Los Angeles Galaxy Look To Finish the Deal Against FC Dallas

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy is one of three teams that was able to put Schellas Hyndman's FC Dallas to the sword during the 2010 MLS regular season.On May 20, 2010, during the 17th minute, Mike Magee was responsible for taking a critical three points away from Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, and this was without the likes of Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan or David Beckham. Beckham was still recovering from his torn Achilles, while Buddle and Donovan were on World Cup duty.“I think we played kind of the way we’ve played since I got here,” Magee said. “We played hard with a lot of heart. We were really competitive and I think we out-competed them. If we get back to that I think we’ll have a similar result.”Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein remembered the proceedings at the Hut, as if it were last week.“Going into that game, that was a game we really looked at as we needed everyone working together,” Klein said. “We played as a team that day. We didn’t play great, but we were effective."“And we went down to a tough place to play and got a result.”As for Arena, the Galaxy manager chose to opt ...

Los Angeles Galaxy’s Chris Klein, Eddie Lewis: One Last Hurrah

You can only be part of the Beautiful Game for so long. For Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein and defender Eddie Lewis, the 2010 Major League Soccer season will be the final season of their long, respective footballing careers.“I’m just kind of looking forward to kind of taking a step back and perhaps come at the game from a slightly different angle now,” Lewis said on Tuesday.“It’s never an easy decision to make,” Klein said on his retirement, “but I believe it’s the right time to step away and do something else. I’m very thankful for the past 13 years that I’ve played professionally. This is something I’ve been doing since I was five.“It’s going to be an adjustment, but I’m looking forward to it.”Lewis will go down as one of the best and most decorated players in the history of the U.S. men’s national team, with 10 goals and 16 assists in 82 appearances.Klein also has 22 caps with the U.S. national team but will be more known for his longevity in MLS. He began his 13-year MLS career when he was drafted fourth overall by the Kansas City Wizards in the 1998 college draft and ranks fifth in ...

Saprissa Advances In CONCACAF Play By Edging Seattle Sounders 2-1

It was a victory that CD Saprissa of Costa Rica needed to advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League and one it achieved 2-1 over the host Seattle Sounders FC before 11,434 Tuesday night. Saprissa Coach Rob Myers inserted Josue Martinez into action in the 56th minute.  It proved a beneficial substitution as Martinez scored the decisive goal in the 87th minute.  Goalkeeper Kasey Keller blocked a Martinez shot, but the ball deflected off the near post and into the net for the game winner.   It was a victory that CD Saprissa of Costa Rica needed to advance to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League and one it achieved 2-1 over the host Seattle Sounders FC before 11,434 Tuesday night. Seattle, which has developed a recent pattern during a highly successful phase of scoring an early goal to get things started right, did so against Saprissa.  Forward Nate Jaqua tapped in the goal from 4 yards out in the 17th minute.  Action commenced with Mike Fucito delivering a free kick into the box from 40 yards out.  After the ball bounced in front of the goal Alvaro Fernandez launched a shot that was deflected to Jaqua.   Sounders nation responded ...

Toronto FC Defeats Arabe Unido To Leave CONCACAF Champion League With Dignity

Toronto FC faced Arabe Unido at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The game was simply a way for both teams that did not advance in the CONCACAF Champion League to save face. The most exciting moment in the game came when Nick LaBrocca received a free kick for Toronto FC. He proceeded to send it to Nana Attakora Gyan who surprised goalie Jose Calderon of Arabe Unido with his direct kick to one of the corner posts. The result was a goal for Toronto FC in the first half of the game, but it did not save the team or Arabe Unido in the game. It appeared that both teams were just playing to attempt a decent showing with little effort. R. Garcia-Orozco was the referee who applied yellow cards to both teams on an equal basis for misconduct. F. Caesar and O. Londono of Arabe Unido received yellow cards. Gargan, Garcia, Henry and Lindsey of Toronto FC received yellow cards as well. The attempts of both teams to substitute did not make any difference except that Toronto FC was able to leave the CONCACAF Champion League with dignity. Toronto FC 1-0 Arabe Unido BFO Field Toronto, Ontario, Canada Most Valued Player: Nick LaBrocca Group A CONCACAF Champion League Classification Cruz Azul  (Mexico)     10 Real Salt Lake  ...

Los Angeles Galaxy-FC Dallas: Capitulation or Capitalization?

As we head into the final weekend of regular season action in Major League Soccer, lightning and thunder rain down over the City of Angels as Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy are caught in what has essentially become a two-team race with Jason Kreis's Real Salt Lake for the MLS Supporters Shield."We still control our own destiny," Galaxy captain Landon Donovan said. "Next weekend means everything."For the Galaxy, a win against Schyllas Hyndman's FC Dallas on Sunday, Oct. 24 will clinch the Shield, regardless of what happens in Commerce City, Colorado between RSL and Gary Smith's Colorado Rapids on Saturday, Oct. 23."We were expecting really to win the game [on Saturday, which LA lost 3-1] and then it would be all done with and going into the playoffs," Galaxy midfielder Chris Birchall said. "But it doesn't really happen the way we expect things to go.""With Salt Lake winning, it really puts Dallas out of winning the [West]. They’ll still be coming here with confidence. They’ll probably want to win the last game before going into the playoffs. But we know if we win, we win the Supporters Shield, same as [last Saturday]. We’ve just got to go out, try to ...

Seattle Sounders Play Final Two Matches, Then On To MLS Playoffs

Sigi Schmid has requested that Seattle Sounders fans delay their Halloween trick or treating. The Sounders had their ticket punched for their second successive season of playoff activity with their recent win at Kansas City October 9, but it remains to be seen which team they will oppose. The date is set for October 31 at the Xbox Pitch of Qwest Field, hence the concern on the part of Seattle’s coach over delaying trick or treating. The team has already chalked up a better record than last season and with a win against the Houston Dynamo Saturday can boost their point total from a current 48 to 51. This is a worthy goal to shoot for, demonstrating a season of great achievement, but before that there is one more order of business. That order of business is Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT with the final round of CONCACAF competition slated as Seattle Sounders FC hosts Saprissa of Costa Rica. The Sounders hope for payback since the first road match between the teams ended with Saprissa shutting out the Emerald City squad 2-0. The loss was particularly irritating to one player, Seattle defender Leo Gonzalez. The earlier match marked his first visit home since ...

Steve Zakuani Named MLS Player of the Week

Steve Zakuani was the first player selected by the new Seattle Sounders franchise from the Superdraft. From the beginning of his Sounders career, the Congo-born and London-raised Zakuani has demonstrated the promise of greatness.  Now the former Akron University All-American stands in the forefront of young under-25 soccer stars with 10 goals and six assists on a Sounders team that won the U.S. Open Cup for the second successive season and will be heading for the MLS playoff, also for the second time in a row. In Week 17, Zakuani was selected Player of the Week after scoring twice against the Colorado Rapids.He was selected for the honor also for the recently concluded Week 29.  Zakuani scored the game’s opening goal and add an assist in Friday night’s 2-1 victory over Chivas USA at Qwest Field.The MLS Player of the Week is selected each week of the regular season by a panel of journalists from The National Association of Soccer Reporters. The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Celebrate Pelé’s 70th Birthday

“Most of today’s fans have never seen him play, and yet they feel he is somehow part of their lives.” – Henry Kissinger In honor of Pelé’s 70th birthday, the New York Cosmos are giving his fans the opportunity of a lifetime when they’ll be able to be part of the celebration. On Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, the New York Cosmos will be hosting their 2011 Official Fan Ball launch party at Planet Hollywood (Times Square: 45th and Broadway) between the hours of 12-5 p.m. The first 100 fans will receive a free New York Cosmos t-shirt. In addition, fans will have the unique opportunity to win autographed fan gear by the O Rei do Futebol himself. Fans in attendance will also have the opportunity to enter in the New York Cosmos Nov. 6 single-elimination penalty shot contest. The winner of this blockbuster contest will have the opportunity to meet the legendary Pelé in New York City. This contest is open to 500 fans who are a New York or New Jersey resident. Contestants will be able to register at the Launch Party or by going online starting at 12 p.m. For ...

Colorado Rapids Exhibit Postseason Form in 3-1 Win Over Los Angeles Galaxy

The Colorado Rapids clinched the final MLS Cup playoff berth while going through warm-ups prior to Saturday night's contest with Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy.To be facetious, those Rapids didn't even need to bother suiting up, let alone take the pitch and play 90 full minutes of football.But Gary Smith's men did, and their postseason form was evident in their 3-1 victory over the Galaxy before a full house of 27,000 strong.These are the same Rapids that will be facing Real Salt Lake, who crept up on the leaders of the Major League Soccer overall table with their 2-0 victory over FC Dallas, the same FC Dallas that will be hitting the road for the G's regular season finale on Oct. 24.Hmmm. Clever scheduling, that. Very clever, in the mold of, "Why so serious? Take it easy!"But here marked the very first time this season that in spite of scoring the first goal, the Galaxy proceeded to trash aside their lead in disjointed fashion. With flying colors. In terms of disjointedness, I give them Los Angeles an 11 out of 10, without any reservations.Once again, the Galaxy resort to that nasty habit of sleeping in the back as if it ...

New England Revolution: Dear Revs, It’s Not You, It’s Me…Maybe

Sometimes I write about soccer here.  But many times life happens.  Jobs get crazy.  Wives travel.  Kids need their parents, or maybe parents need their kids.  And then, I don’t write.  And that’s OK. But I sit here tonight, watching the New England Revolution play the last home game of a difficult, frustrating and fruitless season, and I figure it’s worth dusting off my very neglected blog. It’s been so busy in “real” life that I am as out of touch with team news as I have been in any other time in the last few years.  Heck, I just realized that earlier today I told someone that this Kansas City game I’m watching is the Revs' last game of the season…of course, it’s not.  It’s the last home game of the season.  Oh well… (And trust me, it pains me to admit something in the blathering, pointless, obviously biased and often irrelevant Revolution TV commentary corrected my thinking.) But I have been busy before, and with this blog being over a year old, I don’t think I’ve had such a long hiatus from it before. So while outside factors have significantly impacted my ability to comment, it may be that something larger is at ...