U.S. World Cup Preliminary Roster

Bob Bradley, coach of the United State Men's National Soccer Team, announced the list of 30 players who will train at Princeton before the World Cup in South Africa next month. The squad will need to be widdled down to 23 before their first game against England on June 12th.

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Tim Howard (Everton)

Breakdown - Howard is the undisputed number one netminder leaving Guzan and Hahnemann to duke it out for second choice. Guzan backs up American keeper Brad Friedel at Villa and has seen limited action this season in a handful of Carling Cup and F.A. Cup games while Hahnemann, at age 37, usurped Wayne Hennessey in December as the number one choice for Wolves. In any case, all three will be taken to South Africa. Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake) could have been brought into camp to compete but it wasn't necessary since the three already listed stood head and shoulders above both Rimando and another candidate in Troy Perkins (DC United).

Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes)*, Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)

Breakdown - The biggest question mark for the American back four, aside from Onyewu's health, is at left back. Pearce has been less than impressive in his performances for the national team while his MLS compatriot Bornstein has been extremely inconsistent; going from hero, as his game-tying goal against Costa Rica clinched America's first place spot in CONCACAF qualifying, to goat, in a friendly against the Netherlands where he was responsible for both Dutch goals, giving up a penalty kick on a careless foul and also deflecting a shot into his own net.
A few other options would be to play Spector on the left side where is comfortable, playing there for his club in England, or sliding left-footed captain Bocanegra from central defense. Both have capable backups at their preferred position, Cherundolo at right back and DeMerit at central defense respectively, but Spector may be the best choice because of Bocanegra's lack of pace.
The 6'4" defenseman known as "Gooch" is probably the best defender on Bradley's team but is coming off a major injury that saw him miss most of the Serie A season for the Rossoneri. With nearly no playing time with his club it will be important to see if he can get back to match fitness. Goodson provides depth in the center.
Notable exclusions include fan favorite Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew) and former Mexican national Edgar Castillo (UANL).

Midfielders: DeMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aurhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

Breakdown - This unit his headed by America's greatest footballer of all time, Landon Donovan. He will probably start on the left as he has done since last summer, but may switch to the right where he shined in a loan stint in England at Everton.
This would largely depend on whether Bradley shifts Clint Dempsey from right wing to a forward position, which I will discuss in the next paragraph. However, should Dempsey move up top another option to replace him is Stuart Holden, a promising youngster who moved overseas in January and is also coming off an injury.
Another question is who will partner with Michael Bradley, the coach's son, in central midfield. The choice is between Edu, who has performed well for his Scottish club since recovering from injury, and Clark who stepped in admirably during Edu's absence from the national team. Clark had a recent injury spell after signing for a German club in January (have you noticed the pattern yet?).
Feilhaber and Torres can provide depth in the center and out left where a familiar face is back in the fold after losing Bradley's favor at the Confederations Cup last June. Beasley has made it back onto the roster after a terrible blunder on an American corner kick led to an embarrassing counter-attack goal for the Brazilians.
Missing the cut were Freddy Adu (Aris Thessaloniki), who has failed to live up to his expectations as a youth, and talented Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04) who switched affiliation from Germany but had several setbacks in his rehab from a leg injury.

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Hercules Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki)

Breakdown - The only sure thing in the list of forwards is Altidore. All five other candidates, three of which will probably be on the final roster, could make or miss the plane to the World Cup finals.
Brian Ching is a familiar face but shares a lot of the same attributes as Jozy and is also coming off an injury.
Findley and Johnson have the pace to compliment Altidore, but have been virtually unnoticable as of late when given the chance to prove themselves at the international level.
The most in form strikers at the moment are Buddle and Gomez. Buddle is having a career season in the MLS playing alongside teammate Donovan while Gomez tied for most goals scored in the Mexican Clausura, mostly coming on as a substitute.
Something Bradley has probably been thinking about is moving Dempsey or Donovan up top as a support striker. This is Donovan's natural position and Dempsey plays there for his club and has shown a knack for scoring when placed in this situation.
Unfortunately, the extremely promising Charlie Davies (Sochaux), who broke out at the Confederations Cup, failed in his efforts to make the World Cup roster after suffering extensive injuries and undergoing an intense rehab following a fatal car crash in Washington D.C. the night before the team's final qualifying game in October. Also not making the list was a regular from the past year, Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids).

