Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Union

Paunovic or Dax McCarty? Who would you take? New York dispatched with a high-priced, moody and inconsistent veteran offensive player (Dwayne “Tiny Dancer” de Rosario) and received Dax McCarty in return. The best part of this trade? The Union have a chance to beat Sucky McSuckerson three times this season.

The Boston Globe has a good idea for Bob Bradley: Less Bornstein, more Sheanomenon!

Going to the Union match against Everton? Get there early and watch the reserves play. Gates open at 3:30pm for a 4 o’clock match.

Quotes from Saturday’s win

Carlos Valdes

“A very difficult game. We weren’t expecting a team that was going to ask so much of us. But fortunately the team did what they have to do and we got the result.”

On his impressive forward runs: “That’s always a part of me. Because I’m new to this country, people are unfamiliar with me and unfamiliar with my game but that’s something I’ve always had in the back of my bag.”

Jack McInerney

On his pass to Le Toux inside the six: “I definitely wanted to shoot it but I heard Seba screaming like crazy and I cut in and I saw space in front of him and I laid it off for him and it wasn’t too good of a layoff, it was right between his feet. But if I could do it again I’d definitely shoot it with my left foot.”

On the longest shot he’s every scored from: “I’ve scored a couple over half field. Those are just chips when the keeper is out off the kickoff. A rip? Probably top of the circle.”

On his confidence: “Definitely as I keep playing and don’t score, confidence is going down but I’ll keep taking my chances and eventually one will go in for me.”

Danny Mwanga

On his goal: “Before I even got to the spot I was able to look over my shoulder and saw the defender wasn’t going to come to me. It was a hard ball to control so I trapped the ball and it was trying to go away from me so I had to set it up and try not to rush.”

On his role as a sub: “For me, personally, especially games like this, I’m just trying to come right away and be one of the guys that scores or have an assist.”

On motivation: “For me, I have my own motivation. It’s God. Every time I go on the field I do my prayer. I ask god to be in front of me and I think that’s what happened.”

On the US Gold Cup loss: “I’m a little disappointed. Especially in a final when you’re up two-zero. We should have done a little better and tried to keep that lead and manage that game. To be honest, I’m disappointed.”

Carlos Ruiz

On his role with the Union: “Well, Philadelphia brings me to this team to make some type of difference. We are trying to be better than last year. We are trying to make history and make the playoffs.”

On his style of play: “I am 31 years old. I am a little bit old for this. I have a lot of experience. That’s my type of the game. Feel the defender, trying to run at his back. That’s why I play in this position. You never stop learning. I always work hard every game and every practice to be a much better player.”

On his first touch: “That’s a rule. The first touch is the most important touch you can have when you play forward. You have to use your body. Maybe that’s what I did when I scored. Try to have a touch and use my body.”

Peter Nowak

On the first half: “In many situations we try to push the ball through the defenders too fast. There were always four, five guys running and the ball was intercepted and there was a big hole in the middle. We need to make an adjustment to make sure that they are not gonna find those holes through the midfield. There’s four guys here, five guys there and Brian Carroll running all over with the defenders. We were stretched too far from each other. We are looking to find the right formula for how we are going to play and who is going to play. Now is the time we are going to try different combinations.”

On using Danny Mwanga as a sub: “I want everybody to start. I have only 11 spots. That’s the main point. As you all know, Danny has been with little injuries all week and little knocks. It’s a long week and a physical week and physical games and we all forget that he’s still a 20 year old kid who wants more.”

On making halftime subs: “I think there are both that you need to consider. The tactical and also the fresh new blood, the new physical aspect as well. We discussed this and we made the decision to switch a little bit the stuff. We get a little bit more offensive side on the turn. We need to find a fresh look after the first half. You can see that Keon and Danny brought a lot of good energy to us and then Naka when we need to shut things down a little bit and make sure we still in a good position to go forward. These guys start to get what we want from them and it looks promising going forward.”

U.S.

Sporting Lisbon were so impressed with Oguchi Onyewu’s Gold Cup performance (i.e. not being Tim Ream) that they look ready to take the American defender off of AC Milan’s hands.

JP Dellacamera thinks Eric Lichaj may be an answer at left back and that Freddy Adu is back in the mix when World Cup qualifying starts.

Former Philadelphia Independence right back (and KYW/PSP podcast guest) Heather Mitts is finally going to her first World Cup. I mean this in the best possible way when I say that in person Mitts looks like a viper: Small, dangerous and… actually I just kept thinking dangerous. She must be to be so small and so dominant, right?

SI believes that this US World Cup team needs to find its identity if it wants to take down the two-time defending champs.

Is anyone surprised that nobody in front of Steve Cherundelo made the best eleven for the U.S. team? All the way to the final on the backs of Cherundelo and Tim Howard. Yeesh.

Misc.

This is just another dumb story about Cesc Fabregas maybe or maybe not going to Barcelona. But I really wish it was a The Onion headline.

In the ridiculous excuses category, a Russian man was cleared of racial abuse after he blamed the crush of other fans and an urge to snack for why he was waving a banana at Roberto Carlos.

As an unapologetic Djibril Cisse superfan, I am helpless against the lure of linking to his teary farewell address to Panathinaikos fans… at a bar, of course.

Match-fixing scandal in South Korea. The giveaway was that every team kept putting Jonathan Bornstein in late in games.