By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Jan 4, 2019) US Soccer Players - The nature of an “organization” means that success or failure is a function of a cooperative effort. It takes a small army to do anything moderately complicated, like, say, win a championship, meaning that no one person should get all of the credit when a team does just that. If we attempted to fairly divide the credit for the rise . . .
Toronto FC’s arduous 2018
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 1, 2018) US Soccer Players - Michael Bradley had just played his second game in as many days, his third game in seven. After playing a substitute’s role in the USMNT’s 1-1 draw with Peru in Connecticut on Tuesday night, he’d caught a plane south and met up with his Toronto FC teammates for a Wednesday MLS visit to DC United at Audi Field on October 17. He . . .
What kind of a league is MLS?
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Oct 8, 2018) US Soccer Players – It’s no secret that MLS aspires to be one of the world’s best domestic leagues. While the league still has a long way to go, they can claim something already. It's the competitiveness we see in October as teams maneuver for the playoffs. The road to MLS Cup makes North America's league somewhat unique in world soccer. Leagues and . . .
The Concacaf Champions League and Toronto FC
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Sep 24, 2018) US Soccer Players – If you’ve been to BMO Field in the past few months or watched Toronto FC on television, you know how difficult this season has been for the defending MLS champions. It was just 12 months ago that the Reds were completing a remarkable regular season and embarking on what would be a magnificent playoff run. A year later, all that has . . .
The Campeones Cup is asking a lot
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Sep 19, 2018) US Soccer Players - With summer yielding to fall, both Major League Soccer and Liga MX clubs are in heated battles down the stretch of their respective seasons. MLS clubs are jockeying for position and trying to survive. About 16 teams have a realistic chance of reaching the playoffs with a few others hanging around, which means most of the league is . . .
Toronto’s letdown season and Sporting KC’s core
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Sep 5, 2018) US Soccer Players - Toronto FC was going to be a dynasty. At least, Toronto FC had all the ingredients to start a dynasty after back-to-back Eastern Conference titles and an MLS Cup in 2017. Praise flowed in the direction of the owners MLSE, club president Bill Manning, and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko as the one-time laughingstock established . . .
Rooney works for DC United, Toronto’s trophy
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Aug 17, 2018) US Soccer Players - DC United signing English superstar Wayne Rooney generated more than a little bit of doubt among American soccer watchers. Several European stars have made the jump to Major League Soccer and treated their time in North America as semi-retirement. The big paycheck and the cushy lifestyle, perhaps combined with the differences in . . .
Philadelphia and Houston advance in the US Open Cup
The soccer news starts with the US Open Cup semifinals. Philadelphia and Houston advanced, with the final set for September 26 at BBVA Compass Stadium. The semifinals opened with Philadelphia shutting out Chicago 3-0 at home. In a game dominated by the Union, Cory Burke scored in the 59th minute and doubled the lead in the 77th. Alejandro Bedoya assisted on both goals. CJ Sapong finished off the . . .
Looking for hope in San Jose, Colorado, Seattle, and Toronto
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Jul 20, 2018) US Soccer Players - The hope of March and April has given way to the despair of a season almost already lost in July for several MLS teams. Plans laid down in the dawn of the campaign have already gone up in flames in places like San Jose, Colorado, and perhaps Toronto and Seattle. Given their lack of games and a back-loaded home schedule, DC United is . . .
The simple math for the Sounders and Toronto
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON DC (Jul 4, 2018) US Soccer Players - With the Independence Day holiday upon us and the 2018 MLS season no longer in its “early” phase, it’s time for some game theory. Strike that. Forget game theory. It’s time for simple math. This deep into the season, math is not the friend of several teams thought to be shoe-ins for the postseason when the campaign began. The math . . .
