Union

Dave Zeitlin tweets “Justin Mapp’s groin injury is pretty minor. He might not play Saturday vs RSL but only as a precautionary measure”.

If you haven’t done so already, vote Mwanga for Goal of the Week. If you have already, vote again—you’re allowed.

It’s power rankings time! At MLSsoccer.com, and also at ESPN and Goal.com, the Union stays at third behind Dallas in second and LA in first. At Deseret News, the Union also remain in third but Dallas replaces LA at no. 1. At SBI, the Union drops one spot to third where they are tied with Saturday’s opponent, Real Salt Lake. At Soccer America, the Union remain the top Eastern Conference team at no. 5.

Danny Califf says of the Union being on top of the Eastern Conference, “We can’t get ahead of ourselves. We have to stay grounded and live in the moment. It’s important to focus on the match in front of you and then move on to the next one and get ready for that one. Don’t look ahead. You can’t. I think we have a great attitude as a club. We’re happy now, and we’re going to do everything we can to keep it going.”

Califf shares his thoughts on Pablo Mastroeni’s flop in the box that led to Colorado’s PK. “I reached around and got the ball with my right foot and had my hand on his opposite shoulder. As soon as he felt my hand, he crumpled. I wasn’t too happy with Pablo after that play. It’s part of the game. It happens. The ref bit. Referees are going to bite. That’s why people do it. It’s fair enough that [Mastroeni] got the referee to bite. It doesn’t mean I have to like it. That’s the way it goes.”

John Hackworth says of the Le Toux-Mwanga partnership, “We liked them last year, so why wouldn’t we like them this year? Danny is getting better and better, and we all know what Seba does for us is amazing. He does so much more than what you see in the stat sheet.”

More on “Where’s Michael Orozco Fiscal.” After Hercules Gomez tweeted he was watching Monday’s Gold Cup match between Honduras and Guatemala “with my boy Orozco. (yes, Orozco ex of Philly, SL, US Olympian),” Soccer Insider’s Steven Goff of the Washington Post tweeted on Tuesday “Yet another American surfaces at Pachuca: Michael Orozco Fiscal” with a link to an article on the website Criterio. The article says that Orozco Fiscal has joined Jamal Johnson and DaMarcus Beasley on trial at Pachuca. “For Orozco, Pachuca is in talks with the leaders of San Luis, (team owner of the player’s federative rights) to reach an agreement, either on loan or short sale.” The article describes Orozco Fiscal’s limbo status as the result of “administrative mismanagement.” (You can read a crappy translation here.) In an article published today at the same website, Orozco Fiscal says he is feeling “confident” and encouraged by his trial at Pachuca and that he has experienced “a very ‘complicated career, since being dismissed by the U.S. team,’ floated ‘without a definite future in football.'” (You can read a crappy translation here.) The article concludes that terms could be reached between San Luis and Pachuca as early as today.

Villanova football at PPL Park nonsense update: The Nova Blog says the recently announced plans to expand PPL Park’s capacity, described in an article in Tuesday’s Inquirer, are a “Positive Sign For Villanova Football,” although the blog notes, “incredibly, there isn’t a single mention of Villanova and the impact it could have on the Big East expansion dilemma in the article.” The VU Hoops blog says the Union’s plans “have little to do with Villanova’s proposed football move to the Big East, however, and their motivation has been the near-sell out crowds they have been drawing to the Chester facility in their second season.” That is correct. Hey, Villanova: We don’t want you.

Richter with City Islanders on Saturday. Photo: Courtesy of Harrisburg City Islanders

Local

Ryan Richter was on loan to Harrisburg City Islanders for their 1–0 win over Charleston Battery, but will not be with them for tonight’s match against Dayton.

Here’s a look at how former Union player JT Noone is doing at Harrisburg City Islanders.

Vincent Mickle, a sometime volunteer girls soccer coach at Lighthouse Soccer Club, has pleaded guilty to “sex-related charges involving six teenage girls he courted via Internet social networking sites for sexual liaisons.” Mickle did not assault any of the girls he coached. May he rot in hell.

MLS

Oh, those poor Energy Drinks supporters, apparently people are showing up to games wearing New York Cosmos jerseys. This blogger writes, “Those fans are not welcome in the Supporters Section of the arena during Red Bulls matches.”

Saturday’s Union opponents Real Salt Lake play Columbus tonight. Here’s a head-to-head preview.

Kansas City will play in its new stadium for the first time on Saturday in their first home game of the season. Currently sporting (get it?) a 1–6–3 record, co-owner Cliff Illig wonders if, “Well geez, maybe we should have sprinkled a [home] game or two in there.”

US

The USMNT ho-hummed their way to a 2–0 win over Canada in their first Gold Cup group stage match. You can read player ratings MLSsoccer.com, SI and Soccer America. The US faces Panama on Saturday at 8pm.

Soccer Soap Box says the country’s bounty of soccer specific stadiums ought to be used for Gold Cup matches rather than temporary turf injury disasters in the making like Detroit’s Ford Field.

With the USMNT in the Gold Cup and the USWNT in the World Cup, Jeff Kassouf wonders if 2011 could be the most important year in the history of US soccer. “Probably not,” Ed Farnsworth answers.

US Soccer president Sunil Gulati admitted during a halftime interview at the USA v Spain debacle that he had voted for Sepp Blatter in the recent election for president of FIFA. When Saturday Comes thanked him for saying what other football administrators merely think: “I don’t think taking the moral high ground is the right thing to do.” WSC continued,

“It’s only fair to provide more context, but that context doesn’t make Gulati look anything more than a gutless bureaucrat with the rhetorical cogency of a stammering boy caught playing pocket billiards in church by the Mother Superior. ‘We didn’t think it made sense to abstain,’ said Gulati, ‘and we decided to vote for president Blatter.’ President Blatter? Let’s just call him His Excellency and be done with it.”

If only we could be.

Elsewhere

Jonathan Wilson’s brainy excellence is once again on display in this tactical review of the 2010-2011 season. “This was a season in which club football asserted its primacy, and the false nine came from the periphery into the mainstream.”

Remember the Qatar whistleblower that FIFA said it would question about allegations of corruption in the 2022 World Cup bid on the part of Qatari officials? Turns out FIFA won’t talk to him after all “because the worker made unacceptable demands,” including witness protection. Is it any wonder than that Sepp Blatter says he won’t initiate a probe into the corruption allegations? “I don’t know why we should open something because somebody has said something towards Qatar,” Blatter said. “If this committee of solutions or the ethics committee have the impression that they should do something then let them take the decisions.” “Blatter,” the new byword for leadership.

As many as 18 of the 25 Caribbean Football Union member federations have refused a summons by FIFA to answer questions as part of the investigation of bribery allegations made by American CONCACAF member Chuck Blazer. One federation chairman claims, “The investigation is tainted and biased and clearly has a US-driven agenda. I write to expose what can now be confirmed as attempts at intimidation and terrorisation by forces who wish to divide and destroy the 30-year history of the CFU.” Blazer says, “To say there is an American conspiracy is nonsense. The only things that were American in this were the 100-dollar bills.” FIFA has hired the agency founded by former FBI director Louis Freeh to conduct the investigation, which some of the CFU members see as part of a FUFA/USA conspiracy.

Bill Archer weighs in on the CONCACAF/CFU looniness with his usual entertaining bluntness.

Kerith Gabriel cries foul on FIFA’s decision to disqualify the Iranian women’s team from an Olympic qualifier because wearing head scarves is against FIFA’s dress code.