Category: Soccer America Confidential

So Colin Clarke has taken the fall for his team being upset not once, but twice, in the MLS conference semifinals by Colorado despite being the higher-seeded team. Did he deserve it? Well, the blame for a disappointing performance always falls in the same direction, and for losing twice in the playoffs with a chance […]

At this point, about all that’s known about the 2007 MLS season is that it will consist of 13 teams. After that, who knows? Some decisions may be announced next week, when the league’s Board of Governors meets at MLS Cup, but several thorny issues need to be finalized. A single-table, ballyhooed by strident cyber-experts […]

As MLS Cup 2006 approaches, coaches and general managers are receiving updates and information regarding procedures for an expansion draft to be held Nov. 17, the Friday after the championship game. Several directives have gone out and plans are still being formulated. A few points of note regarding procedures in the current version: Teams can […]

Much ado has been made of the apparent handball by which Carlos Ruiz controlled a pass before scoring the first goal in FC Dallas’s 2-1 playoff win over Colorado, yet a similar play earlier in the match hasn’t received nearly as much attention. On that occasion, Thiago Martins appeared to settle a ball with his […]

The most successful coach this season for the moribund Red Bulls? Easy. Richie Williams, in a landslide. As the interim coach after replacing Mo Johnston (2-3-7) in late June, Williams went 3-3-2, and all of those losses were road games. Bruce Arena is getting props for guiding RBNY into the postseason, but if anything, his […]

Two critical refereeing decisions went against Colorado in its 3-1 loss to New England Sept. 30, yet in both cases, the right call was made. Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo complained when a penalty kick was called after defender Aitor Karanka, attempting to clear a ball, kicked Jay Heaps in the face as Heaps headed a […]

Foreign players vying for a work permit in England can be denied by a single vote or a single game. In the former case, Tottenham Hotspur’s appeal on behalf of U.S. midfielder Bobby Convey resulted in a split 3-3 vote by the six-man panel of executives, coaches and former players who decide such things. In […]

Ever since Red Bull took over the train wreck formerly known as the MetroStars, full-blown jersey sponsorship league-wide was only a matter of time. Contingent upon the deal being approved by the board of governors was permission for “Red Bull” to be prominently displayed on the front of the jersey, as is common throughout the […]

The league is being called to task once again for its attendance figures and this time, the evidence is unquestioned. San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Mark Zeigler’s story appears in Wednesday’s edition of the newspaper. Confirmed by sources and backed by an MLS internal document, it tells a tale of grossly inflated crowd figures. The league […]

Any business leader or entrepreneur knows the dangers of “hidden costs,” those troublesome expenses, sometimes unforeseen, that can doom the most promising startup. MLS fans, perhaps perplexed at why operator-investors are sinking their money into facilities and not players, are mostly unaware of what might be called the “hidden revenues” that come with running your […]

One play doesn’t make a team, or a season, or a player’s reputation. Yet by pulling a ball back and, perhaps inadvertently, setting up the only goal of CD Chivas USA’s 1-0 win over FC Dallas Wednesday night at Pizza Hut Park, rookie Jonathan Bornstein in many ways encapsulated what he, and his team, is […]

Can it be? Have MLS regular-season games truly taken on an aura of urgency and intensity? No question. Last week’s Real Salt Lake-Colorado tussle, despite being played on football markings, had scraps and scrapes long before Rapids players taunted opposing fans so vividly RSL supreme Dave Checketts complained to the league office and issued an […]

For the past two years the Confidential has steadfastly reiterated that the Kansas City Wizards were most likely staying put, and not headed for Rochester, or Philadelphia, or Houston, or Seattle. Confirmation came Thursday with the announcement that OnGoal LLC, a consortium led by Cerner Corporation CEO Neal Patterson and vice chairman Cliff Illig, has […]

Furious was Dominic Kinnear, and justifiably so, after referee Alex Prus ignored a stoppage-time body-block by CD Chivas USA defender Jason Hernandez that thwarted a mazy dribble by Dwayne De Rosario as Houston pressed desperately for an equalizer Sunday at Home Depot Center. DeRosario jumped just as Hernandez closed in and thus the collision wasn’t […]

This is the third season Major League Soccer has operated under a FIFA-mandated transfer window and still confusion persists. The domestic window opened Aug. 15 and will close Sept. 15. The European window is open until the end of the month and moves can be made until then. Many outlets reporting transfer deals have confused […]

MLS is often ridiculed for a liberal allotment of playoff places which strips away the pressure, importance and intensity of many regular season games. In this World Cup year, such has been the case much of the time. Yet the All-Star break, rather than splitting the season more or less in half as is the […]

As of Sunday night, only fans in the Washington, D.C. area were going to see a telecast of United’s match against Real Madrid in Seattle on Wednesday on regular television. And that would have been a shame. A friendly it may be, but this game should be seen. And it will be. The match was […]

Competitive league play is the working class of professional team sports, yet perhaps only in soccer can a gussied-up exhibition be gritty as well as glamorous. And when having a good time gets in the way of league play, questions must be asked. So it proved to be last weekend, as MLS and its marketing […]

Jimmy Conrad doesn’t think beating Chelsea will escalate the image of American soccer one iota outside America. And careth he doesn’t. He’d like to impress a certain segment of fans at home. “More than anything, it’s about winning over the American fan who’s the World Cup fan,” said Conrad, who mixed it up a few […]

Blowout or barnburner? The 2006 All-Star Game scheduled for Saturday (6:30 pm ET on ESPN) at the sparkling new Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., could go either way. Both Chelsea and the MLS Al-Stars are shorthanded and shortchanged in different ways. Chelsea is barely a week into its preseason training, the perpetually disgruntled William Gallas […]

Colorado midfielder Pablo Mastroeni may have to wait until mid-September to find out if Italian Serie B club Brescia is his next destination. MLS officials have refused Brescia’s initial offer of a loan deal and no movement is likely until after the start of the Italian season, which has been pushed back two weeks in […]

The improbable run of USASA team Roma FC continues tonight when the Dallas-based amateur team meets the defending MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy in the U.S. Open Cup. According to assistant coach John Calandro, whose son John – fresh out of high school – is the youngest member of the team, Roma’s run has cost […]

An attempt to acquire Colorado Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni has, at least for now, been quashed by MLS. Italian Serie B club Brescia has inquired about taking Mastroeni on loan for the upcoming season, but Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo says the terms, as he understands them, are unacceptable. “The deal, as it is now, makes […]

“No-Brainer.” That’s how former U.S. international John Harkes describes his decision to leave the D.C. United Director of Youth Development post to take an assistant coaching position with Red Bull New York. The specifics of his role under Head Coach Bruce Arena have yet to be finalized, yet he’s looking forward to working with former […]

Striker Jean-Philippe Peguero, held out of last week’s MLS action due to an impending move to Danish club Broendby, was in Copenhagen Tuesday to undergo a medical exam and finalize personal terms. The league has agreed to an undisclosed transfer fee. Peguero, 24, has two option years left on his MLS contract. His salary for […]