The atmosphere was charged in historic RFK Stadium as two teams on opposite sides of the standings faced off in front of a national TV audience.  DC United was winless in their first three matches and had scored one goal; the Black and Red were looking for an elusive home win to set their season straight.  FC Dallas saw an up-and-down start to their season but with Brek Shea returning from international duty, the team looked to steal at least a point from the night and keep up with the leaders in the West.

The stadium and fans were electric from the outset.  The small but incredibly loud DC fans were on their feet from the first kick, engaged and showing off for the NBC Sports cameras.  On the pitch, the players brought their own emotions from the start, as four DC United players (including captain Dwayne De Rosario) came out for the introductions wearing hooded sweatshirts.  Throughout the game, there were a number of aggressive fouls and at least two altercations that saw both teams needing to be separated.  With the attention of the American soccer world focused on DC for the night, the teams channeled that big game atmosphere to make an entertaining and intense match.

It was the home team, however, that better bottled the energy and in the span of thirteen minutes in the second half crushed Dallas with three rapid goals.  That sequence was unimaginable in the first half as both teams played a fairly even match.  Dallas had the majority of possession early and, as has every other DC opponent this year, muddled the midfield enough to prevent the Black and Red from connecting the back line to the forwards.  Starting as an attacking midfielder, DeRo was forced by the Dallas defense to fall back to collect the ball from a discombobulated Perry Kitchen early on.  Despite controlling the pace, DC keeper Joe Willis kept the home team in the game with some impressive saves.  It was former Dallas player Maicon Santos who broke the scoreless tie in the 28th minute; receiving a pass from DeRo and given space from the Dallas defense, the forward unleashed a bullet 25 yards out that beat Kevin Hartman.

Dallas would equalize toward the end of the first half on a controversial goal that forced pundits to dive into FIFA and MLS rules to determine its legitimacy.  Daniel Hernandez chested down a Joe Willis clearance in the DC half and tried to thread a pass to Blas Perez, who was in an offside position.  DC defender Emiliano Dudar hit the ball with his foot but instead of clearing the pass, it fell to Perez who was able to take Willis one-on-one and score.  The referee in essence decided that Dudar had established possession with his contact and did not rule the play offside.

The controversy was rendered moot early in the second half as DC came out aggressively looking to reclaim the lead. Louisville rookie Nick DeLeon had looked good for DC, making plays on the right and winning the ball but failing to make good passes to create goal scoring opportunities.  ”We came out after halftime knowing we had no choice, we had to get a win,” DeLeon said after the game, and he started the onslaught of goals.  Chesting down a Maicon Santos pass in the sixtieth minute, DeLeon coolly beat the defense and put the ball into the roof of the Dallas net.  The next goal was DeLeon’s chance to earn an assist, again creating space before finding teammate Danny Cruz on the far post.  The final goal was again the Cruz-DeLeon-Maicon Santos combination as Cruz began a counter off of a set piece, found DeLeon who put in a cross in front of net that Santos headed home.  As Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said after the game, “I think our defense gave some silly balls away, and I think they capitalized on it.”

The loss for Dallas was undoubtedly a tough one.  This was their second consecutive road loss to an Eastern Conference team and what is considered the strength of their team (the defense) let them down today.  George John was absent, but the backline should still be good enough to prevent four goals from going in.  In addition, the wings (Shea and Rodriguez in the midfield, Loyd and Benitez as fullbacks) were owned by DC and that is not acceptable if Dallas wants to be a playoff team.  Blas Perez was active and when he got the ball made a few nice plays, but essentially as the game unraveled for the visitors he became an afterthought.  All of the attention throughout was on Brek Shea, who was returning from the U-23 team and played all 90 minutes tonight.  Despite physically doing well, he was emotionally drained after the game: “It’s hard coming back, trying to flip the switch… it hasn’t been easy,” he said afterwards in the tunnel.

The win covers up some of DC warts, deficiencies that could be exposed even more with Seattle coming to town next week.  The back line was shaky throughout (as seen by the Perez goal) and Perry Kitchen looked unsettled in the first half (potentially due to his returning to the midfield).  But this was the offensive display MLS fans had expected to see from DC, the movement and the quick strike ability.  Except it was the rookie, veteran who had been castoff in the offseason, and traded backup who were the major offensive sparks in this game.  De Rosario played very well and almost scored himself, but again the designated players were not the catalysts for this team.  These critiques do divert attention away from what was a dominant and entertaining win for DC.

Update: Get your DC tickets here.

Congratulations D.C, Miami, and Dallas – according to the FC Barcelona website this morning you will have the opportunity to witness the world’s best team in person.

The team has announced its summer 2011 tour and it is a monster one.  The club will begin in Europe against unknown opponents.  They will play two matches at Munich’s Audi Cup on July 21 and 22, followed by a trip to Split, Croatia for a friendly July 25.

Then the team travels across the Atlantic for three matches in the United States.  Dates, locations and opponents are below:

July 30 – Manchester United v. Barcelona (Washington, DC)

August 3 – AC Milan v. Barcelona (Miami, FL)

August 6 – America of Mexico v. Barcelona (Dallas, TX)

This will be the club’s first trip back to the U.S. since 2009 and the club expects to make over $8 million on the tour.

