MLS and NASL (Really NASL!) Stuff

Stats of MLS Cup Final

The "heat map" shows where the action is taking place.

ESPN is throwing out all the stops for the MLS Cup broadcast. The newest innovation is the introduction of something called optical tracking data which will show "the distance and average speed players travel during the game, the number of sprints taken, and the amount of time spent in various parts of the field."

New League Rumored To Be Called NASL; Adds Two More Teams


Looks like this new US division two league is starting to take shape. USL News, an independent site covering all minor league soccer in North America, is reporting that the new league started by the TOA may be called the "North American Soccer League". Yep, just like the one that went under in the mid-80s. Apparently, they've filed patents with the US Patent and Trademark Office on the name.

Also, the league announced the addition of Crystal Palace USA and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, bringing their numbers up to 9 teams.

World Cup Teams and HASL Premiership Champion

World Cup Teams Decided

Here's the list of the 32 World Cup Qualifying teams. The draw will be held on December 4th.

AFC: Australia, Japan, North Korea, and South Korea

CAF: Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and host South Africa




CONCACAF: Honduras, Mexico, and United States




COMNEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay




OFC: New Zealand



UEFA: Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland

Who you got winning it?

HASL Premiership Division Champions
Foot Clan claimed their second consecutive HASL Premiership Divison Championship with a 0:0 draw against Turtles. The result left them even on points with the Law Dogs, but Foot Clan took the title with a better Goal Differential.

Let's Talk About That Handball

If you haven't heard about it, Thierry Henry settled a free kick with his hand that led to the deciding goal to send France through to the South Africa at the expense of Ireland. The referee was apparently screened from seeing the infraction, but Henry admits he did it deliberately.

"Le Hand of God" Goal (Please excuse my Frenglish)

So, the question becomes, what does FIFA do about it?

Well, the right thing to do would be to suspend Henry for a game and replay the match before the World Cup draw on December 4th. The one game suspension may sound harsh, but with such a high profile case, it would send a message that cheating in soccer is not tolerated. Let's assume France wins the replay (big assumption, I know), Henry would only miss the replay. However, if you know anything about FIFA, you know that they will completely ignore this incident for two reasons.


1. FIFA has no backbone. Did they do anything about the 1986 Maradona "Hand of God" goal, even though it occurred in the actual World Cup? No.
2. FIFA would prefer France in the World Cup. France is a team filled with superstars. France will sell far more tickets than Ireland.

So, let's assume FIFA does nothing about this incident. What to do to prevent the missing of similar calls in the future? Some would say add another ref or two either on the field or as a "goal judge" who only calls fouls in the box. This would definitely help, but there would still be missed calls.



Others suggest instant replay for all goals. I think this is a great idea. I suggest having a replay official in a booth who is charged with taking one minute to review all goals from available data from TV cameras to decide if foul play led to the goal. It usually takes more than a minute for the referee to restart the game from a goal anyway due to the players celebrating and grabbing water, etc. Use this time to review the goal and signal the ref to indicate that goal was illegal.

If FIFA were to implement this and the goal line technologies available, disputed goals would be all but eliminated.

Anyone have any other ideas?

Rumored USA World Cup Jerseys

I guess I should have waited a week or so to do my USA jersey post, because a few photos of the rumored US Home World Cup jerseys were leaked recently. Here they are:

Dempsey modeling the rumored World Cup uniform

Close-up of the shirt

My first impression is that it's a little bland, and I'm not big on the ringed collar. It's not bad, but I've always liked an actual polo style collar on my soccer jerseys. Maybe because if it has a collar, I can get away with wearing it to work on casual Fridays. :)

I'll let you know once the Away jerseys are released.

What Did I Miss?

I was busy visiting family for the past week or so. Here's what's gone down since then.

USA Men

Oh yeah, that's a foul on Bornstein (in the dark uniform)!

Call it sour grapes, but the USA lost 1:0 to Slovakia on a terrible PK call. If that play had happened at midfield, the Slovakian guy would have been cautioned for the rugby tackle he laid on Bornstein. Check out the USMNT Youtube Channel for highlights. Oh well, that's the type of experience you want to gain in the friendlies leading up to the World Cup and not in it. Referee's see things differently in other parts of the world. Remember Gooch's PK giveaway to Ghana? They'll be playing taking on another World Cup opponent in Denmark on Wednesday.

