FIFA Updates

Young Milan forward Dominic Adiyiah is being courted by Hannover over the possibility of spending the next season with them on loan, Bild reports.

Having been snapped up by the Rossoneri from Fredrikstad in January, the 20-year-old has yet to make a league appearance in Serie A and could be allowed to depart on a temporary basis in order to gain valuable senior experience.

Mainz have already been linked with a loan deal that would take Adiyiah to the Bundesliga, though Hannover are keen to compete by offering a similar move. Crucial to any temporary switch, which is said to be worth €300,000 and could include a purchase option, could be Goran Milanovic, who is an advisor of the young African.

“Dominic is my boy,” he affirmed. “I would prefer he went to Hannover 96, which was my first club outside of Serbia. I am sure he would be a plus for Hannover and that the club would also be good for him.”

Such words would appear to indicate there is a new leader in the race to sign the striker.


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David Beckham “has no interest” in joining West Ham United and is happy playing for the LA Galaxy, his spokesman has said.

West Ham co-owner David Gold had previously said that Beckham had promised to think about signing for the Hammers, but Beckham’s camp have moved quickly to deny those claims.

“Whilst it’s flattering to hear of interest there has been no contact with or offer from West Ham,” Beckham’s spokesmen told the Press Association.  

“David is happy at the Los Angeles Galaxy and has no interest in leaving, and is looking forward to returning to the team on August 9.”

Beckham, 35, spent part of last season on loan at Italian giants AC Milan is close to completing his recovery from the ruptured achilles that scuppered his chance of making it to a fourth World Cup this summer.

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Since the USA has emerged as a respectable team on the international stage, other teams have started wondering, “What is their style of play?” The English have route one, the Dutch used to have total football, Brazil used to have ‘Joga Bonito’, etc. So where does USA fall in the spectrum of playing styles?

National team coach Bob Bradley has used a 4-4-2 with two attacking outside midfielders through most of his tenure. I have heard this called the “special talent formation” for the simple reason that the best two players on the team are placed on the wings and given space to operate with the ball. While this formation works for the current corp, the key components, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, aren’t going to be young forever. Additionally, formations and tactics have changed with coaches over the years in the national team setup.  

So how is the U.S. style being shaped through the youth ranks?

A cursory glance shows that the influences are varied and somewhat at odds.

A look at the 82 technical directors of the Development Academy gives the best pulse of current styles and the technical director of a youth club probably has the most influence over playing style at the club, so let’s start there.

For the vast majority of the 82 clubs, the technical directors had their start coaching in American leagues. A closer look at the numbers reveals the major foreign influence (not surprisingly) is English: 18 of the 82 have an English background. Thirteen of the 82 are former MLS players. And six of the 82 have a Latin background.

Numbers aside, U.S. Soccer has shown a push lately to tap into the Mexican-American market for new talent, including Omar Salgado, the 16-year-old who left Chivas de Guadalajara to accept a U.S. U-20 call. However, this push for players is undermined slightly by the paltry number of six Latin technical directors and even more so by which clubs lack a Latin influence.

In one of the hotbeds of Hispanic talent, Texas, the vast majority of technical directors and coaches have an English influence. Five of the nine Texas academies employ British technical directors, two with South American influence, and two with homegrown coaching expertise. Not to suggest this is a negative thing, but typically English and Latin styles go together like oil and water.

At the Development Academy Finals last week at the Home Depot Center, two of the 16 teams had a predominately Latin style of play. One of those clubs was FC Dallas, led by former MLS player Oscar Pareja. While his team didn’t leave with the hardware, it did show an impressive ability to possess the ball. Pareja’s system has been successful in placing two players (Moises Hernandez and Michael Ambrose) in the current U-20 U.S. national team pool as well.

When Pareja talked to Goal.com earlier this year, he mentioned one of the goals of the club was to identify players for the national team. He also said FC Dallas intended to “provide a better environment for the talent we have in the States.”

To expand the creative influence on the U.S. style beyond the Development Academy, U.S. Soccer’s most recent national coach hiring, U-17 boss Wilmer Cabrera, has Latin roots. The push is there to diversify beyond the Euro-centric style of play in America. But does that necessarily suggest a positive progression?

While the mix of cultures in America is undoubtedly a good thing, the conflicting ideologies through the national team system do leave some confusion. There is German, Dutch, and Colombian styles in the youth system now. There are some similarities between them, but for the most part, they aren’t adopting the same style.

In Jurgen Klinsmann’s rant last month after the England exited South Africa, he talked about how his team changed the German system in the youth ranks so that players from the U-21 squad were ready to play the same system as the full team, hence Thomas Mueller and Mesut Oezil’s seamless transition. The same idea has been used with countless clubs across the globe, most notably Barcelona and Ajax.

Given the relative youthfulness of U.S. Soccer to the global scene, it is expected for the team’s style to change and grow. Eventually, U.S. Soccer is going to have to attempt to find a blend between athleticism, skill, and flair that befits an American style. The Development Academy or youth nation team ranks might be the perfect testing ground for such a style.

Now, the U.S. just needs an innovative coach to find the right combination for the long-term.

J.R. Eskilson is the youth editor at Goal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NCAAsoccer and join Goal.com USA’s

Women’s Professional Soccer and PUMA added to its partnership by teaming up to help others. Beginning with the July 31 Boston Breakers, Washington Freedom match at Harvard Stadium in Allston, Mass., PUMA will launch Project Pink, which strives to raise awareness and raise funds in support of the fight against breast cancer.

PUMA’s Project Pink will then be held Aug. 7 at Pioneer Stadium in Hayward, Calif., for the FC Gold Pride, Chicago Red Stars match; Aug. 8 for the Philadelphia Independence, Sky Blue FC tilt at John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester, Penn.; and then conclude with two Sky Blue FC, Washington Freedom matches, Aug. 8 at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J., and Aug. 28 at Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md.

In each of the five matches, PUMA will dress up some of the players in special Project Pink kits. In addition, there will be Project Pink merchandise available for purchase at shop.puma.com through Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

All profits will be donated to a nonprofit committed to breast cancer awareness; a beneficiary will be named through a national online vote which is hosted at wps.pumafootball.com.

“Giving back is an integral part of our brand DNA at PUMA which comes to life through our Project Pink program with Women’s Professional Soccer,” explained Tara McRae, senior director of marketing for PUMA North America. “Project Pink has resonated with the players, the fans, and our company. There’s a lot of personal passion driving this program forward, and we’re looking forward to finally taking it public and getting consumers involved.”

On top of that, on July 31, PUMA is launching a forum at wps.pumafootball.com/projectpink to allow interaction with the Project Pink initiative.

The site allows for the nomination of breast cancer charities with nonprofit status; supporters can then log on to vote for the winner, who will ultimately receive a donation consisting of 100 percent of the profits from the sale of PUMA Project Pink product. The nomination period will open on Aug. 7; voting will begin on Sept. 13. The crowd favorite will be announced and the donation made in late October.

While Boston, Philadelphia, FC Gold Pride, Sky Blue FC and Washington are all involved with games in the Project Pink five-game fund, the Atlanta Beat and Chicago Red Stars will be helping the cause later in the WPS season.

PUMA will also encourage the utilization of the hash tag #projectpink on Twitter. For each use of that hash tag discussing Project Pink, PUMA will donate $1 to the cause, up to $25,000.

WPS players Karina LeBlanc and Amy Rodriguez of Philadelphia Independence and Leslie Osborne of the Boston Breakers are the WPS spokeswomen for the Project Pink cause.

“A number of my close friends and family have been affected by breast cancer,” said LeBlanc. “I’m out here doing what I love, and any chance I have to be a part of a project like this to show my passion for what I do and link with a good cause is a no-brainer.”

For more on Women’s Professional Soccer, visit Goal.com’s WPS page and join Goal.com USA’s Facebook fan page

1. FC Gold Pride – Refer back to the Week 14 power rankings … and now that you’re back, the Pride had two more two-goal scorers and the goal scoring was of no worry. That and a five-game win streak. (previous: 1)

2. Boston Breakers- The 2-1 loss to the red-hot Gold Pride aside, the Breakers really put it to Chicago on Sunday in their playoff-position mid-season battle. They are legit, but are they peaking too soon? (3)

3. Philadelphia Independence – Great bounce back win from its 2-0 defeat at the Gold Pride. It always helps to get Amy Rodriguez, and her two goals, back in the lineup. (4)

4. Atlanta Beat- Probably not as dominant as the top three in this week’s rankings, but Atlanta is starting to show a little of that Athletica grit they set out to obtain in early June. (7)

5. Chicago Red Stars- Chicago turned its four-game unbeaten streak around with consecutive losses, and are now in sixth place. There is no room for mid-season struggles. (2)

6. Washington Freedom- Cat Whitehill says it best: “I feel like we are at rock bottom.” At least the Freedom isn’t in as much disarray as the defending champs. (6)

7. Sky Blue FC – Speaking of the defending champs, injuries, coaching changes, players leaving for school and the like, what will fix the mess that is spreading throughout the Sky Blue FC camp? Could they possibly piece it together for a repeat late-season surge? Doesn’t look likely. (5)

Goal.com contributor Giovanni Albanese Jr. covers FC Gold Pride for Tri-City Voice newspaper in Fremont, Calif. You can follow him on Twitter @GAlbaneseJr.

For more on Women’s Professional Soccer, visit Goal.com’s WPS pageand join Goal.com USA’s Facebook fan page