Wishing all of you a happy Memorial Day weekend.
I attended the LA Galaxy practice yesterday ahead of our exclusive broadcast on HDNET tonite of LA and KC.
The game airs at 9:30 pm central time and should be interesting.
LANDON DONOVAN and DAVID BECKHAM will play against each other and then head to England where the UNITED STATES will take on the “THREE LIONS” on Wednesday in an international friendly at the “new” Wembley Stadium (2:30 eastern on ESPN Classic).
Donovan will earn his 100th cap at only 26 years of age while Beckham could pick up 101.
The Galaxy practice included technical work, set pieces and some possession play. Beckham worked on his delivery and was professional throughout. Even had a bit of fun trying to chip balls at assistant coach Cobi Jones and Ruud Gullit as they left on a golf cart.
Being exclusive on HDNET gave us the chance to interview David Beckham who addressed his youth influences, culture of Galaxy, playing vs LD in friendly, being a target in MLS amongst other things. I have interviewed Beckham three times now and he is always cordial, extends a hand to shake and willing to give his time.
KC comes in after a 1-1 draw while LA dismantled FC Dallas 5-1 costing Steve Morrow his job as head coach for the “hoops”.
Should be a good one tonite from the Home Depot Center.
Lots of emails and posts coming in questioning Dynamo for not upgrading squad enough (they are still looking to do this) while others have improved teams. Some have even questioned the Dynamo desire after having won two MLS Cups?
So fanatico’s….what is the problem in your mind? Or are we over-reacted based on the Western Conference standings?
CHECK THESE WEBSITES OUT: NICKSTEAM.ORG- Fight cancer through soccer and support my buddy Nick’s tournament.
Homeforthedynamo.com- Fans becoming active in support of a new stadium. Awesome!
Just a quick opinion on FC Dallas. Was Morrow whacked at the right time. Was this a knee-jerk reaction to a crushing, missed opportunity to perform in front of a sell out crowd? FC Dallas has a history of questionable leadership …was Morrow the right coach in the first place after being an assistant to Colin Clark?
Irregardless Morrow collected some talented players but the up and down nature of the squad was obvious and it seemed as though he may have been losing some players……FC Dallas has normally given coaches long ropes, not so in this situation and you were wonder if this was a statement to fans or a CYA from the front office.
Tom Soehn at DC United also seems to be in hot water and rumor has his firing imminent. Don’t like seeing coaches fired but the reality is that David Beckham has ushered in a new PRESSURE.
We always forget how young Donovan is, he has been the best active player for the USMNT and the face of US soccer for so long that it feels like he has been playing forever. Donovan is a prime example of everything that is great and everything that is wrong with US soccer, he showed us that anyone born in the US (or that moved to the US as a child) can get to be a great player, he also showed us that skills and ability are not enough if you don´t have the hunger and/or are not willing to sacrifice a few things and work hard, he is good, could have been great, without the hunger he is the best player in the history of US soccer, imagine him with the hunger.
The problem now with Donovan is that he is in that place in which he will get bash regardless of what he does or stops doing, if he starts showing emotions then he is arrogant and childish, but if he restrains himself then he is an emotionless robot.
Will surely visit the first web page, cancer touches a lot of people these days, my mother in law is undergoing treatment, I know my wife´s life has change because of this, great to see someone taking a hard moment and creating something good out of it.
ESPN classic?, well, we still have a long way to go, hopefully we will get there.
Glenn, don´t forget to talk a little about “Libertadores” Monday, that Flu-Boca will probably be a great series, one of those semifinals with a championship game feeling, and what about America, defeating consecutive Brazilian teams, there semifinal will be a high one, none of the teams can complaint about the altitude.
Comment by Jarrambide — May 24, 2008 @ 10:26 am
I thought Morrow did an OK job at Dallas but this was a knee jerk reaction. He never really fixed the defensive problems they have had and it is not as if they have no talent in the back. It’s pretty hard to build an organization and program when you change out coaches frequently make short-term roster moves (Denilson).
I saw a comment or critique somewhere else regarding how Dallas is still living in the old MLS business model (families, suburban folks, halftime acts, etc.) and thus the proper analysis of the on-field product and the ability to attract the hard core soccer fan has been hampered because of the way that they measure success. It’s almost like they fired Morrow because he lost 5-1 on a day with a sellout while if he goes down 6-0 to San Jose on a Wed. night then he survives.
As much as I appreciate the contributions the Hunt family has made to soccer in this country, I don’t sense that they have been on top of the pulse of that organization. They do have an SSS that I’m sure makes money but it seems like they are just a shade above Colorado in terms of running a franchise.
This is why I think that if you are a fan of the better organizations (Houston, DC United, New England, I’d put KC in that group now) you can always have faith and belief that things will get fixed over the course of time
Comment by JJ — May 24, 2008 @ 2:15 pm