SEATTLE, Wash. - They play the games for a reason, and for 88 minutes Saturday afternoon
swooning Chivas USA (7-12-7) looked like it might defy the odds and earn a draw with the Seattle
Sounders (13-6-8).
But this late in the season there are also reasons why some teams are fighting for the
Supporters' Shield while others watch their playoff hopes dwindle away.
The one thing missing from the Seattle Sounders' arsenal this year has been the ability to score
a come-from-behind victory. Thanks to a pair of goals from Eddie Johnson, that's no longer an
issue.
Johnson scored a brace, with the game-winner coming on a 89th minute header from a Fredy Montero
assist, as the Sounders beat Chivas USA 2-1 on Saturday.
The Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders both went on the road in CONCACAF Champions League group
action on Thursday night and both are coming back to the USA with points in the bag.
The Sounders sent a young squad to Trinidad & Tobago and came back with an impressive 3-1 win
over Caledonia AIA courtesy of goals from Fredy Montero, Alex Caskey and Sammy Ochoa.
While the June schedule was tough, and the results even worse and the July schedule was tough
with decent results August is a month in which one trophy can be won and two others can be set-up
for success. Any shot at the Supporters' Shield will demand a month with many points. There's the
opportunity to lift the Open Cup with one good game and the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League
starts with the longest competitive trip the Seattle Sounders have taken in their MLS history.
The difference in the Seattle Sounders play with Adam Johansson at right back is significant.
While it is most clear in his two assists, his defense in the closing moments is also notable. The
energy from Seattle was clear and the ability of Johansson to overlap a more defensive than usual
right mid (Brad Evans) helped create many opportunities for the Swede to feed the ball into the
box.
Getting four, or even six, points in the qualifiers against Jamaica would put the US in an
excellent position to move on into the next round, but it won't be easy.
On Sunday, US National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced his 25-man squad for the games against
Jamaica on September 7th and 11th. "Obviously these are two huge games for us with six points on
the line," Klinsmann said in a press statement. "We are in a good position at the moment in our
group, but we are going into the games against Jamaica with the mindset that we want to win both.
England begins UEFA 2014 World Cup qualifying with an away match against Moldova on September 7,
2012. The match will take place at the Zimbru Stadium in Chinisau, Moldova with kickoff scheduled
for 2:45 PM USA EST.
England manager Roy Hodgson
"I think in national football these days, it doesn't matter which country you're playing, you
know that if you don't prepare for a tough game.
Bob Bradley has suffered his first big disappointment as head coach of Egypt.
The Pharoahs failed to qualify for the 2013 African Cup of Nations on Saturday after a 1-1 draw
with Central African Republic in the second leg of their first-round qualifier. The first leg was
played two weeks ago and ended with Central African Republic winning, 3-2.
Honduras is considered one of the teams expected to be heavily in the mix to secure one of
CONCACAF's three automatic berths into the 2014 FIFA World Cup, or at the very least one that will
compete for a spot in the playoff against the Oceania regional winner. After Tuesday night, though,
Los Catrachos might be left wondering if there will be a place for them in the CONCACAF hexagonal
altogether with the next set of qualifiers three months down the line.
Morten Olsen, manager of the Denmark national team, has argued with accusations from Germany's
Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira that the Danes played too defensive during their 2-1 defeat to
the Germans yesterday evening.
After Michael Krohn-Dehli had cancelled out Lukas Podolski's opening goal midway through the
first half, the match turned into a bit of a stalemate, with the Danes putting on a strong
defensive front.
Russia entered their final group stage match needing just a draw to secure qualification. That
seemed like a given to most considering how well the first-place team had looked offensively at
Euro 2012.
No one told Greece that.
Greece eliminated Russia from the tournament in stunning fashion, pulling out a 1-0 victory
courtesy of a first-half stoppage time goal from Giorgos Karagounis on Saturday.
This article titled "Euro 2012: Russia's Alan Dzagoev tells fans to behave at Greece match" was
written by Paul Wilson in Warsaw, for The Guardian on Friday 15th June 2012 18.21 UTC
The Russia striker Alan Dzagoev has appealed to the country's fans to behave themselves at
Saturday's final group game against Greece so as not to invoke the six-point suspended sentence
Uefa imposed on Dick Advocaat's side following violent conduct at the opening match against the
Czech Republic.
The Warsaw police department deployed 6,000 officers, in one of their most intensive security
operations, and it proved crucial in tamping down the violence that ensued before the Russia vs
Poland match. Even so there were 184 arrests as fans from both countries fought pitched battles in
which 10 police officers along with 10 fans were treated for injuries.
Roberto Di Matteo was just supposed to steady the ship for Chelsea and stabilize things until a
new, big-name manager was brought in to bring the club back to the European spotlight. Instead, the
interim boss guided the Blues to the UEFA Champions League title and FA Cup title and has been
rewarded with the job on a permanent basis.
No. No it isn't. (That banner was seen at yesterday's Poland-Russia match. Turns out a great
many of the fans in attendance struggle with geography.)
Russia's on the UEFA naughty list, incurring a fine of $150,000 and a suspended sentence for
Euro 2016 qualifying after some fans attacked Polish stewards on the weekend.
Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic is full of praise for summer signing Robin van Persie,
insisting that the heroic showing of the former Arsenal captain has compensated for the club's poor
defensive form.
Vidic struggled with make-shift defensive partner Michael Carrick as United conceded three goals
in their opening two matches.
Santos defeated Toronto FC at BMO Field and Alajuelense won on the road at Real Esteli in the
CONCACAF Champions League on August 28, 2012.
Toronto FC 1-3 Santos
It was a devastating loss for TFC as their hopes of advancing to the next round likely ended.
Santos, the Group 1 favorites, are unbeaten and have six points through two matches.
So the last time I did a Hat Trick and Question of the Day article...I opened by writing about
how I hadn't done a Hat Trick and Question of the Day article in a while. I also defended John
Terry, which is something I deeply regret as a Fulham supporter.
But since there wasn't a Chicago Fire match this past weekend, we're diligently working to find
other ways to entertain our beloved readers.
The NASL club landed Toyota as a sponsor for its new soccer-specific stadium, which is slated to
open in time for the 2013 season. It will be the second soccer-specific stadium in America with the
Japanese car company's name branded on it, joining the Chicago Fire's Toyota Park in Bridgeview,
Ill.
WASHINGTON -- D.C. United's response to all of the controversy and disappointment from Sunday's
draw against Philadelphia was a thorough win over a fellow contender in the Eastern Conference.
Dwayne De Rosario scored the 99th goal of his career, and newcomers Lionard Pajoy and Long Tan
got in the act as well, as D.
Former Houston Dynamo Academy defender Sebastien Ibeagha (left) is playing for a PDL title on
Saturday with the Carolina Dynamo.
The USL Premier Development League is holding its championship game on Saturday as Houston Dynamo
Academy alum Sebastien Ibeagha and his Carolina Dynamo side face Forest City London at 7 p.
The Los Angeles Galaxy are back to winning ways, picking up impressive victories against Western
Conference foes Real Salt Lake and the Vancouver Whitecaps in games played just four days
apart.
Taking six points from those two matches has bumped the Galaxy to fifth place in the Western
Conference while also earning them SBI's MLS Team of the Week award.
FIFA have actually made a decision. Nope, it's not April Fool's Day.
Like much of South East Asia, Thai club Si Sa Ket have been dicking FIFA round for a pretty long
time. They were ordered to pay former coach David Booth $225,000 back in February but of course
they never bothered. (Complete story can be found here).
The La Liga duo of Real Madrid and Barcelona will begin their domestic battle anew with the
current champions hosting Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Real will play a Valencia side who have done much rebuilding this summer, with their six new
signings including two midfielders, Sergio Canales and Fernando Gago, who have arrived from the
Bernabeu.
Spanish football blogger Chalkontheboots continues his analysis of the current structure
of Athletic Bilbao by reviewing the challenge of consistency, as a season of cup triumph masked
disappointment in the league for Marcelo Bielsa and his men. You can read part one of this piece
here.
It is crunch time for many Development Academy teams heading into this final weekend of the
regular season.
Last weekend, 10 teams among the U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups clinched a divisional spot to
qualify for the 2011-12 Development Academy Playoffs, which kick off June 25 in Frisco, Texas.
After they both enjoyed SPL wins last Saturday the week rather diverged for Celtic and Hibs.
Celtic progressed to the Champions League group stage, that promised land where the streets are
paved with gold and the couches upholstered with £50 notes.
24 hours earlier Hibs were dumped out of the League Cup by Queen of the South in a display that
seems to have flitted between pathetic and miserable.
CARSON, Calif.—Injuries, illness and a busy schedule meant a mostly reserve lineup for the Los
Angeles Galaxy in their Wednesday night CONCACAF Champions League match—nine of the starters were
under 23, including five rookies.
But that didn't stop the youngsters from crushing the Puerto Rico Islanders 4-0.
The 2012-13 Italian Serie A season is about to start with Juventus as the defending champions
but several teams looking to challenge them this season. It will be an interesting season for
Juventus who will not have their manager available during matches (but is allowed to be at training
sessions).
RICHMOND, VA – (Thursday, August 9, 2012) – The Richmond Kickers return to Richmond City
Stadium this Saturday, August 11 to host the Harrisburg City Islanders in the regular season home
finale. Admission is just $10 for the whole family before 6:00 p.m. as the Kickers and Union First
Market Bank present FAMILY FEST.
Huzzah! Two home matches against two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and the Dynamo
take the full six points. You could not have asked for a better set of results from the team and in
return, optimism is high among Dynamo fans. Thanks to a brace from Calen Carr and a late first half
red card shown to Sporting Kansas City's Peterson Joseph, the Dynamo downed the conference leaders
2-1 last night at BBVA Compass Stadium.
In the battle between the top two teams in the USL PDL Northeast Division, the Ottawa Fury came
out on top in impressive fashion, defeating the GPS Portland Phoenix, 4-1, in front of 202 at the
Algonquin College Soccer Complex in Ottawa.
The win vaults the Fury (9-3-2, 29 points) over the Phoenix (9-4-1, 28 points) and into first
place.
