LA Galaxy Wins First Game at PPC

LA Galaxy won their semi-final game at the Pan-Pacific Championship (AKA a couple preseason games) behind goals from Edson Buddle and Jovan Kirovski. Only saw a little of the game, but a back line of Eddie Lewis, Omar Gonzalez, Tony Sanneh, and Sean Franklin definitely sounds a lot more promising than the crap they put out last year. Check the highlights above; Buddle has a nice little strike with the left.

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DC United Stadium In PG County

A Fan's Perspective by PJ

On Monday DC United top brass held a press conference with PG county government officials announcing their intention to build a new 24,000 seat soccer specific stadium in the county.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this development. I'm going to miss the bouncing seats at RFK, but it is literally falling apart. The lights go out during games. There are potholes in the parking lot large enough to swallow an SUV. More importantly, DC is never going to be profitable there. Victor Macfarlane, Kevin Payne and company are business owners. They're not doing this to lose money. In the long run no profits equals no team, so I don't know how anyone can deny the need for a move to a soccer specific stadium.

I and every other DC United fan would prefer the stadium to be in the city. Urban stadiums are just cooler, they're centrally located for the entire fan base, and they look great on TV (see Toronto). On top of that the team is DC United. It feels sort of wrong for them to play in the suburbs.

That said, I'm amazed at how enraged of a lot of fans, particularly those from NOVA, are about the potential move. It isn't like DC United didn't do everything they could to build a stadium in DC. The DC government has made it clear that they don't care about DC United getting a stadium. DC United has spent a ton of time and money on community outreach. They've worked with the city for years hoping to revitalize the Poplar Point area. And they've put up with constantly changing bid requirements for that redevelopment. Meanwhile, the city council is busy focusing on dreams of luring the Skins away from one of the most profitable stadiums on earth. A soccer specific stadium in DC is simply not going to happen. The only conclusion is that DC needs to look for a stadium in Maryland, Northern Virginia, or, god forbid, another city.

This is where a lot of fans lose me. If you read the comments on Goff's blog you'd think this is the end of the world. Admittedly, the comments on a blog are generally not the place to look for reasoned and considered discourse (my man Chest Rockwell excepted) There also are a lot of people saying reasonable things. Still, I'm surprised at how angry some people are. A lot of Virginians are pissed. Check out some of the comments:

"Total Joke. Good bye DC United. The end of a (great) era. No way I am driving out to PG county for games…how would I get home (ie I like to have beers at the game which makes metro a great option) There goes the spirit of the crowd. It has been said, but ask the Redskin fans to compare the two experiences. Thanks for a losing team and bad stadium location Victor." – kramva

"the fact is since dc united started fans from NOVA have been pulling the freight and been the majority of what is widely considered the best fan base in MLS. We just got hosed. Good luck with "changing" your fan base kevin payne. Let us know how that works out for you." – restonhoops

"I think 24,000 seats in PG will be plenty. The Wizzards/Capitals move to town & the Redskins apparent interest in returning is telling. McFarlane is brilliant, but even he can't make a wasteland 'urban'." – SWTrevor

Now, don't get me wrong, I understand Virginia / Maryland rivalry. As a proud Marylander I get angry every time I cross the Potomac. So I would certainly be disappointed about a move to Virginia. Hell, I live in PG County and I'm still disappointed about a move to PG County. But it isn't like the team is moving to the SoccerPlex way out in Germantown. They're looking around Morgan Boulevard. We're talking about four metro stops. It's next to the Beltway. This is adding 15-20 minutes if you're coming from Virginia. We're not talking about Bridgeview or Frisco. We're not talking about FedEx field, which goes out of its way to make the Metro inconvenient and seats 90,000 traffic clogging fans. If the stadium was being built in Arlington I'd be upset about visiting the former confederacy more often, but I wouldn't cancel my season tickets.

To be clear, my defense is conditional on picking one of the metro accessible sites. The stadium needs to be metro accessible by foot.

Finally, we're still a long way away from singing "How Many Trophies Have You Won?" at dejected Red Bulls fans in a new stadium. So until that glorious day, everyone needs to calm the hell down and hope that DC gets an appropriately sized, modern, metro accessible stadium sometime in the near future.

¡Vamos United!

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Christian Gomez Goes Back to DC

Christian Gomez can pick his drum back up and get reacquainted with the Barra Brava because he is on his way back to DC United. Colorado and DC have completed a trade that sends Gomez, Mike Graczyk (GK), and an international slot to DC and Ivan Guerrero, a 2010 2nd round draft pick, and a DP slot to Colorado (with Colorado picking up about half of Gomez's salary).

Looks like Colorado won on this trade at first, but the more you look at the trade, I think it is more even than it originally comes across. DC picks up an international player slot, and trades Guerrero for Gomez while only picking up about a $60,000 cap hit (Guerrero made $140,000 while DC United should only have to pick up about $200,000 of Gomez's $385,000 salary). Other analysts might highlight the exchange of the DP slot, but that was going to go back to Colorado after this year anyway, so if United wasn't planning on using it, why not give it back? A lot of this depends on Gomez regaining his form of course (At least he'll be on the field more than Gallardo). As for Colorado, they drop an expensive player they didn't plan to use, gain a solid veteran, and now have the option of adding a DP. Not bad.

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Convey to San Jose, Close to Done Deal

2006 World Cup veteran, Bobby Convey, is close to making a move to the San Jose Earthquakes and MLS. Reading FC has released him from his contract and a move to San Jose will give the Earthquakes a formidable midfield of Convey, Darren Huckerby, Arturo Alvarez, and Ramiro Corrales (unless he moves back to defense). At only 25, Convey is a great signing by SJ if he stays healthy. Although, one can only wonder how much he is going to cost the team against the salary cap.

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MLS Signings and Player Moves

There have been a few signings, moves and trades in American soccer the past couple days so I am just going to jump right into them. Scott Sealy is no longer an MLS player, having signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv FC yesterday. Toronto FC dealt Todd Dunivant(pictured above) to LA for allocation money (I thought TFC needed defenders?) and re-signed Rohan Ricketts after already re-signing Carl Robinson and Danny Dichio earlier in the season. Currently, the TFC website only lists 5 defenders in all on their entire roster. DC United GK Zach Wells is apparently considering retirement and San Jose just signed a big forward in Cam Weaver(kind of lessens the blow of losing Sealy).

My thoughts on the above moves are as follows. I am already liking Bruce Arena's influence on the Galaxy as he acquires more modestly priced defenders to shore up his defense (no more Abel Xavier). Toronto has a talented midfield and attack, but they are definitely lacking in defense and goalkeeping (they did draft Stefan Frei, but I am sorry Greg Sutton is Pat Onstad's far less talented twin). As a DC fan, I could care less about what Wells does as long as we sign our second round pick, Milos Kocic, to a contract. Concerning San Jose, I don't see them winning the league, but they have done a pretty good job of building a pretty solid roster. That being said, I am not totally sold on Cam Weaver becoming the impact striker they definitely need.

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Rhett Bernstein Interview

Rhett Bernstein was a 3-time First Team All-Ivy League defender at Brown University and was recently invited down to the MLS Combine in Florida. While he was down in Florida for the Combine I conducted this interview with him. After having been passed over in the 2009 MLS Superdraft, Rhett is now exploring his opportunities in Europe. He is a good friend of mine and a promising center back who I am sure will have solid, productive professional career. Check out the full interview after the jump as well as the highlight video from the 2005-2006 Brown season in which Rhett was a freshman and helped Brown to an Ivy League Championship and a NCAA tournament berth.

1. What made you choose Brown over some of your local, higher profile Cali Schools?

I chose Brown based on its reputation both within academics and athletics. Brown is considerably a top academic institution, which I found suitable towards both my needs in the classroom and on the soccer pitch.

2. How are things going down at the combine? Why haven't you been able to get in any games?


Unfortunately, my opportunity of playing at the MLS combine this year came to abrupt halt during the friday training session with my team. I unexpectedly pulled my hamstring towards the end of the training session, and I knew that I would be unable to participate in the weekends matches. However, I persisted to rehabilitate my hamstring in efforts to play. Finally, I decided to cut my weekend short and leave the combine. Hopefully, I will be able to pursue alternative opportunities, and prove myself with some of the nations best soccer players.

