Editor's Note: Another semi-regular feature starting up here. "The Open Bar" will focus on all the wonderful drinking options FBMers should avail themselves of.


Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer's official tequila sponsor is launching a set of soccer-specific tequila bottles.

The U-23 Men's National Team wrapped up their January training camp with a scrimmage today against Alajuelense of Costa Rica.
Caleb Porter's squad has been in Central American since last week as they continue to prepare for Olympic Qualifying in March. A big part of that preparation as been acclimating themselves to the rhythm of a qualifying tournament and that's where this trip has come in: playing two games in four days is just the type of schedule the team will face when they take the field in Nashville for the group stage of the competition.

U.S. Soccer Press Release:
RICHIE WILLIAMS NAMED U.S. U-17 MNT HEAD COACH Former U.S. MNT Midfielder to Oversee U-17 Residency Program
CHICAGO (Jan. 24, 2012) - U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati has named former U.

U.S. Soccer Development Academy alum Bill Hamid earned his first cap with the U.S.
MNT and became the ninth goalkeeper to earn a shutout in his
debut.

The U.S. Men's National Team opened 2012 with a 1-0 victory over Venezuela on Saturday at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

The U.S. MNT is training in Costa Rica

The U-23 Men's National Team is in Costa Rica for the conclusion of their January training camp, and Saturday they played the first of two scrimmages when they took on the reserves of perennial Costa Rican powerhouse Saprissa.
The teams dueled to a 0-0 draw at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, which U.

For U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, one of the key components to the holistic approach to player development is providing nutrition education. Years and years of scientific study have proven that proper nutrition leads to better performance. During the training camp in Phoenix, the U.S MNT received instruction and advice from Danielle LaFata, the Director of Performance Nutrition at Athletes' Performance.

Jurgen Klinsmann, Dawn Scott (WNT Fitness Coach), Pia Sundhage, Caleb Porter (U-23 MNT Head Coach), Andreas Herzog, Martin Vasquez (MNT Assistant Coach), Eric Yamamoto (U-23 MNT Assistant Coach)
Two World Cup veterans. Two players who scored bushels of goals for club and country.

Jurgen Klinsmann, Dawn Scott (WNT Fitness Coach), Pia Sundhage, Caleb Porter (U-23 MNT Head Coach), Andreas Herzog, Martin Vasquez (MNT Assistant Coach), Eric Yamamoto (U-23 MNT Assistant Coach)
Two World Cup veterans. Two players who scored bushels of goals for club and country.

The MLS SuperDraft is Thursday, Jan. 12 and for a few players in camp, it's the day they could finally realize a childhood dream of turning professional. Two players in camp have had their name tossed around in the various mock drafts building up to tomorrow's big event in Kansas City. Defender Andrew Wenger out of Duke traveled to the Midwest to be a part of the proceedings and forward Kelyn Rowe out of UCLA will be watching events unfold from his hotel room here in Southern California.

Most of the current group in Carson, Calif. has U-23 MNT Camp experience. Many of the players have been in one camp under Caleb Porter (December in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) and were part of the first U-23 Camp (November in Duisburg, Germany). The group isn't entirely the same, however, and one of the new-ish faces in U-23 MNT Camp this time is Joshua Gatt.

Goalkeeper Sean JohnsonU.S. Soccer Communications
The 21-year-old Bill Hamid and 22-year-old Sean Johnson are prime examples of young talent hoping to get noticed during the U.S. MNT's January camp. Both have taken on significant roles with their respective MLS teams and also trained abroad during the offseason in Premier League environments.

The dust has settled somewhat from part one of our interview with former U.S. Men's National Team forward and current Fox Soccer analyst Eric Wynalda.
Part two includes our conversation about working for Fox Soccer, what it's like to put on the red, white, and blue and play for your country, owning a soccer team, and his favorite beer.

The U-23s are back in action to start 2012, holding a training camp at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Head coach Caleb Porter has named a squad of 23 players to train at the HDC, with eye towards Olympic Qualifying in March (just more than two months away!).
In addition to two-a-days in Southern California, the team will also head to Costa Rica for a first trip abroad under Porter.

The U-20 Men are pretty busy in Ft. Lauderdale right now while in the middle of their first camp of the new year, but they had time after yesterday's afternoon training session to hear a special message from U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Klinsmann spoke to the players via skype, encouraging them to work hard to achieve their professional goals and offering the full support of the coaching staff.

