Soccer Buzz

David Beckham has arrived in Los Angeles, and he will be introduced to the media at 12 PM central today.  The press conference will be shown on ESPN News in the US, and I’ve seen that Sky Sports in the UK will be showing it as well.  MLSnet.com will also be streaming the PC.

Here’s some reading material before the press conference:

Grant Wahl: The Americanization of David Beckham - Sports Illustrated (Cover story for this coming Monday).

Gary Andrew Poole: The Beckham Circus Comes To Town - Time Magazine

Luis Bueno: Beckhamania Hits LA - Press Enterprise

Billy Witz: In a Galaxy Far, Far Away - Daily Breeze

In U-20 World Cup action, the United States defeated Uruguay 2-1 in extra time to advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday where they will meet Austria. Uruguay, who had the better of the play during many stretches of the match, broke through in the 73rd minute when Luis Suarez pounced on the rebound of goalkeeper Brian Perk.

The score looked like it would stand until the 87th minute when Danny Szetela knocked down a clearance from a corner kick and sent a low cross across the face of goal that deflected in off a Uruguayan defender. Uruguay nearly won the game in regualtion, but Manuel Diaz’s header hit the goalpost. The US made Diaz pay for his mistake in the second extra time period off another corner when Michael Bradley redirected Jose Valentin’s shot from a corner kick.

This game wasn’t pretty for the United States by any means. They could not open up the game the way they did against Brazil and Poland. Freddy Adu, in particular, never had much of an opportunity to work his magic as Uruguay seemed intent on keeping him in check. The Americans will have to reevaluate their tactics and mental approach if they expect to advance further in this tournament. Still, even the best teams often have to find a way to win ugly, especially in knockout competitions.

Finally, at the risk of stepping on toes, the behavior of Uruguay’s national teams the past two days have been disgraceful. Uruguay has earned a reputation over the years as a team that will employ dirty tactics during games and are sore losers after. Aside from the typical diving and acting during the course of the game, their defenders seemed intent on injuring Jozy Altidore. In the first half, a defender stamped him before a corner kick, and Uruguay succeeded in knocking him out of the match early in the second half with a horrible, two-legged, scissor tackle from Martin Caceres.

Just as the senior team did against Brazil after losing in penalties in Copa America, the U-20 team decided to initiate a melee after the game. Michael Bradley was particularly upset during the scuffle at it appears he was the victim of a sucker punch (or at least an attempted sucker punch) from Mathias Cardacci, and he had to be held back by coaches and teammates. Luckily, he regained his cool, and merely flashed the ultimate comeback: “2-1″. It would have been a shame had Bradley been forced to miss the next game because Uruguayans couldn’t accept the fact that they actually lost the game.

Here is the video of the incident. Note that this is a Canadian broadcast team calling the “action”, not a homer American crew.

Against both Brazil and the United States, the Uruguayans showed that they are more than capable of playing top-class soccer. Unfortunately, they have a long way to go in terms of acting like top-class players.

FIFA U-20 World Cup, US Soccer, Uruguay Soccer, Luis Suarez, Danny Szetela, Michael Bradley

Argentina defeated Mexico 3-0 last night to advance to the final where they will face Brazil.

Argentina broke through in the dying moments of the first half when Gabriel Heinze touched in Juan Roman Riquelme’s perfect free kick.  Then Lionel Messi delivered a beauty of a goal when he somehow chipped Oswaldo Sanchez, who really didn’t seem all that far off his line.

Mexico shouldn’t hang their heads over this game.  They played well throughout the tournament, and they were unlucky not to score against Argentina as Andres Guardado and Nery Castillo both hit the woodwork. This should take some of the sting out of their loss to the US in the Gold Cup final.

Finally, this Argentine team is an absolute buzz saw.  They have both the immense talent, and they desperately want to win their first international title since 1993.  Argentina lost to Brazil in the 2005 Copa America final, but this time, I don’t see the Albicelestes losing this one.