3. What is the housing situation down at the combine? Do they have you guys in bunk beds or are you living large in a nice hotel?

Its terrific! They put us up in a very nice hotel on the beach. I shared a room with another Ivy League Player, Sean Milligan (Dartmouth GK). Things worked out well at the hotel, and I think the MLS did a great job running the event all in all.


4. What kind of free gear is Adidas hooking you up with? Cleats, Warm-ups, or just a souvenir water bottle?

Adidas hooked us up with loads of stuff. We got jerseys, training tops, tracksuits, hats, and a bag. I think most of the players were stoked to receive all this cool gear.


5. Are you just looking at MLS or are you also looking at opportunities abroad? I believe you have an Israeli passport, correct?

Personally, I'd prefer to play overseas, because of the great exposure one has to bigger and better clubs. I would consider playing in the MLS, if I were offered something more than an unsatisfying developmental contract. I do not possess an Israeli passport, but I do have access to one if I were to play overseas in Israel.


6. What had you done to prepare for the combine? Had you been cranking out 3-mile fitness tests or just working on your superior heading skills?


Prior to the combine, I worked out everyday, twice a day, with both friends and other combine players. I setup daily pickup games with college/professional players at the local university (University of San Diego). Also, I trained with some elite players with a local club soccer coach, who worked us to death. Basically put, lots of 1 v1's, lots of speed drills, and lots of shooting. It was very difficult, but very productive.



7. You scored an impressive 14 goals as a center back during your time at Brown, how did you manage to find yourself open so much? Were opposing coaches just really bad at scouting?

I think I've matured and developed in several areas to help myself score goals at the collegiate level. I wouldn't say opposing coaches were bad at scouting. Most of the time, they would usually yell out "find number 5", but on the days they didn't, it certainly worked to my advantage. I think scoring goals is something that I can contribute to any team I play on, even if I'm playing center back.

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Seattle Making the Right Moves

I was skeptical when Freddie Ljungberg went down. I never liked that they would be playing in a football stadium. But besides those two issues, I am impressed by everything else that the Seattle Sounders are doing. While most teams in the MLS routinely lose money, Seattle is already planning on making a profit this year. Also, contraty to how San Jose was solid defensively but inept on offense throughout much of their first year back in MLS (until they made a few trades later in the season), Seattle is focused on having a quality team from day one. Excluding players they obtained through expansion draft, they have already signed Osvaldo Alonso, Fredy Montero(Highlights above from his time in Colombia), Taylor Graham, Patrick Ianni, Chris Eylander, Kasey Keller, Sebastien Le Toux, Sanna Nyassi, and Freddie Ljunberg. Alonso, Graham, Le Toux, and Eylander all come from USL, and it is nice to see an MLS team bringing in top players that are MLS-quality from that league. I am also liking the move for a young foreign attacking prospect like Fredy Montero. O yea, don't forget that they drafted the best attacking prospect in the MLS Superdraft, Steve Zakuani, with the number 1 pick. I don't know if I see them making the playoffs in the first year, but I definitely see them putting in a better performance than RSL, Chivas USA, and San Jose did in their expansion years.

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2009 MLS Superdraft Picks by Team

Here are the 2009 MLS Superdraft Picks by Team:

Chicago
Baggio Husidic (Round 2, 20th pick overall)
David Sias (Round 3, 43rd pick overall)
Jokull Elisabetarson (Round 4, 52nd pick overall)
Richard Jata (Round 4, 58th pick overall)

Chivas USA
Michael Lahoud (Round 1, 9th pick overall)
Kyle Christensen (Round 3, 35th pick overall)
Jamie Franks (Round 4, 49th pick overall)

Colorado
Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe (Round 2, 28th pick overall)
Steward Ceus (Round 3, 37th pick overall)
Ross Schunk (Round 4, 47th pick overall)
Jordan Seabrook (Round 4, 51st pick overall)
Henry Kalungi (Round 4, 53rd pick overall)
Michael Holody (Round 4, 59th pick overall)

