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Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
Created for the 2010 World Cup "War of Soccer Independence Day" match against England these Photoshopped Revolutionary War paintings are still very timely. Perhaps, except the ones featuring Bob Bradley, but still pretty cool.
Enjoy!
"Yankee Doodle Landy and Teammates Vanquish Beckham"
The Euros have come and gone, leaving half the world completely unsurprised (“Oh, Spain won.”) and half the world completely surprised (“Oh, Germany didn’t win?”). There were wonderful goals, beautiful fans, tear-jerking anthems, and just a dash of racism to keep us all cynical. But most of all, there were the players – sixteen national sides’ worth, to be exact, wearing pride on their kits (at least until they got ousted on penalties in the quarters).
I wonder if Bizarro Kramer isn't a racist jackwad.
Today we celebrate the players who made this such a memorable month of games. UEFA already beat us to making a team of the tournament, so we’re taking a cue from episode 137 of Seinfeld and giving you our Bizarro XI. If you were cryogenically frozen in the 90s, here’s the gist of the episode:
Jerry: Yeah, like BizarroSuperman—Superman's exact opposite, who lives in the backwards Bizarro world. Up is down; down is up. He says "Hello" when he leaves, "Goodbye" when he arrives.
Elaine: Shouldn't he say "bad bye"? Isn't that the opposite of goodbye?
Jerry: No, it's still goodbye.
Elaine: Does he live underwater?
Jerry: No.
Elaine: Is he black?
Jerry: Look, just forget the whole thing. All right?
And here's our team, broken down by position.
Goalkeepers
The most interesting goalkeeper in the Euroverse.
Iker Casillo – How sad it is to be Andy Murray in the age of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. So it is with Iker Casillo, who has always played second fiddle to Barcelona’s Victor Valdes. A series of brutal mistakes in his club career kept Casillo out of the national side for far too long. After Valdes was ruled out due to a shaving injury, however, the Madrid man finally got the call-up he yearned for – and what a tournament he had. “I’ll never wash these gloves again!” he proudly exclaimed, lifting a trophy for the first time in his life.
Defenders
Jordi Elbo – Elbo played a mean game, defensively, more than making up for his hesitance to get forward. “I hope to carry this form into my club game at Valencia,” said the former Barcelona wingback, “I’m just happy to be making the most important move of my career.”
I'm a genie in a bottle, baby.
Gerard Poque – There’s no shame in doing what it takes to win, especially if you’re Gerard Poque, who accumulated six handballs and four red cards throughout the competition en route to saving Spain’s defensive record. “I’m so proud of you, baby!” said sweetheart Christina Aguilera, as she planted a kiss on his cheek.
Midfielders
Sergio Bursquetz – “Life is like a box of chocolates,” Forrest Gump once said. “You never know what you’re gonna get.” Like Tom Hanks’ Academy Award-winning character, Bursquetz grew up with a debilitating developmental disorder that left him in leg braces throughout his childhood. He often fell over in class, as his classmates teased “Stay on your feet, son!” and threw invisible spitballs at his face. Bursquetz learned from adversity to become the most imposing physical force in modern soccer, breezing through tackles and continuing play no matter what. Bubba would be proud.
Xabi – the Barcelona midfielder used height to his advantage, as usual, in guiding Spain to their third successive trophy. Always an aerial threat, Xabi found himself on the receiving end of many crosses, muscling his way over opponent to win the challenge.
Andrea Pirloo – he may be the typical stocky, bull-headed Italian goon with a bad crew cut, but Pirloo is utterly peerless. Even though he Charlie Adam’ed a crucial penalty against England, he played well enough to earn a spot in our team of the tournament.
Forwards
Ibrabrokovich eats three meals of humble pie a day.
Zlatan Ibrabrokovich – After his Pulitzer-winning biography of Sweden’s greatest ever striker, Gunnar Nordahl, everyone believed Ibrabrokovich had reached the top – until now. Ibra thanked Pep Guardiola, his former mentor, who hung the medal around the Swede’s neck after the tournament. “Without your faith, I never would have had the confidence to succeed. Thank you, professor.”
Mesut Oatzil – If it seems unfair that we’ve included the world’s sexiest soccer player on the list, keep this statistic in mind: Oatzil played every minute of Germany’s Euro run – the only non-goalkeeper in the tournament to make that claim. Endurance is the most overlooked trait in soccer, and the one that makes Oatzil so valuable to Die Mannschaft’s success.
Mario Berlotelli - the level-headed Italian team captain not only scored three goals, but dedicated each one to a role model in his life. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my family,” said Mario. “And I still have a long way to go. I just hope one day I can be as good as Messi. God bless.”
Cristiano Ranaldi – the greasy, pimple-pocked little teenager never guessed he would be playing at the Euros one day. “I just thought, focus on the game, not the fame – and the results will come.” He may not be suave, sexy, or charismatic, but he’s got a heart of gold.
What is this new site we're exposing you too? We'll let them explain:
"The Other 87 seeks to provide something that’s not instant analysis or eve of matchday previews. Think of us as the good bits of your favorite soccer coverage: the profiles that examine what makes a certain player tick, the historical background that sheds some light on how the sport has evolved to the present day, the silly features that are more than just tacking names on a list, but considering and explaining why each one deserves to be there.
O87 wants to be a home for soccer writing that makes you think, but that also treats the game as just that, a game. The greatest game, the one we obsess over and fixate on, to the point where we can’t read that gas costs 3.43 a gallon without thinking of Ajax’s 1995 Champions League winning team. But a game nonetheless.
“When you play a match, it is statistically proven that players actually have the ball three minutes on average. The best players – the Zidanes, Ronaldinhos, Gerrards – will have the ball maybe four minutes. Lesser players – defenders – probably two minutes. So, the most important thing is: what do you do those 87 minutes when you do not have the ball…. That is what determines whether you’re a good player or not.” –Johann Cruff
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
Portland Timber's tifo for the home leg of their Cascadia Cup rivalry match against Seattle Sounders was pretty impressive. Check out this behind the scenes video of the making and unveiling of the massive project. Seattle has made some pretty awesome tifo in the past and Rose City's work is a worthy comeback.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
The United States women's national team left Salt Lake City, Utah 2-1 winners over continental rivals Canada. It was the final match the Lady Nats played before the leave for London to defend their gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The USWNT took the earlier lead through a Canadian own goal and struggled mightily to add to that lead. Canada pulled one back and the USWNT relied on substitute Amy Rodriguez's late strike to separate the sides.
Good afternoon from upstate New York. MLS Road Trip just passed over the USA/Canada border for the second, but not last time, during this trip. I have two confessions about our visit to Montreal: 1. I'm in love with the city. 2. Because of how much fun we had, we didn't get a story at the game (we were actually slightly late to it). But fear not, next week we will be spending our nation's birthday at the Montreal-Kansas City game.
