31Mar/110
Manchester United vs. MLS All-Stars: David Beckham Set To Face Former Club
For the second straight year, Manchester United are scheduled to take on the MLS All-Stars in the 2011 MLS All-Star Game, which will be held on July 27 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. Kickoff is scheduled 8:30 p.m. ET."We're delighted to have been invited to play the MLS All-Star Game for the second year running,” Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson told Adam Marshall of ManUtd.com. “Last year's game was a special occasion in front of a noisy, passionate crowd."Obviously we'll be looking to repeat the performance and the scoreline, but it will be a great spectacle for everyone involved."As I see it, this is going to be another walk in the park for the Red Devils.It is obvious that in one way or another, David Beckham is going to be in the roster for the MLS All-Stars. If he isn't, the fans, either of the coaches, the players, the media, or even the commissioner himself, Mr. Don Garber—somebody is going to put Beckham in against his former club.For Manchester United, the upcoming transfer window means there will be some changes to the current lineup that is storming to the 2011 Premier League crown. As I see ...31Mar/110
New England Revolution: Why a New Stadium in Somerville Makes Sense
During my first season covering the New England Revolution, one of my initial observations was that the Kraft family would do well to move the club into a soccer specific facility in the near future. That was back in 2001. A decade later, and the Revs continue to play in a football stadium. Anyone who has attended a match at Gillette Stadium will readily testify that the sight of 12-14 thousand fans rattling around the cavernous expanse of the Big Razor is slightly absurd, and not likely to inspire the players on the pitch all that much. The idea to build the team a new home closer to Boston is not a new one. It has been something that has been in the works for several years now, but the major obstacle has been where exactly to put a new 20-25 thousand seat soccer specific facility in a city where viable tracts of land for such an undertaking are few and far between, and often carry prohibitive price tags. Team owner Robert Kraft and his Kraft Group have their hearts set on moving closer to the city, as they believe a move into a more urban setting would put the ...31Mar/110
Los Angeles Galaxy Ins and Outs, March 30, 2011
Just like old times...Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham remembered scoring against current Philadelphia Union goalkeeper and Colombian international Faryd Mondragon.The year was 1998. The event: the FIFA World Cup in France. As a member of England's national team, Beckham scored on a set piece to beat Mondragon. England went on to win that match 2-0 in what was Becks's first start.“I wasn’t actually that nervous,” Beckham recalled after practice on Tuesday, according to Larry Morgan of LAGalaxy.com. “I was ready to play in the World Cup. I had prepared myself and I was ready to go. I was excited more than nervous.“It meant a lot to me that game, scoring my first goal for England, playing in my first World Cup and it was my mum’s birthday. It was kind of special in many ways. It was a good day.”Mondragon, now the team captain for the Union, remembered the day so well.“I remember it was the third game of the group, and we needed a draw or a win to advance and England needed to win,” Mondragon recalled. “And, well, we were down 1-0 and around the 30-minute mark there was a free kick from about 27 or 30 ...31Mar/110
New England Revolution Welcome Back Old Buddy Brown, Host Timbers at Gillette
When the New England Revolution host the expansion Portland Timbers on April 1 at Gillette Stadium, while it will be the first ever meeting between the two teams, they will not be on completely unfamiliar terms. Making his Foxborough return will be old friend Adin Brown, who manned the space between the sticks from 2002-2004, including the 2002 MLS Cup Final run, before leaving for Danish side Aalesund FK. After signing with Portland last season, Brown will be making the third start of his return to Major League Soccer on a pitch he knows quite well. Brown backstopped 48 games for the Revs in his three years with the team, and compiled a tidy goals against average of 1.73 during that span. Indeed, his steady presence played a vital role in the club’s success during the early years of the previous decade, and Brown was unquestionably one of the league’s top stoppers. Posting four shutouts in seven games during the 2002 MLS Cup playoffs, Brown sealed his place as a fan favorite in Foxborough and is sure to be received warmly at the start of Saturday’s proceedings. In current Revs net minder Matt Reis, Brown squares of against the man who took over for him ...30Mar/110
Bored with Bornstein: Why US Defender Johnathan Bornstein Must Go
