July 29, 2009

Zlatan and Eto'o Switch Clubs, Inter Milan better off

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto'o have switched clubs, to FC Barcelona and Inter Milan respectively. Zlatan scored 25 goals with Inter, leading Serie A while Eto'o scored 30 and finished second in La Liga.

When considering this move at first, it just seems the two clubs swapped their most prolific strikers so they each could have a change of scenery. They scored similar amounts of goals, and the two players are only a year apart in age.

And then you realize that Inter Milan will get 46 million on top of receiving Eto'o (or so I've heard, I haven't been able to confirm this. I apologize if this is completely wrong). I consider Eto'o to be the more prolific scorer of the two. He also scored six times last year for the title winners in the Champions League, Zlatan scored only once. I also think Eto'o is the better all around player. So why Inter is getting money in addition to the better player (in my opinion) is beyond me.

Also, I see that Manchester City have finally had the sense to invest in their defense. They bought Kolo Toure from Arsenal today for a cool 16 million pounds.

Getafe Win Competition for Ugliest Kit

(Taken from footballshirtculture.com. I wish I could fix the blog so it doesn't cut off the pictures, but the guy on the right is wearing the same shirt as the guy in blue, only it's in red.)

Wow, words cannot even begin to describe how ugly these shirts are. The multi-colored stripe running across the top is atrocious, and the Burger King sponsorship simply looks terrible.

And it gets even worse. Former striker Fabrizio Ravanelli used to celebrate his goals by pulling his shirt over his head and running around as such:


So what does Burger King then decide to do? If any Getafe player decides to celebrate in the Ravanelli style, the Burger King himself will be present as well:


Burger King should really be ashamed of themselves for this. Tell everyone you know to boycott eating there simply because of this mess. Joma (the kit manufacturer) should also be ashamed.

MLS All-Stars Lose First Game to International Competition

I've always been torn about the what the MLS should do for it's All-Star game. An East vs. West game, like they've done in the past, is rather boring and doesn't draw in an audience outside of the cult followers of the league. This is probably the main reason why the league scrapped this format.

For the last five years (I believe), the MLS All-Stars have played teams from international leagues, most commonly from the EPL (Fulham, Chelsea, West Ham and now Everton). This format attracts a much larger audience to the game and promotes the MLS by showboating their best players against some of the best teams in the world. But this current format also sets the league up for potential failure. If a group of all-stars from the 15 MLS teams can't contend or beat these teams, most of whom aren't champions of their respective leagues and aren't even regular competitors for the title, then what does that say for the rest of the league and the players who aren't "all-stars?"

MLS is certainly walking a tightrope here. If they lose, it shows just how much further we have to go to become a respectable league on the world stage. If they win, however, then the national sports media will rave how a bunch of (mostly) American players just beat Chelsea or Celtic and claim that we're on our way up in the soccer world.

Another thing the MLS All-Stars have going against them is that these players must come together and jell on the pitch in a matter or days. The teams they play have settled squads with players who know the system and understand what their teammates are and aren't capable of. Even though the game is part of their preseason training, that doesn't mean they've forgotten how to play with each other after a month or two apart.

For these past five years, the MLS All-Stars have pulled through and won. This year's game really shouldn't have been any different. The boys have nothing to hang their heads about besides all the missed chances they had in the second half. To lose on penalty kicks...that's really just a crap shoot anyway.

Except for when you're shooting against Tim Howard. He's damn good. It's bittersweet - I feel better for the USMNT after seeing him perform so admirably between the sticks.

July 26, 2009

Gold Cup Fiasco


I don't want to talk about it.

By the way, how freaky does Guillermo Franco (10) look?

July 25, 2009

Leyton Orient 6-1 Newcastle United

Yes, you read that correctly - Leyton Orient beat Newcastle United 6-1 in a preseason friendly today.

Yes, Newcastle United are now in the Football League Championship and Leyton Orient reside in League One, but that score is shocking for any Newcastle fan with hopes of getting back into the EPL. Yes, it's a friendly, but that is ridiculous.

It only took Orient 4 minutes to open the scoring. And they sure didn't let up after that. It gets even worse for Newcastle - their only goal came from a Joey Barton penalty! They couldn't score a goal in open play, yet they conceded six to a lower league side.

Oh dear.

Their first match of the season is only two weeks away. And isn't Mike Ashley still their owner?

July 23, 2009

Everton signs another obscure American


Soccer by Ives brought this story (and the above picture) to my attention - Everton have signed another American player who I've never heard of. This time, it is Wake Forest striker Cody Arnoux, who just finished his junior year.

Apparently, he had a trial with the club in March and signed a contract today. He was projected to be a top three prospect in the MLS draft next year, according to SBI.

Arnoux is so obscure at this point that he doesn't have his own Wikipedia page, nor is he listed as an Everton player on that team's Wikipedia page. That will surely change in the next day or two, if not sooner.

Everton is quickly overtaking Fulham as the American team in England. If they end up signing Clint Dempsey as well, then they surely will have claimed that title away from the London club.

Book Club: "The Beckham Experiment"


My copy of "The Beckham Experiment" by SI's soccer writer Grant Wahl came today from amazon.com. I have a bunch of stuff that I want to read, but this will be put near the top of my list.

Consider this the first edition of the "11 players, 1 team book club."

July 22, 2009

Sven to Notts County?!?

Sven Goran Eriksson was revealed as the director of football at Notts County FC today.

You may be asking "why Notts County?" I'm right there with you. Especially when Sven is saying things like this after taking the job
I always said I wanted to come back to the Premier League. I chose a little bit of a difficult way to do it I think.

Not sure why taking a job with a League Two side who finished 19th out of 24 teams last year has Sven convinced that this job will lead him back to the Premier League. Maybe he wants to construct a team that he can assemble with funds from a Middle East consortium who just took the team over. Notts County FC are the oldest professional soccer team in the world, after all - they certainly deserve something better than League Two.

But still, for Sven, who managed England in two World Cups, took Manchester City to their highest ever point total in the top flight (not to mention beating Man Utd in both league games in his only season in charge) and has been in charge of such high profile teams as Benfica, Roma and Fiorentina, this is a bizarre move. Even after a rough stint with the Mexican national team of late (for which I will be forever grateful - thanks Sven!), he surely could've landed

Just to clarify, Sven will not be managing Notts County, he will be the director of football. He will essentially be the equivalent of a general manager in US sports.

Also, I wonder how this will play out on a new season of Special1 TV.

July 19, 2009

Fredy Montero to Europe; Fulham?

The British media is known for fabricating rumors and nonsense in all matters relating to soccer and transfers. This rumor, which I stumbled across this morning, seems much more plausible (mostly because the coach was quoted, but I suppose that could be fabricated as well).

Fredy Montero, the 21-year-old scoring sensation with the Seattle Sounders (he's the second leading scorer in all of MLS with 9 goals, only behind Columbus' Guillermo Barros Schelotto with 10) is being linked with a move to Europe, and Fulham seems to be a likely destination.

As a young player who has made such an impact in MLS, the sky seems to be the limit for him. That said, I'm surprised that he's being linked with England, Europe's undisputed top soccer league. He is explosive and is capable of making special plays whenever he's on the ball, but as I was also reminded yesterday, he's prone to making silly mistakes and be selfish with the ball.

He's young and that can change, but he's certainly capable of making a switch to Europe.

Sounders vs. Chelsea


Above are the two goals that Chelsea scored against the Seattle Sounders. I had seats up in the nosebleed section above the corner flag at the end where Chelsea scored both of their goals. Seattle competed with Chelsea and were able to move the ball around, I thought, but boy, Chelsea's defense didn't let anything remotely close to the goal. Our only real opportunity to score came from Freddie Ljungberg's free kick where Petr Cech made a flying save.

Overall, Chelsea is a very good team. They made their goals looks so simple, coming so quick. It felt like they could score anytime they touched the ball because every single player they had on the field was capable of doing something special with the ball. The players they brought on in the second half were first team players as well (Carvalho, Ivanovic, Obi Mikel).

A good day out. The weather couldn't have been better. I only learned after the game that ESPN2 showed the game nationally. Chelsea put on a show for the country, and the Sounders didn't play too shabby either.

July 17, 2009

Off to the Sounders vs. Chelsea Game Tomorrow!


I have tickets to go see the Seattle Sounders take on Chelsea tomorrow at Qwest Field. I have yet to see the Sounders play live since it's so hard to get tickets, but officials opened up the entire stadium for this friendly match. It's almost completely sold out (less than 1,000 tickets left in a stadium that holds 67,000). We (my dad and I) only managed to get tickets up in the nosebleed section, but I can't complain really. I'm just happy to be there.

