***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (2 Viewers)

[Steve Tasker]

While we are awaiting interested parties, can you list out the rules? Squad size, point distribution etc? I did not play the world cup one so I am unsure how it works.

Rules from the World Cup thread below. We'd have to cut the roster size in half, I think. The cost to play is negotiable. If people have other ideas on scoring systems, etc., we can alter them, but I thought they worked pretty well. I will start the new thread.

Rules:

Players: 14

Scoring:

Forwards:

Goal - 5 points

Assist - 3 points

Midfield:

Goal - 6 points

Assist - 3 points

Clean Sheet - 1 point

Defender:

Goal - 7 points

Assist - 3 points

Clean Sheet - 3 points

1 Goal Allowed - 1 point

Goalkeeper:

Goal - 9 points

Assist - 3 points

Clean Sheet - 6 points

1 Goal Allowed - 2 points

PK save - 2 points

IF A GOALKEEPER ENTERS AS A SUBSTITUTE - clean sheet and 1 goal allowed points will be fully allocated if the GK enters before halftime. If after halftime, points will be halved.

All players:

Started a match - 2 points

Substitute appearance - 1 point

Yellow card - (-1) point

Red card - (-3) points - note that a double-yellow will be (-3) TOTAL, not (-1) for the yellow and (-3) for the red.

PK miss - (-2) points

Roster size

NOTE: rosters are capped at 3 players for any given team.

Group stage:

2 Goalkeepers

6 Defenders

6 Midfielders

4 Strikers

NO BENCH PLAYERS

Knockout stage rosters:

1 Goalkeeper

4 Defenders

4 Midfielders

2 Strikers

NO BENCH PLAYERS

If the knockout stage begins and your team has more than 11 players, you must choose to release as many players as needed to get to 11. This must be done BEFORE the waiver period.

Players eligibility will be determined by ESPN Soccernet - link. Click on "Squad" to look at the players on any given team. However they are listed in that link is how they will be listed in the World Cup.

Waivers

There will be 1 waiver period - between the finish of Group H's group stage and the beginning of the knockout stage. This means that the official waiver period will be from: 6/25/10 at 7 PM eastern (to give myself time to process moves) and 6/26/10 at 9:30 AM.

Waivers will work as follows:

Every team will be allowed a maximum of 3 transfers (see below for exception). Your roster MUST be 11 players in the positions specified above at the end of the waiver period. ALL CUTS must be performed before 7 PM on 6/25, so that everyone knows the full pool of who is available. I realize that the cuts may be contingent on the games played on 6/25, contingent moves are ok. Plus, you have until 7 PM to get your cuts in.

You cannot cut a number of players to get your team below 8 players (again, see below for exception). Say, for example, that your team has 10 players who qualify for the knockouts. Let's say that you don't want 1 of them - you cut that player to give you 9 players. You are eligible for 2 pickups. Example 2 - say your team has 13 players who qualify for the knockouts - you MUST cut 2 players. You can cut up to 5 if you want to be eligible for waivers. If you do not submit your cuts before 7 PM on 6/25, your two lowest-performing players will be automatically released - assuming it keeps a full squad for you for the next round. You will not be eligible for waivers.

If your team has 9 players going into the knockout round, you CANNOT cut 2 players to give yourself 7 players and 4 waiver pickups.

Waivers will be processed worst-to-first for every waiver round. Last place will get the first crack at the beginning of every waiver round.

Special rule: If a team has less than 8 players heading into the knockout round, there will be extra waiver rounds instituted for that person to pick up more players. The extra waiver rounds will be at the END of the 3 rounds.

Money

$20 entry fee

Payout: 60-30-10

Draft

Serpentine draft

 

[Moe.]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

Why'd it go to extra time?

 

[NewlyRetired]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

Why'd it go to extra time?

There are no replays in the US Open Cup. All games must have a winner.

 

[NewlyRetired]

While we are awaiting interested parties, can you list out the rules? Squad size, point distribution etc? I did not play the world cup one so I am unsure how it works.

Rules from the World Cup thread below. We'd have to cut the roster size in half, I think. The cost to play is negotiable. If people have other ideas on scoring systems, etc., we can alter them, but I thought they worked pretty well. I will start the new thread.

Rules:

Players: 14

Scoring:

Forwards:

Goal - 5 points

Assist - 3 points

Midfield:

Goal - 6 points

Assist - 3 points

Clean Sheet - 1 point

Defender:

Goal - 7 points

Assist - 3 points

Clean Sheet - 3 points

1 Goal Allowed - 1 point

Goalkeeper:

Goal - 9 points

Assist - 3 points

Clean Sheet - 6 points

1 Goal Allowed - 2 points

PK save - 2 points

IF A GOALKEEPER ENTERS AS A SUBSTITUTE - clean sheet and 1 goal allowed points will be fully allocated if the GK enters before halftime. If after halftime, points will be halved.

All players:

Started a match - 2 points

Substitute appearance - 1 point

Yellow card - (-1) point

Red card - (-3) points - note that a double-yellow will be (-3) TOTAL, not (-1) for the yellow and (-3) for the red.

PK miss - (-2) points

Roster size

NOTE: rosters are capped at 3 players for any given team.

Group stage:

2 Goalkeepers

6 Defenders

6 Midfielders

4 Strikers

NO BENCH PLAYERS

Knockout stage rosters:

1 Goalkeeper

4 Defenders

4 Midfielders

2 Strikers

NO BENCH PLAYERS

If the knockout stage begins and your team has more than 11 players, you must choose to release as many players as needed to get to 11. This must be done BEFORE the waiver period.

Players eligibility will be determined by ESPN Soccernet - link. Click on "Squad" to look at the players on any given team. However they are listed in that link is how they will be listed in the World Cup.

Waivers

There will be 1 waiver period - between the finish of Group H's group stage and the beginning of the knockout stage. This means that the official waiver period will be from: 6/25/10 at 7 PM eastern (to give myself time to process moves) and 6/26/10 at 9:30 AM.

Waivers will work as follows:

Every team will be allowed a maximum of 3 transfers (see below for exception). Your roster MUST be 11 players in the positions specified above at the end of the waiver period. ALL CUTS must be performed before 7 PM on 6/25, so that everyone knows the full pool of who is available. I realize that the cuts may be contingent on the games played on 6/25, contingent moves are ok. Plus, you have until 7 PM to get your cuts in.

You cannot cut a number of players to get your team below 8 players (again, see below for exception). Say, for example, that your team has 10 players who qualify for the knockouts. Let's say that you don't want 1 of them - you cut that player to give you 9 players. You are eligible for 2 pickups. Example 2 - say your team has 13 players who qualify for the knockouts - you MUST cut 2 players. You can cut up to 5 if you want to be eligible for waivers. If you do not submit your cuts before 7 PM on 6/25, your two lowest-performing players will be automatically released - assuming it keeps a full squad for you for the next round. You will not be eligible for waivers.

If your team has 9 players going into the knockout round, you CANNOT cut 2 players to give yourself 7 players and 4 waiver pickups.

Waivers will be processed worst-to-first for every waiver round. Last place will get the first crack at the beginning of every waiver round.

Special rule: If a team has less than 8 players heading into the knockout round, there will be extra waiver rounds instituted for that person to pick up more players. The extra waiver rounds will be at the END of the 3 rounds.

Money

$20 entry fee

Payout: 60-30-10

Draft

Serpentine draft

Thanks for the info! I am no where near knowledgeable enough to participate in this so I will give up my spot for others who know more. I can still help out if needed though.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

Why'd it go to extra time?

There are no replays in the US Open Cup. All games must have a winner.

Harrisburg wins 4-3 in pk'sThis may go down as one of the crazier games ever in US Soccer history and barely anyone saw it. No video stream for game so only people in stadium saw it.

 

[Moe.]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

Why'd it go to extra time?

There are no replays in the US Open Cup. All games must have a winner.

I'm still lost. NE goes up by 3 in the first half. Harrisburg doesn't score their third until the 120th minute. How did we get to the 120th minute without it already having been tied?

 

[Steve Tasker]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

Why'd it go to extra time?

There are no replays in the US Open Cup. All games must have a winner.

I'm still lost. NE goes up by 3 in the first half. Harrisburg doesn't score their third until the 120th minute. How did we get to the 120th minute without it already having been tied?

First half of extra time. They still play the 2nd half of extra time even though NE is up 3-0 at the break...

 

[NewlyRetired]

NE, Columbus, LA, Chicago, Houston, Dallas all out of US Open Cup. RSL losing 3-1 late

Wildest night of Open Cup soccer is many a year/decade

 

[NewlyRetired]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

Why'd it go to extra time?

There are no replays in the US Open Cup. All games must have a winner.

I'm still lost. NE goes up by 3 in the first half. Harrisburg doesn't score their third until the 120th minute. How did we get to the 120th minute without it already having been tied?

The game ended 0-0 after 90 minutes. In the first half of extra time Revs went up 3-0. Extra time is two 15 minute periods.

 

[Moe.]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

Why'd it go to extra time?

There are no replays in the US Open Cup. All games must have a winner.

I'm still lost. NE goes up by 3 in the first half. Harrisburg doesn't score their third until the 120th minute. How did we get to the 120th minute without it already having been tied?

First half of extra time. They still play the 2nd half of extra time even though NE is up 3-0 at the break...

For some reason I kept glossing over that third line, kept reading that as NE went up by 3 in the first 15 minutes of the game. Probably this abortion of a basketball game that's going on in San Antonio.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Spain plays South Korea tomorrow and will be shown on ESPN2 at 1:50pm

I am not certain but I think this game is being simulcast from ESPN Deportes so it might be in Spanish.

 

[El Floppo]

Opta (@OptaJean)5/29/12 12:12 PM15 - Lionel Messi & Eden Hazard were the only players with at least 15 goals & 15 assists in the top 5 European leagues last season. Talent.

Hazard was 20+/20+ last year, no? He should be fun to watch next year with Mata.

Somebody correct me here, but it seems to me that when Chelsea played big games against the big teams, Mata looked pretty pedestrian.

I thought Mata was the second best field player for the European Champions this season, behind Ramires. He is one of a few who fared somewhat better under AVB than he did after Di Mateo took over (Sturridge and Romeu being the other two). He had several huge games early in the season. I agree he was weak in the CL final, but he was out of position, playing the 10 with Kalou and Ryan Bertrand as wingers, so very little to work with there. He did have the assist on Drogba's goal, so I would give him some credit. Assuming Hazard signs with Chelsea as has been reported, there will be some interesting tactical decisions to be made in the Chelsea attack, especially if they also add Hulk.

Don't get me wrong- I actually like the way he plays. But it seemed to me that in each of the "big" games Chelsea played down the stretch- not just the CL final- he was pretty mediocre. Surprisingly slow and easy to dispossess. Maybe he tired towards the end of the season, or maybe he's not as good as I, at least, thought he was.

 

[El Floppo]

For FBGs (esp NYC soccer fans) of a certain age...Went on a business lunch today with Shep Messing. 'twas awesome.For the younger guys:http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/M/Messing.Shep.htm

Wow- I'm not a fan of his announcing, but I'm still jealous. A HUGE figure in NYC soccer, and seems to be a nice guy... is that true?More importantly- did he show you his centerfold?

 

[Steve Tasker]

Euro League link

Need some more players...

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

JT Noone! Former Temple and Union alum! Crazy scoreline in Harrisburg

 

[Slapdash]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

Awesome

 

[The Gator]

That's great

 

[NewlyRetired]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

JT Noone! Former Temple and Union alum! Crazy scoreline in Harrisburg

I assume it is NOT pronounced No One even if it makes the story all that much better right?

 

[Good Posting Judge]

In for Euro leag. I've flushed away $20 on much worse.

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

Oh my, you can't make this stuff up. Only in Cup play

NE vs Harrisburg in US Open Cup

Fagundez gets tossed for NE in first half, down to ten men

Game end tied 0-0, off to 30 minutes of extra time

NE scores three goals in first 15 minutes to go up 3-0

Harrisburg responds with three including a goal in the 120th minute by a kid named JT Noone (I kid you not) to draw level at 3-3

Off to pk's

JT Noone! Former Temple and Union alum! Crazy scoreline in Harrisburg

I assume it is NOT pronounced No One even if it makes the story all that much better right?

Who am I to ruin a good yarn?

 

[Mjolnirs]

Red Bulls completely outclass the Battery 3-0 tonight.

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

Kudos to the USSF for changing the format of the USOC to allow all the MLS teams into the tournament proper. It was really fun following all the scores around the country tonight, and tracking all of the upsets. A "May Madness" if you will.

ETA - highlights of the Harrisburg comeback against the Revs

http://www.whptv.com/content/localsports/story/Harrisburg-upsets-New-England-in-US-Open-Cup-4-3/hZT6VhlQN0W1FStrpNQ0CQ.cspx

 

[BobbyLayne]

For FBGs (esp NYC soccer fans) of a certain age...Went on a business lunch today with Shep Messing. 'twas awesome.For the younger guys:http://www.nasljerseys.com/Players/M/Messing.Shep.htm

Wow- I'm not a fan of his announcing, but I'm still jealous. A HUGE figure in NYC soccer, and seems to be a nice guy... is that true?More importantly- did he show you his centerfold?

1) Exceptionally gracious; I've mostly been emailing him over the last year, with an occasional phone call. Smartest and most interesting person at the table, and acted like he's not even vaguely aware of it. Really enjoyable person to be around.2) I am blissfully unaware of the reference.

 

[NewlyRetired]

From Soccer America

[bY THE NUMBERS] Fresh off its 5-1 win over Scotland, the USA faces a slightly tougher test Wednesday as it hosts Brazil in the second of its late spring five-game series as FedExField in Landover, Md. (TV: ESPN2, ESPN3, TeleFutura, live, 8 pm ET). A U.S. win would break a record for the best start to a year. For a look at USA-Brazil by the numbers ...

56,000+.

A crowd of more than 56,000 is expected. It should break a record for attendance for a men's national team friendly in the D.C. area.

2,000+.

More than 2,000 fans attended the national team's public training session Monday at the University of Maryland.

270.

Jermaine Jones leads the USA this year in minutes played this year. No player has started all four games.

23

Jozy Altidore became the last of the 23 players called into the USA's five-game series when he arrived from Dutch club AZ on Monday.

15/16

Brazil has won 15 of its 16 games in its series with the USA.

11

Eleven matches in the USA-Brazil series, including the lone U.S. win at the 1998 Gold Cup, have been decided by only one goal.

5

With the 5-1 win over Scotland, the USA has collected five consecutive victories, dating back to dating back to the 3-2 win over Slovenia on Nov. 15, 2011

4

With a 4-0-0 record in 2012, this is only the second time the USA has started a year with as many as four straight wins. The 1998 team started 4-0-0 with victories against Sweden, Cuba, Costa Rica and Brazil.

1

The USA has allowed only one goal in its four wins -- and that goal was an own goal knocked in by Geoff Cameron in Saturday's 5-1 win over Scotland.

 

[NewlyRetired]

Kudos to the USSF for changing the format of the USOC to allow all the MLS teams into the tournament proper. It was really fun following all the scores around the country tonight, and tracking all of the upsets. A "May Madness" if you will.

ETA - highlights of the Harrisburg comeback against the Revs

http://www.whptv.com/content/localsports/story/Harrisburg-upsets-New-England-in-US-Open-Cup-4-3/hZT6VhlQN0W1FStrpNQ0CQ.cspx

Crazy crazy night.* The Revs - Harrisburg nutso game we already discussed

* DC United winning 3-2 in extra time

* LA up 1-0 with 15 minutes left, only to lose 2-1 in regulation

* Michigan beating Chicago 3-2 in extra time

* Columbus up 1-0 with only 12 minutes left only to lose 2-1 in regulation to Tampa

* RSL paying Minnesota money so that RSL could host the game and then proceeding to lose 3-1 at home was glorious

 

[NewlyRetired]

Red Bulls completely outclass the Battery 3-0 tonight.

You were unlucky in that this was one of the few games the MLS side seemed ready to play.One thing you should note, Blackbaud is an absolute PALACE compared to the home fields for the other lower division sides. I watched a bit of the Chicago Michigan game in extra time and it looked like the game was played inside a field house. Strangest look as the walls to the enclosed field house were only a couple of feet from the touch line, no stands on the side opposite the camera. I heard fans cheering but could only see about 20 of them on camera in a tiny bleacher in the couple of feet next to one of the goals. The stands all appeared to be on the camera side.Here is what it looked like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ORSW52dtWsHere is the info from wiki on the stadiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Soccer_Arenas

 

[NewlyRetired]

The RSL loss is shocking. While some of the other MLS sides sent b/c level teams away to a god forsaken away fields, RSL played at Rio Tinto, in front of 17,000 fans, with as complete a lineup as they could given injuries and call ups.

I just listened to Jason Kreis's press conference and it was both level headed and interesting. He answered questions and mixed in apologies to ownership, management and fans.

When asked what he intended to do over the next two weeks during the break in games, he said "I would not want to be a player under me right now" and has that deadly serious look that he is about to run his team into the ground.

 

[azgroover]

I'm sort of a soccer noob, so pardon me if this below is all common knowledge. Here's an interesting article I ran across regarding Wynalda's upstart club taking on Portland tonight. I had no idea he was considered an outcast in American Soccer...adding him to my twitter feed.

Davis: Major League Soccer’s errant son returns to teach it a lesson

By Jason Davis

Let’s not mince words here. Cal FC, the United States Adult Soccer Association team out of Thousand Oaks, California, is Eric Wynalda’s carefully crafted “eff you” to American soccer. To call it anything else is to be naive, romantic, or both, and while the story of Cal FC is most certainly an uplifting tale of a bunch of second-chancers taking it to bigger, fully professional clubs in this year’s U.S. Open Cup, their success is a consciously manipulated reflection of their coach, the bombastic U.S. legend slash Fox Soccer broadcaster slash international scout for a small Mexican club. Wynalda wants to teach American soccer a harsh lesson. Cal FC is the rod with which he intends to teach it.

Wynalda formed Cal FC just over a month ago, just in time for the club to be entered into the U.S. Open Cup. The roster is made up of aspiring professionals and young soccer journeyman, politely said to be “in between” gigs. Cal FC’s best player is Danny Barerra, a former U.S. youth international who spent last year with a Serbian club, where he made a grand total of one appearance. Barerra’s two goals in Cal FC’s 4-0 thumping of third division (USL-PRO) side Wilmington earned him player of the round. Both goals were assisted by Danny’s brother Diego, a former Hammerhead and professional indoor player. It was that win, with Wynalda on the sidelines (he missed Cal FC’s first round game, a win over the reigning Premier Development League champion Kitsap Pumas, because he was on duty with Fox in Germany for the Champions League final), that sent a shiver through the American soccer establishment.

Wynalda’s soccer career—from his days in Germany contradicting conventional wisdom about American players and defying U.S. Soccer’s attempts to bring him into line for the country’s turn as World Cup hosts in 1994, to his current status as American soccer iconoclast/pariah/agitator on TV, podcast and social media—is a study in classic star athlete persona. As a player, Wynalda went about his job as men supremely confident in their abilities do, often casting any success as their result of their own will and any setback as either jealous conniving or simple stupidity on the part of others. That attitude carried over to his post-playing career, where he set himself apart with provocative pronouncements on the state of soccer in America.

After a stint as an ESPN MLS analyst that saw him fired, perhaps for inadvisably comparing flares in the stands at a Chicago Fire game to the wildfires happening in California at the time, Wynalda moved on to the less restrictive environs of Fox Soccer. There, he held court on a weekly phone-in show, letting fly with the type of opinion that marks his current status in the game. Twitter, which allows him to directly confront the status quo and butt heads with soccer figures around the country, has only grown his persona. The general tone: everyone is doing everything wrong, and I could do it better.

Hence, Cal FC. It seems Wynalda finally had enough of MLS rejection, with no club appearing too keen on bringing in a brash, rebellious American with no coaching experience and a penchant for insubordination to coach their team. It’s no secret that Wynalda covets a head coach’s job in MLS, a league to which Wynalda is forever uncomfortably tied (he scored the league’s first-ever goal in 1996) despite his stated belief that MLS ruined his playing career; the roadblocks to his gaining one of those jobs include the aforementioned lack of experience, an unwillingness on Wynalda’s part to work his way up the ladder as an assistant or coach of a team at a lower level, and the relatively small top-level professional soccer community’s dim view of Wynalda’s disruptive anti-MLS act.

Wynalda hasn’t handled the rejection all that well. Upon the hiring of the just-retired Jay Heaps as new head coach of the New England Revolution in December, Wynalda let his raw jealousy get the better of him.

“I wanna go on the record and announce that I was a HORRIBLE soccer player. Can I now be considered for an MLS coaching position?” he tweeted.

Wynalda’s filter is non-existent. He feels wronged by a league he helped build in a country for whose national team he gave his heart and soul. He’s never been one to play the game of backslaps and handshakes. He values his right to speak his mind, and while that would be laudable if he didn’t exhibit so much angst over his place in the American game, it only serves to make him an increasingly unsympathetic figure as he roams across the figurative soccerscape, vaporizing bridge after bridge with an arsenal of fiercely held opinions. It’s difficult to feel for a man who went out of his way to set himself outside of the system when he complains that he’s not being given a chance to work within it.

On Wednesday night, Wynalda’s traveling band of giant-killers heads to Portland, where Cal FC will face the first MLS opponent on Wynalda’s Eff You Tour. The game could very well be a tipping point for not just Wynalda, but for the U.S. Open Cup tournament itself; a win for Cal FC would inject immeasurable life into a competition that remains an afterthought for most MLS clubs, giving the tournament—in a concrete, rather than hypothetical sense—the David and Goliath dynamic boosters point to as one of Open Cup’s charms. As Davids go, Cal FC is quintessential.

Riding shotgun on this underdog story is Wynalda’s effort to thumb his nose at everyone that dismissed his constant ranting as hot air. Cal FC, a team put together so recently that in any other situation its success would be an indictment of American soccer on the whole (and, depending on who you talk to, it still might), is the physical representation of Wynalda’s soccer id. Coaching the team to a victory over an MLS club, especially considering his history with Timbers owner Merritt Paulson (Wynalda, in one of his more notable Twitter episodes, questioned Portland’s signing of young Colombian striker Jose Valencia when it was revealed Valencia had a pre-existing knee injury that required surgery; Paulson fired back, calling Wynalda “a ####### Twitter trainwreck”) would give Wynalda a lifetime of ammunition with which to lay waste to the community that refuses to take him seriously.

Wynalda’s words wouldn’t be just words anymore. He’d have something to point to, an achievement that spoke directly to his understanding of the game. The makeup of his team would serve as an indictment of American soccer and its scouting practices. Victory over an MLS club would demonstrate directly that Wynalda’s contention that he knows better is at least partly true. The ramifications of Cal FC advancing past Portland are almost too delicious, and at the same time horrifying, to ponder.

Still, it’s naturally difficult to root against Cal FC, underdogs that they are. Wynalda’s the story because he has the name and the simmering resentment, but there are several players in his group that might jumpstart their careers because of the cup run. Despite his apparent, but unstated, desire to turn American soccer on its head, Wynalda certainly cares about his players and believes many of them should get a chance in MLS or elsewhere. Wynalda works at dual purposes; if his team plays well on the biggest stage available to them, he sticks it to the league that won’t give him a chance to coach, while his players prove they deserve another chance to play.

It’s worth nothing the Cal FC play in old Chicago Fire jerseys. Chicago, with whom Wynalda ended his career in 2001, is one of the teams that turned him down for their head coaching vacancy a few years ago. Wynalda dresses his team of amateurs in the garb of an MLS team while he takes them across the country with a mind to teach that league a lesson. It’s too perfect to be coincidence.

On Wednesday in Portland, the most intriguing U.S. Open Cup match in years, certainly this early in the tournament, will determine if the Eric Wynalda Eff You Tour gets another date. Even if it doesn’t, don’t expect Wynalda to go silent. He’ll still be on television, providing quality analysis as part of Fox Soccer’s studio crew. He’ll still be in the American soccer conversation, advocating a season switch and declaring the powers that be incompetent in their leadership. He’ll still maintain he has the credentials to be the head coach of an MLS team.

A loss in Portland on Wednesday night won’t change much about the way Eric Wynalda relates to American soccer.

But a win? That’s one hell of an eff you.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Brendan Rogers to Liverpool. :(

 

[The Gator]

Brendan Rogers to Liverpool. :(

 

[SmoovySmoov]

Brendan Rogers to Liverpool. :(

If we couldn't have Guardiola, which was a pipe dream at best, he was certainly the most reasonable choice.

 

[Steve Tasker]

I'm sort of a soccer noob, so pardon me if this below is all common knowledge. Here's an interesting article I ran across regarding Wynalda's upstart club taking on Portland tonight. I had no idea he was considered an outcast in American Soccer...adding him to my twitter feed.

He's as outspoken as you're going to see on American soccer television. I don't think he's so bad now that he's part of the Fox Sunday lineup with Rob Stone, et al, but he was damn near unbearable on Fox Football Fone-In. You could tell that Nick Webster didn't like working with him, and Wynalda came off as, frankly, pretty unprofessional at times. If you go back a few years, you'll find the same comments from me.I do think he's a little more subdued now that he's not the "face" of the program on FSC. I don't mind Rob Stone and I think he does a good job anchoring the broadcasts, and Wynalda works better in the "commentator on the panel" role rather than front and center, IMO.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I'm sort of a soccer noob, so pardon me if this below is all common knowledge. Here's an interesting article I ran across regarding Wynalda's upstart club taking on Portland tonight. I had no idea he was considered an outcast in American Soccer...adding him to my twitter feed.

He is a decent follow in a semi train wreck fashion. Even as a youngster he was fairly unstable, some of which made him a decent player.

He is the classic guy who has some useful and decent thoughts but has no ability to communicate them with out pissing people off. Once he realized that he kind of built his whole schtick around it, which only enforces everything that he is most afraid of and that he should be ignored.

 

[El Floppo]

I'm sort of a soccer noob, so pardon me if this below is all common knowledge. Here's an interesting article I ran across regarding Wynalda's upstart club taking on Portland tonight. I had no idea he was considered an outcast in American Soccer...adding him to my twitter feed.

He is a decent follow in a semi train wreck fashion. Even as a youngster he was fairly unstable, some of which made him a decent player.

He is the classic guy who has some useful and decent thoughts but has no ability to communicate them with out pissing people off. Once he realized that he kind of built his whole schtick around it, which only enforces everything that he is most afraid of and that he should be ignored.

I'm a big fan of Wynalda. Loved him as a player- fearless, cocky, arrogant and highly skilled. Tried and did things very few people in the US soccer community at the time were even contemplating- or were advocating against (mostly to do with selfishly taking guys on all over the field).

His announcing and commentary is hit or miss. He's bombastic and yeah- very aware that his polarizing comments are what makes him interesting at least, so he does tend to run with them. It seems to me that when he's working along side a guy like Warren Barton- who clearly outranks him in terms of his Soccer CV - Wynalda calms down a lot and makes some great/astute/insightful comments.

I much prefer Wynalda to a guy like Harkes or Lalas who both zero in and obsess on some of the myopia in games- particular players (Harkes has a bug up his ### about Dempsey) or reffing, uniforms, etc.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I'm sort of a soccer noob, so pardon me if this below is all common knowledge. Here's an interesting article I ran across regarding Wynalda's upstart club taking on Portland tonight. I had no idea he was considered an outcast in American Soccer...adding him to my twitter feed.

He is a decent follow in a semi train wreck fashion. Even as a youngster he was fairly unstable, some of which made him a decent player.

He is the classic guy who has some useful and decent thoughts but has no ability to communicate them with out pissing people off. Once he realized that he kind of built his whole schtick around it, which only enforces everything that he is most afraid of and that he should be ignored.

I'm a big fan of Wynalda. Loved him as a player- fearless, cocky, arrogant and highly skilled. Tried and did things very few people in the US soccer community at the time were even contemplating- or were advocating against (mostly to do with selfishly taking guys on all over the field).

I really liked Waldo the player.With the melting pot the US team has become, having a real American-type player stand out is almost impossible.

If we were not a melting pot and still were the basic bunch of white kids trying to do our best, Waldo, Mathis and Dempsey represented an interesting cowboy like mentality to their games that lifted them above some of their contemporaries.

 

[LHUCKS]

Wynalda fan here...not afraid to speak his mind and doesn't appear to have an agenda.

Always a fan of those types.

 

[LHUCKS]

I'm sort of a soccer noob, so pardon me if this below is all common knowledge. Here's an interesting article I ran across regarding Wynalda's upstart club taking on Portland tonight. I had no idea he was considered an outcast in American Soccer...adding him to my twitter feed.

He is a decent follow in a semi train wreck fashion. Even as a youngster he was fairly unstable, some of which made him a decent player.

He is the classic guy who has some useful and decent thoughts but has no ability to communicate them with out pissing people off. Once he realized that he kind of built his whole schtick around it, which only enforces everything that he is most afraid of and that he should be ignored.

I'm a big fan of Wynalda. Loved him as a player- fearless, cocky, arrogant and highly skilled. Tried and did things very few people in the US soccer community at the time were even contemplating- or were advocating against (mostly to do with selfishly taking guys on all over the field).

His announcing and commentary is hit or miss. He's bombastic and yeah- very aware that his polarizing comments are what makes him interesting at least, so he does tend to run with them. It seems to me that when he's working along side a guy like Warren Barton- who clearly outranks him in terms of his Soccer CV - Wynalda calms down a lot and makes some great/astute/insightful comments.

I much prefer Wynalda to a guy like Harkes or Lalas who both zero in and obsess on some of the myopia in games- particular players (Harkes has a bug up his ### about Dempsey) or reffing, uniforms, etc.

 

[NewlyRetired]

From the general twitter buzz, it appears Dempsey will be a sub tonight. No word yet on Jozy. Some media types are speculating that Gomez will start if Jozy does not.

 

[GoFishTN]

Brendan Rogers to Liverpool. :(

Surprised he's leaving Swansea to be honest. He was really building something there. Liverpool is barely a step up at this point.

 

[LHUCKS]

From the general twitter buzz, it appears Dempsey will be a sub tonight. No word yet on Jozy. Some media types are speculating that Gomez will start if Jozy does not.

Ugh, would like to see what our A team can do against Brazil. I personally haven't seen Jozy play for months.I think we may see another MF for Edu. Gooch and/or Goodson in.

 

[ditkaburgers]

Brendan Rogers to Liverpool. :(

Surprised he's leaving Swansea to be honest. He was really building something there. Liverpool is barely a step up at this point.

Swansea is always going to be a small club. Liberty Stadium has one of the smallest capacities in the EPL and soccer will probably always play second fiddle to Rugby in Wales. Rogers took the Swans to mid-table in the Premiership which is a tremendous accomplishment. It's hard to see them taking the next step from there. He was smart to make the jump to a big club.

 

[Moe.]

Brendan Rogers to Liverpool. :(

Surprised he's leaving Swansea to be honest. He was really building something there. Liverpool is barely a step up at this point.

Swansea is always going to be a small club. Liberty Stadium has one of the smallest capacities in the EPL and soccer will probably always play second fiddle to Rugby in Wales. Rogers took the Swans to mid-table in the Premiership which is a tremendous accomplishment. It's hard to see them taking the next step from there. He was smart to make the jump to a big club.

Yeah but have you seen the Swansea's jerseys for next year?

 

[Sinn Fein]

From the general twitter buzz, it appears Dempsey will be a sub tonight. No word yet on Jozy. Some media types are speculating that Gomez will start if Jozy does not.

Ugh, would like to see what our A team can do against Brazil. I personally haven't seen Jozy play for months.I think we may see another MF for Edu. Gooch and/or Goodson in.

Dempsey was quoted as saying he was not fit to play 90. No need to run him out there for a friendly. I am sure he comes in as a sub. Have not seen anything on Jozy.

 

[NewlyRetired]

FWIW, here is Ives prediction of the starting lineup tonight. This is Gomez's natural spot when he plays for Santos.

------------------Boyd-------------------

Donovan-------Torres------------Gomez

-----------Jones--------Bradley---------

Johnson----Bocanegra--Onyewu--Dolo

----------------Howard--------------

=================

I kind of like this. Dempsey can come on for Torres /Gomez and Jozy can come in for Boyd.

Should US be in a surprising position of trying to protect a lead late, Edu could come in for Torres/Gomez.

 

[Sebowski]

Both Altidore and Dempsey will not be available for the game tomorrow night according to Ives.

meaningless friendly, would like to see us give Boyd a shot.

From the general twitter buzz, it appears Dempsey will be a sub tonight. No word yet on Jozy. Some media types are speculating that Gomez will start if Jozy does not.

Ugh, would like to see what our A team can do against Brazil. I personally haven't seen Jozy play for months.

 

[NewlyRetired]

U.S. SOCCER (@ussoccer)

5/30/12 7:12 PM

Tonight's starters for the #USMNT:

Howard;

Cherundolo, Onyewu, Bocanegra ©, Johnson;

Bradley, Jones, Edu;

Donovan, Gomez, Torres

 

[NewlyRetired]

U.S. SOCCER (@ussoccer)5/30/12 7:12 PMTonight's starters for the #USMNT: Howard;Cherundolo, Onyewu, Bocanegra ©, Johnson; Bradley, Jones, Edu; Donovan, Gomez, Torres

Herc for BoydGooch for CameronEverything else the same

 

[NewlyRetired]

First start for Herc since WC2010 against Algeria.

 

[boubucarow]

U.S. SOCCER (@ussoccer)5/30/12 7:12 PMTonight's starters for the #USMNT: Howard;Cherundolo, Onyewu, Bocanegra ©, Johnson; Bradley, Jones, Edu; Donovan, Gomez, Torres

Herc for BoydGooch for CameronEverything else the same

It will be interesting to see if Torres can create the havoc upfield defensively like against Scotland.

 

[NewlyRetired]

U.S. SOCCER (@ussoccer)5/30/12 7:12 PMTonight's starters for the #USMNT: Howard;Cherundolo, Onyewu, Bocanegra ©, Johnson; Bradley, Jones, Edu; Donovan, Gomez, Torres

Herc for BoydGooch for CameronEverything else the same

It will be interesting to see if Torres can create the havoc upfield defensively like against Scotland.

The tactics may be different. Torres' heat chart from the last game showed him playing significantly more towards the middle which against a team like Scotland with no wingers was fine, but that much space in front of Brazil might cause Fabian a lot of issues. I bet Torres stays a liitle more to the left tonight than he did against Scotland.