Yesterday MLS posted a video on their Instagram of some Portland Timbers supporters and I couldn't help but notice the guy leading the chant at the beginning of the video had this sweet beard:
This got me thinking -- which MLS/U.S. Soccer fan has the best beard? It also might help to mention that since I began growing out my own beard my wife has started to refer to it as "our fifth child" due to all of the comments it receives from friends, family members, and yes even complete strangers.
To encourage MLS/U.S. Soccer fans to share their beard pics with Virginia Online Soccer News we will be giving away this 'Death Before Shaving' shirt from the guys at Beardgang.com. You can tweet your beard pics to @VASoccerNews using the hashtag #bestmlsbeard or post them on our Facebook wall. You may also email them to: chris.wimmer@vasoccernews.com.
*Contest ends 9/30/2013 and the winner will be announced on 10/01/2013, good luck.
In the final of the 2005 Gold Cup, the U.S. Men's National Team defeated Panama and where named Champions. This past Sunday the Americans secured a repeat victory over Panama in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final, giving them their fifth title (Mexico leads with six).
Landon Donovan was named MVP of the tournament and leads the all-time scoring with 18 goals in Gold Cup matches.
U.S. MNT KICKS OFF CENTENNIAL YEAR WITH SCORELESS DRAW AGAINST CANADA AT BBVA COMPASS STADIUM IN HOUSTON
Five U.S. Players Earn First Caps, Including Three of Four Starting Defenders
USA Extends Unbeaten Streak to 16 Games Against Canada (8-0-8)
U.S. MNT Opens Final Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying on Feb.
6 Against Honduras in San Pedro Sula (3 p.m. CT Kickoff; Live Broadcast
on beIN SPORT)
HOUSTON (Jan. 29, 2013) - A
young U.S. Men's National Team controlled the majority of the match
against Canada but couldn't find the back of the net in a scoreless draw
this evening at BBVA Compass Stadium in the first match of 2013.
Junior Flores (Unattached; Manassas Park, Va.) has been invited to attend the U.S. Under-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla. Flores was one of 31 players selected by U.S. U-17 Men's National Team head coach Richie Williams. Click Here for full list of players selected.
U.S. WNT FORWARD ABBY WAMBACH NAMED FIFA WOMEN'S WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR; PIA SUNDHAGE NAMED WORLD COACH OF THE YEAR FOR WOMEN'S SOCCER
Alex Morgan Voted Third in Women's World Player of the Year Voting; Wambach's Honor Marks Third Time American Woman Named World Player of the Year Following Mia Hamm's 2001 and 2002 Selections
CHICAGO (Jan. 7, 2013) - Abby Wambach, the co-captain of the U.S.
Women's National Team, has been named the 2012 FIFA Women's World Player
of the Year, and
Pia Sundhage, who led the USA to the 2012 Olympic gold medal, has been
named the 2012 World Coach of the Year for Women's Soccer.
Wambach and Sundhage received the awards today at the 2013 FIFA Ballon
d'Or gala in Zurich, Switzerland, as the world's governing body for
soccer held its
annual event. Lionel Messi of Barcelona and Argentina was named the FIFA
World Player of the Year for the fourth year in a row.
Bill
Hamid called up to U.S.
Men’s National Team for January camp and a friendly
Squad
will face Canada on Jan. 29
in Houston, TX at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Washington, D.C. (January 6, 2013) – D.C. United today announced
that Homegrown goalkeeper Bill Hamid has been called up to the U.S. Men’s
National Team for training camp and a Jan. 29 friendly against Canada in
Houston, TX at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The match, occurring at the end of the
annual January camp, will open the team’s 2013 campaign and is the only
game prior to the start of the Hexagonal Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup
qualifying.
ussoccer.com talks to U.S. Women's National Team forwards Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan about their nominations for FIFA Women's World Player of the Year. The award will be given on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013.
CHICAGO (Dec. 15, 2012) - The new eight-team women's soccer league will be called the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The league, which will be
administered by U.S. Soccer, will begin in the spring of 2013.
The new league logo is appropriately red, white and blue and features
the silhouette of a female soccer player about to strike a shot.
With the confirmation of the league name and logo, the National Women's
Soccer League has also launched its official pages on Facebook and
Twitter. Fans
are encouraged to like the league at facebook.com/NWSLsoccer and follow on Twitter @NWSL_soccer. A league website will be launched in the near future.
U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati announced on Nov. 29 that former U.S.
Women's National Team General Manager Cheryl Bailey had been named the
Executive
Director for the new league.
"We are working on finalizing a number of league items, but we now have a
name and a logo that we think the fans will identify with and enjoy,"
said
Bailey. "This is a league we have to build from the bottom up and we
have a group of dedicated owners and talented support staff at U.S.
Soccer to keep
this process moving in a positive direction while slowly growing the
brand."
U.S. Soccer will subsidize the salaries of up to 24 U.S. Women's
National Team players while the Canadian Soccer Association and
Federation of Mexican
Football will each do the same for up to 16 players.
The eight teams in the league are: Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars,
FC Kansas City, Portland Thorns FC, Sky Blue FC, Washington Spirit,
Western New York
Flash and Seattle, which has yet to announce its team name.
More information on the details of the league will be released as they become finalized.
TOM SERMANNI NAMED HEAD COACH OF U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
Long-Time Australian Women's National Team Head Coach Comes to U.S. Soccer with Experience in Three FIFA Women's World Cup Tournaments; Sermanni Available via Media Conference Call on Wednesday, Oct. 31
CHICAGO (Oct. 30, 2012) - U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati announced today the hiring of Tom Sermanni as the seventh head coach in U.S. Women's National
Team history.
Sermanni, 58, comes to U.S. Soccer with 11 years of experience as a head
coach in international women's soccer - all with Australia - a period
during which
he led the Matildas in three Women's World Cup tournaments.
Sermanni will officially begin his tenure as the WNT head coach on Jan.
1, 2013. U.S. Soccer Women's Development Director Jill Ellis, who was on
the bench
for the USA's two recent draws with Germany, will coach the team for the
last five matches of the Fan Tribute Tour, presented by Panasonic. Due
to his
prior commitments with the Australia Women's National Team as he
finishes up his responsibilities with the Matildas, Sermanni
will not be
attending the next two matches in Portland and Phoenix. Sermanni will be
observing the U.S. Women's National Team for the last three matches of
the 2012
tour, which will be announced in the near future.
"After an extensive search and interview process, we believe Tom
Sermanni is the right person at the right time to lead our Women's
National Team," said
Gulati. "He has the knowledge, experience and vision to take on the
challenge of keeping our team at the top of the world. He has a
tremendous passion for
the game, knows the American players, understands our system and knows
the process of preparing a team for a World Cup tournament. We're
tremendously
excited to have him on board as we look forward to qualification for the
2015 Women's World Cup."
Sermanni comes to U.S. Soccer after eight years as head coach of the
Australia Women's National Team, which he coached in both the 2007 and
2011 FIFA
Women's World Cup tournaments, reaching the quarterfinal stage at both
events. That eight-year period was Sermanni's second stint with
Australia, as he
also coached the Matildas from 1994 through 1997, during which time he led the team to the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden.
"I'm honored to have this opportunity to work with tremendous players
and in a program that has had such a tradition of success," said
Sermanni. "U.S.
Soccer has always been at the forefront of supporting the women's game,
and it's exciting to coach the team in this next chapter of its history.
After
coaching against many of these players for years, I am looking forward
to working with an accomplished group of veterans while integrating the
numerous
talented young players who are itching for a chance to prove themselves.
It will be an exciting few years for the U.S. team and for all the
great fans as
we work toward the highest goals at the 2015 Women's World Cup."
In order to thoroughly examine the possible choices, Gulati headed a
search committee that included U.S. Soccer CEO/Secretary General Dan
Flynn, former
U.S. Women's National Team players Mia Hamm and Danielle Slaton, and
managing Director of Administration Tom King. The committee reviewed
more than 30 male
and female candidates both domestically and internationally.
During his time in charge of Australia, Sermanni helped bring the team
into the top 10 in the FIFA Women's World Rankings. Named the 2007 Asian
Football
Confederation Coach of the Year, Sermanni led Australia to a runner-up
finish at the 2006 AFC Women's Cup, where the team fell to China in
penalty kicks,
and to the championship in 2010, when the youthful Matildas downed Korea DPR in penalties.
Sermanni coached all three seasons of the Women's United Soccer
Association (WUSA), serving as an assistant for the San Jose CyberRays
during the inaugural
season, in which he helped the club to the league championship. He was
also an assistant for the CyberRays in 2002 before taking the head
coaching job of
the New York Power in 2003, where he coached U.S. Women's National Team
legends Christie Rampone, Shannon Boxx and Tiffeny Milbrett.
Sermanni, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, had a long playing career as a
midfielder from 1971 through 1989, playing more than 300 professional
matches and
scoring more than 50 goals. He quickly transitioned into coaching both
men's and women's professional soccer all over the world, including
stints in Japan,
the USA and Malaysia.
Sermanni follows Mike Ryan (1985), Anson Dorrance (1986-1994), Tony
DiCicco (1994-1999), April Heinrichs (2000-2004), Greg Ryan (2005-2007)
and Pia
Sundhage (2008-2011) as official coaches of the U.S. Women's National
Team, which has been ranked No. 1 in the world since winning the 2008
Olympic gold
medal in Beijing, China.
Highlights of the USA's thrilling 2-2 tie with Germany at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. Abby Wambach and Tobin Heath score goals for the WNT as the USA remained unbeaten on the Fan Tribute Tour, Presented by Panasonic.
In Episode 5 of ussoccer.com's "Road to Brazil, Presented by Castrol"
the U.S. Men's National Team prepares for two crucial World Cup
Qualifiers against Antigua & Barbuda on Oct. 12 and Guatemala on
Oct. 16. Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and Sacha
Kljestan preview the games, while head coach Jurgen Klinsmann discusses
what the teams can expect to face in these two big matches.
