Daily news roundups

Union to face Dallas in USOC semis, Curtin on playoff numbers, Germany-Argentina WC final set, more

Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

The Union will play FC Dallas on the road on Aug. 12 in the US Open Cup semifinals after Dallas defeated Carolina RailHawks 5-2 in Wednesday night’s quarterfinal game. Chicago defeated Atlanta Silverbacks 3-1, and Seattle defeated Portland 3-1 in extra time, to set up their semifinal meeting in Seattle on Aug. 13.

Interim head coach Jim Curtin said of the Union’s playoff prospects, “Fortunately the East isn’t very strong right now this year, which is helpful. When you look at the table, I think it’ll probably take 45 points maybe, which comes to about 12 [total] wins and 10 [total] ties maybe something in that range to get into the playoffs. We’re running out of games, though, so there is a sense of urgency.”

Sebastien Le Toux said, “Winning is the most important right now.  I don’t think we worry too much about playing well.  Of course we move the ball and stay balanced; we think about winning first and not playing pretty. Our guys have concentrated on doing all that we can to win and over the past couple of weeks it’s worked for us.”

At Delco Times, Matthew De George on the Union offense finding its feet and the role Cristian Maidana has played.

Also at the Delco Times, De George on whether the Union can use US Open Cup success to salvage their season in league play.

14 goals or 17? At Union Tally, De George tries to figure out how many US Open Cup goals Sebastien Le Toux has actually scored. The discrepancy lie in the question of whether goals scored in US Open Cup play-in games count.

In a review of teams’ needs now that the transfer window is open, MLSsoccer.com says the Union need a center back and a left back.

Fabio Cannavaro has been linked to the Union as a possible candidate to become head coach. In a review of World Cup winners and losers, the Guardian says of Cannavaro, who worked for Britain’s ITV as a commentator during the tournament, “ITV achieved the impressive feat of making signing Fabio Cannavaro look dumb, as the Italian’s inability to express himself freely in English created a problem for which his incessant geniality could not compensate.” Yes, being a TV commentator is not the same as being a coach. But, sexy as the prospect of Cannavaro leading the Union might be, the fact that a person with no head coaching experience apparently has difficulty communicating in English is certainly something to think about.

No Union players were selected for the 20-player roster of players that will face the Portland Timbers U-23 team in the Homegrown Game that is part of this year’s All-Star Game festivities. At Philly.com, Jonathan Tannenwald notes that four of the selected players have no MLS minutes and wonders why, at the very least, Zach Pfeffer wasn’t named to the roster.

Pfeffer, along with Union Academy product Zack Steffen and former Hoffenheim teammate and Lancaster native Russell Canouse, will be with the US U-20 team that will face Chile, Bermuda and Australia in the 2014 NTC Invitational Tournament at the National Training Center in Carson, Calif., July 14-18.

The Sons of Ben have released their 23 player roster for River Cup 2014, which will be played on Sept. 6.

At the Daily News, Marcus Hayes on soccer’s growth in the US toward becoming an international soccer power ends with a recommendation to see a Union game.

Local

Goals from Shawn McLaws, Birnis Adames, and Mitch Grotti gave Ocean City Nor’easters a 3-2 road win over FA Euro-NY Magic on Wednesday night. The first four goals of the night were scored between the 9th and 24th minute.

At the Inquirer, Mike Jensen talks to Chestnut Hill resident Alex Seldin about attending the World Cup. Seldin has a number of interesting observations to share about the World Cup, primary among them that US supporters were a large and fun-loving presence. The report also notes, “Seldin has Union season tickets and believes the enthusiasm for the sport would be felt even more locally ‘if the Union weren’t so mediocre.'” Sad but true.

Matt Driver, owner of the Philadelphia Fury and Atlantic City Crusaders in the new American Soccer League, of which he is president, is pleased with the addition of the league’s eighth team, Western Massachusetts Pioneers.

Participants from the University of Pennsylvania figure in this article from the AP about the upcoming RoboCup, the international robot soccer tournament that will take place in Brazil after the World Cup.

At her hometown’s Cincinnati.com, Heather Mitts talks about life after becoming a mom.

Bob Gansler, coach of the 1990 US World Cup team, is at Bloomsberg University this week as part of the NSCAA’s summer residential course.

MLS

Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Eric Kronberg is out two months with a fractured bone in his left hand.

New York Red Bulls have gained local government approval to expand their practice facility with “a new grass practice field with bleachers and field lighting and a new 7,500 square foot building with locker rooms.” It’ll still pale in comparison to the Union’s newly built state-of-the-art, world-class practice facility. Wait, what?

International Business Times says Barcelona veteran Xavi Hernandez is close to signing with New York City FC. More from MLSsoccer.com.

NWSL

No change in the league table after fifth place Chicago drew 1-1 with sixth place Portland on Wednesday night.

US

ESPNW has a profile on Christen Press.

The US Beach Soccer National Team will face Brazil in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino US vs. Brazil Beach Soccer Challenge on Sept. 9. It will be the first time the US Beach Soccer National Team will play in a nationally televised match (7 pm, NBCSN).

Baseel Abdul-Amir Saad, the Detroit-area soccer player accused of killing a referee with a punch to the neck, was charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday. Saad is scheduled to be arraigned today.

Elsewhere

After 120 minutes of scoreless play, Argentina defeated the Netherlands 4-2 on penalty kicks to advance to Sunday’s World Cup final, where they will face Germany at 3 pm.

FIFA has announced the suspension of Nigeria from international football “on account of government interference.” More on the news from CNN.

NASA engineer Rabindra Mehta explains how the aerodynamics of the World Cup ball helps explain why there have been so many goals in this edition of the tournament.

Reuters reports, “With Adidas sponsoring both teams in Sunday’s World Cup final, the German sportswear brand has declared victory over U.S. rival Nike in the latest round of its battle to remain the biggest global soccer brand.”

You will recall that in May Pele’s son Edinho was sentenced to 33 years in prison after being convicted for money laundering. Allowed to remain free while he appeals the ruling, Edinho was arrested by Brazilian police on Tuesday “to prevent him from fleeing the country after he had failed to hand over his passport to the authorities as requested.”

2 Comments

  1. So much for that road trip to Carolina.

  2. Esto es realmente bueno, eres un blogger muy profesional. Me he unido a tu RSS y deseo leer más cosas en este gran blog. Además, !he compartido tu sitio en mis redes sociales!

    Saludos

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