Soccer By Ives

Fire 5, Red Bulls 1: A Supporter's View

Total Domination.

That's the only way to describe the Chicago Fire's 5-1 dismantling of the New York Red Bulls. Take a very good team and put it up against a short-handed team that has its defense play its worst game of the season and you get a game like we saw on Sunday.

The Fire's ability to dominate on the road this season has been one of the most impressive storylines of 2008. Chicago attacks with fearlessness and numbers, something you just don't see many MLS teams do.

The Red Bulls can only go back to the drawing board and hope it can regroup and find a win against a struggling Houston team. Another loss just might set off alarm bells in New York.

SBI Correspondents Stephen Wattles and Andrew Keh saw the carnage on Sunday and share their perspectives on the match with us.

England 2, USA 0: A look back

                                                                         Photo by ISIPhotos.com

It was ugly.

There is really no other way to describe the U.S. team's 2-0 loss to England. The Americans were thoroughly dominated and had few players really step up to the challenge presented by the star-studded English lineup.

Wednesday's loss wasn't about what Americans were missing, not about Jozy Altidore being left home or Freddy Adu being left out of the starting lineup. It was about a U.S. team exposed for what it is, a young group still in transition after the retirements of several key figures.

Red Bulls name Erik Stover managing director

The New York Red Bulls have named Erik Stover as the team's new managing director.

Who is Stover? He was named the team's Vice President of Operations and General Manager of Red Bull Park in March. Before that he spent three years running Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Before that, Stover was vice president of operations of Giants Stadium.

In short, Red Bull has just hired a man whose entire resume consists of operating stadiums to run their soccer team.

USA vs. England: Running Commentary

Good afternoon folks. The moment has arrived. USA vs. England. Can England exact revenge for the 1950 World Cup and the Revolutionary War?  Can the Americans finally get payback for England subjecting us to Simon Cowell?

I'm kidding.

Today's friendly will be a good test for both sides (despite what more cynical American fans and egotistical English fans might think). Landon Donovan will not play today, but there is still plenty to look forward to. How will the Americans do in a packed Wembley Stadium? We are about to find out.

I will do a running commentary throughout the match so feel free to follow along here. Please share your thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Let's get it started:

McBride leaves Fulham, MLS return imminent (updated)

American forward and retired U.S. national standout Brian McBride has parted ways with Fulham FC, the club announced on Wednesday.

McBride, who is a month shy of 36, leaves after scoring 40 goals in 150 appearances for Fulham, including several crucial goals in the Cottagers escape from relegation this season.

“After much consideration with my family, we have decided to leave Fulham after four and a half fantastic years," McBride said in a team-issued statement. "I have always stated my intention to return to America at some stage and this seems like the right moment in my career to move on."

SBI Fantasy MLS Corner

                                                     Photo by ISIPhotos.com

If there was ever a time when you can't afford to neglect your fantasy MLS team, that time is fast approaching.

With international call-ups beginning to occur with far more frequency, there will be MLS players missing time left and right and if you aren't on top of your fantasy lineup, you could find yourself plummeting in the standings.

SBI MLS Fantasy guru Stephen Zaffuto is all over this looming problem and will be able to steer you through the pitfalls of the summer in Fantasy MLS. Here is this week's SBI MLS Fantasy Corner:

Andy Gray joining ESPN's team for Euros

Scottish soccer commentator Andy Gray has joined the ESPN broadcast team for the upcoming European Championships. One of the top analysts for the English Premier League, Gray joins an ESPN broadcast team that also includes Adrian Healy, Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth.

USA vs. England: The Pre-Match Huddle

The U.S. national team is set to face off against England at Wembley Stadium today at 3pm (ESPN Classic) and the match has American fans across the country excited (and some extremely nervous).

The match is the first of three high-profile friendlies for the Americans (Spain and Argentina being the next two) but this one will be considered the most important in the eyes of U.S. fans who would love nothing more than to have some bragging rights over their counterparts on the other side of the Atlantic (and in some cases, Brits who now call the United States home).

There are plenty of intriguing match-ups to consider, but first let's consider the lineups we will see today:

Revolution 1, Crew 0: A Supporter's View

Let's talk about the soccer.

While other incidents at the Revs-Crew match have garnered more attention, let's take this moment to look back at the actual soccer match that took place. New England traveled to Columbus and put on a display of physical soccer that would have made the old Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia Flyers proud. Columbus, playing the role of the battered skillful squad, had few answers for the Revs approach, and no answers for New England goalkeeper Matt Reis.

The result is a three-way tie for first place in the East as the Revs continue doing well despite the absence of star striker Taylor Twellman.

SBI Correspondents Andrew Karl and Rich Fidler watched the action and share their perspectives on the match with us:

Microsoft to sponsor Seattle Sounders FC

Today's Wall Street Journal is reporting that software giant Microsoft will be the jersey sponsor for MLS expansion club Seattle Sounders FC.

How much is the deal? According to report, the deal is worth about $4 million a season for five years.

The size of the deal is impressive, but the deal itself shouldn't be considered that much of a surprise given the fact that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is part owner of the new expansion club.

When Seattle kicks off its expansion season in 2009, the Sounders will have "XBox 360 Live" on the front of their jerseys.

What do you think of the news? Share your thoughts below.

Barcelona vs. Red Bulls set for Aug. 6

The LONG-awaited Barcelona/Red Bulls friendly is finally ready to be made official. According to team sources, Barcelona will play the Red Bulls at Giants Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 6 at 7pm.

SBI Readers know this has been an on-again, off-again, on-again deal, but it is expected to be announced today. The date is a day earlier than was first reported back in February. The change could have been made to better accommodate Barcelona's Champions League qualifying match the next week (as well as the Red Bulls' home match vs. D.C. United that Sunday).

Feel free to share your thoughts on the friendly below.

Red Bulls set for major shake-up?

Officials from Red Bull, the parent company of the New York Red Bulls, are in town today to hold meetings with employees of the club, including head coach Juan Carlos Osorio and technical director Jeff Agoos, and the MLS club could be in for a major front office shake-up, sources close to the team told SBI late on Tuesday night.

Donovan questionable for England match

The U.S. national team's attack could be without one of its most dangerous players on Wednesday against England if Landon Donovan can't recover from tightness in his groin which first become a problem during the LA Galaxy's 3-1 win against Kansas City on Saturday.

If Donovan can't go that will leave the U.S. attack thin and will pretty much guarantee that we'll see the Clint Dempsey-Eddie Johnson forward tandem. Who replaces Donovan in the lineup? I know Freddy Adu is the popular pick, but it wouldn't shock me if Bradley went with Josh Wolff.

Who do you think should get the nod? Share your thoughts on Donovan's injury status and his potential replacement below.

Chivas USA 2, Rapids 1: A Supporter's View

Just when you thought Chivas USA was looking like it might go from first to worst in the Western Conference in just one year, the Goats have awakened and rattled off two straight wins. Just when you thought the Colorado Rapids were going to establish themselves as the best in the West, they go and deliver a flat performance at home.

Sueno MLS winner Jorge Flores scored his second goal in two weeks, taking a step closer to shedding the novelty label and being regarded as a serious soccer player. That transition has come just in time for a Chivas USA attack that had been struggling.

SBI Correspondents John Sandate and Craig de Aragon took in the match and shared their perspectives on the match with us (including a beautiful story from de Aragon that help reveal some beauty  in MLS on a weekend when we saw some real ugliness.)

An ugly scene in Columbus (and it's time for the streamers to go)

As you may have heard by now, things got a tad messy at the Columbus Crew-New England Revolution match. Some overzealous Crew fans, and some folks attending the game who don't deserve the label of fans, decided it was a good idea to through foreign objects ranging from water bottles to a lit flare, at Revs players.

As much as I wish that was the extent of the ugliness, it wasn't. One game attendee crossed the line of all human decency by dropping a racial slur at Revs forward Kheli Dube after he scored the eventual game-winning goal. here is the video (be warned, there is some adult language):

Needless to say, the "fan" who can be heard on this video clip is an idiot, but this moron's ignorance should not be used to paint Columbus fans with a broad brush, or signal that there is now some larger problem at hand (though I'm sure the anti-soccer crowd is lining up to use this scene to portray everthing wrong with soccer).

You Write the Caption: The Best of the Sven/Nery and Galaxy photos

Good afternoon folks. The results of the most recent You Write the Caption are finally here.

In case you missed it, I posted two photos in the last YWTC, one of Nery Castillo and Sven Goran Erikkson sharing a moment, and another photo of David Beckham and teammates staring high into the air. They weren't the two funniest photos ever, but I wanted to see if you all could spin some magic.

The results are in and it is clear that the Galaxy photo was the better one to work with. I was only able to come up with five very good captions for the Sven-Nery photo, while I completed a full Top 10 of captions for the Galaxy photo.

The reader with the best caption of the bunch will receive a free t-shirt courtesy of SBI sponsor Objective Apparel.  As always, SBI readers can receive free shipping on t-shirts bought from Objectivo. Simply type in the promo code IVES to receive free shipping.

Now without further delay, here are the best captions from the most recent YWTC: