"I'm The King of the World!"

What a tremendous week if you're a soccer fan! Tons of drama in multiple leagues in multiple countries. It was tough to keep up with everything! Let's get started with:

1. USL2 Championship - Congratulations to the Richmond Kickers (seen above, photo credit to Pattie Anderson) who came back from an early deficit to win the Title 3-1 over Charlotte! The game was tape-delayed on Fox Soccer Channel but definitely worth staying up late to watch. Some great and exciting soccer between two of the classier and best organizations in soccer, regardless of professional level. The Eagles got a wonderful early strike from Diego Martins to go up on the road, and nearly doubled the lead a bit later had his shot not skimmed off the crossbar. Ronnie Pascale's brilliant save near the end of the 1st half also kept Charlotte's lead at 1 going into the break. After Pascale again thwarted Martins early in the 2nd half, Richmond began firing on all cylinders. Edson Elcock tied it in the 63rd minute, and after some intense pressure, the Kickers broke through again. John DiRaimondo's (on loan from DC United) free kick in the 83rd minute was the game-winner, and David Bulow sealed the win with a penalty kick just a few minutes later to give Richmond their 2nd USL title in 4 years. If that team stays intact (and I'm hearing the veterans have 1 more year in them), you gotta make them the favorites for next year, right? Would love to see them move up to USL1, as I think they'd pose a real challenge to those guys...FYI.

One last thing about this game; it marked to retirement of Charlotte's Dustin Swineheart from professional soccer. "Whitey" (because of his snow white hair) has been without a doubt the most professional and kindest person I've been able to chat with while covering this sport over the past 10 years. A deeply religious guy, he always had a kind word for somebody, gave autographs and high-fives to any person who wanted them (even in opposing stadiums), and though he always played incredibly hard on the field, was never dirty, and always helped up the other guy even during what at times could be really rough play. Swineheart is the guy you can, and should, build a team around. I don't know what he's doing after this, but if he continues to have any association with Charlotte, they're all the better for it.

2. Manchester United/Arsenal - Seriously, is there a better rivalry in sports right now? I'm putting this thing over Barca/Real or Red Sox/Yankees. Saturday's game was ridiculously fun, from Arshavin's golazzo (scoring just 25 seconds after he was wiped out and should have been awarded a penalty), to Rooney's penalty kick tying strike, and then Diaby's terribly unfortunate own goal (did he forget the direction he was supposed to head the ball?), this game had it all. The pace resembled a track meet, and the intensity of every challenge/tackle/shot/pass made you wonder "what are we going to see next?" What about Arsene Wnger's dismissal at the end? Yes, I agree that the 4th official was being harsh,but Wenger's antics (and he'll probably be fined for them) had even the United faithful laughing and applauding at the absurdity of it all. However, Ryan Giggs looked really old and slow for United. You have to wonder how much he has left in the tank.

A final comment on that; I love and support the league, as you all know, but after watching what's going on in the EPL so early in the season, it's kinda tough to watch an MLS match. The quality is okay, but the pace of the game, the tactical awareness, etc., it's just tough to get excited about, with the exception of:

3. The L.A. Derby - So, Beckham finally gets his goal, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The 3-points puts the Galaxy in firm command of 2nd place in the West and just 2 points behind Houston, and I don't think anyone is playing better than Bruce Arena's boys. By the way, I know Sigi Schmidt has done great in expansion Seattle, but can we just give Coach of the Year to Arena now? The rebuilding he's done, bringing in supposedly washed up veterans like Berhalter and Lewis, drafting well, getting Becks and Donovan back on the same page, has been nothing short of genius. Whether you like it or want to admit it, for the league, it's important that the Galaxy does well. A long run into the playoffs will get MLS some much-deserved attention from the mainstream media, even if the main storyline will be about the relationship between Landon and Goldenballs.

4. DC United - The red and black kept their season alive with a tough 1-0 road win over Chicago Saturday night. Bryan Namoff's goal in the 1st half gave them the margin of victory, although there are still some serious issues that need to be addressed. Coach Soehn and company might want to start with Marc Burch. Rumor has it that he and Danny Szetela got into a bust-up either in training or in the locker room a few weeks back, he and teammate/ goalkeeper Josh Wicks had to be separated DURING THE GAME Saturday evening, and he also was made to look like a practice dummy when he was beaten for the game-winner last week against Toluca. Still, if the team doesn't qualify for the playoffs, are Soehn and Kevin Payne filing for unemployment? Does a win Wednesday evening for the U.S. Open Cup title save them from another disappointing international tournament and sub-par MLS season? What say you, Magic 8-ball?

5. CONCACAF Qualifying - I won't have time to post later in the week, so let's make some predictions for this weekend.

A. The U.S. MUST get 3 points Saturday at home against El Salvador. It would also help to win by a few goals as goal differential might be the tiebreaker when all is said and done. If Bradley starts Ching and Cherundolo over Altidore and Spector Saturday, well, I don't know what I'll do. I'll be unhappy, so there! U.S. wins 2-0

B. The best game looks to be Mexico at Costa Rica - Is Mexico back, or were they just doing well within the confines at home? Is Costa Rica the real deal, or were they exposed in that 4-0 drubbing on the road against Honduras? I think it's a little of both for these teams, and a draw would really help the U.S. They draw at 1-1

C. On paper, with David Suazo, back, Honduras seems to have the best overall team. Their midfield and forward depth is solid and they can score lots of goals to take some of the pressure off their suspect defense. This is a team I really wouldn't want to play right now, so it's vital the U.S. gets a full 6 points over these next 2 games before heading down south to take on El Catrachos... T&T is just trying to play the role of spoiler. It won't work, and could get ugly.

Honduras wins 3-0.

Walsh will be back later in the week for his take on things. As always, thanks for reading!

Red and Black (and Blue)

Wait, is "Aloha" hello or goodbye?

So last week I talked about how Tom Soehn could become the first D.C. United coach to stay on the bench for four years. Umm, that might’ve been a bit premature.

D.C. are in another late season funk -- think of it as the anti-New England Revolution of the last five years -- and with schedule congestion upcoming priorities are going to have to be concentrated on either MLS or Champions League. After last year’s CCL debacle, expect more performances like last night from United. And really, that’s a shame and a disgrace to the tournament. If United really weren’t that interested in advancing to the knock out stage, they could have gone to El Salvador and lost to Firpo and eliminated six games from their schedule.

With a trip to Chicago their last chance for a win in August and the U.S. Open Cup final next Wednesday at home against Seattle on the docket, two more losses are staring at them in the face. The Fire have some problems, but D.C. have been poor on the road and I can’t see them earning more than a point. The Open Cup final is their best chance at a piece of hardware (and a ticket into next year’s Champions League -- third times the charm?) this year, but with the chip Seattle will have on their collective shoulder of not hosting the game I’m expecting the expansion side to win the game. Plus, anytime the matchup is Kasey Keller versus Josh Wicks I go with the guy who used to live in a castle.

If that’s the case and United miss the playoffs -- they do have a favorable home schedule to round out the year -- Soehn would have to be gone, no? And add Kevin Payne into that group. Their top two picks from last year’s SuperDraft are solid as Chris Pontius is arguably the rookie of the year and Rodney Wallace has been a good contributor. However, their other signings haven’t panned out as Danny Szetela isn’t even making the game day roster right now and there’s no long term plan apparent with Jaime Moreno and Christian Gomez surely in the final stages of their careers.

I just can’t see how Will Chang would bring the two of them back having been embarrassed the past two falls. Though D.C. won the Open Cup last year, they beat a reserve New England side in the semis and a USL team (no offense to our USL fans out there) in the finals and Charleston were a tough out. So what can they hang their hat on? Not much I’d say in a world of “what have you done for me lately."

Of course things could be worse. I could be a fan of New York.