Here's a pretty good retrospective on the past 20 years of the USMNT. In 1989, when Paul Caliguiri hit the "shot heard around the world", qualifying for the World Cup was a massively unexpected result. Today, it would be a massively unexpected result if they did not qualify.


MLS Final Set: LA vs Salt Lake


Real Salt Lake pulled a NY RedBulls by qualifying last for the MLS Cup Playoffs and running the bracket to the final. The RSL shootout win over the hard-luck Chicago Fire was certainly more exciting than the 2:0 LA victory over Houston despite the 120 minutes of scoreless soccer. I was on the East Coast while watching the LA game and it was a marathon affair of boring soccer with a few of power outages sprinkled into the late night borefest. So, it's on to Seattle for RSL and LA. Let's hope the final has some goals or at least some exciting attacking football.

HASL Division Champs Crowned

Four of the five Huntsvill Adult Soccer League divisions have crowned champions while the Premership will be decided on Wednesday night. Here are the other HASL Division Champions:

Division I: CD Venom
Division II: Arsenal FC
Division III: Chivas USA
Division IV: Juventus

Wow, we have a team from the EPL, MLS, and Serie A winning Divisions in HASL! :)

Twickenham Rovers

BTW, this season's Best Team Name Award goes to the Twickenham Rovers. Nice British sounding name with a nod toward old Huntsville.

RCU Press Conference Rescheduled to December 11

Rocket City United have postponed the press conference originally scheduled for today. The press conference will be held at the Madison City Hall on December 11. RCU will announce 2010 season plans and introduce their new Technical Director at that time.

Tidbits

Nashville Still Bidding To Be World Cup Host City

Nashville's LP Field rocking during March's USA v TnT World Cup Qualifier

Butch Spyridon, CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau talks to Tennysean.com about how the bidding process is shaping up to become a host city for the USA's bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The list of possible host cities will be cut to 18 from 27 in December by the US Soccer Federation. Judging from the very successful hosting of the Olympic Qualifying tournament in 2008 and the World Cup Qualifier earlier this year, Nashville, which is less than a two hour drive from Huntsville, has a very good chance to become one of the cities chosen.


MLS Conference Finals Decided

As expected, the second legs of the conference semifinals had much better soccer than the dismal contests in the first legs. In the east, RSL upset defending champions Columbus on Thursday night. After going down 2:0 in the first half and 2:1 on aggregate, RSL stormed back to win 3:2 (4:2). Chicago packed the house Saturday night against New England and brought the fans a terrific result, winning 2:0 (3:2).

Brian Ching's goal to send Houston through

In the west, after an exciting 0:0 draw between Seattle and Houston in the first leg, the second 90 minutes also saw no goals, but Houston would prevail on a sweet swiveling side volley goal from Brian Ching in the overtime for a 1:0 (1:0) win. The second leg of the Superclassico between LA and Chivas would see none of the horrible defensive error from the previous week and a Landon Donovan PK would send the Galaxy through 1:0 (3:2).


Here's the TV line-up for this week's games:

Friday
Western Confernce Final: Houston at Los Angeles, 10 PM, ESPN2

Saturday
Eastern Conference Final: Real Salt Lake at Chicago, 7 PM, FSC


GSC Champs Don't Get Automatic Bid?

UWF and Huntsville native Paul Willoughby (#20) must now wait and hope for a NCAA DII tournament spot.

Here's an article from the Pensecola News Journal discussing the dilemma that the University of West Florida who beat UAH to become the Gulf South Conference Champs face waiting for the NCAA DII tournament bids to be published tonight because the NCAA does not grant an automatic bid to the GSC.

Salisbury University Qualifies for NCAA D-III Tournament

This has nothing to do with Huntsville, but since it's my blog, I've taken the liberty of posting it anyway. My alma mater, Salisbury University of Salisbury, MD, has qualified for its third straight NCAA Division III tournament.

The Seagulls posted a 14-3-1 record including a win over then #1 Christopher Newport University. Salisbury was a great place to go to school and playing for coach Gerry Dibartolo was an absolute treat. SU will host first and second round matches and will take on Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday where the winner meets the winner of the Johns Hopkins vs Misericordia.

It just so happens that I'll be traveling up to MD this weekend to visit family will get to see the Seagulls play for the first time in over 5 years! Go Gulls!

College Roundup

A&M Wraps Up Rebuilding Year With A Loss

Alabama A&M finished the year on the road with a 0:2 loss at Central Arkansas University on Saturday. CAU's Joseph Cervantes provided all the offense that was needed. A&M finished the rebuilding year with a record of 4 wins, 12 losses, and 1 tie. A&M head coach Salah Yousif is looking forward to next year as he expects several prospects to strengthen a line-up that has gained valuable experience this year.

