DC Show Signs of Life

Whle I was secretly hoping for the plug to be pulled and letting this season die quietly, the Black and Red made the statement that they wanted to live.

Here are the highlights:

LABOR DAY TRIBUTE

A Lesson in hardwork, humility and respect.

It's only appropriate on a holiday designed to give "the working citizen a day off", to recognize two of the hardest workers in MLS. So here's a tip of the hat to Brian McBride and Ben Olsen.

According to Fulham's manager,"Brian McBride has been a fine ambassador for Fulham Football Club. As my captain last season Brian was truly respected in the dressing room and led by example on the pitch. His attitude is second to none - Brian is a true pro in every sense of the word."

McBride is known for his work ethic and his willingness to do anything for the shirt, making him a fan favorite wherever he has played. In a sport being ruined by diving and play acting McBride has been called a true hard b***ard centre-forward. When viciously elbowed by De Rossi in the USA v Italy game during the World Cup, he didn’t flinch, even as they stitched him up so he could continue to play. We need more men in the game who can take a shot without whining about it. McBride looks like the sort of tough-assed Irishman that gave the NYPD such a fearsome reputation in the 30s. Thick-necked and made of granite, McBride is as hard they come prompting Chicago's supporter section to chant:

He’s big!
He’s red!
He’s got plates in his head!
Brian McBride!
Brian McBride!

Here's what Mick Delaney, a Fulham fan had to say about him:

"I have supported Fulham for 39 years now and Brian is close to if not is my all time favourite player. Why? He not the most skillful player we have had over those years. He not the longest serving player, and although he has a good goal scoring it's not great. What does it for me is that everytime he pulled on the shirt he gave the full 100% which is all a fan can ask for of a player. In addition, despite easily being able to, he never had an ego. An example of this was the post match interview for the Birmingham game when the interviewer, stating how important the first goal was and that "you" (Brian McBride) scored it his response was that "yes, WE (the team) scored it". Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay him is that I use him as a role model for my two teenage boys. Work hard, give what ever you are doing 100% effort, work for the team and let others praise you rather than doing it yourself and accept any praise gracefully but don't forget the people who help you achieve. We will miss Brian and replacing him is without doubt Hodgsons biggest job, both in terms of his captaincy and the role of a target man / goal scorer. When he first joined there were some who doubted his capacity to influence our club and team. Now he has left there isn't a single voice which isn't praising his worth and contribution. Brian, God bless you and your family."



Cut from the same mold is DC United's Ben Olsen. Not the most talented on the team but the most missed when he's out. The heart of DC United. So Barra Brava decided to do a little tribute to Benny (video below). Olsen's response in the video ("I just love to play soccer") wasn't surprising to those that know him. Ed Morgans response to that(Weekend Update) is so similar to that of the Fulham fan it's scary.

It all comes down to loving the ego-less player, the one that will play for the name on the front of the shirt rather than the back. It shouldn't be so rare to find players that realize it's a privelege to play the game they love for a living, and are willing to bust their ass to continue to do it. Hopefully they are not a dying breed.

So here's to McBride and Olsen! Happy Labor Day!

Great DCU 2007 Video

Well, no white Christmas, not even a Black and Red one as we still await word on possible gifts (a central defender and midfielder will do), maybe we can buy something with our xmas money from the Perkins transfer. But in lieu of players, here's a fabulous 2007 video recap put together by 'jade1mls' with a little help from the Barra Brava. March is a long way away!


A downloadable hi-fi version is available here:http://www.zshare.net/download/60151686f80452/

Veron and Lopez to DC? - (w/video compilation)

As DCenters illustrates it is impossible to judge or evaluate off season trades and aquisitions in a vacuum. The dust will have to settle before final appraisals can be made, but Veron(32yo) and Lopez(33yo) scare me. I guess Lopez more than Veron.

It looks like Gomez is gone and we'll be replacing him with Veron. Okay I get that.

The Lopez pick up worries me though. Moreno's future is up in the air and we need a striker. Lopez and Veron have played together before for Club and Country. The picture above is from the 2002 World Cup. Seventeen years ago they played in the sixth division of Estudiantes de la Plata for six months with Veron's father as the trainer. I don't think that really qualifies as a natural pairing.

So it looks like Moreno might go and if not he is aging and is best as a late minute sub. It looks like we'll be replacing him with an aging striker who is coming in as a late sub for Racing. I don't get that.

That's why I write a blog.

