Balotelli embarrasses himself!

I have no words.

LA vs. Columbus recap

Sean Franklin's long range bomb gave the Los Angeles Galaxy a 1-0 win over the Columbus Crew on Wednesday in a match the Galaxy never looked like losing. Sean Franklin scored his first MLS goal and eventual match winner on Wednesday night at the Home Depot Center. Finally being recognized as one of the league elite full backs, he is an MLS all star for the first time in his career and adds that accolade to his Rookie of the Year honors.

Galaxy took control early on and never really lost control but didn't have the finishing touch on the night. Much of this has to go on Juan Pablo Angel's shoulders. The designated player has not lived up to his billing since joining for his first season with the Galaxy. He looks a shadow of his former self who used to put them away for fun in his New York days. Bruce Arena needs to figure something out fast, the output from the strikers this season has been shocking and isn't MLS Cup winning quality. There were rumors of a move for Turkish striker Nihat but nothing ever materialized and I for one am not surprised considering the fact that LA already has three DP's on its books. If Angel doesn't come good by the end of the season the Galaxy should definitely considering cutting ties from JPA.

Chileans on the move!

The first big name signing has been completed as Barca have completed the signing of versatile forward Alexis Sanchez from Udinese. San Francisco Chronicle is reporting the fee to be around 54 million US. The signing will only make the best club team in the world better, he can play anywhere across Barca's front three and is creative/talented enough to allow Pep Guardiola to rest Messi against some of the La Liga minnows. Presentation and medical will be on Monday, so I don't have any pictures of him in a Barca shirt.

With the signing of Alexis Sanchez completed Barcelona young'in Bojan Kirkic has left to Italian giants Roma for a chance at first team action. It's a signing that has been widely reported but is only just getting finalized. Bojan will link up with former Barcelona B coach and new Roma coach Luis Enrique at Roma where he will compete with Marco Boriello for a starting spot just ahead of Franceso Totti. It appears Mirko Vucinic is on his way to England to play for Spurs so Bojan won't find a better environment or chance to prove that he is of the highest caliber. Barcelona will have the option to buy Bojan back in 2 years should he meet his potential, which suits them taking into account David Villa's age.

Juventus have signed Arturo Vidal from German team Bayer Leverkusen for 15 mil, according to multiple reports. Hes a talented box to box player who will be their midfield star for many years to come, and will partner veteran play maker Andrea Pirlo in a new look Juventus midfield. He will probably be one of their mos important players for this coming campaign if they are to qualify for the Champions League after the match fixing scandal that they have yet to recover from. 

This move saw current Juve midfielder Felipe Melo move on a seasons long loan to Turkish giants Galtasaray with an option to buy. While Melo is much maligned and often a hot and cold player this move makes no sense to me, if anything you should keep him around for squad depth and his undeniable potential. A midfield trio of Vidal, Melo, and Pirlo would be one of the most formidable in Serie A but with this loss it only leaves more questions for Juve fans before the start of the next campaign.

Break Shea does TFC dirty.

Brek Shea is the baddest man in MLS right now, scoring multiple screamers and quickly establishing himself as an elite MLS player. The potential has always been there and we have seen flashes of it since he joined Dallas but he is finally starting to bring it on a nightly basis and is now tied atop the MLS scoring chart. Dallas fans couldn't have asked for a better time after star player and DP David Ferreira went down earlier in the season.

Last night he single handedly brought Dallas all three points against the new look TFC team complete with new star player Torsten Frings, who Shea burns en route to another wonderful goal. Check the video.

Today's Action

Sounders vs. Manchester United
The red hot Sounders welcome Manchester United to CenturyLink field as part of the World Football Challenge tonight on FSC. The Sounders are perhaps the team most capable of causing and upset in all of tonight's action. Designated player Fredy Montero will improve on his great form over the past couple of weeks and Osvaldo Alonso will show everyone why he should have been on the All Star team to take on Manchester United.

