Frank Yallop interview
By Editor · July 28, 2008
Center Line Soccer was on hand for coach Frank Yallop’s post-game press conference. Click on the headline above or “Read More” to access the audio. Read more
Interviews with Red Bulls’ Osorio, Angel
By Editor · July 28, 2008
New York Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio and striker Juan Pablo Angel spoke with the media following yesterday’s 1-1 draw between San Jose and New York. Click the headline above or on “Read More” to hear the audio. Read more
Scott Sealy Interview
By Harvey Rañola · July 27, 2008
The Earthquakes’ newest forward Scott Sealy talks about his strike partnership with Ryan Johnson and looks ahead to a better performance in front of the fans next week.
Quakes vs. NY Red Bulls
By Joe Nuxoll · July 27, 2008
San Jose Earthquakes vs. New York Red Bulls - July 27, 2008 - Another day for sunburns and fast-paced soccer to photograph. The game ended with a 1-1 tie, with the Quakes scoring BOTH goals. Sigh.
Huckerby gets his first in 1-1 draw with New York
By Jay Hipps · July 27, 2008
Darren Huckerby celebrates after scoring his first goal as an Earthquake against the NY Red Bulls, Sunday, July, 27, 2008. Photo by John Todd — isiphotos.com/centerlinesoccer.com.
(Para este artículo en español, haga clic aquí.)
Despite a dominating first-half performance from San Jose, New York made the most of an early own goal and held on for a point as the Earthquakes and Red Bulls battled to a 1-1 draw at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara.
“I think the first half was probably the best we’ve played this year,” said Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop. “We obviously gifted them an early goal, but there was only one team in the first half… I thought we were very good today, and I was really happy with the spirit and the togetherness and everything, the creation of chances.
“Finishing is the thing we can’t do now, but again, that will come.” Read more
Sabor Latino… Los Jugadores estrellas de la MLS dieron cátedra al West Ham 3-2
By David I. Gálvez, Sr. - “Saque de Meta” · July 25, 2008
El juego de las estrellas de Major League Soccer que tuvo lugar en el estadio BMO de la ciudad de Toronto, Canadá ante más de 40,000 aficionados que a su vez le dieron la bienvenida al equipo West Ham United de Inglaterra en un partido amistoso que termino con un marcador de 3-2 a favor del equipo convocados por los mejores jugadores de la MLS. Cuauhtémoc Blanco sobresalió en este partido asistiendo un pase gol de taquito, que deslumbro a todo el estadio y después anotó un gol espectacular, dejando opacos al ingles Beckham y al estadounidense Landon Donovan, en solo 45 minutos de juego se robo el cariño y los aplausos del público canadiense que después del encuentro salieron gozosos del espectáculo futbolero. Read more
This week’s trialist, college combine, extra time in Canada
By Jay Hipps · July 24, 2008
Greetings to All-Star Thursday here on the solar-powered soccer blog, where we’re waiting for the mid-summer schmoozefest to be over so that the Quakes can get back on the field for chapter two of the Huckerby/Lima/Sealy era.
Speaking of Sealy, be sure to check out the interview we posted yesterday, in which he divulges that he’s already had two offers to leave MLS at the end of the year. (Don’t panic yet — he hasn’t made any decisions about his future.)
• • •
We had a chance to speak with Quakes coach Frank Yallop, and he gave a thumbs up to the debut performances of his trio of new signings. He was pleased with Francisco Lima’s calming influence on the midfield and his distribution, and thought he would mesh well there with Ramiro Corrales. He also liked what he saw from Darren Huckerby, who managed to threaten Toronto’s nets even though BMO Field’s slick plastic turf hindered his game. Yallop also thought Sealy had done well, especially considering his opportunity to get to know his new teammates consisted of “shaking their hands at the stadium before the match.”
Yallop may not be done with this summer’s player moves, however. Although he defended the performance of his forwards, noting that the team as a whole hasn’t been creating enough opportunities, he did express a desire to bring in one more striker before all is said and done.
• • •
Speaking of new players, the Quakes are holding an invitation-only player combine this week with college seniors. The first session was yesterday afternoon, with another to follow today.
There’s also a new trialist in town, former Leicester City, Reading and Brentford right winger Paul Brooker. Brooker, 31, has been without a club for almost a year and plays a position where the Quakes have quite a bit of depth, so his work is cut out for him if he is going to win a spot on the team.
