Roscoe’s August Soccer Report:

August is one of the busiest times of the football calendar, as the European fixtures begin, the UEFA Champions League works through the preliminary stages, while stateside the MLS Calendar moves into a critical stage and regional tournaments are underway. Roscoe especially applauds the United States Women’s Team for earning a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Once more, they outdid the boys…

Revolution/MLS:

SuperLiga Finals 2008:

Houston at New England (8/5/08):

It was a perfect midsummer evening for football at Gillette as Dynamo came to town for the tournament final. Dynamo has defeated Revs in the last two MLS Cup Finals, so the home side will be looking to gain a measure of revenge. The only lineup change is Tierney filled in for Heaps, who was ineligible after having been red carded at the conclusion of the semis with Atlante. There wasn’t a big crowd in attendance because the tournament wasn’t publicized at all in the English-speaking media, which doesn’t make a great deal of business sense.

In the 5th, DeRosario hit the left post on a blast from outside the box. In the 8th Shalrie Joseph launched a rocket from 40 yards out that went over the Dynamo goal by less than a foot. Two minutes later, he kicked away a dangerous chance in front of Reis. In the 13th, Dube took a hard whack on the back of the legs by Brad Davis, who was carded. Albright indirect free kick went close but just high to Onstead’s right.

In the 18th, a defensive breakdown by Igwe led to the first goal of the match. The play started on a long pass from Houston’s end. Igwe should’ve let Reis play the ball; instead he attempted a heel kick that misfired, Jaqua was standing right out front and kicked the ball past the defenseless goalkeeper. Nicol appeared as if his head was going to explode. Ching hit the post two minutes later as Revs were completely out of sorts. Ralston later had a free kick that Onstead pushed aside and a corner that failed. Over the first 30 minutes, Dynamo had taken Revs out of their game. Instead of controlling the tempo and patiently creating opportunities, Dynamo had them chasing their tails. In the 32nd, Nyassi had Onstead dead to rights and kicked the ball into the side of the net, Reis made a great diving save off of DeRosario’s in the 36th, and, in the 38th, DeRosario had another try after Reis came out too far to play the ball and Albright kicked it away at the last moment. Ralston equalized in the 41st when he picked up a nice pass from Castro in the right side of the box and drove the ball low and behind Onstead. The goal resulted from one of the few sustained forays in Houston’s end. Dynamo had two more testing chances in the final moments of the half. Revs need to play with greater patience in the second half.

In the 51st, Dynamo were at it again as Davis had a nice try from DeRosario’s pass that Reis knocked away. Two minutes later, Dube fired one from the far right corner that Onstad grabbed on the fly. Reis made two stops in the 56th as Dynamo penetrated the box. Twellman entered for Mansally in the 58th after the kid took a hard knock. Jaqua followed with two opportunities in the Revs’ end that were wide of the mark, but not by much. In the 64th, Revs had a great chance when Dube popped a shot that defense inadvertently knocked toward that Onstad that was blocked away. DeRosario’s blast in the 68th was nicely turned away by Reis. In the 69th, Castro headed away Davis’ corner try that was Houston’s best chance of the half. Khano Smith entered for Castro in the 70th. Khano Smith made one his patented left wing rushes in the 78th and fired a low shot that Onstad turned away. Joseph was carded in the 83nd and Reis made a nice stop on the free kick that followed. In the final minutes of the half, Dynamo pressed hard in the Revs’ end. Davis was wide open and had a chance at the game winner, but Igwe stepped in and kicked the ball out of danger. Revs played slightly better in the second half, but Houston played better over the course of regular time.

Houston went ahead in the 98th when Kamara headed Ching’s cross behind Reis and it appeared as if Dynamo’s luck would once more prevail. However, four minutes later, Shalrie Joseph brought the sparse crowd back to life as he equalized by heading in Raslton’s indirect free kick. The sides went back and forth through the second stanza of extra time, but both were spent.

On to penalty kicks:

Penalty Kicks – Shootout:
NE – Steve Ralston (Goal)
HOU – Craig Waibel (Goal)
NE – Matt Reis (Missed)
HOU – Chris Wondolowski (Goal)
NE – Shalrie Joseph (Goal)
HOU – Dwayne De Rosario (Saved)
NE – Taylor Twellman (Goal)
HOU – Brian Ching (Saved)
NE – Khano Smith (Saved)
HOU – Ricardo Clark (Goal)
NE – Jeff Larentowicz (Goal)
HOU – Wade Barrett (Goal)
NE – Chris Tierney (Goal)
HOU – Kei Kamara (Goal)
NE – Chris Albright (Goal)
HOU – Corey Ashe (Missed)

Congratulations to the 2008 SuperLiga Champions, New England Revolution! Why did Nicol put Reis in the third spot to kick? It was quite a gamble, and had Reis not turned aside Ashe’s try, people would’ve been quite upset with the gaffer. But it worked out just fine for the Revs, as they earn their second piece of hardware for the trophy shelf in as many years and gain some measure of revenge from the team that has beaten them in the last two MLS Cup Finals.

On August 6th, Revs announced that they re-signed and traded Pat Noonan to Columbus Crew in exchange for “allocation money, draft selection and allocation table considerations”. Noonan was a mainstay in New England for several years before moving on to a Norwegian side last winter. It’s unusual to move a reliable player to a divisional rival in any sport, so the added money and better draft pick will hopefully bear fruit in the near future.

Match #18 v. Chicago Fire (8/7/08):

After a month away from MLS fixtures, Revs started the second half of the year as Chicago came to Foxboro for an important Saturday Night tilt. Chicago recently traded Chad Barrett (who scored a game-winning goal earlier today) to Toronto for Brian McBride, who will join the squad after the Olympics and just in time for the playoff push. Nicol put the “Regular XI” (minus Parkhurst) as Heaps returned to the back four after a one-game suspension. In Parkhurst’s place, Chris Tierney made his first MLS start. Reis and Jon Busch were the goalkeepers. Busch is having an outstanding season in goal but was inexplicably not given consideration for an All-Star berth. The Fire always give New England a lot of trouble (having beaten Revs twice already this year) and first place in the Conference remains in play. Blanco creates so much offense for Chicago that Revs need to put a bullseye on him. Marco Pappa made his first start as an attacking right midfielder for the Fire.

Twellman made his first start of the year and, in the 3rd, he put Revs up with a beautiful goal when he headed Castro’s corner behind Busch. He astutely timed his jump over the scrum and popped the ball high right. Following the goal the sides settled down, but Chicago continually tried to work the left flank. In the 23rd, Cristman took a feed from Joseph and fired a grounder that went just right of the Chicago goal. In the 25th, Pappa had a chance to the left of Reis and misfired the ball. On the ensuing corner, Reis made a leaping grab to steal the ball from the pile.

In the 30th, Conde appeared to suffer a shoulder injury defending in front of the Chicago goal, but was able to continue after medical attention, as happened with Segares in the 40th. It may not have been a particularly crisp half of football for the home side, but they carried the goal lead into the half.

Cristman had a great breakaway chance on a heel kick from Twellman in the 48th and missed wide left. Conde knocked Twellman in the 49th that led to a free kick. Castro’s line drive from 35 yards out was easily hauled in by Busch. In the 54th, Cristman had another try when he delivered a blast low right. Blanco was open in the box before the defense closed in and limited him to a weak shot on Reis. Albright then leveled Blanco a minute later on the sideline at midfield. In the 58th, Twellman fired a blast that twisted away at the last second. Joseph was carded moments later for a rough tackle on Blanco. Chris Rolfe entered for Chicago in the 61st and he has burned the Revs many times in the past.

Segares was carded in the 65th when Nyassi dumped Blanco and was recklessly tackled in retaliation. Segares appears to be the master of the “back leg whip kick” where he attacks the ball with one leg and kicking the opponent in the back of the knees with the other. Blanco went down on the play and was irate with the referee for a few minutes. Blanco went down again in the 69th and Nyassi was carded. The replay indicated that Nyassi inadvertently slapped the back of his knee but was rolling around clutching his knee…flopping doesn’t play well in America.

In the 72nd, Joseph’s header on a free kick bounced just short and the rebound carried over the net. Joseph was red carded in the 75th when he slapped the ball away from Pappa at the sideline, as there was a question over which side had possession. Phelan (playing for the first time since being carted off with a concussion a couple of weeks ago) entered for Cristman moments later. Pappa was then booked for dumping Nyassi, which had all the markings of a “make-up” call. Chicago, now playing a man up, poured it on in the Revs’ end. Gonzalez equalized for Chicago in the 81st when he drove a knuckleball that inexplicably slipped through Reis’ grasp. In the 86th, Chicago went ahead when Frankowski (who just entered) entered the box and fired low on Reis. On the rebound, Conde bounced the ball in. Reis protested that Conde was offside and was carded for his trouble. Revs had a great opportunity in the 89th when Nyassi scooped a header and fired it low right. A 78-minute lead went down the drain in the blink of an eye…

…FC Barcelona stopped by Giants Stadium on the 7th for a friendly with NYRB and utterly decimated the home side 6-2. The exhibition plainly demonstrated the level of talent which exists in Europe’s best clubs as compared to MLS; it’s not even close. It will take at least another generation before the North American talent pool catches up with the rest of the football-mad world. Even though the great Lionel Messi was away from the club on Olympic duty, the match was essentially over after goals by Xavi, Eto'o and Marquez within the first 25 minutes. Thierry Henry had a nice match for the New York crowd, and really loves the City. Perhaps there might come a time when he comes to New York for more than a one-night stand…a few days later, there was big news from the Left Coast as LA Galaxy announced that Coach Ruud Gullit stepped down and President/GM (as well as original Rev) Alexi Lalas was “relieved” in a major organizational shakeup. This is the sort of thing that happens when the bulk of the payroll is devoted to two players (Beckham and Donovan) and the overall team struggles as a result. Gullit is the latest example of a European manager who didn’t fully realize what he bought into with MLS and the States. What did he last, half a year? He simply can’t pick up the phone and order a £10MM player from a European rival. MLS is not quite at the UEFA level, financially or professionally. While Galaxy certainly benefits from the presence of two world-class footballers, it takes a team to be competitive. They may lead MLS in goals scored, but also lead in goals against. It’s little wonder they haven’t won a match in their last seven.

US Open Cup Semifinals at DC United 8/12/07:

With the team in the midst of a brutal schedule, Nicol elected to send out an XI consisting of reserves and regulars and the lack of experience cost them as they were soundly defeated 3-1.

Luciano Emilio burned Doug Warren twice and Santino Quaranta’s goal in the 48th was the difference maker. Wells Thompson was sent off in the 71st after accruing his second yellow card of the match and Revs had to play out the string a man down. So, New England’s reign as Open Cup Champions is over and the team will now turn to finishing the regular season and preparing to play Joe Public F.C. from Trinidad & Tobago in the opening round of the CONCACAF Champions tournament later this month.


Match #19 at San Jose (8/16/08):

This was about as butt ugly a match as was humanly possible to endure. The ‘Quakes’ Francisco Lima scored in the 11th and it was downhill from there. Without Joseph (red card suspension), Revs had nothing going at all. Reis came off in the 55th with an injury (ending a streak of 7,975 consecutive minutes since 9/3/05) and Warren entered in his stead. It’s really hard to find fault with the reserve goalkeeper, but San Jose pumped in three more goals thereafter. This was an ugly 4-nil loss that Revs’ need to immeadiately put in the rear view mirror.

On the 18th, Revs announced that they signed 24-year old Costa Rican defender Gabriel Badilla, who has played with the National Team and has World Cup experience. He’s expected to join the club shortly.

Match # 20 v. DC United (8/20/08):

DCU always plays well against New England, having recently downed Revs in the US Open Cup semis. Revs haven’t beaten them at home since 2005. Not only does DCU have stars like Moreno and (The Killer) Emilio, they’ve also brought in Marcelo Gallardo and midfielders Joe Vide from Chicago and Ivan Guerrero from San Jose. Building solid veterans around the stars has considerably strengthened a very good squad.

For the first time in ages someone other than Matt Reis started in goal for Revs, as Doug Warren (who allowed three goals last week against San Jose) made his first regular season start since August of 2005. Parkhurst returned from Olympic duty and Joseph returned from his one-game suspension. Liberian Louis Crayton started in goal for DCU. Revs controlled possession in the first 10 minutes, the difference in play with Joseph in the lineup is night and day. Nyassi took a nasty whack on the knee in the 11th but was able to continue. In the 16th, Moreno’s line drive over the bar was Warren’s first test. Clyde Simms was booked in the 21st when he dumped Twellman.

Twellman put Revs up in the 24th on a rebound as Khano Smith (starting for the injured Castro) made a beautiful rush down the left flank and put a perfect cross in front of the goal as Cristman and Twellman were rushing Crayton. Cristman slid to reach the cross and the ball deflected off of him directly into Twellman’s wheelhouse and all Crayton could do was retrieve the ball from the back of the goal. Cristman’s header in the 32nd barely missed the far corner. Moments later, he fired a blast from directly in front of the goal that Crayton snared. Khano Smith had another opportunity on a rebound from Ralston’s free kick in the 42nd that went just wide right. It was a very encouraging first half performance for the home side.

Revs created all sorts of havoc in front of Crayton right from the opening kick of the second half, culminated by Larentowicz’ line drive goal that curved to the right in the 49th. Over the next 10 minutes, DCU dominated possession but whenever Emilio took the ball he was swarmed and stymied. In the 63rd, Twellman broke in alone on a feed from Cristman, but Crayton came out to cut down the angle. Twellman was driven very hard into the side boards in the 65th by Burch (carded) and was momentarily shaken up. If this was hockey Burch would’ve been given the rest of the night off…

Moreno put DCU on the board in the 69th when he flipped a rebound behind Warren, as DC pressed the play in the Revs end. Warren came out to make the initial stop, but Moreno delicately flicked the ball over Warren’s reach. Nyassi was carded in the 70th when he tried to stomp Moreno breaking on left flank. He’s now reached the yellow card limit and will be out of Saturday’s game in Toronto. Warren made a nice save in the 74th when Quaranta broke in free on the left side on a beautiful pass from Moreno. Wells Thompson came on for Nyassi in the 84th as the gaffer finally figured out that his attacking midfielders were out of gas. Moreno was carded in the 85th when he dumped Smith. Ralston’s ensuing corner appeared to cross the goal line, but Namoff kicked it away. Moments later, Ralston broke in alone but Crayton stoned him. As the match approached stoppage time, DCU poured on the attack, Warren tipped a dangerous cross aside but miscommunication among Warren and the back four nearly resulted in another chance. But Warren and the defense hung on (barely) to post the 2-1 win, and in the process regained the top spot in MLS East.

In other news, Bruce Arena was named as the new gaffer in Los Angeles, replacing Ruud Gullit. It should be an interesting turn of events in LA, as Arena is certainly a “big name” on whom great expectations will be placed to turn around a struggling team.

Match #21 at Toronto (8/23/08):

Revs continued their brutal schedule with a match against Toronto FC at BMO Field, which may be the nicest venue in MLS. Doug Warren started again in place of Reis and Nyassi was suspended for having reached a yellow-card limit. Cristman, Dube and Mansally were also out with various injuries which present formation problems for Nicol. Taylor Twellman’s goal in the 35th gave Revs the lead, but TFC raised their level of play in the second half and Barrett equalized in the 66th after a couple of previous tries went wide of the mark. After TFC’s had two subsequent chances by Ricketts to go ahead, Ralston and Khano Smith had equally as challenging opportunities in stoppage time. Both teams had their chances to win though probably felt fortunate walking away with a point. Revs are now 11-6-4-37, still maintaining their slim lead atop MLS East.

The team travels to Trinidad & Tobago on August 26th to meet Joe Public FC in the opening round of the 2008 CONCACAF Champions League.

2008 CONCACAF Champions League Qualifier at Joe Public FC (8/26/08):

Revs lost the opening of the two game aggregate-goal series 2-1 on Tuesday night. Without making any excuses, Revs were seriously undermanned heading in as regulars Adam Cristman, Kheli Dube, Kenny Mansally and Chris Albright were out of the lineup with injuries and Khano Smith was away on national team duties with Bermuda. Things got worse when Steve Ralston went off with a back injury in the 25th. Joe Public ran the Revs ragged all night and had several chances that could’ve made the final score much worse. Gregory Richardson (51) and Jamal Gay (70) gave the home side a commanding lead, and Mauricio Castro’s penalty kick in the 76th had the appearance of tightening things, though by all accounts Revs were never really in the match.


Match #22 v. LA Galaxy (8/30/08): There was a big turnout at Gillette to watch the World’s Most Famous Footballer and his mates take on the now-struggling Revs. With the various side tournaments in which the club has been involved (SuperLiga, US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League), the Revs are an exhausted lot. They were fortunate to have come back to earn a 2-2 draw with Galaxy under new coach Bruce Arena). Reis returned to the lineup after having been out for a couple of match with a muscle strain and Gabriel Badilla made his Revs’ debut on the back four.

Twellman put Revs up 1-0 on a header from Khano Smith’s left wing cross in the 22nd, but he paid a terrible price, cracking heads with Steve Cronin. Twellman needed medical attention and was off the pitch getting stitches before returning with ugly cheek bruise. Things stayed that way until the 33rd when Landon Donovan equalized after taking a nice pass from Vagenas and slipping behind the defense and banging the ball low past Reis. Just before the half, Reis made a nice stop on Eddie Lewis to keep things tied at 1. Arena replaced Cronin at the half with Josh Wicks (making his MLS debut). Donovan put Galaxy on top in the 55th as a defensive breakdown (caused mostly as a result of miscommunication with newcomer Badilla) enabled the sniper to slip through the cracks uncontested. After Donovan’s second goal, things got mighty quiet, but Revs didn’t let down the attack. Play went back and forth for the next fifteen minutes until when Michael Parkhurst gambled when he took possession in the Revs’ end and carried down right wing before finding Joseph and slipping him a perfect ball. Shalrie entered the box and drove the ball into the left corner to equalize. Revs had a couple of legitimate chances in the minutes that followed, but Galaxy held on to earn the point. Though Beckham didn’t figure in any of the scoring, anytime he had the ball he helped create opportunities and was especially frightful during Galaxy’s set piece opportunities. The fans got their money’s worth. The only down side to the night was Columbus’ victory, which vaulted them back into first place in MLS East.

Wrexham:

The 2008-09 Season Begins v. Stevenage Borough, August 9:

Wrexham's debut in the Blue Square Premiere Conference was nothing short of amazing as they routed Stevenage Borough 5-nil on Saturday the ninth before a big house at the Racecourse Ground. The full match details are here.

Wrexham: Ward, Spender, Kempson (Evans, 75), N Brown, Tremarco, S Brown, Kearney, Mackin, Aiston, Louis (M Williams, 83), Whalley (Smith, 72).
Subs not used: Baynes, A Williams

Goals: Kearney 17, Louis 66, Whalley 71, Smith 85, M Williams 87

Sent-off: Mackin
Booked: Kempson, Louis

Stevenage Borough: Bayes, Bostwick, Henry, Albrighton, Laird, Anaclet, Mills (Wilson, 88), McMahon, Drury (Thomas, 62), Morison, Cole (Boylan, 58).
Subs not used: Jordan, Oliver

Sent-off: Morison
Booked: Albrighton, Laird
Referee: David Coote (Newark)
Att: 4,901

The gaffer was assuredly downplaying things after the match, but the faithful were overjoyed. Adding to the excitement was the Reserves’ 3-nil thrashing of Everton on the 12th.