Two more things:

- Got a chance to hear Grant Wahl do a reading from The Beckham Experiment and answer some questions at Sláinte in Fells Point on Tuesday night. Small crowd -- I was one of maybe 15 people -- but it was a cool experience. The most interesting nugget I got from Grant talking was that Alexi Lalas and Landon Donovan would begin every interview asking whether what they were about to say was for the magazine or the book and were much more candid if it was the latter as the quotes weren’t going to appear three days later. We should have another Q&A with Grant in the near future so feel free to submit any questions you have for Senor Wahl.

- As Bushman said, Chelsea are off to a great start and all of my fantasy teams are thanking Didier Drogba. They’re not the biggest surprise though. That’s either Tottenham -- who aren’t like purgatory right now -- atop the table thanks to goal differential or Burnley with six points from three games. I suppose Burnley gets the nod because they took those six points from 1-0 wins over ManU and Everton. Speaking of the Toffees, who would have guessed the two Liverpool teams would have 3 points combined from five games. Everton are at the foot thanks to a -6 goal differential and our boy Timmy Howard is letting in way to many goals from long range. Not a good thing with the World Cup right around the corner.

- Pat Walsh

Yes, I'm alive and breathing (although I was a little worried about surviving the Sacramento Radisson where I stayed last week). A big thanks to Walsh for keeping things going while I was jaunting across the country these past 3 weeks! Finally got to catch up w/ soccer this past weekend, so here are some observations:

1. WPS Final - Congratulations to the FC Sky Blue for their amazing run through the postseason, winning 3 road games in 8 days to capture the Title. They mirrored my recent cross-country travels, going from Washington DC, to St. Louis, and finally Los Angeles, where they beat the heavily favored Sol 1-0 thanks to a Heather O'Reilly goal in the 17th minute. A VERY controversial red card to the Sol's Allison Falk 11 minutes later allowed the Sky Blue to control the pace of the game, slowing down Marta and the rest of L.A.'s vaunted attack. And remember, this was a team in complete chaos just a few months back, losing 3 coaches due to firing/resignation/suspensions. I watched them play the Freedom just days after Ian Sawyers was removed as Head Coach/GM of the team, and they looked awful. After a few weeks, in comes player/coach Christine Rampone, and away they went. Overall, not a bad inaugural season for the WPS, but there's still a lot of work to do.

2. USL 2 Playoffs - Richmond vs. Charlotte for the Title. Richmond scores in dramatic fashion (the end of OT) to slip past Harrisburg, while Charlotte, a team I left for dead 2 months ago, gets a hard fought victory on the road against regular-season champion Wilmington. These 2 teams have one of the better rivalries (and under appreciated) in soccer; lots of history, lots of close games, hard but clean play, and this game will be no different. I'll give a more detailed preview later in the week.

3. DC United-L.A. Galaxy - It always seem to rain in buckets when Beckham comes to town, doesn't it? Regardless, DC was robbed of 3 points due to a TERRRRRIBLE offside call against Emilio. Even my least favorite announcer, Max Bretos, said it was an "interesting" call. Yes, the refs make mistakes, but there needs to be some form of accountability for things like that. It could very well be the difference in the form a playoff spot for either, or both, teams. Have you also noticed how little effect Beckham is having on recent games? The effort is there, but the play isn't. Interesting...

4. EPL - Has anybody been more impressive these first two weeks as Chelsea's Didier Drogba? The guy looks motivated and fit, and it also looks like he and Anelka are finally on the same page. That could be the difference this year for what looks to be the class of the league early on. At the other end of the scale, has anybody been less impressive than Everton? 6-1 loss to Arsenal to open the season and a 1-0 loss to newly-promoted Burnley puts this squad in an early crisis.

5. Pro Football - Yes, this is mostly a soccer blog, but Walsh and I are also going to talk plenty of football this season. We'll do some fantasy stuff next week followed up w/ some predictions for the NFL the following week, along with your typical and loved soccer coverage... some quick NFL preseason thoughts:

a. Brett Favre will embarrass himself again this year. I'm going with at least 15 int's.

b. Hide your Beagle, Vick's an Eagle.

c. Nice scoreboard, Jerry Jones!

d. To say Jason Campbell is struggling is like saying water is wet...

Walsh is on deck later in the week, and I'll have my USL2 Championship Preview up on Friday.

