Wednesday's soccer news starts with USMNT player Konrad de la Fuente completing a transfer from Barcelona to Marseille in France's Ligue 1. Showing the beginnings of a breakthrough last season with Barcelona, he now joins Marseille on a four-year deal. Barcelona announced a €3m transfer fee with Barca retaining a percentage of a future transfer, reported to be 50%. "FC Barcelona publicly expresses . . .
San Jose’s loss at Orlando highlights the MLS schedule
Wednesday's soccer news starts with the compacted schedule already catching up with Major League Soccer. After drawing 0-0 at Austin on Saturday, San Jose continued on a road swing to Orlando last night that turned into a 5-0 loss. As much as that scoreline flatters the home team, it also speaks to the travel demands and potential fatigue on teams even after most of them had a two-week . . .
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 . . .
Argentine coaches in MLS
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Feb 15, 2021) US Soccer Players – Hernan Losada is like a lot of South American players. He started his playing career in his native Argentina with Independiente. Within a few years of his 2003 debut, the attacking midfielder was playing in Europe. Over the next decade, Losada was with several clubs, including Anderlecht and Beerschot in Belgium. Losada retired . . .
The Earthquakes get it together
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 6, 2020) US Soccer Players - To properly tell the story of the San Jose Earthquakes in 2020, we have to go all the way back... to last season. You remember 2019, right? Smiling faces, full stadiums, soccer that didn't feel like it was happening in the middle of a slowly unfolding apocalypse. Back in 2019, things were "normal," whatever that means, and the San . . .
What’s wrong with the San Jose Earthquakes?
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 23, 2020) US Soccer Players - When the San Jose Earthquakes secured the services of Argentine head coach Matias Almeyda in October of 2018, it surprised many in the soccer world. Following a stint in Mexico at the helm of Chivas, Almeyda looked to be in high demand. Despite his unconventional style and penchant for theatrics, Almeyda had carved out a niche as a . . .
Making sense of the San Jose Earthquakes
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 3, 2020) US Soccer Players - In a 2020 already marked by a range of unpleasant global events, Northern California may feel more apocalyptic than most places in North America. Searing heat waves and serious wildfires are exacerbating the ravages of COVID-19 and sustained economic and socio-political angst. The San Jose Earthquakes are among those affected by . . .
The importance of the Cali Clasico
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (May 13, 2020) US Soccer Players - When the 2020 MLS schedule was first released, players and fans alike circled several games on the calendar. Undoubtedly inside those circles were those teams' rivals. Nothing builds the excitement like playing against teams that fans love to hate. MLS scheduling takes into account these feelings and puts these games together in a . . .
The 6 best regular season games in MLS history
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Apr 13, 2020) US Soccer Players – Our look back at the last quarter-century in MLS continues by highlighting the best regular-season games in league history. For a league that's relatively young, MLS has packed a lot of passion and emotion over a short time. MLS has had its share of superstars from North America as well as across the globe. Some of the best games . . .
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 . . .
