The 265th historic match between Inter Milan and AC Milan featured a goal fest (though Inter was in the driver’s seat throughout the 90 min.). Inter opened a (2-0) lead in the 1st half behind goals from Crespo and Stankovic.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic added another for Inter right after half-time before Clarence Seedorf opened the scoring for AC Milan. Materazzi, Inter’s dubious defender, scored the 4th and pushed Inter back to their 3 goal cushion, but was then red-carded (2nd yellow) for taking off his jersey in celebration.

With 10-men, Inter looked less formidable, and AC Milan was able to put pressure on the Serie A leaders with two late goals from Gilardino and Kaka. This time the damage was not catastrophic for Inter, but Mancini must be both frustrated and cautious about his team’s lack of discipline.

Hands down the best football played on American soil this week was a match between Morelia of Mexico and Atletico National of Colombia held on Wednesday Oct. 25th in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl.

Now, I don’t need to name player’s names of who played, because who cares. It was the team football that was the bomb. What made watching this game so impressive was that the ball was effortlessly being moved from one section of the field to the next.

There were no skills being called into question when it came to performing basic, or advanced ones. Each player was in control of themselves and their part of the game. This is something that you should expect and enjoy at a professional game. This something has been missing from most every time I see an MLS match.

Of course, there was a bicycle and some amazing dribbling moves, but the core of the game was based on individuals who were obviously well schooled in the game of soccer. Space and movement magically appeared and worked together to create a symphony that played a salsa tune.

The pain of soccer was noticeably absent and I found myself cheering for both teams because, like the Real Madrid supporters applauded their arch rival Ronaldinho off the field last year after an amazing performance, I could only appreciate what my eyes had the opportunity to behold.

The only real tragedy of the happening was that there was only a spackling of Americans without Latino decent in the crowd. The few were seemingly brave to enter unknown or foreign territory. This is a tragedy because it was not necessarily a Latin thing happening, it was a soccer thing happening.

Savages, all of us must realize that if soccer is on the field, even if the people around you are speaking Russian, as long as you are safe, support it and enjoy it for what it is, “The Beautiful Game!”

Though the MLS is in a serious showdown this weekend to determine which teams will make their Conference Final, we interrupt this program to remind savages that this weekend will be spectacle to the most classic of Serie A derbies!

Though Inter Milan is King of the Mountain (level on pts. with Palermo, albeit), AC Milan will provide the first passionate test for Inter at the “old home” of the San Siro (dual grounds for both these Italian Giants) for the 265th time.

Coming off a (4-1) dominating victory over Livorno in the mid-week, Inter will look to add insult to injury by defeating their cross-town superiors. The resurgence of Recoba and Julio Cruz have added the scoring juice for manager, Mancini, and with Zlatan and Crespo as options, it is no wonder that Adriano has been sent home to lose some weight, as they had been calling him “The Bigger” Ronaldo around the training pitch. All joking aside, I hope that Adriano recovers his form quickly to remind all savages of his explosive striking power.

AC Milan meanwhile fought out a (1-0) victory on Wednesday against Chievo Verona, yet it appears they have a higher mountain to climb on Saturday. A lack of striking confidence in his side, Ancelotti looks set to pack his mid-field and lead his line with the lone striker Inzaghi, trying to sniff out the goals.

The problem that MLS is really suffering under is not lack of good players, but lack of good coaches. In my short look at some of these Coaches, half of them seemingly barely understand what is transpiring on the field, which is allowing below standard play to continue over the course of the season.

It is mostly their fault that we are looking at such an inferior product, in my opinion. The players are making bad decisions yes, but the coaches are saying that is good enough. These are not skill errors, but it seems to be tactical decisions on the field that are not corrected.

Hey, if you are making $40,000 a year, and no one is telling you to get better, well go ahead and have fun for 8 years playing soccer. You can live on some memories, but frankly the standards of the MLS will never rise past irregular football, where as, if El Salvador had our human and financial resources. That is, give El Salvador our soccer infrastructure.  They would put out a European or Mexican like product. In this case, buy Mexican, Have you seen some of the goals!

If not Savage Strikes, brings them to you every Monday!

But in reality, we must groom coaches to take players farther then they have gone. Many of these coaches have peeked at the College level, or at the standard that the MLS is at today. I am sure there are some new, hungry, innovative coaches that can make a difference in the lives of these players, to get them to play better and extend their careers across the border. Just as many players from El Salvador have plied their trade across theirs.

In the Premiership, if you are a coach and not getting the job done in the first few days, you are in the hot seat. In Brazil it is worse, three straight loses and you are out! We need to up our standards and get some coaching turnover out there. This will create a whole heck of a lot of competition from game to game, and as a fan, isn’t that what we want to see?

This past Sunday pitted two of England’s big giants in a crucial match as Chelsea had already defeated Portsmouth (2-1) to leap frog United into top spot of the EPL on Saturday.

Sir Alex Ferguson was hoping that the historic occasion would sway to his side and not spoil Paul Scholes 500th appearance for the Red Devils. Wayne Rooney was also making his 100th appearance for Man. United while Steven Gerard played in his 350th appearance for Liverpool.

Regardless of all the milestones, the only milestone on the minds of both clubs was the three points at the end of the game. The home team did not falter and put on a fine performance in front of 75 thousand plus at Old Trafford.

Paul Scholes scored a bungling type goal on a goal line skirmish, but it was Rio Ferdinand who dazzled the crowd, as his sublime first-time take from off a cross set himself up for an equally impressive strike that he sent past Reina curling into the upper 90.

Man. United has reclaimed top honors for the moment while Liverpool is in league limbo right now and is already eleven points adrift with the loss to Sir Alex’s men.

Rijkaard’s men come into the penultimate encounter of Spanish football on an emotional low as they were defeated (1-0) by Chelsea in the mid-week’s Champions League Match day.

It was not the turning, wonder strike the Drogba delivered at the outset of the 2nd half that sealed Barcelona’s fate; it was the inability and frustration of a side that could not find any rhythm, or answers, to ever really challenge the Chelsea defense.

While third-string keeper Hilario made a few necessary saves in the 1st half, the Chelsea defense was like a big blue sponge that just soaked and soaked up Barcelona pressure, never leaking away opportunities for Ronaldinho and Co.

With Barcelona opening a slight lead at the mountain-top of La Liga, Rijkaard then faced his first true challenge with the emotionally charge, historic derby against Real Madrid, who in truth haven’t fared much better, as their inconsistent form still seem to riddle the team even under new-coach Capello.

Madrid, however, was coming off another impressive Champions League victory and not defeat; like their old rivals; their league form is another manner as their recent (1-0) loss to Getafe raised many eyebrows last week. With the obvious quality in their side it remains baffling how Real Madrid has struggled to claim trophies in the past few years.

On Sunday Real Madrid turned the tables on Barcelona who sputtered once again in defeat. The goals by Van Nistelrooy and Raul secured a sound victory on home soil pulling Madrid up the table with 14 pts. just two points behind joint leaders Barcelona and Valencia.

Barcelona faces Recreativo Huelva on Sunday and will be hoping that Ronaldinho molts out of his poor form and displays the dominance of pre-R10 days. Certainly his teammates are realizing on the field that with Eto’o injured, Ronaldinho needs to find his focus and inspiration soon, or it could be their reverse déjà vu match against Chelsea that causes the pain of defeat again.

Right now you can choose the best goal scored in the MLS this season.

Am I missing something, or is their still more then a month of soccer to be played? Albeit, Brian Ching’s bicycle two weeks ago will be hard to beat, but hold your awards till all the games are played.

If you are thinking, they might call the best regular season goal and the best playoff goal, I don’t see that. I just see Goal of the Year.

What a crock. I am getting geared up to watch some playoffs and they already have raised the bar and said you aren’t going past this.

Well vote for your favorite goal here– http://web.mlsnet.com/mls/awards/2006/goal_of_the_year/

To be honest, I have looked at a few of them and man am I glad I didn’t watch that week in MLS. Some were just average EPL Goals and below average Brazilian League.

Should I be worried that the team that I have picked to go all the way in the playoffs only has one goal to vote on this year, and it was of the mediocre variety?  

Meditations from the Mongoose

To read Oct. 27, 2006 Edition, Click here

To learn more about Aerobic Soccer Training, Click here

In our last few newsletters, we have been talking about things that make the sport of soccer “the beautiful game.” For this issue, we’ve decided to shift gears and address the nuts-and-bolts aspect of hard work. Yes that’s right! Hard Work! Not everybody can be a Romario and saunter around the field applying only one touch to the game, if necessary, to score a goal.

This article is for the little Makeleles, Gattusos and Armases out there, that put in all the heart and hard running for your teams. Without them there would be no Zidanes, Totties and Donavans to adorn the fields with their immaculate skills.

Sometimes we forget that without work rate, skills are often hidden. The skills are hidden beneath one hundred balls that were never received, because the player was too lazy or inexperienced to go get it. How can you show your skills if you never have the ball? Would you choose an excellent player who is lazy, with no work rate?

Most coaches would settle for a less technical player if they have the fitness base and work ethic to make up for their less-refined touch.

Do get us wrong! We’re not saying that work rate and work ethic is superior to being technically superb. We’re just reminding you that you can have all the skill in the world, but if you don’t work and hustle for your team, the only games you’ll be playing in are the pickup games on the weekends.

Obviously, the positions that most come under fire, when it comes to Soccer Industry, are the forward and attacking midfield roles. Be sure to remind and stress to your young players that defensive effort and focused running is essential to every position on the field. Without it we are only a fraction of the complete, total player. Even if you have incredible skill, fighting for the ball in your position whenever it comes close will give you more chances to display what you already have.

We recommend that every player develop an understanding of every positional role in the game. Don’t let your players specialize in only one aspect of the game, especially in training where no harm can be done when exposing players to other positions.

During this time of positional experimentation make sure that the players are working and making decisions as fast as they possibly can. At first it is enough to just get them to move constantly, but after that the real reward comes when they can make decisions while moving at that pace.

A final tip: when your players are good enough, possession games for 5 to 7 minute intervals will keep their work rate up. The reason is because there are no goals, except to keep possession for 7 to 10 passes. This will have your team playing more fluid and specific players will not be able to make any positional excuses up.

The industrious players will rise out of possession games, and the lazy will kick the ground.

Click Here to Listen to this Week’s Episode

1. The Premiership
 

2. Champions League Deja Vu–Barcelona vs. Chelsea
 

3. Serie A
 

4. The MLS Playoffs