Fulham drops Carlos Bocanegra

Fulham has reduced their American contingency by one as they dropped Carlos Bocanegra today. It is no big surprise that Bocanegra got the boot as manager Roy Hodgson had pretty much benched him for the last three months.

Bocanegra, who will likely be a starter for the US against England on Wednesday, is now looking for a new home. PSV Eindhoven has been mentioned as a possible landing spot. PSV was a good spot for DaMarcus Beasley as few years back and might be the change Bocanegra needs. If it works out, he might even get some Champions League action.

This move is a big one for Bocanegra as he needs to find playing time or else his spot on the national team will be less then assured.

Fulham also let go of Jari Litmanen, Philippe Christanval, Simon Elliott, Ian Pearce, Michael Timlin, Ismael Ehui, and Bjorn Runstrom. Looks like Eddie Johnson will get a little more time to make his mark.

Now the question is will Kasey Keller stick around?

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

Trinidad and Tobago finally paid for 2006 World Cup

CONCACAF president and FIFA vice president Jack Warner tried to keep the players of Trinidad and Tobago's 2006 World Cup squad from their rightful payday, but in the end a London arbitrator, like most judges do, ruled against Warner.

At issue was the complete disregarded for law that the T&T FA and Warner showed for the players. In a contract signed before the 2006 World Cup and negotiated in part by Warner, the players were to get a 50-50 split on all money from licensing and endorsement deals made with the federation. In the end, the FA received $28 million in gross profit from the World Cup, but each of the 23 players only collect $5,000. Somebody's calculator is broken.

Although the judge ruled in the players' favor, the exact amount each one will get will not be known till June, presumably after England plays their 'hay, why not vote for us to host the 2018 World Cup' match in T&T on June 1.

Warner has said that if the T&T FA disagrees with the ruling, they will pursue justice in some other way. Any guess as to what that way will be.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

After 5-1 defeat to LA, FC Dallas fire Morrow

Less then 48-hours after one of the worst results in club history, FC Dallas have sacked head coach Steve Morrow. Morrow took over Dallas after the team fired Colin Clarke in 2006. His MLS record stands at 15-17-8.

Assistant coach Marco Feruzzi will take over till a perminant replacement is found.

Although Dallas got off to a decent start during the first couple weeks of their 2008 campaign, they have only managed 1 point from their last four matches. Combine that with the bad taste from 2007 (including the Denilson debacle, even though that was more of managements design) and you have all the reasons Morrow is looking for a new job.

During his year and a half in change, Morrow never really figured out the FC Dallas back line problem. Also, even though he showed some strength in benching Ruiz for parts of last season, he never seemed to be in control of the club.

As far as replacements, SMU coach Schellas Hyndman will be in the mix, like he always is whenever Dallas looks for a new manager, but he probably will not bit yet again. That should open things up. My guess is it will be someone with limited to little head coaching history.

As far as Morrow, maybe he can still get the job at Walsall.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

Australia hopes 2009 & 2010 Club World Cup will lead to 2018 World Cup

Australia hopes their bid for the 2009 & 2010 Club World Cup will help them land the 2018 World Cup.

Their football association's chief executive Ben Buckley said:

"We want to be a strong and positive contributor to the world of football in as many ways as possible," he added.

"Next week's FIFA Congress is part of that strategy, as is the 2015 Asian Cup, bidding for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and also the 2009 and 2010 Club World Cup."

With FIFA meeting in Sydney next week to make the decision on the Club World Cup, chances are very strong Australia will get the nod, but will this actually give them a strong chance at landing the big prize in 2018?

With Europe all but a lock on 2018, and England the obvious front-runner, hosting a relatively small event such as this probably will not change the balance. However, if they can combine this event with a successful 2015 Asian Cup (which has yet to be awarded) and a solid 2018 bid, they might actually position themselves well for 2022.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

MLS Expansion - Is Vancouver's MLS dream over?

MLS Commissioner Don Garber has made it clear, if Vancouver wants to be the second Canadian team in the league, they need a stadium. Greg Kerfoot, owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, has been trying to make it happen for five years, but no it looks like he has given up as the soccer club will permanently move into the 60,000-seat BC Place in 2011.

BC Place will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic games. After the games, the air-supported roof will be removed and replaced with a retractable roof. Once that is done, the Whitecaps will move in.

If this is indeed a permanent move, it looks like MLS will not be in Vancouver anytime soon. However, the team is still negotiation with officials regarding the stadium, so who knows, the dream might still become reality.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

Houston's John Spencer doesn't regret passing Chicago Fire coaching job

Back in January, John Spencer was a few thousand dollars in salary away from accepting the top job in Chicago, but it was not to be. Instead he returned to Houston to spend another season with the MLS Champions.

This Saturday, Spencer returns to Chicago for the first time since he rejected the job however it is Chicago that is looking like the champions. So does Spencer have any hard feelings over his choice?

"I don't regret it," Spencer said this week as his team prepared for Saturday's visit to Toyota Park.

At the time, many people, myself included, thought the Fire's lack of interest in spending money on a coach was the sign of bad things to come, however, so far we have been wrong. The Fire currently sit two points behind Columbus for top spot in the league while Houston only achieved their first victory this past weekend. All in all, the front office in Fire land must be happy with their loss.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

US World Cup Qualifying tickets go on sale Sunday; Brazil-Venezuela tickets tomorrow

Tickets for the US Men's first 2010 World Cup Qualifier go on sale this Sunday (happy Mother's day) at 3pm ET/12pm PT. The red, white and blue start their race to South Africa on 15 June at the The Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca. against Barbados.

Tickets prices range from $18 to $65 and can be purchased at ussoccer.com, by phone (213-480-3232 in L.A.; 714-740-2000 in Orange County; 619-220-8497 in San Diego), and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout Southern California (including Macys, Wherehouse Music, FYE and Ritmo Latino).

This match represents the first ever World Cup Qualifier at the Home Depot Center, so hopefully a full house will come out.

On the other side of the country, tickets for the Brazil-Venezuela friendly on 6 June go on sale tomorrow (9 May). The game is a doubleheader with the New England Revolution and FC Dallas facing off in the second match.

Tickets for the two games rage from $30 to $110 and can be purchased by calling 1-877-GET-REVS or Ticketmaster at (617) 931-2222.

Two great nights of soccer on the coasts.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

2008 MLS Week 6 recap - We got ties

This past weekend of play saw a drop in goals and a huge increase in ties as only three matches saw more then two goals while four out of the seven ended tied up.

Attendance numbers also dropped a bit over the weekend, however every team broke the 10,000 mark. Real Salt Lake did the best at 25,571, while Houston came in second with 20,058. On the short side of things, Columbus only had 10,447 make it out while San Jose brought in 10,515. Although the San Jose number might seem small, it actually represents a sellout at Buck Shaw Stadium.

All the other numbers held pretty steady:


Week 6

	Season (42)	Week 6 (7)
Attendance	656,967	110,582
Att per game	15,642	15,797
Beckham Att	142,111	25,571
Beckham Avg Att (6)	23,685	25,571
Goals	117	14
Goals per game	2.8	2
Fouls	1,022	166
Fouls per game	24.3	23.7
Cards (red)	130 (10)	21 (2)
Inter-conference	East 11-1-4	West 1-0-0
Visitors	9-10-23	1-4-2
Ties	9 (21.4%)	4 (57.1%)

Chicago Fire 3-0 New England Revolution
Good news for the Fire, even with Blanco doing next to nothing, they can make things happen if Rolfe and Mapp stay healthy. The bad news, the only team the Fire seem to be able to score a bunch against is New England (7 goals in their two matches this year).

Over on the Revs side of the ball, Twellman can't get back soon enough. They are still creating chances but they have nobody to finish as they have now gone four games without scoring more then one goal in a game.

Goals: CF: Chris Rolfe (1) 29', John Thorrington (3) 50', Stephen King (1) 76'
Att: 10,858


Kansas City Wizards 1-2 Columbus Crew
How hot does the Crew need to get before the good people of Columbus will come see them? Thanks to the amazing midfield work of Adam Moffat and the skill of Robbie Rogers, the Crew looks to be a real horse in this race. Now they just need Danny O'Rourke to stop giving away penalty kicks and who knows what could be.
Goals: CC: Adam Moffatt (2) 4', Robbie Rogers (3) 34'
KC: Claudio Lopez pk (2) 79'
Att: 10,447


Chivas USA 0-0 Houston Dynamo
The first sign that this game was going to be ugly came just as the players were getting ready to step on the pitch as the fireworks went off early hitting the pyrotechnics guy in the face (let's hope he is alright). Anyway, this match got bloody fast as Dwayne DeRosario broke Lawson Vaughn's nose with a high kick in the 9'. Many more reckless fouls followed. In total nine cards were handed out including a direct red on Chivas's Claudio Suarez for pulling down the final player. Needless to say, referee Jozef Batko lost control of this one.

As far as the play, Chivas was playing as many behind the ball as possible while Houston tried to get their offense started. However, Ching is still not in step (his running is off and he couldn't find a ball in the air to save his life) while Franco Caraccio is still not ready for the big time. The good news, once Corey Ashe came in, it opened up the left side of play for Houston and provided for the best soccer of the night. Good news, their defense was looking better, even Boswell, but the final third is still a huge issue.
Att: 20,058


Los Angeles Galaxy 2-2 Real Salt Lake
Note to all defenses, don't give Beckham 10 yards of space. Real had three points in their pocket as they shot ahead 2-0 in the first 20 minutes but poor defended let Beckham carry his team right back into it. Beckerman continued to look good for Real while the main stand out for LA on the night (other then Becks) was Joe Franchino. He did the messy stuff in the middle that lead to the good stuff up top. By the way, LA looked better without Abel Xavier on the pitch.

