By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) Lots of soccer players leave home at a tender age to launch their careers, but very few take a longjourney to a foreign land a dozen years into life. So began the saga of U.S. international Greg Garza, who has landed in Atlanta — where the new local team is hurriedly preparingfor […]
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Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
MLS Moves: 'Boro confirms Guzan is Atlanta-bound
Details of a deal are yet to emerge, but the long-awaited acquisition of U.S. keeper Brad Guzan by Atlanta United is set. The Middlesbrough Web site ran an item Wednesday, confirming that Guzan will leave the Premier League club at the end of the English seasonin late May to join the MLS expansion team, which […]
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MLS expansion teams address their needs directly
By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) The first SuperDraft of the expansion teams United is in the books. Minnesota went for astriker, Atlanta picked a centerback. In both cases the teams filled a need while also fulfilling the vision of the head coach. UCLA forward Abu Danladi and centerback Miles Robinson,respectively, will forever be known as the […]
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MLS 2017: How Eastern Conference teams look on the eve of preseason
By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) The New York teams finished one-two in the regular season, but the conference’s 2015 MLS Cuprepresentative didn’t make the playoffs and the teams from Eastern Canada lit up the postseason. Preseason Preview: Western Conference
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MLS SuperDraft: What to look for on Friday
MLS will hold its annual SuperDraft on Friday (3 p.m. PT) at the NSCAA Convention in Los Angeles. Here is what to look for … 1. THE BIG THREE. U.S. U-20 forward JeremyEbobisse, who scored in his first game at the adidas Player Combine on Thursday, is expected to go to expansion Minnesota United with […]
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MLS Imports: Clubs move into high gear early
While MLS owners are pumping millions of dollars into player development (academies, USL teams, facilities), their clubs still rely heavily on imports. And action picked up in December as MLS clubssigned 17 imports, Americans and foreigners who played on foreign clubs in 2016. That number equals the number of December imports in 2014 and 2015 […]
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MLS Positional Rankings: Kljestan, Felipe, Alonso top the midfield slots
By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) For players who toil in the middle of the park, roles and classifications often overlap as tactics andformations change from game to game or even within a game. Coaches and general managers and pundits talk of a “No. 10,” the playmaking hub around which the attack revolves,yet in many leagues around […]
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MLS Moves: Atlanta signs Peterson, gets Garza on loan
Atlanta United has yet to play a match of any sort but it is clearly well-versed in the ways of MLS. It has signed attacker Jacob Peterson as a free agent and negotiated a trade withColumbus for the right to sign defender Greg Garza, who is being loaned by Club Tijuana for the 2017 season. […]
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Hex Files: Jones out, Molino back in T&T squad
Saying he wanted more speed up front, newly appointed Trinidad & Tobago head coach Tom Saintfiet has dropped Atlanta United’s Kenwyne Jones, the Soca Warriors captain, from the squadpreparing to face Nicaragua Dec. 27 and 31 in preparation for Gold Cup playoff games against Suriname and Haiti on Jan. 4 and 8. Back in is […]
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MLS Moves: Free agent Larentowicz signs with Atlanta
Atlanta United strikes again. The MLS expansion entrant for 2017 has added veteran Jeff Larentowicz, whose contract with the Galaxy was set to expire at the end of the month.Larentowicz, 33, signed with Atlanta United through free agency, which is granted to players 28 and older with at least eight years’ service in the league. […]