Toronto FC Still Trying to Figure Out How to Get Into The MLS Playoffs

One wonders how difficult it must have been to the loyal Toronto FC fans to watch the expansion Seattle Sounders make the playoffs in their inaugural season while Toronto, who entered the 2009 season with much promise, failed for the third straight time. Missing the playoffs by a single point last season, Toronto’s first move was to hire Preki as their new head coach. Preki had previously been the head coach at CD Chivas USA, where in his first season as head coach he led the Goats to first place in the Western Conference and was named MLS Coach of the Year. A talented player in his own right, Preki can still only do so much as coach though. It comes down to the players' performance on the pitch, and the team looks to be on the fringes. Toronto will experience a drop-off in production without the services of playmaking midfielder Amado Guevara, a former league MVP, who left the team to return to his native Honduras. Without Guevara, Toronto will put more weight on the shoulders of Dwayne De Rosario. The two-time MLS MVP and native Canadian enjoyed a successful first season with his hometown team. In 28 league games De Rosario scored 11 ...

MLS: New York’s Red Bull Arena Opens with a Bang

After years of playing at Giants Stadium, the New York Red Bulls finally have a home of their own. On a night filled with fireworks and celebrities like Super Bowl winner Reggie Bush, singer Kelly Rowland, Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, and former NY Cosmos great Franz Beckenbauer, the Red Bulls made their triumphant debut at Red Bull Arena by throttling Pele’s former club, Brazilian powerhouse Santos F.C., 3-1 in a friendly match in front of 25,000 fans. Playing without their superstar, Juan Pablo Angel, the Red Bulls aggressively attacked and outmuscled the Santos. Newly signed Joel Lindpere scored the first-ever goal at Red Bull Arena in the 11th minute. Two more goals by Mike Petke (44th minute) and Dane Richards (45th minute) gave the Red Bulls a 3-0 halftime lead. Although Santos F.C. demonstrated beautiful ball movement with their passing, they weren’t able to convert them into goals until the last minute of the game.  After an embarrassing 2009 campaign, the Red Bulls organization had a busy offseason. With the hiring of Erik Soler as their general manager/sporting director and Hans Backe as their manager, the Red ...

DC United Signs 17-Year-Old Honduran Andy Najar from Youth System

D.C. United press release, March 22 Washington, D.C.—D.C. United announced today the club has signed Academy midfielder/forward Andy Najar to a Generation Adidas contract to join the first team. The 17-year-old standout is the second player to sign with the first team directly from United’s Academy. He joins goalkeeper Bill Hamid, who signed with the first team in September of last year. Najar, a native of Honduras, is a green card holder and will be classified as a domestic player on United’s roster. The talented teenager will be available, along with his United teammates, coaching staff and club executives, to address the media following tomorrow’s training session scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. at the RFK Auxiliary Training Field. “We are very excited about Andy’s rapid ascent from our U-16 Academy team to our first team,” said United President and CEO Kevin Payne. “This is a great story about the importance of our Academy teams, and the ability those teams give us to find young players who in the past we might never have met. "We expect Andy's story with D.C. United to help attract even more great young talent to ...

Improved “D” for FC Dallas Will Be Key in 2010

FC Dallas finished with the most goals scored in MLS in 2009 (50) but fell a point short of the playoffs, largely because of an inept defense that tied for the most goals against (47). The team has taken steps to vastly improve that problem, starting at the end of last season. They acquired central defender Ugo Ihemelu from the Colorado Rapids and then signed fullback and U.S. international Heath Pearce. After Pearce was signed on Sept. 11, Dallas went 5-2-0, including wins against playoff-bound New England Revolution, MLS Cup runners-up Los Angeles Galaxy, and MLS Cup champions Real Salt Lake. They also gave up only nine goals, an average of 1.29 a game, with two shutouts. This offseason the team continued to add to its defense by signing goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. The Hartman signing is a little surprising. Dallas' goal has been manned by captain Dario Sala since 2006 (he did make one appearance in 2005). The team was looking to upgrade the position though, and they couldn’t have done much better than with Hartman. The 13-year veteran holds MLS records for most career saves, most career victories, and most career shutouts. He was also named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 1999. Even though ...

ADIDAS UNVEILS TECHFIT UNIFORMS FOR 2010 MLS SEASON

PORTLAND, Ore. – March 25, 2010 – In preparation for the 2010 Major League Soccer season, Adidas has unveiled TECHFIT uniforms for three of the sixteen teams. For the first time ever, members of D.C. United, Chicago Fire and Los Angeles Galaxy will have the option of wearing Adidas TECHFIT PowerWeb uniforms on the pitch this season. Until recently, TECHFIT PowerWeb has been more commonly worn under a player’s uniform as compression apparel; but the new Adidas MLS uniforms offer TECHFIT built into the actual jersey giving players the benefits of TECHFIT in a single layer. “At Adidas we are all about equipping athletes with the most innovative gear and apparel on the planet,” said Antonio Zea, Director of Soccer, Adidas America. “With TECHFIT now built into their jerseys, we are helping athletes from D.C. United, Chicago Fire and Los Angeles Galaxy play to their highest potential and we look forward to watching them perform at the top of their game this season.”Begin Slideshow

