Torneo Clausura 2008 con muchas sorpresas

Los octavos de final del Torneo Clausura 2008 del fútbol mexicano San Luis se enfrentó a su similar Los Diablos Rojos del Toluca, partido de ida que se jugó en la Bombonera en el mismísimo infierno donde Los Gladiadores sacaron un importantísimo empate, a pesar que ese empate le quedó corto y podríamos decir que esa mínima ventaja que llevan a casa los podría clasificar a semifinales si en el partido de vuelta quedasen empatados por haber terminado en mejor posición que El Toluca en la tabla general. Read more

City Council Meeting Report

They may be baby steps, but the ‘Quakes are that much closer to getting their own brand spankin’ new soccer specific stadium.

Quakes obtain Gray, Kirovski for Burpo

Kelly Gray returns to action for the Quakes. Photo by Michael Pimentel/isiphotos.com

The San Jose Earthquakes are set to announce on Wednesday that they have obtained defender/midfielder Kelly Gray and midfielder/forward Jovan Kirovski from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for goalkeeper Preston Burpo, a source with knowledge of the deal has told CLS.

(Para este artículo en español, haga clic aquí.)

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San Jose approves agreement for sale of Airport West property

In a unanimous vote, the San Jose City Council approved a memorandum of understanding which will pave the way for the sale of the Airport West property to a group of investors led by Lew Wolff and John Fisher, owners of the San Jose Earthquakes. A portion of the property is slated for a new stadium for the team. Read more

Trade winds blowing

Apparently the Quakes are set to do a deal with Western Conference team that will net them two players for the price of one. An announcement is expected some time this afternoon. The moment I hear more I’ll pass it along.

Defending champions pose a formidable challenge for San Jose

The Houston Dynamo’s name really should have remained “1836.”  The logo would have looked an old locomotive which is how the team plays, not only in matches but throughout the MLS season.  The league does no favors for the champions, having them play pre season tournaments when I am sure Dominic Kinnear would have preferred to stay close to home and sort things out for the season.  Like that locomotive, the Dynamo start slow, (Quakes ‘05 anyone?), build momentum, and then when the pieces are in place, they become more than difficult to beat.  With two wins in a row, the last in Chicago — a very difficult place to get a result — the Houston group has got to feel as though the early season blues are history. Read more

Is MLS major league? Herhold says no, but we say yes

When we saw Mercury News columnist Scott Herhold casting aspersions on MLS in his Sunday column, we couldn’t help but roll our eyes. “U.S. Major League Soccer, while improved, is not major league,” he wrote. “It’s not even among the world’s five best.”

In fact, we were so sure he was talking out of his hindquarters that we called him to ask which five leagues he had in mind as the world’s best. We were surprised when he shot back, “Bundesliga, the Italian league, the English Premier League, the French league, and, uh, one other… oh, the Spanish league.”

Chalk one up for the columnist — that’s a pretty good answer. But it’s not exactly news to a knowledgeable soccer fan that there exist better teams on this planet than you’ll find in MLS. Not very many people would put money on DC United beating Manchester United, or Real Salt Lake beating Real Madrid. Despite this, it’s a stretch to say that because MLS is not the best league in the world means that it’s not major league. The truth is that soccer, as the one team sport that is played throughout the world, doesn’t fit into the same categories that we Americans use to classify other sports.

But is that strict hierarchy real, or is it an illusion? Take baseball, for example. You’ve got Single A ball, Double A, Triple A, and finally Major League Baseball. Everyone wants to be in The Show, the majors. The picture doesn’t change much even when you consider the leagues in Central America — the differences in the size of paychecks means that most everyone there has the same goal as a talented young player from middle America: making a team in Major League Baseball.

That strict hierarchy starts to fade, though, when you consider Japanese baseball. Baseball has been played in Japan since 1873 and the country’s first professional teams started in 1920. If history is an indication of “major league,” Japan has it. The quality of play must be good, too, since many Japanese players are making an impact in the U.S.

But not all of Japan’s best players are coming here. It’s not necessary to leave Japan to make a good living playing baseball. A quick glance at the salaries made this year by members of the Yomiuri Giants shows over a dozen players making over $1 million per year, which sounds major league to us. The team’s total payroll for that organization alone is around $50 million — not nearly as much as the Yankees spend, but on par with Oakland’s salaries and more than double those of the Florida Marlins.

