SuperGoalfest: LA edges Dallas 6-5

In a night where even the ball boy could have had a shot on goal, the Los Angeles Galaxy will advance to the semi-finals of the 2007 SuperLiga, after beating Dallas 6-5 in a match that certainly won't be used for teaching defensive clincs in the future.

After taking a 4-1 lead into halftime, Dallas pulled within one goal before each side exchanged goals twice in the final six minutes plus extra time.

For the Galaxy, Alan Gordon scored two and Landon Donovan, Carlos Pavon, Chris Klein and Kevin Harmse each scored one apiece. FC Dallas stormed back into the match on Arturo Alvarez's two goals, along with Juan Toja, Carlos Ruiz and Abe Thompson who each added one apiece. Both teams looked fatigued in the second half and each appeared ready for the whistle when it finally came.

Los Angeles advances as Group A winners and will face the Group B runners-up, after Pachuca defeated CD Guadalajara 1-0 on a Rafael Marquez Lugo goal in the second match of Group A to advance as runners-up.

Click Here for the Box Score

It's official: Adu to Benfica

U.S. under-20 star and MLS never-was Freddy Adu officially joins Benfica, with MLS pocketing a mere $2 million for a player that was only a few years ago the posterboy for the league. My, how things change. Read all about it on Yanks Abroad. I had my say on the Adu saga a week ago. Click here to read why I think MLS failed Freddy.

Courtesy of YouTuber GabrielMedinos

The plan that doomed Milwaukee

"Our long-term goal is to own all of our stadiums and facilities," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said about soccer-specific stadiums

"This feels like our home, not like the Broncos' home," former Colorado midfielder Kyle Beckerman said about Dick's Sporting Goods Park. "As players, we get energy from hearing the home crowd, to have them close."

Former Fire GM and current MLS-for-Milwaukee advocate Peter Wilt thinks it would be a good idea to put a soccer team inside of this:


Instead of this:


Or this:


If that's Milwaukee's Best? You must be drunk.

MoJo thinks Canadians suck

Listen up all you Molson swillin', ice skatin', fur tradin', hard 'O' pronouncin', free health care havin', bilingual speakin', constitutional monarchy practicin', funny comedian producin' Canadians. Mo Johnston thinks you suck!

When Toronto FC was announced as the newest franchise in Major League Soccer, the executive committee made clear to the owner-investors that they would have to abide by the same rules for internationals as the rest of the league. That is, they are allowed to have as many domestic players as they want, but only four international players.

By "domestic players," MLS meant Canadians, of course, but because Canada isn’t exactly teeming with football stars, MLS made an exception to the four internationals rule to allow TFC to add three Americans as well. Seems like a fair deal, doesn’t it? Well, TFC coach Mo Johnston doesn’t think so.

"It's ridiculous that we have to give up one of our senior internationals in order to sign an American 'keeper," Johnston told Slam! columnist Dean McNulty. "It's a handicap that we have had to deal with right from the start of the year."

Playing in Canada is a handicap? Isn’t that a bit strong? McNulty seems to agree with MoJo’s assessment of the bleak landscape of Canadian football:

Excuse us for having a pool of less than 100 world-class soccer players, compared to the thousands that American teams can cull from.

One could debate McNulty’s numbers (Is Canada really numbering close to 100 in world-class players?), but his implication is clear, Toronto FC would be better if they had fewer Canadians and more Americans.

But this also assumes that MoJo and the TFC management have done all they could to secure the best available Canadians out of the “100 world-class soccer players.” And if we are to believe his numbers, how can TFC not manage to find more.

A brief glance at the Canadian national team pool shows that the majority of players on the men’s national team play in minor European leagues or in lower divisions of major leagues. MoJo is trying to convince the fans that he did all he could to seek out the best available talent and that his inability to sign Americans is hurting the team. If I was Canadian, I would be offended. Has he really done all he could to secure top Canadian talent?

What about Paul Stalteri, who although he is listed on Tottenham’s roster, gets little actual playing time, or Tomasz Radzinski who is still unsigned? Hell, there was even a moment earlier in the year when they might have pried away an unhappy Dwayne De Rosario from Houston. But maybe these players were too pricey for the MLS start-up. Then, why not call-up some USL-1 stars from Vancouver and Montreal, like Patrick Leduc, Antonio Riberio, Martin Nash or Gabriel Gervais? How is it that a second-tier Canadian team is able to secure more Canadian national teamers than Toronto. Can Vancouver and Montreal really compete in terms of salary? What about exposure?

Granted none of the players mentioned are goalkeepers, the source of MoJo’s discontent with the MLS rule. So, hard-pressed was he, that TFC was forced to field 18-year-old David Monsalve (Canada’s U-20 keeper), who was shellacked for seven goals in two matches.

"If I were in America, I could trade a No. 1 draft pick for a top 'keeper," Johnston said. "But I can't do it. The rules say if I sign an American, he can only be a development player (under 25) or I lose one of my internationals."

Imagine the furor among TFC fans if Johnston were forced to release say, Danny Dichio, in order to get a top goalkeeper (McNulty adds).

Now that’s just stupid. First of all, he wouldn’t release Dichio; he would release douchebag Jeff Cunningham or maybe Tyrone Marshall. Second, no MLS coach/GM in their right mind should trade a top keeper for a No. 1 SuperDraft pick.

So, with the incomparable Greg Sutton injured, how can MoJo deal with this incredible Canadian “handicap”?

Why not try to lure away Lars Hirschfeld or Kenny Stamatopoulos from Norway? Can’t do it? Why not Roberto Giacomi from the Belgian second division? Or Joshua Wagenaar from the second division in The Netherlands?

So, maybe TFC and MoJo exhausted all of these avenues, but even so, McNulty gets it wrong when he writes,

It's time for MLS commissioner Don Garber to let TFC play under the same rules as everybody else or risk hurting the must successful start-up franchise his league has seen.

According to that stagnant, disease-infested pool of knowledge wikipedia, there are currently 15 teams that play outside of their home country in Europe, two in Asia/Oceania and, finally, six non-American-based squads playing in the U.S. Not counting TFC, there are three other Canadian teams that play in America’s USL (United Soccer League): the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Toronto Lynx, and the Montreal Impact.

And the USL-1, like MLS, has a cap on foreign players. Each team is permitted a maximum of five foreign players on its active game-day roster and a maximum of seven foreign players on its master roster. Somehow, Montreal is able to abide by these rules and they have been USL-1 regular season champs for the past two years.

So, these are “the same rules as everybody else.” Changing the rules might help TFC this season, but it would hurt Canadian soccer in the long run because a team of Americans playing in Canada isn’t going to develop Canadian soccer, any more than a team of Mexicans in Houston would develop young American players.

Toronto (and Canada) shouldn’t mortgage their future for a better today. And if MoJo isn’t able to acquire the Canadian talent necessary, then they should dump him and his “blame Canada” nonsense.

UPDATE: What do you know? Maybe MoJo reads TYH. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/TorontoFC/2007/07/31/4382366-sun.html

SuperLiga: DC wins, Houston draws

DC United topped Club America with a 1-0 win, and Houston stayed even with United atop Group B with a draw against Morelia in Sunday's SuperLiga action.

A Rod Dyachenko goal in the 12th minute held up, as United sent Club America crashing out of the tournament with consecutive losses, while Houston, who got an even earlier goal from Joseph Ngwenya in the first minute, split points after Morelia's Marcio Batista equalized in the second half.

DC and Houston will face off on August 1 in the final match of group play with a place in the semi-finals waiting for the winner. An unlikely Club America win over Morelia in the other match would send both MLS clubs through to the semi-finals.

SuperLiga tie-breakers are first determined by head-to-head, then goal differential and finally goals scored, according to the official tournament rules.

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 17)

GOALKEEPER

B. Guzan (NY)

DEFENDERS

J. Bornstein (CHV), J. Conrad (KC), J. Larentowicz (NE)

MIDFIELDERS

S. Kljestan (CHV), S. Joseph (NE), C. Blanco (CHI),
K. Zavagnin (NY)

FORWARD

A. Razov (CHV), C. Carr (CHI), Y. Movsisyan (KC)

* TYH's Best 11 is based only on MLS league games and doesn't take into consideration SuperLiga performance.

SuperLiga: So much for all-MLS semi-final

The Los Angeles Galaxy delivered a stinker against Chivas de Guadalajara, losing 2-1, while Dallas drew with Pachuca, 1-1, as Group A finished the second set of matches in the opening round of SuperLIga 2007.

Chivas now lead the group with 4 points, while the Galaxy and FC Dallas are second and third, respectively. The results yesterday ensure that only one MLS club will advance from Group A. Chivas need only a draw against Pachuca to go through to the semi-finals, while FC Dallas must beat the Galaxy in order to advance. The Galaxy will advance with a win or draw. And no one cares about Pachuca or their ridiculous gay-pirate goalkeeper (nice head scarf, ass clown).

FC Dallas should have gone on top just before halftime when Clarence Goodson scored off a Juan Toja cross and was incorrectly ruled offside. So, when Carlos Ruiz scored in the 75th minute, the score should have been 2-0, instead it was just 1-0. Referee Samir Osman saved Pachuca again by awarding them a penalty kick in the 87th minute, after Adrian Serioux slid in on Damian Alvarez. Chistian Gimenez converted from the spot to level the match.

"I personally don't feel like I caught him," Serioux told mlsnet.com. "But from the referee's standpoint, he saw it differently. That's just the way the game goes sometimes and you have to take the good with the bad."

After a confidence-building win in their first match, the Galaxy came out flat against Chivas, allowing two second-half goals before managing to pull one back in the 88th minute. Chivas dominated possession for much of the game, forcing the Galaxy chase action. LA goalkeeper Joe Cannon and poor shooting by Chivas kept it scoreless in the first half. Chivas took the lead in the 60th minute, when a corner was played short to Omar Esparza. Esparza crossed to Francisco Rodriguez who headed the ball past Cannon. Chivas doubled thier lead in the 82nd, when Mexican national team and USA nemesis Omar Bravo deftly finished a Ramon Morales cross from the left side. Landon Donovan was unable to capture the spark he had in the first match, but managed a conciliation goal in the 89th minute, stealing a poor back pass and chipping the keeper.

With a semi-final berth at stake, will Beckham be able to lace them up and play on Tuesday, July 31?

Will Wanchope-Blanco ignite the Fire?

As expected, the Chicago Fire have signed Costa Rican forward Paulo Wanchope to a one-year contract. The 31-year-old former Manchester City player joins Mexico international Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who scored in his Fire debut last Sunday. And the Fire are hoping that the two 30something strikers still have a little left in the tank for a run at the MLS Cup.

Wanchope and Blanco have both joined the team midseason, however, and have just 14 matches to dig the Fire out of the Eastern Conference cellar. Wanchope's one-year deal signals that Chicago still have hopes for this season despite a 4-8-4 record. But can their CONCACAF connection add some punch to a club that has scored the second fewest goals in MLS? (13)

Wanchope will be unveiled by the team on Friday and should be available to play Sunday's match at Toronto FC.

Dynamo drops Club America

The Houston Dynamo continue their superb run of form, as they chalk up a 1-0 win over Club America in the opening match of their SuperLiga campaign.

The catalyst for the success of the Dynamo continues to be young Stuart Holden who delivered another superb ball that Chicago cast-off Nate Jaqua was able to touch past the keeper in the 41st minute. Holden took down a long throw-in and turned it toward the endline, beating his man and sending a low cross to an unmarked Jaqua at the six.

With the start of the Mexican season just 11 days away, Club America appeared to still be in preseason form, as Houston dominated much of the play. The 2006 CCC winners and 2005 Clausura champs seemed unable to break through Houston's backline.

Houston will face Morelia, who drew earlier in the night with DC United, on August 29. The MLS Champs will finish out the group phase of SuperLiga on August 1 against DC United.

Brazilian duo punchless, as DC draws

DC United drew 1-1 with Morelia in SuperLiga group play, after Brazilian forward Emilio missed two clear chances and countryman Fred also missed an easy putaway.

It was a typical game for the 2007 United team, as they dominated possession of the ball, but couldn't find a way to make a 7th minute Christian Gomez goal hold up. Gomez, reigning MLS MVP, curled a free kick around the wall and inside the right post to put DC United on top. DC was clearly outplaying Morelia iin the first half, and nearly made it 2-0, when Fred nutmeged his defender with a through ball to Rod Dyachenko, who crossed to Emilio. But Emilio blasted his shot over the bar with the an open goal yawning before him.

In the second half, Jamaican referee Courtney Campbell began to lose control of the match after an incident between DC's Bobby Boswell and Morelia's Luis Landin. Boswell whacking away at a loose ball at Landin's feet, cracked the player across the inner thigh (nearly nuts region). Landin retaliated with a hard shove, and was ejected. Boswell was given only a yellow. Morelia lost all composure after the incident, hacking away at United and Campbell seemed reluctant to make further calls against either team.

Even with Morelia down a man, DC could not capitalize, as their toothless attack continued. The substitution of Nicholas Addlery provided fresh legs, but no goals. Emilio's pretty backheel to Ben Olsen and Olsen's cross to Fred was blasted over the bar and the score remained 1-0.

As has been the case for United this season, poor marking led to Morelia's equalizer. A long ball across the front of the box found an unmarked Diego Martinez who blasted a diagonal shot past the helpkless Troy Perkins. The score remained 1-1 and the clubs will split the points.

DC will play Club Americaon July 29th, before finishing group play against the Houston Dynamono August 1. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.

YA: U-20 star Zizzo to Hannover

Yanks Abroad is reporting that USA U-20 star Salvatore "Sal" Zizzo has signed a three-year deal with Bundesliga club Hannover 96.

According to YA, fellow American Steve Cherundolo, also with Hannover, helped persuade the youngster to join him overseas, calling up Zizzo's parents in San Diego.

Zizzo turned down an offer to enter the 2007 MLS Superdraft and returned to UCLA for his sophomore season, scoring seven goals and adding 9 assists in 23 appearances. But it was his performance in this summer's U-20 World Cup that convinced Hannover to sign the California native.

But is Germany the right place for young American players to develop their skills?

Zizzo becomes the fourth American player signed by Hannover, and with the exception of Cherundolo, the other two players, Clint Mathis and Conor Casey, struggled to develop, returning to MLS after a few miserable seasons. Zizzo's signing continues the UCLA-to-Germany pipeline that delivered former Bruins Benny Feilhaber and Kamani Hill overseas. In addition, according to YA, there are also 10 Americans playing in 2.Bundesliga or lower divisions in Germany.

Kluivert to MLS?

Speculation around Patrick Kluivert's possible move to MLS was renewed following his rejection of a trial offer with Sheffield Wednesday.

According to a report by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Kluivert said, "I am flattered by the interest but a transfer to Sheffield Wednesday doesn't fit in my future plans."

The 31-year-old Dutch forward has been linked with a move to MLS or Saudi Arabia, but the hoopla surrounding the recent Beckham signing could tip the scales toward a U.S. move.

Kluivert scored three goals in 13 appearances during an injury-plagued season with PSV Einhoven, and was released this summer. In addition to PSV, Kluivert has played in Italy, Spain and England. His most successful tenure came with Barcelona where his partnership with former Player-of-the-Year Rivaldo to lead Barca to a La Liga title in 1998-99.

The Dutchman is not without baggage, however, from his days with AC MIlan when he was charged with manslaughter for his involvement in a fatal car accident. He was also charged with rape on a separate occasion, but he was acquitted of the charge due to a lack of evidence.

SuperLiga: Galaxy win, Dallas draw

In the opening night of North America's inaugural SuperLIga tournament, Landon Donovan reminded Galaxy fans of his star power, picking up an assist and the game-winning goal against CONCACAF Champions Cup champions Pachuca in a 2-1 win, while FC Dallas could only manage a 1-1 draw against CD Guadalajara.

In the kick-off match, FC Dallas and CD Guadalajara split the points after Chivas' Antonio Olvera equalized an Arturo Alvarez goal in the 56th minute. In the first half both keepers were tested and both proved up to the task, with FC Dallas back-up keeper Ray Burse pulling off two spectacle saves. In the second half, Carlos Ruiz placed a beautiful through ball onto the foot of Alvarez who beat the keeper easily one-v-one. Olvera's equalizer was an absolute screamer into the left, upper-90, completely unsaveable.

In the nightcap match, a Beckham-less Galaxy managed a result against the CCC champs, thanks to some superb goalkeeping in the first half by Joe Cannon and some expert work by Landon Donovan who looked in danger of being swept away by Beckham mania. Alan Gordon opened the scoring in 50th minute off a Donovan assist. Pachuca evened things 28 minutes later off a afael Marquez Lugo goal, before Donovan's slight redirection of a Cobi Jones pass put the Galaxy ahead for good in the 81st minute.

Click here for the official SuperLiga site

Contract issues bust Adu's Benfica move

The Associated Press is reporting that Freddy Adu will remain in MLS with Real Salt Lake, as negotiations with Portuguese club Benfica broke down.

According to the report posted on ESPNsoccernet.com, "Major League Soccer and Benfica reached an agreement on a $2 million transfer fee for the 18-year-old American, but Adu and the Portuguese club could not work out contract terms, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday."

As is also noted in the story, with the transfer deadline over a month away, the deal could still happen. Former RSL coach and current club advisor John Ellinger also commented on the reports.

"I know Freddy has called his agent and said 'It's still open. Don't let this get off the table.' It's still a real possibility," Ellinger said before Tuesday's game. "As a club, we're ecstatic to keep him and we're ecstatic for him if he gets a chance to play overseas. That's kind of how we feel about it."

Soccer super agent Richard Motskin would not comment on the busted negotiations.

Four DPs MLS should consider

With Major League Soccer’s recent run of marquee allocations this season, bringing in Juan Pablo Angel, Blanco and of course the new guy in Los Angeles, I think his name is David, I thought I’d take a look at a few available Designated Players that might fit well into MLS.

1) Quinton Fortune (S. AFRICA)
The 30-year-old South African was recently released by Bolton Wanderers and is currently without a club. A versatile player, he has played as a both a left-sided attacking player and as a defender. His pedigree includes stints with Atlético Madrid and Manchester United (where he scored 23 goals in 53 appearances). Given Fortune’s versatility, Colorado or Real Salt Lake (especially with Adu leaving) seem like logical choices since both clubs need help all over the pitch.


2) Juan Sebastian Veron (ARGENTINA)
According to the UK newspaper The Mirror, Veron is close to a deal that would send him to DC United, and this would be a great move for the four-time MLS Cup champs. The 32-yeard-old Argentine had trouble settling into the EPL, and has spent the last three seasons on loan from Chelsea to Inter (2004-06) and his first professional club Estudiantes (2006-07), but he proved during the 2007 Copa America that he still has something to contribute if given a chance. United seem to be attempting to rebuild the South American “Magic Triangle” of old, and Veron should combine well with countryman Christian Gomez and Brazilian Emilio.

3) Tomasz Radzinski (CANADA)
I wouldn’t be surprised if Toronto FC was on the phone to Radzinski’s agent the day he was released from Fulham. The 32-year-old striker has certainly lost a step, but he would be a brilliant addition to Mo Johnston’s roster. Radzinski, who has the distinction of garnering the highest transfer fee paid for a Canadian (£4.5 million), scored 25 goals for Everton before requesting a trade to Fulham. It wouldn’t be on the scale of David Beckham, but Radzinski would be a popular player with the fans.

4) Thomas Gravesen (DENMARK)
Gravesen has a club, but it doesn’t seem to be going well. Reports out of Celtic training camp say that the ill-tempered Gravesen isn’t fitting in well with his new mates, since his transfer to the Scottish club from Real Madrid. The fiery Dane has been linked with a move to Sheffield Wednesday, but MLS should test the waters to see if Gravesen would be open to lowing his Real Madrid teammate. Plus, by most accounts Gravesen is an asshole, and MLS has been lacking a real villain. In an earlier post, I suggested that Kansas City might be a good fit for the 31-year-old.

Adu leaving MLS for Benfica

U.S. wunderkind Freddy Adu is on his way out of MLS. Washington Post reports say that a deal between MLS and Benfica of the Portuguese First Division is almost complete. According to the published reports, MLS is asking somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 million dollars for the 18-year-old.

Bidding Adu

It is the right move for Adu, whose career in MLS never developed as advertised. The hoopla surrounding Adu's entry into MLS was like nothing the league had ever seen pre-Beckham. At 14, Adu was the prodigal son and many were expecting him dominate the league, emerging as the first truly world-class American player. But the intense pressure that MLS placed on him, as the face of the league, along with coaches who never really understood his talents, resulted in a less than stellar four-year tenure.

Former DC United coach Peter Nowak must bear some of the blame for Adu's failure to thrive in MLS. The utilitarian Nowak never fully appreciated Adu's unique talents, placing him out on the left or right and limiting his distribution duties with defensive duties that would have been better suited to Nowak's style of play, not Adu's. But, of course, Freddy was also to blame at times, often acting his age, pouting or quitting in games due to frustration. Perhaps he was too young. In 2005, the steep learning curve began to flatten a bit, and in 2006, he posted his best season with United. However, despite the proximity to his childhood home, DC wasn't the fit Adu wanted it to be.

He was traded out to Real Salt Lake, where he hoped reuniting with his former U-17 coach, John Ellinger, would reignite his MLS career. But Ellinger, too, played Adu out of position and eventually RSL's poor play led to Ellinger's dismissal as coach.
Jason Kreis’ tenure as RSL coach has been relatively Adu-less due to Freddy’s national team call-ups.

And it might just be this time with the U.S. under-20 team at the U-20 World Cup that proves to be the turning point for Adu's career. As captain of the U-20s, Freddy led the young Americans to the quarterfinals, where they lost a close match to Austria. It was Adu's best string of matches since he became a professional and included a hat trick against Poland and an expertly orchestrated win over tournament favorites Brazil.

With deft flicks and feints, Adu demonstrated what he could do if given the freedom to work centrally, as an attacking midfielder or withdrawn forward. He also demonstrated the leadership, as captain, that helped the U.S. to come from behind in two matches. His performance turned heads both domestically and overseas and the Adu buzz began anew. After all, soccer is a sport of rebirth. And one may die several times in a career before being reborn.

Although this is the right move for Adu and will no doubt help his development, I can't help but feel that MLS has failed in some respects. Adu's entry into the league four years ago was heralded as a new era for American soccer. Fans circled their team's home matches against DC, in order to see this American phenom. He "put butts in the seats" as the saying goes. He was the original Golden Balls.

It’s just a shame that MLS couldn't find a way to develop this talent, couldn't find him a team where he fit with the players around him, and couldn't find a way to let Freddy be Freddy all the time.

Adu stood out because of his creativity on the ball, something that most critics of the American game say that our teams lack across the board. Creativity, imagination, Adu had these qualities, and if we want to advance as a soccer nation we need to learn how to develop these things in our players, so we can keep them here and not just ship them off to Europe when they play outside the MLS box.

Wanchope to join Blanco at Fire

Costa Rican striker Paulo Wanchope is reportedly close to deal with MLS and the Chicago Fire. The 31-year-old played has played for five different clubs in the last four years. Most recently, he played in Japan for FC Tokyo, where he had three goals in eleven appearances.

Wanchope is the second on the list of all-time leading goalscorer in the history of Costa Rica, with 45 goals in 72 matches.

Paulo highlight reel from youtube:


Chicago might be timing these acquisitions just right, considering the age of Blanco and his potential partner Wanchope. With just 14 matches left, Chicago hope that they can pull off a late season surge into the playoffs. And I have to tell you, if I was an MLS head coach (and if this was 2002) I would be frightened by the Fire's CONCACAF connection.

Dallas sign Brazilian, not Denilson

After spending several weeks training with the club, Brazilian striker Ricardinho was officially added to the FC Dallas roster. The 19-year-old's work visa was processed, allowing his contract to be finalized.

In the official press release, coach Steve Morrow commented, "He's a great addition and I think he's gotten stronger as the days have gone on. He feels more comfortable now and I think we have seen that and he will show what he's capable of. We expect him to get better and better the longer he's here."

Ricardinho had joined Dallas from Atlético Paranaense, where he appeared in nine matches. Dallas officials remain quiet on whether RIchardihno might be joined by his elder countryman, Denilson (see post).

Click here for the press release

Henry Rollins' letter to Becks

MLS club could have Super payday

When I first heard about the new SuperLiga competition, I assumed it was yet another series of friendlies with a trumped up moniker so fans wouldn't realize that it would really be reserve teams. The inaugural SuperLiga, which begins tomorrow and pits MLS clubs against Mexican clubs, seemed to be yet another attempt to create a Champion's League aura around what's really just meaningless exhibition soccer.

But then I read this:

"SuperLiga, the preeminent club tournament in North America, will not only decide the best team in the region but also award the heftiest winner's purse in North American soccer history ... In addition to the prestige of capturing this continental honor, the club that emerges as SuperLiga champion will take home $1 million in prize money, an unprecedented prize purse in North American soccer

Now a $1 million pay day doesn't seem like a lot, especially if you consider that the European Champion's League pays out over $50 million to the winning club or that the Galaxy are paying Beckham $50 million a season, but it is the single largest purse for a North American club tournament.

The 2007 CONCACAF Champions Cup paid out only $150,000 to its winning club, Pachuca. The US Open Cup winner will receive $100,000 this year. The paydays for each of these tournaments were increased this year, but neither stand up to the potential $1 million of the SuperLiga. As a point of comparison, the Copa Libertadores Champion, a South American club championship, receives about $3 million, and the FIFA Club World Cup winner receives about $4.5 million in prize money.