Throughout January, the players on the Men's National Team will be providing a first-hand account of what's happening inside the camp as they deal with the rigors of intense training under the watchful eyes of the coaching staff, all the while auditioning for playing time in the two important matches at the end of the month.

One of Jurgen Klinsmann's main goals is to make sure that the messages being delivered to the full U.S. Men's National Team are being filtered down throughout the U.S. National Teams. He has done that through his communication with all of the YNT coaches, and today he took it one step further by speaking directly to the U-20 MNT during their training camp in Florida.

JUNE 16 2011: Tim Howard goalkeeper of USA MNT during a practice session at RFK practice facility before the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-final match on Sunday June 19 at RFK Stadium in Washington DC.Soccer 2011

blightylad1

Todos aman a un portero que anota goles, aunque este sea Tim Howard el de la selección de Estados Unidos y ni siquiera lo festeje,este gol fue la sensación de este miércoles que ya termino.

U.S. MNT fans watch the USA take on Spain in June.
This month, American Outlaws is hosting a chant contest for fans of the U.S. National Teams.
In an effort linked to the AO Act Above Campaign and U.S. Soccer's Respect Campaign, the goal of the contest is to unite and strengthen U.

One of the enduring traditions around Academy events is the staff game played by the Technical Advisors and Scouts. Always organized by Manny Schellsheidt, these kickarounds are a nice way for the staff to get a run after an exhausting schedule throughout the week. It's also a good reminder for those who get to watch how much talent and experience is being contributed to the scouting efforts.

ussoccer.com profiled two U-17s who made an impact at the Nike International Friendlies: Tyler Turner and Junior Flores. Both players were part of the team's success at the tournament, helping the USA to lift its first Nike Friendlies trophy.
Read more about Tyler Turner
Read more about Junior Flores

Neymar played for Brazil against the U.S. MNT in 2010
The Nike International Friendlies are in their ninth season and the event has seen its fair share of quality players coming in from national teams around the world. We were looking through some of the scores in past editions and found these highlights from 2008:
If you read the match report you'll read a name you may recognize: Neymar.

Real Salt Lake and MNT Goalkeeper Nick Rimando will be hanging out at the Winter Showcase
U.S. Men's National Team goalkeeper will be on-site at the Development Academy Winter Showcase and NIKE International Friendlies on Sunday, December 4 from 3:00 to 7:30. Nick will be signing autographs and taking pictures at AT&T's interactive area at the Athletes Lounge, playing soccer tennis, participating in a Q & A during pre-game and halftime of the U.

At the 2010 Nike International Friendlies, the U.S. Under-17 MNT took on Korea Republic, Brazil and Turkey in Phoenix, Ariz. With the 2011 edition set to kick off this afternoon, ussoccer.com looks back on last year's tournament.
Brazil and Turkey opened the competition last year, with both teams earning a point in the scoreless tie.

CHICAGO (Nov. 22, 2011) - FOX Soccer will broadcast all three U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team matches during the 2011 Nike International Friendlies in conjunction with the Development Academy Winter Showcase in December. The U.S. will take on Brazil, France and Turkey during the competition, which will be held at the Premier Sports Campus in Sarasota, Fla.

Decided tonight, in the midst of some serious procrastination, to check on the old blog and see how it's gone. I'm very pleased to know that my post regarding the average number of minutes of actual playing time is the most commonly cited post on here. While I enjoyed the momentary notariety that came with predicting Jorge Larrionda would red card an American midfielder in our Confederations Cup match against Spain in 2009, I didn't start the site to criticize refs.

The U.S. Men's National Team has completed the 2011 campaign, finishing on a high note with an entertaining 3-2 victory against Slovenia in Ljubljana. Along with the introduction of Jurgen Klinsmann as head coach, there were a few key highlights:

• Clint Dempsey finished with a team-high five goals
• Carlos Bocanegra and Tim Howard finished with team-high 15 starts, the most appearances in a year in each of their careers
• Bocanegra became the 12th player in U.

The U.S. Men's National Team has completed the 2011 campaign, finishing on a high note with an entertaining 3-2 victory against Slovenia in Ljubljana. Along with the introduction of Jurgen Klinsmann as head coach, there were a few key highlights:

• Clint Dempsey finished with a team-high five goals
• Carlos Bocanegra and Tim Howard finished with team-high 15 starts, the most appearances in a year in each of their careers
• Bocanegra became the 12th player in U.

