Al parecer a Landon Donovan le da lo mismo los famosos “códigos” del futbol.

Cuando le preguntan algo, el gringo responde sin rodeos. Va de frente.

Y así lo comprobó Fox Sports en Español que (a menos de dos días del debut del LA Galaxy) se sentó a conversar con Donovan.

He aquí algunas de las preguntas y respuestas…

Sin rodeos.

Bien Donovan. Así me gusta.

Q: ¿Qué te parecen las declaraciones del “niño mimado” del fútbol estadounidense?

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The opening game of the MLS on March 19, 2009 is one that will be written in the history books of American soccer. It pitted the newborn Sounders FC of Seattle, Washington against the New York Red Bulls in a David vs. Goliath Match at Qwest Stadium.

The game got off to a roaring start with both teams struggling for possession of the ball. In the end, the Sounders had control of the game, the field, and the ball. The team from Seattle surprised the world when Freddy Montero made his debut with a goal within the first few minutes of the game.

Montero kicked the ball directly into the net, surprising the New York Red Bulls goalkeeper. The ball landed in the right hand corner of the net. The spectators at Qwest Stadium were jumping for joy while a TV monitor showed Drew Carey celebrating.

Carey is the entertainer from Ohio who is a supporter of Sounders FC. He also owns a minor stake in the team, but the important thing is that history was made.

New York attempted an equalizer but were no match for the team. Montero engineered another surprise by helping Brad Evans score a second goal within the first half of the game.

The second half of this historical game left New York emotionally and physically drained. It appeared that they were playing if only to finish the game. Montero again scored another goal towards the end of the game and consolidated the victory of the newborn Sounders FC.

Freddy Montero and Sounders FC deserve all of the praise for this game that left a lot of memories.

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Seattle—the Emerald City based in the Pacific Northwest, famed for coffee, grunge music, Pike Place Market, and the Space Needle—could soon be adding to its list of attractions with the name of Seattle Sounders FC.

Granted, we are only 90 minutes into the new Major League Soccer season, but the statement of intent laid down by Sigi Schmid’s expansion team in their 3-0 destruction of New York Red Bulls, last season’s beaten MLS Cup finalists, could not have been any more emphatic.

Scoring goals is the hardest part of the game, and players who have been cobbled together for a first tilt at America’s top level habitually struggle in this department.

San Jose Earthquakes took until their sixth game last year to notch their third goal. Toronto waited until their ninth game in 2007 to achieve the feat.

Seattle required a mere 75 minutes.

The outstanding performer on opening night was Colombian international Fredy Montero. The 21-year-old forward claimed last year’s Golden Boot award in his home country while playing for Deportivo Cali. He started his loan spell in MLS in a similar vein, with two impressive strikes.

Montero is exactly the sort of player that this league should be trying to attract; a young, raw, developing talent, reared in the soccer hotbed of South America, who is desperate to become established at the professional level.

The 32,523 fans that created a euphonic sea of green inside Qwest Field this evening were certainly excited by his repertoire of skills.

The hosts’ first meaningful attack on 11 minutes resulted in Montero opening the scoring.

Three players combined to work the ball across the face of New York’s penalty area, before Frenchman Sébastien Le Toux found Montero alone near the right corner of the box. The youngster steadied himself before steering a low drive beyond Red Bulls goalkeeper Danny Cepero’s despairing dive.

Nate Jaqua had a chance to double the lead four minutes later, when he launched his rangy frame at Sanna Nyassi’s cross, but the former Houston Dynamo striker saw his flick drift agonisingly beyond Cepero’s far post.

With the excitable 52-member Sound Wave marching band, created at the behest of part-owner Drew Carey, setting the tempo in the stands, the Sounders continued their lively offensive spell and made it 2-0 on 25 minutes.

Montero received a throw-in on the left before angling a precise reverse pass into the path of the on-rushing Brad Evans.

The former Columbus midfielder burst into the penalty area undetected and drilled his low shot through the legs of the wretchedly exposed Cepero.

New York were now in disarray after looking the more composed outfit in the opening 10 minutes. Even during their promising start, the Red Bulls were stifled in the final third by the industry of Seattle’s midfield.

When the Sounders regained possession, they quickly piled three or four players into New York’s penalty area to leave the visitors’ back line overwhelmed.

Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio tried to stem the green tide by replacing the embattled Andrew Boyens with Jeremy Hall on 34 minutes.

Siniša Ubiparipovi?, Osorio's swamped defensive midfielder, lasted until half-time before making way for Danleigh Borman.

The pattern in the second half remained consistent, despite Osorio’s reorganising, as Seattle asphyxiated any attempted Red Bull charges. This particular brand of energy drinks supposedly gives its consumers wings, but it was the men from a city renowned for its coffee companies that appeared to be infused with a caffeine rush.

Londoner Steve Zakuani, the first pick in January’s Superdraft of college players, made his professional debut when he replaced the zestful Nyassi on 68 minutes. He almost scored with his first touch four minutes later.

Montero’s legerdemain saw him wriggle free from two New York players on the right flank before releasing Evans on the overlap. His low cross was deflected behind Zakuani, but the former Arsenal youth player still forced Cepero to make a smart save from his shot on the turn.

New York inflicted further damage upon themselves on 75 minutes when Mike Petke dwelled on the ball just inside his own half. Montero quickly seized upon the defender’s poor touch to steal possession and race clear on Cepero.

A confident shimmy by Montero sent the goalkeeper to ground before the Colombian cemented his Man of the Match display with a composed finish high into the top corner.

All that remained was for Schmid to withdraw his ace in injury time to allow the fervent home support to roar their appreciation. Even they could not have envisioned such an impressive start.

The pleasant surprise led to chants of “We’re so good it’s unbelievable,” as the referee brought proceedings to a close and fireworks lit up the night sky.

If this is the shape of things to come in MLS in 2009—with the addition of franchises in Philadelphia, Vancouver, and Portland in the next two years—then North American soccer fans are in for a real treat.

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Tonight the Seattle Sounders are on top of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer after a convincing 3-0 win over the New York Red Bulls.

Playing before a raucous home crowd, Seattle got two goals and an assist from Colombian Fredy Montero as they kicked off their inaugural game in MLS in style.

“There’s probably not a better atmosphere for soccer in America and I’m so proud to be a part of that,” Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller said.

Barely 10 minutes into their existence, Montero scored, then assisted on Brad Evans’ spinning left-footed goal in the 25th minute that went through the legs of New York goalkeeper Danny Cepero.

Montero scored late in the second half on a breakaway and the 32,523 fans that turned Qwest Field into a sea of neon green excitement went away impressed and satisfied with Seattle’s first result.

“The atmosphere was tremendous. I think we need to open up some more seats for next week to get more people in here,” Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said.

“It was everything you dream of. We talked about it before the game, ‘What an incredible feeling it’s going to be to walk in here at the end of the game with the first win in Sounders history.’ And they all had that feeling.”

While Montero ran free all night, the Red Bulls (0-1-0) looked nothing like the team that made an incredible run through last year’s playoffs and reached the MLS Cup before losing to Columbus.

“It feels almost like a hangover from the final,” Cepero said. “Unfortunately we didn’t play the soccer we know we’re capable of.”

Only twice—both in the second half—did New York find itself with reasonable scoring opportunities, only to be turned away each time by Keller.

Red Bulls midfielder Macoumba Kandji got behind Seattle’s defense and into the penalty box, but Keller blocked away a point-blank opportunity.

Moments later, Jorge Rojas’ left-footed volley from 25 yards was punched over the crossbar. Red Bulls’ scoring star Juan Pablo Angel got only three shots and none on net.

“Today was not a good performance by anyone,” Angel said. “Of course, there’s a lot of new players in here, but we believe and we hope the changes we made are going to be for the good of the team.”

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Wasn't it just a few days ago that I was reading my Seattle Times to find that Seattle is getting the long awaited Major League Soccer team?

Turns out, that was actually a few years ago, but they finally debut tonight against the New York Bulls.

With famous faces such as Drew Carey investing in this potent team, they need to win, for Seattle and for themselves.

Seattle has endured many hardships in recent years, including rumors of their sport teams moving away to foreign cities (the Seattle Supersonics were the only Seattle team to actually move away, however, it was widely rumored that the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks were on the move), and difficulty for the teams to flat out win games.

As a Washingtonian (citizen of Washington) myself, I can honestly say that Seattle is a soccer town through and through. Every where you look, you see houses with little kids getting ready for that ever so important second grade matchup against the Glacier Park Elementary Polar Bears.

On Facebook, you read of your friends' posts that they are getting ready to go to watch the Sounders at Quest Field. We see friend after friend get hurt running their countless amount of lines, even though the coach doesn't believe they will amount to much.

But now, we have a new team to cheer for: the Seattle Sounders FC. A team with players coming from all over just to be a part of a new team in such a soccer-loving city.

So let's go out, buy our Seattle Sounder FC hats and watch the Sounders battle out their first ever game against the New York Red Bulls. The game starts at 6:00 PM, and will be aired on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

Sigi Schmid and the rest of the Seattle Sounders, we would like to say one thing: Welcome to Seattle, and good luck!

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The recent announcement that Vancouver, BC will be the home of an MLS franchise beginning in 2011 was a step forward for North American soccer.

"Our goal is to become one of the world's best football leagues," MLS commissioner Don Garber said at the news conference announcing the expansion. "The addition of Vancouver will help us get to that point." 

Maybe it will in the long term, Mr. Garber, but what is the short-term plan?

Do you really believe what you are saying?

All things considered, the MLS is doing well. Adding franchises during a global recession and having teams get soccer-specific stadiums to cement their place in their communities is fantastic. 

Its 14th season is ready to kick off and there appears to be an overall general financial health and well being across the board. For this, the MLS management is to be commended.

I am, of course, referring to their off-the-field accomplishments.

But to say that MLS has ambitions to compete on a global scale is farfetched indeed.  There is so much left to be done on the field before even considering a dip into international comparisons.

Based on results in the CONCACAF competitions, one would have to say that MLS is far from the world’s top leagues. The recent failure of the MLS teams in the CONCACAF Champion’s League (which is an annual occurrence) should be a stark reminder of the shortfalls of the level of MLS’ play.

Excuses are thrown out to pacify the restless, with the primary one being the fact that the competition is in the MLS preseason, while the other leagues are running on all cylinders.

Besides this oft used "explanation" ruing the timing of the MLS season, there are other detractors of the March to October season.

Sepp Blatter agrees that one of the MLS’ shortcomings is the summer season. This pitfall is the result of the threat of competition from other sports and stadia issues.

He and MLS officials agree that a large roadblock for changing the season is the competition for viewers that will result with American crash helmet football.

Sharing stadiums with these same NFL teams is an issue as well, but MLS has said it hopes to eventually make the switch, but it can't for now because of the shared stadiums.

So, they have conceded that the change of schedule is needed, but have yet to see it through. Are they (again) just saying the right thing, or is MLS sincere that a change of seasons for the schedule is a priority?

Blatter went on to say, "This league was founded after the 1994 World Cup, but is still struggling to get the position they should have, according to the number of football players there are in the United States."

"It has the highest number of young players in any sport, but the league has not found yet its position. It can only find its position if the league has its own stadiums and plays at the same time as the rest of the world.”

He further points out that, "The best American players are playing in Europe, and this is a basic problem with the MLS."

While Blatter does come out with some questionable assessments (remember women players in more revealing uniforms?), he is definitely spot-on when it comes to the current position of the MLS and its needs.

The fact that MLS cannot compete in its own region (and a weak one at that) is reason enough to tell Garber that he better think about what he says before he says it. 

And if the reason is due to timing of the season, then change it. The league has already conceded that it needs to be changed. 

Play more games in the soccer-specific stadiums in the fall when football is in season and then have the teams which do share with an NFL team (Kansas City, Red Bulls, etc.) play a home-heavy fixture list at the end of the season. 

And the last time I checked, the NFL schedules are available well in advance and, on average, teams only play at home once every two weeks. As a matter of fact, there is a six-to-eight-week period in the current season where they share the stadium already.

As for competition for viewing audiences, there is no doubt that the people who are willing to attend an MLS game are doing it for the desire to see the game.  They are not attending because there is no other event at the time.

Soccer people are full-timers and will go to the game in November just as easily as they would in July.

While I commend Garber for the stability and steady growth of MLS, I am asking him to consider this before he publicly proclaims MLS ambitions: Make sure that the on-field product is putting forth a worthy and credible display of the beautiful game, and that the league is doing its all to facilitate it before uttering delusions of grandeur. 

At the very least, please realize how far there is still to go and make the steps to fix it because, at the end of the day Mr. Garber, I share your ambitions.

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Every sports writer seems to do ”Power Rankings” nowadays.

I am not sure if they do it just so they always have one article a week in the bag, or if they are ordered to by some higher power (i.e. their editor).  

Rather than buck the trend, I have decided to also provide a weekly MLS Power Ranking for you devoted STO readers out there to devour.  

So, here are my Week One Power Rankings. Note that I am doing these prior to Week 1 so they are sort of Preseason Power Rankings, but I wanted my Power Rankings for the rest of the season to match the schedule, so I opted for this method.

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