MLS News
MLS News
Friday, 20 March 2009 16:39

Al parecer a Landon Donovan le da lo mismo los famosos “códigos” del futbol.

Cuando le preguntan algo, el gringo responde sin rodeos. Va de frente.

Y así lo comprobó Fox Sports en Español que (a menos de dos días del debut del LA Galaxy) se sentó a conversar con Donovan.

He aquí algunas de las preguntas y respuestas…

Sobre México

¿Qué opinas de la cobarde bofetada de un directivo azteca a Frankie Hedjuk captada por las cámaras y las faltas innecesarias y usuales de Rafael Márquez, así como los castigos impuestos a los mismos?

"Lo veo normal. Todos los partidos con ellos son así. Todos, no hay ninguno donde haya excepción… Siempre todo termina igual con ellos, especialmente cuando les ganamos", admitió Donovan.

"Es una rivalidad única y es por muchas razones que se calientan tanto esos enfrentamientos. Hemos estado en el quinto juego. Ellos no. Y últimamente no nos pueden ganar. Así está la ecuación", afirmó Donovan.

Sobre David Beckham

¿Acaso no te querías quedar más tiempo en Alemania como lo hizo Beckham en Italia?

"No, mi situación es muy distinta a la de David. Él (David) tiene sus motivos. Yo los míos. Yo estuve y quería participar más con el Bayern, pero no me quería quedar para siempre porque mi lugar está aquí, con mi equipo”.

"Yo sí quiero estar aquí, la diferencia con David es que él no quiere
estar con el Galaxy. Quiere jugar con Milán, no con nosotros," señaló fríamente y muy a su estilo, sin dejar de aceptar que "Sin duda con él, podemos ser y somos mejores. Pero eso depende cuando y si regresa."

¿Lo esperan con brazos abiertos?

"Si regresa y cuando regrese, si se acopla a la idea del grupo, claro. La idea es querer estar aquí en la MLS. El que no quiere estar aquí. Que no esté," agregó, con un tono tranquilo y seguro de lo que decía.

Sin rodeos.

Bien Donovan. Así me gusta.

Q: ¿Qué te parecen las declaraciones del “niño mimado” del fútbol estadounidense?

Source: Click Here

 
Sounders Sound Off in Seattle
MLS News
Friday, 20 March 2009 10:45

The opening game of the MLS on March 19, 2009 is one that will be written in the history books of American soccer. It pitted the newborn Sounders FC of Seattle, Washington against the New York Red Bulls in a David vs. Goliath Match at Qwest Stadium.

The game got off to a roaring start with both teams struggling for possession of the ball. In the end, the Sounders had control of the game, the field, and the ball. The team from Seattle surprised the world when Freddy Montero made his debut with a goal within the first few minutes of the game.

Montero kicked the ball directly into the net, surprising the New York Red Bulls goalkeeper. The ball landed in the right hand corner of the net. The spectators at Qwest Stadium were jumping for joy while a TV monitor showed Drew Carey celebrating.

Carey is the entertainer from Ohio who is a supporter of Sounders FC. He also owns a minor stake in the team, but the important thing is that history was made.

New York attempted an equalizer but were no match for the team. Montero engineered another surprise by helping Brad Evans score a second goal within the first half of the game.

The second half of this historical game left New York emotionally and physically drained. It appeared that they were playing if only to finish the game. Montero again scored another goal towards the end of the game and consolidated the victory of the newborn Sounders FC.

Freddy Montero and Sounders FC deserve all of the praise for this game that left a lot of memories.

Source: Click Here

 
Welcome to MLS, New York Red Bulls!
MLS News
Friday, 20 March 2009 09:17
Major League Soccer, the United States of America's FIFA sanctioned First Division Professional football league, opened it's 14th season in Seattle last night as the expansion New York team took on the Sounders.

