Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Toronto FC: Live Blog, Play-by-Play Analysis, Reaction

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy host Aron Winter's Toronto FC in a key Major League Soccer encounter tonight at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.The Galaxy are 8-2-6 (30 points), good for first place overall in the league and are looking to bounce back from a disappointing scoreless draw against D.C. United. As for Toronto, they are 2-5-7 (13 points) and are in need of some points to get back in the hunt in the MLS Eastern Conference.Keep it right here on Bleacher Report for ongoing coverage of the 2011 Major League Soccer season.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Real Salt Lake Earns a Much Needed Point on the Road in Philadelphia

Following a mid-week loss in the final minutes of the match against the Columbus Crew on Wednesday night, Real Salt Lake continued it's Major League Soccer road trip Saturday against the Philadelphia Union.In what was supposed to be the second meeting of these two teams this season, each team dominated a half and played to a 1-1 draw.The two teams were scheduled to meet in an early season match in April in Utah, until both teams willingly rescheduled the match so that Real Salt Lake could focus on the CONCACAF final match they would host a few nights later.In today's match, the Philadelphia Union came out strong and had multiple scoring chances early in the match. Taking a page out of Real Salt Lake's playbook, they dominated first half possession and were not afraid to attack the heart of the best defense in the league.After several good chances, and building up a lot of excitement, Keon Daniel scored his first goal of the season for the Union in the 24th minute. His shot came off a ball served in from the corner that he ran onto, split a couple of defenders and nodded down for the score.As the half went ...

New York Red Bulls Regain Eastern Conference Lead with 2-1 Win over New England

 On Friday night, the Red Bulls finally they gave their fans what they've been unable to provide over their past six games: a victory.Playing their final home game before they go on a four-game road trip, the Red Bulls gave their fans many reasons to ecstatic with their 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution. Friday night's victory over the New England Revolution (3-4-7) has temporarily catapulted the Red Bulls (5-2-7) over the Philadelphia Union for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.While Friday night's match was filled with missed opportunities for both sides, 21,201 fans in attendance where entertained as both teams were attacking the net. This was a match where both sides were desperately seeking a seeking to end their winless drought with a victory.From the beginning of the match, it appeared the Red Bulls were attempting to score quickly as Luke Rodgers aggressively attacked the net numerous times within the opening minutes.New England to their credit was able to calm the initial Red Bulls pressing attack.In a match where both sides had errors, none was bigger than New England's Ryan Cochrane's own goal in the 37th minute. A few minutes after New England's captain Shalrie Joseph failed ...

Los Angeles Galaxy Ins and Outs, June 10, 2011

The bells must ring...for JuninhoJuninho will be out for Saturday's match between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Toronto FC due to a wedding he plans to attend in Brazil.“He’s been pretty much a rock on the team,” forward Mike Magee told LAGalaxy.com's Larry Morgan. “He’s done an amazing job. He’s logged a lot of minutes, but I think it’s going to be good for him to get a break anyway.“He’ll definitely be missed.”“He’s got a special occasion going on back in Brazil,” said midfielder David Beckham. “We’ve said all the way through the season we’re going to have to go without players in certain games, and obviously there’s going to be players injured. It’s just another one of these games that we’ve got players that can come in and play the same sort of ways he plays.“We just have to deal with what we’ve got. We’ve got a great squad of players, so we should be fine.”In 15 starts, Juninho has recorded two goals and an assist with Los Angeles.FIFA U-17 World Cup: Jack Mac called backHomegrown player Jack McBean will return to the USA Under-17 National Team for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup.The USA takes on the Czech ...

U.S. Soccer: Why the New York Cosmos Must Be the 20th Team in the MLS

The New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League were the most successful and most famous team in American soccer history.Founded in 1971, the Cosmos dominated the competition in their heyday, winning five titles and making the playoffs virtually every year. They regularly beat up on teams 5-0 and put on a show for the 70,000 plus people who packed Giants Stadium.  The atmosphere was incredible for each game, with fans showing up hours before the game to tailgate in the Giants Stadium parking lot.Millionaire and president of the Cosmos Steve Ross went to great lengths to put together a star-studded team every year. He broke the bank for Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto, Giorgio Chinaglia, and many other world-class soccer players. He helped put the Cosmos on the map with his bold acquisitions, and did all he could to make soccer the most popular sport in New York.Former-goalkeeper Shep Messing to this day says that the Cosmos were more famous than the Yankees during the ‘70s. Pele and company were often seen partying with rock stars like Mick Jagger in New York City clubs. The team was a circus, but it didn’t matter because they won games.Eventually the ...

Juventus to Join Barcelona & Manchester United in the United States This Summer

If you have any aspirations of watching the best of the best of the best this summer, keep your peepers peeled for the World Football Challenge in the US.   Italian superpower Juventus have confirmed their participation in this summer's Herbalife World Football Championship, which will take place all over the states, so there is something for everyone in all four corners of the country. European champions league winner Barcelona, runner-up Manchester United, city rivals Manchester City, Mexican giants Club America and Jose Mourinhos Real Madrid will all be available to watch at some stage over the term between July 13 and August 6. The chance of playing in the US has once again provided too much of a lure for the giant European sides, and although it's not a trophy the teams are playing for, pride will be at stake. With MLS sides LA Galaxy, NE Revolution, Vancouver Whitecaps, Chicago Fire and Philadephia Union all participating at some stage, there will be plenty of support for the home towns' teams, and it will give supporters the chance to see ...

Los Angeles Galaxy Ins and Outs, June 8, 2011

Bruce Arena: What, me worry?Los Angeles Galaxy manager Bruce Arena does not believe the Galaxy will be in dire straits after seeing Landon Donovan leave for the USA national team.“We’re fine, believe me,” Arena told MLSSoccer's Luis Bueno. “I don’t know how many goals we scored last year, but Edson didn’t score all of them. He just happened to score the first eight or nine. And now Landon has scored (seven) in a row and everyone concluded that that was a crisis.”Arena was quick to point out that football is a team game, and it's the efforts of the rest of the squad that dictate their ultimate destination in terms of playoffs and all that jazz.“There’s nothing wrong with it. The attacking players, you want them scoring goals,” Arena said. “If they happen to be scoring all of them, that’s life. That’s not a negative. That’s a positive. That’s like saying Barcelona has a lot of problems with Messi scoring all those goals, or Real Madrid…holy (crap) are they in trouble, Ronaldo has scored 40 goals in the league.“The reasons those guys score goals is they’re playing on a good team. It’s not an accident. It’s part of the teamwork.”More ...

Columbus Crew Scores Two Late Goals to Beat Real Salt Lake

The Columbus Crew hosted Real Salt Lake in a mid-week match Wednesday evening in the first meeting between these two teams in Major League Soccer play.Despite scoring very early, Real Salt Lake's normally stellar defense was unable to hold of the Crew attack late, and left with a 2-1 loss on the road.While this was the first regular season meeting between the two clubs, they met twice before the season started in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament. After a draw in Columbus, Real Salt Lake won 4-1 at home to advance in the tournament.In tonight's match, Real Salt Lake seemed to pick up right where they left off by scoring in the seventh minute on a corner kick.The ball was played in well and found the foot of central defender Jamison Olave who took one poke at the ball and placed a high bouncing shot between the crossbar and the outstretched arm of the goalkeeper.It was his first goal of the season. Real Salt Lake held the lead going into halftime and until the 76th minute when Crew forward Andres Mendoza converted a penalty kick to tie the game.Although it tied the score, the kick came with a bit of controversy.Columbus ...

Eric Cantona Aims High with the New York Cosmos

The 20th MLS franchise is most likely heading to New York. The New York Cosmos, a special team that is still recognized worldwide, is coming back to life with the help of English businessman and former Vice Chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, Paul Kamsley.  He has seen the opportunity of reviving the biggest soccer club in American history. The Cosmos have named Pele as honorary president and former Manchester United legend Eric Cantona as Director of Soccer.  “The story of the club is very important for me.  It's not like other clubs.  And the project is very important.  We are here to try our best to help the Cosmos become the best team in the United States and the world. Our ambition is to have the best team in the country, with most of the players coming from our academy, and help the United States national team win the World Cup. It can happen I think, “ said Cantona in an interview to BBC. In the late 1970s, the Cosmos bought some of the world’s best soccer players, but today, due to the salary cap rule governing the MLS clubs, the maximum budget charge for any one player is $335,000. The New ...

Citi Field: Ecuador and Greece Tied 1-1 and the Winners Were the Fans

Flushing, New York - For the first time ever, Citi Field hosted its first inaugural soccer match between Ecuador and Greece National Teams. Both national teams entered Tuesday night's friendly undefeated in their last three matches. All three of Ecuador last matches against Canada (2-2), Mexico (1-1), and Argentina (2-2) has resulted in draws. Greece on the other hand was 2-0-1 in their last three matches where they defeated Malta twice by a combined score of 4-0 and battled Poland to a scoreless draw. Meeting tonight for the first time ever, both National Teams battled each other in a highly physical competitive match. In the first half. Ecuador appeared as the aggressor until Tziolis Alexandros gave Greece a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute when he scored of a set piece play. Following the goal, Ecuador level of play was momentarily deflated after Greece took the lead. Eventually, they found their balance but it may have been to late as they repeatedly missed their opportunity to tie the score with their mistimed passes. As a result, Greece had a 1-0 advantage at Halftime. In the second half, Ecuador missed another chance to tie to the game in the 46th minute. ...