Freddy Adu is the captain of the U20 squad that takes the field today in the Youth World Cup. Jen Chang and I debated this a bit, but I think it's good for Freddy to take on that responsibility.
However, I pointed out that though Freddy has one cap (late minutes in a friendly versus Canada, back in the Bruce Arena era), it's Michael Bradley that has by far the most USMNT experience on this team.
"I'm looking for Michael to step up," I told Jen. "He has to. It strains credibility that he can play with the big guns and then not bring it to the youth teams."
The only issue would be his lack of familiarity with the U20 players. Yet Michael actually has quite a bit of experience with more than a few of them, going back to residency days. He also played with Robbie Rogers while both were in Holland.
Bradley scored in the U20 team's final warm-up match versus New Zealand, a 4-0 romp than unfortunately cost the team my top striker pick, Johan Smith, who suffered a bad ankle sprain.
Preston Zimmerman is a pretty good replacement, and indicates to me that Thomas Rongen has decided on a plan and a system. Replacing Johan with Quavas Kirk would have added a different element of surprise and versatility to the field, but I think Rongen feels what the team has been doing is working. Adding a two-way player like Kirk would change the set-up slightly, and other players have probably looked comfortable enough in their current roles that Rongen probably doesn't want to reconfigure or shake things up so close to the tournament.
Plus, tournament play, especially on the FieldTurf, could aggravate Kirk's foot injury.
Anyway, besides those other tidbits, my point was that I'm looking for Michael Bradley to be one of the central leaders of the U20 team today. The fact that he scored (closed door match, so no telling the quality of the strike, but let's assume it was decent) indicates the confidence to do so. Michael may not be the captain, but as the most-capped player in the group, he is definitely setting an example.
Read more...
Saturday, June 30, 2007
June 30-July 1 picks
Copa America rages on and for at least another week MLS rosters will continue to be depleted. Still, some teams get players back from the Copa Oro. How that affects clubs remains to be seen.
L.B.
Houston 1, FC Dallas 1
New York 3, Columbus 2
New England 2, Chivas USA 1
Chicago 1, Colorado 1
Kansas City 3, Toronto 0
A.C.
Houston 2, FC Dallas 0
New York 1, Columbus 1
New England 1, Chivas USA 1
Chicago 0, Colorado 1
Kansas City 2, Toronto 1
Current standings (win totals only)
L.B. 28
A.C. 21
Read more...
L.B.
Houston 1, FC Dallas 1
New York 3, Columbus 2
New England 2, Chivas USA 1
Chicago 1, Colorado 1
Kansas City 3, Toronto 0
A.C.
Houston 2, FC Dallas 0
New York 1, Columbus 1
New England 1, Chivas USA 1
Chicago 0, Colorado 1
Kansas City 2, Toronto 1
Current standings (win totals only)
L.B. 28
A.C. 21
Read more...
Friday, June 29, 2007
And then there were three
Chivas USA released Matt Taylor today.
I can't say I'm surprised by the move because Chivas USA had an excess of forwards, and someone had to go. Still, though, I have to admit I'm a little sad by this move.
Sad in that Matt had been there since the beginning and put up with all the first-year bullshit, between the losing and the forcing second-division players on the field and all that "Adios soccer" garbage. Matt was a trooper and fought hard.
It's that work-hard mentality that kept him on the club for so long. He essentially had one good game for the club: the 5-1 win over Real Salt Lake in July 2005 where he had a hand in all five goals. But after that he had groin surgery and didn't really recover that year. Last year he was lost in the shuffle behind Ante Razov and Paco Palencia. I was surprised that he made it through the year and that he was here this year.
Preki rewarded his hard work in training with playing time as he had played in every game this year.
This move is one that will clear salary space and, more importantly, a senior roster spot for either Freddy Thompson or Dennis Alas or both. I don't think Preki wanted to get rid of a player who had appeared in every game this season.
ADD:
The three reference up top is the number of original Chivas USA members on the team: Francisco Mendoza, Orlando Perez nad Brad Guzan.
Read more...
I can't say I'm surprised by the move because Chivas USA had an excess of forwards, and someone had to go. Still, though, I have to admit I'm a little sad by this move.
Sad in that Matt had been there since the beginning and put up with all the first-year bullshit, between the losing and the forcing second-division players on the field and all that "Adios soccer" garbage. Matt was a trooper and fought hard.
It's that work-hard mentality that kept him on the club for so long. He essentially had one good game for the club: the 5-1 win over Real Salt Lake in July 2005 where he had a hand in all five goals. But after that he had groin surgery and didn't really recover that year. Last year he was lost in the shuffle behind Ante Razov and Paco Palencia. I was surprised that he made it through the year and that he was here this year.
Preki rewarded his hard work in training with playing time as he had played in every game this year.
This move is one that will clear salary space and, more importantly, a senior roster spot for either Freddy Thompson or Dennis Alas or both. I don't think Preki wanted to get rid of a player who had appeared in every game this season.
ADD:
The three reference up top is the number of original Chivas USA members on the team: Francisco Mendoza, Orlando Perez nad Brad Guzan.
Read more...
Youngsters out
Jonathan Bornstein, Sacha Kljestan and Brad Guzan are off in Venezuela for Copa America. They'll miss Saturday's game against the Revs, Wednesday's game at FC Dallas and the July 7 game at New England. If the U.S. doesn't get out of the first round, they might be available for the July 10 Open Cup game in Seattle but more than likely they won't play again for Chivas until July 14 at home against the Crew.
With that, the club's got some holes to fill but players are confident that the replacements will step in and do fine.
Read more...
With that, the club's got some holes to fill but players are confident that the replacements will step in and do fine.
Read more...
League folds, Galaxy done
It's not a joke, though there is more to the story.
Sorry, Frankfurt.
Sports is an expensive venture, especially trying to change the sporting habits of people and their support. When the organization is relatively new, the folding of a professional league is a fate that is never far away. Consider that NFL Europe, through its various incarnations, is actually older than MLS.
That didn't save the league, however.
For all those who disparage MLS, and granted, there are many, many deficiencies - it's hard to encapsulate how much the league has assisted young Americans and their development and visibility in the game.
Yet I've never been of the mind that fans should support MLS out of some obligation. Go to games because you love the sport and the team. If you don't feel that way, don't go. No one can be entertained while doing something out of guilt.
Read more...
Sorry, Frankfurt.
Sports is an expensive venture, especially trying to change the sporting habits of people and their support. When the organization is relatively new, the folding of a professional league is a fate that is never far away. Consider that NFL Europe, through its various incarnations, is actually older than MLS.
That didn't save the league, however.
For all those who disparage MLS, and granted, there are many, many deficiencies - it's hard to encapsulate how much the league has assisted young Americans and their development and visibility in the game.
Yet I've never been of the mind that fans should support MLS out of some obligation. Go to games because you love the sport and the team. If you don't feel that way, don't go. No one can be entertained while doing something out of guilt.
Read more...
Cobras and Cohen
Brad Feldman was meeting some friends at Cobras and Matadors, a Hollywood tapas restaurant that he likes and he invited me along.
He wanted to warn me, however.
"I don't know if you know Steve Cohen," he said, with the slight nervousness of someone announcing something potentially unpleasant. "But I've also invited him and he's going to be there."
Steve Cohen is the host of Fox Football Friday. He was born in London, and his many years in the States haven't diminished his love for English soccer, which he declares on his show all the time, especially when comparing MLS unfavorably to it. He also has a particular distaste for Landon Donovan, and he is not shy about expressing that, either.
In other words, Steve is like many, many expats and Americans that I know.
Anyway, I ended up sitting between Steve and Ivan, a former soccer buddy of Brad's who greeted me with, "Canales? I sent you an email once - I completely disagreed with you about Klinsmann."
No one fought, not really. Here's a sampling.
Steve: I like soccernet - it's my default page on my computer. Not the U.S. one (the one I, Andrea, write for) but the main world page. That's run out of England, isn't it?"
Me: I think so. It's definitely English-centered, that main page. We're just on a little tab there, labeled U.S. soccer. What's funny is how many English friends I have that will mention that they read soccernet all the time.
Steve: Why is that funny?
Me: Well, because so many of them throw a fit over the U.S. calling the game "soccer", and yet they go religiously to a site that uses that as part of the title. It's a weird contrast, or maybe they've forgotten the word comes from England. Over there, there's shops called Soccerscene and Soccer Store where the English shop, but then they reprimand Americans for calling it by the "wrong" name.
Steve: I'm like that. We were changing some format things about the show, and I said, 'I don't care what else you do, just don't change the title to anything "soccer". We're a football show.' So we stayed Fox Football Friday. Well, ok, we're a show on the Fox Soccer Channel, but it was important to me.
Later on. . .
Steve: Why wasn't Donovan at Copa America?
Me: I thought you just said the reason that you enjoyed the game so much was because Donovan wasn't anywhere near it.
Steve: He's a gutless wonder. Why didn't he want to go?
Me: Why didn't Dempsey go? Bocanegra? Howard isn't going to lose his place at Everton if he plays in the Copa America. Where was Claudio Reyna for one last hurrah? Beasley? Why didn't Mastroeni go?
Steve: Donovan doesn't want to cede his celebrity to David Beckham.
Me: I think he's been dusted on that count already.
Steve: You're a Donovan fan.
Me: I hate those extremes - you're either a Donovan hater or a fan? I can see that he's a good player in many respects and yet I understand that a lot of people feel that he lacks something.
Steve: He's gutless. And the worst part about it is that he's good. He could have been amazing in Europe. If he had stayed, he could have been great.
Me: You're a bigger Donovan fan then I am, then. I never saw him as amazing in Europe. I saw him as a fair to decent player. That's what most of the best Americans are over there. The US is still a team built on pieces working together, not stars. Donovan is a valuable piece, but he's still a cog in the machine, and that's why Copa America is valuable, to get more pieces of the machine running without him.
Steve also mentioned that he'd talked about my articles before on his show, and might say something again about my viewpoints (probably that he disagrees with most of them), but heck, that's what different perspectives are all about.
Read more...
He wanted to warn me, however.
"I don't know if you know Steve Cohen," he said, with the slight nervousness of someone announcing something potentially unpleasant. "But I've also invited him and he's going to be there."
Steve Cohen is the host of Fox Football Friday. He was born in London, and his many years in the States haven't diminished his love for English soccer, which he declares on his show all the time, especially when comparing MLS unfavorably to it. He also has a particular distaste for Landon Donovan, and he is not shy about expressing that, either.
In other words, Steve is like many, many expats and Americans that I know.
Anyway, I ended up sitting between Steve and Ivan, a former soccer buddy of Brad's who greeted me with, "Canales? I sent you an email once - I completely disagreed with you about Klinsmann."
No one fought, not really. Here's a sampling.
Steve: I like soccernet - it's my default page on my computer. Not the U.S. one (the one I, Andrea, write for) but the main world page. That's run out of England, isn't it?"
Me: I think so. It's definitely English-centered, that main page. We're just on a little tab there, labeled U.S. soccer. What's funny is how many English friends I have that will mention that they read soccernet all the time.
Steve: Why is that funny?
Me: Well, because so many of them throw a fit over the U.S. calling the game "soccer", and yet they go religiously to a site that uses that as part of the title. It's a weird contrast, or maybe they've forgotten the word comes from England. Over there, there's shops called Soccerscene and Soccer Store where the English shop, but then they reprimand Americans for calling it by the "wrong" name.
Steve: I'm like that. We were changing some format things about the show, and I said, 'I don't care what else you do, just don't change the title to anything "soccer". We're a football show.' So we stayed Fox Football Friday. Well, ok, we're a show on the Fox Soccer Channel, but it was important to me.
Later on. . .
Steve: Why wasn't Donovan at Copa America?
Me: I thought you just said the reason that you enjoyed the game so much was because Donovan wasn't anywhere near it.
Steve: He's a gutless wonder. Why didn't he want to go?
Me: Why didn't Dempsey go? Bocanegra? Howard isn't going to lose his place at Everton if he plays in the Copa America. Where was Claudio Reyna for one last hurrah? Beasley? Why didn't Mastroeni go?
Steve: Donovan doesn't want to cede his celebrity to David Beckham.
Me: I think he's been dusted on that count already.
Steve: You're a Donovan fan.
Me: I hate those extremes - you're either a Donovan hater or a fan? I can see that he's a good player in many respects and yet I understand that a lot of people feel that he lacks something.
Steve: He's gutless. And the worst part about it is that he's good. He could have been amazing in Europe. If he had stayed, he could have been great.
Me: You're a bigger Donovan fan then I am, then. I never saw him as amazing in Europe. I saw him as a fair to decent player. That's what most of the best Americans are over there. The US is still a team built on pieces working together, not stars. Donovan is a valuable piece, but he's still a cog in the machine, and that's why Copa America is valuable, to get more pieces of the machine running without him.
Steve also mentioned that he'd talked about my articles before on his show, and might say something again about my viewpoints (probably that he disagrees with most of them), but heck, that's what different perspectives are all about.
Read more...
Hanging with the guys
In the Net host Brad Feldman was in town yesterday and emailed me asking about a place to watch the Argentina/U.S. game. Since I don't have GolTV myself, I told him I'd like to see the match somewhere as well.
We settled on the Fox and Hounds pub in Studio City. Brad was stuck in traffic when I got there and found a table in the back. He called to give me an update of how far away he was just as the match started.
He asked if there were any U.S. fans there. I told him that I had spotted one guy in a Beasley "Don't Tread" T-shirt, but the rest of them looked like the usual crowd of expats and hipsters that lounge at the FnH regularly. No one one was wearing a U.S. jersey, for example, and the guys at the table next to me were discussing stock options.
Well, I was wrong, or I just am not good at spotting the underground U.S. fan. Brad was still on the road when Johnson earned the penalty and a cheer went up in the pub. A couple of people jumped off their seats in excitement.
On the other hand, maybe the English expats were thrilled to think arch-enemy Argentina could actually lose to the Yanks.
By the time Brad showed up, Argentina had equalized. There were plenty of nice moments for the U.S., and a few quality plays, but I kept warning Brad that I was worried the U.S. would tire.
"Speed and good teamwork is saving them right now," I pointed out. "The question is, can they hang on long enough to make Argentina nervous? Teams that are anxious make mistakes and that would give Bradley's boys a sliver of a chance."
Just when I was thinking it would only take a bit longer to get to nervous time - Argentina scored.
Frankly, watching in a pub instead of a press box, I understood more completely the undeniable link between alcohol and sports. If the team you're pulling for does well, you want to celebrate, and a soft drink doesn't really cut it. People clinked glasses and ordered rounds for their tables after Johnson scored the penalty.
Of course, when Argentina pulled ahead, a host of long faces looked down at their beer pints and decided they weren't full enough. They ordered more.
"Keep 'em coming," one guy said to the waitress after Argentina tucked away the third goal. "They're not letting up - why should we?"
Read more...
We settled on the Fox and Hounds pub in Studio City. Brad was stuck in traffic when I got there and found a table in the back. He called to give me an update of how far away he was just as the match started.
He asked if there were any U.S. fans there. I told him that I had spotted one guy in a Beasley "Don't Tread" T-shirt, but the rest of them looked like the usual crowd of expats and hipsters that lounge at the FnH regularly. No one one was wearing a U.S. jersey, for example, and the guys at the table next to me were discussing stock options.
Well, I was wrong, or I just am not good at spotting the underground U.S. fan. Brad was still on the road when Johnson earned the penalty and a cheer went up in the pub. A couple of people jumped off their seats in excitement.
On the other hand, maybe the English expats were thrilled to think arch-enemy Argentina could actually lose to the Yanks.
By the time Brad showed up, Argentina had equalized. There were plenty of nice moments for the U.S., and a few quality plays, but I kept warning Brad that I was worried the U.S. would tire.
"Speed and good teamwork is saving them right now," I pointed out. "The question is, can they hang on long enough to make Argentina nervous? Teams that are anxious make mistakes and that would give Bradley's boys a sliver of a chance."
Just when I was thinking it would only take a bit longer to get to nervous time - Argentina scored.
Frankly, watching in a pub instead of a press box, I understood more completely the undeniable link between alcohol and sports. If the team you're pulling for does well, you want to celebrate, and a soft drink doesn't really cut it. People clinked glasses and ordered rounds for their tables after Johnson scored the penalty.
Of course, when Argentina pulled ahead, a host of long faces looked down at their beer pints and decided they weren't full enough. They ordered more.
"Keep 'em coming," one guy said to the waitress after Argentina tucked away the third goal. "They're not letting up - why should we?"
Read more...
A sampling
A lot of the e-mails I get from my SI stuff are well-written responses and I should respond to more than I do.
But then there is drivel like this that comes into my mailbox. I've actually stopped reading ones that come across without a return e-mail. It shows up in my mailbox as an e-mail address as the sender and "mailbag" in the subject line. So when the sender is "(unknown)" I don't bother because usually those are just viscous personal attacks.
This one, though, was sort of like that because I doubt this guy's name or e-mail address is legit. I don't know if he's 12 or was on something when he wrote it and before I zap it altogether I figured I'd share it here (and no I didn't change the spelling or grammar or anything)
===
Yeah..I have a few coments...
Arg-4 US-1...Huh? Did Donovan and the other so called stars now this was going to happen? Donovan and the rest of the "stars" wld have faced the same outcome...So they beat Mexico..big freaking deal...that call turned the game around, anyone cld see that..but they did make one goal it was nice, but the pk that had citizenship written all over it$$$.. that goal Won the Game for the US.
Come on are the rest of the US "stars" that scared to face the rest of the wrld? There are more teams out there other than mexico you know..How about argentina..Oh! wait they just lost againts them...brazil, Italy, Portugal, France, England, Spain ect.. How are they going to get better? by playing mexico?
So, should your article say the Ref wins the game again..or US falls to another Soccer giant again..efforts not good enouh...not enough pks given...I usto cheer on the US until I started to see all the web sites talking about how they are the next big thing in concaf.. you make socccer look ugly man..just let the players play the game..don't bash anyone until your team can prove themselves..World Cup 06 was not a good showing for the US. They have not proven anything to me that says they are better than anyone..A pk gold cup wow..I like that..how many pks did US get during the cup? Hmmm one to many I think.
I end with this..keep an eye for the future..the mexicans have a great crop of stars coming up..not a lot for US...Fredie Adu or what ever his name is...and Donovans game is only going to last as lond a s his hair line man..so just remember that the players around the wrld do read the crap you write and it only fires them up and when they do play and humiliate your team then what crap will you have to say then.
Later Bueno...wait are you not bashing the wrong team? hmm I cld swear that your name sounds...Oh but let me guess your were born in the states..riiight..hmm and that gives you the right to bash Latinos...pretty sad man...Just remember that good things never last..just ask the red sox...
Read more...
But then there is drivel like this that comes into my mailbox. I've actually stopped reading ones that come across without a return e-mail. It shows up in my mailbox as an e-mail address as the sender and "mailbag" in the subject line. So when the sender is "(unknown)" I don't bother because usually those are just viscous personal attacks.
This one, though, was sort of like that because I doubt this guy's name or e-mail address is legit. I don't know if he's 12 or was on something when he wrote it and before I zap it altogether I figured I'd share it here (and no I didn't change the spelling or grammar or anything)
===
Yeah..I have a few coments...
Arg-4 US-1...Huh? Did Donovan and the other so called stars now this was going to happen? Donovan and the rest of the "stars" wld have faced the same outcome...So they beat Mexico..big freaking deal...that call turned the game around, anyone cld see that..but they did make one goal it was nice, but the pk that had citizenship written all over it$$$.. that goal Won the Game for the US.
Come on are the rest of the US "stars" that scared to face the rest of the wrld? There are more teams out there other than mexico you know..How about argentina..Oh! wait they just lost againts them...brazil, Italy, Portugal, France, England, Spain ect.. How are they going to get better? by playing mexico?
So, should your article say the Ref wins the game again..or US falls to another Soccer giant again..efforts not good enouh...not enough pks given...I usto cheer on the US until I started to see all the web sites talking about how they are the next big thing in concaf.. you make socccer look ugly man..just let the players play the game..don't bash anyone until your team can prove themselves..World Cup 06 was not a good showing for the US. They have not proven anything to me that says they are better than anyone..A pk gold cup wow..I like that..how many pks did US get during the cup? Hmmm one to many I think.
I end with this..keep an eye for the future..the mexicans have a great crop of stars coming up..not a lot for US...Fredie Adu or what ever his name is...and Donovans game is only going to last as lond a s his hair line man..so just remember that the players around the wrld do read the crap you write and it only fires them up and when they do play and humiliate your team then what crap will you have to say then.
Later Bueno...wait are you not bashing the wrong team? hmm I cld swear that your name sounds...Oh but let me guess your were born in the states..riiight..hmm and that gives you the right to bash Latinos...pretty sad man...Just remember that good things never last..just ask the red sox...
Read more...
Bigger challenge: '06 or '07?
Copa America could be the United States' most challenging tournament in several years. When you factor in the strength of the opponents, the venues for the games and the strength of the U.S. team, it's really hard to argue against that.
On opponents' strength alone, the U.S. might find it hard getting results no matter who lines up and plays. A year ago, the U.S. faced the Czech Republic, Italy and Ghana at the World Cup. Colombia looks weak right now but Argentina and Paraguay are extremely tough. This group, though, might be just as strong as the World Cup group.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on the matter? Is the World Cup '06 group stronger than the Copa America '07 one? Does the U.S. have a tougher challenge this time around than at the World Cup last year?
Read more...
On opponents' strength alone, the U.S. might find it hard getting results no matter who lines up and plays. A year ago, the U.S. faced the Czech Republic, Italy and Ghana at the World Cup. Colombia looks weak right now but Argentina and Paraguay are extremely tough. This group, though, might be just as strong as the World Cup group.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on the matter? Is the World Cup '06 group stronger than the Copa America '07 one? Does the U.S. have a tougher challenge this time around than at the World Cup last year?
Read more...
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Tough match
For about an hour, the U.S. looked like it was going to pull off a result against Argentina. That they scored first - heck, scored at all - surpassed the expectations of many but the U.S. was some 30 minutes away from what would have been an outstanding result.
Then the roof caved in. Hernan Crespo scored his second goal of the night in the 62nd minute. Pablo Aimar scored in the 78th and just for kicks Carlos Tevez bagged a goal in the 85th minute and Argentina won 4-1.
Leonel Messi didn't score but he created the match-winning strike when he knifed through the Americans' defense and fed Crespo, who did well to slip it past Kasey Keller. After that, the U.S. had no choice but to look for offense and left gaping holes in the back which Argentina was more than happy to exploit.
What could have been historic instead was a clear reminder that the U.S. needs to play near-perfect games to get results in Copa America. This tournament will be an immense challenge, if that wasn't clear already.
Some of these players will have to mature in a hurry. Others will have to find their form. And everyone will have to play on the same page, with the same effort and the same mentality for 90 minutes if the U.S. will have a chance against Paraguay on Monday.
Read more...
Then the roof caved in. Hernan Crespo scored his second goal of the night in the 62nd minute. Pablo Aimar scored in the 78th and just for kicks Carlos Tevez bagged a goal in the 85th minute and Argentina won 4-1.
Leonel Messi didn't score but he created the match-winning strike when he knifed through the Americans' defense and fed Crespo, who did well to slip it past Kasey Keller. After that, the U.S. had no choice but to look for offense and left gaping holes in the back which Argentina was more than happy to exploit.
What could have been historic instead was a clear reminder that the U.S. needs to play near-perfect games to get results in Copa America. This tournament will be an immense challenge, if that wasn't clear already.
