Monday Morning Center Back: The hangover

Oglooni mend everybody (That's Mongolian if you were wondering. SBI has at least one reader there so I decided to show him some love.)

The American soccer news front has slowed to a crawl. No, Juan Carlos Osorio still isn't officially the Red Bulls head coach and yes, Juan Veron really did leave D.C. United at the altar. The U.S. Under-23 team posted its second tie in two matches against China (and please, no sky is falling commentary, they were friendlies) and well, that's really it.

If you are wondering about the headline, no, I didn't go on a drinking binge this weekend. It is just in reference to a weekend chock full of high-quality soccer action. Whether it was the intense EPL clashes, the entertaining La Liga fixtures, AC Milan's masterful victory against Boca Juniors in the Club World Cup, or Wake Forest's NCAA title-clinching comeback on Sunday, there was something for everybody.

Here is a look back at the weekend:

Ricky does it again. Ricky who? Why Ricky Kaka of course. Yes, Kaka's first name is Ricardo, but you can call him untouchable after his absolutely masterful performance for AC Milan in a 4-2 thrashing of Boca Juniors. Whether it is running through defenses, delivering pin-point passes or finishing chances on his own, Kaka does it all and did it all in Tokyo. Will this victory spark Milan to a win or two at the San Siro rather than a 14th tie? We will see.

As well as Milan played, Boca did show its quality. Where oh where will Ever Banega wind up? The small and skillful central midfielder is almost a lock to move to Europe by next summer. Where might he wind up? Atletico Madrid? Sevilla? I see him in La Liga and I see him being a star (Yes, I know, not exactly breaking ground there but some folks may not have seen him play before.)

Arsenal, ManU win big clashes. The top two in the English Premier League stayed the same after Arsenal defeated Chelsea and Manchester United downed Liverpool. What did we learn from these matches?

Well, from Arsenal's 1-0 win over Chelsea, we learned that the Blues are going to struggle against top competition without Drogba, we learned that William Gallas is a bad man (albeit with a bad haircut) and we learned that Ashley Cole doesn't exactly throw hard punches (seriously, if Cole doesn't get a suspension for his jab on Fabregas' chin toward the end of the match I will be very surprised).

Manchester United's 1-0 win against Liverpool showed us that Manchester United's defense is good enough to win them the title, we learned that Rooney and Teves really do play well together, we learned that Liverpool needs about a week's worth of crossing drills and we learned that the ManU-Arsenal title race is going to last a while.

Now I know I wrote on Sunday that Liverpool outplayed Man U. That may have been a bit harsh. Liverpool had more of the ball and created more chances, but Man U didn't exactly sit back and get abused. Man U probably had the better of the second half and in games like these protecting a one-goal lead isn't exactly a bad strategy. A tie might have been a fair result but Man U finished and Liverpool didn't. End of story.

Wake Forest prevails. Marcus Tracy, pick up the white courtesy phone. That's MLS calling with an invite to the MLS Combine if he wants to come out early. the Wake forward was the star of the Final Four and did not hurt his stock at all with his goal and assist in the Deamon Deacon's 2-1 win over Ohio State in Sunday's NCAA final. (Yes, Tracy is a junior, but after the Final Four he just had I really wonder if he stays or get while the getting is good.)

I must say that I was expecting more in the attacking soccer department from Ohio State. Xavier Balc didn't do much for his draft stock (but he's still a lock first-rounder in my book) and other than the play of winger Roger Espinoza (who was dazzling when he wasn't kicking people in the face), the Buckeyes didn't really show that much after a promising start.

Credit for that goes to a Wake defense that was downright stifling. I know veterans Julian Valentin and Pat Phelan get the pub on this team but how about freshman Ike Opara? Is this kid really just a freshman? Did Eddie Pope find the Fountain of Youth (Okay, I know, a stretch, but still). You will want to be writing down the names of Opara and Espinoza because they are future stars.

Kudos to Wake head coach Jay Vidovich for putting together not only a deep squad, but a squad that played attractive soccer throughout. It was really a treat to watch college matches that didn't turn into long-ball contests.

Well, those were the highlights of a very entertaining weekend of soccer. Please share your own thoughts and memories of the weekend's soccer action below.

Comments

[Dave]

I think Marcus Tracy is a junior.

[Ives]

Yep, Tracy is a junior. I wonder if he stays or not. Not a bad tournament to declare early after.

[Adam R.]

I someone tried to break my leg the way Cesc Fabregas clearly did to Ashely Cole, I would have given them more than a girly slap to the face.

The "punch" should result in a game suspension, but Fabregas deserves at least 3 for a clear attempt to injure. Shameful.

Speaking of shameful, the referee's inability to control the second of the two US-China friendlies was bad. I couldn't tell which Chinese player got sent off, but I sure hope it was the one who tried to end Jozy Altidore's career with that tackle. The pushing and posturing that went on afterwards is minor compared to these horrible challenges we're seeing.

Plus, that penalty looked like it was decreed by the party. No official anywhere else is buy that garbage dive after losing the dribble.

[KingSnake]

There is always Scotland ...

[kpugs]

Well well well, look who changed his tune. Must have been my pure football genius that made you see the light of day. ;)

[Ives]

Adam, the tackle was ugly, this is true, but a closed fist hitting a face is a punch, even if it had the impact of a slice of bread. You see bad tackles all the time but you don't often see punches, even of the feathery variety.

Way to stick up for your boys though.

[Ives]

I think that was it Kev, you look like Blanco but think like Guus Hiddink. LOL

[Smith]

Hi, Ives.

What is the hold up on Osario?

[Phillip]

Cesc's tackle was inexcusable and should've been his second yellow and not his first (He should've gotten one for diving earlier). A blatant attempt to break someone's legs is disgusting and shameful. Cesc should be gone AT LEAST 3 games.

Cole's "punch" was an open-handed push, just to let you know. I don't know if you saw the replay, but his hand was open. During the live thing I thought he had actually punched him also.

By the way... We should be talking about another great performance turned in by Tim Howard and Everton! How about Freddy Adu's amazing little move that almost gave Benfica another goal?

[Ives]

Phillip, we will talk about those things in due time. For now, we are talking about the above topics.

And the Cole jab sure looked closed handed and I saw a few angles. If it wasn't a punch then it wasn't a punch.

Are there any non-Chelsea fans who think Cesc Fabregas should go to jail for his tackle on Cole?

[Matt]

Phillip, according to the FA's rules, once the ref has made his ruling (in this case a yellow card for Fabregas), there is no further action that can be taken. A yellow card cannot be "upgraded" to a red after the fact. So however much Cesc might deserve a suspension, he cannot receive one. They can, however, give a straight red retrospectively. If that's what happens to Cole, I think Chelsea would have a right to feel aggrieved.

It's a bizarre system. I'd like to hear an explanation of why it makes sense.

For Chelsea, the big question is whether they will buy a striker in January and who that might be. Anelka would be great, but Bolton are going to want a lot to part with him at this point. What other possibilities are there?

[Steve]

Ives, what did you think of the U-23 games -- besides the horrible officiating?

[Dominghosa]

The first pic, which followed the headline, deserved its own Write Your Own Caption. So here goes:
"Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor drops off John Terry at the pool."

[Dominghosa]

The first pic, which followed the headline, deserved its own Write Your Own Caption. So here goes:
"Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor drops John Terry off at the pool."

[Adam R.]

Ives...FYI, not a Chelsea or Arsenal fan. Neutral observer. My opinion remains the same. I wonder if the ref would have reacted different if Cole had to be stretchered off with his leg dangling behind him?

[Quinn]

As an Arsenal fan, I thought Cesc should have been sent off. I don't think he was trying to break anyone's legs, though. But it was a tackle worthy of a red.

The officiating in that match was pretty bad (although the players didn't help, it was brutal out there).

In reference to Castillo, looks like he might not be going to City after all.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=491652&cc=5901

[Tony in Quakeland]

Any Chelsea fans looking for Fabergas to be suspended think Joe Cole should be suspended for his cynical, injurious tackle on Eboue?

No, didn't think so.

[Matt]

Tony, I'd be OK with that if Eboue were sent off as well.

[Miguel]

I'm an Arsenal fan and, looking at the replay, Cashley Cole's jab at Fabregas' neck was open handed. A bad tackle by Frabregas that could have been a straight red. There were several bad tackles by Arsenal players in yesterday's game (like the one by Ebue on Terry) but there were some nasty ones by Chelsea players also (like the Joe Cole one on Ebue - should have been red also). Anyway, COME ON ARSENAL!

[Victor]

I'm an Arsenal fan and I would have sent Cesc off, but would have sent off Joe Cole as well. Eboue's foul on Terry was not vicious like the other two. There certainly were 5-6 vicious tackles in that game. If you send Eboue off you have to send Obi off for two bad fouls within 5 seconds of each other. Terry also nailed someone.

[Quinn]

I thought there were multiple tackles in that game that could have ended in a red. Including the Cole tackle on the sideline. Eboue's 'tackle' on Terry was not one of them, however. I watched a replay of the game on Setanta as part of there Chelsea TV deal, so I had the Chelsea announcers (who seem to be much more open-minded than the ManU announcers on MUTV by the way) and the Chelsea announcers both felt that Eboue was given a very harsh yellow for that tackle. There was no mention of a red.

[Tony in Quakeland]

Matt:

You and I disagree with our take on the game, but I'm glad to see we are closer in agreement here. But I agree with Victor and Quinn above. I don't even think Eboue deserved a yellow there - or at least it was a harsh yellow. But Fabergas and Cole could justly have been sent off.

[ejs]

If you ever watch Sky Sports they talk up the Nery to City Deal quite often

[Tim Crawford]

I'm an Arsenal fan and I definitely thought Cesc's tackle was vicious and quite intentional. I was real surprised he didn't get a red card. I think his fist pump after the card was just that, celebrating the fact that he got a yellow and survived rather than the fact the final whistle blew. It seemed to say, "Yes. Vengeance on Ashley Cole for just a yellow, and one heck of a win to boot." I'll absolutely appreciate it though. lol.

[sean]

My opinion (I'm an Arsenal fan):

Cesc's card could have been either yellow or red. Joe Cole's card could have been either yellow or red. Eboue's tackle on Terry could be no card or yellow. Ashley Cole's punch should be straight red or suspension if no card was given.