U.S. Soccer has opened the voting for its Best of 2010 US Soccer awards. Among the categories is best soccer blog. You can vote for the Philly Soccer Page here. (Registration is not required to nominate PSP.) Voting ends Friday, November 19.
Sebastien Le Toux, Danny Mwanga and Shea Salinas are all up for MLS Goal of the Year. You can cast your vote here. Voting ends at 11:59 pm ET on Thursday, November 11.
Union
The offseason has started for Union players, who had their end-of-the-year evaluations on Wednesday. The Delco Times says the Union roster “may see plenty of changes.”
Local
La Salle are reaping all kinds of Atlantic 10 honors. Among the numerous honors, Ryan Richter has been named Offensive Player and Student-Athlete of the Year and coach Pat Farrell named Coach of the Year.
MLS
With the details of the Re-Entry Draft officially released by the league, the offseason will include an unprecedented five player drafts.
Ahead of this weekend’s conference title match between LA Galaxy and FC Dallas, the LA Times reports that “Landon Donovan is running on fumes,” having played 51 matches in the past 44 weeks.
Speaking of running on fumes, Fanhouse argues that the MLS playoffs are a predictable exercise in attrition, with teams that have played more matches because of Cup and CONCACAF Champions League commitments getting knocked out.
Speaking of the CONCACAF Champions League, the knockout rounds schedule has been released. Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake begin this phase of the tournament when they play on February 22.
FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman, a Coach of the Year candidate, says LA Galaxy are not the best team in MLS. He likes Real Salt Lake.
Local lad Bobby Convey has been named MLS Comeback Player of the Year.
Real Salt Lake’s Alvaro Saborio has been named MLS Newcomer of the Year.
David Beckham wants to play until he is 40. Who doesn’t?
USSF Division 2 Pro League
Inside Minnesota Soccer reports that the NASL has submitted a bid with the required minimum of eight teams to represent Division 2 soccer to the USSF. A press release is expected this afternoon.
US
U.S. international midfielder Maurice Edu was carried off the field on a stretcher Wednesday after injuring his left knee. Edu was out for seven months last year when he injured the same knee.
US Soccer will release the roster for the upcoming friendly against South Africa later today. Reports out of Norway say that Mikkel Diskerud will be among those selected.
CONCACAF has approved the new World Cup qualification format. It seems likely that federation meetings between the US and Mexico will now be limited to friendlies and the Gold Cup.
Rafael Salguero, one of CONCACAF’s representatives on FIFA’s Executive Committee, says he doesn’t know if he’ll vote for the US to host the 2022 World Cup. ““I don’t know what I’ll do. The U.S. is possible but I can’t say anything at this moment. I’m waiting for the vote, the secret vote.”
Elsewhere
Chinese national team goalkeeper Wang Dalei has been suspended after he lashed out at fans on his blog following his team’s 3–0 loss to Japan at the Asian Games. “It would be flattery to call you fans. You’re just a bunch of dogs,” he wrote. “You bunch of morons are the main reason why Chinese football can’t make progress. You throw in stones after a man has fallen into a well.” Tell me Wang, what do you really think.
From the Delco Times article, calling the Union’s first season tumultuous is a bit harsh? In my eyes, the Union had a very successful first season. No doubts, the off the field achievements of the team were sensational, but the on the field product improved tremendously over the course of the season. The Union technical staff went a long way to establish a vision for the team. The Union played attractive attacking football and began the development of a solid core of young players. When did making the playoffs become the goal for a true expansion team? Yes, changes will be made and the playoffs must be a goal next season. As a Union supporter, I’m extremely proud of the effort and performance of our team.