Quick Hits: May 21, 2009
Kartik Krishnaiyer May 21, 2009 Leagues: Major League Soccer, News and Notes 3 Comments
Indios face Pachuca in the first leg of the Clausura semifinals. In addition to captivating the US based FMF audience recently, Indios has also used its late season run to develop a genuine defensive option for Bob Bradley and the nation in Marco Vidal. Vidal has openly stated that he would welcome a call up to one of this summer's tournaments, and earlier in the week I proposed he be part of the Confederations Cup squad. Vidal will face off with American midfielder Jose Francisco Torres and Pachuca tonight. Pachuca is the closest thing we have in North America to Barcelona or Manchester United. Under Enrique Meza the club is free flowing and attack minded. The stars of the club like Gimenez, Caballero, Alvarez and Calero are among the most recognizable club footballers in this part of the world. So once again the odds are staked against Indios but I wouldn't count them out just yet. The first leg airs on Azteca America tonight at 8pm ET
American attacker Jemel Johnson is leaving MK Dons after thier English League One playoff exit last week.
Colin Clarke is getting some heat in Puerto Rico for fielding a second team in this past Sunday's CFU Championship which the Islanders lost 2-1. Clarke's logic was that in the middle of the USL-1 campaign, the regulars were needed simply to get the Islanders to the final which carries with it an automatic CONCACAF Champions League birth. Thomas Rongen used the same stratgey in the U-23 Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the US last year and also lost the final.
DC United defeated Red Bull 5-3 last night in a US Open Cup qualifier and now heads to the competition to defend their title. The big star last night, was surprise, Chris Pontius the all everything rookie. The Red Bulls now can focus on CONCACAF Champions LEague play and the MLS season.
Miami FC debuted two celebrated Cuban defectors last night in Reiner Alcantara and Pedro Faife. Both had waited over a month to get clearance to play professionally from the USSF. Despite their best efforts Miami FC dropped its fourth straight match 1-0 in Charleston against the Battery.
Another episode of the Major League Soccer Talk podcast will be released tomorrow afternoon featuring conversations with Martin Rogers from Yahoo! Sports about the summer gauntlet facing the US National Team and with Ryan Knapp the director of public relations for the NPSL about the new season for the league which serves as the 4th tier of American football on the USSF pyramid.
kartik krishnaiyer
A lifelong lover of soccer, the beautiful game, he served from January 2010 until May 2013 as the Director of Communications and Public Relations for the North American Soccer League (NASL). Raised on the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the old NASL, Krishnaiyer previously hosted the American Soccer Show on the Champions Soccer Radio Network, the Major League Soccer Talk podcast and the World Soccer Talk Podcast. His soccer writing has been featured by several media outlets including The Guardian and The Telegraph. He is the author of the books 'Blue With Envy' about Manchester City FC, and 'Soccerwarz' about the MLS, USL and NASL infighting.
Max May 21, 2009
Charleston looks like they have a very strong team this season.
Red Bull. What else is new?
Mexican Football May 21, 2009
That was a great match in Juarez City. The Indians never let up on Pachuca, and they can hold their heads high, even though they more than likely have played the last home game of the season.
Pachuca is a phenomenal team. They are the North American team of the 2000s. It's gonna be great to see them return to Concachampions competition this summer. I hope they maintain their high level of play throughout, and close out the decade with yet another continental title.
Brian May 22, 2009
Here in Houston, we are very familiar with Pachuca and hold that team in high respect. It's also a great rivarly, so I'd love to see Houston and Pachuca play each other in the CCL this summer.