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Morning Ticker: US-Poland friendly?, Fire still searching and DC set to talk with Gomez

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                                                                                                       Photo by ISI Photos

Good morning folks. If you’re hungry for some American soccer news, I’ve got some tidbits to tide you over.

Here are some news and notes:

Polish media is reporting a USA-Poland match in Poland on March 26. US Soccer officials insist that no match has been set. (UPDATE– US Soccer president Sunil Gulati wrote me back this morning about this match with the following gem. "I can confirm the presence of rumors about this match." Yes, he’s a president AND a comedian.)

Alecko Eskandarian is re-signing with MLS, but his career with Real Salt Lake is over. According to sources at RSL, Alecko is set to be dealt to Chivas USA. The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Real Salt Lake will receive a major allocation in the deal.

D.C. United is set to re-open contract talks with Christian Gomez this week. D.C. general manager Dave Kasper stated that the club hopes to re-sign Gomez and that several MLS clubs have expressed interesting acquiring the Argentine playmaker.

Columbus Crew head coach Sigi Schmid acknowledged that the Crew is considering hiring a technical director.

At least one MLS team is already in trade talks that could see a first-round pick in the upcoming MLS Draft shipped away.

The Chicago Fire head coaching search is STILL going. According to sources, John Spencer and Denis Hamlett are the final two candidates. A decision is expected by Thursday, but given the way this search has gone, nothing is guaranteed.

Chicago Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens has already begun impressing at his trial with English club Norwich City. Pickens, who is out of contract, is exploring his options overseas and is far from a safe bet to return to the Fire.

Comments

  1. No, Poland is not a bad sqaud. Neither is Mexico, but let’s see some variety (maybe some teams we haven’t been successful agaist)!

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  2. I don’t think Poland is that bad of a team. I’m glad the U.S. could schedule a game against them. Poland got into Euro 2008, which is more than England can say.

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  3. Hincha Tim,

    You’re spot on, Croatia would have been a great test on the pitch. I’m sure that the USSF was probably concerned about some of the action in the stands.

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  4. It’s not so much that Poland isn’t a good team, its that the USMNT has played them several times over the last 5 years. There are other quality teams available (Croatia I think for instance) who it would be nice to play for a change. However, I agree, playing Poland in Europe would still be a very useful exercise if another quality European opponent couldn’t be scheduled. Better than Arena’s idea of playing only Central American minnows. Hopefully Sunil won’t scedule the Faroe Islands or Malta.

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  5. Oh, that Sunil.

    I don’t mind playing Poland again. They’re a good team and it’s a game in Europe. It’s particularly important for the MLSers to get used to playing abroad.

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  6. Howard had Man U vouching for him. The big clubs usually get what they want. Also, I believe Tim had a Hungarian passport option through his grandfather, which greatly helped the cause.

    Hell, I remember that kid Schulte, who played for the Crew for a year, and in Iceland, was going to be signed by a CCC squad.

    Of course they couldn’t when they applied.
    No way in hell could he get a permit. Same for Dalby. There are quite a few more.

    Makes no sense.

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  7. Why all the hate of Poland? They’re a better squad than when we last played them and since it’s a Euro tune-up for them, we’ll probably see their best side.

    If we played England, their agenda is totally different and who knows who ends up playing for them. Capello needs to see as many players as possible so he might not call in their best XI for this type of match.

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  8. If RSL receives a major allocation of $125k towards it’s salary cap, does that mean that Chivas’ salary cap reduces by the same amount???

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  9. Don’t we have a return trip to make to Wembley Stadium at some point? Or do they not even want us to come there because they’d have a tough time selling it out?

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  10. How are England and Ireland better than Poland? Poland is playing in Euro this summer, while those two countries are not. (I didn’t include Scotland because I believe Scotland would have qualified in any other group)

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  11. How are England and Ireland better than Poland? Poland is playing in Euro this summer, while those two countries are not. (I didn’t include Scotland because I believe Scotland would have qualified in any other group)

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  12. Sweet! Another Poland versus USA game…I am kidding.

    Why can’t we play England this summer? Scotland? Ireland? All better squads than Poland. Find a new team USA Soccer, please!

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  13. Isn’t it easier to get a work permit with a lower division team, and if the team appeals the decision and shows the player is a starter, then they will get the permit. Didn’t that help Tim Howard?

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  14. I’m with you Roehl. Lets play another European team besides Poland!!!
    Good move by RSL to get rid of Esky. He was terrible at RSL last year. He did nothing with the chances he had. He showed me nothing. With Findley in the wings and 125k in the allocation for Esky and 175K in Esky’s salary freed up RSL should be able to get a quality Argie who will much better fill RSL’s needs than Esky.

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  15. Why do do many US players let their agents set up trials in the UK when they have no chance in hell of getting a work permit?

    Can everyone be this dumb? Agents, player teams?

    Unless I have been misinformed he doesn’t have any parent/grand parent lineage options. What’s the deal?

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