Kick Off: Soehn faces first test as Whitecaps new manager

Chivas USA manager Robin Fraser expects a “motivated” and “blue-collar” Vancouver Whitecaps side to take the field tonight at the Home Depot Center for the lone MLS midweek match after the coaching change that sees Tom Soehn take over (10:30 pm ET, Watch Online).

Veteran Whitecaps backup goalkeeper Joe Cannon admits that watching former manager Teitur Thordarson get sacked is “like trying to get over a girlfriend you have feelings for … we don't get paid to have feelings. We get paid to play games."

Vancouver defender Greg Janicki sums up the shift in playing style expected under Soehn: Vancouver will become less about pressure and direct play and more about organization and possession.

Expect some new faces for the Goats in the starting lineup tonight. Without considering injured players, Chivas USA will be missing five starters to national team duty and suspension. “That why we have a roster,” Fraser says. Here’s the rundown.

He won’t make it back in time for tonight’s match against Vancouver, but Chivas USA defender Jimmy Conrad is running again after being cleared to train again. He says the disappearance of concussion symptoms have coincided with the recent birth of his second daughter.

While ownership was involved in the decision to let go of Thordarson in Vancouver, Chicago interim manager Frank Klopas says that did not happen when they fired Carlos de los Cobos: “Soccer people make the soccer decisions.”

You can listen to Klopas speaking to the media for the first time as coach at this link, which also talks about the fact that the coaching search will be getting underway as soon as the team puts a list of candidates together. (AUDIO)

Klopas admits that the language barrier may have hindered the Spanish-speaking de los Cobos and he reiterates in this video that becoming manager is not something he wanted. (VIDEO)

Facing the possibility of missing striker Chris Wondolowski for more than a month due to Gold Cup duty with the USA, the San Jose Earthquakes have welcomed a Turkish forward on trial this week.

Who needs a goal-scorer when you have Gabriel Farfan? The Philadelphia Union’s first-year player scored another goal during a Tuesday friendly, just days after finding the back of the net in Toronto.

In Houston, Dominic Kinnear’s patience is being seriously tested with players failing to carry out assignments he draws up on the whiteboard in the locker room.

One player beginning to carry out everything he’s asked to do is Seattle’s Tyson Wahl. In order to play left back, he underwent a transformation and lost 10 pounds. Now he’s the most dangerous set-piece taker on the Sounders.

Today is your lucky day. There are six Seattle Sounders players that are just waiting to fall in love with you. Here’s your chance to Make a Date With a Sounder. (VIDEO)

The Portland Timbers may have been eliminated by the San Jose Earthquakes from the US Open Cup but they can still be in the competition depending on what happens Friday night. Find out how.

There won’t be any coming back for one Toronto FC defender this year. Central defender Adrian Cann suffered a knee injury that will rule him out for the rest of 2011.

Sporting Kansas City are nearing a return to hosting MLS matches for the first time all year. As their home opener nears on June 9, the players trained under the lights at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. (PHOTOS)

Despite calls for a postponement, the vote for the FIFA presidency will go through today with the lone candidate on the ballot. The attempts initiated by England to seek a delay were shot down by a senior high-ranking FIFA official, who called the English “pirates.”

Sepp Blatter, the odds-on favorite to win the election, has revealed a new initiative he will undertake when reelected. All 208 nations in FIFA will vote on future World Cup hosts. You’re six months too late, Sepp.

Get the latest live developments from the 61st FIFA Congress through this stream of the proceedings. (VIDEO)

But there’s still hope for the American soccer fan wanting to see the 2022 World Cup on home soil. With the bribery allegations that have enveloped FIFA in recent weeks, the head of the German federation says that the 2022 vote “needs to be re-examined.”

The aftershocks from the FIFA scandals have had severe repercussions as far as CONCACAF is concerned. This article outlines all the twists and turns of the political split that is sure to permanently change the face of the confederation which is just days away from the start of its flagship tournament: the Gold Cup.

Want more sensationalistic soccer scandal? A former Serie A Golden Boot winner was placed under house arrest as part of an investigation into a match-fixing and betting ring that saw an entire Italian team's drinks spiked with sleep medication.

In other international news, the first Copa Libertadores finalist will be determined tonight as Paraguayans Cerro Porteño host Brazilian side Santos seeking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg loss (8:30 pm ET, Fox Deportes).

Although it’s an Argentina side which will be missing all its stars, the Copa América favorites will play Nigeria in an international friendly in Abuja, Nigera (2 pm ET, ESPN Deportes).

Meanwhile, the Mexican national team has been thrown to the dogs. The English Cocker Spaniel Club of America is having a major event at the team’s hotel in Westminster, Col., where El Tri get ready to face New Zealand (10 pm ET, Univisión and UnivisionFutbol.com). (SPANISH)

While you stay up to watch the MLS match tonight, be sure to check out David Beckham’s appearance on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS, 12:35 am ET).

Also in the TV business, the ratings are out for the UEFA Champions League final which aired on FOX last Saturday. Many will have taken notice.

And finally, the “Miss of the Century” label is a little overused. But here’s another one for the video vault that fits the bill. And the laughing from the crowd is not exactly the most sympathetic gesture for the victim of this empty-net opportunity. (VIDEO)

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Make-or-break time for Jozy Altidore on the latest edition of ExtraTime Radio

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