Join the facebook group!

Join the "Taco's Soccer Blog" group on facebook!

Goalie scores!

In Sunday's U-23 (that's Under 23-years-old, for you soccer lingo neophytes) match between South Korea and Côte d'Ivoire, goalkeeper Jung Sung-Ryeong scored a goal from just outside his own 18-yard box.  Check out this video!

A cold day in Hell...

There are those (Jamie Trecker & Keith Costigan, I'm looking at you...) who said Real Salt Lake would never be able to dig itself out of the bottom of the MLS standings. Now in its fourth season in the MLS, Real Salt Lake has not yet qualified for the playoffs in its short history, let alone had a winning season. In its first three seasons, it finished 5th of 6 in the Western Division in 2005 (ahead of fellow 2005 expansion club CD Chivas USA), 6th of 6 in 2006, and 6th of 6 in 2007. However, these results do not accurately reflect the talent of the team - they have simply struggled to get goals, and in soccer, you can't win without goals. After CD Chivas USA picked up its form and became a legitimate contender in MLS, Real was ridiculed even further by detractors.

I am a serious Real Salt Lake supporter, having attended their first home match and sitting only about 50 yards from the goal post past which Brian Dunseth scored the first goal in RSL history, in the section overlooking the corner flag he ran to and planted, like a conquistador victoriously usurping a "new" land. I follow every game the club plays, whether it is an official MLS fixture, a tournament game, or a friendly. I have attended countless games at Rice-Eccles Stadium and have seen them play against almost every team in MLS, as well as Monarcas Morelia of the Mexican First Division, Real Madrid of La Liga, and other international teams.

The tides, I am proud to say, are turning. After week 18 of the 2008 MLS Season, Real Salt Lake has held the top position in the Western Conference for three consecutive weeks, and now sits third place in the entire league. With a 6-0-5 record at home (7-6-6 overall) , they are one of only two teams in the league (the other being Toronto FC) which has not given up a home loss yet this season. Their biggest weakness so far this season has been away games, but with an impressive display at Toyota Park last week against the Chicago Fire, they took a point away from the draw, perhaps signaling that they are getting into a rhythm with their away games as well. Nick Rimando, RSL's keeper, has been on an incredible run of form in recent weeks, and is currently tied with Jon Busch and Kevin Hartman for the most shutouts in the league with 7. He leads the league with the most minutes played (1710 this season - tied with RSL teammate Nat Borchers) and is averaging just 1.05 goals scored against him per match (2nd in the league, behind the Chicago Fire). He holds the season record for the longest stretch without giving up a goal, at 355 minutes from June 28 to July 28. Javier Morales, the Argentine midfielder, is 4th in the league in assists, with 7 in 18 appearances, and was notably missing from last week's All-Star team in Toronto. Fitness has been in RSL's favor this season, with 5 players having played in all 19 games so far (Kyle Beckerman, Nat Borchers, Nick Rimando, Kenny Deuchar, and Robbie Findley) and 3 players having started all 19 games (Beckerman, Borchers and Rimando). Perhaps making the biggest difference, RSL has finally fired up its offense, having taken 33 more shots than any other team (they've taken 267) and second in the league with shots-on-goal at 104 (behind FC Dallas at 107) - as I mentioned earlier, scoring goals has been RSL's biggest problem in the past.

I look forward to RSL qualifying for their first ever playoffs, and will eagerly await seeing how their performance shapes up for the rest of the season. For all you haters out there who said it would be a cold day in Hell when Real clawed its way up from the bottom of the league: it's time to invest in a good parka.

MLS All-Stars

So the final roster of the 2008 MLS All-Star Game in Toronto against English Premier League team West Ham United has been finalized: after Sacha Kljestan (M - CD Chivas USA), Michael Parkhurst (D - New England Revolution) and Robbie Rogers (F - Columbus Crew) were named to the US Olympic Team and forced to miss the match coming up this Thursday, July 24, their replacements were named.  Juan Carlos Toja (M - FC Dallas), Jonathan Bornstein (D - Chivas USA), and Steve Ralston (M - NE Revs) will replace the Olympians, joining the remainder of the Starting XI: 

Matt Reis (GK - NE Revs)

Jimmy Conrad (D - Kansas City Wizards)

Frankie Hejduk (D - Columbus Crew)

David Beckham (M - LA Galaxy)

Cuauhtémoc Blanco (M - Chicago Fire)

Shalrie Joseph (M - NE Revs)

Kenny Cooper (F - FC Dallas)

Landon Donovan (F - LA Galaxy)

Additionally, the players named as Coach's Selection are: 

Pat Onstad (GK - Houston Dynamo)

Jim Brennan (D - Toronto FC)

Christian Gomez (M - Colorado Rapids)

Pablo Mastroeni (M - Colorado Rapids)

Steve Ralston (M - NE Revs)

Juan Pablo Angel (F - NY Red Bulls)

Finally, rounding out the 18-man lineup for the All-Star Game are the Commissioner's Picks:

Dwayne De Rosario (M - Houston Dynamo)

Edson Buddle (F - LA Galaxy)

Edson Buddle's selection as a Commissioner's Pick was the best use of this pick by the MLS Commissioner Don Garber in recent memory, since Buddle is currently tied with teammate Landon Donovan with the most goals in the league (11 goals in 13 games - with 44 shots and 24 shots-on-goal, Buddle has 55% shot accuracy and 46% scoring).  Many fans were upset that they could not even vote for Buddle, as he was left off the ballot.  Buddle's spectacular form this season came out of nowhere - long considered a talented striker, he has never before achieved such solid gold performance in his life (last year he scored 5 goals and had 0 assists in 16 appearances for the Galaxy).

De Rosario's selection seems like a sympathy vote for one of the heroes of the league - while De Rosario, when viewed in terms of his entire career, or his last several seasons, is undeniably an MLS All-Time All-Star, his performance this season has been particularly underwhelming; in 14 games played this season, the midfielder has managed only 4 goals and 2 assists (with 24 shots-on-goal out of 51 attempts, he averages 47% shot accuracy and just less than 17% scoring).  His team, the Houston Dynamo (4-4-8), 2-time defending MLS champions, currently sit in 5th place in the Western Division, 4 points behind conference leaders Real Salt Lake, and third-from-last in the league.

With 4 goals and 6 assists in 15 games, Cuauhtémoc Blanco's selection is slightly more reasonable than De Rosario's.  Blanco was absolutely on fire (no pun intended) in the first few weeks of this season, however lately his form has left something to be desired.  He is a good enough player to arguably deserve to be included on the All-Star team, but I can't help but feel like he was voted in more on marquee power than the merits of his performance this season.  The same could be said of Juan Pablo Angel, with only 3 goals and 2 assists in 9 games this season, last year's League MVP has struggled to realize his spectacular form from last season (19 goals and 5 assists in 24 games).

Another player who's selection is questionable is Juan Toja, who has managed only 2 goals and 2 assists in 16 games this season, far undercutting last season's performance (6 goals and 1 assists in 27 games).  At only 23 years old, I hope to see the Colombian return to better form in the future.

With 3 goals and 6 assists in 16 games, Christian Gomez is also a questionable selection, along with Rapids teammate Pablo Mastroeni (0 goals, 0 assists in 13 appearances) who has struggled with injuries this season.

In his first full season in the MLS, David Beckham has redeemed the disappointment his injury trouble wrought last year.  In 15 appearances for the Galaxy, he has managed 5 goals and 7 assists (tied with Javier Morales and Landon Donovan for 2nd place in the Assists rankings).  Misconstrued by the American Press as a prolific goal-scorer, Beckham's 5 goals are uncharacteristically high for the Brit, who's real specialties are not scoring goals, but helping others do so.  He is a master of set-pieces (free kicks, corners, etc.) and crossing the ball in to strikers from the right wing with laser-precision - this is why his right foot is said to be valued at $250 million.  On a personal note, I used to despise Beckham because of his association with Manchester United and Real Madrid, the two evil empires of club football.  My feelings of begrudging respect for his skill were similar to how I felt about Michael Jordan, growing up a Utah Jazz fan in the 1990s - I didn't have to like the guy, but I had to give him his props.  However, Beckham has handled the transition to the MLS with such grace and humility that I can't help but like the guy - it's not his fault that the soccer-ignorant American media doesn't know enough about soccer yet to understand what makes him a world-class player.  By the way, to set the record straight, Becks has never been considered the "World's Best Player" - only it's Most Famous (which has more to do with his modeling career than with his accomplishments on the pitch).

In a final note, I feel I must mention that, if not for his $10 million transfer to Spanish La Liga team Villareal C.F. in early June, Jozy Altidore would almost certainly have been included in the All-Star roster, having scored 3 goals and 1 assist in only 8 appearances with the NY Red Bulls this season.  Altidore's transfer shattered the record transfer fee for an American player (previously $4 million paid by Fulham FC for former NE Revolution forward Clint Dempsey).

The Prophecy has been fulfilled...

Two years ago, I had a conversation in the suite of my dorm with a good, latin friend of mine about the horse-faced hero of FC Barcelona: Ronaldinho.  

I defended the Brazilian magician and maestro of "jugo bonito".  After moving to Barça from Paris Saint-Germain, Ronaldinho led the Blaugrana to back-to-back La Liga titles in 2005 and 2006, as well as winning the Champions League in 2006.  In 5 years with the club, he made 200 appearances and scored 91 goals, and was voted World Player of the Year twice.  In top form, his ball-handling skills are unrivaled and he can do truly impossible things with a soccer ball.

My friend stated that, as good as Ronaldinho was at the time, within 2 years he would go the way of Ronaldo - not Cristiano Ronaldo, for those of you who have only recently started paying attention, but Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima, another Brazilian sorcerer who let his most promising years slip away when he lost form, put on a lot of weight, and was generally ridiculed for not working hard enough to maintain his condition as one of the world's best.

The Prophecy has been fulfilled... After his most disappointing and unproductive season in recent memory, Ronaldinho failed to score more than a handful of goals this year and struggled with injuries for the entire campaign.  He put on a lot of weight while injured, and has still not regained form, and has also been greatly criticized in the media for late-night partying and a generally irresponsible attitude towards his commitment to professional football.  The 28-year-old was completely outshone on the field by youngsters Lionel Messi and Bojan Krkić, and when new Barça coach Josep Guardiola took the rains after Barcelona's disappointing 3rd-place finish in La Liga and failure to reach the latest stages of the Champions League, he announced that the services of Ronaldinho were no longer required at the Camp Nou.  Still, it was hard for most of us to imagine a Barcelona side without Ronaldinho featuring prominently in the lineup.

This wednesday, Barcelona agreed to terms with AC Milan in the Italian Serie A for the sale of Ronaldinho for the sum of US$33.6 million, and an additional US$6.4 million if Milan secure a spot in the 2009-10 Champions League, for a possible total of US$40 million (Barcelona rejected a bid from Manchester City which exceeded US$50 million for the midfielder, possibly because he preferred the Italian team, where he will play alongside his countrymen Kaká and Daniel Pato).  Milan will reportedly pay Ronaldinho about US$10.4 million per season for the next three seasons.

Goodbye, Ronaldinho.  As a Barça fan, you will certainly be missed, but I wish you luck with your new club, and thanks for all you've done at the Camp Nou.  I hope that you will regain form and return to your past glory.

Soccer Team Nicknames - IN PROGRESS!!

To those who don't follow soccer coverage too closely, the nicknames used to refer to the teams in the various leagues can be confusing at first, especially when they are used by Tommy Smyth or other marble-garbling commentators in the midst of a verbal onslaught of footie-jargon.  This entry will serve as a guide to help identify the teams to which these nicknames refer.  This will be periodically updated.  By country:

United Kingdom

• Barclays Premier League (English Premier League/EPL/the Premiership)

Arsenal F.C. - "the Gunners"

Aston Villa F.C. - "Villa," "the Villa," "the Villans," "the Lions"

Blackburn Rovers F.C. - "Rovers," "the Blue and Whites," "the Pride of Lancashire"

Bolton Wanderers F.C. - "the Trotters"

Chelsea F.C. - "the Blues" (formerly "the Pensioners")

Everton F.C. - "the Toffees," "the Blues", "the People's Club"

Fulham F.C. - "the Cottagers," "the Whites"

Hull City A.F.C. - "the Tigers"

Liverpool F.C. - "the Reds"

Manchester City F.C. - "the Citizens," "the Blues," "City"

Manchester United F.C. - "the Red Devils," "Man U"

Middlesborough F.C. - "the Boro," "Smoggies"

Newcastle United F.C. - "the Magpies," "the Toon"

Portsmouth F.C. - "Pompey," "the Blues," "the Blue Army"

Stoke City F.C. - "the Potters"

Sunderland A.F.C. - "the Black Cats," "the Mackems"

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. - "Spurs," "Lilywhites"

West Bromwich Albion F.C. - "West Brom," "the Baggies," "Albion," "the Throstles," "W.B.A."

West Ham United F.C. - "the Hammers," "the Irons," "the Academy of Football"

Wigan Athletic F.C. - "the Latics"

• Clydesdale Bank Premier League (Scottish Premier League/SPL)

Aberdeen F.C. - "the Dons," "the Reds," "the Dandies"

Celtic F.C. - "the Bhoys," "the Hoops," "the Celts"

Dundee United F.C. - "the Terrors," "the Arabs" (technically this refers to supporters, but recently has come to be used by media to refer to the club itself as well)

Falkirk F.C. - "the Bairns"

Hamilton Academical F.C. - "the Accies," "the Pride of Lanarkshire"

Hearts of Midlothian F.C. - "the Maroons," "Hearts," "Jam Tarts," "Jambos"

Hibernian F.C. - "the Hibs," "the Hibees," "the Cabbage"

Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. - "Caley Thistle," "Caley Jags," "the Highlanders"

Kilmarnock F.C. - "Killie"

Motherwell F.C. - "the 'Well," "the Steelmen"

Rangers F.C. - (Glasgow Rangers) "the Gers," "the Teddy Bears," "the Light Blues"

St. Mirren F.C. - "the Buddies," "the Saints"

Spain

• La Liga de Fútbol Profesional (La Liga/Spanish League)

Unión Deportivo Almería

Club Atlético de Madrid - Indios (Indians), los Colchoneros (the Matress Makers), los Rojiblancos (the Red and Whites), Los de la Ribera del Manzanares (Those from the Banks of the Manzanares), Atleti, El Pupas (the Jinxed One)

Athletic Club Bilbao - los Leones (the Lions)

F.C. Barcelona - Barça, Culés (or Culers), Blaugrana (Blue-Maroon)

Real Betis Balompié - Béticos del Universo, Verdiblancos

Real Club Deportivo de la Coruña, S.A.D. - Depor, Super Depor, Herculinos, Blanquiazules, Sala Calvet, Turkos

Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona - Periquitos (Parakeets), Blanquiazules (White and Blues)

Getafe C.F. - Azulones (Dark Blues), El Geta

Málaga C.F. - Boquerones (Anchovies)

Real Club Deportivo Mallorca - Barralets, Ensaimada Mecánica

Club Deportive Numancia de Soria - Rojillos

Club Atlético Osasuna - Los Rojillos

Real Madrid C.F. - Los Vikingos (Vikings), Los Blancos (Whites), Los Merengues (Meringues)

Real Racing Club de Santander - Racinguistas, Verdiblancos, Montañeses

Real Club Recreativo de Huelva - Recre, El Decano (The Dean)

Sevilla F.C. - Sevillistas, Rojiblancos, Palanganas, los Nervionenses

Real Sporting de Gijón - Rojiblancos

Valencia C.F. - los Che

Real Valladolid C.F. - Pucela

Villareal C.F. - el Submarino Amarillo (the Yellow Submarine)

Italy

• Lega Calcio Serie A TIM (Serie A - Italian League)

Atalanta B.C. - La Dea (The Goddess), Nerazzurri (Black-blues), Orobici (Orobics)

Bologna F.C. 1909 - Rossoblu (Red-blues), Felsinei

Cagliari Calcio SpA - Rossoblu (Red-blues), Isolani (Islanders)

Calcio Catania SpA - Rossazzurri (Red and Light-Blues), Gli Elefanti (the Elefants), Etnei (Etneans)

A.C. Chievo Verona - gialloblu, Mussi Volanti (Flying Donkeys), Ceo

A.C.F. Fiorentina - Viola (Purple), Gigliati (Lilies)

Genoa C.F.C. - i rossoblu (Red-blues), il Grifone (the Griffin), il Vecchio Balordo (the Old Fool)

F.C. Internazionale Milano - Nerazzurri (Black-blues), la Beneamata (the Cherished), il Biscione (the Big Grass Snake), "Inter," "Inter Milan"

Juventus F.C. - la Vecchia Signora (the Old Lady), la Fidanzata d'Italia (the Girlfriend of Italy), i Bianconeri (white-blacks), le Zebre (the Zebras), "Juve"

S.S. Lazio - Biancocelesti (white and sky-blues), Aquilotti (Young Eagles), Le Aquile (The Eagles)

Unione Sportiva Lecce - Giallorossi (Yellow-reds), Salentini (Salenters), Lupi (Wolves)

