WFC: Barcelona influenced his game, says NBA star Bryant

WASHINGTON — NBA basketball star Kobe Bryant is a massive FC Barcelona fan and on Sunday afternoon, he went as far as crediting the defending European champions for influencing his basketball game. "Growing up in Italy, I’ve always been a huge soccer fan, so it’s very easy for me to identify with the sport," Bryant said at an event hosted by an international airline for which he serves as global ambassador. "When I first saw Barça play, they play with so much creativity, passion and enthusiasm, it was so easy to follow it. They inspired me and the way I play." WATCH: Bryant on Barça The weekend for Bryant has had a distinctive

Ream thanks Bob Bradley for US opportunity

LONDON -- New York Red Bulls center back Tim Ream was given his chance to play for the US national team just months after leaving Saint Louis University when former head coach Bob Bradley featured the young defender in a 1-0 win over South Africa in Cape Town on November 17, 2010. In fact, Ream earned all six of his US caps under Bradley. On Friday, he paid tribute to the faith show in him by the departing US manager. "I will echo what a lot of the other guys have said like Charlie Davies and Jay DeMerit over the last 24 hours, who both thanked him, and I would like to thank him too," Ream told MLSsoccer.com while here in London for the Emirates Cup. "I loved him as a coach. He continued to bring me in and wanted me to develop. I thank him for that." Ream’s inclusion into the US squad against South Africa topped off an incredible first campaign in MLS that saw him narrowly miss out on Rookie of the Year honors. His second season has been equally impressive, as the center back earned himself a place in the first eleven for the MLS All-Stars in their match against Manchester United on Wednesday. "I pinch myself everyday," Ream said of his blossoming career. "It is something that you always dreamed would happen. But it is not something that I always thought would happen for sure. One minute you're playing Manchester United and then next you are going to play Arsenal. It’s crazy."  No doubt Ream’s meteoric rise is in part due to his own hard work, but may also be partly down to the chance given to him by Bradley to perform on the international stage. After starting the game against South Africa at center back, Ream was ever present for the US during their early slate of games in 2011. Ream is certainly grateful for the chance to show what he can do on the biggest stage of all. "He [Bradley] gave me an opportunity and that is something I will always remember," Ream said. As for new manager Jürgen Klinsmann, Ream is desperate to feature in his plans and wants to impress the German coach whenever he gets the chance to. "Again you start with a clean slate," Ream said. "Everyone starts with a clean slate. Now it is up to everyone to perform to the best of their abilities to hopefully catch his eye and impress and get in his team."

American Exports: Bedoya to Rangers deal still on hold

AMSTERDAM — Contrary to a Scottish report from earlier this week, MLSsoccer.com has learned that Rangers have not made a follow-up transfer bid for prospective January free transfer Alejandro Bedoya and have put the onus for initiating any August sale talks on current employers Örebro. Last week, the 24-year-old agreed to a pre-deal to join the Ibrox crew when his ÖSK deal expires this winter, work permit approval pending. A report Tuesday on STV cited Rangers coach Ian Durrant in claiming that the club had come back with a transfer bid to acquire the US international a little early — even though the direct quote used did not support that premise. However, Bedoya's agent has confirmed that there was no follow-up transfer offer from the Scottish champs. "There has been no additional bid," Bedoya's rep, Lyle Yorks, told MLSsoccer.com. "If Örebro decide they have interest in some sort of compensation, they're free to approach Rangers." According to a Scotland's

The Throw-In: USSF must be careful in naming next coach

Thursday, July 28, 2011, will be a day US soccer fans will remember for some time. Especially those who have been on the "Fire Bob" bandwagon for the last several years. In a surprise move, the US Soccer Federation announced in a terse press release that Bob Bradley has been "relieved of his duties" as head coach of the US men’s national team. No other details have been provided yet, but you can be sure the second-guessing will echo into the next several weeks. The first question fans are going to ask is, of course, "Why now and not last summer?" After all, even US Soccer President Sunil Gulati seemed to suggest last June in South Africa that the US team’s performance had not been good enough. "Disappointment" was the word Gulati used after last summer’s World Cup exit, echoing the sentiment of many US fans. Despite winning their group for the first time ever, the US didn’t do so in very convincing fashion and many believe the run to the Round of 16 — where they lost to Ghana — should have been longer. But the USSF didn't make a change after returning from South Africa, despite re-entering into negotiations with Jürgen Klinsmann, who had also backed out of those same talks following the 2006 World Cup. Bradley was still their man, in spite of the protests of many fans. And though Bradley coached the team to a 5-5-4 record in his second tenure, the team simply never seemed to kick its ugly habits: conceding goals first, lacking urgency and an inability to string together two straight 90-minute performances. The accomplishments of Bradley's first term were no longer enough — they needed to progress. Winning back the CONCACAF Gold Cup was a must. Obviously, the US didn’t. And capitulating in the final to Mexico after taking a 2-0 lead seemed to be the period at the end of the sentence. I won’t go so far as to say firing Bradley was the right move. In many ways, I still feel he is the best man for the job given the current circumstances. But if a move had to made, there couldn’t be any further delay before World Cup qualifying begins next fall. Say what you will about the USSF’s stubborn support of the Bradley regime — and really, you cannot fault the man himself for doing what he could with what he had at his disposal — you have to be pleased that the time to make the change is now, when there actually is time to rebuild the program. The biggest push between cycles is over. The Gold Cup is really the only focus for the national team between World Cups, and that ship has sailed. With Thomas Rongen out as Under-20 coach and an influx of young talent pushing into the senior pool, it was either time to commit fully to the next two years or make an immediate change. And Gulati chose to make a move. What comes next is an even more important choice for Gulati, perhaps the most important he has ever made. The US are not about to become a superpower on the international scene, and they won’t be a favorite to win a World Cup for a while. But they are more on the verge of becoming a major player internationally than at any point in their history. That surprise 2002 World Cup quarterfinal run was a taste of what happens when talent, potential and timing all come together. The ’09 Confederations Cup was even more of a teaser, a sampling of how far the national-team set-up has come since the triumph of just making the World Cup in 1990. Now, more Americans are playing top-flight professional soccer than ever before, in MLS, in Europe and Mexico. And the American talent pipeline has matured. It is now on the doorstep of even greater things. What it needs now is the right leadership to steward it to the next level. Is an internationally accomplished voice with extensive knowledge of the US set-up — a guy like Klinsmann — the right choice for USSF to get it there? Maybe. Is a candidate from within still the logical choice? Sigi Schmid? Jason Kreis? Peter Nowak? Also possible. Or maybe there’s a wild-card candidate out there who will surprise us all. But now is the time where Gulati & Co. must make a very careful choice. Who they settle on will not only will have to figure out how to get the best out of the current talent and encourage the countless kids who now grow up dreaming of playing in a World Cup, but also send a message to the millions of American fans who are now invested in the fate of the US national team: The US is going to keep progressing.

WFC: América satisfied with performance vs. Juventus

NEW YORK — Despite falling to Juventus 1-0 in a Herbalife World Football Challenge match at Citi Field on Tuesday night, Club América showed why they’ve earned their reputation as one of Mexico’s top teams, dominating much of the run of play in a close contest against the Italian giants. WATCH: FULL MATCH HIGHLIGHTS It took a sublime effort from Cristian Pasquato near the halftime whistle — and after a 36-minute rain and lightning storm delay — to give the

WFC: Union's Michael Farfan relishing chance to shine

PHILADELPHIA — As he stood in the mixed zone doing interviews following the Philadelphia Union’s 2-1 loss to Real Madrid on Saturday, Michael Farfan felt a push from behind. It was from smiling team manager Peter Nowak, who, after seeing what Farfan had just done, was almost certainly giving his player a love tap. Playing against some of the most creative players in the world, Farfan showed that he has some tricks up his sleeve, too, scoring the club’s only goal with a cheeky chip over Madrid ‘keeper Tomás Mejías in the 80th minute. Michael Farfan's golazo "I saw he was a little off his line, so I decided to try to chip it," said Farfan, a rookie midfielder out of the University of North Carolina. "It felt great. They’re probably one of the best teams in the world, so it was exciting for all of us." The tricky play may have been surprising to some of the 57,305 fans that were probably expecting to see more fireworks from Cristiano Ronaldo than from a Union reserve player. But it wasn’t at all surprising to the one player on the field that knows him best. "As soon as he picked his head up, I knew what he was doing," said Union left back Gabriel Farfan, who’s seen his twin brother take that shot in countless games growing up. "It was great to see the ball go in. I’m beyond excited for him. He came in and made a difference in the game." While Gabriel has been a fixture in the starting lineup of late — having taken over, at least temporarily, for departed left back Jordan Harvey — Michael has seen his playing time slip, in large part due to the club’s midfield depth. The UNC product has not started since playing a full 90 (and earning his first career assist) vs. Real Salt Lake on June 11 — and in that six-game span, he’s played a total of just 79 minutes off the bench. Michael, like other youngsters on the squad, can only hope that his performances in the team’s last two friendlies — he played the entire second half vs. Real Madrid and against Everton FC last Wednesday — will help get back into the regular rotation. "It’s a good thing," he said. "Everyone should play with confidence; that’s when you play your best. I think this will help me going forward." But if nothing else, he’ll always have the memory of his brilliant goal on one of the biggest stages he’s ever played on. Real Madrid will probably remember it, too. "It was fantastic," Union defender Danny Califf said. "It was dirty. Just dirty."

MLS All-Stars confident of avoiding repeat of last year

NEW YORK — The words were measured and respectful, but the message was clear from the MLS All-Stars: They fully intend to avoid a repeat of last year and beat Manchester United on Wednesday night (8:30 pm ET; ESPN2/TeleFutura/TSN). The All-Stars are set to carry the reputation of the league in their midweek match against the reigning English Premier League champions, and Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe, who will manage the All-Stars this year, has a 2-0 record against United from his tenure as assistant coach at Manchester City. Backe has no plans to blemish that perfect mark. WATCH: Press conference archive "I'm very confident," Backe told media at a press conference in New York City on Monday. "I don’t want to lose." Last year, the All-Stars dropped a 5-2 result to United at Reliant Stadium in Houston with the Red Devils putting in a dominating performance. Backe admitted it "is always a challenge to face United" and that he expects them to take the game very seriously—something that United coach Sir Alex Ferguson later confirmed. And so, too, will the MLS All-Stars, who already feel the weight of the league on their shoulders. "We have a lot of good, young talent on this team," LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham said. "These players are good players. It’s not just about the big European talent coming over. There’s a lot of young talent in this league. … I think we have a chance on Wednesday." The MLS All-Stars convened at Red Bull Arena on Monday morning for a training session and will practice again on Tuesday to go over their technical play and set pieces. Backe said that playing one of the top teams in the world will be a challenge and while the MLS All-Stars won’t be favored, Backe said they will put on a show and do the league proud. "It’d be nice to pick up a result," Backe said. "I think if we have a good day, we have the possibility to get a good result."