CASA GRANDE, Ariz. -- Major League Soccer teams once scattered across the continents to optimize preseason training. But new facilities and tournaments in Florida and Arizona are providing the goods now. For instance, five teams were training in Arizona last week. Here are 10 things to know about the early goings-on from five sides prepping in the Arizona sunshine.
We're still early in the MLS offseason. The re-entry draft process for players out of contract or with options declined is only now at the halfway point; Stage 2 takes place Monday, but negotiations for any players selected from a less-than-inspiring list will be ongoing. Meanwhile, the college draft and transfer market await.
Playoffs begin quickly for teams in Major League Soccer's new wild-card round; the postseason opener is Wednesday. The favorites (Los Angeles foremost, followed closely by Seattle) join this weekend. Every side has Nov. 20 circled on the calendar, date of the MLS Cup final at the Home Depot Center outside Los Angeles. Here, then, is a team-by-team look at the 10 playoff qualifiers. (Listed in order of total points.)
For a guy who's hopscotched around North America this week, flying from Seattle to Guatemala to New England, Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid was in a chipper mood when he reached me from Foxboro, Mass., on Wednesday night. He had every right to be, considering his team is pulling off one of the most impressive feats of 2011 in U.S. soccer.
Know your Major League Soccer -- Five things we learned from Week 27:
Know your Major League Soccer -- Five things we learned from Week 15:
Five things we learned over two legs of the first round of the MLS playoffs:
Jimmy Conrad needed a bit of the beach. He needed a bit of soccer. He needed a bit of time to experience life. Essentially, Jimmy Conrad needed college.
Know your Major League Soccer -- Five things to take away from Week 7:
Back in 2002, the United States played five World Cup matches over 17 days. Lost in the intoxication of that mad quarterfinal dash into history was the physical difficulty of it all.
For just the second time in MLS history, a team won the Supporters' Shield while compiling less than 50 points during the regular season. Columbus' 13-7-10 record was good enough to lock down the league's best regular-season record, but such a mark doesn't exactly compare well to previous Supporters' Shield winners.
This isn't exactly what Arturo Alvarez pictured back when he was a speedy phenom dominating the soccer fields as a kid in Houston. But then again, realizing your lifelong dream never goes exactly to plan.
This isn't exactly what Arturo Alvarez pictured back when he was a speedy phenom dominating the soccer fields as a kid in Houston. But then again, realizing your lifelong dream never goes exactly to plan.
With the first stage of the MLS season in the books, it's time for our weekly dose of quick takes, plotlines to watch and Power Rankings.
While Major League Soccer's most high-profile player will be playing in Europe instead of trying to restore his MLS club to its previous glory, the league's 14th season will go off without a hitch. The focus is finally back on soccer and the product on the field instead of loan deals gone awry.
A big stadium of synthetic turf likely to be marred by football lines once the NFL season starts. Rainy weather at times. That's about it.
Police have pleaded for peace, fines have been meted out and sanctions issued. Enough controversy has been generated by outspoken coaches in Europe to make any fan long for similar drama in Major League Soccer. But sadly, it's unlikely to happen.
With the college season concluded and the MLS Combine and 2009 SuperDraft just a few weeks away, the time is ripe for the league to revise its policies regarding college players.
CARSON, Calif. -- Five things we learned after the Columbus Crew's 3-1 win over the New York Red Bulls in MLS Cup 2008:
CNN's Mark McKay talks with Frankie Hejduk about his career and the Major League Soccer final Sunday.
If the 2008 Columbus Crew, winner of the MLS Supporters' Shield for the best regular-season record, aren't all that different than the '07 version that missed the playoffs, how can they be so much better?
There are many sentences that any longtime MLS observer would be surprised to find himself typing -- or even imagining. "Madonna sings national anthem at FC Dallas game" comes to mind. So does "Dema Kovalenko receives Fair Play Award." Or, a personal favorite, "Greg Lalas scores."
Turnarounds in Toronto and Columbus, optimism in Salt Lake City, (more) turmoil between Chicago and New York, confusion in Houston and a slam-bang SuperClasico at Home Depot Center marked the first month of MLS play.
The Columbus Crew attack overran a vaunted Chivas USA defense last Saturday and rang up four goals -- a mark it failed to reach in 30 games last year -- to win 4-3.
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