LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders FC: A Play-By-Play (and Other Miscellany)

  T-120 minutes to kickoff: It's a straightforward thing with these Cup matches: win, and your run continues. Lose, and you will be mulling on what could have been.   That's the situation facing the Los Angeles Galaxy as they look to dethrone the Seattle Sounders at the old stomping grounds of the Sounders, the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington.   T-110: There is no doubt that the Galaxy have taken this season series, but Bruce Arena would love to make the sweep complete at Seattle's back yard. The depth of Los Angeles will need to be counted on. Look for Juninho to make his presence felt once again.   T-100: What's a bigger incentive for the Galaxy is that they get a shot at renewing the Honda SuperClasico against Chivas USA if they dispose of the Sounders, who are going through a difficult year. This team may not even come close to making the playoffs. They are out of their league, sinking fast, and it will not be a surprise if the poor form shows up tonight.   T-90: Don't tell that to the Emerald City Supporters, though. They have hope that they can still keep their U.S. Open Cup defense alive against what should be another ...

Chivas USA Wanted It More, Houston Dynamo Eliminated from USOC

The Houston Dynamo fans’ hopes for a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup title would come to a heartbreaking halt at the hands of fellow MLS Western Conference rival Chivas USA. The Goats broke a club spell by winning their first match at Robertson Stadium at the expense of what were undoubtedly the Dynamo reserves. Despite losing the only two league meetings earlier this year against La Naranja , Chivas USA must feel they got the better end of the battle by eliminating the Dynamo from US Open Cup play and will await the winner of the Los Angeles Galaxy-Seattle Sounders FC quarterfinal. Brian Ching may have taken the night off, but one could’ve sworn to see the USA men’s national team habits of giving up early goals on the field as Justin Braun’s header in the fifth minute opened up the scoreboard and gave the visiting Chivas USA the 1-0 lead. Houston Dynamo was forced to play catch up the rest of the evening. Simply by looking at the lineups sent on to the field by their respective managers, it is evident Houston Dynamo sent their reserves to face all but two Chivas USA common starters. Chivas USA flew to Houston ...

No Revolution Here, You Still Get What You Pay For

A quick peek at the comments on the official Revolution Facebook page, the Revolution blog or (if you can handle it) Big Soccer, and it’s clear that there’s a significant amount of (negative) energy floating around the New England Revolution right now. Since I already lobbed my questions toward Mr. Bilello (here and on the Revs Blog), and Mr. Burns (here and on the Revs blog) I decided to let my thoughts settle for a bit around the “damage control” Questions/Answers sessions the front office had offered, and how they went so very wrong. Instead, I decided to follow up on my last post about how Real Salt Lake so easily out-manned the Revolution. Basically, I suggested that RSL was a superior roster in all positions. Admittedly, for someone, who despite the blog-based critiques and criticisms, still considers themselves a Revolution fan, that’s some tough love to dish out. It made me wonder WHY our players didn’t seem up to the task. So I did a bit of playing around with MLS Salary information, and found some interesting bits of information. Of course, if you feel there is no truth whatsoever to the old adage of “you get what you pay for” than stop ...

Mystery Surrounds Seattle Sounders, L.A. Galaxy Contest

Seattle Sounders FC announced today that the Starfire Sports Stadium in Tukwila , Washington has been sold out for Wednesday night’s 7 p.m. Lamar Hunt U.S. Open quarter-final against Western Conference leader Los Angeles Galaxy. Due to the scheduling confluence of ongoing U.S. Open Tournament competition and the MLS the Sounders and Galaxy are meeting twice in a four day period. Sunday night at Home Depot Center in Carson, California, the host L.A. team extended its MLS record to 11-1-3 with a 3-1 win over Seattle. The 36 points achieved by Los Angeles thus far puts the Galaxy a full 9 points above the Columbus Crew, the Eastern Conference pace setter. The Galaxy lead the entire MLS in points, giving them a comfortable position. The Galaxy used recently returned U.S. World Cup stars Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle in Friday's contest. An air of mystery surrounds the decision making of veteran coaches Sigi Schmid of the Sounders and Bruce Arena of the Galaxy. The major question relates to which players will be used and those that will be rested. Following Sunday night’s Galaxy win Arlo White, television commentator for the Sounders, speculated that Landon Donovan would not see action in Tukwila . With the spectacular ...

International Soccer Coaches Convention

If you're a soccer coach, or an aspiring coach, in the New York Area, I recommend you head out to Manhattanville College on Saturday, July 10 for the International Soccer Coaches Convention. This event is hosted by Inside Soccer and the New York Soccer Club.  Coaches from the World's Biggest Clubs, such as Chelsea FC, Real Madrid, Valencia FC, and Stuttgart will be there, teaching you topics for every age group and ability. In addition, US Youth Director Claudia Reyna will be present to answer questions. Breakfast, lunch, and refreshments will be provided. For more information, please go to: http://newyorksoccerclub.clubspaces.com/object.aspx?id=10&o=339963 Cesar Diaz is the Soccer Editor for Latino Sports. Please send him your questions and comments to cesar@latinosports.comRead more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. New England Revolution: The Summer Gauntlet Continues

