The Charity Shield was a good match, happy both teams decided to play free and open (it was a friendly after all). Nani played well, Valencia showed determination, Owen showed sluggishness and Rooney had a nice goal. Foster has shown, again, that he really isn't a top quality keeper, and he really needs to be replaced as the long-term prospect for both Manchester United and England. For Chelsea players, Drogba showed some hustle, and given his history, always a good thing. Cech looked good, with the exception of the Nani goal, and Lampard had a great second half.
The second goal for Chelsea should not have been allowed however. It's pretty simple. If you're a ref who stops play for any injury, fine. If you're a ref who needs blood and severed limbs to stop play, fine. Just be consistent. Manchester United had a very attacking position when Evra beat Ballack and Ballack fell clutching his ribs. No foul had been committed, but the ref immediately halted play and had the ball booted to United's backline. Evra AND Berbatov were both down injured and play went on for a couple minutes, eventually leading to a goal that came from a gaping hole at (*Gasp*!) left back. If the Ballack thing wasn't called, I really don't have an issue with it. But it was, so it is rather unfair to the Mancs.
I then flipped over to watch about twenty minutes of a Bundesliga match between Bochum and Borussia Mochengladbach. I was excited to see Michael Bradley play, but really, I have to say, are shit Bundesliga teams that much better than MLS teams on good days? This was a comedy of errors in every way possible. Gladbach gave up 3-0 lead in under 20 minutes, and the miscues and overall shittiness was unbelievable. Germany has some depth at the top, but really I just think Bayern is slowly sinking down to a crap level. I honestly think France is either caught up or soon surpassing the Bundesliga in overall league quality. Bayern will always draw great players, but players they'll have to stubbornly hold onto. I mean really, outside of Ribery, who is a star in the Bundesliga? Luca Toni is horribly overrated, and basically lives offsides. You have some up-and-comers, but all players who want to LEAVE the Bundesliga. Ribery chose Bayern after he was getting decent interest after a good World Cup, but it's not like peole were breaking down doors and Bayern beat everyone else. I'm ranting, but all I'm trying to say is, those players on that field (relegation-fodder Bundesliga teams) sucked, and really, Michael Bradley could do better. And for all the Eurosnobs (myself sometimes included), it is really good proof that not all things European are better than MLS (though I'm sure the pay-structure/free agency aspect is).
Speaking of Bradley, and Yanks, I checked for Sochaux's result against Auxerre, and while Sochaux won, I really can't find any sort of written account. Charlie Davies was a sub in a 1-0 game in the 70th minute, so that shows that team has some definite plans for him. He signed a four-year deal, and I'm pretty excited considering he saw some action right away. Hannover 96 but Cherundolo played all match, and Kenny Cooper started (already!) for 1860 Berlin and scored in his debut! Pretty sick stuff. Jay Demerit played all match for Watford and Jemal Johnson captained all match for MK Dons. I'm not going into all the really minor leagues, but it's safe to say Americans were looking this past weekend (except maybe Michael Bradley, that sucked).
Though, things could be worse for Michael Bradley, he could still play for Heerenveen, where he'd have to wear this shirt:
That's dead serious by the way. That's their home kit.
All the actual news that's happened this past week will probably be covered in the next podcast or in some actual article, but for this little shindig, I'm out.
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