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Unfortunately, not fun items...I've been told, for now, Ricardo Clark's Danish interest seems to
have dissapated. His salary seems to be an issue at times, with this being one of them. I'm not
sure what's next for him. Just when it appeared ex-Crew free agent midfielder Kevin Burns was set
to be signed by Danish second flight side Blokhuis, there has come a annoying snag we'll talk about
a little
On a night when AZ starter Charlison Benschop bagged a hat trick, late sub Jozy Altidore has come
on to hit a brace of his own, capping a 6-0 win at ADO Den Haag. They were both simple finishes,
coming less than two minutes apart on assists by Brett Holman and Maarten Martens.Jozy had been
without a goal since December 4th, but now his league total stands at seven and his haul across all
You didn't actually think I'd shut my yap just because some windows closed, did you?I can report
that Ryan Nelsen was considering a return to D.C. United when Tottenham swopped in at the last
minute. I can also tell you he still plans to come back to the Red-and-Black. There should be a
full report up at MLSS before long.
As in summer, there will soon be a transfer deadline ticker over at MLSS, which I'll be stocking
with as much scene-setting and deal-clinching as we can find.Since that won't begin for an hour or
so, let's kick off the day with a couple bits. First off, it now seems Charlie Davies will be
remaining at Sochaux.
You could watch the World Cup '98 classic between Oranje and Argentina instead. Part 1 of 13...-
Greg Seltzer
For the first time in 16 meetings, Ajax lost to F-word. This will have me under a dark cloud and
ill-mannered for upwards of a week, but don't worry, I'll find a way to carry on in the meantime.
Just know all along that, no matter how calm I seem, it actually looks like this...- Greg Seltzer
Even if you don't understand Dutch, I think you get the idea. Schools from as far away as Eindhoven
came to this replay game today.- Greg Seltzer
The January 19th replay between Jozy Altidore's AZ and Ajax will be a romping room indeed, as
children will be comprising 85% of the audience at Amsterdam ArenA. At this point, Ajax are
basically telling schools to bring all the kids for the afternoon do-over. I may need to go witness
this for myself.
Thank God it's blow off work in the afternoon day...Let's start with Earnie Stewart, who talks Jozy
with ESPN's Leander Schaerlaeckens.Everton keeper Tim Howard talks about his goal and the loss
against Bolton.What's that you say, Timmy? Had it happen to you before? Oh dear, you should not
have said that to my ears.
For those who always find themselves wondering what happens after the credits roll, a three-pronged
update on our whackadoo KNVB Cup soap opera:The idiot who made this all possible has been sentenced
to six months in jail, four to serve, two suspended for two years.Ajax have accepted the penalties,
albeit in protest.
Really, I should have known the KNVB would use any opportunity to take every possible chunk out of
Ajax. Here is the match ruling from last week's AZ cup match debacle, to go with the Esteban
Alvarado red card removal already announced:- Entire game replayed on Jan. 19th- Played at empty
ArenA (oh, and sorry, but no KNVB ticket refunds)- Expected security fine for Ajax- No sanction of
any kind
This should have been up the other day, my bad. Don't fault Jacob...At this stage in the
competition you would have every reason to believe that some dead rubbers would be played. Yet the
"Look at Me!" nature of international youth soccer forbids such a thing.For instance, Celtic
welcomed Marseille to Celtic Park with nothing tangible to play for.
While also announcing that the referee had acted properly, the KNVB rescinded Estaban Alvarado's
red card. No word yet about the status of the suspended game.- Greg Seltzer
As if it couldn't get crazier, Ajax has filed a police report with the finding that last night's
jerkface pitch invader should have never been allowed into the stadium. The 19-year old was already
handed a stadium ban for prior trouble with stewards. As it turns out, this fantastically stupid
person has set himself for criminal charges well beyond what I originally anticipated thanks to his
It's been a strange December for Ajax, to say the least. I could do a whole other post on a
wackiness rundown, but let's gather focus and get back into the rubble from last night's suspended
Ajax v AZ cup match.I had a few words to say and you've added in some of yours. Now, let's hear
some morning after comments from the folks involved.
