Thursday night the Dynamo went up to Seattle to start the 20009 MLS Playoffs against the Seattle Sounders. The game was supposed to be a defensive struggle considering the teams both tied for best in the league with .97 goals surrendered per game in the regular season including 10 shutouts each. The Dynamo had been shutout 5 times in their last 11 games so it really wasn’t looking like they would score much if anything. A lot of people would assume that would make for a boring game but it was an edge-of-your-seat thriller from beginning to end, literally. In the 3rd minute Stuart Holden got the action started with a corner kick wide to Andrew Hainault for a header that was struck well but just wide of the goal. The Sounders answered with a run by Steve Zakuani up the left flank but Pat Onstad was able to make the save. The Dynamo came right back in the 7th minute with a set-piece almost ended up finding Brian Ching alone in front but goalie Kasey Keller arrived just in time to thwart Chings aerial attempt. Brad Davis, on the other hand, was not interfered with by any defender on his header a few minutes later from just outside the box; he just missed it poorly and the game remained scoreless.

The play of the game came on Seattle’s 3rd corner kick of the game (14th minute) that found Patrick Ianni on the far side and his header eluded Onstad and seemed to be headed for the goal. Houston had Brian Mullan in the perfect spot though and he headed the ball off the line and out of danger. With both teams having quality chances and coming up empty, naturally, tempers started to flare and play became really physical.

Onstad was angered by something and bumped Fredy Montero roughly to the ground and leaned over him emphatically. Both sides converged in the box but the ref was able to split the teams up and only had to issue yellow cards to Onnstad and Montero. In the 25th minute Ching came in with a late, hard tackle and should’ve been given a yellow card but the referee let it slide. A minute later Ching had a header that he struck nicely off a cross from Dominic Oduro but Keller was able to save it over the goal and out of play.

The physical played continued as Ricardo Clark’s foot connected with Nate Jaqua’s face. Jacqua had to come out of the game twice to get his head wrapped but he stayed in and was probably the most effective player on the field.

Seattle had a chance on a cross in the 31st minute and Houston had another corner kick come up just short in the 41st. Neither of these chances was quite as dangerous though as a free kick off the foot of Freddie Ljungberg that found Ianni in front for another try. His header beat Onstad but was barely too high and hit the crossbar. Seattle continued to push forward as the half ended but they couldn’t come up with anything significant.

0 – 0 at the half.

In the 48th minute Oduro sent another beautiful cross through the box and it was headed for Ching but the Sounders defense arrived just in time to tip the pass out of bounds for a Houston corner. The corner was threatening but Seattle was able to deflect it just enough. 3 minutes later Seattle returned the favor with a corner that found Montero but Clark was draped all over and he missed the ball as it passed by his back leg.

If the save of the game was not the one made by Mullan then it had to be the save by Keller in the 55th minute. A turnover by the Sounders led to great action by the Dynamo; Holden brought the ball from left to right to find Oduro in the box. Oduro turned to fire but his shot was deflected. The deflection popped out to Brad Davis all alone from 35 meters and he released a left-footed laser for the far post. Keller lounged and got just enough of the ball to send it wide for a Dynamo corner. The corner was unsuccessful but Houston controlled play for the next several minutes and Davis got another try in the 58th minute that was also saved by Keller.

Seattle would not be pusghed back though and they went on the attack led by Jaqua. Jacqua made a tremendous run up the right side and somehow found Montero in the box but Montero missed the goal by about 2 feet to the left.

Frustration boiled over as Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans Mike Chabala and Brad Smith all got yellows in the 2nd period. Evans’ fouls though was a brilliant, veteran move as Oduro was on the attack on a counter-run with only one defender to beat. The Dynamo threatened again in the 68th with a corner kick that popped up in the air right in front of the goal. Keller had to come flying in, hands high, to stop Houston from getting an easy chance.

Action went back the other way and Jaqua led the charge again but Geoff Cameron got a toe on a pass intended for Jaqua in the middle on a fantastic run. Jaqua did get his shot though in the 74th minute off a corner set-piece but Onstad was in perfect position and got a hand on it to send it harmlessly over the goal. Seattle and Jaqua kept the pressure up and Jaqua even outworked 2 Dynamo defenders and found the back of the net but the goal was negated because the whistle had been blown for a foul at midfield.

The Dynamo answered back by pushing forward themselves. Holden had Davis sprinting through in the 83d but just put it out of his reach. Holden’s aggression almost cost Houston in extra time when he turned it over at midfield and Seattle threatened. They ended up earning a free kick and that led to a corner. The corner found the newly-inserted, Roger Levesque, but his header went right of the goal and the scored remained unchanged.

0 – 0 Final Score.

A draw is not the preferred outcome but it is one the Dynamo will gladly take. Now the 2-game series heads back to Houston for the 2nd leg on November 8th at 3:00. It will be broadcast on TeleFutura so tune in if you’re not able to make it out to the game. All thhe Dynamo need is a victory to move on, no matter how that victory comes.

Ljungberg wins MLS Player of the Week

That’s right. Our most expensive flop that cost us a kings ransom (thanks to egghead) seems to be back on top of his game over in the States.

Ljungberg recorded two assists in the Sounders 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Wizards. They just don’t have a clue….

Steven Gerrard’s legal problems got me thinking about how it’s quite funny when footballers get the red mist. None more so then when it happens on a consistent basis with the same opponent, or better yet, your own teammate. Here are some of the best examples over the years.

.

Keane vs Vieira

Now I reckon this was based on respect as much as it was hatred. These guys were basically the two best central midfielders in the Premier League for nigh on a decade and couple with Man Utd and Arsenal forming the top two for much of that period it made for some terrific battles both on and off the pitch. We got a taste of it early on in 1999 (though Keane scored twice to win that game)

Handbags at twelve paces

before it developed yet further and spread to the tunnel. It was mild at first in 2003/04 before a full on row developed the following season after Patrick Vieira and Gary Neville had some kind of tiff outside the changing rooms. Typical of Neville, he had to get someone else to do his dirty work for him and it’s just a shame Graham Poll was there otherwise we would have really seen Keane and Vieira kick off. I just love the evils the Neviller tries to give at the handshakes.

Honourable mention must go the Old Trafford famous brawl in 2003 but whilst Keane and Vieira were involved, it was mainly every Arsenal player against Van Nistelrooy, mostly due to him being a prick.

What we all felt

.

Keane vs Haaland

Royland (and insert any given player here) is a bit of a recurring theme, but this was probably his most well known incident. He had injured himself  trying to tackle Alfie Haaland in 1997 and was out for ages with damaged ligaments. Haaland had made the fatal error of sneering over Keane and accusing him of feigning injury. Keane had to wait three and half years before getting his revenge and then some. In a filthy challenge, he caught Haaland above the knee and returned the favour of standing over him, sneering. The difference being that Haaland never came back from the injury he suffered. Keane later admitted in his autobiography that he had deliberately targeted him.

.

Keane vs others

I’m beginning to realise this whole post could be on Keane himself. Some of his other battles have been with Mick McCarthy, Alan Shearer, and his own teammates.

.

Ljunberg vs Mellberg

The World Cup. A time when squad harmony is of utmost importance as you try and win the seven games it takes to win the biggest prize in football. Now the Swedes have always been a peaceful nation so it was quite funny to see Olof Mellberg and Freddie come to blows not once but twice. You think they would have learnt their lesson from 2002 but in 2006 they proceeded to do it all over again. The result both times? Second round knock out. I reckon it was down to arguments over facial hair – Mellberg going for the full bearded ogre look, while the fashion model Freddie preferring three day stubble…

Look, just because Thierry uses Gillette doesn't mean I'm going to...

.

.

More teammates

Remember Bendtner and Adebayor, Le Saux and Batty, Hartson and Berkovic (love Ruddock’s blasé reaction), Bowyer and Dyer and Cole and Sheringham?

How could I have headbutted you from here?

.

T.

This was yet another of our successful arrangements. This time, we were responsible for the pre-party before the WC-qualifying game between Sweden and Denmark, at Råsunda Stadium. The evening begun at Hotel Norrtull where the guests, including former footballstars, biggest companies in Sweden as well as leading entrepreneurs, tv-profiles and swedish and danish footballfans.

Stadium name – Örjans Vall

Location - Halmstad, Sweden

Built - 1922

Capacity - 15,500 (7,500 for tournament)

Tenants - Halmstad BK, IS Halmia

NAMED after an old medieval hospital which had previously stood in place of the stadium, Örjans Vall is one of the oldest sporting venues in Sweden.

Örjans Vall has hosted many different sports since its opening way back in 1922. When the stadium first opened a running track lined the outskirts of the pitch, and when water froze on the track, it also became an ice skating circuit.

Ljungberg during his time as a Halmstad player.

During the 1958 World Cup Örjans Vall hosted two of Northern Ireland’s group matches. A 1-0 victory over Czechoslovakia, Northern Ireland’s first ever World Cup win, and a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Argentina.

