The University of Denver Pioneers ended exhibition play with a win against Stanford on Saturday.  The game was played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on the Colorado Rapids’ practice field.

Goals were scored by freshman defender Drew Beckie, freshman forward Nick Brant, and senior defender Austin Haller.  Jarod Stigall, Kyle Varvil, and Sam Garza added assists for the Pioneers.

The Pioneers fell to SMU in Texas in their first exhibition match of the season off a 90th minute game winner.

The Pioneers start their regular season play on Friday September 4, against North Carolina State at the Duke Classic, in North Carolina. They will finish off the tournament with a game against Duke on September 6th.

Here is the rest of the schedule for this season:

Fri, Sept. 4, North Carolina, Away (Duke Classic)

Sun, Sept. 6, Duke, Away (Duke Classic)

Fri, Sept. 11, Dayton, Home 7pm

Sun, Sept. 13, Belmont, Home 2pm

Sun, Sept. 20, Washington, Home 7pm

Fri, Sept. 25, Cal State Northridge, Away (Fullerton Classic)

Sun, Sept. 27, Cal State Fullerton, Away (Fullerton Classic)

Thu, Oct. 1, Missouri State, Away

Sat, Oct. 03, Tulsa, Away

Sat, Oct. 10, Missouri-Kansas City, Home 7pm

Fri, Oct.16 San Jose State, Away (Conference Game)

Sun, Oct. 18, Sacramento State, Away (Conference Game)

Fri, Oct. 23, UNLV, Home 7pm (Conference Game)

Fri, Oct. 25, New Mexico, Home 1pm (Conference Game)

Fri, Oct. 30, Seattle, Home 7:30pm (Conference Game)

Sun, Nov. 1, Cal State Bakersfield, Away (Conference Game)

Sat, Nov. 7, Air Force, Away (Conference Game)

Thu, Nov. 12, 13, and 15 MPSF Tournament at DU

Adu found a team

Freddy Adu has finally secured a loan deal to Belenenses in the Portuguese first division.  Belenenses sits 7th in the Portuguese league and will be facing Benfica this weekend.

I think most were expecting or at least hoping Adu would head to a slightly less competitive league or a much smaller team in a big league, like Altidore at Hull.  I think the Portuguese league is riding the prestige and strength of Porto, Benfica, and Sporting (with the exception of two seasons these three teams have won every league championship in the last 65 years).  In reality the league isn’t as competitive as it looks and getting playing time at a mid table Portuguese club is very realistic.  I think this will be a good move for Adu . . . maybe I’m just being optimistic.

Trading defenders

Coach Smith has taken another step to put his personal stamp on the Rapids. Ugo Ihemelu has been traded to FC Dallas for Drew Moor, a second round draft pick in 2010, and allocation money.  I wonder how much Baudet’s performance against Houston this weekend pushed this trade through.  Ugo has been an excellent player for the Rapids.  His versatility and athleticism made him a core member of the Rapids backline.

Is it a good move for the Rapids?  Drew Moor is an excellent defender and can play wide right as well as centrally.  Moor probably brings a little bit more offense than Ihemelu.  Considering the Rapids also received money and a draft pick I think it was a good move by Smith.  Sad to see Ugo go but that is the nature of the game.

Team of the Week honors for Davies

Charlie Davies’ good form is still rolling.  He didn’t score this weekend but he earned the game winning penalty kick in Sochaux’s league match against Monaco.  Davies was dangerous all game and his play earned him Ligue 1 Team of the Week honors.

Castillo scores

Edgar Castillo smashed a goal for Tigres this weekend in Mexican league play against Santos. The diminuative left back got a hold of a loose ball just outside the 18 and ripped a shot from 25 yards out.  It was his first goal for Tigres but he chose not celebrate because he thought it disrepectful to the team that gave him his start in the Mexican league.

Castillo continues to make a case for himself to be selected for the US national team.  What will it take for Bob Bradley to give this guy a shot?  Do you think the USSF is making him sweat it out before they give him a call? or, do you think there are still questions about his real desire to play for the US?

Share your thoughts on these developments.

Terry Cooke is trialing with the Seattle Sounders.  I thought he might stay in MLS but never considered the Sounders as an option.  Right now it looks like its just a trial and nothing official has been drawn up.  Cooke is a good player but he is on the older side, 33, and has a high salary.  Additionally, how would he fit into the Seattle system.  Sigi likes fast players on the flanks but Cooke would give Seattle a different dimension.

We’ll have to see how this story develops.  Hopefully Cooke latches onto a team soon and gets back to playing.

Here are two articles discussing Cooke’s trial in Seattle and departure from the Rapids:

Seattle Soccer Examiner

Sounders FC Blog

Thomas Rongen has announced the roster that will be participating in the U20 World Cup at the end of September.  The US will face Germany, Cameroon, and North Korea in group play.  Every game of the U20 World Cup will be televised on ESPN or Galavision.  The US’s first game against Germany will be shown live September 26 at 9:55 am (ET) on ESPN Classic, ESPN 360, and Galavision.

The group is made up of 10 pros and 10 college players.  Anthony Wallace and Brian Perk were on the roster for the last U20 World Cup.  FC Dallas is best represented team on this roster, contributing goalkeeper Josh Lambo; defenders Anthony Wallace and Kyle Davies; and forwards Brek Shea and Peri Marosevic.

Here is the full roster, some notes after the jump:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Central Florida; Lilburn, Ga.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.), Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (6): Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC; Syracuse, N.Y.), Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.), Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.), Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.), Anthony Wallace (FC Dallas; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Sheanon Williams (Unattached; Boston, Mass.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabak; Oslo, Norway), Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas), Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Michael Stephens (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.)

FORWARDS (4): Sam Garza (Denver; Highland Village, Texas), Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.), Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas), Tony Taylor (Jacksonville; Jacksonville, Fla.)

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Bob Bradley has announced the 24 man roster for the upcoming qualifiers against El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago. The group is almost identical to the group that visited Mexico earlier this month with a few additions, most notably Robbie Rogers and Robbie Finley.  The group also has MLS standouts Kyle Beckerman and Conor Casey. Take a look at the full roster, my thoughts follow after the jump.

Full Roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Chad Marshall (Columbus), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England)

Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Ricardo Clark (Houston), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus, Denmark), Stuart Holden (Houston), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca, Mexico)

Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull, England), Conor Casey (Colorado), Brian Ching (Houston), Charlie Davies (Sochaux, France), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Robbie Findley (Salt Lake)

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The Group stage is set for this year’s Champions League.  Here is the result of the draw, followed by my thoughts on the groups:

Group A

Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa

Group B

Manchester United, CSKA Moskva, Beskitas, Wolfsburg

Group C

AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, Zurich

Group D

Chelsea, Porto, Atletico Madrid, APOEL

Group E

Liverpool, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debrecen

Group F

Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dynamo Kyiv, Rubin

Group G

Sevilla, Rangers, Stuttgart, Unirea Urziceni

Group H

Arsenal, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard Liege

Group A is much tougher than it looks.  Bayern Munich and Juventus look like the easy favorites to walk out of Group A but it would be foolish to count out French champions Bordeaux.  This is one of the more balanced groups of the draw.

Group B won’t be as easy as it looks for Manchester United.  They weren’t drawn with any traditional powers but  Wolfsburg are the current German champions and will be very difficult to beat. Away games at Beskitas and the icy fields in Moscow will be tough on Sir Alex’s young team.

Group C has one of the most interesting matchups of the group stage.  AC Milan v. Real Madrid should be one of the highlights of the first round and will see Kaka make his first competitive debut against his former team.  Newcomers Zurich will get a rough introduction into European football.

Chelsea is the favorite in Group D.  Atletico Madrid and Porto will be battling it out to see who accompanies Chelsea into the next round. Porto eliminated Atletico in last year’s knockout round, so the colchoneros will be looking for revenge.

Liverpool has been very successful in Europe since Rafa Benetiz took over.  Lyon and Fiorentina shouldn’t but up too oposition, but if Liverpool keep going with their current form they might not make it out of the group.

Group F features Barcelona v. Inter Milan which will be one of the better matchups in the first round.  Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will face their old teams and there should be plenty of drama leading up to this one.  Dynamo Kyiv and Rubin don’t really stand a chance.

Group G is a very balanced group, probably the most even across the board of any group.  Sevilla and Stuttgart are my two favorites to walk out of the group.  Rangers, Scottish champions, will be a tough opponent but should be out classed.  Hopefully young American midfielder Maurice Edu gets some playing time for Rangers. The Champions League will be a valuable experience he can bring back to the national team.

Arsenal is going walk through Group H.  Arsenal is on fire and, if they can stay healthy, should have no trouble destroying this group.  The battle for second place will be interesting. AZ Alkmaar are the current Dutch champions and Olympiacos, Greek champions, need to be on top of their game if they want to qualify.

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It has just come to my attention that The Green Army has been up and running for a year.  We officially launched the blog on August 26th 2008 so today the blog is 1 year and 1 day old.  I didn’t realize we were coming up on such an important date so I didn’t plan anything ahead of time.

Over the last year the blog has grown tremendously in terms of readership. I want to thank everyone that follows the blog, whether you’ve been with us since day one or just started reading.

I also want to thank FC Denver for giving me the opportunity to be the voice of the club over the last year and I look forward to another great year of blogging.

Things to look forward to today:

1. Champions League Draw
2. US official roster for qualifiers

Jozy Altidore made his first start for Hull City in their Carling Cup clash against Southend United.  Jozy went 90 minutes for Hull and scored the game winner on the 42nd minute.  Hull midfielder Nick Barmby laid the ball off to Altidore off a free kick and Jozy blasted the ball into the net from 30 yards out.  Hull finished the game 3-1.

Despite the fact that Southend United is a mid table League One side I still think this goal will be huge for Altidore’s career.  It is his first goal in England and shows that he can produce when called upon.  His game winning assist this past weekend against Bolton and his goal today should make him a shoe in to start this weekend against Wolverhampton in league action.

Yesterday, Kenny Cooper notched his second goal for 1860 Munich after a series of clever moves and a brilliant shot from 25 out.

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Share your thoughts on Altidore’s first goal.

1. (+2) Columbus Crew: Are in stellar form despite missing Schelotto for a long stretch. They had a much needed break this weekend to get some players fit.

2. (-1) Houston Dynamo: Reaching the end of a brutal 15 game stretch and it is starting to show.  They have done enough to stay high in the rankings despite some lackluster results.  Mexican striker Landin should be a key player come playoffs.

3. (-1) Chicago Fire: Things are little shaky at Toyota Park these days but they still put together a great comeback performance against Colorado.  Bakary Soumare will heading to French club Boulgne after an altercation with Fire coach Denis Hamlett made it clear he would no longer dress for the Fire.

4. (+3) Los Angeles Galaxy: Somehow they are getting points but they still don’t convince. Beckham has been average, Mike Magee’s is the teams assist leader with 6, and Donovan is the best player in the league.

5. (+1) Toronto FC: They have too much talent to not make the playoffs.  Loss to Chivas hurts in the tight playoff race.  Rookies White, Frei, and Cronin are playing big roles.

6. (-2) Seattle Sounders: Relax everybody . . . they are an expansion team.  Tied Houston 1-1 this weekend and have had Houston’s number all season, not many teams can say that.

7. (+1) Chivas USA: Still not looking like the team that started the season but Sacha Kljestan might be back in form and that means the West needs to watch out.

8. (+2) New England: Despite a poor start to the season and injuries to key players the team is still in the playoff picture and looking like one of the better teams in the league. Steve Ralston (6 goals 6 assists) and Shalrie Joseph (6 goals 7 assists) are carrying the team to the playoffs.

9. (-) Colorado Rapids: Nearing the end of a tough month. Giving up a two goal lead in Chicago was rough but they never expected to win that game anyways.  Still on pace to make the playoffs and are getting some great performances an unlikely group consisting of Kimura, Harvey, and Omar Cummings.

10. (-5) DC United: Dropping too many points. Still one of the best offenses in the league but the defensive weaknesses is starting to become costly. One win in the last 30 days and a scoreless tie against the Galaxy this weekend is a major set-back to making the playoffs.

11. (-) Real Salt Lake: Not far behind the teams in the playoff picture but they aren’t really making a case for themselves. Lost to the 3-1 Revs this weekend.

12. (-) FC Dallas: FC Dallas is discovering new and more humiliating ways to lose. A 3-2 loss to NY should be the low point of the season after it looked like they were turning things around.

13. (-) San Jose: A 1-0 victory over Kansas City this past weekend proves that there are at least two teams in the league worse than the Earthquakes. The bright side is the roster looks much stronger now than at the beginning of the seasons.

14. (-) Kansas City: Vermes has the tough task of turning this team around. The team has a good core of veterans and national teamers but it needs a system that works.  Losing 1-0 to San Jose isn’t going to cut it.

15. (-) New York: They won!!!! A brace by Angel and a goal by Dane Richards saw them get their 3^rd win of the season.  It’s a moral victory and a great way for Williams to start off his second stint as interim coach.

According to an exclusive report in French sports magazine 10sport, Landon Donovan is set to make a permanent move to Paris Saint-Germain this winter.  Donovan will join fellow national teamers Charlie Davies and Carlos Bocanegra already in the French league.

Personally I think this would be a good move for Donovan.  PSG is a big club not so big that he wouldn’t get playing time. PSG has some big name players in Claude Makalele, Mateja Kezman, Ludovic Giuly, and Gregory Coupet.

PSG was one of the top clubs in Europe during the 1990’s and early 2000’s.  They were one of the original founders of the G14 (an organization of the top 14 European clubs between 2000-2008).  PSG has struggled in recent years, barely escaping relegation two years ago. Last year the club finished 6th in the table and is looking to improve on that finish and get into Europe.

Donovan had an excellent summer at the Confederations cup and his recent form has been world class.  I’m sure the fact that PSG has American owners had something to do with this move as well.

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What do you guys thing about this move? Should Donovan wait for something better? Where would you like to see Donovan in the spring?