Farewell, Joe

One of soccer’s best was laid to rest yesterday. 



Joe Dadura and daughter, Kacy.

My good friend Joe Dadura (left with daughter, Kacy) died suddenly Tuesday and yesterday the Egizi Funeral Home in Washington Township became a soccer shrine to one of the best youth coaches South Jersey will ever see, but more important one of the best men South Jersey will ever see.  Joe was a good soccer guy, no doubt, but he was a dedicated and loving family man as well.

Joe and I met years ago when we both took the course for the USSF “F” license, the basic certificate given to soccer neophytes.  (I was given a waiver because of my playing and refereeing background, but the instructor was so good I took the course anyway.)   It was several years later – in the fall of ’91, if memory serves me correctly - when Joe came up to me at Ark Road where our daughters, Kirsten Partenheimer and Jenny Dadura, were on the same Medford Strikers U-13 team.  Joe said he remembered me from the F license course and we became reacquainted – a friendship that lasted 20 years and will never be forgotten.  Later Joe’s older daughter, Kristi, joined the team for a season.

Jen and Kristi left the team after a year or so, Kirsten after the second year.  I stayed on coaching and my son, Scott, two years younger than Kirsten, played for the Strikers, so I was still with the club and later was elected to the Board.  In that capacity I had a call from Joe in the summer of 1993 asking about bringing over a new team he was forming, on which youngest daughter, Kacy, played, to the club.  I enthusiastically recommended him to the Board and the U13 team was accepted.

In the fall of 1994 I watched Joe’s team play a lot – and that season the boys and girls’ State Cup semi-finals were both Strikers-Voorhees.  Boys won, but Joe’s girls lost in a close game.  I watched that semi-final and I could see the potential.  And as the team improved from U13 to U14, it also improved from U14 to U15. 

In the summer of 1995, as Joe’s girls were getting ready for high school, he called one night and asked if I would help him coach the team.  He thought the team had a chance at winning the State Cup the following spring.  (New Jersey plays state cups in the fall for U14 and below and in the spring for U15 and above.)  I accepted, anxious to work with a group of such skilled players and a friend whom I respected as a coach and a person.

The skilled players turned out to be not only that but an exceptionally nice group of young ladies who worked hard on and off the field.  As Amanda Rambo said on her Facebook page, “We were a team and a family.”  Indeed we were – Joe and I used to comment how lucky we were to coach such a motivated bunch and not have any prima donnas or problem parents.  All the girls who finished with us went on to play in college, most at a D-1 level. 

Just a few of the memories included winning the State Cup at U15 by beating the defending champion Voorhees in a shoot-out; coming back to win again at U16; winning JAGS (where for some reason we usually did not play well) at U17; winning the Dallas Cup against a California team; traveling to regionals (where we also struggled for some reason); playing at WAGS every year; going to breakfast or lunch after practice before State Cup games; the college recruiting; watching many of the girls play in college.

I can remember like yesterday standing on the sidelines at Ft. Dix as the 1996 U15 State Cup Final went to a shoot-out and Joe and I just looked at each other, shrugged and said, “Nothing we can do now.  It’s in their hands.”  (Their very capable hands – or rather, feet – as we made all five PKs to win the first of two Cups.)  If any former players, parents or even opponents, want to share any of their memories of Joe, I'd be happy to post them.

Joe and I had a good rapport with opposing coaches from a number of high level teams including Bethesda, Kolping (Cincinnati) and New Hyde Park, Long Island and it was not unusual for an opposing coach or parent to comment what a class act Joe was.  An example was at the Walkill, NY college showcase in November of ’99.  We were talking to a girl from one of our New Jersey rivals who mentioned that a coach from a college in which she was interested would not be able to see her team play but was there for our game.  Joe offered to give her a jersey and put her in the game for 15 minutes for one of our girls who had already committed, just so the coach could see her play a bit.  

We traveled, we played good soccer and we had a lot of fun.  In the 13 years since the team graduated Joe and I talked frequently and always remembered the good times and caught each other up on what our families and the players who were part of our extended families, were doing.  And they did very well.  Most earned their college degrees, some advanced degrees.  Carli Lloyd from our team went on to international stardom in soccer.  Many of the girls are mommies now and I keep in touch with most on Facebook.

About ten years ago Joe was seriously injured in a horrible motor vehicle accident at work.  He made a miraculous recovery and went on to coach another team with Kacy and got to see seven grandchildren born.

