Conference trucks::football;1

    I heard during the World Cup that out of the 12 teams which will form
    Major League Soccer here in the USA, 6 were named and 6 more will be
    named in the future.  One of the 6 cities awarded a franchise was
    Boston/Foxborough.
    
    Does anyone know what the other 5 cities were who were awarded a
    franchise?  Does anyone know when the remaining 6 cities will be
    announced?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Don McLean, USA (Merrimack, NH)
    

    don,
    
    two teams in new York?new Jersey, one in D.c , one in chicago - i could
    dig out the list of its important. I think the announcement of the
    others is supposed to happen when they (USSF) elect a new president
    
    regards,
                  
    Andrew.D.Wicks

    
    
    
    
               <<< TRUCKS::DISK$USER72:[NOTES$LIBRARY]FOOTBALL.NOTE;1 >>>
                                 -< FOOTBALL >-
================================================================================
Note 433.0                      Could be Detroit                         1 reply
GLDOA::ZAMMIT                                         6 lines  10-AUG-1994 02:16
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was an effort to persuade the league to select Detroit
as one of the twelve sites. I hope the effort proves successful. Soccer
is extremely popular in the Metro Detroit area.

jay ()
================================================================================
Note 433.1                      Could be Detroit                          1 of 1
AIMTEC::WICKS_A "Brazil v Italy - I was there!"        1 line  10-AUG-1994 16:39
                                -< wrong note >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    shouldn't this be a reply not a write.

The excitement was so much I will have to go outside to cool down!

FROM PA NEWS...
Veteran striker John Aldridge has been offered the chance to finish his 
career in the United States if the Republic of Ireland fail to qualify 
for the European Championships next summer.
   The 37-year-old former Liverpool and Real Sociedad marksman, who 
played for the Republic in last summer's World Cup finals in the 
States, has been contacted by an agent for the Major Soccer League.
   Aldridge has been asked to join a team in either Boston and New 
York, both of which have large Irish communities, to stimulate interest 
in the league.
   "I am aware that there is an interest in America and obviously it's 
something that I must consider," said Aldridge. "Until I try to sort 
out my future at Prenton Park, there is little I can say or do."
   Aldridge, who tops the first division goalscoring charts with 12 
this season, is contracted to Tranmere until the end of the season.
... END OF QUOTE

                                                                  

    Yesterday, UNIVISION announced that they have made an agreement with
    MSL to televise a MSL game every Sunday LIVE, starting from April '96 thru
    September '96.
    
    

    carlos,
    
    this is in addition to the agreement with ESPN2 who will also carry
    some of the games I believe. perhaps they will show the same game.
    
    regards
    
    Andrew.D.Wicks

    Not much going on in this note as of yet, but the league is gearing up
    for it's April start.
    
    Here in Boston, the local side - the New England Revolution - have hired
    Frank Stapleton as manager.  In addition to US national team players
    Alexi Lalas and Mike Burns, the team is reported to be on the verge of
    signing it's first internationla player - Giuseppe Galderisi, who has
    been Lalas' teammate at Padova.  Columbian midfielder, Leonel Alvarez
    has already signed with the league and is expected to be assigned to
    New England.
    
    A report in the Boston Globe today also indicated that a press
    conference is scheduled for Friday in Boston, where it is expected that
    the league will announce that the first championship game will be
    played at Foxboro Stadium on October 20.
    
    According to the same report, the league will be playing with
    "traditional" soccer rules - except for extending the defensive wall
    from 10 yards to 15 yards on free kicks.  (That's all that was said so
    I don't know if there was an exception granted by FIFA)
    
    Steve
    

    In the debut match of Major League Soccer, played Saturday night in San
    Jose, California, the San Jose Clash defeated D.C. United 1-0 on a goal
    in the 87th minute by Eric Wynalda.  There was an enthusiastic sellout
    crowd of over 30,000 on hand for the match.  
    
    I'd be interested in hearing the impressions of any others that saw the
    match on ESPN.  For what it's worth, I thought the play was rather
    sloppy most of the match.  The fact that the teams had not had much
    time to play together was evident.  Both sides have some potentially
    exciting players, but as expected, the overall level of play at this
    point is not up to that of the Premiership, Serie A or Bundesliga.  

    I would concur with your analysis Steve.  I thought that of the top
    half dozen players on the pitch, only Wynalda was an American.  The
    crowd was very good, and the player enthusiasm was high, but the level
    of play was mediocre at best.  You could tell that the players on each
    team had not played together for very long.  Perhaps the level of play
    will increase with time, as teams get to practice together and play
    more.  By summer, perhaps, the quality of play will reach an acceptable
    level.
    
    NAZZ

Without Wynalda's goal the debut of the MLS would have been 
a disaster.  Other "name" Americans did not fair too well.  
Agoos confirmed his reputation as a hack defender and John 
Harkes looked out-of-shape (both with D.C. United).  The 
small, narrow pitch (63 yds x 106 yds) made for difficult 
ball-handling and these players do not yet know each other 
well enough for one-touch with little space.

San Jose's play-maker was a Nigerian named Iroha who could 
have been man-of-the-match.  Mike Emanelo, another Nigerian, 
played solidly on defense for SJ.

As an earlier note mentioned, it was not Serie A, etc., but it
is a step up from the A-League and USISL.  The whole league 
kicks off next weekend.  The New England Revolution play at 
Tampa Bay Mutiny.  The NE home opener is on April 27th against 
the above mentioned D(well in) C(ellar) United.

Viva la Revolution!!!
-nat

            <<< UPSAR::USER$411:[NOTES$LIBRARY]DEC_SOCCER.NOTE;1 >>>
                          -< Digital Soccer League >-
===============================================================================,
Note: 249.20                    New England Revolution               20 of 20
MROA::ALAVALLEY                                     95 lines   5-APR-1996 16:03
                         -< MLS Television Schedule >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   Major League Soccer TV Schedule
              Home teams indicated with capital letters

   o ESPN will televise up to 11 matches:

      SAN JOSE vs Washington DC      LIVE Sa Apr  6  8pm ET/5pm PT
      COLUMBUS vs Kansas City        LIVE Sa Jun  8  1:30pm ET/10:30am PT
      ALL-STAR GAME                  LIVE Su Jul 14  TBA
 -->  NEW ENGLAND vs Washington DC   LIVE Sa Jul 20  12noon ET/9am PT
 -->  NEW ENGLAND vs NY/New Jersey   LIVE Sa Aug  3  1pm ET/10am PT
      WASHINGTON DC vs Los Angeles   LIVE Fr Aug 16  8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT
      NY/NEW JERSEY vs Los Angeles   LIVE Tu Sep 10  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
 -->  NEW ENGLAND vs Tampa Bay       LIVE Sa Sep 14  5pm ET/2pm PT
 -->  WASHINGTON DC vs New England   LIVE Tu Sep 17  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT

      Quarterfinal match #1          LIVE Tu Sep 24  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
      Semifinal match #3
       (if necessary)                LIVE We Oct 16  9pm ET/6pm PT


   o ESPN2 will televise up to 25 matches:

      DALLAS vs Kansas City          LIVE Th Apr 18  8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT
      KANSAS CITY vs Columbus        LIVE Th May  2  8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT
      COLORADO vs Tampa Bay          LIVE Sa May 11  4:30pm ET/1:30pm PT
      NY/NEW JERSEY vs Colorado      LIVE Th May 16  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
      DALLAS vs Tampa Bay            LIVE Th May 23  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
      NY/NEW JERSEY vs Washington DC LIVE Th May 30  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
 -->  NEW ENGLAND vs Los Angeles     LIVE Th Jun  6  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
      COLUMBUS vs Kansas City        LIVE Th Jun 20  9pm ET/6pm PT
 -->  NEW ENGLAND vs Columbus        LIVE Th Jun 27  7pm ET/4pm PT
      TAMPA BAY vs Columbus          LIVE Th Jul  4  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
 -->  COLUMBUS vs New England        LIVE Th Jul 11  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
      TAMPA BAY vs Kansas City       LIVE Th Jul 18  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
      COLUMBUS vs Tampa Bay          LIVE Th Jul 25  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
      COLORADO vs Los Angeles        LIVE Th Aug  1  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
 -->  LOS ANGELES vs New England     LIVE Th Aug  8  9pm ET/6pm PT
      KANSAS CITY vs San Jose        LIVE Th Aug 15  9pm ET/6pm PT
      SAN JOSE vs Dallas             LIVE Th Aug 22  10pm ET/7pm PT
      COLORADO vs Washington DC      LIVE Th Aug 29  8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT
      COLORADO vs Los Angeles        LIVE Th Sep  5  10:30pm ET/7:30pm PT
      TAMPA BAY vs Washington DC     LIVE Th Sep 12  7pm ET/4pm PT
      DALLAS vs Los Angeles          LIVE Th Sep 19  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT

      Quarterfinal match #2          LIVE Su Sep 29  8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT
      Quarterfinal match #3
       (if necessary)                LIVE Th Oct  3  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
      Semifinal match #1             LIVE Sa Oct  5  7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
      Semifinal match #2             LIVE Sa Oct 12  5pm ET/2pm PT


   o Univision will televise 26 matches:

      DALLAS vs San Jose             LIVE Su Apr 14  4pm ET/1pm PT
      SAN JOSE vs Kansas City        LIVE Su Apr 21  4pm ET/1pm PT
      TAMPA BAY vs Dallas            LIVE Su Apr 28  4pm ET/1pm PT
      LOS ANGELES vs Washington DC   LIVE Su May  5  4pm ET/1pm PT
      WASHINGTON DC vs NY/New Jersey LIVE Su May 12  4pm ET/1pm PT
 -->  NEW ENGLAND vs NY/New Jersey   LIVE Su May 19  4pm ET/1pm PT
      LOS ANGELES vs Columbus        LIVE Su May 26  4pm ET/1pm PT
      DALLAS vs NY/New Jersey        LIVE Su Jun  2  4pm ET/1pm PT
      NY/NEW JERSEY vs Los Angeles   LIVE Su Jun  9  2pm ET/11am PT
      NY/NEW JERSEY vs San Jose      LIVE Su Jun 16  2pm ET/11am PT
 -->  NEW ENGLAND vs Dallas          LIVE Su Jun 23  2pm ET/11am PT
      COLUMBUS vs NY/New Jersey      LIVE Su Jun 30  2pm ET/11am PT
      KANSAS CITY vs Los Angeles     LIVE Su Jul  7  2pm ET/11am PT
      All Star Game                  LIVE Su Jul 14  TBA
      COLORADO vs Tampa Bay          LIVE Su Jul 21  2pm ET/11am PT
      NY/NEW JERSEY vs San Jose      LIVE Su Jul 28  2pm ET/11am PT
      WASHINGTON DC vs Kansas City   LIVE Su Aug  4  2pm ET/11am PT
      KANSAS CITY vs Los Angeles     LIVE Su Aug 11  2pm ET/11am PT
      COLUMBUS vs San Jose           LIVE Su Aug 18  2pm ET/11am PT
      WASHINGTON DC vs Tampa Bay     LIVE Su Aug 25  2pm ET/11am PT
      WASHINGTON DC vs Dallas        LIVE Su Sep  1  4pm ET/1pm PT
      COLORADO vs San Jose           LIVE Su Sep  8  4pm ET/1pm PT
      COLUMBUS vs NY/New Jersey      LIVE Su Sep 15  4pm ET/1pm PT
      LOS ANGELES vs Dallas          LIVE Su Sep 22  4pm ET/1pm PT

      Semifinal match #1             LIVE Su Oct  6  4pm ET/1pm PT
      Semifinal match #2             LIVE Su Oct 13  4pm ET/1pm PT


   o ABC Sports will televise the MLS Championship match:
 
 -->  Championship match @
     Foxboro, MA (New England)     LIVE Su Oct 20  3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT


   o LOCAL TELECASTS (partial list):

 --> New England:    WABU-TV 68 Boston (19 matches)

               Commentators:  Derek Rae     (E-mail:[email protected])
                              Seamus Malin  (E-mail:[email protected])

    Any chance of some-one posting the results from this weekend's games.
    Also how is Mike Burns doing. He came on trial t Swindon in 1992 but we
    couldn't get a work permit for him.
    
    Graham
    

    
    got these from http://www.sportsnetwork.com/soccer
    I added the (shootout) bit as I saw both games on TV so other games may
    have ended the same way. I can dig out more details on scorers etc
    if anyone wants them
    
    Mike burns is listed in New England's lineup so I'll ask my man on the
    spot tom Hill how he played.
    
    BTW: Does anyone know why San Jose are on the T.V every B***Y week it's
         like being back in the U.K and watching the Mancs.
                   
    april 13th  n.e 2 v tampa 3
                washington 0 v columbus 4
    	        colorado 0 v kansas 3
                n.y 1 v l.a 2
    
          14th  san jose 0 v dallas 1 (shootout) 
    
          18th  kansas 0 v dallas 3
    
          20th n.e 1 v n.y 0
               l.a 2 v washington 1
               tampa 2 v columbus 1
    
    april 21st	Dallas 1 Colorado 3
    april 22nd  Kansas 3 San Jose 2 - (shootout 2-2)

    Many thanks.
    
    How is the league going down with the American public? We have heard of
    crowds of 30,000+ for the opener at San Jose and 60,000+ for the Los
    Angeles opener but what about the rest? Obviously it will take time to
    get established but from the limited info we get over here, considering
    the resources it is looking good so far.
    
    One problem I forsee is that each team has a $1.3m salary cap and they
    aren't going to lure big name players over to raise the profile with so
    little money to spend. I can see that they don't want another NASL
    failure but it is really too low although I read an article that said
    that most of the money the big name players are getting is through
    sponsorship deals.
    
    Graham
    
    

The 5 games this past weekend averaged 28,517 in attendance.
The season (12 games) average is 29,643.

Sad to say, the best newspaper coverage of the MLS is in the
Monday USA Today.

Burns is doing well for the New England Revolution, being used 
as a defensive back, rather than midfield.  BTW, the one goal 
scored against NY/NJ by the Rev was an own-goal - the second 
game-winning OG by Nicola Caricola.  Puts him on the list for
scoring leaders!!!

The New England Revolution (1-1) home opener April 27, playing 
the winless Dwell-in-Cellar United (0-3).  They have already 
"sold-out" the reduced-seating stadium (22,500) and will open 
up at least 4,000 more seats for the game.  If the weather is 
as beautiful as this past Saturday, they better open up an 
extra 14,000.  Got my season tix and can't wait.

Viva la Revolution,
-nat

    When Burns came to us he was used as a right-sided defender or
    midfielder but always looked more comfortable in the middle. Another
    guy we had for a while was Roy Wegerle who if memory serves me is
    playing with the Colorado team. 
    
    I've been following American soccer since the 1990 World Cup and whilst
    they didn't disgrace themselves there, the improvement sinec has been
    tremendous. A successful domestic league would be a definite advantage
    to improving the national team and by using cities with high ethnic
    populations (eg LA with its Latin American population, Boston with the
    Irish and New York's Italian) you have a fan base straight away. It
    will be interesting to see if next year they expand the league. 
    
    Graham

4 games, avg. attendance was 28,430.

Home team listed first (isn't that how it's s'posed to be done?)

LA Galaxy 2 - San Jose Clash 1
Att. 40,347.  LA up 2-0 at half-time.  Still undefeated.  Still 
upsetting the Pasadena civic groups with large crowds.

Tampa Bay Mutiny 1 - Dallas Burn 2
Att. 14,084. Stadium clock burns the Bats (you need to see the Mutiny
logo) at the end of the first half because Lassiter's goal is denied 
as time ran out! It was bound to happen sometime.  Half-time: 0-2.

NY/NJ MetroStars 0 - Columbus Crew 2
Att: 26,416.  Tab Ramos returns to New Jersey and misses a PK for 
the MediaStars.  Donadoni arrives this week.  NY/NJ has scored only 
one goal in three games and is winless.  Half-time: 0-1.

New England Revolution 1 - D.C. United 1
Shoot-out: NE 3 - DCU 2
Att: 32,864.  The Rev's home opener. I was there!  This crowd was 
2,000 larger than the largest crowd to ever watch the Teamen, and it 
was over 3,000 larger than the crowd watching the Dead Sox play at 
Fenway Park.  The crowd was the story as the soccer was exciting, but 
somewhat aimless.  Injuries have hurt the Rev defense and airline 
schedules hurt the Dwell-in-Cellar United (their two Bolivian National 
team players could not get back from a WC Qualifier).  The DC defense 
was very tight and physical.  The Rev attack was undirected and caught 
for 8 off-side calls (a couple were legit as Bepe snoozed).  Coach 
Frank Stapleton was not pleased with the team's effort.  The crowd 
really got into the shoot-out - five seconds to shoot from 35 yds. 
DCU is 0-4.  Half-time: 0-0.

Oh, yeah.  There are a couple decent brewers in the Midnight Riders 
supporters group.  Some fine stout to warm you up on a cold night. 
Another reason to get to the match early.  Next week Waldo and the 
San Jose Clash come to friendly Foxboro.  Viva la Revolution!
-nat

    didn't get to see the games on Univision so could you elaborate on the
    disallowed goal - did he take his shot after the buzzer went or did the
    buzzer go while the ball was in motion 
    
    the buzzer thing is perhaps the only change from the normal laws of the
    game it seems quite hokey while the ref spends 30 seconds trying to
    wave at the sleeping scoreboard attendant to stop the clock when
    there's an injury. In this age of electronic wizardy couldn't the ref
    activate the clock by radio or something.
    
    REgards
    
    Andrew.D.wicks

    Maybe it's still a little early on for this, but with the apparent
    successes of the league so far has anyone heard any plans for expansion
    of the league for next year or maybe a second league?
    
    Graham

Re -1

Hopefully not ;-).

                  James.

    Well the second league actually exists and has for a year or two
    it's called the A-League and has teams from Atlanta (wherever that is)
    Seattle, Colorado, Montreal, Rochester (upstate NY), Vancouver, New
    York
    
    There used to be a team in LA called the Salsa who were very well
    supported. 
    
    This is effectively a feeder league for MLS with players transferring
    between the two.
    
    Regards
    
    Andrew.D.Wicks

>>  has anyone heard any plans for expansion of the league for 
>>  next year or maybe a second league?

As stated before, there are the A-League and the various flavors 
of USISL (United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues - 3 leagues 
with 82 teams), so there should be no need for another league.

Regarding additional teams, I think that is a must, when the talent 
pool can support it.  Expansion concerns must look at '97 as a 
WC qualifier year and WC'98 as an availability issue.  Also, there 
are very few teams in the A-League (7, I think) so this may be a 
better target for early expansion, although noise is being made 
about an MLS team in Chicago and a second team in LA.
-nat

Re: a few back

Pete,

I don't want Carlton Palmer, or Worthington, or even 
Beesley tempted by the huge sums of money being offered 
in the States at the moment.  It would finish Leeds if 
there was a second league started in the States ;-).

                       James.

I'm looking for a US Soccer Leagure schedule, specifically for
the Revolution.  Anyone have one or know where to get one ?  I'd
like to take the kids to a game, but I need to know when they are...

Thanks,
Ken

    ken
    
    do you have web access?
    
    http://www.nhsoccer.com/rev/mls.htm is the Revolution page 
    or 
    http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mdwheel/us-soccer/mls is the MLS page
    
    if not I could cut and paste individual dates ...
    
    Regards
    
    Andrew.D.Wicks

The Revolution schedule can also be found in Notes file 
JOKUR::YOUTH_SOCCER Note 7.1.

JOKUR::YOUTH_SOCCER is the follow-on to the old 
BECCA::USA$YOUTH$SOCCER file which disappeared last Fall.
-nat

From the USA Today soccer web page:
============================================================
MLS expansion not on the horizon

Expansion in Major League Soccer is not going to happen 
''for a long time,'' Commissioner Doug Logan says. He doesn't want
to ''dilute the talent base'' playing in the 10-team league. ''Our 
purpose is to elevate the American game; the goal is to win the
World Cup,'' he said. Logan expressed pleasure with the play, 
though observers say the emphasis is on speed and hustle and
that it will take awhile before the skill segment is realized fully. 
Most of the top-rated players in the first three weeks have been
internationals, of which four are allowed a team. 

By Jerry Langdon, USA TODAY

    more results....
    
