It hurts to restart coverage like that - especially missing out on the super-juicy Ronaldo-transvestite drama - but now a couple of recent incidents demand quick clarification, among them:
TIME selected Kaká as No. 29 of TIME 100, their own ranking of the most important people in a print media magazine such as TIME.
That's nice.
Not so nice is that they let Kasey Keller take the religious angle in writing his homage.
Why? Because after cursory remarks about Kaká being special Keller resorts to writing about Kaká's faith, famously displayed by his unduly display of the evangelical christian's underwear covered by the letters "I belong to Jesus."
Wrong, Kasey! Jesus, God et al. cannot be play a part in football because football is religion, and thus it speaks to thee "Thou shalt not have any other gods than me."
And if your don't believe me, here's proof, never has blasphemy been cheesier:
Our sincere apologies, but the other life is calling - lots of work waiting. Plus, I'll be gone for a while to where those guys are playing:
Vivalasuperliga.com will be back in a week or two. In the meantime, check out our favorite crush in the blogging world: http://petitemaoiste.blogspot.com/ - if my parsing of football was only half as proficient as Petite Maoïste's command of latino art/ fashion/ beauty/ female-identity-politics (not to mention her grasp on writing), I would dare calling her a sister publication!
Pa' que tu lo sepas: Puerto Rico is the island where governors get indicted for alleged corruption instead of resigning because of a hooker scandal. (And more allegedly P.R. Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vilá got only slapped in a politically motivated move - but whatever.)
More importantly, the national football team of Puerto Rico defeated the Dominican Republic yesterday, advancing by Peter Villegas' late 1:0 to the second CONCACAF qualification round for the FIFA world cup 2010 in South Africa.
Furthermore, Il Vocero reports that the national team of Puerto Rico has recently advanced from 195 to 168th in the FIFA national team ranking. If you watch the first part of their friendly against the Socawarriors from Trinidad & Tobago, you might think that even more is possible.
The next team to beat is nominally much stronger Honduras (FIFA ranked 58) which the Boricuas will face on June 14th.
Should Puerto Rico get past this hurdle they'd enter the real CONCACAF qualifying round - which should be a lot of fun given 3.5 million fanáticos on the island and roughly the same amount in the U.S. mainland.
StuartFranklin/GettyImages (note: not photoshopped, just ripped off)
Is this man:
o guilty of blatant tactical football blunders?
o the culprit of a shattering 0:4 loss against Germany?
o past his prime?
o ill / an alcoholic?
o a personal tragedy?
o a national tragedy?
o Jakob Kuhn, coach of the Swiss national team?
If bold is black (Cornel West), is Philip Anschutz Afro-American then? Just as his brothers David Beckham, Don Garber, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush? Perhaps Barack Obama really is changing this country.
Let me explain: On Wednesday, according to the New York Times, all those people and then some (Nike, Adidas, Visa, Anheuser-Busch etc.) convened (or video-conferred) for a $1250-a-table fundraiser for Harlem Youth Soccer / FC Harlem Lions (target: $300K cash for the construction of a 1 million dollar pitch development).
The benefit also featured a ceremony where Pele was presented with a lifetime achievement award by David Beckham, Reuters reported today (Adam Spangler's Thisisamericansoccer.com (TIAS) has more infos and some nice shots from the event).
That made me wonder: just another, slightly grander Beckham/MLS/football-for-all promotion for the U.S. soccer audience of the future?
Or, provided the NYT story's emphasis on the Harlem angle of the black-tie benefit is correct, is someone trying to lay the foundations for an inner city New York football club in Harlem?
In the latter case, you'd have to admire the visionary balls of MLS. Obviously, they've decided to get the Harlem Footballtrotters going, and to compete with brand names in baseball, basketball, and bebop.
MLS Jefe Don Garber, Edison Arantes do Nascimento, Irv Smalls, FC Harlem, and you-know-who. Picture courtesy of Adam Spangler's TIAS.
Maybe - if true - the bold move will pay off. But perhaps betting on the Barrio Bombers or the Williamsburg Wizards would have been less of a gentrifying gamble.
Not long ago, I deplored the minority reporting by the paper of record when it comes to soccer. Then the Cuban soccer defector story broke.
Let's see, where in the New York Times could this news possibly end up? Bingo! Prominently on the first page of last Saturday's sports section. The politics of soccer did the trick again! A reunion with the grandfather, a family left behind with the political enemy, an uncertain future - boy, can it get any better than that?
All the soccer news fit to print got an even stronger shot in the arm on Sunday. What better epitome for the politics of football than a Iraqi national soccer team player (among the guys who won the Asian Cup recently, remember?), fatally shot in Baghdad last Thursday?
None. And so the New York Times went on to print a photo of Monthir Khalaf on page 18 and added the caption "Iraqis Honor a Fallen Sports Hero."
After the Swissy Invasion, it's the Cubans turn. Since Tuesday, a total of 7 players of the Cuban under 23 football team have abandoned their national duties and deflected after tying with the U.S. [sic] in an Olympic qualifier. The missing defectors and an additional yellow card suspension left the Cuban team with only 10 players available for their game against Honduras (which they lost 0:2 yesterday).
"Give me your strikers, goal keepers, your huddled masses of defenders and midfielders yearning to breathe free!" Immigration country U.S.A. is alive and kicking.
The fugitive players, among them team captain Yenier Bermúdez and goal keeper José Manuel Miranda have told the St. Petersburg Times that they wanted to "principally play for the MLS and professional soccer".
And stay they well may - provided that the "dry foot rule" applies (U.S. practice to allow Cuban exiles to stay in the country if they're on U.S. soil). USL franchise Miami F.C. apparently already signaled - and later recanted - interest in hiring the Cubans, Reuters reports.
Here's a little old world patriotism immigration bit: despite recent losses of the greenback, even Swissies come to play football in the MLS.
First there was Raphaël Wicky who started with Chivas USA in February after sorting out transfer twists via the player agency branch of IFA. Hailing from Bundesliga's HSV and Swiss Super League's FC Sion (and a recent injury), Wicky's favorite gig is central defender although he can play anywhere in defense and defensive midfield.
Richard Scudamore's trial balloon of the 39th chamber of the EPL has crashed down rather abruptly, but he sure got something rolling. A good week after canceling the meeting with the pope of football, Joseph Blatter, in Zürich, Switzerland, blogs and media are still bustling. Malice and moderation engage with the madness and the method of Richard Scudamore.
"Hey, Sepp Blatter what's the matter?"
I don't want nobody to drown in working-class football nostalgia and beautiful game purism, but dare we just add here that football has already become the next laboratory of the capitalist ascent? Just like art, urban living, music, and whatever else is fun and cool, football has gone from proletarian commodity to spleen of the bohème and from there to being a luxury product of the higher strata of society.
It's also called gentrification. As the sell-out is happening around you, you watch your money joining the cash that's being stuffed into the pockets of the gentrifiers. With mandatory memberships (£30) for ticket buyer pre- and post-qualification (£50) we've been going down that road since a while.
"So, who is Richard Scudamore?" we asked, answered and stand completed, by the BBC's homonymous - at least in the google news overview - piece from February 20.
Now the BBC's website put the title "Where now for Scudamore?".
Lord Scudamore's Macchiavellian looking picture by itself is worth a klick, not to mention the emphasis on his Karl-Roveian achievements as advertiser and marketeer with the British Yellow Pages and Thomson Corporation in New York.
So, who is Richard Scudamore? At the end of a BBC radio interview with David Davies he put himself and FA CEO Brian Barwick in the category of "suits like us". That's probably not entirely off the mark.
If you manage to mute the bootlicking South China Morning Post reporter, here's a sample of Sir Scudamore lecturing on "platform-neutral bases" favoring convergence in the mobile media sector, property rights development in a maturing Chinese football broadcasting market, as well as the direct relationship approach of the EPL with broadcasters.
Scudamore's formation with Thomson in New York might have helped polish his content distribution savvy and prove specifically valuable for future dealings with the MLS and the U.S. market.
Coolly managing 200 mio. GBP in international EPL rights by next year: Sir Scudamore.