Mid-Week Musings

This has as much of a chance of happening as United winning Champions League.

Bushman’s still jaunting around the country and I’ve been busier than the Vikings’ beat reporter, so let’s get to this.

- D.C. United just went oh-for-two outside of the country. Didn’t catch the 2-0 loss up in Toronto, but from what I hear it didn’t look pretty. Things weren’t quite so bad last night in Honduras for ten of the players, but it never looked like they were going to get their first win in Champions League action (remember, they tied Firpo twice to get into the group stage again). The first goal was terrrrrible -- even DaMarcus Beasley was shaking his head at Janicki’s attempted clearance. Then Janicki was beaten by Jerry Palacios (anyone else find that an odd name?) for the second, and finished up by committing the foul for the third and final goal from the penalty spot.

- Speaking of United, if Tommy Soehn is brought back he’ll be the first person in D.C. history to coach four years. Arena had just three, followed by Rongen with three, Hudson with two (though the pressers gave us about six years of material), and, prior to Soehn, Nowak with three. Only Hudson and Soehn didn’t win an MLS Cup in their first year. But I’ve always kind of thought of Arena’s first three as George Washington’s precedence of stepping down after two terms. So would that make Soehn United’s FDR? I guess it makes sense given the economic climate.

- Caught Fox Football Fone-In on Monday night for the first time ever. It was really just to see Eric Wynalda and, I’ve gotta say, he’s perfect in that forum. He may not know everything, but he has strong opinions and isn’t scared of taking an opposing view. It won’t be weekly watching for me, but if there’s nothing else on I’m sure I’ll check it out from time to time. Now if FSC would get HD -- that should have been a requirement to show Champions League games in my opinion -- and broadcast games online for free instead of directing us to UEFA’s site where we can watch for $10 per game, I’ll be happy.

- The EPL started with a bang over the weekend. Poor Timmy Howard gave up six to an Arsenal side I was expecting to be battling for a Europa League spot with their lack of depth. If they stay healthy, they’ll certainly give ManU and Chelsea a run. Liverpool is/was my pick to win the league, but I’m not sure after seeing them completely discombobulated without Xabi Alonso. It’s just the one game, but not a promising start for the two Liverpool sides.

Chelsea look stronger than I thought they’d be. The only reason I wouldn’t have picked them to win the league is their ultimate focus on winning Champions League. However, Ancelotti seems to be the right fit and it’ll be tough for any side to shut out the foursome of Anelka, Drogba, Lampard, and who ever it is deflecting Lampard’s shots in.

Manchester United are only going to get better. They have injury concerns w/ van der Saar out for a while, Evans and Rio out of central defense for now, and Gary Neville having been put out to stud on a horse farm. But Wayne Rooney is a menace and somehow can put that team on his diminutive shoulders. I’m just sad I didn’t comment about the Charity Shield and, after he injured his shoulder, ask Nani if he was okay.

- Non-soccer related: I can’t say I’m happy to see the two returning quarterbacks in the NFL. I don’t really care if Favre plays, I just hate the back and forth stroking his own ego. And in doing so went to the Packers’ rivals, well I wouldn’t be surprised to see karma Bernard Pollard him. In words I never thought I’d say or write, I feel bad for Sage Rosenfels.

As for Vick, I think the Eagles are a good spot for him offensively. Put him in with Westbrook (if he’s healthy) and McNabb and it’s gonna be pretty tough for defenses. I just don’t see how he wasn’t suspended more for lying to Arthur Blank and Commissioner Goodell. Yeah, he served his time in federal pound me in the ass prison -- hopefully his roommate was Nasty Nate and the Squirrel Master didn’t come to his rescue -- but he was involved in gambling which, correct me if I’m wrong, is a BIG no no for athletes. Whether it’s the sport you play or not, you can wind up owing the wrong people and it’s all down hill from there. I’m not condoning what Dante Stallworth did by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems like the league gave Vick a relative slap on the wrist compared to Stallworth’s year long suspension after he served his time and was much more remorseful than Vick has ever shown.

- Pat Walsh

Same Story, Different Year

“They are who we thought they were!”

And, yes, the U.S. let Mexico off the hook. What started as a promising game after just ten minutes turned into an abysmal effort from the midfield where possession was non-existent.

Once again, the finger has to be pointed at Bob Bradley. No, this isn’t a loss that will get him fired as Sunil Gulati already stated BB would be on the bench next summer in South Africa. I’ve long felt the only way Bradley would be fired would be to not qualify. After yesterday’s results, that isn’t as certain, but it should still happen.

Though I’ve thought Bradley is better in these single qualifiers than tournaments, every game still has halftimes and that’s where Bradley loses. As something I looked at a few posts ago, the Yanks consistently are outscored in the second half against non-minnows. Same thing yesterday as the U.S. didn’t change anything at the half and Mexico’s domination of possession continued.

If Bradley really wanted to switch to a 4-5-1 to play more defensively, then why not bring on Torres for Ching in the 15th minute? At least then someone might have held possession in the U.S.’s midfield. The number of poor traps and passes that were even worse were uncountable. That’s something that happens to the U.S. players whether they’re in Azteca or their own backyards.

I should clarify: those traps and passes as they happened all to infrequently from a largely invisible midfield. Michael Bradley was AWFUL and should have come off in probably his worst showing in a USA shirt. I know Clint Dempsey was on the field because I saw the starting lineups, but otherwise he might as well have been back in England for the non-existent impact he made. Landon had the great pass to Davies (or Davis if you’re on Mun2) but otherwise was poor, especially on the final goal. Rico Clark was his typical self, which isn’t a compliment at the international level. Jermaine Jones and Mo Edu, where are you?

The defense still concedes possession on clearances all too easily. Granted, they didn’t have many choices to distribute to the midfield, but in the lead up to the first goal was Mexico advancing, Onyewu clear, Mexico win the ball and advance. Wash, rinse, repeat. I’m still hoping Onyewu can work on this at Milan because if he doesn’t, he won’t play for them much. I’m also not sure that Bradley will continue with Bocanegra at left back as he isn’t as good against top (read quick) opponents. However, I still think he’s the best option. On the other side, Steve Cherundolo should be playing his way out of that spot and giving way to Spector. Cherundolo had a so-so Gold Cup and was frequently abused on the flank, though kudos for him for being the only defender to not be booked.

Even Tim Howard doesn’t escape any criticism for me. Sure, that first goal was magical. And the second gave him little chance from a guy with that much space just eight yards from goal. But going back to the Confed Cup, he’s been getting beat too often on long goals. Some of that blame lays squarely on the midfield for allowing the opposition to have that much time and space. But unlike his predecessors Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel, he doesn’t make that big, game changing save as often as those guys. Sure, he’s a rock back there and rarely (if ever) lets in a softie, but the difference between T-Ho and guys like Iker Casillas and Gigi Buffon are making the saves that shouldn’t be made. If he saves Sabah’s shot, and it wasn’t unsaveable, that really changes qualifying in CONCACAF.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Charlie Davies. Man, what a finish by the BC kid. Sochaux must be grinning from ear to ear -- probably with several cigarettes hanging out of that grin since they are French. But you can see how wrestling helped him use his body and what that does for him in front of the goal. I just wonder if he would’ve had a few more chances if Torres was in the midfield and helped with possession.

So all in all, not a surprise to lose in Estadio Azteca. Probably the worst result was Grant Wahl losing his laptop -- poor guy and a waste of beer -- and definitely better than going to Duke and losing by 41. But in terms of qualifying, this is more of a loss of pride and a missed opportunity to step on Mexico’s throat a bit more. If the U.S. takes care of business at home against El Salvador and can win in Port of Spain a few days later, they’ll be on 16 points and essentially assured of a spot in South Africa with two match days left.

Of course, there is one guy that can prevent that scenario. Unfortunately he’s the coach. I doubt he’ll ever be in a Coors Light commercial though.

- Pat Walsh

We’re Still Alive

Unlike Yellow Ledbetter, you can understand the words to that song...

You’ll have to take my word on Bushman, because he’s on another cross-country jaunt on the government’s dime (no word if it was in one of those clunkers they’re buying), but I’m still kicking. Fresh back from a week at the beach, just in time for the biggest game of the century for the Men’s National Team. Hey, if every fight in the 1990’s that involved Tyson was the Fight of the Century, then why doesn’t it work for this one?

Ok, enough hyperbole. This is a big one, but much more from Mexico’s side. And I think that’s where the U.S. has a distinct advantage. The Yanks can play loose knowing a loss does them no real harm in the grand scheme of things, aka qualifying, but taking points from Mexico hurts El Tri’s cause.

A blog on ESPN’s Insider points out that no team with fewer than 15 points has failed to qualify from the Hex. The Yanks should do that with home games against El Salvador and Costa Rica (already on 12, will be through by the October game at RFK) in addition to the likelihood of grabbing at least a point in Port of Spain.

Mexico, though, currently have just six points and could be in fifth come Thursday morning should El Salvador win away to Trinidad & Tobago. Not likely, but they very well could be three points behind Honduras in the guaranteed third spot should Los Catrachos beat visiting Costa Rica combined with a draw at Azteca. Looking ahead, Mexico’s next match takes them to Costa Rica and that horrible turf in Estadio Saprissa. Of course they could manage to take the last nine possible points from hosting Honduras and El Salvador before heading to T&T on the final day, but they certainly wouldn’t want to leave things to chance for the final match day, especially since the Trinis just added Bobby Zamora and Jlloyd Samuel to their national team.

Of course I’m going to go into this one expecting a loss, kind of like any time the Terps travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium, so that way I’m mentally prepared for the worst. However, I really think Bob Bradley’s crew can manage a draw. I’m not his biggest supporter, but as I’ve said in the past he’s at his best in these single qualification games. Add to that the incentive from the group that played in the Confederations Cup who watched the Gold Cup final thousands of miles away and it’s a great scenario for the U.S.

The key for me will be to avoid conceding an early goal in both halves, a job the Yanks have failed numerous times in the past six months. If they can do that, and set up Donovan and Davies in the counter, things can be good. I hope Jozy gets the start up front to trouble Mexico’s back line with pace, but I have a feeling Ching will get the nod as he typically does. Even so, with Donovan, Davies, and Dempsey -- Triple D as a new nickname? -- there will be pace and of course Michael Bradley is great at sliding forward in a trailing role to finish plays.

So, for a prediction, let’s go 1-1. And in that case, it’ll be the Bears who are winning (RIP John Hughes).

Other stuff

- D.C. United again looked good against an international foe this past weekend. Until the second half started, that is. The relative depth (like the Mariana trench versus a kiddie pool) was evident, as was the lack of pace for United defenders. The temperature didn’t help either with United in their Johnny Cash colors clashing nicely with Los Blancos. But now things get rough for D.C. with another late season schedule congestion. The single game U.S. Open Cup final isn’t a huge deal, but I don’t understand why they couldn’t have played another midweek game or two in June or July, or even back in April, to relieve the schedule a wee bit. Their depth is certainly better than last year, but I’d be surprised to see them get out of the Champions League group, instead focusing on the playoffs. After all, they win trophies.

- Speaking of teams that win a trophy, how bad are New York? You have to feel bad for Juan Pablo Angel, one of the best pure strikers MLS has seen, who can’t get service to save his life. You have to wonder if they are kicking themselves for firing Bruce Arena after just 18 months when he has gone to Los Angeles, arguably a worse situation, and turned that team into a playoff team. Now, another offseason blow up is looming and they’ll need a big name to have on the bench for the opening of their new stadium. Of course that’s not the way to go, unless they could somehow convince Bob Bradley to come back after the World Cup is done. It’s kinda sad that the prospects for Philly next year are better than for the Red Bulls and they don’t have any players yet.

I’ll probably be back later in the week with a look back at the USA-Mexico game. And maybe a look at the EPL that kicks off this weekend. Gotta love the return of justification for waking up and drinking well before noon!

- Pat Walsh