One last thing, how did Donovan get an assist on the first Beckham goal? It wasn't a quick 1-2 pass situation. I just don't get it.
Goals: RSL: Fabian Espindola (2) 6', Kenny Deuchar (2) 18'
LA: David Beckham (2) 36', (3) 40'
Att: 25,571


FC Dallas 0-0 San Jose Earthquakes
Ronnie O'Brien was again the key for the 'Quakes as he caused pain in the Adrian Serioux free FC Dallas backline, but San Jose couldn't finish. FCD continued their weak offensive still they showed off last Thursday, thus giving Joe Cannon an easy day of it. Overall, Dallas looks off their stride while San Jose and their offside trap are playing better then expected.

By the way, little Buck Shaw Stadium looked great and the crowd was wonderful. Let's hope it stays this way till they get their own home.
Att: 10,515


DC United 0-2 Colorado Rapids
The first test of Marcelo Gallardo versus Christian Gomez is over and Gomez won hands down (even if Simms tied him up most of the match). United lost it in the middle while the Rapids couldn't find a ball they didn't want to shoot. In the end, it was a lackluster day for DC while Colorado finally showed the spark from their first match of the season.
Goals: CR: Jacob Peterson (1) 53', Facundo Erpen (1) 72'
Att: 13,115

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

Eric Wynalda returns to the pitch

Former US international and ESPN broadcaster Eric Wynalda is returning to the pitch after being cleared to play for the Premier Development League's Ventura County Fusion.

It has been seven years since he hung up his cleats, but Wynalda feels ready for this challenge thanks in large part to a fruit drink.

He credits this "comeback" to the fruit drink Monavie, which is based on the South American acai berry.

"My life since I retired was the managing pain from 11 surgeries," said Wynalda. "Ever since I've been drinking that stuff, I haven't taken one Advil.

"I've been playing all weekend for a year and a half now."

I smell a jersey sponsorship deal.

With the PDL three levels below MLS, Wynalda should still be able to shine, but I wonder how much juice he will need to drink in order to deal with the pain of playing on high school quality field turf?

So if you live in Southern California and want to see a US soccer legend playing meaningful matches, you now have a good, cheap option.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

VW backs DC and MLS in $4-6 million deal

The rumor is now official, DC United has a jersey sponsor.

Volkswagen has signed a multi-year deal with United that will be worth as much as $3.7million annually for the club. By Vee Dub's commitment to the top-level US league does not end with one shirt as they have also become the official automotive partner of MLS. This partnership will give the league an additional $1-2m annually.

A final official announcement is expected next week.

It will be interesting to see how VW runs with their MLS partnership. Will they use any footage or players in commercials/billboards or are they just interested in having their logo behind Beckham and the rest during press conferences?

For DC, like I said yesterday, this is a good get and at almost $4m a year, it is sure to make their bottom line a lot nicer. Also, having a well known, European based company on a MLS jersey is a very good idea.

This deal makes DC the ninth MLS side with a jersey sponsor. It is also the second biggest sponsorship after LA's $3.5-$5m a year deal with Herbalife.

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]

2008 US Open Cup - MLS teams get into the mix

San Jose Earthquakes vs. Real Salt Lake
7pm MT - Rice Eccles Stadium
Tickets

With just 118 days to go till the final match, the MLS is about to start their US Open Cup Qualifiers. Tonight sees the worst American team by record from 2007 take on the newest top-level side. At stake, the chance to meet the Columbus Crew in the second round of qualification on May 27th.

If Real is to make it to the Cup officially, they will need to do two things. First, they will have to beat a MLS side in a US Open Cup related competition, something they have never done, and second, they will have to win three games in a row, something else I do not think they have done. The good news for them is San Jose should allow them to get off to a great start.

The Earthquakes have impressed me so far this season, but only because they are an expansion side. The fact that they are not getting blown apart shows good for the coaching staff, but in the end, they really don't have what it takes to become a big contender.

This should give Real the opening they need to get into the second round of qualification. With the season so young and no other tournaments on the schedule, my guess is coach Jason Kreis will put his best foot forward. That means they will be pressuring the 'Quakes with their surprisingly strong attack. As far as defense, even if they wilt like they did against DC, with just two goals from four games, I don't think San Jose has the firepower to exploit the issue.

At the end of the day, this should be a victory for the royals from Utah.

Sadly, this game will not be televised anywhere. It might end up on one of these three radio stations, but I'm not sure: English - KALL 700am (Salt Lake), Spanish - KTUB 1600am (Salt Lake), KLOK 1170am (San Jose)

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[Source: My Soccer Blog]