"If this can be termed the century of the common man, then soccer, of all sports, is surely his game.... In a world haunted by the hydrogen and napalm bomb, the football field is a place where sanity and hope are still left unmolested."  - Stanley Rous, 1952

The soccer ball is without a doubt, the most important thing in soccer.

The players, the fans, the uniforms and the teams they would be useless without the soccer ball. Sure, the player may hit to score, but without the soccer ball what would become of the player?

But while the ball being almighty and powerful, it is vulnerable. A soccer ball can destroyed by barbwire punctures, wear and tear, or simply the quality behind it's design. A quality ball is expensive enough that you're not likely going to play with it in a rough terrain.

Is there a cost effective, ultra-durable soccer ball?

Yes. It's called the One World Futbol.

Invented by Tim Jahnigen and financed by music icon Sting, this inexpensive and ultra-durable soccer ball has already been distributed worldwide to refugee camps, UN hot spots, conflict zones and poor villages throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Since July 8, 2010, a total of 15,000 One World Futbols has been donated to 90 organizations in 77 countries. In addition, musical artists such as Sharika and U2 purchased dozens of One World Futbols for distribution while they were touring in Latin American and South America.

The One World Futbol has been named one of the "10 Best Active Toys" and the "100 Best Toys" by Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D, aka "Dr. Toy." 

How tough is the One World Fubol? Triton the zoo lion from Johannesburg was unable to puncture the ultra-durable soccer ball.

Not only is the One World Futbol durable, it can be played on all terrain conditions and it never deflates.

Using the "Buy One, Give One" model, soccer fans have the opportunity to donate the One World Futbol to a non-governmental organization working with people who live in harsh environments around the world; i.e., countries where there's refugee camps, UN hotspots, conflict zones, inner-cities and poor communities worldwide.

The Portland Timbers are the first MLS team to become involved. Timbers midfielder James Marcelin recently visited the Portland French School to help kick off the school's soccer ball drive for needy children in Haiti. To read more, please click on the link.

Other teams are likely to follow suit. The Seattle Sounders and D.C. United have been in talks with the staff of One World Futbol.

In addition to reaching out to various MLS teams, One World Futbol has a partnership going with A GANAR, a program developed by Partners of the Americas and funded, in part, by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Whether you want to make a difference or have your MLS Club involved, then I recommend you take the step and lead the way. For more information on you can make a difference with One World Futbol, please go to their website.

You can also follow One World Futbol on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

In the end, there's soccer and there's soccer, the game of life.

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for Latino Sports. You may follow him on Facebook at Covering Soccer and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer and @LatinoSports143. Please email your questions and comments to Cesar at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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With Week 1 of the 2011 Major League Soccer season officially in the books, there are movers, and there are shakers in this week's MLS Power Rankings.

Above the madness in March lie the Colorado Rapids, who remain at the top, while the Portland Timbers stay stuck at the bottom.

We have some teams that have slid, and some that have moved up the ladder. Let's get right to it.

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The Seattle Sounders played a tough 90 minutes in Red Bulls Stadium on Friday, but again could not finish well and dropped game two to the New York Red Bulls 1-0.

Seattle played strong and created many opportunities in the first half, keeping Red Bulls keeper Greg Sutton busy and chasing. The highlight of the first half though came courtesy of Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, who got called for a take-down in the box, giving Red Bulls' superstar Thierry Henry a PK in the eighth minute.  Henry went to his left and Kasey Keller chose correctly and sent Henry's kick packing, keeping the Sounders in the game at 0-0.

The pressure on Sutton continued for the rest of the period, forcing him to make five saves before the teams broke for halftime at 0-0. The Sounders came out quickly again in the second half, but fate would change quickly and the Sounders would find themselves playing from behind.

Fredy Montero lost possession in an attack and Teemu Tainio sent a long ball to up and coming star Juan Agudelo, who battled off Leo Gonzalez before poking the shot past Keller for the goal and a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute. This was Agudelo's first MLS goal and at age 18, he looks to be a promising forward for the Red Bulls and the U.S. National team.

Seattle had a final opportunity in stoppage time when Montero was fed a decent pass from just-signed Mauro Rosales. He took a blazing shot that was initially stopped by Sutton but dribbled right back to the foot of Lamar Neagle, who sent the ball over the cross bar into the cheap seats.

Rosales made his Sounders debut in the 68th minute replacing Alvaro Fernandez, who was having a good game when pulled. We also saw Servando Carrasco make his team debut. Carrasco acquitted himself well but seemed to get a bit tired late in the game and was replaced by Neagle in the 79th.

The Sounders have the chance to put their first points on the board again on Friday when they host the Houston Dynamo at Qwest Field.

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I have come to this cruel conclusion, this necessary evil of a assessment: The teams in Major League Soccer that will lift trophies in the fall are those that can win games in the rain.

Another assessment: the match referee waving an arm up and down is, for all intents and purposes, a middle-fingered salute to bastions of fans supporting a team that supposedly scored a would-be goal.

Interpretations and concessions aside, Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy needs to learn how to win matches in adverse conditions if it wants to at least defend its Supporters' Shield. Sunday's 1-1 draw with Steve Nicol's New England Revolution saw Los Angeles squander three would-be goals.

Of course, it could be seen as Hilario Grajeda giving New England and Shalrie Joseph—who should have made the match a 2-1 decision to the Revs had it not been for a shot that hit the post in the second half—a free pass.

I have been looking at David Beckham's mechanics when he delivers his crosses and set pieces, and they have been off. Either he gets too much elevation in his shot or not enough elevation, allowing it to be deflected or snapped up in the waiting hands of Matt Reis, who played a stellar game in goal for New England.

All in all, Beckham had a terrible game tonight against the Revolution, and I will not miss him if he calls it a career after this year.

Landon Donovan and Juan Pablo Angel had their chances to bury home a game-winner, but the epitome of what has been a long night had to come in the 91st minute, when a would-be winner from Angel was called back due to offsides.

I was warned by a fellow user on either BigSoccer or Bleacher Report (don't know which site) that Angel was prone to being offsides on the chances he gets. The said user, whose name will remain anonymous, must be a Nostradamus of some sorts. Granted, he was returning from the flu and came in to replace Chad Barrett, but on any given day, he would finish that.

Also, I am wondering: Is Juninho the next Edson Buddle? I mean, he got his second goal of the season off a one-time shot that sailed past Reis. This team can't rely on Juninho scoring.

The Galaxy has to help itself when it comes to passing, to defending, to running the 4-4-2. It was a mess, and no matter how hard Los Angeles tried to adjust, it didn't seem to translate to any momentum shifting in its favor in the second half.

That said, there's a good chance Juninho will strike again when the Galaxy takes on Real Salt Lake. I could be wrong—maybe someone else will finally step up after all—but if the young Brazilian is on a roll with the chances he gets, well, guess we'll take it anyway.

The forecast in Sandy, Utah is calling for some more rain on the way. Good Lord, is it just me, or do the rain clouds follow the Galaxy wherever it goes? Stay tuned.

Kickoff at Rio Tinto Stadium is scheduled for Saturday, March 26 at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports Prime Ticket.

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It has been 17 months since Charlie Davies played a competitive soccer match and although the road to Saturday night's game against the Columbus Crew was a long one with a lot of speed bumps, Davies has perservered and is beginning his comeback to professional soccer with D.C. United.

The hype surrounding Davies began when he came on to the big stage at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa. Not many people expected the speedy Davies to be a main part of the American side that surprised everyone by advancing to the final before losing to Brazil.

Davies only scored 26 total goals in three years playing for Hammarby in Sweden and then transferred to Sochaux in France and then the accident happened.

Just days before the United States' match with Costa Rica in October, Davies was involved in a fatal car accident that he was lucky to survive.

After many months of rehab, missing out on the 2010 World Cup and failing to impress back at Sochaux, the 24-year-old joined D.C. United on loan and began to impress coach Ben Olsen and his teammates.

Saturday night was the beginning of the comeback for Davies, who is looked like the Charlie Davies of old with his second goal, speeding past Crew defender Chad Marshall and getting past keeper Will Hesmer before knocking the goal in to the back of the net.

The first goal he scored was a penalty, Davies was chosen to take the penalty by captain Dax McCarty, who told Davies that he trusted him one hundred percent to find the back of the net, and Davies did exactly that to power United to their first win of the season over one of the better clubs in the East in Columbus.

Every soccer fan in America and even around the world should be rooting for Davies to get back in to his form of 2009 because he is a special talent and even more he is a class act.

After all, he's been through so much and to get this far and fail is not an option for Davies.

