New York Red Bulls Should Be an MLS Cup Favorite, but Questions Still Remain

All eyes will be on the New York Red Bulls in 2011. A worst-to-first season in 2010, a great stadium and big-name foreign players to go with promising young Americans have everyone talking about the possibilities for this team. But this squad is far from a lock to win it all. Consistency has always been an issue for this club. While soccer seems to have more player movement compared to other sports in the country, the Red Bulls—going back to when they were the MetroStars—have had a constantly revolving door of players and coaches. Born in 1996, current head coach Hans Backe is the 12th man to lead the club. No coach has lasted more than three seasons, and only two have done that. So while Backe gets another crack at things, assistant coaches Richie Williams—who had been with the team since 2006—and Des McAleenan—the goalkeepers coach since 2002—were fired. The two have been with the club for long periods of time and have been through it all. Williams, for the past couple of years, has been a hot commodity for a head coaching position in the league. To fire those two only a few weeks before the season begins is a perplexing move ...

Seattle Sounders Are Not a Fluke, but Can They Get Past the First Round?

In the franchise’s second season, the Seattle Sounders proved that their great 2009 season was no fluke and that this team was a true contender. They didn’t improve on their first-year campaign despite all of the preseason buzz. The team won its second consecutive U.S. Open Cup, the first club to do so since 1983. However, they couldn’t escape the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs for the second straight time. The season was salvaged after the team started off to a disappointing record of 4-8-3. Over the team’s final 15 games, the Sounders only lost twice. The biggest addition to last year’s squad didn’t come from a trade or transfer. Instead, the Sounders will be glad to have defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado return to the lineup after spending the majority of last season on the disabled list. A valuable piece, Hurtado’s presence should solidify the back line and give the team a bit more presence. What was a huge strength in 2009 dipped in form in 2010. The Sounders gave up the most goals out of all eight playoff teams (35). Hurtado should help them get back to form. Even more discouraging for Seattle was the offense. Seattle scored 39 goals last season, ...

MLS Championship Opportunty Window Closing for Los Angeles Galaxy

The 2010 season was another year the Los Angeles Galaxy fell short. Again with one of the most loaded teams in the league, the Galaxy was the top-seed in the Western Conference for the second consecutive season and won the Supporter’s Shield. However, they were bounced in the semifinals of the MLS Cup playoffs. It appears management won’t settle for anything short of the franchise’s third championship, so the team brought in several big-name acquisitions over the offseason. The team was dealt a rather large blow when breakout star and 2010 leading goal scorer Edson Buddle left Los Angeles for Germany. Who would pick up the goal scoring slack? The organization acted quickly in not only replacing Buddle, but improving its entire stable of forwards. The Galaxy traded for Adam Cristman and Chad Barrett and acquired Designated Player Juan Pablo Angel—the New York Red Bulls’ all-time leading goal scorer—in the Re-Entry draft. Angel may be 35-years-old and have some injuries that have bothered him in recent years, but he still was New York’s leading goal scorer not only last season, but all four years he was with the franchise. He is deadly as a penalty-kick taker. Barrett is a nice-pickup for the squad. He’s only 25-years-old ...

Vancouver Whitecaps Sign Eric Hassli as Its First Designated Player

David Beckham. Thierry Henry. Rafael Marquez. Thierry Henry. Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Juan Pablo Angel. Those are some of the biggest DP signings in MLS history. They provide talent on the field and name-recognition off it, bringing in a lot of fans to see them play. Eric Hassli? Have you ever even heard of him? The Vancouver Whitecaps have announced Hassli will be the team’s first designated player. The question is, why? He comes from Swiss Super League club FC Zurich. As a forward, however, he’s only scored seven goals in the past two seasons. Not very good numbers. He’s also not going to draw many fans out to games, although as an expansion team, the Whitecaps may not need a marquee name to bring out fans; the “newness” of the team may be enough. Hassli has never played at the international level for France. C’mon man, even Mista has made a couple of appearances for Spain. There are some reasons why it could be a good signing. At 6’4” and 200 pounds, he is a very strong forward, who according to Vancouver president Bob Lenarduzzi, also has good technical skill. The Whitecaps were also very thin at the forward position, with the ...

