“looking very much forward too you guys cannot imagine!!!!! feeling as excited as i was on my first professional game!!! DOOP!!!”
Faryd Mondragon tweets before the Union begin the long flight home.

“takeoff……”
Amobi Okugo tweets the Union are finally heading home.

“WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOYESYESYESWOOOOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!”
What’s going on in my head right now.

Shakes alive, the Inquirer has a piece on the Union! Here’s the scoop: When asked how the trip to Greece has gone, Peter Nowak replied—brace yourself—”It’s been very good.”

Luckily, the PSP’s Adam Cann was a part of Wednesday’s teleconference with Peter Nowak. Check out his report for what was meaningfully said during the proceedings.

Scott Kessler from The Brotherly Game previews the 2011 Union on TBG’s parent site, SB Nation.

The SB Nation Houston Dynamo blog Dynamo Theory looks at Carlos Ruiz, a Dynamo nemesis from his days with FC Dallas. The bottom line: “As crazy as it sounds, a healthy and motivated Ruiz could put himself in to contention for the Golden Boot. It comes down to how Nowak plans to utilize him and how committed he is to playing at a high level.”

Another Houston blog, Soccer Matters with Glen Davis, has this to say about about the Union ahead of next week’s matchup: “Key players have been acquired right down the spine of this team. The Union are expecting nothing less than making the playoffs and after their stunning late win against the Dynamo at Robertson last year, this has the makings of a great opener. Villans [sic] are an important part of playing up MLS matches.”

WV Hooligan ranks the Union’s forwards 8th in the league. “This one could be higher if we knew that Carlos Ruiz was his old MVP self or just another striker in the lineup.” (Previous rankings by position put the Union 15th for goalkeepers, 15th for defenders, and 8th for midfielders.)

From the Union website, here’s a look at how young strikers Jack McInerney and Chris Agorsor bring depth to the attack. It unnerves me to report that their combined age of 39 years is still less than my own.

Also from the Union website, a nice piece on Taylor Twellman as he embarks on the next phase of his career in soccer.

The soccer haters have generally piped down after last summer’s World Cup once again got them riled up with the realization that soccer is not only long-established in this country but interest and participation in the sport continues to grow. Some of these knuckle draggers may find the occasion of the opening of the new MLS season as an excuse to spout their increasingly irrelevant, not to mention exceedingly boring, pap. Have no fear, Conor O’Grady at Philly Union Talk is heading them off at the path with this piece on the passion of a Union fan.

MLS

The league has released its MLS Matchday 2011 app for iPad, iPhone and Droid. I just downloaded the app, which is free, for my Droid and when you click on the Union, the Doop song is played. Haven’t had any time to play around with it yet but it the very least it centralizes news, videos, Twitter, schedule and roster info in one location. Nice.

In Wednesday’s Community Shield match between Seattle and Colorado, Seattle walked with a 3–1 win but injuries to Steve Zakuani and Brad Evans may mean they could miss the start of the season. Awhh, so sad.

LA Galaxy keeper Donovan Ricketts is questionable for MLS First Kick after an injury prevents him from playing in an exhibition match against UCLA. Gosh, that’s just terrible.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, Pele has made the intentions of the New York Cosmos clear: “We are back with the Cosmos and it is a new challenge – we hope to join Major League Soccer in 2013,”

The capacity of Saputo Stadium—the home of Montreal Impact, set to join MLS in 2012—will be increased by more than 7,000 seats, from 13,034 to 20,341.

Toronto FC suffers its second defeat to USL PRO side in the preseason, losing 2–1 to Charleston Battery in the Carolina Challenge Cup. They lost to Orlando SC in the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic in February, the same team that had previously topped the Union.

Vancouver Whitecaps hope to field a team in WPS in  2012.

US

After first taking a 1–0 lead against Iceland, only to be behind 2–1 at the half after giving up two goals in two minutes, the USWNT stormed back to a 4–2 win and their eighth consecutive Algarve Cup championship. Carli Lloyd, Lauren Cheney, Heather O’Reilly and Alex Morgan all scored for the US with Amy Rodriguez and Megan Rapinoe of the Philadelphia Independence each recording an assist.

Check out Eli’s rant-free look at rising star Timothy Chandler on the PSP.

ESPN says Stuart Holden epitomizes US soccer.

Here’s a Q & A with Oguchi Onyewu on adapting to his new team, FC Twente.

Entering into his final year of his contract with Orebro, Alejandro Bedoya talks about his future.

Elsewhere

Ashley Cole won’t be charged for accidentally shooting a Chelsea student worker with an air rifle. Pity, that.

Arsene Wenger denies the improper conduct charge filed against him by UEFA following Arsenal’s loss to Barcelona and calls the league a “dictatorship.”

Mohamed bin Hammam, the Qatari president of the Asian Football Confederation, is strongly hinting that he will challenge Sepp Blatter for the presidency of FIFA in May.