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The Chicago Fire this morning announced a season-long loan for rookie striker Giuseppe Gentile to Charlotte Eagles of USL Pro. Gentile, brought on in a waiver draft, impressed in the preseason as a target man, but finds himself behind Quincy Amarikwa, Juan Luis Anangonó and possibly Orr Barouch for time in that role. The loan is a return to old stomping grounds for the Swiss-American forward, as he played college soccer for UNC-Charlotte.
Interestingly, the Fire not only can recall Gentile from the loan, but also have plans to do so repeatedly. Fire head coach and director of soccer Frank Yallop said, "We'll continue to monitor Giuseppe's progress while he is in Charlotte, and will look to bring him back to Chicago throughout the year to participate in Open Cup and MLS Reserve League matches," in the linked article. Effectively, Gentile will battle for playing time with the Eagles, while still getting minutes with the Fire Reserves.
OMG goosebumps - ESPN FTW
It's getting close everyone. Brazil is almost here. Since the World Cup is getting close, ESPN is starting to go into full on promotion mode and they continue to impress. Their new promotion includes the American Outlaws. It's very cool - well done, ESPN.
Ramos picks Dallas Cup roster
Tab Ramos, coach of the U.S. U-20's has picked the roster for the prestigious Dallas Cup. The team will play River Plate, Eintracht Frankfurt and Tigres UANL in group play. There are no Fire players in the team. Erik Palmer-Brown of Sporting KC is the youngest member of the team at 16-years old and the roster includes youngsters from Tigres UANL, Cruzeiro, FC Lorient, Sunderland and Club Tijuana.
Thorns coach talks USWNT
Paul Riley, coach of the Portland Thorns in the NWSL, has spoken out about his interest in the USWNT team job. He called it the "number 1 job in the world" and looks to be interested. It is yet to be seen if USSF is interested in him but he is well-respected and could be a leading candidate.
NASL want CCL spot
Bill Peterson, NASL commissioner, wants the league to have a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. He is trying to grow the league and this would be a step in the right direction for them league. I don't think they will get a spot in the next year or two but I could see them getting one or two in the next five years if the league continues to improve. They would probably do better than some of the Caribbean teams.
Cruz Azul to CCL Final
Cruz Azul defeated Club Tijuana on aggregate 2-1 to advance to the CCL final versus Toluca. Americans Edgar Castillo, Joe Corona and Paul Arriola all played for Tijuana. The final will be two legs and I'm just sad that no MLS team is playing in it.