Some of these players will have to mature in a hurry. Others will have to find their form. And everyone will have to play on the same page, with the same effort and the same mentality for 90 minutes if the U.S. will have a chance against Paraguay on Monday.
Read more...
US chances
Draw. That's what I think will happen in the US-Argentina game. I think it'll end up a draw.
I may be way off. I might receive a lot of responses calling me crazy... but then again, I can't write one SI column without that happening anyway.
I asked Landon Donovan what he had to say about Bob Bradley and he spoke highly of him:
The mentality of how are we better as a team defensively and how are we on the same page, being connected with someone, helping someone out, that mentality has to get across and now that we have kind of stability, now it doesn’t matter hopefully who you bring in and who you put in. You’re going to maybe lose a little talent-wise here or there, speed-wise here or there but at least we have that mentality and hopefully that makes us successful.
Bob's put his stamp on the team. The top players are not there, but there is quality nonetheless. This isn't the U-17 AYSO Section 27 All-Stars.
US 1, Argentina 1.
Read more...
I may be way off. I might receive a lot of responses calling me crazy... but then again, I can't write one SI column without that happening anyway.
I asked Landon Donovan what he had to say about Bob Bradley and he spoke highly of him:
The mentality of how are we better as a team defensively and how are we on the same page, being connected with someone, helping someone out, that mentality has to get across and now that we have kind of stability, now it doesn’t matter hopefully who you bring in and who you put in. You’re going to maybe lose a little talent-wise here or there, speed-wise here or there but at least we have that mentality and hopefully that makes us successful.
Bob's put his stamp on the team. The top players are not there, but there is quality nonetheless. This isn't the U-17 AYSO Section 27 All-Stars.
US 1, Argentina 1.
Read more...
USA-ARG last time around
Lineups from the last time Argentina played the US in Copa America. US won 3-0.
USA: Kasey Keller, Alexi Lalas, Marcelo Balboa (Mike Burns 16'), Paul Caligiuri, Cobi Jones, Ernie Stewart, Thomas Dooley, John Harkes, Frank Klopas (Tab Ramos 46'), Joe-Max Moore, Eric Wynalda
ARG: Carlos Bossio, Ricardo Altamirano, Robert Ayala, Nestor Fabbri, Marcelo Espina (Ariel Ortega 46'), Gabriel Schurrer, Marcelo Escudero (Diego Simeone 46'), Hugo Pérez, Marcelo Gallardo, Alberto Acosta (Adel Balbo 65'), Gabriel Batistuta
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USA: Kasey Keller, Alexi Lalas, Marcelo Balboa (Mike Burns 16'), Paul Caligiuri, Cobi Jones, Ernie Stewart, Thomas Dooley, John Harkes, Frank Klopas (Tab Ramos 46'), Joe-Max Moore, Eric Wynalda
ARG: Carlos Bossio, Ricardo Altamirano, Robert Ayala, Nestor Fabbri, Marcelo Espina (Ariel Ortega 46'), Gabriel Schurrer, Marcelo Escudero (Diego Simeone 46'), Hugo Pérez, Marcelo Gallardo, Alberto Acosta (Adel Balbo 65'), Gabriel Batistuta
Read more...
Missing from both sides
I got several responses from readers about the Mexico-Brazil game letting me know that that wasn't Brazil's best team and that had Brazil played its best team Mexico would have lost by a lot.
It's funny because I spent a lot of time writing about how Mexico's own best players weren't there but somehow that didn't seem to matter to any of those particular readers.
Criticize Dunga's player selection all you want, I had some of those sorts of responses as well. But to say that Brazil can only win if their best players are on the field is preposterous. If any team has depth to spare, it's Brazil.
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It's funny because I spent a lot of time writing about how Mexico's own best players weren't there but somehow that didn't seem to matter to any of those particular readers.
Criticize Dunga's player selection all you want, I had some of those sorts of responses as well. But to say that Brazil can only win if their best players are on the field is preposterous. If any team has depth to spare, it's Brazil.
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A different viewpoint
Thanks to Paul Cochrane for these pictures of the Galaxy players participating in the Supermarket Sweep to End Hunger - a local charity competition.
What's funny about these pics is that in almost any other country around the world, the tabloids these players are looking at in a couple of these pictures would have at least some stories about players in their sport.
But the U.S.? Well, perhaps the Galaxy guys are just practicing looking at the pages that will probably show a lot of their new teammate, David Beckham.
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We won! Congratulations! You're fired
Real Madrid's first La Liga title in four years was not enough to save Fabio Capello from the firing squad as Real sacked Capello less than two weeks after winning the Spanish league title.
Club sporting director Predrag Mijatovic said it was a difficult but unanimous decision and that the club felt that Capello was not the right person "to lead Real Madrid into the future given what we want this club to achieve."
Am I the only person who finds this completely strange? I understand the pressure cooker Real Madrid and any European giant is under but to fire a coach under these circumstances is still strange, to me at least. Real Madrid failed in the Champions League and that must have played a role as well, and winning the league title apparently did not offset that.
Can anyone try and justify this firing?
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Club sporting director Predrag Mijatovic said it was a difficult but unanimous decision and that the club felt that Capello was not the right person "to lead Real Madrid into the future given what we want this club to achieve."
Am I the only person who finds this completely strange? I understand the pressure cooker Real Madrid and any European giant is under but to fire a coach under these circumstances is still strange, to me at least. Real Madrid failed in the Champions League and that must have played a role as well, and winning the league title apparently did not offset that.
Can anyone try and justify this firing?
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Deep squads
One thing I hoped to get across in my SI.com piece on the Brazil-Mexico game is the depth that Mexico has and this feeling that if it's not some sort of perceived A team out there, Mexico will struggle.
No Carlos Salcido. No Ricardo Osorio. No Pavel Pardo. No Andres Guardado. No Jared Borgetti. No Cuauhtemoc Blanco. No Oswaldo Sanchez. No Bofo Bautista.
And what happened?
Mexico played one of its finest games in years. Guardado is obviously still a big part of Mexico's future, as are Salcido and Osorio, but Hugo Sanchez could never call up the rest of those players and the team wouldn't feel their collective absences.
Fausto Pinto, Jaime Correa and Juan Carlos Cacho started and none of them had played any meaningful minutes for Mexico. Israel Castro started. The beleaguered Jonny Magallon started too. But all those players did well.
It's not about the "A team" or "B team" or whatever team. That's implying that there are 11 players worth a damn and anyone else who plays for the team is not good and the team will struggle.
That's why I think the US will do well against Argentina. No Landon Donovan. No Clint Dempsey. No... well, you get the point. The U.S. has some quality depth.
There are more than 11 good American soccer players, and there are more than 11 good Mexican soccer players. The latter thus far has played out as much.
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No Carlos Salcido. No Ricardo Osorio. No Pavel Pardo. No Andres Guardado. No Jared Borgetti. No Cuauhtemoc Blanco. No Oswaldo Sanchez. No Bofo Bautista.
And what happened?
Mexico played one of its finest games in years. Guardado is obviously still a big part of Mexico's future, as are Salcido and Osorio, but Hugo Sanchez could never call up the rest of those players and the team wouldn't feel their collective absences.
Fausto Pinto, Jaime Correa and Juan Carlos Cacho started and none of them had played any meaningful minutes for Mexico. Israel Castro started. The beleaguered Jonny Magallon started too. But all those players did well.
It's not about the "A team" or "B team" or whatever team. That's implying that there are 11 players worth a damn and anyone else who plays for the team is not good and the team will struggle.
That's why I think the US will do well against Argentina. No Landon Donovan. No Clint Dempsey. No... well, you get the point. The U.S. has some quality depth.
There are more than 11 good American soccer players, and there are more than 11 good Mexican soccer players. The latter thus far has played out as much.
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What's the frequency?
Brad Feldman asked me to be a guest on his In the Net show on Tuesday.
What I didn't know is that Luis was apparently on sometime during the same show as well, at least according to the program notes where the show is streamed and broadcast.
So it's Sideline Views radio, kind of.
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What I didn't know is that Luis was apparently on sometime during the same show as well, at least according to the program notes where the show is streamed and broadcast.
So it's Sideline Views radio, kind of.
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2-0, Mexico
Pre-Copa America conversation
Luis: I'm thinking Mexico is falling apart a little. Guardado's one of their best players, and now he's injured, and Borgetti is out. If Hugo Sanchez can't advance the team from group play in the Copa America, his job could be on the line.
Andrea: They'll bounce back. That's how Mexico does things. They get pumped up for big games against big teams when there's no pressure on them. They love to go out there and surprise everybody. It's when they're expected to win that they sometimes break down. Remember the last Confederations' Cup? I swear, that's their modus operandi. They torture their fans with lackluster play for a while, then they have a stunner.
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Luis: I'm thinking Mexico is falling apart a little. Guardado's one of their best players, and now he's injured, and Borgetti is out. If Hugo Sanchez can't advance the team from group play in the Copa America, his job could be on the line.
Andrea: They'll bounce back. That's how Mexico does things. They get pumped up for big games against big teams when there's no pressure on them. They love to go out there and surprise everybody. It's when they're expected to win that they sometimes break down. Remember the last Confederations' Cup? I swear, that's their modus operandi. They torture their fans with lackluster play for a while, then they have a stunner.
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USOC bracket
Form held Tuesday in the second round of the US Open Cup. Now, the cup moves into the third round and MLS teams will begin to participate.
Here's the entire bracket as it stands. It seems that potential quarterfinal matchups are already set, and I hadn't seen that before. As far as the third round goes, there very well could be some upsets. Of the eight games, only two will be hosted by MLS teams as FC Dallas hosts Atlanta and Colorado hosts California.
Other matchups: Chivas USA at Seattle Sounders, LA Galaxy at Richmond Kickers, Houston Dynamo at Charleston Battery, New England Revolution at Rochester Rhinos, Chicago Fire at Carolina Railhawks and DC United at Harrisburg City Islanders.
The DC-Harrisburg City match will be at a high school! The others will be played at soccer stadiums or in college stadiums.
As far as potential upsets, I'll have to rely on El Guero's USL-1 power rankings for advice but it looks like New England will have a tough go at it in Rochester. New England traditionally hasn't fared well in the USOC. For the record, Richmond and Harrisburg City are USL-2 teams; the rest are USL-1.
Hopefully there will be upsets. It will make for a more interesting tournament that way.
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Here's the entire bracket as it stands. It seems that potential quarterfinal matchups are already set, and I hadn't seen that before. As far as the third round goes, there very well could be some upsets. Of the eight games, only two will be hosted by MLS teams as FC Dallas hosts Atlanta and Colorado hosts California.
Other matchups: Chivas USA at Seattle Sounders, LA Galaxy at Richmond Kickers, Houston Dynamo at Charleston Battery, New England Revolution at Rochester Rhinos, Chicago Fire at Carolina Railhawks and DC United at Harrisburg City Islanders.
The DC-Harrisburg City match will be at a high school! The others will be played at soccer stadiums or in college stadiums.
As far as potential upsets, I'll have to rely on El Guero's USL-1 power rankings for advice but it looks like New England will have a tough go at it in Rochester. New England traditionally hasn't fared well in the USOC. For the record, Richmond and Harrisburg City are USL-2 teams; the rest are USL-1.
Hopefully there will be upsets. It will make for a more interesting tournament that way.
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On watch
Jen has his list of U20 players to watch in the World Cup for that age level. Because I cover the U.S. U20 team frequently, and will be going to cover the squad if they make the semifinals of the World Cup, we discussed some of the U.S. prospects.
He was very high on Altidore, and though I partly agreed with him, I pointed out that Jozy hasn't really delivered the goods with the U20 team yet.
But it's hard to argue with his points that Freddy Adu has fallen short of the hype that ensued when he played (and did well) in his first U20 competition back in 2003.
In many ways, we're guessing when we look at young players, and so many different factors go into the equation of success.
Here's a look back at the U17 players I thought would be making an impact for the current u20 cycle. I basically missed on all but one, Ofori Sarkodie, and he's not even expected to start. Granted, Quavas Kirk would have probably been on the squad if not for injury circumstances, but though they're still in the game, David Arvizu (now with Chivas USA), Nick Besagno (still with RSL), and Kyle Nakazawa (still in college, UCLA) haven't seen much time with the U20's at all.
In my defense, I did mention Jozy a little, at the end of the article.
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He was very high on Altidore, and though I partly agreed with him, I pointed out that Jozy hasn't really delivered the goods with the U20 team yet.
But it's hard to argue with his points that Freddy Adu has fallen short of the hype that ensued when he played (and did well) in his first U20 competition back in 2003.
In many ways, we're guessing when we look at young players, and so many different factors go into the equation of success.
Here's a look back at the U17 players I thought would be making an impact for the current u20 cycle. I basically missed on all but one, Ofori Sarkodie, and he's not even expected to start. Granted, Quavas Kirk would have probably been on the squad if not for injury circumstances, but though they're still in the game, David Arvizu (now with Chivas USA), Nick Besagno (still with RSL), and Kyle Nakazawa (still in college, UCLA) haven't seen much time with the U20's at all.
In my defense, I did mention Jozy a little, at the end of the article.
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Comfort food
Dear Posh and Becks,
It isn't easy moving, and I'm sure you must be stressed at times. I've had a couple of stressful days lately myself.
Anyway, that's actually when it's the perfect time to hit up the next joint on the list of 99.
Don't worry about the neighborhood around Langer's, (unless Vicki perhaps has a need for an extra identity card - Victoria Bardeles? - that can be bought on the cheap) just jump from the limo right into the time warp that is the actual restaurant.
There's something soothing about the clean, yet utterly un-hip interior of the place, a monotony of brown on brown. It's too staid to even be campy retro, and there's something really honest about that.
No one comes to Langer's to be "seen".
What they do come for is the pastrami. It's divine pastrami; it's pastrami that makes vegans give up their religion and take up Atkins instead. It's pastrami that redefines what pastrami is and renders other versions so inferior you'll wonder how you ever ingested that stuff before. It's tender, flavorful, served up on thick slices of hearty rye bread that is the perfect consistency to handle the weight of an ample pastrami serving without falling apart.
The menu is devoted to different versions of the pastrami sandwich, and some are named after movie stars of the Golden age. At Langer's one can easily believe that those versions were really the favorite combinations of those actual stars.
Langer's is a Los Angeles institution. With the recent passing of beloved founder Al Langer, who always refused to move his restaurant to someplace trendier, one can only hope it remains so.
My favorite combination isn't actually on the menu, but it's easily ordered. I get pastrami on rye with Swiss cheese, and I ask for them to grill the sandwich. They make it perfectly every time.
I love the pastrami, but other touches are nice: the Coke refills in the old-style glasses, and the potato pancakes (it's a Jewish deli, and they know their latkes) are my preferred side order, though the thick, crispy fries are excellent.
Final recommendation: Go. If you're ever feeling blue, Langer's is like chicken soup for the tummy.
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It isn't easy moving, and I'm sure you must be stressed at times. I've had a couple of stressful days lately myself.
Anyway, that's actually when it's the perfect time to hit up the next joint on the list of 99.
Don't worry about the neighborhood around Langer's, (unless Vicki perhaps has a need for an extra identity card - Victoria Bardeles? - that can be bought on the cheap) just jump from the limo right into the time warp that is the actual restaurant.
There's something soothing about the clean, yet utterly un-hip interior of the place, a monotony of brown on brown. It's too staid to even be campy retro, and there's something really honest about that.
No one comes to Langer's to be "seen".
What they do come for is the pastrami. It's divine pastrami; it's pastrami that makes vegans give up their religion and take up Atkins instead. It's pastrami that redefines what pastrami is and renders other versions so inferior you'll wonder how you ever ingested that stuff before. It's tender, flavorful, served up on thick slices of hearty rye bread that is the perfect consistency to handle the weight of an ample pastrami serving without falling apart.
The menu is devoted to different versions of the pastrami sandwich, and some are named after movie stars of the Golden age. At Langer's one can easily believe that those versions were really the favorite combinations of those actual stars.
Langer's is a Los Angeles institution. With the recent passing of beloved founder Al Langer, who always refused to move his restaurant to someplace trendier, one can only hope it remains so.
My favorite combination isn't actually on the menu, but it's easily ordered. I get pastrami on rye with Swiss cheese, and I ask for them to grill the sandwich. They make it perfectly every time.
I love the pastrami, but other touches are nice: the Coke refills in the old-style glasses, and the potato pancakes (it's a Jewish deli, and they know their latkes) are my preferred side order, though the thick, crispy fries are excellent.
Final recommendation: Go. If you're ever feeling blue, Langer's is like chicken soup for the tummy.
Read more...
Near brawl
Tuesday's Chivas USA training session was one of the more interesting ones I've been a part of in a long time and it didn't have anything to do with the players or really the team itself.
The short of it: a Chivas USA assistant, well, he's the team administrator, tried to physically remove a reporter from La Opinion out of the training session. Here's a story from La Opinion on it with a picture to boot!
From my, ahem, Sideline View, I saw pretty much everything that transpired from, well, the sideline. I got to training after a few Spanish-speaking reporters had, guys I'm not familiar with so I figured they were there to talk to Dennis Alas of El Salvador and Freddy Thompson of Guatemala, who are training with the team. Ivan Orozco of the LA Daily News and Jaime Cardenas who is now interning with the LA Times showed up and we were watching the team train and try to figure out how they'll fill the holes in the starting lineup for this weekend's game. Then Cristian Echeverria of La Opinion showed up. He had a small digital camera with him. I guess he had been out on Monday but Freddy Thompson hadn't so he was there again on Tuesday.
Midway through the training session, Freddy was hurt. He sat on a cart on the side of the field, right next to a fence that divides that field and the adjacent one, as team trainers tended to him. I wasn't paying too much attention to it and was talking to Ivan and Jaime when all of the sudden the Chivas USA team administrator starts yelling at someone. He was standing behind one of the goals the team was using and ran off the other side of the fence. At first, I thought a fan had walked back there or something. There were several fans out there but they were behind the parking lot fence. The Chivas official, Kevin Esparza, seemed extremely agitated and was cussing, lots. "Get the F_ out of here" and things like that.
It took me a second to realize that it was Cristian he was yelling at. Apparently, Cristian had gone behind the fence. The story said he was trying to take some pictures of Freddy. As Kevin raced toward Cristian, Cristian started yelling back at him too and telling him he was a reporter and Kevin said something like 'I don't give a F_." Kevin tried to close the gate in Cristian's face but Cristian walked through it and they kept going at it. They started pushing each other and at this point Chivas' goalkeeper coach Zak Abdel intervened and that's the picture that ran with the story.
So it got very quiet, well, except for the Kevin and Cristian. I looked over at the team and they had stopped and were all looking. It was kind of strange and funny at the same time.
Cooler heads finally prevailed. Kevin walked away from Cristian and eventually some other Spanish-speaking assistants went over to Cristian, including Martin Vasquez who is the nicest guy incidentally. But I cringed a little when Cristian yelled over to Kevin about three minutes or so after the two had separated. Apparently, Cristian hadn't gotten it all out his system.
Soon after some Chivas officials came out and apparently took care of the matter.
It caught me off guard because I've not had these kinds of problems with the team before, and I've covered them literally from Day One. It's unusual to see that sort of hostility.
Read more...
The short of it: a Chivas USA assistant, well, he's the team administrator, tried to physically remove a reporter from La Opinion out of the training session. Here's a story from La Opinion on it with a picture to boot!
From my, ahem, Sideline View, I saw pretty much everything that transpired from, well, the sideline. I got to training after a few Spanish-speaking reporters had, guys I'm not familiar with so I figured they were there to talk to Dennis Alas of El Salvador and Freddy Thompson of Guatemala, who are training with the team. Ivan Orozco of the LA Daily News and Jaime Cardenas who is now interning with the LA Times showed up and we were watching the team train and try to figure out how they'll fill the holes in the starting lineup for this weekend's game. Then Cristian Echeverria of La Opinion showed up. He had a small digital camera with him. I guess he had been out on Monday but Freddy Thompson hadn't so he was there again on Tuesday.
Midway through the training session, Freddy was hurt. He sat on a cart on the side of the field, right next to a fence that divides that field and the adjacent one, as team trainers tended to him. I wasn't paying too much attention to it and was talking to Ivan and Jaime when all of the sudden the Chivas USA team administrator starts yelling at someone. He was standing behind one of the goals the team was using and ran off the other side of the fence. At first, I thought a fan had walked back there or something. There were several fans out there but they were behind the parking lot fence. The Chivas official, Kevin Esparza, seemed extremely agitated and was cussing, lots. "Get the F_ out of here" and things like that.
It took me a second to realize that it was Cristian he was yelling at. Apparently, Cristian had gone behind the fence. The story said he was trying to take some pictures of Freddy. As Kevin raced toward Cristian, Cristian started yelling back at him too and telling him he was a reporter and Kevin said something like 'I don't give a F_." Kevin tried to close the gate in Cristian's face but Cristian walked through it and they kept going at it. They started pushing each other and at this point Chivas' goalkeeper coach Zak Abdel intervened and that's the picture that ran with the story.
So it got very quiet, well, except for the Kevin and Cristian. I looked over at the team and they had stopped and were all looking. It was kind of strange and funny at the same time.
Cooler heads finally prevailed. Kevin walked away from Cristian and eventually some other Spanish-speaking assistants went over to Cristian, including Martin Vasquez who is the nicest guy incidentally. But I cringed a little when Cristian yelled over to Kevin about three minutes or so after the two had separated. Apparently, Cristian hadn't gotten it all out his system.
Soon after some Chivas officials came out and apparently took care of the matter.
It caught me off guard because I've not had these kinds of problems with the team before, and I've covered them literally from Day One. It's unusual to see that sort of hostility.
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Great game indeed
When Landon Donovan came over to a group of us after Tuesday's training session, the first thing I offered was a congratulations on the win and the goal-scoring mark. Then, I told him that I thought that the game was great and one of the best I've seen them play.
Then, he said heard the same from a lot of people and told us about one particular situation he encountered:
"I left the hotel right after to go get some pizza and I heard some guy, some guy who you knew was definitely not a soccer fan and I heard him on the phone saying ‘Dude, that was one of the coolest sporting events I’ve ever been to.’ It’s just kind of cool to see that. I’m sure there quite a few random people who have never been to a big soccer game before so it’s good to put on a good show and win, obviously."
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Then, he said heard the same from a lot of people and told us about one particular situation he encountered:
"I left the hotel right after to go get some pizza and I heard some guy, some guy who you knew was definitely not a soccer fan and I heard him on the phone saying ‘Dude, that was one of the coolest sporting events I’ve ever been to.’ It’s just kind of cool to see that. I’m sure there quite a few random people who have never been to a big soccer game before so it’s good to put on a good show and win, obviously."
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Moreno goal
Jaime Moreno, making his countrymen proud. Bolivia and Venezuela tied 2-2 in Copa America on Tuesday with the help of the D.C. United star.
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Donovan returns
Landon Donovan is back with the Galaxy. After training on Tuesday, five of us reporters talked to him about the Galaxy and the U.S. national team.
Regarding Sunday's Gold Cup final win over Mexico, Donovan said the manner in which it came was significant.
“Knowing that we came from behind to beat them was important,” Donovan said. “I know they feel and they’ve said a lot that if they scored the first goal it would be a different game because we always scored first against them. It must have been even more disheartening for them, which is even better.”
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Regarding Sunday's Gold Cup final win over Mexico, Donovan said the manner in which it came was significant.
“Knowing that we came from behind to beat them was important,” Donovan said. “I know they feel and they’ve said a lot that if they scored the first goal it would be a different game because we always scored first against them. It must have been even more disheartening for them, which is even better.”
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The other side of the story
Thanks to Shawn Mitchell for the follow-up.
I give Marcos props for his honesty. I don't agree with what he did, even given the rationale of modesty and I take issue with the story spinning it as him being completely ignored (I didn't, I told him why I was there, and then tried to get back to my job. Also, he was wearing a towel, a perhaps minor, but important detail.) But I appreciate him admitting the basics of the situation.
Also, I'd add that while Marcos may be very soft-spoken normally, he wasn't while he was addressing me.
Thanks also to Eric at the Off-Wing, who fixed a slight discrepancy in his post on the story (he had it as happening in the Galaxy locker room but if there's any locker room that's used to me being around, it's that one).
Eric also asked if the league had responded and here's what I told him:
Yes, they have, actually. The funny thing is that MLS is really a very media friendly league. There are hardly any primadona players who refuse interviews, for example. I've been contacted by league officials and even the commissioner now knows about the situation.
The Crew press people were very apologetic and at the same time, perplexed when they called me, because they said Marcos is a really nice guy, and that there have been women reporters in the Crew locker room before - at least once, they said, and he didn't seem to have a problem.
But they weren't trying to excuse it, and they said they'd talk to him and the entire team as well.
Really, I'm less concerned about an apology, or any disciplinary measures, than I am about it just not happening again.
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I give Marcos props for his honesty. I don't agree with what he did, even given the rationale of modesty and I take issue with the story spinning it as him being completely ignored (I didn't, I told him why I was there, and then tried to get back to my job. Also, he was wearing a towel, a perhaps minor, but important detail.) But I appreciate him admitting the basics of the situation.
Also, I'd add that while Marcos may be very soft-spoken normally, he wasn't while he was addressing me.
Thanks also to Eric at the Off-Wing, who fixed a slight discrepancy in his post on the story (he had it as happening in the Galaxy locker room but if there's any locker room that's used to me being around, it's that one).
Eric also asked if the league had responded and here's what I told him:
Yes, they have, actually. The funny thing is that MLS is really a very media friendly league. There are hardly any primadona players who refuse interviews, for example. I've been contacted by league officials and even the commissioner now knows about the situation.
The Crew press people were very apologetic and at the same time, perplexed when they called me, because they said Marcos is a really nice guy, and that there have been women reporters in the Crew locker room before - at least once, they said, and he didn't seem to have a problem.
But they weren't trying to excuse it, and they said they'd talk to him and the entire team as well.
Really, I'm less concerned about an apology, or any disciplinary measures, than I am about it just not happening again.
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Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Gaven off to Copa
One of the more surprising call-ups to Copa America - amidst a roster of surprises - was Columbus' Eddie Gaven. Heck, he was "shocked" by the call-up.
It seemed like he'd fallen off the national team picture completely. Two years ago, he was a star on the Under-20s and was primed for a move to Europe but his development had tailed off and he was eventually traded to Columbus.
Gaven, though, has been around for a long time. He's in his fourth season, so in many ways he seems older than he is. At 20 years of age, Gaven still has a future.
Said Sigi Schmid about Gaven's call-up: "It’s a tribute to Eddie. It’s a tribute to Eddie’s attitude and his ability to handle what he’s gone through and come back. I’m really proud of him."
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It seemed like he'd fallen off the national team picture completely. Two years ago, he was a star on the Under-20s and was primed for a move to Europe but his development had tailed off and he was eventually traded to Columbus.
Gaven, though, has been around for a long time. He's in his fourth season, so in many ways he seems older than he is. At 20 years of age, Gaven still has a future.
Said Sigi Schmid about Gaven's call-up: "It’s a tribute to Eddie. It’s a tribute to Eddie’s attitude and his ability to handle what he’s gone through and come back. I’m really proud of him."
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Breaking Story
The two Cubans who defected from their national team during the 2007 Gold Cup may soon become part of MLS.
Luis found out today at Chivas USA training that they have both been offered a trial there.
We'll keep you updated on developments.
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Luis found out today at Chivas USA training that they have both been offered a trial there.
We'll keep you updated on developments.
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Jaime at Copa!
Jaime says.
They're all hard. Every game you have, you have to play well. They're all a bit different, but all the games are all hard.
I think the pressure will be on Venezuela, because they're the home team. We need to play calmly and with confidence.
Yes, I think the level that I'm at with my team has helped me return to the national team. That's important for any player that plays outside the country. Now we've all come back together to help the team.
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No change
I guess after the U.S. posted an 8-0-1 mark over Mexico in the US since 2000 and a 2-1 Gold Cup final victory, some Mexican fans aren't convinced. Just got this in my SI mailbag.
"The only thing convincing about that win was that 2 is more than 1."
I think I called it a convincing victory for the U.S., which I think it was. And if you want to argue that the win wasn't convincing, perhaps you could also argue how the 8-0-1 isn't convincing either.
But not all fans think like that. I got an excellent response from a Mexican supporter who summed it up eloquently that I'll save for my SI mailbag for tomorrow night's column.
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"The only thing convincing about that win was that 2 is more than 1."
I think I called it a convincing victory for the U.S., which I think it was. And if you want to argue that the win wasn't convincing, perhaps you could also argue how the 8-0-1 isn't convincing either.
But not all fans think like that. I got an excellent response from a Mexican supporter who summed it up eloquently that I'll save for my SI mailbag for tomorrow night's column.
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Mexi-crisis?
It seems the Gold Cup final has had a negative effect on Mexico. As the team arrived in Venezuela for Copa America, reports arose that the locker room is split and the pressure on Hugo Sanchez is as high as ever.
It's interesting to note that speculation over the European trio of Carlos Salcido, Ricardo Osorio and Pavel Pardo stems from their supposed admiration for Ricardo Lavolpe and that that somehow affected their decisions to skip the tourney and go on vacation. I tend to think that it has to do more because they want to have some rest before they have to report to their clubs next month but there is probably some truth to their respect for Lavolpe.
Pardo pre-dates Lavolpe but Osorio and Salcido were brought in by Lavolpe. So was Kikin. So was Omar Bravo and Andres Guardado and Guillermo Ochoa. That has to count for something, so maybe those players are still in some ways loyal to Lavolpe.
As far as having an affect on the game Wednesday or the whole tournament in general, probably what will hurt Mexico most is fatigue. Because Mexico chose to take essentially the same team to Copa America, Mexico will have a difficult time facing Brazil. I originally thought that six games would be great preparation for Mexico but now it seems to me that Mexico will be playing Brazil on tired legs, and that's dangerous.
Factor in some injuries - Jared Borgetti, Andres Guardado and Alberto Medina are out according to Mediotiempo.com - and the task becomes even harder.
I think Mexico's going to struggle to get out of the first round.
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It's interesting to note that speculation over the European trio of Carlos Salcido, Ricardo Osorio and Pavel Pardo stems from their supposed admiration for Ricardo Lavolpe and that that somehow affected their decisions to skip the tourney and go on vacation. I tend to think that it has to do more because they want to have some rest before they have to report to their clubs next month but there is probably some truth to their respect for Lavolpe.
Pardo pre-dates Lavolpe but Osorio and Salcido were brought in by Lavolpe. So was Kikin. So was Omar Bravo and Andres Guardado and Guillermo Ochoa. That has to count for something, so maybe those players are still in some ways loyal to Lavolpe.
As far as having an affect on the game Wednesday or the whole tournament in general, probably what will hurt Mexico most is fatigue. Because Mexico chose to take essentially the same team to Copa America, Mexico will have a difficult time facing Brazil. I originally thought that six games would be great preparation for Mexico but now it seems to me that Mexico will be playing Brazil on tired legs, and that's dangerous.
Factor in some injuries - Jared Borgetti, Andres Guardado and Alberto Medina are out according to Mediotiempo.com - and the task becomes even harder.
I think Mexico's going to struggle to get out of the first round.
Read more...
My ballot
With the help of your suggestions and some of my own thoughts, I filled out my MLS All-Star ballot. Let me know what you think:
G Brad Guzan
D Eddie Robinson
D Michael Parkhurst
D Jonathan Bornstein
M Guillermo Barros Schelotto
M Carlos Marinelli
M Juan Toja
M Steve Ralston
M Herculez Gomez
F Eddie Johnson
F Juan Pablo Angel
Read more...
G Brad Guzan
D Eddie Robinson
D Michael Parkhurst
D Jonathan Bornstein
M Guillermo Barros Schelotto
M Carlos Marinelli
M Juan Toja
M Steve Ralston
M Herculez Gomez
F Eddie Johnson
F Juan Pablo Angel
Read more...
Monday, June 25, 2007
Great read
It's a little late and maybe some of you have already read this but this match report on the Gold Cup final is a fantastic write-up. Mark Zeigler's always been one of my favorite writers, and he nailed it yet again.
This part was interesting:
Second-half goals by Donovan and Benny Feilhaber gave the Americans a 2-1 win and improved their record against Mexico on U.S. soil to an astonishing 8-0-1 since 2000 – astonishing since you could take all the U.S. fans who attended those nine matches and fit them into a high school gymnasium.
Read more...
This part was interesting:
Second-half goals by Donovan and Benny Feilhaber gave the Americans a 2-1 win and improved their record against Mexico on U.S. soil to an astonishing 8-0-1 since 2000 – astonishing since you could take all the U.S. fans who attended those nine matches and fit them into a high school gymnasium.
Read more...
Boss blog/Update
Jen Chang, my espn.com editor, called me a bit ago to express support, and to remind me that he knows a little of what it's like to be a female sportswriter.
That's because people look at his byline a lot (especially before we had headshots with our articles) and assume he is female. He'd get emails about "Women like you don't understand soccer."
The funniest thing was that he said once some of them found out that he wasn't female - they'd actually change their minds about his points and agree with him.
Hilarious.
And a little sad.
Anyway, I appreciated that, and I also want to let blog readers know that I have heard back from league officials affirming the media policy and their commitment to equal access for MLS. They're going to work with the staff of all the league teams to share protocol guidelines.
Hopefully, it won't be an issue for anyone in the future.
Thanks to all those who took the time to share honest opinions.
Thanks to KT for providing some interesting historical context on the situation.
Thanks to DL for his always unique perspective.
Thanks to MZ for the phone call and advice and all the jokes.
Thanks to all the players and coaches who have treated me as just another professional, inside or outside of the locker room, and taken the time to give me the quotes that I needed to try to write good stories. I value that in a whole new way now.
Read more...
That's because people look at his byline a lot (especially before we had headshots with our articles) and assume he is female. He'd get emails about "Women like you don't understand soccer."
The funniest thing was that he said once some of them found out that he wasn't female - they'd actually change their minds about his points and agree with him.
Hilarious.
And a little sad.
Anyway, I appreciated that, and I also want to let blog readers know that I have heard back from league officials affirming the media policy and their commitment to equal access for MLS. They're going to work with the staff of all the league teams to share protocol guidelines.
Hopefully, it won't be an issue for anyone in the future.
Thanks to all those who took the time to share honest opinions.
Thanks to KT for providing some interesting historical context on the situation.
Thanks to DL for his always unique perspective.
Thanks to MZ for the phone call and advice and all the jokes.
Thanks to all the players and coaches who have treated me as just another professional, inside or outside of the locker room, and taken the time to give me the quotes that I needed to try to write good stories. I value that in a whole new way now.
Read more...
Radio days
The radio interview went well. I'm looking for a link to it and if it's archived somewhere online, I'll be sure and put it on here.
It was kinda funny, though. See, I was meeting up with a friend and his family at Chuck E Cheese today. I woke up early and wrote my Press-Enterprise column early to make sure that I'd have enough time to take my daughters to Chuck E Cheese. It was about 9 or so when I got a call about the radio show and I figured I could squeeze it in so I jumped at the chance.
Like I mentioned in my previous post, I was supposed to go on at either 11:25 or 11:45 a.m. PT but the show producer said he'd call me at about 11 to check in. It was 11:15 and I'm headed to Chuck E Cheese and I hadn't heard from him. I figured he'd slotted me in the 11:45 time slot and that would give me enough time to have my friend watch my girls while I went outside to do the radio interview.
Yeah, well, it's 11:23 or something and I'm pulling up at Chuck E Cheese and the producer calls.
"Hey Luis, can you go on right now?"
"Uh, like in how long?"
"About a minute."
Crap. I was driving around in the parking lot. In order to find parking, get the girls and go inside, look for my friend, ask him to watch the girls and go back outside, I'd need about five minutes. So I had to decide right then and there what to do.
"Sure."
"Are you alright, man?"
"Yeah, I'm just looking for a parking spot." (I wasn't about to tell him where!)
"Okay, we'll put you on hold."
I parked and told my daughters that they had to sit in the car for a little bit while I made a phone call. They complied. I left the truck and the AC running, opened the driver's side door and prayed that there would be no loud noises. The last thing I needed was some gangsta crusing by with loud music blaring from his car. I was right by the 91 freeway so there was some background noise but nothing too bad.
I was patched through to Dave Smith, the show host, and we talked about the US and Mexico. I don't recall what we first talked about because I was a bit worried about my daughters so that part is sort of blurry. But once we got going it went by pretty smoothly.
He asked me about how much it must hurt Mexicans to continue to lose to the U.S. in soccer and then he brought up some of the bad parts of the rivalry - the sometimes-hostile environments and the Osama chants. I tried my best to make him understand that the Osama chants, while inexcusable, were really an isolated incident and as far as I've heard don't happen here. We had a little back-and-forth about that and why fans act the way they act (tossing drinks, fights, etc.). I told him that I thought it just happened when you get 60,000-80,000 fans together who are passionate about soccer and few/many/most of them drink beer and with the nationalistic pride that sort of unwanted behavior comes out. I said it was sort of a mob mentality gone bad. I told him how Landon Donovan has told me before that when he encounters Mexicans in restaurants, stores or anywhere outside of soccer, they all tend to be pretty nice and friendly to him.
He asked me about Copa America and I was a but surprised he did. I thought he wouldn't really care too much about it but it seemed like he did so I told him a bit about the makeup of both rosters (US and Mexico) and that the US was using this tournament to build depth and there were some talented players there and such. We ended the interview and I immediately turned off the truck and got my girls out. They had spent the time playing in their car seats and grabbing stuff from each other and having a good old time.
I enjoyed it. I just hope next time I'm able to talk on the radio from a much more quieter location.
Read more...
It was kinda funny, though. See, I was meeting up with a friend and his family at Chuck E Cheese today. I woke up early and wrote my Press-Enterprise column early to make sure that I'd have enough time to take my daughters to Chuck E Cheese. It was about 9 or so when I got a call about the radio show and I figured I could squeeze it in so I jumped at the chance.
Like I mentioned in my previous post, I was supposed to go on at either 11:25 or 11:45 a.m. PT but the show producer said he'd call me at about 11 to check in. It was 11:15 and I'm headed to Chuck E Cheese and I hadn't heard from him. I figured he'd slotted me in the 11:45 time slot and that would give me enough time to have my friend watch my girls while I went outside to do the radio interview.
Yeah, well, it's 11:23 or something and I'm pulling up at Chuck E Cheese and the producer calls.
"Hey Luis, can you go on right now?"
"Uh, like in how long?"
"About a minute."
Crap. I was driving around in the parking lot. In order to find parking, get the girls and go inside, look for my friend, ask him to watch the girls and go back outside, I'd need about five minutes. So I had to decide right then and there what to do.
"Sure."
"Are you alright, man?"
"Yeah, I'm just looking for a parking spot." (I wasn't about to tell him where!)
"Okay, we'll put you on hold."
I parked and told my daughters that they had to sit in the car for a little bit while I made a phone call. They complied. I left the truck and the AC running, opened the driver's side door and prayed that there would be no loud noises. The last thing I needed was some gangsta crusing by with loud music blaring from his car. I was right by the 91 freeway so there was some background noise but nothing too bad.
I was patched through to Dave Smith, the show host, and we talked about the US and Mexico. I don't recall what we first talked about because I was a bit worried about my daughters so that part is sort of blurry. But once we got going it went by pretty smoothly.
He asked me about how much it must hurt Mexicans to continue to lose to the U.S. in soccer and then he brought up some of the bad parts of the rivalry - the sometimes-hostile environments and the Osama chants. I tried my best to make him understand that the Osama chants, while inexcusable, were really an isolated incident and as far as I've heard don't happen here. We had a little back-and-forth about that and why fans act the way they act (tossing drinks, fights, etc.). I told him that I thought it just happened when you get 60,000-80,000 fans together who are passionate about soccer and few/many/most of them drink beer and with the nationalistic pride that sort of unwanted behavior comes out. I said it was sort of a mob mentality gone bad. I told him how Landon Donovan has told me before that when he encounters Mexicans in restaurants, stores or anywhere outside of soccer, they all tend to be pretty nice and friendly to him.
He asked me about Copa America and I was a but surprised he did. I thought he wouldn't really care too much about it but it seemed like he did so I told him a bit about the makeup of both rosters (US and Mexico) and that the US was using this tournament to build depth and there were some talented players there and such. We ended the interview and I immediately turned off the truck and got my girls out. They had spent the time playing in their car seats and grabbing stuff from each other and having a good old time.
I enjoyed it. I just hope next time I'm able to talk on the radio from a much more quieter location.
Read more...
More clubs in MLS sea
Sometimes, a player really wants it work out with a club. They show up, they do their best, but then the news arrives that the club just doesn't want them badly enough. They leave, but then they often find a better match elsewhere and they realize - hey, it really is for the best.
Galaxy exes who have moved on to happy partnerships abound in the league.
Read more...
Galaxy exes who have moved on to happy partnerships abound in the league.
Read more...
Consensus
After I write my rankings, I send them to my espn.com editor, who compiles them with those of a bunch of other Soccernet writers.
Voila! The Power Rankings.
Sometimes I go back to compare how far off my opinions are from those of my fellow writers.
Read more...
Voila! The Power Rankings.
Sometimes I go back to compare how far off my opinions are from those of my fellow writers.
Read more...
Sporting News radio
It's not often I get on the main page at SI.com. It happened once before, when I wrote one of my best columns for SI and one that generated quite a bit of interesting fan reaction.
If you go to SI.com right now, you'll see me there. Well, you'll see a bold BUENO there, and that's good enough for me. Soccer doesn't get front-page treatment a whole lot but with the Gold Cup final and the US-Mexico rivalry, that's apparently enough to get something on the main page there.
Anyway, that may have led to me being contacted by a national radio show. I'll be on the Dave Smith Show on Sporting News Radio sometime in the 11 am (PT) hour, either :25 or :45. If I recall correctly, Dave Smith used to do a show out here in LA on 1540 and/or 570. Not sure, but his name rings a bell. Then again, it's a common name so maybe I'm confusing him with someone else.
Still, it's pretty cool. I have no idea what they're going to ask me other than it'll be about the Gold Cup final.
Read more...
If you go to SI.com right now, you'll see me there. Well, you'll see a bold BUENO there, and that's good enough for me. Soccer doesn't get front-page treatment a whole lot but with the Gold Cup final and the US-Mexico rivalry, that's apparently enough to get something on the main page there.
Anyway, that may have led to me being contacted by a national radio show. I'll be on the Dave Smith Show on Sporting News Radio sometime in the 11 am (PT) hour, either :25 or :45. If I recall correctly, Dave Smith used to do a show out here in LA on 1540 and/or 570. Not sure, but his name rings a bell. Then again, it's a common name so maybe I'm confusing him with someone else.
Still, it's pretty cool. I have no idea what they're going to ask me other than it'll be about the Gold Cup final.
Read more...
Hate, but appreciate?
Landon Donovan talks in this article about how he gets support from Mexican fans in Los Angeles.
It's true, I've seen green national team jerseys wait for him both at Galaxy practice and USMNT practice.
Just after the draw versus Guatemala this year, when every morning I was clearing my email of messages where the subject line read stuff like "DoNoHeart doesn't want to go to Venezuela? Good riddance!" I was interviewing Landon after a Galaxy practice. We were walking as we talked, and passed in front of the receiving dock for the HDC stadium. A Latino guy stuck his head out of the window of his big truck. "Are you Landon Donovan?" He seemed incredulous. "Yeah," Landon answered. The guy hesitated, as if torn, then he gave Landon a thumbs up and said, "Good job, man!". "Thanks," Landon responded. "Does that happen a lot?" I asked him. He shrugged. "It happens."
I remember once telling Luis that Mexican fans seemed to have more respect for Landon than most U.S. fans. I still think that's pretty valid, although impossible to really measure.
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Babes in Arms
Steve's take on the U.S. Copa America roster.
Steve's got good logic working in a lot of his arguments, and I'm guessing that the rationale he puts together for why Ugo Ihemelu was excluded could apply to Jose Burciaga as well.
It still sucks a bit for them, though.
Read more...
Steve's got good logic working in a lot of his arguments, and I'm guessing that the rationale he puts together for why Ugo Ihemelu was excluded could apply to Jose Burciaga as well.
It still sucks a bit for them, though.
Read more...
Monday rankings LB Style (June 25)
Change was swift throughout the rankings. Some clubs dropped like a rock in water, others moved up every so slightly.
1. New York (6-3-3). And an Angel shall lead them.
2. New England (6-2-4). Pieced together strong, resilient and much-needed performance at home.
3. Houston (7-5-1). Two strong wins against playoff contenders in four days.
4. FC Dallas (8-6-1). While the rest of the league plays 30 games, FC Dallas will play 40 regular season games... somehow... or not, just seems like it.
5. Kansas City (6-4-2). The anti-Dynamo, at least for this week; two bad losses in five-day span.
6. D.C. United (5-4-2). Of all teams, RSL exposed DC United's weakness: shoddy defending.
7. Chivas USA (5-4-2). An angry Preki cracked the whip on 'em; players went from airport to training field or gym.
8. Toronto FC (4-7-1). Suddenly, the next month away from Beemo seems very long.
9. Columbus (3-4-6). I have seen him in person now and I'll say this: Barros Schelotto is a god.
10. Colorado (4-6-3). Is time running out on Fernando Clavijo?
11. Real Salt Lake (1-5-6). Robbie Findley will make people forget about Jeff Cunningham.
12. Chicago (4-6-2). Sara-canned; despite what players felt, firing was just. Results dictated it.
13. Galaxy (2-6-3). Uh, did someone say firing? The question is, will Frank Yallop actually get to coach David Beckham?
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1. New York (6-3-3). And an Angel shall lead them.
2. New England (6-2-4). Pieced together strong, resilient and much-needed performance at home.
3. Houston (7-5-1). Two strong wins against playoff contenders in four days.
4. FC Dallas (8-6-1). While the rest of the league plays 30 games, FC Dallas will play 40 regular season games... somehow... or not, just seems like it.
5. Kansas City (6-4-2). The anti-Dynamo, at least for this week; two bad losses in five-day span.
6. D.C. United (5-4-2). Of all teams, RSL exposed DC United's weakness: shoddy defending.
7. Chivas USA (5-4-2). An angry Preki cracked the whip on 'em; players went from airport to training field or gym.
8. Toronto FC (4-7-1). Suddenly, the next month away from Beemo seems very long.
9. Columbus (3-4-6). I have seen him in person now and I'll say this: Barros Schelotto is a god.
10. Colorado (4-6-3). Is time running out on Fernando Clavijo?
11. Real Salt Lake (1-5-6). Robbie Findley will make people forget about Jeff Cunningham.
12. Chicago (4-6-2). Sara-canned; despite what players felt, firing was just. Results dictated it.
13. Galaxy (2-6-3). Uh, did someone say firing? The question is, will Frank Yallop actually get to coach David Beckham?
Read more...
