MLS News
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Toronto FC: Live Blog, Play-by-Play and Analysis
MLS News
Wednesday, 13 April 2011 18:05

Bruce Arena'a Los Angeles Galaxy had been unable to earn a result against Aron Winter's Toronto FC, settling for a pair of scoreless draws. This week, the Galaxy look to get a positive result in a midweek clash in Week 5 of the 2011 Major League Soccer season.

Can the Galaxy get it right and add another to the win column? Or will Toronto FC defend their home turf with style? Follow Bleacher Report for this and other coverage on MLS.

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Los Angeles Galaxy Ins and Outs, April 13, 2011
MLS News
Wednesday, 13 April 2011 17:30

More Time for Becks in MLS?

It looks like Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham may not be ready to call it a career just yet. Next year could be Beckham's final season after all.

"Yeah, you know, there’s a chance," Beckham told MLSSoccer.com's Duane Rollins. "I haven’t made any decision about what I’m going to do after this year. At the end of the day, I am 35-years-old, I’ll be 36 in May and I’m getting older, so I’ll need to see how my body feels at the end of the season, and if I feel that I can perform and continue, then I will continue."

Beckham had been pleased with the improved caliber of play in the league.

"I think it’s definitely gone up,"  Beckham said. "You’ve got improved [player] performances and improved team performances and the way the league has gone...with the franchises that have come into this league."

The addition of players like the New York Red Bulls' Thierry Henry raises the profile of MLS, according to Beckham.

"It can only do good and promote the sport and obviously the MLS," Beckham said.

The goal of Los Angeles winning the MLS Cup has always been on his mind. "I think it’s always disappointing when you don’t win trophies," Beckham said on the Galaxy's recent shortcomings, "but no [I wouldn’t consider my time in MLS a disappointment].

"Overall, I’ve enjoyed my time here. I have lots of friends throughout the league, throughout the teams I’ve played against and I think that it’s been very enjoyable."

He also was looking forward to playing at BMO Field for the first time this season.

"It’s a great city,” he told reporters on Tuesday, according to MLSSoccer.com's Duane Rollins. "The two times that I’ve actually been here I’ve enjoyed myself. I’m glad to be back.

"It’s important [that we win]. We played well [against D.C. United], but the way it ended was tough. We’ve moved on and are looking forward."

 

This Is for LA, Not TO, Says CB

Forward Chad Barrett is looking to make a statement for Bruce Arena's men, not Aron Winter's Toronto FC.

"I’m more to the point where I have to prove myself more in Bruce Arena’s eyes and in my teammates’ eyes than to come back and have some personal vendetta for the game against Toronto," Barrett told Luis Bueno of MLSSoccer.com. "When I got traded from Chicago to Toronto [in 2008], I looked forward to going back to Chicago, proving them wrong for trading me.

"It’s not really the same situation. It’s not the coach that traded me away. A new manager came in and for one reason or another wanted to make room on their team for somebody else."

Barrett had a huge chip on his shoulder after his time in Toronto fell short of expectations.

"I wish I could have taken TFC to the playoffs when I was here, but for some reason or another, it didn’t happen," Barrett said. "I feel like the stability of the team from the top down was always a problem, but we definitely had the players here throughout that should have been able to get the job done and take TFC to their first postseason.

"They are a good club, they have great support, fans who will show up 20,000 strong every game and deserve to see their team in the playoffs."

Regardless of what happens, it's all about bringing home a win for the G's.

"It would be kind of surreal," Barrett said of winning at BMO Field. "I don’t really know how I would act if I did score, but it definitely would be a great way to get my first goal of the season. To get that monkey off my back and being against Toronto, it would be kind of funny. All I really care about doing is leaving with points."

 

Juan Pablo Angel: "What, Me Worry?"

Galaxy forward Juan Pablo Angel had been finding it difficult to score goals early on this season. Still, the Colombian international wasn't going to hang his head in disappointment.

"When you look at the games we’ve played so far, the game against New England was a very difficult field to play [on]," Angel told MLSSoccer.com's Luis Bueno. "We didn’t have a good game against Salt Lake and against Philadelphia we played pretty much the second half one man down. But it’s important we keep getting results."

Landon Donovan was injured in the Galaxy's match with D.C. United.

"It’s been difficult," Angel said. "We didn’t have Omar [Gonzalez], [Donovan] Ricketts, myself for the first game, Gregg [Berhalter] has been out and Landon is out right now."

But if injuries are to be an excuse for the lack of production, think again, says Angel.

"Those are the things you are going to face throughout the year and that’s going to tell you how good as a team you are," Angel said. "At the end of the day, it’s how you replace those individuals that are important for the team and tells you if you have the depth and the strength within the squad to win things."

Beckham noted that a new partnership involving Angel and Miguel Lopez might be budding at around this time.

"There’s obviously a partnership with Miguel and Juan that’s starting," Beckham said. "Partnerships take time. They’re two very good players with a lot of talent. They’re going to get their goals, whether it comes in the next game or the next three games, we’ll have to wait and see.

"But as long as we’re working together as a team, as long as we’re supporting each other as a team, then we’ll be fine."

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Chicago Fire Supports the Launch of the UNO Soccer Academy
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MLS News
Tuesday, 12 April 2011 18:21

"This is the only country in the world that has the pyramid upside down. You pay for having your kid play soccer. So we need to find ways to connect, however that could be, to connect with Hispanics, to connect with everybody in the soccer environment in the U.S., and to get kids who are really hungry, to get kids on technical level to perform, and what I mean is first touch." - Jürgen Klinsmann

 

Chicago, IL - In an effort to boost graduation rate amongst young Latinos, the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO) announced on Wednesday, April 6 the nonprofit's innovative project: the UNO Soccer Academy.

This K-8 elementary school will be made available to 575 students.

With soccer being the No. 1 sport within the Latino community, UNO organizers believes that by providing a soccer-based Charter School, more Latinos will be better prepared for High School.

In addition, students at the Soccer Academy will have the opportunity to receive a scholarship to play soccer for a reputable High School while being prepared to excel in their classrooms.

The overall goal is for students who attend the UNO Soccer Academy will more than likely complete their High School education. While not every student may ever play professionally, many Latinos will have a greater chance of going to college.

"We have a tremendous amount of soccer talent within our community," said Juan Rangel, CEO of UNO.

"Unfortunately, a lot of kids may have the soccer skills, but they do not have the academic background."

Currently under construction, the UNO Soccer Academy is scheduled to open this fall. With nine charter schools under their belt, this will be UNO's 10th charter school. Once opened, the UNO Soccer Academy will feature an academic curriculum which will be connected with Soccer.

In addition, to their academic studies, the charter school will have physical fitness program where the students will have USSF Licensed coaches who will implement the Instructional practices and professional development guided by the USSF guidelines.

Not only will students benefit from a quality education, they're also going to have their athletic/personal/psychological development monitored by their coaches.

In order to ensure that the UNO Soccer Academy will successful, the Chicago Fire and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) will support and play a role in this project while continuing their partnership with UNO.

Both the Chicago Fire Head Coach, Carlos De Los Cobos and Head Coach of UIC's Men's Soccer Team expressed that by having a Soccer Academy that focuses on Academics and Athletics, many talented players will have a greater probability of obtaining a college scholarship.

For a child to be enrolled in the UNO Soccer Academy, their parents/guardians will have to turn in an application.

Once the application is submitted, that child will be eligible to selected via Lottery which will be held in May 2011.

 

In order to obtain an application, one can visit any one of the following UNO Campus:

Officer Donald J. Marquez School: 2916 W. 47th St; Chicago, IL 60632

Veterans Memorial Campus: 4248 W. 47th St; Chicago, IL 60632

For more information about the United Neighborhood Organization: www.uno-online.org

 

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He's also a Columnist for USSoccerPlayers.com; Your source for American Soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.

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New York Red Bulls/Metrostars: Ranking the All-Time Top 10 Players
MLS News
Tuesday, 12 April 2011 12:49

Part of the original franchises to join Major League Soccer, New York has seen many changes since their inaugural season in 1996, none more so than their name change from the Metrostars to the Red Bulls.

Over the years the team's supporters have seen different logo's, uniforms, stadiums, ownership and players—some good, some not so good!

Today's Red Bull team is one of the best collection of talent in the league, led by former France and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. Yet before Henry, there have been many great players before him.

Here we count down the top 10 players in Red Bulls/Metrostars history.

