This Is American Soccer, US Soccer, MNT, WNT, and MLS - Tackling the subject of Soccer in the US, and worldwide.

photo from fulhamfc.com

It wasn’t virtuosic, but that’s not Clint Dempsey’s game. Not yet anyhow, but it might not be too far down the road, because hard nose to the highway is this kid’s manner, and it showed on Saturday as he had a head (or foot) in each of Fulham’s 3 goals to tie Tottenham, one of the stronger teams (on paper) in the English Premier League. I can’t think of a more apt weekend for his production, as Clint is the definition of work, effort, labor.

It begs the question, as we celebrate the nation’s hard workers - most productive in the world they say - which American has had the best single-game perfomance?

Hurricane Katrina floods, devastates New Orleans. photo credit: Tyrone Turner for National Geographic.

Two years ago this week Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States altering the relationship between Americans and the environment, or did it?

That same week, two years ago today in fact, the day the levees broke, this here website got its start at a World Cup qualifying game chronicled in the inaugural piece, Breaking Tupperware with the US MNT and The PTA.

And there, in East Hartford, Connecticut, I remember sport once again filling the void left by disaster and in need of relief…
Click HERE for the full story…

Kabul, Afghanistan, 2006. Credit: Rodrigo Abd for the AP.

That road to hell, as they say, is paved with good intentions. And along the road this weekend in Afghanistan are seemingly endless poppy fields, maybe a soccer field or two if you look hard enough.

BBC reported this morning that the United States thorough understanding of Islamic piety continues to baffle in mountainous nation:

“A demonstration has been held in south-east Afghanistan accusing US troops of insulting Islam after they distributed footballs bearing the name of Allah. The balls showed the Saudi Arabian flag which features the Koranic declaration of faith… Some displayed flags from countries all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, which features the shahada, one of the five pillars of Islam - the declaration of faith. The balls were intended as a gift to Afghan children. The words, which include the name of Allah, are revered, and Muslims are very sensitive about where and how they can be used. Saudi Arabia has complained to the World Cup’s ruling body in the past about the use of its flag on footballs.”

Beckham lines up a free kick. So many they were, I can’t remember if this one went in or not.

It’s late late Saturday night. After 48 hours following David Beckham around New York City, did you think I wasn’t going out after the game? No, not with Beckham, but that’s nice of you to assume. Now to this crazy game… Click HERE for the full story…

HARLEM YOUTH SOCCER CLUB’S 15 MINUTES OF FAME, HANDED DOWN BY DAVID BECKHAM, WILL LAST LONGER WITH THE CONSTRUCTION NEXT YEAR OF A “WORLD CLASS” SOCCER FIELD IN THE BOROUGH

David Beckham and Ty Harden arrived in Harlem an hour early for the soccer clinic created for 30-or-so lucky FC Harlem under-12’s. The Red Bulls’ Juan Pablo Angel and Jozy Altidore, stuck in traffic, arrived about an hour later. Which was a good thing, because after experiencing first hand the blood thirsty papparazzi in action, I don’t want to think what would have happened if it was the other way around.

The photographers were crazier than the fans, and arguably outnumbered them. And there I am with my little Pentax Optio point-and-shoot in a sea of Canon SLR Cameras with lenses the size of my leg. Size has its priviledge. They got their HD, zooming close-ups and I muscled my little guy in there for what you’ll find after the jump. I now know, just a taste, of what it must be like to work for TMZ. I’ve never seen anything like this, but that had nothing to do with any of the soccer… Click HERE for the full story…

As I prepare to find some individuality under what will surely be a media free-for-all this weekend as Beckham and the Galaxy descend on New York, I can’t help but think, what about the Red Bulls?

RBNY must be happy with Beckham’s American resurrection arriving last night, leaving just enough time to sell the remaining 20,000 or so tickets for Saturday’s game (Can they beat the Pele/Cosmos U.S. Soccer Record of almost 78,000 from 30 years ago - the stadium reportedly can hold 80,242)?

But are they happy with their team? Juan Pablo Angel has had an American resurrection of his own this season, and Altidore has progressed and will continue to do so until he leaves for Europe, and then there is the rest of the team. And then there is Reyna.
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The MNT Player Pool is grab bag of who-knows-what. ISI photos for ussoccer.com caught this player pool in Venezuela during Copa America.

GOALKEEPERS- Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann. DEFENDERS- Oguchi Onyewu, Steve Cherundolo, Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Spector, Jay DeMerit, Jonathan Bornstein. MIDFIELDERS- DaMarcus Beasley, Clint Dempsey, Benny Feilhaber, Michael Bradley, Pablo Mastroeni, Bobby Convey. FORWARDS- Landon Donovan, Josh Wolff, Charlie Davies, Kamani Hill, Sal Zizzo.

There are very few MLS inclusions for the August 22nd friendly against Sweden in Sweden. It’s not at all surprising given the European location, but the fact that our best players are over there in increasing numbers is only going to continue to create rosters like this one. The usually split down the middle squad will continue down this path of a weighty European ratio.

Bradley’s two cents, my pennies, and whatever you want to chip in are after the jump…
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GRANDPA JOE: You’re a crook! You’re a cheat and a swindler! That’s what you are. How can you do a thing like this? Build up a little boy’s hopes and then smash all his dreams to pieces. You’re an inhuman monster!

WILLY WONKA: Well, Instead, Brazil will come to play the US MNT at Chicago’s Soldier Field that same day.

GRANDPA JOE: Oh, OK. Charlie, give the man back his gobstopper. Ronaldinho will be there, right?

USSF has yet to officially announce it, but Steve Goff is reporting that the USA-Mexico match on September 9th in Mexico City is cancelled, replaced by a friendly against Brazil. Announcement coming soon, with the intriguing question: Was there a PR scramble by USSF to get Brazil to step in and save what little face USSF has left? Even though reports are blaming Mexican TV rights for much of the problem, let’s see if a reporter asks that question and how Sunil will answer it.

photograph explained: I was looking for a photo to illustrate this post. A search for Soldier Field turned up this ski-jumping insanity from the 1950’s that I just couldn’t resist. Midwesterners are really hard pressed for some hills.

RBNY players with Steve Nash (standing, 4th from left) and one of his several summer soccer teams

Well, it was the Central Park Conservancy employees that were bullish on Tuesday in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow, but the Red Bulls couldn’t say they should not have known better. What it added up to was a lot of standing around and not much else.

many more photos and what did happen after jump…
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Maria Elena Mendoza and Jorge Adame distribute materials to fans at the game. (Allen J. Schaben\LAT)

First reported by Scott Martelle of the LA Times, Nevada state Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen, “a 27-year-old former standout youth player who once harbored professional ambitions,” is co-captian of a new kind of soccer team. Game victories are nice on this team, but 2008 election victories is what they are really after.

Called Los Democratas and sponsored by the Nevada Democratic Party, the team calls upon some of the top amateur soccer players in Las Vegas “to dominate the Azteca soccer league, the elite division of the city’s 10,000-player Ligas Unidas.”

Said Julia Hoppock on ABC News Exclusiva blog: “I’m not sure soccer and politics mix, but I guess it will be up to Nevada Latinos as to whether they appreciate this outreach or decide to issue Dems a red card in the primaries for this bizarre gimmick.”

Red card!? See how she did that? Oh Snap! I guess it’s not just MLS that are after the Latino demographic. Numbers don’t lie, and nowadays everyone wants a piece. It should come as no surprise, much like ESPN’s Beckham Cam, that politicians are sucking it dry.