With Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka now moving to Real Madrid in Spain does this make La Liga the most interesting league in the world? Do you rate it above the EPL? And what about the Serie A in Italy?
It is fair to say that in Spain players get an additional yard or two on the ball and a bit more time to get their head up which may lead to more attractive football and now with the addition of two of the world’s best players things could get even more interesting……….
PODCAST IS UP
Check out the podcast of last night’s Dynamo All Access with Glenn Davis which includes great calls from you the fan plus interesting interviews with Brian Ching (who said he jumped off his couch while watching the Confederations Cup when the U.S. scored against Egypt), Alexi Lalas from Espn and Dynamo manager Dominic Kinnear.
Go to 790thesportsanimal.com, click podcasts, click Glenn Davis and listen to your heart’s desire.
And on Brian Ching, don’t be surprised if he is called up to the U.S. National team for the Gold Cup.
DYNAMO STADIUM NEWS
One thing we must commend President Oliver Luck and the Houston Dynamo for is the steadfast belief in that the stadium needs to be in downtown Houston. Still some minor hurdles exist to finish off the deal according to the Houston Business Journal.
It is the only place it belongs in this town and it seems the long, ardous process continues to play out and get closer to glory.
The stadium cost is pegged at $80 million with $60 million of that debt and equity financing covered by the Dynamo ownership group AEG.
With the construction industry hurting the Dynamo now will get much lower estimated costs for the construction of the facility which is expected to hold 21 or 22 thousand fans.
The downtown rail system will be able to drop fans off near the stadium.
Oliver Luck continues to remind Houston that the new stadium is far different than what we have seen in the past with Reliant Stadium, Toyota Center which were 90 percent publicly funded.
New York firm Populous who created the design for the new Yankees and Mets Stadiums have been hired.
Check out the Houston Business Journal for the entire article.
MICHAEL BRADLEY QUOTE
I love the fire in the belly of this kid. Here is what U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley had to say after the U.S. win over Egypt and advancement in the Confederations Cup.
” All the (expletive) experts in America, everybody who thinks they know everything about soccer, they they can all look at the score tonite,” said the coach’s son.
“Lets see what they say now, all right? Nobody has any respect for what we do, for what goes on inside. Let them all talk now.”
I think maybe some natural reaction from a son who was seeing his father Bob Bradley the manager of the squad getting criticized and it is good to see him defending his father.
Not the easiest situation for Michael Bradley to be in but there is no question he has earned his role on the U.S. national team in my humble opinion.
Flip side to criticism is that it happens all over the world on a daily basis to the top teams . Italy’s reception was not a good one after being scorched by Brazil 3-0 and kicked out of the Confederations Cup. Criticism of tactics occurs on a daily basis in Brazil, Argentina, Germany etc.
From a media standpoint it shows that fans in the United States cares…………Looking forward to seeing another solid effort out of the U.S. Wednesday against the number one team in the world SPAIN.
Here is what Landon Donovan had to say after game after being asked if the win over Egypt was vindication.
“I don’t know if vindication is the word. I think we’re just really proud on what we did. I’m a very proud American. This is one of the things that Americans are capable of.
We have a spirit that a lot of people don’t have and we showed it tonite.”
Get your tickets to the GOLD CUP and the WORLD FOOTBALL CHALLENGE between CHELSEA and CLUB AMERICA at FIESTA TICKETMASTER outlets.
Houston Soccer Unsung Hero Award brought to you by FIESTA this week goes to JOE B. NAPIER OF CY FAIR who has selflessly committed to youth soccer.
Congratulations Joe B who receives two tickets to the Gold Cup.
If you have someone who has committed to soccer and fits the unsung hero award bill send your nominations to Rodrigo Deluna of Fiesta at delunar@fiestamart.com or gdavis98@swbell.net
Winners receive tickets to the Gold Cup!
Danish Inspirations
Fiesta Mart
Houston Web Design
Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute
SportTalk 790
Zukowski, Bresenhan & Sinex, L.L.P.
Glenn, I hope Michael is refering to the critics of the US team, but seriously even if Bob is his father, he cannot sit there with his little “Oh we’re so bad because we beat Egypt” attitude and act like they accomplished something great, they got some help from Brazil, if they hadn’t allowed the 3rd goal vs Italy I could totally see this as a huge positive and more of an effort from the US than a combinned result with the Brazil vs Italy game.
Bob has taken too long to implement guys like Jonathan Spector, Jay DeMerit and young guns who should have gotten some experience got benched game after game, guys like Adu, Torres, Wynne, Davies and Jozy up until the El Salvador game and even then he came on too late.
Why Kenny Cooper hasn’t gotten more looks by now to figure out if he is worthy of the nats is beyond me, guys like Sal Sizzo and Danny Szetela shoud at least be on the provisional Gold Cup roster!
I think the EPL and La Liga are going to be neck and neck as the best leagues in the world. I truly believe you are going to see more players go over to La Liga (see “Xabi Alonso warns that tax will drive top players away” – http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/liverpool/5578084/Xabi-Alonso-warns-that-tax-will-drive-top-players-away.html ).
As for Oliver Luck sticking to his “guns” downtown, I think he is very smart to persevere. He has learned from FC Dallas and Chicago on what has happened with them choosing a different location than downtown. He probably has seen TFC and seen the success of a downtown location with them. I hope it gets done soon.
It is great to see Michael Bradley get fired up and hopefully this is the team’s motivation now. They had to have something motivate them after two uninspiring WC qualifiers and 2 Confederation Cup games. I would be mad to if my dad was getting raked over the coals day in and day out. I do think Bradley needs to probably not blurt out these kind of quotes until they actually win more games than they lose in this tournament.
Donovan has had a great tournament and has finally stepped and become a leader on the field. I hope he continues the consistency. The only thing I would like to see from him is to pull the trigger more.
I think Bob Bradley’s true test as a coach will be against Spain tomorrow. If the US lays an egg you will continue to hear fans ask for him to be fired. The great thing is that US fans are having this conversation that we didn’t have in the past. Hopefully this puts a little more motivation in the players and the coach.
About Michael Bradley, he’s deserved a spot on the team. I don’t think anybody can deny that. But, as for him calling out the critics, I have a few thoughts.
1. It was great of you to show up like this against Egypt. It wasn’t that you lost to Brazil and Italy but how badly things looked (especially against Brazil though that 2nd half against Italy wasn’t very good for you either). But, against Egypt, am I the only one that thought Egypt was tired? Not to make excuses for them but in the second half, they could only muster flashes of energy and not 45 minutes of continuous pressure. I believe that their Brazil & Italy matches took so much about of them that once the injuries started to accumulate, their bodies just didn’t have the energy they did at the beginning of the tournament. A fresher Egypt team that played their hearts out against Italy either gets a last minute goal against the US or doesn’t give up 3. Either way, Egypt’s lack of depth and tournament endurance helped the US team’s passage immensely.
2. Micheal, if you want to shut up your critics, play well against Spain. The US does not necessarily need to win that match but they need to be competitive. They need to play with passion and intelligence. If they show up in the same way they showed up against Brazil, then Wednesday gets very ugly very quickly. Play your hearts out and things probably go differently.
3. But since we’re talking about the team, hopefully we can see some more logical player selection along the way. Our defense looked better with certain guys not there. DeMarcus Beasely shouldn’t have a future with this team right now. If Clint Dempsey is not more careful with the ball, we’re going to start looking at him with the “great guy on the club level, a disaster with the national team” label (in other words, the Rafa Marquez disease).
I’m looking forward to the Gold Cup. Some of those guys should get their chance to push these Confederation Cup guys for spots for the roster next summer.
About last night’s radio poll (one of these weeks, I’ll call in), La Liga is most interestin, though its also top-heavy. There’s Real Madrid, Barcelona, and then everyone else is playing for 3rd place. Top to bottom, there are more competitive leagues. But as far as interest, I like to watch the games in Spain.
Glenn- Last few EPL season’s very predictable and frankly boring. Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal at head of class by mile, with Liverpool trying to sqeeze in with them. Rest of league fights for table sraps.
Yeah, a bit confused on this statement, Glenn: “It is the only place it belongs in this town and it seems the long, ardous process continues to play out and get closer to glory.”
Tell me exactly why a soccer stadium HAS to be built in the downtown area, because that’s the only place it belongs ? Because MMPark, ToyoCtr, and GRB are within a couple blocks ? How does having the stadium downtown benefit me as a fan ? It certainly won’t be ’cause it will be easier to get to or that parking will be cheaper [who's shilled out $20 lately to get within a couple blocks of MMPark ?], and there is no existing light rail service on that side of downtown now or in the near future (” The downtown rail system will be able to drop fans off near the stadium.”), etc. The closest rail station is what, 15-20 blocks west ? At least at Roberston, as damnable a facility as it is, affords you the luxury of getting out of there and onto a freeway relatively quickly. Wait till you get 10K cars downtown [if they'll even build a lot that large], all scrambling to get out of dodge come 10pm on a Saturday night.
