US Soccer Players

Major League Soccer's Player Search

By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 15, 2011) US Soccer Players -- I suddenly feel old, and it’s all Major League Soccer’s fault. The League is changing, and I’m struggling a bit to keep up. Like an old-timer who laments that all of the names he knows have left his favorite sport to be replaced by guys he doesn’t recognize, I’m left staring at the transaction trackers and rosters with a certain confused grimace slapped on my face. It’s not a good look.

At fault isn't the regular turnover of players in MLS.  As an observer of the League over the course of years, I’m used to seeing players go in an out.  The entry draft additions are mostly known quantities.  College kids have normally played at least a few years in full view. We have trusted analysts of the university game at the ready to breakdown, evaluate, and rank. Information is abundant an easily accessible. No rising academy players is without a dossier of information to pour over.

Klinsmann In Italy

By Clemente Lisi – ROME, Italy (Feb 22, 2012) US Soccer Players – When the USA travels to Italy at the end of this month for a friendly in Genoa, it will be a homecoming of sorts for coach Jurgen Klinsmann.  The former Germany striker spent two separate stints playing in Serie A (for Inter Milan and Sampdoria) during the 1990s. To this day, Klinsmann is remembered as one of the greatest stranieri - foreign players - ever to play in Italy.  Klinsmann also won a World Cup on Italian soil with West Germany in 1990.

For Klinsmann, this had been the first time he had ever spent any real time away from Germany, the first glimpses of a player open to new opportunities with an ability to win over the local fans.  Most Italians remember him as a man who embraced his new home. He learned Italian and spoke it well, always obliged when a reporter wanted to ask a question, and didn’t mind indulging in a bowl of pasta at lunch with his teammates. 

Simplifying MLS

By Justin Shaffer - SEATTLE, WA (Feb 22, 2012) US Soccer Players -- This past Christmas, my brother’s gift to me were two tickets to the Seattle Sounders “Opening Day."  Shortly into explaining how the Sounders would open their campaign against Santos Laguna in 2012 and how the schedule was setup with the Sounders in three different competitions (MLS, CONCACAF Champions League, and the US Open Cup), my frustrated brother interrupted me, “Why does soccer have to be so confusing?”

If you don't think that's a hurdle in attracting new fans, you're wrong.  The lack of simplicity in something as basic as the schedule isn't a benefit to mainstream fans, it's an annoyance at best and a disincentive at worst.  While MLS can’t really do anything about the confusing nature of the various competitions, removing or reducing the complexity of the things they do control would go a long ways towards making the League and the sport more accessible to fans.

Short-Term Loans

By Dario Camacho - MIAMI, FL (Feb 17, 2011) US Soccer Players -- If you're an American soccer fan, we can add the debate about the Major League Soccer schedule to a list of absolutes that includes items like single-entity and the quality of officiating.  Fans and pundits alike want to offer critiques, alternatives, and defenses.  It's the MLS version of a hot stove league, filling the offseason months with something to talk about.  As 2011 moved into 2012, it was the schedule taking priority in MLS.

Some believe a move to the traditional European calendar would lend legitimacy to the League and give a boost to player fitness.  Others don't understand why any North American sports league thinks it needs to schedule for so many months out of the year.  MLS triggered even more debate and conversation by announcing they would start in March and end in December, leaving only January and February without an MLS game that counts.  It's still not the August-to-May standard of Europe, but it's a lot of soccer spread out over the longest schedule in North American professional team sports. 

Changing The Game In Philadelphia

By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 15, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Consider all that’s happened.  The departure of the team’s top goalkeeper, the trading of the team’s biggest star, and the (understandable) angry reaction on the part of a new and still-solidifying fan base.  That's the reality for the Philadelphia Union, something no one outside of their front office should've seen coming. 

With that in mind, Philadelphia CEO Nick Sakiewicz was almost obligated to write an open letter to his club’s faithful fans attempting to explain why this off-season has been so tumultuous. Whether his explanation - thick as it was with the code words for “rebuilding” and “we’re not going to spend a lot” -satisfies the fans is still an open question.  The Union need to show their series of controversial and confounding moves worked. That means they have to win.

What Ever Happened To... Teofilo Cubillas

By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Feb 14, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Before Designated Players began flocking to our shores in an effort to bolster Major League Soccer’s star power, there was a time when it was common - even stylish - for international players to move to the United States.  One of those players was Peru’s Teofilo Cubillas. 

“Who wouldn’t want to come play with all the greats such as Pele, Franz Beckenbauer and George Best?  I thought Fort Lauderdale was a very interesting market, not to mention a great opportunity for me,” Cubillas said about his decision to move to the US in 1979.

Cubillas, who earned the nickname “Nene” – the Spanish word for baby – because of his boyish looks, still looks like a young man at the age of 62.  In a career that spanned some 20 years, Cubillas is remembered most by American fans as a former member of the Strikers during the days of the North American Soccer League.

Here Come The Galaxy

By Dario Camacho - MIAMI, FL (Feb 10, 2011) US Soccer Players -- All of a sudden, we are back at it again. With just a couple of weeks away from the start of the season, it's time to pick a contender, the team to beat for a title that won't be decided until early December. It’s a requisite, lets be honest. We have nothing else to talk about, so we make things up that sound informed, erudite even though most of it will blow up in our face by the time we reach the All-Star Game.

But what the heck, let me have a crack at it.

If you haven’t been paying attention, the LA Galaxy have become the new favorites to win it all... even after they took it all just a few months ago. But, that was an eternity, eons ago. So last year.

This is now.

The Super Bowl And Marketing The Champions League Final

By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 9, 2011) US Soccer Players -- The Super Bowl Experience™ (possibly trademarked, I can’t be sure, so better safe then sorry), is not an undertaking of small expense. It costs money to fly to the predetermined Super Bowl city, spend a few nights, and, most importantly, purchase a ticket for the game. A lot of money.  The price of a ticket alone is upwards of thousands of dollars, strengthening the level of commitment for those that want to see a championship in person. 

After 46 editions, the Super Bowl, as the crown jewel of the American football season, has become the preeminent destination event for American sports fans. A lucky few can afford to make the trip multiple times, perhaps specifically following their team. Most who go will do so just the once because the experience of being there, regardless of the participants, represents an ends that justifies the means.

What Is With New York?

By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Feb 7, 2012) US Soccer Players -- The MetroStars/Red Bulls are the most futile Major League Soccer club since the League's inception in 1996.  There is little argument to the contrary.  Nevertheless, the franchise has had a staggering track record when it comes to producing talented players who have gone on to succeed at other clubs and the US National Team.  Some of those players include goalkeeper Tim Howard, defender Tim Ream, midfielder Michael Bradley, and strikers Jozy Altidore and Juan Agudelo.

When Ream recently secured a transfer to English club Bolton, it was the latest big move by a New York player.  It isn’t that the franchise has a special elixir when it comes to nurturing such talent.  However, the question of why so many Americans who come up through the system in New York and later excelling with other teams is a curious one. 

Here are four theories for why the MetroStars/Red Bulls have been so important to the growth of the American game since 1996:

Philadelphia And The Business Of The Future

By Dario Camacho - MIAMI, FL (Feb 3, 2011) US Soccer Players -- As weeks go, this hasn't been one of Philadelphia Union manager Peter Nowak's most successful from a public relations perspective.  In terms of fan loyalty, it has been down right ugly.  What transpired in the course of a couple of days has been the complete gutting of the Union's veteran presence.  The first to go was goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon.  His story is understandable, making the choice to return to his homeland, even if it meant a goalkeeper crisis for the Union. 

For a while, that seemed to be the big question needing answering before the beginning of the season.  What transpired next would overshadow Mondragon's exit in the public conversation, while on the playing side the Union are without a veteran keeper and a veteran forward.

