Morning Ticker: Szetela's permanent move to Brescia, Wolff's memorable return and Man U admits Berbatov bid

                                                                                        Photo by ISIphotos.com

Good morning all. The end of a very busy and news-filled week is upon us and as we wind down toward Saturday's MLS schedule (and David Beckham's return to the New York area), it is time to catch up on some news and notes from the soccer world.

Szetela set for permanent Brescia move

On the same day he was named to the U.S. Olympic team, midfielder Danny Szetela confirmed that his anticipated permanent switch to Italian Serie B side Brescia is being finalized as Brescia and Spanish club Racing de Santander are set to complete the transfer.

"There's just some paperwork left but it's done," Szetela told SBI on Thursday. "I liked Spain but the experience with Brescia was great. It's a young team and I felt comfortable right away and just getting the chance to play is what I need to keep developing."

Szetela saw action in 11 of 16 games, missing some time with an Achilles injury before working his way into the starting lineup at season's end. The playing time was a far cry from what he saw with Spanish first division side Racing de Santander (he played in just one cup game and no league matches for Santander). Szetela transferred from Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew to Santander last summer.

Wolff scores in MLS return

New Kansas City Wizards signing Josh Wolff made his return to his former club a memorable one, scoring a 75th-minute equalizer to help the Wizards salvage a 3-3 tie against Columbus on Thursday night. The Crew rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead in the first half on the strength of a one-goal, two-assist performance from Columbus playmaker (and MLS All-Star snub) Guillermo Barros Schelotto). Wolff, playing in his first match since signing with KC, equalized in the 75th minute.

So much for Wolff's signing not providing much of an impact. Sure, he may have looked lost with the U.S. national team last month, but Wolff looks primed to be an impact player for a KC attack that can surely use him.

As for Schelotto, do you think he wanted to send a message about his All-Star snub? Okay, he probably doesn't care, but the performance certainly makes his absence from the MLS All-Star Game look even worse.

Man U confirm Berbatov bid

Manchester United's interest in Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov is no secret, but when Alex Ferguson admits it publicly and states that he's confident that Berbatov will join the EPL and Champions League title holders, then you've got yourself some news.

Why? Well, because Ferguson doesn't generally speak about transfers unless they're almost done. Who else may jump in for Berbatov? Barcelona is looking like Man U's biggest rival in the chase.

That's all for now. Share your thoughts on these stories, and any other stories from last night and this morning, in the comments section below.

Comments

[Blake]

Good move for Szetela. Hopefully he can really improve with that first team action and work his way up to Serie A.

[oracledba]

i am a united fan but fergies's statement is no different from what calderon has been saying

united can't cry foul on madrid and then do the same thing

[frank from sf]

schelotto got shafted. no allstar?!

[Mighty]

Szetela Move to Italian Serie B is a smart move it would help him grow. Thats all he need for now.

[cbr]

man u told r.m. to buzz off and that ronaldo is not for sale, but they kept on pushing the issue through the media. Spurs never told Man U that Berbatov is off limits. That's the difference

[kpugs]

Oracle, Fergie has never once publically said that he wanted Berbatov over the past few years. He's done nothing more than compliment the player in response to questions from the media, and he certainly never went so far as to say Berbatov wanted to leave Spurs for United. How can you call yourself a United fan and not see how ridiculously different this is?

Good to see Josh Wolff can still tap a ball into an empty net from 6 inches out. Too bad that's just about the set up he needs in order to score, period.

[RK]

Ives scooped the Spanish press this time...

[kpugs]

Not only that but Calderon isn't even the manager of his club. AND as Ives hinted at, Fergie almost never talks publicly about his transfers until they are either completed or on the verge of completion.

AND Calderon has done this repeatedly, for years, whether he manages to sign players or not. I could go all day about how different this situation is. At least Mourinho, when he says similar things, is actually the manager of his club and not a front office schmuck running his fat mouth.

[RS]

As cbr already pointed out, the United/Berbatov and Ronaldo/RM situations are very different. Berbatov has been saying for a while (as far back as late last spring) that he wants Champions League football soon and will be looking to move on to a bigger club. Tottenham have not come out to say he isn't for sale, as United have said about Ronaldo.

[oracledba]

being a fan has nothing to do with it, fergie's no angel - he did this in the past with stam and hargreaves -

[Pete]

Sure the situation is different, but there sure are a lot of Man U- and EPL-tinted glasses on this blog.

[Chase]

You should add that rumblings out of Liverpool are that the Keane transfer is imminent, as Ramos himself admitted that he needed to sell a couple of players to make up for the shopping spree that he has embarked on since January 2008. Personally, I have no faith in Rick Parry to tie this thing up quickly to beat the Mancs in their bid to sign Berbatov, but I do think this would be a huge signing, despite Keane's age and he would be a huge upgrade on Crouch, as our 2nd striker.

Additionally, a fee has apparently been agreed with a Bundesliga club for Voronin, adding to speculation that the Keane signing is likely...

[Bits]

Ives - did you watch the KC match? Credit Wolff for his run on his goal, but aside from that he looked very rusty and did not have much of an impact. Granted, his first game back but for you to make the statement that he is "primed to be an impact" seems as though you just read the scoreline and made the statement.

