Friday, April 29, 2011

Will Bruin Hat Trick Gives Houston Dynamo 4-1 Victory Over DC United


The Houston Dynamo managed to keep their six match unbeaten streak alive on Friday April 29th when they beat DC United 4-1 at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas. Much of the Dynamo victory was due to rookie forward Will Bruin picking up a hat trick, with Geoff Cameron and Brad Davis each picking up a couple assists on those goals. Cam Weaver picked up a 4th goal for Houston on a throw-in from Hunter Freeman.

DC United got it's lone goal in the 39th minute, but that goal was scored by Marc Burch, not Charlie Davies, who was all but invisible during the bulk of the match.

Here's Will Bruin's Hat Trick:





Thursday, April 28, 2011

Lionel Messi's Brace Gives Barcelona the Lead in Champions League Clasico


Football fans have been treated to three Clasicos in the month of April, with one more left to go in May. First, Barcelona and Real Madrid played to a draw in league play and then Real Madrid took bragging rights by beating Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. On Wednesday, it was the first leg of the Champions League Clasico as the two top teams from Spain met in the European semifinals. For a good chunk of the match, it looked like the teams were battling to a 0-0 draw, but then Lionel Messi went and did what he's been doing all season, he scored a couple goals giving Barcelona a 2-0 win. The teams meet again at Camp Nou on Tuesday May 3rd to see who goes to Wembley for the Champions League final.






Bonus video, Jose Mourinho gets ejected from the technical area:

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Magno Vieira Misses a Sitter, but then Makes Up For It


Magno Vieira who plays for Fleetwood Town in the Blue Square Premiership in England managed to miss an incredible sitter, but went on to make up for it with a beautiful goal later in the match. Between making that one goal and the fact that Fleetwood Town have made the conference playoffs, Vieira's teammates can't be too mad at him for that sitter.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Blame Canada: Canadian Goose Disrupts Soccer Match


Not sure what set this goose off . . . maybe the ref made a bad call.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Former Houston Dynamo, Brian Mullan, Breaks Steve Zakuani's Leg in Seattle's 1-0 Victory over Colorado


The Seattle Sounders might have defeated defending MLS Cup Champions, Colorado Rapids, in Commerce City, Colorado last night, but it's clear the victory feels somewhat hollow to the Sounders and their fans since one of their young stars, Steve Zakuani, will most likely be out the rest of the season after breaking his fibula and tibia.

Zakuani sustained the injury in the 3rd minute when he was tackled by Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan. Mullan received a red card for the reckless tackle. The impact between the two players could be clearly heard on the television broadcast of the match.

Fredy Montero picked up the match's only goal, in the 19th minute, ending his recent scoring drought.

Mullan ended up receiving a 10 match ban and a $5,250.00 for the red card and tackle.

Here's some video related to the Mullan tackle on Zakuani:





You Saturday Morning Goals








Wednesday, April 20, 2011

New Sofia Vergara Pepsi Commercial, with that Beckham Guy


The Colombian star of ABC's Modern Family has a new Pepsi commercial with a soccer related twist.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Episode 27 of The Zygo Soccer Report - Dynamo 1-0 Revolution


The Houston Dynamo beat the New England Revolution 1-0 on Sunday night. Here's some post match audio from Cam Weaver, Danny Cruz, Geoff Cameron, & Coach Dominic Kinnear.

Music by Johnny Cash, INXS, and Mimi Page.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Houston Dynamo Sign Spanish Forward Koke


Following the Houston Dynamo's 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps this past Sunday, I caught a bit of Glenn Davis' post-match radio show in which he made some comments indicating he was pretty certain there would be some Dynamo roster changes before the close of the MLS transfer window. Apparently, Davis made a few other comments earlier this week that got the folks at Dynamo Theory and SBNation to start snooping around. They discovered that the Dynamo were on the verge of signing Spanish forward Sergio Contreras Pardo, a/k/a Koke. Koke, 27, has most recently played at Aris in Greece, the same team that saw Freddy Adu and Eddie Johnson play there on loans in recent years. Before playing at Aris, Koke played at Olympique de Marseille and Málaga CF.

This may not be a splash signing with the fans, after all Koke doesn't have the same name recognition as a Beckham, Henry, or Marquez, but it often seems that some of these lesser known players from Europe have a bigger impact on their team's winning column in MLS. While the details of Koke's contract with the Dynamo are unknown, he is not a designated player. This means that while the Dynamo are taking a gamble that Koke can adjust to MLS play, the risk if he doesn't adjust is not as great. The fact that Koke is not a DP also means that Dynamo might be in a better position to sign a DP for the opening of their new stadium next season.

