By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Oct 31, 2022) US Soccer Players – All eyes over the past few weeks have been on the MLS Cup playoffs. Meanwhile, for the 14 teams that did not make the postseason, this is a time for reflection, revamping, and rebuilding. It’s these three Rs that highlight the offseason for half the teams in MLS that came up short during the regular season. In a league known for . . .
Previewing USMNT players in the 2022-23 Champions League group stage, Championship win for Middlesbrough
Tuesday's soccer news starts with the Champions League group stage beginning later today with games on Paramount+ and TUDN. With the attention usually on the biggest clubs in Europe, it's convenient that some of them have USMNT players on their rosters. That starts with James Sands and Malik Tillman's Rangers in group A, alongside Ajax, Liverpool, and Napoli. It's easy to see this as a difficult . . .
First year coaches in MLS at the midway point
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (July 8, 2022) US Soccer Players - While there's a semantic argument about how many suggest a trend, Major League Soccer's 2022 season arrived with several coaches getting their first chance in charge of a topflight team. Whether or not this is a turn in who clubs consider for their open coaching jobs, the opportunities were clearly there. Taking them were long-time . . .
Houston’s rebuild starts with the decision makers
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 7, 2022) US Soccer Players - It's not actually possible to start over in Major League Soccer. While rebuilding is part of the lifecycle of any professional sports operation, it's always a process. That might be a loaded term in pro sports, but it's the situation clubs find themselves in even when the intent is a massive overhaul across the board. Timing . . .
New coaches for LAFC and Houston
Tuesday's soccer news starts with two MLS coaching hires. Former USMNT player Steve Cherundolo is the new coach at LAFC. Cherundolo spent last season coaching their affiliate team, the Las Vegas Lights. He previously worked as an assistant in the Bundesliga. "I am ecstatic to be named the head coach of LAFC," Cherundolo said in a press statement. "Having been a part of the club for the past . . .
A big year goes south for MLS in Texas
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 22, 2021) US Soccer Players - Under Major League Soccer's forgiving postseason structure, every instance of elimination from playoff contention is a sobering milestone. Still, it feels quite different when confirmation of that status is certain well before Decision Day. Such was the case for FC Dallas on Wednesday night. In a playoff-race six-pointer, they . . .
The issues for Major League Soccer’s Texas trio
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 1, 2021) US Soccer Players - As tourism efforts like to remind us, "Everything is bigger in Texas." The phrase is likely rooted in the state's sheer size, but it applies to many areas of life for Texans. Nobody does it bigger than Texas, with "it" standing in for food, football, and much more. Soccer, however, probably doesn't belong on the list. At least . . .
New investor / operators in Orlando and Houston
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (May 21, 2021) US Soccer Players - On the list of differences between Major League Soccer and pretty much all other leagues is how they define club ownership. Though the term has fallen out of casual use, MLS has investor/operators rather than traditional owners. That's one of the hallmarks of a single-entity league put in place to limit financial competition for . . .
The underdogs in the Western Conference
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 24, 2021) US Soccer Players - The 2021 season arrives for Major League Soccer behind a vanguard of uncertainty as formidable as any in recent memory. 2020 wreaked havoc on preconceived notions and reasonable expectations while laying waste to rosters throughout a stop-start campaign. It’s impossible to know what might have happened in the absence of the . . .
NYCFC and Houston playing under the radar
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 4, 2020) US Soccer Players - A question about the 2020 MLS season: Does this season have a radar? As in, under it? We often talk about teams that don't get much media attention but are slowly building towards becoming a contender as under the radar. The abnormal nature of this year makes it tough to know if such a radar even exists. Pulling forward what we . . .
