Meanwhile in New York, the Cosmos make $400m plans
It's no secret that the revamped New York Cosmos are hoping to make a splash as they return to professional soccer in the North American Soccer League (NASL) this August.It's no secret that Major League Soccer wants its20th team to be in Queens.
Supporters make American soccer different from other professional leagues. More than just fans,
these organized groups typically occupy their own section within stadiums across Major League
Soccer; standing, cheering for the full 90 minutes to support their club. Here, the New England
Revolution are supported by the Rev Army, Midnight Riders and The Rebellion.
At Sounder at Heart we like to say that we are supporters of supporters (some of us are actual
supporters as well). So we offer this message to you, from the fine folks at the Emerald City
Supporters who are opening up their remaining tickets for their trip to see the Seattle Sounders at
some local team in Oregon.
Tony Meola is one of the most recognizable American soccer players of all time. To sports fans
of my generation, Mr. Meola is synonymous with the 1994 World Cup and the launch of Major League
Soccer. The former Virginia Cavalier was a multi-sport athlete who was drafted by the New York
Yankees and spent a brief period with the New York Jets.
A Saturday afternoon at the Cottage, Craven Cottage.
"Welcome to West London, Dominic."
Since moving to London I've been fortunate to visit a few grounds, probably not as many as expected, but my latest outing is certainly one I'll remember.
Chelsea have failed in their attempts to have a billboard mocking misfiring striker Fernando Torres removed. The poster is part of a series of Paddy Power adverts focusing on under-performing Premier League imports. Backed by a TV campaign, the adverts suggest the players should seek alternative employment until they start pulling their weight on the [.
Stoke City have pioneered their way to a few footballing firsts of late; famously becoming the
first side to openly field a gibbon in their first team a few years back and, in the process, also
finding themselves ahead of the curve by providing said gibbon with a cutting-edge
smock to wipe his balls off on.
The Moratti family have sold a 15% stake in Inter to the China Railway Construction Corp. (1186)
for 75 million euros, in a deal that values the club at 500 million euros.
The transaction would include debt from the 18-time Italian champion. Hong Kong-based QSL Sports
Ltd. will also be part of China Railway's investment group, the people said.
Keeping with our recent tradition of doing really random posts in the off-season, we must now
naturally move on to pre-season friendlies. Pre-season friendlies are a time of joy for the
marketing heads of football clubs, assorted brands and Chinese-names-on-tshirt-writers. The global
tours of English clubs this summer have practically reached the opposite ends of the world,
everyone apparently glad to avoid the traffic back home during the Olympics.
Enjoy this fantastic clip of these two teams, at war since 1888. This video in part chronicles the struggle of Celtic Football Club to maintain supremacy against Rangers. This is The Old Firm A Celtic Story.
There's nothing like a soccer pitch full of excited fans watching their favorite team on a
beautiful Saturday or Sunday afternoon. But what happens in those stadiums and fields at night?
Well, they have fun within itself, just like the Century Link Stadium in Seattle Washington. This
awesome light show was created by Jimmy Diebold and is entitled "Midnight Lights" featuring a
Dubstep music remix by Patrick Reza, "Midnight City" and some really nice lighting effects that
brings the stadium to life after everyone is gone.
The weeds thrived on the deserted steps. Brittle concrete swept up by the blustery wind fertilized the void. I stood solitary in a stadium built to hold 25,000 people, separated by fifty yards from the nearest fan watching our team. Some of the few present may have harbored decades old memories of the roars that once sang loudly here.
"I can has tazer?"COLUMBUS VS. TORONTO 　 CREW STADIUM - WEDNESDAY 7:30PM ET TV: GOL TV
　 THE KICKABOUT:
It's hard for any TFC supporter to think about an away fixture at Columbus without harkening back
to that frozen day in 2008 when thousands of hearty Torontonians invaded Crew Stadium.
From a national perspective, only so many MLS teams are rocking their stadiums and showing off fun
talent with highlight style goals.
It's hard to replicate the aura involved with rivalry matches. But, there needs to be a sufficient
amount of marquee matches to rally around from week to week.
From a national perspective, only so many MLS teams are rocking their stadiums and showing off fun
talent with highlight style goals.
It's hard to replicate the aura involved with rivalry matches. But, there needs to be a sufficient
amount of marquee matches to rally around from week to week.
Your daily Soccer links are below. I will try to get these up each
morning by 7:00 AM, but if the news day is slow i might just push it back to later in the day or
even for the next morning post so its just not two or three links in a post. You can also use this
post as a discussion thread for the day and talk about anything you want.
Brookburn Road in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 6, Structures/Terracing 5, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger
stadiums 5 Total 23
My Top 40, a list of all non league grounds at step 6 or above, within 40 miles of
where I live, had a new entry this season straight in at number 25 (duh-duh duh-duh DUH) at 32.
Date: Thursday July 05 2012
Ground:Â Nantporth
Comp: Europa Cup Qualification Round 1
Match:Â Bangor City 0 Zimbru Chisinau 0Â Â HT: 0-0
ATT:Â 1,012
Additional: Entrance £15.00 Programme £3
Nantporth in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 8, Structures/Terracing 8, Hospitality 9, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger
stadiums 8 Total 33
When July arrives you can start to smell the new season.
Brantingham Road in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 5, Structures/Terracing 5, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger
stadiums 5 Total 22
Norton United are my nearest club; within walking distance -Â so I usually catch a few of their
games each season at their Community Drive ground.