UAH Falls In GSC Final
University of Alabama-Huntsville fell to the University of West Florida in the Gulf South Conference Final on Sunday afternoon. UAH's stellar defensive corps could not stop the creative UWF attackers. In the 35th minute, UWF's Jay Mainville caught UAH on a breakaway and was able to slot the shot past Tyler Earley for the 1:0 lead. That scoreline held through the half.

In the 64th minute, UAH got a break when UWF's Sean Reynolds was ejected after a second bookable offense. While UAH pressed for the equalizer, it was UWF who added to their lead when in the 68th minute, Stephen Munoz stroked home a penalty to make it 2:0.

The teams were back on level footing in the 70th minute when UAH's Christian Ramirez was shown his walking papers after a second caution. In the remaining 20 minutes, the Chargers could not come up with the vital goals and the Argos were crown GSC Champions for a fourth straight year.

UAH had several representatives on the All-tournament team:

2009 GSC Men's Soccer All-Tournament Team

Most Outstanding Player
Frank Cope, West Florida

Stephen Munoz, West Florida
Matt Tanner, West Florida
Tyler Earley, Alabama-Huntsville
Kyle Goncalves, Alabama-Huntsville
Brian Hadley, Alabama-Huntsville
Oscar Leon, Alabama-Huntsville
Devin Schleif, Alabama-Huntsville
Tony Stock, Alabama-Huntsville
Robert Mingo, D, Christian Brothers
Payam Pourjavard, Ouachita Baptist

UAH Grab First GSC Tourney Win In 10 Years

University of Alabama-Huntsville took the rematch to last week's 0:0 draw with a hard fought victory 3:1 over Christian Brothers University in the Gulf Conference Semifinals in Pensacola, FL. The win sees UAH through to the Finals and is their first GSC tournament win since 1999.

UAH hit the ground running when in the 13th minute, sophomore forward Kyle Gonclaves scored the opener. CBU pressed for the equalizer and got the crucial goal in the 44th minute through Andrew Ballard who pounced on a loose ball in the area.

However, with the score knotted at ones, UAH came out in the second half determined to fight for a spot in the finals. They would find the breakthrough at the hour mark, when Toamaki Matsuo hit a long ball behind the defense for Gonclaves to run onto. Gonclaves finished off the lightning quick counterattack with aplomb to put UAH on top 2:1.

With their season in the balance, CBU charged forward leveling shot after wayward shot at Tyler Earley in the UAH goal. Of the 20 CBU shots, fully three quarters were off target and Earley was up to the ones that were. UAH snipers were more proficient with 5 of their 7 attempts on goal find the frame.

UAH found the insurance goal in the 75th minute. Junior midfielder Brett Hughson cashed in on a Sean Kerber corner to make the score 3:1. The UAH defense mopped up the rest of the way and UAH had punched a ticket to the GSC Final where they will meet top seeded West Florida on Sunday.

Today's Bits

NAIA Women's Championships Coming To Decatur

The 2009 NAIA Women's Soccer Championships will be held in Decatur, AL from November 30-Dec5. A 16 team single elimination tournament will be held at the beautiful Jack Allen Soccer Complex with all of the matches broadcast live via webcast.

RCU Press Conference Scheduled

Rocket City United will hold a press conference to announce a new head coach and other plans for next season on Thursday, November 12th at 9:30AM at the Madison City Hall. I plan on bring you all the news as soon as it happens.

Minute By Minute Champion's League Food Fest Part 3

In Part 3 of our gastronomic tour of UEFA Champion's League matchday 4, Chris watches the tape delayed match between AZ (prounounced ah-zet) Alkmaar and Chris' club Arsenal with some nice cold Heinekens and Good Humor Ice Cream...

4:00pm: Time for AZ Alkmaar @ Arsenal, the third and final leg of this UEFA orgy. Since Alkmaar is in Holland, it’s also time for a Heineken. Then again, when is it not?

Important note: In the interest of full disclosure, I am an Arsenal fan. Not only will this colour (note UK spelling) my coverage of this game, it also requires some very specific pre-game preparations. My Arsenal baseball-style cap must be retrieved from the car and be brought into the room in which I will watch the game. It may not be worn before or during the game. Likewise my Arsenal jersey from the glorious double winning side of 1998 must be in the room, but not worn. Then a slew of other stuff I’d rather not write about. The fact that this game is already over does not matter. It’s new to me, I don’t know the result, I’m stuffed with crap from Walmart and enjoying a second wind, probably provided by the Heineken.


