One of the issues with depth charts and roster math is how to place players who can fill many
roles. With Adam Johansson in Qatar for the opening of training camp, Seattle Sounders coach Sigi
Schmid gets to test a bunch of different options at the right back role. One thing quickly clear
when asked was who the leader in that role is:
Obviously Zach Scott is somebody who can play there.
During the January camp in Phoenix, several members of the U.S. Men's National Team will write
journal entries for ussoccer.com. The journals will provide a first-hand, behind-the-scenes account
of what's going on in the January camp.
A member of the 30-man preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Chivas USA defender Heath
Pearce writes the second installment and gives a detailed look at a day in the life in Phoenix
.
I caught up with a buddy yesterday. Good dude. Hadn't seen him in a while. So we hit a local pub
and swapped talk over a couple of pints, abetted by "Jules," a wickedly effective siren at the art
of suggestive selling.
We started a little early. And when you do that, there might just be trouble ahead.
I may not have been the first journalist to coin the term
"Silly Season" as it relates to soccer's global transfer market. But I'd like to think I help add
it to the current domestic soccer lexicon, making liberal use of the term as far back as five years
ago.
Either way, here we are.
It may be time to review some of the informal rules that
govern the weighty Designated Player decisions in Major League Soccer.
Check that. It's time to review some of the informal rules
that should govern the weighty Designated Player decisions in Major League Soccer.
In yesterday's SI.com piece and in this blog, I talked about how Landon Donovan was a little
quiet (by his standards) in Sunday's 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake. Well, I wasn't exactly wrong ...
but I wasn't exactly correct, either.
I went back and watched the game again for my weekly MLSSoccer.
There were talking points galore on the first legs of the four MLS quarterfinal playoff series.
I tried to hit as many as possible in the SI.com review, which should be posted later today.
But I didn't get to one issue that's sitting out there, kind of by itself, like a shy kid at a
big, fancy dance.
I believe that sports should be a meritocracy, that is the only way they can have any meaning,
otherwise they are subject to the same random lottery that the rest of life is.
The only way you can separate the good from the average from the bad is through repetition,
through a lengthy process that separates the wheat from the chaff.
So as not to be an over-complainer (the world has enough of those, no?), I'm trying hard to find
things I like about Major League Soccer's new playoff structure.
Well, here's one:
I haven't seen a bunch of talk about how an extra playoff game for the wild-card qualifiers
would affect discipline matters.
The Philly Soccer Page " Match Report: Union 0-1 Red Bulls
While that tally was enough to earn all three points, New York squandered a number of gilt-edged
chances to put themselves out of reach, allowing the Union to stay in the match.
Well Then,.....That Was.....Yeah.....Not Good... " Unholy Union – The fan blog for Phi.
1. Seattle's soccer scene rocks. I know that statement is tagged under "ridiculously
obvious." But good heavens, look at what's happening this weekend! More than 60,000 fans are set to
show up for Kasey Keller's final regular season match at CenturyLink Field. There's so much I could
write about it all, about a giant of U.
I don't often find myself in the position of defending the Los Angeles Galaxy. After all, the
club's ownership group (AEG) wields a mighty sword around MLS, which is why the Galaxy is about to
host its fourth MLS Cup final in nine years. That's a dandy rate – especially considering there
are now eight MLS-controlled stadiums that have yet to host a league final.
For the record, the scene at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday was everything you'd want, a
cauldron of mean green, awash in Open Cup frenzy. And also for the record, Seattle is a deserving
Open Cup champ, a club that takes the competition seriously and now has solid historical evidence
to prove it. (The Sounders won their third consecutive Open Cup crown, the first side in 40 years
to do so.
How does a 20-team MLS sound to you as a stopping point? Enough? Too many?
Either way, you might just need to formulate a personal opinion on this matter, because it looks
like official MLS policy is leaning in on the big 2-0.
