Former MLS and Kansas City Wizard standout Eddie Johnson will be returning to the states to play soccer in 2012.  The only question that remains is which team he'll be suiting up for.

Eddie will look to get back to his old form, as his absence from MLS hasn't gone as well as he'd hoped. His last goal in major competition was in 2010 for Greek side Aris FC.

Johnson had tremendous success as a Kansas City Wizard in 2005 and 2006, which led to greener pastures for the Florida native.  But after failing to score any goals for EPL side Fulham FC, Johnson was forced out.

Most recently, Johnson was technically a part of Mexican side Puebla, but never suited up one game for the club.

Terms and conditions of the deal were not disclosed, but we will all know tomorrow where exactly Eddie's future will be.  If not Kansas City, Dallas may be an option, a club the former U.S. striker spent four seasons with.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Brian Ching will be suiting up for the Houston Dynamo.  Again.

The standoff between Houston and Montreal finally resulted in Ching's release Thursday and one-way ticket to Dynamo country, less than a month before the start of the MLS season.

Montreal will receive as compensation a conditional first-round draft pick in the 2013 SuperDraft.

Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear weighed in on the transaction, “I am very happy to have Brian back with the team.  This is a very important year for the Dynamo, and if anyone deserves to be involved with the team, it’s Brian.”

Ching is one of the original Dynamo players.  His 63 Houston goals is a club record.

“It’s been a long and difficult process over the last few months, but we’re happy that ultimately we got the right result and Brian will be a part of the club again,” Dynamo president Chris Canetti said.

Montreal was was not as excited about the decision, but optimistic.

"We have made this decision based on reasons that we felt were beneficial for both the desires and needs of our club and the wishes of Brian Ching," Impact head coach Jesse Marsch said in a statement. "We wish him luck on his return to Houston and thank him for his commitment and professionalism while a member of our organization."

Ching was limited to 20 games last season due to injury.  But ask Houston fans if they care.  Pull out those orange No. 25 jerseys from the bottom of the drawer, You'll need them again.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

In just over a month, the newest franchise in MLS will play their first home game, but what can we expect from the Montreal Impact?

The club have already sold over 32,000 tickets for their first home game against the Chicago Fire. This news is promising, but will they be able to maintain the interest over the course of a season?

Much of the pressure will be on the shoulders of head coach Jesse Marsch.

Hiring a man with no head coaching experience is a dangerous move for the Impact in their debut season. With 18 months as assistant coach to Bob Bradley in the national setup, Marsch will need to find his feet in the MLS quickly.

The Impact have had a mixed set of results in preseason. They were underwhelming against Houston in a 2-0 defeat but recorded a solid 3-0 victory over a weakened LA Galaxy.

Donovan Ricketts played well in the shutout of his former team, and the Impact will need a big season from the Jamaican 'keeper this season.

His shot-stopping ability is up there with the best in the league. With questions surrounding the goalscoring ability of the team, to have any chance the Impact will need to build from the back.

Montreal has a strong back line, strengthened further with the acquisition of Matteo Ferrari. The former Everton, Roma and Inter Milan central defender can be dominating in the air, and a lack of pace should not be a problem in the US.

Perhaps the best signing that the Impact have made is that of Quebec native Patrice Bernier. The Canadian should give the side a solid platform to build from in the center of the park.

He has a great engine and can break up the play well. While not a goal threat, Bernier gives the club a solid base to build moves around.

His pairing with Davy Arnaud (an attacking threat) could make Montreal's midfield one of the best in the Western Conference.

The biggest drama in the Impact's preseason has surrounded striker Brian Ching.

Ching was Montreal’s first selection in last year's expansion draft, but after some personal problems was given permission to leave and return home to Texas.

Before the draft, Ching threatened to retire if selected by the Impact, but performed a U-turn and reported to the team.

Now a trade looks likely and he could return to the Houston Dynamo in return for a 2013 draft pick.

If Ching does return to Houston, then Montreal will be seriously short of firepower up front.

This will make the height of Justin Braun an important part of Montreal's strategy. In 96 appearances with Chivas USA, Braun netted 24 times. His height and power mean that he has the ability to bring others into play. 

A player who could benefit from this is number one draft pick Andrew Wenger. The versatile former Duke star has been earmarked by Marsch for an attacking role but is just as comfortable in defense.

The Hermann Trophy winner scored 17 goals in 2011 and will be looking to make a major impact in the MLS.

Despite this, Montreal will need to bring a real goal threat in.

The team has been linked to big name forwards Alessandro Del Piero and Louis Saha, but they appear to be nothing more than rumors.

Marsch held talks with Nicolas Anelka, but ultimately lost out to the money of Shanghai Shenhua.

It is all well and good chasing high-profile players, but time is ticking to bolster the squad.

How do you think the Impact will fare in their debut season? Who should they be looking to bring in? Comment below.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Setbacks? Better now than later.

If the latest slate of dismal performances by Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy were to happen after February, this would be a cause for concern.

So for the Galaxy manager, having setbacks like a 3-0 loss to the most unexpected of teams—the Montreal Impact—in February is better than during the 2012 MLS season.

 “It was a good morning for us; we got a lot out of it,” Arena told Luis Bueno of MLSSoccer.com. “A real good game to evaluate things, which is good and the purpose of these practice games.”

Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant agreed with Arena's sentiments.

"We’re not going to win any championships in these first couple of weeks in the preseason,” Dunivant said. “As it continues, we need to keep getting better and keep getting our fitness back.”

 It’s on schedule for us, Arena added. Other teams maybe have a greater sense of urgency to get things going right now. This is just a six-week break. We’re not putting everything we have into preseason games right now. In another week it will be better and in two weeks it will certainly be a lot better.

LA will have one final preseason match at the Home Depot Center on Feb. 16 before flying to Tucson for the Desert Diamond Cup. The Galaxy's first match with serious implications is on Mar. 7 against Toronto FC at the Rogers Centre.

 Meanwhile, Landon Donovan's Everton loan spell is nearly up. The midfielder and team captain for LA will return home following the Toffees' FA Cup tie with Blackpool.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Sporting Kansas City wrapped up the final game of their preseason stay in Arizona with a 5-1 drubbing of PDL's FC Tuscon at the Kino Sports Complex in Tuscon.

Former Arizona Sahuaros player and current Honduran international Roger Espinoza had a nice homecoming of sorts, scoring an electrifying goal from about 30 yards out to beat the FC Tuscon keeper in the corner.

Sporting's field day on offense was highlighted by the play of their first-round draft pick, Don Dwyer, who didn't score until the final 20 minutes of the game, but essentially owned the game after that.

Dwyer found two more goals, one in the 80th minute and one right before the dead of the game to secure his hat trick.  Although Dwyer missed the top 10 in terms of the evaluation on draft picks, he may be the first rounder that has the biggest immediate impact.

Sporting KC were able to persevere through cold and rainy conditions, unusual for this time of year in southern Arizona.

Sporting will be back in Kansas City on Tuesday for four days, before playing a series of preseason matches at the 2012 Disney Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando.  

Games for this event can be seen on MLSSoccer.com, as well as ESPN3.com for runner-up and championship matches.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Preseason slump for LA

It seems that the 7-2 whipping laid by Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy on the Los Angeles Blues was a bit of a fluke. On Friday, LA lost 1-0 to the Houston Dynamo at the Home Depot Center.

While it was just a mere preseason match, the result can be seen as a bit of poetic justice for Houston, who lost to LA by the same scoreline in the 2011 MLS Cup Final.

With the defeat, Los Angeles drop to 1-2 in preseason play and will come into Tuesday's scrimmage with the Montreal Impact with a need to find cohesion, because the last thing the Galaxy want is to have these results carry over into the regular season.

The scrimmage will be open to all fans who make a donation of five dollars or more to the Galaxy Foundation.

 A.J. DeLaGarza...thrust into the limelight

Defender A.J. DeLaGarza has seen his role in central defense increase exponentially, especially with Omar Gonzalez sidelined for the bulk of the 2012 Major League Soccer season.

DeLaGarza is expected to join forces with untested rookie Tommy Meyer in the back.

“I’m trying to take that leadership role and talk to everyone around me,” DeLaGarza told reporters on Friday after the scrimmage, according to Adam Serrano of MLSSoccer.com. “[Meyer is] still learning that role to take leadership as well and he’s doing fine at it.

“Not too many times [has the defense] been broken down in these first few games, so it looks pretty good.”

Another possibility is that Leonardo returns in central defense to complement DeLaGarza, but Arena argues that the possibility is a ways away from fruition.

“He looks much further along than the last time that we saw him,”  Arena told reporters on Friday. “He’s been on the gym on the rehab. He just got here yesterday and we’re not that far along yet and evaluating where he is and setting a schedule week to week.”

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Major League Soccer has grown a ridiculous amount in recent seasons, but that hasn't stopped its fans or critics in creating some sort of list about how to help MLS grow even larger.

So of course, I have my list of things I would like the league to change as well.

These aren't things that will make it grow to EPL status, because personally I don't care about hitting that level. Instead, I focused on things that I believe will resonate among the American populace and help MLS grow domestically. Which is what we need first and foremost.

I'm not saying this list is the answer, just suggestions. 

So here are my 10 things I believe MLS can do to get bigger, and in turn, better.

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here

Two Houston Dynamo soccer players were arrested this past Saturday for getting into an altercation with an off-duty police officer. The players believe some members of their group weren't allowed into a night club because of the color of their skin, but the club says differently. 

According to the Houston Chronicle, Tyler Deric and Warren Creavalle were arrested. Deric was charged with "assaulting a public servant" and Creavalle was "accused of interfering with public duties." 

They were also with Alex Dixon and Will Bruin at the time, but those two did not get in any trouble. Creavalle and Dixon are black, and all the players believed they were denied entry to the club because of that reason.

The club claims it was because the players were drunk, according to Fox 26 News in Houston.

Deric's attorney, Allen Tanner, plans to fight the charges, stating that his client did not assault anyone. Tanner claims he has several witness statements that can back it up. 

FOX 26 News is reporting that the same club wouldn't allow the rap group named Drank entry as well. The group states that "the doorman said we had too many Black people." 

Racism is sadly still a problem in this country, and if true, the Roosevelt Lounge should be ashamed of itself. The lounge can let in whomever they want, but denying someone because of their race is just wrong.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

World football legend and international superstar David Beckham was ordered to leave the sidelines during a children’s game that was taking place before his son’s game.

Yes, this is true.

Beckham revealed the story on The Jonathan Ross Show:

"I was watching the kids play the other day, it was the younger kids of Romeo's club, and there was a penalty given. And the kids are seven years old and he sent the kid off. And I was like, 'Come on, he's seven, referee, you can't send him off.' He looked at me and was like, 'Yes, I can.' And he came over and gave me a red card. He told me to get out of the park. For real. The gate was only 20 yards away and I waited and went back in when my son's game was on."

If you have ever been to a children’s organized sporting event of any kind, you know how out of line these parents can get. With that considered, I still have to agree with Beckham on this case 100 percent.

Given the fact that the kids were seven years old, unless there was a blatant attack on another player, there is no way that a referee should be sending kids off. Then again, I think we all know a seven-year-old that is capable of doing something worthy of getting sent off the field.

The referee from Los Angeles probably has to deal with the snobbiest people in the world. Beckham is just another guy on the sideline critiquing his job that deserved to get sent out.

When that jaded kids soccer referee red-carded Beckham, I bet there was no greater thrill in his life. He probably called all the people that said he wouldn’t make it to rub it in their face.

As awkward as the whole situation was, it must have dripped with tension when Beckham came back to the field for his son’s game just a few moments after being relegated to just outside the sporting complex.

Just imagine David Beckham on the outside of a gate looking in because he got yelled at. Too funny.

Check back for more on World Football as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s Soccer Page to get your fill of all things soccer.

Follow @Donald_Wood

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

Ever since Real Salt Lake and CD Chivas USA both began play in 2004, Major League Soccer has had a surge in expansion franchises, with one or two coming in every year. Last year, it was the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers. This year, it will be the Montreal Impact. 

With Major League Soccer growing at the rate it is, I thought about five possible sites where the MLS boom could expand to. 

Here are the five options that should be considered for expansion franchises, as well as possible names for the teams. 

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here