USSoccerPlayers

USA '09: What We've Learned

By Clemente Lisi - NEW YORK, NY (Nov 26, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- The United States played a record number of games this year (24) and put together some memorable performances along the way.  

They started with a bang (a 3-2 win over Sweden) and ended with a whimper (a 3-1 loss to Denmark).  In between, the team reached the Confederations Cup final (only to lose to Brazil) and the Gold Cup title game (a loss to Mexico).  More importantly, the US qualified for the World Cup, its sixth straight tournament, and showed that it is a force to be reckoned with on the world stage.

“The main job was to secure qualification for South Africa next June,” coach Bob Bradley told reporters recently about the team’s goals this year.  “Obviously, the Confederations Cup was special in so many ways.  And we’ll always look for things as reminders for the work that still needs to be done.” 

Along the way, we’ve also learned a lot by watching Bradley’s men over the past 11 months.  Indeed, US fans have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving Day.  

Here are the 10 things we’ve learned this year from watching the US of A: 

10. Change Bradley Can Believe In

The team did a solid job dealing with roster changes (even last-minute ones) and showed it can integrate players into Bradley’s preferred 4-4-2 lineup. One notable one was the inclusion of Conor Casey, not a regular, into the key World Cup Qualifier against Honduras in San Pedro Sula. His two goals were clutch in a 3-2 win.  Players like this can make a difference at the World Cup. 

Thursday's Daily: Happy Thanksgiving Everybody

Europe

Manchester United facing a Real problem after Champions League defeat by Besiktas -- from The Times' James Ducker: Ferguson appeared unfazed.

Questions stack up for Smith with little sign of any answers -- from The Herald's Graeme MacPherson: So, where did it all go wrong this time around?

Manager David Moyes fumes at 'shocking' Everton display -- from BBC Sport: "We didn't play well enough to win, that sums it up really."

Everton face troubled future as new stadium plan rejected -- from The Independent's Ian Herbert: The decision leaves Kenwright's future plans for the club uncertain.

Familiarity bred contempt for Portsmouth's next manager stakes -- from The Guardian's Lawrence Donegan: We have heard this sort of thing before.

Karren Brady lifts lid on 2018 World Cup bid team's 'bickering, infighting and disruption' -- from The Telegraph's Jeremy Wilson: "There were a lot of people on the board and lot of internal politics."

Americas

Union makes expansion draft selections -- from The Philadelphia Daily News' Kerith Gabriel: "He’s not scared of competition."

RSL trades backup goalkeeper Seitz -- from The Salt Lake Tribune's Michael C Lewis: But the Seitz deal was the big news.

RSL's triumph the exclamation point on a memorable season -- from Soccernet's Steve Davis: In the end, teams could get only so far through defense, delay and downright nastiness.

Comments, questions, solutions to problems that have yet to present themselves.  Please, tell me all about it.

American Abroad: Dempsey Double

Clint Dempsey went the full-ninety for Fulham, 3-0 winners over Blackburn.   Eric Nevland opened the scoring in the 43rd-minute.  The second-half belonged to Dempsey, who scored in the 67th and 88th minutes.  Mark Schwarzer picked up the shutout on three saves.  "The score line shows us easy winners but it was a very, very tough victory and one I'm very proud of," Fulham manager Roy Hodgson said.  Eddie Johnson wasn't in the squad for Fulham.

Jozy Altidore went 75 minutes for Hull City, getting the 3-2 win over Tim Howard's Everton.  Howard thought he had the better of Altidore early, stopping his shot but giving up the rebound for Stephen Hunt's 9th-minute opener.  Andy Dawson (20th) and Dean Marney (28th) had Hull up 3-0 at the half.  Kamil Zayatte put the ball in the back of his own net four minutes into the second-half and Louis Saha converted a 65th-minute penalty, but Everton couldn't find an equalizer. 

Brown And McBride Stay With Chicago

Defender CJ Brown and forward Brian McBride had their options renewed by the Chicago Fire, the club announced on Wednesday.  2010 will be Brown's 13th season with the club.  He has been a member of the Fire since they joined Major League Soccer in 1998.

 “We are pleased to have both Brian and CJ back with the team for 2010,” said Fire Technical Director Frank Klopas. “McBride is a force on the field and his experience is unmatched by many in MLS. He will play another invaluable role for us in 2010. CJ’s contributions in 2009 were key in helping us to reach the Eastern Conference Championship Final this season. We need them both back on the pitch to help lead us toward a MLS Cup championship.”

Thursday's TV

Coppa Italia on GolTV: Napoli - Cittadella at 2:30pm and Palermo - Reggina at 4:30pm.  All Times Eastern

Union Pick 10

The Philadelphia Union selected ten players in the Major League Soccer Expansion Draft on Wednesday.  No players were selected from Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Salt Lake, or Toronto.

Jordan Harvey (D) - Colorado Rapids
Andrew Jacobsen (M) - DC United
Brad Knighton (G) - New England Revolution
Sebastien Le Toux (F) - Seattle Sounders FC
Stefani Miglioranzi (M) - LA Galaxy
Alejandro Moreno (F) - Columbus Crew
Dave Myrie (D) - Chicago Fire
Shea Salinas (M) - San Jose Earthquakes
Shavar Thomas (D) - Chivas USA
Nick Zimmerman (M) - New York Red Bulls

"We have been scouting and evaluating talent for many months," said Philadelphia Union Team Manager Peter Nowak. "From the teams throughout MLS, we have chosen a group of players who will give us some flexibility and create options for us, as we now build our initial roster. There is still much work ahead of us."

USSF Announces Award Finalists

The United States Soccer Federation has released the finalists for their 2009 Athlete of the Year Awards: 

• Male Athlete of the Year: Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Oguchi Onyewu
• Female Athlete of the Year: Shannon Boxx, Heather O'Reilly, Christie Rampone, Hope Solo, Abby Wambach
• Young Male Athlete of the Year: Marlon Duran, Luis Gil, Jared Jeffrey, Brian Perk, Tyler Polak
• Young Female Athlete of the Year: Tobin Heath, Christine Nairn, Sydney Leroux, Kelley O'Hara, Katie Schoepfer

Fans can vote online between now and Dec 13th at USSoccer.com

TMA: The Fouth Official

By L.E. Eisenmenger -- It often has been said that at any given moment and with his eyes shut, Cuauhtemoc Blanco can describe the positioning of every player on the field as well as the fourth official.

Why the fourth official? As one of the league’s trickiest players and most frequently fouled, Blanco knows that the fourth official can make critical calls.  That includes relaying yellow and red card instructions to the referee via headset if the ref is screened or caught up in another situation. So Blanco usually knows what he can and can’t get away with.

Wednesday's Daily: Olsen

With J Hutcherson -- Sportswriters like to lean on cliches because it makes things easier. Rather than having to explain Ben Olsen pre-and-post ankle injury, you can just call him 'gritty' or 'tenacious.' What that means is more complicated.

Olsen had a step on most of his marks at college and then Major League Soccer level. It wasn't that he was the fastest player on the field. It was that he was normally the fastest against whoever was matched up against him. That put him in a position where he could rely on a first step, win more than his share of 50/50 balls, and basically be a pest in a distributing role.

Though he's done all the criticism necessary of his early professional play, saying yesterday that: "I watched the tape of when I was a rookie and it makes me sick," he also knew what he was doing. "At some point, I would tire the other guy out, flub and cross and Roy Lassiter would put it in."

Rangers 0 - VfB Stuttgart 0

DaMarcus Beasley was a late sub in Tuesday's Champions League game, coming on in the 86th-minute for Kyle Lafferty.  Rangers were already two goals down, with Sebastian Rudy scoring in the 16th-minute and Zdravko Kuzmanovic making it 2-0 in the 59th.  Stuttgart keeper Jens Lehmann got the shutout with no saves after Rangers were unable to put any of their three shots on frame. 

"Maybe away from home the expectation is not so great in terms of having to go forward and win the game," Rangers manager Walter Smith said of losing at home in the Champions League.  "Our posession of the ball has even been better in the away games so that is frustrating."

Wednesday's TV

Champions League on Fox Soccer Channel: Debreceni - Liverpool at 11am, Milan - Marseille at 2:30pm (5pm on Setanta), Real Madrid - Zurich at 5pm (2:30pm on Fox Sports en Espanol), and Manchester United - Besiktas at 7pm (2:40pm on Setanta). EPL on Setanta Xtra: Fulham - Blackburn at 3pm (6:45pm on Setanta) and Hull - Everton at 8pm on Setanta. Colombian League on GolTV: Medellin - Junior at 8:30pm.  All Times Eastern

Olsen Announces Retirement

DC United midfielder Ben Olsen announced his retirement on Tuesday at a press conference at RFK Stadium.  Olsen spent his entire MLS career with DC, joining the club from the University of Virginia in 1998 and being named Rookie of the Year.  He spent the 2000-01 season on loan to England's Nottingham Forest, where an ankle injury ended a promising run with the club.  Olsen would miss the 2001 MLS season while recovering from that injury.  In 2007, he was honored as a member of the MLS Best XI.  Injury trouble limited him to one game in 2008, but he returned in 2009 to play in 20 league games for United. 

Olsen had 37 caps with the United States National Team, part of the 2005 Gold Cup squad and the 2006 World Cup roster.  He had one appearance at World Cup level, coming on as a substitute in the final group stage game.

“Ben Olsen has been called the heart and soul of DC United and, over the years, that is exactly what we’ve come to expect from him,” United President and CEO Kevin Payne said. “Since he joined our team as the League’s first Project-40 player until his last game in the 2009 season, Ben gave all that he had for his team and his teammates. You can’t replace a player like Ben, you simply hope that other players can step up and shoulder the mantle that he carried for so long.  He’s simply one of the greatest players in DC United history.”