HexagonalBlog

T&T defeats Iceland

Trinidad & Tobago defeated Iceland 2-0 behind two goals by captain Dwight Yorke.  Beenhakker saw much to like from the performance, but he's also aware that this Iceland team didn't exactly rise to the level of a sparring partner.

Galindo and Carmona out of World Cup

Mexico's soccer federation upheld the one year ban on national team (and Cruz Azul) players Salvador Carmona and Aaron Galindo for doping violations, which means that they won't be able to appear at the World Cup.  Cruz Azul's appeal of the original ruling had been the subject of much controversy in the Mexican press, with the club president saying that the FMF had made a deal to reduce the punishment and/or pay part of the players' salaries during the suspension (which FMF president De la Torre denied).

Needless to say, Cruz Azul's players and directors aren't happy with the decision, but they insist that the tournament will go on for them.

CCC Quarterfinal Results

Maybe I shouldn't have changed my mind about New England's chances.  New England and Alajuelense drew 0-0 in Bermuda, which should give LDA an advantage going into the return leg.  I just don't see New England winning in Costa Rica (unless they want to play for penalties).

Toluca is leading Olimpia 1-0 at the 50 minute mark, and Portmore Utd plays América later.

I'll try to update this post throughout the evening.

UPDATE (10:22pm):  Toluca scored a goal in second-half stoppage time to complete a 2-0 victory over Olimpia.  That should wrap up the tie.  Maybe Olimpia should have played their home match outside the country -- Honduran teams seem to play better on the road.

In the late match, América leads Portmore Utd 2-1.

UPDATE (11:00pm):  The match ended 15 minutes ago; América defeated Portmore Utd 2-1.  They should be the odds-on favorite to advance to the semifinals.

Predictions for CCC Quarterfinals

Well it's time for me to put my head on the block and make some predictions.  Much is said about the MLS teams not having enough match experience at this point, but most of the other teams in the quarterfinals are just restarting their local championships.  Ok, here we go:

Portmore United vs. América:  Portmore United coach Paul Young is right - this is definitely a match between David and Goliath.  The Jamaican champions do have some experience at the international level, and América will try not to be distracted by Sunday's superclásico against Chivas.  Even if América doesn't play well in the Houston leg, I expect them to overwhelm the Jamaican side in the return.

Prediction: América to advance.

Toluca vs. Olimpia: Toluca has lost three straight games in the local championship, and Olimpia is coming off a derby loss to Motagua.  This match strikes me as very even - I expect two tight matches.   

Prediction: Olimpia to advance.

Alajuelense vs. New England Revolution:  Will the Revs get any advantage from playing in Bermuda?  In contrast to the Galaxy, New England have played well during their warm-up matches, and Dempsey, Twellman, and Noonan have stood out during the recent series of national team matches.  As that trio goes, so will the Revs.  On the other side of the ball, Alajuelense should look to Ruíz and Fonseca up front and López and Hernández in the middle.  Steve Nicol has played in high-pressure situations at club and national level; he will have to impart that knowledge to give his team a chance at advancing.

Prediction: Alajuelense New England to advance.  (I changed my mind after thinking about it overnight.)

Saprissa vs. Los Angeles Galaxy:  Saprissa's coach has put a priority on winning the continental club championship again.   He'll be at a disadvantage in the first leg, as Rónald Gómez is suspended and Rándall Azofeifa and Reynaldo Parks have been given rest.  Despite this he will go for a positive result (and a draw will be as good as a win for Saprissa).  As for the Galaxy, the MLS Cup champions haven't had any positive results in their preseason matches so far.  They will have some of the national team players on their side, but at the end it will come down to experience.  If that's true it will be difficult for the Galaxy.

Prediction: Saprissa to advance.

Curt Gowdy, RIP

This isn't a soccer related post,  but I wanted to note the passing of one of America's greatest sports commentators.  I was in elementary school during the tail end of Gowdy's career, and even at that age I was impressed by his voice, his impartiality,  and his approachability.  As a native of Palm Beach County, I don't remember his fishing shows on the local NBC station, but I do remember his involvement with the local sports awards.

RIP, Curt Gowdy, and thank you for a life well lived.  They don't make sports commentators like that anymore.

Totti's injury

While the US national team was making news in Frisco, another story occurred on the other side of the Atlantic that could have consequences for the USA's fortunes in Germany.  Roma playmaker Francesco Totti suffered a fractured lower leg during his side's 1-0 win over Empoli and could be out of action for at least three months.  That could be a blow to Italy's World Cup hopes, and will present a dilemma for manager Marcello Lippi - should he include a player who had not been playing for 12 weeks?  It's potentially a big blow for Italy, since Totti has been playing very well this season.

Speaking for myself, I hope to see Totti in the World Cup.  I want to see the best players at soccer's biggest showcase, and even though I want the USA to do well, I want to see them do well against the best opposition possible.

If you want to leave him a get-well message, you can send it to his personal website.  AS Roma's website also has updates, if you can read Italian.

USA routs Guatemala

The USA defeated Guatemala 4-0 in another evaluation match for Bruce Arena.  Once again Arena only had the stateside-based players at his disposal (and none from Los Angeles or New England because of CONCACAF Champions' Cup committments), and several of the players made solid contributions.  Chris Klein made two assists, Brian Ching scored a goal, as well as Eddie Johnson (who really desired to score in front of the Frisco crowd).  At the end, a very straightforward victory for the USA.

Here's a summary in Spanish from Guatefutbol.com - they called the match "Massacre in Frisco", which is about right.

Warner in trouble?

I don't have time to comment on this right now, but it looks like Jack Warner could be in serious trouble over his involvement with T&T's ticket distribution to the World Cup.  I'll talk more about it later.

UPDATE:  As you can imagine, this is big news in Trinidad and Tobago; the Express has an article here.  This paper had a three-part series on the controversy in December/January, which I mentioned at the beginning of the year.

UPDATE #2:  Now that I've had time to read the article, the ethics investigation goes back to that government inquest into the ownership of the Simpaul travel agency.  Warner has always said that he had done nothing wrong (and he actually asked for that investigation), but if the accounts are accurate it sounds very much like a conflict of interest issue to me.  At the least, there is an appearance of impropriety.

South Korea defeats Mexico

In the last game of their overseas tour, South Korea defeated Mexico 1-0 in Los Angeles.  Like the match against Costa Rica, the lone goal appeared to be scored against the run of play, but this time it favored the Koreans.  LaVolpe said that his team were unlucky not to win; sports daily Esto said that the match should serve as a wake-up call to the national team.   As well it should - Iran will be a much more difficult team than some in Mexico would  like to admit.

UPDATE:  If you read this report, and this one as well, some of the Mexican players say that the team didn't play that well and didn't deserve to win.

MLS changes criteria for Champions' Cup

Instead of the two finalists earning automatic berths to the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, MLS announced that starting in2006 the Supporters' Shield winner and the MLS Cup winner will advance to the region's top club competition.   It reverses a situation where the MLS representatives to the Champions' Cup were not the two best teams over the season, so this is very good news. 

The big question is whether it will change the intensity of the regular season or playoffs all that much.  That could depend on the World Club Championship finding a regular place on the calendar, and whether there is enough of a financial carrot to entice MLS teams to take continental tournaments seriously.  I don't think there will be much of a change immediately, but there could be one as time goes on.