USMNT v Haiti

It's another catch-call post for the final Gold Gup group match between the USMNT and Haiti. Tonight's line-up card, with a more offensive midfield look...

Robles; Evans, Parkhurst, Conrad (c), Heaps; Quaranta, Holden, Cronin, Clark; Cooper, Arnaud

Bench: Perkins, Pearce, Goodson, Beckerman, Rogers, Davies, Ching

UPDATE: The USMNT rallied near the death to gain a 2-2 draw with Haiti thanks to Stuart Holden's late bomb. Davy Arnaud put the 'Nats up early, but twin strikes just after the break put the underdogs ahead.





- Greg Seltzer

Transfers, transfers, we want some answers!

A little Saturday breakfast edition of the silly season wire...

• Hannover 96 winger Sal Zizzo has seen his loan move to Fortuna Düsseldorf halted by a case of the stomach flu. Unable to pass a medical exam at the moment, the question stands: will the 2.Bundesliga side now look elsewhere or is this a mere technicality delay? I'm on it.
  
  UPDATE: I have been informed that the loan move is merely on hold. Zizzo is feeling better and will re-do his medical early this week.
  

• Greek reports say Villarreal forward Jozy Altidore is set to secure a season loan to Olympiakos. This would be a nice deal for the youngster; he wouldn't be expected to be the man, but would likely see plenty of time for a domestic title favorite and Champions League qualifier. And, of course, ya know... it's Greece.

• Brian Lewis checks in with some New York Red Bulls transfer talk. Apart from his tidbit about sister club Salzburg midfielder Ernst Obster apparently about to join up, we also learn that American Maccabi Haifa defender Leo Krupnik is training with the team. While this would definitely be a nice pick up for NYRB, I honestly can't imagine why the player is interested - going from a Champions League qualifier to a team mopping up the MLS basement sounds like a terrible idea.
  
  An update says they also still want to sign U.S. youth standout Dilly Duka, but that seems more complicated.

• Despite widespread reports that Barcelona are close to luring Valencia forward David Villa with a revealed monster bid, the supposed sellers say they haven't even received an offer. The question is... who do we believe?

• Alleged MLS target Pavel Nedved has reportedly received a 48-hour shelf life offer from Inter Milan, but other reports suggest he will actually retire this time to join Juventus management. Personally, I'd love to see him in RSL colors... what? I don't think it could happen, I'm just sayin'.
  

• I've just read that Barcelona has scouted Osasuna left back Nacho Monreal. No big alert, I just really wanted to post his name in boldface.
  

• Oft-linked with a move to MLS, Mexico forward Bofo Bautista has put that talk off for a while by signing a new deal with Jaguares.

• Fresh NK Rijeka strike catch Johann Smith got his first preseason start in a 3-0 loss at Kopar.
  
  I'm not sure why, but midfield maestro Anas Sharbini was not in uniform - I hope he isn't finally being bought by one of the 20 big names that have scouted him. I think it would behoove the Europa League qualifiers to hang on to their star man for now.

All this transfer talk has whipped me into a Top 5 List frenzy, so I will start working on a new one right now. The topic? Top 5 Names Euro-Clubs Should Be Chasing But Aren't. I've already got three good ones in mind.


- Greg Seltzer

A few things...

I know I've kinda overlooked MLS the last couple of weeks, what with all the USMNT and transfer happenings, but today I will make up for that. And, of course, the new MLS Club Ladder is up at S365...

#1 - President Obama received a signed Samba Kings shirt and then some stick from his Brazilian counterpart at the G-8 Summit, but apparently concluded the meeting by insisting that will not happen the next time the USMNT has a chance to claim a victory.

Meanwhile, Salon has an op-ed suggesting Obama missed out on a big diplomacy shot by being away when the USMNT faced Honduras on Wednesday. I don't necessarily agree, but it's fun to see American soccer being talked about in those mainstream circles.

#2 - The champion Crew will soon have their White House visit. I like the gesture of inviting guys no longer on the roster along.

Meanwhile, Columbus are being linked with Fener's Chile midfield ace Claudio Maldonado. This would be a huge pick-up... but is that really their positional need?

#3 - Despite widespread reports to the contrary, the Charlie Davies-to-Sochaux deal has not been completed yet. The forward has agreed to contract terms with the Ligue 1 battlers, but the fee is still in haggle.

UPDATE: Aaaaaaand not an hour after I post this, the transfer fee is agreed. It seems Davies will arrive to sign and be presented next week. I am not sure if this development rules him out for the Haiti match or not.

In related news, it appears that Hannover 96 winger Sal Zizzo has failed his Fortuna Düsseldorf medical, which would seem to scupper his loan move. It's too late to get a hold of the Reds today, but I'll look into this Monday.

#4 - If you're in Santa Monica on Tuesday, head over to the Third Street Promenade adidas Sports Performance shop from 5-6 PM to meet U.S. striker Jozy Altidore. He'll be signing autographs and there will also be some giveaways.

#5 - Keepin' It Real discusses possible summer moves for RSL. I would think they would like to find a striker, with Yura Movsisyan leaving and Robbie Findley drawing glances from Europe as well.

UPDATE: Looks like Movsisyan will not being leaving until January as Randers did not name the right price to get him now.

#6 - Fresh Revs recruit Edgaras Jankauskas talks about his arrival to MLS. If he's still got the legs, the big striker can really help this team. American fans may remember him from his role on Porto's 2004 Champions League winning side.

#7 - Grant Wahl's Beckham book isn't even out yet, but Landon Donovan already feels bad for gripes expressed in his interview before he'd talked to his teammate about it.

No, I still haven't read any excerpts. I'm eagerly awaiting my advance copy. I hope to tear through that bad boy all at once this weekend and have a review up on Monday.

#8 - Speaking of Donovan and the Galaxy, 100 Percent Soccer's Nick Green highlights some playful jabs received from Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein during the pre-derby press conference.

#9 - It looks like Portland has finally smoothed out all the rough edges to putting their expansion team in play. We hope.

#10 - Perhaps taking my advice (what? would that be so bizarre?), San Jose are scouting defensive-minded central midfielders, starting with T&T international Densill Theobald. That's just one of the notes on Jeff Carlisle's latest CenterLine post. I really need to make it over to his blog more often.

#11 - Fresh from proclaiming he could help, Red Bulls trialist Veljko Paunović injured his hammy. Urgh. The team are waiting to see if the well-traveled striker wants to stick around until he's fit again.

Meanwhile, Nick Zimmerman (one of the few bright spots in New York this season) answers 10 Offside questions.

#12 - Courtesy of the USMNT Blog: the wild draw between Mexico and Panama has clinched a quarterfinal place for the 'Nats. If you didn't hear, that game went nutsovision, both on the field and in the stands.

#13 - Aalborg striker Marcus Tracy was interviewed by the club website, and NSC pal Poul-Henrik Worm was gracious enough to do a native speaker translation for us. If the print is too small, just hold the Control key and scroll your mouse up one click. I simply wanted change the lettering to differentiate between texts.

Tracy: "I'm getting there"

AaB's American striker Marcus Tracy is getting close to his wanted fitness level.

The American did not have the training start he had hoped for when an operation of two wisdom teeth meant that he needed to relax a few days.

"It meant that I had a slow start and therefore wasn't as far fitness-wise as I would have liked. But now it's moving forward, and I can feel that I'm getting close to match fitness," says Marcus Tracy who has enjoyed being back on the training ground focusing on the new season.

"There are some new players who need to get used to the team, but I think the whole team has had some really good sessions and it's also positive that we have several players back from injury, so it's looking good right now."

"We have a good test on Sunday against Randers FC, which can give us an indication of how far we are in our preparations. We're focusing more on our play than on the reult until the season starts, but of course we want to get a good result in that game. Personally, I hope to get as many minutes as possible and contribute what I can to the team."

#14 - Man, it must have been a treat beyond belief for the adidas Elite Soccer Program campers when Zinedine Zidane made a surprise visit to help them train!! Wow!!

Zinadine Zidane Makes Surprise Appearance At Colorado Rapids Stadium For Adidas Elite Soccer Program from MLS Rumors on Vimeo.

- Greg Seltzer

A little more Santino

D.C. United's official blog, Behind the Badge, provides a little more to the Santino Quaranta story...




- Greg Seltzer

Gold Cup Part Deux

I'm making one catch all post for this match, which sees the USMNT accept a Gold Cup call in Washington D.C. with a chance to clinch advancement to the knockouts.

Tonight's line-up card is as follows:

Perkins; Cherundolo (c), Marshall, Parkhurst, Pearce; Quaranta, Pause, Beckerman, Rogers; Adu, Ching

Subs: Robles, Evans, Davies, Holden, Feilhaber, Heaps, Cooper

I gotta say, I rather like this line-up. We have plenty of capable weapons on the bench if late offense is required. With Honduras missing several regulars, I will predict a 3-1 USMNT victory.

You folks back home can tune in to FSC or TeleFutura, and those still at work can follow on the ussoccer.com MatchTracker.

A quick question: isn't it time the USMNT had its own radio network, even if it's just online? I hearby announce my desire to audition for either booth position.

Enjoy the game, I will come back in the morning to add the requisite video clips and Player Ratings will go up at Soccer365 tomorrow, hopefully by your lunchtime. I tend to sleep quite late after one of these 3AM kickoffs, as you might imagine.

UPDATE: Please do note that Freddy Adu has left the team to join Benfica preseason camp, as had been arranged with the club. Why this had to be a secret until he left is beyond me.

UPDATE UPDATE: We also now have the postgame quote sheet and my U.S. Player Ratings are up.

The highlights...




- Greg Seltzer

Guy strikes late winner

With so much focus on the USMNT and summer transfer roller coasters, we almost forget that some Americans Abroad are in the midst of their club seasons. One such player, St. Pat's attacker Ryan Guy, fired the 1-0 away winner on Tuesday night to beat Cork City.

I'll be on the lookout for a clip, but the club has been slacking on videos this season.

- Greg Seltzer

Ain't it grand?

Just a quick Charlie Davies transfer update: contrary to French reports claiming this deal would be announced 'by the end of the week' and a curious statement from Sochaux president Alexandre Lacombe that implied the American was already in their corral, I have been told by Hammarby this afternoon that no transfer fee agreements have taken place yet.

As it stands they at least have sitting offers from Sochaux and Croatian power Hajduk Split (of under €2 million I've been told), plus interest from several other clubs in France and Germany. My sources tell me it's going to take upwards of €2.5 million to land Davies.

Last Thursday night, his agent told me they were 'hoping to have this done in the next five days'. It looks as though they will not make that timeline, but the forward's involvement in Gold Cup as Hammarby resumes their campaign certainly suggests it won't be much longer until he has a new club shirt to sport.

Just another day in the silly season - for your sanity, please keep all brains inside the car until the ride has come to a complete stop.

Side note: It looks as though Oguchi Onyewu's Rossoneri presentation will be Monday at the absolute earliest. "Gooch is delighted to be joining AC Milan," agent Lyle Yorks told NSC. "We are flying over next week for his medical."


- Greg Seltzer

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