Not saying he isn't going to do well.

[Ted]

"being a fan has nothing to do with it, fergie's no angel - he did this in the past with stam and hargreaves -"

Ring, ring, ring, you're right.

Guys, every manager pulls something like the Ronaldo situation. How long did Fergie annoy Bayern about Hargreaves? Over a year?

It happens with everybody. I think Sepp even said it isn't a big deal.

[RS]

You don't need any glasses to know that Calderon/RM make public comments and "guarantees" that they will sign players that are under contract with other teams every single summer. There is no doubt that this blog's comment section is "EPL-leaning," but Real Madrid are known for causing trouble by mentioning every huge name every summer to keep their fans happy and for these guys like Calderon to win their elections.

[Steve]

Bits, could you be a little more condescending? Just a little?

It's Wolff's first game and he scored the equalizer. I don't give a shite how rusty he looked (and surprise, a guy who has been off for weeks was rusty, WOW), he started off great. If that's not "primed to be an impact player", I don't know what is.

[cam]

im a spurs supporter, and while juande has said that berbatov is not for sale, ill even admit that this is way different than the ronaldo situation. fergie has acted completely fine when it comes to courting berbatov.

frankly, i have no problem with berbatov going to man u. if he stays at spurs he will be a sulking mess next year and his value will drop. sell him now when hes worth the most, then take the money and send blackburn a bid for bentley AND roque santa cruz for 30 mil and robbo. if we get capel on the left and a holding mid, say hello to the top four, even without berbatov.

[bla]

Tonight on ESPN2 is the developmental academy finals! come wtach the future of american soccer!

[Original Aaron]

I'm probably going to get lambasted for this, but... Is Serie B really any better than MLS? I just don't buy that the quality in Serie B is higher than that of MLS- my somewhat educated guess would be that they are of similar quality, but MLS probably has the edge. The only advantage I can see of being in Serie B (as opposed to MLS specifically) is that you can probably attain an EU passport and make it easier to transfer to a bigger league in Europe. So... I don't know how to feel about this transfer. On the one hand, it seems like he has spent the past year in limbo only to make what is at best a lateral move. On the other hand, this lateral move will make it easier to make the big transfer... we'll have to wait and see how it plays out

[kco]

Bits -

I would agree with you that Wolff is still shaking off the rust as he regains match fitness and touch. But I also agree with Ives "primed to be an impact" as Wolff's experience made an immediate impact for the Wizards last night. Whether he was combining with teammates (most notable Lopez) or making great runs, as you stated that he did on his goal. These are things that the Wizards have been missing up front on a consistent basis and having an experienced goal scored on the pitch will/is already providing that impact.

[leftcoastmetro]

Serie B is I'd say tougher than MLS, in the sense that there are a lot of evenly matched teams and few crap teams, you're always fighting (either to go up to A or down to C1), they play a heckuva lot of games (more than Serie A), they meet Serie A in the Italian Cup, and there are probably 2 to 4 teams that would be competitive in Serie A (in fact that's where they'll be the next year). In short, a lot of playing opportunities, a lot of good competition and a lot of opportunities to be seen by better teams' scouts.
Also, Szetela has Polish citizenship, so he can play anywhere in Europe, visa-wise.

[KingSnake]

Again, it is not an all star "snub", it is a chance to relax, maybe heal a bit, rather than play in a meaningless match.

[Matthew]

The quotes from Ferguson in the Berbatov story are made up. The Telegraph got them from the Sun and the Sun got them from some Norwegian website that has since removed the quotes.

Allegedly.

[Jonathan]

Original Aaron and others, would you rather play for a Serie B or MLS team if you're a professional player?

[DeLarge]

Funny how the guy who shut down Pato is in Serie B and the Diving Duck himself will be tops of Serie A this season.

It pays to be Brazilian. Just ask Freddy "my better is better than his better" Adu.

[George H]

Big difference is that Szetela is actually playing in Serie B while he struggled to get a regular run out while in Columbus.

[papa bear]

@Posted by:oracledba | July 18, 2008 at 10:24 AM

Have you just started following the game? SAF is the biggest hypocrite out there. Only a devoted Manc could actually like him.

If I'm Berbatov I'm heading to Barca. I mean, living in Manchester or living in Barcelona...hmmm, tough choice there.

It's a shame Danny didn't get a real shot at Santander. Hopefully he can keep playing at Brescia and help them get promoted this year.

[Eugene]

Kind of disappointing that Szetela is now at Brescia considering last summer he passed up Roma to sign with Santander thinking he was going to get more playing time.

In hindsight, if he was going to go on loan anyway, he might as well have signed with Roma.

Players go through these kinds of bumps in the road all the time. I hope Szetela shows his class and gets tapped up to a Serie A squad, because I think he can play there. Not least because in this photo and that game he did effectively contain Pato, who is plying his trade at Milan.

Perhaps Szetela's game is better suited to Italy rather than Spain. If that's the case, hopefully this setback will turn out to be a positive experience for him.