http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/JoseGarciaSoccer/159920 & Just in case the article says 'Error' & here's two article written by the AZ Daily Star on Tucson becoming the Western Hub for MLS Spring Training. http://azstarnet.com/sports/soccer/...cle_e90b8ae2-6da0-5724-a8a9-24040159186e.html http://azstarnet.com/sports/soccer/...cle_5facaf46-5014-546a-b507-8e5b6fcc37e8.html
I saw this article today. http://tucsoncitizen.com/pima-count...ucson-gearing-up-for-2013-desert-diamond-cup/ This may be the money quote: Or this, depending on which one turns your crank more. So cool! More soccer facilities, winter training ground for several MLS clubs, the Desert Diamond Cup to be an on-going tournament (for certain now), and FC Tucson making progress. All very cool. Good on you folks in Tucson! - Mark
If anyone is lucky enough to be in Tucson during January & February, here's all the links and dates you want to know. Tickets: https://fctucson.ticketsocket.com/ Hotel: Desert Diamond: http://fctucson.com/team/book-your-room-today/ OR http://fctucson.com/team/desert-cup-hotel-packages-available/ Of course, if you're cheap (like me) and don't want to spend money on a hotel room, you can crash on my couch. PM me. Dates: International Friendly: Saturday, January 26th @ 1:00 PM: Canada/Denmark. Tickets are $18-$25. Desert Friendlies: Tuesday, January 29th @ 11:00 AM: Portland/Colorado. Tickets are $10. Tuesday, January 29th @ 3:00 PM (Doubleheader): SJ/Houston & FC Tucson/KC. Tickets are $15. Thursday, January 31st @ 6:00 PM: Houston/Colorado. Tickets are $10. Friday, February 1st @ 6:00 PM: Sporting KC/Portland. Tickets are $10. Saturday, February 2nd @ 11:00 AM: San Jose/Colorado. Tickets are $10. Saturday, February 2nd @ 4:00 PM: Houston/Vancouver. Tickets are $10. Tuesday, February 5th @ 11:00 AM: Seattle/Portland. Tickets are $10. Friday, February 8th @ 11:00 AM: FC Tucson/Portland. Tickets are $10. Desert Diamond Cup: Wednesday, February 13th @ 5:00 PM (Doubleheader): Revs/Sounders & Red Bulls/RSL. Tickets are $20-$75. Saturday, February 16th @ 4:00 PM (Doubleheader): Sounders/RSL & Red Bulls/Revs. Tickets are $20-$75. Wednesday, February 20th @ 5:00 PM (Doubleheader): RSL/Revs & Sounders FC/Red Bulls. Tickets are $20-$75. Saturday, February 23rd @ 4:00 PM (Doubleheader): TBD. Tickets are $20-75.
Very cool. That's a bit too far for me, but very cool all the same. I visited Tucson several times decades ago, when I was young. I like the city, except for the summer heat. Looks like a lot of soccer love down there. Good show. - Mark
Forgot to mention this in the last post. FC Tucson is selling Canada/Denmark tickets for $11. Deal ends at midnight. https://www.livingsocial.com/events/587654-canada-vs-denmark-ticket-to-soccer-match
Thank you! Looks great. I don't know about the other teams, but the Quakes played mostly second stringers, draftees, and trialists. Some of those guys looked pretty good. Not all of these guys can, or will, make the roster on any MLS team. So it occurs to me, that plenty of NASL and USLPro clubs will benefit from this influx of talent into MLS camps. (That is, the quality of players coming out of US Colleges is much better now than it was eight or ten years ago. And, MLS teams, NASL teams, and USLPro teams are attracting more players from overseas.) I expect to see the quality of the game continue to improve, at every level, here in the USA going forward. Just one more thing to be optimistic about. - Mark
So for these game with the MLS teams, who is making up most of their roster? I'm guessing most of their college players aren't available yet.
The KC game featured most of the team from last season (except for the players who play at colleges not located in AZ.) and the Portland game featured only half of the team from the KC match,
The weather is shit for the rest of the week (Teams leave on Sunday). & highlight videos from the Wednesday and Saturday matches. Wednesday Matches: Saturday Matches:
Here's a picture of Rickie Fowler playing in the snow in Tucson. The matches will still go on tonight. http://fctucson.com/team/tonights-matches-will-go-on/
Hey I don't know who you guys are or how you relate to FC Tucson and the committee that brings these games to Tucson, but I just wanted to say that it was pretty cool seeing a mexican team come out to play in Tucson. I enjoy the MLS games a lot, but it was nice that this year we got a taste of international soccer, whether it was Canada and Denmark or Veracruz and Seattle. I'm glad the sport is growing here. I also heard a rumor of Mexican teams being included for next years tourney? Would any of you know?
Veracruz was brought in by Seattle. The Sounders paid for them to come up and play as a warm up for their CCL champions league game against top Mexican side Tigres de la UNAL. Seattle has to shake the rust off and play a team in form already so they wanted practice against a team playing in the Mexican style. It may happen again next year but probably wouldn't be the Sounders bringing them.
FC Tucson is definitely thinking/looking into bringing a Mexican club for Desert Cup. Whether its Chivas LA, or a Mexican club reserve team (Tijuana, Club America, Santos, etc.)