from the Philadelphia Union's first game of the 2011 season in
Houston, and excitement is at a fever pitch. Are you headed anywhere in particular to watch the
game? Fado's? Dark Horse? Regardless of where you go or who you're with, the game promises to be
lots of fun.
Anyway, here are a few Union, MLS, and general soccer links to get your Thursday started:
March FIFA dates lead to MLS roster diaspora [Matthew Doyle - MLSsoccer.
"Mmm, you can really taste the Soolsma!"From our Dutch horshe's mouth came word today that
Toronto FC had snapped up its first new signings of 2011. During today's media scrum, manager Aron
Winter informed the press that three of the players who were on trial with the club in Turkey are
now indeed fully signed-on members of the Red-Oranje Army.
