We’ve got news from the USMNT ahead of tomorrow’s friendly, as well as a sneak peak at USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo’s new memoir.  We’ll also take a trip to Europe to scope out the best players in UEFA, and finish up back in MLS with another possible signing for the New York Red Bulls.  It’s all in today’s Daily Kick Around!

USMNT

Tales of intrigue and espionage from inside the US men’s national team?  Not quite, but Jurgen Klinsmann is relying heavily on players who ply their trade in Mexico when the U.S. men take on El Tri at Estadio Azteca Wednesday night.  No doubt they’ll be able to provide some inside information on what to expect from some of their club teammates and opponents.

Speaking of which, how does everyone feel about this FIFA date?  We’ve already heard from the likes of Landon Donovan, who was pretty clear that he wasn’t a fan.  All in all, it seems that everyone agrees that playing international friendlies immediately before the season starts or, in the case of MLS, right in the middle of the season, does not make sense.

USWNT

Hope Solo, Hope Solo!  You may not always agree with how she handles herself, but at least you always know where she is coming from!  Her book, “SOLO: A Memoir of Hope,” went on presale today.  Everyone knows about her infamous 2007 benching and subsequent interview.  Read her side of it in this excerpt from her book.

UEFA

Surprise surprise, guess who is on the short list for the 2011/2012 best player in Europe award!  If you said Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, you are correct.  Also in the top 5 are Andres Iniesta, Andrea Pirlo, and Xavi.  The winner will be decided by a vote during the Champions League draw Aug. 30.

MLS

So you thought the New York Red Bulls were finally done wheeling and dealing?  No way!  Manager Hans Backe confirmed today that his team will try to sign former England U-20 winger Lloyd Sam who has been on trial with them during the past week.

Image courtesy of mlssoccer.com/Getty Images.

Mission accomplished.

The U.S. Women’s National Team avenged their heartbreaking loss to Japan in last year’s World Cup Final with a 2-1 victory over that same Japanese team to capture Gold for the third straight time in the Olympic Games.

It wasn’t the dramatic overtime, penalty-shootout finish that defined their end in Germany last summer. No, this time the U.S. held onto a one-goal lead to do what they didn’t a year ago – finish.

Carli Lloyd put the U.S. on the board in the 8th minute with a diving header off an Alex Morgan cross from the end line that just missed the left foot of Abby Wambach. In the 54th minute, Lloyd added an insurance goal, taking the ball up the middle and then stunning the defense with a wonder strike from 20 yards out.

» Continue reading “U.S. Women’s Soccer Strikes Gold in London”

In honor of the U.S. Women’s National Team kicking some serious booty during the Olympics group stages, I decided to pick one of our lovely ladies to feature in this week’s Midweek Muscles. And considering the controversy she caused recently (read our own Dana Lancaster’s thoughts on the Hope v. Brandi Chastain tiff here), I thought who better than the gorgeous, controversial, badass goalkeeper of the USWNT?

That’s right, this week is dedicated to Hope Solo.

Okay, let’s just face facts here, okay? Hope is bad. ass. She’s one solid goal keeper and she’s not afraid to say what’s on her mind, even though some times she should kinda think before she speaks. But I’m not here to debate her choices. In the end, I still think Hope is one gorgeous, smokin’ hot woman and I’m not afraid to admit it.

She was also a part of last year’s ESPN Body Issue and was on Dancing with the Stars! She’s pretty unstoppable!

Love her or loathe her, you can’t deny she’s beautiful and she can get the job done between the posts for the USWNT.

You can follow Hope on Twitter at @hopesolo and follow the ladies of Aerys Soccer at @aeryssoccer! And good luck to Hope and the rest of the USWNT as they march on to gold in the Olympic games!

By now you’ve probably heard about U.S. National Team goalkeeper Hope Solo blasting NBC analyst and USWNT legend Brandi Chastain for critical on-air commentary about the U.S.A. defense during their 3-0 win over Colombia Saturday. Hope is not one to hold back her thoughts, particularly in public, and with Twitter an easy platform to vent on, Hope defended her defense with a wrath not seen since her benching in the 2007 World Cup.

Naturally, Brandi has not responded, and likely won’t, but if she’s on the call for Tuesday’s Group E finale between the U.S. and North Korea, we’ll see if the comments affect her style of commentary in any way.

