*NCAA Womens College Cup December 4-6th at Texas Am. Notre Dame, Stanford, North Carolina and UCLA will battle it out for a national championship at the Aggie Soccer Complex.
Will you be there? aggiesoccer.com or 12thmanfoundation.com for tickets…………It’s a short drive to Texas AM!!!

*Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis on Fox Sports Houston presented by MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE this Thursday at 5pm, follow at twitter.com: Soccermattersgd

*FIESTA presents the KICK CANCER CAMP organized by Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis on December 11,12,13th at the Pin Oak Fields in Bellaire. All proceeds go back to the Texas Childrens Cancer Center and nicksteam.org….college coaches like Aaron Champenoy St. Thomas, Misty and Steve Jones of HBU and Dave Santesteban of San Jacinto are some of the coaches who will work this camp. For info go to glenndavissoccer.com homepage or nicksteam.org, brochures are available at SOCCER 4 All Locations…professional players will be in attendance on every day!!!!!!

JOIN ME for the best in soccer talk on 790 The Sports Animal Tuesday night from 7-9pm. Show streams live on the internet at mlsnet.com and 790thesportsanimal.com and can be accessed at Houstondynamo.com Lots of guests including Oliver Luck and Stuart Holden of the Dynamo and hopefully taped interviews with Gene Locke and Annise Parker our mayoral candidates.
Call in number is 713-212-5790 ………..Topics include Dynamo, MLS , Chelsea kings of England, Barca kings of Spain and the Mexican League playoffs. We can talk collective bargaining and MLS and why I believe Stuart Holden is gone……….Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis presented by MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE taping tomorrow at FSH studios in downtown Houston for air this Thursday at 5pm….World Cup draw is this Friday!!!!

CHELSEA SUPREME

Chelsea proved to me this weekend that their are the cream of the crop in the EPL and the favorites to grab the title. No earth shattering news but it was impressive how this team defends collectively and I don’t believe their is a team that is as good at getting behind the ball in transition in the world. Their 3-0 win over Arsenal was surgical and you never got the feeling that Arsenal would produce a goal.
This team has players with personality and character throughout the team….from John Terry to Frank Lampard to Didier Drogba you have players with mental strength. Comparatively who was the leader of Arsenal? Sorry Manchester United fans but Chelsea barring injury have to be the favorites to win the title………..Thoughts?

BARCA SUBSTITUTION FROM GUARDIOLA A KEY IN 1-0 win over REAL MADRID

Real Madrid came out playing the better soccer in the first half but failed to produce a goal during their best times. Even the Nou Camp fans of Barca seemed tension filled.
Pep Guardiola produced a masterstroke bringing on Zlatan Ibramhimovic at the beginning of the second half and he produced the game winning goal minutes later after great delivery from Dani Alves. Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo did play and was dangerous on occasion but is just back from injury……..Barca 1-0 over Real Madrid. Did you see it?

MONTERREY GET HUGE RESULT AT CLUB AMERICA

Say adios to Club America and Rayados fans you can rejoice. You have a team that can win the MFL title. With the aggregate tied at 1-1 Monterrey scored a huge goal in the second half as Club America midfielder Pavel Pardo lost Humberto Suazo who scored the vital goal in a 1-1 draw that would secure their passage to the next round.
Michael Orozco in goal for Monterrey was spectacular denying Salvador Cabanas on numerous occasions………Cruz Azul also advanced in Mexico in a 3-2 win over Puebla. No shortage of goals in this 2 game set as the final aggregate 7-6 in favor of the “maquina azul”.
So the semi-finals are set: TOLUCA VS. MONTERREY
MORELIA VS. CRUZ AZUL

So who do you think will win the MFL title!!!!

JUST A THOUGHT………How interesting would it be if Manchester City hired Jose Mourinho to manage and replace Mark Hughes? Same town as Alex Ferguson…….

What jumped out at you this past weekend. Please spread the word about our Cancer Camp in Bellaire !!!

Where: Pin Oak Fields, Bellaire (close to galleria)

When : December 11,12,13

Time: 4pm to 6:30 daily

Ages: 7-18 male and female plus special Soccertots program led by Marc Castillo for 2-6 year olds……

Cost: $100 All proceeds go to Texas Childrens Hospital Cancer Center and nicksteam.org

For information or to get brochure: Click on Kick Cancer Camp on glenndavissoccer.com, nicksteam.org or pick up the brochures at SOCCER 4 ALL

This camp is special in that all involved are donating their time and expertise for charity. All proceeds go to Texas Childrens Cancer Center and nicksteam.org in honor of Nick Doize.
I especially am grateful for all working on this project including all the coaches who are selflessly donating their time….Steve Jones HBU mens coach, Misty Jones HBU womens coach, Dr. Dave Santesteban San Jacinto mens coach, Aaron Champenoy University of St. Thomas mens coach, Bill McDonald Strake Jesuit High School, Mark Gibbs Houston Express, Marc Castillo of Soccertots!!! Dr. Pat Thompson and all at the Texas Childrens Cancer Center we appreciate your passion and support of this camp.
The camp is in honor of Nick Doize !!!
Robert Corrigan and Mark Gibbs of Houston Express Soccer club a sincere thanks as well!!!
More coaches will be involved and professional players will show each evening like Craig Waibel of the Houston Dynamo and Davey Arnaud of the Kansas City Wizards.
Please consider supporting this camp or donating the $100 fee for someone less fortunate to attend.
This is our attempt at giving back to the community and this will be a yearly event with charity and doing for others the theme along with creating awareness for cancer and raising money to continue the fight.

Glenn

*NCAA WOMENS COLLEGE CUP at AGGIE SOCCER COMPLEX DEC. 4-6 in College Station…get tickets at 12thmanfoundation.com

*Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis on Fox Sports Houston presented by Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute…..

*FIESTA presents the KICK CANCER SOCCER CAMP in Bellaire , Texas for more information go to NICKSTEAM.org, glenndavissoccer.com or SOCCER 4 All outlets…

A Happy Thanksgiving to all who have visited, posted and supported this website! Thank you and wishing you a wonderful day.
Lots of great soccer this weekend with Real Madrid and Barcelona playing which might just feature the return of Cristiano Ronaldo . Also don’t forget great Mexican league playoff action as well……………Check out my column in the Houston Chronicle on Saturday morning.

KROENKE BUYS MORE

For the second time this week Stan Kroenke has bought up more shares of Arsenal in England. He now inches closer to taking over the club.
He now has 29.9% with 30% the magic number for takeover. Now of course Kroenke owns the Colorado Rapids of MLS and deserves credit for helping to get the stadium built in Commerce City but the expected boom of real estate value and development has not ocurred not to mention the Rapids making little impact in Denver with a small fan base and little relevancy compared to his other professional teams the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche.
One deserves credit for buying MLS clubs and getting stadiums built but fans and the media have reached an impasse where now teams have to be analyzed for what they are really doing to grow the sport. Just building a stadium and exisiting is not enough and brings down the overall profile of the league.
If you support the Dynamo you should be concerned about empty seats in other markets.
It is also interesting in Denver as they have never had good newspaper coverage and even with Kroenke NBA and NHL ties the Rapids have always been an afterthought . Other markets of concern in MLS include Dallas, Kansas City, Columbus, New York…New York will get their initial excitment over an amazing facility in Harrison, New Jersey but for soccer to survive their vision, connection to community, marketing and promotion practices and on field product must be impactful.
Philadelphia need to be strong out of the blocks in their first season in 2010 to set the right standard. You only get one chance.
Don Garber spoke out to me on the my recent radio show about the Denver and Stan Kroenke situation. Go to the podcast at 790thesportsanimal.com, click Glenn Davis and listen to the Garber interview.