OK, it seems we have to interrupt our serious blog post backdating effort. Why? Because of EPL's chief executive Richard Scudamore's already infamous world league proposal. What's it all about? On February 10th, The International Herald Tribune's sports chief Rob Hughes put it quite aptly: If the world qua non-English investors already own 70% of the British Premier League, then why should the world go see the games in England? Regularly export EPL games, or the entire 39th round, to global super cities like Tokyo, Dubai, Beijing, New York and whatever.
Exclusive: Aldous Huxley on the Brave New World League!!
That our brave new world wants Reading, Birmingham and Sunderland to play all over the earth rings about as true as to say Italians have been waiting for Starbucks. Then again, Starbucks is thriving in Italy. Perhaps LA Galaxy's General Manager Alexis Lalas set the tone for things to come: "It's a no-brainer - when it comes to the United States you want as much bang for your buck as possible". U-S-A!! U-S- ... oh well.
FIFA and UEFA have voiced opposition, (hey: Platini and Blatter agreed for the first time! Just like Heidegger once predicted, where there's danger...), Franz Beckenbauer sees England's chances for a successful World Cup '18 bid in jeopardy, but the last chapter on the global expansion of national clubs beyond franchises is far from being written.
Stay tuned for more news from a world where football may be about to go Walmart and McDonalds. Or just klick for yourselves:
Upon reading the New York Times' recent ambitious and heartfelt story about Shamila Kohestani, currently New Jersey resident and captain of the Afghani women soccer team, I couldn't help myself thinking: why do New York Times 1000+ words features about soccer always have to have the touch of the exotic?
Because it's not the first time. Here's a list: In recent times we had the heartbreaking story about the FUGEES, immigrant and fugitive soccer youngsters and their struggle against a Southern mayor for the right to kick on a field somewhere in Georgia (this prime Sunday front page drama has already been made into a screenplay and bought by Universal).
Then recently there was a soccer entrepreneur story from Colorado paired with an environmental carbon emission offset narrative (kickglobalwarming.com [sic!]). Another time we learnt how Korean soccer fans and Christians in Queens combine their love for soccer with the love of God. A huge feature about soccer, hooliganism and racism in Europe before the World Cup 06 falls in the very same colonial category of the other as well as the story about the "ethnically diverse", immigrant sports (= soccer) town in Harrison, NJ.
Now, I read every single one of those stories with pleasure and I would not want to miss them.
However, the pattern behind it leads me to think that to some New York Times editors, soccer is a preferred projection target for dreams of exoticism and social otherness, most of the time mediated by the inclusion of a minority or other socially more or less marginal group. While the claim that soccer in the U.S. is in itself a relatively marginal phenomenon is not entirely without merit, the NYT minority reporting inflates the special case "soccer" beyond proportions. It emphasizes the difference between U.S. sports and the rest of the world and unfortunately allows only for a monocular perception instead of testing its limits by inclusion.
This isn't a cross-the-board reproach to NYT editors. The Times offers some (limited) soccer coverage in the sports section (kudos to George Vecsey's reporting from L'Angolo), and entertains a serious blogging effort. Still, these are for the initiated and advanced soccer fans. A larger audience will walk away from the NYTimes' reporting with the impression that soccer is a strange athletic discipline for the oppressed and the marginalized, for minorities and social hooligans, all of which are probably not very U.S. American.
I find that romantic, too - yet, I think this shoud be corrected.
Credit where credit's due: This viral ad for the new soccer game of FIFAStreet3 really works, even if it's fake. If you doubt it, do the producers the favor and start feverishly googling the Canadian martial arts guys from Team Ryouko in Toronto, the music or watch the high-resolution version of the ad on the FIFAStreet3 player in slow motion (hint: it's streamed from a EA server...).
Blog – It's the football, stupid! - Obama scores as soccer dad
MARC NEUMANN
VivalaSuperLiga.com
Surprise in the current issue of TIME Magazine: Barack Obama is juggling a football qua soccer ball. A photo in TIME's print edition shows the presidential hopeful in a gym. Surrounded by plenty of sports equipment he has chosen to engage with a football.
Here's a - really crappy, our apologies - shot of the photo (as TIME's own multimedia section does not seem to feature the pic):
Skeptics will say it's only an attempt to win over Clinton-friendly soccer moms, but so what? If Obama's "CHANGE" somehow pertains to the status of football in this country, then that's an end worthy the means.
Poor Hillary stands to loose more ground: It's the football, stupid!
4 goals and lots of pace, exciting to the last minute, yesterday's friendly between U.S. and Mexico was fun watching. Especially this morning on ESPN360.com.
For those not yet familiar with it: it's the sportscaster's web TV. Yup, video online. Its football programming share isn't that bad. And if you're a Verizon customer you can watch Italian league games in their entirety. And in addition to that Champions League, like the upcoming Roma vs. Liverpool. Live. On your computer. And the best thing: the RCN technology works just fine, visuals are OK.
The revenue-oriented development of Pier 40 closes in quickly. After last's week's article (we reported), the New York Times ran a lobbying article disguised as an opinion piece today.
Apparently, out of three development proposals, Related Companies' project to make Pier 40 a permanent home for the Cirque du Soleil, movie theater and more great mall culture included, has the best chances to be approved by the Hudson River Park Trust's trustees.
A second proposal calls for a new high school, among other things; athletic fields would be moved to the rooftop.
Finally, Pier 40 Partnership is the community-based and least-developmental approach and wants to keep playing fields where they are and preserve the character of Pier 40.
Photo by Robert Simko/The BPC Broadsheet
The weirdly inconsequential NYT article (it's really reporting AND opinion, thus lobbying) amounts to a murky endorsement of the Cirque du Soleil proposal while asking for more city funds for renovation of the pier. Smells like opportunism.
We suggest you go see for yourself whom to side with.
Check out, and support!, the community-friendly alternative and the site of the Pier Park & Playground Association @ http://www.pier40.org
Imagine it's ANC, and nobody's watching. African Nation's Cup, not African National Congress, that is.
For weeks people all over the place (e.g. on on Thisisamericansoccer.com) have been asking where to watch those games. Nevada Smiths carries at least the semifinals but it's not all the time on everybody's way and everybody's liking. Otherwise, not much going on. Not even the New York Times did an ANC reporting effort, probably due to her own little anti-soccer coverage crusade as one sometimes is compelled to call their journalist endeavors in all things football.
So it's up to the market then - enter the Wall Street Journal! In a sportswear, sponsoring and branding strategy feature about Puma the underdog [sic], the WSJ shows plenty of what is lacking in many other media outlets: interest in African football - errr, well, or at least in its marketability. Here's an example of the advertising you've been missing from ANC broadcasts rather unavailable to New York audiences - you'll probably get over it:
Heavyweight ad for a lightweight shoe, the v1.08 Puma.
Anyone still remembering lower Manhattan Pier 25 and 26 from about seven years ago? The makeshift Hudson River marine life museum, the crappy minigolf? Or two years later, the two-story balcony on the Hudson behind the beach volley courts?
They're gone, as will be the next downtown west side treasure soon: Pier 40. It's a fantastic place aesthetically and conceptually. Built in 1964 for the cruise ships of the Holland America Line, it had an electrolytic system to keep its piles from corroding. The system was shut down during the city's dark days in the 70s - for energy conservation.
Oscar (again!) on Pier 40. Who is Oscar Arrieta anyway?!
Nowadays Pier 40 is used as a parking lot, But best of all, it plays host to a bunch of soccer fields in the inner courtyard, indoors on the third floor and - most fabulously - on the roof. Leagues, kids, pick-ups - it was all happening there. There's little less sublime than kicking the ball on the roof of Pier 40 at sunset on a balmy summer's night: you're on the Hudson, behind you downtown Manhattan, in front of you Jersey and New York Bight, Ms. Liberty and Verrazzano included.
It might be soon gone, according to yesterday's New York Times story. A couple of community activists seem to oppose the dire fate toward which Pier 40 is heading, but given the pace of development that's been hitting the city lately, their chances are quite dim.
The New York Times reports today that the little rubber pieces that fall out of your boots after playing soccer on one of the city's 77 existing synthetic fields (and 23 under construction) may be a health hazard.
While what they're called sounds friendly, they're anything but. Those PAHs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are made of shredded car tires and those, while cost- and care-efficient, may be carcinogenic.
Who knew? The New York City Parks Department didn't and has asked the Health Department to look into it. Once the results are in, wouldn't it be great to go back to playing football on real grass (which VivalaSuperLiga.com has advocated before)?
Those two NFL Superbowl games today added to an amount of boredom that calls for a blog entry. So be it: American Football is awfully boring.
Yeah-yeah, I know, strategy.
I've given it several tries, went to see Superbowls and other games, sober and tipsy, in analytical and exuberant mood. Today I even watched in company, and no bad word shall cross my lips about the crowds watching the Giants and the Packers in lovely Kinsale Tavern in the Upper East Side (where they still cross out "London" in the word "Londonderry" on the map of the island of Ireland). Those folks seemed genuinely nice people trying to have a good time - except that they were probably bored to death. Sure, they could have complained a bit more about the referees' constant anti-NYGiants calls because that's usually fun. But obviously they were just too lackluster, and I don't blame them.
Because real thrill in American Football is rare. Stunning passes, catches and interceptions are just rare. And the lovely musings about the politics of extreme homoerotics (bugarrónes!) and race relations in that game only take you so far. There may be a moment of live crash test dummies, but let's face it: Projecting high testosterone into a display of high testosterone is dull. It's is about as sparkling as the beer advertised in the ubiquitous commercial breack.
So, here's something really fizzy: Zinedine Zidane to return and play in MLS. While we believe this is as plausible as using ICAHN STADIUM for football matches this summer, it's enough to give us sweet Zizou dreams. At least until Superbowl.
Oh dear, it's overtime in Green Bay. For even more excitement, here's some sizzling Zizou:
Memo to our readers: a rich, healthy, hearty, and happy new year!
First, a heartfelt thank you for your continued support and encouragement! We would not have been capable to pull off VivalaSuperLiga.com without your help (and this goes for all three of you)! After a brief hiatus of two months we at VivalaSuperLiga.com are bouncing back into the business of Soccer/Football coverage!
We look back to an exciting half a year since the launch of VivalaSuperLiga.com. During this intense and bustling time, we have achieved much but still strive for much more. Ahead of us lie the great expectations of a make or break year. Tackling our challenges is the paramount task ahead of us. And whatever they may be, we plan to tackle them head-on. VivalaSuperLiga.com wants to:
- do a complete relaunch and redesign of VivalaSuperLiga.com in WordPress
- increase VivalaSuperLiga.com's blogging frequency at least fourfold
- add interactive, comment features
- add quality reporting of the African Nations Cup, the EURO 08, Copa Libertadores, CONCACAF, Sudamericana, the Hyundai, Honda and every other winnable beaker out there
- start sending out VivalaSuperLiga.com newsletters and press digests
- go full throttle on SEO, Google Adsense, and behavioral and targeted marketing of VivalaSuperLiga.com
- will do real-world advertising campaigns for VivalaSuperLiga.com on the East Coast, West coast, Mexico and Argentina
- find world class sponsors and advertising partners
- add a portuguese version to the bi-lingual VivalaSuperLiga.com
- and much, much more!
Sounds good, doesn't it? Promise, we will start working on this list as soon as we've figured out what we actually want to do with VivalaSuperLiga.com.
Unfortunately, so far we haven't. It's a pity, we know.
So, what do you think we should do? Stick it up our arse, as an earlier post suggested? If you have a great idea, please let us know!
Until the results are in (all three of them), we will stagger ahead and give you a bit more of the irregular same, to lure you back every now and then to VivalaSuperLiga.com. For now, you will have to do with notes from the hiatus, see below.
Quite surprisingly, on the second last day of November 2007 Zürich's Letzigrund got visitors from Yorkville and East Harlem. Despite freezing temperatures fellow NYC soccer aficionado Michael and I happened to be both in Züri, and so we went to see the clear victory by the home team which sent FCZ to the next round in the UEFA cup (they lost five games in a row after that).
Transatlantic bottom line No.1: grass is gracious.
The natural surface is a) conducive to higher control of the ball, and b) makes even a boring game more enjoyable, as players happen to be more versatile in terms of speed and short distance sprints. Don't believe it? Just check out what Zürich's moody genius Yassine Chikhaoui did in that very game (Chikhaoui's performance turned out to be a little self-promotional pitch to Bayern Munich, but still...).
Hiatus Stop 2: 15 Dec. 2007, Fulham, London: Fulham FC - Newcastle United
Again it was freezing. And despite some chunks of gracious grass flying past our astonished heads in the second row (especially during Hameur Bouazza's sideline rushes and dribblings in the second half) it was actually quite a painful match, considering paying £45 per ticket. Unfortunately, the overtime penalty for Barton all but destroyed the romanticism of prehistoric chants ("Come on, Fulham!" , sung as mi - re - do - re) by elderly men remotely resembling Andy Capp at the Cottage to which you never walk alone along the Thames Path at sunset.
Besides the retro-charm of Fulham, we got a dose of Setanta reality: A fully hydraulic camera-Borg, full-clad in technical prostheses that were highly interesting even if they block the 45-quid-view.
Transatlantic bottom line No.2: Fulham is gracious. Prehistoric chants are OK, as long as the technology is worthy of the 21st century. ESPN, take note!
Hiatus Stop 3: Jan. 4 2008, Ocean Park, San Juan, Puerto Rico: During a nice game of recreational football on a Caribbean beach, with 5 relaxed Boricuas and 2 utterly crazy gringos, my friend and artist Ricardo Hernández broke two toes of his right foot after a collision in the sand.
Transatlantic bottom line No.3: Sand is dangerous, grass still gracious, and the frost hopefully over soon.
You too can purchase this at the Chelsea Megastore!
Allow me to begin with a couple disclosures: Firstly, I am a Chelsea
supporter. I can already hear the snickers and derision, but also make
no apologies. Secondly, I am an American. What's that? Oh. The
weeks following the departure of José Mourinho in many ways have placed
a question mark over my support, but at the end of the day this club
still has many of the players whom I most enjoy watching -- Didier
Drogba, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Ricardo Carvalho to name a few.
Disappointing as Mourinho's exit was I still support the club that hein fact made successful. Roman Abramovich's money bought the team, but
it was Mourinho tactical nous that made Chelsea a winning club. In the
modern game of football, however winning is no longer sufficient so
long as there are global markets to be dominated and imaginations --
nay, paychecks -- to be won. In recent years it has been America's
footballing, erm, soccerballing imagination that has been Chelsea's
target.
To this end Chelsea Football Club have toured North America four
times in as many years during the August pre-season. As exciting as it
was as a supporter to watch them draw 1-1 with AC Milan at Giants
Stadium in late July 2005, I'm not sure in strictly footballing terms
what a tour of America or for that matter Asia brings to a club like
Chelsea or its rivals. Then again, tours of North America and Asia
never have been about football, the have been about selling jerseys.
Such money-spinning schemes have a cost, however in the form injury and
exhaustion. Last season the influential Joe Cole picked up an injury
in a match against the MLS All Stars that kept him out of most of the
entire 2006-2007 season, which also saw the English Premiership title
return to Old Trafford. Despite the cost Chelsea have not given up on
America and last week launched Chelsea FC - America, a Web site in the American idiom.
On the surface it makes complete sense -- different languages for
different markets. Chelsea already has Web sites in Chinese and Korean
as do other top clubs. FC Barcelona has sites in Catalan, Spanish,
English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. No other top clubs, however
have official sites in American nor should they. I possess no
scientific data about the demographic makeup of Chelsea supporters in
the United States, but cursory data by way of the supporters I see week
in week at Nevada Smiths in Manhattan suggests they aren't in need of
an American Chelsea site any more than Peter Kenyon is in need of a
comb. Most sing "Ten Men Went to Mow" and most bristle when Adriy
Shevchenko comes off the bench -- this lot knows football and knows
Chelsea. American fanatics of football for years have sought
authoritative coverage via satellite television, foreign magazines, and
Web sites and has at least once watched Spanish coverage of a World Cup
match because they could tolerate yet a baseball pundit's commentary.
Crudely executed find-and-replacement of "soccer" for "football" does
not in any way make for an authentic let alone intelligible user
experience. In fact at the bottom of Chelsea FC - Americais baldly offensive to American supporters and gives them no credit
whatsoever in understanding the club or football. At best the site is
a success for the baseball guys covering the World Cup, but at the
worst it is both disingenuous and a failure as the "home for Chelsea
members in America."
