Studio 90

If the handful of newspaper articles about the US men’s team is not enough to keep you satisfied, don't worry; US Soccer has got you covered with Studio 90. This daily web show from Germany gives you interviews with players, training highlights, tastes of Germany and a great overall feel of what the men are going through to prepare for the Cup.

The four episodes that have gone live so far are 10-15 minutes each and each gives you a bit of information you might not otherwise know. So far we have found out why the Gooch got in his famous stare down, Steve Cherundolo thinks Germans seldom look on the bright side of life and Carlos Bocanegra loves the OC.

I must hand it to US Soccer, this is an outstanding addition to the build up. They know that people will be looking for more information then just what is on the pages of USA Today and they are providing that. The great thing about this is it is actually interesting. It gives players a chance to share their feelings on their play (for example Bocanegra was unhappy with his past year in Fulham) as well as showing people what it is like being in the middle of a World Cup storm.

That is not to say that it is perfect (host Neil Buethe doesn't seem to wear a mic during the interview segments, thus you hear him slapping his legs a lot and there is no index page listing what was on which day), but it is something worth watching.

Actually, this is very much in line with the sort of thing I was talking about soon after Apple lunched their video iPod. Give people interesting content and you will grow your fan base. Maybe MLS could learn a lesson from this and put on their own weekly version of Studio 90.

Do yourself a favor and take a 15-minute break from work to give Studio 90 a viewing (link will contains audio and video).

By the way, the extra time segment from Monday’s show proves that Claudio Reyna was on the pitch for the friendly against Angola (unless they give the captain's armband to bench warmers).