Monthly Archives: July 2009

[SUPERLIGA] Cuauhtemoc Blanco‘s goal on a 25-yard free kick in the second half gave the visiting Chicago Fire a 2-1 victory over the defending champion New England Revolution and moved it into the final of the 2009 SuperLiga against Tigres, a 3-2 winner over Santos in Wednesday’s other semifinal at Gillette Stadium.

[MLS PREDICTION] Asking if anything can stop the New York Red Bulls’ slide into oblivion is akin to Yogi Berra‘s favorite comment about if fans don’t want to go to the ballpark, there’s no way to stop them. This team is a walking double negative. There’s always hope with Juan Pablo Angel up top, but not much. When David Beckham begins his comeback tour on Thursday for the Los Angeles Galaxy against the Bulls, not likely is a repeat of the 5-4 thriller these teams played in The Swamp two years ago.

[TELEVISION WATCH] On Wednesday morning, David Beckham stopped by NBC’s “Today Show” and talked with host Matt Lauer about a range of subjects. “At the end of the day, I’m a soccer player,” said Beckham, but you have hardly known by the questioning, which concentrated on topics such as movies, modeling, tattoos and marriage. Lauer did bring the commitment issue — soccer, not marriage — asking Beckham to comment on the criticism leveled at him by Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan. If Beckham had any doubt about the work he has ahead to promote soccer in United States, he got his answer when Lauer mangled Donovan’s first name …

[MLS] David Beckham is set make his return to MLS, but much of the questioning at Wednesday’s press conference in Hoboken was not about Thursday’s important clash the Los Angeles Galaxy has with the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium (TV: Fox Soccer Channel, 8 pm ET), but about the Englishman’s commitment to MLS.  “I’m committed to the MLS as an ambassador,” Beckham insisted during the press conference. On Thursday night, fans will get their first chance to see whether Beckham remains committed as a player …

[USL TEAMS OF THE WEEK] Minnesota’s Ricardo Sanchez, who had a goal and an assist in the Thunder’s 3-0 win over Montreal, and former U.S. U-17 international Jamie Watson, who had a goal and three assists in the Wilmington Hammerheads’ 4-0 victory over the visiting Western Mass Pioneers, earned the USL First Division and Second Division Player of the Week honors, respectively. For the USL-1 and USL-2 Teams of the Week …

[AMERICANS ABROAD] Former MLS assistant coach John Murphy is the first American to manage a Scottish pro club, taking over second-level Livingston, but it’s hardly a glamorous position. The club’s stadium has been without electricity since last month because it has been unable to pay the bill, and fans weren’t be allowed to see Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Falkirk because local police declined to issue a safety certificate for the stadium.

[UPDATE] Carlos Ruiz, who played a supporting role in the much-publicized “The Beckham Experiment” as the overpaid (for purposes of getting the Los Angeles Galaxy under the salary cap) foreign star, is on the move for a second time since leaving Major League Soccer. After a successful Apertura campaign at Paraguayan club Olimpia, he got his wish to move to closer to family in Guatemala and the United States, signing with Mexican club Puebla, where he will replace former FC Dallas teammate Ramon Nunez.

[MLS] Talk about an inconvenient conflict! Toronto FC’s Dwayne De Rosario was selected to the MLS All-Star First XI for the All-Star Game July 29 against Everton in Sandy, Utah, but he’ll be unavailable because of his club’s CONCACAF Champions League preliminary match against the Puerto Rico Islanders the same day. Chicago’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who was narrowly beaten out by De Rosario in the voting for the fifth and final midfield spot, will take De Rosario’s spot on the team.

[GOLD CUP] Charlie Davies‘ signing with French club Sochaux was good news for the New Hampshire product but bad news for the U.S. national team, which faces Panama Saturday in the quarterfinals at the Gold Cup. He is the fifth player to leave the U.S. team to return to his European club, having left Tuesday to complete his medical exam and sign his contract.