Crippled as I am being both a Blue and an American I know enough to
say Chelsea do better capturing the American imagination by spending
their Russian oil money on a proper forward line than on the rubbish Chelsea FC - Lite.
"I believe Cuauhtémoc can still make this his game."
"Despite his age."
"Cuauhtémoc Blanco doesn't like the cold."
"Love him or loathe him."
"Cuauhtémoc knows how to play in high altitude and warm weather."
"Blanco will go down to Mexico after the season."
Oh, get out, ESPN.
Cuauhtémoc Blanco brought more personality and more skill on that pitch than any other of the boys on the field. Where they would stumble and trip over and come across everything but the goal line he made smart openings and hit balls that kept the fire burning.
Ya nos hace falta.
No comment, just enjoy.
PS: A poor kick, mostly undisturbed by overt display of skill. Especially deployment of a coordinated effort to build up an attack was absent for most of the time. Not much of a fight neither, not a trace of all-or-nothing. Chicago coach Osorio brought in additional fire attacker Calen Carr with two minutes left. First Bruce Arena's Pablo Ángel concussion blunder, now a missed substitution that's hard to reconstruct. New England Revolution wins Eastern Conference 1 : 0 against Chicago Fire, will meet Houston or Kansas on November 18th, in the final final of the MLS playoffs.
So we've managed to avoid the worst playoff metaphor in the conference finals between Chicago and DC (hint: fire tends to burn, transitively and intransitively).
Now we're looking forward to dodge some more (some taurine in Old England anyone? Ahh, bullshit!). But first let's complain:
First a personal disclosure: I managed to miss all the goals in tonight's 2-2 draw between DC United and the Chicago Fire due to several adverse conditions. So I'm really thankful for replay and the ESPN match highlights.
One ESPN thing however not to be thankful for is the third-tier-sideways-close-to-the-corner-flag camera perspective ESPN choses to put on far too often. Why would I want to see the game from there if I could enjoy all the world-class marvels US sports camera work has to offer?! This may be good for outfield catches by the Nats against the Mets, but not for watching football.
Then, there was the instant prayer the Fire players chose to display shortly after they managed to save the tie until after the final whistle, topped by the inevitable "I belong to Jesus" t-shirt. Publicly thanking the supreme being for football fortune has recently been ruled out by FIFA and UEFA after Kaka's similar antics. One can or cannot be religious as much as one desires, in private. But in public, please: play, don't pray. Football already is religion (Nevada Smiths) - no need to put any other faith in play.
Finally, a) having playoffs and b) having them in November are questionable practices. It's a bit sad to see the best regular season team go home after a mere unfortunate 180 minutes. Besides, the thrill of a last game day championship decision validates every fixture of the entire season. There's always a reasonable chance for a league finale, especially if you have a leveling body like MLS. Also, becoming champion at midsummer's night might be more of a blast than shortly before starting to hibernate.
But notwithstanding all this narrow-minded nagging, not only were Boswell's two errors due to robotic man-marking conditioning exhilarating. The entire game was exciting, nerve-wracking, breath-taking and great fun to watch. More of the same, please!
Steve Nash: Wants to buy into Spurs. Photograph: Mark Avery/AP
The New York Times Sports Magazine reported that Canadian basketballer and Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash would one day "like to be an owner" of English football club Tottenham Hotspur.
Nash and Spurs appear an odd couple when one considers Nash's achievements in the NBA and whose paltry fortunes of have been for years overshadowed by their more successful North London rivals Arsenal. But, Nash is a keen follower of the Spurs and has been since he was young - as has been noted in footballing circles.
Nash's high profile interest probably is not enough to save Spurs from relegation -- they're currently languishing 18th in the English Premier League -- but the appointment of former Sevilla coach Juande Ramos as the new Spurs coach just might.
Hopefully the Spurs avoiding the drop is more likely than the New York Times actually using the Spurs' correct name. [Ed. note to NYT: Tottenham Hotspur or Spurs, but never Tottenham Hotspurs!]
While checking out the Huffington Post today, I was a bit surprised to find Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose and Franck Ribéry there. Bayern München's Lederhosen-clad offensive and creative department was photogenically illustrating the Miller/Coors merger.
"Mmmh, Coors Light!" (Photo HuffPo/AP)
OK, so Coors and Miller "beer" is represented by Bavarians holding 1-liter-steins containing real German brew; however, the Bavarians are in fact an Italian, a Pole and a French guy and some best athletes of Germany, worth about 60 million Euros; oh, and I should perhaps mention that one of the beer-guzzlers is actually a devout Muslim.
Right. And the photo editors at the HuffPo are drinking Kool-Aid.
OK, listen up, US-raised FOX Soccer Channel, ESPN and MLS commentators: There is AK and OK, OJ and PJ, but no PK.
It is called a penalty kick, has a clear semantics and etymology, and is pointing to a complex web of crime, guilt and punishment of sometimes Dostoyevskian proportions.
Pee-Kay, in turn, sounds wet, yellow, slippery and prone to decay. This suggests the wrong image.
Neither a Pee-Kay.
So, please, US-raised FOX Soccer Channel, ESPN and MLS commentators: just because the rest of the world says penalty or penalty kick, it doesn't mean you absolutely have to beg to differ.
Some of football's beauty is its internationalism. And even if the U.S. generally don't like that lefty stuff, please give it a try, or we'll start calling this country's capital punishment "DP".
So, three weeks ago, VivalaSuperLiga.com nagged about the absurd field occupation directives on Central Park's North Meadow. Footballers being thrown off an entirely empty pitch because it wasn't soccer season. Past Sunday, the tables were turned: a crisp, beautiful, bucolic Sunday afternoon, fields half-empty after the 3-years-old girls games had been battled to a decisive end, on the Northern tip of the Meadow three Mexican kids are kicking the ball around one of the goals.
Then, two entire baseball teams arrive, families and coolers in tow, to enjoy themselves in a game of softball. They settle on and around the diamond, start to warm up and play. Pretty nicely, actually, great entertainment. Then, an admonition of ordinary Park staff in their baby-hummers, at first this causes little commotion. That changed when a Central Park Conservancy officer pulled up in a real white car. Heated discussion ensued, but all the cursing didn't help: the softballers were shoed off the field, game over.
Congratulations, Central Park Conservancy! You alienated about 50 Dominicans and Puertoricans by rigidly following a questionable protocol.
No perks for soccer/softball jerks?
No sensibility to family values or the hispanic community living in the neighborhoods around the Northern parts of the Park who keep the ballgame alive in the city. No sense of proportion, no way you could have asked the soccer kids to move one field over to avoid insurance claims in case of softball-caused injury. Just because it's the rule: no more baseball or softball after Mid-September, no football before that.
This is utterly ludicrous.
So let us repeat: Give football/soccer and softball its due place in Central Park! Surely they can coexist.
VivalaSuperLiga.com therefore issues a second call to action! Send emails and letters to or call them at:
Douglas Blonsky
Central Park Conservancy President & Administrator
The Central Park Conservancy
14 East 60th Street
New York, NY 10021
212-310-6600
contact@centralparknyc.org
Following is VivalaSuperLiga.com's letter to Mr. Blonsky for your perusal:
Dear Mr. Blonsky
I am writing to you with a proposal for a policy change regarding soccer/football and baseball/softball in Central Park.
Please turn the Southeastern section of the North Meadow into a permanent, all-season soccer field for recreational practice and pick-up games until mid-September. At the same time, please do permanently reserve another section of the North Meadow for softball/baseball.
That way you can still preserve the seasonal preference for one of the sports while not alienating the other. And everybody would be happy.
I am convinced that soccer and baseball clearly can coexist.
So, on Labor Day, while taking a break from VivalaSuperLiga.com, the same thing that had happened to Steve Nash happened to us. We got shoed off the pitch in Central Park, by Central Park Conservancy Officials.
But unlike on the Great Lawn where the Central Park Conservancy exhibits minimal principle of pity by only disallowing football games being played and usage of cleats, on the North Meadow, they kick off soccer players altogether, even the recreational variant. And this while, mind you, virtually nobody was swinging a bat on the 16-acre open space between 96th and 104th Street at about 6.30pm.
Soccer-free North Meadow. (Picture by EasyNewYorkCity)
The explanation for the utterly absurd directive by the otherwise correctly acting Central Park Conservancy staff member: These are some of the city's best baseball fields, and they enjoy special protection.
Now, I do like baseball, as a matter of fact, I just watched the Mets batting Cincinnati off the field. But clearly, the Central Park Conservancy's policy of who gets to play on is not reflecting the actual demand for the facility (three and a half other soccer parties were kicked off too, total ratio soccer : baseball was about 3 to 1).
This has been going on for years now: football is banned from the North Meadow until the third week of September, when winter time allows to kick the ball only until 6ish at maximum and fall weather very often renders the pitch red-flag off limits anyway (which really hurts, given the nice fields, with goals and nets the Central Park Conservancy put up and which you may use if you own a permit).
Bottom line: this is utterly unfair. Give football/soccer its due place in Central Park! The Central Park Conservancy should make a good part of the 16 acres available for football fans and soccer aficionados for the entire season, not just for the peripheral months before Christmas!
VivalaSuperLiga.com therefore issues a call to action! Send emails and letters to or call them at:
Douglas Blonsky
President & Administrator
The Central Park Conservancy
14 East 60th Street
New York, NY 10021
212-310-6600
contact@centralparknyc.org
Following is VivalaSuperLiga.com's letter to Mr. Blonsky for your perusal:
Dear Mr. Blonsky
I am writing to you with a proposal for a policy change regarding soccer/football in Central Park.
On the Central Park Conservancy web page you are advertising the North Meadow as a place for soccer: "Participate in a game of soccer on the newly renovated North Meadow's 16 acres of lush green lawn." (http://www.centralparknyc.org/site/PageServer?pagename=programs_sports)
In reality, unfortunately, this is not possible.
In fact, as you surely know, with the exception of mid-September to November, soccer is banned from the North Meadow. Frequent closure of the North Meadow during this time for weather reasons and shorter days with less sunlight limit the possible soccer usage of the North Meadow even further.
Being a neighbor living nearby, I have been able in the past three years to observe that demand for soccer opportunities exceeds the offer on the North Meadow by far. (The same is valid for the Great Lawn).
I therefore want to propose to you the following: Please turn the Southeastern section of the North Meadow into a permanent, all-season soccer field for recreational practice and pick-up games.
I am sure this would not interfere with baseball in any ways, soccer and baseball clearly can coexist.
Mexico's C.F. Pachuca has won the first SuperLiga title, defeating the LA Galaxy 5 : 4. Pachuca prevailed after penalty kicks in a game of multiple opportunities squandered on both sides, miraculous saves, an own goal by Vargenas and a bicicletta by Klein in extremis after 94 minutes.
More than 100 minutes were played without David Beckham who left the game after a collision with Pachuca defender Fernando Salazar during an overeager challenge for the ball. Just moments earlier Peter Vargenas had opened the score for Pachuca by an own goal in the 28th minute of the first half.
A possible Beckham injury produced sustained moments of shock pertaining to the Galaxy, the MLS and the English national team. However, the anxiety was later on dispelled when the impeccably dressed superstar returned to the sideline to cheer on his team mates, apparently only with a sprained knee.
Picture by REUTERS
The Galaxy's Chris Klein equalized with a beautiful bicicletta just seconds before what would have been the final whistle. In the ensuing overtime both teams contrived to miss countless goal-scoring opportunities whilst respective keepers maintained parity up to the penalty kicks.
Pachuca and its Colombian goal keeper Miguel Calero came out on top. After routiniers Donovan and Xavier had missed kick no. 5 and 6 for the Galaxy those final shots for the trophy and the price money of $ 1 million (in the international comparison still a very moderate sum) culminated in yet another bitter defeat for the Galaxy.
Match Facts: Los Angeles Galaxy - C.F. Pachuca
Venue: The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif.
Goals: Peter Vagenas (28th, own goal LA); Chris Klein (90 +3)
Yellow Cards: Leobardo Lopez (PAC), Fausto Pinto (PAC), Alan Gordon (GAL), Troy Roberts (GAL), Mike Randolph (GAL), Joe Cannon (GAL)
Pachuca: Miguel Calero, Leobardo Lopez, Julio Mansur, Jaime Correa, Damian Alvarez (Luis Gabriel Rey 92), Gabriel Caballero, Juan Cacho (Rafael Marquez Lugo 73), Fernando Salazar (Carlos Rodriguez, 35), Marvin Cabrera, Fausto Pinto, Christian Gimenez (Edy Brambila 87)
LA Galaxy: Joe Cannon, Chris Klein, Abel Xavier, Mike Randolph, Peter Vagenas, Landon Donovan, David Beckham (Alan Gordon 32), Troy Roberts Kevin Harmse (Cobi Jones 115), Kyle Martino (Edson Buddle 79), Carlos Pavon (Cobi Jones 54).
David Beckham; Frank Yallop (left) and David Beckham (Photos by Dennis Van Tine, OANMedia.com)
New York -- Had David Beckham not made a $250M transfer to the LA Galaxy earlier this year it would be
doubtful the high interest a press conference by the club on
the eve of their game against the New York Red Bulls would garner.
As it turned out, however the conference room at the Inter-Continental
Hotel in midtown Manhattan was crawling with journalists,
photographers, television camera crews. The New York Times sports
writer George Vescey was even spotted sitting quietly along with the
other assembled journalists waiting for MLS representative Dan
Courtemanche to announce the arrival of the one David Beckham and his
LA Galaxy coach Frank Yallop. After a few minutes delay Courtemanche
announced the arrival of Beckham and Coach Yallop and the press
conference was underway.
Among other things it was learned that former Galaxy captain Landon
Donovan and David Beckham had discussed the team's captaincy and
according to Coach Yallop Donovan thought it appropriate to turn over
the captain's armband to the senior Beckham. This is not an
insignificant gesture from arguably the most recognized and successful
American soccer player. The two have already combined to lethal effect
as witnessed in the second goal in the 2-0 SuperLiga semi-final defeat
of DC United.
On the whole Beckham was upbeat about his new life and career in the
United States and was not overly concerned with his congested
schedule. For example Wednesday of this week will see him playing a
friendly match for England against Germany at the new Wembley stadium
only for him to return to Los Angeles the next day to play in the local
derby against Chivas USA. Three days later on Sunday he'll play
against the Colorado Rapids, and then the following Wednesday in the
SuperLiga final againt FC Pachuca. Provided he's fit for all of them,
David Beckham will be playing three matches in eight days.
There are little signs of fatigue, however despite the Galaxy's 5-4
defeat by New York Red Bulls on Saturday in front of 66,237 at Giants
Stadium. Beckham played the full 90 minutes and provided two assists
in this thrilling goal fest. There defensive frailties notwithstanding
Galaxy and Beckham in particular are playing with an enthusiasm the
belies their poor standing in the MLS -- still just 14 points from 16
games played!
League position aside, Beckham still attracts crowds and still attracts journalists.
VivalaSuperLiga questions Frank Yallop and David Beckham
Damien Neva of VivalaSuperliga.com asks a question of LA Galaxy coach Frank Yallop at a press conference with David Beckham held at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Manhattan on 17 Aug. 2007.
United, United, what's the score?
David Beckham (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
In a SuperLiga semfinal lacking in midfield quality it was a trademark David Beckham free kick and assist that separated these two teams and sent LA Galaxy to the SuperLiga final to be played on 29 Aug. 2007 against Mexican side FC Pachuca.
Last week Galaxy fell 1-0 to United in a Major League Soccer match, which on the evening Beckham figured as a late substitute. Wednesday night however saw Beckham make his SuperLiga debut in characteristic fashion when in the 18th minute he earned his first yellow card for a late tackle on United's Jaime Moreno. As has been often observed, David Beckham never was a good tackler. Beckham certainly hasn't improved the tackling ratio between precision and enthusiasm any more than he had whilst earning thirteen yellow cards for Real Madrid last season.
DC United made their intent be known in the opening stages of the match when Jamie Moreno unleashed a blistering shot on goal in the 10th minute, which Galaxy's Joe Cannon did well to tip over the bar. Minutes later there was a goal mouth scramble when United's Joshua Gros unleashed a shot in the box only for Galaxy Abel Xavier to hoof the ball clear. Throughout the evening's contest United launched several attacks including shots that keeper Cannon did well to save, but were grossly inadequate when it came to finishing.
For all the back and forth and chronic loss of midfield possession between the two teams the deadlock was to be broken following Devon McTavish's foul resulting in a free kick for Galaxy near the opposition's penalty area. The Galaxy's most famous right foot in David Beckham stepped up to take the free kick and coolly placed the ball in the top right corner of Troy Perkins's net. The Home Depot Center erupted having witnessed their $250M midfielder effortlessly convert a free kick against extremely limited opposition. The goal was all but uncontested what with a badly placed defensive wall and an unmoved keeper standing on the line. Four minutes later Jaime Moreno had a nearly identical free kick to take for United, but sent the ball crashing into the defensive wall, which only further underscored the gap in talent between Beckham and the rest of the players on the pitch.
A minute after the interval Beckham was again at his best or just doing what most competent footballers would do when he sent the ball past United's ineffectual Joshua Gros for Landon Donovan to collect and put in the back of the net to make it 2-0. Wearing a cast on his arm, and a Full90 Performance Headguard otherwise known as a "header," Gros made little defensive effort and was easily beaten by Beckham's through ball to Donovan. Galaxy's number ten raced onto Beckham's pass to score and make it 2-0.
United looked desperate and ever the worse for wear as the match reached the advanced stages and never seriously threatened Cannon's goal during the last third of the game. Beckham was substituted 62nd minute and was treated to a Home Depot Center standing ovation.
In the end, Beckham's inclusion in the Galaxy's XI proved the difference in securing a Pachuca rematch in the 29 August SuperLiga final.
Match Facts: LA Galaxy - DC United
Venue: Home Depot Center, Los Angeles, CA
Goals: David Beckham (LA) 27, Donovan (LA) 47
Yellow Cards: David Beckham (LA) 18, Brian Carroll (DC) 59
LA Galaxy: Joe Cannon, Chris Klein, Ty Harden, Abel Xavier, Mike Randolph, Landon Donovan, David Beckham (Peter Vagenas 63), Kevin Harmse, Kyle Martino (Cobi Jones 71), Edson Buddle (Gavin Glinton 76), Carlos Pavon.
DC United: Troy Perkins, Bobby Boswell (Guy-Roland Kpene 66), Devon McTavish, Bryan Namoff, Greg Vanney (Christian Gomez 46), Fred (Justin Moose 86), Brian Carroll, Ben Olsen, Joshua Gros, Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio.
Onstad allows Rodriguez to tie the score in the first half (AP Photo/The Chronicle, Steve Campbell).
96º Fahrenheit and over 80% humidity, these are tough conditions for playing soccer, especially for 120 minutes. They are apt to explain 3 expulsions, 8 yellows, and 11 goals in a hotheaded game which could have been decided much earlier - and then maybe not.
All started little suited to please Pachuca president Jesus Martinez on his birthday. In the 4th minute Brian Mullan dribbled to the goal line causing vertigo in Pachuca's defensive lines, Mullan then passed back to Dwayne de Rosario whose shot bounced curiously off his leg into his own head and past Calero to open the score. After this curious goal by the Canadian international with the sharp facial hair cut, a revanche for Pachuca's CONCACAF cup semifinal loss to Houston from past March had just moved far away.
But Pachuca came back quickly. in the 12th minute, Dynamo's reserve defender Patrick Ianni put an arm around a Pachuca shoulder too dynamically, Christian Giménez went down right on the line of the penalty box. The occasionally shaky ref Ricardo Salazar gave a free kick for Pachuca, and tough-mindedly but defensibly sent Ianni off the field.
In the 28th Pachuca were able to capitalize for the first time from the formidable burden the Dynamos had to bear for the remaining game time: Juan Cacho was left alone and easily scored the equalizer after a beautiful rush and perfect preparation of Carlos Rodriguez from the left of the penalty box.
Short-handed Dynamo kept running and managed to dominate the end of the first half. Yet, a couple of great rushes by de Rosario who shone in the absence of Stuart Holden, and two tentative finishes by Waibel notwithstanding amounted to no change on the scoreboard. Who would play against "El gran beibi David Beckham" in the SuperLiga final two weeks from now, remained entirely open.+
Obviously intent on changing this, Pachuca, still one man up, started the second half with some fireworks. In minute 47, Caballero's beautiful dribbling skills lead him to the goal line from where he layed up perfectly for Alvarez. La Chilindrina missed by very little, as did Christian Gimenez one minute later when a "diagonal de la muerte" wasn't all that lethal after all.
Pachuca kept increasing the pressure, Houston tried to counter. But after Onstad and Calero for a while happily accepted multiple invitations to distinguish themselves, it was only logical that Pachuca took the lead with a stunning goal courtesy of Andres Chitiva. With a 180ª rotation shot just from outside the penalty area, Chitiva drilled a bouncing ball into the lower right corner of the goal, surprising just about everybody including Houston keeper Onstad in the 61st minute.
With temperatures still in the lower 90s, the game seemed all but over when Mullan feebly gave away a prime scoring opportunity in response. And because Brian Ching, on other occasions a dangerous striker didn't register one felicitous moment the entire evening (including in the penalty shootout), things started to look uncomfortable for Dynamo.
Still, out of nowhere, they heated up towards the end of regular play time: scorer Andres Chitiva got a yellow-red card instead of a penalty for taking a dive in the 84th, bringing the head count to equal again. That was all Dynamo needed: Eddie Robinson sank a beautiful header into the net after a high, tumbling 45 yards free kick by Richard Mulrooney - which should probably have been cleared by Pachuca's inattentive defense.
The semifinal went into overtime, and nearly 22'000 spectators at Robertson Stadium, Houston, TX started to entertain the idea of penalty kicks. Indeed, half an hour later the punishing meteorological conditions had taken their final toll: despite a further expulsion when Dynamo's Corey Ashe lost his cool against Correa after a rough tackle, a handful of good opportunities, e.g. a razor thin miss by a free kick by Luis Gabriel Rey and a one-on-one situation between Wondolowski and Calero, the score remained the same until the final whistle.
The ensuing penalty kicks went smoothly for three trials until Ching sent his penalty hitting the left post, only to see Damian "la Chilindrina" Alvaréz' very weak shot blocked by Onstad. Jospeh Ngwenya however, who had played a decent game so far, made a grossly negligent attempt at chipping the ball over Calero. Alas, the soft ball plumped into Calero's gloves, and the Colombian old hand could be seen grinning with disbelief and Schadenfreude.
In the final shot of this semifinal, Rafael Marquez Lugo held his nerve and kept "la gloria en sus pies", as the Telefutura commentators were jubilating.
SuperLiga fans can be satisfied with the outcome too. Having Pachuca as Aztec finalist in the SuperLiga will not only keep the quality level of this tournament up where it's been during earlier cross-border encounters. It will most certainly also bestow the SuperLiga final with a quota that makes us hopeful for a second installment of this young tournament next year.
Match Facts: C.F. Pachuca - Houston Dynamo
Venue: Robertson Stadium, Houston, TX
Goals: Dwayne de Rosario (HOU, 5), Juan Cacho (28), Andres Chitiva (67), Eddie Robinson (82)
Yellow Cards: Christian Chaco Gimenez (PAC), Damian Alvarez (PAC), Nate Jaqua (HOU), Andres Chitiva (PAC), Brian Mullan (HOU), Eddie Robinson (HOU), Jaime Correa (PAC), Joseph Ngwenya (HOU)
Red Card: Patrick Ianni (4th, HOU), Andres Chitiva (84, PAC), Corey Ashe (100, HOU)
Pachuca: Miguel Calero, Leobardo Lopez, Jaime Correa, Damian Alvarez, Gabriel Caballero, Juan Cacho (Rafael Marquez Lugo,73), Fernando Salazar, Carlos Rodriguez, Marvin Cabrera, Carlos Rodriguez, Fausto Pinto (Andres Chitiva, 46), Christian Gimenez (Luis Gabriel Rey, 80)
Houston Dynamo: Pat Onstad, Craig Waibel, Patrick Ianni, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett, Brian Mullan, Dwayne De Rosario (Corey Ashe, 79), Richard Mulrooney, Brian Ching, Nate Jaqua (Chris Wondolowski, 91), Joseph Ngwenya
Penalty kicks:
Wade Barrett centers against Calero - 1 : 0
Fernando Salazar sends Onstad into the wrong corner - 1 : 1
Calero moves early but to no avail, Wondolowski whacks it under the crossbar - 2 : 1
Gabriel Caballero very surely - 2 : 2
Richard Mulrooney finishes - 3 : 2
Luis Gabriel Rey aims beautifully, no chance for Onstad - 3 : 3
Brian Ching hits the post - 3 : 3
Damian "la Chilindrina" Alvarez's shot proves too weak - 3 : 3
Joseph Ngwenya, tries to chip it, fails miserably, has Calero laughing.
Rafael Marquez Lugo - la gloria en sus piez...! 4 : 3 - Pachuca Finalista!
David Beckham made his competitive debut for Los Angeles Galaxy as a 72nd minute substitute in their league defeat by DC United. The loss leaves Galaxy with just 14 points from 14 matches played and only two points above Western table bottom feeders Real Salt Lake.
This match was but a preview of Wednesday evening's semifinal match between United and Galaxy. Will Beckham making the starting XI? Will it matter?
David Beckham of the Los Angles Galaxy shouts at a referee 09 Aug at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC. Beckham made his eagerly anticipated Major League Soccer debut here Thursday, coming on as a second-half substitute in the Los Angeles Galaxy's 1-0 loss to DC United.
The Guardian's Kevin McCarra has crafted a big article about a rather modest point: Goalkeepers are the Methuselahs in the English Premier league. The reason behind this is the old men's experience and maturity that significantly reduces the corporation's, uh, the F.C.'s risk exposure - or in McCarra's words, the lack of a risk-taker's mentality of "managers (...) considering the potential blunders of immature goalkeepers." Consequentially, those managers will recoil from taking a gamble on an immature young goalkeeper, when there is "so much money to be won and lost in the Premier League."
Fair enough - and a bit sad too.
Sure, a fielder can perhaps persist by having a couple of great games per season, something a goalkeeper hardly can (they are also rarely substituted, to state the obvious). Over the years, the keeper seems to gain mental strength as his excess of physical energy dwindles. However, I would stress that this is a gradual affair. Others are subject to the maturity want too: the more the defense moves to the fore, the more we can see an increase of the maturity/reliability need too. Defenders are quite in the same position as goalkeepers, just ask a certain centre left backer Paolo Maldini - who will turn 40 on June 26th next year.
So, what is one to make of these apparently sad, calculating and slightly geriatric times? I'd suggest more of SuperLiga. Because even if some of the players do not shy away from bone crushing tackles, they generally engage in an all-out attempt to score a goal - which has made for some entertaining nights of football in the past weeks.
And actually, I'm eager to see how Premier League veteran David Beckham fares amidst all that juvenile exuberance - once he returns to the Superliga from his pitching duties for the Yankees.
Already eliminated Club América travel back home with Morelia Monarcas; remote qualification for D.C. United, the runner-up in Group B, of the SuperLiga.
Monarchs flying down South Mexico.
The last game of of Superliga's Group B, an intra-national Mexican affair between Monarcas Morelia and Club América made one thing palpable: Mexican football is a distinct affair. In its bag there are always a couple of surprises. It was quite puzzling, for example, that the greatest roar of the evening could be heard in the 29th when the giant screen displayed live footage of Cuauhtemoc Blanco watching the game. Alright, the game was played in Toyota Park, Bridgewood, IL, Home of Chicago Fire and their star Cuauhtemoc Blanco, but yet - astonishing, the legend and myth of this one very special spectator, and how, at least for a moment, it made every actor on the field seem like an extra.
The second pleasant surprise on this evening was América's performance. More aware and awake, América was afar from the harmless and disinterested seniors' soccer squad that had freely given away points - and a shot for 1 million in price money - to their MLS adversaries in the group matches before. Instead, an entirely different team controlled, defeated and co-eliminated Morelia Monarcas, their fellow sportsmen from the Mexican Primera División, by 3 - 2. Whether national pride kicked in, or whether América wanted to secure its lead in terms of budget wasn't clear (read this quite interesting interview of Houston coach Dominic Kinnear), the outcome was.
The match really started off after just a few minutes of mutual gauging. In the 6th minute Juan Mosqueda gave a timid pass to Santiago Fernandez who only by very little didn't flick the ball into the back of the net. His shot was just a bit wide. Ten minutes later, the same América combination was successful: half fallen, half seated Mosqueda sends Fernandez the ball through about eight defending Morelia legs, Fernandez bends a mean flat shot from an even meaner angle past Moises Muñoz, 1 - 0 América.
Morelia reacted with a great free kick by Oscar Carrasco in the 18th and a 5 meter shot by Horacia Cervantes after an endless argy-bargy around the goal box in the 38th. Both times Morelia keeper Amando Navarrete proved that he had a good day. The reflex by which he deflected Cervantes' dangerous finish into corner was world class.
But América had their chances too, most notably a four against two situation that was carelessly squandered by Raúl Mendoza in the 36th minute. After Mauricio Romero missed another good opportunity for a header after a long free kick pass by Diego Martínez, it looked as if D.C. United would remotely advance to the semi-finals at half-time.
The impression proved a bit premature as the to and fro intensified in the second half. After a close miss by Morelia's Luis Landin and a lovely rush by Federico Insua into the penalty box from half-left before missing, the real fun began in form of an anarchic spectacle In the 53rd minute. Countless rolls of toilet paper thrown by América's collective celebratory cortex behind Morelia's goal pounded Moises Muñoz' territory. In other places they would call this a "flash roll" and declare it public art.
The unnerving manoeuver proved successful, in that it initiated the end of Morelia. Just a minute later, Mauricio Romero fouled substitute Rodrigo Lopez on his way to goal but outside the penalty box. Still, Romero got a red and América a penalty which Salvador Cabanas hammered in the net with considerable brutality.
Yet, the puzzled viewers who had already accepted the elimination of the second candidate for Mexican participation in the SuperLiga semifinals were still in for more. Gonzalo Choy who had seen one of his better shots blocked by Navarrete in the 64th, finally scored after a perfect cross by Luis Landin to bring Morelia back in the game. And a mere 6 minutes later Luis Landin tied the scores between ten Monarcas and the entire América team.
More hectic and suspense ensued for around ten minutes, until Federico Insua established the final score in the 84th minute and ended what was a principled performance by Club América.
That result may be bitter for Morelia, who had had a good shot at advancing against an already eliminated América. América's Aguilas, however embarrassing the fact that they showed their best game when it didn't really matter anymore, deserve to be commended for the effort they put in this last game of group B. It would be a pleasure to see both teams in similarly gyrating performances in a year's time when the Superliga goes into its next installment.
Before it will be time for Superliga semifinals, with Pachuca against Houston on August 14th, and the Galaxy against D.C. United one day later, when we might see the SuperLiga premiere of a certain David Beckham.
Match Facts: Monarcas Morelia vs. Club América
Venue: Toyota Park, Bridgewood, IL
Goals: Santiago Fernandez, Salvador Cabanas(56), Gonzalo Choy (67), Luis Landin (73), Federico Insua (85)
Yellow Cards: Rodrigo Inigo (AME, 37), Oscar Carrasco (MOR, 45 +2), Horacio Cervantes (MOR, 62))
Red Card: Mauricio Romero (MOR, 54
Morelia: Moises Muñoz, Diego Martinez, Marcio Batista (Ever Guzman, 46), Oscar Carrasco, Luis Landin, Gonzalo Choy (Adrian Aldrete, 68), Jose Hernandez (Gustavo Trujillo, 46), Hugo Sanchez, Horacio Cervantes (Ricardo Martinez, 68), Mauricio Romero, Jesus Castillo
América: Armando Navarrete, Ismael Rodriguez (Ricardo Rojas, 57), Diego Cervantez, Lucas Castroman (Rodrigo Lopez, 46), Santiago Fernandez (Salvador Cabanas, 46), Juan Mosqueda, Carlos Infante, Armando Sanchez. Rodrigo Inigo, Raul Mendoza (Federico Insua, 45+2), Jose Mosqueda
Tired legs finally caught up with DC United and Houston Dynamo in what was their final SuperLiga Group B match. A draw between the two teams would have been enough to see both teams automatically advance to the semifinal in a fortnight, but Dynamo’s Brian Ching put paid to that scenario with a 49th minute winner. At the final whistle United were left pulling for an upset by Group B whipping boys Club América to hold out any hope of advancing.
