La Liga: Jornada 32 Weekend In Review

For anyone that’s new to these parts, I don’t write weekend reviews, but rather link to reviews since I don’t find it to be a good use of my time. And since others do a great job, I just link to them!

La Liga Results-Jornada 32

Saturday 12 April 2008 (Spanish Time)
20:00 Valencia 1 – Racing 2 FT
22:00 Recreativo 2 – Barcelona 2 FT

Sunday 13 April
17:00 Valladolid 1 – At. Madrid 1 FT
17:00 Betis 0 – Levante 1 FT
17:00 Getafe 0 – Zaragoza 0 FT
17:00 Espanyol 0 – Osasuna 1 FT
17:00 Deportivo 3 – Athletic 0 FT
17:00 Mallorca 2 – Sevilla 3 FT
19:00 R. Madrid 1- Murcia 0 FT
21:00 Almería 1 – Villarreal 0 FT

McBride and Fulham’s away win too little too late?

Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey started for the Cottagers as they trounced a sad looking Reading squad. Steve Coppell’s side forgot how to attack – and you know that happened when Andre Bikey is the only one that can find a shot on net. Kasey Keller manned the nets as Roy Hodgson shattered his “only play 2 Americans at-a-time” mold. McBride’s work ethic paid off today finding chance after chance on net. Dempsey patrolled the midfield taking attention with him from Reading defenders and leaving Jimmy Bullard free to fire his long shot or two. Overall, a great day – but many wonder, is it too little, too late?? The Cottagers face a tough remaining schedule, as do Reading, and it looks likely that both (6 Americans) could be on their way down to the Championship. Bolton and Birmingham, however, are struggling down the stretch as well and if points can be taken in the last 4 games, there’s a shot. Either way, Roy Hodgson should not stay.

It was Keller and Hahnemann in net- two goalkeepers from the Pacific Northwest and apparently on the Seattle Sounders radar come 2009. Hahnemann looks the more likely decision and you could see why today. A 2-0 win for Fulham was modest, thanks to Hahnemann who got his hand to a number of chances that should have been clear goals. The Cottagers hit the post FOUR times – one being the most acrobatic volley I’ve ever seen out of the 35-year old McBride.  David Healy worked hard today, but it was sub Erik Nevland who took advantage of his chances – finishing a run down the right side in the 91st minute. Carlos Bocanegra came in for Dempsey with about 20 minutes to go and shut his marks down. Therefore, the Americans played well – but where in the world is Bobby Convey? He makes a big fuss about dooming Fulham to relegation, how it doesn’t really matter that there are other Americans on the team, and then he can’t make the damn bench…

Oh. Right. Why focus on the relegation battle? No real reason…except that it was Fulham’s first AWAY win in 34 – I repeat 34 – away games. That’s almost two full years of NOT winning away from home. Why the sudden change? The burst of energy, desire to win? Did Hodgson just say to go out and play…cause they didn’t look like Hodgson tactics today.

But once again, too little too late? They are now 4 points from safety, 4 games left, 2 away, and Liverpool’s looming. You do the math.

MLS: Pouring Some Sauce over Week 3

With the ground shifting violently beneath my feet and my hands getting burned by all the pokers I’m pulling from the fire, I thought I’d try to post something saucy, topical, and yet not too complicated. I also wanted it to be useful…you judge the extent to which I succeeded.

As such, below you’ll find bold predictions about the weekend (saucy/topical) and a one-stop list of all the injuries MLSnet.com deigned to acknowledge (at least one gap exists) in the previews they post every week. Writing as someone who rarely gives MLSnet.com credit, I hereby applaud their previews…even if the timing isn’t always the best and that the list of injuries is the only bit that interests me.

Let’s start with the “saucy”…with the league standings as my walking stick…if you catch my meaning…

Who’s your PFA Player of the Year???

Here are the nominees, which came out yesterday, for the Professional Footballers Associaton’s Player of the Year. For many, the decision seems to be clear cut. What’s your vote…………?

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) – David Pizarro’s least favorite player has gathered in 40 games a whopping 37 goals – outscoring both Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez together. He has also come through on clutch situations, established himself as a presence in the locker room and in Sir Alex Ferguson’s eyes, all at the ripe age of 23. This is all after a 2006-07 season that saw him hit for 23 goals which now looks like cake compared to 2007-08. Most people’s unanimous selection.

2. Fernando Torres (Liverpool) – Few can argue a nomination, but there many out there that tout his arrival and goalscoring as more impressive than Ronaldo’s feats. If you take his move over from Atletico Madrid, the time it took to get accustomed the English football (or lack thereof), and then the subsequent rebirth of an extremely dangerous Liverpool forward, you could certainly vote for Torres. $50 million for 29 goals? That good value?? Probably better than what it would cost to get Ronaldo’s 37.

3. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) – All these young’uns on this shortlist. Fabregas has officially become Arsenal’s playmaker and on-field presence. With Cesc, Adebayor wouldn’t have his goals. That alone says things. At 20 years old, Thierry Henry has become a little bit of an afterthought at the Emirates when Adebayor and Cesc link up. His flair, skill, and vision are unbelievable for a player at 20 with the weight of the Gunners on his shoulders.

4. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) – Feels like this year has been Gerrard’s to get lost in the mix. The three nominations above him have taken most of the attention in Europe and the EPL. But Gerrard has remained steady. His leadership rises above the rest – even in the midst of Liverpool struggles. Gerrard wears his heart on his sleeve and it’s hard to see it on any sleeve but Liverpool’s. 20 goals, game-winning assists, and a tenacity that few midfielders posess in the EPL, Gerrard still has many years ahead of him. At what point does his loyalty and commitment to Liverpool go for naught?

5. Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal) – I would have never predicted Adebayor’s break-out season. Henry’s departure led to it, but it’s one thing to play the role of new striker and another to actually make the most of it. Adebayor has produced some of the most spectacular goals this year and stabilized an Arsenal squad that looked destined for mediocrity at the beginning of the season. Yes, the season is catching up to the Gunners – but Adebayor’s efforts certainly puts him on this shortlist.

6. David James (Portsmouth) – Getting towards over the hill (37 y.o.), James has had one interesting career full of huge ups and massive downs. “Calamity” James isn’t exactly the greatest nickname is it? Regardless, James has become a rock in the Pompey goal as they make their run for Europe. He’s also only been the real constant in Fabio Capello’s pool of underperforming goalkeepers. The real questions is – is this the keeper to put on here?

Who all is missing?? Did Tim Howard get snubbed? Why no Gareth Barry of Aston Villa??

Either way, it’s hard to believe that Cristiano Ronaldo won’t become the 4th ever player to win this distinction twice. Consecutively, I might add. Last person to do so was Thierry Henry in 2002-03 and 2003-04.  

MLS Week 2 Collective Power Rankings

The real pisser about the Major League Soccer (MLS) schedule is the fact that, by the time I get around to posting these on Thursday, some of these calls look silly. I’m thinking here of that #1 ranking for the Kansas City Wizards; I’m guessing that the 8 of 11 pundits who placed KC on top would reconsider after last night’s loss at home to the New England Revolution. Hardly matters, as this is just meant to be a snapshot in time – e.g. how 11 pundits (or more, given that some sites involved take a collective approach to ranking) stack(ed) up MLS’s 14 teams in the week of the prior week’s action.

So…what to say, generally, about how said 11 pundits stacked up these teams? It’s fair to say they’re not all speaking with one voice. In some cases, they’re barely harmonizing. Teams like DC United, the Houston Dynamo, the Colorado Rapids…well, suffice to say the list goes on. It’s not all muddy water: for instance, 8 of 11 pegged KC at #1 – however dubious that looks after last night – and everyone agrees that the league’s worst team is either Toronto FC or the San Jose Earthquakes.

