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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (3 Viewers)

It's strange looking back at the Scotland game that I was kind of down on LD- despite his statistically stellar night. Those criticisms were highlighted tongith- thought his touch was lacking and his decision making troublesome. It didn't help that Marcello had him in his pocket- but LD didn't try anything else... seemed to run out of ideas, but still kept banging his head aginst the wall.

When I saw that Dempsey was coming on, I was really hoping that it was going to be in place of LD and not Torres. Torres was problematic for sure, but I felt like he put the US in more useful, positive situations than LD. Or maybe it was Torres+Johnson that made the difference vs LD and Dolo.

 
And even thought it was Brazil, that team didn't put the fear of god in my heart the way a Spain or Germany would. Some excellent attacking players, but that MF seems pretty beatable.

And Neymar- fun to watch, but wow he cries a lot.

 
Cal FC, the amateur team coached by Wynalda beat Portland in Portland 1-0 in extra time. Portland had something like 45 shots and a pk. I watched the second half and extra time. Horrendous finishing by Portland who had chance after chance after chance.

Cool story for Cal FC who not only beat an MLS side but they also were the very first amateur side to ever score a goal against an MLS team.

This years US Open Cup has been nuts.

 
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Here are the Fourth round match ups. There will be at minimum two lower division teams in the quarter finals.

USLP Harrisburg City Islanders

MLS New York Red Bulls

MLS D.C. United

MLS Philadelphia Union

PDL Michigan Bucks

USLP Dayton Dutch Lions

MLS Sporting Kansas City

MLS Colorado Rapids

NASL San Antonio Scorpions

USLP Charlotte Eagles

MLS San Jose Earthquakes

NASL Minnesota Stars FC

USASA Cal FC

MLS Seattle Sounders FC

NASL Carolina RailHawks

MLS Chivas USA

 
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'El Floppo said:
'PIK95 said:
I LOVED how we valued possession and showed patience when we could tonight. That will be huge in a few years if it trickles down.
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Completely agree with this- unless you're being sarcastic?As a team, the US tried to play the ball- which means to me they're trying to win, not just to not lose. I've seen all of these players have better touch than they did tonight... but obviously all it takes is one missed trap or pass and a high-pressuring team like Brazil is going to hurt you.
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I was 100% serious. But our D was awful I would add.
 
'Moe. said:
How locked in is Fabian Johnson?edit: Ives and Grant Wahl just tweeted that he made a one-time switch to the US. Nice.
Click to expand...
I'm just a casual soccer fan, but this guy really stood out yesterday. It felt like every time he touched it, we had something working. I hope to see more of him on the MNT.
 
Did anybody catch the ESPN commentator line about the number of Brazilian soccer players playing around the globe. I swear I thought he said 6,000. Can that number be right? If it is, I don't think the U.S. will ever match Brazil. Just too hard to compete with a player pool that size.

 
'El Floppo said:
I mentioned this about Torres against Scotland- he plays the little 2 yard ball that doesn't put his team-mates or his team in better situations way too much. Against Scotland, they had acres of space so it didn't matter the way it did tonight. Obviously, tonight that pass means the guy recieving it has not just his own defender on him, but now Torres' too. I actually like the short-short passing game, but it has to have a purpose- the occasional, or hopefully, regular mid to longer ball into dangerous space helps open it up- otherwise it's far too easy to defend and ends up being completely toothless... and maybe that goes towards what you're saying.
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I'm with you and that's sort of what I meant. The negative ball has a lot of purpose at times. It creates space and gives a different angle to move the ball. Too often it is dismissed as useless on lower levels (players hate to go backwards). It's useful in the arsenal of the creative player. But it seems to be Torres's entire arsenal. He lacks pace to scare anyone so that alone invites pressure on the international level. But he has always seemed to play too scared or something. He lacks the ability of a guy like Bradley to receive a ball in traffic and get his head up. Instead he finds the quickest shortest outlet possible and gets the ball off him. This results in phenomenal numbers on passes but lacks any real purpose. Looking at the stats I see he was credited with 24 successful passes and 4 unsuccessful. 13 of those 28 were negative (four negatives were from our offense half back into the defensive area). Bradley played the full match and played a position that generally touches it more and requires more simple passes but his stats were 52 and 9. 9 of those 61 were negative and all 9 of those were contained within our defensive half (which seems an oddly low number for the role he was playing tbh).

