Business As Usual

With the US National teams elimination from the World Cup it is time to return to normal. In the upcoming days and weeks I will be back on the trail of all things involving USA soccer. There are many US players that still need to sign with teams and rumors will run rampant. Rumors are always fun. The MLS will be in full swing and will yield lots of interesting stories on the way to the MLS Cup. The next six weeks should be interesting...stay tuned!

The MLS released its player salaries this week. Click here to check out the salaries by team:

Could Edson Buddle Start Against England?

Edson Buddle is the hottest US player coming into the World Cup. He is leading the MLS with 9 goals and is coming off a 2 goal performance against Australia. Is it possible to think that Buddle could be a starter for the US National Team in South Africa?

A few months ago, no person in their right mind would have ever suggested Edson Buddle be invited to practice with the US National Team. After making the team and appearing in the last two matches Buddle has clearly proved his value to the team. He will see playing time in South Africa, but could he possibly start for the USA against England? With Jozy Altidore's ankle injury, it opens the idea of Buddle starting.  Steven Goff from Soccer Insider gets the sense that Jozy will be in the lineup against England on Saturday and provided this tweet: Bradley “Jozy has been able to add to his workload every day. We are pleased with his progress and will continue to move him forward.” It still remains unclear if Altidores' ankle will be 100% by Saturday. Does US Coach Bob Bradley go with a proven injured player in Altidore or an unproven player with red hot form in Buddle?

Bradley told the USA Today "Edson Buddle continues to impress by playing with confidence and having a nose for the goal early on. He finished well and now gives another option up front, especially with the current injury to Jozy Altidore." Buddle is clearly in Bradley's mind. Could it be possible for a real life under dog or Cinderella story to come true? The game is just days away and we will have to wait and see if the journeyman can complete the improbable and actually start for the USA in its opening match in the 2010 World Cup.

The 2010 World Cup Ball...A Tales of Two Sides

Two US National team members have something in common, a ball. American Goalkeeper, Marcus Hahnemann has seen his share of balls over the years and he does not like one ball in particular. American Midfielder, Clint Dempsey has also seen his fair share of balls over his career and likes one ball in particular. It is a ball that both will be seeing a lot of in the next month or so, the 2010 World Cup ball from Adidas.

Adidas claims 2010 official ball called the Jabulani is perfectly round and its 8 folded panels will provide a very accurate flight. However, the Wovlerhampton Goalie says "if you get no spin on the ball, it's supposed to knuckle. If you get spin on it, it's supposed to bend. This ball you don't know what's going to happen with it," "It's a nightmare for us."

Dempsey says of the ball, "If you just hit it solid, you can get a good knuckle on the ball, and I think that causes problems for the goalie. I enjoy the ball, and I look forward to, you know, getting some shots on goal with it."

USA Coach Bob Bradley thought that Hahnemann's comments were "overly dramatic." Bradley also added "Besides, goalkeepers complain about the World Cup ball every, oh, four years. I think there'll be a goal or two on headers in this World Cup, This ball is new. It takes some getting used to. It also needs to be said that whenever you play at altitude, regardless of the ball, when you begin training, it takes a couple of days just to get used to the way the ball flies. The ball certainly takes off more."

It is the old tale of every sport, offense vs. defense. Only the games played in South Africa will decide the true legacy of the Jabulani Ball.

Presidents Obama, Clinton Meet With US Squad

The US National Team began their day with a trip to the White House. There the 23 men met with President Obama , former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Biden. They took pictures and seemingly spoke in a very jovial and joking manner. What a great day for these men and a great beginning to their journey.

Steve Cherundolo Drawing Interest

It has been a good week for Steve Cherundolo. First, he was named to the US World Cup Roster and now it is being released that he is drawing interest from multiple clubs. The Hanover 96 player is weighing his options right now and an offer from his current club.

He has also been linked to several other teams, AS Roma and FC Nürnberg have been named specifically. He has also drawn interest from unnamed teams in the English Premier League, Spain's La Liga, and a French team.

