photo: NYT soccer blog

OK, the Liverpool/Villa game didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped. And my “boy” Brad Friedel … well it’s hard to make the argument any more that he’s the best goalkeeper in the EPL after a 5-0 drubbing. But I did find it interesting to see, after he got sent off with red, that Aston Villa’s back-up goalie is also an American … Brad Guzan, who made his EPL debut today with an unsuccessful attempt to block the penalty kick he inherited from Friedel. Hopefully Villa’s understudy has learned a bunch of stuff from Friedel before he started sucking.

Guzan is also a Chicago Polack … so that makes me like him even more.

UPDATE: Of course, he’s a Chivas USA guy! The 24-year-old, in fact, was the 2007 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year … and super-beloved by the fans.

Here’s an official tribute to him from Chivas, celebrating his export to Villa.

And here’s a highlight reel of his saving ability from The Offside:

Tags: Aston Villa, Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan, Chivas USA, English Premier League, MLS

For some reason this gives me the chills … and confirms why Chivas USA is my favorite non-FC Dallas team in the MLS (and 5th favorite non-International team in the world):

From ChivaGirls.tv

Chiva Girls dancing and pimping their calendar (en Espanol) below:

(more…)

Tags: Chiva Girls, Chivas USA, MLS, Soccer on TV

MLS Playoffs are underway … watching a little Real Salt Lake vs. Chivas USA. (Go Chivas!)

So supposedly RSL has gone with a “skinny” field since Chivas does better when they can spread the game wide. I had no idea you could adjust your field width based on your opponent. Is this unusual?

Tags: Chivas USA, MLS, pitches, Real Salt Lake