New York Red Bulls Look to Bounce Back After 2009 Debacle

In 2009, the New York Red Bull franchise hit rock bottom. The hope for this year is that moving away from the House of Horrors will exorcise the demons that plague the franchise. After over a decade of promises, the Red Bulls will finally move out of the barren Giants Stadium and into the pinnacle of soccer-specific stadiums in America that will be known as Red Bull Arena. The hope is that the new stadium will invigorate the fans, and that the increased closeness of the stadium, where the stands are only a mere 21 feet away from the sidelines and 27 feet away from the end-line, will create an entirely different atmosphere compared to the rather empty Giants Stadium. Still, a shiny new place to call home will not really change the performance of the team on the pitch. Last season, the Red Bulls finished with the worst record in all of MLS and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Another offseason completed and another roster overhaul has taken place. The makeover begins with a new coach. Hans Backe has become the 12th coach since the franchise’s inception in 1996. He has zero experience in MLS, and the past shows that ...

Seattle Sounders FC Looks To Build on MLS Success in Year Two

The Seattle Sounders set the blueprint for all of the incoming MLS expansion franchises to follow. A well-run organization that put together a fine product on the pitch—and was heavily supported by legions of fans—made the Sounders one of the top stories in all of Major League Soccer last season. This year, the Sounders will be out to prove that they are neither a novelty nor a fluke. They will look to build upon their first-round playoff finish last season. On paper they look to continue on that path, as the Sounders return the core of their team from last season. Captain and goalkeeper Kasey Keller returns to lead a defense that tied for the least amount of goals surrendered. Also returning are designated player and midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, 2009 Newcomer of the Year Freddy Montero, and Defender of the Year finalist Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. These four were the biggest reasons for Seattle’s success last season. Keller and Ljungberg have countless years of experience at the international level and at some of the world’s biggest clubs, as well as World Cup experience. They, along with Hurtado, helped anchor arguably the league’s best defense. Two returning players to look out for breakout seasons from are last year’s ...

MLS Strike Threatens Sounders Home Opener

The MLS Players Union is getting ready to strike next Monday if a new collective bargaining agreement is not reached. A Monday strike would come four days before the 2010 MLS season is supposed to kick off in Seattle with the Sounders facing expansion side Philadelphia Union and increase pressure on Major League Soccer with interest in the sport at an all-time high. MLS players are prepared to strike by the league’s May 25 opener. Players are asking for more guaranteed contracts and free-agent rights. Major League Soccer is a "single entity" league, which has a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) governing player contracts, salaries, and legal status. Contracts are owned by the league rather than individual clubs. The players' union wants major changes to that structure, which it has called a cartel that restricts freedom of movement. Basically MLS players want the same freedoms as football players around the world. When their contract is up they want to be able to go sign for whoever they want. John Wolyniec, New York Red Bulls player rep, said this on NJ.com about the union's position: “What we’re asking for is reasonable, essentially player rights that most players ...

Premier League Hasn’t Seen the Last of LA Galaxy Star Landon Donovan

His 10-week Premier League loan spell with Everton is up, and Landon Donovan has returned to LA Galaxy. But this won't be the last that English football has seen of the American superstar, discounting his schedule in South Africa this summer. The rumours have already started, with rumblings linking him to a move to Chelsea after the World Cup. Judging by what the American had to say on his departure from Everton, it seems his heart is somewhere else. “I'm 28 years old now and I've played over 100 times for my country, I've also played a lot of league games in different parts of the world. But I've never met a fan-base like this, either playing for them or as an away player," Donovan told the Everton's official website. "They've been absolutely incredible and it's hard to imagine that they can be that passionate every time you go out but they care. "The send-off from the fans after the Hull City game was one of the most incredible experiences of my life," he added. "You feel proud but it was also a sad moment, because when you're accepted that way and you feel that love, it's hard to leave. Donovan reflected on the highlights ...

Portland Timbers Dominate Hapless FC Seattle Sounders

The FC Seattle Sounders—the darlings of MLS last season—were thoroughly and completely dominated by the Portland Timbers tonight at Qwest Field in Seattle. Ian Joy and Mamadou Dansu anchored a Timber defense that continually shut down the Seattle offense throughout the night.  Steve Cronin played brilliantly in goal for the Timbers. The Timbers' goal was made on an excellent pass from Ryan Pore to Gabriel Obatol, just out of the outstretched hands of Kasey Keller. Pore had stolen the ball from bumbling Seattle defender Tyrone Marshall, who gave away the ball just outside the Seattle 18-yard box. The loss was especially embarrassing for the Sounders, considering they play in the MLS, a league—on paper anyway—that is thought to be superior to the United Soccer League (USL) where the Timbers play. The Sounders, already reeling from a tumultuous offseason that saw their star player, Freddie Ljungberg, pining for a way out of town, didn't look like a top tier MLS team. In fact, if the Sounders played the way they did tonight during the regular season, they'll be lucky to win a game. No heart, no chemistry, and no teamwork seem to be the Sounders' motto these days. I have to wonder if they were simply ...

MLS Preview: Seattle Sounders Prepare for Portland Timbers Game

The Seattle Sounders FC will host the Portland Timbers in its only home preseason match on Thursday, March 11, at the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. Kickoff is 6 p.m. PST. The Sounders will be looking to extend its preseason shutout streak which is up to 293 minutes after the 0-0 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps last weekend. More than 13,000 tickets have been sold to Thursday's game. Qwest Field gates open at 5 p.m. In the Vancouver game, the speed of the Sounders attack was obvious and Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid spoke about that yesterday when he met with reporters. “Obviously we are a team that is built around quickness and speed, especially on the offensive part of field. The essence of our game with Ljungberg, Montero, and Zakuani and people like that is their ability to get isolated and use their quickness and use their individual skills and abilities to create space and make plays that way. When things are going well for us it means the ball is moving quickly and it means we are getting the ball early to our front runners and giving them some time and space to take people on.” For the Timbers game, Schmid spoke about ...

Philadelphia Union and FC Dallas Make Roster Moves

With the MLS Regular season less than a month away, most teams are wrapping up their exhibition schedules and fine-tuning their rosters. FC Dallas did their fine tuning by making a deal to acquire four-time MLS All-Star keeper Kevin Hartman, one of the league’s most formidable back-stops. In exchange for Hartman, Kansas City received a second-round pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft. Hartman appeared in all 30 regular season games for the Wizards in the 2009 season, earning a 1.40 goals against average and collecting an impressive 105 saves. Hartman's all-time regular season record is 146-120-64 and his postseason record is 22-15-7. The former U.S. National team member holds all the major goalkeeping records in MLS history. He owns the record in games played in goal with 333, games started in goal with 328, minutes played in goal with 29,835, wins in goal with 146, saves in goal with 1,235 and shutouts with 84. "I'm excited to be in Dallas," said the 35-year-old Hartman. "It's the place where I won the 2005 championship with the Galaxy and it's always held a place in my heart. I'm excited to be here to play in front of the Dallas fans and excited to start a new ...

Houston Dynamo To Announce Player Signing

Two-time MLS Cup Champion Houston Dynamo has called a Tuesday, March 9 press conference to announce a player signing. One can only speculate at this point, but there has been quite a buzz the past few weeks surrounding Jamaican National team midfielder Lovel Palmer. Palmer, now in his second one week trail with Houston, has been somewhat impressive so far, his biggest moment to date coming in a friendly back on Feb. 27, when he scored a spectacular long range 35 yard goal in the 16th minute of a 2-1 win over FC Dallas. "He obviously scored a great goal that stood out, but it was also the way he worked on and off the ball," Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said. "He tried to get on the ball, he broke up plays, and he tackled—sometimes very hard—which we like in that position. He was clean with the ball and made good decisions." In addition to his role with the Reggae Boyz (Jamaican National Team), the 25-year-old Palmer is also captain of the Jamaican Premier club Harbour View. Granted, Palmer is currently under contract with Harbour View, but the Premier League Clubs Association in Jamaica has been in the market to sell some of its ...

Sounders Draw 0-0 With Vancouver

The Seattle Sounders are now 3-1-1 in preseason play after drawing 0-0 with the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday. The Sounders bossed the game but are not yet in regular season form, as the nine offsides in the game attest to. If the Whitecaps game is any indication on the Sounders approach this season, it is apparent that the Sounders team speed will cause MLS teams a lot of trouble this season.Sounders Notes:Roster Not Trimmed: The ongoing MLS labor situation means that the Sounders have not cut down their roster since returning from Europe. The Sounders still have around 30 players in camp, and this has to be impacting the teams preparations as that is about right players too many. Kasey Keller looking to extend his contract: It looks like once the MLS Labor Situation is resolved that Sounders keeper Kasey Keller will extend his contract for another year. "We've talked about it," Keller said this week upon return from Spain, where Sounders FC held part of preseason training. "We've started talking about it, about extending my contract one more year. We're trying to get the CBA sorted out right now, make sure things goes off without a hitch this year, and ...

Ice Curling Over Soccer? Now You Really Have Lost Your Mind!

Look, I think you all know by now that I live here in the City of Brotherly love, and although the folks at City Hall have continued to ignore my requests and the numerous petitions to rename the City, Phillipdelphia, I still love it here. I’m actually going to love it even more this spring and summer now that we finally have not one, but two professional soccer teams to root for. Unfortunately, while the new teams in town continue to spread their branches and bury their roots deeper into the soccer rich environment here in the Delaware Valley, there are still those non believers who think soccer is a waste of time and won’t succeed here. I’ve got news for you; it already has succeeded and in many cases at the youth level surpassed several other sports in participation numbers.  Trust me when I tell you,  there are more kids playing soccer year round in the tri-state area (Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) than any other youth sport. As a matter of fact, the United States Youth Soccer Association boasts over three million players between the ages of five and 19, while the American Youth Soccer Organization has more than 300,000 players between ...