Jones & Castillo to possibly join US

Midfielder Jermaine Jones could join the U.S. national team later this year, possibly with defender Edgar Castillo, reports Ronald Blum of AP.

The 27-year-old Jones, who has appeared in the European Champions League for Schalke of the Bundesliga, has played three times for Germany’s national team in exhibitions. He holds dual citizenship and has petitioned FIFA for a switch of nationality.

“We’ve had pretty regular communications with Jermaine’s representatives and his advisers,” U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said Thursday. “I think that paperwork for that has probably now been submitted to FIFA. And the earliest he would be eligible to move would be the 2nd of August, which would be 60 days after the rule change came into effect.”

Jones, the son of a U.S. soldier, was Eintracht Frankfurt’s captain before signing a four-year contract with Schalke in April 2007.

Plans aren’t as far along with Castillo, a 22-year-old from New Mexico with Mexico’s Tigres UANL. He made his debut for Mexico’s national team against Colombia on Aug. 22, 2007, and has played in four matches for El Tri.

“We’ve had some discussions with Edgar’s representatives in the last few days,” Gulati said. “Everything is open. I don’t think Bob is ready to say that he’s coming into the team or not coming into the team, but from our perspective we’ve had some preliminary discussions with Edgar.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=ap-usadditions&prov=ap&type=lgns

Gold Cup Preview

Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney previews the Gold Cup.

On the face of it, the task for the U.S. national team is simple: Start off defense of your Gold Cup title with a Fourth of July match in Seattle against one of the smallest nations in Concacaf. Except that things work differently in Concacaf, and though the days of guest competitors from other confederations and the wrong national anthems being played are things of the past, hopefully, just a few days before the tournament began came news of a curious development.

The USA meets Grenada Saturday (9 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel, TeleFutura) at Qwest Field with a greatly revamped roster from the squad that finished second in the Confederations Cup, though seven of those players have been added to the 23-man roster submitted last week, as per an announcement that following discussions between Concacaf and U.S. Soccer, Concacaf decided that any nation competing in a Gold Cup played right after a Confederations Cup would be permitted to select game-day rosters of 18 from 30 players, not the standard 23.

http://www.socceramerica.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=33021&Nid=57500&p=482904

Hankinson headed to India

Tim Hankinson, who has coached in MLS, the USL and the collegiate ranks and whose globetrotting has taken him to Iceland and Guatemala, is off to India to coach Goa's Salgaocar FC, which won promotion to the 2009-10 I-League First Division.

Hankinson was most recently the men's head coach at Division II power Ft. Lewis. He made a name for himself as head coach of Alabama A&M during its heyday as a D1 power and also coached at DePaul and Syracuse.

He worked in the USL and MLS's Project-40 program before coaching MLS's Tampa Bay Mutiny and Colorado Rapids. He also coached in the Icelandic Second Division.

"Tim Hankinson coming to India will enrich this country's footballing culture," agent Eddie Rock told indiafootball.com.Located on India's west coast, Goa has a strong Portuguese influence and is noted for its beaches.

Salgaocar, one of six Goan teams in the I-League, has recently signed Brazilians Luciano Sabrosa and Alexandre D'Silva and Nigerian Chigbo Offor for the 2009-10 season.

The Beckham Experiment

Below is the link to an excerpt of the much-anticipated "The Beckham Experiment" by Grant Wahl-

The Morton's dinner was the first time Beckham had held center stage at a players-only meal, and he came out of his shell, answering questions and telling stories about his days with Manchester United, the English national team and Real Madrid. The vibe was comfortable. There was no awkwardness with Beckham. "You can break his balls," said defender Chris Albright, "and he'll break your balls right back." Kyle Martino, a midfielder, was stunned that Beckham could be such a regular guy.

And then the check came.

Beckham was earning a $6.5 million salary, and his income, with endorsements, would balloon to $48.2 million. Martino was making a salary of $55,297 -- before taxes -- and living in one of the U.S.'s most expensive cities. Nearly everyone at the table was thinking, Is Beckham going to pick up the check? But nobody said anything. Beckham, meanwhile, had never been in this situation before. The players on his other teams had all been millionaires, and Real Madrid paid for all team meals anyway. The Galaxy provided only a $45 per diem on the road. What would Beckham do? What should he do?

Donovan eyed the bill from his seat. He had paid for teammates' dinners in the past, and he'd made his position clear even before Beckham's arrival. "He'd better be picking up meals too," Donovan had told teammates, "or else I'll call him out on it." But defender Chris Klein, one of Donovan's best friends on the team, had a different viewpoint.

"If you're out to dinner with the guys and you pick up a check here or there, then fine," Klein said. "But if you start to feel like you're being used, these aren't your friends anymore. These are leeches. You can look at it two ways: Here's this guy that's making a lot of money, and maybe he should pick up the tab. But the other side of it is, maybe he's trying so hard to be one of the guys, if he's paying for everything then he's not one of the guys anymore."

Beckham didn't pick up the check. He put in enough to cover his share and passed it along. That would be standard operating procedure at meals throughout the season. "None of us care," said Kelly Gray, one of Beckham's frequent dining companions. "It's just nice to go out to dinner."

Donovan didn't call Beckham out at Morton's after all, but he could never get over Beckham's alligator arms when the bill arrived. Nobody would have believed it, he thought: David Beckham is a cheapskate.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/the_bonus/06/29/beckham.book/index.html

Castillo interested in playing for US

Former USYSA Region IV ODP member Edgar Castillo, who recently competed for the Mexican Under-23 national team in last year's Olympics qualifying, revealed in an article on USSoccerPlayers.com that he would be interested in playing for the United States.

The heralded left back for Tigres said recently he’d be willing to take advantage of a new FIFA rule allowing players cap-tied at the youth National Team level to switch National Teams.

“I would play for the United States,” Castillo said during a recent phone interview from Mexico, where he is preparing for the upcoming Mexican League season with Tigres. “I’d want to talk to them first, but I want to play for the US. I think it would be a very good opportunity for me, for my career. If they call me I would play for them."

http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/ussoccerplayers/2009/06/castillo-i-would-play-for-the-united-states.html

Upsets Aplenty in US Open Cup

Four MLS clubs were toppled by lower-division clubs in round of 16 play on Tuesday in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. The U.S. Open Cup is our countries version of the FA Cup.

Giant killers included Charleston of USL-1 (who defeated Chivas USA 3-1); Rochester Rhinos of USL-1 (who defeated the Columbus Crew in penalty kicks after drawing 1-1 at the end of regulation); Harrisburg of USL-2 (defeated the New England Revolution 2-1); Wilmington Hammerheads of USL-2 (defeated the Chicago Fire 1-0).

In other action, D.C. United defeated the Ocean City Barons of the PDL 2-0; Kansas City defeated the Minnesota Thunder of USL-1 on penalty kicks after drawing 3-3 at the end of regulation;

The round of 16 play concludes today with the Austin Aztex (USL-1) taking on the Houston Dynamo, and a local derby in the Portland Timbers (USL-1) and the Seattle Sounders FC (MLS).

Will USA's Giant-Slaying Continue?

Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney previews the FIFA Confederations Cup Final between the USA and Brazil.

After conceding two goals in the first 20 minutes and losing Sacha Kljestan to a red card in the 57th (in their group play match versus each other), the USA did manage to hit the crossbar twice - Conor Casey and Benny Feilhaber - late in the match.

In terms of fatigue, the roles are reversed. Spain had the extra day of rest for the semifinal and though it dictated tempo at certain intervals, the Americans refused to buckle under a fierce onslaught in the final minutes. The USA will have the extra rest day for the final, though replacing the suspended Michael Bradley in central midfield will probably require a shift in tactics and possibly formation as well, with a version of a 4-5-1 among the possibilities.

If he has confidence in the Jozy Altidore-Charlie Davies tandem up front, Coach Bob Bradley can slot Feilhaber at outside mid and move Donovan into middle with Clark, though Feilhaber is best suited to a central role. That could move Clint Dempsey to the left, which is where he often plays for Fulham. Feilhaber last started for the USA one and a half years ago against South Africa in Johannesburg, the site of Sunday's final, and hasn't played a full match since the 2007 Copa America.

Another option is to start Dempsey at forward rather than midfield, but he's been effective coming from wide positions if more consistently dangerous up top. Even if the players ostensibly start out in a 4-5-1, in their best games there's been a lot of interchanging and interplay among the attackers, which if repeated will test Brazil and perhaps add to this unforgettable competition a second historic victory.

http://www.socceramerica.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=32923&Nid=57239&p=482904