USA World Cup Roster

Pos Name
- G   Brad Guzan
- G   Marcus Hahnemann
- G   Tim Howard
- D   Carlos Bocanegra
- D   Jonathan Bornstein
- D   Steve Cherundolo
- D   Jay Demerit
- D   Clarence Goodson
- D   Oguchi Onyewu
- D   Jonathan Spector
- M  DaMarcus Beasley
- M  Michael Bradley
- M  Ricardo Clark
- M  Clint Dempsey
- M  Maurice Edu
- M  Benny Feilhaber
- M  Stuart Holden
- M  José Francisco Torres
- F  Jozy Altidore
- F  Edson Buddle
- F Landon Donovan
- F Robbie Findley
- F Herculez Gomez

DaMarcus Beasley Wants To Stay In Europe

DaMarcus Beasely has been a proud member of the famed Scottish Premier League team Rangers for years now. This changed recently when the team informed him that they would not offer him a new contract. Come July 1, 2010 he is a man without a team. One of America's best young talents is a free man. One would think this is a great time for the MLS to step up and bring the 27 year old former Chicago Fire winger home and that may just happen, but not if it is up to Beasley.

In an interview given to mlssoccer.net, Beasley said:

"My first option is Europe. I’m open to a lot of different possibilities and opportunities for myself. Right now come July 1, I don’t have a club. So I’m looking for different opportunities. MLS could be one or it could not. I had a great time, but Scotland is done, I’m looking forward to opening a new chapter in my book. Whether that’s in England, Spain, Greece or whatever. I would love to stay in Europe, it’s my first option … Any club that needs a left midfielder or a right midfielder, I’m available.”

Judging from this statement a return to the MLS will be a last ditch effort to remain a professional soccer player and I cannot see that many teams in Europe passing on him. He is a talented player and with his clear intent on remaining in Europe, he will no doubt find a club that wants him and if he is smart one that he will get significant playing time on.

A few options to think about; a lower level team in one of the top tier leagues i.e. Wolverhampton or a West Ham looking to get back where they below at the top with a young and most likely affordable player in the EPL. He could remain in Scotland with a Falkirk, which is just a 15 minute train ride from Ibrox Stadium where Rangers play, and show his former team what they missed out on. The list can go on and on. The bottom line is that DaMarcus Beasley wants to remain in Europe and when you step back and look at the big picture, he is a talented player in his prime with literally hundreds of teams to connect with and it surely will happen.

Thierry Henry Newest MLS Star

Today is a great day for the MLS and soccer in America. The Boston Globe is reporting that Thierry Henry is the newest member of the New York Red Bulls. He is expected to join the club after the World Cup.

This signing is right up there with David Beckham signing with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. While Thierry is not the superstar pop culture icon that Beckham is, he is a far superior player and truly on of the elite players to has taken to the fild over the last decade. Today is finally theday the MLS has truly commited to growth. In 2007 after Beckham signed, many felt that that the league needed to sign more stars away from the European leagues. It took the better part of 3years to sign the next superstar and maybe today is the beginnning of much greater things to come. What ever the future may bring for the MLS, one thing is for certain, American soccer fans will be able to enjoy one of the best talents to ever step on a MLS field!

Soccer Remains On Top

For the third consecutive week EA Sports 2010 FIFA World Cup game has remained on top of the video game world.

‘2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa’ (-42%) hits a hat-trick of weeks at No1 despite strong competition from 3 new games making their debuts in the Top 5 this week.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 title ‘Alan Wake’ enters at No2, only 1,000 sales behind FIFA. First announced back in 2005 and developed by Finnish Max Payne developer Remedy Entertainment, Alan Wake also tops the Xbox 360 chart almost 12,000 sales ahead of Capcom’s newcomer ‘Lost Planet 2’. Although released early (on Tuesday rather than Friday) and on both Xbox 360 and PS3, ‘Lost Planet 2’ has to settle for No3 in the All Formats Chart. Ubisoft’s ‘Just Dance’ falls to its lowest position for 7 weeks, slipping to No4 but maintaining its position as the week’s top selling Wii game despite a 19% drop in sales. EA have this week’s third new entry at No5 with ‘Skate 3’ and is the most represented publisher in the Top 10 thanks to a 5% rise in sales for ‘Battlefield: Bad Company 2’ at No6.



