Monthly Archives: January 1995

As expected, Colombian star Carlos Valderrama has been allocated to the Tampa Bay Mutiny by MLS. Valderrama, the 1987 and 1993 South American Player of the Year, is the first player signed by the Mutiny. Other players rumored to possibly be headed to the Florida team are Valderrama’s long-time Colombian teammate, Leonel Alvarez, and U.S. […]

Colombian Leonel Alvarez has signed to play in Major League Soccer, joining longtime midfield partner Carlos Valderrama in the first-year U.S. league. The hard-working midfielder was one of 15 players signed by MLS on the eve of its first Player Combine, scheduled to begin Jan. 5 in Irvine, Calif. Alvarez, who currently plays for Colombian […]

MLS coaches and general managers will be looking at more than 200 players at its inaugural Player Combine Jan. 5-15 at UC Irvine in Irvine, Calif. They will be on hand to evaluate talent for the league’s player draft, tentatively set for Feb. 6-7 in New York. Players will be split into two groups, taking […]

The New York/New Jersey MetroStars have named Old Dominion head coach Ralph Perez as its assistant. Perez, who will serve under Eddie Firmani, spent the last six years with the Monarchs. He worked as an assistant coach on the 1990 U.S. World Cup team. Perez, 44, was born in the Bronx and raised in Brentwood, […]

Major League Soccer will conduct its first Player Draft Feb. 6-7 in the Astor Room at the Inter-Continental Hotel (111 E. 48th Street) in New York. The draft will start at 1:00 pm ET Feb. 16. The teams will pick players signed by MLS over 16 rounds. By draft day, MLS hopes to have about […]

As expected, U.S. national team star Eric Wynalda has been allocated by MLS to the San Jose Clash. Wynalda, who has spent the last four years in Germany with Saarbruecken and Bochum, became the all-time U.S. national team leading scorer with 22 goals when he scored a tournament-high four goals at the Gold Cup. Wynalda, […]

The following are additional players who attended the MLS Player Combine in Irvine, Calif., after the release of the preliminary list of participants: Week 1 Ted Chronopoulos (D, Loma Linda, Claif.), Michael Collins (M, Hicksville, N.Y.), Alejandro Escalante (D, Bolivia), Said Fazlagic (D, Bosnia-Herzegovina), Charley Marshall (M, La Jolla, Calif.), Jimmy Obleda (F, Orange, Calif.), […]

Major League Soccer announced the following rosters of players participating at its first player combine for a pair of matches against the U.S. under-23 team Jan. 10 in Irvine, Calif. Game 1 Roster Goalies — Jim Adams, Victor Nogueira, Pat Harrington. Defenders — Erik Imler, Matt Knowles, Jim McGeough, Ed Puskarich, Tom Soehn. Midfielders — […]

MLS has allocated three more players headlined by Bolivian star Marco Etcheverry, who, as expected, will play for D.C. United. Former Indiana midfielder Brian Maisonneuve goes to the Columbus Crew while Zimbabwean striker Vitalis “Digital” Takawira will don a Kansas City Wiz uniform. Etcheverry, nicknamed “El Diablo” for his colorful style and aggressive play, comes […]

T Dates: Feb. 6-7 Site: Intercontinental Hotel, New York. Format: Conference call. Sixteen rounds, eight on each day. Drafting order:Draw held shortly before the draft. Based on allocations, each team will be “weighted,” as is done in the NBA lottery. The team judged strongest in allocations will receive the lowest chance of selected first. Local […]

MLS seeks managed growth Of the 30 or so journalists gathered Aug. 16 in the Cypress Room of the Century Park Hotel, four were Anglo. Of the three players on the dais, all were Hispanic. That’s the reality of launching Major League Soccer in Los Angeles. Yes, the big news was the announcement of Mexican […]

MLS coaches and general managers are preparing for grueling hours at the league player draft. As they sift and sort through the stacks of documents pertaining to the Major Soccer League draft, coaches and general managers will be most cognizant of the cap. Not cap as in international appearance, but the salary cap, which the […]

Soccer America presents its position-by-position look at the top prospects for the MLS’s first player draft, scheduled for Feb. 6-7 in New York. Factors to consider in ranking the players included a player’s ability and experience and where he fits within the salary cap. The rankings include all players who are expected to have signed […]

Despite an up-and-down season that has seen it record seven of its 12 wins via the shootout, the expansion Atlanta Ruckus has shown enough to please South African owner Johnny Imerman. Defensive lapses forced the team to play catch-up all night. Individual efforts kept the game close. The heat was stifling. An opponent’s shot rolled […]

Last year, the Seattle Sounders scored four goals in the semifinals, but they weren’t enough to avoid elimination. This year, one goal proved enough to lead the second-year team into the A-League finals. A goal by 37-year-old Gary Heale in the 80th minute gave Seattle a 1-0 win over Vancouver in the first game of […]

The following is the 1996 A-League schedule: April 27 — Seattle-Vancouver. May 10 — Rochester-New York. May 11 — Seattle-Colorado. May 17 — Atlanta-Montreal, Colorado-Seattle. May 18 — New York-Rochester. May 24 — Montreal-New York, Colorado-Atlanta. May 25 — Vancouver-Seattle. May 26 — New York-Atlanta. May 31 — Rochester-Seattle. June 1 — Atlanta-New York. June […]

* unconfirmed. Columbus PlayerCountryLast Club Brian BlisssUSACarl-Zeiss-Jena (Germany) Doctor KhumaloSouth AfricaKaiser Chiefs (South Africa) *Brian MaisonneuveUSAIndiana Univ. Adrian PazUruguayIpswich Town (England) Head coach: Timo Liekoski. Assistant coach: Tom Fitzgerald. New England PlayerCountryLast Club Mike BurnsUSAViborg (Denmark) Giuseppe GalderisiItalyPadova (Italy) Alexi LalasUSAPadova (Italy) Jim St. AndreUSANew York (A-League) Head coach: Frank Stapleton. Assistant coach: Ron McEachen. […]

Flurry of allocations before draft MLS announced several more allocations as the countdown to the draft continued, bringing the total number of players signed to 39. Each of the 10 MLS teams, except for Colorado, has now been assigned its full allotment of four allocated players. The Rapids will announce their fourth player Feb. 6 […]

TeamStart DateSite Los AngelesMarch 1Rose Bowl San JoseMarch 1San Jose State (South campus) ColoradoMarch 4Mile High Stadium DallasMarch 4Green Hill Academy MetroStarsMarch 5Giants Stadium bubble Tampa BayMarch 5Tampa Stadium Kansas City WizMarch 5UM-Kansas City ColumbusMarch 6Soccer First at SportsOhio New EnglandMarch 6Foxoboro Stadium bubble WashingtonMarch 8Del Mar (Calif.) Polo Grounds

1985 (Western Soccer Alliance formed) WSA final standings: San Jose 13 points; Seattle 10; Victoria 10; Portland 5. (San Jose wins title — no playoffs held) 1986 WSA final standings: Hollywood 28 points; Seattle 20; Portland 20; Los Angeles 17; San Diego 16; San Jose 13; Edmonton 12. (Hollywood wins title — no playoffs held) […]

Defender Steve Trittschuh’s steady play is a big reason the Montreal Impact won the A-League regular-season title and is favored to retain its championship trophy. The Montreal Impact clinched the A-League regular season title with a 3-2 victory in its final game against the New York Centaurs Sept. 11, climaxing a four-month long duel with […]

The Seattle Sounders picked up Dominic Kinnear and traded for Brian Haynes to reinforce their bid for the A-League Championship. Consider it some short-term pain for the good of some ultimate gain. The Seattle Sounders seeking to strengthen themselves for the A-League’s stretch run, acquired two national team players on the eve of the transaction […]

Despite a last-place finish in the standings (6-18) and at the gate (most games drew less than 1,000 fans), the A-League’s New York Centaurs plan on returning for a second year. At the Centaurs’ end-of-season dinner at owner Roger Gorevic’s Upper West Side apartment Sept. 14, most of the team’s players and staff were wondering […]

Address: One Harmon Plaza, 8th Floor, Seacaucus, NJ 07094. Telephone: (201) 531-2800. General Manager: Charlie Stillitano. Coach: to be announced. Players signed: Tab Ramos (USA).

Address: 2602 McKinney, Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75204. Telephone: (214) 979-0303. General Manager: Billy Hicks. Coach: David Dir. Players signed: Hugo Sanchez (Mexico).