U.S. National Team Beats Spain in Confederations Cup Semi-Finals:

On June 24, 2009, in the Semi-Finals of the Confederations Cup, the U.S. National Team, which barely advanced out of the group stage, managed a stunning 2-0 victory over Spain, the winners of Euro 2008. Going into this match, Spain was sitting in the top place in the FIFA rankings and was looking to keep alive its 35 match unbeaten streak. Spain ended up making the biggest mistake a team can make in International football, they underestimated their opponent, while the United States came into the match determined to get a victory. Jozy Altidore picked up the US’s first goal in the 27th minute, giving his team the lead going into halftime. In the 74th minute, Landon Donovan crossed the ball to Clint Dempsey who scored the US’s second goal, sealing their victory over Spain. By playing 90 minutes of aggressive, focused football on June 24, 2009 in Bloemfontein, South Africa, the United States showed it can beat one of the best teams in the world.

Real Salt Lake 2009 MLS Cup Champions:

When the Los Angeles Galaxy beat the Houston Dynamo, 2-0, during extra time in the Western Conference Final, it must have been a dream come true for Don Garber and other executives in the MLS front office. Finally, David Beckham would be featured in a MLS Cup Championship match. While the folks at MLS most likely wanted Chicago to advance to the Cup match too, I doubt they complained much when Real Salt Lake beat advanced by beating Chicago on penalty kicks. Real Salt Lake was the last seed into the MLS playoffs and it was likely that they would crash and burn in the Cup, the way New York did in 2008 after a similar run through the playoffs. To add to the excitement, David Beckham’s first appearance in the MLS Cup would occur in Seattle where ticket sales were brisk, so the Cup was setting up to be a great way for MLS to showcase itself to the foreign press that would show up because of Beckham. In front of 46,011, Mike Magee got a goal for the Galaxy in the 41st minute, giving his team the lead going into the half. Galaxy held firm until Robbie Findley picked up the equalizer for Real Salt Lake in the 64th minute. In the end, Nick Rimando played hero for Salt Lake and spoiler for Los Angeles by ably defending the goal during penalty kicks. When a scrappy team like Real Salt Lake can claw their way to becoming MLS Champions, beating the previous year’s champions and the so-called “Super Club” of their league, you know there is something special about the playoffs. They might not have playoffs in the top flight leagues in Europe, but in a league like MLS, where there is no relegation system, the playoffs that extra spark of excitement that makes fans look forward to next season.

Summer of Soccer:

The summer of 2009 was anointed the Summer of Soccer thanks to the Confederations Cup, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the World Football Challenge, and the MLS 2009 Regular season. The summer provided a plethora of soccer for the soccer fan in the United States, bringing out thousands of fans to stadiums across the country to witness great soccer at many levels.

The Crowds in Seattle:

Technically, the crowds at Qwest Field for the Seattle Sounders’ home games were not true sell-outs since large portions of the stadium were tarped off, but the newest club to join MLS brought the fans out in droves. For the Sounders’ inaugural match, which was aired on ESPN2, 32,523 football fans showed up to watch Seattle beat New York, 3-0. For the rest of the season Seattle averaged 30,943 fans per match, a new MLS record.

United States v. Brazil in Confederations Cup Final:

Yes, I know the United States lost this match 3-2, after going up 2-0 in the first half, but what was important about this match was how much attention it garnered from the mainstream sports media and sports fans across the United States. Going into this match, there was a certain sense of anticipation, across the board, that I had never seen prior to a US match. Sports talk radio stations that all but ignored soccer were talking about this match, ESPN’s coverage was amped up, and even Tennessee Titan’s running back Chris Johnson, who rushed for over 2000 yards this season, was tweeting about the match. The US had a rough start to the Confederations Cup, but in the end it proved a good tournament for increasing interest in the Beautiful Game here in the States.

The Continued Presence of Plastic Pitches:

Nothing irks me more than watching a professional sport that is being played on a plastic pitch or field. Astroturf, Field Turf, or whatever other product that is out there for teams to waste money on are utter crap, in my opinion. Not only do they look bad on television, but when it comes to football, such surfaces often exert an unnatural force on the ball. While progress is being made in Toronto and New York/New Jersey as the MLS teams there move away from plastic pitches to natural grass, the introduction of Seattle Sounders FC at the turf covered Qwest Field and the news that Portland’s stadium will sport the green plastic carpet unfortunately means that MLS will not be rid of turf anytime soon. If the Green Bay Packers can play on a natural grass field, there is no reason to have the plastic carpets in MLS.

The 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final:

On July 26, 2009, the United States faced off against Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. After 90 minutes plus stoppage time, Mexico walked away with a 5-0 victory over the host country. This was one of the worst losses to Mexico on US soil in years. This victory also signaled the fact that Mexico, under the guidance of Javier Aguirre, has returned to a place of prominence in CONCACAF. While some fans have tried to dismiss this loss by claiming the match featured a Mexico A/B squad against a USMNT B/C squad, the reality is that both of these squads featured many players who were not regulars on their national teams. In the end, the biggest lesson of this match was the when it comes to depth, the United States has work to do and Mexico is one of the deepest, if not the deepest team in CONCACAF.

The USL/TOA-NASL Situation:

In August, word came out that Nike, which had unknowingly bought United Soccer Leagues when it acquired UMBRO, sold USL to NuRock Soccer Holdings, LLC, despite prior representations to the owners of USL clubs that the league was being sold to Jeff Cooper of St. Louis. Several of the owners of the USL-1 clubs, which made up the second division of professional football in North America, broke away from USL to team up with Jeff Cooper to create a new North American Soccer League, which applied to USSF for second division status. Today USSF decided not to recognize, at this time, either USL or NASL as the second division and gave both entities 7 days to work out some kind of resolution. This saga, which has been thoroughly covered here and at our sister sites, is unfortunate and has had numerous disappointing twists and turns, which, in the end, could adversely affect the long term development of football in the United States if it does not reach a quick, but proper resolution.

Real Salt Lake are Eastern Conference Champions:

For the second season in a row the MLS playoffs have resulted in a team winning a conference championship even though it is not a member of said conference. In 2008 RedBull New York won the Western Conference Championship, and in 2009 Real Salt Lake won the Eastern Conference Championship. There’s numerous complaints about the playoff system in MLS, but I don’t have any problem with the number of teams that make the playoffs, look at the NBA; the fact that a team with a poor regular season record can make a deep run in the playoffs, look at Mexico or the NFL; or that the playoffs even exist, playoffs are a tradition in the United States and playoffs exist in other first division leagues around the world. What I do have a problem with is that the playoffs are structured in such a way that a team from the Eastern Conference can win the Western Conference Championship and that a team from the Western Conference can win the Eastern Conference Championship. As the league grows, I expect MLS to redress this issue so that these kinds of results cannot happen in the future.

The Continued Poor State of Officiating in MLS:

I know MLS does not control the officials who work at MLS matches, that said officials are controlled by USSF, but since MLS is the first division league it should put pressure on USSF to overhaul the training of officials and improve their ability to officiate a match without taking complete control of the match. I hope MLS and USSF will work on this in 2010, but I’m not holding my breath.

Those are my lowlights from the year that was in American football, look for my highlights over the holiday weekend.

The Dynamo, who hadn’t won an MLS match since September 19th, when they beat Real Salt Lake at Robertson Stadium, came out strong with a two goal first half. Defender Andrew Hainault got the first Dynamo goal in the 26th minute, off of a Stuart Holden corner kick, and Dominic Oduro picked up a goal in the 29th minute. In the second half, Abe Thompson, who came on for a banged up Luis Angel Landin, scored the winning goal in the 52nd minute, his first goal as a Houston Dynamo. Chivas attempted to respond in the second half picking up its first goal thanks to Michael Lahoud in the 59th minute and then in the 88th minute Eduardo Lillingston converted a penalty kick. The score line stayed at 3-2 and the Dynamo closed their regular season with an important away victory.

In some ways, finishing in the second spot in the West was a bit of let down for Dynamo fans who saw their team go on amazing nine match streak where they picked up two draws and 7 wins, and putting them ahead in the Supporters Shield race. This streak started on April 19th when the Dynamo got their first win of the season in a home match against the Colorado Rapids. This streak came to an end on June 28th, the same day that the US lost to Brazil in the Confederations Cup final, when the Dynamo lost to the L.A. Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. After that loss, the Dynamo went on to only pick up five more wins in their remaining MLS matches.

During the second half of the MLS season the two main concerns for the Dynamo have been finishing and discipline. Since losing to the Galaxy in June, the only games where the Dynamo scored more then one goal were limited to games that they won. Of their five losses since the start of July, the Dynamo only managed to score in two of those matches. The need for the Dynamo to score goals is highlighted by the fact that in their past for MLS wins, their opponents scored multiple goals. As to why the Dynamo have had trouble finishing, there’s multiple factors, but it does seem that the Dynamo have a tendency to not take many higher risk shots and look for the pass first. The Dynamo will need to take the momentum of their three goals on Sunday and run with it in the playoffs.

While the lack of finishing is something that Houston Coach Dominic Kinnear and his Assistant Coach John Spencer can work on in practice, the lack of discipline is something each Dynamo player needs to keep in mind when they’re on the pitch. On Sunday October 18th, when the Dynamo hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy, Brian Ching picked up a red card when he put his hand in the face of a Galaxy player in a dust-up that began with a hard tackle by David Beckham on Ricardo Clark. Ching’s red card was the fifth Dynamo red card in as many matches. While losing players to injury is hard to prevent sometimes, smart play and decisions by players can protect them from missing action due to yellow and red cards. This past Sunday, the Dynamo managed to break their red card streak, but Geoff Cameron and Eddie Robinson each picked up a yellow card.

With their victory over Chivas USA on Sunday, the Houston Dynamo secured the second spot in the West, giving them home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. On Thursday they play at Seattle Sounders FC, and then will host Seattle on Sunday November 8th. So far, the Dynamo do not have the best record against the expansion side, this summer the Dynamo lost both of their matches in Seattle, one being in the semi-finals in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and Seattle’s only appearance in Houston resulted in a draw. The Dynamo and Dynamo fans are looking to exact a little revenge on the expansion team, and this might be a series where the Dynamo’s veteran playoff experience will give them the edge. No matter the outcome, the Dynamo – Sounders series is shaping up to be one of the more interesting matchups in the round of the 2009 MLS playoffs.

With a 3-2 victory over Honduras in San Pedro Sula, the US National Team secured its spot in the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. This is the sixth straight World Cup qualification for the US, following a 40 year absence from the biggest sporting event in the world.

While the first half in Honduras remained scoreless, Julio De Leon put Honduras on the board in the 47th minute. Once again, the US gave up a goal early in the second half. Being down a goal only seemed to energize the US side, with Conor Casey stepping up and getting a brace of beautiful goals in the 55th and 66th minutes. A near perfect free kick from Landon Donovan in the 71st minute gave the US a 3-1 lead with 19 minutes plus stoppage time left.

The remaining minutes of the match got tense when De Leon picked up his second goal in the 78th minute. Then, in the 85th minute, an inadvertent handball by Stuart Holden resulted in a penalty kick for Honduras. Carlos Pavon took the shot for Honduras, sending the ball over the crossbar, a common flight path for most of Pavon’s shots on what was a rough night of missed chances for him.

The US managed to maintain their one goal lead, being the first team to win at Honduras in this portion of the qualifying cycle. With 19 points, the US sits atop of the CONCACAF World Cup qualification table, with Mexico, who also qualified yesterday with a 4-1 victory over El Salvador, sitting at second place with 18 points.

The only question left in CONCACAF is whether Honduras or Costa Rica will get stuck in the 4th spot on the table, the playoff spot. Costa Rica is currently in the safe third spot with 15 points, but Honduras has 13 points and can overtake Costa Rica if everything goes their way. Costa Rica plays the US in Washington, DC on Wednesday, but they should not expect an easy match. Even though the US has secured its World Cup berth, the pride involved in not losing any matches on your soil is still in play. Meanwhile, Honduras travels to El Salvador to play a tough team, looking to end this cycle on a high note.

Since it was hard to watch last night’s US match in the US, and since most feeds were of poor quality, click here for some video highlights.

And click hear to view video of post-match reactions from the US National Team.

Finally, click here to see video of Bob Bradley’s post-match press conference.

Major League Soccer

Meanwhile, there were still some matches with playoff implications in Major League Soccer this weekend. Columbus Crew continued its efforts to win the Supporters Shield for the second season in a row by picking up a 1-0 victory at New England on Saturday. Chivas USA secured its spot in the playoffs with a 2-0 victory over Kansas City in Los Angeles last night. Meanwhile, San Jose managed to a secure a point at Toronto in a 1-1 draw.

While the Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy, and Chivas USA have all secured spots in the 2009 playoffs, all three teams have 44 points, meaning that they will all be fighting for seeding over the next couple of weeks. Houston hosts the Galaxy next Sunday, and then closes its season at the Home Depot Center against Chivas on Sunday October 25th. Both Chivas and Galaxy have to face an improved San Jose over the next couple of weeks, but Chivas also has one extra match, against the Chicago Fire on Thursday October 22nd.

With matches at Kansas City and then at home against Dallas, the Seattle Sounders (41 points) could pick up enough points to make the playoffs in this, their inaugural season. The other Western team with the strongest shot of making it to the playoffs, at the moment, is the Colorado Rapids (40 points) who head to Dallas next weekend and then close the season against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium.

While the Crew are the only Eastern side to secure a playoff berth, the Chicago Fire have 41 points and have a good grasp of the second spot in the East. Next weekend, the Fire take on New England (38 points) and then close at home with Chivas on Thursday the 22nd. New England, meanwhile, closes its season at Columbus on Sunday October 25th. D.C. United and Toronto FC both have 36 points, with Toronto possibly having the easiest route to playoff spot. Toronto hosts Real Salt Lake next Saturday and then closes the season at New York, the last match to occur at the Meadowlands. D.C. plays host to Columbus next Saturday and then finishes their regular season at Kansas City.

With two weeks left to go in the regular season and 4 playoff spots unclaimed, the next couple weeks will provide some crucial MLS matches.

Unfortunately, the Dynamo were unable to maintain their lead, with Zoltan Hercegfalvi scoring the equalizer for Kansas City in the 73rd minute. Former Dynamo player, Kei Kamara, who was warmly received by the Houston crowd, had some good looks at the goal but was unable to convert. Zoltan’s goal was the last of the match, and the one point was enough to secure the Dynamo’s spot in the 2009 MLS Playoffs, which the Dynamo have marked with the launch of their Dream. Scream. Believe. website.

This Sunday, the Dynamo will participate in the inaugural Charities Cup in which they will host Monterrey in a friendly at Robertson Stadium; however, the team will be missing Brian Ching, Stuart Holden, and Ricardo Clark who will be with the US National Team as it takes on Honduras on Saturday night in its penultimate World Cup Qualifier. The Dynamo only have two MLS regular season matches left, it will host Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday October 18th, in what might be David Beckham’s first appearance in Houston since joining MLS, then the Dynamo close their season at Chivas U.S.A. on Sunday October 25th.

Here’s some video that was shot by Erin Dutka following Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Kansas City Wizards (the angle isn’t always right, she’s learning how to use her new Nano still):

Coach Dominic Kinnear following Dynamo draw with Kansas City on October 4, 2009

Luis Angel Landin following Houston draw with Kansas City

Kei Kamara following 1-1 Draw Between Houston and Kansas City

Don’t forget the official MLS video too.

Labor Day has come and gone, the sun is setting earlier, and, even here in Houston, the air contains a slight fall crispness. Yes, the Summer of Soccer is over, and what an interesting summer it has been. Back on Father’s Day, like a Phoenix, the US National Team rose from the ashes of its first two group stage matches in the Confederations Cup to advance to the semifinals where it shocked the football world by easily beating Spain, which was ranked by FIFA as the top national team at the time. It was this victory over Spain that grabbed the attention of the broader American public, resulting in an impressive 2.74 rating for the Brazil – US match on ESPN, per the overnight figures. Diehard fans of the US National Team rejoiced and basked in the new found attention that their beloved team was receiving in America, but there has been a dark side to the increased profile of US Soccer that occurred after that victory against Spain.

This dark side has been brewing all summer on the internet, particularly on certain message boards, and until today, I have seen it simmering but have chosen not to comment on the wicked wind blowing in American soccer. What is this wind? It’s a mindset that anyone whose analysis of the US National Team that is not 100% positive is an enemy of American soccer in general and the US National Team in particular. Like a tropical wave off the African coast that turns into an Atlantic Hurricane, the source of this wicked wind might just have been stirred up by the comments of US players, like Michael Bradley, following the US National Team’s victory over Egypt on Father’s Day.

What has finally spurred me to acknowledge this phenomenon was a message I received on Twitter today: “We are only trying to grow the game here in the US. Critics only turn people off and make them stay with american [sic] sports.” I can sympathize with the desire to grow the sport, after all that is one of the reasons this website exists. As for that second sentence, though, it is wrong on several levels.

The idea that critics of the game will turn people off is just ludicrous. If critics of teams and leagues turned people off of said teams and leagues, then ESPN and local sports talk radio stations across America would not be the success stories they are today. While non-sports media in the US has a bad tendency of dumbing down the news, sports media in the US understands that its viewers, listeners, and readers are not idiots and you cannot talk down to them. The quickest way for a sports media outlet to lose its broad audience is to paint a false, overly optimistic, happy, sappy picture of the local team, club, or athlete. If criticism turned people off, then the past week of discussion at 1560 The Game in Houston, home of my show, The Orange Slice, would have turned off all Texans fans and Astros fans with the criticism of the flaccid performances of the Texans on Sunday and the Astros all season. Guess what though, Texans and Astros fans here in Houston keep listening, and keep calling in to the local shows on 1560.

Here in Texas we have a saying: Don’t piss on me and tell me its raining. No matter what sport I happen to be commentating on, I keep that mantra in mind. I for one, and other commentators connected to MLS Talk, are not going to sugarcoat our opinions of the state of soccer in the US or the current form of the US National Team. When there is something to praise, we will praise it, and when there is something to criticize, we won’t hold our punches. What we won’t do is pretend our audience, including the majority of sports fans in the US, are idiots who can’t tell the difference between piss and rain.

What really crawled under my skin about that Twitter message was this part of the second sentence: “. . . and make them stay with american [sic] sports.” Instead of worrying about the analysis of the US National Team that is taking place on the MLS Talk website and in the MLS Talk podcasts, this person needs to take some time to learn their history. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: football/soccer is an American sport with a long, rich history in this country that dates back at least 140 years, if not longer.

When all is said and done, the success of American soccer and the US National Team off the pitch with general American sports fan will depend on two things: (1) success on the pitch and (2) honest assessments from the American soccer media. When the US National Team loses to Mexico 5-0 in the 2009 Gold Cup Final or 2-1 to Mexico at the Azteca in a World Cup Qualifier, the only way to keep the average American sports fan from shrugging their shoulders and losing interest is honest, serious, and sometimes harsh, criticism of the US National Team. It’s by explaining the shortcomings and mistakes of the US National Team, i.e. honestly answering questions, that the American soccer media can keep the new fan engaged, interested, and, most importantly, educated.

Today there was finally some good news for those of us who have criticized MLS and its stubbornness when it comes to the FIFA breaks, MLS has announced that it would suspend its 2010 season during the two week group stage portion of the 2010 World Cup finals. Additionally, MLS will not schedule any matches on the same days that the South Africa 2010 semifinals and finals will be played. While this is not a total victory for those of us that would prefer to see MLS suspend all league action during the World Cup finals, it is a positive, and realistic, step forward for the League, which was criticized earlier this year by FIFA President Sepp Blatter for not following the traditional European club schedule of a fall-winter-spring season.

Admittedly, suspending the league season through the entire World Cup finals would affect the match fitness of MLS players not playing on the US National Team, and would create scheduling headaches for MLS clubs that share their stadiums with high school, college, and/or professional thowball teams.

If marketed right by MLS and ESPN, the league hiatus could work to the League’s advantage in attracting newly minted football fans. The first two weeks of the World Cup finals are an utter football orgy, but the number of daily matches starts to drop after the knockout stage. New fans looking to learn more about the game might be more willing to seek out their local MLS side or MLS matches on ESPN2 or Fox Soccer Channel once the group and knockout stages have taken place. Additionally, after the group stage the possibility of MLS matches conflicting with U.S. National Team matches drops exponentially. Should the U.S. National Team go on a shocking run, there won’t be any conflicts during the semifinals and finals.

Finally, this acknowledgement of the World Cup finals is a smart move by MLS in the sense of supporting the United States’ bid to bring the World Cup finals back to the States in 2018 or 2022. The last thing the bid committee needs to deal with is having its competition argue that the U.S. does not deserve to host the finals since its Top Flight League’s schedule plays on as if the World Cup finals are not occurring.

The other important news coming out of MLS headquarters today is that, for the first time in MLS’s short history, the 2010 season will be a balanced season. Each team will play 30 matches in 2010, meaning one home and one away match against every other team in the League. This move is another step that should satisfy football purists and followers of the European leagues who have previously ridiculed the MLS season as not really counting since it wasn’t balanced.

I for one applaud MLS for making these scheduling moves. These are small steps, but it is by making such small steps that MLS manages to improve its product and survive financially.

– As a follow up to a recent article I posted here regarding Vincenzo Bernardo, MLS’s transfer window has closed without seeing the young Italian-American sign on with an MLS club; however, there has been some chatter lately about the possibility of Bernardo joining the expansion side Philadelphia Union for the 2010 season. This would be a good move for both the new side and the New Jersey native. Signing Bernardo would give the Union good press in regards to obtaining the services of a young American who has trained in Europe and would create an immediate connection to the strong football fan base in New Jersey.

Tomorrow, Major League Soccer, the Houston Dynamo, and Lone Star Sports and Entertainment will officially announce that the 2010 MLS All-Star Game will be held at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, not Robertson Stadium.

While Reliant Stadium, which was officially opened in 2002, is a multiple-use stadium, it is primarily known as the home of National League Football League’s Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. This 71,500 stadium with a retractable roof is no stranger to soccer though, having hosted CONCACAF Gold Cup Matches, friendlies between the United States and Mexico, a friendly between F.C. Barcelona and Club America and the 2008 Free Kick Masters that included several top name international footballers including Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.

Although the MLS All-Star match has been held in other large NFL Stadiums, such as the Meadowlands in New Jersey, Reliant Stadium, which hosted Super Bowl XXXVIII on February 1, 2004, will be the first of the newest generation of NFL Stadiums to host the MLS All-Star Game.

While the stadium will be announced tomorrow, it will be some time before we learn who the MLS All-Star Team will be playing next season. Considering the venue and location of the match, the opponent will likely be a big club from Mexico, South America, or Spain.

Finally, earlier this week the Houston Dynamo announced the creation of the Charities Cup, an annual friendly match for the Dynamo designed to raise money for its charitable arm, Dynamo Charities. The inaugural Charities Cup will be held on October 11, 2009 at 6:00 pm local time when the Dynamo host Mexican side Monterrey at Robertson Stadium.

Despite having success in practice matches against Napoli’s first squad, Bernardo was not getting call-ups from Napoli Coach Roberto Donadoni, who spent time playing for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in the early days of MLS. Late last month, Napoli attempted to loan Bernardo to a Serie C/2 side, but Bernardo rejected the loan. It was on the last day of the 2009 UEFA summer transfer window that Bernardo opted out of his contract with Napoli in order to become a free agent and take control of his playing future.

Bernardo was born in Morristown, New Jersey in 1990, and began playing soccer in Madison, New Jersey when he was 6 years old, playing in a league where all other players were about 2 years older then him. Over the next 6 years, Bernardo played for a YMCA travel team and then joined Morris United when he was 12 years old. Over time, Bernardo made his way up the New Jersey soccer food chain to St. Benedict’s Preparatory School, home to one of the best high school soccer programs in the United States. Among those who have played at St. Benedict’s are Claudio Reyna, Tab Ramos, Petter Villegas, Greg Berhalter, and Gabriel Enzo Ferrari.

Unlike fellow New Jersey native Giuseppe Rossi, Bernardo has played for the US National Team’s U-17 and U-20 squads, though he has not been called up for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Additionally, prior to moving to Italy, Bernardo played for the New York MetroStars’ Academy’s U17 and U19 squads. While Rossi has spent the bulk of his youth playing in Italy, Bernardo has grown up in the American soccer youth development system and has since moved on to benefit from training time at Napoli, one of Italy’s most storied sides, which was playing in Serie B when a 16 year-old Bernardo moved from New Jersey to Italy

According to an interview with Greg Seltzer for Soccer365.com, Bernardo is currently being scouted by teams from lower divisions in England and Spain, as well as clubs in Germany and the Netherlands; however, Bernardo indicated to Seltzer that he has not ruled out returning to the United States and playing in MLS. Unfortunately, none of the articles linking Bernardo to MLS have identified an MLS side with a strong interest in obtaining the young midfielder/striker. The obvious choice considering Bernardo’s New Jersey roots and youth career is RedBull New York, but Brian Lewis from the New York Post has written articles indicating that the struggling east coast side has not expressed strong interest in signing Bernardo.

As much derision as Giuseppe Rossi received from US soccer fans after Italy destroyed the US National Team in the confederations cup this summer, it is surprising and worrisome that neither USSF or US soccer fans have pushed harder for returning Bernardo to the American soccer fold. Having only played for US youth squads, Bernardo is still eligible to play for both the Italian National Team and the US National Team, but Thomas Rongen’s failure to call Bernardo up for the U20 World Cup causes concern as to whether USSF views Bernardo as an outsider, meaning Bernardo will only get capped after much foot dragging by the USSF.

After years of growing up and working his way through the various youth football systems in New Jersey and the United States, and then getting the benefit of training with an Italian club like Napoli, it would be a shame if the US and MLS let Bernardo get away. If MLS wants to take that next step in increasing the league’s profile among soccer fans in the US, signing a young prospect like Bernardo, who has development time in Serie A, would be a positive move. Unfortunately, MLS and US Soccer have been lacking when it comes to that “vision thing” and, like many other American players before him, Bernardo will likely end up in either a smaller league or second division league in Europe without being seriously pursued by MLS. If, in a few years time, Americans see Vincenzo Bernardo suiting up for the Italian National Team instead of for the US, instead of blaming Bernardo they will need to blame the US Soccer system for letting him get away.

Earlier this year, while he was a guest on the Ken Hoffman show on 1560 The Game in Houston, Texas, Dynamo CEO Oliver Luck stated that the club would be in their own stadium for the 2011 season. Initially, both the City of Houston and Harris County showed some reluctance about getting involved in the building of yet another sports venue in Houston; however, the fact that the bulk of the project will be paid for by the Dynamo has convinced the local governments to get involved in the project. While there are still a few details to work out, it no longer appears that local government reluctance is holding up stadium progress.

According to what has been said by Luck and others associated with the Houston Dynamo, stadium progress has been held up by financing. In the wake of last year’s economic collapses, the credit crunch that started hitting European clubs last summer has made its way to the United States making it difficult for the Dynamo to secure the necessary financing. The economic crisis has not been all bad news for the stadium though since the projected cost has fallen about $20 million.

This past weekend, the Dynamo’s high profile co-owner, Oscar de la Hoya, has been in Houston to promote the HBO Boxing After Dark event which took place at the Toyota Center on Saturday evening. In a video interview filmed by Allen Reid of KPRC Channel 2 in Houston, de la Hoya stated that the team was very close to “dotting that final i” and that “everything’s in place. . . . The City is in place, the funding is in place, everything is ready to go, and I’m sure we’ll be making an announcement pretty soon.” This is the first time I have heard anyone connected to the Dynamo indicate that the funding for the stadium is in place. If it was the financing that was holding up stadium progress, based on de la Hoya’s statement, it appears that hurdle has been overcome.

Another reason for expecting a stadium announcement this week is that if it does not happen soon, the Dynamo will not be moving into a new stadium in 2011. Earlier this summer, Luck acknowledged that if the Dynamo are going to be in a new stadium for the 2011 season, then groundbreaking and construction needs to begin this fall. While it’s still hitting the high nineties here in Houston, fall is quickly approaching and we are hitting the now or never time for an announcement that will pave the way for the Dynamo to have a new home in 2011.

No matter what the Dynamo announcement proves to be, you will be able to read about here at Major League Soccer Talk.

Monday Morning Update: a related article has appeared in the Houston Chronicle

Deal on Harris jail, soccer stadium, Dome in “Home Stretch” by Bradley Olson

The group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League is set to start this coming week, and a question on the minds of many MLS fans is: “Will the MLS clubs involved in this competition step up and take it seriously?” After RedBull New York and Toronto FC got knocked out during the qualifying rounds, meaning that the Houston Dynamo, DC United, and the Columbus Crew are the only MLS sides remaining in the second season of the CONCACAF Champions League, meaning that Group D has no representative from MLS. Meanwhile, Mexico’s Primera Division is represented in all four groups by Cruz Azul, Pachuca, Pumas, and Toluca.

In last year’s inaugural CONCACAF Champions League, only two MLS teams were in the group stage since Chivas USA and New England Revolution were eliminated in the preliminary qualifying round, but only one MLS side managed to break out of the group stage, the Houston Dynamo. The Dynamo went on to lose to Atlante, the eventual winner, in the quarterfinals this past winter. Meanwhile, both USL-1 sides involved in the CCL advanced beyond the group stage with the Puerto Rico Islanders making it all the way to the semifinals.

Although the winner of this competition earns a berth in the FIFA World Club Cup, last year it seemed that most of the MLS sides involved in the CCL viewed the competition as a nuisance. In one way, that point of view was understandable since several of the teams involved were dealing with mounting injuries and fixture congestion. Additionally, the CCL began as the MLS teams were making the final push to make it into the MLS playoffs. However, the CCL is still a major competition offering MLS clubs an opportunity to test themselves against clubs from other leagues.

At last year’s MLS Cup, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced one change that would make the season easier on teams participating in the CCL – these teams would not participate in SuperLiga, the SUM competition between MLS and Mexican teams. As to whether this change will have an impact is yet to be seen, but during this year’s preliminary round the two MLS teams showed more fight then their predecessors did last year. Considering the poor form that New York has been in all season, it’s not surprising that they got knocked out of the CCL.

As a follower and fan of MLS, it would be good to see the MLS clubs advance farther in the CCL this time around. One important step in improving the MLS and its standing in the world is success in international club competitions such as the CCL. While the quality of the clubs from Central America and the Caribbean varies, the Mexican clubs are always strong and pose crucial tests to the MLS sides. The Primera Division is inarguably the best league in North America and arguably better then many leagues in Europe. Until the Dynamo drew against Pumas, no MLS team had ever earned a point playing a Mexican club in Mexico City. The more MLS teams are able to beat Mexican teams in this competition, especially in Mexico, the more respect MLS will earn from football fans and commentators.

If MLS teams take the CCL seriously and play hard, but still fall short in this competition, it will be very important to analyze the reasons for this lack of success. Was lack of depth, lack of talent, lack of proper coaching skills? The league and the fans and the media can learn from these issues and find ways to correct the problems. But, if the MLS teams fail due to lack of interest in the competition, then we learn nothing and the teams should be roundly criticized for failing to take advantage of the CCL and the opportunities it affords MLS.

This week’s CCL Matches:

Tuesday August 18, 2009 –

Columbus Crew v. Puerto Rico Islanders
CD Marathon v. DC United
Pumas UNAM v. CSD Comunicaciones

Wednesday August 19, 2009 –

Houston Dynamo v. Metapan
Dep. Arabe Unido v. Pachuca
Cruz Azul v. Saprissa

Thursday August 20, 2009 –

San Juan Jabloteh v. Toluca
Real CD Espana v. W Connection FC

One of the lessons learned in this “Summer of Soccer” is that there is a sizable group of Americans who enjoy high level soccer and are willing to pay top dollar for the opportunity to see clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Barcelona play live, even if the matches are only friendlies or exhibitions. While I am not aware of any official surveys on this matter, I suspect that a sizable portion of these soccer fans do not watch or follow Major League Soccer, viewing it as a lesser league: less talented, less entertaining, etc. While MLS has gone out of its way to avoid the financial missteps that sunk NASL, has it been too cautious? Is there an alternative means for MLS to become a Super League without the financial crash and burn?

Now that the League and the Players Union are embarking on negotiations for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, maybe now is the time to throw the old MLS business model out the door and adopt a new one that does away with salary caps and transfer fee concerns. If done right, the next MLS season could see an influx of well known players that will fill our giant stadiums with soccer hungry Americans.

Since the inception of MLS, it has had a complicated relationship with the ghost of the NASL. The old league that featured names such as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, and Giorgio Chinaglia, was a star that burned brightly during the Carter Administration and the early days of the Reagan Administration, died in 1984 with the Chicago Sting as its champions.

Founded in 1968, NASL struggled for several years until the Cosmos, which was controlled by the Ertegun Brothers and Steve Ross, the president of Warner Bros., signed an aging Pele in 1975. The Cosmos went on to sign more aging, foreign superstars, while several other NASL teams spent top dollar to sign at least one foreign superstar. While the presence of players like Pele, Rodney Marsh, Alan Ball, George Best, and Johan Cruyff brought the NASL attention throughout the country, the revenue streams did not keep up with the spending and when a financially strapped Warner Communications sold the Cosmos to Chinaglia, NASL began to fall in upon itself.

The founders of MLS, as well as its current executives, have gone out of their way to avoid the fate of NASL, relying on its single entity structure and its strict salary cap. While MLS has managed to survive and create a league for American players to enhance their skills, MLS has not earned much attention or respect from a large segment of soccer fans who prefer the leagues in Mexico, South America, and Europe – the audience that has arguably filled the giant NFL arenas this summer to watch Chelsea, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Club America, etc.

In January 2007, MLS dipped its big toe into the NASL waters when it signed David Beckham, one of the biggest names in the world of international football. While this summer has seen an in depth examination of the Beckham Experiment and what it means for soccer in the US, what is clear is that Beckham’s presence brought MLS more attention then it had received in years and it resulted in rare sell outs at some MLS venues. It is not a stretch to argue that the signing of more big names from Europe would result in even more interest from media and soccer fans.

MLS can become a Super League without suffering the fate of the NASL, which spent money like a drunken sailor on shore leave after 6 months at sea. Instead of bringing in big name football players and then waiting for the money to roll in, MLS needs to partner with corporate America to help fund big salaries for these players. While the general sports fan in the US might not get soccer and its international appeal, the marketing departments in corporate America know the advertising power of the beautiful game, and shell out big money to have their name associated with clubs like Manchester United and events like the World Cup finals and the European Championship. Imagine how many companies would like to enter a deal where a player like Cristiano Ronaldo played in the US and was the face of their corporation or product around the world. In fact, by relying on corporate money to help finance these deals, MLS will not be limited to signing stars that are past their prime. If MLS wants to take this approach and take advantage of the global marketing powers of this sport, now is the time to do so before locking in to another long, restrictive CBA.

While converting MLS into a Super League would enhance the popularity of soccer in the US, it could negatively impact the development of the US National Team. To alleviate this impact, MLS will still need to have rules concerning the number of American players on squads, while it will fall upon the USL’s system to focus on developing America’s youth.

With some imagination and creativity, MLS can work with corporate America, USL, and USSF to develop a Super League in America, while continuing to ensure the growth of American soccer talent.

Here in the United States, the likes of Bora, Steve Sampson, and Bruce Arena have provided the game with some interesting personalities at the national level, but, on the whole, Major League Soccer with its close knit community of coaches has not developed the kind of feuds, vendettas, and sniping that occur amongst the EPL’s coaches. As Ruud Gullit learned in 2008, because of the various salary and player rules in MLS, this is not an easy league to coach in, and success in Europe does not translate to success in MLS. For the most part MLS coaches have enough to focus on without creating unnecessary distractions in the press. In the world of football coaching, the EPL Gaffers are the White Collar guys while the MLS coaches are the Blue Collar guys.

