So much soccer, I need more eyeballs

Soccer Cornucopia

Is this the best time of year?  I could eat Thanksgiving dinner every day.  I live for leftovers...mix and match all that chow into every conceivable manner of ingestion.  And there's something to be said for that one beautiful day where I can turn my phone off, ignore my computer and do so guilt free (I'll admit it, I get off the grid now and again...but I feel a little guilty)...honestly, for that reason alone we need some more holidays on the calendar.

But the real delicious stuff is : MLS playoffs, European leagues and tournaments chugging along, an international break for Euro Qualifiers and US national aficionados to dope out the next group of up-and-coming heros, NCAA tournament just around the corner...

RIP, 2014, We Barely Knew Ye:
The Haverford College men just missed the NCAA tournament this fall...lost in the final of the Centennial Conference to #9 ranked Muhlenberg, 1-0 (with 2 min. 37 seconds remaining in regulation) after defeating #4 ranked Franklin & Marshall, 2-0, on their home patch in the semi-final.  (Division III men's bracket)  Three finals in four years under Coach Shane Rineer, and a regular season title in the year we didn't make the final...good things are happening.

USA / Colombia:
Great game for all those who love America.  From Craven Cottage (12.45 PM Friday, Nov. 14th, ESPN & WATCHESPN.com), so many European-based players on display.  Klinsmann has a great blend of old and new players...cool article on the leadership component of these friendlies (and how this game may affect the next Olympic squad) on ussoccer.com.

Challenge of a championship:
For all the trophys we hand out these days, here's the real deal.  A team has but two shots at being a champion - the conference title and a national title.  A little tougher than beating 4 other youth teams at the East Jesus Nowhere Classic.  Consider that the top 199 teams in Division III scored 30 or more goals in roughly 18-20 games.  Some numbers:
404 teams, 42 conferences, 1 national title

Think that's daunting?  Division I has 24 conferences and 204 schools.  With the top half scoring merely 23 goals or more in 18-20 games. Yikes.

Haves and have nots:
Di Maria (Manchester United) cost more than Burnley have spent in their entire history on player wages.

Awesome, Thinking Man's Goal:
Robbie Keane scored the second in LA's 5-0 drubbing of RSL on Sunday night...what an amazing effort and terrific awareness to keep himself in an onside position while Landon got the cross sorted out:

Where Does Talent Come From:
Arsene Wenger of Arsenal might not even know!  He made two statements this year that resonated with me: no good professional defenders (that were available) and FWDs are better-built on the rough and tumble of the favela than in the elite academies?!

"There is not a lot on the market and if you look at the other clubs, they had exactly the same problem. If you went anywhere, everybody is looking for defenders."

"If you look across Europe, South America is the only continent that develops strikers," he said."

This is interesting for two reasons: 1. defense is much more a learned skill than 1v1 attacking where creativity and quickness of thought (both very hard to train into someone) tip the scales...oughtn't we expect to see tons of great defenders coming from the academy system? and, 2. if a region where the academy system hasn't taken root is where the best goal scorers are coming from does that mean players take advantage of playground ball (where no one really plays any defense) or are freed from stifling coaches and systems?

Even If You're Good, You're Not Good Enough:
Georgetown, nationally ranked power year after year in NCAA men's soccer played an interesting match at Villanova earlier this month...won 2-1 and played some very good football.  Nova, for their part, played very well also.  What's interesting is that a friend who has some front office responsibilities for an MLS club and who was there scouting draft picks said, very offhandedly, "there's no speed on this field."  It was in context of another topic, but that phrase stuck in my ear, and my jaw hit the floor.  I mean, come on, these are two contending division I teams...but then when you start to watch for it, there wasn't a player who got in the game who was running past an opponent.  Virtually every player was as fast as any other.  Which means, to the pro clubs, none of them are fast enough!  Now, consider the Chelsea/Liverpool matchup last Sunday, and think about Eden Hazard, Raheem Sterling and Co...at that level, those guys are that fast.  Yup, they have the technical ability, but what makes them special is the speed.  Some video proof against Xavier, another terrific Big East team:

Stuff on TV this week:

Nov. 12: ESPN 4pm / 7pm MVC men's soccer tournament
                         Mexico V. Netherlands  2.45pm

Nov. 13: ESPN 4.30pm / 7pm Horizon League men's soccer tournament

Nov. 14: ESPN (click for the list...Euro Qualifiers, USA Friendly with Colombia and NCAA men's stuff)
               FOX networks: Euro Qualifiers