Football Saturday: March 27, 2010

The last Saturday of March 2010 is shaping up to be a big day of football across the globe. The first matches in England kick off a little before 10:00 central time this morning, with Chelsea hosting Aston Villa on ESPN Classic, Birmingham hosting Arsenal on Fox Soccer Plus, and Tottenham Hotspur hosting Portsmouth on Fox Soccer Channel. The West Ham United - Stoke City match kicks off at the same time but is not televised live in US.

The match with probably the biggest table implications in Europe this weekend kicks off in the Eternal City at 11:55 am central time as Roma hosts Inter. While a Roma victory won't push them into first place in Italy, it will put them only 1 point behind Inter. It's not clear if Inter has pulled out of the draw mode they had been in for several weeks, but they've had some solid victories against Chelsea and Livorno; however, Roma, coming off a strong victory at Bologna on Wednesday, have won 12 of their 15 matches at home this season. While Mourinho would surely love to prevail over Ranieri, he still has to look ahead to his team's Champions League match with Red Army Moscow on Wednesday. The match will be live on Fox Soccer Plus. Today's other Serie A match, Palermo hosting Bologna, will be on Fox Soccer Channel at 2:30 central time this afternoon.

This is also the first Saturday of the 2010 MLS season and Telefutura will be treating us to the Texas Derby at 3:00 central time this afternoon as FC Dallas hosts Houston Dynamo. The new RedBull Arena will get its MLS debut at 6:00 central on ESPN when New York hosts Chicago, and Fox Soccer Channel will have a double header tonight featuring Real Salt Lake at the San Jose Earthquakes at 8:00 central and the LA Galaxy hosting New England Revolution at 10:00 central.

Down in Mexico, Pachuca hosts Morelia tonight at 8:00 central on Telefutura while Chivas and Santos will be on Telemundo.

So, football fans in the United States have plenty of opportunities for watching the beautiful game, live, today.

Here's a few little videos to enjoy before the matches get started:

A video Roma fans made to chronicle Lazio's bad season:



Move over U2, Ireland has a new super group - here's Crystal Swing from their performance on RTE One's The Late Late Show:



Fox Soccer Channel Preview of the 2010 Houston Dynamo:



Never too early to get ready for the World Cup Finals in South Africa:

Eddie Pope Discusses New MLS CBA on 1560 The Game's Orange Slice

Eddie Pope joined the Orange Slice on Tuesday night to discuss the new MLS CBA. You can listen to the Orange Slice live on the streaming audio available at 1560 The Game's website every Tuesday night from 7 to 9 central time.

Eddie Pope on 1560 The Game's Orange Slice

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David Beckham on a Mobile - 1560 The Game's Orange Slice

I'm going to start using this blog to promote The Orange Slice on 1560 The Game more by posting up podcasts from the weekly show. To listen to the show live, you can stream it from this website every Tuesday night from 7:00 to 9:00 central time. This is from last week's show, a little humor special.

David Beckham on a Mobile - from 1560 The Game's Orange S...

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Houston Dynamo: Quick Notes before 2010 Season - plus Red Bull Arena Video

Apologies for the long absence, but it's been a busy time for me at my day job, but with the 2010 Major League Soccer season about to begin, thanks to a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, it's time for me to get y'all some information.

First of all, the big news is that on Saturday MLS and the MLS Players Union announced they have reached a new 5 year CBA. The bulk of the details regarding the new CBA have not been released, but we do know that the cap has increased, slightly, most players will have guaranteed contracts, and there will be a "rentry draft" for players who get released by their clubs or who are out of contract and the former club is not interested in resigning them.

Click here for the AP article on the CBA at SI.com.

The Houston Dynamo wrapped up their pre-season schedule of friendlies on Saturday with a 3-1 over Chivas USA in Santa Barbara, California. On the whole the Dynamo went 7-0-4 during the pre-season, with a 2-0-3 record over MLS teams.


There was much concern about the Dynamo's midfield coming into pre-season because both Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden made their ways to Frankfurt in the Bundesliga and Bolton in the EPL, respectively. Despite these losses, there are only a handful of new faces on the 2010 squad: Francisco Navas Cobo (m), a signing from the team's academy; former Dynamo player Adrian Serioux (d), and Jamaican International Lovel Palmer (m). While it make some time for Cobo to see some playing time, I would not be surprised to see Palmer and Serioux in the starting lineup, though I think Palmer might be a sub in the first few matches. The addition of these two more defensive players suggests that Geoff Cameron will be freed up for a more attacking role in the midfield.

The Dynamo open the 2010 season at FC Dallas at 3:00 pm central on Saturday March 27th and then have their home opener at 8:00 pm central on Thursday April 1st when they host Real Salt Lake.

On Tuesday March 23rd, Geoff Cameron will be joining us in studio for the Orange Slice on 1560 The Game. The show airs from 7pm to 9pm central time and you can click here for information on the live stream.

The other big news in MLS this past weekend was the unveiling of RedBull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey this past Saturday when RedBull hosted Santos, in which RedBull won 3-1. Here's a video from the Grand Opening:

Episode 9 of The Zygo Soccer Report - The Return of the Dynamo

MLS Training Camp is here and the Houston Dynamo are getting ready for the 2010 MLS Season. Today the Dynamo played the soccer team from Houston Baptist University in a scrimmage. This podcast includes audio from Coach Dominic Kinnear and Forward Brian Ching, following Houston's 6-0 victory.

Episode 9 of The Zygo Soccer Report: The Return of the Ho...

The Zygo Soccer Report

Interested in some other recent Dynamo related audio? Here's some podcasts from 1560 The Game in Houston Texas:

Dynamo COO Chris Canetti:

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Dominic Kinnear on the John & Lance Show (With Marcus Coleman)

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Brad Davis on the Sean & John Show

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The Week in Football Videos

The first full week of 2010 is in the books, and to celebrate, here's some videos from the week that was in football:

Landon Donovan's Commercial for the Mexican Lottery



The U.S. Men's National Team Holds Camp in L.A.



Freddy Adu Arrives in Greece to Play at Aris



Landon Donovan Arrives at Everton



Highlights: Milan 5 - 2 Genoa



Highlights: Cagliari 2 - 2 Roma



Highlights: Club America 3 - 0 Atlante



Highlights: Manchester United 0 - 1 Leeds United

Decision Time for Freddy Adu - Hull or Aris?

Last month it was reported that the new coaching regime at Belenenses was cutting loose young American footballer Freddy Adu. Adu was on loan at Belenenses from Benfica, which owns Adu's rights.

Adu made the move from MLS to Europe in 2007, but has only mad 11 appearances since signing with Benfica, which had loaned Adu to Monaco last season, scoring only 2 goals in that time. With the news that Belenenses was cutting Adu loose, and the apparent attitude that Benfica currently has no use for him on their squad, speculation arose that Adu might be returning to MLS, where he could finally see some increased playing time; however, a return to MLS appears unlikely at this point.

This morning, on his Twitter account, Adu indicated that he has offers on the table from Hull City in the EPL and Aris Thessaloniki in the Greek Super League. While it is good to see that European teams still have an interest in Adu, I'm not sure which of these clubs would be the best fit for Adu. Fellow American, Jozy Altidore, is currently at Hull, on loan from Villarreal, where he has made 15 appearances, but has yet to score. Altidore has had some bumps in the road in fitting in at Hull, but seems to be on the right course for more playing time. The presence of Altidore at Hull might help Adu to fit in quicker and learn the right route to earning playing time. That being said, Hull is only in its second season in the EPL and is currently in the relegation zone. While I'm not a fan of young Americans playing for relegation zone EPL teams, Hull's desperation to stay in EPL might make them gamble more on playing Adu. That being said, Adu's lack of playing time with the U.S. National Team means he probably will not be able to get a work permit to play in England.

Aris, on the other hand, is one of the biggest clubs in Greece. I admit I'm not very familiar with the Greek Super League or the style of play there, so I'm not sure how well of a fit Adu might be at Aris. Aris is currently in 5th place on the Super League table, so while they lack the desperation that Hull currently feels, Aris is in a position to make smart, calculated moves when bringing in players. If Aris is really interested in Adu, that is a sign that they want him on the pitch. Meanwhile, rumor surfaced last month that American Eddie Johnson may be headed to Aris on a loan from Fulham. So again, Adu would be teammates with any other young American, this time one that is in the same boat as Adu when it comes to getting back in the good graces of USMNT Coach Bob Bradley.

While I wish Adu was in a situation where he could take as much time as possible to study the styles of play employed by Aris and Hull, and feel out the attitude of the coaching staffs before making a decision, I don't think he really has much of a decision before him. As mentioned above, Adu's lack of USMNT playing time means he has little, if any, shot at qualifying for a work permit in England. Since staying at Benfica means not even suiting up, it looks like Adu will be in Greece by the end of January.

Stuart Holden on GMA = Lost Opportunity

I can admit when I have been overly optimistic and wrong, and I was both of those things in last night's column about Stuart Holden. Stuart Holden was indeed on ABC's Good Morning America this morning, unfortunately, his appearance had nothing to do about his future in MLS. Instead, Holden appeared in one of those little bumpers between commercials and news to quickly discuss the upcoming World Cup finals in South Africa and to support GMA's coat drive.

Not long after posting my column last night, news that Holden was going to go on trial with Burnley of the EPL started trickling out. I continued to suspect that such a trial would be part of the package of him re-upping with MLS. But, as we learned this morning that is not the case.

MLS and Holden both missed a great opportunity in branding and marketing MLS in a World Cup year, but, with the issues concerning the collective bargaining agreement still unresolved, I can't blame Holden, who is now very secure in a USMNT senior team spot, for testing the waters in Europe. While Holden's appearance helped promote ABC's impending World Cup broadcasts and the USMNT in general, it did nothing for MLS or professional soccer in the United States.

Unfortunately for the Houston Dynamo, they are left in limbo as they prepare for the 2010 MLS season. Holden did a good job of stepping up and filling the void that was created when Dwayne De Rosario was traded to Toronto before the 2009 season, unfortunately, the Dynamo do not currently have a player that could clearly step up into the void created if Holden leaves. The Dynamo don't have much time to wait on Holden, they can't let themselves get trapped in the situation the Houston Astros found themselves in several years ago when the focused on re-signing Carlos Beltran. No, with a new year upon us, the Dynamo have to focus on their midfield, finding replacements for both Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark.

Stuart Holden on GMA = Stuart Holden Staying in MLS

Earlier today on his Twitter account, Stuart Holden announced that he was going to be on Good Morning America on New Year's Day Morning. While I have no confirmation of this one way or the other, I can think of no other reason for Stuart Holden being on Good Morning America except that he will announce that he is staying in MLS and not pursuing a free transfer to Europe at this time.

Today is December 31, 2009, the last day of Stuart Holden's contract with MLS. We know that Holden recently met with MLS Commissioner Don Garber and and rumor is that MLS made Holden an offer that would increase his salary to over $300,000.00 a year. Since that meeting with Garber, word trickled down the the Houston Dynamo made a revised offer to Holden.

When you take into account that Holden indicated that he would make his decision by the end of 2009, that he is going on GMA on January 1, 2010, that GMA is part of the ABC/ESPN family which holds some MLS broadcast rights, and that Holden is not one of the "bubble players" being called into the January U.S. Men's National Team Camp, the only logical conclusion is that Holden (and MLS) intends on using his appearance on GMA to announce his decision to re-sign with MLS and the Houston Dynamo.

In light of Burnley's interest in giving Holden a trial, I would not be surprised if, like Landon Donovan's deal, part of the announcement will include a deal to loan Holden to Burnley or another EPL or SPL side during the MLS off season.

I could be wrong, but New Year's Eve is a time for predications, and based on today's Twitter announcement from Stuart Holden, my predication is that Holden will be re-signing with MLS and the Houston Dynamo.

I've long advocated that one of the reasons that MLS should do everything possible to keep Stuart Holden is that he is the kind of player that MLS can easily use for branding purposes and increasing the league's profile. Making the announcement that Holden is staying in the MLS on a nationwide morning show on the first day of a World Cup finals year on a network that will be broadcasting the World Cup finals, is a smart marketing and branding move by MLS.

The Christmas Edition of the Zygo Soccer Report

Happy Holidays Everybody. Here's my take on the year in Football.

Episode 8: The Christmas Edition

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