Soccer Tickets, News & Commentary
From the monthly archives:
2007 Record: 9-14-7 (5th in West)
Coach: Ruud Gullit (1st Year)
Key Players: Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Carlos Ruiz, Abel Xavier, Chris Klein
Key Pickups: Carlos Ruiz (from Dallas); Sean Franklin (Drafted 4th Overall)
Key Losses: Cobi Jones (Ret.), Chris Albright (to N.E. Revs), Joe Cannon (to San Jose)
2008 Outlook: Average
Lord. I have been dreading drafting this preview, and not because I don’t like David Beckham. I am just so sick of hearing about him.
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In the Pan-Pacific Championship in Honolulu Hawaii the Houston Dynamo will meet Gamba Osaka from Japan in the finals. Houston easily booked their ticket to the finals with a 3-0 drubbing of Sydney FC, while Gamba Osaka beat the L.A. Galaxy 1-0.
Gamba Osaka 1 Los Angeles Galaxy 0
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The inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship is currently being held in Hawaii, and the MLS have sent its best team and most famous player to the islands to mark the occasion. Of course, the most famous player did not fare as well as the nation’s best club.
On Wednesday, the Dynamo thoroughly dominated Australia’s Sydney FC, while Japan’s Gamba Osaka dispatched the Galaxy in a yawner.
The Galaxy game would have been nearly unrecognizable as professional soccer if not for Becks. Granted, Donovan was unavailable, but Gullit’s bunch looked absolutely anemic offensively. Defensively, the young back line actually held pretty firm, but overall the Galaxy looked overmatched. It took one score from the Brazillian Bare in the third minute to put the game away.
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Toronto FC recently played their last exhibition game in Florida against the Chicago Fire, which ended in a 1-1 draw. All in all the pre season record was not bad as the club went 2-1-3. Toronto FC played games against D.C. United, Odense Boldklub, U.S. Under 17 National Team, Kansas City Wizards, and Chicago Fire.
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I have spent the last two days watching the world’s top soccer players take part in the UEFA Champions League. Forget the World Cup, European Championship or COPA America, the best soccer competition in the world is the Champions League.
Can you name any of the top players who are not participating in Champions League soccer? I cannot. The teams left in the Champions League at this stage are all-star teams, stacked with the best players from around the world.
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As the season approaches the three teams in the Eastern Conference with the biggest question marks are in the Midwest with the Columbus Crew, the Kansas City Wizards, and the Chicago Fire. All these teams are trying to catch up to their counterparts on the east coast, who have significantly improved their lineups, especially DC United. Here are some concerns of Columbus, Kansas City, and Chicago.
Columbus Crew
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After posting some of my predictions about the 2008 MLS All-Star lineup, I started thinking about the rest of the world and how MLS’s best would fare against their best 11. My conclusion? Not too well. But then again, what team could compete with such a collection of stars?
So, without further ado, as a companion to my MLS’s Best XI post, here is the lineup I would go with if I could choose from every player in the world:
Starting Eleven:
I would employ a 3-4-3 (simply too many great forwards to only put two up top):
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Yesterday we covered the revenues of the top 20 soccer teams in the world in terms of revenue and how that Real Madrid Still Richest Soccer Club in the World . But how do Real Madrid and Manchester United stock up with the largest US sports franchises like the New York Yankees and Washington Redskins in terms of revenue?
Lets first look at the annual revenues of the teams in America’s largest leagues. According to Forbes magazine the top 5 baseball teams in terms of revenue are:
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For the third straight year Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid topped the list of richest soccer clubs in the world. Three teams from the Premier League made the top five in Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal, while another Spanish League team Barcelona is the other club in the top 5. The list is for the money generated but does not include transfer fees.
Dan Jones the partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, the group that compiled the list, stated, “This is the first time that any country has had three clubs in the top five of the Money League. Arsenal’s move to the Emirates Stadium has transformed their revenues whilst Chelsea’s revenue increase sees them return to the top five.”
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I am not an executive with a soccer club. Heck, I have no management experience at all. Yet, sometimes I have to think I could do a better job than some of the people managing teams in the MLS. Exhibit A? Alexi Lalas.
Seriously, Galaxy fans have to be wondering what Lalas is thinking these days. On Friday, Lalas traded midfielder Quavas Kirk to DC United in exchange for defender Greg Vanney.
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