Gol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is some great audio. Even if you don't habla castellano, you'll get it.

Plans are afoot...

Carlos and I are planning to meet at Grand Slam for the US vs Algeria game tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Grand Slam is located in the Grand Hyatt at 11th & H Streets (Metro Center metro). I'm going to try to arrive before 9:45 to get a seat. It will likely be crowded in there but I'm sure there will be room.

Interested in joining us?

World Cup Tool - Check it Out!

http://www.marca.com/deporte/futbol/mundial/sudafrica-2010/calendario-english.html

For the ladies

One of the Lady Goleros sent me an email a few weeks back recommending that I post this on the website. Reluctantly, I'm going to do it. With the quality of the women on our team, we already have to be careful with the egos of our male players. This won't help.

I think the ladies will want to click on this link. Don't worry, it's appropriate.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2010/05/world-cup-cover-story.html

Talking trash before the big game

This email exchange allegedly from the diplomatic corps is making its way around the Internet. Funny.




From: Philip Breeden, US Embassy London
To: Martin Longden, British Embassy Washington DC
Subject: World Cup Bet
Mr. Longden, It has not escaped our attention that a certain sporting event is fast approaching, and that our respective nations will soon be meeting on the fields of South Africa.
My Ambassador has asked me to see if your Ambassador might be interested in a small wager? We will understand if you decline, given the outcome of the last such encounter.
Sincerely, Philip Breeden, U.S. Embassy, London
________________________________
From: Martin Longden, British Embassy Washington DC
To: Philip Breeden, US Embassy London
Subject: Re: World Cup Bet
Mr. Breeden,
Even for such an exceptionally optimistic nation as the United States, I am struck by the confidence with which your Ambassador proposes this wager. It is testament, I assume, to the generosity of your great nation - since the British Ambassador does not anticipate paying out.
Your email does not specify the exact terms of the wager. May I suggest that, in the event of an England victory, the US Ambassador agrees to entertain the British Ambassador at a steak-house of his choosing in downtown DC? And in the event that the United States is able to engineer a fortuitous win over England, then my man will entertain yours at a London pub of his choosing. Loser pays.
Your reference to a previous sporting encounter between our two countries puzzles me. Since the history of English football is long and extensive, in contradistinction to US soccer, I regret that I cannot immediately recall the encounter to which you refer. No doubt it is remembered fondly on these shores; we have quite forgotten it, however.
Are you sure you want to do this?
Yours sincerely, Martin Longden British Embassy Washington DC
________________________________
From: Philip Breeden, US Embassy London
To: Martin Longden, British Embassy Washington DC
Subject: Re: World Cup Bet
Mr. Longden ,
It is with great pleasure, and no small measure of anticipation, that the U.S. Ambassador accepts the terms of the wager. I am surprised, given the well known love of the British for history, that you have forgotten what happened the last time the "special relationship" was tested on the pitch. Of course, given the result, you are to be forgiven for having misplaced that particular episode in your memory banks. I refer of course to the victory of the U.S. over England in the 1950 World Cup.
It is true that our soccer (a fine English word we have kindly preserved for you) history is not as long and illustrious as yours. However, as your generals noted during WWII, we have a unique capability for quickly identifying and advancing talent.
Game on!
Sincerely, Philip Breeden
________________________________
From: Martin Longden, British Embassy Washington DC
To: Philip Breeden, US Embassy London
Subject: Re: World Cup Bet
Mr. Breeden,
Very well; it's a bet!
Incidentally, you should know that the Ambassador takes his steak like American soccer victories - somewhat rare.
Sincerely,
Martin Longden

This day in history

Check out this link that my friend Jonathon sent me:

http://timelines.com/1970/6/7/gordon-bankss-greatest-save-of-all-time-off-of-pele-header

Come join us at Summer's

Jer and I are going to watch the pivotal US vs Honduras game on Saturday night. It's only showing on closed circuit TV. There are three English broadcasting locations in the DC area. Summer's in Courthouse is one of them. We're going to meet there about 9pm for the 10:00 p.m. kickoff. The cover charge will be $20, which the bar needs to charge to cover the estimated $2000 closed circuit fee.

It's not guaranteed that we'll get a seat, but I'm sure it will work out.

See you there?

Heat advisory

A group of us went to the DCU vs Real Madrid game today. Whew, it was a hot one, and not just because Cristiano Ronaldo was there. One player - who will remain anonymous - asked me to snap his photo because she has a little thing for him.

Real Madrid handily beat DC United, but it was a pretty good match. It was hard for the players to run full steam in the heat, with nothing at stake. DCU held them off in the first half but gave away 3 goals on some quick and painful strikes by Higuain and Robben. Those guys are pretty good.

Jer, Chip, and I had the best seats in the house: lower bowl, 18 yard line, in the shade, right by the exit. Chris wasn't too far away, but if you're from Baltimore, you have to sit in the upper decks. Our friend Kara was also in attendance.

Meanwhile, I am told that Red Tsunami lost its match today.

Here's a photo of Chip and Jer. Check out the rest of the photos here.

US vs Cuba - 1 ticket available

Jeremy has a ticket available to the US vs Cuba match on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.  Face value is $38, but he might discount it.  The ticket is part of our group of premium seats, section 228, row 4.  Let me know if you want it.  You would have to pick it up before 6:30 in the RFK parking lot.

My prediction for the starting lineup follows.  It's not my favorite lineup in the US pool, but it will do for now.  We have a host of problems, including finding a forward who can finish and finding a midfielder who can orchestrate the attack as opposed to disrupt on defense.  Right now, Donovan and Dempsey are kind of lost between the midfield and forward position.  We have lots of depth on defense.  The competition for left back will be pretty fierce leading up to South Africa.  More on that later.  Here's my prediction for Saturday.  I do think we'll see Adu in the game and probably Altidore too.

                           CHING

                          DONOVAN

BEAS           EDU                BRADLEY               KLJESTAN

PEARCE      GOOCH           BOCA                     CHERUNDOLO

                         HOWARD

Olympics

You're an American, I'm sure you know that we qualified for the Olympics in both Men's and Women's soccer. Both teams are contenders for a medal, the women more so than the men of course.

The futblogosphere is buzzing because the olympic rosters are due soon. Who's in? Who's out?

The US women's roster was announced yesterday. It features the usual suspects, with some notable but unsurprising absences. GK Brianna Scurry, in her late thirties, is probably out of the national team picture for good now. Maybe a few more friendlies to end her stellar career. She is replaced by Nicole Barnhardt as the backup for Hope Solo. Two players - Cat Whitehill and Leslie Osbourne - are recuperating from ACL surgery and won't make the trip either.

Here's who's going to Beijing.

GOALKEEPERS: Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Hope Solo (Richland,
Wash.).

DEFENDERS: Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis,
Mo.), Stephanie Cox (Elk Grove, Calif.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills,
Mich.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant,
N.J.).

MIDFIELDERS: Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Heather O'Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.).

FORWARDS: Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Amy Rodriguez
(Lake Forest, Calif.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).

Alternates: Scurry, defender Ali Krieger, midfielder Kacey White and
forward Lauren Cheney.

The men's roster isn't due until late July. Coach Peter Novak and his new assistant, Josh Gros, will have to choose carefully. The base roster will look something like this:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Dominic Cervi (out of contract), Chris Seitz (Real Salt
Lake)

DEFENDERS (7): Hunter Freeman (New York Red Bulls), Kamani Hill (Vfl
Wolfsburg), Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Jonathan
Spector (West Ham United), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne
(Toronto FC)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Eddie
Gaven (Columbus Crew), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas
USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Sal Zizzo (Hannover 96)

FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)

But expect surprises. The coaches have to take into account injuries, form, European pre-season, WC qualfying, and of course the roster rules, which require all players to be under the age of 23, with three exceptions.

So which three senior players will go to Beijing? What will the rest of the roster look like?

Mark it on your calendar: soccer Sunday!

Get ready.  Soccer is going to rule your life this Sunday.  It's a rare triple-header:

* 12:00 p.m. DC United vs. LA Galaxy at RFK Stadium

* 2:45 p.m. Euro 2008 final

* The CCSL finals (no word on our game time yet - let's hope it's early evening so we can see all the games).

Offside?

I'm sure you're watching the Euro.

Controversial no call in the Netherlands-Italy game this week. One of Italy's defenders was pushed off the field of play by his own goalie in a collision. On the ensuing rebound, a Dutch player sent a shot back into the area that Van Nistelroy deflected into the goal as pictured above. The goal was allowed.