The Blue Collar style of MLS coaching might be best exemplified by one of the best coaches in the league, Dominic Kinnear of the Houston Dynamo. Kinnear, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, grew up in Fremont, California where he began playing soccer at the age of 5. After spending a year at Hartwick College, Kinnear returned to Scotland where he played for St. Johnstone between 1986 and 1989. Upon his return to the United States in 1989, Kinnear, like many U.S. players, found playing time at clubs in the various professional and semi-professional leagues in the States, like the San Francisco Bay Hawks cum San Jose Hawks (WSL, ASL, APSL, and USISL) and the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (APSL). In 1995, Kinnear played with both Nexaca in Mexico and the Seattle Sounders of the A-League. The formation of the MLS in 1996 allowed Kinnear to play for the Colorado Rapids, San Jose Clash, and Tampa Bay Mutiny until he retired in 2000. In addition to his club career, Kinnear played for the United States National Team from 1990 to 1993, earning 54 caps, but was dropped by Bora prior to the 1994 World Cup – a decision for which Kinnear has apparently not forgiven Bora.

Kinnear has indicated that after retiring from the game he had no interest in becoming a coach, instead he was interested in becoming a teacher. But in 2001, the San Jose Earthquakes hired Frank Yallop as their coach and Yallop talked his old friend, Kinnear, into becoming his assistant coach. Working together, Yallop and Kinnear helped the Earthquakes win the MLS Cup in 2001 and 2003. Kinnear took over as San Jose’s head coach in 2004 after Yallop accepted the coaching position with the Canadian National Team. After winning the Supporters’ Shield in 2005, the team relocated to Houston, Texas as the Houston Dynamo and went on to win the MLS Cup in 2006 and 2007, becoming only the second MLS team to ever win back to back MLS Cups. Currently, the Dynamo have nine wins on the season, and sit atop of the Western Division with 32 points.

In MLS’s short history and the even shorter history of the Houston Dynamo, Coach Kinnear has quietly gone about building a club that is on the verge of MLS Dynasty status. This achievement has not been obtained through splashy signings, flashy news conferences, or making the press focus on himself, rather, Kinnear has achieved his success by putting together a team that combines a hard working team ethic that encourages personal flair and technique.

I have lost count of the number of Dominic Kinnear press conferences that I have attended, but one thing is clear, he expects all of his players to work hard at practice and during games, no matter whether said player is Brian Ching or Erik Ustruck. This attitude was best exemplified following the Dynamo’s home loss to New England on June 12, 2008. Following the match, a match which saw several younger players get extended playing time, Kinnear stated that “No matter who you are in that locker room, if you’re given the opportunity to play, the expectation is to win.” It was that New England match that marked the beginning of the end of the Dynamo career of one fan favorite, Franco Carracio.

Despite Kinnear’s statement that the expectation is to win, he is also the kind of coach that will not blast his players for playing hard and losing. Granted, Kinnear is happy with those kind of losses, but he is willing to recognize that sometimes, even when his players give 100%, a win is not in the cards. This attitude could be seen in Kinnear’s comments after the Dynamo’s home loss to New England this past Saturday. While Kinnear did not completely absolve his players for the loss, he recognized that factors such as fatigue and the heat played a significant role in that match. Furthermore, Kinnear has developed the reputation as a coach who can take a struggling player and revive his career, while also pulling aside his younger players and making it clear what they need to do if they want to stay with the team. Few football fans outside of Houston know Kinnear’s role in the back story to Tyler Deric who rebounded from attitude and substance abuse problems to become the Dynamo’s first homegrown youth academy signing.

While it could be easy to say that Kinnear’s coaching attitude comes from some kind of dour Scottish work ethic, the reality is that Kinnear has a great sense of humor, and, along with Assistant Coach John Spencer, wants the Dynamo clubhouse to be a fun and happy environment. While Kinnear is willing to hold his players accountable for not playing hard during the match, the sense that I get from Dynamo players is that come next practice Kinnear comes in with a good attitude and a smile on his face and willingness to let the players start from scratch as they prepare for the next match. According to the Dynamo players I have talked to, despite the heat and the hard work demanded at practice, the positive attitudes of Kinnear and Spencer make the practices more fun and less tedious. This fun loving attitude that exists within the Dynamo organization is obvious to anyone who follows Stuart Holden, Brian Ching, Bobby Boswell, etc. on Twitter.

In addition to creating a good clubhouse atmosphere and making his expectations clear to his players, Kinnear has exhibited strong squad building and tactical skills. Despite MLS’s salary cap, Kinnear has shown, year in and year out, that he can still build a team with the necessary depth to survive involvement in multiple competitions and the loss of players to extended national team duty. On the tactical end, Kinnear goes into matches with his game plan, but he’s shown a willingness to make tactical changes in response to the course of the match. For example, after going down a goal against New England in the 2007 MLS Cup, Kinnear converted the Dynamo to a 3-5-2 formation and managed to pull out a 2-1 victory.

This summer, the biggest sign of Kinnear’s success as a football coach has best been displayed in matches that have involved the U.S. National Team, not the Houston Dynamo or Dominic Kinnear. Earlier this summer in South Africa, Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark, despite a red card against Italy, clearly earned a spot on the 2010 World Cup team after his presence in midfield proved crucial to the U.S. National Team’s success in the Confederations Cup. This past Sunday, it was Dynamo players Brian Ching and Stuart Holden who never gave up during the U.S. National Team’s Gold Cup Final 5 goal loss to Mexico. Brian Ching’s efforts to rally the rest of the MLS based squad fell upon broken spirits. The never give up attitude displayed by Ching and Holden during Sunday’s debacle against Mexico has to be partially, if not completely, attributed to the attitude Kinnear has fostered in the Dynamo clubhouse.

This Wednesday, Dominic Kinnear faces a new test in his coaching career as he takes the reigns of the 2009 MLS All-Star Team which will be playing Everton at Rio Tinto Stadium in Big Sandy, Utah. Although Kinnear will only have a couple days to work with his All-Star squad, American football fans can only hope that his attitude and style rub off a little on the non-Dynamo Houston players.

Kinnear’s on the field success and off the field personality has endeared him to Houston Dynamo fans, fans who, for the most part, have seemingly come to the belief that Dominic Kinnear will be the next coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team. Kinnear’s ability to succeed despite the severe MLS restrictions and his ability to get the best out of his players makes him uniquely suited for succeeding at the U.S. National level, and considering the never give up attitude displayed by Ching and Holden on Sunday, imagine what would have happened if the entire team displayed that same ethos.

If he becomes the U.S. National Team Coach, don’t expect Kinnear to exhibit the quirks of some past National Team coaches, instead, expect a demanding coach who’s not afraid to speak his mind. But also, expect a coach who will smile, who will show emotion, and who is willing to make the necessary tactical changes to win a match.

I do not, and cannot, expect other MLS coaches to wholesale adopt the coaching style of Dominic Kinnear, after all each coach’s style is dictated by his personality and each coach has a different personality, but other coaches in MLS would do well to study and learn from the methods of Dominic Kinnear. We do know that European coaches who do not take the team to adjust to the ways of MLS are doomed to failure, so MLS needs to depend on homegrown coaches, and these coaches need to push MLS players, and demand much from them, without forgetting the importance of team atmosphere. This is how the quality of play in the MLS, and even the U.S. National Team, will improve. For now, we can leave the soap opera to the EPL and hope that MLS coaches will focus on improving the league’s overall quality.

Say what you will about the U.S. National Team’s performance in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, after all it is an experimental squad seemingly designed to give Coach Bob Bradley a better idea of the quality and the extent of his team’s depth as it approaches the second half of CONCACAF’s Fourth, and Final, Round of World Cup Qualification matches and presumably the World Cup finals in South Africa next year, but it is clear that Stuart Holden is a future face of U.S. Soccer.

The 23 year old attacking midfielder was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, but grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, the ever expanding Houston suburban city. As a youth, Holden suffered an injury that resulted in him gaining enough weight that his soccer dreams appeared dead, but he regained his form and obtained a spot on Clemson University’s soccer team in 2003. In early 2005, Sunderland brought Holden over to England, but on March 12th of that year he was jumped outside of a bar in Newcastle and his left eye socket was fractured.

Holden returned to the United States and joined the newly christened Houston Dynamo in 2006. Holden made his MLS debut on May 27, 2006 and scored his first MLS goal in a 1-1 draw against New England Revolution on July 22, 2006. That November, Holden converted his penalty kick in the Dynamo’s MLS Cup victory over New England.

In 2008, Holden was a member of the U.S. Olympic Soccer team at Beijing, scoring the winning goal in the team’s first match, which was against Japan. It wasn’t until the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup that Holden finally earned his first senior national team cap for the U.S.A. when he started against Grenada on July 4th in Seattle, Washington. Holden also scored his first senior team goal in that match. Holden did not see any playing time against Honduras in the second match of the group stage, but on Saturday July 11th, Holden scored the stoppage time equalizer against Haiti. In addition to scoring two goals in his two starts, Holden also garnered an assist on DavyArnaud’s goal against Haiti and showed himself worthy of wearing the number 10 jersey with his strong play in midfield and willingness to take solid shots from distance.

Holden’s recent success at the international level has to be attributed, in part, to the leadership duties he inherited when Dwayne De Rosario was traded to Toronto F.C. last fall. Initially, Holden appeared tentative in his new role as leader of the midfield, passing when he should have shot for goal and shooting for goal when he should have passed. Despite some early missteps, Holden has managed 4 goals and 3 assists for the Dynamo this season, in addition to being a strong presence in the midfield.

To solely focus on Holden’s on pitch performance would be a mistake, because Holden has come to epitomize the idea of the citizen athlete. In addition to his numerous appearances in the local media for the purpose of promoting the Dynamo, Holden, along with many of his teammates, makes regular, lengthy visits to the Texas Children’s Hospital. And for those of us who follow him (and his teammates) on Twitter, we know Holden likes to get into mischief and play complicated jokes on his teammates.

The reality for American soccer in general and MLS in particular is that it has failed to offer up a true, well-rounded poster-player for the game. While Landon Donovan is a talented player on the pitch, his off pitch persona is not very well defined. Meanwhile, a player like Stuart Holden has proven his worth on the pitch, at both the club and country level, and has developed a strong persona that extends beyond the game and the pitch.

Its players like Holden that MLS and USSF need to promote, to make their chosen poster boy appeals to the die hard footy fan as well as the neophyte footy fan. When you think NBA you think Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. When you think NFL you think Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. When you think MLB you think Derek Jeter. But when the run of the mill American sports fan thinks soccer or MLS who do they think of? I’m not sure, but I do hope it isn’t that non-American David Beckham.

The time has come for MLS and USSF to start promoting certain players, such as Stuart Holden, in the wider media and working to get them strong endorsement deals. After 13 years, the MLS needs to establish its media/marketing image in a manner that appeals to wide spectrums of Americans. And, on the heels of its recent Confederations Cup resurgence, USSF needs to lock in the National team’s place in American society.

While Holden’s technical skills would likely benefit from playing in Europe, he is a player that MLS and USSF are better off keeping stateside, even if that means finding ways to arrange short, complicated loans for him to European teams during the MLS off-season. Because, in the end, it would be detrimental to the future of MLS and USSF if Holden spends his career in Europe, where mainstream American sports media can ignore him. The time has come for MLS and USSF to start promoting its marquee guys, and they wouldn’t go wrong by promoting Holden.

On Saturday, July 4th, the Kansas City Wizards hosted the Houston Dynamo at CommunityAmerica Ballpark in front of a sell out crowd of 10,385. The Dynamo were coming off a lackluster loss to Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday and a lucky draw against Real Salt Lake the previous weekend, and Kansas City was seeking their first MLS win since June 13 when they beat the New England Revolution, 3 – 1.

Kei Kamara got the match’s only goal in the 18th minute when he headed a Mike Chabala cross into the net. Saturday’s goal was Kamara’s fourth goal of the season, a goal which he celebrated with a tribute to the late Michael Jackson. Despite the early Houston goal, the Kansas City Wizards never gave up – racking up 15 shots, only 3 of which were on goal.

With Saturday night’s win, the Dynamo sit atop of the MLS table with 31 points and a league leading nine wins. Kansas City is still within Playoff range, sitting at the fifth spot in the East with 19 points.

Up next for both teams are Quarterfinal matches in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Dynamo travel to Charleston on Tuesday to play the Battery while the Kansas City Wizards head to Seattle to take on the Sounders. On Saturday the clubs resume MLS play as Kansas City heads to New England and the Dynamo make their first visit to Seattle.

Here’s some post match video from the Houston Dynamo dressing room, courtesy of Erin Dutka:

Houston Coach Dominic Kinnear

Houston Dynamo Mike Chabala

Houston Dynamo Kei Kamara

Houston Dynamo Pat Onstad

As a bonus, here’s some video Erin Dutka filmed after the Dynamo’s 2-0 victory over the Austin Aztex in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup:

Houston Coach Dominic Kinnear

Houston Dynamo Corey Ashe

As both a fan and observer of American Soccer in general and the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) in particular, Confederations Cup 2009 has been a rollercoaster with amazing emotional highs and lows. As we all know, the US started this tournament with back to back losses, first losing to Italy, 3-1, and then Brazil, 3-0. While many were calling for the head of New Jersey born Giuseppe Rossi, who scored two goals for Italy, a sizable number, including myself, were calling for the firing of the team’s coach, Bob Bradley.

The amount and tone of criticism was not lost on the USMNT as they prepared for their final group stage match against Egypt. It was Father’s Day and the USMNT needed a 6 goal swing in order to advance to the semifinals, a scenario that seemed so unlikely that in its pregame show ESPN did not even bother to go into detail on how the scenario could play out. Egypt had hung close to Brazil, losing 4-3, and then had beat Italy, 1-0; therefore, few expected the USMNT to beat Egypt by at least 3 goals. But the unthinkable happened, the USMNT owned Egypt with a 3-0 scoreline that should have been 4-0, and Brazil beat Italy 3-0, giving the US the 6 goal swing it needed to advance out of the group stage and into a semifinal with number one ranked Spain.

The US team that showed up in what has been termed “The Father’s Day Miracle,” was unlike the team that showed up against Brazil and Italy.  Last Sunday, all of the players looked interested, they all showed heart, and they displayed an attacking style that allowed them to control the match.  No matter what we might think of Bob Bradley as a coach, there was joy in seeing his son, Michael Bradley, score a goal in the 63rd minute of the match; after all, what better gift could Michael have given his father for Father’s Day?

While USMNT fans properly celebrated this amazing feat of advancing to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup, some of us still wondered what team would show up on Wednesday against Spain.  Was Father’s Day a fluke and would we see Bob Bradley and USMNT return to the same tactics and styles employed against Italy and Brazil?

Even for those of us who could sleep well on Tuesday night, Wednesday morning brought an overwhelming sense of anxious anticipation.  Taking on Spain in the semifinal of the Confederations Cup was arguably the biggest match for the USMNT since facing Germany in the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup finals.  After the weak showings against Italy and Brazil, it seemed unlikely that the USMNT would be able to defeat Spain, the number one ranked team in the world, a team that had not lost in 35 straight matches.  But, the USMNT had played Spain last summer, and while Spain won that friendly, the USMNT had a respectable showing.  Finally, in our hearts of hearts we knew that if the USMNT played with the intensity and emotion, yes emotion, they showed against Egypt, they had a good shot at pulling off the upset.

From the moment I woke up Wednesday morning, I knew I would be leaving my day job early, there was no question about that.  While work kept me occupied for most of the morning, about two hours before first touch the anxious anticipation could no longer be ignored.  I finally threw in the towel about 30 minutes before the start of the match and made my way to a nearby pub, the kind that opens at the crack of dawn on weekend mornings for the EPL junkies jonesing for their EPL fix.  When the match started, it was hard to sit still.  In the 27th minute, the pub erupted as Jozy Altidore put the USMNT on the scoreboard and ended Spain’s 451 minute shut-out streak.  While the goal gave a brief sense of relief, there was also extra anxiety as to whether the USMNT could maintain their lead.  Halftime came and went with the USMNT maintaining its lead, but Spain was looking dangerous.  After several great early, second-half saves by Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey got the USMNT’s second goal in the 74th minute.  Some folks might say that a two goal lead is the hardest lead to maintain, but the two goal lead allowed me to breathe easier.  When the final whistle was blown by the referee the sense of joy and relief in the pub was palpable.  I would be lying if I said my eyes were not a little damp after Wednesday’s match.

The USMNT had finally done it, they had advanced to the final of a major FIFA tournament.  While the Confederations Cup is not the World Cup, it is the second most prestigious competition in which the USMNT is eligible to participate.  So today, we once again wake up (those of us who could sleep that is) with that anxious anticipation as we await the rematch between USMNT and Brazil, who squeaked by South Africa on Thursday.

For me, today is not the day to opine on what this match means for soccer in the United States.  Additionally, today is not a day for me to respond to the worn-out, tired criticism of ignorant hacks who do not and never will understand the Beautiful Game, if anything, this Confederations Cup with the serious criticism of tactics and squad decisions coming from members of both old and new media has shown those tired, soccer hating hacks are completely out of touch with the American soccer fan.

No, today is a day for me, and hopefully for you, to be a kid on Christmas morning again, to feel anxious, to feel anticipation, to feel excitement.  Today is a day to live and die with every pass, every penalty, every tackle, and every goal.  Today is a day to shut out the rest of the world, to be a fan, to open yourself completely to the joy of victory or the agony of defeat.

When the match is over and the dust has cleared, that will be the time to sit back and reflect on the bigger meaning, if any, of today’s Confederations Cup final.  Until then though, I tip my hat and lift my glass to you Mr. and Ms. American Soccer fan, enjoy your day in the sun, enjoy rooting for the USMNT, and enjoy your love for the Beautiful Game.

Wednesday night’s Saprissa Massacre has to be considered one of the lowest points for the U.S. National Team since returning to the World Cup in 1990, and instead of dissecting that game and breaking down the various reasons for the loss and the various mistakes made by Bob Bradley and his squad, I want to point out that the U.S. National Team and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) are in a prime position to make a decision that could greatly impact the future of the National Team and its future success at Saprissa and other foreign venues.

It was recently announced that Piotr (Peter) Nowak was leaving his position as assistant coach for the US National Team to become the coach of Philadelphia Union, which will makes its MLS debut next season. This move was somewhat surprising and may have been spurred by several reasons, but that is not the focus of this article. The departure of Nowak has presented the USSF with an opportunity to greatly improve the future of the US National Team, should it chose to take advantage of this opportunity.

