File Under: Totally Unpredictable
Disclaimer: Andrew and I are soccer fans, and Nick would be if he could get over his hatred of poor acoustics and bizarre trumpet-drum combos in American soccer stadia. Occasionally there will be soccer-related stories that cry out to be posted, and this is one of them.
Some of you (okay, probably all of you) might not be aware that right now the soccer qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics is currently taking place in Florida. Two nights ago, the U.S. under-23 team disappointingly tied 1-1 with the Cuban under-23 team (it was really exciting, trust me). Don’t worry, the U.S. is still alive and has two more games in the first round, including tonight against CONCACAF (look it up) powerhouse Panama. But more interestingly, and more hilariously, following the aforementioned USA-Cuba match five Cuban players surreptitiously removed themselves from the team hotel. And not in search of this Emperor’s Club VIP everyone’s been raving about, though it’s possible that played a part. Today, two more Cuban players defected, bringing the total to seven. Miami FC, a USL First Division team (league below the vaunted MLS), is already planning to hold try outs for the defectors. Like the rest of thinking humanity, except apparently the Cuban management which had no plans to prevent defections, Miami’s general manager and king of understatement saw this potentiality coming from 92 miles away:
“I watched their game against the U.S. on TV, and I thought the Cuban team played very well,” [Luiz] Muzzi said. “We were kind of scouting that game because anytime a Cuban team comes to the United States, there’s a chance someone might defect.”
Hard to blame them, too. Not many professional opportunities in Cuba, I imagine, at least above the $5 a week pay scale. And hey, it’s better than trying to do it this way:
March 13th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
It’s not just weird horns and drums that turns me off from MLS. It’s also Rob Stone, every other MLS commentator, gay Euro-Trash names like “FC Dallas,” the fact that they play in the summer which makes the quality of play terrible, and also the following players: Joey Franchino, John Wolyniec, Kerry Zavagnin, Bobby Rhine, and Jesse Marsch.
March 13th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
The kid’s got a point.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
MLS is only one league, and I do agree that the announcers are horrible (though Bretos is okay) and that the whole dead of summer thing is counter-intuitive. And those players do suck ass (don’t forget Jay Heaps, Brandon Prideaux, and Mike Petke). But MLS has produced nearly every top American talent and the quality is slowly improving. I swear. Promise. Quavas Kirk.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Once Newcastle is relegated to the Championship I guess I’ll have to start following MLS. The great thing about Newcastle is it reminds how crappy it was to root for the Red Sox before 2004. Good times.