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Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy take on Steve Nicol's New England Revolution in the Galaxy's home opener on Sunday, March 20, 2011. The Galaxy are coming off a 1-0 season-opening victory over the struggling Seattle Sounders, while the Revs are looking to build on their previous efforts over Los Angeles at Gillette Stadium.

Will the Revs get on a tear against the G's? Or will LA roll to their first win streak of the season?

Bleacher Report's Jo-Ryan Salazar will provide you all the action from Victoria Street as Week 1 of the 2011 Major League Soccer season wraps up.

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Bruce and Chad

When asked about NFL veteran Chad Ochocinco's chances of playing MLS, the Los Angeles Galaxy manager welcomed the idea with open arms.

"I would be surprised (if he could play), but you never know," Arena said, "I give our sport a little bit more credit. It’s not like if our sport goes on strike that Landon Donovan’s going to go to the NFL as a free safety.

"But I do love his passion for the game and I would love to see him on the field to see what he can do. Maybe I’m underestimating his ability and his desire to play."

Ochocinco's decision to transition to soccer from a different sport and a different league has not been unprecedented. Former NBA great Steve Nash trained with the New York Red Bulls.

"He wasn't trying to make the team," Arena pointed out. "Actually, Steve Nash probably could have been a professional soccer player, from what I've seen of Steve.

"He would have been a midfielder...Steve Nash probably plays 50 days a year. He's a little bit ahead of Ochocinco in that area."


Change of pace for Michael Stephens

Now in his second year with the Galaxy, midfielder Michael Stephens is ready to pace himself after learning some valuable lessons from his rookie campaign.

“It’s a pretty similar role to the way I started out last year, coming off the bench and trying to add a little to the games in the later part of the games,” Stephens said.

“My mentality is a little bit better. I’m a little more comfortable with the team, and I think I’m going to have a better year.

“Being smarter about the way I take care of myself. It’s a long year and you don’t want to push it every single day too hard, doing a lot of extra stuff every day, just being smart about picking your moments and taking good rest and being able to conserve your body for the whole season.”

Stephens was used primarily as a substitute, but he did see some action starting in the midfield.

“Everyone wants to be in the starting lineup, but coming in late in the games, I think I can do good helping this team and bringing some good energy to games when people are getting tired,” Stephens said.

“I want to contribute any way I can and whether it’s starting or coming into games late, whatever I can do to help my team.”

And with the change in attitude comes a change in pace for the UCLA product.

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Expecting to contend for the 2011 MLS Cup, last year's Eastern Conference regular season winners kicked off the 2011 MLS season with a 1-0 win over the Seattle Sounders at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

The Red Bull Arena's boisterous crowd in the South Ward section, and the rest of the 20,982 fans, were given a preview of how dangerous the New York Red Bulls will be once they're in sync and running all cylinders. They witnessed moments of brilliance when Thierry Henry was "shaking and baking" his defenders as he passed the ball to his teammates.

They cheered approvingly of the potential and game awareness of Juan Agudelo, as he beat two defenders to accept a 50-yard pass from Teemu Tainio. This led to Agudelo's first MLS goal in the 71st minute of the game. With his world-class finish, many have to wonder how many goals Agudelo capable of scoring this season.

Not only was Agudelo's monumental goal important to the Red Bulls, it was also the first goal towards the team's "New York's Got Wings" campaign. For every goal the Red Bulls score this season, $1,000 in equipment and clinics will be donated to NYC Parks Youth Programs and New York soccer programs.

While the game result may appear to be a low-scoring affair, the Red Bulls demonstrated that their revamped and attacking offense possesses the potential firepower to score many more goals this season. For the game, the Red Bulls took 21 shots, seven shots on goal and 11 corner kicks while committing 10 fouls and being called once for offsides.

One huge reason why the Red Bulls weren't able to produce more goals was the superb goalkeeping of Seattle's Kasey Keller. Despite his team's loss, Keller demonstrated why he's one of MLS' elite goalkeepers as he blocked Henry's penalty kick in the ninth minute of the game while making six out of seven saves.

While Keller valiantly lost tonight, Red Bulls goalkeeper Greg Sutton recorded his first victory of the season. Despite his erratic play at times, Sutton was able to make seven saves. In addition, Sutton had help as the Red Bulls defense limited the Sounders to 10 shots and zero corner kicks.

However, during stoppage time, Sutton made his most important save when he blocked Freddy Montero's 30-yard strike. Despite his magnificent save, Sutton was unable to hold on to the ball. As a result, Lamar Neagle almost tied the game with a rebound. Fortunately for Sutton, the Red Bulls and everyone in attendance, Lamar Neagle's rebound attempt sailed over the crossbar instead of finding the net for the equalizer.

The New York Red Bulls are now 1-0-0 while the Seattle Sounders fall to 0-2-2. New York will now face the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium in hopes of a road win.

To see more of Bill Menzel's game photos please go this link.

Other MLS Results

In other MLS scores, the defending MLS champion Colorado Rapids ruined the MLS debut of the Portland Timbers with a 3-1 win. Also making their MLS debut, the Vancouver Whitecaps produced a 4-2 victory over Toronto FC at the Empire Field.

Also making his MLS debut was Charlie Davies, as he scored two goals in D.C. United's 3-1 victory over the Columbus Crew. Over at the Home Depot Center, visiting Sporting Kansas City ousted Chivas USA 3-2 thanks to Omar Bravo's two-goal performance.

Meanwhile, a pair of 1-0 road wins took place as the Philadelphia Union stunned the Houston Dynamo while Real Salt Lake did the same to the San Jose Earthquakes. The Chicago Fire stalemated FC Dallas 1-1 at the Pizza Hut Park.

Cesar Diaz covers soccer for Latino Sports. You may follow him on Facebook at Covering Soccer and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer and @LatinoSports143. Please email your questions and comments to Cesar at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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The San Jose Earthquakes continue to build upon last year's success. It is clear that San Jose is eager and ready to surpass its playoff run from last season. Last season, the Earthquakes finished tied for fifth in the Western Conference with 46 points and a 13-10-7 record.

The Earthquakes fell to the eventual MLS champions, the Colorado Rapids, last season. However, that small margin of defeat has not discouraged any Earthquake players.  

The Earthquakes have been working on improving a handful of areas which will help them advance even further toward an MLS championship. One of those areas is the depth at the goalkeeper position. With Joe Cannon gone, Jon Busch is now ready to assume the starting role.  What will be interesting to watch, as the season progresses, is the competition between David Bingham and Andrew Weber to be backup goalkeeper.  

Also, with the Earthquakes' installation of the 4-3-3 system, many will agree that the team will certainly be making the proper strides to improve upon last year's results.

In the first half, both teams had trouble establishing control of the ball at midfield. With Real Salt Lake’s physical style of play in the middle of the field, Earthquakes midfielder Sam Cronin drew a yellow card in the sixth minute, and Earthquakes defenseman Chris Leitch drew a yellow card in the 36th minute.  

Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch gave great contributions with a key save in the 62nd minute. Unfortunately, he was not able to stop Real Salt Lake’s midfielder and captain Kyle Beckerman’s shot in the 63rd minute of the match.  

The Earthquakes had multiple opportunities via corner kicks in the final 15 minutes of the game, but were unfortunately unable to find the net.

Real Salt Lake escaped with a road victory over the San Jose Earthquakes, 1-0.

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The Philadelphia Union jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute over the Houston Dynamo and held onto the lead to give Houston its first home season-opener loss in club history.

The score came on a short kick by defender Danny Califf when Sheanon Williams throw deep to the Dynamo side, taking them by surprise.

While the Dynamo tried to regroup, Sebastian Le Toux shot from five yards out, hitting the crossbar.

Califf got the ricochet and chipped it in for the game’s only score.

The entire game was very physical, with three yellow cards issued in the game; Philadelphia’ Carlos Ruiz in the 20th minute for a reckless foul and Houston’s Brad Davis (22nd minute) and Califf (44th minute) for reckless tackles.

To start the second half, the game was lost on local television and monitors in the stadium as the power supplying the transmission truck went out, and the signal was lost. It was back on line half-way though the second half.

The Dynamo controlled the ball the majority of the game but could not find a way to put it in the goal.

Numerous drives, break-a-ways and corner kicks failed to end in the desired result; that being a goal for the orange and white.

The Union defense, much improved from 2010, kept the Dynamo at bay and forced them to take shot after shot that was easily defended or quickly knocked or head away.

The best chance for the Dynamo came in the 67th minute when Brad Davis found Geoff Cameron on a free kick, but his header just missed the net.

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