The shock and sadness over Joe’s passing was reflected in many Facebook posts, but so too was the love and respect everyone had for Joe.  

Amanda Rambo wrote, “Today was a day of sorrow, but it was also a day to remember someone that meant alot to me and to so many others. He gave me a chance to play on such an amazing team The Medford Strikers (state champ 2x) for so many years. He gave me many memories that will last a lifetime and ill never forget. We were a team and a family. You will truly be missed Mr D.”

Carli Lloyd said, “One of the saddest days ever being at my club coach for the Medford Strikers funeral. I was one of the 5 girls to start and finish with that team. I will forever cherish all the wonderful moments we had together. Thank you Mr. D for everything you did for me.”  She then went to Detroit and dedicated her goal in the 50th minute against China to Joe.

And Quinn Washington remembered the good times: “Mr. D.... remembering all the good times. this man saw something in me when I was rejected from NJ select n started a new team...Medford strikers. Turned a bunch of rejects into state champs twice! Not to mention we ALL went on to play in college. Some of best memories were spent with this team/family. To the Daduras, my extended fam I love u all n Mr.D lives through us all. RIP Mr. D greatest coach EVER.”

            

            You couldn’t have said it any better, ladies.  Mr. D. will always be in our hearts.

            Farewell, good friend.

New Women's League: Will Third Try Make It?

  After two failures in the past decade, another effort to sell professional women's soccer will begin next spring, this time with "less hype and more performance."

   The league, which has not yet been named, will field teams in Boston, New Jersey, Western New York, Washington, Kansas City, Chicago, Seattle and Portland.  What happened to Philadelphia?
 
   According to U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati in a conference call last week, the national federation will fund the salaries of three national team players on each roster.  Canada and Mexico will do likewise, defraying salaries of 16 and 12 national players, respectively.

  Soccer America quoted Galati as saying, “What we need is a sustainable model: less hype, better performance.  The hype will come if we have the performance. I think immediately you’re going to see one of the best leagues in world in the sense that you’ve got three teams that have qualified for World Cups, have qualified in the last World Cup."

  A 22-match schedule is planned, although few other details seem to be firm, including venues.  

   Read what the U.S. Soccer website has to say about the new league (not much) and the articles in the New York Times and Soccer America.  In the latter there is an interesting analysis by a reader named Doug Martin, reprinted here in its entirety:

22 Games... i.e. 11 home dates to generate income, with a 5,000 attendance average @ 12.00 ticket average (the price of a movie ) maximum revenue per team $660,000 over year, with a player pool of 25 per team, just what is the expected salary kick in by the National Association ? A pro coach paid full time has to be in the range of 50 to 100k per team ? 25 players at a minimum wage of 20k per year is 625k. Gulati, and the others are deluded to think the clubs will be viable just because of salary subsidy that might total 15K per sponsored player X 10 per team or reduction of 150k on above salary number. Add on office and administrative costs and you have a business that will need subsidy till the fan base expands and as Walt Perciuoli has stated above you get young males out to watch the game. That means the marketing has to change from selling to soccer moms and nine year olds to selling an event to people who will come 11 times a summer not once or twice. The schedule of course should longer with at least 16 home games to be viable. 

   Five thousand average attendance seems optimistic.  Local sponsors, any TV revenue, parking and concessions could supplement the income.   But the administrative costs could be substantial.  One would think there would be at least five and probably more in the front office, plus at least two assistant coaches and a trainer.  Office and stadium rental as well as insurance will be major line items. Then there are travel costs:  when Boston takes 20 players (or even 18) plus staff to the West Coast, you are talking some big bucks for this size operation.


  As a long-time women's coach and a fan of the Philadelphia Charge in the WUSA, I would like to see the new league make it.  But one has to be skeptical in light of the three-year life spans of the WUSA and WPS.  And it doesn't inspire confidence to hear Galati say that Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of M.L.S., is likely to be involved in the new league.  That organization was involved with WPS and look how successful they were there.

Check Out This Goal!

I don't know if it's the greatest goal ever or the goal of the century, as suggested in the article, but it sure is impressive watching the back-to-the goal bicycle shot by Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a friendly against England on November 15.  The goal is shown about 10 times in this Associated Press article.

Chelsea's John Terry: "A Walking Disaster?"

Today's New York Times has a lengthy piece about John Terry of Chelsea, whom it says is perhaps  England's "most reviled player."  A research fellow in sport and leisure culture at the University of Brighton called Terry "a walking disaster."

In September Terry was fined £220,000 (about $354,000) and suspended for a racial slur the previous October against Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand.

But that was just the latest in a long string of bad behavior.  As reported by The Times: 

"There was the time Terry and some teammates went on a drunken binge in an airport hotel bar while passengers stranded by the 9/11 attacks watched the Twin Towers burn on television. There was the time he was charged with assault after a melee in a nightclub in which a bouncer was slashed with a broken bottle. (He was acquitted.)

There was the time he was fined £60 (about $97) after leaving his Bentley in a parking spot for the disabled while he went to a pizza restaurant; the time he was thrown out of a bar in Essex after urinating in a beer glass and dropping it on the floor; the time he was investigated, and cleared, by Chelsea after he was accused of charging an undercover reporter money to show him around Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s stadium; the time he brutally kneed a Barcelona player in the back in the Champions League semifinal last April and denied it until confronted with a videotape that proved he was lying; and the time when he violated the players’ unwritten code of loyalty by, it seemed, cheating on his wife not with a groupie in a bar, but with the estranged girlfriend of one of his teammates."

What a guy.  And Chelsea would not make him available to Times reporter, Sarah Lyall for this article.  I wonder why.

Soccer Sing-Along

Singing and soccer go together like peanut butter and jelly.  Watch any professional game in Europe or South America and you’ll hear the fans singing in the background through 90 minutes.

While there is some singing at games in the United States it just isn’t part of the soccer culture here.

So here are some good soccer songs.  Any additions to the list are welcome.

Ole

            Maybe the best known of them all, not belonging to any one team.  The best version I ever heard was at the USYSA Region I Tournament at University of Buffalo in July 1994 where our Medford Strikers U15 girls represented New Jersey.  As the teams marched into the stadium for the opening ceremonies, Ole sung over a rock version of the Grand March from Aida played over the sound system.  Whether you were a player, coach or spectator, if that didn’t get you pumped up you were probably dead.

The Fields of Athenry

            This relatively recent (1979) Irish folk ballad about the  Great Irish Famine was sung by Irish fans at the 1990 World Cup.  More recently it was sung at the end of Ireland’s elimination by Spain in the 2012 European Cup, prompting Spanish players to remark how the song had given them chills.  This is a recording from that game in Gdansk,  And here’s a more polished concert version by the Dubliners.

Marching On Together

            The song of British team Leeds United.

Glory Glory Man United

            Manchester is one of the best known teams in the world, and its fans sing this song to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Nur Nach Hause

            You haven’t lived until you’ve stood in the Berlin Olympic Stadium with 50,000 German fans singing this anthem of Hertha BSC Berlin after a 2-0 win over Bayern München.  We had that experience on a cold December night back in 2001.  The speed of the game was impressive, especially since Bayern had played in South America the previous Wednesday and Hertha in London on Thursday.  Here’s what the song looks like in the stadium, and here’s the studio version.

FC Bayern Stern Des Südens ("Star of the South")

           I’m not even sure if this is the “official” Bayern theme song, but it’s a great piece for the lyrics and the unbridled enthusiasm with which it’s sung. 

Here’s the chorus:

FC Bayern, Stern des Südens,

Du wirst niemals untergehen,

weil wir in guten, wie in schlechten Zeiten zueinander stehen,

FC Bayern, Deutscher Meister, ja so heißt er mein Verein,

ja so war es, und so ist es, und so wird es immer sein.

Which literally translated means:

FC Bayern, Star of the South,

You will never go under,

Because we stand by each other in good times just as in bad,

FC Bayern, German champion, yes that’s what my club is called,

Yes, it was and it is and it always will be.

More Than a Club: SI's Wahl Looks at FC Barcelona

Yesterday's post referred to an article in the New York Times about US Soccer adopting an academy model similar to that in Europe.  Along those lines is an article by super soccer writer Grant Wahl in Sports Illustrated about a team many consider the greatest of all time, FC Barcelona.

Wahl's comprehensive piece explores the history of Barca, as it's called, and examines the roots of the current success, including its own academy program, which takes boys as young as 8, including 12-year old American, Ben Lederman from Los Angeles, and trains them to be soccer players.  They must be doing something right.  As Wahl notes, "In Barca's Champions League game against Spartak Moscow on Sept. 19, eight of the team's 11 starters-including Lionel Messi, the world's preeminent player-were products of the club's youth academy."  Messi, now 25, joined the club at age 12.

