WVHooligan - Soccer Blog

A move that I absolutely will pay off for Sigi Schmid has just become official from what I am hearing out west. Seattle Sounders FC have signed Costa Rican defender Leonardo Gonzalez. Gonzalez’s signing will be finalized upon receipt of his P-1 work permit and International Clearance.

Why do I like this move for Schmid and the Sounders? First of all the club does need defensive help if they even want to think about a deep playoff run. Schmid knows that and his move brings in a veteran defender with plenty of experience. He’s been capped by the national side 59 times (including three at the 2006 World Cup) and is at the prime age of 28-years old.

It may take a couple weeks before he gets use to playing in MLS but I really have a good feeling for the Sounders if he pays off like I think he will.

Do you like this deal for Seattle?

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Just got word that the USSF has released the dates and locations of the next round of the 2009 US Open Cup along with the possible semi-final pairings.

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal Pairings

July 7 Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) at D.C. United (MLS) 7:30 p.m. ET
Maryland Soccerplex; Boyds, Md.

July 7 Wilmington Hammerheads (USL-2) at Rochester Rhinos (USL-1) 7 p.m. ET
Rochester Rhinos Stadium; Rochester, N.Y.

July 7
Houston Dynamo (MLS) at Charleston Battery (USL-1) 7:30 p.m. ET
Blackbaud Stadium; Charleston, S.C.

July 7 Kansas City Wizards (MLS) at Seattle Sounders (MLS) 7 p.m. PT
Starfire Sports Complex; Tukwila, Wash.

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Possible Semifinal Pairings

July 21 Rochester Rhinos (USL-1) / Wilmington Hammerheads (USL-2) at D.C. United (MLS) 7:30 p.m. ET
Maryland Soccerplex; Boyds, Md.

July 21 Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) at Rochester Rhinos (USL-1) 7 p.m. ET Rochester
Rhinos Stadium; Rochester, N.Y.

July 21 Wilmington Hammerheads (USL-2) at Harrisburg City Islanders (USL-2) 7:05 p.m. ET Skyline Sports Complex; Harrisburg, Pa.

July 21 Charleston Battery (USL-1) / Houston Dynamo (MLS) at Seattle Sounders (MLS) 7 p.m. PT
Starfire Sports Complex; Tukwila, Wash.

July 21 Kansas City Wizards (MLS) at Charleston Battery (USL-1) 7:30 p.m. ET
Blackbaud Stadium; Charleston, S.C.

July 22 Houston Dynamo (MLS) at Kansas City Wizards (MLS) 7:30 p.m. CT
Shawnee Mission North H.S.; Overland Park, Kan.

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I love a good holiday weekend. That’s why these previews are coming today instead of it’s usual Friday timeslot. Even with the holiday comes loads of extras for me to be doing and sitting in front of my laptop isn’t going to be one of them.

After a couple weekends of SuperLiga play breaking up the flow of the season schedule the majority of the MLS clubs are back in play this weekend. Only Chivas, Seattle, and Toronto are out of action this week. Gotta love that unbalanced schedule the league has, I don’t see why a club like Toronto is off this week but oh well.

Anyways, time to get down to business. Feel free to send your game predictions as well. Read the rest of this entry »

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Instead of bringing up some more MLS guys looking for their first shot with the Nats or some guys in need of finding their form again, Bob Bradley has called on seven Confederation Cup players to fill out the additional seven roster spots for his Gold Cup roster.

Here is the list:

Jozy Altidore
Jonathan Bornstein
Conor Casey
Ricardo Clark
Benny Feilhaber
Brad Guzan
Sacha Kljestan

These seven players will not be traveling with the 23-man U.S. Gold Cup squad, but will join the team for specific games during the tournament. I honeestly don’t know how that will work but I am guessing some of the west coast guys will join the team when they play in Seattle and others will join when they are in the east coast playing in DC or in Boston.

Are you happy with these additions or wish some other guys got a shot at this tournament?

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Many wonder if Sacha Kljestan can turn it around this year. (Getty Images)

Editor’s Note: Geoff Reid appears on WVHooligan.com each week. Today he is back with his defense of a guy that has been kicked around quite a bit lately, Chivas USA and US national team midfielder Sacha Kljestan.

I wrote a piece a few months ago defending Bob Bradley because I thought he was getting an unfair rap from some fans. So out of everyone in US Soccer after the eventual success of the Nats in the Confederations Cup, I was most happy for him.

Now I turn my focus to Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan.

It just seemed like yesterday that the California native scored that spectacular hat-trick against a Sweden B team which came just after his trial at Celtic. Since then, his form has dipped tremendously for his club and country. It was only a year ago that he was tearing it up in league play and was voted an MLS all star and was unfortunate not to take part in that mach against West Ham due to the Olympic U-23 side.

What’s his biggest criticism at the moment? Not being able to complete simple passes on a regular basis. Some folks think he’s not good enough for international football which is mind boggling because it was completely the opposite just 12 months ago. When players give away possession easily and make silly mistakes, you know confidence is down, it’s a given. We saw that with DaMarcus Beasley recently and his club situation no doubt has contributed to that the most. Read the rest of this entry »

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I know I have been saying for a while that Toronto FC needs a big-time striker but if this report is true they could be lining up to get Canadian international Julian De Guzman. I usually don’t watch extra time but after seeing a few folks mention this week’s episode I thought I would actually check it out for once. Turns out Shep Messing said that De Guzman could be coming back home and play with the Reds.

Hear it for yourself.

Thing is does Toronto really need another defensive midfielder? Sounds like they could be lined up to make a trade or two if that deal is true.

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Last night’s US Open Cup match between the Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers was pretty sweet. Not only did this rivalry get some good love across the land but it produced a quality game with some even more entertaining fans in the stands at PGE Park.

Makes me want to fast forward a bit to 2011 to see this rivalry in Major League Soccer.

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