By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (July 19, 2012) US Soccer Players -- In Thursday’s column, Tony puts Landon Donovan’s most recent career achievement into perspective before asking about a Player of the Week winner and Pablo Mastroeni’s injury situation.
How many players in MLS history have recorded 100 goals and 100 assists during their time in the League?
Two, Jaime Moreno and US National Team player Landon Donovan. Donovan reached the milestone this past weekend in Portland. Donovan is one of six players in MLS history with 100 assists. For those needing reminding, National Team alum Jeff Cunningham is Major League Soccer's all-time leading scorer with 134 goals. Donovan is third with 122 and no one else in the top six is active in MLS. Another US Soccer player, Steve Ralston, has the assist record with 135. Donovan, in 5th-place, is the only active MLS player in the top seven in that category. He has 101 assists.
Among the players who have won Major League Soccer's Player of the Week this season, how has the season gone for Timbers midfielder Kalif Alhassan?
After a sprained knee kept him out of action, the 21-year-old Ghanian midfielder has only played in 9 games, logging 637 minutes. He started and played almost 70 minutes in the Timbers’ loss to the Galaxy last weekend.
What is the latest on US National Team player Pablo Mastroeni’s recovery from multiple concussions?
Colorado put their captain on the disabled list this week, and are sounding cautious, at best, about Mastroeni’s future.
With forward Danny Koevermans suffering a season-ending injury, does Toronto FC coach Paul Mariner regret allowing 20-year old forward Joao Plata to go on loan recently?
Apparently not, as the Toronto coach told MLSsoccer.com that Plata’s advisers were not an asset in his eyes.
“Do I want to take a hard line, of course I do,” said Mariner. “But he’s a [20-year-old] kid who has been ill-advised by a couple of people. I don’t want to throw the blame at people, but there’s a certain etiquette of going about your business. Major League Soccer and Toronto Football Club, we don’t go about our business in the way that was conducted.”
So loaning (read exiling) the player back to Ecuador’s LDU Quito for six months is not taking the hard line?
How is it going for former US National team player Eric Wynalda as interim coach in Atlanta?
After dropping Wynalda’s first game in charge, the Silverbacks have won two in a row, defeating Manny Lagos’ Minnesota Stars on July 7th and Puerto Rico last weekend in Wynalda’s first home game as coach. That's good for 7th-place in an 8 team league. Atlanta has 14 points from 17 games and a league worst -14 goal differential. Wynalda has his work cut out for him, and from published reports seems to be loving the challenge. Job one is closing the seven point gap between Atlanta and 6th-place Carolina.
Tony Edwards is a soccer writer from the Bay Area.
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