Quakes Lose Another....US MNT Survive

The Q's played the Chicago Fire last night and got burnt again.   They did play admirably for 80+ minutes and then gave up 2 goals to lose 2-nil.  I think confidence on the team is at a new low...sometimes we are so close, but maybe think we can't win (we are focused on trying not to lose instead).  It is tough on a diehard supporter like me to stir up interest in a team when they are going through such a tough time right now.

I was also watching the US MNT play Panama in their Gold Cup match last night (Quakes and MNT games were on at the same time - FSC + CSBA).  It was a tough game - went into OT periods with the US winning on a Kenny Cooper PK in the first OT period.  I am trying to figure out why Cooper has not been a regular on the MNT.  He brings some amazing size and strength to the front line.  The guys now move on into the semis.

$30 parking, US player to AC Milan

I went to the 2009 Gold Cup opening round matches at the Oakland Coliseum on July 5th (Guadalupe beating Panama and then Mexico downing Nicaragua).  The crowd was pretty small for the first game.  Most were there for the Mexico game and stayed in the parking lot to party up until game time.  H and I came late so we decided to park in the Coliseum lot.  We almost had a heart attack when we saw that it was $30 just to park.  Dang - the tickets cost $30 each.  I don't think I have ever been to an event where the parking was just as much as the event ticket.  This world is screwy. 

Interesting things that we spotted in the parking lot: "Cage" 1v1 football, girls sponsored by beer companies taking pictures with guys in the crowd (H posed a few times!).  You'll have to ask him about one particular gal that had an expression that never changed!  Lots of food being cooked on BBQ's and little supporter bands marching all over the parking lot with their national flags.  Inside the MEX/NICAR fans were in a frenzy (90+% were Mexico supporters).  We almost had an international incident occur in the section next to us and we had one guy throwing up and going unconscious in our section (a little bit too much of the liquid refreshment I am guessing).  It is too bad - he missed a good match.

US MNT Defender Heading for AC Milan!

It was announced today that Oguchi Onyewu has been signed by AC Milan.  His impressive work in the Confederations Cup must have helped his cause.  I'm looking forward to see how ACM will use him - he is a powerful dude.

So Close

I took in the 2009 Confederations Cup at Manny's in Berkeley (on Telegraph). The place was packed with hopes of witnessing the first U.S. FIFA cup of any kind. The teams energy from their upset over Spain continued into the first half of the final yesterday. Defense was shutting down everything. Howard was solid in goal. Dempsey scored the first goal in the 10''. Donovan scored the second goal in the 27''. The place was rockin' and we were all pinching ourselves. But alas, our opponent this day was mighty Brasil. Kaka'. Robinho. Brasil roared back in the second half. Their first goal by Fabiano (he ended up with 2 goals) seemed to pop the U.S. bubble and they began to remember they were playing Brasil. I sensed their high energy drop with every tentative step they were making. Fabiano scored one more and then Lucio scored Brasils third. The dream ended Brasil 3 USA 2. It was an exciting game to watch, but it was heartbreaking at the same time. The teams performance gives us greater hope for 2010 WC success.

2009 Gold Cup

With not much of a break, the US MNT will begin their 2009 Gold Cup defense. Manager Bob Bradley has already announced the roster for the Gold Cup. Only a handful of players that were on the Confederations Cup roster (Charlie Davies, Freddy Adu, Heath Pierce, and Luis Robles) will play in the Gold Cup. Only Davies saw any significant playing time in the Confederations Cup matches.