So, is Japanese professional baseball a major league? Based on history, talent, and money, we’d have to say yes. Using the same criteria, MLS — and many other soccer leagues around the world — are also major league.

Let’s start with history. Soccer has made a long and colorful journey in the U.S., as David Litterer has chronicled in his American Soccer History Archives. The U.S. Soccer Federation was founded in 1913; its predecessor, the American Football Association, was founded in 1884. The U.S. Open Cup has been contested since 1914. History? Check.

How about talent? There are a lot of talented players in MLS as well. While you won’t find star-studded lineups like Chelsea’s, the level of play in MLS is generally solid and is improving from year to year. MLS players have had success on the field against some of the best talent in the world. When the U.S. played Italy in the 2006 World Cup, five who took to the field for the Stars and Stripes were MLS players. The 1-1 draw was the best result anyone had against the Azzuri, the eventual champions.

That brings us to money. Obviously, that Beckham guy seems to be doing pretty well, but we’ll admit he’s an anomaly. That said, there are plenty of guys making a comfortable living in MLS (assuming six figures a year is comfortable these days), and, as with the league’s level of play, salaries are improving all the time. True, the developmental players aren’t exactly raking it in, but those players and pay rates are analogous to those on the first rungs of the Major League Baseball ladder.

It’s also incorrect to assume that every player in MLS aspires to leave the league to play in Europe. Eddie Pope was pursued by several teams but chose to remain in MLS, and we all know the story of Landon Donovan, a man who could be playing in Europe but chose a California lifestyle instead. (OK, he made a grievous error by choosing SoCal instead of NorCal, but at least he picked the right state.)

We have a couple more points to make about Herhold’s comments. While we admit that the best teams in the best leagues in Europe are likely to top the best teams in MLS, the same can’t be said of the teams at the middle and bottom of the table. MLS teams would require a larger roster to compete in the marathon composed of the Premiership, F.A. Cup, and League Cup in England, but otherwise, it’s our opinion that the best sides in MLS would do just fine against teams like Sunderland and Birmingham (not to mention the abysmal Derby County). The same is true of the rest of Herhold’s top five leagues: however good the teams are at the top, the quality drops off significantly towards the bottom.

So what’s his point? MLS isn’t the best league in the world, so there’s no point in even trying to grow the sport here? That’s the epitome of defeatism, since the only way to become the best is to work at it over time. MLS has that potential. Maybe his complaint is that no one will watch a sporting event unless it is being contested by the best players in the world, but the vast numbers of college sports fans in the U.S. put the lie to that assertion. Or maybe he was just looking for a way to criticize MLS and thought that was the easiest route of attack. In any case, he’s off base — MLS is recognized in the worldwide soccer community as a league on the rise.

Besides, to a soccer fan, the discussion of “major” versus “minor” is all semantics. Tell someone from Europe, South America, Africa or Asia that MLS is the American first division, and they’ll know just what you mean.

Monday morning midfielder

There really isn’t much to take away from Saturday’s debacle against New England. The Quakes looked listless and had absolutely no life, at least in the first half, which as we all know, was the half that mattered. And while there was plenty missing from their game, the two biggest deficiencies came in the form of leadership and confidence. The absence of Nick Garcia certainly played a part in the latter category. He may not be the best defender MLS has ever seen, but he is a leader, and there just didn’t seem to be anyone on the field taking charge of things.

I would expect to see Garcia back for Thursday’s match against Houston, but that’s not the only change I would make if I were Frank Yallop. The team looks a bit stale at the moment, and there seems to be little belief in the squad that they can score. For that reason, I think it’s time that Yallop started to give more minutes to guys who have come off the bench and done well. First, I’d give Ryan Johnson a start up top alongside Kei Kamara. We’ve seen the Ned Grabavoy-as-second-striker alignment several times now, and I can think of only one occasion (at Colorado) where it looked remotely effective. Johnson has good size, and is willing to take guys on. At the least he’ll bring more energy to the game than Grabavoy is at the moment.

And what to make of Ronnie O’Brien being subbed at half-time? Word from the Quakes is that the sub was tactical, and not health-related. Of course, the word “tactical” is often used as code for “He played like crap so he was subbed.” But I still can’t help but wonder if O’Brien’s knee is bugging him more than he or the coaching staff are letting on. Tuesday’s practice should reveal some things in that regard.

Player ratings: (1-10; 5=average)

Joe Cannon, 4 - What we had here was a failure to communicate.

James Riley, 3 - His homecoming couldn’t have been much worse.

Ryan Cochrane, 6 - Actually held things together.

Jason Hernandez, 5 - Time to move him back out wide, where he’s been solid.

Eric Denton, 4 - Fell asleep on the first goal.

Ronnie O’Brien, 4 - Looked out of sorts and out of sync.

Ramiro Corrales, 4 - Dominated by Shalrie Joseph in the first half.

Joe Vide, 5 - Did what he could.

Ivan Guerrero, 5 - Needs to get the ball more.

Ned Grabavoy, 4 - Anonymous.

Kei Kamara, 4 - Tried hard, but was ineffective.

Subs:

Ryan Johnson, 6 - Time to give this guy a start

Shea Salinas, 6 - Ditto.

John Cunliffe, NR - If Johnson isn’t the answer, then maybe Cunliffe is.

Canary legend urges Huckerby to pursue American dream

As the new week begins, we’ve got another story on the potential move to MLS of recently released Norwich City striker Darren Huckerby. Huckerby, 32, attended a special soccer and music event over the weekend at Carrow Road, the Canaries’ home ground, where he was recognized as part of the club’s “Greatest Ever” eleven. Also in attendance was former Norwich City striker Ted MacDougall, 60, who now works as a youth coach for the USL-1 Atlanta Silverbacks. UK newspaper the Norwich Evening News reports that MacDougall urged Huckerby to try his hand — or feet — in the U.S.

“I spoke to him and I think he’d do fantastic over there, I really truthfully do, because he’s the type of player that’s right for America,” said MacDougall.

“What’s happened in the MLS is that it’s gone from a Disneyland type of game to a more serious game now. It’s a proper game and it’s got better and better and better and we’ve got people like Angel coming over, Beckham, Blanco from Mexico. These are getting big money.

“Even players like Landon Donovan, American players, are getting a million a year, so the whole game is getting elevated.

“Now we have to become a nation of not just players but watchers. This is an exciting place to be, America.”

MacDougall also gave the American game a positive review. He particularly recognizes the improvements to the play and technique of some of his youngest charges, players who have undoubtedly benefited from growing up with MLS as well as the increase in televised international soccer that has taken place over the last decade.

“The game is getting better and better and better. Where big clubs in Europe were going to Africa and looking for players, and people like Drogba came out of it, a lot of the professional clubs are now coming to America because we do have athletes and the athletes are not just playing baseball and American football and basketball, they’re starting to play soccer.

“So our game is starting to really go through the roof and at youth level we can compete with most teams, up to 15, 16.

“I coach every day and the 10 and 12-year-olds are better technically than the 17-year-olds. I run our youth side and it’s fantastic. My under-13s are number nine in the nation and first in Georgia. They came over last year and beat Bournemouth, Reading and Portsmouth, but got hammered by Southampton, which was good for them.”

• • •

Besides Huckerby, there are other strikers on the market now that the season is winding down in many European leagues. Ian Martin of the American Soccer Reader offers up a list of potential signings, and we’ll throw another name in the bucket. Former U.S. U-20 forward Johann Smith, who turned 21 last month, has been released by Bolton Wanderers and is looking for a club. We don’t know too much about him besides what’s listed here, but he might be one for the future if he has any skills at all to go with his reported 10.5 second speed in the 100 meters. Of course, Brian McBride is available, too, but he turns 36 next month and his services are already being requested by his former club, the Columbus Crew, and the Chicago Fire, which would be a natural choice for the native of Arlington Heights, Ill.

• • •

Finally, our own Embele Awipi talks with Earthquakes defender Ryan Cochrane for his preview of Thursday night’s match against the Houston Dynamo in his column for the Salinas Californian.

Post-game post mortem

We were going to call this the post-game press wrap up or something like that, but considering how dead the Quakes looked in the first half, we’re going with “post mortem.”

Here are links to match reports on the web:

- San Jose Mercury News
- MLSnet.com
- Boston Globe as well as this sidebar on goal-scorer Kheli Dube.
- Boston Herald
- Worcester Telegram & Gazette News

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