Top-flight soccer in Cleveland has had some bad luck as of late. First, news of the collapse of the City Stars became public. Then we heard no mention of a Cleveland franchise in the new USSF Division 2 league. Now we hear the worst news of all: Cleveland is no longer being considered as a host city for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup bid. We are not alone in our sorrow as Chicago, the home of U.S. Soccer and President
“Past, Present, and Future: The Journey of American Soccer” is an orignal series with three distinct purposes. First, it offers an examination into the rich history of soccer in America. Second, a critique is developed based on the current state of the game. Third, the uneasy, but incredibly promising future of soccer here in the States is carefully dissected and predicted. All of these ideas come from multiple perspectives in the American soccer scene. From the former owner of the
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber visited Montreal today to meet with Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo and government officials to discuss possible MLS expansion into Canada’s second-largest market.
Tuesday’s Outside the Lines (3 p.m. ET, ESPN) will feature a live report from Jeremy Schaap in Cape Town, a match-fixing discussion, and Landon Donovan live in the studio. Sunday’s telecast of La Liga’s Clasico live on ESPN Deportes was the highest-rated and most-watched European soccer telecast in Spanishlanguage cable television history.
We spoke with Portland Timbers striker Mandjou Keita before he left for his loan assignment at Salgaocar Sport Club in India’s first division. Keita literally has a world of experience with time spent with Guinea’s U-23 National Team, Malaysia’s Perak FC, and Brunei’s DPMM FC. He also had stints in Vietnam, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. His experience in India should only add to his development. The striker is poised to play a key role in Portland’s final season in USL-1. Our sources
The addition of Tampa Bay and Baltimore to the NASL certainly helps the cause of the North American Soccer League. The league now has nine clubs, which is one more than the required eight. Each club must be able to sign at least 12 professional players, which shouldn’t be a problem whatsoever. Our sources are confident a decision will be made in the next four weeks. This will give each league some time to get “their house in order” before the beginning of preseason training. I
Columbus will host Toluca on Tuesday, March 9, kicking off the tournament’s knockout stages. The Crew will then travel to Mexico for another match against Toluca on Thursday, March 17. The Columbus Crew are the lone squad from MLS and the United States remaining in the competition.
The Columbus Crew will be without the theatrical play of forward Alejandro Moreno next season. Moreno was among 10 players chosen by the expansion Philadelphia Union. The Crew have great depth, which meant they would lose a player in the draft. It was surprising to see Peter Nowak pass on veteran Frankie Hejduk and rising star Andy Iro. It was even more surprising to see Nowak choose Moreno over young Venezuelan striker Emilio Renteria. Apparently he needed some experience upfront and Moreno will
“Following the press release issued earlier by the USL, I would also like to confirm there are still ongoing talks between ongoing talks between the Montreal Impact and the USL,” declared Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo. “The negotiations are not over. We continue to work on various options, including the possibilitiy of seeing the Impact in the USL-1 in 2010.”