Finally, finally, finally I get an in-person taste of the international flavor sweeping the MLS world this summer. Your old pal Tino is off to Checkettsville to take in the Real-Real derby, or the XanGo Cup, as they are calling it there.
XanGo is an energy drink made from mangosteen, by the way. If I had a nickel for every time I woke up and craved a little mangosteen in the morning ...
Anyway, while everyone has been taking in these great games all over the country - including right here on Planet LA last weekend - the Queen of the Palace has had me running all over the place in an effort to make sure I don't see any of them. I think she would have skipped the birth of The Prince of the Palace if Project Runway was on, but heaven forbid I get to one of these great international friendlies this summer.
But alas, this weekend I am shipping her off to the in-laws so they can sit around and come up with new ways to torture me while I am off to beautiful Salt Lake City to take in the latest piece of what has been footie heaven for us soccer dorks this summer.
Where do you want to start?
The All-Star Game was magic, absolutely what the All-Star Game should be every summer from now on. While it's nice the MLS boys didn't get stomped, we all know beating a preseason Chelsea means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme. But you know what, it sure was fun.
It was a grand spectacle, and that's the important bit. Meshing the MLS players with the best team in the best league in the world made for a great day for U.S. soccer fans, kind of a reward for every fan who has sat at an August day game in Dallas or hunkered in during a late-fall downpour in D.C.
Dwayne De Rosario's goal won't be looked upon like Paul Caligiuri's, but it was a nice Canuck cherry on top of a day that continue to intertwine our domestic league with the great teams and players around the world.
A day later, Planet LA was the scene where New Eng-er-land, Los Goats from both MLS and south of the 2-0 parallel, and the featured guests from Barcelona didn't let a terrible pitch ruin a festive atmosphere.
Just a few days later you had Wednesday night's double dose with Barcelona and America playing to a 4-4 thriller in Houston after the Galaxy stole three points from Houston Dynamo.
And in Seattle, if you saw the D.C. United-Real Madrid match you saw a cracking affair highlighted by a stellar goal from United through Alecko Eskandarian. Whether it was the great buildup to Esky's strike, Troy Perkins robbing Roberto Carlos or Jaime Moreno toying with Fabio Cannavaro at one point down the right flank, Major League Soccer's best did the league proud on the night in a 1-1 draw.
How about this week for the United players who made the All-Star team? Playing Chelsea on Saturday and then Real Madrid on Wednesday? Esky put it best, said he was in the Champions League this week.
And now the attention turns this weekend to the Red Bulls-Barcelona match back east and the RSL-Real Madrid match out this way.
RSL is coming off a testy 4-1 destruction of Mile High Club in Denver which I hear at times resembled a night at the WWE, led by a brace and an assist from Rapids old boy Jeff Cunningham.
RSL is hoping the packed house will spur the team on to a good performance, and send the message that this team belongs in this market. As poor as the team has been on the field at times, they continue to draw and are already a part of that community. I've heard it first hand on multiple occasions from Utahns (yup, that's what they're called) who have told me how the arrival of the team has transformed them into soccer fans.
Here's hoping this Saturday helps many more people join them.
THE NEWS: The Bruce takes over at Red Bull New York.
TCS SAYS: This is good on so many levels, mainly because I am not a beat writer covering the team. I get ridiculed enough at home that the last thing I need is someone even more sarcastic than I am giving it to me at work.
So I get to sit out here in Planet LA and just read the clips of him ripping apart everyone else as only he can. One of his first shots:
"It's not going to be easy. I heard somebody call this thing a superclub at one time. Whatever drugs that person is taking I'd like to get a boatload of them. It sure makes you silly."
Uh, that would be the Galaxy's Alexi Lalas, if I am not mistaken.
Good for The Bruce for knocking down the whole "Super Club" name that gets thrown around on both coasts.
I mean please, the only super club I have seen here is last weekend when I put two hamburger patties, a half-pound of bacon and a half-brick of cheese on a huge onion roll and ate it while ordering an angioplasty machine online. Now that is a super club.
