Red, White, and Blue Army

I Don't Even Like Manchester United But I Will Still Salute Ryan Giggs' Longevity

2012-02-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

Everybody knows that I hate Manchester United but in all sports, I'm always fascinated by players that can last for 15+ years.

Today, Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs signed a one-year extension, which will commit him to the EPL giant for a 23rd straight season.

The only player to score in every Premier League season he played, the 38-year-old Giggs made his first-team debut in March 1991 and has never played for another club.

He beat Bobby Charlton's long-standing appearance record in the 2008 Champions League final and has played 898 matches for United, 140 more than Charlton.

United manager Alex Ferguson says "he has constantly reinvented himself, adapted to the changing nature of the game and retained that desire and hunger for success."

The Welsh living legend isn't a novelty either; if you've watched any of the Red Devils' games the last few seasons you've noticed that while Giggs isn't the same player he once was, he is still more than capable of giving them a lift off the bench.

He's an inspiration to soccer players around the globe that shows you don't have to be wildly talented or athletically gifted to forge an incredible career. Giggs' best characteristics are toughness, intelligence, adaptability and a high level of fitness.

Congrats Ryan, here's to many more years of success with Manchester United.

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U.S. Women Will Play Japan & Brazil In April Tournament, In Japan

2012-02-09T15:25:00.001-08:00

What a day for U.S. soccer. On the heels of the U.S. men's date with Brazil being officially announced this afternoon, I just found out that the U.S. women will face not only Japan but also Brazil in a three day span in April.

For Pia Sundhage's team, it's all part of the Women's Kirin Challenge Cup which will take place in Japan. The U.S. will get tasty rematches from the 2011 World Cup against the team they lost to in the final (Japan) in penalty kicks and the team they beat in the quarterfinals (Brazil) that featured one of the best endings I've ever seen in a soccer game.

The U.S. women will play Japan on April 1 at Yurtec Stadium in Sendai and Brazil on April 3 at Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba.

For the U.S. soccer press release:
In the newly created three-nation tournament, named the Women’s Kirin Challenge Cup, Japan will also face Brazil April 5 at Homes Stadium in Kobe. The three-team competition features three of the top four teams in the current FIFA Women’s World Rankings.

“This trip is fantastic,” said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage. “Playing two of the world’s best teams almost back-to-back will be a tremendous challenge for our entire roster. Obviously, we are very familiar with both Japan and Brazil, and we have the ultimate respect for their coaches, their players and the technical and tactical abilities of both teams. There are no better games to prepare you for Olympic competition than facing this caliber of teams away from home.”

The match in Sendai will be the second meeting between the two Women’s World Cup finalists since that tournament, as the teams will also meet on March 5 during group play at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.

Sendai, located on the east coast of northern Japan, suffered catastrophic damage from the magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake on March 11, 2011 (just nine days after the USA had played Japan in the 2011 Algarve Cup), which triggered a massive, destructive tsunami. Yurtec Stadium, which was built in 1997 and seats 20,000, was damaged in the earthquake and tsunami.

Chiba, which is a large suburb of Tokyo, is located near the east coast of central Japan. Fukuda Denshi Arena, which was completed in 2005, seats 18,500.

Of course, the USA’s most recent meeting with Brazil was one for the ages. The USA weathered a controversial ejection and played more than an hour of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal with 10 players before dramatically tying the score in the 122nd minute on Abby Wambach’s now famous header goal, the latest ever scored in a World Cup.

The U.S. women will play New Zealand next Saturday (Feb. 11) at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas. That game will be streamed live on ussoccer.com at 4 EST. That's the start of a busy couple weeks for Sundhage and Co. as they'll head to Portugal for the annual Algrave Cup. The U.S. will play Denmark (Feb. 29), Norway (March 2) and Japan (March 5) in Group B play.

So yeah, get ready to see plenty of the U.S. men and women's national teams as the weather starts to get better and spring is in the air which means one thing to me: time for some high level soccer for both of our squads.

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Bring On Brazil! (Ducks Bicycle Kick)

2012-02-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

After nearly a month of breathlessly waiting (guilty as charged), the U.S. men's game vs. Brazil was formally set today with the international friendly to be held on May 30 in Landover, MD (at the home of the Washington Redskins).

Regardless of where it is, I'm obviously psyched to see the Americans match up with one of the world's true superpowers but I have to say that I'm disappointed I won't be able to attend it. The rumors were that Gillette Stadium and Landover were the finalists so it's a shame that we won't have this great game in our backyards. Oh well.

Brazil, a five-time World Cup champion, will be playing the Americans for the fourth time in four years. Brazil has won all three in that span - twice at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa and a 2-0 exhibition win at East Rutherford, N.J., in August 2010.

The U.S. is 1-15 against Brazil, winning in 1998 at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
"When you talk about Brazil, you are speaking of one of the most gifted football playing nations in the world,'' U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. "It is our goal to be able to match up against teams like Brazil on a consistent basis, so this is an amazing opportunity.''

Before World Cup qualifying begins, the Americans play at Italy on Feb. 29, then plan to host Scotland on May 26. They play at Canada on June 3 before opening qualifying at home against Antigua and Barbuda on June 8.

Host of the 2014 World Cup, Brazil will play Mexico on June 3 at Arlington, Texas, and Argentina on June 9 at East Rutherford.

You'll remember that the 1-0 win in the '98 Gold Cup was when U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller absolutely stole it by playing one of the best games I've ever seen.

As I keep saying, over and over, this summer is going to be incredible if you have even a passing interest in soccer. The U.S. will play some intriguing friendlies before beginning their World Cup 2014 journey. Plus, Brazil will be stateside for a trio of juicy meetings. Brazil vs. Mexico and Brazil vs. Argentina is something you would see in a World Cup quarterfinal or semifinal, a really high-level match that should attract monster crowds and media attention.

It seems that the location of the Scotland match is TBA so let's keep our fingers crossed that maybe the U.S. men's national team will come to Foxborough for the start (Saturday) of Memorial Day weekend. What a treat that would be!

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Only In England: Fabio Capello Resigns A Mere Four Months Before Euro 2012

2012-02-08T15:35:00.000-08:00

It's times like these that I wish I was still studying abroad in London for a semester.

The England national team is a constant source of drama and gossip but today it was bombarded with some wild news as head coach Fabio Capello resigned.

Apparently, he was upset with England taking John Terry's captaincy. Really Fabio? Please tell me there was more to it than this. Whatever the case may be, England is left without a manager only four months before Euro 2012 starts. Gee, do you think they'll do well in that?

The good news for English fans is that it sounds like Tottenham's Harry Redknapp is the frontrunner to get the position; not to sound xenophobic but why did they overthink it so much the last two times (Capello, Sven-Goran Eriksson) by not hiring an Englishman?

One of my main beliefs for national teams is that if you're a power, you should hire one of your own. Be that a former star player or a coach in your domestic league. So while it makes perfect sense for a place like the United States to reach out to somebody above its weight class (Jurgen Klinsmann), countries like England, Brazil, Spain, Italy, etc. should keep it simple and get somebody that understands the culture, speaks the language fluently and most importantly, can relate to the players.

Capello left England with a 28-8-6 record with the Three Lions. That looks great until you quickly remember that he didn't win any trophies and those numbers are padded from playing the dredge of Europe and losing to most worthy opposition.

As always, covering English soccer has to be one of the greatest writing jobs in the soccer world. You could devote a blog just to their national team and all the stuff that happens with them off the field.

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John Terry Is Still A Piece Of Trash

2012-02-03T12:35:00.001-08:00

In case you forgot, John Terry would like to remind you that he is one of the biggest scumbags in all of professional soccer.

The Chelsea defender and mainstay of England's national team was stripped of his captaincy today with his country due to allegations of racism against Queens Park defender Anton Ferdinand.

I used to love Chelsea and Terry was my favorite player along with Frank Lampard but I have a hard time rooting for them and him while he's still a Blue.

England head coach Fabio Capello will reportedly try a rotation of captains, including Steven Gerrard of Liverpool, Lampard, Manchester City's Gareth Barry, Liverpool's Glen Johnson and Tottenham's Scott Parker.

The source says the Italian tactician will implement a system of rotating captains for England's games leading up to Euro2012. He will start with the current vice-captain, Gerrard, when England plays the Netherlands on Feb. 29.

"An England squad will be selected next week and is sure to include Steven Gerrard, which means he is most likely to be named captain for that game but, of course, there is no guarantee that he will be fit at the end of the month when the game is played," the report says.

Gerrard has played 89 times for England, and served as its captain at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He has been left out of the England squad since Nov. 2010, as he battled injuries for much of the next 13 months.

Capello re-installed Terry as captain in March 2011 -- he had been stripped of the role in Feb. 2010 after his alleged affair with a teammate's made headlines -- to lead England through Euro2012 qualification.

As we said when the first drama with Terry sprung up in 2010, before the World Cup, nobody does soap operas like England. The team is always supremely talented but either through bad management, chemistry or poor performance, they routinely come up short in international competitions. I expect Euro 2012 to be no different with the Three Lions doing down in flames well before the final.

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Hey Canada, Get Ready For Another Beating

2012-02-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

It was announced this evening that the U.S. men's national team will take on Canada on June 4 at Toronto's BMO Field in an international friendly.

This will be the first U.S. match in Canada since 1997 and as such it will be given the proper stage: a 7 p.m. kickoff and live broadcast on NBC Sports Network.

Part of the Centenary celebrations for the Canada Soccer Association, the match will be the final tune-up for both teams before the start of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying. The U.S. opens play June 8 at home against Antigua and Barbuda in Group A, while Canada travels to face Cuba in Group C.

“First of all, we are honored to be chosen to be part of Canada’s Centenary Celebration,” said Klinsmann. “This is exactly the type of challenge we are looking for as we grow the team and get ready for the start of World Cup qualifying. There is a great history in the rivalry, and Canada is a team we could see in the final round of qualifying. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

The U.S. has a 3-6-1 lifetime record in matches in Canada in the series dating back to 1925 but has won the last two times out. The most recent visit came in the final round of qualifying for the 1998 FIFA World Cup on Nov. 9, 1997, when an early goal by Claudio Reyna and two from Roy Wegerle delivered the U.S. a 3-0 victory that clinched the USA’s ticket to France.

Overall, the United States has done exceptionally well against Canada for the past two decades. The U.S. is in the midst of a 14-game unbeaten streak (8-0-6) since dropping a 2-0 decision to Canada on April 2, 1985, in Vancouver. The lifetime series record stands at 13-8-9 in the USA’s favor.

I can't think of a better way for the U.S. men to get ready for World Cup qualifying than by throwing a serious beating on Canada, just like the U.S. women did last weekend. The Canadian men's national team is a joke so I don't expect much push back from all their failed hockey players.

On Twitter, along with the news of this game, I saw more information about other friendlies for the U.S. men this summer. It looks like they'll face Brazil in Washington, D.C. and not Gillette Stadium (keeping my fingers crossed until I hear otherwise, officially). Plus (and this was new information), they reportedly will face Scotland as well.

Clearly, both of those matches are much more intriguing to me. Stay tuned as we find out the exact details.

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Clint Dempsey Continues To Find The Back Of The Net For Fulham Football Club

2012-02-01T23:23:00.001-08:00

Transfer day came and went yesterday in European soccer and Clint Dempsey stayed at Fulham despite some rumors that he might be going to a bigger, more iconic club.

Dempsey is on fire with Fulham right now. He scored the lone goal for the home team today as Fulham tied West Brom 1-1 at Craven Cottage in an English Premier League match.

I wish I could give you a better highlight but all I could get was this post from Deadspin.

The goal came in the 69th minute and it gave Fulham a temporary 1-0 lead. West Bromwich tied it in the 82nd minute. It was Dempsey's seventh goal in his last three matches at Craven Cottage; he fell off his hat trick pace (of the last two games) but he still managed to find the scoresheet.

By no means was it Dempsey's most electrifying strike, I would argue that the through ball was better, but it was still a coolly placed finish from one of the world's top goal-scorers.

Your move Donovan.

PS. I'm loving the back and forth between these two American stars in England. It seems like every game brings a new gift from either of these guys. Just imagine if they can play like this together under Jurgen Klinsmann. Now that is an exciting thought.

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Hi Haters: Landon Donovan Continues To Do Work For Everton On His 2nd Loan

2012-01-31T20:44:00.001-08:00

I've never pretended to be the biggest Landon Donovan fan.

In a column last week, Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl referred to U.S. fans as either Donovan supporters or Clint Dempsey honks. Without question, I fall into the latter category but I have to admit that Landycakes is getting it done in Everton, again.

In today's 1-0 win over Manchester City, Donovan had the assist on the game-winning goal by Darron Gibson in the 60th minute.

As you can see in this shaky YouTube highlight that was obviously taken right from a TV, the deflection in the box comes to Donovan. Rather than rush or force a shot, he lays it off softly for Gibson who hammers it in.

If you're scoring at home, this was the fifth assist for Donovan in seven matches (including FA Cup games) with Everton on this loan spell, his second with the Toffees.

A cynic would say where is this guy when the United States plays non-CONCACAF legitimate opponents but hey, at least he is doing this somewhere against top-flight competition. All we can hope is that this pushes him into a great spring and summer with the U.S. as they start World Cup qualifying for Brazil 2014.

PS Tim Howard had the clean sheet for Everton, handing Manchester City only its third loss of the EPL season thus far.

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Claudio Reyna & Tony Meola Likely Headed To The Pretend U.S. Soccer Hall Of Fame

2012-01-31T20:28:00.000-08:00

Take heart Claudio Reyna and Tony Meola, you are two of the 12 first-time eligible players for the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame.

Sure, the facility in Oneonta, NY (truly a wondrous location) closed two years ago but what does that matter?

For real though, it's nice to see one of the greatest midfielders in U.S. men's history-Reyna-and the goalkeeper that was on the 1994 World Cup team get some much deserved praise. Reyna was the first American to really do anything in Europe for a club team while Meola helped some overachieving squads reach heights that they could have never imagined a few years earlier.

The U.S. Soccer Federation said Tuesday other newly eligible players are: Jose Burciaga Jr., Ronald Cerritos, Lorrie Fair, Jen Lalor-Nielsen, Ronnie O'Brien, Ante Razov, David Regis, Thori Staples Bryan, Greg Vanney and Kerry Zavagnin.

Holdovers on the 31-player ballot include Mike Burns, Peter Nowak, Carlos Valderrama and Peter Vermes, all in their final year of regular eligibility.

Players must appear on at least two-third of the regular ballots to gain election. Voters include Hall of Famers, administrators and media.

The veterans ballot includes George Best, Teofilo Cubillas, Shep Messing and Glenn Myernick. The top player on the veterans ballot needs 50 percent for election.

Don't feel bad, if you don't recognize most of those names because for the life of me, I don't know many of them either. Luckily, there's no information when this fake ceremony for the fake Hall of Fame is anyway so I guess we can all just guess when it is on our own and celebrate accordingly.

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U.S. Women Roll 4-0 Over Canada To Win CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament

2012-01-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

Tonight's game between the U.S. women and Canada in Vancouver was essentially meaningless since both teams had already secured a spot in the 2012 Olympics in London but aren't you glad you support the Americans after the 4-0 beating they put on the hapless Canadiens in front of their home fans in Vancouver?

Abby Wambach scored twice to move into second-place on the international scoring list (131, now 27 short of Mia Hamm) while Alex Morgan (2 goals, 2 assists) took advantage of her starting spot as she was the best player on the field. It's baffling to think that she didn't start last week against Mexico, what else does she have to do? She is instant offense whenever she's in a game and she has great chemistry with Wambach as they showed tonight.

When the outcome was still somewhat up in the air, American goalkeeper Hope Solo made a couple big saves to show that she's still the best at her position in the world.

Carli Lloyd hit a long ball that Wambach flicked on to send Morgan off to the races in the fourth minute. She fought off a few defenders and coolly finished.

Morgan returned the favor as she crossed to Wambach for a header in the 24th minute and then gave her a neat little pass in the area that Wambach touched from in close.

With a 3-0 halftime lead, Wambach was subbed out but Morgan capped off her best night in a U.S. uniform by scoring her second goal, this time in the 56th minute off a through ball from Lauren Cheney.

I'm not even sure if Vegas or any sportsbooks put odds on women's soccer but if they do, I will guarantee that the Americans will be the favorites heading into London this summer for the 2012 Olympics. They have the best forward combination in the world, top goalkeeper and other assorted solid roleplayers (Cheney, Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe). Their depth is remarkable and it is one of the main reasons why anything less than a gold medal will be a major disappointment.

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U.S. Women Secure Their Spot In London With A 3-0 Win Vs. Costa Rica

2012-01-27T23:32:00.001-08:00

From all I read, it wasn't a classic performance by any means but all that matters is the final result: the U.S. women's team is going to the 2012 London Olympics thanks to their 3-0 win vs. Costa Rica tonight in Vancouver, British Columbia.

It was a semifinal in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament; host Canada beat Mexico in the other, setting up a fun but ultimately meaningless (since they're both in already) final on Sunday night (8 p.m. on NBCSports) between the two rivals and neighbors.

Tobin Heath had the first goal, a header in the 16th minute but the top ranked Americans were only up 1-0 at halftime against a team ranked No. 41 that had never been to the Olympics or a World Cup and also had never scored a goal against the U.S. in eight previous encounters.

The U.S. settled down in the second half as Carli Lloyd blasted one in during the 72nd minute and Alex Morgan wrapped it up with a goal in the 89th minute off the bench.

Hope Solo earned the shutout by making a big-time stop in the 20th minute, she also benefited from a Costa Rica shot in the 27th minute that rocked the crossbar.

This contest was certainly tighter than the first two games in group play: the U.S. rolled 14-0 over the Dominican Republic and 13-0 over Guatemala before a 4-0 win over Mexico and finally, this 3-0 triumph.

The United States will enter London this summer as two-time defending gold medalists. Ironically, both titles came after not winning the ultimate prize-the World Cup.

The tournament includes the UK, Japan, North Korea, Cameroon, South Africa, France, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia and Canada. The final team will hail from Oceania. You'll notice that Germany isn't on that list which means that the U.S. will likely be the favorite.

We all fell in love with this group after their incredible run last summer; let's hope that it continues, albeit with a win in their final match and another Gold to bring home.

If nothing else, it's a delectable side dish to what is shaping up to be an incredible summer of the beautiful game: Euro 2012, London Olympics and World Cup qualifying starts plus some awesome friendlies (Brazil vs. Argentina in NJ).

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Team Donovan & Howard (Everton) Beats Team Dempsey (Fulham) 2-1 In FA Cup

2012-01-27T23:05:00.001-08:00

I have no idea where U.S. men's head coach Jurgen Klinsmann was today but I would guess that he parked himself in front of a TV this afternoon to watch his three best players-Tim Howard, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey-compete in an FA Cup match.

Howard and Donovan's club Everton won 2-1 over Dempsey's Fulham in a fifth-round game. What's more, Donovan (playing in his sixth game while on loan) provided both assists on strong aerial crosses from the right side.

It marked the first time that Everton beat Fulham in an FA Cup match after four consecutive losses.

"Landon's been great since he's been here,'' Everton assistant manager Steve Round said. "He's a real diamond of a guy, he's a very intelligent footballer and the lads all like him. You've seen the quality of his end product, whether it be from crosses or set plays.

"He's a top player."

Donovan and Dempsey had played on the last two World Cup teams for the U.S. and I would argue that they are the two best male field players that the United States has ever produced. This was only the seventh time that they'd played each with the last time taking place six years ago in MLS when Dempsey's New England Revolution topped Donovan's LA Galaxy 4-0.

After Fulham's Danny Murphy converted on a penalty kick in the 14th minute, Everton equalized in the 27th minute thanks to Denis Stracqualursi's first goal for the Toffees. Donovan's cross was perfectly placed as Stracqualursi headed it into the corner past Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale.

It was a quiet day for Dempsey, his most notable chance was a header early in the second half that went over the crossbar. Donovan tried his luck from distance, to no avail but once again he showed off his underrated passing (specifically crossing) ability.

He whipped the ball to Marouane Fellaini, who put the header in the top corner for the game-winner in the 73rd minute.

Howard didn't have to make any crazy saves but you can bet that if Everton continues to advance in the FA Cup, it will be thanks to him. Apropos of nothing, he's still wearing that camouflage goalkeeper jersey that I've never seen anybody else have.

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Another American Will Play In The English Premier League: Tim Ream Goes To Bolton

2012-01-27T12:14:00.001-08:00

Ironically on a day when four Americans face off in an FA Cup match pitting Everton (Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann and Landon Donovan) vs. Fulham (Clint Dempsey), another U.S. teammate Tim Ream officially completed his signing with Bolton.

He inked for 3.5 years with the EPL squad that is struggling to stay above relegation. Bolton is currently 17th out of 20 teams (the bottom two get relegated) over halfway through the season (22 of 38 matches played already).

The 24-year-old defender, formerly of the New York Red Bulls, had to cut short his honeymoon in Tahiti to head to England.

Ream convinced Bolton manager Owen Coyle of his worth while training in December with Bolton's squad and completed a transfer from Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls on Thursday.

"I was married for all of 24 hours when I got the phone call," Ream said. "The manager asked if I'd be willing to cancel the honeymoon and come to Bolton and honeymoon here. As much as we were disappointed that we had to pass up the trip, I think we both knew it was in our best interests. Hopefully, it shows my commitment to being here and doing well here."

Ream's wife took a little more convincing.

"I can't really repeat what she said," Ream said. "But her and I have talked, and as long as we're together in whatever we do I think both of us will be happy. She wants the best for me, and I just want her to be happy.