Last chance
I've got to get my All-Star ballot in by today.
I'm still open for suggestions on my team, which I'll call Juan Pablo + 10 right now.
So please send your thoughts.
Read more...
I'm still open for suggestions on my team, which I'll call Juan Pablo + 10 right now.
So please send your thoughts.
Read more...
Sigi Speaks
It was nice to see Sigi Schmid. Just his presence at HDC brought back a few memories. I had a great respect and admiration for Sigi when he was here and was very upset when he was fired. I had no doubt that he would do well in Columbus and despite a rocky start this season I think he's got the team headed in the right direction. I think they'll make the playoffs. I must admit, I was not expecting the Crew to play the way they did against the Galaxy.
Here's the post-game audio of a bunch of us talking to Sigi about the game and the season.
Read more...
Here's the post-game audio of a bunch of us talking to Sigi about the game and the season.
Read more...
Monday Rankings - AC
2)
3) FC Dallas: Toja and Co. finding their mojo again to prove West lead is no fluke.
4)
5)
6)
7) DC United: DC didn’t wake up against
8) Chivas
9)
10)
11)
12) LA Galaxy: Every team in the league knows a set piece versus LA is a golden chance.
13)
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Steve's Take
I finally met Steve Davis for the first time when he was in Los Angeles recently for a couple of games, including Abel Xavier's debut.
He sent me an email (I got his permission to print it here), with a tale that crystallized for me why I wanted to tell my story of the Marcos Gonzalez incident. I don't think a young Steve Davis meant to be insensitive to his fellow reporter - I think he just wasn't expecting what happened. If you have time to think about what you would do in such a given instance because you've heard of such things happening, you're more likely to respond with exactly that.
--Hey, Andrea
Just read on Sideline Views what happened. Got even
more PO'ed about it when you said you felt "lousy."
I guess I can understand that, but ... man, it sucks
to feel lousy when you certainly didn't do anything
wrong.
I'm increasingly upset about the MLS locker room
policies as it is. Some teams just kind of make up
their own rules. I'll go by whatever MLS wants... I
just want them to spell out a league policy and stick
to it.
What happened yesterday just says once again that lots
of people don't understand the locker room policy (or
basic code of conduct, it seems) of their own league.
When I was about 27 or 28, I was inside a football
locker room when a revered coach said something sexist
and just plain stupid to a female reporter. I really
didn't know her, so I just said to her "Oh, forget
him," or something like that and went on with my
business. In retrospect, what I did was reprehensible
as a reporter. I should have written about what he
said, got it out in the public, and then accepted the
consequences if any of my male reporter friends wanted
to get all uppity about it. I promised to never again
let somebody get away with something like that.
So, I'm also a little ashamed that nobody around
stepped up. I know you can take care of yourself, but
in that situation, a little support goes a long way,
making you feel less out-manned, you know.
Anyway, sorry, I just wanted to type a short note
of support. Got steamed and a little carried away.
If there's anything I can do in an effort to get MLS
toeing the line again on locker room access/conduct,
please let me know.
Steve
Read more...
He sent me an email (I got his permission to print it here), with a tale that crystallized for me why I wanted to tell my story of the Marcos Gonzalez incident. I don't think a young Steve Davis meant to be insensitive to his fellow reporter - I think he just wasn't expecting what happened. If you have time to think about what you would do in such a given instance because you've heard of such things happening, you're more likely to respond with exactly that.
--Hey, Andrea
Just read on Sideline Views what happened. Got even
more PO'ed about it when you said you felt "lousy."
I guess I can understand that, but ... man, it sucks
to feel lousy when you certainly didn't do anything
wrong.
I'm increasingly upset about the MLS locker room
policies as it is. Some teams just kind of make up
their own rules. I'll go by whatever MLS wants... I
just want them to spell out a league policy and stick
to it.
What happened yesterday just says once again that lots
of people don't understand the locker room policy (or
basic code of conduct, it seems) of their own league.
When I was about 27 or 28, I was inside a football
locker room when a revered coach said something sexist
and just plain stupid to a female reporter. I really
didn't know her, so I just said to her "Oh, forget
him," or something like that and went on with my
business. In retrospect, what I did was reprehensible
as a reporter. I should have written about what he
said, got it out in the public, and then accepted the
consequences if any of my male reporter friends wanted
to get all uppity about it. I promised to never again
let somebody get away with something like that.
So, I'm also a little ashamed that nobody around
stepped up. I know you can take care of yourself, but
in that situation, a little support goes a long way,
making you feel less out-manned, you know.
Anyway, sorry, I just wanted to type a short note
of support. Got steamed and a little carried away.
If there's anything I can do in an effort to get MLS
toeing the line again on locker room access/conduct,
please let me know.
Steve
Read more...
Tally of players
Many Mexico pundits are very displeased at the loss by El Tri. The hue and cry is increasing. Hugo Sanchez can probably sympathize a little with his old foe, Ricardo Lavolpe.
But Sanchez isn't the only one under fire. So too are the players who have begged off from the Copa America. One article put together a comparative list of European-based players who are participating in the tournament.
Argentina: Abbondanzieri (Getafe), Roberto Ayala (Valencia), Zanetti (Ínter), Gabriel Milito (Zaragoza), Heinze (Manchester United), Burdisso (Ínter), Luis González (Porto), Mascherano (Liverpool), Cambiasso (Ínter), Gago (Real Madrid), Aimar (Zaragoza), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Crespo (Ínter), Diego Milito (Zaragoza) Carlos Tévez (West Ham).
Bolivia: Juan Manuel Peña (Villarreal), Ronald García (Aris de Grecia) Gualberto Mojica (Pacos Ferreira de Portugal).
Brasil: Helton (Porto), Doni (Roma), Maicon (Ínter), Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen), Naldo (Werder Bremen), Alex (PSV Eindhoven), Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Mineiro (Hertha Berlin), Fernando (Bordeaux), Diego (Werder Bremen), Anderson (Manchester United), Fred (Lyon), Robinho (Real Madrid), Vágner Love (CSKA Moscow) Afonso (Heerenveen).
Chile: Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad), Pablo Contreras (Celta de Vigo), Rodrigo Tello (Sporting de Lisboa), Jorge Vargas (Salzburgo, Austria), Matías Fernández (Villarreal) Mark González (Liverpool).
Colombia: Iván Córdoba (Ínter), Amaranto Perea (Atlético de Madrid), Mario Yépes (París Saint Germain), John Viafara (Real Sociedad) Edixon Perea (Bordeaux).
United States: Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburg) Lee Nguyen (PSV Eindhoven), Jay DeMerit (Watford).
Read more...
But Sanchez isn't the only one under fire. So too are the players who have begged off from the Copa America. One article put together a comparative list of European-based players who are participating in the tournament.
Argentina: Abbondanzieri (Getafe), Roberto Ayala (Valencia), Zanetti (Ínter), Gabriel Milito (Zaragoza), Heinze (Manchester United), Burdisso (Ínter), Luis González (Porto), Mascherano (Liverpool), Cambiasso (Ínter), Gago (Real Madrid), Aimar (Zaragoza), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Crespo (Ínter), Diego Milito (Zaragoza) Carlos Tévez (West Ham).
Bolivia: Juan Manuel Peña (Villarreal), Ronald García (Aris de Grecia) Gualberto Mojica (Pacos Ferreira de Portugal).
Brasil: Helton (Porto), Doni (Roma), Maicon (Ínter), Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Gilberto (Hertha Berlin), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen), Naldo (Werder Bremen), Alex (PSV Eindhoven), Gilberto Silva (Arsenal), Mineiro (Hertha Berlin), Fernando (Bordeaux), Diego (Werder Bremen), Anderson (Manchester United), Fred (Lyon), Robinho (Real Madrid), Vágner Love (CSKA Moscow) Afonso (Heerenveen).
Chile: Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad), Pablo Contreras (Celta de Vigo), Rodrigo Tello (Sporting de Lisboa), Jorge Vargas (Salzburgo, Austria), Matías Fernández (Villarreal) Mark González (Liverpool).
Colombia: Iván Córdoba (Ínter), Amaranto Perea (Atlético de Madrid), Mario Yépes (París Saint Germain), John Viafara (Real Sociedad) Edixon Perea (Bordeaux).
United States: Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburg) Lee Nguyen (PSV Eindhoven), Jay DeMerit (Watford).
Read more...
Spot spectacular
I said earlier that Landon Donovan would penalty kick his way to the national team goals record, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate a player who can convert from the spot. Frankly, the Galaxy probably appreciate Landon's skill in this area all the more after Kyle Martino couldn't pull off the feat.
Kyle was angry at himself for not taking advantage of the opportunity, but it's interesting that his response indicated that there is no clear penalty hierarchy on the Galaxy if Landon isn't present.
"I looked around and no one really seemed like they were stepping up to the ball. I switched sides at the last second, which is a cardinal sin when you’re taking PK’s and let my team down. If I’m going to step up and grab that ball, I need to make sure I execute and capitalize for our team. I apologized to the guys after the game. I take that very seriously. I’m not going to forget this one. I hope there are plenty of opportunities in the next game to make up for that mistake."
Read more...
Kyle was angry at himself for not taking advantage of the opportunity, but it's interesting that his response indicated that there is no clear penalty hierarchy on the Galaxy if Landon isn't present.
"I looked around and no one really seemed like they were stepping up to the ball. I switched sides at the last second, which is a cardinal sin when you’re taking PK’s and let my team down. If I’m going to step up and grab that ball, I need to make sure I execute and capitalize for our team. I apologized to the guys after the game. I take that very seriously. I’m not going to forget this one. I hope there are plenty of opportunities in the next game to make up for that mistake."
"Of course it hurts a little extra to lose to those guys. Anytime I lose, I feel terrible. This is terrible times two."
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Lalas backs Yallop
For now, at least. But generally, there's a better track record for coaches sticking around when they have been brought in under their general manager. For example, Schmid was let go by Doug Hamilton, who came on board after Schmid but stuck by Steve Sampson, the guy he brought in. Lalas let go both Bob Bradley and Steve Sampson, but did not fire Mo Johnston after appointing him.
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Unhappy, part dos
Ante Jazic really, really didn't like the ending of the Canada/U.S. match.
I mentioned to Luis some of what Jazic had said.
He asked, "Did you tell Jazic you thought the offsides call was actually valid?"
Well, no. But even before the tournament started, I called Canada as the team to threaten the U.S. and Mexico for the title. I agree with Jazic on that point absolutely.
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I mentioned to Luis some of what Jazic had said.
He asked, "Did you tell Jazic you thought the offsides call was actually valid?"
Well, no. But even before the tournament started, I called Canada as the team to threaten the U.S. and Mexico for the title. I agree with Jazic on that point absolutely.
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Toeing the line
Sigi Schmid, despite being happy with his team's win over the Galaxy on Saturday, was not pleased with Galaxy goalkeeper Joe Cannon, in his view, coming off his line early on the penalty kick that Ned Grabavoy failed to convert.
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Sunday, June 24, 2007
What a surprise
Titulares Telemundo has become a giant bitch-fest between co-hosts Andres Cantor and Alejandro Blanco. The two pretty much blamed Mexico's loss on the penalty called on Jonny Magallon for knocking down Brian Ching. They showed that replay quite a few times but only showed the Feilhaber goal once or twice.
I had left it on SportsCenter to see if they showed anything on the game but I can only stand so much college baseball so I gave up on it.
So I'm left with a heavily-weighted-toward-Mexico coverage or heavily-weighted-toward-games-I-don't-care-about coverage.
I should have just gone to sleep.
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I had left it on SportsCenter to see if they showed anything on the game but I can only stand so much college baseball so I gave up on it.
So I'm left with a heavily-weighted-toward-Mexico coverage or heavily-weighted-toward-games-I-don't-care-about coverage.
I should have just gone to sleep.
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Props to Rico
Quite a few U.S. players had excellent games, and Benny's goal was a thing of beauty, but I do want to take a little time to highlight Rico Clark's contribution (and not only because I kind of called his ability to make an impact).
Rico's increased effectiveness is due partly to his continued maturity on the field. He's been a talented player for a while, but he's also gotten smarter about how he plays and he's kept his temper under control without putting out his competitive fire. All those elements are crucial to his improved game.
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Rico's increased effectiveness is due partly to his continued maturity on the field. He's been a talented player for a while, but he's also gotten smarter about how he plays and he's kept his temper under control without putting out his competitive fire. All those elements are crucial to his improved game.
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El trabajo
Bob Bradley is still all about the work, even when that gets translated into Spanish. In mediotiempo's article:
"La base del éxito es el respeto y la humildad, junto con el trabajo,"
"The base for success is respect and humility, combined with work."
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"La base del éxito es el respeto y la humildad, junto con el trabajo,"
"The base for success is respect and humility, combined with work."
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Maxi-golazo
Mediotiempo.com blares the headline "The Ghost of the Maxigolazo: First Rodriguez, now Feilhaber."
I hadn't considered the eerie similarity between Maxi Rodriguez's goal that knocked Mexico out of the World Cup last year and Benny Feilhaber's strike that knocked Mexico out of the Gold Cup on Sunday.
Okay, I'll put it up for debate. Who scored the better goal: Maxi Rodriguez or Benny Feilhaber? State your case.
In case you need to compare them...
Here's Maxi's
and now Benny's
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I hadn't considered the eerie similarity between Maxi Rodriguez's goal that knocked Mexico out of the World Cup last year and Benny Feilhaber's strike that knocked Mexico out of the Gold Cup on Sunday.
Okay, I'll put it up for debate. Who scored the better goal: Maxi Rodriguez or Benny Feilhaber? State your case.
In case you need to compare them...
Here's Maxi's
and now Benny's
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What a game!
If you didn't enjoy Sunday's Gold Cup final between the U.S. and Mexico, then you don't know what great soccer is.
The game completely surpassed expectations I had for it. Dramatic saves, clutch goals and a world-class strike. Mexico gave it their all but it wasn't enough. At the same time, the U.S. showed why they are the best team in this region.
Bob Bradley's decision to sub in Ricardo Clark was fantastic. I guess Andrea spotted something in Clark that many of us hadn't. Clark and Feilhaber in Copa America suddenly doesn't seem too shabby for the U.S.
I wrote this up after the match for SI.com. I tried to do the game justice but I don't know that that was possible.
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The game completely surpassed expectations I had for it. Dramatic saves, clutch goals and a world-class strike. Mexico gave it their all but it wasn't enough. At the same time, the U.S. showed why they are the best team in this region.
Bob Bradley's decision to sub in Ricardo Clark was fantastic. I guess Andrea spotted something in Clark that many of us hadn't. Clark and Feilhaber in Copa America suddenly doesn't seem too shabby for the U.S.
I wrote this up after the match for SI.com. I tried to do the game justice but I don't know that that was possible.
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Cultural differences
I had to laugh at the Spanish reporter who was interviewing DaMarcus Beasley after the game. She got her kiss (she asked for one, so I don't think there will be any problem with that), and an invite to the locker room to celebrate with champagne. Of course, the U.S. officials won't let her in there, but it was a fun shot for the cameras.
It reminds me that reporters for some Spanish language outlets will root for teams openly in the pressbox, and the English ones will glance over in amazement, because that's not done in the U.S. game. So there are definite differences.
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It reminds me that reporters for some Spanish language outlets will root for teams openly in the pressbox, and the English ones will glance over in amazement, because that's not done in the U.S. game. So there are definite differences.
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Not the first time
My wife used to work as a reporter. She covered D-1 football and basketball in the late 90s as well as the beautiful game. She covered the Women's World Cup in 1999 for The Press-Enterprise and also filled in on the occasional Galaxy game.
In 1999, she covered a game between Dallas and the Galaxy. I went, but watched the game from the stands.
She wasn't allowed into the Burn locker room. She ended up talking to one player outside the locker room, I believe it was Matt Jordan, but that was it. She also was in the Galaxy locker room and several players made an issue of it.
That was the fourth year and the league was still trying to find its footing. I hope that now, in the 12th year of the league's existence that this is an isolated incident.
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In 1999, she covered a game between Dallas and the Galaxy. I went, but watched the game from the stands.
She wasn't allowed into the Burn locker room. She ended up talking to one player outside the locker room, I believe it was Matt Jordan, but that was it. She also was in the Galaxy locker room and several players made an issue of it.
That was the fourth year and the league was still trying to find its footing. I hope that now, in the 12th year of the league's existence that this is an isolated incident.
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My bad
In hindsight, I shouldn't have called Marcos Gonzalez a name. It was not professional, whether it's here on a blog or in any medium. I apologize.
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Bottom line
A player had a problem with Andrea for being in the locker room. The same player did not have a problem with myself or any of the other male reporters in there. He singled out Andrea because of her gender.
Does he have the right to feel uncomfortable? Yes. Does Andrea have the right to be in there? As long as the locker rooms are open to reporters, yes.
If a player is uncomfortable for whatever reason, he has recourse he can take. He can go to a coach or another person of authority or he can go to a team PR person, which is probably the best recourse, since their job is to deal with the media.
What he should not do is confront the reporter and put his hands on said reporter. Marcos Gonzalez did, and that's wrong.
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Does he have the right to feel uncomfortable? Yes. Does Andrea have the right to be in there? As long as the locker rooms are open to reporters, yes.
If a player is uncomfortable for whatever reason, he has recourse he can take. He can go to a coach or another person of authority or he can go to a team PR person, which is probably the best recourse, since their job is to deal with the media.
What he should not do is confront the reporter and put his hands on said reporter. Marcos Gonzalez did, and that's wrong.
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We band of press people
It strikes me as funny that anyone would compare locker room access for sports reporters to paparazzi stalking players/celebrities at home and while they're out in their lives as private citizens. Locker room access is the league-mandated interview point for the press. It's policy for most professional teams. Players are always free to refuse to comment.
None of the Crew players I spoke to, (Grabavoy, Moreno, Hendrickson), acted inappropriately, but what surprised me in addition to what Marcos Gonzalez did, and I'm not sure it was related, was the way others on the team reacted, especially when I called out to EZ for an interview. They acted like I'd propositioned him, or something. Now, I'm willing to figure that was teasing EZ more than me, but it was still strange, and completely unnecessary. "Settle down, boys," said Ezra, ever the gentleman.
The two incidents added up badly and left me feeling lousy. Luis tried to cheer me up by taking me for a post-deadline Denny's dinner. Damian Calhoun of the OC Register joined us and apologized (he was there when Gonzalez was getting upset at me) for not comprehending what was happening.
Today, Rob Ziegler, my TopDrawerSoccer editor, called to make sure I was fine and to clarify the events, since he was one of the outlets I was on duty for at the time. He blogged about the whole thing as well.
Reporting is usually you and the computer, not so much in the way of coworkers. I have editors I work with who I've never met. But it's nice to know that colleagues care and wish you well.
(Minor aside, I think Rob misunderstood when I told him that I knew Hendrickson as always being good for a quote when he was here in LA. I didn't actually mean with the Galaxy - I didn't cover the Galaxy back then - but with Chivas USA. Hendrickson was with the Red'nWhite their first year in the league, and even when they lost badly, Hendrickson was willing to talk to reporters about the situation. EZ is class.)
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None of the Crew players I spoke to, (Grabavoy, Moreno, Hendrickson), acted inappropriately, but what surprised me in addition to what Marcos Gonzalez did, and I'm not sure it was related, was the way others on the team reacted, especially when I called out to EZ for an interview. They acted like I'd propositioned him, or something. Now, I'm willing to figure that was teasing EZ more than me, but it was still strange, and completely unnecessary. "Settle down, boys," said Ezra, ever the gentleman.
The two incidents added up badly and left me feeling lousy. Luis tried to cheer me up by taking me for a post-deadline Denny's dinner. Damian Calhoun of the OC Register joined us and apologized (he was there when Gonzalez was getting upset at me) for not comprehending what was happening.
Today, Rob Ziegler, my TopDrawerSoccer editor, called to make sure I was fine and to clarify the events, since he was one of the outlets I was on duty for at the time. He blogged about the whole thing as well.
Reporting is usually you and the computer, not so much in the way of coworkers. I have editors I work with who I've never met. But it's nice to know that colleagues care and wish you well.
(Minor aside, I think Rob misunderstood when I told him that I knew Hendrickson as always being good for a quote when he was here in LA. I didn't actually mean with the Galaxy - I didn't cover the Galaxy back then - but with Chivas USA. Hendrickson was with the Red'nWhite their first year in the league, and even when they lost badly, Hendrickson was willing to talk to reporters about the situation. EZ is class.)
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Back to soccer coverage
That's all I was trying to do in the first place - just cover the game. Match report for TopDrawer and post-game Galaxy reaction in Spanish.
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Crew audio post-L.A.
Just wanted to let our Crew-supporting readers know that I've got some audio links to put up but won't get to it until later.
Keep checking back for that, though. I'll put up interviews with Sigi Schmid, Chad Marshall and Alejandro Moreno.
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Keep checking back for that, though. I'll put up interviews with Sigi Schmid, Chad Marshall and Alejandro Moreno.
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Not an excuse
* (This post is not the first one on the topic, and was written partly in response to comments in earlier posts, so please realize that if you linked here from somewhere else.)
I'm not sure what someone means by saying it doesn't pass a journalism litmus test - is there such a thing?
Suffice it to say, after games, I have multiple stories to write, and I need to get comments quickly. Per MLS policy, the locker rooms are open after the official press conference. Since the Crew had beaten the Galaxy shorthanded, player reaction was extremely important, so when the official word was given that the Crew locker room was open, I only stayed outside their door for a few comments from Sigi Schmid before following a couple of other reporters inside.
Once inside, I recognized Chilean defender Marcos Gonzalez. He looked startled to see me, but that's not unusual, especially among Hispanic athletes, who don't see a lot of women covering sports. He had a towel wrapped around him, and that followed the mostly covered up rule, so I started to approach him, thinking it would be good to ask him about Guillermo's addition to the team - from a South American perspective. However, he had the weirdest look on his face as I got closer, so I changed my mind and decided to interview Ned Grabavoy instead. Ned was across the room, so I turned my back on Gonzalez and walked away from him, to where a couple of other reporters were stationed in front of Ned's locker. Incidently, Ned had a towel, too. I placed my recorder in front of Ned and waited my turn to ask a question.
Suddenly I heard Gonzalez calling out, "Miss, miss," in Spanish. Next thing I know is not only had he crossed the room to where I was, but he had taken a hold of my elbow and was trying to steer me out the door. He told me, in Spanish, that he didn't feel comfortable with a woman in the locker room and that I needed to leave right away. None of the other reporters knew Spanish, so they didn't know what he was talking about, because I was trying to ignore him. He raised his voice and pushed my shoulder to get my attention. In Spanish, I told Gonzales that I needed locker room access and that I was there to do my job. It didn't faze him - he countered with an offer for me to interview players outside or to come back in after everyone was dressed.
I shook my head and he began to rant about how unreasonable I was being, how he couldn't get dressed with me in the room, etc. I pulled free and tried to get back to my interview. Gonzales kept yelling at me. No one did anything. In hindsight, I was so shaken up, I didn't process that he was speaking Spanish most of the time, and they could have not realized what was going on. He actually switched to English at one point, saying "Not here, you must go outside, now."
I was extremely uncomfortable, and yet I was only trying to do my job. Finally he went away.
Here's the thing where the "God wants modesty" argument falls flat. Players can easily be modest. In the locker room towels are abundant. Players will often come out of the showers with a towel wrapped around their torso, and just pull both their underwear and their pants on before pulling the towel off. It's not that hard, and no one sees anything that one wouldn't see on a public beach. Some players who might worry that a towel could drop off at this maneuver just come out with the towel wrapped around themselves, grab their pants and underwear and go back around the corner towards the shower (no such thing as shower access to the media) to put that on quickly before returning to the locker room. The visitors locker room has a coaches room off to the side that a player could duck into if he's extremely shy.
But even if all that fails, if the wrong moment absolutely happens and a towel drops just as I'm looking around for someone to interview, I think it's crap to pull out the "I've sinned in the eyes of God excuse" and that justifies trying to force someone from doing their job. Come on, if a friend is visiting and walks into the wrong bathroom at the wrong time, is that anything like cheating? What if all the male reporters in the locker room are gay? Do they get a pass on the assumption that that isn't true?
Think about it. You're at work, trying to do your job and someone comes up to you and starts yelling at you to get out, to go away. You'd be completely calm? You'd think that was fine, acceptable behavior because they don't want God mad at them?
I had a hard time focusing after that, and had trouble even remembering what questions I was going to ask. I left quickly after my last interview, since I still had to get quotes from the Galaxy. I forgot completely that I'd been hoping to talk to Guille about joining MLS and helping the Crew.
"Hola senorita," said a quiet voice as I stalked out of the locker room. I didn't turn around, or respond, because I just wanted to get out of there. Only when I was already out in the hallway did I think, "Hey, that might have been Guille, and I was just kind of rude because I'm so upset. Damn it."
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I'm not sure what someone means by saying it doesn't pass a journalism litmus test - is there such a thing?
Suffice it to say, after games, I have multiple stories to write, and I need to get comments quickly. Per MLS policy, the locker rooms are open after the official press conference. Since the Crew had beaten the Galaxy shorthanded, player reaction was extremely important, so when the official word was given that the Crew locker room was open, I only stayed outside their door for a few comments from Sigi Schmid before following a couple of other reporters inside.
Once inside, I recognized Chilean defender Marcos Gonzalez. He looked startled to see me, but that's not unusual, especially among Hispanic athletes, who don't see a lot of women covering sports. He had a towel wrapped around him, and that followed the mostly covered up rule, so I started to approach him, thinking it would be good to ask him about Guillermo's addition to the team - from a South American perspective. However, he had the weirdest look on his face as I got closer, so I changed my mind and decided to interview Ned Grabavoy instead. Ned was across the room, so I turned my back on Gonzalez and walked away from him, to where a couple of other reporters were stationed in front of Ned's locker. Incidently, Ned had a towel, too. I placed my recorder in front of Ned and waited my turn to ask a question.
Suddenly I heard Gonzalez calling out, "Miss, miss," in Spanish. Next thing I know is not only had he crossed the room to where I was, but he had taken a hold of my elbow and was trying to steer me out the door. He told me, in Spanish, that he didn't feel comfortable with a woman in the locker room and that I needed to leave right away. None of the other reporters knew Spanish, so they didn't know what he was talking about, because I was trying to ignore him. He raised his voice and pushed my shoulder to get my attention. In Spanish, I told Gonzales that I needed locker room access and that I was there to do my job. It didn't faze him - he countered with an offer for me to interview players outside or to come back in after everyone was dressed.
I shook my head and he began to rant about how unreasonable I was being, how he couldn't get dressed with me in the room, etc. I pulled free and tried to get back to my interview. Gonzales kept yelling at me. No one did anything. In hindsight, I was so shaken up, I didn't process that he was speaking Spanish most of the time, and they could have not realized what was going on. He actually switched to English at one point, saying "Not here, you must go outside, now."
I was extremely uncomfortable, and yet I was only trying to do my job. Finally he went away.
Here's the thing where the "God wants modesty" argument falls flat. Players can easily be modest. In the locker room towels are abundant. Players will often come out of the showers with a towel wrapped around their torso, and just pull both their underwear and their pants on before pulling the towel off. It's not that hard, and no one sees anything that one wouldn't see on a public beach. Some players who might worry that a towel could drop off at this maneuver just come out with the towel wrapped around themselves, grab their pants and underwear and go back around the corner towards the shower (no such thing as shower access to the media) to put that on quickly before returning to the locker room. The visitors locker room has a coaches room off to the side that a player could duck into if he's extremely shy.
But even if all that fails, if the wrong moment absolutely happens and a towel drops just as I'm looking around for someone to interview, I think it's crap to pull out the "I've sinned in the eyes of God excuse" and that justifies trying to force someone from doing their job. Come on, if a friend is visiting and walks into the wrong bathroom at the wrong time, is that anything like cheating? What if all the male reporters in the locker room are gay? Do they get a pass on the assumption that that isn't true?
Think about it. You're at work, trying to do your job and someone comes up to you and starts yelling at you to get out, to go away. You'd be completely calm? You'd think that was fine, acceptable behavior because they don't want God mad at them?
I had a hard time focusing after that, and had trouble even remembering what questions I was going to ask. I left quickly after my last interview, since I still had to get quotes from the Galaxy. I forgot completely that I'd been hoping to talk to Guille about joining MLS and helping the Crew.
"Hola senorita," said a quiet voice as I stalked out of the locker room. I didn't turn around, or respond, because I just wanted to get out of there. Only when I was already out in the hallway did I think, "Hey, that might have been Guille, and I was just kind of rude because I'm so upset. Damn it."
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Not cool
Let's cover quickly the basics of a reporter's job, shall we? I'm supposed to inform. One of the most valuable sources of information for a sports reporter is talking directly to a player. Access is important if you're to get a crucial question answered.
In the U.S., locker room access is granted to all credentialed media, usually ten to fifteen minutes after a game concludes. Frankly, I wouldn't mind a mixed zone, which is how international matches function, but that's not the way it works in American sports.
A press credential specifies basic rules (no autograph requests in the locker room), but there are powerful unspoken ones as well. Generally, the media will approach players who are covered up somewhat. Usually this means they have their pants on, or a towel draped and tucked in around their waist.
Sometimes, players will refuse to speak to the press. That's understandable, and it's not hard to move on to another player for quotes. Other times, a player will ask for a minute to get ready, especially when a TV crew is hovering nearby.
Without going into a blow-by-blow of the incident, Marcos Gonzalez yelled at me to get out of the Columbus Crew locker room last night. I didn't leave when he asked, but it made for an extremely tense outing. I've only had that happen once before, when Dema Kovalenko ordered me out. I didn't go, and Dema only had that one comment, but nothing else comes close.
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In the U.S., locker room access is granted to all credentialed media, usually ten to fifteen minutes after a game concludes. Frankly, I wouldn't mind a mixed zone, which is how international matches function, but that's not the way it works in American sports.
A press credential specifies basic rules (no autograph requests in the locker room), but there are powerful unspoken ones as well. Generally, the media will approach players who are covered up somewhat. Usually this means they have their pants on, or a towel draped and tucked in around their waist.
Sometimes, players will refuse to speak to the press. That's understandable, and it's not hard to move on to another player for quotes. Other times, a player will ask for a minute to get ready, especially when a TV crew is hovering nearby.
Without going into a blow-by-blow of the incident, Marcos Gonzalez yelled at me to get out of the Columbus Crew locker room last night. I didn't leave when he asked, but it made for an extremely tense outing. I've only had that happen once before, when Dema Kovalenko ordered me out. I didn't go, and Dema only had that one comment, but nothing else comes close.
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Saturday, June 23, 2007
All-Star ballot update
Before I forget, the deadline for me to submit by All-Star ballot is Sunday. I still haven't decided on anyone except for Juan Pablo Angel. I got quite a few submissions when I first posted about this so please keep 'em coming.
EDIT:
The All-Star ballots are actually due on Monday the 25th so we have a little more time to organize the ballot.
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EDIT:
The All-Star ballots are actually due on Monday the 25th so we have a little more time to organize the ballot.
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Boca fans
Wow, it's the day for my favorite teams. Fans of the squad dearest to my heart turned out to welcome the visit of one of their legends - Guille.
Actually, Diego Maradona, up in his private box in the Bombanera, hung a sign that said something similar in one of Barros-Schelotto's final games for Boca Juniors earlier this year.
Translated, it says, "Guillermo, we love you".
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Crew stars
Sign of the times 'round here:
Outside of Cobi Jones, there are more players on the Crew who have done more for the Galaxy than anyone on the Galaxy's starting lineup.
Starting for Sigi's team tonight:
- Ezra Hendrickson, longtime Galaxy star, scored key goals on CONCACAF Champions Cup winning side
- Alejandro Moreno, won MLS Cup 2002 with Galaxy
- Ned Grabavoy, won MLS Cup 2005 with Galaxy
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Outside of Cobi Jones, there are more players on the Crew who have done more for the Galaxy than anyone on the Galaxy's starting lineup.
Starting for Sigi's team tonight:
- Ezra Hendrickson, longtime Galaxy star, scored key goals on CONCACAF Champions Cup winning side
- Alejandro Moreno, won MLS Cup 2002 with Galaxy
- Ned Grabavoy, won MLS Cup 2005 with Galaxy
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Crimson Tide
Greg Daurio, managing editor of 90:00, just handed me the latest copy of the magazine. I asked him to promise me a copy as soon as I found out my favorite English team was going to be featured on the cover. 90:00 minutes was quite prescient, as well, since they have a Danny Califf feature in this issue, and Califf was one of the surprise picks for the Gold Cup.
Greg actually had the interview with Peter Crouch that also shows up in this issue. He told me that Crouch (for some reason, I think of Oscar from Sesame Street) is the nicest guy.
Steve Nicol features in the Stevie Gerrard article. Who can guess or knows, perhaps, in what context?
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That didn't take long
The Galaxy giveaway poster this week is Abel Xavier, who just got here last week.But Abel is already contributing. Carlos Pavon mentioned that Abel was translating all of the coach's instructions to him on the field during training. Frank Yallop mentioned that the leadership Abel has displayed is part of the reason why they signed him.
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Sex Pistol scores
Steve Jones, playing in the Galaxy alumni game (retired Galaxy players and famous guests play this match every year) scored one of the most hilarious goals I've seen for a while.
SJ has put on considerable weight since his rocker days. He wasn't doing much as a lone forward for the White team, while Mauricio Cienfuegos helped put his Green team ahead. They were leading, 2-0, when Mark Semioli tried to clear a cross the keeper had missed that was bending towards the goal line.
SJ was making a run, and the ball hit him square in his oversize belly. It bounced into the goal before Semioli could recover.
The goal celebration consisted of SJ grabbing his tummy with both hands and shaking it vigorously in triumph. The press box, needless to say, was in stitches. We're thinking of voting Steve's belly Man of the Match.
Update: Well, we got close. SJ got man of the match. He seemed very pleased. His gut had no comment.
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SJ has put on considerable weight since his rocker days. He wasn't doing much as a lone forward for the White team, while Mauricio Cienfuegos helped put his Green team ahead. They were leading, 2-0, when Mark Semioli tried to clear a cross the keeper had missed that was bending towards the goal line.
SJ was making a run, and the ball hit him square in his oversize belly. It bounced into the goal before Semioli could recover.
The goal celebration consisted of SJ grabbing his tummy with both hands and shaking it vigorously in triumph. The press box, needless to say, was in stitches. We're thinking of voting Steve's belly Man of the Match.
Update: Well, we got close. SJ got man of the match. He seemed very pleased. His gut had no comment.
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Xbox redux
Ok, couldn't get that link to work, so here's another one of Drew Carey taking on the U.S. soccer gang. Though Drew's final interview relates to his 6-0 loss to Landon Donovan, the match isn't shown, and neither is the one with Abby Wambach.
The auction is also ongoing.
With the rematch set up, it looks like it's going to be an annual event. I approve, because it was fun, but I also think there should be a fan bracket, where U.S. Soccer fans face off in matches versus each other to see who earns the right to face Drew himself and play him out of some cash for charity.
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The auction is also ongoing.
With the rematch set up, it looks like it's going to be an annual event. I approve, because it was fun, but I also think there should be a fan bracket, where U.S. Soccer fans face off in matches versus each other to see who earns the right to face Drew himself and play him out of some cash for charity.
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Tri's attack
Hugo Sanchez had a stable of forwards to choose from before the tournament but he seems to have settled on Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Jared Borgetti.
Blanco is enjoying a strong resurgence. After his falling out with former coach Ricardo Lavolpe, Blanco quickly found his way back into El Tri and scored in his second game under Hugo Sanchez. With America this year, Blanco had a fine campaign and led las Aguilas to the Mexican league final. The now-Chicago Fire forward is as strong as ever with his backheels and passing ability in general. He is also strong on set pieces. However, Blanco is still quite temperamental. His red card against Honduras two weeks ago is evidence of that.
Borgetti, meanwhile, is the same player American fans have been accustomed to seeing. Borgetti has had success against the U.S. - he scored in a 1-0 win over the US in Mexico in 2001 and scored in a 2-1 win over the Americans in 2005. Both those games, though, were in Mexico City. Like the rest of Mexico, Borgetti has been quiet against the U.S. in games played on American soil.
Also in the mix is former Chivas standout Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista. Bofo and Blanco are similar players - not a lot of speed but good finishers with excellent vision and passing abilities - but Sanchez is not afraid to use them together. Bofo set up Borgetti's goal against Costa Rica in the semifinal with a nice cross from the right flank.
Omar Bravo is another player who possesses skill but Bravo's exploits have mostly been limited to the Mexican league. Bravo is on the cusp with the national team but has been on the cusp for quite some time. Francisco "Kikin" Fonseca has fallen off badly and was left off the Copa America roster. Still, Sanchez knows Fonseca from their days together with Pumas.
The wild card in this whole scenario is Nery Castillo. Lavolpe went hard after Castillo, who holds Greek, Mexican and Uruguayan passports, but failed to get him to play for El Tri. Sanchez, though, convinced Castillo to play for Mexico. While Castillo, who developed in Uruguay and groomed professionally in Greece, appeared to be a certain starter but was not in uniform against Guadeloupe.
If Sanchez goes with Blanco-Borgetti, the U.S. will have an advantage in that they know how to play both players.
Read more...
Blanco is enjoying a strong resurgence. After his falling out with former coach Ricardo Lavolpe, Blanco quickly found his way back into El Tri and scored in his second game under Hugo Sanchez. With America this year, Blanco had a fine campaign and led las Aguilas to the Mexican league final. The now-Chicago Fire forward is as strong as ever with his backheels and passing ability in general. He is also strong on set pieces. However, Blanco is still quite temperamental. His red card against Honduras two weeks ago is evidence of that.
Borgetti, meanwhile, is the same player American fans have been accustomed to seeing. Borgetti has had success against the U.S. - he scored in a 1-0 win over the US in Mexico in 2001 and scored in a 2-1 win over the Americans in 2005. Both those games, though, were in Mexico City. Like the rest of Mexico, Borgetti has been quiet against the U.S. in games played on American soil.
Also in the mix is former Chivas standout Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista. Bofo and Blanco are similar players - not a lot of speed but good finishers with excellent vision and passing abilities - but Sanchez is not afraid to use them together. Bofo set up Borgetti's goal against Costa Rica in the semifinal with a nice cross from the right flank.
Omar Bravo is another player who possesses skill but Bravo's exploits have mostly been limited to the Mexican league. Bravo is on the cusp with the national team but has been on the cusp for quite some time. Francisco "Kikin" Fonseca has fallen off badly and was left off the Copa America roster. Still, Sanchez knows Fonseca from their days together with Pumas.
The wild card in this whole scenario is Nery Castillo. Lavolpe went hard after Castillo, who holds Greek, Mexican and Uruguayan passports, but failed to get him to play for El Tri. Sanchez, though, convinced Castillo to play for Mexico. While Castillo, who developed in Uruguay and groomed professionally in Greece, appeared to be a certain starter but was not in uniform against Guadeloupe.
If Sanchez goes with Blanco-Borgetti, the U.S. will have an advantage in that they know how to play both players.
Read more...
Mexico's Midfield
Three players who are all but certain to start against the United States are wingers Andres Guardado and Alberto Medina and central midfielder Pavel Pardo.
Guardado is the player with the brightest future of the three but Pardo is the most accomplished. Pardo won the Bundesliga crown with Stuttgart this season and scored on an outstanding goal against Guadeloupe on Thursday. Pardo, though, lacks the playmaking ability to break down opposing defense. For all his positives, Pardo is more of a defensive-minded midfielder, though he does have the ability to find seams in the opposing defense.
On the flanks, Guardado and Medina have the ability to create dangerous opportunities for Mexico. The way this tournament has turned out, much of the buildup has come from the flanks. Both Guardado and Medina have the freedom to roam and Guardado takes advantage of it. From the left side, the shaggy-haired Guardado is a constant presence inside the penalty area.
Another first-choice midfielder will not be available due to yellow-card accumulation. Gerardo Torrado will not play as he picked up a yellow card in each of the knockout games. Hugo Sanchez took Torrado out of Thursday's semifinal and replaced him with Fernando Arce, a Mexican league veteran who is playing the best soccer of his career. Arce, though, is better suited for a role off the bench than a starting spot, though he can prove dangerous. Guardado and Arce combined for a splendid goal in a 3-1 win over Venezuela on Feb. 28.
One option Sanchez has in filling the void with another forward and going with a 4-3-3 formation. Sanchez has done that in this tournament and going with a three-pronged attack would not be a surprise.
Or Sanchez could start Jaime Lozano in Torrado's spot. Lozano was at the top of his game in early 2005 but has since fallen off in form. He was not a part of the 2006 World Cup team but has regained a spot under Sanchez. Lozano is deadly on set pieces. His biggest weakness: he stands at about 5-foot-6.
The U.S. fullbacks, probably Jonathan Bornstein and either Jonathan Spector or Frank Simek, will have to neutralize Mexico's wide midfielders. Guardado is a load to handle, so the biggest responsibility will likely fall on Simek/Spector.
Read more...
Guardado is the player with the brightest future of the three but Pardo is the most accomplished. Pardo won the Bundesliga crown with Stuttgart this season and scored on an outstanding goal against Guadeloupe on Thursday. Pardo, though, lacks the playmaking ability to break down opposing defense. For all his positives, Pardo is more of a defensive-minded midfielder, though he does have the ability to find seams in the opposing defense.
On the flanks, Guardado and Medina have the ability to create dangerous opportunities for Mexico. The way this tournament has turned out, much of the buildup has come from the flanks. Both Guardado and Medina have the freedom to roam and Guardado takes advantage of it. From the left side, the shaggy-haired Guardado is a constant presence inside the penalty area.
Another first-choice midfielder will not be available due to yellow-card accumulation. Gerardo Torrado will not play as he picked up a yellow card in each of the knockout games. Hugo Sanchez took Torrado out of Thursday's semifinal and replaced him with Fernando Arce, a Mexican league veteran who is playing the best soccer of his career. Arce, though, is better suited for a role off the bench than a starting spot, though he can prove dangerous. Guardado and Arce combined for a splendid goal in a 3-1 win over Venezuela on Feb. 28.
One option Sanchez has in filling the void with another forward and going with a 4-3-3 formation. Sanchez has done that in this tournament and going with a three-pronged attack would not be a surprise.
Or Sanchez could start Jaime Lozano in Torrado's spot. Lozano was at the top of his game in early 2005 but has since fallen off in form. He was not a part of the 2006 World Cup team but has regained a spot under Sanchez. Lozano is deadly on set pieces. His biggest weakness: he stands at about 5-foot-6.
The U.S. fullbacks, probably Jonathan Bornstein and either Jonathan Spector or Frank Simek, will have to neutralize Mexico's wide midfielders. Guardado is a load to handle, so the biggest responsibility will likely fall on Simek/Spector.
Read more...
Pre-final view: Tri D
In case you are anxiously awaiting the Gold Cup final but haven't paid too much attention to El Tricolor, please allow me to get you up to speed on Mexico. I figure I'll try and break down the team unit by unit and get you as much caught up with Mexico as I can.
I'm starting in the back, as that unit appears to be getting better (at least statistically) as the tournament has progressed.
Oswaldo Sanchez figures to be in goal. Guillermo Ochoa played the opener and hasn't been used since. Sanchez is quite a familiar face and many Americans remember him right now for the cheap shot he took on Eddie Johnson on Feb. 7. Since then, Sanchez has overcome a pretty severe shoulder injury, led his club team (Santos) to the Mexican league playoffs and secured his spot as Mexico's number one goalkeeper. Ochoa guided America to the Clausura finals but Sanchez looks like he'll be the first-choice 'keeper for the short- and long-term.
Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez has used a four-man backline. Against the U.S., expect to see Ricardo Osorio on the right, Jonny Magallon and Francisco "Maza" Rodriguez in the center and Carlos Salcido on the left. The fullbacks both won European league titles last season but have underperformed in the Gold Cup. Perhaps it's the affects of a long and demanding calendar that is finally taking its toll but Osorio and Salcido promised much more before the tournament. In the first few games, the duo was part of a defense that gave up far too many opportunities. Despite beating Panama 1-0, the Panamanians sliced through the defense like nothing for most of the match but came away with only a few shots off the post. Salcido, though, is dangerous on the attack and took more offensive liberties against Guadeloupe than he had in any of the other games he'd played before then.
Magallon and Rodriguez are teammates on Chivas. Magallon hasn't played well overall, though he has long been a solid performer in league. Rodriguez was on the World Cup team last year and is better than most give him credit for. Rodriguez is tall and rail-thin and positions himself well. Actually, the two played with Salcido for several seasons in Guadalajara, though Magallon was used mostly in the midfield.
Ramon Morales was in the mix before the tournament started but has not played in recent games. Rafael Marquez is back with the team but has not played a game since April. Expecting a full 90 minutes from him against the U.S. seems like it's asking too much but perhaps the unsettled backline could force Hugo Sanchez's hand.
What the backline lacks, though, is speed. In their 2-0 loss to the U.S., Landon Donovan burned Salcido on the breakaway goal at the end of the game. For all his worth, Salcido has little speed to speak of. Rodriguez and Magallon are not burners either and Osorio seems to have more speed on the offensive side than on the defense end of things.
Mexico will have to neutralize the Americans' speed. If the U.S. goes with Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Eddie Johnson, that will be a tall order for Mexico.
Read more...
I'm starting in the back, as that unit appears to be getting better (at least statistically) as the tournament has progressed.
Oswaldo Sanchez figures to be in goal. Guillermo Ochoa played the opener and hasn't been used since. Sanchez is quite a familiar face and many Americans remember him right now for the cheap shot he took on Eddie Johnson on Feb. 7. Since then, Sanchez has overcome a pretty severe shoulder injury, led his club team (Santos) to the Mexican league playoffs and secured his spot as Mexico's number one goalkeeper. Ochoa guided America to the Clausura finals but Sanchez looks like he'll be the first-choice 'keeper for the short- and long-term.
Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez has used a four-man backline. Against the U.S., expect to see Ricardo Osorio on the right, Jonny Magallon and Francisco "Maza" Rodriguez in the center and Carlos Salcido on the left. The fullbacks both won European league titles last season but have underperformed in the Gold Cup. Perhaps it's the affects of a long and demanding calendar that is finally taking its toll but Osorio and Salcido promised much more before the tournament. In the first few games, the duo was part of a defense that gave up far too many opportunities. Despite beating Panama 1-0, the Panamanians sliced through the defense like nothing for most of the match but came away with only a few shots off the post. Salcido, though, is dangerous on the attack and took more offensive liberties against Guadeloupe than he had in any of the other games he'd played before then.
