USMNT

After over seven years serving as the only MLS manager the Seattle Sounders had ever employed, Sigi Schmid and the club agreed to part on mutual terms following a bottom of the league start to the 2016 campaign.

Schmid, a two-time MLS Cup champion as manager of the Columbus Crew, left the Sounders with rumors of dressing room unrest having made his role untenable in Seattle. One big name mentioned in the fallout was USMNT captain Clint Dempsey.

DeAndre Yedlin isn’t the finished product yet. If DeAndre Yedlin were in the life cycle of a concept, he’d still be in the incubation period — all uncontrollable pace and athleticism, alerting investors to his undoubted physical talents, but still offering no end product and no defensive consistency.

While Jozy Altidore’s goalscoring record for Sunderland will always torment him like a black spot, a piece of low-hanging fruit for doubters who refuse to recognize his enormous talent, those who’ve followed his career of late will know that it’s his troublesome hamstrings which remain his personal Kryptonite.

When we last reported on Charlie Davies back in April, it was to celebrate his remarkable recovery from a 2009 car accident that could’ve claimed his life. The subject of an ESPN documentary entitled “The Unrelenting Charlie Davies”, the New England Revolution forward was looking forward to a successful 2016 MLS season.

It’s been over two years since Julian Green introduced himself on the largest of international stages with that fantastic goal against Belgium in the World Cup round of 16. Now, it finally looks as though he’s ready to progress at the club level with Bayern Munich.

The story arcs that football provides us with are both fascinating and absurd. Who could’ve guessed that, come 2016, Brad Guzan would be doing battle with Victor Valdes to be named the starting goalkeeper for Middlesbrough?

Guzan, the 31-year-old Illinois native with 50 USA appearances to his name, is expected to join the newly promoted Premier League club on a free transfer following Aston Villa’s relegation. 

The New York Times has won more Pulitzer Prizes than any other news organization, which makes their July 12th publication of Jay Caspian Kang’s “The Dark Side of American Soccer Culture” that much more dumbfounding.

Landon Donovan has returned to the public spotlight with a couple of high profile appearances in the last week. On Monday, Donovan took part in Major League Baseball’s All-Star festivities by participating in a celebrity softball game. The USA’s all time leading scorer hit an inside-the-park home run that showed off the 34 year olds still electric pace.

Jordan Morris is enjoying the finest form of his professional career to date. On Saturday, July 2nd, Morris scored a highlight reel equalizer against Toronto FC in MLS regular season action. It was the American striker’s sixth goal in 16 games in his rookie season.