So, the past two months have been a bit...well, I've certainly had better periods in my life. As such, this site fell precipitously down my list of priorities. The last time I checked, it was nestled somewhere between 'Ignored' and 'Forgotten'. However, things have settled down recently. As a result of what's gone down I now have quite a bit of free time on my hands. What better to fill it with than the resuscitation of this site. My ambitions, though temporarily distracted, remain the same.

So, what's been going on in the soccer world while I've been away. Oh, look! Tottenham Hotspur sits at the foot of the Premier League table with two points to their name, while the New York Red Bulls teeter precariously on the edge of making or missing the playoffs. Wonderful. I couldn't even bring myself to watch Tottenham's match against Stoke City. My judgement proved sound, as it turned out. Spurs fell 2-1 to Stoke. Yeah. I couldn't find Stoke City on a map. I'm fairly adept at geography, for those wondering. At this point, I'm just looking for Spurs to avoid the drop and the Red Bulls to achieve their annual first-round defeat in the playoffs. Low expectations are more easily met, I find.

I'd like to start by saying that the Netherlands didn't deserve it. The US played them off the pitch. The US created better chances. The US possessed the ball better. Holland was reduced to playing counter-attacking soccer. That's Holland. Birthplace of Total Football and Johan Cruyff, the should-have-been champions of the 1976 World Cup, the actual champions of Euro 1988. Outplayed by the United States. Outplayed, but not outscored. I knew it was going in from the second the camera pulled back for the wide shot.

The US goes from being about fifteen seconds away from automatic qualification to a much less assured position. Instead of looking at an essentially meaningless game against Nigeria, it's now certainly a must-tie, if not a must-win. Oh, and they'll have to do it without Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley. So, instead of guaranteed qualification the US now faces a must-win game against a solid Nigerian side. This with two of America's best players suspended due to yellow card accumulation. In case you were wondering, Adu's second yellow card was indeed dubious.

When's Team Handball on?

I made up for my failure to make it to Steve Nash's Charity game a few weeks back by heading into Central Park today to watch the likes of Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez, Samuel Eto'o, and Carles Puyol...stretch. There were no soccer balls involved and I made it there after they ran, I assume. Still, being so close to the players of that caliber, people I watch do spectacular things week in and week out, was pretty cool. I took a few pictures.

-The Barca Squad doing some abdominal work.

- I was very excited.

-Carles Puyol speaking to some trainers. Samuel Eto'o behind him.

-Rafa Marquez.

-I'm not sure who this guy was, he seemed pretty popular, though.

Soccer by Ives is reporting that Freddy Adu has been loaned to AS Monaco of the French Ligue 1. Rumors of the move, which also linked Michael Bradley to the French outfit, had surfaced in early July. Adu's loan comes with an option for Monaco to buy the young American if he impresses. The move is a good one for Adu, who would have been hard-pressed for playing time after Benfica's capture of Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar. Despite a strong start at Benfica, Adu's playing time withered as both the manager who signed him and the replacement manager left the club. Benfica's new coaches proved hesitant to grant Adu time with the first-team. At Monaco, Adu will see much more significant time on the pitch as the French side looks to rebuild following a disappointing 2007-2008 campaign. Adu's would-be main rival for minutes at AS Monaco, Jeremy Menez, looks set to leave the club this summer, clearing the way for Adu.

United States Olympic Coach Peter Nowak today released the eighteen man roster he'll be taking to China. According to FIFA rules, participating teams are permitted to bring three players over the age of 23. Peter Nowak took advantage of this rule and invited new Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan, New England defender Michael Parkhurst, and the between-teams forward Brian McBride. US supporters, myself included, will be thrilled to see McBride step on the field once again for the red, white, and blue. The US as yet have been unable to replace the loss of McBride to international retirements. The majority of his potential successors, including Eddie Johnson, Brian Ching, and Taylor Twellman, have disappointed against tough opposition. The Olympics, however, will likely see McBride partnered with the player many hope will be the one to finally fill McBride's shoes: Josmer Altidore.

2008 U.S. MEN’S OLYMPIC TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (5): Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Freddy Adu (SL Benfica), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Benny Feilhaber (Derby County), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio)
FORWARDS (4): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF), Brian McBride (out of contract), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

The FIFA Futsal World Cup, an event that is largely ignored in the United States even by soccer diehards, will be played in Brazil this September and FIFA held the Final Draw today. The US team was drawn into Group C along with Italy, Portugal, Paraguay, and Thailand. US coach Keith Tozer had this to say about the draw, “It is a difficult group, but any group at this level is going to present different challenges...Italy and Portugal are two of the top futsal teams in the world, and our group also features two up and coming teams in Thailand and Paraguay.” The tournament will feature twenty teams for the first time. The twenty teams will be divided into four groups of five, from which the top two teams will advance. The 8 advancing teams will then participate in a second round-robin which will determine the semi-finalists.

I've always thought that the US Soccer Federation should push futsal more heavily in the US. The game, which is played on a basketball court sized field with five players to a side, is extremely good at developing close control and skill on the ball, both of which are generally lacking in American players. In fact, most Brazilian players credit their extraordinary ability with the ball to Futsal. In addition, US Soccer has expressed a desire to make the game more readily available to urban children. Soccer has earned a reputation in the US as a game played only amongst affluent suburbanites, at the expense of a significant proportion of the nation's youth. Futsal is more conducive to being played in an urban environment than full-sided soccer games. Games could be played in gyms and basketball courts in cities across the country. It's an option that I think is worth pursuing.

Increased television coverage would be welcome, as well. I'd love to be able to watch both the Futsal World Cup and the Beach Soccer World Cup on television. As yet, that option appears to be unavailable. I'm looking at you Fox Soccer Channel and GolTV.

The Groups:
Group A: Brazil, Russia, Japan, Cuba, Solomon Islands
Group B: Italy, Portugal, Thailand, Paraguay, USA
Group C: Argentina, Ukraine, China PR, Guatemala, Egypt
Group D: Spain, Czech Republic, Iran, Uruguay, Libya

Cuauhtemoc Blanco represents everything that's wrong with soccer. While supremely talented, the man's conduct on the field is not befitting someone of his ability. He falls at the slightest touch, he whines incessantly to referees, and he regularly hits opposing players with cheap shots and dirty fouls. I can't stand the man and I often find myself viscerally angry while watching him play. I can't imagine what I would have felt if I had watched DC United's US Open Cup match against Blanco's Chicago Fire. The game saw the Chicago captain once again cross the line. During the game, Blanco punched Clyde Simms in the stomach from point blank range and then attempted to poke the DC player in the eye, cutting him. DC defender Marc Burch described the incident, "He came up and swung as hard as he could and tried to hit the ball and hit Clyde in the stomach...He thinks he can do whatever he wants. I went over and I pushed him. I didn't hit him, I didn't go after him, I just pushed him down. He's not going to do that to my teammate. He stood up and tried to poke Clyde in the eye and cut his eye open...I don't like him, I don't think he's a good person. He's a great player but when he's out there he's doing stuff that you shouldn't be able to get away with." Fortunately, Blanco was eventually punished with a red card. Unfortunately, however, Blanco refused to leave the field after being ejected and instead sat down on the Fire bench. When confronted by a DC United employee, Blanco engaged in a close-quarters yelling match with the man before allegedly head-butting him. You can't make it up. DC United will be submitting evidence on the incidents to both Major League Soccer and the US Soccer Federation. Hopefully, he'll be smacked with a multiple game suspension and a nice, hefty fine.

Video of the Clyde Simms incident can be viewed here. The footage in question occurs at the 0:28 second mark.

Generally, when young people do stupid things it's blamed on their youth. But, revealing a potential transfer involving hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pounds on Facebook is just monumentally stupid. His club, Crystal Palace, can't be happy with one of their players broadcasting on the internet that he wants to leave. It's probably a little embarrassing. I'm the same age as the player in question and I have to ask: what on earth was he thinking? Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock didn't take the situation particularly lightly, saying, "We feel it's probably better that he looks elsewhere to further his career." Harsh.

Does anybody else find this unnecessary? If you want to raise the profile of Europe's other tournament, advertise it in the same way the Champions League is advertised. It's not surprising that the action taken targets the presentation of the tournament, rather than its inherent flaws. You don't think the fact that Champions League teams who place third in their groups get an automatic place in the knockout rounds contributes to it's perception as a second-rate tournament? I do. The proposed name is hardly an improvement, either: the UEFA Europa League. Why do they call these European tournaments 'leagues', anyway? The Champions League is not a league. It follows the same format as every major international tournament: Group Stage --> Knockout Stage. Baffling.

