Major League Soccer- Latest news, results etc.

[Ricochet]

surfing the web and say that Cole will come over to the MLS as soon as his EPL career. During the ManU v. Club America match it was said that Giggs love America and would also like to play in the MLS in a few years.

[Frank Cunha]

they all loved america if the money is there

[MUFC]

Andy cole i know did say he wants to play in the mls, didnt hear anything from giggsy

[Frank Cunha]

http://www.nj.com/metrostars/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1059459035276300.xml

[Frank Cunha]

this week will be a off week, usually the all stars of one division plays the other, but this year its different its between a All Star team vs Chivas a powerful Mexican team, game will happen this week and will be on national TV.

[Frank Cunha]

Soccer: The magic of Man U



Tuesday, July 29, 2003


BY COLIN STEPHENSON
Star-Ledger Staff

They have money. Lots of it.

They have style. And plenty of substance.

As for success, they have had so much that people all over the world either love them or hate them. There is no middle ground.


They are Manchester United -- the world's wealthiest and most popular soccer team -- and they're playing in New Jersey on Thursday night, against Italian power Juventus in an international exhibition at Giants Stadium.

It is the third stop of a four-game barnstorming tour, ostensibly to prepare the team for its upcoming season in England's Premier League but perhaps more importantly to help secure a marketing foothold in the world's biggest market.

Trying to describe the aura of a team that means so much to so many in so many areas -- the club estimates it has a following of over 50 million worldwide -- is hard to do.

"In most markets other than the U.S., we are the Beatles meets Michael Jackson meets the New York Yankees," said Peter Draper, the team's marketing director.

Tim Howard, the former MetroStars goalie who signed with the team earlier this month and is expected to start Thursday night, put it another way.

"It's fantasy," he said. "People who love soccer in America can't fathom what Manchester United is really about."

So for those of you who love soccer -- and those of you who don't -- we'll try to explain what Manchester United is all about. And why it's already too late to get a ticket to see them play at Giants Stadium.


THE PAST

Titles are one thing, lore is another.

Many people point to the highs and lows in United's 125-year history -- which includes having its stadium bombed by the Germans during World War II, and a 1958 plane crash that killed eight players -- as the reason for the club's following.

After some lean times in the 1920s and '30s, United became a power again after World War II. It won the F.A. Cup (the all-division tournament in England) in 1948, and won the league title three times in the '50s, including back-to-back championships in '56-57. But in February, 1958, after playing a European tournament game in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, the plane carrying the team stopped in Munich, Germany, for refueling on its way back to England. Shortly after taking off, the plane crashed, killing 22, including eight players.

Manager Matt Busby survived the crash, as did several players who went on to become big stars, including Bobby Charlton, who would help England win the 1966 World Cup. Busby rebuilt the team and won the F.A. Cup again in 1963. That was the first year the team had a young midfielder named George Best, who combined unbelievable skill with movie star good looks and a party boy reputation to become, as the team's Web site describes him, "football's first superstar."

The team won league titles in '65 and '67, and won its first European championship in 1968 -- 10 years after the Munich air disaster.

"The plane crash was something that added to their mystique -- tragedy, and their emergence from that tragedy," Nick Sakiewicz, the MetroStars' general manager, said. "It's part of their story. You can't buy that history, you can't create it; that type of stuff just happens, and evolves."

After a dry spell in the 1970s and early '80s, the team hired current manager Alex Ferguson in 1986 and it soared again.

Manchester United has won the title of the Premier League (England's top division) in eight of the past 11 seasons, as well as three more F.A. Cups in 1994, 1996 and 1999.

In 1999, United completed an unprecedented "treble," sweeping the league, F.A. Cup and European Champions Cup -- a tournament featuring the top teams on the continent.


THE PRESENT

Manchester United's rise under Ferguson couldn't have come at a better time as it was in perfect position to take advantage of a number of factors to quickly become the richest club in the world.


The rise of a group of talented youngsters from the youth system -- Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville, and, most notably, David Beckham -- along with a couple of key imports in goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and midfielder Eric Cantona, lay the foundation for success on the field.


In 1993, the members of the First Division of the English league separated from the lower divisions to form the Premier League. That allowed the top-flight clubs to negotiate their own television contract, separate from the lower-division clubs, which provided a lot more money to the biggest teams.


Satellite television -- especially Rupert Murdoch's SkySports network pumped mega dollars into soccer, providing even more money, and with games available to audiences around the world, Manchester United -- winning at exactly the right time -- became exposed to households everywhere.

The money allowed Manchester United to buy any player it wanted, as it did last year when it bought Leeds defender Rio Ferdinand for 30 million English pounds ($48.6 million U.S.) despite the fact that Leeds didn't want to sell him.

"With the advent of SkySports, it completely changed the face of British football, and changed the face of international football," explained MetroStars' goalkeeper coach Des McAleenan, a native of Dublin, Ireland. "There were vast sums of money that previously did not exist. And Manchester United -- it all seemed to come together."

In fact, it has come together so well, it is easily taken apart.

Beckham, perhaps the best-known soccer player in the world -- even known in the U.S. thanks to his marriage to a member of the Spice Girls (Posh, for those who know the cast) and the recent movie, "Bend It Like Beckham" -- was recently sold to Real Madrid for $41.35 million.

Not that his departure leaves Manchester United shorthanded.

The team still boasts a lineup of some of the world's top players, featuring Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy (43 goals last season), Irish midfielder and captain Roy Keane, Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, England midfielder Paul Scholes and defender Rio Ferdinand and Giggs, a winger from Wales.


THE FUTURE

There are two things you have to understand.

1. For all its success, Manchester United is not the best club team in the world -- or even Europe -- and it does not have the biggest names.

The club is actually the second-most successful team in England (rival Liverpool has 18 league championships) and has won just two European titles, while Real Madrid has a whopping nine.

And Madrid, with its collection of world-renowned players such as France's Zinedine Zidane, Portugal's Luis Figo, Brazil's Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos, Spain's Raul and now Beckham, has more starpower.

2. Even though it will play before more than 75,000 at Giants Stadium and sellout crowds in three of its four games on this tour -- only failing to sell out the cavernous L.A. Coliseum, where it drew 57,365 on Sunday night -- the team realizes its tour will not bring instant recognition in the U.S.

"This is not a rape and pillage tour," Draper said. "People ask: Can Manchester United crack America? It's not about that quite frankly. That's a real tall order. We are working very much on a long-term basis.

"I'm pretty sure that when we leave there will be some people in Houston or Arizona or the Midwest somewhere that still have never heard of Manchester United. It's the nature of the size of the place."

The immediate goal, Draper said, is to raise the team's profile in this country, win over some new fans and attract sponsorship, marketing and media opportunities. The team already has sponsorship deals with U.S.-based companies Nike, Pepsi and Anheuser Busch, not to mention a marketing agreement with the Yankees, which -- among other things -- puts some Manchester United games on the YES network.

"Hopefully, we can make some ripples in the business community," Draper said.

And if it takes time, that's OK. The club, which will end its tour Sunday in Philadelphia, can wait. It's doing just fine right now with an official fan club that has 24 branches outside England -- including one in the U.S. that counts over 2,000 members. And the publicly owned company, listed on the London Stock Exchange, had pretax profits a year ago valued at $32.3 million and is currently valued at $628 million.

But to fully appreciate Manchester United, you have to look past the money and the titles and find the aura.

And if you still don't understand why more than 75,000 fans are gladly paying up to $85 to see them at Giants Stadium, let Howard, a North Brunswick native, try to sum it up again.

After getting his first look at the stadium where it plays, Old Trafford, known as the "Theater of Dreams," he summed it up this way:

"It's a fantasy really to even think of playing here."



The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[MUFC]

Are they attracting more fans then juventus/barcelona/celtic?

[MUFC]

Howard looks good in training, making his debut against juventus :thumbsup:

[Frank Cunha]

www.nj.com/metrostars
for the following news
Soccer News
Manchester United superstars play soccer with kids on U.N. lawn


By SHEILA FLYNN
The Associated Press
7/29/03 6:52 PM


UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Manchester United superstars scored major points Tuesday with New York children and international diplomats alike, teaming with UNICEF to host a soccer clinic on the lawn of U.N. headquarters.

The clinic was held in honor of the English soccer team's significant contributions to children around the world.

Manchester United has raised more than $1.6 million for the United Nations Children's Fund, and the team recently launched UNICEF's new three-year campaign to end child exploitation.

"It's a wonderful thing to celebrate a world that can come together around the universal language -- the universal language of sports," said Carol Bellamy, UNICEF's executive director.

The brief soccer play on the lawn did bring people together -- from a diverse range of ages, stations and backgrounds -- but there were no winners or losers.

Instead, children who play for the Brooklyn Patriots and the Manhattan Spirit soccer teams learned tips from the professionals, who signed autographs in between.

Earl "Mango" Pierre, a U.N. security guard, also showed the crowd his prowess with a soccer ball, skillfully transferring it from his head to his shoulder to his practiced feet.

Inocencio Arias, Spain's U.N. ambassador and the current president of the Security Council, appeared in soccer attire -- a throwback to his days as the owner of Manchester United's main European rival, Real Madrid.

Nane Annan, wife of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, spoke on behalf of her husband who made a very brief unexpected appearance to pose for a photo with the team.

"We usually associate the U.N. with the gravest issues facing the world -- war and poverty," she said. "Today we have a much happier reason -- to play or celebrate one of the world's greatest games -- football, or soccer."

She did mention war, however, expressing sympathy for UNICEF goodwill ambassador and former soccer star George Weah, whose native country, Liberia, is in crisis. Weah coached and played for Liberia's national team, but said threats from President Charles Taylor's government forced him from the country in 2002.

"Rest assured that we at the United Nations are committed to doing our utmost to help your country," Mrs. Annan said.

Weah, who now plays for the Abu Dhabi club Al Jazira, praised UNICEF and Manchester United.

"We must all do our part to help protect children from all forms of violence, neglect and abuse," Weah said, before taking the field with the other professionals and the children.

The players shared oranges during breaks, in an English soccer tradition.

Mark Darmanie, 7, of Brooklyn, gushed about his love for soccer as he waited to have his shirt signed by Ryan Giggs, his favorite player.

"It's not like other sports," Darmanie said. He rattled off names of friends he's made through soccer and then ran to meet Giggs.

Giggs was joined by fellow Manchester United players Roy Carroll, Quinton Fortune and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as well as team manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who is UNICEF's special representative in Britain.

The team is on an East Coast tour and is scheduled to play Italian champion Juventus at Giants Stadium on Thursday night.

"It's nice for us to be here making a difference -- hopefully," Solskjaer said. "That's what we're hoping to do.

"I think football brings everyone together. I've got so many good

[Ricochet]

Howard is very good and has the potential to be a great one just needs focus.

[MUFC]

[Frank Cunha]

Juventus will be a good test

[Frank Cunha]

this will be twomorrow news, www.nj.com/metrostars

Manchester United took over the Metrostars news site

[MUFC]

Yeh good to see the players helping out too