To summarize what happened at the Montreal game: Toronto dominated, Frings flipped off the Montreal Ultras who responded by throwing stuff on the field, and when the third TFC goal was scored, the fans started leaving en masse…except for the Ultras. We will have a story next week.
The stories that we did get were only from Chicago this week where Section 8 welcomed us with open arms. Communications director Dan Martin led us around the tailgate, introducing us to all the different groups. Section 8 is a large group compiled with a multitude of different smaller groups, both official and unofficial. Check out Jake Coburn's report on the tailgate where we were given a Polish drink that I'm not exactly sure is legal in the United States (judging from my hangover at halftime, it definitely shouldn't be).
Thankfully a Section 8 fan (who will remain anonymous) tipped us off that something would be going down during the game around the 75th minute, and it would definitely be illegal. One of Section 8's groups decided that they needed to take a stand against bigotry from members who weren't representative of the group. In order to make their point, they lit off flares in the stands. Check out Jake's report along with amazing pictures and video of the incident.
What's on tap (pun intended):
Saturday, 6/30 - MLS Road Trip will be in Washington D.C. to take in the D.C. United vs. Montreal Impact game. We will have reports on the District Ultras and likely one other supporters group.
Sunday, 7/1 - Spain vs. Italy. Depending on how good of a bar we find in the D.C. area, we are going to try to do a post and take some video of the celebrations when Spain wins its second straight Euro title.
Wednesday, 7/4 - No fireworks for us this year, though hopefully Montreal will throw us a bone, because we are going to be in Canada! We met with a member of the Montreal Ultras who will show us around before and during the game. I am going to attempt to write these posts in both French and English. Expect the French version to be a lot less complex.
Meet: Erdinger Weissbier -
While watching England-Italy at the Highbury Pub in Milwaukee, I ordered the only Hefeweizen on the menu, and was not disappointed. This was by far the smoothest beer that I have ever had. I didn't get to try it with food because the Highbury doesn't sell food, but I would imagine that this would go perfectly with a somewhat spicy steak and french fries. This beer was a perfect reward to the disappointing lack of goals in the Euro game; I would trade in not seeing goals for one of these beers any day.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
"2-4-1 links". Get it? Like a 2-4-1 drink deal only it's links to websites... ugh.. nevermind.
It's Friday. You're staring at the clock. Working on something, but not really working. Probably looking for a distraction. Most definitely thinking about that post-work Happy Hour.
The FBM Happy Hour is your savior. A few of the week's best stories to whet your whistle and waste some time before the REAL happy hour begins.
A Chinese man died last week after staying up for 11 straight days combining "alcohol, tobacco and exhuastion". He would get up each day at 3am then go to work after the games. Err... ummm....
Is Major League Soccer finally close to landing a second (first, really) team in New York City. The latest from the WSJ says a run-down spot in Queens might be the league's best hope yet.
Following up on an ealier Happy Hour piece, MLS attendance numbers continue to look super promising and are on track for a league single-season record. Multiple high gates at mid-week games (usually pretty low) and several sell outs in week 16 show a promising trend.
*** Don't forget! The U.S. women's national team plays their final game before heading to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. They'll face Canada in front of 15.000+ at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game will be NATIONALLY televised on NBC at 1:00pm CT.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
By Marek Kurylko
Don’t let the mystical title fool you, despite dragons and mermaids being symbols of the two cities we visited, a special kind of magic has been in full effect in Poland since June 8th when the European Championships kicked off in Warsaw. It was evident from that first match, when Poland drew 1-1 with Greece and 100,000+ people crammed into the Polish capital’s Fan Zone that the next 24 days were going to be special for both the country and its international visitors. Full disclosure – before going any further, I’ll tell you that I’m of 100% Polish descent (1st generation American) and that I spent a majority of my childhood summers visiting my family who reside there. If any of that results in a bias, I apologize. It should also be noted that, while I understand this Euro tournament is being co-hosted by Ukraine, my focus will be on the experiences that my girlfriend and I had while visiting Krakow and Warsaw in Poland.
This trip has been in the planning stages for me since 2007 when the UEFA Executive Committee named Poland and Ukraine as the third successful joint bid for the European Championship. For the five years leading up to the kick-off of the tournament, it’s been a roller coaster of positive and negative events; ranging from host city selection to criticism of sufficient infrastructure to the lottery process to obtain tickets for matches but the time had finally come, we were heading to Poland to see the best European teams battle it out on the pitch. In a perfect world, we would have stayed for an extended period of time but unfortunately work schedules limited our trip to eight days. Even so, we were firm determined on making the most of our adventure.
Flying out of Newark Liberty Airport on the evening of the 14th, we made our way to Warsaw (via Brussels) and had a fairly low-key day first day of enjoying the local fare, catching up with my family (with whom we were staying in Warsaw) and of course, watching the second matches of Group D on the television. With a good night's rest under our belts, the international appeal of "the beautiful game" became immediately visible on the morning of the 16th. Boarding our train from Warsaw to Krakow, we met a family of four in our train cabin who were noticeably tired. Sitting down next to a slightly older gentleman named Victor, he asked where we were from as he’d heard me speaking in both Polish and English. I explained that we were from the US, but that all of my family was from Poland at which time he let me know that the group was from Malta. For those of you not familiar with Malta (I’ll admit that I wasn’t an expert,) a quick snapshot of the country can be found here. As our three hour ride began, the train rolled off and the dialogue began. Topics ranged from the economy (shocker,) politics (another shocker,) education, New York City housing prices, Maltese history and a slew of others but the one which we discussed the most was the cultural environment of Poland and the country’s growth since the fall of communism. Victor and his family were very complimentary of Warsaw, its integration of history and modernism in addition to the country’s overall ability to feel so welcoming to so many guests. It should be noted that this was still the case even after Victor’s brother needed stitches since he was hit in the head with a glass by a disgruntled fan while rooting for the Spanish team at an Italian restaurant. Whether this was more reflective of the otherwise positive environment of Poland or the worldwide understanding of certain soccer fans being “over-passionate,” I’m not sure but it was comforting to know that this kind of behavior didn’t tarnish the overall brand of the country in the eyes of its Maltese guests.
The 16th was a very important night for the Poles as they were in full control of their destiny. Win their match versus the Czech Republic and they were into the Quarterfinals, at least as the runner-up of Group A. Upon arriving in Krakow we unpacked, took care of some formalities and headed over to the Fan Zone, an open and slightly muddy grass field often used for larger masses, such as those held by Pope John Paul II.
The criticism that many had was true, the environment was very sponsor heavy but, at least in my opinion, that’s understandable as they were paying for the overhead associated with maintaining the area for almost a month’s time. In an effort to organize the crowds looking to purchase food and beverage in the zone, administrators instituted a ticket system for all purchases (besides souvenirs.) All food tickets were sold at 1 zloty (the local currency) per ticket and beer tickets, which could only be used to purchase Carlsberg beers, were sold at 7 zloty per ticket. As a point of reference, at the time of the trip the exchange rate was $1 for 3.30 zloty. With about two hours to go until match time, the Fan Zone’s population began to grow exponentially.
Drones of Polish fans were rapidly funneling into enclosed area and with about an a hour to go, when they started to get rowdy, we headed to the center of the Old Town, <Insert Photo 5> a hotbed of bars and restaurants where everyone was holed up, ready to watch the match. We ended up grabbing a table at a restaurant called Sioux where everyone had one thing on their mind: the match. In the states, most restaurants would be adamant about making the most of you sitting at a dinner table for two hours, maximizing the number of drinks, appetizers and entrees ordered or at least making you feel guilty until you ordered more. That was certainly not the case; the servers at the restaurant were the furthest from pushy. They realized that you were going to be there for the next two hours and made their priority to make sure your glasses and plates were full but at your pace. The third matches of the group stage were even more interesting than their two predecessors as both matches were being played simultaneously. At half-time of the Poland vs. Czech Republic match, you could hear people cheering as Greece had scored on Russia in the extra time of the first half. Immediately, everyone started talking about what it would mean if the score of that match held and Poland won their match. Not only would Poland make it out of the Group stage, they would actually win their Group. The first 71 minutes of the Poland vs. Czech match were laden with missed opportunities for both teams until, in the 72nd minute, the Czech Republic scored and temporarily broke every Polish fan’s heart. Despite a myriad of substitutions, Poland wasn’t able to come back in the match and as such Czech Republic won the Group and Greece moved on as the runner up.
As we left the restaurant and headed into the main square of the Old Town we entered a grocery store to buy some drinks to take back to the hotel room. While waiting in line at the store, fans lamented about wasted opportunities but it didn’t take long for someone to find a silver lining as one of the fans said, “Well at least the Russians didn’t make it either.” Old feelings die hard. As we left the store, more Poles had made their way to the streets, coming back from the Fan Zone and leaving the bars. Surprisingly, the cloud of disappointment that had hit in the 72nd minute of the match had already been lifted and the Polish fans began to sing and dance in the streets, holding their scarves high above their heads. They realized that even if their team was not going to advance, that Poland was finally getting recognized by the world with the positive attention it had long deserved.
We spent the next few days in Krakow, exploring its rich history by day and watching the remaining Group matches by night. With the Dutch and English teams residing in Krakow, it was a given that their fans would be supporting their teams all over town. Some fans set up shop in outdoor cafes, others took to exploring the town by tour cars while loudly humming the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”, but however they showed their support, they were always friendly and willing to take a photo with you.
With my girlfriend having spent time studying in Holland, she had a vested interest in the Netherlands team so we made a conscious effort to find a place with good energy and good beer to enjoy the match outside of the Fan Zone. Ironically enough, that place ended up being the English Football Club. Yes, you read that correctly. Two Americans, supporting Holland, in an English-supporter bar in Poland - I couldn’t make this up if I wanted to. Initially it didn’t sound like it would have been a good environment, but it ended up being great. We were able to watch the Netherlands versus. Portugal match on a huge screen and even make friends with locals (who were huge Chelsea fans and frequented this bar during the Premiere League season) and also a soccer fan from India who lives in Czech Republic but was visiting his Polish girlfriend. It's interactions like this that make me look forward to a time when the US will embrace soccer more than once every four years, and everyone can engage in this sort of uniting dialogue, anywhere and everywhere throughout the world.
After a few more days in Krakow we headed back to Warsaw, unfortunately this time without any Maltese with which to pass the time… or air conditioning; luckily there was beer to keep us cold. Our main event was upon us, with the Group stages over we knew who we’d be seeing at the Quarterfinals match in Warsaw, Portugal vs. Czech Republic.
As was seen during many matches, it seemed like rain was as necessary for a match as the pitch, players and ball. The night before the match there were very intense thunderstorms and the weather report for match day did not look much better. Luckily for the players and fans, the National Stadium in Warsaw was built with a retractable roof for just such occasions. As we moved closer to the stadium throughout match day, the weather got progressively better and the sun came out just as we arrived on the local tram.
Right away you could see that, even with Poland out of the tournament, its fans were still going to show their nationalism at the match. In the sea of red and white shirts and jackets, it was hard to distinguish between Polish fans and Czech fans. While there was a respectable number of Portuguese fans in attendance, Czech’s proximity to Poland certainly made it easier for fans to travel to the match and support their team. Moreso surprising was that a majority of the Polish fan base at the match was rooting for the very team which knocked them out of the tournament. Every few minutes after a round of Czeska chants, the Polska chant would break out and the stadium would erupt with the passion of the local fans.
Contrary to the positive energy coming from the Poles and Czechs, while everyone already speculated it throughout the tournament, almost everyone really does hate Ronaldo. While the fans did not chant Lionel Messi’s name at him like the Danes did during their match against Portugal, the Poles and Czechs made it a point to whistle every second which Ronaldo had possession of the ball. Even with that kind of disdain for Ronaldo, he made it a point to show the crowd that all of the venom in the world wasn’t going to stop him as he drove in the only goal of the match at the 79th minute. As the match wrapped up, it was hard not to appreciate the quality of play from both teams and particular strategies, even if many of them did not work as effectively as planned. The Portuguese cheered, the Czechs left disappointed and the Poles took to the streets with more scarves, flags and Polska chants. Walking from the stadium back to the center of town on that warm Warsaw night, everyone couldn’t help but remain excited as there were still six more matches until a champion was crowned and the spotlight, which had shined for 24 days onto Poland and Ukraine, was extinguished.
About Marek
Marek is a Regional Representative for www.newjerseycraftbeer.com, Cicerone.org Certified Beer Server, New York Red Bulls season ticket holder, fan of FC Barcelona and the US Men’s National Team. Follow him on Twitter.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
On May 5th, 2012 a soccer ball was kicked again by a semi-professional soccer club from Austin, Texas. On a high school field in East Texas the Austin Aztex recorded a convincing 4-0 victory signally their return to the American soccer scene.
Abandoned by its owner for Orlando in 2010, the city was left with few live, local soccer options. Less than one year later, the Austin Aztex, the same as the previous departed team, announced it's formation. Under new ownership the Aztex would begin their journey in the United Soccer League's Professional Development League (PDL).
The building of soccer in the United States is not without dangers and pitfalls, but with great risk comes the potential for reward. The Free Beer Movement will follow the trials and tribulations as the Austin Aztex try to re-weave themselves into the city's fabric and win over the hearts and minds of the soccer, and larger, community.
We present... 'Building American Soccer: The Austin Aztex Project".
