See LA Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez and A.J. DeLaGarza talk about their transition from Maryland to Los Angeles. UCSB Alum and DC United forward Chris Pontius is also featured with nice highlights of his career.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Gauchos in MLS
As a UC Santa Barbara alum, and former soccer broadcaster, the Men’s soccer program is close to my heart and here is the current status of the former Gaucho greats in Major League Soccer
Chris Pontius (DC United, M/F) – Got his third consecutive start, and similarly to last week was positioned as a wide midfielder. He didn’t play as well as the previous weeks, but had some good touches and headers that sailed to high. Tom Soehn should put Pontius up top where he seems to thrive a little more, pairing him with Luciano Emilio, Ange N’Silu or even Jaime Moreno.
Andy Iro (Columbus Crew, D) – He got in the game at the 85th minute in the 4-1 loss to Real Salt Lake. Sunday he got the nod to start against Chivas USA. He scored his second career goal off a bad clearance to tie the game 1-1. Unfortunately his good performance was erased by the red card he received from a horrible tackle to Chivas’ Carey Talley. Iro will be out for the Crew’s next game against Colorado.
Eric Avila (FC Dallas, M) – Was subbed in at the 88th minute in the 2-1 lose against New England. Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman hasn’t been as favorable to see Avila play as the previous coach was. But with Dallas with only 0 points and 3 losses, Hyndman might have to shuffle his line-up and give Avila the nod to start.
Dan Kennedy (Chivas USA, GK) – Did not play. He’s still nursing an injury on his right knee. Since Chivas is getting results with Thorton at goal, Kennedy’s position as #1 goalkeeper might be doubt when he comes back.
Tino Nuñez (Real Salt Lake, F) – Did not play and wasn’t in the bench for the 4-1 victory against Columbus. Hasn’t seen any paying time this year, even though he did play nine games last seasoned and tallied a goal. But with Morales and Movsisyan hot, it will be hard for Nuñez to get any playing time.
Kyle Reynish (Real Salt Lake, GK) – Did not play nor was in the bench. Same situation as Nuñez, with Rimando and Seitz in front of him in the depth chart, it’s going to be hard for Reynish was he can do between the pipes.
Chris Pontius (DC United, M/F) – Got his third consecutive start, and similarly to last week was positioned as a wide midfielder. He didn’t play as well as the previous weeks, but had some good touches and headers that sailed to high. Tom Soehn should put Pontius up top where he seems to thrive a little more, pairing him with Luciano Emilio, Ange N’Silu or even Jaime Moreno.
Andy Iro (Columbus Crew, D) – He got in the game at the 85th minute in the 4-1 loss to Real Salt Lake. Sunday he got the nod to start against Chivas USA. He scored his second career goal off a bad clearance to tie the game 1-1. Unfortunately his good performance was erased by the red card he received from a horrible tackle to Chivas’ Carey Talley. Iro will be out for the Crew’s next game against Colorado.
Eric Avila (FC Dallas, M) – Was subbed in at the 88th minute in the 2-1 lose against New England. Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman hasn’t been as favorable to see Avila play as the previous coach was. But with Dallas with only 0 points and 3 losses, Hyndman might have to shuffle his line-up and give Avila the nod to start.
Dan Kennedy (Chivas USA, GK) – Did not play. He’s still nursing an injury on his right knee. Since Chivas is getting results with Thorton at goal, Kennedy’s position as #1 goalkeeper might be doubt when he comes back.
Tino Nuñez (Real Salt Lake, F) – Did not play and wasn’t in the bench for the 4-1 victory against Columbus. Hasn’t seen any paying time this year, even though he did play nine games last seasoned and tallied a goal. But with Morales and Movsisyan hot, it will be hard for Nuñez to get any playing time.
Kyle Reynish (Real Salt Lake, GK) – Did not play nor was in the bench. Same situation as Nuñez, with Rimando and Seitz in front of him in the depth chart, it’s going to be hard for Reynish was he can do between the pipes.
Tuesday's Rants
Well more than rants it’s just one rant. Plain and simple: What is the answer for the LA Galaxy. After having a bye week and two weeks to prepare, the Galaxy lost at home Saturday to the Colorado Rapids, or actually just Conor Casey, 3-2. Like they have been playing last year, the Galaxy let a lead slip away in the second half, in matter of minutes from themselves recapturing the lead. Well before I get into it, let’s take it from the top.
Seventeen seconds in the game, Colorado scored. That’s right, seventeen seconds. Surprisingly, it’s the second quickest goal in MLS history. Regardless, it was Conor Casey that made the easy tap in, after both Josh Saunders and rookie Omar Gonzalez failed to clear a simple cross from Omar Cummings. Gonzalez made up for it in the 37th minute when he headed in a corner kick from Landon Donovan - the best highlight of the night – tying the game 1-1.
Few minutes into the second half, it seemed that LA got control of the match, going up 2-1. Alan Gordon had an easy tap in of his own after Donovan’s crossed passed under the hands of Rapids goalkeeper Preston Burpo to find an open Gordon. However, since the Galaxy are the Galaxy, not sixty second later, the Casey–Cummings tandem struck again. Cummings played a low cross to Conor Casey who was left alone in front of Saunders’ goal, and tied the game 2-2. After Dema Kovalenko was red carded from a hard foul which was should have been more of a yellow, and since the Galaxy are playing with probably the slowest center back duo in Gonzalez and Tony Sanneh with a Sean Franklin on the right, it was no surprise that Casey was again left alone on a breakaway, in the 84th minute, to dribble by Saunders and complete his hat-trick as well as giving Colorado a 3-2 victory.
So where is the blame? Why was Conor Casey left by himself three times to score simple goals on the road? Can I blame Lalas? No, not this time, this is all Bruce Arena’s boys. Plain and simple, it’s the defense. With Eddie Lewis, Tony Sanneh, Omar Gonzales, and Sean Franklin in the back, the Galaxy has the oldest and youngest defense in the team. I understand that there has to be a blend between the veterans and rookies, but why always go to opposite ends? Why does the team keep signing these older players, not as agile, not as fast for the rest of the forwards in the league?
No one will take away Lewis and Sanneh’s great careers and what they did for the national team, but the team has to focus on younger players. Other teams have scouted all parts of the world for their players – DC United, Dallas, and Chicago have young talent that has come from Latin America. Even Seattle has taken advantage of it, signing Fredy Montero who’s quickly becoming a stud for the Sounders.
We did see good things from the youngsters this weekend, Gonzalez getting his first goal from a set piece, which is what everyone expected when he got drafted. Franklin also had a good run, setting up the Galaxy’s second goal. However, both also made mistakes on all of Colorado’s goals. Either being bad positioned or giving the ball away. The other rookies – A.J. DeLaGarza and Kyle Patterson are also not performing up to par. Patterson was consistently loosing the ball as he kept driving between Rapid players and De La Garza hasn’t shown much in his limited time.
Some might say that it’s just the second game of the campaign. But it’s no excuse for still having a bad defense when Bruce Arena has had an entire off-season, Superdraft, and preseason to prepare. I am tired of Arena trying to sign his old players, like Gregg Berhalter, the 35-year old defender who was part of the 2002 U.S. World Cup squad. He is 35, how much can he bring besides experience, and where is he going to play. Paring him up with Gonzalez makes the defense just as slow, and paring him up with Sanneh makes the defense one of the oldest in MLS.
Well, we’ll see what the line-up Arena will use tonight when the Galaxy face Colorado again in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in game. I would like to see what DeLaGarza could do with 90 minutes, as well as see more of Stefani Miglioranzi, Mike Magee and even Yohance Marshall.
The Galaxy does have youth in the squad, it’s not all filled with 30-something year old geezers. It’s just a matter of Bruce not holding on to his glory years in the early decade, and trusting the younger players who also have just as much experience.
Seventeen seconds in the game, Colorado scored. That’s right, seventeen seconds. Surprisingly, it’s the second quickest goal in MLS history. Regardless, it was Conor Casey that made the easy tap in, after both Josh Saunders and rookie Omar Gonzalez failed to clear a simple cross from Omar Cummings. Gonzalez made up for it in the 37th minute when he headed in a corner kick from Landon Donovan - the best highlight of the night – tying the game 1-1.
Few minutes into the second half, it seemed that LA got control of the match, going up 2-1. Alan Gordon had an easy tap in of his own after Donovan’s crossed passed under the hands of Rapids goalkeeper Preston Burpo to find an open Gordon. However, since the Galaxy are the Galaxy, not sixty second later, the Casey–Cummings tandem struck again. Cummings played a low cross to Conor Casey who was left alone in front of Saunders’ goal, and tied the game 2-2. After Dema Kovalenko was red carded from a hard foul which was should have been more of a yellow, and since the Galaxy are playing with probably the slowest center back duo in Gonzalez and Tony Sanneh with a Sean Franklin on the right, it was no surprise that Casey was again left alone on a breakaway, in the 84th minute, to dribble by Saunders and complete his hat-trick as well as giving Colorado a 3-2 victory.
