The International Fixture

Do my eyes deceive me?

It looks like all those press releases about steel going up at Red Bull Arena last week weren't just blowing smoke. The Red Bulls finally put up a new Web cam at the stadium's construction site.

It seems like forever since the old Web cam was left up for months as no construction went forward. The team very wisely took that one down, but has finally got the ball rolling again. You can almost start to imagine what this thing is going to look like. (It also appears to be in the flight path for Newark International, so you can see planes flying low through the frame).

I guess you won't need me to drive by and take my inept photos of the site now that you can see it for yourself, but I'll try to check in on it from time to time. In the meantime, we can use this cam to while away the 12 months until the Arena opens.

A tip of the hat to The Offside's Red Bulls blog for the find.

-Tom Meagher

Jr. Red Bulls get the home win

If you're wondering what happened Saturday night, here's the news out of RBHQ:

RED BULLS U17s WIN 3-1 OVER INTER MILAN
 RBNY tops the defending Italian Serie A U17 champions

NEWARK, NJ (Saturday, August 23, 2008) - The Red Bulls U17's hosted the defending Italian Serie A U17 champions Inter Milan on Saturday night at Lubetkin Field on the campus of NJIT.   Dylan Mencia scored the opener and Giorgi Chirgadze netted the final two goals for the Red Bulls in the victory.

"It was definitely a great night to play," said Red Bulls U17 coach Paul O'Donnell. "The boys were very excited playing a top level team and every one of their players could play, but I think tonight we showed on any given day we have quality as well. The boys came to play and they were outstanding tonight. 
I think definitely the mentality going into this game and being focused for 80 minutes, for the full game. I think at times the competition we play is not always Inter, it's not always these top teams from around the world , but if we come focused to games and have the mentality that this is a high level game, a pro level game, it's something we have to take into the next game and continue to take that on as we move forward."

Inter Milan took the early lead in the 23rd minute when Guiseppe Angarano went down the left side and pulled Red Bulls keeper Paul Brandon out of the net inside the box and crossed it to Filippo Fracaro, who hammers the pass into the right side of the net for a 1-0 lead.

Red Bulls Dylan Mencia leveled the score in the 40th minute when he took a pass inside the 18-yard box and fired a curling shot that beat Inter Milan goalkeeper Di Gennaro to the right side in the 40th minute

The Red Bulls took control of the game in the opening minute of the second half as Giorgi Chirgadze scored his first of the match when he left-footed a shot inside the 18-yard box off a high bounce and put it over Inter Milan goalkeeper Di Gennaro into the net to put the Red Bulls up 2-1. Chirgadze scored his second of the match in the 49th minute when he unleashed a laser beam from 30 yards out on the left side and it went through he outstretched hands of the Inter Milan keeper Di Gennaro.

Scoring:
Inter Milan 1-0--1
RBNY 1-2--3       

Summary:
Inter Milan        Filippo Fracarro (Guiseppe Angarano), 23rd minute
RBNY - Mencia, 40th minute
RBNY - Chirgadze, 41st minute
RBNY - Chirgadze, 49th minute

Officials
Referee - Mark Geiger
Assistant Referees - Ryan Doe Reas, Neil Barbulescu
4th Official - Mike Corin
Weather- 75 degrees and clear

- Tom Meagher

Little Nerazzurri come to Newark Saturday

For fans of the Big Grass Snake, from the official Red Bulls propaganda machine, an event tomorrow night in Newark:

RED BULLS U-17'S TO FACE INTER MILAN ON AUGUST 23
 Teams to square off at NJIT IN Newark at 8 PM

 SECAUCUS, NJ (August 18, 2008) - The New York Red Bulls Under-17 team will take on one of the best youth clubs in the world when Italian Serie A powerhouse Inter Milan travels to New Jersey on Saturday, Aug. 23.

The match, which will be held at NJIT in Newark, NJ, is one of two exhibition games for Inter’s youth squad, which captured the 2007-08 Italian Serie A Under-17 championship.  The Allievi Nazionali (which means "Junior Nationals") will play the Red Bulls on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 8:00 p.m.  Admission to the event is free.

"Although we are still in the process of selecting a squad for next year’s US Development Team, we feel the opportunity to test our players against the Italian U17 champions, Inter Milan, will be a valuable experience for our players and coaching staff,” stated Bob Montgomery, Red Bull New York Director of Youth Programs.

"Inter Village", the main event of Inter Milan’s trip to the United States, will take place August 23-24 in New York City and will give young players an opportunity to learn directly from youth coaches from the Italian champions. The event will be held at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village, NY and features games, clinics, and free Inter Milan merchandise.

The event details are being coordinated by Inter Club Facchetti of New Jersey, a newly-formed group of fans of Inter Milan in the Garden State. Aldo Tripicchio founded it this past January and is currently the club’s president. They had their inaugural dinner in February, and have high hopes for the success for the group, as well as helping Inter continue to create a strong presence in the United States.

Inter Milan’s Allievi Nazionali not only boasts last season’s Serie A championship, but they have one of their own making a name for himself at the next level. Mario Balotelli ("Super Mario") is one of the top young prospects in the world, and at the age of 17, made his debut with Inter’s senior side last season. He scored two goals in league play and added four more in the Coppa Italia, and is expected to make earn his first cap with the Italian national team after he turns 18 years old.

Inter Milan (officially named "F.C. Internazionale Milano") is one of the premier clubs in world soccer, having won 16 Serie A championships, two European Cups (1963-64, 1964-65) and three UEFA Cup titles (1990-91, 1993-94, 1997-98). Millions of their fans around the world have witnessed the club making history over the last three years as they have captured three consecutive league championships for the first time in their 101-year history. In the upcoming 2008-09 season, Inter fans will continue to have high standards with former Chelsea F.C. (English Premier League) manager Jose Mourinho in charge of the club.

If you make it to the game, take a couple of snapshots and let us know how it goes.

- Tom Meagher

Jersey girl brings home the gold

Delran native and Rutgers standout Carli Lloyd scored the only goal as the U.S. toppled a brilliant but uneven Brazil to win the gold medal this morning. She scored in the first period of extra time after the regulation time ended tied at zero.

Now a year after a humiliating and controversial semi-final defeat at the hands of Brazil in the World Cup, the women are back on top. Lloyd, whose goal complemented a standout performance by goalie Hope Solo, further cements Jersey's premier place as U.S. soccer incubator.

- Tom Meagher

True story

As if the world needed any more evidence that soccer can be a sickness, here's one more piece to add to the pile.

Last night, I had this incredibly vivid dream. Somehow, Bob Bradley had discovered me and called me up to the senior national team for tonight's World Cup qualifier against Guatemala. It's still unclear how exactly he found this 32-year-old middling midfielder who failed to score a single goal in 18 games last season in a co-ed pick-up league in Brooklyn. But suffice it to say, Bob saw a speck of talent here and thought I could bring something unique to the squad.

So I flew down to Guatemala City, and it's about a half-hour before kickoff, and I realized I had forgotten my cleats and shinguards. I imagine in real-life there's probably an equipment manager who handles this for the men's national team, but it seemed perfectly logical in my dream that I would be expected to bring my own. Obviously, I was incredibly embarrassed by this gaffe, particularly since I had to wait for my mother to fly down with my shoes. The clock ticked. I was sweating bullets. Thankfully, at that point, I woke up, sparing myself the humiliation of trying to play in my stocking feet.

It's probably a bad idea to share one's dreams on a soccer blog, but I thought this one was funny. It could have been worse, right? It could have been Pia Sundhage calling me up to play against Brazil tomorrow.

- Tom Meagher

Now that the pesky Olympics are over for the men...

We can finally turn our attention to something truly important Wednesday night: some serious qualifying for the World Cup that officially kicks off in South Africa in barely 22 months.

Even as the ladies remain in Beijing and prepare to face Brazil Thursday morning, the men will be in Guatemala City for CONCACAF qualifying. The game kicks off at 10 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2.

Which game are you more excited about: the Olympics' gold medal game or the men's WCQ? Where do you plan to watch each game?

- Tom Meagher

The Olympic let-down

I was excited to see underdog Belgium sneak into the Olympic semifinals. I was also, unfortunately, not surprised that Nigeria trounced the poor young Belgians, and then sent them on to certain death in the bronze medal game. But in honor of the Belgian's pluck, I asked a friend and former colleague, beer blogger Joe Stange, who has lived in Brussels for the past couple of years, to share with us the reaction of average Belgians to Tuesday morning's loss:

A politician here famously said the only things Belgians have in common are the king, beer and football. One would hope the Olympic soccer team's medal hopes might rouse this divided country and pack 'em into pubs to watch. I didn't see any evidence of that here. Now they'll play Brazil for the bronze, which is perhaps typical Belgian luck. I don't expect much anticipation for Friday either.

Meanwhile, World Cup qualifying starts next month. Let's just say that expectations are low. In my neighborhood, people were more excited about local club team Royal Union St-Gilloise, relegated this season to the 3rd Division. So they might actually be competitive this season.

Well, at least they still have the king and beer. Santé!

-Joe Stange

Who's next?

Can someone, anyone, explain to me why all of our most trusted soccer journalists are reporting that with this morning's extra-time win over Canada, the U.S. Women's Olympic team will face Japan in the semi-finals on Monday, but NBC says something else?
Why does the "official" Olympics coverage in America seem to think we face Brazil on Monday? Are they working from a different bracket than everyone else?

- Tom Meagher

The lost quintuple, or What Would Lamar Hunt Say?

I'm not really a fan of the New England Revolution, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed at their loss to United last night in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semi-finals. Why, you ask?

Because as few people have noted, the Revs had an opportunity for an unheard-of quintuple. Before last night, they were still in competition to win trophies in the SuperLiga, the Open Cup, MLS Cup, the Supporter's Shield (the trophy given to the team who leads the league at the end of regular season play) and the new CONCACAF Champions League.

And just as the rest of the country is enthralled with Michael Phelps' seemingly-unending pile of gold medals (are you ready for the inevitable Mark Spitz photo shoot with Phelps after the Olympics?), I'm enthusiastic about teams that win big and win often. Everybody likes a dominant team, unless they're the Yankees or Man. Utd. So the Revs slacked off in the Open Cup, further (sadly) ensuring that the competition becomes less and less relevant. No MLS team has yet won even a treble, so if the Revs win their remaining three competitions and bring in a record-setting quadruple, that would be pretty impressive. But I'll still be disappointed over the lost opportunity.

What do you think about the U.S. Open Cup results Tuesday night? Are you disappointed that the Revs fielded what was essentially a reserve team for this key match? What can be done to get MLS teams to take the historic Open Cup seriously? What would Lamar Hunt say (were he still alive)?

- Tom Meagher

Recriminations

It's hard to not be depressed when the first thing you read in the morning--eyes not even entirely open--is "USA Eliminated" on Steve Goff of the Washington Post's Soccer Insider blog.

It makes me glad that I didn't wake up at 4 a.m. to try to watch the game live (I know, I'm a Luddite, and I don't have cable.... Unfortunately, I couldn't find a soccer pub that would open that early for an Olympic match). After seeing the young Americans put on such a solid performance for 44 and a half minutes against Holland last weekend, it's tough to not be devastated by this. I can't really comment on today's game, but I can say I was really hopeful after what I saw against the Dutch. All that optimism was shattered by three stupid mistakes (Adu, Bradley and Holden), and now this loss to Nigeria.

So where do we go from here, U.S. fans? Are we of the glass half-full disposition? The U.S. showed at least for part of a game that it can compete with the top European squads, and the boys got valuable big-time experience that will pay off in World Cup qualifying, in South Africa in 2010 and in Brazil in 2014.

Or do we see this as yet another setback for our domestic game? It could be argued that the U.S. men don't need more practice bouncing out of a major tournament after three games (see World Cups 1990, 1998 and 2006). What they need is practice winning.

Will the 2008 Olympics be remembered as the training ground that led the U.S. to strong quarter- or semi-final finishes in the coming World Cups, or will it be further evidence that despite all the progress we've made as a soccer nation in the past 14 years, we still have a long, long way to go?

The best news for American soccer fans right now is that the U.S. women rebounded from a rough early start in the tournament and seem to be peaking at the right time. They face Canada in a quarterfinal match on Friday morning at 6 a.m.

What's your reaction this morning to the sobering news? Are you gung-ho for the Women's National Team? What men's squad are you supporting now that the young Yanks have bombed out?

- Tom Meagher