Daily Roundup:10/31/07
Good Morning Folks! Happy Halloween! Sorry this is coming a bit late. Forgive us, its been busy around here. Lots of things going on in Europe and in the States, so lets jump right into to things……
In England, Manchester United continued on its tear after scoring 4 goals again against Middlesbrough. Meanwhile, EPL table leaders Arsenal drew with floundering club Liverpool. All this is in preparation for what should be the biggest game of the year for both teams as Man Utd. will travel to the Emirates Stadium to take on Arsenal this weekend with first place on the line. Should be a great game. Now how about those Americans? Lets start with Everton and Derby County. Tim Howard had a shutout for Everton as they beat Derby 2-0. The match highlights can be seen here. Benny Feilhaber was not seen in this game once again. Eddie Lewis did play 60 min for Derby, but the fact that Feilhaber is seeing so little time is a concern to me. What’s he doing wrong? He plays well for the national team and Derby isn’t exactly setting the EPL on fire, so I don’t get why he isn’t playing. He was signed to play wasn’t he? We’ll have to keep an eye on this one. Up next, Jonathan Spector finally saw some time for West Ham as he entered as a sub in the 78th min for the Hammers in what would turn out to be a 0-0 draw against Portsmouth.
Up next we have Reading and Newcastle United. Marcus Hahnemann played very well , only allowing an own goal by Michael Duberry to spoil his day. Bobby Convey didn’t get off the bench for the Rovers. Fullham and Sunderland squared off as well with Clint Dempsey leading the way. Dempsey had a few chances and almost put a Simon Davies free kick into the back of the net. Dempsey was shown a yellow card, as was fellow American Carlos Bocanegra. Kasey Keller and Brian Mcbride were not featured due to injury, but Mcbride is expected back in December. The final game in the EPL involved Brad Friedel and the Blackburn Rovers. The Rovers won 2-1 behind great keeping from Freidel. Blackburn is now in fifth, an excellent spot for a team that was not expected to be that high at the start of the season.
As for the rest of Europe, Freddy Adu continues to impress as he scored the late winner for Benfica last Saturday against Maritmo. Adu came in and reeked havoc until the 87 min. He then slotted a close shot into the back of the net, giving Benfica the win. I’m not sure what you can say about Adu, except that he sure does seem to have a flair for the dramatic. It is this kind of form we looked for in MLS, and now we’re starting to see it. Is Adu finally maturing or was he always capable of this? Nobody but Adu knows this, but he is looking like the player we all thought he would be. The US national team gets more and more competitive by the day, and I for one cant wait to see where Team USA goes with the young nucleus that they are slowly but surely building. That’s the news for the day. Tomorrow we’ll have a preview of the MLS playoff games, and we’ll also cover the daily news. Have a safe Halloween!
Interview with former Arsenal and Southend player Adrian Clarke
Hey guys, check this out. Soccerlens.com is very pleased to have set up an interview with former soccer player turned journalist Adrian Clarke. Congratulations to Soccerlens.com for getting such a great interview. It really is a good read, so hit that up
Here’s the link: http://soccerlens.com/interview-with-former-arsenal-and-southend-player-adrian-clarke/3768/
Champion’s League and MLS Playoffs
Champion’s League
It was a busy midweek with Champion’s League action. DaMarcus Beasley and Rangers had a tough task facing Barcelona. Ronaldinho was back in the side, but Barcelona’s attacking flair was not enough to overtake Rangers. The Scots played at least 10 men behind the ball during the entire first half. Messi had an opportunity cleared off the line and Henry missed a wide open header. Ronaldinho also had a signature free kick pushed onto the crossbar by the Rangers keeper.
Rangers did get lucky when defender Alan Hutton clearly blocked a Ronaldinho shot with his hand, but it was not called by the official. Beasley came on midway through the second half. His speed sparked some life into the Rangers side and they had 2 or 3 good scoring opportunities that they should have put away. Neither team was able to put any of their chances away, and they both are tied for the lead in their group.
Highlights for the game can be seen here.
Freddy Adu and Benfica took on Celtic on Wednesday. It was a pretty poor match overall. Both teams were very scrappy. Adu came on in the second half and looked decent, taking a long range shot and earning his team a free kick outside the area. Late in the second half fellow newcomer Angel Di Maria chipped a ball through the Celtic defense to set up a Cardozo goal to ensure a victory. Neither team will be happy with their respective performances. The must definitely raise their standard of play if they want to go far in this competition.
Benfica now sits third in their group 3 points behind AC Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Highlights of this game can be seen here.
UEFA Cup
Tim Howard and Everton got back to their winning ways after losing the Merseyside Derby over the weekend. They beat Greek side Larissa to open up their UEFA group stages account. The win was inspired by the return of Tim Cahill in the midfield. Everton dominated most of the game making Tim Howard’s job easy for the night. Their next UEFA Cup game is away to Nuremburg.
Highlights of the game can be seen here.
MLS Playoffs
The MLS playoffs kicked off yesterday with league leading DC United taking on the Chicago Fire. The game, which was oddly not covered at all by ESPNSoccernet’s live scores, was dominated by the Fire. The Fire went ahead early on with a Chris Rolfe goal. Some may see this as a shock upset, as DC has dominated all season. But Chicago has historically been very successful against DC in the playoffs. The second leg will take place at RFK Stadium on November 1st on ESPN2.
Highlights to last night’s game can be seen here.
Side Note - What was MLS thinking having a playoff game on the same day as a World Series game and a major college football game?
Daily RoundUp: 10/22/07
Good Afternoon to everyone. There’s a lot of news today, so lets jump right in…..
It was a busy week in Europe for our boys this weekend. Coming off the international break, it was interesting to see how club teams came out and played following the break. While some teams like Manchester United and Arsenal came storming out of the break, Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona and Italian giants AC Milan all lost. The English Premier League saw US keepers Brad Friedel and Marcus Hahnemann face off with Friedel coming out as the victor. Blackburn won 4-2 with the Rovers slotting 4 past Hahnemann, who didn’t have the best day he’s ever had. Bobby Convery missed out on this one, as he is still recovering from an injured leg. Fullham and Debry County were up next and this game was a tie 0-0. Clint Dempsey and Eddie Lewis each played the full 90 min. Carlos Bocanegra came on in the second half for Fullham. Kasey Keller was not included on the Fullham bench, and fellow American Benny Feilhaber was not included for Derby either. Fullham Captain Brian Mcbride is still out with a dislocated knee, although he is expected back by Christmas. Everton lost to Liverpool 2-1 with US # 1 keeper Tim Howard allowing 2 goals to the Reds.
Back in the States, the Chicago Fire eliminated David Beckham and the LA Galaxy on Sunday to lock up the final playoff spot for the Fire. While it would have been nice to see Beckham in the playoffs, its probably a good thing that the Galaxy didn’t make it. Don’t let their late run fool you. This team is terrible. Its Beckham, Donovan, Cannon, and that’s about it. Should Alexi Lalas keep his job, he will have a lot of work to do when it comes to rebuilding this team. Later this week, we’ll have a detailed look at the upcoming MLS playoffs.
In Team USA news, Women’s national team coach Greg Ryan has been fired by the USSF. Ryan was fired just a month after the top ranked US women were eliminated in the semifinals of the World Cup. Sunil Gulati said that the next coach will have to have international experience and will need knowledge of US soccer. Good call, Sunil. Hopefully you mess this one up like you did with Jurgen Klinsmann. Don’t get me wrong, I like Bob Bradley, but I really had my heart set on Klinsmann.
On a different note, I am shocked to see that AC Milan keeper Dida had his 2 match ban reduced to one game by UEFA. For those who don’t know, Dida was “attacked” by a Celtic fan after the Champions League matchup between Celtic and Milan. The fan came on to the field and pushed(and that’s pushing it for lack of a better word) Dida, who began to run after then fan, then inexplicably dropped to the grass like he had been shot. Pure acting job, and what made it worse was the fact that Dida had to be carted off the field for injuries that were nonexistent. So UEFA decides to ban him from 2 Champions League games. Milan appeals, and of course, the ban is reduced to one game. The reason cited? He sincerely regretted his actions. Well of course he did. I’m sure he did, because of his actions at the San Siro the next time they were at home. Still, I can’t believe that UEFA based their decision on that. While I’m sure that wasn’t the whole basis, the fact that that’s the reason they gave just angers me. I’m not looking to start an argument, but I find it interesting and appalling that Milan always manages to wiggle its way out of actually being disciplined for its actions. The example I’ll cite is the match fixing scandal in Italy. While Juventus is relegated to Serie B for its actions, Milan is only docked 7 points and they are allowed to stay in the Champions League. I probably come off as bitter, but I feel that Milan is held to a different standard and the fan in me would like to know why. That’s the news for the day, have a good one folks.
United States 1 - 0 Switzerland
Finally, a win on European soil. Actually, finally a win period. The Men’s National Team finally broke a 5 game losing streak, but they didn’t do it in typical fashion. If this game was anything, it was a learning experience. Here are just a few things that I saw:
1. Eddie Lewis is not a left-back. The gaping holes that appeared on our left side during the first half of the game were something to worry about. A more skilled team would have easily created more chances. Lewis often got caught in the overlap, and did not have the pace to get back and make up for his mistakes. When Pearce came on, we were much more stable at the back.
2. Taylor Twellman needs to step up. Sadly, this appears to be one of those cases where a player can do amazing things for his club, but fail miserably for his country. I can’t even remember the last time he put in a good performance for the United States. He has an uncanny ability to disappear completely, and throughout the game I actually forgot that he was on the field. It’s true that Clint Dempsey didn’t do much either, but Twellman performs poorly on a regular basis.
3. The team plays better when Dempsey is in the midfield. If you look at our games over the past few years, we have put together much better performances when Dempsey has played on the right wing. As a striker, he just doesn’t see enough of the ball. The fact the he doesn’t have a competent striking partner doesn’t help much either. As, in my opinion, our best outfield player, wouldn’t it make more sense to have him in the midfield where he gets more touches on the ball? He didn’t perform too well against the Swiss, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that there was no creative spark in the midfield.
4. Freddy Adu is ready to start appearing regularly for the senior team. The moment he entered the game, the team was more lively and actually started attacking. The biggest critics of Adu will always knock him for his size and strength disadvantage, but he was able to hold his own against a very physical Swiss side. His speed and creativity were the key that we were missing during the game, and I would love to see a side that included Adu and Donovan at the same time, which shouldn’t be to far in the future.
5. DaMarcus Beasley is fragile. Maybe it’s his size, but how does he always end up getting hurt? Hopefully there is nothing to serious, because he has been on good form for Rangers lately.
So the win came, but it was very gritty. Our goal was scrappy at best. Szetela put in a cross, which bounced off of Dempsey. The keeper and Bradley went up for the ball and Bradley poked it home for his first senior team goal. The goal can be seen
On the defensive end, Carlos Bocanegra organized well, and the Swiss did not get too many scoring opportunities. Michael Bradley put in another good performance in the midfield, alongside an inexperienced Edu. The announcers were praising Edu the whole game, but I didn’t think his performance was that spectacular. He was solid, but in my opinion sent too many passes astray and didn’t seem to communicate too well with the other players. Once again I think this is down to a bit of inexperience, and is something that will work itself out in a few games.
As for goalkeepers, both put in a solid performances (except for the one instance where Guzan handled the ball outside the area). I didn’t quite understand the substitution of Hahnemann at the break, but I’m sure it was just to get Brad Guzan some playing time. He really has emerged into a reliable keeper with 12 shutouts for Chivas this season. He is a keeper that I can definitely see moving to Europe at some point.
The next game takes place on November 17th, against South Africa.
Tomorrow vs. the Swiss
Tomorrow is the “big day” as the Men’s National Team will have a friendly against the Swiss. The most important part of our game will be controlling the midfield. It may be somewhat difficult as we have a relatively young midfield this time apart from Eddie Lewis. Look for Bradley and Feilhaber to both start. I’m not too sure how Feilhaber will do, as he hasn’t gotten consistent playing time at Derby. Beasley will definitely get the start, but I would love to see Adu and Szetela at some point. Maurice Edu could get an appearance as holding midfielder, but don’t expect him to start before Bradley.
At the heart of the defense will be Bocanegra. I’d like to see Demerit get the start over Onyewu. Demerit has had a solid start to the season, and has been playing against a higher level of competition than Onyewu (who needs to get out of Belgium and to a higher level league).
Twellman has apparently been added to the roster, so look for him to start up top with Dempsey. Hopefully Clint can get back to his early season form and get on the scoreboard. The Swiss defense may be missing Senderos due to a back injury, so they may be weak at the back. However, if Djourou is on his game, he is more than capable of covering.
The game can be seen on Fox Soccer Channel at 2:30 ET. Stay tuned for an in-depth review after the game.
Long Weekend….
Sorry for the lack of posts this weekend. Both Danny and I were away for the weekend, so neither of us could do anything. Sorry about that. Back tomorrow with new posts!
What To Do With Giuseppe Rossi?
Everyone who follows US Soccer knows who Giuseppe Rossi is. Rossi was born in New Jersey, and lived there until he was 13. At 13, he and his family moved to Italy, where he lived until he was 17. He was then bought by Manchester United, loaned out to Parma, came back to Man Utd, and then he was sold to Villarreal. That’s the background, but that’s not what this article is about.
It’s no real secret that US Soccer has contacted Rossi about possibly suiting up in the Red, White, and Blue. Recently, Coach Bradley in an interview with Bradley, Bradley mentioned to Ives Galarcep that he had indeed spoken to Rossi about playing for the US. Rossi has played for Italy on every level from u-16 through u-21. But he has until next February to make a decision. Will he stick it out with Italy or will he join the US?
In all honesty, the more prestigious team is Italy. They’ve won World Cups, they have World Class players, and the majority of their country actually cares about the team. On the US side, you have no World Cups, but you do have an up and coming squad, with a solid fan base. If Rossi were to play for the US, he could become a superstar. Nike could pick him as the new poster boy of American soccer, and the team could be built around the likes of Rossi, Altidore, and Dempsey. Rossi makes this team much better up front, and his skill and experience from playing all over Europe would be invaluable to the US squad. As a US fan, I hope Rossi decides to come play for the US. But I am also a realist, and you should be too. Italy doesn’t have much talent coming down the pipe when it comes to strikers and the Toni’s, Inzaghi’s, and Del Piero’s of Italy aren’t getting any younger. Chances are that in 2010, Rossi will not only be playing for Italy, but starting for the Azzurri as well. In the end, I think the US will be ok without Rossi, but he would be nice to have in the fold. We’ll finally know what his intentions are soon enough though.
There is one other thing I’d like to address when it comes to Rossi. I’ve read in many spaces that US fans hate Giuseppe Rossi with a passion. My question is why. Most seem to think that he abandoned the US by leaving to play for Italy. Listen, he has dual citizenship, so he can play for whomever he wants. If he wants to play for Italy, that’s fine. I won’t like it, but what can we as fans do? He chose Italy. That’s his choice. I refuse to take this game seriously enough to the point where I hate a player just because he doesn’t want to play for the country I live in and support. There’s no need for hate in this game, and it needs to stop. Will I be upset if Rossi chooses Italy over the US? Yes, because I feel that he can really help this team and that he would be great for US Soccer in general. Will I hate him if he chooses Italy? No, and neither should anyone else.
USA Roster For Game With Switzerland Announced
The USSF has announced its roster for the Oct 17th showdown with Switzerland. The lineup is as follows….
GOALKEEPERS- Marcus Hahnemann (Reading FC), Tally Hall (Esbjerg), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS- Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jay Demerit (Watford FC), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Steve Purdy (1860 Munich)
MIDFIELDERS- Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Eddie Lewis (Derby County), Danny Szetela (Racing Santander)
FORWARDS- Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Preston Zimmerman (Hamburger SV), Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96)
The first thing that jumps out at me when I see this lineup is the number of u-20 players from this Summer’s u-20 World Cup. Its nice to see Freddy Adu and Danny Szetela possibly getting games for the national team, but more importantly, this is a chance for the young guys to impress Coach Bob Bradley before next year’s 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The second thing that I’ve noticed is that there is no Landon Donovan or Jozy Altidore. Why? Both players are still with their teams, fighting for position in the MLS playoffs. So that’s that. I like the lineup, and I like the fact that we’re playing in Europe.
Back later with a report on everyone’s favorite Italian American, Giuseppe Rossi!
Credit To Soccer By Ives for the rosters.
Fulham Continues Unlucky Streak
As a subscriber to Fox Soccer Channel, I have been able to watch many Fulham games this season. The first thing you notice about the Cottagers this season, is that they look absolutely nothing like last season. In many of their games they control a majority of the play. The striker force, lead by Dempsey and Healy, has scored more than both Chelsea and Manchester United. Yet still, they find themselves in the relegation zone. At first glance, I would blame poor defense. After all they have allowed 16 goals in 9 games. But after watching most of their games, they don’t defend too poorly. Sure they allow one or two chances per game, but who doesn’t? But for some reason, those couple of chances per game, are ALWAYS put away against Fulham. In my opinion, they don’t deserve to be in the relegation zone, and probably won’t stay there for long.
All of that being said, Fulham went 2-0 down to Portsmouth on Sunday. The Pompey goals were scored against the run of play, with Bocanegra even deflecting one by veteran keeper Kasey Keller. Dempsey performed impressively against the physically dominating Sol Campbell. But once again, it was not their day, and they go back into the relegation zone.
Elsewhere in the league, Feilhaber got his first start for Derby in the 1-0 loss to Reading, giving Marcus Hahnemann a much needed clean sheet to boost his confidence. Tim Howard of Everton let in 3 in a loss against Newcastle. The game was tied 1-1 for most of the second half, but came to an exciting end with three goals all after the 85th minute. Brad Friedel gave a solid performance for Blackburn in their win against Birmingham.
Over in Holland, Michael Bradley was involved in an historic game where Heerenveen defeated Heracles Almelo 9-0. The score wasn’t the most shocking part. The biggest shock is that 7 of Heerenveen’s goals were scored by Brazilian striker Afonso Alves, and 4 of them were scored in the space of 9 minutes. Highlights of the game can be seen here. With a performance like this, it is hard to see how a team from a bigger league won’t pick him up in either January or next summer. He really seems to have an eye for goal, scoring 31 league goals last season and 6 UEFA Cup goals.