Continuing on and comparing to Donovan's chalkboard it looks like the two are playing totally different positions. LD completed 32 and 13 were incomplete. But his chalkboard is all over the final third and in the corner. Torres does not have a single pass started in the final third and only 3 finished there (one of which was a freekick). Fabian Johnson was the attacking option on that side. Fabian Johnson was the primary defender on that side. Torres job seems to be to maintain possession (for instance in fewer minutes he had a lot more touches than LD) and at that he is pretty useful. But he lacks any sort of offensive threat and his defense is subpar (twice I noticed that he went to the wrong man on the press and instead of pinning them Gomez, Edu, and Bradley just ended up working their ### off to watch an easy outlet right around us). For all his positive qualities, and he has quite a few, he just seems too limited (much like Beckerman or Adu) against a world class opponent like Brazil.

'El Floppo said:
But I like that he and the US try this against the high pressure. It didn't work too much in the first half, but I give them credit and am happy that they were still trying to play the ball out fo the back. The problems to me seemed to be issues of skill more than tactics- too many guys with errant touches that immediately put them in danger against that pressure.
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I like that we are trying to maintain possession instead of bunkering. It's more enjoyable to watch. However, I'm not sure if it will be more effective bc as you point out, we don't have the best touch. It may just be we need to get all the right kind of players out there.
'El Floppo said:
Case in point, Edu's positioning didn't bother me as much as his touch, which was terrible all night. If he Jones and Bradley are switching it up- fine. I've seen enough of Edu to trust that he can partner with Bradley pretty well- especially positionally. But if his first touch goes 3 or 4 yards off his foot... it's not going to be good.
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I don't mind the positioning. I don't think he was out of position. I think he was asked to play a more advanced role. My guess is this was to keep Brazil from having space to hold the ball in the middle. But all they did was go around him and down the wings. Offensively Edu has always had poor touch. I don't expect that to change at this point. If we are going to play this formation (and it was different than vs Scotland as this was more 4231) I think that spot needs to be filled by (hopefully) Holden. I noticed early on in the 2h it seemed they inverted the triangle and had Bradley play a lone holding role. It may just be that Klinnsman is trying them each out at the various spots to see how that looks and works (against Scotland I thought Bradley was given a role as the most advanced of the 3). Maybe it's a chance to get in the film room and show exactly what one guy is doing right or wrong. I'm sure there are tactical reasons for it as well but I was just saying I don't think the direction Edu was given makes best use of his talents.

 
'El Floppo said:
I just talked about Edu- but again, without a first touch, the rest of his game was going to be in trouble. I'm not used to seeing him lack control as badly as he did tonight, so I'm not writing him off at all. A bad game yes, but I still believe in the formation with him sweeping behind Jones and MB. I don't see anybody else that's going to play that... other than speedy-gonzalez-Beckerman.
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There was a great dummy Beckerman made towards the end and I think it was Bradley who then played the ball into space for him. I couldn't help laughing though when the Brazilian player covered the space and got to the ball well before Beckerman even got close. It was a fantastic idea and really well executed. But at the end of the day it resulted in nothing because Beckerman simply lacks any kind of pace.
 
'NMYMND said:
Did anybody catch the ESPN commentator line about the number of Brazilian soccer players playing around the globe. I swear I thought he said 6,000. Can that number be right? If it is, I don't think the U.S. will ever match Brazil. Just too hard to compete with a player pool that size.
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This wasn't really a surprising number to me. Brazil has 4 flights in their football league each consisting of 20 clubs. That's 80 clubs right there. They also have another system where regions of Brazil have their own leagues (I don't totally understand the relationships). Needless to say there are a lot of teams in Brazil itself that account for most of them. If you think about it, we have 20 leagues of minor league baseball that have 245 total teams in the US. If 25 players a team and you get 6125 players. Brazil has 200m people and soccer is head and shoulders in popularity above any other sport. We have 300m people split among many sports.
 
'cheese said:
'Moe. said:
How locked in is Fabian Johnson?edit: Ives and Grant Wahl just tweeted that he made a one-time switch to the US. Nice.
Click to expand...
I'm just a casual soccer fan, but this guy really stood out yesterday. It felt like every time he touched it, we had something working. I hope to see more of him on the MNT.
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I think we can go ahead and write him down in pen at LB. Unless you guys would rather have Bornstein.
 
Had to catch the match on DVR early this morning. I don't think I have much to add that hasn't already been said. But I will still throw in a few things.

- As noted, the USA has a real LB. And a really good LB. Although he isn't as good as their LB. Who happens to be quite a ##### as well.

- Gooch can not play against any nation with attacking quality.

- Torres is a holding DM who can't play holding defense or an attacking MF lacking creativity. In the long run he does not have a position on this team outside of possibly time kill late in games.

- Italy seemed to do Bradley a ton of good. Somewhat similar to Torres, he was kind of a MF tweener. His touch and vision have developed greatly.

- I am with Floppo (I think). Of course there were the goals, but LD played poorly for much of the Scotland match. He looked worse against Brasil.

- I am fairly certain I have better touch than Edu and my feet have not touched a soccer ball in a decade.

Overall, we all figured that the one-touch possession type soccer would struggle against Brasil. In all honesty, the old American style of play might have a better chance of competing against the big time skill nations. However, this style of play with these players and the up and comers who will challenge for 2014 IMO will give the USA the best chance to beat the teams that have less or similar skill. And it gives the USA a chance to finally build on the game in a manner that is conducive to seriously competing in World Cups. I hope this is the turn we all remember in 20 years.

 
'prefontaine said:
'NMYMND said:
Did anybody catch the ESPN commentator line about the number of Brazilian soccer players playing around the globe. I swear I thought he said 6,000. Can that number be right? If it is, I don't think the U.S. will ever match Brazil. Just too hard to compete with a player pool that size.
Click to expand...
This wasn't really a surprising number to me. Brazil has 4 flights in their football league each consisting of 20 clubs. That's 80 clubs right there. They also have another system where regions of Brazil have their own leagues (I don't totally understand the relationships). Needless to say there are a lot of teams in Brazil itself that account for most of them. If you think about it, we have 20 leagues of minor league baseball that have 245 total teams in the US. If 25 players a team and you get 6125 players. Brazil has 200m people and soccer is head and shoulders in popularity above any other sport. We have 300m people split among many sports.
Click to expand...
The math certainly makes sense. And you stated my point better than I did. Our population is not focused on a single sport, so it makes it an uphill climb against countries that are singularly focused.
 
'NewlyRetired said:
Cal FC, the amateur team coached by Wynalda beat Portland in Portland 1-0 in extra time. Portland had something like 45 shots and a pk. I watched the second half and extra time. Horrendous finishing by Portland who had chance after chance after chance.Cool story for Cal FC who not only beat an MLS side but they also were the very first amateur side to ever score a goal against an MLS team. This years US Open Cup has been nuts.
Click to expand...
Is the problem talent dilution due to expansion in MLS?I know there's some nostalgia involved, and there are certainly fewer truly bad players on the pitch today - the depth is more even, but I think that MLS now seems inferior to the skill level in the 1997-2002 era. Is that down to selective memory? Maybe it's just that the #10s then were so much better?
 
'AcerFC said:
'CletiusMaximus said:
The issue of racism, anti-semitism and general hooliganism from the Polish and Ukrainian ultras is receiving some attention these days with a few quotes from high-profiles like Balotelli and Sol Campbell. The BBC just released a pretty good documentary on the topic that is really quite disgusting: Euro 2012 - Stadiums Of Hate.
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I just read something on this on The Guardian (I think)
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I just watched the whole thing. The only thing I can say as a Jew is that I am very happy I didnt see this before I went to Poland in 2005. This should be an interesting next few weeks. Im willing to bet that UEFA is not going to be happy with their choice of spots for 2012
 
'AcerFC said:
'AcerFC said:
'CletiusMaximus said:
The issue of racism, anti-semitism and general hooliganism from the Polish and Ukrainian ultras is receiving some attention these days with a few quotes from high-profiles like Balotelli and Sol Campbell. The BBC just released a pretty good documentary on the topic that is really quite disgusting: Euro 2012 - Stadiums Of Hate.
Click to expand...
I just read something on this on The Guardian (I think)
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I just watched the whole thing. The only thing I can say as a Jew is that I am very happy I didnt see this before I went to Poland in 2005. This should be an interesting next few weeks. Im willing to bet that UEFA is not going to be happy with their choice of spots for 2012
Click to expand...
Read an article on this documentary as well and I was hoping to find it somewhere. Thanks for the link.
 
