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Régulièrement, je me réjouis de voir des joueurs de l’Impact montrer leurs efforts pour apprendre le français - sur Twitter, notamment. En revanche, j’ai abandonné l’idée de suivre en français les activités de l’Association canadienne de soccer.
L’ACS n’est pas amie avec la langue de Molière. On en eut une nouvelle preuve avant Canada - États-Unis. L’hymne national, Ô Canada, fut chanté entièrement en anglais (quelle idée de le chanter, alors que presque partout ailleurs, on passe la version instrumentale). On ne nous a même pas offert de réaction en français du Québécois Samuel Piette, pour ses débuts en équipe nationale à 17 ans (bravo à lui, en passant).
Un compte Twitter en français quasiment à l’abandon depuis fin mars, des communiqués trop souvent mal traduits ou écrits dans une langue approximative, un site Internet (en réfection, certes, mais ce n’est pas le meilleur moment) qui nous renvoie sur des textes en anglais même si on s’évertue à cliquer sur « français » : c’est indigne d’une organisation de cette envergure dont les employés ne rechignent pourtant pas sur les efforts.
En même temps, comment lui reprocher de délaisser le français alors que les médias francophones n’accordent pas à l’équipe nationale l’attention qu’elle mérite ? Pas une chaîne n’a daigné présenter en français le match du centenaire de la fédération sportive qui compte le plus d’affiliés au pays, dans la discipline la plus populaire au monde…
Dans un tout autre ordre d’idées, les huitièmes de finale de la Coupe des États-Unis se joueront ce soir. De nouvelles surprises à l’horizon ? C’est à suivre sur mlssoccer.com.
Anthony Ampaipitakwong's new home is Thunder Castle.
More accurately, San Jose are in negotiations with Thai Premier League side Buriram United over the transfer of Ampaipitakwong to the reigning league champions, which are also known as Thunder Castle and have a stadium to cement that impressive moniker (see above).
All in all, it looks like a solid move for Ampaipitakwong, who was on the outside looking in during his time with the Quakes. He heads to a team with Asian Champions League ambitions, a sweet nickname and a 24,000-seat stadium worthy of the Thunder Castle brand. Buriram United even have an English-language website, meaning Ampai's fans in the United States can follow his every move.
Dans son unique match de préparation avant la reprise des éliminatoires de la Coupe du monde 2014, le Canada a fait match nul 0-0 avec les États-Unis. Un bon résultat dans l’absolu, mais il faut éviter de tomber dans l’enthousiasme démesuré.
S’il y avait une bonne discipline défensive, la construction du jeu était souvent déficiente, reposant davantage sur des inspirations individuelles que sur un collectif bien huilé. Le Canada a dominé la deuxième mi-temps, contre des Américains fatigués, et a même marqué un but annulé. Je rejoins toutefois davantage l’avis du capitaine des États-Unis, Carlos Bocanegra, qui n’a pas vu un grand match, que celui de Dwayne De Rosario, très heureux du travail accompli.
La rencontre a été précédée de diverses cérémonies soulignant le centenaire de l’Association canadienne de soccer. Sur la photo d’équipe, les joueurs canadiens (qui portaient un équipement rétro spécialement conçu pour l’occasion) avaient pris avec eux un maillot floqué du numéro 11 de Josh Simpson, leur coéquipier qui s’est cassé la jambe il y a une dizaine de jours.
Malgré le duel Canada - États-Unis, la MLS ne faisait pas complètement relâche ce week-end, et New England y a battu Chicago 2-0.
So in retrospect ... how bad were Scotland?
I expressed my concern that the 5-1 result for the US in that particular game was a bit of a false positive (usage, I know), and am now bemused in my correctitude. The US are still a mess, looking very much a team in "Who are we, really?" mode.
Canada, meanwhile, get the pleasure of knowing they were the superior team for 90 minutes against the US for the first time since maybe the mid-1980s. And the displeasure of another bad call going against them in this series.
Klinsmann's lineup choices are still baffling
About 95 percent of the Jose Torres-related comments we get on this site are positive. And that's fine — it's always nice to have a favorite player.
But if Torres was as good as you all seem to think, wouldn't he stand out in a game like this? Wouldn't the US have more than one win in 11 games with him starting? Wouldn't he find a way to carve out chances for his teammates — or even, heaven forbid, himself — when afforded time and space in the final third?
That's what he got plenty of on Sunday. And he produced nothing.
The problem is not just his lack of a cutting edge in attack, but that he's being asked to provide something that's not in his DNA in the first place. Torres' only outstanding attribute is his ability to put his foot on the ball and dictate the pace and tempo of the game. Put him in a central midfield trio in front of Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones, and you may have something.
On the wing? He's an absolute cipher, Klinsmann's white elephant.
That wasn't the only lineup choice that left me scratching my head. Against a Canadian side alligned to prevent up-the-gut penetration, the danger was always going to come from the US flanks. So that left just one forward — Herculez Gomez — to do the running and work of two. Even when Jozy Altidore was subbed in, he was tasked with playing wide on the left instead of as a No. 9.
It makes no sense. And the Scotland anomaly aside, this team feels no closer to realizing Klinsmann's vision than it did nine months ago.
The US have depth at left fullback
Edgar Castillo still has some learning to do, first and foremost when to put the ball into row Z instead of trying to play out of pressure. His turnover absolutely should have been a Canada goal.
But he was a demon patrolling passing lanes and the most consistent US threat on the night. And most importantly, he didn't look out of place physically against a big, strong team with some real power and pace on that right flank.
I'm not totally in love with the idea of him starting for the US in a game that matters — again, that giveaway was inexcusable — but hopefully Fabian Johnson's injury will be gone by Friday. Either way, though, this is a stronger position than it was two years ago.
Canada's two-thirds press caused the US more problems than Brazil's high press
Canada dropped off almost to the midfield stripe, then swarmed the US midfielders whenever they received a pass. Because of the way they were deployed, they always had numbers up, and were always on the verge of forcing a turnover and a breakout.
Truth is, they should have had three goals. The reason Brazil are Brazil is because they finish those chances; the reason Canada are Canada is that they don't.
But there's plenty of good to take from this for the Canucks. Their defense is certainly sturdier than the USA's right now, and from the run of play they allowed almost no real looks to a team that had Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Gomez all on the pitch.
For the US, the idea of playing through or around a two-thirds press seemed beyond them. Playing over it was a non-starter, since Kevin McKenna and Andre Hainault just about swallowed Gomez whole.
The situation called for two forwards. When the US are struggling to create, it often does.
But that's not what we saw. We saw a bad 90 minutes, a bad strategy and a bad result.
Wonder what we'll see next week when the games really matter?
One of the best stories in US soccer this year has been the rapid ascent of the San Antonio Scorpions of the NASL. The first-year expansion club has a roster filled with former MLS players, an owner who cares and a crowd that turns out rain or shine.
They're averaging more than 11,000 per game, best in the second flight, and now they have plans for what looks like a pretty sweet soccer-specific stadium that'll be expandable to more than 18,000 capacity.
It's years away, and they're very careful to say that additional seats will be added only if attendance continues to impress.
But the fact that a second-flight team is even considering such things says quite a bit about how far soccer's come in the last 10 years. Even when it's deep in the heart of football country.
They aren't even top half of their own league – ninth of 12 teams in the Gran Liga de Oxnard to be exact – but Cal FC are playing on the big stage.
Fox Soccer announced Friday that they would be televising the US Open Cup fourth round match between Cal FC, which is coached by Eric Wynalda, and the Seattle Sounders at Starfire Stadium (correction: The story previously stated incorrectly that the game would be played at CenturyLink Field) live on Tuesday (10 pm ET). In other words, Cinderella is going to the ball and a camera crew will be following her around to document the whole thing.
That's good news for US Open Cup aficionados, of which there seem to be many in the early stages of the 2012 competition. Don't go betting the farm on Cal FC just yet though. They may have knocked off a Portland side that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, but the three-time defending champions are up next and aren't likely to be so wasteful.
Still, they'll get their moment in the spotlight with plenty of reason to believe they can compete at the very least.
Great news for U.S. Open Cup fans: Cal FC's incredible run continues at @SoundersFC LIVE on FOX Soccer at 10 ET on Tuesday, June 5.
— Fox Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 1, 2012
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)
The big news out of Brazil on Thursday morning centered around a player well-known to soccer fans worldwide. Former Barcelona and AC Milan star Ronaldinho has been freed from his contract with Brazilian giants Flamengo following a dispute over unpaid wages. (Portuguese)
'Dinho was heavily linked to the LA Galaxy in early 2011, but the move never materialized as he headed back to his home country after leaving Milan.
However, he is now on the market, and though the 32-year-old is all but certainly past his glory days on the European stage, there will be no shortage of clubs both at home and abroad interested in his services. After all, he has appeared for Brazil as recently as a February 29 friendly win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, and put in a strong showing against Mexico in the Brazil's 2-1 win over El Tri last October.
Might the Galaxy come or another MLS club come calling once more, or will he opt to go somewhre else, either in Brazil or abroad? He certainly wouldn't be cheap – the dispute with Flamengo was reportedly over wages totaling just shy of $20 million.
Even if MLS does make a move, would Ronaldinho be able to cut it in the physically-inclined league or would he be better off elsewhere? There is no doubting his otherworldy skill and vision, but he's also shown a propensity for Rio's nightlife in the past few years, with his recent performances raising questions about his fitness levels.
Would this onetime superstar be worth the investment for an MLS team? What's next in his storied, if occasionally turbulent, career? We'll certainly know more in the coming weeks. In the meantime, weigh in with your comments below.
The annual Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremony is the place grown adult soccer people come together to cry.
Wherever they hold it. Whoever is inducted. That’s just the way it is. There’s more magic than you would imagine at the event and the emotion flows without the least bit of inhibition.
It was OK if you shed a tear, as many of us did, during Tony Meola’s induction speech. You probably called your mom and dad later that night after hearing Desmond Armstrong address the crowd. And all of us dusted off our fondest soccer memorabilia item thanks to Grahame L. Jones, who used his time at the podium productively.
Read on for the best of the best moments from the 2012 Hall of Fame Induction ceremony at FedEx Field on Wednesday afternoon.
GET OUT OF THE CITY: Hank Steinbrecher, the chair of the Hall of Fame committee told the story of how Armstrong hung up on him when he made the call to give him the news that he’d be inducted. “I know Hank Steinbrecher. This is a joke,” were apparently the words that came out of Armstrong’s mouth. Steinbrecher’s cell was ringing moments later.
HOMECOMING KING: It was a special occasion for 1990 US World Cup member Armstrong, who was born in nearby Washington, D.C. The pride he has for his family was on show, specifically his seven kids who were on hand: “I have a whole team here. Let me clarify, a whole indoor team.”
HUMBLE PIE: Armstrong says that when news came of his induction he wondered “Did I really do anything? … We played during a time when we weren’t really recognized.” He called himself “a great athlete and not so much a great player,” who got turned down about six times in a row for youth national teams as a teen.
DIFFERENT TIMES: This is the generation Armstrong belongs to: He says that when he family moved to Wheaton, Md. they were the first black family in a white neighborhood, revealing in his speech that they moved right next door to a KKK member.
LOW-BUDGET OPERATION: Armstrong gave a snapshot into how times were tough for US national team players in the late 80s. “There were five stops to go from Washington, D.C. to New York because there was no money in the budget. The gear we had back then – for us it was just a white t-shirt with no U.S. soccer emblem. And we used to fight over that stuff … There I am a national team player with a white t-shirt that you can get at Walmart.”
NO CHARLES BARKLEYs HERE: Former US women’s coach Tony DiCicco, who Julie Foudy called the greatest women’s soccer coach in the history of the sport, said that his boys “didn’t have men as role models [growing up]. They had fantastic female athletes.” Unfortunately two of DiCicco’s sons missed the induction ceremony after their car broke down in Goodland, Kan.
SPITTING IMAGE: Anthony DiCicco presented his dad and the resemblance between the two is remarkable. The younger DiCicco told the story of celebrating a world title with the Under-20 women's team in 2008 but his dad instead was up at 4 a.m. with his coaches conducting a video session. “He works his ass off,” DiCicco junior said.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: Who does this at their induciton? DiCicco went out of his way to give credit to his assistant coaches for one of the brilliant coaching moves during his USWNT tenure: subbing in Shannon MacMillan in the 1999 World Cup quarterfinal against Germany. The match took place in the same building as Wednesday’s induction – FedEx Field 13 years before. And it was DiCicco’s assistants who urged him to bring on MacMillan to take a corner kick that Joy Fawcett would head home for the game-winner a minute later. The rest is history.
MISSING REYNA: One 2012 inductee, Claudio Reyna was not present on Wednesday afternoon for personal reasons. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Claudio and his family for sure,” Meola said. He is expected to have a formal ceremony with a future class.
SECOND BEST: Did you know that US national team goalkeeping legend Tony Meola wasn’t the top goalkeeper in his own high school? His childhood friend Sal Rosamilia, who presented him on Wednesday, wore the No. 1 jersey.
TEARS: They were flowing when Meola paid homage to the late Lamar Hunt, who owned the Kansas City team which Meola led to a 2000 MLS Cup title. He struggled to get through these words: “I played for an owner who had a profound effect on myself and everyone in our locker room. He always wanted me not to use his name because it wasn’t about him. I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the impact on my life of the late Mr. Lamar Hunt. He was a gentleman, a role model in every sense of the word and through his actions he taught us all about humility. Thank you for your lessons and for your support, Mr. Hunt. “
MORE TEARS: Meola outdid himself with another story to tug at the heart strings. The subject? His son's Under-15 soccer team he’s been coaching for the last five years: “When I didn’t have a place in the game, there were a few months in my life I wanted nothing more than to walk away [from the sport] … I had an opportunity to coach an 11-year-old boys team, including my son Jonathan. That group of boys gave me more reasons to love this beautiful game than anything that ever existed.”
KUDOS KC: Kansas City supporters received a special mention from Meola. “I especially want to thank the fans of Kansas who supported me for seven years of my life. It’s not easy for a kid from New Jersey to move to Kansas City. I am honored to have shared an MLS Cup and a Lamar Hunt Open Cup with you and I’ll cherish it forever.”
TOAST OF THE TOWN: Reporters always have great stories and Jones, the retired former Los Angeles Times soccer writer who was inducted in the Hall of Fame for his contributions as a writer, told one about Mia Hamm celebrating her 21st birthday during the 1995 Women’s World Cup in Sweden with a glass of champagne at the team hotel. On Jones’s recommendation, his photographer picked up the glass when she abandoned it in the hallway. He still has it 17 years later.
VIRTUAL SOCCER MUSEUM: Jones left us with one final soccer commentary piece to close out his speech. “It would be really nice for US Soccer’s centenary year to have a virtual soccer museum where fans can donate memorabilia or just a photo and build it and find out more about the rich history of this country. There will be 10 to 12 new items every day and there’s a reason to come back to see what’s new. It wouldn’t be expensive. A virtual soccer museum wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Le Cal FC, Petit poucet de la Coupe des États-Unis, a réussi l’énorme surprise des seizièmes de finale, en gagnant à Portland 0-1 après prolongation (résultats complets ici).
De quoi susciter l’embarras du président du club de MLS, qui s’est excusé auprès de ses supporters, et permettre l’espace d’une soirée au Cal FC de faire partie des… tendances mondiales sur Twitter !
Congrats to CalFC...amazing story. Don't know what to say to our supporters other than I am sorry and utterly embarrassed. Off twitter 4 bit
— Merritt Paulson (@MerrittPaulson) Mai 31, 2012
Le Cal FC est un club basé à Thousand Oaks, à environ 60 kilomètres à l’ouest de Los Angeles. Il a vu le jour en 2010 et évolue dans la « Gran Liga de Oxnard », une des divisions régionales de la USASA, le 5e niveau du soccer aux États-Unis.
Entraîné par l’ancien international américain Eric Wynalda, il est composé d’éléments locaux, jeunes (le plus âgé a 26 ans) et compte en ses rangs quelques joueurs prometteurs qui n’ont pas réussi à décrocher de contrat professionnel.
Avant de rêver aux exploits de Quevilly (club de D3 arrivé en finale de la dernière Coupe de France), le Cal FC devra commencer par passer l’écueil des huitièmes de finale : un déplacement à Seattle, triple tenant du titre !
Et vous, suivez-vous la Coupe des États-Unis ? Préférez-vous voir les équipes de MLS y démontrer leur suprématie ou s’y faire surprendre par des « petits » ?