It’s the Champions versus Fulham, a West London derby that should be interesting as Phil Mison, the Fulham correspondent for ESPN notes Belief Will Beat The Blues
Why? At home Fulham’s defence is back to its miserly best. Roy’s fortress has been well and truly restored. The side are going for their 6th straight home win in 2011, with no goal conceded in our last three league home wins. In fact, against WBA, Stoke and Newcastle chances created by the opposition were all but non-existent, while the Cup win over Spurs was a stroll in the park
If your watching the game, take note of our favorite Fulham player. Mark Young from ESPN notes It’s Dempsey Time
Since the 1990s, aspiring young American soccer players have looked to the likes of John Harkes, Claudio Reyna and Brian McBride as their non-goalkeeping role models. Now, it’s Clint Dempsey’s time. And based on his performances with Fulham, it’s time for Bob Bradley to make the fiery Texan the fulcrum around which he builds the U.S. national team.
CHICAGO (Sept. 30, 2010) — U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named 20 players to the roster that will prepare for the upcoming friendlies against Poland and Colombia. The U.S. first takes on Poland at Chicago’s Soldier Field on Sat., Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. CT, with the match to be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision. Three days later, the U.S. will host South American rivals Colombia on Oct. 12 at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Kickoff for the USA’s first match on the Chester waterfront is set for 7 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2
Thirteen players on the roster were part of the squad that led the U.S. to a first place finish in group play at the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 80 years, and six of those are 25 years old or younger.
FC Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones is making his first appearance on a U.S. roster since becoming eligible to play for the United States in August of 2009. Jones had been sidelined by a shin injury for nearly a year. Aston Villa defender Eric Lichaj has been named to the official roster for the full team for the first time, having participated in training in the team’s training camp in June prior to the USA’s final round qualifiers against Costa Rica and Honduras. Shea is the only other member for the squad seeking his first international cap.
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Chicago Fire forward Brian McBride fought through tears on September 3rd as he announced he will retire after the 2010 season, ending one of the most storied careers in American soccer history. McBride, 38, told the media that he has been in conversations with his family for more than a year on the decision, which ends a career that took from the early days of MLS to the English Premier League and back to MLS again, with a US record-tying three World Cup appearances sprinkled in between.
Commentary: Remember McBride as soccer royalty American fans love to debate how their players stack up, somehow managing to pit Donovan’s consistency against Tab Ramos’ natural talent from a different time, or wondering if John Harkes’ European success means any more than Brad Freidel setting up camp in England for more than a decade. There’s little argument McBride belongs in the conversation. He is, without a doubt, the best striker the US has ever produced, the country’s best player in the air and the most accomplished player in US history.
No other player has served as a regular captain with a club in the Premier League, something McBride did with aplomb at Fulham. Donovan and Clint Dempsey are the only other Americans to score in two World Cups, and ask both of those players about the one man who helped them get there, and you’re sure to get the same answer: McBride.
MLS players celebrate McBride’s legacy
Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena – who coached McBride with the US team in 2002 and 2006 and will coach against him Saturday night – reflected fondly on perhaps McBride’s signature moment, when he suffered a nasty gash to his face but played on during the Americans’ 1-1 draw against Italy in the group stage of the 2006 World Cup. “He was cut and he played 90 minutes, and he played an unbelievable role in allowing the US to get the point against Italy,” Arena said. “In that game, he was a warrior.”
Galaxy talk McBride
Seventy-two of McBride’s 95 national team caps and 24 of his 30 goals came during Arena’s tenure. He was the leading scorer at the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup, helping the Americans win the tournament for the first time since 1991 and showing a sign of things to come as he helped the U.S. to the quarterfinals of that year’s World Cup in South Korea, scoring the winning goals in victories over Portugal and Mexico.
Galaxy talk McBride part 2
Now the most recognizable face in American soccer, Landon Donovan was another player McBride helped through his formative years with the U.S. national team. The two suited up in the attack together 44 times from 2000-06 and played key roles in the American success during the 2002 World Cup, scoring the two goals that pushed the U.S. past Mexico and into the tournament quarterfinals.
“The biggest thing for me about Brian was watching the little things he did,” said Donovan. “Everybody sees the goals he scores, the way he holds the ball up, how strong he was. For me it was his example: every day eating right, hydrating properly, just being a good professional. He paid a lot of attention to the younger guys, helping us move along as players, showing us what it means to do this every day and making sure we understood none of this is a given. I’m glad I had the opportunity to be around him and learn from his example.”
