MLS All-Star Game 2011: Training Report for Manchester United

After defeating Chicago Fire 3-1 on Saturday night, Manchester United flew from Chicago to New York City to prepare for the next leg of their North American tour: a matchup against the Major League Soccer All-Stars at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday night.It will be the first time in MLS history that the same foreign team will play the All-Star Game in consecutive seasons, with the All-Stars looking to avenge last season's 5-2 defeat to the Red Devils. Sir Alex Ferguson will also be using this game to fine-tune his players as they prepare to defend their Premier League crown this upcoming season.United arrived at the W Hotel in Hoboken Sunday and were given the day off by the management team. Many players enjoyed a meal in Manhattan's trendy rooftop bar, 230 Fifth, while Wayne Rooney took the opportunity to meet up with his brother John who plays locally for the New York Red Bulls.Monday and Tuesday, the team have battled crowds of supporters outside the W while boarding their team bus to their training facility, the New York Giants' complex at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey.United's initial training plans were hampered by the NFL ending its lockout, ...

MLS Week 8 Recap: Heavyweight LA/New York Matchup Provides Seasons Best Game

Week 8 of the MLS season was not blessed with an abundance of goals, yet there was enough intrigue, entertainment and incident in one game alone to ensure it was still an entertaining weekend of action in the USA's top league. Most Expensive Matchup in League History Ends All Square Despite End to End ActionLA Galaxy 1-1 New York Red BullsHeading into the season, one of the fixtures most of the leagues fans was looking forward to was between the MLS's big spending heavyweights, LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls.The two teams boasted the most expensive lineups to have faced each other in league history, including five Designated Players. It would also mark the first time that European superstars David Beckham and Thierry Henry would renew their head to head rivalry in MLS (each player missed their road fixture in the two matchups last season).Anybody caught up in heavy traffic outside the Home Depot Center may have missed plenty of action already if they arrived in their seats late with the first chance of the game falling to Landon Donovan in just the third minute, before Thierry Henry opened the scoring in the fourth.Jamaican winger, Dane Richards threaded a beautifully ...

Soccer WAGs USA: Ranking the Hottest Wives and Girlfriends of US Soccer

The term WAG originated in England to collectively term the wives and girlfriends of the English football team at the 2006 World Cup.It quickly became a worldwide term and has spread to the United States, a country well versed in glamarous and stunning women.Here we look at the hottest women connected with the men of US soccer, spanning the MLS and the US national team players spread throughout the world.Enjoy the aesthetics!Begin Slideshow

New York Red Bulls: After Winning 4-0 in DC, Are They Now MLS’ Best Team?

New York Red Bulls/Metrostars fans have had more downs than ups since the team's inception in 1996. Their heated rivals at DC United have won an MLS record four MLS Championships in that time and DC's fans regularly like to remind their New York counterparts of their failings of 16 years—no cups. 2009 was an all time low for the Red Bulls, winning just five games and ending with the worst record in the whole league. Yet the franchise was able to turn itself around for 2010 and finished first place in the Eastern Conferences before being eventually bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the San Jose Earthquakes. With that turnaround in fortunes and the addition of quality internationals Jan Gunnar Solli and Teemu Tainio joining an already impressive list of players, including former Barcelona stars Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez, team MVP Joel Lindpere and emerging US internationals Tim Ream and Juan Agudelo, expectations were high heading into the 2011 season. In addition to a star studded roster already in place, General Manager Erik Soler pulled off a deal to bring in one of the leagues greatest talents, attacking midfielder/forward Dwayne De Rosario, to be the final piece of the puzzle. Despite all ...

Major League Soccer: Ranking the Most Dangerous 11 Strikers in the League

Since its inaugural season in 1996, Major League Soccer has been blessed with a lot of outstanding strikers throughout its history.As the league enters its 16th season, there is no shortage of offensive firepower across the league with a mixture of established veterans and exciting newcomers.By examining proven and potential performance, we have ranked the most dangerous XI of strikers in Major League Soccer today.But who made the cut? Who was unlucky to miss out on the list? Who is No. 1?Read on to find out...Begin Slideshow

New York Red Bulls/Metrostars: Ranking the All-Time Top 10 Players

Part of the original franchises to join Major League Soccer, New York has seen many changes since their inaugural season in 1996, none more so than their name change from the Metrostars to the Red Bulls. Over the years the team's supporters have seen different logo's, uniforms, stadiums, ownership and players—some good, some not so good! Today's Red Bull team is one of the best collection of talent in the league, led by former France and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. Yet before Henry, there have been many great players before him. Here we count down the top 10 players in Red Bulls/Metrostars history.Begin Slideshow

Ranking David Beckham, Thierry Henry and the 10 Best Ever MLS Designated Players

In 2007, Major League Soccer introduced the Designated Player rule to allow it's clubs to compete on the international transfer market and sign star players without having an adverse effect on the salary cap.The rule was nicknamed the "Beckham Rule" as the English soccer superstar became the leagues first DP when he signed with the LA Galaxy.Since Becks' arrived on the scene in 2007, a total of 27 players have held the DP title throughout 14 different franchises, with varying degrees of success.Here we are ranking the top 10 Designated Players players based on their overall positive contributions to their respective club.New players for the 2011 season have not been considered for the list.Begin Slideshow

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 Slideshow

Manchester United Vs. MLS All-Stars: Identifying the Key Matchups

It has been rumored and in negotiations for several weeks, but Monday it was officially announced: Manchester United will return to play the MLS All-Stars for the second successive season.After playing the game in front of 70,000 fans at Reliant Stadium in Houston last season, the two teams will have their 2011 matchup at the 25,000 capacity Red Bull Arena, the beautiful $200m soccer-specific stadium that opened in March 2010.While the voting process for the MLS All-Stars has not yet begun, it's never too early to begin the excitement of speculating over the key matchups to look out for in this game.And there will be plenty of those to look forward to!Begin Slideshow

MLS Week 1 Review: Charlie Davies’ Spectacular Comeback Highlights Eventful Week

Major League Soccer kicked off it's 16th season in Seattle Tuesday night and it's opening weekend delivered a plethora of action, goals and story lines. No story line however, came as big or as heartwarming as the one from RFK Stadium in the Nations Capital.     Charlie Davies' Dream Comeback for DC United Seventeen months ago, as Charlie Davies lay in a hospital bed following an awful car crash in Northern Virginia, speculation was not when Davies may make his soccer comeback, but whether he would be able to recover from the horrific injuries at all. During the long road to recovery, Davies joined DC United on a season-long loan from his club Sochaux. He began his debut for his new team on the bench of their season opener against Columbus Crew. It was the first competitive game Davies had been part of since that fateful day in October 2009, and it could not have gone much better. DC were already enjoying a good start to the game when fellow newcomer Josh Wolff opened the scoring. Chris Pontius was felled in the box in the second half, resulting in a DC penalty. The ball was placed on the spot by Charlie Davies, who had only been on the ...