SuperGoalfest: LA edges Dallas 6-5

In a night where even the ball boy could have had a shot on goal, the Los Angeles Galaxy will advance to the semi-finals of the 2007 SuperLiga, after beating Dallas 6-5 in a match that certainly won't be used for teaching defensive clincs in the future.

After taking a 4-1 lead into halftime, Dallas pulled within one goal before each side exchanged goals twice in the final six minutes plus extra time.

For the Galaxy, Alan Gordon scored two and Landon Donovan, Carlos Pavon, Chris Klein and Kevin Harmse each scored one apiece. FC Dallas stormed back into the match on Arturo Alvarez's two goals, along with Juan Toja, Carlos Ruiz and Abe Thompson who each added one apiece. Both teams looked fatigued in the second half and each appeared ready for the whistle when it finally came.

Los Angeles advances as Group A winners and will face the Group B runners-up, after Pachuca defeated CD Guadalajara 1-0 on a Rafael Marquez Lugo goal in the second match of Group A to advance as runners-up.

Click Here for the Box Score

It's official: Adu to Benfica

U.S. under-20 star and MLS never-was Freddy Adu officially joins Benfica, with MLS pocketing a mere $2 million for a player that was only a few years ago the posterboy for the league. My, how things change. Read all about it on Yanks Abroad. I had my say on the Adu saga a week ago. Click here to read why I think MLS failed Freddy.

Courtesy of YouTuber GabrielMedinos

The plan that doomed Milwaukee

"Our long-term goal is to own all of our stadiums and facilities," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said about soccer-specific stadiums

"This feels like our home, not like the Broncos' home," former Colorado midfielder Kyle Beckerman said about Dick's Sporting Goods Park. "As players, we get energy from hearing the home crowd, to have them close."

Former Fire GM and current MLS-for-Milwaukee advocate Peter Wilt thinks it would be a good idea to put a soccer team inside of this:


Instead of this:


Or this:


If that's Milwaukee's Best? You must be drunk.

MoJo thinks Canadians suck

Listen up all you Molson swillin', ice skatin', fur tradin', hard 'O' pronouncin', free health care havin', bilingual speakin', constitutional monarchy practicin', funny comedian producin' Canadians. Mo Johnston thinks you suck!

When Toronto FC was announced as the newest franchise in Major League Soccer, the executive committee made clear to the owner-investors that they would have to abide by the same rules for internationals as the rest of the league. That is, they are allowed to have as many domestic players as they want, but only four international players.

By "domestic players," MLS meant Canadians, of course, but because Canada isn’t exactly teeming with football stars, MLS made an exception to the four internationals rule to allow TFC to add three Americans as well. Seems like a fair deal, doesn’t it? Well, TFC coach Mo Johnston doesn’t think so.

"It's ridiculous that we have to give up one of our senior internationals in order to sign an American 'keeper," Johnston told Slam! columnist Dean McNulty. "It's a handicap that we have had to deal with right from the start of the year."

Playing in Canada is a handicap? Isn’t that a bit strong? McNulty seems to agree with MoJo’s assessment of the bleak landscape of Canadian football:

Excuse us for having a pool of less than 100 world-class soccer players, compared to the thousands that American teams can cull from.

One could debate McNulty’s numbers (Is Canada really numbering close to 100 in world-class players?), but his implication is clear, Toronto FC would be better if they had fewer Canadians and more Americans.

But this also assumes that MoJo and the TFC management have done all they could to secure the best available Canadians out of the “100 world-class soccer players.” And if we are to believe his numbers, how can TFC not manage to find more.

A brief glance at the Canadian national team pool shows that the majority of players on the men’s national team play in minor European leagues or in lower divisions of major leagues. MoJo is trying to convince the fans that he did all he could to seek out the best available talent and that his inability to sign Americans is hurting the team. If I was Canadian, I would be offended. Has he really done all he could to secure top Canadian talent?

What about Paul Stalteri, who although he is listed on Tottenham’s roster, gets little actual playing time, or Tomasz Radzinski who is still unsigned? Hell, there was even a moment earlier in the year when they might have pried away an unhappy Dwayne De Rosario from Houston. But maybe these players were too pricey for the MLS start-up. Then, why not call-up some USL-1 stars from Vancouver and Montreal, like Patrick Leduc, Antonio Riberio, Martin Nash or Gabriel Gervais? How is it that a second-tier Canadian team is able to secure more Canadian national teamers than Toronto. Can Vancouver and Montreal really compete in terms of salary? What about exposure?

Granted none of the players mentioned are goalkeepers, the source of MoJo’s discontent with the MLS rule. So, hard-pressed was he, that TFC was forced to field 18-year-old David Monsalve (Canada’s U-20 keeper), who was shellacked for seven goals in two matches.

"If I were in America, I could trade a No. 1 draft pick for a top 'keeper," Johnston said. "But I can't do it. The rules say if I sign an American, he can only be a development player (under 25) or I lose one of my internationals."

Imagine the furor among TFC fans if Johnston were forced to release say, Danny Dichio, in order to get a top goalkeeper (McNulty adds).

Now that’s just stupid. First of all, he wouldn’t release Dichio; he would release douchebag Jeff Cunningham or maybe Tyrone Marshall. Second, no MLS coach/GM in their right mind should trade a top keeper for a No. 1 SuperDraft pick.

So, with the incomparable Greg Sutton injured, how can MoJo deal with this incredible Canadian “handicap”?

Why not try to lure away Lars Hirschfeld or Kenny Stamatopoulos from Norway? Can’t do it? Why not Roberto Giacomi from the Belgian second division? Or Joshua Wagenaar from the second division in The Netherlands?

So, maybe TFC and MoJo exhausted all of these avenues, but even so, McNulty gets it wrong when he writes,

It's time for MLS commissioner Don Garber to let TFC play under the same rules as everybody else or risk hurting the must successful start-up franchise his league has seen.

According to that stagnant, disease-infested pool of knowledge wikipedia, there are currently 15 teams that play outside of their home country in Europe, two in Asia/Oceania and, finally, six non-American-based squads playing in the U.S. Not counting TFC, there are three other Canadian teams that play in America’s USL (United Soccer League): the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Toronto Lynx, and the Montreal Impact.

And the USL-1, like MLS, has a cap on foreign players. Each team is permitted a maximum of five foreign players on its active game-day roster and a maximum of seven foreign players on its master roster. Somehow, Montreal is able to abide by these rules and they have been USL-1 regular season champs for the past two years.

So, these are “the same rules as everybody else.” Changing the rules might help TFC this season, but it would hurt Canadian soccer in the long run because a team of Americans playing in Canada isn’t going to develop Canadian soccer, any more than a team of Mexicans in Houston would develop young American players.

Toronto (and Canada) shouldn’t mortgage their future for a better today. And if MoJo isn’t able to acquire the Canadian talent necessary, then they should dump him and his “blame Canada” nonsense.

UPDATE: What do you know? Maybe MoJo reads TYH. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/TorontoFC/2007/07/31/4382366-sun.html

SuperLiga: DC wins, Houston draws

DC United topped Club America with a 1-0 win, and Houston stayed even with United atop Group B with a draw against Morelia in Sunday's SuperLiga action.

A Rod Dyachenko goal in the 12th minute held up, as United sent Club America crashing out of the tournament with consecutive losses, while Houston, who got an even earlier goal from Joseph Ngwenya in the first minute, split points after Morelia's Marcio Batista equalized in the second half.