Xbox 360 and PS3 newcomers ‘Lost Planet 2’ and ‘Skate 3’ enjoy most success on Microsoft’s format with 66% of sales on Xbox 360 for ‘Lost Planet 2’ and 68% for ‘Skate 3’. ‘Modern Warfare 2’ (-14%) slips down from No3 to No7 after 3 weeks of promotion at retail. Final Fantasy XIII bounces back into the Top 10 after 8 weeks outside it, up from No14 to No8, boosted by price promotions which push sales up 90%. Nintendo’s regular big hitters ‘Wii Fit Plus’ and ‘Wii Sports Resort’ fall to No’s 9 and 10 respectively. Neither title has been out of the All Formats Top 10 since they were launched in July (Wii Sports Resort) and November (Wii Fit Plus) last year. There are a large number of re-entries this week thanks to strong price promotions at retail, notably ‘Call of Duty: World at War’ back at No15, ‘Nier’ at No23, ‘Lips: I Love the 80s’ at No25, ‘Bioshock 2’ at No30, ‘Bayonetta’ at No31 and ‘Napoleon: Total War’ at No35.


Aritcle Courtsey of GFK Chart-Track

DeMarcus Beasley...Homecoming?

Earlier this week DaMarcus Beasley tweeted that he would not be returning to the Glasgow Rangers. This was in many ways a double edged sword for me. On one side, I love Rangers and thought DeMarcus would be a huge addition and contributor to Rangers when he arrived in 2007. Being so young and as talented as he is I hate for him to have to move on.

On the other side being a huge fan of MLS soccer and wanting to see the league grow this is a great opportunity for the league to set up and sign a home grown player of Beasley's talent. I feel that the MLS
needs to sign all the players that they can in order to become a premier league. I realize that DaMarcus Beasley is not the next coming of Pele, but he is a talented guy who would be well received on his home soil.

To all MLS teams, pick up your phone, open your check books and bring DeMarcus Beasley back to the US!


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Beckham Out For Year. MLS Time: Success or Failure

A few days ago it was announced that David Beckham would miss the entire 2010 MLS season. His torn Achilles will not likely heal properly until until the Winter. This is a tough time for this to happen to Becks because he is missing the end of the season for AC Milan and the World Cup. This likely was his last chance to play for Team England and one questions whether or not if he has played his last game in the MLS or even soccer. So what can we say about David Beckham and his time in the MLS? Success or failure?

The word success can easily be said of David Beckham's time in the MLS. He helped Galaxy draw huge crowds at Home Depot Center and sell out countless stadiums while on the road with Galaxy. His first visit to RFK Stadium in a match with DC United drew 32,000 which was the biggest crowd for a foreign players debut since the great Pele in 1975. Just his name alone was golden for the MLS and Galaxy in 2008. His jersey sold more than 250,000 units before he even made his debut in the MLS against Arsenal on July 21, 2007.

The word failure cannot be placed on Beckham as easily, but disappointment can be. After a successful second half of 2007, Beckham followed up his sophomore season in 2008 with Galaxy with what appeared to be a lethargic persona on the field. He still showed flashes of his talent and skill but just seemed uninterested in being in the MLS. Anyone who watched him saw he was dying to get back to Europe and that is exactly what he got. In the transfer window of January 2009 AC Milan and Galaxy announced that Beckham would be on loan. This was the beginning of the end of Beckham in the MLS. He returned later that year to in fighting with fellow Galaxy players, namely Landon Donavon, and playing half hearted team play. It is hard to even imagine Beckham as a player for Galaxy, because all you see of him is him in his AC Milan uniform. Ask yourself this question, Is David Beckham a member of Galaxy or AC Milan?