Naturally, being a rookie side in their first-ever game, the Red Bulls looked a little shaky, particularly in the back, but defense is always the last thing to get worked out so NYRB's nascent fans will need to be patient with it. And of course Seattle was able to use their familiarity and experience to play the kind of possession game a veteran outfit like that is known for, while the Bulls, obviously a bit nervous on their debut, tried to play the over-the-top long ball game that is the hallmark of a team that's still in the process of finding itself. To tell the truth though, the match failed to grab me so I kept switching over to catch glimpses of Hell's Kitchen, where Gordon Ramsey—who either did or didn't play two games with Rangers a while back—was having the same kind of problems with his team that Juan Carlos Osorio was experiencing in Qwest Stadium.

So I'm a little confused as to whether it was Kevin Goldthwaite or Lacey the fat chick trying to cover Freddy Montero, but honestly I'm not sure it made much difference. Both of them move like they have Ford F150's strapped to their backs.

And why the blue team put Ben on the meat station is as inexplicable as why Osorio left Hall on the bench in favor of Boyens. Ramsey threw Ben out after the appropriate amount of hysterical shrieking and JCO did the same with Boyens (sans the hysterics) moving Mendes into the middle.

Unfortunately for both teams, it was 2-0 at around 34 minutes before the change was made, and it was already too late to salvage the Beef Wellingtons. Or the match.

Of course, Ramsey also needed to send J to the meat locker, sort of like Osorio needed to do with Goldthwaite, although Robert, the obscenely obese guy, is probably faster and certainly less prone to hacking.

In the end it was Freddy—or maybe Giovanni—who sauteed himself a big old batch of Bull, with a lovely raspberry reduction and a black truffle.

Source: Click Here

 
Seattle Sounds Out A Warning
MLS News
Friday, 20 March 2009 01:51

Seattle—the Emerald City based in the Pacific Northwest, famed for coffee, grunge music, Pike Place Market, and the Space Needle—could soon be adding to its list of attractions with the name of Seattle Sounders FC.

Granted, we are only 90 minutes into the new Major League Soccer season, but the statement of intent laid down by Sigi Schmid’s expansion team in their 3-0 destruction of New York Red Bulls, last season’s beaten MLS Cup finalists, could not have been any more emphatic.

Scoring goals is the hardest part of the game, and players who have been cobbled together for a first tilt at America’s top level habitually struggle in this department.

San Jose Earthquakes took until their sixth game last year to notch their third goal. Toronto waited until their ninth game in 2007 to achieve the feat.

Seattle required a mere 75 minutes.

The outstanding performer on opening night was Colombian international Fredy Montero. The 21-year-old forward claimed last year’s Golden Boot award in his home country while playing for Deportivo Cali. He started his loan spell in MLS in a similar vein, with two impressive strikes.

Montero is exactly the sort of player that this league should be trying to attract; a young, raw, developing talent, reared in the soccer hotbed of South America, who is desperate to become established at the professional level.

The 32,523 fans that created a euphonic sea of green inside Qwest Field this evening were certainly excited by his repertoire of skills.

The hosts’ first meaningful attack on 11 minutes resulted in Montero opening the scoring.

Three players combined to work the ball across the face of New York’s penalty area, before Frenchman Sébastien Le Toux found Montero alone near the right corner of the box. The youngster steadied himself before steering a low drive beyond Red Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero’s despairing dive.

Nate Jaqua had a chance to double the lead four minutes later, when he launched his rangy frame at Sanna Nyassi’s cross, but the former Houston Dynamo striker saw his flick drift agonisingly beyond Cepero’s far post.

With the excitable 52-member Sound Wave marching band, created at the behest of part-owner Drew Carey, setting the tempo in the stands, the Sounders continued their lively offensive spell and made it 2-0 on 25 minutes.

Montero received a throw-in on the left before angling a precise reverse pass into the path of the on-rushing Brad Evans.

The former Columbus midfielder burst into the penalty area undetected and drilled his low shot through the legs of the wretchedly exposed Cepero.

New York were now in disarray after looking the more composed outfit in the opening 10 minutes. Even during their promising start, the Red Bulls were stifled in the final third by the industry of Seattle’s midfield.

