Kobe Bryant of the Lakers Welcomes Steven Gerrard of the Galaxy to Los Angeles

Steven Gerrard has not arrived in Los Angeles yet, but he's already got a personal welcome from LA Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant."Welcome to La La Land," Kobe begins, before praising Gerrard's many skills on a football pitch and promising to come down to watch him play.Next time, Kobe will doubtless be inviting Stevie G and his family down to his house for tea and cake.[YouTube, LA Galaxy] Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

New York-Based MLS Clubs Need to Get Their Acts Together

As the calendar was preparing to flip over to 2015, fans of both New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls carried a ton of optimism about the new Major League Soccer season.  Eight days into the new year, all hell has broken loose at both clubs, which has caused the American soccer-viewing public to focus on both teams for all the wrong reasons.  Just before NYCFC fans began to ring in the new year, they were handed the news about Frank Lampard's extended stay at parent club Manchester City.  In the days following the official news about Lampard's playing status, many season-ticket holders were angered at the handling of the confusing mess regarding the English midfielder's actual contract status.  Just as tensions were beginning to subside a bit on the blue half of New York's soccer landscape, the red part of the fanbase received some heartbreaking news.  In the waning hours of Tuesday night, a report broke from Metro New York's Kristian Dyer about the job status of beloved manager Mike Petke. Less than 12 hours later, the Red Bulls confirmed the parting of ways between the club and the former defender.  Red Bulls fans felt the same amount of outrage over the managerial switch ...

Gerrard Capable of Big Marketing and Goal Push in MLS

Former Liverpool star Steven Gerrard is joining the MLS. He can be an effective player immediately with L.A. Galaxy. How will Gerrard impact the game in America?Watch Bleacher Report's Alex Dimond and Ryan Bailey discuss Steven Gerrard's ability to make a big marketing and goal-scoring push in the U.S. Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Jozy Altidore: Latest Updates on Sunderland Striker’s Possible MLS Return

Updates from Thursday, Jan. 8 The New York Red Bulls are not willing to spend the money to bring back Jozy Altidore to the club, according to Doug McIntyre of ESPN. McIntyre claims that Altidore is seeking an annual salary of around $5 million to $6 million. However, the pressing issue is the transfer fee, which definitely won't be cheap. Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney revealed that the club will try to sign the American international, per Kurtis Larson of the Toronto Sun. Meanwhile, Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson admitted that the club is monitoring Altidore, via Jamie Goldberg of The Oregonian. It appears as if TFC and the Timbers will be the front-runners to sign Altidore. Both ownership groups will be aggressive during the offseason after the two clubs failed to qualify for the 2014 playoffs.   Original Text Sunderland forward and U.S. international Jozy Altidore is interested in returning to MLS, per ESPN's Taylor Twellman: Twellman claims that three teams are keen on signing Altidore. Toronto FC, Portland Timbers and his old club—the New York Red Bulls—are the potential suitors. Altidore has yet to score in 11 Premier League appearances this season. He has just one league goal since joining Sunderland last year, via ESPN FC. However, the ...

Major League Soccer Welcome Steven Gerrard with Awful ‘Bae’ Tweet

Welcome to Major League Soccer, Steven Gerrard, and also perhaps the teenage slang that goes with it.  Gerrard's move to the Los Angeles Galaxy was completed on Wednesday, and Major League Soccer welcomed the Liverpool legend to the league with a tweet that would have old-school linguists up in arms.  But the kids will love it!  MLS celebrated the reunion of Gerrard with one-time Liverpool team-mate Robbie Keane (good) but did so with the use of #bae, slang for "baby" or "boo" (bad).  Heck, they're trying to ban the word!  [Major League Soccer]Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Steven Gerrard’s LA Galaxy Switch Shows MLS Still Boasts an Elite Allure

It's been confirmed that Steven Gerrard will move to the LA Galaxy this summer after agreeing to join the franchise as its third designated player. The Liverpool captain's deal at Anfield expires in June, and after already announcing that the 2014-15 campaign would be his last, the official LA Galaxy website posted footage of Gerrard talking about his move: I'm very excited to begin the next chapter of my career in the United States with LA Galaxy. The Galaxy are the most successful club in Major League Soccer history, and I am looking forward to competing for more championships in the years to come. My discussions with Bruce Arena (manager) and Chris Klein (president) were extremely positive, and the future of the team is very bright. I am committed to helping the LA Galaxy compete for trophies and to having an impact in Los Angeles, and I will give my all for the club. In the meantime, I will continue to give everything for Liverpool for the remainder of this season before joining up with the Galaxy. It's a move that shows Major League Soccer retains its ability to draw world-class players, but the issue at hand is that not enough of those stars are coming ...

Report: New York City FC Close to Signing USMNT’s Mix Diskerud

New York City FC appears to have moved on from the Frank Lampard debacle. According to Ives Galarcep of Goal.com, NYCFC is closing in on the signing of U.S. international Mix Diskerud. Diskerud is out of contract after talks broke down between him and Norwegian club Rosenborg, per Sports Illustrated. The USMNT member was being courted by Xolos Tijuana in Mexico, per MLSSoccer.com, and the Columbus Crew, via Ryan Rosenblatt of SB Nation. STV claimed that even Scottish side Celtic was interested in Diskerud. However, none of those deals came to fruition, which meant Diskerud was still available on a free transfer. Now it appears as if one of MLS' newest teams is set to sign the Norwegian-born American international. NYCFC holds the top spot in the allocation ranking, so if Diskerud were to join the league, he'd go through that process due to the fact that he's a national team player. It's still unknown whether Diskerud would be signed as a designated player. NYCFC has used two of its three spots on Lampard and striker David Villa. If NYCFC agrees to a deal with Diskerud, it would be a great acquisition. The 24-year-old can complement the defensive qualities of Ned Grabavoy in midfield.  Diskerud is a ...

New York Red Bulls Fire Head Coach Mike Petke

The New York Red Bulls have confirmed that they've parted ways with head coach Mike Petke, per the team's official website. Assistant Robin Fraser has also been removed from the technical staff page of the club's site.  Dave Martinez of Empire of Soccer claims that the Red Bulls are lining up Jesse Marsch as the new coach. Marsch's last job was with the Montreal Impact in the club's first season in MLS. The always reliable Taylor Twellman has since confirmed Martinez's report:   Original Text The New York Red Bulls have fired head coach Mike Petke, per Kristian Dyer of Metro New York: According to Dyer, sporting director Ali Curtis sacked Petke after a meeting at Red Bull Arena. Goal.com's Ives Galarcep believes that the club's reasoning was due to a disagreement between management and the coach: Regardless, the move still comes as a surprise. Petke claimed the Supporters' Shield in 2013, which is the only trophy the club has won since the rebrand. He also helped guide the Red Bulls to the Eastern Conference finals this year. They lost to the New England Revolution 4-3 on aggregate.  There's also a rumor involving one of Petke's assistants, Robin Fraser, departing New York for Toronto FC, which was also reported by ...

Are LA Galaxy and MLS the Right Move for Steven Gerrard After Liverpool?

Steven Gerrard has confirmed he will join LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer after he leaves Liverpool in the summer. The 34-year-old, who last week announced his departure from Anfield, will link up with Bruce Arena's team in July after the end of the current Premier League campaign. Arena is quoted by Sky Sports from an interview with the LA Times as saying: Steven Gerrard arrives in July and by then we will certainly have a plan available. He's a player of quality. I'm not concerned about how he's going to fit in with our team. We have a club now with a proven history of success. All those things go hand in hand in making LA Galaxy a very attractive team for players such as Steven Gerrard. Gerrard is following a familiar path for Premier League players. David Beckham starred for the Galaxy, while Robbie Keane is the club's main striker. But is the Liverpool midfielder making the right move?Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Steven Gerrard to Los Angeles Galaxy: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Steven Gerrard will join the Los Angeles Galaxy in July, the team announced on Wednesday. The 34-year-old Liverpool captain will be brought on as a Designated Player during Major League Soccer's summer transfer window. Terms of the deal were not made public, as is league and club policy. Per the Galaxy's announcement, Gerrard said: I’m very excited to begin the next chapter of my career in the United States with LA Galaxy. The Galaxy are the most successful club in Major League Soccer history and I am looking forward to competing for more championships in the years to come. My discussions with Bruce Arena and Chris Klein were extremely positive and the future of the team is very bright. I am committed to helping the LA Galaxy compete for trophies and to having an impact in Los Angeles and I will give my all for the club. In the meantime, I will continue to give everything for Liverpool for the remainder of this season before joining up with the Galaxy. Bruce Arena, manager of the MLS side, first announced the deal in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, where he confirmed Gerrard's arrival will coincide with the expiration of his Liverpool contract: We have a club ...