International
Ce dimanche, le Canada reçoit les États-Unis dans les cadre des festivités du centenaire de l’Association canadienne de soccer.
Le premier duel entre les deux équipes est aussi le premier match à domicile de l’histoire de l’équipe nationale canadienne. Il a eu lieu le 27 juin 1925 à Alexandra Park, stade de Montréal domicile du club CNR (Canadian National Railway), basé à Pointe-Saint-Charles (si l’un d’entre vous sait où était situé ce terrain, merci de partager l’information).
Environ 3500 personnes ont assisté à la rencontre. Six joueurs du Québec faisaient partie du onze de base canadien. L’un d’entre eux, Ed McLaine, a inscrit le seul but de la partie peu après le quart d’heure. Finisseur redoutable évoluant au poste d’intérieur droit, McLaine a plus tard défendu les couleurs de Providence, dans le championnat des États-Unis, professionnel à l’époque.
Le match de ce dimanche sera le trentième affrontement officiel entre les deux pays.
Canada : Arthur Halliwell, George Campbell, Andy Clarke, Fred Dierden, John B. Foy, Bill McKean, Roy Faulkner, Jim Galloway, Ed McLaine, Dave McKenzie, Alex Smith
États-Unis : Jimmy Douglas, Irving Davis, Jock Ferguson, Tom Stark, Tommy McFarland, Henry Meyerdierks, Barney Battles, Davey Brown, Archie Stark, Bob Millar, Tom Florie
Arbitre : Horace S. Lyons
Le but : 16e McLaine (1-0)
Pavel Pardo hizo un pare a su preparación con el Chicago Fire – que jugará el único partido de la fecha este sábado en su visita al New England Revolution (7:30 p.m. ET; ONLINE: MLS Live) – para recibir a la que fue su selección nacional en 148 ocasiones.
México esta en la Ciudad de los Vientos para jugar un partido de preparación ante Bosnia-Herzegovina el miércoles y aprovecharon la oportunidad para reunirse con Pardo, quien acompañó a los jugadores y cuerpo técnico en una cena.
FutbolMLS.com charló un rato con el volante del Fire sobre su experiencia de volverse a encontrar con el equipo al que sirvió por tanto tiempo.
La selección nacional de México jugará este jueves en el Soldier Field de Chicago (8 pm; TV: Univisión) ante un rival que ha de ser especial para el director técnico del Tri José Manuel de la Torre: Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Especial porque ese fue precisamente ese seleccionado que ‘El Chepo’ tuvo que enfrentar en su debut como mandamás de la selección mexicana el 9 de febrero, 2011 en el Georgia Dome de Atlanta.
A pesar de que el marcador terminó 2-0 a favor de México, algo para notar de ese partido fue la gran cantidad chances que el Chicharito, Dos Santos y sus compañeros se perdieron.
Ahora que van a Chicago, ¿Veremos mas contundencia del Tri o será mas bien una sorpresa?
Where there's smoke there's usually fire.
News surfaced earlier this year of a proposal for a unified tournament between CONMEBOL and CONCACAF to take place in 2016 in either Mexico or the United States. Now it seems like it's a reality.
The Jorge Ramos y su Banda show on ESPN Deportes yesterday confirmed that the first edition of the Pan American Cup will take place in the USA in 2016 and feature a combination of nations from both Confederations.
It's one of the news elements that has reportedly emerged from the CONCACAF Congress held in Budapest, where Jeffrey Webb was elected as CONCACAF's new president.
Confirmado: COPA PANAMERICANA 2016 de Selecciones #CONCACAF vs #CONMEBOL. La primer edicion se jugara en #USA . Via @ESPN_JorgeRamos
— Jorge Ramos & Banda (@ESPN_JorgeRamos) May 23, 2012
When his Colorado Rapids fell behind early in last weekend's match against Sporting Kansas City, manager Oscar Pareja kept his composure. He was confident in his players and their ability to fight their way back to salvage a result in the game.
Then again, Pareja knows a thing or two about playing under pressure.
Twenty years ago, Pareja was the star and captain of Independiente Medellin in Colombia, which at the time, was associated with the drug czar Pablo Escobar. In ESPN columnist Rick Reilly's latest column, Pareja tells the story of the time he received an invite to play against Escobar in his government-built prison – an offer he couldn't really refuse, for all the obvious reasons. It's not an easy story for Pareja to tell, but Reilly's column is a worthy read.
Earlier this week, MLSsoccer.com profiled Earthquakes right back Steven Beitashour as a player that could be on US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann's radar.
Turns out, Klinsmann and US Soccer may have to move sooner rather than later if that's the case.
Beitashour, who led the Quakes last year with seven assists and already has four to his name in 2012, holds dual US-Iranian citizenship. According to Centerline Soccer's Robert Jonas, the San Jose native has been contacted by the Iranian national team, but not yet by the United States:
Steven Beitashour after #SJEarthquakes training: "It's been a goal of mine, since I was a little kid, to play in the World Cup."
— Robert Jonas (@robertjonas) May 11, 2012
Beitashour said he hasn't been contacted by #USSoccer, but with USA/Iran dual citizenship, says he has another option, play for Iran.
— Robert Jonas (@robertjonas) May 11, 2012
#SJEarthquakes defender Steven Beitashour on playing for Iran "They've contacted me a couple of times about getting into some of the camps."
— Robert Jonas (@robertjonas) May 11, 2012
Beitashour, born in the US, still favors playing for the #USMNT "Hopefully the US will come calling. If I get a chance, I'll impress them."
— Robert Jonas (@robertjonas) May 11, 2012
So it appears for the time being, Beitashour will hold out for a call from Klinsmann. But if the coach dawdles in calling up the third-year defender, Beitashour could easily be added to US Soccer's list of ones that got away.
Power 5: Steven Beitashour on Klinsmann's radar?
En la edición de esta semana del podcast Tiro Libre tuvimos como invitados a dos jugadores colombianos de experiencia que tienen algo en común: ambos han vestido los colores de su selección nacional… pero hace tiempo.
Tressor Moreno y Nelson Rivas ahora le ofrecen su talento a la MLS y ambos jugadores no pierden la esperanza de que el seleccionador de Colombia José Pekerman le de una miradita a lo que pasa en la MLS.
ESCUCHA: MORENO Y RIVAS EN TIRO LIBRE
Moreno es una de las razones por las cuales su equipo está en los primeros lugares de la liga, por encima del Galaxy de Beckham, Donovan y Keane, entre otros. Por su parte, Rivas jugó su primer partido para Montreal el fin de semana anterior, en un juego donde el club de expansión sorprendió a los líderes del Este, Sporting Kansas City, con un contundente 2-0 como visitantes. El defensa colombiano fue señalado por la prensa como uno de los mejores de su equipo.
Aun así, si ambos colombianos llegarán a mantener su ritmo y a ser los mejores en la MLS, ¿les llegaría el llamado?
Colombia es un país particularmente conocido por no reconocer el nivel de la MLS, lo cual es gracioso cuando se toma en cuenta que es el país que más ofrece jugadores internacionales a esta liga. Países como Honduras, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Irlanda y por supuesto Estados Unidos, entre otros, miran al talento de sus países en la MLS y lo convocan. ¿Por qué no Colombia?
Este tema se puede ir para largo, entonces paro ahí, pero los dejo con la encuesta: ¿Crees que Tressor Moreno y Nelson Rivas tengan chances de regresar a su selección?
As Real Madrid and Brazil star Kaka ticks over the 10 million followers mark on Twitter — a quite remarkable feat — which other athletes generate the most interest from fans, journalists and other professionals worldwide?
Four out of the top five followed athletes are soccer players, once again proving soccer's global appeal. This is what Kaka had to say:
We are already 10 million !!! Thank youuuuu. To celebrate I'll make a twitcam. Soon I´ll send an update about the schedule. Tks !!
— Kaka (@KAKA) April 25, 2012
Here are the top five followed athletes on Twitter on the planet:
1. Kaka – 10,014,735 million
2. Cristiano Ronaldo - 9,015,170 million
3. LeBron James - 4,340,534 million
4. Neymar - 4,102,275 million
5. Wayne Rooney - 3,942,544 million
LeBron James’ love for Liverpool keeps growing, so much so that he's now launched his very own Liverpool FC sneaker, the Nike LeBron 9 low.
However the minority owner in LFC seems to have made some big design flaws before the shoes expected release on May 5, the day of Liverpool's FA Cup final match against Chelsea.
The famous “Liver” bird which is the symbol of the city of LIverpool, is placed on the heel of the shoe….but it looks more like a dragon. And emblazoned on the sole of the shoe are 18 logos of Premier League trophies. Yet Liverpool have never won the EPL title.... but they have won the English league title 18 times; which is a completely different trophy.
The original story announcing the sneaker release on the New England Sports Network (NESN) has been removed, after angry responses from Liverpool fans about the botched design.
Back to the drawing board, LeBron.
(Images from NESN.com)
This ex-soccer player could perhaps rival the star of the cult Dos Equis commercials as the "most interesting man in the world."
German goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel is now an international scout for Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, yet his playing career, which included a stint with current MLS outfit the Vancouver Whitecaps, wasn’t quite as conventional.
He was declared dead while on the pitch when playing for Bradford Park Avenue and was also locked up in a Singapore jail. He has spent five days in an igloo in a German ski resort, during which his antics were streamed live over the internet. He was also, believe it or not, a member of the "crazy gang" at Wimbledon and was stripped naked by Vinnie Jones and his teammates during a jog through London on a cold November morning in his first few days with the club.
Pfannenstiel spent time playing in North America with Vancouver in 2007, making four appearances, while also turning out for the Calgary Mustangs in 2004.
His title as an international scout for Hoffenheim means that current US national team players Danny Williams, Fabian Johnson and U-23 player Joe Gyau are all know to the eccentric German.
If those three have careers half as interesting as Pfannenstiel's, then we are all in for a real treat.
Stay thirsty my friends.