Considering the semifinal berth that was at stake the game proved heavy going with even heavier legs, which the American commentators on SuperLiga2007.com were at pains to remind viewers. Despite the apparent fatigue the players, an efficient Dynamo controlled much of the play in a match victory that sets them up to face Group A runners-up Pachuca in the semifinal on 14 Aug.
Dynamo’s Stuart Holden once again directed much of the play Wednesday evening along the right side of the park. In the 16th minute Holden did well to shake off his marker, sprint down the touch line, and fire in a cross that unfortunately for Dynamo went to no one. Moments like this evidence the extent to which Holden’s talent unmatched by his teammates ability to follow his movement and feed on his service.
Following the interval, Dynamo started brightly when Nate Jaqua hoofed the ball from the midfield into United’s box giving Brian Ching an opportunity to beat defender Josh Gros and send a high chip over keeper Troy Perkins into the net. The task of defending a one-nil lead at home is a task Dynamo handle quite well despite mounting pressure from United. United lacked a cutting edge in searching for an equalizer often coming close, but blowing it with jittery mistakes like United’s Bobby Boswell made in 67th minute when he missed an open goal after Luciano Emilio’s squared pass.
Dynamo protected their one-nil advantage until the final whistle. It wouldn’t be for another two nerve-wracking hours that United would learn their fate as eventual Group B runners-up and future semifinal opponents of the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Match Facts
Goals: Ching (Dynamo) 49
Bookings: Marc Burch (United) 61, Guy Roland (United) 86, Richard Mulrooney (Houston) 92+
Houston Dynamo: Zach Wells, Craig Waibel, Ryan Cochrane, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett, Corey Ashe (Ricardo Clark 68), Dwayne De Rosario, Richard Mulrooney, Stuart Holden, Brian Ching, Nate Jaqua (Joseph Ngwenya 76)
DC United: Troy Perkins, Bobby Boswell, Marc Burch (Jaime Moreno 63), Joshua Gros, Devon McTavish, Ben Olsen, Brian Carroll (Clyde Simms 83), Rod Dyachenko (Guy-Roland Kpene 35), Christian Gomez, Fred (Bryan Namoff 79), Luciano Emilio
Blog – el rumor: Boca to start MLS Franchise in 2008
Marc Neumann
VivalaSuperliga.com
SuperLiga takes up a lot of our attention, so pardon us if we’re a week late with the news that slipped past all but one other football medium.
The rumor that has us quite excited is that Boca Juniors, the fabled Argentinean football institution from the equally fabled neighborhood at the Río de la Plata will send a B-Team to play the MLS by 2008.
“Pero ché, que vengan!”
What's the rumor? Boca in the MLS? (AP)
This possibility must have everybody drooling: Football fans for the sport, Boca for the piece of the ad money cake, MLS and every U.S. Soccer official for the added value to their product. Who might be next? FFC Napoli? Newcastle or perhaps F.C. Porto?
In addition to the Boca Juniors franchise, the club is thinking about building a little sister stadium to the venerated Bombonera in Buenos Aires. Short-listed are Miami and New York City – where we hallucinate and see them already play at the Icahn Stadium on Ward’s Island under the Triboro Bridge.
But enough for now, please read for yourself in the Gaceta Tucumán and here.
A dearth of goals will prevent football from ever catching on in America. So it has been written. America moreover is simply not ready for football catenaccio, those cagey nil-nil borefests frequently on offer during the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. But what about the swashbuckling free-scoring football seen Wednesday evening at Pizza Hut Park wherein the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy beat FC Dallas six goals to five and eventually went on to win Group A? Whether or not North American television audiences will devour this peculiar strain of football in general or SuperLiga in particular is moot because the fact of the matter is that sport is already thriving.
As the scoreline not so subtly announces the style of football was a distinctly schoolyard affair. By the 18th minute Dallas were already trailing Galaxy by four goals to nil. At this point in many European leagues the leading team would stick ten men behind the ball and defend for the remaining 72 minutes. The remarkable about this match is that neither team followed the example set by their Continental cousins, but continued with an almost naïve enthusiasm for the game. Perhaps it is a product of the US$1m tournament prize, which is so comparatively low to the top Champions League prize of nearly €40m (awarded to winners AC Milan in 2007) that makes the cost of failure too high.
Whatever the case may be the Galaxy just plain got on with their schoolyard kick-about by netting four goals in the first 18 minutes. As early the 3rd minute Alan Gordon headed Landon Donovan's corner kick into the bottom right corner of Dario Sala's net to make it 1-0. Galaxy then hit Dallas on the break in the 11th minute to make it 2-0 when Donovan squared to Chris Klein who volleyed into the net. In the 15th minute Gordon scored again with a header this time from Ante Jazic to make it 3-0. Kevin Harmse then ran straight onto to goal past two Dallas defenders who did little more than hold his hand as he breached Sala's net to make it 4-0.
At 4-0 down Dallas refused to roll over and pressed the visitors with everything they had. To stop the hemorrhaging, FC Dallas's Steve Morrow replaced the ineffectual Ricardinho with Ghanaian Dominic Oduro. The Dallas pressure paid off in the 43rd minute when Drew Moor set up Arturo Alvarez to make it 4-1 at the half.
The second half began at canter with Dallas throwing forward all their men to lay siege to the Galaxy's goal. Dallas's Carlos Ruiz had a superb goal disallowed that he had scored with a bicycle kick after it was determined he was off side. The score stayed at 4-1 until the rampaging Juan Toja fought and won the ball in Galaxy's half and played a fancy one-two with Oduro and score to make it 4-2 in the 78th minute. Alvarez sensed a resurgence and pressed for a third goal making it 4-3 in the 82nd minute.
To quash this resurgence Galaxy skipper Donovan grabbed the game by the scruff when he hit Dallas on the break to make it 5-3 in the 84th minute. Referee Kevin Scott duly booked him for his incendiary gesture of dragging his fingers over his throat and mouthing the statement "Game over!"
But it wasn't over yet as there were still frantic minutes to be played in order to book a place in the semifinal. Carlos Ruiz fed off the scraps when Moor's header was blocked into his path enabling him to fire from close range making it 5-4 in the 90+ minute only for Galaxy to hit back with the tenth goal of the evening when Carlos Pavon made it 6-4. Dallas kept up the fight, however and Abe Thompson scored the eleventh and final goal in stoppage time to make it 6-5.
It must be said that FC Dallas in general and Juan Toja simply refused to give in to their opponents and fought the Galaxy for over ninety minutes. For their fighting efforts, however Dallas were awarded the wooden spoon for finishing last in Group A, which the Galaxy won outright. Had the Dallas defended as well as they were later scoring, then they might not have lost their chance in reaching the SuperLiga semifinal. Nevertheless, both teams have given the SuperLiga its most memorable match of the whole tournament thus far and North America a glimpse what football can be before it becomes completely transformed by money.
Match Facts
Goals: Alan Gordon (Galaxy ) 3; Chris Klein 1 (Galaxy) 12, Alan Gordon 2 (Galaxy) 15, Kevin Harmse (Galaxy ) 18, Arturo Alvarez (Dallas) 43, Juan Toja (Dallas) 78, Arturo Alvarez (Dallas) 82, Landon Donovan (Galaxy) 84, Carlos Ruiz (Dallas) 91+, Carlos Pavon (Galaxy) 95+, Abe Thompson 1 (Dallas) 96+
Bookings: Kevin Harmse (Galaxy) 13, Marcelo Saragosa (Dallas) 37, Juan Toja (Dallas) 48+, Alan Gordon (Galaxy) 49+, Arturo Alvarez (Dallas) 49+, Kelly Gray (Galaxy) 56, Ante Ja
ully over soon.
