[MLS] Heading into the 15th MLS season, Soccer America ranks each team at each position. In this installment, Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoneyexplains why the Houston Dynamo has the toughest backline and which teams are the most vulnerable. The defensive units are evaluated by performance and experience, along with depth and suchfactors as whether they can […]
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Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
Future of MLS and U.S. soccer looks bright
Joe Favorito, a longtime sports and entertainment communications, marketing and branding consultant, hails the MLS labor settlement and sees a bright future forsoccer in the USA. MLS and the players union did what few other sports have been able to do: settle discussions without a work stoppage. And on the same weekend the New York […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Another ironman gets dumped
[MLS] Jon Busch became the second former MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and 2009 ironman to be released in recent monthswhen the Chicago Fire waived him five days before its opener at New York. Busch’s departure leaves 24-year-old Andy Dykstra, who has never played a game, as itsstarting goalie, though there is speculation that new […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
High school junior Najar signs with D.C. United
[MLS] A year ago, Andy Najar was a sophomore playing high school ball at Edison High School in Alexandria, Va. Now he isa professional for D.C. United after being promoted from its academy program as MLS’s eighth and youngest homegrown player. The Honduran-born Najar had played extensively for D.C. Unitedon the right side in the […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
Players union didn't 'cave,' it gained
By Ridge Mahoney Is “greater freedom of movement” the same as “free agency?” I would say not, but judging by the spin spun by MLS and subsequent coverageof this critical facet of CBA negotiations, these terms are one and the same. MLS did an excellent job of equating the two, and perhaps for this reason […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Just who were these guys?
[BRAZIL] Less than 24 hours after their poor performance against the New York Red Bulls in the Red Bull Arena opener, Santos was back action, pounding Ituano,9-1, in the Sao Paulo state championship with a completely different team. So which was which? You guessed it, the Santos team that played so miserably against the Red […]
Posted inSection 2 Around the Net, Story
'New York is finally perfect'
Columnist George Vecsey, who witnessed the grand opening of the Red Bull Arena, writes that the only slight blemish for New Yorkers who know that our region haslong been the center of the universe has been exorcised: “We have a soccer stadium — a small stadium, to be sure, but a real soccer stadium with […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Behind the scenes of CBA negotiations
[MLS] More money and more rights for players came out of the protracted, contentious CBA negotiations between MLS and the players union, and perhaps moreimportantly there also emerged a stronger bond between the two sides. “Most of the players felt in the past that the league wasn’t really listening to them, that a lot of […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
SA RANKINGS: Chivas USA goalkeeping duo stands out
[MLS] Heading into the 15th MLS season, Soccer America will rank each team at each position. First up, the goalkeepers. The keepers for each teamare ranked for experience, competence, and depth. The backups, of which there may be more than one per team, also figure into the evaluations and are listed if they have MLS […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
The new CBA in brief …
[MLS] While the MLS Board of Governors and MLS Players Union must ratify the new collective bargaining agreement before they will announce its details, here aresome of the key provisions … Salary Cap: For 2010, the salary cap will be $2.55 million per team (it was $2.32 million in 2009). It willincrease at a basic […]