Liverpool FC To Play MLS All-Stars?
According to The Daily Mail, Major League Soccer has approached Liverpool FC in an attempt to get the English giants to play against the MLS All-Stars next summer. The report also proposes the idea of Liverpool playing Italian giants Juventus in Montreal to gauge the interest in Canada. As much as I like seeing European teams come to the US to play against MLS clubs and all stars, I don’t see the point, besides making money, and possibly raising the profile of soccer in the States. If MLS wins, people view them as being that much closer to the EPL. The reality is that when European teams come over(Celtic and Chelsea recently), they are generally in preseason form, and therefore that much easier to beat. If MLS were to lose, the media in Europe can sling even more mud at MLS, especially if the game is a blowout.
When it comes to raising the profile of the game here, why do we need European sides to do that? I’ve long believed in the idea that if soccer is to become one of the big 4 sports in America, then it will need to do so from within. While players like David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco are nice, the fact is they are not Americans, so they can only do so much for MLS. I’ll never understand why so much emphasis is placed on David Beckham when we have future American stars such as Jozy Altidore in MLS as well. We live in a country that thrives on the idea of an American hero. David Beckham can’t be our American hero, but Jozy Altidore can be. Right now, MLS cannot hold onto its stars, and many of them leave for the greener pastures of Europe(Clint Dempsey, Freddy Adu, etc.) Instead of focusing on spending money on big name players from Europe who are on the downside of their careers, focus that money into building up youth programs and MLS in general so players won’t want to leave. The fact is, I feel as though these players have to leave, because they are wasting both their time and talent by staying in MLS right now. It is high time for MLS to take the next step in becoming a bigger and better league. For the youth, we only have to look to the streets of Brazil to see how the young kids there are doing tricks and having fun. Youth soccer is too structured, too English if you will. Let the kids have fun, and chances are you’ll have more imaginative Ronaldinho’s(not the Ronaldinho of today, 2 years ago) instead of robotic players. Granted, I understand that many people in America could care less about soccer. But these same people are probably turned off by the idea of seeing David Beckham 134 times in one game too. Fans love a winner, but how can MLS become a winner when they depend on Europe for exposure?
Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing the Euro teams come over and play. But while seeing them is nice, MLS needs to soon realize that Europe can’t make MLS bigger, only we can do that.
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.
US Women Downed By Brazil 4-0
The US Women were defeated by Brazil 4-0 this morning, ending what was supposed to be a dominant run by the US women. In a way, it was the end of domination for the US as Brazil proved that it was a much better side than the US. What lessons can we take from this defeat? Well lets see what we can come up with………
1. Hope Solo Should Have Started This Game. I see Brianna Scurry’s record against the Sabmba Queens, but if we are honest with ourselves, Hope Solo should have started the game for the US. While she gave up 2 goals in the first game of the tournament, she had not allowed a goal in 3 straight games. She was the hot goalie, and she should have played. So Why did coach Greg Ryan make this move? He based his decision on Scurry’s previous games against Brazil, and while she was undefeated against Brazil, those games occurred while Scurry was in her prime, something that she is not in right now. The fact is, at 25, Solo should have not only been the keeper for this game, but the keeper next year in the Olympics. I’ll be curious to see how Coach Ryan goes about fixing this volatile situation in the future, as Solo is very important to this team. Speaking of Coach Ryan….
2. Coach Greg Ryan Made Too Many Mistakes In This Tournament. His mistake of playing Scurry over Solo is well documented already, but he severely hindered his team’s chances by completely neglecting his bench when it came to his team. Even in blowouts by the US, Ryan did not sub out his star players, and it showed against Brazil. The Americans looked tired and just plain out of it, especially in the second half when the game was out of reach.
3. The US Is No Longer The Dominant Team In Women’s Soccer. Every year, more and more teams get closer to the US in terms of quality and skill, and we should not expect this trend to change. Brazil, Germany, and England are just a few of the teams that pose a threat to the US, and if the US is not careful, it can and might be left behind. The US front line and back line are excellent, but the midfield needs serious work before 2008. Hope Solo also needs to be back in between the pipes come 2008, or this team could be in trouble. But with Marta, who might just be the world’s greatest female player today, leading a strong Brazilian team, the US can no longer call itself the best in the world.
4. At Some Point, We Need To Stop Crowning Our Teams Before They Win. Nike called this team “The Greatest Team You’ve Never Heard Of.” And they were right. I watch a lot of soccer, and outside of Abby Wambach and Hope Solo, I couldn’t name a single player on the team. As I watched the games, I learned that this team is good, but its not as great as it was made out to be. The same thing was done before Germany 2006 with the Men’s National Team. While we love our teams and think they can win anything, we have to realize that at the moment, we simply cannot hype our teams like this anymore, because all we do is set ourselves up for disappointment.
5. This Is The End Of A Decent Summer For US Soccer. We won the Gold Cup, got demolished at Copa America, and disappointed at the u-20 and u-17 World Cups. And now we’re bounced out of the Women’s World Cup. If you look back at it , the only tournament that went terribly for us was Copa America. I’m excited about the future of US Soccer, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming matches for both the Men and Women.
