Team USA fans, say it with me now: We will not judge our team by this Gold Cup.

We don’t need to win this cup. We will judge our team on August 12th, when Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and the rest of the first team face Mexico at Azteca.  

Team USA has earned massive respect after their Confederations’ Cup success, especially to the casual American sports fan. Consequently, these fans have put an extraordinary amount of expectation on this year’s Gold Cup squad to carry on their first team’s momentum by defending the CONCACAF Gold Cup next month.  

Needing to be assured Team USA is not just a flash in the pan, casual soccer fans will judge our class against the CONCACAF “minnows.” As many on this site have said: moral victories will no longer be tolerated; anything less than three points in CONCACAF is an abomination. 

Trust me, they don’t need this. This B-team (see part one) has enough targets on its back. 

Bitter rivals Mexico are sending their first-class talent to avenge their Cup final loss in 2007. Canada will be seeking retribution for its controversial semi-final loss in 2007.  El Salvador and Honduras are seeking revenge after having a chance at three points against our first team in World Cup qualifying.  

Costa Rica will want to rub their recent 3-1 home win against our first team in our reserves’ faces at this tournament. And, as defending champions, every other team will be sending out their best boys to thrash us. Roles have reversed. Team USA now has everything to lose. 

Team USA fans: get ready to hate Bob Bradley again.

Despite the pressure, the ever-aloof Coach Bradley will focus on the long-term goal I mentioned in part one: use this competition to find a solid bench for the 2010 World Cup. What does this mean?  

More awkward formations. More strange line-ups. More dodgy substitutions. Especially against smaller competition like Grenada and Haiti. Bob Bradley will make sure he knows how each player on his 23-man roster will respond to the pressure of international competition. 

Of course, Team USA will hopefully send the best this team has to offer—Freddy Adu, Stuart Holden, Jimmy Conrad, and company—against stronger competition, but this team is not the first team, nor is it the U-23 2008 Olympic team. These boys are the American faces of an import-crazy MLS. 

So, how will the MLS stars and alumni deal with their continental counterparts?

According to recent history, not so good. The 2008 Olympic Team performed well, but went three-and-out in Beijing’s U-23 tournament. And they had Brian McBride and Jozy Altidore. 

But many players on the Gold Cup squad were not on that team.  Many of these players star on MLS sides that regularly struggle against continental, not just Mexican, competition. No Revolution fan can forget Joe Public’s 4-0 thrashing of New England at Foxborough during the CONCACAF Champions’ League, a cup where lowly USL sides put up a bigger fight than our MLS stars.  

Do you know who Joe Public is? Exactly.

Even when MLS is in form and face out-of-season Mexican competition, they still struggle. Just last week, Chivas USA just got embarrassed by Tigres’ U-20 side in the SuperLiga. 

But what about when these stars are put together? They have done a little better… against European out-of-season reserve teams. The MLS All-Stars, even with David Beckham, were almost outclassed by West Ham’s reserves in a 3-2 victory. 

Yes, West Ham’s reserves.   

Knowing this, will Team USA buck the trend and beat all comers this Gold Cup? 

Two things work in their favor:

First, they are the host nation. Like in 2007, they will get that favorable official decision in crucial games, and they will have our fans’ support in every big game.

Second, Bob Bradley is an incredible motivator. Coach Bradley and the Confederations’ Cup veterans will make sure this JV squad understands the short-term and long-term opportunities for this team. It will be up to these players to stand up to their opposition and uphold the USA’s dominance in CONCACAF and this competition.

So, does the USA defend the Gold Cup?

You will hear my official prediction in the third and final part of this preview. As always, you are free to leave your own thoughts on this question below.

Source: Click Here

Let me not say ruined, because it would be a far stretch to say that one of the best franchises in MLS could be ruined by an international choke job pulled off by the U.S. Soccer team in the Confederations Cup final. But, for as much as the surprising run to the world’s stage did for soccer popularity in the United States, it could likely have a significant impact on the appeal of our own D.C. United.

As the domestic appeal of soccer grows, D.C. United’s distance from international play won’t help it’s cause to become more popular in our area. Even with multiple championships, the only thing that can help soccer in the Metro area grow is for casual soccer fans to have consistent exposure to local players that can grab and hold national attention.

Attention that can only be rightly earned in international play.

D.C. United had a long history of players competing for the men’s national team; not so for this year’s Confederations Cup Roster. And of the few players that do compete stateside in MLS, Landon Donovan is the only one that brings back some national credibility and recognition from South Africa.

Our homeboy Freddy Adu, who plays professional in France after a much-hyped-yet-non-descript tenure with D.C. United? He didn’t even get on the pitch.

People who truly enjoy soccer in this area have stronger ties to international competition than the domestic professional leagues. As diverse as the Baltimore – Washington area is, young fans of soccer are going to grow up following the names that they heard most often during the U.S.’ stampede onto the world stage; Donovan, who plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy, Jozy Altidore who plays in Spain, and Tim Howard who plays in England.

