Here are the top 15 stories everyone's talking about this morning:
1. PRESEASON CONCLUDES
A busy Saturday brought MLS preseason games to a close for 2015. To check out what happened in any of the 13 games featuring MLS sides (and who won the various tournament titles), cast your eyes on Saturday's preseason tracker.
2. TRANSFER TARGETS?
The weekend also brought some fresh transfer speculation and, while Sporting Kansas City officials are said to have visited with Rafael van der Vaart, perhaps far less likely is the rumor out of England that Mario Balotelli is eying a move to Orlando City.
3. MARCH ON HISTORY
The Montreal Impact officially kicked off Jersey Week on Saturday and, as the team attempts to make history in the CONCACAF Champions League, the club have sold more than 25,000 tickets for Tuesday's game against Pachuca. Dilly Duka scored both goals in the first leg and believes teamwork is key if they want to advance.
4. REAL MONARCHS STADIUM PLAN
While the Utah State Fair project may have fallen through, it seems Real Salt Lake are not sitting on their hands in their quest to find a home for their USL side, the Real Monarchs, as a press conference has been scheduled for Tuesday. The MLS side also held another event on Sunday in which they unveiled their brand new secondary jerseys.
5. REVOLUTION REINFORCEMENTS
The New England Revolution completed the signing of trialists London Woodberry, formerly of FC Dallas, and Tyler Rudy, formerly of D.C. United's academy. The Revs also saw out their preseason with a 3-0 win over FC Tucson and, although he didn’t score in that game, Jay Heaps has praised the “different dimensions” Juan Agudelo brings to their attack.
6. RETURNING RAPIDS
The Colorado Rapids may have lost 2-1 to Real Salt Lake in the Desert Diamond Cup final on Saturday but, as the team turns its attention to the regular season, it announced a new deal for Marc Burch as well as re-signing Carlos Alvarez and Nick LaBrocca.
7. KLJESTAN LOOKING TO LEAD
Following his arrival at the New York Red Bulls, Sacha Kljestan is hoping to become the leader of his new team and use that to force his way back into Jurgen Klinsmann’s plans for the US national team. However, he couldn’t help his side on Saturday as they lost 3-1 to the Philadelphia Union in the IMG Suncoast Pro Classic final.
8. SPOILED FOR CHOICE
It seems New York City FC will not be short on support in their first home game. But if there are people in the Big Apple who are just getting into soccer, they may have a difficult choice to make following the arrival of New York’s second MLS team: Do they support NYCFC or the New York Red Bulls?
9. HEATH’S PHILOSOPHY
Adrian Heath’s upbringing may play a certain role in the philosophy the Orlando City head coach tries to instil into his side but, while the Lions got a tough reminder of the challenges ahead following a 3-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo, arguably the biggest news involving the club this weekend was their redesigned mascot.
10. ONE OF THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS
One of the best defenders in MLS, A.J. DeLaGarza was certainly a big part of the Galaxy’s 2014 MLS Cup success, a story captured in a brand-new episode of MLS Insider. Having overcome tragedy in 2014, DeLaGarza just wants to continue being useful in 2015.
11. NEW NOMINEES
While the entrants for 2014 were only inducted a couple of weeks ago, the nominees for the 2015 US Soccer Hall of Fame have already been finalized with a number of standout names in their first year of eligibility, including Jimmy Conrad, Gregg Berhalter, Kasey Keller and Frankie Hejduk.
12. ADU HEADING TO SWEDEN
It looks like Freddy Adu is on the move again, with the once highly-rated teenager, now 25, apparently heading to Sweden to join an as-yet unidentified team in the Swedish first-division. This latest move comes after Adu apparently spent the winter considering retirement.
13. THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT
The US Under-17s got their CONCACAF U-17 Championship campaign off to a good start on Friday with a 5-0 win over Cuba, and they're back in action today when they take on Trinidad & Tobago (6 pm ET, FOX Sports 2, Univision Deportes). Canada, meanwhile, came from behind to beat Haiti 3-1 on Saturday.
14. THE WORLD WILL BE WATCHING
With FOX set to air the FIFA Women's World Cup this summer from Canada, host Rob Stone and analyst Alexi Lalas provide a preview of what fans can expect from the network, which will also be home to MLS again beginning in 2015.
15. MAN IN THE MIDDLE
What’s it like to be an MLS referee? Fotis Bazakos has been doing the job for a while now and shares some of his personal experiences.
MLSsoccer.com Musts
San Jose Earthquakes hold “soft opening” of Avaya Stadium
FANTASY 101: A crash course in Fantasy soccer
WATCH: Toronto FC DPs Altidore, Giovinco score golazos
Get the Kick Off delivered to you!
Enter your email address and favorite team below to sign up for The Kick-Off mailing list and get it delivered to your inbox every morning.
Email:
Favorite Team:
SELECT YOUR FAVORITE TEAM
Atlanta
Chicago Fire
Colorado Rapids
Columbus Crew
D.C. United
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo
LAFC
LA Galaxy
Montreal Impact
New England Revolution
New York City FC
New York Red Bulls
Orlando City SC
Philadelphia Union
Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake
San Jose Earthquakes
Seattle Sounders FC
Sporting KC
Toronto FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
I don't have a favorite team
