Author Archives: Ridge Mahoney

[MLS] In the penultimate game of its Argentine tour New York Tuesday traded second-half goals with Argentinos Juniors in a 1-1 tie.

MLS has released a statement that by mutual consent, MLS and prospective operator-investor Marcelo Claure have agreed to terminate Miami’s application to field an expansion team in 2010. The withdrawal of Miami leaves four possible expansion candidates, should MLS stick to its timetable and announce the two 2011 teams in the next few weeks.

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] One team had the polish and poise to turn opportunities into goals while blotting out its opponent at critical moments, and the other team didn’t. Atlante downed Houston, 3-0, Tuesday in the second leg of their Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal to win the series, 4-1, on aggregate while eliminating the last MLS team alive in the competition.

[MLS] In his first MLS preseason as head coach, Schellas Hyndman is learning some vital lessons of the pro game. Among them is a reminder that each year is whole new ballgame.

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Seldom in its four seasons of play has the Houston Dynamo shown any reluctance to attack, but like any team, it has struggled through periods of slack finishing. That won’t be an option if it wants to prevail in the quarterfinal, second leg with Mexico’s Atlante in Cancun on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel, Telefutura).

[MLS] Not to get too giddy about what’s going on in Seattle, but right now, the sky – if not an imposed capacity for Qwest Field – seems to be the only limit. Sales for its inaugural game March 19 against New York have been cut off at slightly more than 32,400, and team management has also announced plans to increase the maximum capacity for regular-season games to 27,700.

[MLS] All teams were required to comply with the 2009 roster limit of 24 players and salary cap, believed to be $2.35 million this season, by Tuesday. Not all teams were required to make moves, since teams are permitted to retain players on trial without restrictions. Here are the moves made by teams since Friday …

[MLS] With a guest player, one making his first appearance for the team, and another recently waived by an MLS rival, Seattle tied CED Rosario, 1-1, in a 70-minute game played in Buenos Aires Saturday.

[MLS PRESEASON] The Canadian and American representatives still alive in the Concacaf Champions’ League merged their schedules to play a testy, 70-minute preseason game on Saturday, with the MLS Houston Dynamo beating USL-1 Montreal, 3-2, before about 2,000 fans in Robertson Stadium.

[MLS PRESEASON] They aren’t likely to set any scoring records, but the Earthquakes – who netted a league-lowest 32 goals last year – are hitting the net consistently in preseason while retaining a solid defensive record.

[MLS] Last autumn, a month or two after Bruce Arena had replaced Ruud Gullit as Galaxy head coach, a colleague of mine talked about his recent trip to LA and predicted darkly of its fate.

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Four years after he left the Montreal Impact, Eduardo Sebrango paid back the team that brought him back.

[MLS] Chicago won the second of its two preseason games in Mexico, beating Morelia, 3-1, Tuesday with goals by Brian McBride, Austin Washington and Mike Banner.

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Many of the chances in a back-and-forth game came from the run of play, but a pair of set pieces produced the goals as Houston and Atlante tied, 1-1, in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions’ League quarterfinal series Tuesday in Texas in front of 10,203 fans.

[MLS] The economic realities of MLS preclude many of its teams from acquiring the modern version of a No. 10, one who can spark the attack yet also tend to defensive duties. FCD officials believe in David Ferreira it has a player as capable as one of its former stars, Oscar Pareja, who like Ferreira, is a native of Colombia.

[MLS] It has taken more than two years, but Toronto FC is steadily amassing much of the Canadian talent playing on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Another player from that mold, whose long-anticipated move brings him north after a long detour, made it official this week when defender Adrian Serioux went north from FC Dallas in exchange for TFC’s first-round pick in the 2010 SuperDraft pick and allocation money.

[CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] The Houston Dynamo’s record against Mexican teams is sprinkled with all manner of results but regardless of win, loss or tie, its players and coach welcome the competition. A rematch with Atlante is Houston’s quarterfinal assignment in the 2008-09 Concacaf Champions League, beginning with the first leg at Robertson Stadium Tuesday (10 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel, Galavision).

[MLS] The “dream team” may be headed for a divorce. An expansion application to place a team in Miami from legendary Spanish club Barcelona and Bolivian businessman Marcelo Claure has taken a rocky turn, according to press reports on both sides of the Atlantic.