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Posted: 11 Sep 2012 10:32 PM PDT
 World football icon and LA Galaxy player David Beckham and MLS Hall of Fame inductee Alexi Lalas are looking to buy a stake in financially unstable Spanish side, Malaga CF.The dynamic duo, according the Los Angeles Times and FOX Sports, are looking to buy a 75% stake in the club from it’s current owner, Sheik Abdullah Al-Thani. Due to the poor economic conditions of the local and world economy, Sheik Abdullah has had to publicly sell his shares in order to help keep himself and the club financially sound. However, the Executive Vice President of the club, Moayad Shatat, has denied that any such action has occurred and insists the club isn’t for sale: At no moment have we said we were going to leave the club. We began this project, we have invested a lot of money in it and we have no intention of stopping. We will keep the project going and we want the best for this club. We want to invest but we want to do it at the right point. The Sheikh has always been interested about Malaga and the club is not for sale.If Malaga were to open their sales opyions they could have two world-renowned investors buy a massive stake in their club, preventing a fairly dark and damp future. Beckham hauls in a good $46 million per year, according to Forbes magazine. Such an investment from such a dynamic name could, in fact, do wonders for the La Liga side. They have had to sell a few of their stars in order to stay afloat, namely Santi Cazorla to Arsenal. So, the decision is upon Malaga: sell to these two investors who look to buy a three-quarter stake in the club or attempt to follow suit with their current financial plan and potentially lose even more of their talent, maybe even faltering into bankruptcy and administration in time? |
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Posted: 11 Sep 2012 10:09 PM PDT
 Tonight as I sat down at the table that the waitress had shown to my friend I looked around and was a bit surprised. I did not see a single person decked out in US Soccer gear like we were. Not even USA gear for that matter; on 9/11 no less. I smirked, thinking to myself that there are so many people who don’t know what they’re missing.A crucial World Cup Qualifier, here at home, against a side that stole 3 massive points right from under our noses last Friday. Why would you miss that? I guess it’s a good thing we didn’t, because the USA came to play. Right from the start the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) found their stride. The passes were connecting and no one was staying on the ball too long. Not even Jermaine Jones, who has a history of doing such. Only the goals would not come. Three times the ball hit the post. Countless shots on goal were blocked, parried away or skied over. For once, I couldn’t remember the number of times I grabbed the edge of my seat or threw my hands in the air ready to shout ‘Goal!’. It felt good. On this special night, with it being the 11th anniversary of 9/11, the USMNT came to this game confident and ready to go. The atmosphere was electric and it showed in the movement and passing for the USA. Everything just seemed to click. Even Jurgen Klinsmann offered something special: changes to his starting lineup. Instead of playing the trio of Jones, Maurice Edu and Kyle Beckerman; Klinsmann went with a 4-1-3-2 formation that placed Danny Williams in his natural position in front of the back line, and Herculez Gomez and Clint Dempsey up top. Although Jose Torres did not get to play in his natural position in the middle-he was instead placed on the wing-these changes worked wonders. We saw fluid passing all around the pitch, but I was especially impressed with the play on the wings. The partnership of Steve Cherundolo and Graham Zusi on the right was particularly inspiring. They combined well and seemed to understand one another, allowing the US to stretch the play and create chances. Granted, Jamaica did not seem keen on coming out of its shell to challenge the US, but Zusi kept finding pockets of space everywhere. This was especially key in the second half when, after Gomez scored on a beautiful set piece in the 55th minute, the US seemed to bunker down a bit and take their foot off the pedal. Zusi continued to perform until Klinsmann subbed him off. We can expect to see him in October. Once the United States started to bunker down after scoring (something we saw under Bob Bradley – opposite of what we believe Klinsmann wants to do) there were some nervy moments. Credit must be given to the captain Carlos Bocanegra, who helped to calm things down in the back with a nervous Geoff Cameron. Danny Williams had an outstanding game in the center defensive position. It’s easy to see why he’s such a talented prospect. (I was both happy and surprised to see JK start him there. It needed to happen.) When he was switched to the wing, he did very well to help the US keep possession and cause problems for Jamaica. In the past, that hasn’t been the case. Perhaps progress is being made. It took the USA ten minutes or so to once again find their groove after the Gomez goal and several substitutions. When Jamaica did venture out, their chances were broken with ease. Jermaine Jones worked very hard in a sort of center attacking midfield role and often tracked back to help break up play. While he did perform admirably and the USA saw the game out, he is not the solution there.  The USMNT returns in October to play the last two games of the initial round of qualifiers. The first is away to Antigua and Barbuda; while the second and final match is home against Guatemala in Kansas City. There are a few changes that would be wise for Klinsmann to consider. The first is bringing in some sort of natural center attacking midfielder, a.k.a. Mix Diskerud. Whether he starts is an entirely different story, but at least have the option around-especially if Donovan or Bradley are unavailable. Jones just doesn’t cut it and an attacking minded midfielder would do wonders for this team. Mix has already proven that he’s ready, and he’s doing well for Rosenborg in Norway right now. Second, there is no need to bring four defensive midfielders. Klinsmann needs to sort this out and make the appropriate cuts to clear space for other players. Kyle Beckerman quickly comes to mind. Third, if you are going to play a 4-1-3-2 (even if not), the fact remains that being able to stretch the game out wide is a key component to winning. That was clearly evident tonight. As such, players whose natural position is on the wing need to be brought into the squad. Whether that’s Chris Pontius (DC United/MLS), Josh Gatt (Molde/Norway) or Joe Gyau (St. Pauli/Germany) somebody must be brought in to better fit that formation. We cannot be afraid to say goodbye to several US stalwarts in order to make this happen if necessary – which seems to be a reasonable hypothesis as to why it hasn’t. The United States isn’t out of the woods yet, but tonight was a Herculean effort and a major step towards advancement in qualification. October will be thrilling. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll see more USMNT fans then. |
