Category: Soccer America Confidential

For a few weeks, at least, Bayern Munich and MLS have been discussing what might be done with Landon Donovan: a short-term loan, a longer-term loan, an outright transfer, a transfer with a loan-back clause, etc.

If recent trends are any indication, AC Milan had best cash its investment on David Beckham as soon as he arrives. And MLS must ponder if keeping him beyond 2009 makes sense.

Putting the MLS Reserve Division out of its misery, unfortunately, is the merciful, and sensible, thing to do with the league also cutting down on roster spots for developmental players.

Having won its first MLS championship, now comes the hard part for the Columbus Crew. Tough as it is getting to the top — remember this is a team that won the Supporters’ Shield in 2004 before fizzling in the playoffs and hadn’t been back to the postseason since – any coach and any player in any sport will tell you staying up there is a true test of championship mettle.

The big game – MLS Cup 2008 – is Sunday, but the big meeting is Friday and the big draw is set for Saturday. On Friday, the MLS Board of Governors will vote on many competition and scheduling issues for the 2009 season, and late in the afternoon Commissioner Don Garber will make many of those decisions public. On Saturday is the draw for the final round of Concacaf World Cup 2010 qualifying – the Hexagonal – in Johannesburg, South Africa.

I have to say, right now I am most envious of Salt Lake City’s fans.

Like many leagues around the world, MLS teams largely depend on foreign players to provide that touch of magic, that gift of craft, that moment of flair by which the game, or in some cases the season, is decided.

For all its proclamations about parity, MLS playoffs haven’t been rife with diversity come showdown time.

Nobody in the MLS offices will admit it, but smallish crowds in the conference semifinals first legs are simply pawns in a grand plan.

The best format for the MLS playoffs isn’t yet feasible, simply because not every team has its own stadium, and to truly reward the best regular-season teams, the entire format would have to be reworked.

The half-dozen teams shut out of the MLS postseason party are sorting out where they went wrong, and as they observe the elite eight that are still playing, each of them should be taking notes.

What is momentum, or Big Mo, as proponents of sports, both team and individual, sometimes like to call it?

If David Beckham goes to AC Milan on loan, Bruce Arena will have failed his first major test as Galaxy impresario.

I, too, am astonished at the 10-game suspensions handed down by MLS upon positive tests coming back for androstatriendione on samples provided by Red Bull players Jon Conway and Jeff Parke.

Buried amidst the furor over the MLS expansion bids submitted, and those that were not, prior to the Tuesday deadline is some clever wording regarding when the next phase of expansion will take place.

For two straight weeks in games officiated by two different referees, two hotly disputed penalty-kick decisions at Pizza Hut Park have gone in favor of FC Dallas.

Of the six MLS matches to be played this weekend, the head-to-head Western Conference matchups offer the most intrigue.

A while ago, Kansas City coach Curt Onalfo confidently stated his team could and would pick up the points needed to reach the playoffs because of a run of home matches at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

The 2008 MLS season is far from over, yet Commissioner Don Garber has already begun lobbying for 2009 to be the Year of the Conflict. Next weekend numerous MLS teams will be again be deprived of players called up to play for their national teams in World Cup qualifiers, and league executives will again jab, duck and parry the inevitable criticisms of teams stripped of important players as the playoff chase intensifies. That’s just a warmup for next year.

At the MLS All-Star Game in Toronto two months ago, the fate of Jeff Cunningham sparked much banter on the sidelines and in the press box.

Every year, the critics of Division I men’s college soccer circle and swoop, citing the short schedule, limited budgets and liberal substitution rules as impossible impediments to attaining a professional career.

History is strongly against it, yet on stats and influence, this is the first season Landon Donovan truly deserves to win the MVP award.

Pardon me if I can’t get excited over Ottawa’s bid to join MLS. And it’s nothing against Canada, for if I had the power and all the pieces fell into place, I’d go with Vancouver along with Portland in the next round.

The scintillating form of Guillermo Barros Schelotto the past two months has vaulted the Crew midfielder into the rarified air of those serious MVP candidates, yet with him likely to sit out this week’s game against Toronto FC at BMO Field, his coach and his teammates get a rare chance to show what they can do without him.

For the past decade, any time MLS officials made remarks about altering the regular-season schedule to accommodate international competitions, coaches and general managers knew it was time to reach for their collection of rock music, flip to the Led Zeppelin stack, and pull out, “The Song Remains the Same.”