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The Official 2010 Pre- World Cup Thread


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[quote]
[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Wins for Goodson and Bedoya

[/size][b][size=1]April 6th, 2010 5:32AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][AMERICANS ABROAD] [/color][b]Clarence Goodson[/b] and [b]Alejandro Bedoya[/b], both candidates for the U.S. World Cup team, were victorious in Scandinavian action on Monday.

Goodson and fellow American [b]Hunter Freeman[/b] started for Start in its 5-3 thriller over Valerenga in Norway's Tippeligaen.

Bedoya started for Orebro in its 1-0 win at AIK Stockholm in Sweden's Allsvenskan.

None of the U.S. internationals in England's League Championship played on Easter Monday. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37543/wins-for-goodson-and-bedoya.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37543/wins-for-goodson-and-bedoya.html[/url]
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This could actually be a good thing. Keep Bradley from going to his usual group of under-skilled cronies.



[quote]
[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Ching's injury muddles U.S. roster

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/49/ridge-mahoney/"][size=1]Ridge Mahoney[/size][/url][size=1], April 7th, 2010 1:19AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN] [/color]In selecting his forwards for the World Cup, U.S. coach [b]Bob Bradley [/b]would like at least one target man with a foundation of international experience.

[b]Brian Ching[/b]’s name has been prominent in discussions about 2010 World Cup selections. He didn't play in the 2006 competition despite making the cut for Germany; his current status is clouded by a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him from four to six weeks. That period straddles a mid-May start of final World Cup preparations at a camp somewhere in the United States, though a final roster isn’t due until June 1.

Ching, who turns 32 in May, suffered the injury during a 2-1 victory against Real Salt Lake Thursday. An MRI performed Monday morning revealed a strained left hamstring that gives Bradley yet another injury complication to his preparation plans. Bradley must submit a 30-man preliminary roster to FIFA on May 11, and while Ching can be included whether he’s resumed playing or not, he might be pressed for time to get fit enough for the World Cup.

He’s been dueling with [b]Conor Casey[/b], among others, for a spot on the 23-man roster. In his one appearance for the U.S. this season, he replaced Casey Feb. 24 against El Salvador and scored a goal in a 2-1 win. In 44 U.S. appearances he’s scored 11 goals. He played seven Concacaf qualifiers for the 2010 competition and tied with[b] Clint Dempsey[/b] for the team lead with four goals.

Ching joins [b]Charlie Davies[/b], [b]Oguchi Onyewu[/b], [b]Ricardo Clark[/b], [b]Steve Cherundolo[/b] and [b]Stuart Holden[/b] on the list of U.S. players either sidelined with significant injuries or just getting back to fitness nine weeks before the start of the World Cup. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37558/chings-injury-muddles-us-roster.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37558/chings-injury-muddles-us-roster.html[/url]
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Just don't be serious...he's needed for the WC like feet are to walking.

[quote]
[font="Arial, Helvetical, sans-serif"][b][size="5"]Dempsey out of Fulham's Europa League quarterfinal[/size][/b][/font]
[font="Arial, Helvetical, sans-serif"][size="2"] [/size][/font]
[font="Arial, Helvetical, sans-serif"][size=2]LONDON (AP) — United States foward Clint Dempsey will miss the second leg of Fulham's Europa League quarterfinal at Wolfsburg on Thursday because of a thigh injury.[/size][color="#000000"][left][size=2]Fulham beat Wolfsburg 2-1 in the first leg last week. Dempsey was hurt in Sunday's Premier League win over Wigan.[/size][/left][/color][size=2]

[/size][/font][font="Arial, Helvetical, sans-serif"][size=2]Dempsey's injury means Erik Nevland may play up front alongside Zoltan Gera, because first-choice Bobby Zamora is struggling with an Achilles' injury and David Elm is ill.[/size][/font] [/quote]


[url="http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2010-04-07-953838017_x.htm"]http://www.usatoday....953838017_x.htm[/url]
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[quote]
[font="verdana"][size="2"][size="2"][size="2"][b][size="5"]Holden targets Bolton return before end of season[/size][/b]

[/size][/size][/size][/font][font="verdana"][size="2"] [/size][/font][font="verdana"][size="2"] [/size][/font]
[font="verdana"][size="2"][size="2"]BOLTON, England (AP) -U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden is planning to resume full training in two weeks and aims to be back in action for Bolton before the end of the Premier League season next month.[/size][size="2"]The 24-year-old, who joined Bolton in January from Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo, broke his right leg while playing for the Americans in a March 3 exhibition at the Netherlands.[/size]

[size="2"]Holden hopes to start running again by next week and be back on the field by May 1 to face Tottenham. Bolton finishes against Birmingham the following weekend.[/size]

[size="2"]Holden says "he will going to do every little thing'' he can to be fit for the U.S. World Cup opener against England on June 12.[/size]
[/size][/font] [/quote]



[url="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/wires/04/06/2050.ap.soc.bolton.holden.0198/index.html"]http://sportsillustr...0198/index.html[/url]
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[quote][font="Arial, sans-serif"][b][size="5"]Threats will not stop World Cup - FIFA[/size][/b][/font]
[font="Arial, sans-serif"][size="2"] [color="#676767"] [/color]

[color="#676767"][size="1"](UKPA) – [/size][color="#000000"][size="1"]4 hours ago[/size][/color][/color]

FIFA are aware of fresh threats made by al-Qaeda to target this summer's World Cup, but insist nothing will prevent the tournament from being staged in South Africa.

An Algerian wing of the group has claimed they will carry out attacks on England's Group C match against the United States on June 12 in Rustenberg, prompting new security fears less than two months before the start of the competition.

But FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said: "It does not mean that because we receive a threat the World Cup should not be allowed to be contested in South Africa or any other country."

Valcke continued: "We have freedom in the world to celebrate what we want. As the management of the organisation that governs world football, we know there is a threat.

"We will not stop the organisation of the World Cup because we got the threat."

The threats, which were made in an online magazine of the group, are being taken seriously by FIFA, who have vowed to work with authorities across the world to ensure an incident-free World Cup.

"We put in place all what we can in terms of security and we are working with this threat at the ministerial level and with security agencies worldwide to ensure that nothing happens in South Africa," added Valcke.

