One ringer qualifies to play for Team USA, one does not

It was mixed news as two players attempted to qualify to play for Team USA in the 2010 World Cup. FIFA denied one claim and accepted another.

Leeds United midfielder Bradley Johnson wanted to play for the Americans. But he is not close to qualifying for citizenship, according a report published in SBI.

Johnson was under the impression that he was eligible to play for the United States because he has an American grandfather, but at present that status will bring him no closer to gaining American citizenship. In Europe, having a grandparent of a certain descent would be enough to secure citizenship and a passport from a variety of countries (as American goalkeeper Dom Cervi did in securing an Italian passport to help him sign with Celtic).

In better news, Schalke midfielder Jermaine Jones was cleared to play in the 2010 World for Team USA. He will have the chance to qualify for next year’s team.

Real Madrid’s 14 flops?

After a loss to a third-division team and a slow start, some people are calling Real Madrid after losing to Alcorcon 4-0. Before you ask, Real played their regulars. No doubt looking for a beatdown. Well, Real was the team that got beat down.

Now, according to the Daily Mail, Cristiano Ronaldo is now out with an injury.

The results of an MRI scan on the Portugal winger’s ankle revealed he is still not ready to return, a blow given that they lost 3-2 at home to Milan eight days ago.

Ronaldo, who first sustained the injury during the Champions League match against Marseille in September then aggravated it for Portugal against Hungary, had hoped to be back in time for the Milan clash. He will undergo another test in a week.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1223526/Real-shame-Madrid-team-worth-125m-465-caps-95-honours–humbled-4-0-division-Alcorcon-Cristiano-Ronaldo.html#ixzz0VWybJCYj

Be careful what you tweet, soccer players (Part 3)

How many times are we going to need to do this? At least once or twice. Watch what you tweet, even if you mean well. Latest victim: Jozy Altidore.

From SBI

Altidore was already punished for arriving late by not dressing for the match, but he drew harsh criticism from Hull manager Phil Brown, who believes the incident never should have been revealed to the public.

Information that is in-house should be kept in-house. It was a nice thing to do. But you have to know what you can say and what you can not.

Martin Tyler will serve as ESPN’s lead play-by-play voice at the World Cup: SI

SI had this report a few days ago.

I liked the story, but I love this quote from Dave O’Brien. He was a baseball announcer who was assigned as the play-by-play voice of the World Cup.

As someone who was a reporter, I am sure he did not volunteer for the job. It was not his fault. It was ESPN’s. They chose not assign a football person to cover its biggest event.

However, I loved this quote. Because it’s true. Not just about soccer/football fans. It can be about any sport or any activity. Here is the quote from USA Today:

Dave O’Brien, the play-by-play announcer paired with analyst Marcelo Balboa on ABC/ESPN’s lead World Cup soccer on-air team, says he faced hostility talking about balls hitting heads, not bats. “I’m a baseball guy,” says O’Brien, who calls ESPN baseball. “And that’s a dirty word among soccer enthusiasts. There was a backlash before I did a single game.” That happened in January. Online and elsewhere, soccer die-hards weren’t welcoming.

O’Brien warns that talking about the prejudice he faced “is a dangerous story to write.” (Dangerous being a relative term: Writing this doesn’t seem like reporting from Iraq.) “There’s kind of a petulant little clique of soccer fans. There’s not many of them, but they’re mean-spirited. … And they’re not really the audience we want to reach anyway.”

Networks airing big events most Americans don’t follow — such as Olympic events — usually assume viewers need human interest touches to stay tuned. That can seem dumb or distracting to aficionados.

Announcers in soccer-mad countries can be minimalist, O’Brien says, but he’s “introducing story-telling elements. And that antsy clique I’m talking about doesn’t want that — or any effort to entertain.”

U.S. soccer TV ratings, outside the Cup, are microscopic. And, O’Brien says, “If we cater to the clique, they’ll stay there. Soccer hasn’t been presented well to guys like me who played it in high school and are raising daughters on travel teams.”

So O’Brien, calling Germany-Poland today, wonders if he should “spend even 15 seconds describing what theBundesliga is?” (Ja: It’s a German soccer league.) “Should I explain what (soccer governing body) FIFA is? My 11-year-old daughter doesn’t know. If I do that, the clique will say I don’t know soccer. But we’re putting on a TV product, not a soccer clinic.”

Onyewu out for six months, U.S. Soccer reports

U.S. National Team and A.C. Milan defender Oguchi Onyewu underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee. U.S. Soccer physician Dr. Bert Mandlebaum performed the one-hour surgery in Los Angeles, describing the surgery as a “complete success.”

