By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Jun 6, 2018) US Soccer Players - The enduring enigma known as the US Open Cup returns to Southern California on Wednesday, but there will be a new wrinkle this year. For the first time since 2014 there will be two local MLS teams competing in this event. MLS expansion side LAFC joins the LA Galaxy as both teams will play concurrently on Wednesday evening some 12 . . .
No more coach/GMs: Complexity and specialization in MLS technical staffs
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (May 24, 2018) US Soccer Players - One of American soccer’s quietly enjoyable traditions is Washington Post reporter Steve Goff’s annual sit down interview with Bruce Arena. An on-record meeting of two of the sport’s savviest and most grizzled old heads, it invariably features witty and instructive interchanges that reflect a decades-long relationship spanning . . .
The Galaxy’s losing streak
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (May 9, 2018) US Soccer Players - Between the 2017 and 2018 MLS seasons, the LA Galaxy made sweeping changes. The club shed itself of more than a dozen players and brought in reinforcements across all lines, from new goalkeeper David Bingham to forward Ola Kamara and every position in between. The topper to that, of course, was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose arrival . . .
The Galaxy with Zlatan facing a World Cup problem
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Apr 27, 2018) US Soccer Players - Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired from the Sweden national team after the European Championship in 2016. At the age of 34, Ibrahimovic stepped away from Sweden with 62 goals in 116 appearances to his name. Though he didn’t retire from the club game, the decision brought to an end a career that included two World Cup appearances in 2002 and . . .
What the Galaxy can learn from Toronto FC
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Apr 11, 2018) US Soccer Players - Champions are by nature superior to the competition. Some champions become legendary and even others immortalized. The LA Galaxy teams that won consecutive MLS Cup championships earlier this decade had the look of immortals. The 2011 MLS Cup winners lead the conversation for the best team in MLS history. They did it again in . . .
What can the MLS leaderboard already tell us?
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Apr 9, 2018) US Soccer Players – We may be just over a month into the 2018 MLS season, but it has already produced several milestones. From record-breaking goals to how the league’s newcomers are faring, the season is already telling its story. MLS may very well be the most unpredictable domestic competition in the world. While some use that to disparage it, fans . . .
Zlatan arrives, LAFC moves on
Monday's soccer news starts with Zlatan Ibrahimovic endearing himself to the Galaxy part of Los Angeles. Zlatan started his MLS run with two goals against newest rivals LAFC. He capped that with letting those fans know he "gave them Zlatan" while admitting arriving in LA on Thursday and playing on Saturday too a lot out of him. That's his job now, setting the highest possible standard at the . . .
MLS Week 5: Zlatan for the Galaxy and shutouts across the league
Week 5 of the 2018 MLS season couldn't have gone better for the league and the LA Galaxy. In a game shown on national television, the Galaxy's new superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic came up with the equalizer and the late winner in a super sub performance. Things weren't going the Galaxy's way early in what turned into a 4-3 win over LAFC. It was LA's newest team building the lead through their star. . . .
El Trafico and the MLS rivalry game
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Mar 30, 2018) US Soccer Players - As a matter of marketing-led tradition, MLS likes to package its myriad rivalries together into a couple of big blowout weekends. The better to leverage the passion in matches between teams who don’t (or shouldn’t) like one another based on history, geography, or something more ineffable. For the league, it's a chance to service . . .
Making big moves in LA and Minnesota
The soccer news starts with MLS teams improving their squads a month into the 2018 MLS season. The biggest move is Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the LA Galaxy, one that's drawn a lot of opinions on signing an older European star in the contemporary version of Major League Soccer. If it's a throwback to an earlier era, it's working from a public relations perspective. Not that the first edition of the . . .