The Murky MLS Acquisition Rules

By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 1, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Kris Boyd, born August 18th, 1983 in Irvine, Scotland, late of Eskişehirspor of the Turkish Süper Lig, formerly of Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough FC, and - most famously - Glasgow Rangers, current record-holder for most goals scored in the Scottish Premier League and a name well known in international soccer circles, is Major League Soccer’s newest Designated Player.

More specifically, Boyd is the Portland Timbers’ newest Designated Player, his acquisition announced by the club on Monday afternoon. Boyd arrives to help fill the void left by the departed Kenny Cooper, who was traded by the Timbers to New York earlier this month, and becomes the Timbers’ third DP.

Alums: Manny Lagos

In this new series, USSoccerplayers.com looks at how retired National Team players (alumni, if you will) are using their experience and knowledge to develop and grow the game in the United States.

By Tony Edwards - San Jose, CA (Jan 30, 2012) US Soccer Players -- In a clip of highlights from the 2001 season, Manny Lagos, then of the Earthquakes, has the ball deep on the left side in the attacking zone. He is basically mugged by two MetroStars defenders and knocked down, but somehow gets up, wriggles free, strides into the box, where he back heels the ball to Wade Barrett, who curls it into the goal (at about 3:20 of that video).

That's a lot of what Manny Lagos' career has been like. Getting up off the deck and transforming a difficult situation into a winner wherever he's gone.  This National Team Alum has transitioned from college to the US Olympic Team, from USL to MLS (three MLS Cups), and to the US National Team.  Now, he's back in Minnesota, again creating a winner out of a difficult situation.

The Gap In Quality?

By Dario Camacho - MIAMI, FL (Jan 30, 2011) US Soccer Players -- When we see the recent success of former and current Major League Soccer players in England, it has to feel good for fans of North American soccer.  An ex-Revolution player outrunning a pair of defenders en route to a triplet of goals was a cathartic, ecstatic moment for those of us rooting for Fulham's Clint Dempsey.  His performance as the first American with a hat-trick in the EPL will be remembered as a watershed moment.

A week later, it was Landon Donovan assisting on two goals against Dempsey's Fulham in the FA Cup.  Two other MLS designated players are also doing work, Robbie Keane at Aston Villa and Thierry Henry at Arsenal. 

What Fox's Premier League Play Means For MLS

By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 19, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Fox, the national broadcast network that counts iconic properties like The Simpsons and the National Football League among its assets, blazed a new trail by airing a live English Premier League soccer match on Sunday. Soccer getting the full televised sports treatment on a network that isn’t an opt-in premium purchase, but a basic part of most Americans’ television rotation, cannot be overstated as a step forward for soccer in the United States. The pre-game coverage was in-depth, well-produced, and included two knowledgeable American voices alongside a celebrity guest. From the broadest perspective, Fox did soccer in America a favor.

Soccer is now on broadcast TV outside of the once-every-four-years run of the World Cup. That’s something old-timers view with some amazement, considering the state of broadcast soccer just a short generation ago, but it’s a part of the natural progression.

Scouting Report: Panama - USA

By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Jan 25, 2012) US Soccer Players -- The United States takes to the road for the second game of 2012.  The match at Panama City's Estadio Rommel Fernandez is aimed at simulating the atmosphere players will experience during World Cup Qualifying.  The dress rehearsal serves the younger players called up by coach Jurgen Klinsmann for January camp as well as the coach himself, giving them a firsthand look at what it's like to play away in CONCACAF. 

Four days after downing Venezuela 1-0 following a Ricardo Clark stoppage time goal in Glendale, AZ, the National Team will take on a Panamanian side composed primarily of Under-23 players.  Panama coach Julio Dely Valdes called up 18 players for the game, including defender Carlos Rodriguez and veteran striker Blas Perez, who signed with FC Dallas during the offseason, and defensive midfielder Gabriel Gomez, who recently agreed to join the Philadelphia Union.

“The most important thing for us against the United States is to use this game to give players experience,” Valdes told reporters Sunday after announcing the squad.

