Mexico wins again...oh hum!

            MLS is inferior…well that is what the stats tell us. The last 3 Champions
League era there have been 3 Mexican winners. To take it a step further of the 6 participants there has only been one MLS team (RSL). The CONCACAF Champions Cup (Champions League replace this) we have to all they way back to 2000 to find a MLS team in the Final (LA Galaxy) Wow…MLS is suffering an inferiority complex.

            Yes MLS has got better but I have been promised my the media since the 1994 World Cup the USA would be a power in soccer. Well we are no power in CONCACAF with the clubs…that goes to Mexico…..

So I sit and wait and pretend MLS games are better than the Mexican League games on the Spanish channel...I am kidding myself...and so are you.The Mexican clubs just do not want to hear this.

CONCACAF new qualifying proposal

This is MLS take on CONCACAF....

T&T get a quality international coach to turn thing around

Here is a great interview with Otto by Fifa

German coach Otto Pfister



I use to like when T&T had a good attacking team. Now they have hired a quality international coach to lead them into WCQ. He is old 73 yikes. Lets hope he can organize this team. I like the rivalry they had with Jamaica.

Fifa Article on Canada

Canda's Josh Smith battles with a Greek international player.

I think Canada is one of the stronger CONCACAF nations. I believe they are as good as the Teir 1 Central American Nations. Those being Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama. I would also throw Jamaica into the Teir to be fair.

Canada does not play in the Central American Cup so we can only gauge them in WCQ and the Gold Cup. The last Gold Cup they beat Jamaica and El Salvador and tied Costa Rica. They won Group A in this Gold Cup. They then lost the Honduras in the quarter finaals.

Gold Cup 2007
The opening game they beat Costa Rica 2-1. Lost to Guadeloupe. Then beat Haiti. They earned enough points to again won Group A. In the quarterfinals they belted Guatemala 3-0 then lost in a controversial game against the USA.

The important ganes were World Cup qualification.
  They pounded St Vincent 7-1 aggregate but then were placed in the most difficult group of Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica. The Canucks did not win a single game.


Another aspect of Canada that I like is they play very good European competition...not other weaker CONCACAF nations like most teams in CONCACAF.

They played Greece in Greece and lost 0-1
Then they played Belarus in Turkey and won 1-0.

They other match in 2010 was against Ukraine which was a draw.

They will play Ecuador (56 Fifa ranking) before the Gold Cup.

CONCACAF wCQ to be decided in Zurich, Switserland

There is nothing new here however it is getting a little clearer.
        This decision will be the end of May. This is the first official post about breeaking the 24 nations of Round 1 into 4 Pots.
Maybe they have been reading my posts.........
This link also assumes that the March FIFA ranking would be used...World Cup Qualifying

Cuba above Canada and Panama is a joke. I think El Salvador is better than Cuba

Central American Clubs teams

Leagues around CONCACAF

Belize
Belize has the Belize Premier Football League. This league is brand new compared to the other Leagues in Central America. The league started in 1991. There is no real power house since the league is still in its infancy. The Premier Division has 8 clubs. The league starts in September and ends the next year in January. Thelast Champion is Belize Defense Force. This is their 3rd title. Belize is the only English speaking nation and I find their web site pathetic. It does not have any updated info on the league of the games.
Playoff: The top 4 nations play 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 in a home and away series. Then the final 2 have a home and away series to determine the winner. I had high hopes for Belize to compete but even the administration is wretched. My time is too valuable to cater to them. www.belizefootball.bz. Belize playoff mimics Hondurases.

Costa Rica
The Premiera Division de Costa Rica is their top league. Costa Rica has 12 clubs in their top division which is the same as Guatemala(these are the biggest leagues). There are 3 main clubs in Saprissa, Alajuelense and Herediano. All have over 20 titles to their name. The next best only has 6 Championships.
Playoff: This country has the most clubs in the playoff with 8. 1 vs 8 2 v 7. ect. The final is a home and away. The last final was won by LD Alaguelense.  Alaguelense vs.Herediano. Presently there are 4 clubs left. Saprissa just won the first leg over San Carlos 2-1. The other semi final is between Herediano and Alajuelense. Herediano won the first game 4-2.
El Salvador
They play in the Premiers Division (El Salvador). There are 10 clubs in the top division. This country has a nice mix of balanced teams. FAS has the most Titles with 17.
Playoff: The top 4 make the playoffs 1v 4 and 2 v 3. The final however is a single game at Cuscatalan. Each clubs fans descend on the Capitol to see the final. This is like The Superdome in La. This playoff mimics Panama’s. The semi-finals are this week between Alianza the top seed against 4th seed Louis Angel Firpo. the other semi-finals are FAS against #rd place finished Isidro Metapan. The games are the 30th.

Guatemala

The league was found in 1919. There are 12 clubs in the top division, just like Costa Rica. There are 2 titans in this league in Communications (23 Titals) and Municipal (28 Titles). Municipal has won 8 of the last 13 Championships to overtake Communications for bragging rights. Communications has the last title.
The top 6 make the playoffs. Guatemala is different since the top 2 get a bye to the semi finals. I like this since it rewards the teams that played well throughout the year. Municapal  1, Heredia  2, Communications 3, Mictlan 4, Malacateco 5 and Penarol 6. are the seeds.

The playoffs have just started in Guatemala. Municipal has the top seed and bye. Heredia is the second seed with a bye to the semi-finals. Malacateco will take on Mictian while the most well known club Communications takes on new comer Penarol.

Honduras
The league was found in 1964. Honduras and 10 clubs in their top division. Olimpia use to dominate winning 23 Championships however Montagua(11Champioonships) in Tegulsigalpa and Real Espana(10) and Marathon(8) are on equal footing.
Playoffs: Top 4 make the playoffs 1 v 4 and 2 v3.in a home and away. Then the 2 finalist play a home and away. The final 4 are Marathon v Olimpia and Vida v Montagua. The playoff are this week. This playoff mimics Belize.

Nicaragua
The league was found in 1933 but has been pathetic. The league presently has 10 Clubs and it does have regulation. Diriangen FC is their super power winning 26 Championships. Next is Real Esteli w/ only 9.
Playoffs: This playoff has a group of 4 play home/away. Then the 2 top play home and away to determine the winner. This is something a little different. Their Final will be in May. Presently Walter Ferreti, Deportivo Ocotal, Real Esteli FC and of course Diriangen are the final 4.


Panama
This is a new league started in 1988. Panama has 10 clubs in its top division.

Playoff: The top 4 make the playoffs. 1 v 4 and 2 v 3.The final is now a 1 game knockout game for all the marbles and is now played in Estadio Rommell in Panama City. This playoff mimics El Salvadors

The new CONCACAF WCQ format

I am getting anxious as to how the next CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying will shake out. The new proposal is a good one because of Round 1. This provides most CONCACAF nations a chance to host home World Cup Qualifying games. This alone will do wonders for the domestic leagues of each member. Preliminary round nations ranked 26-35 will play a home and away to see who qualifies for round 1


1. Top 6 get a bye to the semi-final group (3 groups of 4) That group right now is

(USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica and Panama).
I do not know when the last ranking CONCACAF will use but the Gold Cup could shuffle Canada in and someone else out. Remember Canada has won it’s group 2 of the last Gold Cups. Panama is in the same group. This game could be pivotal in ranking.

2. Round 1 will be nations ranked 7-25. ( I will assume that there will be 4 pots to divide this Rounds groups up) Pot 1 will have nations ranked 7 to 12, Pot B nations ranked 13-19, Pot C nations ranked 20-26 and pot D nations ranked 27-32)

3. The Hexagonal. Referred to as the “Hex” top 6 play home/away and top 3 get World Cup slots. 4th place team enters into a playoff w/ another confederation.
       The Hex and the semi-finals will be the same as the previous World Cup Qualifying campaign. The preliminary rounds and Round 1 is the major difference. The way things stand now these are the preliminary nations.

(Belize, Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bahamas, Aruba, US Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat.)

Here are my winners: I believe they will be placed in Pot D.

Belize, Dominican Republic, St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands.


Round 1

         Round 1 is the biggest change for World Cup Qualifying in CONCACAF. Round 1 will have nations ranked 7-30 (24 nations). This group of 24 will be divided into 6 groups of 4. There will be home/away games for each group. Only the winners of each group will advance. These groups will be the most exciting for me. We will finally see just how good some of these smaller nations are. They will all play 6 games which will give us more data to crunch. This round will have the hero’s of each group emerge.

I hope CONCACAF officials have 4 Pots of groupings. Nations ranked 7-12 are in pot a, 13-17 Pot b
Pot A. Canada, Cuba, El Salvador, Trinidad &;To, Haiti, Grenada
 ect...
Pot B Antigua & Bar, Guyana, Suriname, St Kitts and Nev, Guatemala, Dominica

Pot C Barbados, Puerto Rico, Curacao, St. Vincent and G, Cayman Isle, Bermuda,

Pot D Nicaragua, Belize, Dominican Rep, St Lucia, Turks & C Isle, British V Isle.

          Since I think there will be 4 pots Pot A will have their own group. I think the strong teams in group B which would be very difficult are Guatemala, Atigua & Barbuda and Guyana in that order. Guatemala is extremely tough at home. Guatemala also made the semi-finals last World Cup Qualifying. Antigua & Barbuda beat both Guyana and Suriname if the last Caribbean Cup at a neutral site. They also beat Guyana in the 2008 Caribbean Cup. They have a club team that plays in USL Pro league. Guyana finally has a stadium they can call home after FIFA Goal program.

Pot C also has Barbados, Puerto Rico and Curacao to look out for. Barbados has played well in the last 3 Caribbean Cups. We all have heard of the Puerto Rico Islanders, now can they finally take their national team serious. Curacao is the old Netherlands Antilles. They could be a very tough out if they pack their roster.

Pot D The Dominican Republic I have been waiting 10 years for take off. Nicaragua has a new national stadium and a lot of momentum. They should be in Pot C.No one wants this tough team in their group.

I believe most Pot A teams will advance however there will be one upset. I believe if Guatemala is placed in any group besides Canada Guatemala goes through. I believe if a Pot C nation like Puerto Rico could go through if grouped with Grenada and Dominica. I also think Nicaragua will have a good campaign. I held my breath for The Dominican Republic to long however i hope they have a great showing. What I do not want to see is rediculous calls in T&T favor when they are at home....The Warner influence....
 

Belize update

Belize

Belize has the most to be grateful for. Previously they did not have a paying field. Now they have a field with a FIFA pitch, stands were added that will accomidate about 5,000 spectations. There is a 6 foot fence in front of the fans to keep them off the field. Lights are also to be installed for night games. I am not sure if the lights are up yet. There is also building to house the national team, teach football to youngsters and to house the federation.

“The FIFA President then journeyed on to the capital Belmopan to open new facilities at the national FA’s headquarters and academy, where stands, dressing rooms and other public facilities have been built thanks to phase two of the country’s Goal Project. The ceremony began with an a capella rendition of the national anthem, after which Blatter cut the tape in the presence of Mr Chimilio and Rafael Salguero, a member of the FIFA and CONCACAF Executive Committees.” “We have our home of football thanks to FIFA and the completion of this Goal Project,” said Chimilio to an audience including several of the country’s leading sports personalities and political representatives”

This last picture is the housing and headquarters for training the national team. Location is Belmopan.

Blatter's Central American tour..El Salvador

El Salvador Tuesday when he travelled to El Salvador to attend the opening of the country’s latest Goal Project facilities. This project is very similar to Guatemala’s and Honduras’s National team hotel. Goal 3 seems to combine the national team hotel with the Elite Performance Academy. Blatter is pictures with the El Salvador emblem behind him. The second picture is Blatter walking up from a field. The playing pitch is located at El Salvador's Soccer Federation headquarters in San Salvador, El Salvador, Wednesday April 13 , 2011. It was lines with fans and flags of El Salvador. “Building for the future In 2009 FIFA’s Goal Bureau approved a second project with a view to bringing together all the country’s national teams at the hotel located at the Elite Performance Academy. That dream was finally fulfilled thanks to Goal 3, which now enables FESFUT to provide accommodation for all its teams and save on hotel costs. On Wednesday, two years after the green light was given, the FIFA President took part in the opening of the Joseph Blatter Auditorium and the residence for El Salvador’s national teams. The event, which was preceded by a meeting with FESFUT’s Executive Committee, included speeches on the development of football across the country and the possibility of embarking on further Goal projects for the construction of more facilities and the creation of a training course for technical directors.”