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Los Angeles Galaxy's Early Woes: Five Quick Fixes
MLS News
Tuesday, 12 April 2011 04:33

The Galaxy are off to a much slower start than their 2010 campaign, with a 2-1-2 record only five games into the season.

Never to fear, my fellow Galaxians, I am here to tell you that the Galaxy and their high expectations for a MLS Cup are certainly within their reach.

If it was not for an invisible take down in the penalty book in D.C. then the Galaxy would be feeling much better than they are today. Though that is not the case, the Galaxy have some things they must fine tune and sort out.

Head Coach Bruce Arena is fully aware of most of them (I hope), and if not, then maybe this article shall shed some light.

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David Beckham Video: Watch Beckham's Pinpoint Accuracy During Diet Pepsi Shoot
MLS News
Monday, 11 April 2011 13:14

Wow. I want to believe that’s real but it’s just so hard.

Look, David Beckham knows a thing or two about driving women wild and hitting ridiculous soccer shots.

So, it’s possible.

In this video, Beckham was on a commercial shoot for Diet Pepsi when the camera man asks him to hit three separate balls into three different garbage cans on the beach.

Beckham drops the soda and hits three impressive shots that all go in. Now, maybe he never hit them, maybe they were edited together so it could look like he hit them consecutively, but I wouldn’t say he didn’t do it.

Beckham has made his living off of hitting shots with stunning accuracy. This is just another reason why I hate him.

I can’t kick well because my left knee hurts when I stand and I do take my shirt off in public but it’s never greeted with positivity and I drive 2002 Hyundai Elantra that is slowly losing all electrical function.

In some ways I hope it was a hoax because I don’t think I can take that kind of awesomeness. 

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Seattle Sounders Have the Best Fans in American Pro Sports
MLS News
Monday, 11 April 2011 02:36

Call me crazy, but the best fans in a professional American sport are up in the Emerald City, and they're not rooting for the Seahawks.

Well, I am sure they root for the Seahawks, but these fans are out on the streets from March through November, marching to Qwest Field to root for one of the newest clubs in Major League SOCCER.

That's right. A soccer team has the best fans in the United States of America.

That team: Seattle Sounders FC.

The club was founded in 2008 and made its debut in MLS in 2009. From the word go, the Sounders have demonstrated the best support of any team in American sports.

Other teams in other leagues have great fans, but these fans are going hours before the game and intimidate the opponent from pregame through the final whistle and making it nearly impossible to take points in the Northwest.

Here is a look into the fans known as the Emerald City Supporters.

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Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Toronto FC: Breaking The Deadlock
MLS News
Sunday, 10 April 2011 21:47

Aron Winter's Toronto FC is one of the few teams Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy had been unable to get a positive result from last season.

On May 15, 2010, the Galaxy and TFC placed to a scoreless draw at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. On June 26th, the Galaxy and TFC once again played to a scoreless draw at BMO Field, the site for this Wednesday's midweek clash.

Los Angeles are currently third in the MLS Western Conference, trailing the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake with a 2-1-2 record (eight points).

The Galaxy are coming off a disappointing 1-1 draw on the road to D.C. United and will need to increase their production and improve on their ball distribution to come away with maximum points.

Toronto FC do feature a former Galaxy player in Alan Gordon, who has scored two goals for TFC. Another player to watch out for is Javier Martina, who also has two goals to his credit.

Offensively, the Galaxy have been stagnant, and the backline of Nana Attakora, Adrian Cann, Ty Harden and Danleigh Borman will look to neutralize the set pieces David Beckham will take. This is where the match cxould be won or lost: the battle of David Beckham vs. the Toronto back line.

Martina, Maicon Santos (who has also recorded a goal this year for Toronto FC), and Gordon provide a potent test for the Galaxy's back four of Leonardo, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant and Omar Gonzalez, who were solid in breaking up D.C.'s sequences until late in the match.

Of course, winning the favor of the officials wouldn't hurt LA in terms of intangibles, either.

"Well, the officiating in this League is what it is," said Arena to LAGalaxy.com in his efforts to take the high road. "Unfortunately we’re all conditioned to it now anyway and accept it. It is what it is."

So once again, the prospects of the Galaxy facing two opponents instead of one will be a priority as they continue their road trip.

Prediction:


I expect the Galaxy to finally break the scoring deadlock and finish with a result. The production must come in bunches. More chances. Better passing. Defense is only half the battle. The other half is offensive production.

