The king of soccer slapped some sense into UFC champion Silva in a new spoof video which asks, “What if?”

Vivo Sports produced a video which has gone viral in recent days. It shows what would happen if Silva channeled his energy into soccer, as many Brazilians do, instead of mixed martial arts.

A soccer-playing Silva is no pretty sight, but it is funny. His career trajectory would have taken him from a nondescript youth team all the way to Brazil’s storied national team. Unfortunately, his physical play and intimidating ways don’t work so well at soccer’s highest level. That’s where Pele steps in to make things right.

Watch the hilarious spoof in the video below.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

On Sunday, Balotelli scored the game-winning goal in Italy’s 2-1 victory over Mexico. He was so excited about the 78th-minute strike that he went on Twitter and dedicated the goal to one of his friends: Drake.

this gol is for my bro @Drake !!! STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM NOW WE HERE!!

—
Mario balotelli (@FinallyMario) June 16, 2013

We’re not sure why Balotelli dedicated his feat to the Canadian rapper. The two are known to be friendly, and Drake shouted out Balotelli in a song he released last year called “Enough Said.” We can only guess that the catchy song lyric took hold of Balotelli’s fingers and used them to do its bidding.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Tahiti was thrashed by Nigeria in its first game at the showcase soccer tournament, but Jonathan Tehau‘s second-half goal gave his team a chance to send a special message to the people back home.

Despite trailing 3-1 after the strike, Tahiti players raced to the sidelines and jumped on Tehau. The pile then spread into a circle, in which each player bent down on one knee and made a paddling motion.

Tehau’s goal was Tahiti’s first in a high-profile, global tournament, so they deserved to celebrate in style. The team representing the island nation of 200,000 people is ranked 138th in the world. All but one of its players are either amateurs or semi-professionals, including defender Teheivarii Ludivion, who climbs coconut trees for a living.

Tahiti lost 6-1, and results against Spain and Uruguay could be even worse. That probably won’t bother Tahiti, though. They’ve already had the chance to break out their paddles in Southeastern Brazil.

See Tehau’s goal and the paddle-boat celebrations below.

GIFs via Twitter/@brocadfael

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Parker scored twice in South Africa’s 2-1 loss to Ethiopa on Sunday. His second goal was perhaps the most spectacular and unfortunate of the Bafana Bafana forward’s career.

The score was tied 1-1 in the 70th minute when Parker jumped to head a free kick and thundered a header into the goal. Unfortunately, he scored on his own goal, sending Ethiopia into ecstasy and South Africa out of the World Cup.

South Africa needed to win in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in order to progress to the final round of CAF World Cup qualifying. The loss gave Ethiopia an insurmountable lead atop Group A and seemingly ended South Africa’s hopes of reaching Brazil in 2014.

It only seems that way because Ethiopia faces accusations that it fielded an ineligible player in its 2-1 win over Botswana on June 8. FIFA is investigating the matter, and it could strip Ethiopa of three points if it is determined that the allegations are true. South Africa would then be in position to sneak into the final round of qualifying.

See Parker’s bullet header in the video below.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The Americans defeated Panama by a score of 2-0 in front of a raucous crowd in Seattle, Wash., thanks to goals from Jozy Altidore and Eddie Johnson. The resurgent forwards were among those players who came up big, as the U.S. delivered its most complete, effective and entertaining performance of the entire 2014 World Cup qualifying cycle.

The victory put the U.S. atop the CONCACAF hexagonal standings midway through the final round of World Cup qualifying. A few things of note stood out from Tuesday’s game:

Michael Bradley‘s drive and Geoff Cameron‘s athleticism redefined U.S. midfield play. The two center midfielders brought out the best in each other. Bradley, a ball-loving, tempo-dictating type of midfielder, was unleashed by Cameron’s presence. His driving run and pass to Fabian Johnson helped create Altidore’s goal in the first half. It was one of many instances when his influence was felt in the attacking third of the field.

Bradley has played deeper in the midfield — next to Jermaine Jones, who missed the Panama game with a concussion — for much of qualifying. Their classic interchange (Jones stay back when Bradley goes forward and vice-versa) too often fails to link the center midfielders, wingers and forwards together, leaving Altidore and Clint Dempsey wholly dependent on service from the wings.

With Cameron covering lots of ground and destroying Panama’s attacks behind him, “General Bradley” was able to use his quality on the ball and controlled aggression to make plays higher up the field. His passing was near-perfect, as usual, and he popped up in or around Panama’s box to take dangerous shots on a couple of occasions. He makes well-timed runs into the area and gets onto the end of plays better than any other American center midfielder in the modern era. U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann should make the most of this weapon as his team heads toward Brazil.

Cameron replaced Jones on Friday, and his versatility convinced Klinsmann to stick with him against Panama. While he’s a defender by trade, his performance Tuesday brought back memories of his Premier League debut. He played as a holding midfielder one day last August and stifled Arsenal’s attack for 90 minutes, earning “man of the match” honors. Klinsmann wanted the same from Cameron against Panama, according to U.S. Soccer.

“We asked him to win a lot of balls back, cover the two center-backs and have a strong, strong presence in there,” Klinsmann said. “I don’t know how many balls he recovered; he was constantly there. And then we asked him to play it simple, and he did that. We said once you get that ball, then just keep it simple, find Michael Bradley, find Clint [Dempsey], find the players around him and cover our two center-backs. It was a huge performance by Cameron for us.”

