Friendlies and Qualifying Fun

In the U.S. we have friendlies. Across the ocean we have Champions League Qualifying. We had tons of football on Wednesday and nothing today, so I decided it's time to start a rant.

1. Friendlies first. MLS All-Stars beat Chelsea 1-0. I was surprised how much of a headline this caused. It's funny how so many people made judgements without watching the game. Chelsea could have been tied with MLS at the end. MLS could have been up 2-0 or 3-0. If Chelsea wasn't so tired (and played with more heart), they could have won. If MLS could have finished some of their good chances, such as Chris Albright's, they might have spanked Chelsea. Memorable moments were DeRosario's goal and Jaime Moreno slipping the ball between John Terry's feet. The one thing that this game proved was that MLS has a decent offense, but they need to work on offense.
2. Then D.C. United draw with Real Madrid, 1-1. This probably was a better game than the All-Star game. Supposedly Freddy Adu helped set up United's goal. Adu was a bit under his usual game at the All-Star game, so people will keep thinking that he is really overhyped (which he is somewhat). Adu is still too cocky, but he's dating JoJo, who is probably the hottest teenage pop-star right now, so I think I'd be up in the clouds too.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo has a hat-trick in his first game back from the World Cup. Good for him. Supposedly he didn't try a step-over until the 30th minute. I don't know, Ronaldo isn't Ronaldo without the step-overs. But it is good that he wasn't diving, and that he has Manchester United fans' support.
4. FC Barcelona draws with Club America 4-4. Supposedly the end was quite crazy. But Barcelona shouldn't have stuck themselves in a 4-1 hole in the first place. They also drew with Guadalajara on Sunday. I watched Guadalajara vs. Toluca earlier that day, in which Guadalajara lost 1-0. I still don't think Guadalajara should have sent its first team to play the Barcelona friendly and leave its second team to play a league game. Now they lost 3 points. Their second string was pretty good, but they now have extra pressure to win their next games.
5. Chelsea ties Celtic 1-1. I could only get a few minutes of livestream for this match, in which I saw the Celtic goal (luckily). I think Chelsea's crazy in only playing one game in the U.S., then 2 games in a row. Fortunately for them, they didn't get spanked. They actually won against Feyenoord.
6. Did I rant yet about Reading's insanely easy pre-season friendlies? I don't think they are getting good practice for the Premiership by thumping teams 10-1, 6-1, 4-1. Nicely enough, Convey and Hahnemann are back, and Convey scored a goal. Whatever happens this season, Convey will be getting good experience and hopefully help himself to a more secure spot on the U.S.'s WC 2010 squad.
7. Now for UEFA Champions League. The highlight for me was Arsenal's 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb, because Cesc had a hat-trick! He had a wonderful dance after his second goal, which you can find on YouTube somewhere. Also you can hear his post-match interview at BBC.co.uk. He has such a nice voice, and very good English for a Spaniard. Reyes didn't play since he might leave...I really hope he doesn't. Then Ajax won, Benfica tied, Hearts lost. They have another leg, and whoever wins the aggregate moves on. I hope Hearts can pull out a result!
8. Copa Libertadores - I managed to find a very bad-quality livestream of this match when there was about 30 minutes left. This is also a two-match thing, so Sao Paulo can come back. If you don't know by now, Internacional won 2-1 over Sao Paulo.
   

I'll be back soon with more sports ranting probably on Saturday or Sunday.