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Mid-Day Musings (More thoughts on USA-Spain, MLS All-Star Game and the Showdown in Chinatown)

BocanegraVilla (ISIphotos.com)

                                                                              Photo by ISIphotos.com

Plenty to discuss in the world of soccer on the day after the Miracle in South Africa so let's get started:

Know how many fouls Michael Bradley, Jay DeMerit, Oguchi Onyewu and Ricardo Clark combined for against Spain? Try two. Bradley's lone foul was the one he was issued a red card for. One foul, one red card. Good job there Jorge Larrionda. Between that call and the two red cards he gave American players at the 2006 World Cup, you can't blame U.S. fans for hoping Larrionda isinvolved in a scandal at some point.

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Aside from the million the U.S. national team has made the federation for reaching the Confederation Cup finals (yes, teams are awarded prize money for advancing), several U.S. players have bolstered their transfer prospects with some amazing performances.

Heading that list? Oguchi Onyewu, who is out of contract. There was a report that he had signed with Fenerbahce, but his representatives say he hasn't signed a thing.

Who else should see their paychecks get a boost? Jay DeMerit absolutely must get some EPL offers after his performance against Spain and you have to think Landon Donovan has upped his stock. Ricardo Clark has been a European target in the past, at least there's been passing interest, but he just might be the next MLS player to make a move to Europe.

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Remember back in 2007 when Bob Bradley took a young team to Copa America and the team was whipped up? Plenty of critics called it a wasted opportunity. Well, here are some of the players who gained some experience in that tournament: Jay DeMerit, Charlie Davies, Benny Feilhaber, Jonathan Bornstein and Ricardo Clark to name a few. Suddenly that tournament doesn't look like such of a waste, does it?

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Take a bow New Jersey. Jozy Altidore's goal vs. Spain increased the number of goals scored by New Jersey-born players in the tournament to four (Altidore, Michael Bradley and two from some Italian guy). I don't know where that ranks among states in the world, but it's still pretty impressive.

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I know there was some talk about Spain and not wanting to trade jerseys after the match. As far as I know at least three players swapped jerseys. Oguchi Onyewu and Fernando Torres, Jay DeMerit and Xabi Alonso and Jozy Altidore and Joan Capdevila were the jersey swappers I noticed.

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After throwing together a preliminary MLS All-Star ballot, I was reminded that D.C. United, Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls (stop laughing) have CONCACAF Champions League games that day. Well, if Dom Kinnear takes that into account and leaves those teams untouched, this is the ballot I would cast right now:

———Landon Donovan———Conor Casey—————

—————-Guillermo Barros Schelotto——————-

Brad Davis————————————-Shalrie Joseph

———-Osvaldo Alonso———Paulo Nagamura———–

Geoff Cameron—Jhon Kennedy Hurtado—-Wilman Conde

———————–Zach Thornton————————–

Closing fast on this group? Omar Cummings, Stuart Holden and Dwayne DeRosario.

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Tickets for Real Madrid-Toronto FC at BMO Field on Aug. 7th have sold out while more than 35,000 tickets have already been sold for Real Madrid-D.C. United at Fed Ex Field on Aug. 9th. In other words, if you're hoping to catch a climpse of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo with their new team you had better hurry.

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The Showdown in Chinatown, the charity soccer match hosted by Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna, managed to dodge the rain clouds to give New York fans a great treat as NBA and international soccer stars played some soccer.

Here are some highlights:

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That's all for now. Share your thoughts on any of the above topics in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. Ives: First I was woundering where you think Onyewu will land, and if he will have a better stint, then is last go in England?

    Second, I just wanted to say that I have tickets the the Gold Cup Final, and I amd a little disapointed in the team selection, but do understand, those guys in the Confederation Cup team need a break. I just wounder about the starting line-up and also think that maybe Guzan could have been the #1 keeper for this tourny, and that maybe Hanhmann should have been on the roster. Is there guys that you think should be on the team that are not?

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  2. “you slide tackle, you get a card — possibly a red.

    stay on your feet, yanks! ”

    what candy ass league do you play in, John Godfrey?

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  3. So there is a correlation between a state having the most Superfund sites in the US and producing the most goals in the Confederations Cup? Must be something in the water there in Jersey …

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  4. The red was a bit harsh, but the US players have got to be more disciplined. I thought Rico’s red was legit.

    The copa america is a prestigious tournament. It should never be used to get young players minutes. I know the US went big in the Gold Cup and yada. But a better team should have been fielded in the copa. It was embarrassig.

    I think it is amazing that it took Bradley this long to figure out that back 4… And that DMB is washed up. I still think Torres and Adu deserved minutes in this tourney. Casey is a joke. He doesnt even run hard nor does he hold off players or have any dribbling skills.

    The Confed Cup was a blessing. BB and the team know a ton more now than 14 days ago.

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  5. I want to take this opportunity to say that Jorge Larrionda is a horrible, horrible, incompetent ref and I hate him. We have been on the receiving end of some truly horrible calls

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  6. Jack K- that was just Jim Rome being Jim Rome. He’s still the same guy who talked big to Jim Everett a decade ago and then scurried away like a b!tch. He says stuff like that just to provoke a response and get ratings.
    But in the end, he always fails. Still the same hack delivery with the same small audience buying in. No substance or intelligence to back it up. Just ignore him.

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  7. I’m wondering what the spanish news outlets are saying about the match? Anyone know?

    (Obviously, no habla espanol).

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  8. The M Bradley in tunnel report doesn’t make sense.

    1-From what I saw Bradley didn’t complain much on the field and got off pretty quick. I’ve seen guys put up a real protest in a number of Premiership matches, and this wasn’t anything close.

    2-The red didn’t happen right before the final whistle, so there was time for him to cool off.

    3– They won. How hot and bothered would he have been after winning. I expect he went right to his teammates.

    He might of said a word in passing, but I doubt he was waiting for the ref.

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  9. Carl, I wouldn’t worry to much about that. He may have waited in the wing to talk to the ref, and the ref was probably a complete dick about it and whined saying he attacked him. he probably knew he was wrong about it, probably paid off, and was afraid. He probably peed on hisself he was so scared, and then claimed that he was attacked. he probably faked the whole thing. he probably will go to hell. : )
    hopefully, nothing will happen negative to bradley, and hopfully his card will get repealed, and hopefully the ref will get a broken leg, and never be able to ref again, and be forced to watch the USMNT win the world cup in his small apartment.

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  10. Ives, well said about the Copa America!@#$%^&*()
    Even back then I understood that it was iimportant and was excited to see the young guns. I just didn’t know HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS! I enjoyed watching the new kids, but also I remember a ton of critics….In fact, i think that is when the whole “Fire Coach Bradley” movement started on this site!!!
    Wow. Look at that.
    Anyways, we get to see our best team compete right now on Sunday, and then we get to see who will get to fill in the holes during the Gold Cup! jejeje

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  11. Articles like this one: random sh!t, awesome clips, etc. make this the best blog inside my whole computer.. Love this.

    Reply

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