We have witnessed a great deal of improvement by the US National Team over the past twenty years; however, it is clear that the US National Team is still lacking in technical skills and creativity (both at the coaching level and on the pitch). The USSF now has the opportunity to hire a new assistant coach with a strong background in youth development, since the position vacated by Nowak is the position within the USSF that has the most influence on youth development. The potential assistant coach hire does not have to be a big name coach, in fact, it might be better if this hire is a relatively obscure youth development coach from Europe or South America or Africa, but it should be an individual with a strong track record in providing younger players with the encouragement and training they need to improve their skills and match fitness. Additionally, the assistant coach will serve as something of a Consigliere to Bob Bradley; therefore, the hire should be a coach with tactical experience and the ability to give Bradley the advice he needs when a game is getting out of hand, like it did in Saprissa this past week.

It’s time for the USSF to take a gamble, to take some time to scout the teaching/coaching talent at academies around the world in order to replace Nowak. A knee-jerk hire for assistant coach is the last and worst thing that the US National Team needs at this time; after all, this hiring could have a long and lasting impact on the future of the US National Team.

New Jersey, the Garden State, is famous and infamous for many things: the Mafia, Atlantic City, Frank Sinatra, Bon Jovi, stone-washed jeans, the Pine Barrens, Bruce Springsteen, teased hair, the Meadowlands, the Jersey Devil, pharmaceutical companies, the Turnpike, the Lindbergh Kidnapping, diners, and soccer, yes, soccer. While many American soccer fans are familiar, even if just in passing, with the game’s history in St. Louis, not as many are aware of how deep the Beautiful Game’s roots stretch in New Jersey.

On November 6, 1869 Rutgers and Princeton faced off in a game that gave birth to two American traditions: football a/k/a soccer and American football a/k/a gridiron a/k/a throwball. While the NFL and NCAA love to point to this match as the birth of their game, what they don’t like to acknowledge is that the teams involved played a game that was a variation of the 1863 London FA Rules.

If New Jersey is one of the birthplaces of soccer in the United States, then Kearny, New Jersey is the birthplace of soccer in New Jersey. Kearny, which is located on the Passaic River, across from Newark, was home to Michael Nairn & Co. as well as a Clark Thread Company factory, both of which had attracted a substantial Scottish workforce. In 1883, Clark Thread Company started an athletic association for its employees and named its soccer team Our New Thread, a/k/a ONT, in honor of the development of the first thread that could easily be used in sewing machines. The various garment industries located in Kearny and throughout the West Hudson area of New Jersey had strong ties to England and Scotland and many of the industry’s workers played for various amateur, semi-professional, and professional soccer clubs over the following decades, including the two incarnations of the American Soccer League, as detailed below.

While the first professional soccer league in the United States emerged in 1894 (the American League of Professional Football), the first viable professional soccer league, the American Soccer League, started in 1921 and was primarily based in the northeast. New Jersey was well represented in ASL I over its 12 year existence by the likes of the Harrison Soccer Club, Jersey City Celtics, Paterson Silk Sox, Newark Skeeters, and the Newark Americans. Although the initial ASL died in 1933, a new ASL emerged in 1934 and survived until 1983. It was in this version 2.0 of the ASL that some of the truly great New Jersey sides emerged, including Kearny Irish, Kearny Scots, Newark Germans, Paterson Caledonians, Trenton Highlanders, Kearny Celtic, Elizabeth Falcons, Newark Portuguese, and Newark Ukranian Sitch.

The great Billy Gonsalves played for the ASL’s Kearny Scots in the 1941-1942 season and later served as a player-coach for the German-American Soccer League’s Newark club from 1947 to 1952. Gonsalves remained in the Newark area for the rest of his life, dying in Kearny on July 17, 1977.

Gene Olaff, considered by some to be one of the greatest American goalkeepers, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey in 1920. He earned a cap in 1949 and missed out on the 1950 World Cup because his employer, the New Jersey State Police would not give him a leave of absence to go to Brazil. Olaff played for several ASL teams in the New York City area until his retirement in 1953. In 1975, Gene Olaff served as Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, but retired soon after due to the agency’s age restrictions. Olaff currently lives in Florence Township, New Jersey, where he’s actively involved in youth soccer.

Despite the demise of the ASL in 1983, New Jersey’s influence in soccer on the American landscape continued because the Garden State produced several of the best known American soccer players, including numerous U.S. National Team players. Among the soccer players who were born or grew up in New Jersey are Tab Ramos, Claudio Reyna, Gregg Berhalter, Jozy Altidore, Giuseppe Rossi, John Harkes, Glenn Davis, Vincenzo Bernardo, Tony Meola, and Tim Howard.

Unfortunately for New Jersey and its soccer roots, the modern era of professional soccer has treated the Garden State in the same manner it has been treated by the NFL. The Cosmos might have spent their most famous years playing at the Meadowlands, but they were still the New York Cosmos, not the New Jersey Cosmos (yes, I know there was a period when the team, full of self-importance, played as just “The Cosmos,” but really, everyone knew they were New York’s team.) Initially, the MLS tried to do right by New Jersey, initially putting fielding a team called the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (and based their kit on the colors of the A.C. Milan kit). Unfortunately, in 2006 the Austrian firm Red Bull GmbH bought the club and renamed them RedBull New York, clearly dropping New Jersey from the team’s name. Despite this change, the squad’s new stadium will be located in Harrison, New Jersey, a town, as detailed above, with a strong soccer past.

Recently there has been talk of putting an MLS expansion team in New York, putting the MLS on the same level of the other professional sports leagues which all have two teams in New York. However, I think the MLS would be smart to take the time to recognize the role that New Jersey has played in the development of the Beautiful Game in the United States and place that expansion team in New Jersey proper.

The U.S. Open Cup, which was initially called the National Challenge Cup, made its debut on the American sporting landscape in 1914. The final was held on May 14, and it was an all Brooklyn affair as Brooklyn Field Club beat Brooklyn Celtic 2-1 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, making Brooklyn Field Club the first team to ever hoist the Dewar Cup. The Dewar Cup got its name from Sir Thomas Dewar, of Dewar’s whiskey fame, and was finally retired in 1979. The Dewar Cup currently resides at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, New York.

During the Cup’s early years, football was most prominent on the East Coast, especially in the urban centers with large immigrant populations; therefore, it’s not surprising that many of the early Cup winners came from the East Coast. In 1915, Brooklyn Celtic returned to the Cup final, but lost to Bethlehem Steel, 3-1. Bethlehem Steel, one of the most storied clubs of football in the States, went on to win the Cup in 1916, 1918, 1919, and 1926, making Bethlehem Steel the first team to ever win 5 cups. The only other team to win the Cup 5 times was Maccabee Los Angeles. Those victories came in 1973, 1975, 1977, 1978, and 1981.

While the East Coast was a stronghold of football in America, so was St. Louis, and it was only a matter of time before St. Louis teams started throwing their weight around in the Cup. In 1920, the St. Louis Ben Millers beat Fore River 2-1. Teams from St. Louis would again win the Cup in 1922, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1948, 1950, 1957, and 1988.

Special recognition needs to be given to Greek American AA, the only team to ever win three Cups in a row, that achievement occurred between 1967 and 1969, plus another cup victory in 1974.

No NASL team ever won the Cup, but since 1996, all the Cups have been won by MLS teams, except in 1999 when the Rochester Ragin’ Rhinos beat the Colorado Rapids 2-0. The current Cup holder is DC United, but the 2009 Cup competition is underway and we’ll see if an MLS side will once again prevail.

Whether you love or hate DC United, there is no denying that the Capital City’s club is an important part of Major League Soccer’s short history. Despite being one of the original MLS clubs, and despite winning 4 MLS Cups, 4 Supporters’ Shields, the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup, and 2 U.S. Open Cups, the team has had little success in its efforts to obtain its own home, its own soccer specific stadium, in the D.C. area. While United’s current home, RFK Stadium, has played an important role in the American soccer landscape, anyone who has watched a match there can tell you that it is not the best stadium for enjoying a live match.

In recent weeks, the United stadium saga has taken a dark turn. Earlier this year, news of building a stadium in Prince George’s County, Maryland, just across the District line from where RFK is located, surfaced. While this potential move from the city to the suburbs was not completely greeted with open arms by United’s core fan base, it appeared that travel issues would not be a huge problem since the club was focusing on locations easily accessible by Metro lines. Any optimism that a stadium deal would go smoothly was dashed when county officials voted to oppose legislation in Maryland’s legislature that would have authorized a feasibility study for building the stadium.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber chose that time to weigh in on the United stadium issue, suggesting that if a deal for a new stadium cannot be reached, then the team will be moved out of the D.C. area. Whether this threat will have the desired impact on local officials is yet to be seen; however, it has rallied United fans in a grassroots effort to support keeping their team in D.C.

United’s supporter groups, especially the La Barra Brava, have taken the lead on organizing a march on Saturday May 9, 2009 to show fan support for United. The march, which will occur prior to United’s match against Toronto, will begin at Lincoln Park and end at RFK Stadium. Shuttle buses will be available, between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m., to transport fans from the RFK parking lot to Lincoln Park.

Meanwhile, blogs like MatchFitUSA have pushed to make May 9th “Keep United in D.C. Day,” not just in D.C. but across the league by asking fans at other MLS matches to show support for keeping United in D.C.

Garber recently acknowledged that soccer fans in the U.S. are increasingly sophisticated, the size and scope of Saturday’s march will evidence how well organized United’s fans can be in their love of the their team and the sport. While I suspect a strong showing in D.C., I am very interested to see what type of support for keeping United in D.C. appears at other MLS matches this weekend.

Following the previous week’s 0-0 draw with RedBull New York, the Dynamo’s Coach, Dominic Kinnear, stated that he felt his squad was on the verge of breaking out of their winless doldrums. As to whether the victory over the Rapids will be the start of a winning streak for the Dynamo is questionable because they were going into an off week and would then have to travel to New England to face the Revolution on the plastic surface at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

While the Dynamo were once again off to a rough start, the New England Revolution managed to beat the Western Conference’s Earthquakes and FC Dallas, while getting draws with I-95 rivals DC United and RedBull New York. This strong start to the 2009 season was achieved despite the injuries plaguing players like Taylor Twellman, Matt Reis, Kheli Dube, and Steve Ralston.

Last weekend the Revolution made their first visit to Real Salt Lake’s Rio Tinto Stadium and ended up leaving the Beehive State with their worse regular season loss ever, giving up six goals in the second half of the match, while failing to score any goals of their own.

This Sunday when the New England Revolution host the Houston Dynamo (2:00 p.m. central on Telefutura), soccer fans will be treated to two teams with a strong history of battling each other and two teams eager to get a win and the three points. As MLS fans are aware, the Dynamo’s back-to-back MLS Cup victories in 2006 and 2007 came at the expense of the New England Revolution while the Revolution beat the Dynamo in the 2008 SuperLiga Final.

The advantage on Sunday goes to the Revolution, thanks to the expected return of Matt Reis and Kheli Dube, as well as the fact that the Dynamo have yet to win at Gillette Stadium, but it will not prove to be an easy victory.

The Dynamo took advantage of their off week to play the PDL’s Laredo Heat in a reserve match, which the Dynamo won 4-0. This match marked the first time that the team’s new signings took the pitch for the Dynamo. Defender Andrew Hainault looked solid on the back line while a jet lagged Ade Akinbiyi was instrumental in the team’s first two goals. It should also be noted that despite never having won at Gillette Stadium, the Dynamo have only lost one match in Foxboro (the Revolution won the 2008 SuperLiga Final on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw).

If Sunday’s match stays true to form and the history between these teams, this meeting between the Revolution and Dynamo will not be a defensive slog, but rather a match highlighted by aggressive, offensive styles from both teams. In the end, it will be the soccer fan who is the true winner, even if the match ends 0-0.

All-Star Games are as All-American as Chevrolet, mom, and apple pie. The most famous and storied All-Star Game in the US is, of course, the one belonging to Major League Baseball, which was first played at Chicago’s Comiskey Park in 1933. The NBA’s All-Star Game, which, like the MLB version, is a midseason game, runs a distant second, while the NFL Pro-Bowl, is an all but ignored after thought that could disappear and no would really notice, especially since it takes place after the Super Bowl and serves more as a hangover then as one last taste of gridiron until August.

The MLS jumped on the all-star bandwagon early in 1996, initially following the typical American model of pitting the best of one conference against the best of the other conference. In 2002 and 2003, the MLS toyed with the concept of pitting a unified All-Star squad against a visiting clause, returned to the conference versus conference format, but in 2005 returned to a format featuring an All-Star team playing a visiting foreign team. This summer, an MLS All-Star squad will take on a yet to be named visiting team at the Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah this July.

My impression from informal conversations with soccer fans here in the US is that they either love or hate that the MLS All-Star Game now consists of one MLS Squad taking on a foreign team; there is not much of a middle ground. What most fans don’t seem to know is that there is a long tradition in U.S. soccer of fielding all-star teams against visiting travelling teams, as well as American club teams playing these travelling teams. Additionally, a little known fact, is that U.S. all-star teams and some club teams did some international traveling of their own.

Here’s a breakdown of early All-Star matches involving U.S. soccer:

1909 – The Pilgrims from England toured the U.S. and played all-star teams representing New York, Baltimore, Pennsylvania League, and the New York Amateur League, as well as several club teams. The Pilgrims were essentially an all-start team from England with players from clubs such as West Ham United, Arsenal, Sheffield United, Queens Park, Rotherham Town F.C., Fulham, and Falkirk F.C., among others.

1911 – The famed Corinthians F.C. played all-star teams from Chicago and New York, as well as Toronto and Ontario, as well as several club teams.

1916 – The U.S. Football Association’s All-American Soccer Football Club toured Sweden and Norway.

1919 – Not so much an all-star team, but Bethlehem Steel toured Sweden and Denmark – with a record of 6 wins, 6 draws, and 2 losses.

1920 – The St. Louis Soccer Club, made up of players from St. Louis, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York, toured Scandinavia – with a record of 7 wins, 5 draws, and 2 losses.

1921 – The All-Scots of Scotland played several club teams in the U.S.

1924 – The Corinthians returned to play several Philadelphia clubs and a Brooklyn club.

1926 – This year saw both the Hakoah All-Stars of Vienna and Sparta F.C. play U.S. all-star teams and club teams. Additionally, Worcester, Mass. played some travel games in England and Germany.

1927 – Featured the return of the Hakoah All-Stars of Vienna to the American shores, as well as matches by Maccabi F.C., Real Madrid, National of Uruguay, and Worcestershire of England. Meanwhile, New York’s Viking F.C. travelled to Norway and Sweden.

1928 – Palestra Italia F.C. and Glasgow Rangers F.C. traveled to the U.S. to play all-star and club teams. Palestra was a bit of an all-star team, made of players from Bologna, Brescia, Genoa, Milan, Padoga, Rome, and Turin.

1929 – Preston North End, which was in the English 2nd Division at the time, and Sabaria from Budapest both traveled to the U.S., while Worcester toured in England.

1930 – Argentina’s Sportivo F.C. played the Hakoah All-Stars before a crowd of 5,000 at the Polo Grounds in New York, with the American side winning the match 1-0. Meanwhile Hungaria F.C. (M.T.K.) , Marte F.C. from Mexico City, Kilmarnock F.C., Worcestershire of England, and Scotland’s Rangers all toured and played against all-star teams and club teams. Meanwhile the ASL’s Fall River Marksmen toured Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Hungary; the ASL’s Hakoah All-Stars toured Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay; and Germania Milwaukee toured Germany.

So, even before World War II, a soccer all-star tradition had been established in the United States. Not only did the land of plenty create a military force that helped defeat the Axis during World War II, but the post-war prosperity in the US resulted in an increase of European clubs spending their summers “across the pond.” Food rationing existed in much of Europe for years following The War, but as Liverpool discovered in 1946, there was no food rationing in the United States, and the U.S. became a summer destination for squads looking to bulk up their players.

In their 1946 tour, Liverpool played the New York Stars, Baltimore Stars, American League Stars, New England Stars, Philadelphia Stars, St. Louis Stars, Chicago Stars, and Kearny Stars. Puentes Grandes of Cuba also visited the U.S. that year, playing All-Star teams in New Jersey, Pittsburgh, New England, and Philadelphia.

Since 1946 the following teams have visited the United States and have played various all-star teams: Hapoel F.C. (Tel-Aviv, Palestine), Liverpool, Djurgarden F.C. (Stockholm), Slovan Bratislava, Atlante, Belfast Celtic, Kamaraterna (Sweden), Inter Milan, Scottish National Team, Manchester United, Hamburg S.C., Besiktas F.C., Atlas F.C., Jonkopping F.C. (Sweden), English FA XII, A.I.K. (Stockholm), Eintracht Frankfurt, Fulham, Glasgow Celtic, All-England, Stuttgart Kickers, Tottenham Hotspurs, Nuernberg F.C., Rapid City F.C. (Austria), Borussia F.C., Chelsea, Fortuna F.C. (Germany), Glasgow Rangers, Plymouth Argyle, Wacker (Austria), Rot-Weiss (Germany), Olaria (Brazil), Occidente S.C. of Guadalajara, Sunderland F.C., Grasshoppers (Switzerland), Sochaux (France), Police Stars (West Germany), Schwaben Augsberg, Everton, Aberdeen, F.C. Austria, Kaiserlautern (West Germany), Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel), Manchester City, Hearts of Midlothian (Scotland), Kickers Offenbach, Blackpool, Napoli, Palermo, Helsinborgs (Sweden), Legia Warsaw, Vasco de Gama, Dundee, Petah Tikva (Isreal), 1st Saarbruecken, A.S.V. Nuernberg, F.C. Schalke 04, Wolverhampton, AGF (Denmark), SV Hamburg, Meidrich (Germany), Ronsdorf (Germany), etc.

I could go beyond that list, and trust me that list really only covers into 1965, but that would be beating a dead horse. So, my point is that there is a long a storied history of US All-Star soccer clubs playing visiting foreign clubs. So, instead of complaining about the MLS Mid-Summer Classic, might I suggest you embrace it, and enjoy it as part of the beautiful game’s tradition in the United States?