Magallon and Rodriguez are teammates on Chivas. Magallon hasn't played well overall, though he has long been a solid performer in league. Rodriguez was on the World Cup team last year and is better than most give him credit for. Rodriguez is tall and rail-thin and positions himself well. Actually, the two played with Salcido for several seasons in Guadalajara, though Magallon was used mostly in the midfield.
Ramon Morales was in the mix before the tournament started but has not played in recent games. Rafael Marquez is back with the team but has not played a game since April. Expecting a full 90 minutes from him against the U.S. seems like it's asking too much but perhaps the unsettled backline could force Hugo Sanchez's hand.
What the backline lacks, though, is speed. In their 2-0 loss to the U.S., Landon Donovan burned Salcido on the breakaway goal at the end of the game. For all his worth, Salcido has little speed to speak of. Rodriguez and Magallon are not burners either and Osorio seems to have more speed on the offensive side than on the defense end of things.
Mexico will have to neutralize the Americans' speed. If the U.S. goes with Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and Eddie Johnson, that will be a tall order for Mexico.
Read more...
Miss USA roots for the boys
Because Rachel Smith knows what it's like to be booed by some Mexicans. At least she was in Mexico when it happened.
When the U.S. team trots out on the field in Chicago, the crowd will be pro-Mexican and, if it's anything like the crowd in Arizona earlier this year, there will be quite a few boos.
Read more...
When the U.S. team trots out on the field in Chicago, the crowd will be pro-Mexican and, if it's anything like the crowd in Arizona earlier this year, there will be quite a few boos.
Read more...
Saturday picks
More MLS action this weekend. Next week's picks will differ because some guys will be coming and others will be going.
L.B.
New England 2, Toronto FC 2
FC Dallas 1, Colorado 0
Real Salt Lake 0, DC United 0
Galaxy 2, Columbus 0
Kansas City 2, Houston 1
A.C.
New England 2, Toronto FC 1
FC Dallas 0, Colorado 2
Real Salt Lake 1, DC United 2
Galaxy 1, Columbus 0
Kansas City 0, Houston 2
Read more...
L.B.
New England 2, Toronto FC 2
FC Dallas 1, Colorado 0
Real Salt Lake 0, DC United 0
Galaxy 2, Columbus 0
Kansas City 2, Houston 1
A.C.
New England 2, Toronto FC 1
FC Dallas 0, Colorado 2
Real Salt Lake 1, DC United 2
Galaxy 1, Columbus 0
Kansas City 0, Houston 2
Read more...
Welcome Wagon
Dear Posh and Becks,
I can't imagine Vicki doing too much cooking, so I'm sure you'll eat out at times. Coincidentally, Pulitzer-prize-winning restaurant critic Jonathan Gold of the LA Weekly has just put together his list of 99 essential LA restaurants.
You've already checked out one of his top choices, Cut, that steakhouse restaurant of Wolfgang Puck near your new abode in Beverly Hills, but you may be wondering about the other locales.
Fret not. This intrepid reporter is checking out all (the ones I can afford) of them for you.
First up is Casa Bianca.
The cozy restaurant has a classic homey vibe, perfect for taking the kids out to enjoy a good pizza. The tables are small, but Casa Bianca waiters quickly put them together to accommodate larger parties, so there should be plenty of room for your bodyguards to join you at the same table.
Though they serve pasta in numerous concoctions, Gold is effusive in his praise for the Casa Bianca pizza pie, and I have to say, it is a thin crust classic. I had the pepperoni with fresh tomatoes and garlic, and patrons can order from quite a variety of toppings. However, they don't get too oddball or fancy at this place, so don't bother looking for goat cheese or Thai basil.
The college kids from nearby Occidental who frequent the place also seem to make up most of the staff, and they're attentive without hovering.
Final recommendation: Go. Don't just go for the pizza, either. The cannolis are delicious and fresh, as is the Caprese salad.
Read more...
I can't imagine Vicki doing too much cooking, so I'm sure you'll eat out at times. Coincidentally, Pulitzer-prize-winning restaurant critic Jonathan Gold of the LA Weekly has just put together his list of 99 essential LA restaurants.
You've already checked out one of his top choices, Cut, that steakhouse restaurant of Wolfgang Puck near your new abode in Beverly Hills, but you may be wondering about the other locales.
Fret not. This intrepid reporter is checking out all (the ones I can afford) of them for you.
First up is Casa Bianca.
The cozy restaurant has a classic homey vibe, perfect for taking the kids out to enjoy a good pizza. The tables are small, but Casa Bianca waiters quickly put them together to accommodate larger parties, so there should be plenty of room for your bodyguards to join you at the same table.
Though they serve pasta in numerous concoctions, Gold is effusive in his praise for the Casa Bianca pizza pie, and I have to say, it is a thin crust classic. I had the pepperoni with fresh tomatoes and garlic, and patrons can order from quite a variety of toppings. However, they don't get too oddball or fancy at this place, so don't bother looking for goat cheese or Thai basil.
The college kids from nearby Occidental who frequent the place also seem to make up most of the staff, and they're attentive without hovering.
Final recommendation: Go. Don't just go for the pizza, either. The cannolis are delicious and fresh, as is the Caprese salad.
Read more...
We're prophetic! Or pathetic.
Luis and I have been saying that Kasey Keller would be a great player for a team in Mexico, and now the Chicago Luis (Arroyave), has the scoop on that, with a quote from Keller saying he'd love to play there.
I'd like for my favorite team in the Mexican League, Cruz Azul, to make that happen. Keller would make a fine captain, too, like Cle Kooiman once was.
Read more...
I'd like for my favorite team in the Mexican League, Cruz Azul, to make that happen. Keller would make a fine captain, too, like Cle Kooiman once was.
Read more...
Speaking of deflections
And speaking of reporters missing something, here's Luis Arroyave's story of getting hit full-on by a Mexican shot at practice and no one noticing.
Actually, this happened to me once (I'm sure a lot of Canadian soccer fans just thought, "Good!"), but it was during a preseason game and I was actually watching the play. Unfortunately, the player that wound up to take the shot was off target for the net, but the trajectory was locked on me. I'd made the mistake of sitting cross-legged to watch the match, and it's hard to be agile and move out of the way from that position. All I could to was turn my head away and hunch my shoulder to take the brunt of the shot. Bruise city.
However, it doesn't surprise me that in Arroyave's story Oswaldo Sanchez came over to ask about the female reporter. Whatever his actions on the field, he's one of the most polite players off the field.
Read more...
Actually, this happened to me once (I'm sure a lot of Canadian soccer fans just thought, "Good!"), but it was during a preseason game and I was actually watching the play. Unfortunately, the player that wound up to take the shot was off target for the net, but the trajectory was locked on me. I'd made the mistake of sitting cross-legged to watch the match, and it's hard to be agile and move out of the way from that position. All I could to was turn my head away and hunch my shoulder to take the brunt of the shot. Bruise city.
However, it doesn't surprise me that in Arroyave's story Oswaldo Sanchez came over to ask about the female reporter. Whatever his actions on the field, he's one of the most polite players off the field.
Read more...
Ugo nearly made it
Ugo Ihemelu is an incredibly speedy central defender. According to his Colorado Rapids teammate Herc, Ugo came close to the Copa America.
"Ugo was under consideration, too. He went with us for vaccinations. It would have been great to have him along. He was my roommate in LA. He’s my roommate here. He’s one of my best friends, so definitely that would have been a huge comfort level if he was going."
Me: So Ugo was under consideration as well?
"Ugo was on the preliminary roster. As soon as I found out I was going, I asked, ‘Who else from the Rapids?”
Me: This means he’s on the radar.
"Ugo’s young and he’s got so much potential. I see that guy blowing up. I just hope this fuels him and drives him."
Read more...
"Ugo was under consideration, too. He went with us for vaccinations. It would have been great to have him along. He was my roommate in LA. He’s my roommate here. He’s one of my best friends, so definitely that would have been a huge comfort level if he was going."
Me: So Ugo was under consideration as well?
"Ugo was on the preliminary roster. As soon as I found out I was going, I asked, ‘Who else from the Rapids?”
Me: This means he’s on the radar.
"Ugo’s young and he’s got so much potential. I see that guy blowing up. I just hope this fuels him and drives him."
Read more...
Friday, June 22, 2007
A moment of joy
Herculez Gomez didn't realize that the U.S. was taking a little longer to release their official Copa America roster. He just figured he wasn't on it, because the deadline passed and no word arrived for him.
In fact, an old Galaxy friend of Herc's found out before he did.
I'm guessing that Marcelo had a peek at the roster that came in announcing Drew Moor had made the squad.
I'll have more from my interview with Herc later.
Read more...
In fact, an old Galaxy friend of Herc's found out before he did.
“It was pretty weird. I was one of the last ones to leave today. I was sitting in the cold tub, talking to Greg Vanney, and checking my voice mail. So I checked one voice mail and it was Marcelo Saragosa and he left a message saying, ‘Hello, my friend! Congratulations! I saw the roster.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ As soon as I’m trying to repeat the message, our team administrator walks in and says, ‘Congratulations, you’re going to
I'm guessing that Marcelo had a peek at the roster that came in announcing Drew Moor had made the squad.
I'll have more from my interview with Herc later.
Read more...
Mexico's roster
Oswaldo Sánchez (1) Portero Santos
Guillermo Ochoa (13) Portero América
Johnny Magallón (2) Defensa Chivas Fco.
Javier Rodríguez (22) Defensa Chivas
Rafael Márquez (4) Defensa Barcelona
Gonzalo Pineda (14) Defensa Chivas
Israel Castro (5) Defensa Pumas
José Antonio Castro (15) Defensa América
Fausto Pinto (3) Defensa Pachuca
Jaime Lozano (16) Medio Tigres
Jaime Correa (8) Medio Pachuca
Ramón Morales (11) Medio Chivas
Gerardo Torrado (6) Medio Cruz Azul
Alberto Medina (7) Medio Chivas
Fernando Arce (20) Delantero Morelia
Andrés Guardado (18) Medio Atlas
Juan Carlos Cacho (12) Delantero Pachuca
Nery Castillo (21) Delantero Olympiakos
Cuauhtémoc Blanco (10) Delantero América
Adolfo Bautista (17) Delantero Chivas
Jared Borgetti (9) Delantero Cruz Azul
Omar Bravo (19) Delantero Chivas
It's pretty strong, but they'll miss Pardo.
Read more...
Guillermo Ochoa (13) Portero América
Johnny Magallón (2) Defensa Chivas Fco.
Javier Rodríguez (22) Defensa Chivas
Rafael Márquez (4) Defensa Barcelona
Gonzalo Pineda (14) Defensa Chivas
Israel Castro (5) Defensa Pumas
José Antonio Castro (15) Defensa América
Fausto Pinto (3) Defensa Pachuca
Jaime Lozano (16) Medio Tigres
Jaime Correa (8) Medio Pachuca
Ramón Morales (11) Medio Chivas
Gerardo Torrado (6) Medio Cruz Azul
Alberto Medina (7) Medio Chivas
Fernando Arce (20) Delantero Morelia
Andrés Guardado (18) Medio Atlas
Juan Carlos Cacho (12) Delantero Pachuca
Nery Castillo (21) Delantero Olympiakos
Cuauhtémoc Blanco (10) Delantero América
Adolfo Bautista (17) Delantero Chivas
Jared Borgetti (9) Delantero Cruz Azul
Omar Bravo (19) Delantero Chivas
It's pretty strong, but they'll miss Pardo.
Read more...
Omissions?
There's a lot to like about the Copa America roster. Although Luis and others believe I'm partial to Rico, I have to admit that I was more enthused to see Lee Nguyen on the list. I like Rico's hustle, but Nguyen's creativity is something special.
Other players I would have liked to see: Brad Davis (I'm partial to left-footers, and I thought he did well in the last Gold Cup.) Jose Burciaga (What does this guy have to do to get a look?) Claudio Reyna (One last hurrah) and Ned Grabavoy (He's a playmaker, and I like that as well.)
Yet it's not as if good arguments couldn't be made for those who went instead.
The headscratchers for me are Drew Moor and Danny Califf. Moor is a nice player, but the pick surprised me. Califf, honestly, I think he's better suited for European play. Small, fast and tricky attacking players seem to get the best of him far too often. Copa America will be loaded with those.
Read more...
Other players I would have liked to see: Brad Davis (I'm partial to left-footers, and I thought he did well in the last Gold Cup.) Jose Burciaga (What does this guy have to do to get a look?) Claudio Reyna (One last hurrah) and Ned Grabavoy (He's a playmaker, and I like that as well.)
Yet it's not as if good arguments couldn't be made for those who went instead.
The headscratchers for me are Drew Moor and Danny Califf. Moor is a nice player, but the pick surprised me. Califf, honestly, I think he's better suited for European play. Small, fast and tricky attacking players seem to get the best of him far too often. Copa America will be loaded with those.
Read more...
Random Copa thoughts
The U.S. roster is pretty young and fairly inexperienced. Drew Moor, Herculez Gomez and Marvell Wynne have never even been a part of a US senior camp before while five others have one cap.
The experience on this roster is limited to Kasey Keller, Ben Olsen, Jimmy Conrad, Taylor Twellman and Eddie Johnson.
I wonder if people will start to give up on Copa America even before the tournament starts. Yes, this team is young and yes, Argentina is bringing their full squad and yes, that probably means a tough game. However, when people start throwing out A team and B team and C team, it's almost as if there are set players for set positions and if those players aren't there, the team is suddenly terrible.
For instance, everyone thought that Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra were the best two central defenders before Gold Cup. And that duo has looked anything but solid as the tournament has progressed. Honestly, I'd take Jimmy Conrad and Jay DeMerit over those two the way things have worked out, and that's who Bob Bradley has at his disposal now. Justin Mapp has looked good in his opportunities. So has Benny Feilhaber. And then there's Andrea's personal fave, Ricardo Clark.
So now that Landon Donovan isn't there, and DaMarcus Beasley isn't there, and Clint Dempsey isn't there, now all of the sudden it's time to hit the panic button?
Hasn't the U.S. progressed since the early 1990s, when the depth was actually nonexistent?
Read more...
The experience on this roster is limited to Kasey Keller, Ben Olsen, Jimmy Conrad, Taylor Twellman and Eddie Johnson.
I wonder if people will start to give up on Copa America even before the tournament starts. Yes, this team is young and yes, Argentina is bringing their full squad and yes, that probably means a tough game. However, when people start throwing out A team and B team and C team, it's almost as if there are set players for set positions and if those players aren't there, the team is suddenly terrible.
For instance, everyone thought that Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra were the best two central defenders before Gold Cup. And that duo has looked anything but solid as the tournament has progressed. Honestly, I'd take Jimmy Conrad and Jay DeMerit over those two the way things have worked out, and that's who Bob Bradley has at his disposal now. Justin Mapp has looked good in his opportunities. So has Benny Feilhaber. And then there's Andrea's personal fave, Ricardo Clark.
So now that Landon Donovan isn't there, and DaMarcus Beasley isn't there, and Clint Dempsey isn't there, now all of the sudden it's time to hit the panic button?
Hasn't the U.S. progressed since the early 1990s, when the depth was actually nonexistent?
Read more...
Roster's out
And no Landon.
Here's the full roster:
Goalkeepers (2) – Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
Defenders (8) – Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Bobby Boswell (D.C. United), Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjælland), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
Midfielders (8) – Kyle Beckerman (Colorado Rapids), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Lee Nguyen (PSV Eindhoven), Ben Olsen (D.C.United)
Forwards (4) – Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Herculez Gomez (Colorado Rapids), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)
Read more...
Here's the full roster:
Goalkeepers (2) – Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)
Defenders (8) – Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Bobby Boswell (D.C. United), Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Heath Pearce (FC Nordsjælland), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
Midfielders (8) – Kyle Beckerman (Colorado Rapids), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Lee Nguyen (PSV Eindhoven), Ben Olsen (D.C.United)
Forwards (4) – Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Herculez Gomez (Colorado Rapids), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)
Read more...
Mas Galaxy
I've stopped caring about Copa America, at least for the rest of the day (that's what I'm telling myself so I don't get irritated).
Anyway, with the Galaxy Hispanic story shipped over to the PE, I've decided to get back to my original story that never made it in the paper. Originally, the story was about the lack of Hispanic players on the Galaxy; after Carlos Pavon signed, it shifted the focus a bit. I was still able to use some of Cien's quotes and some of the things Alexi Lalas told me but I also talked to Peter Vagenas and Joe Cannon for the story.
Some things got left out. This is a chunk of the original piece I thought would be good to present here. I tried to balance the topic here a little.
---Still, the absence of a Hispanic presence seems odd considering the large Hispanic population in Southern California and the club’s own history. Throughout the years, the Galaxy has traditionally had a Hispanic presence. Two years ago, Hispanic players were instrumental in leading the Galaxy to a pair of titles. Herculez Gomez, a Mexican-American born in East Los Angeles, scored the only goal in the U.S. Open Cup final. Guatemala native Guillermo “Pando” Ramirez scored the game-winning strike in MLS Cup 2005 and joined countrymen Carlos Ruiz as the only Galaxy players to score in Galaxy MLS Cup victories.
From star players such as Carlos Hermosillo and Eduardo “El Tanque” Hurtado to role players such as Pablo Chinchilla and Alejandro Moreno, players of all skill levels and roles have played key parts in the Galaxy’s history.
(I took out some stuff from here but it continues...)
In the past, though, acquisitions with the Hispanic community in mind have backfired for the Galaxy. Eight games into the 2000 season, the Galaxy gave up Clint Mathis to bring in Mexican national team star Luis Hernandez. In two seasons, Hernandez had 12 goals but had little impact with regards to attendance. Mathis, meanwhile, had 13 goals for the MetroStars in 2000 and became a key U.S. national team player the following year.
Also, the club took forward Isaias Bardales Jr. in the 2001 MLS draft over Eddie Johnson in part because of Bardales’ Hispanic background. Bardales played in 13 games, scored no goals and has been out of MLS since 2003. Johnson, meanwhile, was on the United States’ 2006 World Cup roster and has 29 career MLS goals.---
So that's some of the things I wasn't able to fit in my story for tomorrow.
This topic is so deep, I could write a series of stories on it. I guess what struck me the most when I realized that the Galaxy didn't have any Hispanic players was the way the club used to bring in players by the dozens it seemed like, Hispanic players. Like I mentioned above, stars such as Tanque Hurtado and Hermosillo as well as the role players, there were Hispanic players throughout the roster, and I wanted to explore why that wasn't the case anymore.
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Anyway, with the Galaxy Hispanic story shipped over to the PE, I've decided to get back to my original story that never made it in the paper. Originally, the story was about the lack of Hispanic players on the Galaxy; after Carlos Pavon signed, it shifted the focus a bit. I was still able to use some of Cien's quotes and some of the things Alexi Lalas told me but I also talked to Peter Vagenas and Joe Cannon for the story.
Some things got left out. This is a chunk of the original piece I thought would be good to present here. I tried to balance the topic here a little.
---Still, the absence of a Hispanic presence seems odd considering the large Hispanic population in Southern California and the club’s own history. Throughout the years, the Galaxy has traditionally had a Hispanic presence. Two years ago, Hispanic players were instrumental in leading the Galaxy to a pair of titles. Herculez Gomez, a Mexican-American born in East Los Angeles, scored the only goal in the U.S. Open Cup final. Guatemala native Guillermo “Pando” Ramirez scored the game-winning strike in MLS Cup 2005 and joined countrymen Carlos Ruiz as the only Galaxy players to score in Galaxy MLS Cup victories.
From star players such as Carlos Hermosillo and Eduardo “El Tanque” Hurtado to role players such as Pablo Chinchilla and Alejandro Moreno, players of all skill levels and roles have played key parts in the Galaxy’s history.
(I took out some stuff from here but it continues...)
In the past, though, acquisitions with the Hispanic community in mind have backfired for the Galaxy. Eight games into the 2000 season, the Galaxy gave up Clint Mathis to bring in Mexican national team star Luis Hernandez. In two seasons, Hernandez had 12 goals but had little impact with regards to attendance. Mathis, meanwhile, had 13 goals for the MetroStars in 2000 and became a key U.S. national team player the following year.
Also, the club took forward Isaias Bardales Jr. in the 2001 MLS draft over Eddie Johnson in part because of Bardales’ Hispanic background. Bardales played in 13 games, scored no goals and has been out of MLS since 2003. Johnson, meanwhile, was on the United States’ 2006 World Cup roster and has 29 career MLS goals.---
So that's some of the things I wasn't able to fit in my story for tomorrow.
This topic is so deep, I could write a series of stories on it. I guess what struck me the most when I realized that the Galaxy didn't have any Hispanic players was the way the club used to bring in players by the dozens it seemed like, Hispanic players. Like I mentioned above, stars such as Tanque Hurtado and Hermosillo as well as the role players, there were Hispanic players throughout the roster, and I wanted to explore why that wasn't the case anymore.
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Copa waiting game
I finished my Galaxy story, as my daughters are now blissfully asleep. The house is strangely quiet... perhaps that is not a coincidence.
Anyway, I'm like everyone else now, waiting for the Copa America rosters that were supposed to have been finalized yesterday. For some reason, there's a delay in getting these rosters out.
I don't know what purpose such a delay serves. By not having the rosters out already, sports editors might not want to hold space for a Copa roster story.
I don't know how the Press-Enterprise department works - I only freelance for them - but my guess is that there's certain space allotted for soccer today, between the Galaxy feature and a Galaxy capsule and possibly some sort of Gold Cup story or something, possibly. Again, only a guess.
However, if there was room for the Copa roster story, at this point they might have just decided to go with something else. I would. If I were making the decision right now, I would, and relegate the Copa story to a brief and then run the roster in the back with the box scores and transactions. Get that page done with and move on to the next one.
It's perplexing too because you have a lot of media out in Chicago that likely needs to file a day-off story, and it does not need to be on the U.S. Locally, I know the San Diego Union Tribune and the LA Times are there, and there's a lot of their readers who care about Mexico as well.
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Anyway, I'm like everyone else now, waiting for the Copa America rosters that were supposed to have been finalized yesterday. For some reason, there's a delay in getting these rosters out.
I don't know what purpose such a delay serves. By not having the rosters out already, sports editors might not want to hold space for a Copa roster story.
I don't know how the Press-Enterprise department works - I only freelance for them - but my guess is that there's certain space allotted for soccer today, between the Galaxy feature and a Galaxy capsule and possibly some sort of Gold Cup story or something, possibly. Again, only a guess.
However, if there was room for the Copa roster story, at this point they might have just decided to go with something else. I would. If I were making the decision right now, I would, and relegate the Copa story to a brief and then run the roster in the back with the box scores and transactions. Get that page done with and move on to the next one.
It's perplexing too because you have a lot of media out in Chicago that likely needs to file a day-off story, and it does not need to be on the U.S. Locally, I know the San Diego Union Tribune and the LA Times are there, and there's a lot of their readers who care about Mexico as well.
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Moving Henry
Thierry Henry has left Arsenal for Barcelona. AP reports that it's a done deal while other places still have the story as a rumor.
According to this story, it's a $32 million deal and Henry will be with Barca for four years.
I don't know that there could be a bigger move this offseason. Arsenal suddenly doesn't seem as strong and Barcelona now is poised to repeat the league and cup double from 2006.
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According to this story, it's a $32 million deal and Henry will be with Barca for four years.
I don't know that there could be a bigger move this offseason. Arsenal suddenly doesn't seem as strong and Barcelona now is poised to repeat the league and cup double from 2006.
