Union prepping for new season

Preparations for the 2015 MLS season are underway in earnest as the Union dropped their exhibition opener, 3-1, to the expansion Jacksonville Armada last night.  The match was the first ever for the Armada and drew 13,934, a record for a pre-season game.

“It was our first preseason match, we played 30 guys,” Union head coach Jim Curtin said. “We’re down here to experiment a little, and I thought we played three balanced groups. Give credit to Jacksonville, they came out and put us under pressure right from the start. There’s still a base of fitness we got out of it – it was a high-tempo game.”

The Union will wrap up its Florida trip on Tuesday with a game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies followed by three more exhibition games.  The regular season begins March 7 at 4 p.m. against Colorado at PPL Park.  The Union schedule, including TV broadcasts, is here.

Soccer Spring Training in Mid-Season

School kids take a few weeks off around the Christmas-New Year's Day holidays for granted.  As reported by Sam Borden in today's New York Times, some soccer players get that time and more off when many of the European leagues take a break lasting as long as two months.  The reason is simply because of the cold weather in places like Switzerland.

“They say German teams have an advantage (against teams from other countries) because of the winter break, and you see it in the players’ legs in summer. Obviously, England has no break, and so a connection to the national team’s results is easy to make,” German author Uli Hess is quoted as saying.

It's not actually a full vacation for the players, Borden writes.  Many of the teams establish training camps in warmer climates during the break.  Switzerland's top team, FC Basel, for example, is working out on the southern coast of Spain to prepare for its next Champions League match, while Bayern München of the German Bundesliga practiced in Dubai.

It's sort of like baseball's spring training - a more relaxed atmosphere in warm weather where coaches can work on a few things and check out some new players - but in the middle of the season.

Solo Saga Rolls On

Just days after charges of assault against her were dismissed (see post below), U.S. Women's National Team goalkeeper Hope Solo is back in the news, this time, as reported in today's New York Times, for allegedly "acting belligerent" when her husband was stopped during the wee hours and ultimately charged with drunk driving.  U.S. Soccer, which took heat for allowing Solo to continue playing while the assault charges were pending, suspended her for 30 days.

U.S. Soccer issued a brief press release that said Solo would be "eligible for reinstatement" after 30 days, subject to review by U.S. Soccer and Coach Jill Ellis.

Hope for keeper as charges dismissed

The charges of domestic assault against Women's National Team keeper Hope Solo near Seattle were dismissed when the alleged victims, a nephew who is 6'-9" and a half sister, refused to cooperate with prosecutors. However, prosecutors say the two were not served with subpoenas and there was not adequate time to notify them because of the New Year's holiday.  The prosecutor's office says it will appeal, so we may not have heard the last of the case.

Former U.S. star Julie Foudy writes that the team will welcome the five month run-up to the world Cup without the distraction of criminal charges against the starting goalie.

Words to warm a woman's heart

I heard Rod Stewart's 1977 song You're in My Heart today, which of course is often played on the airwaves. It's a tribute to a woman who is "beauty and elegance," but also, "a rhapsody, a comedy" and "every love song ever written."  But the real compliment is when Stewart says (at 3:00 of the song) "You're Celtic, United, but baby I've decided you're the best team I've ever seen."  What woman would not be charmed by that?

Stewart is a big soccer fan who used to kick balls from the stage into the crowd at concerts and my firm was once involved in a case where a fan was injured by a ball at one of his concerts at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.  His two favorite teams are Manchester United and Glasgow Celtic.

Following the lead of The New England Revolution, D.C. United is planning a 20,000 seat stadium within the City.  The New York Times reported today that the MLS team hopes to split the $3 million cost with the City and build at Buzzard Point on the Anacostia River, within a mile of the Capitol and the National Mall and a few blocks from the Washington Nationals' baseball stadium.  Later in the day the City Council approved the plan, which calls for the City to split the cost with United.

D.C. Mayor  Vincent G. Grey predicted that the project, which is to include development of three adjacent acres, would create $1.6 billion in economic opportunity, including 1,000 full-time jobs. 

United finished first in the Eastern Conference in the season just ended with a record of 17-9-8 but lost in the conference finals to New York Red Bulls.

Yale tops UNC in shootout (not really)

This is a pretty funny video of a PK shootout in the men's College Cup final between the inept penalty kickers of Yale and the even more inept shooters from UNC.  It seems that after a perfect first shot the Bulldogs can't find the back of the net while the TarHeels have a knack of finding Yale's heroic goalie, Scott Sterling.  The clip was produced by Studio C, the comedy show on BYUtv.