U.S. v. Argentina Tonight

Most football fans are watching this year's Copa America, which is already shaping up to be a fun tournament. (Last night's late match, where Mexico spanked Brazil, was great to watch.) Tonight will see one of the highlights for American fans as the U.S. national team takes on Argentina. Most people think Messi and the boys will take apart this inexperienced American squad piece by piece. SI's Jonah Freedman certainly thinks so, in this article below, and I guess I'm inclined to agree. The U.S. didn't bring much firepower. It sure would have been fun to see the U.S. bring their full Gold Cup suqad, however, especially after watching Mexico hand it to co-favorites Brazil last night. (Mexico played a great game and the first goal was GORGEOUS. However, if Robinho had finished that bicycle kick it would have been one for the ages.) Regardless, even if tonight turns into a Messi/Tevez exhibition, it should still be fun.

http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/24812

In other news (well, Real Madrid news) the team fired coach Fabio Capello less than two weeks after winning la Liga. Gutsy movie, I guess. Capello wins wherever he goes, but I was just as frustrated with him as everyone else at the mid-year when the team was playing so poorly. I guess this just highlights the fact that at Real Madrid the perception is just as important as the football, and when the crowds started to get down on Capello and his "boring" game, nothing could save him. We'll see how the fifth coach in five years does for the boys in white. David, you may have left just in time.

Funny Football

Since it is a quiet Tuesday morning here in the football world, (nothing much is happening, although Klose just signed with Bayern Munich and Trezeguet resigned with Juve) I need something to distract me from the thought of Henry in a Barca shirt getting a hat trick at Real Madrid. Thus here is a fun little collection of clips (brought to my attention by FourFourTwo) chronicling the lighter side of football. My favorite bit is when the player gets hit by the football. Wait, that's every bit. Anyway, its pretty funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70UrBGfChCA

Monday Quick Hits

A couple of quick hits on a sunny Monday morning….

• Pretty much everyone agrees that yesterday’s Gold Cup final was spectacular. Mexico played very appealing, attacking football the entire game, but the United States’ strong second-half surge won them the cup. Mexico’s goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez played wonderfully in net (it could have been 4-1) and Landon Donavan played a brilliant, brilliant game. He passed it beautifully, especially in the second half. It was fun to watch on television, and it must have been a blast to be there in Chicago in person.
• Now I’m really looking forward to the Copa America, which begins in a few days. Like everyone else, I’m excited about seeing the big names on the Argentina team and seeing if they can go all the way. I am also pleased to see that Robinho will get the opportunity to be the fulcrum of the Brazilian attack; he is still one of my favorite players. Hopefully the U.S. can advance to the second round, but they are bringing a VERY young squad. We shall see.
• Here is a very sad photograph of Thierry Henry. I did not enjoy seeing this photo this morning. Only a French football player, incidentally, could get away with searing a cardigan and still be considered really cool. Good for you, TH.
• Finally, here is an interesting article from the Boston Globe celebrating the rising attendance at New England Revolution matches. Why didn’t that goon reporter interview the Football Fan-atic? Because I always keep it real…

http://www.boston.com/sports/soccer/articles/2007/06/25/spending_it_not_just_on_beckham/

Goodbye Thierry

Thierry Henry, perhaps the greatest player in Arsenal history, and also perhaps the single most popular and admired player in the English Premier League, announced yesterday that he would be playing for the next four years with Barcelona FC. Among the reasons he gave include the departure of club chairman David Dein and the instability surrounding genius manager Arsene Wenger, but it may very well be that Henry believes Arsenal has shot its bolt. After a few years of trophy-laden greatness, Arsenal won nothing this year, and although some thought their youth would come on strong next year, others felt it would be sometime before Arsenal could win again, due largely to the massive debt service the club has to pay to play in its new Emirates Stadium.

It’s a sad day for Arsenal and English football. Henry was a great player, a good guy and the face of his franchise. Some players, whether you like them or not, just belong at their clubs. Stephen Gerrard, for instance, belongs at Liverpool, whether you like him or not. Same for Paulo Maldini at AC Milan or Raul at Real Madrid. Even after they lose it (as Raul has) some guys just belong at certain clubs. I’m sorry to see Henry go.

And as much as I like Thierry, I’m not to happy about him going to Barcelona, where he will play my Real Madrid club at least twice a year. If Barca keeps the rest of their team together (which is a big IF) they will have Henry and Eto’o at forwards with Ronaldinho and Messi on the wings. That, simply, is the best attacking team on the face of the earth. Both Eto’o and Ronaldinho may still go, but it will be interesting to see what happens. In the meantime, goodbye, Thierry. Thanks for the memories.

U.S. National Team Tourney News

It’s been an interesting week for American international football. Last night the United States squeaked by the Canadian national team in a 2-1 thriller that is already generating controversy in conspiracy circles. At the very end of the game (there must have been ten seconds or so left) Canada scored what looked to be a very good goal that would have tied the game at two goals a piece. The goal was ruled offsides (although no one can see where the offsides were) by the Mexican Referee, and now thus the U.S. will play (surprise!) Mexico in the hotly anticipated final this Sunday on Fox Soccer Channel at 3PM EST. That game should be great fun, in fact, and it is my only recommended game of the weekend. As I said last week, we’ve really entered the lean times in terms of good soccer matches.

I don’t want to look too far ahead when we’ve got such a great game coming, up, but Sport’s Illustrated’s Grant Whal had a nice piece this week that mentioned some of the men who will be playing for Argentina next week against the U.S. in the opening match of the Copa America. Just a few of the Argentineans who will be suiting up in the powder blue stripes to play against the Americans: Lionel Messi, Hernán Crespo, Carlos Tévez, Javier Mascherano, Juan Román Riquelme, Fernando Gago, Diego Milito and Pablo Aimar. Now that, my friends, will be a fun game to watch. It starts Thursday.

A Bit of Extra Reading

Two interesting little pieces from Sports Illustrated’s soccer page this week: the first is Jonah Freedman’s always fun (and always controversial) Football Power Rankings. This week it is not so controversial (since it is based on trophies won) but still fun.

The second piece is Gabriele Marcotti’s opinion piece on why there has been so little transfer activity so far. I think he makes a few fair points, but I also think he may have shot his load a bit too early; I think we will still see some big names move before the window closes, regardless of the obstacles involved.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jonah_freedman/06/21/rankings/index.html

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/gabriele_marcotti/06/20/transfers/index.html

One Last Dance with Phil Ball

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Phil Ball is one of the best writers in the world writing about football in the English language. His coverage of la Liga is superb. Frankly, I like his stuff so much I would read his column if it was about fly-fishing in Montana.

These last two columns are a wrap-up of the Spanish season and an “all-star” team of la Liga players. Both are a lot of fun. Have a good summer, Mr. Ball. We’ll see you in September.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=439750&root=europe&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1&cc=5901

and

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=439749&root=europe&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos3&cc=5901

Seven Questions About Real Madrid

Watching yesterday’s stirring Real Madrid victory over Mallorca was probably the most fun I’ve had watching a game this year. Not only did Real win the game, but they did it in their own particular style, coming from behind to win the game and the Liga title over Barca. I loved every minute of it.

Since I live in the U.S., I have the luxury of supporting a number of clubs around the world. Aside from my hometown New England Revolution, I like Fiorentina in Italy, Sheffield United in England and Real Madrid in Spain. Of course, it was nearly a very dry season. Sheffield was relegated (virtually assuring I will not see them on television for all of next year) while Fiorentina had to fight for its life after a huge points deduction. Real Madrid, meanwhile, started the season with some hope before nearly collapsing around the holidays due to infighting, out-of-control egos, poor coaching and even poorer play. On January 7, I tried a new gimmick column where I “graded” every player on the team after a particularly frustrating loss. I didn’t keep up with the idea because this is a general interest football page and not one dedicated solely to Real Madrid. But today I want to talk about the blancos a little more, looking forward to next season in celebration of the great victory they have achieved this weekend. Below are seven questions every Real fan needs to ask as they finally head into the silly season.

What’s Capello Going to Do?
Head Coach Fabio Capello had a strange year. He began the season with great promise and expensive new signings. He loaded up even more during the winter break. But the first half of the year was a disaster; winnable games were lost and even wins were completed in a grim and boring style. There was serious talk of the great coach being fired around Christmas. After the holidays he benched David Beckham, a move he himself later judged to be among the worst decisions of his career. (This week he said Beckham was one of the greatest players he has ever coached.)

On the plus side, Capello eventually reinstated the former English skipper and the club went on an unprecedented winning streak that culminated in the league title, Real’s first in four years. By the end of the season Real was virtually spotting the opposition a goal every time then coming back with two or three of their own. Capello got the boys to believe in what they were doing, and by admitting and correcting his own mistakes, he saved the season. Should he be brought back? Yes? Will he? I don’t know; no one is even sure if he wants to come back at this point.

Why would Real Madrid let some homeless man play center-forward for them, and while wearing Raul’s shirt, no less?
Wait, that was Raul. He just played the entire season like a homeless man who had never seen a football before, alternating between being terrible and being invisible. Capello’s hard-man coaching style did not extend to Raul, probably the only sacred cow left in Real’s stable. Will they put up with another year of this for the fans or finally get some help for van Nistleroy? Stay tuned…

Who will replace Beckham?
David Beckham, along with Rudd van Nistleroy, was Real’s best player and arguably one of the five or six best players in all of Spain for the last two months of the season. We all know he is going to LA to become a scientologist, but who will play the Beckham role for Madrid? Franck Ribery was an appealing option, but he has gone to Bayern Munich. Real will have to look elsewhere, and replacing his passing, crosses, free kicks, and leadership will not be easy.

What’s the future of Robinho?
Robinho, at times, looks like he has the potential to be the best player in the world. And I love how he attacks, attacks, attacks. But he was given a major chance to start a bunch of games at the tail end of the season and didn’t produce like his fans had hoped. Like Christiano Ronaldo, he needs to move from the pretty stepovers to finishing, and he needs to do it soon. There are rumors he may be sold this summer; if not, he probably has one more chance to prove himself, and I sure hope he does.

How fast is Cannavaro going to high-tail it back to Italy?
Presumably, very fast. As I said in my January 7 column, there has probably never been a worse reining player of the year than Fabio Cannavaro, who has had some nice moments but generally has looked startlingly slow as opponents have continuously blown by him for easy goals. Cannavaro was more comfortable in defensive-minded Italy, and Real needs a stopper in the back that allows the hugely talented Sergio Ramos to go forward.

What will Real do on the transfer market?
Most of the news involves Kaka, with a smattering of stories about Henry. Obviously, either one would look great in the white shirt, but someone would need to explain to me why AC Milan/Arsenal would sell either one. Regardless, Madrid needs help at forward, on the wings and at center back. Plus, they have to fill the geriatric shoes of Roberto Carlos. And there could be, of course, massive changes at Barca, where everyone seems to be available except for little Leo Messi. Hard not to imagine there won’t be one major (dare I say “galactic”) signing.

Am I looking forward to my vacation for Ray Hudson?
In a word: yes. Like a kid looking forward to Christmas.

Real Madrid Wins!

Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! Real Madrid Wins! v=Real Madrid Wins!

More tommorow.

Weekend Matches: June 16-17

If you happen to hear any quiet, gentle sobbing in the distance this weekend as you go about your business, just ignore it. It is me weeping because the Spanish football season is coming to an end. We will know who the Champions of Spain are by about 5:00 PM EST on Sunday. Meanwhile, all three games I am featuring on Saturday will actually be played at Foxboro Stadium, which means I will be in attendance in my usual corner seat. If you see a fat guy watching the game, that’s either me or one of the other ten thousand fat guys taking in a Gold Cup match.

Go USA. Go Real Madrid.


Saturday

1:00pm Canada vs Guatemala GolTv

4:00pm USA vs Panama FSC, GolTv

6:30pm New England Revolution vs Columbus Crew FSC


Sunday

11:00am Bilbao vs Levante GolTv

3:00pm Real Madrid vs Mallorca GolTv

3:00pm Mexico vs Costa Rica FSC

Gold Cup

On Tuesday, June 12, my buddy and I took in the gold cup double-header in Foxboro, Massachusetts. On the field, we saw some decent action; the U.S. manhandled El Salvador by a score of 4-0. Old friend Clint Dempsy (who used to play for the New England Revolution, the tenant of Gillette Stadium in Foxboro) looked strong, as did fellow New England homeboy Taylor Twellman. Honestly, El Salvador wasn’t much of a test (they played one man up front, packed the midfield and looked like they were praying for a draw) but it was still fun to watch. The nightcap saw Trinidad and Tobago draw Guatemala 1-1. I saw most of this match from the comfort of my couch; as soon as the US game was over I headed home because of a downpour. I know, I’m a baby.