The SuperLIga, at least in terms of money, is closer to the North American version of the Champion's League than the CCC. Perhaps the MLS and USSF should consider combining the two tournaments next year so that clubs from all over the region could have a chance to participate in more of a Champion's League-style tournament. As it stands now, the SuperLiga is only open to MLS and Mexican clubs who qualify according to their domestic league finishes.

So, simple economics dictate that MLS clubs should field their best lineups in the SuperLiga, and judging by the reserve squads MLS fielded in the US Open Cup (where they were beaten by USL clubs in five out of eight matches) the front offices and coaching staff know which tournament will butter their bread (so to speak). Although, I still think LA should sit their $250 million investment till he's truly healthy.

The SuperLiga starts tomorrow with FC Dallas taking on Chivas de Guadalajara at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas (9pmET) and
the aforementioned Galaxy vs. CF Pachuca at The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif. (11pmET). All games will be televised on Telefutura and mlsnet.com.

The tournament begins with single match group play, with the winner and runners-up of each group advancing to the semifinals. Group A features Chivas de Guadalajara, L.A. Galaxy, FC Dallas, CF Pachuca, while Group B has Club América, D.C. United, Houston Dynamo, Monarcas Morelia.

Click here for MLS SuperLiga web page

Wizards to fans: Do our job for us

OnGoal, LLC, owners of the MLS franchise Kansas City Wizards, are going directly to the fans. On bigsoccer.com last Wednesday, Robb Heineman (part-owner of the team) posted a series of questions in order to get fan feedback under the heading (and I'm not kidding) "Do my job for me.....i'm just a rookie".

It isn't surprising that KC's ownership is clueless. One can judge that by the fact that despite having one of the better teams in the league, they have the worst attendance in the league. Of course, the Wiz's attendance woes go back to the days when they were actually known as the Wiz. Over their 11 years in the league, Kansas City's average attendance is around 11,000, which would be a semi-respectable number if you didn't look at the per-year stats. In the lean years of 1997 to 2000, Kansas City has only been able to sell around 9,000 tickets. And in 2000, they won the MLS Cup (and only drew 9,112). The MLS Cup Championship boosted their attendance over the next 4 seasons, with 2003 being the high water mark (15,473), but since then KC's appeal is waning. Their average attendance figures so far this season are 9,691, according to the league.

So Heineman is admitting that they are clueless and they are going to the fans. Here are the questions he posed:

1. where would you like to play in '08? (to clarify a. high school stadium, b. arrowhead c. other ideas you have)
2. who would you like to play in friendly matches and where?
3. would you rather build a stadium in kansas or missouri?
4. if you could pick-out and sign our DP who would it be?
5. if you could trade for anybody in the league, who would it be?
6. preseason - argentina or spain?
7. promote pierron or reynolds?

I'm not going to give my answers to questions 1-3 because they are all basically the same question, and I think that they should move the franchise to Philadelphia or Seattle anyway. But if that's off the table, questions 4 and 5 are interesting. I think that Kansas City should bring in Thomas Gravesen since no one seems to want him. There were rumors that he was not fitting in with Celtic and they were looking to deal him to Sheffield United for around 2 million pounds. KC needs a holding midfielder, someone to be enforcer in the middle of the field. He has the body type of a younger Preki and the heritage of Miklos Molnar. Seems like a perfect fit for Kansas City to me. As for question 5, I would deal Sasha Victorrine and Davy Arnaud to New England for Andy Dorman or Adam Cristman to give Johnson some help. But that's just me.

It is an interesting idea to solicit advice from fans, certainly outside the typical owner's box, but I hope they think a little bit before listening to one fan on bigsoccer who suggested they play at a high school stadium. This is not USL-1. Unless, he was suggesting that they should be relegated.

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 16)

GOALKEEPER

J. Conway (NY)

DEFENDERS

F. Erpen (COL), F. Hejduk (CLB), S. Stammler (NY)

MIDFIELDERS

G.B. Schelotto (CLB), D. De Rosario (HOU), N. Grabavoy (CLB),
C. Reyna (NY)

FORWARD

B. Ching (HOU), E. Johnson (KC), P. Noonan (NE)

* TYH's Best 11 is based only on MLS league games and doesn't take into consideration meaningless, made up tournaments (if it did, Abel Xavier would have been included among the defenders).

Gumbel pitches a big tent for soccer

L.A. pub team holds Chelsea to 1-0 win

The Los Angeles Galaxy did not lose 22-0, as some in the British tabloids predicted. Instead, they managed to hold Chelsea to a single goal in the second match of the World Series of Football, which might have been more appropriately named “Beckham’s Coming Out Party.”

The media circus that was David Beckham’s first match with the Galaxy began with an hour-long documentary on the English superstar and then a half-hour of pre-game discussion about the Spice Boy. With Hollywood star sightings and a red carpet (no Joan Rivers though), the “match” seemed almost secondary, like the award for best film editing at the Oscars. But who doesn’t want to know why the Ghost Whisperer turned out for the match?

When Beckham came out of the locker room, fashionably late of course, photographers formed a phalanx around the bench and were pushed back by security. It was a surreal scene for a sport that ESPN has often preempted with Rodeos and Poker in the league’s 11-year history.

The spectacle included sports celebrities like Shaq (who managed to call out both the Lakers and Real Madrid in answering a single question, nice) and Kevin Garnett, as well as movie and television stars, Eva Longoria and Katie Holmes (both of whom looked on from Posh’s luxury box).

Galaxy season-ticket holder (and the only true U.S. soccer fan out of the celebrity set) Drew Carey was of course there as well. Strangely, though, when interviewed he seemed to be watching the match, which he was more interested in than shilling for his new game show. Carey remarked that he had watched the MLS All-Star match when a poor decision to shoot an interview of Pablo Mastroeni nearly cost viewers a look at a goal. He didn’t want to be that guy. And we love Drew for it.

Eventually, a match was played and the Galaxy did not embarrass themselves, as many in the British press had predicted they would. With Beckham on the bench, the Galaxy managed one decent shot on goal in the first half, forcing a superb save by Chelsea’s Peter Cech, and then preceded to hold on to a 0-0 draw for the remainder of the half. The game continued to be secondary to the question of whether or not Beckham would play or not.

That question was answered when the Englishman made his debut on an obviously still sore ankle with about 13 minutes to play. Chelsea captain (and Beckham’s replacement for national team captain) John Terry had already fired a classy low shot off the right post and in after the Galaxy failed to effectively clear a shot. But there would be no storybook ending for the Hollywood script that MLS execs were hoping to write. Beckham just limped up and down the pitch, and still managed to look better than most of the Galaxy players with the few touches he had.

Landon Donovan, who seemed a bit overexcited before the match, played rather poorly, failing to put away an easy header from the six. The best player for the Galaxy on the night was Abel Xavier, who was solid in defense and saved the Galaxy from embarrassment by denying many long-distance efforts by Chelsea. The worst player was Troy Roberts who was beat like a rented mule (it’s a saying, don’t write letters) all night long by Salomon Kalou. Roberts was dreadful. He should not be in MLS, let alone starting for a team.

The Beckham dream debut nearly turned into a nightmare for fans, as a hard tackle by Steve Sidwell sent Beckham sprawling to the turf where he stayed for a moment. Prior to the match, Cheslea coach Jose Mourinho had acknowledged that he told his team to avoid challenges on Beckham if he were to enter the match (a “non-aggression pact”). But as Eric Wynalda commented, Sidwell must have missed the memo. But the $250 million signing jumped up quickly and appeared to be no worse for wear.

The match ended with a Galaxy corner, that Donovan laughingly set-up to take before smiling and deferring to Beckham. Beck’s corner, however, was a bit short, falling to the near post, and was headed out. The match would end and Galaxy fans could relax.

Another word on LD. During Alexi Lalas’ interview with Rob Stone and Julie Foudy, he made a curious statement. Now, I know Lalas has a tendency to open mouth and insert foot, but he seemed to indicate that the Galaxy wanted players who understood the importance of Beckham to the team. His language was curious because he didn’t say that he currently had a team that understood what Beckham’s impact was going to be. Only that they “wanted” them. Do I sense a trade in the works? Perhaps Landon Donovan to New York for Jozy Altidore? Just speculating.

I guess Galaxy execs would say that Beckham’s appearance was necessary, but the Sidwell challenge really highlighted the absolute absurdity of putting him in when he was still clearly carrying an injury. He limped about on the pitch and although he provided a few nice touches, it could have been disastrous if Sidwell had caught the left ankle instead of sliding in more to Beckham’s right boot. It was utterly absurd to risk a player that is that valuable to a team and a league for a farcical competition like this one.

So, even though the Galaxy lost, they should count themselves lucky. They should also hold Beckham out of any further contests until he’s fully healed. No Superliga, at all. If Los Angeles really expect to squeak into the playoffs, they need a healthy Beckham for their return to regular season play on August 5th versus Toronto. Oh, and they need a new right back and possibly a new left back and maybe a pair of forwards who can score … but that’s all.

MLS Match Report

"You tell 'em Steve Dave"

Steve Davis, Dallas-based columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com published a list of 10 rumors. Most of them we have already covered but there's a few "new" pieces of information, such as Eddie Johnson to Derby County or Porto, Adu to Benfica, not Celtic, and American Idol-creator Simon Fuller as a potential MLS power broker.
Here's the link

Oh, yeah. Blanco's here, too.

So, with the hoopla of the Beckham unveiling, MLS almost forgot. We also signed that Mexican guy who hops. Here's the press conference unveiling Mexican forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco. He will debut for the struggling Fire this Saturday in their exhibition versus Celtic FC.

New coach Juan Carlos Osorio had this to say about Chicago's newest addition:

"Obviously Celtic is a great team and a very well recognized club throughout Europe and throughout the world," said Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio. "It can not be a better opposition for some of the guys here that haven't had experience at that level, hopefully for the younger players like Chris Rolfe, Chad [Barrett] and the rest. If we can have Cuauhtémoc for the game then I think we will have all the guys ready and hopefully have the team in place that will be basically be the starting lineup for the rest of the season."

Do you think Coach Osorio said "Chris Rolfe, Chad and the rest" because he has know idea who else is on the team? I mean he did admit a complete ignorance of MLS during the press conference announcing his hiring.

Press release

Blanco's got hops (It's No.4. Also see Dallas target Denilson's move at No.9)

Please stop letting little Bradley write about soccer

Jeff Bradley released another Best XI column on mlsnet.com. Typical insipid, worthless commentary from ESPN's part-time soccer writer.

In it he tells us his favorite XI things about Major League Soccer (like we care) and then precedes to rattle off the most obvious of lists. I mean his insights make Shep Messing look like a Harvard grad (wait a minute).

So, he likes the (11) playoff race (yawn), all the (10) trades (“I never thought I'd see the day when I turned on an MLS game and saw a guy in uniform who had been traded unbeknownst to me.” Come on, my mom knows more about what’s going on in MLS right now and she still think Adu plays for United), and the (9) brilliant debuts (he cites “Carlos Toja in Dallas” Carlos? Has Juan’s brother been signed. C’mon, he was the star of the All-Star match which was last night and you can’t get his name right?!)*.

He also likes (8) dominant teams (“Houston Dynamo are looking like the team to beat, and I don't think it's just their ability to rock and roll on national television ... they're just flat good.” Wow, I haven’t seen this ability to grasp and state the obvious since Marcelo Balboa pretended to be a color commentator), (7) high drama (“It could not be any more dramatic than what's been laid out for Mr. Beckham…” Sure it could, what if for every Galaxy game we dipped Beckham’s shorts in liver and then had Michael Vick release his dogs at the opening whistle), and (6) the race for the golden boot (yawn).

His Top 5 are as exciting as reading the User License Agreement for downloaded porn video software. He loves (5) atmosphere (Who doesn’t love being able to breath?), (4) pressure cookers (Who doesn’t love a little high-altitude goulash?), (3) Home boys (I actually agree with this one. I thought “Hanging with the Homeboys” was a vastly underrated comedy, starring Mario Joyner and John Leguizamo), (2) Soccer in Canada (“I'm not going to pretend to know much about soccer North of the Border, but I do know they lost a baseball team in Montreal a few years back...” (Why would a soccer journalist know more about baseball in Canada than soccer? Because he’s not a soccer journalist), and the final reason Bradley loves MLS in 2007 …

(1) Three in the booth. (Look I’m a fan of the ménage a trios as much as the next guy, but then you have to buy lotions and robes and things. Plus, Rob Stone, Eric Wynalda and Tommy Smyth is a pretty disgusting threesome. But it would bring new meaning to the phrase, “This commentator blows”)

Stick to baseball Bradley and give up "covering" MLS. We all know you haven’t followed what has been happening in the league since your only source got the national team job.

P.S. Just so you don’t think that TYH hates all other soccer writers at the Worldwide Leader in Every Sport Sans Soccer. I really enjoy reading Andrea Canales. Here’s a link to her archive. I don't always agree with her analysis, but at least she knows Juan from Carlos.

* For the record, Juan's full name is Juan Carlos Toja Vega, but I don't think Bradley was given special permission to call him "Carlos", when everyone else calls him Juan.

Samba with a Texas drawl?

Dallas FC are still targeting Brazilian midfielder Denilson, a member of the the 1998 World Cup runner's up and the 2002 World Cup champions, who currently plays for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nasr. And reports are that the club is close to a deal.

Denilson, 29, ended up in Saudi Arabia after a failed trial at Portsmouth. Before that he played 31 matches for French club Bordeaux in the 2005-2006 season. Once upon a time, Denilson was highest value player in the world, breaking the transfer fee record with a move from São Paulo to Real Betis (around $40 million).

Despite the fact that his best days are behind him, the thought of Juan Toja and Denilson combining in midfielder is intriguing if the Brazilian doesn't show up to Dallas out of shape and overweight.

Still can crack it from distance (courtesy of alnassr on YouTube)

Viva Colombia! MLS All-Stars beat Celtic

The Major League Soccer All-Stars outclassed Scottish giant Celtic FC, 2-0, with goals from MLS's two new Colombian imports, Juan Pablo Angel (NY) and Juan Toja (DAL), in the 2007 MLS All-Star game in Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver. The MLS All-Stars are now 4-0 versus international sides, with victories over Chelsea (1-0), Fulham (4-1) and CD Guadalajara (3-1).

Even with a few of MLS's better players missing from this year's All-Star lineups (see my blog), the MLS All-Stars ran roughshod over the Bhoys, who looked like they were just beginning their preaseason, even though they have been preparing for some time.

The wet pitch made for a sloppy first few minutes, as both sides sorted out the pace of the slick turf. Houston's Dwayne De Rosario, last year's MVP, took a while to find his touch in the early stages. But MLS would find it quicker than Celtic, as Toja nearly opened the scoring in the 21st minute. A Ronnie O'Brien (TOR) cross fell to Toja, who was unmarked at the far post, but his effort was blocked well by Celtic keeper Artur Boruc who was a busy man all night.

MLS got an even better chance about eight minutes later when Kansas City striker Eddie Johnson was clipped inside the box and a penalty was given. Johnson who stood over the ball, refusing to let anyone else take the PK, struck the ball low and to his left, but Boruc dove and blocked away Johnson's weak effort.

MLS's breakthrough would spring from a familiar source, as De Rosario split the Celtic backline with a lovely ball that Red Bull star Angel dribbled around Boruc and tucked into goal. A classy finish that made Celtic look like the pub team that the Brits were calling Los Angeles earlier in the day.

Speaking of the Galaxy, MLS royalty David Beckham was present at the match. I know this because ESPN showed him every five minutes and then interviewed him at halftime. The rest of the time, the game announcers talked about him. It was all Becks, all the time. I know he is helping the league, but I'm already kind of sick of him. Not one shot of his wife either. They did show sideline reporter Allen Hopkins giving Beckham the ol' how-do-you-do for what seemed like an uncomfortable amount of time.

Back to the match, EJ continued to show why the national team needs more options at striker. His touch was pretty awful, too heavy or too light. He tried a few fancy moves, but most of the time he just gave it away. He is best if you drop the ball in front of him behind the defense. Any kind of pressure and he fucks up. Oh he looked like his little sister had given him a haircut.

Despite EJ's issues, MLS continued to dominate possession through the midfield, as De Rosario and Dynamo teammate Ricardo Clark demonstrated why Houston is the class of MLS right now. On the other end, New England 'keeper Matt Reis was rarely tested in the early going. In the 40th minute, however, Reis was forced to wake up, as Celtic's Scott McDonald slammed a hard, low shot off the post.

Four minutes later, MLS would double their lead, as MLS's other MVP candidate Juan Toja made up for his earlier point-blank miss. The play began after Angel won a free kick from about 30 yards. The free kick slammed off the wall and a Celtic player, attempting to touch it back to a teammate, knocked it right to Toja who was in on goal and sent a low left-footed shot past Boruc.

Then, halftime...the Beckham interview with Rob Stone where he said he's probably not playing in the meaningless match against Chelsea, that Entertainment tonight follows him to In-and-Out Burger and that he wants to help the U.S. grow soccer. Really, LA fans, relax, take a deep breath. You may suck this year, but don't let the British media take the piss out of you. He's here for at least two seasons. He said he's here for five years, but we'll see.

The point is, he means more to you than just this match versus Chelsea or even this season. I feel like LA fans are going to have a collective nervous breakdown if he doesn't immediately turn things around for them. It may take some time, and it might not be till next year. The English media will be heartless to your struggles. Remember, these are the people who killed Princess Diana and they loved her for fuck's sake. So, take a deep breath and smile because the future is still bright in LA. Oh and the halftime band was shite, as I predicted.

Ok, sidetracked again. The second half was really more of the same, although Celtic tried to put the pedal down and played with a bit more urgency. But Michael Parkhurst (NE), Jimmy Conrad (KC) and even, I must admit it, Jonathan Bornstein (CHV) played solid. The Revs Shalrie Joseph played well defensively; he's very physical, but a bit clumsy with his challenges.

MLS All-Star coach Steve Nicol made all the requisite All-Star substitutions in the second half. He brought in Kevin Hartman, who demonstrated exactly why he shouldn't have been there by dropping a long-distance shot right in front of McDonald whose subsequent goal was disallowed (correctly) for offside. Then Nicol brought on hometown favorite Pablo Mastroeni (COL), Landon Donovan (LA) and Brian Ching (HOU) in the 65th minute. Later on he brought on the AARP Cobi Jones (LA) and Eddie Pope (RSL).

Landon spent much of the rest of the second half looking nervous and clumsy on the ball. It was as if there was someone in the stands who he was trying to impress (and who the ESPN showed after every misplayed ball by the Young American). He did manage to settle down for the last 10 minutes,

In all, it was an excellent exhibition of the league for the new world audience that seems to have migrated from Europe to America very recently. And I think it proved that MLS already had some stars of its own before they purchased ol' what's-his-name.

All-Star MVP: Juan Pablo Angel

MLS matchtracker

FIrst-half highlights courtesy of YouTuber askurmum999

MLS un-veils the Almost-Stars

This is funny. MLS has announced 14 more "All-Stars" who will be inactive unless one of the previous named All-Stars is unable to participate. But notice this language from the press release:

The additional selections are considered MLS All-Stars, and will listed as such in official league records.

I bet the players on this list feel like when they were playing U-6 soccer and, hey, everyone will be getting a trophy this year because you all are so darn special. I wonder if Taylor Twellman's mom called to complain that he wasn't selected.

So here is your MLS All (in-active) Star team:
Kyle Beckerman (MF, Real Salt Lake); Jim Brennan (DF, Toronto FC); Jeff Cunningham (FW, Toronto FC); Danny Dichio (FW, Toronto FC); Brad Guzan (GK; Chivas USA); Frankie Hejduk (DF; Columbus Crew); Justin Mapp (MF; Chicago Fire); Ben Olsen (MF, D.C. United); Guillermo Barros Schelotto (MF, Columbus Crew); Steve Ralston (MF, New England Revolution); Claudio Reyna (MF, New York Red Bulls); Eddie Robinson (DF, Houston Dynamo); Taylor Twellman (FW, New England Revolution); Ronald Waterreus (GK, New York Red Bulls)

Wow, still no Pat Onstad. Who did he piss off?

MLS to resurrect 'Quakes

MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced in his annual State of the League address that San Jose will be returning to Major League Soccer.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier today that Garber met with Lew Wolff, managing partner of the Oakland A's and chief architect in the push for San Jose's return to MLS, on Wednesday. Wolff and his business partneers are currently trying to build a soccer-specific stadium to house the new incarnation of the San Jose Earthquakes.

MLS Commissioner is currently delivering his State of the League address where he is expected to confirm San Jose's entry back into the league. Check back to TYH for additional details from Garber's address.
Click here for Examiner article

Garber makes it official

2005 press release explaining franchise's move to Houston.

Additional news from Garber's address:

• Toronto will host 2008 MLS All-Star match
  
  
• Major coaching diversity initiative unveiled
  

MLS All-Star starters vs. Celtic

GOALKEEPER

M. Reis (NE)

DEFENDERS

J. Conrad (KC), M. Parkhurst (NE), J. Bornstein (CHV)

MIDFIELDERS

Ronnie O'Brien (TOR), S. Joseph (NE), R. Clark (HOU), J. Toja (DAL),
D. De Rosario (HOU)

FORWARD

E. Johnson (KC), J.P. Angel (NY)

Nicol names his starters

Beck-less Galaxy blown out by Tigres

So, David Beckham was unveiled. But a swollen ankle kept them out of Los Angeles' inter-league match up with Mexican club Tigres in the opening match of what MLS is calling the World Series of Football, and the Galaxy lost 3-0 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

It was a meaningless contest for a made up tournmanent, and the Galaxy certainly didn't play as if their lives depended on it. After Tigres forward Francisco Fonseca scored in the 11th minute off a Galaxy giveaway, L.A. managed to hold off Tigres until the second half when the yellow cards began to pile up. The straw that broke the Galaxy's back happened in 64th minute when Chris Klein was shown a dubious second yellow and sent off. After that it was all Tigres, as Walter Gaitan and Alejandro Vilalobos added goals in the 72nd and 89th minutes, respectively.

Coach Frank Yallop was upset with the level of play shown by the Galaxy, according to quotes on mlsnet.com after the match:

"It's disappointing to see the team come out and perform like that. They almost played like they didn't want to make a mistake, scared and afraid to commit themselves to anything," said Yallop. "That was the thing that really stuck with me. The team is a reflection of me, and that's not what I'm all about. I tried very hard when I played and I got the best out of every situation I had."

The Galaxy will face Chelsea in the second and final match of this "World Series," a match that is supposed to be Beckham's debut. And the trickle of British tabloid info-tainment is turning into a stream, as even some of our state-side "journalist" are trying to create some off-the-pitch drama between Beckham and his teammates.

One column featured prominently on the Yahoo! Sports page suggests that Beckham's arrival is creating a mutiny among the players and friction between coach and GM. He suggests that Landon Donovan, in particular, is upset and may lead a mutiny if he is bumped as Galaxy captain. Then, the 15-year journalism veteran quotes Donovan who says the following: "Do I want to be the captain? Sure,'' Donovan said. "But if I'm not, I'm not going to cry about it.''

OMG! Donovan is going to kill David Beckham! How the hell do you quote a guy, as saying the equivalent of "whatever" as plans for mutiny is beyond me. He must have went to the British School for Mischaracterizing Quotations. As for the friction between coach and GM, suggested by traded player Santino Quaranta in a Newark Star-Ledger interview, the "journalist" quotes Yallop saying, "It's all rubbish...He's just trying to make a few waves there."

Sure his teammates are taken aback by the attention he's receiving. Sure some of them might be jealous of his big salary and hot wife. But I think all the Galaxy players understand that they need Beckham, especially after last night's match. In fact, I would hazard a guess that the team is perhaps putting too much stock in Beckham's ability to right a ship that was in sinking long before MLS managed this historic signing.

Mutiny? That's tabloid baloney. Donovan and all his mates know that Beckham is their only hope to salvage the season. If he's unable to save the Galaxy, the mutiny will be against Yallop, not Beckham.

Lucky FC? MLS to add 3 teams by '08

In a chat with fans held at mlsnet.com Major League Soccer commissioner announced that he is "very confident" that MLS will be able to add three more teams by the end of the year. While he didn't tip his hand to who those teams would be, if I was a betting man and I felt lucky, I would roll the dice and...oh c'mon do I have to spell it out.

Here is the chat exchange:

Don Garber
If I answer that here, we certainly won't have much to talk about during the State of the League address tomorrow. I'm well aware that much of the internet traffic and fan buzz recently concerns expansion and all of you know I, and MLS president Mark Abbot, spend a great deal of our time traveling from city to city meeting with potential owners, officials and sports authorities and all others to manage the expansion of the league. I'm very confident that we will be able to announce a 16-team league by the end of the year. It's still a moving target as to what cities will flow in when.

Later in the chat, Garber identified several potential cities for expansion

Don Garber
There's more interest in MLS expansion than at any other time in the history of the sport in the country. Without prioritizing any one market, here is a rundown of the cities: Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Antonio, St. Louis, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Rochester, New York City, Atlanta, Miami and Las Vegas.

Notice that Philadelphia is absent from the list. He discussed Philly's specific chances later in the chat, but it sounds like it's only in the beginning stages, so it's likely not one of the three. Perhaps Philly could be the new home of the Kansas City Wizards (if the league makes the correct decision to cut its losses in Kansas City and move to where they actually will support a team).

If I had to guess which will be the big three added, I would have to say Rochester, San Jose and Miami. Why those three? Stadiums. Those three cities all have stadiums already set up. Seattle might be in the mix, if they can work out an arrangement with the Seahawks to use Qwest Field. The Rochester Rhinos of USL-1 deserve a promotion, but I'm not sure MLS fans should be thrilled about San Jose and Miami coming back from the dead. Cleveland could also be a real possibility, as they were actually announced as an expansion team in 2005. But with the death of the man behind the Cleveland push, Bert Wolstein, the bid was stalled until recently. Las Vegas is a sexy pick and would be a bold one. With no major pro sports franchises in town for fear of the gambling spectre, it has the potential to be a treasure trove of revenue for MLS.

Surfing through expansion news I found this gem, produced by a Dallas Burn fan a few years ago. It is his projections for expansion complete with names and mascots for the clubs (some based on USL teams, some not). This was done several years ago, but I actually like his name for Houston better. The Houston Hammers. Maybe because it reminds me of the Hebrew Hammer and that was funny. Also, Locomotive St. Louis is so stupid it's brilliant. Or maybe it's just stupid.

Garber is likely to announce at least one of the expansion teams during tomorrow's State of the League address, which I'm sure will be carried on mlsnet.com live.

Becks traded. Not that one.

MLS announced today that the Rapids have dealt Kyle Beckerman to Real Salt Lake for Mehdi Ballouchy. This makes neither team much better, as both midfielders are having subpar years. Beckerman has a goal and two assists this season, while Ballouchy has yet to make it onto the scorer's sheet. Last year, however, was a different story for both of these players, as Ballouchy was a finalist for Rookie of the Year, playing primarily on the left, and Beckerman had a breakout year that included seven goals. Ah, the heady days of last season.

If Real are realists, than the move was likely made to clear the way for a Senior International roster spot next year, as the Moroccan-born Ballouchy will lose his Youth International designation next April when he turns 25. If they aren't already, RSL should be in rebuilding mode. Of course, Kyle Beckerman would not be the guy I would start with. Ex-coach John Ellinger tried moving Ballouchy to central mid this season and the experiment failed miserably. And Beckerman was probably the only central mid on the market. A change in scenery could make a difference for Beckerman who has the ability to be a much better player than he has so far.

Turning to Colorado, dumping Beckerman for Ballouchy seems stupid at first glance. Beckerman either scored or assisted in three of Colorado's four wins, but the fact that they have the third lowest goals scored total in the league, speaks volumes to Beckerman's inability to be the engine for this team. Coach Fernando Clavijo tried to use him as an attacking midfielder before settling on him as a holding mid, in the absence of Pablo Mastroeni (either due to injury or call-ups) or when Mastroeni was dropped into central defense. But Ballouchy isn't the answer in the center, either. The best option would be to place him on the left wing with Terry Cooke on the right and keep Jovan Kirovski as the attacking midfielder, with Mastroeni behind him. Not a line-up that's going to strike fear into the hearts of any MLS defenses. Next season when Ballouchy turns 25, whoever is coaching the Rapids can decide if he's earned a Senior International roster spot.

Here's the article on the trade

U.S. Copa victim wins spot with Bundesliga club

The good people at Yanks Abroad are reporting that 22-year-old defender Heath Pearce has signed a till 2009 for newly promoted Bundesliga club Hansa Rostock.

Pearce, a left back, was selected to Bradley's ill-fated 0-3 Copa America squad and started the final match against Colombia, a 1-0 loss and their most respectable scoreline of the tournament. He didn't factor much in the match, but few players distinguished themselves in Venezuela. He has a total of seven caps for the national team.

During Bruce Arena's time as coach of the national team, Pearce was considered behind both Frankie Hejduk and Todd Dunivant on the depth chart. He doesn't seem to be making much progress under Bradley, who clearly brought mainly bubble players to Copa America to determine U.S. depth.

Left back has been a troublesome position for the U.S. Arena used Bobby Convey, Eddie Lewis and John O'Brien, none of which were traditional left backs (except maybe O'Brien who didn't start his career there but played in that spot for Ajax often).

Click here for Yanks Abroad story.

Capello: From Real Madrid to Real Salt Lake?

Spanish newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport reported that recently sacked Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello is considering coaching in the United States, after an unnamed MLS club contacted him and offered him a position.

We're No.1

"They have contacted me from the United States; however, I must think about it,' Capello told Gazzetta Dello Sport. "It would be a new experience that would intrigue me not for the money but to see if anyone could make American soccer take off."

So, who was the club? He's not saying, but the likeliest of suspects is probably Real Salt Lake, who have the worst record in MLS and have already made one coaching change this season. After sacking John Ellinger, RSL announced that Jason Kries would retire and take over as head coach. Since the switch, which kept on Ellinger as a player personnel advisor, Kreis' squad has gone 1-6-4, and you get the feeling, watching him on the sideline during matches, that he is a bit overwhelmed by the responsibility.

But although RSL are the likiest candidate for a switch, there are few untouchable coaches, especially if making a switch could open a pipeline into MLS for more talented European players. You can probably place MLS All-Star and Revs head coach Steve Nicol on the safe list, as well as Los Angeles' Frank Yallop, who got a public vote of confidence from GM Alexi Lalas during the Beckham unveiling (although he wouldn't be the first GM in history to lie pubically).

And, sure, guys like Steve Morrow (Dallas), Dominic Kinnear (Houston) and Curt Onalfo (Kansas City) are doing wonderful jobs at their respective clubs and should be safe. But are they? Capello's pedigree and relationships with world-class players like Francisco Totti and Fabio Cannavaro would be hard to pass up.

Click here for Reuters article

TYH’s Top 25 (July)

Each month TYH will announce the top 25 U.S. players. The rankings will be cumulative and will take into consideration current level of play, injuries and past proficiency with the national team. The first 11 will be divided into positional leaders (4-4-2), followed by 11 reserves* and three players that deserve a shot at cap #1.

Goalkeeper:
Tim Howard

Defenders:
Carlos Bocanegra
Frank Simek
Oguchi Onyewu
Jonathan Spector

Midfielders:
Landon Donovan
Clint Dempsey
Benny Feilhaber
DaMarcus Beasley

Forward
Eddie Johnson
Taylor Twellman

Reserves:
Jose Burciaga, Jr., Brian Ching, MIchael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Todd Dunivant, Steve Ralston, Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, Marvell Wynne, Jimmy Conrad, Andy Dorman

Let’s have a look at:
Anthony Wallace (D), FC Dallas
Danny Szetela (M), Columbus
Tony Beltran (D/M), UCLA

ANALYSIS: This month's Top 25 took in the highs (U-20 WC) and the lows (Copa America) and sorted out those who stepped up and made a case for themselves and those who should be expunged from the national team pool. You'll notice that two U-20s, in particular, made the reserves, Freddy and Jozy. And although they sound like an 80s rock group, I selected them based on their terrific play in the U-20 World Cup. It's time to give Freddy a legitimate shot, playing in a central attacking position. Maybe Coach Bob Bradley can try out the duo against Sweden, next month. Fellow U-20s Wallace, Szetela and Beltran also earned a look for their play in the U-20s. I was especially impressed with Szetela's composure throughout the tournaments. He was really the linchpin of this talented team.

As you can see some national team regulars (Bobby Convey, Marcus Hahnemann, etc.) have dropped out due to injury, but TYH is hoping they can regain their form as they prepare for the grueling European season. Pablo Mastroeni is also currently bothered by an abductor strain but shouldn't be out for too long. The Starting 11 didn't really change, except that Dunivant fell into the reserves. Twellman nearly fell out as well, but in the end he's still a better option than Ching. However, Twellman might just be a few poor performances away from being labeled a Jason Kreis (MLS star, national team dud).

*The reserves include the best available players and may or may not reflect positional depth.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in MLS

[Republished from July 9 as we reach the All-Star break]

As Major League Soccer nears midseason and its All-Star break, TYH examines the good, the bad and the ugly of MLS.

The Good – These teams have been solid all year or have discovered the winning formula recently and have the skilled players to make it last. They also have a real shot at winning the MLS Cup and will be tough to beat in the playoffs.

1) HOUSTON – After a slow start, the Dynamo are poised for a possible repeat as Cup champions. After losing five of their first eight matches, Houston shot up the table with 26 points in the next six matches. They appear to be on track and will be getting back an important piece of the puzzle in Ricardo Clark, who has been away on Copa America and Gold Cup duty for the national team. If defense wins championships, then Houston are poised to pick up more hardware this year.

Keys to victory: All of Houston’s losses have been by one goal and four out of the five have been 1-0 losses. Their defense is the best in MLS. Therefore, Houston’s key to victory is quite simple … they need to score. The Orange have just 21 goals in 16 games, the third-lowest output of any team over .500 (even after their recent 4-0 win over NY). Injuries to Paul Daglish and recently to Brad Davis made the trade for journeyman forward Nate Jacqua a necessity, and the earlier trade to acquire Joseph Ngwenya is already paying dividends. But the Dynamo need both Brian Ching and Dwayne DeRosario to score in order to get back to the final.

Players to watch: Ricardo Clark, Dwayne DeRosario

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: The DeRo contract dispute will be a factor in second half of the season and into the playoffs. Suprisingly, Houston will be bumped by Toronto in the first round and many will doubt DeRo’s loyalties.
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2) NEW ENGLAND – The Revs could be the ’00s version of the Galaxy. Always the bridesmaids, never the bride. Having lost in the final in 2002, 2005 and 2006, MLS All-Star coach Steve Nicol is hoping the 2007 Revs have what it takes to finally win it all. So far, Nicol has New England humming along, even without their star striker. Their defense and goalkeeping has been particularly solid. But the second half of the season will be the true test for the Revs.

Keys to victory: The Revolution are hoping that Taylor Twellman can return to form after his Copa America and Gold Cup duty, but they will need more productivity from Pat Noonan and Adam Cristman if they hope to advance to the final again this year. Andy Dorman needs to continue his stellar play of the first half of the season, as well. The Revs aren’t an extremely deep team in either the midfield or up top, so they need to avoid injuries. The play of midfielders Jeff Larentowicz and Steve Ralston will be critical to their success.

Players to watch: Andy Dorman, Adam Cristman

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: The Revs will advance to the final for the third straight year, and for the third straight year they will lose. Oh, and the halftime show will still suck.
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3) DALLAS – The Burn, oops, I mean, FC Dallas have been near the top of the table all season, mainly because they have played two to three more games than the rest of the field. But they have been one of the most consistent teams as well, boasting a 6-3-1 record in their last 10 matches. Unlike many of the top teams, Dallas haven’t had to rely on one individual to supply the goals. Juan Toja, who is tied with Kenny Cooper (now out with a broken leg) for most goals (4), could prove to be the most valuable (on-the-field) acquisition by any team in a year that has seen quite a few quality marquee players added to the league.

Keys to victory: Ah, the great sports cliché: “this team is their own worst enemy” or “this team controls its own fate.” Both clichés are certainly true in this case. Dallas, on paper, is solid from front to back. Although they may not have superstars at any one position, Coach Steve Morrow has them playing well together. With Cooper sidelined, Carlos Ruiz needs to step up and return to the form he showed last year. Toja could be a prolific player and an important player in the playoffs, but he is going to need some help. That help might come from the boot of American youngster Dax McCarty who has set up four goals for Dallas so far.

Players to watch: Juan Toja, Dax McCarty

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: FC Dallas … MLS Cup Champions. Order your ugly striped shirts now. Operators are standing by.
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4) KANSAS CITY – Is Kansas City one of the top teams in MLS or are they frauds? It doesn’t matter because no one cares apparently. With average attendance of just over 9,000 (and these are MLS statistics where they count vendors, security guards, ticket rippers, mascots and anyone driving by the stadium during the match), KC seems to be without its Sunshine Band. They have also been without “I’ll-be-a-star-when-I-feel-like-it” Eddie Johnson, due to national team call-ups. They have just three points in six matches and appear to be headed the wrong direction as we near the All-Star break.

Keys to victory: The Wizards just need their Harry Potter back. Davy Arnaud and Scott Sealy are not their go-to guys and they need Johnson back if they hope to make a run in the second-half. Before he left, Johnson scored back-to-back hat-tricks, but more importantly, the Wizards are 5-0 when Johnson scores a goal. Only Johnson stop the downward slide that KC appear to be on since he left. They will need the cast of supporting characters to also step up. Young players like Yura Movsisyan and Michael Harrington need to grow up fast.

Players to watch: Jose Burciaga, Jr., Michael Harrington, Kevin Hartman

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: KC’s inconsistent second half of the season will land them with a tough first-round match up with New York. They will lose both matches, but ironically, KC’s home match in the opening round will break all MLS attendance records.
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The Bad – In the modern vernacular, “bad” doesn’t always mean terrible, as Run-DMC once put it, “Not bad meaning bad, but bad meaning good, uh!.” The duality of the word reflects the duality of these teams. They could go either way, and their success or failure will be determined in the second half of the season.

