[MLS] Players on loan are usually forbidden to play against the clubs that have loaned them out, but for the annual USA-Brazil Challenge between FC Dallas and Clube Atletico Paranaense an exception was made.
[MLS] It’s preseason, yes, but what’s going on with the Houston defense? Gamba Osaka lit up the Dynamo with a 6-1 thumping in the Pan Pacific Championship final a week and a half ago; on Wednesday, the first day of play in the Texas Pro Soccer Festival, Houston conceded three while beating Toronto FC, 4-3.
Nowhere, it seems, can MLS teams in preseason training escape the specter of bad fields. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney explains.
[MLS] Once FC Dallas had traded striker Carlos Ruiz to Los Angeles, speculation began regarding who would pick up the scoring slack. Coach Steve Morrow is still negotiating the acquisition of Chilean forward Reinaldo Navia. Forwards Ricardinho, Dominic Oduro, Kenny Cooper and Abe Thompson are vying for playing time; Roberto Mina, unable to reach agreement on a new contract, is not. On Tuesday, FC Dallas got goals from an unlikely source. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney explains.
Major League Soccer may never set up shop in San Antonio, but for the next week, four league teams will spread the word while training and playing a round-robin mini-tournament that suits their various preseason needs.
[MLS WAIVER DRAFT] Only three players were claimed in the MLS waiver draft Tuesday, but at least a few more of the players placed on waivers may find their way onto rosters.
[MLS] Compliance day has come and gone. What is the aftermath, if any, will be known Tuesday, after MLS conducts a waiver draft at 3 p.m. ET. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney explains the significance.
[MLS] New England ran its warm-weather record to 3-0 Monday by beating Pioneros de Cancun 4-1 with two goals by Khano Smith and one apiece from Taylor Twellman and Kenny Mansally.
[MLS] The Los Angeles Galaxy shipped one of the two Canadians on its roster to Toronto FC Friday as it trims down its roster to the 18-man limit mandated by MLS. All teams must be roster and salary-cap complaint by the end of business Monday.
[MLS] FC Dallas is in Brazil, but forward Roberto Mina is not.
Ridge Mahoney examines the Galaxy’s rebuilding
Growing pains and preseason glitches do not a smooth transition make, but they do make for intriguing television. One sidelight to the Los Angeles Galaxy’s well-hyped Hawaiian-Asian preseason tour is every game is being televised, so the ebbs and flows, and warts and glitches, of a dysfunctional team under a new head coach are there to seen. And dissected. And debated. And analyzed ad infinitum.
Five-time MLS champion relishes opportunity to have impact at all levels of the organization.
Their titles range from president to technical director to general manager, and their duties and responsibilities differ greatly, but former players are rapidly filling MLS front-office positions.
For MLS coaches, like the rest of us, much of life is one deadline after another. Next up is the date by which teams must be complaint with the salary cap, precise figure unknown, and the limits for the regular (18 players) and full (28) roster limits.
[MLS] While several MLS rivals scramble to sign pricey foreign strikers, the defending champion Houston Dynamo – whose needs in that position may be more pressing – are sticking to a low-key approach. Franco Caraccio, 21, has experience with Argentina’s under-20 team but has played only three professional seasons for Arsenal de Sarandi.
[MLS] Make no mistake, no matter how much better RSL 2008 is compared to the 2007 version, it will be tougher. And more experienced. Defender Nat Borchers, midfielder Dema Kovalenko and Colombian defender Jamilson Olave are just a few examples of the players added by Coach Jason Kreis and general manager Garth Lagerwey to upgrade guile as well as tenacity.
[MLS] The league is adding two heavy-hitters to its lineup of operator-investors and in one case, the pun is intended. Houston Dynamo president and general manager Oliver Luck is meeting the media Tuesday to officially announce a partnership by which two companies will purchase 50 percent of the team. Boxer Oscar De La Hoya and his company, Golden Boy Productions, and one of its shareholders, Brener International Group, LLC, are joining MLS.
[PAN PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIP] An Aloha Stadium less than half-full seemed less than ideal for a rather remarkable final day of play of the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship Saturday. Brazilian striker Bare embarrassed MLS champion Houston – which featured the league’s stingiest defense last year — by scoring four goals as Japanese club Gamba Osaka crushed the Dynamo, 6-1, in the PPC final. The Galaxy and David Beckham had a better day in the third-place game.
[MLS WATCH] Midfielder Christian Gomez got his first taste of the Rocky Mountain Cup rivalry since being traded to the Rapids by D.C. United; he played the last 30 minutes of a 2-2 tie in Lauderhill, Fla. on Friday.
[MLS WATCH] Don Garber is about to get his wish. Oliver Luck is hopeful. Kevin Payne is probably as confused as the rest of us. That’s how the stadium game goes in MLS. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney explains.
[MLS] It only took a few preseason games for Polish striker Tomasz Frankowski to land an MLS contract, giving the Fire what it lacked last season: a box striker capable of consistently putting away chances. That’s the theory, anyway.
Ridge Mahoney examines the Pan-Pacific Championship
For a tournament set in a fabulous Hawaiian setting, there’s much of the Pan Pacific Championship that’s not to like.
[PAN-PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIP] Many of the players will be rusty but each team has its own motivation. The Houston Dynamo is two-time defending league champion; the Los Angeles Galaxy has missed the playoffs both of those years. Gamba Osaka, like Houston, will play in a regional club competition next month; Sydney FC thumped the Galaxy, 5-3, in a friendly a few months ago that featured a classic Beckham goal from a free kick, and now gets a chance to take on the American champ. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney sizes up the field.
[MLS WATCH] Not many Latino players have flourished in New England since Steve Nicol took over as head coach six years ago, yet he’s always been on the lookout for the right player to fit into his system. A scouting trip he took last month to Central America has yielded one new player.
The new San Jose Earthquakes played a pair of games against defending champ Houston, the team created out of the old Quakes. Toronto is getting goals from its young star of 2007, while the Red Bulls’ new Colombian saw action against Swedish club Hammarby. Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney examines MLS preseason developments and looks at more possible foreign siginings.
