Photo by ISIphotos.com
by GIANFRANCO PANIZO
If you were hoping to see Los Angeles Galaxy forward Landon Donovan continue his recent tear at the MLS All-Star game, then you may be disappointed to know he might not play.
Donovan has a right calf injury that could keep him out of Wednesday's match against Everton as All-Star coach Dominic Kinnear has expressed his desire to keep the All-Stars healthy.
With Donovan's status in limbo, another of the league's best players may miss the All-Star game with Pat Onstad, Shalrie Joseph and Dwayne De Rosario all set to miss out.
Here are some more stories to help get you through the day:
Clark to join Livorno in January
Ricardo Clark has agreed to join Italian club Livorno, but he won't be heading there until January.
According Corriere di Livorno, Livorno president Aldo Spinelli has confirmed that the Houston Dynamo midfielder has agreed to terms with the club, but that he will not join the team until January, when the winter transfer window opens.
Galaxy-Barcelona match sells over 70,000 tickets
When UEFA Champions League winner Barcelona plays the Los Angeles Galaxy on Aug 1. the Rose Bowl may feel more like Camp Nou.
The exhibition match has surpassed 70,000 tickets sold, making it one of the most attended friendlies in the U.S. this year. The game will showcase players like Landon Donovan, Leo Messi, David Beckham and Thierry Henry. There may even be a Zlatan Ibrahimovic sighting.
The Galaxy played an exhibition earlier this month against Italian giants AC Milan and tied, 2-2.
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Upset that Donovan may miss the All-Star game? Think it is smart for Clark to stay with MLS until the season is over? Eager to see the UEFA Champions League kings battle Donovan and co.?
Share your thoughts below.
Copmpete? Sure. The way teh Bad News Bears would compete against the ’27 Yankees in a game that mattered, and where the Yankees were trying to win. Yeah.
Rather see LanDo get healthy for Aug. 12th…that match is far more important than every MLS game rolled up together.
I can’t see Beckham playing much vs. Barca, he’ll get worked over even if it is just a friendly.
so if MLS wins this game Vs a pre-season jogging around Everton does that mean that MLS teams are EPL quality and can give Man U a run for the money for the title?????
Of Coarse not, dont get your hopes up.
http://blogs.chron.com/soccer/archives/2009/07/italian_daily_c.html
UPDATE: But Dynamo brass deny the report, say the team remains in talks with Clark.
Clark has not yet responded to a message.
Stay tuned.
Tim, maybe you missed it today but Fallas actually said don’t buy what the Dynamo FO is selling and that he believed the deal was going to happen anytime now.
http://blogs.chron.com/soccer/archives/2009/07/is_clark_about.html#more
So, yeah I guess SBI could have gotten another opinion, but the end result will be the same.
Ives why dont you do some actual reporting. Maybe you would have noticed that Bernardo Fallas, you know, the guy who actually covers the Dynamo, reported yesterday that there has been no deal for Clark. Instead, you keep linking to an Italian newspaper. This is MLS, they usually tell you whats really happening if you just ask.
The people who think Rico should go now clearly are not Dynamo fans.
Bob, I don’t have any idea what MLS team you support, if any, but you have no idea what you’re talking about. The Dynamo are not thugs as you say; they play good defense fairly. Currently, the bottom five on the MLS Fair Play table are Seattle, Chivas, RSL, San Jose, and DC. The Dynamo are currently 4th in fouls committed (behind Chivas, Galaxy, and the Red Bulls) and 7th in fouls suffered. Players from Seattle, San Jose, and RSL lead the league in yellow cards and players from LA, NY, RSL, and Chivas lead the league in red cards. Careful, Bob, your petticoat is showing.
I’m glad Clark is staying with Houston this summer. He’s got a chance to play for a championship in Houston. There’s no need to rush over to play on a bottom of the table European league team. And, if 1st place Houston sold a starting mid fielder for a few million dollars in mid season, I would start to lose interest in MLS.
Zlatan…comes over with Inter, goes back. Comes back over with Barca. Hope he is getting frequent flyer miles.
Good deal for Houston, bad deal for Clark, good break for Holden. Houston has Ricardo Clark for the rest of the season then doesn’t have to protect him in the expansion draft (and Philly can take him, in effect getting allocation money–probably not worth it to Nowak as he’d rather have Houston 13th or 14th best player.
Bad deal for Clark. He goes to the club in midseason. Chances of getting significant playing time are minimal. First because he’ll be new with most of the side in mid-season. Second, b/c if he’s going to be invited to USNT camp and then make the WC squad, he’s only around for 4 months and then gone–so he missed the last 1-2 months of the season. So if Clark sits, that reduces the likelihood of him making the NT.
It’s a good break for Holden (who can play all 4 midfield positions for Bob Bradley) because you have to figure that Clark won’t be at the January USNT camp (but Holden will). Plus, if Clark is out of the running (little playing time from MLS season end until US camp in May), that plus Holden’s versatility probably aids his chances of making the team for South Africa.
I imagine that the reason that Livorno said it would wait is more due to the Dynamo FO turning down their offer. I agree it’s a bad move for Rico as this may cost him playing time. It also means that the Dynamo have to win either the SS, Cup, or advance in the CCL tournament for this not to be seen as a lost opportunity for them.
I could see Donovan doing really well at Livorno. He would be living in a smaller town with passionate fans, but still a beautiful place. And he could learn a lot from Cristiano Lucarelli. That dude was a goal-scoring machine!
I am really happy for Ricardo Clark to go there too. I hope he plays and finally starts getting more respect among USA fans.
Im glad, Clark was able to make the move, and am glad that it wont be till Jan. so that he can finish out the year with Houston. Good Luck to Clark, and I hope Donovan will be joining him, and helping the team stay up and play a few years in the Seria A.
So I know that 32 players get a bonus for being selected to the All-Star team. But what’s the deal if a player is selected but is injured or has a Champions League game? Do both he and the replacement get it? So should people have voted for DC players even though they had the CCL game?
Good move for Rico, but..
It would be better for him to move now than in the winter.
Of course, it’s much better for Houston to do it this way.
I’m mad Donovan won’t be their
Can’t wait for Sat.’s game in the beautiful hills of Pasadena. It’s going to be legen — wait for it — dary.
What is Houston doing, they are getting rid of all of the thugs, I hope they don’t keep bringing those soft (But skilled) Holden types. They are slowly becoming the Dynamos, not the Thugamos.
Donovan doesnt need that game, we know he is an All-Star. He needs to rest, get healthy so he can be ready for Azteca
i kinda dis-agree with Clark being un-able to settle. It’s not like the EPL where you dont have winter breaks. Clark can actually play in few friendly’s and reserve games before end of winter break in Serie A. See Beckkham.
If Donovan can’t play, which Houston player will Dominic name to replace him?
David- I agree with Japan, the only way to fight that tendency would be to throw away the salary cap and hope that there are major new capital injections in the individual clubs to lure or retain players. The only problem with that, compared to other countries, is that hoisting the MLS Cup doesn’t mean the same as winning the league in many other countries.
I wish Rico well in Serie A, but I think he should join them now. Going in the Winter is not going to help him settle in. They will be fighting to stay up and they will figure something out before he gets there.
I understand the MLS needs Rico in Houston while they are still going strong, but it’s not in Rico’s best interests (speaking as USMNT fan 🙂
David, I completely agree with that but the same can be said about many other countries around the world beside maybe 10 countries. It is a situation we unfortunately have to deal with.
I have an idea for all-star week…. why not let every mls team schedule a friendly with a high profile team on the same night. that way you saturate the country with some great games in all mls cities. there is definitely enough interest to fill all the stadiums at once. would that be awesome or what?!
Agree with everyone that Donovan needs to be fit for Mexico. Hopefully he’ll prioritise USMNT revenge over two albeit high profile but otherwise pointless friendlies.
I wonder if Landon will really be able to move this year. I think the MLS is really going to try to hold on to him as long as they can, possibly until his contract is up. Anyone know when that is?
The reality is that they keep losing all the players that the general American public would want to see to Europe, Adu, Altidore, Dempsey, Clark, Bradley, Guzan, and the list goes on and on. At least with Landon in MLS they can argue that they have the best American player in the best American league (though I don’t think he is). Once he leaves they have a league of older stars Beckham, McBride, Angel, Blanco, Ljunberg, etc. And developing plays who are looking to move on at the first chance they get, Cooper, Montero, Kjlestan, Bornstein, Holden, etc. (And many are just skipping MLS entirely now, ala Charlie Davies)
Basicially, they will not have any American or International stars left in their prime. They officially become a development/retirement league. AKA irrelevant as far as the majority of the US is concerned. You will not see any stories about MLS on Sportcenter once Donovan is gone because there are no more players the general public know or cares about in the league. (Beside Beckham if he stays, which is doubtful.)
It may be a huge setback for the league and potentially one they will never recover from.
I agree that Ricardo Clark should be going to Livorno now so he can get used to the team, the contry and the culture rather than during the season.
Donovan is playing too many games so he can probably use the break. He needs to be ready for Azteca!
Another missed revenue opportunity for MLS…let’s just let one of our best midfielders go for free. Sheesh.
Rico is out of contract at the end of the year. For Livorno to get him now, they have to pay a transfer fee. I would have hoped that MLS would have agreed to a reasonable fee, given that he will leave for nothing in a few months. Seems that didn’t happen.
If Landon has a nagging calf, he shouldn’t be playing tomorrow or against Barca. He needs to be 100% for Mexico.
really disappointed the transfer isn’t immediate. clark should really be over there now to give himself the best chance to play.
lando should deff sit the all star game out so he can get healthy for the WCQ game aug 12th.
and good news on the galaxy-barca game. hopefully the have a complete sellout. maybe pass the previous soccer record of 94,000 at pasadena
Great move for Rico. The Confederations Cup has been a real boon for our players. Glad to see our top players finally getting a look all over Europe. Playing in the defensive minded Siere A will only help Rico hone his skills for South Africa next summer.
I think Donovan ends up in Spain.
Ives, did you notice that on the front page of the Livorno website, the club posted a video of Clark kicking Ruiz? Check it out:
http://www.corrieredilivorno.com/index.php/home
Maybe they’re excited about getting an enforcer.
Clark should move now so he can get used to Italy, the new team, and the new league. I don’t think Italy has a long winter break like Germany where you have time to train and get used to your surroundings and teammates.
There’s one game that Landon needs to be healthy for: Aug. 12 at the Azteca. No need for him to risk injury in a glorified friendly.
I’m disappointed about the delay in Clark’s move. I think players give themselves the best opportunity for success when they start the season with a team. There is no telling what Livorno will look like come January. The one upside is that he should be primed for US call ups through the end of the year.
Probably good that Ricardo will have a bit of time to rest up and then train with the team before joining. He’s had a pretty intense schedule of games since the MLS season started. Can’t wait to see him at Livorno; happy that everything worked out. Now the question is where is Landon going next?
The question begged by the big draws these foreign clubs get in the US: Can MLS figure out how to attact a portion of them on a regular basis?
Good news on the Galaxy-Barca game. If Barca wasn’t coming to play in the Bay Area the following week, I’d probably drive down to LA to catch the game and re-live the old days when the Galaxy played at the Rose Bowl.
Am glad Donovan is missing the All-Star game which quite frankly doesnt matter at all. And am excited for Barca to play LA just to see if my Gals can compete.