Archive: September 09, 2007 - September 15, 2007
Shanghai Delight
Well, that was awkward. As the U.S. team awaited to board an Air China flight from Chengdu to Shanghai this morning, the Nigerian team arrived at the gate. Opponents on Tuesday, travel acquaintances today. Can you imagine, say, the men's teams from Argentina and Italy on the same commercial flight...
By Steve Goff | September 15, 2007; 6:02 AM ET | Comments (31)
United Fills a Developmental Slot
Today is the MLS roster freeze deadline, and D.C. United has made a move -- trading a conditional pick in the 2008 draft to Chicago or F Jerson Monteiro. Some of you may remember him ... This year, Monteiro has seen time in five League matches (one start), notching a...
By Jon DeNunzio | September 14, 2007; 5:05 PM ET | Comments (10)
W2W4TW, non-WWC*
Hey there, Jon DeNunzio here. Just thought I'd run through a few thoughts on the weekend in soccer, outside of the Women's World Cup (four matches Saturday morning on ESPN/ESPN2, btw). - Fox Soccer Channel has the North London Derby at 8:30 am Saturday. Spurs have not been good, but...
By Jon DeNunzio | September 14, 2007; 2:30 PM ET | Comments (60)
World Cup Matchday: USA-Sweden
For those checking in from the States, a good very early morning. After spending my final full day in Chengdu at the extraordinary panda reserve north of town, witnessing a road rage incident in which the guys in the nice car took metal poles to the shabby vehicle (I can...
By Steve Goff | September 14, 2007; 3:46 AM ET | Comments (103)
Post-RSL Quotes
Via Paul Tenorio. Sorry for the delay. Keep postgame thoughts coming. Game story, in which Gros calls Fred a "jackrabbit." MLSNet story on the return of the RSL Four. Salt Lake Tribune game story, in which Jason Kreis says RSL should feel good about their performance. Soehn on the team's...
By Dan Steinberg | September 13, 2007; 8:31 AM ET | Comments (78)
Chengdu by Foot
For the first time since my arrival, I looked up and saw the sky. Yes, the actual sky. Mind you, it's not San Diego sky, but at least it's no longer obscured by that strange brew of sulfur, fog and haze. The timing could not have been better. For...
By Steve Goff | September 13, 2007; 3:19 AM ET | Comments (20)
Matchday 25: RSL at United
Greetings from Estadio RFK, as Goff would say. I'm Paul Tenorio, the newbie here at the Post, and once again I'll be trying to fill Goff's shoes today which, trust me, is no easy feat (no pun intended). Should be a great game today as D.C. welcomes back former United...
By Dan Steinberg | September 12, 2007; 7:13 PM ET | Comments (78)
Greetings From Esky and Rimando
Just got off the phone with Alecko Eskandarian. He's in his hotel room, killing time until tonight. He's already done the USA Today crossword puzzle. Now he's watching "ATL" and messing around on Facebook and MySpace. "Game days are the worst days ever," he said. "Man, they're so boring...
By Dan Steinberg | September 12, 2007; 3:34 PM ET | Comments (23)
Today in Eagles (Spoiler Alert)
With Goff momentarily down for the count (but he already managed to file his story for the paper!!!!), I'm going to post my admittedly ignorant take on the USA's Rugby World Cup match from this morning. I know of at least five Insider readers with a rugby interest, so I...
By Dan Steinberg | September 12, 2007; 12:37 PM ET | Comments (9)
Today's Papers
(Lois Raimondo - The Washington Post) Notes while wondering how long until Goff and I can make a living with TheSoccerBlog.Com, or whatever it should be called..... My story in the dead-tree edition about Luciano Emilio. Among other things, the Honduran question is discussed. He's very well aware of...
By Dan Steinberg | September 12, 2007; 11:13 AM ET | Comments (37)
U.S. Thoughts
Plenty of quality storylines to explore leading up to the U.S.-Sweden Women's World Cup match here Friday in Chengdu, all of which I will chronicle in my Thursday print edition story. For now, I offer you a few lively quotes from the U.S. media briefing this afternoon at the team...
By Steve Goff | September 12, 2007; 3:12 AM ET | Comments (28)
The Only Way to Travel
On Tuesday night, following the U.S. women's team's 2-2 with North Korea here in Chengdu, USA Today reporter Sal Ruibal and I decided to bolt the stadium and get our work done back at the hotel. Taxis are omnipresent and very cheap, and with a Sheraton on the stadium grounds,...
By Steve Goff | September 11, 2007; 9:00 PM ET | Comments (21)
On Soccer Players and Marathons
Josh Gros, running. (Toni L. Sandys - TWP) While waiting for the media to finish up at training today, Bryan Namoff was muttering to himself about Gros's fitness, calling him "the fittest man alive" and "the energizer bunny" and so on. I asked for clarification. "It's unfair, the genetics...
By Dan Steinberg | September 11, 2007; 3:59 PM ET | Comments (49)
Pre-RSL Training Report
Notes from a damp day at the Estadio RFK Training Grounds.... Josh Gros said his head injuries are still in the back of his mind a bit, so to speak, but that he expects such thoughts will diminish as the days go by. Physically, he said he experienced no discomfort...
By Dan Steinberg | September 11, 2007; 3:04 PM ET | Comments (44)
Gomito Goes Posh
Hey, just back from DCU training, nothing dramatic to report but I will indeed have a full report within the next couple hours. In the meantime, I'd advise you all to rush out and buy ESPN Deportes the Magazine's Septembre issue, which has both a massive Christian Gomez spread...
By Dan Steinberg | September 11, 2007; 12:54 PM ET | Comments (14)
USA-North Korea Aftermath
Before I dive into my complete game report that will appear in the print edition and on the Web site later, I wanted to share the night's other scores and a few postgame quotes. Nigeria scored late to tie favored Sweden, 1-1, so all four teams in Group B are...
By Steve Goff | September 11, 2007; 10:04 AM ET | Comments (21)
The Woes of Chivas
Interesting L.A. Times story this AM about the woes of Chivas USA. Incredible lede: Chivas USA defender Lawson Vaughn says the guessing game starts during warm-ups about how low that day's attendance will be at the Home Depot Center in Carson. "Then we come out and listen to the national...
By Dan Steinberg | September 11, 2007; 9:45 AM ET | Comments (18)
World Cup Matchday: USA-North Korea
Greetings again from Sichuan province, where the Americans' long-awaited World Cup opener will kick off at 5 p.m. local time, 5 a.m. in the Eastern U.S. Before we get started with the match, I wanted to share some financial details of the USSF's player contracts. In the absence of a...
By Steve Goff | September 11, 2007; 1:45 AM ET | Comments (62)
That's Right, 11-0
Hello again. Blame lingering jet lag. If I only I could conjure a "Zzzzzz" right now. Burned 'em all on the D.C. United stadium prospects, I guess. Learned my lesson. So, how do you like Argentina's prospects of advancing? ;-) 11-0 losses have a way of sapping morale. To summarize:...
By Steve Goff | September 10, 2007; 1:34 PM ET | Comments (31)
U.S. Men's Thread
Optimistic Jonah Freedman column. Chicago Tribune story, with the U.S. suggesting they perhaps deserved a bit better. KC Star story, mentioning the "12 glorious minutes" in which the U.S. led. Straightforward AP account. Your thoughts go here....
By Dan Steinberg | September 10, 2007; 10:17 AM ET | Comments (31)
Final Preparations for U.S. Women [updated]
Good evening here in Chengdu, good morning in America land. Much of the discussion in U.S. camp the last couple days has centered around their opening opponents, those mysterious North Koreans, and their emergence on the world scene. Preparing for North Korea is not the same as preparing for, say,...
By Steve Goff | September 10, 2007; 5:38 AM ET | Comments (50)
DCU Aftermath (Gros Speaks)
(By Kevin Wolf - AP) And yes, for a while there I was wondering whether DCU would outscore the local NFL team. First of all, a major tip of the cap to Washington Post newcomer Paul Tenorio, who not only wrote a great game report but also brought us...
By Dan Steinberg | September 9, 2007; 10:59 PM ET | Comments (37)
Matchday 24: Revs at DCU [Updated]
Hola from, er, um, Estadio FedEx Field. Sigh.... Obviously doesn't get much bigger than this for a regular season tilt in September. A win here and United is undefeated in eight with a clear path to the Supporters Shield. Black and Red haven't lost at home since April. Probably...
By Dan Steinberg | September 9, 2007; 12:59 PM ET | Comments (70)
Welcome to Chengdu
The early-morning fog has lifted in the capital of Sichuan province to expose ... the city's grayness. The sun is peeking through the haze and the air is acceptable -- if you don't have much use for oxygen. In case you missed my maiden Insider/China post Saturday, I have arrived...
By Steve Goff | September 9, 2007; 12:15 AM ET | Comments (24)
