By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Oct 21, 2020) US Soccer Players - The LA Galaxy has been trying to recapture magic over the last three-plus seasons. While the club has not won an MLS Cup since 2014, the team was still quite competitive in 2015 and 2016. For both of those years, the rosters were quite formidable even if the team's results did not match that potential output. Since the end of the . . .
Depth takes on new importance in the East
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 21, 2020) US Soccer Players - Pushed to the limits of their available resources, Major League Soccer clubs are increasingly turning to squad players. If you want to win in 2020, you're going to need a couple of less-heralded figures ready to step into the void if, or when, the stars go missing. Not all of the players that deserve more recognition are surprises, . . .
2020 doesn’t need a Super League rumor
By J Hutcherson (Oct 20, 2020) US Soccer Players - Last week's brief Project Big Picture debate lasted just long enough to remind everybody how generally annoying revamp ideas have gotten. There's always someone or some group that knows that they can do things better. Then there's the current stakeholders insisting on holding onto what they have. That's been an ongoing them in European soccer . . .
The Champions League on US television
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Oct 19, 2020) US Soccer Players – The UEFA Champions League is the world’s biggest club competition. The tournament’s rebranding in 1992 brought with it more clubs from each country, a revamped format featuring more games and an injection of TV revenue. The planet’s best players want to take part in the Champions League, the de facto world championship for club . . .
Somehow, MLS gets stranger
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 16, 2020) US Soccer Players - There are almost too many places to start when it comes to Major League Soccer's Wednesday night round of games as a signifier of the strange season we're living through together. This is soccer in the middle of a pandemic, so naturally, there was a postponement. Minnesota didn't host Chicago due to a "suspected case" of COVID-19. . . .
Landon Donovan on an eventful conclusion to his first season at San Diego Loyal
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 15, 2020) US Soccer Players - Landon Donovan has had a memorable opening chapter to his management career, to say the least. The USMNT legend recently completed an eventful first season with USL Championship expansion side San Diego Loyal, where he serves as head coach, co-founder, and vice president of soccer operations. As if the COVID-19 pandemic and its . . .
MLS Power Rankings: East is stronger, but Portland goes top
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Oct 14, 2020) US Soccer Players - MLS is heading full steam toward the finish line, but the realities of life still affect the league. Several matches have been postponed due to Covid-19 outbreaks, with Colorado the hardest hit. Empty stadiums are the norm, with a scant few games featuring fans. Through it all, the teams are starting to separate themselves. The . . .
The continuing story of the Columbus Crew
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 14, 2020) US Soccer Players - When total redemption undoes deepest despair, it's easy to forget just how bleak the dark times were. There's a trick our minds play on us, something akin to a coping mechanism, that pushes out negative memories in favor of better ones. Columbus Crew fans might know a thing or two about this phenomenon. "It's always darkest before . . .
Are fouls the key stat in MLS?
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Oct 12, 2020) US Soccer Players – The MLS regular season is nearing its end. The top of the Eastern Conference has been a battle between the Columbus Crew and Toronto FC. Over in the Western Conference, Seattle and Portland are fighting for 1st-place, adding a new chapter to this decades old Northwest rivalry. Eighteen teams will make the MLS playoffs in this . . .
Is MLS heading towards another Seattle vs Toronto Cup?
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Oct 9, 2020) US Soccer Players - Even in a season beset by a pandemic, with the schedule upended, travel more complicated, and home-field advantage chucked out the window, the Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC are intent on repeating history. Seattle and Toronto have faced off in three of the last four MLS Cup finals and look to be on a collision course to meet again . . .
