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Soccer Sunday: Your Running Commentary

MichaelBradleyAB (Getty)

If you have been wondering when you would get your first chance to watch Michael Bradley play in a Roma uniform, wonder no more.

American fans can watch Bradley for the first time as a Roma player on American television when Roma takes on Polish side Zaglebie Lubin in a friendly on Fox Soccer Channel this afternoon.

Bradley isn't the only U.S. national team midfielder in action today. Jose Francisco Torres and Pachuca take on Atlante.

Soccer makes its debut at the new Yankee Stadium tonight when big spenders Chelsea and Paris St. Germain square off.

If you will be watching today's action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action (Today's soccer TV schedule is after the jump):

TODAY'S SOCCER ON TV

1 p.m. - Univision - Toluca vs. Chivas de Guadalajara

3 p.m. - ESPN3.com - Figueirense vs. Sao Paulo

3:30 p.m. - Fox Soccer Channel - AS Roma vs. Zaglebie Lubin (friendly)

7 p.m. - Telefutura - Atlante vs. Pachuca

7 p.m. - Fox Soccer Channel - Chelsea vs. Paris-St. Germain (WFC)

7 p.m. - MLS Live/Direct Kick - Vancouver Whitecaps vs. San Jose Earthquakes

Comments

  1. Did anyone else feel like the fields in both baseball stadiums were really narrow? Especially the field at Wrigley.
    Maybe it was just the camera angles.

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  2. I think we are beginning to become like many other countries in that we don’t see the youth teams as direct feeds to MNT. The results at the youth level, being who wins versus who, doesn’t really reflect well how it happens on the MNT level. Youth teams have kids in a 2year range, senior team has players ages 18 to 35.

    I don’t believe in what Porter/Reyna/Klinsmann are doing in a 1 system ideology, but I don’t think it kills us in the long run, because simply getting more kids playing and more players professional is what makes us strong.

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  3. I think there are enough teams in the league, enough parity, and enough teams eliminated before postseason now that your argument rings dated. In 2-3 months 9 teams are done.

    And let’s be real, in most Euro leagues the mid to late season, outside of an elite competing for the league and Europe, is an exercise in pride and fighting relegation. Ironically the reason MLS is still not at a crescendo is plenty of teams are in the mix.

    Oh, I basically agree, the games are about money, but some of the critique rings as Europhilic as people claim the fans buying the tickets are.

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  4. On a certain level they’re all revenue-based exhibitions. But if a ManU member who sees some/all of their other home games also takes in a testimonial, it’s different than some Europhile paying to see two foreign teams play. At minimum our league and stadia are to the point where it’s insulting/ exploitative. We’re to the point where maybe it should be a tournament to justify these games without American involvement.

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  5. Wow, the pussification continues! The absolute NEED for HD! Embarrassingly pathetic! Be glad y’all have access at all to so many games!!

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  6. DF, if an American team ties or beats a Euro team, why is that good? These games are “silly meaningless exhibitions” to use your words.

    I get why teams come here; I get why MLS wants to get a piece of the action; I don’t get why we (fans) should care.

    How about MLS make their regular season have some consequence and make people care about that enough to ask the question “why are we interrupting our season to play exhibition matches?”

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  7. This games no different than a testimonial or club friendly on the other side of the pond. Are the supporters that go to those games stupid also? Or is it just Americans?

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  8. As long as stupid Americans keep paying to see these silly meaningless exhibitions, they’ll keep coming without their best players. Americans have to stop supporting these Euro team cash grabs. Have a little pride Eurosnobs. These teams are ripping you off!

    I don’t mind them playing the MLS teams since the MLS teams care and will make them play. And it is good for the game when an American or Canadian team ties or beats them. But two Euro teams playing means a snoozefest. And I don’t blame them. Why would I go all out in a exhibition in front of some American rubes?

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  9. Except the US U20s lost to Chile and Uruguay (twice) before going to the tournament and adding Denmark to that. Perhaps we might want the national team to beat someone? [Well, they did beat U Washington 1-0 and tie the FCD reserves…..]

    So the U23s tripped and fell on their faces embarrassingly, the U18s exited their tournament with two draws and a loss.

    You have to drop down to U17 to find a respectable US team. I don’t know if that reflects an increasingly professional player pool who see the NTs (or have pro teams see for them) as a choice rather than a necessity, but the big picture is a little worrisome. I mean, imagine if the senior team hadn’t brought in the Germans…

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  10. In the case of Fenway they own Liverpool so it’s cross-promotion.

    More generally, it’s another event for a baseball park to have for revenue and I think they’re so money centered who cares anymore if the field gets torn up.

    One comment re baseball park soccer is that in the new baseball-specific parks the seats are often pivoted for baseball watching which means fans on one sideline may be at like a 30 degree angle to a soccer field laid out from one foul line towards the opposite fence. I found this watching Portmore play America in Minute Maid in a CCL game before they required all home games to be in-country.

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  11. As long as MB becomes a starter on this team, that’s what I want. Heck, John O’Brien was a outside back for Ajax, no?

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  12. Oh yeah FSC great channel the ratings at NBC Sports for MLS are only up 78% and the games no longer look like they’re being shot by Wayne and Garth’s public access TV crew.

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  13. I saw an overmatched Polish team and a lot of jogging around.

    Im glad I didnt lay down a good price to watch a game like that. These Cha-ching tours are getting to be too much

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  14. It’s only the first game and it was only a 1-0 loss… The other two games were wide open with Chile 5-3 N. Ireland and Mexico 5-0 Turkey. USA plays Turkey next.

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  15. I agree with you. I understand the sentimentality of putting these games in the old ballparks (Wrigley & Fenway) but I think these international club friendlies would be better served if they were featured in MLS SSS. Would look better in selling the game to people.

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  16. Would have been more fun to see them play the Fire, this polish team isn’t even in the top tier of the polish league.

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  17. Bradley so far playing a variety of balls with decent touch. As a team, Roma not pressing too high after the early score, and Roma’s right back under early pressure.

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  18. Might be stupid, but doesn’t seem to be affecting MB, honestly been surprised how comfortable he looks…and how often Roma seems to be playing through him. Very impressive for his 2nd game.

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  19. anyone know why Fox Soccer Plus doesn’t always show its games in HD? Sometimes FSP HD has totally different programming.

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  20. yea go to your local cable provider and subscribe to the channel, amazing 24/7 soccer content on that website plus you can catch all the EPL matches this season on the network

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  21. I read that Zlatan won’t be playing but the other acquisitions Lavezzi, Silva, all have a chance at playing time. Same goes for Chelsea with Hazard and Marin probably getting the nod

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