US Soccer Players

Tuesday's TV

Coppa Italia on GolTV: Sampdoria - Livorno at 2:30pm.  All Times Eastern

Seitz Joins Union

Goalkeeper Chris Seitz is now officially a member of the Philadelphia Union.  Seitz had been linked with a move to the club during last week's expansion draft, but the move wasn't made official until earlier today.  “We are extremely excited about acquiring Chris Seitz who has been in the US Men’s National Team goalkeeper pool and with Real Salt Lake the past three seasons,” Union manager Peter Nowak said. “He’s physically imposing and now has a chance to compete to become a starting goalkeeper in MLS and realize his full potential.”

Davies Focused On Cup

In an interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap on SportsCenter, United States National Team forward Charlie Davies says he expects to "make a full recovery" from injuries suffered in a single-car accident on October 13th. Davies was a passenger in the vehicle.  A fellow passenger was killed.

Davies is rehabbing a broken leg along with a broken elbow and facial fractures.  He told Schaap that along wit his doctors, he is targeting the World Cup for his return.  He is expected to continue his rehab with his French club Sochaux by the end of the year. 

Monday's Daily: The SPL

With J Hutcherson -- Another reminder that even if the big games are only available on closed circuit pay-per-view in the United States, this season in the Scottish Premier League could be well worth your time. For all their financial problems and the looming threat of forced changes to the squad, Rangers remain in contention.

The blue side of Glasgow are two points back of Celtic, but on 12 games to Celtic's 13. Rangers trails on games played due to an abandoned game on November 1st. Their opponent, Dundee United, are currently fourth on 12 games played, four points off the lead and two points behind Rangers.

For a league normally associated with two teams in contention and one of them running away with the title by April, there are currently six teams within seven points of Celtic. Aberdeen moved into that group after beating Rangers over the weekend. Celtic lost to Dundee United a week ago. They drew 3-3 with the worst team in the league the week before that.

American Abroad Update: EPL Players

First Star: A strong showing for Hull City against Manchester City, with the teams drawing 1-1.  Jozy Altidore got the start and went 73 minutes.  Shaun Wright-Phillips had Manchester City up in the 45th-minute, but Hull split the points on a Jimmy Bullard penalty in the 82nd.  That prompted a creative goal celebration.  Bullard and his teammates re-created their manager's on-field talk from last year's game at Manchester City.  "I couldn't deliver my address because I was laughing so much," Hull manager Phil Brown said.

Second Star: Clint Dempsey went the distance for Fulham, who drew 1-1 with Bolton. Ivan Klasnic put the visiting Wanderers up in the 35th-minute, with Damien Duff answering back for Fulham in the 75th.  "We were good value for the 1-1," Fulham manager Roy Hodgson said. "If anything, perhaps we can be a little bit sad that we didn't get the second goal.  It was on the cards, with two balls cleared off the line and Jussi Jaaskelainen made two fantastic saves." Eddie Johnson was on the bench for Fulham.

Third Star: Benny Feilhaber went the full ninety for AGF Aarhus, 1-0 winners over Brondby at NRGi Park. Peter Graulund scored the game's only goal in the 16th-minute. Steffen Rasmussen picked up the shutout. Jeremiah White was an 83rd-minute substitute for Aarhus.

Monday's TV

Championship on Setanta: Blackpool - Preston North End at 3pm.  All Times Eastern

The Wall: Goalkeepers

In 2004, we talked to Major League Soccer goalkeeper Nick Rimando about what the role of the keeper is in setting up the wall.  Last week, Rimando was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2009 MLS Cup, winning the League's championship with Real Salt Lake.

During a free kick situation in a game, one of the first defensive strategies for a team is to put up a wall to make sure the opposing team can't get a direct shot on goal. A wall can be as few as two players and sometimes as many as eight. The closer it is to the goal, the more players will be in it to defend the goal. If the ball is to one side of the goal or farther away, there may be fewer players in the wall since the defenders have to brace for a cross as well as a shot. Either way, it's the shooter's job to score, the defender's job to block the ball, and the keeper's job to organize everyone to make things easier on himself.

What happens when the referee blows the whistle and you realize the other team has a free kick?

There is often a lot of confusion because players will be arguing about the foul, and both teams will be trying to set their players. There will usually be a forward or midfielder setting up the wall so nothing quick happens. My job is to make sure they can’t get to the near post.

Friday's TV

No games today. 