The project will follow the team from three different perspectives and check back several times throughout the season:
The easiest place to start in order to discuss what has been going wrong with the Austin Aztex – winless in five games in the USL PDL’s Mid-South Division before last Friday’s 1-0 victory – is with when everything was still all right. Incredibly all right. Absolutely A-OK, dizzying, in-the-best-possible-way-all-right.
The Aztex won their first game of the season against the East Texas Dutch Lions 4-0, and it wasn’t even that close. They won one then lost by one on the second night of a back-to-back road trip in West Texas and El Paso, then came back to House Park in Austin to avenge the loss to El Paso to the tune of 6-1 and continue their sumo pogo curbstomping of East Texas 7-0. They were the fourth-best team in Texas (and given FC Dallas’ struggles maybe even the third-best), and had already convinced many of their fans they were going to run away with the division.
The system implemented by head coach Paul Dalglish worked. The fullbacks got forward as advertised – at one point during the second East Texas game, left back Matt BoultTK spent four or five straight minutes in the offensive half of the field. The ball stayed generally on the ground – but the team wasn’t afraid to uncork long diagonals when it saw its wingers had a speed advantage over the opposing fullbacks. They were defensively sound, with a pair of holders who never looked outmatched and good high pressing from the wide attackers and fullbacks to win the ball back early.
The 4-2-3-1 formation promised by Dalglish – the one used by most of the teams in world soccer today, including some half of the Euro 2012 qualifiers – had its own personality, something between that formation and an asymmetric 4-3-3. The lines of the team bent, fitting together like Tetris blocks and neatly broken into those who would deliver the ball and those who would finish it. The front line – forward Kekuta Manneh, center attacking midfielder William Morse and right attacking midfielder Kristopher Tyrpak – was a triangle set up across one side of the field; the midfield – left attacking midfielder Jesus “Chuy” Cortes and holders Dillon Powers and Tony Rocha, formed another behind them. Morse’s tendency to drift forward balanced Manneh’s habit of dropping deep to receive the ball. Tyrpak’s aerial ability coming in off the right side met well with Cortes’ quality deliveries from the left.
Finding the proper role for Cortes at the season’s beginning set the Aztex on their rampaging ways. Cortes is a proper playmaker, someone who rarely looks towards goal himself, but instead for the pass that leads to the goal. A week before their first game, the team scrimmaged the men’s team of Division II St. Edward’s University. With Cortes playing in the center of the three-band, the Aztex could easily work the ball into the box, particularly by giving it to Chuy in the center and letting him spray it out wide. But when their crosses came in, they’d often find just one target waiting in the box to meet them. The Aztex ended up winning 1-0, but it wasn’t the most convincing performance. (Granted, they were playing without Tyrpak, Manneh, Morse and Powers. But of those only Morse started the game the next week against East Texas, the 4-0 win. Manneh came on as a substitute, scoring a sensational goal in the process.)
What stood out during this period is how difficult the Aztex were to defend. Against teams who retreated into their own half, they could keep the ball for as long as they wanted (I doubt anyone’s keeping these stats, but I’ll be shocked if the most common passing combination on the team isn’t one center back to the other). Against teams who tried to press, they had in Powers the ultimate release valve. He’s a former U20 national teamer and a rated MLS prospect as a central midfielder, and it shows. The segment of his skill set I was most impressed with was his ability receive and get rid of the ball while under pressure. Powers was an expert at keeping his body between the pressure and the ball and using his strength to hold them off; I literally saw opposing midfielders bounce off of him as they tried to barge or tackle him. He could receive a pass with an opponent draped over him like he was an NFL wide receiver and still retain possession.
Because of this, the Aztex always had an out ball; even with players close to him, Powers could receive it and keep it moving and remain in the center of the field to rinse and repeat. He broke opposing pressure not by passing through it – generally he played simple, short balls to his other holder or the advancing fullbacks – but by absorbing it. When the first man failed to win the ball and the second came, he could pass out of trouble knowing that space had opened up elsewhere on the field.
It was a groin injury suffered by Powers that knocked the first dent in Aztex’ aura of irresistibility. Suddenly those outlet balls weren’t as easy. They had to be hit more precisely to players with more time and space, and to find that space the holders had to drift around the field and out of the center. Once they did receive the ball, if the pressure got to them fast enough, they’d have to recycle possession even further back to the center defenders, starting the whole possession process over again and once more giving the team three or four successive lines to break through to get to goal.
The position has been anything but settled since Powers went down. An injury to Rocha as well has meant that the team has added two new players to slot into that position and started four different combinations of players in the two spots since they last won, five matches ago. The team has good holding players now, but Powers will literally be on a different level after next year’s MLS draft, and he has been missed.
Kekuta Manneh on the break. Photo Credit: Jillian Jacobs, The Austin Chronicle
The second setback has been the absence and nullification of the team’s starting forward, Kekuta Manneh. Manneh’s a tremendous player, fast and a wondrous dribbler who you wish would pass just a little more, the kind of player who you watch and think he should give the ball right there to a better-placed teammate seconds before he goes by the two defenders standing in his way and scores himself. He’s also 17, and just finished his junior year of high school, so it’s easy to forgive those moments when he makes a silly mistake and looks like a 17-year-old because of all the moments when he makes you realize that he’s better at soccer than you will be at anything you do ever.
I’m still upset that Manneh’s first goal for the Aztex, scored after coming on as a substitute in the first East Texas game mere hours after he joined the team isn’t on YouTube somewhere. He beat three defenders and the keeper with a series of shuffle steps and left foot right foor crossovers, a set of moves merely good players would struggle to complete against four orange cones. He scored once in the second El Paso game, this goal, though the video seems to have been taken for tactical purposes rather than video highlights, and also earned a penalty and got their keeper thrown out of the game some sixteen minutes in. In the East Texas rematch he scored four, showing off his instincts for making well-timed runs through the back of the defense.
But Manneh missed three games during the Aztex’ five game skid, and the two he has played have been against Laredo, who have not just the best defense of any of the Aztex’ division opponents but also by far the best suited to stifle him, loaded with quick but small, technically sound defenders comfortable coming out and denying him the space to get a running start, and robbing the Aztex of their most dangerous forward option.
Or at least, they were able to do so until last Friday, when Manneh and the Aztex finally got a goal and a win against Laredo. They did so by altering the system that they had used to build their impressive early lead in the standings, and stuck to as that series of draws and losses saw them drop points in five straight games.
NEXT on the "Austin Aztex Project": "Aztex Resurgence?" A tactical breakdown of the Aztex 1-0 win over Laredo.
About Eric
Eric Betts is a freelancer writer who lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and his dog Lando (yup). He is a contributing writer for "The Other 87 Minutes", their brilliance featured every Tuesday on the Free Beer Movement in the form of "the Tuesday 10" or the "Tuesday XI".
With the tournament winding down, we ponder ten alternate universe scenarios from this year's European Championship:
1. What if Croatia had beaten Spain?
Spain has won two straight major trophies (two out of three if you count the Confederations Cup, which we're doing until 2013 because we're patriotic). They are on the verge of cracking the greatest team of all-time debate. Croatia beats Spain, their run is stopped right there. In two years, they're a different team. Xavi goes from midfield dominator to 20-30 minutes a game. Will Del Bosque still be there? Will two more years of heated Clasicos wear down the other Barcelona and Real Madrid players? Sure, there are plenty of good, young Spaniards. But good enough to beat the good, young Germans? The French? The Belgians? (We're kidding about that last one... sort of).
2. What if Fabio Capello doesn't walk out on England in the spring 2012?
Capello walked out on England like Jason Bateman walked out on Jennifer Connolly in Juno. If he didn't, England come out in Euros, play some remotely attractive football. They probably still go through the group stages, but fail to impress the English media, who massively criticize the team, and they probably get spanked by Italy anyways. OK, so, nothing really changes there. But, if Capello doesn't walk out on England, Hodgson still languishes at West Brom, Redknapp is at Tottenham, and John Terry is either captain again or has quit the team in a fit of rage.
3. What if Andrea Pirlo had been born Andrew Fall, in Carlisle, Cumbria, England?
I mean, sure he’s an undisputed genius who’s more accurate over distance with either foot than you or I would be with our good throwing hand (a couple of overhit corners aside), but is he disciplined enough to play in the center of the first of two banks of four? Or would he have been turned into a right back at age 12?
4. What if Euro 2012 had been expanded to 24 teams?
This is ground that’s already been covered elsewhere. Would it lower the standard of play? We’re a little ambivalent, as too many of the non-classic games from this tournament seemed to stem from teams not even trying to compete with some of the continent’s giants. If those minnows had more minnows to compete against, then they might set out to win a few more games rather than sit back and absorb pressure (We’re not sure we buy this argument either. Just trying to look on the bright side).
5. What if Euro 2012 had been expanded to 32 teams?
Let’s face it. It’s not going to stay at 24 for ever. It’s an awkward number to have for something like this, and nobody really likes the idea of certain third place teams going through…nobody but Russia anyway. Hopefully sense will prevail and it will be returned to sixteen; thirty-two is more than half the total membership of UEFA today, and that number will only decrease as Germany absorbs debt-ridden nations into itself.
The alternative, is to say screw it and blow the whole thing out. Forget the whole qualifying process, invite all 53 teams, plus 10 guest nations and one team of recently retired superstars, seed them, and play the whole thing out single elimination, March Madness style. Spain vs. San Marino in the first round? Gareth Bale carving up Turkey to give 12-seed Wales the upset over the favored 5-seed? The good old U.S. of A. going on a surprise Final Four run? Bring it on.
6. What if France had actually utilized one of the wealth of attacking options on its bench from the get-go against Spain, rather than playing two right backs to try to neutralize Jordi Alba?
They’d have still lost, but the game might have been more entertaining.
7. What if Mario Balotelli had attempted a panenka with his first spot kick in the shootout against England?
A. Let’s assume he’d have missed it. Given the fact that this tends to be how stuff like that works out for him, and the fact that he’s not a Zidane or Pirlo-level living legend who can actually pull one off (just ask Cristiano, who despite his greatness isn’t quite there yet), I think this is a fair assumption.
B. Assuming that the penalty was missed or saved, we can conjecture that first, Twitter would exploded instantly. Not “filled your newsfeed” exploded, but literally self-destructed, unless it dropped and sealed its fuel rods to prevent a catastrophic meltdown. Second, Pirlo, knowing he couldn’t very well try it again during the same shootout, sends a just slightly less than inch-perfect penalty right into the path of a diving Joe Hart, who makes the save. One of the Ashley’s, doesn’t matter which, has his nerves eased by the fact that he couldn’t possibly screw up that badly and buries his. England wins the shootout. Hart is hailed as a national hero. The team score a controversial second goal against Germany that the fifth official rules is over the line even though in replays it doesn’t appear to have entirely crossed the plane. They lose to the Germans 4-2.
8. What if Sweden had turned on before their last group game?
It’s fairly easy to imagine. One player marking the biggest Ukrainian threat of the game in the second half, one time. One more goal during either of their first two games. Danny Welbeck not getting really, really lucky with that incredibly brilliant backheel, and suddenly the Swedes are through. Granted, the French might have played a little harder if elimination was on the line, but given how poorly they did I’m not sure how much it would have mattered. Any of those, and suddenly we get the Swedes’ forest-worth of six-foot-bodies charging into the Spanish box on every set piece and lumbering around the midfield chasing red shirts and the ball. Stylistically, it had the potential to be thrilling, and another game of Zlatan would be infinitely better than what the French through out there.
9. What if Portugal or Italy actually manage to upset Spain or Germany, setting up a group stage rematch in the final?
Not really sure, to be honest. I mean Spain-Italy was a pretty good game, right? Germany-Portugal a little less so. Could Cristiano succeed in completing his single-handed conquest of the tournament? Would Spain actually try to score the second time around? Or would we all just rather prefer to see what Spain’s tiny judo masters do against a team that might bother to try to attack them constantly?
10. What if Estonia had beaten Ireland in their qualification playoff?
Probably the exact same thing as what happened to Ireland.
What is this new site we're exposing you too? We'll let them explain:
"The Other 87 seeks to provide something that’s not instant analysis or eve of matchday previews. Think of us as the good bits of your favorite soccer coverage: the profiles that examine what makes a certain player tick, the historical background that sheds some light on how the sport has evolved to the present day, the silly features that are more than just tacking names on a list, but considering and explaining why each one deserves to be there.
O87 wants to be a home for soccer writing that makes you think, but that also treats the game as just that, a game. The greatest game, the one we obsess over and fixate on, to the point where we can’t read that gas costs 3.43 a gallon without thinking of Ajax’s 1995 Champions League winning team. But a game nonetheless.
“When you play a match, it is statistically proven that players actually have the ball three minutes on average. The best players – the Zidanes, Ronaldinhos, Gerrards – will have the ball maybe four minutes. Lesser players – defenders – probably two minutes. So, the most important thing is: what do you do those 87 minutes when you do not have the ball…. That is what determines whether you’re a good player or not.” –Johann Cruff
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
Cascadia Cup. Atlantic Cup. And loads more delicious Major League Soccer game this past weekend (and back to mid-week action as well). Check out all fifty-two tallies from week 16 in just under six minutes all from the awesome soccer channel, KickTV.
Wow! What a crazy start to my journey. It is 2:41 a.m. CST and I am typing this 20 miles east of Bismarck, ND. Our photographer, Dan Perlea, has been driving for 17 hours straight so that we can make Chicago without wasting too much time. We are all hopped up on Golazos and Nature Valley Bars, but remain upbeat. Last week, we met some amazing people and did some crazy things that we would like to share:
Saturday 6/16 - We took in the Chivas USA vs. Real Salt Lake game with Black Army 1850, one of the Chivas USA supporters groups. Dan snapped an amazing shot of Black Army President Angel Mendoza showing his support for diversity by waving both the rainbow American Flag and colorless American Flag at the same time. Check out the Black Army tailgate, in-game experience, and how we got free Black Army scarves.
Sunday 6/17 - Dan, our photographer, almost got kicked out of the Home Depot Center for the LA Galaxy vs. Portland Timbers FC game, but spent the second half on the field taking pictures of the most famous players in MLS.
Wednesday 6/20 - After checking out Pike Place Market we headed to Golazo Energy HQ in Seattle where we made this "mix tape" that will probably end my career as a journalist before it really starts. After this, Jake went to go cover the Emerald City Supporters while I went to go talk to Gorilla FC. Check out this amazing footage that Jake got before and during the game:
What's on tap (pun intended):
Friday 6/22 - SLEEP! Yes, technically I'm typing this on Friday. But I think for the first time this trip, we are actually going to try to get eight hours of sleep (at least) in a night.
Saturday 6/23 - We will attend the Section 8 tailgate and then the Chicago Fire vs. Columbus Crew game, hopefully it isn't going to rain like it has been in Chicago lately.
Monday 6/25 - A certain member of our team is having a certain birthday and we're celebrating by pub crawling in Chicago and then attending the Cubs vs. Mets game (where I will be wearing a soccer jersey).
Wednesday 6/27 - For my first voyage out of the country (ever!) MLS Road Trip will be taking in the Montreal Impact vs. Toronto FC game at Stade Saputo in Montreal. Look for posts in both English et en Francais aussi!
Meet: Manny's Pale Ale
It was Wednesday and I still didn't have a beer review done, so I took the chance to order the beer of the day over brunch at the Pike Place Bar and Grill: Manny's Pale Ale. The first thing I noticed about this Georgetown (Seattle) Brewing Company beer was the color. The picture I took really doesn't do it justice; it was a beautiful golden orange, almost like honey. As I mentioned last week, I'm not a huge fan of bitterness in beers, and this beer is no exception. For a pale ale, it isn't that hoppy, and overall has a smoother taste, but less flavor. This beer went amazing with the salty, buttery flavors scampi that I enjoyed with it.
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"2-4-1 links". Get it? Like a 2-4-1 drink deal only it's links to websites... ugh.. nevermind.
It's Friday. You're staring at the clock. Working on something, but not really working. Probably looking for a distraction. Most definitely thinking about that post-work Happy Hour.
The FBM Happy Hour is your savior. A few of the week's best stories to whet your whistle and waste some time before the REAL happy hour begins.
Sure we've moved on to the quarterfinals, but there's nothing wrong with looking back at the best goals so far. For some countries its all they've got.
Sick moves from Indi Cowie, a freshman this fall at UNC, who was recently named the winner of the 2012 FIFA Street vs. Street World Soccer Freestyle competition by none other than Lionel Messi.
Former teammate Julie Foudy pens a wonderful tribute to Mia Hamm, recently chosen by ESPNW as the best female athlete in the last 40 years (since the passage of the landmark Title IX).
A little self-promotion here. FBM Founder, Dan Wiersema was on MLS Reserves' podcast this week. Check it out for the story of FBM and how we're "building American soccer one beer at a time".
MLS Reserves is also a just a solid blog for coverage of MLS and North American soccer, in general.
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If you saw "Pelada", this story will be familiar to you. One of the documentary's two focuses, Gwendolyn Oxenham has finally put her copious notes from their three year, twenty-five country pick up soccer journey into a book. The result is "Finding The Game", a nearly 300 page re-visting of many of the stories from "Pelada", but with much more details and loads more stories that the film couldn't fit in.
Gwendolyn was kind enough to give us a few minutes of her time to talk about writing the book, telling missed stories, and where everyone involved in the "Pelada" movie are now.
Per usual, a six-pack of questions for the "Finding the Game" author.
Free Beer Movement: Talk about the process of writing this book. Have you been writing this since the movie came out three years ago? What did a writing day look like for this book?
Gwendolyn Oxenham: I started writing on our plane ride to Trinidad. Throughout the trip, I kept a notebook sandwiched between my cleats and wrote whenever I felt like it, mainly scribbling down details I worried I might forget. And then the bulk of the writing happened last summer. We were living in an apartment in Chapel Hill and my daily routine was to walk to the school library, bury myself in the stacks, and write until 5pm--then I took off for the field. There was an amazing pickup game everyday with guys from all over the world and it felt good to go from writing about the game to actually playing it.
FBM: Why was it important to also publish a book on your journey even though so many of us saw "Pelada"?
GO: So much happened away from the cameras--the book follows our adventures and offers a behind-the-scenes look as we hunt for games. Plus, when you're trying to squeeze three years and twenty-five countries worth of material into a 90 minute film, a ridiculous amount gets left out. A book allowed me to include the details and stories that were impossible to fit into the film, and writing is always what I've wanted to do. Pickup--the world at play--is an often overlooked strand of the game that has so much to offer.
FBM: How did it feel to revisit these stories you told in "Pelada" through your journals and notes and then tell them in your own words?
GO: I love the people we met and played with so it was enjoyable to spend so much time thinking about them. And I like the interplay between the two forms of storytelling -- how words help me find images and how images help me find words.
FBM: When we had a chance to interview you after the premiere of "Pelada" at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin you expressed regret at the fact that so many stories were left on the cutting room floor. Is this book a way to "make good" on having those missing stories told and look at a few from the film in more depth?
GO: Yes! We probably could've made an entire film on just the Bolivian prison. Instead it ended up as a 6 minute story...and that was one of our longest vignettes; other countries got reduced to a single image. It's wonderful to have a chance to tell the full story.
FBM: What is the importance of keeping soccer in your (and everyone else's) life?
I am most myself when I am on the field--and I think that's true for so many of us. That fact has great connective power.
FBM: Since the movie what have you (and Luke, and Ryan, and Rebekah) all been up to? Briefly fill in the last couple of years.. like "Where Are They Now?"
GO: (Director) Ryan (White)'s at work on an awesome documentary about Freda Kelly, the Beatles' longtime secretary who is telling her stories for the first time. He and (Camera woman Rebekah) Ferg also both worked on a doc about Prop 8. Ferg owns a production company in San Francisco called "RFilms" and is developing a documentary about the Mission District in SF. Luke (Boughen) just graduated from law school and is studying for the bar and looking for a job. And I teach English classes at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.
Editor's Note: And, of course, Luke and Gwendolyn were married in June 2010, almost one year after "Pelada" made its theatrical debut.
