Beckham Out For 6 Weeks
LA Galaxy and England star David Beckham will be out for 6 weeks after spraining a ligament in his right knee in the Superliga final against CF Pachuca yesterday. Beckham will probably end up missing the rest of the season for LA, and he will not be able to play for England, which is a big loss for Steve McClaren and Co. If I were England, I’d be disgusted with the Galaxy right now. I had a feeling Beckham would get hurt eventually, and now it has happened.
From the start, the Galaxy handled this situation very poorly. Beckham was hurt when he came to the team. So instead of resting him, they decided that they would patch him up as much as possible, then send him out on the pitch. Why he played in the Chelsea game, nobody will ever know. I understand that it was a big game, and ESPN went out of its way to hype this game, but if the player is hurt, the player is hurt. Injuries do not go away because you want them to. Beckham was hurt and he shouldn’t have played, but fan pressure, and management pressure forced him onto the pitch.
I will say this, its not like the Galaxy are responsible for this by themselves. Beckham has to have more control, and say to himself, I will not play if I am hurt. He took a risk, and now he, the Galaxy, and England will be paying the price. The Galaxy’s mistake should be a lesson for all other teams in MLS. MLS is in the business of providing good action on the field, and getting people interested. But if a player is hurt, whether he’s David Beckham or Corey Ashe, he has to rest and get better. Now the Galaxy have lost their season, and Beckham has lost his chance to help his country. Here’s to a speedy recovery, and a lesson learned by LA and MLS.
Where Will Szetela End Up?
Danny Szetela has been running this transfer market around for about a month now, and its time for him to make a decision. His rumored move to AS Roma has fallen off completely, so now his options are Roma, Brescia, and Newcastle United. Personally, I’d like to see him try and move to Roma. Roma plays in Serie A, and the passing and speed of the game would be a valuable asset to Szetela’s game. However, the tougher, more physical play in England would also be an asset as well. Our strikers seem to be a bit on the soft side, and a tough, weathered striker like Szetela would work wonders for the national team. One option that cannot be looked at is staying in MLS. That is out of the question. Its 1:34 am EST in the US right now. The transfer market will close in a matter of hours. Danny, you have a lot to think about.
Pachuca Are SuperLiga Champions
Everything that LA dreaded would happen, happened. Mostly, another injury to David Beckham. He left the game around the 30th minute with what looks to be strained ligaments in his knee. This is just another blow to an already weak Galaxy team, and it looks like he could be out for quite a while.
Pachuca scored right before Beckham’s injury, through an own goal, which began the long list of unluckiness that plagued the Galaxy all night. Landon Donovan missed a golden opportunity at the end of the game to tie it. However, in second half stoppage time, Chris Klein was able to get the equalizer and send the game to extra time. LA looked decent in the second half, and as the game went on they showed their attacking side well, putting pressure on Pachuca and causing the keeper to make many saves.
The match eventually went to penalty kicks, where Landon Donovan had his saved. The usually reliable Abel Xavier sealed the coffin for the Galaxy by kicking wide, handing the inaugural trophy to the Mexican champions.
U-17 Men
Just a quick note here. There’ll be more on this later. The U-17 men were knocked out of the World Cup by Germany early this morning. Yet another disappointment for this much-touted team. Hopefully they can step up their game by the time they make the senior team.
SuperLiga Final: LA vs Pachuca
The LA Galaxy and CF Pachuca will meet tonight at 11 pm in the SuperLiga final in Carson, California. With 1 million dollars on the line, both teams will bring their A game. Regional supremacy will also be on the line. Pachuca will be looking to avenge its July 24th loss to the Galaxy earlier this summer. The Galaxy won that game 2-1, with Alan Gordon putting the Galaxy ahead 1-0. Rafael Marquez Lugo equalized for Pachuca in the 78th minute, but Landon Donovan won the game for LA with a goal of his own 3 minutes later. That loss for Pachuca was their first and last since April 11.
So what should we expect from this game? The Galaxy have serious injury issues, with David Beckham and Landon Donovan both banged up and tired from international duty and having to play in MLS games as well. They were shut out in their last match by Colorado, who won the game 3-0. LA was missing 7 of their players for that game, Beckham and Donovan included. While both are expected to play, it will be interesting to see how they hold up throughout the game. This will hold especially true for Beckham, who probably shouldn’t be playing anyway, but is doing so for the good of his club.
For Pachuca, it has been over a year since they have lost at home, but the team is coming off of a bad loss at Club Los Santos. Los Santos won the game 1-0, with Daniel Ludueña scoring the only goal for the away side. Pachuca comes into this game relatively healthy, and with revenge on their minds, but also the pressure of living up to the standards of Mexican soccer. Not only do they represent themselves, but just like the Galaxy, they represent their country as well. US clubs hold an advantage in wins in SuperLiga with 3, but nobody will remember that if Pachuca wins. Prediction? It pains me to say, but unless the Galaxy play much better than they have in MLS, Pachuca will win this game. I’ll say 2-1 win for Pachuca, but Beckham scores off a free kick. The game is at 11 pm ET on Telefutura.
Rest In Peace Antonio Puerta
There’s not too much news right now, so I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about something that’s much more important. The footballing community has suffered a major tragedy today in the death of Spanish international Antonio Puerta has died today after collapsing during a game this weekend.
The ESPN report that goes more in depth can be found here.
He was expecting the birth of his first son in a month’s time. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
Hey guys this is Brian here. I second Danny’s thoughts. You never want to see death anywhere, and to see it happen to such a young man, it really makes you realize that soccer(football) is just a game, and nothing more than that. We should all remember this when we’re watching the game we love. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends as well.
Hamm and Foudy Enter Hall of Fame
Wow, what a slow day. There is not too much news, and it’s especially quite on the European front. You would think that with the transfer deadline closing in that many teams would be scrambling to make last minute changes. But things are too quiet, so maybe things will explode for the last couple of days.
ESPNSoccernet talks today about Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm being inducted to the Hall of Fame. Congratulations to both of them. Mia Hamm has really become a symbol for the sport worldwide and she definitely deserves the honor, as does Foudy. All of this happens close to the women’s world cup, which I will absolutely not predict good results, because then the opposite will happen.
In other sports news, I’m absolutely sick of hearing about Michael Vick torturing puppies. Anyone else wish the major networks would move on?
U-17 Advances To Second Round
I don’t know how they did it. But they did it, and that’s all that matters. The US u-17 soccer team shocked US Soccer fans everywhere by advancing to the round of 16 after defeating Belgium 2-0 on Sunday. The US needed help from Tunisia and they got it after Tunisia defeated Tajikistan. Their victory, combined with the American win, helped leapfrog the United States to second place. Perhaps the changes Coach Hackworth made helped the team, as it was the dominating performance we have been waiting for since the start of the tournament.
The first goal was scored by Kirk Urso, who replaced Danny Wenzel at halftime. Urso placed a defected shot into the back of the net, which put the US up 1-0. Mykell Bates put the US up 2-0 seven minutes later, with a beautiful header to put the game away for good. Solid win by the US, and now they get to face first place Germany in the next round. Germany has an amazing team, so the US will need to bring its A game if they would like to advance any further. But for now, let’s just celebrate the big win for the u-17 squad.
Clint Dempsey Scores As Fulham Lose Again
Happy Saturday to everyone. It was a busy day in the Premiership for our American players. Another American goalkeeper face-off in the Blackburn vs Everton game. Both let in only one goal. I can’t comment on how they played, as I wasn’t able to watch the game and haven’t seen any highlights yet. I can’t imagine they were at fault for either goal. Both of them are two of the most reliable keepers in the league. I’ll have more on this game later.
Our Fulham trio played decently. Congrats to Clint Dempsey for getting his first goal of the season. You can see it here. Aston Villa dominated the game, and were able to put 2 past Kasey Keller on his first game as a Cottager. The first was an own goal by Zat Knight, which is completely and utterly unsurprising. Dempsey could have regained the lead towards the end, but his header was stopped by the Villa goalkeeper. Aston Villa substitute Shaun Maloney was able to beat Keller for the winner right at the end. It’s disappointing for Fulham, as they haven’t really played that bad this season, but haven’t been getting the results to show it.
Eddie Lewis started for Derby as they continue to struggle. Benny Feilhaber was no where to be seen, and if they continue at this rate I sense relegation. Along with Manchester United, they still have yet to register a win on the season. In Portugal, Freddie Adu was an unused sub in Benfica’s game against Guimaraes. A 0-0 draw means that Benfica still have not registered a win. Hopefully a change in manager can bring some life into the team.
Up in Scotland, DaMarcus Beasley was able to score yet again for Rangers. His somewhat scrappy goal can be seen here. If he can keep up scoring on a regular basis, you can’t see him left out of the squad anymore like he was last week. Rangers now sit atop the table, 2 points ahead of their rivals Celtic. They hope to continue their 100% league record next Saturday versus struggling Gretna.
In Women’s World Cup news, the American team will be given a first round qualifying by along with 12 other teams. The team is looking good, but I won’t make any predictions that will jinx us yet again. (See U-17 World Cup and Copa America)
There are some MLS games tonight, so look for some reviews of the action tomorrow morning. There are also a few more EPL games tomorrow, so be back here tomorrow for those updates.
Denilson To Join FC Dallas
FC Dallas announced Thursday that they have signed Brazilian star Denilson to a long term contract. The deal has been speculated for months now, and it has finally happened. FC Dallas head coach was very excited by the move. “”We are extremely excited to be able to add a world-class player like Denilson to our squad,” said FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow. “We’ve worked hard to build a team with players that have exceptional ability and also have the right attitude off the field. Adding a player like Denilson will improve us further and give us a boost as we go into the final stretch of the season.”
McBride Out Until Christmas
Fulham captain and striker Brian McBride will be out until Christmas, according to team officials. McBride is back in the US, after having surgery to repair the dislocated kneecap. Tough break for him, as he was named captain just this year, and the injury came on his 100th appearance for the club. Maybe in his down time, he’ll see that the national team really needs him, and he’ll come out of retirement. Wishful thinkin, I know, but one can dream right?