What else is there to say? If you don't know what I'm talking about, here it is from tonight's KNVB
Cup match at Amsterdam ArenA: the hooligan field invasion that spawned the red card to AZ keeper
Estaban Alvarado that made Gertjan pull his team off that saw this contest suspended with Ajax up
1-0 a few minutes before intermission.
It's been a busy day, but I'm finally here with your "fourth day of (TBD)" goodie. Actually... it's
an effect-delayed goodie.The other day, U.S. Under-17 playmaker Alejandro Guido completed his
second visit to Vitesse. During his six weeks there, he often trained with the first team and
played some friendlies with the reserves.
Down to the nitty gritty now, it's time for a refresh on this page.Champions LeagueRound of 16David
Yelldell - Bayer Leverkusen v BarcelonaEuropa LeagueRound of 32Jozy Altidore - AZ v AnderlechtSteve
Cherundolo - Hannover 96 v Club BruggeJermaine Jones - Schalke v FK Viktoria PlzeňSacha Kljestan -
Anderlecht v AZOguchi Onyewu - Sporting CP v Legia Warsaw- Greg Seltzer
I've wrestled back and forth for hours on how to address last night's simultaneous Champions League
incidents in Amsterdam and Zagreb, obviously because of the team short-strawed with the outcomes. I
have decided that it cannot be avoided. I suppose that I will just have to speak as objectively as
my reputation allows.
The fat lady has yet to sing, but it's all but over, or just plain over, in three of the four
groups in this year's NextGen Series. From the top ... Celtic needed a serious dose of luck to keep
their European adventure going. A group-dominating giant had to be slain by a relative minnow
twice. They also had to beat Barcelona in Barcelona.
The 2011 Generation adidas tour team will be special guests at the key Ajax v Real Madrid Champions
League Matchday 6 tilt tomorrow night. I will be talking to a couple of those MLS rising stars
before they head down to the game, and then more throughout their stay in the Netherlands.And just
to tantalize you a little further, tomorrow's Postcard From Europe subject is none other than
white-hot
With his side down one, Jozy Altidore has bagged an insistent 20th minute equalizer from some
dreamy combo play with Brett Holman.FYI: He now has five on the Eredivisie season (in the 14th of
the 34 matches) and 11 across all competitions - well on pace to both fulfill my promise of 10
league goals and put him one short of a third place tie with DaMarcus Beasley in the category of
goals in a
With his side down one, Jozy Altidore has bagged an insistent 20th minute equalizer from some
dreamy combo play with Brett Holman. While we wait for the clip, let's just see if he's got any
more in him today...- Greg Seltzer
Sheesh. A couple more years and my silly season work will precede Christmas music at the mall. In
any event, I am here to drop a couple of quick tidbits, just to offer some needed clarity...First
off, allow me to clarify that the F-Word interest recently revealed by Chris Wondolowski is not
current. In fact, the Kakkerlakken had a bid for the San Jose ace rejected last winter.
AZ forward Jozy Altidore has applied the 83rd minute capper on a 3-0 win over ADO Den Haag.
Celebrating his birthday, the (now) 22-year old hypnotized two defenders and danced around the
keeper. I'll get the clip up as quickly as I can, you're gonna love it.And if you're keeping score,
that's four Eredivisie goals and eight overall as we near the 1/3 marker on the season.
AZ forward Jozy Altidore has applied the 83rd minute capper on a 3-0 win over ADO Den Haag.
Celebrating his birthday, the (now) 22-year old hypnotized two defenders and danced around the
keeper. I'll get the clip up as quickly as I can, you're gonna love it.And if you're keeping score,
that's four Eredivisie goals and eight overall as we near the 1/3 marker on the season.
If one is the loneliest number, what does that make zero? After Ajax drew away to Fenerbahce they
joined the imperfect mass that constitutes this year's NextGen field. Sporting and Tottenham remain
unbeaten, but perfection is now a thing of the past for all 16 tournament teams. Yet if anyone can
claim to have truly attained perfection it is Barcelona.
Being both true blue American and sorta Dutch-ified, I could retire like a rock star now if given a
buck for every fan I've had tell me how they'd love to have a real, live stake in a real club. If
only, if only.Well, it's time to put your money where your fantasy is, because Dutch second flight
side Cambuur SC have a proposition for anyone ready to live that wacky dream of professional soccer
The four groups of the NextGen Series are getting serious. Everybody's still alive just past the
midway point of the competition. Well, almost everybody. Manchester City and Celtic met knowing
their match was a do-or-die affair unless they played to a draw. They did not.Celtic hadn't played
in the competition since August 31st and looked rather rusty as a miscommunication between Jorge
Sometimes things are so unwieldly and certain responses take so long because not everyone
appreciates what I do quite so much as NSC devotees. So here's the deal: it's Brek Shea spill time
and everyone else can just catch up to us.The following is a list of 15 clubs I have fully
confirmed (through a seeming source cast-of-thousands) that were in the house to watch Shea either
in Belgium last
Helmond Sport handyman Charles Kazlauskas got a wild one started early with a raiding header as the
visitors played out a 3-3 draw at MVV Maastricht. The score site I usually check actually had this
goal credited to someone else last night, so I initially missed it.Full highlights are here.- Greg
Seltzer
Every Wednesday, we round up the offbeat stories making their rounds in the football world. Today,
read about Puyol's girlfriend,
Don't worry folks, you didn't miss out on Malena Costa and Puyol's wedding of
the century (collective eye-rolls, we see!) she's wearing a wedding dress in that fofo car
to celebrate her 'Queen of Cava 2011' title in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia,
Barcelona.
The best keep getting better, or so the saying goes. Unilaterally applying that logic to Europe's
premier youth club competition tells us that the worst, in theory, keep getting worse. Nothing
supports such a conviction more than the latest events in the world of NextGen.In 1702 a tasteful
farmhouse was built in the Catalan countryside.
If you're scoring at home, Jozy Altidore's smooth opener in their 1-1 draw at Metalist Kharkiv
tonight gives him four goals in his last three Europa League games and a team-best seven in his 11
games across all competitions with AZ.- Greg Seltzer
One of the intimate idiosyncrasies of watching Europe's elite youth compete is the intimate grounds
on which they play. The iconic clash of today's greatest club and the youngsters who hope to
complement the best that money can buy in overtaking that title is the most outstanding of
examples. From the storied ground that is Hyde FC's Ewen Field s, Manchester City vs.
Afellay is out for six months - devastating. But this is a window of opportunity for him to
share his facial secrets..."alsjeblieft, Ibrahim?!" / via AP Photo
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For the third time in four games, Charles Kazlauskas has put Helmond Sport on the board. Tonight,
he hit the first equalizer in a see-saw 2-2 share with Cambuur with a restart header burial nine
minutes out of the break.And here is the pudding.- Greg Seltzer
I feel ya', Kandji Incredibly, MLS has fallen from an 8-1-1 in the CONCACAF Champions League to
10-8-2 overall in two weeks. We talked last week about the fall back to earth being a little more
of what we expected. This? Not so much. FC Dallas being run out of Pizza Hut Park by Pumas, the
Galaxy failing to muster a goal with Becks in the lineup away at Alajuelense, the Rapids falling
all over
Just off the horn: Jozy Altidore was pulled from AZ's line-up to face KNVB Cup foe Groningen as a
precaution after experiencing a bit of ankle trouble during the warm-ups. The club do not expect
it's anything serious, but he will have an exam in the morning.- Greg Seltzer
Just before the hour, Charles Kazlauskas has pulled Helmond Sport level on ones at Almere. He has
now scored his side's first goal in consecutive games.It's not even over yet, but the league site
already has the goods. - Greg Seltzer