Twitter is abuzz with fans and media on both sides of the spat. Was Hope right to criticize Brandi? Should Brandi cool down her criticism on-air? And what exactly was it that Brandi said that sparked Hope’s reaction? Let’s see if we can break down the tweets and come to a conclusion.

Whoa, whoa whoa, hold on a minute here, Hope. While I don’t always agree with Brandi’s commentary, to her credit, the analyst’s job is not to represent the team. It’s to provide commentary and analysis of the play on the field.  If we wanted someone who just drools over every player, NBC might as well hire American football commentator Jon Gruden to call a soccer match.

Yes, NBC is an American network and Brandi is a former star (and legend) with the U.S. National Team. Since she stepped on that field, she’s been a representative of the U.S. National Team, and continues to be. And it’s not like Brandi fell into oblivion after retirement; she’s currently a coach of women’s soccer at Santa Clara University, so I think she has a little bit of understanding of the game.

I know Hope Solo is passionate about the game. I know that many times she can’t keep her emotions in check. But this is just out of line, much more so than Brandi’s commentary during the game. I don’t think anyone can say that Brandi Chastain is not educated about the game. Yes, styles of play change over time. Coaching changes over time. But nothing Brandi said during the match was uneducated. Critical? Yes. Harsh? Sometimes. But uneducated? No.

But what was it that Brandi said exactly that got Hope so riled up? At first, I thought it was her commentary about the back line not being in sync with the midfield, due to Pia Sundhage’s frequent lineup changes. But then I saw this article in Newsday and remembered the comment she made about Rachel Buehler when a Buehler clearance sent the ball back to Colombia:

Solo was apparently unhappy with Chastain’s criticism of U.S. defender Rachel Buehler during the NBC telecast.

At one point, Chastain pointed out that a defender’s responsibilities are: “Defend. Win the ball. And then keep possession. And that’s something that Rachel Buehler actually needs to, I think, improve on in this tournament.”

I understand Hope’s desire to defend Buehler as a teammate who is well-respected. But neither Buehler, nor anyone else on the team, is perfect, nor above criticism. Instead of using criticism to fire off angry backlash, Hope and her teammates should really tune out anything the media says – whether warranted or not – and stay focused on their goal and how they’re being coached. I understand getting angry at comments like that when you feel they are unwarranted, but by letting it get them upset and publicly addressing it, this is just becoming a distraction for the team.

Along with Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan, Hope Solo is the face of the U.S. Women’s National Team. She is a leader. Someone to look up to, and emulate. Whether she likes or agrees with Brandi Chastain or not, she needs to tune it out and let it not affect her. Let Sundhage determine how to coach and criticize the team. She can’t let a member of the media fire her up like this, when it serves no positive purpose.

Brandi may be more critical on air than many commentators, but I have to say that while I think she may be a little out of line by verbalizing her opinions at times — particularly on one comment she made yesterday about Heather O’Reilly “not being good enough” in her 60+ minute start —  she is very observant and knows this team well.

When I spoke to Brandi in an interview last year during the Women’s College Cup, she told me that she thinks the U.S. needs to get more creative in the midifield. With the lineup changes Sundhage has implemented over the last couple months, particularly in the midfield by playing Rapinoe on the right, inserting Tobin Heath on the left wing and Lauren Cheney as the attacking central midfielder, the team has found that creativity on the ball that they were lacking in the World Cup. And by starting Alex Morgan, they’ve been able to get Wambach more involved in setting up goal-scoring opportunities, not simply relying on getting the ball forward to her — another change Brandi told me back in December that she thinks they’d need to make.

So, no, Hope. Brandi Chastain is not uneducated about the game.

But Hope didn’t stop there.

I don’t recall hearing Brandi say that Buehler was the “worst defender.” Does anyone else? I do agree that it is important for fans to enjoy the spirit of the Olympics. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t a competition. Fans of the U.S. know that their team is #1 in the world and have lofty expectations. While I believe that Brandi could tone down some of her commentary,  she is there to provide the perspective of someone who has been in that position before. She’s not just any member of the media. She wants the U.S. to be the best in the world and to win as much as anybody — perhaps even more than those who haven’t played at that level.

Sorry, Hope. Once again I’m not on your side here. Nobody can say that Brandi isn’t helping to grow the sport. She is an Advisory Board Member for the Capital One Cup, an award of $200,000 in student-athlete scholarships given annually to both the top Division I men’s and women’s college athletics programs. She coaches women’s soccer at the collegiate level. And she created the ReachUP! Foundation, which mentors young girls to develop skills and healthy lifestyles and achieve their dreams.

And about that fantastic Arlo White? I did hear him call Megan Rapinoe “Rampone” a few times yesterday. But I guess it’s OK to make mistakes on air, as long as you don’t criticize the players.

I think Hope Solo is a terrific athlete and a role model to women and young girls everywhere. But she needs to focus on her play on the field, what she and her teammates and her coach can control, and not get distracted by outside commentary. She needs to not forget that Brandi Chastain was in her place once, too. Brandi and her teammates in the 1996 Olympics and 1999 World Cup deliberately paved the way for girls like Hope and Abby and Alex and Rachel so that they could be in this moment right now.

One day, when her playing days are over, Hope Solo may be a member of the media too. Will she hold back what she thinks of the U.S. National Team then? Somehow I think not.

Rapinoe’s goal celebration included a Happy Birthday message to injured teammate Ali Krieger. Photo via iamoruny.tumblr.com/

The road to gold continues for the U.S. Women’s National Team, as they defeated Colombia 3-0 today, securing their spot in the Olympic quarterfinals with 6 points in Group E.

Megan Rapinoe shined once again with a goal and an assist and Abby Wambach tallied her 140th career goal and 6th in Olympic play, surpassing Mia Hamm as the all-time leader in U.S. Olympic goals. Carli Lloyd started in place of the injured Shannon Boxx and added the third and final blow, her second of the tournament.

It wasn’t as much of a cakewalk as the final score appears, however, at least for the first two-thirds of the match. Colombia, making their first appearance in the Olympic Games, were still carrying resentment from their 3-0 loss to the U.S. in the group stage of the 2011 Women’s World Cup and wanted revenge.

As the U.S. dominated the run of play, the game began to get physical and chippy and the referee didn’t seem to want to get involved. Things boiled over shortly before the end of the first half, when Colombia’s Lady Andrade took Wambach down with a punch to the face just outside Colombia’s penalty area. As Wambach lay on the pitch holding her hands over her face, the ref let the game play on and issued no penalty, apparently having not seen the incident. Wambach eventually got up, with bruising clearly under her right eye. Later, Andrade said it was an accident, but nobody who saw the replay will believe that. » Continue reading “USA Clinches Quarterfinal Berth With Win Over Colombia”

Wow… this Monday has been insane, guys! I couldn’t keep track of all the stories that broke today. From Hope Solo’s brush with USADA, John Terry’s trial starting, transfer rumors, managers fired and everything in between, my head is spinning a bit. But I love it, as I’m sure all of you do. As you wind down your Monday, check out all the headlines in today’s Daily Kick Around!

U.S. Women’s National Team

Probably topping all headlines today was the startling news that the U.S. Anti-Doping Association issued a public warning to USWNT keeper Hope Solo after a non-competition drug test revealed she had the banned substance Canrenone in her system. Of course, news and media jumped on the story immediately – Kick TV even had this rude meme on their tumblr with the words “Dope Solo.”

However, Solo was not “doping” up – on the contrary, the Canrenone unfortunately was a part of some pre-menstrual medicine Solo’s personal doctor prescribed her.

“I took a medication prescribed by my personal doctor for pre-menstrual purposes that I did not know contained a diuretic,” Solo said in a statement. “Once informed of this fact, I immediately cooperated with USADA and shared with them everything they needed to properly conclude that I made an honest mistake, and that the medication did not enhance my performance in any way.”

Solo is still cleared to play with the team in this year’s Olympic games.

Major League Soccer

D.C. United will have some new ownership at the helm this week, but you won’t be able to find out who until after a media-only press conference tomorrow afternoon. However, fans and supporters can submit questions to the owners through the club’s official Web site.

Huge news came from Portland today as the club announced long-time manager John Spencer was released from his duties as head coach of the MLS team.

“Obviously, this is a tough announcement,” Paulson said. “I want to thank John Spencer for his significant contributions to the Timbers. Our focus now is on improving the team and finding the right long-term head coach.”

Spencer has been with the club since it’s first season in the United Soccer League back in 2001. Tough, tough call.

Do you like wine? How about the San Jose Earthquakes? Then you are in great luck my friends! I’ve seen and heard of some really cool things MLS players and teams have done to stir up interest in the league, but San Jose has a pretty classy one here. In September, fans can attend a wine tasting and dinner with eight Earthquake players. Pretty cool!

English Premier League

I don’t know about other Manchester United fans, but I was a little sad today when I heard the news that Ji-Sung Park was released by the Red Devils and signed a two-year contract with Queens Park Rangers. Ji-Sung has been with United for seven years, and I, for one, am very sorry to see him leave Old Trafford. Good luck, Ji-Sung!

The big John Terry trial started today folks, and it’s already looking pretty interesting. ESPN Soccernet tweeted out today that an expert lip reader was brought in to review match footage to see if she could read what John Terry said that fateful day. Hmmm… The trial resumes tomorrow morning.

Welp, Manchester City bit the bullet today and signed a new five-year contract with manager Robert Mancini. After he lead the Blues to a EPL title, I’m sure City fans are thrilled by this. I think it will be interesting to see if Mancini will keep the steam at City going.

Okay, so I think it’s save to say the biggest news coming out of the EPL this afternoon was the wild-fire rumor that Liverpool zoned in on Fulham and USMNT forward Clint Dempsey — and signed him. Nothing official has been released yet, but Twitter and several UK papers are buzzing with the rumor. 

Scottish Premier League

MLS fans are probably teaming as USMNT captain and Glasgow Rangers Carlos Bocanegra admitted he’s “100 percent” considering a move back to the States after the disastrous events at Rangers. It’s been no secret that Jay Heaps and the New England Revolution – who are a top of the MLS allocation list – are very interested in the defender.

U.S. Men’s National Team

Do you know your U.S. Soccer history? Even if you are a new fan or a life-time die hard, you’ve got to check out Andrew Lewellen’s article on a very pivotal moment in U.S. Soccer history and how a nation started to wake up to the beautiful game.

FA Cup

If we told you two months ago when Andre Villas-Boas was let go from Chelsea that the Blues would win the FA Cup, you’d probably spit your beer in our faces laughing. But that’s exactly what happened, as Chelsea defeated Liverpool 2-1 Saturday to claim the title. Dirty Tackle has photos and video from the celebration, including Didier Drogba’s “dressing room dance party.”

The win was not without controversy, however. Andy Carroll, who had cut the lead in half with Liverpool’s first goal in the 64th minute, thought he equalized on a header in the 82nd minute, but the official said that the ball was not over the line before Chelsea keeper Petr Cech knocked it out. Cue the arguments for goal-line technology…

English Premier League

Manchester City is just a win away from their first League title since 1968, but they’re already looking toward next year. City has offered Arsenal’s Robin van Persie £250,000 per week to sign with them next year. Could this signal the end to Mario Balotelli’s time at the Etihad?

 Major League Soccer

It was a big day in MLS on Saturday, with seven league matches, including an ESPN prime time clash between the New York Red Bulls and the L.A. Galaxy. The Red Bulls were down two of their stars, Thierry Henry (hamstring) and Rafa Marquez (suspension), while the Galaxy was bringing their big guns after resting Beckham and Keane against the Sounders a week earlier. On paper the match looked to be in the Galaxy’s favor, but just two weeks after getting absolutely demolished by D.C. United, the Red Bulls’ back line pulled a complete 180, holding up a 19′ goal from Joel Lindpere. Rookie keeper Ryan Meara had the game of his life, saving numerous Galaxy chances, and posting a clean sheet for the second week in a row.  Get match highlights and a full recap at newyorkredbulls.com.

Vancouver and Montreal both pulled off huge shockers, with the Whitecaps knocking off the Western Conference leader San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 in stoppage time and the Impact pulling out a huge road win to hand Sporting KC their second straight shutout, after starting the season 7-0.

League One

Some fans wear face paint. Others wear scarves or toot vuvuzelas. Fans of Hartlepool United support their team by dressing in costume for the final match of the season. Last season it was Ooompa Loompas. This season? Smurfs. 

U.S. Women’s National Team

After the Seattle Sounders’ win over the Philadelphia Union yesterday, NBC Sports Network interviewed the goalkeeper for the Sounders Women squad, who you may have heard of: Hope Solo. Solo chatted about the U.S. National Team’s prep for the the Summer Games, her thoughts on their group stage matches, playing Japan again in a friendly before the Olympics, and of course, the possibility of grabbing the gold at Wembley Stadium.

Check back throughout the day for more news and recaps from EPL and MLS, and follow @AerysSoccer on Twitter for the latest reactions to all the weekend’s matches. 

U.S. central midfielder Shannon Boxx scored for the U.S. in their 3-0 win over Brazil in the Kirin Challenge Cup. Photo via ussoccer.com

It wasn’t the nail-biting, penalty shootout thriller that defined the last meeting between the U.S.A. and Brazil in the World Cup quarterfinals, and that’s perfectly fine by me. After struggling to maintain possession and rhythm in the opening match of the Kirin Challege Cup against Japan Sunday, the U.S. Women’s National Team had no trouble finding the right touch or the back of the net Tuesday afternoon in a 3-0 victory over their Brazilian foes.

Despite windy and rainy conditions that forced the teams to move up their match by four hours, from 8 p.m. to 4 local time in Japan, the U.S. dominated the match in all facets of the game. Brazil was missing their leading scorer and five-time FIFA World Player of the Year, Marta, but it was the Brazilian defense that was mostly missing.

Abby Wambach nearly opened the scoring in the first minute, when she had a golden opportunity in front of an open net in the center of the penalty box, but she just knocked the ball off the cross bar. Still, it was clear from those opening minutes that the U.S. was the superior team in this matchup. Carli Lloyd put them on the board in the 18th minute off a free kick, courtesy of a foul on Wambach. Rampone served the ball into the box, where it deflected off Rachel Buehler’s foot and in front of Lloyd, who put it away.

Set pieces were the U.S.A’s lucky charm in the match, as Shannon Boxx followed Lloyd with a header off a free kick serviced by Lauren Cheney toward the far post just minutes later. It was Boxx’s first goal in over a year, and a particularly ecstatic moment, given the recent revelation that Boxx was diagosed with lupus in 2007.

Brazil nearly cut the lead in half in the 30th minute when Cristiane headed in a goal, but it was disallowed and ruled that the ball had crossed the end line and out of bounds before Formiga served it into the box for Cristiane.

In the second half, U.S. coach Pia Sundhage began subbing in players to give bench players a look before the Olympic roster is whittled down from 24 to 18. Megan Rapinoe, who did not play in the match against Japan, entered for the start of the second half in place of Heather O’ReillY, and Becky Sauerbrunn replaced captain Christie Rampone in the defense. Tobin Heath came in for Lloyd in the 62nd minute, Amy Rodriguez for Alex Morgan in the 71st and Heather Mitts for Kelley O’Hara in the 83rd. Notably absent in both matches was forward Sydney Leroux, who scored five goals in one match in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers, but has had a minimal role since.

In the 81st minute, Rodriguez was fouled, setting up yet another free kick opportunity for the U.S., and put the game away with the third and final goal:

Rodriguez replaced Morgan in the 71st minute and her speed menaced Brazil’s backs for the rest of the way. In the 83rd minute Rodriguez was dragged down by Daiane as she tried to burst past the defensive line and the Americans were awarded a free kick, which led to the clinching third goal.

Cheney sent the long free kick into the penalty box where Wambach brought it down with her chest. The ball bounced off Wambach, hit off a defender and rolled into the path of Rodriguez, who smashed a nine-yard shot off another defender with the deflection ending up in the right side of the net.

At halftime, ESPN commentators Tony DiCicco and Monica Gonzalez discussed Sundhage’s tough choices  setting  the Olympic roster, so let’s take a look at these battles and who might get left off.

GOALKEEPERS (3): 18-Nicole Barnhart, 21-Ashlyn Harris, 1-Hope Solo

The U.S. will likely only go with two goalkeepers, and Barnhart has the edge over Harris as Solo’s backup, so that’s down to 23.

DEFENDERS (9): 19-Rachel Buehler, 14-Stephanie Cox, 22-Whitney Engen, 23-Meghan Klingenberg, 6-Amy LePeilbet, 2-Heather Mitts, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 3-Christie Rampone, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn

Engen and Klingenberg are clearly going to be off, as they’ve had little playing time. That leaves Cox, Mitts, O’Hara and Sauerbrunn. Replacing right-back Ali Krieger, who tore her ACL in Olympic Qualifying, is not an easy task, but O’Hara has stepped up considerably in the last few months on the left side of the defense, moving LePeilbet over to the right. Sauerbrunn and Cox proved themselves as a worthy backups in the World Cup as well, and Rampone has confidence in Sauerbrunn. That leaves Heather Mitts off. 20.

MIDFIELDERS (7): 7-Shannon Boxx, 17-Tobin Heath, 16-Lori Lindsey, 10-Carli Lloyd, 9-Heather O’Reilly, 15-Megan Rapinoe, 8-Amy Rodriguez

The starting core of O’Reilly, Boxx, and Lloyd are set, and Lauren Cheney, though listed as forward will play in the midfield, so that leaves three backups. Rapinoe should make the roster, given how big she came up in the World Cup, and she had another strong performance today, nearly scoring. Lori Lindsey could be a wild card, but she’s a smart player and makes good decisions that will help the team maintain possession in the midfield. DiCicco and Gonzalez said it would come down to Heath and Rodriguez, but Pia has tended to be conservative, and go with experience. Amy has the versatility of playing both wing and forward, as well as speed needed late in matches. I’m leaning toward A-Rod staying and Heath off the roster. 19.

FORWARDS (4): 12-Lauren Cheney, 11-Sydney Leroux, 13-Alex Morgan, 20-Abby Wambach

And we’re down to 1. Will Leroux make the cut? DiCicco indicated that Pia thinks highly of Leroux, and she clearly has worked well when paired up front with Morgan. But in the Olympics, I don’t think that Sundhage will be taking Wambach out early, and Leroux and Wambach haven’t teamed up as well together. My guess is that, with Morgan firmly entrenched in a starting role, Leroux gets left off. Gonzalez said she’d take Leroux over Rodriguez, but I disagree. If there was any doubt in Sundhage’s mind about A-Rod, it should have been put to rest by her performance in her twenty minutes of today’s match.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think.

The U.S. next faces China at PPL Park in Chester, PA on Sunday, May 27. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Happy Tuesday everyone! A lot is happening in the soccer world. For example, waking up this morning to news that USWNT’s Alex Morgan joins the Seattle Sounders Women in the W-League, realizing that this week is busy for international friendlies or that Ashley Cole has his own opinion on England teammate John Terry. All that and more in today’s Daily Kick Around!

USWNT

After the dramatic downward spiral that is known as the suspension of the 2012-13 WPS season, the USL W-League club Seattle Sounders Women have officially added their third USWNT player by bringing in Alex Morgan. Morgan now joins her national teammates Hope Solo (who is a Sounders supporter) and Sydney Leroux, who joined the Sounders last month. Alex Morgan will now play in the same city as her boyfriend, Servando Carrasco, who plays for the Seattle Sounders in the MLS. Welcome to Seattle ladies!

International 

There’s three international friendlies being played today. For all the fixtures for today as well as tomorrow click here!

The England National team attended the England Footballers Foundation Lions and Roses Charity Dinner last night and posed for a team photo with Ashley Cole standing directly in front of John Terry, blocking him from view. Was this done on purpose or not? Probably not.

English Premier League

Despite rumors of a rift between Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and manager Andre Villas-Boas, AVB hopes that the England midfielder will continue wearing blue next season. On Saturday, Lampard became the only Premier League player to hit the double-figure mark in goals, showing his manager how much of a key player he really is.

There’s no doubt that Ryan Giggs and newly unretired Paul Scholes are United’s best players, perhaps even legends. And manager Sir Alex Ferguson has made that clear. Both men scored against Norwich City with Fergie praising the two gents in a post-match interview.

Scholes and Giggs are the best players this club has ever had. We could have played him against Ajax on Thursday but this game was more important and I knew we would need all our experienced players and Ryan and Scholesy in particular. That experience is really going to help us in the next couple of months.”

Fabricio Coloccini has yet to renew his contract with Newcastle after some disagreements in terms. The 30-year old insists to supporters that he wants to stay and hopes to be a part of any plans Newcastle will bring in the future.

Serie A

Lesson to all soccer players out there: If you punch someone, you will get banned. AC Milan defender Philippe Mexes has been banned for 3 matches following his attack Juve’s Marco Borriello Saturday. At first, Italian refs didn’t see the incident but the league reviewed the match, calling it a violent misconduct between the former Roma teammates.