MLS Preseason Power Rankings

With the 2010 MLS Season starting at Qwest Field Thursday night with a game between 2009 expansion team, the Seattle Sounders, and 2010 expansion team, the Philadelphia Union, here is the preview of all 16 teams, ranking them by projected finish. Many storylines will arise at the beginning of the year like: Will the Galaxy be able to deal without Beckham? How good is Landon Donovan? Can Preki take TFC to the playoffs? Can Real Salt Lake repeat? Will Columbus win their third straight Supporters' Shield? How good will the Union be? What MLS players other than Donovan will be on the World Cup roster? All of these questions will be answered throughout the season and it should be an exciting season in 2010 for the MLS.Begin Slideshow

Men’s Major League Soccer: Pre-Season Rankings

With the labor situation all squared away, we are all set for another season of Major League soccer. The 2010 season kicks off on Thursday with a game between the Seattle Sounders and the expansion team Philadelphia Union. Pre-season rankings don’t mean a lot at this point in the season, but they give an early indication of who are expected to be the best teams this season. So, without further ado, here is my Week One MLS Power Rankings:   1. Columbus Crew: Two straight Supporters Shields, so I think they are No. 1 right now. 2. LA Galaxy: I can’t believe I have them here either. But, I think Arena will earn it. 3. Seattle Sounders: I like their chances of hoisting even more hardware in 2010. 4. Houston Dynamo: Sure, they lost a ton of talent, but this team is always tough. 5. Chicago Fire: They still have amazing depth, but do they have the desire? 6. Real Salt Lake: Will they defend their title? My magic eight ball says “no way.” 7. Toronto FC: The Reds are poised to push into the postseason with Preki. 8. FC Dallas: Can they continue last year’s streak of domination? I have no idea. 9. ...

Galaxy Will Be Tested Without Beckham and Donovan

A Landon Donovan missed penalty kick in the shootout prevented the Los Angeles Galaxy from winning the MLS Cup in 2009. For the regular season and playoff Western Conference champions, it may have been just the beginning of more disappointment for the club. David Beckham, the team’s designated player and the man media go in a frenzy over, will miss six months—two more additional months than he would have missed after his loan to AC Milan and a trip to the World Cup with England were up—with a torn Achilles tendon suffered in a Serie A match against Chievo Verona. Missing Beckham is a two-fold problem. He obviously is a talented player that really helps the team play at its best. Known for his pinpoint bending crosses and shots, Beckham has been very good in transition from defense to offense and providing great service to the forwards. Although the Galaxy have played well without him in the past, when Beckham returned from loan last season he really pushed the Galaxy over the edge and made them MLS Cup contenders. The second issue is what kind of fan support will they receive now? Beckham was a huge draw for the team, both home and away, and generated a ...

Philadelphia Union To Begin Inaugural Season in MLS

The City of Brotherly Love finally has an MLS franchise to embrace. The Philadelphia Union will embark on its inaugural season with full support from the fan group, the Sons of Ben, and they certainly have a lot to be excited about. Putting together an entirely new team has its advantages and disadvantages. On the positive side is that the coach, former U.S. Men’s National Team assistant Peter Nowak, can shape the team any way he likes. The negative is that there are holes at every single position, on the field and for reserves, that need to be filled. What Nowak and the rest of the Philadelphia front office seem to have done is follow the blueprint last season by the then-expansion Seattle Sounders: start by creating a stingy defense. The defense starts between the pipes with heralded prospect Chris Seitz. Seitz was selected fourth overall in the 2007 MLS Super Draft and is considered to be in line to be one of the next best American goalkeepers. In his three years at Real Salt Lake, however, he had trouble finding playing time. Nick Rimando shined as the starter, and Seitz has only appeared in seven league games. Now, he finally gets the chance to live up to ...

Major League Soccer: League and Players Union Reach Agreement on CBA

  The 2010 Major League Soccer season will begin on—time, after the league and its players union agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement on Saturday. The sides agreed to a new five—year deal. The highlights of the deals are guaranteed contracts, improved freedom of movement by players out of contract (not quite free agency) and improved compensation for players. MLS Players Union head Bob Foose said a majority of players will receive guaranteed contracts for the first time and there will be increased player rights within the league when contracts expire. Even with those wins, the players union still failed to achieve its goal of free agency. “From our perspective, these negotiations were always about players’ rights,” Foose said, with his members wanting to bring their rights “more in line with leagues from around the world. Soccer is a global game and we were adamant that these changes were necessary to make MLS as competitive as possible,” Foose said. Major League Soccer has been opposed to giving the players free agency, but they agreed to creating a re-entry draft for players whose contracts end, options are declined or who reach a certain age. “We think we have made some real improvements in players’ ability to move,” Foose ...