USA '09: What We've Learned

By Clemente Lisi - NEW YORK, NY (Nov 26, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- The United States played a record number of games this year (24) and put together some memorable performances along the way.  

They started with a bang (a 3-2 win over Sweden) and ended with a whimper (a 3-1 loss to Denmark).  In between, the team reached the Confederations Cup final (only to lose to Brazil) and the Gold Cup title game (a loss to Mexico).  More importantly, the US qualified for the World Cup, its sixth straight tournament, and showed that it is a force to be reckoned with on the world stage.

“The main job was to secure qualification for South Africa next June,” coach Bob Bradley told reporters recently about the team’s goals this year.  “Obviously, the Confederations Cup was special in so many ways.  And we’ll always look for things as reminders for the work that still needs to be done.” 

Along the way, we’ve also learned a lot by watching Bradley’s men over the past 11 months.  Indeed, US fans have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving Day.  

Here are the 10 things we’ve learned this year from watching the US of A: 

10. Change Bradley Can Believe In

The team did a solid job dealing with roster changes (even last-minute ones) and showed it can integrate players into Bradley’s preferred 4-4-2 lineup. One notable one was the inclusion of Conor Casey, not a regular, into the key World Cup Qualifier against Honduras in San Pedro Sula. His two goals were clutch in a 3-2 win.  Players like this can make a difference at the World Cup. 

American Abroad: Dempsey Double

Clint Dempsey went the full-ninety for Fulham, 3-0 winners over Blackburn.   Eric Nevland opened the scoring in the 43rd-minute.  The second-half belonged to Dempsey, who scored in the 67th and 88th minutes.  Mark Schwarzer picked up the shutout on three saves.  "The score line shows us easy winners but it was a very, very tough victory and one I'm very proud of," Fulham manager Roy Hodgson said.  Eddie Johnson wasn't in the squad for Fulham.

Jozy Altidore went 75 minutes for Hull City, getting the 3-2 win over Tim Howard's Everton.  Howard thought he had the better of Altidore early, stopping his shot but giving up the rebound for Stephen Hunt's 9th-minute opener.  Andy Dawson (20th) and Dean Marney (28th) had Hull up 3-0 at the half.  Kamil Zayatte put the ball in the back of his own net four minutes into the second-half and Louis Saha converted a 65th-minute penalty, but Everton couldn't find an equalizer. 

Brown And McBride Stay With Chicago

Defender CJ Brown and forward Brian McBride had their options renewed by the Chicago Fire, the club announced on Wednesday.  2010 will be Brown's 13th season with the club.  He has been a member of the Fire since they joined Major League Soccer in 1998.

 “We are pleased to have both Brian and CJ back with the team for 2010,” said Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas. “McBride is a force on the field and his experience is unmatched by many in MLS. He will play another invaluable role for us in 2010. CJ’s contributions in 2009 were key in helping us to reach the Eastern Conference Championship Final this season. We need them both back on the pitch to help lead us toward a MLS Cup championship.”

Thursday's TV

Coppa Italia on GolTV: Napoli - Cittadella at 2:30pm and Palermo - Reggina at 4:30pm.  All Times Eastern

Union Pick 10

The Philadelphia Union selected ten players in the Major League Soccer Expansion Draft on Wednesday.  No players were selected from Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Salt Lake, or Toronto.

Jordan Harvey (D) - Colorado Rapids
Andrew Jacobsen (M) - DC United
Brad Knighton (G) - New England Revolution
Sebastien Le Toux (F) - Seattle Sounders FC
Stefani Miglioranzi (M) - LA Galaxy
Alejandro Moreno (F) - Columbus Crew
Dave Myrie (D) - Chicago Fire
Shea Salinas (M) - San Jose Earthquakes
Shavar Thomas (D) - Chivas USA
Nick Zimmerman (M) - New York Red Bulls

"We have been scouting and evaluating talent for many months," said Philadelphia Union Team Manager Peter Nowak. "From the teams throughout MLS, we have chosen a group of players who will give us some flexibility and create options for us, as we now build our initial roster. There is still much work ahead of us."

USSF Announces Award Finalists

The United States Soccer Federation has released the finalists for their 2009 Athlete of the Year Awards: 

• Male Athlete of the Year: Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Oguchi Onyewu
• Female Athlete of the Year: Shannon Boxx, Heather O'Reilly, Christie Rampone, Hope Solo, Abby Wambach
• Young Male Athlete of the Year: Marlon Duran, Luis Gil, Jared Jeffrey, Brian Perk, Tyler Polak
• Young Female Athlete of the Year: Tobin Heath, Christine Nairn, Sydney Leroux, Kelley O'Hara, Katie Schoepfer

TMA: The Fouth Official

By L.E. Eisenmenger -- It often has been said that at any given moment and with his eyes shut, Cuauhtemoc Blanco can describe the positioning of every player on the field as well as the fourth official.

Why the fourth official? As one of the league’s trickiest players and most frequently fouled, Blanco knows that the fourth official can make critical calls.  That includes relaying yellow and red card instructions to the referee via headset if the ref is screened or caught up in another situation. So Blanco usually knows what he can and can’t get away with.

Wednesday's Daily: Olsen

With J Hutcherson -- Sportswriters like to lean on cliches because it makes things easier. Rather than having to explain Ben Olsen pre-and-post ankle injury, you can just call him 'gritty' or 'tenacious.' What that means is more complicated.

Olsen had a step on most of his marks at college and then Major League Soccer level. It wasn't that he was the fastest player on the field. It was that he was normally the fastest against whoever was matched up against him. That put him in a position where he could rely on a first step, win more than his share of 50/50 balls, and basically be a pest in a distributing role.

Though he's done all the criticism necessary of his early professional play, saying yesterday that: "I watched the tape of when I was a rookie and it makes me sick," he also knew what he was doing. "At some point, I would tire the other guy out, flub and cross and Roy Lassiter would put it in."

Rangers 0 - VfB Stuttgart 0

DaMarcus Beasley was a late sub in Tuesday's Champions League game, coming on in the 86th-minute for Kyle Lafferty.  Rangers were already two goals down, with Sebastian Rudy scoring in the 16th-minute and Zdravko Kuzmanovic making it 2-0 in the 59th.  Stuttgart keeper Jens Lehmann got the shutout with no saves after Rangers were unable to put any of their three shots on frame. 

"Maybe away from home the expectation is not so great in terms of having to go forward and win the game," Rangers manager Walter Smith said of losing at home in the Champions League.  "Our posession of the ball has even been better in the away games so that is frustrating."

Wednesday's TV

Champions League on Fox Soccer Channel: Debreceni - Liverpool at 11am, Milan - Marseille at 2:30pm (5pm on Setanta), Real Madrid - Zurich at 5pm (2:30pm on Fox Sports en Espanol), and Manchester United - Besiktas at 7pm (2:40pm on Setanta). EPL on Setanta Xtra: Fulham - Blackburn at 3pm (6:45pm on Setanta) and Hull - Everton at 8pm on Setanta. Colombian League on GolTV: Medellin - Junior at 8:30pm.  All Times Eastern

Olsen Announces Retirement

DC United midfielder Ben Olsen announced his retirement on Tuesday at a press conference at RFK Stadium.  Olsen spent his entire MLS career with DC, joining the club from the University of Virginia in 1998 and being named Rookie of the Year.  He spent the 2000-01 season on loan to England's Nottingham Forest, where an ankle injury ended a promising run with the club.  Olsen would miss the 2001 MLS season while recovering from that injury.  In 2007, he was honored as a member of the MLS Best XI.  Injury trouble limited him to one game in 2008, but he returned in 2009 to play in 20 league games for United. 

Olsen had 37 caps with the United States National Team, part of the 2005 Gold Cup squad and the 2006 World Cup roster.  He had one appearance at World Cup level, coming on as a substitute in the final group stage game.

“Ben Olsen has been called the heart and soul of DC United and, over the years, that is exactly what we’ve come to expect from him,” United President and CEO Kevin Payne said. “Since he joined our team as the League’s first Project-40 player until his last game in the 2009 season, Ben gave all that he had for his team and his teammates. You can’t replace a player like Ben, you simply hope that other players can step up and shoulder the mantle that he carried for so long.  He’s simply one of the greatest players in DC United history.”

Tuesday's Daily: Working The Draft

By J Hutcherson -- For those of you that need reminding, last year Seattle got Nate Jaqua and Brad Evans in the expansion draft. It wasn't much of a surprise that both became regular contributors. James Riley also ended up playing in most of the games over Seattle's first season, but he's right back on the unprotected list for the third year running.

If you consider last year's unprotected list stronger than this year's, and you should, Philadelphia ends up in an interesting position on Wednesday. The obvious move would be to follow Seattle's lead, cherry pick the two or three obvious players, and then try to fill in your depth chart.