La Liga

Not only was Cristiano Ronaldo’s amazing back-heel goal the highlight of Real Madrid’s match against Rayo Vallecano Sunday, but apparently so was Sergio Ramos’ elbow. It’s never an entertaining match unless Ramos gets a yellow, but in this case, he was lucky it wasn’t a red. Ramos elbowed Rayo’s Diego Costa right in the face. Ouch!

Sometimes all it takes is a little competition.

The #1 overall pick in the 2011 WPS Draft, Alex Morgan has solidified her role has a “super sub” for the U.S. Women’s National Team over the last year. She has come in to matches midway through the second half to provide the spark, speed and creativity that lead to crucial late goals, like her 82^nd minute strike against France in the World Cup semifinal.

But that hasn’t been enough. Since the World Cup, Alex Morgan fans have been clamoring for a chance for the young striker to prove that she can be a starter. Head coach Pia Sundhage has been insistent that Morgan’s style is made for the late-game spark, and that it wouldn’t be effective in a starting role.

Then came Sydney Leroux. The 2012 WPS Draft top pick turned heads last Tuesday night when she came into the second half of the U.S.’s Olympic qualifying match against Guatemala. Forty-five minutes later, she’d not only scored her first goal for the national team, she’d tallied five.

All of a sudden, the media starting questioning Alex Morgan’s future. Would Leroux get a starting nod ahead of Morgan? Who would be the first sub in after the half in the all-important semifinal versus Costa Rica that would send the U.S. to the Olympics, or send them home? It was Morgan, who scored a goal in the 89^th minute to ice the 3-0 victory and the United States’ trip to London in July.

And in Sunday night’s CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Final versus Canada, it was Morgan who finally got a start, delivering a breakthrough performance, noted by All White Kit’s Jenna Pel on Twitter as an “electrifying turn [that] could win her a starting job.”

Alex Morgan. Photo via styleledger.com

In a game that was billed as the toughest test of the tournament for both teams, with the United States the favorite but Canada with the home field advantage at Vancouver’s B.C. Place, Morgan came through to lead the U.S. to a dominant 4-0 win and a tournament championship. Both the U.S. and Canada qualified in the tournament for a berth in the 2012 Olympic Games in London prior to the match, but with a CONCACAF championship on the line and bragging rights across the border, nobody was sitting on their laurels in this match.

In the 24th minute, Morgan raced the ball up to the end line along the right side, then crossed toward the near post to a perfectly positioned Wambach, who headed the ball past goalkeeper Erin McLeod. The goal, Wambach’s 130^th in international competition, tied her with Kristine Lilly for second on the all-time list for goals scored in international competition, behind Mia Hamm (158).

The Canadians said Morgan’s early opening goal ultimately led to the hosts’ undoing…

“It took the momentum out of everything, and I think it took the wind out of the crowd as well,” said Canadian striker Melissa Tancredi. “I think after the second goal I could hear a pin drop.”

- Winnipeg Free Press

Four minutes later, Carli Lloyd banged a hard shot from 25 yards out off the crossbar, but when it deflected back into the box, Morgan was in position to get it. Instead of taking the shot herself, she flicked it over to her left toward Wambach, who struck it in from short range to surpass Lilly for second place with 131 career goals. Canada’s Christine Sinclair, held scoreless in this match, is in fourth place with 129, one behind Lilly.

Morgan’s contributions did not end there. In the 58th minute, she took a ball over the top into the penalty box, then worked her way around two defenders and the goalkeeper to maintain possession and net the team’s fourth goal.

The U.S. finished the tournament outscoring their opponents 38-0, remaining the clear favorite to win the Olympic Gold in London this summer, which would be their third straight. Hope Solo proved why she is considered the number one women’s goalkeeper in the world by keeping a clean score sheet despite intense challenges from the Canadians, including three attempts from Christina Julien. Soon after Morgan’s first goal, Julien had an opportunity to equalize but Solo came up off her line and lunged for the ball, swatting it out of play. Later in the half, Julien had a one-on-one matchup with Solo, who perfectly positioned herself in front of the striker to block the attempt. Solo’s scoreless streak in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament extended to 454 minutes, a new record per U.S. Soccer.

Your next chance to see the U.S. Women in action will be Saturday, February 11 as they face New Zealand in an international friendly in Frisco, Tex. More details coming soon to Aerys Soccer. In the meantime, follow us on Twitter at @AerysSoccer for more post-tournament reaction and discussion.