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Fabregas, Cesc |
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Handanovic, Samir |
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Messi, Lionel |
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Baptista, Julio |
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Robben, Arjen |
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Walcott, Theo |
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Gourcuff, Yoann |
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Crespo, Hernan |
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Gallas, William |
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Higuain, Gonzalo |
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Beckham scores his first goal with the Galaxy and also makes his second league appearance in a wild match at Giants Stadium. But a few other league newcomers continue to make some noise as well.
David Beckham scored his first goal with the LA Galaxy, a first-half free kick against DC United in the SuperLiga. He also set up the Galaxy’s second goal and managed to get a yellow card in LA’s 2-0 semifinal victory, propelling them into the final against Mexican club Pachuca on August 29th.The Superliga, in its inaugural year, pits four teams each from Mexico in the US and has been generally well-received both by supporters of MLS and the large Mexican-American community.
Beckham also went the distance in Saturday’s match against the New York Red Bulls in front of 66,000 at Giants Stadium. The match was an epic counter with goals and chances aplenty. Beckham set up two first-half goals for Honduran striker Carlos Pavon. But it was Colombian forward Juan Pablo Angel who had the last laugh, netting his 12th goal of the season in the 88th minute to give the Red Bulls a 5-4 victory.
Beckham and Angel are not the only MLS debutants making an impression this year. Mexican star Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored his first league goal against Real Salt Lake, a laser from the edge of the box. Blanco has galvanized the Fire, who are snapping at the heels of Columbus for the 8th and last playoff spot. Brazilian forward Luciano Emilio hit his league-leading 14th goal for DC United in their 2-0 win at Columbus. Compatriot (and fellow new boy) Fred also scored for the Red and Black.
The playoff race is tightening up as we get closer to the end of the regular season. The top 2 teams from each conference plus the next 4 in the overall table qualify. The same 8 teams have been occupied the 8 spots for a solid 2-3 months now but the difference between 8 and 11 is minimal. However the last two clubs in the standings – the Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake are quite a ways back, though both have several games in hand. Apart from the last two it has been a very balanced season in MLS, with six different teams looking like realistic title contenders – New England, New York, Kansas City and DC United in the East and Houston and Dallas in the West. But who can say? With the extremely short playoff system the league uses a team just needs to make the final 8 in good form and 4 games later they are crowned champions.
The US Open Cup has reached the semifinal stage and only two MLS sides (FC Dallas and New England) remain. Their opponents will be 2nd division Seattle Sounders, relative old-timers being founded in 1994, and expansion club Carolina Railhawks. FC Dallas are the only club to have lifted the trophy, that happening in 1997. Both matches take place on September 4th.
The Laredo Heat beat the Michigan Bucks on penalties after a 0-0 draw to claim the Premier Development League title, effectively the 4th Division in the US although there is no formal promotion and relegation. The pairing was a rematch of last year’s final won by the Bucks. The 3rd Division title is August 25th (Richmond vs. Harrisburg) and the 2nd Division final will be September 23rd.
The US national team will play Sweden in a friendly this coming Wednesday, August 22nd in Gothenburg, Sweden. Other friendlies on tap for the “Nats” this fall are September 9th vs. Brazil in Chicago, October 14th vs. the Catalonia Selection in Barcelona and October 17th vs. Switzerland in Basel, Switzerland.
