***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (7 Viewers)

[El Floppo]

Caught the end of the Milan v Bologna game. Camera flashed on Gooch dressed and sitting on the bench- so at least he's cracking the top 18... for some games. But it got me thinking- as a central Defender (I still can't go English and call them a center half), there's zero to no chance of him getting in the game as a tactical move unless the guy he replaces gets injured.

So either he's got to play his way into the lineup, the guy ahead of him gets injured, or Milan has a league cup game against a team they're sure of blowing out for him to see PT.

 

[TLEF316]

best match I've ever seen. Probably a top 5 sporting event i've ever seen (at least as far as regular season games go).2 minutes of extra extra time and united needed every second of it. What a game. Giggs is an absolute magician out there.

wow... sounds amazing- wish I had seen it. Any chance it gets shown on FSC or ESPN Deportes as a replay?

no idea, but it was just great for 96+ minutes Rooney scored 2 minutes in in typical Rooney fashion. (great feed from Evra. If he isnt the best left back in the world, i dont know who is) City responded 15 minutes later on a mistake by foster. (tevez takes it right off his foot just outside the box and passes it off to a teammate who slides it in the open net) United gets out in front on a Fletcher header at the start of the 2nd. Bellamy equalizes with an absolute blast from just inside the box. Fletcher scores on another header with 10 minutes left and Bellamy equalizes AGAIN in the 90th after a poor clearance by Ferdinand.It goes into extra time, Ferguson subs Carrick for Anderson (seemingly just to buy another 30 seconds of stoppage). After 3 minutes, united looks all but dead as Rooney drives a free kick into the wall. The ball bounces out, is driven in again, and comes out to giggs like 35 yards out. You could see Owen put his hand up at the bottom of the screen and Gigs slips a perfectly weighted pass to him (with his right foot) and owen takes 1 perfect touch and curls it around the keeper in the 96th minute. The City manager was absolutely furious (he'd been begging for the whistle for at least 2 minutes).The place just exploded. I couldn't believe it. What an awesome match.

 

[Steve Tasker]

best match I've ever seen. Probably a top 5 sporting event i've ever seen (at least as far as regular season games go).

2 minutes of extra extra time and united needed every second of it. What a game. Giggs is an absolute magician out there.

link?

 

[TLEF316]

best match I've ever seen. Probably a top 5 sporting event i've ever seen (at least as far as regular season games go).

2 minutes of extra extra time and united needed every second of it. What a game. Giggs is an absolute magician out there.

link?

didnt watch it. wasnt too into soccer back then

 

[Steve Tasker]

Pure class goal from Drogba

 

[El Floppo]

Caught the end of the Milan v Bologna game. Camera flashed on Gooch dressed and sitting on the bench- so at least he's cracking the top 18... for some games. But it got me thinking- as a central Defender (I still can't go English and call them a center half), there's zero to no chance of him getting in the game as a tactical move unless the guy he replaces gets injured. So either he's got to play his way into the lineup, the guy ahead of him gets injured, or Milan has a league cup game against a team they're sure of blowing out for him to see PT.

Thought I just saw a headline somewhere that said that Bradley isn't playing either (no suprise given his recent USMNT form)- which makes two VERY important USMNT players getting ZERO minutes. Not good.

 

[Desert_Power]

gonna be a real bittersweet Saturday for Z-Machine

Nice win by Cal, but oooof is Barca laying it on right now

 

[andy_b]

Caught the end of the Milan v Bologna game. Camera flashed on Gooch dressed and sitting on the bench- so at least he's cracking the top 18... for some games. But it got me thinking- as a central Defender (I still can't go English and call them a center half), there's zero to no chance of him getting in the game as a tactical move unless the guy he replaces gets injured. So either he's got to play his way into the lineup, the guy ahead of him gets injured, or Milan has a league cup game against a team they're sure of blowing out for him to see PT.

And even worse, I think the only reason he was on the bench was that Milan was already not dressing 4 players who normally would dress.This is such a catch 22. I can't deny any player the right to make as much money as they can as their windows are so short. But as a fan of the US team, it kills me to see our guys not playing at all.

 

[Native]

Caught the end of the Milan v Bologna game. Camera flashed on Gooch dressed and sitting on the bench- so at least he's cracking the top 18... for some games. But it got me thinking- as a central Defender (I still can't go English and call them a center half), there's zero to no chance of him getting in the game as a tactical move unless the guy he replaces gets injured. So either he's got to play his way into the lineup, the guy ahead of him gets injured, or Milan has a league cup game against a team they're sure of blowing out for him to see PT.

And even worse, I think the only reason he was on the bench was that Milan was already not dressing 4 players who normally would dress.This is such a catch 22. I can't deny any player the right to make as much money as they can as their windows are so short. But as a fan of the US team, it kills me to see our guys not playing at all.

Milan is his resume builder. We all have that stop at some point in our careers. He wont be there long, but he will have made a lot of money and will have played for one of the top sides in the world. Next year, he will probably move to a top team in a lesser league (PSV, Ajax) or maybe a middle-tier team in one of the bigger leagues (Everton, Fulham). I agree with you about not playing regularly in a World Cup year. That said, there is a certain element of exposure you get playing against the likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka, Hunteaar, Pirlo, etc in practice that you simply cannot get anywhere else. I may be in the minority, but I think he could end up a better player because of this experience, whether he plays or not.

 

[editor47]

can we still add our favorites to the mix?if so, put me down for: MLS-Philly Union; England-Liverpool, Man City; Germany-Dortmund; International-US, GermanyCount me as a fan of the blonde who is co-host on the one FSC show that is usually on at 1 a.m. EST. in the US.

welcome to the thread! Are you going to be getting season tickets for the Philly MLS team next spring?

thanks. probably not. i had wanted to, but i work nights.

 

[andy_b]

The U20 World Cup starts this soon. Here is the US schedule. If anyone has the roster for the US, please post

Saturday

U.S. versus Germany

Mubarak Stadium; Suez, Egypt

10 a.m. ET, ESPN Classic, ESPN360.com

Sept. 29

U.S. versus Cameroon

Mubarak Stadium; Suez, Egypt

12:45 p.m. ET, ESPN2, ESPN360.com

Oct. 2

U.S. versus South Korea

Mubarak Stadium; Suez, Egypt

12:45 p.m. ET, ESPN2, ESPN360.com

 

[The Gator]

U20 Press Release and Roster

Roster By Position: (Detailed Roster)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Central Florida; Lilburn, Ga.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.), Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC; Syracuse, N.Y.), Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.), Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.), Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Sheanon Williams (Unattached; Boston, Mass.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabak; Oslo, Norway), Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas), Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Michael Stephens (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.)

FORWARDS (4): Sam Garza (Denver; Highland Village, Texas), Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.), Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas), Tony Taylor (Jacksonville; Jacksonville, Fla.)

 

[CletiusMaximus]

The U20 World Cup starts this soon. Here is the US schedule. If anyone has the roster for the US, please post

Roster By Position: (Detailed Roster)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Central Florida; Lilburn, Ga.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.), Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC; Syracuse, N.Y.), Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.), Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.), Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Sheanon Williams (Unattached; Boston, Mass.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabak; Oslo, Norway), Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas), Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Michael Stephens (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.)

FORWARDS (4): Sam Garza (Denver; Highland Village, Texas), Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.), Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas), Tony Taylor (Jacksonville; Jacksonville, Fla.)

linkIts great that ESPN is covering this tournament - honestly pretty amazing that they are showing all 52 games, not just the US team games. That said, I'll admit that there is about a zero percent chance I will watch any of the non-US games and a strong likelihood that I won't watch any of the US games in their entirety. All the televised soccer we get these days is an embarrassment of riches. I remember following Chelsea in the late 80's / early 90's - before the internet - and having to go to the bookstore to check the english and Euro magazines to know whether they had won a game that was played several weeks earlier. I really had no idea what most of their players looked like or how they played. Seeing the European Cup or WC qualifiers was a pipe dream, and even the world cup coverage was a joke until very recently. Now there is so much I can't possibly watch it all, and end up recording and deleting several games each week for lack of space on my dvr.

 

[prefontaine]

The U20 World Cup starts this soon. Here is the US schedule. If anyone has the roster for the US, please post

Roster By Position: (Detailed Roster)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Central Florida; Lilburn, Ga.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.), Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC; Syracuse, N.Y.), Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.), Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.), Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Sheanon Williams (Unattached; Boston, Mass.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabak; Oslo, Norway), Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas), Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Michael Stephens (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.)

FORWARDS (4): Sam Garza (Denver; Highland Village, Texas), Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.), Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas), Tony Taylor (Jacksonville; Jacksonville, Fla.)

linkIts great that ESPN is covering this tournament - honestly pretty amazing that they are showing all 52 games, not just the US team games. That said, I'll admit that there is about a zero percent chance I will watch any of the non-US games and a strong likelihood that I won't watch any of the US games in their entirety. All the televised soccer we get these days is an embarrassment of riches. I remember following Chelsea in the late 80's / early 90's - before the internet - and having to go to the bookstore to check the english and Euro magazines to know whether they had won a game that was played several weeks earlier. I really had no idea what most of their players looked like or how they played. Seeing the European Cup or WC qualifiers was a pipe dream, and even the world cup coverage was a joke until very recently. Now there is so much I can't possibly watch it all, and end up recording and deleting several games each week for lack of space on my dvr.

Agree with this 100%. I haven't decided whether to delete yesterday's Real match yet but not sure when I'll get a chance to watch it and I already know the result. Disappointed FS is replaying Chelsea-Spurs rather than ManU-City from this weekend as I missed it.To the U20 WC.....interesting that Adu is not playing. By age, he rightly could and while most everyone agrees he should stay in Portugal and earn playing time, I don't believe he has played for Belenenses yet either. And if that is the case, I think he should have considered playing the U20 just to get time on the field and show his stuff. Tough spot for him though as he is a bit damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

 

[prefontaine]

Oh, and can anyone tell me anything about Jarred Jeffrey? I just noticed he is with Club Brugge and only 19. He has no wiki page but he is actually listed on Brugge's roster and has a page on the team site.

 

[magichat]

best match I've ever seen. Probably a top 5 sporting event i've ever seen (at least as far as regular season games go).2 minutes of extra extra time and united needed every second of it. What a game. Giggs is an absolute magician out there.

wow... sounds amazing- wish I had seen it. Any chance it gets shown on FSC or ESPN Deportes as a replay?

no idea, but it was just great for 96+ minutes Rooney scored 2 minutes in in typical Rooney fashion. (great feed from Evra. If he isnt the best left back in the world, i dont know who is) City responded 15 minutes later on a mistake by foster. (tevez takes it right off his foot just outside the box and passes it off to a teammate who slides it in the open net) United gets out in front on a Fletcher header at the start of the 2nd. Bellamy equalizes with an absolute blast from just inside the box. Fletcher scores on another header with 10 minutes left and Bellamy equalizes AGAIN in the 90th after a poor clearance by Ferdinand.It goes into extra time, Ferguson subs Carrick for Anderson (seemingly just to buy another 30 seconds of stoppage). After 3 minutes, united looks all but dead as Rooney drives a free kick into the wall. The ball bounces out, is driven in again, and comes out to giggs like 35 yards out. You could see Owen put his hand up at the bottom of the screen and Gigs slips a perfectly weighted pass to him (with his right foot) and owen takes 1 perfect touch and curls it around the keeper in the 96th minute. The City manager was absolutely furious (he'd been begging for the whistle for at least 2 minutes).The place just exploded. I couldn't believe it. What an awesome match.

TLEF, great match to watch but..Two of their (chitty) goals were absolute grade A gifts from Ferdinand and Foster (doesnt look up to it, got a big case of the Tim Howard's). Rio should have taken charge on the first one; and once he was beaten he should have taken Bellamy out (getting a red) before he got into the box on the second (looked very rusty the whole game). And why Foster randomly threw himself spastically on the ground gifting Bellamy the near post there is totally beyond me. Though to be fair Given might have done better on a few of our goals (I love him as a keeper but dont know why he didnt contest either of Fletcher's headers).But City really were really running the game in the first half - they had an extra man in midfield and that was helping them control the tempo. Then the manager got a big head and changed his formation, pushing Bellamy further up front and giving the midfield to Fletcher and Anderson for the rest of the game. Even his own players were screaming at him to change it back. If Berbatov didnt insist on hitting everything straight at a keeper, it wouldnt have been close. Giggs was magnificent (great run where he nutmeged Wright-Phillips setting up Berbatov eff up a gift again), and now Fletcher is rapidly fulfiling his promise and looks world class (Anderson too but he's got further to go).Another vote for Patrice Evra here. And City actually look pretty good (and Robinho and Adebayor werent playing). There's actually 7 decent teams in the EPL this year, should be a good year.