D.C. United 2010 Campaign

After a disappointing 2009 season for D.C. United, once an elite team in Major League Soccer, the fans were promised major changes at the underachieving club. The team finished 4th in the Eastern Conference but missed the playoffs due to the fact that the eight spots available were given to teams with the highest point totals regardless of conference. They also finished runners-up in the U.S. Open tournament. But this was not enough for the fans who are used to seeing the team bring home silverware including 4 MLS Cups, 4 MLS Supporters' Shields, 2 U.S. Open Cups, a CONCACAF Champions' Cups, and an InterAmerican Cup.

So during the offseason head coach Tom Soehn was replaced by Kansas City Wizards coach Curt Onalfo and star players including Luciano Emilio, Fred, Christian Gomez were let go and fan favorite Ben Olsen retired to be replaced by newcomers Troy Perkins, Danny Allsopp, and Adam Cristman.

Unfortunately, D.C. United is off to a bad start to it's 15th campaign in the league. They have lost their first five games in the league. The team is dealing with injury issues on the defensive backline and a stale offense leaving them with a mere total of 2 goals and 13 goals against in league play. They have brought back Luciano Emilio on a three month loan at a much lower salary to try to add a spark, but he was let go after last year for a reason as he could not get back to his 2007 form that saw him win the MLS Most Valuable Player Award, MLS Golden Boot Award, MLS Newcomer Award, and earn a spot on the MLS Starting XI.

Hopefully as the team becomes more familiar with one another they can turn around their performances and begin getting better results and picking up some points. It's a long season that will also be interrupted by the World Cup in South Africa in June, so they will have plenty of time to try to work out the kinks.

Top 50 Highest Paid Soccer Players

A list has been compiled by Futebol Finance, a Portuguese marketing agency, which comprises of the top 50 highest paid soccer players based on their club salaries for the 2009-2010 season alone. Sponsorship and advertising dollars (or Euros or Pesos) are not included. It can be quite surprising if you are a fan of the game.

Rank/Name/Country/Club/Salary

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid, $17.5 million)
2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, Barcelona, $16.1 million)
3. Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona, $14.1 million)
4. Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon, Internazionale, $14.1 million)
5. Kaka (Brazil, Real Madrid, $13.4 million)
6. Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo, Manchester City, $11.4 million)
7. Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid, $11.4 million)
8. Carlos Tevez (Argentina, Manchester City, $10.8 million)
9. John Terry (England, Chelsea, $10 million)
10. Frank Lampard (England, Chelsea, $10 million)

11. Thierry Henry (France, Barcelona, $10 million)
12. Xavi (Spain, Barcelona, $10 million)
13. Ronaldinho (Brazil, AC Milan, $10 million)
14. Steven Gerrard (England, Liverpool, $10 million)
15. Daniel Alves (Brazil, Barcelona, $9.4 million)
16. Michael Ballack (Germany, Chelsea, $8.6 million)
17. Raul (Spain, Real Madrid, $8.6 million)
18. Rio Ferdinand (England, Manchester United, $8.6 million)
19. Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast, Manchester City, $8.6 million)
20. Wayne Rooney (England, Manchester United, $8 million)

21. Robinho (Brazil, Manchester City, $8 million) *1
22. Iker Casillas (Spain, Real Madrid, $8 million)
23. Victor Valdez (Spain, Barcelona, $8 million)
24. Frederic Kanoute (Mali, Sevilla, $8 million)
25. Deco (Portugal, Chelsea, $8 million)
26. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, Chelsea, $7.4 million)
27. Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, Juventus, $7.4 million)
28. Francesco Totti (Italy, Roma, $7.4 million)
29. Luca Toni (Italy, Roma, $7.4 million) *2
30. David Villa (Spain, Valencia, $7.4 million)

31. Arjen Robben (Netherlands, Bayern Munich, $7.4 million)
32. Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany, Bayern Munich, $7.4 million)
33. Ashley Cole (England, Chelsea, $7.4 million)
34. Fernando Torres (Spain, Liverpool, $7.4 million)
35. Gareth Barry (England, Manchester City, $7.4 million)
36. Patrick Vieira (France, Internazionale, $7.4 million) *3
37. Charles Puyol (Spain, Barcelona, $6.6 million)
38. Andres Iniesta (Spain, Barcelona, $6.6 million)
39. Sergio Aguero (Argentina, Atletico Madrid, $6.6 million)
40. Andreas Pirlo (Italy, AC Milan, $6.6 million)

41. Willy Sagnol (France, Bayern Munich, $6.6 million) *4
42. Frank Ribery (France, Bayern Munich, $6.6 million)
43. David Beckham (England, AC Milan, $6.6 million) *5
44. Wayne Bridge (England, Manchester City, $6.6 million)
45. Lassana Diarra (France, Real Madrid, $6.6 million)
46. Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria, Manchester United $6.3 million)
47. Andrei Arshavin (Russia, Arsenal, $6.3 million)
48. Nicolas Anelka (France, Chelsea, $6.3 million)
49. Ryan Giggs (Wales, Manchester United $6.3 million)
50. Alessandro Del Piero (Italy, Juventus, $6.3 million)

Players in BOLD are on new teams from the 2008-2009 season

*1 = Robinho now plays for Santos
*2 = Luca Toni is on loan from Bayern Munich
*3 = Patrick Vieira now plays for Manchester City
*4 = Willy Sagnol has retired
*5 = David Beckham is on loan from L.A. Galaxy

Ciudad Real Madrid

Real Madrid F.C.'s training facilities, known as Ciudad Real Madrid (Real Madrid City), was opened in 2005 and covers 1.2 million square meters. It is also known as Valdebebas, the name of the district in which the complex is located. So far construction cost the club around $101 million and only about 1/3 has been completed.

It contains 13 1/3 soccer fields, including, Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano, where the reserve team, Real Madrid Castilla, play it's home matches. The youth squads are designated 3 synthetic turf fields (115 x 75 yards), 2 natural grass fields (approximately the same size), and 2 small sided synthetic turf fields for the youngest age groups (70 x 45 yards). The first team is allocated 2 natural grass fields, 1 synthetic turf field, a small sided natural grass field (60 x 35 yards), a small sided synthetic turf field (55 x 30 yards), and a "final third" partial field (35 x 70 yards) used for finishing exercises and practicing set pieces. The quality of the fields are such that the natural and synthetic environments are easily confused with one another.

These surround a large building, shaped like a letter "T", that serves as the spine of the complex and in some regards, the club itself. The vertical portion of the building serves the purposes of the youth teams, while the long hall at the end is reserved for the first team. As a youth player develops, each year he is invited back to the academy his team room will be closer to the first team wing. Within this building you will find team rooms, equipment rooms, weight rooms and rehab centers. There are audio-visual rooms, used as tactical classrooms, complete with projection video systems, microphone and speaker systems, and large dry erase boards designed like soccer fields. Several flat screen LCD monitors are positioned in various places throughout the room. The state of the art medical facilities consist of examination rooms, treatment rooms, and a hydrotherapy center that includes hot and cool pools, a cold plunge, and a resistance wave pool. Everything in Valdebebas is the best money can buy.

The security at the sports facility is also extremely impressive. A private security company monitors and patrols Ciudad Real Madrid. From the outside it may resemble a minimum security prison as it is completely fenced in, with a road circling the complex used mainly for security vehicles, 2 manned security towers at each end, and gated entrances where you must provide proper identification. The complex is impressively designed so that fans and parents are kept at a distance from the academy, reserve, and first team members. The training fields can only be accessed through the main building, past another security checkpoint which even parents of youth team members are not allowed to pass through. Spectator stands can only be accessed from the outer perimeter of the complex. For every Real Madrid team room there is a visitors team room, but they are only accessable from the outside.

Every detail has been very well though out in it's design. For example, the sand pits (20 x 35 yards) were built in to accommadate South American members who enjoy playing Brazilian volleyball (a game in which you can't use your hands), the rehab facility has a wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling window looking out over training grounds to motivate players to work hard when returning from injury, there is an indoor synthetic turf area adjacent to the rehab facility where players can work with a ball or footwork exercises under medical supervision. Other things to note are the cantina inside the building which serves food and drinks and the first team player lounge, which is equiped with comfortable couches and chairs, includes a bar, and overlooks their training pitches.

This soccer city is a modern marvel of the blent between sports and business. It has everything you could ever want when developing soccer talent. And the detail and specificity of the grounds is astounding.

Egypt Win 2010 Africa Cup of Nations

Yesterday, January 31, Egypt won the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations held in Angola. As reported in an earlier post, this international soccer tournament determine's the continents best national team. Egypt have succesfully the title they won in 2008 making this their seventh championship, despite not qualifying for the World Cup finals being held this summer.

Ghana finished second after losing to Egypt by a score of 1-0. Nigeria beat Algeria 1-0 in the consolation game to finish in third place.

