INCOMING: Roberto Nurse to CD Chivas USA

And another team looks to immediate help for their SuperLiga ambitions.

Here is the Press Release from CD Chivas USA:

Chivas USA signs 24-year-old Mexican forward Roberto Nurse



CARSON, Calif. -- Chivas USA has announced the signing of 24-year-old forward Roberto Nurse, a three-year veteran of Mexico's First Division, as an international player. Nurse, who has been training with the Red-and-White since early June, is eligible to play for Chivas USA pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate. Chivas USA faces Santos Laguna of the Mexican First Division tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. PT at The Home Depot Center, in a must-win Group B match of the SuperLiga 2008 international tournament.

"Roberto is a strong, powerful center forward who we've been taking a close look at for the past few weeks," said Chivas USA Head Coach Preki. "He's good in the air, good with his feet, and will add another dimension to our attack. We're happy to have him in the squad."

Born on December 16, 1983, in Mexico City, Nurse is a three-year veteran of the Mexican First Division, having made his top-flight debut with Cuernavaca in 2003 at the age of 19. From 2003-2005, he spent two years in Mexico's Primera 'A' division, first with Zacatepec (2003-2004) then Querétaro (2004-2005). Nurse returned to the First Division in 2005, playing 13 games with Atlante from 2005-2006, and then back to recently promoted Querétaro from 2006-2007, when he played 19 games for the 'Gallos Blancos.' From 2007-2008, he was Querétaro's leading goalscorer in the Primera 'A', registering a total of 17 goals between the Apertura 2007 and Clausura 2008 seasons. Nurse's father, Roberto Tomás, is a native of Panama City, and his mother, Marcela, is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico.

Chivas USA faces a must-win game when it takes on Santos Laguna on Wednesday, July 16, at 7:00 p.m. at The Home Depot Center in the Red-and-White's second group-stage SuperLiga match. The team then hits the road for Chivas USA's first-ever official match in Orange County, playing the New England Revolution on Sunday, July 20, at 5:00 p.m. at Titan Stadium on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. For tickets, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit www.cdchivasusa.com.

TRANSACTION: Chivas USA signs Mexican FW Roberto Nurse as an international player.

Here is video of Nurse in action:

INCOMING: Keilor Navas Gamboa to CD Chivas USA to Replace Brad Guzan?

It appears that CD Chivas USA is going to replace the outgoing Brad Guzan with one 21 year old Costa Rican goalkeeper from one of Jorge Vegara's triumvirate of clubs, Deportivo Saprissa, according to this article.

Jorge Vergara, the Mexican businessman who is a part-owner of Chivas USA, confirmed Friday to the L.A. Times that Guzan was headed to England, although he failed to state the club.

"Yes, it's true," Vergara told the Times. "He's leaving for Europe, to England specifically, and we're very happy and very glad that another Chivas player is going to Europe. We're going to replace him with a very talented goalkeeper from Saprissa in Costa Rica. A very young one but very talented."

Keilor Navas Gamboa, 21, is believed to be the goalkeeper Vergara was referring to.

OUTGOING: Brad Guzan to Aston VIlla (DONE DEAL)

According to American Soccer Reader:

"We’ve received several tips that the transfer fee received by MLS is roughly $1.5 Million, which seems to be an absolute bargain for Aston Villa. "

Read more here.

STADIUMS: CD Chivas USA Courts Santa Ana for Future Stadium

According to this article in the Orange County Register, LA club, CD Chivas USA may be on its way out of the Home Depot Center in the years ahead. This time to the city of Santa Ana. In previous rumors we've heard Bell Gardens and Pomona mentioned but it now appears that "The Goats" have their sights set on Santa Ana.

Here is an excerpt:

SANTA ANA – Soccer club Chivas USA is in talks with city leaders to build a campus of fields and facilities – and possibly a stadium – on the western edge of the city, a team owner confirmed today.

Chivas hopes to move forward with a development plan for the old Willowick Golf Course by mid-summer, co-owner Antonio Cue said during a "State of the City" event today. He talked about building a soccer center, with fields and classrooms, which would host youth programs and academies.

But the idea of expanding that vision to include a new stadium for Chivas itself, he said, is still "in the very early stages."

