First it was Dwayne De Rosario and Celtic, then it was David Beckham and Tottenham. Add Omar Cummings to the list: MLS players who were denied to go on loan.

Earlier today, it was announced that Colorado Rapids striker Omar Cummings would not be loaned from Colorado to Aston Villa, in spite of the fact Villa manager Gérard Houllier seemed impressed with his work ethic.

Before we go and point the finger at the league and its teams for shutting down any international loans, this was not the fault of anyone in MLS. Believe it or not, Colorado agreed to allow Cummings to go on loan.

When applying for a work permit for his rather short stint with Villa, he was denied the permit. This rejection is the result of his nationality: Jamaican. A regular player on the national squad, he was able to breeze through that requirement. However, the requirement stalling him? Team rank.

It couldn't have been any more brutal. To qualify for a UK Work Permit as an international soccer player, the nation you regularly play for must have an average rank of 70th or higher. 

In FIFA's latest rankings, Jamaica dropped one lone spot...from 58th to 59th, thus resulting in the country's average ranking over the last year at 72nd. 

So close, but yet so far.

Cummings, who has been reported to be all right with the situation, will be returning to Colorado's preseason training...beginning Jan. 24, a nice sigh of relief for Rapids fans. Their star striker will be back for the regular season to kick off.

Villa, on the other hand—well, so much for a possible extra boost in attacking. 

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It may have been a bit slow in starting, but the New England Revolution offseason transformation (we hope it will eventually be qualified as such) has begun.  Today’s announcement that the team has waived Emmanuel Osei follows a week of player movement and news.

The changes started with the addition of Didier Domi, an experienced, left-sided French fullback that has played in many of the top European leagues.  We can talk about Domi’s addition, questioning everything from his age (we are replacing Gibbs, a 31-year old American left back, for Domi, a 31 year old French left back), his cost (not yet known) and his current playing level (the Greek league isn’t the EPL now is it?)…but he clearly has some pedigree if there is still gas in the tank and the right mentality to come in and compete.

Roster changes, however, must be thought of holistically, since small rosters and tight salary caps mean every change causes ripples throughout a team.

With the addition of Domi, there are some interesting roster implications that were highlighted the very next day when the Revolution announced the re-signing of Chris Tierney.  Tierney is most frequently used on the left side at both defense and midfield, and we should suspect these two to battle for playing time, unless Tierney can make the left midfield slot his own.

These moves also suggest that Seth Sinovic, who Nicol seemed to lose faith in toward season’s end, is happy that there is a larger senior roster in 2011.

When it comes to the draft, I love hearing (fellow?) pundits grade how the Revs made out.   These grades are typically based on such little information that they are hard to take too seriously.  I don’t believe that I am prone lathering undo affection on Mr. Burns or Mr. Nicol, but I’m not about to launch a stinging critique when I’ve not seen a single minute of soccer played by anyone we drafted.

And I doubt most of the graders have seen more than snippets either.

By the end of the 2010 campaign, it became fairly clear that the Revs needed help across quite a few positions.  There were too few threats at forward and too many worries in defense.  While midfield may not have been concern number one, a bit of offensive spark and a less predictable attack would be nice.

And since none of us know what prospects Nicol and Burns are chasing outside of the draft—and to keep Revs fans from going completely crazy, there better be some more news there—saying they picked too many or too few of any one position is a bit crass.

What I like about the Revolution draft strategy is that they led with a central defender.  Why?   It was clearly a need, and if there’s one position that Burns and Nicol should be able to both scout and grow, it’s that of a defender.   Nicol is a defensive legend, and say what you will about Burns, but he played at the highest levels the USA has to offer.  And that’s more than anything we have on our back line today.

The Revolution certainly CAN succeed at drafting for other positions (see Clint Dempsey as the most obvious example of a non-defensive success), but I suspect those players are harder to find and harder for our current leadership to nurture.  Maybe it is safer to go for experience there?

Some other quick thoughts on the recent moves…

So the Revolution has started the offseason changes and more are promised.  It’s hard for me to complain about any of these moves, as they all seem directionally positive.

But, the fans who heard the front-office whispers about a Designated Player hunt are all still waiting for something a bit bigger…not just taller.

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“I am both honored and blessed to have had such a wonderful career with the LA Galaxy and I am thankful for everything the club, the fans and the community has done for me and my family. I am excited to bring my deep knowledge, passion and expertise of soccer in this country to The New York Cosmos. They truly represent where this sport is headed on a national and international level, and I want to make history with them.”—Cobi Jones, New York Cosmos Associate Director of Soccer

With the recent news of Cobi Jones leaving the Los Angeles Galaxy to become the New York Cosmos Associate Director of Soccer, I've been bombarded with emails from Galaxy fans asking me how the Cosmos organization could steal Cobi from them.

For the record, the Cosmos didn't steal Cobi Jones. I doubt that the reason the New York Cosmos hired Cobi Jones was because they didn't appreciate the humor of L.A.'s mascot, Cozmo. If the fans really want to blame a party, then foolishly blame the Los Angeles Galaxy for not doing enough to keep Cobi Jones.

Cobi Jones leaving the Los Angeles Galaxy for the New York Cosmos is as symbolic as a teenager leaving home for college so later she/he can enter the workforce. If you're a parent or an individual who left home because you were ready, then you should be understanding and proud of Cobi's decision to see if he can make it with an organization as historical as the New York Cosmos.  

No matter where Cobi Jones goes, he will always be recognized as a Galaxy player who represented the United States in three World Cups and was a pioneer player who remained with the Los Angeles Galaxy for his entire MLS career.

Before there was Landon and Beckham...there was No. 13.

During his time with the Galaxy, Cobi Jones has given the organization and their fans reasons to smile time after time due to his contribution to the team.

Thanks to him, Los Angeles won five Western Conference championships, two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open titles, two MLS Supporters' Shields, two MLS Cups and one CONCACAF Champions Cup during his playing career.

Following his retirement in 2007, he became the team's assistant coach under Ruud Gullit where he was promoted to interim head coach until Bruce Arena was hired as Gullit's replacement. When it's said and done, No. 13 has always been true to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Galaxy fans should also be proud of the Los Angeles Galaxy for having Cobi Jones as their player and for also providing him a post-soccer education that many MLS players will never see. The club has always believed in him and as a result has set a standard, which other MLS teams will follow.

If that's not good enough for you, then you can hopefully look forward to the 2013 MLS season when the New York Cosmos should be squaring off against your beloved Los Angeles Galaxy.

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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I am not what you would call an avid reader. For work, I’m constantly reading this or that commentary on the technology market, often in short-attention-span-approved blog or trade-journal prose. But, like many nowadays I suspect, I find I need to force myself to finish longer, more in-depth pieces.

Not surprisingly then, finding the time and the drive to read for personal pleasure is that much more difficult. Outside of the pre-digested Newsweek, Soccer America or magazines about cars or home electronics, not much gets my attention most weeks. Books, in fact, rarely get cracked open.

There is, however, one notable—and extremely unsurprising—exception. Books on soccer and/or soccer “culture.” Yes, I know…you’re shocked.

I am writing about this now because I just finished one of those “soccer culture” books— "Among the Thugs," by Bill Buford. Saying it was about “culture” is difficult, because the subject matter, soccer hooliganism, is the antithesis incarnate of a civilized culture.

I don’t regularly read about hooliganism and am not one who is particularly enamored by its mystique. However, despite all of that, this book was enthralling. Even given a busy work schedule and two little ones who see an adult attempting to read as a jungle gym in waiting, it was easy to rip through the whole thing in a week or so. (Otherwise equal to two days on a pre-kids vacation, I’d guess.)

I also enjoyed another soccer classic—"Fever Pitch," by Nick Hornby—that I finished before this. To my surprise though, while I enjoyed it, my attention wasn’t grabbed in the way I was sucked into "Among the Thugs."

The recent surge in soccer-reading (and recent holiday arrival of a new book) got me thinking about the burgeoning collection of soccer-themed books I have sitting on the shelf. While modest, I figured it an interesting exercise to catalog what I have, fully expecting that I’ll be adding to it over time. In fact, there’s now a new tab on the site that takes you to the Soccer Soap Box Library page that includes only the book, title, page count and if I had read the book or not.

A few thoughts about my little collection that jump out at me…

I would love to hear about other collections or favorites, and be sure to comment over on the Soccer Soap Box Library page about must-haves that I should be getting or about your thoughts on any of the books I have listed. One day when another bout of MLS offseason boredom puts me in the mood, perhaps I’ll add commentary around the books that I’ve read in some organized fashion.

And while I’m not much of a collector, there are two other wholly unsurprising areas that I may create a place to track on Soccer Soap Box—soccer memorabilia (old black and white or otherwise unique soccer-related pictures adorn the home office, scarves from special games adorn the basement) and the dates and memories of the games I’ve attended outside the USA.

What’s your soccer collection?

Happy 2011 everyone.

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Don Garber's at it again, making American soccer fans infuriated once again. 

No, not with talk about conferences and a single-table format, but with the MLS Commissioner's rather gung-ho plan to create "Rivalry Week" during the MLS regular season. 

This tentatively called "rivalry week" would consist of the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps playing against one another in the span of the week, and having all of MLS solely focus on the Pacific Northwest.

In a nutshell, it's Garber's latest scheme in hopes of garnering television audiences that are complimented with unprecedented crowds out in the Cascades.

Just the idea alone is very unsurprising, almost to the same degree of receiving a backlash of comments on MLS's website.

However, what may shock you is where the core disapproval was coming from: Sounders, Whitecaps and Timbers fans.

Most of it was either snickering at how married to rivalries Garber is, or how Garber is not foreseeing this rivalry as sport—but to showcase the league under a new light instead. Shaking his crystal ball, Garber is evidently hoping that this will create mass attention.

Perhaps I'm taking a pessimistic approach, but I highly doubt this, so-called, "rivalry week" will do what Garber is hoping it will do.

In ways, it's an equivalent of hoping the Los Angeles Galaxy or the New York Red Bulls will make a stunning postseason run and either one of the two have an appearance in the MLS Cup finals. You have high hopes it will be possible, but in the end, it simply doesn't happen.

Evidently, the largest worries and drawbacks to this system is the fact that you build up all the hype for one random week—and then there's little media attention on the MLS the remainder of the season. Theoretically, it would then be a wiser decision to just randomly draw round pairings and when they play, they play. It simply is what it is.

MLS fans are well-conditioned by now to know that the league will never, ever, just allow things to be that way. Take a glance at the drafts, the supplemental drafts, the sometimes-unnecessary iron-fist on parity, the playoffs and so on and so forth.

These formatting structures are installed with every ugly Americanization in the effort to fish into a sea of casual fans and crossing fingers that they'll reel in a couple hundred or two.

The concept is far from what I prefer, but it's simply understandable, and therefore, it is incredibly likely (to practically inevitable) that we will see "MLS Rivalry Week 2011." To compliment this, we might see some of the league's artificial rivalries played during this time frame.

However, it is most likely if this is to happen, it will be toward the latter end up of the season. Garber may not be the best when it comes to soccer, but the man is no idiot. He's smart enough to know that it would be a great way to draw some minor attention prior to the MLS Cup Playoffs and carry that "hype" into the postseason race for the MLS Cup title.

He will dismiss the doubt that the league will have little or no attention beforehand, primarily by saying it will all serve as a build up to rivalry week. 

Given the track record of Garber's past projects (SuperLiga, Re-Entry Draft, playoff expansion), I sense rivalry week being a financial disaster that results in very little media attention.

When that happens, I look forward to the myriad list of excuses Garber musters together. 

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"It was a traveling circus. Everybody speaking a different language, everybody with a different sort of personal assistant or trainer tagging along to help as a translator and to help with their various needs...it was an enormous entourage wherever you went and it was entertaining." - Lawrie Mifflin

New York, NY—With the new year in session, a plethora of articles have surfaced regarding the New York Cosmos. From Cobi Jones joining the Cosmos to Grant Wahl's Sports Illustrated interview, the Cosmos have been in the news.

The one thing older Cosmos fans are concerned about is that their beloved team is being viewed as a brand. They're also concerned that the Cosmos will be recognized more for their current/future merchandise than their history. And now with the rumors of David Beckham possibly purchasing the team, some are worried that this second coming of the New York Cosmos may be a laughingstock.

My reply to these Cosmos fans is, "Abandon your worries because the New York Cosmos organization is serious and intent on becoming the 20th team in Major League Soccer for the 2013 MLS season."

I've been to the New York Cosmos office and have interacted with the organization's excellent Management Team, Vice Chairman Terry Byrne, and Chairman/CEO Paul Kemsley. In addition, I've also met with some of the parents/players from the Cosmos Academy East and their Director Giovanni Savarese.

The common denominator that everyone has that I've observed is that they're proud.

Proud that they're involved and committed to being part of the New York Cosmos revival. Proud that they've been able to live up to mission statement by establishing two Cosmos Youth Academies. Proud that after 25 years after the team faded away, people globally remember and sincerely care for the New York Cosmos. Did I mention that that they've accomplished this in less than six months?

The New York Cosmos isn't a brand. A brand is something you drink, eat out of a bag, or use to wash your clothing. Would you consider the Brooklyn Dodgers to be a brand? Or how about baseball's New York Giants before they moved to California? I don't think so. Believing that all both former New York baseball teams are name brands is like saying that Chester Cheetah is equivalent to a lion.

The New York Cosmos is a proud American Soccer tradition. Traditions may fade but they're never completely dead. While some traditions are obviously visible some are hidden in our hearts. As long as someone educates another about the New York Cosmos, the Cosmos soccer tradition will never die.

In order for the Cosmos tradition to be preserved, information has to be handed down by someone who was part of that era. Luckily for me, I know plenty of Cosmos fans from that era who wishes to share their story. However, I'm going to focus on one individual.

An individual who used to cover the New York Cosmos in their heyday. He's an individual who traveled with the Cosmos and recalls the good/bad times of the team. An individual who was generous enough to lend me the photographs he took of the New York Cosmos in their heyday.

His name is Mario Ramos. A photographer by trade, Mario worked for El Diario de la Prensa de Honduras when he covered the New York Cosmos in their heyday. Now working Public Relations for the Consulate General of Honduras in New York City, Mario sat down with me to talk about his fantastic experience of covering the Cosmos.

"It was a fantastic time! I followed the Cosmos from the beginning to the end. The thousands and thousands of diverse fans at the old Giants Stadium is an experience I'll never forget. From seeing Pelé make his Cosmos debut to the New York Cosmos final game against Lazio, I was there and I lived the New York Cosmos experience in ways fans can only dream about", enthusiastically recalled Mario.

"Not only was the team fantastic, so was the organization. The way we were treated (reporters) was simply phenomenal. During the Cosmos championship years, the organization covered food and travel expenses for us smaller and immigrant publications. From having our meals at Tavern on the Green and 21 Club to the nights at Studio 54, the organization did everything in making us feel that we were part of the New York Cosmos."

When asked for some of the greatest games that he has ever covered, Mario quickly ratted out his answer, "Pele's debut game in '75, The '77 Playoff game against the Fort Lauderdale Strikers where over 77,000 fans were in attendance and Pelé's final game against his old team Santos FC."

Throughout our discussion, Mario pointed out that the difference between the NASL and MSL is technology and American player development.

Mario believes that a lot of American players at the time were never given their fair opportunity to demonstrate their soccer skills and he appreciates how the MLS has made it a point to enhance their Player Development.

With the influx of cable channels and the internet, today's soccer fans have an easier time of following other leagues. However, he feels Major League Soccer tries too hard to market their league when they should simply allow the game speak for itself.

"The best way for MLS to market their league is to let the game do the talking. Today's soccer fans are smarter and have more access to follow other leagues throughout the world. Back in the NASL days, fans didn't have that type of access and soccer wasn't popular as it is today. One of the reasons the NASL was successful during that time period was because the league had charismatic players and the games produced more goals", stated Mario.

With MLS signing world class players for the past few years, Mario believes the league will continue to improve as long as they allow their American players to develop their own sense of game awareness and flow.

Now the eventual return of the New York Cosmos as the 20th MLS team, Mario is happy and impressed with what the Cosmos has done in short time. For fans who are 35 years or older, he believes this is fantastic news for them because they now have the wonderful opportunity to share their stories to the new generation of Cosmos fans who have never witnessed America's greatest Soccer Team perform.

You can view more of Mario's photos on Facebook at Covering Soccer.

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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Arena Looks To Ease Draftees into the Fold

Prior to the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, manager Bruce Arena and the Los Angeles Galaxy acquired a pair of forwards in Adam Cristman and Chad Barrett. This allowed the club to focus its attention on bolstering the midfield.

As a result, the G's took Uruguayan international Paolo Cardozo and local product Hector Jimenez in the first and second rounds.

Arena said that he will be patient regarding the maturation process of the team's selections.

“These are two players we think are promising and we’re going to have to be patient, but we’ll work with them to see if they can develop into good players,” Arena said in a conference call. “We’re not expecting young, inexperienced players of this nature to step on the field immediately and have an impact—and I don’t think that’s, oddly enough, the case of any of these players that were taken today.”

While not as high-profile as Victor Estupinan or John Rooney, the brother of Manchester United superstar Wayne Rooney, Cardozo's impressive performance in the midfielder at the MLS Combine made him a pick worth taking.

“(Cardozo) is a player we liked in the Combine and think he’s a young kid with a lot of promise,” Arena said. “He’s a creative, quick, good-passing midfielder, a player with a good work rate. We believe he’s the type of player we don’t see too much in our country and is worth the time and investment.”

As for Jimenez, his work with the California Golden Bears earned him a chance to don another team with blue and gold as its main colors.

“We know him from his days at Cal and again [he's] a player we thought had a good combine,” Arena said. “He was a player we didn’t think was going to be available that far into the second round so when the time came in the second round and he was available, it was pretty natural for us to select him.

“We’re going to be patient. We think they’re good players and will have a good future. We’ll see how they pan out. Right now, we want to be smart about this and not have tremendous expectations.”



More Matches for Bob Bradley's Crew


After the Jan. 22 friendly with Chile, the USA men's national team will take on some more South American sides, as well as a team from Africa.

The USA takes on Egypt in an international friendly on Feb. 9. The Stars and Stripes will then host a friendly against Argentina on Mar. 26 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, before clashing with Paraguay on Mar. 29 at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee.

"Argentina continues to be one of the most talented teams in the world, and we are excited to have the opportunity to compete against them," said USA manager Bob Bradley. "When you talk about the best players around the globe, the Argentines certainly contribute a lot of names to that list.

"Paraguay showed during the World Cup that they are a creative and organized team capable of being very dangerous in the attack. Both of these matches give us a chance to continue to raise the bar for our team, and it will also be a great part of our preparation for the Gold Cup."



Talks with JP Ongoing

Discussions were still ongoing regarding a contract for former New York Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel.

“We’re moving forward with our discussions,” Arena said. “We’re hopeful we can reach a conclusion over the next week and have him in for preseason.”

If a contract is signed, Angel could be available by the start of spring training camp at the Home Depot Center.

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It's been a week of big changes for the Los Angeles Galaxy.  Midfielder David Beckham again seems to have put his own needs before those of the people who sign his paycheck by ramrodding through his training loan with Tottenham Hotspur despite protestations from the club.  Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, there have been major departures from the Galaxy camp.

Monday it was announced that Galaxy striker and principal goal-getter Edson Buddle has left the club on a free transfer to join FC Ingolstadt in the second division of the German Bundesliga.  Buddle, who was part of the USA's World Cup team this summer, has been with the Galaxy since 2007.  2010 was Buddle's best season as a professional player.  He scored a total of 17 goals and for a time was the league's leading scorer before ultimately being overtaken by Chris Wondolowski of the San Jose Earthquakes.

In his own statement, Buddle said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Los Angeles and will miss my teammates, coaches, staff and everyone who works for the club as they helped make me the player that I am today. I also want to thanks all of the great Galaxy fans who have supported me ever since I arrived at the club and I am hopeful that one day I will be able to return to the Galaxy and help lead them to an MLS Cup championship.”

Buddle's importance to the Galaxy's attack last season is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that in the days following his departure, the club signed a total of four attacking players.

On Monday they acquired striker Adam Cristman from D.C. United, while on Thursday they signed former Toronto FC forward Chad Barrett.  The club also acquired Paolo Cardoza and Hector Jimenez in Thursday's MLS SuperDraft.

Cristman, a four-year MLS veteran, was rookie of the year in 2007 and has a total of 12 goals and six assists in 68 league appearances for the New England Revolution, Kansas City Wizards (Now Sporting Kansas City) and United.

Barrett has a career total of 34 regular season goals in a six-year MLS career with Toronto and the Chicago Fire.  His best season as a professional was in 2008 when he scored a total of nine goals.  In 2010 he was Toronto's second-leading scorer with seven goals.  Galaxy acquired Barrett on a trade for future considerations.

Galaxy further bolstered their attack by selecting Uruguayan midfielder Paolo Cardoza in the opening round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.  Cardoza came up through the youth ranks of Argentinian powerhouse River Plate before joining their reserve side Quilmes,  In 2010 the attacking midfielder went on trial with the Columbus Crew and eventually signed with MLS.

Speaking about his selection afterward Cardoza said, "I couldn't believe it.  To have the LA Galaxy pick you is something very incredible."

In the second round of the draft, Galaxy selected University of California midfielder Hector Jimenez.  According to ESPN, the Bears winger "has great touch, combines well and has the skill to create."

The Galaxy elected to trade their third round pick to D.C. United in exchange for United's two first round picks in the supplemental draft.

Despite these new attacking additions to the lineup, the Galaxy still look in need of a talismanic target man for Beckham and Landon Donovan to provide service to up front.  With the Ronaldinho speculations now having been put to bed for good and Luca Toni having signed with Juventus despite rumors about him joining the Galaxy, it would still greatly behoove the club to sign a high-profile attacker before the close of the current transfer window.

Finally it was also announced this week that former Galaxy player, assistant coach and club legend Cobi Jones has departed from the club to take a new position as Associate Director of Soccer with the New York Cosmos.  Jones, 40, was a Galaxy player from 1996 until 2007, when he took his position as assistant coach.

Upon his departure, Jones released a statement saying: "While I am excited to begin this next chapter of my career, I am honored to have been part of the Galaxy organization for the last 15 years as a player, a coach and a member of the LA soccer community. I am thrilled that I was able to play professional soccer in my hometown and help lead the team to championships, hoisting the MLS Cup trophy and more.  I will forever be grateful to the Galaxy and the fans."

Galaxy will kick off their 2011 MLS regular season by facing the Seattle Sounders FC at Qwest Field on Tuesday, March 15.

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The Sons of Ben were out in full force at the Baltimore Convention Center for the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft on Thursday January 13th. At some points during the event, they even drowned out some of ESPN’s commentary. All of the hype lead to, for the Union, what was both a successful, and yet still a little disappointing draft. 

As a little background for people who don’t know, the Generation Adidas project is a joint effort between the organizations of US Soccer, MLS and Adidas, to give young players the opportunity to play at higher levels with some amount of security.  If selected for the G.A. team, the player will not affect the team salary cap and they are protected from any expansion drafts. 

This make very tempting incentives for teams to pick up the players.  To help the player even more, if their professional career does not pan out, they are given scholarship money to go back and finish school. (By signing a professional contract, a person is no longer eligible to play in the NCAA, and therefore can be awarded no athletic scholarships.)   

With the fifth overall pick, there were a lot of options for the team, though none discussed by the fan base quite as much as the talented Penn State striker, Corey Hertzog (G.A.).  A local product, growing up in Reading, PA and also playing for the Reading Rage soccer club, Hertzog had expressed his desire to play for the Philadelphia Union. 

Though he was not selected to the Union, much to the disappointment of many of the fans, he still managed to stay relatively local.  With the 13th overall pick, the Philadelphia Union’s biggest Rival, the New York Red Bull selected Hertzog to play along side and to be mentored by French International (and legend) Thierry Henry. 

Though they lost out on a sure fan favorite, they chose to look to the future instead.  The Union already has two solid young strikers in Jack McInerny (G.A.) and last year’s No. 1 overall pick Danny Mwanga (G.A.).  Philadelphia also has one of the best offensive talents in the league with Sebastian LeToux.  They chose instead to work from the opposite end of the pitch. 

With their first draft pick, fifth overall, the Union selected University of Maryland’s goaltender Zac MacMath (G.A.).  MacMath is the second top prospect Terrapin goaltender for Philly in two years.  Chris Seitz’s contract was opted out after he struggled in the team’s inaugural season. 

Before Union fans get nervous, you need to know that Zac MacMath has an advantage that Seitz didn’t.  MacMath will have the advantage of learning from a solid veteran goaltender Faryd Mondragon who is only days away from being signed by the team. 

This will allow him to adjust to the play of the league, so that when the veteran keeper is ready to retire, there is an equally talented youthful keeper to take the mantle.  Chris Seitz had played on Real Salt Lake, but never saw any real playing time before coming to the Philadelphia Union. 

MacMath is also just a downright better goaltender.  While at the University of Maryland, Chris Seitz only played one season with the team and had a .89 goals against average, with 6 shutouts.  MacMath played for three seasons, with a goals against average of .65 and 34 career shutouts.  In each of his seasons, he had more than Seitz, with his final year amassing an astonishing 15 clean sheets.

Notes:  (G.A.) next to a player name denotes they are a member of generation adidas.

Check Back Next Week for Updates on the two other picks of the Union as well as the supplemental Draft Picks on Tuesday!   DOOP!

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New York, NY—Now with the 2011 MLS SuperDraft over, the New York Red Bulls have made it clear that they have every intentions of being a team that will attack the net in the 2011 MLS Season.

With their draft selections of forward Corey Hertzog (R1; 13th pick), midfielder John Rooney (R2; 25th pick), defensive forward Tyler Lassister (R2; 30th pick) and midfielder Billy Cortes (R3, 38th pick) joining Thierry Henry, Rafa Marquez, Tim Ream, Dane Richards, Joel Lindpere and Juan Agudelo, the New York Red Bulls are in position to win their first MLS Cup.

While the 2010 MLS season was a memorable one for the Red Bulls, 2011 minus Juan Pablo Angel has yet to be written. Last season, Red Bull Arena opened for its inaugural season.

Along with the acquisitions of Joel Lindpere, Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez, the New York Red Bulls went from worst team in MLS to the best team in the Eastern Conference.

Helping lead last year's transformation from worst to first was the excellent goalkeeping of Bouna Coundoual, the emergence of Dane Richards, the maturing of Tim Ream and Tony Tchani, and the surprise play of Juan Agudelo. However, it wasn't enough as they were eliminated by the San Jose Earthquakes in convincing fashion.

Despite the release of Juan Pablo Angel and the retirements of Mike Petke and John Wolyniec, the Red Bulls enter the 2011 MLS season as a team consisting of veteran World Class caliber players and young but aggressively fast players who aren't afraid of attacking the net.

With all that talent, there's no reason why the Red Bulls should be a mediocre defensive team in 2011 who squeaked to the Eastern Conference title in the regular season. In order to be taken seriously, they're going to have to win convincingly from the very beginning and maintain that pace up until the playoffs.

Aside from player talent, the Red Bulls play in the best Soccer Specific Stadium in the country with rabid supporters group hoping to see their beloved team win their first championship. Anything less will be a disappointment and another remainder that the Red Bulls have never won a MLS Cup.

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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