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Hit the pitch
My buddy Jaime Cardenas of MLSnet.com in espanol called me and said that Chivas USA is training today. Not sure if that was intended or if the circumstances from last night's game forced the team's hand. I was surprised when he called me but he said that it wasn't like they put in a lot of work yesterday in that 4-0 loss to Houston.
I think the team must have gone from the airport to the training field or something.
It's funny because the last few weeks Preki had been giving guys a bit of a break, as training sessions were sometimes about 90 minutes or even a little less. Not so much today, apparently.
Anyway, Jaime told me that the only guys who weren't on the field were Claudio Suarez, who we're assuming is getting some sort of treatment, and Brad Guzan and Sacha Kljestan.
ADD: Seems Claudio and Sacha were there. Not sure about Brad.
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I think the team must have gone from the airport to the training field or something.
It's funny because the last few weeks Preki had been giving guys a bit of a break, as training sessions were sometimes about 90 minutes or even a little less. Not so much today, apparently.
Anyway, Jaime told me that the only guys who weren't on the field were Claudio Suarez, who we're assuming is getting some sort of treatment, and Brad Guzan and Sacha Kljestan.
ADD: Seems Claudio and Sacha were there. Not sure about Brad.
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Replay the controversial play
I've watched this so many times, and I have to say, watching in slow motion, that it looks like Hume does get a touch on the ball before the final play was called offsides on Canada. The trajectory of the ball changes slightly just before it gets headed by Onyewu. Look carefully at the third slow-mo sequence. In which case, the linesman made the right call, because Canada was offside at the time of that touch.
Of course, the announcers are discussing how it was a bad call, because they're looking at where the players are when the ball was kicked. However, the linesman said he raised his flag because he thought Hume touched the ball. I think he was right, but the touch was slight.
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El Galaxy
Okay, it's Friday morning and I've got my interviews transcribed (finally). My daughters are fighting in the other room so this story will be interesting to write.
I'm writing my Galaxy Hispanic story. If you haven't been following, the Galaxy had exactly zero players of a Hispanic background on their squad until they signed Carlos Pavon earlier this week. Even now, the Galaxy has twice as many Canadians on their roster than Hispanic players.
I'm not saying it's good or bad, at least not for the purposes of this story. But to say that it's not a story is foolish. The Galaxy have always had a Hispanic presence on their team and it's Los Angeles of all places, El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula actually.
Anyway, if I can fight off sleep and two girls bent on terrorizing each other, I'll get that done sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it's going to have to wait until naps.
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I'm writing my Galaxy Hispanic story. If you haven't been following, the Galaxy had exactly zero players of a Hispanic background on their squad until they signed Carlos Pavon earlier this week. Even now, the Galaxy has twice as many Canadians on their roster than Hispanic players.
I'm not saying it's good or bad, at least not for the purposes of this story. But to say that it's not a story is foolish. The Galaxy have always had a Hispanic presence on their team and it's Los Angeles of all places, El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula actually.
Anyway, if I can fight off sleep and two girls bent on terrorizing each other, I'll get that done sooner rather than later. Otherwise, it's going to have to wait until naps.
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No rosters, yet
June 21 came and went and we still have no word on Copa America rosters for either the US or Mexico. It just puzzles me why the lists could not have been handed out at the game to reporters last night. That probably would have led to more stories on soccer in newspapers and on web sites and thus more interest in the upcoming tournament, in the US national team and soccer in general, but I suppose that's too much to ask for.
Anyway, two Mexican players who aren't going to Copa America are Stuttgart duo Pavel Pardo and Ricardo Osorio. The two need and asked for a break, apparently.
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Anyway, two Mexican players who aren't going to Copa America are Stuttgart duo Pavel Pardo and Ricardo Osorio. The two need and asked for a break, apparently.
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Nary a peaceful moment
Mexico went hard after Nery Castillo. The Mexican-born, Uruguayan-bred Castillo was the target of three national teams but Mexico won out. Castillo appeared certain to play meaningful games for Mexico because of his talent and pedigree.
Instead, Castillo was not even on the bench against Guadeloupe. Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune said there were reports of Castillo threatening to return to Greece, where he plays for Olympiakos, because he was angry over the exclusion.
On mediotiempo.com, the report says that Castillo is upset over not playing much in recent games given the battle Mexico waged to get Castillo to wear the Mexico jersey. For the record, Castillo went the full 90 against Cuba (which was really made up mostly of Mexico's second-string side), did not play against Honduras, played 80 minutes against Panama, was suspended because of two yellows for Costa Rica and was not on the bench against Guadeloupe.
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Instead, Castillo was not even on the bench against Guadeloupe. Mark Zeigler of the San Diego Union-Tribune said there were reports of Castillo threatening to return to Greece, where he plays for Olympiakos, because he was angry over the exclusion.
On mediotiempo.com, the report says that Castillo is upset over not playing much in recent games given the battle Mexico waged to get Castillo to wear the Mexico jersey. For the record, Castillo went the full 90 against Cuba (which was really made up mostly of Mexico's second-string side), did not play against Honduras, played 80 minutes against Panama, was suspended because of two yellows for Costa Rica and was not on the bench against Guadeloupe.
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Not impressed
My SI.com colleague Grant Wahl ain't exactly overwhelmed by the United States' performance.
He slammed the officiating, not just for Thursday's game but in the tournament overall. Canada was robbed of a late equalizer against the U.S. and you hate to have that sort of controversy linger. Like Grant says, it's not that there's a conspiracy for refs to get the US and Mexico to the final, but when you have that close out the game and Costa Rica receive three red cards and other issues regarding the referees, it leaves the door open for such criticism.
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He slammed the officiating, not just for Thursday's game but in the tournament overall. Canada was robbed of a late equalizer against the U.S. and you hate to have that sort of controversy linger. Like Grant says, it's not that there's a conspiracy for refs to get the US and Mexico to the final, but when you have that close out the game and Costa Rica receive three red cards and other issues regarding the referees, it leaves the door open for such criticism.
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On to the final
My SI.com reaction piece on the Mexico win... I've already had a few responses this morning.
Overall, I feel Mexico has been slowly improving. They do have three straight shutouts now as all the wins have been by 1-0.
I think they still have issues. Their offense is not quite generating an abundance of scoring chances and I don't think the four-man backline lends itself to that, at least not with them. When you have four defenders (Salcido-Magallon-Maza-Osorio) plus Pavel Pardo and Gerardo Torrado in the midfield, those are six defensive-minded players. And then where is your offense supposed to come from?
I realize Pardo scored the goal yesterday but aside from a few through balls - and of course his goal - he didn't really create a lot for his teammates.
Torrado is out for Sunday so that midfield pairing won't be repeated in the final. I think you slide Cuauhtemoc Blanco back and start Nery Castillo up top with Jared Borgetti. That's probably their best option but who knows. We could see Jaime Lozano in there.
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Overall, I feel Mexico has been slowly improving. They do have three straight shutouts now as all the wins have been by 1-0.
I think they still have issues. Their offense is not quite generating an abundance of scoring chances and I don't think the four-man backline lends itself to that, at least not with them. When you have four defenders (Salcido-Magallon-Maza-Osorio) plus Pavel Pardo and Gerardo Torrado in the midfield, those are six defensive-minded players. And then where is your offense supposed to come from?
I realize Pardo scored the goal yesterday but aside from a few through balls - and of course his goal - he didn't really create a lot for his teammates.
Torrado is out for Sunday so that midfield pairing won't be repeated in the final. I think you slide Cuauhtemoc Blanco back and start Nery Castillo up top with Jared Borgetti. That's probably their best option but who knows. We could see Jaime Lozano in there.
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Thursday, June 21, 2007
PK-ing away
Back when the year started, and Landon Donovan scored on a penalty kick in the national team's first game, I told Luis that Landon was going to PK his way to Eric Wynalda's scoring record. Well, ok, none of the three goals versus Ecuador were penalty kicks, and neither was his great break-away versus Mexico, but Landon is pretty deadly from the spot.
Of course, as soon as the penalty was called, I felt bad for Pat Onstad. I mean, he knows how good Landon is at penalty kicks, plus he knows that Landon knows his tendencies as a goalkeeper better than any other GK in the league.
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Of course, as soon as the penalty was called, I felt bad for Pat Onstad. I mean, he knows how good Landon is at penalty kicks, plus he knows that Landon knows his tendencies as a goalkeeper better than any other GK in the league.
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Frank on fate
With the U.S. and Canada battling (it's scoreless in the first half right now), Frank Yallop has Galaxy players on both sides and is waiting to welcome the losers home.
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Armchair Analysis
Steven Goff at the Washington Post has some commentary from Santino Quaranta, who is apparently on the trading block. Billy Witz also talked to Tino (and cuts the Donovan trade rumor down). You guys know where Luis stands on Tino.
Anyway, in his comment to Goff, Tino implies that Frank doesn't want to trade him.
I'm going to do an interpretive analysis of Frank's recent comments to me on possible Galaxy changes. With the benefit of hindsight, it all seems so clear now.
Me: Frank, are the Galaxy over the salary cap?
Frank: We’ll see. We’ve got to make sure there’s balance. Alan and Gavin weren’t even on the field. Now them coming back has put another two forwards on the field for us, but we didn’t know what that outcome would be for either guy. It’s great to see them back and getting close to game fitness. Carlos is already at game fitness. Gavin is a little closer than Alan, but Alan is training well now. (Yep, there's a glut of forwards. The ones that end up staying will need to prove themselves.)
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Anyway, in his comment to Goff, Tino implies that Frank doesn't want to trade him.
I'm going to do an interpretive analysis of Frank's recent comments to me on possible Galaxy changes. With the benefit of hindsight, it all seems so clear now.
Me: Frank, are the Galaxy over the salary cap?
Frank: No, we can’t be. (League rules say we have to be compliant - no team can be over.)
Frank: We’re fine. (Well, as fine as any team can be that has two wins a third of the way through the season.)
Me: You do have an excess of forwards now, though. I'm sure some players must be wondering if they're going to be moved out.
Frank: It’s part of the job. It’s uncomfortable. I’ve been in a situation where you’re wondering who, if anybody, has to go. But the cap is fine. We’re just sorting out the team. That’s the important thing, to have a nice, balanced team. We’ve been trying to do some moves for a while, but it’s not been easy. I appreciate the patience everyone is having. I think in the end, you’re going to see a team that’s good. But it’s taken a while to get to certain points in our rebuilding stage. (Tough titties if they're nervous. Score some goals that win us games, and you're less likely to be moved. On the other hand, if you're playing so crappy that I can't even trade you because no team is interested, then we're really stuck. But in due time, something will open up and you'll be shipped out.)Frank: We’ll see. We’ve got to make sure there’s balance. Alan and Gavin weren’t even on the field. Now them coming back has put another two forwards on the field for us, but we didn’t know what that outcome would be for either guy. It’s great to see them back and getting close to game fitness. Carlos is already at game fitness. Gavin is a little closer than Alan, but Alan is training well now. (Yep, there's a glut of forwards. The ones that end up staying will need to prove themselves.)
Me: Who might be at risk?
Frank: We’ve got to figure out what’s best for the squad, because you need an 18 man traveling roster. We’ll see. I’m not going to name names or say who is staying or going. We’re not over the cap, so we can keep everybody. (It's not going to be as easy as me telling you a name - pay attention to other clues.)
Me: You've said before that Nate's not a real forward, but you've had to play him there a lot - where he's had plenty of chances, but little in the way of results.
Frank: Nate was a player who was brought in to strengthen the squad. Yes, he can play better. He knows that and we know that. But he’s given everything he’s had. I like that in a player. It’s up to us – now that we’ve got the signing of Carlos, we can relax in that department. We’ve got some options. We’ve got Edson Buddle, we’ve got Alan, we’ve got Gavin. We’ve got Landon, we can play Nate. We’ve got a lot of options up there. It’s up to me to sort that out – well, me and Alexi. (Hey, Andrea, let me buy you a clue here. I didn't mention Robbie. Also, notice how I emphasized Nate's work rate? Who on the team has a work rate that needs to improve? Hint: he also can play forward, and I didn't mention him as an option. Finally, you may not think Nate finishes enough, but he works hard and he's not leaving. Well, not yet. Also, notice how I took responsibility for changes and then threw Alexi in there at the end. He and I have a good cop/bad cop deal going. We decide things together, then he tells the players they're out so I don't look like the bad guy.)
Me (clueless, as usual): Is it kind of a juggling act up front?
Frank: We might need some help in certain other areas. Chris Albright being out for the season isn’t good for us – well, maybe not the season, but for a long time. We’ll look at it and make sure we do the right things. (We're looking to shore up things defensively. Chris Klein can play right back and in the midfield, just like Chris A. Did you get that hint? Do I have to spell it out for you?)
Anyway, suffice it to say that the italicized sections are pure conjecture, but so too could be Quaranta's speculation that Frank and Alexi are at odds. On the other hand, he could be completely correct. I'm sure other people have their takes on the situation. Feel free to comment.
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Cruising around
A reader asked about the latest rumor that Tom Cruise would like to buy the Galaxy.
Here's my response.
I doubt it has merit, for three main reasons.
1) The team that current owner Phil Anschutz was expected to keep, after divesting other AEG properties as part of the end of single-entity, was the Galaxy.
2) The Galaxy are worth a lot more than New York (better attendance, championships, stadium), and the purchase price for New York was reportedly 50 million two years ago. TC is worth a reported 250 million total, and he's investing some of that net worth in a venture to run United Artists. Anschutz is worth around 7 billion. I don't think TC has the money to buy a sports franchise for fun. AEG has no real reason to sell even a stake of the Galaxy to him.
3) Scientologists tend to gravitate to business deals where they have control. They buy property; they own publishing houses, etc. Under the shared entity of sports business, TC would have to work with all the other MLS owners, something I can't envision him really enjoying.
Anyway, it's still possible, but I do think it's unlikely.
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Here's my response.
I doubt it has merit, for three main reasons.
1) The team that current owner Phil Anschutz was expected to keep, after divesting other AEG properties as part of the end of single-entity, was the Galaxy.
2) The Galaxy are worth a lot more than New York (better attendance, championships, stadium), and the purchase price for New York was reportedly 50 million two years ago. TC is worth a reported 250 million total, and he's investing some of that net worth in a venture to run United Artists. Anschutz is worth around 7 billion. I don't think TC has the money to buy a sports franchise for fun. AEG has no real reason to sell even a stake of the Galaxy to him.
3) Scientologists tend to gravitate to business deals where they have control. They buy property; they own publishing houses, etc. Under the shared entity of sports business, TC would have to work with all the other MLS owners, something I can't envision him really enjoying.
Anyway, it's still possible, but I do think it's unlikely.
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It's official
Nate Sturgis and Robbie Findley are gone to Real Salt Lake. Neither had a long history with the team, but still, the Galaxy squad that started off this year is looking less and less recognizable.
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More scenes
Reporter: Frank, are you looking to make more moves?Frank Yallop: We’re forever looking. Our team is not set yet. This is one move we feel good about, but we’re still looking. If we have a chance of improving the team, we’ll do it.
Lalas: That depends on who your hero is. There’s no accounting for bad taste out there.
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Scenes from a presser
Carlos Pavon: “I’m grateful for the welcome my teammates have given me, the administration, and the staff. Personally, all that’s left is for me to do my job and score goals. Today I trained and did well. I’m anxious to play.”
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Boca champs
Boca Juniors has traditionally been a powerhouse South American club, but between 1978 and 2000, the club had not backed that claim up with success on the biggest stage in this hemisphere.
Now, though, Boca's mantle is full and there is little room for argument. Boca Juniors lifted the Copa Libertadores trophy on Wednesday after a 2-0 win over Gremio.
After winning consecutive titles in 1977-78, Boca Juniors has now won Libertadores titles in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007.
Boca left little room for error this time around. The Argentines routed Gremio 3-0 in La Bombonera and won the series on a 5-0 aggregate.
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Now, though, Boca's mantle is full and there is little room for argument. Boca Juniors lifted the Copa Libertadores trophy on Wednesday after a 2-0 win over Gremio.
After winning consecutive titles in 1977-78, Boca Juniors has now won Libertadores titles in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007.
Boca left little room for error this time around. The Argentines routed Gremio 3-0 in La Bombonera and won the series on a 5-0 aggregate.
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Donovan doesn't like Sanchez
According to the quote on espn desportes.
"No me gusta cuando Oswaldo hace lo que hace, no me gusta cómo se comporta; se porta mal, pero no me importa, mientras sigamos ganando. Oswaldo nunca nos muestra respeto",
Translation, "I don't like when Oswaldo does what he does, I don't like the way he acts, he behaves badly, but I don't care as long as we win. Oswaldo has never shown us respect."
I think Donovan's feelings might be related to the incident on video here. Luis got an exclusive with Eddie after the action by Sanchez.
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Pavon joins Galaxy
A quick clip of Carlos Pavon at the press event announcing his signing by the Los Angeles Galaxy.
I should have kept recording as David translated, but let me provide a text translation."Thank God, I'm able to be here now, and I'm able to play and help the team. That's what is most important right now."
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Carlos, Carlos
Carlos is already a legend at the Galaxy - wait, that's Carlos Ruiz. Carlos Pavon, though, has potential.
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Father and son
No, I didn't talk to the Bradleys recently before writing my piece on them. It's really an opinion column on the situation.
I've talked to Bob about it before, though. He's pretty adamant that he and Michael can deal with any difficulties, and he has a track record to point to of how they've both performed under that pressure before.
It's tricky for the media, I'll admit, and not just for Jeff Bradley, Bob's brother, who covers soccer.
It's a bit too rare and wonderful to have a father and son so closely intertwined at the top level of a sport, especially one where so much is based on preference and perception. I'll admit that I wonder if we as reporters don't look at Michael more critically than if his last name was different.
I've observed a similar phenomenon with Freddy Adu, for example. Because of his hype, many reporters would judge him skeptically.
I remember specifically sitting in the press box watching a match and Freddy pulled a sweet dribble move just as a reporter who was a non-regular passed by.
"Wow," he enthused. "Amazing! Who was that?"
"Freddy Adu," I said.
He shrugged, peered at Freddy over his glasses and his excitement drained away. "It wasn't that good, really."
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I've talked to Bob about it before, though. He's pretty adamant that he and Michael can deal with any difficulties, and he has a track record to point to of how they've both performed under that pressure before.
It's tricky for the media, I'll admit, and not just for Jeff Bradley, Bob's brother, who covers soccer.
It's a bit too rare and wonderful to have a father and son so closely intertwined at the top level of a sport, especially one where so much is based on preference and perception. I'll admit that I wonder if we as reporters don't look at Michael more critically than if his last name was different.
I've observed a similar phenomenon with Freddy Adu, for example. Because of his hype, many reporters would judge him skeptically.
I remember specifically sitting in the press box watching a match and Freddy pulled a sweet dribble move just as a reporter who was a non-regular passed by.
"Wow," he enthused. "Amazing! Who was that?"
"Freddy Adu," I said.
He shrugged, peered at Freddy over his glasses and his excitement drained away. "It wasn't that good, really."
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Golden guys
Seeing Kasey Keller on the Futbol Mundial USA mag (this one's in English, pick up a copy!), reminded me of what a stud in goal the guy has been for the U.S. for so long. With Eddie Pope, another impressive player, announcing his retirement, it really seems like a sunset era for quite a few players.
If Keller doesn't find his ideal club situation, he may retire this year as well.
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Clasico possibilities
If the U.S. and Mexico both win their Gold Cup games on Thursday, they'll play on Sunday. That was pretty easy to figure out :D
But do they have a chance of meeting in Copa America? That one is not quite as straightforward as win-and-they-meet.
First place in Group B plays second place in Group C in a quarterfinal, so if Mexico wins its group and the U.S. finishes second, they'll play.
Also, second place in Group B plays the best third-place team, so if Mexico finishes in second place and the U.S. in third, there's a chance they'll meet as well.
So, in the span of two weeks, we could have two U.S.-Mexico elimination matches.
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But do they have a chance of meeting in Copa America? That one is not quite as straightforward as win-and-they-meet.
First place in Group B plays second place in Group C in a quarterfinal, so if Mexico wins its group and the U.S. finishes second, they'll play.
Also, second place in Group B plays the best third-place team, so if Mexico finishes in second place and the U.S. in third, there's a chance they'll meet as well.
So, in the span of two weeks, we could have two U.S.-Mexico elimination matches.
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Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Marquez joins Tri
Rafael Marquez arrived in Chicago to join up with the Mexican national team for the remainder of the Gold Cup. Marquez was on the Barcelona bench in Sunday's 5-1 season-ending win over Gimnastic.There was a story on mediotiempo.com about his arrival and I translated some of the quotes over for you guys to check it out (for those who need the translation).
On his travel to Chicago:
"I'm tired because of the trip and sad because we weren't able to win the title last weekend but I just need to change my focus. I'm with the national team now and my thoughts are on Thursday's game."
What he expects out of the game on Thursday:
"I know it won't be anything simple. Mexico hasn't shown its best form yet and we have gone through some difficulties. We just need to improve."
Whether he plans on playing. His last game this season for Barcelona was in a Copa del Rey match on April 18. He's been ruled out because of a thigh injury since then but was on the bench for the last two games.
"I don't know. I'm going to talk with the coach to see what he is planning and it just depends on how I feel. I don't know if I'd be risking further injury by playing. I was there for Barcelona on the weekend so I think I should be able to play a few minutes."
Marquez said he talked to teammate Lilian Thuram about Guadeloupe's performance in the Gold Cup. Thuram was born in Guadeloupe.
"He told me his team had surprised him. It surprises me too but knowing players like Lilian, who is strong, quality and very talented, even though they are not professionals they put forth a lot of effort. It's a team that we need to be careful of because they are growing and have lots of confidence."
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Latinos and L.A.
Before the season started, I was looking at the Galaxy roster and realized that there was not a single Hispanic player on the club. In fact, I think Landon Donovan spoke the most Spanish of any player on the club and he's not exactly Hispanic.
During the preseason, I ran into Mauricio Cienfuegos, a Galaxy legend. I'd put Cienfuegos number two in terms of legendary Galaxy players behind Cobi Jones. That guy was amazing in so many ways.
Anyway, I asked him about the lack of Hispanic players on the Galaxy. I had intended to write a story on it for The Press-Enterprise, and in fact I did. The only problem was it kept getting held because the Ducks decided to win the Stanley Cup this year. So it got held and held and held some more.
Now that Carlos Pavon is joining the Galaxy, the story is dead. It'll have to take a new focus now if I want to resurrect it. I don't even know if I'll be able to use any of the Cienfuegos quotes I got anywhere at this point.
Well, anywhere but here.
Now, there were a lot of other interesting points I brought up in the Galaxy story that may or may not be included in the new-and-improved Hispanic story, such as when the Galaxy passed up a player in the draft who is a superstar now to take a local Hispanic talent who fizzled out. If that's not in my story for Saturday, then I'll make sure and put that in here.
Anyway, here's what Cienfuegos responded when I asked him what he thought of the absence of Hispanic players on his former club:
"It's sad. I'm not going to say otherwise. It's sad because you think that Latino players will always be a part of this club but for some reason they're getting away from that.
"That's fine, if that's the direction the coach wants to go in and the direction the front office wants to go in. Unfortunately, our people don't have players of their own to go see. Hopefully they recognize that when this league started the Latino community contributed immensely. To forget that now would be bad.
"Hopefully they bring in some Latino players so people will return to the stadium."
I then asked him if that thinking affected how he felt about the club.
"That love will always be there. The club transcends names and players. This club will always be in my heart."