Ream fills the gap in Bolton's roster created by the sale of Gary Cahill to Chelsea earlier in Europe's January transfer window.

Stuart Holden, an American midfielder, is also on Bolton so Ream will have a familiar face around the training grounds and at the games.

Ream's transfer fee of $2.75 million is the highest ever for an MLS defender and sixth highest for an American player-behind Maurice Edu, Jozy Altidore, Stern John, Howard and Dempsey.

"I knew there was interest in me when I came over last year and trained for a couple of weeks, and then after Christmas time things really did start to ramp up," Ream said. "Negotiations started, and that's when I knew things were getting serious. Even before that week I aimed to challenge myself in England and, if an opportunity arose, I wanted to come over and try to make it here."

Coyle is sure Ream has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League.
"He is a U.S. international - a player that year-on-year has progressed and got better, and he will continue to do that," Coyle said. "Tim is everything that we want in the players we are bringing to the club when we spend in the transfer market. He is young, has a tremendous attitude and a winning mentality."

A finalist for the MLS Rookie of the Year award in 2010, Ream was selected to the MLS All-Star team last year and has played seven times for the U.S. national team.

"This was a hard decision for me considering the fact that I enjoyed playing for the Red Bulls and was looking forward to the upcoming MLS season," Ream said. "However, after consulting with those closest to me, I decided that this was a once in a lifetime chance that I could not pass up."

Let's cross our fingers for a couple things: Holden's health, Ream getting playing time and of course, Bolton not getting relegated. This is a great move regardless, but it definitely loses some shine if they get bounced from the EPL this spring and fall back down to the League Championship.

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U.S. Men Top Panama 1-0 In A Battle Of JV Squads

2012-01-25T20:40:00.000-08:00

I can't sit here and pretend that I'm proud of what I did this evening. Yes folks, I wasted two hours of my life sitting at a computer, watching the U.S. men's B squad take on Panama's B squad on ESPN3.com.

After watching Liverpool-Manchester City in the Carling Cup and Real Madrid-Barcelona in the Copa Del Rey earlier today, this nightcap felt like drinking a warm 40 of Steel Reserve after a day filled with Guinness and Hoegaarden, but I digress.

All you need to know is that the U.S. won 1-0 in Panama City for Jurgen Klinsmann's third straight win (4-4-1 overall since taking over last summer).

In his second CAP, midfielder Graham Zusi scored his first international goal while goalkeepers Nick Rimando and Sean Johnson (not the former U.S. gymnast) split halves and the shutout.

Don't ask me how a full U.S. squad lost 1-0 to Panama last summer in the first round of the Gold Cup because from what I saw tonight, Panama is awful. They had way more chances than the U.S. and led 6-1 in corner kicks. What's more, U.S. defender (and URI alum) Geoff Cameron was sent off in the 51st minute after a bogus red card for taking down Panama's Blas Perez on a breakaway (outside the box).

I'll give props to the Americans for holding the fort on the road while they played with 10 men as the U.S. improved to 2-0-1 all-time in Mariano Rivera's native land.

From the start, all signs pointed to this being a joke of a game. You'd figure Panama doesn't have too many big events like this yet the stadium was half-full. At least Panama's head coach dressed up like he was going to dinner on a cruise-wearing black pants with a belt and a green polo shirt. The commentators were Taylor Twellman and Ricardo Ortiz, an underwhelming duo if I've ever heard one. Just a very strange night all around.

Zusi got in the board early as he followed up Zach Loyd's cross and deflection off Teal Bunbury to slot it home in the upper corner.

Rimando doesn't look very athletic on first glance but he was scrambling around in the first half and he made some nice saves.

The only other real chance for the U.S. was in the 30th minute as Jones unleashed a blast from distance but Panama's goalkeeper Luis Meija dove to stop it then somehow dove again to keep Chris Wondolowski's follow up header out of the net. I'd guess that if anyone in Bristol, CT was paying attention, that will be in Sportscenter's Top 10 plays this evening.

Jones picked up a yellow card on a challenge that was physical but not cardworthy. I fear that he earned it simply on his growing bad reputation, which is not a good thing.

More than anything, this international friendly was about getting young guys experience in tough (kind of) environments. On Saturday vs. Venezuela, Hamid, Sapong, Zusi and Delagarza all appeared in their first U.S. match.

Delagarza got a yellow after dribbling back towards his own goal for a while then trying to turn, losing the ball and then taking down his man. Ugly.

Brek Shea played in his ninth match for Klinsmann, the only player that has done that but you'd be hard-pressed to find any highlights from him in this one. He was a ghost, albeit a ghost with that awful haircut.

Panama completely bungled a couple easy chances late in the game. A header off a cross went inches wide and a shot from in close inexplicably went wide. Bottom line, if the U.S. was facing a real opponent, they would have lost.

All I know is that the next U.S. men's match is February 29 in Italy and it is going to be like night and day compared to this snoozefest. All the big guns from European clubs should be there, relegating most of these MLS All-Stars to the bench or better yet, back home where they belong. U.S. vs. Italy will be great, in fact I might try to sleep until then.

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Clint Dempsey Becomes 1st American To Notch Hat Trick In An EPL Match

2012-01-21T22:33:00.000-08:00

(Pardon the video's quality, it's the best I could find on YouTube. I'm not sure of the UK laws but it looks like the EPL doesn't allow YouTube or other websites to post highlight videos of their games. Weird).

No matter what you did today, odds are that Clint Dempsey had a better day than you. The U.S. national team star scored a hat trick for Fulham this afternoon in their 5-2 win over Newcastle.

Dempsey became the first American ever to score three goals in an English Premier League game. What's more, his first of the match was the 50th of his career. He now has 15 (2 more than his career-high from last year) for his club this season, including nine in EPL contests.

"We never found our rhythm in the first half but we began to get into their penalty area in the second half,'' Dempsey said after taking his Premier League tally to nine goals. "Danny Murphy scored the first goal and then we kept going and going. Luckily the ball kept going in. We never took our foot off the gas and we took our chances.''

Fulham manager Martin Jol was delighted with the American's performance and was keen for it continue as the team moved eight points away from the relegation zone.
"Clint Dempsey is our top scorer,'' Jol said. "He is doing what he does best. Clint scores goals and if he can score 12 goals this year and some other players do we will be fine.''

This came two weeks since Dempsey's first career hat trick: in an FA Cup game against Charlton.

It'll be interesting to see if Dempsey gets transferred to a bigger English club (cough cough Arsenal or Liverpool) that needs a goal-scorer. You never know, it could happen.

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Cleaning Up Some Odds & Ends With USMNT & USWNT

2012-01-21T22:07:00.001-08:00

I was all set to watch the U.S. men's friendly vs. Venezuela tonight (first game in 2012) until I realized it was a B-Squad operation all around.

Not only were both teams fielding rosters made up of youngsters and backups but it wasn't on TV, just ESPN3.com. After going out for the night and seeing score updates on Twitter, I decided I was best served to save my time and just watch the highlights.

Ricardo Clark (remember him?) scored the game-winner in the 97th minute as the U.S. squeaked by Venezuela 1-0 in Phoenix, Arizona. Jermaine Jones apparently had a good match and he hit the corner that Clark scored off of. The U.S. men next play at Panama City on Wednesday against Panama.

In other U.S. soccer news, the U.S. soccer foundation handed out their 2011 awards the other night. Abby Wambach was voted top women's player, for the fifth time which broke Mia Hamm's record. Clint Dempsey was the top male player, winning it for the first time since 2007 which is hard to believe.

Brek Shea (male) and Sydney Leroux (female) were also the top young athletes.

Wambach previously won in 2003, 2004, 2007 and last year. Hamm (aka Mrs. Nomar Garciaparra) won from 1994-98.

Best wishes go out to U.S. women's defender Ali Krieger, who tore her ACL and MCL last night in the U.S.' 14-0 drubbing of the Dominican Republic. It was the first match of Olympic qualifying for the U.S. ahead of this summer's 2012 games in London. Krieger is expected to miss eight months of action.

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Steven Gerrard Will Apparently Be On Liverpool For The Rest Of His Career

2012-01-12T11:41:00.000-08:00

I have always been a proponent of keeping legends on your club for their entire careers, if that's possible and also assuming that they don't become a distraction or unruly as their skills diminish.

Liverpool midfielder and captain Steven Gerrard has always been one of my favorite players so I was psyched today when I read that he'll be there for the foreseeable future after signing a new contract.

Premier League side Liverpool confirmed the news on Thursday, stating Gerrard, 31, has "committed his long-term future" to the Reds, while he will also take up an ambassadorial role when he retires.

The deal caps an excellent 24 hours for the midfielder after he scored from the penalty spot on Wednesday night to help his side to a 1-0 Carling Cup semi-final first leg with over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

After emerging through the youth ranks at Anfield, Gerrard has gone on to make 561 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool, winning both the FA Cup and League Cup twice as well as claiming Champions League glory in 2005.

The England international has recently endured a torrid time with injuries, but he made his comeback in September and has since steadily returned to form and fitness.

Of his contract extension, Gerrard told the club's official website: "I'm very happy. It's a very proud day for myself and my family.

"It comes on the back of a fantastic team performance last night when we got the result we were looking for. Hopefully we can finish the job off in two weeks time and take all of our magnificent fans down to Wembley for a day out.

"The contract extension coming the day after has been the icing on the cake so it has been a perfect 24 hours. This is the club I love and is the club I have supported since I was a young boy. I am living the dream as the captain of one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"I love coming to work every day and the experiences I have had since I was eight years of age and first signed for the club, I wouldn't change them for the world. To extend that and to hopefully have some more good times in a red shirt is what I want.

"There will be more highs and lows, there's no doubt about it as that's part and parcel of being a football player at a top club. The important thing is that you react well to the lows and experience more of the highs.

"I'm confident moving forward that the club is going in the right direction. We've got a fantastic team, we've got the right owners in place and the right team behind our team, so I'm really confident we'll have more good experiences in the future."

Reading those quotes from Gerrard, what more can you ask for? It's not just smart PR, you can tell the guy truly loves his club and playing professional soccer for a living. Plus, he's still energized and looking forward to the future rather than sitting back and resting on his laurels and impressive resume. This all makes me love him even more and root for the Reds to do well for the rest of his career.

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Official Trailer For "Laduma" Released

2012-01-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to pass along the YouTube of an official trailer for a documentary entitled "Laduma" that my college buddy has been working on since the 2010 World Cup.

As you can see, it ties into our blog very nicely since the movie is all about following U.S. men's national team supporters in South Africa and also what the event means to the African nation.

I ran into this friend at last summer's U.S. vs. Spain match at Gillette Stadium and he's been keeping me up to date on this project since then. He works for a film company in New York and he majored in film at Ithaca College so needless to say, he knows what he's doing.

There is an impressive array of experts featured in "Laduma" including ESPN's Bob Ley and Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl, two of the foremost authorities these days on soccer in the United States.

Another side note, the song in the trailer is called "Jason" and it's by The Biltmores. I went to college with the guys in that band too and they are an awesome group. They are on iTunes, check them out. You won't be disappointed.

For more information on Laduma, their Twitter handle is @OneGoalUSA and their website is onegoalusa.com

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Robbie Rogers Is Going To England, Assuming He Can Obtain A Work Permit

2012-01-11T11:27:00.000-08:00

It looks like U.S. midfielder Robbie Rogers is headed to England to play for Leeds, a second-tier club that used to be in the English Premier League but was relegated.

The only hang up is that Rogers needs to get a British work permit (visa).

Rogers is not automatically eligible for a work permit in Britain because he has not played at least 75 percent of competitive matches for the U.S. in the last two years.
On the Leeds website, manager Simon Grayson said that "as soon as the work permit business is complete he will be an immediate part of our plans and have an opportunity with the first team.''
Grayson added that "we believe he will make an impact here.''

Rogers is 24-years-old and he was a free agent after completing the 2011 season with the Columbus Crew in MLS. He came onto the U.S. national team radar under new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and he appears to have some promise.

My dream is that one day all U.S. men's national team players will play for European club teams rather than MLS. As long as they still rely on guys that compete in MLS full-time, they will never be able to take the next step and become one of the world's consistently top national teams.

Fingers crossed that the work permit comes through for Rogers, and since he's a pro athlete and not some random dude I think it will in short order, and he can play for Leeds right away.

UPDATE 1/19: Rogers' work visa was approved today.

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Holy Boners: Argentina Will Take On Brazil June 9 At The Meadowlands In New Jersey

2012-01-11T11:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've taken a trip down to the Garden State (New Jersey) but I might have to do that this summer.

Yesterday, it was announced that Argentina will face Brazil on June 9 at the new Meadowlands (where the Giants and Jets play) in East Rutherford, N.J.

If you live in New York City, Philadelphia, New Jersey or basically anywhere on the East Coast and you call yourself a soccer fan, you are most likely salivating over this dream matchup between two of the top countries in the world with some of the most exciting and aggressive styles.

This friendly takes place on a day designated for international friendlies, which is a great thing since it means that Lionel Messi (Argentina), Neymar (Brazil) and all of their other European-based teammates should be available for this game.

Since this will take place so close to New York City, the most diverse city in the United States, I bet that tens of thousands of Brazilians and Argentinians will be in attendance or simply tailgating in the parking lots. If you've never been to a big time soccer match, I highly recommend it since it should be a top-notch atmosphere that is rarely seen in the United States. The amount of smokeshows should likewise be through the roof, the beer and delicious meats will be plentiful and it's June so it will be warm. What are you waiting for? Get tickets (and invite me)!

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The U.S. Men Will Face Italy On Feb. 29

2012-01-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

I don't know how this huge news item eluded me for a few days but the U.S. men's national team will meet Italy on February 29 in Genoa, Italy in a friendly match.

That is the final date that national teams can have friendlies before they reconvene in May for the start of 2014 World Cup qualifying. What better way to get ready for the rigors of CONCACAF (dying laughing) than by playing the four-time World Cup champions, who are still one of the top teams on the planet as much as it pains me to say that.

Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. local time and 2:30 p.m. for those of us that live on the East Coast. It will be live on ESPN2 with both teams likely fielding stacked rosters.

“Obviously we are very excited to be playing a team of such high quality,” said Jurgen Klinsmann. “We are slowly trying to raise the bar for our team, and this is an awesome opportunity for the players to be challenged against one of the top teams in the world.”

The match in Genoa will be the third meeting on Italian soil between the teams and the first since 2002, when Italy snatched a 1-0 victory in Catania in a tune-up for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The United States has never beaten the four-time World Cup champion, holding a 0-7-3 lifetime record.

The teams have played four times in major international tournaments, including the thrilling 1-1 draw in the second match of group play in the 2006 FIFA World Cup on June 17, 2006, in Kaiserslautern. One of the finest performances in team history, that match is as memorable for the massive support of U.S. fans as for holding off the Italians after being reduced to nine men. The most recent encounter came in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, when the Italians captured a 3-0 victory in group play against a U.S. team reduced to 10 men.

The ninth-ranked Italians have a storied history that includes four World Cup titles, the most recent from the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. They are preparing for the 2012 European Championship, having been drawn into a monster group that includes defending World Cup champion Spain, as well as Ireland and Croatia.

Going to Genoa will also be a homecoming of sorts for Klinsmann, who played in the Serie A from 1997-98 for Sampdoria.

At the moment, the U.S. men are training in Phoenix, AZ getting ready for two friendlies later this month. They will host Venezuela on Saturday, January 21 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ. That match will be available on ESPN3 (which is a fantastic site, I watch it all the time for college sports) and Galavision.

On January 25, the American men will travel to Panama City to face Panama in a game that will also be broadcast live on Galavision.

I look forward to all U.S. games but I have to say that seeing the Italy match on the horizon is much more appealing than either Venezuela or Panama. The U.S. men should beat those nothing teams, hopefully setting up a tasty game with one of the world's most hated squads in February.

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Thierry Henry Returns On Loan To Arsenal In Smashing Fashion With A Winning Goal

2012-01-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

It's pretty rare in professional sports that we see moments that can only be described as magical. It takes a lot for a cynical person like myself to sit back and say wow but yesterday's FA Cup match between Arsenal and Leeds provided such a moment that I will honestly never forget.

Thierry Henry made his debut for Arsenal; the former Gunners icon is on a two-month loan in London from the New York Red Bulls (MLS). Would you believe that after coming on as a substitute, he provided the winning goal in a 1-0 game that propelled Arsenal to the fourth round of the FA Cup?

The game was at Arsenal's home stadium, the Emirates, so Henry gets the proper reception when he comes on, after he scores and at the final whistle. Granted, there probably won't be many more goals or moments like this for Henry in the next few months but how sweet was last night? It proved that he still has something left in the tank after a long and glorious career.

On first blush, the classic finish by Henry into the side netting appears to be very close to offside but notice that Leeds has a defender on the other side of the box. That guy kept Henry onside; props on the through ball from Alex Song. It was perfectly placed, right on his foot. All Henry had to do was take one touch to settle it before curling it around Leeds's goalkeeper.

Just from my studying abroad experience in the winter and spring of 2005 in London, I will always have fond memories of Henry. He was at the top of his game then and he will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest goal-scorers of his generation. Furthermore, he's a good guy and he has done so much for the game of soccer both internationally (for France) and domestically (Arsenal, Barcelona).

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It's Lionel Messi's World, We're All Just Living In It (Even The Lovely Shakira)

2012-01-09T23:06:00.001-08:00

Lionel Messi was the big winner earlier today in Zurich since the Barcelona star captured his third straight player of the year award.

The Argentine midfielder joins Ronaldo (1996, 1997, 2002) and Zinedine Zidane (1998, 2000, 2003) as the only three-time winners of the most prestigious award in soccer, the 2011 Ballon d'Or.

With 48% of the vote, Messi beat Cristiano Rondaldo (22%) and Messi's Barcelona teammate Xavi (9%).

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was chosen men's coach of the year ahead of Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho and Manchester United's Alex Ferguson.

Japan's Homare Sawa won the women's player of the year, ending Marta's five-year reign at the top. Her coach Norio Sasaki was the top women's coach, ending a remarkable year for Japan.

Apropos of nothing, I'm pretty sure I predicted all the winners back when I blogged about the nominees in December. Wish I could have made a profit off of those layup choices!

All three Ballon d'Or nominees were part of the 2011 all-star lineup. It is a team entirely made up of Barcelona, Madrid and Manchester United players.

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Nemanja Vidic
Midfielders: Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso
Forwards: Messi, Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney

No clue why FIFA holds the awards in the next calender year and not in December around the holidays, when there's not much else going on. Oh well, what else would you expect from an ultra-corrupt governing body that's still run by an uberbozo like Sepp Blatter?

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Clint Dempsey Notches The First Hat Trick Of His Professional Career, For Fulham

2012-01-09T22:47:00.001-08:00

Pardon the delay but we'd like to catch up on something that happened over the weekend while the NFL playoffs began stateside.

Clint Dempsey scored the first hat trick of his professional career, something that he never did with the New England Revolution either, when he scored three times for Fulham on Saturday at Craven Cottage in a 4-0 win over Charlton in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.

The three goals pretty much summed up why Dempsey is such a feared goal-scorer. The first was a through ball that he finished over the goalkeeper with his right foot. Then he had a similar goal, except with his left. Finally, he stepped up to the line for a penalty kick and blasted it in while the crowd went crazy.

It topped off a big week for the pride of the United States since Dempsey made his Twitter debut (@clint_dempsey) a few days earlier. Normally, I wouldn't note something trivial like that but 1) I'm hopelessly addicted to Twitter and 2) Dempsey is by far the most successful American abroad. Needless to say, if you're on Twitter (step it up Shimer!), you need to follow Dempsey.

He's always been a pretty guarded and quiet guy so I'm looking forward to getting to know him better through Twitter. Now all we need is Tim Howard to follow his lead and get a Twitter handle, that would make my life complete.

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It Seems Jermaine Jones Is A Ruthless Goon; Suspended For 8 Weeks in Germany

2012-01-05T16:16:00.001-08:00

Some disturbing news from Germany where U.S. men's national team midfielder Jermaine Jones plays for Schalke: he has been suspended for eight weeks (6 Bundesliga games, 2 Europa League games) for intentionally stepping on an opponent's injured foot.

Take it away AP
"After first saying it intended to appeal, Schalke said Thursday it will accept the penalty.

The control committee of the federation found Jones intentionally stepped on the left foot of Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder Marco Reus during a Bundesliga match last month. Reus was nursing a broken left small toe and was playing with a specially designed shoe. He still scored two goals in a 3-1 win for his team.

The incident early in the game was not noticed by the referee, but was caught by television cameras. The disciplinary panel used video footage to file ''grave misconduct'' charges against Jones, who was ejected at the end of the match in an unrelated incident. It was the fourth red card of his career.

Jones is be banned from any competitive and exhibition matches until March 1. He will miss six Bundesliga games and two Europa League games but remains eligible for selection for the U.S. national team's exhibition game at Italy on Feb. 29.

Jones, who has made 14 appearances for the United States national team, apologized to Reus shortly after the incident."

Soccer is unlike football or hockey in the sense that teams aren't really required to have physical enforcers. Soccer is rougher than critics give it credit for but there's no place for bush league tactics. I haven't followed Jones' career close enough to know if he's always on the edge or this was a one time crazy lack of control. Let's all hope he learns his lesson and cleans his game up (steps off soapbox).

UPDATE 1/13: Jones was called into U.S. camp, since what else does he have to do at the moment, so look for him to play in the upcoming friendlies for the U.S. in January.

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Suarez made an example of FA's tough stance against racism

2012-01-04T23:50:00.000-08:00

The buck-toothed bandit did not get off scott free after all, neither did his team appeal his lengthy ban. Luis Suarez will be missing in action for eight English Premier League matches for Liverpool, which started with Tuesday's 3-0 loss to Manchester City.

The message sent was resoundingly clear from the FA, racism will not be tolerated in English professional football -- a much more powerful statement than the laughably stupid comments of the now seemingly going senile FIFA president Sepp Blatter who around the time of the initial controversy earlier in the 2011-12 campaign claimed on-field racism could be resolved with a simple handshake, something he was deservingly heavily criticized for.

Initially denying he had used any racially insensitive language directly aimed at Manchester United's Patrice Evra, Suarez later said he did use the word negro. However, after everyone was done giving testimony, Suarez's comments really spoke for themselves (pun very much intended).

Here is some of what was said, according to an ESPN article.

One of the key passages of the report centres on what was said between the two players during the flashpoint.

It reads: "Our findings of fact which are directly relevant to the Charge are as follows: (1) In response to Mr Evra's question 'F*****g hell, why did you kick me,' Mr Suarez said 'Because you are black'.

"(2) In response to Mr Evra's comment 'Say it to me again, I'm going to punch you,' Mr Suarez said 'I don't speak to blacks'.

"(3) In response to Mr Evra's comment: 'Okay, now I think I'm going to punch you,' Mr Suarez said 'Okay, blackie, blackie, blackie'."

Suarez's defense that his comments were common-place in Uruguay his home country were refuted by language-specialists from Uruguay. The rest of his defense was deemed inconsistent and unreliable.

Liverpool slammed the ban and defended their player after the ruling, and said they would appeal initially before backtracking.

Not really surprising since A. Evra is not one of the most well-like people in football today, just ask the French Football Federation (Evra as the captain for France was suspended five game by the FFF after his huge controversial stance against coach Raymond Domenech at the World Cup last summer) and B. more importantly Suarez has been the Reds' best player since he joined the club from Ajax last January.

However, both the club and the player himself decided to accept the ban after the FA threatened that an appeal might lead to an even lengthier suspension.

The suspension means he will miss crucial league fixtures against both Manchester United and Tottenham, which could really hamstring his club's efforts to try to regain their place in the top four for a Champions League place.

Suarez finally came out with one of those Larry David-like apologies where he's really not sorry and certainly didn't sound all that convincing that he felt any kind of sorrow over the ordeal except for the fact he won't be able to play for his team.

Regardless, this week's events finally draw a conclusion to what has been a black eye to the sport.

Tim Howard is more talented than you

2012-01-04T23:40:00.000-08:00

Tim Howard is world-renown for his shot-stopping ability. Ask England manager Fabio Capello what he remembers from Howard's exploits during the World Cup -- the American keeper single-handily kept the U.S. in the game.

But as amazing an athlete as Howard is and as truly great a keeper he is, one area of his game that is constantly criticized is distributing ability. It is one reason he failed with Manchester United and has not received any interest from other top clubs around Europe since. If you watch, Everton don't play the ball back to their American keeper with much confidence and when they do he certainly does not resemble the Xavi of keepers, far from it. Most of those passes end up several rows into the seats.

So rather incredibly last night in England, Howard became just the fourth goalie ever in the 100-plus year history of the English Premier League to score a goal in the flow of play.

Not to be overly critical of the outright outrageous goal, the pass-converted-goal was a somewhat typical clearance effort from Howard -- knocked as far up field on a one touch. However, this time the ball played from inside his own penalty area some 100-yards from the opposing goal was aided by the blistering wind at his back at the far end of the pitch at Goodison Park, which took a bounce approximately 25 yards away from goal and swerved and blew right over Bolton keeper Adam Bogdan's head and in. At an estimated 105 yards it was the longest goal in EPL history.

Although the goal gave Everton the lead in Landon Donovan's debut during his second loan stint with the Liverpool-based club, the Toffees could not hold on losing 2-1.

Interestingly enough Howard was the first keeper to do so in the EPL since another outstanding American keeper with poor distributing ability did so back in 2004 for Blackburn -- that goalie would be Brad Friedel. The other two keepers to score in the run of play Peter Schmeichel, who many consider to be the greatest keeper of all-time, and Paul Robinson -- all modern-era keepers.

Anyway enough talking more what you came here to see, the actual goal:

U.S. Men's Roster For Venezuela And Panama Features Distinct MLS Flavor

2011-12-22T11:18:00.000-08:00

With European-based American players in the middle of their club seasons in January, U.S. men's soccer coach Jurgen Klinsmann made the right choice to call in a mostly MLS 20-man roster for the team's friendlies against Venezuela and Panama.

All but two play in Major League Soccer, and more than half of the players announced Thursday have two or fewer appearances with the senior national team.

"They are the next in line behind the established players, and this is a chance to prove themselves," Klinsmann said. "We will spend the next few weeks introducing them to our ideas on how we want to play and what it means to be a part of the national team. Ultimately, it will create more depth for us, which you need at this level."

MLS Defender of the Year Omar Gonzalez got his first call-up under Klinsmann, as did the league's Rookie of the Year, C.J. Sapong. Gonzalez, who made his U.S. debut against Brazil in August 2010, was a key part of the defense for the MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy, who tied a league record with 17 regular-season shutouts and allowed just 38 goals. Sapong, a forward, led all MLS rookies with five goals and five assists.

Dallas midfielder Brek Shea, one of only three players to appear in all seven matches since Klinsmann was hired in July, is on the training camp roster. So is Salt Lake midfielder Kyle Beckerman, who has made five starts and six appearances under Klinsmann. Klinsmann also called up Ricardo Clark, who has not played for the U.S. since the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

"The European-based players and the Mexican-based players aren't available, so this is their shot," Klinsmann said. "Their goal has to be to move ahead of the guy in front of him in their position, and the only way they can do that is to show how good they are."

This camp will take place between January 3-26 in the United States and Panama. The U.S. takes on Venezuela on January 21 in Phoenix before wrapping up with a match in Panama on January 25. Two friendlies against teams that they should be competitive with, even though most of the big names won't take part.

The roster
Goalkeepers: Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago), Nick Rimando (Salt Lake)

Defenders: Geoff Cameron (Houston), A.J. DeLaGarza (Los Angeles), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles), George John (Dallas), Zach Loyd (Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland, Denmark), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA)

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Benny Feilhaber (New England), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorad), Brek Shea (Dallas), Graham Zusi (Kansas City)

Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New York), Teal Bunbury (Kansas City), C.J. Sapong (Kansas City), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose).

Not being an MLS fan at all, I'm interested to see the Johnsons, Camerons, DeLaGarzas, etc that I honestly have never heard of, let alone seen compete on a soccer field. There has to be a couple promising prospects in this group of mostly new names.

It'll also be worth watching to see how former Revolution star Michael Parkhurst is doing these days, not to mention see what form Ricardo Clark is in after his disastrous last appearance for the U.S. when they got bounced from the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals (losing to Ghana 2-1).

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Abby Wambach Named Associated Press Female Athlete Of The Year, Hope Solo Finishes Second

2011-12-20T10:47:00.000-08:00

With the year end awards and wrap ups in full swing, it's only proper that the U.S. women's national team gets more recognition.

Today, U.S. women's star striker Abby Wambach was named the 2011 Female Athlete of the Year in the United States by the Associated Press.

She received 65 of 214 of the votes cast with teammate Hope Solo (38) second and UConn basketball standout Maya Moore (35) third overall.

What makes this particularly cool for Wambach and U.S. soccer fans is that she is the first man or woman to win one of the AP's annual awards, which began in 1931.

"We, as a team, did something that no team since Mia Hamm was able to do,'' Wambach told the AP. "Even the team that won the (Olympic) gold medal in 2008 wasn't able to inspire and get people excited about women's soccer. It goes to show you the impact drama can bring.''

Wambach's four goals in Germany give her 13 in three World Cup appearances. That's the most by an American, topping Michelle Akers by one, and puts her third on the all-time World Cup scoring list behind Brazil forward Marta and Germany striker Birgit Prinz. The 31-year-old American ranks third on the U.S. career scoring list with 125 goals, trailing only Mia Hamm (158) and Kristine Lilly (130).

"When she's on top of her game,'' United States coach Pia Sundhage said, "she's one of the best in the world.''

Wambach was certainly at her best at the World Cup, leading the Americans to the final, where they lost to Japan on penalty kicks.

Wambach was also named Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation, and the victory over Brazil was named the top sports accomplishment of the year in a Marist poll. The Women's World Cup ranked 10th in the voting for AP sports story of the year.

"I'm not a person who cares much about (individual) awards, but I really appreciate you guys recognizing this team,'' Wambach said. "It helps keep this sport alive, and it's really important.''

Wambach takes her role as ambassador for the game seriously, recognizing that time in the spotlight is still rare for women's soccer and it must be taken advantage of. She is as accommodating a star athlete as there is, happy to sign autographs, pose for pictures or do interviews. This is how the game is grown, and that, not the goals or the scoring records, is what she hopes her legacy will be.

"Hopefully when I'm long gone, this team is so good that people don't even talk about (me),'' she said. "Truthfully.''

Not that Wambach is going anywhere.

The Americans are the defending Olympic champions, and Wambach and her teammates are currently training for next month's regional qualifying tournament. She hopes to be healthy enough to play at the 2015 World Cup in Canada, and fill that last gap in a resume as dazzling as anyone who's ever worn the U.S. uniform.

"I have to say, of all people, I think she is one of the best role models: interacting with fans, saying good things about the game, saying good things about this country, saying good things about her teammates,'' Sundhage said. "I'm very proud of the fact I've had the chance to coach her for so many years. It will be a highlight of my career.''

This validates soccer in a big way that even an old established thing like the AP can't ignore it anymore. People are watching it, talking about it, kids all play it and many more people are starting to care about it more. These are all great things that we should all celebrate as 2011 ends.

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U.S. Men's Soccer Team Hires An Assistant Coach With An Impressive Resume

2011-12-17T09:12:00.001-08:00

The U.S. men's national team is improving its coaching staff even more as they hired former Austrian star Andreas Herzog to be an assistant to Jurgen Klinsmann. Details of his new U.S. deal were unavailable.

Herzog was a midfielder for Austria and he scored 26 goals in 103 international matches between 1998-2003. That impressive goal total for a midfielder is the most ever among all Austrian players.

Most recently, he was Austria's under-21 coach. He left that position on Friday according to the Austrian federation.

Herzog and Klinsmann should have natural chemistry since they were teammates with Bayern Munich when the German club captured the UEFA Cup in 1996.

"Jurgen Klinsmann and I have been close friends for many years now. I face this new challenge with great confidence," Herzog said in the Austrian federation's statement.

Herzog played for Rapid Vienna, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich, before coming to the United States and MLS with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2004. He was an assistant to Austria coaches Josef Hickersberger and Karel Brueckner before taking over the under-21 team in March 2009.

His first match as an assistant to Klinsmann will be a January 21 friendly against Venezuela, followed closely by a friendly against Panama on January 25.

Like I said when the U.S. hired Klinsmann, the more foreigners the better for the U.S. men's national team (in terms of naturalized players and coaches). We've seen how far U.S. born coaches can take us, we need more experienced guys internationally that can overhaul our youth programs and change our playing style. It's the only hope we have to ever get over the hump and be a serious World Cup contender in our lifetimes.

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2011-12 UEFA Champions League Draw Held For Round Of 16 Which Begins February 14

2011-12-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

It's been hard to keep up with the UEFA Champions League but with today's draw for the round of 16 (which begins with the first legs on February 14), things are starting to get clearer and easier to focus on.

The knockout pairings with the group winners listed first:
Arsenal vs. AC Milan
Chelsea vs. Napoli
Barcelona (defending champions) vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Real Madrid vs. CSKA Moscow
Bayern Munich vs. FC Basel
APOEL Nicosia (no clue who that is) vs. Lyon
Benfica vs. Zenit St. Petersburg
Inter Milan vs. Marseille

For my money, the most tasty matchups are Arsenal vs. AC Milan, Chelsea vs. Napoli and Barcelona vs. Bayer Leverkusen. You'll note that Manchester United is nowhere to be seen there since mighty FC Basel eliminated them in the last round.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, there's a 25% chance that no English club (there's only 2 left) reach the quarterfinals. If that happens, it would be the first time since 1995-96 that no English teams were in the final eight. Something to pay attention to when these games start up again.

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Barcelona's David Villa Breaks His Leg During Club World Cup Match

2011-12-15T16:34:00.001-08:00

Injuries are always around the corner in professional sports but that doesn't make them any easier to accept no matter how many times they occur.

I woke up this morning and checked Twitter, like I always do, and was disheartened to find the news that Barcelona and Spanish star striker David Villa broke his leg.

It happened today while he was playing with Barcelona in a Club World Cup semifinal match against Al-Sadd.

From ESPNsoccernet.com

Villa, 30, was carried off on a stretcher six minutes before half-time at International Stadium Yokohama after appearing to land awkwardly and was taken to hospital for tests.

Barcelona confirmed that Spain's all-time record scorer had "suffered a fracture to the tibia in his left leg" and is likely to miss the majority of Barca's Primera Division and Champions League campaigns, but could be available to world and European champions Spain for Euro 2012, which begins in June.

A statement from Barcelona read: "In the coming hours, Villa will return to Barcelona, via Frankfurt, to be operated on. He will be accompanied by doctor Ricard Pruna and Manel Estiarte. The approximate time he will be sidelined is between four and five months.''

Head coach Pep Guardiola said after the match: "He will now travel to Barcelona as soon as possible. He will be greatly missed as a colleague and as a player. I hope everything goes well.

"He will be a long time. It's a big blow to the team. We just hope that he can play again as soon as possible.

"David is very dear to us. The injury has saddened us all. Everyone can put themselves in his place and know how they would suffer if it happened to them. They feel for him. We must accept it and encourage him in his recovery.''

Guardiola insisted now was not the time to discuss January reinforcements in the light of Villa's absence.

"Let us have compassion and respect,'' he said. "Let's give it time. Now is not the time to talk about it.''

The blow follows a report on Wednesday in Marca that claimed Villa could leave Barca in the January transfer window as the striker has started only half of his side's La Liga matches this season.

Guardiola moved to reject the rumour, branding it as a "lie", and defended his decision to leave Villa on the bench for their El Clasico victory over Real Madrid at the weekend.

Villa has scored five times in 15 league matches this season, following on from his 18 goals in 34 games as Barca won the league title last term. He has made 75 appearances for the club in all competitions, scoring 32 goals.
Villa is projected to miss four or five months, meaning the rest of La Liga (Barcelona is tied with Real Madried at the top) and Champions League campaign (Barce is the defending champ in that too) is likely over for one of the world's greatest goal-scorers.

It is never fun to see a good player in any sport you enjoy pick up a serious injury. Let's all hope that Villa heals properly and is back doing his thing for his country in June at Euro 2012.

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Landon Donovan Returns On Loan To Everton

2011-12-15T13:56:00.000-08:00

Great news today for U.S. men's soccer team fans as it was announced that Landon Donovan will return to Everton in January for a two-month loan with the Toffees.

His Major League soccer team, the defending champion Los Angeles Galaxy, broke the news which will give Everton some attacking help as they try to improve on a particularly slow start in the English Premier League.

The Toffees are currently in 12th place (out of 20) in the EPL and if anything, they're lucky to be even that high since they've scored a measly 15 goals in 14 matches.

Donovan will be eligible to play starting January 4 as Everton hosts Bolton. He will be there for nine matches (8 EPL, 1 FA Cup), through a farewell game on February 25 at Liverpool.

Unfortunately, in that time frame Everton won't play Fulham and Donovan's U.S. teammate Clint Dempsey but they have notable matches Jan. 11 at Tottenham, Feb. 1 they host Manchester City and Feb. 11 they host Chelsea.

Tim Howard is still Everton's No. 1 goalkeeper so Donovan will be reunited with him. You probably remember that the first time around (January-March 2010) that Donovan scored two goals in 13 matches for the Toffees but most importantly, he won over the fickle English fans who understandably doubted his abilities.

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U.S. Men Set To Dominate in 2012 Olympic Qualifying Next Spring In Nashville

2011-12-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

Let's be honest, the path to the 2012 Olympics in London is pretty easy for the U.S. men's team.

It was announced yesterday, the U.S. men's under-23 team (aka the Olympic squad) will face Canada, Cuba and El Salvador next spring in Nashville, TN for regional qualifying. They are coached by Caleb Porter, also the head coach at the highly successful University of Akron.

I'm not predicting 5-0 wins in each game but come on, the U.S. should roll over each of those garbage teams. Sorry, this isn't hockey (Canada) or baseball (Cuba). El Salvador isn't known for anything else, they just blow.

These games should serve as a sort of a warmup for the Olympics not to mention the World Cup qualifiers that some of the more talented team members will also participate in.

Striker Juan Agudelo is on the U-23 team and other guys eligible include goalkeeper Bill Hamid, defender Timothy Chandler, defender Alfredo Morales, midfielder Danny Williams, midfielder Freddy Adu, midfielder Brek Shea and striker Jozy Altidore. They have all been invited to the senior national team's camps and in some cases, they are already some of their top players.

The team can also call in three overage players for the Olympics, something to keep in mind as next summer approaches. As I said last week with the Euro 2012 draw, next summer is going to rule. Between Euro 2012, London Olympics, Champions League and World Cup qualifying, there is going to be plenty of world-class soccer around every corner.

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Chicarito Out For A Month With Ankle Injury

2011-12-06T17:05:00.001-08:00

Big news for Manchester United and Mexico fans not to mention those of us that despise both of those teams: striker Javier "Chicarito" Hernandez will likely miss a month of action with torn ligaments in his ankle.

On Saturday, in the first half of Man U's 1-0 win at Aston Villa, Hernandez was taken off on a stretcher.

The Red Devils had a Champions League match tomorrow afternoon against Basel and they also have seven games in the next four weeks. A busy stretch of the season for the defending EPL champs and Champions League runner-up.

"I think it is torn ligaments in the ankle and he'll be out for four weeks," Sir Alex Ferguson said. "We are having a bad time with injuries at the moment but that is why we have a strong squad."

The injury to Hernandez compounds Ferguson's selection headaches. He is already without midfielders Tom Cleverly and Anderson. In recent weeks, he has used forward Wayne Rooney in the midfield. Danny Welbeck is the only available first-team striker that has seen significant playing time in recent months. Ferguson plans to take a patch-work approach to the attack in the coming weeks.

"Danny Welbeck is fit again and fortunately he got 15 minutes (against Villa) which is good, so he is an option for Wednesday," Ferguson said. "He has not had a lot of football recently which is something I have to consider.

"But Nani did alright through the middle and Antonio Valencia did very well for us when he came on, he was excellent. So I have some options up-front. We may have Berbatov fit for Wednesday also, but we are getting our fair share of injuries at the moment."

I'm sure scummy Mexican fans (some of the worst on the planet) would cheer if U.S. men's national team stars like Landon Donovan, Tim Howard or Clint Dempsey got hurt but I'm going to take the high road here. Mostly because I love soccer and whenever a great player like Chicarito misses time, we all lose.

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Clint Dempsey Is Setting Records, Winning Games At Fulham

2011-12-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

U.S. soccer fans were treated to an excellent (minus a bogus red card) Fulham vs. Liverpool match on ESPN2 this afternoon.

It was particularly notable to U.S. fans since one of our country's greatest ever exports-Clint Dempsey-broke Brian McBride's English Premier League record with 37 career goals abroad. Oh and by the way, it was the game's lone goal as Fulham got a big 1-0 victory at Craven Cottage.

I missed the game since my cable went out (not happy at all) but let's read Soccer By Ives' account (an excellent soccer blog): Clint Dempsey's legend at Fulham continues to grow with every goal he scores.

The Texas native did it again on Monday, scoring an 85th-minute winner for Fulham in a 1-0 victory over Liverpool. Minutes after hitting the crossbar with a bending effort from the top of the area, Dempsey found himself in perfect position to slot home a spilled rebound by Pepe Reina from close range.

With the goal, Dempsey set a new standard for Americans in the Premier League. He entered the match tied with Brian McBride with 36 Premiership goals but now owns that record for his own.

I tried to find a highlight of the goal, a rebound from right on the goalmouth but the YouTube police were out in full force taking them down. My best advice is to watch Fox Soccer Channel or maybe they'll show it on Sportscenter.

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Messi, Ronaldo & Xavi Named Three Finalists For FIFA's Top Award

2011-12-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

The greatest rivalry going in club soccer has extended to year-end award shows as well. Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez along with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo were named finalists for FIFA's Ballon d'Or after outlasting 20 other nominees.

Messi also won the award two years ago when France Football magazine chose the best player in Europe. The Ballon d'Or is now merged with FIFA's player of the year award to create one trophy.

"As I've always said, it's great to win individual awards, especially the prestigious ones, but what comes first for me is winning matches and titles,'' Messi said.
Messi and Ronaldo have already scored 17 league goals this season. They face each other in the Spanish league on Saturday.

"It's great to be again nominated as one of the FIFA Ballon d'Or final 3 contenders,'' Ronaldo said on his Twitter account.

Ronaldo won the Golden Ball award in 2008, and his quest to overtake Messi as the world's top player has seen the Portuguese star playing probably the best football of his career over the past year.

He broke the Spanish league scoring record with 40 goals last season, including 11 in his last four games.

Messi scored fewer - 31 league goals - but set up more than Ronaldo. He also walked away with the Champions League and Spanish league titles, while Ronaldo only won the Copa del Rey, or Spanish Cup, scoring with a bullet header in the final against Barcelona.

