By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 15, 2021) US Soccer Players - MLS history is a bit deceiving. As a league with a quarter-century of existence, MLS has packed a lot into a relatively short period. With parity a central feature, the fortunes of clubs have risen and fallen in dramatic ways at shorter intervals than happens in the rest of the world. Those big swings can be disorienting when it . . .
The importance of the link to MLS
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 13, 2021) US Soccer Players - Mesut Ozil added his name to an illustrious fraternity on Monday. The Germany international and erstwhile Arsenal midfielder took to Twitter to answer questions from fans. When asked what he might do when his contract with the Premier League club runs out, Ozil responded by saying that he’d like to play in the United States and . . .
Inter Miami opts for an interesting offseason
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 8, 2021) US Soccer Players - Whatever else we can say about Inter Miami, the brand new MLS club isn’t boring. Considering the market the team represents, maybe that’s exactly as it should be. Let’s review the last month for Inter Miami. Following Inter’s ouster from the playoffs at the hands of fellow expansion club Nashville SC in November, the postmortem on . . .
The uniqueness of the FC Dallas and Bayern Munich relationship
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 6, 2021) US Soccer Players - We've lost many things during the pandemic. Nights out, large family gatherings, eating restaurant food inside. For kids across the country, that list included going to school. Even those kids who are getting in-person instruction in some measure have seen other parts of the school experience sacrificed because of the virus. Far . . .
MLS chooses to remain stuck in 2020
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 30, 2020) US Soccer Players - It was supposed to be different. Major League Soccer was supposed to celebrate its 25th season in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic changed those plans. Instead of celebrating a landmark campaign for a league that was never guaranteed more than a few years of existence back when it launched in 1996, MLS spent the majority of the year . . .
High pressure should impress in Atlanta
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 23, 2020) US Soccer Players - If nothing else, fans in Atlanta can feel like they're back to their old selves. That's what the hiring of Gabriel Heinze as the club's new coach does for a fan base that quickly embraced a specific style of soccer. Heinze's arrival returns Atlanta United to something much closer to the team's earliest days when Atlanta made the . . .
The MLS youth movement will continue in 2021
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 18, 2020) US Soccer Players - Many things marked the 2020 Major League Soccer season. The pandemic, most obviously, with its massive impact on the schedule and the stress placed on players and coaches. The story of the Columbus Crew champions in 2020 after nearly moving two years ago. A successful expansion season in Nashville, not only qualifying for the . . .
MLS free agency takes another step
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 16, 2020) US Soccer Players - Free agency has never been easy in professional sports. The stories of the fight for the right for an out of contract player to sign with the highest bidder were difficult in the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, and within European soccer. In every single one of those examples, players only gained contractual freedom after . . .
Seattle’s center backs
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Sigi Schmid’s clubs play for a title
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 9, 2020) US Soccer Players - The MLS Cup final is bound to be an emotional affair for those who remember previous eras for the two clubs that will compete for a championship at Mapfre Stadium on Saturday. While MLS is a small, insular community in most ways, it's still big enough that the connections between the Seattle Sounders and Columbus Crew ahead of a . . .