My experience with Carlos Queiroz is limited to a mediocre stint in charge of the Metrostars way back in 1996, Major League Soccer's first season. Queiroz inherited the team from Eddie Firmani, who resigned after the first eight games of the season. The Portugese coach went on to post a 12-12 record in the regular season before being dumped out of the playoffs by DC United. DC United have gone on to win four MLS Cups, four Supporters' Shields, one US Open Cup, one CONCACAF Champions Cup, and one InterAmerican Cup. The Metrostars have won no trophies at all. Well, unless you count that friendly tournament they won in, what was it, Norway? I don't know. In any case, Carlos Queiroz is one of a long list of otherwise successful managers who have failed to replicate that success here in New Jersey. The list has grown to include men like Carlos Alberto Parreira, Octavio Zambrano, Bora Mulintinovic, Bob Bradley, and Bruce Arena. It's an otherwise impressive group of coaches, you'll just have to ignore their time at Giants Stadium. Queiroz went on to take the job of Sir Alex Ferguson's right hand man in 2002. Ferguson granted Queiroz quite a bit of freedom and responsibility and the Portugese, has in turn, influenced the way the aging Scot views the game. Ferguson has claimed on numerous occasions that Queiroz would be his choice to take the reins at Manchester United when he retires within the next three years. The assistant coach is also reported to share a special relationship with winger Cristiano Ronaldo. Given his influence at the Theatre of Dreams, it's easy to see why Daniel Taylor of the Guardian feels his potential departure to coach Portugal could have wide-ranging and detrimental effects for the Champions. Ferguson will have to find a new assistant and establish a working relationship with them while the loss of his 'mentor' could make Ronaldo increasingly see his future in Spain.

In one of the biggest moves of the summer, Portugal boss Luis Felipe Scolari has recently taken charge at Chelsea. In his short time in London, Big Phil has already brought in former Barcelona midfielder Deco as he looks to put his mark on the club. You can watch his first press conference here. I don't know about you guys, but I love the way he pronounces Chelsea as Chel-see-uh.

SoccerTimes.com is reporting that French Ligue 1 side AS Monaco is interested in acquiring the services of American midfielders Michael Bradley and Freddy Adu. Monaco finished a disappointing twelfth in the league last year and is looking to improve on that finish in the upcoming campaign. The club's management apparently feels our boys can help them do that.

Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley had incredibly different seasons last year. Bradley was a constant for Eredivisie side SC Heerenveen. While his father consistently plays him as a defensive midfielder for the US National Team, his performances in Holland seem to indicate this isn't his ideal role. Bradley shattered Brian McBride's goal-scoring record for an American abroad (from midfield, no less) last season with sixteen league goals and twenty in all competitions. These are statistics you would expect from a midfielder like Frank Lampard, not a twenty year old American. Based on his performances, Bradley's departure from Heerenveen this off-season was a foregone conclusion, a question of 'where' not 'if'. Freddy Adu, on the other hand, enjoyed much more limited success in his first season at Benfica. When given the opportunity, Adu has put in good performances, even scoring a few goals. Unfortunately, Adu joined the club on the cusp of a very tumultuous period. The manager who signed him, José Antonio Camacho, left the club soon after Adu's arrival and Benfica has since gone through two managers, both of whom have proven reluctant to give Adu time. Moves away from their current clubs will be beneficial for both players, particularly Adu who would certainly benefit from regular first team football. I've got my fingers crossed on this one.

I have to say, the mind-boggling amount of money being offered (and not even taken!) in player transfers concerns me. Real Madrid has been linked with a move for Cristiano Ronaldo that involves a tranfer fee in the vicinity of $140 million and players for the winger. Chelsea have been linked, though not as heavily, with a bid in the neighborhood of $170 million for the services of Fernando Torres. Aston Villa continues to hold out for a transfer fee of $36 million for their captain, Gareth Barry. Granted, he's their captain and he's worth a great deal to the midlands club, but he is in no way worth thirty-six million dollars. Then there's the transfer of CSKA Moscow player Jo to Manchester City. Jo completed the move for 19 million pounds. That's about 38 million dollars. I'm utterly bemused by the amount of money involved in this transfer. I've seen Jo play live. Twice, in fact. I drove up to Canada and saw four games of the 2007 U20 World Cup. Two of the games were Brazil-South Korea and Brazil-USA. While undeniably a talented player, Jo failed to score in all four games at the tournament for a Brazil side that was disappointing overall. Now, compare Jo's exorbitant transfer fee with the much more reasonable price paid for a player far more successful in the 2007 tournament than Jo. I'm talking of course, about Josmer Altidore. In Altidore's five games at the tournament he scored four goals, including a brace against Jo's Brazil. With the exception of a few nice touches, Jo accomplished next to nothing for Brazil. Despite this, Altidore has been sold for a fraction of the price of Jo. If I'm honest, the $10 million paid for Altidore is much closer to his value at this point than the $38 million paid for Jo. There is the fact that Jo is two years older than Altidore and has been plying his trade in Europe, while Altidore has toiled away in the swamps of Jersey. There is something to be said for Jo's 30 goals in 53 games for CSKA Moscow, two of which came against Inter Milan in the Champions League. Perhaps Altidore's potential to surpass Jo in the next three years can be measured by the fact that Altidore has made his way to a more prestigious club in Villarreal at 18 than Jo's Manchester City. In spite of these facts, I can't help but feel that American players continue to be undervalued while players like Jo are consistently bought and sold for well over their actual value just because they're from a country like Brazil.