Daily news roundups

Schalke, symptoms, emergencies and more

Photo & Video: Nicolae Stoian

Join PSP’s Eli Pearlman-Storch for a live chat direct from PPL Park tonight from 7:15pm.

Union v Schalke friendly

At Tuesday’s press conference, Schalke manager Huub Stevens said, “We’re here with a strong team, the strongest team we can have right now, guys like Raul, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jermaine Jones. If they feel good enough they’ll play. It’s just another way for us to cap off the season.”

The consensus among Union players seems to be that tonight’s friendly is a good opportunity to work on problems ahead of Sunday’s game against New York.

Sheanon Williams assures everyone that just because the game is a friendly doesn’t mean it won’t be competitive. “Schalke is a really good team, and they did really well in Germany. Some of their bigger players will be out there, and I’m sure they’re not gong to want to lose, just like we won’t want to lose. So it’ll definitely be competitive, and both teams will be wanting to work on some stuff and get a good result.”

Peter Nowak said that Danny Califf, Chris Albright and Zac MacMath would all be rested against Schalke and that Freddy Adu and Gabriel Gomez might be rested. MacMath is listed in Tuesday’s injury report as having concussion symptoms. Whether he will start against New York is unknown but Nowak said Chase Harrison would start tonight against Schalke.

Nowak also said that friendlies are an opportunity to gain experience on and off the field. “It’s a chance to see where we are and what we need. Discussions not only on the field, but off the field, about the structure, about youth development, about the game. Getting things that we will need to make our soccer game in the United States develop. It’s good to invite them.”

Nowak also said Schalke was the team that his father supported, which is kind of touchingly cool.

Jermaine Jones said at the press conference that he expects more German clubs will be coming to the US. “Since several American players are in the Bundesliga and with Klinsmann as national team coach, I definitely see more of a connection there and the possibility for German teams coming here.”

In case you missed it in yesterday’s roundup, here’s a scouting report on Schalke.

Kerith Gabriel reports regarding the Raul rumors, “The biggest offer is for a reported $12 million to play in Qatar and a job as a ambassador in advance of the 2022 World Cup in that country.” So, no Raul then, right?

Bundesliga spokesperson Joerg Daubitzer says of Schalke’s trip to PPL Park, “The presence of Bundesliga teams abroad is an important part of our marketing strategies. We don’t want to transport the Bundesliga via the media alone, we want the fans to experience it directly.”

Describing Schalke’s visit as the start of the summer touring season, US Soccer Players looks at the importance of tours by European clubs to MLS. “Marquee European clubs squaring off in a North American city somewhere near you is now expected. It’s part of the North American game, an opportunity to see in person what is normally reserved only for television.”

The Union has donated 1,000 tickets to the game to Chester city employees, firefighters and police officers, and also gave away tickets to the Chester City United soccer program.

The title says “Why I’m Not Going to the Schalke Game” but the 2,000+ words of copy in the piece at the Brotherly Game can by briefly summarized as (A.) the author prefers the Premiership to the Bundesliga; (B.) the author thinks PPL’s location isn’t convenient; (C.) the author thinks the game is meaningless. To each his/her own.

Philadelphia Union

Peter Nowak said at Tuesday’s press conference that anytime you start a season with three losses it’s a state of emergency.

We also have video of Kai Herdling talking at Tuesday’s press conference via an interpreter.

More power rankings! At SBI, the Union drop from No. 13 to No. 15 while at SI it is a two spot drop to No. 15. At ProSoccerTalk, they are at No. 16.

In the latest Union Sound podcast, friend of the PSP and all around embodiment of awesomeness Gordon has Zach Pfeffer as his guest.

The Brotherly Game recaps Saturday’s loss in Seattle.

New York Watch

Rafa Marquez is eligible to play for New York against the Union on Sunday after serving his three match suspension for breaking Shea Salinas’ collarbone but Hans Backe is being coy about whether he will.

The Sports Network looks at how New York’s young players have stepped up admirably as high profile players are unavailable through suspension or injury.

Local

Area boys and girls soccer players will well represented at the upcoming US National Team U-14 boys (May 13-20) and girls (May 27-June 3) development camps at the Home Depot Center.

Among the boys named are goalkeepers Kevin Silva (PDA; Bethlehem, Pa.) and Andrew Verdi (FC DELCO; Ivyland, Pa.); defender Daniel Barbir (PDA; Allentown, Pa.); midfielders Matthew Olosunde (New York Red Bulls; Trenton, N.J.), Christian Pulisic (PA Classics; Hershey, Pa.); and forweard Dawson McCartney (FC DELCO; Voorhees, N.J.)

