US Soccer Players

Noonan Joins Seattle

After being waived by the Colorado Rapids, forward Pat Noonan is now a member of the Seattle Sounders.  "I'm excited that Pat Noonan was available and we were able to sign him," Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. "My experience with him was a very good one in Columbus. Pat is a good player who can play a number of different positions on the field, and is a very solid professional."

American Abroad: Tracy To Miss Season

Aalborg and United States National Team forward Marcus Tracy is expected to be out for the rest of the season with tendinitis in his knee.

Benny Feilhaber was a 69th minute substitute for Aalborg in their 4-0 win over Esbjerg at Blue Water Arena on Wednesday. Feilhaber is coming back from injury. In a second-half surge, Steven Petersen put Aalborg up in the 65th, with Davit Devdariani scoring in the 72nd and Dennis Hogt making it 3-0 in the 74th. Petersen scored his second in stoppage time.

Thursday's TV

Major League Soccer on ESPN2: Houston - Salt Lake at 9pm and Los Angeles - Chivas USA at 11pm.

Europa League on GolTV: Valencia - Atletico Madrid at 3pm and Benfica - Liverpool at 8pm.  Copa Libertadores on Fox sports en Espanol: Corinthians - Cerro Porteno at 6pm, Emelec - Quito at 8:30pm, and Once Caldas - Nacional at 10:30pm.  All Times Eastern

Rumors And Innuendo

By Michael Lewis - NEW YORK, NY (Apr 1, 2010) US Soccer Players -- It's been a very, very busy week for yours truly with the opening of Red Bull Arena and the 15th season of Major League Soccer, so let's get on with this information-packed column.

An incredible story has surfaced in the Ultimate World Football Bulletin, which is available only to exclusive subscribers of this internationally renowned newsletter. FIFA wants to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams for the 2014 tournament in Brazil, according to well-placed sources.

Probably the most interesting part of the plan by FIFA president Sepp Blatter is to give Europe 20 slots in the quadrennial tournament, while Africa and Asia would get seven berths apiece. South America and CONCACAF would be increased to six teams apiece and Oceania would be awarded two spots, the Bulletin reported.

Nowak vs. Ljungberg

With J Hutcherson -- Let's pretend for a second that Philadelphia Union coach Peter Nowak resists the urge for Major League Soccer conformity and continues to up the entertainment value. By calling out Freddy Ljungberg, Nowak made a lopsided loss all about him. It was a smart move, worthy of a player turned coach with his experience.

Unfortunately, the National Football League tendencies of MLS normally won't stand for that sort of thing. And it is unfortunate. New quasi-official website aside, the League has shown no ability to really laugh at itself. They're like the kid in class that never quite got the joke while halfheartedly playing along.

CCL: Pachuca Draw First Leg

With Jose Francisco Torres starting and playing 68 minutes, Pachuca got an away goal in their 1-1 draw with Toluca at the Nemesio Diez in the opener of their CONCACAF Champions League semifinal series. Unfortunately for Pachuca, they also gave up a 77th-minute equalizer in a game they seemed to have under control.

Darío Cvitanich put Pachuca up in the 34th, and within a minute of Edgar Duenas scoring for Toluca in the 77th, Pachuca had a man advantage. By the 81st, Toluca were down two from another red card, with Pachuca unable to score against nine men. Pachuca ended with only two shots on frame to Toluca's five, and questions in the run-up to their home leg on April 7th.

USA 16th In Latest FIFA Rankings

The United States moved up two slots to 16th in the March 2010 FIF Rankings released on Wednesday.  The US lost six points during the rankings period.  Mexico are down two slots to 17th.  In World Cup Group C, England moved from 8th to 7th, Slovenia dropped two places to 29th, and Algeria moved up five places to 27th.  TOP TWENTY

American Abroad: Tough Night For Rangers

With Rangers coasting toward the Scottish Premier League title, they got a surprise on Tuesday night at McDiarmid Park losing 4-1 to St Johnstone. Rangers were already down two goals when Sasa Papac scored to make it 2-1. St Johnstone goals in the 36th and 79th sealed the surprise win for the home side. Maurice Edu came on at halftime. DaMarcus Beasley wasn't in the squad.

MLS Ticker: Busch Signs

Jon Busch is now a member of the San Jose Earthquakes, joining the club after being let go on waivers by the Chicago Fire.  Busch was the starter with Chicago, but will be backing up Joe Cannon with the Quakes.

Wednesday's TV

US Women - Mexico at 9pm on ESPN2.

