Top Soccer (Own) Goals

As I try to avoid talking about UW blowing a 41-26 lead to Arizona, I give you some of the best (or worst) own goals scored in soccer.

Seattle to get MLS Franchise

Starting in 2009, the MLS will have a new team, this time it's in Seattle. There is no word on whether or not minor league club Seattle Sounders would be promoted to MLS. The official announcement will be stated next week, as the MLS regular season comes to a close. Congratulations Seattleites, we finally have a pro team.

As for my opinion, it's a hit or miss thing. The Sounders just won the USL Championship over Atlanta at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tacoma. They have a great fanbase, but if there are only 4000 for a USL game, MLS is should prepare for Qwest Field to have 20,000 fans in a 66,000 seat stadium.

Source: SI

Mourinho Leaves Chelsea

As seen on Footy Mania:

Stunning news in the soccer world. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has left the team, and it was confirmed on the official team website. Two Premiership titles, an FA Cup winner, but the relationship with Roman Abramovich, the owner of the team, has been rocky throughout. There will be more to this story as it happens today.

Notable accomplishments for Jose under Chelsea:

• Never lost at Stamford Bridge in his 3 years as manager.
• Won 2005, 2007 Carling Cup.
• Advanced to Semi-finals of Champions League for 2 out of 3 years.

Stunner, especially since Chelsea faces Manchester United this weekend.

ESPN: Worldwide Leader My Left Testicle

I attempted to watch the LA Beckhams vs. Chivas USA on ESPN. Two things happened that set me off: One, a freaking WNBA playoff overtime game ran over the first 4 minutes. Two, Dave O'Brien and Eric Wynalda were commentating. O'Brien (AKA Can't Shut Up #1) decided to call Beckham "heroic" for travelling from England all the way back to LA to play in his 2nd game in 2 days. Uhh....Dave, not only did Landon Donovan do the same thing (from Sweden), but European players do that all the time! Towards the end of the game, when the Beckhams were down 3-0, Wynalda (AKA Can't Shut Up #2) said "I think the fans should start booing these guys.". Nothing gets this dude happy. So I've given you the beginning of the game, and the end, now let's talk about the rest.

* What's up with showing the starting lineups 18 minutes into the game???!!!!! That is simpleton thinking in spite of the WNBA game
* Who cares that Chivas player Maykal Galindo likes Scarface and played soccer barefoot? I can't stand the fact that they put up useless stats about these guys, in which I can easily look up at a computer.
* Bob Ley was part of the halftime crew. That I like very much. He can replace Dave and Rob Stone.
* Anyone else notice that whenever Beckham touched the ball, you would hear girly shrieks?
* I don't need 15 camera angles for a soccer game, especially skycam. Why would you want an aerial view of soccer?

This is an absolute joke ESPN comes up with and passes off as soccer. If they're the supposed "Worldwide Leader in Sports", why don't they air Rugby, Cricket, and the CFL?

Later on today, I'll write an article about things ESPN can do to improve its image on a global standpoint.

Landon Donovan: Welcome to Toronto

If you listen to the video closely, you'll hear chants of "Who are Ya?" Watch Landy Cakes get showered with streamers in their game against Toronto 10 days ago.

http://www.youtube.com/v/ibwcF8e-Yyk

I'm Moving to Wordpress

Not SS Reporters, but coming soon (as in by the end of the week), I'll be starting an all soccer blog over at Wordpress. Does that mean I'll stop posting anything soccer related here? Yes and no. The Yes is that I'll cross publish once or twice a week. The no is that there will be no more soccer posts that were originally written here.

USA vs. Brazil

The US Soccer team won't play against Mexico on September 9th, thus dashing hopes of my challenge with Ibearg. Instead, the US will face..............BRAZIL!! That is going to be a wicked game, but you knew that the US had to play it at home before getting their hineys kicked. According to SI, the US canceled the Mexico game because..

"The Americans had been scheduled to play Mexico at Azteca Stadium on Sept. 9 in a rematch of the Gold Cup final. The game was canceled because of what the U.S. Soccer Federation said were "contractual and financial considerations."

Which really means: "We don't have a chance when we play Mexico on the road, let's play Brazil at home."

I'm a pretty excited person right now, how huge would this be for US Soccer if they can compete against Brazil?

My Answer: Depends, we don't know Brazil's squad yet.

My Premiership Predictions

For those who thought I'd come up with the final year end table, you are wrong. Instead, I'll do it in this style.......

2007-08 EPL Winners: Manchester United. They have just too much firepower and too much skill to not repeat their result of last year.

Champions League Qualifiers: Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal. Outside of Arsenal, these teams are tough to beat in any league, but there shouldn't be much change in the English teams looking to go to Moscow.

Possible Champions League Darkhorse: Tottenham Hotspur. They had their ups and downs, but with Robbie Keane leading them, they could pull a surprise.

UEFA Cup Qualifiers: Portsmouth, Everton, Reading. I like Reading, and they can only improve after their surprise run to 8th place. Everton should have no problem going to the UEFA Cup, with Andy Johnson and Mikel Arteta.

UEFA Cup Darkhorse: Bolton. They're pretty boring to watch, but they are scrappy, and could finish in the top 8 for the 3rd year in a row.

Relegated Teams: West Ham, Derby, Wigan. West Ham escaped only because Carlos Tevez turned their season around....he's gone. Wigan are quite lucky that Sheffield United bombed in the final 6 games of the year. Derby......no chance whatsoever.

Teams That Should Watch Their Backs: Manchester City, Fulham. They were really bad last year, and should be very careful about staying in the Premier League. Man City must win at home, let alone score a goal. Fulham need to hope and pray.

What are your opinions?

EPL TV Schedule in USA/Canada

The EPL starts tomorrow! So for the handful of users that actually care about soccer, here is the TV schedule to my knowledge for viewers here in the US, and to are lucky neighbo(u)rs Canada. All teams in bold are the home squads.

Fox Soccer Channel (Digital Cable) 8/11/07-8/12/07:

8/11

West Ham vs. Manchester City at 10:00 AM EST/ 7:00 PST Live

Aston Villa vs. Liverpool at 12:00 PM EST/9:00 AM PST Live

Portsmouth vs. Derby (pronounced Darby) at 2:30 PM EST/11:30 AM PST Taped

8/12

Arsenal vs. Fulham at 7:00 AM EST/4:00 AM PST Live

Manchester United vs. Reading at 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST Live

Canada's Schedule 8/11-8/12

Rogers Sportsnet (Cable)

8/11 West Ham vs. Man City 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST Live

8/12- The Score (Cable)

Man United vs. Reading 11:00 AM EST/8:00 AM PST Live

Other 8 games are on Setanta Sports Canada, which is available for select cable companies due to the fact that it is a new channel.

David Beckham Makes MLS Debut

Written first on ArmchairGM.

The long awaited debut arrival of a foreign player past his prime, finally came to an end tonight. In the 72nd minute, David Beckham made his debut in front of 47,000 fans (At least half of them probably to see Beckham) at RFK Stadium. That's the good news, the bad news is that they lost 1-0 to DC United and are still the only team in the MLS not to win on the road.

He made a couple of good crosses, including a superb one to Landon Donovan, but the DC United keeper Troy Perkins saved the day by knocking it away. But you look at him, and even with the ankle injury, he's still past his prime. What people forget is that one player cannot change the shape of a league. They even overlooked attendance. For the games that don't involve the Galaxy, how many people would show up (besides Toronto FC)? What would be different is if they had 20 superstar players like Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, or Wayne Rooney. But the problem is, that those players would only come to America if they are 34 years old and past their peak. Seriously, do you think Rooney would just decide that at age 20, "Blimey, I think I'll go to the MLS for quality football."? When this 5 year contract expires, you will not see MLS popularity shoot up like that. Quality in their prime players would be good for the league, a player past his prime isn't good for the league.

ESPN did a Wonderful Job in Not Covering Last Night's Soccer Game

I feel like moving to Canada right now. They get 2 Barclays Premier League on regular cable a week. But that's not what this story is about.

ESPN 2: The Dos, didn't have Dave O'Brien to do the Toronto vs. LA Beckhams game, but they had Rob Stone. It was the first game I've watched that was simulcast on CBC and ESPN 2. I watched most of the game on the CBC, who had their announcers actually talk about the game. Maybe it's because the play-by-play man is British. I flip over to ESPN 2, and all I'm hearing is Beckham this, Beckham that, Eric Wynalda talking about cars, %^^^^&^&^&&^^&!!!!!!! Stone is rather annoying and may as well call a hockey game, and I'm losing more and more respect for Tommy Smyth. You'd think that with Beckham not playing (in a suit, so he's not an substitute option), they'd focus more on the game. WRONG!!!! ESPN is making everything an annoying yak fest, and it's driving me crazy! On the other hand, I have FSN Northwest, and that's just as bad. In my opinion, ESPN must do 2 (mandatory) things to make soccer on their network watchable.

1. Hire Derek Rae or JP Dellacamera to announce the MLS games. Dellacamera is chit-chatty at times, but not nearly as much as Dave "Must Always Talk" O'Brien. Rae is an announcer from the UK, end of story, try the veal. If you can't get either, have Gus Johnson study the rules of soccer.
2. Get rid of the 3 man booth. Make Eric Wynalda go. He says some good things, but he says a lot of stupid things and he also can't shut the bloody heck up. Derek Rae and JP Dellalongname have both worked with Smyth and they both have a good chemistry.

Optional:

1. No more sideline reporters. My blog title is Stupid Sideline Reporters, enough said. Unless it's an injury report, these guys add nothing to the game.

Anyone agree, disagree about this article?

Manchester United wins FA Community Shield

Manchester United 1 Chelsea 1 (Man U wins 3-0 on penalties): With the Barclays Premier League starting next week, Manchester United and Chelsea raised the curtain in the FA Community Shield. The first 20 minutes of the game was quite slow in the baking hot Wembley Stadium in London, but it picked up when a Jon Obi Mikel header went inches wide for Chelsea. Manchester United came back with 2 shots in 2 minutes when Ryan Giggs had his strike blocked by Petr Cech, and Michael Carrick's attempt from 25 yards went just wide. The game had it's first goal when Patrice Evra crossed the ball into the box and found Giggs, who brilliantly put it in the net to make it 1-0 for Man United. Not to be denied, Chelsea were level on the stroke of halftime on a beautiful goal by new signing Florent Malouda, who was injured in the process. The 2nd half was quite limited in the shot department, so with no extra time, the 2 teams went straight to penalties.

In the shootout, Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard, and Shaun Wright-Phillips all took spot kicks for Chelsea. The result? All were saved by Manchester United keeper Edwin Van Der Sar. Man U converted on their 3 kicks, and the Red Devils defeated Chelsea for the first time in 4 years.

The game was pretty dull, and hopefully that's not a sign of things to come in the BPL next week.

Iraq: The Incredible Story

It's amazing how Iraq is able to muster up a soccer team when you consider the fact that there is a war going on. But as they always do, they competed in the 2007 Asian Cup. This was a tournament in which Iraq was never considered to be a favorite, but Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and South Korea were. The Iraqi's had never even made it to an Asian Cup final, so of course they were unlikely to win. Not only did they win in their group, they had dominated another Pre-Tournament favorite in Australia, winning 3-1.

They had won their games over Vietnam, and stunned South Korea on penalty kicks to advance to their first Asian Cup final ever. What made this bittersweet, were the suicide bombers blowing up sections of the country, and several soccer fans celebrating their team's improbable run.

So now their final opponent was the Asian soccer powerhouse in Saudi Arabia. Iraq were heavy underdogs in this match, but they had been underdogs in half of their tournament games, so it really didn't matter. Iraq dominated the match and stunned the Saudis 1-0 to do the impossible, and win the Asian Cup. This should not just make headlines in Jakarta, Indonesia(where the final was held), or throughout Iraq. It should make headlines around the world.

You have to put politics aside, and celebrate the most global sport in the world. Because Iraq has shown that nothing is impossible. They should be the model team of the world when it comes to determination. We should all be happy, no matter what nationality you are, that a war torn country could have a national soccer team that could not only participate, but win a soccer tournament.

Iraq

2007 Asian Cup Champions

The MLS needs to be more diverse

Originally posted on ArmchairGM.

I say the MLS needs to be more diverse so we can pride ourselves in having a global league. Embracing people from around the world. The point I made in another article, was that "Outside of Beckham, they try to shut everyone out so they can make it a 95% American league. That way, they can boast about the MLS being the best in the world in the wild dream that they do well in the 2010 world cup. Most other leagues in Europe don't do that. They try and make it diverse."

To which Tyduffy replied

"SS Reporters, that is the biggest load of BS I have ever heard. They don't "shut anyone out" to make it a 95% American league. The league is loaded with Latin American and Caribbean players. The MLS' brightest young star is Juan Toja whom they scouted from Columbia. Their second big signing this year was Blanco. Do some research before just spouting off about something you know nothing about."