D.C. United's outstanding rookie, Perry Kitchen took some time out of training with the U-23 MNT in Duisburg, Germany to answer a few questions from USSOCCER.com in their latest YouTube video interview from training camp.

U.S. MNT defender Zarek Valentin is back with his podcast! The popular segment that started in during U-20 MNT Qualifying in Guatemala returns with an episode from Duisburg Germany. You can listen to the podcast here, but first there's some host reshuffling to report. In fact, we'll let Zarek tell you himself with this podcast Behind the Scenes:
Drama-filled right?

The YNT Blog talked to U.S. U-23 MNT goalkeeper Sean Johnson about the team's 3-1 win against Bochum yesterday in a scrimmage. "It's definitely rewarding when you see your hard work pay off," said the big goalkeeper. "All the guys have worked hard since we've come into camp. We came out and our objective was to push the game.

U.S. U-23 MNT forward Tony Taylor lives and plays in Portugal, where he caught the eye of Caleb Porter to earn a call up to the training camp here in Germany. The powerful forward came on as a sub in the scrimmage on Friday, scoring one goal and setting up another.

While the U-23's ran out to a 3-1 win against Bochum, Taylor was quick to point out that the goal of the camp was more about building a familiarity with teammates and coaches moving towards 2012.

Cherundolo is one of three players on the U.S. roster who is the captain of his club team
Here's all the news and notes you need to get prepped for the USA's first match against France since 1979, and the first ever in the famed Stade de France. A few to get you started ..

Teal Bunbury, who has two caps with the U.S. Men's National Team, had to withdraw from the Under-23 roster after suffering an ankle injury.

Sporting Kansas City forward Teal Bunbury was forced to withdraw from U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team training camp roster after suffering a right ankle contusion in his team's 2-0 loss to Houston in the MLS Western Conference Final.

Teal Bunbury, who has two caps with the U.S. Men's National Team, had to withdraw from the Under-23 roster after suffering an ankle injury.

Sporting Kansas City forward Teal Bunbury was forced to withdraw from U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team training camp roster after suffering a right ankle contusion in his team's 2-0 loss to Houston in the MLS Western Conference Final.

• Century Club: U.S. MNT midfielder Maurice Edu played his 100th game for Rangers this past week. We asked him about his time in Glasgow and he remembered some of the best moments of his career so far. Any surprise that this one was in there?

Read the full article on Maurice here.

Two sessions down as the U.S. Men's National Team wraps up its first day on the field here in France. In that vein, the theme for today's photos: First Times.
Jermaine Jones takes on U.S. MNT captain Carlos Bocanegra. It's Jermaine's first time in U.S. MNT camp since August.

Speaking of first times, today was Alfredo Morales' first U.

Two members of D.C. United, Ethan White and Perry Kitchen, have been named to the roster for the U.S. Under-23 camp.

Men's National Team head coach Caleb Porter has named 31 players to the roster for the upcoming training camp in Duisburg, Germany, which also features several players who are age-eligible for the U.

You may have read ussoccer.com's interview with Jay DeMerit where the U.S. MNT defender talked about the upcoming movie "Rise and Shine: The Story of Jay DeMerit." We asked Jay about the process of making the movie and what it was like to put his story on the big screen. In 2010 ussoccer.com did its own pieces with Jay DeMerit, jetting over to England to spend time with Jay and visit some of the places where he built his career.

The USA has learned its second opponent in the semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying: Guatemala.
The MNT was already paired with Jamaica in Group A of the Semifinal Round, and that group now includes Guatemala. The Central American nation qualified for its spot after Grenada tied St.

Pre-Game:
- U.S. MNT Starting Lineup:
1-Tim Howard; 2-Steve Cherundolo, 4-Michael Orozco Fiscal, 5-Carlos Bocanegra (capt.), 3-Tim Chandler; 6-Kyle Beckerman; 8-Danny Williams, 7-Maurice Edu, 11-Brek Shea; 10-Clint Dempsey, 9-Jozy Altidore
Subs: 12-Bill Hamid, 13-Jonathan Spector, 14-Oguchi Onyewu, 15-Jeff Larentowicz, 16-DaMarcus Beasley, 17-Michael Bradley, 8-Juan Agudelo
- The U.