7Dec/140
MLS Cup Finals 2014: Galaxy vs. Revolution Date, Time, Live Stream and TV Info
The LA Galaxy and New England Revolution will meet on Sunday at the StubHub Center in Carson, California for the 2014 MLS Cup, the final match which will determine the 2014 Major League champions. The hosts will be appearing in their ninth Cup final, winning four so far, while the Revs are winless in four tries. Both teams narrowly qualified for Sunday's showpiece after winning their conference semi-finals, and with little to separate them on paper, this year's final should be a close affair. Landon Donovan's last match in the MLS has dominated headlines all week, as America's most decorated player in the sport's history will have a chance to give his career the kind of Hollywood-ending it deserves. Date: Sunday, Dec. 7 Time: 3 p.m. ET/8 p.m. GMT Venue: StubHub Center, Carson (Home of the Galaxy) TV info and live stream: The match will be broadcast on ESPN and UniMas (for U.S. viewers), with mobile coverage available via WatchESPN. Preview To say people are excited about the 19th edition of the MLS Cup final would be an understatement—ESPN FC's Taylor Twellman and Goal's Ives Galarcep have been talking about the match all week: The level of excitement is understandable, of course. The amount of storylines surrounding this match ...6Dec/140
MLS Cup Final 2014: TV Schedule and Predictions for Galaxy vs. Revolution
The Los Angeles Galaxy will be at the center of the American soccer universe on Sunday, as perhaps the most iconic player in U.S. soccer plays out his swan song in the 2014 MLS Cup final.Landon Donovan—the all-time leading scorer in the history of both MLS and the U.S. national team—will walk out onto the pitch at StubHub Center in Los Angeles for the last time as a player. Having already played his last game for the Stars and Stripes, the MLS Cup final serves as an opportunity for the player whose career is most associated with the growth of soccer in the United States to go out on top with another MLS championship. Standing in his way are the New England Revolution, an athletic, hardworking team spearheaded by insatiable midfielder Jermaine Jones—a fixture on the U.S. national team—and Lee Nguyen, an attacking midfielder wrapping up a career year with his club. The Revolution clinched a berth in the final with a 4-3 aggregate win over Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bulls. It is their first trip to the Cup final since 2007.The Galaxy defeated the Supporters Shield-winning Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference finals on away goals (2-2 aggregate). It's ...5Dec/140
LA Galaxy vs. New England: Breaking Down Every Positional Battle in MLS Cup
After nine months of play in Major League Soccer, a champion will be crowned at the StubHub Center Sunday, when the LA Galaxy host the New England Revolution in the 2014 MLS Cup final. Both teams finished second in their respective conferences during the regular season. But throughout the postseason, they have both proved they are the best representatives for the Eastern and Western Conferences. This will be the third time the two franchises have met in the MLS Cup final. LA won both the 2002 and 2005 finals by a 1-0 score in extra time. To get you prepared for this championship clash, we have put together a comprehensive position-by-position breakdown to determine who has the better side heading into the final.Begin Slideshow5Dec/140
LA Galaxy vs. New England Revolution: Key Issues That Will Shape MLS Cup Final
The 2014 MLS Cup final will be played this Sunday. The LA Galaxy and New England Revolution will battle for the title at the StubHub Center, where the Revs were crushed 5-1 by the Galaxy in July. However, the Revolution won eight of its final 10 matches in the regular season after Jermaine Jones joined the club in August, but the Galaxy is no slouch and will be a fearsome force against the Revs on Sunday. Here are the key issues that will shape the MLS Cup final between the Galaxy and the Revolution.Begin Slideshow5Dec/140
Seattle Sounders Striker Obafemi Martins Wins MLS Goal of the Season
Seattle Sounders striker Obafemi Martins missed out on the MLS MVP award to LA Galaxy's Robbie Keane, but he has found some consolation by taking Goal Of The Year honours. Over 50 percent of online voters selected Martins' lob against the San Jose Earthquakes back in May, as the season's best goal. Martins showed great vision to lob home from what appeared to be an impossible angle to score the only goal of the game. The face of San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch said it all! [YouTube: Seattle Sounders FC]Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com5Dec/140
Play of Each Team’s Defense Will Be Biggest X-Factor in the MLS Cup Final
Plenty of the talk surrounding the 2014 MLS Cup Final has been about the brilliant attacking play of the LA Galaxy and New England Revolution during the postseason. We can gush over the play of Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane, Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones all we want, but when a champion is crowned Sunday at StubHub Center, the true star of the game will be a defender. During the terrific postseason runs put together by both sides, they have needed their respective defenses to put in star showings to earn a chance to hoist a trophy this season. LA's back four have been more visible during the postseason because they have conceded on just two occasions. Before the 2-1 defeat to Seattle in the second leg of the Western Conference Final, the Galaxy had not conceded in the playoffs. The LA defense succeeded thanks to a personnel change made by manager Bruce Arena before the 5-0 blowout win over Real Salt Lake in the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinal. In the big home victory, Arena utilized A.J. DeLaGarza at right-back instead of his normal center-back alignment next to Omar Gonzalez. The switch reaped its rewards in just 10 minutes, as DeLaGarza earned an ...4Dec/140
Donovan Can Go Out on High with MLS Cup Following Turbulent Final Season
Landon Donovan's final Major League Soccer season began badly. Stumped on 134 career goals, which had him level with all-time leading goalscorer Jeff Cunningham, he failed to find the net in each of his first seven matches for Los Angeles Galaxy. It was a dry spell that no doubt contributed to his omission from his country's World Cup squad and, given Jurgen Klinsmann's displeasure with his 2012 sabbatical, likely served to reinforce a decision the United States manager had long wanted to make. Donovan was understandably devastated. "I was looking forward to playing in Brazil," he remarked in a Facebook post. "I am very disappointed with today's decision." The following Sunday—with a point to prove—the 32-year-old delivered one of the more memorable performances of an unforgettable career. In the second minute against Philadelphia Union, his free-kick from distance was headed into goal by teammate Leonardo. Then, shortly after the restart, he stabbed Robbie Keane's cutback past goalkeeper Zac MacMath to finally surpass Cunningham. With his hands in the air as he let out an almighty yell, he ran a few yards in celebration before collapsing to the pitch in relief. It was, indeed, more relief than joy—and in the 81st minute, he bagged a second goal for good ...3Dec/140
Robbie Keane Wins 2014 MLS MVP: Voting Results, Comments and Reaction
Major League Soccer named Los Angeles Galaxy forward Robbie Keane its MVP for the 2014 season on Wednesday, ending a whirlwind campaign for the 34-year-old Irishman that ranks among the best of his storied career.Keane scored 19 goals and had 14 assists, both highs for his MLS career, en route to leading the Galaxy to the MLS Cup. Los Angeles will play the New England Revolution on Sunday as it attempts to win its third Cup in the last four years. Keane, a longtime Irish national who spent most of his prime in the English Premier League, bested Revolution midfielder Lee Nguyen and Seattle Sounders forward Obafemi Martins. New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips finished fourth. Keane's weighted point total (88.69) gave him a significant advantage over second-place Martins (63.22) and Nguyen (57.54), per the MLS release. MLS uses a three-tiered voting system, with media, club and player votes all playing a factor. Keane is the first Galaxy player to win the MVP since teammate Landon Donovan in 2009 and third overall (Carlos Ruiz, 2002). Donovan, Keane and defender Omar Gonzalez were one of three Galaxy members to be voted to this year's MLS Best XI, which honors the league's top 11 players.A prolific scorer throughout his time in ...3Dec/140
David Beckham Warned over Miami MLS Progress by Don Garber
David Beckham has been warned that he needs to make quick progress with his Miami-based MLS franchise by Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber. Garber has voiced his opinion on the creation of Beckham's franchise after two plans for a prospective new stadium were rejected this year, per BBC Sport. The supremo has said time is not infinite for the former England captain, stating "this can't go on forever" in terms of the Miami franchise entering MLS. Nevertheless, he acknowledged Beckham's ongoing effort is evident: "The Beckham group continues to work to try and find a stadium solution that they believe will put them in a position to succeed." Sports journalist Simon Evans also highlighted Garber's opinion, with matters looking bleak for Beckham and his associates: Garber confirmed that MLS is operating under huge losses, with franchises posting a combined loss of $100 million a year. But the plan is to expand the competition to 20 teams in 2015—which will include Manchester City's venture with their New York City side, fronted by new signing Frank Lampard among others. Beckham had previously planned to build a stadium on a city waterfront location, per BBC, only to have his applications turned down twice by the City of Miami, which deemed ...2Dec/140