Eddie Johnson Close To Derby Move
Eddie Johnson has admitted that he is close to moving tothe English Premier League club Derby County today. Johnson has scored 14 goals in 18 games for his MLS club Kansas City. I’m not sure what to think of this move. Everyone and their mother knows we need a quality striker up top for the national team. I think that it is unrealistic to expect Jozy Altidore to come in immediately and dominate the way he is capable of. He’ll be great down the road, but as of right now, he can’t and will not dominate any national team games. So where does that leave Eddie?
A move to the Premier League will be excellent for his game. He has good size, strong, and has world class speed. His game would be good in England, because of these traits whereas in Italy or Spain, he would fail significantly because he lacks the technical skills it takes to succeed in those leagues. Hopefully Johnson makes this move. In other news, David Beckham might get left out of the Euro 2008 squad by England manager Steve McClaren. Fact is, Shaun Wright Phillips is faster, a better attacker and just better on the wing than Beckham. We’ll have to see whether McClaren includes him or not, but if he isn’t, its good news for the Galaxy and bad news for Beckham himself.
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.
Daily Roundup: Mcbride, Ching, 9 Goals!
Wow. What a day. Lets jump right in!
Starting with the EPL, Fulhma suffered a tough 2-1 loss today against Middlesbrough. What’s even worse for the team is that American capt. Brian Mcbride will be out for several months after dislocating his left kneecap. Tough break(no pun intended) for the striker as today was his 100th appearance with Fulham. Clint Dempsey came on after the 30th min, and played well, except he missed a wide open goal. Carlos Bocanegra had another good game, again playing 90 mins. In the Reading and Everton matchup, American keepers Tim Howard and Marcus Hahnemann. Rumor has it that USA National Team Coach Bob Bradley was in the press box for this game. Reading won the game in the 44th min after Ireland international Stephen Hunt slotted a shot past Howard for the only goal of the match. Bobby Convey also made his season debut for Reading, replacing Hunt in the 79th minute. Derby County was crushed by Tottenham 4-0. Benny Feilhaber was on the bench for Derby, but he did not play. Eddie Lewis was not included in this game.
Quick update for the USMNT: Brian Ching will replace Josh Wolff for the USA Sweden game Wednesday, Aug 22nd. Wolff has been excused from the game for personal reasons.
In MLS, the LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls stole the show. A 9 goal affair in front of a sellout crowd of 66,000+ made this the most exciting match of the season as New York topped LA 5-4 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. It was hard to pick a man of the match with so many players contributing, but it doesn’t even matter. From the start of the game, the atmosphere was electric and every time David Beckham touched the ball, camera flashes and screams could be seen and heard. From the first whistle, the goals just kept coming. Juan Pablo Angel scored the first but Carlos Pavon answered with 2 goals of his own, both of which were assisted by Beckham. New York responded with 3 of its own with Clint Mathis scoring the equalizer and Jozy Altidore scoring a brace to put NY up 4-2.(That sound you heard every time Altidore scored? Cha-Ching! More on this in a bit.) LA responded very quickly with Landon Donovan basically taking the ball and scoring on his own. Edson Buddle tied the game at 4 all but Angel won the game for the Red Bulls with his goal in the 88th minute. Danny and I were watching this game at our homes and we couldn’t believe how much action this game had. I think it says 2 things about both teams. For LA, it shows just how important Beckham is to the Galaxy. He was all over the field in this game, playing a part in 3 of the goals, but more importantly, being a leader on the pitch. He deserves the armband, and its a good thing that Donovan decided to give it to him. We also got to see Beckham lose his temper a bit. Dave Van Den Bergh came in studs up and Becks and needless to say, he was a bit upset. He could be seen yelling and was visibly angry. This is the kind of passion every team needs. For New York, it shows just how dangerous this team can be when it is clicking like it was tonight. Both teams should be concerned with their back lines though. There was no defense in this game at all. This will be something that Bruce Arena and Frank Yallop will have to work on with their teams if they want to continue to win matches.
Now that I’ve covered that, I have a few gripes with MLS at the moment. First and foremost, Jozy Altidore needs to leave MLS. Soon. His skill level can be developed in Europe more than it can be in MLS. We can’t afford for him to be another Eddie Johnson. But MLS has to do this right. There’s no reason they can’t get 10 mil+ for a talent like Altidore. But they cannot handle him like they did with Clint Dempsey. For the sake of Altidore and the national team, going to Europe is a must for Jozy. Second, enough with the astro turf. This makes no sense. No other league plays on this stuff and neither should MLS. For the time being, there isn’t much they can do. But with new teams being formed, make sure these teams have grass fields. Soccer is to be played on real grass, not fake grass. And finally, will someone at MLS tell the schedule makers that playing games the day after international friendlies is unnecessary? Case in point. Beckham and Donovan will each be playing games for England and the US respectively on Aug 22nd. The Galaxy have a game the 23rd. So Beckham and Donovan will have to play for their countries, then turn around, fly back across the ocean to LA, and play the very next day against Chivas USA. Its incredibly taxing on the players and it doesn’t make any sense. No other leagues schedule their games like this, and its high time for MLS to follow suit. That’s it for the night guys. Back tomorrow with more reports from Europe and MLS.
Long Lost Brothers?
Danny actually brought this up, and looking at it, I can see it a bit. What do you guys think?