When the Sounders regained possession, they quickly piled three or four players into New York’s penalty area to leave the visitors’ back line overwhelmed.

Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio tried to stem the green tide by replacing the embattled Andrew Boyens with Jeremy Hall on 34 minutes.

Siniša Ubiparipovi?, Osorio's swamped defensive midfielder, lasted until half-time before making way for Danleigh Borman.

The pattern in the second half remained consistent, despite Osorio’s reorganising, as Seattle asphyxiated any attempted Red Bull charges. This particular brand of energy drinks supposedly gives its consumers wings, but it was the men from a city renowned for its coffee companies that appeared to be infused with a caffeine rush.

Londoner Steve Zakuani, the first pick in January’s Superdraft of college players, made his professional debut when he replaced the zestful Nyassi on 68 minutes. He almost scored with his first touch four minutes later.

Montero’s legerdemain saw him wriggle free from two New York players on the right flank before releasing Evans on the overlap. His low cross was deflected behind Zakuani, but the former Arsenal youth player still forced Cepero to make a smart save from his shot on the turn.

New York inflicted further damage upon themselves on 75 minutes when Mike Petke dwelled on the ball just inside his own half. Montero quickly seized upon the defender’s poor touch to steal possession and race clear on Cepero.

A confident shimmy by Montero sent the goalkeeper to ground before the Colombian cemented his Man of the Match display with a composed finish high into the top corner.

All that remained was for Schmid to withdraw his ace in injury time to allow the fervent home support to roar their appreciation. Even they could not have envisioned such an impressive start.

The pleasant surprise led to chants of “We’re so good it’s unbelievable,” as the referee brought proceedings to a close and fireworks lit up the night sky.

If this is the shape of things to come in MLS in 2009—with the addition of franchises in Philadelphia, Vancouver, and Portland in the next two years—then North American soccer fans are in for a real treat.

Source: Click Here

 
A Sound Start: Studs/Duds of Seattle-New York
MLS News
Thursday, 19 March 2009 23:40
Everything went off as planned in the stadium and off the field with the crowd and atmosphere easily part of the best MLS franchise debut I've ever seen. For Sigi Schmid, things on the pitch went pretty well too, but for Juan Carlos Osorio, it was a day to forget. It's going to be tough for RBNY supporters to chalk this loss up to new season jitters as some players looked downright bad out there. Will Kevin Goldthwaite bounce back if he has any desire to keep his spot after the signings arrive? With the Sounders, there is a lot to say about how well the quartet of Nyassi, Le Toux, Jaqua, and Montero played, but is their productivity sustainable? To be honest, the subpar play of the Red Bulls probably made the Sounders look a great deal better on-field than they played. Either way, it was a great match to start off the season and I can only hope Philly 2010 will look like Seattle in 12 months' time!

THREE STUDS

1. Freddy Montero

Well two goals and an assist is certainly not a bad way to start off your MLS career. If I could have put both Jaqua and Le Toux up here with Montero, I would have, but Montero was undoubtedly the catalyst of Sounders attack. The 21-year old made all of the international veterans on the field look downright inferior. Now give MLS defenders a couple weeks to study this kid and you can bet things will get a little harder for him on the field, but until then, his performance today looked scarily effortless. These weren't Tomasz Frankowski goals from the beginning of last season...

2. Sebastian Le Toux

Le Toux and Nyassi owned the wings and Goldthwaite/Mendes. They were Jaqua and Montero's supporting cast and played the role admirably. Le Toux, especially, was all over the place, industrious and smart on the ball. Nyassi left in the 68th minute, but Zakuani continued right where he left off. It's going to be a nice battle between Nyassi and Zakuani for that right mid slot all season.

3. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado

The Red Bulls didn't really provide Angel service but when he did get his chances, Hurtado was all over him. Zach Scott deserves to be here too, shutting down Angel at a key moment early in second half and also minimizing Dane Richards' impact on the whole match.

THREE DUDS

1. Kevin Goldthwaite

It was Andrew Boyens who was the early casualty, but Goldy looked flat out bad back there. He barely was able to work into the attack and the few times he did he delivered dud crosses. He looked like a mess vs. Sanna Nyassi.

2. Jorge Rojas

There really is no doubt that he's good with the ball, but why would Rojas ever think he's good enough to break four Sounders before laying the ball off to Angel. Countless times, he laid errant passes outside and into the middle and then looked around as if it was someone else's fault. The first thing Rojas even did was in the 55th minute when he delivered a nice through ball to Borman, who proceeded to waste a cross. He also added a shot or two but nothing to alter the course of the game or get anyone else (including Angel) involved.

3. Dane Richards

Outshone by Sanna Nyassi in the speed and shiftiness department. Richards never really got going. Even when Juan Pablo Angel started getting service in or around the 70th minute, Richards was no part of it. Kandji looked pretty good when available, but all in all, the flanks belonged to the Sounders the whole 90 minutes.

Sidenotes:

If there was a Red Bull out there that played well, I'd say it was rookie right-back Jeremy Hall. He's a little part of the reason the Sounders quieted down after halftime. Maybe even Mac Kanji too.

I was hoping for more out of Sinisa Ubiparipovic, especially after there were rumors a productive pre-season. He looked pretty lost all match but had a couple nice touches here and there.

Freddie Ljungberg's eventual addition. On paper, it'll certainly help the line-up but in what way will he fit into this bunch? It's just a hunch, and I'll be the first to admit it if I'm wrong, but for some reason I see Ljungberg being what Claudio Reyna was for the Bulls.

As a UPenn grad, I'm a bit biased but I sense there are two Danny Cepero camps and it could have gone either way tonight. There were probably saves he should have made, but there were more that he did save that kept this game from going 5 or 6-0.

With reinforcements on the way, many significantly better than those that took the pitch tonight vs. Seattle, how long does it take New York to mesh?

Source: Click Here

 
Seattle Sounders Off to a Winning Start
MLS News
Thursday, 19 March 2009 22:56

Tonight the Seattle Sounders are on top of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer after a convincing 3-0 win over the New York Red Bulls.

Playing before a raucous home crowd, Seattle got two goals and an assist from Colombian Fredy Montero as they kicked off their inaugural game in MLS in style.

“There’s probably not a better atmosphere for soccer in America and I’m so proud to be a part of that,” Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller said.

Barely 10 minutes into their existence, Montero scored, then assisted on Brad Evans’ spinning left-footed goal in the 25th minute that went through the legs of New York goalkeeper Danny Cepero.

Montero scored late in the second half on a breakaway and the 32,523 fans that turned Qwest Field into a sea of neon green excitement went away impressed and satisfied with Seattle’s first result.

“The atmosphere was tremendous. I think we need to open up some more seats for next week to get more people in here,” Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said.

“It was everything you dream of. We talked about it before the game, ‘What an incredible feeling it’s going to be to walk in here at the end of the game with the first win in Sounders history.’ And they all had that feeling.”

While Montero ran free all night, the Red Bulls (0-1-0) looked nothing like the team that made an incredible run through last year’s playoffs and reached the MLS Cup before losing to Columbus.

“It feels almost like a hangover from the final,” Cepero said. “Unfortunately we didn’t play the soccer we know we’re capable of.”

Only twice—both in the second half—did New York find itself with reasonable scoring opportunities, only to be turned away each time by Keller.

Red Bulls midfielder Macoumba Kandji got behind Seattle’s defense and into the penalty box, but Keller blocked away a point-blank opportunity.

Moments later, Jorge Rojas’ left-footed volley from 25 yards was punched over the crossbar. Red Bulls’ scoring star Juan Pablo Angel got only three shots and none on net.

“Today was not a good performance by anyone,” Angel said. “Of course, there’s a lot of new players in here, but we believe and we hope the changes we made are going to be for the good of the team.”


Source: Click Here

 
Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 2009 NY Red Bulls Defense!
MLS News
Thursday, 19 March 2009 22:19

Thoughts at halftime of the Seattle-NY opener:
So JC Osorio would do well to introduce his defenders to each other before sending them out there. They looked both slow and disorganized, and really have zero excuses for either goal. Montero's finish was great, but how on earth does NY leave Seattle's top scoring threat completely unmarked? It's a great atmosphere at Qwest Field, though I am still unsure about the marching band playing during the match. I'll reserve judgment because at least it's different, and that's always a good thing. Rob Stone... you're not funny... still. Full credit to Lalas for coming out and saying what Harkes would only tiptoe around... that New York was "atrocious."

Source: Click Here

 
Seattle Sounders: Welcome To Seattle and Good Luck!
MLS News
Thursday, 19 March 2009 19:06

Wasn't it just a few days ago that I was reading my Seattle Times to find that Seattle is getting the long awaited Major League Soccer team?

Turns out, that was actually a few years ago, but they finally debut tonight against the New York Bulls.

With famous faces such as Drew Carey investing in this potent team, they need to win, for Seattle and for themselves.

Seattle has endured many hardships in recent years, including rumors of their sport teams moving away to foreign cities (the Seattle Supersonics were the only Seattle team to actually move away, however, it was widely rumored that the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks were on the move), and difficulty for the teams to flat out win games.

As a Washingtonian (citizen of Washington) myself, I can honestly say that Seattle is a soccer town through and through. Every where you look, you see houses with little kids getting ready for that ever so important second grade matchup against the Glacier Park Elementary Polar Bears.

On Facebook, you read of your friends' posts that they are getting ready to go to watch the Sounders at Quest Field. We see friend after friend get hurt running their countless amount of lines, even though the coach doesn't believe they will amount to much.

But now, we have a new team to cheer for: the Seattle Sounders FC. A team with players coming from all over just to be a part of a new team in such a soccer-loving city.

So let's go out, buy our Seattle Sounder FC hats and watch the Sounders battle out their first ever game against the New York Red Bulls. The game starts at 6:00 PM, and will be aired on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

Sigi Schmid and the rest of the Seattle Sounders, we would like to say one thing: Welcome to Seattle, and good luck!

Source: Click Here

 
MLS Expansion Is Improvement?
MLS News
Thursday, 19 March 2009 09:29

The recent announcement that Vancouver, BC will be the home of an MLS franchise beginning in 2011 was a step forward for North American soccer.

"Our goal is to become one of the world's best football leagues," MLS commissioner Don Garber said at the news conference announcing the expansion. "The addition of Vancouver will help us get to that point." 

Maybe it will in the long term, Mr. Garber, but what is the short-term plan?

Do you really believe what you are saying?

All things considered, the MLS is doing well. Adding franchises during a global recession and having teams get soccer-specific stadiums to cement their place in their communities is fantastic. 

Its 14th season is ready to kick off and there appears to be an overall general financial health and well being across the board. For this, the MLS management is to be commended.

I am, of course, referring to their off-the-field accomplishments.

But to say that MLS has ambitions to compete on a global scale is farfetched indeed.  There is so much left to be done on the field before even considering a dip into international comparisons.

Based on results in the CONCACAF competitions, one would have to say that MLS is far from the world’s top leagues. The recent failure of the MLS teams in the CONCACAF Champion’s League (which is an annual occurrence) should be a stark reminder of the shortfalls of the level of MLS’ play.

Excuses are thrown out to pacify the restless, with the primary one being the fact that the competition is in the MLS preseason, while the other leagues are running on all cylinders.

Besides this oft used "explanation" ruing the timing of the MLS season, there are other detractors of the March to October season.

Sepp Blatter agrees that one of the MLS’ shortcomings is the summer season. This pitfall is the result of the threat of competition from other sports and stadia issues.

He and MLS officials agree that a large roadblock for changing the season is the competition for viewers that will result with American crash helmet football.

Sharing stadiums with these same NFL teams is an issue as well, but MLS has said it hopes to eventually make the switch, but it can't for now because of the shared stadiums.