Well, at least they won't have to deal with Preston Burpo this outing. But after Steve Nicol's New England Revolution imploded in grandiose fashion 5-0 at the hands of Real Salt Lake, goalkeeper Matt Reis may be wondering, "Great. Just great. After Alvaro Saborio, Nicky Rimando and RSL proved why they are the defending MLS Cup champions to date, we get to face these guys next." Cue the mad scientist laughter on Victoria Street. Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy continue their 2010 Major League Soccer campaign with a July 10th contest with the Revolution at Gilette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Currently, with an 11-1-3 (36 points) record, the Galaxy are nine points ahead of Real Salt Lake and the Columbus Crew (although they have one and two games on hand over the LA respectively). As for New England, they sit near the cellar of the standings with a 3-9-2 record, good for fifteenth overall and seventh-best in the MLS Eastern Conference. Yeesh. This has all the makings of a mismatch right here. Or does it? After all, the Revolution look to be out of a place in the postseason, playing only for pride here. Zach ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders: Is Seattle’s Defense Over?

Is their U.S. Open Cup defense over come Wednesday night? That's the dilemma facing manager Sigi Schmid as the Seattle Sounders FC take on the Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington on Wednesday, July 7. Schmid can only hope that the Buddlevan connection of Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan take the night off, allowing the rest of the team to pitch in against a Seattle side that is hoping to take one back from the best team in Major League Soccer. Seattle defeated the Portland Sounders on penalty kicks 4-3 after 120 minutes and a 1-1 draw in the third round. Down the Pacific coast, the Galaxy defeated A.C. St. Louis 2-0 at the Home Depot Center. The Galaxy are currently 11-1-3 (36 points) in the 2010 Major League Soccer season, good for first in the Western Conference and the best overall record.  Meanwhile, the Sounders are 4-8-3 (15 points) and sit seventh in the West and 11th overall. Something to ponder: if Steve Zakuani's goal on Sunday said anything about the home field advantage the Rave Green will have Wednesday night, LA's defense will be critical to ...

This Is The Los Angeles Galaxy: Juninho

This is Part 20 in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2010 Los Angeles Galaxy. In football, the word "Juninho" is a common nickname for footballers whose full name includes Júnior. There's Juninho Fonseca, who played for Ponte Preta & Corinthians and Brazil at the 1982 World Cup. There's Juninho Paulista, the famous of all the Juninhos, who played for São Paulo, Middlesbrough, Atletico Madrid, Sydney FC and Brazil at the 2002 World Cup. There's Juninho Pernambucano, who donned the strip of Vasco da Gama, Olympique Lyonnais and the Seleçao at the 2006 World Cup. And then there's the Juninho who Dan Loney of BigSoccer.com anoints with the epithet of Juninho Carsonista. His real name is Vitor Gomes Pereira Junior, and he dons the strip of the Los Angeles Galaxy, on loan from Sao Paulo FC. Already Juninho has made an impact for Bruce Arena's club, with two goals in as many matches. His scoring touch and striking ability may still be a work in progress, but the contributions he will make to the team will be a key cog in LA's MLS Cup quest machine. ...

Blaise Nkufo Ready To Join Seattle Sounders

In the wake of last night’s disappointing 3-1 loss to MLS Western Conference leading Los Angeles Galaxy, the Seattle Sounders announced Tuesday that Blaise Nkufo will be soon joining the team. "In our discussions with Blaise, we encouraged him to take a full two weeks off once he returned from the World Cup," said General Manager Adrian Hanauer. "His first training date is scheduled for July 13 and he is eligible to be added to the roster on July 15." This comes as welcome news during a season when Coach Sigi Schmid has often had to go with patchwork lineups to stem the tide with a series of injuries. A major injury was losing defense specialist John Kennedy Hurtado due to an injured ACL for the entire campaign. The signing of Congo born Nkufo was seen as a move to provide needed vigor to the Seattle attack for the second half of the 2010 season, an effort to make the difference in sending the team back to the playoffs after a successful first year campaign that ended in playoff competition. Nkufo flew to Seattle for a press conference and to meet with management, the coaching staff, and his future teammates prior to leaving for South ...

Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle Return as L.A. Galaxy Top Seattle Sounders, 3-1

There is a three-step process that has propelled the Los Angeles Galaxy to its pedestal atop the MLS this season. It is pressure, pressure, and more pressure. This was the formula employed before a sellout crowd of 27,000 the evening of July 4 at Home Depot Center in Carson, as Galaxy home patrons were treated to the return of U.S. team members Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle from World Cup competition. There were comments about Donovan feeling tired legs on the Carson pitch, but don’t tell that to the Sounders, who saw the same dazzling virtuoso who took control of the Galaxy offense and performed set pieces in the same devastating fashion that has come to be expected. Seattle Coach Sigi Schmid knew going in that to stand a chance of upsetting the Western Conference leaders with the premier record in the MSL, his team would need sufficient possessions to neutralize the firepower of Donovan and Buddle. Schmid also realized that. While Los Angeles had lost to Real Salt Lake 1-0 and been deadlocked 0-0 by Toronto in its last two contests, those matches occurred without the services of Donovan and Buddle. One fact provides enough of a clue as to how the first half went: The ...