IVAN DE LA PENA a former player at BARCELONA came back to haunt his old club scoring twice as ESPANYOL defeated Barca the heavy favorites 2-1 at the Nou Camp. The “Catalan Derby” went to a club that is last in La Liga and wasn’t given a prayer to pull off this result. Add to that the fact that De La Pena was a former player and you have a legendary moment.

I was in LA tonite for the Pan Pacific Championship 2009 and the Suwon Bluewings ended up winning the tournament in penalty kicks over the LA Galaxy. The K League Champions took the lead on an own goal from Sean Franklin who headed a cross beyond his goalkeeper Josh Saunders. Franklin was so upset he pulled his jersey over his head as he walked to the locker room at halftime. Now playing as a right back Franklin joined in the attack along with Chris Klein to provide the most danger for the Galaxy down the right side. On a night of ill-timed tackles Franklin was red carded in the second half leaving the Galaxy to play a man down.
The Galaxy were then gifted a penalty kick in the final minutes which MIKE MAGEE converted to tie the score.
Tournament rules had the teams go straight to penalty kicks where Edson Buddle missed horribly over the top and Kyle Patterson was saved in round 4 after Suwon hit all four penalties.

Atlante continued their struggles drawing 1-1 at San Luis today with Luis Gabriel Rey scoring their lone goal.
They continue to have a hard time producing goals yet are not conceding many.

SUNDAY MORNING OPPORTUNITY

Catch the Dynamo in training Sunday morning at UH prior to their match against Atlante of Mexico……What a great opportunity for youth teams to catch the pro’s going through the paces……..

So did anyone catch the KHOU Dynamo programming this week? Thoughts?

Tuesday is a big day at Robertson Stadium as the Dynamo will take on Atlante of Mexico who today are playing at San Luis.
Are you making plans for Tuesday’s late start (9pm) at Robertson Stadium…..The Texian Army will present the Dynamo with scarves and their pledge of support Sunday morning at Dynamo training….

I have always been impressed with players that consistently produce top performances. How amazing are players like Paolo Maldini and Javier Zanetti who have dedicated careers to clubs in Italy. Now I have talked before about Maldini and how he has turned down offers to other clubs repeatedly.
Javier Zanetti is another amazing story at Inter Milan and Argentina. At 35 years of age he is an Inter legend having appeared for the club 627 times and is pursuing another Inter legend Guiseppe Bergomi who has played an amazing 758 time for Inter.
Former coach Luigi Simoni calls Zanetti “indestructible”.
Zanetti has appeared 400 times as a captain for Inter and is about to equal his record of 118 games in European competition.

Mark down this week for great Champions League action marked by Tuesday’s appearance of Zanetti and Inter against Manchester United…I have been waiting for this match up of great managers. Arsenal takes on Roma, Lyon against Barcelona…..

Many believe Barcelona are putting one of their greatest seasons together under rookie coach and former player PEP GUARDIOLA.
Yet despite this, there are problems in the locker room with talented striker SAMUEL ETOO . Rumors have ETOO linked to AC MILAN like former teammate RONALDINHO.
Should Barcelona deal ETOO?

The whole DAVID BECKHAM saga could be coming to an end and my thought is that he will ultimately end up in Italy with AC MILAN. LANDON DONOVAN according to most reports will be coming back to the Galaxy unless MLS drops their transfer fee. After talking to Eddie Lewis of the LA Galaxy Wednesday night he made it clear to me that Landon Donovan desperately wants to remain in Europe. Of course this is what we have heard Donovan say before .
Now I hope Donovan does remain in Europe.
If it doesn’t work out at Bayern Munich one has to think their is other clubs in Europe that could use a player with his talents. For me Landon Donovan has done it all in MLS and for his own game and mentality needs the challenge abroad.
As for Beckham it has been great to see MLS stand up to AC Milan whose arrogance towards the league has been less than impressive. This in some ways is a watershed moment for MLS.
Should Landon Donovan stay in Europe?

DYNAMO /ATLANTE

Are you looking forward to Tuesday at Robertson when the Dynamo are involved in meaningful international competition?
Atlante plays this weekend at San Luis in Mexican League play and were less than gracious opponents the last time they came to Robertson when the Dynamo thumped them 4-0 behind two goals from Stuart Holden.
Dynamo four pack of tickets is only $32. Show me a better entertainment value than that!

WORLD CUP 2010 SOUTH AFRICA TICKETS ON SALE
Go get em….at www.fafa.com. Three million tickets for 64 matches are on sale……Are you considering going to South Africa?

WHAT?
I am totally in shock about this lady with the chimpanzee that attacked a woman disfiguring her.
Apparently four teams of surgeons had to keep her alive and she is going to have a face transplant after having her nose chewed off , her eyes gouged and potentially the loss of her hands.
Apparently the lady who owned the chimpanzee feed the animal lobster, steak, wine. She slept with the animal and bathed with the animal as well. Now I am a pet lover and have dogs but please.
This is absolutly pathetic.

CRY ME A RIVER

I get the Yankees rallying around Alex Rodriguez because they want to win a World Series. It was refreshing hearing Derek Jeter called him out but please stop telling me this guy is some sort of hero or man for admitted he used. He only admitted it because he was called out. He lied as did many other baseball players.
I believe it is time to celebrate those that have done things in integrity and the right way yet the press doesn’t do much to celebrate those guys. The fact is the integrity of the sport of baseball because it is a statistic oriented sport has been compromised.

The Dynamo draw yesterday against Hammarby might have revealed what the lineup might look like Tuesday night against Atlante minus a change or two.

Pat Onstad- gk

Richard Mulrooney-def
Julius James-def
Bobby Boswell- def
Wade Barrett-def

Geoff Cameron-mid
Ricardo Clark-mid
Brad Davis-mid
Brian Mullan-mid

Brian Ching-for
Kei Kamara-for

What lineup do you think the Dynamo will trot out? One question remains with Stuart Holden who played significant minutes against San Jose and sadly lost his father to cancer. My heart felt thoughts are with Stuart and his family.

Meanwhile Atlante drew 1-1 with Tigres with Rafael Marquez Lugo scoring their lone goal. They will travel to San Luis on Sunday before heading to Houston.

PAN PACIFIC CUP

Quick notes as I am in LA on the Pan Pacific Cup. The doubleheader last night drew poorly with Suwon Bluewings of South Korea defeating Shandong of China and the LA GALAXY getting a 2-0 win over Oita Trinita of Japan.
The Galaxy pounced on a late first half mistake from Oita at the back and Edson Buddle hit a blast that went in at the near post.
Jovan Kirovski added a penalty kick in the first eight minutes of the 2nd half. The Galaxy looked like the best team out of the four and had a lineup that started like this:

Wicks-gk
Franklin-outside back
Sanneh-central defender
Gonzalez-central defender
Lewis-left back

Tudela-mid
Klein-mid
Kirovski-mid
Kovalenko-mid

Gordon-for
Buddle-for

Lewis could be set to be the left back for the year while some like Sanneh are trying to earn a contract. Tough game to make too many conclusions from. The final this Saturday should be better attended.

Catch the podcast of last night’s Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis.
Guests on the show included U.S. National team player Amy Rodriguez now of the Boston Breakers.
Brian Ching of the Dynamo and U.S. National team, Dominic Kinnear the Dynamo head coach, and Marcelo Balboa a former MLS and national team member.
Lost of talk about U.S./ Mexico, Dynamo vs. Atlante and much, much more….
Click podcast, click Glenn Davis and enjoy.
React to the show….

Ok so I’m having a little fun.
Not the steroid taking baseball player but AMY RODRIGUEZ of the U.S. Womens National team will join me on Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis tonite at 7pm on 790 The Sports Animal.

Other guests tonite: BRIAN CHING- Dynamo and U.S. national team striker on win over Mexico
DOMINIC KINNEAR- Dynamo head coach weighs in from California 7 days ahead of the crucial Concacaf
match against Atlante.
MARCELO BALBOA former national team member weighs in on the U.S./Mexico

Call in number 713-212-5790 Streaming live at MLSNET.com , HoustonDynamo.com, 790thesportsanimal.com, podcast posted after the show.
Ticket giveaway tonite!!!

