So here are a mixed bag of tidbits and opinions on things going on in the world of soccer both locally, nationally and internationally.

*Still trying to put together the whole Olympic Qualifying effort. It is clear that progress has been made from game 1-3 and the good news is the U.S. has advanced in yet than convincing style. Then on the other hand has anybody been convincing in Concacaf? The answer is an obvious no.
Different alignments and personnel have been put out by U.S. manager Peter Nowak and teen stars Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu were rested in the 1-0 win Saturday night over Honduras. A couple of thoughts:
1.) Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden continues to raise his stock.
2.) Teams are clearly sitting deep against the U.S. and more individuals capable of creating on their own are needed. Hmm Robbie Rodgers and Arturo Alvarez could come to mind.
3.) Get the tactics right. If Jozy Altidore plays up front find your wide players that can get him the delivery he needs to be effective.
4.) Give credit to Charlie Davies who was way to anxious to take his penalty kick after earning it against Honduras. After missing he could have been buried mentally yet responded with a more motivated effort to make amends during the rest of the game. In the end he earned another pk and this time was Eddie Gaven converted for the win.

5.) Peter Nowak’s tactics changed as the personel did in the first three games.

FULHAM BEAT EVERTON
Brian McBride scored in the second half at Craven Cottage to give Fulham life in their relegation battle. Yes it was a header and yes he had blood on his jersey again. What a hero the former SLU players has become in England. The win is a blow to Everton’s Champions league desires.
Kasey Keller got the win in goal over rival Tim Howard of Everton. Carlos Bocanegra, Eddie Johnson, Clint Dempsey also played a part in “Team America’s” EPL win.
Johnson seems to be growing in the soccer culture and environment in England which some like me had questioned that he would survive. That in itself is good news for the U.S. National team.

DYNAMO SHOULD BE MISSING REGULARS WEDNESDAY
The Dynamo will open play the return leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup this Wednesday at Robertson Stadium.
This is a can’t miss for fans of seeing the Dynamo in international competition.
Brad Davis looks to miss this one as Saturday he did little in training. How much will Brian Mullan play a part in this one?
The team will also be missing midfielder Stuart Holden and defender Patrick Ianni.
THis is a significant opportunity to inch closer to a shot at getting to the World Club Championships.
To find out tune in TO THE DYNAMO POWER HOURS WITH GLENN DAVIS MONDAY NIGHT AT 7pm on 790 The Sports Animal.
Call in number is 713-212-5790 and you can email comments to Glenn Davis at gdavis98@swbell.net
The show also airs on the internet live at MLSNET.Com and podcast is available the next day at www.790TheSportsanimal.com

The matches are set for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Schedule for the first leg looks like this.
(All Times Central)

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
———————————
Manchester United at Roma, 2:45 p.m.
Barcelona at Schalke, 2:45 p.m.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008
————————
Liverpool at Arsenal, 2:45 p.m.
Chelsea at Fenerbahce, 2:45 p.m.

The U.S. got a 1-0 victory over Panama courtesy of a Freddy Adu penalty kick.
Jozy Altidore drew the penalty after coming in 1v1 against the Panamanian goalkeeper and contact was initiated.
On closer inspection you could see that Altidore’s final touch to round the keeper was long and it almost looked as though he realized he might not get there and initiated contact in the penalty area.
His expression told you that he was disappointed with the way he handled his encounter with the opponents goalkeeper.
Barring a miracle from Cuba. Who at last count had seven players defect (like you didn’t see that coming) and will play Panama in their final game, the United States now are jockeying for the top seed in their group with Honduras in their final game.
The idea is to avoid a game with Mexico after the group stages.
On a local note Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden was solid, making great choices on the ball and showing a level of composure that was missing in the first game.
U.S. coachPeter Nowak made 6 changes with personnel to start the game and also altered his tactically alignment and was visibly relieved after this win.

The Champions League draw is out: Arsenal vs. Liverpool EPL sides are familiar with each other.

Manchester United vs. Roma A tasty English/Italian clash.

Schalke vs. Barcelona Barca missing Messi.

Fenerbache vs. Chelsea History for the Turks, Grants head on the line.

*Note March 24th Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis airs live for 13 straight weeks at THE STAGS HEAD PUB near 59 and Sheperd. Live guests, ticket giveaways and the best in soccer talk.

After a disappointing 1-1 result against Cuba the U.S. under 23 Olympic squad is under heavy pressure to get a result against Panama tonite at 7pm on the FSC.
I am reserving judgement until the final two games are playing but if Cuba was a measuring stick of where we are which fairly or unfairly these games become it is worrisome.
The squad was slow and sluggish and did not look sharp for vast stretches of the match.
Lots of MLS pre-season and travel amongst these players could be considered. Did Peter Nowak push this squad to much physically like he did when at DC United ?
NBC who are carrying the Olympic soccer games must be holding their breath.

*The Dynamo will be grouped in the Superliga with Chivas, DC United and Atlante.
Pachuca was originally in the group but lets just say some “concern” about this being the “group of death” arose. I love seeing the Dynamo get a shot at Omar Bravo. Sergio Santana and Jonny Magallon Chivas.

*The return leg of the Dynamo vs. Municipal will be on Wednesday the 19th. Rest assured that Guatemalan fans living in Houston will come out in force for this one. Do you get the sense that most don’t understand the importance of the Concacaf Champions Cup for MLS teams? Little coverage about the Dynamo in Guatemala was in the English media today.

*I invite you to join me at the Stags Head Pub every (with an occasional Tuesday) Monday from March 24th for 13 consecutive weeks for the live broadcast of “Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis” on 790 The Sports Animal from 7-9pm. Dynamo players and staff will be in attendance live at these events plus great giveaways and of course the best in soccer talk at the Stags Head Pub.
We appreciate that Stags Head Pub have gotten behind the sport of soccer, the Dynamo and soccer in the media.
Stags Head Pub is located at Sheperd and 59 in the Sheperd Plaza. They have hosted World Cup events in the past and Stags Head Pub was a presenting sponsor of the U.S./Mexico international match recently.

Defending MLS Cup Champion Houston Dynamo drew 0-0 against Municipal at the Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City , Guatemala.
The result capped a solid international road performance that now sets the Dynamo up this coming Wednesday in the return leg at Robertson Stadium. The Dynamo achieved this result playing without injured midfielder Brad Davis and Stuart Holden who is away with the U.S. Olympic qualifying team.
The Dynamo looked sharp considering the lack of personel for this time in the season and employed a strong road work ethic to get the result. Professional performance, no injuries and emotional control earn a valuable result and poll position in the second leg next week.

Player thoughts:

GK Pat Onstad: Set the tone with an early save. Handled everything clean and provided confidence and composure.

Wade Barrett: Dependable as always, hard time getting into the attack but delivered a beauty of a ball to Wondolski that was headed wide.

Eddie Robinson: Solid in the middle and always motivates either Patrick Ianni or in this case Bobby Boswell.

Bobby Boswell: Kept himself central and let the game come to him yet he is not a given when Ianni returns.

Craig Waibel: A few saving plays from the “Peaceful Warrior” who played it well positionally for the majority of the match. Caught out once or twice but all in all a solid 90 minutes from a guy who had injury problem early in pre-season. His positional sense and soccer brain aka experience needed on this night.

Richard Mulrooney: Helped control the right side of the field in front of Waibel, nearly got on the end of a cross. Versatility personified and his experience was vital.

Ricardo Clark: Got alot of the ball and played away from pressure nicely and at appropriate times. His long range bomb almost won the Dynamo the game in the second half.

Dwayne DeRosario: Appreciate the defensive effort and selfless play from last year’s MLS Cup Mvp. A great reminder that he does as much work in his own half as he does in the attacking half. The artist turned aside his creative instincts to help get the draw.

Cory Ashe: Hard work helped secure left side. Ran out of ideas on the ball on occasion and made a few suspect choices yet produced a quality effort for a second year player. Little delivery from wide areas from both he and Mulrooney cut out the lifeline to Brian Ching but road chances were expected to be less on this night without Davis, Holden and less than ready Mullan.