So, they have conceded that the change of schedule is needed, but have yet to see it through. Are they (again) just saying the right thing, or is MLS sincere that a change of seasons for the schedule is a priority?

Blatter went on to say, "This league was founded after the 1994 World Cup, but is still struggling to get the position they should have, according to the number of football players there are in the United States."

"It has the highest number of young players in any sport, but the league has not found yet its position. It can only find its position if the league has its own stadiums and plays at the same time as the rest of the world.”

He further points out that, "The best American players are playing in Europe, and this is a basic problem with the MLS."

While Blatter does come out with some questionable assessments (remember women players in more revealing uniforms?), he is definitely spot-on when it comes to the current position of the MLS and its needs.

The fact that MLS cannot compete in its own region (and a weak one at that) is reason enough to tell Garber that he better think about what he says before he says it. 

And if the reason is due to timing of the season, then change it. The league has already conceded that it needs to be changed. 

Play more games in the soccer-specific stadiums in the fall when football is in season and then have the teams which do share with an NFL team (Kansas City, Red Bulls, etc.) play a home-heavy fixture list at the end of the season. 

And the last time I checked, the NFL schedules are available well in advance and, on average, teams only play at home once every two weeks. As a matter of fact, there is a six-to-eight-week period in the current season where they share the stadium already.

As for competition for viewing audiences, there is no doubt that the people who are willing to attend an MLS game are doing it for the desire to see the game.  They are not attending because there is no other event at the time.

Soccer people are full-timers and will go to the game in November just as easily as they would in July.

While I commend Garber for the stability and steady growth of MLS, I am asking him to consider this before he publicly proclaims MLS ambitions: Make sure that the on-field product is putting forth a worthy and credible display of the beautiful game, and that the league is doing its all to facilitate it before uttering delusions of grandeur. 

At the very least, please realize how far there is still to go and make the steps to fix it because, at the end of the day Mr. Garber, I share your ambitions.

Source: Click Here

 
2009 MLS Power Rankings: Week One
MLS News
Thursday, 19 March 2009 08:00

Every sports writer seems to do ”Power Rankings” nowadays.

I am not sure if they do it just so they always have one article a week in the bag, or if they are ordered to by some higher power (i.e. their editor).  

Rather than buck the trend, I have decided to also provide a weekly MLS Power Ranking for you devoted STO readers out there to devour.  

So, here are my Week One Power Rankings. Note that I am doing these prior to Week 1 so they are sort of Preseason Power Rankings, but I wanted my Power Rankings for the rest of the season to match the schedule, so I opted for this method.

Columbus: Sigi is gone but the Crew is still the class of MLS. I just couldn’t place them anywhere but No. 1 for now. Houston: I think HOU may eventually end up #1 on this list. But, they will be No. 2 until they can take out CMB. Chicago: The Fire could get off to a hot start this year, but I think they finish behind CMB and HOU for the SS. Salt Lake: I am putting them here to make amends for bashing them at the start of ‘08. I think they’re stellar. New York: So long as Angel is healthy, NYRB will be tough to beat, but if he goes down, so will their ranking. Kansas City: Conrad & Co. need to score a slew of goals this year, or they will slowly trickle down this list. Chivas USA: The Goats are an enigma. I think they may eventually prove me wrong for putting them here. Dallas: The Former Burn will need a severe rash of good play early to blaze their way up my power rankings. Toronto: The Reds have improved greatly, but I still don’t think it will be enough to get them in the playoffs. New England: I think they will be worse in ‘09 than in ‘08, and I really don’t think they were that good in ‘08. D.C.: I almost put United even lower here. Maybe Gomez will return them to greatness, but I doubt it for now. L.A.: I definitely wanted to put them lower here, but they have the most to prove, so I think they will improve. San Jose: They were improving at the end of last year, but I think the O still needs substantial renovations. Colorado: I think the Rapids will be very poor in ‘09. Home fans at the Dick seem to be in for a long, limp year. Seattle: You have to start at the bottom, it’s tradition. Your team may suck Seattle, but at least you have one.

Source: Click Here

 
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