There are D.C. United fans who root for the team because it is a professional team in the area. There are those who grew to love the team because of their championship-winning ways. Perhaps that is enough to sustain and grow a loyal following in the Baltimore-Washington region, but if the U.S. maintains this level of growth on the international stage, while the country’s best players continue to play professionally out of the country, it can’t be good news for any domestic pro soccer franchise.

Technorati Tags: D.C. United, Jozy Altidore, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard.

Source: Click Here

Last week, Team USA Coach Bob Bradley named his roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.  To reward his first team’s massive performance this Confederations’ Cup, he is giving his stars a break and putting in...

I think the correct term is “junior varsity”. See for yourself: http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090625&content_id=5521428&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

Freddy Adu, Marvell Wynne, Heath Pearce, Charlie Davies, and Luis Robles are the only players joining the Gold Cup team on a plane from the Confederations Cup in Johannesburg. Nineteen men on this roster are playing or have played in MLS.  Only Pearce, Robles, Davies, and Jeremiah White have not. 

Bradley’s motives here, unlike most of his tactical substitutions the past two weeks, are easily understood.  Like the MNT Coaches before him, Bradley is looking to MLS to find the right bench that will sustain and amplify the USA’s world-beating momentum for the next summer’s trip to South Africa.

Needless to say, this selection brings up many questions. Some serious, others less so.

For this first part, we will just focus on the serious, long-term effects of this roster on the 2010 squad.

How many 2010 spots will be contested? Probably six.

Coach Bradley did not play six substitutes this Confederations’ Cup: Danny Califf, Jose Torres, Pearce, Adu, Wynne, and Robles.  Let’s assume Bob Bradley needs to see more from these players.

Add to that three of Bradley’s underachieving substitutes—DaMarcus Beasley, Conor Casey, and Sacha Kljestan. Beasley is probably safe because of Bradley’s faith he will return to form.

That makes eight open spots. Subtract two open spots for the introduction of Jermaine Jones and the re-introduction of Maurice Edu, and you have six spots up for grabs.

Can any of the newcomers seriously challenge for these spots?  Maybe two or three. Let’s go by position:

Goalkeeper: Robles is probably safe. He’s the only one with Bundesliga experience.

Defense: Wynne and Pearce will have their hands full defending their places. Bundesliga and MNT veteran Steve Cherundolo is back from injury. Michael Parkhurst, with an improvement in form from a season in Denmark, can steal the other spot.

Midfield: Team USA has too much depth here. Assuming Jones starts, Edu and Benny Feilhaber are locks for the bench, while Ricardo Clark and Kljestan have some proving to do. Jose Torres will prove himself at Azteca in August (you heard it here first).

At this Gold Cup, Stuart Holden or Davy Arnaud will make the strongest challenge for Kljestan or Clark’s spot. Sorry, Kyle Beckerman, we have two defensive mids—Jones, Edu—a holding mid in Michael Bradley, and, therefore, no room for you.

Forward– It’s official: Freddy Adu is sleeping with Bob Bradley’s daughter.

Only a vindictive father could keep the creative Benfica winger on the bench this Gold Cup.  He and Charlie Davies need solid performances to assure their spots.

But with Brian Ching and Kenny Cooper in the line-up and Bradley’s good graces, it is completely possible Adu could be riding pine throughout the Gold Cup. For his potential, let’s hope not.

Could any of these players start for Team USA in 2010? Maybe Steve Cherundolo. Perhaps Freddy Adu.  Most likely, no one else.

While the talent gap between MLS stars and their European alumni is tightening, it is still too wide to confidently say these newcomers will usurp any starting places. 

I do not see anyone except established MNT veterans—Ching, Cherundolo, and Adu—shaking up the starting lineup come 2010.

But some of these MLS stars and alumni should provide the spark off the bench in 2010 that will relieve pressure off of the unlikely stars of the Confederations Cup.

Source: Click Here

Baseball, football, basketball, and hockey fans turned their attention to the pitch in South Africa this past week to witness one of the more improbable runs in sports.

Had the US team held their 2-0-halftime lead, it could have been even more surprising than the Giants' 2007-08 Super Bowl run. It even surpasses the Rockies road to the World Series in 2007.

ESPN was front and center to capitalize on the US national soccer team's success, and they did pretty well.

First, we start with the pre-game.

Rece Davis did a competent job as the studio host guiding along the pre-game to the FIFA Confederation Cup Final. He had some pretty good tidbits.  My favorite actually being from halftime, when he gave the stat on the US being 98-1 when leading at halftime since 1993 (the one loss coming against Italy in the first game of this year’s Confederation Cup).

Davis also held a pretty fluent conversation with Alexi Lalas on what the USA had to do to stay in the game.

Speaking of Lalas, he is the best American soccer analyst out there, period.

He doesn’t have the best voice, but he provides excitement and makes good points through well-constructed sentences. He does have his occasional mumbles or “uhs”, but that comes with almost any athlete that is an analyst.