Brian Ching: Turned into a fifth midfielder actually dropping deeper than Chris Wondoloski for much of the time. His work effort helped to preserve the important road draw. Did not get the normal wide delivery that he thrives on with the abscence of Brad Davis and Brian Mullan (only played the final few minutes).

Chris Wondoloski: No one can fault his work ethic and honesty as a player. He nearly scored a great header after delivery from Wade Barrett. Clearly he is getting the opportunity to win the job next to Brian Ching from Dominic Kinnear. Still it was night where it would have been nice to have a forward with some breakaway potential and ability to beat people off the dribble ala Joseoph Ngwenya.

Subs: Brian Mullan- NR
Franco Caraccio-NR

VERDICT: Dynamo pressed early and had good moments of possession on the road. Subtle balance problems were not punished by Municipal as the Dynamo got caught positionally a few times which at this point of the season is to be expected. Work ethic solid for the Dynamo at this stage and they are the favorites in the second leg at Robertson Stadium.
Their collective nature and willingness to play for each other helped them earn this important draw at this stage despite the fact that they are still working at integrating players into the team. STRONG RESULT

BEST CHANCE: Ricardo Clark nearly scored a spectacular goal from long range in the second half when chances were few and far between.

DC United and Harbour View in Jamaica ended in a 1-1 draw as Harbour View equalized late . Devon McTavish had the DC goal in a game that was far less entertaining then the Dynamo and Municipal. DC United are positioned well for the second leg.
Marcello Gallardo clearly will be one of the best passing midfielders in MLS this coming season. Clyde Simms will need to have his best season ever in MLS in support of Gallardo.

Post your thoughts on the game…..

Dynamo kick off their quest to get to the World Club Championships tonite when they play at Municipal in Guatemala. Last year the Dynamo where ousted in the semi-finals against Pachuca in a memorable series.
The site is the Estadio Mateo Flores (see earlier post) and Municipal fans are known for their passionate support.
Dynamo lineup should look like this:

Onstad
Waibel Robinson Boswell Barrett (capt.)

Mulrooney Clark Ashe

DeRosario

Ching Wondoloski

*Dynamo sharpness and fitness wise look better at this stage than last year yet will be missing Brad Davis. Brian Mullan could be used as a substitute but will not go the full 90 minutes after talking to Dominic Kinnear earlier this week.
Personel wise they are also short in midfield with Stuart Holden and reserve defender Patrick Ianni who was not tested last night in a disappointing 1-1 draw with Cuba in Olympic qualifying (see earlier post).
Undermanned yes but better prepared fitness wise I believe after seeing Dynamo in San Antonio.

*Expect to see Argentine Franco Caraccio as a sub. This will be the first chance for many Dynamo fans to see him play.

*Dynamo will look to push the tempo and the idea will be to position themselves result-wise for the 2nd leg in Houston on March 19th which in essence is the Dynamo home opener for 2008 (will you be there?)

*Municipal is along with Communicaciones the most popular squad in Guatemala and features former MLS players Pando Ramirez and Mario “El Loco” Rodriguez who played with LA and Columbus respectively. Neither made big impressions in MLS but will look to right that tonite. Freddy Garcia and Freddy Thompson in midfield are also players that have had extensive time with Guatemala’s national team.

What are your thoughts on tonite’s match? Also don’t forget DC United is at Jamaican club Harbour View? IS this the year MLS breaks through in the Concacaf Champions Cup? Can MLS win in Mexico this time around and get to the World Club Championships?

Interview with Gordon Jago

Glenn: With that we welcome in Gordon Jago.