DC and Houston will face off on August 1 in the final match of group play with a place in the semi-finals waiting for the winner. An unlikely Club America win over Morelia in the other match would send both MLS clubs through to the semi-finals.

SuperLiga tie-breakers are first determined by head-to-head, then goal differential and finally goals scored, according to the official tournament rules.

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 17)

GOALKEEPER

B. Guzan (NY)

DEFENDERS

J. Bornstein (CHV), J. Conrad (KC), J. Larentowicz (NE)

MIDFIELDERS

S. Kljestan (CHV), S. Joseph (NE), C. Blanco (CHI),
K. Zavagnin (NY)

FORWARD

A. Razov (CHV), C. Carr (CHI), Y. Movsisyan (KC)

* TYH's Best 11 is based only on MLS league games and doesn't take into consideration SuperLiga performance.

SuperLiga: So much for all-MLS semi-final

The Los Angeles Galaxy delivered a stinker against Chivas de Guadalajara, losing 2-1, while Dallas drew with Pachuca, 1-1, as Group A finished the second set of matches in the opening round of SuperLIga 2007.

Chivas now lead the group with 4 points, while the Galaxy and FC Dallas are second and third, respectively. The results yesterday ensure that only one MLS club will advance from Group A. Chivas need only a draw against Pachuca to go through to the semi-finals, while FC Dallas must beat the Galaxy in order to advance. The Galaxy will advance with a win or draw. And no one cares about Pachuca or their ridiculous gay-pirate goalkeeper (nice head scarf, ass clown).

FC Dallas should have gone on top just before halftime when Clarence Goodson scored off a Juan Toja cross and was incorrectly ruled offside. So, when Carlos Ruiz scored in the 75th minute, the score should have been 2-0, instead it was just 1-0. Referee Samir Osman saved Pachuca again by awarding them a penalty kick in the 87th minute, after Adrian Serioux slid in on Damian Alvarez. Chistian Gimenez converted from the spot to level the match.

"I personally don't feel like I caught him," Serioux told mlsnet.com. "But from the referee's standpoint, he saw it differently. That's just the way the game goes sometimes and you have to take the good with the bad."

After a confidence-building win in their first match, the Galaxy came out flat against Chivas, allowing two second-half goals before managing to pull one back in the 88th minute. Chivas dominated possession for much of the game, forcing the Galaxy chase action. LA goalkeeper Joe Cannon and poor shooting by Chivas kept it scoreless in the first half. Chivas took the lead in the 60th minute, when a corner was played short to Omar Esparza. Esparza crossed to Francisco Rodriguez who headed the ball past Cannon. Chivas doubled thier lead in the 82nd, when Mexican national team and USA nemesis Omar Bravo deftly finished a Ramon Morales cross from the left side. Landon Donovan was unable to capture the spark he had in the first match, but managed a conciliation goal in the 89th minute, stealing a poor back pass and chipping the keeper.

With a semi-final berth at stake, will Beckham be able to lace them up and play on Tuesday, July 31?

Will Wanchope-Blanco ignite the Fire?

As expected, the Chicago Fire have signed Costa Rican forward Paulo Wanchope to a one-year contract. The 31-year-old former Manchester City player joins Mexico international Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who scored in his Fire debut last Sunday. And the Fire are hoping that the two 30something strikers still have a little left in the tank for a run at the MLS Cup.

Wanchope and Blanco have both joined the team midseason, however, and have just 14 matches to dig the Fire out of the Eastern Conference cellar. Wanchope's one-year deal signals that Chicago still have hopes for this season despite a 4-8-4 record. But can their CONCACAF connection add some punch to a club that has scored the second fewest goals in MLS? (13)

Wanchope will be unveiled by the team on Friday and should be available to play Sunday's match at Toronto FC.

Dynamo drops Club America

The Houston Dynamo continue their superb run of form, as they chalk up a 1-0 win over Club America in the opening match of their SuperLiga campaign.

The catalyst for the success of the Dynamo continues to be young Stuart Holden who delivered another superb ball that Chicago cast-off Nate Jaqua was able to touch past the keeper in the 41st minute. Holden took down a long throw-in and turned it toward the endline, beating his man and sending a low cross to an unmarked Jaqua at the six.

With the start of the Mexican season just 11 days away, Club America appeared to still be in preseason form, as Houston dominated much of the play. The 2006 CCC winners and 2005 Clausura champs seemed unable to break through Houston's backline.

Houston will face Morelia, who drew earlier in the night with DC United, on August 29. The MLS Champs will finish out the group phase of SuperLiga on August 1 against DC United.

Brazilian duo punchless, as DC draws

DC United drew 1-1 with Morelia in SuperLiga group play, after Brazilian forward Emilio missed two clear chances and countryman Fred also missed an easy putaway.

It was a typical game for the 2007 United team, as they dominated possession of the ball, but couldn't find a way to make a 7th minute Christian Gomez goal hold up. Gomez, reigning MLS MVP, curled a free kick around the wall and inside the right post to put DC United on top. DC was clearly outplaying Morelia iin the first half, and nearly made it 2-0, when Fred nutmeged his defender with a through ball to Rod Dyachenko, who crossed to Emilio. But Emilio blasted his shot over the bar with the an open goal yawning before him.

In the second half, Jamaican referee Courtney Campbell began to lose control of the match after an incident between DC's Bobby Boswell and Morelia's Luis Landin. Boswell whacking away at a loose ball at Landin's feet, cracked the player across the inner thigh (nearly nuts region). Landin retaliated with a hard shove, and was ejected. Boswell was given only a yellow. Morelia lost all composure after the incident, hacking away at United and Campbell seemed reluctant to make further calls against either team.

Even with Morelia down a man, DC could not capitalize, as their toothless attack continued. The substitution of Nicholas Addlery provided fresh legs, but no goals. Emilio's pretty backheel to Ben Olsen and Olsen's cross to Fred was blasted over the bar and the score remained 1-0.

As has been the case for United this season, poor marking led to Morelia's equalizer. A long ball across the front of the box found an unmarked Diego Martinez who blasted a diagonal shot past the helpkless Troy Perkins. The score remained 1-1 and the clubs will split the points.

DC will play Club Americaon July 29th, before finishing group play against the Houston Dynamono August 1. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals.

YA: U-20 star Zizzo to Hannover

Yanks Abroad is reporting that USA U-20 star Salvatore "Sal" Zizzo has signed a three-year deal with Bundesliga club Hannover 96.

According to YA, fellow American Steve Cherundolo, also with Hannover, helped persuade the youngster to join him overseas, calling up Zizzo's parents in San Diego.

Zizzo turned down an offer to enter the 2007 MLS Superdraft and returned to UCLA for his sophomore season, scoring seven goals and adding 9 assists in 23 appearances. But it was his performance in this summer's U-20 World Cup that convinced Hannover to sign the California native.

But is Germany the right place for young American players to develop their skills?

Zizzo becomes the fourth American player signed by Hannover, and with the exception of Cherundolo, the other two players, Clint Mathis and Conor Casey, struggled to develop, returning to MLS after a few miserable seasons. Zizzo's signing continues the UCLA-to-Germany pipeline that delivered former Bruins Benny Feilhaber and Kamani Hill overseas. In addition, according to YA, there are also 10 Americans playing in 2.Bundesliga or lower divisions in Germany.

Kluivert to MLS?

Speculation around Patrick Kluivert's possible move to MLS was renewed following his rejection of a trial offer with Sheffield Wednesday.

According to a report by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Kluivert said, "I am flattered by the interest but a transfer to Sheffield Wednesday doesn't fit in my future plans."