Among the girls named are goalkeeper Evangeline Soucie (PDA; Holland Township School); defender Jaylyn Thompson (PDA; Voorhees, N.J.); midfielders Jlon Flippens (FC Delco; Philadelphia, Pa.), Shea Moyer (FC Revolution; Wyomissing Pa.), Jessica Shanahan (NJSA Highland Fusion; Mullica Hill, N.J.), Nicole Whitley (PDA; Freehold, N.J.), and Frankie Tagliaferri (PDA; Keyport, N.J.); and forward Amirah Ali (Winslow Soccer Club; Voorhes, N.J.).

A report tonight on NBC about the dangers of concussion to youth athletes begins with 14-year-old Caitlin Murphy, who lives in the Philly suburbs, as its starting point. Chester Spring’s Allison Kasacavage has already suffered 5 concussions playing soccer even though she is only 15. She talks about dealing with the injuries in this report.

MLS

Following a pre-sale to Union season ticket holders, All-Star game tickets went on sale today at 10am to the general public.

Seattle’s Leo González has been suspended one game for stomping on Sheanon Williams.

The league’s Disciplinary Committee also overturned the red card issued to New England’s Fernando Cardenas, a first since the implementation of the new appeals process. Goal.com looks at the implications.

SB Nation says the league’s TV ratings have a long way to go and only you can do something about it.

Brad Knighton is looking forward to his first home start for Vancouver on Saturday.

Here’s an infographic comparing the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS in categories such as payroll, attendance, revenue, ticket prices and so forth.

Women’s Soccer

US

The USMNT remains at No. 29 in the latest FIFA world rankings, second in CONCACAF.

Sporting News talks to Sacha Kljestan, who just won the league championship in Belgium with Anderlecht, about what it means to be an American and an MLSer playing in Europe.

Tim Ream talks about his move to Bolton in this interesting interview.

ProSoccerTalk rounds up Jurgen Klinsmann’s comments about the upcoming World Cup qualifiers training camp from Tuesday’s Q&A on Twitter.

Tuesday’s article about German teams that played in Philadelphia.

Elsewhere

The Italian football federation has announced that 22 clubs and 61 people—including 52 active players—are under investigation in yet another match-fixing and betting scandal.

American businessman Bill Miller has withdrawn his bid to buy Rangers. He said in a statement that “he was dismayed by hostility from fans unhappy with the prospect of foreign ownership and that the 140-year-old club’s financial situation is worse than he initially thought.”

Brazil and FIFA have made up.

16 Comments

  1. Earl Gardner says:

    Regarding the Brotherly Game article, you forgot to mention D) The author doesn’t enjoy live sporting events, so he probably could stop writing after the first paragraph.

    • and E) He isn’t one of those who would call what Barca do “entertaining.” That really gets my goat–always seems to be “exclusively” EPL fans that take shots at Barca like that. Has he (Have they) ever seen anything from Barca aside from Messi highlights and games against Chelsea in the last four years??

    • The Bundesliga is my favorite European league. There is great parity, great crowd fun soccer. EPL snobs kinda rub me the wrong way.

  2. I like how that second link – “The consensus among Union players” – takes you to where you can purchase ASG tickets. Sneaky ninja style clandestine ish right there. 😉

  3. And the more I think about it the more miserable the location of PPL is. XfinityLive is a fantastic venue and could you imagine PPL in that lot as well?

    • Paul Goings says:

      I can imagine endless gridlock and the competition for parking with the other sports teams… No, wait, I don’t have to imagine that; I’ve seen it when we’ve played at the Linc before, and I’m glad that we don’t have to deal with it week after week!

      • -nickt.- says:

        have you driven to ppl before?! or parked in one of those lots?!

      • -nickt.- says:

        there’s also this thing called the subway. it rules for getting in and out of there quickly and cheaply.

    • Wow, the team must be horrendous when folks are resorting to complaints about Seaport Drive’s location …

      • Ed Farnsworth says:

        And another thing, what’s with Seaport Drive?!? I mean, c’mon, what kind of name is that?

  4. Love Huup Stevens speaking German with his Dutch accent. And how about Jermaine Jones; why does he need the good looking translator?! Is his English that bad?

    Looking forward to tonight! Hope they will be serving Knackwurst to go down nicely with my Becks (if they still have Becks; last time they did not have the big Becks bottles at my favorite vendor. Hope they just ran out …).

  5. John Harkes has taken over from Giorgio at the Sirius/XM Football Show. Here is Harkes’ supergoal from 1990 playing for Sheffield Wednesday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_is9XU2yeA

  6. -nickt.- says:

    love how williams reassures us about shalke being up for the match. i’m more worried about the union being competition for them.

  7. Christopher Unglaub says:

    Although concussions usually are caused by a blow to the head, they can also occur when the head and upper body are violently shaken. These injuries can cause a loss of consciousness, but most concussions do not. Because of this, some people have concussions and don’t realize it. “‘-‘

    Most interesting blog post on our blog http://homelifestyledigest.com/index.php

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