Good morning all. Today's soccer action is already well under way (with early birds already catching Chelsea's 1-0 victory against Aston Villa). There are some solid match-ups today, even if there aren't any of the marquee battles that we saw a week ago.
Whether it's watching Bayern Munich take on Cologne, Barcelona face city rival Espanyol or Manchester United attemping to keep its winning and shutout streak a live, there is something for everybody. Even MLS fans have an option, with the Los Angeles Galaxy taking on the Suwon Blue Wings tonight in the Pan Pacific Championship.
If you are watching any of today's soccer action on TV, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action.
Luke in NC, lets declare WAR!!!! haha
Brett, agreed
i’d love to DOnovan in La Liga but i hope he makes there in Bayern
Diego:
What channel is the L.A. game on?
Anyone remember that guy named Eddie Johnson? Is there any truth to the rumor that he retired to a farm just outside of Cardiff City?
Seriously, is he playing on the reserve team?
Donovan comments are a bit harsh. He saved a goal off the line, had a few great passes, one was sharp and stunningly beautiful unleashing Klose down the right wing. Yes he needs to make his mark but when you defense is as porous as FCBN’s is, no fwd has hit the mark.
What’s the deal with Landon? He looked completely lost out their today for Bayern. What a huge disappointment he’s been. It’s obvious that he’s not used to playing for a team that’s not His Team.
I’m watching the Pan Pacific Championship Game.
Galaxy started off strong with some good set piece chances. Kirovski seems to be the offensive catalyst that LA has been missing with his experience and skill.
Galaxy has started to diminish since Lewis has left the field due to injury. Now, Sanneh is surrounded by rookies and 2nd year pros and it showed in Franklin’s mishap with Saunders.
It’s half time and LA’s losing 1-0.
Jozy should have stayed or gone to a team in need. Xerez don’t need him.
Curse Villarreal for not sending him to Everton!
If gofirego is right about all that Jozy stuff…..i’m gonna be more than pissed….
If Jozy doesnt at least get some part-time duties, i say we declare war on Spain.
JOZY IS NOT IN THE TEAM FOR XEREZ VS. CORDOBA SUNDAY.
It seems the arrival of Jozy and another player (Abel) in the winter transfer window caused serious discontent in the team. Many of the players who had Xerez in 1st place took offense when the top club officials referred to Jozy as a “crack” (an “ace”).
The coach wants to show he is the boss and so he leaves Jozy out. His excuse is that the old warhorses such as Antonio Calle have responded to Jozy’s presence by scoring goals. They are 3-0 since Jozy arrived, so he won’t want to change things up.
With all the injuries and also Champions League games at Villareal he would have had a better chance. At least he was dressing.
I meant to say “ever” hear…
Kizz, I agree with you that MLS is also pricing Landon out of the market by asking far too much. He is an okay player, he belongs in Europe, but he is not going to dominate and he is 26.
I don’t necessarily agree re: EPL. He is smallish, but nothing some time in the weight room could not fix. He is pretty fast, still. He would need to want to fight for the ball a bit more (see Dempsey, Clint). But I think he could succeed in a smaller EPL team where the weight of expectations is not going to be high.
One thing that has been easier for Clint is that he is not weighed down by the ridiculous expectations placed on LD. Donovan was the first American striker with some real offensive talent, so people were hoping for a Pele or a Maradona. Donovan is a good player, but clearly nowhere near that level.
Snedecor, those are like the last words I thought I would never hear.
Barça has been defeated at home by Espanyol (1-2) and Real Madrid has overplayed Betis 6-1…
Xerez play tomorrow, we will see if Jozy gets his first minutes.
@Kizz
Totally agree with your comment there. Villareal paid a lot for Jozy because he is raw talent with huge potential. No one, and I mean no one, is going to pay more for a player who hasn’t proven himself, is 26, and only has a few years left in the tank.
Any news about Jozy with Xerez?
I don’t think most people are saying Donovan has been bad. He just hasn’t been good enough to secure a transfer, which was clearly his goal.
“I have no clue why the bayern coaching staff insists that donovan sit up top and fight for head balls like he is Toni or Klose”
Bingo. He simply doesn’t fit in the Bayern system. They put the ball on the wings and cross it to the target forwards in the box. Ribery, Schweinsteiger, and Altintop are great at crossing. Toni and Klose are great at getting their head to the ball first. Donovan is not Toni or Klose. He performs much better when he’s able to playmake and make a run down the middle of the field. Bayern simply doesn’t play that way. Donovan would fit in much better in Spain, I think.
On another note, Barcelona is getting worked right now.
Sadly for Donovan, I have to agree with the naysayers. He had one chance to hit the ground running and make believers out of Uli and the rest of the FCB brass and he failed, and we see the fallout of it now. Fairly or not, that is just the fact of the matter.
No matter what he does for the rest of his stay at Bayern, they will undoubtedly pass on him provided Toni’s injury proves to be a mild one. The only shot I give Landon to stick at Bayern now is if Toni is ruled out for more than a month. He’s proven himself at least as good of an option as Podolski as a striker and is more versatile.
That said, Klinsmann certainly realizes now that his team has more pressing concerns than the strike force. Their defense has been woeful ever since coming back from the winter break.
I still think Landon has about 3-4 good years of European service left in him. He could easily fit into any of the big leagues, perhaps not with a Barca/Real Madrid or ManU/Chelsea, but he could easily contribute elsewhere.
Preston Zimmerman scored today