About Me:
I am the senior soccer writer here at Fox Sports. Email me at jamie.trecker@gmail.com. Follow @jamietrecker. And find me on facebook.com/jamietrecker
About Me:
I am the senior soccer writer here at Fox Sports. Email me at jamie.trecker@gmail.com. Follow @jamietrecker. And find me on facebook.com/jamietrecker
About Me:
I am the senior soccer writer here at Fox Sports. Email me at jamie.trecker@gmail.com. Follow @jamietrecker. And find me on facebook.com/jamietrecker
Tomorrow kicks off the start of the second half of group play. Some big names had better be getting things right quickly if they hope to be playing Champions League football next spring when the knockout phase begins. The heat is on in Milan and Munich while two EPL powers should insure their qualification by simply taking care of business.
No question where the big match is: the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milano. Real Madrid collapsed in spectacular fashion at home to AC Milan two weeks ago, the start of a major tailspin for the Galacticos. After that loss, the Meringues also managed to get shocked by a third division-level side in the Spanish Cup and it seems only a matter of time before the knives are out for everybody in management.
Of course, all that can change in 90 minutes at San Siro. Victory and Real Madrid is back on track for its expected qualification. Defeat, especially if coupled with a Marseille home win over FC Zurich, would create a high-pressure scenario. Did we really expect that losing Cristiano Ronaldo to injury would create this much havoc?
The other side of the coin is AC Milan, a club in apparent chaos before the second half rally in Madrid. Leonardo was thought to be facing the chop and there were suggestions that Milan's season would evaporate before the end of November.
If the red-and-black collect three points even their harshest critics may be willing to forget the last San Siro appearance in this competition — that was a loss against FC Zurich, of course.
In Munich, Bayern needs a win to pull back level with Bordeaux in the three-team Group A race. The French champs had two penalties saved in their 2-1 home win two weeks ago and the Germans had two players sent off, but there's no reason to think that Bayern faces a major uphill climb. Louis van Gaal's team is deep enough to reverse that result and leave it all up to the two final tests against Juventus and Maccabi Haifa.
Juventus might be the team under more pressure. They need a win in Israel against pointless Maccabi. Even a draw will leave the trapdoor open for a third place finish because their last two in the section are against Bayern and Bordeaux.
Manchester United and Chelsea will qualify if they win as expected. FC Porto can also advance out of Group D if they can defeat APOEL Nicosia in Cyprus and Chelsea wins in Spain.
TUESDAY TV: The schedule (all kicks at 14:45 Eastern Standard) Group A Bayern Munchen vs. Bordeaux, DTV 462; Maccabi Haifa vs. Juventus, DTV 463 Group B Manchester United vs. CSKA Moscow, Setanta; Besiktas vs. Wolfsburg, DTV 464 Group C AC Milan vs. Real Madrid, Fox Espanol; Marseille vs. FC Zurich, 465 Group D APOEL Nicosia vs. FC Porto, DTV 466; Atletico Madrid vs. Chelsea, Fox Soccer Channel, DTV 467
First off, check out our playoffcoverage right here. And then try to scrub the images of the Seattle-Houston game out of your mind. What a foul-fest.
Then: One of the biggest games of the year in American soccer to date will take place this weekend. It is not, unfortunately, part of the MLS playoffs.
The game is Arsenal against Tottenham, and it will be the first big-four clash to air on ESPN2’s morning EPL slot. How it fares in terms of the ratings will be a harbinger for the game over here for the year — and decade — to come
ESPN’s biggest success of the year so far was back in August, with the Liverpool-Villa game that pulled in almost 400,000 viewers. Since then, the net’s ratings have dipped — last week’s Wolves-Villa game drew just over half that with 204,882 — but so have the quality of the games and teams. (The ratings for the entire season have been published on EPLTalk)
So: If, as many people think, and the Premier League does post good ratings on ESPN2 with this week’s Arsenal-Tottenham game, it will represent a vindication of the American network’s attempt to dive into world soccer. It will also represent a success for the Premiership itself and it’s ambitious five-year plan to stage some of its games in America. Last, but not least — and this bit should worry MLS fans — it could provide the most concrete evidence yet that even with a 14-year head start, MLS is not gaining traction.
DEPT OF BEING TOO HONEST: This cost Kevin Payne $5K. He's right, of course.
DEPT OF FLASHES IN THE PAN: First, Tampa Bay outlets reported that Manchester United owner Glazer lost $400m in Madoff scheme; may sell Bucs; Then, Glazers fired back on link to Madoff; calling it "100% false." This morning, Clear Channel radio station suspended host who made original comments.
TV THIS WEEKEND (All times EDT/ET and our picks in bold) TODAY U17WC: Germany v Honduras 1100 ESPN360 U17WC: Argentina v Nigeria 1100 ESPN360 U17WC: Japan v Mexico 1400 ESPN360 U17WC: Switzerland v Brazil 1400 ESPN360 QPR vs Leicester 1545 ESPN360
SATURDAY Moscow v Zenit St. Pete 0700 Setanta Arsenal v Tottenham 0830 ESPN2 Stuttgart v Bayern Munich 1030 GolTV U17WC: Gambia v Colombia 1048 ESPN360 U17WC: Holland v Iran 1048 ESPN360 Fulham v Liverpool 1100 Setanta Bolton v Chelsea 1100 FSC/FSE Sunderland v West Ham 1100 (SDD FSC 1800) Stoke v Wolves 1100 (SDD Setanta 2130) Pompey v Wigan 1100 (SDD Setanta 2315) Burnley v Hull 1100 stream only Everton v Villa 1100 Setanta X* (SDD 1800) Getafe v Real Madrid 1255 ESPND Juventus v Napoli 1300 RAI (SDD on FSE 1730) Real Madrid v Getafe 1300 stream Man U v Blackburn 1330 FSC U17WC: Burkina Faso v CR 1348 ESPN360 U17WC: New Zealand v Turkey 1348 ESPN360 Osasuna v Barcelona 1500 GolTV AC Milan v Parma 1545 FSC/FSE St. Etienne v Lyon 1600 Setanta Bilbao v Atletico Madrid 1700 GolTV Braga v Benfica 1715 ESPN360 Columbus v RSL 1800 DK/RSNs/MLSNET.com Cruz Azul v Atlante 1900 Azteca San Luis v Monterrey 1900 Telefutura Tigres v Tecos 2100 Telemundo Indios v Puebla 2100 Azteca Atlas v Pachuca 2300 Telemundo
SUNDAY (TIME CHANGE TOOK EFFECT TODAY AT 2 AM) Ajax v Feyenoord 0600 ESPN360 Spartak v Rostov 0700 Setanta Dundee United v Rangers 0745 stream
Sampdoria v Bari 0900 RAI Roma v Bologna 0900 ESPN360 Livorno v Inter Milan 0900 FSC/FSE/360 U17WC: Malawi v Spain 0948 ESPN360 U17WC: USA v UAE 0948 ESPNU/360 Almeria v Zaragoza 1055 ESPN360 Birmingham v Man City 1100 FSE/FSC U17WC: Korea v Algeria 1248 ESPN360 U17WC: Italy v Uruguay 1248 ESPN360 Palmeiras v Corinthians 1300 GolTV Morelia v Chivas 1300 Azteca Toluca v Queretaro 1300 Telemundo Fire v Revs 1400 FSC Coruna v Gijon 1500 GolTV Palermo v Genoa 1545 FSC America v Jaguares 1700 Univision LAG v Chivas 1700 ESPN2 Santos v Pumas 2100 Telefutura
Thursday, October 29, 2009, 09:01 AM EST
[General]
The MLS playoffs kick off tonight with the sagging Dynamo taking on the expansion Seattle Sounders. But the real story of the day is up North, where the best-supported team in MLS crashed out of the playoffs, again… and gave their GM a two-year extension.
Huh?!
Let's recap: Toronto FC is part of an organization known for losing. MLSE, the team’s parent, also owns the worst-in-hockey Toronto Maple Leafs (they’ve won one game all year) yet makes money hand over fist thanks to the dogged loyalty of its fans. The Maple Leafs are Canada’s Team, an asset not even the late Harold Ballard could strangle.
TFC is a different animal: Hockey is Canada’s game, not soccer. And yet, since the day it opened the doors, it has been MLS’ best-supported team. Lose, lose, or even win, the fans show up in force each and every game. How much longer that will last is an open question. For, right now, the relationship between the club and its fans is near a breaking point.
TFC have never made the playoffs. This year, they plumbed a new low, by missmissing the post-season in shocking fashion. Who loses 5-0 to the gawdawful New York Red Bulls? Toronto. The disgust was palpable.
Shortly afterwards, the team canned interim coach Chris Cummins, who took over the job when John Carver — who had had it up to here with the lack of professionalism in MLS — abruptly decamped.
Cummins had some choice comments to the Canadian media about his departure, saying that the locker room had some “bad apples;” that GM Mo Johnston was firing him as a way to “deflect criticism” And noting tartly that: I've been here 18 months and they've been the same issues and I'm sure they've been the same issues for three years.”
After the collapse, star player Dwayne DeRosario also questioned his teammates’ heart and guts, without naming names. Cummins also said he told Johnston and looked to ship some guys out. In competing media scrums, Johnston said he was never made aware of the lockerroom problems. That’s a statement this reporter finds difficult to take at face value considering Carver was so up-front about the issue.
When teams lose, finger-pointing invariably follows, so this doesn’t come as any sort of shock. What is troubling about all this is how badly MLS needs Toronto to succeed.
Toronto and Seattle are the bright spots in a league that is still clawing for respect and credibility. And while MLS HQ is trying to be more hands-off, the folks there have to know the risks. Admittedly, this is a league that let mismanagement reign in New York, killing that team stone dead at the box office. It also flubbed the rollout of David Beckham. So, some might say that MLS HQ might not be the best place to loom for guidance.
That said, it’s clear that Johnston — who was terrible in New York as well — isn’t the person to be in charge of such an important franchise. MLS and MLSE need to sit down and fix this mess. The last thing American soccer needs is another half-empty soccer stadium and a team with a legacy of alienated fans.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 08:20 AM EST
[General]
First impressions of Wilmer Cabrera's American U-17 team that opened the FIFA U-17 World Cup on Monday are positive. You might say this is strange: The team had a 1-0 lead in five minutes, played 88 minutes against ten men and still couldn't beat Spain. The Europeans won 2-1 thanks a very good strike rate and with perhaps just a tiny bit of help from a linesman who appeared to miss an offside decision on one of the two tallies. But this isn't about the result as much as it is about how the Americans played. This one was not the usual kick-and-hope approach that dominates our youth game too often. This performance was measured, well-thought and it lasted for 90 minutes, something pretty rare for a USA team at any level. We have seen plenty of this age-group soccer in the past 20 years, including FIFA World Cups and the qualifying rounds which lead up to it, so we are hardly going to get carried away by one game. If anything is true about U-17 players it is that they are notoriously unpredicatble and offer performances which can vary radically from game to game. Few of the individuals ever reach the top level, although the real standouts in this event usually do go on to be special: think Cesc Fabregas when he stole the Finland-hosted event from then-touted Freddy Adu. Indeed, results really don't matter at this point; indeed Americans often are too interested in how a team did in terms of W's and L's and overlook how those numbers were achieved. It will be good enough for us if Cabrera's team can merely replicate its approach and organization in its remaining games in Nigeria. Even after an opening loss, this team looked good enough to impress against Malawi and the United Arab Emirates. I'm not even going to mention any players this morning. That will come later if deserved. Right now my focus is strictly on wanting to see a US team play with its mind as much as with its body. We saw next to nothing in terms of intelligent play development from the U-20 bunch in Egypt -- heart and effort and physicality, yes. Even our senior national team regularly fails in the thinking department -- we get players sent off and carded far too often and too many times the team cannot put two consistent halves together. Nobody ever questions the effort, but it's time we demanded far more than hard work. If there is to be any real change in our players it has to begin at the U17 level. We can choose to play more slowly, smarter and with a creative touch, but first we have stop running at full speed and flying into tackles. Coaching can influence players to make that choice and change their game. The appointment of Cabrera, a Colombian international, may turn out to have been a significant first step in getting something like that happening at last. -- All of the U17 event from Nigeria is airing on ESPN360.com for those of you lucky enough to have access to those high-quality productions. ESPN360.com is also where you will be able to see the Arsenal-Liverpool Carling Cup game this afternoon (3:45 p.m., Eastern). Of interest there will be how the sides line up. Arsene Wenger has used this Cup to blood youngsters; Liverpool, too, has not been full strength early-on, but drawn against Arsenal and in the middle of a well-publicized crisis can Rafa Benitez afford to trust his kids with this trip to the Emirates? And for any of you who are wondering, the "later" kickoff times for this week's games from Europe are down to the fact that they ended Summer Time last weekend. We change our clocks this weekend so things will be back to "normal" on Sunday.
Took a day off yesterday after another long weekend of following football and letting all of you Twitter users know about it in real-time. (As always, each weekend and Champs League day, you can get real-time updates via @championsonfox) But, today’s story is already up on the front page, so go check it out. Tomorrow is a travel day for me, but we’ll return to regularly scheduled service on Thursday, with a look ahead at the MLS playoffs and matchups.
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