It has been the home to Halmstad BK’s four Swedish league titles, two of which were achieved under English manager Roy Hodgson, whilst also housing Halmstad’s other team, HS Halmia.

Many players that have graced the English Premiership have also appearred at Örjans Vall, most famously Fredrik Ljungberg, who came through the youth system at Halmstad BK. Other players include Michael Svensson who has appeared for Southampton and Niclas Alexandersson who appeared for Sheffield Wednesday, Everton and West Ham.

In recent times, due to Halmstad’s success, it has been announced that a new stadium is in the pipeline. In September last year it was announced that Örjans Vall is to be demolished and replaced by apartments, with a new stadium set to be ready by 2011-2012.

I remember the rainy summer day when my cousin came up to me, at his son’s christening party, and said that Robert Pires was going to be Overmars’ replacement. Without doubt this would be a hard task was my reflection on hearing this news. However, he was rated very highly on console games and this, just this, was enough to get me excited. Almost 3 years since his departure from Arsenal, I still can’t help thinking that Arsenal could still do with Pires at the club.

Hela den här kvalserien är som upplagd för misslyckande. Jag tittar på startelvan och det känns som att det är 1997 igen. Det är Johanssons, 100-åriga innebandyspelare, en mittback med samma spelförståelse som Jean Alain Boumsong, en impotent forward, en målvakt som trots sin ålder verkar har sett sina bästa dagar och så vidare. I don’t like it. Grundtryggheten finns där visst. Den svenska styrkan, samspelet, det defensiva jobbet, slitet. Men inte på samma sätt som tidigare. En frisk Edman saknas. Andreas Jakobsson, Michael Svensson eller Bjärred saknas där bak. En Andreas Isaksson anno 2004 fattas. Zlatan är avstängd. Ljungberg spelar i FC Fanchise. Jaja, oavgjort vore guld värt. En seger så otänkbart fantastisk att jag inte tänker på det.

Men.

2-0 till hemmalaget. Lite briljans från C7 och den här matchen, och kvalet, är över. Allt annat vore en sensation.

Nu drar det igång. 90 minuter obehag. Att man aldrig lär sig..

Gäsp!

Jodå … hela USA kommer bry sig …

… om de inte är för upptagna med att se någon repris på en 18 timmars baseballmatch eller ute för att köpa en ny hink kycklinglår.

Is West Ham going to be the new Leeds?

If Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson cannot find buyers for his Premier League club then you might start to see similarities. Björgolfur bought the club two years ago and started spending money like it was going out of fashion. Unfortunately that was on players like Kieron Dyer, Lucas Neill and Freddie Ljungberg who talked of having hit a financial jackpot after several title-winning years at Arsenal.

West Ham currently takes the field without a sponsor’s logo on its shirt, XL leisure having gone bankrupt in the autumn. One of XL’s biggest lenders had been Landsbankinn, Bjorgolfur’s bank at the time.

So the famous Academy of Football might just join Icelandic citizens as the unsuspecting victims of Bjorgolfur’s economic hit and run.

Nothing beats a good cliche to start the day:

• A good varied roundup of takes on Freddie Ljungberg’s signing with Major League Soccer & Seattle Sounders FC.
• Beckham could leave the MLS after 09 due to an opt out clause and he also has an option to buy a MLS team when he leaves?  Whoa!  His deal just keeps getting better! 
• A good midwest US take on what is wrong with hockey and what can be done to fix it.  We thought it to be ESSENTIAL READING. 
• Attention MLB teams!  K-Rod will be an overpaid five year flop if you pay him what is rumoured to be his asking price.  5 years for 75 million?  We realized he is only 26 but he’s logged a lot of innings and critical work during his tenure with the Angels.  Anything beyond half of his asking price/terms is taking a massive risk.  We give K-Rod 2 more good years until he sputters.  Of course, ppl said the same thing about Yankee Closer Mariano Rivera and he’s proven us wrong to date.  We think he’s one of a kind and the exception to the rule. 
• Kudos to the NBA for still doing trades involving stars.  In a cap ridden professional sports world these types of trades are too few and far between.  Good on both teams for taking a risk, shaking things up and making things interesting for the fans.  If only more teams would do this… (insert your fave team here).  This blog predicted and gave decent reasons for an IA trade way back in May!
• The Pressures of Youth Football (soccer) is a good post but the comments are what we found to be most interesting.  You can substitute “football” to any sport/arts/performance your child is enrolled in and make it applicable.  Parents take note!