5) DC UNITED – DC is the Jekyll and Hyde of MLS, occasionally playing unbeatable, skillfull soccer before losing inexplicably to Real Salt Lake. I considered dropping them into the “ugly” category, but the strength of their roster and their recent string of good play has them occasionally running with the big dogs. Like Houston, DC started poorly, losing every April match before going 6-1-2 in May and June. United seem to be finding their form in spite of first-year head coach Tom Soehn’s tinkering and mistakes (TYH’s take on Soehn). A large part of their recent success has been the better midfield play of Fred and Christian Gomez, and fellow South American Luciano Emilio has finally begun to find the form that he showed in preseason in the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup.

Keys to victory: Even with a much improved offense, DC’s defense is terrible. There has been some improvement with the addition of national team veteran Greg Vanney, but having to trade Facundo Erpen (who hasn’t played as well as last year) made an already thin defense thinner. The pundits say that teams have figured out DC’s defense, but if you watch the goals they allow, it appears more like a lack of communication among the backline. DC need Bobby Boswell and Vanney to provide some stability if they are going to reclaim past glory.

Players to watch: Luciano Emilo, Nicholas Addlery, Bobby Boswell

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: Soehn will be replaced by Ray Hudson following their first-round loss to Dallas. Then, they will all have a big laugh at his first press conference before firing Hudson and hiring a real coach.
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6) NEW YORK – Red Bull NY was really close to being placed in the “good” group, but a defense as holey as the Pope on Sunday, dropped them into bad. They have one of the best strikers ever to play in Major League Soccer in Juan Pablo Angel, but it doesn’t matter if you score six goals, if you then allow seven. Like their I-95 rivals, New York appear to have a split personality. At times, they are unbeatable; at others, they are unwatchable. Who will show up in the second half and has the addition of Kevin Goldthwaite and Chris Leitch improved the defense?

Keys to victory: Defense…Defense. We know they can score. Along with JPA, New York has some talented offensive players like Jozy Altidore and Dane Richards, but the defense is still suspect after the moves that Coach Bruce Arena has made. NY also need Dema Kovalenko back, along with a healthy Claudio Reyna to keep the midfield working.

Players to watch: Dane Richards, Juan Pablo Angel, Jozy Altidore

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: In a guns-a-blazing first-round showdown with Kansas City, JPA will score the winner and New York will advance on aggregate 11-10. They will lose in the second round when Arena decides to play his patented 9-0-1 formation.
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7) LOS ANGELES – The Galaxy are in turmoil. And the league bosses are sweating it big time. Thanks to some piss-poor play in the first half of the season, the arrival, amid much fanfare, of David Beckham might not matter one iota. Beckham is the basket in which L.A. has placed all of their eggs (witness the Countdown to Beckham clock on mlsnet.com). The “glass is half full” perspective on the Galaxy is that MLS has given the fewest first-half matches in order to maximize the value of Beckham’s midseason arrival, so they still have 18 to play. The “glass is half empty” view, well, is that they have only scored 13 points in 12 matches.

Keys to victory: Say it with me: David Beckham. David Beckham. David Beckham. Beckham will have somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 games with Los Angeles this season (give or take due to England call-ups). If he makes the impact that Alexi Lalas and others are hoping he makes, they will make the playoffs no problem and might even have a shot at picking up some hardware, but if he goes all Lothar Matthäus on L.A., they are in trouble. Also, fans will need to watch how Landon Donovan responds to being the No.2 guy on the team now. If LanDo pouts, they could have some problems.

Players to watch: David Beckham, Landon Donovan

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: Los Angeles will play New England in the first round without Becks, who will be making a new movie produced and directed by Tom Cruise, called “I Now Pronounce You Tom and David” about two guys who have to pretend their gay in order to make out with one another.
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8) TORONTO – Despite an up-and-down season, TFC have already won a major victory for an expansion team because they are putting asses in the seats and putting more established MLS clubs like Kansas City to shame, by drawing on average 20,000 to each game. Away from home, though, Toronto have played like an expansion side, with only one win in eight matches. Since their 0-4 start, Coach Mo Johnston has tinkered with the side, trading and trading again. Has it worked?

Keys to victory: Easy pick for Toronto MVP right now is Danny Dichio. It is absolutely essential if TFC have playoff aspirations that Dichio continues to provide the offense. Also essential is keeping a volatile Jeff Cunningham focused. We have already seen what he can do to a locker room and judging by his recent antics against his former club RSL, trouble may be brewing once again. Cunningham is a douche and TFC’s only hope is to keep him focused on winning, rather than on himself (good luck with that one).

Players to watch: Maurice Edu, Jim Brennan, Jeff Cunningham

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: Toronto will make it into the playoffs as an eight seed and will upset the No.1 seed, thanks in large part to DeRo’s Canadian roots, but they will lose in the second round after Jeff Cunningham leaves the field and refuses to return after an opposing player calls him a bumba clot and hurts his feelings.
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9) CHIVAS USA – Chivas USA have been in the league for two years now, but at times they still look like an expansion team. They were very close to dropping into the “ugly” section, but some superb play by former Cuban defector Maykel Galindo and some solid wins versus New England and Dallas has them on bubble between terrible and mediocre. Chivas have been doing just enough to get points in matches, but they could be dangerous if they sneak into the playoffs as an eighth seed.

Keys to victory: Chivas USA have two solid goalkeepers in Brad Guzan and Preston Burpo, and they are the main reason that Chivas are even in sniffing distance of the playoffs at midseason. Their 15 goals against is the second-lowest total in the league. Keeping Galindo healthy will be essential to the any success the team hopes to have. But Chivas are going to need some lucky bounces and possible a player trade in order to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Players to watch: Maykel Galindo, Paulo Nagamura, Ante Razov

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: Chivas USA will miss the playoffs but will win the award for hottest cheerleaders. VIva ChivaGirls!
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10) COLUMBUS – The Crew are on a bit of a roll recently, winning four of their last five matches. Quality wins over title contenders Kansas City and New York must have the hardhats spinning in Columbus. But considering the Crew could only manage one win in the 12 matches prior should raise a red flag. So, how in the world do they have 22 points? Draws, draws and more draws. Columbus have posted a league-high seven draws.

Keys to victory: Columbus’ midseason resurgence has been due in large part to Argentine midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto. It took him a while to gel with his teammates, but Columbus is seeing glimmers of what could be if he can create a working partnership with his front-runners. Youngster Robbie Rogers is having an excellent U-20 tournament and needs to bring that form with him to the Crew when he returns. The defense has had lapses in some games, but goalkeepers Andy Gruenebaum and Will Hesmer have assisted the backline en route to six shutouts this season.

Players to watch: Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Robbie Rogers, Danny O’Rourke

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: Columbus will miss the playoffs but will break the record for draws in a season. They will celebrate by replacing “Buck-a-Brat” night with “Kiss Your Sister” night.
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The Ugly – A wise man once said, beauty is only skin deep, but ugly is to the bone. The following teams fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch. I mean, their mothers had to tie a pork chop around their necks to get the dog to play with them. They’re so ugly, when they walk into the bank the tellers turn off the cameras. They’re so ugly, when they were born their parents named them Shit Happens. They’re so ugly…Well, you get the picture.

11) COLORADO – Colorado’s woes have already been documented on this site (click here), and there doesn’t appear to be light at the end of the tunnel (unless of course you count to train bearing down on Clavijo’s job). With 17 points from 17 games, Colorado will need a miracle to turn this season around. Clavijo supporters may point to the injuries and call-ups that the team has had to endure but their problems rest in a poorly constructed roster that lacks a proven goalscorer.

Keys to victory: Colorado needs a marquee goalscorer. Right now, they are relying on Herculez Gomez and Roberto Brown who have a grand total of seven goals between the two of them. Conor Casey has been a complete bust (everywhere he has played) and Jovan Kirovski has been moved back into the midfield to help plug injury holes (that sounds kind of dirty). Unless the Rapids can make a major acquisition through trade or discovery, their season and Clavijo’s job are in serious jeopardy.

Players to watch: Terry Cooke, Pablo Mastroeni, Kyle Beckerman

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: Colorado will replace Clavijo at season’s end by looking on craigslist and answering this ad Retired Professional Soccer Player will train your team. This is an actual ad. I think it is Lee Scroggins.
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12) CHICAGO – Ah, Chicago. Where do I begin? You would think Peter Wilt was still GM with the ridiculous moves they have been making up there in the suburbs of the Windy City, including betting the franchise on the tired legs of a 34-year-old Mexican. Few are predicting that Cuauhtémoc Blanco will have the impact that Beckham is likely have in L.A. or that Juan Pablo Angel has already had for New York. The Fire have managed only four wins in 15 matches and have now named their third head coach this season – Juan Carlos Osorio. And you have to wonder whether the decision to hire Osorio was influenced by Blanco (a Spanish-speaking coach with a history of working with Latin and South American players…hmm). Whatever their motivation for hiring Osorio, he has a difficult task ahead of him.

Keys to victory: Chicago’s defense is one of the oldest in the leagues and their attacking players can’t score goals. Forwards Chris Rolfe and Chad Barrett have shared duties, but neither is up to the task of leading a team into the playoffs. Blanco isn’t up to putting this team on his shoulders either (think Luis Hernandez circa 2000) and Osorio appears to have his sights set elsewhere. In short, better luck next year.

Players to watch: Blanco, Justin Mapp, Thiago

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: Chicago will finish in the Eastern Conference basement and will announce in the off-season it has acquired 40-year-old Mexican midfielder Alberto Garcia Aspe.
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13) REAL SALT LAKE – Real World Salt Lake is the worst of all the Real Worlds. It’s not that there isn’t drama because there isn’t. And it isn’t because the players aren’t interesting because they’re not. It’s because everyone is aware of the cameras and they are just phoning it in and biding their time till they get their invitations to the Road Rules/Real World Challenge. Seriously, what can you say about RSL that a 1-7-6 record doesn’t say for you.

Keys to Victory: You’re kidding right? Ok, how about you move the franchise to Seattle. Sell Freddy Adu to Europe. Get rid of that stupid nickname and start the hell over.

Players to watch: (imagine the sound of crickets here)

TYH’s Cracked Crystal Ball: In the offseason, RSL change their name to the Salt Lake Fightin’ Mormons and hire Brazilian ex-forward Tita as their new coach.

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 15)

GOALKEEPER

P. Onstad (HOU)

DEFENDERS

J. Burciaga (KC), E. Pope (RSL), M. Parkhurst (NE)

MIDFIELDERS

Stuart Holden (HOU), A. Alvarez (DAL),
J. Toja (DAL), A. Dorman (NE)

FORWARD

N. Jaqua (HOU), E. Johnson (KC), Jaime Moreno (DC)

U.S. U-20s crash out of World Cup

It was a tale of two halves, as the U.S. under-20 squad lost to Austria 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Toronto. The U.S. played brilliantly to open the match, but never found that rhythm after an Austrian equalizer, and the young Yanks finished a nice tournament run with a real stinker.

The match started off promising for the U.S., as they outplayed the Austrians, showing flair and confidence on the ball. Freddy Adu orchestrated well in the first quarter of the match with feints, backheels and no-look passess, and set up the U.S.'s only goal of the contest with a superb cross that Jozy Altidore headed off the keeper and in at the near post in the 15th minute. It looked early like the U.S. might run away with the match.

But even in the first half there were warning signs that it might not be too easy for the U.S., as Austria managed to look dangerous on the few opportunities that they were given, particularily off corners. And right before halftime, Austria managed to level the score after U.S. goalkeeper Chris Seitz spilled a long shot in front of the on rushing Rubin Okotie, who picked his spot and fired home the equalizer. Seitz didn't look himself today and may have been still bothered by the foot injury that kept him out of the Round of 16 against Uruguay.

As the rain picked up in the second half, the U.S. looked to be made of sugar, as giveaways and poor passing began to happen more frequently. Around the 60-minute mark, the referee remembered that he had brought cards to the match and began handing them out with great frequency. Coach Thomas Rongen trying to enliven his squad (and possibly trying to save a possible ejection) substituted Danny Szetela for Dax McCarty in the 63rd minute. The poor play continued, however, and Austria nearly took the lead if not for a goal-line clearance by Nathan Sturgis.

There was plenty of blame to go around though, as the entire team looked dreadful in the second half with any spark of an attack extinguished by a poor pass or a heavy first touch. Midfielder Sal Zizzo had his worst game of the tournament and Michael Bradley was inconsistent at best. The defence managed to hold up in the second half, however, and forced extra time. Defender Anthony Wallace was one of the few bright spots for the U.S. before he was sent off in extra time.

In extra time, Adu summed up the day for the U.S., as he made a mess of a clear scoring opportunity by touching it too wide and then blasting the ball over the bar. In the 105th minute, it would be the Austrians, not the U.S. this time, who managed the extra-time heroics, as substitute Erwin Hoffer tapped a deflected freekick inside the post.

Scoring Summary:
USA – Josmer Altidore (Anthony Wallace) 15th minute
AUT – Rubin Okotie 43.
AUT – Erwin Hoffer 105.

Lineups:

USA: 1-Chris Seitz; 5-Nathan Sturgis, 14-Anthony Wallace, 16-Julian Valentin, 19-Tony Beltran (2-Tim Ward, 85); 6-Michael Bradley, 7-Danny Szetela (10-Dax McCarty, 63) 11-Freddy Adu (c); 15-Sal Zizzo (17-Gabe Ferrari, 106) 8-Robbie Rogers, 12-Josmer Altidore, 15-Tony Beltran

AUS: 21-Michael Zaglmair; 2-Thomas Panny, 4-Sebastian Proedle (c), 5-Markus Suttner, 15-Michael Madl; 6-Michael Stanislaw, 8-Veli Kavlak, 10-Zlatko Junuzovic (9-Erwin Hoffer, 103), 11-Peter Hackmair, 14-Bernhard Morgenhaler (7-Martin Harnik, 37); 19-Rubin Okotie (13-Thomas Pirker, 120+)

Patriot of the Pitch© : Anthony Wallace

Opinions are like...

Well, we all know what opinions are like...but I'm getting sick and tired of part-time soccer "journalists" sweeping in to cover the U.S.., only to brand any success we have as "ugly" or "undeserved" or "lucky." In this latest installment of soccer by dummies (no doubt a wire story reconstructed from post-match comments), the "writer" for PA Sports Ticker states in his lead that, "The United States has no interest in playing the beautiful game when it meets Austria in the quarterfinals of the FIFA U20 World Cup on Saturday." Using as his basis for this hypothesis, he quotes several Americans discussing the "ugly" nature of their win over Uru-crybabies. Here's one quote:

"Americans teams have heart, American players have heart," midfielder Danny Szetela told FIFA.com. "You need to play with guts sometimes and find a way to win that isn't pretty."

Certainly the win over Uruguay was ugly, no doubt about it. But the U.S. weren't responsible for the state of that match. No it was the good ol' Uruguayan tactics of "slash and spill" that destroyed the beauty and creativity that could have been. If the writer of the piece had bothered to watch the game, he/she/it would have seen that Uruguay continued to dive in with reckless, two-footed challenges (slash) and then, fall at the slightest contact with an American player (spill). No, sir/madam/other, it wasn't the U.S.'s style that made the match ugly; it was the Uruguayans and the awful referee. But I wouldn't expect most North American mainstream journalists (or even biased European journalists) to understand that there is a difference in the way a Brazil plays versus the way Uruguay plays, even at the U-20 level.

But I do expect "journalists" to pull their heads out of their asses to take a look at some of the other matches that this team of "ugly" Americans has played in. You want the beautiful game, check out USA vs. Poland or USA vs. Brazil from the first round. Or better yet, do yourself a favor and avoid writing about a sport that you obviously know nothing about. Oh, and if you didn't know, opinions are like assholes.

Click here for an example of poor journalism

Click below for an example of the "Beautiful Game" used on its creators.

Uru-crybabies: post-match video of US 2, URU 1

Here's some post-match footage of the scrum between US U-20s and Uruguay, following the USA's extra time victory (courtesy of youtuber CannuckCapper.

LA hope Becks, new kit stops them from sucking

The Los Angeles Beckhams unveil their new look just in time for another season of Project Runway.

U.S. into U-20 World Cup quarterfinal

The United States under-20 national team staged an improbable comeback in extra time to score a 2-1 win over Uruguay in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

The young Yanks struggled in the first half, as Uruguayan pressure and piss-poor officiating made for a slow go at it in the first 45 minutes. The U.S. faired slightly better in the second half but surrendered a goal in 74th minute, as Luis Suarez capitalized on U.S. keeper Brian Perk spill to give Uruguay the 1-0 lead. But just three minutes from time, Danny Szetela took down a loose ball from a corner kick and crossed to Andre Akpan whose defender, Mathias Cardaccio, slid in and inadvertendly struck it past his keeper.

The own goal leveled the match and it would be a full 17 minutes of extra time before the most unlikeliest of heroes would find the back of the net for the U.S. Michael Bradley, coach's son and nepotism posterboy, finished off a Freddy Adu corner that somehow found him unmarked at the near post, following a blocked shot by Julian Valentin. 2-1 to the US of A and that's how it would finish.

At the final whistle, the Uruguayan players continued to demonstrate the sportsmanship that had guided them throughout the match by starting a shoving match with the U.S. players. Bradley became apoplectic, and had to be talked down by both coach Thomas Rongen and captain Freddy Adu. The scene was a perfect ending to poorly officiated match by match ref Ravshan Irmatov (UZB), who had absolutely no control over the match from the opening whistle and handed out a ridiculous four yellows cards to the U.S. just in the extra time, while ignoring the fouling and diving by the Uruguyans for much of the game. One foul in particular led to the early substitution of talented striker Jozy Altidore, who injured his calf and had to be subbed following a tackle from behind that wasn't even shown a caution.

The U.S. U-20s are into the quarterfinals, where they will face Austria on Saturday, July 14.

Scoring summary
URU – Luis Suarez 73.
USA – Own goal (Mathias Cardaccio) 87.
USA – Michael Bradley 107+.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Brian Perk; 5-Nathan Sturgis, 14-Athony Wallace, 16-Julian Valentin, 19-Tony Beltran (17-Gabe Ferrari, 81); 6-Michael Bradley, 7-Danny Szetela, 11-Freddy Adu (c); 8-Robbie Rogers, 12-Josmer Altidore (20-Andre Akpan, 51), 15 – Sal Zizzo (10-Dax McCarty, 54)

URU: 12-Yonaton Irrazabal; 3-Martin Cacere (10-Gerardo Vonder Putten, 117), 5-Roman Marcel, 6-Gary Kagelmacher, 7-Mathias Cardaccio, 8-Damian Suarez (c), 13-Juan Manuel Diaz, 14-Hugo Arismendi, 17-Juan Surraco (11-Elias Figueroa, 108), 18-Luis Suarez (19-Tabare Viudez, 83)

Misconduct Summary:
URU – Hugo Arismendi (caution) 19.
USA – Michael Bradley (caution) 24.
USA – Anthony Wallace (caution) 105.
USA – Julian Valentin (caution) 109.
USA – Freddy Adu (caution) 110.
USA – Gabriel Ferrari (caution) 112.
URU – Roman Marcel (caution) 117.
URU – Mathias Cardaccio (caution) 118.

Patriot of the Pitch© : Michael Bradley

Click here for the FIFA U-20 World Cup bracket

Argentina cancels Copa guest worker program

Argentina trounced Mexico in Copa America semis 3-0. Hey, at least we have the excuse that we brought our C-team.

Here's all the action, courtesy of YouTube. Check out Messi's goal; it's sick.

DC's new digs look pretty sweet

Bobbyboswell.com (Yes, I know. I was also suprised that Bobby Boswell has a website) recently posted some pictures of DC United's new stadium proposal.

The stadium development, which would also include a hotel, is part of a a privately-financed land development proposal in Poplar Point. Poplar Point is on the east side of the Anacostia river in Washington, D.C. According to their presentation, DC United plan on working with the community to develop affordable housing, office space, and parks, along with the new stadium/hotel construction.

Click here for the photo gallery

This is the 2007 MLS All-Star team, right?

Major League Soccer announced the 18-man roster that will take on the Celtic FC in the 2007 MLS All-Star Game on July 19 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Colorado and a few names must have been left inside the ballot box from the 2006 roster.

Goalkeepers: Matt Reis (New England Revolution), Kevin Hartman (Kansas City Wizards)

Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake)

Midfielders: Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo), Christian Gomez (D.C. United), Cobi Jones (Los Angeles Galaxy), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Ronnie O'Brien (Toronto FC), Juan Toja (FC Dallas)

Forwards: Juan Pablo Angel (Red Bull New York), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards)

Kevin Hartman? Are you serious? How is he selected over Houston's Pat Onstad or Chivas USA's Brad Guzan? Hartman is ranked ninth in the league in GAA (1.47) among keepers with 11 or more games played. And how is it the best defense in MLS (Houston) doesn't have a single defender representing them on the roster?

As for the commissioner picks of Eddie Pope and Cobi Jones, I understand why they were selected, but maybe we could have bumped the roster up to 20, so that the nod to two once great players didn't take up the spots of two player who are playing great right now.

Besides Jones, the midfield selections were pretty decent with the exception of Ronnie O'Brien, who isn't having the kind of season he had last year. Either Steve Ralston or Guillermo Barros Schelotto would have made more sense instead.

Finally, Briang Ching's selection is undefendable and those idiot fans that voted for him (as well as the idiot press, idiot coaches and idiot players) should be smacked upside their head with a day-old mackerel. Where is Maykel Galindo or Taylor Twellman or even Andy Dorman? Even douchebag Jeff Cunningham has more goals and has had a bigger impact on his team in the first half of the season. Ching's selection is a joke and makes a mockery of ... oh wait, why I am I gettin all upset. It's the All-Star game. The MLS equivalent to a high school student government election. Voters didn't care that Ching has done next to nothing this year, he must have promised to put a Coke machine in the cafeteria.

Oh well, we'll still beat Celtic.

Click here for MLS press release

Fire’s new coach already bored with Chicago

New Chicago Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio plans on using the Fire as a stepping-stone to Europe or a national team job.

During the press conference to announce that Osorio would take over as the team’s new head coach for interim coach Denis Hamlett, Osario made his motivations for taking the Fire job very clear.

“If I can coach the talented players that the Chicago Fire has now, I think I can also be looked at in Europe or other countries or even here in America for other jobs, national team jobs or something like that.”

Wow, he hasn’t even coached a game and he’s already looking for a better team. Chicago GM John Guppy introduced Osario as having a “unique set of experiences” (a.k.a. he speaks Spanish). With Blanco on the way, this might have been a move to make the 34-year-old striker more comfortable (because I’m sure Chicago’s 4-7-4 record isn’t doing the trick). Osorio also expressed a lack of familiarity with the team and league. Good luck with this guy, Fire fans.

Osorio most recently coached Club Deportivo Los Millonarios in Colombia. Prior to that, Osorio was an assistant with Manchester City. In the 2000-2001 season, Osorio worked as assistant coach for the MetroStars. Deposed interim coach Hamlett coached four matches, after Dave Sarachan was sacked in late June.

Sarachan recently sat down with ESPNsoccernet's Allen Hopkins to talk about how he was fired and had this to say about it:

I was shocked. Obviously, my staff was shocked when I was told the news. It was unexpected given the timing and circumstances we as a team had been under for a number of weeks, with the call-ups and injuries. And the group we had to compete with wasn't our first group, and given those circumstances it caught me off guard ... there are still lots of questions as to the reasoning behind the timing.

To watch Osorio's press conference, click here

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 14)

GOALKEEPER

P. Burpo (CHV)

DEFENDERS

E. Robinson (HOU), D. Wagenfuhr (DAL), W. Barrett (HOU)

MIDFIELDERS

S. Holden (HOU), S. Ralston (NE), G.B. Schelotto (CLB),
C. Jones (LA), K. Martino (LA)

FORWARD

J. Ngwenya (HOU), L. Donovan (LA)

Culpa America: Who is to blame?

Ok, so we didn’t embarrass ourselves, but we certainly didn’t bring our A-game, or our B-game. Actually, I’d say it was closer to C-/D+. And even Bradley admitted that the team he brought wasn’t up to the task.

As we have said over the last few weeks, it is a great challenge to play in back-to-back tournaments. You run into situations with the various clubs, and as a result we brought a younger team here.”

Is he suggesting that there were external pressures that forced him to avoid selecting a more experienced line-up? Certainly, a statement like that is meant to deflect criticism for the choices he made. They made me do it, he seems to say. But who are these “various clubs” that forced him to swim down to the bottom of the national team pool to pull out players like Eddie Gaven and Danny Califf?

Was it European clubs? European club pressure doesn’t make a slot of sense. With their season over and clubs re-shuffling rosters, I think most Euro teams are too preoccupied with the summer transfer market to care how their American players are spending their summer vacations. As for the Euro-based players themselves opting out, you would think that they would want to showcase their talent for their current or future squads. For example, despite Freddy Adu’s poor performance with Real Salt Lake this season, he has seen his international stock rise exponentially thanks to his performance during the first round of the U-20 World Cup. Teams from all over Europe send scouts to Copa America. It is a first class tournament, a place where you can see South American stars go head-to-head, test them in real-game situations. Any agent worth his salt would want his client to participate in that kind of tournament. Finally and most importantly, national teams do not have to listen to club concerns anyway, as the Galaxy will learn when Beckham is pulled out of crucial late-season matches for Euro 2008 qualifying with England.

So, if we can’t blame European clubs, the “various clubs” must be from Major League Soccer. For the sake of argument, let’s say that our Gold Cup roster was our A-team, the team that Bradley would have preferred to bring if not for “situations.” Twelve of the 23 players on the Gold Cup roster were MLS players. Who were the MLS players left behind when Bradley named the Copa America roster? Frankie Hejduk, Pablo Mastroeni, Landon Donovan, Brian Ching, Steve Ralston, and Michael Parkhurst. Certainly, each of these players is important to the success of their respective clubs. So, was Bradley trying to implicate Los Angeles, Columbus, Colorado, Houston and New England when he said, “various clubs”? Was there pressure from on the USSF by MLS bosses to return key players like Landon Donovan to their teams? It would make sense for Los Angeles, especially, since their poor performance in the first half of the season may make their big name’s late arrival moot (in terms of the MLS Cup anyway). Colorado is struggling as well and certainly needed Mastroeni. Houston boasts the lowest “goals for” total of any team over .500, so they definitely would want Ching back in their line-up.

But couldn’t Sunil Gulati and the USSF tell MLS to suck it up for a couple of weeks in order to give some of our best MLS players international exposure? And what about the non-MLS players that were dropped from the line-up: Tom Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, DaMarcus Beasley, Clint Dempsey, Frank Simek, Jonathan Spector, and Oguchi Onyewu.

Bradley’s statement doesn’t mention fatigue as a factor, an excuse I have heard from many Bradley apologists. The conventional wisdom was that they had to choose one tournament for the U.S. stars to play in, so they chose the Gold Cup because we had a better chance to win that tournament and therefore, a better chance to qualify for the important Confederations Cup.

Ok, I’ll buy that we had a better chance against Panama than Argentina, but why couldn’t all these players that I mentioned play in both tournaments. Fatigue didn’t seem to bother Mexico to play in back-to-back tournaments. They won their group and in the process upset both Brazil and Ecuador. And most of the names I listed are players in their early to mid-20s. They are at peak physical condition. The fatigue factor seems like a lame excuse, made posthumously (that is after are team’s chances died).

In addition, the argument that we only have a shot in one tournament so we should dog it in the other one speaks volumes about the belief (or lack of belief) in the U.S. national team and project 2010. If the USSF really thought we were capable of competing for a World Cup by 2010, they wouldn’t be scared of testing our best against the World a couple of years early. It’s time we stop playing down to the expectations of the U.S. soccer leadership in this country. Why did we even accept the invitation to Copa America if we were planning on sacrificing our bottom-rung players to the gods of South American soccer?

When Bradley first named the roster, he defended the selections, saying that many of the players featured could end up on the World Cup qualifying squad.

“Copa America is going to be a great opportunity for our younger players to gain invaluable experience at the highest international level … This group has many of the faces that could play a role in 2008 and 2009 when our focus turns to our ultimate goal of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.”

Exactly what experience did they gain in having the crap kicked out of them in three games? How to lose gracefully? And as for the “faces that could play a role,” I could count them on one hand. Or maybe one finger, the middle one.

Encore, Altidore!

The U.S. U-20s defeated tournament-favorites Brazil 2-1 in the final group match of the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Jozy Altidore score two goals for the red, white and blue, and the U.S. finished atop Group D.

The U.S. youngsters got on the board first when Altidore picked up a loose ball at the top of the box and turned on it, hitting a low shot inside the left post in the 26th minute. Brazil, fighting against possible elimination, equalized in the 66th minute with Leandro Lima's side-volley that richoceted off the U.S. defense and trickled in.

But the U.S. regained the lead in the 83rd minute, following some wicked individual play by captain Freddy Adu. Adu driven to the right corner and marked by two defenders, managed a clever flick to split the defense and continue into the box where his hard shot deflected to Altidore, who was alone at the far post and knocked it easily into the open net.

The U.S. U-20s will face the top third-place finisher in Group B, E, or F on July 11.

Scoring Summary:
USA -- Altidore, 26.
BRA -- Lima, 66.
USA -- Altidore, 83.

Lineups:
USA: 1-Seitz; 5-Sturgis, 14-Wallace, 13 – Sarkodi, 19-Beltran (2-Ward, 89); 6-Bradley, 7-Szetela, 11-Adu(c); 8-Rogers (4-Igwe, 82), 12-Altidore (10-McCarty, 92), 15–Zizzo

BRA: 1–Casio; 3-Luizao, 6-Marcelo, 13-Amaral, 15-Edson; 5-Roberto, 10-Augusto (18-Eduardo, 71), 17-Parana(c) (7-Willian,84), 20-Lima (19-Adriano, 78); 9-Jo, 11-Alexandre Pato

Misconduct Summary:
BRA – Edson (caution) 46.
BRA – Alexandre Pato (caution) 52.
USA – Michael Bradley (caution) 59.
USA – Freddy Adu (caution) 60.
USA – Amaechi Igwe (caution) 94+.

Patriot of the Pitch© : Jozy Altidore

Why did we go? USA finishes 0-3 at Copa

The U.S. C-team lost their third and final match 1-0 to Colombia in the 2007 Copa America, going 0-3 and finishing dead last in Group C. Think they'll invite us back? Not likely.

Columbia's Jaime Castrillon scored the only goal of the game in the 16th minute. The only highlight for the U.S. was Chivas USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan's save on a Colombia PK in the 36th minute.

BTW, Mexico, who took both the Gold Cup and Copa America seriously, beat both Brazil and Ecuador to finish atop of their group. Stay tuned for TYH's commentary of the tournament.

Scoring Summary:
COL – Jaime Castrillón 14

Lineups:
USA: 23-Brad Guzan; 15-Drew Moor, 4-Bobby Boswell, 7-Dan Califf (capt.), 6-Heath Pearce; 16-Sacha Kljestan, 17-Kyle Beckerman, 19-Ricardo Clark, 21-Justin Mapp (10-Charlie Davies, 64); 9-Eddie Johnson (25-Lee Nguyen, 72), 8-Herculez Gomez (11-Eddie Gaven, 46)

COL: 12-Robinson Zapata, 22-Camilo Zuñiga, 14-Luis Perea, 3-Mario Yépez, 5-Javier Arizala; 17-Jaime Castrillón, 21-Jorge Banguero, 15-John Viáfara (13-Vladimir Marín, 55), 20-Macnelly Torres (8-David Ferreira, 85); 19-César Valoyes (10-Andrés Chitiva, 78), 11-Hugo Rodallega

Patriot of the Pitch© : Brad Guzan

Happy 4th of July!

The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation.
--Woodrow Wilson

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.
--William Faulkner

The kids are alright

All you Freddy Adu haters can shut the hell up now! Adu scored a hat-trick and the U.S. U-20s embarrassed Poland's U-20s 6-1 in the second match of the group phase in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The dominating win puts the U.S. young ones on top of Group D with four points. And Adu is the only player to have scored a hat-trick in both the U-17 and U-20 World Cups.

Poland, who upset tournament-favorite Brazil in their first match, actually opened the scoring against the U.S. in the fifth minute. But four minutes later, Danny Szetela scored his second goal of the tournament to equalize and the avalanche began.

In minute 20, Adu made a Polish joke out of the defense beating a player one-v-one before spinning around another in the box and firing home the go-ahead goal. The U.S. continued to dominate, holding the possession and converting several chances. Adu's second goal came in first-half injury time, as he fired a screamer to the upper-90 just before the halftime whistle.

Szetela continued to have a great tournament, scoring his second of the night in the 51st minute, as left back Anthony Wallace played Szetela through and the Crew midfielder beat the Polish goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski.

Red Bull forward Jozy Altidore added to the pile on in the 70th minute, tapping in a Robbie Rogers cross in at the far post. With the score 5-1 and the match in hand, Adu directed a metaphorical middle finger at his critics by completing his hat-trick in the 85th minute, deftly touching a Rogers pass around the keeper and into the open net.

The U.S. will face four-time U-20 champions Brazil in the final match of the group phase on July 6, and needs a win or draw to finish first in the group. But no matter the finish, the U.S. U-20s are doing a great job helping us forget about our "senior" side's dreadful Copa America campaign.

Scoring Summary:
POL - Dawid Janczyk (Patrik Malecki) 5.
USA – Danny Szetela (Tony Beltran) 9.
USA – Freddy Adu (Sal Zizzo) 20.
USA – Freddy Adu (Sal Zizzo) 48+
USA - Danny Szetela (Anthony Wallace) 51.
USA - Josmer Altidore (Robbie Rogers) 70.
USA - Freddy Adu (Robbie Rogers) 85.

Lineups:
USA: 1-Chris Seitz; 5-Nathan Sturgis, 14-Athony Wallace (4-Amaechi Igwe, 63), 16-Julian Valentin (13-Ofori Sarkodie, 33), 19-Tony Beltran; 6-Michael Bradley, 7-Danny Szetela, 11-Freddy Adu (c); 8-Robbie Rogers, 12-Josmer Altidore (10-Dax McCarty, 79), 15-Tony Beltran

POL: 1-Bartosz Bialkowski; 2-Ben Starosta, 3-Jaroslaw Fojut, 5-Kryzstof Strugarek, 6-Adam Danch, 8-Artur Marciniak (c) (19-Pawel Adamiec, 67), 9-Patryk Malecki, 11-Dawid Janczyk, 16-Grzegorz Krychowiak (7-Adrian Marek, 55), 18-Mariusz Sacha (14-Jakub Szalek, 46), 20-Tomasz Cywka

Misconduct Summary:
POL – Grzegorz Krychowiak (caution) 32.
POL – Jaroslaw Fojut (caution) 76.

All the goals from USA vs. Poland

60-minute men: U.S. lose again

The U.S. national team lost their second match of the Copa America, as Bradley's cast of not-ready-for-primetime players were beaten 3-1 by Paraguay. The U.S.'s lone goal came from the boot of Ricardo Clark in the 42nd minute.

Edgar Barreto put Paraguay on top in the 31st minute. As they did against Argentina, the U.S. entered halftime tied 1-1, but Paraguay went ahead in the 58th minute thanks to Oscar Cardoza. The U.S. had several chances to equalize. In the 77nd minute, Justin Mapp found himself closing in on goal up the left side, but chose, inexpicably to shoot on goal instead of crossing to a poorly marked Eddie Johnson at the far post. Ricardo Clark nearly got his second of the night from distance, but Paraguay keeper Aldo Bobadilla did well to push Clark's shot over the bar with a diving save.

The U.S. was later eliminated from the competition, as Argentina beat Columbia, 4-2. Argentina and Paraguay will advance, no matter result of the USA's final match of the group phase versus Columbia on July 5.

Scoring Summary
PAR – Edgar Barreto (Oscar Cardozo) 30.
USA – Ricardo Clark (Taylor Twellman) 40.
PAR – Oscar Cardozo (unassisted) 56.
PAR – Salvador Cabanas (unassisted) 92+.

Lineups:
USA: 18-Kasey Keller (capt.); 15-Drew Moor, 3-Jay DeMerit (7-Dan Califf, 65), 12-Jimmy Conrad, 13-Jonathan Bornstein; 5-Benny Feilhaber, 19-Ricardo Clark, 14-Ben Olsen (21-Justin Mapp, 71), 16-Sacha Kljestan (25-Lee Nguyen, 80); 20-Taylor Twellm an, 9-Eddie Johnson

Subs not used: 2-Marvell Wynne, 4-Bobby Boswell, 6-Heath Pearce, 8-Herculez Gomez, 10-Charlie Davies, 11-Eddie Gaven, 17-Kyle Beckerman, 23-Brad Guzan

PAR: 1-Justo Villar (capt.) (22-Aldo Bobadilla-56); 2-Darío Veron, 5-Julio César Caceres, 14-Paulo da Silva, 3-Claudio Morel Rodriguez; 6-Carlos Bonet, 8-Edgar Barreto, 16-Cristian Riveros, 19-Jonathan Santana (20-Enrique Vera, 77); 18-Oscar Cardozo (7-Salvador Cabanas, 73), 9-Roque Santa Cruz

Subs not used: 4-Julio Manzur, 10-Julio dos Santos, 11-Aureliano Torres, 12-Joel Zayas, 13-Jose Salcedo, 15-Edgar Gonzalez, 17-Dante Lopez, 21-Nelson Cuevas

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Benny Feilhaber (caution) 62.
PAR – Cristian Riveros (caution) 77.

Patriot of the Pitch© : Ricardo Clark.

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 13)

GOALKEEPER

R.Waterreus (NY)

DEFENDERS

B.Rhine (DAL), M.Harrington (KC), J.Hernandez (CHV)

MIDFIELDERS

C.Gomez(DC), N.Grabavoy (CLB), Fred (DC),
R.O'Brien (TOR), B.Davis (HOU)

FORWARD

Maykel Galindo (CHV), N.Addlery (DC)