"Finding the Game" is available TODAY from Amazon.com and other retailers. Go the extra mile, go local and ask your neighborhood bookstore.
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Street Soccer USA/ Soccer 945 (Photo Credit: James Willamor)
By Jay Landskroener
Being in a major financial hub diverts a lot of the attention away from the other scenes around this wonderful city. Charlotte is the birthplace of the Homeless USA Cup (now called the Street Soccer USA Cup), home base for numerous Youth and Adult soccer leagues and academies, various colleges and universities, as well as a USL PRO team, the Charlotte Eagles. Since the mid 2000’s there have been a number of soccer specific bars opening in certain neighborhoods all around town.
Queen City Outlaws at Courtyard Hooligans
In 2009 Charlotte got what might be considered one of the best soccer bars east of the Mississippi, a pub that opened up specifically for the niche of soccer, aptly named “Courtyard Hooligans” located in Uptown Charlotte. During the ensuing World Cup, Hooligans was the place to be in summer 2010. Since then, every week soccer fans come out of the woodwork for Premier League, La Liga, Champions League, MLS, International matches and everything in between. On top of soccer this pub has a great collection of local and regional beers, and it is within the top 30 of Guinness sales on the east coast.
The American Outlaws chapter in Charlotte, the Queen City Outlaws has been active in helping the community of soccer grow locally. Support of the United States Soccer team’s games throughout the city can be watched while fans sing songs and shout chants for their national teams. During the 2011 Gold Cup, though USA did not play in Charlotte, the group stage games that took place here were the third most attended group stage matches of the tournament.
On a different realm of the sport, Soccer 945 is the organization that helps homeless people in bad times to correct their lives through the world of soccer. The group has done work with other organizations to help the cause and continue the growth of sport in the city, such as having regional and national futsal tournaments with other cities homeless teams. The biggest thing that this organization has done was to form what is known as the Homeless USA Cup to help the homeless of all areas of the globe to better their lives through the world of soccer. A great cause through a great sport.
With the colleges and the universities here the local pickup games and adult leagues are forever growing. Most notably though, UNC-Charlotte made it to the finals of the 2011 NCAA College Cup and put on arguably one of the best finals in all of domestic soccer against a very good University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill team, losing 1-0.
Locally, the adult leagues keep thriving with open competitions year in, year out. One key talking point of adult soccer leagues here is an annual soccer tournament known as the Soccer World Cup, in which 20 national teams comprised of local players compete to be the champions. An amazing community event and great atmosphere to watch every summer also gives a warm sense of enlightenment knowing that this event helps the Charlotte World Soccer Foundation hand out a charity check to an organization helping children in need.
Not just playing or observing the sport, but a lot of the local fans here contribute to the consumption of great local brews. Companies such as Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, NoDa Brewing, Bird Song Brewing, Ass Clown, and Four Friends Brewery have all appeared in the last five years to compensate for the largest city in the state to compete with the other great brews in North Carolina. The Foothills and Blue Ridge areas have set the bar for breweries in North Carolina though with companies like Highland, Big Boss, Duck Rabbit, and Catawba Valley taking a stronghold on the regional beer scene.
One of the best parts of the beer and soccer scene here is a sense of camaraderie with all fans throughout the town. Being a transient city, there are fans of all teams and all nationalities here that band together for the love of the game. And that’s how we live our soccer and beer drinking lives: for the love of the game.
About Jay
Jay Landskroener writes for Rattle the Frame as well as hosts the podcast on rattletheframe.com. Also a contributor for kyck.com pertaining to MLS. American Outlaws Chapter President of the Queen City Outlaws. You can follow Jay on Twitter.
Forget the Bailout Bowl or the Lalas v. Ballack grudge match, the erudite among us know that Friday’s Germany-Greece quarterfinal is really a replay of the two nation’s infamous Monty Python 1972 International Philosophy final, seen here:
(Never mind that that's likely what a group stage game between Greece and England would have looked like: 90 minutes of both teams standing behind the ball then a late goal.)
In tribute to the play and thought of those 22 great minds, we’ve decided to construct our own philosopher’s XI here:
GK – Zeno of Citium – The original Stoic taught that negative emotions could be snuffed out by the virtue of Reason, and so he never dwells on giving up a goal.
SW – Rene Descartes – Useful to have as the last man back, since unlike many of the others on this team his cogito ergo sum pronouncement means he almost never gets caught unprepared while trying to think himself out of existence.
Bacon going for the Alexi Lalas look.
LCB – Francis Bacon – Uses the knowledge gained via senses to save his team's…uhh, chances in the defensive end.
RCB – Soren Kierkegaard – The first existentialist isn't really a team player or a system guy, but he makes up for it with his ferocious individual man marking.
CDM – Thomas Hobbes – Ensures the lives of opposing playmakers are nasty, brutish and short.
Left carillero – Friedrich Nietzsche – Philosophy’s own Jermaine Jones, always bending the laws of the game and claiming he has surpassed soccer’s primitive value system.
Right carillero – Confucius – The ultimate teammate, always serving as a model for others. He knows that he would not appreciate it if one of his teammates were to hog the ball and never pass, and so he does not do it himself.
Oops... wrong Socrates
CAM – Sócrates – An unfortunate smudge on the manager’s team sheet means Brazilian attacking midfielder Sócrates – who replaced Hippocrates as the team’s physician/philosopher – starts over favored Greek philosopher Socrates.
LW – Thomas Aquinas – No tiki-taka for the ever-incisive Saint Thomas, who recognizes that just as the object of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity are God Himself, the object of the footballing virtues – dribbling, passing and shooting – are goals themselves.
CF – Martin Heidegger – Has apparently decided that the reason there is something rather than nothing is because nothing is awfully hard to score goals into.
RW – John Locke – Begins each game with his own tabula rasa, learning from the opponent and adapting his ideas and methods to them in order to liberate his forwards upon the goal.
What is this new site we're exposing you too? We'll let them explain:
"The Other 87 seeks to provide something that’s not instant analysis or eve of matchday previews. Think of us as the good bits of your favorite soccer coverage: the profiles that examine what makes a certain player tick, the historical background that sheds some light on how the sport has evolved to the present day, the silly features that are more than just tacking names on a list, but considering and explaining why each one deserves to be there.
O87 wants to be a home for soccer writing that makes you think, but that also treats the game as just that, a game. The greatest game, the one we obsess over and fixate on, to the point where we can’t read that gas costs 3.43 a gallon without thinking of Ajax’s 1995 Champions League winning team. But a game nonetheless.