ATT: circa 150
Additional: Entrance £5.00, Programme run out
Afoneitha Road in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 6, Structures/Terracing 5, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger
stadiums 7 Total 25
Another Cymru Alliance tick at Afoneitha Road, the home of Penycae FC.
Date: Friday March 23 2012
Ground: Y Morfa
Comp: Cymru Alliance (Welsh step two)
Match: Conwy United 0 Llandudno 4  HT: 0-2
ATT: circa 150
Additional: Entrance £5.00, Programme £1.50
Y Morfa in pictures
Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 8, Structures/Terracing 7, Hospitality 8, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger
stadiums 8 Total 31
This was an evening of good and bad but little in between.
Date: Tuesday March 13 2012
Ground: Brocstedes Park
Comp:Â North West Counties League Premier
Match: Ashton Athletic 2 Bacup Borough 3 HT: 0-3 Smith 47 (pen), Allen 67: Bellamy 15, 31, Williams 43
ATT:Â 41
Additional: Entrance £5.00, Programme £1.
Sir Alex Ferguson has tonight reacted to our Champions League draw, with United being handed a
relatively easy group.
"We have the experience of playing against Galatasaray in the past and we will always
remember the 'Welcome to Hell' banners," he told the official site. "So it's always a
difficult type of match.
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez hinted at his contempt for the English press as he prepares to return
to Old Trafford this week.
The Liverpool forward is part of the Uruguay team taking on the United Arab Emirates in Group A of
the Olympic football competition in Manchester on Thursday.
The fixture represents Suarez's first visit to the ground since triggering a row in February by
refusing to shake hands with Manchester United's Patrice Evra - the man he was found guilty of
racially abusing in October.
I'll take "Stadiums in Better Shape than RFK " for $200, AlexDown the stretch they come!
The New York Red Bulls are right in the thick of things at the top of MLS' Eastern Conference after
somehow escaping Livestrong Sporting Park with a draw on Sunday night. Tonight they square off
against the Great Satan, DC United, for the third and final time of the 2012 regular season.
Another full slate of MLS action with some club friendlies sprinkled in as part of the annual
"Summer of Soccer" events. Before we get to the weekend attendance, here is a link to an
interview with Commissioner Garber and the accompanying story from the Sporting News. The
All-Star Game is always a time filled with league navel gazing and this interview is a prime
example.
It is something that is bound to happen anytime amid the myriad of problems besieged the local
football.
Never had the ground sentiment of the local fraternity sunk so low following an AGM that was held
sometimes back with all cylinders fired from all corners angered and pissed off with the current
stagnancy (based on observation of the various social media platforms).
I blogged something about club merchandise based on what I saw in Australia years ago, and added
that there must be some essentialities that would prompted the supporters to part their cash on
these items, other than showing their affiliation to the clubs they follow.
Which is why I implied that concept in my recent trip to Taipei, where I was there to catch two
baseball games featuring the CPBL side I follow - the Brother Elephants.
English football is full of eccentricities. Every match day up and down the country there are
people out there busy adding to their collection of match day programmes, badges or tickets. Others
collect scarves, pennants or autographs. You name it and there is probably someone out there
somewhere with a sizeable collection of them.
With the pre-season now underway I've heard some supporters mention that tours over to Asia and
America are actually doing teams more harm than good these days for several reasons.
One of the main objections is all of the travel involved. Some people feel players are simply
getting tired out by travelling thousands of miles around the globe.
Article By: Pedro Gomes This week's spotlight is all about stadiums, Soccer Specific Stadiums to be exact. This past week The Pittsburgh Riverhounds opened up their new Soccer Specific Stadium, Highmark Stadium against the Harrisburgh City Islander in front of a sold-out crowd.
Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh is one-third of a trio of exciting developments for American soccer that launch this weekend. Two of the three are examples of the sport putting down roots, while the other tries to prove that something can grow on land that's produced a thin harvest in two previous tries.
A Fitting Farewell to Grêmio's OlÃmpico Monumental
With the 2014 World Cup creeping up on us, Brazil is in the process of sweeping out the old and bringing in the new. This past weekend, one of South America's most iconic stadiums, the OlÃmpico Monumental in Porto Alegre, held its last match for Grêmio since opening in 1954.
Roberto Mancini has advised fellow Premier League managers to "shut up" after a touchline squabble with Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert. The pair clashed over a tackle on City's Gareth Barry by Villa youngster Joe Bennett. The prompted Mancini to observe: "There are some managers it is better to shut up.
Finally, on stage, reunited at last! In the last few weeks, Spain's Olympic champions have been
introduced in front of packed stadiums at the start of La Liga matches.
Yesterday, Spanish canoeist David Cal, who has five gold medals and four silver ones, arrived to
meet the national team before an open training session in Pontevedra.
Back in 2009 we had a brief chat with Soccernomics author Simon Kuper. The book was first
published in October, 2009 and continues to cited in soccer circles. Â Â Soccernomics
combines economics and soccer to provide an interesting look into the use of data in sports and
takes direct aim at some of the longest held beliefs of fans and soccer managers about the
evaluation of players.
Estadio Azteca is one of the most historic stadiums in the world that presents a rare and imposing
opportunity for players. The Mexicans have only lost eight times in their history at this vaunted
venue.
Landon Donovan and former U.S. veterans Kasey Keller talk about the value and the experience of
playing here.
