MLS Reconstruction

The Stormy Present takes on MLS

On a slightly different note, but still related...MLS teams need to lose their nicknames. No more Columbus Crew, San Jose Earthquakes or Kansas City Wizards. They also need to lose the fake names like Real Salt Lake, Houston Dynamo (Why didn't they use this one? It would've been a great name and pretty good logo) and Chivas USA. As weird as it might sound, why can't the teams just exist as entities as they do in other places? DC United, FC Dallas (formerly the Burn, GREAT change) and Toronto FC are heading in the right direction.

Why can't we just call them Columbus, Seattle, San Jose or Kansas City? Or use other names to identify them without nicknames. How about Sporting Seattle instead of the Seattle Sounders (though I do really like their logo and shirt prototype)? I actually like the Red Bull New York name, as long as it's not the New York Red Bulls. There are European examples of the sponsorship name like Red Bull Salzburg and Bayer Leverkusen. As long as these don't go overboard (ie, Visa Chicago or Nike LA) it could work to make the names seem less like dorky youth soccer team names.

If the club names can start getting an overhaul as the uniforms and sponsorships have, we could have a much more attractive league visually and nominally. Or we could follow Trey's example and just have the team's in dumb locations move.

The Announcement You've All (three) Been Waiting For

Despite no prior notification and so few people actually looking at this blog that you all probably know already, the writers of this blog have chosen their English football sides to follow for the 2008/2009 season. Our goal (keep in mind, there is no way this will come to fruition, but it's a nice aim at least) is to report on our clubs about once per week with some insight about player moves, match results and prognostication. The allegiances will be as follow:

Prizz - Newcastle United, aka Toon, aka "God must be a Geordie"
Mr. Lee - Liverpool, aka Reds, aka Merseysiders
MAO - Tottenham Hotspur, aka Spurs, aka Cockerels

You might note that none of us have chosen Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal. You might also note that none of us selected Hull City, Stoke City or Bolton. We should be floundering toward the middle of the table hoping to qualify for next year's Champions League. Of course Liverpool will likely be strong in Europe as they always seem to be these days. We haven't yet determined what the blogger with the best finishing side will get, though it is likely enough to be nothing at all. But if there are any ideas, we'd be happy to hear. Or perhaps what the bottom-most team should have to do...

Comments? Questions? If not, feel free to talk amongst yourselves.

This is What MLS Needs

More fans like those of the Columbus Crew. Yes, the Crew should have a better name and yes, Columbus is kind of a strange place to have a professional sports franchise, but the fact that they have rowdy fans who were willing to fight with West Ham supporters is just great. I'm not really in favor of violence but it is good to see an MLS team have loyal enough support to pull this kind of thing off. And in a friendly, no less.

Obviously West Ham is a better club than Columbus and showed it in their 3-1 victory. But I'm happy to see a club outside of Toronto or Washington have an engaged fan base. The only gripe I have in this case is that there were only 9000 folks in a 22,000-seat stadium. Against a top flight English side? Come one Columbus. Ohio State's season hasn't even started yet, you have no excuses.

WTF?

This is an article discussing Barcelona's off-season transition.

Read the part about Samuel Eto'o, who is apparently close to signing with a team in... Uzbekistan.

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!!?!

Fandom

Isn't there such an interesting distinction between types of fans of sports. I don't mean between half-hearted fans and obsessive ones or even of fans of say, baseball, as opposed to fans of basketball.

The difference in question here is one described very ably by Simon Kuper in Football Against the Enemy: "British fans are unique. In Britain, football itself is almost incidental to fan culture. More than any other supporters in the world, British fans are aware of themselves as fans. They think a lot about their own numbers, their visibility, their group character." This is such an insightful thought. It can be applied directly to almost any other group of fans out there.

Exceptions do exist, such as Duke basketball. Not the greater sphere of Duke fans, but specifically the student sections at the games. Now of course known as the Cameron Crazies, they camp out for big games, they memorize biographical information about their opponents in order to have the best ammunition for insulting them, they sing and chant preselected songs and jeers, and in case someone doesn't know the words, they print out lyrics before the games and pass them around to each other. This is what Kuper is talking about. A group that exists not only to cheer the team (and boo the opponent), which they certainly do, but has many self-interested qualities. Their sole purpose is not to be on television, but they are keenly aware that they always are.