“When you play a match, it is statistically proven that players actually have the ball three minutes on average. The best players – the Zidanes, Ronaldinhos, Gerrards – will have the ball maybe four minutes. Lesser players – defenders – probably two minutes. So, the most important thing is: what do you do those 87 minutes when you do not have the ball…. That is what determines whether you’re a good player or not.” –Johann Cruff
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
You wouldn't necessary call it a "payback" game for the U.S. women's national team because an international friendly isn't equal to a World Cup Final, but a 4-1 ownage of Japan in the run up to the London Olympics is definitely a confidence booster.
Braces by both Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach made for easy work for the Lady Nats in their final match of their Sweden trip.
The USWNT will play their final Olympic tune up match against Canada in the friendly confines of Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. The match will air on NBC on June 30th at 1:00pm CT.
Highlights:
Reaction:
Analysis (Sorry... it appears that most of the regular USMNT writers either missed this game or have yet to post articles on it.):
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
The U.S. women's national team continued their preparations for the 2012 London Summer Olympics with a 3-1 win over 4th ranked Sweden. The world's "number one" Lady Nats were propelled by a phenomenal 25+ yard strike by Abby Wamback inside 10 minutes, a cold finish from Alex Morgan, and a Tobin Heath header to seal the scoreline.
The USWNT will face Japan on Monday at 9am CT on the Universal Sports Network or streaming for free on UniversalSports.com.
Wambach's Goal:
Morgan's Goal:
Tobin Heath's Goal:
Reaction:
Analysis from some of American soccer's best USWNT writers:
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
"2-4-1 links". Get it? Like a 2-4-1 drink deal only it's links to websites... ugh.. nevermind.
It's Friday. You're staring at the clock. Working on something, but not really working. Probably looking for a distraction. Most definitely thinking about that post-work Happy Hour.
The FBM Happy Hour is your savior. A few of the week's best stories to whet your whistle and waste some time before the REAL happy hour begins.
Bryan Byrne of "SC101" and "The Original Winger's" Ben Hooper review gear for KickTV's "The Gear Show". They comb through all sixteen Euro teams and help you decide which are the best.
Lustig couldn't do it when Ukraine's Andriy Shevchenko slammed his second goal, and the game winner so Sweden fans are taking pictures to show him the proper way. Is this the new "planking" in Sweden?
The U.S women's national team is loaded with young talent like Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan. Here's one more name to keep track of in the near future.
The Jurgen Klinsmann revolution is taking place not only on the field, but in the yoga studio. An inside look at what the U.S. National Team is working toward when he says he's looking to change soccer in America.
When the Homegrown Player (and the return of the Reserve League) rules were announced by MLS they were met with much fanfare. THIS was how American soccer would start catching up with the world. Despite this a large number of "developmental" players aren't seeing the field for their sides. What's going wrong and what effect is that having.
Take a quick look at the U.S. national women's soccer team roster. How many minority players are there? Shannon Boxx, Sydney Leroux, and.... If you thought that the American soccer club structure made it hard for minority boys to climb the ladder, just wait until you read about the massive hurdles minority girls face.
Planting the Seed of Soccer Across America: Danny Beerseed - 0 comments
For many critics of the American game (among a plethora of other complaints) they cite a lack of history of the sport in the United States. But contrary to popular belief, the beautiful game was established here for much longer than most realize.
It goes past 1996 and the foundation of Major League Soccer. Past the 1960s and 70s of the New York Cosmos and the North American Soccer League. Even past Joe Gaetjens and the 1950 "Miracle on Grass". American soccer history is long and storied; nearly as old as it's European foundations.
See the full match and hundreds more video from American soccer history at www.davebrett.com.
Thirty-seven years ago American soccer was forever changed when Brazilian legend made his debut for the New York Cosmos in an exhibition match against the Dallas Tornadoes.
In the match, Pele dazzled the crowd, assisting on the first goal and scoring the second in a 2-2 game at Downing Stadium on Randalls Island in New York.
The three-time World Cup champion was brought stateside to feature in what would becoming an even more star-studded line up as the years when on. Giorgio Chinaglia. Franz Beckenbauer, and Carlos Alberto just a few of the names that would grace the Cosmos squad in the next decade.
Pele would play in 56 games between 1975 and 1977, scoring 31 times and brought record crowds to games in New York and around the United States.
Pele's inclusion into American soccer was a game changer for the struggling North American Soccer League. Teams burst their small budgets attempting to mirror the Cosmos' success and seven years after Pele the league folded.
But for several years soccer blew up the U.S. sport scene. All was not lost as teams like the San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, and Portland Timbers survived to return to today's Major League Soccer. The greater impact was the impression that Pele and the NASL left on a generation of new soccer fans. Hope that soccer could work in the United States with just a little smarter business plan.
Ten years after the NASL folded and nearly twenty after Pele's debut the U.S. hosted the 1994 World Cup and laid the foundation of top-flight, professional soccer (part of the deal in the U.S hosting the World Cup was to found Major League Soccer... it's premier two years later in 1996) in America.
Meet: Erdinger Weissbier -
This trip has been in the planning stages for me since 2007 when the UEFA Executive Committee named Poland and Ukraine as the third successful joint bid for the European Championship. For the five years leading up to the kick-off of the tournament, it’s been a roller coaster of positive and negative events; ranging from host city selection to criticism of sufficient infrastructure to the lottery process to obtain tickets for matches but the time had finally come, we were heading to Poland to see the best European teams battle it out on the pitch. In a perfect world, we would have stayed for an extended period of time but unfortunately work schedules limited our trip to eight days. Even so, we were firm determined on making the most of our adventure.
As a point of reference, at the time of the trip the exchange rate was $1 for 3.30 zloty. With about two hours to go until match time, the Fan Zone’s population began to grow exponentially.
As we left the restaurant and headed into the main square of the Old Town we entered a grocery store to buy some drinks to take back to the hotel room. While waiting in line at the store, fans lamented about wasted opportunities but it didn’t take long for someone to find a silver lining as one of the fans said, “Well at least the Russians didn’t make it either.” Old feelings die hard. As we left the store, more Poles had made their way to the streets, coming back from the Fan Zone and leaving the bars. Surprisingly, the cloud of disappointment that had hit in the 72nd minute of the match had already been lifted and the Polish fans began to sing and dance in the streets, holding their scarves high above their heads. They realized that even if their team was not going to advance, that Poland was finally getting recognized by the world with the positive attention it had long deserved.
After a few more days in Krakow we headed back to Warsaw, unfortunately this time without any Maltese with which to pass the time… or air conditioning; luckily there was beer to keep us cold. Our main event was upon us, with the Group stages over we knew who we’d be seeing at the Quarterfinals match in Warsaw, Portugal vs. Czech Republic.
1. What if Croatia had beaten Spain?
7. What if Mario Balotelli had attempted a 
FBM: Why was it important to also publish a book on your journey even though so many of us saw "Pelada"?
Not just playing or observing the sport, but a lot of the local fans here contribute to the consumption of great local brews. Companies such as 
