The steady, heavy rain failed to dampen Seattle Sounders' spirits as a hard fought 1-1 tie at San Salvador’s Estadio Cuscatlan Tuesday night against host Metapan translated into an overall win.

It was a win because the U.S. and El Salvador teams were playing a two-game home and home series to see who advances to the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary series.

Last week in Seattle in the team’s first meeting of the series, the Sounders defeated Metapan 1-0 on a 40-yard blast by Fredy Montero.

With the 1-1 draw Tuesday, the Sounders secured the winning 2-1 aggregate advantage on overall goals scored.

On Tuesday and the week before, the deciding goals came after Seattle Coach Sigi Schmid made key second half substitutions.

Montero had been inserted into action in the final third of the contest and scored seconds after entering the pitch.

Tuesday night the new face on the Seattle roster, rangy Uruguayan Alvaro Fernandez, emerged as man of the hour with a nifty 10-yard header in the 73rd minute just nine minutes after entering the match.

It marked the first score of Fernandez’ Sounders career.

The score came on a superbly placed pass from defender James Riley, who provided great defense all evening in one of his finest career Sounder efforts.

Riley went down and was briefly injured late in the contest. A close look at him revealed what a tough contest it had been as he was covered in mud because of the incessant rain.

A Sounders team that thrives on rapid play might well have been adjusting to unfavorable elements in the first half as the action was pressed by Metapan.

Three of Kasey Keller’s four saves on the evening came in the first 45 minutes of play. Also, the Sounders did not get their first corner kick of the evening until early in the second half.

Veteran Metapan coach Edwin Portillo had said after the match in Seattle that circumstances made his team play a pressing attack game after failing to garner the tie on the road that it would take to go into the home contest the following week in at least an even status or perhaps better with the Sounders.

The home team rocked Seattle on its heels with an early goal, Metapan took the lead with a goal in the 17th minute.

Rodolfo Suarez chipped a cross from the end line that found Anel Canalez in the box. Canalez's header from six yards snuck inside the far post.

Sounders had a tough first half to say the least. It appeared initially that Roger Levesque had scored an equalizer.

In the 53rd minute, Levesque knocked in the rebound of Osvaldo Alonso's long-range shot, but the goal was disallowed due to offside.

It had been thought by many going into the contest that the Sounders had a solid chance of advancing to the next round of competition by scoring one goal, considering how solidly the team’s defense has been in recent weeks.

This view was validated as the newly acquired Fernandez became his team’s hero of the evening as the Sounders marched on after a determined effort on the slow traction, mud-splattered San Salvador pitch.

One positive Sounders string was broken on Tuesday, though.

This was the first time after eight successive games that red hot striker Fredy Montero had failed to either score or secure an assist.

Bolstered by an enhanced offensive second half performance, the Sounders secured an overall edge of 9-7 in shots and a 7-5 advantage on goal.

This included six second half shots on target. The statistical closeness verifies the tough, contested nature of the match.

Sounders FC is unbeaten in its last seven games in all competitions with a glowing 6-0-1 mark.

By virtue of Tuesday’s win, the Sounders join the group stage with Monterrey of Mexico, Saprissa of Costa Rica, and the winner of the preliminary round match-up between Tauro of Panama and Marathon of Honduras.

Marathon defeated Tauro, 3-0, on the road in the first leg. They meet again Wednesday.

Seattle returns home to resume MLS play when it hosts the Houston Dynamo Sunday night on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field.

Kickoff is set for 8 p.m.

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Harrison, NJ—For the second time in three weeks, media from around the world descended upon Red Bull Arena to be introduced to a new Designated Player for the New York Red Bulls.

Two weeks ago Thierry Henry became possibly the greatest DP signing the league had seen. Many could argue that their newest addition, Mexican national team captain Rafael Marquez, could be even bigger.

You could read it in the body language from the dignitaries speaking at the press conference (Red Bull’s Global Soccer Director Dietmar Beiersdorfer, Red Bull New York’s GM Eric Soler, Head Coach Hans Backe & MLS Commissioner Don Garber) and hear the excitement in their voices—this signing is hugely significant, not only to the Red Bulls on the field, but to the franchise and Major League Soccer in general off the field too.

