2008 Olympics

It looked like the U.S. wilted in the Maracaibo heat last night, unable to last the full 90 minutes against a strong Argentina side. Add coal smoke, ozone, and particulate matter to the mix, and you'll have soccer players wheezing their way to the final whistle (if they even make it that far). Unfortunately, that's exactly the type of air that will clog the lungs of more than 10,000 athletes next year at the Olympics in Beijing.

On days when there is no rain or wind, ozone and fine dust are often two to three times the maximum levels suggested by the World Health Organization, making the Chinese capital one of the world's dirtiest cities. Endurance athletes such as marathoners and cyclists will have the toughest time—they inhale up to 150 liters of air per minute, more than 10 times what an office worker does. Spectators who are elderly, very young, or chronically ill may also encounter problems, including asthma, sore throats, and allergic reactions, all of which occur even among healthy visitors.

"I wouldn't expect a world record in the marathon in Beijing," says a physician who advises the British Olympic Committee.

The Beijing Olympics won't be the first time athletes will have to contend with poor air quality. More than 20 percent of U.S. athletes had breathing problems due to smog in Athens in 2004, says a manager of the U.S. Olympic team. British runner Steve Ovett said air pollution made him collapse at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Beijing is committed to making its Olympics the "Green Games," and is investing more than $3B to clean the air, but it's unclear if it can succeed. Areas outside the city are responsible for a substantial amount of the pollution, and over 1,000 new cars hit the streets each day.

In the end, maybe China has bigger fish to fry (see here and here) a little over a year out from the summer games.

Pollution Dangers Cast Shadow over 2008 Olympics [Der Spiegel]
UNEP and Beijing Sign Green Games Agreement [United Nations Environment Programme]
Air quality during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games [ScienceDirect]
IOC asked to prevent evictions and protect Olympic workers [Play The Game]
Olympic firm admits child labour [BBC]

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U.S. Starting XI

With Bob Bradley refusing to allow any press at U.S. training sessions, speculation is rife as journalists try to put together who might start against Argentina tonight. With this group of players not having played together (for the most part), as well as Bradley stating that he won't release his the names of starters until two hours before kickoff, the Latin American press is feverishly filling out their Mad Libs-like teamsheet.

As of now, these are the names that everybody has come up with:

Lining up in a 4-4-2 with Kasey Keller in goal; Jimmy Conrad and Marvel Wynne in defense; Benny Feilhaber, Justin Mapp, and Ricardo Clark in the middle; and Eddie Johnson up front.

I would expect Johnson to play up front as well, with either Taylor Twellman or Herculez Gomez joining him. Jonathan Bornstein should get the nod at left back, though I'm at a loss as to who might play in the middle with Conrad (Jay Demerit?). As for the last midfield slot, maybe any one of these guys (Eddie Gaven, Ben Olsen, Lee Nguyen) depending on what Bradley what's to accomplish tonight: go out and try to score goals or defend and hope to catch Argentina on the break.

-ac

I Hate To Pick On Jack Bell, But...

Who won the last edition of the Copa America? Argentina? Are you sure about that one?

Reminds me of another slip up from a couple of months ago...


With Eye on Future, U.S. Takes Youngsters on Trip to Venezuela [New York Times]

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"I Want To Win Playing Attractive Football"

That was what Argentina coach Alfio Basile said at a press conference today as he revealed his starting XI for the match tomorrow against the United States. Bob Bradley's young side will face the following squad in Maracaibo:

Roberto Abbondanzieri in goal; Javier Zanetti, Roberto Ayala, Gabriel Milito, and Gabriel Heinze across the back; Juan Sebastian Veron, Javier Mascherano, and Esteban Cambiasso will play behind #10 Juan Roman Riquelme; Lionel Messi and Hernan Crespo up front.

Of course this means that one of the world's most feared balls of energy, Carlos Tevez, starts on the bench. I don't know if that's good or bad for the U.S.

Basile names his 11 (in Spanish) [TyC Sports]

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If It's On, I'll Watch It

The World Wide Leader has a pretty good U20 World Cup line up between ESPNU and their broadband service, ESPN360.com. They're going to broadcast every match from Canada, with ESPNU showing all the U.S. (and a smattering of other 1st rd. games) and knock-out round matches.

The only thing that remains to be seen is who will be doing the on-air play-by-play and color. My hope is for the Champions Leauge crews, but I'm bracing for the worst. ESPN has been known to disappoint.

ESPN To Air U.S. U-20 World Cup Matches [Soccer365]

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Bye Bye Villarreal, Hello Bradley And Co.

It's been quite a 24 hours for Mr. Renaissance, Juan Roman Riquelme. First he's amazing in the two-legged Copa Libertadores final, scores three times, and was named most valuable player of the final. Villarreal then comes out publicly and says that Riquelme will not be playing for them next season.

Attention from Italy, as well as being a late addition to Alfio Basile's Copa America side should cushion the blow. Now he has a week to think about nothing else but how to beat the United States.

Boca win Libertadores with Riquelme double [Reuters]
Villarreal ends Riquelme contracts [Independent Online]
Juve show Riquelme interest [Channel 4]

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Bone Up On Your Karl Marx, The Copa America Is Around The Corner

Are we really supposed to believe that Hugo Chavez is going to roll out the red carpet (no pun intended) for every country at this summer's Copa America? I might be wrong, but I think that the American team is going to be subjected to some rough treatment.

Indoctrination sessions on the way in Venezuela [Passport]

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Some Now, Some Later

For some reason, Conmebol has released half of this summer's Copa America schedule. Why they've decided to not do it all at once is a mystery to me. Nonetheless, this is what we know until later today:

Group A: Venezuela and Bolivia; will play against each other in the opening match of the tournament on June 26th
Group B: Brazil and Mexico; will play one another on the first day, after Venezuela v. Bolivia
Group C: Argentina and the United States; will open group play against each other on June 28th

Other issues that have been decided:

• The next Copa America will be hosted by either Argentina or Mexico.
• The next Copa America will take place in 2011; from here on, the tournament will be played every four years.
• The 2010 World Cup qualifiers will be played in a round robin format, home and away.

South American confederation pre-empts Copa America draw [Guardian Unlimited]

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If Mexico Had Two Stabs At It In 16 Years...

Why not the United States having a go twice in a span of twenty years? For any fan of the game looking forward to the World Cup being hosted by Brazil in 2014, here's a bucket of cold water for you. Money quote:

"There are three principal areas where progress will have to be made.

The obvious one is stadiums. Brazil does not currently possess a single stadium good enough to stage a World Cup match. This, though, is the least of its problems.

The stadiums can be built in the time available. More worrying are the other two areas, infrastructure and urban violence.

According to Brazilian sociologist Helio Jaguaribe, 'it is more dangerous to circulate in Rio or Sao Paulo than in the conflict zones of the Middle East. Our major cities will soon become ungovernable and a terrified population will seek fascistic solutions.'

He predicts that, 'the national viability of Brazil will collapse, if nothing is done, in not more than ten years.' He calls for 'a massive programme of urban reform.'"

Makes you wonder what Sepp Blatter's pie hole will be saying next November when the final decision is made on a host. With Colombia having no real chance of hosting, my guess is that the decisive date will be put off all together, to a date where Brazil can actually show it has it's shit together. If not, we could be seeing automatic qualification for the U.S. in 2014.

Time is running out for Brazil to bring the World Cup home [BBC]

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Halftime In Germany

The annual Bundsliga winter break is upon us (I can sense there's a little jealousy coming from EPL coaches), so let's take a look and see what's been left under the Christmas tree.

• Werder Bremen will celebrate holidays in style as "Autumn Champions" after beating VfL Wolfsburg Sunday. They top the table on goal-difference over Schalke 04, 25 goals to 12. Bremen have scored an amazing 44 goals in seventeen matches. Things are still tight at the top after the first two spots with Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart both within five points. I imagine that Bayern keeper Oliver Kahn owes somebody some money right now. We already know what the guys over at The Offside think of him. And won't we miss him when he's gone? [Townsville Bulletin, The Offside, CNN]
• BV Borussia Dortmund have parted company with their Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk in the wake of Sunday's 2-1 home defeat against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Sunday's loss left Dortmund ninth and two places below their finishes in Van Marwijk's previous seasons, and fans made their displeasure known. Ottmar Hitzfeld was the first choice to replace him but declined the offer, wishing to stay in his position as a television analyst. Former Bremen, Bayern and Leverkusen midfielder Jurgen Rober was named as the new coach yesterday. [Reuters]
• Hamburger SV have announced that Thomas Doll will remain their coach despite leading them to just one victory in 17 Bundesliga games this season. "We are convinced we will be able to avoid relegation with the current staff," said chairman Bernd Hoffmann. Doll, whose side lie 17th place with 13 points heading into the winter break, added: "I am grateful for the trust put in me by the board." [Reuters]
• Bayern midfielder Julio dos Santos, just days after joining VfL Wolfsburg on loan until the end of the season, broke his fibula and tore ligaments in his right leg. He'll be out for at least ten weeks. The German champions signed dos Santos for $2.6M from Paraguay's Club Cerro Porteno a year ago. The Paraguayan international is seen as a possible long-term replacement for Michael Ballack. So far he has had few chances in the first team, making just five appearances in the Bundesliga and two in the Champions League. His contract at Bayern runs until the summer of 2009. [Bayern Munich official site]
• Two high profile Americans get a chance to lick their wounds. Borussia Monchengladbach copy cats Hamburg and backs their man. [Yanks Abroad, Sporting Life]
• Bayern held it's annual Christmas party over the weekend. Let's hope that our favorite drunk driver gave the keys to someone else that night. [Bayern Munich official site]

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One To Watch

No doubt disappointed about playing a role in Wednesday's second Wigan goal, it seems that Jonathan Spector is going in the right direction right now. Only 20, he's moved on from his reserve role at Manchester United to a first-team place at Alan Pardew's West Ham.

Spector realized that the only way he'd get better was to play in an EPL starting XI. He said as much in an interview he gave to Jack Bell of The New York Times a couple of days ago. The moneyquote:

"After the loan to Charlton ended, [Alex Ferguson] he offered me a new contract and wanted me to stay. But after having played in something like 25 games in the E.P.L. and other competitions for Charlton, I couldn't go back to sitting on the bench. It wasn't right for my development. It was never that I felt unwanted by ManU. He understood I wanted to play...I always viewed it as a steppingstone for me to improve, and the only way to get better was for me to play in the Prem. I needed more games...At Manchester, I was in the reserve team and training with the first team, but that wasn't enough. I didn't feel I was improving enough. Sir Alex understood where I was coming from, he recommended Charlton. He liked the way (Alan) Curbishly ran the club. It's a great club. I've been lucky to play for the two longest-serving managers in the E.P.L. I can't complain."

Though mired in a relegation battle at the moment, Spector can only gain valuable experience from what the Hammers are going through. Expect to see him become a big part of the U.S. squad that qualifies for South Africa 2010.

An American Defender at West Ham Sees It All, and Then Some [The New York Times]

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Pekerman to lead Yanks?

Could it be? Has the US Soccer Federation actually done something right for a change? As someone that would normally watch the US play with the same interest afforded to infomercials and unattractive women, if it's true, I'm truly happy.

Pekerman may be known on these shores as the guy that fielded a chock-full-of-talent Argentina squad in the last World Cup, only to lose to Germany (and instigate a mini-brawl after the match), but he's responsible for bringing a lot of the big names on the current team up through the schoolboy ranks. He's won the FIFA Youth World Championships three times and the U-20 South American Youth Championships twice.

And that's great news for the US, considering that Freddy Adu will grow up (in age, not height) and US fans will have nothing to talk about.

Pekerman set to become USA boss [TeamTalk]

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Soccer Culture: Prawn Sandwiches At Old Trafford?

While on a small vacation recently, the missus and I were driving through the beautiful state of Oregon. I picked up the local paper last week and saw this nugget in the sports section. I guess Green Street Hooligans is a popular rental at the local Blockbuster these days. Why else are high school administrators in the Portland suburbs referencing "soccer culture"?

