Soccer New York

Crystal Palace supporters still suffering from the loss of that Premier League promotion playoff last May might be taking a little solace in their American counterparts today.

USL Second Division side Crystal Palace Baltimore upset an uninspired New York Red Bulls side, 2-0, last night in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. The win prompted many sports fans in Baltimore to say, "Wait, we have a soccer team here?"

Indeed, the club was founded in 2006, 101 years after Crystal Palace FC was founded in London, and it serves as a player development wing for the Coca-Cola Championship club. Clearly, player development is going pretty well there, though as Ives Galarcep notes, too many Red Bulls just didn't come to play last night.

Two other USL clubs pulled off upsets, as USL-1 leaders the Charleston Battery defeated MLS Cup holders the Houston Dynamo on penalty kicks, while the Seattle Sounders topped Chivas USA, 2-0. Other USL clubs didn't get away so easily. The Kansas City Wizards came back from a 2-0 deficit to topple the Carolina Railhawks, 4-2, in extra time, and FC Dallas scored a 2-1 comeback win against Miami FC. D.C. United, the Chicago Fire and the New England Revolution also cruised to victory over USL clubs.

The U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals are scheduled for next Tuesday.

The 3rd round of the U.S. Open Cup kicks off tomorrow, and if you're looking for the MLS clubs that are taking this tournament seriously this year, just look for which clubs are playing at home.

Unlike England's FA Cup, where the home team is determined by random draw, MLS and USL clubs place bids with the U.S. Soccer Federation to host games, and the highest bidder plays at home. If you look at the schedule for tomorrow's games, you'll notice that the New England Revolution, the Chicago Fire, D.C. United and FC Dallas are all playing at home.

By contrast, the Houston Dynamo travel to South Carolina to face USL-1 leaders the Charleston Battery, and the New York Red Bulls head to Maryland to face USL-2 side Crystal Palace Baltimore. Perhaps Houston and New York aren't quite as interested in the CONCACAF Champions League bid that comes with winning the Open Cup.

D.C. United, however, suddenly seems much more interested in the Open Cup than they were last year.

Jozy Altidore's European dream begins now.

The New York Times is reporting that Spanish club Villareal has a reached an agreement with MLS and the New York Red Bulls to acquire Altidore for an MLS-record transfer fee of $10 million. The teenage striker has to pass a physical and work out contract terms with the club, but it appears he will not finish the season with the Red Bulls, who are currently five points behind Toronto for the last playoff spot in the Eastern division.

Villareal finished 2nd in La Liga last season and will go directly to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. However, it appears Altidore will not join the club on the European stage. Spanish newspaper Marca is reporting that Altidore will be loaned out to Recreativo de Huelva, who finished 16th in La Liga, for at least one season to give him immediate playing time. According to the ever-present Ives Galarcep, Villareal made the same move with Uruguayan defender Martín Cáceres, who was just sold to Barcelona for a profit of about $16 million.

So Jozy can experience something he would never see in America -- a relegation battle. That's just "too foreign" for MLS, of course.

Let's just hope this transfer doesn't give our boy too big a head. Those stories about him losing focus in Red Bulls practice were just a little troubling.

The U.S. men's national team roster for next week's England v. USA match in Wembley Stadium was released earlier this week, and while most of the usual suspects -- Dempsey, Donovan, Bradley, Adu, Howard, Bocanegra, etc. -- are present, one player is quite conspicuous by his absence from this list.

New York Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore, who was on the national team player pool for this simulated group of death, will not play for Bob Bradley's side in England. It's a curious decision, given that Altidore, who has 2 goals in 6 games for the Red Bulls so far this season, is probably the best pure striker in the current talent pool. Perhaps he's being saved for the Olympics?

Instead, it appears we're going to get a heavy dose of Fulhamerica next week. Clint Dempsey will likely reacquaint himself with the forward position after Roy Hodgson moved him out on the wing toward the end of the Premier League season. Dempsey was Fulham's leading scorer with 6 league goals, despite not scoring since Boxing Day. Eddie Johnson might also get a long look at forward, despite the fact that he's clearly not as good as Altidore.

Expect Landon Dononvan, who played left wing for the USA in its 3-0 thrashing of Poland, to see some time up front as well. Donovan is currently the leading scorer in MLS with 8 goals.

Of course, we haven't been really on schedule with our series of MLS previews, but you can't really rush genius, can you? Regardless, one of our favorite MLS insiders, Ives Galarcep, notes that many local teams aren't really rushing themselves either. Considering the MLS playoffs take 8 of the 14 teams, there isn't much incentive to kick off to a fast start, but Soccer by Ives points out three teams that could be setting themselves up for an extra hard slump to kickoff the season: Toronto, Columbus, and New York. We find his assessment of the Red Bulls to be rather interesting:

The club still doesn't have the playmaker, left winger and left-sided defender its own coach made clear it needs.