Gordon: Hi Glenn, it’s nice to be with you.
Glenn: Its nice to hear your voice again, you and I haven’t talked for quite awhile have we?
Gordon: Correct and that is bad on my part.
Glenn: Well my part as well .
Gordon: I intend to rectify that .
Glenn: We should had you on this program a lot earlier than now, but when we talk Dallas Cup we think of you quite a bit, and this year Gordon it seems as though there’s a lot of attention always on the Super Group. What a line up you have got here. I see Sao Paulo from Brazil and of course there’s Liverpool, and Tom Hicks who’s a Dallas area guy, is obviously connected as an owner with Liverpool. How has that affected you maybe bringing them over here?

Gordon: Well to be truthful, we were already in negotiations before Mr.Hicks purchased the club, and we were very close to getting them , but of course once he came on board and being the owner of the club, and this being his home town, then there was no problem at all. And so they came on board and they come in with a very strong side Glenn and I think naturally because they want to play well because it’s Mr.Hick’s team and Mr. Hick’s town here in Dallas.

Glenn: Gordon Jago joining us here with the Dallas cup, and Gordon you know if I look over brackets here, I see Benefica, and Eintracht Frankfurt from Germany, there’s Chivas from Mexico. We’ve got a team from Canada, the Whitecaps, FK Slavia from Bosnia. How do you go about picking the international teams for the super group? I know you like to attract diverse teams.

Gordon: Well that’s the case actually Glenn. In the future we’re going to have three United States teams in the competition. We’ve had one year with two but such is the improvement in our soccer now, I think that super group level our top teams can now hold their own. At one time of course, as we might say in their infancy, it wasn’t so. It certainly isn’t that way now and so we’re looking at next year which is our 30th anniversary that we’ll have 3 United States teams. But we’re trying to balance it as you can see. We have the United States, Canada, with Japan there. Then we have the 3 Mexican side so we have got CF Monterrey, Tigres, and Guadalajara. Then we went to on the Bosnian side, that was a new one to us. I got word that they were interested, and we had not seen a team from that part of the world for some time so we brought those in with Eintracht from Frankfurt which gave a strong European aspect. We have Sao Paulo coming back, great side of course. They won it last year. If they win it this year then of course they will create history because no team has won the Super Group three times. This would be the first team to achieve that. Then of course, we have that opportunity with Liverpool, and Liverpool being an Adidas team, and our sponsor being Adidas that was an easy one, and of course Adidas brought me Benfica. It’s a very nice balanced Super Group there in every respect internationally.

Glenn: Gordon, what an amazing opportunity with this, because when you’re mentioning a lot of these teams, the ability for the kids playing in this tournament, they’re familiar with these names. They know that Freddie Adu plays at Benfica, they know that Omar Bravo plays at Guadalajara and for Mexico. They know that Steven Gerrard play for Liverpool, so television is a connection with these clubs in your Super Group and the ability to catch these games on TV and see the big club’s playing it’s got to have helped the tournament’s awareness, right?

Gordon: Oh, undoubtedly and of course the key thing that you mentioned Glenn is the young American’s playing soccer now, he’s watching all they games at the weekend whether they come from Mexico or United Kingdom, Italy…they’re aware of the top international stars in those teams and of course in this instance you know we’ve had Rossi was playing for Manchester United here two years ago, within two weeks after the tournament, he was sold for $10 million dollars. We’re delighted that the top teams around the world have been coming here They know that they’ve got to bring a competitive team and at the same time it gives our fans, boys, girls and the grown ups the chance to see stars that some are already there and many of them are going to be stars of the future as were the David Beckham’s of the past.

Glenn: Gordon, I know Houston area teams.. there’s always a lot of disappointment about not getting invited to the Dallas Cup this year there are six area teams that will come from Houston to participate in the tournament. How does the selection process work and what is the criteria?

Gordon: Well, the major criteria is on the basis of their record within the United States. And of course they’re judged in terms of national competition, whether they made it to the national final four, or regional champions or state champions in that respect. And of course there are some teams representing MLS and we are working hard with them to give their players a chance to play in the tournament and come up against top international teams but primarily it’s always selection goes basically on the record that they’ve achieved in the past two seasons. It’s very difficult because now you’ve got some strong spots now. Houston’s developing fast. You go to Southern California, Glenn, you can get seven or eight really good teams applied for one age bracket but you can’t take those seven or eight teams because it would be too many teams from that area. As they’ve drawn against each other, they say well why did we go all the way to Dallas we could have played each other in California regularly. So for selection purposes, it’s becoming increasingly difficult and there is alot of disappointment. We turned down 167 teams this year. We took 180. Which is 51 international and 28 local and 91 USA teams from 27 states.

