Player
Oh, that Jay DeMerit. Always thinking up new ways to share his passion.
This time, he shows off his knowledge of the wave-breaking phenomenon and applies it to innovative effect for the Whitecaps fans.
Surf's up!
More bad news for TFC. They lost their midfield general Torsten Frings last week, and now, according to TSN reporter Luke Wileman, they might lose goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
No word yet from the club, but the image Wileman paints in this tweet doesn't bode well. Stay tuned.
Frei leaves the field on crutches, wearing an air cast left leg. Doesn't look good. #MLS
— Luke Wileman (@LukeWileman) March 23, 2012
Esta semana tuvimos el placer de hablar con dos expertos volantes de la MLS, el hondureño Roger Espinoza de Sporting Kansas City y el colombiano Jaime Castrillón de Colorado Rapids. Es por ellos que decidimos titular el show de esta semana “Guerreros del mediocampo” porque la verdad, lo son.
Sin embargo, la charla con estos dos jugadores me dejó pensando; si tuviera la oportunidad, ¿A quien de los dos erigiría en mi equipo?
Ambos han sido seleccionados por sus países a su selección nacional, pero mientras que uno tiene más visión, el otro es más defensivo. Eso si, creo que ambos en el mismo equipo sería de ensueño. Es una pregunta valida si se toma en cuenta que ambos están triunfando de manera similar en este inicio de temporada.
Entonces, ¿Qué piensan? ¿el catracho o el cafetero?
It was with a huge helping of sadness that I read the news about Seattle Sounders striker O’Brian White on Thursday, as I have seen up close what a superbly talented soccer player he is.
With a reoccurring blood clot in his left leg forcing the Seattle Sounders to buy out his contract — the Sounders will still have first refusal if he should make a recovery — White will be forced to sit on the 2012 season just when he could have shone most.
The towering forward is full of brute force and I have seen him in full flight, and running at me with the ball, during his college days at the University of Connecticut.
During the 2007 season, my freshman year as a soccer player at the University of Pittsburgh, White terrorized defenses at will, scoring 27 goals and adding 7 assists in 24 games. He was awarded the Hermann trophy for the Nation’s top college soccer player. It was well deserved.
He was quite simply one of the most powerful and dominating strikers I have played against. As a defensive unit on a cold night in Storrs, Conn., we tried to shut him down. White scored a hat trick and we lost 4-0 to the No.1 ranked Huskies. He was untouchable and to potentially lose his talent from the league for good would be a huge shame not just for White, but for MLS as a whole.
I can remember lining up at center back as a 19-year-old straight out of England in front of more than 5,000 screaming UConn fans and wondering what weaknesses he had. It was apparent very quickly that he didn’t have any. White had it all. He bullied our defense all night long with his brute strength, he made clever runs wide and in the channels, his first touch was impeccable and when he got half a chance, he buried it.
A year later, he tore ligaments in his knee. It took him three years to get back to where he was, and had just come into his own with the Sounders when the blood clots hit.
I’m certainly hoping he makes a full recovery and gets to show what he can do on the big stage, because I know exactly what he is capable of. It'll be a shame if fans in the US and Canada don't get that chance, too.
The link between Fulham Football Club and the US soccer world over the years has become so strong that they are often colloquially referred to as “Team America” in the UK.
It’s hard to argue with that playful nickname and their long history of enticing players from the US to try their luck in the EPL is one Fulham are very proud of, according to the Cottagers website.
Several US national team stars such as Brian McBride, Carlos Bocanegra and now Clint Dempsey have turned out for the West London side at Craven Cottage, all earning high praise for their performances from fans and pundits alike.
On Fulham’s official club website on Thursday they highlighted an article coming up in the clubs Fulltime magazine. The EPL side, who are led this season by US superstar Dempsey with 18 goals, are quick to point out their strong links with MLS soccer in particular.
“While our Premier League rivals are only now just discovering the delights of America’s top league, it’s fair to say that we’ve been unearthing its hidden treasures for 13 years.”
So just like any good relationship, the benefits are reciprocal. Former Fulham and US national team captain Brian McBride explains.
“Fulham have been major players in increasing awareness of what American soccer players have to offer,” said McBride.
Well said Brian, long may the loving relationship continue.
El Káiser vestirá el rascacielos más prominente de la Ciudad de Nueva York con los colores de su club.
El defensa del New York Red Bulls, Rafa Márquez, iluminará el Empire State Building con los colores del equipo, el viernes, 23 de marzo previo al partido en casa ante el Colorado Rapids de este domingo.
A Márquez se unirá el Presidente de Negocios Operacional, Chris Heck, en un evento donde Rafa “subirá el switch” e iluminar una de las torres icónicas del mundo con los colores blanco y rojo representativos del equipo.
Los Red Bulls arrancan la temporada en su estadio ante Colorado Rapids este domingo, 25 de marzo a partir de las 4 pm ET.
Yes, Toronto FC defender Ty Harden was embarrassed on the first goal by the Seattle Sounders last Saturday. But Sounders boss Sigi Schmid was just injecting salt in the wound with this comment that was picked up by Seattle Times beat writer Joshua Mayers:
Sigi Schmid on Alvaro Fernandez' move to set up the first goal: "I think (Ty) Harden might still be looking for a little piece of his body."
— Joshua Mayers (@joshuamayers) March 20, 2012
No doubt it was a sick move. Watch it again here:
Like many men, I've wanted to be a professional athlete at times. They get to travel, make fair-to-obscene amounts of money and chicks dig them.
And after watching the latest installment of No Holden Back, I'll include the additional perks of healthy eating, mid-afternoon naps and arms big enough to be referred to as 'guns' to my list of reasons I yearn for the pro-ballers life.
Stuart Holden, you are my hero. My green smoothy-drinking hero.
On the MLS Road Trip to First Kick, we documented the journey of the match ball from Philadelphia to Dallas, and shot some quick bits with players in various cities along the way to help keep the ball moving. For the most part, these shoots went off without a hitch. In Orlando one day, we made it to the end of Houston's training session to shoot with the Dynamo pair of Tally Hall and Brad Davis. Brad took a couple shots on Tally, who made the saves, then got up and threw the ball out to his right. Easy. The next shot called for Brad to receive the throw from Tally, take a touch, and volley to his right. Let's just say Brad didn't approach that first take with the seriousness and focus he normally brings to the pitch in MLS (you can hear Tally mockingly call him "All Star" around 0:18).
Fortunately for everyone involved, Brad did re-focus and managed to knock out a pretty good take from Tally's throw (his teammate was actually throwing it to him off camera) at 0:47 of the finished video HERE.
Después del partidazo que los Portland Timbers le ganaron a Philadelphia Union en su debut en la temporada 2012, me topé con José Adolfo “El Trencito” Valencia, el joven delantero colombiano que tuvo que ver sentado (y con muletas al lado) el encuentro. Sonriente por el triunfo de su equipo, pero triste de no poder participar, el Trencito le mandó un saludo a su afición y nos dio un pequeño informe del progreso de su lesión y su vida en Portland. Aquí va: