1.21.13
Morning Read: On Goals and 'Elephants in the Room'
Clint Dempsey saves Tottenham Hotspurs with a miraculous strike near the end of the match; Freddy Adu is compared to something large and unmovable; Landon Donovan's future remains in doubt.
BY
Noah Davis
Posted
January 21, 2013
3:30 AM
Clint Dempsey scored a goal at the death for Tottenham, which helped the Spurs to a 1-1 draw with Manchester United. It was the second goal the American has scored against the league leaders, the first coming in a win earlier this season. The match was played in the snow as you can see from this excellent Facebook photo set. Tottenham sits in fourth place, four points clear of Everton for the last Champions League spot while United is first, five points clear of Manchester City.
United States U-20 defender Juan Pablo Ocegueda joins Chivas de Guadalajara on a one-year loan with an option to buy from Tigres UNAL. Which is all well and good, except his new club has a stated policy that it doesn't let players play for any squad besides the Mexican national team. Will the 19-year-old, who tweeted that he is happy to continue playing for the Stars and Stripes, subvert decades of history? That would be pretty impressive. He is a big part of the Tab Ramos-led U-20 side that will attempt to qualify for the World Cup later this month.
John Hackworth posts an honest, impressive open letter to the Philadelphia fanbase. The topics included the future of one Freddy Adu. It does not sound positive: "And now to the elephant in the room, if you will, Freddy Adu... this was also a conversation that started before the end of last season. Basically, to make a very long story short, we presented Freddy with an option to come back and play for the Philadelphia Union. However, Freddy chose to stick with his current contract, which was not an option we were willing to accept."
The Los Angeles Galaxy open preseason camp on Monday and no one (or at least no one at the Los Angeles Times) knows whether Landon Donovan will be present or not.
The Portland Timbers sign defender Ryan Miller.
Finally, if this soccer thing doesn't work out, Sacha Kljestan can always turn to movie criticism:
