Pre-match: DC United v Atlante F.C. :: July 15, 2008 Pre-Match Thread [R]

Something that flares up every once in a while? How elese would you define chronic? Even Snop Dogg uses the same definition.

 

Atlante didn't seem like they were ready for this tournament when they played us. They seemed slow, and had trouble connecting their passes. They had few chances to score and every time they got the ball into the box they were easily dispossessed. Unlike Chivas, they hardly had any warm-up games prior to SuperLiga. This game should be easy for yall if you come out attacking. Good luck, try not to score more than 4. (We could easily have had several more goals).

As far as Atlante fans, there were some at our game, genuine fans of the team and not Mexicans out to watch a Mexican League team. (At least in Houston, there aren't many of those, either they support one Mexican team or the Dynamo, they don't tend to support just any Mexican team over the Dynamo.) They brought some signs and were doing cheers but there weren't many of them. There should be lots more Chivas fans at Robertson on Tuesday....

Check out www.club-atlante.com/, as of tonight they still haven't posted anything more recent than the Houston pregame, they must be a little embarrassed. However, if you read the comentarios, the fans aren't very pleased.

Again, good luck tomorrow. I wish I could go to our game in DC Saturday, I have great memories of RFK from the MLS Cup and the great United fans I met up there.

 

Yeah, most all guys have a groin issue that flares up from time to time. Too much l33t pr0nz from teh internetz for Gallardo, I'd say.

 

I believe Gallardo's problem is something that is off and on just over the past few months. Chronic is something I would associate as being a lot more long term. I don't recognize this snop dog character, but I am not too concerned that he might have a different opinion than me given his choice of nicknames.

Seriously, I think Gallardo has a strain he got earlier in the season that will need a good amount of rest to heal completely. It has bothered him off and on this season as he has missed matches earlier in the year for the same thing, yet came back and played fine, only to have it flare up again. I think the team is just being very cautious to make sure it does not become a long term problem.

 

Notwithstanding the spelling error that you're ribbing him for, I thought his pun was actually pretty funny.

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I had a groin issue that flared up from time to time a while back. The doc gave me some antibiotics and I'm fine now.

 

FYI: ALL SuperLiga games are available in English on www.superliga2008.com and in Spanish on the Telefutura feed in which is availble here: http://www.justin.tv/psn_1

 

Not bad, but I think Dyachenko should start in Siberia.

 

NO! We don't want him to start for our Gulag team either!

 

Atlante, the are the "Iron Colts." They are one of the oldest teams in Mexico, and had a long history of being the working man's team in Mexico City until recent times when crappy management and the popularity of Club America, Pumas and to some extent Cruz Azul and Toluca swamped 'em. They actually have a development team here in the states in North Carolina I think.

Anyway, they have a growing fan base and here in D.C. I've seen quite a few people walking around wearing Atlante hats. I think they are sort of a flavor of the month since moving to Cancun.

 

I just wish these dumbasses would learn to spell Atlanta properly

I think that's something COMPLETELY different
Although it is possible you and Gallardo shared the same soccer groupies

 

Is this farce of a tournament over yet?

 

I don't know as I have been drinking way too much beer during this tournament.

 

As someone who his spent his almost 40 years sober I don't have that to fall back upon.

 

I just found out I have the Spanish channel Telefutura from a DISH operator from India speaking broken English with a lisp!!!!! (DISH channel 271) That was a difficult conversation. Now I have to brush up on my Spanish! Oh happy days! Let's see McT get some more non MLS goals!
Barkeep, drinks for everyone! (except that asshat with the Fire jersey!)

 

Or online in English at www.superliga2008.com. FWIW.

 

Good for you about the sober part.

Well at least you got the DC United soccer part to fall back upon, that and screaming your lungs out (belief you me it helps getting all that bottled anger/stress out! Unlike Mr. White! )

Hopefully DC United can light up the scoreboard today!

 

I don't think Atlante will be an easy opponent for us. Our current lack of depth would make this game a challenge no matter the opponent. I'd expect about the same lineup unless Soehn wants to give players like Cordeiro or Doe a start. Jaime Moreno is more likely to benefit from rest than many others, so I expect to see Dyachenko to get significant time.

I hope we don't have any blunders from Namoff as he's created 3 scoring opportunities against Wells in the past 2 games.

Atlante was an inspiring story last fall when they were brand new to Cancun after being "forced" out economically by Mexico City's richer teams. Giancarlo Maldonado and their goalie Federico Villar are main players I remember. Former MLS'er and Cameroonian Alain Nkong also scored some important goals off the bench but the team madethe mistake of not extending his contract. Their coach Jose Guadalupe Cruz was recently a gradeschool teacher.

In the spring Clausura season they were a disappointment. I think their biggest moment may have been when Maldonado chested in a shot from about 15 yards out on the final weekend against Puebla - I can't remember which team was affected (maybe Puebla) but the goal and result wound up changing which team got relegated. (If I'm even remembering it right).

I'll be at tonight's game and I'll bring a flashlight just in case.

 

I hope you guys win tonight, which is a 99.99999% chance that you will, Atlante is the weakest Mexican team in the Superliga, the only people that DC United should be worried about are Giancarlo Maldonado, and Gabriel Pereyra, those are the only two players that are dangerous in the attack, Atlante is not a good team in the FMF, their goalkeeper Federico Vilar is a very inconsistent keeper, in some games he can stop anything but in others he just sucks. Javier Munoz Mustafa the one that got a red card vs the Dynamo is a very important player in their defense. DC United could probably give a bashing if they can connect up front, which should be no problem regarding how bad Atlante has done, and how they are missing one of their starting Defenders. Good Luck to you guys.

 

Either line-up is ok, but tell ya's what I'd rather see-

-----------------Wells----------------
Namoff-----McTavish----Burch---Martinez
Mines(Thompson)---Simms--------Cordeiro--
------------------Fred-------------------
------------Emilio--------Doe/Moreno----

Moreno off the bench @65min for Doe, to both rest Jaime and get some vet presence to close down what will hopefully be a match with us leading.
Considerable youth here on the wings, which should be high energy, especially with Fred in the middle, bolstered by solid tandem defense behind them, we should be all right. At worse, this formation at least sets up better options for Soehn to manuver after the half, given the roster limit.
This also imitates the old baseball addage of putting your best up the middle(okay, maybe Wells an exception).
For our defensive back 4, I'd prefer to see a little less lane exchanging and more consistent shape to both clean up in marking as well help facilitate the trap.
And to give us something to cheer for in getting out of the group for the third match, +2 agg this match would be nice, getting us back to 0 for the group, so 3-1 or 4-2 we should be shooting for.
So- predicition- 3-1 , Doe scores a brace, and Fred gets 3 assists, including finally geting a cross off to one of our "new" wingers.

Vamos United!
Vamanos!

 

Come on United!

 

I am getting the feed from the superliga site. The video feed is correct, but I am getting the Baseball All-Star game audio. This should be interesting.

 

I've got a good video feed, but the audio is for the beisbol all star game.

EDIT: Just switched to Tony Limarzi! The next best thing to being at RFK.

 

Now I hear Limarzi. The difference in speed is quite noticeable when you put him back to back with a baseball announcer.

 

Joe Buck can call a hell of a game! Kerry Wood is an underrated striker. Just an opinion.