The MLS will never be the biggest and best soccer league in the world ala EPL, La Liga and Serie A. Trying to create a league to rival such established leagues is only a pipedream. But being a "feeder" league to such them is not a goal we can can't accomplish. There is no shame in inspiring to be like the dutch league or country, who give great players to the better leagues, Kuyt to Liverpool, Van Persie to Arsenal, etc, while still be a competive in their own right.
Bringing big name players such as Beckham, Davids (FC Dallas rumors), etc. would only be a positive move in making The MLS a better training ground for our lads to get experience playing with real professional players. Players like Dempsey are the future of MLS. Progessing his talent as far as he can in MLS, then moving on to somewhere better. Players like, Reyna, McBride, Friedel, Convey, Hahnemann, Howard, Beasley, Spector, Bocanegra, DeMerit, Gibbs are who the American public should be proud of, Americans holding their own in the EPL.
Playing with or against Quality players like Becks, can only help our US Men's National Team. It gives them the oppurtunity to play highly competetive games week in and week out.
Beckham will start the tread of other aging (in soccer playing years) international star players to come over. The MLS will give them a place to get plenty of playing time, in league that is starved for publicity and attendance. The US is not a bad place to come out, make a couple bucks and few more fans, before retiring from football completely.
I say bring on the soccer celebrities to the MLS elephant grave yard, I will be the first to buy the kits!! Beckham Galaxy, or Ronaldo Chicago Fire, Zidane Red Bull, Fowler Crew, Hyypia Dynamo. And I am planning several road trips to LA see Becks in person!
I've had several weeks to ponder the World Cup Final. There just arn't any words.
ZIzou, Matterazi. Crazy ending to a otherwise crazy world cup.
Someone knows something, I mean al the mikes on that pitch must have caught something, otherwise why the ban for Matterazi. I too believe it was very bold of FIFA to ban him for trash talking. But it really dosn't matter all that much does it? The game of a life time IS OVER! It doesn't change the outcome of the game, the moment is gone, lost forever.
Any talk about stripping of Zizou of the golden ball is a load of ####! The WTF football moment of the decade (well, besides the actual head butt). There's no way you can do that, though I do believe Cannavaro deserved it as well. It's too late! People voted honestly and fairly, it's not like striping a olympic medal for doping. Zizou carried the hopes and dreams of a nation and the strength and heart of an entire squad the whole tourney. The same can be said of Cannavaro. Zizou is older and it was his last game, so give a brotha a break.
Anyway, it was awesome World Cup, much more entertaining than the Japan/Korea one, though not only for the the actual playing of the game. My most memorable moments, not in any particular order.
* Netherlands vs. Portugal - not the most beautiful game, it was down right ugly, but entertaining none the less. Cristiano in tears, figo head butt, yellow and red cards flying.
*John Terry in Tears - After England's gutting loss. That man is a freaking work horse.
*Henry knocked out - many people will forget the other 100 minutes of the Final match, but not me! Thierry Henry running flat out into the (beautiful) chest of Cannavaro, was hilarious and scary at the same time. They had to use smelling salts.
*Maxi RodriguezGoal - Brillant.
*David Beckham Goal - well mostly for posh celebrating, and becks celebrating.
*Steven Gerrard and Crouchy scoring - Liverpool Lads done good.
*Michael Owen injury - A tourning point for England.
*Rooney/Cristiano - Please read previous blogs.
* Zizou - The man, the myth the head butt.
*California Klinnesmen - You show all those nay sayers, well done.
Okay so they fixed it since 2002 when Oliver Kahn was given the golden ball before the last match, to now when they will decide then announce after the match on Monday. But how about the young player of the tournament?
Podolskli is great, top notch, but did he really win it, or did Cristiano Ronaldo lose it.
Please, please can everyone out there take their heads out of their behinds and listen to me for a sec. Was it the Rooney incident or was it all the diving? If it was for the England match , you all should be ashamed. He was calling for the foul! or even calling for the red card. It shouldn't be named illegal. Everyone has done it, Gerrard, Rooney, Becks etc.. I've seen them do it in the EPL. They were not teamates, it was not a Man. United game, It's the frickin' World Cup. He deserves a slap for the wink to the Portugal bench after the send off but again, that's not illegal, it was just him being a smuk. Also by the mock head butt at the begining of the match, I really don't think they were friends before the incident, even though the Portuguese player who was watching thought it was funny, Rooney did not.
All that aside, the boy has skillz. He has flare and ran at every defender he faced. Okay, so he had no goals or assists and his finishing needs work. I'm thinking he's at 90%, he just needs a little more knowledge dropped on him (like a good kick in the a**) to be a complete player.
Um, okay I'll relent. Podolski is light years more mature a player than my boy.
Maybe Cristiano Ronaldo is the world next Beckham, hot as hell, the sexiest man of the world, but hey, Becks has made a career of it, right?
BTW, I swear I'm not a 16 year old teenybopper that listens to 'NSYNC.
I'm 23. :)
Also if FIFA or Gillette raised they age to 23. Lahm or Ribery would have won it for sure! Also what was Messi doing in the running, he played like 10 minutes all tournament.
There isn't enough I can say about England loss to Portugal on Saturday. I've talked about it with everyone of my friends and family who called to give their condolences. Between Ronney's hotheaded bad decison, becks exit, Lampard not showing up, Sven's continued 4-5-1 line-up, and our weak bench, I've had enough of the could of should of's.
John Terry's tears post match will haunt me forever, or at least untill Euro 2008.
Emotionally I was a wreak for this one. Of 'course theres no doubt that England is my team. but I can trufully say that I've and a place in my heart for Portugal since the last WC in 2002. I even featured Figo and Beto in my Sims neighborhood along with Oliver Kahn, Becks, Dietmer Hamman.
There's not one person out there who can deny Christiano Ronaldo was the man of the match for that game. He totally killed us, that super hottie. I don't know how he's going to come back to Man. United to play along with Rooney after this. I think he played on the right and Becks of course has bad D and only stopped him a couple of times and Neville was trying to attack and Christiano would alway counter. Simao was killer after he came on and how cool was it for him to get the captains band.
All in all, for England to have any saving grace Portugal must win the whole GD thing, so atleast we can say "well, we got beat my the champs, so, yeah".
Portugal will have their hands full with France, but if France plays like they did in their win over Brazil, Portugal is soo out of here. France dominated the entire match, leaving everyone (except me, 'cuz I never like them anyway) to say "Brazil who?" On the attack from minute une, there was no stopping them. Zidane is the gipher, and Cisse it's all for you buddy. I gave France not chance in the early rounds after their so so perforances (I didn't see them but I heard about them), and thought they'd again make an early exit, but WOW. I usually don't care much for Henry (he's an arsenal man, you know), and with all those offsides calls, I didn't think he'd ever put one in the back of the net that would be called fair. If it weren't for the magic master himself Zidane, I'd be over. I don't know what that man is on, but I want some. Everyone else is Fantasic as well, (don't feel like looking up all the spellings, except Makelele I know that that spelling).
I still hope Germany will kick the Azzurri in the pants (hey odin) and It'll be France and Germany in the Final, and France giving Zidane a happy retirement gift. But I way my favorite teams are going, I shouldn't root for anyone and just wish for a good game instead.
Oh and Becks stepped down as Captain. Maybe they'll pass the band to Gerrard, Terry is another good choice. All I know is that whenever Gerrard steps on to a Liverpool Pitch or even Carragher (who subs for Gerrard as Captain at Liverpool), they light up that field and they take charge of that pitch. I haven't seen Becks do that In a long time. So a change of guard is a good thing.
I'm a little disappointed in Ecaudor, I expected them to kick the #### out of England, and still have England ink out a win.
Anyway happy about the result. We've got Portugal up next. Boy will that be a mountian to climb over. Christiano Ronaldo and Figo up against my Gerrard and Becks. AHHH, attack of the hotties. (I know, I know I'm such a girl!)
This will be a tough game, England will have to do something spectacular to win. Um, how about taking out that waste of a kit, Lampard. How many Shots and Shots on Goal has he got with a result. It's called finishing####. Gerrard has way less and already has 2 goals this tourney.
I'd like to see Lennon and Becks on that Right side again, they can totally work at it together. You've got Joe Cole on the left, Gerrard in the middle pushing foward, keep Hardgraves middle back, Rooney up front (duh, he'd have a cow if you left him out), Terry, Rio, Ashely Cole, and Neville if fit or Carra on the right. Robinson in Goal (he's a little shaky but way better than David James, and Carson is still untested). That's 11 right? I know that would be a steady 11. Sven are you listening.
That's our best 11 without Michael Owen. Carrick did alright today, but he didn't do enough to make me keep him as a starter. Crouchy is still pidgon holed as a air only man, it's going to be hard to put him up there as a lone striker, and a rooney and crouch action is still untested. Both our strikers up there is a gamble, but we've got an ace in the pocket right? Walcott is supposed to be good right?
Speaking of which. Why is our bench so untested, when Portugal, Spain, Argentina and others are SO DEEP. Seriously deep, they can rest all the starters and play the whole bench and win! Is the EPL too full of foreign talent, or did Sven just pick a too young of a squad? He left out many usual suspects, Dyer, Wright-Phillips and others.
Carrick , Downing, Walcott, Lennon, Jenas, Carson are all untested in International level (Some in EPL for that matter). Wayne Bridge is alright I guess, and David James in goal scares the #### out of me, I swear he's as unpredicable as..i don't know what. I just don't trust him, as I would a Dida, Dudek, Reina, Keller, Friedel or Kahn.
Where is all the English talent? I guess our starting 11 or 12 is it. This is the last chance for some of them, or maybe not, if England can't produce The "Next Ronaldo" or next "Maradona", we'll just have to keep, Becks and Terry out there untill they are old and grey like Zidane. Or maybe we do have the next superstar, walcott and lennon, we just don't trust them to get it done, yet.