McBride’s MLS Highlights
McBride, who played prep soccer at Buffalo Grove HS in Arlington Heights (Chicago) IL, starred at St Louis University in the early 90′s where he holds all the career individual scoring marks; his 40 career assists and 72 career goals top the charts and is firmly entrenched as the Bills’ all-time leading scorer with 184 points.
I’m not a referee but it’s apparent to me from the replays that Carlos Bocanegra interfered with the Slovenian defender which in turn provided a means by which Maurice Edu was able to run onto the ball the he buried into the net. It was a foul the referee was in position to see, to his credit. In talking to a pair of local referees, I have learned that there is no rule that requires the referee to tell the players, or even the coaches, what was called. Game management often leads a referee to address those questions but I wonder whether Koman Coulibaly knows English. That is not a requirement for the World Cup. To say that the USA was robbed by one call, that happened to occur on a play when the ball actually hit the back of the net is an easy and convenient story for the media to wrap it’s arms around. It’s also a load of rubbish. Much like the play of the American’s in the first half. That’s the real story.
UPDATE – the opinions are beginning to come in. I’ll remind you that I have two primary policies for comments on this website. If you want your voice to be hear, then pay attention to them. And show some intelligence – swear words only make you look like an idiot.
Kurt Austin at World Cup 2010
I have more to share with you on this topic. A hat tip goes out to Kurt Austin (pictured at right), a former teammate of several Glendale Falcon players who went on to win a National Club championship with Kurt on Mizzou’s team and a regular contributor to this site. Here are his thoughts on the story and a pair of important links included in his thoughts below:
I am a referee. I am also a US soccer fan. And today I am torn on which side to support.
To be fair to both, neither comes as an easy task. US fans have been hard done by referee decisions at the World Cup stage time and time again, with their last two Cup runs ending in controversial fashion: an uncalled handball on the goalline in the 2002 quarterfinal against Germany and a dubious penalty in the decisive loss to Ghana in 2006. Meanwhile, the US is still patiently awaiting their first penalty attempt in a World Cup match.
Nor has the US ever come back from a deficit in a World Cup contest. Heck, no country had ever come back from a 2-0 halftime scoreline to win in World Cup history. Those were the stakes when Koman Coulibaly disallowed Maurice Edu’s dramatic go ahead goal in the 86th minute of the USA’s 2-2 comeback draw with Slovenia on Friday.
The predictably adamant outcry that followed isn’t unwarranted. Referees, like fans and players, are no different than the rest of us. Mistakes are made, even in the best of efforts. Just ask England goalkeeper Robert Green.
Of course, it doesn’t help that the referee in question was in the middle of his first ever World Cup match as Landon Donovan conveniently reminded us in his post-game comments. Similarly, though somewhat inexplicably, the fact that he comes from one of the poorest countries in the world, Mali, seems to suffice for some as a contributing factor.
At the end of the day, all that matters is whether Coulibaly got it right. Alas, on a perpetually problematic situation such as a set piece scramble, his judgment can’t be definitively doubted. Photos of the incident suggest a multitude of potential fouls, at least two of which were committed by US players, Carlos Bocanegra and Jay DeMerit.
Moreover, it’s narrow-sighted of US fans to single out that decision as the one that cost the US a win. Easily overlooked amidst the righteous indignation is an equally influential call made some 85 minutes earlier to which the US greatly benefited. Video replay and still images show Clint Dempsey clearly delivering an elbow to the face of Slovenia’s Zlatan Ljubijankic less than a minute into the match, a “serious foul play” that could have compelled many referees to send off the key American attacker. No card was shown and the US dodged the nightmare scenario of playing short-handed from the start.
In hindsight, perhaps that should have been the first warning signal of trouble ahead. If not that, then surely the caution for a deliberate handball on Robbie Findley that video replays show came off his face instead. Those three calls, and some might argue the lenient decision to show yellow rather than red to Slovenia’s Marco Suler for his last-ditch tackle on Jozy Altidore, have stolen the spotlight from an otherwise great game. One English paper headline read “a classic in every sense,” and called it the first scintillating match of its kind in the 2010 World Cup.
Which brings us to the bottom line. Though Friday was likely Coulibaly’s last at this World Cup, the US team lives on still in sufficient shape. Ireland only wishes they could say the same.