Ty, I hate to break it to you, but Latin America and the Caribbean doesn't make up most of the world. That is not even close to being diverse when they are both within either ocean. When I last checked, there are other parts of the earth outside the vicinity of the US. Also, I know my stuff, so don't say I know nothing about this subject.

Anyway, I have counted the number of Europeans, Africans, Asians, Australians, and Oceanians on every roster in the US only, and the total for each team is....

DC United: 2

Chicago Fire: 1

Kansas City Wizards: 1

New England Revs: 3

Red Bull New York: 6

Chivas USA: 3

Colorado Rapids: 4

FC Dallas: 2

Houston Dynamo: 3

LA Beckhams: 2

Real Salt Lake: 1

Columbus Crew: 3

So collectively, the number of Non-Latin American and Non-Caribbean in all of the MLS is...................

31 out of approximately 300 MLS players. That is about 2 per team on average.

That's pretty low in my opinion. Get more Europeans, Africans, diversify the MLS. It's a global game, it deserves a global cast of characters.

So what do you think?

ESPN May Have Set a Record for Longest Butt Kissing of Any Athlete

For those (besides me) who saw the LA Galaxy vs. Chelsea game on ESPN, I don't know whether or not I feel sorry for you. That was single handedly, the worst broadcast ever for any sport by the supposed "Worldwide Leader in Sports". They might as well not have aired the game at all, and just shown David Beckham for the full 90 minutes. The announcers were horrible (especially Eric Wynalda, who is virtually impossible to shut up when he's on a rant), they over did the whole broadcast. Who really cares for aerial coverage of a soccer game, when you can barely see the players or the ball? They've got skycam, they've got the celebrity cam, but the one that made me laugh the hardest, was the Beckham Cam. That caused Dave O'Brien to say that "Beckham stood up, that's exciting.".

^^$($)()(*@)#@)#)$##)%##)%)*#)*#)*%)*)%*#)**)%!!!!!!!! That's why I can't stand American announcers for a soccer game. They (especially O'Brien) always talk more about themselves, someone's drug problems, and celebrities, more than the actual freaking game! I watched some of the friendly match, and Chelsea were practically destroying them. But did the commentators notice that? Nope. They had Allen Hopkins interview the Governator. It was a farce to watch, and it is a disgrace to all the soccer fans who watched on ESPN. At the same time, it's not that surprising when you consider they do the same thing during a regular MLS game or a US International match. When you consider all the hype they put Beckham through, what is the result?!! He plays for 12 minutes, does nothing. That dude was so over hyped, it's not even funny.

Let's face it, the only way I'll ever watch a soccer game on ESPN, is if they stop making everything an entertainment show. I could care less about which player was raised by a hyena, I want to watch the game.

Ranting aside, you listen to the commentary on the 3 videos below (including when Beckham comes on to the field). They are Dave "MLB" O'Brien, Eric "Can't Shut Up" Wynalda, and Tommy "Old Onion Bag" Smyth. Video 1 is the start of the 2nd half, in which Chelsea scored the only goal. Video 2 is when you know who comes in. Video 3 is when he actually "plays".

1. http://www.youtube.com/v/RBao2CqP2fA&mode=user&search=

2. http://www.youtube.com/v/cqZvdoF0FEI&mode=user&search=

3. http://www.youtube.com/v/Mw_982WBj_g&mode=user&search=

Argentina Wins 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Argentina 2 Czech Republic 1: After what was a pretty boring scoreless first half, it built into a classic 2nd half as Argentina win their 6th FIFA U-20 World Cup title. The only thing to describe in the 1st half involving shots, was a Czech Republic free kick bounced around, conveniently to Marek Suchy, who had his shot come off the post after Argentine goalie Sergio Romero pushed it away from goal. Aside from that, it was start and stop, many fouls called, with the Czech's looking a little more prepared than the defending champs. Then came the 2nd half.

After both teams' keepers needed to make big saves in the span of 20 seconds in the 52nd minute, the Czech Republic stunned the Argentineans with a great volley by Martin Fenin inside the 18 yard box in the 60th minute. That seemed to have motivated the Argentina squad, and scored two minutes later on a shot by Sergio Aguero, who won the golden shoe (most goals scored in the tournament). The assist came from Mauro Zarate, who would later become a hero. In the 86th minute, Zarate took what looked like a harmless shot from about 16 yards out, but keeper Radek Petr was caught flatfooted, and caused most of the 20,000 fans at the National Soccer Stadium in Toronto to erupt.