So are the U.S. now the true Kings of Concacaf? Why does Rafa Marquez melt-down against the U.S. and the “coming of age” game that Michael Bradley played in.
The real problem with Mexico? Bring it tonite soccer fans!

WELLS retires
Former Dynamo goalkeeper ZACH WELLS who last played at DC United has retired.

DYNAMO TO SIGN HAINAULT?

The first thing I noticed about Andrew Hainault when he came on the field against FC DALLAS in a pre-season friendly 11 days ago at Robertson Stadium was his confidence.
Hainault wasted no time in directing and positioning those around him. It was a good sign.
At only 22 years of age and after the impression he has made in pre-season with the Dynamo one has to think the club will pull the trigger and sign the 22 yr old Canadien national team defender. He is also a player that could play as a right back adding to the already versatile roster that showcases players capable of playing in different roles.

MONTREAL WITH AMAZING ATTENDANCE NUMBERS

I am surprised there has not been more reaction to the amazing tickets sales for the MONTREAL /SANTOS Concacaf match next Wednesday in Montreal.
The IMPACT have already sold 45,000 tickets and expect to go over 50,000. This from a USL team who is making huge headlines. Montreal will play OSWALDO SANCHEZ and SANTOS at the Olympic Stadium on artificial surface. They will be in Houston for an exhibition in future weeks.

COPENHAGEN COACH SPEAKS OUT

Stale Solbakken is using a war of words in the media prior to their UEFA Cup match with Manchester City claiming the Sky Blues are destroying football with their unrealistic ambitions. Essentially the Danish boss believes their outrageous transfer bids are destroying football? Do you agree with City’s buying policies ? Is Solbakken right to say these spending sprees could destroy football. Lets face it…every name player on the planet has been linked with City and it has to bother you a little bit that they are literally trying to buy their way to the top……John Terry of Chelsea was even linked to City in recent days.

Star man: Michael Bradley for his performance against Mexico. He has matured in the last year and you have to think for the 21 year old the German Bundesliga has been a good move despite his club in the relegation zone. Incidentally Bradley flew back to Germany after the U.S. win and scored an equalizer at Werder Bremen for Borussia Monchongladbach in the 79th minute in a 1-1 draw. The match was played in front of 42,000 fans.
What a week for this young player!!!

IPOD update:
1.) Mountain -Missisippi Queen (live)
2.) Spylab-Loveless
3.) Elvis Costello- Beyond Belief
4.) Killers- All these things that I have done
5.) Willie Nelson- Pancho and Lefty

DYNAMO inch closer to CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE encounter with ATLANTE
The Dynamo are only 9 days away from taking on Atlante of Mexico in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Champions League and things seem to be shaping up.
While the Dynamo are in California playing pre-season matches Atlante lost this past weekend at Atlas in Guadalajara 1-0. Atlante striker Bruno Marioni missed a pk in the match.
Atlante will have a crowd schedule and could limp into Houston. They take on Tigres at home this Wednesday and then turn around on Sunday to play at San Luis.
They then take the Dynamo on Tuesday night which is a 9pm kick-off.
Atlante is sits in 5th place in Group 1 in Mexico with a record of 1-2-2 on 5pts. They have only scored 6 goals while conceding 7 if you care about statistics.
I am wondering if we get this whole Concacaf Champions League tournament? Do more than the hard core realize the importance of international competition against Mexican clubs? Do they know the winner of this tournament could play against the Champions of Europe, like, say Manchester United or Barcelona?
Is this match marketed well enought by all involved including Concacaf?
The Dynamo are certainly encouraging fans to come by offering up the $32 package for four tickets?
Now a 9pm start makes it a bit difficult on the youth soccer crowd that is for sure.

Montreal will take on Santos on Wednesday the 25th and they have already sold 45,000 tickets and feel they will break the 50,000 mark.
Wow!!!!

Dynamo All Access wtih Glenn Davis has been moved this week from tonite to tomorrow night on 790 The Sports Animal to feature BRIAN CHING, A ROD, DOMINIC KINNEAR and more……Catch the show from 7-9pm that will include Dynamo updates, Euro updates, interviews , red card segments plus listener mail.
Bring it fanaticos at 713-212-5790…Thanks to sponsors: MARK WEST PINOT NOIR, TURQUOISE GRILL, MEZZANINE LOUNGE and HOUSTON FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION.
Streaming live on the internet at mlsnet.com, 790thesportsanimal.com or Houstondynamo.com

BECKHAM issue goes on
Don’t for a second think the David Beckham issue is over. Milan officials are expected to meet up with LA Galaxy and MLS officials this week.
Despite the imposed deadline from MLS Commissioner Don Garber one had to be silly to think this was over. Even so, MLS has to be applauded for making a stand.
Beckham again came out after the Milan Derby this past weekend saying he wants to stay in Italy and hopes that things go in his favor.
Much of this is the negotiation process and one hopes it comes to a conclusion quickly so that all parties can move forward.
The Galaxy play in the Pan Pacific Cup this week at the Home Depot Center.

SAN JACINTO COLLEGE and FIESTA team up for free clinic

Here is a great day to engage youth players for a good cause, catch the San Jacinto College Coyotes and take part in a free clinic sponsored by FIESTA.

Date: March 1, 2009

What: San Jacinto College Futbol Fiesta free clinic and soccer match between San Jacinto College Coyotes and Ligas Unidas

Ages: youth 6- 14 limited to the first 200 fans (bring a canned food item to benefit local food pantries)

Call to register: Hurry and call in to register at 281-922-3475

WOMENS PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE

The league has agreed on a standard contract with U.S. womens national team players that guarentee them a minimum of $40,000 per year. Teams will have a salary cap of $565,000, according to the Sports Business Journal. The average salary for players in the league will be $32,000. Once the league begins it is expected the players will seek the opportunity to form a union.
It will be great to have a league for the best soccer players in the United States to aspire to. Having called games in the old WUSA I saw the potential and also saw alot of unrealistic expectations. Many of the same people who were unrealistic in the first go round are back again. Lets hope they can get it right this time for the future of womens professional soccer.
Sadly this was the model that should have been used for the WUSA . Womens team sports still have not proven to be a ticket buying sport.

AC Milan’s title hopes were dropped on Sunday after a 2-1 loss to Inter Milan in the Milan Derby.
This was a compelling match for a number of reasons. It was the final “derby” match for Paolo Maldini , the game featured David Beckham amongst other world stars but most importantly it was a must win for Carlo Ancelotti and the Rossoneri.
The up and down match featured moments of brilliance and clearly was being dominated by Inter who scored the games first goal through Adriano.
This goal clearly should not have counted as his header went straight down into his arm and past Milan keeper Christian Abbiatti. Talk about being rewarded for poor technique.
Despite that though Adriano was dangerous throughout the match.
Dejan Stankovic made it 2-0 for Inter after poor defending from Milan. Andrea Pirlo literally let Stankovic run into the penalty area to latch on to a flicked on header from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
At this point it seemed over and Adriano amongst others failed to get the third goal leaving the door open for the dangerous Pato to make it 2-1 in the 70th minute as Milan came to life.
In the end it wasn’t meant to be in Maldini’s final derby. David Beckham did little and was subbed out and Milan clearly missed Kaka.

DYNAMO bested by Quakes

The Dynamo continue preparations for their February 24th Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal match losing a pre-season game against San Jose this weekend 2-0.
Stuart Holden did see action for the Dynamo in front of 1,587. The Dynamo will take on Hammarby of Sweden on Wednesday.
Fans are encouraged to get their tickets for the Dynamo/Atlante match. A four pack of tickets to this important international competition goes for only $32 .
Go to HoustonDynamo.com to jump on this great professional sports value……..

SANTOS beat CHIVAS

Oswaldo Sanchez and Santos defeated Chivas 2-1 at Santos Laguna behind goals from Daniel Luduena and Carlos Quintero. Chivas pulled one back in the 88th minute through Javier Hernandez Balcazar .
The game was particularly sweet for Sanchez whose error in Wednesday’s loss to the United States led to the second goal for the United States from Michael Bradley . The win came against his former team Chivas who ironically brought on late in the match former Santos and Mexico striker Jared Borgetti…..

U.S. national team midfielder Michael Bradley has finished up a week he will never forget.
First Bradley showed a new-found maturity for a 21 year old in helping to lead the U.S. to victory over Mexico on Wednesday night in Concacaf World Cup qualifying.
Bradley scored both goals in the 2-0 win over “El Tri”.

Today comes more great news for Bradley. Playing in Germany for Borussia Monchengladbach, Bradley scored their long goal in a dramatic 1-1 come from behind draw at Werder Bremen in the Weserstadion in front of 41,332 fans.
Claudio Pizarro had put Werder Bremen up in the 76th minute but three minutes later Bradley who started alongside Canadien Paul Stalteri chested in a free kick from Marko Marin after the ball eluded everyone in the penalty area. This kid clearly has a nose for the goal but what impressed me more was the maturity that he handles himself with.
Bradley is on a team that is at the bottom of the German Bundesliga fighting for survival.

MALDINI GREATEST EVER?
It is tough to compare players when talking about the greatest ever…What is the criteria?
One thing has to be loyalty to a club along with performance. Can anyone touch his career at Milan? Franco Baresi maybe?
Today at 1:30 on the FSC you can catch Maldini in his final ever “Milan Derby” when AC Milan takes on Inter Milan.
And if that is not enough there is also the sideline of David Beckham who will be in the starting lineup for the Rossoneri.
AC Milan needs a win today if they have any hope of catching Inter to win the Serie A title.

RAUL scored against Sporting today in Spain to break the overall all-time leading goal scoring record of Alfredo Di Stefano of Real Madrid.
Di Stefano is still living at 82 years of age and the “blond arrow” born in Buenos Aires, Argentina is a revered figure worldwide. He was a two time world player of the year and paired up front on famous Real Madrid teams with Ferenc Puskas when amazingly Real Madrid won five European Cups (now Champions League) during the 50’s.
He scored 216 goals in Spanish League play for Real Madrid

Go back and look at the career of Di Stefano. Remarkable.

So what has your soccer weekend entailed?

LA Galaxy coach and GM Bruce Arena issued a statement late yesterday that no transfer has materialised with David Beckham and the LA Galaxy. So Beckham now starring at AC Milan is due back to the club for the 2009 MLS season by March 9.

MLS commissioner Don Garber has made it clear that he wanted Milan to produce an acceptable offer by yesterday. Nothing materialised.

I am not convinced this is a done deal despite what is being said. This could still be all part of the posturing and negotiation of a deal. Than again MLS may just be fed up with the “Mickey Mouse” treatment they are getting from the Italians.

LA Galaxy CEO Tim Leiweke told the LA Times that Milan did not meet Friday’s deadline and that no late offer would be considered.

Now if this is true then MLS and the Galaxy should be applauded for standing firm. This will send out a very clear message in a situation with a high profile player that you must negotiate with MLS in integrity.
Of course, one expects that AC Milan will come back with an offer after their huge Sunday match against rivals Inter Milan.
Leiweke is correct in saying that Milan have never been in the ballpark when it came to the 10 million dollars offered for Beckham.
Quite frankly the Italians gave an embarrassing offer.
One thing is for sure, David Beckham is constantly in the news. Great to see MLS standing firm on this one but one wonders if they truly don’t move off their position if they will have a disgruntled star or unhappy player?
What are your thoughts on this situation?

GERMAN UPDATE

Hertha Berlin got a historic win today over Bayern Munich to go to the top of the Bundesliga standings.
Two goals from Liverpool “loaner” Andrej Voronin was the difference in the 2-1 HBerlin win.
Miroslav Klose had the lone Bayern goal, his ninth of the season.
U.S. international Landon Donovan fresh off playing a part in the two U.S. goals in a 2-0 win over Mexico came on as a striker replacing the ineffectual Luca Toni around the 35th minute mark of the first half.
Donovan struggled initially to connect his passes and with his control but then flashed a header that was saved .
Later he made a great run and received a beautiful ball from Frank Ribery but was denied by the goalkeeper but the move was impressive from Ribery and Donovan.
The game turned into Bayern pressing Hertha Berlin and the home side was dangerous on the counter attack leading to the game winning goal in front of a thrilled home crowd.
Donvan provided some good passes and took some corners on the day that was a body blow to Bayern.
Still in the end I believe Bayern Munich will sit aloft the Bundesliga.