Copa America, Argentina soccer, Mexico soccer, Juan Roman Riquelme, Gabriel Heinze, Lionel Messi, Nery Castillo, Andres Guardado

A quick preview of this evening’s game…

Houston Dynamo @ Chicago Fire

This will be Juan Carlos Osorio’s first game as head coach of the Fire.  I think this was a good hire for Chicago, but it will take much more to turn things around for Chicago.  Chris Rolfe is still injured, and he seems to be the only Fire capable of creating something special offensively.  Yes, Cuahtemoc Blanco should be available soon for Chicago with Mexico bowing out of Copa America, but Blanco is just as capable of destroying the team than saving it.

Meanwhile, Houston continues to steamroll the competition.  Houston hasn’t allowed a goal in over 500 minutes, and facing an anemic Fire attack, I can’t see this trend changing.  HOU 2, FIRE 0.

Brazil defeated Uruguay on penalties last night to advance to the Copa America final. The heat and humidity may have kept the game from being the most beautifully played game, but it did not lack in excitement and tension. Brazil twice took the lead against Uruguay, but Uruguay was able to conjure up a response on both occasions.

And as unjust as penalties may be, the also delivered fantastic drama. It took seven rounds to determine the victor, including Sebastian Abreu of Uruguay deciding to chip in a must make penalty. If you haven’t seen this game, I’d recommend finding a way to watch it.

With Uruguay’s loss in Copa America, the nation’s hopes for international glory now rests with its U-20 team, who will face the United States this evening. After an opening draw against South Korea in which the team looked slow, passive and unprepared, the United States has been outstanding in defeating Poland 6-1 and Brazil 2-1. Freddy Adu has reminded us why he was hyped as one of the next big international stars with numerous highlight reel moves and spectacular goals.

Uruguay enters the knockout stage with significantly less fanfare, especially after a 2-0 defeat to Zambia in the final group stage match. The defeat saw goalkeeper Mauro Goicoechea sent off for professional foul after he committing a ghastly giveaway in his own penalty area. The replacement goalkeeper for the Uruguayans will face a baptism by fire facing an American attack featuring Adu and Jozy Altidore.

Brazil soccer, Uruguay soccer, Sebastian Abreu, Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore

To those of you in the United States, be prepared for the marketing blitz and media hype.

To those of you not in the United States, you may start hearing much more about MLS than you ever have.

David Beckham will be introduced to the media as a member of the Los Angeles Galaxy on Friday, but we have already started seeing plenty of Becks on our televisions. Adidas began running the Beckham Impossible Is Nothing ad chronicling Beckham’s journey from pariah in 1998 after his red card against Argentina to national hero after his free kick winner against Greece in 2001.

Adidas is also launching a “Football vs. Futbol” campaign featuring Beckham teaching the NFL’s Reggie Bush how to take free kicks and penalties, while Becks has to suit up in all of the American football gear.

Beckham’s first game for the Galaxy won’t be until July 21 (which is actually only a friendly against Chelsea), but ESPN has already switched on their hype machine by airing this ad during the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby.*

More on Beckham later this week…

*For those unfamiliar, the Home Run Derby is a friendly competition where the best power hitters in baseball essentially take batting practice and just try to hit as many balls out of the park as they can.

David Beckham, Adidas, ESPN, Los Angeles Galaxy

July 4

DC United 1, Kansas City Wizards 0 (My prediction 1-1)

The Wizards scoring problems continued while United was able to convert one of its few chances through Luciano Emilio. Troy Perkins made some good saves for DC, but it is hard to believe that KC could continue to blow quality chances.

FC Dallas 2, Chivas USA 0 (My prediction 2-0 FCD)

Hey, I finally nailed the exact score of the game! Dallas controlled most of this game as Chivas continues to struggle on the road.

Columbus Crew 0, Colorado Rapids 0 (My prediction 2-1 Rapids)

The 4th of July game was not enough to give the slumping Rapids. After this week’s games, Colorado has scored 1 goal in its last 6.

Toronto FC 2, Real Salt Lake 1 (My prediction 3-2 RSL)

Congrats to Toronto for picking up its first road win. Salt Lake was unlucky in this game with two shots hitting woodwork, but they continue to occupy the bottom spot in the league.

Los Angeles Galaxy 2, Chicago Fire 0 (My prediction 3-0 LA)

A good result for LA, but to be fair, both of their goals were the result of dubious penalties. Kyle Martino went down easily to earn the first penalty, and then he just flat took a dive on the second. Still, I suppose LA had the better of the play, and right now, they will take results any way they can get them.