It was a very good match, and the Czech Republic almost pulled of the upset. But in the end, it wasn't enough.

Congrats Argentina for your 6th title, and thank you Canada for being a wonderful host for a thrilling tournament.

In the 3rd place game: Chile 1 Austria 0. A goal by Hans Martinez in the final minute of the 1st half led Chile to a thrilling 1-0 win over Austria, who had many chances to equalize. Chile themselves had many opportunities to put the game away late, but the Austrian keeper was tremendous.

Previewing Argentina vs. Czech Republic

The final is tomorrow, and the FIFA U-20 World Cup will come to a close. Here's a little preview of the game.


Argentina: This is their 2nd final in a row, and they have a lot of fire power to bring to the Czechs offensively and defensively. They have conceded just one goal in the entire tournament against Poland, while scoring 15, including 6 against Panama. However, the only game where they didn't score, was against the Czech Republic in a 0-0 draw. Watch out for Argentine stars like Maxi Moralez and Sergio Arguero to be the key contributors in the Argentine attack. Because we definitely won't see another 0-0 draw.

Main Weakness: Hard to tell, I can't find any aside from the fact that they tend to pass too much.


Czech Republic: The Czech Republic have been the surprise team of the tournament. They drew with Argentina, upset Spain and Japan to get to this stage. The main reason of their success is their keeper Radek Petr, who has stopped several penalty kicks in shootouts against Spain and Japan. Petr is also helped by the fact that the Czech defense is incredibly strong, allowing 5 goals in total. But their offense is quite ummmmmmm........boring. They've scored 9 goals, but 2 out of the 9 were penalty kicks. They've scored very few times during the run of play, and seem to not be able to connect passes on a consistent basis. Translation: They're boring.


Main Weakness: Read last sentence from previous paragraph.


Final Score Prediction: Argentina 2 Czech Republic 0. Goals: Aguero 31, Moralez 70.


In case you are wondering, I think Chile will win 2-1 in the 3rd place game.

Argentina wins 3-0, will face the Czech Republic in the U-20 Final

Argentina 3 Chile 0: What a loss by Chile, they were down to 9 men, I'm absolutely speechless. The referee of this game was terrible, and called over 5o fouls (literally) in the game. The sad part was, that little situation, took away the fact that it was a good match. I ended up missing 20 minutes of the game, slightly affecting my point-of-view, but this was one of the more dominating performances by Argentina. For a better recap, hop over to the CBC.


So it's Argentina vs. Czech Republic in the final, a rematch of their group stage match in Ottawa, which ended 0-0. In the 3rd place match, it's Chile vs. Austria, a rematch of their group stage match, which ALSO ended 0-0. For the next 2 days, I'll preview both teams in the Final in Toronto. Including the prediction of who will take the title in Canada.

Austria gets ripped in half, Czech Republic are in the final

Czech Republic 2 Austria 0: So I'm off to a great start to this prediction thingy. The Czech's scored twice in the first 15 minutes, and they easily hold on to advance to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Final in Toronto. It all started on a 4th minute free kick when Czech midfielder Lubos Kalouda curled in a free kick, only to go of the Austrian goalkeeper, and straight to Tomas Micola, who put it in on the rebound because Austria never covered the near post in which Micola shot. Austria looked stunned, and never recovered from that mishap, as they couldn't connect passes, turned the ball over several times, and were out hustled by the Czech Republic. The Czech's made it 2-0 on a brilliant cross into the box, finding a wide open Martin Fenin, who tapped the ball in in the 15th minute. Austria looked god awful, and had ZERO shots on goal in the 1st half. The 2nd half was nondescript, as the Czech's advanced to the U-20 final for the first time ever. The Austrians have nothing to be ashamed of, and will play in the 3rd place match on Sunday, against either Chile or Argentina.

Final Note: Czech player Petr Janda will miss the final due to yellow card accumalations.

FIFA U-20 Semifinal: The Prediction

Austria will beat the Czech Republic 1-0 in extra time on a Rubin Okotie goal. Austria's main concern is their inability to be consistent for 90 minutes. The Czech Republic is boring, lack any offense, and should hope that they get a shot on goal.

Argentina will beat Chile 2-1 in Toronto. Chile has yet to face a high powered offense like Argentina, and with the possibility of star player Alexis Sanchez not playing tomorrow, it'll be tough. Argentina is just too good for the Chileans to handle, and they should be on their way to the final again.