US Soccer Players

Short Passing

It's the first thing you learn how to do when you begin to play soccer, and you use it every single game and practice no matter what position you play.
It's short passing, and it's a crucial part of the game.

As you will learn, the inside of the foot is always the most accurate way to pass the ball. To get an idea of where to hit the ball with your foot, feel the ball of your foot which is just at the joint of the first toe. It's the strongest part of the foot as well as the most accurate. Hitting the ball with your toe could spray the ball somewhere you don't want it, not to mention injuring your toes. To hit the ball further back on your foot near the ankle would cause a loss of power and control; to say nothing of how it would interfere with you passing on the move.

Me Too

By Andrew Dixon - MIAMI, FL (Nov 28, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Let’s be real for a second.  The things I’m most thankful for are my family, Mrs. One Grown Man, and the relative fortunate circumstances that allow me to enjoy my life as I do. But my love for soccer is part of that enjoyment and so in that vein, so let me answer my man Graig Carbino and say what I’m thankful for:

Thankful

By Graig Carbino - ALBANY, NY (Nov 28, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Turkey, stuffing, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, some pie, and a nap. That is how Thanksgiving is supposed to play out. Luckily, things went according to plan yesterday for myself and the proper indulgence took place. With that sort of spread on display it is easy to forget what this holiday is really all about. Cowboys and Indians, right?

No, seriously. I’ve always thought and been taught that Thanksgiving is an opportunity to take a step or two back and think about all the things that one should be thankful for. Health, happiness, family, prosperity, all those things could make the list. With that theme in mind, it felt like the right time to lay out a list of a few things American soccer fans should be thankful for in this festive season.

Houston Advances In Champions League

WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 27, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- The Houston Dynamo turned around an uninspiring run for Major League Soccer in the revamped CONCACAF Champions League, advancing to the knockout stage with a 1-0 win over CD Luis Angel Firpo on Wednesday night in Houston.  The Dynamo were making up the game postponed due to Hurricane Ike.

Brian Ching got the game's only goal in the 13th minute off a Dwayne De Rosario corner.  

"I think our focus was to set the pace and the tempo right away," De Rosario said. "To score early, we did that. After that, we lost our focus a little bit, but we kept our composure and made that huge goal stand up.  We're very good at crosses and Ching is great inside the box. We showed that again tonight."

Eddie Robinson was ejected in the 82nd minute for serious foul play.  Houston finished the game with 27 fouls to Firpo's 12.  Firpo's Carlos Calderon was ejected in stoppage time for a second yellow.  Nate Jaqua, who was selected by Seattle in the expansion draft, doesn't officially join the Sounders until the end of the week and started for Houston. 

Houston will find out who they will be playing in February when the draw for the knockout stage is held on December 10th.

Thursday's TV

Under-20 Women's World Cup: North Korea - Mexico at 2pm on Galavision.

UEFA Cup on Setanta: Schalke - Manchester City at 1pm.  On GolTV: Olympiacos - Benfica at 2:45pm. 

Under-20 Women Lose To China

TEMUCO, CHILE (Nov 26, 2008) USSF -- The US Under-20 Women’s National Team fell 2-0 to China in the final Group B game of the 2008 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. Despite the result, the Americans clinched the top place in Group B and will return to Chillan to face England, who finished second place finisher in Group A, in the quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 30th at 7pm local time (5pm ET).

England came from behind on the final day of Group A to draw 1-1 with New Zealand and slip into second place. France, who came from behind to defeat Argentina 3-1 in today’s other Group B game, will also advance as the second place team. They will take on Nigeria, who won Group A on Sunday in Coquimbo.

“I’d like to congratulate China on a very good game,” said US head coach Tony DiCicco. “They are a very good team that probably deserves to be advancing to the second round. I think today we played hard, but didn’t always play smart. A defensive mistake led to the first goal and then we were chasing the game.”

Jaqua Heads Expansion List

NEW YORK, NY (Nov 26, 2008) MLS -- Major League Soccer held its 2008 Expansion Draft today for the League’s 15th team, Seattle Sounders FC, with the team selecting 10 players to continue constructing its roster for the 2009 season.  Sounders FC selected one player each from 10 of the 14 MLS teams. The four teams with no players selected were the Colorado Rapids, Chivas USA, D.C. United and FC Dallas.

Each of the 14 teams was allowed to protect 11 players.  Seattle’s 10 selections will officially be added to Seattle Sounders FC roster, which already includes Sebastien Le Toux, Kasey Keller, Freddie Llungberg and Sanna Nyassi, on Friday, Nov. 28th.

Gazidis Joins Arsenal

NEW YORK, NY (Nov 26, 2008) MLS -- Major League Soccer today announced that Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis has accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer at Arsenal of the English Premier League and will leave MLS to begin working for the London-based club in January, 2009.

“Ivan Gazidis was one of the founding executives of Major League Soccer. His 14 years of service to the League and the sport of soccer in America have helped establish Major League Soccer as a legitimate first division sports league in North America and a respected soccer league throughout the world,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. “Major League Soccer’s on-field product has marched steadily forward, primarily due to Ivan’s thorough understanding of the game and its global market, his impressive reasoning and judgment, and his deep-rooted desire to see soccer grow in North America.

Wednesday's TV

FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup: United States - China on ESPNU at 2pm.  CONCACAF Champions League: Houston - Firpo at 8pm.

UEFA Champions League: Bordeaux - Chelsea on ESPN at 2:30pm.  Sporting - Barcelona on ESPN Classic at 5pm.  On Setanta: Liverpool - Marseilles at 2:30pm, Inter - Panathinaikos at 5:45pm, and CFR - Roma at 7:30pm.  On ESPN Deportes: Sporting - Barcelona at 2:30pm, Inter - Panathinaikos at 4:45pm, and Atletico Madrid - PSV at 8pm.  All Times Eastern

What About Miami?

By Andrew Dixon - MIAMI, FL (Nov 25, 2008) USSoccerPlayers --

One Grown Man: Goal!  Whaaa, huh!  Oh man!
 
Mrs. One Grown Man: You ok?
 
OGM: Yeah, yeah...Wow. That was some dream.
 
MOGM:  Who was she.
 
OGM: Huh, no, not like that.  I was dreaming about the Fusion?
 
MOGM: Who?
 
OGM: The MLS team that was here about seven years ago.   I dreamed they were still here.
 
MOGM: Oh... were they any good?
 
OGM: Yeah, they were actually. I dreamed that MLS and Ken Horowitz' the Fusion's former owner/investor had worked out the numbers and decided to give the Fusion one more year.  See in 2001 they had gotten to the semi final round only to lose at home overtime.  But they were able to stave off contraction and play another year in Lockhart.

Tuesday's Daily: Clarifying

By J Hutcherson --

Let's start with a quote from Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo, on behalf of the Montreal expansion bid.

Finally, last week, after receiving an invitation to the MLS Final but still no news on our proposal, five weeks after submitting our bid in October, I was informed that our bid had been outright rejected because it never met the $40 M US expansion fee.

In a different environment, this would lead somewhere other than an affirmation of how Montreal is a safer expansion target with a stadium and a team already in place. Most of us not working for MLS get that, even if more teams in Canada pushes against the original idea that MLS is a league for US player development.

American Abroad: Monday Update

WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 24, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Tim Howard's Everton lost 1-0 to Wigan Athletic on Monday.  Everton are seventh in the Premier League.  "We've played better than that," Everton manager David Moyes said. "It was quite tight but I knew it would be a tough game.  Wigan’s not an easy place to come and they’re a strong side, so you have to give them some credit."

Dieter Eilts is the new manager at Heath Pearce's Hansa Rostock.  Pearce is suspended for the next two games. 

Expansion Draft Set For Wednesday

NEW YORK, NY (Nov 24, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Major League Soccer will hold the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft on Wednesday, Nov 26th at 1 pm ET.  The League’s 15th team, Seattle Sounders FC, will begin to take shape following the 10-round draft.

Listed below are the details regarding the League’s expansion draft, and also included is the list of players left unprotected, who are available for Seattle Sounders FC to select on Wednesday. Seattle may not claim more than one player from any given team in MLS, and four teams will not have a player taken in the expansion draft.

At the conclusion of the Expansion Draft teams may resume trading. The expansion draft details are listed below:

American Abroad: Here Then There

By Graig Carbino

ALBANY, NY (Nov 24, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- This is the weekly American Abroad update, but we wouldn’t be doing soccer in America any justice if we didn’t talk a bit about MLS Cup 2008. Hey, if you believe Don Garber all of the best US players currently play in MLS anyway. Speaking of the actual game, is there anybody out there who was as underwhelmed as me?

Perhaps it speaks to the playoff format or the level of play around the league as a whole, but this game just didn’t quite do it. I’ve found that finals, on the whole, tend to sink below the hype anyway. It couldn’t have been a surprise then that Columbus, the best team all year, made a few halftime adjustments and played New York off the park for the final 45 minutes. That’s would should happen with a mismatch this large, nothing too out of the ordinary there.

Monday's Daily: After The Cup

By J Hutcherson --

Well, that was interesting. MLS Season XIII ends yet another era in Major League Soccer's history. Call it the reserve edition, with the free Sunday morning league that nobody really seemed all that into going the way of the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny.

As MLS Commissioner Don Garber botched the name of the Crew's captain while handing him the trophy just before 6pm Eastern last night, the League had already told anyone who wanted to listen where all this is heading.

Expansion for the sake of the fee. Squad economics focused on figuring out how not to spend on new talent while making sure those already within the system don't get rewarded. That's as true for coaches as it is for players, with Cup winner Sigi Schmid looking at options since he's not the highest paid coach employed by Hunt Soccer. It's the same old MLS story, the promise of big time on a budget.

Schelotto Wins Cup MVP

WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 23, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Columbus Crew midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto added MLS Cup MVP to his MLS MVP, wining the Most Valuable Player double with three assists in MLS Cup.

Unlike Schelotto in '08, winning an MLS Cup Most Valuable Player award normally has nothing to do with how a player performed throughout the course of 90-plus minutes during the league's title game. It's all about the impact he made to change the game or, in some cases, end the game.

2007's Cup MVP was Dwayne De Rosario, courtesy of his game winning goal in the 74th minute.  In 2006, fellow Houston Dynamo Brian Ching definitely fell under the impact category, as he followed up a very quiet 90 minutes of action against the New England Revolution by scoring an equalizer in overtime and converting the penalty kick that proved to be the title-clincher in the first MLS Cup final to go to penalties.

Columbus Shuts The Door

By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 23, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- For a team that got very comfortable taking control of close games, Columbus spent the opening half hour of Sunday's MLS Cup final looking like victims.  With their regular lineup, Columbus didn't get the passes or the looks expected from the Supporters' Shield winners with the League's MVP on their starting XI.

Red Bull NY pushed the Crew early and often, not seeming to care about the risk of cards or the counter attack.  It was the kind of flowing soccer that takes advantage of the other club failing to respond.

The international sign for soccer trouble - hands on head framing a disgusted look - showed up early and often on both sides. Red Bull NY for not being able to put the ball into the back of the net, and Columbus for giving them the opportunity.

The Crew Are Champions

WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 23, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- The thirteenth Major League Soccer season concluded on Sunday in Carson, California, when the Columbus Crew beat Red Bull NY 3-1 to win their first MLS Cup.  Alejandro Moreno got the opener in the 31st minute, equalized by John Wolyniec in the 51st.  Columbus responded two minutes later when Chad Marshall made it 2-1.  Frankie Hejduk finished off the scoring in the 82nd minute.  Guillermo Barros Schelotto assisted on all three Columbus goals.

"It's a very emotional moment for me winning the game here in LA in front of family and friends," Columbus coach Sigi Schmid said.  "And, to be quite honest, in a town I was fired in. So it meant an awful lot. But I'm just very happy for our team, for our city, and for the individual players on the team, because they stuck together all year.  We were a team all year.  The group was tremendous.  Everybody came to work with a smile on their face.  And we worked hard every day.  And it's a tribute to what they did."

Learning

If you have ever observed a coach at work and felt you have not gotten as much out of it as you had anticipated, maybe you were not trying hard enough.

Most observers make an effort to record all the drills done in a session, how long it took to do each drill, what the purpose of the drill was, and the result of each drill.

However, that is only a small part of what an on-looker can acquire from the experience of watching a coach work.

Two of the most successful American soccer coaches in history --  Sigi Schmid and Anson Dorrance -- believe that an observer who pays attention to the basic workings of a training session has only scratched the surface.

MLS Names Best XI

LOS ANGELES, CA (Nov 22, 2008) MLS -- Major League Soccer’s 2008 year-end awards concluded today, on the eve of MLS Cup 2008, as the League unveiled the 2008 Best XI team, and announced that FC Dallas forward and Best XI member Kenny Cooper received the Comeback Player of the Year award.

The Best XI is an annual award recognizing the League’s top 11 players at each individual position on the field – one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders and two forwards. The MLS Comeback Player of the Year recognizes a player who has battled adversity and to returned to perform at the highest level in Major League Soccer.

Cooper, 24, a native of Dallas, Texas, played and started all of FC Dallas’ 30 regular season games this year after suffering a broken right tibia eight games into the 2007 MLS season. He returned in 2008 and set the League ablaze, scoring 18 goals and recording three assists. He finished second in the Budweiser Golden Boot, awarded to the League’s top goal scorer, behind Landon Donovan (20 goals). Cooper tied for first in the League with four game-winning goals, ranked second to Donovan with four multiple-goal games, and he led the League in shots and shots on goal.