    D.C United 3 dallas Burn 1 - D.C finally win a game!
                                 (I think they've played 6,5)
    
    K.C 6 Columbus 4 - this is not a shootout score all 10 goals were
    			in the normal 90 mins!!!
    
    N.Y 3 Tampa Bay 3 - N.Y won shootout
    
    N.E 1 San Jose 2 
    
    Dallas 0 Columbus 0 - Dallas won shootout
    
    Colorado 4 K.C 0
    
    L.A 3 D.C 1
    
    note attendances have as some people predicted dropped off with D.C
    only getting 11,000 and K.c 8,000
    
    In the East there's no clear best team as the leaders COlumbus have
    only taken 6 points from 5 games. In the west however all 5 teams have
    more than 6 points with L.A unbeaten on 12 points.
    
    regards
    
    Andrew.D.wicks

    I know this is short notice, but I have 4 tickets to this Sunday's (May
    19th) game in Foxboro for the Revolution vs. NY/NJ MetroStars.
    
    The tickets are in Section 106, 1st row, directly behind the visitor's
    bench!
    
    Tickets are $18/each (face value).  I'll throw in a parking pass ($10
    value) for free if someone wants all 4 tickets.
    
    Don McLean
    MKOTS3::MCLEAN
    

Home team listed first:
5/18 Tampa Bay 3 - 2 San Jose (12,047)
 TB - Lassiter (18, 43), Ralston (22)
 SJ - Bravo (PK 65, 71)

5/18 Dallas 3 - 2 DC United (23,251)
 Dal - Kreis (40, 82), Sanchez (88)
 DCU - Sanneh (65), Agoos (90)

5/19 NE Revolution 2 - 0 NY/NJ Mutts (20,131)
 NE - Naveda (9), Keegan (18)

5/19 LA Galaxy 2 - 0 KC Wiz (25,231)
 LA - Cienfuegos (23), Hurtado (86)

5/19 Columbus 2 - 4 Colorado (20,184)
 Crew - McBride (27), Khumalo (PK 42)
 Rapids - Bartlett (49, 73), Balboa (80), Sharpe (88)

80+ degrees in Foxboro yesterday for a superb effort 
by the Revolution.  Beto played his best game of the 
season and Welton wore out two NY/NJ defenders.

Crowds around the league are still very good.  The Rev 
kick-off at 3 PM was contending with the Dead Sox at 
Fenway Park, b-ball and hockey playoffs on the tube 
and 100's of youth games being played around the area.

The Rev play Fiorentina on Wednesday, but it looks like 
both Batistuta and Rui Costa will be missing.  Next 
Saturday Colorado comes to Foxboro, but both teams will 
be missing their US National team players (Rev - Burns 
and Lalas, Rapids - Wegerle and Balboa) as the US plays 
Scotland in CT on Sunday.

Viva la Revolution,
-nat

subtitle: MLS is not dead yet.

The MLS '97 season kicks off in about three weeks!

The New England Revolution begin with three games on the road before 
settling into Foxboro as the second part of a doubleheader. The WCQ 
between Mexico and USA will be the opener!

Big changes during the off-season. The first move was the "resignation" 
of Frank Stapleton as coach, to be replaced by MLS '96 coach-of-the-year,
Thomas Rongen. Where Frank was uneasy in front of a microphone and camera,
DGK (die grote kaase) eats it up. 

What next? A coach needs players. Well, the Rev took their sweet-ass time 
about it, only making major moves in the last couple weeks. The first 
addition was through last Fall's supplemental draft, bringing in Greg 
Lalas, brother of the red-bearded one, and also a defender. The college 
draft in January brought several fresh faces. First pick was Scott Coufal, 
a 'keeper.

But, the Rev faithful were unhappy. Would Alberto Naveda, a fan favorite, 
be back? Negotiations with his home club in Argentina looked dismal - too 
much money. (The MLS teams work with a salary cap and player purchases 
count towards that cap.) Details worked out and he is in Florida with the 
team. As is the other South American favorite, Welton, from Brazil.