And Los Angeles knows it.

Los Angeles Galaxy 2, Toronto FC 0


Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PT/8:00 p.m. ET and will be televised locally by MatchDay Live and DirectKick.

INS AND OUTS:

Youth Academy Update

The Los Angeles Galaxy Youth Academy, as mentioned last week, faced Nomads SC at Kinsell Field in San Diego, California. Both side came away victorious.

The Under-18s edged Nomads 3-2. Neil Ignacio scored a brace in the 36th and 60th minute, while Alan Rovira equalized in the 20th minute for Los Angeles.

As for the Under-16s, they shut out Nomads 4-0. Sean Dhillon opened the proceedings in the 27th minute for LA. Then the match opened up late in the second half.

Kevin Labastida scored in the 78th minute, Cole Dimond scored in the 81st, and Sebastian Velasquez added an insurance goal in the 83rd minute of play to make it 4-0 Galaxy.

On Sunday, April 10, the Galaxy Youth Academy Under-18s and U-16s took on Arsenal FC at the Home Depot Center. The match was part of a stretch of six straight home game at Victoria Street.

Scores from the matches with Arsenal FC were not available as this article went to press.

Up next for the Academy is a match with Real So Cal on Sunday, April 17. Kickoff at the Home Depot Center for the Under-18s is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET, while the Under-16s kickoff at 3:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. ET.

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2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 4
MLS News
Sunday, 10 April 2011 21:28

Bad officiating? What bad officiating? Poppycock. That's just men with the speed of tree trunks trying to get a bonus to their meager stipends by carding as many as they can, while in the process, compromising the quality of officiating in this league we call Major League Soccer.

Cheeky.

All joking, frivolous claims and water cooler jibjab aside, Real Salt Lake is back on top for another week in our 2011 MLS Power Rankings. If Brigham Young ever considered playing football or some variant of it in his lifetime, he would make a good goalkeeper, but that's just this ranker's opinion.

Here's this week's MLS Power Rankings on B/R. Roll 'em!

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Major League Soccer: Real Salt Lake Second Team Beats the New England Revolution
MLS News
Saturday, 09 April 2011 23:46

Real Salt Lake head coach Jason Kreis knew that his reserve players were good, but did he know they were this good?

Starting a line up of primarily reserve players worked out very well on Saturday night when Real Salt Lake met the New England Revolution at Gillette stadium. The result was a dominating 2-0 victory for the visiting team.

Following an emotional win in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal on Tuesday night, and with another MLS game coming up Wednesday, it was the perfect time to give the reserve players some game experience.

Real Salt Lake did well to keep possession and limit opportunities for the Revolution. The game was scoreless until the 27th minute when Ned Grabavoy fired a strike that beat the goalkeeper, but not the near post. A Revolution defender cleared the ball out of bounds and Real Salt Lake lined up for a corner kick.

Collen Warner sent a good ball just in front of the net that found the head of defender Chris Schuler, who got just enough of the ball to put it in the back of the net for 1-0 lead.

After the game, Schuler discussed his goal with the KUTV broadcast team and said, “I don’t know how I got free, but I just saw where Collen was looking and I tried to go where I thought he was going to play the ball...he did, and I got the goal.”

The second half started much like the first ended. Real Salt Lake continued to play well and added their second goal in the 47th minute when speedy Brazilian forward Paulo Araujo, Jr. got in front of the defense and slipped a one on one goal just past the goalkeeper for his second of the season.

In the minutes that followed the second goal, a clearly frustrated Revolution team began falling apart emotionally with unnecessary challenges and play that resulted in two of their players being sent off.

Shalrie Joseph was sent off for touching and pushing the face of Kyle Beckerman in frustration, and Pat Phelan left for a two footed sliding challenge that was a reckless play. In the chaos that ensued, Real Salt Lake midfielder Will Johnson was also sent off for getting his second yellow card of the match.

This game marked the third time in as many years that Real Salt Lake has embarrassed the Revolution. Two years ago in Utah, the home team won by a score of 6-0. Last year's game ended 5-0, and tonight they got shut out by the second team.

Next up for Real Salt Lake is a Wednesday night home match against the defending champion Colorado Rapids. Thanks to the second team, they should be prepared and well rested.

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