Tuesday Union Link-o-rama

Second chance for Union, Red Bulls rivalry | Philadelphia Daily News | 04/27/2010
Central defender Danny Califf returns after serving a one-game suspension. This will send defender Cristian Arrieta to right back, after he filled in for Califf in central defense Saturday. “I feel more comfortable playing at right back. That is my natural position,” said Arrieta, whom the Union acquired from the Puerto Rico Islanders, of USL-1, last month. “But I want to play, so wherever Nowak puts me, I will do everything to not let my teammates down.” On attack, the combo of Alejandro Moreno and Sebastien LeToux should remain intact, but young forwards Jack McInerney and Danny Mwanga also could garner minutes. Despite looking suspect in the early moments of his time on Saturday, Mwanga (substitute in the 59th minute) found a rhythm. McInerney (sub, 78th minute) posed a legitimate scoring threat in the match and nearly netted the 2-2 equalizer, but his header strayed wide left of the goal.

Red Bulls ready for rematch with Union – NYPOST.com
The Red Bulls will use just one starter from Saturday’s win, and that’s only because left-wing Brian Nielsen arrived in the U.S. on Thursday night and needs games to gel with his teammates. But Backe doesn’t seem worried about facing the same foe on a short turnaround.

Red Bulls stepping back from prioritizing U.S. Open Cup play | – NJ.com
“I have changed my mind,” Backe said following Saturday night’s 2-1 victory over the Union. “I had always prioritized the cup wherever I had been. I’ve been to six cup finals, losing five, so only won the one. “With this schedule now, with the Juventus game coming in, if you win the cup (Tuesday night) you would probably play nine games from today until June 5. I don’t think this squad is available to cope with that, so we will play mostly the players that haven’t been involved in the first five games.”

Robert Pires considering Major League Soccer stint – Transfers – ESPN Soccernet
“The league is definitely interested, there is currently a large number of teams on board and Philadelphia is one of them,” Djemmal said. “We were first contacted by the team in February, and there has been back and forth since. It’s a matter of the transfer window in July, but right now, I’d say it’s 50-50 at this point. He’s a big player and a lot of teams are interested.”

James Clark’s soccer blog: Union gets a chance to beat the Red Bulls again tonight – pressofAtlanticCity.com
After a 1-3-0 start to the MLS season, Philly manager Peter Nowak has to know, deep down, that his side is a longshot for the playoffs and an even longer shot to win the MLS Cup. But in a competition such as the U.S. Open Cup, players such as Alejandro Moreno, Roger Torres and Shavar Thomas (the former Chivas USA defender who hasn’t played much for the Union, but should get a run-out tonight) might just run circles around a younger New York team.

FAN INCIDENT  Rocks thrown at Union fan bus
“There were a couple of guys who wanted to go outside,” said Youtz, who prevented anyone from leaving the vehicle. “That could have gotten ugly.” Youtz said there were families with children on the bus. He indicated that three clearly were Red Bulls fans, but there was no indication that they were associated with any particular fan group. Police were not called, but Major League Soccer is looking into the incident.

HE’S ALRIGHT  Albright ready to play in play-in
“Philadelphia-New York have an interesting relationship as far the fans go,” Albright said. “Interesting is probably a kind word. I’m a Philly fan and I know the New York fans are not wanting to hear that. but I’m a Philly fan in everything else besides soccer. It’s an interesting dynamic.