US Soccer Players

RBNY Lose Stammler

WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 31, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Red Bull NY will be without midfielder Seth Stammler when they open their playoff series with Houston on Saturday (4pm - Direct Kick).  Stammler required surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee, an injury RBNY had been trying to treat while Stammler continued to play.

Friday's Daily: Playing The Expectation

By J Hutcherson -- So what do we make of the New England Revolution now? A decidedly better question would be to ask the same thing about the Chicago Fire. Dicey offside calls happen. If that's the only difference between a draw and a win, Chicago probably shouldn't get very far with the 'saving it for the home game' excuse.

MLS Thursday: No Goals

WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 31, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- The New England Revolution got an unexpected point at home considering their injury and suspension issues going into game one of the MLS Playoffs on Thursday night.  Their 0-0 draw with Chicago ended up being more about fouls and goalkeeping than the expected creativity from the visiting team.

Last Call MLS: Big Night

WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 30, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- The New England Revolution can continue the trend of personnel excuses as they open the 2008 MLS playoffs at home tonight against Chicago. Also, MLS vs the National Hockey League.

MLS Announces Awards Finalists/Schedule

NEW YORK (Oct 30, 2008) MLS -- Major League Soccer today announced the finalists for its 2008 year-end awards. Winners for each award will be announced in the coming weeks, beginning with the Panasonic Goalkeeper of the Year and Fair Play winners on Tuesday, November 4th. The Volkswagen MLS Most Valuable Player announcement will air live on ESPNews on Thursday, November 20th.    

Vote For MLS Goal Of The Year

NEW YORK, NY (Oct 30, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Voting for the 2008 Sierra Mist Goal of the Year kicked off today on MLSnet.  Fans may vote to determine the most remarkable goal of the 2008 regular season, choosing from 35 goals including the 31 winners of the Sierra Mist Goal of the Week and four additional nominees.

Galaxy Confirms Beckham Loan

CARSON, CA (Oct 30, 2008) MLS -- An agreement has been reached between the LA Galaxy and AC Milan for the loan of Galaxy midfielder David Beckham effective in January 2009.

David Beckham remains under contract to the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer and will return to the club for training and the start of the 2009 MLS season.

AC Milan and the LA Galaxy have additionally agreed to a technical partnership that will provide great benefit to both clubs. 

Terms of the agreement will remain confidential.

Courtesy of LA Galaxy Communications

MLS Playoff Primer

USSoccerPlayers' Graig Carbino takes us through the opening round of the MLS playoffs focusing on the big stories that will play out over the next few weeks.  Can Columbus extend their League-best play into the postseason?  How bad off is New England?  Does RBNY have a chance?  Read on.

Thursday's Daily: Letting Go

By J Hutcherson -- Yes, an argument can be made in either direction. New England decides to foment Revolution in response to losing Steve Ralston to a broken leg, and the result is now Khano Smith gone for the opening round of the playoffs. That's MLS discipline, announcing two additional games to the initial one game for a red card as New England prepares to open the playoffs against Chicago.

Two US Women Up For FIFA World Player 2008

Shannon Boxx and Hope Solo are on the ten player shortlist for FIFA Women's World Player of the Year.  The winner will be announced on January 12, 2009 at the 18th FIFA World Player Gala in Zurich. 

Women's Shortlist
Nadine Angerer (Germany), Shannon Boxx (USA), Cristiane (Brazil), Daniela (Brazil), Marta (Brazil), Birgit Prinz (Germany), Christine Sinclair (Canada), Kelly Smith (England), Hope Solo (USA) and Ingvild Stensland (Norway).

Men's Shortlist
Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Sergio Agüero (Argentina), Andrei Arshavin (Russia), Michael Ballack (Germany), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Deco (Portugal), Didier Drogba (Côte d'Ivoire), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Steven Gerrard (England), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Kaká (Brazil), Frank Lampard (England), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Franck Ribéry (France), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), John Terry (England), Fernando Torres (Spain), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands), David Villa (Spain) and Xavi (Spain).

CONCACAF Champions League: Last Night For DC

WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 30th, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- With DC United already out of contention in Group A, they gave Marathon a game on Wednesday night, but ended up a man down and losing 4-2. 

Francis Doe got United on the board first with a 10th minute goal.  Marathon equalized through Saul Martinez, and went a man up when DC's Santino Quaranta was shown a yellow card in the 45th minute, argued, and was sent off.  Mario Berrios scored a minute into the second half, followed by Milton Nunez in the 53rd to make it 3-1 Marathon.  Short-handed, DC got a 61st minute goal from Greg Janicki.  Marathon's Marvin Chavez finished off the scoring in the 68th.

Also in Group A, Saprissa beat Cruz Azul 1-0 with Cruz Azul losing two players to red cards. 

Marathon are now top of the group on a tiebreaker, with Marathon, Cruz Azul, and Saprissa all level on ten points.  Cruz Azul and DC United have finished the group stage.  Marathon and Saprissa play each other on November 5th with first place in the group riding on the result.

In Group B, UNAM Pumas advance as group winners after beating bottom club San Francisco 6-0.  In Group D, Puerto Rico advances with a 2-2 draw with Tauro, holding a tiebreaker over Tauro who also have eight points and potentially Municipal if they beat group winners Santos Laguna on Thursday. 

Last Call MLS: Shiny Thing

WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 29, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- DC United gets to play out the string tonight in the CONCACAF Champions League, and Major League Soccer gets that nice new trophy they've always wanted.

MLS Cup Gets Third Look

NEW YORK, NY (Oct 29, 2008) MLS -- Major League Soccer today unveiled its newly redesigned MLS Cup trophy, named for soccer visionary Philip F. Anschutz.  The trophy reflects the traditions of the game, while providing a dynamic and forward-looking design. Since 1996, the MLS Cup championship trophy has been presented as a symbol of the highest achievement in North America’s top-flight professional soccer league.

Wednesday's Daily: All The Best

By J Hutcherson -- "Our partners are unrivaled and I would literally say that in the world of sports, our ownership group is as good as any ownership group of any league in the world," MLS deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis told Bloomberg for some reason. He continued by putting the National Hockey League on notice, both for number of teams and popularity.

American Abroad: Tuesday Update

WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 29, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Maurice Edu started for Rangers as they beat Hamilton Academical 2-0 in the CIS Cup. Kris Boyd scored again for Rangers, getting the 25th minute opener. Kyle Lafferty made it 2-0 in the 50th. Rangers move on to the semifinals.

DaMarcus Beasley missed the game due to injury. He was substituted in the 73rd minute of Saturday's league game against Hamilton.

The Championship: Burnley's Robbie Blake scored in the 81st minute to beat Marcus Hahnemann and Reading 1-0. Bobby Convey wasn't in the squad for Reading. "If we continue to play and create as many chances as we did tonight then we'll be all right," Reading manager Steve Coppell said.

Eddie Johnson was a 79th minute substitute for Cardiff and was on the field when both goals were scored. Peter Whittingham got the first in the 83rd and Ross McCormack hit a 25-yard free kick for the 2-0 win. "The longer it went on, the deeper their defence went, and the chances started to appear," said manager Davy Jones.

Jay DeMerit got the start in the Watford defense and hit the crossbar early, but it would be Preston North End taking the points with a 2-0 win. Billy Jones scored in the 43rd minute and Ros Wallace got PNE's second in the 68th. Watford are 19th in the table after 14 games.

Frankie Simek got his first playing time of the season against Plymouth as a second-half substitute.  Plymouth won 1-0 from a Steve MacLean goal in the 23rd minute.  Simek is expected to see time in the reserves this week as he continues his recovery from the injury that cost him the early part of the season.

Did Not Play: Danny Szetela wasn't involved in Brescia's 1-0 loss to Salernitana. Grover Gibson wasn't in the squad for Ahlen's 2-0 loss to Alemania Aachen.

CONCACAF Champions League: Just Enough For Houston

WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 29, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- The Houston Dynamo got a 1-1 draw against Firpo on Tuesday night, and they almost took all three points. The result means Houston will still be in contention when they face Firpo again almost a month from now.

Last Call MLS: Houston Needs A Point

WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 28, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- The Houston dynamo get a jump on the opening week of the playoffs with a CONCACAF Champions League game against Firpo tonight at 10pm on Fox Soccer Channel. Houston will need results home and home against Firpo to advance.

Twellman Out

FOXBOROUGH, MA (Oct 28, 2008) MLS -- The New England Revolution announced today that forward Taylor Twellman will be out indefinitely with concussion-related symptoms.

Ljungberg Officially With Sounders

RENTON, WA (Oct 28, 2008) MLS -- Seattle Sounders FC has signed midfielder Freddie Ljungberg to a multi-year contract, the team announced. Ljungberg starred for 10 seasons in the English Premier League and served as captain of Sweden during this past summer's European Championships.

Tuesday's Daily: Seattle Move

For a League trying ever-so-hard not to be confused with a retirement circuit for aging world talent, credit Major League Soccer for the mixed message. With the expected announcement that Freddie Ljungberg will be joining the Seattle Sounders as the third best paid player in Major League Soccer, the newest MLS team picks up someone who most of Europe thought was retired.