Photo courtesy of Greg Carroccio and the Philadelphia Union
Union
The newest edition of the features an interview with Freddy Adu.
Ives Galarcep has an informative piece on Adu loaded with great quotes. Adu says of his reception at PPL last Saturday, “I knew people were excited about me coming to Philly because of Twitter messages, but it was amazing to see it in person. It brought back memories of when I first came in the league. It was great.”
It’s not all love when it comes to the Adu signing. Says Unholy Union, “Adu’s inclusion is going to be seen as a distraction and a disruption.”
In a piece at MLSsoccer.com noting the reliance of the Union on converted midfielders to provide defensive depth, Danny Califf says, “It’s certainly an area we can use a little more depth. But Stefani has come in and done a great job. Michael Farfan has come in and done a great job. So I’m not so worried about it. I don’t think it’s a make-or-break situation. I think it would be nice, but at the end of the day, we’ve got the guys that can fill in and do a good job.”
Peter Nowak’s presence on Twitter is yielding some familiarly cryptic comments as well as some entertainingly pithy tweets. When asked if the Union were still pursuing any players, Nowak tweeted, “you never know until the rosters are all set Sept.15.”
Zach Pfeffer—along with Alecko Eskandarian— gets a three minute interview on NBC Philadelphia, and that is very cool.
When the Union travel to Columbus this weekend, they will be playing the team with the lowest attendance in the league.
In this week’s power rankings roundup, the Union moves up one spot to sixth at MLSsoccer.com, holds steady at seventh at Soccer America and SBI, moves up one spot to seventh at Goal.com, and holds steady at eighth at ESPN.
Sebastien Le Toux gets an honorable mention in MLSsoccer.com’s Best XI for Week 22.
Independence
While tonight’s first-round playoff match between Boston Breakers and magicJack will be broadcast by FSC, Saturday’s semifinal match at PPL Park—the one that will determine who will play in the Championship Final on August 27 against WNY Flash— between the Independence and the winner of tonight’s game will not be broadcast live in the Philadelphia area. Of course you don’t want to wait for the tape-delayed broadcast at 11pm on CSN—buy your ticket to the game now!
Speaking of magicJack, the Washington Post has a fascinating article that includes some of the text of the emails that are part of the basis of the WPS Players’ Union case against magicJack owner Dan Borislow that show him in all of his megalomaniacal glory.
While WPS enjoyed an attendance surge following the Women’s World Cup, overall attendance has declined, dropping from 4,684 in 2009 to 3,601 in 2010 and then 3,518 in 2011. For the Independence, the 2010 average was 2,867, down to 2,775 in 2011.
Local
Philly.com has tales from a local youth soccer coach.
MLS
Soccer America says the new DP rules slight home-based talent.
LA Galaxy topped Honduran side Motagua 2–0 in their opening match in the CONCACAF Champions League. A ten-men Seattle Sounders thumped Guatemalan-side CSD Comunicaciones 4–1.
Eddie Johnson is reportedly heading back to MLS.
US
SI has a comprehensive look at American’s abroad and how they may get a better look from the USMNT now that Jurgen Klinsmann is in charge.
Elsewhere
The Shin Guardian has an excellent piece on the European Club Association and and the challenge it presents to both UEFA and FIFA.
The Spanish players’ union is set to proceed with a planned strike on Saturday.
On the heels of the news that the FBI is investigating the US CONCACAF representative and garden gnome model Chuck Blazer and that Brazilian FA president Ricardo Teixeira is being investigated for misplacing $5.7 million that was supposedly used to promote a friendly back in 2008, the corruption watchdog Transparency International says FIFA is being run “like an old boys’ network” and should limit terms for senior officials, set up an independent group to clear up anti-corruption allegations and “embrace transparency.”
The Court of Arbitration for Sport says that the appeals of three FIFA members banned after last year’s World Cup bid votes for bribes scandal will be delayed until at least October because of “legal submissions.”
The opening game of this year’s FA Cup between non-league sides Ascot United and Wembley FC will be broadcast live on Facebook. This first of its kind broadcast is brought to you by Budweiser, the tournament’s new sponsor.
According to Goff, it sounds like only 1 team agreed to the $$ amounts EJ wanted, so the deal to come back stateside might be off. https://twitter.com/#!/SoccerInsider
News from various sources later in the day is that the deal is off with MLS suggesting EJ reneged on whatever deal was being considered. Seems he wanted more money. At least that’s what MLS wants everyone to believe. Other sources are saying EJ never agreed to a deal. #kerfuffle.
This is exactly what I was searching for, many thanks