From US Soccer comes this summary of Slovenia’s win over Algeria: Former West Brom midfielder and Slovenia captain Robert Koren scored a 79th-minute goal against a 10-man Algeria side to take first place in Group C after the first round of matches. Algeria’s Abdelkader Ghezzal received his second yellow card just 15 minutes after coming into the game in the 58th minute, and six minutes later Algeria’s Faouzi Chaouchi misjudged the bouncing shot from Koren that made Slovenia the first team to reach three points after a game that featured just six shots on goal, the same number of shots on goal Tim Howard saved against England. Bob Bradley said, “Slovenia played a tactical game. They are well organized and solid defensively. They got a good goal from Robert Koren, who has been an important player for Slovenia throughout qualifying.”
Clint Dempsey joined Brian McBride as the only U.S. player to score in two FIFA World Cups as the U.S. Men’s National Team came from behind to tie England. The U.S. fell behind in the fourth minute when Steven Gerrard slipped in behind the U.S. defense and slotted a goal past Tim Howard, marking the third-straight World Cup that the USA’s opening game featured a goal in the first five minutes.
Farmers Gastropub is open every day at 9am, except for Mondays. You can watch any World Cup game while enjoying their farm fresh menu. It’s smoke free and there’s also a great outside patio area. I’ll be there on Friday morning for the USA game, come down and join us for a simple English breakfast and an important game!
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (All-Time World Cup Roster Appearances)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (2010), Marcus Hahnemann (2006, 2010), Tim Howard (2006, 2010)
DEFENDERS (7): Carlos Bocanegra (2006, 2010), Jonathan Bornstein (2010), Steve Cherundolo (2002, 2006, 2010), Jay DeMerit (2010), Clarence Goodson (2010), Oguchi Onyewu (2006, 2010), Jonathan Spector (2010)
MIDFIELDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (2002, 2006, 2010), Michael Bradley (2010), Ricardo Clark (2010), Clint Dempsey (2006, 2010), Landon Donovan (2002, 2006, 2010), Maurice Edu (2010), Benny Feilhaber (2010), Stuart Holden (2010), José Torres (2010)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (2010), Edson Buddle (2010), Robbie Findley (2010), Herculez Gomez (2010)
Detailed Roster
“We have been working for almost four years to reach this point, and we are grateful to all the players who have been part of the process. There is a tremendous amount of respect for the efforts and professionalism that everyone has put into building this team,” said Bradley. “It’s important in any team building process to get to the final 23, and clearly there were some tough decisions to make. We are confident that this is a group of players that will work together and be committed to doing whatever it takes to be successful. We feel the roster has a good balance of players who have been a part of previous World Cups, those who have gained great experience in qualifying and Confederations Cup and some newer faces that have proved they belong. We are extremely excited to play the final Send-Off match in Philadelphia and then begin the great challenge of playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.”
The U.S. squad carries a variety of World Cup experience into South Africa, as fifteen players have been named to their first World Cup roster. Meantime, six players have played in a World Cup game, with midfielder Landon Donovan leading the team with eight appearances – all as a starter – while DaMarcus Beasley has six World Cup caps to his credit. That duo and Steve Cherundolo are earning a place in their third World Cup.
CHICAGO (May 11, 2010) — U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley has submitted to FIFA the 30-man preliminary roster for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. From this list, a squad of 23 players must be chosen by June 1 for the final roster that will travel to South Africa. The 30 players will begin reporting to Princeton, N.J., on May 15 for the start of training camp, with field sessions beginning two days later.
The U.S. will face two of the traditionally stronger teams from Europe in the Czech Republic and Turkey in the Send-Off Series prior to departing for South Africa. The match against Czech Republic on May 25 in East Hartford, CT will be broadcast live on ESPN and Galavision. The final home tune-up match against Turkey will be played May 29 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. ESPN2 and Galavision will broadcast the match live. ESPN will be airing a special 30-minute pre-game show.
U.S. TRAINING CAMP ROSTER BY POSITION – Detailed Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton)
DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)
MIDFIELDERS (12): DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), José Torres (Pachuca)
FORWARDS (6): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki)
“Throughout the past three years a number of players have contributed to our journey toward South Africa and we appreciate all of their efforts,” said Bradley. “We are very excited to get this group together to begin our pre-World Cup training camp as we continue to prepare for the challenge of the World Cup.”
