By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (May 1, 2020) US Soccer Players - Soccer's transfer market fuels the brutal competition among the planet's biggest and richest clubs. It's the lifeblood of the savvy small and medium-sized feeders that survive by nurturing or revitalizing talent to sell on. It thrills fans, even those who claim to be above its gossip. It's generally the most heavily-trafficked and . . .
The soccer world watches the Bundesliga
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 24, 2020) US Soccer Players - Amid the death, danger, and disruption wreaked by the global coronavirus pandemic, the suspension of live sports has become one more disappointment. Certainly not the top priority or greatest loss, but a psychological casualty that drives home the reality of our current crisis. Along the way, sports have become a kind of litmus . . .
US Soccer makes striking retreat from the youth development space
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 17, 2020) US Soccer Players - Over the past quarter-century or so, the American soccer community has gotten used to hearing terms like "historic" and "unprecedented" in mostly positive contexts. The game has grown by leaps and bounds here. This week that norm got flipped on its head. That's because US Soccer announced a set of dramatic measures to cut costs . . .
Remembering what made the boys of ‘94 so special for MLS
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 10, 2020) US Soccer Players - MLS marked its 24th birthday this week, celebrating the anniversary of its inaugural match back in 1996. With the current season suspended indefinitely, the coronavirus pandemic has imposed some awkwardness on the milestone. Yet the situation may also give us a bit more mental bandwidth to process and appreciate just what a . . .
The 2020 US Open Cup and a test of US Soccer’s will
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 3, 2020) US Soccer Players - American soccer has experienced ample adversity, strife, and disruption over the years. Leagues have folded. The game's place in the nation's sporting culture has ebbed and flowed. Through it all, perhaps the only constant has been the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the longest-running competition in the nation and the second-oldest . . .
Training in a pandemic: How social distancing is testing soccer’s top sports scientists
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 27, 2020) US Soccer Players - If Gary Walker was looking for new and different challenges when he left Manchester United to join FC Cincinnati, he's certainly gotten them. After more than a decade as a strength and conditioning coach with the English giants, Walker moved across the Atlantic a year ago to head up FCC's sports performance department. It was a . . .
The pandemic reminds us what matters, and what doesn’t, about soccer
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 20, 2020) US Soccer Players - In a matter of weeks, the coronavirus outbreak has transformed lives across the planet. From the relatively modest sacrifices of working from home and other social distancing to the nearly 9,000 and counting who've died from the illness around the world, people are facing fears and challenges with little to no precedent in our . . .
Inter Miami and Chicago wait for their home debuts
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 13, 2020) US Soccer Players - This week Major League Soccer made the decision to suspend its 2020 season for at least a month due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Other sports leagues at home and abroad have made similar moves to help slow the spread of the pandemic, and it's a no-brainer given the high stakes. For MLS in particular, though, it's a potentially . . .
The variables facing Jason Kreis and the US U-23s
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 6, 2020) US Soccer Players - A painful 12-year Olympics drought and a tricky qualification path on the one hand. A highly talented and ambitious player pool on the other. A chance to chase gold, preview the USMNT's future, and showcase themselves on a prominent global stage. The US Under-23 national team figures to be one of the hottest stories around US . . .
Cold start: MLS keeps tweaking its calendar
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 28, 2020) US Soccer Players - Major League Soccer's 25th season opens at 13 stadiums across the continent this weekend. Are you tired of waiting for the 2020 campaign to begin, or are you not quite sure how it's already arrived? Fans have justification for both states of mind. MLS is kicking off earlier than it ever has, a week ahead of last year's opening . . .
