MLS Full of Action After International Break

After a few weeks off, Major League Soccer is back in full swing with plenty of action and news after week 13. Some teams in the MLS came back strong after the break, either turning around what had been a string of poor performances, or continuing their winning ways. Other teams found themselves struggling  to win. Here is a roundup of some of the interesting games from week 13 of the 2012 MLS season.


Sporting KC vs. Toronto FC
Sporting KC was one of the teams coming back from the break that continued to win games. KC played Toronto FC beating them 2-0. Both goals in the game were exciting finishes, with the second an extraordinary volley powered into the net by Julio Cesar. Check out the highlights to see the volley for yourself or watch the video below. Unfortunately for Toronto, they continue to lose this season with only one win in 13 weeks.





Real Salt Lake vs. Chivas USA
With a resounding 3-0 win, Real Salt Lake maintain their top position on the challenging western conference. The attacking power of RSL was too much for Chivas who conceded multiple chances, and thee goals to RSL. In the western conference where many of the teams are vying diligently for playoff spots, Chivas will have to make changes if they hope to do the same.


LA vs. Portland Timbers
LA Galaxy grabbed 3 much needed points beating the Timbers 1-0. The Galaxy have not found this season anywhere as easy as last, when they won the MLS Cup. But a solid win may help kick-start their push towards the play offs in a few months. The Portland Timbers will hope to make up points in their next match, an exciting game against Seattle.


DC United vs. Philadelphia Union
I was really rooting for the Union in this game, hoping a change in head coach might be enough to help them get a much needed win, but DC United won 1-0. The Union showed themselves as a strong team, controlling much of the midfield, but a quick goal by DC was all they needed to win, and top the Easter Conference ahead of Sporting KC. DC United has been a team hard to beat for many competitors. The struggling Union will hope to get some points when they play Sporting KC next, but I don't think I would bet on it.


Major News:
Besides a few signings and transfers, the biggest news is Philadelphia Union coach Peter Novak parting ways with the team. Last season went very well for the Union under Novak's control. But this season has been dismal and disappointing for all involved. The Union's assistant coach will take over until a permanent head coach is found.


The Union's performance this year has been puzzling. they are currently second to last, with only  Toronto below them, and they even lost to Toronto a few weeks ago. I hope they change of their Coach will give them some new energy to at least pull together for the rest of the season and look towards the next. 


See full MLS standings here

Portugal Beat Denmark in Thrilling 3-2 Win at Euro 2012

Portugal massively needed to win against Denmark in the Euro Cup 2012 round 2 of the group stage to keep hope alive for advancing to the knockout stage, and they did just that.

Portugal scored two goals in the first half by Pepe and Helder Postiga and looked to be well on their way to 3 points. However, Denmark answered at the end of the first half, and again in the second half to make it 2-2. They game reached a frantic pace as Portugal, the 9th ranked team in the world pushed forward to try to score on Denmark, the 10th ranked. 

With only minutes to go, substitute Verela scored the game winning goal to make it 3-2 and keep hopes alive for Portugal to advance to the next stage.

The game kept a lively pace throughout most of the match with chances more often in favor of Portugal. Christiano Ronaldo was much more active in this match compared to his performance Vs. Germany, yet he just didn't have the same lethal ability as he so often has had this past season for Real Madrid.

The Euro Cup 'Group of Death' has so far lived up to the hype and excitement, with several more important games to come. 

Next game for Portugal: Netherlands on June 17th.

Euro Cup 2012: Best Games Thus Far

Each team in the Euro Cup has now had a chance to play a match in the group stage. There were some big match ups, such as Germany Vs. Portugal, Italy Vs. Spain, and France Vs. England. Each of these games were entertaining and full of excitement in their own way, but the best games thus far came by more unlikely teams.

Best Matches at the Euro's so far:

Stadium in Kiev for Euro 2012

Poland Vs. Greece: 1-1

Poland and Greece were the first game of the tournament and played to fair score of 1-1. However, the game was filled with drama as there were two red cards handed out, and a PK save by the newly subbed on Polish goalkeeper. This game proved to be a fit beginning to what is expected to be an action packed tournament.

Russia Vs. Czech Republic: 4-1

This was the second match of the European Championship, and the Russian side came out and showed they are an attacking force to be reckoned with. They simply overwhelmed the Czech's, leaving many to expect the Russians to advance from group A. 

Russia plays Poland in the next match on Tuesday at 2:45pm Eastern. This game is expected to share some of the same excitement as the first matches and should not be missed!

Ukraine Vs. Sweden 2-1

Ukraine versus Sweden was the most recent game that saw an incredible back and forth game for the first half with chances for both teams. Ukraine's Shevchenko and Sweden's Ibrahimovic would prove to be the Goal scorers, and stars of the game. the chances for both teams through out the game made for a much more exciting game compared to the slow England Vs. France tie. Both Ukraine and Sweden looked strong with powerful attacking players. At the final whistle the game concluded 2-1 in Ukraine's favor with two good goals by 35 year old striker Shevchenko.

After four days of games there have already been surprises, beautiful goals, and great games. One can only expect the matches to get better and better from here. Be sure to catch the action live on ESPN, and online at ESPN3.com! 

Brazil Tops USMNT 4-1 in Soccer Friendly

That’s the headline you will see most places; that the US lost to Brazil 4-1. What you won’t see many places in the news is that the US team looked like they could make a comeback in the beginning of the second half.

With a goal just before halftime, after a half where Brazil really dominated, the US team came out in the second half looking threatening and a little more confidant.

The 2012 USMNT Jersey

Unfortunately, Brazil managed another goal on a counter attack in the 56^th minute which made a comeback much more difficult.

Yet in spite of the 3-1 score, the US team continued to create chances, with several great shots that where only stopped by even more brilliant saves by the Brazil goalkeeper. The score easily could have been 3-3. I must be fair and say it could also have been 1-6. But in the end, Pato score a beautiful goal to reach the 4-1 score line.

It seems like many people are taking the wrong information away from this game. People are thinking, ‘well, I guess the US team isn’t a top level team yet.’ But I don’t think that’s necessarily true. I think this showed that the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) has a lot of heart, and is improving every game. This was the first game in a year where Dempsey and Donovan played together. It was also a game where Brazil played very well. Even though the score was 4-1 and Brazil controlled much of the game, I think on another day, it could go in the US teams favor, like it did back in ’94.

This game was a great practice game for the USMNT, as they prepare for World Cup qualifying. I hope they recognize the improvements in the team, and play with confidence in their next games. 

Euro 2012 Coming to ESPN!

It's about a week away, and I can feel the excitement growing within me.

The UEFA Euro Cup 2012 begins June 8th 2012 and will last for nearly a month, until July 1st. This competition brings together sixteen of the best teams in Europe to compete for the title of Euro Cup Champions. This competition is all about pride, fame and bragging rights for the European country that wins.

You might be wondering, Why am I (an American) so excited about a competition that only involves Europe and Europeans?

Euro 2012. Source - UEFA

Two Reasons I am excited for Euro 2012;

1. First, I believe its safe to say the biggest collection of the best soccer players is in Europe so this competition will feature many incredible players and teams. The likes of Germany, Spain, England, France, Portugal, and Netherlands will be playing against each other, just to name a few.

2. Second, All the games will be shown in America on the ESPN Network.

Yep, you read it right, ESPN will be airing every game live on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN3.com. Just writing that makes me exited.

This means that for nearly a month there will be games between some of the best teams in the world on almost everyday.

In case you are still not excited, let me run though some of the match ups I am looking forward to in the Euro Cup 2012.

June 9th: Germany Vs. Portugal - With stars on both sides, this will be an exciting clash.
June 10th: Spain Vs. Italy - Another incredible match up. Spain was 2010 World Cup winners, Italy won in 2006.
June 11th: France Vs. England - Both teams have something to prove, and should play hard for a win.
June 13th: Netherlands Vs. Germany - Two excellent teams filled with world class players

I hope you get the point, there will be quite a few exciting games, and these are just from the group stage. Once teams make it out of the group stage, the games can get even more enthralling and the stakes increase dramatically.

I hope you will be watching the Euro Cup 2012, I know I will be! No matter who you cheer for, it will be an incredible competition made even better by the ability to watch it live on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com

Link to ESPN3.com for those who might be unfamiliar with it.
Also, UEFA Euro 2012 official website

Union Struggling to Replace Key Players

Lets face it, the Philadelphia Union are having a hard time playing as a team and scoring goals. I think one of the factors influencing the Union's performance is the instability of their lineup and holes left by key players.

Although coach Peter Novak often shifted players around last season, the Union had a lot of stability in their defense with few changes occurring. This resulted in one of the best defenses in the MLS for 2011 led by veteran goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon.

PPL Park home of the Philadelphia Union

It is a different story this year. Young Zac MacMath has taken over the starting goalkeeper position and after a few shaky games, has done quite well. But losing their veteran goalkeeper and captain is hard to replace.

Yet he was not the only vital player traded away. Sebastien Le Toux, the Union's leading goalscorer in 2010 and 2011, was traded away at the beginning of the season. Then, about 5 games into the 2012 season, the Union's current captain and central defender, Danny Calif was traded to Chivas USA in a curious fashion.

Le Toux scored more than 50% of the Union's Goals

These three players made up the heart of the Philadelphia Union last season, and removing them has left a hole too big for any other players to fill. The Union's Coach has brought in a number of new players and several of them have been looking pretty good, but no one has been able to replace the goal scoring ability of Le Toux, or the leadership of their veteran goalkeeper and central defender. 

In the end, many hoped the 2012 season would bring an opportunity to make a run at the MLS Cup after reaching the playoffs last year. However, it appears to me that this will be a building season allowing newly acquired players to try to fit in and get accustomed to things in Philadelphia. 

So far, the Union Coach has been shifting players around, and trying different formations without much to show for it. Hopefully they will find a combination that works and keep their best players for next year, instead of trading them away as they did last season.

My Team? Philadelphia Union!

Yep, you guessed it, I'm a fan of the Philadelphia Union.

I have been keeping track of Major League Soccer (MLS) since about 2004. I originally started following it because I just liked to watch the highlights of the games, and the MLS website did a great job putting up video highlights after each game.

During the next few years I kept track of the league, but had no real favorite team. In 2007, I moved to Pennsylvania and rumors of a team in Philly started to swirl around the same time. Finally, in 2010, Philadelphia got their very own professional team, the Union. I was an instant fan of the union mostly because of my proximity. In the next few seasons I was able to go to several games at PPL Park and thoroughly enjoyed these games.

I currently do not live close enough to Philadelphia to go to any games, but I still enjoy checking on the team each week to see how they are doing. I believe, no matter where I live, I will always be a fan of the Union.

I think it makes watching Major League Soccer much more interesting when I am cheering on one or a few particular teams. For those reading here, you might already have a favorite team, if so, post it in a comment! If you don't have a favorite team, look around at teams near you, or at a team you really enjoy watching. If nothing else, be sure to check out the Union's website and consider them!

I'm a Union fan, and I look forward to cheering for them in their next game! Who will you cheer for?