US Soccer Players

Campos Wins POTW

Real Salt Lake forward Pablo Camps is Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 24.  In a week where RSL took six points from two games, Campos scored in both.  Campos joined MLS with San Jose at the start of 2009, and moved to RSL in a trade on July 15th.

Ihemelu And Moor Swap Clubs

Defender Ugo Ihemelu is now a member of FC Dallas in exchange for defender Drew Moor, a 2010 second round pick, and allocation money in a trade with Colorado announced on Monday.  “Ugo Ihemelu is a talented player with tremendous speed that will be a key member of our back line,” FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said. “In my time here, we haven’t had that natural right back we have needed and we believe Ugo will provide that for us moving forward. We would also like to thank Drew Moor for his service to this team the past four years and wish him well in Colorado.”  Moor has five US National Team caps and is a two-time NCAA champion. 

Adu Joins Belenenses On Loan

United States National Team player Freddy Adu will be looking for playing time within Portugal this season, joining Belenenses on loan from Benfica.  Both clubs are in the Portuguese Liga.  Last season, Belenenses finished eighth. 

Monday's TV

La Liga on ESPN: Barcelona - Sporting Gijon at 4pm. All Times Eastern

MLS Week 24: Keeping Them Close

All but one of the weekend's winners took three points on a single goal, with Toronto and Seattle ruining the trend by drawing 0-0.  Meanwhile, Los Angeles wins a derby, but it's Real Salt Lake making the big statement by taking six points from their Wednesday/Saturday schedule.  But the big shock was the last game of the weekend, with Columbus losing to New York. 

Toronto 0 - Seattle 0

No goals at Qwest Field, with Toronto only managing a single shot on frame from 11 attempts.  Seattle had ten shots, putting four on goal.  “There are some positives that come out of this game,” Sounders keeper Kasey Keller said. “But, we want to obviously be an attacking team that makes things exciting for our home fans. That just hasn’t happened the last few games.”

American Abroad: Davies Is The Difference

First Star: Charlie Davies was brought down in the box, setting up the 20th minute penalty kick that Vaclav Sverkos converted for a 1-0 win over Monaco.  Davies went 85 minutes before being subbed out for Edouard Butin.  Sochaux are 11th in the Ligue 1 table.

Second Star: Tim Howard needed two saves for Everton to beat Wigan 2-1 in a comeback effort.  Paul Scharner had Wigan up in the 57th, but Louis Saha got that goal back in the 62nd.  Leighton Baines converted Everton's winner in the 90th minute from the penalty spot.  "I think a lot of people were probably surprised when Wigan took the lead," Everton manager David Moyes said. "But if you don't take your chances the opposition can always score and they did - and could've even got a second if I'm honest because they've then hit the post.  But if we hadn't won it I think we'd have scratched our heads afterwards because we certainly controlled the game."

Third Star: Brad Friedel got the clean sheet under odd circumstances.  Fulham's John Pantsil put Aston Villa up with a third minute own goal, and Gabriel Agbonlahor made it 2-0 in the 59th.  Fulham didn't manage a shot on goal, giving Friedel a Premier League shutout on zero saves.  "Gabby was terrific," Villa manager Martin O'Neill said. "It was just a fantastic goal. He said modestly in the dressing room: 'I just hit it.' It was a brilliant strike."  Clint Dempsey started and went the full 90 for Fulham.  Eddie Johnson was a 76th minute substitute.  Brad Guzan was on the bench for Villa.

Revs Announce 15th Anniversary Logo

The New England Revolution have announced they will be introducing their 15th anniversary logo a few months early in an attempt to build interest in their 2010 campaign.  “We are anxiously anticipating the celebration of our 15th anniversary next year, and we wanted to create an image to commemorate the season,” Revolution Chief Operating Officer Brian Bilello said. “We believe our 15th anniversary logo not only celebrates the team’s history, but also conveys the strength of our supporters and the New England region as a whole.  This is our first real addition or change to any of our standard logos, and we’re excited to unveil it to our fans."

Design elements in the logo include the traditional logo between 1996 and 2010 along with an American flag motif. 

Keys To A Successful Attack

There are several keys to an effective attack, but the concept can be broken down into three simple ideas. 

Players must 1) penetrate 2) support and 3) make runs in order to maintain possession en route to scoring a goal.  The first attacker is the player who first makes an offensive movement towards the opponent’s goal.  He attempts to penetrate, whether by dribbling (if no defenders are on him immediately), passing (if other attackers are open) or shooting (if he has a shot on goal).

Friday's TV

UEFA Super Cup on Fox Soccer Channel: Barcelona - Shakhtar Donetsk at 2:30pm. Bundesliga on GolTV: Borussia Moenchengladbach - Mainz at 2:30pm. USL-1 on Fox Soccer: Portland - Charleston at 8pm.  All Times Eastern

Europa League: Keepers

Three American Abroad clubs involved in second-legs of Europa League qualifying, though one of them featured no American involvement.  Fulham advanced with a 1-0 loss to Amkar Perm, holding up their 3-1 opening leg win. Eddie Johnson was an unused substitute and Clint Dempsey didn't travel after picking up a slight ankle injury in training.  Considering it was a five hour flight with a game against Aston Villa on Sunday, early reports had Dempsey's absence as precautionary.

Villa was also in action, with Brad Guzan getting the start against Rapid Vienna.  Though Villa won 2-1, it wasn't enough to overcome the aggregate goals tiebreaker.  They exit the Europa League with a missed penalty in the 31st minute.  James Milner converted his penalty in the 38th and John Carew had Villa up two goals in the 53rd.  Nikica Jelavic scored the goal that put Vienna through in the 77th.  "At 2-0 we had a number of chances to see off Rapid but it didn't materialize," manager Martin O'Neill told the club's official site. "Then you're open to the possibility of a goal at the other end and that's exactly what happened."

Everton started Tim Howard in a game where they carried a 4-0 advantage from the first-leg.  Sigma Olomouc kept it closer in game two, drawing 1-1 with Everton going down a man after Tony Hilbert was sent off in the 7th minute.  Steven Plenaar scored for Everton in the 43rd and Pavel Suites got Olomouc's equalizer in the 80th to end the series at 5-1 Everton on aggregate.  Howard had ten saves on the night.  "I am pleased we got through, Everton manager David Moyes said.  "It was important for us. I thought we got better as the game went on.  They put us under pressure but thankfully we defended well enough and got one ourselves."

US Roster Announced

GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa: 5/3 SO), Tim Howard (Everton FC: 12/7 SO)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes: 22/3), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA, 2/0), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover: 19/0), Jay DeMerit (Watford: 3/0), Clarence Goodson (IK Start: 1/0), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew: 2/0), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan: 17/1), Jonathan Spector (West Ham: 2/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake: 0/0), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach: 11/4), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo: 6/0), Clint Dempsey (Fulham: 18/4), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus: 2/0), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo: 1/0), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew: 0/0), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca: 5/0)
FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (Hull City: 9/5), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids: 5/0), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo: 16/6), Charlie Davies (FC Sochaux: 3/2), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy: 31/11), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake: 0/0)

Thursday's Daily: Understanding Results

With J Hutcherson -- Shocked looks all around that last night's USA - Mexico club version went Mexico's way. It's not much of a knock against Major League Soccer that they're still squarely in the 'hope for the best' stage. That' what happens when you're handicapped by roster and salary regulations.

Columbus got rolled by a better team taking advantage of their home field, but it was the post-game that ended up piling on the hurt. Cruz Azul manager Enrique Meza basically dismissed his squad's performance as 'average' and his follow-along comments shifted that towards disappointing.

CCL: Bad Night For MLS

Major League Soccer had no answers home or away for Mexican clubs in the CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday.  The Columbus Crew now have a decidedly negative goal differential after losing 5-0 to Cruz Azul in Mexico City.  Jaime Lozano opened the scoring in the third minute, and the Crew were down by two when Ramon Nunez scored five minutes later.  Chad Marshall turned the ball into his own net a minute into the second-half, and it was Lozano again in the 81st.  Marshall was credited with his second own goal in the 87th.  Cruz Azul keeper Yosgart Gutierrez needed one save for the shutout. 

At RFK Stadium, the score wasn't so lopsided but the result was the same with DC United losing 3-1 to Toluca.  Vladimir Marin opened the scoring in the fifth minute for Toluca, with Chris Pontious equalizing two minutes into the second-half.  Hector Raul Mancilla scored in the 78th and 85th minutes to put the game away.  

Wednesday Night MLS: Big Second-Half For RSL

Real Salt Lake had no trouble with Chivas USA on Wednesday night, shutting them out 4-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium.  Pablo Campos put RSL up in the 43rd minute, with Fabian Espindola doubling that in the 75th.  Robbie Findley finished off the scoring with two goals in the 85 and 90th minutes.  Findley was a 6th minute substitute.  "If I’m coming off the bench I just want to be able to provide a little spark and energy for my team," Findley said.  "I got the opportunity, got a few chances and put a couple away.”

The onrush of goals came against backup keeper Lance Parker, who came on at the half for Zach Thornton.  This was Thornton's return to the lineup after an injury at the All-Star Game, also at Rio Tinto.  Thornton, who made four saves in his half of play, strained his right quad and was unable to continue.  Nick Rimando picked up the shutout for RSL on two saves. 

Is There A Better Name For SuperLiga?

By L.E. Eisenmenger - BOSTON, MA (Aug 26, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- SuperLiga stirs up controversy whenever the Mexican-US tournament surfaces in conversation or on a blog. There are discrepancies between what SuperLiga claims to be and how some pundits and fans see it.  Though no one should be arguing that the games can't rise to the occasion, it's also clear that SuperLiga attendance isn’t close to what it should be. Although the Chicago Fire sold out the finals with at 20,000, Kansas City and New England drew as low as 5,300 and total SuperLiga attendance for 12 games was 86,948.

In many ways, SuperLiga is a win-win-win. MLS benefits by drawing Hispanics into the extended fan base, The US National Team benefits by drawing from MLS players with more international experience, and broadcasters and sponsors benefit by being able to cast their net over a broader spectrum of North America and develop more soccer-related partnerships.

But attendance and popularity have only scraped the surface of what a Mexican-US soccer tournament could be. One fix could be to improve name recognition by simply calling it what it is, the US-Mexico Club Futbol Championship.

Soumare Transfer Official

Bakary Soumare is now waiting on the results of a physical before joining French Ligue 1 club Boulogne.  Soumare has not played for Chicago since a halftime altercation with coach Denis Hamlett.  Both players were fined by the club.  “We would like to thank Bakary Soumare for his contributions to this club and wish him the best in his future playing career,” said Chicago Fire technical director Frank Klopas. 

Wednesday's Daily: Again In Mexico

With J Hutcherson -- Big night for the American clubs in the CONCACAF Champions League, with DC and Columbus facing Mexican League competition. Bigger night for Columbus, since they're the ones trying for three points in Mexico City. Estadio Azul awaits, with the lack of buildup only a tournament running on general disinterest can provide.

What the Crew will be looking for is to push against what could be anything from a B list squad like the one Cruz Azul used to beat Saprissa to a first choice eleven. Not exactly comforting from a coaching perspective.

"We want to represent ourselves, represent the Crew and MLS the best we can," defender Frankie Hejduk told the club's official site. "That's means going down there and fighting for each other. We want to win cups. That's what we're all about now."

CCL: Improvement For Pachuca

After a disappointing opener, Pachuca regrouped and shutout Isidro Metapan 5-0 at the Nuevo Hidalgo.  Jose Francisco Torres started and wet the full ninety in a game where the Pachuca offense was good for eleven shots on goal while limiting Isidro to 1.  Damian Alvarez put Pachuca up in the 12th minute.  Ulises Mendivil scored in the 19th and the 54th.  Gegorio Torres and Luis Montes finished off the scoring in the 84th and 90th minutes.  Miguel Calero picked up the shutout. 

Saprissa held up the unfriendly confines of the Monster's Cave, beating Puerto Rico 3-1.  It was the Islanders taking the lead when Domenic Mediate scored in the 25th.  Eight minutes later, Jairo Arrieta Ovando had Saprissa level and Walter Centeno Corea put them up in the 39th.  Armando Alonso Rodriguez made it 3-0 in the 48th minute. 

Yanks Go Three For Four In Carling Cup

League Cup in England, with Jozy Altidore continuing his hot start for Hull City.  Tom Carney put Hull up in the 7th minute, with Altidore making it 2-0 in the 42nd.  Southend pulled a goal back just before halftime, but it was Hull again in the second-half when Deiberson Mauricio Geovanni scored in the 75th.  Both teams ended with seven shots on frame in front of 7.994 at Kingston Communications Stadium.  

Jonathan Spector went the full ninety plus overtime for West Ham United in their 3-1 win over Millwall.  Neil Harris had the Lions up a goal in the 26th, but Junior Sanislas brought West Ham even three minutes from time.  Stanislas converted from the penalty spot in the 98th, with Zavon Hines scoring from the run of play two minutes later.  The clubs will be facing a Football Association investigation over fan violence in and around West Ham's Upton Park.  

Sundhage Calls Camp

United States Women's National Team coach Pia Sundhage has named 26 players for a training camp running from September 21st to October 2nd in Carson, California. 

GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (FC Gold Pride), Ashlyn Harris (North Carolina), Hope Solo (St. Louis Athletica);
DEFENDERS (8): Brittany Bock (Los Angeles Sol), Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis Athletica), Stephanie Cox (Los Angeles Sol), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), Heather Mitts (Boston Breakers), Megan Schnur (Sky Blue FC), Cat Whitehill (Washington Freedom)
MIDFIELDERS (12): Yael Averbuch (Sky Blue FC), Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol), Tina DiMartino (FC Gold Pride), Tobin Heath (UNC), Angela Hucles (Boston Breakers), Brittany Klein (Chicago Red Stars), Lori Lindsey (Washington Freedom), Carli Lloyd (Chicago Red Stars), Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Leslie Osborne (FC Gold Pride), Megan Rapinoe (Chicago Red Stars), Kacey White (Sky Blue FC)
FORWARDS (3): Lauren Cheney (UCLA), Amy Rodriguez (Boston Breakers), Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)