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Posted: 11 Sep 2012 07:48 PM PDT
 The transfer window may have closed almost two weeks ago, but far be it for the world of football to slow down on who could go where and for how much.Despite January being months away, transfer talk has started yet again with Arseanl. Yes, yet another player has been linked with the Northern London club, but this one seems to have some teeth to it. Lucas Biglia, a fantastic midfielder and man of brilliant footwork, has long been touted as playing below his fighting weight by being at Belgian club giants, Anderlecht. The Argentinean was linked with a big money move to Real Madrid over the summer transfer window, but Madrid’s interest seemed to wain as the could not come to an agreement with the host club. Arsenal was linked at one point, but it was all hot air coming from the player’s agent trying to drum up a deal before the transfer window slammed shut. It speaks volumes of Biglia’s abilities that he has been able to break into a strong Argentinean national team while playing in a relatively low-class league in Belgium. Being a player on the rise the 25-year-old won’t be in Brussels much longer, that’s for sure. Sky Sports has reported that the player is well and truly on Arsene Wenger’s radar. The Frenchman could be looking to beef up a somewhat thin midfield, after the departure of Alex Song to Barcelona. If this deal does follow suit, then expect the battle for spots in Arsenal’s midfield to really heat up, with the re-introduction of Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere into the fold within the next couple of months.  |
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Posted: 11 Sep 2012 07:44 PM PDT
(Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
In 1904 an Old Firm game between Celtic and Rangers drew a crowd of over 64,000 people. Just two years later, a Scotland-England match drew over 102,000 people. That match saw Hampden Park become the home venue for the Scottish national team to this. However, the venue is not just the home for the national team. Since 1903 Queens Park FC has called the massive stadium home despite being only an amateur team in the Scottish League. In fact, their motto translates to "to play for the sake of playing." Even with the fact they have not been in the top flight of Scottish football since 1958, their support and history is considered legendary in Scotland. Queens Park FC is the oldest association club team having been founded in 1867; and they remain the only Scottish team to ever play in the FA Cup Finals when they reached the finale in 1884 and 1885. Queens Park are also the current owners of the stadium. Decades after its opening, Hampden Park became a global icon of the sport as its capacity was increased to 183,388 people in 1937. However, football games were limited to crowds of only 150,000 people. That year, a Scotland-England match drew 149,000 however, 20,000 more were reported to have attended without tickets. To this day, this is still the European record attendance for an international match. 
Official Program of 1960 European Cup Final
By the 1980s the heavy use over the past three quarters of a century had left Hampden in need of renovation. In 1986, a long renovation was completed and capacity was reduced to 74,370. In 1992, a further reconstruction was undertaken to make the famed stadium an all-seating venue and this is how the stadium is seen today with an attendance of just over 52,000. Hampden Park is known for its acoustical nature that makes crowd noises extremely loud and intimidating for opposing teams. The current structure has a roof the covers all the seats and the echo of the crowd reverberates to amplify the sound. Visually, it does not look like a stadium that is one of the oldest in the world. Several renovations have made it look like a stadium that is less than 20 years old. On either end, the stands are painted the color of the Scottish flag in the more modern style of seat marking and labeling. Outside of soccer, Hampden Park has hosted Rugby matches on occasion. In 1999 it was a venue for the Rugby World Cup. In June 2000, Mike Tyson defeated Lou Savarese in a heavyweight bout that lasted less than a round. In music, it has hosted high profile concerts for Oasis, U2, The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, and Paul McCartney. This history of Hampden Park is source of pride for all Scots and on location there is a museum for Scottish football that has over 2500 exhibits and a display of the Scottish Cup – the world's oldest national trophy. Hampden Park is indeed a must see venue for any football fan for both the experience it gives for a game, as well as its history dating back to some of the most groundbreaking moments in football history. |
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Posted: 11 Sep 2012 07:25 PM PDT
 The Manchester United poacher, Robin van Persie, was taken off at halftime today in Holland’s World Cup qualifying match against Hungary.The injury-prone striker took two knees to the thigh in a harsh challenge from Hungarian defender Roland Juhasz. During halftime Dutch coach Louis van Gaal replaced him with Schalke 04 man Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. The Dutch coach has insisted readily that it was for “precautionary measures,” rather than for a severe injury to the former Arsenal player. It is believed to be much less of an injury than initially believed, as it was a harsh challenge on the Dutch forward, but no report has been published yet. Van Gaal spoke to SBS6, saying: ”We took off Robin for precautionary measures. It doesn’t seem to be too serious, but you never know. We didn’t want to take any risks.” The 29-year-old Red Devil has scored four goals in three games for Manchester United, and considering the recent injury to Wayne Rooney he looked to have been an addition just in the nick of time. Van Persie also scored two goals against Turkey in a 2-0 win last Friday in The Netherlands first World Cup Qualifier. However, despite his prolific start to the season, it now appears that his long standing injury issues could unfortunately have reared their ugly head at the worst of times for his new club. |
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