The winner will be announced on Jan. 9 in Zurich, Switzerland.

If Messi wins the award for the third time, he will join former France midfielder Michel Platini, and former Netherlands greats Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten as three-time Golden Ball winners.

The 24-year-old Messi scored in the 3-1 win over Manchester United in last season's Champions League final.

Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho, Manchester United's Alex Ferguson and Barcelona's Pep Guardiola are in the running for best coach.

Messi hailed Guardiola's influence and the way he has modernized the club.
"His leadership is so important to us, not just in the day-to-day but in the way he prepares games and keeps us motivated,'' Messi said on FIFA's website. "His attention to detail also makes a huge difference. When he came in, for example, he decided that we should start having lunch at the club and that the doctors and our (physiotherapist) should keep a closer eye on us.''

Madrid currently leads the Spanish league ahead of Barcelona, but last season Mourinho was powerless to stop the Catalans from dominating Europe. Barcelona beat Madrid 3-1 over two legs in the Champions League semifinals, with Messi scoring twice in Madrid. Ronaldo failed to score and cut a downcast figure as he was totally outshone by Messi.

Messi, Neymar and Wayne Rooney are shortlisted for the best goal award.

My money is on Messi to win since he's the best player on the best team. Plus, he's coming off the best season. Ronaldo and Xavi (in that order) are worthy choices too but it just feels like Messi's resume is better and it's his time to win, again.

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The Euro 2012 Draw Is Complete, This Is Going To Be A Great Tournament

2011-12-02T11:11:00.001-08:00

I spent a decent amount of time this afternoon watching Fox Soccer Channel, in anticipation of the Euro 2012 draw. It was tedious but in the end, holy crap. This is going to be an excellent tournament starting next June 8 in Poland with the hosts facing Greece at 1:00 ET and Russia facing the Czech Republic at 3:45 ET.

The Polish got a gift as Group A appears on first blush to be the easiest of the four. Along with Greece, they have Russia and the Czech Republic. None of those teams are great by any means, they all could win it.

Group B is the Group of Death, which is a staple in every major soccer tournament. Poor Denmark is stuck with Portugal, Germany and Netherlands. Good luck with that Danes. That means in group play alone, we will be treated to Portugal vs. Germany and Portugal vs. Netherlands. You won't find many juicier international matches than those.

The defending World Cup and European champions Spain lead Group C and it looks like the Spanish have a relatively easy road to the knockout stage. Ireland, Italy and Croatia make up the rest of that group. You could make a case for any of those three coming in second so that should be an interesting race to watch.

Group D features another one of the great opening round matches pitting France vs. England. Ukraine and Sweden make up the rest of that group which clearly is wide open and could be topped by any of those four teams.

Is it too early to be pumped for next summer? Between Champions League play in the spring, the London Olympics in the summer and Euro 2012, it promises to be an unbelievable time to be a soccer fan. Nothing is better than a big-time international soccer tournament. I can only hope that I get to Vegas before then or at least earn enough scratch to get on Bodog and throw some money down. Haha gambling makes everything more exciting damn it!

Must see games:
Saturday, June 9-Germany vs. Portugal, 3:45 ET
Sunday, June 10-Spain vs. Italy, 1:00 ET
Monday, June 11-France vs. England, 1:00 ET
Wednesday, June 13-Netherlands vs. Germany, 3:45 ET
Thursday, June 14-Spain vs. Ireland, 3:45 ET
Sunday, June 17-Portugal vs. Netherlands, 3:45 ET
Monday, June 18-Spain vs. Croatia, 3:45 ET
Monday, June 18-Italy vs. Ireland, 3:45 ET

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John Harkes Replaced By Another Bozo American (Taylor Twellman) For MLS & U.S. National Team Coverage

2011-11-22T12:29:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest problems surrounding coverage of U.S. men's national team games in the United States is the parade of clowns that cover them: Alexi Lalas, John Harkes, Marcelo Balboa and Taylor Twellman have all gotten their shots and proven that besides Eric Wynalda (snatched up by Fox Soccer Channel), they're all useless.

Still, I applaud ESPN for dumping Harkes (who was told his contract wouldn't be renewed) in favor of Twellman, the former New England Revolution legend. Harkes' rambling, egocentric announcing style has been nothing but distracting since he was paired with the excellent Ian Darke.

Sadly the 1994 U.S. men's team are totally delusional. I respect what they achieved and I loved it at the time but they think they invented soccer stateside. For some reason they all believe they were Messi or Ronaldo (thanks to my buddy Casey for that superb line) and not the scrappy overachievers they are truly were.

Twellman is a know it all douchebag who has been doing studio coverage on ESPN and Philadelphia Union games in MLS but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he's younger than Harkes so maybe there is some hope he'll improve. Also on his side, he couldn't be worse than Harkes.

The best news is that Darke will continue in his capacity as ESPN's lead announcer for U.S. national team games, the English Premier League, Euro 2012 and select MLS games. That dunce Lalas will be stuck in the studio while Adrian Healey (fine backup) will do the MLS games that Darke can't make.

May I also suggest that Julie Foudy and Tommy Smyth get more gigs too. Foudy is better than any of her American male counterparts. She brings experience, a good sense of humor and timing for the game. More than anything, she doesn't take herself too seriously unlike all the dopey guys. I'm not sure what's happened to Smyth who was basically ESPN's go to Euro before Darke showed up. Maybe his age is the hindrance, who knows? It's ESPN so there's probably some scandal behind the demotion.

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U.S. Women's Head Coach Pia Sundhage Wants To Return To Sweden, Next Year

2011-11-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to bash her too much since she seems like a nice enough lady but is U.S. women's head coach Pia Sundhage kidding me with her latest comments?

On Saturday, after her current team-the United States-had a friendly against Sweden, she said that she wants to return to her homeland (Sweden) and coach their national team once her contract expires with the U.S. in 2012.

I realize that she was a star for Sweden and she clearly misses her family and friends. There's always been an obvious language barrier and who knows if she's ever really acclimated herself to the U.S. culture?

I have no problem with her wanting to take that job which is at the same level as the U.S., one of the top teams in the world. My only issue is that who does this? Who says something this damning when her current team has another big competition coming up-namely the 2012 Summer Olympics in London?

Under her direction, the U.S. won the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics and came in second at the 2011 World Cup, losing to Japan in penalty kicks. My feeling with the U.S. women's team is completely different from the U.S. men. Since the U.S. women have been one of the best teams in the world pretty much forever, we don't need people from other countries to help us out by coaching.

The U.S. men are another story; they have never been great and they need new ideas that come solely from more accomplished guys (cough Jurgen Klinsmann) from other more soccer-centric lands.

I know there's probably no chance of it happening before then but I would have no problem with the U.S. canning Sundhage before the 2012 Olympics. If she's so motivated to get back to Sweden (she's been away for six years) and Sweden's coach Thomas Dennerby's contract ends next year too, why not speed up the process?

Who's to say she'll be able to fully focus on the task at hand if she's already spouting off with nonsense like this.

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Looking Ahead To The U.S. Men's World Cup Qualifiers In 2012

2011-11-16T10:42:00.001-08:00

With 2011 wrapped up as far as the U.S. men's national team is concerned, their 2012 World Cup qualifier schedule was announced today so let's look ahead.

On the surface, these six games all basically appear to be eminently winnable. The U.S. is grouped with Antigua, Guatemala and Jamaica. Even for CONCACAF, one of the worst regions in FIFA, that's a pathetic group of teams.

The U.S. begins by hosting Antigua on Friday, June 8 at a location to be announced. On June 12, Jurgen Klinsmann's guys travel to Guatemala. After the middle of the summer break-which is sure to be filled with training and some friendlies-the Americans are back at it in September.

They go to Jamaica on Friday, September 7 and then host Jamaica in a tricky home-and-home set on September 11 (they should make try to get it at Red Bull Arena, in honor of 9/11).

October is the last two games: Friday, October 12 in Antigua and then the U.S. concludes by hosting Guatemala on October 16 back in the States.

No excuses; Antigua and Guatemala have already surprised just to get this far but there is absolutely no reason that the U.S. can't win (or at least tie) all of these matches. Furthermore, they need to be in first after these six matches. Jamaica is the only semi-threat in this group.

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U.S. Men vs. Slovenia 2nd Half Live Blog

2011-11-15T10:18:00.001-08:00

Haha would you believe that the Black Eyed Peas "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night" is blasting in Slovenia? It's probably their No. 1 hit.

No changes for the U.S. at halftime.

Yikes, a mistake by Goodson leads to a wide open chance from Slovenia yards away. Luckily, some bum puts it into the side netting.

This is the first time since 1997 that the U.S. has lost more games than its won. Yuck, they'll be happy to say goodbye to 2011.

Matavz tries to beat like four defenders but Bocanegra deflects his shot out for a corner. Geez, another failed U.S. clears gives Slovenia the ball in the box but they hit a terrible shot well wide. The U.S. can't keep doing that.

Good buildup by the U.S. but Buddle is the last one to touch it as he tries to spin and shoot. The type of move he couldn't complete even in his wildest dreams.

Slovenia with a nice cross but nobody can touch it. The U.S. defense is off to a terrible start in the second half.

Beckerman is the only MLS player (no Donovan) in the starting lineup.

Last time the U.S. scored 3 in a half was 2009 World Cup qualifier vs. Honduras. Last time they did it in a first half was a 2008 World Cup qualifier vs. Barbados.

Dempsey with a clear foul, clipping a Slovenia player's feet. Johnson had a shot in the box but it was blocked and cleared out.

The U.S. had a nice counterattack but Dempsey's shot went off a Slovenia player's hand/face. A foul was eventually called on Buddle. Wow, replay shows that was a clear handball.

Slovenia wins a corner kick but it's a bad one.

Another corner for Slovenia after Kirm split two U.S. defenders.

Great cross by Slovenia and touch by Shuler, should have been a goal. It just bounced wide. Slovenia is buzzing now, they won another corner. The ball goes off crossbar and Howard cleared it off the line. No idea how that wasn't a goal.

Slovenia just hit the post. Haha good lord, they're making Slovenia look like Brazil. Seconds later, Slovenia rightfully scores. Matavz cuts it to 3-2 in the 61st minute. He got the 1-2 ball and beat Beckerman.

Johnson out for Brek Shea, first U.S. substitute.

The U.S. had a break with numbers but Chandler's terrible pass messes it all up. What a waste.

Slovenia corner almost curls in. That would have been enough to make me jump off a bridge, thankfully it didn't happen.

Dempsey is called for a foul on a minor push.

First Slovenia substitute: Vrsic in for Kirm.

Dempsey makes a nice move to beat a few defenders but gives it to Shea who plays a terrible pass right to Slovenia's goalkeeper.

Cherundolo gives Buddle a great ball but he loses the handle and dribbles it off his feet. That's about right, guess the greatest half of his life is long over.

Altidore won a free kick but Chandler forces a pass and turns it over. The U.S. has been awful this half, they're lucky to still be ahead. All of the positive stuff in the first half seems like a distant memory.

Chanlder just did a good job dribbling up the sideline but he got fouled by one guy and another landed on his head. Ouch babe.

Maurice Edu in for Buddle. Big game for Buddle, showing that he's getting better.

Two more substitutes for Slovenia: Matavz out for Dedic and Ljubijankic out for Pecnik. No idea why they took Matavz (who's scored both goals out). He's by far they're best offensive threat.

The U.S. seems content to just try and bleed the clock. Unfortunately, there's ten minutes of regulation plus injury time left so it's far too early for that tactic.

Danny Williams on for Chandler, hope he's OK after that rough challenge.

Free kick by Slovenia goes out of bounds, it didn't miss by much.

Another corner for Slovenia, the U.S. is hanging on for dear life to this lead. Not liking their odds to win. Almost looked like a handball in the box by the U.S. (yikes, it was) but no call. Slovenia gets a free kick at midfield.

Harkes explained the U.S. is tired because they competed so hard against France the other day. I guess I missed that one. Come on man, be objective.

Slovenia corner and it appeared to go off an American head but it's a goal kick. What an ugly second half but I think the U.S. will hold on (not that they really deserve it).

Haha Darke says Shea needs to break to the corner which he promptly doesn't do, turning into traffic and giving it up.

Dempsey fouled by some Slovenian bum, who gets a yellow card despite walking away.

Jermaine Jones on for Beckerman. Don't ask me why the latter starts over the former.

Four minutes of stoppage time.

Edu with a shot from the top of the box, deflected out for a corner.

Slovenia wins a free kick on the edge of the box after Bocanegra jumped on a guy's back. He received a yellow card on it too.

Bradley out for Robbie Rogers. Smart move by Bradley as he takes forever to come off. He was superb in his return to the starting lineup. There should not be a question about his inclusion in future lineups.

And Slovenia kicks it over the night, goodnight fellas. That was your last chance.

The U.S. has won in Europe for the first time in three years. They broke a seven-game losing streak, the last win was 2008 against Poland.

A tale of two halves: the first was excellent and the second was awful. Whatever. This is the result Klinsmann and this team desperately needed. Now let's all get some rest and hope they come back stronger in 2012 with more training together.

Final: U.S. 3, Slovenia 2

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U.S. Men vs. Slovenia 1st Half Live Blog

2011-11-15T09:19:00.001-08:00

Here we go, the last U.S. men's friendly in 2011: at Slovenia. It's a rematch of the memorable 2-2 tie in the 2010 World Cup.

The U.S. begins World Cup 2014 qualifying next summer against Jamaica, Antigua.

Edson Buddle with a shot in the first minute, tipped over the bar by Slovenia's goalkeeper. U.S. gets a corner kick by Michael Bradley but they can't do anything with it.

Slovenia has a breakaway but their player completely blows it as he slows down and the U.S. is able to recover and knock it out for a corner. Slovenia gets a header off the corner but Howard stops it.

Another chance for Buddle, who shoots over from a tough angle. Bradley fed him with a nice ball.

What a mess, you can barely see the field at the moment. Not helping matters is that Slovenia is wearing white jerseys. It is so foggy, stupid Slovenia weather. Slovenia called offside.

Apparently Slovenia has a new head coach.

Clint Dempsey with a decent pass into Jozy Altidore, who gets taken down with an elbow but no foul is called.

The 4-4-2 has already made a difference in the early going for the U.S. Buddle won a free kick outside the box as he was taken down hard. Bocanegra's header is deflected out (12 goals in 100 CAPs). U.S. corner kick No. 2. The U.S. won possession and Buddle hit a nice cross but Slovenia's goalkeeper got to it first.

Gooch trained last night but he's still not well enough to even sit on the bench.

Wow, Buddle is having the game of his life! He just took the ball from a Slovenian defender and one-timed it off the post from outside the box. 3rd goal for Buddle in his 10th CAP. His last goal was vs. Australia right before the 2010 World Cup. 1-0 U.S. in the 9th minute.

That was only the third goal for the U.S. under Klinsmann, this is his seventh game.

Should have been 2-0. Bradley gave Altidore a perfect ball but somehow he put it over from like two feet in front of Slovenia's goal. Got bury that, come on Jozy.

Haha love Harkes stating the obvious that the U.S. should beat a team like this, "they're not Spain." Classic analysis.

Terrible giveaway by the U.S. defense as Bocanegra hits it right to Slovenia but their shot from outside the box is nto a good one.

The U.S. looks so much better in the first 15 minutes of this match. Dempsey just hit a shot wide after a couple nice, unselfish passes.

Fabian Johnson (making his first career start) just made a great run from the midfield and earned a corner kick (No. 3). It was flicked through but the U.S. couldn't get the second touch.

As if you wanted to visit Slovenia any less, this abysmal weather isn't helping matters for this tiny country. Ugh.

Haha Ian Darke said Slovenia is about the same size as Houston and smaller than New Jersey.

Matavz with a decent header for Slovenia but you'll never beat Howard from the top of the box on a header.

I don't understand why Bradley has seemingly been on the outs with Klinsmann. I hope it's just that he's a known commodity so they want to look at some new faces. He is easily one of their best midfielders.

Slovenia is called way offside but they proceed to go in on Howard and shoot it past him. Cool dude.

Altidore called offside nullifies a 2 on 1 with Dempsey.

Another offside by Slovenia, they might want to make an adjustment here before they set a new record in one game.

Nice header by Clarence Goodson to break up a long pass but Kyle Beckerman gives it right back. Remind me again, why this dreadlocked goon is on the team? He is so mediocre.

Shaky U.S. foul puts an end to a possible chance.

Matavz scores in the 26th minute on what looks like an obvious offside call. Nice finish high over Howard's shoulder. Way too much space by the U.S. defense but we'll have to see more replays of that. Six goals in 12 matches for Matavz (who's 22). 1-1 in the 28th minute.

Well Slovenia and their pathetic home crowd (what else is going on at 6 pm on a Tuesday night?) is alive. They curled another shot wide of Howard and the goal.

The U.S. uses good transition to get a shot, Buddle crosses to Dempsey, but it's headed on top of the net.

That 2-2 tie in the group stage of the 2010 World Cup is the only time these two countries have met.

Oh ok, there's a local fan protest about rising ticket prices. That's why this tiny stadium (16,000) looks so empty.

Well Buddle almost scored his second goal but it wouldn't have counted. He was offside by a few steps. Regardless, great cross from Bradley and nice header by Buddle. They've been the two U.S. standouts thus far.

Dempsey with a nice diving header following great buildup and a cross by Steve Cherundolo. That just went wide, the U.S. has responded after Slovenia tied it up.

Dempsey's next goal will give him 24 for the U.S., tying him all-time with Joe-Max Moore (another former Revolution great), fourth in U.S. history.

U.S. foul outside the box, dangerous Slovenia free kick. They caught the U.S. asleep with a simple run but the shot skips inches wide. Yikes. Too many players thinking shot in and around the wall.

U.S. free kick leads to a corner. There we go, Dempsey heads it in from Bradley. 2-1 U.S. in the 41st minute. The Slovenian defender went for a high kick but he had no chance. Two goals, I might have a heart attack. So the U.S. matched its goal total in its previous six games under Klinsmann in 41 minutes.

Chandler wiggles free in the box and gets taken down to earn a penalty kick. Jozy steps up and scores his first goal under Klinsmann. 3-1 U.S. in the 43rd minute, this looks like a completely different team. I understand that Slovenia is not very good but they nearly beat the U.S. in the World Cup. This is the type of performance we've all been waiting for.

First time in 25 games (since Australia before the World Cup) that the U.S. has scored three goals.

Halftime: U.S. 3, Slovenia 1

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U.S. Men Vs. France 2nd Half Live Blog

2011-11-11T12:56:00.001-08:00

No changes for either team at halftime even though they are allowed six substitutions each.

Edu with a foul on a 50/50 ball. He had to go for it since Williams gave him a bad ball. France chooses to shoot it directly on net (from way outside the box) but it went well wide.

USA chants are quickly extinguished by French boos.

Beckerman takes a long shot from way outside the box that doesn't challenge the French goalkeeper. Maybe it's because I refuse to watch MLS but I've never understood how Beckerman keeps getting CAPs. He is the definition of an average player.

Dempsey draws a foul by using his unique dribbling skills that none of his teammates possess.

Another France offside call. As far as I can tell, the U.S. isn't trapping them or anything but France repeatedly gets caught well behind the last defender. I don't get it, no adjustments.

French corner kick. A header by Benzema goes off the corner of the crossbar. Big break for the U.S., another great chance for France.

Ribery wins a free kick basically for being a star. Howard makes an incredible save, keeping the ball out despite his body falling into the side netting.

The ball bounces around the U.S. box and France takes a bunch of shots but they all get blocked and the final one is shot over the net.

Altidore is working hard up front but he doesn't seem to have any help.

First 3 subs for France.

France has taken it up a notch but the U.S. is lagging behind right now. They're lucky that it's still scoreless, France has owned the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half after an even first half.

Nice passing sequence by the U.S. Beckerman gave it to Chandler on the left wing. He played it into Dempsey but he couldn't do much with it.

Ribery flops in the box. Jozy is getting no love from the refs today, another easy foul call goes uncalled.

Two more French subs, Ribery is out. France has made five changes before the U.S. has made one. Looks like Jermaine Jones is the first sub for Beckerman, yes!

Possession is all in favor of the French in this half. The U.S. is chasing the ball all over the field.

Howard with a big save, the rebound goes to France but Giroud hits it over from a few yards out.

Shea is out from Beasley. Good tactical move, they need the ball and DeMarcus is one of their few guys that can do something with it.

And the inevitable happens, France scores. Remy takes a long ball, beats Goodson and finishes well. 1-0 France in the 72nd minute. You could feel that coming for a while, France has been the better team by far this half.

Dempsey wins a free kick outside the box.

Buddle on for Edu. Dempsey had a partial breakaway but he was taken down. Altidore started it with a backheel. Dempsey crushed the free kick from outside the box but it was high and wide.

Hey ESPN2 cameraman, no closeups of Ribery's grizzly face. I'd like to eat dinner soon after this game. Thanks.

Bocanegra with a foul outside the U.S. box. France free kick doesn't go anywhere. Dempsey gets tackled hard, France gets a yellow card. Reckless challenge as he clipped Dempsey while he was in the air.

Love Harkes' honk tendencies coming out as he argues that should have been a red card. Ok dude.

U.S. corner kick results in nothing.

Beasley with a decent cross in (with his right foot). Dempsey fed it to Altidore with a header but he probably should have put it on goal himself.

Buddle with a nice move beats a few defenders but he's Edson Buddle so he can't be counted on to do that consistently.

Altidore with a lazy foul, he's gotta be tired.

