The superstar striker is done for the year, and his heir apparent isn’t hitting the net. The backline leader might be finished, too, and there’s only one center back available — not a regular starter — with the rising phenom and only other veteran substitute off at the Gold Cup. The LA Galaxy ought […]
Scott French
Posted inSoccer America Top of the News
Folarin Balogun arrives on big buzz and with expectations, but has set none himself
Folarin “Flo” Balogun‘s breakout season with Reims — for which his 22 goals set a record for an American in a big-five European league — brought lots of attention on the 21-year-old, Brooklyn-born striker, who was eligible to play for England and Nigeria in addition to the USA. (Photo: Jean Catuffe/LPS via ZUMA Press/ISI Photos) * * […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
LAFC's opportunity lost, a big one
Los Angeles FC’s failure, if that’s the appropriate term, to claim the Concacaf Champions League crown is primarily about performance. The reigning MLS Cup champ, exquisite so often the past three months, was poor in the first leg and not nearly efficient enough in the finale, and so it was Club Leon deservedly celebrating on […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Ilie Sanchez, the conductor
In another lifetime, Ilie Sanchez might be the fulcrum around which FC Barcelona revolves, the connector in the middle providing the foundation on which all that starpower shines. It might have been this lifetime, but things play out as they do. Whatever missteps the Los Angeles FC midfielder might have taken on the cusp of such opportunity, […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Julie Ertz finds immediate joy in new home
Vlatko Andonovski told Julie Ertz she’d need to “prove herself” to make the U.S. roster for this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. She took a huge stride toward that Sunday evening, providing Angel City FC added dimension in her return to the National Women’s Soccer League. And she had a […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Galaxy hits bottom: 'Noise' says doomsday, Vanney says, 'We're going to get there'
The Galaxy hasn’t had lots to celebrate this season. It heads into its first El Trafico showdown of the campaign with no wins in six outings, unprecedented in the once-proud MLS standard-bearer’s history. Photo: LA Galaxy. * * * * * Doomsday, apparently, has arrived for the LA Galaxy. It says so seemingly everywhere: on social […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Angel City is driven to have a bigger purpose
The game isn’t necessarily the thing for Angel City FC, which last year stormed into the National Women’s Soccer League as if on a mission from God, fundamentally altering the 10th-year competition’s landscape and revealing a vision for what women’s sport can be. Arriving with a Who’s Who ownership group heavy on Hollywood stars […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential
Hugo Sanchez cherishes his 'springboard' seasons with the San Diego Sockers ahead of legendary career
The greatest Mexican soccer player of the 20th century, and a pivotal figure in the conversation for the greatest of all, credits his time in the United States for his success with Real Madrid. Hugo Sanchez, LaLiga’s No. 4 all-time goalscorer, told Soccer America that his time with the North American Soccer League’s San Diego […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Jesus Ferreira strives to spearhead USA's frontline
He was one of the kids in Qatar, third-youngest on the World Cup’s second-youngest roster with a role to match, but that was way back at the end of 2022, an eternity ago, it seems, in these tumultuous times for American soccer. Jesus Ferreira arrived for the Yanks’ first camp of the new cycle as […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Cade Cowell's goal is to be consistent and, maybe, get a little luck
Cade Cowell has offered moments of brilliance in his brief career with the San Jose Earthquakes and U.S. Soccer’s youth teams, glimpses of what could be as he evolves into a more mature, more consistent presence in the attack. On Wednesday night, he provided a taste of what that might look like. The […]