Monthly Archives: January 2011
Union Announce Preseason Orlando Scrimmage Schedule
Posted by on January 31, 2011
The Union will be heading down to Florida shortly for their first annual Bimbo Bakeries sponsored training camp. They just announced three new scrimmages along with one we already reported on. Here’s the schedule, presumably the three scrimmages without listed locations will take place at the Union training camp facility.
U-17 U.S. Men’s National Team on Feb. 6.
University of South Florida on Feb. 10.
University of Central Florida on Feb. 13.
USL-Pro club Orlando City S.C. on Feb 19 at the Florida Citrus Bowl.
Jozy’s On The Move; Although Where Is A Question.
Posted by on January 31, 2011
- Image via Wikipedia
Just because the AP reports it doesn’t mean its all the way true. Reports of American striker Jozy Altidore’s transfer within La Liga from Villareal to Levante were apparently based on another fake twitter post (still not sure why someone would waste their time posting fake tweets about soccer transfers.) Jozy Altidore himself has tweeted that he is actually on the move to reigning Turkish champions Bursaspor. As he’s had much trouble getting on the field for Villareal behind Guisseppe Rossi and their attack, it seems to be a good move for him. This transfer isn’t a huge surprise as Bursaspor has been linked to Altidore in previous years.
MLS Set For Major Announcement
Posted by on January 31, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
MLS is set to make a major announcement at 10:0o am and to stream a live teleconference at 3:30pm Tuesday, all available information is here.
Basically its another pre-announcement announcement, in the same vein as the announcement before Mondragon and Valdes joined the Union. I have a few guesses at what it might be, but they’re as good as meaningless really.
1. MLS is simply trying to drum up coverage of the schedule announcement, which is due to come out sometime, hopefully sooner rather than later.
2. There’s always the possibility of a new major sponsorship deal, maybe a TV deal something along those lines would definitely get a significant push from MLS. A TV deal in particular is something Garber has been putting a lot of his weight into recently. Hopefully a sponsor shows up that will put MLS into their top priorities, like Versus did for the NHL. It seems like a good investment to get in on the bottom of one of the fastest growing sports leagues in North America
3. I’ve heard speculation that it could be a promotion relegation concept, but I don’t think that makes sense at all. Especially with the Reserve league just restarting, it wouldn’t make any sense to turn that on its head.
4. I’ve also heard talk of changing the schedule to match the European leagues, also would seem horribly timed with all the speculation about Qatar and a potential Winter World Cup that would just force them to adjust it again.
5. Announcing the Cosmos as a 20th team would seem like a logical jump for some, but then another question rises. Why bring Thierry Henry and to a ceremony to welcome a city rival? Henry and Donovan will both be with Garber at the announcement
I honestly can’t figure out what it will be, at the moment I’m assuming its merely a sponsor, or TV deal. Probably something that won’t really have an effect, other than the monetary and what goes along with that, on the day to day on field operations of the league.
USWNT Roster Announced
Posted by on January 31, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
The USWNT just released the roster for the pre-Algarve Cup which includes a few members of the Philadelphia Independence. Rookie Midfielder Sinead Farrelly will be making her first appearance with the senior USWNT after many appearances with the youth teams. Lori Lindsey, Megan Rapinoe, and Amy Rodriguez also appear on the roster along with former Indepence player Heather Mitts. 23 of the 32 players brought into camp will go to Portugal for the tournament.
GOALKEEPERS (5): Nicole Barnhart (out of contract), Ashlyn Harris (Western New York Flash), Bianca Henninger (Santa Clara), Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers), Hope Solo (out of contract)
DEFENDERS (9): Rachel Buehler (Boston Breakers), Stephanie Cox (Boston Breakers), Whitney Engen (Western New York Flash), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), Heather Mitts (Atlanta Beat), Christie Rampone (out of contract), Becky Sauerbrunn (Washington Freedom), Meghan Schnur (out of contract), Brittany Taylor (Sky Blue FC)
MIDFIELDERS (13): Jordan Angeli (Boston Breakers), Yael Averbuch (Western New York Flash), Shannon Boxx (out of contract), Sinead Farrelly (Philadelphia Independence), Tobin Heath (Sky Blue FC), Meghan Klingenberg (Washington Freedom), Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence), Carli Lloyd (Atlanta Beat), Kristie Mewis (Boston College), Kelley O’Hara (Boston Breakers), Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Megan Rapinoe (Philadelphia Independence), Lindsay Tarpley (out of contract)
FORWARDS (5): Lauren Cheney (Boston Breakers), Sydney Leroux (UCLA), Alex Morgan (Western New York Flash), Amy Rodriguez (Philadelphia Independence), Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)
Egypt Friendly Officially Cancelled
Posted by on January 31, 2011
Image via Wikipedia
After all of the political unrest in Egypt recently, the USMNT friendly which was supposed to take place next week was cancelled.
“We were excited about the opportunity to play against Egypt, but due to the current situation, all parties agreed it was best to cancel the match,” USSF president Sunil Gulati said in a release announcing the news. “We appreciate the efforts of the Egyptian Football Association and the US State Department as we worked through this situation.”
http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/01/us-egypt-friendly-cairo-canceled
The Former Future Of American Soccer Plays In The Turkish Second Division Now
Posted by on January 31, 2011
This is basically at the point of not being news-worthy anymore, but Freddy Adu has moved to the Turkish Rizespor. In what is another step down from what he was rumored to be at 14, he has gone from first division Aris where he was getting little to no actual playing time to the second division where he presumably will get more playing time. Some are pumping this up as a great chance for Adu to get his feet set and restart his career, although my opposition to this is that he never really had much success anywhere. Adu was pumped up to heights he hadn’t reached by ESPN, MLS and whoever else told us all that he would be the best player America had ever seen. He didn’t fall from those heights in my mind, simply he never reached that height. We need to get past the idea that Freddy Adu was supposed to be a great player. He never has been a great player. He showed promise as a youth player, but nothing past then. Of course he is only 21, he will most likely continue to improve, which I would argue he has been doing all along, but he will also likely never be the best player in the world. He probably won’t be the best American player, especially not the best American Midfielder. He may eventually get a call-up to the national team again, but it will likely be when he hits his peak. At his very best Freddy Adu will warrant a shot at the USMNT but unless he really does manage to turn his career around entirely he won’t become a constant in the starting lineup as Donovan, and Dempsey have become.
The most important thing to remember is that Adu gothis first cap at 16, and made news for it. Agudelo got his first cap at 18, still unbelievably young, and very untested. As Bob Bradley will tell you a million times if you read anything he says, there’s no reason to pump these kids up. It’s bad for them as people, it’s bad for their games, and it’s bad for the team. Agudelo can play, so can Adu, but U.S. soccer doesn’t need a savior, we just need good players. Let Agudelo play, if he’s a great player he’ll prove how great he is on the field not on the back page of the paper.
A Few More Links From Camp
Posted by on January 31, 2011
As there’s really not much hard news worth writing a full piece about coming out of camp, I’ll try to just put up a bunch of links to different articles around the net coming out of camp. Hopefully there will be enough to do this every day, if not then definitely every other day. Either way the season should come soon enough and we will have some original news for all of you reading.
Michael Farfan Interview,with American Soccer News.net
http://union.american-soccer-news.com/?p=3177
They seem to love Shea Salinas in Vancouver from what I’ve read, I wish him well, but also hope he doesn’t turn out to be quite the steal Le Toux was for us
http://www.whitecapsfc.com/news/2011/01/learning-more-about-midfielder-shea-salinas
A relatively simple explanation of the new MLS Roster Regulations for 2011
Zac MacMath having a good preseason in Wayne, can’t wait to see how the kid does
http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/01/macmath-adjusting-quickly-first-preseason
Miles For MJ 5K And 1Mile Fun Run
Posted by on January 30, 2011
All below information taken directly from: http://section133.com/2011/01/30/miles-for-mj-5k-and-1-mile-fun-run/, please participate or donate if you can.
“Sheanon Williams is asking for HELP. His host family is affected by NF and are looking to raise awareness and money to help combat this disease. If you can’t participate yourself you can always make a donation if you can’t participate or donate please pass this info along to someone who may be interested. Thanks!
Date
Saturday, April 23, 2011 @ 8:30 AM
Registration Closing Date
Saturday, April 16, 2011 @ 11:59 PM
Brief Description
Team Miles for MJ is part of the NF Endurance Team & The Children’s Tumor Foundation. We run in honor of our 2 NF Heroes, MJ and his father, Marty as well as for those families living with NF every day. All proceeds from this event will go to The Children’s Tumor Foundation to help fund research & raise awareness about Neurofibromatosis (NF). NF is the term for the 3 distinct genetic disorders NF1, NF2, Schwannomatosis. Each causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body.
Additional Information
Estimated time schedule: Registration Opens: 7:30AM 1 Mile Bunny Hop: 8:30 AM (led by the Easter Bunny) 5K Run/Walk: 9:00 AM Cash prizes for Top 3 Male and Female Finishers Overall Age Division Prizes for Top 3 Male and Female Rain or Shine – no refunds Awesome event T-shirt for first 100 registered 5K participants. Please indicate shirt size with entry.”
A Few Links From Union Camp
Posted by on January 30, 2011
An article on first round Superdraft pick Zac Mac and his progress in training camp in Wayne.
>>http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/news/2011/01/macmath-adjusting-quickly-first-preseason
The Philadelphia Union trialists have all finally been identified. The sixth trialist has been confirmed as striker Aaron Wheeler, formerly of Miami FC. He joins Jeremiah White, Keon Daniel, Chris Agorsor, Thorne Holder and Michael Farfan‘s brother, Gabriel in trying to find a spot on this years team.
The Sons Of Ben did an interview with 16 year old Union player Zach Pfeffer. No real hard pressing news out of it, but exactly what you would expect from a supporters club covering a 16 year old on their own team.
>>http://beta.sonsofben.com/the-zach-pfeffer-interview/
An article on training camp in Wayne with a nice video of the camp, and an interview with Nowak, also a few comments from newcomer Brian Carroll.
An interview with local Spanish language commentator Julio Cesar Largo about the Colombian Community in Philadelphia, the Union and what growth he expects from the team.
bpmangan
mattsant16
Pat