Jonathan Bornstein must have some embarrassing photos of coach Bob Bradley, because there is no explanation for him ever suiting up for the United States men's soccer team again. Since the 2010 World Cup, most US Soccer fans have been clamoring for a change at the left back position and for good reason: Bornstein just doesn't have it. During the loss to Paraguay, Bornstein was the worst player on the field and it wasn't even close. With numerous faulty touches in our final third and the propensity to get beat both within the box and outside of it, Bornstein simply isn't a fit for this team or any team for that matter. Praised hollowly by the announcers for his ability to push the ball forward, Bornstein's movement going forward was robotic. He effectively stalled many great opportunities for the US with both poor service, and erratic touches. One play that comes to mind was his ball that missed a wide open Altidore, who certainly would have had at least a chance to put the ball on target. When he does move forward, he is often beat, leaving the rest of the left side stretched out and exposed. Bradley did a ...29Mar/110
The Ochocinco Ploy: Why US Pro Soccer Is Desperate
In an NFL off-season that has been dominated by grim headlines concerning the labor situation and the current lockout, Cincinnati Bengals' wide receiver Chad Ochocinco's attempt to play [barely] professional soccer for MLS franchise Sporting Kansas City has provided some needed comic relief. But that's all it should have been. Just a innocent, funny story about the NFL's preeminent touchdown-dancer, tweeter, and entertainer trying out an old childhood sport during his current work stoppage. Cute. But it doesn't end there. On Tuesday, after 4 days of practice with the team and a scrimmage, Ocho was offered a spot on the reserve squad. Pulease. All the initial reaction by mainstream media focused on how its a great deal for both sides. Ochocinco can stay in shape by participating in the bi-weekly soccer practices in lieu of all the Bengals' mini-camps that the NFL lockout will almost definitely cancel. And soccer can benefit as a whole, according to coach Peter Vermes, "because I think there’s a lot of people out there who question how hard it is to play this game and it’s very, very difficult.” Okay, that's all very nice, but I don't know if you and I were watching the same footage of ...29Mar/110
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Philadelphia Union: Taking on the Upstarts
Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy slink back to the Home Depot Center in search of the antidote to cure them of their ills suffered from a 4-1 defeat to Real Salt Lake. Who may have the antidote? It could be Peter Nowak's Philadelphia Union, who the Galaxy take on this Saturday. The Union are currently 2-0 to begin the year and are coming off a 1-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps. This is a much improved Union outfit from last year, especially with additions like goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon and former Galaxy striker Carlos Ruiz. “We came out poorly, there’s no question about that," Arena told RealSaltLake.com. "We turned the ball over and made some bad plays and they capitalized. The second goal off the penalty kick I think was a terrible call by the referee, but it didn’t certainly didn’t cost us the game. We were completely outplayed in the first half and we were punished properly.” “It wasn’t a good game overall," said Juan Pablo Angel on last Saturday's dismal effort against RSL. "We didn’t start off the game well and we got punished by it. We made mistakes and they capitalized on our mistakes. We’ve got to make sure we start off ...28Mar/110
Chad Ochocinco Locked Out: From Football to Futbol
Over the last few months many football fans were trying to feverishly delay the inevitable horror of an NFL lockout. There is no life without the world’s greatest sport, and surely they couldn’t resort to the unthinkable consolation of watching hockey. What many fail to realize is that the lockout is hurting not only the fans and those in love with game, but the players as well. The NFL is notorious for having athletes with a serious work ethic and who never want to press the stop button. Chad Ochocinco is no exception. Now, before you begin to ridicule him or say he puts more effort into mid-game tweeting than his post routes, just think of him as the guy who puts 110% into everything (especially pissing off the suits in the NFL offices). Ochocinco recently tried out for MLS club Sporting Kansas City and had some reasonable success. He has officially made the reserve squad (or at least to the point where they’re playing him today) and seemed to have had a positive affect on the KC footballers. While MLS is pretty huge in North America right now, it isn’t the most exclusive soccer league in the world. With ...28Mar/110
Manchester United vs MLS All-Stars: 10 Things for Utd Fans to Do in New Jersey
It has been confirmed that Manchester United will face the MLS All-Star team for the second successive season in 2011 and that the matchup will take place at Red Bull Arena, home of the New York Red Bulls.While the Red Bulls are the MLS team of the Metropolitan New York City area, the stadium is based in the town of Harrison, New Jersey, around 10 miles outside of Manhattan.With many Manchester United fans looking forward to making the trip to see their team in action against the best that MLS has to offer, they will also be looking for other things to do while they are in town.Here we take a look at 10 things for United fans to do in New Jersey.Begin Slideshow28Mar/110