But was it offside?

Italians everywhere think Van Nistelroy was off. The ESPN analysts, including the respectable Julie Foudy, also thought it was a blown call.  UEFA thinks the referee got it right. 

Whether the call was correct depends upon the interpretation of the offside rule.  Rule 11 of the Laws of the Game states simply that "A player is in an offside position if he is nearer to his opponents' goal line than the ball and the second last opponent." There's nothing about this unique situation in the rule itself.  UEFA says that the Italian defender got injured and left the field on his own momentum.  Therefore, he is still part of the game and taken into consideration for the offside rule.  It makes sense if you think about it.  Without this rule, a player could deliberately step off the field to put her opponent in an offside position.

What do you think?

We've had some controversy of our own about the offside rule. It's one of the great rules in sports. So simple but hard to officiate. The rule has a major impact on the way the game is played, emphasizing action in the midfield and rewarding the teams that can build an attack.

DC United Needs a New Defender

This guy is available!

(Editorial note: posted by Nate)

Go back in time to check out these goals

This is a great youtube video of the great goals of the 2006 World Cup. The two candidates from Argentina are impressive. Cambiaso's finish to a 25-pass rally is something to watch, and Maxi Rodriguez's trap is awesome.

The best goal was...? You tell me.

A friendly in Switzerland

The U.S. men will play a friendly against Switzerland Wednesday in Basel. The match is on Fox Soccer Channel at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Read about the match here.

We haven't seen much of the MNT since July. Recall that we won the Gold Cup (the CONCACAF North and Central American tournament) but sent our C team to the prestigious Copa America (CONMOBEL South American tournament) to get whipped.

This friendly is typical in that it will showcase future talent. The roster is mostly stocked with young American exports who are in development by European clubs. Headlining the bunch is former DCU midfielder Freddy Adu, who was signed to Portuguese powerhouse Benfica, but who has yet to break into the first team there. Other notable youngsters include Danny Szetela, Michael Bradley, Heath Pearce, and Benny Feilhaber. We've got some well-known veterans too, starting with Marcus Hahnemann, Eddie Lewis, Oguchi Onyewu, Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo, Carlos Bocanegra, and DaMarcus Beasley.

There's a lot of talent there.

USMNT Switzerland Camp Roster

Goalkeepers

Hahnemann, Marcus Reading (England)
Hall, Tally Esbjerg (Denmark)
Seitz, Chris Salt Lake (MLS)

Defenders

Bocanegra, Carlos Fulham (England)
Cherundolo, Steve Hannover 96 (Germany)
Califf, Danny Aalborg BK (Denmark)
DeMerit, Jay Watford (England)
Onyewu, Oguchi Standard Liege (Belgium)
Pearce, Heath Hansa Rostock (Germany)
Purdy, Steve 1860 Munich II (Germany)

Midfielders

Adu, Freddy Benfica (Portugal)
Beasley, DaMarcus Rangers (Scotland)
Bradley, Michael Heerenveen (Holland)
Edu, Maurice Toronto FC (MLS)
Feilhaber, Benny Derby County (England)
Lewis, Eddie Derby County (England)
Szetela, Danny Racing Santander (Spain)

Forwards

Dempsey, Clint Fulham (England)
Findley, Robbie Salt Lake (MLS)
Zimmerman, Preston Hamburg SV II (Germany)
Zizzo, Sal Hannover 96 (Germany)

Solo out, Scurry in!

Wow, it's one of those shocking coaching moves in sports. In the penultimate round of the WWC, US coach Greg Ryan has decided to start Briana Scurry for the Brazil match, which will be aired in the US on Thursday morning. Read about it here and apparently in tomorrow's sports pages. Scurry has precious few starts in the past few years but is admired for her quickness, athleticism, and experience versus Brazil. Solo is the starting keeper, the only US keeper to play in this WWC, and she has performed well, although not amazingly. She has recorded three shut-outs, however!

Is this a good idea?

U.S. vs Brazil

Hey, is anyone watching the WWC?

The US women steamrolled England last weekend by a score of 3-0. This puts them in the semifinals tomorrow against Brazil. There are only 4 teams left in the tournament: USA, Brazil, Norway, and Germany. Each are playing really well so there are no automatic wins. The US women have raised their game from the average performances they turned in the opening round. Coach Ryan showed some coaching acumen in taking England's outstanding player, Kelly Smith, out of the mix. But Marta (pictured above) is on fire, and will be hard to mark. The Brazilians - who get precious little support at home - play with heart, if not structure. If they are able to maintain possession of the ball, watch out.

What are your thoughts on the US team this year?

The game is at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow on ESPN2. Here's to a win and yet another chance to take the WWC title.

What to watch this weekend

The Soccer Insider is req'd reading for soccer fans in the DC area. One of my fellow CCSL captains - in fact, the captain of Far Post (that lucky team that got to face a 7-person Goleros squad last weekend) - is the soccer editor for the WP. Here's his post from today:

Posted at 2:30 PM ET, 09/14/2007
W2W4TW, non-WWC*
Hey there, Jon
DeNunzio here. Just thought I'd run through a few thoughts on the weekend in
soccer, outside of the Women's World Cup (four matches Saturday morning on
ESPN/ESPN2, btw).
- Fox Soccer Channel has
the North London
Derby at 8:30 am Saturday. Spurs have not been good, but they may
play Aaron Lennon in this game ... - FSC also has Chelsea-Blackburn at noon,
after West Ham-Middlesborough. Worth watching to root against Mourinho,
IMO.- GolTV has a
Bundesliga/La Liga mix on Saturday morning/early afternoon ... as Goffer would
say, zzzzzzzzz (I have at least one friend who would be upset I said that about
La Liga. Don't think I know anyone who watches the Bundesliga). - MLS: FSC has
Fire-Red Bulls at 8:30 pm Saturday. If you get HDNet, they have Crew-Wizards at
8 pm Saturday. And Telefutura has Chivas-Rapids at 3 pm Sunday.- Speaking of
Sunday, FSC has the black-and-white-stripes Italian derby, with Juventus-Udinese
at 9 am. Who plays for Udinese? How about Antonio di Natale, who had two goals vs. the Ukraine in
Euro 2008 qualifying Wednesday.
Also worth mentioning -- the 19th-ranked
Virginia Tech men's soccer team makes its first-ever TV appearance Friday night
at 8 pm on Fox Soccer, playing
No. 23 Tulsa.
I'm sure I missed something here -- what are you gonna be
watching this weekend?
(* - What To Watch For This Weekend, non-Women's World
Cup)
Posted by Jon DeNunzio Permalink
Comments
(45) Other Blogs' Comments: Technorati

Next up: Sweden

Tomorrow, at 5:00 a.m., the U.S. women play their second first-round match versus a familiar opponent Sweden.

According to the Washington Post, we're 14-3-5 versus the mighty ladies of Sweden. They're one of the best teams in the world, so they are to be taken seriously every time. After what looked like a muscled but uninspired performance versus North Korea (2-2 tie), the U.S. women ought to be worried. No Abby Wambach, no win. Sweden is more physical and technical and just might out-class our young players if they're not careful. It's a pivotal game. A win and they look good to advance. A loss and they look bad - perhaps leaving their fate in the hands of others. This is a very difficult group.

Prinz does not mess around

The Women's World Cup is underway in several cities in China. World league women's soccer is good stuff, and I recommend you watch some of the games. There isn't much parity among the teams, however. You've got your Germany, USA, Sweden, China, and a few other contenders and up-and-comers like Brazil and North Korea. This lack of parity is exemplified in the opening match of the 2007 WWC, which was today in Shanghai. Germany sliced and diced Argentina by a score of 11-0! Read the early accounts here. Birgit Prinz of Germany had 3 goals. She may be the best female player in the world. Yikes, I'd like to sign her to our team some day.

The US women are grouped with Sweden, North Korea, and Nigeria - that's a group of death alright. We face the evil regime of North Korea tomorrow. It won't be easy clearing the group. There is a lot of mystery surrounding the secretive yet hyped-up North Koreans. Read about it on the Insider. We have a good team, but coach Greg Ryan has introduced so many new players it's hard for me to follow. However, just like the men's team, when it comes time for the WC squad, we end up with a lot of familiar faces. Keep an eye on the established leaders: Wambach, Tarpley, Lilly, O'Reilly, Boxx, Markgraf, Solo, and others. The US women have an incredible win-streak going - try three years without a loss!

Game time at 5am tomorrow morning - I'm tivo-ing the game.