It seems that there have been a couple incidents at the high school level that have the community at large scratching their collective heads. As of October 31st, three referees had been attacked or threatened. Instead of assigning blame where it belongs (overbearing parents and the offspring they incite), hey, let's take a closer look a those silly soccer fans in foreign countries. They like beating on people, right? [The Oregonian]

In other eye-numbing news:
Our buddy Daryl has got this juicy bit of info. It is yet to be confirmed, but folks in the Phoenix area could very well have a reason to plunk down some of their hard-earned coin. I went down to San Diego a couple of years back to catch a game between these two, and let me tell you, there's just as much action in the stands as there is on the field. If this match does take place, look for it to get picked up live by either ESPN or FSC and/or delayed on Telemundo a couple of days later. [The Soccer Weblog]

If you like it Brazilian, but don't get enough of it, it's your lucky day. Start boning up on your Portuguese because you've got over 300 matches to watch. [Live Soccer TV]

Bayern Munich jumps onto the copyright violations bandwagon. [FOX Sports]

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These are the games of note on TV through Sunday:

Wednesday
Gimnasia de La Plata v. Boca Juniors
3:00pm ET, LIVE
TyC Sports USA
Martin Palermo is back from injury to face Gimnasia. This will be the last 45 minutes of the match that was suspended at halftime on September 10th. The game will be divided in two, a 23 minute first half followed by a 22 minute second half. Boca will extend their lead at the top of the table to four points if they can turn around the 1-0 deficit.

Barcelona v. Badalona
4:00pm ET, LIVE
GolTV
Tune in to see if Frank can get his team back on the winning track. A tough patch has seen them lose to Real Madrid and take only one point from two matches against Chelsea. Barca's third division neighbors, Badalona, could be in for a world of hurt in this second-leg round of sixteen Copa del Rey match.

Saturday
Everton v. Aston Villa
10:00am ET, LIVE
FOX Soccer Channel
How many times will the word scrappy be used to describe this fixture in the coming days? Either way, this could be a good one.

Blackburn v. Manchester United
12:00pm ET, LIVE
FOX Soccer Channel / FOX Sports en Espanol
Mark Hughes' team has secured only one point from their last five EPL matches. Not a great record, but I get the feeling that they'll play tough against Man U and come away with at least a point.

Middlesbrough v. West Ham United
12:30pm ET, Same Day Delay
Setanta Sports USA
The Hammers will be sky high coming into this one. I have a question though, what happened to those two guys from Argentina?

AC Milan v. Roma
2:30pm ET, LIVE
RAI International
Milan have to start picking up some points in Serie A and find some support for Kaka.

Monterrey v. Toluca
6:00pm ET, LIVE
Galavision
The best matchup of the week from Mexico. There's some good soccer played in Mexico's top flight, take a look and see for yourself.

Sunday
Ajax v. PSV
6:00am ET, LIVE
Setanta Sports USA
Expect a lively match with only two points separating the two teams at the top of the Dutch Eredivisie.

Arsenal v. Liverpool
11:00am ET, LIVE
FOX Soccer Channel
How will the EPL's grumpy bunch take it if they can't beat the Reds at home? What are the odds of Rafa celebrating a goal on the touchline?

Houston v. New England
3:30pm ET, LIVE
ABC
The only MLS match I'll watch all season. It will likely be Clint Dempsey's last game before he $hip$ out to Europe.

Estudiantes La Plata v. River Plate
4:15pm ET, LIVE
TyC Sports USA
The weekend's big match in Argentina, played in the shiny new Ciudad de La Plata stadium. Both teams come into the match tied for second, one point behind Boca pending the result of Wednesday's game.

As always, check your local listings for dates and times in your area.

-ac

Alright Then, Let's Go Grab A Beer

Borussia Monchengladbach were only able to hold on to the Bundesliga lead for 24 hours as FC Schalke 04 and Bayern Munchen won today, leapfroging into the lead. The two title contenders now top the tabel with ten points, one more than Gladbach. FC Nurnberg travel to Energie Cottbus tomorrow with both teams having the chance to go top with a win.

With Oktoberfest celebrations in the middle of their second weekend, the big match next week will be Weder Bremen hosting Kasey Keller and his mates on Saturday. Both will need the three points to solidify their standing in the top half of the table.

Today in Germany [ESPN Soccernet]

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