A few notes from around the club today, including the signing of another young talent (as seen
below).
Window shopping
Mikel to be fit for Saturday, Lampard likely
• After some seven weeks on the shelf, John Obi Mikel is finally ready to resurface.
Photo by Jose L. Argueta/ISIphotos.com
By AVI CREDITOR
WASHINGTON -- Perry Kitchen had just about everything including the kitchen sink thrown his way
in 2011.
As a rookie, Kitchen started 30 of a possible 34 games for D.C. United, splitting time across
three positions.
The midfield. Currently viewed as the strength of the team. But is it really set right now?
Let's break it down:
Defensive Midfielders: Pavel Pardo, Logan Pause, Daniel Paladini, Mike
Videira
This is clearly the strength of the midfield. Pavel Pardo is in a class by himself.
photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
D.C. United added more depth to its midfield on Monday, signing a player who is no stranger to
MLS.
United announced the acquisition of midfielder Marcelo Saragosa, the 30-year-old Brazilian who
previously had stints with FC Dallas and Chivas USA.
In the same way that a classroom descends into carnage when a teacher leaves the room for any
extended period, the Tottenham dressing room has become a violent and confusing place while Harry
Redknapp is away attending to his legal affairs. Yesterday, Spurs winger Danny Rose posted a video
on his Twitter showcasing teammate Sandro's full range of high kicks and martial arts poses.
Photo Credit: Alfonso Jimenez via Wikimedia Commons
Ever since Amado Guevara was shown the door, I've been clamoring for an actual #10 Creative
Midfielder for our team - to absolutely no avail. That genius Bruce Arena (besides destroying our
pretty good backline in 2007) saddled us with the perenially injured Claudio Reyna, who (as a
defensive midfielder) was absolutely not the creative player we needed.
Liverpool 2: Agger 21′, Kuyt 88′United 1: Park 40′
Liverpool progress past a Manchester side in a cup competition for the second time in four days,
this time defeating United on the strength of a late Dirk Kuyt winner. After the nadir at Bolton,
it's been a terrific week for Liverpool, first reaching the final of the League Cup with the
aggregate win over City, and now fighting through a tense match that was dominated at times by the
visitors to get the win in the dying moments.
Most of last night's headlines might have been about the U.S. men's national team's friendly in
Panama, but that was not the only place south of the border where an American was playing.
Lost amid the U.S. team's 1-0 win, Jonathan Bornstein made his season debut, starting and going
the distance in Tigres UANL's 1-0 first-leg loss to Chilean club Union Espanola in the Copa
Libertadores.
Liverpool set up a Carling Cup final against Cardiff after playing out a thrilling 2-2 draw with
Manchester City at Anfield to advance 3-2 on aggregate.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, City quickly drew level on aggregate thanks to a superb long-range
strike from defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong that flew into the top corner.
Jurgen Klinsman, Jermaine Jones and Ricardo Clark. The first a German, and famous at that. The
second a mix of American and German, currently playing his club ball with Schalke 04 in der
fatherland. The third born in America, a defensive midfielder in the 2nd Bundesliga for Eintracht
Frankfurt. Could it be some hidden understanding from this shared German-ness that pushed Klinsman
to pick Clark off the bench, and for Jones to find the late substitute with a perfectly dipped
cross?
For 90 minutes the U.S. Men's National Team dominated play against Venezuela on Saturday night
at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz, but couldn't find the goal they needed to take
the lead. Substitute Ricardo Clark finally had the answer with a stoppage time header to give the
U.S. a deserved 1-0 victory.
By Alan Duffy
Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Liverpool Premier League 21 January 2012
Starting without a genuine defensive midfielder was always going to leave the visiting Reds
somewhat vulnerable at the Reebok. Still,with Steven Gerrard orchestrating things from midfield and
Bolton ensconced in a relegation battle, Kenny Dalglish and co.
Photo by ISIphotos.com
For U.S. Under-23 winger Joe Gyau, the future is now.
Gyau confirmed on his own Twitter feed that he will be in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's matchday 18
against Hannover 96 this weekend for the first time. Hoffenheim is dealing with a number of
injuries, and Gyau, who has been playing well for the club's U-23 team, is going to get his first
taste of first-team life in the Bundesliga in what could prove to be a seminal year in the
19-year-old winger's career.
Amobi Okugo has had a busy offseason, shuttling around the world playing for various US youth
National team squads and MLS special tournament teams, but it appears to have all worked out for
the midfielder. The 20-year-old is ranked eighth on ESPN on a list of under-21 US soccer players,
and is one of three of those players on the list that are on the sports site's front page.
With the ice storm following the snow storm Seattle Sounders FC canceled today's practice. It
was to be the formal opening to training camp, even though most players have participated in
voluntary workouts for some time. They've been doing that not just because of the roster
competition, but because game one this year is in the CONCACAF Champions League against Santos
Laguna.
Rumored to be the case for about a week now and never really in doubt, the Chicago Fire
announced Wednesday that they had re-signed midfielder Pavel Pardo. The press release had the usual
'per league and team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed' boilerplate. However, team
writer Jeff Crandall stated that Pardo signed a two-year contract.
Ghana youth midfielder Mumuni Abubakar was pleased with his two-week trial at Liverpool.
The 18-year old New Edubiase defensive midfielder is hopeful he did enough to earn an offer.
"They were impressed by my performances during training and the match that I played. The technical
team like my style of play, so hopefully they will sign me," he told Joy Sports.
Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIphotos.com
At least the MLS Supplemental Draft day contained something last Thursday's SuperDraft did not:
Multiple trades.
Hours after the completion of the Tuesday's proceedings, the Seattle Sounders and Real Salt Lake
agreed to one deal, while the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps agreed to another.
Photo by ISIphotos.com
The Montreal Impact wasted little time in making it known who they would take with the first
pick in Tuesday's MLS Supplemental Draft.
With their selection, which is akin to the first pick in the third round of the SuperDraft had
the main event not been shortened, the Impact took Charlotte winger Evan James, a skilled,
Canada-born midfielder who performed well at the combine after helping the 49ers to the NCAA
championship game.
Had the MLS SuperDraft not been shortened to two rounds, then a lot more scrutiny would be
applied to some of the early selections in Tuesday's MLS Supplemental Draft, with those picks
typically being included among teams' draft hauls from last week's main event.
As it stands, the upcoming four-round affair provides another chance for teams to bolster their
rosters as training camps open across North America.
You can't hear it yet, though the vertigo feeling has dramatically changed to falling. Falling
isn't the right word, so I'll get literate on you. Falling of Biblical proportions. The 1st Chapter
of Satanic Verses Falling. The longer this plays out, the lower the valuation. The Impact are in a
tough situation with only one suitor.
By AVI CREDITOR
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Montreal Impact made Duke centerback Andrew Wenger the first selection
in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, taking the versatile, U.S. Under-23 defender with its first-ever draft
pick.
Wenger, the 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy winner, is the reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year, a
year after he captured the conference's Defensive Player of the Year honors.
I've seen some hand-wringing and questions as to how Liverpool were lined up yesterday, especially
in the second half.
I tried to explain the set-up and the reasons for it in yesterday's match review, but pictures
always make things easier. Not a 1000 words easier, but easier nonetheless.
2:45pm ET, live in the US on Fox Soccer Plus
Last four head-to-head:
0-3 City (a) 01.03.12
1-1 (h) 11.27.11
3-0 Liverpool (h) 04.11.11
0-3 City (a) 08.23.10
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 2-1 Chelsea (a); 2-1 Stoke (a); 2-1 Brighton (a); 3-1 Exeter (a)
City: 1-0 Arsenal (a); 5-2 Wolves (a); 2-0 Brum (h)
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 5-1 Oldham (h); 0-3 City (a); 3-1 Newcastle (h)
City: 2-3 United (h); 3-0 Liverpool (h); 0-1 Sunderland (a)
Goalscorers (Carling Cup):
Liverpool: Suarez 3; Maxi 2; Bellamy, Carroll, Kelly, Kuyt 1
City: Dzeko 2; Agüero, Balotelli, Johnson, Hargreaves, Nasri 1
Referee: Lee Mason
Guess at a line-up:
Reina
Johnson Skrtel Agger Enrique
Spearing Adam
Bellamy Gerrard Downing
Carroll
Yes, it's the Carling Cup.
Featured image courtesy of Reading United A.C.
When Major League Soccer teams make their draft picks in Thursday's amateur draft, several
players with local ties are sure to go off the board. You may not have three former Reading United
players go off the board in the first round, as happened last year when that burgeoning soccer
factory churned out C.
Duke standout Andrew Wenger and Stanford senior Teresa Noyola were named winners of the Hermann
Trophy on Saturday in recognition of being the top players in Division I NCAA soccer.
Wenger, who signed a Generation Adidas contract after a stellar junior year at Duke, led the ACC
with 17 goals and eight assists.
Changing coaches often means changing playing styles, and the decision to hire Oscar Pareja as
head coach means the Colorado Rapids of 2012 may look quite different from the teams of
2010-11.
Giving Pareja the reins of his first MLS team is going to create a roster shakeup. The
Colombian, a veteran of MLS campaigns from 1998 through 2005, has already talked about the need to
find a Carlos Valderrama-type playmaker for the Rapids.
Similar to any pledge nearing his way toward an initiation, there were some, ah, "tasks," to
complete before being allowed to smudge up the margins of this blog. Rather than having been taped
to a goalpost wearing my girlfriend's undergarments or made to drop a brick tied to a part of my
anatomy from an upper floor ledge, though, the project was a bit more nefarious.
It is the week of the MLS Combine, which means it is time for one final mock draft before things
get real interesting here.
I debated long and hard over the New Year weekend on whether or not to post this before the
Combine or wait for the Combine to take place. What I decided to do was just to post this now and
then have one final mock draft after the Combine.
Photo by Nick Turchiaro/ISIphotos.com
Almost six years ago, Nathan Sturgis was a Generation adidas signing, a U.S. youth national team
prospect and a player with a bright MLS future.
Five teams later, he hopes to have finally found a long-term home.
Sturgis was dealt to the Houston Dynamo from Toronto FC for a conditional draft pick in the 2014
MLS SuperDraft on Wednesday, marking his second trade in 13 months.
The Dynamo have acquired an unknown 24-year old defensive midfielder from an unknown team for a
conditional draft pick.
No seriously.
The details came from Jesus Ortiz on Twitter, but that's all we know right now. The player has
apparently not been informed of the trade so that's delaying the press release.
By Charlie Corr
Eclipse Select staff
Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna and former Notre Dame midfielder Jen Buczkowski is coming off a
successful third season within Women's Professional Soccer.
The 26-year-old Elk Grove, Ill., native was named to the 2011 WPS Best XI as voted by select media,
and her Philadelphia Independence advanced to the WPS title match, eventually falling to the
champion Western New York Flash.
A report out of Spain states that the Fire are negotiating to acquire former Barcelona and
current player for Spanish 2nd division Alcorcon Abraham Gonzalez. A Google Translation of the
relevant passage:
Abraham Gonzalez is about to play next season in Major League Soccer (MLS).
Liverpool look poised to open talks with FC Porto for the transfer of defensive midfielder
Fernando.
The Reds recently lost Lucas to injury, depriving boss Kenny Dalglish of his favoured holding
midfielder.
But Dalglish is looking beyond Lucas' spell on the sidelines – Fernando's potential presence at
Anfield would allow the Scot to play two midfield enforcers when required, but at other times the
option to play Lucas in a more advanced role would be explored.
The agent of Anderlecht's defensive midfielder Lucas Biglia has confirmed that the Argentine is
being tracked by several top English clubs. Biglia's agent Enzo Montepaone told Het
Nieuwsblad:"Fiorentina, Arsenal and Manchester United? The interest of those clubs is real. "It's
right that those clubs are interested.
Nearly two weeks after selecting him in Stage 2 of the Re-entry Draft, the Revolution and
former D.C. United midfielder Clyde Simms came to terms on a contract for 2012.
The addition of Simms, a 29-year-old center half who started 147 of his 182 games in D.C. from
2005-2011, gives the Revolution some veteran experience in the middle of the park.
Philadelphia Union
The Union's Central American pipeline continued to flow with the announcement this morning of
the signing of 26-year-old Costa Rican left back Porfirio Lopez, one day after the announcement of
the signing of Panamanian midfielder Gabriel Gomez and two weeks after the signing of Costa Rican
forward Josue Martinez.
The Daily Mail is reporting that Newcastle are watching Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama, as
a possible replacement for midfielder Cheick Tiote. Victor Wanyama Celtic defensive midfielder
Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea have all shown interest in the former FC Twente
midfielder, and if he goes in January, Newcastle must be ready to bring in an immediate
replacement.
The Philadelphia Union announced on Wednesday that they have signed Panamanian international
Gabriel "Gavilan" Gomez.
The press release says "the central midfielder will be eligible to join the Union upon receiving
his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate. Per MLS and Club policy, terms of the
agreements were not disclosed.
By Oli Baker
At the time of writing, no side in Europe's top five leagues has made as few tackles per game
as Wolves (15.4) or as few interceptions (11.9).
For a team that gained a reputation as being tough and uncompromising last season, these are
startling statistics.
Although Wolves do fare quite well in the possession stakes, averaging 50.
