Soccer By Ives

ESPN2 to air FC Barcelona-Red Bulls friendly

ESPN has announced that ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will air the Aug. 6 friendly between FC Barcelona and the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium (7 p.m.).

Barcelona will be making its first appearance at Giants Stadium since defeating the Red Bulls in a friendly, 4-1, two years ago.

Led by French star Thierr Henry and Euro 2008 standouts Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol, Barcelona's star-studded squad is expected to draw more than 50,000 to the match (though Lionel Messi's likely absence due to Olympic duty could keep the match from coming close to a sellout.)

MISL disbands, could Ironmen be gone for good?

The Major Indoor Soccer League has disbanded in a move league officials say is a temporary one made in order to reorganize the league and prepare it for more changes and possible entry into new markets.

One market the league may not return to next season is the New York/New Jersey area, with sources telling SBI that the New Jersey Ironmen could be out of business after just one season. The Ironmen drew a large crowd to its first home match at Prudential Center in Newark, in large part to an appearance by Pele, but the club struggled all year to draw crowds, making the financial viability and future of the Ironmen extremely questionable.

What does the future hold for the MISL? That is anybody's guess.

What do you think of this news? Have you gone to indoor matches? Do you think the league is doomed to fail? Share your thoughts on the MISL disbanding, and Ironmen potentially disappearing, below.

Barcelona officially announces U.S. Tour (Chicago and New York)

Major League Soccer and Spanish giants FC Barcelona officially announced its tour of the United States on Friday, with dates in Chicago (Aug. 3 vs. CD Chivas de Guadalajara at Soldier Field) and New York (Aug. 6 vs. New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium).

Now that the matches are finally official, you can start making your plans. Tickets go on sale on June 2 (for the Chicago game) and June 3 (for the Red Bulls game) to the general public, with special pre-sales for Fire and Red Bulls fans before that.

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

American soccer notes: Dempsey's new deal, the Olympic streaker returns and USA-Argentina tix update

Here are some U.S. soccer-related tidbits for you to get you through your afternoon (morning on the West Coast) funk:

Dempsey's new deal

Fulham midfielder and U.S. national team star Clint Dempsey has signed a new deal with Fulham. That is at least one American who will be back with the Cottagers next season (I would imagine Brian McBride makes two).

No deal for Matt Kassel: A Closer Look

Matt Kassel won't be showing up in any MLS box scores this season. He won't be making history as the first youth academy product to play for a senior MLS team (at least not yet). He won't show up on the field like some American version of Bojan Krkic, a teenager ready to dominate a professional league.

Ultimately, the Red Bulls made a decision of prudence, a decision that won't sit well with fans already exasperated by a relatively uneventful off-season on the player acquisition front. Perhaps that desperate feeling led some fans to see Kassel as a ray of hope, a young prospect who could give them something to root for in a season some see shaping up to be another in a long line of disappointments.

Lost in all that is the reality that Kassel isn't ready for MLS right now, and while adding him to the club would have been good for him and the Red Bulls, it just wasn't a practical move to make right now.

USA-Argentina tickets go on sale at noon today

                                                                                  Photo by ISI Photos

If you are a U.S. national team fan with plans of seeing the USA-Argentina friendly at Giants Stadium, and you weren't one of the fortunate souls who took part in the VISA-sponsored pre-sale this weekend, get your phones and computers ready.

Tickets go on sale at noon today and if the pre-sale is any indication, tickets are going to go quickly. According to U.S. Soccer sources, more than 20,000 tickets have already been sold through the special pre-sale, which lasted less than a week.

The match, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on June 8, has tickets ranging from $35 to $195.

Tickets can be purchased on USSoccer.com or by phone at (201) 507-8900 (in New Jersey) or (212) 307-7171 (in New York).

USA-Argentina officially set for June 8 at Giants Stadium

U.S. Soccer (finally) made the official announcement that the U.S. men's national team will face Argentina at Giants Stadium on June 8. As SBI reported on March 5, the two sides have agreed to a rematch of last summer's Copa America match (which Argentina won, 4-1, against what amounted to a U.S. B team). Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and the match will be aired on ESPN Classic and Galavision.

The friendly will come just 11 days after the USA faces England at Wembley Stadium, just four days after the United States is set to face Spain in Santander on June 4,  and a week before the U.S. team's World Cup qualifier against Barbados at Home Depot Center on June 15.

Angulo leaves Revs as talks with MLS stall

New Jersey-bred striker Jose Angulo has left the New England Revolution after failing to come to terms on a contract with Major League Soccer, a source close to Angulo told SBI.

Angulo has spent most of the pre-season recovering from a knee injury and became a victim of the numbers game as New England has loaded up on forwards, adding young Costa Rican forward Argenis Fernandez and seeing Kenny Mansally emerge as a threat to start for the Revs.

The former St. Benedict's Prep star never had a chance to train with the Revs this pre-season after suffering a torn meniscus early in camp. New England wanted to see Angulo train with the team before signing him but Angulo chose to leave camp after it became clear that he was unlikely to receive an offer better than a minimum salary deal ($34K a year).

Where will the two-time high school all-american go next? We should find out soon enough.

Morning Ticker: Giusfredi update, Fulham's Cousin deal and Kanu eyes Aussie move

Good morning all. Okay, I know, it isn't even really morning anymore on the East Coast (although I say before noon counts as morning). It's morning somewhere though, like the West Coast, where folks are just making their way to work.

Whether you've already made it through the winter mess on the East Coast, or are enjoying the sun out West, here are some news nuggets to get you through the early afternoon and morning.

Giusfredi in talks with Nalchik. From the "Oh, THAT Spartak" department comes word that former Seton Hall standout Eliseo Giusfredi is in contract discussions with Russian Premier League club Spartak Nalchik, not Spartak Moscow. A source close to Giusfredi clarified this for me this week.

So where did the Moscow link come from? It came from Giusfredi, who may not have understood the difference between the clubs when discussing his potential move to Europe. Yes, there is a slight difference between the clubs. One is a Russian power set to play in the UEFA Cup Round of 16, the other is a small team that finished in 12th place in the 16-team Russian league last season. It also didn't help that both clubs were in Spain recently for pre-season training.

It's probably better that Giusfredi is at Nalchik, where he may actually have the chance to play right away. I will keep you posted on Giusfredi's progress toward landing a professional contract.

Fulham deal for Cousin delayed. From the department of the absurd comes news that Fulham's transfer bid for Rangers forward Daniel Cousin is STILL on hold. Yes, the transfer window closed two weeks ago but Cousin is still in limbo. Or is he. Apparently Cousin will still be allowed to play for Rangers in their UEFA Cup tilt this week.

Here's my question. If and when Cousin does go to Fulham, just how will the Cottagers find minutes for him, Dempsey, McBride, Johnson and Kamara?

Real Madrid eyes match vs. Red Bulls in August

Spanish champions Real Madrid could be headed to New Jersey, and may be playing the Red Bulls in the process.

Real Madrid is negotiating a deal to play the Red Bulls at Giants Stadium in August, multiple sources told SBI on Monday. Real Madrid could still play another European club, but the Red Bulls are the front-runners to be the opponent.

Giusfredi leaves Seton Hall, close to deal with Spartak Moscow

All-Big East forward Eliseo Giusfredi has left the Seton Hall soccer program to pursue a professional contract in Europe.

The Seton Hall junior has chosen to forgo his final year of eligibility and will depart for Spain later today to join Spartak Moscow, which is wrapping up pre-season training. Giusfredi has yet to finalize a deal with the Russian club but is in negotiations to sign.

"It has always been my dream to play professionally and this is a great opportunity," Giusfredi told SBI on Friday. "I feel like this is the right time for me to go."

Giusfredi had planned to sign with Major League Soccer but was unable to sign with the league after MLS determined that his lack of American citizenship or a green card made him a player the league couldn't sign, a source with knowledge of Giusfredi's situation told SBI.

Racing: Szetela moving to Brescia on loan

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.

My take on Giuseppe Rossi's decision to play for Italy instead of the United States

Good evening folks. I'm coming to you from my seat on a plane in Ft. Lauderdale bound for Newark, New Jersey. We're a few minutes from takeoff and I wanted to add one more post. Apologies for not posting more today but it was just a hectic day getting ready for the return home. I will be back posting late tonight so stay tuned.

I will be posting my MLS Combine Day Three observations late tonight or in the morning, as well as a new MLS Mock Draft (Version 2.0).

For now, here is my column on Giuseppe Rossi's decision to play for Italy rather than the United States. For those of you were unaware, Rossi will turn 21 on Feb. 1, at which point he will no longer have the option to play for the United States and will be cap-tied to Italy. Any hopes of Rossi changing his mind about playing for Italy look dead and the U.S. national team must move on without him.

Take a look at the column and let me know what you think of Rossi's decision as well as my take on it. Share your thoughts below.

The latest on Jose Angulo

Former high school All-American and St. Benedict's Prep star Jose Angulo will join the New England Revolution for preseason training later this month.

Angulo has yet to reach an agreement with New England but Revs director of soccer Mike Burns believes the club will eventually make Angulo an offer assuming he has a good camp. For those of you who missed the news last week, Major League Soccer granted New England Angulo's rights after the Revs filed a discovery claim on him, meaning Angulo cannot enter the 2008 MLS Draft.

Here is my column/feature in today's Herald News on Angulo. For those of you wondering what European clubs were interested in him, Lazio and Hannover 96 were teams Angulo trained with and clubs he would have had a chance to sign with if not for his desire to return to the United States and deal with some citizenship issues that I discuss in today's story.

One thing that should be noted regarding New England's pursuit of Angulo is that the Revs actually filed discovery claims on Angulo on two different occasions. The first came right after his training stint last summer. The second claim was made on December 10, when teams can submit claims for 2008.

Apparently Columbus, the second team Angulo spent a week training with, failed to submit a claim on him, and based on discovery rules, the Crew would very likely have been granted his rights based on having a worse record than New England. That failure to act could come back to haunt a Crew team that is sorely in need of forward help.

I have spent plenty of time discussing the MLS 'rules' surrounding Angulo's case and while some MLS people insist that the rules were not changed in this case, this decisions still provides a precedent by which players who have recently left high school can essentially ignore the draft and choose to sign with any MLS team they want. Obviously there aren't that many high school players good enough to earn MLS contracts, and usually the ones who are good enough are targeted for Generation adidas contracts, but the league should still institute some sort of rule that serves as a deterrent for high school players looking to copy Angulo's route to MLS.

Read the column and share your thoughts on Angulo's situation below.