Big game tonight. Replay of the Champions League final a couple of years ago. Hope we can have a good result tonight. Barca is a great team but think they suit Arsenal quite well. Barcas strenght is goin forward. They don’t like to be under pressure defensivly. And it doesn’t happen very often as most teams sit back and let them have possesion as they are so good with the ball. Arsenals style is goin forward as well. So I really hope Arsenal will test Barcas defence tonite!!

For the overall leg I think Barca has a big advantage that they will play the second leg in Barcelona and not in London. The home or away draw to start is very important at this stage of the competition. Let’s hope it gonna be an amasing game.

ENJOY!
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Sounders.com

Finally we have played the first game and we won, it feels great. Think we started the game really well and created a lot of chances and maybe should’ve killed off the game before we did. A great team win.

Only negative off the game was their tackles from behind. Just something you don’t do as your opponent has no way off protecting themselves. Thankfully one of their guys got sent off but could’ve been more. I personally got a knee straight in my spine from behind shouldn’t happen that you can knee someone that high up when the ball is 3 yards away on the ground (Straight after the game we went to the ER to get my spine x-rayed as I couldn’t and still cant sit or lay on my back. Luckily no fractures. Only bone bruising. The doctor compared the injury with an NFL injury when someone uses their helmet to crash it into someone’s spine. Hopefully ill recover quickly). Then Montero got a similar one and then the guy was off. You just have to trust that the ref is doing their job and you just try to do yours. Have sometimes been very critical of the refs not doing anything about over violent play that can injur your opponent but I think the ref did a great job last night.

For me after the tackle on me my evening was over, tried to stay on to help the team until I thought the game was over in around the 60th min. During that time I couldn’t run but tried to use my experience to help the guys on the pitch. Something me and Siggi discussed at halftime.

Was great to see Fucito out there in the second half. He has really improved and looked great in pre season. Proves that if you work hard you get your chances. He has a great left foot look out for that.

You fans were absolutely amazing was nice to see and hear you guys again. Despite the heavy rain you were there in numbers and were very loud.

Thanks for the support.
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As everybody probably knows there has finally been an agreement on the CBA. The lawyers seems to have done a good job. Now finally we can concentrate on doin our job and that’s to play football. I am so happy. Really lookin forward to the first game of the season!!

//F

Imagine you work at Burger King and you get sacked. Now, you want to get another job at McDonald’s, but you’re not allowed to unless McDonald’s compensates Burger King. It seems absurd, but that’s the way certain things work in MLS at the moment. If your team terminates your contract, it still can demand a trade from another club before you can go and play for that other club.

The CBA, for me personally, is a sad saga. I was told it would be settled when I came back to the USA in January. Now it plays a lot on the minds of players in the preseason because we don’t know if the first game is going to be played on March 25 or not. If it isn’t, it will be a very sad day for players and fans in this country.

Coming from Europe, maybe I see it differently, as I’ve been playing under FIFA rules my whole life, but the players just want those rights. If we keep the wage cap, it shouldn’t put the league in economic jeopardy as it won’t cost the league any more money than what it has already agreed to.

One thing for me that is very confusing is what happens after a player’s contract is up. I find it amazing that even after your club lets your contract run out without renewing, it still has all the power and still owns the player’s rights.

Sounders sign a top striker
Now, let’s talk about what’s happening on the field. We are 3-1-1 in our preseason, but I don’t care about the results of the games at this point. We’re training really hard even the day before the game to get fit. For me, the first game of the season is the one where we need to play well. But my understanding is that over the next few weeks we’ll be doing less heavy work and focusing more on quickness and sharpness. It’s always good to win in preseason, but I prefer getting the win on March 25 (against Philadelphia).

I spoke about refereeing in MLS last year. Defenders are allowed to push and hold and get away with much more than I have ever experienced before. I don’t like to be pushed to the ground, especially when there’s no free kick given, so this preseason I have decided to take matters into my own hands. I’m trying to put on six-seven pounds to see if I can stop being pushed around so much. I’ve never had to resort to these measures before but I’ll try and hopefully it will work.

The other big news in Seattle is that we have signed Blaise Nkufo, a striker from Switzerland who is playing in the Dutch league. He will join the team in the July transfer window after the World Cup. I wish he could be here now, but it will be good when he arrives.

Last year we created a lot of chances, but didn’t put enough away so hopefully Blaise can help improve on that. He works hard for the team and adds a physical presence and I’ve also heard that he’s great off the pitch, which is, of course, very important, too.

World Cup preparations in full swing
The World Cup is just around the corner and many teams that have qualified played friendlies last week. I think these games can be seen in two different ways. On the one hand, it’s great for national teams to gather and get some playing time together and try to get ready for the World Cup.

But, on the other hand, as I’ve experienced myself, when you’re at the end of a long season and competing for honors you definitely don’t want to get injured in a friendly and miss playing in those last few months when it really counts if you’re going to be a winner or a loser.

While we were playing for the Champions League as well as the Premier League and FA Cup, I must say I didn’t think about the World Cup at all. It was never on my mind until everything was over. Those games are so tight that if you’re not concentrating, you’re going to get knocked out. But, if you’re in the middle of the table with nothing to play for over the last two months, maybe then it plays a little bit more in your mind.

Friendlies are called friendlies for a reason. The bigger players usually take their foot off the pedal a little bit because they do not want to get injured. It’s always important to get wins, but in a friendly before a World Cup I think it’s more important to try and give more time to players that the coach thinks could be a nice surprise off the bench to make a difference in the tournament.

Finally, on to my boys at Arsenal. I hope they can keep up their challenge in the Premier League. They don’t have a roster as big as Chelsea, but I think Chelsea and Manchester United have let them back in it. If they’re in it at this point, they’ll be in it the whole way. As for the Champions League, I think their style of play suits the competition and I think they will be dangerous in the later rounds.

I have read quite a few articles from England about Aaron Ramsey’s horrible injury, from which I hope he recovers well. Afterward, Arsene Wenger pointed out that Arsenal have had some bad injuries from bad tackles lately and questioned them.

I saw a very good article in one of the papers that made the point that players have been saying before games that they would kick Arsenal because that was the only way they could beat them. The author questioned if it is correct that people can say such things and asked what would happen if something similar was said in Spain about a team like Barcelona.

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PS You find my column at ESPN Soccernet

What an amazing season Rooney is having. Normally I don’t write about specific players, or talk about them in the press, but I have to about Rooney.

Before this season he got criticised for not scoring as much as his potential. He didn’t come with any excuses he just kept working hard for his team. In my opinion, what I think some people didn’t see was that he covered up so much defensively for Ronaldo and did so WITHOUT COMPLAINING. He let his own game suffer for the team!! He played more as a winger than as a striker in my books. Think all his teammates saw that and that gives you respect.

When they sold Ronaldo a lot off people said it was bad. Ronaldo is a great player, don’t get me wrong, but they got loads and loads off money for him and now we can see Rooney play as a proper striker and see how well he is doing it. For me he’s got it all, he is very strong, hard to get the ball off, great shot, good speed and works hard for his team. Lately he has been scoring some great goals with his head as well.

For me he is a role model for kids to look at and learn. Especially the character he showed covering for Ronaldo and not always getting the credit he deserved for it. As an Arsenal man I am not man U’s biggest fan as they’ve been my main rivals for many years but I wanna take my hat off for probably the best player in the world at the moment and the path he has walked to get there.

//F