Thursday, March 5, 2009
Ronaldo returns to action for Corinthians
Ronaldo made his return to action and you can read all about it by clicking this link, which will take you to an article on Goal.com.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Landon Donovan answers YOUR questions
If anyone has a question for Landon Donovan just click on this link, which will lead you directly to his website where you can post a question for him. As you can read from the questions and answers that have already been posted, Landon is pretty candid about his relationship with Miroslav Klose, Ruud Gullit's time as coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy and Bruce Arena's appointment as the new coach. Finally, a top player being candid in an interview!!! Well it is his own website so what better place to do it I guess.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Rafinha - the next steps....
I really felt that Rafinha had a very good weekend in Pittsburgh and could be called back to the team at any point, but as he wasn't offered a contract his saga will continue. He is scheduled to attend the tryout with the USL Division 2 Wilmington Hammerheads this coming weekend and also has some potential opportunities with some PDL clubs. I hope that he decides to join one of these clubs and give soccer in the United States a full opportunity. Perhaps once he is able to establish himself here in the United States scouts and coaches will get to see the talent that he possesses and he will be given an opportunity with a bigger club, hopefully with a club in the MLS. I truly believe that he has the ability to play at that level and hope that one day soon that it materializes. I will continue to post updates as news becomes available.
Rafinha goes to Pittsburgh
Well I just got back late last night with Rafinha from the trip to Pittsburgh for his tryout with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and I must say that it was an eye-opener on many different levels. First of all, I got to see Rafinha play live in a more competitive atmosphere and I was even more impressed then I thought I would be. Rafinha is the real deal and is a very skillful, talented young player. He plays the game the way that it ought to be, with pinpoint passes, skillful dribbling, good attempts at goal and passes to setup his teammates. He also is a very tough defender, impossible to dribble around and very good at closing down players with the ball.
Overall the tryout was well run and organized. The head coach Gene Klein gave a very general overview of his expectations, which left the players with an idea of what to do, but also a lot of room within which they could try different things and not quite be sure of what would impress the coaching staff. I'm guessing, but I believe that this was done on purpose to see how the players would react and what they would do to show their skills to the coaching staff, which included assistant coach and National Soccer Hall of Famer Paul Child.
The quality of the 60 or so players that were on hand for the tryouts was very good. I really believe that some of that group will end up making the team, especially as Gene Klein explained that 6 of the players who attended the combine last year ended up making the team. Overall thought the impression that I got was that the players seemed to possess certain skills, but were like unrefined diamonds in that they really could use some good coaching about certain aspects of their game that they need to improve upon in order to be a more finished product and reach their full potential. Most of the players that I saw seemed to be missing one of two essential skills and if they end up with a good coach who can work with them that they can improve and really play soccer at a high level. The most disappointing aspect of the the play was the lack of quality in the finishing. There were a lot of opportunities that a player at this level must be able to put away.
Overall I did feel disappointment in the combine, as organized as it was, but with the fact that there just aren't enough resources for a soccer team at this level to take a group of players and really evaluate them thoroughly. To take 60 players and try to get a good look at all of them over the course of 2 days is a very difficult thing for any coaching staff and my impression is that the Pittsburgh coaching staff was trying to make the best of the opportunity to look at the players and come away with as much information as they could given the circumstances.
Overall I think that this is an indictment of the way that professional soccer is within the United States. At level 2 of the USL there just aren't the resources for the club to be able to do all that it would like to do to acquire talent and put together a quality team. Coach Gene Klein explained that the competition for roster spots will be intense as the team currently has 3 players trying out for MLS teams and they also have to see which players become available as the teams that are above them in MLS and USL Division 1 formulate their rosters. The group that tried out this weekend for Pittsburgh provides Gene with a pool of players that he can call upon should they need players when it gets closer to the start of the season. He can bring some of them in to practice with the team and play in exhibition games to see if they will fit in with the team.
I spoke a bit with Gene after the combine ended and I will try to contact him for an interview and for his comments on what I have written. He seemed like a very nice man who is another player within the greater picture of soccer in the United States. As their are so many of us trying to promote this game in the United States and increase the quality of our soccer it will be interesting to get his perspective on many issues.
Overall the tryout was well run and organized. The head coach Gene Klein gave a very general overview of his expectations, which left the players with an idea of what to do, but also a lot of room within which they could try different things and not quite be sure of what would impress the coaching staff. I'm guessing, but I believe that this was done on purpose to see how the players would react and what they would do to show their skills to the coaching staff, which included assistant coach and National Soccer Hall of Famer Paul Child.
The quality of the 60 or so players that were on hand for the tryouts was very good. I really believe that some of that group will end up making the team, especially as Gene Klein explained that 6 of the players who attended the combine last year ended up making the team. Overall thought the impression that I got was that the players seemed to possess certain skills, but were like unrefined diamonds in that they really could use some good coaching about certain aspects of their game that they need to improve upon in order to be a more finished product and reach their full potential. Most of the players that I saw seemed to be missing one of two essential skills and if they end up with a good coach who can work with them that they can improve and really play soccer at a high level. The most disappointing aspect of the the play was the lack of quality in the finishing. There were a lot of opportunities that a player at this level must be able to put away.
Overall I did feel disappointment in the combine, as organized as it was, but with the fact that there just aren't enough resources for a soccer team at this level to take a group of players and really evaluate them thoroughly. To take 60 players and try to get a good look at all of them over the course of 2 days is a very difficult thing for any coaching staff and my impression is that the Pittsburgh coaching staff was trying to make the best of the opportunity to look at the players and come away with as much information as they could given the circumstances.
Overall I think that this is an indictment of the way that professional soccer is within the United States. At level 2 of the USL there just aren't the resources for the club to be able to do all that it would like to do to acquire talent and put together a quality team. Coach Gene Klein explained that the competition for roster spots will be intense as the team currently has 3 players trying out for MLS teams and they also have to see which players become available as the teams that are above them in MLS and USL Division 1 formulate their rosters. The group that tried out this weekend for Pittsburgh provides Gene with a pool of players that he can call upon should they need players when it gets closer to the start of the season. He can bring some of them in to practice with the team and play in exhibition games to see if they will fit in with the team.
I spoke a bit with Gene after the combine ended and I will try to contact him for an interview and for his comments on what I have written. He seemed like a very nice man who is another player within the greater picture of soccer in the United States. As their are so many of us trying to promote this game in the United States and increase the quality of our soccer it will be interesting to get his perspective on many issues.
SoccerPro.com
I wanted to share with all of you a website called SoccerPro.com that I have used and found to be a very reliable website for ordering all types of soccer related products. The website offers a very comprehensive selection of products related to soccer. You can order any type of equipment that you need from cleats to shin guards, they have DVDs and books, anything for men, women, children, players, referees, coaches. I found the level of service and professionalism to be top notch and better then any other soccer website that I have dealt with. In my experience the most comprehensive websites have been based in the United Kingdom, which of course means that you will incur extra costs related to shipping, but this website is based in the United States so there is none of that to worry about.
The particular product that I ordered was a Juventus jersey with Pavel Nedved's name and number printed on it. The jersey arrived exactly as ordered and was very professionally done. I have ordered jerseys from some websites that were UK based and have had many problems with the jersey not being in stock or not receiving the exact item that I ordered. This wasn't the case with SoccerPro.com and in fact they have a comprehensive selection of soccer jerseys.
SoccerPro is more then just a website to order soccer related equipment from, they are involved in a number of different initiatives including SoccerGrow, which is a charitable organization that is aimed to provide equipment and supplies to impoverished nations and spread soccer throughout the world. SoccerPro is also in the process of creating a Soccer Camp Directory of camps throughout the United States. This really is a website that has a lot to offer and is a website that provides a lot to the game here in the United States and throughout the world. I wholeheartedly encourage all of you to check it out!
The particular product that I ordered was a Juventus jersey with Pavel Nedved's name and number printed on it. The jersey arrived exactly as ordered and was very professionally done. I have ordered jerseys from some websites that were UK based and have had many problems with the jersey not being in stock or not receiving the exact item that I ordered. This wasn't the case with SoccerPro.com and in fact they have a comprehensive selection of soccer jerseys.
SoccerPro is more then just a website to order soccer related equipment from, they are involved in a number of different initiatives including SoccerGrow, which is a charitable organization that is aimed to provide equipment and supplies to impoverished nations and spread soccer throughout the world. SoccerPro is also in the process of creating a Soccer Camp Directory of camps throughout the United States. This really is a website that has a lot to offer and is a website that provides a lot to the game here in the United States and throughout the world. I wholeheartedly encourage all of you to check it out!
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