I really don't want to beat a dead horse with this but Veron has a much cooler nickname. Claudio Lopez is known as "El Piojo", the louse, hardly strikes fear in my heart. My wife teaches in an elementary school and it makes her a little uncomfortable. Oh well.

Hopefully Veron will help DC United add to their trophy case. He has seen his share of hardware during his storied career to this point. Veron has won:

UEFA Cup - 1999
European Super Cup - 1999
Italian Cup - 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006
Italian Serie A - 2000, 2006
Italian Super Cup - 2000, 2005
English Premier League : 2003
Argentine Division: Apertura 2006

Here is some video for your enjoyment. If you are short on time go to the 2:24 mark for a sweet free kick... or the pass at 4:05.

NC High School State finals pics and vids

North Carolina School of Science and Math
Photo Album on Local replay

Lake Norman's game winning goal

More video


Lake Norman Photo Album on Localreplay

Emilio MVP

The Golden Boot and the MVP. Steve Goff is also reporting that Emilio, Olsen and Gomez have made the Best Xl.

Robinho Highlights

Well if you looked at my blog entries, Robinho Lesson #1 and Robinho Lesson #2, and ask "sure but what does that do for me in a game situation?". Just take a look at Robinho abuse this defender:

DCU, TFC Video Highlights

HIGHLIGHTS


BURCH ROCKET

EMILIO HITS #20

JAIME GETS #112

FRED GOES FAR POST

DC United, CD Guadalarja video highlights

DING! DONG! The Witch is dead!!

Who knew we could play attacking soccer?


Well alot of talk this morning about poor reffing, an unflattering scoreline and petitions to put an end to the "Josh Wolff Experiment" but no one seems to be talking about the real storyline. The Bruce Arena Era is dead! No more bunker and counter. We played a loaded Brasil team straight up engaging them all over the field and we outshot the World's number one team 11-9!

I don't think anyone would have been shocked if you said Saturday that Brasil was going to score four goals but you could be having a drink with Bill Gates if you would have bet everything that those goals would be:

- an own goal
- a corner kick
- a free kick
- a PK

Clint Dempsey said it well (I guess the EPL is helping his game off the field as well):

“What I take way from the game is that we were able to compete with one of the best teams in the world and we were in it for almost the whole game. That’s always a positive, and we stayed really organized as a team. Everyone was on the same page, and not a lot of teams have that. We were able to show that we are united as a team, and we can do something special in the future.”

Jaime gets 110

Jaime Moreno saved this season's first goal from the field for a critical time. The goal becomes the game winner in DC United's 4-2 victory over New England. The win puts DC four points ahead of the Revolution in the Eastern Conference and four points ahead of the Western Conference leader in the race for the Supporter's Shield. It was a good day for the Brasilians (not only in Chicago) as Fred also scored and Emilio got a brace. Emilio widens his lead in pursuit of the League's Golden Boot with 18 goals. Juan Pablo Angel and Eddie Johnson are tied in second place with 14 goals each. Moreno's goal was finished with the calm that only a veteran like him could muster. After his initial shot was blocked Jaime collects the ball inside the six, waits for Reis to commit and passes it into the goal. Have a look.

RBNY 5 LAG 4, Highlights

I'm sorry I just can't get this image out of my head. Don Garber played by Joaquin Phoenix and Ante Jazic played by Russell Crowe. Garber walking through the tunnel, pregame, and cutting the hamstring of every defender.

Back to reality MLS hit a homerun in New Jersey. Over 66,000 in the stands to see an extremely exciting match. The good news, it wasn't the David Beckham show, Altidore, Angel, Donovan and Pavon all showed their class.

The big surprise for me was the stadium booing when Beckham took his first free kick. The flashbulbs were going off but the crowd was still cheering the home team. Where have they been for ten years?

HIGHLIGHTS:

DC 2 Columbus 0

After an ugly first half (seven shots between the two teams) DC United took control of the game."We came out [of the locker room] a totally different team than the first half and we actually went at them a little bit," said Perkins.In league play, United has now won three games in a row, all by shutout.

"I always say that defending starts with your forwards. And when they do a good job of making them play predictable, it is easy for everyone else behind," Soehn said. "I think that our performance defensively as a unit has been much better. Anytime you're throwing shutouts, that is important."

Boswell was on the bench, Olsen is having bone spur problems, and Gros had to come out with more concussion issues.

Fred's Game Winner

Bob Bradley, please call Jozy up for Brasil (Altidore highlights)

I don't care how old he is, this kid plays like a man. We are desperate for a striker on the USMNT and if his second goal this weekend didn't say "Coach, I'm ready", I don't know what it will take.
Beside his great skill the kid seems to be a class act. Every interview I've seen with him, he always says the right things.
What I remember about Adu at this age was getting caught drinking and pouting about having to learn to play defense and wing. Adu's interview after leaving for Benfica said basically "I'm a middle of the park player and nobody in the U.S. was smart enough to let me play there."
On the other hand Altidore was forced to play wing a couple of weeks ago and when Allen Hopkins interviewed him his response was, " As a freshman I need to learn all of the positions.".

Here are some highlights:
This weekend's 2nd goal

Yes he can use his head

How did he do against Brasil's U20s?

And let's not forget his first MLS goal

McBride Gets Armband

Brian McBride, always lauded as the consummate professional has been named captain of Fulham Football Club. The fact that McBride is 35 years old, playing for a new coach and hit a slump towards the end of last season, serves to underscore the respect his new coach and obviously his teammates have for him. His courage on the field has always been painfully (and I do mean painfully) obvious. But his work ethic and values off the field have always impressed me more.

"Put your head down and work as hard as you can because there is always someone better out there."

"Basically I say a few prayers before a game and let that direct me, not superstitions."

"It's not any one person. It's not any one coach. It's the team."

ENJOY SOME McBRIDE HIGHLIGHTS:

Great Highlight Video with Nelly Furtado's Forca

ENJOY!

Wednesday SuperLiga Highlights

I didn't watch the Club America, Morelia game so you'll have to get your game report here. I do have one comment though. When the FMF starts spouting their line about how this is a meaningless preseason tournament, just review the highlights of the game at Toyota Park last night.

Now on to the ugliness that took place in Houston. Both teams have had full schedules and their legs showed it last night. MLSnet captured it best combining quotes from both coaches:

"I think you saw two teams that were a little bit ... talking to Tommy (Soehn), their coach before the game, I mean it was like their fifth game in 13 days too, so there were some heavy legs out there," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear.

The problem is that this is not going to get any better, look at what Bobby Boswell has to say about it.

Speaking of Boswell, he missed a sitter last night, completely whiffed on a rolling cross, five yards out, with an open net. The thing is, he's a central defender and if you want to start holding people accountable for our scoring woes you need to start with forwards.

Emilio still hasn't snapped out of his slump. The good news was Jaime Moreno put in some minutes. For those that think his days are done need to look no further than last night's game to see that United is a much, much better team with him on the field.

Bench Fred! If the guy's not going to play his position let him sit! The experiment isn't working.

With this schedule Soehn is going to have to find a way to get more out of the bench.

HOUSTON vs DC UNITED:


AMERICA vs MORELIA:

WEEK 2 of SOCCER AMERICA

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

South American Infusion

While we're talking about every MLS team trying to bring some South American flair to their midfield. Everyone but Red Bull New York, who would prefer to use their DP slot on an injury prone player (two seasons playing over twenty games out of the last seven) who can bring the Scottish Premier League vibe to the team.There is a rumor floating about that Boca Juniors is interested in bringing their brand to MLS. Seems Boca is looking for private investors who would gough up ten to twenty percent of the team for the Boca name. They are looking at Miami, New York, LA, and Arizona. Here is an article.

Here are some highlights of a few famous Boca players:

First Night of SuperLiga

The Galaxy come away with three points, defeating Mexican Champions Pachuca, 2-1. Donovan gets the game winner and no, Beckham didn't play. Most news outlets are saying LA 'stole' the game as both goals came against the run of play in a rather lackluster game.
The game of the night was the Chivas - FC Dallas matchup. The game looked like a game between bitter rivals. Dallas was unlucky to come away with only one point after their 1-1 tie. The game was end to end action, physical and intense. FC Dallas got on the board first with a nice chip by Alvarez. When looking at the highlight you'll notice Toja started this series and his run to the far post helped open things up a bit. Minutes later Chivas equalized after putting one in the net after a possible handball no-call. Watch the highlight video and remember how many times I have told you guys to play to the whistle. If FC Dallas' backline hadn't decided to become ARs there would not have been a goal. The intensity and physicality continued to escalate until Drew Moor received a red in the seventy second minute. Moor was retaliating foolishly to a high elbow. Dallas continued to attack and was unlucky not to put the game away. Ruiz went down in the box late, offering an opportunity for a make up call
that the referee decided not to use. Maybe if it hadn't been "El Piscadito".

Here are the highlights: