A Copa Surprise: A Younger, Unfazed 'B' Brazil Tames the Giant 'A' Team, Argentina

Brazil 3, Argentina 0
Copa America Final Maracaibo, Venezuela

Yes, some calls went against Argentina but in no right mind did they play well enough to get a sniff of victory. Brazil's Elano - before he had to go off due to a knock in the first half - was simply brilliant as the architect of that first goal. Vagner Love played with more passion and tenacity than every previous Copa America appearance before this. The little Josue organized the midfield nobly and suffering the fouls that stunted Argentina's progress. Ayala's own goal was a miscue but, nevertheless, a necessary one - the attempt had to be made to get the ball out of danger and Ayala's slide was a little too technically spot on for his own good as he redirected the cross behind Abbondonzieri.
Elano's "back-up" and Chelsea target Dani Alves was fantastic coming on early. He took a bit to get into the match but ended terrorizing that right side and eventually scoring the third goal which involved at least 3 other Brazilians and started from inside Brazilian territory. His finish was immaculate as was the Brazilian "B" team's performance. It was Brazil's eighth Copa America win.
Any opinion as to the problem with Argentina?


Match Report from ESPN Soccernet

Match Report from CopaAmerica.com

BRA: Julio Baptista (5), Own Goal (Ayala), Dani Alves (69)
ARG: NONE

Major League Soccer Sunday (7/15/2007)

Houston 0, Toronto FC 0
Robertson Stadium

A deadlock highlighted only by the Maurice Edu ejection as MLS 2007 Superdraftees are learning the hard way (Bakary Soumare, a first round selection for the Fire, has been sent off recently as well). Houston set the record for longest shutout streak and the minute count stands at 695.

Match Report from MLSNet.com (w/a)

Match Report from Top Drawer Soccer (w/a)

HOU: NONE
TFC: NONE

A Saturday of Disappointment: Austria stuns the USA,

Austria 2, United States 1

Many - after we got by Uruguay 2-1 in a rather ugly fashion - were relieved to see Austria the next team in our way. The truth is, though, Erwin "Jimmy" Hoffer and Mr. Okotie decided to spoil our show. Actually - the loss of this game was for the most part to ourselves. The first 20 minutes showed a reinvigorated American team with fluid passing all centering around Michael Bradley and moving outside to Zizzo or Rogers, back inside to Adu, with one more subsequent touch and then an opportunity. After the goal from Jozy in the 15th minute, he disappeared and right there, the lack of a striker (and let's be honest he is not one to come back for the ball) for the following 70 minutes was crucial. We were a man down from 20 minutes in. We also didn't start putting passes together again until there was about 5 minutes to go in regulation. Overall, a frustrating game even more so because our two most effective players were getting punished for it - Bradley would have had to miss the next game due to yellow card accumulation and Anthony Wallace was the red card casualty. Nathan Sturgis was not there to play today and our wingbacks were wingbacks. No attack. No nothing.

I know I jumped around - but that's what it felt like. Still a decent tournament for a group of kids that deserved a lot more than that. Well the day saw TWO significant upsets and a big day for Central/Eastern Europe as Czech Republic upset Spain (1-1 in regulation, 4-3 on PKs) as well. Ugh - don't even want to watch the final now.

What were the pluses and minuses for you?

Match Report from ESPN SOCCERNET

Match Report from Top Drawer Soccer

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER SATURDAY (July 14, 2007)

D.C. United 3, FC Dallas 3
RFK Stadium

A shootout that saw D.C. go up 3-0 early on 2 Emilio goals, but the Hoops fought back thanks to a brace from Juan Carlos Toja - everybody's new favorite MLS player. Even more impressive for the Hoops that they came back playing at RFK Stadium.

Match Report from Top Drawer Soccer

DCU: Emilio 2 (10), Fred
FCD: Ruiz (3), Toja 2 (6)

New England 1, Red Bull New York 0
Giants Stadium

The complete opposite of the DCU-FCD clash. Andy Dorman broke the deadlock with a wicked shot 20 yards out, while Angel responded late in the game - not with a goal but instead - his first ejection in a Red Bull uniform. It was due to an apparently "intentional" elbow to Shalrie Joseph's during a mid-air tussle.

NER: Dorman (7)
RBNY: NONE

my Match Report from Top Drawer Soccer

Kansas City 1, Real Salt Lake 0
Arrowhead Stadium

The Wizards extend Real Salt Lake's demise while stopping the beginning of their own, all thanks to Eddie Johnson who immediately finds his touch once he returns from international duty.

Match Report from MLSNet.com

KCW: E. Johnson (10)
RSL: NONE

Chivas USA 2, Columbus 1
Home Depot Center

Ante Razov rediscovered his scoring touch as the Goats picked apart the Crew. A somewhat on point Schelloto couldn't even help the unraveling (despite adding his 7th assist).

Match Report from Top Drawer Soccer (coming Sunday morning)

CHV: Razov (5), Own Goal (Gaven),
CMB: Miglioranzi (2)

Copa America Consolation Match

Mexico 3, Uruguay 1

The Tricolores closed out a formidable showing in Venezuela with Blanco, Bravo, and young'un (new Deportivo recruit) Andres Guardado all getting on the board. Good stuff Mexico - at least it makes the Americans look better (in that, we beat those guys in Gold Cup that have now done really well in Copa America whereas our team stunk and went home after three games). Even more impressive, Uruguay struck first through Abreu and Mexico responded with three unanswered goals.

Match Report from CopaAmerica.com

MEX: Blanco (pen 26), Bravo (68), Guardado (76)
URU: Abreu (22)

Continuation: A Little Copa, Bad Chile, and a step-up for Nugent

Brazil 2, Uruguay 2
BRA wins 5-4 on penalties
Copa America Semifinal

The Brazilians opened up two leads but were equalized both times by the hardworking Uruguayans. Despite a 15 minute stoppage in the early goings of the match (due to a blackout of sorts), the game was entertaining but neither team showed much promise in getting by the winner of the other semifinal featuring Mexico and Argentina (which starts tonight on GolTV at 8:30pm). It was nice to see Heerenveen's Afonso Alves get some time as he came in for the last 20 minutes, even if his presence wasn't of "world-class" caliber (then again, it was only 20 minutes).

Goalscorers:
BRA: Maicon (12), Julio Baptista (53)
URU: Forlan (48), Abreu (70)

Chile in Rare Form

- As if the Mexico vs. Argentina semi-final match-up tonight wasn't going to be exciting enough, word from the Chilean camp is that head coach Nelson Acosta resigned mainly due to his responsibility in allowing six Chilean players to drink their asses off after securing their passage into the Copa knockout round. Those six players were captain Jorge Valdivia, Reinaldo Navia (MLS target at one point), Jorge Vargas, Rodrigo Tello, Alvaro Ormeno, and Pablo Contreras. The sad part is the majority of these guys are hard-worked veterans, not people you would expect to get drunk, destroy furniture in their respective rooms and the hotel lobby, as well as insult other hotel guests.

Their punishment? The Chilean FA banned all six for 20 games! As most outlets are reporting, that would put them out for the entire CONMEBOL World Cup qualification process, with two games still to go. Should have suspended them before the Brazil quarterfinal match-up, it probably wouldn't have made the scoreline (6-1 loss) any worse).

More transfer news!!!

Harry Redknapp jumpstarted his summer transfer set-up with the unveiling of coveted Preston North End striker Dave Nugent and big Nigerian and Rennes forward John Utaka. Both are great signings and although Nugent has not been "battle-tested" at the highest level, with the presence of Lua-Lua, Utaka, and other Pompey strikers - the kid will be broken in and not thrown into the fray right away.

Andres Guardado has not wound up in the Dutch Eredivisie after all. Instead, the Mexican starlet will ply his trade for Deportivo la Coruna in the Spanish La Liga. PSV would have given him the chance to hone his skills while having a big impact on the league, whereas the Spanish Primera Division could provide the healthiest of futures but only if Guardado doesn't get lost in the crowd of high profile starlets that sometimes saturate the Spanish leagues. Let's keep track of this guy because between himself, Carlos Vela, Omar Esparza, and Giovanni Dos Santos, they possess the key to screwing up American winning streak over the Tricolores.

Ever so slowly, Liverpool moves closer and closer to finalizing the signings of promising Dutch/Ajax young'un Ryan Babel and West Ham's midfield workhorse Yossi Benayoun. The deals should be announced within the next couple days.

Regular Service Come Monday and Some Really Lopsided Scores

Copa America

Mexico 6, Paraguay 0 (a nasty showing from the Tricolores)
Brazil 6, Chile 1
Argentina 4, Peru 0
Uruguay 4, Venezuela 1

Is there some sort of gap of playing talent in the CONMEBOL? Yes, a little but I really didn't think it would be this big. Some dominant performances from some tournament favorites.