The 31-year-old Dutch forward has been linked with a move to MLS or Saudi Arabia, but the hoopla surrounding the recent Beckham signing could tip the scales toward a U.S. move.

Kluivert scored three goals in 13 appearances during an injury-plagued season with PSV Einhoven, and was released this summer. In addition to PSV, Kluivert has played in Italy, Spain and England. His most successful tenure came with Barcelona where his partnership with former Player-of-the-Year Rivaldo to lead Barca to a La Liga title in 1998-99.

The Dutchman is not without baggage, however, from his days with AC MIlan when he was charged with manslaughter for his involvement in a fatal car accident. He was also charged with rape on a separate occasion, but he was acquitted of the charge due to a lack of evidence.

SuperLiga: Galaxy win, Dallas draw

In the opening night of North America's inaugural SuperLIga tournament, Landon Donovan reminded Galaxy fans of his star power, picking up an assist and the game-winning goal against CONCACAF Champions Cup champions Pachuca in a 2-1 win, while FC Dallas could only manage a 1-1 draw against CD Guadalajara.

In the kick-off match, FC Dallas and CD Guadalajara split the points after Chivas' Antonio Olvera equalized an Arturo Alvarez goal in the 56th minute. In the first half both keepers were tested and both proved up to the task, with FC Dallas back-up keeper Ray Burse pulling off two spectacle saves. In the second half, Carlos Ruiz placed a beautiful through ball onto the foot of Alvarez who beat the keeper easily one-v-one. Olvera's equalizer was an absolute screamer into the left, upper-90, completely unsaveable.

In the nightcap match, a Beckham-less Galaxy managed a result against the CCC champs, thanks to some superb goalkeeping in the first half by Joe Cannon and some expert work by Landon Donovan who looked in danger of being swept away by Beckham mania. Alan Gordon opened the scoring in 50th minute off a Donovan assist. Pachuca evened things 28 minutes later off a afael Marquez Lugo goal, before Donovan's slight redirection of a Cobi Jones pass put the Galaxy ahead for good in the 81st minute.

Click here for the official SuperLiga site

Contract issues bust Adu's Benfica move

The Associated Press is reporting that Freddy Adu will remain in MLS with Real Salt Lake, as negotiations with Portuguese club Benfica broke down.

According to the report posted on ESPNsoccernet.com, "Major League Soccer and Benfica reached an agreement on a $2 million transfer fee for the 18-year-old American, but Adu and the Portuguese club could not work out contract terms, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday."

As is also noted in the story, with the transfer deadline over a month away, the deal could still happen. Former RSL coach and current club advisor John Ellinger also commented on the reports.

"I know Freddy has called his agent and said 'It's still open. Don't let this get off the table.' It's still a real possibility," Ellinger said before Tuesday's game. "As a club, we're ecstatic to keep him and we're ecstatic for him if he gets a chance to play overseas. That's kind of how we feel about it."

Soccer super agent Richard Motskin would not comment on the busted negotiations.

Four DPs MLS should consider

With Major League Soccer’s recent run of marquee allocations this season, bringing in Juan Pablo Angel, Blanco and of course the new guy in Los Angeles, I think his name is David, I thought I’d take a look at a few available Designated Players that might fit well into MLS.

1) Quinton Fortune (S. AFRICA)
The 30-year-old South African was recently released by Bolton Wanderers and is currently without a club. A versatile player, he has played as a both a left-sided attacking player and as a defender. His pedigree includes stints with Atlético Madrid and Manchester United (where he scored 23 goals in 53 appearances). Given Fortune’s versatility, Colorado or Real Salt Lake (especially with Adu leaving) seem like logical choices since both clubs need help all over the pitch.


2) Juan Sebastian Veron (ARGENTINA)
According to the UK newspaper The Mirror, Veron is close to a deal that would send him to DC United, and this would be a great move for the four-time MLS Cup champs. The 32-yeard-old Argentine had trouble settling into the EPL, and has spent the last three seasons on loan from Chelsea to Inter (2004-06) and his first professional club Estudiantes (2006-07), but he proved during the 2007 Copa America that he still has something to contribute if given a chance. United seem to be attempting to rebuild the South American “Magic Triangle” of old, and Veron should combine well with countryman Christian Gomez and Brazilian Emilio.

3) Tomasz Radzinski (CANADA)
I wouldn’t be surprised if Toronto FC was on the phone to Radzinski’s agent the day he was released from Fulham. The 32-year-old striker has certainly lost a step, but he would be a brilliant addition to Mo Johnston’s roster. Radzinski, who has the distinction of garnering the highest transfer fee paid for a Canadian (£4.5 million), scored 25 goals for Everton before requesting a trade to Fulham. It wouldn’t be on the scale of David Beckham, but Radzinski would be a popular player with the fans.

4) Thomas Gravesen (DENMARK)
Gravesen has a club, but it doesn’t seem to be going well. Reports out of Celtic training camp say that the ill-tempered Gravesen isn’t fitting in well with his new mates, since his transfer to the Scottish club from Real Madrid. The fiery Dane has been linked with a move to Sheffield Wednesday, but MLS should test the waters to see if Gravesen would be open to lowing his Real Madrid teammate. Plus, by most accounts Gravesen is an asshole, and MLS has been lacking a real villain. In an earlier post, I suggested that Kansas City might be a good fit for the 31-year-old.

Adu leaving MLS for Benfica

U.S. wunderkind Freddy Adu is on his way out of MLS. Washington Post reports say that a deal between MLS and Benfica of the Portuguese First Division is almost complete. According to the published reports, MLS is asking somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 million dollars for the 18-year-old.

Bidding Adu

It is the right move for Adu, whose career in MLS never developed as advertised. The hoopla surrounding Adu's entry into MLS was like nothing the league had ever seen pre-Beckham. At 14, Adu was the prodigal son and many were expecting him dominate the league, emerging as the first truly world-class American player. But the intense pressure that MLS placed on him, as the face of the league, along with coaches who never really understood his talents, resulted in a less than stellar four-year tenure.

Former DC United coach Peter Nowak must bear some of the blame for Adu's failure to thrive in MLS. The utilitarian Nowak never fully appreciated Adu's unique talents, placing him out on the left or right and limiting his distribution duties with defensive duties that would have been better suited to Nowak's style of play, not Adu's. But, of course, Freddy was also to blame at times, often acting his age, pouting or quitting in games due to frustration. Perhaps he was too young. In 2005, the steep learning curve began to flatten a bit, and in 2006, he posted his best season with United. However, despite the proximity to his childhood home, DC wasn't the fit Adu wanted it to be.

He was traded out to Real Salt Lake, where he hoped reuniting with his former U-17 coach, John Ellinger, would reignite his MLS career. But Ellinger, too, played Adu out of position and eventually RSL's poor play led to Ellinger's dismissal as coach.
Jason Kreis’ tenure as RSL coach has been relatively Adu-less due to Freddy’s national team call-ups.

And it might just be this time with the U.S. under-20 team at the U-20 World Cup that proves to be the turning point for Adu's career. As captain of the U-20s, Freddy led the young Americans to the quarterfinals, where they lost a close match to Austria. It was Adu's best string of matches since he became a professional and included a hat trick against Poland and an expertly orchestrated win over tournament favorites Brazil.

With deft flicks and feints, Adu demonstrated what he could do if given the freedom to work centrally, as an attacking midfielder or withdrawn forward. He also demonstrated the leadership, as captain, that helped the U.S. to come from behind in two matches. His performance turned heads both domestically and overseas and the Adu buzz began anew. After all, soccer is a sport of rebirth. And one may die several times in a career before being reborn.

Although this is the right move for Adu and will no doubt help his development, I can't help but feel that MLS has failed in some respects. Adu's entry into the league four years ago was heralded as a new era for American soccer. Fans circled their team's home matches against DC, in order to see this American phenom. He "put butts in the seats" as the saying goes. He was the original Golden Balls.

It’s just a shame that MLS couldn't find a way to develop this talent, couldn't find him a team where he fit with the players around him, and couldn't find a way to let Freddy be Freddy all the time.

Adu stood out because of his creativity on the ball, something that most critics of the American game say that our teams lack across the board. Creativity, imagination, Adu had these qualities, and if we want to advance as a soccer nation we need to learn how to develop these things in our players, so we can keep them here and not just ship them off to Europe when they play outside the MLS box.

Wanchope to join Blanco at Fire

Costa Rican striker Paulo Wanchope is reportedly close to deal with MLS and the Chicago Fire. The 31-year-old played has played for five different clubs in the last four years. Most recently, he played in Japan for FC Tokyo, where he had three goals in eleven appearances.

Wanchope is the second on the list of all-time leading goalscorer in the history of Costa Rica, with 45 goals in 72 matches.

Paulo highlight reel from youtube:


Chicago might be timing these acquisitions just right, considering the age of Blanco and his potential partner Wanchope. With just 14 matches left, Chicago hope that they can pull off a late season surge into the playoffs. And I have to tell you, if I was an MLS head coach (and if this was 2002) I would be frightened by the Fire's CONCACAF connection.

Dallas sign Brazilian, not Denilson

After spending several weeks training with the club, Brazilian striker Ricardinho was officially added to the FC Dallas roster. The 19-year-old's work visa was processed, allowing his contract to be finalized.

In the official press release, coach Steve Morrow commented, "He's a great addition and I think he's gotten stronger as the days have gone on. He feels more comfortable now and I think we have seen that and he will show what he's capable of. We expect him to get better and better the longer he's here."

Ricardinho had joined Dallas from Atlético Paranaense, where he appeared in nine matches. Dallas officials remain quiet on whether RIchardihno might be joined by his elder countryman, Denilson (see post).

Click here for the press release

Henry Rollins' letter to Becks

MLS club could have Super payday

When I first heard about the new SuperLiga competition, I assumed it was yet another series of friendlies with a trumped up moniker so fans wouldn't realize that it would really be reserve teams. The inaugural SuperLiga, which begins tomorrow and pits MLS clubs against Mexican clubs, seemed to be yet another attempt to create a Champion's League aura around what's really just meaningless exhibition soccer.

But then I read this:

"SuperLiga, the preeminent club tournament in North America, will not only decide the best team in the region but also award the heftiest winner's purse in North American soccer history ... In addition to the prestige of capturing this continental honor, the club that emerges as SuperLiga champion will take home $1 million in prize money, an unprecedented prize purse in North American soccer

Now a $1 million pay day doesn't seem like a lot, especially if you consider that the European Champion's League pays out over $50 million to the winning club or that the Galaxy are paying Beckham $50 million a season, but it is the single largest purse for a North American club tournament.

The 2007 CONCACAF Champions Cup paid out only $150,000 to its winning club, Pachuca. The US Open Cup winner will receive $100,000 this year. The paydays for each of these tournaments were increased this year, but neither stand up to the potential $1 million of the SuperLiga. As a point of comparison, the Copa Libertadores Champion, a South American club championship, receives about $3 million, and the FIFA Club World Cup winner receives about $4.5 million in prize money.

The SuperLIga, at least in terms of money, is closer to the North American version of the Champion's League than the CCC. Perhaps the MLS and USSF should consider combining the two tournaments next year so that clubs from all over the region could have a chance to participate in more of a Champion's League-style tournament. As it stands now, the SuperLiga is only open to MLS and Mexican clubs who qualify according to their domestic league finishes.

So, simple economics dictate that MLS clubs should field their best lineups in the SuperLiga, and judging by the reserve squads MLS fielded in the US Open Cup (where they were beaten by USL clubs in five out of eight matches) the front offices and coaching staff know which tournament will butter their bread (so to speak). Although, I still think LA should sit their $250 million investment till he's truly healthy.

The SuperLiga starts tomorrow with FC Dallas taking on Chivas de Guadalajara at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas (9pmET) and
the aforementioned Galaxy vs. CF Pachuca at The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif. (11pmET). All games will be televised on Telefutura and mlsnet.com.

The tournament begins with single match group play, with the winner and runners-up of each group advancing to the semifinals. Group A features Chivas de Guadalajara, L.A. Galaxy, FC Dallas, CF Pachuca, while Group B has Club América, D.C. United, Houston Dynamo, Monarcas Morelia.

Click here for MLS SuperLiga web page

Wizards to fans: Do our job for us

OnGoal, LLC, owners of the MLS franchise Kansas City Wizards, are going directly to the fans. On bigsoccer.com last Wednesday, Robb Heineman (part-owner of the team) posted a series of questions in order to get fan feedback under the heading (and I'm not kidding) "Do my job for me.....i'm just a rookie".

It isn't surprising that KC's ownership is clueless. One can judge that by the fact that despite having one of the better teams in the league, they have the worst attendance in the league. Of course, the Wiz's attendance woes go back to the days when they were actually known as the Wiz. Over their 11 years in the league, Kansas City's average attendance is around 11,000, which would be a semi-respectable number if you didn't look at the per-year stats. In the lean years of 1997 to 2000, Kansas City has only been able to sell around 9,000 tickets. And in 2000, they won the MLS Cup (and only drew 9,112). The MLS Cup Championship boosted their attendance over the next 4 seasons, with 2003 being the high water mark (15,473), but since then KC's appeal is waning. Their average attendance figures so far this season are 9,691, according to the league.

So Heineman is admitting that they are clueless and they are going to the fans. Here are the questions he posed:

1. where would you like to play in '08? (to clarify a. high school stadium, b. arrowhead c. other ideas you have)
2. who would you like to play in friendly matches and where?
3. would you rather build a stadium in kansas or missouri?
4. if you could pick-out and sign our DP who would it be?
5. if you could trade for anybody in the league, who would it be?
6. preseason - argentina or spain?
7. promote pierron or reynolds?

I'm not going to give my answers to questions 1-3 because they are all basically the same question, and I think that they should move the franchise to Philadelphia or Seattle anyway. But if that's off the table, questions 4 and 5 are interesting. I think that Kansas City should bring in Thomas Gravesen since no one seems to want him. There were rumors that he was not fitting in with Celtic and they were looking to deal him to Sheffield United for around 2 million pounds. KC needs a holding midfielder, someone to be enforcer in the middle of the field. He has the body type of a younger Preki and the heritage of Miklos Molnar. Seems like a perfect fit for Kansas City to me. As for question 5, I would deal Sasha Victorrine and Davy Arnaud to New England for Andy Dorman or Adam Cristman to give Johnson some help. But that's just me.

It is an interesting idea to solicit advice from fans, certainly outside the typical owner's box, but I hope they think a little bit before listening to one fan on bigsoccer who suggested they play at a high school stadium. This is not USL-1. Unless, he was suggesting that they should be relegated.