2009 Gold Cup Roster
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Hometown Club Caps/G

1 Perkins, Troy GK 6-2 190 07/20/81 Worthington, Ohio Valerenga IF (Norway) 1/0
2 Pearce, Heath D 5-10 175 08/13/84 Modesto, Calif. Hansa Rostock (Germany) 23/0
3 Goodson, Clarence D 6-4 170 05/17/82 Alexandria, Va. IK Start (Norway) 2/0
4 Marshall, Chad D 6-4 190 08/22/84 Riverside, Calif. Columbus Crew 4/1
5 Beckerman, Kyle M 5-10 165 04/23/82 Crofton, Md. Real Salt Lake 3/0
6 Cherundolo, Steve D 5-6 145 02/19/79 San Diego, Calif. Hannover 96 (Germany) 51/2
7 Rogers, Robbie M 5-10 165 05/12/87 Huntington Beach, Calif. Columbus Crew 1/0
8 Pause, Logan M 5-10 155 08/22/81 Hillsborough, N.C. Chicago Fire 0/0
9 Davies, Charlie F 5-10 160 06/25/86 Manchester, N.H. Hammarby IF (Sweden) 9/2
10 Holden, Stuart M 5-10 160 08/01/85 Houston, Texas Houston Dynamo 0/0
11 Ching, Brian F 6-1 195 05/24/78 Haleiwa, Hawaii Houston Dynamo 36/9
12 Conrad, Jimmy D 6-2 185 02/12/77 Temple City, Calif. Kansas City Wizards 24/1
13 Clark, Colin M 5-11 161 04/11/84 Ft. Collins, Colo. Colorado Rapids 0/0
14 Parkhurst, Michael D 5-11 155 01/24/84 Providence, R.I. FC Nordsjaelland (Denmark)5/0
15 Cronin, Sam M 5-10 165 12/12/86 Winston-Salem, N.C. Toronto FC 0/0
16 Heaps, Jay D 5-9 155 08/02/76 Longmeadow, Mass. New England Revolution 0/0
17 Cooper, Kenny F 6-3 210 10/21/84 Dallas, Texas FC Dallas 4/2
18 Robles, Luis GK 6-1 180 05/11/84 Fort Huachuca, Ariz. FC Kaiserslautern (Germany)0/0
19 Adu, Freddy F 5-8 140 06/02/89 Potomac, Md. AS Monaco (France) 13/1
20 Quaranta, Santino F 6-1 185 10/14/84 Baltimore, Md. D.C. United 11/0
21 Evans, Brad M 6-1 160 04/20/85 Phoenix, Ariz. Seattle Sounders 0/0
22 Arnaud, Davy M 6-0 165 06/22/80 Nederland, Texas Kansas City Wizards 2/0
23 Busch, Jon GK 5-10 165 08/18/76 Albany, N.Y. Chicago Fire 1/0

I'll be attending first round matches at the Oakland Coliseum on 7/5 (this coming Sunday): Panama vs. Guadalupe and Mexico vs. Nicaragua.

International Football in the Bay Area this Summer + Soccer Fours!

2009 Gold Cup: I have my tickets for the first round matches that will be played at the Oakland Coliseum on July 5th (Guadeloupe vs Panama and Mexico vs Nicaragua)

Int'l Friendly August 8th: Today - I just secured tickets to the FC Barcelona vs Club Deportivo Guadalajara (a double header with the first game being the Q's vs the Columbus Crew).

I decided to pass on the World Football Challenge match between Inter and Club America (at Stanford Stadium). It would have been fun to do this one too - but $ is scarce and choices had to be made. Now if it were AC Milan or Chelsea.....

Soccer Fours:

Well - with the encouragement of H, I have finally stepped onto the pitch myself by starting to participate in a 4v4 program called Soccer Fours. They pick-up 4v4 games are on Wednesday nights at Franklin Sq Park in San Francisco. No refs, no score keeping, no league of official teams. It involves mostly club players, but even a novice like me felt welcome to join in. My legs were sore and I was definitely sucking wind during the 1 hour session that consisted of six 10-minute games. Check it out at http://www.soccerfours.com/

Franklin Sq Park pitch (artificial turf)

Summer 2009

2009 Gold Cup:

First round games are being played at several U.S. venues. The Oakland Coliseum is one site and will host Panama vs. Guadeloupe and Nicaragua vs. Mexico on July 5th (I'll be there). http://concacaf.com/competitions/goldcup/2009/schedule.aspx

2009 World Football Challenge:

A round-robin event involving 4 international teams (Inter Milan, AC Milan, Club America, and Chelsea FC). One game will be played at Stanford Stadium on July 19th (Club America vs. Inter Milan). http://www.worldfootballchallenge.com/