Blatter's Central American tour ...Honduras

Honduras
Blatter arrives in Honduras and meets with the president of Honduras football and the President of country to talk about football.The next day Blatter got up early and traveled to Siguatepeque. This city will house the National Team Hotel which is only in Phase 1. I do not know how many phases there will be or how long it will take but it is underway. Siguatepegue is located exactly between Tegucigalpa the Capitol and San Paulo Sula the beautiful industrial “capitol”. San Pedro Sula is where the national team plays in Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano. Siguatepeque can now cater to both the national team and to the youth teams that play in the capitol.

This city will A base for growth
”Blatter was up bright and early the following morning for a trip to the city of Siguatepeque, some 114 kilometres from Tegucigalpa. The reason for the visit was to open the National Team Hotel, phase one of the future national academy and which has been built thanks to the Goal Project and will provide accommodation for the country’s various national sides.”

Blatter's tour...Guatemala

Blatter’s Central American visit. . . Guatemala The FIFA President made his way through Central American nations. His first stop was Guatemala. Blatter watched the host (Guatemala) beat Panama for 3rd place in CONCACAF U-20. The next day he presented Mexico with the U-20 trophy. The last stop was to the newly constructed “national team hotel” that is funded by the goal project. These team hotels will house the national team as they prepare for international events. Some players come in internationally and it would be a great advantage for the host national team to stay together. This will be a big boost for the national team during World Cup Qualifying. Since Phase 4 has yet to be started the national team hotel is not fully complete. “FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter began a lengthy tour of Central America on Sunday,making his first stop in Guatemala, where he met with several leading dignitaries and attended the final day of the U-20 CONCACAF Championship.Warner then joined the FIFA President in presenting Mexico with the trophy as U-20 CONCACAF champions, all this after they had watched hosts Guatemala beat Panama on penalties in the match for third place earlier in the day. Despite missing out on a place in the final, the Guatemalans had every reason to be delighted, having clinched a berth at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011, the first time they have qualified for the finals." “before setting off for the national team hotel, which was built thanks to the country’s Goal Project, phase four of which is yet to start.” I had to add this picture I found on web of Guatemala's U-20 team celebrating after the upset of the USA team in Guatemala. The stands were packed and the team was estatic. This could be the spring board and not Blatter's investment that propells Guatemala back into the Central American frey again.......

El Salvador update

As a 7-0 defeat to neighbours Costa Rica in their first-ever international in 1921 suggested, life on the international scene has often been a struggle for El Salvador. The Central Americans have, however, gone on to enjoy some notable successes and are currently undergoing one of their most promising moments in an up-and-down history. The Cuscatlecos have reached the FIFA World Cup™ finals on two occasions, becoming the first side from the UNCAF region to reach the world’s biggest stage at Mexico 1970. Then, 12 years later, they became the first Central American team to reach football’s promised land twice when they qualified for Spain 1982. Recent performances under coach Jose Luis Rugamas have seen the side jolt up the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, largely on the strength of their fourth-place finish at last month’s Copa Centroamericano, a best-ever performance at the tournament. They reached the second round of the Central American cup of nations with convincing wins over Nicaragua and Belize before losing to eventual champions Honduras in the semi-finals and were only just edged out by hosts Panama in the third-place play-off. It is a marked improvement from the kind of performances that saw them lose 10 games, draw two and win none from 2004 to 2006. Such improvements saw the side shoot up no fewer than 18 places (to 98th overall) in the most recent release of the global standings, zipping past the likes of Bolivia and Zambia to the relative comfort of 12th place in their CONCACAF zone. It is a modest improvement that, combined with El Salvador reaching the final round of regional qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, has the team in good stead heading into the biannual CONCACAF Gold Cup this June in the United States, a tournament they qualified for thanks to their semi-final finish in Panama. We played well at the Copa Centroamericano. We fought to the end and it was a real battle.El Salvador coach Rugamas Although the best the Salvadorans have ever managed at a Gold Cup was a pair of quarter-final finishes, they can brag about being one of only three Central American teams to have reached the FIFA World Cup finals, albeit with poor results once there. In their first go attempt in 1970, they lost all three games and made the short trip home without having scored a goal. Their second appearance was only marginally better when, led by the legendary Jorge ‘Magico’ Gonzalez – widely regarded as the country’s best-ever player – they were mauled 10-1 in their opener against Hungary, a FIFA World Cup-record margin to this day. This time, though, they managed to score a goal over the course of their three losses. Though they have no-one in the current team with the kind of talent of ‘El Magico,’ coach Rugamas does have a number of lively talents coming through. Most are home based, with a strong core of the team playing for local giants Alianza. One of those Alianza men is Rafael Burgos, the 22-year-old top scorer at the Copa Centroamericano. Jaime Alas, playing in an advanced midfield role with club side Firpo, scored two goals at the finals in Panama and never looked out of his depth alongside such established veterans as Eliseo Quintanilla. “We played well at the Copa Centroamericano. We fought to the end and it was a real battle,” said Rugamas, once a youth coach and assistant to former boss Carlos del los Cobos, who was handed an extension to his contract to take the team through the Gold Cup. “Now we need to keep moving the same direction.” The road opening before El Salvador begins with the Gold Cup and leads directly to the preliminary stages of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014. Considering the youthful side’s recent form and trajectory, who would fault the Cuscatlecos for beginning to dream about a hat-trick of appearances on the world’s biggest stage?

