When 11-year-old Lexi Walker took to the field at Rio Tinto stadium in 2013, home to Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake, she was not the viral singing sensation she is today. This was before she covered Idina Menzel's "Let It Go" from the hit Disney movie Frozen. That video alone, released in 2014, has racked up over 75 million views on YouTube.
In your heartwarming news of the day, David Villa is in Portland with New York City FC to face the Timbers this afternoon. That's not the heartwarming part (unless, of course, you're really, really excited about the match). When he saw a homeless dad and son near his hotel, he took a moment out of his day to go to a nearby Starbucks and to buy them some food.
Kei Kamara has a resume that Pope Francis would applaud. He was awarded the MLS Fair Play Award in 2007, and, last year, Kamara was given the distinction of MLS Works Humanitarian of the Year. Kamara has been active in working for peace in his native war-torn Sierra Leone, but on Saturday, he was the guilty party in a conflict with his own teammate, Federico Higuain.
Kamara’s Columbus Crew were leading the Montreal Impact 3-1 in the 51st minute. After a foul by Montreal in the penalty area, Columbus were awarded a penalty with which to give themselves a three-goal cushion.
On Monday, May 2, Giovani Dos Santos was named in Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio’s 40-player preliminary squad. On Sunday, May 8, Dos Santos showed why with a dominant performance in the LA Galaxy’s 4-2 victory over the New England Revolution.
After a slow start to his professional career, Jordan Morris is now officially more lit than Dubai. Morris scored his fourth goal in as many games on Saturday, tying a rookie record for the longest MLS goal-scoring streak.
Morris was named on Jurgen Klinsmann’s preliminary 40-man roster ahead of the Copa America, and his exploits with Seattle mean that he’s highly likely to make the final list of 23 players.
When Andre-Pierre Gignac swapped Marseille for Tigres last summer, there were many who thought he was taking a step down. In an interview with France Football however, it was clear that Gignac doesn't think so.
Eric Hassli was and still is a journeyman of a striker. He has played in France, England, Switzerland and the United States over a 15 year career that has seen him suit up for 10 different teams. The longest he has ever stayed with one team was 3 years with FC Zurich. He had a hard time staying in one place, but that did not stop him from scoring one of the best goals in league history at one of his destinations:
We’ve all heard the critique before, we’ve even been a party to it. Is Major League Soccer a retirement home for European stars seeking one final paycheck and the benefits of living in North America?
The answer to this question is clearly important with regards to the national, as well as global, perception of MLS.
World Cup 2014. USA vs Portugal. It's the 64th minute and Jermaine Jones picks up a loose ball following a corner. We all know what happened next.
Few players on the USMNT represented the American spirit better than Jermaine Jones. Sure, Tim Howard may have had the memes, but it was Jones whose indomitable presence and ferocious drive truly captured the feeling of that summer.
Before Mexican striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez set the world on fire at Bayer Leverkusen, he was a backup Manchester United striker who just wanted some playing time. He almost went to MLS to get it.
Bayer Leverkusen ended up with Hernandez, but also in the mix were Juventus, Lazio and Orlando City, among others.
From ESPNFC: