tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64018424293233707262012-01-21T22:09:41.170-05:00Commentary and Analysis on US Soccer, Americans playing abroad, and other stuff.Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-14160154475246258012007-12-13T22:46:00.000-05:002007-12-13T23:25:19.532-05:00

Interesting chat with Columbus Crew coach Sigi Schmid. While I am frequently critical of MLS, there is nothing like the Crew fan base. Crew Stadium will someday be remembered as the Plymouth Rock of a real soccer culture in this country. Walking to a game, you watch the fans tailgate and juggle in loose circles all around the stadium. Every Crew corner kick has the metal rafters shaking as

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-86125383471336229432007-11-28T00:02:00.001-05:002007-11-28T00:27:33.322-05:00

Part 1 -- Agreement:Interestingly astute comments from Ivan Gazidis regarding the influx of South American talent being the story of MLS this year, rather than the league becoming Beckham League Soccer.I find this very encouraging. Throwing US monies at aging international stars? We've seen that story and know how it ends. Investing in a wealth of talent in Central and South America is

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-42707059435325402082007-11-18T20:34:00.001-05:002007-11-18T21:25:21.409-05:00

Houston over the Revs in a hard fought, but hardly scintillating MLS Cup final. You have to feel bad for Steve Ralston, who looked just emotionally crushed sitting on the bench. But there really is such a thing as a "big game"player--someone who seems energized and focused by the pressure of a cup final--and, as Steve Davis points out, Dwayne De Rosario is that kind of footballer.Though he won't

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-53699621889396867342007-11-18T00:58:00.000-05:002007-11-18T01:13:53.095-05:00

Quote by Louis L'Amour, surely foreseeing the grave and noble duty of voting the the 2007 Best of US Soccer Awards.My heretofore sporadic posting or just a general aptitude for assessing quality has led the Academy to overlook Futbol-USA, but there are a number of fine candidates available for the best US Soccer blog.Ives Galarcep is one of the best soccer writers in the US, and you can't beat

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-34985347398377788692007-11-17T10:57:00.000-05:002007-11-17T13:54:51.830-05:00

Certainly it was a win on foreign soil, but this was a very poor effort from a young US side.Though they didn't get much possession or many opportunities in the first quarter of the game, the US players were patient and executed a good game plan against an athletic team at altitude.The goal was against the run of play but very well taken from a difficult angle, and the US played much better

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-29963049426985224702007-09-21T07:41:00.000-04:002007-09-21T09:03:47.457-04:00

Hmm. Does this startling finding come from the scientific think tank that discovered that men like attractive women? They plan to follow this study with an inquiry to uncover which type of jelly goes best with peanut butter.Not a surprise to people who enjoy playing the sport, but it's nice to see some press of this for the general public.

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-90798942284750147032007-09-19T23:20:00.001-04:002007-09-20T23:44:51.133-04:00

Admit it. You thought Arsene Wenger was tilting at windmills.Or perhaps you thought his notion of maintaining a team with a few veterans and a core of youngsters was the folly of someone who was mailing it in--already certain he was following Thierry Henry to greener pastures.Wenger has spent the past few years racked with criticism over personnel and transfer decisions. But through it all, he

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-91018668562795781442007-09-19T22:32:00.000-04:002007-09-21T11:45:38.597-04:00

Tonight, Jose Mourinho has shocked the footballing world by quitting Chelsea. Certainly, given disappointing early results, rumors of a bust-up with owner Roman Abramovich, and the Special One's increasing frustration with the club, the question of whether this was a resignation or a sacking will be a sure topic for debate.While one might resent the way Mourinho alternated between

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-87950500619413491922007-09-16T16:34:00.000-04:002007-09-16T16:38:07.603-04:00

Jozy Altidore wrote a New York Times blog piece about US Soccer fans' impatience with young players. It is very well written and incredibly insightful. A must read.

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-73385695330735094012007-08-12T13:47:00.000-04:002007-08-12T14:16:34.433-04:00

Analysis is bulletized below--first an observation:Every American soccer fan has had this experience: you're alone watching the television, and in a moment of high drama, your team scores a crucial goal. In the ritual, communal experience of being a sports spectator, we're used to leaping, screaming, and generally losing control in with a crowd of fellow fans. But, there are no teeming fans, so

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-48496983419361760282007-07-08T00:59:00.000-04:002007-07-08T01:07:38.512-04:00

Due to spending vacation time with the family and out in the great outdoors, I didn't get to see most of the Copa America action and so I won't attempt to extensively blog commentary about something about which I can't actually provide original insight. Nonetheless, I've absorbed the various reports and highlights and real-time blogs and I think Jack Bell's piece (found via du Nord) sums up

