COLUMBUS - FIFA announced today that the U.S. Men's National Team has been placed in Pot 2 for this Friday's (Dec. 4) FIFA World Cup Final Draw, alongside fellow CONCACAF qualifiers Mexico and Honduras, as well as the Asia and Oceania qualifiers.
The Crew and Claddagh Irish Pub (585 S. Front St.), the Crew's away game viewing headquarters, will be hosting a viewing party for the FIFA World Cup Final Draw, which is being held in Cape Town, South Africa, and will air live at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and live at 11 a.m. ET on Univision.
The party, which runs from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., will feature Crew players and Columbus-area natives Danny O'Rourke and Eric Brunner, along with complimentary appetizers, drink specials, player autographs, the unveiling of the World Cup match ball and much more.
There will also be information available from Cartan Tours, the exclusive World Cup travel partner of the Crew, including the special discount it is offering to Crew fans: Any package to the 2010 FIFA World Cup booked before the end of December 2009 will be eligible for a discount of $150.00 per person. Each Cartan 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Package includes one Match Ticket to watch the USA. Information can also be found at www.cartan.com and Cartan's 2010 FIFA World Cup Brochure can be downloaded from: http://cartan.com/uploads/2010_FIFA_World_Cup.pdf.
With no CONCACAF team placed as one of the eight seeds, the U.S. could be placed in any of the eight groups with any of the eight seeded teams in Pot 1. The remaining two U.S. opponents will come one each from Pot 3, which includes African and South American teams, and Pot 4, which includes the unseeded European teams.
In summary, the U.S. will play one team each from Pot 1, Pot 3 and Pot 4, and will have no chance of facing the four Asian qualifiers, New Zealand and the other two CONCACAF qualifiers.
The 32 qualified teams will be divided into eight groups. No two teams from the same confederation will be drawn into the same group, with the exception of Europe which can have a maximum of two teams in the same group.
As hosts, FIFA announced that South Africa will automatically be positioned as A1, and the other teams from Pot 1 will be drawn into Position 1 in groups B-H. For the remaining pots, the teams will be drawn into groups A to H and Positions 2-4 during the draw.
Pot 1: South Africa (hosts), Argentina, Brazil, England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain
Pot 2: Australia, Honduras, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Mexico, New Zealand, United States
Pot 3: Algeria, Cameroon, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Paraguay, Uruguay
Pot 4: Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland
CREWZERS TO CONDUCT TRYOUTS FOR 2010 SEASON DECEMBER 4-6
The Crewzers Professional Dance Team will be holding auditions for women interested in performing for the Crew's official dance and cheerleading squad for the 2010 season this weekend, Dec. 4-6, at Crew Stadium's Huntington Club. Registration and the first round of clinics will be held Friday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m. The second clinic and preliminaries are slated for Saturday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m. and the final auditions will be Sunday, Dec. 6 at 12 p.m. Attendance at all clinics is mandatory to be eligible for the final auditions. The Crewzers are comprised of career women and college students who commit themselves to countless hours each week to make them the dynamic team they are. A variety of ages are represented on the squad, but ladies must be 18 by Aug. 31, 2010 to be eligible for the 2010 team. Registration for walk-ins will begin Dec. 4 at 5 p.m. A non-refundable standard registration fee of $35 is required at time of registration (cash or check only, made out to The Columbus Crewzers). Participants can receive a $10 discount off the registration fee by pre-registering online here. For more information and a detailed audition schedule, visit www.thecrewzers.com.
WARZYCHA, GENERATION ADIDAS KICK OFF SOUTH AFRICA TOUR WITH 2-0 WIN
With goals from D.C. United's Chris Pontius and the Chicago Fire's Patrick Nyarko, the MLS Generation adidas team led by Crew head coach Robert Warzycha began its South Africa tour with a 2-0 victory Monday against Orlando Pirates at the University of Johannesburg Soccer Grounds in Auckland Park. The game kicked off at 10 a.m. local time with temperatures in the 80s and at an altitude that surpasses Denver by 500 feet. After training on Sunday, the group - which also includes Crew assistant coach Mike Lapper, head athletic trainer Jason Mathews and equipment manager Rusty Wummel - visited SoccerEx, where it attended a Showball Legends exhibition tournament that featured past stars of the national teams of Brazil, England, Holland and South Africa. The group is scheduled to face the AJAX Cape Town reserves this Sunday (Dec. 6) and return on Dec. 8.
CREW AND COLUMBUS CONNECTIONS DOT '2009 BEST OF U.S. SOCCER' AWARDS BALLOT
Voting continues for the 2009 Best of U.S. Soccer awards, with voting for the 12 categories taking place on ussoccer.com, and the Crew and the Columbus area are represented in several of the voting categories. Crew captain Frankie Hejduk highlights the nominations with his goal at El Salvador on March 28 being considered for Best Clutch Moment. Meanwhile, the Crew's official away game viewing headquarters, Claddagh Irish Pub, has been nominated for Best Soccer Bar. And finally, two photos from the USA vs. Mexico World Cup Qualifier at Crew Stadium on Feb. 11 have been nominated for recognition. "Marching to Columbus" has been nominated for Best Fan Photo, while "Columbus Day" is up for Best Photo. The 2009 Best of U.S. Soccer Awards will be decided entirely by online fan votes submitted over the next two weeks here, and the winners will be announced shortly thereafter.
CREW SOCCER ACADEMY'S ANDREW SOUDERS JOINS U.S. U-17 NATIONAL TEAM FOR NIKE FRIENDLIES
U.S. U-17 Men's National Team head coach Wilmer Cabrera recently finalized a 22-player roster for the upcoming Nike International Friendlies in Phoenix, which includes Crew Soccer Academy defender Andrew Souders. The team arrived in Phoenix Monday afternoon to begin training, leading up to its first game against Portugal this Friday, Dec. 4. The new cycle of players for the U.S. U-17 MNT will play its first three international games at this level, continuing the weekend with friendly matches against Brazil on Dec. 5, and the Netherlands on Monday, Dec. 7. All three games will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel at 9 p.m. ET. All 22 players were born in 1994, making them age eligible for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
THREE FORMER CREW PLAYERS AMONG NOMINEES FOR 2010 NATIONAL SOCCER HALL OF FAME BALLOT
The National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum recently distributed its 2010 Player Ballot, which features 24 retired national team and professional players who all have contributed to the growth of soccer in the United States, and it includes three former Crew players: Thomas Dooley, Robin Fraser and Chris Henderson. Dooley, was a defender who suited up for the Crew from 1997-99, making 63 appearances with five goals and four assists. Fraser, currently an assistant coach with recently crowned MLS Cup champ Real Salt Lake, was a standout defender for the Black & Gold in 2004 and 2005, racking up 57 appearances, while earning MLS Defender of the Year honors in '04. Henderson, a midfielder who is making his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot, played for the Crew in 2005, making 21 appearances and totaling two goals and three assists. Voters in the player election include selected members of the media, Hall of Famers, past and present U.S. Men's and Women's National Team coaches, MLS and WPS coaches of four or more years tenure, and a select group of soccer administrators. The results will be announced in early 2010.
"A MASSIVE SEASON," BY STEVE SIRK, IN STOCK AND ON SALE NOW AT CREW GEAR STORE
Steve Sirk's book chronicling the Crew's 2008 Championship season, through both his Notebook columns and new material, is in stock and available at Crew Stadium's Crew Gear store, which is open 9-5 Monday-Friday. Sirk is generously donating a portion of the proceeds of all books sold there to the club's charitable arm, the Crew Soccer Foundation. The 480-page book, priced at $20, features all 19 of Sirk's 2008 Notebooks, including the epic MLS Cup recap from California; Recaps of those Notebook-less away games; The blog entries before and after MLS Cup; Several new essays sprinkled throughout; A foreword by Dante Washington; Footnote commentary; Over 140 pro and amateur black & white photos; Notebook snippets from yesteryear; Documentation of the joyous aftermath, from the Statehouse to the White House; and a special section featuring Crew alumni. A must-read for diehard Crew fans, "A Massive Season" is the ultimate championship season scrapbook!
