Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Red Bull New York: A Play-By-Play (and Other Miscellany)

T-180: Thierry Henry, unfortunately, will not be playing. That's the sad part about this match, regardless of the outcome. Thierry Henry of the New York Red Bulls will not be playing tonight at the Home Depot Center in front of a sellout crowd of 27,000.Aside from that, a pivotal match in the continuing race for the 2010 Major League Soccer Supporters Shield awaits Hans Backe's Red Bulls and Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy. Well, at least Lalas Hill is open for business once again.T-150: The Galaxy are currently 15-5-5 (50 points), good for first overall in the league. As for the Red Bulls, they are 12-8-5 (41 points), good for fifth overall and second in the MLS Eastern Conference.T-120: In CONCACAF Champions League play, the Columbus Crew defeated Santos Laguna 1-0, Cruz Azul and Toronto FC played to scoreless draw, Monterrey defeated the Seattle Sounders FC 3-2, while Real Salt Lake downed Arabe Unido by the same score.T-105: Should be a sellout crowd on the way.T-90: Earlier in MLS action this week, the Kansas City Wizards defeated the Houston Dynamo in a 4-3 goal festival while FC Dallas and the New England Revolution fought to a 2-2 draw.T-75: As of ...

Seattle Sounders Lock Horns With Freddie Ljungberg’s Chicago Fire

The Seattle Sounders FC concludes a long and winding series of road matches in Chicago on Saturday before settling in at home for the majority of its remaining matches. The Sounders tackle the Chicago Fire at 5 p.m. PT at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. Saturday’s confrontation is not only an important match for both teams regarding MLS playoff implications in a season that has reached its late crucial stage.  It is also round two in the competition pitting the Sounders against its former star midfielder, Sweden’s international star Freddie Ljungberg.Round one of the competition, August 28 in Seattle, against Ljungberg and his mates went to the Sounders 2-1 on an exciting game winning header by Fredy Montero two minutes into stoppage play.  The Fire is now poised to return the favor on its home pitch.Saturday’s match features teams heading in separate directions in recent MLS play.  Sounders FC come into action with a 10-9-6 league mark and 36 points.  The Sounders stand sixth in the West on goal difference, but have lost only once in their last 10 league matches with an impressive 6-1-3 mark. Chicago, conversely, is struggling to remain in the postseason hunt. The Fire come into play ...

David Beckham: Should Beckham Be Considered One of Football’s Greatest?

Yet again, another footballer is making headlines for reasons other than the game. David Beckham has become that latest high-profile player linked to a sex scandal. Beckham has categorically denied the claims against him. But coming away from that, let’s talk about David Beckham for reasons regarding his profession—the only reason he should be making headlines. As the most recognizable figure in all of sport, David Beckham has certainly reached a worldwide audience, but is he up there with the greats of the game? Beckham is one of the most decorated English players ever to play the game. He won everything possible with Manchester United. He came up through the ranks as part of the phenomenal crop of youth that United developed during the 90s. On top of winning multiple medals with United, he also picked up some personal honours. In 1997, Beckham was named the PFA Young Player of the Year. Two years later, he was named UEFA Club Player of the Year award. More recently, Beckham has found himself named in the FIFA 100, a list of players handpicked by Pele whom he thought were the best living football players. He was also inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. Beckham is just 42 career games ...

Are the New York Red Bulls Forcing Juan Pablo Angel out the Door?

New York Red Bull fans have been lucky this season. The team is finally in a new stadium. The team not only finally signed Thierry Henry—long rumored to be coming—but they also brought in Mexico National Team captain Rafael Marquez. Most importantly, the team has gone from worst team in MLS to a legitimate title contender. However, in the 15 years of the franchise’s existence, good fortune has not been the norm, which has left the fan base waiting for the other shoe to drop. It may have finally done so. Juan Pablo Angel, not only arguably the best player in team history but also the best Designated Player in the league’s history, is apparently unhappy. The team’s leading scorer, this season and all-time, started last Thursday’s game against the streaking FC Dallas on the bench. Pressing for goals, points, and momentum, Angel appeared as a substitute and was a key player in the Dallas own goal that would tie the game. No big deal, right? The team has a playoff spot pretty much wrapped up, and Angel has a history of injury issues. So, resting him and allowing newcomer Mehdi Ballouchy to get time with the first time was ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. New York Red Bulls: The Biggest Match This Season in MLS?

Long considered a year that would forever change America's soccer landscape, 2010 has lived up to its billing of being a huge year. From seeing the United States national team finally having a defining moment with Landon Donovan's stoppage time goal against Algeria in the World Cup to seeing Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez move from Barcelona to the New York Red Bulls, American soccer has really moved forward this year. But tonight, we may see the biggest match in the 14 year history of Major League Soccer as those New York Red Bulls travel to the Home Depot Center in Carson, California to take on the Los Angeles Galaxy. This match will contain the likes of Edson Buddle (the league's leading scorer), Juan Pablo Angel (New York's top goalscorer), David Beckham (the biggest foreign star in MLS), Rafa Marquez (Mexico's captain) and Landon Donovan (the most famous American footballer of all-time), marking the biggest show of talent to ever be assembled on a prime-time stage in MLS history. Despite the absence of Frenchman Thierry Henry due to injury for the Red Bulls, this is arguably the most important match in their franchise's history. This match could be even bigger than the MLS Cup final ...

Seattle Sounders Defeated By Late CF Monterrey Surge, 3-2

Seattle Sounders faithful knew that it was a huge mountain to climb, but for a large part of Wednesday night’s road match against potent CF Monterrey, it appeared as if a gigantic upset was in the making. Seattle had grabbed a 2-0 halftime lead against the favorites and did a good job of withstanding numerous Monterrey charges for a good part of the second half.  Ultimately, though, the form chart prevailed and Group C leader CF Monterrey answered with three goals in a swift and decisive four-minute span as Seattle lost 3-2, in round four of the CONCACAF Champions League group stage at Estadio Tecnologico on Wednesday night.  The match drew 19,617 spirited fans who continued to loudly sing and cheer for the home team throughout the evening’s play. The teams began and ended play as mirror image reversals of one another.  Monterrey stands atop Group C standings with a spotless 4-0 mark and 12 points, a cinch to advance to the quarterfinal round.  Seattle sits at the bottom of the ladder at 0-4 with two more opportunities to break out of the winless column, both of which are at home at the X-Box Pitch of Qwest Field.In earlier CONCACAF play, Seattle had been shut ...

Monterrey Comes From Behind To Defeat Seattle Sounders in Exciting CONCACAF Game

Monterrey faced the Seattle Sounders FC in the Estadio Tecnologico located in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The result was an exciting game with a historical moment. The referee was Marlon Alfonso Mejia. The first half was dominated by the Sounders as they had the possession of the ball and field. They appeared consistent with Sergio Perez scoring the first goal at 27 minutes followed by Michael Fucito within the end of the first half. Sergio Perez scored with a direct kick while Michael Fucito scored with an assist from Nate Jaqua. The second goal was the result of a foul which lead to a yellow card being issued to Jesus Arellano of Monterrey. Zach Scott of the Sounders received one early for anti-sporting activity. It appeared that the Seattle Sounders FC was going to convert into being the first MLS club from the USA in winning a game inside Mexican Territory. It was not the case since Monterrey started the second half of the game emboldened and strengthened with a positive attitude and the support of its home stadium. Seattle srated to weaken in response to the onslaught with Monterrey and Mike Seamon receives another yellow card for the Sounders. They started playing in a ...

Blaise Nkufo of Seattle Sounders Named MLS Player of the Week

After considering Blaise Nkufo’s stature as one of the great goal scorers in Dutch football history and a Swiss national team World Cup performer, it appeared only a question of time before he would begin finding the net for the Seattle Sounders. In his period of time with the Sounders, Nkufo previously had some near misses. In the interim he played excellent soccer as a distribution factor, delivering the ball to teammates for scoring opportunities. A clue to his effectiveness lies in the statistic that Seattle is a spotless 5-0-1 in games in which the Swiss star started at forward.Saturday night was Nkufo’s breakthrough game. Exercising a deft touch, he became the first players in Sounders history to score a hat trick, the fourth in the 2010 MLS season. His three goals led the Sounders to a devastating 4-0 shutout over Eastern Conference leader Columbus on the Crew’s pitch. Sounders coach Sigi Schmid addressed the subject of Nkufo following his team’s Monday workout. “MLS is a difficult league,” Schmid began. “It’s not an easy league like some people necessarily think overseas at times. It’s difficult because of the travel and it’s also difficult because the quality of play and the athleticism ...

Will Los Angeles Galaxy’s David Beckham Start Against Red Bull New York?

The return of Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham to match fitness has been one of sheer acceleration, with more minutes added on to his slate in the Galaxy's 2-1 victory over D.C. United on Saturday.Beckham came on in the 53rd minute of play for Jovan Kirovski.“It was a good workout for myself,” Beckham said on his performance. “I was puffing a little bit more than I was last week, but it was more minutes on the field and that’s what I need.”Los Angeles manager Bruce Arena reiterated the current state of affairs regarding Beckham.“Again, we need to appreciate [that] this is a player that six months ago tore his Achilles tendon,” Arena said after the match. “To be back this quickly and be able to contribute what he has the last two games I think is very impressive. He’s ahead of schedule.”With this Friday's match against the New York Red Bulls a marquee matchup featuring one of Beckham's old rivals in Thierry Henry, the possibility of LA's No. 23 making his first start this season looms large over the pitch at Victoria Street.“When you’ve been out for six months, and obviously with this kind of injury, it’s hard to ...

Beckham Vs Donovan: Which Of The Two Are the Greatest In 21st Century Soccer?

Landon Donovan and David Beckham have a history in U.S. and English Football/Soccer respectively.Both men are playing for the MLS team the LA Galaxy. While there have been reports of rivalry and competition, I usually have the burning question as to which of the two are the greatest. I would like to extend an invitation to the writers at Bleacher Report and outside of it to leave comments as to who is the best football/soccer player of the 21st Century.Enclosed is a segment dedicated to these two 21st Century soccer personalities.Please feel free to leave your comments about who is the greatest.Begin Slideshow