TYH'S PICKS FOR MLS BEST 11 (Week 16)

GOALKEEPER

J. Conway (NY)

DEFENDERS

F. Erpen (COL), F. Hejduk (CLB), S. Stammler (NY)

MIDFIELDERS

G.B. Schelotto (CLB), D. De Rosario (HOU), N. Grabavoy (CLB),
C. Reyna (NY)

FORWARD

B. Ching (HOU), E. Johnson (KC), P. Noonan (NE)

* TYH's Best 11 is based only on MLS league games and doesn't take into consideration meaningless, made up tournaments (if it did, Abel Xavier would have been included among the defenders).

Gumbel pitches a big tent for soccer

L.A. pub team holds Chelsea to 1-0 win

The Los Angeles Galaxy did not lose 22-0, as some in the British tabloids predicted. Instead, they managed to hold Chelsea to a single goal in the second match of the World Series of Football, which might have been more appropriately named “Beckham’s Coming Out Party.”

The media circus that was David Beckham’s first match with the Galaxy began with an hour-long documentary on the English superstar and then a half-hour of pre-game discussion about the Spice Boy. With Hollywood star sightings and a red carpet (no Joan Rivers though), the “match” seemed almost secondary, like the award for best film editing at the Oscars. But who doesn’t want to know why the Ghost Whisperer turned out for the match?

When Beckham came out of the locker room, fashionably late of course, photographers formed a phalanx around the bench and were pushed back by security. It was a surreal scene for a sport that ESPN has often preempted with Rodeos and Poker in the league’s 11-year history.

The spectacle included sports celebrities like Shaq (who managed to call out both the Lakers and Real Madrid in answering a single question, nice) and Kevin Garnett, as well as movie and television stars, Eva Longoria and Katie Holmes (both of whom looked on from Posh’s luxury box).

Galaxy season-ticket holder (and the only true U.S. soccer fan out of the celebrity set) Drew Carey was of course there as well. Strangely, though, when interviewed he seemed to be watching the match, which he was more interested in than shilling for his new game show. Carey remarked that he had watched the MLS All-Star match when a poor decision to shoot an interview of Pablo Mastroeni nearly cost viewers a look at a goal. He didn’t want to be that guy. And we love Drew for it.

Eventually, a match was played and the Galaxy did not embarrass themselves, as many in the British press had predicted they would. With Beckham on the bench, the Galaxy managed one decent shot on goal in the first half, forcing a superb save by Chelsea’s Peter Cech, and then preceded to hold on to a 0-0 draw for the remainder of the half. The game continued to be secondary to the question of whether or not Beckham would play or not.

That question was answered when the Englishman made his debut on an obviously still sore ankle with about 13 minutes to play. Chelsea captain (and Beckham’s replacement for national team captain) John Terry had already fired a classy low shot off the right post and in after the Galaxy failed to effectively clear a shot. But there would be no storybook ending for the Hollywood script that MLS execs were hoping to write. Beckham just limped up and down the pitch, and still managed to look better than most of the Galaxy players with the few touches he had.

Landon Donovan, who seemed a bit overexcited before the match, played rather poorly, failing to put away an easy header from the six. The best player for the Galaxy on the night was Abel Xavier, who was solid in defense and saved the Galaxy from embarrassment by denying many long-distance efforts by Chelsea. The worst player was Troy Roberts who was beat like a rented mule (it’s a saying, don’t write letters) all night long by Salomon Kalou. Roberts was dreadful. He should not be in MLS, let alone starting for a team.

The Beckham dream debut nearly turned into a nightmare for fans, as a hard tackle by Steve Sidwell sent Beckham sprawling to the turf where he stayed for a moment. Prior to the match, Cheslea coach Jose Mourinho had acknowledged that he told his team to avoid challenges on Beckham if he were to enter the match (a “non-aggression pact”). But as Eric Wynalda commented, Sidwell must have missed the memo. But the $250 million signing jumped up quickly and appeared to be no worse for wear.

The match ended with a Galaxy corner, that Donovan laughingly set-up to take before smiling and deferring to Beckham. Beck’s corner, however, was a bit short, falling to the near post, and was headed out. The match would end and Galaxy fans could relax.

Another word on LD. During Alexi Lalas’ interview with Rob Stone and Julie Foudy, he made a curious statement. Now, I know Lalas has a tendency to open mouth and insert foot, but he seemed to indicate that the Galaxy wanted players who understood the importance of Beckham to the team. His language was curious because he didn’t say that he currently had a team that understood what Beckham’s impact was going to be. Only that they “wanted” them. Do I sense a trade in the works? Perhaps Landon Donovan to New York for Jozy Altidore? Just speculating.

I guess Galaxy execs would say that Beckham’s appearance was necessary, but the Sidwell challenge really highlighted the absolute absurdity of putting him in when he was still clearly carrying an injury. He limped about on the pitch and although he provided a few nice touches, it could have been disastrous if Sidwell had caught the left ankle instead of sliding in more to Beckham’s right boot. It was utterly absurd to risk a player that is that valuable to a team and a league for a farcical competition like this one.

So, even though the Galaxy lost, they should count themselves lucky. They should also hold Beckham out of any further contests until he’s fully healed. No Superliga, at all. If Los Angeles really expect to squeak into the playoffs, they need a healthy Beckham for their return to regular season play on August 5th versus Toronto. Oh, and they need a new right back and possibly a new left back and maybe a pair of forwards who can score … but that’s all.

MLS Match Report

"You tell 'em Steve Dave"

Steve Davis, Dallas-based columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com published a list of 10 rumors. Most of them we have already covered but there's a few "new" pieces of information, such as Eddie Johnson to Derby County or Porto, Adu to Benfica, not Celtic, and American Idol-creator Simon Fuller as a potential MLS power broker.
Here's the link

Oh, yeah. Blanco's here, too.

So, with the hoopla of the Beckham unveiling, MLS almost forgot. We also signed that Mexican guy who hops. Here's the press conference unveiling Mexican forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco. He will debut for the struggling Fire this Saturday in their exhibition versus Celtic FC.

New coach Juan Carlos Osorio had this to say about Chicago's newest addition:

"Obviously Celtic is a great team and a very well recognized club throughout Europe and throughout the world," said Fire head coach Juan Carlos Osorio. "It can not be a better opposition for some of the guys here that haven't had experience at that level, hopefully for the younger players like Chris Rolfe, Chad [Barrett] and the rest. If we can have Cuauhtémoc for the game then I think we will have all the guys ready and hopefully have the team in place that will be basically be the starting lineup for the rest of the season."

Do you think Coach Osorio said "Chris Rolfe, Chad and the rest" because he has know idea who else is on the team? I mean he did admit a complete ignorance of MLS during the press conference announcing his hiring.

Press release

Blanco's got hops (It's No.4. Also see Dallas target Denilson's move at No.9)

Please stop letting little Bradley write about soccer

Jeff Bradley released another Best XI column on mlsnet.com. Typical insipid, worthless commentary from ESPN's part-time soccer writer.

In it he tells us his favorite XI things about Major League Soccer (like we care) and then precedes to rattle off the most obvious of lists. I mean his insights make Shep Messing look like a Harvard grad (wait a minute).

So, he likes the (11) playoff race (yawn), all the (10) trades (“I never thought I'd see the day when I turned on an MLS game and saw a guy in uniform who had been traded unbeknownst to me.” Come on, my mom knows more about what’s going on in MLS right now and she still think Adu plays for United), and the (9) brilliant debuts (he cites “Carlos Toja in Dallas” Carlos? Has Juan’s brother been signed. C’mon, he was the star of the All-Star match which was last night and you can’t get his name right?!)*.

He also likes (8) dominant teams (“Houston Dynamo are looking like the team to beat, and I don't think it's just their ability to rock and roll on national television ... they're just flat good.” Wow, I haven’t seen this ability to grasp and state the obvious since Marcelo Balboa pretended to be a color commentator), (7) high drama (“It could not be any more dramatic than what's been laid out for Mr. Beckham…” Sure it could, what if for every Galaxy game we dipped Beckham’s shorts in liver and then had Michael Vick release his dogs at the opening whistle), and (6) the race for the golden boot (yawn).

His Top 5 are as exciting as reading the User License Agreement for downloaded porn video software. He loves (5) atmosphere (Who doesn’t love being able to breath?), (4) pressure cookers (Who doesn’t love a little high-altitude goulash?), (3) Home boys (I actually agree with this one. I thought “Hanging with the Homeboys” was a vastly underrated comedy, starring Mario Joyner and John Leguizamo), (2) Soccer in Canada (“I'm not going to pretend to know much about soccer North of the Border, but I do know they lost a baseball team in Montreal a few years back...” (Why would a soccer journalist know more about baseball in Canada than soccer? Because he’s not a soccer journalist), and the final reason Bradley loves MLS in 2007 …

(1) Three in the booth. (Look I’m a fan of the ménage a trios as much as the next guy, but then you have to buy lotions and robes and things. Plus, Rob Stone, Eric Wynalda and Tommy Smyth is a pretty disgusting threesome. But it would bring new meaning to the phrase, “This commentator blows”)

Stick to baseball Bradley and give up "covering" MLS. We all know you haven’t followed what has been happening in the league since your only source got the national team job.

P.S. Just so you don’t think that TYH hates all other soccer writers at the Worldwide Leader in Every Sport Sans Soccer. I really enjoy reading Andrea Canales. Here’s a link to her archive. I don't always agree with her analysis, but at least she knows Juan from Carlos.

* For the record, Juan's full name is Juan Carlos Toja Vega, but I don't think Bradley was given special permission to call him "Carlos", when everyone else calls him Juan.

Samba with a Texas drawl?

Dallas FC are still targeting Brazilian midfielder Denilson, a member of the the 1998 World Cup runner's up and the 2002 World Cup champions, who currently plays for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nasr. And reports are that the club is close to a deal.

Denilson, 29, ended up in Saudi Arabia after a failed trial at Portsmouth. Before that he played 31 matches for French club Bordeaux in the 2005-2006 season. Once upon a time, Denilson was highest value player in the world, breaking the transfer fee record with a move from São Paulo to Real Betis (around $40 million).

Despite the fact that his best days are behind him, the thought of Juan Toja and Denilson combining in midfielder is intriguing if the Brazilian doesn't show up to Dallas out of shape and overweight.

Still can crack it from distance (courtesy of alnassr on YouTube)

Viva Colombia! MLS All-Stars beat Celtic

The Major League Soccer All-Stars outclassed Scottish giant Celtic FC, 2-0, with goals from MLS's two new Colombian imports, Juan Pablo Angel (NY) and Juan Toja (DAL), in the 2007 MLS All-Star game in Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver. The MLS All-Stars are now 4-0 versus international sides, with victories over Chelsea (1-0), Fulham (4-1) and CD Guadalajara (3-1).

Even with a few of MLS's better players missing from this year's All-Star lineups (see my blog), the MLS All-Stars ran roughshod over the Bhoys, who looked like they were just beginning their preaseason, even though they have been preparing for some time.

The wet pitch made for a sloppy first few minutes, as both sides sorted out the pace of the slick turf. Houston's Dwayne De Rosario, last year's MVP, took a while to find his touch in the early stages. But MLS would find it quicker than Celtic, as Toja nearly opened the scoring in the 21st minute. A Ronnie O'Brien (TOR) cross fell to Toja, who was unmarked at the far post, but his effort was blocked well by Celtic keeper Artur Boruc who was a busy man all night.

MLS got an even better chance about eight minutes later when Kansas City striker Eddie Johnson was clipped inside the box and a penalty was given. Johnson who stood over the ball, refusing to let anyone else take the PK, struck the ball low and to his left, but Boruc dove and blocked away Johnson's weak effort.

MLS's breakthrough would spring from a familiar source, as De Rosario split the Celtic backline with a lovely ball that Red Bull star Angel dribbled around Boruc and tucked into goal. A classy finish that made Celtic look like the pub team that the Brits were calling Los Angeles earlier in the day.

Speaking of the Galaxy, MLS royalty David Beckham was present at the match. I know this because ESPN showed him every five minutes and then interviewed him at halftime. The rest of the time, the game announcers talked about him. It was all Becks, all the time. I know he is helping the league, but I'm already kind of sick of him. Not one shot of his wife either. They did show sideline reporter Allen Hopkins giving Beckham the ol' how-do-you-do for what seemed like an uncomfortable amount of time.

Back to the match, EJ continued to show why the national team needs more options at striker. His touch was pretty awful, too heavy or too light. He tried a few fancy moves, but most of the time he just gave it away. He is best if you drop the ball in front of him behind the defense. Any kind of pressure and he fucks up. Oh he looked like his little sister had given him a haircut.

Despite EJ's issues, MLS continued to dominate possession through the midfield, as De Rosario and Dynamo teammate Ricardo Clark demonstrated why Houston is the class of MLS right now. On the other end, New England 'keeper Matt Reis was rarely tested in the early going. In the 40th minute, however, Reis was forced to wake up, as Celtic's Scott McDonald slammed a hard, low shot off the post.

Four minutes later, MLS would double their lead, as MLS's other MVP candidate Juan Toja made up for his earlier point-blank miss. The play began after Angel won a free kick from about 30 yards. The free kick slammed off the wall and a Celtic player, attempting to touch it back to a teammate, knocked it right to Toja who was in on goal and sent a low left-footed shot past Boruc.

Then, halftime...the Beckham interview with Rob Stone where he said he's probably not playing in the meaningless match against Chelsea, that Entertainment tonight follows him to In-and-Out Burger and that he wants to help the U.S. grow soccer. Really, LA fans, relax, take a deep breath. You may suck this year, but don't let the British media take the piss out of you. He's here for at least two seasons. He said he's here for five years, but we'll see.

The point is, he means more to you than just this match versus Chelsea or even this season. I feel like LA fans are going to have a collective nervous breakdown if he doesn't immediately turn things around for them. It may take some time, and it might not be till next year. The English media will be heartless to your struggles. Remember, these are the people who killed Princess Diana and they loved her for fuck's sake. So, take a deep breath and smile because the future is still bright in LA. Oh and the halftime band was shite, as I predicted.

Ok, sidetracked again. The second half was really more of the same, although Celtic tried to put the pedal down and played with a bit more urgency. But Michael Parkhurst (NE), Jimmy Conrad (KC) and even, I must admit it, Jonathan Bornstein (CHV) played solid. The Revs Shalrie Joseph played well defensively; he's very physical, but a bit clumsy with his challenges.

MLS All-Star coach Steve Nicol made all the requisite All-Star substitutions in the second half. He brought in Kevin Hartman, who demonstrated exactly why he shouldn't have been there by dropping a long-distance shot right in front of McDonald whose subsequent goal was disallowed (correctly) for offside. Then Nicol brought on hometown favorite Pablo Mastroeni (COL), Landon Donovan (LA) and Brian Ching (HOU) in the 65th minute. Later on he brought on the AARP Cobi Jones (LA) and Eddie Pope (RSL).

Landon spent much of the rest of the second half looking nervous and clumsy on the ball. It was as if there was someone in the stands who he was trying to impress (and who the ESPN showed after every misplayed ball by the Young American). He did manage to settle down for the last 10 minutes,

In all, it was an excellent exhibition of the league for the new world audience that seems to have migrated from Europe to America very recently. And I think it proved that MLS already had some stars of its own before they purchased ol' what's-his-name.

All-Star MVP: Juan Pablo Angel

MLS matchtracker

FIrst-half highlights courtesy of YouTuber askurmum999

MLS un-veils the Almost-Stars

This is funny. MLS has announced 14 more "All-Stars" who will be inactive unless one of the previous named All-Stars is unable to participate. But notice this language from the press release:

The additional selections are considered MLS All-Stars, and will listed as such in official league records.

I bet the players on this list feel like when they were playing U-6 soccer and, hey, everyone will be getting a trophy this year because you all are so darn special. I wonder if Taylor Twellman's mom called to complain that he wasn't selected.

So here is your MLS All (in-active) Star team:
Kyle Beckerman (MF, Real Salt Lake); Jim Brennan (DF, Toronto FC); Jeff Cunningham (FW, Toronto FC); Danny Dichio (FW, Toronto FC); Brad Guzan (GK; Chivas USA); Frankie Hejduk (DF; Columbus Crew); Justin Mapp (MF; Chicago Fire); Ben Olsen (MF, D.C. United); Guillermo Barros Schelotto (MF, Columbus Crew); Steve Ralston (MF, New England Revolution); Claudio Reyna (MF, New York Red Bulls); Eddie Robinson (DF, Houston Dynamo); Taylor Twellman (FW, New England Revolution); Ronald Waterreus (GK, New York Red Bulls)

Wow, still no Pat Onstad. Who did he piss off?

MLS to resurrect 'Quakes

MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced in his annual State of the League address that San Jose will be returning to Major League Soccer.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier today that Garber met with Lew Wolff, managing partner of the Oakland A's and chief architect in the push for San Jose's return to MLS, on Wednesday. Wolff and his business partneers are currently trying to build a soccer-specific stadium to house the new incarnation of the San Jose Earthquakes.

MLS Commissioner is currently delivering his State of the League address where he is expected to confirm San Jose's entry back into the league. Check back to TYH for additional details from Garber's address.
Click here for Examiner article

Garber makes it official

2005 press release explaining franchise's move to Houston.

Additional news from Garber's address:

• Toronto will host 2008 MLS All-Star match
  
  
• Major coaching diversity initiative unveiled
  

MLS All-Star starters vs. Celtic

GOALKEEPER

M. Reis (NE)

DEFENDERS

J. Conrad (KC), M. Parkhurst (NE), J. Bornstein (CHV)

MIDFIELDERS

Ronnie O'Brien (TOR), S. Joseph (NE), R. Clark (HOU), J. Toja (DAL),
D. De Rosario (HOU)

FORWARD

E. Johnson (KC), J.P. Angel (NY)

Nicol names his starters

Beck-less Galaxy blown out by Tigres

So, David Beckham was unveiled. But a swollen ankle kept them out of Los Angeles' inter-league match up with Mexican club Tigres in the opening match of what MLS is calling the World Series of Football, and the Galaxy lost 3-0 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

It was a meaningless contest for a made up tournmanent, and the Galaxy certainly didn't play as if their lives depended on it. After Tigres forward Francisco Fonseca scored in the 11th minute off a Galaxy giveaway, L.A. managed to hold off Tigres until the second half when the yellow cards began to pile up. The straw that broke the Galaxy's back happened in 64th minute when Chris Klein was shown a dubious second yellow and sent off. After that it was all Tigres, as Walter Gaitan and Alejandro Vilalobos added goals in the 72nd and 89th minutes, respectively.

Coach Frank Yallop was upset with the level of play shown by the Galaxy, according to quotes on mlsnet.com after the match:

"It's disappointing to see the team come out and perform like that. They almost played like they didn't want to make a mistake, scared and afraid to commit themselves to anything," said Yallop. "That was the thing that really stuck with me. The team is a reflection of me, and that's not what I'm all about. I tried very hard when I played and I got the best out of every situation I had."

The Galaxy will face Chelsea in the second and final match of this "World Series," a match that is supposed to be Beckham's debut. And the trickle of British tabloid info-tainment is turning into a stream, as even some of our state-side "journalist" are trying to create some off-the-pitch drama between Beckham and his teammates.

One column featured prominently on the Yahoo! Sports page suggests that Beckham's arrival is creating a mutiny among the players and friction between coach and GM. He suggests that Landon Donovan, in particular, is upset and may lead a mutiny if he is bumped as Galaxy captain. Then, the 15-year journalism veteran quotes Donovan who says the following: "Do I want to be the captain? Sure,'' Donovan said. "But if I'm not, I'm not going to cry about it.''

OMG! Donovan is going to kill David Beckham! How the hell do you quote a guy, as saying the equivalent of "whatever" as plans for mutiny is beyond me. He must have went to the British School for Mischaracterizing Quotations. As for the friction between coach and GM, suggested by traded player Santino Quaranta in a Newark Star-Ledger interview, the "journalist" quotes Yallop saying, "It's all rubbish...He's just trying to make a few waves there."

Sure his teammates are taken aback by the attention he's receiving. Sure some of them might be jealous of his big salary and hot wife. But I think all the Galaxy players understand that they need Beckham, especially after last night's match. In fact, I would hazard a guess that the team is perhaps putting too much stock in Beckham's ability to right a ship that was in sinking long before MLS managed this historic signing.

Mutiny? That's tabloid baloney. Donovan and all his mates know that Beckham is their only hope to salvage the season. If he's unable to save the Galaxy, the mutiny will be against Yallop, not Beckham.

Lucky FC? MLS to add 3 teams by '08

In a chat with fans held at mlsnet.com Major League Soccer commissioner announced that he is "very confident" that MLS will be able to add three more teams by the end of the year. While he didn't tip his hand to who those teams would be, if I was a betting man and I felt lucky, I would roll the dice and...oh c'mon do I have to spell it out.

Here is the chat exchange:

Don Garber
If I answer that here, we certainly won't have much to talk about during the State of the League address tomorrow. I'm well aware that much of the internet traffic and fan buzz recently concerns expansion and all of you know I, and MLS president Mark Abbot, spend a great deal of our time traveling from city to city meeting with potential owners, officials and sports authorities and all others to manage the expansion of the league. I'm very confident that we will be able to announce a 16-team league by the end of the year. It's still a moving target as to what cities will flow in when.

Later in the chat, Garber identified several potential cities for expansion

Don Garber
There's more interest in MLS expansion than at any other time in the history of the sport in the country. Without prioritizing any one market, here is a rundown of the cities: Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, San Jose, Sacramento, San Diego, San Antonio, St. Louis, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Rochester, New York City, Atlanta, Miami and Las Vegas.

Notice that Philadelphia is absent from the list. He discussed Philly's specific chances later in the chat, but it sounds like it's only in the beginning stages, so it's likely not one of the three. Perhaps Philly could be the new home of the Kansas City Wizards (if the league makes the correct decision to cut its losses in Kansas City and move to where they actually will support a team).

If I had to guess which will be the big three added, I would have to say Rochester, San Jose and Miami. Why those three? Stadiums. Those three cities all have stadiums already set up. Seattle might be in the mix, if they can work out an arrangement with the Seahawks to use Qwest Field. The Rochester Rhinos of USL-1 deserve a promotion, but I'm not sure MLS fans should be thrilled about San Jose and Miami coming back from the dead. Cleveland could also be a real possibility, as they were actually announced as an expansion team in 2005. But with the death of the man behind the Cleveland push, Bert Wolstein, the bid was stalled until recently. Las Vegas is a sexy pick and would be a bold one. With no major pro sports franchises in town for fear of the gambling spectre, it has the potential to be a treasure trove of revenue for MLS.

Surfing through expansion news I found this gem, produced by a Dallas Burn fan a few years ago. It is his projections for expansion complete with names and mascots for the clubs (some based on USL teams, some not). This was done several years ago, but I actually like his name for Houston better. The Houston Hammers. Maybe because it reminds me of the Hebrew Hammer and that was funny. Also, Locomotive St. Louis is so stupid it's brilliant. Or maybe it's just stupid.

Garber is likely to announce at least one of the expansion teams during tomorrow's State of the League address, which I'm sure will be carried on mlsnet.com live.

Becks traded. Not that one.

MLS announced today that the Rapids have dealt Kyle Beckerman to Real Salt Lake for Mehdi Ballouchy. This makes neither team much better, as both midfielders are having subpar years. Beckerman has a goal and two assists this season, while Ballouchy has yet to make it onto the scorer's sheet. Last year, however, was a different story for both of these players, as Ballouchy was a finalist for Rookie of the Year, playing primarily on the left, and Beckerman had a breakout year that included seven goals. Ah, the heady days of last season.

If Real are realists, than the move was likely made to clear the way for a Senior International roster spot next year, as the Moroccan-born Ballouchy will lose his Youth International designation next April when he turns 25. If they aren't already, RSL should be in rebuilding mode. Of course, Kyle Beckerman would not be the guy I would start with. Ex-coach John Ellinger tried moving Ballouchy to central mid this season and the experiment failed miserably. And Beckerman was probably the only central mid on the market. A change in scenery could make a difference for Beckerman who has the ability to be a much better player than he has so far.

Turning to Colorado, dumping Beckerman for Ballouchy seems stupid at first glance. Beckerman either scored or assisted in three of Colorado's four wins, but the fact that they have the third lowest goals scored total in the league, speaks volumes to Beckerman's inability to be the engine for this team. Coach Fernando Clavijo tried to use him as an attacking midfielder before settling on him as a holding mid, in the absence of Pablo Mastroeni (either due to injury or call-ups) or when Mastroeni was dropped into central defense. But Ballouchy isn't the answer in the center, either. The best option would be to place him on the left wing with Terry Cooke on the right and keep Jovan Kirovski as the attacking midfielder, with Mastroeni behind him. Not a line-up that's going to strike fear into the hearts of any MLS defenses. Next season when Ballouchy turns 25, whoever is coaching the Rapids can decide if he's earned a Senior International roster spot.

Here's the article on the trade

U.S. Copa victim wins spot with Bundesliga club

The good people at Yanks Abroad are reporting that 22-year-old defender Heath Pearce has signed a till 2009 for newly promoted Bundesliga club Hansa Rostock.

Pearce, a left back, was selected to Bradley's ill-fated 0-3 Copa America squad and started the final match against Colombia, a 1-0 loss and their most respectable scoreline of the tournament. He didn't factor much in the match, but few players distinguished themselves in Venezuela. He has a total of seven caps for the national team.

During Bruce Arena's time as coach of the national team, Pearce was considered behind both Frankie Hejduk and Todd Dunivant on the depth chart. He doesn't seem to be making much progress under Bradley, who clearly brought mainly bubble players to Copa America to determine U.S. depth.

Left back has been a troublesome position for the U.S. Arena used Bobby Convey, Eddie Lewis and John O'Brien, none of which were traditional left backs (except maybe O'Brien who didn't start his career there but played in that spot for Ajax often).

Click here for Yanks Abroad story.

Capello: From Real Madrid to Real Salt Lake?

Spanish newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport reported that recently sacked Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello is considering coaching in the United States, after an unnamed MLS club contacted him and offered him a position.

We're No.1

"They have contacted me from the United States; however, I must think about it,' Capello told Gazzetta Dello Sport. "It would be a new experience that would intrigue me not for the money but to see if anyone could make American soccer take off."

So, who was the club? He's not saying, but the likeliest of suspects is probably Real Salt Lake, who have the worst record in MLS and have already made one coaching change this season. After sacking John Ellinger, RSL announced that Jason Kries would retire and take over as head coach. Since the switch, which kept on Ellinger as a player personnel advisor, Kreis' squad has gone 1-6-4, and you get the feeling, watching him on the sideline during matches, that he is a bit overwhelmed by the responsibility.

But although RSL are the likiest candidate for a switch, there are few untouchable coaches, especially if making a switch could open a pipeline into MLS for more talented European players. You can probably place MLS All-Star and Revs head coach Steve Nicol on the safe list, as well as Los Angeles' Frank Yallop, who got a public vote of confidence from GM Alexi Lalas during the Beckham unveiling (although he wouldn't be the first GM in history to lie pubically).

And, sure, guys like Steve Morrow (Dallas), Dominic Kinnear (Houston) and Curt Onalfo (Kansas City) are doing wonderful jobs at their respective clubs and should be safe. But are they? Capello's pedigree and relationships with world-class players like Francisco Totti and Fabio Cannavaro would be hard to pass up.

Click here for Reuters article

TYH’s Top 25 (July)

Each month TYH will announce the top 25 U.S. players. The rankings will be cumulative and will take into consideration current level of play, injuries and past proficiency with the national team. The first 11 will be divided into positional leaders (4-4-2), followed by 11 reserves* and three players that deserve a shot at cap #1.

Goalkeeper:
Tim Howard

Defenders:
Carlos Bocanegra
Frank Simek
Oguchi Onyewu
Jonathan Spector

Midfielders:
Landon Donovan
Clint Dempsey
Benny Feilhaber
DaMarcus Beasley

Forward
Eddie Johnson
Taylor Twellman

Reserves:
Jose Burciaga, Jr., Brian Ching, MIchael Bradley, Ricardo Clark, Todd Dunivant, Steve Ralston, Jozy Altidore, Freddy Adu, Marvell Wynne, Jimmy Conrad, Andy Dorman

Let’s have a look at:
Anthony Wallace (D), FC Dallas
Danny Szetela (M), Columbus
Tony Beltran (D/M), UCLA

ANALYSIS: This month's Top 25 took in the highs (U-20 WC) and the lows (Copa America) and sorted out those who stepped up and made a case for themselves and those who should be expunged from the national team pool. You'll notice that two U-20s, in particular, made the reserves, Freddy and Jozy. And although they sound like an 80s rock group, I selected them based on their terrific play in the U-20 World Cup. It's time to give Freddy a legitimate shot, playing in a central attacking position. Maybe Coach Bob Bradley can try out the duo against Sweden, next month. Fellow U-20s Wallace, Szetela and Beltran also earned a look for their play in the U-20s. I was especially impressed with Szetela's composure throughout the tournaments. He was really the linchpin of this talented team.

As you can see some national team regulars (Bobby Convey, Marcus Hahnemann, etc.) have dropped out due to injury, but TYH is hoping they can regain their form as they prepare for the grueling European season. Pablo Mastroeni is also currently bothered by an abductor strain but shouldn't be out for too long. The Starting 11 didn't really change, except that Dunivant fell into the reserves. Twellman nearly fell out as well, but in the end he's still a better option than Ching. However, Twellman might just be a few poor performances away from being labeled a Jason Kreis (MLS star, national team dud).

*The reserves include the best available players and may or may not reflect positional depth.