On August 14th, the squad traveled to KitKat Crescent to face York City. Once more, Little cautioned the faithful that York City would be a formidable early season test for the Dragons. It turned out that he was correct in his assessment as Mark Greaves’ goal in the second half propelled the home side to a 1-nil victory.

In their third match of the year on Saturday the 16th, Dragons traveled to Nene Park for a date with Rushden & Diamonds, who are one of the better sides in the Blue Square Premier. Shaun Whalley’s equalizing strike in the 75th from directly in from the edge of the box lifted Wrexham to a 1-1 draw. The following day, the Reserves played Blackburn Rovers XI to a 1-1 draw.

Back at the Racecourse on the 21st, Dragons had a grand time of it with Oxford Utd., winning 2-nil on goals from Steve Evans (29) and Jefferson Louis (90). Their task was made somewhat easier when Oxford U’s Foster was sent off in the early going.

They followed up the victory with a 1-1- draw against Altrincham at Moss Lane on Thursday the 21st. Jefferson Louis’ goal in the 39th equalized and the team rode it out from there, but Little was none too pleased with the outcome.

Nine days later, the lads traveled to The Raymond McEnhill Stadium for a date with Salisbury, where they overcame an early deficit to post a resounding 4-1 win. Video highlights are here. After Andrew Sandell gave Salisbury a quick lead in the 10th, the sides went back and forth until Shaun Whalley equalized just before the first half ended. The second half was all Wrexham, as Jefferson Louis scored twice (54), (76) and Whalley added another in stoppage time. While there is ample room for optimism, perhaps someone should remind Mr. Whalley that it’s a little too soon to be thinking about moving on from the Blue Square Premier.

For the month of August, Dragons went 3-1-2, 11 points, which is good for 5th place overall in the BSP. Not a bad start so far, but there is a whole lot of football left on the calendar.

U.S. Men’s Olympic Team:

This is the team put together by Coach Nowak:

2008 U.S. MEN’S OLYMPIC TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION:
GOALKEEPERS (2):
Brad Guzan (Aston Villa),
Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (4):
Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo),
Michael Orozco (San Luis),
Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution),
Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (8):
Freddy Adu (Monaco),
Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen),
Maurice Edu (Toronto FC),
Benny Feilhaber (Derby County),
Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo),
Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA),
Dax McCarty (FC Dallas),
Danny Szetela (Brescia Calcio)
FORWARDS (4):
Jozy Altidore (Villarreal),
Charlie Davies (Hammarby IF),
Brian McBride (Chicago Fire),
Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

USMNT made the long trek to the Far East for the Olympic competition. Prior to arriving in Beijing, they participated in the ING Cup in Hong Kong, playing the Ivory Coast to a scoreless draw on July 30th before losing 1-nil to Cameroon on August 2.

When USMNT arrived at the Games, they were inserted in Group B together with Japan, the Netherlands, and Nigeria. There would be no pushovers in the lot. They faced Japan in the opening round of Group play on August 7th and defeated the Japanese 1-nil on Stuart Holden’s goal in the 47th. Holden pounced on a loose ball at the top of the box and bounced it past Nishikawa. Marvelle Wynne set up the goal when he broke down the right flank and fired a low shot toward the goal. Hiroki Mizumoto was able to deflect Wynne’s drive but Holden was waiting uncontested to bang in the rebound. Edu and Parkhurst also had terrific performances in the back four as they snuffed out several Japanese attempts to score.

USA faced the Netherlands on Sunday, and nearly defeated the Orangemen, but a Dutch goal in stoppage time led to a 2-2 draw. After a slow start, USA came back from a one goal deficit to pull ahead 2-1 in the latter stages. Freddy Adu was sensational for USA, as he carried the play once the Americans wrestled the momentum away.

The Americans’ hope for glory went down in flames after they were downed by Nigeria 2-1 on August 13th. Things took a bad turn for USA right off the bat when Michael Orozco was red carded in the 4th for inadvertently delivering an elbow to Solomon Okoronkwo and the team had to play the remainder of the match with 10 players. They did their level best to keep pace with the Nigerians, but the numerical disadvantage proved to be too much. Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley were injured and didn’t play which only added to the team’s inability to create opportunities. USA never made it out of the group stage, to the profound disappointment (and embarrassment) of all who watched the team as it was being readied for Olympic play and expected at least one round of play in the knockout stages.

Fox Sports’ Jamie Trecker gave an brutally frank assessment of the Americans’ performance at the Games.

U.S. Men’s National Team: FIFA World Cup Qualifier v. Guatemala (8/20/08):

On August 20th, the reconstituted USMNT continued their long qualifying process with a series against Guatemala.
Coach Bradley’s team traveled to Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City and came away with a hard fought 1-nil victory on a goal by Carlos Bocanegra in the 68th.

The match was televised and while the home side played valiantly, the pitch was dimly lit and surrounded by a high chain link fence to prevent the patrons from interfering or inflicting bodily harm on any of the performers. The only thing missing in the display was the absence of an armed militia ringing the pitch, but the atmosphere was classic Banana Republic all the way. Tensions rose after the Americans scored when Carlos Ruiz mixed it up with Tim Howard near the USA goal. Despite not having played with precision, USA came away with the points.

Piacenza:
On August 6th, the club announced that they had acquired defender Andrea Mengoni and exchanged midfielder Aurelian Bogdan Patrascu to ChievoVerona with the right of redemption. Pioli is also working on a 3-4-3 alignment for the upcoming season during training camp. On the 11th, they blasted Fiorenzuola 5-0 in a final tuneup before meeting Padova in the opening round of the TIM Cup, where they were defeated 1-0.

Later in the month, the club signed journeyman forward Mattia Graffiedi, who has kicked around with Cesena, Milan, Ternana, Naples, Ancona, Fiorentina, Siena, Modena and Triestina.

According to the Lega Calcio website, these are Piacenza’s additional off-season acquisitions:
GHIDONI Valerio CHISOLA TEMPORANEO 21/08/2008
MENGONI Andrea PIACENZA TEMPORANEO 07/08/2008
MOSCARDELLI Davide RIMINI PARTECIPAZIONE 15/07/2008
SILVESTRI Nicola GENOA DEFINITIVO 07/08/2008

Here is the squad that Pioli has assembled for the upcoming season:
Goalkeepers:
1 - Mario Cassano
85 - Mattia Lanzano
55 - Roberto Maurantonio
Defenders:
2 - Matteo Abbate
15 - Michele Anaclerio
13 - Stefano Avogadri
4 - Francesco Bini
5 - Angelo Iorio
25 - Andrea Mengoni
6 - Samuele Olivi
22 - Pietro Zammuto
Midfielders:
14 - Tommaso Bianchi
24 - Marco Calderoni
0 - Mirko Eramo
23 - Radja Nainggolan
8 - Luigi Riccio
19 - Alessio Stamilla
7 - Daniel Wolf
Forwards:
21 - Juncal Jonathan Aspas
99 - Alessandro Ciarrocchi
17 - Mattia Graffiedi
44 - Simone Guerra
20 - Tomas Guzman
9 - Davide Moscardelli
18 - Antonio Piccolo
10 - Julien Rantier
90 - Lucas Simon
32 - Alessandro Tulli

Match #1 v. Cittadella (8/30/08): Stefano Pioli’s tenure as Piacenza’s manager started well as biancorossi prevailed 1-nil on Abbate’s penalty kick in the 33rd. According to reports in the Italian media,
This match was spirited and hard fought and the outcome was uncertain until the final whistle. It was a great way to start the new campaign.