The apparently star-crossed story of Freddy Adu is familiar to most American soccer fans. Born in Ghana, Adu moved to the United States as a young boy, when his mom won the Immigration and Naturalization Act’s “Green Card Lottery.” Adu’s raw soccer talent was so recognizable that he was the first pick in the MLS’s 2004 SuperDraft, going to D.C. United. On April 3, 2004, Adu was a second half substitute in a match against the San Jose Earthquakes. While there is some dispute concerning Adu’s actual age, Adu was reportedly 14 years old when he made his first MLS appearance, making him the youngest player to ever appear in a professional team sport in the United States since at least 1887.

Despite the high expectations and promising skills, Adu’s MLS career can best be characterized as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. While American culture tends to give lip service to the concept of individualism, American team sports have a tendency of being suspicious of any player, especially a young player, who, like Adu, shows too much personal flair on the playing field. During his first couple seasons at United, Adu was a yo-yo, bouncing from the bench to a starting position and back to the bench so often that he was fined for complaining to the press about his playing time. By the 2006 MLS season, Adu secured himself a starting position in United’s midfield, and it appeared that he was on the verge of a breakout season in 2007. But in December of 2006, United traded Adu to Real Salt Lake where he would once again have to start from scratch to prove his worth on the pitch.

When the 2007 MLS season started, Adu was a starter for Real Salt Lake, but he only managed to score 1 goal in eleven MLS matches. That the cause of Adu’s woes at Real Salt Lake may not have been solely on his shoulders was evidenced by his performance in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he scored 3 goals and served as captain of a team that beat Brazil and made it to the quarterfinals.

Adu’s performance for the USMNT U-20 team caught the attention of Portugal’s S.L. Benfica, which paid a $2 million transfer fee to obtain Adu from the MLS. While American soccer fans hoped that Adu’s natural talent would be nurtured and enhanced at Benfica, fate stepped in and Fernando Santos, the club’s coach who had championed the Adu transfer, was sacked and replaced by Jose Antonio Camacho. Reports indicate that, on the whole, the coaching staff was pleased with Adu’s skills and training ethic, but during the 2008 summer transfer window Adu was loaned to A.S. Monaco for the 2008/09 season, with an option to make the transfer permanent.

American soccer fans who were disappointed with Adu’s minimal playing time at Benfica hoped that Adu would finally see more serious playing time in Europe since Monaco’s managing owner, Jerome de Bontin, studied in the United States and has strong business ties with the country. In his time since his move from Portugal to France, the young American midfielder/striker has yet to start a match and has only seen action in nine matches. Adu has not scored any goals, but he has two shots and managed to get one yellow card. With only 6 more matches left in the 2008/09 season, it is unlikely that Adu will see a significant increase in his playing time at Monaco.

Whether Adu ends up making a permanent move to Monaco or returns to Benfica, unless he has a breakout summer with the U.S. National Team during the Confederation Cup and its World Cup Qualifiers this summer, history indicates that it is unlikely that Adu will see increased playing time in the 2009/10 season in Portugal or France. As it is, despite scoring against Guatemala last November in a World Cup Qualifier, Adu has not dressed for the National side’s most recent World Cup Qualifiers, with Adu’s lack of playing time at Monaco the seeming excuse for his diminished role with the USMNT.

The time has come, especially after the recent squabble with A.C. Milan over David Beckham, for U.S. Soccer to man up and assert itself on the international club scene. If American talent, like Freddy Adu, is wasting away as a seldom used sub or reserve on a club in Europe, U.S. Soccer needs to voice its concern and take the necessary steps to get that player moved, on loan or permanent transfer, to a club where he will get plenty of playing time.

When Europe’s transfer window opens this summer, U.S. Soccer should champion a deal that will net Adu playing time, even if that means pressuring the MLS or USL into bringing him back to the States for a short summer loan. If MLS or USL balk at any proposed transfer/loan fees, U.S. Soccer should step in and help fund said fees. Since the MLS has shown a willingness to bend its complicated transfer and acquisition rules in the past, it should do so again to ensure that Adu would end up with a coach who won’t be afraid to rely on and nurture Adu’s talent, and guarantee him significant playing time. Ideal locations for Adu in the MLS would be with Sigi Schmid and Seattle Sounders FC, Frank Yallop and San Jose Earthquakes, Curt Onalfo and Kansas City Wizards, Preki and Chivas USA, or Dominic Kinnear and Houston Dynamo, just to name a few.

I know it will be hard for MLS to put marketing and publicity on the backburner and instead focus on a placement that will enable the best development of Adu’s talent, but for the love of the future of the beautiful game in the United States, it is time to bring Freddy home where he can play and develop, even if it is just for a couple months.

— Brian Zygo is the Bureau Chief of the World Soccer Wrap Houston Bureau, the host of World Soccer Wrap: Serie A, and a co-host of The Soccer Show on 1560 The Game in Houston, Texas. He is also the kind of guy who will go out of his way to use the term soccer because he knows it will annoy some people to no end.

Gilbert "Gillie" Heron

In the world of the Beautiful Game April 15th is most known for Hillsborough, but in the United States, April 15th is best know for one of the most significant sporting and cultural moments of the 20th Century. It was on April 15, 1947 that Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers, forever breaking the color barrier that kept Americans of African descent from playing in the MLB. It should be noted that in addition to breaking the baseball color line, Jackie Robinson was among the earliest African-American soldiers to become commissioned officers during World War II.

During those 60 some odd years that the MLB kept black players out of its league (and occasionally taking the time to bash soccer as a foreign sport), the various professional and semi-professional soccer leagues scattered across the United States had, for the most part, more to worry about then the skin tone or pigmentation of the players. Maybe it was the path that Jackie Robinson forged in the three years since his debut, maybe it was the fact that soccer languished in a world with little press attention, or maybe it was a combination of those two factors (and other factors), that when the U.S. returned to the international stage at Brazil ’50, that the presence of Joe Gaetjens, who played for Brookhattan in the American Soccer League, on the U.S. National Team apparently caused little, if any, raised eyebrows in the press or the powers that be in U.S. Soccer. After all, Jamaica born Gilbert “Gillie” Heron had spent the 1940s playing for the Detroit Corinthians and Detroit Wolverines, and was labeled the “Babe Ruth of Soccer” by Ebony magazine in 1947. Heron, the father of musician Gil-Scott Heron, moved on to become the first black person to play football in Scotland, where he scored a goal for Celtic in 1951.

In the years since Joe Gaetjens scored the winning goal against England at Belo Horizonte, numerous players of African descent have played for the U.S. National Team, including Cobi Jones, Tim Howard, DeMarcus Beasley, Jozy Altidore, Eddie Pope, Tony Sanneh, Jimmy Banks, Desmond Armstrong, Oguchi Onyewu, Robin Fraser, Roy Lassiter, etc. While incidents of racism occur, for the most part, black soccer players in the United States have been spared the types of vicious comments made by fans that were not happy to see color barriers in baseball or in European football busted, many of these players, like other serious soccer players in the U.S.; however, have had to endure the anti-soccer comments made by their peers who to understand the game.

While soccer may not be the most popular sport among African-Americans, a segment in which even the great American game, baseball, has lost traction, African-Americans have played an integral role in the development and evolution of soccer in the U.S. So, on this day when we remember the victims of Hillsborough and the historical watershed that occurred when Jackie Robinson took the field in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform, let us also take a moment to remember and respect the diversity that has made and will continue to make soccer in the U.S. the Beautiful Game.

1930 US National Team

In the comments made to my last post on this site, an individual stated that they were sick of hearing about ways to grow the MLS and suggested it should be shut down, put out of its misery. Well as both a fan and commentator on the Beautiful Game (whether you call it football, futbol, soccer, calcio, etc., I really don’t care. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by another name would smell as sweet.” As for me, I just tend to go with what my federation calls the game.), it is my opinion that the presence of one or more organized, professional leagues is important, nay, necessary and crucial to the continued growth and development of the US National Team.

First things first though, let’s make one thing very, very clear. For those who think that soccer in the US is a “foreign” game or that soccer is a relatively new sport in the US, put those false assumptions aside, immediately. The true origins of the game are lost in history and obscured by myth. Lore suggests that sporting games involving kicking a ball existed in China, Italy, and North America long before some lads in England took upon themselves to draft The Laws. It only took 5 years for the Cambridge Rules version of the game, established in 1815, to secure itself in the US. The first organized soccer club in the US was the Oneidas who played on the Boston Commons in the 1860s, and while they were the first “organized” club, they had plenty of opponents to play. The Rutgers v. Princeton match that was held in New Brunswick, New Jersey on November 6, 1876, you know, the one that the NFL claims as the birth of its game, well the ball from that match is in the Soccer Hall of Fame, it’s not in Canton, Ohio. Finally, the United States Football Association became a full fledged member of FIFA in 1914. What separates the history of the game in the US from the history in England was that it was allowed to flourish in England and Europe, while here it was left to grow of its own accord, and when its popularity grew, the powers that be in baseball would play the xenophobia card in explaining why people should spend their hard earned money at baseball games instead of soccer matches. Of course, those same powers that be in baseball were more then happy to rent their ballparks out to teams in the ASL and other regional leagues during baseball’s offseason. Additionally, this is a country made up of immigrants, of the flotsam and jetsam of the rest of the world, so it makes sense that soccer has always had, and will always have, a place on the American landscape.

The problem that existed between 1820 and 1996, was that there was no truly unified and national professional soccer league in this country. That the US did as well as it did in the 1930, 1950, and even 1994 World Cups is a testament to the raw soccer talent that persists in this country despite the game’s relegation to the background of the US sporting psyche. While the NASL managed to break into the mainstream in the late 1970s and early 1980s, its cooperation with the National side makes the MLS look ultra accommodating.

In the 1980s, realizing the lack of serious professional opportunities for its players, US Soccer stepped up to the plate and signed the national team players to contracts and began paying the players. While this move enabled the team to keep the most talented players it could find, it also meant that these players were losing out on the opportunity to play on a regular club schedule with diverse teammates bring a variety of styles and backgrounds to experience, and limited to whatever friendly schedule along it could develop, in addition to the CONCACAF schedule.

The US National Team barely squeaked into Italia ‘90 and it had an automatic berth into USA ‘94. It has only been since the creation of the MLS that the US National Team has become a dominant force in CONCACAF. Additionally, despite the tension between the leagues, I do believe that the presence of the MLS has lifted the skill level and profile of the USL.

I cannot accurately predict whether the US will ever win the World Cup in my lifetime, but I do know that the team would never have a shot at winning the Cup if the MLS did not exist. There is a large, untapped reserve of soccer talent in the US. The existence of both the MLS and the USL allows for the deployment of more scouts to discover that talent and it gives kids with the talent the ability to know that they can earn a living at soccer, they don’t have to give the game up for football or baseball or basketball when they get to high school.

So maybe the skill level and aesthetics of the game in the MLS and USL are not up to the standards of the Premier League, but in the end, the MLS and USL will mean more to the growth and development of the US National Team then the EPL will mean to the growth and development of Three Lions. As for those of you who just cannot stomach the MLS and/or the USL, well, those are the leagues we have here and we will hang onto them, and nourish them as long as we can, because that will grow our National Game.

Jose Mourinho

Love him or hate him, you cannot ignore Jose Mourinho, because he is the proverbial moth drawn to the media spotlight. This recent FIFA International Break found the Special One in the United States as he prepared for the World Football Challenge, which will be occurring here this summer. While paving the way for Inter Milan’s first appearance in the United States in 40 years, Mourinho took some time to talk to the press about a variety of topics, including the MLS and the state of soccer in the U.S.

On the whole, it seems that Mourinho has a much more realistic view on the state of the Beautiful Game in the U.S. then a number of pundits and journalists on both sides of the Atlantic.

“I’ve been quite impressed. I lost a game with Chelsea to an MLS team, they lacked precision but showed enough quality. I think it’s good for American football when some of the boys play in Europe – and they’re playing every week in the Premiership, in the Bundesliga. Their inclusion is good for them, good for the [US] national team because then they go back to the national team and bring the experience of high level football in Europe. MLS loses without the best talent, they go down, the players go to Europe, they leave MLS, but you cannot have everything at the same time.”

Mourinho stated that he watched last year’s MLS Cup and found it to be enjoyable. He understands that one of the problems facing soccer in the US is that the sporting culture of this country revolves around baseball, American football, and basketball, and it is not easy to compete with these sports. But, the U.S. is a country built on immigrants and there are large communities in the U.S. that love soccer, and it is those communities that need to be invested in, presumably, by the MLS and US Soccer.

I agree with Mourinho that the MLS’s focus for fan growth should be on the existing soccer fans in this country, not just the immigrant communities but all of the native born who get up early on the weekends to watch the Premier League and other foreign leagues. Something Don Garber initially recognized when he took on the role of Commissioner of the MLS. Of late though, it seems that MLS on the whole has lost sight of this concept and it’s only the media and marketing savvy teams pursuing this goal. I can understand someone who has never watched soccer having no interest in the MLS, but people who follow football teams in Europe, Mexico, South America, Asia, etc., should be given a reason to go to a local MLS or USL match.

According to Mourinho, the MLS should not invest in just one big name player from Europe, like David Beckham, but rather the MLS needs to bring in two real players from Europe for each MLS team and several coaches from Europe. What’s interesting is that Mourinho initially talks about the MLS having to do this without controlled budgets or financial walls. He believes that the MLS needs to view this as an investment in its future. On first blush, it seems that Mourinho is advocating that the MLS follow the path forged by the NASL, but then he goes on to state that the players and coaches who come to the MLS need to come here with the goal of making an impact on the sport here in the U.S., of growing the game, not with the goal of making a bunch of money then going back home. To sum it up, Mourinho states: “People coming here must have the mentality of give more than receive. More worry about giving and not going home with pockets full of money.” (Don’t worry, it isn’t lost on me that Mourinho is taking a shot at Beckham too.)

I like Mourinho’s thinking, but I fear that in this world the almighty Dollar, Euro, or Pound is the driving force. Maybe, one day, there will be some players willing to come to the US for the primary purpose of growing the Beautiful Game on our shores, but I fear those players might be in the twilight of their careers, with little gas left in their tanks.

The more interesting component of Mourinho’s statement is his suggestion that the MLS bring in more coaches from Europe. I suspect Mourinho was thinking that more MLS teams should be coached by Europeans, but I would prefer it if the coaches brought in from Europe are brought here not as head coaches, but as assistants who can work with MLS players on their technical skills and soccer IQs. Instead of spending a large amount of money on bringing over head coaches, such as Mourinho, who would have too many difficulties adjusting to the financial and bureaucratic constraints on acquiring players and building a squad, the MLS would be smart to lure aware coaches/teachers from the youth academies or lower rungs of the European coaching hierarchy. These coaches could focus on developing and enhancing the skill sets of the MLS players without having to worry about the big picture issues of fielding an MLS team.

It is refreshing to see that someone with the stature of Jose Mourinho has paid attention to the MLS, can be critical without bashing the game here, and can provide serious suggestions on what can be done to grow the game in the US. Some diehard fans of the MLS might not appreciate everything Mourinho has said, but his comments should not be ignored. There is still work to be done on growing the MLS’s stature in the U.S., some of that work needs to be done by the people drawing paychecks from the MLS and some of that needs to be done by the fans of not just the MLS, but of the Beautiful Game. I really do not care if the MLS ever achieves the stature of the NFL or MLB, but I do want the league to reach a point where nobody can seriously call it a Mickey Mouse league ever again.

In the end, Mourinho stated:

“To come here – we have nothing to learn from you about our game – we have nothing to learn. But we have a lot to learn from you about sports. Not about our sport, but about sports and about sports organizations, sports investments, sports marketing, sports merchandising. We have everything to learn from you.”

Well, in exchange for teaching the rest of the world about the business of sports, let’s be willing to let them teach us about improving the product on the pitch. I think that would be a fair trade. The history of the Beautiful Game in the U.S. is long, proud, and oft forgotten. Let us not be too proud to ignore the criticism and advice from The Special One.

Click Here

Lots of news coming out about the soccer specific stadium for the Houston Dynamo, and it seems to be good news. The projected cost of the stadium is $80 million, and the Dynamo will fund $60 million of that price tag. Looks like the financing of that private funding has been achieved thanks to BBVA/Compass.

http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou090324_mh_dynamo-stadium.694b5ecd.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/soc/6337950.html

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/090324_dynamo_secure_stadium_financing

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/sports&id=6726524

A couple weeks ago I was a guest on Mad About Futbol and the hosts asked me what I would do if I were the commissioner of the MLS. I kept my answer short and only touched on a couple topics, but in the back of my head was a longer laundry list. So without out further adieu, if the MLS hires me to run the league, here are 8 issues/topics that would be the focus of my reign.

1. Raise the Salary Cap

Please notice that I said, “Raise the salary cap,” I did not say, “Abolish the salary cap.” One of the reasons that the MLS has managed to survive for over 12 years is the fact that it has adopted a salary cap that prevented teams from spending wildly and out of control. The stringent cap has done its job, but now, with the demise of the Reserves League and the inclusion of more MLS teams in other competitions, the current salary cap limits the potential of MLS sides. The L.A. Galaxy are the prime example of a team that has been hamstrung by the current salary cap. Last season, despite the 20 goals garnered by Landon Donovan and David Beckham’s 5 goals and 10 assists, not to mention Edson Buddle’s 15 goals, the Galaxy failed to make it into the 2008 MLS Playoffs because the salary cap resulted in the Galaxy fielding a porous back line that contributed to the team giving up 62 goals.

While a one plan fits all salary cap creates a nice bright line rule, I dislike “one plan fits all” and “bright line rule” solutions, not enough flexibility or creativity. What I have long proposed is that instead of setting the MLS salary cap at a certain dollar amount, the salary cap should be a set a percentage of gross income. Since I am not an accountant or MBA holder, I would let the number crunchers, using sound accounting practices, determine the proper percentage of gross income that should go towards player salaries. Additionally, I would set a salary floor like the NBA, which would prevent teams from skimping on salaries and fielding a poor product, and it would give some leeway for teams that have lagging gross incomes.

The main reason that I favor a salary cap based on gross income is that it would encourage teams to expand their marketing and revenue streams. The teams that take the time and the effort to market their brand and product would be duly rewarded because the income increase would increase the teams’ ability to increase salaries and attract high quality players.

2. Fix the Dysfunctional Schedule

There has been much debate about the fact that unlike the top leagues in Western Europe, the MLS runs on a Spring-Summer-Fall schedule. Living in Houston where the bulk of that period is marked by high temperatures and high humidity, not to mention the occasional disruption due to hurricanes and tropical storms, I have some sympathy for adopting the Western European season, but I have also lived in central Wisconsin and know what a hard winter is like. In light of the extreme weather conditions that affect our northern and southern climates, I think the Apertura/Clausura system should be seriously considered.

The real issue with MLS scheduling that annoys me to no end is the MLS’s unwillingness to abide by FIFA International Breaks, a shortcoming that glares brightly at the start of this 2009 season, which has been poorly planned by the league. After making the brilliant decision to hold opening weekend at the same time the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is starting, the second weekend of fixtures falls on a FIFA International Break that includes the USMNT travelling to El Salvador for a World Cup Qualifier. Not exactly the best way to encourage the early season development of team chemistry and cohesiveness.

This summer MLS sides will have to deal with players being called up for the Confederations Cup, the Gold Cup, and other competitions around the world. Next summer is the World Cup finals. It seems an Apertura/Clausura schedule is sounding better and better.

3. Allow Teams to Own their Players’ Rights and Kit Deals

The MLS has been slowly moving away from the single entity structure and has been slowly attracting higher profile investors with deep pockets. The complications caused by the fact that the League owns the rights and contracts to the non-DP players is going to frustrate the wealthier team owners sooner rather then latter. Same thing goes for the fact that in 2004 the League locked in one company, Adidas, as the sole kit supplier for ten years. Of all the professional team sports, soccer probably has the biggest number of companies competing to supply kits to teams. Locking in an entire league to one supplier for ten years does not make much sense.

Both these steps will have to be taken in order for teams to take some of the marketing steps necessary to increase their gross income. By owning the rights to their players, especially developing players, teams could increase their revenue with transfer fees. Additionally, one of the biggest problems with obtaining young talent from other leagues is MLS’s dislike of having to pay transfer fees. By bringing in the money from transfers, individual teams could turn around and use that money to pay for the transfer fees that the League would have balked at paying. Meanwhile, MLS clubs could take advantage of their individual circumstances when signing kit deals and getting the best deals possible. In light of the fanfare of Thursday night’s opener in Seattle, one can only image how much money the new Portland side will lose since they cannot sign a deal with Portland based Nike. Heck, even Umbro might be interested in leaping into the MLS market, reviving the nostalgia for the Umbro shorts craze of the late 1980s and early 1990s . . . on second thought that might not be the best example.

4. Officiating Development

Soccer officiating and referees are bemoaned the world over, and I am not in the mood to get into a discussion of which country has the worst officiating and where the MLS ranks in the table of bad officiating. Instead of casting stones, if I was MLS Commissioner I would push for the creation of one of the best officiating crews in the world, a push that might result in full-time salaried referees. Continuing education courses would be put under the microscope and revamped to ensure the best quality teaching possible, including psychology instruction. Referee exchange programs would be utilized to their fullest potential so as to create the most educational experiences possible. Finally, I would be willing to experiment with some changes designed to ensure that the right call is made without delaying matches. This could include the use of the Hawkeye technology, extra assistant referees on the pitch, and/or an assistant referee in the press box area who the referee can rely on for a second opinion.

5. No Artificial Turf

While I am that rare breed of soccer fan who can watch a match on a field with gridiron lines chalked on it, I cannot abide by artificial turf. My only complaint about Thursday night’s match was having to see it played out on that turf. As Commish, I would require the use of natural grass by all clubs.

6. Make it Easier for Clubs to Sign Academy Players

Earlier this year when the Houston Dynamo signed Taylor Deric as the club’s third goalkeeper, the signing made such a splash because it was only the second time that an MLS side had signed one of its academy players. The Byzantine rules used by the MLS regarding the signing of academy players needs to be thrown out the window. Instead of making it difficult to sign academy players, the MLS should encourage its clubs in developing local youth talent and reward the teams that do the best job by allowing those players to migrate from the academy to the senior squad.

7. Hold ESPN and FSC Accountable

The relationship between ESPN and FSC has been much analyzed and discussed since last summer, and one thing is clear – both networks need to do a better job of promoting the MLS and the MLS matches aired on their respective networks. Instead of being meek and mild, just happy to have the contracts at all, the MLS needs to put pressure on both networks to promote and market the MLS. While ESPN and FSC might pout at first, if the end result is increased viewership, then they have no reason for complaint.

8. Focus Outreach on Inner City and Low Income Areas

The youth soccer boom in America has been primarily, though not solely, felt in the more affluent neighborhoods and regions of this country. While MLS clubs should continue to work with the local AYSO programs, the teams need to focus extra attention on performing outreach on their local inner city and low income areas, especially neighborhoods where many of the children are first generation Americans.

My first appreciation of the beautiful game came courtesy of the “Boat People” from Southeast Asia. In the days following Hurricane Ike, the lack of working stop lights had me taking off the beaten path routes through certain neighborhoods, and every day I saw numerous kids out kicking the ball around. How many of these kids get the chance to play in organized leagues or go to an MLS match? I suspect there is a mother lode of untapped soccer talent in this country, and increased outreach by the MLS just might uncover that talent.

Those are the top eight issues I would tackle if given the opportunity to run the MLS, but I am not holding my breath waiting for their call.

In 2046, when the history of the first 50 years of the MLS is published, I have no doubt that Dwayne De Rosario will be highlighted as one of the top players of the league’s first 20 years of existence.

After spending time with the Toronto Lynx, FSV Zwickau, and the Richmond Kickers, in 2001 De Rosario was brought to the San Jose Earthquakes by Coach Frankie Yallop, which is not surprising since, with his ties to Canada, Yallop had to be aware of the talent level of this young Canadian of Guyanese descent. In his first year in MLS, De Rosario started 11 games, played in 21 matches, scored 5 goals, and picked up 4 assists, and he was the MVP of the 2001 MLS Cup, which the Quakes won. Over the next few years, De Rosario proved a steady role player for the Quakes, including his recovery from an ACL injury in 2003, but he was always in the shadow of the team’s star player, Landon Donovan.

Donovan parted ways with the Quakes after the 2004 MLS season, opening the door for De Rosario to become a leader in San Jose’s midfield. The 2005 season proved to be a stand out year for De Rosario who scored 9 goals and had 13 assists in 28 matches. Despite winning the Supporters Shield in 2005, the Quakes made an early exit from the MLS playoffs and then learned that they were moving to Houston, Texas for the 2006 season.

The disappointments of the 2005 season and the move from San Jose to Houston apparently had no impact on De Rosario, who had a better season in 2006 then he did in 2005. With 29 game starts and 30 games played, De Rosario picked up 11 goals and 5 assists in the Dynamo’s inaugural season. Additionally, he not only played the entire All-Star game against Chelsea, but he scored the game winning goal for the US side. Finally, he was integral part of the Houston Dynamo victory over the New England Revolution in the MLS Cup, bringing the City of Houston it’s first championship since the Houston Comets won 4 championships between 1997 and 2000.

The 2007 season saw a drop in De Rosario’s stats as he only scored 6 goals and picked up 4 assists. Despite the drop in numbers, De Rosario scored the winning goal for the Dynamo in the 2007 MLS Cup, again beating the Revolution, and become the first MLS player to pick up two MLS Cup MVP honors.

The Dynamo’s 2008 season opened with very high expectations, would the Houston franchise become a dynasty by winning three MLS Cups in a row? In the end, De Rosario managed 7 goals and only 2 assists, while the Dynamo were knocked out of the MLS Play-Offs in the first round by Red Bull New York.

For 8 seasons, Dwayne De Rosario was an integral part of the San Jose Earthquakes/Houston Dynamo franchise. In that time he picked up 4 MLS Cups and two MLS Cup MVP honors. As recently as this past summer, some commentators stated that De Rosario was the best player in the MLS. And as the 2008 season gave way to the post season, Houston Dynamo fans could sleep well at night knowing that De Rosario was on their team.

But then reality set in and the Houston Dynamo announced that they were sending De Rosario back to his homeland to play for Toronto FC, who joined the MLS in 2007. In a sense this was a surprise move, at the end of the 2008 season nobody expected to see De Rosario leave Houston before the 2009 season. But, on the other hand, this was not a surprise move because De Rosario, who grew up in a suburb of Toronto, had expressed a strong interest in playing for Toronto FC.

In light of the Dynamo’s lackluster performance against Atlante in the CONCACAF Champions League, there has been some hand wringing and teeth gnashing about whether the Dynamo should have traded De Rosario to Toronto. Not to be contrarian or anything, but it seems to me that the De Rosario trade was the right trade at the right time for the Dynamo.

As indicated by the discussion above, it appears that De Rosario may have reached his scoring peak in the MLS. The numbers indicate that De Rosario will be a less then 10 goal per season player for here on out. Despite the leadership skills he brings to the pitch, is it in the Dynamo’s best interest to pay over $300,000.00 a year to a player that scores less then 10 goals a season and has suffered a big drop off in assists?

Speaking of De Rosario’s contract, it was set to expire in 2010, so the time was right for the Dynamo to trade De Rosario to Toronto while they could still get some value for him. In the trade, the Dynamo picked up young defender Julius James and some allocation money. James, who seems to have some good skill sets, has had a rough start with the Dynamo, but so did Bobby Boswell who has turned out to be an integral part of the Dynamo defense.

More importantly, it appears that the Dynamo are seriously interested in acquiring a designated player, something that could not be achieved with De Rosario’s contract on the books. As discussed here previously, the Dynamo made a serious effort to sign Omar Bravo. While that effort failed, I expect that the Dynamo will move quietly and patiently in their search for a designated player and such a signing will occur before the 2009 season is over.

Finally, the trade made sense because the Dynamo sent De Rosario to an Eastern squad that plays on artificial turf. Of all the teams in the MLS, Toronto is a club that the Dynamo do not need to consider a serious threat. Finally, the Dynamo could breathe easy because the heir apparent to De Rosario is Stuart Holden, a native of Scotland who grew up in the Sugar Land suburb of Houston.

The transition from the De Rosario era to the non-De Rosario era might not be the smoothest or easiest for the Dynamo. But the Houston Dynamo have shown an ability to ride the waves of change, and it’s unlikely that the departure of De Rosario will have a major impact on the Dynamo’s performance in the 2009 MLS Season.

Omar Bravo

Last Saturday morning, while he was in town to promote the fights taking place that evening at Houston’s Toyota Center, Oscar de la Hoya stopped by Estadio Robertson to chat with reporters while watching his Houston Dynamo host the Montreal Impact in a 70 minute practice match. While most of the de la Hoya press conference focused on the impending fights, Houston’s own Juan “The Baby Bull” Diaz, and de la Hoya’s future as a boxer, de la Hoya did discuss the team that his Golden Boy Promotions bought an interest in just over a year ago. In addition to expressing his opinion that a stadium deal among the Dynamo, the City of Houston, and Harris County was going to be finalized soon, de la Hoya also indicated his desire that the Dynamo sign a big name player from Mexico; however, he did not commit to a time from for such a signing and he did not indicate that he had any particular player in mind.

Little did we in the press know that the Houston Dynamo had already set their sights on Omar Bravo and were actively courting the Mexican striker. Bravo made his debut with Club Deportivo Guadalajara on August 20, 2001, and went on to score 101 goals over 258 appearances for Chivas. The only Chivas player with more goals then Bravo is Salvador Reyes who scored 122 goals. This past summer, Bravo parted ways with Chivas and signed with La Liga’s Deportivo La Coruña, where he made 9 appearances and scored his only goal against Málaga CF.

Late last month news emerged that Bravo would be returning to Mexico on a 4 month loan to UANL Tigres – a loan deal that could turn into a permanent transfer. But the news had emerged before a deal was finalized and the Houston Dynamo quietly expressed their interest in obtaining Bravo’s services and signing him as the club’s first designated player.

In his blog on MyDynamo.com on Friday morning, Dynamo COO, Chris Canetti, finally addressed the Dynamo’s close but failed effort to sign Bravo. Dynamo Coach Dominic Kinnear, who is well acquainted with Mexican soccer and Omar Bravo, was very interested in adding Bravo to his team’s offense, giving it that extra offensive firepower that so many fear was lost with the departure of Dwayne De Rosario.

The Dynamo have not provided detailed information on the course and status of the Bravo negotiations, but the Dynamo believed they had a serious shot at landing Bravo and are uncertain as to why he chose to go to Tigres instead of Houston. In the end, Tigres is pay $500,000.00 for the loan and then could acquire Bravo by paying a $4.3 million transfer fee this summer. In light of these figures, it is possible that the MLS front office balked at coughing up the necessary money to bring Bravo to the Dynamo, but the team contends that the league was in full support of the Dynamo’s efforts to bring Bravo to the MLS. More likely, it had to do with Bravo concluding that his best shot at securing a starting spot with El Tri would be playing in Mexico.

After the failed effort to sign Luis Angel Landin earlier in this MLS off-season, it is not surprising that the Dynamo kept their efforts to sign Bravo quiet. What is clear is that the Dynamo, a team that has won two MLS Cups without relying on the designated player rule, is seriously open to signing a designated player and the team has seemingly set its sights on offensive talent from our southern neighbor. That being said, Canetti is still making it clear that the team is weighing several factors in determining who they go after, factors that include age, position, ability, talent, contract status, style, attitude, salary requirements, and, yes, marketability.

Had the Dynamo signed Bravo, who just turned 29 this week, it would have marked the biggest signing going into the 2009 MLS season. Not only did Bravo make a name for himself by playing at and being the poster boy for one of Mexico’s most popular, and hated, clubs, but he has 55 caps and 14 goals for the Mexican National Team, including a brace in Mexico’s match against Iran in the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, the Dynamo would have legitimized the club in the eyes of football fans in Mexico. That’s not meant as a knock against the Dynamo, who already have a good reputation in Mexico, but Dynamo jersey sales would have shot up south of the border in the same manner that Blanco’s time at Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol legitimized that Spanish side in Mexico and had football fans in Mexico wearing the purple and white kits in public.

One of the interesting points made to me by my colleague Rey Gallegos is that not only have the Dynamo been eyeing soccer players in Mexico, but the club has been pursuing Mexican players who are equipped to handle the physical play of the MLS. Landin stands about 6 feet and has the physicality to handle the rough play of the MLS, while Bravo was an amateur boxer who knows how to employ the physical traits of that sport while on the soccer pitch.

It is the patient yet persistent approach that the Dynamo have shown on the pitch these past few years, resulting in the team becoming on of the top clubs currently in the MLS, that the club appears to be employing in its efforts to sign a designated player. The question is not if the Dynamo will sign a DP, it is when and who will it be? Based on the team’s recent efforts, the answers are likely to be soon and someone who will contribute positively both on and off the pitch.

– Brian Zygo is the Bureau Chief for the World Soccer Wrap – Houston Bureau and a co-host of the 1560 The Game Soccer Show. Special thanks to Rey Gallegos for his insight on Bravo and the Beautiful Game in Mexico.

Houston Dynamo v. Atlante

In contemplating the Houston Dynamo’s performance on Tuesday night in Cancun, the only thing that pops into my head is Dusty Rhodes saying “Shameful!”. The Dynamo were the only MLS squad to make it out of the CONCACAF Champions League group-stage and into the quarter-finals. After giving up a 1-0 lead in the 82nd minute last Tuesday during the first leg of this tie, the Dynamo went down to Mexico needing a 1-0 win or a 2-2 draw, at the very least, in order to advance to the CCL semi-finals.

On Saturday, the Dynamo held a 70 minute practice game against the Montreal Impact, a match that was intense and aggressive on both sides of the ball. So intense that in the second half, while protesting the issuing of a red card to Roberto Brown, Montreal coach John Limniatis shoved Corey Ashe, causing both benches to clear. Order was restored and the Dynamo won the game 3-2. Brian Ching picked up a brace for the Dynamo and expressed his confidence going into the second leg of their tie with Atlante.

The concept of making history was on the minds of Dynamo fans as they anticipated Tuesday night’s match in Cancun. No MLS team has ever beaten an FMF team in a competitive match in Mexico. Last year the Houston Dynamo made history by getting a draw in Mexico City when they tied Pumas, 4-4. A victory in Cancun against Atlante, especially in light of the Dynamo performance in Mexico City, seemed within grasp. Atlante are newcomers to Cancun and their following, in an area of Mexico where baseball is more popular than soccer (as evidenced by the baseball style organ employed during Tuesday’s match), is small. Cancun is at sea level, easily accessible to American tourists, and lacking in the pollution that plagues Mexico City. Additionally, Atlante have been struggling in the 2009 Clausura and Tuesday’s CCL match marked Atlante’s 5th match since February 14th.

Unfortunately, the Houston Dynamo’s pre-season form was spotlighted on Tuesday as the collapsed offensively and defensively, limping away from Cancun without scoring a goal while giving up three goals. It was reminiscent of the Dynamo defeat at the hands of Red Bull New York in the first round of last year’s MLS playoffs, or more accurately, it was reminiscent of last year’s 6-1 defeat at the hands of Gamba Osaka in the 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship.

With Bobby Boswell being sidelined with flu like symptoms and Eddie Robinson out due to a knee injury, the Dynamo went into the match with a defensive handicap. Julius James, acquired in the trade that sent Dwayne de Rosario to Toronto late last year, will likely become an important part of the Dynamo defense, but like Bobby Boswell in last year’s PPC, James is still learning to mesh and communicate with his new backline, and Atlante exploited the resulting miscues to great effect.

For the past few weeks, it has been clear that the Houston Dynamo have to add some more offensive depth, but as they approach the start of the 2009 MLS season they find themselves in the unfortunate position of needing to shore up their defense. The left knee injury that kept Eddie Robinson out of Tuesday’s match was severe enough that Robinson underwent knee surgery on Wednesday and is out indefinitely.

The Dynamo went into half time with a 2 goal deficit thanks to goals by Fernando Navarro in the 23rd minute and Rafael Marquez Lugo in the 36th minute. Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear wanted his team to get more aggressive, so going into the second half he put Geoff Cameron and Corey Ashe on as substitutes. While these Dynamo substitutes played well, they were not able to sufficiently ignite the Dynamo offense. A goal from Giancarlo Maldonado at the end of the match just added insult to injury for a Dynamo side that was outplayed and outclassed, by an FMF side that is in mid-season form and took advantage of their opponent’s pre-season form.

During the CCL group stage, due to fixture congestion, the Dynamo took several gambles by fielding primarily reserve squads, and these gambles paid off as the Dynamo advanced into the CCL quarter-finals. During the group stage, Coach Kinnear was not afraid to hide his distaste for the tactics of several of the teams his side faced, and expressed his preference for SuperLiga. But going into Tuesday’s match, it was clear that Kinnear, who hates to lose, wanted the victory and wanted to move on to the semi-finals. Having seen and interacted with Dominic Kinnear after his Dynamo have lost important matches, I would hate to be one of the Dynamo players after Tuesday’s loss.

With the current CCL behind them, the Dynamo now focus their attention on hosting 2008 MLS Champions Columbus Crew on Saturday March 21st. Before that happens though, do not be surprised if the Dynamo step up efforts to sign Canadian defender Andre Hanait. The Dynamo’s offensive depth issues will likely be dealt with later this Spring, a common theme in Houston.

Tyler Deric

Earlier today the Houston Dynamo announced they would be signing a player to the squad tomorrow, in a World Soccer Wrap/MLS Talk exclusive, we have learned that the signing will be goalkeeper Tyler Deric. Deric is a native of Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston, a graduate of Klein High School, and has been a member of the soccer team at the University of North Carolina. The 20 year old was also named the newcomer of the year and player of the year by the Houston Chronicle in 2005.

More importantly, Tyler Deric is a product of the Houston Dynamo’s Youth Academy and is the first member of the Academy to sign with the Dynamo. The signing will be officially announced on Friday, meaning Deric should be present at the Dynamo’s friendly against the Montreal Impact on Saturday morning.

The quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League kicked off last night and the Houston Dynamo hosted Atlante in front of a crowd of 10, 203 at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas. Defender Bobby Boswell scored the first goal of the night giving the Dynamo the lead in the 34th minute. The Dynamo managed to hold onto the lead and looked to be headed to Cancun with a home win, but with 8 minutes left in the match Gabriel Pereyra scored the equalizer for Atlante.

While Atlante is in the middle of 2009 Clausura, this was the first competitive match for the Dynamo since late November of 2008, when the beat CD Luis Angel Firpo, 1-0, to advance to the CCL Quarterfinals. Going into Tuesday night’s match, Dynamo Coach, Dominic Kinnear, had indicated he was satisfied with the number of preseason friendlies the Dynamo have played since starting camp at the start of this month, and he felt his squad was ready to take on a struggling Atlante team, though he downplayed the possibility of the Mexican side’s league struggles would carry over into the CCL.

Knowing the history of MLS success, or lack thereof, playing Mexican clubs in Mexico, the Dynamo went on the attack, keeping the bulk of first half action on Atlante’s side of the field, while Atlante bunkered down, looking for the nil – nil draw, but not failing to take advantage of occasional counterattack. The Dynamo’s aggressive play finally paid off in the 34th minute when Boswell headed the ball into the goal from 12 yards out. The Dynamo managed to maintain their one goal lead heading into halftime.

Despite being down by a goal, during the early stages of the second half, the Potros seemed content with losing the match by a goal, and put little pressure on the Dynamo defense, which showed some weakness as Julius James got his first start with the Dynamo’s back line. As the minutes ticked away, Atlante took advantage of their midseason form and turned up the heat on a slowing El Naranja. Finally, in the 82nd minute, Atlante took advantage of confusion by the Houston side that had expected a goal kick instead of a corner and the congestion in front of the goal, and Pereyra’s momentum got the ball into the back of the net. The Dynamo pushed to get another goal, but to no avail.

Referee Neal Brizan, from Trinidad & Tobago, deserves special mention as a somewhat shocking 42 fouls, including 8 yellow cards, were called during the match. It seems that Brizan was familiar with the recent history of this competition and took pains to control the match, and while he managed to thwart time wasting tactics, he also managed to disrupt the rhythm of the game to the detriment of the Dynamo.

Following the match, Stuart Holden, who is stepping into the spot once controlled by Dwayne DeRosario and still mourning the loss of his father, acknowledged that he is going to have to be more selfish in the future and take more shots when the opportunities arise. Holden had a couple shooting opportunities in the match, but chose to pass the ball to teammates, whom he believed had better shooting opportunities, but who did not take advantage of those passes. Meanwhile, Coach Kinnear indicated that while he was disappointed in giving up the lead late in the match, he believes that his team can secure a victory in Mexico next week and advance to the CCL Semifinals.

Despite being suspended for earning a red card during the group stage, Atlante’s coach, Jose Guadalupe Cruz, was present in the stadium and addressed the press following the match. While proud that his squad faired better in this match when compared to last summer’s 4 – nil loss to the Dynamo in the 2009 SuperLiga, Cruz indicated that the Dynamo are still one of the toughest MLS sides to face and should not be taken lightly next week, even when Atlante hosts the Dynamo. When reminded of the MLS history in Mexico, Cruz’s telling response was that history does not play the games.

When the two teams meet on Tuesday March 3, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. central time in Cancun, Eddie Robinson will be available for the Dynamo and goalkeeper Federico Vilar will be available for Atlante. But before the second leg of this CCL Quarterfinal tie, on Saturday, the Dynamo will host the Montreal Impact, fresh off of tonight’s victory over Santos Laguna in the CCL, in a friendly at Robertson Stadium.

1980 US Hockey Team and 2009 USMNT

It was 29 years ago this Sunday that Al Michaels shouted that famous question: “Do you believer in miracles?” A group of American college students, in a village in upstate New York, was on the verge of beating the Soviet Union’s hockey team, arguably the best national hockey team in the world, 4-3. The economy was in the dumps, the USSR had invaded Afghanistan, the wounds of the Vietnam War remained open on the American psyche, Watergate was a fresh memory, and Americans were being held as hostages in Iran. By beating the powerful Soviet Hockey Team, a group of young men from the Midwest and New England brought joy and pride to a country in desperate need of something to smile about. That they went on to win the Gold Medal by beating Finland is a footnote, it was that match on a Friday February 22, 1980 that brought the country together, if for just a brief joyous moment.

Has US Soccer had its miracle moment? The 2002 World Cup finals could have been, with amazing victories over Portugal and Mexico and an amazing game against Germany in the quarter-finals, but 2002 was not that miracle moment for many reasons, including the fact that the time zone issue. The women’s team may have had their miracle moment in the 1999 Women’s World Cup

Does US Soccer need a miracle moment? While the 1980 Olympic victory may have cracked the door for more US players to get into the NHL, the NHL, while a good league, is not on par with the MLB or NFL, or even the NBA, which, at the time, often found its playoff games tape delayed. While the 1980 victory made hockey something of a marquee Olympic sport for US television coverage of the games, the US team did not score another medal until earning the silver in 2002, after the IOC allowed the inclusion of professionals. Meanwhile, for various reasons, the WUSA which was born in the wake of the 99 WWC met its demise in 2003. So even if the Men’s US Soccer team gets its miracle moment, there might not be long term benefits for soccer in the US.

While this is not the late 1970s, things are rough in the U.S. right now. Our economy is reminiscent of the 1970s, the U.S. is embroiled in two costly wars, and political partisanship has managed to polarize some aspects of American life. Another miracle which brings America together, even if just for a day, would be a nice thing for the US right now. But can US Soccer provide that miracle in South Africa 2010?

While the US team at Germany ’06 was not the team that made it to the quarter-finals in 2002, the team that Bob Bradley fields in 2010 will not be the Germany ’06 team. Whether you agree or disagree with his tactics and style, Bob Bradley seems to have found the right way to win in CONCACAF. While CONCACAF might not be as strong as UEFA, it has improved greatly over recent years and should only be taken lightly by fools. The question that remains to be answered is whether Bob Bradley can find a way to beat teams from other Confederations. While Bradley has some nice victories over Switzerland, South Africa, and Poland, his squad had lackluster performances against England and Spain, but then acquitted themselves nicely in a great nil – nil draw against Argentina. This summer’s Confederations Cup could prove to be Bradley’s opportunity to make a statement on the world stage, should he choose to take the opportunity. In light of FIFA’s rules regarding players get a four week vacation, Bradley will have to decide whether he will risk sacrificing this year’s Gold Cup in favor of the Confederations Cup, and considering he sacrificed the 2007 Copa America in favor of the Gold Cup so he can get to the Confederations Cup, it seems that Bradley is looking to make a splash in South Africa this summer.

But even if Bradley manages to put together a strategy and team that can pose a serious threat in the South Africa 2010, will the US care? I think it will. As it is, over the years the World Cup has managed to draw more and more Americans to their televisions, even if they are just rooting for the country where Grandpa and Grandma were born. I think American success at the Cup could unite many Americans on a Sunday afternoon in July 2010, even if it is for just that afternoon.

It is too early to make any predictions for the 2010 World Cup finals, heck we still have plenty of qualifying left to go, but there is a part of me that would love to see another miracle, especially now, even if it is fleeting. That being said, my request to Bob Bradley is that he takes a page or two from Herb Brooks’ 1980 strategic playbook.

Do you believe in miracles?

Brian Holden

On the Eve of the 2009 season, the Houston Dynamo has lost an important member of its extended family.  On February 16, 2009, Brian Holden, father of Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden, passed away at his home in Sugar Land, Texas.  Mr. Holden, who was born in Wigan, England, had battled pancreatic cancer for the past six years.  The Holden family has been involved with the Dynamo since the team moved to Houston from San Jose, attending matches and team events, and working with the team in the community.

The Holden family and close friends will celebrate the life of Brian Holden at a private ceremony on Friday February 20th, and the Houston Dynamo will observe a moment of silence in honor of Mr. Holden prior to Tuesday’s CONCACAF Champions League match against Atalante. The various supporter groups associated with the Houston Dynamo are likely to make their own special observances directed towards Stuart Holden in honor of his late father.

In addition to his son Stuart, Mr. Holden is survived by his wife of 27 years, Moira, his son Euan, daughter Rachel, and his parents Donald and Marion, as well as his extended family still in the Wigan area.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to cancer research, in particular the family has requested that donors utilize Dynamo Charities.  Additionally, donations can be made to Holden’s Heroes, which is Stuart Holden’s charity and focuses on bringing joy into the lives of sick children.

While the behind the scenes view afforded to sports journalists can lead to cynicism and disenchantment, I can honestly say that it is always a joy to interview Stuart Holden, whether in the locker room or in the studio, and spend time with him at social events. Despite his youth, Stuart Holden is true professional when it comes to his role with the Dynamo and a great ambassador for the club. With the departure of Dwayne De Rosario, Stuart is about to embark on a new chapter of his career and it is a shame that his father will not be in the stands this season, beaming with pride and rooting the Dynamo on to victory. However, I am sure that the arc of Stuart’s career, including scoring a goal at the 2008 Olympics, has made his father proud and that his father departed this world with a sense of just how far his son can go in the Beautiful Game.

Houston Dynamo Press Release

Houston Dynamo Charities Form

Obituary for Brian Holden in Houston Chronicle

Oliver Luck at MLS Cup 2007 - Brian Zygo

While the 2009 MLS Season does not start until March 19, 2009, but, with apologies to the Pan-Pacific Championship which starts tonight, the Houston Dynamo will be the first MLS team to play a meaningful match when they host Atalante on Tuesday February 24, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. cst in the Quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. As the only MLS squad left in the CCL, the pressure is on the Dynamo to win this two match tie with this tough FMF squad from Cancun. Since that match is only week away, it seems now is a good time to preview of the 2009 Houston Dynamo season.

After winning the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups, the Houston Dynamo entered the 2008 MLS Playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference and considered a favorite to make to the 2008 MLS Cup. But first the Dynamo had to get past a surging Red Bull New York. Things looked promising for the Dynamo when the managed to walk away from the turf of The Meadowlands with a 1-1 draw against the Eastern upstarts. When the Dynamo took the pitch at Robertson Stadium on November 9th, they were greeted by over 30,000 Dynamo fans, but the Dynamo misfired all match and with a 3-nil win, the Red Bull advanced and ultimately found themselves playing and losing to the Columbus Crew in the 2008 MLS Cup.

But as Lou Holtz once said “Remember the good Lord put eyes in the front of your head, rather then the back, so you can see where you’re going rather then where you’ve been.”

The big changes for the Houston Dynamo as they enter the 2009 season are the loss of Nate Jaqua to Seattle Sounders FC in the expansion draft and the trade of Dwayne DeRosario to Toronto FC. With these departures, the Dynamo entered the silly season looking towards the young, talented Stuart Holden to fill the hole left by Dwayne DeRosario and a need to create offensive depth. In this trade, the Dynamo were able to remove close to $325,000.00 from their payroll, add defender Julius James’ less then $50,000.00 contract, and then avoid the $75,000.00 hit from Patrick Ianni, who is no longer a Generation Adidas player, by trading him to Seattle.

But before the Dynamo could deal with their offensive needs, there was the issue of Bobby Boswell. The 2006 MLS Defender of the Year came to the Dynamo in December 2007 and, after a rough Pan-Pacific Cup and early 2008 MLS Season, soon found himself a critical component of the Dynamo’s back line and an integral part of one of the toughest defenses in the MLS. With the closure of the 2008 season, Boswell was out of contract and testing the waters of Europe where he found himself on trial with the Turkcell Super League side Antalyaspor. Bureaucratic red tape issues blocked Boswell from signing with Antalyaspor, so he returned to the MLS where he signed a four year contract that will keep him with the Dynamo. Between the return of Boswell and the acquisition of Julius James in the DeRosario trade, the Dynamo were in the position to send Patrick Ianni to Seattle, and clear up the salary space as discussed above. Finally, the Dynamo shored up their defense when they signed goalkeeper Tally Hall, who spent the last couple years at Danish side Esbjerg fB, to serve as Pat Onstad’s backup.

In the 2008 MLS SuperDraft, the Dynamo scored a coup by obtaining Geoff Cameron who, while classified as a midfielder, has been called on to be a utility player for the Dynamo who saw action at almost every position except goalkeeper. The Dynamo may have struck MLS SuperDraft gold once again when the managed to draft midfielder/forward Daniel Cruz in the third round. The fact that Cruz was the last Generation Adidas player on the board is a bonus for the Dynamo. Meanwhile, in the 4th round of the Draft, the Dynamo took a flyer on Marcus Tracy despite the fact that the Hermann Trophy winner is headed to Aalborg BK in the Danish Superliga. Should Tracy’s stint at AaB fail within the next two years, the Dynamo will have his MLS rights (and hope that he doesn’t turn out to be like a certain Tracy who plays for another team here in Houston).

Finally, the Dynamo acquired the young, talented Felix Garcia from the PDL’s Laredo Heat. At 18 years, Garcia has been an important player for the Heat and has spent some time with the USMNT’s youth squads. To put icing on the cake for the Dynamo, he is a Generation Adidas player. While the Dynamo started their pre-season camp on February 2, Garcia has not appeared in Houston, choosing to earn his high school diploma before embarking on his MLS career. While Garcia should be applauded for wrapping up his education, the delay to his Dynamo start is troubling, but under the coaching of Dominic Kinnear and John Spencer, Garcia is likely to flourish, and hopefully be the Rosetta Stone for the future of the MLS – signing the under appreciated talent from the streets of Laredo, Escondido, McAllen, Nogales, Las Cruces, Rio Grande City, Calexico, and Eagle Pass.

With Garcia’s current absence that will last until at least June, the Dynamo find themselves in the position of needing some more offensive tools. While Brian Ching remains as the core of the Dynamo offensive prowess, it remains to be seen who will serve as his compliment up front. Will it be Kai Kamara? Erik Ustruck? Corey Ashe? Or Brian Mullan who has once again been labeled as a forward, not a midfielder, by the Dynamo. Or, might it be Joseph Ngwenya, who might soon be out of contract at Antalyaspor.

The Dynamo’s first 2009 MLS match will be at home on March 21 as the host Columbus Crew. This year, the Dynamo will have more Spring home matches and less fixture congestion since their involvement in the CCL will preclude them from playing in SuperLiga. This year it appears that the Dynamo will have a few less matches at home during the high heat of Houston’s hot, humid summers (and with any luck Houston will be spared from hurricanes this year).

It is possible that the Dynamo will have another slow start to the season as the reconstruct an aggressive offense, but with the likes of Kamara, Ching, Holden, Cameron, and Mullan, The Dynamo might actually earn some crucial early points this season.

While there is still some work to do at the Dynamo, the presence of MLS experience and talented youth, mixed with the coaching tandem of Kinnear and Spencer, means that the Dynamo will once again be a strong force in the MLS Western Conference and strong favorite for making it to the MLS Playoffs and the 2009 MLS Cup.

Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters

Despite his expressed interest to remain in Italy, it appears that David Beckham will return to the Los Angeles Galaxy for the 2009 MLS season. The Friday February 13th deadline for a trade deal, which was set by MLS Commissioner Don Garber, has come and gone without A.C. Milan making an acceptable offer for Beckham. Galaxy’s GM and Coach, Bruce Arena, stated that: “we did not receive an acceptable offer for [David Beckham]. As a result, David remains an LA Galaxy player and we look forward to having him back with the club starting March 9.”

As Arena’s statement indicates, Beckham is on loan with Milan until March 8, which means there is more time for a transfer deal to be brokered, one that could possibly include Beckham enhancing the transfer fee with money from his own bank accounts. If all the parties involved in this little soap opera really want to get a transfer deal done, it would be in their best interests to go about it quietly, for all the press these past weeks did nothing but cause distraction and stir the pot.

Beckham’s recent statement that “at Milan I have found great players who have been of great help to me” sums up the heart of the situation. While he may be one of the best known soccer players, Beckham is an excellent player with a good set of skills, but he is not in the pantheon of greatest soccer players ever, and, more importantly, he is not the kind of soccer player that can carry an entire team to victory, no matter the circumstances. Beckham is a team player, in almost the purest sense of the term. Yes, he is a star persona off the pitch, but on the pitch he excels when he is working with capable teammates – he best operates in an ensemble, not as a soloist.

If things continue on this path, then we will see Beckham return to our shores in a couple weeks and do another tour of the MLS, heck, we might actually see him in Houston in this time. Beckham is a professional, and while he might not be happy playing for L.A., he’ll suit up without complaint and take the pitch, and the Galaxy probably won’t make the playoffs again. Then again, maybe Arena will be able to develop a squad and a strategy that compliments Beckham’s skills and doesn’t expect him to be the team’s savior and top goal scorer. With the return of Beckham, the Galaxy would be smart to transfer Landon Donovan to Bayern Munich, permanently, and take advantage of the transfer fee and salary cap room to improve the rest of its squad. Get a backline that won’t be so porous and get some strikers who can take advantage of crosses and passes from Beckham.

There’s still a couple weeks left for something to happen, but for now I’m looking forward to watching the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday.

With the Houston Dynamo’s opening match of the CONCACAF Champions League’s knockout stage quickly approaching on February 24th, it’s time to take a quick look at what’s going on here in Houston.

The franchise made the move from San Jose to Houston, with the impression that it would be easier to obtain a stadium deal in Houston. With the Dynamo’s fourth season starting next month, the club still calls the rundown Robertson Stadium, located on the University of Houston campus in the Third Ward, home. Without rehashing the long, tortuous route the stadium process has taken, it appears that the Houston Dynamo will be starting the 2011 MLS season in a new stadium located on the eastern edge of Downtown Houston. This afternoon, Houston Dynamo CEO Oliver Luck made an appearance on the Ken Hoffman show on 1560 The Game. While Luck was primarily there to promote the Dynamo’s new $150 season ticket package and the $32 special for 4 tickets to the Dynamo’s game against Atlante on Wednesday February 24th. However, Hoffy asked Luck about the status of the stadium negotiations, Luck did not say a final deal had been forged, but nonchalantly and openly stated the team would be in a new downtown stadium in 2011. Gone were the caveats and spin of the past.

More importantly, Luck stated that an unnamed bank has agreed to involve itself in the financing of the Tax Increment Redevelopment Zone a/k/a TIRZ that is at the heart of the public funding associated with the potential stadium. Unlike the sporting palaces recently built for the Astros, Rockets, and Texans, the Dynamo stadium carries a projected cost of under $100 million with only a fraction of the cost coming from public sources. This means that instead of relying on local taxes, which would require a vote, to fund the stadium, the City of Houston and Harris County will provide funds through the TIRZ that will go towards infrastructure improvements. Little, if any, public money will be used on the actual stadium. While a deal has not been finalized, the fact that a bank has agreed to finance the TIRZ, despite the credit crunch and current economy, is an indication that the Dynamo, the City, and the County are on the eve of finalizing a stadium deal.

Speaking of the current economic situation, MLS and the Dynamo, as well as most of the other MLS teams, should be applauded for providing affordable season ticket packages.

Meanwhile the Dynamo are out on the West Coast for some preseason friendlies. Today they faced the L.A. Galaxy, and beat them 2 – nil, thanks to an own goal from Tony Sanneh and a Brian Mullan goal. The Dynamo will be travelling to San Luis Obispo to take on the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.

This Monday on 1560 The Game’s Soccer Show, it appears that a couple representatives from the Dynamo Girls will be joining us in studio. As always, you can watch and listen to the show online at http://www.1560.tv . The show starts at 7:00 pm Central Standard Time.

In addition to covering the Houston Dynamo, I cover Serie A in particular and Calcio in general. Therefore, I have been paying close attention to the David Beckham situation. Much to the chagrin of my colleagues in Los Angeles, ever since the deal to loan Beckham to A.C. Milan, I have taken the position that DB23 now DB32 will not be returning to the L.A. Galaxy.

Last month, Beckham made his Serie A debut against A.S. Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in the Eternal City (in full disclosure, I am a Roma fan), and while he looked a little rusty, Beckham played until the 89th minute and showed signs that he was starting to mesh with his new Rossoneri teammates. Since his closely watched Serie A debut, Beckham has scored two goals for Milan and played a pivotal role in this past Sunday’s victory over S.S. Lazio, a 3 – nil drubbing that moved Milan into second place, 6 points behind their derby rival, Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan.

On Monday, Milan included Beckham on its updated UEFA Cup squad, an act that only fanned the flames of speculation that Milan would make a move to permanently acquire Beckham from the Galaxy. Today, news reports indicated that following Milan’s 2-2 draw with the Rangers in Scotland, Beckham openly expressed his desire that his loan to Milan turn into a permanent trade. The current loan arrangement lasts until March 8, and, in my opinion, the Galaxy would be smart to take the money and leave Becks in Italy.

That being said, I would like to put forth my eulogy for the Beckham MLS experience, which might be skewed by the fact that I am in the only existing MLS market that has not experienced Beckham on its pitch. Since his arrival on these shores in the summer of 2007, I believe that Beckham has been detriment to the L.A. Galaxy, but a boon to Major League Soccer.

In January of 2007, when Beckham’s move to the Galaxy was announced, it appeared that Beckham’s career in Europe was lying in a casket, awaiting transport to the cemetery. He had been banished from the England National Squad after it had failed to live up to the overly optimistic expectations foisted upon it by its supporters and press during Germany ‘06, meanwhile it appeared that Real Madrid’s Fabio Capello had little use for Beckham. A move to the MLS, to the Galaxy, would ensure Beckham playing time in the sport he loves and make him a big fish in a little pond. I suspect that while the deal was crafted by his people, who are more interested in promoting Brand Beckham than Beckham himself is, Beckham did see the MLS as an opportunity to at least close out his career on the pitch, not the bench.

It wasn’t long after the announcement of Beckham’s move from Spain to a former colonial territory of Spain, that an embarrassed and humiliated Steve McLaren recalled Beckham to the England squad in a desperate, but failed attempt to qualify for Euro ’08. Since that turn of events and despite the changing of the guard from McLaren to Fabio Capello, Beckham has earned his 100th Cap and has seemingly focused his career on being part of the squad fielded by England at South Africa 2010.

But there was a problem, despite the Beckham rule that enabled the L.A. Galaxy to keep the likes of Beckham and Landon Donovan on its roster, the Galaxy front office could not find a way to field squad with the sufficient skill levels to support its offensive firepower. In 2008, the Galaxy did not have much trouble finding the back of the net, but you could drive a bus through their defense and into the net. With that kind of supporting cast, you cannot blame Beckham for being disappointed or blame Capello for concluding that Beckham’s situation at the Galaxy would not help him secure a spot on England’s national team.

While I wish I had been a fly on the wall, I am not privy to the negotiations and positioning that was involved in sealing Beckham’s loan deal to Milan. That being said, I do suspect that Beckham might have shrewdly played-off his management against the Galaxy front office in an effort to put himself into a position where he could better secure himself a spot on the England squad, and kudos for him in pulling off that coup.

On Monday night I, and some select others, had the honor and privilege of spending a couple hours with a former soccer player and current coach that I admire and respect. During that session, we peppered him with several questions, one of which was basically asking him which coach would he most like to punch in the face. He gave his answer in a somewhat coded manner and what I took away from his response was that the coach wasn’t one of his current peers, but a coach that he played for, a coach that had killed his World Cup Finals hopes. As much as the World Cup Finals mean to we fans, we can only barely imagine what it means to soccer players, and much like only a handful of NCAA football players make it to the NFL, only a handful of soccer players around the world make it to the World Cup Finals. Yes, Beckham has been there several times in the past, but he has yet to lift that trophy in victory and 2010 clearly is his last opportunity, his last shot at that kind of glory, a kind of glory that would be ten times as intense as what Santonio Holmes felt this past Sunday when his team won the NFL’s Super Bowl. So, I wish David Beckham all the best in his quest to stay in Milan and play for England in the 2010 World Cup Finals.

That being said, I don’t believe that Beckham’s experience has been a failure, despite the unwarranted self-satisfaction of the soccer haters, and the soccer fans that hate the MLS.

Beckham’s presence in the MLS over the past 1.5 seasons has brought the league a huge amount of press and has caught the attention of both the casual soccer fan as well as the sophisticated soccer fan who had focused primarily on foreign leagues and not the MLS. Like I said above, Beckham never made it to the confines of Estadio Robertson in Houston, but still the crowds packed the late season matches against the Galaxy, crowds that carried over into the play-offs, so much so that Dynamo Coach Dominic Kinnear has expressed his opinion that one of the best crowds he has ever seen was the crowd that packed Robertson Stadium for the 2007 Western Conference Final against the Kansas City Wizards.

I could be wrong, but from this point forward, I suspect that Beckham in the MLS will result in diminishing gains when it comes to crowd attendance and do nothing to help the Galaxy’s prospects at league success, at least until there is a new collective bargaining agreement, and maybe not even then depending on its terms. With the exception of Houston, most of the “new” fans lured out to their local team’s hosting of the Galaxy have satisfied their curiosity and have either decided whether or not they’d continue to support the MLS and/or their local MLS team. I don’t see Beckham’s return to MLS in 2009 as increasing the MLS fan base, but I do see such a return tying the Galaxy’s hands and see them failing to make the playoffs once again.

In the end, I think the Galaxy would benefit from jettisoning Beckham and fielding a better balanced squad, and the MLS would benefit from being able to say it obtained a top player from La Liga and then transferring him off to Serie A.

We shall start with the MLS, using figures garnered from ESPN.  In 2008, the Los Angeles Galaxy, despite its poor performance on the pitch, had the largest total and average attendances with 390,762 throughout the season and an average of 26,050.  Not surprisingly, Toronto FC took second place with a total of 303,623 and an average of 20,241.  The top five was rounded out by DC United with an average of 19,835, Houston Dynamo with an average of 17,752, and Chicago Fire with an average of 17,052.  Meanwhile, the Kansas City Wizards had the lowest attendance with a total of 170,769 throughout the season and an average of 10,673 per game.  But don’t let those figures fool you, since one figure I found indicates that capacity of CommunityAmerica Ballpark for soccer matches is 10,385.  Wonder how they squeeze in another 300?

So, the dishonor of having the worst MLS attendance for 2008 actually goes to FC Dallas.  Despite having its own soccer specific stadium with a capacity of 20,500, Dallas only averaged 13,097 throughout the 2008 season.

Finally, according to ESPN, the unofficial average attendance for all MLS matches in 2008 was 16,310.

Since the MLS is a summer league, it is only fitting that we take a look at how Major League Baseball did attendance wise in 2008.  Not surprisingly, the New York Yankees managed an average of 53,069 per game and pulled a season total attendance of 4,298,655.  The caveat being that the MLB has a much, much longer season and larger stadiums then the MLS.  The worse 2008 attendance in MLS was experienced by the Florida Marlins who averaged 16,688 per game.  The Marlins must have had some decent attendance in the Spring, because I saw pictures of late season home games with attendances that could be counted in the hundreds, not thousands.  The second worst performing team was the Kansas City Royals who averaged 19,986 per game.

Since the 2008/09 NBA season is ongoing, we’ll take a quick look at attendance numbers from the prior season.  The team with the best attendance was Detroit, averaging 22,076 per game.  Meanwhile Indiana only averaged 12,221 per game and Memphis averaged 12,771 per game.  Surprisingly, the Los Angeles Lakers only averaged 18,997 per game.

With this being Super Bowl weekend, I’d be remiss if I ignored the juggernaut on the professional sporting landscape in America, the NFL.  In 2008, Washington took the honor of having the largest average home attendance, 88,604.  While Oakland only had an average of 54,497; however, the figures for Denver and San Francisco are not available yet.  Of course, by only having 8 home games a season and gigantic stadiums, these numbers are not that surprising.

In the larger scheme of American professional sports, MLS does have the lower average attendances, but all the MLS teams average over 10,000 fans per game, a respectable number.  While there is room for attendance improvement, last season’s attendance figures indicate that all MLS franchises have managed to secure a decent niche in their home cities.

Much as the NFL is the juggernaut when it comes to American sports, the English Premier League is the juggernaut of soccer leagues.  I’m sure nobody will be surprised to learn that during the 2007/08 season, Manchester United had the highest average attendance in the EPL with 75,691, averaging over 15,000 more per game then second place Arsenal.  Rounding out the bottom of the attendance table in the EPL were Wigan with 19,046 and Portsmouth with 19,914.  The overall average attendance in the EPL for that season was 36,076.

Meanwhile on the continent last season, Serie A averaged 25,115 per match, with Inter pulling an average of 59,054 compared to Empoli’s 7,437 per match.  The average attendance for Spain’s La Liga was only slightly higher at 28,920, with Real Madrid pulling a respectable 73,162 per match, while Levante only averaged 11,134 per match.  Not surprisingly, Bundesliga pulled the largest attendance amongst the big leagues of Europe, averaging 43,679 per game.  VfB Stuttgart had the biggest average attendance 105,520, while Energie Cottbus pulled in only an average of 18,820 per game.

While it’s interesting to put these attendance figures all in one place, due to the variety of all the external factors (season length, stadium side, weather, marketing, money, etc.), I don’t feel qualified to crunch them all together and make some grandiose statement about the future success or demise of the MLS.  However, I believe I am qualified enough to look at these numbers and get a sense that yes, on the whole, other sports in the US and other soccer leagues draw more spectators on average then the MLS; however, the MLS’s average attendance figures are very respectable and suggest the existence of a strong, devoted base.  As MLS teams move into their own stadiums, increase their revenue, and expand their local marketing, I suspect the average attendance numbers should rise across the board.  Who knows, despite the economic situation, MLS might see gains because it often provides the best bang for the consumer’s entertainment dollar, as I understand it the Houston Dynamo will soon be offering a special 15 games for $150.00 package, basically a barebones season ticket package.

As 2008 gave way to 2009, the Houston Dynamo and their fans were faced with many questions: Will a stadium deal get down this year?

How can the team replace the offensive contributions of Nate Jaqua and Dwayne De Rosario?

Will the Dynamo break down and sign a designated player?

Who will back up long-time goalkeeper Pat Onstad?

And, will defender Bobby Boswell go to Europe or sign a new contract with the Dynamo?

As the Houston Dynamo prepare to report to training camp on Monday February the 2^nd, several moves have provided answers to some but not all of these questions.

The Houston Dynamo began firming up their 2009 roster on January 23^rd when they signed former Herman Trophy semi-finalist and two-time All American from San Diego State University, Tally Hall. The 23 year old goalkeeper has spent the last two years with Denmark’s Esbjerg fB. Hall was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2007 SuperDraft, but their rights have since expired and the Dynamo claimed him as a discovery player.

On Monday January 26^th the Dynamo further strengthened their defense for the 2009 season when they signed former MLS Defender of the Year Bobby Boswell to a long term contract. The Dynamo initially picked up Boswell in a post-season 2007 trade deal with D.C. United, where Boswell had fallen out of favor. After a rough start during the 2008 Pan Pacific Cup, Boswell eventually made himself a crucial part of the Dynamo’s back line and of the 48 matches played by the Dynamo in 2008, Boswell started in 43 matches.

With the acquisition of Julius James in the De Rosario trade and the signing of Boswell, the Dynamo traded defender Patrick Ianni to Seattle Sounders FC. Between an inconsistent 2008 season and the fact that Ianni is no longer a Generation Adidas player, the time had come for Ianni and the Dynamo to part ways.

Finally, the signing that has truly captured the attention and imagination of Dynamo fans was broken by Ives Galarcep on Tuesday and made official by the Dynamo in a press conference today – the acquisition of 18 year old forward Felix Garcia from the PDL’s Laredo Heat. For those unfamiliar with the geography of Texas, Laredo is situated on the Rio Grande and is the southern terminus of Interstate 35, making it one of the biggest ports of entry between the United States and Mexico.

The potential of signing this young prospect; who scored the winning penalty kick for the Heat in the 2007 Championship, has played with the USMNT U-20 squad, and has trained at the Dynamo South Texas Academy; has been rumored for weeks here in Houston.

Dynamo COO Chris Canetti was a guest on the 1560 Soccer Show here in Houston on January 5^th, and when asked about Garcia, he stated that if Garcia made the move from the PDL to the MLS he’d probably sign a Generation Adidas contract and go into a weighted draft where other teams would have a shot at acquiring him as a developmental player, and he played down the prospect of signing him directly from Laredo. It may have been a smoke-screen, but more likely it was a conservative response to a situation that was still be played out, and in the end the Dynamo were able to sign the young striker, with impressive speed and finishing, as a transfer from the Laredo Heat. The icing on the cake, for the Dynamo, is the fact that Garcia has signed a Generation Adidas contract.

The adjective most used to describe Garcia is “raw,” which under the coaching of Dominic Kinnear and John Spencer, could pay dividends for years to come, not just for the Dynamo, but also for the U.S. National Team. As Canetti stated today, “He’s obviously a player with a lot of potential, and we’re looking forward to maximizing that potential. We are going to be very patient in his development and are eager to see him grow as a professional player under the positive training environment that Dominic Kinnear has established.”

The signing of a young, gifted player from the streets of Laredo during a week when the MLS has been presented with the potential of having three of its players move to three big European clubs, could prove to be a fingerpost in the history of the MLS, if it so chooses. While there is a certain attractiveness to signing older, established players who spent incredible years with some of the biggest and most successful clubs in Europe, there is no shame in being a league that develops raw talent and then reaps the benefits of the rewards by transferring developed players to the bigger leagues that have lost interest in developing talent. While this type of attitude has kept teams afloat in Brazil and Argentina, imagine what this approach could do for the MLS, which could take this money and not just pay overhead, but reinvest it to grow the league’s stature and respect around the world.

As an aside, I would like to take a moment to introduce myself to the readers of Major League Soccer Talk. I am Brian H. Zygo, based out of the Alief area of Houston, Texas. I am proud of the fact that I am the first MLS credentialed correspondent for World Soccer Wrap, though not the last. In addition to covering the Houston Dynamo, I am the host of a weekly podcast concerning Calcio, World Soccer Wrap: Serie A, and I am a co-host of the 1560 The Game Soccer Show, a weekly show on 1560 AM here in Houston, Texas. With the start of the 2008 MLS Playoffs, the Soccer Show was given a trial run and it was recently made an official part of the station’s weekly line up. The show airs at 7:00 pm central time, and this Monday we will have Dominic Kinnear as our in studio guest. For those of you not in Houston, you can listen online at http://www.1560thegame.com/ or listen, watch, and chat live with us at http://www.1560.tv/  But those of you who listen to the Major League Soccer Talk podcast will recognize me as an occasional guest since 2007.