A spectacular opening weekend to the 22nd MLS season featured a sellout crowd of more than 55,000 in Atlanta, where the Red Bulls came back from a 1-0 deficit to disappoint the huge crowd. FC Dallas moved into second place with a calm, composed defeat of the Galaxy at StubHub Center, and Portland rattled in […]
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Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Sneak Peek: Sporting KC's Dwyer gets supporting cast
Sporting KC has made the MLS playoffs in each of the last six seasons but it has made no impact in the last three years, exiting in the knockout stage each time. Close or controversial defeatsdon’t take away from the fact that Sporting KC has taken a step backward since finishing first in the Eastern […]
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Sneak Peek: FC Dallas preps for tough, early start
An arduous preseason schedule took FC Dallas on a 10-day trip to Argentina, during which it played seven games, so the players should be well prepared for Panamanian club Arabe Unido. There areplenty of new faces, as every position except goalkeeper has been bolstered by at least two international players plus draft picks and Homegrown […]
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MLS Moves: Davis to retire as Dynamo player
He finished his career last year with Sporting Kansas City, but Brad Davis will come back for one final day as a Dynamo player. A long stint with Houston hasprompted Davis and the team to arrange a special retirement. Davis will sign a one-day contract Thursday that will allow him to retire as a member […]
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USMNT: Dwyer would jump at call-up
Dom Dwyer has Feb. 14 marked on his calendar. It’s not only Valentine’s Day but will mark five years since Sporting Kansas City’s English-born forward received his green card, making himeligible to receive his U.S. citizenship needed to play for the U.S. national team. “My paperwork is sitting waiting to be sent on that day,” […]
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TV Report: Gomez retires, joins ESPN full-time
After seventeen years playing professionally in the USA and Mexico, forward Herculez Gomez has swapped the training field for the television studio. Gomez, 34, announced his retirement Tuesday, officially ending a longcareer that started in 2000 and after weaving through more than a dozen cities and teams ended with the MLS Cup-winning Seattle Sounders last […]
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MLS Rosters: Who's in and who's out for 2017
The Philadelphia Union signed New York Red Bulls academy product Adam Najem, whostarred at the University of Akron, to a Homegrown contract after acquiring his rights from the Red Bulls for a second-round pick in the 2018 SuperDraft. Atlanta United 2017 Roster (27 players): GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Middlesbrough/ENG, Free Agent), Alec Kann (Sporting KC, […]
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MLS Positional Rankings: TFC duo heads the pack at outside back
By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) MLS teams don’t spend much on outside backs. They’ve been only marginallyaffected by increases in the salary cap, none are Designated Players permitted per team, and no team has yet spent any Targeted Allocation Money to sign one. The ideal outside back cantrack and tackle tenaciously, effectively protect the back […]
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MLS Positional Rankings: Birnbaum and Van Damme command the centerback slots
By Ridge Mahoney (@ridgemax) The three-man back line is gaining favor in MLS as well as around the world, but the standardfour-back system prevails. Occasionally, a player will toggle between the central slots, but most players and coaches prefer to establish one side as their own. Steve Birnbaum hasplayed well enough to earn callups to […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
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 […]