Houston Dynamo Chase Scotland and Hibernian Top Scorer To Bolster Attack

Whoa, stop the bus! Riordan for Houston Dynamo?  If media reports are to be believed, Scotsman Derek Riordan may be moving to the MLS with the Houston Dynamo. The Scotland and Hibernian star is out of contract this week at the Edinburgh SPL side but would be a great acquisition for the Texas side, giving them a 20-plus goals a season striker. With only three wins in 12 MLS outings this season, the Dynamo could do with an additional proven goalscorer to bolster the forward line, and Riordan could certainly do that for them as he certainly fits into that category. English side Blackburn Rovers may scupper any deal being thrashed out though as the Scottish Daily Record reported today that there has been an interest shown in the striker as well. Should Houston and Riordan finalise a deal it won't take place until the MLS transfer window opens in July which would give Riordan an unexpectedly long summer break from soccer. Hibs, Houston and Blackburn have yet to respond to correspondence from us. Marc Roseblade is a contributor for Bleacher Report ...

Houston Dynamo Face FC Dallas for Possession of El Capitán

The Houston Dynamo will take to the field at Robertson Stadium on Saturday night to take on in-state rival FC Dallas. The game will be the first of two home-and-home matches to determine possession of El Capitán. El Capitán is a Civil War mountain howitzer which is awarded to the two-game series winner. Houston has won El Capitán in three of the past five seasons, but Dallas took possession in 2010 with a 1-0-1 record. The second game of the series will be played in September 24 in Frisco. Houston (3-4-5) will be looking to end a five-game winless streak and continue its domination of the head-to-head series against Dallas. The Dynamo leads the series 9-4-6 all-time. Will Bruin and Cam Weaver continue to lead the team with a combined seven goals this season, with midfielder Brad Davis leading the MLS with six assists. He scored his first goal this past Saturday against the New York Red Bulls.  After Saturday’s match, the Dynamo will hit the road to face the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, June 4. They will return to Houston for consecutive home games against Chivas USA on June 11 and the Columbus Crew on June 18. Houston is ...

Amsterdam Ajax Finish off Portland Timbers with Style and Grace

Ajax finished off their two-game mini tour of Americas North West with a display of football that felled the Timbers.  Dutch giants Amsterdam Ajax finished off their two-match tour of the US with a resounding 2-0 victory over MLS new boys Portland Timbers on Wednesday night at JELD-WEN Field. Scotsman Johns Spencer's team spent most of the night chasing shadows in pursuit of the ball and were taught a real footballing masterclass as the Dutch side portrayed the Dutch "Total Football" style of play that is so well-documented. The sellout crown of over 18,000 may well have been disappointed with the final result but must have left the stadium pleased to have witnessed one of the founding fathers of world football grace their corner of the world.In a match that Ajax more or less dominated from start to end, it took 17 minutes for the first goal to be scored with a close range effort from Lorenzo Ebecilo and although the Amsterdam side were clearly the better of the two on show, it took until the last minute before Demy de Zeeuw added ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs Houston Dynamo: Galaxy Take Care of Business at Home

This season, the Los Angeles Galaxy have had to do without the duties of a one David Beckham. At times with him not there, the middle of the field would seem empty, lost and by many standards weak (even with Landon Donovan in the rover position). That was not the case on Wednesday night, when the Galaxy decided to get defensive and take out the Dynamo with a 1-0 result. The Galaxy were opportunistic in their victory after a fortuitous handball in the box by a Dynamo defender led to the the lone goal of the night by Landon Donovan.Donovan currently leads the MLS in goals scored with eight, while the international man of soccer, David Beckham, sits atop the assists category with five.Donovan Ricketts made three saves on the night and posted his fifth clean sheet on the year, tied for second in the league.The center back pairing of Omar Gonzalez and A.J. De La Garza in the last six games of the season have proved to be pillars of consistency and steel walls for opposing strikers. That was once again the case last night as the collective play of the Galaxy disallowed any type of creative play, just as they ...

New York Red Bulls vs Colorado Rapids: Red Bulls Lack Killer Instinct in 2-2 Tie

Harrison, NJ - A year ago many Red Bulls fans would have been ecstatic with a 2-2 tie over the defending MLS Cup Champions at home.A year ago, Red Bulls fans would have been proud of the Red Bulls for overcoming Rapids' Jeff Larentowicz brace in a draw.However that's not the case in 2011 as 18,081 in attendance witnessed the New York Red Bulls tie the MLS Cup defending champions 2-2 at Red Bull Arena.While Wednesday night's draw may have earned them a first place tie with the Philadelphia Union in the Eastern Conference, the Red Bulls have been playing horrifically for their past three games.It would have understandable if Wednesday night's game was a road game but that wasn't the case. It didn't matter that Red Bulls squared off a Colorado team that was unbeaten in their previous five games.Wednesday night was no exception as New York was dominated statistically by Colorado. The defending champions out-shot the Red Bulls 16-10 while having a 10-6 shots on goal advantage.To make matters worse, the Red Bulls never led in the game.The six spectacular minutes of four goals scoring in first half isn't going to cover up the facts that ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. New England Revolution: Shipping Up to Boston

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy will look to rectify a couple of wrongs when they take on the New England Revolution on Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.First, they'll be looking for payback after being embarassed by the New England Revolution on July 10 of last year at Gilette, when goals from Marko Perovic in the 67th minute and Sainey Nyassi in the 73rd minute shut out a rather dismal performance from Los Angeles.Second, there is the 1-1 draw in the rain against New England at the Home Depot Center on March 20 of this year.Thus, Los Angeles are currently running a two-game winless streak against the Revs and will look to get right on the East Coast.“I don’t think you need to be a genius to figure this one out," Arena told reporters following the game against the Houston Dynamo."It’s real challenging. On top of it we go across the country, which we experienced a couple of weeks ago. I think this is not a good way to schedule, but it is what it is."It’s going to be a real battle and on top of it we will be on an artificial field. It’s going to be really ...

LA Galaxy Put Up Defensive Clinic in 1-0 Victory over Houston Dynamo

Ladies and gentlemen on Bleacher Report, the following is a special news bulletin from Los Angeles Galaxy featured columnist Jo-Ryan Salazar.We have witnessed another defensive clinic. That's right, another defensive clinic put on by Bruce Arena's Galaxy. The end result: a 1-0 victory over Dominic Kinnear's Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night at the Home Depot Center.Landon Donovan scored his eighth goal of the season off a penalty in the first minute of first half stoppage time.If it weren't for the handball by Lovel Palmer, who threw his hands up to the sky in blasphemous frustration after being called for the foul by match referee Chris Penso, the end result could have been a scoreless draw.And to be honest with you, it should have been. Very little offense was generated, aside from the subpar finishing from both teams. This match was all about defending, defending, defending.David Beckham had his testimonial obligations this week for Manchester United, and was unable to inject some more production for the Galaxy. No question, the magic man from London was missed, and will be needed when the Galaxy take on the New England Revolution this weekend.Of course, he is expected to play a bigger role in ...

CONCACAF Gold Cup: What Do National Team Call-Ups Mean for Real Salt Lake?

Anytime an athlete can play for his or her national team, it is a very prestigious honor.Over the next month, the United States will host the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament that will feature the best soccer players from 12 countries in the North and Central America region.With players being selected from current rosters of their club teams from all over the world, the upcoming tournament will alter the lineups of several teams in Major League Soccer.Many teams will make adjustments to accommodate play without those who are away to help their country.Real Salt Lake is no different from other MLS clubs but perhaps will see the effects of call-ups more than any other team.For a team that has not yet gotten back on track following a very difficult loss in the CONCACAF Champions League final, and is dealing with the significant loss of their star player to injury, the timing of this tournament could not be worse.Four Real Salt Lake players have been selected to the teams of four different countries. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando (USA), midfielder Will Johnson (Canada) and forwards Arturo Alvarez (El Salvador) and Alvaro Saborio (Costa Rica) could all miss time while playing for their national teams.Will ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo: Live Blog, Play-by-Play Analysis

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy return to action tonight when they take on Dominic Kinnear's Houston Dynamo live from the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.The Galaxy, who will be without the services of David Beckham due to testimonial obligations, are 6-2 5 (23 points) and are first in the league. Houston are currently 3-3-4 (14 points) and are third in the MLS Eastern Conference.Keep it right here on Bleacher Report for continuing coverage of Major League Soccer and football from around the world.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Los Angeles Galaxy Ins and Outs, May 25, 2011

No Beckham? No problemBruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy understand the importance of the bonds between a player and a former teammate.Just ask Juan Pablo Angel and Landon Donovan, who, along with the G's, saw David Beckham off for a testimonial match for fellow Manchester United legend Gary Neville."That's what I've been talking about the whole year—the team is the whole squad, the 28, 30 players we have," Angel told MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno. "Those kinds of circumstances appear throughout the season and we have to have players that will step up."Beckham and Neville were part of the Manchester United side that won the Treble of the UEFA Champions League, FA Cup and Premier League in 2000, along with a plethora of other silverware.“For the rest of the world, testimonial games—especially for players who won everything for the club—are very, very important,” Ángel added. “It means a lot.“Sometimes friendships don't come very often in this sport. You move back and forth to teams, you move from place to place and it's hard to just make friends. I believe that Gary is one of those close friends to David. Rightly so, he's going to be part of an important time and moment of ...