July 5

Houston Dynamo 4, New York Red Bulls 0 (My prediction 3-1 Houston)

Houston continues their red hot play with a pure drubbing of New York. Things were going so poorly for New York that Bruce Arena pulled Claudio Reyna and Juan Pablo Angel midway through the second half.

July 7

Columbus Crew 2, Real Salt Lake 0 (My prediction 2-0 Crew)

Columbus continues their turn around and are now tied for 4th in the East while RSL continues to be a nearly automatic 3 points for their opponents. After becoming a pariah for US fans at Copa America, it was good to see Eddie Gaven get a goal for Columbus.

New England Revolution 1, Chivas USA 1 (My prediction 3-1 Revs)

My prediction would have rang true except Chivas backup goalkeeper Preston Burpo had the game of his life. It wasn’t an issue of finishing; Burpo was really that good. Any point on the road has to be an absolute delight for this Chivas team.

Chicago Fire 1, Toronto FC 1 (My prediction 1-0 TFC)

This was a slugfest in the first half, but it opened up in the second. Chicago still has only one victory in the last two months while Toronto picks up another point on the road. Next week, Juan Carlos Osorio will take the reins for Chicago; perhaps he can turn things around for Chicago.

Kansas City Wizards 2, LA Galaxy 2 (My prediction 1-1)

The good news for the Wizards is that they were able to score some goals, but they still found a way to drop points after taking a 2-0 lead early in the second half. For the Galaxy, it has to be considered good news to pick up points in consecutive games, and with the major mid-season roster overhaul as well as Beckham’s impending arrival, maybe, just maybe there is a glimmer of hope for this team.

July 8

New York Red Bulls 1, Colorado Rapids 0 (My prediction 2-0 NY)

The Red Bulls get back on track, taking advantage of an impotent Rapids side. New York goes back on top of the East while Colorado slips farther and farther away from a playoff spot.

Houston Dynamo 1, DC United 0 (My prediction 3-1 Houston)

Houston continues to swat aside all comers as they have not lost in over a month and haven’t conceded a goal in over 500 minutes.

Prediction record this week: 7-5 with two dead on predictions.

Chivas USA @ New England Revolution

Does anyone find it strange that the New England Revolution was the only team not to play on the 4th of July?   Irony aside, the Revolution will be well rested for this one.  Also, Chivas hasn’t proven that they can get results on the road so I think the Revs will at least temporarily jump back into first in the East.  REVS 3 CUSA 1

Real Salt Lake @ Columbus Crew

The Crew are coming off a 0-0 draw in Colorado, but Salt Lake earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first team to lose at home to Toronto.  Columbus is just the better team right now, and I don’t think they will drop points at home to Salt Lake.  CREW 2, RSL 0

Toronto FC @ Chicago Fire

Toronto are coming off their first road win, and they have a chance to make it two against a struggling Fire side.  To be fair, both goals against the Fire in the 2-0 loss to LA were from questionable penalties, but the Fire need some sort of jolt.  Perhaps hiring Juan Carlos Osorio will provide that spark, but he won’t be announced until next week.  TFC 1, FIRE 0

Kansas City Wizards @ Los Angeles Galaxy

Wizards fans have to be wondering when they will actually start scoring goals again.  This will be their last game without Eddie Johnson, but they would like to take advantage of a Galaxy team that still didn’t look totally convincing in their win over Chicago.  KC 1, LA 1

New York Red Bulls @ Colorado Rapids

The Red Bulls were playing so poorly in their 4-0 loss to Houston last night that Bruce Arena subbed out Claudio Reyna and Juan Pablo Angel fairly early in the second half.  I think the Red Bulls will come out angry and looking to prove a point, and Colorado hasn’t looked like they are capable of standing up to what New York could bring to bear against them.  NY 2, RAPIDS 0

DC United @ Houston Dynamo

This game pits two of the hottest teams in the league.  DC has vaulted into first place in the East and Houston haven’t lost in over a month.  Houston should have the edge in this game with the home field advantage as well as having fewer injury/international duty problems.  HOUSTON 3, DCU 1

There has been some big transfer news in the English Premiership this week involving the league’s top teams.

The week started with Croatian Eduardo Da Silva (he was born in Brazil, but moved to Croatia at age 15) signing with Arsenal on a £7.5million transfer from Dinamo Zagreb. While nobody can truly call him Henry’s replacement, he could be the type of forward Arsenal need: a true goal poacher. Da Silva has showed that he can score in European club competitions as well as at the international level, but the question is how quickly can he adapt to the English game.

There have been questions surrounding Arsenal’s reaction to Henry’s transfer, namely what it could hold for the future of Arsene Wenger. Certainly, the move for Da Silva isn’t a huge splash, but it seems like the type of signing that Wenger has always made at his time at Arsenal, a relatively cheap player that is ready to make the move to a major club. The Wenger saga is not over for Arsenal, but this signing seems to be business as usual for the French manager.

Liverpool then made their big signing of Atletico Madrid’s Fernando Torres for a club record £20 million. This signing makes it even clearer that Craig Bellamy and Djibril Cisse are on their way out. Manager Rafa Benitez obviously wants to make his team a true Premiership contender after the club has more than proven its capabilities in the Champions League the past three seasons, however while Torres adds even greater firepower up top to Liverpool, they still need to fill holes elsewhere, especially on the wings.

Not to be outdone, Manchester United could be close to signing West Ham’s Carlos Tevez. West Ham could even allow him to move for free because of legal problems with Tevez’s agent as well as the seemingly never ending trial involving their punishment over his transfer (Sheffield United are now trying to take their case to the British High Court).

It goes without saying that regardless of all of his baggage, a Tevez/Wayne Rooney partnership is an absolutely scary proposition for Premiership clubs next season.

Arsenal, Eduardo Da Silva, Arsene Wenger, Liverpool FC, Fernando Torres, Rafa Benitez, Carlos Tevez, Manchester United

We American soccer fans needed some good news after the loss to Paraguay in Copa America, and we got it when the U-20 squad beat Poland 6-1 in the U-20 World Cup Tuesday. After watching the United States Copa America squad squander chance after chance on Monday, it was incredibly satisfying to see the U-20s bury a half dozen.

It was a great result for the U-20 squad since barring a major disaster against Brazil, it clinches entry into the knockout stages. Also, it was a great rebound from the lackluster performance in their first game against Korea. The team seemed unprepared for the athletic, high pressure, high intensity game from South Korea. and they were lucky to get a 1-1 draw. Tuesday night, this team came to life after Poland scored in the fifth minute, the Americans came to life and dominated nearly every aspect of the match.

The biggest story was Freddy Adu’s hat trick as all three goals were top quality, especially his first goal. Adu has received attention worldwide as a bust. Yes, he received more than his fair share of hype since he was 13 years old, and he has yet to dominate the soccer world. He had mixed results at DC United, and he has been invisible at Real Salt Lake this season. Still, he just turned 18, and a performance like he had today shows that it is far too soon to write this kid off.

Danny Szetela is another young American that has yet to fully recognize his talents. Four years ago he appeared poised to become a dominant, marauding midfielder with his performances in the U-17 World Cup. We haven’t heard much from him since then. At the club level, he was forced to join Columbus when he entered MLS. He wanted to play for the Metrostars (who are now the New York Red Bulls) thanks to the convoluted MLS lottery system that is used to place young players that for one reason or another didn’t go through the draft (please don’t ask me how it works. I don’t think anybody knows). It seemed that he never wanted to be in Columbus, and he had the misfortune of having the incompetent Greg Andrulis as his manager for his first two years in the league. Still, he was expected to be a major contributor in the U-20 World Cup two years ago, but Benny Feilhaber took his spot in midfield.

On Tuesday, he had a terrific game, scoring two goals and playing very well with Michael Bradley in the center of midfield. He turned 20 last month, and like Adu, there is no reason to give up on him as he is still a very talented player.

U-20 World Cup, Freddy Adu, Danny Szetela

First, to all my fellow Americans, happy 4th of July! Enjoy your day off, eat loads of food, enjoy your favorite beverage, and to steal a line from the Simpsons, celebrate the birth of your country by blowing up a small part of it.