Not good enough. We need an offensive target to compliment Joe-Max Moore
and to fill the role when Moore is playing for the US National team. And
we need help on defense, with two National team starters involved, and 
the midfield was atrocious last year (not that Frank's style involved a 
midfield <g>). Enter Chiquinho Conde, a striker from Mozambique playing 
in Portugal's first division. And just yesterday it was officially 
announced that former Italian national team 'keeper Walter Zenga would 
become a Rev, leaving Padova to follow a trail blazed by Giuseppe 
Galderisi and Alexi Lalas. Ironically, Zenga's last cap for Italy came 
in a match at Foxboro (2-0 shutout of Ireland). 

Discussions are ongoing two more Argentines, defensive midfielder 
Alejandro Fabian Farias and defender Leonardo Squadrone, as well. But 
there is also a limit on foreign players, so who is leaving? (Not so) 
fond fairwells to Geoff Aunger and Mark Watson of the Canadian national 
team. Between their national team commitments and (how can I say this 
nicely?) lack of creative play, DGK has released them to the waiver 
wires. Mark and Geoff led the list of players the fans would least like 
to see back and Rongen has obliged.

Check out http://www.nhsoccer.com/rev/mls.htm for more Rev details.

As mentioned, two Argentines, defensive midfielder Alejandro 
Fabian Farias and defender Leonardo Squadrone have been signed 
to the Revolution. They, and Zenga, are supposed to join the team 
in Boston for training beginning March 19. 

To meet the foreign player limit, the Rev traded Welton to the 
Los Angeles Galaxy for a supplemental draft pick, next year. They 
also released journeyman midfielder, Peter Woodring, fan favorite 
'keeper Aidan Heaney, and Canadian National team defender Iain 
Fraser.

The team is at the required 22 player limit so no further movement 
is expected in the two week run-up to the first game.


A Rev side note. Rev and US National teammates Alexi Lalas and Mike 
Burn will clash with former Rev teammates Iain Fraser, Geoff Aunger, 
and Mark Watson of the Canadian National team in Palo Alto, CA on 
Saturday as each team plays their second "Hexagonal" WCQ. Rev/US 
teammate Joe-Max Moore will watch from the sidelines due to recovery 
from a groin operation (ouch).

Viva la Revolution!

The season has begun. Last weeks's opening game in San Jose 
between the San Jose Clash and NY/NJ MetroStars ended in a 
0-0 draw. The exciting match was marred by the tie-breaking 
shoot-out which went 11 rounds before Clash 'keeper sealed 
the deal by sliding a shot under NY/NJ 'keeper Tony Meola. 
Both teams were missing players due to the US National team 
match in Costa Rica. (OK. So we won't get any sympathy from 
Leicester City fans on that account.)


The rest of the league kicks off tomorrow with the Rev at 
Dallas Burn, Colorado Rapids at Columbus Crew, San Jose Clash 
at Kansas City Wizards (no longer the "Wiz"), Washington DC 
United at Los Angeles Galaxy, and NY/NJ at Tampa Bay Mutiny.

In the Revolution camp, midfielder Anthony Farias will be 
unavailable due to visa issues. Injured players include 
midfielders Joe-Max Moore, Imad Baba, and forward Paul Keegan. 
The defense should be healthy and whole with Walter Zenga 
making his debut in goal for the Rev.


MLS is using three of the new FIFA Law changes effecting the 
'keeper. (1) The 'keeper may not handle a throw-in from a 
teammate, (2) the 'keeper may move along (not off) the line 
during the taking of a penalty kick, and (3) the 'keeper may 
not hold the bal more than "5 or 6" seconds. 

The latter had an ugly effect on the opening game, with both 
'keepers quickly booting the ball down field when there was 
congestion around them. As often as not, they shanked it 
into touch. Not quite what FIFA intended.

From the Revolution Independent Supporters Association mailing list:
----------------------------
Does anyone know any good cheers for Mo "Judas" Johnson and friends when
they come on Sat.? I figured someone might know some good Celtic cheers 
we can use to rile him up :-)
----------------------------



The New England Revolution play Mo's Kansas City Wizards on Saturday. 
While we may have split with Mother England many years ago, the 
Midnight Riders (a Rev supporters club) seek advice on slagging the 
opponent from experts across the pond (or you, too, Trev). <g>

Check out http://www.nhsoccer.com/riders/mls-sup.htm

-nat (note the two n's - [email protected])