Soccer Birthdays:
Colorado Rapids forward Kamani Hill turns 27. The once-promising prospect has seen his fortunes turn after failing with VfL Wolfsburg and Vitoria Guimaraes, but he’s seen a bit of resurgence since returning to Major League Soccer in 2010. He scored five goals in 2012, although he only earned three starts. Hill, who played for United States youth levels and earned two senior team caps, might never return to the good old days, but being a 27-year-old professional athlete isn’t a bad life. Happy birthday.
RASNoD (Random American Soccer Name of the Day:
Cobi Jones. Always Cobi Jones.
Ahead on the blog today:
Steve Davis returns with some words of wisdom about the weekend to come and looks back on some 2012 trends. Plus, you never know but he might let you know how he plans to celebrate New Years. (Hint: Party time in Big D.)
Twitter daps:
Back in the day #tbt instagr.am/p/Tv-gtbEP2s/
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Ryan Meara (@RMeara_18) December 27, 2012My little sister and I being us! :) http://t.co/jj0JUmcM
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Zarek Valentin (@DubbZV) December 27, 2012Background noise while blogging:
I don’t know, but it’s not going to be Christmas carols. I’ve had enough of those for quite some time.
We’ll leave you with this:
Happy New Year, everyone. I won’t be back until 2013. I know you’ll miss me. But hey, at least the apocalypse didn’t get us all.
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Is the Pablo Mastroeni trade another smooth move from that wily Bruce Arena?
Jun 18, 2013, 8:33 PM EDT
The LA Galaxy coach has taken aging players and made them useful parts of the roster before:
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Everyone loves “The Pope”
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Tim Cahill is the first Major League Soccer man to qualify for the World Cup.
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Our weekly re-ordering of Major League Soccer teams, following 16 rounds of play:
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Some of the best U.S. success in the past has come when the United States was backed into a corner. Tonight looks much different:
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There are a few choices to be made ahead of Tuesday’s match in Utah:
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About that brilliant atmosphere last week in Seattle: Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah will rock, too
Jun 18, 2013, 12:30 PM EDT
Unsaid in this narrative is this: most U.S. sites are bright and alive these days.
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Stuart Pearce has been relieved of his duties as manager of England’s U-21 squad.
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Australia join Brazil and Japan as nations that already have booked their place in next summer’s World Cup.
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Talking about what’s ahead, plus more on tonight’s match at Rio Tinto Stadium outside Salt Lake City:
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Scottish football takes another hit as Hearts prepare for administration
Jun 18, 2013, 7:56 AM EDT
Hearts have put the entire squad up for sale to raise the reported £500,000 needed to get the club to the start of the season.
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Big opportunity ahead as United States faces Honduras in World Cup qualifying action
Jun 18, 2013, 6:00 AM EDT
The teams meet tonight outside Salt Lake City as the drive for Brazil 2014 moves forward:
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Huge cost of World Cups: Did we need a protest like Brazil’s to point out the obvious?
Jun 18, 2013, 12:10 AM EDT
Reuters
Brazil has infrastructure concerns. They’ve also spent $3.3 billion on soccer stadia. No surprise, people aren’t happy.
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Christian Eriksen’s potential for Borussia Dortmund a particularly cloudy picture
Jun 17, 2013, 10:43 PM EDT
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The mythology of Ajax, Dutch soccer and one stars’ struggles outside the Dutch league make this potential transfer difficult to evaluate.
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Ancelotti may be impatient, but Real Madrid wait should prove inconsequential
Jun 17, 2013, 8:23 PM EDT
It’s only a matter of time before Ancelotti’s holding pattern’s resolved.
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Early returns from England’s offseason tell a tale of two Manchesters
Jun 17, 2013, 7:39 PM EDT
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It’s early days, but while City close the gap, Manchester United have yet to act.
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This André Villas-Boas to Paris Saint-Germain link makes more sense by the day
Jun 17, 2013, 6:51 PM EDT
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With a buy-out in his contract, Villas-Boas likely will be given a choice between Paris and London.
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Honduran international Maynor Figueroa completes move to Hull City
Jun 17, 2013, 5:59 PM EDT
Reuters
Steve Bruce reunites with a player he brought to Wigan Athletic.
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It’s time FIFA reconsiders the Confederations Cup bid to the Oceania region
Jun 17, 2013, 5:19 PM EDT
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Tahiti are a great story, but nobody wins when small countries get slaughtered by the world’s top teams.
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Vacation up soon for U.S. national team men – but not yet!
Jun 17, 2013, 4:45 PM EDT
A big theme is finishing strong so there’s more enjoyment in those vacations ahead:
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Video: Police clash with protesters in Brazil
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Video: Highlights: Sounders win in final minutes
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Video: Highlights: Revolution dismantle Galaxy
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Video: What does New York FC have to do to succeed?
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Video: The Hype: Bending the screen like Beckham
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Video: Galaxy's Rogers talks about coming out to the public
