Player of the week
Yura Movsisyan, Real Salt Lake
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Before he heads out the door to Denmark, where he will transfer this coming offseason, the mercurial striker had one of his best games for Salt Lake, coming on after halftime to score twice as Real came back from a 2-0 deficit for the first time in club history and secured a 4-2 win over Dallas. An ankle injury kept Movsisyan from starting the game but couldn’t stop him from getting his fifth and sixth goals of the year. The 21-year-old is one goal short of his career best of seven, a mark he’s likely to surpass before joining Randers FC this winter.
Story lines
1. It’s a bit like Kobe Bryant for LeBron James » Offseason moves in European soccer usually consist of one team buying a player from another team with straight cash, homie — a la Real Madrid’s purchases of Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) and Kaka (AC Milan). But a certified swap may indeed be the biggest deal of this summer, with reigning Spanish and Champions League champions Barcelona adding Swedish sensation Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Serie A-leading 25 goals in 2008-09) from Inter Milan, in exchange sending the Italian crown holders Samuel Eto’o (30 goals in La Liga). Ibrahimovic is more flashy, but Eto’o has been more successful, winning two European crowns with Barca, part of the reason Inter wanted to bring him aboard.
2. Blatter and Obama » While Shaquille O’Neal was being denied entrance outside the White House this week, President Obama and FIFA president Sepp Blatter were inside discussing about the potential of the United States being awarded the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. Blatter said the U.S. has a good chance of being host for the first time since 1994, but all indications are that England remains the frontrunner for 2018. Blatter also presented Obama with a ball from the Confederations Cup final, in which the U.S. squandered a 2-0 halftime lead and lost to Brazil, 3-2. “I told him it was the ball of the first half,” Blatter told reporters outside the White House after his meeting.
3. Beckhamgate’s latest » The Los Angeles Galaxy would like you to know that more than 70,000 tickets have been sold for the club’s friendly match with Barcelona at the Rose Bowl on Aug. 1. Meanwhile, the Galaxy fan that jumped onto the field during a heated exchange with David Beckham last weekend had his lifetime ban from Home Depot Center rescinded. According to reports, Beckham himself advocated on behalf of the fan.
Key Game
MLS All-Stars vs. Everton, Wednesday, 9:30, ESPN2 » The plucky North American league’s best will put their five-game win streak vs. international opponents on the line against U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard and his similarly ambitious English side. Look out for the crazy hair of midfielder Marouane Fellaini and lots of gushing over how far MLS has come in 14 years.