Glenn: Dallas Cup International Tournament opens up on March 16th. Many people love the Super Group, but I can tell you all the different age levels under 13, under 14, under 15, 16, 17, you see a lot of tremendous games. A lot of international relationships created and built. It’s a great community project. You mentioned MLS Gordon, how involved is FC Dallas of MLS with this tournament ? Are they involved?

Gordon: Well, of course we have a 7 year contract with them, with Hunts Sports Group to utilize the Pizza Hut Park Stadium and the Complex and we try to work with them for example this year, because they’ve got a chance to play the Brazilian team, Palnincy, in their final exhibition game before they start the season. We have kindly agreed with them to put that game on Saturday the 22nd, which is normally out for the Super Group and we’ve done away with that this year because we thought it was a great opportunity to help FC Dallas and more importantly all the boys and girls that are in town particularly the girls tournament, the Spring Girls Classic, they can come over to Pizza Hut Park on Saturday night and see top professionals, so during the course of the week, we bring the top international youth tournament and then on Saturday night FC Dallas can play Paranaese from Brazil. So we work very closely with FC Dallas because we want to help the youth, players, and to bring the best possible soccer to Dallas during the course of this week.

Glenn: He’s Gordan Jago, one of Directors of the Dallas Cup also a great coach in his day with the Dallas Sidekicks with the Major Indoor Soccer League with the Tampa Bay Rowdies going back to England and Queens Park Rangers and Gordon, I guess you had an eye on the England FA Cup this weekend, how amazing was that? Some of these results.

Gordon: It’s unbelievable. Where’s Liverpool? Where’s Arsenal? Where’s Chelsea? Where’s Manchester Unoted? They’ve all gone by the bull which shows you what a great competition it can be.

Glenn: Gordon, what might have been one of your greatest memories from your participation as a coach in the FA Cup?
Gordon: Possibly playing against Everton in the 3rd round in the 3rd round or 4th round of the cup with my club at the time Charlton Athletic and it was, I was a young player at the time and I hadn’t been in the side long and we played at Everton and there was 74,000 people at that game. And it went to overtime it was a replay and we lost 4-1 in overtime but unbelievable experience in terms of the FA Cup. As a manger the greatest disappointment. We got to the quarter finals twice and both times hoping to get into the semi-final and one game away from the final and both times in the quarter final we got beat unfortunately. It’s an unbelievable tournament. Very quickly Glenn, when you’re a big time as we were as Queenspark Rangers, and you draw a non-league team, you know one of the teams that’s not even in the four divisions or you draw a lesser team it’s terrible because you have everything to lose and nothing to gain. And I remember at Queens Park Rangers in the 3rd round we drew a non-league team Barnett and we struggled at home to draw 1-1 and should have got knocked out. They hit the bar 5 minutes to go and again another big upset and we go into the reply and we win 5-2 but that shot goes 6” below the bar and you’re out of the cup. It’s just an incredible tournament…any given day as we’ve seen this year smaller club in terms of position within the league etc., can knock out the big club and go into the next round
Glenn: Gordon, Thank you very much for you time and we wish you great success again with the Dallas Cup. It’s a great tournament. It’s opening March 16th. Gordon Jago, thank you.
Gordon: Hey, Glenn, Thank you for all you do and good luck to all the people down there in Houston and congratulations to the Dynamo on two magnificent seasons. Hope it continues to make it three times. But again, appreciate all you’re doing for the game of soccer, Glenn.
Glenn: And likewise Gordon. That’s Gordon Jago of the Dallas Cup and again it opens March 16th. A number of Houston area teams will be involved in that tournament. David Beckham of Manchester United, Harry Kewell of Liverpool, Jaime Moreno have all come through the Dallas Cup as young players.

It was a disappointing night for the U.S. Olympic qualifying squad. Despite the better chances the team drew 1-1 with Cuba.
The United States came out very sharp and in the early minutes had a shot from Freddy Adu hit off the post. Adu on the night looked good and has clearly benefitted from his experience overseas at Benfica in Portugal. Adu gave the U.S. the early lead but the mistake ultimately was not finishing off Cuba early by getting a second or third goal.
Cuba would then get settled in and produce an equalizer after slack U.S. defending right before halftime to take things into the locker room with momentum.
The Cubans spent the entire evening playing for the counter-attack and it’s mission became to earn a point by defending very deep. One wonders how a few more technical players like Arturo Alvarez and even Benny Feilhaber would have done being inserted into the game at this point.
Adu remained the biggest threat with Dax McCarty providing inspiration out of central midfield yet the U.S. many times just seemed to dwell on the ball and not move it quickly enough. Robbie Findlay missed a golden opportunity one on one with the Cuban goalkeeper while a longer range shot hit by McCarty was turned away .
Average performance got the U.S. a less than average result. Despite creating a few more chances the U.S. looked sluggish for large stretches of this match and could not change the tempo.
Houston Dynamo central defender Patrick Ianni started and played 90 minutes while Stuart Holden did not play. He also may have been a good choice in this game.
The lack of ability to hold the ball up front was exhibited by Chad Barrett who had a difficult night after coming off the bench.
Jozy Altidore played the first 45 minutes and also was less than sharp.
All in all a night of disappointment.

Of course we all know the greatest league in the world is the Champions League. The top teams from different countries with different playing styles meeting in different environments and cultures can’t be beat.
With four English squads making it to the final eight of the Champions League it is pretty clear where the EPL stands in comparison to Spain, Italy and Germany.
It is not always conclusive to judge leagues by results in the Champions League yet this is what many do.
Who is to argue with English teams after Liverpool disposed of Inter Milan at the San Siro.
The result eliminated for the second straight week and Italian club at home. Last week Arsenal produced a stunning performance at the San Siro knocking out defending champions AC Milan. That result must have proved motivational for Liverpool who held a 2-0 aggregate lead going into the second leg. Inter manager Roberto Mancini now has said he may step down at the end of the season.
Chelsea getting past Olympiakos and Manchester United defeating Lyon as expected round out the four English squads that have gotten to the final eight of the Champions League.
How big of a part English players are playing in these results are another manner.

The Dynamo will kick off their Concacaf Champions Cup competition against Municipal of Guatemala in Guatemala City this Wednesday night. Although the Dynamo seem overall more prepared than last year against Puntarenas of Costa Rica, head coach Dominic Kinnear will have some selection problems.
Brad Davis will not participate after a hamstring injury in the Texas Soccer Festival. Stuart Holden and Patrick Ianni will be involved win Olympic qualifying while Brian Mullan whose wife is pregnant may not make the trip to Guatemala.
Here is what the starting line-up may look like :

4-4-2

Onstad
Waibel Robinson Boswell Barrett

Mulrooney Clark Ashe

DeRosario

Ching Wondoloski

*If Mullan is available he could come off the bench as he has limited pre-season playing time as of late.

*Expect Argentine striker Franco Caraccio to get his first real minutes with the first team in this game.

* The Dynamo need a result that will postion themselves to advance in the second leg on March 19th at Robertson Stadium.

*Municipal was formed in 1936 and has won 25 league titles and along with Communicaciones is the most well known team in Guatemala. Their squad has numerous Guatemalan national team players and they have played in Houston numbers times with both club and country. Fans may remember Pando Ramirez of LA and Mario “El Loco” Rodriguez who played 19 games for Columbus in 2005. Freddy Garcia and Freddy Thompson will strengthen their midfield.
Estadio Mateo Flores holds 30,000 fans and is a grass surface and their fans can make a difference and make the environment uncomfortable. They are involved in league play at this time.