MLS commissioner Don Garber was in Dallas over the weekend for the Red Bulls-FCD contest.
The Philly Soccer Page " Miles4MJ Charity Tailgate in pictures
The Union may not have won last Saturday, but the Union family did. Before the game against
Portland, Philadelphia Union supporters gathered for a charity tailgate in support of Miles4MJ.
The magic number is.... " Unholy Union – The fan blog for Phi.
To kick off the Premiership opening weekend (Two words: Suh Weet!), here's a little something
that should get the conspiracy theorist among you up in arms. ... and something that I imagine has
already been deployed for security purposes in stadiums across England. In fact, I'd bet my prized
1972 edition of the seminal book Soccer Skills and Tactics.
David McNabb is a buddy who worked with me at The Dallas Morning News back in the day.
Yesterday, he saw something I wrote about Jurgen Klinsmann and told me a quick story via Facebook.
It's so quintessentially Klinsi. Remember, this was around the time Klinsmann was discovering the
United States on summer drives.
I know disparate opinions exist on mid-season friendlies that match MLS sides against the
fancy-pants sides from Europe and Mexico. I'm on record as saying, essentially, they once held
great value as MLS established its brand, they still hold some value ... but that the value will
gradually diminish.
Afternoon Delight: The Most Important Month In Union History | Union Dues
While it may be a very short history, August may be the most important of any Union months to
day. (Okay maybe the founding of the team is top of the list, but game wise, this is it)
The Fantastic Four | Union Dues
Heading into this season, there were two glaring needs that the Union needed to address.
Also file under: Dude, stop talking. You're embarrassing yourself
Sunday's Women's World Cup final has my keys a-jingling. I think a lot of people feel the same
way. The soccer world has been touched by Japan's gratitude and fortitude, and they respect the
Americans never-quit grit.
The big brains behind the Freakonomics franchise have taught us a couple of important lessons
about life. One is this: sometimes the events in our world can be reduced to simple math.
That's why I'm a bit skittish about the U.S. chances today against France today at Borussia
Park.
With six teams still in the hunt for a place in the championship game in the U-17/18 group at
2011 Development Academy Finals Week, we have a breakdown on what happens with any combination of
results.
The order of tiebreakers is:
Goal Difference
Goals Scored
Head to head
Here are your scenarios for the final U-17/18 group games:
Group 1
Pateadores wins the group with.
In Part 1 of Back Home with Amy Rodriguez, we went to the USC campus to follow A-Rod in her ongoing
journey to graduate. To see Amy walking around, you wouldn't know she was an Olympic champion and
Women's World Cup Team player. She looked just like a normal college student as she took us on a
tour of campus, to where she works in the athletic tutoring center, to the library and on the way
to a big midterm exam.
Based on Jack Bell's report two days ago in the New York Times, I was ready to be on high defcon
alert today and tomorrow. Jack, a good dude who is good at what he does, had an email exchange with
U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati. Here's what Jack had to say on the New York Times' Goal blog in
an exchange that broached the subject of U.
The Philly Soccer Page " Reading keeps pace with Long Island for playoff spot
The past several weeks have seen Reading eliminated by fellow Union-affiliate club Harrisburg
City Islanders from US Open Cup as well as lose their first Mid-Atlantic conference game to the
Long Island Rough Riders.
Welcome to the New England Revolution vs. the New York Red Bulls live game thread! This will be
the first time the I-95 rivals meet this season after splitting the series in 2010 with home
victories for each side. It is also New England's second-ever visit to Red Bull Arena and the first
time they will face Thierry Henry in league competition.
Sometimes SI.com does the appetizer portion of player ratings. For a huge tournament like
Copa de Oro, we'll pull out the heavy weapons, the dinner sized portion of player
evaluations. You can find them here, written by little ol' me.
Beyond the match, here are two quick points about the United States' 2-0 win over Canada.
