US Soccer: Growing in Stature or Retirement Home in The Sun?

Legendary footballers from around the world have recently made the move to the United States in order to continue their playing career. There has certainly been a change in the attitude towards the MLS from the rest of the world, not least down to a successful World Cup campaign from the United States. But when a huge star from the likes of Barcelona or ex-Arsenal playmaker moves to an American team, the world will take notice. On the face, it is of course great for the game and for the supporters to see big names coming over to their local team.  But when examined deeper, the motives of these footballers to move should be questioned and examined in the best interests of the MLS. In recent years David Beckham, Juan Pablo Angel, Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez have all made the trip to America to play their trade as footballers. These players represent some of the best footballers in the world and have played for  top clubs around Europe. However, out of those names, the only one to set the league alight so far has been Juan Pablo Angel. Granted the likes of Henry have not had the time yet, but I do ...

Cruz Azul Comes from Behind To Defeat Real Salt Lake in CONCACAF Game

Real Salt Lake faced Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League on a very rainy day in Estadio Azul in Mexico. The referee was Oscar Moncada and Cruz Azul needed a victory to at least depart from the competition with dignity. Cruz Azul was true to form when winning one game then losing another game. The worst part is losing in its home stadium to Real Salt Lake. It was able to score one goal by Javier Antonio Orozco Penuelas within four minutes of the game. Cruz Azul started to play mediocre at best and unable to play coherently in the rain. The end result were mistakes that lead to a yellow card for Maximiliano Biancuchi and Horacio Cervantes. Real Salt Lake made its presence felt with its dominance of the game and being able to play even with heavy rain. The team was disciplined and consistent as well as organized in defense and offense. The team was all over Estadio Azul, with Alvaro Saborio scoring the first goal on the basis of a penalty within 22 minutes. Alvaro Saborio remained on the defensive and was able to pass the ball to his fellow teammates. He was able to place the ball in the ...

Seattle Sounders to Face Chivas De Guadalajara October 12th

Seattle Sounders FC will host Chivas de Guadalajara, an 11-time champion, one of Mexico's most popular teams and the 2010 Copa Libertadores runner-up, on Tuesday, October 12, on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, it was announced Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT and the match will be televised live on TeleFutura. "Chivas Guadalajara is arguably the best supported team in Mexico, and as evidenced by their run to the final stage of the Copa Libertadores they are an outstanding side," said Sounders Owner Joe Roth. "Given the loyalty and devotion of both teams' supporters, the atmosphere that evening will be electric."Chivas de Guadalajara is Mexico's most successful club with 11 league championships. It is famous for using only Mexican players and features many of the country's top performers. They include Jonny Magallón, Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista, Alberto "Venado" Medina, and Luis Michel, who all represented Mexico at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Other stars on the team include Omar Bravo, Edgar Mejia, Patricio "Pato" Araujo, and Héctor Reynoso.This is the first visit to Seattle by Chivas de Guadalajara. In 1985 Universidad de Guadalajara faced FC Seattle at Memorial Stadium.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Columbus Crew Were Robbed of Goal During the CONCACAF Champions League

The venerable Mexican team Santos faced Columbus Crew in the CONCACAF Champions League. While Santos managed to score a goal within the last minute of the game, the whole affair is an insult to football/soccer lovers everywhere. Renteria scored the first goal of the game for the Columbus Crew by kicking the ball into the center of the goal net in the first half. The response of the referee was to annul the goal using as an excuse that he returned to the field without permission. Anyone can see that this was a legitimate goal, and it could have made a difference in the results of the Crew in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is the same methods used by referees during the 2010 World Cup against the US Soccer team. The question that is often asked is the following: Are referees biased against a team or a country because they are afraid or because of pure hatred? I think that we should ask FIFA or those who train referees to be fair and impartial.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Kansas City Wizards: A Late August Barbecue

The search for a winning consistency continues for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy as they end their month of August with a home date on the 28 against the Kansas City Wizards.Arena was searching for answers regarding the lack of communication that led to their latest defeat against the San Jose Earthquakes on August 21.“It bothers me,” Arena said after Monday’s practice at the Home Depot Center. “I think it’s a game where at the worst we leave with a point. That bothers me.“Gift-wrapping the game, giving away a goal. I don’t want to take any credit away from San Jose, but it’s as bad a goal as we can give up. We helped manufacture a goal for them.”Defender A.J. De La Garza was also searching for an explanation when asked about the goal scored by the Earthquakes' Chris Wondolowski.“One mistake cost us and I was a little bit part of that,” De La Garza said. “We dominated that game. That’s what happens to us when we win, we might be the team that gets dominated but we win. That’s what we were doing early in the season, like in Columbus. We won (2-0 on May 29) but they say ...

Seattle Sounders Face Monterrey To Open Crucial Homestand

Seattle Sounders FC returns home for an important three-game stand beginning Wednesday night at the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field against Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions League competition.This is a second-round match competition.  The Sounders suffered a 2-1 setback last week on the road against CD Marathon of Honduras on a controversial penalty call against defender Tyrone Marshall.On Saturday night, the Sounders play host to the Chicago Fire in an MLS match.  Chicago comes in with a league mark full of sixes at 6-6-6 and 24 points.  Last week the Fire saw a three-game win streak halted with a 4-3 loss at Houston.Saturday’s match marks the first Seattle appearance of Freddie Ljungberg since his trade.  Ironically, the two time All-Star Sounders midfielder was ejected only once with the Green Rave.  That came against the same Chicago Fire last year in Seattle.The homestand concludes Sept. 1 with the Sounders facing Chivas USA in an Open Cup semifinal.  This contest occurs at Tukwila, Washington’s Starfire Sports Stadium.  The Sounders, who are unbeaten on the Starfire pitch, will be seeking their first-ever goal against Chivas USA in the history of the franchise.After Monday’s training session Seattle coach Sigi Schmid commented on the fact ...

Rafa Marquez Sparks the Red Bulls To a 4-1 Victory Over Toronto

Toronto - Rafa Marquez scored his first MLS goal in the 35th minute to ignite the New York Red Bulls to a 4-1 victory over Toronto FC. Killing two birds with one stone, the Red Bulls ended Toronto's 17 game unbeaten streak at the BMO Field while silencing their home crowd of 22,108. By winning their 10th game of the season, the Red Bulls doubled last year's win total and remain in second place in the Eastern Conference. Today's four-goal performance by the Red Bulls demonstrated the offensive potential this team has when they're running on all cylinders and attacking the net. Goals by Rafa (35th), Juan Pablo Angel (61st, PK), Carl Robinson (77th) and Toronto's Joseph Nane (44th, own goal) help end the Red Bulls three-game scoring drought in which they were only able to produce one goal while allowing the opposition to score one goal too. Along with the goals, the defense was simply superb. Red Bulls Goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul has been playing well as off late and the tandem of Tim Ream and Carlos Mendes consistently helped him whenever Toronto was in position to take a shot on goal. For Thierry Henry, he's yet to produce a score but he came ...

Los Angeles Galaxy Lose Their Wheels Again on Way From San Jose

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy needed to get continuity from their 1-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls last week as they took on the San Jose Earthquakes.Instead, they saw their wheels fall off as they left Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus on Santa Clara University.A 1-0 defeat came as a result of the one main culprit that has plagued their season as a whole: the defensive back line.It was another atrocious performance that made you wonder, hey, this team may not win the Supporters Shield and could burn out in the MLS Cup Playoffs. It's been that bad.And just as bad was the tandem of Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle. Even with just one game per week these two are struggling to get their finishing touch.Landon and Edson, I'm gonna let you know this: in this league, running on kryptonite is the last thing that you want to do, and yet you do it anyway against your NorCal rivals. Where is the touch? Where is the consistency?Aside from that, I wanted to go ahead and call out a few more while I'm at it:Michael Stephens has not been much of a contributor to the team. Ever since ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes: A Play-By-Play

T-180 minutes to kickoff: Prior to the move to Santa Clara University, the San Jose Earthquakes played their matches at Spartan Stadium on the campus of San Jose State University. When the Earthquakes were revived from their hiatus, they began play at Buck Shaw Stadium, named after football coach Lawrence T. "Buck" Shaw, beginning in 2008. Buck Shaw used to be the home of the Santa Clara Broncos football team until the cheeky admins decided to shut it down (no wonder I don't go to church that often). Still though, it's the home of the Santa Clara Broncos soccer teams, and they are good. One of the best programs in the West Coast Conference. T-170: With a seating capacity of 10,300, Buck Shaw is one of the smaller stadiums in Major League Soccer. This was a 2001 increase in seating capacity from 6,800. It holds the distinction of being the training ground for the Brazil national team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup while holding the current record for highest attendance at a women's outdoor collegiate sporting event: sellout crowds of 8,800 for the 1996 NCAA Women's College Cup. T-160: Buck Shaw also used to host Broncos ...

New York Red Bulls Need To Be Patient With Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez

Designated Players can bring a lot of short-term things to the franchises that sign them. There are the headlines, the extra revenue generated from an increase in tickets and merchandise, and the experience from years of playing the sport in the world’s top league with the top teams and teammates. The New York Red Bulls are learning that what they won’t necessarily bring, right away at least, is wins. Since July 15, the Red Bulls have signed former Barcelona stars Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez to go along with their first Designated Player, Juan Pablo Angel. In the four league games Henry has played in, the team has gone 1-1-2 and has been shut out twice, scoring a total of only three goals—two against the Houston Dynamo in a game that they blew a 2-1 lead in the final minutes of the match. In the two games Marquez has played, the team has not scored or won. It’s not an encouraging sign for a team that many are jumping on the bandwagon as serious MLS Cup contenders. However, it is not time yet for the long-suffering New York fans to go into a panic. Henry and Marquez are just beginning to get their feet wet in MLS. They ...