SEMIFINALS

Uruguay vs. Brazil (7/10)
Mexico vs. Argentina (7/11)

I will be back in the States tomorrow after taking a nice extended weekend in Ottawa. Thank you to all who showed us some wonderful hospitality.

10 Bright Spots of MLS Week Thirteen and a Finishing Lesson for the U.S. of A.

United States vs. Paraguay anger/frustration with a little bit of game review taken out at the bottom of this post...

1. Maykel Galindo - his performance this past weekend might not have been as impressive but the Cuban striker keeps finding the back of the net, even when the seemingly sure-fire Juan Pablo Angel has cooled down a bit; Galindo’s Kenny Cooper-esque goal (remember that chip from the same corner of the 18 last year) sealed the 2-0 rebound win over New England


2. Nicolas Addlery - the D.C. United forward came out of “obscurity” and was signed not more than a month ago after the Virginia Beach Mariners disbanded; between Nicolas and Guy-Roland Kpene, they have injected youth into a tiring and aging United line-up; his selection as MLS Player of the Week keeps DC atop the awards stand as they have 3 of those last 4 honors; an injury to Kpene will see Addlery continue to get his time up top with Luciano Emilio


3. FC Dallas Defense - you can make the argument that Houston, Columbus, Chicago, Colorado, and Chivas USA all forced shutouts, but the Hoops backline dealt with a boatload of adversity; it was Bobby Rhine, Aaron Pitchkolan, Clarence Goodson, and David Wagenfuhr that managed to shut down DeRo and the Houston offense; Wagenfuhr also jumpstarted the offense at times with some outside runs as the Hoops also managed to outshoot one of the hottest teams in the league

4. Kei Kamara - struggling all year to find the net, Kamara found it when most needed this past Saturday against the Red Bulls; RBNY’s newly configured defense was effective but let down for Kamara in the 69th minute allowing the Crew to seal their third consecutive victory as their rise in the standings tries to match pace of DC United; the Bulls managed a measly shot on goal while Columbus wasn’t much better but Andy Herron’s cross found Kamara for the nod home

5. Sam Reynolds - an “emergency” GK signing has scored himself some points with Mo and Gansler; his first half was shaky but Reynolds came through when it was sorely needed, making five decent saves to preserve the away tie with Kansas City - Reynolds and Djekanovic. Why not save some cap room and get rid of Greg Sutton? Despite Reynolds' decent game, just like Djekanovic he is raw and somewhat shaky. He got away with some iffy play at times. What were your thoughts on Collin Samuel's debut?


6. Michael Harrington - in the most entertaining game of the weekend, Harrington is third fro m the Toronto/Kansas City match-up; he has become the favorite for rookie of the year and is a real threat on the outside; even more impressive was that he originally played fullback at UNC and, recognizing his talent, he was asked to mold to outside midfield in order to fit the rookie into the KCW line-up


7. Chad Marshall - a fantastic defensive performance against Juan Pablo Angel as he altogether kept Angel, for the first time, off the Top 10 Brightest Spots of the Week; Marshall has been laboring with injury problems and consistency issues after first taking the league by storm earlier in his career; slowly he is making his way back onto the USMNT radar and a performance like this will surely help; as soon as his durability returns look for the US to have yet another central back they can depend on

8. Fred - the DC attacking midfielder has slowly started to find his groove and his MLS scoring account was opened this week after finishing a Nicolas Addlery ball in Thursday nite’s drubbing of Colorado; it’s going to take a little longer and he might not score as often as he did with the Melbourne Victory but he is ready to work his way into that Latin Trifecta even if he’s got to make room for himself

9. Danny Dichio - he doesn’t create much, but when given a decent cross there is almost no one I would rather have in the six battling with the defenders; once I saw Dichio in the vicinity of that cross from Ronnie O’Brien (wish Dichio and Drew Moor were on the same team then maybe he would have finished that sitter, even if it was slow lob of a cross)

10. MLSNet.com’s new look - the verdict is still out on the new website, but it does manage to put a crapload of information on one page and as a stat-lover and as a person who yearns for omnipotence in the world of soccer, the MLS webmasters of done well.

Because I Think...’s Worst (but not really...) of the Week: It’s not MLS, but most of the players on the US Men’s National Team are from the MLS and that performance against Paraguay was one of the most entertaining, frightening, promising, and unbelievably frustrating things I have ever seen; Rico Clark was wonderful, Benny Feilhaber was great until he lost his cool with 20 minutes to go, Benny Olsen fought his ass off yet again but little mistakes and big misses kept the US stale; Feilhaber’s through-ball was a thing of beauty, Justin Mapp’s mazy run through three Paraguayan defenders was just as good and with finishes it all would have been world class football...instead, we saw Eddie Johnson push a near post header wide, Justin Mapp opt out of a through ball to EJ and a far post chip hit the cross bar, Drew Moor missed a wide open header by putting it right into the keeper’s arms (he was almost TOO open), and errant crosses wasted precious chances. Let us not forget the gift-pass from Jimmy Conrad, whose game beside that was rather efficient. In all honesty, though, Bradley has come to Venezuela to test his young’uns. What do we know so far?

Drew Moor can play. His crossing adequate. His tackling adequate. His defensive presence adequate. Let him compete for that right-back spot.

Demerit and Conrad still work well in the middle and could potentially keep Onyewu and Bocanegra honest. Let us forget that Conrad backpass ever happened.
Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark, and Michael Bradley is your midfield of the future folks. Bradley showed it in the Gold Cup and Clark and Benny have shown it in Venezuela. Kljestan was functional. Put Justin Mapp on the wing and improve his decision making and you have a decent midfield people.

Jonathan Bornstein is his own worst enemy, but when on point, he can play with some of the best players in the Western Hemisphere. We have yet to see him against an England, France, or Portugal.

Brad Guzan deserves a chance in goal before this tourney is through.

What are your thoughts?

Paraguay 3, United States 1
Copa America

Goalscorers
PAR: Edgar Barreto, Roque Santa Cruz, Salvador Cabanas
USA: Ricardo Clark

US U-20s underimpress against South Korea; Poland beats Brazil!

Montreal, Canada

United States 1, South Korea 1

The US U-20s started strong in Montreal but finished feebly. The Koreans outshot and outplayed the Nats for long stretches of the match and those that needed to perform, did so somewhat inadequately. Freddy Adu had several strong pushes, but never anything consistent or leading to production. Chris Seitz was the brightest spot of the U-20s who got a boost from Poland's result against tournament favorites Brazil. Should be an interesting next couple match-ups.

Match Report from Top Drawer Soccer

Poland 1, Brazil 0

Wow. Poland shot 50%. 2 shots, 1 goal and a win over heavy favorites Brazil. Alexandre Pato had several shots but nothing too threatening or definitive. Oh wait...Poland also had 10 men for a good amount of the game as Krzyzstof Krol was sent off in the 27th minute after accumulating two cautions.

Fifa.com's Match Report

Other Scores and Standings:

U-20 WC

Chile 3, Canada 0
Japan 3, Scotland 1
Jordan 1, Zambia 1
Spain 2, Uruguay 2
Nigeria 1, Costa Rica 0

Group A

	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	F	A	Points
	Chile	1	1	0	0	3	0	3
	Congo	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Austria	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Canada	1	0	0	1	0	3	0

Group B

	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	F	A	Points
	Spain	1	0	1	0	2	2	1
	Uruguay	1	0	1	0	2	2	1
	Jordan	1	0	1	0	1	1	1
	Zambia	1	0	1	0	1	1	1

Group C

	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	F	A	Points
	Portugal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	New Zealand	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Gambia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Mexico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Group D

	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	F	A	Points
	Poland	1	1	0	0	1	0	3
	Korea Republic	1	0	1	0	1	1	1
	USA	1	0	1	0	1	1	1
	Brazil	1	0	0	1	0	1	0

Group E

	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	F	A	Points
	Argentina	1	0	1	0	0	0	1
	Czech Republic	1	0	1	0	0	0	1
	Korea DPR	1	0	1	0	0	0	1
	Panama	1	0	1	0	0	0	1

Group F

	Team	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	F	A	Points
	Japan	1	1	0	0	3	1	3
	Nigeria	1	1	0	0	1	0	3
	Costa Rica	1	0	0	1	0	1	0
	Scotland	1	0	0	1	1	3	0

Copa America 2007

Brazil 3, Chile 0 (Robinho scores a hattrick)
Mexico 2, Ecuador 1 (Nery Castillo keeps it going)

standings:
FIRST STAGE

Group A	P	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Venezuela	4	2	1	1	0	4	2	2
Peru	3	2	1	0	1	3	2	1
Uruguay	3	2	1	0	1	1	3	-2
Bolivia	1	2	0	1	1	2	3	-1

Group B	Pts	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Mexico	6	2	2	0	0	2	0	2
Brazil	3	2	1	0	1	3	2	1
Chile	3	2	1	0	1	3	4	-1
Ecuador	0	2	0	0	2	3	5	-2

Group C	Pts	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Paraguay	3	1	1	0	0	5	0	5
Argentina	3	1	1	0	0	4	1	3
United States	0	1	0	0	1	1	4	-3
Colombia	0	1	0	0	1	0	5	-5

The USA take on Paraguay tomorrow, July 2nd at 6:35pm on GolTV.

MLS

Sunday, July 1st

Colorado 0, Chicago 0

A bore draw for the most part with very little brewing except for Bakary Soumare's ejection for a shove on Colin Clark in the last ten minutes of the deadlock. Erpen had a somewhat safe first appearance with the Rapids and both teams are just happy to grab a point.

MLSNet.com Match Report

Toronto FC 1, Kansas City 1

KC secured a point at home against the Reds coming away as the only top three Eastern Conference squad to get a point this weekend. A couple sitters weren't finished but Toronto will be happy to grab the point on a header by Danny Dichio. Todd Dunivant had a decent game for his new squad. The Reds worked the last 15 minutes without Andrew Boyens who was ejected after accumulating 2 yellow cards.

KCW: Harrington (3)
TFC: Dichio (5)

Those Copa America Players You Might Not Have Heard Of...but probably should have

Juan Arango (Forward)
Venezuela
Club: Mallorca (ESP)

One of the most famous goalscorers to come out of Venezuela with 20 goals in 53 international caps. He has carved himself out a small legacy at Mallorca in La Liga having hit for 26 goals in over 100 appearances. The Copa America is important to Arango due to his impending contract expiration on July 1st. La Liga big guns Valencia are the leaders in that courtship as of now, but his stock could rise or fall depending on his performance at home.


Afonso Alves (Forward)
Brazil Club: Heerenveen

Yes, most of us might have heard of him but the truth his this past year in Eredivisie was undoubtedly a breakthrough. The Heerenveen sniper struck for 34 goals in 31 games with the Frisians in all matches, but will most likely lose the World Golden Boot to Didier Drogba as the the league is considered easier, and rightfully so, (a 1.5 coefficient I think) than England, Spain, or Germany. His goalscoring rampage didn't start in Holland. Instead, Swedish goalkeepers were terrorized by Alves when he played for Orgryte and Malmo FF scoring 52 goals in 94 games collectively. He has been linked heavily with Benfica and, at times, Chelsea but his Copa America coupling up front with Fred or Julio Baptista will determine where he ends up. Like Ruud Van Nistlerooy and Klaas Jan Huntelaar before, Heerenveen will be hoping he stays at least another year (as he was their record signing) but the suitors are lining up as his numbers speak for himself.


Jorge Valdivia (Midfielder)
Chile
Club: Palmeiras (BRA)

Considered the most technically gifted on the Chilean squad and within his. Venezualan born but Chilean-raised, Validivia has been extremely loyal to playing in South America as his talent and age (only 24) still appeal to European clubs (several La Liga clubs have been in contact). His two previous stints, however, at Servette in Switzerland and Rayo Vallecano (old Kasey Keller club) ended somewhat disappointingly. Success came for Valdivia after his move to Palmeiras and his first season and a half has found him productive at attacking midfield with 7 goals in 26 appearances. Valdivia will be the playmaker in Chile's attack-laden team (you could say that about all of the South American teams though) and his skill and vision needs to be on point in a group consisting of Brazil, Mexico, and Ecuador.


Edgar Barreto
Paraguay
Club: NEC Nijmegen (HOL)

Barreto, an attacking midfielder, has already made the trek eastward and found success. His career started Paraguay's Cerro Porteno until Dutch scouts found the youth talent and at one point he was close to signing for Ajax, but that deal never materialized. He ended up signing for NEC Nijmegen in 2004 and has fought injuries while serving as the attacking engine of the squad. His play has often linked him to both Ajax again, PSV, and AZ Alkmaar as well as several teams in the Bundesliga. Barreto was on Paraguay's roster for the 2002 and 2006 World Cup and played in both.