Daily news roundups

Suspension talk, Pep quits Barca

Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

In case you missed it, Peter Nowak was fined and suspended for two games for leaving the technical area and initiating contact with an opposition player during last Saturday’s win against Chivas USA. The next time he’ll be on the sidelines will be against Schalke.

The league did not issue supplemental punishment for the two-footed challenge that led to  Gabriel Farfan’s red card. Kyle McCarthy writes, “For most players around the league, the take-home message comes from the treatment of similar, two-footed challenges by Espíndola and G. Farfan. Neither player received supplementary discipline after their dismissals last weekend. At this point, other players can now consider themselves duly warned about the ramifications of those two-footed challenges and weigh their actions appropriately.”

Raymon Gaddis or Sheanon Williams on the left? Nowak explains, “I don’t think there’s a big difference. Especially on the wing positions, you feel more comfortable being on the right side with a right-footed guy, but the responsibility is the same.” (Weird thought – if Danny Califf gets the start, will you be surprised if it is Porfirio Lopez on the left, Gaddis on the right, and Williams in the midfield?)

The Union’s goal-scoring woes have become an all too familiar refrain. Kerith Gabriel lays the blame squarely at Lionard Pajoy’s feet, which also happens to be precisely where he thinks the ball ought to be delivered.

Williams on the wily Wondolowski, who is having no trouble scoring goals for San Jose: “You can’t just let him drift and think that you have him. You have to be on him the whole time so that you can at least battle and get physical with him. That goes a long way towards keeping him from getting good chances on our goal.”

Kevin Kinkead’s scouting report notes that, for all of the attention paid to the San Jose offense, the defense that is the most improved. Here’s a look at San Jose’s defense from MLSsoccer.com.

Shea Salinas, a Union original and PSP fave now with the Earthquakes and out with a broken clavicle thanks to Rafa Marquez, tells Marc Narducci he’s bummed he won’t be playing with San Jose this weekend at PPL but he’s still coming to the game. He’s a good egg, that one.

Goal.com predicts a draw on Saturday. Union Dues also sees a draw with a 1–1 scoreline.

Zac MacMath talks to ESPN about his return to form after a shaky start and says its all about the little details. He adds, “Peter and I have a good relationship. He didn’t need to say much to let me know that he has confidence in me.”

MacMath also links his own play to that of the Union defense. “The defensive core has been really good as a group. I obviously have not gotten a lot of shots on goals the past three games. We’re all happy about keeping the shutout.”

Williams says of MacMath, “Now it’s his time. Regardless of age, if you can play, you can play. He’s definitely shown us that he’s our starter and that he’s going to be a good goalie for a long time.”

Podcast roundup! The Philly Soccer Show, co-hosted by PSP’s Eli Pearlman-Storch, talks to San Jose coach Frank Yallop. Friend of the PSP Gordon is back with the Union Sound podcast and his guest is Raymon Gaddis. Freddy Adu is the guest on the ExtraTime Radio podcast. The YSA Report, engineered by PSP photographer Earl Gardner, returns.

Union Dues concludes that the “overly combative ‘spirit’ and the lack of a cohesive team display are both related and direct reflections of the coach.”

ProSoccerTalk says the Union’s ranks No. 1 for draft selections for clubs that have drafted from 2010 forward. A separate PST article notes, “Philadelphia’s most recent three drafts have the possibility of forming a solid Union backbone over the coming years.”

After Chelsea’s win over Barcelona earlier this week, Union youth technical director Alecko Eskandarian tweeted the win will set back youth development in the US for ten years. He tells MLSsoccer.com, “I said it in jest, of course. But a lot of truth is said in jest.” Part of the problem, he explains, is uneducated soccer dads. “To me, it’s so imperative that our kids are learning to play the right way…But unfortunately, soccer dads in this country who haven’t played, dads who volunteer to coach see that game and say, ‘See? I knew it – if we pack it in, we’ll win.’ That’s my worst nightmare as a youth technical director.”

The Union will be hosting the 2nd annual Blue & Gold Cup indoor tournament at YSC Sports on June 30 from 10am-4pm. Three divisions—Male, Female and Co-ed—will be competing with participation open to the first 32 teams that register. Click here for a registration form.

Local

The Inquirer has a must-read article on the local ramifications of recent US Soccer ruling that academy players cannot play high school soccer.

Reading United have announced two new signings. Jamaican Youth International and First Team NAIA All American forward Deshorn Brown (University of Mobile) joins the team as does First Team All-Colonial Athletic Conference and Second Team DI All-American Paul Wyatt (James Madison University, a midfielder/forward who is from England. Reading United kickoff their 2012 season on Saturday May 12 at 7:00pm vs. NJ Rangers at Albright Stadium.

Penn Fusion Soccer Academy goalkeeper Hector Palos-Jasso made the 30-player cut in this year’s Sueño MLS. Here’s wishing him the best in making next month’s Sueño MLS Final Event.

MLS

What do you know, Vancouver have shunted Sebastien Le Toux out to the right.

Sporting News looks at DC United, who are on a six-game unbeaten streak.

Jairo Arrieta, a former teammate of Josue Martinez at Deportivo Saprissa, has signed with Columbus Crew.

Is Minneapolis moving closer to becoming an MLS city?

Women’s Soccer

Two Philadelphia Fever matches feature in Pitchside Reports’ list of WPSL Elite League games to watch. First, the David v Goliath match up when the Fever travel to WNT Flash (June 17), a team stocked with former WPS professionals, and the visit of New York Fury (July 15), a team stocked with former Philadelphia Independence players.

US

More details have emerged about the new US Open Cup format. For the first two rounds of the tournament, if both teams meet the minimum stadium requirements, a blind draw determines the host. When MLS teams enter the competition in the third round, a bind draw will again be used with the host having to pay a hosting fee. The procedure is the same in found four and in the quarterfinals with an increase in the hosting fee for each round. For the semifinals and final, its the same as it was, hosting being awarded to the highest bidder. Which is all rather disappointing.

US Soccer profiles USWNT defender Becky Sauerbrunn.

The Shin Guardian has a soccer state of the union “from Hipster Central.” The future looks bright.

Elsewhere

Pep Guardiola has quit as coach of Barcelona. He will be replaced by his assistant coach, Tito Vilanova. The Guardian examines the pressures that may have led to his decision.

Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes says Jose Mourinho “came to the locker room to congratulate my players and coaching staff after the game. It was very noble.”

It will be an all-Spain Europa League final as Athletic Bilbao bested Oguchi Oneywu’s Sporting Lisbon and Atletico Madrid topped Valencia.

Premier League officials have decided to forgo the customary pre-match handshake for the Chelsea v QPR game in order to avoid a potential flap between Anton Ferdinand and John Terry.

Soccer Issue argues that a supporter is not a customer.

Fox Soccer will air a six-part behind-the-scenes documentary on Liverpool in the fall.

The graffiti protesters at Newcastle’s home grounds, formerly known as St. James Park,  have struck again. Good for them, too. “Sports Direct Arena”—ridiculous.

8 Comments

  1. You have the wrong link to the HS article.
    This whole Academy issue is quite sad but a great opportunity for some other players. One thing which the article does not mentioned is the fact that if you don’t play HS soccer you miss out being a Captain of a HS team which tests your leadership skills. My son was HS Captain for 2 years and that did more than anything else in how he matured, shaped his life, and how much money he receives playing for his College. Now it gives opportunities for others to become Captain (who otherwise would not).
    The other good thing is that players have options here in the Philly area. Take for example the U15 non-academy Boys teams. There are 2 (Lower Merion and Lehigh Valley) that are ranked in the top 10 of the Nation (as per http://www.gotsoccer.com). If they go to the Dallas Cup or other big tournaments they will also be seen by Div-1,2 and 3 coaches, and these players will be able to play HS soccer! They may not end up in the best Div 1 teams but will end up in a good school and will most likely end up with some kind of scholarship.

    • Ed Farnsworth says:

      The links has been corrected.

      Guido, wouldn’t being captain of any team test your leadership skills? Much of the talk about what kids will miss out on by not being able to play high school soccer seems to be connected to social aspects, whether in term’s of a kid’s general social experience in school or in how a team is supported by the community. That said, I was captain of my high school’s JV team before I played on the varsity squad and it was a good experience.
      Also, I found the comments by Mike Barr that the costs of participating in an academy program (as much as $6000 per year, not to mention time and travel commitments parents have to make getting a kid to practice and games) means the emphasis on the academy system selects out talented players whose families might not be able to afford to participate very interesting. It seems that US Soccer’s desire to reach more kids may run counter to the Development Academy model.

      • The point is that most elite players, who now play in the Academy, are all Captains of their HS varsity teams. If they can’t play soccer in HS then there will only be 1 or 2 who are Captain of their Academy team (so many lose out). Also, being Captain of an Academy team is a lot different than being Captain of a HS Varsity Soccer team, especially if it is a winning one. I also think there is a lot of difference being Captain of a Varsity vs. JV team.

        The issue with cost is the following: currently the Academy is more expensive than the 2 teams I mentioned. However, the rumor has it (and I know Delco coaches who use this rumor to recruit players right now) that the Delco Academy will be free within the next 2 years (just like the NY Red Bull one); we will see.
        Right now the elite travel teams are too expensive for most inner city kids (like those that come from Liberia, etc.). Some non-academy elite travel teams will sponsor some of these kids (if they have rich parents/sponsors) but Barr had an intersting article in the recent EPYSA magazine. He mentioned that most travel teams these days have no where as many inner city kids compared with 10 years ago. Not sure whether any sponsoring is going on at the Academy level.

  2. Richie The Limey says:

    Hey ! Why no mention of the DoopCast in the podcast roundup? Is it because we swear too much?

    Search on iTunes or download here http://doopcast.libsyn.com/

    • Ed Farnsworth says:

      No Richie, it’s because I’ve never heard of it. Send me an email (efarnsworth@phillysoccerpage.com) when a new installment is available and I’ll be happy to include it in the roundup. What’s your Twitter handle so I can follow you?

      • Richie The Limey says:

        Thanks, Ed. You guys rule – us ‘DoopCasters’ love Philly Soccer Page.

        We just started this season and so far people seem to like what we are doing. We try and provide a less formal format than many of the ‘official’ type podcasts (such as the one Eli is on) where you have proper guests n stuff. That would never work with ours because we swear too much and call out players when they are s**t. I don’t think many of them would want to come on our show!

        We try and combine a light-hearted, informal attitude (just like talking to your mates in the pub about the game) with in-depth analysis and serious tactical breakdowns. So far folk seem to like it.

        Thanks for all your work on this web site. I’ll get that email to you.

        Cheers!

        Richie

      • Ed Farnsworth says:

        Brilliant! I look forward to hearing the pod and would love to help get the word out. And believe me, if you knew how I talk, you’d know a little cussin’ and swearin’ will never do me any harm!

    • Richie, why not make it easier to listen to the pod? I had to save it to the hard disk and then find a program to open it (several failed). Why not have a little box (like Eli’s on this webpage) and all you need is 1 click to listen to it. Thanks!

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