Champions League on Fox Soccer Channel: Arsenal - Barcelona at 2:30pm and Inter Milan - CSKA Moscow at 5pm (2:30pm on Fox Soccer Plus). Copa Libertadores on Fox Sports en Espanol: Monterrey - Sao Paulo at 9pm and Morelia - Banfield at 11pm. CONCACAF Champions League on FSC and Galavision: UNAM Pumas - Cruz Azul at 10pm. All Times Eastern

Toronto Will Host 2010 MLS Cup

In one of the worst kept secrets in Major League Soccer, MLS confirmed on Tuesday that Toronto will be hosting the 2010 MLS Cup.  The game is scheduled for Sunday, November 21st at 8:30pm ET (live on ESPN). “Toronto and the Province of Ontario have proven to be a vibrant market for top-level soccer, and we are pleased to present the city’s fans another opportunity to enjoy a marquee event and showcase their passion,” MLS commissioner Don Garber said. “As we saw last year in Seattle, MLS Cup is more than just our championship match; it is a four-day celebration of the world’s game in North America. We believe Toronto will be a superb backdrop for the festivities.”

England Wants To Direct

With J Hutcherson -- Look, it's easy enough to question the British government deciding to get involved in who owns English soccer clubs. Normally, that's the kind of thing that brings FIFA scrutiny, an odd choice in the middle of a World Cup bid. After all, England would only need to put this off until the bids were in and the hosts announced.

Instead, the government is taking the problems facing English soccer seriously enough to make this an issue now. This remains politics, so some of it is without a doubt grandstanding. There's also the 'foreigners bad' rhetoric that gets mixed up in this type of discussion. Why now is a very good question.

Morales Wins MLS Player Of The Week

Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales is your MLS Player of the Week for Week 1, as decided by the North American Soccer Reporters.  Morales scored two goals and assisted on a third in RSL's 3-0 win over San Jose. 

Tuesday's TV

Champions League on Fox Soccer Channel: Lyon - Bordeaux at 2:30pm and Bayern Munich - Manchester United at 5pm (2:30pm on Fox Sports en Espanol). Copa Libertadores on Fox Sports en Espanol: Libertad - Lanus at 7pm. CONCACAF Champions League on Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision: Toluca - Pachuca at 10pm. All Times Eastern

A New Generation Of Foreign Players In MLS

By Clemente Lisi - NEW YORK, NY (Mar 29, 2010) US Soccer Players -- Major League Soccer may have been a league started with the concept of improving American players, but it has increasingly become a place for foreigners to showcase their skills. MLS opened in 1996 with the intent of helping US-born players grow and prosper. Entering season 15, and the League has proven to be successful at doing just that. More Americans have moved on to play abroad and the US National Team routinely ranks among FIFA’s top 20.

While American players like Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey have enjoyed success in England’s Premier League, many mid-tier European and South American players have decided to come play in this country.

“I came to America to gain more experience and try something new,” midfielder Joel Lindpere, a 28-year-old Estonian international who signed with Red Bull New York this year, said. “I wanted to experience a new country. I wanted to experience playing in a league outside Europe.”

Americans And Relegation

With J Hutcherson -- Let's start with an open question that's not exactly rhetorical. As a neutral fan, does it make things more exciting when a well known club faces relegation? For that matter, does it somehow make a season better when it's a big team fighting against the drop?

I've got the feeling that for most fans the answer is yes.

American Abroad Update: Cherundolo Scores, But Hannover In Trouble

First Star: Steve Cherundolo got Hannover's only goal in a 4-1 loss to Cologne at AWD-Arena. Hannover went a man down in the 45th minute. Cherundolo's goal came in the 81st, with Hannover already trailing 4-0. The loss has them in 17th-place, two points from safety.

Second Star: Jozy Altidore contributed in another relegation battle, with Hull City getting a surprise home win against Fulham. Altidore got the penalty call in the 16th minute that Jimmy Bullard converted for the game's first goal. Craig Fagan followed with a goal in the 48th.

US Women 3 - Mexico 0

The United States Women's National Team opened their friendly series against Mexico with a 3-0 win at Torero Stadium in San Diego.  Amy Rodriguez opened the scoring in the 12th minute, with Shannon Boxx making it 2-0 in the 43rd.  Lauren Cheney scored in the 72nd. Hope Solo picked up the shutout without having to make a save. The US out shot Mexico 21 to 2, putting ten on goal.

“The game today showed that we need to change the point of attack more often and be more dangerous,” US coach Pia Sundhage said. “I think we did a better job in the second half. We made a change in the second half and I thought when we had Lori Lindsey in the midfield and Cheney keeping the ball up top that gives us options. That’s good and fun to coach because I have different qualities on the bench that can bring out something different on the field.”

Monday's TV

EPL on ESPN2: Manchester City - Wigan at 2:45pm. All Times Eastern

MLS Week 1: RSL And KC Get Lopsided Wins

Real Salt Lake got a jump on their title defense in the opening weekend of Major League Soccer's fifteenth season, taking care of San Jose at Buck Shaw Stadium. Kansas City also made a big statement at home, with a multi-goal shutout of DC. The New York Red Bulls opened their new home in style, beating Chicago at Red Bull Arena.