Risky Business

By Dario Camacho - MIAMI, FL (Jan 20, 2011) US Soccer Players -- As with any new year, all teams in Major League Soccer are in a period of transition.  Whether it is a minor tweak here or there, or a full system reboot, most teams will see a few new faces in training camp.  In recent years, that's been due to the predictable disruption caused by expansion teams coming into the fold.  It's not just the changes losing players in an expansion draft creates, it's the changes to all the other teams.  That requires multiple face lifts, with continuity at a premium in this League.

Add the countless drafts, overseas free agency, trades and transfers, and some teams are likely to have an entirely new core of players to work from.  Change is good if you're a struggling club, but what about those that had solid 2011's?   Successful teams look to build, not reconfigure.  Keeping that nucleus of players, the ones that got you to the playoffs and beyond, is job one for these clubs.

Some MLS Teams Start Earlier Than Others

By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 19, 2011) US Soccer Players -- With the longest season ever in the offing, Major League Soccer's preseason is here earlier than ever before. There’s much to do and little time to do it, especially for those clubs preparing to play in the poorly timed (from an MLS perspective, anyway) continental tournament known as the CONCACAF Champions League.

For those teams in the Champions League, get cracking now.  Otherwise, the risk is still trying to get game ready when you've already squandered a first-leg.  This was what all of those schedule-crowding games were for, and it's an opportunity that can't be wasted from simple lack of preparation.  Better learn how to get ready... fast.

Coming Back

By Dario Camacho - MIAMI, FL (Jan 13, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Last year’s Major League Soccer season probably had two of the worst injuries I’ve ever seen.  The first I happen to catch on replay, was Steve Zakuani’s broken leg.  The physical revulsion of watching a pro athlete’s leg dangling, swinging in all improper directions, was an unnecessary reminder of the brutal side of the sport.

The second injury I saw live on TV, when Real Salt Lake lost Javier Morales to a tackle from behind.  The thing that I remembered the most was the stunned faces of the crowd as the camera panned. 

What increased the pain for the MLS faithful was that these two players are key figures for their teams as well as the League.  Considering the depth of teams in MLS, coaches are left scrambling.  Normally, that sentence would end with 'for a solution,' but that's simply not the reality due to MLS  budgetary strains.

The Evolving Role Of The MLS SuperDraft

By Jason Davis - WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 12, 2011) US Soccer Players -- After a grueling invitation-only three-day combine in Florida, young players with professional dreams will be chosen by needy teams anxious to find the next Taylor Twellman, Steve Zakuani, or Geoff Cameron. It's Major League Soccer's SuperDraft, a reprieve for those that can't abide a couple of months without MLS soccer.

This year’s SuperDraft is the thirteenth edition of the annual winter event that disperses the best college talent across member MLS franchises. From worst (or expansion) to first, clubs choose amateur players they hope might one day become stars, or, at the very least, good enough to stick around for awhile. The SuperDraft has long filled the holes present in the American development system.  If you consider that until recently there was no professional development system to speak of, there were many holes.

What Ever Happened To... Arnie Mausser

What Ever Happened To . . . is a new monthly feature on US Soccer Players that attempts to update readers on what has happened to players. coaches and officials of the past who helped shape the game in this country. In our first installment, we catch up with NASL legend and former National Team goalkeeper Arnie Mausser.

By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Jan 9, 2012) US Soccer Players -- Before there was Tim Howard, Brad Friedel, Kasey Keller and even Tony Meola, the US produced a world-class goalkeeper.  The keeper in questions was Arnie Mausser.  A National Team regular throughout the 1980s, Mausser earned 35 caps for the USA – a number that irks him to this day.

“Probably would have played many more times, but we did not play as many internationals as the team does now,” he explained.  “I would say that I would have had at least one hundred appearances or caps considering today’s National Team schedule.  Unfortunately, I never had the chance to participate in the World Cup, which I always dreamed of doing since I was a kid playing soccer.”