Total Futbol

Euro quarters set! Messi's Miami visit.

Been on furlough the past week (cruising in the Caribbean)...watched Euro 2012 aboard the Allure of the Seas ship, which was very cool. Many of the passengers -- and the crew members -- were soccer fans.

So, the QFs are set: Czech vs. Portugal, Germany vs. Greece, Spain vs. France, England vs. Italy.

Thoughts? Biggest underachievers were the Dutch. I expected more.

If I had to guess, I'd say Portugal, Germany, Spain and Italy will advance. You agree?

You can vote below. Closer to home, Lionel Messi comes to Miami's Sun Life Stadium on Saturday for an all-star exhibition called World Masters Tour. Also includes Diego Forlan, Falcao, Didier Drogba, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Dani Alves, Alessandro Nesta, Carlos Bocanegra and more. This is a rare chance to see Messi up close. Don't miss it! Tickets on sale through Ticketmaster and stadium.

 

 

 

Poll: Who will win Euro 2012?

Sounders roll, Red Bulls ousted...

Oh, well...Eric Wynalda's Storybook Team was fun while it lasted...Cal FC, an amateur team thrown together and coached by former US star and TV analyst Wynalda, was the feel-good story of the US Open Cup after reaching the fourth round with a shocking win over the Portland Timbers. But the Seattle Sounders brought them down to earth...Read the AP account...

TUKWILA, Wash. --  As Osvaldo Alonso and Fredy Montero saw things, it was just a matter of time.

Alonso and Montero each scored a pair of goals in the second half, and the Seattle Sounders tallied five times in a span of 20 minutes on Tuesday night to end Cal FC's run through the U.S. Open Cup with a 5-0 fourth-round victory.

Andy Rose also scored for Seattle, which was kept off the board for nearly 50 minutes by the amateur side from Thousand Oaks, Calif., before Alonso converted a penalty kick.

"The first half was a hard half because they were very strong in their defense," Alonso said. "But the second half, we entered the field feeling happy and positive about the fact that if we scored the first goal, then the next goal and the next goal and the next goal were going to come."

That's precisely what happened. Montero ran onto a long through ball from Cordell Cato and ripped it into the back left corner late in the 58th minute. Rose got the last head on an airborne ball in the box and sent it into the right side midway through the 66th minute.

Montero curled in a 25-yard direct free kick from beyond the top left corner of the box midway through the 68th -- a goal that initially was called offside, but then allowed. Alonso finished it with a straight-on 35-yard blast late in the 70th minute.

"It was like just waiting for us to score a goal," Montero said. "Lucky for us, it was a penalty. We knew the diffrerence was going to be the first goal."

The Sounders, going for an unprecedented fourth straight U.S. Open Cup, will be on the road for the quarterfinals on June 26, visiting Major League Soccer rival San Jose. Seattle is 15-0-1 in Open Cup play since joining MLS as an expansion team in 2009, but has played just three road games during that time: two in 2009 and one in 2010.

Cal FC, coached by former U.S. national team star and television analyst Eric Wynalda, went further than any other U.S. Adult Soccer Association (fifth-tier) team in the modern era in the Open Cup (1995-present). Despite being together for barely a month, it was the first USASA team to knock off an MLS side when it beat the Portland Timbers in overtime last Wednesday in Oregon, 1-0.

"All in all, if you look at the goals we set for ourselves, we did exceed a lot of people's expectations," Wynalda said. "They recognize what happened tonight. That first goal really was a punch in the gut. When we had to make the switch to try to get more forwards on the field, it opened up and (the Sounders) showed their quality.

"We just wanted to get to about the 60th minute and throw some forwards on the field," Wynalda added. "But we never got there."

Meanwhile...on the other coast, the USL Harrisburg City Islanders contintued their unlikely run with a 3-1 overtime win over the MLS Red Bulls...

Islanders 3, Red Bulls 1

HARRISBURG, Pa. --  Sainey Touray had two goals, and Lucky Mkosana added another as the Harrisburg City Islanders defeated the MLS New York Red Bulls, 3-1, in overtime on Tuesday night in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Via the upset, Harrisburg City, of the USL Pro Division, advanced to the quarterfinals, where it will face another MLS club, the Philadelphia Union on June 26 in Chester, Pa.

Connor Lade scored for the Red Bulls. It was unassisted, and his second goal of the tournament. New York will return to MLS play on June 17, against Chicago.

Harrisburg has knocked off five MLS teams since 2007.

Other US Open Cup results...

Kansas City 2, Rapids 0

KANSAS CITY, Kan. --  Teal Bunbury scored in the 79th minute, and Sporting Kansas City beat the Colorado Rapids 2-0 on Tuesday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Sporting will host the Dayton Dutch Lions of the third-tier USL Pro on June 26.

Colorado goalkeeper Matt Picken was charged with an own goal in the 28th minute, giving Kansas City a 1-0 lead. Pickens deflected Aurelien Collin's header off a free kick, but the ball deflected off Pickens, hit the post and rolled into the net.

Colorado, which came back from a 2-0 deficit to force a 2-2 home draw last month in MLS play, had several chances to equalize after the miscue. Tony Cascio shot just wide in the 36th minute, and Jaime Castrillon hit the crossbar in the 52nd.

Union 2, United 1

BOYDS, Md. --  Antoine Hoppenot scored in extra time Tuesday night to give the Philadelphia Union a 2-1 win over D.C. United in a battle of MLS teams in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup.

Brian Carroll scored in first-half injury time for the Union. Josh Wolff netted for United, also in first-half injury time.

Hoppenot's goal came with an assist from Freddy Adu early in the first extra period.

Dayton 2, Michigan 1

ROCHESTER, Mich. --  Joel DeLass' extra-time penalty kick helped the Dayton Dutch Lions beat the amateur Michigan Bucks 2-1 and advance to the quarterfinal of the U.S. Open Cup.

With the score tied at 1 after 90 minutes, the Dutch Lions were given the penalty kick when Bucks defender Seby Harris brought down Gerrit-Jan Bartels inside the box six minutes into extra time.

Charlotte 2, San Antonio 1

SAN ANTONIO --  Mauricio Salles scored on a penalty in extra time to send the third-tier Charlotte Eagles to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 victory over the San Antonio Scorpions on Tuesday night.

Ryan Cochrane was called for a hand ball while in the box. San Antonio goalkeeper Daryl Sattler dove left on the penalty kick, Salles blasted the shot into the right corner of the goal in the 116th minute.

Charlotte, which plays in the USL Professional Division will face Chivas USA of MLS -- two levels above USL Pro in the U.S. soccer pyramid -- in the quarterfinals.

Chivas USA 2, Carolina 1

CARY, N.C. --  Juan Pablo Angel scored on a penalty kick in stoppage time and Chivas USA beat the Carolina RailHawks 2-1 Tuesday night in the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Angel was awarded the penalty kick when Gale Agbosoumonde was called for hand ball in the box, and converted into the lower left corner for the winner.

Juan Agudelo put Chivas up 1-0 in the 31st minute, but Carolina's Mike Palacio tied it in the 79th minute.

Chivas of MLS advanced to the quarterfinals for the second time and first since reaching the 2010 semifinals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Messi, Forlan, Drogba, Dempsey, Falcao in Miami!

The list of confirmed players has been released for the World Soccer Masters exhibition match June 23 at Sun Life Stadium, and it reads like a Who's Who of international soccer...Here is the full list. If you haven't gotten tickets yet, you are not a true soccer fan. Tix start at $25 through Ticketmaster or at 305-943-6311. A portion of the proceeds go to Messi's charitable foundation. The coaches will be Fabio Capello and Dunga.

• Lionel Messi - Argentina and Barcelona – World’s best player three years in a row;
• Diego Forlan - Uruguay and Inter Milan - Best player of the 2010 World Cup;
• Didier Drogba - Ivory Coast’s national captain - Former front-man of Chelsea F.C.;
• Diego Milito – Argentina and Inter Milan - Champions League winner;
• Dani Alves  - Brazil and Barcelona -  Two time winner of UEFA cup;
• Lucio - Brazil and Inter Milan – 2006 Brazil national captain;
• Antonio Cassano­ - Italy and AC Milan;
• Alessandro Nesta - Italy - 2006 World Champion;
• Radamel Falcao - Colombia and Atletico Madrid - top scorer of European League;
• Juan Silveira dos Santos - Brazil and AS Roma;
• Gerardo Torrado - Mexico and Cruz Azul;
• Diego Lugano - Uruguay and Paris Saint-Germain;
• Edison Cavani - Uruguay and Napoli;
• Walter Gargano - Uruguay and Napoli;
• Marco Materazzi - Italy’s national team;
• Luis Suarez - Uruguay and Liverpool;
• Jhon Viafara - Colombia and La Equidad;
• Javier Mascherano - Argentina  and Barcelona;
• Ezequiel Lavezzi – Argentina and Napoli;
• Fabio Cannavaro – Italy - 2006 national  captain, participation in four World Cups;
• Clint Dempsey - USA and Fulham;
• Jozy Altidore - USA and AZ Alkmaar;
• Carlos Bocanegra - USA and Rangers F.C. – National team captain;
• Ariel Ortega – Argentina and Defensores de Belgrano;
• Marek Hamsik – Slovakia and Napoli;
• Pablo Daniel Osvaldo – Argentina and AS Roma;
• Guillermo Ochoa  - Mexico and  Ajaccio –  Goalie;
• Andre Santos – Brazil and Arsenal;
• James Rodriguez – Colombia and F.C. Porto;
• Martin Demichelis – Argentina and Malaga;
• José Salomón Rondón – Venezuela and Málaga;
• José Manuel Pinto -  Spain and FC Barcelona, and
• Julio Cesar - Brazil and Inter Milan – Goalie.

Make that EIGHT MLS teams toppled...

Make that eight MLS teams knocked out of the US Open Cup by lower division clubs. The lastest is perhaps the most shocking...An amateur team coached by Eric Wynalda beat the Portland Timbers 1-0 on Wednesday night! Here are the details...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Artur Aghasyan scored in the first overtime and Cal FC, an amateur team coached by former U.S. national team standout Eric Wynalda, upset the Portland Timbers 1-0 in a third-round match of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night.

Aghasyan, who played for a time last season with Real Salt Lake, charged Portland goalkeeper Troy Perkins in the 95th minute and rifled the ball into the goal as Perkins slid on the turf.

Cal FC, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., is part of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association and features several former pro players on its roster. The team beat the Kitsap Pumas of the USL Premier Development League and the USL Pro's Wilmington Hammerheads to advance to Wednesday night's match.

"I don't know what to tell you guys,'' Wynalda said after the match. "I'm a little taken aback by all of this.''

Cal FC advances to a fourth-round match against the Seattle Sounders, who have won the last three U.S. Open Cup titles.

Cal FC celebrated on the field long after the victory, pausing to get their pictures taken and applauding the Timbers Army supporters' group, which chanted "Beat Seattle!''

"This team trained once this week,'' Wynalda said. "All credit to them to figure out how to come out of here victorious. It's pretty amazing.''

Seven MLS teams were eliminated on Tuesday from the 99-year-old tournament. The Timbers did not take the match lightly, using many of their regular starters, including Scottish striker Kris Boyd.

Portland was clearly the stronger team but couldn't finish numerous chances, while Cal FC showed tenacity throughout the match.

"There's no excuses for tonight. No excuses whatsoever,'' Portland coach John Spencer said. "We should come here, we should win the game. I don't think we should win the game easy, but I don't think we should lose the game. Not at all. Totally unacceptable. And there's no excuses.''

Poll: Should MLS be embarrassed?

Bad night for MLS

Tuesday night is one MLS executives surely would like to forget.

Seven MLS teams were eliminated from the US Open Cup by 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th division clubs. No, the MLS teams didn't all field their best players, but still. For a league trying to convince fans it is the best soccer America has to offer, Tuesday's results won't help. In fact, many fans were Tweeting that perhaps a pyramid relegation system, like they use in other parts of the world, might be a good idea if the NASL and USL teams can knock off seven MLS teams in one night.

Here are the results:

Carolina Railhawks d. LA Galaxy 2-1

San Antonio Scorpions d. Houston 1-0

Minnesota Stars d. Real Salt Lake 3-1

Dayton Dutch Lions d. Columbus Crew 2-1

Charlotte Eagles d. Dallas FC 2-0

Harrisburg City Islanders d. NE Revolution on PKs after 3-3 regulation

Michigan Bucks d. Chicago Fire 3-2

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers led the San Jose Earthquakes through 63 minutes, but wound up losing 2-1. Great effort by the Strikers. Definitely earned some respect across the country.

