US Soccer Players

Razov Gets A New Deal

US National Team forward Ante Razov has re-upped with Chivas USA.

Gallardo Parts Ways With DC United

DC United has agreed to let Marcelo Gallardo leave the club, ending weeks of speculation about his status.  Gallardo held a designated player slot with the club.

Gallardo Parts Ways With DC United

DC United has agreed to let Marcelo Gallardo leave the club, ending weeks of speculation about his status.  Gallardo held a designated player slot with the club.

Colorado Re-Signs Four

The Colorado Rapids announced on Thursday that Colin Clark, Nick LaBrocca, Jordan Harvey and Kosuke Kimura have all signed four-year deals with the club.

Dallas Signs Bucknor

Former Jamaican Under-17 National Team player Sean Bucknor signed with FC Dallas on Thursday, the club announced in a statement.

Find The Market

By Andrew Dixon - MIAMI, FL (Jan 30, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- Can I be real for a second?

The very notion of establishing and maintaining a professional outdoor soccer league in these United States of America requires vision, patience and (at the very least) ambition.  To get Major League Soccer on par with not only the top soccer leagues in the world, but also the top professional sports leagues in the US, requires a certain belief and a will to see it come to fruition.

Garcia Signs With Houston

The following is a press release from Major League Soccer --

HOUSTON, TX (Jan 29, 2009) MLS -- The Houston Dynamo announced the signing of 18-year-old forward Felix Garcia at a press conference at the team’s downtown office today. Garcia, a Laredo, Texas, native, was signed by Major League Soccer to a Generation adidas contract and selected by the Dynamo via the allocation process.

“We are very excited to welcome Felix to Houston,” Dynamo Chief Operating Officer Chris Canetti said. “He’s obviously a player with a lot of potential, and we’re looking forward to maximizing that potential. We are going to be very patient in his development and are eager to see him grow as a professional player under the positive training environment that Dominic Kinnear has established.”

Bradley Calls Camp For Mexico

CHICAGO, IL (Jan 29, 2009) USSF -- US National Team coach Bob Bradley has called 20 players back to U.S. Soccer's National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., to begin preparations  for the USA’s first match of final round qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The U.S. will take on regional rivals Mexico on Feb. 11 in front of a sold-out crowd at Columbus Crew Stadium live on ESPN2, ESPN2 HD and Univision beginning at 7pm ET.

The 20-man group is made up almost entirely of players who participated in the previous camp from Jan. 4-24 at the HDC, with Columbus Crew defender and three-time World Cup veteran Frankie Hejduk the only new addition.  The U.S. team will train in Carson for nine days before departing on Feb. 7 for Columbus.

Fourteen of the players on the roster appeared in the USA’s 3-0 win against Sweden on Jan. 24, including midfielder Sacha Kljestan, who became the second player in U.S. history to score his first three goals all in the same game.  Both Robbie Rogers and Chris Wingert made their debut for the full team in the victory.

Rapids And Real Maryland Create Partnership

Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids and the United Soccer Leagues' Real Maryland have announced a partnership centered on player development.  Real Maryland is a USL-2 team that played their 2008 season at the SoccerPlex in Germantown, MD.

American Abroad: Making Moves

By Graig Carbino - ALBANY, NY (Jan 29, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- How can two situations which, on the surface look very similar, be completely different? There certainly is some aspect of philosophy at play when dissecting the relative circumstances surrounding the Landon Donovan-David Beckham-LA Galaxy current state of affairs.

Both players want out of La-La land while “The Bruce” and AEG have demanded their safe and healthy return no later than March 8th. You can almost picture Arena on the phone with Milan's Carlos Ancelotti reciting that famous “If you harm one hair on his head…” line from 1988's “BIG” cant you?

US Soccer To Bid For World Cup

Announcing an announcment, the US Soccer Federation has confirmed they will be bidding on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, with a executive director of the bid committee already in place.  Under current FIFA poilicy the hosting rights for those World Cups will be awarded simultaneously.  An official statement from US Soccer is scheduled for Monday.

Llamosa Joins Coaching Staff At Chivas USA

Former US National Team defender and World Cup veteran Carlos Llamosa will be joining fellow National Team alumnus Preki Radosavljevic's coaching staff at Chivas USA.

DC Re-Ups With McTavish

The following is a press release from Major League Soccer --

Washington, DC (January 28, 2009) - DC United announced today the club has re-signed defender Devon McTavish. In a season that saw a host of lineup changes from the previous year, McTavish was one of the most versatile players on the squad, playing 26 games and tallying a goal and four assists. Per team and League policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

MLS Releases Schedule

The following is a press release from Major League Soccer --

NEW YORK, NY (Jan 28, 2009) MLS -- The 2009 MLS regular season kicks off Thursday, March 19 with a spirited and historic match – the inaugural game of Seattle Sounders FC. In front of an anticipated capacity crowd at Qwest Field, U.S. goalkeeping great Kasey Keller and Sounders FC will host the MLS Cup 2008 finalist New York Red Bulls, led by striker Juan Pablo Ángel, in a game aired live in high definition on ESPN2.   
 
Today MLS and its national broadcast partners announced the entire regular season schedule for 2009, the League’s 14th season.
 
The complete schedule is listed below. Throughout the year, the most up-to-date version and the team-by-team schedules are available at www.MLSnet.com.

Wednesday's Daily: Everything Connects

With J Hutcherson -- Five January's ago, the NSCAA Convention was held in Charlotte. I grew up near there, and I spent a week getting dropped off by my Dad like it was middle school. Well, a middle school populated by people wearing tracksuits and calling each other 'coach.'

That was also the only time I've ever finagled a press credential. I got my Dad in as a photographer to cover the MLS SuperDraft. He was taking a course and he needed to cover an event as part of the work he was doing.

Even on Freddy Adu's big day, Major League Soccer didn't mind. Adu introduced himself to my father that afternoon. The poise that kid had was unreal. In real life, my dad was a trial lawyer, but that day he got to be a pro sports photographer.

Jazic Switches Locker Rooms In Carson

Defender Ante Jazic has signed with Chivas USA, completing a draft day trade with the LA Galaxy.

Torres Returns To MLS

Daniel Torres will once again be playing in Major League Soccer after signing with FC Dallas.  Torres has previously played for Columbus and Real Salt Lake.  He left the League at the end of the 2007 season to sign with Norwegian club Bryne FK.

San Jose Names Shirt Sponsor

The San Jose Earthquakes became the latest Major League Soccer club to get a jersey sponsor, announcing Amway Global on Wednesday.

American Abroad: Country To Club

By Graig Carbino - ALBANY, NY (Jan 26, 2009) USSoccerPlayers -- Sacha, Sacha, Sacha. If you didn't come away from Saturday night's National Team game against Sweden thoroughly impressed with the play of one Sacha Kljestan please seek medical attention immediately. “Meaningless game against poor competition” you'll surely cry. I beg to differ.

Kljestan put on a show against a mostly inexperienced Swedish team that rivaled any performance in recent memory by a member of the National Team. The fact that he did it while playing alongside many untested US players only makes his effort that much more special. In a game like that, players like Kljestan and Ching and Califf should be expected to rise to the top and show off their know-how. That is exactly what they did.

Tuesday's Daily: Put In Print

With J Hutcherson -- Anybody hear about the Joe Torre book? You know, the one where the famous Yankee/Dodger manager says something critical of the even more famous player? The pull quotes that get very important sporting pundits in very expensive suits sitting behind glass and video boards telling us how very important all of this just might be?

You might recognize it as the standard template for just about every title ever written by someone running an English soccer club.