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Just a reminder to turn on your TV for the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup taking place Thursday morning (September 27). The United States Women’s National Team will be looking to book a spot in the finals against the defending champions from Germany. Also, good for the viewing public is that this match will not be in the wee hours of the morning. Instead it will be kicking off at 8 a.m. eastern time on ESPN2. While I don’t usually advocate waking up early, these games will be worth the sacrificed sleep.

Germany’s 3-0 dispatching of Norway wasn’t too surprising. The Germans have been dominant during the tournament and running roughshod over even experienced foes. But the United States and Brazil could be the tournament’s best game to date. The U.S. was impressive in its 3-0 quarterfinal win over England and has rebounded from its sluggish first game against North Korea with three straight wins. In Abby Wambach, who scored the goal of the tournament against Sweden, the U.S. has an unstoppable force up front. With a nose for goal, Wambach boasts a higher scoring rate (.81 goals per game) than Mia Hamm, who holds the record for international goals. The Red, White and Blue’s midfield hasn’t exactly inspired confidence, but the deployment of Shannon Boxx and Leslie Osborne in a dual defensive midfield formation has played dividends. The defense and goalkeeping of Hope Solo has been above average (even though Coach Greg Ryan will be starting Brianna Scurry, who is unbeaten against the Brazilians) and will help keep the U.S. in any game.

In Brazil, the U.S. faces a side that is playing some of the prettiest soccer of the tournament. Some have declared 21-year-old Marta as not just the best player in the tournament, but in the world. The Samba Queens know how to play attacking soccer and will test the United States’ defense, especially in midfield.

But unlike the U.S., Brazil is still searching for that defining tournament triumph to reach the pinnacle of women’s soccer. The U.S. has, and is still at the top. The U.S. knows how to win these types of games and that’s what it will ultimately come down to.

So as you prepare for your day Thursday morning, flip on the TV and catch what should be a great game. It will be worth being a little late to work for.

As the dust begins to settle on the much-ballyhooed mutual consent departure of Jose Mourinho from Chelsea it’s time to take a look beyond the Special One being gone. As surprising as it was to hear that Mourinho’s time at Stamford Bridge was over, it really wasn’t all that surprising it turns out.

It wasn’t that surprising because the discontent between Mourinho and billionaire-owner Roman Abramovich had become quite clear. Mourinho wasn’t playing the players Abramovich wanted him to play and the manager wasn’t playing the type of pretty, attacking football that the Russian wanted. All Mourinho did was deliver wins, loads of them, and get results on the pitch. Still, for the hundreds of millions that Abramovich sunk into his new play-toy Mourinho was still the one in charge. The only way to make things work the way Abramovich wanted was to constantly undermine (Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko ring a bell) and ultimately discard Mourinho. Abramovich wanted things done his way and he certainly thinks he knows better than Mourinho (as evidenced by having his pet, Sheva, act as a translator for Michael Essien while he laughably tried to explain tactics to the midfielder). The appointment of Avram Grant (one of his minions) only gives Abramovich more power and control over his team, and will only hurt Chelsea’s chances in the future.

Much can be gleaned from this tug-of-war for power between coach and ownership. As parents, take a look at the interactions you have with your child’s soccer coaches. There is something to be said for personal instruction at home and a little extra practice with your child never hurts. Continually working to develop your child’s individual skills will only help them when they hit the pitch. However, try to let your inner coach go once practices and games begin. The coach is there volunteering time and resources (or even if the coach is paid, then they should have credentials and licensing so even more incentive to not get involved) to help build a team that can play together and hopefully produce positive results. Don’t openly criticize the coach in front of your child or other players on the team. It will only undermine the coach when they are at practice trying to work with the kids. You might feel a sense of entitlement for the money and resources you’re putting into the team and your child, but take any problems you have with the coach or their tactics up in private. There are positive ways to sorting out issues with coaches, where all parties are able to understand each other.

The kids are the ones who need to benefit from the sport, don’t be an over-controlling owner who thinks only he/she knows best.