I'll have thoughts and possibly even pictures on here whenever I get around to it. Tomorrow will be a busy day.

PS. I hate Chelsea. But I couldn't help myself from smiling while i watched this video Terry, Drogba and Ballack trying their hand at American football.

Fulham Concludes Pre-Season Trip to Australia

Fulham recently finished up a pre-season tour of Australia, where they played three teams out of the Australian A-League. Below, I've posted their goals from their last game, a 5-0 thrashing of the Perth Glory. Eddie Johnson had two assists that this short video shows (he is wearing #21). Maybe he'll be able to make the team a second time around?



Come on Fulham!

Also, Erik Nevland had a hat trick for the Superwhites (goals 2-4 on the video).

July 16, 2009

Beckham's MLS Return


Unless you've been completely out of the news of late, you've heard about the controversy between David Beckham and Landon Donovan as chronicled by SI senior writer Grant Wahl in his newly released book titled The Beckham Experiment. This post will not be a commentary on that, however.

Tonight is Beckham's first game back for the Galaxy since declaring himself a part-time MLS player. He spent the first half the MLS season in Italy with giants AC Milan. We'll see how Beckham fits into this team who have won three in a row, and how he gets on with Donovan.

I like the Galaxy's chances tonight. They are playing the New York Red Bulls, after all. Kickoff is at 8pm ET (90 minutes from right now).

UPDATE: LA is up 3-0 going into halftime with David Beckham in the line-up. The game isn't being televised here in Seattle so I can't judge his performance, but clearly Beckham is not disrupting the Galaxy's momentum. It's against the Red Bulls, yes, but three goals in one half on the road is impressive nonetheless.

UPDATE #2: Full time, LA wins 3-1, Beckham subbed in the 70th minute. All signs point to a positive return on his part, but I haven't seen any highlights of the game to back this up.

UPDATE #3: Scratch that, apparently he had little or no effect on the game whatsoever.

July 15, 2009

Carlos Tevez: Welcome to the Other Side of Manchester



English fans/paparazzi never disappoint. But what's with the bandage (??) around Tevez's head?

Supposedly that thing he's wearing is some sort of a knit headband. Why Carlos why?

July 13, 2009

MLS Announces All-Star XI

As I'm sure many of you who read this blog (if you exist at all) will already know that the MLS released it's All-Star team roster. If not, let me fill you in:

3-5-2 formation
Kasey Keller (SEA), Chad Marshall (CLB), Geoff Cameron (HOU), Wilman Conde (CHI), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (CLB), Freddie Ljungberg (SEA), Shalrie Joseph (NE), Stuart Holden (HOU), Dwayne De Rosario (TOR), Landon Donovan (LA), Conor Casey (COL).

Bench: Pat Onstad (HOU), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (SEA), Jonathan Bornstein (CHV), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (CHI), Ricardo Clark (HOU), Osvaldo Alonso (SEA), Paulo Nagamura (CHV), Fredy Montero (SEA), Brian McBride (CHI).

For those of you keeping track at home, there are 5 Seattle players, 4 Houston players, and 3 Chicago players, the top three clubs represented.

There are four determinants that go into an all-star selection: fan voting, player voting, media voting and coach/general manager voting. It's very interesting to note the difference in fan voting from the other three groups, specifically towards Seattle Sounders players. (is anyone really that shocked about this though?)

The top four vote-getters from the fan voting were all Sounders. In descending order, they were: Ljungberg, Montero, Hurtado and Alonso. Only one of them (Ljungberg) is starting, however, signifying that the fans were alone in supporting these players, since they obviously didn't garner enough support from the other three groups to get picked as a starter.

On the flip side, the lack of a fan vote significantly hurt players on teams who have little to no fan support. This may explain why Jonathan Bornstein (who certainly could deserve it) isn't starting, or why no players from Real Salt Lake were chosen for example (their average attendance of 16,045 thus far this season just won't cut it compared to the 32,000 or so Sounders fans all voting for their own players each home game).

Of course, no Red Bulls players were selected. No surprises there.

The game is against Everton at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday, July 29th at 9:30pm ET. It's on ESPN, so there's no excuse not to watch.

