Tubing Time! Resident campers are heading down to the yampa.
Steamboat Soccer Academy Blog
Jul 14
Jul 12
Pictures from registration Sunday July 12th.
Picasa Web Albums - Youth Camp Day 1 2009 - Youth Camp Day 1 2009
The 2009 Steamboat Soccer Academy Youth Camp kicks off with blue skies, a great coaching staff and over 170 excited campers from around the US.
Jul 01
Men’s National Team Lose but Wins American’s Hearts
Is This the Loss They Need to Succeed in the World Cup?
June 28th, 2009 could be a turning point for the United States Men’s National Team. Over 3.1 million homes were tuned in to watch the Americans take on mighty Brazil in, if nothing else, an extremely entertaining 90 minutes of soccer. The game joined World Cup games against Germany (2002), Ghana (2006) and Colombia (1994) in the top four for all time viewership for a US match.
Despite the USMNT heartbreaking loss, the team has finally arrived onto the world scene and demands respect from even the toughest of opponents; just talk to the former world #1 Spain. In only 2 weeks time the US MNT has gone from a squad that was on the outside looking in, to a team that (if can stay fit) has a legitimate chance to not only qualify but compete on the finest of world stages: The World Cup.
In the past the U.S. might have chalked the loss up to a ‘moral victory.’ Let’s be honest here, soccer is not America’s best sport and being runner up to Brazil in a FIFA sanctioned event 10 years ago would have been a miracle. But this isn’t 10 years ago and the team has gotten exponentially better.
Players learn from losing and it’s safe to say now more than ever before that the US MNT want the real thing. Maybe in future training sessions they’ll push themselves harder, practice longer and strive to become an overall better soccer squad.
When the Confederations Cup began, how many analysts or American soccer fans would pick them to be in the final match? Nobody!
They might not be expected to win international tournaments in future (few teams ever are) but they will certainly be expected to progress to the later stages of any competitions they enter.
That is a significant shift in status.
The rest of the soccer (futbol) world might hate to admit it, but the U.S. is now a team to respect.
Watch out for the Yanks!
Jun 29
U.S. Headed to the Semis?
Article By Drew Frey
Davies, Bradley & Dempsey all Score U.S. Goals
Playing in the ‘Group of Death,’ losing to Italy and Brazil by two and three goals respectfully and having surly packed their bags for their flight home, the Americans advance to the Semi-Finals of the Confederations Cup.
Against absolutely all odds, the Americans needed to beat Egypt by three goals while the Italians also had to lose by three.
With his first start since January, Charlie Davies scored in the 20’ with an all out scramble in front of the net. Essam El Hadary, the Egyptian keeper, collided with the knee of his defender Ahmed Fathi while trying to stop Davies, that resulted in a nasty cut to the top of his head. To add insult to injury (literally) Davies goal took a deflection off of El Hadary’s head before ending up in the back of the net.
1st Goal:
The second goal came courtesy of Michael Bradley, the perfect gift for his dad Bob on Father’s Day no less, in the 63’ off of a great counter and precise cross from Landon Donovan.
2nd Goal:
(Bradley is so excited he just down!)
No more then 7’ later in the 70’ Jonathan Spector hit Clint Dempsey with a fantastic cross of topnotch quality. I don’t think Mr. David Beckham himself would scoff at it! Dempsey did the rest and put the perfectly placed cross just inside the left post.
3rd Goal:
After the match, Dempsey had this to say: “We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said Dempsey. “The odds were against us and the chances of us going through were slim. All we could control was ourselves. Credit to all the guys and the coaching staff. We worked hard this whole tournament so far and believed in ourselves. Now it’s time to refocus and get ready for Spain.”
So amazingly the U.S. moved from dead last to second place in the group and will go head to head against the #1 World Ranked and European champion Spanish side this Wednesday. The Americans need to be pumping on all cylinders and try to replicate the performance against Egypt to match the quality of Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas, David Villa and Fernando Torres.
No matter the result of Wednesday’s match, the Americans will be playing on Sunday in the final game of the Confederations Cup. Sunday’s game will be a consolation game for 3rd place.
“It’s gonna be fun,” the American captain said. “It’s a good team, a very good team, but we’re not willing to write it off and say it’s a loss. We’re gonna go for it.”
Jun 27
Jun 25
Jun 21
Summer Football Guide: Part 2 of 3
Article By Drew Frey
What to watch for the next 10 weeks to get your football fix.
This little ‘Guide’ is to provide you, the passionate football fan, with a wealth of options to get you through the next 10 weeks until the various leagues start up again. Whether you’re partial to Serie A, La Liga, AXPO Super League or the EPL, this post will help get you through these tough non-league action times.
