Last night was the final of the North American SuperLiga, featuring my hometown Chicago Fire against the UANL Tigres. The Fire were really the better side, but the match went straight to penalties after ninety minutes, with Tigres winning 4-3. The match did feature this goal for Tigres, was this a great goal or criminal defending?
Somewhat of an annoyance was that the game was only available in Spanish. This isn't something I would normally complain about; in the United States football matches are frequently covered only in Spanish because of the higher level of interest in those matches among the Spanish-speaking American residents. But this was a Chicago team, and there was no English-language broadcast in Chicago. This game would do a lot better at attracting new fans if people could watch the match in a language they understood.
To world news, where Liverpool have quickly moved to replace Xabi Alonso with Roma's Alberto Aquilani. Aquilani had an injury-marred campaign last year, appearing only 14 times for Roma in Serie A. He will not be ready to start the season for Liverpool, still recovering from surgery on his right ankle in May. Nonetheless, Rafa thinks Aquilani will "excite" the fans. Liverpool have gotten a good player here, though not as good as Alonso in his peak form. As Aquilani was only 20 million euros, Liverpool have netted ten million on the central midfielder switch. Does this mean more transfers are to come? The squad as currently configured probably doesn't have the necessary depth to win the league, but one or two more players may make the difference. In their Liverpool preview, the Guardian speculates that a central defender and perhaps David Silva may still be acquired. For his part, Alex Ferguson's mind games have already begun.
Elsewhere in England, Altidore to Hull is confirmed. Jozy calls the EPL the best league in the world. I'm sure HalaMadrid will have something to say about that. Hopefully Altidore will get the chance to play regularly in the EPL in order to develop his considerable talent.
Since ARF beat me to the ESPN US Soccer feature, I'll just second his recommendation.
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