SoccerBlogs

By Charles Boehm - WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 13, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Jose Francisco Torres has become the enigma of the United States National Team's player pool. Once a darling of the program and its fans, a leading member of the much-coveted Latino demographic who made the rare and brave choice to wear the colors of his country instead of his father's, Torres' recent fortunes have clouded his place in the larger picture.

Fans of the Red, White and Blue went into the 'Showdown at the Azteca' thinking not only was a result possible, but that result would be a win. Yes, I said the US would lose 3-0, but the fact remains I never thought the US would get a result. When...

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White smoke finally emerged from Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex late Sunday afternoon, signaling the release of the final names for die Klinsmannshaft's roster.� Habemus Yanks. Goal:� Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, Nick Rimondo Defense:� Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Edgar Castillo, Alfredo Morales, Geoff Cameron, Clarence Goodson, Michael Parkhurst, Oguchi Onyewu Midfield:� Kyle Beckerman, Michael Bradley, Joe Corona, Maurice Edu, Fabian Johnson, Jermaine Jones, Jose Francisco Torres, Danny Williams, Landon Donovan, Graham Zusi Forward: Clint.

As expected, the USSF released the first batch of names Monday for Jurgen Klinsmann's spring camp in advance of five matches to be played between May 26th and June 12th.� The initial 16 names, out of a total 29 expected by the end of the week,� consist primarily of foreign-based players whose seasons have ended, and MLS players whose teams have no more league games prior to the international break.

By Puck Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back into the Happy Hour. My apologies for missing last week's gathering. I was home in Rochester, New York, land where USWNT stars are born, to celebrate my old man's 60th birthday. As you turn 60 once in a lifetime, unless of course you are the Dali Lama or [..

By Puck Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome back into the Happy Hour. My apologies for missing last week's gathering. I was home in Rochester, New York, land where USWNT stars are born, to celebrate my old man's 60th birthday. As you turn 60 once in a lifetime, unless of course you are the Dali Lama or [..

As the day (June 12th, duh) draws near, you're likely to see digital mountains of analysis of Bradley's tactics, projected starting lineups, breakdowns position-by-position and matchup-by-matchup...

Click here to view the embedded video.

So I just got home from today's 2-1 win by the U.S. over Turkey here in Philly. My buddy's car broke down, so I caught the train home, and that told me a bit about how much excitement there is for the upcoming World Cup. On my half of the train car, there were U.

The second half of this game was evidence of why the first half was so frustrating. At least the good USMNT showed up in the second half. Key substitutions were made at halftime, and hopefully after today's win Bob Bradley is closer to finding his best team. I'm starting to think Jose Francisco Torres if the US is going to succeed in South Africa.

Someday I'll be able to afford another USMNT jersey. That one'll say Torres on the back.

Conor Casey has been named part of the U.S. men's national team roster of 22 players that will train in advance of World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Costa Rica.

The U.S. first travels to San Pedro Sula to face Honduras, with kickoff at 8 p.m. (Mountain) on Oct. 10 at the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano.

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A forgettable weekend for Americans Abroad is in the rear-view mirror and many of those Americans will already have a chance to erase those memories as several of them will be in action today.

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A forgettable weekend for Americans Abroad is in the rear-view mirror and many of those Americans will already have a chance to erase those memories as several of them will be in action today.

I'm just chock (not chalk) full of questions today. This one popped because of a mention of Torres and his place in the US squad at ESPN's US Men's National Team blog (subscription required,...

Union

The Daily News reports this morning, "It appears the rumor regarding Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon joining the Union is true." Sources say the deal only needs approval from the league.

I would like to take this opportunity to start another rumor: Mondragon's closeness with Juan Pablo Angel (Angel is godfather to Mondragon's son) means that Angel will join the Union.

Here's some video from after Houston Dynamo's 2-1 win over Pachuca in SuperLiga on Thursday night, courtesy of Erin Dutka:

The 30 man roster for the World Cup training camp was announced just a little bit ago on ESPN News. The biggest news of this roster was the absence of striker Charlie Davies who was seriously injured in a car accident last year.

Here is the full list:

Keepers
Tim Howard (Everton, England)
Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England)
Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England)

Defense
Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy)
Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France)
Jay DeMerit (Watford, England)
Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England)
Steve Cherundolo (Hanover, Germany)
Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA, MLS)
Clarence Goodson (Start, Norway)
Chad Marshall (Columbus, MLS)
Heath Pearce (FC Dallas, MLS)

Midfield
Michael Bradley (Moenchengladbach, Germany)
Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland)
Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany)
Stuart Holden (Bolton, England)
Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca, Mexico)
Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus, Denmark)
Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro, Sweden)
Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA, MLS)
Robbie Rogers (Columbus, MLS)
DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland)
Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England)
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles, MLS)

Strikers
Jozy Altidore (Hull City, England)
Brian Ching (Houston, MLS)
Edson Buddle (Los Angeles, MLS)
Herculez Gomez (Puebla, Mexico)
Eddie Johnson (Aris, Greece)
Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake, MLS)

So who else is missing from this list that you might have expected to see here?

Spain's Torres and America's Torres. Both play for their respective national soccer teams. Spain's Fernando Torres is much better known. However, due to injuries, this year's World Cup may belong to America's Jose Francisco Torres.

Pues ya ha pasado más de una tercera parte de la Liga y Tigres ha mantenido el liderato en el 90% del Torneo, tiene al líder goleador, tiene la defensa menos goleada, líder del porcentaje y bueno, así nos podemos ir en algunas estadísticas en este post. Mucho se ha hablado de Emanuel Villa y su reencuentro con los goles después de este nefasto paso que tuvo con Pumas anteriormente, se habla del factor Danilinho y su regreso al equipo inyectándole habilidad y marca en cada sector del campo por su lado en cada momento, se habla de Lucas Lobos y sus goles, pases y ¿porque no decirlo?

Four more Reading United alumni were selected in the Supplemental Draft, adding to the five selected in the SuperDraft. The Union have added four Reading United standouts in the past week.