My first impression is that the Manchester United/Barca match will be epic.  Expect that one to be played at Fedex Field instead of RFK due to its size and the stadium will be closed to full.  AC Milan, which is no stranger to the U.S. having played friendlies here the past two summers, looks to be returning again and will give the Miami area some great soccer.  Finally, Dallas will allow fans of the Mexican soccer league to see how their teams match up against a European giant.

What do you think about the announced schedule?  Upset they are not playing MLS teams or your hometown is not on the tour schedule?  Or just happy to have a chance to see Barcelona, Manchester United, and AC Milan back in the states?

The list of the 2011 Gold Cup sites was unveiled yesterday and there were two story lines coming out of the announcement: the number of venues that would be hosting their first Gold Cup matches and the number of cities that were inexplicably left off the list.

As a reminder or, if you are new to the sport, an explanation, the Gold Cup is the tournament where in 2011 the winner advances to the 2013 Confederations Cup.  It does not impact World Cup qualifying directly.  What a win in the 2011 Gold Cup does do is allow a team a series of matches against other federation champs in a World Cup-style format.  The United States used a great Confederations Cup run in 2009 (we beat Spain!) to create positive momentum for the 2010 World Cup.

The first round takes place June 5-14, and some of the venues are no-brainers to be on the list.  The Dallas Cowboys’ mammoth stadium will host the first match on June 5, and repeat hosts include Soldier Field (Chicago) and the Home Depot Center (Carson City).  The other four new hosts are Ford Field (Detroit), Raymond James Stadium (Tampa), KC Soccer Stadium (Kansas City), and Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte).  While Detroit and Tampa are huge media markets that make sense for international soccer, CONCACAF seems to be looking to build the culture in Charlotte and Kansas City, and I will be curious to see the crowds for the matches.

The quarterfinals will be held June 18 at the New Meadowlands Stadium and June 19 at RFK Stadium (Washington DC).  The semifinal matches will be held in Houston on June 22 and the final held in the Rose Bowl on June 25.  None of these sites are a surprise except for maybe Houston having the semifinal over the New Meadowlands.

What is a surprise may be the cities left out of this list.  Philadelphia and Foxborough, MA on the East Coast both have MLS teams but failed to get the nod.  Columbus, Denver, Salt Lake City, and San Jose are other MLS metropolitan areas that were not selected.  But the biggest shaft may have been the West Coast, which has two hosts both in California, and none in the Pacific Northwest.  Sounders fans will miss out on the opportunity to see Gold Cup matches next year.

The total list of sites is after the break, but what are your thoughts on which cities were selected and which were left off?  Should the West Coast or the Rockies gotten more matches?

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Schedule and Venues

First Round

June 5 – Cowboys Stadium (Arlington, TX)

June 6 – The Home Depot Center (Carson, CA)

June 7 – Ford Field (Detroit, MI)

June 9 – Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC)

June 10 – FIU Stadium (Miami, FL)

June 11 – Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL)

June 12 – Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)

June 13 – Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ)

June 14 – KC Soccer Stadium (Kansas City, KS)

Quarterfinals

June 18 – New Meadowlands Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ)

June 19 – Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (Washington DC)

Semifinals

June 22 – Reliant Stadium (Houston, TX)

Final

June 25 – Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)

USMNT Head Coach Bob Bradley annouces roster for January Camp

A pair of Scandinavian stand outs as well as few MLS emerging stars headline Bob Bradley’s 30 man roster for the annual January training camp.  Rising MLS stars, Omar Gonzalez, Chris Pontius and Kevin Alston will have the opportunity to show their skills to Coach Bradley ahead of the opening of camp on January 4th. The camp leads up to the first match of a vital year for the US Men’s National Team, against Honduras on January 23rd.

The January camp typically includes the best players from MLS as well as the Scandinavian leagues which are on winter break. Although typically made up of players from MLS and Scandinavia, the January camp allows the brightest stars of the past MLS camp, a chance to show their worth with the national team. This year, such stands outs include MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Zach Thornton, MLS Champions Nick Rimando, Robbie Findley and Kyle Beckerman as well as MLS Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham among others. In addition to their MLS compatriots, several Scandinavian players join the mix including, Marcus Tracy and Alejandro Bedoya who have earned a place on Bradley’s radar with strong seasons in their respective leagues.

Here’s the complete roster:

GOALKEEPERS: Kevin Hartman (Kansas City), Troy Perkins (Valerenga), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), Zach Thornton (Chivas USA)

DEFENDERS: Kevin Alston (New England Revolution), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC), Brandon McDonald (San Jose Earthquakes)

MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Eddie Gaven (Columbus Crew), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Jeff Larentowicz (New England Revolution), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Chris Pontius (D.C. United), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

FORWARDS: Justin Braun (Chivas USA), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake),  Marcus Tracy (Aalborg)

What are your thoughts on this roster? Who do you feel should have been included? Who should have been excluded?

Testify in the comments below.