By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 17, 2020) US Soccer Players - On the one hand, being Major League Soccer champions two times in four years is pretty good. Add in that third trip to the title game and it's closer to great than pretty good. The Seattle Sounders aren't yet a true MLS dynasty, but they're about as close as a club can get. Seattle's achievements reflect well on the work of . . .
DC United signals intent with Flores transfer
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 15, 2020) US Soccer Players - DC United paying Morelia $5 million for Peruvian midfielder Edison Flores might not seem like that big of a deal. It's just one of a rash of multi-million dollar transfers going down this offseason, part of the broader, multi-season push from MLS teams into the more expensive waters of the international transfer market. It doesn't . . .
NYCFC finally names a coach
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 10, 2020) US Soccer Players - The last Major League Soccer team with an open head coaching position finally filled the job on Monday. New York City Football Club announced the hiring of Ronny Deila. To say Deila arrives in the country’s biggest market to lead one of the league’s marquee teams with questions swirling around him would be an understatement. Deila . . .
MLS in the market for Liga MX players
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 8, 2020) US Soccer Players - Supply and demand make markets. When one party has something the other party wants, the selling party can dictate terms: Pay my price or go without. In a closed system, where the selling party is the only source of supply, that dynamic leads to unfair pricing practices. Major League Soccer's relationship with Liga MX of Mexico does . . .
The USMNT January Camp in 2020
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 3, 2020) US Soccer Players - Gregg Berhalter's roster for the 2020 edition of the USMNT January camp tells the story of what he hopes to achieve with the month-long exercise as a decisive year for the team and the coach himself gets underway. Berhalter's list of 25 names includes a few players with years of national team experience and the requisite cap numbers . . .
The sophomore season coaches in MLS
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 27, 2019) US Soccer Players - Year one under a new head coach is often an exercise in balancing excitement and expectation with the reality on the ground. No coach can remake a team in his image in the short time frame of a single offseason. For coaches who don't step into a job until later in the winter, the challenge is significant. The Major League Soccer . . .
The US Open Cup problem
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 20, 2019) US Soccer Players - Despite its age, the US Open Cup has never really been the finished article. A rich history that goes back to 1914 gives the tournament a sheen of permanence that doesn't exist. There's no reason to think the Open Cup is going anywhere, but that doesn't mean it will resemble previous versions of itself from year-to-year. Some of . . .
Valeri and Bradley stay put
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 18, 2019) US Soccer Players - The Portland Timbers announced late Monday that Argentine playmaker Diego Valeri signed a new multi-year contract to remain with the club for the foreseeable future. The 33-year-old Valeri helped the Timbers lift an MLS Cup back in 2015 and won the league's Most Valuable Player Award in 2017. He remains one of the most dangerous . . .
The changing MLS transfer market
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 13, 2019) US Soccer Players - There's more than one way to break a record. There's the subtle way, nudging just past the previous mark, barely setting a new record at all. Then there's the big and loud way. Smashing the record by going so far past the old number that it makes the old mark laughable. Sporting Kansas City's signing of Alan Pulido this week for a . . .
Jesse Marsch’s level of respect
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Dec 11, 2019) US Soccer Players - Jesse Marsch had a simple answer to whatever happened to his club at home against Liverpool in the Champions League. "This isn't about me. It is about the club, the city, the people here in Salzburg," Marsch said about the support he received there. That's what a coach should say. It's also likely Marsch believed it, with his . . .
