Sal Zizzo plays the second half, provides assist in Hanover friendly win

As reported here, and translated by Google Translate here, Sal made "a fine pass into free space" to set up Finnish international Mikael Forssell for a goal in a 3:0 win over 2. Bundesliga's VfL Osnabruck.

Here's Sal in action in that game:

Marcus Tracy wins the Hermann Trophy

Reported here.



I agree with No Short Corners, the goal below (from the 2007 national semifinals) is nice:

Ives reports that Marcus Tracy is set to sign for AaB

Good news, as Aalborg is a solid club which did well for a Danish club in this year's Champions League as the defending champions of the Danish Superliga. It recently featured Swedish foward Rade Prica, now at Sunderland, and of course, the American defender Danny Califf, now at FC Midtylland. Aalborg (a.k.a. AaB) has last season's top scorer in the Danish Superliga in Jeppe Curth. (I apologize for the initial misinformation: Curth has a paltry two goals this season.)

I suppose it is conceivable, as Ives points out, that Tracy will see time in the UEFA Cup this year. AaB is in the Round of 32 set to face La Liga side Coruna.

I view this as a good move. First, the Danish league has been doing well in, and moving up in rankings of, European club competition. In fact, they seem to be firmly ahead of the other Scandinavian leagues and almost on the level of the Belgian league. Oguchi Onyewu, who starts for the U.S. National Team, plays for the Belgian champion (although this could change during this transfer window). We now have a kid just out of college who will be playing for the Danish champion. Not too bad from the playing level perspective. Second, culturally Scandinavia seems an easier adjustment than other places in Europe (and beyond). Everybody speaks English and I understand that the Scandinavian languages are gramatically simple for an English speaker. Danish might be the hardest pronunciation wise among them, but Tracy will have plenty of other American players in the country to help him. This list of course includes fellow Wake Forest Demon Deacons Jeremiah White and Michael Parkhurst. Third, a permit or a foreign player limit issue which could happen in, say, Italy, will not hold up the move. Finally, there is recent precedent of a college striker moving directly to Scandinavia and succeeding: Charlie Davies.

Marcus Tracy

Steve Goff, on his blog Soccer Insider, reports that:

Wake Forest senior forward Marcus Tracy, projected to be one of the top picks in next week's MLS draft, has signed with Proactive Sports Management, which has placed several Americans in Europe over the years. Tracy, I am told, is exploring his options abroad. Fellow seniors Sam Cronin and Michael Lahoud have signed with MLS.

This development will be followed closely on this blog.