At 5-foot-5, Marvin Chavez is the shortest player on FC Dallas but the “Son of the Wind,” as he is nicknamed, made a big statement.
In speaking to a Honduran media outlet, Chávez, who is not expected to start for FCD on Sunday, guaranteed a victory in the Western Conference Championship against the LA Galaxy. He says it’ll be 2-0 or 2-1.
Chávez must have made the rounds. In another outlet, he says that his wife is not a fan of David Beckham’s and that FC Dallas teammates are not shaving or getting haircuts. That superstition started before their trip to Salt Lake last weekend.
Meanwhile, the LA Galaxy are on the front page of today’s Italian sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport.
The report says that tonight’s match against Palermo will go a long way in determining Ronaldinho’s future with AC Milan, especially since the article states that the Galaxy made a formal four-year contract offer to Ronaldinho’s agent last week.
Also getting major newspaper treatment is the Colorado Rapids forward pairing of Omar Cummings and Conor Casey. USA Today pays homage to the duo which has scored more goals than any scoring pair in league history.
The Cummings-Casey partnership is just one aspect of the Rapids that makes them fun to watch for San Jose manager Frank Yallop, who admits he’s a fan of their style of play.
Both the Rapids and Quakes will hope that the field at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park has time to recover from the bad weather on Tuesday. There is also high school soccer that is scheduled to be played before Saturday’s match.
The Rapids vs. Earthquakes Eastern Conference Championship is a matchup of teams with players who have been recently snubbed by the US national team: Bobby Convey (San Jose), Conor Casey (Colorado) and Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado). The latter tells the story of how he moved on from the USA and focused on the Rapids.
One writer makes the case that the MLS Cup Playoffs are a tournament of attrition, with teams that play more matches during the course of a season, often tripping up at the postseason hurdle.
Don’t expect to hear news about Robbie Findley’s decision whether to return to Real Salt Lake. The US World Cup forward says he will take his time to figure the next step of his career.
The New York Red Bulls offseason is in full swing and manager Hans Backe says the club expects to land two new players during the transfer window.
In this feature on Danny Mwanga, Philadelphia Union manager Peter Nowak once again reiterates that his team will be gunning for the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2011.
FC Dallas are working hard to develop the next Danny Mwanga and the club’s partnership with the local Frisco school district is now official with FCD academy prospects training in the morning and heading to school in the afternoon.
There may be a youth movement in Columbus, where one writer ponders how the Crew will get along with the potential exits of Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Frankie Hejduk.
The preseason is not too far away and the dates have already been set for the annual Carolina Challenge Cup, which will feature three MLS teams in March.
The rumors of the Houston Dynamo signing Mexican Giovani dos Santos continue to heat up and the club is not confirming or denying the talk of “Gio” joining the team in January.
The Chicago Fire are looking for their next star player in Argentina, hoping to cherry pick a player or two from Vélez Sarsfield.
If it wasn’t clear enough that player Twitter feeds are being scrutinized by the media, this feature piece on Villarreal’s American forward Giuseppe Rossi is proof.
The television feed is what matters when following American Clint Dempsey today. His Fulham FC take on Chelsea in a London derby (2:30 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Channel), while Wigan Athletic host Liverpool (2:30 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer Plus).
Staying in Europe, Ireland national team manager Giovanni Trapattoni says he wants a list of players in MLS who are qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland. There may even be a US tour in store to get a better look at these players.
Finally, one of numerous stories that make up the soccer fabric of America: an immigrant who left such a mark on Harvard soccer that his name is on the school’s stadium.
MLSsoccer.com Must-Reads
Rapids manager Gary Smith issues a warning to Frank Yallop and Quakes
San Jose’s Jon Busch has put regular-season own-goal vs. Colorado behind him
Projecting Bob Bradley’s US squad selections for Nov. 17 friendly vs. South Africa