It may be a bit early to panic but the fact that the club's first-team players failed to score a goal in any of the three games of the recent Carolina Challenge Cup is a cause for concern.

We happen to enjoy the controversy out east, couldn't happen to a nicer team :-)

The summer tour rumors are already heating up, with Red Bull New York in talks with Spanish juggernaut Real Madrid. Soccer by Ives reports that the New York/New Jersey club is in negotiations to play the Galacticos in Giants Stadium as part of Madrid's summer touring. The educated guess is that the friendly will be in mid-August, and likely a weekday between RBNY home fixtures.

Many questions come immediately for natural skeptics like ourselves. Most importantly, can Red Bull handle another match? MLS and USOC will be in full swing, and August is notorious for having a stacked schedule. They will have to be careful to guard against wear and tear no matter how big their opponent. The question is one faced by many MLS teams looking to balance a European friendly against the start of the stretch playoff run.

18-year-old striker Jozy Altidore will be one of many young American hopefuls on display when the U.S. men's national team takes on Mexico tonight in Houston. (We mentioned that this no-so-friendly will be on ESPN2 at 9:00 PM ET, right? Okay, good.) As it turned out, however, the New York Red Bulls' starting forward and New York Times guest blogger was almost a starter somewhere else this month.

According to the ever-connected Ives Galarcep, Altidore was all set to transfer to Reading last month, but the deal fell through at the last minute. The Royals had been scouting Altidore for the better part of two years and felt he was the answer to their offensive woes. The small Premier League club has scored only 3 goals in 7 matches since New Year's Day and now finds itself in 17th place, only one point out of the relegation zone.

Jozy probably would have started right away for Reading, which was one reason he considered the move. Would he have received a work permit, though? Brad Guzan's move to Aston Villa was scuttled when his application was rejected. Would Jozy have been approved based on his U-20 team play?

I suppose that's a moot point now, as he's expected to play a full season for the Red Bulls. These rumors will resurface in a year, though. This kid is too talented to stay in MLS forever.

An interesting wrinkle in the upcoming "Jozy Altidore sweepstakes," raises serious questions for Red Bull New York's fledgling youth academy. While just a rumor at this point, the Austrian press is reporting that "parent" club, Red Bull Salzburg, has the power to claim the offensive phenom for the 2009 season. Speculation or not, the US club would do well to clarify their relationship with the German side or else suffer the consequences of miscommunication. It would be hard to sell top young talent on the RBNY development programs if their European dreams are limited to Salzburg and ... um ... Salzburg.

Altidore, 18, is a fixture of both Red Bull New York and the American U-20s, and his eventual European transfer fee is expected to break any existing US marks.

(HT: MLS Rumors)

The font of insider knowledge, Soccer By Ives, continues to let us lesser ranks of MLS insiders in on the comings and goings of current American stars. As opening day approaches, many teams are adjusting to the increasing demand for US talent. Here's the latest on four domestic players:

Brad Guzan-The next big thing in American goalkeepers is on his way to a trial at Celtic. The rumors swirling say that transfer negotiations are the only remaining hurdle, and work permits are not an issue. Chivas USA will be pressed to find a replacement as good as the reigning keeper of the year.

Chris Gbandi- The former 1 overall at FC Dallas (2002) is linked to Norwegian club FK Haugesund, and the club is expected to accept an offer for the 28 year old defender. The move would further deplete Dallas' struggling back line that has already lost Clarence Goodson this off season.

Danny Cepero- The young goalkeeper at Red Bull New York is set for a trial at PSV Eindhoven. A recent trade for Zach Thornton continues to keep Cepero buried on the RBNY depth chart.

Pablo Mastroeni- While not headed overseas, the midfielder is very much "in play" among MLS circles. Many teams seem to be after his services with a number of potential trades being mulled by the press. The rumor mills have been placing the 31-year-old veteran to San Jose, New England, and DC United. (HT: MLS Rumors)

Reporting live from the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.

Christmas came a little late for Red Bull New York's Juan Carlos Osorio at this year's MLS Draft. Although he resigned as head coach of the Chicago Fire for "family reasons," he certainly left his mark on the supporters. With a name that will live in infamy among Fire fans, Osorio entered Friday's draft with that chapter of his career firmly in his past ... or so he thought. Able to grab a few moments of his time, we were able to get his thoughts on the matter.

If you happen to be a RBNY fan interested in Claudio Reyna's job security, just push play. For those wishing to cut to the chase, skip to around :40.




As for the content of this year's Section 8 Xmas card ... (or thereabouts)

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Let's all be thankful this holiday
That at least we aren't the Revs.
Unless, of course, you are.

subcampeon eterno

Pleasant holiday wishes from Section 8 Chicago and all Chicago Fire fans.

Rumor has it that LA Galaxy GM Alexi Lalas also received a copy this weekend and howled with delight.