A.C. Milan - Rossoneri (Red-blacks), il Diavolo (the Devil)

S.S.C. Napoli - Azzurri (Blues), Partenopei

U.S. Città di Palermo - Rosanero (pink-blacks), Aquile (Eagles)

Reggina Calcio - Amaranto (Dark-red)

A.S. Roma - i Giallorossi (Yellow-reds), la Magica (the Magic), i Lupi (the Wolves)

U.C. Sampdoria - Blucerchiati (Blue-ringed)

A.C. Siena - Bianconeri (white and blacks), Robur

Torino F.C. - i Granata (the Maroons), il Toro (the Bull)

Udinese Calcio - Bianconeri (white and blacks), Zebrette (Little Zebras)

Germany

• Fußball-Bundesliga (Bundesliga - German League)

  DSC Arminia Bielefeld - Die Arminen, Die Blauen

  Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Werkself (Factory Squad)

  FC Bayern Munich - Der FCB, Der Bayern (the Bavarians), Die Roten (the Reds), FC Hollywood

  VfL Bochum - Die Unabsteigbaren ("The Unrelegables" - only prior to 1994)

  BV Borussia Dortmund - Die Schwarzgelben (Black-yellows)

  Borussia Mönchengladbach - Die Fohlen (the Foals)

  Eintracht Frankfurt - Die Adler (the Eagles), SGE (Sportsgemeinde Eintracht), Launische Diva (Moody Diva)

  FC Energie Cottbus - Energie, Die Lausitzer

  Hamburger SV - Rothosen (Red Shorts), HSV, Hanseaten, Urgestein (Primary Rocks), Bundesliga-Dino (the Dinosaur)

  Hannover 96 - Die Roten (the Reds)

  Hertha BSC Berlin - Die Alte Dame (the Old Lady), "the Blue-Whites"

  TSG 1999 Hoffenheim - Hoffe

  Karlsruher SC - KSC

  1. FC Köln - Die Geißböcke (the Billy Goats), FC

  FC Schalke 04 - Die Königsblauen (the Royal Blues), Die Knappen (the Miners)

  VfB Stuttgart - Die Roten (the Reds), Die Schwaben, Die jungen Wilden

  SV Werder Bremen - Werder

  VfL Wolfsburg - Die Wölfe (the Wolves)

France

• Ligue 1 Orange

  AJ Auxerre - AJA

  F.C. Girondins de Bordeaux - Bordeaux

  Stade Malherbe de Caen

  Grenoble Foot 38

  Le Havre AC - Le H.A.C.

  Le Mans UC72 - Le Mans

  Lille Olympique Sporting Club - Les Dogues (the Mastiffs), LOSC

  F.C. Lorient Bretagne Sud - Les Merlus

  Olympique Lyonnais - Les Gones, Lyon, OL

  Olympique de Marseille - l'OM, l'Ohème, Marseillais

  A.S. Monaco F.C. - Les Rouge et Blanc (the Red and White)

  A.S. Nancy-Lorraine - ASNL

  F.C. Nantes - Les Canaries (the Canaries)

  OGC Nice - Les Aiglons (the Eagles), le Gym, l'OGCN

  Paris Saint-Germain F.C. - PSG

  Stade Rennais F.C. - Les Rouges et Noirs (the Red and Blacks)

  A.S. Saint-Étienne - Les Verts (the Greens)

  F.C. Sochaux-Montbéliard - Les Lionceaux (the Lion Cubs)

  Toulouse F.C. - TFC, le Téfécé, le Tef

  Valenciennes F.C. - Les Athéniens (the Athenians - former nickname)

United States of America

• Major League Soccer (MLS)

Mexico

• Primera División de México

National Teams

• France - Les Bleus (the Blues)
• Italy - Azzurri (the Blues)
• Brazil - Auriverde/Os Verdes Amarelos (the Green and Yellows), A Seleção (the Selection), Canarinho (the Little Canary)

Welcome to Taco's Soccer Blog!

Welcome to Taco's Soccer Blog, brought to you by the relentless prodding of my friends to publish my soccer-related thoughts online so that they can just read them instead of having to listen to me constantly spewing them... in all seriousness, though, this is an important part of my life and something that I invest a great deal of my time in following, and this will hopefully serve as a compendium of soccer-related information to help keep you up-to-date with the goings-on of the Beautiful Game.  Look for new posts in the near future.  Enjoy!