Into the Milan frying-pan

Oguchi Onyewu signing for AC Milan is a great thing, isn't it? Never mind Alexi Lalas' stint at makeweights Padova; Gooch is the first Yank at a Serie A giant and one of the world's elite. A three-year deal expiring at the end of June 2012 is good news all round. I've seen a salary of $1.1million a year reported but don't quote me on that.

But I fear he won't enjoy the pressure-cooker of calcio, which swamps their media and public discourse to an unhealthy level. The Italian soccer picture remains un-rosy. The administrators are invariably mired in corruption, while the fan culture remains resolutely ugly, with militaristic ultras holding clubs to ransom. Tifosi chants are aggressive and wholly lacking in the humor found in the EPL or MLS stands. Apart from a couple of TV shows, there isn't any levity in calcio; everyone always seems deathly serious about the beautiful game.

Serie A stadia are fenced fortresses patrolled by heavily-armed police. After the calciopoli scandal of 2006 proved Italian clubs were still trying to illegally influence referees, there have been intermittent deaths in soccer-related violence, league suspensions and brutal experiences for overseas fans. Italy was the outstanding candidate to host Euro 2012, but UEFA could not be seen to be rewarding such a culture, so handed it instead to Poland & Ukraine, which is causing them all manner of headaches. On the field, Italian football is still highly skilled and tactically astute but overly defensive and cynical for the spectator; not a patch on the entertainment of La Liga or the EPL.

Gooch needs an iron self-belief and an open mind to stand the heat in that kitchen because the mentality is special in Italy. Remember Joe McGinnis' wonderful book 'The Miracle of Castel di Sangro'? - The innocent American was horrified when his beloved team fixed a match at the end of the season, but it is normal practice over there to store up friendship credits when you have nothing to play for. Anyone like me who has lived in Italy and followed a team there will have seen a suspicious game sooner or later. Italy is clientelist in football as in government. It leads to corruption and chaos but that is the way they do things there. It is an island with the Alps at the top, separate from the European mainstream.

There, the pressure on players to perform is far more intense than what Gooch has experienced before and being black, tall and American, he won't blend easily into the crowds when he wants to hide. I recall how stressed and unhappy he was when I spoke to him after a Newcastle defeat at Charlton, when an error of his had led to an Addicks goal and his chances of making his loan permanent were vanishing. If he did the same at San Siro, the blowback would be 100 times worse.

We all desperately want Gooch to do well at Milan. But it won't be as easy as England or Belgium were for him to settle into. Too many foreign stars from Jimmy Greaves to Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry have struggled to adapt to Italy and its footballing ways, feeling marooned and unfulfilled before proving their greatness in other leagues.

Those who have succeeded have been mentally strong. Firstly Gooch must learn Italian, make local friends and above all accept Italy as it is, not how he would like it to be. Once he enters into a culture which it must be said is not the best at accepting diversity, he will feel happy and settled.

Only then can he enjoy his soccer and be the first great American success at a really top club. He can make it a great Italian adventure. Good luck, or as they say in Italy, 'in bocca al lupo' (into the wolf's mouth!)

As a flavor of what to expect, here are some Italian reactions from today's message board of La Gazzetta dello Sport, the nation's top-selling soccer daily:

* 'Is this a joke? What happened to chasing Fabregas and Mexes?'
* 'I am changing my team'
* 'A Mr. Nobody for nothing'
* 'Is this an April Fool? Please wake me up and tell me this is a bad dream'
* 'I remember seeing this giant against Brazil and thinking Milan should buy him'
* 'I never thought Milan would be after AMERICANS. So this is where Italian soccer has ended up...'
* 'Onyewu is gonna make a lot of people eat their words. I think he's a great buy'
* 'Onye-who? I heard Sochaux and Recreativo Huelva were after him...'
* 'I don't think the fans are going to get excited about him'
* 'Getting excited about Onyewu after Kaka is like appreciating salt pork after caviar'
* 'Looks like they bought him to protect them from the fans: He's an animal'
* 'Feet of lead but an interesting physique'
* 'The training ground has a new gardener'
* 'I wonder if he plays the guitar better than Alexi Lalas'
* 'A real monster but have you seen his marble feet - Mamma mia! Don't give him the ball!'
* 'OK he won't be a legend but he cost us zilch'
* 'If Nesta is a definite alongside Silva then Onyewu will be an excellent reserve'
* 'He can't be worse than Senderos, can he?'
* 'More trash for Milan as usual'
* 'He could be a new Stam and at least we got him for free. Have some faith in Milan!'
* 'Oh please - he's 27 and let go by mediocre Liege and was on the bench at Metz'
* 'We've bought a good player. Well done Milan'
* 'The guy in goalkeeper gloves - nice one Milan; next year we'll be in the Intertoto'
* 'It's just a publicity move to tap the American market. Next year we'll get a Chinaman and the following year a woman centre-forward'
* 'At least Milan now has enough height to stop conceding from free kicks'
* 'Just one question before I renew my season-ticket. Who is Onyewu?'
* 'He is physically fantastic and really impressed at the Confed. Cup. Let's have hope and not judge him before we have seen him'
* 'He's arrived at just the right age and will be a useful back-up'
* 'We got him for FREE - what more do you want?'
* 'A great buy - for the Milan bench'
* 'Finally some good news'
* 'The morale of all the fans is even lower - San Siro will be empty'
* 'I don't get those saying he will be a flop. In the Confed. Cup -he was a brick wall'
* 'I'm sure he'll do well at Milan. He's got great positional sense and really strong in the air, though he has a little work to do technically'
* 'Who is this guy and who put the €67m we got for Kaka in their pocket? We're embarassing'
* 'He'll have one game in Italy but is too heavy to make it to a second'
* 'He was one of their best at the Confed. Cup but the USA defended with everyone including the team masseur'
* 'Shame, shame. This is not my Milan. It's all over'
* 'If it hadn't been for the Confed. Cup we would never have known he existed'
* 'Above all it's a good opening to the American market for merchandising. With a bit of technical and tactical Italian teaching he'll be fine'

-Sean O'Conor

A few things...

I'll be back after I have lunch to fill this out with more, but let's start big...

#1 - AC Milan have won the Oguchi Onyewu race, seemingly coming from nowhere to sign the defender to a three-year deal. It's a stinkin' brilliant move for all involved, and frankly, Milan should have done it last summer.

Side note: And yes, if you insist on sending me emails to ask, I am currently spewing the most vile, evil language one could ever imagine in anger.

UPDATE: I'm still digging to find out exactly how this all went down. The local backroom chatter believes Milan swooped in this weekend as Ajax were ready to sign him, but I really want to know. Meanwhile, ESPN talks to former Serie A man Alexi Lalas about the move...



UPDATE UPDATE: It now seems that Ajax may have been hoping to unveil Ivan Obradovic on Monday, and not Onyewu, and that Partizan Belgrade pulled out of that separate deal on Sunday.

Martin Jol has already stated that 'the door was open' for Gooch, so I'm just left wondering two things: how close actually was an Ajax/Onyewu deal and when did AC Milan come in? Hmmm. So much fun falling the twists and turns... who needs a soap opera?

#2 - I told ya Jimmy Conrad would be back in a USMNT shirt. Jack Bell of the New York Times points out how old he is.

Just kidding, Jimmy.

#3 - I got a word with U.S. defender Jonathan Spector, who was rather pleased with his overall Confederations Cup experience.

#4 - Free agent Canada ace Julian De Guzman has confirmed that Toronto FC are offering him a huge chunk of change. Hmm... I kinda think they need a defender, actually.

#5 - The Cal Poly Mustang covers Everton's now-completed signing of young American Anton Peterlin.

#6 - L.A. boss Bruce Arena says "meh" to the possible team chemistry blowback from NSC pal Grant Wahl's upcoming David Beckham book.

Oooooh I can't wait for my copy! I intentionally haven't even read the released excerpts to take it all in at once.

#7 - Here's a fun one: apparently, U.S midfielder Michael Bradley did confront the officials in the tunnel after being sent off in the Confederations Cup semifinal and was hit with a four-game ban by FIFA... only they've meted out his punishment in such a way that he may not miss any more games (he did already sit out the Cup final).

#8 - Finally we check in with a new Studio 90 Gold Cup report...




- Greg Seltzer

A mere token

I'm really busy AND the Soccer365 publisher has gone awry on us, but nothing major has happened yet anyway. I'll try to come back later with A few things... when everything settles down.

For now, enjoy the pilot episode of Arrested Development (provided you are in the States). If you've never seen the show, viewing is mandatory. Now. Put down that work. I'm not playing around with you.

Arrested Development - Pilot



- Greg Seltzer

'Nats ease past Grenada like a breeze

Led by Crew winger Robbie Rogers' goal and two helpers, the USMNT opened Gold Cup play with a smooth 4-0 win over Grenada. Due to the mite-y opposition, I was not planning a Player Ratings for this particular game and thus (gasp!) opted to get to bed at a decent hour instead of staying up to nearly sunrise to watch. Naturally, I will go to the video later just to see it.

In case you also missed it with all the July 4th festivities, here are the highlights...



- Greg Seltzer

Could It Be You-ch?

I'm not yet sure what level of excitement you may be in for, but here's the deal: I have been told by two unconnected local birdies that Ajax are hoping to unveil a new player on Monday. There are three possibilities for this signing - a third keeper, hot topic Partizan Belgrade left back Ivan Obradović or U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu.

The third keeper has been promised this week, but no names have been floated in the local press as of yet. Obradović, who is also being chased to varying degrees by the likes of Barcelona, Tottenham and Werder Bremen, has now stated that he is 'only interested in Ajax'.

Which bring us to our man Gooch, who also has offers on the table from Genoa, either Parma or Palermo, and either Espanyol or Valencia. I am now about 80% sure that the suitor breakdown falls just like that.

In another matter that somewhat pertains to the question of how wise a move to Ajax would be for Onyewu, Amsterdam star man Luis Suárez (who USMNT fans may remember from the U-20 World Cup knockout against Uruguay in 2007) has declared he will definitely be staying in town this season, despite a whopping offer from AC Milan.

And so we wait...

UPDATE: On a related note, both French and Swedish reports are claiming that Hammarby forward Charlie Davies is all but set for Sochaux. Should the Saturday night scorer (I'm sorry, Grenada or not, the entire goal was pure class by all three players) join Les Lionceaux, I think he stands a great chance of slotting in behind active front man Václav Svěrkoš for the recently PSG-departed speedster Mevlüt Erdinç.

UPDATE UPDATE: Back to Gooch... despite reports now surfacing in the Netherlands that Onyewu is the player Ajax hope to present Monday, I have been informed that the deal has not yet been sealed.

There was also a television report in Spain today that said former suitor Real Madrid may have interest in the U.S. defender, but I haven't come across anything to support it.

We shall see what the morning brings.


- Greg Seltzer

How could we possibly allow this?

I know we are all ready to kick off Gold Cup, but after reading Sam Alipour's infuriating ESPN Magazine story on the "case" against former UC-Santa Barbara ace Eric Frimpong, I was immediately compelled to share it.

I'd meant to read it yesterday, but forgot and now am ruing the lost exposure for his story due to the routine occurrence of lower weekend traffic. I may just create a bump post for Monday. This story had gone far too quiet before Mr. Alipour weighed in with his very comprehensive piece of reporting.

Now that I have read it (and several other news articles on the case and its aftermath), I promise to do some additional digging and monitoring on this story. I'm incredibly far away in distance and I'm not sure how much I can do to help, but I will try. This is too important to ignore, and the minor platform I'm lucky enough to have carries responsibilities. At the least, I want everyone to read this story and then I want you to pass it along.

Let me be fully clear: this is not about downplaying rape, among the very cruelest acts that can be perpetrated against a human being. The girl was obviously sexually assaulted and the offender should be punished, harshly. I do not like to be political here, but to be forthright this time, I find rape sentencing to be far too lenient. I am also fully aware that so many men just plain get away with it for a variety of reasons. If Eric Frimpong is guilty, I'll scream for a larger sentence... I just don't see how he possibly could be, much less beyond a reasonable doubt.

There are a pile of curious rulings, evidence shell games and what appear to be odd testimony massages, but I was mostly compelled to rant by a pair of seemingly inescapable facts: the boyfriend was never even considered a suspect despite the evidence and there was not one cell of Frimpong's DNA found on the victim or her clothes.

Setting aside the stunningly clear gaps in the boyfriend's role in the story, I would absolutely love to hear someone explain to me how a man can forcibly remove jeans (practically a DNA grater), violently attack and rape without leaving behind a single bit of physical evidence. I went to look through a few rape evidence and litigator's DNA evidence guides, which only made me more confused about this significant note.

Obviously, I was not there for the trial and cannot speak as a case expert, but the known facts and subsequent court hi-jinx smell fishier than the Pacific. I can't even imagine how anyone would feel otherwise. This all seems a blatantly obvious farce, and it makes me extremely angry. Making "someone" pay is not justice, and the traumatic rape of a young girl deserves as much justice as any circumstance I can think of.

Forget that he is "one of ours" as a soccer player. Forget that he is quite obviously adored and trusted completely by the large crowd of family, adopted family, friends and support he has. Forget that he's an immigrant, young and not well off.

This appears to be an upstanding young man having his life stolen from him, right out in the open of our criminal justice system - or at least the public shell of what it purports to be. In fact, at least one juror has publicly stated that proceedings were slanted and wishes she could withdraw her guilty vote.

Folks, this just cannot happen this way. We can't allow it. This is supposed to be America, dammit.

Frankly, I don't know how this kid finds the strength. I am sincerely humbled, and all but certain that I'd crumble easily under such rabid injustice. I say we all join the team and find a way to give Eric a fair shot to win back his life. As I said, I'm not sure how much or what I can do, but you have my word that I'm going to find out that how much and what.





- Greg Seltzer

[Top photo: Paul Wellman/The Independent]

Newbie-speak & Jozy-talk

And for more news on Altidore's club situation, head over to a little salon I'm hosting over at Soccer365. Only 25 grand a plate.


- Greg Seltzer

A few things...

#1 - Landon Donovan has slated David Beckham for his flexi-time at the Galaxy - I wish more players would speak their mind like this; they are in the entertainment business after all.

Comments are extracts from Grant Wahl's 'The Beckham Experiment' -Excerpts here on SI. Read the full story to understand where Cakes was coming from... I know Greg is getting stuck into the book and will be reviewing it soon.

#2 - Arsenal's ex-MLS honcho Ivan Gazidis is the latest to call for an EPL salary cap.

#3 - With Karim Benzema Bernabeu-bound, compatriot Franck Ribery, the hottest remaining transfer target of the summer, has told Bayern Munich "It will be Real or nothing," to which Bayern have answered, "Our clear reply is nothing!"

#4 - Michael Owen is set for a shock move to Man United!?!

#5 - A different take on the Confederations Cup and other news by Brian Glanville, 77 year-old doyen of English soccer writers.

#6 - The Three Lions' disaster in the UEFA U21 Final ; but this guy is their future talisman.

#7 - 'Los, Donovan and T-Ho talk about the Brazil heartbreaker, plus we have the first Gold Cup Studio 90 report -





-Sean O'Conor

Okay okay, you've been patient...

It's time to get you all caught up on a few Americans Abroad transfer items. Sorry it took me a while longer than usual, but these things do all simmer at their own pace.

• The first article I have up covers the fact that a Ligue 1 club (one of Rennes, Saint-Étienne or Sochaux) looks set to beat a Bundesliga club (thought to be Hamburg, but I can't confirm) in the race for Hammarby strike ace Charlie Davies. The move could be completed by this time next week. I do not know which of the three French teams is close, but they are negotiating a fee with Hammarby.
  
  UPDATE: Swedish daily Expressen has outed Bochum, who I had mentioned as a winter suitor many months ago, are the Bundesliga club still in the Davies chase.
  

• Though swamped by bids recently, free agent defender Oguchi Onyewu is currently down to weighing four offers: one from an extremely eager Ajax (trust me on this bit), two from Serie A and one from La Liga. Obviously, this means all interested Prem clubs, all interested Ligue 1 clubs and Fenerbahçe are out of the running - at least for the time being.
  
  Best I can surmise, the Italian teams come out of a group comprised of Bologna, Catania, Genoa, Livorno, Parma and Palermo. I have nothing but educated guesses on the mystery Spaniards.
  

• As I mentioned in a comment earlier, I know that at least one Prem club is prowling around 'Gladbach midfielder Michael Bradley - but nobody on the inside is talkin'. The prime suspects, from what I have gleaned, are longtime admirers Everton, Aston Villa and Fulham. Again, none of my birdie leads jump out among the others, but I'm fairly certain no official transfer offer has dropped as of yet.

• There are no serious talks as of yet for Fulham attacker Clint Dempsey... but he does have at least one Prem club (with Everton the hot UK buzz) sizing him up, as well as teams from France, Germany and Spain. A Turkish paper reported yesterday that Fenerbahçe had taken a provisional interest in MC Deuce, but his agent told me there had been no contact with the Istanbul giants.

• As you may have heard, Hannover 96 winger Sal Zizzo is set to secure a season loan with ambitious 2.Bundesliga risers Fortuna Düsseldorf. This deal should be made official tomorrow.

• While free agent left back Heath Pearce has patiently waited on a trigger-slow Eredivisie side to table an offer, several rival suitors have popped up. The Gold Cup participant now has one of the Austrian Bundesliga entrants to Europe, a Danish club (I have reason to believe it's Randers FC, but don't write that in ink), an Allsvenskan outfit (educated guesses only) and at least one 2.Bundesliga team (no clue) chatting him up in addition to the Dutch slowpokes.

• Recent German reports linking Colorado striker Conor Casey with former loan side Karlsruhe were overzealous. He's had no enquiries of late.

• We will all probably find out how big a crush Rennes have on Houston star Ricardo Clark once their current defensive midfielder, Stephane M'Bia, picks his destination out of Brittany. That team seems to have several things going on, and he looks the lead domino.
  

I'll have another little something for you at S365 tomorrow morning, plus there are a few things that are nearly done brewing.


- Greg Seltzer

Bradley adds extra seven

From the "I did not see that coming file" is news that U.S. boss Bob Bradley added his allotted seven Gold Cup reinforcements strictly from the Confederations Cup roster.

I get Altidore, Benny and Guzan, and Chivas USA is off this weekend, so I suppose Bornstein and Kljestan will be available for Saturday's opener against Grenada. However, Houston (Clark's MLS team) starts three games in eight days on Independance Day and Colorado (Casey) play each approaching weekend.

I also can't imagine what we'd find out against Grenada or Haiti that we didn't learn against Italy, Brazil and Spain. Things that make you go "hmmmm" indeed...

UPDATE: I have a few tasty quote passages from today's Gold Cup press conference, on topics of particular recent interest to you guys and gals (judging from your emails).


Sunil Gulati on Edgar Castillo

“Everything is open, I don’t think Bob is ready to say he is coming into the team or not coming into the team, but we’ve had some preliminary discussions.”

Gulati on Jermaine Jones

"We've had pretty regular communication with Jermaine's representatives and his advisers. He has both publicly and privately indicated that he would like to file for an eligibility switch. I think the paperwork has now been submitted to FIFA. The earliest he would be eligible to move is the 1st of August."

Bob Bradley on Jones

"I certainly have had a lot of opportunities to see him play, I would just like to wait until everything is taken care of on the paperwork side and we have a chance to bring him in before we get too much into detail, but he has been an important part and player at Schalke and he played in a lot of big games, and a player like that can be very helpful."

Bradley on Jose Francisco Torres not being selected for the Gold Cup

"Jose has had a very busy schedule with his club team and in discussions we felt that it was important that he have a little bit of a break before things start up again. When we look at all the different factors, certainly the idea that next summer players will be coming right from their clubs into the training camp that leads into the World Cup, you have to make very difficult decisions about if players can go a couple years without a break or if a player needs a little bit of a break right now."

UPDATE: The full presser on podcast (mp3 link).


- Greg Seltzer

A few things...

This took me far too long, sorry. Interwebs troubles...

#1 - As you may well know the race for free agent USMNT backline cop Oguchi Onyewu has reached a fever pace. We had no less than a half dozen names added to his suitor list today, including (heart beating) Ajax.

The same article also outs Parma and Portsmouth, while various Italian reports fingered Genoa, Lazio and Livorno - all of whom have previously watched the defender.

#2 - I hit up U.S. midfielder Benny Feilhaber to talk about about the Confederations Cup experience, which he feels can only help the team leading up to and including World Cup 2010.

I also posted the new MLS Club Ladder, which is obviously a bit static after a light schedule last week.

#3 - Erm... what the hell happened with MLS teams in in Open Cup play last night? Until they are properly allowed to establish depth, expect this to continue.

#4 - Soccer365 cohort Sean Heffernan got a quick word with U.S. U-20 midfielder Mikkel Diskerud after he scored a friendly winner against Egypt.

#5 - Brazil hero Lúcio on rallying to beat the feisty USMNT on Sunday.

#6 - The fans have named Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard to their Confederations Cup XI.

#7 - Here's a funny thing about the Gold Cup: the U.S. gets to add seven players to their roster due to the quick turnaround from Confederations Cup.

Who would I add? Making considerations so as not to deplete any MLS squad too much, I'd say Jeremiah White and Zak Whitbread would be my first two calls. And what about Robbie Findley or even Yura Movsisyan... he's a citizen, right? How about Arturo Alvarez, would he accept? Of course, you know I'd love to see Cory Gibbs brought in as well.

#8 - Lyon ace Karim Benzema is finally on the move. To where? Gee, take a wild guess. The mass exodus of Dutch attackers should begin any day now.

#9 - It seems Juventus star Pavel Nedved has MLS interest. Hmm. Who could that be?

#10 - I got so busy today, I failed to notice Alexi Lalas was Stephen Colbert's guest last night when I posted the earlier clip. Oops..

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Is it Time to Care About Soccer? - Alexi Lalas
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Jeff Goldblum

- Greg Seltzer

We've turned Steven Colbert!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Is it Time to Care About Soccer?
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Jeff Goldblum

- Greg Seltzer