"The FC Barcelona motto - Mes que un club, Catalan for 'More than a club' - is deliberately open-ended. In one sense it refers to Barca's social mission as a 113-year-old organization with 118,000 dues-paying members who vote in elections for the club's leaders. For years Barca was the only major soccer team that refused to sell space on its jersey to a corporate sponsor, before making the novel decision in 2006 to donate about $2 million a year and put UNICEF's logo there."

The subhead under the article's title declares that FC Barcelona is "more than a club, more than a champion, more than Messi.  It is the embodiment of a sporting ideal that has made it beloved across the globe." Imagine someone writing that about the Yankees or the Green Bay Packers or just about any other American professional team.

 Another version of the story is available at SI's website.

Academy: Dilemma for High School Stars

Extensive article in yesterday's New York Times explores the tough choice of elite players for the so-called "academy" club teams who are barred from participating in their high school programs. 

Any club coach will tell you the quality of club ball is far better for obvious reasons: the kids stick together and often develop as a team over the years.  They can recruit and draw talent from anywhere, not just a given school district.  They are selected as an all-star team.  Coaching and training may be better.  All that notwithstanding, there are values to the high school game in terms of social networking, peer recognition, name in the papers and community pride.  I doubt a club player ever got to ride on a fire truck down the main street of town to celebrate a state championship.

The goal of the academy programs is to follow the European model which identifies and develops players at a young age in an effort to find the 18 athletes who will ultimate compete on the world level.  In this country, there is the added incentive of major college exposure and hopes of a scholarship.

Given the odds against a scholarship and even higher odds against a professional contract, especially for women, I wonder if the commitment asked of an academy player is not too much, especially that of foregoing the high school experience.  But in the free market, as long as there are player

It Wasn't Pretty But We'll Take It - HMHS 2, W. Deptford 0

  "A W is a W," said a relieved Haddonfield Coach Glenn Gess moments after the Bulldogs ran their record to 10-0 with a 2-0 shutout of archrival West Deptford on a slippery HMHS field.

   It wasn't pretty off the field either, but like the girls on the field we got it done.

   Driving home from work in Marlton through a rain shower at 5 o'clock I never thought we'd play.  But an hour later the stadium field was eminently playable - just a little slippery.

   It was nice, as always, to chat with West Deptford's assistant coach, Amy Leso, who has been with the program since Kirsten's senior year - 1996.  Also nice to see referee Bob Brunson, a veteran of the high school and club games who always does a top notch job.

  The ball girls arrived on time and were briefed, programs were available for the fans, I had the starting line-ups, and we were ahead of schedule.  And there was no rain.  Then the problems started.  Haddonfield AD Lefty Banos had the national anthem on his phone plugged into the stadium amp.  Except it wouldn't play for what seemed like an hour but actually lasted only until, "What so proudly we hailed . . ."  Then there was electronic feedback.  Then when I began announcing Coach Frank Ottinger came running over to scream up to us that the volume was too low and no one could hear us.  Lefty made an adjustment - more blood-curdling screeching.

  The system finally worked, the starters were introduced and the game was underway.  It was another HMHS - West Deptford classic with intense end-to-end play, momentum swings and some controversy.  Haddonfield appeared to have taken the lead in the first three minutes only to see referee John Mauger nullify the goal for offsides.  (She was.)  The the West Deptford fans began complaining loudly about the lines on the field.  They had a point.

  Haddonfield finally notched a goal that counted on a long Olivia Blaber throw in that appeared to go right into the goal.  Which would have meant it did not count because throw-ins are indirect, a rule the visiting fans made a point of calling the the attention of the officials.  But the goal stood and it was 1-0 with 19:31 to play.  (The girls told me after the game that the ball brushed the keeper's fingertips on the way in.)  HMHS increased the advantage 3:36 before intermission when an Eagles defender knocked the ball into her own goal.

   Both teams had chances in the second half and West Deptford came within inches of closing the gap with 36 minutes still to go when a ball rolled just wide right of Haddonfield's goal.  As the game wore on the fog thickened and West Deptford gave its best shot but could not find the back of the net.

   Only two night games this season and this was one.  Next up is Collingswood in three weeks.

Whoosh!! HMHS Girls Breeze Through For Dinner.

SEPT. 20, 2012 -- tonight we learned how team bonding 2012 style works, which is very quickly. 
Last summer Debbie and I had volunteered to host a team dinner and this was the night.  It was over in a flash.  I had forgotten that so many girls could eat so much so quickly. But

I had not hosted a high school event since 1995 when Kirsten was a junior and the team did breakfasts on the morning of game days.  Those were rush affairs as well, but they had to get off to school.  Now the girls do dinner. 

Debbie did an awesome job putting it all together with good food, red and black balloons and soccer ball plates.  The girls began arriving promptly at 6, still in game jerseys after two wins over Gateway, 2-0 by the varsity and 4-0 by JV.  In minutes our house was filled with hungry soccer players for the first time in years, and soon every chair on the deck and patio was taken as pasta and salad were quickly consumed.

Then in the blink of an eyelash it was over.  Thirty-nine minutes after they arrived it was time to go - off to see Heights play Township under the lights.  By 7 p.m. we had the deck to ourselves.

If the girls had as much fun as we did, the evening was a success.

  Tables just waiting to be filled

    Long line for the food.

 

 The deck was filled with hungry and happy soccer players

           And so was the patio.

HMHS defense

   SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 -- Good story in yesterday's Inquirer about The Haddonfield girls soccer team defense.  Although the angle was freshman keeper Taylor Sehdev, the story recognized the contributions of Mary Clair, Bridget Yako, Olivia Blaber and Gretchen Kiep.

   Defense was certainly paramount in Monday's 1-0 win at archrival West Deptford.  It was a typical HMHS-West Deptford contest: big crowd, physical, intense, down to the wire.  Haddonfield scored in the first half when the Eagles's keeper couldn't hold on to the ball and the defense did the rest.  If Sehdev was nervous playing only her second varsity game and her first under the lights, she sure didn't show it.  She made all the plays she had to, including an extended well-timed reach to grab a ball headed for the far upper corner in the first half.

  

If You Can Sing the WNT May Need You

As most fans know by now, Pia Sundhage has decided to take her song and dance routine to her native Sweden.  Sundhage resigned Saturday as coach of the U.S. Women's National Team Saturday to take the same post in  Sweden.  I never met Sundhage, but the reviews have been positive, and it seems she was an improvement over predecessor Greg Ryan. And anyone who sang Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkle to the media couldn't be all bad.

During Sundhage's tenure, which began just a few months after the 2007 World Cup disaster, the U.S. won two Olympic gold medals and a second place at the World Cup.

Not surprisingly, the best story of Sundhage's resignation comes from Jere Longman in today's New York Times.  Note that he refers to the "diva behavior" of keeper Hope Solo.  According to Longman, potential successors include the under-23 women’s national coach Randy Waldrum; the U-20 women’s national coach Steve Swanson; Tony DiCicco, who coached the WNT before; Australia’s national coach, Tom Sermanni; and Jillian Ellis, the director of development for the United States women’s national teams.

He does not say if any of them can sing.

"She Said Yes, Praise the Lord, Glory Hallelujah!" Congrats to Scott & Stevie

I was in the men's room at P.J. Whelihan's Pub in Haddonfield a week ago Friday when my cellphone rang.  It was my favorite male former soccer player and author of the second best blog on the Web, who happens to be my son, Scott, calling to tell me he and girlfriend Stevie Neale, had gotten engaged down in Florida.

Scott was looking for a song to announce the engagement on Facebook, so he came up with a pretty good one: "She Said Yes," by a British folk rock group known as The Wedding Band, a/k/a Mumford and Sons & Friends.  Read the announcement on Scott's blog.

We celebrated the happy occasion in Ocean City a few nights ago, where sister Kirsten welcomed Stevie to the family.  Looking forward to the wedding in early 2013.

The Old Firm Not So Firm

August 13, 2012 -- The Old Firm ain’t what it used to be.  As reported in the New York Times last week, the bankruptcy of one half of the Firm, Glasgow Rangers, has forced that storied club into Scotland’s Third Division and stripped its rivalry with the other half, Glasgow Celtic, of much of its glamor.  Some are worried that the entire Premier League may be threatened.

No one seems sure how the Celtic-Ranger relationship became known as the Old Firm, but the competition dates back to 1888 and the two clubs have played nearly 400 times since then.  For many years the games took on sectarian overtones with the Rangers being the Protestant club and Celtic the Catholic side.  In the ‘60s, when Celtic fans took to chanting, “Cel-tic, cha, cha cha,” Rangers supporters were known to respond, “Curse the Pope.  Cha, cha, cha.”  Sports Illustrated reported in January 1963 that a local joke held that Rangers had more fans because it was easier to say, “Curse the Pope,” than “Curse the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.”

Violence was an unfortunate by-product of the intensity of the teams’ fans.  In 1980 opposing fans fought on the field after Celtic won a 1-0 Cup final.

On Saturday Debbie and I saw half of the Old Firm – Celtic – play in a lackluster friendly against Real Madrid at the Linc in Philadelphia.  Real won, 2-0, but neither team's play was inspiring and the match had all the intensity of the NHL all-star game.  Fans would have rioted had Cristiano Ronaldo not played at all, but he seemed to go through the motions for the 58 or so minutes he was on the field.

The crowd was reported at 34,018 but seemed less.  Marc Narducci reported for The Inquirer and told me he thought “some of these friendlies have run their course.”  You can’t blame the teams.  Just as the MLB teams do in spring training, they are concerned with tuning up for their upcoming season by getting some fitness under match conditions for some players, trying out some new players and just getting some touches on the ball for others.

Real led 1-0 at the half on a goal by Jose Maria Callejon and I asked a Celtic fan if he thought his team had played awful in the first half.  He assured me they were a second half club, but they were only marginally better in the last 45 minutes.  But in fairness to Celtic, they had just played in Sweden three nights earlier and six key players did not make the trip across the ocean, giving an idea of how unimportant the game was to them

There was a scary moment in the 72^nd minute when young Dylan McGeouch collided hard with Madrid’s Nuri Sahin and lay motionless on the field for five minutes before being carried off on a stretcher and taken to a hospital.  It was reported on the team’s website Sunday that he suffered a broken jaw but would travel back to Scotland with the team.

With the Gold At Stake, Who Else But Carli Lloyd?

   It's now been eight years since someone not named Carli Lloyd scored for the United States in the women's Olympic gold medal game.  After notching the lone goal in the 1-0 overtime win against Brazil in 2008, Lloyd today accounted for all the American scoring in a tense 2-1 victory over Japan.

   The match was played before 80,203 at the hallowed Wembley Stadium in London.  It was the fourth gold for the United States in five tournaments.

   Lloyd got the U.S. off to a quick start by heading in a ball in the 8th minute.  Former U.S. men's coach Bob Bradley gave this analysis in the New York Times.  The U.S. dodged a bullet in the 27th minute when Tobin Heath appeared to handle the ball in the box.  But the referee declined to call he penalty.

   Nine minutes into the second half Lloyd scored what proved to be the game winner from 20 yards.  Fer her efforts she was named the Bud Light woman of the match.  After not starting the opener against France Lloyd came off the bench when Shannon Boxx was injured and scored the ultimate game winner, then tallied another goal against Columbia before her heroics today. 

   I was at work and followed the game on both the U.S. Soccer and the Times website.  While the Times does an excellent job covering soccer, it had some trouble with Lloyd''s first goal.  First it reported that Abby Wambach scored it, then said it was Boxx before finally naming Lloyd as the scorer.  But who else would score for the U.S. in the gold medal game?

Olympics - Off to a Good Start

Nice to see Carli Lloyd on the front page of the Inquirer and the New York Times.  And why not?  All she did yesterday was come off the bench in the 17th minute (due to an injury to Shannon Boxx) and put the U.S. up for good against France, breaking a 2-2 deadlock with a goal in the 56th minute.  The last time Lloyd played in an Olympic match, she scored the game winner against Brazil in the 2008 gold medal match.

Yesterday, the Americans got off to a sluggish start and found themselves down, 2-0, just 14 minutes in.  But Abby Wambach headed in a Megan Rapinoe corner kick and Alex Morgan and Alex Morgan took a long punt from Hope Solo in the 31st minute and equalized.  Morgan also added an insurance goal in the 66th minute.

One note pointed out in the Times:  Lloyd started all 19 game sin which she played in 2011 but only 13 of 16 this year and was on the bench when yesterday's Olympic opener began.  Only the injury to Boxx brought her onto the field relatively early.  Sam Borden in the Times quotes Lloyd as saying she is still getting used to not starting but that she is "at peace" with that role.  Apparently no one has asked coach Pia Sundhage what brought about the change in Lloyd's status.

Next up for the women: Colombia, Saturday at noon, Eastern.

Olympics - A Look Back To the 2008 Final

The U.S. women open defense of their Olympic gold medal tomorrow at noon Eastern time, in Glasgow against France.  As everyone in these parts remembers, Carli Lloyd scored the winning goal in the final against Brazil back in 2008.  She reminisces about that dramatic shot 6 minutes into overtime on the U.S. Soccer website.

