The Philadelphia Union are working on solidifying their 2012 friendly schedule by talking to Newcastle United about playing in Philadelphia during the summer, according to a report.

"I Wish I Was A Geordie," an American Newcastle blog, is reporting that Newcastle and the Union are discussing the two clubs playing an international friendly this year.

The game could possibly beplayed during the Union's scheduling open window from May 27 to June 15 (Philadelphia plays Toronto FC on May 26 and D.C. United on June 16). However, the typical training period for Premier League teams begins a month later, in July.

Philadelphia already has a friendly scheduled against Costa Rica's Deportivo Saprissa sometime this year.

Newcastle visited the United States last year, playing Sporting Kansas City, Columbus Crew and Orlando City Lions that July. This season the English club appears to be looking for cities within closer proximity to cut down on travel time and distance.

Last year the Union hosted Everton, another English Premier League club, at PPL Park, and played La Liga giants Real Madrid at Lincoln Financial Field.

In the team's inaugural 2010 season, Philadelphia played both Celtic, one of the two dominant teams in Scotland, and Chivas de Guadalajara, a Mexican top league side, at PPL Park, and English Premier League defending champion Manchester United at the Linc.

(H/T to ronchito on Big Soccer for finding the article)

The Philadelphia Union were expected to announce the signing of Lionard Pajoy last week, but the team has yet to officially recognize the striker as a player. According to a Colombian league report, Pajoy is experiencing visa problems, which are keeping him from joining the Union.

The 30-year-old had problems getting out of his contract with Itagui Ditaires, per a source that talked to Kerith Gabriel, of the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com, but those issues are not the ones holding up a transfer to the Union.

Liga Postobon's official website discusses the possibility of Pajoy staying in Colombia, instead of joining the Union, due to his visa situation.

Pajoy is still "waiting to solve [his] visa problem to enter the United States," Liga Postobon's website says. Pajoy is described as a possibility transfer 'alternative' for Cortulua, where the forward began his professional soccer career.

The Union recently acquired an international roster spot, from the LA Galaxy for Kyle Nakazawa and a 2013 MLS SuperDraft second round pick, for the 2012 season, giving Philadelphia two open spots for foreign players this year. Pajoy, if officially signed, would occupy one of those spots and join Chandler Hoffman, Josue Martinez, Jack McInerney and Danny Mwanga in the Union's attack.

Now that The USWNT team has qualified for the Summer Olympics after a superb tournament in Canada, Head Coach Pia Sundhage can now turn her focus onto her squads first friendly match of the new year against New Zealand. The match will be played at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas, marking the eighth time the USWNT will play in the Lone Star State.

The team will have practice for one week before the game, culminating in Coach Sundhage choosing 18 of the 28 women invited to camp to take the field against New Zealand on February 11th. "It is always good to play a World Cup team," Sundhage told ussoccer.com, "There were many positives to take out of Olympic Qualifying in Canada and one of those was the depth of the team."

Of the 28 players invited, 19 of the them are players who took to the field during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Players like Hope Solo, Abby Wambach, Amy Rodriguez, Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd will all be returning.The one major name not on the list is defender Ali Krieger, who underwent successful surgery today on a torn ACL/MCL after picking up an injury during the first game of the qualifying tournament against the Dominican Republic.

The other nine players invited to camp by Coach Sundhage include goalkeepers Ashlyn Harris and Jill Loyden, defenders Stephanie Cox and Whitney Engen, and midfielders Yael Averbuch, Meghan Klingenberg, Kristie Mewis, Christine Nairn and Keelin Winters.

The USWNT's game against New Zealand is set for a 3 p.m. start time on Saturday February 11th. As of right now, a television network has not been listed. Stay tuned to Brotherly Game for more information closer to game day. A full list of players called up for training camp can be viewed after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

Sebastien Le Toux and Kyle Nakazawa were seen as the two major free kick takers on the Philadelphia Union through the team's first two seasons of existence.

For Le Toux it was because of his massive number of free kicks, coupled with a perceived high failure rate on them. Nakazawa's status as a free kick taker came from a mystique that he developed among the Union's fan base from great technique. One was hated when he took free kicks, the other beloved for his.

However, perception is not always reality.

The much maligned Le Toux took 29 free kick opportunities in 2011 and was able to shoot three on target and find three teammates on what Opta considers "chip free kicks." The striker's free kick on target percentage (the total number of free kick shots on target and chip free kicks that connect with teammates divided by the overall number of free kicks taken) was 20.6 percent last year.

