Photo: Paul Rudderow
Philadelphia Union
While the Union were off this weekend, they fell to seventh place thanks to other results in the Eastern Conference.
Opinion about having a week off seems to vary somewhat among the players. While Zac MacMath said having time off to re-energize and regroup “is great,” Sheanon Williams said, “To be honest, it kind of sucks because everyone wants to get out there and play. We’re coming off a game in which we should have won and it got away from us. Now having to wait, we just want to get back out there and start playing again.”
Kevin Kinkead notes that the Union have a 7-3-2 all-time record in games played after a bye week.
Following Amobi Okugo’s place at No. 8, Jack McInerney comes in at No. 4 in MLSsoccer.com’s “24 Under 24” list. One of the descriptions of him says, “Jack is a special player that we don’t have many of in this country…He’s got stuff that you can’t teach. He’s just got a knack for the goal.” Anyone else shaking their head that Sheanon Williams didn’t make the list?
In case you’re wondering, Darlington Nagbe was No. 1 on the list.
Okugo and Michael Farfan talk to Kelly Huth at The Express-Times about their involvement in CoachUp, an online service in which youth players can hire professional players for individualized coaching.
The Philadelphia Union Academy teams had another successful weekend. On Saturday morning, the U-18s defeated New Jersey Soccer Academy 1-0. Later that afternoon, the U-16s defeated NJSA 2-1. After that, the U-14s trounced the Soccer Association of Columbia 5-0.
At the Inquirer, Paul Tierney looks at the new YSC Academy.
In a rather weak list of the top 5 MLS jerseys at US Soccer Players, the Union third kit comes in at No. 5, although the number of backhanded compliments in the write up might make you wonder why. The Red Bulls away kit at No. 1? Hilarious.
Local
At Philly.com, Jonathan Tannenwald talks to New Hope native, Council Rock North graduate, Reading United captain, Georgetown senior forward, and Hermann Trophy semifinalist Steve Neumann. Asked if he would like to play for the Union, Neumann replied, “Yeah, definitely. My dad has had season tickets to the Union for the last three years, so I’ve gone to many Union games. I’ve been training under Brendan Burke at Reading United, which has put me in close with the Union. So I’d definitely welcome the opportunity to come to Philadelphia. I’ve always dreamed of playing professional sports in Philadelphia. I grew up as a huge Philadelphia sports fan, so that would be a dream come true. But I’ll keep my options open and I’ll be happy with whatever comes.”
MLS
In Eastern Conference play, New York (51 points) remains in first place with the 1-0 win on Sunday courtesy of a Dallas own goal. Sporting Kansas City (48 points) moves into second place after defeating ninth place Toronto (23 points), 2-1. Montreal (45 points) falls to third place after losing 3-0 at home to Vancouver. Houston (43 points) remains in fourth place after defeating Chivas USA, 5-1. New England (40 points) moves into fifth place with a controversial 2-1 win over last place DC (15 points). Chicago (39 points) drops to sixth place after losing 3-0 to eighth place Columbus (38 points) in a game that also saw Bakary Soumare receive a red card. The Union (39 points) drop to seventh place in their bye week.
US
During halftime at the LA v Seattle game on Saturday, Jurgen Klinsmann was asked if the US can win the 2014 World Cup. He replied, “No, you’ve got to be realistic. I mean, I think we have the potential, obviously like in the past, to get out of the group stage – it depends, obviously, who you have in your group – and then it’s all down to 50-50 games. Then you give the real battles in the knockout stage…But why not going a bit further than you ever did before? Why not giving the big nations, whoever that is, a real battle? And that’s why we play those friendlies in Italy or we play in Bosnia or wherever against top teams in the world, and we showed that we can compete there. So why not in the World Cup?”
Jozy Altidore will have a new coach at Sunderland after Paolo Di Canio is sacked.
The USWNT will host New Zealand in San Francisco on Oct. 27 and in Columbus on Oct. 30. So far it looks like neither game will be televised.
US hopes for a quarterfinal appearance at the Beach Soccer World Cup ended with 2 extra time goals from host country Tahiti, the US losing 5-3. They face the UAE in their final group game today (10 pm, ESPN3).
In recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month, US Soccer has a look at the Hispanic influence on the American game.
Elsewhere
Reuters reports, “El Salvador have banned 14 international footballers for life for match-fixing, including some of their best-known and most experienced players. One other player was given an 18-month ban, two were suspended for six months, one was acquitted while four more face further investigation, the country’s football federation (FESFUT) president Carlos Mendez told a news conference on Friday.”
Among the former MLS players on the banned list are former DC United winger Christian Castillo, ex-Chivas USA loanee Osael Romero, ex-New York Red Bull Alfredo Pacheco, and former San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Ramón Sánchez.
Officials in Qatar are convinced they can host the 2022 World Cup in summer. “If the international football community asks us to move the timetable for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, we are able to do so, but the development and implementation of environmentally-friendly cooling technologies remains an important legacy issue for our nation, region and many countries with similar climates…Creating comfortable conditions for public areas, walkways, training pitches and stadiums both during and after the World Cup means being able to play and watch football matches in summer throughout the country.”
Playing Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, Barcelona lost the possession battle for the first time since May 7, 2008, some 317 games. They still won 4-0.
Any list of best uniforms that doesn’t include Kansas City’s home kit is basically invalid.
And the corollary to this rule: Any list of best uniforms that includes any of the New Jersey Red Bulls unis is also invalid.
Is Steve Neumann eligible to be a hometown signing? I’m sure like everything else related to MLS roster rules, there are all kinds of clauses and conditions – some of which aren’t even made up yet.
No he is not eligible just like Andrew Wenger.
Everytime I read about some signing who may see the pitch in 2019 instead of the next week, I die a little on the inside.
Sorry to hear so much of your insides are dead…
Thanks John.
It’s real tough to get excited with “wait til next year”. It’s impossibly tough when the hope is “he’s the best 9th grader we could sign”.
I’m OK with “wait til next year” as long as it’s not a perpetual loop. That is, you can’t tell me, “Wait til next year” this year, then suck hard next year and tell me the same thing.
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Also, progress while saying it helps. See the Phillies this year, with Asche, Brown, and Ruf all giving promise for next year after the miserable season they’ve had.
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The Union certainly need to keep an eye on the future. But as a senior in college, Neumann shouldn’t be a “future” thing. He’s gotta play after he’s signed. And we need to start seeing Hernandez, Pfeiffer, and McLaughlin on the field at PPL. It’s great Hernandez and McLaughlin got a ton of playing time in Harrisburg, but they need to play with the big boys now.
“And we need to start seeing Hernandez, Pfeiffer, and McLaughlin on the field at PPL.”
Not to sound snarky, but why? The Union’s starting age at the start of the season was 22 (before Nikolov presumably). I know there is this rush to send Brian Carroll out to pasture, and Casey and Parke are veterans, but this team already lacks the polish of teams like RBNY and MTL. We mock them for all the senior citizens they deploy, but we also seem to be looking way up at them in the standings. Maybe getting younger isn’t the answer.
Because that’s how you fulfill that promise of home grown signings and “wait til next year” mantra. If they want fans to get excited about home grown signings, those players need to, at some point, at least make the 18 on a regular basis and get time as a sub here and there. It’s been almost 3 years since Pfeiffer signed, for example. That needs to start showing value to fans – at least in my opinion.
Wait until next year is fine but next year never seems to come. A lot of our young players seem stalled and we keep trading them away for a new batch of next years.
Not surprised about the Di Canio firing after he went out on the field and spoke with the fans after the loss Saturday.
That was the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. He’s a cartoon character that guy.