Technology Comes to Soccer

As reported in the New York Times and elsewhere last week, international soccer will be using modern technology to determine whether a ball has entirely crossed the goalline.  Although I have been against instant reply in soccer because it would disrupt the flow of the game, this move sounds like a positive step.  It certainly would have eliminated the controversy in the 1966 World Cup final between Germany and England, not to mention the 2008 U18 New Jersey State Cup quarterfinal.

There are two systems, Hawk-Eye and the less expensive GoalRef, which could be in place for the upcoming English Premier League season.  Most certainly electronics will be used in the 2014 World Cup.  Don't expect to see it at your local high school stadium any time soon, however.  The systems will cost an estimated $200,000 per stadium.

Spain Reigns Supreme

Spain dominated the European Cup final in Kiev today, much as it dominated the entire tournament, overwhelming Italy, 4-0 - its second straight title.  This was the same Italy that looked brilliant in beating Germany, 2-1, in the semi-finals.  Jere Longman suggested in the New York Times that Spain may be the greatest team in history.

“They completely dominated,” Longman quoted Italy Coach Cesare Prandelli as saying. “They really have made history, and deservedly so. They’ve been playing terrific football for a number of years. In spite of the fact they don’t play with a traditional striker, they still cause a lot of problems.”
 
George Vecsey in the Times describes Spain's system of play as,  "make some passes, somebody — almost anybody — make a run, and a beautiful pass will find you."

The statistics on the UEFA web page demonstrate only how meaningless statistics can be in soccer in that they would appear to show a much closer match with Spain outshooting Italy, 14-11 and leading in shots on goal, 9-6.  Corners and offsides were even at 3 apiece in each category.
 
The Spanish team showed class just before the medal ceremony, lining up at the foot of the stairs leading to the podium and shaking hands with the disappointed Italians as they trudged by to collect their second place medals.

U.S. Women Sell Out PPL Park

Can't believe it's been almost two months since I've posted.   So what's happening?  Olympics without the U.S. men.  An epic Champions League final between Bayern and Chelsea.  32nd Annual JAGS coming up.

Most recent news to resume the blog is that the U.S. women dominated china, 4-1, in a friendly last night at PPL Park outside Philadelphia.  Kate Harman wrote about it in this morning's Inquirer.  With the troubles women's pro soccer has had sustaining interest, it was heartening to see a sell-out crowd of more than 18,000 attend.

And related to last night's match, good story by Marc Narducci in the Inquirer the day before about Carli Lloyd. (Wouldn't expect anything but a good story from Marc.)

Finally, happy to report that Bolton midfielder, Patrice Muambe, who collapsed just before halftime of the FA Cup quarterfinal between his Bolton Wanderers and the Tottenham Hotspurs on March 17, is out of the hospital and rehabbing at home.  Story here from the BBC about how he watched Bolton play the Hotspurs on May 2.

Former Cosmos Star Giorgio Chinaglia Dies

Giorgio Chinaglia, a member of the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame and the top scorer in the history of the North American Soccer League (NASL), died in Florida today of complications from a heart attack. He was 65.

After playing in Wales and his native Italy (where he earned 14 caps), Chinaglia signed with the Cosmos, joining Pele and Beckenbauer on the NASL's showcase franchise. In seven years with the club he scored 193 goals in 213 regular season games plus another 50 in 43 play-off matches. During that time the Cosmos won four championships.

Optimism for Bolton Player Muambe

It was gratifying to see the international concern for Bolton midfielder, Patrice Muambe, who collapsed just before halftime of the FA Cup quarterfinal between his Bolton Wanderers and the Tottenham Hotspurs last Saturday. Muambe, 23, was immediately attended to by medics and rushed to the hospital. The referee wisely abandoned the match.

Today, the Associated Press reported shortly after 4 p.m. EDT that Muambe can breathe without a ventilator, recognize family members and respond appropriately to questions. Although his prognosis remains uncertain, this news has to be heartening to his family and the millions of fans showing their support worldwide.

The greatest

I saw this sign when I was visiting the University of Pennsylvania Palestra (a/k/a "College Basketball's Most Historic Gym") for work a few weeks ago.

"To win the game is great . . .

To play the game is greater . . .

But to love the game is the greatest of all."

Certainly applies to soccer as well as basketball.

Soccer Tragedies

There have been times when the joy of soccer has led to tragedy as fans used the game as an excuse to riot, or perhaps a section of grandstands collapsed. The Internet Services website has a recent post on the 20 biggest soccer tragedies and the Internet response to them. Interesting historical read on the dark side of the sport.

Albright Unionizes

Philadelphia native Chris Albright, a veteran of the U.S. National Team and a graduate of my of my old high school, Penn Charter, has joined the Philadelphia Union, as reported in today's Daily News and Inquirer.

I played against Chris's uncle Bill, when I was in college and he played for Temple; and against his father, John, in the South Jersey (old) men's league.

When my daughter, Kirsten, went to Penn Charter, she played on the boys teams and was leading scorer in 6th and 7th grades. In 8th grade the gender difference was beginning to concern me as the boys were getting bigger and Kirsten is small to begin with. When she came home after the first workout of the new school year, I asked her how the first day of soccer practice was.

Well, she told me, there was this boy in her class who played football last year but this year he came out for soccer and he's really good and, "I'm not the best player on the team any more."

Yep. It was Chris Albright.

Can't wait to see him play at PPL Park this season.

Another Women's League Gone: WPS "Suspends Operations"

Just four days after the U.S. Women dominated the Olympic qualifying tournament to earn a spot in the Summer Games, the professional league in which most of the Americans play announced it had "suspended operations" for 2012 but hoped to return with eight teams in 2013.

According to the league, the culprit was Dan Borislow, the owner of the Majicjack franchise in Florida, who was kicked out of the league. A court ruled that the league had not followed its own by-laws and the league decided it could not play the season while the litigation continued. But it had other problems, including the loss of Puma as a major national sponsor and the fact that its national team players from the United States and Canada would be gone for much of the summer for the Olympics.

Jack Bell provides a comprehensive analysis of the story in the New York Times. The Philadelphia Inquirer quotes David Halstead, owner of the Philadelphia Independence, as saying ""This is what responsible business enterprises do, and it's what the WPS and Philadelphia Independence are going to do. A successful WPS is a journey . . . a marathon. We've just completed a couple of early miles to this journey and are re-hydrating and re-tooling for the next leg. Stay tuned."

Women's soccer has come a long way from the days when the Charge used to nearly fill Villanova Stadium. Unfortunately, it's the wrong direction.

Off to London

Surprise, surprise. The U.S. women will be playing at the Olympics in London.

The Americans qualified for the Olympics with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica in Vancouver yesterday in the CONCACAF semifinal in Vancouver. I was happy to see my former player, Carli Lloyd, be named Woman of the Match for the second straight game. (She won the award in the 4-0 victory over Mexico, but it was somewhat of a no-brainer since she had a hat trick.)

Tough tournament for the U.S. They opened with a 14-0 trouncing of the Dominican Republic and followed it up by shutting out Guatemala, 13-0. With the wins over Mexico and now Costa Rica, they have scored 34 goals in four games - six by Lloyd.

Canada also punched its ticket to London by downing Mexico, 3-1, last night. Canada and the United States play in the final - which is really only for bragging rights - on Sunday.

Apocalypse Now

I don't know if it's a good sign for the sport or not, but for three consecutive weeks soccer has provided Sports Illustrated's "Sign of the Apocalypse" .

The young lady who made her wedding dress out of Manchester City jerseys was featured in the January 9, 2012 issue, and in the last post on this blog. Then a week later the editors thought it apocalyptic that of 29 new 50-pence pieces recognizing Olympic sports issued by the Royal Mint, one featured soccer and explained the offsides rule on the reverse side.

And finally, the current edition dated January 23, 2012, contains this "sign":

In order to learn how to "best reach each player," the coach of top-division German soccer team Hannover 96, Mirko Slomka, asked his players to fill out a survey about their sexual interests, with 128 questions ranging from their erotic preferences to their most intimate fantasies.

Must be working. At the midpoint of the Bundesliga season, Hannover is in 7th place of 18 teams

Something Blue For These City Fans

Sports Illustrated reports this week that a 38-year old bride in England, Karen Bell, sewed her own wedding dress for her December 21 ceremony by stitching together parts of vintage jerseys of her husband Simon Bell’s favorite team, Manchester City.

Here’s the account from the Manchester City website. After the ceremony, the newlyweds went from Chester to Etihad Stadium and arrived in time to watch their favorite side defeat Stoke city, 3-0. (The Blues did not fare as well today, losing an FA Cup match to cross-town rival, Manchester United, 3-2.)

SI calls the fact that someone would make her wedding dress from soccer jerseys a “Sign of the Apocalypse.” Coach P thinks it’s a great idea and that the bride looks stunning, but then recall I wanted my bride to dribble a ball down the aisle when we got married March 13, 2010, a suggestion quickly rejected.