Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
For the second straight week, I'm joining forces with longtime friend Josh Hakala, editor of TheCup.us to provide live coverage of the U.S. Open Cup. It's the 100th edition of this country's oldest soccer competition, and the second round takes place tonight.
There are two games that Union fans will want to pay close attention to.
The first is between the Ocean City Nor'Easters (PDL) and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL Pro). The winner of that game will face the Union in the third round next week. If Pittsburgh wins, they'd host the tie; if Ocean City pulls off the upset, they'd come to PPL Park.
Marc Narducci of the Inquirer and Jon Tannenwald of Philly.com report from PPL Park where the Union defeated the Fire for the second time in a week, 1-0.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Time: 7:30 p.m. EDT
Venue: PPL Park, Chester, Pa.
TV: The Comcast Network (J.P. Dellacamera, Alejandro Moreno and Heather Mitts, with Tony Limarzi, Peter Pappas and Ian Munro at the on-site studio desk)
Starting Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-1-3-2, left to right)
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Atlético Madrid at Real Madrid
3:25 p.m. Friday (ESPN)
The championship game of Spain’s Copa del Rey is a crosstown showdown between Madrid’s two big rivals. Real’s famed Santiago Bernabéu stadium will be split almost down the middle, with each team getting 30,000 tickets.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Because... well... you know.
David Beckham announced himself to the world with this goal from past the halfway line against Wimbledon in 1998. It's as memorable for the hit as it is for BBC announcer John Motson's breathless commentary:
Perhaps Beckham's most famous goal came for England in a World Cup qualifier against Greece in 2001. With time running out - literally - on the Three Lions' World Cup hopes, Beckham salvaged a 2-2 tie and sealed a trip to Japan and South Korea:
Hitting pinpoint free kicks was Beckham's biggest skill, of course. You might have heard that somebody made a movie made about them. Here's a compilation of his best free kicks:
Here are all 17 goals that Beckham scored for England's national team:
Here are all of the goals that he scored for Manchester United:
Here are all of the goals that he scored for Real Madrid:
Here's a fancy free kick that he scored for AC Milan:
Beckham never scored in his nine games this season for Paris Saint-Germain. But he did provide this nifty assist for Zlatan Ibrahimović in a Ligue 1 game against Rennes on April 6:
Beckham played five seasons for the Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer. He only made one appearance for L.A. at PPL Park, back in 2010. But he left the sellout crowd with quite a memory, sending an inch-perfect corner kick onto Edson Buddle's head for the game's only goal:
Beckham also had the decisive assist in a 1-0 Union loss at the Home Depot Center in 2011. This time, it came from a free kick:
Beckham's last appearance at PPL Park came just under year ago at the MLS All-Star Game. It took place just days before the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in his native London - in fact, the soccer tournament started that very morning.
He was in London in the days before the All-Star Game to rehearse his role in the opening ceremonies. He flew to Philadelphia on the morning of the All-Star Game, then surprised almost everyone by playing a strong 74 minutes before flying right back to London.
Among Beckham's contributions in the All-Stars' 3-2 win over Chelsea was an assist on the game-tying goal. Jump to the 6:14 mark below to watch:
Beckham won the first of his two MLS Cups with the Galaxy in 2011. He had an assist on the game's only goal, which featured all three of L.A's big-name stars:
Finally, here's a compilation of all of the goals Beckham scored in MLS. Yes, he got older during his time with the Galaxy. And yes, he got slower. And yes, he became more of a central midfielder than a winger. And yes, he got a lot of hype, even though he didn't always seem fully committed to his team.
But Beckham's arrival was a milestone and a launching pad for MLS. Plain and simple. His arrival led to the designated player rule, and brought money to the league that it would have taken years - if not longer - to earn otherwise.
You don't have to like him. But as you watch the montage below, I'd think that you can at least respect what he did in his time in the United States.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
For the first hour of Wednesday's game at PPL Park, the Union went blow-for-blow with the two-time reigning MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy.
But by the end of the night, there was no question as to which team was better.
As the Union grew tired, Landon Donovan never wavered. With speculation rampant about his national team future, Donovan delivered three goals and an assist in L.A.'s 4-1 rout.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Updated with the results of the second-round games, and confirmed third round matchups.
The complete third round draw is laid out below. It's worth noting that there are two matchups between MLS teams and their USL Pro affiliates: D.C. at Richmond and New England at Rochester.
That isn't a good thing. It may reduce travel costs, but it raises the potential for conflict of interest with players loaned from MLS teams to their USL Pro brethren.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Reading United posted a video highlights package from their 2-0 win over Lehigh Valley United Sonic in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday:
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Time: 7:30 p.m. EDT
Venue: PPL Park, Chester, Pa.
TV: Comcast SportsNet (J.P. Dellacamera, Alejandro Moreno and Heather Mitts, with Tony Limarzi, Peter Pappas and Ian Munro at the on-site studio desk)
You already about Los Angeles' big money men, Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan. With Keane expected to return from injury tonight, it's a safe bet that he'll command much of the spotlight.
But the Galaxy's biggest strength is its depth of talent, and you'll likely see why tonight. Mike Magee is second to Jack McInerney in the scoring charts, while Jose Villareal and Gyasi Zardes are two of the hottest young prospects in MLS.
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