D.C. United vs Philadelphia Union
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 7:30 PM ET Maryland SoccerPlex - Boyds, MD
Two time U.S. Open Cup Champions (1996, 2008) D.C. United are set to face their MLS rivals, the Philadelphia Union tonight at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Last year the Black-and-Red defeated the Union on Penalty Kicks in Open Cup action.
D.C. are coming off a marathon of a match against the Richmond Kickers (USL) in Richmond, VA last week that saw United win 2-1 after 120 minutes of soccer. The match-up of D.C. vs. Philly features two of only eight MLS clubs left in 2012 U.S. Open Cup action after three rounds.
Chester, PA - Sunday evening VA Soccer News was at PPL Park in Chester, PA along with Southwestern Youth Association (SYA) who took a contingent of the youth clubs girls players up to Philadelphia to watch the U.S. Women's National Team compete against China in a pre-olympic international friendly.
These lucky young SYA players along with some parents and coaches where treated to a VIP experience, greeting the USWNT players as they came on the field, watching warm-ups up close at field level, and escorting players from both teams onto pitch to kick off the match. It was a magical experience, and many of the USWNT players chatted with and gave autographs to the SYA girls.
U.S. midfielder Heather O'Reilly was hilarious as she related crowd noise to youth parents yelling at players during games (see video below).
VA Soccer News would like to thank Eric Hunsaker (BlackLabFilm+TV) who has produced other amazing videos for us in the past for this stunning video, U.S. Soccer, and finally everyone who was part of the SYA group on a beautiful soccer day in Philly.
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. (Dec. 4, 2011) - The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team won the Nike International Friendlies for the first time, beating Brazil 3-1 in the final game of the tournament in front of a capacity crowd at the Premier Sports Campus.
The U.S. went into the match knowing a victory would secure the championship. First half goals from Rubio Rubin, Tyler Turner and Wesley Wade sprung the U.S. into the lead, and they withstood severe pressure from Brazil in the second half to earn the victory.
Rubin gave the U.S. an early lead just two minutes in, notching a goal with the first shot of the game. ussoccer.com Man of the Match Junior Flores delivered a free kick into the area that was headed towards Rubin, who skillfully flicked the ball over his shoulder past the unsuspecting Brazil goalkeeper.
The goal stunned Brazil back to life, and in the 12th minute they strung together a trademark passing sequence that led to the equalizer. Walney centered the ball into the area and an attempted clearance sat up for Matheus Queiroz, who tagged a laser into the upper right corner.
The next 20 minutes were an entertaining back and forth affair as both teams pressed for a second goal, and the U.S. got there first thanks to a Turner strike from close range in the 31st minute. Flores once again whipped a dangerous delivery towards the six-yard box, and the ball ping-ponged in the area until it reached the feet of Turner. Displaying slick close control, he created space and smacked a shot into the upper right corner that sparked a jubilant celebration with the players and fans.
As the clock wound down on the opening stanza, the U.S. struck gold once again just before halftime. Flores made a dazzling run through midfield to gain space on the left flank before centering for Wade, who had made a timely run into the area. Wade snuck in front of Brazil goalkeeper Guilherme and re-directed the ball to the far corner to send the USA into the locker room with a 3-1 lead.
Brazil turned up the heat at the start of the second half in search of a goal that could put them back into contention, and the U.S. defense would bend but not break. While the Brazilians posted the majority of shots, they were rarely able to create real danger.
Flores came close to scoring when he got in behind the Brazil defense in the 75th minute, hitting the outside netting that fooled many in the pro-U.S. crowd into thinking he had the USA's fourth.
The U.S. repeatedly closed down Brazil's forays toward goal for the rest of the match, with Connor Donovan making several good clearances while U.S. forwards Corey Baird and Christopher Lema worked hard to help pressure the Brazilian defenders and help see out the game.
Brazil managed one final legitimate chance, but Paul Christensen handled Abner's effort from 15 yards out.
At the final whistle, the U.S. team received the 2011 Nike International Friendlies championship trophy from U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati. Brazil finished the tournament in second place with four points, while France claimed third place with three points from three ties. Turkey came in fourth after winning last year's tournament.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (March 26, 2011) – The U.S. Men’s National Team came from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw with Argentina in front of a record crowd of 78,936 fans at New Meadowlands Stadium on Saturday. Forward Juan Agudelo’s second-half strike from close range and goalkeeper Tim Howard’s Budweiser Man of the Match performance secured the result for the United States, whose record against Argentina now stands at 2-6-2.
The U.S. now heads to Nashville to face 2010 FIFA World Cup quarterfinalists Paraguay on March 29 at LP Field. (TICKETS). Fox Soccer Channel and Telefutura will broadcast the match live at 7 p.m. CT, and fans can follow the match at ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and on Twitter @ussoccer.
