Daily news roundups / Featured

News for a slow Thursday

Photo: Earl Gardner

Philadelphia Union

Not much (publicly) going on in Union land. Hey Union, please sign someone for us to get excited about like right now. You have until 5pm today before the pre-Re-Entry Process trade blackout descends. (Per the Goalkeeper, “There will be a second blackout period from 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, December 13 until the second draft stage ends the next day.”)

The Daily Doop answers some fan questions about why the Pfeffer loan is good for him and youth vs. experience on the roster.

In the positional rankings for center backs at Soccer America, Carlos Valdes comes in at No. 15. “In a tumultuous Philly season Carlos Valdes took over as team captain and fought through burnout once called up by Colombia.”

Union Dues has a long, angst-filled review of the 2012 season.

The list of 76 things Philadelphia Magazine loves about Philly that has the Sons of Ben at No. 14 is now available online.

Speaking of the Sons of Ben, checkout their new online store.

Is it 2013 yet?

Local

Drexel Dragons defender Melissa Chapman has been named to NSCAA All Mid-Atlantic Region first team while goalkeeper Eve Badana has received third team honors. St. Joseph’s midfielder Mo Hawkins has been named to the All Mid-Atlantic second team.

MLS

Don Garber made the league’s first public pitch for the proposed stadium in Queens on Tuesday. The New York Times, The New York Daily News, CapitalNewYork.com, BigAppleSoccer.com, SBI, MLSsoccer.com, and US Soccer Players have reports. SBI says, “Dubbed a ‘town hall,’  the closely controlled event felt more like a pep rally. Questions from the audience were only accepted in written form even though the overwhelming majority were there to support the project.” The Daily News reports that opponents to the plan say they were shut out of the meeting.

Here’s a profile of the Borough Boys, the supporters group that has been lobbying for a NYC team since 2007.

Montreal traded Josh Gardner to Kansas City for a second round draft pick.

The New York Times has a list of five American players who could leave MLS to play overseas.

More Kaka gaga from MLSsoccer.com and Sporting News. Is it 2013 yet?

Calen Carr, who scored for Houston in the MLS Cup Final before being subbed out with an injury? Turns out the injury was a torn ACL.

Women’s Soccer

FC Kansas City, one of the eight teams in the new women’s professional league, have announced the hiring of Vlatko Andonovski as head coach and Huw Williams as assistant coach. During his playing career, Andonovski was played for Philadelphia KiXX.

An overview of background and developments related to the new professional league at SBI has this quote from Abby Wambach on how to ensure its survival: “Find richer owners, I’m not kidding. There is one reason why the MLS survived is because they had really deep pockets in some of their owners.”

Elsewhere

Here’s Footy on the Telly for TV and online listings of today’s Europa League games.

Lionel Messi is back to training after suffering a knee injury that saw him stretchered off the field in Wednesday’s Champions League match against Benfica.

It looks like Fox will be broadcasting Eredivisie games. They’ll need something once NBC takes over Premiership broadcasts.

Speaking of the Eredivisie, FC Twente midfielder Leroy Fer spent £22,000 on a horse for his girlfriend. He then remembered that she lives several stories up in an apartment in the middle of a city.

Is it 2013 yet?

 

2 Comments

  1. Jeremy Lane says:

    Dutch league games on Fox? I’m all for that. I’d also like to see a lot more Bundesliga and Ligue 1 coverage on on US airwaves, though. German soccer is almost always worth watching, especially.

  2. James "4-3-3" Forever says:

    Valdes at 15? Wow. Surely thats the most underrated Ive ever seen him.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*