Sounders fans can breathe easy.
It was revealed late last night that the injury to MVP candidate Mauro Rosales is only expected to keep him out between two to four weeks, which means he could be back as early as the US Open Cup final on Oct. 4 or as late as the last match of the MLS regular season. Find out the details here.
Seattle will look to move on without their assist leader – Rosales has a team record 12 helpers – and without the suspended Álvaro Fernández as they host Costa Rican league leaders Herediano tonight in the CONCACAF Champions League (10 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer and TeleFutura). A win will clinch them a berth into the next round if they get the right result in the earlier Group D match. Read the scenarios in this article.
The other MLS team involved in CONCACAF Champions League action on Tuesday is Toronto FC, which host last-place Tauro FC of Panama (8 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer). With only two home matches left from the three remaining in the group stage schedule, a win for Toronto is critical.
The newest MLS Player of the Week comes from Toronto FC. Forward Danny Koevermans earned the honors after his brace against Colorado over the weekend. But although he is fearless in the penalty area, he confesses that there is something that “frightens” him: winter in Canada.
As for the defending champion Colorado Rapids, they’re going to have to make a push for a repeat without their starting left back from their Cup run: Anthony Wallace. He is out for the season, which will surely mean that Drew Moor, Danny Earls and Scott Palguta will rotate at left back to offer cover.
The Vancouver Whitecaps will have to fill in for the suspended Alain Rochat for this weekend’s match against Seattle. Greg Janicki, one of the replacement candidates, knows what’s at stake: “If I’m not ready for it, then I won’t be here next year.”
The Whitecaps are getting set to move to the renovated BC Place, a stadium that is expected to have one name for MLS matches and another one for BC Lions Canadian Football League games.
In Houston, forward Brian Ching says he’s recovered from injury and is ready to help the team in this weekend’s match against FC Dallas: “I feel good … but it’s up to the coach.”
With the New York Red Bulls set to host two critical league matches this week in the race for a postseason berth, a source reveals that the Red Bulls will be forced to make personnel moves because of “salary cap issues” the club will face next year.
Just the Red Bulls’ luck: MLS star Javier Morales, who has been rehabbing a broken ankle, picks the midweek match at Red Bull Arena to make his first trip with the squad since the injury. But will he play? “I think his presence out there will give a lift to our whole team,” says Chris Wingert, who is also ready to return.
The on-field success for RSL complements their ability to excel off the field. Even with the in-state college football clash between powers BYU and Utah, RSL sold out yet another match last weekend.
In nearby Las Vegas, developer Chris Milam is working with the City of Henderson on a stadium complex that would involve an MLS expansion team and one city official says: “I think [this proposal] has a pretty good chance [of being successful].” It would call for a stadium to be ready by 2014.
In international news, New York fans may be interested to hear that one of their former players, Lothar Matthäus, was dismissed as manager of the Bulgarian national team yesterday.
According to a US-based representative, Nicolas Anelka was very close to joining “a team on the West Coast” during the summer transfer window. Was Anelka the LA Galaxy’s first choice before Robbie Keane?
One LA-based columnist makes the case that Keane can be the key to the Galaxy’s run at MLS Cup this year. "He knows what he's good at and he sticks to that. ... He has a keen — pun intended — sense where the goal is,” fellow LA striker Chad Barrett says.
American defender Oguchi Onyewu looked like a forward, scoring the game-winner for Sporting Clube de Portugal and enjoying a moment of unbridled joy after recent years of frustration. (VIDEO)
We’ve read about Gedion Zelalem, the DC area soccer phenom, who is being courted by Arsenal in England. He speaks in this Washington Post feature about having the opportunity to play at the EPL club when he turns 16: “I’ve gotten the opportunity, and I’m going to take it.”
Today there’s plenty of afternoon action from Europe to whet your appetite before the CCL matches tonight. Newly promoted Novara host struggling Inter Milan in the Italian Serie A (2:30 p.m. ET, Fox Soccer and Fox Deportes) and there’s also a La Liga match featuring Giuseppe Rossi’s Villarreal and Mallorca (4 p.m. ET, ESPN Deportes). The Carling Cup fixture between Leeds United and Manchester United will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Plus (2:30 p.m. ET).
Courtesy of Spanish sports daily Marca, we bring you two videos you have to see to believe. First, a coach in Israel is injured while standing along the sideline, when his own player shoots a ball right at him. Then, a goalkeeper in Turkey, who was preparing to launch a punt with ball in hand, rams into an opposing forward and draws a red card and penalty kick against his team. (VIDEO)
Lastly, in case you missed it, here's the clip of USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo doing a waltz on Dancing with the Stars on ABC last night. (VIDEO)
MLSsoccer.com Must-Reads:
New York’s Luke Rodgers and Portland’s Darlington Nagbe on ExtraTime Radio
Latest MLS Cup Playoff scenarios: Seattle can clinch a spot this weekend
24 Under 24: Forward ranked No. 5 had to overcome a summer slump
Get the The Kick-Off delivered to you!
Enter your email address below to sign up for The Kick-Off mailing list and get it delivered to your inbox every morning.
E-mail:
