Brad Friedel made a career out of doing the improbable, from countless saves with Blackburn Rovers to the USMNT’s run to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. His latest task will be right up there with them: helping the New England Revolution win their first MLS Cup.
Will Spanish striker Fernando Torres finally join Major League Soccer? This is the rumor that has everyone’s heads spinning. It started when fans noticed “El Niño” listed as a player on the official MLS website. Last time I checked, it’s not April Fools' Day so this is either a major transfer leak or the biggest hoax in MLS transfer rumor history.
Can you imagine Torres playing for an MLS squad? Which club, in such case, would be lucky enough to capture “El Niño”?
Former Houston Dynamo and USMNT striker Brian Ching has plans to make one of the coolest soccer bars in America. The venue, called Pitch 25, is expected to open in March 2018 and will feature natural lighting, an outdoor biergarten and even an indoor soccer field.
It hasn’t even been a month since the USMNT failed to qualify for the World Cup and U.S. forward Jozy Altidore apparently already felt compelled to pay homage the miserable 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago in October. During Toronto FC’s Eastern Conference semifinal second leg, Altidore made a spot-on reenactment of the Americans’ performance against the Soca Warriors.
There’s certainly not a whole lot in this — it’s wild January transfer speculation two months before the window opens from dubious sources — except that it kinda makes sense.
The Seattle Sounders defense of their MLS Cup rolls on after a 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Western Conference semifinals. Clint Dempsey’s brace at CenturyLink Field were the only goals of the two-legged tie with the Whitecaps landing only one shot on target over 180 minutes of play.
The Video Assistant Referee system is now extensively in use around the globe, most notably in Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A and Major League Soccer. MLS’s time with the use of video replay dates back to August 5, and it’s had the likes of Kaka and Clint Dempsey sent off. It’ll be in use at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but there are still pockets of resistance.
It’s the end of an era more shocking than the United States’ failure to reach the World Cup. Kyle Beckerman’s horrific hair is no more. The Real Salt Lake and USMNT player cut off almost all of the one distinguishable aspect of his on-field displays.
The Columbus Crew did it again. Five days after shocking MLS darlings Atlanta United on penalties in front of over 67,000 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Crew returned home and put the beatdown on the highly marketable New York City FC in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Black & Gold put four past 10-man NYCFC in a resounding 4-1 victory, David Villa registering the lone goal for NYCFC.
Monday night’s playoff encounter between the New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC saw the continuation of a narrative that’ll likely follow TFC for years to come: wherever the club goes, Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore are not going to be given a warm reception. It began on October 22 with Toronto’s visit to Atlanta, TFC’s first road match since that unspeakable encounter between the United States and Trinidad & Tobago. It continued on Monday night at Red Bull Arena.