We have had a very busy week this week. We went to Toronto on Friday and played them on Saturday. The following morning we headed off to Trinidad for our first game in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament against Joe Public on Tuesday.

For me, it is always fun and a pleasure playing in Toronto due to the fan base and all their support. We understand that soccer is not the most popular sport in America so appreciate all the wonderful support and fans that we do have, but it is definitely a different level in Toronto, and even though the fans are against us, the environment and atmosphere is topnotch. I was also excited to be in Toronto because I was getting the start, due to extenuating circumstances. It had been too darn long since my last start and I was eager and prepared to get out there and bust it. We also went to a 4-4-2 formation as a result of our lack of forwards. My good buddy Adam Christman was not able to make the trip because of an injury, so we were left with only Taylor Twellman as a forward. That meant that Ralston pushed from central midfield to a more forward position. I really was not too concerned about the change, especially when it is Ralston doing the moving around. I don’t care what position Ralston plays in, he can not only play them all, but he plays them all very well. He is one of the best players I have ever played with and he only continues to amaze me by his ability and skill despite his age and the amount of games he has played. It was a decent performance by the team. We went into halftime with a 1-0 advantage as a result of Chris Tierney delivering a gorgeous ball to the head of Twellman. The game was back and forth quite a bit and they ended up striking even off a fantastic finish from Chad Barrett.

My former Wake Forest teammate and roommate Brian Edwards is the back up goalie for Toronto, so we got to catch up and have a few drinks after the game. One of the best parts about traveling is being able to catch up with old teammates and friends. Business is business, we all want so desperately to win, regardless of who is on the other team, but as soon as the game is over it is back to being friends and paling around and all that. I consider Wake to be one of the premier programs in the country, I don’t think many can argue with that, and they have produced a significant amount of pros over the past several years. Justin Moose, Michael Parkhurst, James Riley, Ryan Solle, Pat Phelan, Julian Valentin, Steven Curfman, Amir Lowry, Scott Sealy, and Will Hesmer, to mention a few all come from Wake Forest. It always makes things a little more interesting when you are facing off against a good buddy or former teammate.

Toronto was the first leg of our trip. We then took off to Trinidad early the next morning. To tell you the truth, I do not mind traveling much at all. Some of the guys hate it, and I can understand if you have a family or are scared of flying or for whatever reason, but for me it isn’t so bad. I try to catch up on my reading on the flights, since I do not get to that much in my free time while at home. I just recently finished the autobiography of Steven Gerrard and I am almost finished with the autobiography of Ricky Hatton. Both are fantastic books and I recommend them to anyone who loves sports or likes a good read. I always love reading about other sports figures. I find that you can find a lot of inspiration and motivation through others stories. Besides reading, there is always a card game or two going on. The only thing that really stinks about traveling is the toll that it takes on your body and mind. You can definitely feel the affects on your legs and mind after a long flight. I do think that all the traveling and our busy schedule played a major role in our loss to Joe Public of Trinidad. Joe Public was our first opponent in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament. I think we took them too lightly and they came out strong and proved to be more than a worthy opponent. They were quick, fast, and seemed to have a step on us all night. I am not one for making excuses but I do believe that all the travel was the reason for all of that. In the second half they opened up the scoring with two quick counter attacks. We got one back when Castro tucked home a penalty kick that was given when Shalrie was taken down in the box in the late stages if the game. It is a home and away series so we have a game to redeem ourselves and show them who we really are. I am confident our guys will not take them so lightly this time, and I suspect that we will come out on top. But we will see. First we have to concentrate on the Galaxy who we play this weekend. I am looking forward to the game. Anytime David Beckham comes to town there is always a wonderful atmosphere and bigger crowd.

1.

Heya Wells, is the team excited about the CONCACAF Champions League? or is anyone worried about what a more packed schedule could do to the teams playoff aspirations?

-Craig, Somerville

-Ha, good question and well that all depends on whom you ask. I think it is a fantastic experience playing teams from different countries and teams that we would not play otherwise. I think that everyone will agree on that. The prize would be fantastic so that is another positive, but in the grand scheme of things it does make things a lot harder on all of us. All the extra travel and games in an already packed schedule bothers and worries a lot of the guys. This is coming from a younger player as well, so you can only imagine how the older guys feel. Our main goal is to win the MLS Cup and I think that everyone would agree on that, especially considering how close we have been over the past several years. The bottom line is that the extra tournaments, this one and Superliga, take an extra toll on our legs and whether it is too big of a toll we do not know. We just know that we want to be fresh and rested going into the remainder of the season and this tournament is making it hard for that to happen.

2.

Mr. Thompson, do the guys talk about any soccer websites in the locker room? About rumors or anything else?  Always interested to know, Thanks!

-Belinda W

-Mr. Thompson huh? I like that, ha! Coming from the south I was raised to say sir and mam and Mr. and Mrs. so I can appreciate that kind of respect, whether you meant it that way or not. Believe it or not, in my experience in the North many people do not like it when I say those sorts of things, but it was the way I was raised so there’s no changing it, ha. Really the only website that is talked about is mlsnet.com. I know a lot of the guys, me included, check various soccer websites daily, such as foxsports.com, ussoccer.com, espnsoccernet.com, as well as our own website. Honestly we do not talk about the websites too much unless it concerns new news concerning our league or news about transfers and so forth. Of course we are all interested in the scores of other games around the league and news concerning our opponents. If something new in our league comes out it will for sure make its way around the locker room.

3.

Hello Wells, could you tell us more about the SuperLiga trophy presentation, and what ended up happening with the prize money? I assume you know since you’re on the team, keep up the great work and good luck this season!

-Brenda, Brookline

-I so wish I could tell you about the SuperLiga trophy presentation, but because I was really sick I was not able to make it to the game and therefore missed the presentation. It was bad timing in getting sick, to say the least, because it is such a wonderful experience celebrating and enjoying in the moment. We work hard day in and day out and to see all that hard work pay off is why we work so hard. We all know that these moments do not come around too often which makes it that much more special. Some of my fondest memories last year were celebrating our championship of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and the Eastern conference title, so I know what I was missing out on. I hope though that we will have more celebrating to do this year after we win the MLS Cup, and I can only look forward to that. I do not care too much to talk in detail about what happened concerning the prize money, but ill try and fill you in. Basically our reward for winning the SuperLiga was smaller than the amount a Mexican team would have gotten if they won. All the MLS teams were competing on an uneven playing field because our incentive was significantly smaller than that for the Mexican league teams. We tried to fight it the best that we could because it was not right or fair, but in the end there was nothing that we could do about it. In our most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) the league had already determined the details and the structure of the winnings, so in the end we had to accept that and move on. There will be a new CBA in a year or so and our players union will hopefully be able to work something out for us that will be fair for everyone. I do not think I should, and do not even know if legally I can, go into much detail about the whole ordeal, but I hope that that helps.

4.

Hey Wells, how you doing up there.  We all miss you man, can’t wait for you to come home.  I have just one question for you.  How do you feel that fans are in Mass relating to the situation in Boston?  I mean do you ever feel like the world is just looking down at the sport in Boston as a whole?  It just seems very special to me man.  When do ya’ll get to experience that with everything going on?…Thanks buddy, keep up the stellar work.

-Smith

—Well that is a very interesting question smith! But let me ask you this, “Come back yesterday?” I bet many people who would have read your question would have had no idea what you were talking about, but since I am your cousin I think I might get where you are coming from. The fans in Boston are fanatics about their teams, for the most part anyway. I would call them die-hard fans. We do not get the amount of fans out to a game that say the Patriots or Red Sox do, but we have great fans. It has been wonderful getting to know and interact with many of them. I have made lots of friends with some of the wonderful fans that I have gotten to know; friends that I can honestly say I will stay in touch with for the rest of my life. One of the greatest things about our sport is the opportunity that we have to interact and get to know our fans. It always helps when the teams you are supporting win, and all the Boston teams have done that. There are usually opportunities for us throughout the year to take in other teams games, so that is always fun. Not sure if I answered your question like you wanted, but hope that helps. Sometime the kitchen run down in the woods, get it?

Hope yall enjoyed the blog! Yall take care now! God bless and until next time be easy!

Wells

If you have any questions or comments for Wells send them to Wells@americansoccerreader.com !

Welcome back everyone!  Sorry for the technical difficulties last week but my computer charger only arrived from IBM Thinkpad headquarters yesterday and I was able to piece this installment together quite quickly.

Looking Back & Looking Ahead

Today’s “Looking Back” will be mainly about the changes over the past couple weeks.

As everyone in the US soccer world knows by now, we now have a new coach and GM in Bruce Arena.  Coach Arena is a familiar face in the soccer community with an amazing reputation for managing winning teams and developing players.  He’s perfect for the job because of his knowledge of what it takes to be successful in this league, his eye for talent, and management of teams.  I’m really excited to be learning from him and I can already tell that he has earned his reputation for a good reason.

Also added to the staff as the “Associate Head Coach” is former Chicago Fire head coach Dave Sarachan, who had recently been working with the US Soccer Development Academy.  Coach Sarachan is another quality, winning coach who is passionate about the game and good at working with players.  He brings great experience and knowledge in the game and what I like is that he really stresses the details of the game.  Both new coaches are great teachers and have stepped right into our team in a seamless fashion.  The rest of the staff has stayed the same with Cobi and Trevor James as assistant coaches and Ian Feuer as goalkeeper coach. 

As I said, the transition has been smooth and we’re definitely improving already.  We’ve gotten back to the basics, working on lots of technical work, possession play, defensive shape and movement, and we’ve been really competitive in training.  The mentality has been one of “serious fun” which is the best way to have it – we’re serious about working hard, competing, and WINNING games again but we’ve also remembered that we need to enjoy ourselves at the same time.  What’s most important, I think, is that it’s clear that the new coaches have come in with a definite game plan and know what it will take to make out team serious contenders this year.  They’ve addressed all of our major issues and we’re working hard to improve under new guidance.

Today we leave for New England, which is a huge game for us.  New England is still in the top tier of the league and it goes without saying that we need a win.  Saying that, the beauty of our league (or fault, depending on how you look at it) is that a win could put us in 2^nd place in the West.  Which is pretty unbelievable when you think about it.  We’re expecting a tough game against a good New England team who beat us 2-0 last match, but we’re confident that if we play well and work hard for 90 minutes we can come out on top.

This Week

As I said, this week we’ve been training hard, focused, knowing that we need to win.  We’ve had a number of meetings also which is an important part of our new training regime.  We’ve been watching video from our last match, talking about New England, and just overall preparing mentally, physically, tactically, and technically for the match.

Off the field it has been awesome.  My girlfriend, Kristen, came to visit in LA and just left today.  She is currently in doctorate school for physical therapy at Regis University in Denver and was able to make it down here for about 10 days.  Of course it’s great just spending time together and we like to walk around on the beach, eat frozen yogurt, and go to the movies, which we did this week. 

But we were also able to make it down to San Diego for a couple days this past weekend.  A good friend of mine, Jeff Skeen (who is also founder/owner of the Full90 headgear company, which I proudly wear), had a birthday party and we went down to wish him a happy birthday.  Kristen and I also went to La Jolla and saw some seals on the beach there, ate at the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, and went to Sea World. 

After dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter we stopped by a little piano bar called The Shout House.  If you’ve never been to a piano bar, I highly recommend it – it’s a great time.  It was my first time and we sort of just impulsively decided to go in.  Basically everyone sits down in the restaurant/bar and there are 2 pianos on stage.  The audience members write their song requests on a piece of paper, lay them on the piano, and the pianists (who know like EVERY song somehow) play the songs.  Everyone sings along.  It’s a really unique experience and tons of fun.  Kristen and I requested “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield which got played before long.  Sea World was also amazing, as I’m sure you can imagine.  There’s so much to do there and we made a day out of seeing the whole park!

Around the World

Even though there’s a ton going on in the football world right now with the start of the new seasons and such, I’m going to opt out of this segment for the week.  I wanted to really focus on the other three sections.  I’m also trying to write this whole article in like an hour because my charger only came earlier today and we leave for New England early tomorrow.  “Around the World” will make its heroic return next week!

Q & A

These questions are from last week, but all still apply this week:

1.  Have you had a chance to speak with “The Bruce” yet? If so what are your first impressions, did he say anything in particular?

- Roberto, Orange County

I have to say that I was really excited to meet coach Arena.  I was a DC United fan growing up (being from PA) and obviously I had watched his teams for years with the national team.  I had also heard so many good things about him from players and other coaches.

My first impression is that he is really humble – just a regular, down to earth guy.  He seemed pretty blue collar, approachable, and up front.  All of these have held true.  In a lot of ways, he’s the opposite of our last manager.  There aren’t a whole lot of east coast/ACC guys on our team so we talked about that connection that we have.

2.  My questions are: 

a) Does he [Bruce Arena] seem to be up and current on the MLS this year,

b) Does he seem to know all the players already from watching games, and 

c) How do you feel you’d fit into the kind of backline formation that he likes to use? Arena has a system that he has used everywhere he’s coached—do you think that format will suit the players the Galaxy have in the backline and midfield?

- Jay in Los Angeles

Thanks again to one of my favorite readers, Jay in LA, for these great questions.  First, Bruce and Dave are definitely “up and current” on the MLS this year.  They are two fantastic coaches who have a tremendous track record in the league and clearly were deeply engrained in the league, even in their time away from coaching.  It is important that in preparations for matches that we know specifics about player tendencies, formations, and tactics of other teams.  That’s something that we had been lacking before due to the fact that our manager was not familiar with the league and its players.  Our preparation for the Chicago game was sharp and focused (as it was when Cobi prepared us for the Chivas game) and specific in what we could expect from the opposition.  So yes, very “up and current.”

Second, it was also clear very early that our new coaches had been watching our games all year and knew what our major issues were.  They knew all of the players names and a lot about each player on day one and I believe, also, that they have a pretty good idea of each player’s niche on the team.  Of course this will evolve throughout the rest of the year but they definitely “did their homework,” as you asked.  Keep in mind also that we have a number of players who have played for Bruce on past national teams and Dave has been a coach in our league for years.

Finally, I’ve said it before but I know that I still have a lot to learn.  Saying that, I know that I can help the team if called upon.  The backline formation that coach Arena likes to use isn’t really any different.  We’ve just really gotten back to the basics of team defending which is what we really needed.  We’ve been working on shifting, pressure/cover/balance, clearances, and everything else.  I feel that I fit in well and many of the things that he’s been stressing are things that I feel I do well – it’s just all about getting the details right and doing it for 90 minutes under pressure.

3. With Bruce Arena now at the helm of the Galaxy, how have the training sessions, player’s attitudes, and overall feel of the team changed?  What are the major differences?

Do you feel that your chances to crack the starting 11 have decreased or increased with the management change?

- B.P. in Los Angeles, CA

B.P. – What’s up?  The training sessions have been great.  One thing is that there’s a lot more variety.  We’ve done different exercises that are designed to train our areas of need.  The change has broken up some of the repetition of before and replaced it with a bit of freshness.

One thing that we’ve really been working on in training, is training our mentality.  This means defensive mentality, sustaining concentration, fine-tuning technique, and things like that.  This has been a good thing for the team and for me in particular – I hope to continue to improve in these ways.  Coach Arena stresses that we win Saturday games on Monday – Friday and it’s critical to train well.

Have my chances of cracking the first team improved?  Sure, I’d probably say they have.

4.  Hey Julian, were the players informed of the guys being interviewed to fill the managers spot? Or was it a decision made totally by the front office, just curious, thanks!

- Cindy, Santa Monica

Cindy – Good question.  We didn’t really know what was going on with the coaching change to be honest.  I preferred it this way and I think that the rest of the team did as well.  It could have been a distraction for the team if we were on the inside so we just went about business as usual and found out one day that there had been a hiring.  Of course the media always circulates rumors and people read those, but other than that, we didn’t know about anything specific going on up in the front office.

Great questions everyone – they always are.  Make sure to keep them coming to Julian@americansoccerreader.com.  My new computer charger and I will be back next week and I hope that you will be as well.  Take care and I’ll talk to you next Thursday.

-jules

Don’t forget to signup for American Soccer Reader’s exclusive 2008-2009 English Premier League fantasy league. You’ll get to match your managerial skills against Julian, other ASR staff, and fellow readers! The winner will receive an English Premier League or Major League Soccer replica jersey of their choice and one year subscription to MLSLive.tv Click here for more details on how to sign up!

Hey ya’ll!

On The Field

Our last game was against San Jose this past Saturday. It was a game that I think all the boys would like to forget. We got quite the whoopin’! We ended up losing 4-0. The score does not really reveal how the game really went. We did not play well by any means, but we did not deserve to lose 4-0. Hey it’s just one of those games you try to learn from, but also one where you kind of just have to forget and move on. We have to understand that there are going to be games like that from time to time. We just must make sure that we learn our lesson from that game and make sure that it does not happen again. We were missing a couple key players on our team, which in my mind no doubt hurt us. We have plenty of depth on the team and guys that can step in and not miss a beat, but we sure did miss Micheal Parkhurst and Shalrie Joseph in San Jose. “Parky” was just getting home for the Olympics and Shalrie was serving a one game suspension for his red card against Chicago the week before. Sometimes you do not really notice or realize how much a player means to the team until they are not out there. I realized that about Parky and Shalrie in San Jose. Look, I understand that it is a team game and that every player is vital to the team’s success. I am a big proponent of the team concept and believe that should be stressed with every team. But I also realize the importance of certain players. I can’t say enough about Shalrie and Parky as players and as people. They are very vital to the team and our success and I fully realized their importance to our team in their absence against San Jose. It will be good to have them back for our upcoming game against DC United on Wednesday.

Off The Field

Off the field not too much has been going on with me over the past week or so. We have been traveling quite a bit, so mainly I have just been resting up and taking it easy. I put a lot of importance on soccer. It is something that I am passionate about and I want to do the very best that I can. I am very competitive and have very high standards for myself so I want to win every game and I want to play the best I can in every game. It doesn’t really always work out like that though. In fact, things here recently have not been going that way at all. Sometimes I can put so much into soccer that it affects my life outside the game. A bad practice or game or lose can turn my world upside down. Now, for the most part I am a positive and sensible person, but sometimes I just lose it. You know the saying “leave all your work at work when you leave?” Well I have been trying to apply that to my life. I was becoming somebody that I did not want to become. I was miserable to be around at times. Now I am not saying by any means that I have lost my competitive edge or anything at all like that, I am just saying that I am trying to adapt to the pressures and demands of the professional game in a better manner. There are a lot of ups and downs in sports, just like there are in life. I believe, among other things, that what separates athletes is how they deal with things when they are down. I had a good first year, it would have been great if we won the Cup, so coming into this year my expectations and goals were much higher. I wanted to establish myself as a starter and a premier player in the league. Things have not gone like I had planned them, but I believe in myself and have faith that God has plans for me and that he will take care of me. I know that sulking and doubting will only hurt me further, so I am trying to continue to work hard and try and look on the positive side of things. Like I said, I believe in myself, and I know that without a doubt I can be a good professional.

So like I said, our next game is Wednesday against good ‘ole D.C. United. I really can’t stand DC so I am looking forward to the game and hoping to put them in their place. They are a good team and have some really good players, but they are not the quality that we are. I do not say that to be arrogant, I just believe it to be the truth. I don’t consider myself an arrogant man at all, in fact I feel that I am very humble.I definitely owe that and accredit that to my upbringing and my parents. My parents raised me right. I cannot thank them enough for all that they have done for me, sacrificed for me, given me, and loved and cared for me. I owe all that I am and all that I have and have become to my parents. They have always stood by my side, no matter what. I am so grateful for the hours they put into driving me to tournaments, washing my stained and dirty uniforms, and their love, sacrifice, and support for me following my dreams. There was a time in my life when I would not have been able to express that. As I have gotten older and matured, I have begun to realize more and more how blessed I have been and am to have such wonderful parents. I hope one day I can make millions and take care of them like they have of me. Somewhat kidding, but that would be nice huh? I hope one day I can be the kind of parent to my kids as my parents were to me.

-Hope ya’ll enjoyed this week’s blog! Have a great rest of the week-Take care, God bless, and be easy!

-wells

In a very untimely fashion my computer charger has broken and I cannot offer a new article this week.  The part of the power cord that plugs into the computer just ripped off and and I had to order a new one from the IBM website.  Hopefully it will be here in time for me to write a new article for next week.

There’s definitely been a lot of good stuff going on here over the past week and I’m sorry that I’ll have to put that off.  Your questions will be noted and feel free to keep them coming for next Thursday.

Again, SORRY and have a great week!

-jules

Hey there! It is good to be back! I hope that everyone is doing well and that life is treating ya’ll well!

I decided that I needed to make a few changes to the blog, something small. I am taking a page out of my boy Julian Valentine’s book and going to apply some order here. I am going to try and break my blog down into sections like he does. Like so; 1-On the field

2-Off the field,

3-random, whatever comes to mind. Hopefully that will make it a little easier to follow. Enjoy

Things have not been as I would have liked them to be lately, but again how often are things really like you want them or plan them out to be. Life got in the way again and knocked me for a little loop. What I am referring to is that I have been, and still am, under the weather. Even though I have been struggling off the field with my health and all, the team has continued to take care of business on the field. We won our first piece of hardware for the year, by beating Houston in the Superliga Final. I unfortunately was not able to even make it to the game because of my illness, but am so proud of the boys for their work in the hard fought final. After regular time the game remained tied at 2-2. After two scoreless extra periods, we finally clinched the game and the Superliga championship on penalty kicks. The team took a little slide after that big win. We ended up losing to the Chicago Fire 2-1 in a very disappointing game for us, and we just recently lost to DC United in the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. We have a real busy schedule coming up here over the next few weeks, so I am going to try and get healthy so I might be able to play a little bit. With the shoulder problem and the sickness it seems like I have not played in ages, so I am dying to get back out there on a regular basis again.

I love music! I am mainly a country music man, but I really love and appreciate it all! It definitely speaks to me. One of the up sides about playing in Gillette is the extra curricular activities, like concerts and other games, that come that we usually get to enjoy. I had the opportunity to enjoy Country Fest and Bruce Springsteen the other week. Both were great, but I bet you can guess which one I enjoyed the most. A bunch of friends and I packed my big ole’ truck up with all the necessities for a tailgate and went to the stadium early to partake in some of the festivities before the concert. I feel at times that I can stick out like a sore thumb being from the south and all, but I fit right in at Country Fest. I tell you what, it was great, a whole day of being and doing country! You really do not find too much country music up this way. In North Carolina every other station is a country channel, whereas I think there might only be one up this way. But sometimes I hear something and it touches me, or it reminds me of what I believe and stand for. These are a couple of new artists I recently discovered, their music and lyrics spoke to me, so I wanted to share it with ya’ll, for whatever it was worth.

“I aint a star. I’m nothing like (Clint Dempsey or Kaka)- I got a funny sounding name and I don’t wanna be famous, I don’t make a lot of change. My heart has been changed, I just wanna know Jesus man! To make it plain I got a message penetrating my soul, it is the message that the Father gives me generating my soul. The credit aint ours, its all His! “Amen—The Christian Rap singer Lecrae

“This song is for everybody to know whether you are from a small town, the hood, the big city, it don’t matter. Everybody’s got their dreams they wanna follow, some people are ashamed where they’re from, they don’t know where they are suppose to be. Everybody find your place in life, be proud of who you are, don’t let nothing hold you back.”

—Country singer Colt Ford

Hope ya’ll enjoyed the blog this week! Please keep the questions coming, the more the merrier! Ya’ll have a good week, take care and God bless! Until next time, be easy!

-Wells

1. Hey Wells, do you go into Boston often? Have any favorite hotspots? Good luck for the rest of the season!

-Troy S

-Troy, what’s up man, thanks for the question. I do not go into Boston as much as I would like. I try to get in every Sunday, if my schedule permits, to attend service at Park Street Baptist Church. I live in Wrentham, right near the stadium, so going into the city can sometimes be more of a hassle than I would like. Traffic isn’t always good, I drive a big truck and have a hard time parking in the city (It doesn’t fit in parking garages either), not too mention my truck guzzles gas, so all those annoyances keep me away from the city. To tell you the truth as well, I am not much of a city boy. I am quite content hanging around Wrentham, fishing on the lake and keeping busy around those parts, so it doesn’t really bother me too much I don’t make it in much. If I want to go out though there isn’t much open past 12 around Wrentham so I do like to get into Boston to mix it up occasionally. Been to Whiskeys a few times, Joshua Tree, McFaddens. Don’t necessarily have a favorite place, as long as the beers flowing, there are some women, and the people are nice, I’d like it there!

2. Wells, I’m always interested in players pre-game preparations, do you have any pre-game rituals or traditions?

-Craig F

Appreciate the Question Craig, that’s a good one! I have had bunches of rituals over the years. Many were normal, like eating a good pre-game meal and hydrating throughout the day and things of that sort, but I have to admit I have had some crazy ones over the years.  The older I have gotten though, the more I have tried to rid myself and my routine of those types of things. I found myself at times before games a wreck because I was trying to get everything right, if I did not get things right I would almost be consumed with that and I felt it affected my performance. That being said I do have a few things I still do besides the normal. I have and still use the same shin guard sleeves from college. Even though they are all tattered and probably don’t smell the best, I still hang on to them. I re-tie my shoes during warm-ups. I also make sure I kneel down and pray in front of my locker before I head to the field before game time. With me, a lot depends on how I am playing and how the team is doing at the time. I find that I pick up and drop little superstitions throughout the year depending on how things are going. Like I said though, I feel it mentally taxes me too much sometimes, so I hope to get rid of all of them soon.

3. Wells, Karvonen here…So glad to see your blog, keep up the good work buddy! hoping the shoulder heals quickly. Other than outside middy, what other positions did you excel at….oh and what about hockey, a little birdy told me you were quite the scrapper on the ice..any comments on that???

-Chris, what’s up man, great hearing from you and appreciate your support and comments! Growing up I played a little bit of forward but mostly center midfield my whole life until college. College was when I made the transition to outside midfield. I was not happy at the time about the move. I thought and still think central midfield is the best position on the field, but I have grown to appreciate and enjoy being on the outside now.                                                                                                                                                                                          I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed a playing hockey as a little guy. A lot of people do not think about kids playing hockey from North Carolina. But we were quite good, even competed in Lake Placid a few times. Hockey was by no means my best sport, but I loved the action. I loved the physical nature of the game. If you talked to some of my former teammates they would probably tell you I spent more time in the penalty box than on the ice. It might have been true, I loved the physical nature so much I tended to get a little out of hand at times. I no doubt think that my soccer game reveals some hockey nature in it. I also believe that my experience with hockey and the skills required there helped my soccer game and translated onto the pitch. I always encourage parents to push their kids to play as many sports as their kids want to. I think it only helps kids develop skills they did not already have and also nourish those skills that they already might possess. 

-Wells

Do you have a question or comment for Wells? email them to Wells@americansoccerreader.com

Don’t forget to sign up for American Soccer Reader’s exclusive BPL Fantasy League. It’s your chance to match your managerial skills against Wells and the rest of the ASR staff, along with fellow readers! The winner will receive an English Premier League or Major League Soccer replica jersey of their choice! AND a one year subscription to MLSLive.tv, so you’ll be able to catch all the MLS action. Click here for more details on how to signup!

Looking Back & Looking Ahead

With the bye-week, there is no match to look back at.  We had a number of hard training sessions and tough fitness and weight work after training.  We definitely took full advantage of the preparation week and pushed ourselves to the limit.

Make sure to tune into ESPN 2 at 10:00 pm Eastern time for the third match of the Honda Superclassico.  LA Galaxy vs. Chivas USA.  Be there.

This Week

I’m sure that everyone’s read the reports out of LA this week.  Ruud and Alexi are no longer with the team and, needless to say, it’s been a crazy week.  Even with the media whirlwind out here, we have handled the situation like professionals and have continued business as usual.  Cobi and Trevor James have stepped right in and have done a fantastic job of preparing us for Chivas on Thursday, keeping everyone focused on the things that we can control.  They’ve also put together a number of solid training sessions.  The transition has been quite smooth actually.

With all that’s gone on this week, it’s been reinforced in my mind how much of a business professional sports really are.  This is ALL professional sports – soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, football, everything.  We are in the business of winning games and putting fans in the stands.  Those two forces are reliant on each other.  When teams are dropping results and not performing up to expectations, people lose their jobs and they are sent on their way – there’s rarely patience with these kinds of things.  People read these types of changes all the time on ESPN bottom line ticker but it’s interesting being on the inside.

As a group of players we’ve really realized how much we need to come together, now more than ever.  So, this week, we went to the beach after training for a team barbecue.  Someone’s friend of a friend has a house literally right on the beach in Hermosa Beach and they allowed us to come over for a few hours and spend some time bonding on their back porch.  The veterans suggested that all the rookies put our heads together and plan the event for the whole group so we went to the store and bought the necessary meat, condiments, drinks, and side dishes.  Most of the team showed up and Grillmaster Josh Wicks kept the charcoal-kissed goods coming.  Besides the amazing location of the house, the barbecue was nothing special, actually quite low-key.  We just sort of sat around in the sun, watched the beach-goers come and go, told stories, and enjoyed some good banter within the group.

I also met Gordon Ramsey this week.  That was pretty cool.  He’s probably most famous for his TV show “Hell’s Kitchen” on Fox where he completely flips out and kills the spirits of aspiring chefs.  Ramsey is regarded as one of the top chefs in the world - #2 actually behind some French lady.

Around the World

I love the Olympics.  It’s definitely the only time that I ever watch MSNBC or CNBC…or even NBC for that fact.  Saying that, I have to admit that I haven’t done the best job of watching the Olympic soccer so far – it’s just been difficult with the time difference and my basic cable package.  It’s also impractical for me to stay up to 2:00 am to watch the games live with training the next day so I’ve been scrambling to watch as many games as I can after the fact.  Luckily the NBC Olympic website has comprehensive coverage of the Games and I’ve been able to catch up on a lot of games there.

In all the games that I’ve watched, I’ve been struck by how even the matches have been.  Almost all of the games that I’ve seen (expect for Brazil/China) have been extremely close matches that could have gone either way.  There have been a lot of draws, a lot of one goal wins, but even more telling is the way that these games are actually played.  Often times from what I’ve seen, it’s only a matter of one play on either end of the pitch that decides the entire match.  This was never more evident that the US-Japan game – a great result for the US but a result that easily could have gone either way.  Even though it was an up-hill battle (that we handled awesomely by the way) the US-Nigeria game is another example of that.  We could have ended with a point for us with some late chances.  These Olympic games seem result-oriented and a bit tense to me and critical plays have been amplified.

That’s all I have to today in “Around the World” because the next section will be a bit long…

Q & A

I got an email from Brian P. this week and he suggested that I talk a little bit about the Galaxy reserve games and the MLS reserve league in general.  