The Dynamo host New England on Sunday evening, but it's doubtful that Dynamo fans will get an opportunity to see Koke in a Dynamo kit. As of Friday, Koke still needed to get his visa. Odds are, Koke will be suited up with the Dynamo for next week's match against Chicago.





Friday, April 15, 2011

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Carlos Almeida - New Contender for Fastest Goal Ever


Carlos Almeida, who plays for FC Oliveira do Hospital in Portugal, scored one of the fastest goals ever in club football. Almeida scored this goal from the halfway line at the start of the match against Arganil. Almeida's side went on to win the match, 3-0.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Episode 26 of The Zygo Soccer Report - Dynamo 3-1 Whitecaps


The Houston Dynamo beat Vancouver Whitecaps on Sunday, 3-1. Here's some post match audio from Will Bruin, Danny Cruz, Tally Hall, and Coach Dominic Kinnear.

Music from Chiddy Bang, New Pony Club, and Scouting for Girls.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Stuart Holden on Soccer AM


Last Saturday, Houston's own Stuart Holden was on the British show Soccer AM. Holden, a midfielder for Bolton and the United States National Team, is out for approximately six months after he sustained a knee injury when Johnny Evans tackled him in last month's Bolton - Manchester United match.


Stu Holden on Soccer AM by ivyarchive

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Two Sending Offs that Are Stupid Because the Rules are Stupid


In Santos' recent Copa Libertadores match against Colo Colo, Neymar scored a goal in the 52nd minute and then proceeded to celebrate in a manner worthy of the NFL's Chad Ochocinco, he put on a paper mask of himself. The celebration resulted in Neymar getting sent off with a red card. Santos went on to win the match, which saw a total of 5 red cards, 3-2.

Meanwhile, in Wednesday night's MLS match between Vancouver and New England, Eric Hassli picked up his second yellow card of the night and was sent off for pulling off his jersey in a planned goal celebration. That match ended in a 1 all draw.

I know there's a certain stick in the mud, overly self-righteous, envious, and overly serious segment of sports fans that loathe goal celebrations, touchdown celebrations, and other celebrations by athletes. To that segment of sports fans I say, "Pull the stick out of your collective asses and learn to enjoy both sport and life for a change." Life is too short to live it without fun or comedy. There's nothing wrong with athletes celebrating their achievements and having some fun while doing so - it's a good way to release some of the stress and tension that builds up during competition.

Yes they got sent off, and that could have hurt the team, but did it really? Really? Accept it folks, its the rules that led to them getting sent off that are there real culprit here, instead of getting mad at Neymar or Hassli, get mad at the stupid rules created by sour old men who have no understanding or connection to the mind of the younger athlete. Sports are supposed to be fun, the athletes are supposed to be having fun, and the fans paying money to watch in the stands or on television aren't paying for a ballet or opera, which oddly enough seem to allow more expression of joy than allowed in professional sports these days.

For those of you who do enjoy goal celebrations, here Neymar's and Hassli's goal celebrations:



Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Cavani Hat Trick Gives Napoli 4-3 Win Over Lazio - Highlights


Napoli fans on the West Coast in the United States had to get up by 4:30 a.m. to watch Sunday's early match between Napoli and Lazio at Satdio San Paolo, but it was well worth the early wake up as Napoli beat Lazio 4-3, on the back of a Edinson Cavani hat trick, and move into second place on the Serie A table.

First goal of the match came in the 29th minute when Stefano Mauri beat several Napoli defenders to score this beauty:


In the 56th minute, André Dias picked up Lazio's second goal of the first half:

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Wayne Rooney Scores a Goal & Has a Dirty, Dirty Mouth


West Ham United got out to a 2 goal lead over Manchester United at Upton Park today, but they couldn't hold on to 3 points because Wayne Rooney picked up a hat trick. The nail in West Ham's coffin came on a penalty kick by Rooney. In celebrating his goal, Rooney decided to drop some f bombs for all the good folks around the world watching the match on tv.

Please note that I'm not critical of what Rooney did, I actually find it all very funny and entertaining.

Derby della Madonnina - Highlights


Today's Derby della Madonnina at the San Siro definitely lived up to the hype, well, it lived up to the hype for Milan fans and neutrals, not so much for Inter and its fans. Fueled by a Pato brace, Milan totally dominate Inter in a 3-0 victory.

Coming into today's Derby, Milan sat atop the table in Serie A, but Inter was only two points behind, making a charge to win the Scudetto again. While today's victory doesn't even come close to sealing up the Scudetto for Milan, it gives them some breathing room with only 7 matchweeks left in Serie A.

Now, today's highlights:

Pato scored his first goal in the 45th second of the match:



Great save by Abbiati off a corner in the 38th minute:



Chivu gets a red card in the 54th minute:



Pato gets his brace in the 62nd minute - check out the dance moves:



Cassano converts the penalty in the 90th minute: