CONCACAF
Many MLS fans associate D.C. United's Carlos Ruiz with the game's so-called “dark arts,” thanks to his reputation for diving, gamesmanship and a general “anything goes” approach when it comes to scoring goals.
The veteran striker's true character off the field is something different, however, and is being hailed by CONCACAF with a rare honor this week. “El Pescadito” will receive the confederation's first-ever President’s Award for his role in uncovering match-fixing in his homeland of Guatemala.
“Mr. Ruiz’s courage and integrity led him to denounce match-fixing within the Guatemalan national team,” explained a CONCACAF press release on Wednesday. “His actions led to a full-scale investigation, as well as unprecedented measures taken in the fight against match-fixing in the region.”
In addition to being one of the most successful goalscorers in MLS history, Ruiz also carved out a distinguished career in his country's colors, scoring a record 55 goals in 104 appearances for Guatemala over more than a decade of service to Los Chapines.
Though the release did not state so explicitly, Ruiz's award may be related to the lifetime FIFA bans handed down to Guatemalan players Gustavo Cabrera, Yoni Flores and Guillermo Ramírez last year for their roles in three suspicious matches from 2010-12. Two of the games were Guatemala national team friendlies and one a CONCACAF Champions League match between CSD Municipal (the club where Ruiz began his pro career) and Mexico's Santos Laguna.
“The success of football within our region is constantly being shaped by individual actions of players, coaches, administrators and executives,” said CONCACAF president Jeffrey Webb in the press release. “We want to recognize Carlos for his incredible courage to stand up for the integrity of our game and denounce match manipulation activities. His long legacy to football has now a deep footprint both inside and outside the pitch.”
Ruiz's actions will be celebrated in a ceremony at Palacio Bolivar in the Cancillería General de la República in Panama City, Panama, on Thursday.
Consider it their very own Columbus Crew Stadium.
The Costa Rican soccer federation is set to decide on Wednesday whether to stage the Sept. 6 World Cup qualifier against the US national team at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, where the USMNT has never won, or at the newly constructed Estadio Nacional, which opened its doors in March 2011.
The artificial turf and the proximity of fans to the field and lockers have made the Estadio Saprissa a nightmare venue for the USMNT, living up to its nickname the "Monster's Cave." And the Costa Ricans know it.
PHOTOS & VIDEO: A look inside the Monster's Cave
The new Estadio Nacional, where Costa Rica have played their recent matches, was a gift by the Chinese government and features a pristine grass surface.
"I only want to confirm what I've been saying: Both stadiums are useful to the national team," said Costa Rica manager Jorge Luis Pinto in November 2012. "When we believe it's convenient, we'll use Saprissa or the National Stadium."
Especially in light of the SnowClasico victory by the USMNT — Costa Rica's protest of the match was struck down by FIFA — the Ticos want to do their best to exact some serious revenge on Jurgen Klinsmann & Co.
There's one hitch: Apparently the state of the artificial turf at Estadio Saprissa is such that it's not even clear that the Costa Rican national team players want to play on it.
Stay tuned.
USMNT at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa (last six matches)
Dec. 1, 1996 -- Costa Rica 2, USA 1
March 23, 1997 -- Costa Rica 3, USA 2
July 23, 2000 - Costa Rica 2, USA 1
Sept. 5, 2001 -- Costa Rica 2, USA 0
Oct. 8, 2005 -- Costa Rica 3, USA 0
June 3, 2009 -- Costa Rica 3, USA 1
On Tuesday night Seattle fans were directing "Sounders Reject" chants at USMNT forward Herculez Gomez in the first half, only to get their comeuppance after he scored the game-winner for Mexican side Santos Laguna in their Champions League semifinal first leg.
Gomez was loaned out to the Sounders in their USL days while he was still an LA Galaxy player.
“I love it. Being called a Sounders’ reject – any kind of reject – digs deep. It fuels fire,” Gomez said after the match. “I didn’t have the easiest go at the beginning of my career, so any chance I can get to definitely redeem myself is a good chance.”
So now what happens when the USMNT comes to town to face Panama in a June 11 World Cup qualifier at the same stadium? Will those same Seattle fans taunting Gomez on Tuesday cheer him on vs. Panama?
How do you feel about Seattle fans mocking a USMNT player during a club match?
Share your thoughts below.
Fuel me, idiot RT @clearmancole2: @herculezg thanks man maybe u can have one performance for the national team and Americans will respect u
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) April 3, 2013
Gotta say @herculezg was a good sport. We started chanting "Sounders reject" at him and he gestured for us to do it louder.
— Jeremy(@ArmOfCrass) April 3, 2013
Damn. I want to not like @herculezg but he is kind of awesome. Please score next time you're in Seattle, and if you put it top corner again
— Josh Larkin (@JLark21) April 3, 2013
On a serious note, Seattle fans are pretty classy. Much appreciated applause on my way out to the tunnel. Very proud to represent! #USMNT
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) April 3, 2013
Ce vendredi, presque toute la planète aura les yeux rivés sur la reprise des éliminatoires de la Coupe du monde 2014. Dans la Concacaf, on disputera la deuxième journée du dernier tour, sur fond de polémique aux États-Unis qui s’apprêtent à affronter le Costa Rica d’Alvaro Saborio puis le Mexique.
Après une défaite initiale au Honduras, Jürgen Klinsmann a convoqué un groupe loin de faire l’unanimité et se fait tirer dessus à boulets rouges par un article de Sporting News qui, en gros, le dépeint comme un incompétent habile à créer des tensions dans le vestiaire, le tout grâce à des témoignages anonymes d’internationaux américains.
Il va sans dire que l’ambiance n’est pas au beau fixe et que les réactions fusent de toutes parts. Les analystes se demandent si les joueurs sont des enfants gâtés ou remettent en question la communication de Klinsmann. Honte, gêne, déception : certains internationaux, à l’image de Michael Bradley, ne sont pas heureux de voir les sentiments sortir du vestiaire.
Autre son de cloche du côté d’Herculez Gomez, pour qui il était à peu près temps que les médias commencent à poser des questions difficiles. « On serait au Mexique, ESPN en parlerait toute la journée », ajoute le joueur de Santos Laguna qui pense que l'équipe en ressortira plus forte. Voilà qui remet les choses en perspective.
Ah, oui, le Canada aussi joue ce vendredi, il affronte le Japon au Qatar. Seul pays du G8 à être déjà éliminé, il a un entraîneur par intérim qui est aussi directeur technique de la fédération. Cette dernière programme des matches (c’est un progrès par rapport à il y a 10 ans), prétend qu’elle cherche un sélectionneur et prépare la prochaine Gold Cup mais n’expose aucun plan à long terme pour aller en Russie en 2018. Pas de polémique cependant : les médias s’en désintéressent complètement, en dehors de quelques-uns très complaisants. Vu sous cet angle, ils sont chanceux, les Américains…
As with most interviews, not everything makes it into print. That's why we've got this blog: to pass on all the fascinating tidbits that might get overlooked or swept under the rug.
With that in mind, here are some of Herculez Gomez's quotes that didn't make it into my preview of tonight's CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal (8 pm ET, Fox Soccer).
Remember, you can get your fill of CCL coverage right here at MLSsoccer.com.
On whether his teammates respect MLS...
“Let’s not mistake respect with fear. I think guys on our team respect MLS. They don’t fear MLS. Every time they play an MLS team, they definitely want to beat them and beat them bad – but not because they’re MLS. I think it has more to do with USA-Mexico and all that. But they know it’s growing. They know these players are getting better. Nobody likes to lose. At this level, we don’t play for fun. It is a job, you do get paid for this. But at the end of the day, it’s all about pride. It’s about what you want to leave behind. None of these players – the professionalism they have is off the charts – want to be known as second best.”
His reaction when told Sanots Laguna manager Pedro Caixinha favorably compared the Dynamo to a British side...
“I love that he says that and not something else. It shows the kind of respect that MLS is finding. He’s a smart guy. He’s been around the block and seen plenty of European football. And to compare MLS to European football – some might think maybe talk about the nature [of the game], the physicality – I think has a lot of merit to it. He talks about how quick paced, how exciting it is – two different styles of football kind of clashing. It will be fun for us. Fun for the fans hopefully.”
On MLS' stated goal of becoming one of the best league's in the world by 2022...
“Obviously, [MLS has] a long way to go to get to that 2022 projection. But you’ve got to start somewhere. I think they’re doing that. Today the soccer sense, the soccer IQ is definitely growing, tactically speaking.”
How MLS has improved since he left for Puebla in 2010...
“I think tactically the understanding is a lot better. You’re bringing in coaches who understand the American athlete and understand it’s a special kind of athlete. The American player is a player who will die for you. They’re willing to run through that wall for you. They just want to know why you want them to run through that wall.”
On the differences between the Dynamo's playing style and that of the majority of the teams in the Liga MX...
“It’s night and day. I think the Dynamo are a straight 4-4-2 team. Very forward, direct, physical. Set pieces are crucial for them. I don’t necessarily see them being such a possession team, but that doesn’t mean they don’t control the ball at times. It’s very different. The type of teams we play in Mexico, the majority are possession oriented. We’ve got definitely four or five teams that play direct. Very direct and very physical as well because that’s kind of what they have to do.”
The Seattle Sounders will try to accomplish the improbable over the course of the next week, going up against what is arguably the best team in North America in the form of Tigres UANL in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League.
However, their task may now get just a little bit easier. Reports out of Mexico Monday indicate that Tigres' leading scorer, prolific Argentine striker Emanuel Villa (above) will miss four to five weeks with an injury to his left calf, meaning he is guaranteed to miss both Tigres games vs. Seattle and would be a doubt for the semifinals (set for April 2-4 and 9-11), should Tigres advance.
Villa, a proven poacher who joined Tigres from Cruz Azul in the winter transfer window, is the Liga MX's top scorer in the Clausura 2013 tournament with eight goals in eight games (the injury kept him out of the ninth round of games this weekend). That total accounts for 42.1 percent of the 19 goals Tigres have scored in the tournament.
The Sounders will still have to find a way to shut down Argentine schemer Lucas Lobos, the string-puller for Tigres' attack, while Spanish veteran Luis García and promising youngster Alan Pulido can fill in ably for Villa, but the news should still be a boost to a still-coalescing Sounders backline.
For more CONCACAF Champions League information, be sure to check out our up-to-date CCL homepage, read our primer on the CCL quarterfinals and, of course catch Seattle's game at Tigres on Wednesday at 10 pm ET on Fox Soccer.
Nice of the US national team to join MLS Jersey Week.
On Friday, the US Soccer Federation, which turns 100 years old in 2013, unveiled its new centennial kits for both men and women's national teams, images of which were leaked a few weeks ago. Now it's official.
The uniform is inspired by the kit worn back in 1916 when the US played their first game against Sweden in Stockholm (a 3-2 win). So is the crest, which is the standout feature of the new jersey with 13 stars and 13 stripes, symbolizing the first 13 colonies of the United States.
Jurgen Klinsmann's squad will debut the kit in a World Cup qualifier on March 22 against Costa Rica at sold-out Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Give us your review of the new US jersey below.
Passé, présent et avenir sont tous trois à la une de l’actualité du jour.
L’avenir, c’est celui de la talentueuse génération des -20 ans canadiens qui ne disputera pas la Coupe du monde de sa catégorie d’âge cet été. Le Canada a été battu 4-2 par les États-Unis dans le match décisif (résumé vidéo ci-dessus) et regrette une nouvelle occasion ratée. Mission accomplie en revanche pour les jeunes Américains dont certaines des vedettes pourraient être sur le terrain en MLS dès ce week-end.
Le présent, c’est la saison 2013 qui est sur le point de commencer. Don Garber en tiendra le discours inaugural ce soir sur le coup de 18h00 sous une forme novatrice, puisqu’il sera non seulement diffusé en ligne mais que le commissaire répondra aussi aux questions des journalistes via une vidéoconférence. Cette saison pourrait s’ouvrir sans Dwayne De Rosario, qui risque une suspension pour un mauvais geste durant la préparation.
Le passé, c’est l’histoire à laquelle le Philadelphia Union a fait un superbe clin d’œil hier soir en dévoilant son troisième maillot, référence au Bethleem Steel, un des plus grands clubs d’avant-guerre aux États-Unis. La Semaine des maillots se poursuit en beauté et ce soir, ce sera au tour de Montréal de dévoiler sa troisième vareuse, qui ne fera pas référence à Carsteel (puissance du soccer des années 30 au Québec) mais probablement au titre remporté par l’Impact en 1994 en APSL.
On saura ce soir qui des États-Unis ou du Canada participera à la prochaine Coupe du monde des moins de 20 ans. En effet, les deux pays s’affrontent sur le coup de 18h00 (direct Fox Soccer, sportsnet.ca) pour une des quatre places attribuées à la zone Concacaf (programme complet ici).
Les jeunes Canadiens ont, selon de nombreux observateurs, une de leurs générations les plus talentueuses depuis longtemps. Après un départ raté contre Cuba, les voilà obligés de vaincre leur puissant voisin pour atteindre le seul objectif qui compte à leurs yeux : une place pour la Turquie. Ne paraissant pas inquiet outre mesure, le sélectionneur américain Tab Ramos dit quand même se méfier de la machine canadienne bien huilée.
Loin de ces considérations, Chris Wondolowski sera encore dans les candidats au titre de meilleur buteur cette année. Auteur de 61 roses au cours des trois dernières saisons, il vient surtout de signer un nouveau contrat de quatre ans à San José, doublant ses émoluments annuels, ce qui lui vaut de devenir joueur désigné. Voir des produits locaux, comme lui ou Landon Donovan, obtenir ce statut ne peut être que bénéfique pour la MLS.
Un joueur désigné de plus… mais aussi un de moins, puisque le médian défensif allemand de Toronto Torsten Frings a annoncé sa retraite ce matin. À Seattle, on tente d’attirer Obafemi Martins, mais avant de l’engager il faudra se séparer d’un des trois joueurs désignés déjà sous contrat, possiblement Christian Tiffert dont on a peu de nouvelles.
Last Friday, the US posted an efficient, if tentative, 1-0 win over Costa Rica to secure top spot in Group A of the U-20 CONCACAF Championship. Jose Villarreal headed home the winner in the 63rd minute to secure the three points.
The LA Galaxy youngster is increasingly showing that the hype is warranted -- provided he plays in the center rather than on the wing. "Center forward is kind of my spot," he told MLSsoccer.com after the win.
The Americans now move on to face Canada in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 6 pm ET. The match will be broadcast on Fox Soccer. The winner will earn a spot in the U-20 world cup