Clint Dempsey continues to score goals and had 2 against Blackburn in a 3-0 win today. Jozy Altidore started for Hull City in a 3-2 win over Everton and Tim Howard.
Always have loved the skill of Rodrigo Tello a Chilean. HE scored the lone goal for Beskitas in a 1-0 win at Old Trafford against Manchester United who rested a number of regulars in Champions League play.
What do you think of Philadelphia’s expansion draft list that by the way does not include a Dynamo player? So all of you worried about losing Mike Chabala or others can breathe a sigh of relief. The real question still remains around re-signing Stuart Holden which for me I believe is a long shot. Can the Dynamo come up with a compensation package close to what teams overseas can offer. Is the Scottish Premier League the place for Holden?
Abe Thompson and John Michael Hayden of the Dynamo were waived with Thompson being picked up by Real Salt Lake.
Here is who Philadelphia picked. Make note of the total salaries of this group of players that in 2009 was around $640,000. Four or five of these players made around the figure of $34,000. The Dynamo protected a number of younger players like Corey Ashe and Geoff Cameron who made a salary at around $34,000.
So much of these decisions come down to the overall salary cap issue. Teams who did not have a player along with the Dynamo included Toronto FC, Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas and KC.

Jordan Harvey (Colorado)
Andrew Jacobsen (DC)
Brad Knighton (NE)
Sebastien LeToux (Seattle)
Stefani Miglioranzi (LA)
Alejandro Moreno (Columbus)
Dave Myrie (Chicago)
Shea Salinas (SJ)
Shavar Thomas (Chivas USA)
Andrew Zimmermann (NY)

Only three players (Shavar Thomas, Alejandro Moreno, Sebastien LeToux) out of the above group made more than $100,000 last year.

FIESTA presents KICK CANCER Soccer Camp December 11,12,13 in Bellaire organized by Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis. All proceeds go back to the Texas Childrens Hospital and Nick’steam.org…..Brochures at Soccer 4 All stores or on this website’s homepage or Nicksteam.org

Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis on Fox Sports Houston presented by Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute is off this week but returns next Thursday at 5pm
Follow Glenn Davis on twitter: Soccermattersgd

NCAA WOMENS COLLEGE CUP at the AGGIE SOCCER COMPLEX December 4-6 be there!!
Tickets available at 12thmanfoundation.com or Aggiesoccer.com

So news broke on Mexican television that their is interest in Landon Donovan at Club America in Mexico. Intriguing….I say yes. Will it happen?
Donovan would find alot of additional space in the MFL and I would love to see him racing through defenses in the Superclasico against Chivas and other high profile games in this great soccer country.
Would it be another way to gain credibility for MLS and American soccer in the eyes of Mexican fans or would be going to Mexico consider a down-grade from Europe?
Donovan would be considered a villian at first to the Mexican fans based on his exploits with the U.S. National team but his ability to speak the language and skills would ultimately win over Mexican fans.
One thing is for sure…as clearly our best American player Donovan needs to be successful in another league other than MLS . Here he has done it all. Is it time to take the Donovan show on the road again as he is clearly capable of playing in any league in the world.
Thoughts, what type of impact would Donovan going to Mexico make?

Expansion Draft takes place today and for teams it is a gamble as to who Philadelphia and Peter Nowak might NOT take. Coaches criteria in who to protect and not comes down to age, salary cap, positional needs and invididual salary.
Looking at the list there are some excellent MLS players available that could get the Philadelphia Union off on the right track. And that is a key for this franchise…first impressions and getting off to a good season next year. So does that mean the Union might take a few veterans even though they are older? I would say yeah with the likes of Amado Guevara, Luciano Emilio and Pat Onstad available. It is a big day for them as finally they can show the public that they have players.
One other thing to keep in mind is that deals are being done behind the scenes and that not all teams will lose a player.

*NCAA Womens College Cup December 4-6 at Aggie Soccer Complex…get out and see the top teams in the nation battle for a national championship. 12thmanfoundation.com
for tickets!

*Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis on Fox Sports Houston presented by MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE……this week off but back to Thursdays at 5pm next week!!!