There comes a time when one pair of soccer shoes just won’t do anymore. Deciding when that time is can be an important decision. For most youth players, one pair of firm ground cleats will be all they need during their developmental careers. With young feet constantly growing and the amount of strain put on a shoe not yet at its peak, one set of cleats will do. But when a players ambitions turn serious and their level of play, and frequency of play, picks up it will be time to consider expanding one’s shoe collection. While this is a decision one needs to make on one’s own, my recommendation would be to start thinking about this in junior high or at the beginning of high school. At this time players are almost playing year round (for high school and club teams) and are playing in a multitude of conditions and on a variety of surfaces.

The first place to expand the shoe collection should be with soft ground cleats. These are cleats designed for unstable and usually slippery pitches. They are longer cleats that must be screwed in. They have fewer cleats than a firm ground shoe, but dig into the ground to make sure players don’t end up on the ground. Soft ground cleats are similar in price to firm ground cleats, but be careful to tighten the cleats before each use, because cleats do fall out and replacing them is a pain. And because they are only used in special situations, these cleats should last you longer than your everyday shoe.

The next place to look at expanding is turf or hard ground shoes. With more and more synthetic fields popping up, these are great for that surface. Also, they can be used on extremely dry fields. The strain on one’s foot and body is considerably less when wearing these on a dried out field. While firm ground cleats are fine for FieldTurf type fields, there are now specific shoes made just for a synthetic playing surface.

If you want to knock the whole process out in one fell swoop, look into Adidas TUNIT premium shoe sets. Here you get three upper soles, interchangeable chassis and all three sets of cleats for all playing surfaces and conditions.

With a collection of firm, soft and turf shoes you should be ready to attack any surface you come in contact with and feel completely comfortable in your ability to perform on it. If you get into futsal or indoor training on a hard surface don’t forget to think about specific indoor soccer shoes. But remember all of these shoe decisions should be made when you’re ready to make the commitment to the game.

You may not have liked him, even hated him maybe. But one thing is certain: Jose Mourinho made things interesting. The former Chelsea manager saw his reign at Stamford Bridge come to a close Thursday and it was anything but surprising. Mourinho will now be replaced by Avram Grant (whoever that is) and things look like they will become a little less interesting in the Premier League.

When Mourinho arrived in England fresh off of winning the Champions League with FC Porto in 2004 he immediately signaled a sign of things to come by dubbing himself the ‘Special One.’ Since then his press conferences were can’t miss performances full of digs and veiled insults at anyone or anything that didn’t fancy him. In true Mourinho fashion he held no punches and let his acid tongue fly at any and all managers no matter their pedigree. Arsene Wenger, Rafa Benitez and Sir Alex Ferguson all did battle with Mourinho.

It didn’t help that success followed Mourinho from Portugal. Winning back-to-back league titles in 2005 and 2006, an FA Cup title in 2007 along with League Cup titles in 2005 and 2007 cemented his, and Chelsea’s place, as one of the dominant teams in England and Europe. Backed by owner Roman Abramovich’s billions, Chelsea quickly entered the world’s elite by buying the best talent available.

But all of that money couldn’t buy Abramovich the one thing he craved the most, the Champions League. The rift between manager and owner widened each year as new players were brought in (some amicably, some under protest) and the pressure from semi-final losses mounted. In the end, the two could not exist.

Now Chelsea has lost maybe its most identifying figure. No one could ever underestimate Mourinho’s tactical ability, even if they didn’t like the style of play of his team. Mourinho’s brash confidence and arrogance were not only annoying, but also his most endearing qualities. His list of memorable quotes show that nothing was ever off limits.

The Premier League promises to be a duller place without the Special One and that’s something nobody can like.

With the UEFA Champions League group stages getting underway, it’s time to get out the murky crystal ball and make a few more predications on how the groups will end up. Once the group stages are complete we’ll come back and make our picks for which club will win the whole thing. Until then, feel free to tell us how wrong our picks really are.

Group A: Besiktas, FC Porto, Liverpool and Marseille
Even though Liverpool Manager Rafa Benitez has made the Premier League title his goal this season, the Reds will make it out of their group. However, making it to the finals for a third time in four years seems unlikely, even with all of the new talent brought in. While Liverpool should advance comfortably the second spot should be FC Porto’s for the taking, but Besiktas and Marseille both have the talent to unsettle the Portuguese side. Porto, who won the title in 2004, will just be too much with winger Ricardo Quaresma and will make the knockout stages.

Group B: Chelsea, Valencia, Schalke 04 and Rosenborg
While the big clubs should be able to dispatch Rosenborg comfortably, the top two spots will be a battle for three very good sides. Chelsea is the favorite of the group and should come out on top. Even with the injuries piling up at Stamford Bridge, Manager Jose Mourinho knows how to win in Europe and get the results to get out of the group stage. My heart is telling me to pick Valencia to move on as well, but I just don’t know if I can do it. Although it sits in third place in La Liga, Valencia has a negative goal differential and has not begun the season in convincing form. If this continues into Champions League play, it will be headed for an early exit. Meanwhile, Schalke has had trouble finding a win so far this season with four ties in its first five games. While Schalke making it through would not be a surprise, the pick is Valencia making it through on the shoulders of David Villa.

Group C: Real Madrid, Werder Bremen, Lazio and Olympiakos
This is Madrid’s group to lose. The influx of talent brought into the club this summer has seen it get off to a flying start in league play. Wesley Sneijder has been unstoppable and Madrid looks to be the class of La Liga so far. It will be a surprise if Madrid does not win the group. Second place should go to Werder Bremen. Even with the loss of striker Miroslav Klose, the entertaining German side has playmaker Diego to carry it through. Lazio should finish third while Olympiakos just doesn’t have the talent (especially after selling striker Nery Castillo in the summer) to hang with the rest of the group. […]

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All across the soccer world, you will see many different types of systems of play.  World-renowned soccer club Ajax plays a 4-3-3 formation of play centered around the Dutch system of “Total Football.”  From the youth teams all the way up to the senior team, coaches at Ajax teach their players the same system of play.  Over in England, Manchester United plays a 4-4-2. This system flourishes with the great wing play of Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs. Like Ajax, Manchester United teaches their players the same system from the youth teams all the way up to the senior team.

Not only is it important to adopt a system of play, but also it is vital to be able to make the right adjustments in a game and evolve your system of play.  My personal favorite system of play and the one that we use at Scott Gallagher Soccer Club and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) soccer is the 4-4-2.  This system centers on the ability to have good flank players.  Nothing is more exciting than watching Ronaldo take on an opponent, beating him to the end line, and serving up a cross for Rooney to knock in for a goal.  In addition to good flank players, the wingbacks play an exciting role too by getting forward and overlapping the wing mids.

Defensively, you can adjust your four backs to play a flat backline or have one of the center backs drop in and provide cover almost acting as a sweeper.  In the midfield, you can play a diamond midfield and have one center mid play a defense holding role and the other center mid play an attacking role.  Another option would be to have the center mids play flat across.

One of the most important factors in determining when to use a flat back four or a diamond midfield is seeing how your opponent lines up.  I have learned that a good coach can make the right adjustments to their system of play depending on their opponent. […]

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Dear Chelsea FC,

Why do you stink so bad?

Is it because you’re bitter about never having won the European cup? My team, Aston Villa has, and another English powerhouse, Nottingham Forest has too, twice.  Perhaps there’s some festering resentment there because so much Russian money has been spent on lots of individual players who seem to all fall apart when one man tweaks a thigh in training?

Though I can’t imagine this would be the case because from what I’ve heard, there’s lots of money lying around your offices there in London, as it seems you’ve got a direct pipeline of wealth siphoning down from the oil fields of inner Siberia.  Why don’t you spend some of it on players who can play together as a team?

Also, what’s the deal with the new Chelsea away shirt?  It seems like some high-visibility traffic cones have been nicked from Heathrow and made into shirts to save money.  Certainly Mr. Ambramovich could have dug into the pocket for a decent away kit?

That’s a lot of questioning for what I had hoped would be an amicable correspondence, so allow me to air some friendly and hopefully constructive criticism. […]

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With the FIFA Women’s World Cup underway, Nike has pumped up its advertising to make sure the most successful U.S. soccer team isn’t forgotten. Even with games going on in the wee hours of the morning, word is spreading about the World Cup and U.S. games are even being replayed in the evenings.

Without a top-flight women’s league, this is about as good as it gets for women’s soccer exposure in the U.S (I heard more about the men’s national team’s friendly against Brazil than I did about the beginning of the World Cup).  But that doesn’t mean the women have been forgotten. Nike has made sure of that by continuing to develop its product in the female spectrum. Earlier this year it put out the first shoe specially designed for women with the Nike First2 Pro. The company developed a whole line around the World Cup and has made sure the women’s team isn’t just remembered for 1999 and Brandy Chastain’s sports bra.

But while the WNT is ranked No. 1 in the world, how much longer can it continually produce top-level talent without a top league? The WUSA struggled for too many reasons to count, but if Major League Soccer can survive in America, a women’s league should be able to. And with the U.S. already leading the world in women’s soccer, it should strive to stay ahead of the curve and maintain its dominance. For once it’s nice to watch a U.S. game and not feel like an underdog struggling for respect.

There has to be someway for top-flight women’s soccer to gain traction in the U.S. and find a way to further tap its talent base. Reminding the public once every four years just isn’t enough, no matter how good the effort is.

With the barrage of high-tech and high-priced soccer shoes hitting the market, a classic is getting lost in the fold. As I see more and more players choose a shoe for its shiny and colorful looks over usefulness, all I can do is just shake my head. Quite simply, the Adidas Copa Mundial is the best soccer shoe ever made, and is still more than useful in the new world of soccer footwear.

Not only is the Copa affordable, it’s classic look and timeless quality make it more than able to perform for today’s players. Now don’t think of me as an old-time curmudgeon. I’ve worn other shoes and I am impressed with all the technology that has been put into cleats today, but for me the Copa is still the gold standard.

While more and more players are wearing lighter synthetic shoes, I still prefer the softness of kangaroo leather on my feet. The Copa’s ability to mold to a foot and withstand constant pounding on any surface is one of its best qualities. I’ve known many players who have bought a new pair of cleats only to have them break down and then have to dig their old Copa’s out of the closet to finish a season.

The Copa isn’t flashy and that is another endearing quality. It’s simple and keeps the emphasis of the shoe on soccer and not on how cool it looks. While I don’t frown on those who choose the most colorful and eccentric shoes, I do take offense at anyone who snubs their nose at the Copa. […]

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Earlier this summer we looked at the progress teams were making in the transfer market. A lot has happened since we dubbed our early winners and losers, and now with the transfer window shut until January it’s time to hand out some final grades. With all of the major leagues getting under way, the play of some newcomers has already improved some team’s positions. As before, we will start with the winners.

1. Liverpool: While no slouch in the middle of the summer at No. 3, the early-season form of the Reds has catapulted them to the top of the winners and the English Premier League table. Signings Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel, Andriy Voronin and Yossi Benayoun have all played a vital role in Liverpool’s early success while adding depth and making them serious title contenders.
    
2. Barcelona: Thierry Henry got all the headlines, but the defensive additions of Yaya Toure, Gabriel Milito and Eric Abidal might be the most significant additions. Still, Henry is Henry and Barcelona again has the scariest attacking lineup in the world.
    
3. Bayern Munich: The German giants’ big summer spending is already paying dividends and sending a message to the rest of the Bundesliga. Franck Ribery, Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni have added attacking prowess. The return of midfielder Ze Roberto is a plus as are the additions of Hamit Altintop, Jose Sosa and Marcell Jansen.
    
4. Real Madrid: The only team to jump from our losers list makes the leap after a flurry of quality additions late in the transfer window. Madrid’s additions had a very Dutch feel with the arrivals of Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Royston Drenthe. In defense Christoph Metzelder, Pepe and Gabriel Heinze have all added some bite. Javier Saviola adds depth at forward and Jerzy Dudek gives Madrid and experienced and capable back-up goalie. New Manager Bernd Schuster is also paying dividends as he has opened up Madrid’s attack and has it sitting at the top of the table.
    
5. Manchester United: While the Reds early-season form has been lacking, they still had a wonderful summer. The late capture of Carlos Tevez kept our previous No. 1 winner on the list. Owen Hargreaves has played well so far and youngsters Nani and Anderson have shown promise for this season and for the future of United.

[…]

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