The possibility of a sports powerhouse like Chivas moving into Santa Ana was one of the highlights of Mayor Miguel Pulido's State of the City Address today. Pulido also said the city is negotiating with the owners of MainPlace Mall to clear the way for an expansion there, and possibly a high-rise hotel or office tower."

REPORT: Fan Violence Amongst Chivas USA Supporters Lead to Chivas USA Attendance Downturn

According to this report on Sideline Views.

If you watched the Chivas USA-New England match, you may have noticed the large number of empty seats at the match. While this is nothing new - empty seats commonly outnumber filled ones at Chivas home games - what was different from this particular match was the absence of a certain fan group.

Legion 1908 was not present at the match, and no the Mexican Chivas did not have a reserve-laden match within driving distance on Sunday.

Apparently, a member of Legion and a member of the new Chivas USA supporters group Union Ultras were involved in some sort of altercation. A Chivas staffer told us that one member of each group committed an "act of violence" at the last Chivas USA match at HDC, on April 26 against the Galaxy. Apparently, there was one altercation inside the stadium and a retaliatory one outside.

REPORT: More on Houston Dynamo/Chivas USA Riot (UPDATE)

The following appears to be a description of the man charged with the stabbing in what appears to be a University of Houston police/security report:

SUSPECT: Potentail description: dark skinned, hispanic male, approximately 5'5", with spikey hair, that was wearing a Battalion shirt. Due to numerous individuals involved in a fight, it is not known how accurate this suspect description is.
WEAPONS: Unknown type of knife.
SYNOPSIS: On May 3, 2008 at approximately 9:42 pm a Dynamo fan support group and the Chivas fan support group became involved in a physical fight outside the stadium after the soccer match. Numerous fans were involved in the fight. Sometime during the fight one of the fans was stabbed in the back. This fan did not know he had been stabbed and was made aware of it by other fans. He was transported to the hospital. Though several fans were arrested for fighting the investigation did not locate the suspect. This incident resulted from the soccer match and was not associted with any UH event.

And here we have another eyewitness account of the events that transpired.

Actually, we were about 20-30 feet away from the actual "riot"...it happened right by our tailgating spot by gate 11 right after the game...we had kids with us and I think those guys should be banned from attending the stadium in the future...They only arrested a few but the brawl was pretty big...

Right before the game, the Chivas fans (I dont' know if they were Chivas USA or Chivas de Guadalajara fans), arrived by gate 11...it was about 5 minutes before kickoff and we were picking up our stuff to go into the stadium when we noticed them approaching the stadium...they were rowdy, and seemed to be having fun...we even exchanged a few playful taunts, but all in good sportmanship from both sides. UofH police were escorting them which was great...we didn't see why this was needed...until after the game that is...When the Chivas fans came out from gate 11, there were no officers to be found close by. The fight started breaking out when a few drunk Chivas fans started picking on some our tailgating neighbors, calling them names, taunting them about the game overall...and one of the Dynamo fans responded..(bad bad decision)...

That's when it all started...all of a sudden you were looking at about 50+ people (men & women) going at it on the parking lot...and there were lots of families making their way out of the stadium at that time which made it worse.

The officers finally got there a couple of minutes later and started calming things down but they should have been there to escort them out just like they did before the game. It's common sense, you know most people, dynamo fans and chivas fans had a few drinks on them...why escort them in and separate them from us when coming into the game, but forget about them after the game?

It was awful, having passion for the sport is one thing...and yes the Chivas fans started it...but our fans shouldn't have responded either...well actually it was one guy...and then other guys started defending him too...

I really hope this doesn't happen again, we've been tailgating by GAte 11 almost every home game since the Dynamo moved to Houston and I want to bring my family along, most people tailgating there bring family...I hope this doesn't effect the family environment we had going on at Robertson.

COMMENTARY: Dougie Brimson On Houston Rioting

Acclaimed British author, Dougie Brimson, author of several books on football hooliganism including March of The Hooligans, a US aimed book, which among other things examines the potential for organized or spontaneous violence at MLS matches sent us the following regarding the Houston riot.

This is very, very bad news.

Coming on the back of the incidents involving Toronto fans, I suspect that we are approaching the 'I hate to say I told you so' stage.

