By Tim Hall

I will freely admit that I am an Amerisnob. Part of it is that patriotic, nationalistic, jingoistic, “USA #1” mindset that everyone else around the world thinks we believe. Well, we do. Regardless of how we feel about the ongoing political processes and policies, ask nearly any American and you’re bound to get a “USA! USA! USA!” chant started, probably with a “whoo!” thrown in for good measure.

But more over, it is really great fun to be snarky about English football. To be fair, they do give plenty of ammunition to anyone who would want to take a shot. There was Mario Balotelli’s various misadventures which led to him revealing the infamous “Why Always Me?” t-shirt, as if the Italian was the victim of some grand conspiracy not of his own doing. There was Carlos Tevez pouting and refusing to come in as a substitute, then leaving the game of football altogether for a brief career in amateur Argentinean golf. And there was Wayne Rooney’s absolutely hilarious hair. And that’s just some of the storylines from one city.

(Seriously, has anyone, anywhere, grown accustomed to seeing a fully-coiffed Wayne Rooney? I know Wayne’s probably got another decade or so left as a professional should he choose, but that will never look normal. I’d be happier had he arrived, not only with a full head of hair, but also with a black goatee in an attempt to make everyone believe Sir Alex Ferguson had signed Wayne’s evil twin brother Enyaw. On second thought, probably best not to give Sir Alex any ideas.)

See, sarcasm like that is incredibly easy. One roll of the eyes, a comment on the millions of pounds changing hands. Sarcasm is practically the second language of soccer fans everywhere. It got to be the point during the winter here in America I would turn on Channel 5 on Thursday nights just to see what all the fuss was about.

But it’s time for all of us to put on our big boy pants and admit it. This won’t be easy, so I’m going to say it once, then never ask me to say it again. OK, deep breath. Here we go.

I… enjoyed… the Premiership… this year.

It is unfortunate these days that “the cool kids” are the ones that absolutely refuse to admit in taking pleasure in anything popular. In a way, I suppose we’re soccer hipsters on this one. But if you dropped the false pretenses and snarkiness, and instead allowed yourself to get swept up in the moment, you’d find there was plenty to enjoy and remember about this Premier League campaign.

I will always remember watching Papiss Cisse’s incredible hooking goal for Newcastle that did more to destroy commonly held views on science than the Creation Museum could ever hope.

I’ll never forget finding enjoyment in ESPN’s Premier League commentators. Play-by-play man Ian Darke is no worse than serviceable and can be downright great at times, especially when freely allowed to scream “Yakubu!” And his partnership with Steve McManaman allows for good press box banter, although I’m convinced McManaman secretly hates being called “Macca” and will eventually murder Ian Darke in cold blood.

While I wish I could, I will never forget that sinking feeling in my gut when Fabrice Muamba went down, and how that sinking started to feel like a bottomless pit as more news started to come in. But, thankfully, that story has a mostly happy ending, and even if Muamba never plays another minute of professional football for Bolton or anyone else, there will always be the memory of a healthy Muamba coming out onto the field, applauding his home fans and fighting off tears.

Then, of course, there was that final silly Sunday that provided a lifetime’s worth of memories in a manageable two hours. Nervous faces spinning back and forth at whiplash-inducing speeds at the mere possibility of a chance. Groans of disappointment every time Fox interrupted the Manchester United game to go to a split screen update of any other match. The wild ear-splitting roar that went out as Queens Park Rangers took a 2-1 lead over Manchester City. Minutes later, as games went to the witching hour, watching as water was still dripping off the ceiling because someone – who shall remain nameless – started whipping cups of water at patrons from behind the bar when it looked like United would pull it off.

And, of course, the ending. Watching the Manchester United fans see that they had successfully accomplished their half of the equation, only to barely have time to turn around to see the title snatched away. Sergio Aguero, running up the sideline, shirtless in the sun, whipping his sky blue jersey around and around.

It certainly sucked the air out of that pro-red half of Manchester room that day, but for a neutral, that’s exactly the sort of ending you want for a season. In the end, the game itself has always had the ability to rise above the silly tabloid aspects and trump our natural cynicism to provide us with enjoyment and memorable moments.

I love this game. This silly, backwards, over-paid, over-hyped, anti-technology, anti-reason,  game.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Saturday May 13: New York Red Bulls at Montreal Impact – It’s New York’s inaugural trip to the land of poutine and separatists. The French will probably be disappointed that Thierry Henry looks out for this one, but how would you tell? They’re Quebecers, they always look miserable. Join us at The Football Factory at Legends (6 West 33rd St. Manhattan) from 7pm to yell the ten French words you remember from high school.

Wednesday May 20: New York Red Bulls vs. Chivas USA – Former Metro striker Juan Pablo Angel should make his return in this game, provided he’s not first traded away by Club Deportivo Chivas United States of America. If I felt like looking up the quote, here’s where I’d make an “Our Town” joke. Join us at El Pastor (570 Market St. Newark) for an afterwork drink and a bit of football.

Cesar Benoit

La Liga 2011-12 is now in the history books and what a season it was. The champions Real Madrid garnered 100 points, nine more than eternal rivals Barcelona.

Jose Mourinho’s club excelled in his second season at the helm. Madrid won 32 times, a record. They won 16 away matches, also a record. They scored an amazing 121 goals, another record. It’s like they were playing FIFA 2012, not actual human opponents.

The attack was led by La Liga’s MVP Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored an unreal 46 goals. Lionel Messi scored 50 to set a new league record. Still, who was more influential for their club, scoring a goal against every other side in the league table?

Ronaldo might not be as over with fans as Messi. But there’s no denying he came into his own this campaign.

Barcelona had a down year by their standards. Still, they gave us an exciting title race and reached the Champions League semifinals.

Pep Guardiola leaves a squad in transition, but there’s hope that tactical genius Tito Vilanova will guide the Catalans back to their rightful place atop Spain. With players like Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta in the fold, it shouldn’t be hard. Still, Cules need to be prepared for a slight dip.

The story of the season belongs to the plucky little club from Valencia’s rough side – Levante.

Their 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday saw them finish in the European places for the first time in their history. For a team that’s never won anything, it’s a glorious honor.

Levante stayed in the top tier of the league through sheer will, taped together with unheralded scrap heap veterans and cheap, unwanted talent. Week after week, we expected to see them fall, taking their rightful place in the relegation spots. Week after week, they proved us wrong.

They’ll be in Europe next season and one might say they had the more successful campaign of the city’s clubs.

Valencia finished 3rd although most Che fans have a sour taste in their mouth over the season. They ended up 39 points behind the champs, costing Unai Emery his job. Semifinals trips in the Europa League and Copa del Rey weren’t enough for their fickle fans.

Tough luck, but with the losses of players like David Villa, David Silva and Juan Mata every season, their run of Champions League qualification is a minor miracle. Let’s see how they fare without Emery’s overcaffeinated presence next season.

Malaga made the Champions League for the first time. With their vast riches, they’ll be back again and again. Their project of world domination is just starting.

Atletico Madrid made the Europa League once again after winning it this season. Although they’re missing out on Champions League football, they’re on the right path. Diego Simeone did a wonderful job with this squad and with players like Falcao and Adrian, they’re ripe for a climb up the table.

Athletic Bilbao had a nice run although they finished a disappointing 10th. They lost the Europa League final and you’d have to think they’re underdogs against Barcelona in the upcoming Copa del Rey final. Still, it was a fun season. Their clashes with Manchester United were stunning displays. Will stars Fernando Llorente and Iker Munain depart for greener pastures? Stay tuned.

The saddest story of the season? Villarreal’s relegation. In 2006, they were a penalty kick away from making the Champions League final. This year, injuries, inept coaching and plain bad luck saw them drop to the Segunda. Will they come straight up? Depends on who stays.

Now our attention turns to Euro 2012 and Spain’s defense of their championship. Can La Furia Roja repeat? Maybe.

La Liga returns August 18th. Can’t wait.

Irony often plays a powerful part in football but did it ever get quite so stuck in as on Wednesday 16th May 2012 ? As far as Liverpool FC is concerned, possibly not.

The day closed with Kenny Dalglish getting the sack from the club where he will always be regarded as a legend. It had opened with the man he deposed as manager, Roy Hodgson, speaking from the pinnacle of the English game, as national team manager, selecting his squad for the forthcoming European Championships.

Within his selection were three of the men whose failure this season ultimately helped lead to Dalglish’s demise, men who will end a pretty dispiriting campaign by perhaps performing at the second biggest football tournament in the world.

Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing are in the England 23, Jordan Henderson a stand-by in case of injury between now and then, all three of them bought by Dalglish for Liverpool at a combined cost of £71million, contributing six goals to the Premier League cause between them this season. It doesn’t exactly look like value for money does it?

And yet all three are in the England picture. Has Hodgson got it wrong too, or is there real quality there. The latter seems the likely answer because Carroll’s late season renaissance in particular has gone a long way to reminding us all of just what all the fuss was about when he was up at Newcastle. Quite why he was so relentlessly below par for so much of the rest of the season is another question, though Dalglish must shoulder a portion of the blame given the penny only appeared to drop in the last few games – get him in the box and get him some service from out wide and Carroll can be unplayable.

The refusal to team him and Downing often enough was a catastrophic blunder from Dalglish and, in many ways, it’s Downing who has been the bigger disappointment given the quality he has shown at a high level for so long. His Anfield return has been negligible and, while Carroll has borne the brunt of criticism, Downing’s failure has been the more central problem.

As to Henderson, the youngster has talent but has too often looked like the intern who picked up a firs team place by mistake. He has a bright future but for £14million, the future is now, and it wasn’t.

That is a major part of the charge sheet against Dalglish, that he spent money heavily and badly. On that point, he is guilty as charged. How can any football manager spend over £100million and still have Jay Spearing in his team?

Yet he might have survived it all had it not been for the spectacular way in which he misjudged and mishandled the Luis Suarez affair. Suarez was in the wrong, even if, at a real, real stretch, through ignorance rather than maliciousness. You accept it, you apologise, you take your punishment, you move on. You do not complain the world is against you, you do not pretend to be a paragon of virtue, you do not stand together by wearing t-shirts to support someone guilty of racism. It will not wash with anyone and the whole sorry episode dragged Liverpool through the dirt. In the end, I suspect, that was the crime that prevented Dalglish getting a few more months to turn the team around.

Which brings us to England and to the man Dalglish elbowed aside in his headlong rush to trash his own reputation. Roy Hodgson’s England squad announcement was, of course, overshadowed by a race issue of its own, the selection of John Terry and the omission of Rio Ferdinand, brother of Anton, the other party in the Terry case.

Natural justice says Terry is innocent until proven guilty, and his court case does not come up until after the Euros, making him available for selection. In the interests of squad harmony, it was always going to be an “either/or” call on the two England veterans, though there were arguments that neither should have gone give both are starting to creak badly as the years take their toll.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s assertion last week that Ferdinand would struggle to play a game every four days must have pretty much ended his chances of making the cut because while Terry looks a shadow of the player he was, he can still get out on the pitch and, whatever you might think of him as a human being, that warrior attitude he has can still be a trump card for an England side whose biggest hope of success this summer will be in turning games into wars of attrition.

If players listen to Roy Hodgson’s guidance, if they buy into his mantras of organisation and discipline, then even the comparatively ordinary fare that England can currently field – only one world class player at his peak in Rooney – can make themselves hard to beat.

There are worse characteristics to have than that in a cup competition and at least this time around, England will not be weighed down with unrealistic expectations of success. Getting out of the group stage will be considered satisfactory given the deeply disjointed nature of the preparation and with the tournament behind him, Hodgson can then really get down to business, playing for both Brazil and for Burton, safe in the knowledge that, unlike at Anfield, there is no ghostly presence at his shoulder looking to take back the crown…

The man they call the Romford Pele, Ray Parlour, shares his views on Roy Hodgson’s appointment as England manager.

We look back on a scintillating end to the Premiership season with Ed Upright.

Ian Thomson drops in to talk MLS tactics and Cyrille Regis takes us on walk down memory lane as he recalls Coventry City’s heroic triumph in the 1987 FA Cup final.

We’ll also be taking you on a whistle-stop tour of football’s greatest ‘goalgasms’.

Sorry, Roy, you just made your first mistake.

Gary Neville’s appointment as an England coach is a ticking time bomb.

Not because Neville thought that playing internationals with the three lions was a massive waste of time. And not because he carries bitter feelings towards a minority of idiotic England fans for their disgusting treatment of himself, his brother, and his best pal Beckham.

Not even because he thinks too many England players lack the required technical or tactical ability as well as the inability to play without fear of  repercussions from the press.

Gary saw England as a bonus in his playing days and it’s hard to see how he can think of this role as anything but.

If he had the chance to be a United coach he would have been tailor-made and would have held the respect of all and sundry in that working environment.

And that’s the real issue.

Respect.

Being close to the United players in the squad might be awkward, but it’s not a concern.

It’s in relationships with others where the danger lies. Who knows what kind of baggage he brings to the table with many current England players?

If there are any issues with the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, etc. then these would manifest themselves when his back was turned and create more unnecessary friction in an England camp which already gets on as well as Joey Barton would with himself in an empty room.

He is too young. Only yesterday, he hung up the boots with which he used to scythe many of the current squad down.

The bulging egos in today’s game have a hard enough time respecting senior authoritarian figures never mind a lad they see as their equal in terms of rank.

Neville was a world class player and is a world class television pundit – and in time I reckon he will be a world class coach. Maybe one day, even United’s numero uno.

But his England role is too early and will only create friction. More on this next week…

Serie A

By Michael Ottolenghi

The season is over and the verdicts are in. Juventus are champions and are joined in the Champions League by Milan and Udinese (who will have to go through the preliminary qualifying round). Cesena, Novara and Lecce are relegated.

As is tradition in this column, we close with the best and worst of the Serie A season.

Best

Juventus. An impressive debut season for Antonio Conte, who guided his team to an unbeaten season and the club’s 28th league title. Conte and the club have assembled a deep squad by Serie A standards, with Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Stephan Lichsteiner and Mirko Vucinic all performing well. The club has also inaugurated its very own stadium (although it has conspicuously failed to sell the naming rights to the “Juventus Stadium”) and is on a (relatively) sound financial footing. Champions League football will provide a real test for Conte, but Juventus fans can rejoice for now in the familiar glow of Serie A success.

Udinese. Last season Udinese were the surprise package, led by Antonio Di Natale and Alexis Sanchez. This season, with Sanchez and other first team regulars gone (including Ghokan Inler and Cristian Zapata), Udinese narrowly lost to Arsenal in the Champions League qualifying round and many feared they would not be able to sustain last season’s form. But manager Francesco Guidolin managed to turn his side into a consistent Serie A force, with high pressure, attacking fullbacks and Antonio Di Natale’s 23 goals leading them to a third place finish. Udinese are a reality of Serie A, and the club must do all it can to persuade Guidolin not to take a sabbatical, as he has recently threatened.

Hopes of rejuvenation. This season has seen the last Serie A outings for a number of ageing players, some timely and others far less so. Milan alone bid farewell to Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso, Alessandro Nesta and Pippo Inzaghi, although Bologna stalwart Marco Di Vaio also deserves a mention on his way to the MLS and Montreal Impact. These departures have coincided with promises to rejuvenate squads, so hopefully next season will see the emergence of young, Italian talent in a number of teams.

Worst

Continued low standard of play in Serie A. Juventus’s achievements this season must be seen in the context of an ever declining Serie A. This was seen most clearly in European competitions. In the Champions League, while Inter, Milan and Napoli all qualified for the second round of the competition, none made it to the semi-final stage, with Inter and Milan wilting with little trace and Napoli failing to deal with the pressure of the big stage. In the Europa League Udinese and Roma went nowhere. But even domestically, the signs of a mediocre league are most clearly seen by the fact that while Juventus were unbeaten, they finished only four points above Milan, who had six defeats.

Inter and Roma. Both clubs started the season with new managers and big pronouncements, but they finished in 6th and 7th place, respectively. Inter will have to play in the Europa League qualifying round, while Roma are out of Europe completely. In retrospect, Inter’s season was doomed from the start, with manager Giampiero Gasperini, who was fired after 3 games, never receiving the support he had asked for in the transfer window. Two managers later, Inter are seemingly keeping faith with 36-year-old Andrea Stramaccioni, but the problem is an ageing squad with long contracts rather than the manager. Roma embarked on a new “project” under former Barcelona B manager Luis Enrique, but the manager never gelled with his senior players and resigned in frustration at the vagaries of the Roman fans. Neither club is in good shape for next season.

Violence and matchfixing. The scourge of violence has not been eliminated from Italian football, as unfortunately stabbings, violent confrontations and other ugly incidents aided by the ineptitude of the police have never been far from the headlines. The example was set at the top by former Fiorentina manager Delio Rossi’s deranged physical assault on his player Adem Ljajic. And this season has also brought yet another matchfixing scandal, implicating clubs in both Serie A and Serie B.

See you in August.

Congratulations to all our winners so far. Don’t miss out on your chance. Enter now!

What’s Your Favorite commentator ‘Goalgasm’ ?

On Tuesday night Gary Neville let out a shrill, ejaculatory squeal after Fernando Torres’ late strike against Barcelona. Neville’s screech has since spread across the internet like wildfire and been memorably dubbed a “goalgasm”.

England: Manchester City are champions, but boy did they leave it late. QPR came back from a goal down to lead 2-1, despite having captain Joey Barton sent off for elbowing Carlos Tevez, and City then laid siege to the QPR goal. Just as Manchester United walked off the field having beaten Sunderland 1-0, City scored two goals in injury time to win the game and their first title since 1968. The most stunning ending to the English championshipsince 1989 at Anfield.

France: There was injury-time drama in Montpellier too, where the league leaders needed a late strike from sub Karim Ait-Fana to beat Lille 1-0. The goal keeps Montpellier three points clear of Paris St Germain, 3-0 victors over Rennes, and means Montpellier need just a draw away at relegated Auxerre next week to win the French title for the first time.

Turkey: Galatasaray clinched their 18th Turkish championship amid chaotic scenes at their rival Fenerbahce’s Sukru Saracoglu stadium. Gala, whose fans were banned from attending the game, needed just a point to win the title – but if they lost, Fenerbahce would win it. The 0-0 draw was too much to take for Fener’s support: Hundredsinvaded the pitch, and the Galatasaray squad were left to celebrate inside a ring of riot police.

Italy: Juventus completed their championship-winning Italian season undefeated, finishing off with a 3-1 win over Atalanta. Retiring bianconeri legend Alessandro del Piero had an emotional send-off in Turin, on the same day that Milan stalwart Filippo Inzhagi scored the winner in his last game for the club. Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, and Alessandro Nesta will also be leaving the league runners-up over the summer.

Germany: Champions Borussia Dortmund emphasised their domestic superiority over Champions League finalists Bayern Munich with a 5-2 demolition of Jupp Heynckes’ side in the German Cup final, to the displeasure of the Munich side’s coach. Sir Alex Ferguson was in the stand, rumoured to be watching Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa – who will have increased the likelihood of his rumoured move to Old Trafford with two of his side’s goals, the first after just three minutes.

2 – Which German was voted the player of the tournament for Italia ’90?

3 – Who was the 1st non German manager to win the Bundesliga?

4 – In which year did West Germany win their 1st world cup ?

5 – Who did West Germany lose to in the ’70 World Cup semi final?

ANSWERS

1 – Which German striker helped Inter win the Scudetto in 1989?

Jurgen Klinsmann

2 – Which German was voted the player of the tournament for Italia ’90?

Lothar Matthaus

3 – Who was the 1st non German manager to win the Bundesliga?

Giovanni Trapattoni

4 – In which year did West Germany win their 1st world cup ?

1954 Switzerland

5 – Who did West Germany lose to in the ’70 World Cup semi final?

Italy

By Jay Mwamba

Eighteen years after their last match in the First Division, Hoboken FC are back in the CSL top flight. The Jersey boys clinched promotion last Sunday with a hard fought 3-2 road win over Tesoro Brooklyn Kings at Old Boys High School.

The result means that Hoboken, who celebrate their centenary this weekend, will finish ahead of Stal Mielec [9-3-3, 30] and behind a stellar Manhattan Celtic [14-0, 42] that could become the first CSL side in recent memory to finish a season with a hundred percent record.

Impressive themselves with an 11-2-2 [35] record, Hoboken had to work hard for their ticket to the upper echelon.  Fred Amoah [16th] canceled out Kareem Joachim’s opener [12th] for Tesoro but the home side led 2-1 at the interval through Andrew Revanales [25th].

On resumption, Miki Mach [66th] and captain Guilherme Dantas [76th] scripted the win for the visitors.

Hoboken’s management hailed the club’s promotion.

Said GM Bill Marth: “Six years ago, we barely survived relegation to the fourth division and finished 3-13 in Metro One.  At that time, we were irrelevant in amateur soccer circles.  Because of the hard work of the players, coaches and club members, we have been able to return to [the] CSL top flight after 18 years.  This is a big step for the organization, but only a stop.  The final destination is the CSL championship.”

Head coach Andrew Darby added: “I believe that all reserve and first team players have played a massive part in our promotion. Whether it has been from playing in the games, being available even if you did not get on in a game, to making practices as intense and as quality as possible, the entire [club] worked for this.”

And Dantas zeroed in on the club’s next target. “The focus and goal is now the New Jersey State Cup championship.”

Hoboken are through to the semis in that competition.

Hoboken’s reserves triumphed 3-1, thanks to Jon Cope, a Tesoro own goal and Dave Wisniewski.

FLAWLESS CELTS
John Tanios and Sam Sneed were among the scorers as Division Two champions-designate Manhattan Celtic made it 14 wins out of 14 at FC Japan’s expense [4-0].

“Our goal is to try and finish undefeated. That’s the plan if we can do it,” said stand-in coach Ian Woodcock, whose lads can do just that against NYPD this Sunday.

His reserves vanquished Japan 6-0 courtesy of Barrie Taylor, an own goal, Jamie Hamilton, Dan Callow [two] and Matt Negus.

Earlier, Woodcock coached and played in the Celtic Over-30s’ 5-0 drubbing of FC Gjoa.

Scorers against Gjoa were: Mickey Mason [2nd], Barry O’Connell [34th, 80th], Messaoud Ouechtati [50th] and K.Z. Punnette [54th].  John O’Hagen and Greg Macek each had two assists.

STAL STALLED
Third place Stal Mielec’s promotion hopes in the Second Division were dashed after basement dwellers EMC pegged back Jacek Lawniczak’s goal to snatch a 1-1 tie at McCarren Park.

The reserves drew 3-3, with Simon Gibbs [two] and Josh Fischer on target for EMC who played the first half with eight men against Stal’s ten but trailed only 2-0.

COPS WIN
Rafi Mashriqi and Jorge bedoya scored in NYPD’s 2-1 decision over Turkish American SC at Flushing Meadow Park.

Keita replied for the Turks whose second unit was blanked 2-0 on goals by Chris Mejia and Diego Martinez.

ROCKFALL
Also in Division Two, player-coach Declan Condron [15th] gave Shamrock a false start in a 4-1 loss to New York Ukrainians on Roosevelt Island.

Jacob Chase, Alex Broz, Cassio Costa and Mike Glass replied for Ukrainians, 3-1 victors in the curtain raiser.

In that game, Sergei Khaladzinski, Craig Thomas and Lukasz Prawozin scored while Ruairi Lavery had Shamrock’s face-saver.

GROGAN MAGIC
Brought in a year to save Lansdowne Bhoys from relegation, Kevin Grogan has led the Irishmen to the First Division playoffs with a 3-0 romp over New York Albanians at Tibbetts Brook Park.

“A great day for the club,” said the former Manchester United player. “It’s going to be very hard but we are ready for the challenge.”

Conor Hunter, Mike Fernandez and Norway-bound Erik Rengifo hammered the Albanians.

In addition to securing a playoff berth, Lansdowne [7-3-5, 26] inched to within three points of the First Division [East] title. A win over United FC in their final match this Sunday will clinch it ahead of Barnstonworth Rovers.

Seamus McDaid [88th] connected in the Lansdowne reserves’ 1-0 decision.

ROVERS HOPE
Andy Abramovits [65th] had Rovers’ solitary goal in a road win over bottom side Clarkstown SC.  It booked their third appearance in the playoffs and should Lansdowne slip up against United, Barnstonworth [7-4-4, 25] could nick the East title with a result against Albanians.

“Our team fought hard, and though it was not one of our prettiest performances, we gutted out a tough win at a tough place to win,” said Rovers coach Stavros Zomopoulos.

Steven Pugliese grabbed both Rovers goals in a 2-2 tie.

MEGA EFFORT
Eight goals scored, one conceded and six points bagged. That was the New York Greek-American/Atlas haul from two matches played 48 hours apart after they dispatched Manhattan Kickers 4-1 on Randalls Island Tuesday night.

Chris Megaloudis [45th, 65th] struck twice [the second from an audacious Ronaldo-like back heel] and had an assist against luckless Kickers. Tommy Walhf  [50th] and player-coach Michael Todd, off the Megaloudis assist, [80th] go the other goals, while Damian Lopez [55th] had Kickers’ consolation.

Two days earlier, Paul Shaw [5th], Ben Arikian [15th], Patrick Figueroa [60th] and Jonathan Wilkens [80th] had starred for the Greeks in a 4-0 romp over New York Croatia whose reserves lost by the same score line.

Atlas [13-0-1, 41] have won the West title by a runaway 13 points over Pancyprian Freedoms [8-5-2, 28].

FREEDOM RUN
In what’s been a topsy-turvy season for the defending champs, Loukas Tasigiannis, Julio and Anastasios Polydefkis fired ten-man Pancyprian’s 3-1 past Central Park Rangers at St. John’s University.

Paul Robinson had CPR’s lone response.

Said CPR manager Yuval Lion: “We found it difficult to keep up at times with the Pancyprian’s quick attacking play, but made more of a game of it when they went down a man in the second half.”

Pancyprian’s reserves won 1-0, thanks to Billy Antoniou.

KICKER OUTBURST
Goreliegh Willis [two], David James and Mike Alexander were among the scorers at McCarren Park where Manhattan Kickers reserves’ mauled Polonia 5-0 last Sunday. Later, the first team fixture ended goalless.

HIT CD
CD Iberia hammered Homenetmen 4-0 on Randalls Island to bag the Metro Div. One East title and qualify for the championship match June 2.

Steve Nyarady, Devin and Manny Lago [two] upped Iberia’s record to an unassailable 10-2-3 [33].

“We are extremely proud of our season and are looking forward to competing against Korabi or Gwardia [in the final] in a few weeks,” said Diego Monteagudo.

DENNEHY’S COMEBACK
Down 3-0 at the interval to CPR Blacks, Mr. Dennehy’s produced an improbable second half comeback to nick a point with the final kick of the game. Goals from Lance Pitterson and Stephan McElreath earned Dennehy’s a 3-3 tie.

“It takes a lot of character to come from three down, but that’s something we have had an abundance of in the second half of the season,” said player-manager Ronan Gardiner.

Mr. Dennehy’s [8-4-3, 27] will finish third in Metro One [East].

WESTERN FRONT
Pirro Cece and Enea Cana struck for depleted FC Partizani in a 7-2 drubbing by Metro Div. One [West] leaders Korabi at the Greenbelt Recreation Center.

Undefeated Korabi improved to 10-0-4 [34], a point ahead of FC Gwardia [10-2-3, 33] with a game to play.

ASTORIA GORED
Gwardia, meanwhile, stayed on Korabi’s heels with an 8-0 thrashing of Sporting Astoria at Bushwick Inlet.

The 1-0 half time score line gave little indication of the deluge to follow in the second half.

Said winning manager Artur Sibiga: “Gwardia added seven more including a penalty from captain Piotr Brzezinski and a stunner half line goal from top scorer [15 goals this season] Marcin Januszko.”

Januszko had a brace as did Konrad Sobotka, while Marcin Tancula, Mateusz Tancula and Maciej Kuczerski had one apiece.

MISSILE ATTACK
Missile FC demolished short-handed BW G Comos 6-2 on Randalls Island.

FC’s Jo Valentine [two], Fritz Bosquet, Ricardo Vil, Ernst Brutus and Jeff Durosier connected against Cosmos who at one point trailed 4-0 while playing with nine men. They finished with ten players and a brace from Kerwin Vasquez.

“Playing with 10 men in the second [half] Gottschee outscored Missile 2-1 but couldn’t make up the other goals,” rued John Krische.

HARRIS DOUBLE
Elsewhere in Metro Div. One, Mark Harris notched both Gotham Argo goals in a 2-2 tie with Nieuw Amsterdam.

SIX-SHOOTERS
Lansdowne Bhoys’ Metro Div. II side crushed New York Galicia 6-0 to claim first place [11-2-2, 35] from idle Europa FC with a game remaining.

John McGeeney [two], Nelly Magure [two], Martin Hughes and Marty Griffin tallied at Tibbetts Brook Park.

BRAVE TIE
New York Bravehearts’ Pralay Rajbhandari and Viktor Banov of FC Bulgaria exchanged goals in a 1-1 tie at on Randalls Island.

ZENITH FALL
Also on Randalls Island, Herve Bertrand scored in Grenadier Zenith’s 3-2 loss to Ridgewood Romac.

And at Stevens Institute in New Jersey, ten-man New Amsterdam crashed 7-0 to Astoria Gaels.

ROCKS STYMIED
Shamrock’s coronation as Over-30 Div. One West kings was stymied by a 1-1 draw with second place New York Greek-American/Atlas [8-5-2, 26] on Randalls Island.

Manolis Kountourakis [65th] erased skipper Stephen Doyle’s 55th minute penalty for the Rocks [9-4-2, 29] who now need a draw against East champions Manhattan Premier this Sunday to clinch the division title.

PREMIER SHACKLED
Once beaten Premier, meanwhile, had goals from Stu Kaiser [15th], Ray Teets [25th] and Joe Whiteman [65th] in a 3-3 tie with NYPD on Randalls Island.

Also on Randalls Island, East runners-up Barnstonworth Premier knocked off SC Eintracht 5-1 with Duane Pena [two], Nedgy Nazone [two] and Emin Avsar on target.

BROWN HAT TRICK
Manhattan Kickers Over-30s held off Pele Masters 3-2 at Kaiser Park on Colin Brown’s hat trick.

LATE BLAST
At Forest Hills High School, it was Gabriel Hernandez [78th, 85th] striking late to lift Barnstonworth Rovers past Tesoro 3-1. Tim Hattori [50th] was the other Rovers marksman.

BIRTHDAY BASH
Milton Ospina went off the day before his 35th birthday, banging in four goals in BWG Cosmos’ 9-1 annihilation of FC Partizani in Over-30 Div. Two action on Randalls Island.

Cesar Cadavid hit a hat trick with Elmer Ventura and Rob Cevenna rounding off the scoring.

OUTGUNNED
At Bushwick Inlet, Ben Elman and Carlos Herra scored for Brooklyn Gunners in a 4-2 defeat to CPR Old Boys.

In Over-30 Div. Three, Jean-Michel Laforgue [two] and Mohamed Tabrani etched Argo Silver’s 3-1 decision over RTG, whose Pavel Kudelya was on the mark.

It was an improved effort by RTG, who fell 5-0 to Troy FC the previous week.

Troy’s player-coach Muhsin Kagdaric [two], Alex Berne [two] and Irfan Omer connected in that game.

What on earth are the Argentinians playing at?

They have named their new season after the ARA General Belgrano.

This was followed closely by an advert for their Olympic team which depicted an athlete sneaking onto the streets of Port Stanley at 6am to train.

The last time one of his fellow countrymen did that the afore mentioned ship was sunk by HMS Conquerer.

The Argentines aren’t the only South Americans taking the mickey this month.

After watching the best Brazil team ever in the 1982 World Cup, many young Scots dreamt of being Zico.

Not me. I dreamt of Souness halving him.

In an interview with a rival publication he proved he could bend the truth as well as an Adidas Tango.

Having taken over as the coach of the Iraqi national team he waxed lyrical about life being full of danger so he wasn’t worried about the security aspects which supposedly came with such a job.

Iraq don’t play in Iraq and Zico still lives in Brazil. Therefore his lack of concern is understandable.

During the interview he was asked how a great player manages to coach players nowhere near as good.

Easy: he doesn’t bother.

Zico will fly in to Qatar 10 days before a game to catch up with the team. He claims that because the World Cup is in Brazil in 2014, it makes sense for him to remain there.

Er… why?

He has a coach based in Qatar to, basically, do his job for him and he points out that he knows the players well enough not to feel the need to watch them play.

Wait a minute – I could do this.

I imagine he is getting paid handsomely for what seems to be the cushiest job on the planet (his brother is the assistant manager, by the way).

Maybe I was being harsh accusing him of bending the truth, because when he is asked whether managing at international is more attractive than club football he says absolutely it is, and cites the fact that you don’t have to work everyday.

He doesn’t want to work in Brazil because presumably whoever employed him would expect a wee bit of effort.

Ironically, if Iraq qualify, Zico will be forced to get his finger out and do something in the summer of 2014.

By Tim Hall

I, in no way, wish to make this space, which I hold sacred and very near and dear to my heart, a political avenue. This is a footy mag, it always will be, and I shall defend that to the last. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen frequently around the world, be it with monarchies or warring clans or despotic dictators or Olympic committees (which are essentially amalgamations of the previous three examples), there are times where soccer and politics cross paths. This is one of those times.

Recently in America, the sports channel ESPN decided to air the Manchester derby on their flagship station rather than on ESPN2, as they normally would. To you and I this makes perfect sense. The City vs. United match was a massively important game in deciding this year’s Premier League champion, and perhaps in changing the landscape of the Premiership for years to come. Tack on the fact that it was the “Most Popular Club In The World” against the “Noisy Neighbors”, and ESPN has every right – if not every responsibility – to throw the game in front of as many eyeballs as possible.

Unfortunately, not everyone felt that way. As chronicled by the sports website Deadspin, there was a significant amount of people who took to the internet to question ESPN’s logic, and not in very flattering terms. “why the hell is soccer on espn. #grassfairies” remarked mental giant ‘@colbyjbag’ on Twitter. Fellow Mensa candidate ‘@T_Klish’ offered this: “Why is there soccer on ESPN? #gay” Never one to be left out, future astrophysicist @NickPinkhover attempted to sum up the feelings of the room with “i just saw soccer on espn, um wtf? They need their own channel for soccer called like the gay channel or something”

Of course, this all led to a good laugh and an enjoyable barstool conversation at Legend’s (6 West 33rd St., Manhattan) a few days later. The agreed upon result of that conversation was that there are ‘two Americas’: one that ‘gets it’ and one that doesn’t, and that ‘other half’ were a bunch of dumb yet ultimately harmless rubes. We’d come a long way in the last twenty or so years, and the opinions of a few close-minded morons wouldn’t stop progress. Eventually, even though we may not be around to see it, we know in our hearts that the history books will declare us the winners.

Read those last sentences again. Was the ‘we’ being referred to there soccer fans, or tolerant people who really don’t think it’s kosher to call people or things “gay” as an insult?

On Tuesday of this week, the state of North Carolina voted to add an amendment to their state’s constitution which would define marriage as only being between a man and a woman. This would actually be doubling down for North Carolina, as state law already prohibits same-sex marriage. The voters approved this measure by a roughly 60-40 margin, joining them with roughly thirty other states who have made similar decrees.

Two Americas. One that ‘gets it’, one that doesn’t. Harmless rubes. Wouldn’t stop progress.

I don’t mean to compare my right or ability to watch a soccer game with a gay couple’s right or ability to get married on equal footing; clearly they aren’t. But let’s think about all those people who took to the internet to yell at ESPN, and compare them with all those people who took to the North Carolina polls to oppress their neighbors. In the referendum, people were so put off and so offended by the concept of others being happy that they went to their local polling station – on a weekday – to shut it down. Those proud anti-soccer Twitter warriors had to let everyone know their anger and disappointment as soon as possible, so they started hammering away on their keyboards and cell phones.

But a note to those would-be internet tastemakers: to start typing your missive to the world, first you probably had to put down your remote control. Next time, don’t. It’s a useful tool. There’s buttons there that will change the channel to something more to your liking or, if all else fails, will turn your television completely off. Instead of trying to influence everyone’s opinion on why this is ‘stupid’ or ‘wrong’ or ‘gay’, why not instead focus on something else that would make you happy? Why bring everyone else down because you’re miserable or offended?

And that is increasingly the problem in this 1000 channel, 24-hour news cycle, 140 character world. We’re becoming a society that believes that, no matter how deeply held, our opinions are right, are fact, are truth, and should even be law.

Since the world around us is ever changing, let’s establish or re-establish some ground rules for the human condition for 2012 and beyond. Just because you can tell the world your opinions doesn’t mean you should. Just because you can operate a keyboard doesn’t mean you should use it to say ignorant, hateful things. Just because something makes you uncomfortable doesn’t give you the right to make the lives of others worse. Just because you believe you know what’s best for others doesn’t make that true. And let’s stop with the whole “calling things you don’t like ‘gay’” thing.

This weekend, the Fox family of networks will be showing nine EPL games across their various platforms, which include Fuel TV and the Speed Channel. Somewhere, on Sunday morning, some redneck is going to be righteously pissed off that he’ll only get to watch 3 hours of pre-NASCAR race coverage as opposed to his usual five. And, given that NASCAR’s ancestral home is North Carolina, it might even be one of those voters.

Do us a favor, Joe Sixpack, before you go rushing to your laptop, and before you go sprinting to the ballot box, remember this: your opinions suck. Keep them to yourself.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Sunday May 13 – New York Red Bulls @ Philadelphia Union: Yes, it’s Mother’s Day. But look at it this way: whether you’re traveling to the game or joining us at The Football Factory at Legends (6 West 33rd St. Manhattan), with a 12:30 kickoff, you can totally be home and sobered up by 6pm to take Mom out to dinner. This has been a public service announcement from your friends at First Touch Magazine.

Serie A

By Michael Ottolenghi

Six years after being relegated to Serie B because of their orchestration of a large match-fixing scam, Juventus won their 28th Serie A title on Sunday night, thanks to Inter’s 4-2 victory over Milan and the Turin’s side 2-0 win over Cagliari in Trieste.

The irony of Juventus owing their title to arch-rivals Inter was lost on no-one, but the Juve fans will not let that sour their celebrations.

The team that wins the league over 38 games always deserves to do so – there is little luck involved in winning Serie A. Even though the standard of play in Serie A has continued to plummet, Juventus are deserving champions, still unbeaten with one game to go (although with so many draws that Milan and their 6 defeats were in the running for the title until this week).

As is now traditional in this column, the Serie A winners receive a pagella – or report card – for their season. Readers will recall that there is no grade inflation in an Italian pagella – 7/10 is a good grade.

Gianluigi Buffon 7,5 With his back problems resolved, Italy’s number 1 was back to his best, transmitting confidence to his back line. Half a mark deducted for being dishonest about Sulley Muntari’s disallowed goal at San Siro.

Stephan Lichsteiner 8,5 The non-Pirlo transfer of the season. Became the best right back in Serie A with searing runs and endless energy.

Andrea Barzagli 8 Quietly authoritative, he established himself as a no-nonsense centre back after the disappointment of his Bundesliga experience.

Leonardo Bonucci 6,5 A disappointing start to the season, with long spells on the bench. Rejuvenated in Conte’s 3 man defense, but still below par.

Giorgio Chiellini 7,5 More noteworthy for his steely determination than his defensive timing, Chiellini was the soul of the team in the absence of Del Piero. Useful going forward.

Arturo Vidal 7,5 A crucial part of Conte’s midfield after a questionable start. True grit in midfield as well as a good shot (7 goals) and vision to boot.

Andrea Pirlo 9 Without question the transfer of the season (particularly as he was free). Protected by his younger midfield colleagues, the 32 year old directed the game like his old self. 7 goals, countless assists, and a calm elegance that no other member of the squad could dream of.

Claudio Marchisio 8 The essential counterpart to Pirlo in midfield. Did a lot of dirty work but came up with very important goals (9 in total) in the middle of the season when the strikers were misfiring.

Simone Pepe 7 A useful winger, never gave up and scored a crucial goal against Napoli. Lost steam as the season went on.

Mirko Vucinic 7,5 Only took off in March, and contributed 6 goals from then on, staving off a number of difficult situations and adding that touch of inspiration that the other strikers lacked.

Alessandro Matri 7 The triumph of the will. Not the most gifted, but benefitted from being in the right place at the right time. Top scorer nonetheless with 10 goals.

Antonio Conte 9 The real genius behind this scudetto. He arrived with a winning aura, fairly rigid ideas and a thin skin (reacting with little humour to repeated taunts about his hair transplant). But after a promising start he became far more than a popular former player who could transmit energy to the squad. He ditched his preferred 4-2-4 formation in favour of a flexible 4-3-3 that could easily become a 3-5-2, confounding more experienced managers. Showed ruthlessness in dealing with some players (Milos Krasic, Eljero Elia, even Del Piero) while transmitting new belief to the Juventus family. European competition will be his big test next season, but he deserves to celebrate an impressive first Serie A title as manager.

By Cesar Benoit

La Liga rolls into the final weekend of the season much as we predicted: Real Madrid and Barcelona on top.

We didn’t know who’d finish first or second. We did know one of the Spanish Old Firm would hold the cup aloft, proclaiming themselves champions.

Can we predict the future? No. But here’s a spoiler: One of these two will win the league in 2013.

This season it’s Jose Mourinho’s conquering heroes. It’s a richly deserved prize, as evidenced by their 16th away win of the season, a 2-1 shocker against a Granada team fighting relegation.

Madrid have 97 points with one match left. It’s an incredible achievement. Let’s hope Sergio Ramos doesn’t destroy the cup this weekend, when celebrations reach a boiling point at the Bernabeu.

Second goes to Barcelona, who said goodbye to coach Pep Guardiola in an emotional celebration at the Nou Camp.

Los Cules destroyed crosstown rivals Espanyol 4-0, all four courtesy of Lionel Messi, who now has 50 goals for the season. Quite the going away present.
It’s a testament to Pep’s four seasons at the club that Messi scored four during his final match.

When Pep took over, Messi was an unrefined diamond. Now, he’s the world best player and has people whispering his name in the company of Maradona and Pele. Messi’s sentimental hug at the end of the match spoke volumes.
Pep leaves having won three La Ligas, two Champions Leagues, the Copa del Rey, five Super Cups (domestic and UEFA), two Club World Cups and a slew of individual coaching honors. Think he’ll be missed?

As for the rest of La Liga?
Third place goes to perennial bridesmaid Valencia, who parted ways with coach Unai Emery after securing third and an automatic Champions League spot.

It’s a shame but the squad had clearly tired of his energy. New coach Mauricio Pellegrino, a former Valencia defender, should inject a new spirit

More than anything, Valencia’s supporters want to see the team finish closer to first. This season, they’re 36 points from Madrid. They’re only 21 above relegation. Wow.

The fight’s on for the rest of the European places, with Malaga, Atletico Madrid, Real Mallorca and Levante fighting for the last Champions League place. They’re separated by 3 points.

Osasuna, Athletic Bilbao and Sevilla are duking it out for Europa League places.

Special mention for Bilbao, who’ll play two cup finals. First, it’s the Europa League against Atletico Madrid in Bucharest, Romania .

No luck for them there, as Atletico sliced and diced their way to a second Europa League title in 3 years, destroying the Basques 3-0. Congratulations Atleti!

Then it’s the Copa del Rey against Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon. Bilbao’s a great club and it’s a wonderful accomplishment for a team so profuse with regional pride.

Down in the nether regions, the relegation battle promises to cause some heartache and elation.

Every match will be played at 2pm Sunday, causing collective nerves across Spain to be frazzled.

The relegation fight is more interesting than the the championship race for many reasons, the main one being there are more than two clubs involved.

But besides that, the allegations of buy offs and suitcases of money are thrown about and general zaniness rules the day. It’s a telenovela wrapped in football.

This time, 5 clubs have a legitimate chance of joining Racing Santander in the drop zone, including Villarreal, Rayo Vallecano, Sporting Gijon and Real Zaragoza.

Granada presents an interesting case, as they looked a safe bet to stay up a few weeks ago.
A few losses coupled by a total meltdown against Madrid this weekend, when their team assaulted a referee, and now they’re in danger of going back down.

It took them 35 years to come up. Will they stay? Find out Sunday.

By Billy Williamson

In 1996, Madeline Albright, then Bill Clinton’s Secretary of State, was asked if she thought the death of half a million Iraqi children due to United Nation sanctions was a price worth paying in the cold war against Saddam Hussein. Her answer, amid much humming and ha’ing, was basically: “Yes”.

Albright later castigated herself for falling for the simplest of interview traps – the loaded question. She knew there was only one defence against such a weapon, and it’s to reframe the question.

The ten “wee clubs” in the Scottish Premier League could use a lesson in reframing right about now. It might get them out of the “damned if we do, damned if we don’t” trap that the Old Firm have set for them.

On April 30th, the members clubs of the SPL voted to defer for a week any decision on sanctions against Rangers. One week later, they decided to give themselves another three weeks, deferring any action until the end of May. They then spent five hours discussing the situation, and left the meeting no closer to any agreement than they were on Valentine’s Day, when this whole Rangers fiasco first flared.

If the other member clubs boot Rangers out of the SPL, Rangers fans point out, TV revenue will fall significantly – Dundee United chairman Steven Thompson spoke about a million-pound impact on his club. On top of this, crowds will fall as the Rangers hordes won’t come visiting. (Some teams’ fans dispute this, saying increased competitiveness might make up for it – but with Celtic strolling to the league title, I doubt that.)

However, if they don’t boot Rangers out of the SPL, Celtic fans say they will boycott every club that voted to keep the Ibrox side in the league – and at least some fans of every other club have said they’ll walk away, sick of a league which will have given up any pretence of “sporting integrity” or fair play.

The consequence of either course is that every member club will have to make savage cost cuts to offset reduced revenue. A few clubs might themselves fall into administration, setting off a vicious chain reaction.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t – and the SPL clubs (except the Old Firm) are clearly looking at both options, fancying neither, and kicking the proverbial can down the road.

But with a bit of imagination they could completely change the rules of the game.

One punter on the Scotsman comments board suggested the following: create a 16-team SPL, let Rangers in but with a 20-point penalty for three years, have a post-split playoff of the top four for European slots and “something similar” at the bottom.

I’m not sure I agree with the specifics of the proposal, but I think this is genius thinking. Use the opportunity to make changes to Scottish football that would never have a chance otherwise, but without the self-harm of ejecting half of the Old Firm.

Under this Scotsman subscriber’s scenario, Rangers do get punished. Maybe not to the extent that others want, but with a points penalty, a fine, and restrictions on signing players, the club will be sufficiently hampered to give the non-diddy wee teams a fair crack at success.

Though Rangers get punished, they remain in the top league – so the existing TV deal can remain in place. Perhaps with only three Old Firm games a year, but that’s manageable.

Rangers fans will feel they have had a fair crack of the whip – “fair” being the key word. Few bluenoses think they should escape scot-free; manager McCoist’s line has always been just that those dishing out sanctions should be careful not to destroy the club.

Rangers and Celtic supporters should have no reason to boycott away grounds – well, only the exceptionally bitter ones would -

so finances remain largely intact and there’s no collateral effect of collapsing clubs.

Who loses? Well, long-term, the Old Firm duopoly, if the distribution of TV money is changed. That’s maybe no bad thing. And Celtic will no doubt feel publicly aggrieved that their rivals remain in the top tier – Lawwell will squeal to that effect. But I suspect much of his “we don’t need Rangers” line is simply rhetoric and he knows how his club would suffer without a strong local challenge. God knows, the Old Firm suffer in Europe already for not having strong competition domestically.

So, messrs. Thompson, Yorkston, Brown, and co: stop answering loaded questions from Ibrox and Parkhead. Create your own narrative, and as the saying goes, “F*** the Old Firm.”

The FA Cup Final last Saturday gave us the opportunity to take a long look at a couple of venerable institutions stuck in deep decline – the competition itself and Liverpool Football Club.

Let’s take the Reds first. There can be no doubting the fact that the current side is the worst that has represented the club in 50 years, since Bill Shankly got his feet under the table and turned them in a trophy collecting machine. And don’t let Kenny Dalglish’s boast that they won a first cup in six years fool you. Birmingham City won the League Cup last year, which shows you how seriously the rest of the country takes it.

Vast amounts of money appear to have been spent on very, very little and though the Kop understandably has intense loyalty towards Dalglish, a wonderful former player, an excellent manager in his first spell and one who handled the Hillsborough tragedy magnificently at no little personal cost, surely their patience must be running thin. Jay Spearing in the role that used to saee Graeme Souness on the prowl? Jordan Henderson, playing like a kid on work experience? Jose Enrique, unrecognisable from the man who played so well at Newcastle? More worrying, what is this fetish he has for not playing Downing and Carroll at the same time?

When the two finally came together at Wembley on Saturday, at last we saw the makings of a Liverpool revival. Carroll looked the player of old at last, but God, it’s not rocket science is it? He may not be worth £35million, but give him the right service in the right area and he’s a handful. At least that particular penny has dropped and if Liverpool utilise that strength, playing the ball up to him, it might drag the team further up the pitch, something Steven Gerrard has to do single handed at present, purely by effort of will. But if Liverpool continue to use tactics as deeply negative as last Saturday, when they refused to countenance playing until they were 2-0 down, it’s not going to matter because the front men will continue to be left isolated.

For Liverpool, there is always hope of better tomorrow of course. Perhaps the team will gel next year, perhaps a couple of additions might transform them. But for the other institution, the FA Cup, the illness is looking distinctly terminal.

The 21st century has not been kind to the self proclaimed greatest cup competition in the world as it has become the increasingly ugly sister of the Premier League itself, the competition that the Football Association originally brought into being.

Manchester United dropped out of it, and so failed to defend their crown, in order to play some irrelevant tournament in South America. Penalty shoot outs robbed us of the ongoing replays. Squad rotation meant that fewer and fewer clubs played anything like their full sides, certainly in the early rounds. Plenty looked as if they were only too glad to get knocked out so they could concentrate on the league.

But worse than all of that is the supine way in which it has given up its position as the showpiece day of the season, the day the football fans of the nation all come together to celebrate the end of the campaign. First, it was moved to the penultimate Saturday of the season, played while a full league programme was ongoing, so that the Premier League could close the season in a manifest gesture towards its own superiority. If that wasn’t bad enough, this year, they shifted the kick-off to 5.15pm so that it wouldn’t clash with League 1 and 2, ensuring the final was played out in what is known in the games the “couldn’t care less” timeslot.

If the FA Cup continues to meekly roll over over time a question is asked of it, then it truly has no future in any meaningful way, and we might as well put it our of its misery.

If it wants to be, once again, the competition they all want to win, the answer for the FA is simple. Last game of the season, Saturday at three, back on BBC and ITV, no surrender. No surrender.

Wales National Team announced today the 23-man roster for its international game against the Mexican national team at MetLife Stadium in E. Rutherford, NJ on Sunday, May 27 at 3:00 p.m. ET. This match will be Wales’ second game under the direction of head coach, Chris Coleman.

By Ed Upright

The New York Red Bulls won 1-0 for a third consecutive game, narrowly beating Houston Dynamo at Red Bull Arena. Head coach Hans Backe has discovered a successful back four through a combination of circumstance and accident. But neither Backe nor the Red Bulls supporters will mind as New York moved up to second place in the Eastern Conference. A makeshift and inexperienced team is defending better and winning matches without more famous faces.

Maybe it was the threat of rain, the lowest attendance of 2012 or the lack of designated players, but there was a distinctly flat atmosphere at kick off. Rafa Marquez ended his suspension but picked up an ankle knock so was still unavailable. Houston clearly had its eyes on other things too. The Dynamo’s impressive (and very orange) $95 million BBVA Compass Stadium hosts its first game on Saturday. The stalwart striker Brian Ching was left out and four-goal striker Will Bruin on the bench, perhaps with this landmark occasion in mind.

However, the Red Bulls once again quickly seized the initiative. Kenny Cooper works tremendously hard and his persistence was paid off in the seventh minute here. He chased down and hassled the Houston defense, forcing an underhit back pass. The Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall could only clear the ball off the unknowing Cooper and into the net, for Cooper’s eighth goal this season.

From then on the game settled into a pattern of half-chances for both teams. Joel Lindpere could have done better on a number of occasions, while Dane Richards tormented Houston down the right-hand side. Mehdi Ballouchy played in an advanced position as the New York attempted to support Cooper up front. The former Red Bull Macoumba Kandji (dubbed “Metro reject” by the South Ward) looked dangerous for Houston and, as half time approached, the visitors were dictating play. Yet Ryan Meara was only made to make some fairly routine saves. The fourth official signaled one minute of added time with a laminated plastic board as the FIFA-sanctioned electronic version had clearly stopped working – a perfect metaphor for the first half of play.

The second period livened up, however, and they even got the digital board working. While this Red Bulls defense has been very effective, it never looks particularly convincing.  Houston continued to press in the second half as New York invited pressure upon itself. As Backe said after the game: “We had a lot of giveaways, unforced errors, no rhythm.” After Houston brought on Bruin in the 61st minute, they looked increasingly likely to equalize. But the Red Bulls just about kept the lead.

New York captain Markus Holgersson has relaxed further into defense, while Dax McCarty won Man of the Match for a fiery performance in protecting his back four. While McCarty was excellent defensively, his offensive game was missing, one of the reasons why the Red Bulls were reduced to occasional breaks in attack. Juan Agudelo, who came on at half time, is clearly in need of match practice, but grew into the game to the delight of the home crowd. His shot brought a good save out of Hall in the 65th minute and 20 minutes later, Agudelo’s athletic volley was also parried. McCarty also drove narrowly wide.

But it was Houston who had the best chances, many of which were created by a determined Bruin. Brad Davis and Adam Moffat had fierce shots in the 82nd and 83rd minute. Both just missed the goal. Shortly afterwards Davis nodded wide with a free header. Ryan Meara looked confident and made some good saves, including a notable reflex effort, caught at the third attempt in stoppage time.

Houston got increasingly frustrated and Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear took out his anger on some vocal critics in the crowd. His mood didn’t improve as the Red Bulls clung on. Kinnear probably didn’t see the
“Houston, you have a problem” banner unveiled in South Ward at the final whistle, as he raced onto the pitch to confront the officials.

Backe admitted his surprise with his young defense after the game and claimed that the Red Bulls “just need to survive” the current injury crisis. It’s not particularly entertaining to watch and New York won’t always benefit from good fortune or opponents’ ineptitude. But it is currently much doing more than merely surviving. What effect will the return of more experienced players (with the notable exception of Thierry Henry) have on results? It may put a few thousand on the attendances, but they can’t improve on three wins and three consecutive shut-outs.

Claude Makalele in action for Chelsea against AC Milan in Philly

Chelsea will be playing Paris St Germain at the Yankee Stadium , New York City, on Sunday, July 22 and AC Milan at Sun Life Stadium in Miami on Saturday, July 28.

These two dates are added to previously announced fixtures against Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field on July 18 and Philadelphia on July 25 where we will meet the MLS All-Stars at PPL Park.

Chelsea have not played in New York City since the summer of 1954, although they have played at the Meadowlands in NJ more recently, but they now look forward to a debut at one of sport’s iconic venues – the new Yankee Stadium – which was opened in 2009. A soccer game has never before been staged in the stadium.

In its three years the stadium has already hosted boxing events as well as performances from Jay-Z and Eminem and Paul McCartney, with Madonna set to perform in September. The venue has a 54,000 capacity when configured for football.

The game brings Chelsea a first reunion with former manager Carlo Ancelotti, who was in charge at Stamford Bridge for two years from 2009 until 2011, winning the Premier League and FA Cup Double in his first season. He is assisted in Paris by Chelsea legend Claude Makelele, who played for Chelsea against AC Milan at the Meadowlands and former coach Paul Clement.