Cover Photo: Paul Rudderow
Union
The Union, along with its youth development partner YSC, will unveil its academy structure for youth players aged 8–18 on Tuesday, November 23, at 6:30pm at YSC’s brand new state-of-the-art facility in Wayne. According to the press release on the Union’s website, “The Union/YSC Model is unlike any youth soccer development program in the United States, providing free training and competition opportunities for elite youth players under a “club-neutral” format.”
The 15-year-old phenom Zach Pfeffer left on Friday for two weeks of training with Bundesliga side 1899 Hoffenheim.
Sons of Ben have an interview with Brad Knighton.
In this weeks tea leaf reading, otherwise known as trying to figure out whether a player piece on the Union’s website means that player will be protected, we look at Jordan Harvey. Harvey says in a post published yesterday, “I’m happy where I am…[Philadelphia] embraced our team so much this year. It’s already home to me…Philly is my new home.” The next paragraph says, “And yet Harvey knows from experience that your home can change in an instant. So as another expansion draft looms, all he can do is hope that this time he’ll be able to find his name on the protected list.” What’s my reading? Harvey will be left unprotected. Unless he isn’t.
Continuing the speculation theme, SBNation has a post of its affiliated bloggers’ Expansion Draft protected lists. The list for the Brotherly Game, their Philadelphia affiliate, is: Danny Califf, Fred, Sebastian Le Toux, Justin Mapp, Kyle Nakazawa, Michael Orzoco-Fiscal, Shea Salinas and Sheanon Williams along with internationals Juan Diego Gonzalez, Roger Torres and Toni Stahl.
A new U-10 boys travel team from Delaware, MOT Union White, recently had a training session with PSP favorite Shea Salinas and has the pictures to prove it. It looks cold.
Local
Christian Barreiro scored the OT game winner for Penn.( Photo Courtesy of Penn Athletics)
They needed overtime to do it, but Penn defeated Bucknell 1–0 in Thursday night’s NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament First Round match at Rhodes Field. Christian Barreiro scored after 1:38 minutes of overtime to advance the team in the tournament for the first time since 2002. Penn travels to play the tournament’s second seed on Sunday.
No. 10-ranked Princeton is out of the championship tournament after losing to University of Maryland Baltimore County 2–1.
NCAA Championship No. 15 seed Penn State will host Old Dominion on Sunday.
MLS
The Daily News looks at the poor television ratings of MLS in 2010 and says they won’t get any better with Sunday’s MLS Cup Final, on ESPN from 8:30pm.
Sports Illustrated’s Steve Davis picks Dallas to win.
Sky Sports writes about Colorado’s two English coaches.
Speaking of Colorado — Ahead of that final, Goal.com looks at the powerful midfield combination of Pablo Mastroeni and local product Jeff Larentowicz.
Sporting Kansas City, formerly the Kansas City Wizards and henceforth referred to here as Sporting KC because it is shorter to type, will play its first ten games of the 2011 season on the road as the team awaits the completion of its new stadium. Their first home game will be on June 9.
The KC name change is leading some fans to call their team “European poseurs.” They’ll get over it, one assumes, but I can’t help but wonder why the owners changed the name with no input from the fans?
Landon Donovan will decide next month if he will return to Everton.
Nigerian international, Boston College grad and original MLSer Michael Emenalo has been promoted from head opposition scout to assistant first team coach at Chelsea.
US
The USWNT will play the first leg of their 2011 Women’s World Cup playoff qualifier against Italy on Saturday. Soccer America looks at how the team can trace its origins to a tournament in 1985 in which the first game they played was against Italy. The US lost that game 1–0. The team’s all-time record against Italy is 8–4–1 with 26 goals for and 8 against. All four losses have happened in Italy.
Footy on the Telly™
Saturday, November 20
7:30am: Tottenham v Arsenal (ESPN2)
9:3am: Schalke v Werder Bremen (GolTV)
10am: Manchester United v Wigan (FSC)
10am: Birmingham v Chelsea (FSP)
10:30am: Women’s World Cup qualifying, Italy v USA (ESPN3)
12pm: Roma v Udinese (FSP)
12:30pm: Liverpool v West Ham (FSC)
2pm: Penarol v Defensor (GolTV)
2pm: Sheffield United v Crystal Place (FSP)
2:30pm: AC Milan v Fiorentina (FSC)
4pm: Real Madrid v Bilbao (GolTV)
4pm: West Brom v Stoke (FSP)
5pm: Bolton v Newcastle (FSC)
6pm: Blackpool v Wolves (FSP)
6:15pm: Tolima v Santa Fe (GolTV)
8:30pm: La Equidad v Huila (GolTV)
11pm: Sydney v Perth (FSC)
Sunday, November 21
6:30am: Genoa v Juventus (FSP)
8:30am: Blackburn v Aston Villa (FSP)
9am: Chievo v Inter Milan (FSC)
11am: Fulham v Manchester City (FSC)
11am: Stuttgart v Cologne 11 a.m. (GolTV)
1pm: Sevilla v Mallorca (GolTV)
2:30pm: Napoli v Bologna (FSC)
3pm: Real Sociedad v Atletico Madrid (GolTV)
3pm: Lens v Lyon (FSP)
5pm: Coventry v Burnley (FSP)
5pm: Sao Paulo v Fluminense (GolTV)
8:30pm: MLS Cup, Colorado-Dallas (ESPN)
that daily news article is crap by the way. kerith does nothing but fuel the anti-soccer crowd, why even bother to write it if he’s got nothing positive to say? He’s also the writer whose Union articles contained countless errors which is probably why no one reads the soccer page on philly.com
I hear you, jdp. I’ve commented on the many errors in his pieces in our news roundups and in the comment area of the articles.
Homegrown talent gaining valuable experience overseas. Win-win. Best of luck to Zach. Worst part about reading the philly.com soccer section is all those neanderthals who feel obligated to bash the sport … but maybe in the site’s eyes page hits are page hits, regardless of whether comments are constructive.
Yeah, like that HappyBob guy. I’ve actually started to find the neanderthals funny (try to, anyway) – they are so predictable. I suppose we should be happy they are writing about soccer at all but I think in the end the low quality doesn’t help anyone.