Anyway, love him or hate him, Arena will fix this 11-year-old mess. Here's a perfect example of why. What's his first order of business? A $10 million striker? A world-class ball-winner?
Nope, he wants - demands - a training facility.
If you know anything about running a professional organization, you know that this is a must. The Bruce is going to build this thing from the ground up. He'd like to make the playoffs this year, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter. He is going to do this right, which means start from the (training) ground up.
Be patient, Red Bull faithful, things are looking up.
THE NEWS: Is Dwayne De Rosario the most underrated player in MLS history?
TCS SAYS: I was watching GolTV the other night and I think it was Phil Schoen saying that the Canadian might be the best player the league has had. While there is no chance that is the case, how many people would even have considered him in the top 10? How about the top 20?
The guy scores wonder goals on a consistent basis, but does so most often out of the midfield, where he can also do a lot more to stamp his influence on a game. And I know he is a perennial MVP candidate lately, but I still think if you were having a pint and someone asked who you thought was the best player in the league right now, his name might not even make the conversation.
Gotta say it, probably the most underrated player I can ever remember in this league.
THE NEWS: Speaking of our friends north of the border, it's never too early to pass along coaching rumors for Toronto (don't call us Inter) FC.
TCS SAYS: Our man Steven Goff in D.C. says United assistant coach Tom Soehn is one of the leading candidates, along with one Maurice Johnston. Goff says the team wants to make a decision by the end of the MLS season.
TCS PERSON OF THE WEEK:
Every week we're going to pick one person to give a little love, a little special recognition for doing something to really stand out. Could be a player, coach, broadcaster, you name it. Sometimes we may even have to venture outside of the soccer world. Feel free to email in with your nominations.
He's baaaaaaaaaaaack! That's right, The Bruce went out and signed none other than TCS all-time favorite DEMA KOVALENKO as his first move in Red Bull land. Dema used to blade people for both the Fire and D.C. United before joining a team in his native Ukraine called Metalurh Zaporizhya, which I believe translates to "Two-Foot Specialists." Anyway, welcome back Dema. So nice to see you. Here's hoping one of my Hoops gives you a nice welcome-back present at some point. Right on the back of your leg.
FLICK-ONS:
See, now this is a tough one. The Sporting News completely dissed (I can't believe I just used that verb) the lying, cheating, stealing Fire by not inviting them to a celebration for Chicago being named the best sports city in the country. First off, that choice is a whole other joke. Now, if they didn't invite the Fire because they were worried Fire players would steal the silverware at the banquet, then I understand. But if they didn't invite the Fire because they don't think MLS belongs, well, who reads The Sporting News anyway? Turns out the magazine realized its mistake and the Fire got the invite, so everyone wins. Except the silverware rental company.
Congrats to Kasey Keller who just got named captain of his German club team, Borussia Moenchengladbachsteinhamburgermund by his teammates.
When I listed all the international fun going on, I forgot to mention Revs defender Avery John playing in Trinidad's 2-0 loss to Japan in Tokyo, thanks to two goals from Japan's Alex Dos Santos. Japan's Alex Dos Santos. Love those FIFA regulations.
So I ordered Setanta Sports USA on DirecTV and now I just cant seem to get rid of it, meaning I don't want to. I bought it to watch my beloved Crystal Palace in the playoffs last seasons, kept it for the pre-World Cup stuff they were showing, and now it turns out they will be showing some Premier League games this season as well as a bunch of other stuff? That's got me hooked. Sunday morning, Crystal Palace-Leeds. Love it.
This sounds kind of fun: next Sunday (Aug. 20) before the Galaxy-Hoops showdown at the Home Depot Center, there will be a Galaxy Alumni game against another team led by Without A Trace star Anthony LaPaglia, who is not an altogether terrible goalkeeper. Among the Galaxy old boys will be Alexi Lalas, Mauricio Cienfuegos, Paul Caligiuri and Robin Fraser. I guess Andrew Shue is too busy choosing his next movie role.
During the season, The Clean Sheet runs each week on MLSnet. Views and opinions expressed in this column views and opinions are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com. Send any questions and comments to tcsresponses@yahoo.com
