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Report says Adu flying to Brazil to ink deal, honors for Parke & Mac, USMNT roster reaction, more

Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Philadelphia Union

Ives Galarcep reports, “Sources tell SBI that [Freddy] Adu is set to travel to Brazil on Tuesday, where he will complete the signing that will put an end to his time with the Union after less than two years with the club.”

Two questions stand out in the latest Inside Doop at CSN Philly: Why didn’t Roget Torres get the nod when Danny Cruz had to leave Saturday’s game in the seventh minute, and will Hackworth continue to stick with the 4-4-2 (although didn’t he switch to a 4-3-3 in the lead-up to the goal)?

Speaking of Cruz, Kerith Gabriel reports in the latest Daily Doop, “He is scheduled to undergo further evaluation by the Union’s training staff this week.”

For the Union, the early start to the MLS season has meant some nasty weather. John Hackworth said after Saturday’s win,

Right now, I’m happy about it because I’m sitting on six points after three games. So I’m not going to complain about the weather, although my toes are still frozen. I will say, in talking with other coaches around the league, it’s hard for everybody. It affects how you train. It affects your preparation. It affects some of the quality of play out there.

Amobi Okugo joked, “[H]opefully we can keep getting bad weather if we’re going to keep getting wins.”

More reaction to Saturday’s win from Zolo Times, and David Murphy’s PUB.

Jack McInerney came in second in the voting for the Top Three Performer of the Week at MLSsoccer.com.

Jeff Parke was named to ProSoccerTalk’s Team of the Week.

Power rankings! At Soccer America, the Union jump six spots to No. 6 in the league. At Goal.com, it’s a three spot jump to No. 9 while at ESPN it’s a three spot jump to No. 8. SI moves the Union up one spot to No. 11.

Local

Lehigh Valley United 95 was the Red Division runner-up at the US Youth Soccer National League U-17 championships in Las Vegas over the weekend.

Here’s a report on last week’s “Concussion Conundrum” symposium at Villanova’s School of Law, which included Taylor Twellman, Brian Westbrook, and Keith Primeau.

MLS

At The Guardian, Graham Parker has five things learned from the weekend’s games.

It’s easy to forget that the Union are off this weekend because they have a bye, not because of the the World Cup qualification international dates. At ProSoccerTalk, Steve Davis argues that it is time for the league to not play on FIFA dates.

Following Don Garber’s comments over the weekend about the proposed stadium in Queens, linked to in Monday’s roundup, Gothamist wonders if time is running out for the stadium plan.

The league may say it is not interested in what New York Cosmos are planning, but Shep Messing says it would be foolish for the league not to consider the Cosmos as a potential 20th team. Messing believes the Cosmos will be in MLS within three years.

US

The 23-player roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers was released on Monday.

Reaction to the roster announcement has been decidedly mixed. The roster includes six defenders who have played a total of 12 World Cup qualifiers but does not include longtime captain Carlos Bocanegra. SI’s Grant Wahl writes, “It may well be the end of an era for U.S. Soccer—and a clear roll of the dice by Jurgen Klinsmann.”

Klinsmann said of Bocanegra, “The reason he’s not here is because he’s simply not playing. He’s not getting any minutes with Racing Santander in the second division in Spain, so he has no flow, he has no rhythm, and he understands the situation. Carlos is still in our picture. This is not the end of his National Team career. He understands that right now he’s behind other players.”

Klinsmann said of the recent spate of injuries that affected the roster selection,

There are moments when things just come together and it works in a certain way, but the good thing about it is that whenever someone can come in, it’s a huge opportunity for the one stepping in. We aren’t complaining about the situation. We’re just taking it as it is. Do we wish to have those players back as soon as possible? Absolutely. But it is what it is, and we’re comfortable with this roster and with the guys coming into Denver.”

At Goal.com, Seth Vertelney looks at the opportunity—and challenges—facing Brad Guzan.

MLSsoccer.com, Washington Post, Soccer America, Goal.com, ASN, SBI, plus this Klinsmann quote sheet and reaction to Klinsmann’s comments from ASN.

At ProSoccerTalk, Steve Davis looks at the Costa Rica team the US will face on Friday.

As part of its on-going centennial celebrations, US Soccer’s 100 moments series looks back at Mia Hamm’s hat trick on ESPN in 1997.

Elsewhere

FIFA medical chief Michel D’Hooghe said Monday that abuse of anti-inflammatory medicine by players is a bigger problem for soccer than doping.

Soccer By the Numbers looks at what soccer analytics are and are not.

14 Comments

  1. Good luck to Freddy. I wish him well.

  2. So is Kleberson really more of a holding mid? If so, terrible move. But hey, at least now Hackworth will be able to play that empty bucket he’s been dreaming of!

    • It’s my understanding that Kleb is more of a box-to-box CM, with AM tendencies.

    • Terrible move? Just because we have a bunch of guys there doesn’t mean we can’t improve. That happens to be one of the positions where a DP is most likely to fit it — requires savvy but not speed, necessarily, and two-way players are at a premium. If we’re playing a 4-2-3-1 and we’re not playing Okugo as an “8”, a guy like Kleberson could do the trick. He could also play in the attacking midfield.

  3. I agree with the above good wishes to Freddy; here’s hoping that you find someplace where you are able to feel comfortable.

  4. Interesting factoid. Kleberson was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson and presented to the media on the same day as some other nobody by the name of…Cristiano something-or-other.

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