Uncle Roscoe's World Of Soccer

We here at "Postcards" are proud to announce the hiring of Roscoe Twinney, the one-time goalkeep of Axelham FC (who stunned the world by making it to the FA Cup Quarterfinals in 1952). "Uncle Roscoe" (as he is affectionately known around the office) will now provde our readers with his keen insights to the sport known as "football" around the world. Uncle Roscoe has just returned from Athens where he covered the UEFA Final (among other activities) and he provides us with a timely report of the comings and goings in the world of soccer.

UEFA Cup Final ‘07

"Stronger than envy, injustice and bad luck”

This was the slogan that carried a team that was rocked by uncorroborated allegations of “match fixing” last year all the way to the Championship of European football. Congratulations to AC Milan for their thrilling 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the UEFA Cup Final. The Final is very bit as big a deal around the as is the Super Bowl. Though rarely does this space comment on “World Football” events, the sport is exciting and the matches fiercely contested. These teams last met in the Final two years ago and Milan blew a 3-nil halftime lead, so there was some sweet revenge to be had. Filippo Inzaghi was The Man of the Hour, scoring both Milan goals. Liverpool came back with a goal late in the match and stormed the Milan goal, but the victors stood strong. So, the Italians, still basking in the glow of last year’s World Cup victory, can rightly boast of having the continent’s best football club.

Congratulations are also in order for Chelsea, for their 1-0 extra time victory over the mighty Manchester United in England’s FA Cup Final on the 19th. Both clubs entered the match physically drained from the rigors of a long season and playoffs. This match was a more pedestrian affair compared to the UEFA, however goaltending was the story. Petr Cech, Chelsea’s goaltender, made a big stop on a Rooney try in the second half. In stoppage time, then, in extra time, Cech made a couple of dazzling stops that set the stage for Didier Drogba's goal just as the game was about to enter penalty kicks (which wouldn’t be the best way of determining a champion). Man-U and the Yankees are the two most well known teams in the world. So it’s nice to see someone else slay the dragon. Big Blue had a Big Day.

Well before last year’s World Cup, a burgeoning American interest in soccer was beginning to take hold. As occurred with hockey, youth soccer programs have fueled great interest and have developed Americans who can compete on the world stage. More American kids are involved in soccer programs than any other organized sport, so the likelihood of the game becoming more popular around here grows exponentially. The USA Women’s program is one of the best in the world (already having won the World Cup). MLS, which started as something of a curiosity, has turned the corner financially and has created a degree of national interest that previous professional leagues failed to attain. The players are owned by the League; not the respective clubs. Recently the League paid untold millions to secure the services of Midfielder David Beckham from Real Madrid. He was assigned to LA, and will be the face of the League, much like Péle was with the NY Cosmos years ago.

The team that plays in New England (“Revolution”) is owned by the Kraft family and plays their games/matches on the same field/pitch as the Patriots. It’s not a great venue for soccer because there are too many seats, and geographically, it is too far away from the city. If the team were able to secure or construct a venue closer to the city that has 20,000 seats it would create the same sort of demand that the Red Sox have with Fenway.

The Revs have gone to the MLS Cup Final the last two seasons only to lose each time on penalty kicks. They have a very good team and are well coached. A number of the team’s players are on the US National Team. They started off well, only to lose on the 26th to Kansas City 3-2 in a disappointing match where they blew a two-goal lead in the first half. But they are definitely worth watching.

For "Postcards", I'm Roscoe Twinney.