PS. Congrats to my boy Stuart Holden who made his first MLS All-Star team. That's how we do it.

July 11, 2009

USA vs. Haiti Gold Cup Highlights



If you're like me, you weren't able to watch the USA's final group match versus Haiti. And boy, did we miss a dramatic finish. My boy Stuart Holden came up with the goods (a goal and assist each), which gives him two goals in as many senior squad appearances.

July 10, 2009

Everton signs American Midfielder

And it's not Clint Dempsey.

Everton has signed 22-year-old midfielder Anton Peterlin (who?) from the Ventura County Fusion, a team in the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. He has no senior caps for the US national team, nor does he have any youth level caps.

That said, he seemed poised to make a step up from his current club. He had already rejected offers from Chicago and San Jose...but Everton? Talk about one hell of a step up.

This is a kid I'll have to keep an eye on.

Also, I wonder how he ever got to be on Everton's radar. Was Everton really scouting this kid playing down in the US's fourth division in California? I doubt Tim Howard knows him personally.

July 8, 2009

Video: Hilarious Soccer Throw-In


I wish I learned how to take a throw-in like this! Also, that must've hurt...a lot.

Taken from College Humor (if you couldn't tell from the ridiculous advertising they have embedded with the video...sheesh!)

Ronaldo's Ego

In an ESPN Soccernet article posted today, Cristiano Ronaldo thanks Sir Alex Ferguson for making him a less selfish player.

Some of Ronaldo's quotes about this topic are pretty funny I think:
"It's obvious that I'm a less egotistical footballer now. I know for sure that four years ago I always played to try to end up scoring myself.

Ok so maybe I'm taking comments out of context and am being a bit harsh in my interpretation of them, but my God, he's one of the most selfish soccer players I've ever seen! He throws tantrums whenever a call doesn't go his way, and he always demands extra protection from referees (which is certainly warranted some of the time, but not in every game he plays). Sure, he has all the talent in the world, but he seems to have really taken that to his head specifically during these last two seasons at Manchester United. I do think he calmed down a bit this season when he realized he couldn't repeat his 31 league goals from the year before.

Of course, Madrid didn't do anything to quell his ego after shattering the world transfer fee record on him after just breaking it for Kaka just a few days before.

In Ronaldo's defense, he had some very kind things to say about Sir Alex Ferguson, giving him all the credit for turning him into the player he is now.

It makes you wonder though...if Ferguson stalled Ronaldo's ego, what was it like before he came to Manchester United and what would it be like now if he had never been under Ferguson's tutelage??

July 7, 2009

Gooch to AC Milan (!!!!)


There was a lot of speculation as to where American center back Oguchi Onyewu would end up this summer, but I don't think anyone thought he would sign with a club of this stature.

AC Milan have signed Gooch to a three-year deal on a free transfer from his old club Standard Liege. Yes, AC MILAN, who are 17-time winners of Serie A and 5-time winners of the Champions League, have signed an American!

I know Gooch was being linked with various English and French sides, but I don't think anyone - no American fans, no AC Milan fans - saw this coming. The story on the ESPN Soccernet website is speculating that he could start at center back next to Thiago Silva, a young Brazilian who also recently signed with the club.

I wonder if his impressive performance at the Confederations Cup won him this move. It's a great step forward for the national team, and if he performs well, it would open numerous doors for top American players down the line. As long as he gets playing time (I don't think anyone knows how much he will get at this point), he will become an even more vital part of the national squad.

Congrats Gooch! Now go make the most of it! I've never liked AC Milan, but I think I can make exceptions this time around for the team.

July 6, 2009

Gold Cup - USA vs. Grenada

Since I live in Seattle, I had to go see the US national team play when they were here - on the Fourth of July no less! Even if it was a "B" squad made up of players whom I hadn't heard of (for the majority of them, at least) coming into the game.

It shouldn't come as any surprise that the United States dominated Grenada, especially when you consider that the US has 300+ million people and Grenada has only 110,000 people. It was a complete mismatch, really. But still, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and for any soccer nut in my position, how could I not go watch the national team as a way to celebrate our country's independence?

And for those of you who don't know, the United States won 4-0, with goals from Freddy Adu, Stuart Holden, Robbie Rogers and Charlie Davies.

