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MLS taking serious look at aligning schedule with FIFA calendar
For the first time in Don Garber career as MLS commissioner, he didn say no when the question came up, and that may say more about the emergence of the soccer fan in the United States than anything we ever heard.The idea of Major League Soccer aligning its schedule to the falltospring FIFA calendar has never been seriously considered in the 15year history of the league, although Garber has always been open to the idea. Now, he says, the league is investigating how it could work.bottom line is we telling the world we going to begin taking a very serious look at this whole issue and what kinds of things we need to do to determine if it makes sense for us, Garber said over the weekend.If and when it happens, it would be the biggest single change in MLS history and one that tells the American sports fan that soccer no longer fears another sport and is willing to go head to head if it is for the good of the league.And MLS believes its fan base could be ready to accept the switch.This could not have been possible in the early days of MLS. The teams shared too many stadiums with the NFL and the idea of playing the majority of its schedule during the summer, when there was only baseball to contend with, seemed like an optimum time for soccer to make its mark among sports fans.And there was always the weather issue. Playing in cold weather in March and April in the beginning of the season and in October and November at the end of the schedule was one thing, but brushing snow off your seat to watch a game in January was another.So the question persisted: Are there enough passionate soccer fans in the United States who would not only support their team, but attend multiple games in freezing weather to make the move work?But times have changed. We have had multiple MLS Cups in Washington and Foxborough, Mass., in November and fans in those neutral cities have come out in droves for the game.But Sunday night was perhaps the best argument for the move when 21,700 fans in the cold and rain in Toronto attended the Colorado Rapids 21 overtime victory over FC Dallas.Granted, it was a onetime game, but the Toronto fans have been some of the most supportive in the league the past few years despite the product on the field, and will most assuredly support Toronto FC when the club turns it around, no matter what the weather.And the same can be said for fans in New Jersey and Philadelphia and Colorado and Columbus and Kansas City, who attend games in less than ideal conditions early and late in the schedule.The move would also open up the summer for national team tournaments, and the summer and winter transfer windows would come at optimum times to allow new signings to incorporate themselves into their clubs.One of the possibilities the league is contemplating is starting the season in late summer, taking a winter break, and concluding in late spring,Is it meant to happen, similar to the Scandinavian league schedule. The Bundesliga also takes a month off in January, although most of the other top European leagues do not.As it is, MLS teams that advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League will play their home leg in February. At the moment, that right in the middle of preseason training and teams are at an incredible disadvantage, although that won matter this year because the two MLS teams still alive the Crew and Real Salt Lake have been drawn against each other.But Garber has never hidden his disappointment about how poorly MLS teams have done in that tournament, so that might be an added incentive in the back of his mind.But the move will or won be made based on what best for MLS. The belief is that it will happen within the next five years, so you got some time to prepare.Hey, you didn really think those team scarves were for holding up over your head while you sang, did you?The Red Bulls Monday traded defender/midfielder Jeremy Hall to the expansion Portland Timbers for a thirdround pick in January draft. Hall, the 11th overall pick in the 2009 draft, played just 13 games this season due to a quadriceps injury and never regained his starting job. . Red Bulls managing director Erik Stover has been named Major League Soccer executive of the year. . The MLS Expansion Draft will be held Wednesday. . Former MetroStars vice president of marketing Chris Canetti was promoted from chief operating officer to president of business operations of the Houston Dynamo. . defender Jay DeMerit, who started all four games at the World Cup, signed with the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps. . midfielder Benny Feilhaber was tripped in the box but missed the ensuing penalty kick in the 90th minute as his Danish club, Aarhus, lost, 10. . Freddy Adu continues to be a man in limbo. Since 2007, he has only played 11 times for Benfica and has been loaned to Monaco (France),mall soccer, Belenenses (Portugal) and Aris (Greece) and trained, but wasn signed, by Swiss club Sion in July during his world geography tour. Now he is training with FC Randers (Denmark), but the club said it also has no plans to sign him. . The United States is ranked 24th in the latest FIFA rankings. . North Carolina State men coach George Tarantini, who coached Tab Ramos in college, is retiring after 25 years and 234 victories. . The Kansas City Wizards,Cheap Soccer Jerseys, who move into a new $180 million stadium next season, changed their name to Sporting Kansas City. They will also have new colors (indigo and light blue), new uniforms and a new logo. . Match Day 5 of the European Champions League will be played today and Wednesday. . The draw for the 2011 Copa Libertabores will be held Nov. 25. . Real Madrid (1002) plays at Barcelona (1011) next Monday. . Monterrey, Pumas, Santos and America have advanced to the Mexican league playoff semifinals. . Former AC Milan and MetroStars midfielder Roberto Donadoni is the new coach at Cagliari. He replaces Pierpaolo Bisoli, who was fired. Donadoni coached Italy at the 2008 European Championships. . Juventus striker Amauri will be out until January with ligament damage in his left knee. . Goalkeeper Shay Given earned his 109th cap in Ireland 21 loss to Norway, breaking the Irish record held by midfielder Kevin Kilbane, who had 108. . insurers will pay approximately $800,000 in compensation to Liverpool after midfielder Steven Gerrard sustained a hamstring injury while playing for England against France last week. Gerrard is expected to be out a month. . Venky an Indian poultry company, completed the takeover of Blackburn for $36.8 million. . Manchester United is close to signing 26yearold Denmark goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard, who could eventually succeed Edwin van der Sar. . Construction of a $168 million national soccer center in England will begin in January, almost a decade after the plans were first unveiled. . Chelsea promoted former Nigeria defender Michael Emenalo, who had been scouting opposing teams, to assistant coach to replace Ray Wilkins. Emenalo, 42, who attended Boston University, played 56 games for the San Jose Clash from 199697. . Chelsea has lost consecutive league matches for the first time since the end of the 200506 season. . Former Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires, 37, signed with Aston Villa for the rest of the season. He had been without a team since being released by Villarreal in the summer. . Tottenham victory over Arsenal Saturday was its first at Emirates Stadium in 17 years and snapped a 68game run without an away victory against the Big 4: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. . Nuremberg defender Javier Pinola received a fourgame suspension by the German football federation for spitting at Bayern Munich Bastian Schweinsteiger. . Lionel Messi scored three goals to give him 101 in 154 Spanish league games for Barcelona, which whipped Almeria, 80. The win tied a Spanish league record for largest road victory margin, set by Barcelona in 1959. Almeria,New Braunfels., which set a club record for largest margin of defeat,mallsoccer, saw its coach, Juan Manuel Lillo,USA Soccer Jerseys, get fired after the game. . Former Mexico World Cup coach Javier Aguirre is the new coach at Real Zaragoza. He replaces Jose Aurelio Gay,Spain Soccer Jerseys, who was fired last week. . Villarreal midfielder Marcos Senna tied Rodolfo Arruabarrena record of 219 appearances for the club. . Villarreal defender Joan Capdevila will be out two to three weeks with a sprained left ankle. . Jesualdo Ferreira, fired by Malaga Nov. 2 after nine games, is the new coach of Panathinaikos. . Denmark midfielder Martin Jorgensen earned his 100th cap in last week scoreless tie with the Czech Republic. . Finland forward Jari Litmanen, who turns 40 in January, scored his 32nd goal in 137 games in an 80 European Championship qualifying victory over San Marino. With Finland not playing again until March, Litmanen international career, which began in 1989, may be over. . Ajax suspended striker Luis Suarez for two games after television replays appeared to show him biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal. . Marcelo Bielsa won his farewell match for Chile, 20, over Uruguay to finish his 50game tenure with a record of 28157,Cheap Soccer Jerseys on sale, including an entertaining 22 mark in the World Cup when Chile reached the second round. . Croatia went unbeaten this year (703) for the first time since it became an independent country in 1990. . Claudio Borghi, Boca Junior fourth coach this calendar year, quit a day after the team lost to rival River Plate, 10. . Nagoya Grampus claimed its first JLeague championship with three games to play. . Mike Stojanovic, a member of the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame and a former North American Soccer League player, died last week at the age of 63.

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Forum Support / but the loss is especially disappointing for the Timbers
« on: September 20, 2013, 02:48:58 pm »
Real Salt Lake,Real Madrid Jerseys
Kalif Alhassan thought he had won the game for Portland with a goal in the 86th minute that broke a 22 deadlock.However,otro como yo,mallsoccer, the Timbers defense failed to clear a ball inside the penalty area in stoppage time,La liga se pone caliente, allowing Grossman to roll a shot past diving goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.The draw keeps RSL three points clear of thirdplace Portland, while the Colorado Rapids are two back of Salt Lake in second place.Portland's Diego Valeri set up the opening goal and scored another from the penalty spot, but the loss is especially disappointing for the Timbers, who could have joined RSL in first place with two games in hand.After Rodney Wallace opened the scoring in the 24th for the hosts,USA Soccer Jerseys, Nat Borchers scored on a rebound to level the match before Javier Morales drew a questionable penalty kick,Barcelona Jersey, and then converted to put Salt Lake up 21 at halftime.Portland equalized in the 57th with a penalty kick of its own after Salt Lake's Tony Beltran was called for a handball. Valeri stepped to the spot and sent goalkeeper Jeff Attinella the wrong way,Spain Soccer Jerseys, leaving everything to play for.RSL's Yordany Alvarez was shown a straight red card for a poor challenge on Diego Chara,Cheap Soccer Jerseys on sale, and Alhassan's goal four minutes from time looked like it would be decisive.

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Forum Support / with 21 of the 23man squad
« on: September 19, 2013, 10:27:16 pm »
Red Bulls begin training camp without coach
The Red Bulls reported to training camp Monday and will leave for Florida today with everyone healthy and key players in tow for the first time in years.
Just one thing, though: They still don have a coach.
So much for the reports last week that the hiring of Paulo Sousa was imminent, as were those of Gary McAllister prior to that. And while one of those two may still get the job, Red Bulls sporting director Andy Roxburgh refuses to rush into his first major hire.
"We spoken to quite a number of people," Roxburgh said via conference call. "We don want to rush to judgment. There will be an announcement soon. We ask that you be patient just a little bit longer. We want to make sure it someone who available and who appropriate.
"Clearly, if you working in Europe it kind of straightforward. If you in France, can they speak French? In MLS, is it somebody who can adapt quickly? We want to put an American core in the back of the staff. (Interim coach) Mike (Petke) is a great example of that, people who know the league, who not only played in it, but have a technical perspective."
Petke has been invaluable this offseason and will likely be kept on when the new coach arrives. Having worked with the Red Bulls Academy, Petke was called to the bench to assist former coach Hans Backe in a time of need, and he never left.
Petke, who had two stints as a player with the MetroStars/Red Bulls, is reminiscent of former assistant coach Richie Williams, who filled a number of different positions for the club, and even had two stints as an interim coach. Williams probably should have gotten the head coaching job at least once.
Petke is now in that utility role. And should management someday feel comfortable putting an American in the top job, he would be seriously considered.
Roxburgh, who referred to Petke as "not only a top player here, but the heart and soul of the club," said he has spent the past few months learning the ins and outs of MLS. That is different from past management, which tried to do things in a European way rather than adapt to the American system.
Roxburgh also said that Juninho Pernambucano, signed Dec. 17 from Vasco da Gama, is not a designated player. That means the third DP slot is still open, and most likely will be filled in the summer.
One issue the club always dealt with in past offseasons was the loaning of key players, most notably Thierry Henry, to European clubs. The loaned player would miss a good chunk of the preseason, which affected chemistry. That did not happen this year.
"The only two that were possibilities were Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill," Roxburgh said. "(Henry a legend at Arsenal and those were special circumstances. I very pleased he didn go. He had a decent break this time.
"Cahill,Barcelona Jersey, when he signed, had a gentlemen agreement he could go on loan if appropriate, but nothing came up. He in good condition and ready to come back to us."
While the 69yearold Roxburgh appears to have the energy and the interest in remaking the Red Bulls, one has to wonder if he going about it the right way. In Europe,along with team announcements and of course, one of the main tasks of a coach is to manage egos, especially with bigmoney players. But in MLS, where the Galaxy won two straight championships with just a few key foreign players, or the Dynamo, Sporting Kansas City or Real Salt Lake, who all have American coaches and are building with American talent, is it a good plan to pick your players, assemble a staff and just plug the coach in at the last minute?
Not likely, but that appears to be the way it will go.
"I want us to be known as a highly competitive team, a team playing at an uptempo and to be professional, humble and hard working,Cheap Soccer Jerseys on sale," Roxburgh said. "Those are the three elements top teams always portray."
That sounds great, but after 17 seasons with an empty trophy case, fans here crave a championship even one won ugly.
United States midfielder Maurice Edu has been loaned from Stoke to Bursaspor in Turkey until the end of the season. Edu made his debut Saturday, entering in the 66th minute of a 21 home victory over Kayserispor. . striker Jozy Altidore scored a hat trick Saturday to bring his season total to 14 goals as AZ Alkmaar beat Vitesse Arnhem, 41. . midfielder Stuart Holden played his first game in 16 months after returning from knee surgery in Bolton 20 FA Cup victory over Sunderland. . striker Clint Dempsey scored during stoppage time Sunday to give Tottenham a 11 draw against Manchester United. . The United States remained No. 28 in the latest FIFA rankings. . will play its first home World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica March 22 at Dick Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. . women national team has been drawn into Group B at the annual Algarve Cup. The Americans will play Iceland on March 6, China on March 8 and conclude group play with a match against Sweden and former coach Pia Sundhage March 11. . Under17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla., to prepare for CONCACAF qualifying for the U17 World Cup. Among them are four players from the Red Bulls Academy: goalkeeper Evan Louro (South River), midfielders Steven Echevarria (New York) and Christopher Lema (Ridgefield) and forward Wesley Wade (South Orange). . Following a 19year career in Mexico, Germany and the United States, Chicago Fire midfielder Pavel Pardo announced his retirement. . The Fire also acquired midfielder Jeff Larentowicz from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for allocation money and a 2013 international slot, and loaned midfielder Alvaro Fernandez to Qatar Al Rayyan until the end of the MLS season. . Toronto FC signed former Sporting Kansas City midfielder/defender Julio Cesar. . Juninho, who played the past three seasons with the Galaxy on loan from Sao Paulo, made the move permanent. . The Galaxy also signed striker Robbie Keane to a contract extension. . Nottingham Forest and forward Robbie Findley agreed on a termination of his contract and Findley has resigned with Real Salt Lake, the team he left in 2011. . Sky Blue FC will have the first of its two open tryouts Thursday and Friday at the Metuchen SportsPlex. The second tryout will be March 1112. . ESPN Deportes will provide delayed coverage of the Feb. 6 semifinals and the Feb. 10 final. The tournament isn off to such a great start, with five ties in the first six games. . European Club Association research says more than half the players at the 16nation African Cup of Nations come from teams in Europe. The ECA claims the Ivory Coast has the most Europebased players, with 21 of the 23man squad, while Ethiopia has the most homebased players with 20. The French league has the most players, with 55. . Olympiakos, which had a 10point lead in the Greek league,Real Madrid Jerseys, fired coach Leonardo Jardim. . Brazil announced two friendlies and both have great story lines. The World Cup host will play Russia on March 25 at Stamford Bridge, giving Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari a return to Chelsea, which fired him in 2009 after just eight months. It also will be Russia coach Fabio Capello first match in England since he left the national team in February 2012. The second match will be against England June 2, the first match to be played in a renovated Maracana stadium. It will be England first visit to Brazil since 1984. . Former Boca Juniors midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme is close to signing with Palmeiras. . Big Cup week coming up. The first leg of the Copa Italia semifinals between Juventus and Lazio is today,from a smalltown family of modest means, with the other semifinal, Roma vs. Inter Milan, set for Wednesday. . The second legs of the English League Cup semifinals are set, with fourthdivision Bradford and Aston Villa playing today (Bradford won the first leg, 31) and Chelsea vs. Swansea tomorrow, after Swansea won the first leg, 20. . The second legs of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals will be played today,Cheap Soccer Jerseys, Wednesday and Thursday. . The fourth round of the English FA Cup is set for Saturday and Sunday. . Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina underwent surgery on his nose,Spain Soccer Jerseys, which he broke in the 21 loss to Manchester United. He is questionable for Liverpool FA Cup fourthround match at Oldham on Sunday. . Michael Owen scored his first goal for his new club in Stoke 31 loss to Swansea. It was his first goal in any competition in nearly 15 months and also his 150th career English Premier League goal. . Loic Remy, who seemed set on a move from Marseille to Newcastle, instead signed with Queens Park Rangers for a clubrecord $13 million and scored Saturday on his first shot of the game in a 11 tie with West Ham. The reason he went to QPR? He spent hours playing 12 with QPR chairman Tony Fernandes. . Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher will miss the rest of the season after undergoing another surgery to try and resolve a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. . Tottenham midfielder Sandro will miss the rest of the season following surgery on his right knee. . Southampton fired coach Nigel Adkins and replaced him with former Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino. . Arsenal forward Theo Walcott signed a new 3 contract for a reported $160,000 a week. . Swansea signed Belgium winger Roland Lamah on an 18month loan deal from Osasuna. . Manchester United agreed to two new sponsorship deals in China, one with a bank and one with a softdrink manufacturer. . Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany red card against Arsenal has been overturned by the Football Association following an appeal and he will not be suspended three games. . Chelsea striker Lucas Piazon is joining Malaga on loan until the end of the season. . Chelsea signed defender Ashley Cole to a new contract. . Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has been banned from driving for six months after failing to respond to police letters regarding two speeding offenses. . QPR is loaning striker Djibril Cisse to Qatar Al Gharafa until the end of the season. . Former Celtic coach Gordon Strachan signed a 3 contract to coach Scotland, replacing the fired Craig Levein. Strachan played 50 times for Scotland during a 19year career, including in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. . Celtic signed 20yearold Australia midfielder Tom Rogic to a fourandahalfyear deal subject to him receiving a work visa. . After taking a year away from the game, Pep Guardiola, who led Barcelona to 14 titles over four seasons, has signed a threeyear contract to become Bayern Munich coach starting next season. . Fortuna Duesseldorf signed Czech defender Martin Latka on a free transfer from Slavia Prague. . Former England and Mexico coach SvenGoran Eriksson turned down an offer to join the staff of 1860 Munich and instead signed on as technical director of Al Nasr of the UAE. Al Nasr is coached by former Italy goalkeeper Walter Zenga. . Brazilian midfielder Raffael is joining Schalke on loan from Dynamo Kiev until the end of the season. . Fortuna Duesseldorf has taken defensive midfielder Robert Tesche on loan from Hamburg until the end of the season. . Hoffenheim midfielder Sejad Salihovic will be out several weeks after damaging cartilage in his right knee. . Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder agreed to join Galatasaray. . Genoa fired coach Luigi Del Neri, the fifth coaching change at the club in the past 12 months. . AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said the club is interested in signing Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli, but only if the $49 million price tag drops considerably. . Italy football federation rescinded a twopoint penalty given to Napoli for matchfixing and lifted sixmonth bans imposed on captain Paolo Cannavaro and defender Gianluca Grava for failing to report the fix. . Francesco Guidolin 500th game as a Serie A coach was not one to remember. His Udinese squad was routed by Juventus, 40. . Marek Hamsik scored his 100th Serie A goal in Napoli 11 tie with Fiorentina. . Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao will be out three weeks after pulling a thigh muscle in his left leg. . Barcelona, which set a Spanish league record by winning 18 games and tying one at the midway point of the season, lost Saturday, 32 to Real Sociedad on an injurytime goal. In the game, Lionel Messi scored for a 14th straight start. . Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes said he will leave the club by the end of the 201314 season and will be looking to play in another league. . Mallorca goalkeeper Dudu Aouate will be sidelined four weeks after injuring a ligament in his right knee during a collision in Mallorca 32 loss to Espanyol. . In the French League Cup semifinals, SaintEtienne beat Lille, 76, on penalty kicks following a scoreless tie, while Rennes beat Montpellier, 20. Neither team has won a trophy in decades, which should spice up the April 20 final. . Alessandro Del Piero scored four goals in Sydney FC 71 victory over lastplace Wellington Phoenix to raise his season total to nine. . PSV Eindhoven defender Erik Pieters underwent surgery on his arm, which he sliced open punching a window after being sent off in his team 31 loss to PEC Zwolle. . United Arab Emirates beat Iraq, 21, in extra time to win its second Gulf Cup title. . Qatar fired coach Paulo Autuori after the team crashed out of the Gulf Cup without winning a match. Saudi Arabia did the same with Frank Rijkaard,mallsoccer, who did little to justify his $16 million salary. . Winger Nene left Paris SaintGermain to sign with Al Gharafa in the Qatar league.

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Forum Support / Giants dismiss meltdown
« on: September 16, 2013, 02:54:18 am »
Giants dismiss meltdown
 The aren't worrying about another meltdown in the second half of the season despite starting it with a loss to the San Francisco 49ers,Cheap Soccer Jerseys.
seemed slightly amused Monday when asked about the team's recent trend of getting off to good starts and then folding down the stretch. New York failed to win a playoff game after the 2008 season and then missed the postseason the next two years.
Coughlin dismissed any similarity after a 2720 loss on Sunday that left the Giants (63) with a onegame lead over Dallas (54) in the NFC East,mall soccer.
Different year. Different team. And Coughlin wasn't about to apologize for a loss on the road to San Francisco (81), which has the second best record in the NFC.
"I can't imagine why this question keeps coming up," Coughlin said Monday. "You have to take each year one at a time,mallsoccer, You have to take each game one at a time. This is a game against a team that was 71. It's not that we played poorly or not that we dadadada. We didn't win the game.
"We don't feel we should ever give up 27 and I am certainly not satisfied with 20 points," the 65yearold coach said. "As far as analyzing why and what  we didn't play well enough to win. Does it have to do with anything in the second half? No!"
Coughlin's biggest problem with the performance was the two interceptions thrown by and the ability of the offense to generate one touchdown in four trips to the red zone,Real Madrid Jerseys,Bike poloists play to win at Grandview Park.
Even with those problems. the Giants were in position for their sixth fourthquarter comeback of the season before their final drive stalled at the San Francisco 10yard line when they failed to convert on third and fourth down,Spain Soccer Jerseys.
"We did some positive things but there are no moral victories here," Giants Pro Bowl guard said. "We felt like we left stuff out there on the field. We left a game out there in San Fran that we thought we should have had. We are well beyond being happy about playing and coming up losing. That is not the mentality that we have around here."
The Giants will get a chance to bounce back on Sunday night against the Eagles (36). The Giants beat Philadelphia earlier this season and another win would give New York a fourgame lead in the division with six to play. Philadelphia also might be without quarterback ,2011 South African Challenge, who broke two ribs in Sunday's loss to Arizona.

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