U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard praised Cameron’s focus and mobility.

“Awesome performance,” Howard said. “He was strong on the ball, he set up one of the goals, really, really, good. I thought he was dialed in there. It was great to see; he deserved it. He’s easy on the eye the way he moves. He has those long, loping strides and he’s very coordinated. He seems like he’s really calm in that position as well which is pretty awesome. His body language is very calm.”

The Cameron-Bradley axis brought a new dimension to the U.S. attack. By controlling the center of the field, they allowed wingers Fabian and Eddie Johnson to push forward, keeping Panama’s wide players busy with the defensive side of the game. It was no surprise when Johnson and Johnson created and scored goals.

The spotlight was shining on Eddie Johnson at CenturyLink Field, as he shone for his country in the stadium in which his club (Seattle Sounders) plays its home games. I watched him play as a right-sided midfielder-winger in Seattle and couldn’t help but feel a sense of ironic goodwill toward him.

For the first six years of his career, he played as a striker for club and country. In 2008, Fulham paid a reported $6 million to bring him from MLS to Premier League, but he failed to establish himself in England’s top flight — partly because he was often used as a … wait for it … right-sided midfielder-winger. Johnson didn’t adapt well to a new country, position or style of play, and his club and national-team career sputtered for three years.

He returned to MLS in 2012, led Seattle in goals and earned MLS “Comeback Player of the Year” honors. Johnson’s resurgence caught Klinsmann’s eye, and he announced his return to the national team in October by scoring both goals in a 2-1 road win over Antigua and Barbuda. His well-taken goal against Panama merely showed that the rebirth of his career is complete.

Johnson relished playing for his country in front of fans who embraced him as one of their own last year. Seattle fans gave him a huge ovation as he left the field.

“It’s a dream come true,” he said about playing in Seattle. “To play in the U.S. jersey, first of all, is an honor, but to play in front of my fans that I play in front of week in and week out — I couldn’t have asked for a better feeling after the goal tonight.

Johnson wouldn’t have started had Graham Zusi not been suspended (yellow card accumulation). Klinsmann is happy to have the versatile Johnson at his disposal, and he shows it by trusting him at during big games.

“That’s very simple,” Klinsmann said. “Since we try to double our positions and we try to always have somebody behind that is almost as good as the starter. Eddie’s role was if something happens to Graham Zusi or even on the left wing, we can throw him in there even if something up top happens. He has done tremendously and he deserves a huge compliment. Talking about Brad [Evans] before and Eddie, I’m constantly talking to [Soundsers head coach] Sigi [Schmid] here about how they are doing and we kind of have a feeling that we can follow him and help him therefore we were very pleased to have him in such strong shape now.”

Finally, what more can we say about soccer crowds in Seattle? The fact that 53,679 watched the Sounders play the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, but only 35,000 or so tickets to USA-Panama were sold ahead of the game made some question how much of an appetite fans in the Pacific Northwest had for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

Well, 40,847 packed a reduced-capacity CenturyLink Field on Tuesday. They recreated the atmosphere that we’ve come to expect from fans in Seattle. They set the tone with a stunning pregame tifo display which paid homage to U.S. Soccer history. They were engaged in the game from opening whistle and willed the U.S. to victory with a wall of sound. There was an iconic moment in U.S. soccer atmospheres when chants of “We’re going to Brazil” rang out after Johnson’s goal.

This is nothing new for Brad Evans. He sees and hears it all the time when playing for the Sounders.

“It was insane,” he said. “From warm-ups to thanking the fans after the game it was absolutely nuts, but to be expected. It’s nothing new, so not surprising at all.”

Bradley plays his club soccer at the famed Stadio Olimpico in Rome. He was taken aback by the crowd and the atmosphere it created.

“Obviously for me you can’t talk about the game without talking about the crowd — unbelievable,” he said. “The best crowd I’ve played in front of in the United States without a doubt. From all the players, a big thank you to everyone who was here in the city who makes this a special night for us. People should know the difference it makes when you play in an atmosphere like this.”

The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team remains a work in progress, but the victory over Panama showed fans what a Klinsmann-led national team looks like when everything clicks. Panama is no pushover, and the Americans will face tougher opponents on the way to and at Brazil. But if they can reproduce that form on a consistent basis, there’s no reason the U.S. can’t make a mark in Brazil … as it did in 1950.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The Liverpool midfielder was his country’s skipper when it won the European U-17 Championship back in 2010.

Manager Peter Taylor today handed him the armband for the forthcoming tournament in Turkey.

And Coady is eager to lead by example once again and guide the Young Lions to glory.

“To be captain at any tournament is fantastic, but to be England captain at the U-20 World Cup finals is superb. I couldn’t be happier at the minute,” he told FATV.

“I’d love to repeat [the 2010 win]. We’re focused going into the tournament. The team cannot wait for it. We’ll go and do the best we can.

“I feel like I’ve had a good season and I’ve really improved on my game and the things I wanted to improve on. So I just need to carry on in that way and keep improving.”

Reds fullback Jon Flanagan will join Coady in Taylor’s squad for the tournament.

Also in the set-up for the trip to Turkey are Everton’s Ross Barkley and Tottenham’s Harry Kane, as well as the man who fired a hat-trick for Manchester United against Liverpool in the Barclays U-21s Premier League semi-final, Larnell Cole.

Coady, therefore, is surrounded by familiar faces.

“We all know each other from playing against each other and all the lads are fantastic,” continued the skipper. ”We’re all good mates and there’s a great team spirit in the camp. All the lads came over and shook my hand and gave me a hug when they found out I was captain.

“We’re all happy for each other here when someone plays and I’m really happy at the minute.”

England will get its campaign underway with a clash against Iran on June 23.

It will take on Chile three days later before finishing the group stage by facing Egypt on June 29.

Up until now the group has trained at various camps around England — and Coady is relishing the prospect of flying out to Turkey and getting the tournament started.

“The training camps have been fantastic and it’s been good to get to know the boys and get to know how we’re going to play,” he said. “But we just want to get out there now.

“We’ll be sweating a bit out there [due to the intense heat] but we can’t wait to get out there and start the tournament.”

Photo via LiverpoolFC.com

Evans’ goal was the latest winner in U.S. World Cup qualifying round history, and came less than three minutes after the Jamaicans had tied the game on a header from Jermaine Beckford in the 89th minute. Then, it looked as if the Americans would have to settle for a draw, which would have been a deflating result after leading for most of the game. But in the second minute of stoppage time, U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley found Evans wide open in the middle of the penalty area, and the Seattle Sounders midfielder turned and deposited it in the top right corner for the win.

Jozy Altidore opened the scoring in the 30th minute, giving the Americans a 1-0 lead on a header via Graham Zusi‘s cross from the right side.

The victory puts the U.S. in a three-way tie for first place in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying standings with Costa Rica and Mexico. The Americans have six games remaining in their World Cup qualifying schedule, with their next game coming Tuesday against Panama in Seattle. The top three teams in the standings advance to next year’s World Cup in Brazil, while the fourth team advances to a one-game playoff against New Zealand.

Check out Evans’ heroics from Friday in the video below.

The 21-year-old officially became a Barcelona player on Monday, signing a contract which runs until 2018. What happens between now and then will help answer the questions on everybody’s minds: How good is Neymar currently? How good can he be? Can he be as good as, or even better than, Lionel Messi? Should he have gone to Europe sooner than he did, or did he leave Brazil too soon? Will he meet expectations or fail miserably?

Neymar burst onto the Brazilian soccer scene in 2009 when he debuted for Santos at the tender age of 17. Within 28 months, he was a Copa Libertadores winner (Santos’ first since 1963 when Pele led the way) and widely recognized as the best player playing outside of Europe. His highlight-reel goals brought fame, fortune and inevitable eight-figure transfer bids from some of Europe’s richest clubs. He’s a pop-culture icon in Brazil and an idol to legions of fans. Yet, his celebrity status (and the lifestyle that comes with it) never blew his career off track. This bodes well for him ahead of his big move.

Neymar’s early career achievements may have come far away from the bright lights of Europe’s leading clubs, but they still are considerable and impressive. He is a Santos legend, as his 138 goals in 230 games make him the club’s leading scorer in the post-Pele era. He’s already a key figure on Brazil’s national team, despite being just 21 years old. Seasoned observers of the Brazilian game say he is the biggest talent they’ve seen in a generation, and the comparisons to Pele are plentiful.

It was Pele who gave Neymar the most useful advice before his European move. In February, he told Neymar what it takes to reach the top, delivering his message in the form of stinging criticism.

“He is an excellent player but he doesn’t have any experience outside Brazil,” Pele told newspaper Estado de S.Paulo. ”In every game he plays outside Brazil, he doesn’t do well. Everybody thinks Neymar can solve the Selecao’s problems, but he isn’t ready for that burden. We have a great deal of confidence in him but he has become a regular player for the national team.”

“We think that he is the best in the world, but he is more concerned about appearing in the media than playing for the team.”

“Neymar has a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders. Right now his major concerns are fashion and his haircut.”

Pele is no stranger to adulation, and he knows how it can negatively affect a young star — even one with Neymar’s exceptional talent.  Brazilian soccer players have spent the better part of the last four decades trying to trying to live up to his legacy. A select few have come close, but all have failed to take his throne for one reason or another. Pele’s advice will serve Neymar well at Barcelona. In fact, it might be the only way he’ll meet those lofty expectations at the Spanish club. The Barcelona squad is full of stars, including the brightest of them all (Messi). Neymar won’t walk into that dressing room on July 1 and start calling the shots. That will hold true when he takes the field in competitive games.

Barcelona will provide the perfect launching pad for Neymar’s European career. He joins a club that plays in a style with which he is familiar. While he must adapt to the tactics and speed of the Spanish game, his technical skills are ready-made for the big stage. The hopes of Barcelona fans around the world won’t be resting on his shoulders, at least at the outset. The long shadow cast by Messi and friends will give the Brazilian phenom the time and space he needs to grow into a leadership role at his new club.

Neymar’s Barcelona challenge is formidable. He wants to win soccer’s biggest prizes and join a list of Brazilians who are legends at the Nou Camp. Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Romario set the standard which he hopes to exceed, and there’s little in Neymar’s story that suggests he can’t do it. His high profile in Brazil gives critics an easy target, but that “image” was built on a foundation of substantial soccer success. That success was the result of genuine talent mixed with a commitment to his profession. Neymar enjoys a lavish lifestyle, but he is no party animal. His two-year transfer saga is a reflection of of the way soccer business is done in this day and age (complicated) rather than self-abortion on his part. By many accounts, he has a calm and thoughtful personality. His father serves as his agent and confidant, keeping him grounded as his career blossomed at a dizzying speed. Neymar is also utterly devoted to his infant son. There’s no reason to believe that this kind of young man won’t fit in with the close-knit Barcelona squad.

Barcelona paid Santos and other parties anywhere from £31 million ($47.5 million) to £61.5 million ($94.3 million) — depending on who you ask — for Neymar. The Spanish club is betting that Brazil’s biggest star will fulfill his promise while wearing its colors. There’s no guarantee that will be the case, but Barcelona’s Neymar bet isn’t a silly one. Like all players, he comes with a risk. Unlike other players, there’s a chance that Neymar’s European reality will match his Brazilian myth, which will be a great thing for the beautiful game and its fans.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The dramatic conclusion of the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League final was merely the exclamation point on a game that will go down in history as one of the best-ever finals of a major soccer tournament.

It was no accident that the first all-German Champions League final was such a thriller. The way it unfolded was the product of a rivalry that was put to flame in 2008, simmered in 2010 and 2011 and reached its boiling point on Saturday. That the final took place at Wembley Stadium — one of the sacred shrines of world soccer — was both fitting and symbolic.

Recent weeks have seen the Bundseliga (German first division) hailed as the best domestic league on Earth — a model for others to admire and emulate. I’m not ready to crown the German game just yet, as its quality of depth remains in question. However, I’ll freely admit that Bayern and Dortmund are the world’s two best soccer clubs as of spring of 2013.

The two clubs took separate routes to the top, but one thing lies at the heart of both teams’ recent success: German engineering intersected with an essential sports truisms to produce two great teams. Winners often learn their most valuable lessons from defeat, and it is in rising from defeat that they reach their greatest glories. German soccer started this process after the national team crashed out of Euro 2000, according to the Guardian.

“German football is booming, reaping the rewards of the strategy drawn up after their dismal performances at Euro 2000, when Germany finished bottom of their group. Forced into an overhaul of youth football, the DFB [German soccer federation], the Bundesliga and the clubs decided that the development of more technically proficient homegrown players would be in everyone’s best interests. This led to the creation of academies right across the top two divisions.”

Bayern has been a soccer juggernaut since the 1970s. Constant success bred expectation, which wealth often made it possible to meet. Its star-studded teams are among the European elite almost every year, but the current crop of Bayern players experienced something else in order to end the club’s 13-year wait for continental glory. They needed to (repeatedly) feel that sting of defeat and learn from it to win club soccer’s most coveted trophy.

Dortmund is a blue-collar club from a blue-collar city. Its fall and rise took place over the last 15 years, but the same lessons apply. In 2005, it avoided bankruptcy thanks to an emergency loan from Bayern Munich. Dortmund then adopted a new approach to team building. Instead of paying a premium for foreign stars, it focuses on developing local youth and gives them a chance to break into the first team. Jurgen Klopp became the face and leader of the project when he was hired as manager in 2008. Dortmund won the Bundesliga two years later and won league and cup honors in 2011-12.

Dortmund’s domestic success angered Bayern. The juggernaut was further horrified when it lost the 2012 Champions League final to Chelsea in its own stadium. Its players emerged from the shock as a hungrier and more focused group. Club directors reinforced the group with five successful summer signings, and Bayern retook the Bundesliga in record-breaking fashion.

The Champions League was always Bayern’s primary target in 2012-13. Philip Lahm, Bastian Scwheinsteiger, Robben and Franck Ribery were the ring-leaders of a group that had suffered defeat in the final of the 2010 and 2012 Champions Leagues. Those players’ fortunes at every major international tournament since the 2006 FIFA World Cup were startlingly similar to Bayern’s recent finishes. Losing to a domestic rival in 2013 was simultaneously unthinkable and entirely possible.

The current Bayern team was built for domination. It overwhelms opponents with speed, skill, power and tactical maturity as Barcelona learned in the semifinal. Klopp’s Dortmund is the anti-Bayern. It is a young, hungry group which has gone toe-to-toe with Bayern thanks to the spirit of fearlessness and sacrifice which the manager has instilled his players.

On Saturday, Bayern and Dortmund treated (an estimated) 350 million fans around the world to a three-acts of pure soccer theater. Dortmund was the better team for the first 30 minutes but failed to score. The two teams were even for the next 30 and split two goals. Bayern was superior over the last half-hour, and Robben’s goal won the game (just as it looked like extra time was a certainty). The tempo was pulsating throughout and, astonishingly, neither team made a substitution before Robben struck. The contrast in styles was clear. Bayern’s relentless superiority clashed with Dortmund’s suffocating swarm to produce a classic.

Should Bayern Munich beat Stuttgart to win the German cup on June 1, it will have a strong claim to the title of “greatest [single-season] team in history.” Dortmund almost beat the juggernaut, which is telling in itself. How both clubs play, operate and are supported should serve as the guiding lights of the soccer world. They followed separate blueprints but coexisted at the summit for 89 out of 90 minutes.

Both clubs share the brightest of futures, as they hope to meet new challenges in the coming seasons. Dortmund playmaker Mario Gotze is joining Bayern next season. Star striker Robert Lewandowski could follow. Bayern’s underhanded pursuit of the duo will undoubtedly fan the rivalry’s flames to greater heights, and the scorned club will carry that grudge well into the future. Dortmund’s other key players are tied to long-term contracts, and it has the money and scouting network it takes to find suitable replacements for Gotze and Lewandowski. Barring a shock departure from Klopp, it will remain a contender to win the Champions League in the coming seasons.

Bayern is entering a bright new era, as Pep Guardiola will replace the retiring Juup Heynckes as manager. His mandate is to sustain this unprecedented success and help Bayern become the first team to win back-to-back Champions League titles. He must also integrate a few young players into the first team (as he did at Barcelona), heap more responsibility on young star Thomas Muller and help Bayern transition from the era of Lahm, Scwhweinsteiger, Robben and Ribery into the future. Should he be successful, Bayern will set the standard in world soccer for the rest of the decade and beyond. Dortmund will be right on their heels.

Germany’s national team will benefit from all of this. Lahm, Scwhweinsteiger and friends will be eager to match their long-awaited club success with international glory. Germany is a leading contender to win the next three major international tournaments — the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 European Championships and the 2018 World Cup. Muller will lead the next generation of young and experienced German stars into the great beyond.

The eyes of the soccer world must stay fixed on the Germany. It is home to two leading clubs and some of the world’s top players. Its clubs are changing the way the game is played, taught and run. It rose from the ashes of Euro 2000, emphasized youth development and community ownership (and support) of clubs. It resulted in Saturday’s blend of style and substance that produced some of the greatest theater the game has seen this generation.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The 26-year-old soccer player has officially joined the L.A. Galaxy, and he could play for his new team as early as Sunday night. When he takes the field, he will become the first openly gay male athlete to appear in any one of North America’s major team sports leagues.

In February, Rogers announced that he is gay and was going to “step away” from soccer. He received an outpouring of support and reached celebrity status after coming out publicly, but he only changed his mind after meeting with a group of kids in April at the Nike Be True LGBT Youth Forum in Portland, according to USA TODAY.

“I seriously felt like a coward,” Rogers said. “These kids are standing up for themselves and changing the world, and I’m 25, I have a platform and a voice to be a role model. How much of a coward was I to not step up to the plate?”

Rogers began practicing with the Galaxy in late April, and rumors of his potential return gathered steam in May. His return to soccer became official on Saturday after the Galaxy acquired his rights from the Chicago Fire in exchange for Mike Magee.

The U.S. international once felt he could not fulfill his sporting ambitions and live and work as an openly gay male. The world of 2013 showed him otherwise. He now hopes to get his career back on track and play for the United States at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

“I want to win,” Rogers said. “I don’t want to go back just to be back. … Whether it’s ping-pong or I’m on the field, I always want to win.

“I want to get past the point where I was before. I want to get back to the national team. I was so close to making the World Cup in 2010, I want to be there for the next one.”

Rogers will become a pioneer the moment he takes the field for the Galaxy. Being the first openly gay male player in one of North America’s major team sports leagues will bring him plenty of attention, and he’s excited at the chance to help shape the future.

“I want to come back and be that voice, be that role model,” Rogers added. “I want to compete on the field. I want to make it back to the national team. I want to be a role model. I have a lot of motivating factors working for me right now.

“There’s a lot to be excited about. It’s awesome to be part of a movement that is changing our society.”

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Police in Lincoln City, Ore., said 42-year-old Richard Swanson was hit at about 10 a.m. while walking south along U.S. Highway 101 near the city limits. He was declared dead at a hospital. The driver has not been charged.

Lt. Jerry Palmer said investigators found materials among Swanson’s belongings listing his website, breakawaybrazil.com.

Swanson set out on the trek to promote the One World Futbol Project, based in Berkeley, Calif., which donates durable blue soccer balls to people in developing countries.

“We are deeply saddened to learn about Richard’s death,” Lisa Tarver, chief operating officer of One World Futbol Project, said in a statement. “He was a very inspiring man who in a very short time walked his way into many lives. Our thoughts are with his family.”

Police said Palmer’s soccer ball was recovered.

Kristi Schwesinger, a Seattle interior designer and close friend of Swanson’s, said he had been a private investigator for many years, and switched to a new career as a graphic designer, but was laid off recently, and looking for an adventure.

“He was at a point in his life where he had raised his kids,” she said. “Both his boys (Devin and Raven) had graduated from high school. He had no mortgage. He had sold his condo recently and was between jobs.

“And he loved the game of soccer,” she said. “He stumbled on this great organization, One World Futbol, and decided this would be his passion the next year.”

In an interview with The Daily News in Longview, Wash., Swanson said he picked up soccer just five years ago and played on club teams and rooted for the Seattle Sounders.

“I felt destined that I should go on this trip,” he said.

His website said he left Seattle on May 1, and the trip would take him on foot for more than a year through 11 countries before reaching Sao Paolo, Brazil, where the World Cup soccer tournament will be played.

“It will be a trip of a lifetime where I will push myself further than I ever thought possible,” he wrote.

Swanson started out in flip-flops, and managed to spend 13 nights but switched to hiking sandals in Portland, Ore., Schwesinger said. He stayed two nights in Vancouver, Wash., with his son, Devin, but otherwise had been able to sleep on on the couches of one stranger after another who befriended him and helped him on his journey.

“It was all by word of mouth, Facebook, media contacts, friends and family who put the word out,” Schwesinger said.

Swanson spent Monday night in Lincoln City, where he was able to soak in a hot tub, and eat a gourmet breakfast, before he set off for Newport, not knowing where he would stay, she added. He posted photos and stories about his new friends on a Facebook page chronicling his journey.

Friends are talking about creating a foundation in Swanson’s memory, and sending his two sons to Brazil for the World Cup, Schwesinger said.

“The hardest thing is he was so young,” Schwesinger said. “Just today we were planning his surprise birthday party for Sunday. He was so young, so full of life, so excited by the journey he was on. To be taken from us so soon is really heartbreaking.”

Photo via Facebook/soccerly

Epic Pictures Group says it is financing and developing a Rocky-style film after buying the rights to dramatize a biography about the Barcelona soccer star.

The Beverly Hills-based company says the biopic will chart Messi’s rise from a modest background in Argentina and how he ”overcame his physical shortcomings to become one of the greatest players of all time.”

Co-founder Shaked Berenson hopes ”audiences will be uplifted by this incredible tale of fighting for your dreams.”

The shock grew to outright disbelief minutes later, when FIFA appeared to announce Blatter’s resignation as president of world soccer’s governing body.

But it was all a hoax.

The Syrian Electronic Army has taken credit for hacking the Twitter accounts of Blatter and the FIFA World Cup itself. The group has previously hacked the accounts of high-profile media organizations like the BBC, NPR and the venerable CBS’ program 60 Minutes.

Blatter has served as FIFA president since 1998 but has worked there since 1975. His current term ends in 2015, and he has not announced if he will run for a fifth stint in charge of the organization.

The Syrians posted slightly comical messages on Blatter’s account, in which he reveals that that Qatari officials paid him to award the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup to their country. Almost at the same time, the FIFA account said it would investigate Blatter and review the 2022 bidding process.

Many observers immediately cast doubt on the authenticity of the messages, and the Syrian group took credit at the end of a stream of posts. The stunt gave birth to a new game: Guess what the passwords of Blatter and the World Cup’s accounts are? 20182022 and OilCa$h are two of the many great responses.

See Blatter and the FIFA World Cup’s hacked tweets below.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

The former president of Serbian club Partizan Belgrade has accused West of lying about his age, saying the former Nigerian international was 12 years older than he claimed to be during when he played for the club from 2002-04. Zarko Zecevic says West told the club he was 28, but he was actually 40, according to the Mail.

“‘He joined us saying he was 28,” Zecevic said. “We only later found out he was 40, but he was still playing well so I don’t regret having him on the team.”

West’s current age is listed at 39, which is unremarkable for a player enjoying the fifth year of his retirement. But if he currently older than 50, then his career begins to seem simply astounding.

West’s professional journey ran from 1992-2008, taking him to 10 clubs in eight countries. He also represented Nigeria from 1994-02. He played a key role in his country’s gold-medal-winning squad in 1996 and also appeared in two FIFA World Cups (1998 and 2002) for the Super Eagles.

It was thought that West was 22 years old during the 1996 Summer Olympic games, but his actual age would have been closer to 34 if Zecevic is correct. He was reportedly a 23-year-old when he left French club Auxerre for Inter Milan in 1997. If Zecevic’s calculations are taken into account, then West was actually 35 when he moved to the Italian giant. Two years later, he joined crosstown rival AC Milan for one campaign. He spent the 2000-01 season with Derby County in England’s Premier League and joined Kaiserslautern in Germany’s top flight the following season.

West spent the final six seasons of his career playing for clubs in less heralded leagues like Serbia, Qatar, England’s second division and Iran. He played very few league games during the long autumn of his career, but he always seemed fit enough to land that next contract. When he left Iranian club Paykan FC in November 2007, he was 33 as far as the public was concerned. But he would have actually been 46 if Zecevic is correct.

West has denied Zecevic’s allegations, according to Goal.com. He says his age was never an issue during his time at Partizan Belgrade.

“I don’t really know what they are talking about and that’s why I don’t really have anything much to say,” Goal.com reports West told The Punch. ”But it is curious that they are raising such matters about 10 years after I left the place. Why was the matter not raised while I was there? Why talk about it long after I retired from the game.”

It’s likely that this story will end with West’s denial, but wouldn’t it be great if he did, in fact, reach the top of the game long after conventional wisdom says he should have? The idea of him doing so might just reignite the faded dreams of those players over 30 around the world.

Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer, NESN Soccer’s Facebook page or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Photo via Facebook/Taribo West

FIFA chose GoalControl-4D over three rival projects: GoalRef and Cairos, which both use magnetic sensor fields; and Hawk-Eye, another camera system which was considered the favorite. Hawk-Eye is already used in tennis and cricket, and its English parent company was bought by World Cup sponsor Sony Corp. before the system began FIFA-endorsed testing in 2011.
GoalControl was licensed by FIFA only one month ago, and owner Dirk Broichhausen told The Associated Press then that its simplicity was the key factor.

“Our innovation, and also a difference looking to other competitors, is that we can use standard goals, balls and nets. There is no modification necessary,” said Broichhausen, whose company is based in Wurselen but already established an office base in Brazil.

GoalControl uses 14 high-speed cameras — seven trained on each goalmouth — and passed FIFA-approved tests in February in German stadiums in Duesseldorf and Gelsenkirchen. All four systems met FIFA’s demand that a signal is transmitted to the referee’s watch within one second if a goal should be awarded.

“We want to offer tournament organizers and leagues and clubs not to have to change anything on the pitch. The investment in the technology is enough,” Broichhausen said

He estimated that GoalControl will cost €200,000 ($260,000) per stadium to install, and €3,000 ($3,900) per match to operate.

FIFA said the cost of installation — at six scheduled Confederations Cup stadiums and 12 for the World Cup — was considered.

“The respective bids were also judged on cost and project management factors such as staffing and time schedules for installation,” football’s governing body said in a statement.

FIFA’s contract with GoalControl for the World Cup can be reviewed if there are problems at the 16-match Confederations Cup — or even before.

“The use of GoalControl-4D in Brazil is subject to a final installation test at each stadium where the system will be installed,” FIFA said.

FIFA, through its rule-making panel known as IFAB, approved goal-line technology last July, when Hawk-Eye and the German-Danish project GoalRef passed the rigorous testing process.

Those systems were tested at the Club World Cup in Japan last December, before Cairos and GoalControl had even been licensed.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter was a longstanding opponent of high-tech help for referees, but urged using goal-line technology in Brazil after England midfielder Frank Lampard had a clear goal disallowed against Germany at the 2010 World Cup.

FIFA performed another U-turn last month when it withdrew previous opposition to publicizing goal-line rulings.
Now, competition organizers can choose whether decisions are shown to fans on big screens in stadiums and television viewers. In tennis and cricket, anticipation of a decision provided by Hawk-Eye has become part of the in-game entertainment.

“It’s not secret,” Blatter said on the sidelines of the IFAB meeting in Edinburgh. “Once we have the technology and it shows it’s a goal or not a goal, we have to be transparent, otherwise there’s no need to do it.”

Referees still have the final say on awarding a goal, or even using goal-line technology when it is installed. Mandatory pre-game tests give match officials the option to switch off the technology if they doubt its accuracy on that day.

Hawk-Eye, GoalRef and Cairos will now seek to persuade other football clients, such as the English Premier League or German’s Bundesliga, to choose their systems before next season begins in August.

“I ask the fans to respect the national anthem of the away team,” Mexico coach José Manuel de la Torre said Monday (via MLSsoccer.com). “It feels very bad to be in an away stadium in another country and not even hear the anthem, so if there is something I can ask, it is to respect the national anthem of the visitors.”

“El Tri” have been ridiculously efficient at the Estadio Azteca, holding a home record of 37-1-3 in World Cup qualifiers. The team has shown signs of vulnerability on their home field of late, however, dropping a 1-0 friendly to the U.S. in August — its first win ever at Azteca — and playing Jamaica to a 0-0 tie in the opening game of qualifiers last month.

But the arena, with its capacity crowd of 105,000 and location in smog-ridden Mexico City, still creates one of the greatest home-field advantages in sports — one much different than the winter wonderland that played host to the United States’ controversial win over Costa Rica on Friday.

“The [difficulty] of playing at the Azteca is that it’s hot, the factories have been on all week and the smog just sits on top of you,” former U.S. national team member Marcelo Balboa told ESPNFC.com. “They’re used it, you’re not. Now you’re taking a lot of that out of the equation. You’re playing at night, you’re eliminating the heat, you’re eliminating a lot of the smog. It’s still going to be there, but you’re [reducing] a lot of the factors that make Mexico, Mexico.”

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FIFA says the Costa Rican football association failed to meet the requirements of filing a valid protest of Friday’s match in Commerce City, Colorado.

In a statement published Tuesday, FIFA refers to a clause in its 2014 World Cup Regulations.

It states that when a field becomes unplayable during a match, the protesting team’s captain “shall immediately lodge a protest with the referee in the presence of the captain of the opposing team.”

FIFA says “therefore, the result of the match played on March 22 stands and is considered as valid.”

Should world soccer’s governing body heed Costa Rica’s call, invalidate the U.S. Men’s National Team’s win and order a replay the FIFA World Cup qualifier, it will be within its right to do so.

While FIFA can scrub the result from the record books, it can never strike the memory of the game from the minds of the players, fans and wider sporting public.

Friday’s contest took place in near whiteout conditions in Commerce City, Colorado ( just outside of Denver), as a snowstorm started two hours before kickoff and raged throughout the game. It blanketed the field at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park with snow, despite the best efforts of the grounds crew.

Neither team could play much actual soccer. The the wintry weather made controlling and kicking the ball almost impossible for the seasoned professionals on the field. But the U.S. prevailed in the end thanks to newly minted captain Clint Dempsey, who scored the game’s only goal in the 16th minute. The U.S. battled the conditions, opponents and their own demons to preserve the shutout. It was one of the most memorable games in U.S. soccer history, and the victory made the whole occasion absurdly beautiful for American partisans.

It’s impossible to tell how FIFA will decide. It only said it is studying “the content of the letter and next steps will be determined in due course.” It’s even harder to say how FIFA should rule on this case, as there are too many unknowns (as of Monday afternoon) to make a definitive statement. ESPN reports FIFA regulations state that the protesting team’s captain must immediately lodge a protest to the referee in the presence of the other team’s captain. If that actually happened, Dempsey didn’t talk about it after the game. There are other procedural factors to consider.

“Costa Rica also had to file written protests with the match coordinator within two hours of the final whistle, and to FIFA’s administration by registered letter within 24 hours, ‘otherwise they shall be disregarded,’ the regulations state. FIFA had yet to determine whether Costa Rica had followed those procedures,” ESPN continues.

After 30 minutes of play, the game was clearly becoming a farce. When referee Joel Aguilar halted play around the hour mark, I assumed he would abandon the contest. But the Salvadoran official resumed the game. Whether or not Aguilar should have called off the game is a subject for endless debate. It’s more of a matter of personal taste.

Contrary to popular opinion, neither team benefited from the conditions. The American players are from all over the country, and their places of upbringing don’t necessarily make them more appreciative of the cold and snow than the Costa Ricans. Besides, any professional club almost anywhere on earth would stop or move practice inside when confronted with weather like we saw on Friday. Soccer players don’t play in that kind of weather … unless they have to.

Analyzing performances is another thankless (borderline fruitless) task in a game like this, but a few things stood out. The Sporting News’ revelations of divisions and discontent within the U.S. camp dominated the lead-up to the game, but the players and coaches didn’t let the potentially explosive report distract them from the task at hand. They displayed an abundance of commitment, focus and determination in securing the famous and ugly victory. Their collective performance was a credit to their professionalism.

Dempsey continues to be the Americans’ most important player, as he has been for the majority of the current World Cup cycle. The star forward flourished in his first game as captain by doing what he does best — popping up near the opponents’ goal with a perfectly timed run and putting the ball in the back of the net — and a few extra things, according to U.S. Soccer.

“You just got to make sure you’re being smart out there, making sure you’re putting out a good shift and leading by example,” Dempsey said. “Maybe when you lose the ball, you’re chasing down lost causes. It’s in the back of your head a little bit more to give a little bit of that extra effort.”

The U.S. Men’s National Team is in transition, and the road to the future is full of bumps and potential pitfalls. Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has embraced and promoted the concept of “urgency” since taking charge of the U.S. team in August 2011. He was a picture of urgency as he was pressing Aguilar to let play continue. His players responded, even embodied, their coach during the tense final half hour of the game. Last month’s loss to Honduras, combined with the upcoming game in Mexico City made the Costa Rica contest a must-win for the U.S. They responded and eased the pressure of the moment.

If FIFA orders a replay, the U.S. should be confident in its chances of winning and doing so by a greater margin. Any potential replay would take place later in the year. The U.S. would be further removed from its transition troubles and closer to peak form, fitness, sharpness and chemistry (which has a target date of June-July 2014).

If the result stands as is, the U.S. soccer and sports community will continue to celebrate that iconic game known as “snowmageddon.” The country will remember that night when it turned on ESPN just after someone shook up a snow globe and watched. When it settled, Dempsey, Klinsmann and friends were standing in the middle of it all, enjoying their finest moment to date.

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Costa Rican Football Federation Treasurer Rolando Villalobos said in a statement Sunday that documentation had been sent to FIFA to back the claim, including photographs and videos.

The Costa Rican federation said the climatic conditions threatened the physical integrity of the players, left the sidelines and markings on the field largely not visible and led to the entry onto the field of snow-clearing personnel, which it claimed was not permitted.

The federation also argued that ”ball movement became impossible given the quantity of snow on the field” and called on FIFA to punish the match officials who allowed the game to proceed.

”What happened the night … has no precedents, since it not only went against the sporting spectacle, but also against the physical integrity of the officials and players,” the statement said.

During Friday’s game, plows and shovels were used to clear the penalty areas, center circle and midfield stripe as snow got heavier, and a yellow-and-purple ball was used.

Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto urged the referee to suspend the game, but U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann made a case for playing on because both teams faced the same conditions.

Clint Dempsey scored the winning goal in the 16th minute.

The protested loss left Costa Rica at the bottom of its division with one point.

The U.S. Soccer Federation declined to comment Sunday night.

After a Clint Dempsey tuck-away goal, the U.S. soared over Costa Rica in the World Cup qualifier 1-0 at Dick Sporting Goods Park, which is right on the border of the Rocky Mountains. But due to the extreme and hostile weather conditions, Costa Rica is protesting the defeat.

“It was an embarrassment to football, disrespectful to the game,” Costa Rica’s manager Jorge Luis Pinto said, according to Reuters.com.

Officials were going to postpone the game, but it would have resulted in a bulk of complications in the forthcoming traveling schedule, and they elected not to.

The U.S. will continue their voyage to Mexico on Tuesday. Check out the highlights of the snowy setting in Colorado in the video below.

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