And I would also like to offer a belated happy Canada Day to our neighbors to the north. I hope you all can forgive me for what I wrote a few weeks back before the US/Canada match; after seeing Sicko, I might be really tempted to move there.

Anyway, if any of you have the MLS Direct Kick package, MLSlive.tv, or if you happen to live in an MLS market, you can spend part of your Independence Day watching soccer. So let’s take a look at today’s games.

DC United at Kansas City Wizards

DC bounced back last week from a loss to Salt Lake with a 4-1 win over slumping Colorado. Kansas City is looking to snap a 4 game winless streak after a 1-1 draw at home to Toronto on Sunday when their finishing abandoned them. The winner of this game would at least temporarily vault into first place in the East. This game starts at noon central time because the KC Royals, who play across the street, have a game that evening and the baseball team gets priority at the Truman Sports Complex. Therefore, the heat could put a major damper on a game that would otherwise be a barnburner. DC 1, KC 1

Chivas USA at FC Dallas

Chivas is dominant at home, but suspect on the road so this game doesn’t set up to well for them. Dallas does have it’s fair share of injury problems, and they did not look convincing at home last week against Houston. Still, I can’t see Dallas losing this one. FCD 2, Chivas 0

Columbus Crew at Colorado Rapids

Normally, I would pick a Columbus victory based on the form book, but this is a special situation. 4th of July games have always been a major event for the Rapids as crowds of over 60k used to pile into Mile High Stadium/Invesco Field. As such Colorado has only lost once on the 4th of July (admittedly to Columbus in 1999). They won’t get 60k tonight since the capacity of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (again, insert joke) is only a third of that. The game is sold out, however, and perhaps the 4th of July mojo may be the only thing that can get a result for the Rapids. RAPIDS 2, CREW 1

Toronto FC at Real Salt Lake

Both teams enter this one on the heels of positive results. Toronto secured its second road point Sunday at Kansas City, and Real Salt Lake picked up its first win two weeks ago against DC United. Jeff Cunningham will have something to prove after Jason Kreis traded him to Toronto a month ago, but Toronto could have problems with fitness after playing at altitude, especially after a hard earned point on Sunday. RSL 3, TFC 2.

Chicago Fire at LA Galaxy

The Fire are really struggling, and their injury problems are not helping things at all. Meanwhile, the Galaxy are getting a major boost as they are welcoming back Landon Donovan, and new signee Carlos Pavon is set to make his debut to add some punch to the Galaxy attack. Pavon could be the powerhouse forward this team really needs, especially with Beckham set to be introduced in only nine days. LA 3, Chicago 0

New York Red Bulls at Houston Dynamo Thursday

A month ago, the Red Bulls were on fire, and the Dynamo were truly struggling. Now the roles are reversed as the Dynamo have been surging despite international duty taking several vital players from the squad while the Red Bulls have struggled despite having only Jozy Altidore as their only major absence to international duty. HOU 3, NY 1

MLS, DC United, Kansas City Wizards, DC United, Columbus Crew, Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, FC Dallas, Toronto FC, Real Salt Lake, Los Angeles Galaxy, Chicago Fire, New York Red Bulls, Houston Dynamo

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, Paraguay.

There are no two ways about it; the United States gift-wrapped this game to Paraguay. The Americans looked much better than they did against Argentina as they often carried the play against Paraguay, but when Sacha Kljestan’s missed an open header in the first ten minutes of the game, it was a sign that this was going to be a frustrating one.

It only got worse in the second half. Benny Feilhaber played a great through ball to substitute Justin Mapp, but Mapp decided to unsuccessfully chip the ‘keeper rather than pass it to a wide open Eddie Johnson who had a wide open goal in front of him. Taylor Twellman weakly hit a volley on a great chance, and then in the most maddening moment of all, Drew Moor, standing all alone less than 10 yards away from goal, headed the ball straight to the goalkeeper.

To be fair, Paraguay got some solid goalkeeping last night. Justo Villar made a good save on Jonathan Bornstein after a great build up from Feilhaber and Johnson. Villar left the game in the second half, but his backup, Aldo Bobadilla, made two great saves in the second half on Johnson and Ricardo Clark.