'wdcrob said:
'NewlyRetired said:
Cal FC, the amateur team coached by Wynalda beat Portland in Portland 1-0 in extra time. Portland had something like 45 shots and a pk. I watched the second half and extra time. Horrendous finishing by Portland who had chance after chance after chance.Cool story for Cal FC who not only beat an MLS side but they also were the very first amateur side to ever score a goal against an MLS team. This years US Open Cup has been nuts.
Click to expand...
Is the problem talent dilution due to expansion in MLS?I know there's some nostalgia involved, and there are certainly fewer truly bad players on the pitch today - the depth is more even, but I think that MLS now seems inferior to the skill level in the 1997-2002 era. Is that down to selective memory? Maybe it's just that the #10s then were so much better?
Click to expand...
Some thoughts1) I think it is just the magic of the cup. Stuff like this happens all over the world in cup competitions2) The MLS teams rarely play their full teams, most time playing their home grown players and reserves. Many of these type of players never really make it in the league. The amateur side last night was loaded with players who were on MLS sides at one time but never broke through.3) The US Open Cup limits the amount of foreign players who can be on the pitch which obviously hurts the higher level teams in MLS4) I have a very hard time comparing teams from the different time periods but there is no question in my mind that MLS is producing more talent every year than they did 12-14 years ago.
 
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'Moe. said:
'cheese said:
'Moe. said:
How locked in is Fabian Johnson?edit: Ives and Grant Wahl just tweeted that he made a one-time switch to the US. Nice.
Click to expand...
I'm just a casual soccer fan, but this guy really stood out yesterday. It felt like every time he touched it, we had something working. I hope to see more of him on the MNT.
Click to expand...
I think we can go ahead and write him down in pen at LB. Unless you guys would rather have Bornstein.
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US just needs to get him one minute of action against Antigua and then he will be locked to US no matter what wrinkles someone can find in the rules.
 
Man, I wish Holden was healthy.

He would be a nice fit in this system. With Bradley at the holding midfielder he could easily replace Edu in the midfield triangle or either Donovan or Torres up front.

With him being out of action for so long I fear he may not be the same player when he comes back. This is a very long injury.

 
'prefontaine said:
'El Floppo said:
I just talked about Edu- but again, without a first touch, the rest of his game was going to be in trouble. I'm not used to seeing him lack control as badly as he did tonight, so I'm not writing him off at all. A bad game yes, but I still believe in the formation with him sweeping behind Jones and MB. I don't see anybody else that's going to play that... other than speedy-gonzalez-Beckerman.
Click to expand...
There was a great dummy Beckerman made towards the end and I think it was Bradley who then played the ball into space for him. I couldn't help laughing though when the Brazilian player covered the space and got to the ball well before Beckerman even got close. It was a fantastic idea and really well executed. But at the end of the day it resulted in nothing because Beckerman simply lacks any kind of pace.
Click to expand...
I remember that one. I was yelling at him for being so GD slow. Good soccer smarts, but not so much with the acceleration. My wife said he needs to cut the dreds to get more aerodynamic.
 
Some fun facts I learned while reading the Wikipedia page about Euro Cup squads:

- the following domestic country leagues whose international teams are NOT playing in Euro 2012 have at least 1 player playing in the Euro Cup: Turkey (9), Scotland (4), Belgium (3), Cyprus/Israel/Romania/Saudi Arabia/USA (1)

- Ireland is the only nation in the tournament that has 0 of its players based in its own domestic league. Sweden a distant second with 3 domestic-based players

- LA Galaxy has 1 player playing in Euro Cup (Robbie Keane). Some other notable clubs that only have 1 player in the cup: Eintracht Frankfurt, Feyenoord, Inter Milan (Sneijder only!), Kaiserslautern, Koln, Montpellier (2011-2012 French champions), Udinese

- 14 of Ukraine's 23 players play for either Dynamo Kiev or Shakhtar

 
'The Z Machine said:
'prefontaine said:
'El Floppo said:
I just talked about Edu- but again, without a first touch, the rest of his game was going to be in trouble. I'm not used to seeing him lack control as badly as he did tonight, so I'm not writing him off at all. A bad game yes, but I still believe in the formation with him sweeping behind Jones and MB. I don't see anybody else that's going to play that... other than speedy-gonzalez-Beckerman.
Click to expand...
There was a great dummy Beckerman made towards the end and I think it was Bradley who then played the ball into space for him. I couldn't help laughing though when the Brazilian player covered the space and got to the ball well before Beckerman even got close. It was a fantastic idea and really well executed. But at the end of the day it resulted in nothing because Beckerman simply lacks any kind of pace.
Click to expand...
I remember that one. I was yelling at him for being so GD slow. Good soccer smarts, but not so much with the acceleration. My wife said he needs to cut the dreds to get more aerodynamic.
Click to expand...
Speaking of... it was good to see Neymar ditch the lame-o faux-hawk. I much prefer his new Korean pop-star do, and figure that half of the soccer playing world under 16 will be getting the same one by this weekend.
 
'NewlyRetired said:
'wdcrob said:
'NewlyRetired said:
Cal FC, the amateur team coached by Wynalda beat Portland in Portland 1-0 in extra time. Portland had something like 45 shots and a pk. I watched the second half and extra time. Horrendous finishing by Portland who had chance after chance after chance.Cool story for Cal FC who not only beat an MLS side but they also were the very first amateur side to ever score a goal against an MLS team. This years US Open Cup has been nuts.
Click to expand...
Is the problem talent dilution due to expansion in MLS?I know there's some nostalgia involved, and there are certainly fewer truly bad players on the pitch today - the depth is more even, but I think that MLS now seems inferior to the skill level in the 1997-2002 era. Is that down to selective memory? Maybe it's just that the #10s then were so much better?
Click to expand...
Some thoughts1) I think it is just the magic of the cup. Stuff like this happens all over the world in cup competitions2) The MLS teams rarely play their full teams, most time playing their home grown players and reserves. Many of these type of players never really make it in the league. The amateur side last night was loaded with players who were on MLS sides at one time but never broke through.3) The US Open Cup limits the amount of foreign players who can be on the pitch which obviously hurts the higher level teams in MLS4) I have a very hard time comparing teams from the different time periods but there is no question in my mind that MLS is producing more talent every year than they did 12-14 years ago.
Click to expand...
Good stuff.I think the op was dead-on by saying the #10s looked better. These were the same, high-performing usually foreigners that we have now... just playing against college level kids who didn't measure up. It's kind of like how I used to love watching the US women's team play because they got to show the game the way it's meant to be played... almost entirely because they were playing against far inferior competition.
 
'El Floppo said:
'NewlyRetired said:
'wdcrob said:
'NewlyRetired said:
Cal FC, the amateur team coached by Wynalda beat Portland in Portland 1-0 in extra time. Portland had something like 45 shots and a pk. I watched the second half and extra time. Horrendous finishing by Portland who had chance after chance after chance.Cool story for Cal FC who not only beat an MLS side but they also were the very first amateur side to ever score a goal against an MLS team. This years US Open Cup has been nuts.
Click to expand...
Is the problem talent dilution due to expansion in MLS?I know there's some nostalgia involved, and there are certainly fewer truly bad players on the pitch today - the depth is more even, but I think that MLS now seems inferior to the skill level in the 1997-2002 era. Is that down to selective memory? Maybe it's just that the #10s then were so much better?
Click to expand...
Some thoughts1) I think it is just the magic of the cup. Stuff like this happens all over the world in cup competitions2) The MLS teams rarely play their full teams, most time playing their home grown players and reserves. Many of these type of players never really make it in the league. The amateur side last night was loaded with players who were on MLS sides at one time but never broke through.3) The US Open Cup limits the amount of foreign players who can be on the pitch which obviously hurts the higher level teams in MLS4) I have a very hard time comparing teams from the different time periods but there is no question in my mind that MLS is producing more talent every year than they did 12-14 years ago.
Click to expand...
Good stuff.I think the op was dead-on by saying the #10s looked better. These were the same, high-performing usually foreigners that we have now... just playing against college level kids who didn't measure up. It's kind of like how I used to love watching the US women's team play because they got to show the game the way it's meant to be played... almost entirely because they were playing against far inferior competition.
Click to expand...
I'll buy this. Combined with the fact that I was a 20-something watching the game seriously for the first time and watching a team that won three titles in four years and I'm willing to chalk it up to the 'ruinous work of nostalgia.'
 
I'll admit that my memory sucks, but I don't remember Edo having typically bad touch. It's not always great, but IIRC it's rarely as poor as it was last night. He doesn't usually just lose the ball with his first or second touch; maybe the pass isn't spot on, or the ball gets caught underfoot- but not as stone footed as last night. The field looked a little greasy, but at that level it's no excuse.

 
'wdcrob said:
'El Floppo said:
'NewlyRetired said:
'wdcrob said:
'NewlyRetired said:
Cal FC, the amateur team coached by Wynalda beat Portland in Portland 1-0 in extra time. Portland had something like 45 shots and a pk. I watched the second half and extra time. Horrendous finishing by Portland who had chance after chance after chance.Cool story for Cal FC who not only beat an MLS side but they also were the very first amateur side to ever score a goal against an MLS team. This years US Open Cup has been nuts.
Click to expand...
Is the problem talent dilution due to expansion in MLS?I know there's some nostalgia involved, and there are certainly fewer truly bad players on the pitch today - the depth is more even, but I think that MLS now seems inferior to the skill level in the 1997-2002 era. Is that down to selective memory? Maybe it's just that the #10s then were so much better?
Click to expand...
Some thoughts1) I think it is just the magic of the cup. Stuff like this happens all over the world in cup competitions2) The MLS teams rarely play their full teams, most time playing their home grown players and reserves. Many of these type of players never really make it in the league. The amateur side last night was loaded with players who were on MLS sides at one time but never broke through.3) The US Open Cup limits the amount of foreign players who can be on the pitch which obviously hurts the higher level teams in MLS4) I have a very hard time comparing teams from the different time periods but there is no question in my mind that MLS is producing more talent every year than they did 12-14 years ago.
Click to expand...
Good stuff.I think the op was dead-on by saying the #10s looked better. These were the same, high-performing usually foreigners that we have now... just playing against college level kids who didn't measure up. It's kind of like how I used to love watching the US women's team play because they got to show the game the way it's meant to be played... almost entirely because they were playing against far inferior competition.
Click to expand...
I'll buy this. Combined with the fact that I was a 20-something watching the game seriously for the first time and watching a team that won three titles in four years and I'm willing to chalk it up to the 'ruinous work of nostalgia.'
Click to expand...
Your original point also has some merit. When there were only 10 total teams and 4 of the teams had an Etchevery, a Valderamma, a Cienfuegos, or a Novak, almost every game was going to feature a number ten who could dominate. Floppo's point about why they looked so good is very true as well.Even though there were only ten teams back then I feel that there were players on those teams that could never make a 19 team MLS today. There were some good players and some bad players back in the day. I still think though that the 97 version of DC United was the best team in the history of the league (Agoos, Pope, Etchevery, Moreno, Harkes, Sanneh, Diaz Arce, Llammosa, Wegerle, Williams etc). All these players outside of Wegerle were in their primes too.
 
'NewlyRetired said:
I still think though that the 97 version of DC United was the best team in the history of the league (Agoos, Pope, Etchevery, Moreno, Harkes, Sanneh, Diaz Arce, Llammosa, Wegerle, Williams etc). All these players outside of Wegerle were in their primes too.
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Be still my heart.The 1997 Final (at RFK, cold as hell, raining, 57k all wearing black, LOUD) and the two 1998 wins over Mexican teams at RFK are probably still at the top of my in-person soccer viewing history. The 1998 team might have been even better, all those guys plus Ben Olsen and Rocket Roy in place of RDA. And by that point they were a well-oiled machine.
 
'wdcrob said:
'NewlyRetired said:
I still think though that the 97 version of DC United was the best team in the history of the league (Agoos, Pope, Etchevery, Moreno, Harkes, Sanneh, Diaz Arce, Llammosa, Wegerle, Williams etc). All these players outside of Wegerle were in their primes too.
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Be still my heart.The 1997 Final (at RFK, cold as hell, raining, 57k all wearing black, LOUD) and the two 1998 wins over Mexican teams at RFK are probably still at the top of my in-person soccer viewing history. The 1998 team might have been even better, all those guys plus Ben Olsen and Rocket Roy in place of RDA. And by that point they were a well-oiled machine.
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Yeah, the 98 version was even better. Only thing was that they did not win MLS Cup in 98 if memory serves. Didn't they win the old Concacaf Champions Cup in 98?
 
'NewlyRetired said:
Yeah, the 98 version was even better. Only thing was that they did not win MLS Cup in 98 if memory serves. Didn't they win the old Concacaf Champions Cup in 98?
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They lost to the Fire 2-0 . They did win the CONCACAF Champions Cup though, beating Leon 2-0 in the semis, and then Toluca 1-0 in the final. However, they only played home matches since the eight-team tournament was hosted at RFK that year. They also beat Vasco da Gama of Brazil 2-1 over two legs to become hemispheric champs. But again both legs were here in the U.S. DC lost 1-0 at home, but then won 2-0 in Miami. In-between Vasco went to Tokyo to play Real Madrid -- so not exactly a level playing field. But still... for a team that had only been around for three years it was quite the thing. The 2-0 win was also Arena's final game in charge.Was an awesome year to be a fan.
 
'wdcrob said:
'NewlyRetired said:
Yeah, the 98 version was even better. Only thing was that they did not win MLS Cup in 98 if memory serves. Didn't they win the old Concacaf Champions Cup in 98?
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They lost to the Fire 2-0 . They did win the CONCACAF Champions Cup though, beating Leon 2-0 in the semis, and then Toluca 1-0 in the final. However, they only played home matches since the eight-team tournament was hosted at RFK that year. They also beat Vasco da Gama of Brazil 2-1 over two legs to become hemispheric champs. But again both legs were here in the U.S. DC lost 1-0 at home, but then won 2-0 in Miami. In-between Vasco went to Tokyo to play Real Madrid -- so not exactly a level playing field. But still... for a team that had only been around for three years it was quite the thing. The 2-0 win was also Arena's final game in charge.Was an awesome year to be a fan.
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Not sure if you still follow the team or not but they have a very nice side this year. Lots of talent in the offensive positions, but a little weak in back.
 
'NewlyRetired said:
nice side this year. Lots of talent in the offensive positions, but a little weak in back.
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Caught part of a few games and am planning to take my 6yo stepson to a game this season, but don't follow too closely anymore. Typically I do try to get the scores and see the highlights though.
 
According to Ives, Ronaldihno won his case against Flamengo for not paying him the $20M he was owed. He is now free, according to reports to sign anywhere he wants now.

Wonder if he will be linked with MLS again as he was before he chose Flamengo.

 
'Good said:
Yann M'Vila came off early with an ankle injury today. Was crying on the sideline, so I assume he's out for the Euros.
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Great timing. Read earlier today that he was hoping to use the Euros as a showcase for teams trying to sign him.Hope he ends up at Arsenal. Wenger's wanted him forever.
 
'Spartans Rule said:
Ronaldinho leaving Brazilian club Flamengo and suing them for $20M in unpaid wages

No idea where he might go next. On one hand he's not that far removed from being the best player in the world. On the other hand, it sounds like his play has dropped off and his attitude sucks.

Could go somewhere else in Brazil, maybe a crazy-rich European club like PSG (he played there before) or Anzhi, maybe China, maybe even MLS. Lots of possibilities.
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yeah I mentioned this earlier today.He was linked with LA shortly before he signed with Flamengo. I am thinking some where in China as well.

 
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I am not proud. I will take any help we can get in the qualifiers especially in Central America. Santos is the team Herculez Gomez plays for

From Ives

Report: Three Guatemala regulars under CCL match-fixing investigation

When the U.S. men's national team takes on Guatemala in a World Cup qualifier on June 12, the hosts are poised to be without three potential starters.

Gustavo Cabrera, Yony Flores and former Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Guillermo "Pando" Ramirez have reportedly been pulled from Guatemala's national team for being part of a match-fixing investigation that stems from a CONCACAF Champions League match between Santos Laguna and Municipal in October, 2010. The match, in which all three played 90 minutes for Municipal, ended 6-1 in Santos Laguna's favor.

The investigation into match-fixing emerges at the same time as one on a greater scale in Italy in which high-profile Italian internationals have been arrested and investigated during the on-going probe.
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