Of course at the introductory press conference, attention was mainly focused towards Marquez the player and person. Coach Backe discussed his experience of working with Rafa before as he spent 11 months as an assistant coach with the Mexican national team.

He stated how Marquez will operate as a defensive midfield player for the Red Bulls (despite most of his career being spent as a central defender) as his ability to distribute the ball is so much higher than the league norm. He also added the Rafa man has a tremendous club house presence that will benefit the other members of the squad, particularly his younger players who fans have dubbed the "Baby Bulls".

The 31-year-old met his new teammates earlier on in the day when he practiced with them for the first time, although it is currently undecided when he will make his debut as he works his way back to full fitness after vacationing since the World Cup.

In private interviews given later in the proceedings, Beiersdorfer and Soler elaborated a little more on what the Marquez signing could do for the club off the field.

There are an estimated one million Mexicans living in the greater New York City area, yet generating interest in the MLS to this potential fan base has proved futile in the past. One thing to be said of Mexican soccer fans, they are loyal to their own.

About 78,000 attended the Mexico/Ecuador game at New Medowlands Stadium earlier this year and many of those will be looking to show their support to El Tri’s captain now that he is a Red Bull. Who knows, maybe they’ll wind up giving support to the rest of the team too? That is one of the goals of the signing that Beiersdorfer and Soler eluded to.

Indeed, one of the most interesting quotes from Marquez from the day was on why he chose the Red Bulls over the other offers he received. He believed he needed a new challenge away from Europe and would probably see more minutes on the field of this side of the Atlantic. But why the U.S and not back home to Mexico? Because he believes that the MLS is currently much superior in it’s organization and running of it’s league than it’s Mexican counterparts. Fascinating coming from the nation's captain.

Great player? Check. Increase Hispanic support of the team and league? Check. But one final question remains on his move to MLS: how will he be received by the United States supporters? Not only are the US and Mexico huge rivals, Marquez has often been portrayed as the biggest villain on the Mexican team by most U.S fans.

Reading Red Bull fan comments online, they are almost unanimously ready to embrace Rafa as one of their own and forget about his past tangles with their countrymen. On the road? “I’m used to it,” he says when asked on the subject. “Whatever they want to say or do is fine by me”.

Potential fan abuse he gets on the road will happen, assuming that it will be heard over the noise of adoring Mexican fans who step out to see him when he travels. Didn’t we say earlier that this signing is good for the league as a whole?

Whereas Thierry Henry may well be a more decorated and recognizable player to the casual soccer fan, the impact of Rafa Marquez’ move to the Red Bulls has the potential to be far greater down the road.

"I'm a happy man today," Backe said at the press conference.

He's not the only one.

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Harrison, NJ—For the second time in three weeks, media from around the world descended upon Red Bull Arena to be introduced to a new Designated Player for the New York Red Bulls.

Two weeks ago Thierry Henry became possibly the greatest DP signing the league had seen. Many could argue that their newest addition, Mexican national team captain Rafael Marquez, could be even bigger.

You could read it in the body language from the dignitaries speaking at the press conference (Red Bull’s Global Soccer Director Dietmar Beiersdorfer, Red Bull New York’s GM Eric Soler, Head Coach Hans Backe & MLS Commissioner Don Garber) and hear the excitement in their voices—this signing is hugely significant, not only to the Red Bulls on the field, but to the franchise and Major League Soccer in general off the field too.

Of course at the introductory press conference, attention was mainly focused towards Marquez the player and person. Coach Backe discussed his experience of working with Rafa before as he spent 11 months as an assistant coach with the Mexican national team.

He stated how Marquez will operate as a defensive midfield player for the Red Bulls (despite most of his career being spent as a central defender) as his ability to distribute the ball is so much higher than the league norm. He also added the Rafa man has a tremendous club house presence that will benefit the other members of the squad, particularly his younger players who fans have dubbed the "Baby Bulls".

The 31-year-old met his new teammates earlier on in the day when he practiced with them for the first time, although it is currently undecided when he will make his debut as he works his way back to full fitness after vacationing since the World Cup.

Eric Soler also added that a decision on what the corresponding roster move will be has not yet been decided. He revealed that multiple clubs had expressed interest in several Red Bulls players and that the club must decide what the best offer is going forward.

In private interviews given later in the proceedings, Beiersdorfer and Soler elaborated a little more on what the Marquez signing could do for the club off the field.

There are an estimated one million Mexicans living in the greater New York City area, yet generating interest in the MLS to this potential fan base has proved futile in the past. One thing to be said of Mexican soccer fans, they are loyal to their own.

About 78,000 attended the Mexico/Ecuador game at New Medowlands Stadium earlier this year and many of those will be looking to show their support to El Tri’s captain now that he is a Red Bull. Who knows, maybe they’ll wind up giving support to the rest of the team too? That is one of the goals of the signing that Beiersdorfer and Soler eluded to.

Indeed, one of the most interesting quotes from Marquez from the day was on why he chose the Red Bulls over the other offers he received. He believed he needed a new challenge away from Europe and would probably see more minutes on the field of this side of the Atlantic. But why the U.S and not back home to Mexico? Because he believes that the MLS is currently much superior in it’s organization and running of it’s league than it’s Mexican counterparts. Fascinating coming from the nation's captain.

Great player? Check. Increase Hispanic support of the team and league? Check. But one final question remains on his move to MLS: how will he be received by the United States supporters? Not only are the US and Mexico huge rivals, Marquez has often been portrayed as the biggest villain on the Mexican team by most U.S fans.

Reading Red Bull fan comments online, they are almost unanimously ready to embrace Rafa as one of their own and forget about his past tangles with their countrymen. On the road? “I’m used to it,” he says when asked on the subject. “Whatever they want to say or do is fine by me”.

Potential fan abuse he gets on the road will happen, assuming that it will be heard over the noise of adoring Mexican fans who step out to see him when he travels. Didn’t we say earlier that this signing is good for the league as a whole?

Whereas Thierry Henry may well be a more decorated and recognizable player to the casual soccer fan, the impact of Rafa Marquez’ move to the Red Bulls has the potential to be far greater down the road.

"I'm a happy man today," Backe said at the press conference.

He's not the only one.

Fot a highlight video of the press conference and my interviews with Marquez, Backe, Soler & Beiersdorfer, click here;

http://redbullsreader.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/more-from-the-marquez-press-conference/

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Recently on its website, Sports Illustrated published a list of the most hated teams in sports history.

It was all the teams you loved to hate. Whether it be lots of money, dirty play, or just lots of attitude, the team was despised.

One more thing that especially got most of the teams vilified was that they won championships.

To American soccer fans, Rafael Marquez is a villain. To the New York Red Bulls, he may just be the bad guy that gives them a winning edge.

Think back to the NBA in the late 1980s and throughout the '90s. Dennis Rodman was mean. He was pierced all over, had tattoos all over, and dyed his hair crazy colors. He wore wedding dresses. He kicked cameramen.

He also, however, led the league in rebounding seven consecutive seasons and was named defensive player of the year twice.

Most importantly, he played a key role in three championship teams with the Chicago Bulls and two with the Detroit Pistons (a team infamous for its "Bad Boys" moniker).

Marquez has an awful reputation with soccer fans in the United States.
He is the captain of the Mexican National Team, the United States' arch rival. In the two teams' match up in the 2002 World Cup he was red carded for purposely head butting Cobi Jones. There was also the World Cup qualifier in 2009 where he kicked goalkeeper (and fan favorite) Tim Howard.

It’s all enough to earn him status as public enemy number one in the states.

However, he has captained three Mexican World Cup teams, all of which made it to at least the knockout round. He was a French Ligue 1 Best Defender and named Best North American player in 2005.

