HexagonalBlog

Thoughts on the end of the Warner/Blazer era

Today marks the final day of Chuck Blazer's tenure as general secretary of CONCACAF, an office that he has held for 21 years.  Jack Warner, who had served as CONCACAF president over the same period, was forced out as a result of his FIFA-imposed suspension six months ago. It brings to a close a consequential era in the history of the confederation.  Much has been written about this pair in this almost past year, and will be continue to be written in the coming year. I'd like to give my thoughts on the impact that these two men had on football throughout the region and the legacy that they have created.

The Central American honor roll

It's been a while since I've written on the Central American playoff scene, but all of the champions have been decided with the exception of Belize. Below is a summary of who won what:

Berhalter jumps into coaching -- in Sweden

Recently retired LA Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter has moved directly into coaching.  But to the surprise of many, it won't be in America. 

He was confirmed as the new manager of Hammarby IF in the Swedish second division today -- article from the AP is here, press release from Hammarby's website is here (in Swedish).  There's also a video of a press conference that introduced Berhalter to the media; I haven't watched it yet but I imagine that Berhalter's answers are in English unless he has some language skills I haven't heard about.

Hammarby won a Swedish league title in 2001 but slipped down the table over the rest of the decade, culminating in an institutional crisis and a relegation in 2009.  They've been midtable in the Superettan (the Swedish 2nd division) over the last two seasons.  American soccer fans might remember the club as it was here that Charlie Davies' career took off.

There have been a few US managers who have been linked to European clubs in the past, but they have been people like Bruce Arena or Bob Bradley, and certainly not someone like Berhalter with a year's experience as a manager's assistant.  But AEG, who own the LA Galaxy, also have a 49% stake in Hammarby, and former Galaxy player Chris Klein sits on the Hammarby board.  So Berhalter was able to make use of the connections between his former club and his new one to obtain his job.  Nothing wrong with that, but it's up to him to make the most of an opportunity that probably would not be given to him otherwise.

Frowns and smiles in both halves of Monterrey

Both sides of the Clásico Regiomontano experienced different emotions during the weekend.

CONCACAF club champions Monterrey were knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup by Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol, 4-3 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 at the end of 120 minutes.  Reysol took the lead through their star midfielder Leander Domingues, but the Rayados equalized through Humberto Suazo five minutes later.  Monterrey had control of the match early on, and missed several opportunities for goal (two of them by Suazo), but Kashiwa pulled their way back into the contest through their team speed and organization.  After Suazo's goal, both teams played back-and-forth but with little precision in the final third of the pitch.  Penalties beckoned, and Kashiwa won the shootout despite shooting second, which doesn't always happen. Kashiwa will play Santos in one semifinal; Monterrey will play African champions Esperance on Wednesday.

Later in the day, UANL Tigres ended a 29-year wait for a Mexican league championship by defeating Santos 3-1 to win the finals series 4-1 on aggregate.  The match started in sensational fashion when referee Marco Rodríguez called a penalty in the 12th minute (correctly) and sent off Santos 'keeper Oswaldo Sánchez (incorrectly).  It could have been a devastating result for Santos, who had to take off Darwin Quintero and bring on replacement goalkeeper Miguel Becerra, but Becerra saved Lucas Lobos' penalty.  More incredibly, Santos took the lead and evened the aggregate series on Oribe Peralta's strike in the goal area.  The second half saw Tigres take control of the match and settle the championship tie with goals from Danilinho and Mexican U-20 striker Alan Pulido.  Felipe Baloy of Santos and Israel Jiménez of Tigres were sent off for an altercation in the 70th minute. 

Tigres will play CONCACAF Champions League football next season, and will also enter the first stage of the 2012 Copa Libertadores against a Chilean representative in January.  (Cruz Azul and Guadalajara have berths to the group stage of the Libertadores.)  It's a chance for them to continue Mexican club football's strong performances in South America and make a lot more money than they ever would in CONCACAF.

Monterrey land in Japan for Club World Cup

CONCACAF champions Monterrey landed in Japan this morning in advance of their match against the winner of Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol and Oceania champions Auckland City.  Monterrey have the slightly easier path to the finals as they would face South American champions Santos in the semifinal instead of Barcelona, but of course they would have to get past the survivor of the preliminary round first.  Pachuca had a team every bit as good as Monterrey in 2007, and they lost to Etoile du Sahel in the first round.  The best CONCACAF performance at the Club World Cup remains that of a non-Mexican club: Saprissa in 2005.

Monterrey will bring their top squad to Japan, including Humberto Suazo, Aldo de Nigris, Walter Ayoví, and César Delgado.  Coach Juan Manuel Vucetich believes that his squad can be competitive due to the experience that many members of his squad have at international club and country competitions, and there is a case to be made about experience being important.  If Monterrey play Kashiwa in the first round -- which I think is very likely -- I would be very interested in seeing how Monterrey's defense matches up against Kashiwa's midfield, especially J-League MVP Leander Domingues.

No word yet on whether the team will eat sushi or shower with bottled water, as other sportsmen who recently traveled within the country have done.

A roundup of Central American playoff action -- 2011-12-05 edition

Well into the playoff phase in Central America's domestic leagues, as two leagues approach the finals and a new champion has been crowned in Panama.  Here's a summary of what happened over the past seven days:

Stanford finally reaches the college soccer summit

The Stanford Cardinal are the newest champions of Division I women's college soccer after defeating Duke 1-0 in a hard-fought final at KSU Soccer Stadium outside Atlanta.  The winning goal was scored about ten minutes into the second half by Teresa Noyola.

Stanford and Duke advance to Women's College Cup final

Stanford and Duke advanced to Sunday's national championship game of the NCAA Women's College Cup with three-goal victories in both semifinals on Friday night.  Stanford defeated Florida State 3-0 in the first match, and Duke ran out 4-1 victors over Wake Forest.

This year's College Cup was located at Kennesaw State University's new soccer-specific stadium, about 30 minutes northwest of downtown Atlanta.  I attended Friday's matches, and it is a compact, comfortable, and clean facility.  It would be wonderful to have many more facilities such as these in the lower divisions of American soccer.

NBC makes an inspired choice for its MLS coverage

The news (and now confirmation) that NBC Sports has hired Seattle Sounders match commentator Arlo White as its lead man for MLS coverage is a loss for the Sounders and their fans but a much bigger boost to the state of American soccer commentary.  White came over from the BBC but not without some familiarity with American sport as he had commentated a Super Bowl a few years before.  In two years, he has incorporated the best of British and American styles to establish himself as one of the top soccer commentators in the USA and developed a strong bond with the Sounders club and its supporters.  Of course, this means one more British commentator for Paul Gardner to rail against, but I think we will manage.