The United States, however, did not get any big saves, and this showed on the biggest blunder of the game for the Americans. Bornstein deserves plenty of scorn for that awful back pass to Kasey Keller, but Keller probably played it as poorly as he could by coming out halfway and stopping. It seems that Keller could have come out and dispossessed Oscar Cardozo (or at least force him to round Keller to give the American defenders time to retreat into position), but he gave Cardozo time to control the ball and pick out the far corner. Keller has been great for the US throughout his career, but I really hope to see Brad Guzan against Colombia.

I did like the play of Benny Feilhaber and Ricardo Clark in midfield. Feilhaber continues to show his skill and vision, and Clark displayed not only his ability to disrupt opposition attacks, but also his offensive skills as he took his goal well. Also, despite what some of the crazies on Big Soccer believe, I thought Eddie Johnson played well by holding possession, and making good runs.

In English news, Sheffield United have seemingly lost their challenge to remain in the Premiership. An arbitrary panel upheld that the Premier League’s decision to merely fine West Ham over the Carlos Tevez/Javier Mascherano transfer as opposed to docking them points, which would have put West Ham in the relegation zone.

West Ham were fined £5.5million over the transfer. They would have lost almost ten times that amount had they been relegated, and there is little doubt that Tevez was perhaps the biggest reason they survived the drop. Therefore, the fine is hardly a punishment to West Ham considering the alternative. In my opinion, justice was not served in this matter

I understand the argument that players and fans shouldn’t be punished over the actions of the front office. Yes, it was unfair to all of the well-behaved English fans and clubs that all English teams were banned from European competition after the 1985 Heysel incident. It would have been harsh to the fans of Juventus and AC Milan had the original punishments for match fixing been carried out last year. However, sometimes, such drastic actions are the only way to get the offenders to realize that their actions are unacceptable.

Illegal transfers may not be an epidemic like English hooliganism was in the 80s or match fixing in Italy, but if clubs see that shenanigans in the transfer market will only result in a relatively small fine, I fear we could see more of more cases like Tevez and West Ham.

US Soccer, Copa America, Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark, Kasey Keller, Eddie Johnson, West Ham, Sheffield United

A rough week both for my predictions and the overall entertainment value of this past week’s play.

Houston 0, Dallas 0 (My prediction, 2-1 Houston)

What could have been a great game turned into tactical hack-fest. This is a decent result for Houston as they remain three points behind Dallas for first place in the West with two games in hand.

Columbus 1, New York 0 (My prediction 2-2)

After starting the season on fire, New York has now lost three of their last five. This also gives Columbus their third straight win. The strange thing for the Red Bulls is that unlike their recent games which featured a potent offense and a leaky defense, they could not put together any threatening moves.

Chivas USA 2, New England 0 (My prediction 1-0 Chivas)

Chivas continues to roll at the Home Depot Center. Not too much to this game, but a couple of pretty nice goals from Jesse Marsch (believe it or not), and the definite goal of the week from Maykel Galindo.

Colorado 0, Chicago 0 (My prediction 2-1 Chicago)

I don’t know why I predicted any goals in this one. Chicago couldn’t produce anything, and while Colorado seemed to have the better of the play, they didn’t look very convincing. The most exciting thing about this game was either the news of pending sale of the Fire, or Bakary Soumare’s red card. Take your pick.

Kansas City 1, Toronto 1 (My prediction 2-0 KC)

Luckily for MLS fans, this game offered plenty of excitement. Credit to Toronto for playing well in the first half and getting a draw, but they were fortunate to escape with a point. The Wizards just poured on the attack in the second half as they had 17 shots in the second frame alone (Yura Movsisyan had at least a half dozen of them). Somehow, they couldn’t grab a game-winner as poor finishing cost them just as it had in a 1-0 loss to Houston last week. Also, they had some bad luck in this game as defenders Jose Burciaga and Aaron Hohlbein had to come out at the half. Toronto grabbed the equalizer in the first minute of the second half by victimizing Burciaga and Hohlbein’s replacements.

Prediction record: An ugly 1-4

The United States plays Paraguay tonight in Copa America. It will be interesting to see how the US responds to the 4-1 loss to Argentina as well as how Paraguay responds to clobbering Colombia 5-0.

[tags]MLS, US Soccer, Paraguay soccer, Copa America]