Soccer fever: catch it!

The rabid enthusiasm of soccer supporters is well known; fandom could probably be defined as one of the most contagious diseases known to humankind since one rarely becomes a footie follower without contact from others. As it turns out, though, there is something even more communicable: actual  viruses. So, as the Earthquakes depart this afternoon for a week in residence at Tottenham Hotspur’s training grounds outside London — check out this cool aerial shot of the facilities — we feel it necessary to point out that those same facilities were closed down last week after several players caught a “vomiting bug,” as the Guardian reported. (Well, sort of closed down. As Goal.com notes, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, apparently channeling Yogi Berra, told reporters, “We’ve closed the training ground. Everything is off limits. We’re just going to train there and that’s it.”)

On the bright side, this story provides a perfect excuse to re-introduce the soundtrack to the Solar-Powered Soccer Blog, as we pick a tune from our favorite band that’s named after a disease.

There’s more news from across the pond, too. Former Earthquakes Darren Huckerby and Davide Somma get some ink — er, pixels — over the latter’s loan to English fourth division side Lincoln City. Hucks compliments Somma, saying “When I saw him in America I thought he had everything you need to be a decent player,” then adds this cryptic comment: “He was unlucky not to play more games at San Jose but things are very different over there, sometimes if your face doesn’t fit you don’t get picked.” Is this some weird English idiom? As far as we remember, Somma’s face seemed to fit, just like everyone else’s, right between his ears.

The FC Gold Pride brain trust decided recently that Brandi Chastain didn’t fit into their plans anymore, and she is, understandably, none too pleased about it. She told the Mercury News last month that she thought she deserved a try-out, and the American soccer icon told Big Apple Soccer that her departure left “a bitter taste in my mouth.” This is hardly surprising — in fact, it’s an indication that the remarkable drive that pushed Chastain to compete at the highest level and to return to the pro ranks as a 40-year-old mom last season still motivates her now. Today, USA Today’s Beau Dure notes that she has another issue to raise: Is Marta too expensive for WPS? An interesting rhetorical question, to which we reply “How could WPS claim to be the best women’s league in the world without the best player in the world?”

In any case, Brandi fans, fret not — you’ll get a chance to see her later this month when she appears March 14 as the guest speaker at the seventh annual Salinas Californian All-Star High School Soccer Classic at Salinas High School, details of which are here.

That’s all the news for the day — we’ll let you return your attention to the rockin’ performance by The Hives you see above. Man, that tune is positively infectious, don’t you think?