BARCA TO SAN JOSE

While wishing for an international friendly to be played here in Vancouver hasn't worked yet, simply doing some deductions has. Barcelona will play in San Jose for an exhibition game against an "unnamed Mexican squad" on August 8th at Candlestick Park. The game will be after the Columbus v San Jose match. The announcement is expected to be made shortly.

When the announcement is officially made, Full-Time: Vancouver's Soccer Show will get Frank Yallop's comments on the friendly being played in San Jose.

This is Barca's third exhibition date in the United States with the other two games in Seattle and Los Angeles. It was expected that they would make three appearances on the west coast with Vancouver and BC Place stadium being rumoured as a possible destination, but this will quash any further rumours of the likes of Lionel Messi and co. coming to Vancouver.

Barca to Vancouver?

Following the announcement that Barcelona would be playing two friendlies on the west coast (August 1st in LA and August 5th in Seattle), rumours started that a 3rd west coast game would be added. Immediately in the Vancouver market, people in Vancouver, including Full-Time host Mike Martignago, were claiming that the Whitecaps would be a perfect fit with the schedule. It also fits because of a large stadium to play in (BC Place holds around 60,000) and a future MLS franchise.

The other option is Barcelona playing the San Jose Earthquakes. The 'Quakes could broker a deal to play at Stanford Stadium for a one off match and could likely fill the stadium and perhaps get people interested in a team already in the MLS. The other thing that puts San Jose as the front runner would be the higher Spanish speaking population.

In Vancouver, BC Place is open for a possible match on August 9th, 10th, 11th... following a BC Lions game and prior to an Aerosmith/ZZ Top concert.

Schedule wise, it would work out perfectly for Barcelona to play in Vancouver however, it's unlikely to happen. Well, let me rephrase that. It would work out perfectly for Barcelona to play in Vancouver, but they likely won't be playing the Vancouver Whitecaps. "We currently do not have any plans for an international game", that's what Whitecaps President Bob Lenarduzzi told me. He also said that it would be nice, but not this year.

It's not really a secret that the Whitecaps, once in the MLS, will probably bring some top international clubs to the city and BC Place, it's a natural fit. It just doesn't sound like anything will happen this year.

Here's trekking down to Seattle for two games this summer as the Sounders play Chelsea and Barcelona. And here's to looking forward to 2011 and debating which clubs Vancouver should try and bring to BC Place.

Barcelona makes Qwest to conquer Seattle

Seattle Sounders FC announced today that they will play an exhibition match against Barcelona FC on Xvox Pitch at Qwest Field on Wednesday, August 5th. Kick-off set for 7:30pm.

Tickets for the match go on sale to the general public on Monday, June 15th at 10am.

This is the second major friendly of the year for Seattle, who will be facing Chelsea FC in July.

Elsewhere, Barcelona will face the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Rose Bowl on Aug. 1st.

Barcelona is playing a third friendly in the United States. Details of that match have yet to be released.

In an alternate universe, perhaps Miami would have been the logical 3rd match choice after being named an MLS franchise to build some excitement for the 2011 season and the selling of season ticket packages. Ofcourse we all know what happened with that.


Here's the official Seattle release:

Sounders FC to Host FC Barcelona in August at Qwest Field

RENTON, Wash. – The Seattle Sounders FC will play FC Barcelona on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field on Wednesday, August 5, the team announced today. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (PT).

Sounders FC season ticket holders have received tickets to the game as part of their 18-match package, which also includes Chelsea and the MLS Cup.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Monday, June 15th at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at www.soundersfc.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

“We have stayed consistent with our commitment to provide value and an unparalleled fan experience for our season ticket holders who have supported us from day one,” said majority owner Joe Roth. “We are thrilled to include matches featuring two of the world’s most popular teams in Chelsea and FC Barcelona and the MLS Cup.”

FC Barcelona, whose heralded roster of international superstars currently includes Lionel Messi, Rafa Marquez, Xavi, Carles Puyol, Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta – who scored the goal that propelled Barca into the Champion’s League Final – will look to secure its third UEFA Champions League crown on Wednesday, May 27 against Manchester United, at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.

Thriller at Anfield as Arshavin hits four

I've talked about it before on the show. I am not the biggest fan of Andrei Arshavin, I didn't think he would be a good fit with Arsenal, but he is proving me wrong and Arshavin impressed me today after scoring all four goals for Arsenal in the 4-4 draw with Liverpool. It was nice to see the rest of the Gunners scoring today... oh wait, nevermind. His 4th goal should have sealed the game but Yossi Benayoun scored in injury time to equalise for Liverpool. More on him later.

Arsenal are in no-mans land right now in the Premier League standings. They sit 4th and are trying desperately to catch Chelsea, which is unlikely and Aston Villa and Everton chasing one another, so the Gunners probably won't drop out of those Champions League slot. I think they've been able to secure 4th spot.

Benayoun meanwhile seems to score when he needs to. A late game winner today, a late game winner against Fulham at Craven Cottage a few weeks back. Benayoun seems to be the perfect super sub. He reminds me of Ole Gunnar Solsjaer (Liverpool and Manchester United fans will just love me for suggesting that) because he always seemed to score those big goals. Who could forget the game winner in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich. Benayoun reminds me of that. Ofcourse Benayoun hasn't scored a goal as big as Solsjaer, but he has chipped in with very important game winners or game levellers throughout the season. If I was putting together a team in this day an age, finding a guy like Benayoun is an absolute must.

Liverpool meanwhile pick up the point to draw them level with Manchester United for top spot. Manchester United has two-games in hand on Liverpool, one of them coming tomorrow, and it would seem unlikely that they would drop six-points and allow Liverpool to get back into the race. Liverpool down the stretch have a better schedule, facing three of the bottom five teams in their last five games. United face a tougher test. Two bottom dwellers aside, they face Arsenal, have a Manchester Derby and a returning to glory Tottenham squad. It will be interesting, but Manchester United should hold on for the title this season. Liverpool meanwhile may have to worry about Chelsea, who after tomorrow, could be 1 point back of Liverpool. The race for 1st is coming down to the final few weeks and it should be an interesting ride.

The top of the table is interesting, but the story line at the basement is just as interesting. Eight different teams have the potential of being dropped in the relegation battle. It is that tight. A couple wins can get you out of the drop zone, a couple losses can put you right back in. West Brom is really the only sure bet in going down. The others that are in the relegation zone and on the cusp include Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Hull City, Sunderland, Portsmouth and Bolton. The ride at the top is going to be entertaining, but the ones at the bottom with be just an intriguing. It's going to be a very fun May in the Barclays Premier League.

In Spain, Real Madrid have made things interesting, sitting just three points back of Barcelona. Barca do have a game in hand though and don't look as though they will slip up at all.

Over in Italy, Inter Milan have the Serie A all but wrapped out. Two separate battles in Italy, one for second and also a battle for 4th.

The Bundesliga in Germany looks tight also, 2 wins and 2 losses will move you from 1st to 5th. 1 win and 1 loss will take you from 2nd to 5th, it's that tight.

Some very entertaining battles in the month of May in Europe.

Steve Nash set to bring the European Soccer stars to Vancouver

Steve Nash, part of the group that is trying to bring Major League Soccer to Vancouver has a plan for Vancouver soccer regardless of whether an MLS franchise is awarded. Nash wants to host a charity soccer game in Vancouver on Sept. 19. The match would be much like the event Nash and NBA guard Baron David and former US national team captain, Claudio Reyna did last year in New York called "Showdown in Chinatown". A game in which included both celebrities and athletes, including Barcelona's Thierry Henry, Liverpool great Robbie Fowler and Chelsea's Salomon Kalou.

Nash is hoping to bring together some of Europe's best soccer player, along with current NBA stars for an eight-on-eight game against the Vancouver Whitecaps PDL (professional development) team.

In an interview with the Canadian Press, Nash said, "We're trying to bring the world's best athletes to the street, a really grassroots level, where the fans can reach out and touch them."

The event could likely take place at Andy Livingstone Park in Vancouver BC.

Sorry Ottawa, you aren't getting an MLS franchise

So Barcelona seems to wavering on the idea of joining the Miami bid for an MLS franchise. What was once regarded as a 'lock' now seems like it might not even get off the ground. I'm not going to get into whether they will or won't get a franchise -- I still think that they are one of the favourites to secure a franchise -- but what I do want to touch on is the fact that because Miami and Barcelona may be in trouble, people in Ottawa have all of a sudden decided they are the next best thing and Eugene Melnyk's bid is terrific. Well, I'm here to send you back down to earth. Ottawa will not get an MLS franchise, not in 2011, not in 2013 and probably not in 2018.

First off, Ottawa does not have the best soccer tradition. They never had a team in the NASL, and while they had a team in the Canadian Soccer League for a few years, they never really wowed a large crowd. People may try point to the U20 World Cup held in Ottawa as proof that they can bring out a crowd, but the reality is, many of those were tourists from other countries and people who always show up for big events.

Secondly, the government is still deciding if they want to build a stadium, either a new one in Kanata or revive Frank Clair Stadium. Ultimately, that decision will be made by the government, and not just one level of government but 3 different levels. It's tough enough to get one level to agree to something (see Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium) let alone three levels. The other problem is that a recent poll conducted by the Ottawa Citizen showed that most Ottawa residents would prefer to have the stadium situated at the Lansdowne Park location. Only 15% chose the Kanata site. That's a serious blow to the chances of the man behind the Ottawa bid, Eugene Melnyk, assuming the government actually listens to its residents. The people I have talked to who cover sports in Ottawa think that a stadium in Kanata would effectively kill the franchise before it even got off the ground.

The other issue that makes the Ottawa bid a failure is Melnyk's business proposal, which makes no sense whatsoever. According to my sources, Melnyk wants to invest $80 Million in a stadium and $40 Million in a team. Toronto FC, one of the most successful clubs in the MLS, makes $2 Million per year. If Ottawa and Melnyk match that, in order to make their money back, Ottawa's franchise would need a 60-year run before Melnyk even makes his principal back. That's not a smart business decision in any business.

Finally, I'm not much for conspiracy theories, but there are rumours circulating that the only reason Eugene Melnyk is pursuing an MLS franchise is to cut the CFL revival effort off at the pass. According to a source, the Sens would love to own and control all sports entertainment in Ottawa and are trying to pre-empt the CFL group. My source says that they would be "absolutely shocked if Ottawa got a team and even more shocked if they it actually kicked off".

So there you have it -- why Ottawa won't be getting an MLS franchise. I don't think the Melnyk bid will pass. Sorry Ottawa fans.

-TG