Egyptian players also took home all three individual awards as Ahmed Hassan was named Player of the Tournament, Essam El-Hadary won Goalkeeper of the Tournament, and Geddo was the Top Scorer of the Tournament as well, finishing with five goals.

The Best XI, selected by the tournament's Technical Study Group, were goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary, defenders Madjid Bougherra of Algeria, Wael Gomaa of Egypt, and Mabina of Angola, midfielders Ahmed Hassan, Ahmed Fathy of Egypt, Peter Odemwingie of Nigeria, and Alexandre Song of Cameroon, and forwards Asamoah Gyan of Ghana, Mohammad Zidan of Egypt, and Flavio of Angola. Substitutes named were Richard Kingston (Ghana), Geddo, Emmanuel Mbola (Zambia), Karim Ziani (Algeria), Achille Emana (Cameroon), Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana), Seydou Keita (Mali), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Eric Mouloungui (Gabon), Chindedu Obasi (Nigeria), Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast), and Jacob Mulenga (Zambia).

The 28th African Cup of Nations will be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in 2012.

2010 Africa Cup of Nations

Today ends the group stage of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. The biannual national soccer tournament awards the champion of the African continent.

The competing teams were chosen as the best teams from their groups in World Cup qualification, which wrapped up in November 2009.

With the first round of matches drawing to an end Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria have all qualified for the knockout stage of the tournament. The place of the final two teams to qualify will be decided today upon the completion the final two matches; Gabon versus Zambia and Cameroon versus Tunisia. All four teams still have a chance to move on.

This is one of the most exciting soccer tournaments in the world and many European clubs watch carefully to find new and young talent. So far, the leading goalscorers through 3 games are Flavio Amado of Angola, currently playing for club Al-Shabab in Saudi Arabia, and Seydou Keita of Mali, who plays club football with FC Barcelona in Spain.

Other big stars include Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast/Barcelona), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/Chelsea), and Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon/Internazionale).

Unfortunately, Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo/Manchester City) will not be featured in the games as the Togo national team bus was attacked by rebels during it's travels, after which the team forfeited the tournament.

Generation Adidas

Generation adidas is a youth player development program, in a joint venture between Major League Soccer (MLS) and U.S. Soccer, designed to identify and nurture elite youth soccer talent in the United States. Until 2005 the program was sponsored by Nike and known as Project-40.

As part of a partnership deal between the MLS and Adidas, the developmental league attempts to raise the level of youth soccer talent in the United States. The program encourages early entry of American players into MLS. Generation Adidas players are able to train and play on a weekly basis with an MLS club, recieve educational grants to further their education, and participate in matches and tours both domestically and overseas.

Generation adidas players do not count on MLS senior rosters and generally earn a much higher salary than the league minimum. Entering the program automatically classifies a player as professional, and thus disqualifies them from playing college soccer. However, players are guaranteed scholarships to continue their education should their professional soccer career not pan out.

The program has included current United States mens national team stars Tim Howard, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, Joze Altidore, and Michael Bradley as well as DeMarcus Beasley, Ben Olsen, Sacha Kljestan, Chad Marshall, and Freddy Adu.

The list of 2010 Generation Adidas signings include:
Danny Mwanga: Drafted 1st overall by the Philadelphia Union. 18 years old from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Played forward at Oregon State University.

Tony Tchani: Drafted 2nd overall by the New York Red Bulls. 20 years old from Norfolk, Virginia. Played midfield at the University of Virginia.

Ike Opara: Drafted 3rd overall by the San Jose Earthquakes. 20 years old from Durham, North Carolina. Played defense at Wake Forest University.

Teal Bunbury: Drafted 4th overall by the Kansas City Wizards. 19 years old from Prior Lake, Minnesota. Played forward at the University of Akron.

Amobi Okugu: Drafted 6th overall by the Philadelphia Union. 18 years old from Sacramento, California. Played midfield at UCLA.

Jack McInerney: Drafted 7th overall by the Philadelphia Union. 17 years old from Alpharetta, Georgia. Played forward for the U.S. U-17 national team.

Dilly Duka: Drafted 8th overall by the Columbus Crew. 20 years old from Montville, New Jersey. Played midfield at Rutgers University.

Blair Gavin: Drafted 10th overall by Chivas USA. 20 years old from Louisville, Kentucky. Played midfield at the University of Akron.

Corben Bone: Drafted 13th overall by the Chicago Fire. 21 years old from Plano, Texas. Played forward at Wake Forest University.