Big game tonight: USA vs. Brazil! 8 p.m. ESPN2. I plan to park myself on the sofa with my family, and switch back and forth between Heat game and soccer.

Question: What do you conclude from Tuesday's US Open Cup results? Share your thoughts.

Strikers win 7-2! Earthquakes next!

The Ft. Lauderdale Strikers beat the PDL's Fresno Fuego 7-2 last night at Lockhart Stadium in the second round of the US Open Cup (the American version of the FA Cup). Aly Hassan had a hat trick, Polo Morales added a pair of goals, Mark Anderson and Walter Restrepo also scored. The Strikers travel to Stanford, Calif., May 29 for the third-round match against the MLS San Jose Earthquakes.

Here are scoring details from last night's match, courtesy of the Strikers...

Aly Hassan opened the scoring with his first goal on the night shortly before the halftime whistle. The forward was the quickest to react to a cross from Darnell King that bobbled off a couple of defenders around the six yard box.

Justin Finch equalized for the Fuego in the 54th, but it was all downhill for the Fresno-based side after. Just three minutes later, Hassan restored the Strikers' lead, scoring the first of six unanswered goals. Scott Lorenz delivered an inswinging free kick to the back post that was met by the towering forward to make it 2-1.

The Strikers capitalized on another free kick opportunity in the 61st. From the left side of the box, Mark Anderson beat Gilbert Vera at the near post with a 30 yard free kick. The goal was Anderson's third goal in the last four matches.

Hassan completed his second hat-trick of the season in the 69th minute, in a rather unspectacular fashion. Nickardo Blake beat his marker on the right and cut the ball back for Anderson to shoot, however the Englishman's shot was unintentionally blocked by his teammate Hassan. The forward turned and poked the ball past Vega for his sixth goal in all competitions this season.

At 4-1 with just thirteen minutes left, the game looked out of Fresno's reach. But the Strikers weren't done yet, Restrepo increasing the Strikers lead further, rounding the keeper and slotting the ball to the far corner.

Tyler Reinhart pulled a consolation goal back for the Fuego in the 86th but again the Strikers would bounce back. Polo Morales scored his first two goals of the year in the final minutes of the game, crushing any hopes Fresno had of a dramatic comeback, and setting up a date for the Strikers against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Miami tops Champions League TV ratings

Which US city had the highest TV ratings on Fox for Chelsea's dramatic Champions League final win over Bayern Munich? MIAMI, of course.

1. (tie) Miami, Austin (TX) 2.6

2. Dallas 2.2

3. (tie) Washington DC, New York City 2.1

Some people have already e-mailed me saying it is perplexing that a city that consistently tops US TV ratings for international soccer hasn't been a hotbed for MLS and Strikers struggle to draw. I don't find it perplexing. Au contraire. This is a very soccer-savvy market. People here devour the World Cup, Champions League, La Liga, EPL. They know who the world's top players are, and their children wear those jerseys around town more than they wear Dolphin jerseys (I see it in my daughter's middle school..when it's jersey day, way more kids wear Barca, Real Madrid, ManU jerseys than NFL or MLB. Only Heat competes). Now that there is SO MUCH European and South American soccer on TV, fans here would rather watch their favorite teams and stars on TV than sit in a local stadium and watch teams and players they don't identify with. Soccer snobs? Perhaps. But it is what it is. For MLS to work here, my opinion, needs to be the right owner, with a 25,000-seat high-quality soccer-specific stadium in Miami, and some star players to get people excited. 

In other soccer news Tuesday, beINsports USA, Al Jazeera's new US soccer broadcasting arm, is reporting that it hired veteran broadcaster Phil Schoen, who had been doing LaLiga games for GOL-TV since 2003. Other big names are expected to follow, both English and Spanish-speaking.

beINsports will own rights to LaLiga, Serie A and Ligue 1...and don't be surprised if they go after English Premier League next. Question is whether they'll get cable contracts done in time for August 1 launch.

Their broadcast center will be in Miami, at Imagina studios. Stay tuned...GOL, FOX, ESPN certainly paying close attention.

Reminder: Tonight, 7:30 p.m., Lockhart Stadium: Ft. Lauderdale Strikers vs. Fresno Fuego in US Open Cup second round. Winner goes to Stanford, Calif. May 29 to face MLS San Jose Earthquakes.

Poll: PKs vs. Golden Goal