So Success or Failure? All in all it was a tale of two sides and clearly a win win situation for both sides. David Beckham made a boat load of money for enduring a few summers in Los Angeles. The MLS gained huge attendance numbers, huge jersey sales, and a story or highlight on Sports Center that for the first time was in the first few minutes of the show. All in all Beckham himself was a disappointment, but Beckham the name was an amazing success.

Rangers vs. DC United

Maurice Edu and SPL Champions Rangers will be leaving Glasgow this summer for a preseason friendly with DC United. The two are scheduled to meet July 24th at RKF stadium in Washington DC. Rangers are a true world power house having won the SPL 53 times and finishing runner up in th '08 UEFA Cup. United are four time MLS champs and are no stranger to victory. On paper, Rangers should dominate this match, however being a preseason friendly one never knows what to expect from the European teams coming over during the summer. My prediction is United dominates the ball for a majority of the time, but Rangers win.

Final score
Rangers 3
United 1

Eddie Buddle Wins April Player of the Month

To no one's surprise Eddie Buddle capped off his fabulous month by winning the Player of the Month. Buddle had a career month and a recorded setting one at that. He scored 7 goals in Los Angeles Galaxy's first four matches and had multiple goals in three of the four matches. What a month for Eddie Buddle as he lead Galaxy to a 4-0 start. Congrats to Eddie!

USA National Team Home Jersey

The US National Team unveiled their new Home jersey Thursday morning. The jersey is white on white and is made of Nike's moisture management material Dri-Fit. The USA now has released both their home and away jerseys that they will wear in the 2010 World Cup.

MLS Corner Kick: Rangers, Beasley, Edu Win#links

MLS Corner Kick: Rangers, Beasley, Edu Win#links

Rangers, Beasley, Edu Win

Rangers continued their dominance of the Scottish Premier League with a 3-1 win this week over Aberdeen. Rangers had an early 2-0 lead until Aberdeen scored a goal midway through the second half. Rangers continued to attack fiercely scoring for a final time in the 76th minute.

American Maurice Edu played the entire 90 minutes, while DaMarcus Beasley did not appear in the game.

Goals
Rangers:
Steven Davis (24th minute)
Kyle Lafferty (65th minute)
Kenny Miller (76th minute)

Aberdeen:
Darren Mackie (68th minute)

Final Score: Rangers 3 Aberdeen 1

Premier League - Who's Hot and Who's Not?

Premier League - Who's Hot and Who's Not?

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Rangers on cusp of Scottish league title

With their win Sunday, Rangers all but locked up the SPL title for a 2nd year in a row. Fellow SPL power Celtic trails Rangers by 10 points.

SoccerNews.com has the full story:
Rangers on cusp of Scottish league title

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Chivas Blown Out by Dynamo

What a terrible game. Chivas seemed totally out of sync and Dynamo took advantage and man handled the team from Southern California

Dynamo 3
Chivas USA 0

Up next for Galaxy: Saturday vs. Real Salt Lake - latimes.com

Up next for Galaxy: Saturday vs. Real Salt Lake - latimes.com

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Manchester United and Manchester City... What An Ending

I got up this morning at 4am to watch Man U and Manchester City and it was so worth it. The energy of the game was awesome. And what a finish when John Scholes scored on his beautiful header in stoppage. What else could anyone ask for in a derby.
Manchester United 1
Manchester City 0

Ricketts earns third straight shutout in Galaxy's win over Dynamo

Ricketts earns third straight shutout in Galaxy's win over Dynamo: "Edson Buddle scored twice and Donovan Ricketts had his third straight shutout to start the season as the Los Angeles Galaxy beat ..."

Day One, Hello...

So here I am, the casual soccer fan having just dicussed the US national team with my friend and the complete frustration with them and I thought why not blog about soccer. My goal on this blog is to talk about the American National team, the MLS, and American players abroad. I have a soft spot in my heart for Woverhampton in the English Premier League and Glasgow Rangers because my Mother in Law is Scottish and her family is obsessed with Rangers. So bare with me if I post about them a lot. Plus Rangers has two Americans on the team that are also on the American National team.