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-32722041965449304482007-06-28T22:36:00.001-04:002007-06-28T23:38:34.100-04:00

I have a sneaking suspicion that while the mainstream sports media met the Gold Cup victory with a gaping yawn, US soccer stalwarts may hear about this result tomorrow. The phrase "without most of its regular starters" may be omitted from those references to the US Team.I had a 9:00 PM EST conference call for my job, so I followed along with Ives Galarcep's hilarious running commentary. I

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-64696268700583229792007-06-27T18:55:00.000-04:002007-06-27T19:45:24.892-04:00

DaMarcus Beasley is staying in the UK by signing today with Rangers F.C. While it is good to see Beasley playing Champion's League football next year, I have reservations about the move.Some will remember that pundits on both sides of the Atlantic questioned Claudio Reyna's switch to Ibrox due to his susceptibility to injury. While that has always been a concern for Claudio, commentators were

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-90238318877570549052007-06-25T23:48:00.000-04:002007-06-26T00:07:10.986-04:00

It is done and dusted and Arsenal's talisman is gone.Thank goodness for the thrilling Gold Cup final and the US result or this may have been a truly depressing weekend. 16 million quid seems a pittance for the man I unequivocally insist is the world's best striker. I had hoped for getting Etoo as part of the package, but alas, it is cash on the barrel head only. This scenario is troubling for

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-12244457412524816102007-06-25T00:13:00.000-04:002007-06-25T12:14:39.906-04:00

The USMNT will get 3 nights to bask in the glow of their supremacy over CONCACAF (in your face, Guadalupe) before they face a whole new ball game in the Copa America. Many supporters (including yours truly) wanted the US to take on the Copa America challenge so that our top players could get experience in significant international competition. What I had in mind, of course, was making sure

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-91295491434267433702007-06-24T20:05:00.000-04:002007-06-24T21:25:54.411-04:00

A great performance by the National Team in an engaging and well-played final. Though it was hardly a home game for the US, the partisan crowd created an electric atmosphere. And despite the fact that Soldier Field looks like a spaceship eating the Parthenon, it is a great venue for a soccer game.OK right to it:THE GOOD:Benny Feilhaber's Goal -- Without digging too deeply into the memory banks

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-89107977866509175872007-06-24T00:54:00.000-04:002007-06-24T01:20:54.607-04:00

Great previews from trusted names:IvesWahlJeff CarlisleIn short, "I have a bad feeling about this."Maybe it is the back spasms I'm suffering through or the sharp pain somewhat lower caused by my Arsenal team facing a future without Thierry Henry and David Dein and possibly sans Monsieur Wenger. Maybe it is that this transitional version of the USMNT gives me fits with its dodgy defending.

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-67705424270449320532007-06-24T00:52:00.000-04:002007-06-24T01:20:04.315-04:00

Some usual suspects (Lilly and Wambach) tally goals for the US in a comprehensive victory over Brazil.Also, in a game I didn't get to see, the U-21 team, apparently with a fine contribution from Freddy Adu, beat Chile 2-1 in their final warm-up before the U-20 World Cup.

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-33807725699548458172007-06-23T23:31:00.000-04:002007-06-24T01:19:36.618-04:00

Honestly, Gold Cup analysis is forthcoming...Nearly as significant, Slate (consistently one of the best reads on the web) has an accurate, knowledgable, and funny analysis of the woeful history of USMNT strips.

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-81766379318646087572007-03-26T19:30:00.001-04:002007-03-26T20:36:17.222-04:00

During Sunday's US-Ecuador match, Eric Wynalda suggested that Landon Donovan was disingenuous when he said he was so excited about the L.A. Galaxy's season that he was considering skipping out on the summer tournaments. Wynalda said Donovan's reasoning was "an excuse" and seemed to imply that Donovan was ducking the "important" games in the summer tournaments.I think Wynalda is off the mark here

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-39307599985655384762007-03-25T23:07:00.000-04:002007-03-25T23:31:57.058-04:00

A nice performance by the USMNT, though the scoreline didn't necessarily reflect the overall performance.THE GOOD:Landon Donovan - Obviously Donovan was fantastic today. His goals were all superbly taken, but he contributed in many other ways as well--making really intelligent and timely runs off the ball, tracking back in defense, organizing the US attack. The only real negative was his

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-70132091438999737052007-03-24T23:35:00.000-04:002007-03-24T23:38:44.548-04:00

The Crew's unbeaten streak in the pre-season hit 10 with a defeat of the Indiana Hoosiers. And unlike previous Crew unbeaten streaks, we're actually winning games (8-1-2 overall this pre-season.)

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-33662007052591131642007-03-24T00:29:00.000-04:002007-03-24T14:59:01.285-04:00

Take a look at Steve Davis of ESPN.com's Crew Season PreviewHe makes the fairy obvious points about the Crew's newfound riches in the goalscoring department and the question mark in goal. A couple of early observations:1) If talent didn't improve at all, you'd have to think the Crew will be better if only, let's say, 1/2 of the team suffers serious injury. Last year, they filmed an episode of

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-89437095602839747452007-03-23T20:16:00.000-04:002007-03-23T20:19:12.353-04:00

Man, I've been gone for a while. Illness. Work. Changing computers. That pretty much sums it up. Now I'm back and ready for a new MLS season.

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-79367415038423188342007-01-30T22:26:00.000-05:002007-01-30T22:43:35.153-05:00

Congratulations to the US Women's National Team for their success in the Four Nations Cup in China. They won the Four Nations Cup for a record fifth time with a 2-0 win over China.Check out some good post-game quotes on My Soccer Blog.

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-19011475613587131492007-01-30T21:46:00.000-05:002007-01-30T23:14:42.744-05:00

Brian Garrison of An American's View on Football/Futbol/Soccer has a really nice piece on the funding being pulled out from under Real Salt Lake's stadium plan. He lays out not only the consequences of the deal falling through, but also the domino effect of RSL either being contracted or sold and rebranded.First, I'll say that breaking ground on a stadium before you have funding is like

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-31007885794709286282007-01-29T22:05:00.000-05:002007-01-29T23:27:24.137-05:00

After CNN, SoccerTimes, and others reported the Gooch deal to Marseille done and dusted, he shows up on Tyneside getting a physical to secure a loan to Newcastle. Or so they'd have us believe.Honestly, I need to remember to never trust European football media on transfer news. If ESPN's Buster Olney says that your favorite middle reliever is going to the Padres next week, then you can safely

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-634432872964306582007-01-28T19:42:00.000-05:002007-01-28T23:51:03.230-05:00

If you haven't already, check out David Mosse's excellent article on Beckham-paloozaAny American soccer fan should be delighted by the wave of publicity that Beckham has brought to the sport in the US mainstream media. The publicity has been more about Beckham as a personality than Beckham as a footballer (not a new trend in his career), but if his celebrity is bringing attention to the game, so

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-63117237590658109742007-01-27T09:22:00.001-05:002007-01-27T09:27:00.296-05:00

Yanks Abroad runs down the long list of Americans in action in FA cup ties this weekend. As I'm typing this, it looks like Brad Friedel has just posted a clean sheet in a 4-0 drubbing of Luton.

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-31356841137229906822007-01-26T20:36:00.000-05:002007-01-27T23:36:00.267-05:00

According to SoccerTimes, Oguchi Onyewu is on his way to Marseille.I think this is a very good move for Gooch, and only about 15-20% of my opinion is shaped by the fact that I don't want to see him lining up against my Gunners next year.Gooch apparently has no interest in riding the pine, regardless of how luxurious the seat. Reportedly, Onyewu turned down a Real Madrid offer earlier this year

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-65903610567961311132007-01-24T23:28:00.000-05:002007-01-24T23:39:31.685-05:00

Marc Connolly: The Top 15Marc Connolly reviews the Top 15 most important soccer players to this generation. I have little to add because I think his analysis is spot-on.

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-11325973479287672552007-01-24T07:05:00.000-05:002007-01-24T23:38:53.643-05:00

Ives Galarcep reports on Giuseppe Rossi scoring on his debut for ParmaI really don't have much of an opinion on Rossi, except for being fascinated by how much American soccer fans loathe him (check out the comments on Ives's blog).First, USMNT fans are hypocritical if we attempt to criticize a player for switching national team allegiances from the country of his birth. After all, some of the

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6401842429323370726.post-61685705665698415462007-01-23T20:29:00.000-05:002007-01-24T23:48:09.179-05:00

Soccernet.com reports that former USMNT captain Claudio Reyna has been released by Manchester City and appears to be heading to the regrettably named New York Red Bulls. Reyna has long claimed he would someday return to the US and play in MLS, and it's certain to be a warm homecoming for the Jersey boy.Is this good for Reyna? Of this, there is little doubt. Claudio has a home in NY, grew up in

Jason McKinley Williamsnoreply@blogger.com0