What concerns me the most is that there is apparently so little being done to nip this in the bud. Where are the pro-fan drives established by the MLS? Where is the independent supporters union? And most importantly, where is the anti-violence campaign?

All of these things should have been set up as a matter of urgency yet there is still no sign of them. That means that things can only get worse before they get better. If they get better!

Dougie

Dougie is widely considered an authority on fan violence having at one time been a hooligan himself.

Indeed, prior to this season there was much talk about an independent supporter's union but nothing seems to have come of it. If you know what the status of this organization is please feel free to email us or leave a comment.

Brimson was interviewed on NPR in November of last year just two days before this incident occurred at another Dynamo match.

Additionally someone posted this disturbing eyewitness account of events in the comments section of our story.

"k, after the game...My wife, son mother in law and I waited a few minutes for the crow to clear and proceeded to our car. We walked out got in the car. Right before we went in our car, a bunch of chivas fans were walking out. We got in our car...all of the sudden, we see a fight break out, and another and another...security guards or cops started coming from the stadium trying to stop the people from fighting. We watched in awe as the people were beating each other...we had pulled out of our spot and decided just to stay still, stopped for a minute. Three minutes later people start running towards us and a two cops and two strangers were fighting right on the hood of the car. By this time the whole deal had scalated to near a riot. My wife was screaming scared telling me to leave, my son was terrified and my mother in law was quoting Jesus and trying to pray. I was scared but I was still just looking around to see where the bullets were going to originate from. I told my son to get down as the fights intesified, he then was really scared a pushed his head down behind the passengers right seat, I was trying to keep every one calm, but the violence just kept scalating. They were fighting like animals hitting each other with the flags and what ever they can find. Finally one of the cops had to pepper spray one of the guys that was right on our car hood, the pepper spray went into our car through the AC. The cops had their metal sticks or what ever you call them out, and ready to start beating on people. They looked scared...there were too many people fighting and being ignorant. I could not leave as there was a guy laying down on the floor right on the path of my front tires, and my wife kept yelling" go gog go please just go" But I could move, I was afraid for my family....We finally were able to pull out but the massive congestion outside was horrible. I saw cops cursing out people on the streets, and kids challenging the cops. The saddest thing I saw was that in the mist of the fighters or idiots fighting there were people with small children. It was horrible and my wife swor to never again bring my kid and she's also considering not going back herself. As for me, i know I can take care of myself but I would not put my family in that predicament."

It should also be noted that there have been rumors of a film version of Brimson's "March of the Hooligans" book.

STADIUMS: CD Chivas USA to Evaluate Stadium Plan Over Next 3 Years

Estadio Chivas is currently under construction for Chivas USA's sister club CD Guadalajara

From MLS Confidential:

"During those few years, operator-investor Jorge Vergara will evaluate further the possibility of building his own stadium, perhaps in the San Bernardino area east of Los Angeles. That area is not heavily Hispanic and it might be, far from the bright lights of HDC, an element that proves to be essential in the Chivas USA quest for success."

INCOMING: "Cuban 7" Update

Remember the seven Cuban footballers who defected during the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifiers in Tampa, Florida? Curious about what happened to them? Well so were we so we thought we'd post this update.

Original it was thought by many that the five would end up playing for USL-1 side Miami FC however several of the players have popped up in camp of several MLS sides.

Here's the saga:

After a long trip to LA three of the defectors, from left to right, Yenier Bermudez, Jose Manuel Miranda and Yordany Alvarez tried out with the LA Galaxy. While that didn't work out they are currently going to try out for the Galaxy's derby rival, CD Chivas USA.


We are unsure about the whereabouts of the other 4 defectors but this story below updates us on another Cuban who defected at the 2005 Gold CUp same time as Chivas USA's star striker Maykel Galindo has been found at another MLS side:

Yaikel Perez, is apparently on trial in Columbus with the Crew.


If you know anything about any other Cuban defectors on trial with an MLS club, feel free to write us.

INCOMING: Dan Gargan to CD Chivas USA?

Steve Goff at the Washington Post is reporting that the LA based club may be looking to acquirer the services of 25 year old ex-Colorado Rapids defender, and bane of RSL fans, Dan Gargan. He's training with Chivas and played in a reserve match vs FC Dallas.

INCOMING: Ramon Morales to CD Chivas USA?

Rating: 5 (Very good)

Could Chivas USA make a big summer signing in the form of the highly versatile Ramon Morales from Chivas Guadalajara? It's almost certain according to ESPN Deportes.




This comes courtesy of Sideline Views:

"Finally," and I'm quoting [ESPNDeportes] (John) Sutcliffe now, "I'll leave you with this: Ramon Morales will be the new signing of Chivas USA."

While Morales is a big name, he is nowhere near the player Bofo is at the moment. He is better than Panchito Mendoza, but that's not saying much. And I'm guessing Mendoza would go to Guadalajara, right?

Is Morales the DP player Chivas USA has been looking for? Is he what Hunter promised, a player that will help on the field and in the stands?"

Here's is video of Morales in action:

UPDATE: Bruno Marioni to Chivas USA

Updating on an earlier post: On the XM Satellite Radio channel XM Deportivo's "El Deportivo del Domingo" (co-hosted by Ricardo Mayorga, German Fernandez Moores and Luis Felipe Lopez), the hosts mentioned that Bruno Marioni had indeed been in talks with Chivas USA owners but that he would remain at Atlas until the end of the season. The hosts hinted at a very real possibility that Marioni may indeed be on his way to the MLS team at the end of the Mexican soccer season. They also said that officials would "make no further comments" on the matter besides the fact that "they were in talks."

NOTCOMING: Bruno Marioni to CD Chivas USA

The off again/on again talks between Argentine forward Bruno Marioni currently with Atlas, and MLS appear to be off again, for now. According to this report in Medio Tempo, Marioni is/was in talks with Chivas USA but appears to prefer to stay at Atlas, again, for now.

There's more in English on this blog.

TRADE:Chivas trade John Cunliffe for Chris Pozniak

Rating: 5

On the eve of MLS's 2008 season opening day, Chivas makes a trade.

According to American Soccer Reader, CD Chivas USA have traded English forward John Cunliffe (left) for San Jose's Canadian defender, Chris Pozniak(right):

"John Cunliffe was acquired in the ‘07 draft and comes from Bolton, England. The young player filled in for Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo late in the season when both strikers were struck with injury. In the ‘08 preseason, he has played several roles, including central and left midfield. This trade will definitely benefit the Earthquakes as they try to build their squad.

This move seems to be in response to the recent injury of Alex Zotinca. The right back may not play this season after he tore the MCL of his right knee earlier this month."

OUTGOING: Claudio Suarez: The Next Player-Turned-Manager?

Rating: 4 (Good)

According to this article out of Mexico City on 20 March 2008, the MLS 2008 season is "finally the last" for Chivas USA's veteran defender and former Mexican international, Claudio Suarez. Following the season, he will play two "farewell games" in December, one with the Los Angeles-based Chivas USA and one with CD Guadalajara. After retirement, Claudio says he is preparing for a move to the managerial ranks and his dream is to manage "El Rebaño Sagrado." His preparation has already included training courses in Guadalajara and Mexico City. He hasn't yet ruled out filling a new role at Chivas USA and has spoken extensively with manager Preki and owners Jorge Vergara and Antonio Cue about his managerial career.

For now, "El Emperador" is 100-percent focused on becoming champions of MLS. "We're all thinking and planning to win the [Cup], but it's not something easy to achieve, it requires hard work. We are in full pre-season, we've done fitness, and we're playing friendly matches to prepare well for the first match against FC Dallas on March 31st."

Mr. Suarez also predicts more Mexican players will come to MLS. Despite their opposing Mexican league allegiances, Suarez congratulated Blanco's success at Chicago Fire. "I'm happy others speak well about him, as he's raised the league's image."

Editors Note: This move along with Brad Guzan's departure after this season could severely hamper Chivas USA's run in the 2009 CONCACAF Champions League, unless they are replaced with equal quality players.

INCOMING: Adolfo 'Bofo' Bautista to CD Chivas USA? (VIDEO) (UPDATE)

Rating: 4 (Good)

Not much new here, just an update to our