1/2.  Since you’re a regular starter on the reserve team, did you ever think about writing a quick synopsis about the weekly reserve match (when applicable)?  For instance, I had read that Ed Dominguez played goalkeeper the last 11 minutes to fill in for the injured Charles Alamo.  I think a player’s perspective on the match and little tid-bits like the aforementioned would be a cool addition to your blog.

1/2.  My question is, how are the reserve team games going? Can you give us an update on those, the level of competitiveness, how you feel like you’re performing in them, and whether or not any player stands out as being ready for the first team?

-Jay in Los Angeles

The reserve division is, well, a learning experience in a lot of ways.  I take these games very seriously.  Right now these are my only matches, my opportunity to improve outside of training, get 90 minutes of fitness and sharpness, and show the coaching staff what I can offer to the team.  Saying that, the games are frustrating many ways and there are a lot of difficult things to deal with.

First, the “reserve team” is basically whatever healthy players do not play substantial minutes in the first team game and the roster changes from week to week.  With a roster of 26 guys and the fact that there are often injured players, we typically have 8-10 field players available for these games from the Galaxy roster.  So, we have to bring in guest players to fill the gaps and field a team.  Unfortunately for me, we usually have to bring in backs as guest players so I’m usually playing next to guys who are not on our team, who I don’t know, and who only fly in the night before the match.  It’s hard to forge a good partnership this way.

The games are also usually at 10:00 am the day after the first team game, so it’s creates some challenges in getting a proper breakfast and pregame preparation.  It’s also very hot playing in LA or Dallas in July at 10:00.

The fixtures are also extremely sporadic.  We had a period earlier this year where we went about two and a half months without a game, so it’s just a difficult situation.  Sometimes the matches get cancelled because of lack of numbers or other reasons.  We’ll play two or three games in a row, have two months without a reserve match, and then have another couple matches.

The level of the games varies and it really depends on the depth of the teams involved.  Teams with more depth and experience on their roster naturally have better reserve teams but most teams use the reserve division as an opportunity to give their young players a run and look at guest players.  Overall, though, the level of the reserve games is significantly lower than the first team matches.  They’re not as fast, not as clean, and just lack the same quality.

Here are couple anecdotes to illustrate all of the aforementioned frustrations.  When we played the Salt Lake reserves earlier this year we drove an hour up the mountains from Salt Lake City to the Park City for a 10:00 am match.  We had flown in 4 guest players for the match because we were short-handed and there were no subs.  We had an injury at halftime so we had no other option but to put our third string goalkeeper up top for the second half.  Then we had another injury so we played a man down for the last 15 minutes, with our goalkeeper at forward, and four guest players – two of whom were defenders.  Needless to say, we lost 5-2.

Against San Jose our first team game was at noon in Oakland so we drove over an hour straight from Oakland to Santa Clara for the 4:30 reserve match kickoff.  We flew in three guest players who arrived the morning of the match who met us at the field.  Two of them started but at least we had a sub (which came in handy).  We had three injuries in the match, which included two goalkeepers going down.  So, we had to put our Argentinean centerback (who barely speaks English) in goal for the last 15 minutes of the match.  In this match, we lost 1-0 on a brilliant long-range goal from Kelly Gray but we actually played quite well, showing that everyone is learning to adjust to the reserve league conditions.

It’s easy to see why the games are frustrating – especially for someone like myself who cares so much about performing well these games and WINNING!

These problems are not exclusively Galaxy problems.  Ruud said publicly that he was shocked with the MLS reserve system, alluding specifically to a time when we had to get a ticket account manager from our front office to play so that we had enough numbers for a match.  Ruud came from a very different European reserve system where there is an organized league of “reserve” teams and “reserve” players.  Our reserve league seemed so amateur and bush-league to him.  No.  I don’t have the solutions but there needs to be some reform in the MLS reserve division in order to maximize its potential.

All that said, it’s something and I am thankful for the opportunity to play in the reserve matches.  I’m definitely glad that the reserve league exists.  There was no system at all in the past and I’m definitely grateful that there’s an opportunity for me to get some games.  16 games in a year, regardless of the conditions, are way better than zero games.

In conclusion, these games are not just a wash for me – I’m very competitive and hate losing.  I deal with all of the conditions and just get on with it.  I’m pretty happy with how I’ve played in the reserve matches so far this year.  I’ve gotten better every game and I think that the coaches are noticing my improvement, hard work, leadership, good play, and starting to see where I may fit in the team.  When it’s all said and done and I look back at my experience with the reserve league when I’m hopefully still playing at 30, I think that I’ll take away how it helped me to become a professional.  I’ve learned to focus on the things that I can control, forget about everything else, and just worry about going out and playing well.

3.  Hey Julian, were you at the Lieweke locker room meeting? If you were, what was it like? Was there a sense among the players that both Gullit and Lalas could be on the way out? Thanks!

-Steve K

Steve K – I was in the locker room that day, as was the rest of the team.  I think that everyone on the team knew that something was brewing in the club and that there was going to be a big decision coming soon.  Not that we were obsessing over it or anything but after the first meeting and the following loss to San Jose, we knew that something was inevitable.

I don’t really know how stuff like that ends up getting out to the media but everything that was said in those meetings has been reported by the media.  Mr. Lieweke basically came in and bluntly told the group that we were not performing up to expectations and that we needed to turn things around.  He said if we did not there would be serious consequences and after the second meeting, he told us that we are now responsible because there are no more distractions (as various outlets have reported).

The mood in the meetings was extremely serious and intense – almost scary.  It was definitely a new experience for me and hopefully we won’t have another one of these meetings ever again.

4.  Julian, now that Mr. Gullit has resigned, do you think your chances of playing in the first team have been helped or hindered? I was interested to know, I felt Ruud should have given you a run, especially with all of the Galaxy’s defensive woe’s so far this season. Either way good luck for the rest of the season!

-Melinda-Santa Barbara

Melinda – That’s a good question and something that I’ve asked myself lately.  It’s no secret that different coaches prefer different things in players and all it takes is a coaching change for a player to find himself inside or outside the team.  This is seen all over the world.  Do I think my chances for first team time have improved with Ruud’s departure?  Probably.

As I said earlier, with Cobi taking over the transition has been quite smooth.  There definitely won’t be any dramatic changes to the lineup but hopefully I’ll be able to crack the first team at some point this year.  It’s tough, though, because we don’t have another reserve game until September 7 so there’s no opportunity to prove myself in a match setting for a while.  Training is one thing but you need to prove yourself in match environments.

From the beginning of the year I’ve taken this approach: Work hard every single day and improve.  Learn as much as I can.  If I get playing time this year, it would be an added bonus, but I’m realistic in knowing that I have to learn a lot of things before being a regular starter in this league.  At the same rate, I know that I can do it and if I was given a chance for first team minutes this year, I know that I would take it and make the most of it.  I know that I could help out my team.

5.  Jules, if you could pick 5 coaches from anywhere in the world to take over the Galaxy (aside from Cobi Jones), who would it be and why? Can be any manager for any reason, thanks!

-Mike S, Florence

Mike S from Florence – I don’t necessarily think that the following guys would be the best for the job because there are lots of nuances to MLS which make it a difficult league to coach in.  But this is a sort of dream list.  These are in no particular order and I will stay away from all names being linked with the job for political purposes:

1.  Bob Bradley – The US National Team coach has an amazing soccer mind and he is an extremely committed coach.  Coach Bradley’s vision, intensity, and commitment would be an asset to the club and he would make the Galaxy a contender immediately and in the future.

2.  Juergen Klinsmann – Obviously he has a new employer in Munich, but it would be awesome to play under the German legend.  He did a good job with the 2006 German World Cup team and the former Huntington Beach resident could live back at home and commute to the HDC.

3.  Guus Hiddink – It’s been cool watching Guus coach in South Korea, Australia, Russia, Holland, and about half of the other counties in the world.  He doesn’t just manage teams all around the world but he’s successful everywhere he goes – national teams, clubs, it doesn’t matter.  He has to be doing something right and I’m sure he could do it right for the Galaxy.

