Live The Pitch

This years MLS All Star game will feature the leagues top stars in a match against Manchester United of the English Premier League on July 28.  United are in the middle of its summer North American preseason tour and will finish the tour in Houston against the MLS All Stars.  United are 2-0 so far on the trip with wins over Celtic and Philadelphia Union.

The MLS roster looks extremely strong, but we will have to see how these players match up with a young Manchester United group led by old timers Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.  United are missing key players such as Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Nemanja Vidic, Park Ji-Sung, Patrice Evra, and Nani on the trip.

This marks the fifth year in a row with the MLS All Stars facing off with a European  opponent.  The MLS stars have gone 4-1 with their only loss coming last year to Everton of  the EPL in penalty kicks.

It will be interesting to see how coach Bruce Arena handles this roster.  Managing this type of match can be difficult to get all the players on the pitch.  Arena definitely wants to win this match for the league as the MLS is widely considered a lower tiered league worldwide.

MLS All Star Roster

Goalkeepers

Donovan Ricketts (LA Galaxy), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders

Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Jamison Olave (Real Salt Lake),  Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Wilman Conde (Chicago Fire), Kevin Alston (New England Revolution)

Midfielders

Bobby Convey (San Jose Earthquakes), Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC), Marco Pappa (Chicago Fire), Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew), Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union), David Ferreira (FC Dallas), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids),

Forwards

Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Juan Pablo Angel (New York Red Bulls), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Jaime Moreno (D.C. United)

Thierry Henry took the pitch for the first time tonight in a New York Red Bulls Uniform playing spectacularly in his debut against Tottenham of the English Premier League. Tottenham defeated the Red Bulls 2-1 in front of a packed Red Bull Arena.

Henry scored his first goal for the Red Bulls in the 26th minute to put the Red Bulls on top at the half. New York squandered great chances in front of goal throughout the opening half and should have held a larger lead at the break.

Tottenham came out in the second half and took control early with New York making eight changes at the break. Robbie Keane would even the match in the 62nd minute for Tottenham after Red Bulls backup goalkeeper Greg Sutton severely misplayed a corner allowing Keane to pounce on the loose ball.

The Red Bulls halftime substitutions would falter again in the 72nd minute when left back Jeremy Hall tried to head the ball back to Sutton. The back pass was intercepted by a streaking Gareth Bale who touched it into the net for the match winner. Red Bulls had a golden opportunity to tie the match in the 80th minute, but Connor Chinn’s header rang the crossbar

Henry couldn’t ask for a better start to his MLS career. Henry will look to get more playing time as they get back into league play. Henry was awarded man of the match and was arguably the best player on the pitch throughout the opening half. The Red Bulls should be proud of their effort in the match especially in the first half when their better players were on the pitch.

Manchester United continued their preseason tour in the U.S. defeating the Philadelphia Union 1-0 in an exhibition match. Manchester United are now 2-0 in their preseason tour, also defeating Celtic FC 3-1 over the weekend in Toronto. United will play the Kansas City Wizards this Sunday and then finish the trip with a match against the MLS All-Stars on July 28 in Houston.

Philadelphia gave United all they could handle and were very unlucky not to get a better result. United are missing key players such as Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Nemanja Vidic, Park Ji-Sung, Patrice Evra, and Nani on the trip. Even without these top players, United still have a star studded roster here.

United looked strong as the match began knocking on the doorstep of the Union defense, but couldn’t find the last ball to get a decent chance at goal. Philadelphia took it to United creating numerous chances to goal toward the end of the half. Sebastien Le Toux had the best chance for the Union in the opening half, but his chance missed by inches.

Philadelphia came out in the second half and took it to United creating numerous chances with young star Jack McInerney sending a low driven shot just by the far post. United would weather the storm and finally break though in the 76th minute when Gabriel Obertan recieved a great through ball in behind the Union defense to net the match winner.

Even with the result not what they dreamed about, Philadelphia should be proud of their effort. It has turned out to be a great week for the Union after beating Celtic FC 1-0 last Wednesday. This is great to see for fans here in the United States as the MLS is largely looked as an inferior league to the rest of the world. With many more exhibition matches to come, hopefully the MLS teams can continue to hold their own.

The English Premier League is widely considered by many as the top league in the world known for its great fan support and beautiful soccer.  Fans in the EPL are some of the most passionate you will find in any sport.  Vuvuzelas have no place in the stadiums in England though.

Tottenham,Arsenal, Birmingham, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, West Ham United and Sunderland have come forward and banned the controversial vuvuzela horn for the upcoming season.

“Following discussions with the police and representatives from the local licensing authorities, the club will not be permitting vuvuzelas or similar instruments into White Hart Lane on match days,” Tottenham said. “We are concerned that the presence of the instruments within the stadium pose unnecessary risks to public safety.”

Most teams are coming forward and saying that the dreadful horns would cause safety concerns.  I understand not being able to hear the PA announcer, but with all the talk about how flat out annoying they are had to have something to do with it.

This is great news to me!  The ear throbbing sound that comes from a vuvuzela has no place in the stadiums.  I would be thrilled if the entire EPL banned these horrendous instruments from stadiums.  It is understandable for the horns to be in South Africa, but they shouldn’t be allowed anywhere else!

Reigning English Premier League champions Chelsea announced today that they will not re-sign German star Michael Ballack and English international Joe Cole.  Ballack is a huge surprise to be let go, but Cole was rarely seeing the pitch recently for Chelsea.

Ballack has been in England for the past four seasons and was a huge part of Chelsea’s success this year.  Ballack will have numerous offers from big European clubs in the next few weeks.  We will see if he chooses to go back to Germany or take an offer from another English club.  He is also linked to Real Madrid and a few teams in Italy.

Cole has been with Chelsea for the last seven years.  He has been fighting off numerous injuries the past few years.  When healthy, Cole can still be extremely dangerous on the flank.  Cole will also find a new club with ease as he’s already been linked with Arsenal and Tottenham of the Premier League.