*FIESTA presents the KICK CANCER Soccer Camp Dec. 11,12,13 in Bellaire organized by SOCCER MATTERS with GLENN DAVIS….support the fight against cancer as all proceeds go back to Texas Childrens Hospital…..go back to my home page or go to Nicksteam.org to get application and help us with this cause.
All coaches are donating their time and effort for cancer awareness!!!

Looking to forward to hearing from soccer fans tonight and what is on their minds!!!
7-9pm on 790thesportsanimal and streaming at MLSNET.com

Call in number 713-212-5790

Guests: Don Garber MLS Commissioner, Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear, RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando……..plus more…..

Dynamo protected list:

Corey Ashe
Bobby Boswell
Geoff Cameron
Brian Ching
Brad Davis
Andrew Hainault
Tally Hall
Stuart Holden
Brian Mullan
Dominic Oduro
Cam Weaver

So your thoughts on who is protected and not?

NCAA Womens College Cup Dec. 4-6th at the Aggie Soccer Complex…12thmanfoundation.org for tickets…….Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis tomorrow night from 7-9pm..this should be a great show!!!!

FIESTA presents the KICK CANCER Soccer Camp December 11,12,13 organized by Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis….all proceeds go to the Texas Childrens Hospital…..

Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis presented by MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE on Fox Sports Houston will take this week off and return to the airwaves on December 3rd at 5pm

*REAL SALT Lake put together a sequence of ten passes before scoring the tying goal in the second half. They were tearing apart the Galaxy midfield and with some better finishing and play in the final third should have produced a few goals.

*Bruce Arena started a midfield with Donovan and Beckham wide I believe to respect the strength of RSL in midfield. Ultimately he moved Donovan forward but the dominating performance in midfield by RSL came without one of their if not best possession player Javier Morales who went out after getting kicked by Beckham. Add to that the fact that Will Johnson played only a half due to food poisoning in midfield and this was an impressive performance. No one would have thought that Clint Mathis or Andy Williams would have logged so many minutes and LA was clearly outplayed in this area and at times were so unbalanced as a team.
Kyle Beckermann was outstanding in his range and passing ability and could have been the game’s MVP in my opinion. Why the Rapids traded him years back I don’t know.
The Galaxy had no answers and David Beckham looked clearly a step behind the pace in many instances.
*RSL clearly was the better footballing team and produced the better chances….Findley and Movsisyan did not have a great day of finishing although Findley did produce the ever important tying goal.
*Bruce Arena was hoping to choke this game off at 1-0……
*Beckermann was truly outstanding and for me the MVP of this final. His range, leadership and use of the ball exceptional and his endurance impressive. Did this performance improve his standing with the U.S.? Seems the kind of player you could use off the bench at a World Cup…..a great spirit.

* Wigan players have offered to pay for fans tickets after their embarrassing 9-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur.

*Dynamo list of protected players due tonight as the expansion draft is this Wednesday.

*Robertson Stadium will host Interliga matches in January:
Jan. 2
Atlante vs. Estudiantes Tecos
America vs. Santos

Jan 6.
Jaguares vs Puebla
Tigres vs Monterrey (this will be a beauty and could sell out the Rob)

December 4th is the World Cup draw…………..Tomorrow night radio will have local political leaders, Real Salt Lake Nick Rimando plus Dominic Kinnear and more from the Dynamo.
Don’t miss Dynamo All Access tomorrow night from 7-9pm

Fiesta presents THE KICK CANCER CAMP to benefit TEXAS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL December 11,12,13 in Bellaire …..organized by Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis…all proceeds to raise funds and create awareness to fight cancer!!!
College coaches locally from San Jacinto, HBU, St. Thomas plus top youth clubs have donated their time!!!! Professional soccer players in attendance!!! Please support our efforts!!!

MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE, FIESTA, DANISH INSPIRATIONS…..

NCAA WOMENS COLLEGE CUP DEC. 4-6 at Texas AM…12thmanfoundation.org…get your tickets now!!

So the last seed wins the MLS Cup in penalty kicks over the LA Galaxy.
Despite the talk of David Beckham and Landon Donovan …Real Salt Lake clearly played the better soccer and Landon Donovan and David Beckham for the second consecutive game were less than overly impactful.
Credit RSL for winning the better of the ball possession but they could never really figure it out in the final third of the field. LA seemed to just play direct looking for a magic moment from Landon Donovan, picking up a second ball or getting something off a free kick. At times LA were very unbalanced in midfield. The loss of Dema Kovalenko hurt.

*David Beckham struggled to connect passes and control the middle of the field. For anyone watching this game it was obvious he and Jovan Kirovski could not close anyone down in midfield. For all the attention that Beckham drew this was a night he did not live up to the moment at all. That fact led to less involvement from Landon Donovan and others were not capable of producing on the Galaxy.
*Landon Donovan amazingly blew his penalty over the cross-bar and I believe Nick Rimando got in his head.
* Jamison Olave , Nat Borchers, Kyle Beckermann and Nick Rimando were outstanding for RSL.
* Real Salt Lake had the better of possession and played the better soccer undoubtably so the pk’s were a just result led for a second consecutive weekend by MVP Nick Rimando.
Speaking of Rimando….his composure , comfort with the ball at his feet was impressive in this match.
* Jason Kreis dealt with an early loss of Javier Morales to injury while the Galaxy lost Donovan Ricketts to a hand injury after a challenge with Robbie Findley .
* Josh Saunders who came on for Ricketts in goal for LA was excellent in a tough position.
* No MLS Cup should ever be played on artificial surface.
*The overall 90 minutes was average at best with the second half better thanks to RSL possesion and a few creative ideas coming from Mathis, Williams (before his legs went), Findley and Espindola….Bruce Arena never looked comfortable as a manager and did not have an answer for Kyle Beckermann in midfield for RSL……….Thoughts?

OK now on to the JERMAINE DEFOE SHOW…….Defoe hit for five goals in Tottenham’s 9-1 victory over Wigan Athletic. What is amazing about this is that Defoe scored all five of his goals in the second half. Only two other players in the history of the Premiership formed in 1992 have scored five goals in a game. Andy Cole for Manchester United and Alan Shearer for Newcastle. Not a great day to be a Wigan player or manager…….

BLOG BROUGHT TO YOU BY: MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE, FIESTA, NCAA WOMENS COLLEGE CUP December 4th -6th for tickets 12thmanfoundation.org

So are you pulling for the LA Galaxy tonight? Of course you are…….for the sake of MLS that is and awareness.
If the Galaxy win you can be assured the image of David Beckham holding up the MLS Cup will make it around the world. Not so much if Real Salt Lake win…..Will Kyle Beckermann holding up the MLS Cup get that sort of run? Besides to the general sports media what is a REAL Salt Lake?
Your thoughts?

Follow Soccermattersgd on twitter

So it’s starts off with a rather bland 1-0 Monterrey win over Club America at the Estadio Technologico. But what is beautiful is that Aldo Di Nigris gets the game winner against America……Then it is off to Puebla and the craziness of a 4-4 draw between Cruz Azul and Puebla.
Quite frankly Puebla and Jared Borgetti blew it. Up 4-2 at halftime somehow this squad needed to find some discipline but couldn’t as it ended 4-4. Now it is back to the Estadio Azul.
Speaking of discipline this game had none of it but that is what made it a specatacle for the fans. Either coach can’t be particularly happy about either teams lack of discipline yet the scoreline behooves Enrique Meza and Cruz Azul.
You saw it, what did you think?

Stuart Holden is apparently being tracked by Rangers manager Walter Smith. But based on the lack of playing time does Holden want to go to Rangers and sit? Or does he believe he can get a commitment to playing time ahead of the World Cup.
This is an interesting dilemma but Holden is attractive based on being a free transfer and might have to turn down more money to stay in the comfort zone of the Dynamo and MLS in order to feel more comfortable about making Bob Bradley’s final World Cup roster.
In my opinion he has already proven he is going to the next World Cup based on his uniqueness as a player.
Your thoughts?

NCAA Womens College Cup at Texas AM December 4-6th for more information go to 12thman foundation.org…..Sadly AM was eliminated last night at Florida State University 2-1 after scoring first………

Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis on Fox Sports Houston weekly presented by MEMORIAL HERMANN SPORTS MEDICINE INSTITUTE and Danish Inspirations Contemporary Furniture.
We take Thanksgiving week off but will be back the following week as we continue to try to serve you the fan. Send me your pics or video and ideas for the show.
Thanks for all the emails and keep them coming…..

SKRROKH Salon….www.skyrokhsalon.com…ask for Michael or Cristina to get your hair styled!!!!

DAVID BECKHAM HURTING

It is always hard to tell who is carrying injuries at the end of the season and as we learned from recent surgeries to Brian Ching and Brian Mullan …..some of the players are playing through injuries that would shelve many others and most will not say a word about it because they don’t want to advertise it to an opponent.
So I find it strange that LA and David Beckham are making it so public that he is going to take an injection prior to tomorrow’s MLS Cup final. Nothing like putting a target on yourself……So what are the chances Kyle Beckermann or someone will be the first to get in a hard tackle on ‘Becks’ who apparently has carried a bone bruise for awhile.
So maybe it was public knowledge but why is this being built up?…Why was this not kept close to the vest. Could this add to the drama of Becks going for the MLS Cup……So now if Beckham plays well it will be all about his incredible courage to play on a bone bruise while others equally injured will never be known. More importantly the press is now all over this story as opposed to star building some others that could play a big part of this match.
Marketing or not? You tell me……..

HOLDEN TO SCOTLAND?
We are all seeing the reports coming out of Aberdeen. The MLS is a better league than the SPL despite the SPL history of some clubs. It is that history and finances that can make it appealing for players to play overseas. Now before you jump to conclusions it could be a good stepping stone for Stuart Holden and trying to get over to England. I am sure there are Championship teams interested in Holden in England.
His story is a great one and he was nurtured along over the past four season beautifully by Dominic Kinnear and staff. His skill set, ability to calm a game down, improved physical range, set piece ability, play in tight areas and willingness to defend have not gone unnoticed.
Holden made a great move not re-signing with the Dynamo and MLS as he came into his final season . So at this point if it is in fact true that foreign clubs will offer a far more lucrative contract financially why would he not grab it?
I also understand the World Cup situation and remaining here in Houston where it is comfortable and where he would be a focal point of the Dynamo and MLS.
Yet there are players on the U.S. national team that don’t play regularly at their clubs and come national team games are in the starting lineup.
Holden’s unique ability on the ball , versatility and performances in my mind make him a lock to go to South Africa.
Speculation is good but with both Clark and Holden potentially gone immediately Geoff Cameron comes to mind in central midfield.

*LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER CITY drew 2-2 today and Emmanuel Adebayor got his first goal since September. City were the better team in the second half buoyed by Carlos Tevez……

MONTERREY vs. CLUB AMERICA

This is recommended viewing tonight as Mexico Liguilla gets off and running. The night-cap between Cruz Azul and Puebla is a beauty as well.

* FIESTA presents “The Kick Cancer Soccer Camp” organized by Soccer Matters with Glenn Davis December 11,12,13…..please support this camp as all proceeds will go back to Texas Childrens Hospital and Nicksteam.org….professional players will show up every night and local college and youth coaches have all become “HEROES” by dedicating their time to coach in a very busy year. You can pick up applications at SOCCER 4 ALL locations or let me know and I will get a brochure out to you…..This is my most important work of the year so I hope you consider a great few days of coaching and soccer all towards an amazing cause!!! Thanks!!!

twitter.com: Soccermattersgd