4.  Luciano Spalletti – I watched Roma a lot this past year and really like their style of play.  I think Spalletti has put together a solid, well balanced, and entertaining team in Rome and would like to see how he would fair in our league.  I also vaguely remember a few years ago when Spalletti took Udinese to a miraculous top-5 finish in the Serie A.

5.  Harry Redknapp – I’ve said it before, I love Harry Redknapp as a manager.  I think he’s done a fantastic job building Portsmouth into one of the top teams in England – he’s taken them from the bottom and they continue to improve every year under his guidance.  Check out this video as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaGo7JYXNlw.  Excuse the language (Harry says the “F” word in the video) but I feel like his players play hard for him and he seems like a real player’s coach.

That’s all that I have for today, folks.  I hope that you enjoyed today’s article and remember to send your questions, comments, and suggestions to Julian@americansoccerreader.com.  Take care and I’ll see you next week!

-jules

 Don’t forget to sign up for American Soccer Reader’s exclusive BPL Fantasy League. It’s your chance to match your managerial skills against Julian and the rest of the ASR staff, along with fellow readers! The winner will receive any English Premier League or Major League Soccer replica jersey of their choice! AND a one year subscription to MLSLive.tv, so you’ll be able to catch all the MLS action. Click here for more details on how to signup!

Looking Back & Looking Ahead

Well, we’re looking back at another loss this week.  We lost 3-2 to San Jose on Sunday afternoon at the McAfee Coliseum.  Goals by Arturo Alvarez, Darren Huckerby, Landon Donovan, Edson Buddle, and Ryan Cochrane – in that order.  San Jose is a solid team and they played a good game, taking the result that could have honestly gone either way.  On another day, maybe we get a few different bounces but that’s the nature of the game and credit has to be given to the Quakes.  Things are a bit frustrating right now in Galaxy-land and it’s imperative that we find our winning form again. 

Now we’re going into a bye week – lots of time to catch our breath and hit the training field.  We have a full week to prepare for the final chapter of the 2008 Honda Superclassico and we know this is a must-win match.  This one has the makings of being even more wild than usual so make sure to put the match into your schedule for next Thursday.

This Week

Needless to say, we have been training HARD on all aspects of our game this week.  The coaching staff has addressed the things that we need to work on and we have been busting our butts preparing for Chivas.  We’ve done a lot of defensive work in particular with intense small-sided matches to fuel our competitiveness and combativeness.

Off the pitch, it’s been a pretty low-key week and I’m struggling to think of anything that I did worth sharing.  To be honest, I’ve been exhausted after training and haven’t really felt like doing a whole lot.  So, I’ve spent a lot of time posted up on my couch…

I was going to go to the Regeneration Tour (a bunch of 80’s one-hit-wonder-bands including The Human League, Belinda Carlisle, ABC, A Flock of Seagulls, and Naked Eyes) but when it came down to going, I was too tired to spend the night on my feet.  I also didn’t feel like driving all the way up to Universal City.  It would have been cool though…

I spent a lot of time on Facebook this week.  I guess that’s cool – or not…

I played a lot of Sega.  Streets of Rage, NBA Jam, Jungle Strike…

I went out to get frozen yogurt almost every night.  Always with strawberries raspberries, and blackberries…

I also watched a number of games including the Superliga Final, Red Bulls vs. Barcelona, and a couple Champions League qualifiers – thanks to SopCast.  I just wish that the Olympic games weren’t at 2:00 in the morning here.  I need to figure out some sort of solution to watch those.  And NO, I don’t have TiVo…

Yeah, that’s about it…

Around the World

Today I’m going to glance at the Winners and Losers in the English transfer market as of August 6^th.  Hopefully this doesn’t help anyone out too much with their American Soccer Reader Fantasy League team.  I’m guaranteeing victory in the league, by the way – and I’ve changed my team from when I gave it a couple weeks ago so don’t think that you can just steal my squad.  Keep in mind there is still plenty of time left in the transfer window for teams to strengthen their squads so hopefully managers of my biggest losers will wise-up and read my column.

Biggest Winners as of 8/6: Tottenham, Sunderland, Liverpool

Any discussion of transfer winners has to start with Tottenham.  There are some mixed reviews of Spurs’ moves out there but I think Juande Ramos has done a fantastic job of building a squad that can compete in Europe.  The upgrades start in the back with goalkeeper Gomes from PSV.  The big, lanky Brazilian will provide more of a dependable presence in the back and if Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King can stay healthy they will provide a strong partnership to anchor the team.  It will also be interesting to see if Welsh prodigy Gareth Bale can recover from an injury last year to fulfill his potential.  Their midfield will be loaded with marquee signings David Bentley and Luka Modric, as well as Jermaine Jenas, Tom Huddlestone, and Aaron Lennon who all impressed last season and look to continue their strong form.  With the sale of Robbie Keane and the likelihood that Dimitar Berbatov may be on his way out, they will need to sign a marquee forward to seal the deal for a top 4 finish.  Another good defender also couldn’t hurt.

Sunderland managed to stay up last year and they look primed to do it again this year.  They’re a tough team to play at home, in the Stadium of Light, and they’ve made some significant upgrades already.  Roy Keane must have Jaude Ramos on speed dial because Sunderland is picking up all of Spurs’ leftovers.  First is Steed Malbranque.  The Frenchman found himself a surplus at Tottenham but he will be a definite upgrade for the Black Cats who lacked a class attacking midfielder last year.  They’ve also added Finnish midfielder Teemu Tainio (who I admit I don’t know much about).  They signed El-Hadji Diouf from Bolton who will add depth to the strikeforce of Michael Chopra and Kenwayne Jones.  For a team that desperately needed defenders, they’ve made a good start with Pascal Chimbonda, again from Tottenham.  With a couple more defensive signings and another midfielder, this Sunderland side could find themselves sneaking up to mid-table.

American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett opened up their checkbook this transfer season and I feel it will have big rewards for the Reds.  They’ve added Andrea Dossena who is a highly rated Italian defender from Udinese.  Experts say he should slide the left back spot and improve the Liverpool back four that is already quite strong.  Robbie Keane will elevate some of the goal-scoring pressure on Fernando Torres and Rafa Benitez is also excited about his new young French forward David N’Gog.  If they keep Xabi Alonso and add another forward for depth, this team can win some serious hardware this year.

Biggest Losers as of 8/6:  Blackburn, Newcastle, Bolton

The biggest losers so far have been Blackburn.  First year manager Paul Ince has just made a serious of downgrades thus far in the transfer window.  First, they have exchanged long-time goalkeeper and fan-favorite Brad Friedel for erratic Paul Robinson.  David Bentley has been subbed for Chilean Carlos Villanueva and, while I admit I’m not familiar with Villanueva, I’m sure he’s no Bentley and could have a tough time adjusting to the EPL during his one-year loan spell.  Ince acquired Manchester United rising star Danny Simpson for a year loan but the youngster’s impact for the Rovers squad is not guaranteed.  I understand that the club is cash-strapped, but downgrading all over the pitch isn’t necessarily the best way to turn things around.  Ince has done a lot of quick-fix moves so far.

Newcastle is a team that underachieved last year and they have not done enough to improve their squad.  They’ve added Argentinean Jonas Gutierrez from Mallorca and that’s it.  The departure of David Rozenhaul leaves a hole in the back that will need to be filled – some reports say it will be another Argentine, Fabricio Coloccini, to be the man but a deal has yet to be signed.  The Magpies have some work to do.  I say they sign Santiago Munez from East LA.

Bolton barely avoided relegation last year and they somehow still seem content with their squad.  They have place lots of faith in Johan Elmander to be their primary goal scorer and also have signed Ghanaian Riga Mustapha (great name) who is supposed to be a lightning fast winger.  I’m not sold on the Elmander purchase and Mustapha’s potential impact is definitely a big question mark.  Where they really need help is in the back and the only name that I’ve seen them linked with is Danny Shittu from Watford – who got relegated last year.  They need to upgrade or else they will have a replay of campaign.

Q & A

1.  Lets say you end up getting to a country that has a shorter period to gain citizenship (i.e Belgium, Poland, Holland etc..) and you gained citizenship, and somehow didn’t get capped to the USMNT. Would you ever consider playing for another country if you were approached? I know its a big hypothetical, but would you be tempted if a country with a very legitimate shot at qualifying for Euro/World Cup tournament approached you, just curious :). Keep up the good work and Mr. Gullit should wise up and give you a start!

-Greg in Brugge

Greg – Hello and thank you for reading my column all the way in Belgium!  I enjoyed your hypothetical situation – it’s an interesting one.  Saying that, I have such a love for my country, I could never play for another nation.  I’ve grown up in America, played in this country my entire life, and it would be too difficult for me to play for another nation.  For me in particular, I’ve grown up playing in the US Youth National Team system and it would definitely be treasonous to switch sides at this point!  Luckily, US teams typically qualify for the World Cup and are always one of the strongest sides in CONCACAF.  If it were between USA and any other country I would pick the USA.  After all, it’s not like I would be deciding between, say, Malta and France – if that were the situation, it’s a definite no-brainer.

Tell all your Belgian friends about my blog – I’m trying to build up my European fanbase.  Thanks again!

2.  Julian, there are tons of rumors and reports swirling around about pressure being put on Rudd and Mr. Lalas. What do you think is the reason for your guys recent funk? The offense looks great but the defense doesn’t look as solid (they need you!). If you were the manager what would you do. (and yes, I know thats a loaded question) Loving the blog, its nice to get a window into the life of a truly intelligent and witty young American athlete.

-Benjamin

Benjamin – Heavy questions there.  There are definitely lots of rumors out there – I’m familiar with the same ones as everyone else.  I’m not exactly sure what explains our recent funk.  But whatever it is, it’s definitely not a single thing or a single person – it’s more of a collective issue. 

Strictly from a player’s perspective, I think that we all need to look within ourselves and identify what we can do personally, to turn things around for the group – understand what role you play for the team and excel in that role.  Right now, for example, my primary role is making sure that I’m pushing the first team in training.  Of course I really want to play but if that’s not my niche right now, I need to realize that, and excel in what my job is.  I need to continue to train hard for the team, push the guys in front of me and make sure that they’re ready for the weekend, all the while attempting to prove that I belong out on the pitch.  Playing well in reserve matches is also big for me.

It’s undeniable that we need to improve things defensively but at the same time, it’s not fair (or even correct criticism) to only blame the “defense”/back four.  Defense is something that the team plays collectively, or shirks collectively.  Defense starts up top and goes all the way back to the goalkeeper so it’s not fair to blame only the back four, as many prefer to do.  As a group, a team of 11 on the pitch, we need to step up our collective defensive efforts and find a fiery mentality about pressing together and getting numbers behind the ball.  As a group of 28 players on the roster, we need to look within ourselves and find another level.  I feel that we have the quality to find our way again, but talent always needs to be coupled with the correct mentality.  I think if we can do those things, we will find our winning ways again.

3.  Hiya Jules, I’m sure you’ve read the reports about the Revs and Dynamo agreeing to share the prize money for the SuperLiga Final. Don “The Don” Garber has since come out and said it wouldn’t be allowed because it violates the Collective Bargain Agreement. What do you think about SuperLiga and the agreement between the clubs?

-Jay S.

Jay S. – First of all, I like the SuperLiga.  I’ve watched a number of the games and the level has been pretty good.  It’s also good to see the rivalries growing between Mexican and American clubs – and sometimes even getting out of control.  Nevertheless, I think the SuperLiga has been a good thing and hope that it continues to grow over the next few years.

In terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and the protest by the clubs, I support their stance and respect their commitment.  Of course, if it does violate the CBA, as Commissioner Garber said, it becomes a problem and will require further conversations between the Player’s Union and the league.  The CBA is something that both the league and Player’s Union agreed to and both sides must uphold.  Regardless of how it all plays out, the players have made their stance clear – they have stated their desire for more say in the allotment of the overall prize money.

And if there was ever a question about final game becoming a meaningless friendly because of the equal money prize, I think that was firmly squashed on Tuesday night.  The game was entertaining to watch as both teams went after each other for 120 minutes plus PKs.

Regardless of what happens with this situation, the sharing of prize money definitely shows how united the players are on the issue and how much we care about making the league better for us players.  It’s definitely a hot issue right now and will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

Thanks to everyone for the quality questions this week.  Feel free to send your own to Julian@americansoccerreader.com.  I also welcome suggestions for my column.  If there’s anything that you want me to write about, please let me know and I will consider it!

That’s all for tonight.  Take care everyone and I’ll be back with more next Thursday.

-jules

Welcome back again everyone - thanks for joining me!  I hope that you enjoy today’s article.

Looking Back & Looking Ahead

Well, we lost 4-0 to FC Dallas last Sunday.  It was a really bad result and, to be honest, I don’t really feel like talking about it or giving a synopsis of what happened.  It may not be the most honest journalism but, it’s my column and I can do what I want.  It’s one of those games that you just need to learn your lessons and move on.

Looking ahead, we travel to San Jose this weekend.  It’s obviously a big game for us as we look to get a win and get back on the right track.  The good news is that we’re still in the mix in the Western Conference standings – tied for second and only 4 points behind Real Salt Lake in first place.  San Jose is a good team who’s recently been stocking up with a number of new signings including former Premiership player Darren Huckerby, Brazilian journeyman Francisco Lima, Arturo Alvarez, and Scott Sealy.  Last time we were up north, there was a big crowd at the Oakland Coliseum and it was a good win for us.  We hope to repeat that performance this weekend!

This Week

On the pitch, this week has been sort of a gut check.  Training has been extremely intense and we’re focused solely on San Jose.  With a Sunday match, it has given us ample time to train and work on different things.

But life can’t be all business and Tuesday night was a sweet night.  All of the guys who live in our apartment complex – Alvaro Pires, Brandon McDonald, Ely Allen, Michael Gavin, and myself – took a trip down the 405 Freeway to a place called Boomers.  Boomers is Mecca for an 8-year-old.  This place has bumper cars and bumper boats, go-carts, an arcade, a Ferris wheel, two mini-golf courses, and batting cages.

We wanted to try our hands in the batting cages.  I did not ease into things at all and went straight into the “Very Fast” 70 MPH pitches.  It took a few strikes to adjust to the speed but before long I was smacking the pitches out into the netting like Chase Utley and Pat Burrell.  I was surprised by how fast a 70 MPH pitch was and I gained a lot of respect for baseball players who can hit 90 MPH curve balls 450 feet.  After my time was up in the “Very Fast” pitch, I had to move down because my hands hurt so badly and I couldn’t take it anymore without gloves.

Brandon, the natural athlete, was belting some serious dingers in the cage.  Ely the lefty pulled a lot of his hits down the first base line but had a good showing for himself.  Gavin was probably the most consistent performer on the afternoon.  He’d played baseball in the past and he made constant contact and had the best looking batting stance.  Not that the batting stance really made a difference but it definitely made him look more credible.

Speaking of batting stances, I’d have to say that the surprise performance of the day came from Alvaro the Brazilian.  I don’t even know if he’d ever held a baseball bat before but he was making some pretty good contact.  His stance was all over the place and looked like a mix between Jeff Bagwell and a praying mantis.  See these links for a visual reference:

But it doesn’t really matter because he quite efficient behind the plate.

We were all pretty good at the cages and then went to hit the mini-links with a friendly 5 dollar wager paid to the winner.  From the first hole, I’d have to say, this one was a no-contest.  I came out of the blocks with a -1 and never looked back.  Mini-golf is one of those things that’s all about confidence and not getting too mad at yourself.  I kept my cool, through good holes and bad, and put together a consistent performance, taking home the grand prize while the others crumbled around me, nearly throwing their putters like Happy Gilmore.  I threw away the scores but the finishing order went as follows: Valentin, Allen, McDonald, Gavin, Pires.

It was nice to be an 8-year-old for a night.

Around the World

Another one of my favorite websites is www.worldstadiums.com.  Sometimes when I’m bored, I’ll go to this site and look at some of the cool stadiums from around the world.  It’s also fun to go to an exotic country like Fiji or Iraq (maybe not exotic) and look at their stadiums.  So today I thought that I’d do a countdown of the top 10 stadiums that I have played in during my career.  I have been other stadiums that would definitely be on this list but unless I made it on the pitch, I’m not counting them.  Enjoy “My Top 10 Stadiums:”

10.  Veritas Stadion – Turku, Finland

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/finland/turku_veritas.shtml

This stadium was one of the venues of the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Cup.  This Finnish stadium makes the list almost purely on nostalgic value.  We lost to Brazil 3-0 in the quarterfinals and I came on in the 80^th minute or so, but it was my first big international tournament appearance.

9.  Meadow Lane – Nottingham, England

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/united_kingdom/england/east_midlands/nottingham_meadow.shtml

I played in this small, charming Nottingham County stadium during a tournament a number years ago.  The crowd was quite good and I was a part of the first American team to beat England in England.

8.  PAETEC Park – Rochester, USA

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/united_states/new_york/rochester_paetec.shtml

During one of our tune-up matches for the U-20 World Cup this past summer, we played Argentina in Rochester Rhino’s stadium, PAETEC Park.  Even though it is a synthetic surface, it’s a beautiful stadium and perfect size for soccer in the US.

7.  Stadio Arechi – Salerno, Italy

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/europe/italy/campania/salerno_arechi.shtml

I played in this stadium a long time ago in Salerno, Italy but I still remember it clearly.  The stands are extremely tall and it feels as if you’re playing in a box.  A small seaside town, the Salerno mountains provide a nice backdrop for the pitch.

6.  Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá – San Jose, Costa Rica

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/middle_america/costa_rica/san_jose_saprissa.shtml

This stadium in Costa Rica was a rowdy venue for an intra-regional friendly.  Home of Costa Rican giants Saprissa, this stadium sometimes hosts heated US-Costa Rica derbies.  This was also one of my first international events and it was a memorable experience to play in this stadium at such a young age.

5.  BMO Field – Toronto, Canada

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/canada/ontario/toronto_bmo.shtml

BMO Field gets lots of publicity because of the passionate and boisterous fan base of Toronto FC but the stadium is a great place to play a game and see a game.  The fans are right on top of the field and with the CN Tower in the background it’s a beautiful site in downtown Toronto.  Again, a synthetic surface is the only downside to this stadium but it’s the only a small complaint for such a fantastic venue.

4.  Estadio Rommel Fernandez – Panama City, Panama

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/middle_america/panama/panama_city_fernandez.shtml

During CONCACAF qualifying for the U-20 World Cup, we played in this Panamanian national stadium.  Because it was expected to be an all-or-nothing match for the home side, over 20,000 red fans came to watch us play the home side in the final qualifying match.  The home fans were subjected to a 5-0 thrashing of their team as we cruised to the World Cup in Canada.  It was a good, hostile atmosphere for an important match.

3. Home Depot Center – Carson, USA

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/united_states/california/los_angeles_home_depot.shtml

Although I’ve yet to make my debut with the Galaxy, I’ve played in the Home Depot Center several times before.  It is the premier soccer stadium in the US and sets the tone for all other soccer-specific stadiums.  It’s a pleasure to call this place home.

2.  Montreal Olympic Stadium – Montreal, Canada

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/canada/quebec/montreal_olympic.shtml

This stadium was one of the main venues of the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup.  We played South Korea and Poland in this stadium that had about 45,000 people at each game.  Although it’s a giant dome and had a synthetic surface lain down, driving up to this stadium and going underneath to the locker rooms was amazing.  It’s also really cool how that big weird building goes over it and amazing to play in an Olympic stadium.

1.  Busan Asiad Main Stadium – Busan, South Korea

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/asia/south_korea/busan/busan_wc.shtml

This 2002 World Cup stadium is by far the best stadium that I’ve ever played in.  Packed with 36,000 fans I played in this stadium several times, in two different tournaments, against South Korea, Poland, Brazil, and Argentina.  The architecture is beautiful.  It is colorful and when packed with fans, the acoustics create an incredible environment.

Q & A

1.  Hi Julian, tell us about the new signing, Eduardo Dominguez. What’s he like, how’s his play looking, is he fitting in with the defensive system, and do you think he’ll be starting in the center of the back line soon? Also, which coach spends the most time working with the defense on the Galaxy? Does Ruud Gullit work with all parts of the team, or does he specialize in the offense?Also, if you had a chance to play in a league outside of the USA which is not the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, or the Bundesliga, where would you play? Any interest in somewhere like Australia, Norway, Turkey, etc.? Would you ever consider playing in Mexico or South America?-Jay, Los Angeles

Jay in LA – Lots of good questions from you – keep them coming!  Eduardo is a good guy, nice and sort of quiet.  He has a good soccer brain, he’s clean technically, and composed in the back.  I think that he fits in our system well and he can help us out defensively.  It’s been nice getting to know him.

Coach Gullit works with all units of the team.  Saying that, he’s been helping the forwards work on their runs and coordinating movements.  But he definitely covers it all.

Interesting question about playing in a foreign league that’s not one of the “big leagues.”  I think it would be a good experience to play in Turkey.  The Turkish league is a good level with lots of good players and a few very good clubs.  It would also be interesting to live there and immerse myself in a culture that is not Western-European culture.

I don’t think that I would consider playing in South America – and definitely not Mexico.  My style of play would not be conducive to the style of play in Latin American leagues and they typically have rosters full of Latin American players anyways.2.  Were you at all hesitant after the injury in the national championship game? Even for a week or two after? I was wondering if suffering an injury like that factored into your game play, even temporarily, thanks!

-Crystal T

Crystal T – Good question.  I have to admit that there was a time after my facial injury where I was a bit tentative.  Even though I had a couple months for everything to heal up again, I was hesitant to “put my head in harm’s way” for a short time after my plastic surgery.  And then I kept reopening my facial scars so that didn’t help either!  Even with the Full90 for protection, which I continue to wear to protect my facial scars and prevent concussions, I needed unpsych myself out.

Now I’m back to my old ways, fearless and putting my body on the line for the team.  I think I just needed to get over it…or something.  I actually got a new cut above my eyebrow during the Toulon tournament earlier this year.  Just another day at the office…

3.  I was wondering, as a player, if there was one thing you could change about Major League Soccer, what would it be and why?

-Will, Santa Barbara

Will – There are actually a number of things that I would change about our league but the most important thing to me is getting rid of Developmental salaries and raising the minimum salary.  This issue affects me directly and the money is definitely out there.  Everyone knows that most players in MLS don’t make a whole lot of money but the fact that Developmental players make either $17,700 or $12,900 annually is embarrassing for the league.  Many developmental players are rookies and it’s nearly impossible to live off of this amount of money without help.  And it just sucks when you see NFL and NBA rookies are making millions.  WNBA rookies make about $30,000 according to several websites.  The fact the league allows for that is sort of ridiculous but this issue only affects a percentage of the players in the league (myself included), players with no say in anything, so a lot of people just ignore it.

Thanks a lot for all of your great questions and make sure to keep them coming to Julian@americansoccerreader.com!

I hope that you enjoyed today’s article.  Thanks so much for joining me and I’ll see you next week!  Peace.

-jules

Hey Ya’ll! Hope that everyone is doing well! Again I want to apologize for not getting my blog out on time. I am sorry for that and promise I will not make it a habit!

Since my last post MLS inter-league p