Very rare are these kinds of fans present in the larger sporting world. Perhaps there are more than one would assume, but their actions and relationships with teams and media are of more local flavor. Either way, this is what makes the English Premier League so much more interesting than other European domestic leagues. Yes the play itself is often better and the star power is unsurpassed. But the fans make the games the spectacles they are known to be. The North London Derby, The Old Firm (granted, this is Scottish, but fits into Kuper's British description), and the Manchester Derby are examples of fandom almost to absurdity. Yet Kuper is right to point out that even if the matches weren't to be played, the rivalries between fans and the fans' desires to 'out fan' each other would still exist.

The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is beginning to reach these proportions in the NY-CT-MA area. And some college rivalries are vaguely the same. But often in this country, fans that even profess to hate one another are likely not to practice what they preach. With Duke and UNC for example, those kids claim to hate each other but you can always find Duke kids on Franklin Street and Carolina kids at Durham Bulls games. Were this situation Glasgow, Dukies would get their asses kicked on Franklin and the Bulls would never allow kids from Chapel Hill into the ballgames.

Anyway, it's just interesting to see how fans can be self-aware in terms of their fanhood. It's what makes soccer so great even for those who don't side with one team or the other.

A Plea to Electronic Arts

If you care at all about the growth of soccer in North America, please please make a version of your next FIFA game available on Mac computers. While Apple users currently only make up less than ten percent of all home computer users, this number is growing rapidly. There is no better way for kids to learn the players and rules of a game than from video games, honestly. How the hell would I know who Felix the Cat Potvin, Teemu Selanne and Jeremy Roenick were if they hadn't been on NHL '94 that I played on Sega growing up? It's the same with soccer. I routinely say, hey, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he's on Ajax, right? Wrong, dumbass, my more knowledgeable friends say, he's been on Juventus and Inter since 2004. Yeah, well he was on Ajax on FIFA '04, which is how I learned the majority of my player names and associations.

So for the love of God EA, put FIFA games on Macs. You'll let a bunch of new kids get a chance to learn about the game and you'll give those of us who are old enough to have our own Apple machines get back the specifics on the starting eleven at Grasshoppers, BSC Young Boys and Queen's Park Rangers.

The Transfer Window

This is the time of year when all of your favorite footie sides end up looking completely different. It's harder than hell to follow and completely understand from Stateside, but here's a quick rundown of what's happened so far and what might come in the next few weeks:

Peter Crouch (Liverpool) - £11 million transfer to Portsmouth
Steve Sidwell (Chelsea) - £5 million transfer to Aston Villa
Giovani dos Santos (Barcelona) - £4.7 million transfer to Spurs
Deco (Barcelona) - Undisclosed transfer to Chelsea
Jens Lehmann (Arsenal) - Undisclosed transfer to Stuttgart
John Arne Riise (Liverpool) - £4 million transfer to Roma
Harry Kewell (Liverpool) - Free transfer to Galatasary
John Heitinga (Ajax) - €10 million buyout by Atletico Madrid
Gregory Coupet (Lyon) - Undisclosed transfer to Atletico Madrid
Dani Güiza (Real Mallorca) - Undisclosed transfer to Fenerbahce
Samir Nasri (Marseille) - £12 million transfer to Arsenal

Possible Moves:

Frank Lampard (Chelsea) - Inter Milan
Ronaldinho (Barcelona) - AC Milan
Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal) - AC Milan
Gareth Barry (Aston Villa) - Liverpool
Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich) - FC Köln
Christiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) - Real Madrid

South Africa Shouldn't Lose the World Cup

News from FIFA today announces that chief Sepp Blatter has spoken to three unnamed countries about possibly replacing South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. Officially the announcement states that it would only occur if a 'natural catastrophe' would prevent the African nation from hosting the world's most important sporting event. But it seems the real reason for the 'Plan B' scenarios are due to the increasingly likely security issues and shortcomings in stadium and infrastructure construction. While the countries remain anonymous at this point, one must assume that England is one, based on it's plethora of enormous and modern grounds. Spain is another likely location as Barcelona and Madrid each have monstrous stadia up to the task of hosting such an event.

The best example of this kind of a situation is the 2004 Olympic games in Athens. For years leading up to the games, concerns were voiced over the speed with which venues were being constructed. Many feared shoddy construction and incomplete infrastructure. On top of all this, there were great security fears as Greece is not always the safest of places and Athens is notoriously dirty and sometimes dangerous. These premature criticisms lasted nearly to the opening ceremonies. But once the games began, the host city and nation gracefully put on the games without incident.

Things should go similarly in South Africa. Great cities such as Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg will host many games, as well as other lesser cities. The new Durban Stadium will hold 70,000 fans and sit near the Golden Mile. Green Point in Cape Town will be built to hold 70,000 and the Newlands pitch, usually used for rugby union, can be used in the off-chance that Green Point is not complete. Ellis Park in Johannesburg will be revamped and the gleaming new Soccer City stadium will be the host of the final with almost 95,000 seats. Three new stadia will be constructed and others renovated, each holding at least 40,000. While some of these are in fact behind schedule and over cost, this is simply the world in which we now live. Were there stadia being renovated and constructed in the US or UK (Wembley Stadium anyone?) isn't it safe to say that they too would face similar issues?

While there have been severe riots and security struggles in Jo'burg this year, there is no guarantee that there will be in two years. And like in Greece four years ago, the populace will eventually understand the unbelievable value of hosting the Cup and the even greater stigma that would come if the country had it stripped less than two years away. Things may be behind schedule now, but they will be satisfactorily complete when the opening kick takes place at Soccer City in Jo'burg on June 11, 2010.

FIFA has done enough to humiliate and alienate African countries over the years. The last thing they need to do is bar Africa from its crowning athletic achievement in the waning days before it hosts. While it is not a referendum on Africa as a whole, this tournament is vitally important to the growing importance of the sport on the continent. It cannot be taken away.

England and Spain are surely attractive sites and would bring in the requisite fans and intensity. But this is Africa's turn on the world's stage, for the very first time. Mr. Blatter, do not undermine their efforts with more announcements of this nature.

Another Reason American Soccer Will Never Be Like European Football

If this ever happened in the States, the referee would be arrested, there would be outraged parents, Mothers Against Drunk Driving would get involved and ESPN would devote a three-part series to the dangers of alcoholism in sports.

Thank goodness this happened in Minsk. I don't know if I could take all the morality lessons.

Toon to be Sold to bin Ladens?

This can't be making the Geordies very happy. If God is in fact a Geordie, is he ultimately Allah?

Strange happenings in the Premier League these days as Americans (Randy Lerner - Aston Villa, not to mention Malcolm Glazer - Man United), Russians (Roman Abramovich - Chelsea), Uzbeks (Alisher Usmanov - Arsenal), Icelanders (Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson - West Ham), Thais (Thaksin Shinawatra - Man City) and Saudis (Newcastle) own clubs. At what point will the EPL quit being just an English league and become a purely international league?

What are Zenit Thinking?

So this isn't the most breaking news. Get over it.

Why are Zenit St. Petersburg refusing to sell Andrei Arshavin to Barcelona? At what point will his value be higher than it is now? Don't they understand the way the system in Europe works?

Let me explain the situation. Arshavin is one of the most sought after players after his amazing run through the UEFA Cup with Zenit and then the Russian side at Euro 2008. He led Zenit to the UEFA Cup over Rangers, in Manchester no less, and got great exposure to the British press. Then he thrilled fans and naysayers alike in Austria/Switzerland, with the eyes of all of Europe upon him. He is as popular as he will ever be. No one really watches the Russian league, and even if they do, what are the chances that his magical run in 2007/08 will be repeated. Based on his track record, I would say slim.

What are the benefits for Zenit you ask? Simply that he can get them millions of Euros with which to use to bolster their side for the future. Arshavin is not young. Well, he's not ultra-young. He's 27. Why not take the money and run? Invest in highly prized Russian youngsters to create a stronger youth system and in turn create a longer-term window for sustained success both domestically and in Europe.

Plus the guy has been a rabble-rouser for most of his career before last season. He's more likely to fall back into that style of play/life than he is to continue his stirring successes. Dump him off on someone else to deal with and reap the financial rewards. Twelve million Euros goes a long, long way in Russia these days.

I'm sure fans of Zenit don't want him gone, but the way European football is set up these days, good players in small markets don't last. They sign with big clubs and the financial windfalls for the smaller sides from smaller countries allow them to grow domestically. The ultimate value for the Zenit program is in Russia. It simply is not going to gain an international following to the tune of the English or mega-Spanish clubs.

So, Zenit, let Arshavin go. It's in everyone's best interest. He's the highest paid player in all of Russia. Use the transfer money and the money you won't have to pay him in the future to create a dominant Russian side. It makes sense. At least from this side of the Atlantic.

New Villa Kits

Aston Villa have new kits for the 2008/2009 season, home and away, as shown on EPLtalk.com. This is not ordinarily big news as European sides change sponsors and shirt designs quite often. But this change is one that bucks the omnipresent trend of uniform advertisements. While the rest of Europe (save Barcelona) trot out with ads for banks, casinos or clothiers, Villa will feature the name of acorns' a local children's hospice. Dumping last year's sponsor of 32red, an online gambling site, Villa will lose £2 million. But Villa, following in Barca's footsteps are doing the right thing. It'll be a nice change to see something on a shirt that isn't screaming for profits but is instead out to help children.

I don't fall into the Jay Mariotti trap of thinking sports are all about the kids and everything that's done sets either a good or bad example for the wee ones. But it is nice to have an organization actually doing something toward a good cause. Unlike NBA Cares, which everyone knows is a crock, this could actually raise quite a bit of money, rather than being used to parade around star players and pretend they know how to read. Ever noticed that the books NBA players are reading to kids in ads are always picture books?

Kudos to Villa for pulling this off. Though it is sad that they had to ask for permission to have kits not featuring an advert.

The Not-So-Beautiful Game

For as long as I can recall, I've held soccer on a fairly high pedestal. The "beautiful game," as it is often called, has always struck me as pure--as somehow different from drug-riddled baseball, absence-of-teamwork basketball, and tireless-QBs football. Yes, soccer is a rich, textured, and beautiful game--a place to see eye-popping skills, blood-curdling rivalries, and unstoppable national pride.

Sadly, my long-standing esteem for soccer is being put to its limit this summer. Even after watching the most entertaining major tournament in recent memory, I'm beginning to think that soccer is no different from our American sports: ridiculously over-analyzed, lacking in loyalty, and rife with impatience.

The Favre Phenomenon
Thanks to first-class bloggers like the world-renowned MAO (not to be confused with this math professor, who teaches at Grossmont, which is actually a fitting name for an institution at which Mizz could be the dean), we are all aware that God's 13th disciple is already "itching" to return to the NFL, not even one full summer removed from his so-called "retirement."

Now, I'm not going to lie to you... I'm fairly accustomed to this hot-stove horse manure. These days, the Yanks-Sox rivalry is debated in December, NBA free agency is a boiling issue as soon as the Final are over, and Negotiating the NFL Salary Cap 101 is among the most GPA-deflating of summer courses.

Indeed, we American sports fan are accustomed to the usual summer madness--but since when did soccer join the ranks of this will-he/won't-he circus?

Consider the ongoing mating dance currently being carried out by Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez and (rather French politician-looking) Aston Villa helmsman Martin O'Neill. As is generally the case in the sporting world, the fundamentals of this story are rather simple: O'Neill and Villa have valuated prized midfielder Gareth Barry at roughly 18 million pounds. Benitez and Liverpool, anxious to sign the star player, have made 4--count them, 4--separate bids for Barry... except that none of these bids has reached the clearly defined, clearly communicated asking price.

Factor in the British soccer press and its affinity for overblown headlines and meaningless news, it's no surprise that the Barry "saga" (to borrow Soccernet's term) is front-page fare.

If you find yourself lamenting the apocalyptic nature of American sports coverage, simply click here.

It's All About the Benjamins
... Or, at least that appears to be the case. Again, I'm quite accustomed to sports figures being restless and loving money. I've grown up watching team-hoppers, and I know that sometimes greener (or bluer) pastures are simply too hard to pass up.

I get that. I am not naive enough to think that athletes value loyalty. I mean: Really? Seriously? Are you kidding? These days, a shirt is merely a shirt--a uniform--and nothing more; heck, the 3 guys just pictured left top-tier teams for their fiercest rivals!

While this transient behavior runs rampant throughout the sports world, nowhere is it more vividly illustrated than in European soccer.

This guy nearly led his team to a 10-man upset of Barcelona in the Champions League a couple of years ago. An unrivaled talisman for his club, Henry had a chance to join guys like Roy Keane and Paolo Maldini: players who will forever be linked indelibly with particular clubs. Instead, what did Henry do? He decided to jump ship. His stats differ from those of his Arsenal days, and--wouldn't you know it?--the Champions League trophy found its way back to England.

Now, sadly there comes word that another Arsenal stud wants to leave--for Barcelona, no less! It's the same ole' story: have one or two statistically ridiculous years, then bolt for a bigger bankroll.

Damon left the Red Sox, who then won another World Series; Vinatieri left the Patriots, who then went undefeated; Ashley Cole left Chelsea, only to see Arsenal become the most exciting young team in the EPL.

Athletes, and particularly soccer players, never learn. Sometimes, you should just stick with a team; the results can be astounding.

Fresh Nou Faces
In America, we think we know the definition of impatience: after all, we have the likes of this notorious title-buyer, and this coach-killer.

You want impatience? Check out these guys.

A little history:

• During the 1996-1997 season, Sir Bobby Robson guided the Catalans to 3 trophies, but was ushered out of the managerial role because club big-wigs worried that he'd never win over the fans.
• Only 2 years ago, Frank Rijkaard and Ronadinho led Barcelona to the apex of European glory--the UEFA Champions League crown. As of now, Rijkaard has been replaced as coach, and the Brazilian playmaker is rumored to be headed for Milan. Why? No trophies for 2 years...
  

The top European clubs--the Barcelonas, AC Milans, Chelseas, and Real Madrids--are ridiculous. Every time some young 20-something has a good season, one of these megaclubs rushes to sign him; it doesn't matter who they have to discard in the process, and it doesn't matter if (as in Sidwell's case) the player ends up riding the pine all year.

So, when you think that the Boss and Dan Snyder are nuts, look for solace in the European game, where complete club overhauls often happen due to a single loss, and where exceptional managers and players are recycled with soulless efficiency.

...

Soccer is indeed a beautiful game. Just remember though: at it's core, it's as ugly as any of our stateside pastimes.

A Flawed System

FIFA released it's new world rankings with newly crowned European champion Spain sitting atop the table. No issue with that, nor with Italy, Germany, Brazil and Holland rounding out the top 5. What gets me is the American side falling all the way to 30th. I understand that the rankings are based on a point system that awards teams for winning games against highly ranked opponents. I guess it's sort of like RPI. So I get that the US beatdown of Barbados (ranked 137) a few weeks ago didn't exactly turn heads.

But really, the US isn't a better side than Scotland? I love Scotland, but their team would probably not beat the US in a match, and the Scots are ranked 16. What about Mexico? The US usually fares well against the Mexicans, especially on home soil. Yet Mexico is ranked 19. Others listed higher than America such as Paraguay, Israel and Nigeria are all sides you could honestly expect the US to beat.

The FIFA rankings need to be used, at least in this country, not as a barometer of where the US stands in relation to other countries, but simply as one poll based on one equation. Mainstream media will surely announce that American soccer is in a low period and that interest is waning in the world's game as a result. To the contrary, American interest in soccer is growing and is not dependent on the US national team. If they do well, that's good, but seeing their ranking drop to 30th will not keep those whose interest has grown as a result of the fabulously entertaining Euro 2008 tournament from tuning in in the future.

Spanish Victory

After 44 years of falling short of expectations, Spain have defeated Germany to win Euro 2008. The Germans did nothing to deserve a chance to win this match and a terrific Fernando Torres goal in the 33rd minute gave Spain all it needed to win.

Even without a last-minute goal from the Germans to tie, this tournament has to be remembered as one of the best major international tournaments. The number of late goals and upstart teams will keep Euro 2008 in mind for years to come.

Incorrect Predictions on the Euro 2008 Final

With Sunday's Euro 2008 Final upon us this weekend, we have pooled our collective thoughts, collaborated on the many possible scenarios and weighed several potential coaching moves that could impact the match between Spain and Germany. Having done so, we have reached three completely different conclusions about the outcome of the championship.

1. Mr. Lee - A 1-1 draw through full and over times with Spain winning on penalties.
2. Prizz - Germany claim their fourth European Championship with a 3-2 victory in a wide open match.
3. MAO - The Germans pull through in overtime 2-1, after a late goal equalizes the Spanish who will score early in the second half.

The most likely scenario is of course that none of these results will be the correct one, and based on the proceedings of the tournament to this point, it's very likely that no one on earth will successfully handicap this match. All we can hope for is a good, clean, open match that allows each team to exploit their particular advantages. If that happens, we should have quite a match. And if all else fails, they can at least play boring football through 120 minutes and give us an exciting penalty shootout.

Unlucky No More

Conveniently for this blog's 200th post, we've had the table set for the Euro 2008 final, now between Germany and Spain. The Spanish demolished Russia for the second time in this tournament, 3-0, despite wearing their supposedly unlucky kits. Russia were never really in the game, despite a nil-nil score through fifty minutes. But the men in red never put together much of an attack and had very few shots on goal. Andrei Arshavin, the tournament's darling to this point, did next to nothing while Spain's relentless attack finally yielded goals late in the game.

So the final is set and it should be an interesting match. Two contrasting styles, the Germans strong, tough and big in the back against the much more free-flowing Spanish side.

Predictions will come tomorrow from each of us...

Unlucky Yellows?

If the Spanish truly consider yellow to be an unlucky color, why did they design one of their kits in that color? Why wouldn't they have white and red kits instead, as they did in the 2006 World Cup? Does anyone else think that this is just a built-in excuse in case they lose to the Russians?

International Football's Heidi Game

The comparisons of today's Germany-Turkey Euro 2008 semifinal match with 1968's Jets-Raiders Heidi game are apt. After railing against false assumptions and comparisons with American sports, I have to cede some ground on this subject. Of course, unlike the real Heidi game, this game mattered far more and the degree to which television coverage was eliminated was far greater. In fact, amazingly, the only people on earth who watched an uninterrupted match were those watching on local Swiss tv in Basel and all those watching the Al Jazeera network. Talk about irony. The entire free world is in the dark while the preeminent Arab network broadcasts an undisturbed match involving Turkey and Germany.

All that aside, it was almost criminal how the television disaster occurred. The storms cancelling out coverage were in Austria, not in Switzerland where the game was actually being played. The lightening strikes that took out the Euro 2008 signal center weren't backed up in any way? How, in 2008, and in a country as advanced as Austria, could something like this happen? It's one thing for a screen to go blank momentarily, but during a game of this magnitude and with weather forecasts suggesting big storms? Unacceptable. I'd love to blame ESPN for this, but I'm not sure I can. Though if they'd actually had their commentators at the game we could have heard the game via television like a radio broadcast (though perhaps if they'd been there, that would have been lost as well).

In the end, most of the world misses an electric header by Miro Klose to give the Germans a brief lead and then was brought back to live picture seconds after Turkey scored to re-even the score. Thankfully we were able to watch Philipp Lahm crush the Turkish hopes late in the game, but even then the picture was lost again and the final minutes of the match, easily the most dangerous with this Turkish team, were lost to the masses. It's a good thing Turkey didn't score again, there would be utter outrage had that been the case.

Tables Turned

After giving up an equalizing goal late in the semifinal match, Germany's Philipp Lahm scored an amazing goal on a give-and-go to give the Germans a spot in the finals against either Spain or Russia. A closely contested match throughout (and with ESPN cameras going dark for periods at a time) this match will be remembered well for years to come. Germany's late heroics give a role reversal to the Turks who had won three earlier matches by scoring impossibly late goals.