UEFA Under 21 Championships
Every two years this highly anticipated tournament showcases the upcoming talent managers, reporters and fans will be talking about in the years to come. Sweden will host the 2009 Championship that has been the breeding ground of famous names such as Raul, Gattuso and Zinedine Zidane.
Italy has reigned supreme winning the tournament five times as England, Spain, (former) USSR, and the Netherlands not far behind with two wins apiece.
June 15th-23rd on Setanta Sports and Sky Sports
Notable Matchups:
June 15th: Spain v Germany
June 18th: Spain v England
June 19th: Sweden v Italy
June 22nd: Germany v England
June 23rd: Belarus v Italy
Semi Finals:
June 26th
Winner of Group A v Runner Up Group B
Winner Group B v Runner Up Group A
Final:
June 29th
Semi Final Winner I v Semi Final Winner II
Predictions Group A:
The lineup this year looks very good and will be hard to pick a winner. Anyone would be foolish not to include Italy on their list of favorites. The team was certainly in form during qualifying having won seven out of ten matches.
Serbia is also a good bet. The team finished on top of their group and qualified thanks to Gojko Kacar and his six goals. The Serbs have a newfound tradition finishing well in the U-21 championship. Runners up to Holland a couple years back, Serbia is continuing their rich history at this level.
Predictions Group B:
Spain’s ‘wunderkind’ Bojan Krkic is sure to impress this summer and help his country reach the final. The team won their group with a 100 percent record and only conceded two goals in the process. Although they looked lost against Switzerland in the playoffs, Spain still got the job done and are now on Europe’s big stage.
Players to Look Out For:
Mario Balotelli-Italy Striker Qualifying record: 3 Goals, 3 Appearances
Super Mario Balotelli compilation
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Gojko Kacar-Serbia Midfielder Qualifying record: 6 Goals, 8 Appearances
Bojan Krkic-Spain Striker Qualifying record: 3 Goals, 6 Appearances
Jun 08
What to Watch For Part 1/3 - Road to the World Cup
Article By Drew Frey
This little ‘Guide’ is to provide you, the passionate football fan, with a wealth of options to get you through the next 10 weeks until the various leagues start up again. Whether you’re partial to Serie A, La Liga, AXPO Super League or the EPL, this post will help get you through these tough non-league action times.
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING:
First and foremost there is the rather exciting World Cup Qualifying that no one should miss. Nearly every month you have the opportunity to watch two teams battle it out for pride and country. It’s always fun to watch your favorite player on the pitch with his country’s kit on running a little faster and putting forth more effort than when he’s playing at the club level.
When:
June and September are your best months to watch. All of the great football countries will be battling it out on the pitch. If you’re busy in July, don’t worry about it, unless you are an Egypt or Rwanda fan; they’re the only two countries in the world qualifying that month.
Notable Matchups:
USA vs MEXICO - August 8
BRAZIL vs ARGENTINA - September 5
SLOVAKIA vs CZECH REPUBLIC - September 5
ENGLAND vs CROATIA - September 5
Predictions:
After all of the qualifying, who will be making to the grand stage in South Africa next summer? Obviously 2006 World Champs Italy will be there. They are still an extremely powerful team that will overpower any group they find themselves in. Don’t forget about Holland, Spain (Euro 2008 champs,) Germany, France and England. They all look solid thus far as well.
Moving to South America you would have to say Brazil and Argentina are shoe-ins. Beyond that, it’s less straightforward to predict who will make it but Paraguay seems to be in good form as of late.
In the North America region it would be hard to imagine the USA not making it BUT after their staggering performance to Costa Rica last week, nothing is a sure thing. To that degree, I’d go so far as to say that this could be the year Mexico fails to qualify. Costa Rica looks impressive and will be a contender.
Asia isn’t exactly strong as a region but South Korea, Japan and Australia all stick out. Mark Schwarzer, the Fulham and Australian keeper, continues to impress and with a brick wall like him in the net the Aussies could match their amazing performance in the 2006 World Cup.
The African squads always seem to play well. Look out for Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Let’s just hope Didier Drogba keeps his cool and restrains himself on the pitch this time.
Top 5 Soccer Podcasts, Websites, Blogs and Twitter Handles
Podcasts:
World Soccer Daily is the best if not one of the best football podcasts in the States. The show, hosted by Steve and Kenny, is completely irreverent, funny and unpredictable. Although the episodes are typically 2 hours long, it’s the best way to understand the intricacies of the game.
This is slowly becoming a favorite for football fans everywhere. The idea is simple: Take the best sound bites from BBC Five Live and combine them into a nightly cast. These episodes are short, ranging from 15-20 minutes, so if you don’t have much time and still want to be current, this is for you!
This Guardian sponsored podcast is not only informative but also funny. James Richardson and Barry Glendenning’s banter is what really attracts people to this show. Topics range from all things EPL, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Tired of listening to an ‘expert’ discuss your favorite EPL team? Well you’ll want to download this podcast. Football FanCast is designed to run by the fans, for the fans, allowing them to voice their opinions and concerns.
Hosts Adriano Russo, Jon Harris-Bass and Dan Mason bring together all the info you need to stay up to date with the latest on the ‘Beautiful Game.’ Although the podcast is backed by worldwide TV giant ESPN, it lacks some of the fire or passion offered by the other pods.
Websites/Blogs:
Anymore these days the U.S. is producing top notch talent with the likes of Clint Dempsey, Maurice Edu & Carlos Bocanegra, but it’s hard to keep track of everyone. Yanks-Abroad has info on every American footballer overseas located conveniently on one site.
Christopher Harris (a.k.a. The Gaffer) started this little blog 4 years ago and is now the #1 Premiere League blog on the planet. It’s fun, corky and informative
No list of this kind would be complete without including the World’s governing body of football, Fifa. The website itself is visually pleasing but leaves a bit of a bland taste in your mouth after reading some of the articles.
I.LOVE.FOOTYTUBE. If you don’t have a subscription to Setanta or Sky Sports, Footy provides you with the latest video highlights and all of the goals from the major football leagues.
Channel 4’s official site for everything regarding Serie A.
Twitter Accounts:
Bonus:
Firefox extension that gives you live, up-to-date scores for the day’s matches of all the teams and leagues you decide to follow.
Pretty cool Facebook application that allows you to show your colors, view statistics and discuss the game with others.
Guest Article by Drew Frey
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Jun 05
Manchester United No Match for Barcelona
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
Barca 2 Man Utd 0
Manchester United left Rome Wednesday night in utter ruins, as they were shunned off the pitch with one of the teams more ‘shoddy’ performances of the year. Barcelona, who supposedly couldn’t match the speed and attacking style of The Reds, looked superior in every department.
Cristiano Ronaldo was nowhere to be found after the 10th minute and consequently lost the incredibly hyped duel with Lionel Messi. This was not how an otherwise exceptional season was supposed to end. After all there were talks of destiny and claims to be the first club to win the famed European Cup in back to back seasons.
During the first 10 minutes of the match, it seemed that the champions of Europe would be Manchester. They attacked as soon as the whistle blew and after one minute Ronaldo was lining up a free kick (which he nearly put in.) Barcelona looked to be on their heels and unsure of how to handle the Red Devils. But with the breakdown of Anderson and Vidic, Eto’o toe-poked the ball past Van der Sar and Manchester never seemed to be in control again. Then in the 70th minute the smallest guy on the pitch, Lionel Messi put in a header from the six yard box thanks to a picture perfect cross from Xavi that sealed the match.
So how did Barca take down the eleven gladiators from Manchester? They did so with great consistency, playing their game and controlling the pace of play. Xavi, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta as well as every footballer from Barcelona played well. But it was Xavi who made more passes than Ryan Giggs, Anderson and Carrick combined. Messi who seemed to be operating exclusively on Manchester’s side of the pitch, where he was a relentless menace and Iniesta who caused havoc on the left side where he routinely completed 65 of his 69 passes (94%).
It was thought that the experience of Sir Alex Ferguson would expose the young Pep Guardiola in his first campaign as Barca boss. However it was Guardiola who provided all the answers and completed the amazing treble of domestic league and cup and now Europe’s biggest prize at only 38. Guardiola became the youngest Champions League winning coach ever and one of six to lift the trophy as both player and manager.
It truly takes a great team to make United look average, let alone ugly, but Barca did so and no one, not even Sir Alex Ferguson denied the best side won.
Fergie told reporters: “In fairness we were beaten by the best team. We weren’t our best. When we did get possession we didn’t do well with it. Credit to them, the better team won.”
To make matters worse for Manchester United, they could be losing their star player. Ronaldo has refused to commit himself to the squad stating that, “My future for now is the national team. I don’t want to talk about clubs.” It seems Ronaldo could be heading to Real Madrid but then again, this could just be a repeat of last summer’s transfer drama between the two clubs.
Video Highlights:
Watch Barcelona v Manchester United in Sports Online | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
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