Haha what did I say? Buddle had a chance to give a nice cross but his effort was terrible. Soft and on the ground.

Jones goes down after taking the ball off his face. He goes off for a second but comes back on (I hate that).

Credit to Cherundolo for making a run forward but his offensive limitations cause him to lose the ball. The U.S. has woken up since the goal but it looks like time will run out.

France corner kick, Jones made a nice recovery run to knock the cross out. Another France corner. France is taking their time and just bleeding the clock.

Four minutes of added time. Harkes says there's still time for the U.S. to push for the equalizer, he must be drunk or high.

Jones turns the ball over leading to a France 2-on-0 but Giroud smacks it into the side netting. Nice try bro.

Almost another goal for France, off the outside of the post but it goes out of bounds.

Jozy called for offside when it looked like he was fouled. Tough call. France would have earned a yellow or even red.

Final: France 1, U.S. 0
The U.S. falls to 1-4-1 under Jurgen Klinsmann but even worse, they've only scored two goals for him. This is becoming a major issue. Their defense and Howard are fine but they'll never beat anyone with this lack of scoring.

U.S. is at Slovenia on Tuesday, 12 p.m. on ESPN2. They need to get a better effort in their final game of 2011.

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U.S. Men Vs. France 1st Half Live Blog

2011-11-11T12:00:00.001-08:00

Back and forth opening few minutes. Maurice Edu and Steve Cherundolo both make good plays to step up and steal the ball.

Ribery looks in top form for France, I assume he's having a nice season with Bayern Munich. Love his game, he's relentless.

Ugh two goals in five games under Jurgen Klinsmann. The U.S. is 1-3-1 overall in those five matches.

Not a fan of the France jerseys, they look like rugby jerseys with the stupid collar. Benzema looks offside (since he waited for a ball to come to him, behind the U.S. defense) but he bungles it out of bounds.

Altidore was wide open but Williams put it way over his head and out for a throw in.

Chandler with a decent ball near France's goalkeeper but nobody could run onto it.

I know I say this every time I see him but will Shea ever cut his hair? He'll never be taken seriously looking like that.

Haha France with an obvious offside nullifies a slight break they had with numbers.

Pretty back heel by Benzema leads to a bozo teammate taking a dumb shot from outside the box.

Altidore with a move in the box, gets taken down but no call given. It was a flop, no way it gets called for a PK.

On second view, Altidore got tossed down after putting it through a defender's legs. That actually could have been a foul.

The U.S. is lacking good passes and touch in the attacking third-a constant them with this group.

France with a nice cross but Howard grabs it before they can connect.

Williams draws a clear foul in the middle of the field. A bunch of the U.S. and France players are all tatted up-a nod to its NBA brethren that are locked out.

Shea is showing more defensive ability than I knew he possessed.

France draws a foul on Chandler that was a bit of a flop. French free kick on the edge of the box gets cleared out of danger.

Ribery with France's best chance thus far. He backheeled a cross, just wide.

Great hair on some French clown, a dyed blonde mohawk. Everybody knows France is one of the fashion capitals of the world.

Cherundolo wins a corner kick; Edu heads it down but no teammates are there to pounce on it.

France counterattack but the U.S. gets back and Goodson blocks the shot with his chest. Ouch, that always hurts.

The announcers (Darke and Harkes) are debating whether Landon Donovan should be here. In my mind it doesn't matter: a friendly or the MLS Cup. Neither are that important, sorry three MLS fans.

Jozy with a nice turn in the box but he shoots it wide. 12 U.S. goals for Altidore, who's still only 22. Donovan is the only U.S. player with more goals at that young an age.

Williams has been in position for many plays but he keeps falling down and looking for calls. Gotta be stronger on his feet.

Should have been a goal for France: Ribery pulled it back and Menez fired it over from inside the box.

Dangerous ball into the U.S. area but France can't go get it.

Chandler looked like somebody in my men's league. He ran right at the defender but forgot to make a move and got taken down hard (cleanly). Chandler goes off the field for a second but returns after the U.S. throws the ball back to France.

Halftime: 0-0. The U.S. acquitted themselves pretty well in the first half although would it kill them to make more of an effort to try and score some goals? I'm starting to get convinced that they believe they can win 0-0.

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U.S. Men's Roster Announced For France & Slovenia Friendlies

2011-11-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

As usual, the U.S. men's national team friendlies are sneaking up on us. Did you know it's a little over a week before the U.S. faces France? Likewise, they'll meet Slovenia is less than two weeks.

Today, U.S. men's head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named the 22 players (2 goalkeepers, 7 defenders, 10 midfielders and 3 forwards) that will make the trip across the pond to face two decent European teams.

These matches represent the last games of 2011 for the U.S.; two more chances to impress Klinsmann and his coaching staff. Time is running out before things get really serious as far as World Cup qualifying next year and figuring out who will be on the field for the U.S. in the 2014 World Cup (in Brazil).

There are mostly familiar names, albeit with a backup goalkeeper (Bill Hamid) that we still don't know anything about, a German-American midfielder (Fabian Johnson) that was going to play in the last couple friendlies but was pulled at the last second due to injury/fatigue and a German-American defender (Alfredo Morales) that plays for Hertha Berlin (Bundesliga). All three should get their first U.S. caps during one of these two matches.

Here's the U.S. men's roster for November 11 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN 2, UNIVISION, ESPN3.com) in France and November 15 (12 p.m. ET, ESPN 2, UNIVISION, ESPN3.com) in Slovenia.

Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton), Bill Hamid (D.C. United).

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg), Steve Cherundolo (Hanover), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis).

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim).

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Edson Buddle (Ingolstadt), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy).

Players on MLS teams that are still alive in the MLS Cup will report back to the States after the France match. On a sidenote, Shea will train with Arsenal for a month after the friendlies while Hamid is currently training with West Brom. These will also be Klinsmann's first games with Donovan at his disposal. The U.S. stalwart missed the U.S. games this summer and fall since he needed a break between all the MLS and international contests he had in the past year.

UPDATE 11/7: Donovan is out for these two friendlies since his club team-the Los Angeles Galaxy-is in the MLS Cup.

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3 U.S. Women's Players Nominated For 2011 FIFA Women's World Player Of The Year

2011-10-26T10:00:00.001-07:00

2011 has been a great year for U.S. women's soccer. Despite falling in absurdly epic fashion to Japan in penalty kicks during the 2011 Women's World Cup Final, you have to admit that the team is back at the forefront for women's sports in this country after spending a few years on the backburner.

For the most part, they're young, beautiful, athletic, have personalities and they are interesting. A pretty good combination any way that you slice it. Their success on the field and appeal off of it has surely sparked another resurgence in soccer around the U.S. for kids, particularly in girls.

Yesterday, goalkeeper Hope Solo (current star of ABC's Dancing With The Stars) along with forwards Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan were part of the 10 player list nominated for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award.

Five-time winner Marta of Brazil headlines the other nominees which also include Japan's Homare Sawa (the World Cup's leading scorer and top player) and Aya Mayama. Marta helped lead the Western New York Flash to the Women's Professional Soccer title but she also choked along with her teammates in the quarterfinals to the U.S. in the World Cup. Mostly for that reason and because I like to see different deserving people win awards, I say that Marta should not win this for the sixth time in a row (come on!).

The list was chosen by FIFA officials and journalists selected by France Football magazine so it should come as no surprise that France shamelessly put up its playmaker Louisa Necib for the award.

U.S. women's head coach Pia Sundhage and Japan's head coach Norio Sasaki are 10 nominees (10, really?) for best coach of a women's team in 2011. Sasaki is one of seven men on that list.

The final three candidates will be unveiled on December 5. In addition, stay tuned as next Tuesday FIFA will announce 10 candidates for the best men's player and coach. All of the winners will be feted January 9 by FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland. National team coaches plus captains and journalists vote for these honors.

Put me down for saying that Sawa and Sasaki should win although I fully expect FIFA to bungle it and go for Marta and some no-name coach.

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This Just In: Spain Is Good At Soccer

2011-10-19T10:15:00.001-07:00

When you get down to it, what is the purpose of the monthly FIFA rankings? It has to be more than just to tease and remind U.S. soccer fans how far our team has to go before anybody really respects it. Sadly, that seems to be all I think about when I view the latest depressing rankings.

The top five is predictable: Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Uruguay and Brazil. 6-10 are more surprising: Italy, England, Greece and Portugal are tied for eighth, Argentina and Denmark are tied for tenth. The Greeks and Danes were propelled by winning their group stages in Euro 2012 qualifying.

Mexico is the top CONCACAF squad at No. 22 while the U.S. slots in at 34. Ugh terrible but totally deserved. Former U.S. head coach Bob Bradley and his new team Egypt are up seven places to No. 29.

Japan leads all Asian countries (17) while Ivory Coast is the top African squad (19).

Other notable teams include Montenegro (39), who reached the Euro 2012 playoffs, and Estonia (59) which is the lowest ranked of the eight playoff teams.

Wales won two Euro 2012 matches and had the biggest jump, 45 places up to No. 45. Iraq moved up to No. 91 (16 spots higher) after a win in World Cup qualifying over China. Qatar, the controversial 2022 World Cup host moved up to 92 while Oceania's best team-New Zealand-fell to No. 104 (dropping 16 spots) despite not playing last month.

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U.S. Men's National Team Set For A Short European Vacation In November

2011-10-19T09:43:00.001-07:00

After months of rumors, the U.S. men's national team has finally set its final two exhibitions of 2011 in Europe: November 11 against France in Saint-Denis (outside of Paris) and November 15 against Slovenia in Ljubljana (which apparently is a real place) at Stozice Stadium.

Both matches have some intrigue since the U.S. and Slovenia were in the same group in the 2010 World Cup. Who could ever forget that improbable U.S. tie (2-2)? It was capped off by Landon Donovan's biggest goal of his career. The stakes will be much lower this time but it does mark the first U.S. trip to Slovenia so expect plenty of hype over there; I mean really, what else is going on in Slovenia, ever?

France formerly used to be one of Europe's strongest teams but with the 2010 World Cup serving as the boiling point, they've devolved into a complete mess. Still, they must be taken seriously with extremely talented players like Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka and Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery.

The U.S. needs to win at least one of those games and start improving on Jurgen Klinsmann's (1-3-1) less than impressive start to his U.S. head coaching career.

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Javier Hernandez aka Chicharito Gets Five More Years At Manchester United

2011-10-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

Any U.S. men's national team fan can tell you that Mexican striker Javier Hernandez aka Chicharito is one of the world's best strikers these days. As such, he's one of the reasons that Mexico will likely always be at a level above the U.S. for as long as he laces up his cleats with his buddy Giovani Dos Santos.

Likewise, the 23-year-old made an immediate impact for the world's second best club team-Manchester United-last season with 20 goals in all competitions. Today, he was rewarded with a five-year extension with the English Premier League's top team.

I hate Man U but watching Chicharito and Wayne Rooney work together is beautiful, they're easily one of the top striker duos right now. Just lethal with Hernandez providing the speed and Rooney the power. Some evidence of that will surely be on display Saturday morning as Liverpool faces Manchester United in a huge early season showdown.

His representative Eduardo Hernandez told ESPN Deportes: "The initial contract was good for Manchester and for Javier because it enabled them both to see if they could fit together and if he could achieve what was expected of him. Both sides have met their expectations and United were happy to reward Javier after his very good performances last season.

"I will not talk about numbers, but it is a five-year contract. It is a fixed salary with incentives based on the team's success in each of the different tournaments.

"Javier was not badly paid with his initial contract, but it was his first contract and, with respect, not comparable with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Nani. But today I can say that the contract has just been signed and everyone is satisfied."

The agent also played down recent speculation linking his client with Spanish giants Real Madrid, saying: "It was never likely that Javier would leave.

"Talks began some time ago and United came up with a very good offer and I have nothing but praise for the way they have recognised Javier's performances."

He's been battling injuries this season so he's off to a slow start (2 goals, 7 shots in 6 games) but expect Hernandez to pick it up now that his contract status is all sealed and his health has improved.

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Wayne Rooney To Miss All Three Games In Euro 2012 Group Stage

2011-10-13T11:10:00.001-07:00

England has qualified for Euro 2012 but they'll be without their best player for the group stage (3 matches) since striker Wayne Rooney was suspended for a sloppy challenge (red card) he committed against Montenegro last week.

Rooney won't be available until the quarterfinals of Euro 2012, should his country advance that far without him.

England have three days to appeal the decision, which seems a formality given the severity of the punishment.

A statement from UEFA read: "The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body has today handed down a three-match suspension to England forward Wayne Rooney following his dismissal during the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in Montenegro last Friday, 7 October.

"Today's decision was taken in relation to the red card shown to Rooney for assault after 74 minutes of England's final Group G game, the 2-2 draw with Montenegro in Podgorica. The striker will now be suspended from playing in his country's next three UEFA national competition matches for which he would be eligible.

"An appeal may be lodged against the verdict of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body within three days of the dispatch of the reasoned decision."

The FA say they will look at the full reasons behind the UEFA decision before deciding whether to appeal.

An FA statement said: "Further to UEFA's decision to impose a three-match suspension on Wayne Rooney following his sending off against Montenegro, the FA await the full reasons from the disciplinary committee, and will give full consideration to the decision internally, before deciding on any response to UEFA or making any further public comment.''

England head coach Fabio Capello said that Rooney will not start any of England friendlies in the run-up to Euro 2012 as he tries to find a system that works without the Man U superstar. Still, if the three-match ban stands he may have to reconsider his place in the squad.

The draw for the Euro 2012 finals is on December 2.

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U.S. vs. Ecuador 2nd half live blog

2011-10-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

Bradley and Beasley (95th CAP but still only 29-years-old) are on to start the second half for the U.S. I wholeheartedly approve of that. Spector and Agudelo are also on. Edu, Shea, Altidore and Cherunodlo all off.

Ecuador wins the first corner of the second half but can't do much with it.

Howard makes an easy stop on Arroyo.

Agudelo wins the U.S.' first corner kick in the second half.

Dempsey almost gets sprung for a good chance but he can't get the shot off.

Beasley's pass gets deflected out for a corner. Dempsey gets blocked in the box. Beasley has brought some energy early in the second half since coming on. He won a free kick right outside of the box. Bradley curls it wide and over.

Dempsey drops back into the box and blocks a shot out for an Ecuador corner. Jefferson Montero shoots wide for Ecuador, their best shot so far. It just skipped wide by a few feet.

First sub for Ecuador, Montero out for Jamie Ayovi.

Beckerman with a terrible giveaway leads to Bocanegra being forced to take down an Ecuador's Benitez, he gets the yellow card he deserves.

Second Ecuador substitution, Christian Suarez on for Antonio Valenica.

Edson Buddle in for Williams. I liked what I saw from Williams in his second appearance for the U.S.

Begging for the U.S. to take some shots and Beasley obliges by hitting one way wide with his right foot. Now I see why he never uses it. Minutes later, he has a better shot with his favored left. Beasley hasn't scored for the U.S in three years.

Last U.S. sub with Tim Ream on for Bocanegra. Thierry Henry was shown at the game with a hooded sweatshirt on and more interested with his phone than the action in front of him.

Chandler with a nice run down the left side, he wins a free kick outside the box. Bradley with a perfect ball in, deflected out by Ecuador for a U.S. corner (sixth of the game). Haha it drops to Onyewu who turns (good) but shoots it about as badly as you'd expect.

Ream gets beaten to a header by Jaime Ayovi (from his brother Walter) who puts it in for Ecuador. He was right on top of Howard so he had not chance to stop it. 1-0 Ecuador in the 79th minute.

Two U.S. corners lead to a nice save on Spector's redirect and a header out of bounds.

Wasteful cross by the U.S. goes over the net. 2 goals in previous 4 games under Klinsmann. John Harkes rightly points out that when Dempsey gets the ball right now, nobody is giving him a target or making a run.

Another Ecuador sub: Paredes on for Arroyo.

Pathetic dive by Ecuador, Onyewu goes up for a 50/50 ball, bumps the other guy and gets a yellow card. Ecuador's player was holding his head (which wasn't touched) even before he hit the ground. Ugh.

Four minutes of stoppage time. The U.S. wins a corner but Bradley hits it too long for Dempsey.

In 2011, the U.S. is 5-6-3 with 13 goals in 14 games. Not so good.

Gooch plays a nice ball to Dempsey, his shot is deflected into the side netting. Gotta be the last U.S. corner. Dempsey crosses it but it's no trouble to Banguera, that should do it.

Final: Ecuador 1, U.S. 0

Klinsmann falls to 1-3-1 but the U.S. played well, especially in the first half. One glaring defensive mistake cost them dearly and they still are really struggling to find a way to score goals. Onyewu and Beasley were pleasant surprises. Ecuador is a good team too, no shame losing to them.

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U.S. vs Ecuador 1st half live blog

2011-10-11T15:16:00.001-07:00

It's been four years since the U.S. has beaten a South American country so what better time than to do it against the same team (Ecuador) that they did it last time? This friendly takes place at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ, home of MLS' New York Red Bulls.

U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann (1-2-1) goes for his second straight win after his squad beat Honduras 1-0 on Saturday night in Miami.

Here's your starting 11 for the US:
Tim Howard in goal
Steve Cherundolo, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra and Timmy Chandler in the back
Kyle Beckerman, Danny Williams, Maurice Edu and Brek Shea in the midfield
Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore up top

The U.S. subs tonight include Rimando, Spector, Ream, Bradley, Beasley, Buddle and Agudelo.

Williams makes a nice run and move before getting it to Shea. Long hard shot knocked out for a U.S. corner. Ecuador's goalkeeper punches it out and Beckerman kicks it way wide.

U.S. free kick from outside the box, hit right into the Ecuador wall.

Ecuador's first good chance as Jefferson Montero beats Cherundolo and his shot is tipped wide by Howard.

Classic Gooch: he intercepts a bad through pass and then hits an ever worse ball that's easily picked off by Ecuador. Story of his career.

Dempsey finds Shea on the flank, he takes on a Ecuador defender and wins another corner kick. The U.S. hits a good ball but it's knocked away by a defender. The Ecuador goalkeeper Maximo Banguera (who's wearing a DirectTV HD hat, really) runs into a U.S. shoulder and fakes an injury for a few moments.

Landon Donovan and Stuart Holden get their first mentions of the night. Wish that the U.S. had either of those guys available tonight.

Can someone please cut Brek Shea's hair? He's becoming a good player, he can ditch the JV hairstyle now. It makes him look like a goof.

Ecuador doesn't have Brazil in its World Cup qualifying group, giving them a much better chance to advance to Brazil 2014.

Antonio Valencia is one of Ecuador's top players and also a member of Manchester United. He's a right back.

The U.S. gets some good pressure on a cross into the box but Williams' shot is blocked by a defender.

Ecuador counterattacks and wins their first corner kick.

As expected, tons of Ecuador fans in the NY/NJ area and at the game tonight. Let's be honest though, what else is there to do in Ecuador?

Great passing by the U.S., one touch from Shea, to Dempsey but Edu blows it by hitting it right to Benguera.

Altidore hit Williams with a nice pass but he slipped before he could get into the Ecuador box.

Bocanegra shields an Ecuador attacker and allows Howard to get to a 50/50 ball first.

So Jurgen has Chandler and Williams, any other German players that have shaky connections to the U.S. that we can exploit? Haha, it's for the good of our country.

Altidore gets poked in the eye on the edge of the box but no foul call. Jozy has three goals in eight league matches so far this season with his club team in Holland.

Oh nice, Ernie Stewart works for the team AZ Alkmaar that Altidore currently plays for. Stewart was one of the most underrated U.S. men's players in the 1990s.

Third U.S. corner after Dempsey just mistimes a header.

Dempsey with a volley that goes over, it didn't miss by that much. If anyone on the U.S. is taking that shot, you want it to be Clint.

Altidore gets in the face of Ecuador's Arroyo after the latter hacked him from behind to give the U.S. a free kick. Nice to see some emotion and toughness from Jozy as he got right in his face.

Shea called for shaky foul in Ecuador's box, he would have had a nice chance otherwise to cross it or hit a shot on goal.

Edu had a tricky ball bounce to him at the top of Ecuador's box but he completely whiffed. And that's why you're Maurice Edu, you'll never be known for your goal-scoring prowess.

Two minutes of added time.

Klinsmann looks like he's been playing with some balloons, haha his hair is standing up.

Halftime: U.S. 0, Ecuador 0

One of the best halves under Klinsmann for the U.S. They owned possession and seemed to be in Ecuador's end for most of the first 45+ minutes. They need to make more of their chances offensively but that's been true with the U.S. forever. A win against a quality opponent like this would be a nice development.

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Everton's Goalkeeper Coach Joins U.S. Staff

2011-10-11T09:43:00.000-07:00

Tim Howard is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world and as far as I know, there's nobody in the U.S. men's national team system that is pushing to take playing time away from him anytime soon.

That's why it makes perfect sense that U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann added Chris Woods to his staff. Who is Chris Woods you ask? He's been Everton's goalkeeper coach for the past 13 seasons which just so happens to be the club that Howard plays for in the English Premier League.

I don't think goalkeeper coaches do much, especially at that level, but I'm all in favor of doing anything that keeps Howard happy and performing at the level he's been at for years now. It's clear that he must have a close relationship with Woods at Everton so why not bring him to the U.S. for his international matches?

This hire doesn't require much creative thought but I'll venture a guess that the former Bruce Arena regime failed to think outside the box on a simple concept like this.

PS. The U.S. men meet Ecuador tonight at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ (7 p.m. on ESPN2). Stop by here because I'll be doing a live blog as Klinsmann tries to get his second straight win with the United States.

