The International Fixture

Divided loyalties

On Sunday, the U.S. men's National Team hosts Argentina, the number one team in the world, at Giants Stadium. Claudio Reyna, the former U.S. team captain, will support his old teammates. But this son of Argentine immigrants has friends on the visiting team. He'll have plenty to root for on both sides of the pitch.

I'm excited. I'll be going there (to Giants Stadium). Obviously, U.S. is always my team, and I'll be going to the game. It's a great thing. It's going to be a great weekend for the local fans to come watch the U.S. and Argentina, some great players.

Internationals are always fun games to go watch. It's a friendly, so it will be a big test for U.S. players. They'll be getting some good competition leading up to the qualifiers, which for Bob Bradley is the most important thing.

Me, I'll be in the stands. I'll be down (on the field or in the locker room), probably after the game. I have a really good friend on Argentina as well, the captain, Javier Zanetti, who I've spoken to. We're going to get together...

I'm going to go to the game and see them, both teams after (the final whistle). Get my kids down to take pictures. It'll be the best highlight to be able to go down there. I'm going to have 50 to 60 friends and family that I'll be bringing and taking to the game and trying to get tickets for--or have gotten tickets for. I'm trying to get more. It seems like requests are coming up every day.

The U.S. v. Argentina friendly kicks off Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN Classic.

Photo by John Todd / isiphotos.com, through ussoccer.com

-as told to Tom Meagher on May 7 at Montclair State University

Glossy mags love MLS

I've been sitting on this post for more than a month, waiting for Hispanic Magazine to get its act together and post its May issue online. Now that the stories are live, I can point you to a few interesting pieces.

Hispanic devoted its cover story to Juan Pablo Angel last month. The article was joined by pieces looking at the 50 Best Latino Athletes (which includes Bryan Arguez of DC United and David Arvizu, Jr., Chivas USA--Jorge Flores will have to wait until next year--alongside A Rod, Kaka, Ronaldinho and Sammy Sosa), a team-by-team listing of Latinos playing in MLS and a huge, slobbery feature on Ronaldinho.

This isn't the first time Hispanic Magazine has turned its gaze to MLS, but the stories may be worth a read if you're interested to see how the league is growing in public attention.

If you're looking for something more sophisticated and nuanced, KC's Oz City blog had a note about Jimmy Conrad getting interviewed in Penthouse this spring (yes, that Penthouse). This safe-for-work blog also has done us the service of transcribing Conrad's interview, so you don't have to buy the magazine "just for the articles".

- Tom Meagher

Back from vacation

After a week away, I have returned to my blogging duties, friends.

I managed to avoid much of the onslaught of football news while I was away, but I did (of course) watch the first-leg Champions' League matches. Even on a cruise ship near the Tropic of Cancer, you can find good European football on television.

In my brief excursions through Mexico, I also found plenty of soccer madness. Driving through the countryside outside of Puerto Vallarta, I saw countless soccer fields, ranging from dusty, dirt patches to well-manicured training facilities. (I also saw three or four bull rings)

The seaside resort town is about four hours from Guadalajara, the home to three top-flight clubs. There's Chivas, Atlas (a friend described them as the Mets of the city) and the lowly U.A.G. Tecos, currently at the bottom of their group in the waning Clausura season. 

I wasn't able to attend any matches while I was there, but I did snap this shot of a souvenir stand along the beach in Puerto Vallarta. I think this speaks volumes about the wisdom of MLS' decision to woo He-who-shall-not-be-named. His Galaxy jersey gets top billing, literally on top of the fanatically-supported, near-local side Chivas. And then, below them both, comes Cristiano Ronaldo's gaudy away kit from last year. At this shop, selected completely at random, the best player in England--if not the world--is chopped liver.

And the best part of this picture? The t-shirt you can barely see on the bottom right is, indeed, a cartoon of a shapely woman wearing an American flag bikini. This is actually one of the more tasteful souvenir shirts I saw in my explorations of tourist traps catering to moneyed and inebriated Yankees.

- Tom Meagher

No surprise in Mexico

The Mexican soccer federation has fired the contentious coach Hugo Sanchez after he failed to take the very talented under-23 team to the Olympics. In his 16 months on the job, Sanchez proved a good foil for the U.S. National Team. He complained and disparaged his opponents to the North, but never managed to really upend them.

I'd love to hear the reactions of fans of the various national teams represented in the area.

For Mexico fans: Are you disappointed? Are you surprised? Who should replace Sanchez?
For fans of the other half of the "Eternos Rivales", the U.S.: Who should replace Sanchez? And what character could fill his villainous shoes in the rivalry so well? (It's definitely premature for Blanco to step into that job, but who knows about 10 years down the road?)   

- Tom Meagher

So many "friendlies"

Today, there's a full slate of international friendlies to satisfy just about everyone. Sure, they're meaningless games. Of course, a lot of the world's biggest stars won't be playing, either due to injury or more important club commitments. But these games are also a lot of fun.

They're like the children's game "Who would win in a fight?" Could Wolverine kill the Silver Surfer? Could Lassie beat Benji? Is Big Bird tougher than Mr. Snuffleupagus?

A lot of people don't give the friendly its due. There aren't any bragging rights on the line, but that doesn't mean there won't be some entertaining games. So, thanks to ESPN's Soccernet, here's a select slate of some of the dozens of games happening today that might be of interest to North Jersey fanatics.

Time 12:00	Match-up Estonia	v	Canada	Stadium A. Le Coq Arena
13:00	Lithuania	v	Azerbaijan	Zalgiris Stadium
13:00	Hungary	v	Slovenia	Ferenc Puskas Stadium
13:00	Ukraine	v	Serbia	Olympic Stadium
13:00	South Africa	v	Paraguay	SuperSport
13:30	Israel	v	Chile	Ramat Gan Stadium
14:00	Belarus	v	Turkey	Dinamo Stadion
14:30	Romania	v	Russia	Lia Manoilu
14:30	Montenegro	v	Norway	Stadion Pod Goricom
15:00	Egypt	v	Argentina	Cairo International Stadium
15:15	Denmark	v	Czech Republic	SAS Arena
15:15	Slovakia	v	Iceland
15:15	Bosnia-Herzegovina	v	Macedonia	Olympic Stadium
15:30	Poland	v	United States	Slaski Stadium
15:30	Austria	v	Netherlands	Ernst Happel Stadion
15:45	Sweden	v	Brazil	Emirates Stadium
15:45	Portugal	v	Greece	LTU Arena
15:45	Switzerland	v	Germany
16:00	France	v	England	Stade de France
16:00	Ghana	v	Mexico	Craven Cottage
16:00	Scotland	v	Croatia	Hampden Park
16:00	Tunisia	v	Ivory Coast	Stade 7 Novembre
17:00	Spain	v	Italy	Manuel Martinez Valero
19:30	Colombia	v	Honduras	Lockhart Stadium (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)
20:15	Ecuador	v	Haiti	Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa
20:30	Venezuela	v	Bolivia	Jose Encarnacion 'Pachencho' Romero
20:00	Jamaica	v	Trinidad & Tobago	National Stadium Kingston
21:00	Peru	v	Costa Rica

Some of the ones I'm most interested in? Obviously the U.S./Poland game will be the first score I check. But I think the France/England matchup, the Argentina/Egypt fixture and the Germany/Switzerland game all sound really promising.

What games are you going to follow?

And more importantly, where will you watch the game? I want to compile a list of the best soccer bars and futbol clubs in the region. These places need to have the first quality on the list, but ideally have all four:

1. They have a crowd of fervent supporters watching the game
2. A big-screen TV
3. Beer
4. Food of some sort

So I ask you, if you're a Polska fan, where's the best place to gather to watch today's game with a bottle of Żywiec or Okocim? If you're a Ukraine fan, where do you go to watch the national team square off with Serbia? And if you're a Colombia ex-pat, where do you meet to watch your team face Honduras (if you haven't traveled to Florida to see this one in person)?

- Tom Meagher