2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (June 5 - 25)

[LittleOzzy]

[KF10]

I think it is going to be another USA & Mexico finals. Both of these teams typically dominates CONCACAF play.

Since 1991, their record in CONCACAF play:

United States: 38-6-5
Mexico: 32-7-6

Other than USA & Mexico, I can see teams like Honduras, Guadeloupe and Costa Rica make things interesting for both Mexico & USA though.

[LittleOzzy]

New York's De Rosario: I want to play for Canada

As he walked off the field following New York Red Bulls training on Tuesday morning, Dwayne De Rosario sported a pair of cleats emblazoned with the Canadian flag.

The irony of the fashion statement is that De Rosario is now at the center of a tug-of-war between club and country for his services this summer, which begs the question: Though he's wearing Canada on his feet, will he be wearing that flag over his heart during next month's CONCACAF Gold Cup?

“I 100 percent want to play for Canada,” De Rosario told MLSsoccer.com. “I would definitely like to play for my country this summer.”

De Rosario's comments contradict those by New York head coach Hans Backe, who told the media on Monday that he thought De Rosario would skip the biennual tournament.

“I think he has turned that down," Backe told the New York Post. "I would be very surprised if he went for the national team. You never know, but I’m fairly sure we will have him. I don’t think he has played [much] the last two years for them. I hope [we’ll have him]. Otherwise I will be disappointed.’’

That doesn’t seem to be De Rosario’s mind set, though, as the Canadian international spoke candidly with MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday about the issue.

“Obviously there is a concern, and this comes down to club vs. country," De Rosario said. "It is something I need to talk about with the federation, hear what they have to say and what they want me to do. This summer’s Gold Cup is an important one for Canada, but it is also an important time here for me at New York.”

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/n ... lay-canada

I hope he plays, screw the Red Bulls... Canada doing well in this tournament is more important to me.

[edfmx86]

Mexico always plays poorly vs El Salvador and Honduras. Those are two teams i do not want to see after group play.

[magik9113]

as a NYRB fan I still think it'd be wrong if they didnt let DDR play for Canada.

Can someone remind me how the tournament works?....how many teams advance out of group stages

[LittleOzzy]

as a NYRB fan I still think it'd be wrong if they didnt let DDR play for Canada.

Can someone remind me how the tournament works?....how many teams advance out of group stages

Top 2 teams in each group advance plus the 2 best 3rd placed teams.

[LittleOzzy]

Looking ahead to the Gold Cup, Canada prepares for friendly against Ecuador

The Canadian men host Ecuador at BMO Field in Toronto on June 1 before opening their Gold Cup campaign June 7 against the United States at Detroit's Ford Field.

Canadian head coach Stephen Hart is looking to the Ecuador friendly to set the bar for his side before facing a difficult opponent on hostile ground to start the CONCACAF championship.

"We felt Ecuador, their style, their athleticism, sort of matched the teams that we'll be playing at the Gold Cup," said Hart, who added the team turned down offers from European countries in favour of the South Americans who are 56th in the FIFA rankings.

"They're on a sort of a high, they're building their program back up again, and we thought this would be a very good sort of preparation game for us. A lot of players on Ecuador will be wanting to prove themselves to their new coach, and for us it will us the sort of game that you need going into a competitive tournament."

It will be Canada's first home friendly of the year. The men's side improved their ranking to 75th after a 1-0 win over 53th-ranked Belarus in March. Canada's only other international match this year was a 1-0 loss to Greece in February.

Hart plans to use the Ecuador game to tighten up his side's style of play before facing the 22nd-ranked Americans.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadi ... Id=6567651

Anyone know if the USA have a friendly or two lined up?

[magik9113]

USA plays Spain on June 4 and that's all I know of...I feel as if they should have another sometime before then.

[LittleOzzy]

Ochoa, Mexico have Gold Cup motivation

Memo Ochoa didn't hesitate to answer.

And he stayed away from the usual polite answer.

The Mexican national team goalkeeper was blunt when asked about watching the United States play in the 2009 Confederations Cup.

"It was very difficult because we stayed in our homes and watched the Confederations Cup on TV," Ochoa said speaking English during Mexico's stay in San Diego for a friendly against Venezuela in March. "It wasn't good. And also because it was the USA, our rival, that went instead, and then they had a very good tournament. That made it even worse."

It's bad when the United States is in the world spotlight instead of "El Tri." At least that's how Mexico sees things.

That is why winning the 2011 Gold Cup is of vast importance to Mexico, a pre-tournament favorite to reach the tournament final June 25 in Pasadena, California.

Winning the Gold Cup is a must for Mexico. And the task begins June 5 in Arlington, Texas, with its opening Group A match against El Salvador.

Sure, there is the pride of hoisting the trophy. There is the automatic entry into the eight-team Confederations Cup in 2013 in Brazil, an all-expenses-paid trip to test the hotels and training grounds and stadiums a year before the World Cup. There is the prize money - the 2009 purse was $17 million, with the last-place team guaranteed $1.4 million.

But winning the tournament means the United States won't be in the Confederations Cup.

http://www.concacaf.com/page/GoldCup/Ne ... 89,00.html

[edfmx86]

Memo Ochoa will be watching the years Gold Cup from the bench. He's been garbage for el Tri as of late, id much rather see Corona or Michel at GK

[LittleOzzy]

Hart dispels De Rosario Gold Cup rumors

Dwayne De Rosario will play for Canada at next month's Gold Cup, manager Stephen Hart confirmed Tuesday.

Speaking on a conference call with reporters, Hart dispelled any lingering rumors the New York Red Bulls midfielder was skipping the biennial CONCACAF championship.

"I've been talking to Dwayne all along, and the coach (Hans Backe of New York) made a statement and I don't know why he made it, and if we were to select Dwayne we expect him to be there for the tournament. It's as simple as that," Hart said.

Rumor swirled after Backe indicated in newspaper reports that De Rosario would remain with his club side and not play in the Gold Cup. But late last week, Backe retracted his statement before the Red Bulls headed to Los Angeles for their game with the Galaxy.

"I don't think the Red Bulls will object," Hart said. "I mean they will not be happy, nobody is going to be happy that they will be losing potentially quite a few players to this tournament, but it is the official tournament of the confederation and if selected Dwayne will be there."

http://www.concacaf.com/page/GoldCup/Ne ... 35,00.html

[edfmx86]

Mexico's goalkeeper J.J.Corona, has been kicked off the team for headbutting an opponents team trainer in a Brawl on Sunday night's semi Final game between Cruz Azul and Morelia. If theres one thing that Chepo wants in his squads, its disciplined players. Even with the trainer throwing punches of his own, Corona did lose his head here.

Not sure who i want Mexico to use now. either Talavera or Ochoa (who is awful with the national team)

[NYKhooligan]

this cup is baddd .... when is the U.S joining the Copa America ?

[edfmx86]

i wouldve liked them to hop on to replace Japan

[magik9113]

last time the U.S. got invited to Copa America they sent a weak team of mostly young, unproven players; CONMEBOL was not pleased [they lost every game]

[LittleOzzy]

this cup is baddd .... when is the U.S joining the Copa America ?

Likely never.

[LittleOzzy]

De Rosario, de Guzman head Canada Gold Cup roster

Six MLS players were named on Monday to Canada’s 23-man roster for next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup, headlined by Toronto FC’s Julian de Guzman and New York Red Bulls midfielder Dwayne De Rosario.

De Guzman, who was named the MVP of the 2007 Gold Cup, leads a veteran-heavy squad that also includes four-time tournament participants Kevin McKenna and Atiba Hutchinson.

While head coach Stephen Hart has elected to bring back many familiar faces to the Gold Cup, he has also called in a few newcomers to the regional championship.

Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Terry Dunfield is among those named to the squad, and he’s joined by fresh-faced goalkeepers Milan Borjan and Haidar Al-Shaïbani, defender Nik Ledgerwood, midfielders Pedro Pacheco and Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault, and striker Tosaint Ricketts.

MLSers Andre Hainault (Houston), Will Johnson (Real Salt Lake) and Dejan Jakovic (D.C. United) were also named to the squad.

Hart told reporters Monday that he was satisfied with his roster, even though some players who might have been selected were unavailable.

“There were some injuries and doubts and that sort of changed the lineup a little bit,” Hart said via teleconference. “I also had to think very carefully about September [when Canada begin their World Cup qualification campaign]. All in all, I’m happy with the squad that’s been selected.”

GOALKEEPERS (3): Lars Hirschfeld (Vålerenga, Norway), Milan Borjan (FK Rad, Serbia), Haidar Al-Shaïbani (Nîmes Olympique, France)

DEFENDERS (6): Nik Ledgerwood (SV Wehen Wiesbaden, Germany), Mike Klukowski (Unattached), Kevin McKenna (FC Köln, Germany), Andre Hainault (Houston Dynamo), Dejan Jakovic (D.C. United), Jaime Peters (Ipswich Town, England)

MIDFIELDERS (10): Julian de Guzman (Toronto FC), Terry Dunfield (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Will Johnson (Real Salt Lake), Josh Simpson (Vestel Manisaspor, Turkey), Pedro Pacheco (CD Santa Clara, Portugal), Atiba Hutchinson (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Simeon Jackson (Norwich City FC, England), Marcel de Jong (FC Augsburg, Germany), Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault (SC Preußen Münster), Issey Nakajima-Farran (AC Horsens, Denmark)

FORWARDS (4): Rob Friend (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Ali Gerba (Montreal Impact), Dwayne De Rosario (New York Red Bulls), Tosaint Ricketts (FC Politehnica Timişoara, Romania)

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... cup-roster

[magik9113]

USA roster:

United States

Goalkeepers: Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton Wanderers/ENG), Tim Howard (Everton/ENG), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Etienne/FRA), Jonathan Bornstein (UANL Tigres/MEX), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover/GER), Clarence Goodson (Brondby/DEN), Eric Lichaj (Leeds/ENG), Oguchi Onyewu (FC Twente/HOL), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United/ENG)

Midfielders: Freddy Adu (Rizespor/TUR), Michael Bradley (Aston Villa/ENG), Clint Dempsey (Fulham/ENG), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers/SCO), Benny Feilhaber (New England Revolution), Jermaine Jones (Blackburn Rovers/ENG), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht/BEL), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew)

Forwards: Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Jozy Altidore (Bursaspor/TUR), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

Every team's roster can be found here:
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... cup-squads

[LittleOzzy]

Gold Cup counts as Guadeloupe’s World Cup

For Guadeloupe, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is the Caribbean island's World Cup.

Since Guadeloupe is an overseas department of France, it is not affiliated with FIFA and cannot participate in the World Cup.

So, the confederation's biennial competition is the next best thing for the Caribbean island.

"Yes basically it is [our World Cup], until we will be able to play the World Cup," said team captain Stephane Auvray, who plays for Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer. "For the while it is our World Cup, because we hope that if we perform in this competition, we'll be able to change our status so we that we can do the World Cup one day."

The Gwada Boys' Group C opponents -- the United States, Canada and Panama -- have to be wary of their foes this time around, given their success in the past two competitions.

They qualified for the Gold Cup by finishing winning five of eight matches with only one loss in the Digicel Caribbean Cup this past fall - that to Jamaica in the final on penalty kicks, 5-4, after a 1-1 draw.

Midfielder Gregory Gendrey, who plays for the French amateur club Compiegne, led the Gwada Boys with four goals in the Caribbean Cup.

Veteran defender Jean-Luc Lambourde (Amical Club, Guadeloupe), added three goals. He is the team's cap leader with 49 and is tied for the current scoring lead with striker Ludovic Gotin (CS Moulien, Guadeloupe) - both with 12 goals apiece.

Auvray, however, said he expected a different team to represent Guadeloupe in the U.S. than the one that qualified during the Digicel Cup. A good portion of the team lives and plays in Guadeloupe and while several players -- some of Guadeloupe descent -- perform overseas in France, Portugal, Belgium, Scotland and the United States.

"The players that played the Caribbean Cup are not the same players that will play the Gold Cup," he said. "It's going to be a totally different team, except a couple of players. So it was a good performance that was playing at the moment.

http://www.concacaf.com/page/GoldCup/Ne ... 03,00.html

[magik9113]

I remember them being a big surprise last tournament