Lalas gave a realistic state of the union for US soccer after the match. He appealed to both new and old fans that the team is in the right direction, but still hasn't fully arrived.

The Brazil match proved that.

He said that US fans, players, and coaches should expect the US to compete like they did against Brazil every game.

That is a pretty accurate statement.

The US needs to start competing in these games before they can consistently win them. This group of players showed they can compete, and the next step is to show they can win.

That chance won’t come until they are in South Africa 347 days from now.

Once the game kicked-off, the quality of the commentary did not drop. JP Dellacamera is the best American play-by-play announcer for soccer. He gets the game of soccer much unlike Dave O’Brien, who called many of the important US games in years past.

JP is in tune with the linguistics of the game, such as “Dempsey has a go” and “Clark got stuck in there”. He can identify subtle, important play unlike most American soccer announcers.

Dellacamera identified Jonathan Spector’s great one on one defense on Kaka and Robinho, one of the more underrated aspects of the match.

Dellacamera reset the situation and magnitude of the game for the viewer every fifteen minutes. This reminds viewers of what the situation is, intensifying the moment, but also frequently informing new viewers who just tuned in what’s going on.

JP did mess up in two spots.

The first was not stating the referee’s name (Martin Hansson) after Brazil’s first yellow card. The viewer wants to know who and where the person giving the card is from.

He messed up talking about Spector’s injury plagued seasons in the EPL, saying he had a leg problem and a “concussion problem”, a rare misspeak from Dellacamera.

Some criticize JP for not being excited enough during the first US goal. That is because he knows soccer.

He was excited, but only to a certain point. He has to convey to fans what he knows: there is a ton of time left for Brazil to score and still win, which they did.

John Harkes is the one weaker aspects to ESPN’s coverage of this monumental match in US soccer history. He just speaks too much and pauses too often.

Because of his pauses, his commentary is often just a string of words, at times confusing the listener. Harkes knows his stuff, but has not figured out how to convey that on television.

Harkes' best analysis comes when JP prods him with a question like he did at the end of the first half on Feilhaber’s play, and after Brazil’s first goal on the quickness of Fabiano’s strike.

Harkes was the first to say how the quick 2-1 score line would affect US's chances moving forward in the match, something coach Bob Bradley and Landon Donavon echoed in post match interviews.

Every so often, Harkes does make great points on his own as he accurately described the difference in the US defense between the first and second half: the defense being pulled farther apart.

He said it before the second goal, which was the ultimate cause of the equalizer.

This pairing is leaps and bounds better than O’Brien and the bumbling Marcelo Balboa.

The technical side of the broadcast cannot be fully critiqued because ESPN was just taking the world feed. But, the producers back in Bristol did pump the crowd noise up more than it was on the Spanish channels here in the US.

It helped the fans feel more intimate with the action and was more accurate to what it sounded like on the pitch.

ESPN also understood how important this game was.

They have remained dedicated to soccer, and this was the lead on the bottom lead as well as the lead on “Sports Center”. The biggest sports station in the country put this first on a Sunday where interleague play ended, the two New York teams played, the two Chicago teams played, and the aftermath of the NBA draft played out.

ESPN made a statement, and an important one to US soccer moving forward.

The US might have failed, but ESPN prevailed in their coverage of this historic match.

-MN

Source: Click Here

Sepp Blatter is a fool.

Yeah, breaking news, right?

A few years back, Blatter made himself loads of friends in the feminist community when he suggested that female footballers would be better off wearing kits with more sex appeal. If Blatter had his way, something like this would become standard issue. Hey, it's already got some serious crossover appeal, right?

Well, good ol' Sepp is back to his ridiculous shenanigans.

He recently said if MLS wishes to compete with its European counterparts and attract world-class superstars, the league needs to adopt a standard August-to-May schedule.

This idea seems harmless enough on the surface, but anybody who is even remotely familiar with winter weather patterns in MLS cities can tell you that this is a terrible idea.

Sure, players in Houston, Dallas, San Jose and Los Angeles would be able to take the pitch without missing a beat. Those cities enjoy December temperatures that are usually hovering around 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

There's a reason we send our elderly down South in the winter.

But take a look at a city like Chicago or Toronto. This is where Blatter's plan runs into serious problems.

In Chicago, the average high during the month of December is 35 degrees Fahrenheit. That's usually coupled with roughly nine inches of snow and strong winds, a fun mixture for every football match.

Compare Chicago to the English city of Newcastle. Even though Newcastle is located fairly far to the north, it enjoys temperatures during December that are downright balmy compared to the northern portion of American. Newcastle's average low temperature in December is still three degrees higher than the average high for Chicago.

Things get even worse in Toronto. Toronto's average December temperature hovers around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, below freezing. How well do you think any footballer would perform if they were forced to play on a pitch that's covered in ice?

The teams in New York and New England wouldn't fare much better. If you're a fan of the New England Revolution, are you going to want to go to a match when the streets look like this?

Holding such a large portion of the season during the winter months would cripple MLS attendance figures, rendering any potential superstar signings completely irrelevant, if they were to happen at all.

If I'm a European football star, the threat of playing matches in over a foot of snow is going to outweigh the allure of playing in a league that schedules matches around summer international fixtures.

Every major European league already plays an August-to-May schedule, so why leave that for the same schedule coupled with noticeably crappier weather?

It's beyond me.

Most cities in the northern regions of America don't dig themselves out from winter until late March or early April. That's why early-season MLS matches tend to have fairly low attendance. Naturally, it would be a great idea to take those low attendance numbers and replicate them for three or four months during the season.

Yeah! Having terrible attendance figures for half a season each year would be a great thing for a league that's still trying to grow! (Can you tell that I'm really excited by this idea?)

Putting MLS matches during the fall and winter months would have another unfortunate effect: It would put MLS in direct competition with the favorite league of blue-collared Americans everywhere, the NFL.

You can go ahead and ask the USFL how well that works out.

Thankfully, Don Garber and the powers that be in MLS are ignoring Blatter's pleas...for now. Garber is smart enough to realize that making such a major change in this stage of the MLS' development would cripple the league. He recognizes that a few international conflicts is a small price to pay to ensure the survival of a still-growing league.

Blatter seems incapable of such lucidity.

You may notice that there are a few other leagues around the world that operate during the summer, and Blatter says nothing. The Russian season runs from March to November to avoid the same cold that halted Napoleon in his tracks. The FAI League of Ireland follows roughly the same schedule.

Ditto for the Tippeligaen and the Allsvenskan.

Seems a little hypocritical that Blatter would only pick on MLS.

If he's serious about wanting the MLS to attract a better class of player, then he should be suggesting loan deals for players in the youth ranks at European clubs, or abolishing the salary cap.

Sepp needs to realize that a schedule that works in Spain, England or Italy just isn't going to work in a massive country like the US. There's too much variation in the climate to allow for winter success.

And Garber needs to realize that Blatter is a fool, and continue taking his suggestions with a grain of salt.

Source: Click Here

Source: Click Here

I've hinted at it before, but I will go on for the record to say that the two North American top-tier clubs that are dear to me are the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Los Angeles Sol.

I have never been much of a hardcore follower of the soccer clubs in Canada. Heck, I look at the Toronto Football Club (or FC) with a sheepish, indifferent demeanor that comes with being a proud citizen of the land South of the (Canadian) Border.

And for some odd reason, unbeknown to my psyche, or perhaps like the smile I get from seeing Atlante FC of Cancun—CANCUN, people, of all places—win the CONCACAF Champions League...I am happy for them.

I am actually happy for them.

All those supporters who made the trip up the 401/A-20—from the Red Patch Boys, to the U-Sector, the Ultras 114, the Firm 116, and the Yonge Street Elite—were praying for the unthinkable to happen.

Can it be done? Most importantly, WILL it be done?

Down four goals against the Vancouver Whitecaps, no one ever thought that Toronto, who have been criticized for their lackluster play in spite of their well-endowed support, would do just that at Stade Saputo in the pouring rain on June 17, 2009.

For those in red, drenched, dancing, and crying in disbelieving joy, it was a redemption that was not unlike the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship in 2009 after falling to the Celtics the year before.

But let's rewind things a little bit here to really show you why this win has been a long time coming.

The Voyageurs Cup, the symbol of Canadian soccer supremacy, has been in existence since 2002, four years before Toronto FC's inception. Originally, the Cup was reserved for Canadian teams in the United Soccer Leagues (USL) First Division.

And in every one of those tournaments, the Impact have been the winners of the cup.

Seven consecutive years, 2002-2008. That's a lot of leaves with your name on it, Montreal.

Sure, Toronto did have a team, but either the Lynx played second fiddle, or they just were not up to snuff with the rest of the competition.

Finally, in 2006 the Toronto Lynx threw in the towel and went down to the Premier Development League, the fourth tier in the North American Soccer Pyramid.

They knew that a certain club at a place called BMO Field was rising, and they knew that they would be unable to compete with the new force in Canada called Toronto FC.

No one will forget the day Danny Dichio scored the first goal in Toronto FC history, on May 12, 2007 against the Chicago Fire.

As soon as he scored, thousands of white seat cushions were thrown onto the pitch in honor of his accomplishment. To this day, the home faithful at BMO Field chant his name during the 24th minute, in commemoration of that goal scored by one of the first cult heroes of the club.

In the first season that Toronto FC was eligible to compete in the Voyageurs Cup (now renamed the Nutrilite Canadian Championship), the fate of the cup came down to a contest at BMO on July 22, 2008.

A victory by Toronto would give them the trophy. A win or draw by Montreal would've given them another leaf on the pedestal with their name on it.

Rohan Ricketts put TFC a goal to the good in the 15th minute. But an equalizer by Roberto Brown in the 26th put the Impact on level terms.

For the next hour plus, the red fans were waiting and hoping for the game-winner.

It never came. And the opportunity to see Toronto represent Canada at the CONCACAF Champions League was replaced by the Montreal Impact celebrating on their pitch.

TFC fans who descended on a number of soccer message boards showed no intent to hide their frustrations and agitations on what would become a subpar season under then-manager John Carver. One went so far as to say, "This bites, huge and thick!"

Toronto FC finished at the bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference standings that year. The loss to the Impact—now TFC's biggest rival—drove the players to work hard in their attempt this season.

And to their credit, it started off on the right foot.

The third minute saw Kevin Harmse score the first goal for Toronto in the tournament as they defeated the Whitecaps 1-0 on May 6.

A week later, Chad Barrett's winner in the 35th minute gave Toronto a 1-0 victory over Montreal. Suddenly, TFC were on the fast track to redemption.

Or were they?

Vancouver showed they could beat Montreal, too, and they did. A 2-0 victory at Stade Saputo on May 20 was followed by a 1-0 victory at Swangard Stadium.

And Vancouver showed that it could also beat Toronto.

Liberian midfielder Ansu Toure scored a brace to give Vancouver a 2-0 victory over TFC at Swangard Stadium on June 2.

It seemed to be an impossible mountain to climb for new manager Chris Cummins. Even if Toronto would wrap up the tournament with a victory over Montreal, the goal differential was insurmountable.

A four-goal victory would clinch it. The question the supporters in red were asking at Stade Saputo was: is it possible?

The fans did not notice the writing on the wall: it was possible. For these three reasons:

1. Montreal chose not to bring its best side. See, the Whitecaps (who had the unfortunate honor of watching the game from the bleachers), were praying to King Neptune that the Impact would bail them out and deny TFC the Voyageurs Cup.

And the Impact would face Vancouver in a USL First Division game later in the week.
The resulting lineup? A suicidal one, in spite of Tony Donatelli and Joey Gjertsen starting.

No Leonardo Di Lorenzo. And no Roberto Brown. The same Roberto Brown who denied Toronto their trophy.

Even worse, Marc dos Santos made the ill-advised decision of starting Srdjan Djekanovic in goal against a desperate TFC side.

2. Toronto knew that they needed to throw everything—and the kitchen sink and stilettos—at Montreal to jump past the Caps. And with the memory of last year still fresh in their minds, revenge in the pouring rain by the St. Lawrence River could not have come at a better time.

So they had the likes of Dwayne De Rosario and Amado Guevara in the lineup. The firepower that was facing Montreal was at the ready.

3. The Impact had been so dominant in the history of the Cup, that it was time that someone else hoisted it. And it could have been Vancouver. But someone other the Impact was going to have their name on it.

In the 24th minute, a penalty by Donatelli seemed to erase the writing and instead put Toronto FC in the coffin.

But that goal would be the last straw for the Reds.

Five minutes after, a overhead bicycle kick by Dwayne De Rosario off a corner equalized the score in the 34th minute. The howls of the Montreal Ultras mixed with the delight of the Toronto supporters.

It was poorly saved by Djekanovic, and it would be the beginning of a night worth forgetting for the Impact goalkeeper. His overall performance started to melt like the cake left out in rain at the famous, yet mythical, MacArthur Park.

In the 39th minute, De Rosario's first touch led to a second goal for Toronto.

At halftime, the scoreline read 2-1 Toronto. Vancouver was still on track to take the cup by a three-goal differential.

That would all vanish, along with a year of frustration for TFC, in the second.

In the 49th minute, Montreal were clamoring for an offsides call, but official Carol Anne Chenard would have none of it as De Rosario made it 3-1 Toronto.

Somewhere in British Columbia, fans donning the blue and white of the Whitecaps were in worrying disbelief, as if their own empire were crumbling before their very eyes.

In the many bars and restaurants that had the game live, there were early celebrations on Donatelli's penalty, but Dwayne De Rosario's hat trick took the air out of the province.

In the 69th minute, a free kick by Guevara sent it in the top left corner. Djekanovic had no chance of saving that. 4-1 Toronto.

And in the 82nd minute, Guevara's corner found Chad Barrett—the same Chad Barrett who scored the decisive goal at BMO Field 43 days ago—impaling both Montreal and Vancouver.

Teitur Thordarsson, manager of the Whitecaps, looked on with a stoic impression comparable to any military general on the losing end of a war. Djekanovic waved in vain to ask for something to be done from Montreal.

But every ounce of will from the embattled, bruised, empty-eyed  shell of the team from Quebec was gone. Long gone. As well as that of the team from BC.

And Guevara read the last rites for both teams in the 90th minute to make it 6-1. By that point, the Toronto supporters—shirtless, shameless, and hopelessly on the verge of greatness—were dancing on the coffins and the seats of Stade Saputo.

Toronto FC became champions of Canada, and their redemption made every Torontonian beam with pride.

The possibility of an unprecedented double of Voyageurs and MLS Cup cannot be left out of the discussion. Currently, Toronto are on the fringe of making the playoffs, sitting in the 8th spot (as of today).

Can more history be made for a team that has secured its first piece of hardware?

After what will go down as the great game in club history to date, things can only be looking up.

As for Vancouver, the Whitecaps remain as the only active team that has yet to win the Voyageurs Cup. But with the Montreal Impact's monopoly on the trophy broken, perhaps the wait for the Whitecaps could be over soon as well.

And if that should happen, chalk up another club I will be happy for as I get ready to write on the Los Angeles Sol on Sunday once again.

Source: Click Here

Fredy Montero netted a goal in his third straight game, as the Seattle Sounders fought to a 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday afternoon.

New York took a 1-0 lead late in the first half with assistance from the Sounders defense.

In the 40th minute, Seattle defender Tyrone Marshall attempted to clear the ball, but instead drove it into his teammate, Patrick Ianni. The ball deflected behind both men and found New York's leading goal scorer, Juan Pablo Angel, eagerly waiting for its arrival.

Angel quickly controlled the ball and dribbled around Seattle goalie Kasey Keller for an unassisted goal.

Marshall's errant clearance added to an already frustrating week for the Sounders defender.

On Wednesday, Marshall fell victim to an own goal in the 87th minute, costing the Sounders a victory against D.C. United. Marshall deflected an opponent's cross past Kasey Keller and into his own net to tie the game at 3-3 with only three minutes remaining.

Seattle did not wait long to answer, however, as Fredy Montero created a goal of his own in the waning moments of the first half.

As time neared an end in the first half, Seattle cleared the ball towards New York's end line.

Red Bulls defender Jeremy Hall collected the ball deep in New York territory and attempted to dribble past Montero, who stole the ball away, dashed towards the New York goal, and fired a rocket over the head of Red Bulls goalie Danny Cepero into the back of the net.

There are a number of question marks surrounding how Montero's equalizer was scored. Most notably, the actions of referee and Red Bulls defender Jeremy Hall can be called into question.

First and foremost, one has to wonder why the game was still being played.

The referee announced two minutes of stoppage play for the end of the first half.

For those unfamiliar with stoppage time, it is an amount of time designated by the referee which is added onto the clock at the end of each half. There is no specific time to end the game. Instead, the referee lets the stoppage time play out, and when it has expired they will blow the play dead when the ball is in a neutral portion of the field.

In this instance, the ball was cleared to center field (the most common time to end a half of play) when the stoppage clock showed 2:01. Instead of whistling the play dead, however, the referee allowed play to continue.

The ball was cleared into New York territory at 2:09, where Hall turned it over to Fredy Montero. Consequently, Montero punched the ball into the net when the stoppage clock read 2:21.

In all fairness, this goal should have never happened. 99% of referees will blow the play dead on a clearance to center field any time near the point of stoppage.

The second question concerning Montero's goal is, "Why didn't Jeremy Hall just let the ball roll out of bounds?"

Instead of letting the ball roll out of bounds for a goal kick, which probably would have ended the half, Hall controlled the ball and tried to dribble past Fredy Montero. We know how that ended...

In the 77th minute, Seattle defender Tyson Wahl faced a situation similar to Hall's. Wahl ran down a ball that was rolling towards the end line with an opponent in pursuit. Instead of playing the ball, however, Wahl played it safe and let the ball roll out of bounds for a goal kick.

Had Jeremy Hall done the same thing at the end of the first half, Seattle might not have scored the equalizer and New York could have earned a victory.

The second half featured plenty of offense but no scoring. Both teams had several chances to take the lead, but a combination of missed opportunities and excellent saves kept the score locked at 1-1.

Here are some notes and observations from Saturday's action.

Seattle Sounders MF Freddy Ljungberg Gets the Day Off

This game was the Sounders' third in eight days. Because of the number of games played, there have been some off days granted to several star players (e.g. Steve Zakuani coming off the bench Wednesday against D.C. United).

Ljungberg received the day off Saturday to rest a sore hamstring. Osvaldo Alonso played well in Ljungberg's stead, seemingly getting the touches that Ljungberg usually receives, but as a whole Ljungberg's playmaking abilities were sorely missed.

Sebastien Le Toux is a Hustler

Seattle midfielder Sebastien Le Toux contributed in a number of ways on Saturday.

With Freddy Ljungberg getting the day off, Le Toux took the majority of Seattle set pieces. Most notably, he took every cornerkick won by Seattle. Le Toux provided excellent service on a number of these set pieces, but unfortunately Seattle was unable to finish any of them.

The Post Was Twice as Nice for Fredy Montero

Fredy Montero was all over the field on Saturday.

He created a number of scoring threats, which is always good to see from your marquee goal scorer, and also played himself into several opportunities.

In the 33rd minute, Sebastien Le Toux struck a beautiful corner kick which found Montero at the 6 yard box. Montero headed the ball firmly on goal but it deflected off the cross bar and the ball was cleared.

In the 85th minute Montero dribbled through three defenders at the top of the box and squeaked a shot past New York goalie Danny Cepero. The ball rolled to the left post and bounced back into play, where it was cleared away.

Had either of these shots found goal the Sounders might have escaped New York with a victory.

A lot of should have, could have, and would have went into Saturday's game.

Comment with what you think were significant factors in the game.

sk.

Source: Click Here

If there’s one thing the powers that be here at Outside The Press Box can decide on, it’s a general disinterest in soccer.

Sure, I’ve covered a few MLS games, a couple of old-school Sounders matches, even some of the international friendlies that have blown through Seattle, but I must admit that soccer does nothing for me.

However, Sounders FC has taken our fair city by storm, although I still argue that half the people who are suddenly claiming to be die-hard soccer fans are just another batch of bandwagon jumpers getting on the hot thing in town.

Five years ago, these were the people at Safeco Field proclaiming their everlong allegiance to the Mariners, so I find it hard to believe there was all this pent-up soccer desire that couldn’t be released until we had a pro team.

So, I had to see for myself what the buzz was about.

Would this be the tipping point? Would I suddenly start caring about the MLS, the equivalent of maybe a Double-A baseball league over in Europe?

The answer is no.

Yes, the game was fun, the crowd was loud and you can’t beat six goals, but I don’t see myself rushing back to Qwest anytime soon, nor can I imagine any scenario in which I would voluntarily watch MLS on TV.

Much has been made about the Seattle crowd, and while 29,000 fans is impressive for the MLS, let’s face it, it’s not like we’ve turned into Liverpool or anything.

The guy sitting behind me was much more excited about getting a free haircut at Great Clips because the Sounders scored three goals. The guy sitting next to me was wearing a wacky outfit for the sole purpose of taking pictures with girls—yes, that guy, the one you would have seen at the Mariners beer garden a couple of years ago.

I think there is a good, solid core of Sounders fans who have deep knowledge of the game and can actually name other players in the MLS, and they should be given full props for helping to foster whatever home-field advantage Seattle may have. The rest of us yahoos are just here for the show.

As for the soccer, I think all parties involved would agree that it wasn’t their best night.

Kasey Keller, a great guy and a loquacious interview subject (did you know he grew up on an egg farm?), gave up two questionable goals down the stretch as Seattle blew a 3-1 advantage. Was it because the guys in front of him eased off the gas? United goalie Josh Wicks didn’t fare much better, allowing an atrocious goal that was kicked with the force of a 3-year-old’s foot.

The Sounders will rue this one, as they controlled the ball for most of the match, yet let DC United hang around by missing out on scoring opportunities and giving United’s strikers too much space to work with when they did have the ball.

On top of all that, more than 60 minutes of the game were not broadcast on ESPN2, as the four-letter network decided to stick with college baseball (college baseball!) over switching to the regularly scheduled MLS game, which should give everyone an idea of where soccer is in the pecking order of American taste.

But at least we got free haircuts! 

Source: Click Here

DC United rallied late against the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night to salvage a 3-3 draw at Qwest Field in Seattle.

Having recently moved to Seattle, this was my first Seattle Sounders experience at Qwest Field, and I was not disappointed in the quality of play or the game day atmosphere.

While the MLS has yet to catch on in mainstream America, it is alive and well in the heart of Seattle. The city of Seattle has a loyal soccer fan base who openly and actively supports the now-MLS Seattle Sounders.

Entering Wednesday night's matchup, DC United sat atop the Eastern Conference with 22 points. While their overall record was stellar, their road record was a sub-par 1-2-3 with a GF:GA ratio of 0.91.

On the contrary, Seattle found themselves at third place in the Western Conference with 20 points. While the Sounders had only five draws entering the match, all five draws were in a row, leaving Sounders fans disenchanted at the prospect of any more draws.

Wednesday night's game was ESPN's MLS Game of the Week, and it certainly lived up to the billing.

Both teams scored early and often, despite the Sounders and United averaging only 1.31 and 1.57 goals per game, respectively.

Here is a recap of each goal.

34' - DC United - Chris Pontius - This goal was actually so fast I barely saw it. Santino Quaranta sent a beautiful cross to the back post and Pontius simply had to redirect past a helpless Kasey Keller.

The most impressive facet of this goal was Quaranta's cross, as it breezed past two Seattle defenders en route to an eagerly waiting Chris Pontius. In all, it was a textbook cross and a textbook redirection for the goal. DC United 1, Seattle 0

38' - Seattle Sounders - Osvaldo Alonso - The most beautiful shot of the game, no doubt about it. Prior to Alonso's strike, Seattle's marquee goal scorer Fredy Montero had a point blank shot on goal denied by DC United goalie Josh Wicks.

After the ball bounced around the box, Sounders defender James Riley passed it back to Alonso, who struck the ball squarely into the upper right corner of the goal. Wicks made his best effort at the ball, as his fingers grazed it on the way by, but in actuality there was nothing he could do to stop it; the shot was simply perfect. DC United 1, Seattle 1

45' - Seattle Sounders - Own Goal (Marc Burch) - Nate Jacqua was the last Sounder to strike the ball on its way to the goal, but in truth there were no winners on this one. Jacqua had possession of the ball around the 18', got tied up with a defender, spun around in a circle (literally) and managed to send the ball towards the net.

Goalie Josh Wicks was in position to stop the shot, but it ricocheted off of United defender Marc Burch and rolled into the net uncontested. Ugly but effective, as Seattle carried a 2-1 lead into half. DC United 1, Seattle 2

57' - Seattle Sounders - Fredy Montero - Montero atoned for a number of significant misses in this game by sticking a beautiful touch shot on the far post for a score. Montero had a defender one-on-one at the 18', juked right, stepped back to the left, and bent a left-footed strike around a defender to the goal.

The goal was sensational, but many fans (including myself) were still bitter about Montero's missed opportunity in a one-on-one with the keeper only minutes earlier. DC United 1, Seattle 3

63' - DC United - Christian Gomez - Gomez was subbed in at halftime for DC United and made his presence known on the pitch. In the sixty-third minute, Gomez found open space just outside the box and punched a shot on the ground to the far corner.

Gomez was virtually unmanned at the box, leaving an uncontested shot that goalkeeper Kasey Keller had no chance of saving. Seattle's defense fell asleep on this one and Gomez made them pay. DC United 2, Seattle 3

87' - DC United - Own Goal (Tyrone Marshall) - Santino Quaranta was the last DC United player to strike the ball before the goal, but defender Tyrone Marshall's head undoubtedly sent this one to the back of the net.

This was a back-breaker for the Seattle Sounders, who had controlled nearly every aspect of the game to this point. Chris Pontius found open space on the left wing and sent an uncontested cross into the box towards Quaranta.

The ball appeared to graze Quaranta, but the most important touch was from Marshall, who deflected the ball past Kasey Keller and into the net. A fitting way for Seattle to let this game slip away. DC United 3, Seattle 3

Man of the Match: DC United Goalkeeper Josh Wicks
One thing is certain; had Josh Wicks not made a number of outstanding saves on Wednesday night, the Sounders would have easily left with a victory.

His most impressive feat, however, was on a play when the Sounders scored. Osvaldo Alfonso struck his first-half goal deep into the upper corner of the net and Wicks completely laid out to graze it on its way by. Getting his fingertips on a ball that perfect was simply outstanding effort.

Wicks faced 17 shots from the Sounders, making seven saves and shutting down a number of one-on-one opportunities. Wicks stopped close-range shots from Fredy Montero, Freddie Ljungberg, Sebastien Le Toux, and Steve Zakuani.

Undoubtedly he was the most important man on the field in this game.

Worst Man of the Match: DC United Goalkeeper Josh Wicks
Yes, Wicks was the most important player to his team on the pitch Wednesday night, however his antics in the second half stoppage time were unforgivable.

It's generally understood that when you are trying to eek out a win (or draw in DC's case) there are certain stall tactics that can be employed.

Wicks took this to extremes on two goal kicks in the waning minutes of the game.

On a goal kick in the 90th minute, Wicks did the following: walked slowly to get the ball, set it on the near corner of the box, positioned the ball, decided to kick from the other side of the box, slowly nudged the ball to the opposite side, bent to reposition the ball again, adjusted his socks, tightened his shoe laces, lowered his shorts make sure his jersey was correctly tucked in, pointed to three different players on his team and gave them all thumbs up to see if they were ready, paced backwards, squinted downfield, paused in thought, then kicked the ball.

Unbelievable.

It's no surprise that the second time he did this (in the second minute of stoppage time) a beer bottle was thrown at him from the bleachers behind the goal. Wicks didn't mind, however, since he used this as a reason to burn another thirty seconds off the clock in mock anger.

Stalling is one thing, but this was simply ridiculous.

America's Next Minor League Soccer Star: DC United Defender Marc Burch
The irony in this is that Burch's own goal had nothing to do with him being listed here. It didn't help matters, but the reason he is listed is because of his sub-par play all night long.

Burch was a virtual practice dummy on the field Wednesday night, being shake-and-baked by anyone wearing a Sounders jersey (a vendor in a Sounders jersey even juked him at half time—believe it).

Here is a list of Burch's highlights from Wednesday night. These are only a few examples, but trust me when I say that his side of the defense was open for business all game long.

All in all, this was a very entertaining soccer game. Both sides played aggressively and there were plenty of goals to be had.

Seattle dominated the majority of the game, but let a two-goal lead evaporate late in the second half and settled for a sixth tie in their last eight games.

Cheers to the MLS in Seattle!

sk.

Source: Click Here