[/size][/font]
[font="Arial, sans-serif"][size="2"]"Not only are we working with the participating countries, but with everyone that can help prevent attacks."[/size][/font] [/quote]


[url="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iYEXCaNgOfi479XETr4OPh4YGbkA"]http://www.google.co...9XETr4OPh4YGbkA[/url]
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[quote]
[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]U.S. national team weekend

[/size][b][size=1]April 10th, 2010 8:08PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][AMERICANS ABROAD][/color] [b]Steve Cherundolo [/b]and[b] Michael Bradley[/b] were both on the winning side in big German Bundesliga wins. Cherundolo's relegation-threatened Hannover defeated title challenger Schalke 04, 4-2, while Bradley had an assist in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. Here's how U.S. national team players did in weekend action abroad ...Hannover's winner left it one point in the relegation zone with four games to play. It is one point behind both Nuremberg and Bochum, who both lost at home on Sunday.

In another relegation race, [b]Jozy Altidore [/b]had an assist on [b]Kevin Kilbane[/b]'s third-minute goal, but it all went wrong after that for Hull City, which lost at home to Burnley, 4-1.

Meanwhile, [b]Jonathan Spector[/b]'s West Ham beat Sunderland, 1-0.

The results moved West Ham into 16th place, four points out of the relegation zone, where Hull and Burnley are now tied for 18th place in front of Portsmouth, which was relegated on Saturday without playing.

[color=#FF0000]DENMARK, Superligaen[/color]
[color=#FF0000]Sunday:[/color][b] Benny Feilhaber[/b], sub: 33 minutes (AGF, 0-2, vs. AaB)
[color=#FF0000]Sunday: [/color][b]Chris Rolfe,[/b] 77 minutes (AaB, 2-0, at AGF)

[color=#FF0000]ENGLAND, Premier League[/color]
[b]Jozy Altidore, [/b]90 minutes (Hull City, 1-4, vs. Burnley)
[color=#FF0000]Sunday: [/color][b]Marcus Hahnemann[/b], 90 minutes (Wolves, 0-0, vs. Stoke City)
[b] [/b][b]Jonathan Spector[/b], 90 minutes (West Ham, 1-0, vs. Sunderland)[b]
[/b]

[color=#FF0000]ENGLAND, FA CUP Semifinals[/color][b]
Brad Friedel[/b], 90 minutes (Aston Villa, 0-3, vs. Chelsea)

[color=#FF0000]ENGLAND, League Championship
[/color][b]Jay DeMerit[/b], 90 minutes (Watford, 1-0, vs. Plymouth)[b]
Kenny Cooper[/b], sub: 1 minute (Plymouth, 0-1, at Watford)

[color=#FF0000]GERMANY, Bundesliga 1[/color]
[b]Steve Cherundolo[/b], 90 minutes (Hannover, 4-2, vs. Schalke 04)[b]
[/b][b]Michael Bradley[/b], 90 minutes (Bor. M'Gladbach, 2-0, vs. Eintracht Frankfurt)

[color=#FF0000]GREECE, Super League[/color]
[color=#FF0000]Sunday: [/color][b]Freddy Adu[/b], 90 minutes (Aris, 1-2, at Asteras Tripoli)
[color=#FF0000]Sunday: [/color][b]Eddie Johnson[/b], sub: 16 minutes (Aris, 1-2, at Asteras Tripoli)

[color=#FF0000]MEXICO, Torneo Bicentenario[/color]
[color=#FF0000]Sunday: [/color][b]Hercules Gomez[/b], 90 minutes (Puebla, 1-2, vs. Indios)
[b]Jose Francisco Torres[/b], 90 minutes (Pachuca, 0-2, vs. Atlas)

[color=#FF0000]NORWAY, Tippeligaen[/color]
[b]Clarence Goodson[/b], 90 minutes (Start, 4-3, at Brann)

(Players who have been capped for the U.S. national team.) [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37596/us-national-team-weekend.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37596/us-national-team-weekend.html[/url]
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Good thing Cooper got all of that one minute. Poor Kenny.

And how is Jozy not in the starting XI every time Hull goes out. They suck..Jozy doesn't. C'mon. Give him more minutes and I guarentee he gets more goals..if he can get at least decent service.
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[quote]
[color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"][size="2"][size="3"]
[b][size="5"]World Cup altitude poses challenges for some[/size][/b][/size][/size][/font][/color]
[color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"][size="2"][size="3"][size=5][b]
[/b][/size][b][size="1"]By STEPHEN WADE, AP Sports Writer[/size][i][size="1"]Apr 13, 2:07 pm EDT[/size][/i]
[/b][/size]

MEXICO CITY (AP)—Mexico is a longshot to win the World Cup, though the country's national team has one factor going for it that few others can match.

Many of its players have already acclimatized to playing at altitude, growing up at 7,400 feet in Mexico City or Guadalajara, which is located on a plateau at 5,000 feet.

So Mexico can take a no-worry attitude, basing much of its pre-World Cup training at a lowland camp in southern Germany before arriving in Johannesburg a week before June 11 opening game against host South Africa.

[/size][/font][/color]
[color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"][size="2"]"If we can take advantage of (altitude), why not?" said Mexico midfielder Gerardo Torrado, who was born in Mexico City and is one of the team's three captains. "We'll take any favor we can get."South Africa isn't the Himalayas, but five of the nine cites hosting matches are at altitudes that scientists describe as moderate, creating a challenge for many teams.

Johannesburg is the highest at 5,900 feet and four others—Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Polowane and Rustenburg—are between 4,000 and 4,800 feet.

Three other host cities are at sea level—Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth—with Nelspruit at 2,200 feet. Playing in Cape Town one day and then a few days later in Johannesburg could be tough.

That's part of why there will be early training camps in South Africa for some teams, or stints in the Alps to get ready.

"I wouldn't say the altitude is a problem, but it's definitely a factor," said Pierre Barrieu, a United States assistant coach who handles strength and conditioning.

The Americans got a breath of the thin air last year, playing in South Africa in the Confederations Cup—upsetting Spain 2-0 before losing to Brazil 3-2 in the final in Johannesburg.

"Having played there, you definitely can feel the effect," Barrieu said.

FIFA and its chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak have said they expect few problems. Dvorak said in a recent interview that as few as three or four days would be sufficient to adjust. Others dispute that claim.

It's very clear what can happen if players don't have time to prepare.

The United States, for instance, has never won a game in Mexico. In 24 games, the Americans have lost 23 and a drawn one. Almost all of those matches were played without time to adjust to the altitude, arriving just a day or two before.

Teams from Major League Soccer are winless in 20 competitive games in Mexico with 18 losses and two draws.

And it's no coincidence that Mexico has reached the quarterfinals twice in the World Cup, in 1970 and '86 when the country hosted the tournament.

The thin air can also change the flight and speed of the ball. Curiously, for brief athletic performances—say under 60 seconds—performance is improved in the less dense air.

A study done by Adidas shows that a free kick from 20 yards at a match in Johannesburg will reach the goal 5 percent faster than at sea level. This translates into a free kick traveling at an average speed of 78 mph at high altitude to 74 mph at sea level.

Though Mexico will arrive in Johannesburg just a week before its opener, most teams will take two or three weeks to acclimatize.

Five-time World Cup winner Brazil is set to arrive in Johannesburg on May 26, a full three weeks before its opening match on June 15. European champion Spain—the other favorite to win the World Cup—is expected to train for about 10 days in Austria near Innsbruck, where it plays South Korea in a friendly on June 5. The team returns to Spain for a friendly against Poland and arrives in South Africa on June 9.

"In my experience, a two-week acclimatization block works quite well for team sports and I guess I'd be hesitant to push it out much further," said Randy Wilber, an exercise physiologist with the United States Olympic Committee who is working with the U.S. team.

Wilber specializes in getting athletes adjusted to altitude, heat, humidity and even jet lag. The Americans will indeed arrive about two weeks before their first match on June 12.

In an ideal world, Wilber said teams might want three or four weeks, or a location that allows to train at sea level but sleep at altitude. But he cautioned about overdoing it, warning the psychological component was as important as the physiological.

Players have to be convinced the altitude will not be a problem, and they have to remain motivated.

"You may be doing the right things physiologically in terms of acclimatization, but you don't want to go past the point where you lose psychological sharpness," Wilber said. "I've seen athletes, half out of their minds with no social life being stuck on the side of a mountain."

United States captain Carlos Bocanegra said matches last year in South Africa, and experience playing in Mexico City, will help.

"You try to play at little bit smarter and be more clever with your runs and more tidy on the ball so you are not chasing down bad touches, losing possession and having your whole team have to chase more," said Bocanegra, a defender who plays for Rennes in France.

"You definitely need to go out there and be intelligent. You can't run yourself into the ground in the first 15 minutes."

Wilber acknowledged Mexico might have a slight advantage, but emphasized others can catch up with training and time.

"On paper without considering any other factor, I would have to say the answer to a team like Mexico is more yes than no," Wilber said. "I would have to say it probably doesn't hurt you."

[/size][/font][/color][color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"][size="1"]Associated Writer Carlos Rodriguez in Mexico City contributed to this report.[/size][/font][/color][/quote]



[url="http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-wcup-altitudechallenge"]http://sports.yahoo....titudechallenge[/url]
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[font="Georgia,"][color="#292727"][size="2"][color="#000000"][size="4"]
[b][size="5"]Landon Donovan: Edson Buddle and Herculez Gomez deserve a look for US World Cup training camp[/size][/b]
[/size][/color][/size][/color][/font][font="Georgia,"][color="#292727"] [/color][/font]
[font="Georgia,"][color="#292727"] [/color][/font]
[font="Georgia,"][color="#292727"][size=1]RONALD BLUM
[/size][/color][color="#292727"][size="2"][size=1]AP Sports Writer[/size][color="#930000"][i][size=1]April 14, 2010[/size][color="#FFFFFF"][size=1] | [/size][/color][size=1]5:31 p.m.[/size][/i][/color]

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NEW YORK (AP) — Landon Donovan thinks Edson Buddle deserves a look for the U.S. training camp ahead of the World Cup, and Herculez Gomez, too.

Charlie Davies still is recovering from an October car crash and Brian Ching is out until next month with an injured hamstring, so it's unclear who will start at forward alongside Jozy Altidore when the United States plays England in its World Cup opener on June 12.

Buddle, a forward who turns 29 on May 21, has scored all five goals in helping Donovan's Galaxy to a 3-0 start in Major League Soccer. Buddle hasn't played for the national team since his debut in an exhibition against Venezuela in March 2003.

"I see it a little different probably than most people," Donovan said Wednesday. "Most people see the goal-scoring, which obviously as a forward is important. But for me, equally if not more importantly are the little things he's doing to help our team win. And those types of things are important when you're not scoring goals, especially. And a lot of players when they score a lot of goals think they don't have to do those things, and he's doing all those little things that are helping a lot."

Gomez, another 28-year-old, has eight goals in 13 games this season for Puebla in Mexico, an unexpected turnaround for a former Galaxy, Colorado and Kansas City player whose only two international appearances were in the 2007 Copa America.

Donovan doesn't want to speak for U.S. coach Bob Bradley but says those players should be given a chance to show whether they ought to be on the 23-man roster.

"Taking a look at, absolutely. Why wouldn't you? At this point, you would have to think everything is an option," Donovan said. "Clearly I'm not the coach and I don't make these decisions, but I always err on the side of caution. And what I mean by that is you take the players that are one, playing, and who are playing the best at the time. And I always think that's the best formula. Now, not everyone sees it that way, but that's my personal opinion."

Donovan came to New York to appear with Derek Jeter, Matt Ryan and Wayne Gretzky at the Gillette-EA Sports Champions of Gaming on Xbox 360. He was to return to the Galaxy for Saturday's game against Real Salt Lake and report to the U.S. team in mid-May ahead of exhibitions against the Czech Republic (May 25 at East Hartford, Conn.) and Turkey (May 29 at Philadelphia).

World Cup teams must submit 30-man preliminary rosters to FIFA by May 11 and 23-man final rosters by June 1 — the day after the U.S. team arrives in South Africa.

In addition to Davies, who was hurt Oct. 13, and Ching, injured on April 1, several other Americans have been sidelined. Defender Oguchi Onyewu hasn't played since tearing a knee tendon in the final World Cup qualifier on Oct. 14, and midfielder Stuart Holden has been out since breaking a leg during a challenge from Nigel de Jong during the Americans' exhibition game at the Netherlands on March 3.

All the injuries make it appear Bradley will call more than 23 players into training camp, then cut down after the Turkey match and ahead of a June 5 exhibition against Australia at Roodepoort, South Africa.

"There's realities that you have to look at," Donovan said. "You can't bring in 23 guys and have five or six of them that you're not sure about, so you need to make sure that you're covering all your bases. Obviously, if anyone is covering all their bases it's Bob. He knows exactly what's going on."

Donovan said the roster was less certain even before the injuries than at similar points ahead of the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

[/font][font="Georgia,"]"You can pencil in 13, 14, 15 guys," he said. "After that, there's quite a bit of competition, which is what you want."[/font] [/quote]



[url="http://www.latimes.com/sports/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-soc-us-donovan,0,3062280.story"]http://www.latimes.c...-soc-us-donovan,0,3062280.story[/url]
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[quote]
[size="5"]FIFA Promotion, With Film, Is ESPN's Largest

[/size][size="1"]by [/size][url="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Archives.showArchive&author=1325"][size="1"]Karl Greenberg[/size][/url][size="1"], Yesterday, 4:23 PM[/size]


ESPN's "One Game Changes Everything" platform for promoting its coverage of the FIFA World Cup includes a raft of specials, films on soccer and South Africa, and ads featuring the likes of U2 (featured in a TV spot with lead singer Bono), actor Djimon Hounsou and jazz legend South African Hugh Masekela and his son, an American.John Skipper, EVP at ESPN, said at a press conference in New York on Wednesday that it is the largest promotional campaign behind a single event ESPN has ever done.

The network, which was broadcast partner for the 2006 World Cup games in Germany, is also supporting with sponsorship of a film, "Two Escobars," an examination of narco terrorism and the influence of drug cartels over the Colombian team. The film, a bipartite examination of the tragic killing of Team Colombia soccer player Andres Escobar outside a bar in Medellin, and that country's homicidal drug kingpin, Pablo Escobar, will be shown next week in the Tribeca Film Festival.

He said the purpose of the efforts is to bring both core soccer fans and big-event sports fans to the network.

Jason Newman, senior director of sports management for ESPN, tells[i]Marketing Daily[/i] that the network's media ad time is "not quite" sold out.

The size of ESPN's multifarious effort to promote the games is aimed at delivering for FIFA's corporate partners -- who, as part of their agreement with FIFA, got first right of refusal for ad space in ESPN media properties around the games during a 10-week window, which FIFA extended.

"Our focus going in was to embrace FIFA's partners," he says. The network has exclusive broadcast rights in the United States (except in Spanish, which is Univision's purview) as well as in Brazil and parts of Asia. "Of the 118 million viewers who watched the World Cup in 2006, two-thirds watched on ESPN and [Disney sibling] ABC."

Among FIFA partners who are buying ESPN properties for the games this year and for the games in 2014 are Hyundai, Adidas, Sony, and Anheuser-Busch.

Newman says Hyundai is sponsoring the half-time show, and daily World Cup Live broadcasts; Sony is serving as sponsor of ESPN's HD and 3-D coverage of the games; and A-B sponsors "Man of the Match" for each tournament, per Newman.

AT&T, which is not a FIFA sponsor, is backing ESPN's pre-game broadcasts. Other ESPN partners that are not similarly linked with FIFA itself are Cisco and EA Sports. Those advertising during the games include Heineken, the U.S. Marines and M&M Mars, per the network. [/quote]



[url="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=126135"]http://www.mediapost...&art_aid=126135[/url]
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[quote]
[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Bedoya and Rolfe score in Scandinavia

[/size][b][size=1]April 15th, 2010 3:26PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[/color]
[color=#FF0000][AMERICANS ABROAD] [/color]U.S. World Cup hopeful [b]Alejandro Bedoya[/b]scored in the 40th minute of Orebro's 1-0 win being Thursday at Brommapojkarna in Sweden. On Wednesday, [b]Chris Rolfe[/b] had his first goal for Danish club AaB in its 1-0 win over Odense.

In other Danish action on Wednesday, former Real Salt Lake star[b] Yura Movsisyan[/b], who holds a green card and hopes to become a U.S. citizen, scored two first-half goals -- his first two goals for Randers -- in its 3-1 win at Sonderjyske.

[b]Benny Feilhaber[/b] received a yellow card in AGF's 1-0 loss at Midtjyllnad.

Elsewhere in Sweden, Notre Dame product [b]Ryan Miller[/b] played the entire game for Halmstad in its 1-0 win at AIK Stockholm. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37665/bedoya-and-rolfe-score-in-scandinavia.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37665/bedoya-and-rolfe-score-in-scandinavia.html[/url]
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[color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"][size="2"][size="3"]
[b][size="5"]Bradley to call in more than 23 to training[/size][/b][/size][/size][/font][/color]
[color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"][size="2"][size="3"][size=5][b]
[/b][/size][b][size="1"]By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer[/size]

[/b][/size][/size][/font][/color][color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"] [/font][/color][color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"] [/font][/color][color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"] [/font][/color][color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"] [/font][/color]
[color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"][size="2"]NEW YORK (AP)—U.S. coach Bob Bradley will call in more than 23 players when the Americans start their final training camp ahead of the World Cup.[/size][/font][/color]
[color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"][size="2"]Team spokesman Michael Kammarman said Thursday it will be more than 23 but it hasn't been decided exactly how many players will be brought into the camp, which will be held on the East Coast of the United States. FIFA requires each team to submit a 30-man preliminary roster by May 11, and Bradley could call as many as 30 when camp opens May 15.

Several regulars in the national team player pool recently have returned from injuries or hope to return soon. The camp will be used by the coaching staff to evaluate their progress.

The U.S. has exhibitions against the Czech Republic (May 25 at East Hartford, Conn.) and Turkey (May 29 at Philadelphia) before leaving for South Africa. The Americans play Australia on June 5 at Roodepoort, one week before their World Cup opener against England in Rustenburg.

[/size][/font][/color][color="#111111"][font="arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif"][size="2"]Teams must submit 23-man rosters by June 1, and those players must come from the preliminary 30. A team may substitute due to injury up until 24 hours before its opener, and replacements don't have to be from the preliminary list.[/size][/font][/color][/quote]


[url="http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-wcup-us"]http://sports.yahoo....slug=ap-wcup-us[/url]
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[quote]
[color="#333333"][font="verdana"][size="2"][b][size="2"]
[b][size="6"]Didn't You Used To Be The Future?[/size][/b]

[b][size="3"]At 14, Freddy Adu was American soccer's biggest star. Six years later he's a journeyman pro and a longshot to make the squad for South Africa. What went wrong, and is there hope for him yet?[/size][/b]

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[b]Stray dogs[/b]. Freddy Adu sees them everywhere in Thessaloníki. Scavenging trash in the vacant lot by his practice field. Wandering in packs outside the hotel he called home for two months. Shadowing pedestrians with enough menace to spark visions of giant-needled rabies shots. Greece's second-largest city is beautiful in many respects: the seaside beaches, the bustling restaurants, the sigh-inducing women. But no matter how hard Adu tries, he can't avoid the stray dogs.

