By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 23, 2017) US Soccer Players - They arrived by the hundreds, some hours early even on a weeknight. Their vehicles backed up for miles down the small country roads and residential streets like the crowds flocking to the baseball diamond in “Field of Dreams.” The bucolic little stadium simply wasn’t ready for their numbers. The entry lines stretched easily a . . .
Weighing the MLS rivalries
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 23, 2017) US Soccer Players - Once again, Major League Soccer has manipulated its schedule to bring us a round of games thick with rivalries. The weekend has a sponsor. The league's marketing department is opening up the throttle in a bid for attention. While MLS is clearly the biggest professional soccer league in the country, it nevertheless struggles to . . .
LAFC intrigue and Mexico asks their fans to stop
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Jun 21, 2017) US Soccer Players - There is still quite some time until LAFC takes the field. Many things with this club are still up in the air, but the possibilities seem unlimited. The roster will not start to take shape until sometime after a team lifts the 2017 MLS Cup. Already, rumors swirl linking a top Mexican player to LAFC and the potential for more such . . .
Another end for the Strikers
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In or out for the 2018 World Cup
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Jun 19, 2017) US Soccer Players – The World Cup is only a year away. The party in Russia began this past Saturday with the Confederations Cup. The tournament, a dress rehearsal for next year’s month-long bonanza, serves a dual purpose. It gives organizers a chance to iron out any problems as well as get the marketing hype going. For the teams participating, it’s a . . .
Jurgen and Bruce: The American soccer rift that’s here to stay
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 16, 2017) US Soccer Players - Sunday’s 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw with Mexico at Estadio Azteca is a great result by any measure, regardless of the circumstances or personnel involved. While there’s ample work still ahead, the USMNT can now consider itself to be back on course for Russia 2018 after last fall’s queasy wobbles. Some concerns die off more . . .
The lower divisions in the US Open Cup
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 16, 2017) US Soccer Players - The last time a team that wasn’t in Major League Soccer won the US Open Cup, MLS was only in its fourth season. Landon Donovan had yet to debut for the USMNT. Superstar-in-the-making Christian Pulisic was less than one year old. It was so long ago that in the whole of the country there were only two soccer-specific stadiums in . . .
The LA Galaxy plays their schedule
By Luis Bueno – RIVERSIDE, CA (Jun 14, 2017) US Soccer Players - Bruce Arena’s shadow looms large over Curt Onalfo. The new LA Galaxy coach has tried to do his best to focus on the present without looking to the past. How he handles the Galaxy over the next few weeks will determine if others will stop looking at the past as well. The Galaxy will play their busiest stretch of the year, beginning . . .
The soccer game in Cincinnati
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 14, 2017) US Soccer Players - The life of a second division soccer team in the United States is mostly about pushing limits. It's working out what it means to be a second division soccer club in the United States. While it would be easy to make the argument that striving to break through limits in the lower divisions here is a function of the lack of promotion . . .
What did we learn from the 2016-17 Europa League season?
By J Hutcherson (Jun 13, 2017) US Soccer Players - The 2016-16 Premier League season lacked the drama, the underdog story, and the pressure. Instead, it was a season of pragmatism from several clubs. For Chelsea, that meant picking up enough points for the title without necessarily convincing anybody that they were the strongest team in the league. For Manchester United, it meant sacrificing the . . .
