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Good evening folks. Today was day three of the Red Bulls mini-camp and the field was cut down considerably as Juan Carlos Osorio let go of the players he felt wouldn't have much of a chance of making the team.
There weren't many surprises among the remaining players. Here is a rundown of who survived the first cut and who impressed today:
Rafael Marquez, Giovani Dos Santos, Andres Guardado and Guillermo Achoa headline a strong Mexican roster that will face the U.S. national team in a friendly in Houston on Wednesday.
Here is the full Mexican roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Guillermo Ochoa (Club América), Luís Ernesto Michel (CD Guadalajara), Moisés Muñoz (Morelia)
DEFENDERS: Rafael Márquez (FC Barcelona / SPA), Carlos Salcido (PSV Eindhoven / HOL), Johnny Magallón (CD Guadalajara), Fausto Pinto (Pachuca), Israel Castro (Pumas UNAM), Oscar Rojas (América)
MIDFIELDERS: Pavel Pardo (VFB Stuttgart / GER), Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul), Francisco Arce (Santos Laguna), Andrés Guardado (Deportivo la Coruna / SPA), Antonio Naelson (Toluca)
FORWARDS: Giovani Dos Santos (FC Barcelona / SPA), Carlos Vela (Osasuna), Juan Carlos Cacho (Pachuca), Adolfo Bautista (Jaguares de Chiapas), Antonio de Nigris (Ankaraspor / TUR)
As expected, Mexico coach Hugo Sanchez will be fielding a very strong squad. We are still waiting on the U.S. roster, but you shouldn't expect a full-strength roster from Bob Bradley, who will be looking to leave some players in Europe who are either new to their clubs or unsettled at their clubs.
What do you think of this Mexico roster? Share your thoughts below.
From the "You never know when your chance is going to come" department comes word out of Ghana that Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul is starting for Senegal in today's decisive African Nations Cup group match against South Africa after veteran starter Tony Sylva was suspended (along with El-Hadj Diouf) for staying out late.
Things don't look good for Senegal. The match is in the second half and is tied at 1-1 while the Angola-Tunisia match is also tied, 0-0. Senegal needed a win and anything but a draw in the Angola-Tunisia match to advance to the ANC quarterfinals.
Regardless of the final outcome, the match is invaluable experience for the 25-year-old Coundoul.
Photo by ISI Photos
U.S. national team goalkeeper Brad Guzan's dream of playing in the English Premier League will have to wait.
Guzan was denied a work permit after a panel in England ruled on Thursday that he did not meet the requirements to receive one, a source with knowledge of the transfer proceedings told SBI on Thursday.
What will Guzan do next? He will return to Chivas USA and play out the 2008 season, which happens to be the final year of his current MLS contract.
What do you think of this decision? Share your thoughts below.
Brad Guzan stands less than nine hours away from having the course of his professional career determined by a work permit panel in England.
The Chivas USA goalkeeper is set to make a transfer move to Aston Villa, but the close to $4 million move is contingent on Guzan securing a work permit. He doesn't have the national team appearances to get one through normal means so he must leave his fate up to a work permit panel that will determine if he is worthy of a work permit.
Continue reading "Guzan awaits work permit decision as Villa deal looms" »
Good morning all. It was a busy middle of the week for European-based American players, with 10 of them seeing action in league and cup games.
There were no goals scored but plenty of minutes logged. Not everyone got in on the action. Eddie Lewis, who was injured during Derby's weekend FA Cup loss to Preston, will miss a month after minor knee surgery. As for teammate Benny Feilhaber and Hansa Rostock defender Heath Pearce? Both are still in the doghouse and neither of them dressed for mid-week games.
Here is how the Americans in Europe did this week:
Good evening folks. I made my way to Giants Stadium this morning and the action at the second day of Red Bulls mini-camp was only slightly better than the first. The best part of the day was the fact that I was the only media member there. It was just me, Red Bulls staff and prospects and about a dozen would-be agents, most of whom sported dark coats (apparently this is the official uniform of agents who rep non-roster invitees). The best scene of the day was watching the agents circle Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio after practice. It was like a shark frenzy and Osorio was the bait.