They are a constant backdrop to Adu's own fight for survival in the Darwinian world of European soccer. Six years after making his professional debut at age 14 with MLS's D.C. United, Adu is still trying to find consistent playing time with the Greek club Aris, his fourth European team in three years. He lives a dual existence. To mainstream U.S. sports fans he remains one of this country's best-known soccer players. Adu has nearly 350,000 Twitter followers (more than any other soccer star in the world except Brazil's Kaká). He has sat on David Letterman's couch, been the subject of a [i]60 Minutes[/i] profile and gotten a shout-out in a Jay-Z lyric.

Yet barring a major surprise, Adu, now 20, will not be on the U.S.'s 23-man World Cup roster in South Africa. With unproductive stops in Portugal and France before Greece, he has strayed from the path that he and so many others had envisioned when he signed a $1 million Nike deal in 2003 and became the highest-paid player in MLS before he had ever kicked a ball in the league. As a rookie Adu appeared with Pelé in a national ad campaign for Sierra Mist and had a sponsorship deal with Campbell's Soup. In '03 former MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis (who now runs England's Arsenal) called Adu "probably the best young player in the world."

There are so many questions. What happened? Why has Adu shown promise in major competitions at the youth level but failed to establish himself professionally in Europe? Does he have a future with the national team? And how many more opportunities will Adu get overseas? "I believe in him. That's why we signed him," says Antonio Calzado, Aris's international general manager. "But is this the last chance for Freddy to get to the top? Probably it is."

Yet if this sounds like a sad story, then why does U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard maintain that Adu "has skills with the ball that not many—if any—American players possess"? And why is Adu so upbeat? "I'm only 20," he says, flashing his magnetic smile. "People panic sometimes when things don't go right. I don't. I've still got a long way to go, but I'm on the right track now. I'm finally, [i]finally[/i] on the right track."

[b]Game time[/b] in Thessaloníki. It's a glorious spring night, perfect weather for the crosstown rivalry between Aris and PAOK, and Aris's Super 3 fan club is leaving nothing to chance. As the players march onto the field, the hard-cores in the east stands ignite a fireworks display that makes it look as though the entire section has been napalmed. Nothing in the U.S.—or in the rest of Europe, for that matter—is quite like it. "It's crazy here, man," says Adu. No kidding. Since Adu and fellow American Eddie Johnson joined Aris in January, they've been sprayed by shards of glass after opposing fans shattered the roof over their bench, and scurried for cover in the players' tunnel during a battle royal between bottle-throwing supporters.

Aris, in fifth place in the Greek league, defeats PAOK 2--0, sending the Super 3 into flare-burning, rocket-launching ecstasy. But for the third straight game Adu stays rooted to the bench. After starting four times on the left wing and scoring two goals in February, Adu has played twice in the last eight games through Sunday. The prevailing view among Greek journalists and fans is that Adu has good technical skills, especially with his favored left foot, but he plays "too young," with an underdeveloped awareness for tactics, defensive duties and knowing when less is more on offense.

The scouting report among coaches is that Adu is capable of a dangerous pass or shot but that he's not fast and doesn't have much of an engine for the modern game. The Aris coach, Héctor Cúper, argues that Adu also needs to be tougher mentally. "I think Adu is paying a little bit for the acceleration he had to professional soccer," says Cúper, who has coached Italy's Inter Milan and led Spain's Valencia to two Champions League finals. He notes that in European clubs' youth programs, "you are allowed to be more free, to prepare more technically," but at the senior level "you have to win. When someone jumps directly to this level, you must be a phenomenon from your head to your feet. If you aren't, it's very difficult. He has to be very strong psychologically."

Adu showed promise for U.S. youth teams, notably during the Under-20 World Cup in 2007 (where he captained the team and led an upset of Brazil) and the '08 Olympics (particularly in a 2--2 tie against the Netherlands). So the question persists, Why hasn't that success carried over to his pro career? "I watch video of me playing well in the Under-20 World Cup or the Olympics, and I'm like, Man, how can I not be playing here?" Adu says. "It's taken me the last year and a half to figure it out. I was always satisfied with making one or two plays during training and thinking I had a good practice. There's so much more to it than that. Coaches see the times you cut off passing lanes or got behind the ball. Those are things that tell them they can count on you for 90 minutes."

Until Adu finds regular playing time at the club level, it's hard to envision that he'll get called back to the national team. He was on the U.S. roster for last year's Confederations Cup but didn't see the field, and he hasn't been in a U.S. camp since struggling with the B team at last July's Gold Cup and barely playing at the club level last fall. "It's a case of a young player who has aspirations but still hasn't been able to establish himself," says U.S. coach Bob Bradley. "When you go to Europe, nothing is ever going to just get handed to you. It's that ability to establish yourself within the team, with the coaches. He's in the midst of all that, and when you add on the pressure of the early recognition and the hype, that makes it in some ways harder."

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[color="#333333"][font="verdana"][size="2"]Now that he's 20, it's easier for Adu to interact with his teammates off the field, and Aris players say they enjoy sharing a coffee or going to dinner with him. It was more challenging for Adu as a 14-year-old at D.C. United, where he says he "only felt comfortable with a couple of people. There were some guys who never warmed up to you because of everything you had." Adu showed only flashes of his potential in MLS, scoring 12 goals in 3½ seasons with D.C. United and Real Salt Lake, and he joined Portugal's Benfica on a $2 million transfer in 2007. At first he saw occasional action there, scoring two goals in 11 appearances, but Benfica went through three coaches in 2007--08, and the last of them (Fernando Chalana) did not play Adu at all after he returned from the Olympic qualifying tournament.Things really went downhill when Benfica loaned Adu to Monaco of the French league for 2008--09. Jérôme de Bontin, a French-American member of the U.S. Soccer Federation's board of trustees, had taken over as president at Monaco, and he wanted to add Americans to the team. "Maybe the highlight of his stay was the first day of practice," says De Bontin. "Freddy scored three beautiful goals. Everybody in the academy was excited about him, not to mention the fact that he was a riot in the locker room." But Monaco's coach, a Brazilian named Ricardo, started Adu only once that season. Says De Bontin, "Everybody had the same analysis. He had incredible talent, yet he was lacking standard tactical knowledge that most players his age had. It was tied to the fact that he became professional at 14 and in some ways stopped learning at 15."

While Adu was not an automatic starter during his MLS days, the league's small rosters could never replicate the constant battle for playing time on European teams with no roster limits. As U.S. Under-20 coach Thomas Rongen says, "Our creative players have a tough time sometimes adjusting to the day-to-day of competing in Europe, which is different from our youth national teams or MLS." Rongen adds that while Adu at his best can change a game in the attacking end, "a lot of coaches say he is still to a certain extent a luxury player." The modern game values athleticism and requires even the best players to have some defensive responsibilities, and, Rongen says, "that was an area where Freddy really needed to grow and become better." Nor has Adu proved himself to be such a phenomenon offensively that a team in Europe (or, for that matter, MLS) would choose to build around him.

Last fall Adu went out on loan again from Benfica, this time to Belenenses, a team at the bottom of the Portuguese first division. It was a hastily arranged deal that came together on the last day before the transfer deadline. "I didn't even have a chance to talk to the coach before I went there," says Adu, who started just once and soon began seeking a way out. In January he joined Aris on an 18-month loan. Adu now has until the end of the 2010--11 season, when his contract runs out, to prove himself in European soccer. "It's like they gave you a lifeline," Adu says. "I started four games in a row, which is the most I have since MLS. I feel like a new person, and I'm happy again." It wasn't the only change Adu made; he also dumped his agent, IMG's Max Eisenbud, and rehired his previous one, Richard Motzkin.

If Adu can't make an impact as a pro in Europe over the next year, he will most likely return to MLS. The question these days is how to view him: as a sixth-year pro who hasn't lived up to the hype or as a 20-year-old who still has potential? De Bontin hopes Adu can be another Franck Ribéry, the late-blooming French midfielder who played for several mid-level teams before rising to the top of the soccer world, starting for France in the 2006 World Cup final and starring for German powerhouse Bayern Munich. ("Freddy has enough talent to succeed," De Bontin says.) Adu certainly thinks such a track is possible. "I want to be one of the best players to play this sport one day," he says. "I still have the chance to do that, and I want to work hard to get there."

[/size][/font][/color][color="#333333"][font="verdana"][size="2"]It is an odd twist, the hope that an athlete who turned pro at 13 could become, in the end, a late bloomer. But if Freddy Adu is going to make it, that's how it will have to be.[/size][/font][/color] [/quote]


[url="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1168400/1/index.htm"]http://sportsillustr...400/1/index.htm[/url]
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[color=#333333][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=2][size=4][size=2]
[b][size=5]FIFA Says 23 World Cup Games Sold Out as 53,000 Tickets Bought[/size][/b]

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[/size][color=#666666][size=1]April 16, 2010, 4:22 AM EDT[/size][/color][/size][/size][/size][/font][/color]
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[color=#333333][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=2][size=4]April 16 (Bloomberg) -- FIFA, soccer’s ruling body, said 53,000 tickets to soccer World Cup games in South Africa were sold in the first eight hours of over-the-counter sales yesterday.
[/size][/size][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=4]Twenty-three games are now sold out including the opening game, both semi-finals and the final, FIFA said in an e-mailed statement today. The tournament has 64 games.[/size][/font][/color][/quote]


[url="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-16/fifa-says-23-world-cup-games-sold-out-as-53-000-tickets-bought.html"]http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-16/fifa-says-23-world-cup-games-sold-out-as-53-000-tickets-bought.html[/url]
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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Gomez strikes again -- twice

[/size][b][size=1]by [/size][url="http://www.socceramerica.com/author/45/paul-kennedy/"][size=1]Paul Kennedy[/size][/url][size=1], April 18th, 2010 3:27PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][AMERICANS ABROAD] [/color][b]Herculez Gomez[/b] scored twice in the first half Sunday in Puebla's 4-1 win over Cruz Azul and moved into a tie for first place on the Mexican First Division scoring charts with 10 goals for the season.

Unfortunately, Gomez was red-carded late in the game and will miss Puebla's season finale.

Gomez has scored 10 goals in 14 games for Puebla since arriving in January from MLS's Kansas City Wizards.

What makes Gomez's production so amazing is that he has only started seven games. Four of his goals came as a sub.

He is joined by Peruvian [b]Johan Fano[/b] of Atlante and young Mexican star [b]Javier Hernandez[/b], who has led the charts since the beginning of the season but whose campaign at Guadalajara is over. He has entered Mexico's full-time national team camp in preparation for the World Cup.[/quote]


[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37693/gomez-strikes-again-twice.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37693/gomez-strikes-again-twice.html[/url]
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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]U.S. national team weekend

[/size][b][size=1]April 17th, 2010 7:05PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][AMERICANS ABROAD][/color] The only regular on the U.S. national team to win in Europe over the weekend was [b]Tim Howard[/b] when Everton edged Blackburn, 3-2, on the road in an English Premier League match. [b] [/b]For all the weekend action ...[color=#FF0000] [/color][color=#FF0000]DENMARK, Superligaen[/color]
[color=#FF0000]Sunday:[/color][b] Benny Feilhaber[/b], 90 minutes (AGF, 0-1, at Broendby)
[color=#FF0000]Sunday: [/color][b]Michael Parkhurst,[/b] 90 minutes (FC Nordsjaelland, 4-1, at Silkeborg)

[color=#FF0000]ENGLAND, Premier League[/color]
[b]Jozy Altidore, [/b]sub: 14 minutes (Hull City, 0-0, at Birmingham)
[color=#FF0000]Sunday: [/color][b]Brad Friedel[/b], 90 minutes (Aston Villa, 2-1, at Portsmouth)[b]
Marcus Hahnemann[/b], 90 minutes (Wolves, 0-0, at Fulham)
[b]Tim Howard[/b], 90 minutes (Everton, 3-2, at Blackburn)

[color=#FF0000]ENGLAND, League Championship
[/color][b]Jay DeMerit[/b], 56 minutes (Watford, 1-4, at Leicester)

[color=#FF0000]GERMANY, Bundesliga 1[/color]
[b]Steve Cherundolo[/b], 90 minutes (Hannover, 0-7, at Bayern Munich)[b]
[/b][b]Michael Bradley[/b], 90 minutes (Bor. M'Gladbach, 1-3, at Schalke 04)

[color=#FF0000]GREECE, Super League[/color]
[color=#FF0000]Sunday: [/color][b]Eddie Johnson[/b], 60 minutes (Aris, 1-2, at Olympiakos)

[color=#FF0000]MEXICO, Torneo Bicentenario[/color]
[color=#FF0000]Sunday:[/color][b] [/b][b]Hercules Gomez[/b], 90 minutes (2 goals) (Puebla, 4-1, vs. Cruz Azul)
[b]Juan Francisco Torres[/b], sub: 45 minutes (Pachuca, 1-1, vs. Toluca)

[color=#FF0000]NORWAY, Tippeligaen[/color]


[color=#FF0000]Sunday:[/color][b] [/b][b]Clarence Goodson[/b], 90 minutes (Start, 1-3, at Stromsgodset)[/quote]




[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37686/us-national-team-weekend.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37686/us-national-team-weekend.html[/url]
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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Spain's Fernando Torres doubtful

[/size][b][size=1]April 18th, 2010 10PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN][/color] [b]Fernando Torres[/b] underwent knee surgery Sunday night and will miss the remainder of the season for Liverpool, putting his participation in the World Cup finals in doubt.

Liverpool expects him to be sidelined for six weeks.

Such a layoff would put Torres out until June 1, the deadline for World Cup teams to submit their 23-player rosters to FIFA.

But since Spain is in Group H, it doesn't start the World Cup until June 18, the latest date of any team in the tournament. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37694/spains-fernando-torres-doubtful.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37694/spains-fernando-torres-doubtful.html[/url]
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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Bedoya sets up goal in another Orebro win

[/size][b][size=1]April 20th, 2010 12:58AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][AMERICANS ABROAD][/color] World Cup hopeful [b]Alejandro Bedoya[/b]continued to make a case for himself with an assist in Orebro's 3-1 win at Gefle in Sweden's Allsvenskanliga on Monday. For Orebro video highlights ...

Bedoya set up Finn [b]Roni Porokara[/b] with the second goal for Orebro, fourth in the 16-team league after seven games.

[color=#FF0000]Denmark, Superligaen[/color]
[b]Chris Rolfe[/b], 85 minutes (AaB, 0-0, vs. Esbjerg)

[color=#FF0000]England, Premier League[/color]
[b]Jonathan Spector[/b], 79 minutes (West Ham, 0-3, at Liverpool)

[color=#FF0000]Sweden, Allsvenskanliga[/color]
[b]Alejandro Bedoya[/b], 90 minutes (Orebro, 3-1, at Gefle)[/quote]


[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37713/bedoya-sets-up-goal-in-another-orebro-win.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37713/bedoya-sets-up-goal-in-another-orebro-win.html[/url]
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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Adeleye scores first goal in Israel

[/size][b][size=1]April 19th, 2010 2:54PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][AMERICANS ABROAD][/color] [b]Ryan Adeleye[/b], who played on North Carolina's 2008 NCAA Division I runner-up team, scored his first goal in Israel's top-level Toto League Saturday when he scored for Hapoel Beer Sheva on a header in its 4-0 win over Maccabi Netanya. Adeleye was one of four Americans to play this past weekend in the Toto League.

Adeleye, who attended Newark Academy and played for PDA, starred at Davidson for two seasons before transferring to UNC.

[b]Leo Krupnik[/b], who spent time in MLS with New York, also played the entire game for Maccabi Netanya.

[b]Bryan Paul Gerzicich[/b], who was born in Los Angeles and spent time playing in Argentina before moving to Israel, played for Hapoel Haifa in its 2-2 tie with Maccabi Ahi Nazareth.

New York-born [b]Ronny Gafney[/b] started for Maccabi Tel Aviv in its 3-0 win over Beitar Jerusalem.[/quote]


[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37709/adeleye-scores-first-goal-in-israel.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37709/adeleye-scores-first-goal-in-israel.html[/url]
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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]The Dempsey story, from East Texas to EPL

[/size][b][size=1]April 20th, 2010 1:03AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][TELEVISION GUIDE][/color] How does a kid from East Texas make it to the Premiership? [b]Jeremy Schaap[/b] travels to the backyard where [b]Clint Dempsey[/b] grew up in his report on "E:60," ESPN's first prime-time newsmagazine show, Tuesday at 7 pm ET.

Dempsey's U.S. teammates talk about what makes the Fulham star special [/quote]


[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37714/the-dempsey-story-from-east-texas-to-epl.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37714/the-dempsey-story-from-east-texas-to-epl.html[/url]
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[color=#333333][font=arial, sans-serif][size=4][size=3]
[b][size=5]Fabio Capello has plenty to ponder as key players fall by the wayside[/size][/b]

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[/size][color=#666666][font=arial, sans-serif][size=4]The England manager has cause for concern in every area of the squad he intended to take to the World Cup[/size][/font][/color]

[/size][/size][/font][/color]
[color=#333333][font=arial, sans-serif][size=4]When [url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/fabio-capello"]Fabio Capello[/url] watches a club match his gaze must be fixed on people who are not there. During the tedium at Eastlands that was only halted with Paul Scholes's winner 20 seconds from the close, the[url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/england"]England[/url] manager would have noticed the absentees from the Manchester United ranks. Michael Carrick, on the bench, may still have been serving his sentence for the mistake that tipped the Champions League tie towards Bayern Munich, and Capello must have been more concerned by the absence of Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown. With the World Cup in sight, the circumstances of such men are unsettling in different ways.[font=arial, sans-serif]The right-back Brown could show soon that his broken metatarsal has healed. Ferdinand, the England captain, causes far more concern as the current groin strain reinforces the perception that he is vulnerable now. The centre-half has appeared in just 11 of United's 35 Premier League games to date. If Capello's ambitions were to be realised, Ferdinand and the rest of the national team would need to take part in seven matches over 30 days this summer, culminating in the World Cup final.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]England, by common consent, do not have great depth to their squad. With Shaun Wright-Phillips initially on the bench for the match against United, there was hope of impact from the uncapped Adam Johnson. Capello, beforehand, had made a point of highlighting the midfielder's promise and implying that his international debut would come soon. Johnson, pitted against the formidable Patrice Evra, turned out to be the first City player to be replaced.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]It is very late for the England manager to embark on experiments, when the friendlies against Mexico and Japan are in late May and may be little more than fitness exercises. Capello's main decisions will be taken in the final days of the Premier League programme, and they concern every area of the side.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif][b]Goalkeeper[/b][/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]Capello's disquiet with more seasoned candidates was visible when he opted to give Ben Foster consecutive starts in the autumn, but the project had to be abandoned when the 27-year-old was dropped by Manchester United. Joe Hart has made a good impression on loan at Birmingham from Manchester City and Robert Green is kept fully occupied at West Ham, but the experience of David James has taken on some attractiveness now that he is fit to play regularly for Portsmouth and impressed, for instance, with the penalty save against Aston Villa on Sunday.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif][b]Defence[/b][/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]The England manager is not the sort to harbour regrets, but taking the captaincy from John Terry seems to have been an element in the decline of a centre-half who was vulnerable and out of control when Chelsea lost at Tottenham on Saturday. Ferdinand can no longer be counted on to stay fit. Brown is yet to return and a comeback by Ashley Cole is also awaited. Joleon Lescott is running out of time to recover before the end of Manchester City's campaign. Capello, as a precautionary measure, will have to weigh up alternatives, such as the forceful if uncapped Michael Dawson at Tottenham, and it will be a relief that Phil Jagielka, who could slot in at full-back or centre-half, is turning out regularly for Everton once more.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif][b]Midfield[/b][/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif]It is a blessing that someone such as Steven Gerrard is afflicted by nothing more than nondescript form at toiling Liverpool. Escaping to the World Cup might galvanise him. Frank Lampard has come through some flat spells but is now scoring again. The wide positions are a concern, with Aaron Lennon still sidelined at Tottenham and Theo Walcott, despite a sharp goal at Wigan, yet to be a principal figure at Arsenal. Stewart Downing has not been to the fore at Villa, where James Milner has shown the versatility that makes him an option for Capello on either flank. In the centre Tom Huddlestone, who has been important to the rise of Tottenham, interested Capello enough for the defensive midfielder to make his debut from the bench against Brazil in November.[/font]

[font=arial, sans-serif][b]Attack[/b][/font]

[/size][/font][/color][color=#333333][font=arial, sans-serif][size=4]Nobody expects an abundance of top-class strikers, but the degree to which hopes rest on Wayne Rooney is disquieting and Capello must need all his self-discipline to look impassive whenever United send the striker out in half-fit condition. Indeed Emile Heskey, despite being demoted to the bench at Aston Villa, looks indispensable as a catalyst to Rooney. The other England attackers scarcely register by comparison. Goals from Peter Crouch and even Jermain Defoe have tapered off a little at Tottenham in the past few weeks, but fluctuations are natural for any forward. While Darren Bent did start in the loss to Brazil it does look as if time is running out for Bobby Zamora's credentials to be examined. The latter has been potent for Fulham, but his one goal in this campaign against Chelsea or Manchester United came when the latter's central defence was composed of Carrick and Darren Fletcher.[/size][/font][/color] [/quote]


[url="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/apr/20/fabio-capello-england-world-cup"]http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/apr/20/fabio-capello-england-world-cup[/url]
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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Gomez: 'Odds stacked against me'

[/size][b][size=1]April 21st, 2010 1:46AM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN][/color] Unless he's selected to represent the USA at the World Cup, [b]Herculez Gomez[/b]'s season is over -- and quite a season it's been. Before being red-carded late in Puebla's 4-1 win over Cruz Azul on Sunday, the American striker scored twice to give him 10 goals and a tie for first place among Mexican First Division goal scorers and to lead to further calls for his inclusion on the U.S. World Cup team.

“I know I’m the longest shot there’s ever been in the U.S., but I’ll take it. That’s all I can do,” Gomez [url="http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-wcup-us-mightyherculez"]told[/url] AP. “I know about odds, and I know the odds are stacked against me.”

Gomez, who grew up in Las Vegas, scored 10 goals in only 758 minutes of play -- he was mainly used as a substitute -- for a scoring rate of 1.18 goals every 90 minutes.

He credits his form on being healthy after enduring two knee operations in three years and playing up front again.

Gomez spent five years in MLS -- he was voted the Los Angeles Galaxy MVP in 2005 when it won MLS and U.S. Open Cup titles -- and praises the league for making him the player he is today.

He also spoke highly of U.S. national team coach [b]Bob Bradley[/b], for whom he made two brief appearances at the 2007 Copa America.

“I have all the faith in the world in Bob,” he said. “I think he’s a great coach. What I’m going through right now is something I am going to be telling my kids about when I’m older. It’s been such a great ride. It’s going to something for the rest of my life that will be hard to top.”

His red card against Cruz Azul means he's suspended for the regular-season finale Sunday at Toluca.

All he can do now is wait for a phone call. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37742/gomez-odds-stacked-against-me.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37742/gomez-odds-stacked-against-me.html[/url]
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[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]Friedel shuts out Altidore's Hull City

[/size][b][size=1]April 21st, 2010 7:11PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][AMERICANS ABROAD][/color] [b]Brad Friedel [/b]made four saves to help Aston Villa to a 2-0 win Wednesday at[b] Jozy Altidore[/b]'s Hull City, dealing a devastating blow to the Tigers in their bid to remain in the English Premier League.

Hull remains in 18th place, three points behind West Ham with three games to play. The bottom three teams in the EPL are relegated.

With the win, Villa leapfrogged Liverpool and moved into sixth place.

Altidore came on for Dutchman [b]Jan Vennegoor[/b], who was taken off due to injury in the 55th minute. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37751/friedel-shuts-out-altidores-hull-city.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37751/friedel-shuts-out-altidores-hull-city.html[/url]
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[quote]
[color=#FF0000][color=#000000][size=5]USA will train at Princeton

[/size][b][size=1]April 21st, 2010 4:28PM[/size][/b][/color][/color]
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[color=#FF0000][WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN] [/color]The U.S. national team will hold its pre-World Cup training camp at New Jersey's Princeton University, the alma mater of head coach [b]Bob Bradley[/b] and assistant coach[b] Jesse Marsch[/b].

Players and coaches will begin to report May 15 for the eight-day camp. The first training session is scheduled for May 17 at Roberts Field.

All team training sessions will be closed to the public.

Before heading to South Africa, the USA will face the Czech Republic on May 25 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., and Turkey four days later in Philadelphia. [/quote]



[url="http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37748/usa-will-train-at-princeton.html"]http://www.socceramerica.com/article/37748/usa-will-train-at-princeton.html[/url]
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