I’ll give you this – it could only help the barren wasteland that is downtown on a weekend night, but to claim that location is the only possible place it should go is disingenuous.
Downtown is the only place it belongs in this town is my opinion.
It is obvious from Oliver Luck statements that he is steadfast about this also.
But it is my opinion and here are just a few reasons why.
Being amongst the NBA, MLB and NFL stadiums is a major postive for press coverage and accessability.
For business functions and meetings the stadium will be a walk away from hotels.
The overall perception is bigger being amongst the skyline of downtown not to mention right near the Fox Sports Houston studios.
Not disengenous, only my opinion.
Look at some of the other teams that are in the suburbs and get absolutely no respect from the press and have alienated fan bases.
Poll question answer:
Well I don’t know which league will be the best…but the key word you used was “interesting”, I do think the most interesting league will be in Spain this year, just because everygame will be leading up to the two clasicos…
the EPL is still the fastest and most physical with Italia’s Serie A being a more tactical and (to me) “boring” technical play on most games.
It’s really hard to say which will be the best league…I believe just as Sir Alex Ferguson…”the best league is the Champions League, even with more quality than the World Cup itself…”
On to Bradley’s comments: Well, you gotta love the fire…and I point out what Lalas said last night, “he doesn’t have to be just good, but very good to deserve a place in the team, since his dad’s the coach…”
I believe he’s done that….who wouldn’t like to have a player like him in their roster. Young, strong, technically talented and with fire…
I would.
Let the Dynamo home game withdrawal begin
Can’t wait for the new stadium though…I just hope they allow tailgating, not like their soon to be neighbors a couple of blocks to the north…
I think La Liga is the best league in the world let alone the most interesting. New players for Madrid aside. Its just a better brand of Futbol. The English league is fine but the speed and strength game gets old after while. I think La Liga is a combination of the Serie A and the EPL so it has the best of both worlds. I think overall these leagues need to impose some kind of Luxury tax on teams that spend a certain amount. Its like Baseball, they will never have a salary cap, but they can penalize teams by trying to outspend the competition and buy a championship. The EPL is four teams and then a bunch of lower level teams. I know they want to push the 6 +5 rule in Europe, but I think a good compromise is the luxury tax system.
As for the US, Im extremely happy to see them play Spain. I think they are the team that would put up the best fight against them in the semis (Italy is just not the same as old and Eygpt does have it). The US will play how they always play, mark my words. Stack the defense, counter attack, and try to win off set piece free kicks. They will let Spain pass the ball around all night if they have to and try and beat them in the air or on the run. That is the Bradley way. I dont like the strategy, but thats what they seem to do. I think the US needs to play with more confidence when they play against the “big” teams like Brazil, Italy, Spain, etc. They defintely can do it, its just a matter of confidence.
Bradley the player has developed into a key player for the US, but I think a lot has to do with the fact that his Dad utilzes a scheme that really highlights his son’s best attributes. I he has certainly proved that he can finish in front of the goal or even outside the 18, which is more than Donovan has done. Donovan looks very timid and I dont know that it will ever change.
Let see what happens. Go US!!!!!!!!
I’d rather see the fire from the senior Bradely. The coach needs to be the face and voice of the team and inspire the players with vision and loyalty (not the blind loyalty he shows to Beasley, BTW).
I like La Liga but very few leagues match the EPL in their television coverage. The camera angles, replays, and light/color are better in the EPL. MLS could learn a few things there.
The stadium absolutely needs to be as close to my house as possible. But, given that people anywhere except NW Houston will likely have further to drive, the next best thing is Downtown.
The stadium should be downtown if only for the skyline. I mean what is more iconic for a team asociated with a city than that cities skyline as a backdrop? I can see the TV city shots from outside the stadium now. But the main issue with the downtown site, I think, is the TIRZ tax zone that will help pay for the site and made the prospect exciting for area revitalization. Paint downtown ORANGE!
Bradley is that damn good. He was great for Heerenveen (scoring the most single-season goals by an American in Europe, ever). I havn’t followed him at Monchengladbach much, in fact I’m still confused by the move to that side. I think he was getting ahead of himself a little with his comments, but you gotta love the passion coaches son or not.
The stadium should be downtown if only for the skyline. I mean what is more iconic for a team asociated with a city than that cities skyline as a backdrop? I can see the TV city shots from outside the stadium now. But the main issue with the downtown site, I think, is the TIRZ tax zone that will help pay for the site and made the prospect exciting for area revitalization. Paint downtown ORANGE!
Bradley is that damn good. He was great for Heerenveen (scoring the most single-season goals by an American in Europe, ever). I havn’t followed him at Monchengladbach much, in fact I’m still confused by the move to that side. I think he was getting ahead of himself a little with his comments, but you gotta love the passion coaches son or not.
In my opinion, the EPL, Bundesliga, and even the Argentine league are all more interesting than the Spanish La Liga. The only game I will probably care to watch in Spain will be Real Madrid vs. Barcelona.
You know, as well as the skyline shots on TV, think of the TV shots from Rocket games on he big networks when they pan out from a blimp. Orange glow off to the right. I was watching a B-Ball game the other day and they panned out on a shot of their arena and there to the right was the NFL stadium for their city. Just a thought.
For a league to be “interesting” it has to be one where the Cup winner is in doubt, and while the EPL has 4 teams, La Liga only has 2. Serie A might have recovered from the fixing scandal enough that they have half the table that can dream of winning it from the start. MLS is interesting by that standard.
Any MLS team that isn’t insisting on downtown just doesn’t understand the changing demographics of the league.
Mike Bradley’s comments say more about him than they do about his intended subject (journalists and fans). It suggests that he is immature, lacks discipline, is filled with unwarranted hubris, and wouldn’t do well in a truly fervent soccer nation where the criticism is relentless. Donovan used to be the same way, but it seems that he has grown up.
Having said that, Bradley is definitely one of the better players on the team, but he doesn’t benefit from the fact that he knows his spot is guaranteed–much like Dempsey and Donovan. (Donovan, btw, is doing very well in S Africa.) And there are certain times when Bradley isn’t the best choice for the field due to the nature of the opponent or the style of play; but his Dad never adjusts accordingly, he just tweaks the peripheral players. His dad’s failure is basing player selection too much on his own personal past associations with players.
I’ve got to agree with Dave Clark above: La Liga might be interesting in the same way that an All-Star game is interesting due to the combination of talented individuals, but not as a competitive league, just as an All-Star game isn’t interesting as a competitive match.
I’m looking forward to watching Dynamo games from Downtown, just a (slightly long) walk from The Flying Saucer and its plethora of beer!
As far as the most interesting league, this is easy. It’s still the EPL. The EPL is the only league to have 3 of the teams in the semifinals of the Champions League. Only Barca has shown it can be a challenge to the EPL. Real Madrid is a joke and just will be a high priced joke next year. La Liga has 2 teams that stand of chance of getting far in the Champions. I would say Seria A is ahead of them because their league is more competitive. La Liga was decided this year by April. (Yawn!) EPL comes down to the wire every year, no other league has 3-4 teams that could win it in the last fews weeks.
As far as Michael Bradley, I think he is the best well-rounded player on the team. Still his father can’t coach at this level and National team is just scrapping by in advancing. Coach Bradley needs to go and international coach needs to take over.
With the stadium, I hope it’s built downtown but it needs to be built soon. The team deserves their own stadium.
to add to Glen’s reply to christopher;
for the same reasons other professional teams move to a downtown.
logistics. any location will have shortcommings, in particular transportation to and from. a downtown location with 3 freeways running through it allows the largest amount of people from the largest metro area possible.
credibility. a downtown stadium gives the team a more proffesional image.
I liked both M. Bradley’s and Donovans comments.
I for one is in the pool to fire coach B. Bradley. I also wanted the whole boad of directors at us soccer fired. However, M. Bradley made his point – scoreboard. I don’t know what “Art of War” schemes plus a boatload of help we got but B. Bradley got the team to the second round in a tournament on foreign soil. scoreboard.
Donovan not feeling vindicated is exactly how I want the team to feel. you got through but you had two games that werent even competitive. and unlike some commentators who think the us fans expect too much. we have seen that the team can play at a higher level than this especially against the top teams. we cannot expect no less