So where is the blame? Why was Conor Casey left by himself three times to score simple goals on the road? Can I blame Lalas? No, not this time, this is all Bruce Arena’s boys. Plain and simple, it’s the defense. With Eddie Lewis, Tony Sanneh, Omar Gonzales, and Sean Franklin in the back, the Galaxy has the oldest and youngest defense in the team. I understand that there has to be a blend between the veterans and rookies, but why always go to opposite ends? Why does the team keep signing these older players, not as agile, not as fast for the rest of the forwards in the league?
No one will take away Lewis and Sanneh’s great careers and what they did for the national team, but the team has to focus on younger players. Other teams have scouted all parts of the world for their players – DC United, Dallas, and Chicago have young talent that has come from Latin America. Even Seattle has taken advantage of it, signing Fredy Montero who’s quickly becoming a stud for the Sounders.
We did see good things from the youngsters this weekend, Gonzalez getting his first goal from a set piece, which is what everyone expected when he got drafted. Franklin also had a good run, setting up the Galaxy’s second goal. However, both also made mistakes on all of Colorado’s goals. Either being bad positioned or giving the ball away. The other rookies – A.J. DeLaGarza and Kyle Patterson are also not performing up to par. Patterson was consistently loosing the ball as he kept driving between Rapid players and De La Garza hasn’t shown much in his limited time.
Some might say that it’s just the second game of the campaign. But it’s no excuse for still having a bad defense when Bruce Arena has had an entire off-season, Superdraft, and preseason to prepare. I am tired of Arena trying to sign his old players, like Gregg Berhalter, the 35-year old defender who was part of the 2002 U.S. World Cup squad. He is 35, how much can he bring besides experience, and where is he going to play. Paring him up with Gonzalez makes the defense just as slow, and paring him up with Sanneh makes the defense one of the oldest in MLS.
Well, we’ll see what the line-up Arena will use tonight when the Galaxy face Colorado again in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup play-in game. I would like to see what DeLaGarza could do with 90 minutes, as well as see more of Stefani Miglioranzi, Mike Magee and even Yohance Marshall.
The Galaxy does have youth in the squad, it’s not all filled with 30-something year old geezers. It’s just a matter of Bruce not holding on to his glory years in the early decade, and trusting the younger players who also have just as much experience.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Sven-Goran Erikson out of Mexico
Mexico also lost Wednesday when they traveled to Honduras with a 3-1 score. With this latest loss, Mexico has been winless away from the Estadio Azteca, where they play in at home, and has fallen to 4th place in the standings. This has also meant a change in the Mexican National Team. As of Thursday, the Mexican Soccer Federation has relieved Sven –Goran Erikson of his tenure as head coach of Mexico. The Mexican Federation as a whole in currently in shambles, with all levels of the national team consistently failing. The possibility of Mexico not qualifying for the World Cup in 2010 has to be a great worry for the country.
Current Standing in the CONCACAF Qualifying
United States – 7 points
Costa Rica – 6 Points
Honduras – 4 Points
Mexico – 3 Points
El Salvador – 2 Points
Trinidad & Tobago – 2 Points
Bolivia Humiliates Argentina in La Paz
There were other World Cup Qualifiers going on around the world on Wednesday. The most shocking was in South America where Bolivia absolutely destroyed Argentina 6-1. The news resonated so much around the world that I saw the highlights in the local news. Now it’s lucky when you see soccer in the local news, but when it is from South America, then you know it’s big. This was a historic game for both teams. Bolivian striker Joaquin Botero notched a hat-trick, three of the six goals. Wednesday’s game was the biggest beating that Argentina has suffered since 1958, and it has left questions in many Argentines’ minds whether former Argentine superstar, Diego Armando Maradona, is right for the coaching job.
The USA Still Heads CONCACAF
After a week of World Cup Qualifying matches, the United States still holds the lead on top of the CONCACAF after a tie last Saturday at El Salvador and a win on Wednesday against Trinidad & Tobago. The US A’s 4 points this past week gives them a total of 7 points heading into the next round of qualifying in June.
