USA & North America Football

[Andi Istiabudi]

Dear All,

Melengkapi thread bertema sepakbola kawasan yang beberapa sudah ada sebelumnya di forum United Indonesia, kini telah hadir thread khusus untuk membahas seputar sepakbola di Amerika Serikat dan kawasan Amerika Utara. Silahkan diposting !

[Andi Istiabudi]

Amerika Tunda Bertanding ke Mesir

Bola.net - Petinggi sepak bola Amerika Serikat mengumumkan pada hari Senin kalau mereka menunda rencana laga persahabatan di Kairo pada 9 Februari, karena masalah politik yang memanas di negara itu.

Pertandingan antara AS dan penyandang gelar juara Piala Afrika Mesir diumumkan pada 13 Desember dan itu merupakan yang pertama kali bagi tim AS ke Mesir.

"Karena situasi politik di negara itu, maka kedua belah pihak setuju untuk menunda pertandingan," kata Ketua Federasi Sepak Bola AS Sunil Gulati, Senin.

Pertandingan persahabatan lain yang akan dilakukan Amerika, yang sedang bersiap mengikuti Kejuaraan Amerika Utara merebutkan Piala Emas, Juni, adalah melawan Argentina pada 27 Maret di East Rutherford, New Jersey. (ant/cax)

Source : http://www.bola.net

[Andi Istiabudi]

Miroslav Klose Akan Ramaikan MLS?
Husain Noval

Bomber Bayern Munich, Miroslav Klose dikabarkan sedang diincar klub liga Amerika Serikat ( MLS), New York Red Bulls.

Selama ini Red Bull dikenal sebagai klub yang royal mendatangkan pemain tenar yang merumput di liga Eropa. Saat ini saja Red Bulls sudah diperkuat dua mantan punggawa Barcelona, Rafael Marquez dan Thiery Henry.

Tentang rencana mendatangkan Klose, kabarnya klub yang dulu bernama New York MetroStars itu akan mendatangkan striker Der Panzer ini sebagai pengganti Juan Pablo Angel yang kontraknya akan segera berakhir.

Menurut Sportal, peluang bagi Red Bulls untuk mendapat Klose cukup besar, apalagi kontrak Klose bersama Munich akan berakhir musim ini, dan Amerika Serikat bisa saja mejadi pelabuhan terakhir bagi Klose sebelum gantung sepatu.

Namun tidak Cuma Red Bulls yang berminat mendatangkan pencetak 14 gol di Piala Dunia itu. Real Madrid, Lazio, Juventus, dan beberapa klub Eropa lain kabarnya juga tertarik mendapatkan jasa pria berdarah Polandia itu.

Sepanjang musim ini Klose lebih banyak menghabiskan waktu di luar lapangan karena menderita cedera sejak September 2010 silam. Dan sejak kondisinya mulai pulih, ia kesulitan mendapat tempat utama akibat kalah bersaing dengan Mario Gomez.

Source : http://www.bolanews.com

[Andi Istiabudi]

Kanada, Tuan Rumah Piala Dunia Putri 2015

Bola.net - Kanada akan menjadi tuan rumah turnamen sepak bola Piala Dunia Putri 2015, demikian dikonfirmasikan oleh Badan Sepak Bola Dunia FIFA, Kamis (03/03).

"Dengan gembira saya umumkan bahwa penyelenggaraan turnamen sepak bola Piala Dunia Putri 2015 FIFA, yang untuk pertama kalinya akan diikuti oleh 24 tim nasional berbagai negara, telah kami percayakan kepada Asosiasi Sepak Bola Kanada, CSA, kata Presiden FIFA Sepp Blater kepada wartawan.

Keputusan itu dibuat oleh komite eksekutif FIFA dalam rapat mereka di markas besar FIFA di Zurich.

Jerman dijadwalkan akan menjadi tuan rumah turnamen sepak bola Piala Dunia Putri 2011 yang akan dimulai pada Juni, di mana menurut panitia penyelenggara telah terjual sebanyak setengah juta tiket sampai akhir bulan lalu di tengah-tengah popularitas sepak bola putri yang semakin meningkat di berbagai negara.

Pertandingan pembuka yang akan mempertemukan tim sepak bola putri Jerman melawan tim Kanada di dalam stadion Olympic yang berkapasitas 74.228 penonton di ibu kota Berlin diperkirakan akan habis terjual dalam waktu dekat. (ant/mac)

Source : http://www.bola.net

[Andi Istiabudi]

MLS Ingin Tambah Koleksi Pemain Tenarnya

Bola.net - Setelah datangnya bintang asal Inggris, David Beckham, dan striker legendaris Perancis, Thierry Henry, Major League Soccer (MLS) berusaha dan memikat lebih banyak lagi pemain berbakat dari tim-tim Eropa untuk mengangkat status mereka di dunia.

"Kami harus membawa nama-nama yang lebih besar dan pemain internasional yang lebih populer jika kami ingin menjadi liga seperti yang kami inginkan," kata komisaris MLS Don Garber, Jumat, empat hari sebelum liga Amerika Utara itu memulai musim ke-15.

Beckham memasuki musim terakhirnya bersama Los Angeles Galaxy pada musim ini sementara Henry mengawali musim penuh pertamanya bersama New York Red Bulls.

Garber mengatakan, dikontraknya Beckham telah menjadi sukses besar bagi liga tetapi diperlukan lebih banyak kontrak-kontrak besar lagi untuk mengangkat liga tersebut di antara saingan-saingannya secara global dan meningkatkan status sepak bola di antara liga-liga olah raga AS.

"Anda akan mulai melihat makin banyak dan makin banyak nama pemain yang mengikuti MLS karena kami mampu bayar mereka," kata Garber.

"Para pemain terbaik di dunia sebagian besar tidak ada di sini. Agar kami berkompetisi... kami harus mengembangkan bisnis sehingga beberapa orang terbaik di dunia ada di sini.

"Kami berharap kami akan membawa liga kami lebih dekat menuju tujuan kami menjadi salah satu liga sepak bola terbaik di dunia."

Liga yang diikuti 18 tim tersebut di antaranya debut tim Vancouver dan Portland musim ini dan menambah tim di Montreal tahun depan. (ant/lex)

Source : http://www.bola.net

[Andi Istiabudi]

David Beckham, Thierry Henry lead foreign challenge for MLS title
By Simon Evans, Reuters

MIAMI — David Beckham and Thierry Henry are among an increasing number of foreign internationals chasing success in the United States’ expanded Major League Soccer (MLS), which kicks off this week.

Beckham, entering the final season of his multi-million five-year deal with the MLS, will join his L.A. Galaxy teammates when they open their title campaign away to the Seattle Sounders on Tuesday at Qwest Field.

The Sounders are the best supported team in MLS, boasting average home crowds of more than 36,000, and their vocal supporters will have even more local derbies to spice up their season with the addition of two expansion teams, the Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Both the Timbers and the Whitecaps also have solid fan-bases, having competed in the old North American Soccer League in the 1970s, and were promoted to the top-flight after several years in the second tier.

"Rivalries are part of the DNA of football overseas and I believe they drive the passion that makes this sport the beautiful game," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said.

One rivalry that has emerged without the need for geographical closeness is between the New York Red Bulls and the Galaxy, two high-profile teams that fancy their chances of success.

The Galaxy won the MLS title in 2002 and 2005, before Beckham joined them, and are banking on experience to bring them the title this season.

As well as former England midfielder Beckham, who will be 36 in May, the Galaxy can call on 35-year-old Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel, who signed for L.A. after four seasons in New York.

And the U.S. national team’s all-time top scorer Landon Donovan remains the main creative force for Bruce Arena’s team, who finished with the best regular season record last year but tripped up in the playoffs.

"We are clearly driven to win a championship this year, no question about it," said Arena.

The Red Bulls, with ex-Arsenal and France forward Henry now spearheading their attack and Mexican Rafael Marquez holding fort at the back, have recruited a handful of foreign players to beef up their squad this season as Swedish head coach Hans Backe aims for the club’s first title.

The purists’ favourite, in terms of attractive passing football, is Real Salt Lake, who won the title in 2009 and benefit from the goal scoring abilities of Costa Rican forward Alvaro Saborio and the classy midfield contributions of American Kyle Beckerman.

"In my opinion, every team has an equal opportunity to win MLS Cup, that is the way the league is set up," Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis told Reuters.

"The biggest challenge we have as coaches is when you have a lot of new faces. For me the teams that have been together a while have a slight advantage."

The defending MLS champions, the Colorado Rapids, have retained all the ingredients that made them such a difficult team to beat in last year’s playoffs, Jamaican forward Omar Cummings, midfielder Pablo Mastroeni and battering ram striker Conor Casey give English coach Gary Smith a team few enjoying facing.

The Kansas City team has a new home and a new name for this season having rebranded as Sporting Kansas City and set up home in a shiny, new purpose-built stadium, Livestrong Sporting Park.

The 34-round MLS regular season runs until late October, with 10 teams advancing to the playoffs, culminating in a winner-takes-all final.

Source : http://www.vancouversun.com

[zudomiriku]

Day 1 of Ochocinco’s Sporting KC trial: ‘I’d play for free’



Upon arrival in Kansas City on Tuesday for his four-day media frenzy/super serious MLS trial, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocino tweeted, "Headed to bed with a (humble pie) in the oven on low tempature, to be able to grace the pitch with elite futbol athletes is #Epic goodnight." And after his first training session on Wednesday, Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said the uncharacteristic trepidation implied in that message was evident when he first stepped on the practice pitch (via the AP):

"He was a little bit hesitant early on, a little bit tentative," said Vermes. "But I think now he's got a good feel for what a day goes like for us. You can see he's very coachable. I wouldn't try to make any determinations at this point."

That hasn't stopped the hordes of onlookers from trying to make snap judgments, though. There were 40 members of the media on hand for the session (four times the normal amount) and the club streamed the whole thing live on the Internet at Sporting85.com. Many viewers were quick to condemn his sub-par technical skills, though his speed is undeniable.

Calling Ochocinco "very coachable" probably isn't something his Cincinnati Bengals head coach, Marvin Lewis, would agree with, though. When asked about Chad's Sporting KC trial, Lewis said, "What has he ever done that he's completed? What circle has he ever connected in any way?"

So what did Ochocinco, who hasn't played this version of football competitively since the 10th grade, think of his first day?

"Exactly what I expected," said the six-time Pro Bowler. "I would be a little winded being that I haven't ran at this pace or this level since the end of our season of football. It was fun. I didn't expect to come in here and be Superman."

Ochocinco plans to go through with the four-day tryout, and, if possible, join the team.

"I would play for free," he said.

And by the lockout-inducing NFL standards, he might see MLS wages as just that -- playing for free.

You can laugh, you can dismiss it as a PR stunt and you can shake your fist at the opportunity he's getting that so many young footballers would love to have, but Chad really is taking this seriously. Kind of.

When he first landed in Kansas City, he told the awaiting press, "There's an art and there's a skill to this game that I've missed over so much time, but why not? It's a lockout. A lockout means I can do whatever I want to do. It's better than getting in trouble, though, right?" I'm sure Sporting KC will certainly agree as it basks in this spectacular early season attention.

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b8Dv5

[Andi Istiabudi]

@zudomiriku :

Selamat !!! Anda merupakan orang kedua yang posting di thread ini setelah saya selaku TS.
Akhirnya ada orang lain juga, hehehe ....

[zudomiriku]

Landon Donovan busts on Charlie Davies for diving



Scoring two goals in his MLS debut was fine and good, but on Saturday Charlie Davies proved that he truly is fully recovered from the fatal car accident a year and a half ago by pulling off a world-class dive that make even the world's best simulators weep from overpowering jealousy. The Washington crowd rejoiced as the triumphant and inspirational Davies managed to convince the referee that a mere touch on the arm by Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez could cause his legs to launched him toward the ground in the 89th minute with LA leading 1-0.

From there, Davies displayed a seriously impressive level of confidence by chipping his penalty right down the middle for the equalizer then attempting to flee the scene in a nearby Volkswagen display model that was, to Charlie's surprise, locked. Which probably saved us from more than a few schmaltzy columns about how Davies is now in the driver's seat after being a passenger nearly killed him. Or something.

After the match, Landon Donovan -- who was given a rest and didn't make the trip to DC -- tweeted, "I got @CharlieDavies9 some gear in case he decides to dive again. Couldn't find a scuba mask though." Attached to that tweet was a link to this picture...



A beach towel and a pair of swim trunks. That's right -- Twitter is not only a means for footballers to get themselves suspended for criticizing referees and making jokes about immigrants, it's also a way for them to call each other out for diving.

Davies tried to hit back, saying, "hahaha I would borrow yours but X small doesn't fit me." But no lame comeback could counter Landon's prop-aided slam.

So what did we learn from this? 1) Maybe Twitter is good for something after all. And 2) Landon Donovan is the Carrot Top of MLS.

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b8XyL

[zudomiriku]

Stop Calling for a Savior in the United States



Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images I recently read an article that asked if Juan Agudelo was the savior of U.S. soccer.

The thought behind the piece began, as it always does, by listing the names of players who have not lived up to expectations. It then goes on to say that maybe this time we had found the one.

Agudelo is an impressive player, and hopefully he continues to play well, but this style of writing needs to end. It’s lazy writing and accomplishes nothing. It is, in fact, the type of writing that makes the audience resent the media; building a character up in order to tear him down even harder.

The article linked to above isn’t the only one that deploys this technique, it is just the most recent I’ve seen.

The names of “failures” are the typical ones mentioned: Charlie Davies, Jozy Altidore, Eddie Johnson, and, of course, Freddy Adu. This isn’t to say they haven’t been disappointing, or that we shouldn’t expect more from them. But why must every young, talented American soccer player be a savior?

The writers make knee-jerk reactions to good, and are just as quick to criticize and devalue through times that are not as fortunate.

The first problem with the “soccer savior” story is how it originates. Far too often a potential savior is pulled from an extremely small sample size.

The majority of Juan Agudelo’s mainstream hype has come from an entire three games with the U.S National Team; his third appearance against Argentina in March was, at the time, one more game than he had played in with the New York Red Bulls total.

Jozy Altidore made 43 total appearances with the Red Bulls, his first professional club team. That’s just over one full MLS season. Eddie Johnson’s most impressive run with the National Team was for his seven goals in six World Cup qualifiers. And Freddy Adu had never played in a professional match in his life when the media firestorm anointed him the chosen one.

How can greatness be judged in a handful of games? You can learn some things about a player, but his eventual career path has so many active variables that you just can never tell that soon. The media justifies these responses by saying things like, “The American public is hungry for its own soccer superstar.” Really, it is sports writers hungry for a quick easy story. One that is framed around little information and could very well turn out wrong, but even then it would create another story.

There is a good reason the sample size is so small—the age of the players.

Adu and Altidore are 21 years old, Davies is 24, and Agudelo is only 18. Johnson is the oldest of the aforementioned players, at 27, but even so, the tipping point of his success came roughly seven years ago (making Johnson a mere 20 years old.)

The point is that all these players burst onto the scene at a very young age—they couldn’t even legally buy a beer. Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Wayne Rooney became superstars at equally young ages and have become the biggest names in the sport. But that doesn’t mean that if these American players haven’t reached their peak at the same age then they are failures.

For starters, the youth development programs in the country are notoriously not as strong as those overseas. Places like the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida and MLS academies are helping to close the gap, but it’s not there yet. Therefore it takes more time for players to properly develop.

Bob Bradley, the head coach of the USMNT, has brought players like Altidore, Adu and Agudelo in for developmental purposes. In order to make the team more successful (and in doing so helping the sport become more popular in the country) Bradley’s philosophy was to make the available player pool deeper. That has meant expanding the pool to bring in younger players and bring them along at the senior level. Some, like Agudelo, flourish in the early stages. It is a process, however.

By no means is Agudelo a complete player because of his good showings in three international matches. And Adu not making a World Cup team thus far does not mean that he never will. There is still a lot of time for both of these players to hit their primes and until then they will be learning the game, improving their skills and becoming good soccer players, regardless of the superstardom they achieve.

One thing that halts these players is the moves they make in the transfer seasons. With a little help from the media hype that surrounds them, the players’ profiles grow attracting them to big name teams. They move but are not ready to see the field and get buried on the bench.

Bought by Fulham in 2008, Johnson has only made 20 total appearances for the English Premier League club. He’s been loaned out three separate times. Altidore, after signing with Spanish giant Villareal, is on his third loan and Adu is on his fourth loan from parent club Benfica in Portugal

The problem is that the players aren’t allowed to develop at the proper rates. Even the teams they are loaned to are in top flight leagues around the world and are looking to win games, not develop another team’s talent.

While these young players are training at high levels and learning what it means to be a professional, at the end of the day they have to crack the lineup and see the field. Otherwise they are no longer fit for games, their confidence gets shaken and they get rusty, dulling their once dazzling talents.

Then the media swoon over them like vultures, declaring their careers all but over.

The media is not at fault for player’s choosing the wrong team to transfer to. But for some reason the lack of proper time to develop gets lost in the coverage.

There is nothing wrong with being excited for a young player’s success. And if that player will help lead soccer to a higher status on and off the pitch then that’s great. But expectations need to be kept in
check.

The soccer savior theme needs to be put to an end. It’s beyond hyperbole now, it’s a cliché. Anytime a young player has a good run of form, even for only a handful of games, he becomes the new flavor of the week. And then when the hot streak cools and the player must work through adversity—an essential part of a player’s development—the media turns their back on him, labeling him a failure.

It’s a tired form of writing and accomplishes nothing other than squeezing as many headlines out of a buzz worthy player as possible. It makes it look like writers are not out to cover the beautiful game but rather essentially create and manipulate their own stories.

Besides, with the USMNT improving its quality of play on the pitch, MLS becoming a financially stable establishment and pure interest in the global game on the rise (i.e. sales for the FIFA video game, TV ratings for the World Cup and English Premier League matches) is a savior really needed?

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/695206-stop-calling-for-a-soccer-savior-in-the-united-states