Onyewu suffered the injury in the 83rd minute of the USA’s 2-2 draw against Costa Rica on Oct. 14 in Washington, D.C. 

Onyewu immediately began rehabilitation exercises, and will continue with the first portion of his recovery in the United States. The rehabilitation process is expected to take approximately six months.

Onyewu out 3-4 months with knee injury

U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu suffered a torn left patellar tendon in the second half 0f the 2-2 tie with Costa Rica in Washington, D.C. Wednesday night.

U.S. National Team coach Bob Bradley made that announcement in the post-match press conference.

“Obviously, we’ve had two days of tough news and Gooch has been such an important part of our team,”  Bradley said. “That’s normally three to four months, he’s young, he’s healthy, our doctors are good. He’s someone that we’re sure is going to get back and ready to go. But, nonetheless, it’s another setback for us.”

The Associated Press is reporting that Onyewn’s club team, AC Milan, is wanting compensation from U.S. Soccer because of the injury.

Considering Onyewu has only played in one match for AC Milan this season, I don’t think they are going to get a dime.

Davies Suffered Broken Tibia and Femur, Elbow Fracture and Laceration of Bladder

U.S. National Soccer Team forward Charlie Davies is in serious but stable condition and resting following several hours of surgery at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. to treat injuries suffered in a one-car accident on the George Washington Parkway early Tuesday morning in Northern Virginia.

Davies suffered a lacerated bladder and fractures to the tibia and femur bones in his right leg. He also suffered facial fractures and a left elbow fracture. Davies was air-lifted to the hospital where a team of doctors first repaired a ruptured bladder and then inserted titanium rods in both the tibia, the bone in the lower leg, and the femur, which is the thigh bone, with no complications.

Davies will be hospitalized for at least a week and additional surgeries will be required to stabilize his left elbow fracture and possibly the facial fractures.

“Injuries of this nature usually require a recovery period of six to 12 months and extensive rehabilitation,” said U.S. Soccer physician Dr. Dan Kalbac, who is with the team in D.C. and collaborated with the treating doctors. ”Due to Charlie’s fitness level, his prognosis for recovery and his ability to resume high-level competition is substantially improved.”

Davies is in Washington, D.C. with the U.S. National Team as the squad prepares for its final 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, taking place tomorrow against Costa Rica at RFK Stadium.

Davies, who has played 17 matches for the USA while scoring four goals, started and played 78 minutes in the USA’s 3-2 victory over Honduras in San Pedro Sula last Saturday that clinched a berth for the United States to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

USA wins group, ties Costa Rica in CONCACAF finale

Jonathan Bornstein’s header five minutes into injury time to secure a 2-2 tie against Costa Rica Wednesday shook up the CONCACAF standings.

The Ticos took a 2-0 first half lead and led 2-1 after 90 minutes. Costa Rica only needed a win at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

Bornstein’s goal leveled the game and allowed the Americans to win the group, making its case for a top World Cup seed. If the U.S. lost, they would have finished second to Mexico in the standing.

Mexico tied Trinidad & Tobago, 2-2 and finished one point behind the U.S. Carlos Pavon scored the lone goal for Honduras as they beat El Salvador to secure their first World Cup bid since 1982.

Costa Rica will play Uruguay in a playoff for a World Cup entry next month.

Injuries: Oguchi Onyewu was carted off the field in the second half, forcing the U.S. to play with 10 men in the final minutes of the match. We do not have any details about his injury.

U.S. concludes CONCACAF play against Costa Rica tonight

After earning a place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup with a memorable victory against Honduras, the U.S. Men’s National team sets its sights on a final goal for CONCACAF qualifying: finishing atop the final round standings for the second consecutive World Cup cycle.

The tenth game of the hexagonal brings Costa Rica to RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The Central American nation knows only a win will confirm they head to South Africa alongside the USA and Mexico.

For the United States, the highs of qualifying on Saturday turn into the pride of finishing qualifying with a win and confirming an undefeated home campaign in World Cup qualifying.

Kickoff from the nation’s capital is set for 8 p.m. ET, with live coverage on ESPN2 and Galavision.

With the recent injury to Charlie Davies, it is hard to say how the team will be react. They do have a lot to play for (theoretically) as they need to finish atop the CONCACAF standings to be in the running for a World Cup top-seed.

World Cup squads choose lodging in South Africa in 2010

Reuters Soccer Blog reported that countries have already reserved their hotels for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The rundown from the article:

France – George, on the southern Cape coast

Paraguay – Eastern Cape

Sweden – Durban

Brazil – Bloemfontein

England – Sun City

Argentina, Germany, Italy, Mexico, USA – Pretoria

Japan, Switzerland, Netherlands – Johannesburg