MLS 2011 Schedule Preview: Must-See Games

Anticipation is building for soccer fans in America with the 2011 edition of the Major League Soccer season less than two weeks away. There are a lot of new faces in new places, as well as two new teams—the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. Each team will play 34 games in 2011, with each team playing everybody twice. That means there are a total 612 games. There will be some very entertaining soccer to be played, but here are the top 15 regular season games that you need to watch.Begin Slideshow

Charlie Davies Loaned to D.C. United; Comeback Begins

He's back. Nearly 16 months since the life-threatening car accident have gone by without a first-team match, let alone a “Stanky Leg” goal celebration, for Charlie Davies. But a 12-month loan to D.C. United from FC Sochaux in France means that he is finally ready to start his comeback. Davies trialed with D.C. for a week, and he proved that he can still play soccer. He’s still a little rusty, but his skill, his speed and the attention he’ll bring to the club are exactly what United needed. He’ll boost attendance, as well as the minuscule goal total the club posted in 2010. It’ll be an interesting situation for him. He’ll be in America, where the same media that gave him much publicity when he was vying for one of the final spots on last summer’s World Cup squad will be hovering, analyzing everything he does on the field. He’ll be playing in D.C., around where that horrific accident took place. He’ll be playing in RFK Stadium, the same stadium where fans gave a tribute to Davies in the ninth minute of the U.S. World Cup qualifying match the night after the crash. But Davies told the media it didn’t scare him. “I’m definitely ready for games to ...

New York Red Bulls Have Two of the Brightest Young Stars in the United States

The New York Red Bulls have had success developing superb talents that become big contributors for the United States Men’s National Team. USMNT first-team regulars Tim Howard, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore all spent the entirety of their MLS careers with the franchise, before moving on to bigger things in Europe. The team may have two more names to add to that list. After Saturday night’s friendly against Chile, current Red Bulls Tim Ream and Juan Agudelo continued their sharp form and further established themselves on the international stage. Both players earned their second cap for the USMNT and impressed many. Ream, who started and played every single minute for the Red Bulls in his rookie season, went the full 90 for the Americans. His composure and communication skills, for the most part, were good. What was best though, and what drew a lot of attention during the MLS season, was his passing ability from the back. Ream does a good job seeing the field and getting the ball out cleanly. The good attack in the run of play that led to the penalty kick started with a Ream pass up the field. There is a strong group of center backs ahead of Ream on the ...

New York Cosmos Have a Brand, but Will They Get a Team to Match the Hype?

News came out Wednesday that Manchester United legend Eric Cantona was returning to the game of soccer as director of soccer for the New York Cosmos. The only problem is the Cosmos have no team for him to put together. The Cosmos, once the talk of the town in New York as well as soccer in the U.S., have not had a senior team since the NASL folded in 1985. Their youth academies have kept going, though, and in 2009 the brand was bought by a group headed by Paul Kemsley. Their goal: Get the Cosmos into Major League Soccer. There is no senior Cosmos team, but there is the Cosmos brand, and it’s a strong one at that. It brings a sense of nostalgia for the pop culture breakthrough that was chronicled in the 2006 documentary and book “Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos.” It’s a brand that was strong enough to lure Cobi Jones away from the Los Angeles Galaxy, a franchise he’s been a part of as a player or coach since the team’s inception in 1996. He now holds the role as associate director of soccer for the Cosmos. With former NASL brands of the San Jose Earthquakes, ...

Freddy Adu: It’s Time To Come Home To MLS

To succeed on the international stage, a player has to be getting consistent minutes with his club team. The guys that are playing regularly are sharper and more in form, both mentally and physically. They also stay on the radar of Bob Bradley. Freddy Adu is running out of clubs in Europe willing to give him a chance, which is why this January transfer window, he should make his way back to MLS. Since leaving Real Salt Lake in 2007, Adu has been on the roster for four clubs: Benifica, AS Monaco, Belenenses and Aris. Technically, Benifica owns his rights and he is on loan to Aris, but both clubs are dead ends. Adu has a year left on his deal with Benifica, but ownership has said that they are willing to loan him out again or allow him to leave on a free transfer. Aris management has deemed him a “surplus” and wishes to cancel the rest of his loan deal with the club. Since his ousting at Aris, he has trained with Swiss side FC Sion and Danish club Randers FC, and is now on trial with German second-division team Ingolstadt. His latest European venture seems to be just as fruitless as ...

2010 MLS Expansion Draft: One Player Each Team Will Definitely Lose

Now that the 2010 season is over, two new teams—the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps—have officially joined MLS. They’ll get to build their teams through the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft on Wednesday. The list of unprotected players has been released and there is a lot of talent on this list. Designated Players Juan Pablo Angel and Geovanni are on it, as is former MVP Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Those players are making max money however, and expansion teams usually lean towards cheaper and much younger options. With two teams picking players this year, some MLS clubs may lose two players. But here is a list of one player from each team most likely to get selected.Begin Slideshow