Columbus
Paul Gerstenberger (Round 2, 30th pick overall)
Alex Grendi (Round 3, 45th pick overall)
Chris Clements (Round 4, 60th pick overall)

DC United
Rodney Wallace (Round 1, 6th pick overall)
Chris Pontius (Round 1, 7th pick overall)
Milos Kocic (Round 2, 21st pick overall)
Lyle Adams (Round 2, 26th overall)
Brandon Barklage (Round 3, 36th pick overall)

FC Dallas
Peri Marosevic (Round 1, 5th pick overall)
George John (Round 1, 14th pick overall)
Brian Shriver (Round 2, 27th overall)

Houston
Daniel Cruz (Round 3, 41st pick overall)
Marcus Tracy (Round 4, 56th pick overall)

Kansas City
Matt Besler (Round 1, 8th pick overall)
Doug DeMartin (Round 2, 22nd pick overall)
Graham Zusi (Round 2, 23rd pick overall)
Neal Kitson (Round 3, 42nd pick overall)
Akeem Priestley (Round 4, 50th pick overall)

LA Galaxy
Omar Gonzalez (Round 1, 3rd pick overall)
AJ DeLaGarza (Round 2, 19th pick overall)
Josh Boateng (Round 3, 33rd overall)
Kyle Patterson (Round 4, 48th overall)

New England
Kevin Alston (Round 1, 10th pick overall)
Ryan Maxwell (Round 1, 15th pick overall)
Andrei Gotsmanov (Round 2, 24th pick overall)
Denaldin Hamzagic (Round 2, 25th pick overall)
Darrius Barnes (Round 3, 40th pick overall)
Tyrel Lacey (Round 4, 55th pick overall)

New York
Jeremy Hall (Round 1, 11th pick overall)
Babajide Ogunbiyi (Round 2, 18th pick overall)
Jack Traynor (Round 2, 29th pick overall)
Nick Zimmerman (Round 3, 43rd pick overall)

Real Salt Lake
Jean Alexandre (Round 1, 12th pick overall)
Raphael Cox (Round 4, 54th pick overall)
Futhi Bhembe (Round 4, 57th pick overall)

San Jose
Brad Ring (Round 2, 17th pick overall)
Quincy Amarikwa (Round 3, 32nd pick overall

Seattle
Steve Zakuani (Round 1, 1st pick overall)
Evan Brown (Round 2, 16th pick overall)
Jared Karkas (Round 3, 31st pick overall)
Michael Fucito (Round 4, 46th pick overall)


Toronto
Sam Cronin (Round 1, 2nd pick overall)
O'Brian White (Round 1, 4th pick overall)
Stefan Frei (Round 1, 13th pick overall)
Mike Grella (Round 3, 34th pick overall)
Kyle Hall (Round 3, 39th pick overall)

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Galaxy Acquire Two Before Draft

The LA Galaxy acquired Mike Magee and Dema Kovalenko yesterday, concluding what has been a series of conservative moves from the franchise that tends to lean toward big-splash signings (See Abel Xavier, Carlos Ruiz and Ruud Gullit). Mike Magee comes from the NY Red Bulls for a second round pick and Dema comes from Real Salt Lake for a draft pick and some allocation money. Good moves by "the most popular team in MLS" (according to their blog), Magee should add some attacking flair, while the wily veteran Kovalenko should add some bite to their midfield.

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Combine Wrap Up + Superdraft Predictions

The MLS Combine is over and those that participated now have to wait and see how the Superdraft will shake out. The MLS fan like you and me however, can now attempt to make predictions concerning draft order and offer detailed analysis on players we have only seen play a few times or read about. In keeping with that theme (and adding to my knowledge on the subject), Buzz Carrick hits us with his Combine Wrap up and his final Goalkeeper rankings. He also gives us his breakdown of the Top 20 overall prospects, while Ives Galarcep lets us know who he thinks hurt and helped themselves during the MLS combine. Check in tomorrow to see where everyone got picked (including Sam Cronin, pictured above) and read my previous post for some further insight into the build up to the draft.

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MLS Teams and Players Keeping Busy

Landon Donovan is continuing to make an impression on Bayern Munich, as he scored an injury time goal (video above) in his second friendly with the German giants. His home club is staying busy as well, by trading a conditional draft pick to Columbus for midfielder Stefani Miglioranzi. Ives Galarcep reports that they are close to trading for Red Bull midfielder Mike Magee, in this post about the Red Bulls trading Dave Van den Bergh to FC Dallas for speedy forward Dominic Oduro. Last but not least, it looks like San Jose will be resigning veteran goalkeeper Joe Cannon to a new deal. It is nice to see LA making some shrewd moves instead of going for the big name signing and San Jose intelligently bring back one of the best goalkeepers to play in MLS. I also think that the NY-Dallas trade will work out for both teams as NY clears cap room and gets the speedy forward they have been wanting, while Dallas picks up the veteran left sided player that Schellas Hyndman has been talking about since he first got hired.

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Monday MLS News and Notes

This past weekend, Landon Donovan made his Bayern Munich debut, going 90 minutes in a friendly against Al Jazeera and recording an assist in a 3-2 win. Kansas City showed other MLS teams how you should negotiate, by signing Claudio Lopez to a new, non-DP deal. Lopez had a slow start last year but finished strong, and should be a valuable asset to the Wizards especially now that he isn't a Designated Player. Gonzalo Peralta is returning to Argentina after an injury plagued season with DC United and the Red Bulls will be playing a team comprised of a few players you may have heard of, on June 14th. Finally, there may be trouble with the stadium for the Philadelphia MLS team. At least the DC mayor has come through with the stadium he promised to DC United fans, o wait, hold on a second.......

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MLS Combine and Superdraft News

Marcus Tracy, the striker from Wake Forest, just won the Hermann Trophy for best college player in the country. So, he should be drafted in the top of the MLS Draft, right? Wrong. Looks like the 22 year old American will be signing with Danish Champions Aalborg instead. Nick Schiffler over at ESPN, caught up with him yesterday and discussed his decision to pass over MLS for the second year in a row and jump to Europe.

For the players that want to try their luck in MLS, there is the MLS Combine, and the first games of the event were played on Saturday. Gianfranco Panizo and Buzz Carrick both take time to give us their analysis of the first 2 games of the event. Looks like Sam Cronin showed why so many teams are high on him, while some of the Generation Adidas players failed to impress. Buzz even hits us with his report from Day two. Take that SoccerbyIves.

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MLS Offseason Continues...

As the off season continues, Ives checks in with some of the trade rumblings around MLS. Also, the Galaxy released Eduardo Dominguez and signed Leonard Griffin, Steve Cronin, and Jovan Kirovski. The official release from LA is here. Seattle was also busy as they signed Chris Eylander to become Kasey Keller's backup. Finally, the league released the list of Generation Adidas players that have signed with the league and will be available in the upcoming draft. I would have posted this yesterday, but every soccer blogger on the planet linked it on their website so I figured there was no rush. Seems to be a pretty solid class, with Steve Zakuani (highlight video above) from Akron and Omar Gonzalez from Maryland looking to be locks to go in the top 3.

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DC United Making Moves

Before the start of last season, DC United looked to be the favorite to win the Supporter's Shield once again. Skip ahead to a year later and most analysts aren't even penciling them into the top four in the Eastern Conference. As a result DC is focusing on keeping the players that performed well for them last year, and they have taken two steps forward in that regard by resigning Marc Burch as well as Santino Quaranta (Clyde Simms and Devon McTavish have already signed contract extensions). Despite their lackluster performance last season, with the addition of a quality center back and a couple young talents through the draft, DC United could be return to their usual place among the MLS elite. That is of course if Marcelo Gallardo, Luciano Emilio, and Fred can all stay healthy. Now we we just have to wait and see what happens with veteran Bryan Namoff's contract situation (O and if Ben Olsen makes a miraculous recovery).

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MLS Superdraft News

I knew the holiday season was over when I stepped on the Metro this morning and there were no seats available at all. But, at least I was lucky enough to get to stand between two heavy set men that were having a competition to see who could take up the most room on the train (always a good time). On to more important things, the MLS Superdraft is coming up shortly and there have been a bunch of articles profiling this year's draft class. Here is Buzz Carrick's take on the best Senior Forwards available (Marcus Tracy pictured above) and Kyle McCarthy's take on why Generation Adidas players are so appealing to MLS executives. Finally here is the 3rd and updated edition of Ives Galarcep's mock draft. Check it out and I will be back with national team news later in the day.

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Revs Sign Videira: Boswell Ponders Exit

Looks like patience has paid off for the New England Revolution. When taking Mike Videira (pictured above) in the 2nd round of the 2008 MLS Superdraft, the Revs knew the Duke midfielder planned on trying to make it in Europe. Try he did, but after one injury-riddled season with Hamilton of the Scottish Premier League, Videira has signed with the league and as a result of being drafted by them, the Revs. Although this is a good signing, I still think the Revs need to make some bigger signings in order to place themselves back among the MLS elite.

Also, looks like Bobby Boswell might be taking off to Europe, as Antalyaspor of the Turkish Super Lig look to be pushing for his signature. According to Soccer 365, Boswell is currently in Turkey getting to know his potential new club. Houston knew that Boswell might take off after his solid campaign with the Dynamo last season, and as a result swung a trade to bring in the young CB Julius James from Toronto FC. If Boswell leaves, you might hear his Dynamo teammates saying some things reminiscent of his old DC United teammates.

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American Soccer Roundup - Holiday Edition

Since I was slacking on posting updates over the past few days, I figured I would link a few of the more interesting stories that I came across over the break. In a big move for the reigning MLS Cup Champions, the front office resigned Chad Marshall to a multi-year contract with the Crew. Andrew Hush over at ESPN posted the second part of his interview with Clint Dempsey (Part 1 is right here), and Buzz Carrick continued his series of articles profiling the college seniors we might see in the MLS draft. Check out the lists for midfielders and defenders. O and last but not least, check out this article from Steve Davis for ESPN, profiling the power players of professional and international soccer in the United States. Davis gives us a nice glimpse of the people behind the scenes of the leagues and teams that we follow.

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MLS Making Moves; US Soccer Announcements

While is MLS is out getting that TV money, US Soccer is announcing awards and youth national team news. Kudos to MLS for expanding its global brand; more exposure can only mean good things for the future, especially when you are getting over $10 mill in the process. Props also go to US Soccer for getting it right by honoring Tim Howard, Carli Lloyd, Sacha Kljestan, and Kristie Mewis as US Soccer's players of the year. Howard and Lloyd took home the overall awards, while Kljestan and Mewis took home the yout player awards.

Now for the YNT news: Newly appointed U-18 coach Mike Matkovic called in a buttload of players for his first camp, while the U-20's wrapped up their recent camp down in Florida with a couple of victories. Zac MacMath (pictured above), who just helped UMD to an NCAA Championship, is a notable inclusion in the U-18 camp. Danny Cruz, Sheanon Williams, and Sam Garza chipped in the goals that helped the U-20's top Haiti and Canada, 2-0 and 1-0 respectively.

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Lots of News in the World of MLS

I have been slacking. Even though it's the offseason, there has been an insane amount of activity over the past few days. Freddie is hurt, Borgetti might be coming (say it ain't so), and Buzz Carrick is putting out lists of potential GA prospects, and the top goalies that might be coming to MLS. Also, the Crew got a new coach (picture above), but he might be without his best defender next year. Oh yea and apparently DC United might have passed on signing Stephen Appiah, while Houston is trying to acquire an up and coming Mexican player.

Don't forget there are also some American still playing overseas, and some of them are putting in notable performances. Dempsey bagged a goal in a winning effort, Friedel got a shutout to send his team into 3rd place, and Bocanegra and Gooch played the full 90 as both their teams were victorious. Check for Dempsey's goal after the jump.

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