Category: Soccer America Daily

The two men most responsible for the rebirth of the San Jose Earthquakes weren’t in attendance, but those who were there- including former Clash and Quakes defender John Doyle, who was named Wednesday as the team’s new general manager – heaped praise upon Oakland A’s co-owners John Fisher and Lewis Wolff, the money men behind the MLS expansion team. “I think a lot of it comes back to local ownership,” says A’s president Michael Crowley, who will fill the same role for the Quakes. “The team that was here previously never had that and I think you need that in any sport, baseball or soccer or whatever sport you name. Or whatever business you name, for that matter.”

[TV PREVIEW] As they survey BMO Field and see the crowd and hear its passion, the players, coaches and officials of Red Bull New York must wonder if it will ever come to pass for them, this seemingly ideal melding of location, facility, and fandom. Red Bull Park is still years away. League games in the Meadowlands are ridiculously expensive and drained of atmosphere, except for the nine-goal appearance of David Beckham in early August.

[MLS STATS] With three games left, D.C. United’s Brazilian striker Luciano Emilio is the first MLS player to score 20 regular-season since Carlos Ruiz (24) and Taylor Twellman (23) did in 2002. With three more strikes Emilio would tie D.C. United’s single-season record, set by Raul Diaz Arce in 1996. The MLS record is 27, set by Roy Lassiter while with Tampa Bay in 1996. The second leading scorer this season is another South American newcomer: New York’s Juan Pablo Angel

When Guadalajara needed one of its attacking stars to step up, Ramon Morales did. When D.C. United needed someone to do something in the offensive third, nobody came through. Morales nailed a golazo in the 64th minute at Jalisco Stadium Tuesday night, stepping into a loose ball rolling along the penalty arc and drilling it high past keeper Troy Perkins. Thus Guadalajara won the Copa Sudamericana second leg, 1-0, and the series on away goals (1-0) with the teams deadlocked 2-2 on aggregate.

The angry reaction by Chivas USA players and Coach Preki to the antics and purported dives by Fire attacker Cuauhtemoc Blanco is, in the eyes of some opponents, a case of the stripes getting a hefty dose of their own medicine.