As the camera pans the stands of the Emirates Stadium in London, AZ’s traveling fans are jumping up and down and singing prior to kick off. Some of them are wearing cheese wheels on their heads, a la Green Bay Packers fans. Edam! I should of thought of it. Edam is Dutch cheese and Walmart probably carries it, but it’s too late now. There is, however, a nice Good Humor/Green Bay/Cheesehead tie-in.

Kick-off: Hey, they didn’t show the UEFA Anthem. Outstanding. Two weeks ago Arsenal squandered a one-goal lead at Alkmaar late in the game. They need to put this thing away.

10’: Arsenal playing good passing combinations. They really should score soon.
This is Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger’s 187th game in European competition. Alkmaar has a player named Pelle, but he is Italian. Arsene Wenger has never beaten Alkmaar Coach Ronald Koeman.

14’: Arsenal continues to dominate and play attractive soccer, but, as is often the case, have no goals to show for it. I think Ronald Koeman can read Arsene Wenger’s mind.

15’: Clearly, I need a chamber pot.

20’: Still no goal. Maybe drinking Heineken is working against Arsenal. Nahhh. “It’s not been a vintage start, that’s for sure.” Obviously the referee, along with Interpol and the “Dutch Underground” are conspiring against Arsenal. Wenger should cover his head with aluminum foil. (I just can’t call that stuff ‘aluminium.’)


25’: GOAL ARSENAL. Midfielder Cesc Fabregas beats AZ ‘keeper to the near post from 18 yards. Cesc Fabregas is on my fantasy team. I’ll drink to that.

33’: This is by far the most dynamic, fluid soccer I’ve seen today. Both sides are creating and attacking. Although Arsenal’s Sami al Nasri, recently returned from injury, has been a complete non-factor.


43’: GOAL ARSENAL. Sami al Nasri has scored. Shut my mouth. Nice assist from Andrey Arshavin, the friendly Russian.

Halftime: 2-0 to Arsenal and off to the potty.


46’: And we’re back. My head is swimming, stomach roiled and Arsenal in command.

52’: GOAL ARSENAL. Cesc Fabregas has scored his second off a fantastic feed from Arshavin, curling his shot around AZ ‘keeper Romero. This is fun for me but, wait, what’s this? The AZ fans aren’t sad or mad, they’re actually singing. They sing in their shirts, they sing in their shoes, they sing in their cheeseheads with suspenders and booze. Whoa there, Dr. Boddington’s. “An extraordinary amount of work now for Alkmaar to restore parity in this fixture.” You think?

67’: Cesc Fabregas is subbed out the game, dashing my hopes for a fantasy hat trick. Brazil–born Croat (really) Eduardo comes on for Robin Van Persie.


72’: GOAL ARSENAL. Eduardo played an incredible back-heel to Arshavin near midfield. Arshavin split the defense with a pinpoint through-ball to Abou Diaby. Goal Diaby. Well I’ll Diaby’d. 4-0 to Arsenal. With the game all but over, it’s time to dig into a Good Humor cookies and cream bar. Now, if I could just get out of the chair…

82’: GOAL AZ ALKMAAR. Well, there goes the shutout. Jeremain Lens has scored for AZ. I never should’ve opened that Unilever product. My bad, Arsene.


Fulltime: Arsenal 4-1 AZ Alkmaar. Arsenal have clinched advancement to the knockout stage.


Now, if I can make it to midnight, the good people at Fox Soccer Channel will be showing the Dynamo Kiev/Inter Milan game from today. Not very likely.

Minute By Minute Champion's League Food Fest Part 2

In part 2 of our "fine" dining review of UEFA Champion's League matchday 4, Chris enjoys some Boddington's and pommes frites while taking in the Liverpool at Lyon match. Check out the first match of the day here.


1:30pm: Finally a game with an English team. Time to crack a Boddington’s. Goals, please.
FSC analyst Warren Barton: “Liverpool’s whole season is at stake here. They can’t win the English Premier League. The Champions League is it for them. They must win…” Did he mention Geico?

Now FSC gives us a look-in at every stadium where a game is about to kick–off, along with a bit of commentary. This is refreshing.
Bad sign for Liverpool: aging central defender, team captain and Anfield legend Jamie Carragher is starting at right back due to a spate of injuries.

Geico, Heineken and Fifa Soccer 10 ads run constantly. Now I see an ad for XL Soccer Tours. Didn’t they go out of business last year, ignominiously removed from West Ham jerseys DURING the season. Hmmmm. Must be a different XL Soccer Tours.

1:40pm: Since all remaining games today will kick-off at 1:45 and I don’t want to spoil the result of Arsenal/Alkmaar which I’ll be watching on tape delay, all communications devices are turned off.


OK, here’s the Stade de Gerland in Lyon. The teams are lined up and the Champions League Anthem is playing, again.

Our referee is Frank De Bleeckere of Belgium, a second-generation FIFA ref.

Commentator Richard Kaufman sets the scene: “It’s a massive night in the gastronomic center of France.” Hey, that was my line.

Let’s hear Matt Millen come up with something like that.

1:45pm: Kick-off

5’: I’m not ready for the fish and pommes frites yet. Another Boddington’s should aid in tapas digestion. Both Marseille and Bourdeaux won in UCL yesterday. If Lyon wins today, all three French teams will have won on matchday four. Sacre Bleu!

14’: Commentator: “Should Liverpool lose tonight, it would be their worst run of results in fifty years.” Sacre bleu! I don’t think referee Frank De Bleeckere likes Liverpool’s captain Jamie Carragher, as if he didn’t already have enough to worry about.

17’: OL ‘keeper Lloris denies Dirk Kuyt with a fantastic save. Wait a minute…I have Kuyt on my UCL fantasy team. Lloris must die.

21’: Liverpool’s rarely used Ukrainian midfielder Andriy Voronin has fallen over backward, dirtying his ponytail. Voronin is like a Ukrainian version of “Zoolander.”
Doesn’t Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov look like actor Andy Garcia?

28’: Voronin almost scores. Great save again by Lloris. Shocking.

35’: This game is mercifully more end-to-end than Rubin/Barca. OL seem, perhaps, to be lacking that “je ne sais quois.”

40’: OL Coach Claude Puel forced to use 2nd substitute in first half due to injury. This doesn’t bode well for OL.

Halftime: 0-0. Three halves of top-notch European soccer yields no goals. Time for the last Boddington’s. I’d better heat up the oven for the fish et pommes frites. My stomach thinks otherwise. Has my mind made a promise my body can’t fill?

According to the Geico gecko, “(Liverpool Coach) Rafa Benitez doesn’t want to lose this game.”

46’: Someone please score a goal.

51’: Liverpool star striker Fernando Torres gets his second touch…of the game.

55’: Refs Frank De Bleeckere and Konrad Plautz should form a musical combo.

60’: I’m not eating these fries with mayonnaise, no matter what the French custom is.

64’: OL’s first corner of the game. What exactly does he mean, “a sniff of a chance”?

68’: Mercifully, Andriy Voronin is subbed out for Dutchman Ryan Babel.

69’: OL ‘keeper Lloris with another great save, denying Lucas. This is the high point of the day so far.

73’: OL striker Sidney Govou comes in for Gomis. Govou has been in the doghouse of late due to photographs printed in a local paper showing him leaving a nightclub in “poor condition”. Hey Sid, you should be here.


83’: GOAL Liverpool. A “wonderstrike” from sub Ryan Babel has the Reds up 1-0. It really was a great effort from 20+ yards out into the upper corner. “A bolt from the blue from Babel.” Ah, alliteration, the commentator’s best friend. My decision to postpone a bathroom break until the end of the game has paid off.

86’: Man I need to go to the bathroom.

90’: Just a couple of minutes to kill and Liverpool will get the win they sorely need.
GOAL OL. Lisandro equalizes for OL off a Bastos flick-on. Agony for Liverpool.


Fulltime: 1-1 OL has clinched advancement to knockout stage of UCL. Impressively, Olympique Lyon have made it to the knock-out stage eight consecutive years. Less impressively, they have not made it to a final. Liverpool no longer controls their destiny. “Heart-break for Liverpool.” Bathroom break for me.


Chris watches that AZ Alkmaar vs Arsenal match in the 3rd and final episode in Part 3.

Minute By Minute Champion's League Food Fest Part 1

Friend of the Perfectly Weighted Through Blog, Chris Shaffer shares his seven hour epicurean quest to eat, drink and be Champion's League merry in a minute by minute format...

11/4/09
Scottsboro, AL: Now that Fox has wrested control of the broadcast rights to UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League (UCL) from ESPN, a plethora of home viewing opportunities exist that were not previously available during the reign of ESPN, provided you get Fox Soccer Channel. On matchdays that include a game played in Russia or the Ukraine with an early start time, the possibilities become almost NCAA Basketball Tournament-esque. November 4 (also matchday 4) was one of these days. The following chronicles my experiences watching two consecutive live UCL games followed by a third game on tape delay, or seven straight hours all told.*


Here’s the lineup:

11:00am CDT: Pre-game Show

11:30am CDT: Barcelona (Spain) @ Rubin Kazan (Russia) LIVE

1:45pm CDT: Liverpool (England) @ Olypique Lyon (France) LIVE

4:00pm CDT: AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) @ Arsenal (England)

*Important note: To enhance the authenticity of the experience, I will supply myself with a characteristic sampling of food and beverages from each of the countries represented in this three-game smorgasbord. Alas, Denmark is not one of them. Since I’ll be watching the games from a corner of Northeast Alabama, only two sources will be used for food and beverages: Walmart and the Conoco gas station that sells wine and liquor.

Procurement: OK, for Game One I need something Spanish (Catalonian would be even better, but, I’m trying to be realistic) and something Russian. The beverage acquisition proves easier than expected: not only does Conoco sell Stolichnaya vodka, they even have a Spanish Rioja. Unfortunately, Walmart doesn’t sell caviar or fried sturgeon fingers, but don’t most Russians drink their meals anyway? Eating in Spain makes me think tapas, especially since I don’t have time to make paella myself. Tapas at Walmart means TGIFriday’s frozen jalapeno poppers and some frozen veggie egg rolls.


For Game Two a four-pack of Boddington’s Pub Ale and frozen battered cod fillets take care of Liverpool. As Lyon is considered the gastronomic capital of France, I had to aim high. Unable to locate the foie gras on my own at Walmart, I asked a staff associate who happily directed me to the gun counter. So it looks like frozen pommes frites will have to do. These may also be considered “chips.” Brilliant.


Game Three: I think I’ll let my Liverpool purchases cover both English teams, thus taking care of Arsenal. That leaves the Dutch. That means Heineken, but what food item? Boy, am I drawing a blank, until I remember that Dutch mega-company Unilever Corp. owns Good Humor Ice Cream of Green Bay, WI. A box of Good Humor “Cookies & Cream” bars in hand, a toast to the land of windmills, wooden shoes, hash bars and prostitution. Cheers.

11:00am : Fox Soccer’s Pre-game Show
Hosted by the ubiquitous Max (since when is Cuba a soccer country?) Bretos, with analysis from Scot Bobby McMahon and Englishman Warren Barton. According to Bretos, the “stakes are at an all-time high.” Well, I’m sure glad I’m watching.

11:03am: Aha, Kazan is the city, Rubin apparently just a sandwich. Time to turn on the oven and make myself a Stoli screwdriver.

11:10am: Place tapas, ie. jalapeno poppers and egg rolls, in oven. Evidently Kazan is the capital of Tatar Russia. Credit to Fox for showing the cityscape and not just the stadium. Barcelona’s Leo Messi is interviewed. An exciting player but a poor interview. Turns out he is “tranquillo.” Also turns out he’s scored only one goal in the Champions League so far this year. According to Bobby McMahon, this is precisely why Barca brought in giant Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic: “he’s Barcelona’s ‘plan b,’” but ‘plan b’ hasn’t scored in UCL this season either.


11:25am: Pre-game pearls of wisdom: Warren Barton explains that Rubin Kazan are a counterattacking team. Against mighty Barca, who isn’t? Kazan’s key player is Argentine midfielder Alejandro Dominguez. It’s cold in Russia in November. Better freshen this screwdriver.

11:30am: As the teams emerge from the tunnel at the Central Stadium, it becomes evident that it’s really, really cold in Kazan tonight. Says Max Bretos, “I think the temperature just dropped here in the studio.” The previously mentioned temperature of 10 degrees centigrade was in error. It’s 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Barca players visibly shiver during the playing of the Champions League Anthem. Only Austrian referee Konrad Plautz looks unfazed.


4’: Kazan Coach Kurban Burdyev is feverishly working worry beads in his hands. He wears only a coat and tie. He used to coach Turkmenistan.

12’: Stadium PA announcements are made in Russian and English. They are used to recite an interminable list of local dignitaries in attendance, just in case you need to know who to bribe next time you’re in Kazan.

25’: Kazan just completed their first pass of the match. My tapas are ready. Jalapeno poppers are surprisingly good with vodka. Maybe I should’ve bought the fried cheese too.

30’: Last year, Kazan hosted the International Ice Hockey Championships. Stats show Barcelona with 75% of possession. Honestly, it seems like more.

35’: “It’s not been a thriller,” says the commentator. I wonder what Tommy Smyth of ESPN would say. No, not really.

Halftime: 0-0. Time to uncork the Rioja. FSC analyst Warren Barton is starting to remind me of the Geico gecko. Too bad Walmart didn’t have any Manchego to go with this fine Rioja. Can you fry Manchego? Heck, in Alabama you can fry anything.

50’: Apparently the temperature has continued to drop. Barca’s Brazilian defender Dani Alves is wearing short sleeves. Andres Iniesta looks pallid and seriously ill. Not to worry, Iniesta always looks this way. Austrian Referee Konrad Plautz seems to be a no-nonsense guy and utterly humorless. He may be the perfect referee. He may be the perfect Austrian.

60’: Rubin Kazan’s 18-yard box resembles the Alamo, albeit a much colder version. Yet Barca still haven’t scored. I think you could describe Rubin’s kits as Rioja colored.

75’: Substitute Alex Bukharov seems to have given life to Rubin’s moribund offense. Camera cuts to Barcelona’s bench, where players are snuggling under shared blankets. Really.


80’: Great commentary: “This one’s really heating up. Barca look ready for a final flurry.” Really.
Kazan is capital of the autonomous region of Tatarstan and is considered Russia’s third capital city. Who knew?

87’: Rubin Kazan sub Bukharov has been really good. Why didn’t he start? Barca sub Thierry Henry looking old and cold.

Fulltime: 0-0. Barcelona Coach Pep Guardiola, wearing lavish-looking down parka, shakes hands with Rubin Coach Burdyev. Burdyev is still wearing just the coat and tie.



Next, Chris watches the Liverpool vs Olympique Lyon match in Part 2.

A Few Things

UAH Coach/Players Honored By GSC

GSC Coach of the Year and UAH Head Coach Tafadzwa Ziyenge

University of Alabama-Huntsville Head Coach Tafadzwa Ziyenge has been named Gulf South Conference coach of the year after guiding the Chargers to an undefeated conference season and second seed in the conference tournament.

Also, honored by the GSC were senior defender Devon Schleif and junior goalkeeper Tyler Earley who were name to the All-conference first team. UAH was also represented on the second team by senior Brian Hadley and Tomoaki Matsuo.

Soccernomics: Moneyball For Soccer Geeks


Moneyball was the seminal sports book about the business side of baseball and how the A's GM Billy Beane was able to scout players using statistical analysis instead of the tried and true methods that had been used by generations of previous baseball clubs. Well, when I heard that Soccernomics was coming out, it made it to the top of my Amazon.com Wish-list because it takes a look at soccer with the same kind of critical eye to uncover some surprising nuggets. The author Simon Kuper has been all over the soccer blogosphere lately and here is the best of the interviews.

Southern Soccer Is Looking For Your Help


The guys over at Southern Soccer are looking for ways to improve the tournaments that they offer the Huntsville soccer public. There running a survey here. So, head on over and click away.

More MLSness

Best Goal of 2009



Check out the goal of the week winners and the nominees for Goal of the Year. My favorites are Clint Mathis (Week 6), Eddie Lewis (Week 9), Nate Jaqua (Week 10), Brian Namoff (Week 17), Alecko Eskandarian (Week 18), Landon Donovan (Week 20), and Robbie Finley (Week 32). I'm a fan of the sombrero move. So, I might have to pick Esky's goal as my favorite. Although, I can't deny that the Mathis goal was a thing of beauty.


Best Save of 2009



Here are the Save of the Year nominees. My favorites have to be Kevin Goldthwaite (Week 4), Pat Onstad (Week 5), Kasey Keller (Week 10), Stephen Frei (Weeks 11, 25), Zach Thornton (Week 27), Tyronne Marshall (Week 29), and Geoff Cameron (Week 31).

I can't bring myself to vote for a defender. Keepers get little enought recognition as is, but you gotta give some love to those defenders who made the list. I'm sure thier goalkeepers took them out to lunch for those saves.

Now, I do have to say that many of the saves in the list may have been acrobatic, but there are several that appear on the list only because the goalkeeper found himself out of position. There were others that were just cases of poor finishing. So, those are eliminated for voting in my mind. So, I'm gonna have to give my nod to one of the Stephen Frei saves. Those saves are very hard to make when the flight of the ball is going one way and is deflected or headed back in the opposite direction. What do you think?

MLS, EPL Help FSC, MLS Beats EPL on ESPN

Nielsen is reporting a 125% increase in viewership of Fox Soccer Channel from this time last year, mostly due to its coverage of the EPL and MLS. Over on the world-wide leader in sports, MLS ratings are actually higher than EPL ratings on ESPN. This is yet another indication of the increasing relevance of soccer in the US sporting landscape.

Alabama A&M Falls to #20 UAB

Alabama A&M fell to intrastate rival University of Alabama-Birmingham 1:0 Sunday afternoon at John Hunt Soccer Stadium. A&M held the 20th ranked team in the country scoreless for 82 minute before UAB's Curtis Ushedo's header deflected off a defender past A&M goalkeeper Paul Musoke.

UAB's Curtis Ushedo heads in the winning goal

After frustrating UAB in the first half with solid defensive work and great saves from Musoke, A&M coach Salah Yousif's men turned up the pressure in the second half and twice had opportunities in the area only to shoot wide of the mark.

A&M coach Salah Yousif talks about the loss

As the Bulldogs showed flashes of potential, UAB displayed the solid defensive work and midfield fluidity that has kept them among the top programs in the country. UAB created several chances but it was the woodwork that twice denied the breakthrough. The rest of the Blazer's forays were disrupted by the industrious A&M defenders.

UAB and former RCU midfielder Michal Mravek talks about the game and his time with RCU

In the 83rd minute, the Blazers won a free kick in a dangerous position and former Rocket City United midfielder Michal Mravek stepped over the ball. Mravek who spent part of this past summer playing with RCU while recuperating from a knee surgery whipped in a driven cross which Ushedo rose to meet. Ushedo's header was redirected off an unsuspecting A&M defender into his own goal for the only goal of the match.

MLS and USL bits

New US Pro Soccer League Likely

It's looking more and more likely that there will be a new league in the US Soccer landscape after several sites reported that the new ownership of the United Soccer Leagues and the disgruntled team ownership group called the Team Owners Association have failed to come to an amiable agreement on terms to continue their relationship. Here's what Soccer by Ives, the Kartik Report, and Inside Minnesota Soccer have to say about it.

UPDATE: Here's yet another article saying that the new league application is to be turned into the USSF imminently.

MLS Playoffs Format Not Producing "Sexy Soccer"

Perhaps MLS should reconsider the format of their Conference Semifinals after the two first leg matches of this week's total goals Home and Away series produced terribly disjointed and overly physical affairs. Thursday night's Houston at Seattle 0:0 draw and yesterday's RSL 1:0 win over Columbus weren't what I would consider a good advertisement for free flowing attacking soccer. Of the two matches, the scoreless tie was the more exciting, and I think the crowd had a lot to do with that.


It's ironic that these two matches came on the heels of the MLS league office levied a fine of $5,000 DC United president Kevin Payne for criticizing negative soccer that some teams adopt in order to find results. Both visiting squads trotted out defensive minded game plans designed to limit creative players. At least the home teams attempted to score goals knowing that it wouldn't do well to sit and wait. Seattle was the more successful, but couldn't finish while hitting the woodwork and having two goal bound headers denied off the line.

In yesterday's match, RSL and Columbus did nothing except foul and dive in the hopes of fooling the referee Mark Geiger. Columbus did not even play thier most dangerous attacking players. Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Alejandro Moreno both sat on the bench for the match. Columbus coach Robert Warzycha seemed content to defend for the duration, and this approach seemed to work for 88 minutes, but somehow RSL found the net for a one goal lead going into the second leg.

Perhaps, it's time to turn to the Away Goals Rule as do most of the competitions that use the Home and Away series format. Without the Away Goals Rule, you see the visiting team being content to sit back and defend until they return to there home stadium. If the MLS league office believes that away goals aren't the way to go, just eliminate the series and go to the single elimination route. Give the team with the higher seed the single game at home. That way each team has one game to go out and do it in one match instead of marching out for a phantom 90 minutes until the second leg when it time to turn it on for real.

Here's hoping today's teams don't follow the same script that the teams in the first two Conference Semis have...