It may be surprising for some reading to learn that 20.6 percent was top three on the team last year, in terms of free kick on target percentage. Only Carlos Ruiz at 75 percent (three on target, including a goal, out of four opportunities) and Roger Torres at 33.3 percent (completed three chipped free kicks out of nine overall opportunities) had better FKOTP numbers than Le Toux last year.

Nakazawa, on the other hand, had 15 opportunities, in 1,208 minutes played, and was successful on only two of them, only an 13.3 FKOTP. The midfielder's free kick troubles included only one of his 11 dead spot long balls reaching a teammate.

As a team, the Union had a FKOTP of 19 percent, or 16 successful free kicks out of 84 overall opportunities during the 2011 MLS regular season.

Continue reading this post »

The Philadelphia Union have officially completed a trade of Kyle Nakazawa to the LA Galaxy. Nakazawa will be sent to California with a second round selection in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft for one of the Galaxy's international roster spots.

Nakazawa was reported to be on his way to the Galaxy early this morning, when the Brotherly Game published a storywith information from a source knowledgeable on the situation.

The same source informed the Brotherly Game today that Nakazawa took a flight early this morning to travel to Los Angeles. Nakazawa is a native of California and a former UCLA standout, which led to the Union drafting him in the third round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.

The 24-year-old say little playing time in 2011, racking up only 1,208 minutes played in 22 games during the regular season. Despite being somewhat of a Nowak favorite later in 2010, Nakazawa was unable to find a way onto the field after the additions of midfielders Michael Farfan, Brian Carroll, Keon Daniel, Freddy Adu and Veljko Paunovic.

Keon Daniel is not at the Youth Sports Complex, in Wayne, PA, according to fans that are at the Philadelphia Union's open team practice. Despite seeing a player of Daniel's build with a dreadlocks style haircut, the midfielder is not at the camp today.

Fans tweeted that the 25-year-old was sighted at preseason training camp this morning, before retracting their observations. Earl Gardner, one of the first to comment on who the player might be, said, "I am wrong, [Nazir] Khalfan from a distance looks a ton like Keon."

Daniel's status with the Union has taken a few interesting turns over the past six months. A visa problem forced the Trinidad and Tobago international to remain in his home country, after Daniel played for the national team in World Cup qualifiers.

Kyle Nakazawa is also not at today's practice session, with reports of a trade to the LA Galaxy surrounding him.

Former Union goalkeeper Chase Harrison, who was released by Philadelphia after the 2011 MLS season ended, is at YSC. Harrison is the only other goalkeeper at practice today.

Another Philadelphia Union player is on his way out of the club, as Kyle Nakazawa will be traded, the Brotherly Game has learned.

Sources tell the Brotherly Game that the Nakazawa will be moved to the LA Galaxy in a move that one of the sources said will be announced tomorrow. The trade has been in the works since sometime last week.

[UPDATE: Philly Soccer Page is reporting that a source says that the Union would receive two second rounders and an international roster spot.]

The deal to send Nakazawa to California comes on the heels of the Sebastien Le Toux trade being made official by both the Union and Vancouver Whitecaps. Le Toux and Nakazawa were roommates during the Union's inaugural season.

Nakazawa became expendable to the Union after the team acquired Greg Jordan, Gabriel Gomez and other midfielders during the offseason. The 24-year-old seemed to have broken into the starting lineup at the end of the 2010 season, but never saw consistent playing time in 2011.

A native of Southern California, Nakazawa is set to return to the area where he grew up and began his path towards a professional career. The former UCLA standout started in 24 of 36 games he played for Philadelphia over two seasons with the club after he was drafted in the third round ( overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.

The Philadelphia Union announced that they had purchased the contractual rights of Roger Torres from Colombian team America de Cali.

The 20-year-old has played with the Union on loan for the past two seasons, scoring three goals and assisting on eight more in 46 games played (1889 minutes).

"We're very happy to keep Roger in Philadelphia and see the benefits of the investment we've made in him," said Union manager Peter Nowak to the team's official website. "Roger has shown the ability to be a valuable playmaker and we look forward to helping him continue his development."

Torres' contract with Cali most likely became more easily available for a permanent transfer when the storied Colombian club was relegated. Cali were already carrying debts of around $2 million before moving down to the second division.

Earlier today, the Union officially revealed that they had traded star striker Sebastien Le Toux to the Western Conference's Vancouver Whitecaps. Philadelphia admitted that the two moves weren't completely coincidental on its website.