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There's Only One Clint Dempsey

2011-10-08T21:20:00.000-07:00

I'm in New Hampshire for the long weekend so I only caught bits and pieces of the U.S. vs. Honduras match tonight but I had to post this highlight. The U.S. won 1-0, Jurgen Klinsmann's first win, in Miami and it was all thanks to Clint Dempsey's excellent strike. Tim Howard earned the shutout.

I have the game sitting on my DVR at home. It didn't seem to be too exciting overall (it was pouring) but if I decide to watch it (good chance), I'll write a more detailed summary at some point next week.

Until then, say it with me: there's only one Clint Dempsey! What a goal, there's nobody else on the U.S. that could even dream of pulling off a move like that.

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U.S. Men's Roster Set For Ecuador & Honduras Friendlies In October

2011-09-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

It has sneaked up on us a bit but the U.S. men's national team is less than two weeks away from a pair of friendlies on its own shores.

The U.S. meets Honduras on October 8 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami (6 p.m. ET) before visiting the East Coast to take on Ecuador on October 11 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. (7 p.m. ET). With that in mind, U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann named a mostly familiar roster of 22 players for those games this afternoon.

U.S. roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Bill Hamid (D.C.United), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Timmy Chandler (Nürnberg), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls), Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim)

FORWARDS (5): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)

I included a picture of Williams since I'd never heard of him before (hat tip to the fine U.S. blog Yanks Abroad). You'll also note that Onyewu, Bradley and Beasley are back after not taking part in the disappointing matches against Costa Rica and Belgium at the start of September.

"We would like to continue seeing our players develop through these initial couple of months," said Klinsmann in a press release. "One important thing is to see continuity in the build-up of our national team and also in the way we work as coaches. We'd like to see new faces as well, but we also don't want to shake up the core structure of the team too much.

"The two results with Costa Rica and Belgium didn't work in our favor but we saw clearly that the team started to understand what we demand from them in terms of pace, playing style and how to play. "

I think we all know what we get with those three aforementioned players and it was assumed all along that they'd each rightfully have some place on this new iteration of the U.S. team. Bradley should immediately help in the midfield where the U.S. has struggled in three games under Klinsmann in terms of doing anything offensively from the middle of the park. Likewise, Beasley gives Altidore and Donovan some much needed skill. I've never been an Onyewu fan but it's still all hands on deck in terms of finding a fourth defender to pair with Bocanegra, Chandler and Cherundolo or possibly coming off the bench as as substitute.

After tying Mexico in Klinsmann's first match in August (in Philadelphia) then looking lethargic against Costa Rica in California and in Belgium, it is high time for the U.S. to get their new boss some more impressive results. Clearly, gaining chemistry and teaching new styles are paramount under Klinsmann but looking better in the process and pulling off some wins can only help gain confidence for all involved as well.

Update 10/3: Donovan is out with Edson Buddle replacing him. Apparently Landycakes has a strained right quadriceps.

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Is It Time To Start Worry About Stuart Holden's Long-Term Health?

2011-09-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not one prone to panic, the antithesis of most Boston sports fans, but I have to say that I'm a little worried about the recent developments with the health of Stuart Holden.

The 26-year-old Bolton midfielder and a player that should be one of the linchpins of the U.S. men's national team has not had a good 2011 to put it mildly. First, he needed 26 stitches on his knee after a rash challenge from Man U's Jonny Evans in an EPL match back in March.

Now comes the news that Holden will miss an additional six weeks with a follow-up surgery.

Holden made his long-awaited return on Sept. 20 in the League Cup against Aston Villa, but Bolton announced Wednesday that Holden will undergo a "routine follow-up procedure.''

"It was looking likely that the operation could be scheduled for next summer, but after follow-up consultations with the specialists we have brought the date forward,'' manager Owen Coyle said on the club website.

As he prepared to have the operation on Wednesday, Holden described it as a "bit of a setback but better for long run.''

"Obviously I'm disappointed as I've worked so hard the last 6 months, but in the grand scale of things it's only a minor blip,'' Holden said on his Twitter account.

Again, I'm not a doctor but this doesn't sound like the end of the world for Holden. Still, it would be nice to see the youngster have a healthy campaign as he looks to take on a bigger role both with his club and for Jurgen Klinsmann and the U.S.

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U.S. vs. Belgium 2nd half live blog

2011-09-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Two U.S. subs to start the second half: Agudelo is on for Altidore and Beckerman is on for Rogers.

Beckerman gets a chance with a bouncing ball at the top of the Belgian box but he shows why he'll always be Mr. MLS by skying it well over the goal. If he didn't have his dreads, you wouldn't even recognize him he's so anonymous.

Shea beats two defenders to the endline but his cross his caught by the Belgian goalkeeper.

Good defending by Cherundolo, nice to see him back in action. He's underrated and the U.S. defense really misses him when he's out.

Mertens wins a corner kick for Belgium.

Lombaerts hits a great long shot through traffic, off a long throw, and it goes in. Howard got a piece but it certainly wasn't his fault. 1-0 Belgium. His second goal for Belgium in 16 games.

Harkes describes the U.S. penchant for getting scored upon first as "a comfort zone you don't want to be in." Yeah, he gets paid for analysis like this.

Chandler shoots but it's deflected out by Agudelo's defender, U.S. corner kick on the way.

Crappy cross from Cherundolo, right to the Belgian goalkeeper. Too bad, the U.S. had numbers in front for once.

Lukaku, Hubert (Fellani) and Ugunjimi (Hazard) are the first three subs for Belgium. Lukaku is a talented teenager who was recently signed by Chelsea.

In the last 20 international matches, the U.S. has scored two goals or less in every game. The last time they scored three was against Australia right before the 2010 World Cup.

Chandler dribbles to nowhere by himself and it goes out of bounds. That's about right.

Shea's cross to Agudelo knocked out for another corner. Let's go! Time to challenge Belgium and I don't know, score a goal.

Dempsey with a nice move but he shoots it right at the goalkeeper. Ugh. Not a good sign when you're best offensive player does something like that.

Agudelo takes a nasty bump on a foul from behind.

Jeff Larentowicz makes his second career CAP (Chile in January) by taking out Torres.

Ah yes, Stuart Holden. Almost forgot about him. The U.S. desperately needs him and Michael Bradley back in the fold. Not enough talent on this squad right now.

Belgium almost scores another goal as Lukaku lays off for Witsel (aka Baby Fro) and his shot is deflected almost past Howard. Belgium corner kick but the U.S. clears it out.

Edu scores on a header off a free kick but of course, it doesn't count for some unknown reason. For what's it's worth, the U.S. didn't protest much after the call. The U.S.' twitter feed said it was offside but don't ask me how that happens that soon after a free kick and a loose ball in the box.

Lukaku finds himself wide open at the top of the box with space to move but he shoots over. He hasn't shown me anything in his brief appearance.

Final: Belgium 1, U.S. 0

Just like the Costa Rica game (minus the first 30 minutes) on Friday, the U.S. had no energy. At least that night, they didn't have an excuse. Rough travel makes for an easy alibi but they have to be better than that. Belgium is not very good and didn't do anything impressively. Boring game, another miserable result no matter how anyone spins it. Klinsmann (0-2-1) is still looking for his first win. October 8th vs. Honduras is the next opportunity.

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U.S. vs. Belgium 1st half live blog

2011-09-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

No Landon Donovan today and Clint Dempsey returns for his first game under Jurgen Klinsmann. The U.S. looks for its first win under its new head coach (0-1-1) after a terrible 1-0 loss to Costa Rica on Friday in Carson, CA.

Belgian is a decent European team, lots of quality younger players but at the same time, they tied Azerbijan last weekend and are on the cusp of not qualifying for Euro 2012.

U.S. starting 11
Howard; Cherundolo, Goodson, Bocanegra (capt.), Chandler; Edu, Torres, Dempsey; Rogers, Altidore, Shea

Belgium starting 11
Mignolet, Ciman, Alderweireld, Kompany, Lombaerts, Simons, Hazard, Fellani, De Camargo, Witsel, Mertens

It is pouring in Brussels and as a result, looks like some of the crowd didn't turn or is under the stands at the moment.

First chance of the game. Dempsey takes a bouncing shot and the goalie Mignolet makes a mess of it. Jozy got to the rebound but knocked it out before he could do anything.

Shea wins a corner kick. The youngster has been playing really well for the U.S. and with his club team-FC Dallas in MLS.

A couple Belgian players (like Fellani) have great fros/mops for hair.

Slow start for both teams. Rogers wins a free kick after his heels were clipped. Torres whips it just wide, I thought it was going in. Mignolet didn't seem to get a good read on it.

Lombaerts wins a free kick on the side of the U.S. box. The U.S. cleared it out and Shea got fouled.

Cherundolo almost connected with Shea on a nice through ball.

Big save by Howard on Simons' long shot. First real shot for either side.

Mertens shoots wide (and completely fools Ian Darke who thinks it went in). It hit the outside of the net and regardless, it was offside.

Howard knocks out a tough-angle shot for a Belgian corner kick. That play started because a U.S. midfielder lunged and got beat well up field. Lazy. Belgium is starting to take over now.

Belgium gets job out of another corner that clearly went off Bocanegra's head.

The U.S. looks terrible, really slow and not fighting through challenges or pressure.

Fellani with a redirection stopped by Howard. Great instinctual save.

Rogers wins a free kick that Torres hits into the Belgian wall. Even worse, Edu has a chance to take a long shot but he completely whiffs (really). Yup, it's been that kind of half for the U.S. They haven't given up a goal but that's about the only positive thing you can say about them.

Halftime: 0-0.

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U.S. vs. Costa Rica 2nd half live blog

2011-09-02T21:18:00.001-07:00

Haha Darke mentions that some U.S. honk compared them to Brazil or Barcelona at halftime. I'd love to be that insane for one day in my life, just to see what it's like.

No subs for the U.S.; Colindres in for Martinez for Costa Rica.

Castillo might be related to Wiz Khalifa. He's covered in tattoos and really skinny. I'm pretty sure I made that joke during the Mexico friendly but it's late and I forget.

Costa Rica has won three CONCACAF championships and has appeared in three World Cups. They're the third most successful country in CONCACAF behind the United States and Mexico.

Altidore feeds Rogers for a goal but the offside flag was up for a long time before it all went down. Too bad, that was nice.

Donovan gets a yellow card, nobody is sure if it's for a handball or dissent to the referee.

Haha Costa Rica had a good chance but a header was blocked in front of the U.S. goal by another Costa Rica player. Howard stopped the second easier shot.

Second sub for Costa Rica: Rodney Wallace (went to University of Maryland; plays for Portland Timbers) who is making his debut.

The U.S. makes its first change with Altidore coming off in favor of Juan Agudelo.

Ugh. Costa Rica scores in the 65th minute. Howard makes one unbelievable save on a header from in close and gets a hand on the rebound but it goes in. 1-0 Costa Rica.

Second U.S. sub: Kljestan in for Rogers.

Torres tries a long range shot and it's deflected out by Nagas. U.S. corner kick but they can't do anything with it.

Honestly, what does Ramos bring to the broadcast that myself or one of my friends can't do? His broken English is distracting.

Another U.S. corner but as always, they can't use it to their advantage.

Agudelo gets taken down in front of Costa Rica's goal. Good no call.

Haha closeup of the Costa Rican coach freaking out on the sideline. Yelling at one of his lowly assistants because they didn't get to substitute in when they wanted. Relax bro, it's a friendly.

The ball bounces around in the Costa Rican box but nobody wants to shoot it.

Shea gets a yellow card after pushing a Costa Rican defender. Then the Costa Rican goalkeeper dives when Shea slightly touches him. Ugh, it's becoming one of those ridiculous matches.

Kljestan gets a yellow as well, this is getting silly.

Costa Rica sub: McClean in for Sanchez.

Agudelo wins a U.S. corner. At least he was looking to take somebody on.

Maurice Edu makes his first noticeable contribution of the game by shooting it well wide. Sweet.

Wow Agudelo just had an amazing run through a few Costa Rican players forcing the save by Costa Rica's goalkeeper. Flashes of brilliance from the young guy.

Mena in for Costa Rica.

Boy oh boy Castillo is awful, hope he never gets another CAP for the U.S. in the near future.

Torres with a blast that knocks down a Costa Rican player but can't get through.

Not a huge Donovan fan and as usual, he has disappeared in a U.S. match. He seems to make that a regular occurance. Granted, he also finds a way to score some huge goals from time to time.

Agudelo gets hacked down outside the Costa Rica box. Four minutes of stoppage time left. No time like the present, the U.S. desperately needs a goal.

It's laid off for Kljestan who shoots it slow, weakly and right into the wall. Honestly, what has he ever done in a U.S. uniform? I get that Klinsmann is giving everyone a chance but I don't get it with him. He's like a poor man's Benny Feilhaber and that's rather depressing to write.

Final: Costa Rica 1, U.S. 0.

This game means nothing win or lose but it's a disappointing result since the U.S. dominated in the first half. They had some chances but it's no surprise that without Clint Dempsey (not to mention Stuart Holden and Michael Bradley) the U.S. struggled to find its scoring touch.

The U.S. travels to Belgium on Tuesday (2:30 p.m.), let's hope they can wake up between now and then. Klinsmann needs a win (0-1-1 so far) to make everyone a little happier.

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U.S. vs. Costa Rica 1st half live blog

2011-09-02T20:15:00.001-07:00

This is Jurgen Klinsmann's second match as the U.S. head coach. This friendly between CONCACAF rivals takes place in Carson, California.

U.S. starting 11:
Howard; Chandler, Orozco Fiscal, Bocanegra (c), Castillo; Donovan, Edu, Torres; Rogers, Altidore, Shea

Costa Rica starting 11:
Navas; Umaña, Miller, Johnson, Acosta; Barrantes, Azofeifa, Sánchez; Saborío, Brenes, Martínez (4-3-3)

Apparently this isn't Costa Rica's top squad, more of an experimental group.

Again, the U.S. doesn't have last names on the back of their jerseys and they all have the numbers 1-11. Interesting idea, we'll see if it works for Jurgen Klinsmann.

Torres with a great ball to Altidore but it's blown dead for offsides. Looked like a good chance.

Great combination play between Brek Shea and Altidore. Shea laid it off for Donovan who puts it inches wide. Should have been 1-0, wonderful opportunity.

Shea plays a ball to Altidore who chests it down and shoots wide.

Since the 2010 World Cup, the U.S. is 5-5-5. Thanks Bob Bradley.

U.S. wins its first corner kick in the 13th minute. Costa Rica's goalkeeper wins it but is out of bounds, another U.S. corner.

Costa Rica has been MIA in the first 15 minutes, the U.S. is controlling the ball and consequently the play.

First good chance for Costa Rica but they were offsides.

Jozy with his obligatory offsides call of the game, only took him 19 minutes into this one.

U.S. free kick 25 yards out from the top of the Costa Rica box, good chance right here. Haha Shea still has that goofy Eurotrash haircut, what's the deal with that? Donovan shoots it over.

Oh no, that Jorge Ramos bozo is back on the halftime show. Don't ask me who hired that joker. He brings absolutely nothing to the table but then again, Taylor Twellman is the new sideline reporter (shoots self in head).

Navas snags a cross from Rogers before Shea can get to it. A little more pace on that and the U.S. would have scored.

Donovan comes in on an angle but decides to lay it off for Altidore but it was behind him and Costa Rica knocks it out of bounds. To be fair to Donovan, a defender was right on his back.

Ian Darke says the U.S. "should be ahead but they're not." Couldn't have phrased it any better myself, dominant first half.

Costa Rica is 2-0-2 vs. the U.S. in the last four meetings, Howard has never beat them.

Nice save by Howard on a long distance strike, first shot by Costa Rica on goal.

The ball squirts through to a Costa Rican player who tries to go high but Howard knocks it over the bar for a corner kick.

0-0 at halftime.

Good first half by the U.S. but it would be nice if they led. It will be interesting to see who Klinsmann uses as substitutes in the second half. I have a feeling this game won't end scoreless.

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The More Germans The Better On U.S. Men's National Team Roster

2011-08-25T23:25:00.001-07:00

With the end of August almost upon us, it was time for U.S. men's national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann to announce the rosters for exhibitions against Costa Rica and Belgium in the beginning of September.

Without question, the most intriguing name on the list is Fabian Johnson. He started for Germany in the U-21 European championship just two years ago but he's followed Klinsmann to the U.S. I can't say that I've ever heard of him but his credentials seem pretty legit: he's a midfielder for Hoffenheim, a German club.

Another former German Timmy Chandler will also get to make his debut for the new U.S. head coach after he got pulled off the roster at the last minute before the Mexico match. Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey get their first CAPs under Klinsmann while Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones and Ricardo Clark were left out of (supposedly to deal with transfer issues with their clubs) this group.

"All three of these players are trying to sort out their club situations, and the deadline for transfers is a week away," Klinsmann said. "They have also not been playing matches, so for these reasons we decided to select different players for this roster."

Freddy Adu wasn't selected, either. The former phenom recently returned to Major League Soccer, and is still adjusting to his new Philadelphia Union team.

The U.S. and Costa Rica meet frequently in CONCACAF play, but this is their first exhibition since 1995. The Americans have an 11-11-6 record overall against the Ticos, including a 2-2 draw on Oct. 14, 2009, that cost Costa Rica a spot in last year's World Cup. The tie dropped Costa Rica to fourth in North and Central American and Caribbean region qualifying, and the Ticos then lost to Uruguay in a playoff for the spot shared by CONCACAF and South America.

This will be the fourth game against Belgium, and first since 1998. Belgium has won the last two meetings.

Roster
Goalkeepers: Tim Howard (Everton, England), Bill Hamid (DC United).
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Edgar Castillo (Club America, Mexico), Timmy Chandler (Nuremberg, Germany), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Clarence Goodson (Brondby, Denmark), Zach Loyd (Dallas), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis, Mexico), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA), Tim Ream (New York)
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim, Germany), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht, Belgium), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), Brek Shea (Dallas), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico)
Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New York), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands), Teal Bunbury (Kansas City), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles).

Other new players in the mix include Hamid, Larentowicz (a former Revs player) and Bunbury.

With more time to train and get prepared, expect some better chemistry between Klinsmann and his team. Likewise, Costa Rica and Belgium represent a step down from the level of Mexico so the U.S. should be more ready to handle teams of that caliber.

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Does This Look Like The World's Soon To Be Highest Paid Soccer Player?

2011-08-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

I'm not a hater, never have been and never will be. Therefore, when I see a guy making an absurd amount of money to play a sport, I can only tip my hat towards him and say well done sir.

Samuel Eto'o is a fine soccer player. Is he the world's best? Haha not even close but that doesn't matter since some Russian club that I've never heard of-Anzhi Makhachkala-has agreed to a transfer with Inter Milan which will make the Cameroon star the world's highest paid player ($28.8 million per season).

After several days of negotiations, Italian media report Sunday that the two clubs have agreed on a transfer fee of $38.9 million and that the deal will be formalized Monday.

Anzhi is expected to give Eto'o a three-year contract worth $28.8 million per season, surpassing the estimated $17.3 million that Cristiano Ronaldo earns at Real Madrid and the $15.1 million that Lionel Messi is paid by Barcelona.

Anzhi, from the southern Russian province of Dagestan, is owned by billionaire oil tycoon Suleiman Kerimov.

The 30-year-old Eto is considered still in his prime. He has already won three Champions League titles -- two with Barcelona and one with Inter -- and is apparently excited about playing in the developing Russian league.

In Forbes magazine's latest list of the world's richest people, Kerimov's net worth was estimated at $7.8 billion, tying him for 118th place with Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi and family.

Anzhi's captain is 38-year-old Roberto Carlos, once the standout left back for Brazil.

The transfer fee for Eto'o also makes it one of the most expensive deals this season, close to the $42 million Barcelona paid Arsenal on Monday to bring Cesc Fabregas back to his childhood club.

The biggest deal during the current transfer window was the $62 million Manchester City paid Atletico Madrid for Sergio Aguero last month. Also, Paris Saint-Germain paid $60 million to Palermo for Javier Pastore.

Eto'o led Inter with 37 goals in all competitions last season, having replaced Milito as the club's biggest scoring threat. He was a key member of the Inter side that won the Champions League in 2010, often accepting an attacking midfield or defensive role for then-Inter coach Jose Mourinho.

Before joining Inter in 2009, Eto'o played five seasons with Barcelona.

Makhachkala is plagued by violence from insurgency that has spread across the North Caucasus after two separatist wars in Dagestan's neighboring region of Chechnya.

Anzhi players live and train at a training camp outside Moscow and travel to Makhachkala for home games, flying about 1,250 miles 15 times a season.

People will laugh at this deal (and rightfully so), it is absurd. However, someone has to be the world's highest paid player and if Eto'o wants to figuratively pay the price by playing in some backwater, dangerous area well good for him I guess.

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Robbie Keane Goes To The Land Of Frauds

2011-08-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

I am already on record as calling Robbie Keane "heavy-drinking, mercurial and possibly over-the-hill striker" so it's with a touch of doubt that I pass along the news that Keane has transferred from Tottenham to join the Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS).

With my thoughts on Keane and MLS (still unwatchable) well established, I don't have much to add to this latest development other than to say that it will help sell a few jerseys to the Irish in California and assorted pseudo-celebrities that go to there games (does that still happen?).

"I have already discussed football with (Galaxy coach) Bruce Arena, and I know exactly what he wants from me,'' Keane said. "I am fit, fresh and ready to go. I've come here to score goals and help this team achieve their goals. This is a massive opportunity for me in my career. I aim to grab it with both hands and hopefully help give the Galaxy fans what they want.''

