On Wednesday night, Aston Villa did something no other international team had done before: beat
the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park.
The Union, who had been 4-0 in international friendlies at their home stadium coming into the
contest, beating Schalke, Everton, Celtic and CD Guadalajara, but the streak ended as they lost 1-0
thanks to a first-half goal from striker Nathan Delfouneso.
With only 3 days of formal team workouts under their belts, the Minnesota Stars FC hopped a bus and
headed for Chicago. The team played two exhibition games against the Fire who have been in camp for
over a month. Chicago was the only MLS team not in action this opening weekend of MLS play [...]
Major League Soccer released the 2012 Reserves League Schedule today. The league is still
divided up into 3 divisions with the Chicago Fire playing in the Central/Mountain Division. As in
2011, the league will only consist of 10 games but Chicago Fire Reserves can set up other
exhibition games if they want to.
Referee Alejandro Mariscal gained some international experience during France's 1-1 tie against
Brazil
The 2011 Development Academy Winter Showcase provides an opportunity for the country's top referees
to be identified and trained in a positive learning environment. No test at the Premier Sports
Campus here in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
MLS just played its All Star Game, which as we all know was Manchester United against an MLS
All-Star 11 who had never played meaningful minutes together prior to Tuesday's training session.
That was always bound to not end well, and it ended in predictable fashion, 4-0 to United
(following a 5-2 loss last season).
MIKE JACOBS COLUMN, Evansville Courier Press, June 4, 2011
Those who watched Barcelona defeat Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League final last
weekend were able to witness the potential of a soccer revolution here in the United States.
According to figures compiled by Nielsen Media Research, as reported by Soccer America, the
telecasts of the game delivered a 2.
Lionel Messi has been given the five star treatment in Bogota,
Colombia, where he is presently based ahead of tonight's "Battle of the Stars", a charity
match featuring some of the best Brazilian and Argentinean players from past and present.
Naturally, as the best player in the world, you get your perks including a Presidential
Suite with your name on the door a good two days before you
arrive!
Barcelona defender Dani Alves has broken his collarbone in training and will miss the Copa del
Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on May 25.
A statement on the Barcelona web site said:
During this Wednesday's training session, Dani Alves suffered a broken collarbone and after
initial treatment it was decided by the Club's medical services that he will be operated on this
evening at the Hospital de Barcelona by Doctor Carles Torrens.
The No. 19 University of Denver men's soccer team opens the regular season against No. 6
Creighton at CIBER Field on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Pioneers earned a pair of draws last weekend against Wisconsin and Ohio State in exhibition
games.
Denver returns 17 letterwinners, including eight starters, from a squad that won the Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation regular season championship in 2010 and earned an at-large berth into the
NCAA Tournament, the team's second in the past three seasons.
Well, Merritt Paulson has been teasing us for weeks about the upcoming exhibition games and now
we know exactly who one of them are: Valencia of Spain's top division La Liga! I know some of you
were clamoring for Villa Real, but really Valencia is a much better team in the current La Liga
season and will, hopefully, provide a much more enjoyable experience for all.
Tonight is the second of four total international friendlies and the first of three in the month
of July. It also happens to be the singular international friendly that was not included as
part of the Portland Timbers season ticket package which means that if you want to see the guys
play tonight you're absolutely going to have to fork over some cash.
Alex Morgan is rumored to be the next big-name signing by the Seattle Sounders Women, sources
close to the situation have indicated to Sounder at Heart. Her signing could be announced next
week.
Morgan was arguably the breakout star of the most recent Women's World Cup, scoring goals in
both the semifinal and final for the United States women's national team.
Before last week's announcement of the cancellation of the 2012 WPS season, it was widely
reported that the league and magicJack owner Dan Borislow had reached an agreement to settle their
ongoing legal battles that would involve his team playing a series of exhibition games against WPS
teams.
While those reports made clear that any settlement was contingent upon the approval of US
Soccer, it appears now that US Soccer and FIFA rules would have prohibited any exhibition games
involving non-league magicJack playing WPS teams.
Imagine a bad breakup with someone you shouldn't have hooked up with in the first place, someone
who seemed perfect for you but who belittled you to your friends, was a slob, didn't pay their half
of the rent and utilities and criticized your sexual performance. Now imagine having to have that
person spend one weekend a month at your house for the next two years.
Thanks to Robert Mugabe's unique approach to democracy and socioeconomic policy, the
Zimbabwe national football team doesn't get a whole lot of action outside of Africa and Asia. The
Warriors are about to get a lot less action, as the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) has
suspended 67 players following a match-fixing scandal.
The next to final mention of soccer in the ESPN history book is on page 715, courtesy of
writer/personality Bill Simmons.
Now, I can appreciate that Simmons is a new fan to the sport of soccer, but honestly, nothing makes
me roll my eyes more than a) Those who act as if Americans, not English, invented the word "soccer"
for the game b) Those who act as if the sport needs to change to appeal to Americans.
The next to final mention of soccer in the ESPN history book is on page 715, courtesy of
writer/personality Bill Simmons.
Now, I can appreciate that Simmons is a new fan to the sport of soccer, but honestly, nothing makes
me roll my eyes more than a) Those who act as if Americans, not English, invented the word "soccer"
for the game b) Those who act as if the sport needs to change to appeal to Americans.
That the Seattle Sounders will set another MLS attendance record is not really news. In fact,
they already have the single-season MLS attendance record. In the game against DC United, the
Sounders broke their old record, which they set in 2010 when they broke the record they set in
2009. Sense a pattern?
As usual with anything LA, Carmageddon has been overblown. I got here to the stadium so early for
the Real Madrid - Galaxy match up that they wouldn't even let me in for half an hour. Luis
disagrees, but I like the LA Coliseum. Yes, it's a crumbling concrete heap, but that gives it
something of a more authentic feel - isn't the real Coliseum a ruin as well?
Scotland provided us with an unnecessary reminder of what it looks like when one team shows up not
quite ready to play 90 minutes of soccer. Though this is normally associated with friendlies, this
isn't a concept solely limited to exhibition games. What Scotland exhibited was a team that
couldn't convert tactical planning to on-field coherency.
Last night's international friendlies saw Valencia's Adil Rami assuming his
new-found role as France's unlikely hero after scoring a stoppage time winner
against Iceland to make it 3-2! Rami proved this by hoisting two of his teammates,
including Philippe Mexes, over his shoulder in celebration.
Here you can find out what is going on with the Timbers U23s including practice notes, quotes,
news, and previews of just what is happening this week.
Timbers U23s Lose 3-1 to PSA Elite in Open Cup
Despite a goal by USA U-20 player Eric Miller in his debut for the U23s, the Little Timbers were
unable to find their way past amateur side PSA Elite in their first ever US Open Cup match last
Tuesday.
After lunch today, many of the U.S. players visited the areas of Sendai and Natori that were most
impacted by the earthquake and tsunami a little more than a year ago.
The players visit the highest ground for miles, but it wasn't high enough for those trying to
escape the tsunami
When Tacony FC traveled to St. Louis in December of 1911 in one of the first tours pitting the
largely immigrant-based East Coast teams against the largely native-born teams from the West, they
had lost only three games in two years. The confidence they felt on departure proved to be
premature and they returned to Philadelphia with a 4–4 draw against St.
A new youth soccer tournament created by the merger of the Chesterfield United Icebreaker and the
Kickers Invitational, The Ultimate Cup tournament features a Girls and Boys weekend, scheduled to
launch February 24-26, 2012 and March 2-4, 2012. Applications are available; click here for the
Girls Weekend application, and here for the Boys Weekend application.
This time of year, we're used to watching NBA preseason action. However, with the NBA lockout
putting things on hold, we'll have to settle for exhibition games of another sort. But there's an
interesting one being put together that will take place on the campus of Florida International
University on October 8th.
When I was a boy, the Merseyside Derby ranked up with those Old Firm games from North of The
Border in passion and sheer entertainment. At that time, Everton were no better a team than they
are now, and I'll grant you that in those days, Liverpool were the dominant team, not only in
England but across the whole of Europe.