When you train for an event or for a full season or whatever, you'd like the curve to look
something like this: Start slowly with a lightweight foe, graduated to mid-level competition and
then ramp up to the high-quality stuff.
Well, the U.S. national team's big summer looks like an inverted curve.
WHO: New England Revolution vs. Los Angeles Galaxy
WHERE: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
WHEN: Saturday, May 28th, 7:30 PM EST
Welcome to the New England Revolution vs. Los Angeles Galaxy live game thread! The Revs are set
to complete their season series with the SoCal club in Foxboro this evening after opening the
season with a 1-1 draw at the Home Depot Center.
My business is prone to hyperbole. It's like the troublemaker you once ran with in high school;
you try to stay away from him, but he's your pal, and he still gets you in trouble every now and
then.
Seriously, it's just part of the human condition, I think. We all enjoy the thought that we
might be living an important moment of history.
The Philly Soccer Page » Ticketmaster can suck my hairy...
In the lead up to Tuesday's 10am presale for Union season ticket holders, it was hard to find out
any Real Information about the particulars. You know, the little things like how a season ticket
holder might gain access to the presale or how much the tickets might cost.
The Philly Soccer Page " Match report: Union 2-1 Fire
Last year it was the shutout. This year it was two goals in a game.
Match Report – Union v Fire | Union Dues
It was a tale of two Farfans..."he was the best of wingers, he was the worst of wing backs...".
That was terrible and hackey, and I don't really care because.
What I'm not worried about today ...
- I'm not worried about ... The U.S. Soccer fed going broke. OK, maybe Sunil Gulati isn't exactly
handing out Ben Franklins as lunchtime tips or making it rain $20s around the U.S. Soccer meetings,
but they are making plenty of money. Still, to protect against any unexpected shortfalls, the
federation has this greedy little gambit going: they are charging $20 per person to see Spain's
final practice before next month's friendly.
I was taking a quick break from writing and invoicing (yuk!) today and glanced up to watch Fox
Soccer Channel's Saves of the Week segment. Suddenly, I had myself a badass TRT (totally random
thought).
Chad Ochocinco's recent trial as a real soccer player went over like a fart in church.
About a day away from the Official Draw for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, we take a look at some
of the past draws for the U.S. team, which of course holds the distinction of being the only team
to have qualified for all 14 FIFA U-17 World Cups.
The 24 teams for this year's edition are locked in and waiting to learn their world cup fates.
The New England Revolution are taking on the defending MLS Cup Champions tonight as they play
host to the Colorado Rapids at Gillette Stadium. Neither team is off to the start their fans had
hoped for this season, meaning that both teams should be going all-in for the three points. The
British influence on both squads (from opposing managers Steve Nicol and Gary Smith) should be
readily apparent, so expect a fairly physical affair with no shortage of full-blooded
challenges.
The Philly Soccer Page » Match report: Timbers 1-0 Union
How thin the line between success and failure.
Union @ Timbers 1st Half commentary « Unholy Union – The fan blog for Phi. Union
Pregame has started, and suprise! It's raining in Portland. Reasons why I'll never move south or
to the west.
In the Five Things you need to from MLS Week 7 at SI.com – appropriately named "Five Things
You Need to Know about Week 7" – you'll see where the Galaxy were hard done. Again. According to
the Galaxy, at least.
The boys from L.A. were hopping mad, burning up like BBQ at a drunken tailgate.
I wrote a piece for SI.com on the Brian Mullan suspension. It's posted here, complete with
opinions from players and coaches, thoughts that can hopefully wrap some context and perspective
around the whole unpleasant matter.
My personal thoughts:
Was the 10-game suspension harsh?
The New England Revolution are set to take on newly-minted Eastern Conference rivals Houston
Dynamo at Robertson Stadium this evening. Neither team is a huge fan of the other and their clashes
tend to be chippy and contentious affairs.
The key for the Revs today is going to be setting the tempo early and containing Brad Davis.