Probably the most fun aspect of the games was not the play, however, but the fans. This was my first international tournament, and it was a pleasure to see the various peoples come out in their national colors and support their teams. It seemed to my eyes that the US had the biggest following (unsurprising, since the game was played in the US) but not by much, and the US fans not in the “singing section” of Gillette tended to be on the quiet side. The Guatemalan fan contingent were nearly as large as the US, and twice as passionate, coming draped in flags and face paint, and carrying drums. Even though Guatemala was not playing the US, they came out to passionately cheer for whoever was playing against the hosts. El Salvador’s fans were not as numerous but were also quite impressive, cheering hard for every tackle and won ball, especially early in the match before the score got out of hand. Only the T&T fan group was small and relatively quiet.

Matches held at Gillette stadium are usually quiet affairs involving ten or eleven thousand people; it often seems even less than that because the stadium is so big. It was good to see a big, enthusiastic crowd there on Tuesday, and I am looking forward to the triple-header on Saturday. On top of a Revs game we also get Canada v. Guatemala and the U.S. v. Panama. It should be fun.

Prem Fixture List

Below find a link to next season's fixture list in the premiership. I love it; la Liga isn't even over yet and we already have the matches for next season in England.

I'll have more later today on the Gold Cup.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=438257&cc=5901

Henry on the Way Out?

Today has seen a flood of conflicting reports concerning the future of, perhaps, the most popular player in the English game: Arsenal striker Thierry Henry. France Football magazine reported this morning that Henry was going to Barcelona. (Perish the thought.) Henry rubbished this but enigmatically said his future "still hasn't been decided" and continued to express anger over David Dein leaving the Arsenal boardroom. Curiously, it seems the papers are continuing to go with this story in spite of the Henry denial, so there might in fact be a little fire to go with this smoke. Keep your eyes on this one, for it could be the biggest move of the year. if it isn't all crap.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=438251&cc=5901

More Spain

Here is an amusing column by CNN/SI columnist Greg Llalas on the whole Beckham/Real Madrid/LA Galaxy non-controversey that has been going around lately.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/greg_lalas/06/11/beckham.real/index.html

Weekend Wrap-Up

Well, it was an all-around fun weekend these past few days for the football fan. There was some great football and some fun moments. I’ll wrap things up this week with a few quick hits that can get you caught up on anything you missed.

1). There was a PHENOMONAL weekend of football in Spain this past weekend. We saw controversy, heroics, and a ton of action. All three of the top three clubs drew, which means next week will finally (and sadly, as I wish this fun could go on forever) settle everything. I could summarize al the action for you, but the great Phil Ball does it better in one of his best columns of the year.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=437945&root=europe&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1&cc=5901

2). Staying in Spain, this weekend also demonstrated why I have a love/hate relationship with GolTV. On one hand, they showed all three big games in Spain this weekend. (The Real game, the Barca game, and the Sevilla game.) They showed the Real game live, and the latter two on tape. All this is good.

However, they made the ridiculous decision to try this triple split screen at times, which did nothing but make all three games unwatchable unless you had a mega-big screen. Further, because of the split screen nonsense, I missed one of the van Nistleroy goals. Bah. On top of all this, they used the same announcer for the Barca game that they did for the Real game, and he called the game as if it was live even though all the viewers well knew that he had just watched the damn game while calling Real. That’s bad enough, but to top it off the announcer was the unfathomably bad Ray Hudson. All of that is bad.

3). One more weird note from Spain. Now that Beckham is playing great (Capello says he’s as good as he was when he played at Manchester United), we are getting the inevitable slew of stories about how Real is trying to get him to renege on his contract with the Galaxy and stay there. A typical story can be found here:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=437906&cc=5901

All along, I had hoped Beckham stayed in Spain. He is a world-class player and deserves to play in a world-class league. I could have waited a few years to see him in the MLS. But Real screwed up by not signing him (they have admitted it was a huge mistake) and now there’s nothing they can do about it. So they might as well stop bitching and get on with finding a replacement. I can’t believe they let Ribery go to Munich…

4). Finally, the U.S. is cruising through the Gold Cup, although interestingly enough Mexico is having some problems. I will be at the third U.S. group match in Foxboro, Massachusetts on Tuesday and also at the quarterfinal on Saturday. I will file a report when I get a moment.

Weekend Matches: June 9, 2007

All right, I’ll admit it: it’s a weird weekend coming up. Saturday is an absolutely gangbusters day of football, but Sunday is so poor I didn’t find a single game that interests me. So just DVR some of the Saturday games and watch them on Sunday. The highlight of the day is the three big matches in Spain which might, just might, settle things. But look for things to go until next weekend. Anyway, Hopefully Real can get the job done against Zaragoza and Espanyol doesn’t take the day off vs. Barca. We shall see.

Also keep an eye out for the second US group match in the Gold Cup (they beat a feisty Guatemala team last night, thanks to the efforts of once and future New England Revolution players) as well as the usual slate of MLS games. Hope you all have a good weekend.


Saturday

3:00pm Zaragoza vs Real Madrid GolTv

5:00pm Barcelona vs Espanyol GolTv

5:00pm USA vs Trinidad FSC

7:00pm Mallorca vs Sevilla GolTv

8:30pm Chicago Fire vs CD Chivas FSC

Programming Note

Just a reminder to all of you out there that the U.S. Men's National Team will be playing footballing and geopolitical powerhouse Guatemala tonight at 9PM in a Gold Cup Match. The game will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel. I encourage you all to watch.

Book Review: Keane: The Autobiography, by Roy Keane with Eamon Dunphy

“Taking him [Eric Cantona] down a peg or two seemed to be objective number one for the opposition hard men. Perhaps part-time men would be a better description. For what really bugged us was the thought that these guys were out to make a name for themselves by sorting us out. Why the fuck didn’t they put that effort in every week, then maybe they wouldn’t be playing for fucking Norwich or Swindon.” (page 114.)


The above quotation from Roy Keane’s autobiography tells you everything you need to know about this fantastic book. First, it has deservedly earned the reputation of the being the best, most honest autobiography ever written by a player still in the game. (Keane has since retired and become a very successful manager with Sunderland.) Every line makes you feel like you are living Keane’s VERY intense life right beside him. Secondly, the book is incredibly funny, just as the quote above can’t help but make you laugh. Finally, and sadly, Keane intense life largely makes him unlovable; as you can tell from the quote above, he was often an incredible jerk.

Roy Keane played center midfield for Manchester United for more than a decade. During that time they had a remarkable run of success, winning multiple premierships trophies, FA Cups and a European Championship. There were flashier player at United during the decade (Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and Ryan Giggs, just to name a few) but none worked harder or more intensely than Keane. By anchoring the midfield he allowed the scorers of United to go forward and win so many critical games by wide margins (4-1 seemed an average premiership victory at Old Trafford in the 1990s). Along the way Keane becomes disgusted by, well, nearly everyone for their lack of commitment to the cause. No one is as hungry as him; no one will take the game as seriously. The only two people to escape serious criticism in the book are United gaffer Alex Ferguson (perhaps the only man as intense and committed as Keane) and Keane’s saintly wife Theresa. God bless her.

Keane obviously loves United and most of the players who played there (with the exception being Peter Schmeichel), but he eventually decided they became too soft and complacent after winning the Treble in 1999. Keane saves his harshest criticisms, however, for the Irish national team, which he persuasively argues did not take itself or any of the tournaments it entered seriously, always taking a “just glad to be here” attitude. It was an attitude that disgusted Keane, and he eventually and famously left the Irish national team on the eve of the 2002 World Cup.

Keane personally comes off at times as a very unlikable man. He’s critical of almost everyone he meets, and openly states that no one (except Alex Ferguson) cares as much about football as he does. He constantly bitches about things that would make a regular person gag, such as carrying his own luggage through an airport or having to sit in coach on airline flights. (Poor baby.) It’s a bizarre thing to (constantly) complain about, seeing as he makes a point of describing how he grew up relatively poor in Ireland.

