This weekend, Kristian Dyer reported that the New York Red Bulls are hot on the trail of their third Designated Player. This news comes in addition to the fact that New York will ink Thierry Henry (the world’s worst kept secret), sometime next week, and he will be revealed at a press conference scheduled for Thursday. The news of a potential third Designated Player signing is perhaps the most interesting of all.
Continue reading “MLS Super Clubs, and Is MLS losing its Parity?”
There were brand new shirts. The white and blue of Argentina with Messi on the back, the iconic sash of the American jersey was almost ubiquitous. They raced back and forth, some flailing hopelessly, others with cool calculated movements, showing mastery and precision. They passed, shot, tackled, and it all felt right. They even needed two fields, two games, that had never happened before.
Continue reading “The World Cup Bump, and What Is Next?”
The Youth System in the ‘States has always been a bit of a sore subject. We have 300 million people, 3 million of who play youth soccer, yet we struggle to create the talent necessary to compete for the ultimate prize in International soccer, the World Cup. Those who follow U.S. Soccer closely tend to look to the youth squads to see how the national team will look in the future. While most players who play for the U-17s, U-20s or U-23s will never be serious contributors to the full national team, the stars of those teams tend to make the jump fairly quickly, Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, and Stuart Holden are good examples of that. Continue reading “Looking South, The Shifting Focus of the U.S. U-20s”
Europe is a seemingly wonderful place. Each country has their own interesting culture, they speak different languages, and they worship soccer like no other sport. Yes, there is Rugby, Cricket, Cycling (a favorite of mine), but soccer is on another level, another echelon of fandom. Our young American soccer players grow up dreaming of one day putting on the colors of a European club, playing in the Emirates, or the Camp Nou. Youth players show up en masse at summer friendlies to see their favorite players in person, Rooney, Ronaldo, Messi and co. They work towards it, juggling, passing, learning tricks, all in a hope that they will one day be a professional in the sport they love, and ultimately, a professional in the most competitive leagues of Europe, experiencing a new culture, a new language perhaps, and a soccer obsessed society. Continue reading “Bob Bradley, and Breaking the European Managerial Barrier”
Pat Noonan left last year to make some coin, and hopefully a splash in Europe. Only one of those two things happened. Noonan’s salary tripled when he joined Aalesunds, but his playing time was almost non-existent. He subsequently expressed the desire to rejoin MLS, and Columbus was one of the many teams vying for his services. Continue reading “Noonan Signed by New England and Traded to Columbus,”
FC Dallas has finally decided they care about scoring goals. YS has learned that FC Dallas is very close to signing Ariel Ortega, a former Argentine International, and a current player at River Plate. Ortega, who is 34, is a veteran of three World Cups and has over 90 caps for Argentina.
John Ellinger, An assistant coach for FC Dallas had this to say.
“Our priority is to find a high-quality striker, who can play immediately and Ortega has these characteristics. We want to sign a player who can make an impact, and who is also experienced, so that he can be complemented by Kenny Cooper. Although we understand that an international superstar like Ortega, who is as popular as Diego Maradona in Argentina, is costly.”
Continue reading “FC Dallas Closing in on Argentine Star, Ariel Ortega”
If anybody thought that Superliga was just a boring and time-wasting midseason event, you should tell them they missed a great group stage. The second edition proved to be thrilling and always entertaining. I personally watched many of the games and they never disappointed. I’m going to hand out a few awards for the group stages and you can see what they are after the jump. Continue reading “Superliga Group Stages: Highlighting the Best”
Could this be the game that DC United goalkeeper Zach Wells records his first shutout of the year? Most likely yes (I can’t believe I’m saying that). Atlante looked very unorganized and just plain terrible, they made a mediocre Houston attack look like Didier Drogba on his best form. With Luciano Emilio on the field tonight, Atlante is in for more of what they experienced against Houston.
DC United struggled at times against Chivas (Mex) and at times, it seemed they were playing a man down with Fred perfecting his Brazilian disappearing act. However, with a much weaker opponent and the Barra Brava / Screaming Eagles backing United, it seems certain that DC will get their first victory of the Superliga campaign.
As for Atlante, I have no idea why they were chosen over teams such as Cruz Azul, America, or U.N.A.M, teams that would have made the tournament much more competitive and more interesting to watch. Atlante has one solid player on their roster, it is Giancarlos Maldonado, the man who single handedly led Venezuela to a shock victory over Brazil. So, if Atlante hopes to compete in this tournament, he will have to be in great form. Atlante will need Maldonado to have a fantastic game.
My Final Prediction is DC winning 3-1, although it could be a much higher score. Yes, that means Maldonado will figure a way around Zach Wells incredible goalkeeping skills. Atlante will put up a fight in the first half, but the second half is where DC will finally shine.
San Jose, a proud and storied franchise;the proud owners of two MLS Cup trophies have not had the same fortune this year as they have had in the past. San Jose’s prospects for the season weren’t great but not many expected it to be as bad as it is. San Jose has mustered a lowly thirteen points in sixteen matches, and has one of the worst records in MLS history. Is there anything positive coming out of the bay area? Maybe there’s a small light at the end of the tunnel. San Jose has shown they want to compete with their most recent transfers. Continue reading “San Jose Making Moves: Will it Really Make them more Competitive?”
Fans proved they are never to be trusted with voting for MLS All Stars. Anybody who watched MLS would know that David Beckham was worthy of a All star appearance, heck, even a starting spot, but he certainly wasn’t the best player in MLS. David Beckham won the fan vote by a mile, proving that fans are not capable of identifying the best player and voting for him purely on merit. Beckham’s name recognition and his multitude of sponsorships really do affect the public’s opinion of him. Beckham however, is not the only person who made the all star team. Big names such as Bad Boy Blanco and Landon Donovan also made the starting XI. Continue reading “MLS All Star Selections (Fans are not to be Trusted)”