Los Angeles vs. Columbus
The top team in MLS welcomes the Columbus Crew to the HDC tonight in what looks to be a pretty straight forward match on paper. The Galaxy are yet to lose at home this season and are riding a 12 game unbeaten run. I think a draw or a narrow one nil win for the Galaxy are in order especially after some poor results in the World Football Challenge and US Open Cup.

Real Madrid vs. Chivas USA
Not much to say about this one, I expect Real Madrid to wipe the floor with Chivas USA days after beating the Galaxy 4-1. This Chivas teams is one of the poorest in MLS and this Madrid team showed no mercy to the Galaxy.

Also, FSC has picked up the WPS match between the Western New York Flash and MagicJack. Around 15,000 are expected to be in attendance for this game welcoming back the USWNT stars. Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, Hope Solo, and Marta will all be on show in New York tonight.

Tidbits

Altidore to the Netherlands?

Jozy Altidore looks poised to start a new chapter in his young career, reportedly on the verge of joining Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. Hopefully he can get regular first team action and a chance to prove his so far untapped potential. It's obvious the multitude of loan deals wasn't doing him any good, so maybe being in this more permanent setting will help him keep his mind on his game.

Hargreaves to Whitecaps?

Vancouver have finally made their interest in former Manchester United midfielder and current free agent Owen Hargreaves official, but can a deal be done? The player has been posting youtube videos in an attempt to prove his fitness to potential suitors. Should Hargreaves join the Whitecaps he would immediately become their best midfield option and would help fill the gap left by recently departed Terry Dunfield.

Casey out for season.

Another big blow for MLS as another one of its marqee stars goes down following Javier Morales and David Ferreira, however they might make it back for the playoffs. Casey will not after tearing his Achilles tendon in a no contact situation against the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink field on Saturday. The Rapids will now rely heavily on their other big star attacking play in Omar Cummings and young talent like Quincy Amarikwa and Macoumba Kandji.

Women's World Cup Pt.2

Homare Sawa and co. were able to overcome attack after attack from the US women to win the FIFA Women's World Cup on penalty kicks. Credit to Japan for their never say die attitude but the Americans only have themselves to blame for not being able to replicate the memorable 1999 win. Their poor finishing and poor defending were their downfall, they completely outplayed Japan bar a couple 5 to 10 minute spurts. Japan's 2 goals came out of nowhere, both against the run of play and both after the US had seemingly put themselves out of reach.

I'm surprised that we have yet to see a scapegoat named yet for the United States shocking loss. Look no further than Rachel Buehler who was at fault for both goals. Multiple factors could explain this poor showing, being thrown into a World Cup Final after missing the last game, perhaps it was a mental thing after her red card dismissal against Brazil? Regardless, there is no excuse for what she did on the first goal and I am surprised no journalists have touched on this. Even at the recreational level you're told to never pass or kick the ball across the face of goal and that is exactly what she did, IN A WORLD CUP FINAL! I don't care if it was last ditch defending and she was doing whatever she could that should have been seared into her brain after 15+ years playing the game. She also didn't properly track Homare Sawa on the corner kick that sent the game to penalty kicks, while not nearly as much of an abomination as her first miscue its still very frustrating to see someone play so badly in such an important game. These were probably the only two moments in the game where she was called upon and she failed miserably both times.

Overall we should be proud of the US Women for their performances at the World Cup but in the end they failed to reach their goal/destiny after overcoming all the odds in what seemed like the perfect set of circumstances.

Umami Burger

Yesterday my family and I went to Umami Burger on Hollywood Boulevard. As the name implies, it's an asian themed hamburger restaurant that specializes in high end hamburgers. I got the Manly Burger which has "beer-cheddar cheese, smoked salt onion strings, bacon lardons". I'm not sold on the fancy ass names they give their ingredients, the bacon tasted like bacon, the onion strings tasted like onion strings, and the cheddar cheese tasted like cheddar cheese. I didn't taste any beer or any smoke. That being said I still really enjoyed my meal, especially the truffle cheese fires which you can see in the picture above. The burger in that picture is not mine, fyi. The Mexican Coke was like the cherry on top. It was a great meal and I hope to go back soon.

Los Angeles Galaxy-Real Madrid

It's the same story once again as a former Beckham employer comes to LA to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy in a friendly match at the LA Coliseum. Despite the impending "carmageddon" a sellout is still expected as fans will come from far and wide to see the marquee names duke it out. Beckham, Ronaldo, Donovan, Mourinho, all on show tonight.

Last time these two sides met the Galaxy ran out to a 2-0 lead, only to be brought back down to earth by a Madrid side that wasn't prepared to take that kind of hit early on in the second coming of the galacticos. Expect a similar match this time, although I think a much lower score is in store for us.

Don't be surprised if the Galaxy manage to sneak out with a win this time, both Beckham and Donovan will want to make an impression for the fans. Madrid have had another blockbuster summer, signings multiple world class players to add to their already magnificent squad. Although the cohesion could be an issue for Jose Mourinho and co.

Toronto FC transfer activity

Toronto FC have been extremely active this week in the transfer market. On top of adding two designated players in Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans they have been reinforcing with smaller names in attempt to improve on what has been a dismal season so far.

Their first move saw them give up Alan Gordon, Nana Attakora, Jacob Peterson, and an international player spot to get Jamaican forward Ryan Johnson. Not a huge fan of this trade, they definitley needed more attacking options in wide areas which is exactly what Ryan Johnson will give them but they gave up a whole heck of a lot to get him. Including a quality backup striker in Alan Gordon, someone who can come off the bench whenever and immediately make an impact. In my opinion Johnson isn't that much better than Alan Gordon so to lose Alan Gordon, 2 more players, and an international spot represents very poor business.

The second move saw them send Tony Tchani to Columbus to get Andy Iro and Leandre Griffit. This one will really work well for TFV I think. They had way too many defensive midfielders to begin with and adding Torsten Frings meant someone had to go. I don't think Julian De Guzman has shown himself to be any better than Tchani but he is the clubs first DP and a Canadian international so Tchani was the obvious candidate to get the boot. Iro should be immediately be moved into Toronto's starting XI and will definitley help solidify a defense that has been horrible all season long. Griffit has played a small role for Columbus since joining but will have more of a chance to get into the starting line up in Toronto due to how poor their wide players are across the board.

Hopefully these moves workout for TFC, its bad for the league when a team with such a rabid fan base is always among the worst teams at the end of every season.

Women's World Cup

Women's soccer is the buzz world now around the US as we anxiously await the final on Sunday. Not since the famous final in 1999 has a women's sporting event been so publicized in the United States. 

The Women's World Cup comes to an end this weekend, the US ladies will face Japan in the final at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Germany. After a strong start the U.S ladies were humbled by Sweden, only to respond in heroic fashion against Brazil. Against all odds, including many poor calls from the referee such as rewarding Brazil a penalty for a 50/50 challenge and then turning down a clear cut US penalty later on in regulation. As we all know by now, Abby Wambach managed to tie it up in the 122nd minute to send the game to penalties, which the US ladies eventually won 5-3 courtesy of a save from Hope Solo.

That game against Brazil was one of the most entertaining soccer games I have ever seen in my life, regardless of gender. The emotions, and the character that was displayed from the US women made for a great story and a great finish to the game. The fight and the heroics are typical from US teams regardless of sport and the way Brazil acted throughout the game made them an easy villain for the US to overcome.

This Japan team has been one of the surprises of the tournament so far and play some of the best soccer at the tournament, they will be a very fine opposition and should not be underestimated by the US team despite their small stature and relative obscurity when it comes to the women's game. They keep the ball on the ground and work it into the goal, they rely on their understanding and their technical ability to win games.

While I think Japan will be a great opponent and a tough one for the US in the final its hard for me to look past the United States in this game. Expect players like Hope Solo and Abby Wambach to step up on the big occasion, US to win 1-0.