• • •
Finally, we’re going to be away from the Internet for a couple days, so things may get a bit quiet around here until Sunday. If you spot any interesting Quakes-related news items to share, please post them in the comment section below.
See you at Buck Shaw and remember to bring that sunscreen — it’s a 12:00 start.
Red Bull’s season depends on Angel, new signings
By Tim Hanley · July 24, 2008
New York coach Juan Carlos Osorio, center, may find that his continued employment depends on the performance of new signings like Jorge Rojas (13) and star striker Juan Pablo Angel (9). Photo: Howard C. Smith, isiphotos.com.
New York Red Bull manager Juan Carlos Osorio has made some noise recently. Notably, in the media, he has called out his players and a standard of play he is less than satisfied with. Unlike John Carver, the Toronto boss who recently named names, Juan Carlos has used the sweeping generalization method. In previous pre-match write ups, we’ve touched on coaches “losing” their team, and Juan Carlos is dangerously close at the moment. In pre-season he had the team change from their 2007 4-4-2 format to his preferred 3-5-2. Style of play and/or formations are based on the players available and Juan Carlos must have felt his group of players would fit the system. Well, half way through 2008, the Red Bulls’ record sends a different message. So what did he do? Changed back and forth between a 3-5-2 and a 4-4-2 and then blamed the players. Coaches are ultimately responsible for everything that happens on the field. If the players weren’t good enough in preseason, why did they make the roster? I know the Red Bulls have suffered from injuries — Claudio Reyna, Dane Richards (again), Juan Pablo Angel — but I don’t see the league’s best coaches making excuses. Sometimes after all the hype and finger pointing, one needs to take a long look in the mirror. Read more
Scott Sealy interview
By Editor · July 23, 2008
Center Line Soccer’s Jay Hipps spoke with the latest Quake, Scott Sealy, after practice on Wednesday. They talked about his trade to San Jose, the potential for a move out of MLS at the end of the season, and his reunion with former teammates Nick Garcia, Amir Lowery, and James Riley. Click on the headline above or on “Read more” to access the audio. Read more
Slow news day in Norwich?
By Jay Hipps · July 23, 2008
If you watch Gary Radnich’s interview with Darren Huckerby, conducted the same day the new Quake was presented to the press last week, there’s not much to it. It’s pretty typical stuff from Radnich — he clowns around with Huckerby, his staff at KRON, and pretty much anyone else he can think of. He keeps it light and playful, which is the style he brings to everything. He’s not particularly well informed about soccer, the geography of England, or the pronunciation of “Ronaldinho,” but that’s not exactly atypical among local TV hosts. Radnich is essentially the Huell Howser of Bay Area sports — you can laugh at him if you like, but he’s really all about getting you to laugh along with him.
The interview is apparently big news back in Norwich, however, where two newspaper articles have focused on it in recent days, driving the traffic to the YouTube clip linked above to over 60,000 views. First, the Norwich Evening News ran a story Monday focusing on the interview and the reaction of Quakes fans over on BigSoccer. (It’s never a good sign when reporters resort to posting reactions from Internet message boards, particularly if they use people’s screen names. If you’re ever reading a news story and see a quote like, “‘In my professional opinion, Dr. Montgomery’s behavior was innappropriate,’ writes poster BigStudWithTheLadies2007,” run the other way as quickly as possible.)
Today, the Evening News‘ story is followed up by another, this one in a competing publication, The Advertiser. The new article essentially repackages the points made in the Evening News story but skips the BigSoccer commentary. Wow — there really must not be much happening in Norwich right now.
Kudos to Huckerby, by the way, for playing along with Radnich in the interview. Here’s our favorite part of the exchange:
Radnich: Are you a married man? Do you have a famous girlfriend that we can help promote?
Huckerby: Not really, no. I’m married but she’s not a pop singer, so — it’s too late for her, she’s too old.
That little bit cracked them both up, and we’re impressed that Huckerby is witty enough to ad lib something like that, and humble enough to poke a little fun at himself and his spouse. The ability to crack up your teammates can be a great trick for improving team chemistry, so it may be a good sign for the Quakes, too.
The most important part of the interview, though, as wife of blog just mentioned here in blog headquarters, is that Radnich said at the end that Huckerby “seems like a nice guy.” Mainstream Bay Area sports fans like Radnich, so getting the Radnich seal of approval is a good first step towards being accepted by mainstream Bay Area sports fans. When you’re trying to grow a franchise, that’s not a bad thing at all.
