In a wide-ranging interview recently, Landon Donovan spoke of coming out of retirement for a second time, opting to join Liga MX, Mexico-U.S. politics and the state of U.S. Soccer. Donovan, perhaps the greatest American player ever produced, knows as well as anyone what he’s talking about when he discusses the state of U.S. Soccer, but he’s dead wrong in saying the next USMNT coach needs to be an American.
NBA Twitter created a whole new way to watch basketball in America. Major League Soccer appears to want to do the same thing with its new MLS Twitter deal, announced Friday, which will include the broadcast of at least 24 live matches this season.
Eighteen years. That’s how long it’s been since the L.A. Galaxy defeated Honduran side CD Olimpia 3-2 in the final of the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup, becoming only the second and, to date, final MLS side to win the region’s continental championship.
When D.C. United won the tournament in 1998 with the likes of Roy Lassiter, Jeff Agoos, Eddie Pope and Marco Etcheverry running circles around León and Toluca, there wasn’t the reward of a FIFA Club World Cup.
Jonathan Osorio had one of the worst misses you can imagine. He atoned for it with one of the sweetest finishes imaginable to lead Toronto FC to a 2-1 comeback win over Tigres UANL on Wednesday in Toronto. The second leg of Tigres vs. Toronto in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals will be Tuesday back in Mexico.
Tigres took a lead in the 52nd minute through Eduardo Vargas but the Reds nearly responded immediately, only for Osorio to sky his wide-open shot from six yards out. It was a shocking miss and one that could haunt a player for the rest of the match.
The New York Red Bulls took a giant step towards the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals with a rare MLS victory in Mexico on Tuesday night, downing Club Tijuana at Estadio Caliente 2-0 in their quarterfinal first leg matchup.
The Metros will need to take care of business at Red Bull Arena on March 13, but they played the first leg to perfection. Bradley Wright-Phillips, the club’s all-time leading scorer, scored a brace and USMNT goalkeeper Luis Robles recorded 13 saves, and the MLS side now returns to Harrison with two vital away goals and a precious clean sheet.
Mike DeWine, the Ohio Attorney General, along with the city of Columbus, Ohio, filed a lawsuit against Columbus Crew owner Anthony Precourt and Major League Soccer on Monday. The Ohio state government has officially joined the #SaveTheCrew movement, and Crew fans have the Cleveland Browns to thank for this intervention.
After signing 18-year-old Copa Libertadores star Ezequiel Barco and trading for Portland Timbers star and U.S. international Darlington Nagbe, many MLS followers expected Atlanta United to set the league on fire this season. One game is a very small sample size to draw conclusions from, but, in this case, it may be warranted.
Let's check in on Atlanta United right before the season starts:
Over in Europe today, PSG strolled to victory, Juventus again won it at the death, and Tottenham and Liverpool flexed their collective muscle against relegation candidates. While it was all too predictable in the world’s premier competitions, Major League Soccer kicked off its 23rd season with the #SaveTheCrew taking it to the reigning Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup champions, Toronto FC.
Former USMNT striker Charlie Davies has called time on a once hugely promising career that was devastated by a serious car accident in 2009 and a subsequent 2016 cancer diagnosis. Davies' 10-year career included stints in Sweden, France, Denmark and with D.C. United, New England and Philadelphia in MLS, as well as 17 appearances and four goals with the USMNT between 2007 and 2009.
We now know the entire field for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals, and after confirming a matchup between MLS best Toronto FC and Liga MX champions Tigres, we now have confirmation of another tasty encounter between the leagues — MLS runners-up the Seattle Sounders and 2017 Clausura champions (but now tanking) Guadalajara.