And who were these 11 pundits? Here ya go (and, again, feel free to post your rankings in the comments after mine, to email me rankings, etc.):

Center Holds It (me)
Goal.com (Kyle McCarthy)
Orlando Sentinel (Brant Parsons)
Fullback Files (um…Fullback?)
Sideline Views (Luis Bueno)
AYL Soccer (Jacob Hart writes, but it looks collective)
WVHooligan (Drew Epperley)
Blue Blooded Journo (a collective)
3rd Degree (Parrish Glover)
ESPN.com (collective)
Fox Soccer Channel (Keith Costigan)

For those wondering what happened with Soccer By Ives rankings, he’s part of ESPN.com’s collective; that’s also why Andrea Canales’ rankings don’t show. Don’t want to double-count anyone…

(UPDATE: My apologies to On Soccer’s pate.  He forwarded his Week 2 “scariness rankings” for inclusion this post; I had to put it in an update because I couldn’t figure out how to work it into the text.  Anyway, it’s a pretty nifty concept pate has; it’s another way of looking at all this if nothing else.)

I’ll work into some details after the jump, but will start with the how I organized the data. Copy/pasting directions from previous entry: each team will be listed by rank and with their average, collective score following. To provide some perspective, the most common score(s) assigned to each team by the individual members of the collective will appear in parentheses after that, followed by the previous week’s ranking and average. Und, jetzt, der data:

La Liga: The First ‘Jueves de Feria’ Without Antonio Puerta

It would be criminal of me today to not mention Antonio Puerta, on this ‘Jueves de Feria’ (Feria Thursday).

2 years ago, Antonio Puerta single handedly started Sevilla on a run that would Spain 15 months and 5 separate titles (UEFA Cup 2006, 2007, Spanish Copa Del Rey 2007, Spanish Super Cup 2007 and European Super Cup 2006). His goal against Schalke didn’t only lift Sevilla to the finals against Middlesbrough, but it was also a spectacular goal, scored in the 100th minute of the game, in Sevilla’s 100th year of existence.

When this goal was scored, the city quite literally erupted into a frenzy, as you can see from the video. This goal will live as one of the greatest goals in Sevilla history.

Manolo Jimenez wrote a great remembrance today in MARCA about this topic. Remember that Jimenez was Puerta’s coach in Sevilla Atlético for a few years before his move up to the first team under Joaquin Caparros, and ultimately under the guidance of Juande Ramos.

His few lines says it all:

No resulta fácil encontrar las palabras adecuadas cuando se trata de recordar la figura del gran Antonio Puerta. Es un futbolista, una persona, por la que siento una especial predilección. Se cumple el primer Jueves de Feria sin él, se cumple el segundo aniversario del Jueves de Feria que cambió la historia del Sevilla y el destino de Puerta.

It’s not easy to find the right words when trying to remember the great Antonio Puerta. He’s a footballer, a person, for whom I felt a special predilection. It’s the first ‘Jueves de Feria’ without him, and it’s the second anniversary of the ‘Jueves de Feria’ that changed Sevilla’s history, and Puerta’s destiny’

CCC08: Done, Dusted…and Ugly…just Ugly

Well, that sucks.  As any who cares by now knows, both of Major League Soccer’s representatives in the CONCACAF Champions Cup have exited the tournament, the Houston Dynamo with a whimper, while DC United went down with fists flying…well, judging by the scoreline at least; I didn’t see the DC game.

Being pressed for time today, I’ll have Jeff Carlisle’s double-bubble wrap on both semifinal series speak for the full record.  The comments below, a genuine post-mortem of sorts as opposed to yesterday’s gloomy prognostications, will be 1) brief, and 2) directed solely to Houston’s loss.  Nice picture, yes?

Deportivo Saprissa 3-0 Houston Dynamo: Ban Artificial Turf
That title should inform all that I intend to eat my sour grapes.  Saprissa’s stadium is a shitbox.  OK, that’s not right.  The stadium actually looks pretty awesome with the stands stacked over the field and so on; the field itself doesn’t look bad, either.  It’s the turf that sucks, sucks, sucks.  Watching Houston over-hit one pass after the other – a malady that played its most fateful role when Dynamo players got excited about an opening upfield – leads me to call for a ban on artificial turf (not seriously, no, but I do hate it).  It’s like Home-Field Advantage-Plus (H-FAP?).  If I had to name an iconic image from the game, it would be Dwayne DeRosario desperately chasing the ball through a seam he slit through Saprissa’s midfield; if memory serves, he caught that damn ball all of once.  Houston simply never got it going, not anywhere near where they had to.  They played the ball forward often enough, but their attack looked positively Columbus-esque in terms of menace.

None of this is intended to excuse Houston.  They had two legs, the first of them on favorable ground and featuring multiple opportunities.  Houston blew every one of them by the end of the first leg, leaving the far harder task of winning on the crap-factory field.

Getting back to the whole “ugly” notion, that first goal was uglier than the guy up top.  The second one, while a little better…still ugly.  By the time the third rolled in, depression rendered me unable to appreciate aesthetics; if anything, the goal looked like dull pain.  Feel free to add your thoughts below.

Well, that’s a wrap…I guess.  It sucks to type it, but…better luck this fall…dammit.  To think things looked so promising on March 31…

La Liga: Jose Maria Del Nido Strikes Again

Anyone who reads this blog realizes I love Sevilla President, Jose Maria del Nido and all of the lovely things that comes from his greedy, sketchy lawyer mouth. Look at what a stud he is, in all his Feria de Abril glory, hanging out in his fancy caseta

Today, Del Nido came out with a classic. Talking about Dani Alves and his supposed desire to leave for Barcelona, the Sevilla president had this to say.

Por 25 millones de euros le mando al Barcelona las botas de Daniel Alves para que se las ponga un lateral del filial. Es quizás el mejor lateral derecho que hay actualmente en el mundo, y mi ilusión es que continúe los cuatro años que tiene”

For 25 million Euro, I’ll send Barcelona Dani Alves’s cleats so that a youth squad player can wear them. He’s possibly the best right back in the world and my hope is that he will stay here for the four years he has

Haha. What balls this guy has. I swear, the best things come out of this guy’s mouth. Basically he just told Laporta to screw off, and Dani Alves isn’t going anywhere.

Later in the convo, Del Nido denies that anyone has contacted him about the Brazilian, but does say that he won’t talk to anyone until the season is over.

It just so happens that this comes out in MARCA which sticks it to the Catalans any chance they get. But Del Nido knows how to deal, I’ll tell you that. He’s not afraid to stick his neck out there and say something stupid, but its what he’s known for.

Found Three! The Cubans have resurfaced…

…in Los Angeles. But not with Chivas USA as expected.

Defender Yenier Bermudez, midfielder Yordany Alvarez, and goalkeeper (hero of the 1-1 tie vs. the US U-23s) Jose Manuel Miranda – the all-star of the bunch – are now on trial with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

With WIcks and Cronin, I see Galaxy giving a long look at Miranda and most likely signing him. Bermudez was fantastic in the backline, while Alvarez showed some decent stuff. If anyone, expect Miranda and Bermudez to join the team on developmental contracts.

Hope these guys can latch on somewhere in the US. Just saw that Osvaldo Alonso – of the 2005 Gold Cup defectors – landed a contract with the Charleston Battery of the USL First Division. Alonso joins Lester More who signed for the Battery earlier this year.

Now where are the other four??

Red Bulls: Goodbye de Grandpre, Angel to sit Saturday?

Michael Lewis over at Big Apple Soccer reports that Juan Pablo Angel is questionable for this Saturday’s match-up vs. FC Dallas.

Ives Galarcep finally got Juan Carlos Osorio to admit his interest in Jorge Alberto Rojas, the second most-capped player in Venezualan history. He also mentions that Chris Innes should be signed. He organizes well, holds the line, and is dominant in the air.

Marc de Grandpre has officially resigned as Red Bull New York’s Managing Director. He is one of few that survived the Red Bull takeover and spent 9 years with the team. Why now? Apparently, a offer to good to refuse was tabled for some other position in the business community.

26-year old defender Alex Yi – who has been a staple in the back four for Dallas over the past couple of seasons – has retired due to continuous hamstring injuries. Moor, Davino, Wagenfuhr, Wagner, Rhine are all healthy so it’s not like Dallas will be really hurting on Saturday.

Kevin Goldthwaite is honored with The Offside Rules’ first-ever “Goal of the Weak”. It showcases the week’s goal lacking the most aesthetically. I can’t argue. A goal’s a goal though…right?