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During the preseason, I ran into Mauricio Cienfuegos, a Galaxy legend. I'd put Cienfuegos number two in terms of legendary Galaxy players behind Cobi Jones. That guy was amazing in so many ways.
Anyway, I asked him about the lack of Hispanic players on the Galaxy. I had intended to write a story on it for The Press-Enterprise, and in fact I did. The only problem was it kept getting held because the Ducks decided to win the Stanley Cup this year. So it got held and held and held some more.
Now that Carlos Pavon is joining the Galaxy, the story is dead. It'll have to take a new focus now if I want to resurrect it. I don't even know if I'll be able to use any of the Cienfuegos quotes I got anywhere at this point.
Well, anywhere but here.
Now, there were a lot of other interesting points I brought up in the Galaxy story that may or may not be included in the new-and-improved Hispanic story, such as when the Galaxy passed up a player in the draft who is a superstar now to take a local Hispanic talent who fizzled out. If that's not in my story for Saturday, then I'll make sure and put that in here.
Anyway, here's what Cienfuegos responded when I asked him what he thought of the absence of Hispanic players on his former club:
"It's sad. I'm not going to say otherwise. It's sad because you think that Latino players will always be a part of this club but for some reason they're getting away from that.
"That's fine, if that's the direction the coach wants to go in and the direction the front office wants to go in. Unfortunately, our people don't have players of their own to go see. Hopefully they recognize that when this league started the Latino community contributed immensely. To forget that now would be bad.
"Hopefully they bring in some Latino players so people will return to the stadium."
I then asked him if that thinking affected how he felt about the club.
"That love will always be there. The club transcends names and players. This club will always be in my heart."
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Soccer fights smog
I'm inclined to think this bond is a bit tenuous, especially when I hear soccer parents tell me that they drive hours to get their kids to practice with the right club team. However, I'm in favor of the idea, and hopefully, it will spur more steps in that direction.
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More Lalas
See how things get pulled out of context? Alexi here says that the U.S. has never had a star the likes of Beckham, and that internationally, Beckham's profile is bigger than Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan. I'd agree, because soccer is so much bigger internationally.
Then the headline becomes all about how Lalas is saying that Beckham will become bigger than Woods or Jordon in the U.S., which isn't what he said. It's also unlikely for that to happen.
More distortion from AP in this article, Lalas saying he could put together a team of the best MLS players and they wouldn't bring down the quality of the Premiership (which seems to imply they'd be somewhere safe from relegation, probably midtable. I really don't like random hypotheticals, but this scenario seems plausible), becomes "Lalas says MLS on par with Premier League", which is not what he said.
They're trying to make Lalas look ridiculous. Of course, it helps their cause that he is saying some of this stuff and he is wearing those pants pictured below.
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Then the headline becomes all about how Lalas is saying that Beckham will become bigger than Woods or Jordon in the U.S., which isn't what he said. It's also unlikely for that to happen.
More distortion from AP in this article, Lalas saying he could put together a team of the best MLS players and they wouldn't bring down the quality of the Premiership (which seems to imply they'd be somewhere safe from relegation, probably midtable. I really don't like random hypotheticals, but this scenario seems plausible), becomes "Lalas says MLS on par with Premier League", which is not what he said.
They're trying to make Lalas look ridiculous. Of course, it helps their cause that he is saying some of this stuff and he is wearing those pants pictured below.
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Holla back
It looks as if Lalas is determined to get more headlines than Beckham. Now, there's no denying that he's been selectively edited, as the fuller version of his interview reveals.
I'd have to agree with his argument that La Liga is probably superior to the Premiership, but actually, I'd argue that even that is subjective. I like La Liga better, I have to say, but the EPL has its own style that a lot of people enjoy more.
I definitely agree that the disparity between the top and bottom end of English football is something of a cruel joke, but I also recognize that I see that through American eyes. We want championships. The idea that it's really only likely for perhaps only three, maybe five teams every year is anathema to those from the U.S.
Lalas likes to talk and wow, is Beckham inadvertently giving him a huge platform.
No, he's not the best spokesman for MLS and U.S. soccer, Lalas, but neither was he ever the best defender or musician. He was memorable, though, and sometimes, just on occasion, like on his header versus England long ago, he is gutsy enough to get it right.
Your thoughts? Comment on our blog or join the full-fledged debate in England.
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Dissonance
(Rachel's been cheering on Guadeloupe in the Gold Cup from the start. No, really.)See, this is one of the many times I disagree with Luis. I don't think this Gold Cup has ensured Mexico and the U.S. as 1-2 at all. Not when Mexico actually loses to Honduras and the US squeaks out two wins by a single goal in group play.
Mexico could have easily lost to Cuba, Panama and Costa Rica. The U.S. was a great Tim Howard save from going down early, and who knows what would have happened then? How much different would things have been for the U.S playing a full-strength Trinidad and Tobago team? Even the junior version had chances.
Call me crazy, but I'm not confident that Mexico can get past Guadeloupe, either. It would be an upset for the ages, but they've played some good soccer. If Guadeloupe can take out Mexico, I can't see how every other small qualifying team couldn't be inspired and more hopeful of doing the same.
Bottom line, these games and close calls happened here in the U.S., which, despite the fervor of immigrant fans, is nothing like the support these teams receive at home during qualifying. Plus, a lot of the smaller teams just don't have the depth to really compete in the shortened tournament schedule because their best guys get tired. During qualifying, games are more spread out, so they'll be well rested. So I disagree that Mexico and the U.S. qualifying for the World Cup is going to be a foregone conclusion. In fact, I predict that within the next couple of cycles, one of the two won't make it. On current form, it could be Mexico.
In some ways, I think it took the Galaxy missing the playoffs (they were the last MLS team to never have done so) for people to pipe down a little about how such a feat was so simple. Less than twenty years ago, it took a near-miracle for the U.S. to make its first World Cup after around 50 years of absence. Besides the emergence of Canada, I think Guatemala has a new confidence that it can get results against the U.S., and by extension, Mexico. Honduras can definitely take on either crew and Costa Rica can bounce back from recent poor form. Heck, I think Jamaica will become a threat again under their new coach, because I think they're taking this qualifying very seriously. They're probably pissed that Trinidad and Tobago made it to the World Cup and they didn't. Jamaica tied the U.S. pre-World Cup team last year. They manage a draw around every other time they play the U.S. They're not afraid of either of the so-called big teams.
This Gold Cup showed what a dust-up CONCACAF can be. Mexico has emerged bruised and taken a serious confidence dent, while the U.S. gets the tougher semifinal, so nothing is given. I'm not saying that I expected to see Canada and Guadeloupe in the title game, but who expected Panama last time around? Who expected them to take the U.S. to penalties?
To play off the old phrase by Sepp Herberger, "The ball is round, the game lasts for 90 minutes, on any given day, any given team can defeat either the U.S. or Mexico in CONCACAF qualifying."
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Top-heavy
I've enjoyed watching the Gold Cup and following it as much as I have. I think I enjoyed this tournament more than the 2005 one because I came into it trying to figure out what teams would be ones to watch come qualifying next year and in '09, whereas last time the tourney was right in the middle of the hexagonal.Maybe that's why I'm a bit disappointed. I wanted to see more from some teams to make me believe that World Cup qualifying won't be a foregone conclusion for the U.S. and Mexico... not that I necessarily want to see one of those two fail to reach the World Cup. That's not my point, but it would be nice if it were more challenging than it was last time. You'd get some real drama and excitement. It was like the '01 hexagonal where Mexico rose from the ashes, the U.S. held on, Costa Rica wrapped up a spot and Honduras tanked.
Instead, it's been business as usual: U.S. and Mexico in the semis, what else is new?
I touched on this for my PE column. I argue here that the Gold Cup has set up a future where the US and Mexico are 1-2 (or 2-1, depending on how you look at it), and the rest of the field is far behind.
Now, I did mention Canada's exploits and how they are the only ones to threaten to make it more than just a two-team show.
What I didn't do is trash Gold Cup. The tournament may have its faults but it's been enjoyable and I think teams have taken it seriously and the games have reflected as much.
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Monday, June 18, 2007
Nags' real nickname
I had a chance to talk to Paulo Nagamura recently for Chivas' Free Kick magazine.One of the things that didn't make the final cut:
Q: When people think of Brazil and soccer, they think of players who have one name: Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho. Did you ever have one name?
A: I always had it. My name was Paulinho in Brazil. Everyone knows me by Paulinho. When I came here, they wanted to use my last name. I don’t mind, you know. Nagamura is my Japanese ancestors. Everyone knows me by Paulinho back in Brazil and in England too.
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GC Obit: Honduras
While I stand firm that Costa Rica is the biggest disappointment in the tournament (two consecutive World Cup appearances, showed little in this tourney), Honduras might be the biggest fraud.In a span of four games, Honduras showed exactly why they can be dangerous and why they won't be anytime soon. Physically, Honduras is gifted. The win against Mexico was brilliant soccer. From the start, Honduras attacked and stood toe-to-toe with Mexico. Honduras was the superior side on the field that day, 11-on-11 or 11-on-10. After what should have been a confidence-building 5-0 win over Cuba, Honduras regressed back to late 2001.
Actually, Oct. 7, 2001. Honduras was on a roll and headed for the 2002 World Cup. Needing just a victory over Trinidad & Tobago in Tegucigalpa to all but wrap up a spot - and leave one place for the U.S. and Mexico to fight over - Honduras collapsed. Trinidad, who had exactly zero wins before the game, dealt a lethal blow to Honduras. Instead of sitting on 17 points entering the final game against Mexico (who sat on 14), Honduras went to Estadio Azteca needing a win to qualify. Yeah, right.
Honduras has all the makings of a strong regional side but until they develop a winning mentality, the catrachos will be perennial underachievers.
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Freddy is ready
Freddy Adu took some time to talk about the upcoming Under-20 World Cup after Sunday's game.
Audio clip here.
Andrea's soccernet piece is awesome, by the way. She knows a lot about the U-20 team so I'm going to use that as a reference to catch up on the U.S. U-20s.
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Audio clip here.
Andrea's soccernet piece is awesome, by the way. She knows a lot about the U-20 team so I'm going to use that as a reference to catch up on the U.S. U-20s.
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Injury fallout
My espn review of the US U20 team, which opened their training camp in New York today, mentioned that Quavas Kirk won't be at the U20 World Cup due to injury.
To some, that might seem a strange statement, given that Kirk went 90 minutes for the Galaxy this weekend versus Real Salt Lake, playing, ironically, his U20 position, right back.
Yet when Rongen called Kirk last week to let him know in advance of the roster release that Kirk hadn't made the squad, he specifically cited Kirk's long layoff due to injury as the reason why. At the time, Kirk still hadn't returned from the foot injury to play for the Galaxy. Unsure as to whether Kirk could recover his form in time and be fully healthy, Rongen left him off the roster.
It just made for an awkward distraction in the article to explain all that.
Also, a little tidbit that didn't make the espn piece - I asked Kirk who he thought was the heart, the unsung hero of the U20 team and he didn't hesitate to answer.
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To some, that might seem a strange statement, given that Kirk went 90 minutes for the Galaxy this weekend versus Real Salt Lake, playing, ironically, his U20 position, right back.
Yet when Rongen called Kirk last week to let him know in advance of the roster release that Kirk hadn't made the squad, he specifically cited Kirk's long layoff due to injury as the reason why. At the time, Kirk still hadn't returned from the foot injury to play for the Galaxy. Unsure as to whether Kirk could recover his form in time and be fully healthy, Rongen left him off the roster.
It just made for an awkward distraction in the article to explain all that.
Also, a little tidbit that didn't make the espn piece - I asked Kirk who he thought was the heart, the unsung hero of the U20 team and he didn't hesitate to answer.
“Little Tony Beltran, he’s definitely a fighter,” Kirk said. “He works really hard in training, and in the games he always tries his hardest. He’s obviously the fitness king, and he beats everybody in all the fitness tests. He’s a really tough player. Once he gets in there, he’s going to prove he can play.”
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Look! Another soccer blog.
Jonah Freedman gets in on the fun.
Looking over his blog (there's a picture of Jonah with LD, click on his SI staff image), I realized suddenly that I don't have a single picture of myself with any soccer players. Wait, I take that back, Luis took a picture of me interviewing Adam Cristman once.
But in general, I've been paranoid about appearing unprofessional, so I've never asked for a quick photo, even when all around, reporters would finish interviews and then pose for a pic with a player. It's not really supposed to happen, at least not in official mixed zones and stuff, but it does all the time, especially when the Mexican national team rolls into town.
I especially wish I'd had a buddy with a camera nearby when I interviewed Ronaldinho last year.
Oh well, my memories will have to suffice.
By the way, I'm not trying to say Jonah is unprofessional in the least. The rules for no photos with players are usually at mixed zones at matches, and it's likely that the photo was taken at some other event, because Landon isn't wearing any official team gear. Maybe they were just hanging out, J & L.
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Looking over his blog (there's a picture of Jonah with LD, click on his SI staff image), I realized suddenly that I don't have a single picture of myself with any soccer players. Wait, I take that back, Luis took a picture of me interviewing Adam Cristman once.
But in general, I've been paranoid about appearing unprofessional, so I've never asked for a quick photo, even when all around, reporters would finish interviews and then pose for a pic with a player. It's not really supposed to happen, at least not in official mixed zones and stuff, but it does all the time, especially when the Mexican national team rolls into town.
I especially wish I'd had a buddy with a camera nearby when I interviewed Ronaldinho last year.
Oh well, my memories will have to suffice.
By the way, I'm not trying to say Jonah is unprofessional in the least. The rules for no photos with players are usually at mixed zones at matches, and it's likely that the photo was taken at some other event, because Landon isn't wearing any official team gear. Maybe they were just hanging out, J & L.
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Adios de Beckham
Following the logic of "anonymous" in previous comments on this blog, it's hard to make sense of this video. Yeah, what are Latinos in Spain doing cheering for Beckham? It's not like he's Latino.
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Rank 'em
Someone sent me an email asking why I don't do rankings like Luis does here on the blog. Well, I actually do. I send in my rankings as part of the compilation that goes to ESPN.com for their Power Rankings.
They're edited together there. If you're curious as to what my rankings were compared to the collective, here they are.
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They're edited together there. If you're curious as to what my rankings were compared to the collective, here they are.
- FC Dallas – No Cooper and a weary Ruiz adds up badly, but still better than the
- Chivas
- DC United – Putting the early season Humpty Dumpty together again.
- Colorado Rapids– It’s hard to remember when Conor Casey was going to be the next McBride.
- Columbus – They do have some good players – and it will probably be more fun to watch Danny Szetela, Robbie Rogers and Tim Ward in the U20 World Cup and Ned Grabavoy in the Copa America than with the Crew.
- Real Salt Lake – One keeps fighting the urge to want to see Jason Kreis pull off his business suit, Superman-style, and run out to the pitch to score and save this team.
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Queen reigns over all
As expected, MARCA is all over the Real Madrid victory. They have video of the parade in celebration. Besides a very happy Beckham, it shows that something is universal to winners - they all have to play Queen's "We are the Champions" song, apparently.
Oh, well, it may be cheesy, but it's a classic. It's like how the Home Depot Center plays "I love L.A." after every Galaxy home win. It blared out last night and I looked at the fans dancing their way out of the aisles and thought, "Wow, haven't heard that song in a while."
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Oh, well, it may be cheesy, but it's a classic. It's like how the Home Depot Center plays "I love L.A." after every Galaxy home win. It blared out last night and I looked at the fans dancing their way out of the aisles and thought, "Wow, haven't heard that song in a while."
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En otra idioma
"Idioma" refers to language; it doesn't mean anyone is an idiot or anything like that. Anyway, this article on the Galaxy game is in English, for those who get tired of practicing their high school Spanish or those who find babelfish hilarious, but not particularly useful as a translation tool.
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Kreis weighs in
Jason Kreis watched Sunday's game from the press box. I saw him briefly right before the start of the second half. After the game, he seemed less upset than I expected him to be, though the RSL locker room was overall somber as you would expect.
Here's audio of the Jason Kreis after the game.
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Here's audio of the Jason Kreis after the game.
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Chris Klein on RSL loss
Chris Klein did well in some areas against the Galaxy on Sunday. Had he been able to finish one of his chances, though, RSL might have come away with a point.
Here's some audio of his post-game thoughts.
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Here's some audio of his post-game thoughts.
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Mas Galaxy
"Mas Galaxy" is actually a radio show about the team on KLAA AM 830, but I'm also referring to my second Galaxy article in Spanish, a reaction piece after the Real game. It provides a bit "mas" info on the G's.
Mas y mas.
Makes me think of Kinky's song.
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Mas y mas.
Makes me think of Kinky's song.
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Monday Rankings (June 18)
The top and bottom remain almost unchanged in what is becoming a theme for this season thus far. The middle is again reshuffling as seem teams are finding their form while others are losing it.
1. Kansas City (6-2-2). Three goals in first game without Eddie Johnson; did not do well to hold onto lead, though.
2. New York (6-3-3). Juan Pablo Angel scores for Red Bulls - what else is new?
3. Chivas USA (5-3-2). Quietly has the league's best defense.
4. D.C. United (5-3-2). Offense is surging.
5. New England (5-2-4). Blowing two-goal lead to Columbus - to anybody, really - at home is unacceptable.
6. Houston (5-5-1). Will be well-rested for Thursday's match against Chivas.
7. Toronto FC (4-6-1). This team can flat out play soccer.
8. FC Dallas (7-6-1). Yes, they have the most points in the league, but they've played 14 games already and have looked average in many of them.
9. Colorado (4-5-3). Rapids have inexplicably fallen on hard times.
10. Galaxy (2-4-3). Suddenly, club has many players at its disposal. Defense still looked as firm as spaghetti, though.
11. Chicago (4-6-2). Good news: Cuauhtemoc will arrive in Chicago this week. Bad news: he'll do so because of the Gold Cup.
12. Columbus (1-4-6). At least this team doesn't quit.
13. Real Salt Lake (0-5-6). Hopefully the club will be much improved when the new stadium opens in 08.
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1. Kansas City (6-2-2). Three goals in first game without Eddie Johnson; did not do well to hold onto lead, though.
2. New York (6-3-3). Juan Pablo Angel scores for Red Bulls - what else is new?
3. Chivas USA (5-3-2). Quietly has the league's best defense.
4. D.C. United (5-3-2). Offense is surging.
5. New England (5-2-4). Blowing two-goal lead to Columbus - to anybody, really - at home is unacceptable.
6. Houston (5-5-1). Will be well-rested for Thursday's match against Chivas.
7. Toronto FC (4-6-1). This team can flat out play soccer.
8. FC Dallas (7-6-1). Yes, they have the most points in the league, but they've played 14 games already and have looked average in many of them.
9. Colorado (4-5-3). Rapids have inexplicably fallen on hard times.
10. Galaxy (2-4-3). Suddenly, club has many players at its disposal. Defense still looked as firm as spaghetti, though.
11. Chicago (4-6-2). Good news: Cuauhtemoc will arrive in Chicago this week. Bad news: he'll do so because of the Gold Cup.
12. Columbus (1-4-6). At least this team doesn't quit.
13. Real Salt Lake (0-5-6). Hopefully the club will be much improved when the new stadium opens in 08.
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For a good cause
The console used in the Drew Carey Xbox Challenge was signed by the competitors and is up for auction, with the proceeds benefiting the Mooch Myernick Fund.
Here, Mighty Kasey is at the box, signing his name.
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Sunday, June 17, 2007
Odd stat
Landon Donovan's first MLS home game was against Real Salt Lake on April 9, 2005.
Abel Xavier's first MLS home game was against Real Salt Lake on Sunday.
David Beckham's first likely MLS home game? Against Real Salt Lake on Sept. 1, 2007.
(He'll likely play on SuperLiga game and a friendly at HDC before then, but those aren't MLS home games)G
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Abel Xavier's first MLS home game was against Real Salt Lake on Sunday.
David Beckham's first likely MLS home game? Against Real Salt Lake on Sept. 1, 2007.
(He'll likely play on SuperLiga game and a friendly at HDC before then, but those aren't MLS home games)G
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Xavi's crowd
Abel Xavier is already paying off dividends in the stands.
A large contingent of Portuguese fans showed up and took up an entire section to see Xavi in action.
So far, Xavi's looked pretty good. He had a nice long ball that set up the second goal, although he stood flat-footed on RSL's first goal. His touch and heading ability is, as you would expect, at a high level.
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Result matters
Mexico won but did not do it convincingly. Their 1-0 win over Costa Rica was good enough to reach the semifinals but nowhere near the level Mexico needs to be at.
My reaction story for SI.com.
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My reaction story for SI.com.
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Goals, goals, goals!
I have to admit, I was feeling left out of the MLS goalfest this weekend. The other games have seen an amazing amount of goals, but the scores here in LA have been quite low for some time.
Then the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake score two in the first ten minutes. The Galaxy added another one since, but RSL has been pressing for one of their own.
Yay. I love a good defensive game, but it's nice to see goals again.
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Then the Galaxy and Real Salt Lake score two in the first ten minutes. The Galaxy added another one since, but RSL has been pressing for one of their own.
Yay. I love a good defensive game, but it's nice to see goals again.
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Coach's call?
How does Ellinger feel about the guy who replaced him as Real Salt Lake's coach?Here's what the media guide says (get your magnifying glasses out).
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GC Obit: Costa Rica
Costa Rica regressed in the Gold Cup. Although Costa Rica has never won a Gold Cup, the Ticos have reached the last two World Cup finals without too much of a struggle (at least in the hexagonal). But the team that pulled out solid results in qualifying was nowhere to be found this tournament.With players such as Cristian Bolanos and Gabriel Badilla, Costa Rica has talent - that part is not in question. But Costa Rica took steps backward with their Gold Cup performances.
Grouped with Canada, Guadeloupe and Haiti, Costa Rica was the clear favorites entering the tournament. Instead, Canada and Guadeloupe are headed to the semifinals while Costa Rica is out. Their performance against Mexico on Sunday surely did not leave much confidence in their fans. Had Costa Rica gone down with guns blazing, maybe things would have been different but Costa Rica was unimaginative and fell for Mexico's dives and got into a physical match.
Hernan Medford has much to learn as coach and the pressure will be on him to reach the World Cup finals, especially with the previous two teams reaching the tournament. If some of the second-tier nations in the region such as Guatemala and Honduras can get organized and field strong and competitive squads going forward, Costa Rica will have a much more difficult time reaching the 2010 World Cup final than it did before 02 and 06.
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Write-and-run
Just finished watching and writing about the Mexico-Costa Rica match for SI.com. I'll put up a link to it later. Now, I'm off to the Galaxy-Real Salt Lake match.
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How one sees Donovan
Landon doesn't much seem to care where he's placed on the field, though I'm of the opinion that he should refine one role so that he can play that part superlatively, rather then moving back and forth and to the side. "I’m going to find spots, whether I’m in the midfield or at forward. When I’m wide, it’s a little bit different, but it’s learning for me. It’s all positive. It’s good for me to learn how to play different ways. I don’t even think about it. If it’s right mid, forward or center. I don’t even think about it. I just go out and do what I need to do in that spot."
I'm curious as to how others see Landon's role with the national team. Should he settle on a position - and where is he best at? Share any thoughts on how and where you see him.Read more...
In Frank's own words
"It’s a natural turnover of guys that happens at clubs. It’s not just the guys who have been here a while. It’s getting the right chemistry and the right salary cap and getting the situation where everyone fits into the puzzle and the team is going to be good. We are looking at other players at the moment. We’re trying to make the right moves. I feel for the gu