The U.S. team will depart for South Africa on May 30, arriving the following day. The United States will play Australia on June 5 in Roodepoort, South Africa, one week before playing its first match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Kickoff at Ruimsig Stadium in suburban Johannesburg is set for 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. ET), and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
The U.S. Men’s National Team has been drawn into Group C with England, Slovenia and Algeria for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The U.S. will open its sixth consecutive World Cup finals tournament against England on June 12 in Rustenburg, and will follow that game with matches against Slovenia on June 18 in Johannesburg and Algeria on June 23 in Tshwane/Pretoria.
via twitter: i think i’m more excited about the Europa League final than the Champions League final Go Fulham!
Especially after that negative display between Inter and Barcelona, described here Fair Play 0, Foul Play 1 – a cynical classic from the Camp Nou Con Men it’s going to be more fun rooting for US Men’s National Team leader Clint Dempsey and his Fulham teammates then it will be watching the Champions League final 10 days later.
Fulham’s amazing transformation under Roy Hodgson just keeps reaching new heights and sending their fans in to raptures. I know I’ve written about Roy Hodgson and the fact that the British press have virtually ignored his career until he took over at Fulham, but no-one could have expected this level of improvement from the Cottagers.
2 years ago they were all but relegated from the Premiership and when they went 2-0 down in a league game against Manchester City, they were technically down. Amazingly though they recovered and won that game 3-2, going on a run that saw them survive on the last day of the season. Now here we are in April 2010 and they have a Europa Cup Final to look forward to in 13 days time.
So the final is Fulham FC versus Club Atlético de Madrid, set, ironically, in a historic venue in the city of Hamburg, Germany and the home of the team Fulham knocked out in the semifinal round. No word on television yet but if US Soccer has any brains, they’ll find a way to get it onto ESPN as part of the World Cup run up.
Mid-May and we’re supposed to be complaining about the heat by now if previous seasons are any guideline. Instead we’ll keep our eye on the sky and our soccer blankets handy…
Class 1 – the ladies got their games in Saturday, despite the weather. The semifinals are this evening at Willard with the final scheduled for Wednesday.
#1 Catholic vs. #4 Willard – 5:00PM
#2 Bolivar vs. #3 West Plains – 7:00PM
Class 2 – Lebanon and Joplin are the hosts for District 11 and 12, respectively, with games beginning this evening. Waynesville and Glendale are the top two seeds in Lebanon while Ozark and Kickapoo hope to meet in the final Thursday in Joplin. Check the calendar and this site for updates!
Middle School playoffs have begun as well, I hope to get out for one or two games and get an early peek at next years High School contributors. And if you haven’t heard the news, the Springfield SC U17 boys successfully defended their State Title on Saturday against Lou Fusz Popovic.
The Portuguese maestro’s 31 league goals did not just make him only the fifth man in Premier League history to reach the 30-goal landmark. They also proved crucial in helping Sir Alex Ferguson’s men finish top of the table – Chelsea simply did not have a goalscorer to match.
Danny Murphy headed Fulham into next season’s Premiership League with a priceless tally in the 76th minute. Americans Kasey Keller, Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey all saw action, with the latter being substituted in the 72nd.
On Wednesday, the UEFA Cup Title game will feature Rangers (Scotland) vs St Petersburg (Russia), I anticipate being at Coester’s to enjoy the game, beginning at 1:30 pm.
From US Soccer – “With the match falling on an international fixture date, this is an excellent opportunity to get the nucleus of our team together as we continue to prepare for World Cup qualifying,” said Head Coach Bob Bradley, who has collected a 13-5-1 record since becoming head coach last year. “The special nature of a USA-Mexico match provides a great test for our players, and it is something that as players and coaches we all look forward to. The experience can only benefit our group as we attempt to build a team that will help us achieve to goal of competing in South Africa in 2010.”
Seven players on the roster were on the field when the teams last met in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup final. In front of more than 60,000 fans in Chicago, goals by Landon Donovan and Benny Feilhaber lifted the U.S. to a 2-1 victory and their second consecutive Gold Cup title.
Bradley has called on a dozen players from European-based clubs, including the Fulham duo of Carlos Bocanegra and Clint Dempsey. Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard joins the U.S. fold after a stellar year in 2007, appearing in a career-high 10 matches and earning eight victories. Everton are currently in fourth place in the English Premier League table. SC Heerenveen midfielder Michael Bradley enters the camp in fine form in league play, having scored six goals in his team’s last five matches to help elevate Heerenveen into second place in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Note – Taylor Twellman was part of training camp leading up to Wednesday’s match but was not chosen for the game after straining a groin muscle late last week, the latest in a string of injuries that have helped keep him off the pitch for the US
Go Fulham!