He's won the Ligue 1 championship once with Monaco, La Liga four times and the UEFA Champions League twice with Barcelona, and the FIFA Confederations Cup and CONCACAF Gold Cup with Mexico.

He's tough, he's skilled, and he's a winner.

Marquez will play central midfield for the Red Bulls. His possession and passing ability will link the defense to the offense, creating more scoring chances.

He will be the enforcer if anyone tries to rough up high-priced forward Thierry Henry.

He will bring some of the 79,156 fans that crammed New Meadowlands Stadium to watch Mexico face Ecuador to Red Bull Arena.

He could also get a few red cards and encourage some animosity from outsiders to himself and the organization.

But no one in New York will care as long as this villain helps to finally deliver a championship.

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After a miserable last place finish in 2009, the New York Red Bulls have completely changed the entire organization in 2010.

From getting a new coach in Hans Backe and a new general manager in Erik Solér to moving into the beautiful new Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, the Red Bulls are quickly becoming an organization that almost every Major League Soccer organization should be modeling themselves after.

To further boost the "new Red Bulls," the Red Bulls are currently in second place in the Eastern Conference behind the Columbus Crew, a major step forward after a miserable season the year before.

But, New York was still not finished, as they signed Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez to join their side as the Red Bulls look to win their first ever MLS Cup.

With the signing of Henry, the Red Bulls now have another amazing finisher to go alongside Juan Pablo Angel at the top, and Marquez will now provide some much needed stability in the back for a league that has no defender that shares Marquez's qualities.

But these moves are not only fantastic moves for the New York Red Bulls, but also for Major League Soccer.

Picking up Henry and Marquez now allows the league to operate on new mediums that the league could have only dreamed of several years ago.

For starters, Henry is a goal scorer who will help to draw soccer fans and some casual sports fans into arenas across the country.

Henry is still capable of scoring some incredible goals, and he really could have a great ending to his career in MLS.

Meanwhile for Marquez, he will help to tap interest into MLS from a huge Latino population in the New York metropolitan area.

Of course, Marquez was the captain of Mexico in the 2010 World Cup, and can really help sell out Red Bull Arena by getting Latino fans to fill its seats.

But perhaps the most important factor in the signings of Henry and Marquez is the fact that the Red Bulls used their two remaining Designated Player spots on these two.

Of course, MLS wanted to get more clubs to sign Designated Players with the new labor agreement allocating a maximum of three Designated Players as long as the club using the third Designated Player (the Red Bulls) paid a $250,000 luxury tax to be evenly distributed to the other 15 MLS franchises.

Now, clubs will be looking to sign up more top players from around the world as the Red Bulls have just done.

Already this summer, we have witnessed the signings of Blaise Nkufo and Álvaro Fernández to the Seattle Sounders, Branko Bošković to DC United, Mista to Toronto FC and Nery Castillo to the Chicago Fire to join Henry and Marquez in New York.

Now, the Designated Player really is doing what it was originally intended to do by bringing in some fantastic foreign talent into America, and it will help soccer continue to grow after the success of the 2010 World Cup.

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Coach Sigi Schmid and his Seattle Sounders have been traveling so far and often that premium frequent flyer miles would be a seemingly deserving reward.

Seattle Sounders FC plays matches 3,000 miles apart this week. Sounders FC can clinch a place in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage with a win or draw at El Salvador's AD Isidro Metapán on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. PT in a match carried on the Fox Soccer Channel.

Seattle then returns home to seek to continue its climb up the Western Conference of MLS when it hosts the Houston Dynamo on Sunday night at 8 p.m. PT.

The Metapan match is a return engagement of the Seattle meeting last Wednesday won by the Sounders 1-0 on a 40-yard second half missile by striker Fredy Montero seconds after he came off the bench.

In a postgame press conference, Metapan coach Edwin Portillo conceded that his club would face a daunting task the following week against a Sounder squad whose personnel impressed him.  Given the 1-0 loss, Portillo acknowledged that it would be tactically necessary to play more aggressively to compensate for the one goal to nil defeat.

Portillo acknowledged that his strategic intention in the Seattle contest was to play for a tie, after which home pitch advantage could assist his team in holding off the visitors.

Conversely, Coach Schmid is looking at a situation where, given Metapan’s necessity to take chances, the risky play will render it more potentially vulnerable in the scoring department.  On the surface, the Sounders look to be in a good position to move on to the next competition stage by scoring one goal.

With the Sounders playing their soundest defensive soccer of the season, and having already shut out Metapan at home, it would be unlikely for Seattle to give up more than one goal at best.  Hence, should Seattle be able to score once and hold the home team to no more than one score, the Sounders would then advance.

All eyes will be on Fredy Montero to see if he can continue his streak.  The Colombian has gone eight games in which he has garnered a goal or an assist.

On Sunday the Sounders host a team in Houston that has been encountering problems.

Hence, Schmid should remind his team about the D.C. United match at home earlier in the season.  Coming off an impressive win over the New England Revolution, the Sounders were upset by the D.C. team 3-2 as Chris Pontius scored two goals and was close to a hat trick, the third prospective score being ruled an on goal instead.

After the Houston Dynamo game it will be back on the road for the Sounders the next week for an August 14 contest against Chivas U.S.A. in Carson, California.

Considering how much traveling the Sounders have been doing recently, a flight to Los Angeles is a short trip indeed.

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy are in state of flux as they head to Juan Roman Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon, Puerto Rico for the second leg of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round against the Puerto Rico Islanders.

It will be a tough go for the Galaxy, which is running a two-game losing streak with defeats to the Islanders and the Chicago Fire. Breakdowns in the defensive backline have led to goals aplenty from Colin Clarke's club, who ran away with the first leg to the tune of 4-1.

The Islanders can afford to lose 3-0 and still advance due to the away goals rule. Because of this, either of these instances needs to happen: the Galaxy must win by four, or score five goals while leading by at least three.

Again, let me reiterate: the Galaxy must win by four, or score five goals while winning by at least three. That is a pretty tall task to ask.

“I’m sick of giving up goals and I’m sick of not winning at home,” said Galaxy captain Landon Donovan after the Chicago Fire defeat. “Maybe our attitude isn’t right and maybe we’re focusing on things off the field and not our jobs, but we’re going to have to learn and learn quickly.

“I’ll just say that we’re disappointed with the last few results. But at the end of all of it, we still look up and we’re still in first place in the league. We need to learn, we need to get better and we need to improve, but there are a lot of team’s that are in a lot worse shape than we are right now.”

The L.A. Galaxy manager echoed the same sentiments on Sunday.

“Our technical aspects have been poor because we should have been scoring goals from the run of play,” Arena said after the match. “We could have scored five goals tonight and we didn’t.

“Players can get a little complacent when they look at the standings and I think that some of our guys have done that recently. When you forget about the things that got you to where you are, it’s going to be harder to get back, there’s nothing good about this in my view, no matter if we’ve got 40 points or 15.”

After the Chicago match, Gregg Berhalter said, "Thankfully this run has come in August instead of in October. But we’re like a beaten dog right now, and it’s time to get aggressive and not care about failing and just go out and do it.”

The Galaxy currently have a 12-4-4 record (40 points), still the best record in Major League Soccer. While the Puerto Rico Islanders are 6-7-5 (23 points), their place at the bottom of the USL Conference of the USSF D2 Pro League is misleading, given their scoring form in the first leg.

Watch for Nicolas Addlery to work his magic alongside David Foley and Josh Hansen. Addlery score a brace against L.A. on Wednesday and will look to bolster his production. The Islanders will also look to Richard Martinez to thwart a Galaxy attack in need of goals.

This will all go down to who Bruce Arena fields. But even if he fields his starters, I can't see this Los Angeles Galaxy side advancing. They have paid the price for the defensive lapses, and they will continue to do so on Wednesday.

The second leg of this home-and-home is where I like to be proven wrong. But with the way things have been going right now, I just don't see it happening. In fact, I am calling for Puerto Rico to win this.

The Galaxy need to get their priorities straight. There is no excuse for them taking the U.S. Open Cup and now the CONCACAF Champions League lightly.

Again, Los Angeles needs to prove their doubters wrong. This is a golden opportunity to do so. In the meantime, let's try this prediction ...

Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision.

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The Seattle Sounders FC announced Monday that midfielder Peter Vagenas has been placed on the disabled list. The reason is a right quadriceps strain.

As a result of his injury Vagenas, 32, is required to miss six games. Included in that number was the San Jose Earthquakes match on July 31.

Vagenas is eligible to return to MLS play for the September 9 match in Seattle against the Real Salt Lake.

The 5-8, 163 pound Vagenas is in his tenth season in Major League Soccer. He played college soccer at UCLA.

Vagenas has started all seven appearances in 2010 and has played a total of 542 minutes.

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Red Bull New York has announced the signing of Mexico National Team Captain Rafael Márquez as the club’s third designated player. Márquez signed with the MLS side on a four year deal worth $25 million, as reported by ESPN Deportes reporter John Sutcliffe.

“I am excited to be joining the Red Bulls,” Márquez said. “Despite having the opportunity to fulfill my contract with Barcelona, coming to New York and playing in Major League Soccer was a chance that I could not refuse. I am completely committed to doing my very best to help the Red Bulls in their playoff push this year and compete for championships in the years to come.”

Márquez and his former club FC Barcelona came to an agreement to terminate the defender’s contract with the Catalan side over the weekend, a deal which would have kept Márquez in a Barcelona shirt till 2012. FC Barcelona held a sendoff ceremony for the Mexican captain on Saturday, July 31, 2010 at Camp Nou.

While at FC Barcelona, Márquez won two UEFA Champions League Cups, four League titles, one FIFA Club World Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Spanish Cup, three Spanish Super Cups and three Catalan Cups. Márquez played a total of 242 games for the Spanish giants and scored 13 goals, most of which were from free kicks and corners as is his specialty.

In an interview with Sandra Sarmiento of FCBarcelona.com Márquez stated “I have completed a cycle with Barcelona and seven years is a long time. I have won everything and now I want to play regularly and have more minutes. I talked with Pep and he has other priorities and I am ambitious and do not want to sit on the bench or in the stand watching games. That is why I have left.”

Previously to playing in Spain the Mexican had a four year stint in France with AS Monaco from 1999-2003. Marquez helped the French club win the League title in his first season and was named the Ligue 1 Best Defender in 2000 before leading them to a French Cup and Supercup.

Márquez began his professional career at Atlas of the Mexican First Division. At 14, he went for a trial with the Atlas youth teams and was one of only two boys chosen out of one hundred. He made his debut in the Mexican First Division when he was just 17 years old and quickly cemented his place in the starting eleven. In 1999, at 20 years old, he led Atlas to the final of the Mexican Summer Tournament, where they lost on penalties against Toluca.

Internationally Márquez has captained Mexico since 2002 and has tallied 94 appearances. His trophy cabinet includes the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The move is just another blockbuster from the wealthy New York team in what club executives hope is a dangerous trifecta as Márquez teams up with recent DP signing Thierry Henry and the club’s first DP Juan Pablo Angel.

Márquez is familiar with Thierry Henry as both were teammates at FC Barcelona. Henry, of course, recently signed with New York in a departure from FC Barcelona similar to Márquez ’s. Juan Pablo Angel is arguably the most successful Designated Player in Major League Soccer to date as he is New York’s all-time top goal scorer, completing the feat in his first three years with the club, and led RBNY to the 2008 MLS Cup Final.

Although Henry and Angel make up in what is already regarded as the League’s most dangerous duo, the Red Bulls have struggled defensively. The Márquez signing is expected to better the New York defense and make New York an obvious contender for the MLS Cup.

Red Bull New York will hold a press conference on Tueday, Aug. 3, 2010 at Red Bull Arena to introduce Márquez to members of the media at 1:15 p.m. ET.

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