Articles of the Week

So here's a new idea I had today. I'm going to try out a weekly post where I just post some of the best articles from around the soccer world, plus the ones that I just liked. So here we go:

http://www.thefreebeermovement.com/2011/05/better-know-supporters-group-screaming.html
-The Free Beer Movement has been doing this weekly series called "Better Know A Supporter's Group," which you should check out. This week's is on the Screaming Eagles of DC United. I recommend you read the whole series.

http://www.noquartersoccer.com/2011/04/2011-southern-derby-cup-by-jim-gregory.html
http://www.noquartersoccer.com/2011/05/new-banner.html
http://www.noquartersoccer.com/2011/05/charleston-to-play-portsmouth.html
-Three from No Quarter. Always quality.

http://theshinguardian.com/2011/05/02/the-moment-genesis-of-a-salute/
-The Shin Guardian released a great piece called, "The Moment: Genesis of a Salute," about the salute to Charlie Davies at the USMNT's World Cup Qualifier against Costa Rica in 2009, just days after Davies was in car accident. Here's a picture:

http://www.yanksarecoming.com/bradley-faces-tough-gold-cup-choices-in-next-two-weeks

-Good article on the USA's prospective 2011 Gold Cup Roster.

Alrighty, just a quick little thing that I'll try to make a weekly series.

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US-Egypt Cancelled, and Torres to Chelsea?

Today was  very busy day in the soccer world. The US soccer match against Egypt was cancelled, and today it was announced that Liverpool's Fernando Torres is moving over to London to play for Chelsea. What madness.

First off the US-Egypt match. As soon as the news broke of the riots and revolting in Egypt, I assumed this game was cancelled, just because of the how close the game was. This, maybe wrongly, was my first thought. This would have been a great way for the US to up our ranking, with Egypt being ranked tenth in the world. Since it was a FIFA recognised date, the top US players would have played in this game, including players that are playing in Europe. The match was set to be played in Cairo on February 9th. The last time the US played Egypt was in the 2009 Confederations Cup, which the US won 3-0.

Apparently, as opposed to what I first thought, the option of switching the game to being played in the US was not an option that was explored to deeply. US Soccer president, Sunil Gulati, said about the game being cancelled, "We were excited about the opportunity to play against Egypt, but due to the current situation all parties agreed it was best to cancel the match. We appreciate the efforts of the Egyptian Football Association and the U.S. State Department as we worked through this situation." I'm definitely fine with not risking anything when the best US players would be showing up at this unstable environment.

Second bit of news, Fernando Torres signed with Chelsea today, after they payed Liverpool £50 million. This is an interesting move for Chelsea, considering they already have world class striker Didier Drogba. The current Chelsea formation is a 4-3-3 with Drogba up front, with Malouda and Anelka on the wings. I could easily see them changing to a 4-4-2, so they can put both Drogba and Torres up front.

Liverpool is planning on replacing Torres with Newcastle player, Andy Carrol. Signed for £35 million through 2016, Carrol will play in Torres' position and also wear his highly regarded number 9 jersey. They also signed Ajax and Uruguayan star Luis Suarez, which I like even better than the Carrol signing. He was signed for  £22.7 million. He is one of the best young forwards in the game today. Suarez scored an unbelievable 49 goals in 48 games played for his team Eredivisie.

Overall an interesting move that could end up really good, or really bad for Chelsea. Losing Torres will have a huge effect on Liverpool, but the Suarez and Carrol signings are great and should help Liverpool get back to their former status as one of the best clubs in the EPL.  And by the way, they're already burning the jersey's over at Anfield.

Comment in the comment section below, and if you have a question, or a suggestion for something you want me to look at, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.

USMNT Coming to Tennessee

Today it was announced on ussoccer.com that the United States Men's National Team will be playing a double header in March. The first game is on March 26th in the New Meadowlands Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey against two-time world champion Argentina. Kick off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and is to be broadcast on ESPN2 and Univision. The second game in March is to be played three days later on the 29th at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee against Paraguay. The game is set for 8:00 p.m. ET and will also be broadcast on ESPN2 and Univision. This will continue the stretch of friendlies the USMNT is playing in the early parts of 2011; along with matchups with Chile on January (to be played in LA) and Egypt on February (to be played in Cairo.)

The scheduling of these two games couldn't be better, because it falls on an international fixture date. This will allow all three teams the ability have all of their main players, if they should choose to use them. Look for the chants of "We want Messi" to break out at the Chile game. (We're looking at you American Outlaws.)

This is huge that they are letting a game be played in the Southeast. As I talked about in one of my earlier posts, any USMNT games that are played in the Southeast are chances for the soccer fans down here in the South to show our passion for the beautiful game. With 69,000+ seats to fill for this match, we have our hands full. But hopefully, we can have a good showing and give the MLS reason to expand to the Southeast. There's no question that we deserve a team. Maybe not the 20th team, but when the league expands even further to 21+ teams.

US Soccer has posted commercials for each game on their youtube account:

US-Argentina

US-Paraguay