The United Sates left a sour taste in the American fan base after Saturday’s awful performance in the hostile crowd at Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador. Without the big center back, Oguchi Onyewu, who was out due to injury, and starting goalkeeper, Tim Howard, who was out due to a yellow card suspension, the US defense seemed shaky from the start. Sure enough, it only took 15 minutes for El Salvador to strike, getting a 1-0 lead and their first goal against the United States since 1997. The US never played with any sense of urgency while down by a goal and were only creating sloppy offensive chances. The consistent lack of chemistry took a toll on the US squad as El Salvador extended their lead, 2-0.
The US finally caught a break when El Salvador’s goalkeeper left with severe leg cramps. The US finally reenergized with help of Jozy Altidore, the 19-year-old striker, who came in as a sub. In the 77th minute, Frankie Hedjuk made across to the near post where Altidore headed the ball past the Salvadorian goalkeeper to cut the lead in half. The US finally started to press El Salvador in the last ten minutes of play, and with the shaky hands of the Salvadorian goalkeeper, the US managed to equalize two minutes before end of regulation. From a corner kick, Demarcus Beasley bent the ball across the box, where the goalkeeper miss-cleared the ball and was caught in no man’s land. The loose ball and open net were left for Hedjuk who headed the ball in for the2-2 tie. The California surfer and oldest player in the squad, at 38 years of age, ended is 12 year scoring drought for the US National Team with his goal.
Overall, the US played really miserable, with the exception of the last 15 minutes. Demarcus Beasley had an awful performance as the wingman, consistently missing passes and losing balls in the midfield. Landon Donovan disappeared for most of the match, unable to create any opportunities at goal and didn’t use his speed which could be such a threat. Fortunately for the US, they had little time for recover and focus on Wednesday’s game against Trinidad & Tobago in Nashville, Tennessee.
United States Head Coach Bob Bradley made some great changes for the second game, deciding to start young Altidore on top with Brian Ching, and moving Landon Donovan to the left wing position. That meant that Demarcus Beasley also had to be moved, taking the role for Heath Pierce as left back. Bradley also chose to keep it simple, choosing a 4-4-2 formation. Of course, with Howard between the pipes and Onyewu back, the defense was more experience than the one that faced El Salvador.
This new line-up absolutely outperformed that one of last Saturday, trouncing Trinidad & Tobago 3-0. The young Altidore was the man of the match scoring his first hat-trick, the youngest ever to do so for the US National Team. In the mix was also Landon Donovan, who after an abysmal game Saturday, had all three of the US assists on Wednesday.
The flood gates opened in the 13th minute when Ching left a soft header for Donovan. Darting into the 18-yard box, Donovan took a driven cross in front of goal to the streaking Altidore who tapped the ball in and gave the US a 1-0 lead. After going to the half with the same score, Altidore struck two more times in the second. In the 71st minute, Donovan beautifully spun his defender after receiving a ball from Beasley, seeing Altidore on top of the box, Donovan left him the ball. Altidore juked the last defender off his feet and slipped the ball past the goalkeeper, giving the US a 2-0 lead.
One minute from regulation, the thrill wasn’t over. Michael Bradley escaped the offsides trap and drove into the Trinidad & Tobago 18-yeard box unmarked, with only the goalkeeper to beat. As the goalkeeper came off his line to cut down the angle, Bradley passed the ball to Donovan on the left side who unselfishly tapped it behind to Altidore. His shot was low and soft, but still managed to slip under the hands of the Trinidad & Tobago’s goalkeeper, finalizing Altidore’s hat-trick.
It was good to see the US recover to well from a bad performance, and ending the week in a good note. Bob Bradley’s changes in the line-up worked wonders for the US. Paring Altidore and Ching as the two strikers shares the workload evenly. Altidore with his speed and Ching with his physical presence, always doing the dirty, unsung hero type of work; it could help the US become a more power threat offensively. Beasley’s work as left back was also impressive on Wednesday. He’s not experienced in the position but held his ground well, and the few times he was beaten, he made it up with his speed. However, I would like to see Francisco Torres, a young midfielder who comes in as a substitute, get more minutes. He is very cool and collective in the middle and might be a good replacement for an otherwise aging Pablo Mastroeni.
The US will not play a qualifier until June when it travels to Costa Rica and then to Chicago to host Honduras. Winning at home shouldn’t be a problem for the US, but if we see another performance similar to El Salvador in Costa Rica or even in Mexico, then the top spot in CONCACAF will be in doubt. Bradley has found answers to a lot of questions Wednesday, especially about the youth of the team. Maybe he now will trust them in a hostile crowd in Central America come summer.
The United Sates left a sour taste in the American fan base after Saturday’s awful performance in the hostile crowd at Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador. Without the big center back, Oguchi Onyewu, who was out due to injury, and starting goalkeeper, Tim Howard, who was out due to a yellow card suspension, the US defense seemed shaky from the start. Sure enough, it only took 15 minutes for El Salvador to strike, getting a 1-0 lead and their first goal against the United States since 1997. The US never played with any sense of urgency while down by a goal and were only creating sloppy offensive chances. The consistent lack of chemistry took a toll on the US squad as El Salvador extended their lead, 2-0.
The US finally caught a break when El Salvador’s goalkeeper left with severe leg cramps. The US finally reenergized with help of Jozy Altidore, the 19-year-old striker, who came in as a sub. In the 77th minute, Frankie Hedjuk made across to the near post where Altidore headed the ball past the Salvadorian goalkeeper to cut the lead in half. The US finally started to press El Salvador in the last ten minutes of play, and with the shaky hands of the Salvadorian goalkeeper, the US managed to equalize two minutes before end of regulation. From a corner kick, Demarcus Beasley bent the ball across the box, where the goalkeeper miss-cleared the ball and was caught in no man’s land. The loose ball and open net were left for Hedjuk who headed the ball in for the2-2 tie. The California surfer and oldest player in the squad, at 38 years of age, ended is 12 year scoring drought for the US National Team with his goal.
Overall, the US played really miserable, with the exception of the last 15 minutes. Demarcus Beasley had an awful performance as the wingman, consistently missing passes and losing balls in the midfield. Landon Donovan disappeared for most of the match, unable to create any opportunities at goal and didn’t use his speed which could be such a threat. Fortunately for the US, they had little time for recover and focus on Wednesday’s game against Trinidad & Tobago in Nashville, Tennessee.
United States Head Coach Bob Bradley made some great changes for the second game, deciding to start young Altidore on top with Brian Ching, and moving Landon Donovan to the left wing position. That meant that Demarcus Beasley also had to be moved, taking the role for Heath Pierce as left back. Bradley also chose to keep it simple, choosing a 4-4-2 formation. Of course, with Howard between the pipes and Onyewu back, the defense was more experience than the one that faced El Salvador.
This new line-up absolutely outperformed that one of last Saturday, trouncing Trinidad & Tobago 3-0. The young Altidore was the man of the match scoring his first hat-trick, the youngest ever to do so for the US National Team. In the mix was also Landon Donovan, who after an abysmal game Saturday, had all three of the US assists on Wednesday.
The flood gates opened in the 13th minute when Ching left a soft header for Donovan. Darting into the 18-yard box, Donovan took a driven cross in front of goal to the streaking Altidore who tapped the ball in and gave the US a 1-0 lead. After going to the half with the same score, Altidore struck two more times in the second. In the 71st minute, Donovan beautifully spun his defender after receiving a ball from Beasley, seeing Altidore on top of the box, Donovan left him the ball. Altidore juked the last defender off his feet and slipped the ball past the goalkeeper, giving the US a 2-0 lead.
One minute from regulation, the thrill wasn’t over. Michael Bradley escaped the offsides trap and drove into the Trinidad & Tobago 18-yeard box unmarked, with only the goalkeeper to beat. As the goalkeeper came off his line to cut down the angle, Bradley passed the ball to Donovan on the left side who unselfishly tapped it behind to Altidore. His shot was low and soft, but still managed to slip under the hands of the Trinidad & Tobago’s goalkeeper, finalizing Altidore’s hat-trick.
It was good to see the US recover to well from a bad performance, and ending the week in a good note. Bob Bradley’s changes in the line-up worked wonders for the US. Paring Altidore and Ching as the two strikers shares the workload evenly. Altidore with his speed and Ching with his physical presence, always doing the dirty, unsung hero type of work; it could help the US become a more power threat offensively. Beasley’s work as left back was also impressive on Wednesday. He’s not experienced in the position but held his ground well, and the few times he was beaten, he made it up with his speed. However, I would like to see Francisco Torres, a young midfielder who comes in as a substitute, get more minutes. He is very cool and collective in the middle and might be a good replacement for an otherwise aging Pablo Mastroeni.
The US will not play a qualifier until June when it travels to Costa Rica and then to Chicago to host Honduras. Winning at home shouldn’t be a problem for the US, but if we see another performance similar to El Salvador in Costa Rica or even in Mexico, then the top spot in CONCACAF will be in doubt. Bradley has found answers to a lot of questions Wednesday, especially about the youth of the team. Maybe he now will trust them in a hostile crowd in Central America come summer.
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