Robbie Keane: "They used to want to be in Spain. Now they want to be here.''

On Sunday, possibly the most hyped-up game in MLS history took place as defending champion LA Galaxy dismantled New York City FC, which unsurprisingly played without superstar Frank Lampard.

The 5-1 final did not do justice as to what a mismatch this was, as Galaxy toyed with the East Coast club - which barely could get control of the ball for the last 20-25 minutes. It's typical with Galaxy matches when they hammer teams, afterward they talk about how great they are and for football in the United States.

League MVP Robbie Keane took it a step further Sunday when he suggested that MLS is one of the hottest leagues in the world and that players want to play there instead of Spain.

“It’s unbelievable, the hype this league has created in the last few years,” Keane told the Associated Press. “It’s getting bigger and bigger. People want to be here. People are calling me every week. This is the league that people want to be in. They used to want to be in Spain. Now they want to be here."

This set MLS fans abuzz with claims that the league will eventually become the world's best. Of course those people forget that certain MLS clubs are simply an embarrassment to the sports world and the cities they claim to hail from. 

What they also fail to understand is that there's a reason the league is attractive for big-name players - besides the big money they get. It's the fact that there is no pressure to succeed in the MLS, as Ives Galarcep pointed out in saying no coach has been fired yet. What sports coaching job do you know that is that secure? It speaks to the fact that soccer isn't serious business here as far as winning and losing.

Still it was nice to see some class players in MLS for one day in a match that was on TV in more than a reportedly 150 countries. As LA boss Bruce Arena said: "I do remember I coached in the opening game of this league in 1996, and we’ve come light years. Today was maybe a bit of recognition of the growth of the league, and certainly we have a long way to go, but we are certainly pleased to have these types of games today and obviously more in the future."

Congrats to Bayern Munich!!!

We here at IMOTGP congratulate Bayern Munich for their heroics this weekend.  And we are not talking about their fluke 2-1 win at Hoffenheim on Saturday.

No we congratulate Alek Skarlatos for his heroics in stopping the terrorist attack in France. It's well known by now that Skarlatos is a huge fan of Bayern and the Bundesliga and his jersey was unscathed as he whooped ass on the unsuspecting terrorist.

He had help from fellow American Anthony Sadler, who was wearing a shirt supporting a "Los Angeles Basketball" team. It is not clear if Sadler roots for Bayern or some other team in the Bundesliga like Dortmund or even Hertha, perhaps. Another American hero, Spencer Stone, also dominated the terrorist, though we do not know if Stone supports Bayern or not.

Skarlatos and Sadler are from the U.S. military - the greatest military ever assembled - and they can expect to be invited to many U.S. sporting events. Here's hoping Bayern offer up a free match to the Americans and that people in the U.S. see this heroism and start learning more about the Bundesliga and yes, even Bayern Munich.

Congratulations to Bayern Munich and the United States!

Showdown of American stars!!!! (UPDATED)

It's time for the moment in the week we all look forward to - Friday night! Why is that? Because of the Friday night showcase in the Bundesliga with this week's featured matchup: the Hertha BSC home opener against Werder Bremen!!!

This is traditionally a tough matchup for us since Werder have beaten us 33 times - only Bayern have broken our hearts more. In addition, we have never started a Bundesliga campaign with two victories after we shocked Europa League club Augsburg in our trip to Bavaria last week.

We finally lost the services of our young stud, Nico Schulz. And we'll be without the suspended Roy Beerens so Genki Haraguchi may get the start.

But why do we feel confident that we can grace the same pitch where mighty Barcelona beat Juventus to capture the Champions League and take over the league lead with a deserved three points?

Well it's because of the matchup of U.S. superstars. We have John Anthony Brooks and Werder have newboy Aron Johannsson. Now our edge is that Brooks will begin on the bench since he has lost his starting job after flopping for the U.S. for coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

But Werder may give Johannsson the start and they think he is the answer after their 3-0 defeat to Schalke FC last week. That's a clear edge for our boys in blue (though we may wear red as we try to cash in and sell more jerseys).

Unfortunately FOX has refused to put this game on TV so send them an email or call them up to complain. Tell them you demand your Hertha-Werder Friday night football!!

Well football fans you demanded Hertha-Werder from Berlin and FOX heard your demand! The game is on FOX Soccer Plus so enjoy the festivities!!!

2015-16 Bundesliga predictions

Another exciting season of the best football league in the world is upon us, and it's time for the moment the world has been waiting for - IMOTGP predictions.

1. Bayern Munich

Whether Bayern win the title isn't really in question. Whether the irritable Pep Guardiola is coaching his last season for Germany's most successful club is what people really want to know. If you are reading this blog for Bayern info, you are in the wrong place and go somewhere else and pay tribute to these big spenders that steal everyone's players, according to the New York Times. They represent everything that is wrong with football, according to the Times. 

2. Bayer Leverkusen

Not only do the league's most exciting club possess exciting attacking talent like Karim Bellarabi, Julian Brandt and the addition of Christoph Kramer, the Werkself made a splash with the addition of Chilean stud Charles Aranguiz. Roger Schmidt made a name for himself at Salzburg and it's time for him to lead his charges to an even higher level.

3. VfL Wolfsburg

Kevin de Bruyne's destination will largely impact last year's runners-up. If he sticks around, these guys could be a factor in the Champions League with a good draw with the return of former Mainz and Leverkusen man Andre Schurrle to the Bundesliga. Nicklas Bendtner has already earned them a trophy. Don't think they will be intimidated by Guardiola's men.

4. FC Schalke

André Breitenreiter is the new man in charge of the Royal Blues for now. Their streak of Champions League appearances ends at three for a club that nearly knocked out Real Madrid in March. It's redundant to say that all is not well in Gelsenkirchen but they did finish ahead of bitter rivals Dortmund and could pip their Revierderby rivals once again, this time for a Champions League spot.

5. Borussia Dortmund

Jurgen Klopp is gone and former Mainz maestro Thomas Tuchel has big shoes - though not the glasses of Klopp - to fill. Henrikh Mkhitaryan has already scored four goals in Cup competition and Mats Hummels is still in charge of what figures to be a top defense. BVB are showing some age but still have plenty of talent to have a fantastic campaign. It's a new era for the Yellow-Blacks.
 
6. Borussia Monchengladbach

It's been said to never underestimate a Lucien Favre-led team - after all, the man nearly led perennial losers Hertha to the Champions League in that magical 2008-09 season. The American fan will no doubt be thrilled by seeing Fabian Johnson in a Foals' uniform; he hasn't done much for coach Jurgen Klinsmann's USA. It says here that Champions League football will prove to be too much for Favre's men. 
 
7. Hoffenheim

Seventh place seems to be up for grabs. Why not Hoffenheim, who nearly finished in this position last campaign. Yes, Roberto Firmino is gone but old Bundesliga friend Kevin Kuranyi is back! There are useful players like Kevin Volland and Fabian Schar. If the real Adam Szalai shows up, the Hoff can achieve a European dream.
 
8. Mainz

Dubbed the mosquito of the Bundesliga by one pundit, Mainz could be solid again or could be relegation fodder. Fabian Frei was a nice pick-up from FC Basel and the side posted an impressive preseason victory over Lazio, though they lost 2-1 to Rotherham United. That about sums it up.

 9. Eintracht Frankfurt

Quick - name the Bundesliga's top scorer from last year. Many forget that it was Alexander Meier, who will miss the start of the year due to knee surgery. Still, Japanese teammates Takashi Inui and Makato Hasebe are solid, Haris Seferovic is a capable striker and the club had an easy DFB Pokal win in its opener.

10. Augsburg - Somehow FCA finished 5th a year ago and usually a club like this landing in Europe leads to a disastrous league campaign. They were nearly knocked out of the DFB Cup and will likely be focused on safety once their Euro adventure ends.

11. VfB Stuttgart - It's hard to say why a team that could have been relegated will finish this high but there is optimism based on a class display in a preseason win over Manchester City. VfB were flying up by four goals at the break. The U.S. fan will want to see the development of Jerome Kiesewetter. 

12. Werder Bremen - Ukrainian coach Viktor Skrypnyk is known for his high intensity football - which makes the addition of U.S. striker Aron Johansson a head-scratcher, so don't expect much from him. Anthony Ujah is trying to put his Goats history behind him.

13.  FC Koln - Possibly the league's most boring team, the Goats scored the league's third-fewest goals a season ago and yet finished in 12th due to the surrounding mediocrity. Expect about the same but don't dare watch them.

14. Hertha BSC - These losers survived despite scoring three goals while going winless in their last six games. The only notable addition is former Bayern man Mitchell Weiser, and he is hurt anyway. Defender John Brooks may be one of the side's most reliable players and he kind of sucks. The capital once again will see empty seats and awful football for a club with no hope ever of respectability.

15. Hamburg - These losers somehow survived a two-legged playoff with Karlsruhe to ensure safety only to get dumped out of the DFB Pokal by a 4th-division club ahead of the opener at Bayern. Crazy man Emir Spahic has signed on and there are a host of new faces to replace the underachieving ones from the past as this huge club sucks yet again.

16. Ingolstadt - The champions of the ZweiteLiga, Ingolstadt played some wonderful football a year ago. They retain most of their squad and are dreaming of staying afloat like Darmstadt.

17. Darmstadt - It's a fairy tale story for this club to play in the top flight. Even this Hertha fan wants to see them succeed.

18. Hannover 96 - Hannover were another big club lucky to survive last year and there's zero reason for optimism with a bunch of no-name strikers and a retread coach in Michael Frontzeck. Let's all hope they go down.

Post comments or questions below. You may win a free prize from this blog!

Are you Excited for Futbol Fiesta?

Party time for the U.S.A!

There has been much discussion about the upcoming CONCACAF Clasico - the match between the United States and Mexico in October to decide a spot in the Confederations Cup. The United States will host this matchup in one of America's greatest cities - Los Angeles - at the famed Rose Bowl - where gridiron greats such as Mark Brunell, Vince Young, Mark Sanchez, Ron Dayne and Andy Dalton all shined.

But this is about futbol, not football, and with that in mind, U.S. fans have an extra day to get ready since the date has been moved one day to Oct. 10. The reason?  Futbol Fiesta, a free, interactive fan zone outside the Rose Bowl designed for fans. What fans? Well fans in America of course since that's where the game is, silly!

We here at IMOTGP applaud this move and hope the American fan embraces the party-like atmosphere for this huge game. The huge turnout for this fanfest should inspire Jurgen Klinsmann's side and past Futbol Fiestas in the U.S. have been well attended. There's no better way to enjoy the beautiful game than a frenzied crowd that has been eating and drinking all day in preparation for the 6 pm local start time. What an atmosphere and we can't wait!

We Stood United in the Face of this Attack!

A Great Club!

One day after an incident that horrified the football world, justice was served on the pitch as a heroic Hertha BSC knocked off Arminia Bielefeld 2-0 in the DFB Pokal.

Vladimir Darida enjoted a successful Hertha debut as the former Freiburg man joined former UEFA Champions League winner Salomon Kalou on the scoresheet as we avenged our penalty kick defeat to the same opponent in last year's competition.

In news for the diehard United States football fan, John Anthony Brooks entered in the 86th minute and didn't do anything to hurt the Berliners.

We Stand United in the Face of this Attack

A Great Club!

In a word, unfassbar! As any football fan has heard by now, the bus of this blog's favourite football team was ruthlessly attacked in Bielefeld on Sunday - the day before a key DFB Pokal rematch from a second-round thriller last year - not won by Hertha.

As you can imagine, the staffers at the In Memory of  The Great Pedro are in great mourning after this vicious and senseless display of violence. While it's true that defender John Brooks is a United States international used to hearing about such incidents in the land he represents, this is a tragic blow to German football and our great capital club.

We at IMOTGP send our heartfelt wishes to the Hertha family who have been through so much trauma already watching this side through the years and hope the authorities can apprehend the suspect.

The USA's superstar striker returns with a vengeance!

Altidore (on the left!)

He is back folks! Two games after a mindless red card in a loss to New England, Jozy Altidore returned from suspension to the TFC lineup in Saturday's 3-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City. 

The feared United States striker registered one total shot - off target, of course. The shot came in the 80th minute off a room-service cross by superstar Sebastian Giovinco and was a free header that any kind of quality striker would easily score. Instead our man put it wide from 6 yards out to draw more mockery from Twitter. Some fans are wondering whether the big guy will keep his job.

Michael Bradley had the lone TFC goal and had three shots - two on goal. Bradley has 30 shots in 14 matches to Altidore's 23 in 16.  Just a note - Bradley is not a forward. Giovinco, meanwhile, has 124 shots!

Also in this game for the winning team was a goal and an assist by Brazilian-born Benny Feilhaber. It's too bad such a player wasn't born on our shores to play for the United States.

In other Altidore news, former TFC man Jermain Defoe has already scored for Sunderland to match Altidore's EPL goal total for that club in 42 appearances.

The Bestest League in the World begins!!

EPL - English Prem League logo

It's time to get excited, folks. The league that is so good Deadspin has a 3-part preview, the English Premier League is back, providing hope to fans stateside that are in despair over the lack of football quality after being forced to watch MLS in a long, long summer.

Here's what you need to know. West Ham United have already been booted out of European competition. They travel to Arsenal on Sunday for what will be certain defeat to the back-to-back FA Cup champions, supposedly evidence that the Gunners are one of the best teams in world football.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City and Man United will finish in the top four, with Chelsea on top. Brendan Rodgers is on thin ice at Liverpool, Harry Kane is a national idol and Americans will fail to score in the league. Who cares about the rest and yes, you can thank me later for saving you from watching the entire season.

And Louis van Gaal will once again pretend he made his playing debut for Antwerp.

Enjoy the football!!!

                

What are the 'Odds' that Dortmund advance in the Europa League?

The European draws were held Friday and Borussia Dortmund - one of the Bundesliga's most beloved teams and one that your correspondent saw advance in a thrilling German Cup semi-final at a stunned Allianz Arena in April - drew an odd opponent.

Make that Norwegian club Odds - that's right - Odds. This oddball club was formed in 1894 and will count on Pape Paté Diouf to upset Die Schwarzgelben.

The Europa League is often times forgettable but this year has some other delectable ties such as Gabala v. Panathinaikos, Bordeaux v. Kairat and Krasnodar v. HJK Helsinki.

Dortmund figure to be one of the highest seeded teams in a competition that includes bitter Ruhr rival Schalke 04, Italian giants Napoli and perennial English flops Tottenham Hotspur.  BVB already advanced with a whopping 21-0 shot advantage in their third-round decider with Austrian outfit Wolfsberger. Up next for BVB is a tricky DFB Pokal trip to Chemnitzer FC on Sunday.

New boss Thomas Tuchel has seemingly revived the once-stale Henrikh Mkhitharyan, who had a hat trick this week. Tuchel has big shows to fill in replacing the man known as Kloppo.

The Europa League now awards the champion a ticket to the Champions League and  BVB are one of the favourites for the competition.