Andrew Weideman: Drafted 21st overall by FC Dallas. 20 years old from San Ramon, California. Played forward at the University of California.

Zachary Herold: Drafted 24th overall by Toronto FC. 17 years old from Port St. Lucie, Florida. Played defense for the U.S. U-17 national team.

Sean Johnson: Drafted 51st overall by the Chicago Fire. 20 years old from Lilburn, Georgia. Played defense at the University of Central Florida.

Generation adidas

Group of Death

The draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa took place on Friday, December 4th in Cape Town. The purpose of the draw was to find out which countries will face each other in the group stage of the tournament.

Qualification for the World Cup finals began in September 2006, right after the World Cup in Germany. After four years the nations involved have been widdled down to just 32 (see "2010 FIFA World Cup" blog) which were placed into eight groups of four teams. Each team will play one game against the other three in the group in order to determine which two countries, based on highest point total, will move on to the knock-out stages. Teams get three points for a win, one for a tie, and zero for a loss. In the event of a tie in total points the tie-breaker is goal difference, then goals scored.

Teams were seeded into four pots of eight teams for the draw. The teams in group one were chosen based on the FIFA World Rankings from October 2009 and also includes the host nation. The remaining groups were based on FIFA confederations. Group two was from Asia, North America and Oceania, group three from Africa and South America, group four was from Europe.

As it happened, with the help of special guests including actress Charlize Theron and footballer David Beckham, the groups were chosen as follows:

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France. Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece. Group C: England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia. Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana. Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon. Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia. Group G (aka Group of Death): Brazil, Korea DPR, Cote d'Ivoire, Portugal. Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile.

Get ready to cheer for your team this summer.

2010 FIFA World Cup

Yesterday the final six nations qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa this summer. The World Cup, an international soccer tournament, occurs every four years and is the world's biggest sporting event. Here is the list of 32 nations that qualified for the 19th World Cup finals (Current FIFA World Ranking in parenthesis):

Asia [AFC]: Australia (24), Japan (40), Korea DPR (91), Korea Republic (48)

Africa [CAF]: Algeria (29), Cameroon (14), Ghana (38), Ivory Coast (19), Nigeria (32), South Africa (85)

North, Central America and Caribbean [CONCACAF]: Honduras (35), Mexico (18), USA (11)

South America [CONMEBOL]: Argentina (6), Brazil (1), Chile (17), Paraguay (21), Uruguay (25)

Oceana [OFC]: New Zealand (83)

Europe [UEFA]: Denmark (27), England (7), France (9), Germany (5), Greece (16), Italy (4), Netherlands (3), Portugal (10), Serbia (20), Slovakia (33), Slovenia (49), Spain (2), Switzerland (13)

Notable Nations That Did Not Qualify: Croatia (8), Russia (12), Czech Republic (15), Ukraine (22), Bulgaria (23), Israel (26), Egypt (28), Columbia, (30/T), Northern Ireland (30/T).

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D.C. United 2009

The 2009 season is over for D.C. United. The Washington D.C.-based professional soccer team missed the MLS Cup Playoffs as the season ended last week, on goal difference alone. As we wait for (there's always...) next season at RFK Stadium, let's take a look back on the season that was.

D.C. United's coach for the 2009 season was Tom Soehn, at 43 years old he has been an assistant under Bob Bradley (current coach of the U.S. Mens National Team) and Peter Nowak (assistant to Bradley and coach of the U.S. Mens U-23 National Team). He has also been a manager with the Chicago Fire.

In January, for the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, United selected midfielder Rodney Wallace from the University of Maryland with the 6th overall pick. In his rookie season Rodney made 28 appearances and scored 3 goals. Also chosen by United were Chris Pontius (7th overall; midfielder/forward; UC Santa Barbara), Milos Kocic (21st overall; goalkeeper; Loyola College in Maryland), Lyle Adams (26th overall; defenseman; Wake Forest University), and Brandon Barklage (36th overall; midfielder/forward; Saint Louis University).

The team's statistical leaders over the past year have been Luciano Emilio (4 goals), Bryan Namoff (3 assists), and Josh Wicks (19 appearances in goal). The side was captained by Jaime Moreno. The Bolivian has played in 308 games for United during his career.

The team eventually finished 10th overall in the MLS, were eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions League in the group stage, and finished 2nd in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

We look forward to seeing what they can do in their 15th season during 2010.

http://www.dcunited.com/