 

[TLEF316]

agreed on the 2 gift goals (although Bellamy made a great run on the 3rd goal after Rio's poor play). But it was still an awesome match to watch. Very exciting.

 

[magichat]

agreed on the 2 gift goals (although Bellamy made a great run on the 3rd goal after Rio's poor play). But it was still an awesome match to watch. Very exciting.

Very underrated player, Bellamy (first one was a great goal too). Very over-rated human being though.. (should really be in jail).

 

[The Gator]

Favorites:

International

United States

Portugal

England

EPL

Liverpool

 

[El Floppo]

agreed on the 2 gift goals (although Bellamy made a great run on the 3rd goal after Rio's poor play). But it was still an awesome match to watch. Very exciting.

Very underrated player, Bellamy (first one was a great goal too). Very over-rated human being though.. (should really be in jail).

Underrated by who?

 

[El Floppo]

The U20 World Cup starts this soon. Here is the US schedule. If anyone has the roster for the US, please post

Roster By Position: (Detailed Roster)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Central Florida; Lilburn, Ga.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.), Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC; Syracuse, N.Y.), Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.), Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.), Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Sheanon Williams (Unattached; Boston, Mass.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabak; Oslo, Norway), Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas), Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Michael Stephens (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.)

FORWARDS (4): Sam Garza (Denver; Highland Village, Texas), Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.), Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas), Tony Taylor (Jacksonville; Jacksonville, Fla.)

linkIts great that ESPN is covering this tournament - honestly pretty amazing that they are showing all 52 games, not just the US team games. That said, I'll admit that there is about a zero percent chance I will watch any of the non-US games and a strong likelihood that I won't watch any of the US games in their entirety. All the televised soccer we get these days is an embarrassment of riches. I remember following Chelsea in the late 80's / early 90's - before the internet - and having to go to the bookstore to check the english and Euro magazines to know whether they had won a game that was played several weeks earlier. I really had no idea what most of their players looked like or how they played. Seeing the European Cup or WC qualifiers was a pipe dream, and even the world cup coverage was a joke until very recently. Now there is so much I can't possibly watch it all, and end up recording and deleting several games each week for lack of space on my dvr.

Agree with this 100%. I haven't decided whether to delete yesterday's Real match yet but not sure when I'll get a chance to watch it and I already know the result. Disappointed FS is replaying Chelsea-Spurs rather than ManU-City from this weekend as I missed it.To the U20 WC.....interesting that Adu is not playing. By age, he rightly could and while most everyone agrees he should stay in Portugal and earn playing time, I don't believe he has played for Belenenses yet either. And if that is the case, I think he should have considered playing the U20 just to get time on the field and show his stuff. Tough spot for him though as he is a bit damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

Amazing how many of those kids are playing in the black-hole for soccer development- college. Not a very sexy looking lineup- I follow US youth teams loosely at best, and I don't recognize one of those kids-, but I'll still be routing for them.Is Adu dressing at least? Good gravy, what a waste of his development (and all of our hopes for such an amazing talent)

 

[magichat]

agreed on the 2 gift goals (although Bellamy made a great run on the 3rd goal after Rio's poor play). But it was still an awesome match to watch. Very exciting.

Very underrated player, Bellamy (first one was a great goal too). Very over-rated human being though.. (should really be in jail).

Underrated by who?

Not you then.I dont think he really gets full credit, and I think most assumed he'd be kicked to the curb this year. Tevez, for example is about half the player Bellamy is.

He's Welsh, so has never had really big international exposure. Theres a lot of people who dont watch EPL closely who would never have heard of him.

 

[prefontaine]

Is Adu dressing at least? Good gravy, what a waste of his development (and all of our hopes for such an amazing talent)

No idea if he is dressing. I don't follow the Portuguese league at all so my limited info is just that he hasn't got into a game. I saw an interview with him where he said the coach was "bringing him along slowly" and that he isn't worried about his development. He didn't sound too enthusiastic about his future with Benefica though.

 

[magichat]

Is Adu dressing at least? Good gravy, what a waste of his development (and all of our hopes for such an amazing talent)

No idea if he is dressing. I don't follow the Portuguese league at all so my limited info is just that he hasn't got into a game. I saw an interview with him where he said the coach was "bringing him along slowly" and that he isn't worried about his development. He didn't sound too enthusiastic about his future with Benefica though.

What is the prognosis for Freddy? I remember the hype a few years ago (from memory he nearly signed with Manchester United but didnt because of a work permit issue), but last I heard he was playing irregularly in MLS. I actually thought he had some sort of arrangement to go back to United sometime, surprised to see he's playing in Portugal.He'd be about 20 now?

 

[prefontaine]

Is Adu dressing at least? Good gravy, what a waste of his development (and all of our hopes for such an amazing talent)

No idea if he is dressing. I don't follow the Portuguese league at all so my limited info is just that he hasn't got into a game. I saw an interview with him where he said the coach was "bringing him along slowly" and that he isn't worried about his development. He didn't sound too enthusiastic about his future with Benefica though.

What is the prognosis for Freddy? I remember the hype a few years ago (from memory he nearly signed with Manchester United but didnt because of a work permit issue), but last I heard he was playing irregularly in MLS. I actually thought he had some sort of arrangement to go back to United sometime, surprised to see he's playing in Portugal.He'd be about 20 now?

Summer two years ago, he signed with one of the bigger Portugese clubs - Benfica. His first season there he got in as a sub a few times but the next year they had management turnover and the new manager didn't see much future for him. So last year, he was loaned out to AS Monaco, which is based in Monaco but plays in the top French league. I believe they also had an option to buy him outright but he didn't see any time for them and went back to Benfica after the season. This year Benfica still has no plans for him and tried very hard to loan him out but apparently his contract is pretty big and smaller clubs couldn't swallow it (a loan to a Dutch side fell through reportedly because of this). He ended up being loaned to another team, Belenenses, in the same league. Belenenses is a relegation level side though and so far he hasn't even seen the field for them. I think he is still under contract with Benfica for another couple of years but I would expect he will be working to get out of it so he can go somewhere and play and develop. Basically the last two years have been pretty catastrophic for Freddy's development as he has gotten very sparse playing time and the team that owns his rights doesn't seem to be concerned about his career development at all. I doubt he is going to get a look from any top sides until he proves himself by going somewhere and playing well.

 

[andy_b]

Is Adu dressing at least? Good gravy, what a waste of his development (and all of our hopes for such an amazing talent)

It sounds like it is a mess all over. Teams across Europe have refused to release their best young players for this tournament."In a repeat of the debacle leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics tournament in Beijing, bitter club versus country battles have once again unfurled across Europe over the release of first-team players for an event not scheduled on the FIFA calendar. Despite FIFA's posturing, clubs seem to have mostly won this round and will keep their high-profile players in Europe."and here is Rongens take on Adu and Jozy, both of whom are eligible to play but are not on the squad"The United States is following that example, as age-eligible but established players Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore were never seriously considered for the American squad. Identifying young players to stock the full national team player pool in the future -- if not immediately, then during the next World Cup cycle -- will be one of the Americans' main goals."It's part of an ongoing conversation that we have with [national team manager] Bob Bradley," said under-20 American coach Thomas Rongen. "We want to push the players and put them in an environment that they can get better, and get them to the next level."

 

[andy_b]

Amazing how many of those kids are playing in the black-hole for soccer development- college. Not a very sexy looking lineup- I follow US youth teams loosely at best, and I don't recognize one of those kids-, but I'll still be routing for them.

Outside of a couple of the MLS kids, the only one I recognize is Sheanon Williams and that is only because the Boston Globe wrote a nice article on him when he was a youth player who led his local side to a national title at the U15 age group.

 

[Sammy3469]

Amazing how many of those kids are playing in the black-hole for soccer development- college. Not a very sexy looking lineup- I follow US youth teams loosely at best, and I don't recognize one of those kids-, but I'll still be routing for them.

Outside of a couple of the MLS kids, the only one I recognize is Sheanon Williams and that is only because the Boston Globe wrote a nice article on him when he was a youth player who led his local side to a national title at the U15 age group.

I believe that Diskerud is basically the "star" of this team so far. Shea's the only other one I've seen any of and the few times I did see him, he wasn't playing forward for Dallas.

 

[andy_b]

Amazing how many of those kids are playing in the black-hole for soccer development- college. Not a very sexy looking lineup- I follow US youth teams loosely at best, and I don't recognize one of those kids-, but I'll still be routing for them.

Outside of a couple of the MLS kids, the only one I recognize is Sheanon Williams and that is only because the Boston Globe wrote a nice article on him when he was a youth player who led his local side to a national title at the U15 age group.

I believe that Diskerud is basically the "star" of this team so far. Shea's the only other one I've seen any of and the few times I did see him, he wasn't playing forward for Dallas.

I don't know if it is me or if its this specific group of players but I have never known so little about the U20 pool.

 

[Sammy3469]

Amazing how many of those kids are playing in the black-hole for soccer development- college. Not a very sexy looking lineup- I follow US youth teams loosely at best, and I don't recognize one of those kids-, but I'll still be routing for them.

Outside of a couple of the MLS kids, the only one I recognize is Sheanon Williams and that is only because the Boston Globe wrote a nice article on him when he was a youth player who led his local side to a national title at the U15 age group.

I believe that Diskerud is basically the "star" of this team so far. Shea's the only other one I've seen any of and the few times I did see him, he wasn't playing forward for Dallas.

I don't know if it is me or if its this specific group of players but I have never known so little about the U20 pool.

I'm guessing b/c the two "best" offensive players are already off the team and that's who gets all the pr at this stage. Supposedly the defenders are better than in years past, but like I said who really knows.

 

[andy_b]

Is anyone following what is going down in Honduras? It looks to be a political mess down there and a lot of unrest. According to some reports, Fifa and Concacaf need to decide whether they need to move the US game out of the country.....

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id...=us&cc=5901

 

[andy_b]

Here is the latest ESPN prediction of who will make the US squad should we qualify. It is both predictable, likely correct and a bit underwhelming all at the same time

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/power...h=9&cc=5901

 

[andy_b]

The new Philidelphia Union (MLS expansion side for next season) stadium is moving along although seems to be a bit behind schedule. The team announced that the first home game will be played at Lincoln Financial Field.

Here are some pics of the current state of the stadium. You can see its well behind the stadium the Red Bulls are building.

Phili Stadium

Red Bull Arena

 

[Sammy3469]

The new Philidelphia Union (MLS expansion side for next season) stadium is moving along although seems to be a bit behind schedule. The team announced that the first home game will be played at Lincoln Financial Field.

Here are some pics of the current state of the stadium. You can see its well behind the stadium the Red Bulls are building.

Phili Stadium

Red Bull Arena

Red Bull stadium looks nice....that end-zone seating looks really steep and close to the field. That place should be loud.

 

[andy_b]

The new Philidelphia Union (MLS expansion side for next season) stadium is moving along although seems to be a bit behind schedule. The team announced that the first home game will be played at Lincoln Financial Field.

Here are some pics of the current state of the stadium. You can see its well behind the stadium the Red Bulls are building.

Phili Stadium

Red Bull Arena

Red Bull stadium looks nice....that end-zone seating looks really steep and close to the field. That place should be loud.

I think so too. It is nice that they have both an outdoor and indoor camera now.

 

[Ted Lange as your Bartender]

OK, I realize this isn't senior international football and is the FIFA U-20 tournament, but have you ever heard of a more lopsided cross-confederational matchup than Spain vs Tahiti? Does Spain score 10 goals? 12? 15? Or do they take it easy?

ETA: On ESPN360 right now

 

[The Z Machine]

My Atlético continue to flounder. Currently residing in 19th place and already 10 pts back from Real and Barça and they've only played 4 games. Double plus ungood.

Could they go from CL to relegation in 1 season even without losing el Kun? It would be kind of impressive to see it happen. There's something simply rotten about the team, and especially the defense. On Wed, they gave up a 90+ minute equalizer at home to Almería. WHAT THE #### IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!??!º11!ª

 

[Sebowski]

If US beats Hondorus they qualify for the WC, right?

Let's say they win. Do they still go all out at RFK against Costa Rica on the 14th for a better seed?

If they do, I'm going to the game. If not, I may not.

 

[editor47]

Union defiintely on the road for opener - March 25 at Seattle, 9:30 p.m. national TV

Home opener - April 10 vs. DC United at Lincoln Financial Field

 

[LHUCKS]

I'm in Madrid this weekend, dropped 200 euro on a Real Madrid ticket for tonight...so stoked.

Will report back.

 

[LHUCKS]

I'm in Madrid this weekend, dropped 200 euro on a Real Madrid ticket for tonight...so stoked.

Will report back.

 

[TLEF316]

US U-20's laying an egg in the first half. 2-0 Germany. We're getting crushed in the MF and giving the ball away constantly. The US team doesn't appear to have any speed at all.

And o yeah, our Captain went out with an injury as well.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Wondergoal from Steven Gerrard

 

[TLEF316]

US U-20's laying an egg in the first half. 2-0 Germany. We're getting crushed in the MF and giving the ball away constantly. The US team doesn't appear to have any speed at all.And o yeah, our Captain went out with an injury as well.

make that 3-0

 

[Moe.]

If US beats Hondorus they qualify for the WC, right? Let's say they win. Do they still go all out at RFK against Costa Rica on the 14th for a better seed? If they do, I'm going to the game. If not, I may not.

Yes.Not sure about the second question, we're not going to get a seed but obviously they won't just throw the game, maybe it'll be an opportunity to try out some new things, like Castillo at lb etc. When do they announce the rosters for the next two games?

 

[Mjolnirs]

Screwed by Gol TV today! Very big Bayern v Hamburg match in the Bundesliga on Saturday. I wasn't going to be home so I dutifully set my DVR. Now, we all know that they generally show soccer matches in two hour slots, well not today. I failed to notice the Guide was showing only 90 minutes, not that it would have mattered.

I get home tonight and sit down to watch the match. At a point in the second half they start doing a split screen showing preparations for a La Liga match featuring Barcelona. I quickly realize they are planning on cutting away to that match when it begins because the announcers state they will keep me updated on this match once they start showing Barcelona. (ok, I didn't "realize" it, they told me)

At this point I'm already pissed, then at about the 70 minute mark my recording stops! What? This is when I catch on to the 90 minute issue. To add to my aggravation I check dfb.de for the score and learn that the winning goal came about 2 minutes after my recording stopped. (even worse, it was Hamburg that scored)

I would say end , but I'll be #####ing about this for a while.

 

[The Gator]

Wondergoal from Steven Gerrard

For some reason my DVR stopped recording this game 5min in

 

[The Z Machine]

Atletico lets another slip through their fingers. Drawn 2-2 in Valencia. They were down 2-1 from the 20th or so, and Maxi had to equalize in extra time. Ugh. 3 points in 5 games.

 

[Sebowski]

Ibra with 5 goals in his first 5 game Liga games with Barca.

Some of the worst reffing I've ever seen in the Barca-Malaga game. Malaga was playing really rough right up to the end. Barca could have easily won 5-0 if they finished half their chances.

 

[TLEF316]

I'm curious as to everyone's thoughts on the world's current Best 11. I dont watch all the leagues, so my view is a tad limited.

The best I've seen.....

GK- Casillas.

CB- Vidic, Puyol(not sold on this, but i dont know a ton of other guys)

LB- Evra

RB- Sergio Ramos

MF- too many options here, but for my money, I'm taking C. Ronaldo, Messi and Gerrard. I'm undecided on the 4th. So many great ones. Dont really know how to diferentiate between them.

Striker- Rooney (he's just been unreal this year), Fernando Torres (again, his goals just make my jaw drop)