Still, this is a remarkable book. Reading it, one is given an idea of how football really is, how it is a business, and how sometimes its employees don’t care as much as they probably should. It gives you a glimpse into the life of a truly great player, and what things are like in the clubhouse, on the pitch, and on the street. Keane (and his co-author Dunphy, who has done a remarkable job) deserve all the credit in the world for writing this truly honest, engaging book. It has well earned its title as one of the best football autobiographies ever written.

More Spanish Hype

Here is a good column by Jon Carter summarizing the last two weekends of Spanish football that are coming up. I can't really express how excited I am by these last two weeks. It's pretty much all I have left. After this it is just the MLS and South American football until the Charity Shield is played in August. I don't know how I'll make it. Prepare for a few entries on the exciting world of Argentinian league football!

In other Spanish/Real Madrid news, it looks like old friend Roberto Carlos will be playing in Turkey next year. Turkey!?! C'mon, Roberto! Come to the MLS! It's wine, women, and song over here! Plus, the plane ride to Rio is a hell of a lot shorter. I would love to see you playing a half-assed left back for the New York Red Bulls or something. Next contract, come here! Hopefully you can play until you're 45....

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=436827&root=europe&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1&cc=5901

Chelsea News

I know I am running the risk of this website becoming little more than a collection of links, but hey, it's the Silly Season. Not much is going on. I can only write so much about the New England Revolution midfield and what David Beckham had for lunch before I go nuts. Below is an interesting article on the summer spending of Chelsea FC, and how they buck the trend of spending lots of cash this summer. It's hard not to assume, however, they they will not ultimately be real players in the market.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=436381&root=england&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1&cc=5901

Rumblings from Munich (No, not the bad kind)

Lovable Fatherland club Bayern Munich is making quite a splash in the early days of the silly season. First, they bought one of my top-five favorite players, Luca Toni, from Fiorentina for a mere 11 million pounds. (At the rate good strikers are going these days, I thought that was a steal.) Now rumors are that Bayern is also going to get Franck Riberey. (See the related story below.) This all quite impressive for a club that will not be playing in the Champions league next year; apparently they have sold themselves quite convincingly to these players. Or they just gave them a bunch of money. Anyway, keep your eyes on those crazy Germans in case they do anything else unexpected. Don't forget what Churchill said: "Bayern Munich is either at your feet, or at your neck..."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=436431&cc=5901

Weekend Fun!

This weekend I attended the grim 0-0 draw between New England and Real Salt Lake in an MLS showdown. If it wasn’t for the delicious frozen lemonade they sell at Foxboro stadium, the night might have been a complete disappointment. New England played a fairly lackluster game, often losing the ball in the midfield. They did create a few scoring chances, but nothing could come of it. My buddy commented that no one on the Revolution seems to be able to create their own shot; the exception is Khano Smith, who can always create his own shot but promptly shoots it into the fifth row of seats…

If New England looked bad, Salt Lake appeared dire. All eyes were on Freddy Adu, who had a moment or two of nice stepovers, but otherwise was invisible for 85 minutes. I think we can close the book on Freddy playing center-forward for Manchester United or Barcelona; the poor kid has enough to worry about just keeping his spot in the MLS.

Below find a good article by Kevin Palmer on why Steve McClaren will likely be shitcanned if he doesn’t lead his squad to a convincing victory against Estonia on Wednesday. That should be fun.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=436100&root=euro2008&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1&cc=5901

England V. Brazil

Jon Carter's fine take on the England-Brazil friendly played today at the new Wembly can be found below, and it is worth a quick read.


http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=435746&root=england&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1&cc=5901

Weekend Matches: June 2-3

Meh. We are on an International weekend, so no matches in Spain, etc. England plays Brazil today, and there are a FEW interesting internationals, including France v. Ukraine and USA v. China on Saturday. Don’t forget that the MLS is steaming ahead as always this weekend, so check your local listings for your local teams…


Saturday

2:30pm Latvia vs Spain FSC

2:45pm Belgium vs Portugal Setanta PPV

3:00pm France vs Ukraine Setanta

8:00pm USA vs China ESPN2

10:00pm Los Angeles Galaxy vs. DC United FSC


Sunday

3:00pm Colon vs Boca Juniors FSC