CONCACAF new member ....Curacao

There will be a new flag in CONCACAF that we will all be looking at. The new team/nation of Curacao formed after the Netherland Antilles was disolved in 2010. Curacao also becomes FIFA newest member this month. Curacao will take on the old records of the Netherland Antilles for historical statistics. Curacao was the biggest and most populous of the Netherland Antilles islands. It is an island in the Caribean Sea, off the Venezuelan Coast. It is also the largest of the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) which are all neighboring islands. The population of Curacao (142,180) is the 12th most populous nation in the Caribbean behind Saint Lucia (168,178) and ahead of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (110,000). Curacao has a 10 team professional league that has been in existence for some time. This league will do well to provide quality feeder players to the national team. However when World Cup Qualifying starts we will be sure to see professionals from the Dutch league dominate the roster. Curacao will play their home games in the Capitol of Curacao, Willemstad. Curacao will play their home games at the stadium of Stadion Ergilio Hato. The stadiums capacity is 15,000 which is huge for any Caribbean nation.

World Cup qualification What can we expect from this new CONCACAF member? I think Curacao will not be a big change from the former Netherlant Antilles. The former Netherland Antilles played well in the last World Cup Qualifying campaign. They drew the big (population wise) Central American nation of Nicaragua.They shut out Nicaragua in the first game 1-0 at the Estadio Diriangen, Nicaragua in front of 7,000 hostial fans. Then they returned to the capitol of Curacao and shut out Nicaragua again 2-0 (March 26th, 2010). Nicaragua does not have much of a national team however a win in World Cup Qualifying is a win.There was a record crowd of 9,000 spectators at Stadion Ergillo Hato in the first round on qualifying. The second record was the other game in Nicaragua. This was very encouraging for Curacao to lead Round 1 in attendance. .. Round 2 . They advanced to the next round only to meet Haiti. They played Haiti to a 0-0 draw in Port-au-Prince in front of 6,000 hostile fans. They returned home to be greeted my another Caribbean monster crowd of 9,000 fans. They conseeded the only goal of World Cup Qualifying in the 77 minute. The goal was an own goal as a matter of fact. We could say that Curacao was not even scored on in the last World Cup Qualifying. This is there the ride stopped for the Nethernland Antilles. I was expecting big thing from Netherland Antilles in the Caribbean Cup 2010 but they did not make the final 8. They reason for this is they were stuck in a very difficult group with Suriname, Guyana and St Lucia and the games were played in Suriname, South America. They lost 2-1 to Surname and 3-2 to Guyana then tied St Lucia in a non factor game 2-2. Since the Netherland Antilles was disolved in October 10, 2010 tis would have been the last game they played under the Netherland Antilles. I expect to see Curacao to again participate in the next World Cup Qualifying cycle. There is a new soccer federation in place so it could take a few years for it all to shake out. Hopefully there will be minimal coruption.

Presently Curacao is ranked 21st in CONCACAF’s Fifa ranking. Curacao should be placed into Round 1 in the fall of 2011. This round will have 6 groups of 4 nations playing home/away games. There should be 2 nations ranked higher than them (Caracao) but we can all throw the ranking out when World Cup Qualifying takes place.

Future outlook

I am looking forward to see this new flag to be waved under the CONCACAF banner. Look for the bright blue uniforms with a large yellow stripe across the middle distinguish Curacao from the other bright uniforms of the Caribbean. Look for quality Dutch professionals to greatly enhance their team when World Cup Qualifying starts later this year. If the last WCQ was any indication then we should expect Curacao to again lead the Caribbean in attenadnce. If Curacao keeps it's form on defense then they will be a difficult match for anyone in Round 1.

CONCACAF tournament tweek is Guatemala's gain

I love the World Cup until the yanks get knocked out and have to suffer through watching some European nation make a dramatic run that seems to stir great excitement. Some year I want my yanks to make that great run that we can talk about. The other international tournaments like the U-20 and U-17 are tournament where I can print out the brackets with the national flags on them. These tournaments my yanks have a much better chance to advance deep into the tournament. Well this years USA U-20 is the best Thomas Rogen has ever had. As I watched the U-20 team, not play but dominate the game against Panama and Suriname I was quite optimistic. The yanks were always going forward, they were individually creative on the ball, they were faster and more tactically sound that any team (except Mexico tactically) than anyone in CONCACAF. They would set the high water mark for the confederation in the FIFA World Cup in Columbia. I could hardly wait. Then they lost. They lost to a Guatemala team that realized they had a dynamic chance to advance to their first ever FIFA U-20 World Cup. How you say? Well CONCACAF officials change the format to create such a chance for the “lesser quality” teams to have a chance to gain one of the 4 slots. The format has 12 teams but the groups are only 3 teams. 8 teams qualify for the knockout round. This 3rd game is the most important game. This third game is do or die. This third game anything can happen. This third game allows a team like Guatemala knock off the Titans in CONCACAF. I have to say I am extremely disappointed in the yanks lack of participating in the World Cup. They would have done well and I am hardly optimistic on USA teams in international competitions

One nation’s pain is usually the other gain. This is great for Guatemala. Guatemala is ranked 17th in FIFA CONCACAF ranking. They more than likely will not make the FIFA World Cup in the next qualifying round. They will not even be favorites to advance to the Semi-final groups of 12 nations. This is depressing for all Guatemalan’s. The U-20 CONCACAF Championship was played in Guatemala. This tournament was a source of pride for Guatemala. This tournament was their chance to do something big. There is no doubt the fans spur the national team on to do the impossible. They scored a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Titans of CONCACAF, in front of a raucous crowd. Done it with out the crazy format but that is what CONCACAF wanted to create. IT created excitement for Guatemala and allowed them to participate in the next World Cup. Guatemala did it by following the rules however crazy they seemed. This U-20 FIFA World Cup could be Guatemala new “golden years” for soccer going forward. This tournament could give them the confidence they desperately need. All Guatemalans will look to this group to carry the torch for the Guatemala national team.

Mexico went on to win the CONCACAF U-20 Championship against Defending Champion Costa Rica. Guatemala beat Panama to take 3rd place. This third place finish also qualified Guatemala for the Pan-Am games.

Honduras get's Najar ...good!

Honduras

It always interests me when there is a new “Wonder” player who comes out of no where and makes a national team. Well Andy Najar has declared his national team will be Honduras. "It was a decision that my heart told me," the 18-year-old D.C. United midfielder said,”It came strictly from my heart. Najar is the reigning MLS Rookie of the Year and he quite possibly is playing midfield for Honduras in this Summers Gold Cup. Najar is only 18 and getting starts in D.C United first team. This is great that Honduras could retain this creative, crafty little player. The other national team he could have picked was the USA, who has a plethora of Midfielders presently. This will be good for both Honduras and Najar and exciting to the Gold Cup if he plays.

USA

The USA recently got Teal Bunbury. The USA could always use a striker but this was at Canada cost. This move was a shame for Canada since Teal was born in Canada. The Canadian’s only have 1/10 of the USA’s population and strikers of his size 6-2 do not come around to often, and they rarely come Canada’s way. The Yanks now have Altidore (Haiti), Agudelo(Columbia), and Bundury(Canada) battling Buddle, Ching, Gomez, Johnson, Finley and Wondolowski for playing time. This is a shame for Canada since they could use his service desperately and he may miss out on some great national team games because of numbers. Bun bury would have given Canada a big boost. The yanks also got Germaine Jones. He was born in Germany and is presently a starter for the USA team. The yanks got a nice boost here to add quality dept in the MF position. Well each national team is shaping up for this summers Gold Cup…I am looking forward to this one…..a