There were some players who stood out on Wednesday and some who probably won't be invited back for Thursday's sessions (the club will cut down the numbers and include its regular draft picks in Thursday's practice).
Here are some of the players who did well today:
Major League Soccer isn't just losing players to Europe.
Former Chivas USA assistant coach Martin Vasquez is leaving the Goats to join Juergen Klinsmann's staff at Bayern Munich.
Yes, from Chivas USA to second assistant at Bayern Munich. Not a bad career move.
A Mexican-born, USA-raised product of UCLA Cal-State Los Angeles, Vasquez made seven appearances with the U.S. national team and played in MLS with the Tampa Bay Mutiny and San Jose Clash. Vasquez, 44, joined the Los Angeles Galaxy coaching staff under Sigi Schmid in 2004 before joining Chivas USA in 2005.
The move is made even more interesting by the word that Vasquez was already set to be re-assigned by Chivas USA and removed from the team's coaching staff. in fact, the entire Chivas USA coaching staff is due for a makeover, with head coach Preki the lone holdover.
First assistant Zoran Savic has left the club and returned to Kansas City. Goalkeeper coach Zak Abdel has joined Bob Bradley with the U.S. national team. Vasquez was already on the way out and found the mother of all rebound jobs with Bayern. Galileo Perkovich, who was let go by the Colorado Rapids, has replaced Abdel as goalkeeper coach.
Who will replace Vasquez and Savic on Preki's staff? That's a good question to ask two months before the start of the season.
What do you think of this news? Share your thoughts below.
When D.C. United drafted Cal midfielder Andrew Jacobson, it thought it landed one of the best central midfield prospects in the MLS Draft, a player who was seen as a long-term prospect and potential starter.
So much for those plans.
French club Lorient has formally announced the signing of Jacobson. Ouch.
Jacobson's departure leaves D.C. with Clyde Simms and not much else at the defensive midfield role, though Ben Olsen could still be used there if needed. D.C. lost veteran Brian Carroll in the expansion draft.
The business of drafting players is getting tougher and tougher.
D.C. fans aren't likely to shed too many tears. Not after introducing an army of new players this week, led by designated player and star playmaker Marcello Gallardo.
What do you think of Jacobson's departure? Share your thoughts below.
From the 'Things that make you go hmm' department comes word out of Honduras that New England Revolution head coach Steve Nicol is there doing some scouting. He has watched two games so far and today he will watch a game between Motagua and Victoria.
Guess who plays for Motagua? Yes, Mr. Amado Guevara, the exiled former MLS MVP. Two things we know are that Guevara is desparate to return to MLS and the Revs are in dire need of a playmaking midfielder. Coincidence? I doubt it.
I'm not sure what the status of Guevara's MLS rights are (his MLS contract expired in December) but it's safe to say Chivas USA has his rights, if anybody does.
Would the Revs consider adding the volatile playmaker? It wouldn't shock me in the least.
What do you think about the Revs potentially adding Amado Guevara? Like the idea? Hate the idea? Share your thoughts below.
Hello all, apologies for not posting this earlier but I got caught up doing other things. For those of you wondering who looked good at the Red Bulls practice session for supplemental draft picks and non-roster invitees on Tuesday, here is a rundown of the players who caught my eye:
The U.S. men's national team has unveiled the jersey it will wear for home games in 2008. Here it is:
What do you think? I know what I think. I feel like I'm looking at something out of a Tommy Hilfiger or Eddie Bauer catalog. Notice how there is no collar on this one? If it had a collar the players might think they're in a Gap commercial. No word yet on whether this comes with a sweater to tie around the neck.
Okay, so maybe that's a bit harsh. We'll see how it looks against Mexico.
What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Think it's better suited for the women's field hockey team? Share your thoughts below.
According to the Racing de Santander website, Danny Szetela is being sent on loan to Italian Serie B side Brescia. Racing had been in discussions with several teams about loaning out Szetela since the January transfer window opened but its asking price for Szetela ruled out most offers. An unidentified team in Greece was also in the running but Racing appears to have accepted a loan offer from Brescia, the Italian club that came very close to landing Szetela last summer. According to the Racing website, the loan includes an option to buy.
Sources close to Szetela have told me that a loan deal has yet to be agreed to but a loan is inevitable for Szetela, who is desperate for first-team action. He has yet to play in a league game for Racing de Santander and the club's lack of a reserve team has meant he has played just once since arriving in Spain (a start in a cup game).
What do you think of Szetela moving to Brescia? Share your thoughts below.
Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio squashed rumors that he was interested in Uruguayan midfielder Martin Liguera, stating that he hadn't even heard of the player.
"No player with that name," Osorio said when asked about Liguera. "I have different No. 10s, to be honest. He's not on my list."
Osorio called his trip to South America last weekend 'hectic, but productive', saying that he went to watch two players and has decided not to sign either player.
Continue reading "Osorio denies interest in Liguera, has sights on two European-based players" »
The Columbus Crew is set to name former Kansas City Wizards assistant and one-time MetroStars player Brian Bliss as the team's technical director, sources close to the team told SBI on Tuesday. The club is expected to make an announcement on the hire as early as this afternoon.
So why Bliss? Aside from his lengthy experience as an MLS assistant coach and work in youth soccer, Bliss also has single-letter initials (BB). The Crew's current staff includes general manager Mark McCullers (MM), head coach Sigi Schmid (SS) and VP of soccer business development Andrew Arthurs (AA). Yes, I know, pointless observation, but I found it interesting nonetheless.
In other, more exciting Crew news, Columbus fans can relax (for now) about Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The Columbus Dispatch's Shawn Mitchell is reporting that Schelotto has arrived in Columbus. Those cries you hear are from the fans of Gimnasia. Ah well.
Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has decided to retain Richie Williams as an assistant coach.
The decision came after the club failed to secure New York Ironmen head coach Omid Namazi as an assistant coach. Williams had been slated to stay on with the team in a scouting/technical advisor capacity but has been working closely with Osorio since Osorio's arrival and will now remain as an assistant coach.
According to a source, the club still may hire a second assistant coach.
Midfielder Matt Kassel, the top prospect in the Red Bulls youth academy, is training with the Red Bulls' non-roster invitees today and will have his first chance to impress Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio.
The High School All-American and U.S. Under-18 midfielder is considered a good bet to become the first youth academy player signed by the Red Bulls.
Good morning folks. I'm coming to you from the practice bubble at Giants Stadium. The place is filled with prospects hoping to land a contract. I'll provide some live commentary from here for the next hour so feel free to follow along.
Continue reading "Red Bulls practice day one (Running commentary)" »
A rather busy week is in full swing.
The European transfer window is three days away now and it is time for clubs to start finalizing deals. That means it will be decision time for at least two MLS goalkeepers, Brad Guzan and Matt Pickens. It also means decision time for players such as Brazilian striker Afonso Alves.
Today also marks the first day of training for the Red Bulls. Well, not really the Red Bulls. More like the supplemental draft picks and non-roster invitees the team has culled together. It certainly won't look like the collection of talent D.C. United showed off on Monday.
I wrote about Claudio Reyna today in my Herald News column (no, I haven't left the paper yet, we are in negotiations for me to stay on in a less frequent role). Today Reyna and the rest of the Red Bulls will speak to media at the team's practice facility at Montclair State. If he speaks, it will mark Reyna's first public comments since before the team's playoff elimination loss to New England last November. It will be interesting to see what he will say regarding his decision to come back as well as his falling out with Bruce Arena, that's if he says anything at all.
Here are some other news nuggets to digest:
With a bye week to fill in the opening weekend of the MLS season, the New York Red Bulls will be heading south for some competition.
The Red Bulls will play the Carolina Rail Hawks on March 28 at 7:30pm at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC.
The Red Bulls had been slated to face the San Jose Earthquakes in the first match for the expansion team, but issues with the Earthquakes' temporary stadium forced the match to be cancelled. Now the Red Bulls and San Jose are the only two MLS teams not playing in week one.
Ives Galarcep is an American soccer columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com and creator of SoccerByIves.net.
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