Keane is moving from Tottenham Hotspur, where the 31-year-old striker has fallen behind Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe after scoring just one goal in 10 matches last season. Keane initially hoped to stay in the Premier League during its transfer window, but became interested in the Galaxy after training with Beckham at Tottenham earlier this year.

"I have always wanted to come and play in MLS, so it's the perfect combination for me and a dream come true,'' said Keane, the 10th-leading goal-scorer in Premier League history with 123 goals. "When David Beckham came and trained at Spurs recently, he couldn't speak highly enough about the Galaxy, their fans and the league in general, so I can't wait to get over and get started.''

Although Keane has struggled with Tottenham, he has been outstanding for the Irish national team, scoring a record 51 goals in his career -- including five goals in six recent matches during group qualifying play for Euro 2012. He played for Ireland against Croatia last Wednesday, and the Irish have key qualifying matches against Slovakia and Russia in the next few weeks.

The Galaxy lead the MLS standings with 48 points on the strength of 11 goals from Landon Donovan -- the league's second-leading goal-scorer behind Thierry Henry -- and a resurgent season from Beckham, who's second in the league with 10 assists in the final year of his MLS contract. Los Angeles' next MLS match is Saturday night against San Jose.

"Robbie Keane will be a great addition to our club,'' said Arena, also the Galaxy's general manager. "I have followed his career and have always respected his ability as a competitor and a goal-scorer. I believe that he brings qualities in and around the penalty area that we have been lacking. Hopefully he will be another piece of the puzzle in our quest for the Supporters' Shield and an MLS Cup championship, as well as to advance to the next round of the CONCACAF Champions League.''

The Galaxy must make a roster move when Keane receives his visa, since Los Angeles already has three "designated players'' who can be paid above the MLS salary cap: Beckham, Donovan and Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel.

Beckham and Donovan are crucial to the Galaxy's success, which means Angel almost certainly will be moved when Keane gets his visa. Although Angel was the MLS' leading scorer over the previous four seasons, he has just three goals and one assist in 22 games for Los Angeles.

Angel is thought to be headed across the hallway at Home Depot Center to Chivas USA, which shares a stadium with the Galaxy in Carson, Calif., and is fighting to stay in the playoff race.

Starting his pro career at 17, Keane played for three English clubs and Inter Milan before joining Tottenham in August 2002. He moved to Liverpool in 2008, but returned to Tottenham in early 2009 before spending parts of the past two seasons on loan to Celtic of the Scottish Premier League and West Ham.

Stop me if you've heard this story before: former European star transfers from an EPL club to the Galaxy. There's an initial buzz but that quickly subsides as people actually start to view MLS games and realize that it's terribly boring. The main difference in this case is that Keane isn't married to a crazed former pop star as far as I know. You could also argue that he's got a little more left in the tank than Beckham but I guess we'll figure that out shortly. Let me know what you think because I surely won't be paying attention.

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The Revolving Door Out Of Arsenal Keeps Spinning

2011-08-16T09:40:00.001-07:00

It has got to be agonizing to be an Arsenal fan right now living in England. Sure, I enjoy the Gunners but I'm far removed from the club here in the States so I can only observe all the moves that have left the team a shell of what it's been the last few seasons.

Defender Emmanuel Eboue is the latest player to transfer from Arsenal to greener (get it? MONEY!) pastures.

Turkish club Galastaray signed him to a four-year deal.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger confirmed earlier this summer that Eboue, 28, was likely to leave the club during the current transfer window.

The Ivory Coast international arrived at the Gunners from Beveren in 2005 and went on to make 132 Premier League appearances, scoring four times.

Eboue joins Gael Clichy, Denilson and Cesc Fabregas in leaving Emirates Stadium this summer, while Samir Nasri, Nicklas Bendtner and Manuel Almunia's futures are the subject of conjecture.

Routinely the top club in Turkey's Super Lig, Eboue will join familiar EPL names of yore like Milan Baros and Harry Kewell.

Arsenal hosts Udinese in a few hours in a Champions League playoff match before Liverpool visits Emirates Stadium on Saturday morning (7:45 am EST) in a pivotal early season EPL match. If the Gunners don't win both matches and more importantly, don't start to replace all these solid players that are leaving London, they'll be in big trouble with the fans and media that cover this beloved team.

The post-Fabregas era begins with Robin Van Persie assuming the captaincy role for Arsenal starting today.

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The Worst Kept Secret In European Soccer Has Come True

2011-08-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

In the last year, if you had Internet access and or a Twitter account, you've no doubt seen the constant rumors of Cesc Fabregas moving on from Arsenal to Barcelona.

Well it looks like you won't have to waste anymore of your life waiting for this foregone move to happen, because it went down today.

Coming a day after Arsenal's mostly lifeless 1-1 tie with Newcastle and the same day as Barcelona's scintillating 2-2 tie with Real Madrid in the Super Cup (Spain's version of the Community Shield), this big transfer will make the Gunners worse while also increasing the incredible talent level on Fabregas' hometown team.

On Twitter yesterday, English writers reported that Arsenal fans were left to chant "spend some fucking money," while they watched their mostly starless team struggle. Haha I wish American fans were smart or unified enough to come up with something like that.

Despite Arsenal insisting throughout the summer that they would not sell Fabregas for less than £40 million, it is thought that a £35 million fee has finally been agreed.

Manager Arsene Wenger said: "We have been clear that we didn't want Cesc to leave and that remains the case. However, we understand Cesc's desire to move to his home town club and have now accepted an offer from Barcelona. We thank Cesc for his contribution at Arsenal and wish him future success."

Fabregas, who joined the Gunners from Barca as a 16-year-old in 2003, will now agree personal terms and undergo a medical on Monday before sealing his return to the Nou Camp.

The midfielder's move will bring an end to a saga that sparked into life last summer when Fabregas told Wenger that he wanted to return to his boyhood club. Wenger stubbornly refused to let the Spain international leave at that time, but just over 12 months later he has given up on the battle to keep the wantaway star.

It has been suggested that Fabregas is willing to take a pay cut in order to force through the move, underlining his desperation to join the Champions League winners.

He played no part in Arsenal's pre-season campaign or their Premier League opener at Newcastle, with Wenger citing a lack of focus and a niggling injury.

Fabregas, who has won 58 caps for Spain, winning Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, made 303 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 57 goals in all competitions and claimed the record for youngest first-team player and goalscorer.

His departure will increase the pressure from fans on Wenger to use some of the transfer fee to bring in a big-name signing before the end of the transfer window. Shakhtar Donetsk claim that Arsenal have shown an interest in Brazil international midfielder Jadson, while Wenger is known to be keen to add a central defender.

It remains to be seen whether Arsenal will be able to hold on to France international Samir Nasri, a target for Manchester City and a player who the Londoners could lose on a free transfer next summer when his contract expires.

Ordinarily Nasri would have been earmarked as the natural successor to Fabregas in a central role but, with his future up the air, Wenger may be forced into the transfer market.

As ESPNsoccernet's story says, Nasri is the other Arsenal player that has been the subject of constant rumors. It'll be interesting to monitor what the Gunners do in the next few weeks (the transfer window closes on August 30). If they want to get back into the top four in the EPL (and clinch a Champions League spot), the club needs to open their checkbooks and start spending some money. If not to appease their dedicated fans, but also to keep up with the Man U's, Man City's, Chelsea's and Liverpool's of the EPL.

Fabregas will take some time to adjust to the more skillful La Liga style of play but since he's played with many of Barce's players on Spain, he should be better suited than most to make an impact sooner rather than later. You can never have too much talent in sports and Barcelona is living proof of that in club soccer.

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Manchester United Injuries Start To Pile Up After One EPL Game in 2011-12 Season

2011-08-14T15:42:00.001-07:00

Sunday was an up and down day for Manchester United, the defending English Premier League champions.

The Red Devils managed to salvage a 2-1 win on the road at West Bromwich in their 2011-12 EPL opener.

More importantly, defender Rio Ferdinand picked up a hamstring injury (forcing him to get subbed out after 76 minutes) and it has already been announced that he's expected to miss six weeks. If he's out for that projected time period, he'll miss club matches against Arsenal and Chelsea along with England national team Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales.

Fullback Rafael da Silva was out 10 weeks after injuring his shoulder in training before the season had even started and center back Nemanja Vidic also exited today's game with an injury (to his calf) and he'll likely miss two weeks.

These three injuries to their defense means that Manchester United could be shaky in the back heading into a tough early stretch in the EPL (vs. Tottenham and vs. Arsenal in the next two weeks).

"Rio has a hamstring injury. He will be out for six weeks,'' said Ferguson. "With Nemanja, we hope it is a nerve in his calf. He felt it prior to the game but he wanted to play. That may be a couple of weeks.''

The bright spot for Ferguson is the anticipated return of Patrice Evra from a knee injury against Spurs next Monday.

"We can always put Fabio on the right if we need to. We also have Chris Smalling, so we will get through,'' said Ferguson.

While I don't like Man U at all, I never root for injuries to good players (or anyone for that regard) so hopefully these guys all get back to the field in due time.

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U.S. vs. Mexico 2nd half live blog

2011-08-10T19:18:00.001-07:00

No substitutions for either team at halftime.

Bradley gets out in space but he's 1 on 4 and he can't dribble through that many people (nobody can that's not named Messi or Ronaldo).

Guardado tries to cross it but he hit it a little too far and Howard gobbles it up.

Salcido called offsides during a run forward.

Damn, De La Torre is 9-0-2 so far in his stint as Mexican coach.

Marquez almost scores on a header following a corner. It hit the side netting, thrilling all the drunk and or stupid fans in the crowd.

Haha apparently Castillo had three caps for Mexico in friendlies. Is it possible to give him back? Can't imagine why they'd let a guy of his incredible ability walk away.

dos Santos is in, Mexico can relax now. That storyline is over. De La Torre didn't start him in this pointless friendly! Oh the horror!

Donovan hits a great corner to Bocanegra, his header is powerful but right at Ochoa. That was the U.S.' first shot of the game, yikes.

No surprise, the old Mexican man doing commentary thinks Torres should have a bigger role.

First U.S. sub: Agudelo in for Buddle, Brek Shea in for Jones in the 60th mionute.

Hold the phone, Shea has the third-most goals in MLS. Look out world.

With Agudelo's first touch, he at least attacks Mexico before shooting way over the Mexican goal.

2nd Mexico sub: Arellano for Peralta.

Shots are 5-2 in favor of Mexico.

Good passing sequence by Mexico but Arellano shoots wide and over.

Shea looked to win a corner but he didn't get the seemingly easy call.

Marquez is the sub for Mexico, Javier Rodriguez is in.

Never heard one before but I think John Harkes just made a joke: regarding airline travel. Not bad John, keep it up.

Bermudez in for ; Robbie Rogers in for Michael Bradley.

Agudelo got loose in the box but he couldn't hang onto the ball before going down.

Haha, Rogers ties it up in the 73rd minute as Shea feeds him a great ball across the goalmouth. All he had to do was tap it in. (1-1)

Second international goal for Rogers, first assist for Shea.

Donovan and Torres combine for another near goal. The ball was played behind Torres.

After a good run into the area, Donovan gets taken down. That was a close one, could have been given a penalty.

Haha Darke drops a Elton John "Philadelphia Freedom" reference. Well done sir.

Rogers shoots over, Agudelo started another good rush.

I honestly didn't know a thing about Shea before this match but he's impressing me. His hair is awful but to look that silly you have to be a baller. Nice move forces a good save by Ochoa.

Hey Ricardo Clark is back! Torres out, Clark in. Ok performance by Torres, he clearly had few options tonight of guys that could play with his type of skill.

Wow. Agudelo plays a great through ball to Rogers, he gets pulled down by Torrado but he only gets a yellow card. Unbelievable, fouls don't get much more dirty and intentional than that.

Three minutes of added time. Clark bungles play and shoots well wide after some nice work by Donovan. One last time, Clark plays a pass a little behind Agudelo in the box.

That's it, 1-1. Fair result; Mexico dominated for most of the match but the U.S. finally woke up with about 20 minutes left in the second half. Shea, Rogers and Agudelo provided nice sparks off the bench and showed why they deserve more time (over Buddle).

All in all a positive debut for Klinsmann and his new squad. The next match is Sept. 2 vs. Costa Rica in Carson, CA.

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Jurgen Klinsmann's Debut: U.S. vs. Mexico 1st half live blog

2011-08-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

The U.S. lineup is Howard in goal, Cherundolo, Orazco Fiscal, Bocanegra and Castillo in the back. Jones, Beckerman, Donovan and Bradley in midfield. Torres and Buddle up front.

No Jozy Altidore or Clint Dempsey, they're in Europe playing with their clubs.

Mexico's lineup is Ochoa in goal, Juarez, Marquez, Moreno and Salcido in the back. Berrera, Torrado, Castro and Guardado in the midfield. Naelson and Peralta up front.

Chicarito is hurt for Mexico so he's not here and dos Santos is starting out on the Mexican bench.

Mexico has won the last three meetings with the U.S., including the Gold Cup final (4-2) six weeks ago in Pasadena, CA.

Mexico wins the first free kick, outside of the U.S. box. Salcido tries to cross it but loses his balance and it goes out for a U.S. goal kick.

Haha, Ian Darke says "Edison Buddle, who hasn't been seen since the World Cup." That's about right.

First U.S. chance, Donovan crosses to Jones but it's just out of his reach. Bradley started it with a good ball, nice run by Jones.

Mexico gives the ball away from the back but the U.S. kicks out. Ugly start.

Bob Bradley's record from 2010-11: 9-9-6. Thank you ESPN for that gross stat.

Some nice individual work by Donovan, dribbling through multiple Mexican defenders.

Castillo shoots wide but that one had no chance of going in. Howard gave it a customary dive but he didn't need to do that.

ESPN's Rob Stone reports that Bob Bradley is currently in Egypt and he'll likely be offered the Egyptian national team job. Happy times people.

Nothing is more overrated than talking formations in soccer. It really doesn't matter in almost every case.

First Mexican corner, they're starting to get some pressure now. Anti-climatic weird goal as a cross leads to a one-timer by Peralta (1-0 Mexico in the 17th minute). Michael Bradley was right on Peralta, unlucky play against the U.S.

Perrera with a nice cross cleared out by Cherundolo. The U.S. is on the ropes a bit here, they can't seem to sustain any possession (miss you Clint!).

Landycakes wins a free kick outside the Mexico box, good spot to hit a shot from. Torres' shot is blocked and doesn't get through, ugh.

It appears that Morgan Freeman is the referee tonight, guess he hasn't read a good script in a while.

First flop by Mexico draws a decent boo from Lincoln Financial Field.

Sept. 2 vs. Costa Rica and Sept. 6 vs. Belgium. The U.S. starts 2014 World Cup qualifying next June.

Announcers start talking about Stuart Holden, remember him? He's good, hope he gets well soon and starts playing soon for Bolton.

Cherundolo trips Guardado and both teams proceed to freak out over a pretty harmless foul. This is why people hate soccer fellas. The free kick is driven right into the side netting.

Haha I think John Harkes is a terrible commentator but when you're right you're right: he says Mexico is just better than the U.S. You got it Johnny.

Donovan needs four more goals to become the first U.S. player with 50 career goals. He has five career goals against Mexico in 13 appearances.

Cherundolo with one cross that's a bit too far then he gets another chance and it's too short.

Offsides Mexico in the box, pretty obvious as they received the ball without anyone around them.

In the 40th minute, Darke and Harkes start making excuses for the U.S. and saying they'll be better soon.

Juarez gets a yellow (unjustly) for a strong challenge with Beckerman. I think the ref just felt bad that Mr. MLS dreadlocks got shaken up on the play.

Castillo is terrible, just another awful U.S. fullback. 1 minute of stoppage time. Haha and the first half ends as Castillo passes it right to Mexico. Get him off the field Jurgen!

Well that was a steaming pile of dog poo. Win or lose, I'm putting no stock whatsoever into this result. The team has only been with Klinsmann for a few days, they're missing some of their best players and Mexico is very good. It's just the thrill factor of seeing Klinsmann on the sidelines and the hope for a brighter day with U.S. men's soccer.

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U.S. Men's Soccer & MLS To Be Shown On NBC In 2012 Thanks To New 3-Year Deal

2011-08-10T10:37:00.001-07:00

Since I don't work for a television network, I'm not one to usually get excited about broadcast deals but the U.S. men's national team along with MLS scored a big one today as NBC and NBC Sports network will show 49 MLS games and four U.S. men's game per year starting in 2012. It's all part of a wonderful three-year deal.

Today was already a big day for U.S. soccer with Jurgen Klinsmann set to coach his first game for the Americans against Mexico tonight at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field (home of the Eagles). This lucrative television deal means that sputtering MLS will gain more exposure (which can only help it start to turn more of a profit and get better players) while the U.S. men's team will likewise gain more viewers across the country.

From nbcsports.com
NEW YORK - Major League Soccer (MLS) and the NBC Sports Group today announced a three-year media rights agreement, which commences at the start of the 2012 MLS season. The partnership calls for 45 MLS games and four U.S. Men’s National Team contests to be televised live across both NBC and NBC Sports Network each season. This marks the first rights deal for the newly-named cable channel that will be re-branded from VERSUS on Jan. 2, 2012. The announcement was made today by MLS Commissioner and Soccer United Marketing CEO Don Garber and Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group.

“Everyone at the NBC Sports Group is thrilled to begin this partnership with Major League Soccer,” said Lazarus. “MLS is a perfect fit for our new group, and we are uniquely positioned to help grow soccer in the United States with extensive coverage on NBC Sports Network, significant programming on the broadcast network and our growing digital platforms. Additionally, this agreement complements the partnerships that five of our regional sports networks have with their local MLS teams.”

Each season, NBC will broadcast two regular-season MLS games, two playoff games and two appearances by the U.S. Men’s National Team, marking the first time four MLS matches will be broadcast on English-language network television since 2002. The NBC Sports Network will televise 38 regular-season games, three playoff games and two U.S. Men’s National Team matches. All telecasts on NBC and NBC Sports Network will consist of pre-game and post-game coverage. According to the agreement, the NBC Sports Group obtains digital rights across all platforms and devices for the games it televises.

“Our new partnership with the NBC Sports Group is a significant step forward for Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer,” said MLS Commissioner and Soccer United Marketing CEO Don Garber. “The NBC Sports Group is world-renowned for its award-winning coverage, superb broadcast quality and promotional expertise. We are excited to be part of NBC’s ambitious plans for soccer and look forward to reaching a considerable audience on multiple platforms.”

Featuring an exciting mix of players, including world-class stars such as Landon Donovan, David Beckham and Thierry Henry, MLS is one of the nation’s fastest growing sports properties. It has seen considerable growth across many metrics, including number of teams (10 clubs in 2004 to 19 in 2012) and new stadiums (two soccer stadiums in 2004 to having 15 of 19 clubs playing in venues built with soccer in mind, including new soccer stadiums in Houston and Montreal next year). This season, the League is enjoying the highest average attendance and largest number of corporate sponsors in its 16-year history.

Along with already-established MLS partnerships with five Comcast SportsNets (California, Chicago, Mid-Atlantic, New England and Philadelphia), this agreement provides the league with coverage across the NBC Sports Group’s unique four-tier portfolio of assets: broadcast network, national cable, regional sports networks and digital platforms.

With the 2012 Olympics next summer, which is always covered on NBC, this seems like a logical move for the NBC executives to make as they'll build up some excitement for the product and then deliver the Olympics in London. Soccer in the Olympics is always one of the better competitions since along with a mostly U-23 roster, teams can send a few older superstar players to help the younger studs. The timing appears to be perfect for NBC and with any luck, MLS (which really needs it) and the U.S. men's national team will flourish under this new partnership.

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Hey Bob Bradley, How Do You Feel About Camels (The Mode Of Transportation, Not The Cigarettes)?

2011-08-09T16:34:00.001-07:00

I guess the fact that Bob Bradley is a top candidate for Egypt's national team is a sign that the U.S. is held in a high regard not just in CONCACAF but around the world and that's a good thing of course.

Bob Bradley’s agent says the former U.S. coach is a candidate to lead Egypt’s national team.

Ron Waxman confirmed Egypt’s interest in Bradley in an email Tuesday, but did not give any further details. Bradley reportedly is among three candidates to replace longtime Egypt coach Hassan Shehata, who stepped down in June with the Pharaohs in danger of failing to qualify for the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 33 years.

Bradley was dismissed last month after going 43-25-12 in four-plus years as U.S. coach. He took the Americans to the Confederations Cup final—after beating Egypt 3-0 in group play—and the knockout round at last year’s World Cup in South Africa.

As I wrote when he was let go, Bradley seems like a good man and he's a decent coach. His time with the U.S. men had run its course though and the team, not to mention the entire system, needed a big jolt of energy which they hopefully received by hiring Jurgen Klinsmann.

Bradley will land on his feet and if he gets the Egypt job so quickly, he should consider himself lucky. Granted, who knows about the language barriers and culture shock but Egypt has built itself into one of the better African nations over the last few years (this latest African Cup of Nations notwithstanding).

Good luck Bob and wherever you end up, please don't try to nationalize Michael (Bradley). His work with the U.S. team is far from done.

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Catching Up With The U.S. Men's National Team Before It Takes On Mexico

2011-08-07T22:39:00.001-07:00

Just found a bunch of interesting tidbits about on the U.S. soccer men's national team's official blog (http://www.ussoccer.com/Social/MNT-Blog.aspx) ahead of its friendly with Mexico on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Rather than put up a bunch of short posts, I figured I would save our precious time and put them in the same place.

-Jonathan Spector signed a two-year deal last week with Birmingham City (which dropped down to the English League Championship.

Spector, 25, spent the last five seasons at West Ham and joins Birmingham on a free transfer after his contract expired this summer. A member of the 2010 FIFA World Cup team, he has 31 caps for the United States.

"I'm delighted to be here and to be part of this club," Spector told Birmingham City's official website. "It's a big club and I've heard a lot of great things about the manager Chris Hughton."
"I'm looking forward to start training and getting with the team as soon as possible. The first game is less than a week away now. So I'm trying to get myself fit and in contention."

The move makes him neighbors with U.S. teammates Brad Guzan and Eric Lichaj, who play for Birmingham-based Aston Villa.

Much like the team, this is a move in the wrong direction for Spector but it makes sense because he has struggled the last few years with both his club and country. Maybe this will be the boost he needs to find his game again.

-Klinsmann's first coaching staff
As head coach Jurgen Klinsmann mentioned in his opening press conference, he is planning on bringing in a variety of different coaches for the next few months before settling on his future staff. Here's a brief intro to the first crew:

Martin Vasquez - Vasquez re-unites with Klinsmann after serving as an assistant coach at Bayern Munich. Currently he is the head coach and Director of Soccer Operations for the U.S. Soccer Development Academy U-16 and U-18 teams of the Real Salt Lake AZ Academy. One of only two players to represent both the United States and Mexico at the international level, he was the head coach of Chivas USA in 2010.

Thomas Dooley - A former U.S. captain and National Soccer Hall of Fame member who played in two World Cups and competed against Klinsmann in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, the German-American had a long professional career that included a Bundesliga and German Cup title with Kaiserslautern and a UEFA Cup title with Schalke 04. A member of the MLS Best XI as part of the Columbus Crew in 1997 and 1998, he went on to coach FC Saarbrucken in Germany before returning to the United States where he was part of the coaching staff for Pateadores that just captured the 2011 Development Academy U-17/18 championship.

Tab Ramos - Born in Uruguay, the legendary midfielder for the U.S. National Team played in three World Cups en route to earning 81 caps for the United States. Known for his flair and creativity on the ball, the Hall of Famer played professionally in Spain and Mexico before becoming the first ever signing for Major League Soccer, where he spent six seasons with the MetroStars in New York. Ramos founded NJSA 04, a club which is a member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

Mike Curry - A goalkeeper coach with more than 37 years experience, Curry has trained goalkeepers at the club, state and college levels since 1974. A member of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Goalkeeper Institute staff, he teaches courses at the regional and national levels and spent eight years with U.S. Soccer Development Academy club FC DELCO. Prior to his coaching career, he played collegiately at then Division II powerhouse University of Baltimore.

Mark Verstegen - One of the foremost leaders and innovators in athletic training, Mark Verstegen is owner and president of Athletes' Performance, which provides athletes with cutting-edge training based on the latest sports science. Vestergen handled the fitness preparations for the German National Team prior to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in which Klinsmann led the team to a third-place finish. Named the Director of Performance for the NFLPA in 2002, he is the author of Core Performance, which reached the top 25 on Amazon within six weeks of its release and has sold more than 100,000 copies.

That looks like a good mix of former star players and experienced coaches for Klinsmann's first U.S. match.

-Mexico's 20-man roster for Wednesday night
MEXICO ROSTER BY POSITION:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Guillermo Ochoa (Ajaccio), Alfredo Talavera (Toluca)
DEFENDERS (7): Paul Aguilar (Club America), Efrain Juarez (Celtic), Rafael Marquez (New York Red Bulls), Hector Moreno (Espanyol), Jorge Torres Nilo (Tigres UANL), Francisco Javier Rodriguez (Stuttgart), Carlos Salcido (Fulham)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Javier Aquino (Cruz Azul), Israel Castro (Pumas UNAM), Giovani dos Santos (Tottenham Hotspur), Andres Guardado (Deportivo La Coruña), Antonio Naelson Sinha (Toluca), Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul), Jesus Zavala (Monterrey)
FORWARDS (4): Omar Arellano (Chivas de Guadalajara), Pablo Barrera (West Ham United), Christian Bermudez (Atlante), Oribe Peralta (Santos)

You'll notice that Javier Hernandez aka Chicarito is missing from that list. The Manchester United star is out with an injury but other than him, Mexico will field the exact same roster that beat the U.S. 4-2 in the Gold Cup final in June. Barrera, Guardado and dos Santos had the goals for Mexico in that win.

-Chandler and Edu out, Rogers in
Timmy Chandler will stay with his German club (FC Nurnberg) rather than make the long trek to Philly. Maurice Edu picked up a left calf strain in a match for his club (Rangers) against Chelsea on Saturday so Columbus Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers will take his place.

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Jozy Altidore Scores His First Goal For His New Club-AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands)

2011-08-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am a big Jozy Altidore fan but I'm also one of his harshest critics. He has all the physical tools to be one of the greatest strikers in U.S. men's soccer history. Still, after bouncing from club to club, it's time for him to A) get consistent minutes and B) produce goals if his career is ever going to take off and he doesn't become the latest Freddy Adu (pre-2011 Gold Cup)/Eddie Johnson cautionary tale.

So it's with a dose of cynicism that I present Jozy's first goal with his newest club, AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands). It came yesterday against PSV, routinely one of the top Dutch clubs.

The cross is perfect so Altidore doesn't have to do a whole lot except muscle the defender aside and head the ball in. Regardless, it's nice to see our guy get on the scoresheet. Fingers crossed that it's the start of something big this season with AZ Alkmaar.

PS Altidore won't be appearing Wednesday when the U.S. takes on Mexico in Philadelphia (Klinsmann's debut) but that's fine with us as long as he keeps doing this overseas.

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Klinsmann Assembles His First U.S. Roster For The Mexico Match Next Week

2011-08-04T11:47:00.000-07:00

We are less than a week away (August 10) from Juergen Klinsmann's head coaching debut with the U.S. men's soccer team next Wednesday in Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field against Mexico.

Today, Klinsmann named his 22-man roster for the friendly between the two blood rivals.

The most notable names that were left off were Jozy Altidore (who's still recovering from his hamstring injury from the Gold Cup) and Clint Dempsey (who's playing with Fulham in Europe and getting ready for another EPL season). Also, Alejandro Bedoya was curiously left off. Maybe they're just letting him get his feet under him with his new club, Rangers (Scotland).

“One of the goals of the roster for this game and moving forward is to create competition at each position,” said Klinsmann. “There are many players who are established as well as many players who will get opportunities, and we want there to be a healthy contest for spots on the roster. We will get a good look at where each player is as quickly as we can during the short time in camp, and we will finish with an exciting game against Mexico.”

The roster delivers a combination of experience and youth at virtually every position. In goal, Tim Howard enters with 65 caps to his credit and is joined by 20-year-old Bill Hamid, a U.S. Soccer Development Academy product who was the first D.C. United Academy player to sign with the first team. Two-time World Cup veteran Carlos Bocanegra is just seven games shy of reaching 100 caps. He will patrol the center of the park along with 2010 FIFA World Cup teammate Clarence Goodson, the newly named captain of Brondby in Denmark, and two young players in Tim Ream and Michael Orozco Fiscal. Hannover 96 captain Steve Cherundolo returns after an injury forced him out of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, while fellow Bundesliga-based right back Timmy Chandler is making his second appearance in a national team camp after debuting against Argentina in March. Chivas USA defender Heath Pearce and Edgar Castillo make up the options for the left side of the backline.

Central midfield is packed with experience, including four players from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Michael Bradley has nine goals in 59 appearances for the full team, with eight of his goals coming in official competitions. Maurice Edu comes from three-time defending Scottish Premier League champion Rangers, and Ricardo Clark and Jose Torres make their first appearance in the squad since the World Cup in South Africa. Jermaine Jones has reached double digits in caps for the U.S. after competing in his first official competition earlier this summer, and has rejoined Schalke 04 after a loan spell with Blackburn Rovers. Real Salt Lake contributes captain Kyle Beckerman and FC Dallas sends Brek Shea, who is currently in third place in scoring in MLS this season behind Landon Donovan and Thierry Henry as the 21-year-old has netted nine goals in 22 games.

The USA’s all-time leading scorer, Donovan leads the attacking corps with 46 goals in 146 international appearances. Donovan is the only player on the roster who has experience with the new coach, having played for Klinsmann in 2009 at Bayern Munich during a loan spell. Both Freddy Adu and 18-year-old Juan Agudelo are coming off significant contributions in the 2011 Gold Cup, Adu having started in the final against Mexico while Agudelo appeared in five of six matches. DaMarcus Beasley returns to the squad with 93 caps to his credit that include stints in the last three World Cups, and Edson Buddle travels from FC Ingolstadt after his great run of form in 2010 led to a spot in the team in South Africa.

A total of nine professional leagues in eight different countries are represented on the roster. MLS contributes seven players, while German-based players number six total from the top two divisions and the Mexico first division sends four. New York Bulls contribute two players to the roster, the most from any single club.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION - Detailed Roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): Bill Hamid (D.C.United), Tim Howard (Everton)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne), Edgar Castillo (Club America), Timmy Chandler (FC Nürnberg), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Clarence Goodson (Brondby), Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Chivas USA), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Brek Shea (FC Dallas), José Torres (Pachuca)
FORWARDS (5): Freddy Adu (Benfica), Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Edson Buddle (FC Ingolstadt), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

I'm interested to see what Hamid, Castillo and Fiscal do (assuming they play) since I've never seen them before. Chandler definitely deserved a spot, hopefully he can build off his promising debut with the U.S. I can't get too excited about any other young guys that play in the MLS since my thinking is that if they were any good, they would already be out of the U.S by now.

It's nice to see Clark back in the fold, no idea why he fell out of favor with Bob Bradley after a nice World Cup 2010 performance. Ditto for Jose Torres. Finally, DaMarcus Beasley is back on the map after being MIA for the last few years (for the most part). Good luck trying to figure out who should start up front beside Donovan, I say it should be Freddy Adu.

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Our Dream Has Come True: Jurgen Klinsmann Is Finally The Head Coach Of U.S. Men's Soccer

2011-07-29T11:37:00.001-07:00

When you're an adult, it's very rare that you have any dreams anymore let alone ones that come true. Cynical? A bit but I think it's also realistic. With that out of the way, I will admit that there's not much in my sporting fandom that I wanted more than what just transpired with the U.S. men's national soccer team in the past 24 hours.

Yesterday, Bob Bradley was fired after five years on the job. Today, former German star and coach Jurgen Klinsmann was appointed as the new head coach.

Klinsmann had a distinguished playing career, highlighted by winning the World Cup in 1990 and European championship in 1996 with Germany, but has had only fleeting spells in management, first with Germany and later Bayern.

He has also lived primarily in the United States since retiring from playing, and has frequently been linked with the national team job and vacancies in Major League Soccer.

"I am proud and honoured to be named the head coach of the US Men's National Team," said Klinsmann, who will take charge of his first match on August 10 against rivals Mexico.

"I would like to thank the US Soccer Federation for the opportunity, and I'm excited about the challenge ahead.

"I am looking forward to bringing the team together for our upcoming match against Mexico and starting on the road toward qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.''

Klinsmann enjoyed an outstanding playing career that lasted 17 years and included spells with Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham and Bayern Munich.

He scored 47 goals in 108 appearances for Germany and West Germany, and retired from playing in 1998, and took his first management job with Germany in 2004.

He led them to third place in the 2006 World Cup on home soil, but stepped down from the role after the tournament. Two years later, he took charge of Bayern, reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but left after one season.

Shimer and I have been having wet dreams about this juicy rumor since it almost happened last summer. Klinsmann truly is the ideal candidate for the U.S. Not only has he experienced the game at the highest level as a player (with Germany and numerous European clubs) but he has also coached the German national team (one of the world's best) and Bayern Munich-a German club that is one of the most respected in Europe. Finally, don't underestimate how much instant credibility he brings to Europeans and South Americans who are quick to make fun of the U.S. team.

Before any zenophobic U.S. fans start to fret that he's not an American so he won't get us, don't worry. He's lived in California for years so the language and cultural barrier should be minimal. Most importantly, players respect guys that have been there before. Klinsmann is better than any U.S. player in history, he's on the younger side and he is all about building a program (rather than just being a taskmaster like Bradley).

No details of his contract with the United States have been released.

"We are excited to have Jurgen as the head coach of our men's national team,'' said US Soccer president Sunil Gulati. "He is a highly accomplished player and coach with the experience and knowledge to advance the program.

"Jurgen has had success in many different areas of the game and we look forward to the leadership he will provide on and off the field.''

Klinsmann will be introduced at a press conference in New York on Monday.

If he fails, so be it. There was no better candidate and props to U.S. soccer president Sunil Gulati for getting this done so fast. Klinsmann will fittingly make his U.S. coaching debut against their biggest rival-Aug. 10 in Philadelphia against Mexico. Tickets for that match had to be hard to come by in the first place and now it's a historical moment for U.S. soccer fans.

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You Can Count On Argentina To Make A Crappy Choice For Its Head Coach

2011-07-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

It's hard to get too excited when Argentina hires a new head coach. Mostly because it seemingly happens every few months and it is always a terrible choice.

Step right up Alejandro Sabella.

Sabella, 56, coached Estudiantes to the Copa Libertadores and had been due to take charge of Al-Jazira in the United Arab Emirates before Batista's exit, which was prompted by a disappointing Copa America showing.

Jose Luis Meiszner, the general secretary of the Argentine Football Association, told Telam: "The decision has been taken. Sabella is the choice."

Sabella will be instructed to make a success of one of world football's most talented squads, where he will be able to pick from the likes of Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria, amongst others.

Who knows? Maybe Sabella can turn things around for one of the world's most talented national teams. Until that happens, I have my doubts.

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Smell Ya Later Bob Bradley, Don't Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out

2011-07-28T13:43:00.001-07:00

You know how you wake up some days and you have no idea that it will be a great day? Then other times, days you look forward to for weeks fail to meet lofty expectations.

I've stumbled onto one of the former cases today as I found out on Twitter this afternoon-while I watched the Red Sox game-that U.S. men's soccer had fired head coach Bob Bradley.

Being currently unemployed, I can't gloat too much about Bradley's departure even though Shimer and I (along with most knowledgeable fans) have been clamoring for it for a while now. It has felt like the team needed a change since they got bounced by Ghana last summer in the 2010 World Cup, played listlessly in friendlies and most recently, lost to Mexico 4-2 in the Gold Cup Final (after leading 2-0).

It seemed like Bradley's time in charge had run its course and rather than getting better the team was at best spinning its wheels and at worst, falling behind the form they had been showing they were capable of the last few years.

As boring as he is (I can tell you first-hand, I've sat through a couple of his press conferences), my bigger gripe with Bradley is that he lacked any imagination or creativity in terms of picking a roster, filling out a lineup and making in-game substitutions. Bigger picture, U.S. soccer needs to bring in a European (cough Juergen Klinsmann) that can help rebuild our cultural identity from the youth program up to the national team.

Yes, it's a lot to ask of one guy but the U.S. has a chance to hit a home run here if they hire the right person. The U.S. men are good but they will never make a jump to great and one of the top teams in the world without some drastic changes. That might sound crazy but think about it; with the right program, who's to say how good the U.S. could be in a few World Cup cycles.

In his 4.5 years (Jan. 2007) on the job, highlights of Bradley's regime included winning the 2007 Gold Cup, beating Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup then losing to Brazil in the final 3-2 and winning their group in last summer's World Cup. On paper, his resume looks pretty damn good. Especially when you consider that he had the second-most wins as a U.S. head coach.

However, this was long overdue. Goodbye Bob, thanks for your hard work and best of luck in your future endeavors.

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Does Anybody Want To Coach Argentina?

2011-07-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

For a country that boasts the world's best player (Lionel Messi) and another one of the best goal-scorers on Earth (Carlos Tevez), Argentina sure knows how to burn through its national team coaches in record time.

By virtue of winning one game in the 2011 Copa America tournament (eventually won by Uruguay 3-0 over Paraguay yesterday), Sergio Batista was shown the door after only one year on the job.

Moving on from the bat shit crazy Diego Maradona was a logical decision but replacing him with basically a low-rent version did not work out at all.

Batista, who took over a year ago, was Argentina's fourth coach in five years and had the same problem as his predecessor Diego Maradona: little tactical experience and an inability to get superstars to play as a team rather than as individuals.

Alejandro Sabella, former coach of Argentine club Estudiantes, and Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino -- an Argentine -- are seen as the favorites to replace him. Also being mentioned as a successor is former Boca Juniors and Atletico de Madrid coach Carlos Bianchi.

Maybe it will take an outsider to help Argentina morph from a group of stars into a star-powered team. There's no reason why they can't be one of the top squads in every competition they play in. They have way too much talent to be this inconsistent. This non-stop coaching carousel probably isn't helping their chemistry either so we won't hold our breath that it will be any different with the next skipper.

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Alejandro Bedoya Moving On Up: From Sweden (Orebro) To Scotland (Rangers)

2011-07-21T13:29:00.001-07:00

Other than Freddy Adu, nobody on the U.S. men's national team improved their stock more than midfielder Alejandro Bedoya during last month's Gold Cup.

Today, the former Boston College star agreed to terms with Scottish champions Glasgow Rangers. He's signed a pre-contract and will join the club in the January transfer window on a three-year deal.

Bedoya joined the U.S. Gold Cup squad after midfielder Benny Feilhaber (of the New England Revolution) went down with an injury right before the tournament started. Life is all about making the most of opportunities and Bedoya did just that. He worked his way up from a substitute to starting later in the tournament.

He had been playing for Swedish club Orebro (where former BC teammate Charlie Davies made his mark) and having the best season of his three-year pro career. Bedoya is only 24 and now he gets to play in the Champions League. Even better, his U.S. teammate Maurice Edu is still with Rangers so any culture shock shouldn't be too bad while Edu can tell him what to expect about the underrated Scottish league.

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2011 World Cup Final: U.S. Women Fall In Penalty Kicks to Japan, 3-1

2011-07-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

The 2011 U.S. women's soccer team did not complete their final and most important task: winning the World Cup in Germany this summer but it's a given that they gained a whole new generation of fans (male and female) stateside with their incredible tournament run.

Their loss to Japan in penalty kicks (3-1) was stunning but it shouldn't overshadow a very likable team filled with many new faces and characters that performed very well after stumbling in qualifying for this tournament. I love soccer so I'm obviously bias but I always appreciate the game at its highest level no matter what that entails (high school, soccer, pro, men's, women's). Yes the field is smaller (16 teams vs. 32 teams) but the U.S. women have already won two World Cups while the U.S. men will probably never come close to that in my lifetime. Therefore, you have to appreciate when any U.S. team can excel this much in the world's most popular sport.

I'm sure they were beyond sick of being compared to teams of the past but now Hope Solo, Abby Wambach (first American with a goal in four straight World Cup games), Alex Morgan, Lauren Cheney, Megan Rapinoe and Co. are household names that will hopefully spur more development for soccer in the United States. In the summer, we always look for diversions beyond baseball and this Women's World Cup was a particularly memorable one featuring numerous exciting games topped by an improbable comeback by the U.S. over Brazil in the quarterfinals (2-1) and then a 3-1 victory against France in the semifinals.

A 12-year drought since the U.S.' last World Cup trophy (the seminal moment in 1999: the penalty kicks win over China at the Rose Bowl) appeared to be over today as Pia Sundhage's squad took a 1-0 lead in the 69th minute with an exquisite goal by Morgan. Japan answered quickly as a terrible giveaway in the back led to a goal by Yuki Nagasoto in the 80th minute.

As the game headed to extra time, Japan seemed to have all the momentum but the U.S. responded with a goal in the 104th minute as Abby Wambach (her 14th all-time for the U.S. in the World Cup) headed in a perfect cross from Morgan. Yet once again, Japan wasn't rattled as Homare Sawa (winner of the Golden Boot-best player and Golden Ball-most goals (5)) tied it with a redirection off a Japanese corner kick in the 117th minute-the latest goal ever in a Women's World Cup Final.

From there, the U.S.' first three shooters (Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath) all had their shots saved or missed while Japan hit two of its first three. That put the United States behind the eight ball and it was basically a foregone conclusion they were done as Japan clinched it 3-1. Debating the merits of penalty kicks to decide a World Cup game is an argument for another day. I'm not a fan of them either (like most people) but that's what has been done forever so don't expect draconian FIFA to change it up anytime soon.

Let's also not forget that the United States absolutely dominated in the first half, particularly the first 30 minutes or so but they couldn't cash in any of their great chances. Unfortunately as it usually does, that came back to haunt them as the contest tightened up in the second half and extra time.

Maybe because I saw all the games from start to finish or the players are mostly around my age bracket but I felt a special connection with this group. Twitter and social media made them much more accessible than before and you could get a taste of the whole experience just by reading what they had to say in their downtime abroad.

Where does the U.S. team go from here? The next World Cup isn't for another four years but in between, they'll have the Olympics (which use to be the biggest international competition for soccer) in 2013 and then qualifying for 2015. This is a mostly young team that should return the nucleus of its team (Solo, Heather O'Reilly, Wambach, Cheney, Rapinoe) for another shot at that elusive third World Cup title.

I'd be remiss if I didn't say congratulations to Japan as well. It clearly wasn't the result that any American wanted but if any country deserved it, Japan fits the bill. After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year, it is only fitting that an Asian country won its first Women's World Cup.

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