Midday Thoughts: US Open Cup USL vs. Sounders

Well, well, well. The Richmond Kickers are the last USL Pro team left in the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. After defeating the Dayton Dutch Lions, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, the Columbus Crew, and Sporting KC, the Kickers will face the Chicago Fire for a chance to play the winner of Seattle/Dallas for the National Title.
So here is where I am torn.

For those of you who don't know, the Sounders are my favorite club, save the Battery. I have family out in Seattle, and have been to many Sounders games while visiting them so it seemed like a natural fit.

Hypothetically, we could have a Seattle Sounders-Richmond Kickers final. This would be my worst nightmare. Well maybe not the worst, but its up there.

Now I would always cheer for the USL against the MLS in every situation, except this. Sorry guys, but I despise the Kickers with a passion, and I love the Sounders (also with a passion). I'm all for an USL side winning the Open Cup, but I can't cheer for the Kickers, and I can't cheer against the Sounders.

Let's just wait and see what happens.

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Weekend Wrap-Up: Battery, Cobras, MLS, EPL, and Andrew Dykstra for President?

Well a lot went down this past weekend in the soccer world. The Battery played two matches, history was made down in Columbia, among other things.

First off we had the Battery. Their first match this weekend ended in a scoreless draw with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, while the second was a 1-0 loss to the Rochester Rhinos.

The Central SC Cobras played their first match on Friday against the Charlotte Lady Eagles. Though the Cobras lost the match, it was considered a success for many reasons. The turn-out was great, the players now have something to gage the rest of the upcoming matches on, and not to mention that it was the first professional women's soccer match in South Carolina history.

In MLS action, two matches were nationally broadcast this weekend, both of which I caught.

On Friday we had the Portland Timbers playing host to the Philadelphia Union on Fox Soccer Channel. Portland continues to have amazing crowds, and the Timbers Army (which got its start in the USL) still creates one of the best atmospheres in North American soccer. Portland would win the match 1-0.

Late on Saturday night, the New York Red Bulls travelled across the States for a fixture with the Los Angeles Galaxy. And who else could have gotten the goals in this 1-1 draw besides Landon Donovan and Thierry Henry?  It was a great match.

And not to mention that Man U basically clinched the EPL title, and what is up with all these injuries in the MLS?

And apparently Andrew Dykstra is running for president:

I don't know about Dykstra's policies, but we definitely need to see one of these over in E10 for Dykstra's next start.

A bit of a rambling today, but thanks for reading if you've gotten this far!

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Lamar Neagle Plays in Sounders Loss

Tonight the Seattle Sounders lost to the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 on a Juninho goal in the 57th minute. The goal was assisted by Landon Donovan. The Sounders had many subs throughout the course of the second half trying to get some fresh legs in and equalize. They were not successful. Former Charleston Battery player Lamar Neagle was subbed in for White O'brian in the 78th minute.

Neagle played well in the short time he had to prove himself. He got involved, getting a few touches, and was caught offside in the 86th minute. Neagle drew a free kick for the Sounders in added time. He was fouled by none other than David Beckham. This freekick was one of the last chances in the match for Seattle to equalize.

Neagle played alongside another former Battery player, Osvaldo Alonso. Alonso was with the Battery during the 2008 USL-1 season. He scored 7 goals in 31 appearances for Charleston. He has been with Seattle since the 2009 season.

Alonso took most of the corner kicks for the Sounders throughout the game. Osvaldo took one shot during the game, but it went off target.

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New MLS Playoff Format, and the Battery's Preseason Camp

The MLS has announced the playoff format for this postseason. It has 10 of the 18 teams in the MLS making the playoffs. A picture of the new playoff format was posted on the MLS website:

This system is much better than last years, where we had Kansas City finishing third in the east, and not making the playoffs. Which in one sense made sense because they had 39 points, while in the west 39 points would have put them in seventh place. The point being, don't have eastern and western divisions, if you're not going to let the two divisions have an equal number of automatic places in the playoffs. Overall I think its pretty good. If you don't understand the new format, check out this article, which includes a video that describes the playoffs the best way possible.

In Charleston Battery news, the Battery's preseason camp began on Thursday with the 13 man roster and invited trialists that are trying to make it on to the Battery's roster. The players participated in training sessions and scrimmages.

I'm excited to see what will come out of the trialists that have been invited to the preseason camp. You never know when you can find a diamond in the rough, and boy do we need some. The 13 man roster obviously won't do for the CCC or the USL-Pro Season. I'm expecting the Battery to get the roster up 22-25 players at least. Check the Battery's Twitter for updates and pictures of the preseason camp, as well as updates for the rest of the season.

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Some Possibilities for the Carolina Challenge Cup

So we're just now entering February and in a month is the biggest preseason tournament there is; the Carolina Challenge Cup. For those of you that don't know, the Carolina Challenge Cup (I'll shorten it to CCC for my sake) is the tournament that has been hosted by the Charleston Battery annually since 2004. Since the beginning of the tournament, the Battery have been able to bring in MLS clubs to play. This year is no different, with Toronto FC, DC United, and Chicago Fire SC all coming to play in the Battery's tournament. A month before the tournament, here are some updates, and what you can expect for the eight edition of this tournament:

• Charlie Davies Coming to Charleston: As mentioned in my last article, Charlie Davies is now training with Major League Soccer's DC United. Well, it just so happens that they're playing in the CCC. Isn't that just wonderful? Actually it is. I'd be really excited to see Davies come to Charleston. Any chance to get USMNT players to town is something that needs to be jumped on. Hopefully the transfer will go through, and I see no reason why it wouldn't. Davies wants playing time, and at DC he will get it, and at Sochaux he won't. Simple as that.
• 9th Edition of the Coffee Pot Cup: DC United will be playing Charleston in one of the only MLS-USL rivalries. I'm always happy to see DC in Charleston, because I love this rivalry. For more of the history on the Coffee Pot Cup check out this Wikipedia article.
• A Chance for Revenge for Chicago: Way back in the summer of 2010, the Battery faced the Fire in front of 2,526 at Toyota Park, (Yes that does mean for every two seats filled there were eight teen empty.) The game went nil-nil through 90 minutes of regular time and 30 minutes of extra time. After this, the Battery won 3-0 on PK's and were sent through to the Quarter Finals of the 98 year old tournament. Charleston deserved to win just as much as Chicago, with the Fire completely underachieving. The best chance came in the 5th minute when Stephen Armstrong hit the post off a left-footed strike.
• Toronto Returning for 5th Straight Year: Every year since the club's founding in 2007, Toronto FC has participated in the CCC. They have never won the tournament, but came in second in the 2007 and 2009 editions of the tournament. Toronto has definitely brought the most supporters to the CCC during all of the tournaments they have participated in. Check out this video on YouTube of their supporters making the trip down to Charleston. Its in four parts:

This year's tournament looks to be a good one. Having a USMNT player in Davies coming to Charleston will hopefully bring more fans to the CCC. With DC also comes the Coffee Pot Cup which is always great. Chicago will be looking for some revenge and I'm excited to see Toronto back. I'll be expecting a large contingent of their fans down here in Charleston.

Why Soccer is Going in the Right Direction in the United States

Well as I've been watching Fox Soccer Channel's coverage of the FA Cup, I came to thinking: The United States format of soccer is actually similar to England's. Obviously, the clubs in England have a chance to play for many trophies a year, (FA Cup, Carling Cup, UEFA Champions League, etc.) but the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League has been making the United States soccer more European, year after year.

Now, I have talked about how we need to Americanize soccer, but in this situation, I'll make an exception, because we need to have multiple pieces of hardware to play for every year. That's what I think makes soccer so great in Europe, you always have something to play for. Whether it is to escape relegation, win a cup, or win the UEFA Champions League, the teams in England are always playing hard. Its also exciting for the clubs, hardcore fans, and casual watchers when a small club from the Football Leagues draw a mastodon like Chelsea or Manchester United.

You can see the similarities when the USL clubs draw the MLS sides in the US Open Cup. Though it is always exciting to see two MLS teams duke it out for the trophy, it's always nice to see a USL squad play an MLS team in a "David vs. Goliath" type scenario. We saw this in 2008 when the Charleston Battery played DC United in a rendition of the Coffee Pot Cup and the US Open Cup championship game. Though the Battery didn't win the match (they lost 2-1) they put up a good fight, and it was good for the fans to see their team compete for a big cup.

This extra excitement that is found in soccer is not found in the other professional sports in America. In the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL you play for one championship every year. You also see teams in the later stages of the season not play hard, because they are out of contention to win anything. Now while this can happen in soccer in some situations, when you are playing for 3 or 4 trophies every year, you can keep it exciting, and keep more clubs afloat.

What I want to see in the future, is a relegation system. It is far off, but the relegation system could work in the United States once the USL and MLS develop a little further. Undoubtedly the MLS has gotten good attendance figures, but if the USL can get each club up to 10,000-15,000 average attendance, then there is a good chance that the relegation system used in England, could work here. Just imagine, "MLS in Charleston" it just sounds good.

To finish this long rambling off, let me say this: English Soccer fans can't talk down to the MLS for attendance, quality of play, or coverage of the sport in the United States, because seriously the MLS has been around for 13 years. I would like to see the English soccer attendance numbers from 1901.

Kansas City Wizards to Sporting Kansas City?

As many of those who follow the MLS may already know the Kansas City Wizards changed their club's name to Sporting Kansas City. The inspiration of this is said to have come from the organization adding a rugby and lacrosse team to their umbrella of sports. Now, while this may end up working out for the team, I don't support the name change.

Sporting Kansas City have gone through multiple name changes in their history. They were one of the original ten Major League Soccer franchises that started play in 1996. The started as the Kansas City Wiz. We all know that would never last long. So they changed it to the Wizards in the following season. The Wizards used the same logo until 2007 when they revamped the franchise and changed the logo and home field. So they apparently felt the need to change it again? The new Sporting Kansas City are to play in the brand new KC Soccer Stadium in the 2011 season.

With the many of the MLS clubs going with a "European Style" name, I think it is hurting the Americanizing (if that's a word) of soccer. DC United was originally the only one with a "European Style" name and it gave them their own style which I think was a good move. But then you get the rest; FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake, and Toronto FC. Now while you might be able to say, "Toronto is in Canada they can do whatever they please," I'll count them because Major League Soccer is a predominantly American league. We really don't need this. In American sports we are teams with the city/location, followed by a mascot of some sort. With the addition of Sporting Kansas City to the naming fiasco, we are getting further and further away from making this sport American.

The best move of any United States club, naming wise, was the Chicago Fire adding "Soccer Club" to the end of their name. What a great low blow to the Europeans who hate on Americans for calling it soccer. If the MLS ever gets big, I beg the Fire to keep the SC at the end of their name. (By the way, for those that don't know South Africa and Australia also call the game soccer).

Alright, so bottom line. Americanizing soccer is the key to gaining support. If we just follow what we think will make us seem more like the European leagues we will lose the American side of the game that makes the MLS, USL, and all American soccer leagues so great. It may not be La Liga, but it is our own slice of soccer, set in the great U.S.A.

Swedish International Zlatan Ibrahimovic Wants to Finish Career in The United States

Swedish International and Milan Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has expressed interest in finishing his career in the MLS. He would be added to a group of soccer veterans that have come from their homes in Europe to play in the United States. Thierry Henry, David Beckham, and Freddie Ljungberg have all come to the United States to play the beautiful game, after playing in Europe for many years.

"I want to play one or two years in a nice place," said Ibrahimovic, "As I see it now, this is my last contract with a European club. When I'm done in Milan I will play a year or two in the United States."

This brings the question; Who will pay him? I'm sure there will be quite a price tag on Ibrahimovic like their was on Henry and Beckham. New York had money, they got Henry, Los Angeles had money, they got Beckham. I could see Ibra going to the Chicago Fire or even Seattle if they can put forth the money.

I think no matter who he goes to, it will be great for the MLS and US Soccer.We need to have big names in the MLS to get some attention, and Ibrahimovic is a huge name. When the veteran comes over to the United States, he will be 33, and even though he says he only wants to play one year in the US, I could see him playing for three or four years in the US depending on how much he likes the city and club. This all depends on how he is feeling at 37.

Ibrahimovic's contract expires in 2014, and could be one of the greatest additions to any Major League Soccer club ever. He is a solid player, and I think that even at an old age he could bring a lot to any soccer club.