Hard work pays dividends for RSL duo -> MLSnet/John Coon
On Thursday, Seitz and Sturgis were both named to the squad that will represent the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing next month.
A third RSL player, Robbie Findley, was chosen as an alternate to that team. Findley will not travel with the team to China, unless an injury creates an opening for him to fill on the 18-man roster.
Real Salt Lake duo picked for Olympic roster headed to Beijing -> Deseret News/James Edward
The majority of the MLS players will report to Olympic training camp at Stanford University on July 20. The team will then head to Hong Kong to participate in the ING Cup beginning on July 25.
2008 U.S. MEN’S OLYMPIC TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (5): Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Michael
Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Brian McBride (out of contract), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)
U.S. Men’s Olympic Team Alternates List
Goalkeeper: Dominic Cervi (Out of Contract)
Defender: Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew)
Midfielder: Dax McCarty (FC Dallas)
Forward: Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake)
First-place RSL pay visit to Chicago -> MLSnet
The visit to Bridgeview is the first of seven games away from home over the next two months - where Real have won just once in seven outings.
Chicago Fire Look to Prove They Are For Real Against Real Sal Lake -> American Soccer News/rpezold
As evidence of the growing strength of the MLS, the Fire’s match against Real Salt Lake will be no walk in the park. Real Salt Lake, like many MLS clubs, is statistically middle of the pack. Through 17 matches they have won six, lost six and tied five matches. In so doing, they have managed to score 20 goals while giving up 19.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Daily Update: Thursday Jul 17, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Opinion: Carey Talley
As you probably know by now, Real Salt Lake has traded Carey Talley to Chivas for a future 2nd round pick. -> Deseret News/James Edward
Some would say, "good riddance" or "it's about time". I may be in the minority on this, but I'm not comfortable with either of these sentiments. It's true that Carey wasn't the most skilled player. It's true that Carey wasn't up to his previous form, circa 2006. And it's true that he had a difficult first few games of the season.
However, I believe that Carey has meant more to this club than any of us really know. If you attended a practice you'd quickly realize that Carey was the vocal leader for us, and was a mentor for the young players in practice. This aspect of his role on the team was vastly underrated. There is a reason that Carey has been our captain over the last couple of seasons. I also believe that as much as anyone could, Carey was the glue that held our team together during our difficult season in 2007. Finally, I think that anyone who knows Carey much knows that he was extremely competitive. Whether it was on the field trying to get a late equalizer or in practice trying to best his teammates in a drill, he gave it all. For these reasons, I think we should bid adieu to Carey with a kind and grateful "Farewell friend".
Now the natural question is why trade Carey now? Was it to free up cap space? (maybe) Was a 2nd draft pick to tempting to pass up? (doubtful) Was it to free up a roster spot for a impending roster addition? (who knows) Is it a signal that Matias Cordoba has earned the confidence of his coaching staff, and will continue to see a bigger role on this team? Only time will tell.
Where does this leave our midfield? For a group originally touted as very deep, this coupled with Sturgis' injury leaves us quite thin. We have two "wing" players (Beckerman and Williams) who both play very tight in the formation and converge toward the goal in the opponents end. We have a central midfielder, formerly a striker (Kovalenko) playing defensive mid. We also have a player that Garth described as a box-to-box player with strong technical skill (Cordoba) who has largely played a playmaker role with the team but primarily in a reserve role. Cordoba is the only player who may be a "natural" wide player as he predominantly played that position in his native Argentina. Either way we are lacking in true wide midfielders. Also since Beckerman has established himself much more in the attacking end, its doubtful to see him moving back to a holding role. This fact, and the fact that Dema isn't naturally a defensive midfielder means that we will be a bit shorthanded at this position with Sturgis currently hurt and on tap for the Olympics later this year. If we do make a roster move, I'd assume that it would be to address one of these two issues.
Then again an outside back is a real possibility as well (see our practice update coming soon).
Either way, let's all come together and bid best wishes and "Farewell friend".
Thursday, May 8, 2008
A View From the Other Side: RSL -vs- FCD
This Week FC Dallas head off to Utah to face Real Salt Lake. No, I’m not going to comment about the Mormon stereotype if you promise to stop believing we’re all cowboys. While no one would argue that anything like a fierce rivalry exists in the minds of FC Dallas fans about this game, there are still some heartfelt emotions at play this week.
First of all is Jason Kreis, beloved all-time leading Dallas Burn scorer. We all love Jason Kreis.
And then there is Dema Kovalenko. Dema is possibly the most hated MLS player of all time from the perspective of FC Dallas fans. You see, Dema was originally drafted by the Dallas Burn out of Indiana University and then demanded to be traded to the Chicago Fire. Dallas complied and Dema repaid them by first breaking the leg of fan-favorite Brandon Pollard, effectively ending his career, and then later breaking the leg of Ronnie O’Brien. The irony is Jason Kreis was on the pitch for both of those instances.
FC Dallas fans love Juan Toja. Please keep your Dema away.
And then there is Kyle Beckerman. Beckerman has been part of three Colorado Teams that have upset Dallas in the playoffs. Let me just say this: Kyle Beckerman’s flowing locks represent playoff failure to FC Dallas fans. I can assure you more than one prayer for divine justice upon Mr. Beckerman’s knees has been uttered by otherwise rational and decent human beings who just happen to support FC Dallas.
Oh, and let us not forget The Plastic Pitch. No one, and I sincerely mean no one, will be happier for the new stadium to reach completion with it’s glorious new digs and – best of all – real, honest to God, grown, maintained natural pitch. By the way, congratulations to you all – nice job getting the stadium financed and built. The pictures appear to show an awesome stadium in an absolutely picturesque location that has many of us thrilled for you.
So Dallas needs a win. After a solid start to the season, we saw our boys go down against the New England Revolution reserves. Then we journeyed out to Northern California to come away with only a point against the Earthquakes. Now, we need a win; two points from the last nine will not do. Many FC Dallas fans’ current sanity rests upon a positive result in Salt Lake. Trust me; FC Dallas fans are pretty sure they won’t be able to receive MLS Joy from depending on Houston to continue to be 2008’s Biggest Flop. But, my dear God, it would be so sweet.
With all the emotional stuff out of the way, let’s take a look at who and what FC Dallas is likely to bring onto the FieldTurf of Rice-Eccles. FC Dallas have mainly deployed a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-3 formation this year. In the back, new addition Duilio Davino anchors a defense that has given up only five goals in six matches, three of those against Hated Houston in one match alone. You almost forget Davino is out there. He has a definite lack of speed, but his positioning is exemplary and he has been very quick to adjust to MLS speed.
In midfield, new addition Andre Rocha, on loan from Brazilian sister club CA Paranaense, plays centrally on the right. Rocha is still getting his MLS legs, but seems to show something new each match. The central combination of Rocha and Pablo Ricchetti is vital to the FC Dallas possession and counter-attack game. Leading the charge forward in midfield is Juan Carlos Toja. Toja is just fun to watch, and he is the key to the FC Dallas attack. Unfortunately, he is lacking in fitness so far this season and his form has been down from last year.
Another player to watch is Dax McCarty, a player you will cheer for. Seriously. Maybe not Saturday, but this summer he will be the kid with the red hair who is literally all over the pitch for the U.S. U-23’s at the Olympics. Dax has been playing wide right for Dallas, but is now hampered with a sports hernia that should seriously limit his minutes. He most likely will not start.
Up front, Dallas features 6’3” Kenny Cooper and the speedy and left-footed Arturo Alvarez as his foil. Cooper leads the team in goals, but often drifts out wide far enough that many of you in the lower seats will be closer to Kenny than Kenny is to the goal. Kenny, play the damned central channel already!!!
And, finally, left-wing has been a bit of a mess for us this year. David Wagenfuhr was slotted in as the starter, but began complaining of headaches shortly after a pre-season friendly with CA Paranaense. Apparently, David’s got concussion syndrome and his career hangs in the balance. Blake Wagner has worked hard, but had very mixed results in taking over. Wagner has tremendous speed and good moves, but he’s young and still very mistake prone.
So, offensively, FC Dallas has been very mixed. They are very dangerous with the long-ball over the top. However, possession has been an issue. And even when possession has been maintained, creating chances in the final third has been iffy at best. The Dallas offense has been both very good and very bad moving off the ball and some of us are wondering about overall team fitness. This leads to an insane number of balls played from the back. Some of us scream.
And now the part you’ve been waiting for (already)… my projected line-up:
-------------------------Sala----------------------------
-------Moor----------Davino-----------Serioux----------
----Rocha-----Ricchetti-----Saragosa-----Wagner-------
--------------------Toja--------------------------------
------Cooper-------------------------Alvarez-----------
Note: Rocha moves wide right with McCarty limited. And I could be wrong