Best US Player
: Stuart Holden, Houston Dynamo (honorable mention goes to Robbie Rogers of the Crew). Holden has had experience playing on the U-20 team and more recently on the US Olympic Team in Beijing last summer, but in his first senior team appearance, he didn't make a single bad pass, dribble or move that I could see for the whole 90 minutes. He scored a goal and might've assisted another one if my memory serves me right. As a player who looked like he was playing some hybrid of central midfield and right winger, I think he could make the national team in the future (since I do not rate Ricardo Clark highly, but I don't like his chances of unseating Michael Bradley, Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey in the first team). A real exciting, fundamentally strong, and most importantly, smart player on the ball.

Most Disappointing US Player
: Freddy Adu. It's certainly not his fault that he was tagged as being the future of United States soccer at such a young age, but boy, did he look lazy for still being a fairly inexperienced player who hasn't earned any right to be lazy. He never seemed to hustle for a ball, electing instead to wait for the ball to reach his feet. Adu also seemed to have a really bad first touch. He had a very nice goal in the 6th minute of play, but all the credit should go to the assist man (Rogers it was I think?) for picking out an unmarked Adu in the box.

It's certainly a bit harsh to call Adu the "most disappointing player," but everyone else on the US squad (again, half of whom I hadn't heard of) all played very well. Adu didn't necessarily have a bad game, but he didn't seem to be taking advantage of his time on the field. Now I have a better idea why he hasn't been cracking the first team squad lately.

Overall, a good day out. There were drunk Honduran fans four rows behind me blowing horns the entire time that might've come straight from South Africa last week. I saw one of them funneling a beer down the horn. I'll bet he enjoyed that.

July 3, 2009

Michael Owen to Manchester United


My three thoughts about this deal:

1. Savvy move on Manchester United's part. They get a proven international goal-scorer without having to pay a transfer fee. Sure, his injury history is something to worry about, but he passed their (surely rigorous) physical, and he apparently is on a performance-based contract. Only gets paid if he produces - if he's injured, Sir Alex won't have to pay it appears. And it gives him incentive to perform well.

2. Wonder how he'll be received at his former club, Liverpool...Manchester United's arch rivals and all.

3. Manchester United > Hull City. Remember when Phil Brown was talking about trying to land Owen? That looks pretty ridiculous right about now.

EDIT: There's something else I want to add. I wonder if he'll find his way back into the England squad if he performs well at Old Trafford. We're less than a year away from the World Cup, and England has essentially qualified without him, but it would be tough even for Fabio Capello to turn away an experienced striker with 40 international goals.

July 2, 2009

Fulham Pre-Season Training Begins

Fulham's first competitive game of the season will be in the third round of the Europa League at the end of August, a good 2-3 weeks ahead of the first Premier League game. Add on their pre-season trip to Australia, and you see why they are starting pre-season training camps so early.

Photos from Fulham's first pre-season training session today in London can be seen here.

I'm excited, not gonna lie.

Real Madrid Give up on David Villa

Real Madrid have already spent 94 million euros for Ronaldo, 65 million for Kaka, and now 35 million for Karim Benzema. Rumors have it that Franck Ribery wants in at the club, and he'll surely require a hefty transfer fee as well. According to Wikipedia (again, my ever reliable source for sports/soccer statistics), Real Madrid have already invested 209 million euros in this transfer window, while only receiving 10 million euros in return for players they've shipped out.

In a startling turn of events (I think at least) Real Madrid have showed they might actually be human by giving up their pursuit to sign striker David Villa. Real Madrid claim that they no longer need Villa for goals since their summer signings so far exceed the necessary requirements (no really...). But I find this as surprising...if they can afford him, why not try and sign him? Valencia needs the cash, and Villa would instantly become Madrid's best striker (over van Nistelrooy, Robben, Raul, Huntelaar...and yes, Benzema).

Will Chelsea or Manchester City now try and buy Villa? City certainly don't need another striker, but Chelsea have yet to make any noise in the transfer market yet. With Pato most likely not joining Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge and Drogba always seemingly on his way out of Chelsea, I wouldn't at all be surprised to see them try and bring him in.

How well do you know your Soccer Trivia?

My recent obsession with sporcle.com has finally paid off. Today, a new quiz was added which tests your knowledge on the most expensive transfers in soccer history. Granted, this test is accurate as of today, and if Manchester City and Real Madrid continue to get their way, then this list will obsolete pretty quickly.