USA Stinks At Wembley
Posted on May 29, 2008 - Filed Under News | 1 Comment
Last nights US vs. England game was a major disappointment for USA soccer fans. We never looked like threatening an England team that is full of big names. but is no longer a world power.
It was a lackluster U.S. performance with many players showing that the step up in class from beating Barbados to beating England is too much for them to take.
The lack of U.S. players playing on big stages is having an impact on the national team. As Liviu Bird at SoccerLens pointed out:
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Euro 2008 Squads Submitted
Posted on May 28, 2008 - Filed Under Euro 2008, Europe, News | Leave a Comment
All 16 nations submitted their 23-man squads for today’s deadline. The UEFA Euro 2008 squads are found below.
Austria
1 Alex Manninger
2 Joachim Standfest
3 Martin Stranzl
4 Emanuel Pogatetz
5 Christian Fuchs
6 René Aufhauser
7 Ivica Vastic
8 Christoph Leitgeb
9 Roland Linz
10 Andreas Ivanschitz
11 Ümit Korkmaz
12 Ronald Gercaliu
13 Markus Katzer
14 György Garics
15 Sebastian Prödl
16 Jürgen Patocka
17 Martin Hiden
18 Roman Kienast
19 Jürgen Säumel
20 Martin Harnik
21 Jürgen Macho
22 Erwin Hoffer
23 Ramazan Özcan
Coach: Josef Hickersberger
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Ferruzzi Ready for Lonestar State Showdown
Posted on May 28, 2008 - Filed Under FC Dallas, Houston, MLS | Leave a Comment
Tonight, the struggling Dynamo host the schizophrenic former Burn in a Texas State battle for steer-sized bragging rights. If HOU wins, they will get back to .500 on the season and vault past Dallas in the standings despite their ugly start. If Dallas wins, they will shake the HOU monkey off their back and seize control of 1st place in the West.
It’s as big a game as you can get this early in the year.
At the helm for Dallas is interim coach Marco Ferruzzi, who notched a win in his first game as head manager last week. Ferruzzi has been with Dallas for years and has been embraced by his players in Steve Morrow’s absence.
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Yanks Yanked Out of Craven Cottage
Posted on May 28, 2008 - Filed Under Europe, Premier League | 2 Comments
Despite a miracle run to remain in the Premiership, Fulham has decided to shed some of the American mainstays who helped prevent what seemed like certain relegation.
Carlos Bocanegra had been long rumored to be leaving Craven Cottage at the end of the season. He had falled out of favor with the front office and though he played efficient defense in over 100 matches for Fulham, he committed soccer’s cardinal sin: he offended his club’s fans by whining about not getting his new shiny million dollar deal when he wanted it. No one is surprised (or apparently sad) to see Boca go.
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Brian McBride Heading To MLS
Posted on May 28, 2008 - Filed Under Columbus Crew, News | Leave a Comment
A month or so ago we predicted that Brian McBride and Kasey Keller would be heading back to Major League Soccer. Well Fulham announced today that Brian McBride has decided to leave the club and return to America.
The former USA international forward told the club’s official website:
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No Debating Who Is World’s Greatest Player
Posted on May 28, 2008 - Filed Under Europe, Man Utd. | 3 Comments
As Manchester United completed its rare double one week ago today, I was haunted by one thought that kept popping in my head throughout the game.
“That… Cristiano… Ronaldo… is… unstoppable…”
Truly unstoppable. I mean, the other team knows what he will do, knows how he will do it, and still has no hope to stop him.
Michael Essien is heralded as the best defensive mid in the world. During the last World Cup, he singlehandedly would shut down almost every one of his opponents’ biggest scoring threats. He covers his man, as they say, like “white on rice.”
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Germany Sets 23-Man Euro Squad
Posted on May 28, 2008 - Filed Under Euro 2008, Europe | Leave a Comment
Germany’s head coach Joachim Loew dropped forward Patrick Helmes and midfielders Jermaine Jones and Marko Marin from his Euro 2008 squad on Wednesday. All three played in Tuesday’s friendly match versus Belarus. Germany ended tied with the Belarussians 2-2. Germany opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a goal from Miroslav Klose. It was his 39th international goal. An own goal gifted by Belarus allowed Die Nationalelf to enter the locker room up 2-0 at the half. Belarussian Vitali Bulyga tied the match in the second half with two goals. Afterwards, the three players were informed of their exclusion from the Euro 2008 roster.
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Sven-Goran Eriksson to coach Team Mexico
Posted on May 27, 2008 - Filed Under News | Leave a Comment
Mexican Football Federation president Justino Compean confirmed Tuesday that Sven-Goran Eriksson is very close to taking over as the new national team coach. Speaking from Sydney, where he has been attending FIFA’s annual congress, Compean claimed the Manchester City boss is about to accept the offer from Mexico.
“We only seriously considered (Luiz Felipe) Scolari and Eriksson,” Compean told Estadio W. “We’ve sorted out the details with Eriksson, and we are about to confirm him. “We are expecting to reveal (the new coach’s name) on June 2, so he can be formally unveiled (the following day). It’s about to be completed, but as long as we don’t have anything signed, we cannot reveal anything.”
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U.S. MNT Starting XI For England Friendly
Posted on May 27, 2008 - Filed Under Europe, News | 1 Comment
Terry, Hargreaves, Rooney, Ferdinand, Woodgate, Beckham, Bentley, Gerrard, Lampard, Walcott, Crouch, Owen and both Coles. These are some of the best players not only in England but in the world. Yet they will all be there tomorrow, ready to go against the overmatched U.S.
Yikes.
I don’t pity Capello when it comes to filling out the Starting XI.
How could he go wrong?
Bob Bradley, on the other hand, has some tough decisions that could greatly affect the game’s outcome. Unlike Capello, he does not have unlimited ammunition. He’s got to pick his shots, and yes, he must pick some fellas who will refrain from firing until they can see the whites of Hart’s eyes.
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MLS Stands for Missing League’s Stars
Posted on May 27, 2008 - Filed Under MLS | Leave a Comment
They are the players who put the butts squarely in the seats…
Beckham, Donovan, Joseph, De Rosario, Kljestan, etc…
But for the next couple of weeks, international friendlies will ensure some will miss key matchups. Coaches will have to turn to unproven, raw youngsters to replace stable, storied superstars.
But such is the task of the modern soccer manager, who must not only be brilliant with his full arsenal of players, but also when they are called away to bigger stages.
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