Abeasher

The best goal call of the opening MLS weekend – local or national – was JP Dellacamera on Ike Opara’s opener for Sporting Kansas City against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday afternoon. Dellacamera’s pop in perfect symphony with a raucous Sporting Park was a sweet sound. Watch it again, and enjoy it, because […]

Here are the 10 things we learned from the first week of MLS' 20th season: 1. The new MLS TV deal got off to an encouraging start Not only should the Sunday double-headers on ESPN2 and FOX Sports 1 become destination spots for American soccer fans, but the productions on both networks feel big-time this year. ESPN has […]

Bob Bradley cuts an imposing figure on a touchline. Booming voice. Chiseled features. Wilting stare. And you’d kill for his posture. On Sunday afternoon, it was Bradley standing ramrod straight for 90 minutes on a clear, chilly Portland day, coaching his Norwegian outfit Stabaek in a friendly against the Chicago Fire. His counterpart, Frank Yallop, […]

The clear trend for hip, successful, front-running MLS clubs – almost always owned by young, heavily engaged owners – is to hire progressive American managers and rely heavily on systems, analytics and attractive soccer. Gregg Berhalter in Columbus, Caleb Porter in Portland, Peter Vermes in Kansas City, Greg Vanney in Toronto, and even Jesse Marsch […]

Back in the sunshine of Carson, California, Jurgen Klinsmann’s US national team got a comfortable and much-needed 2-0 win over a meek Panama side to wrap of a January camp full of contention and discord. Here are the player ratings. Nick Rimando, 5: Rimando came up with one big save, but had several either trying […]

On April 19th, 2013, Sunil Gulati – at least in theory – became one of the most powerful men in soccer. No one remembers the razor-thin margin of his victory – an 18-17 vote victory over Mexican Federation President Justino Compean elected U.S Soccer President Gulati to FIFA’s Executive Committee, football’s foremost ruling body. Gulati, […]

The MLS offseason is still churning as teams finalize their last transactions and continue to shape the excess of their rosters in advance of opening day, but training camp has opened and the major business has been done. There’s no question that MLS improved in the last two months. Even with the loss of stars […]

Since it appears that we are going to be stuck with Jurgen Klinsmann as the US Men’s National Team manager for the foreseeable future, it seems prudent to get to the bottom of what the boss really means when he unleashes his well-worn contradictions. If you’ve followed the USMNT since Klinsmann got the job in […]

Mike Petke got out with his sanity intact. That’s a remarkable achievement, considering the club he worked so long and so hard for. Of course because he is Petke, with a thick New York accent, almost three hundred games played and coached for the MetroStars and Red Bulls, a young family and local roots bridging […]

Back in July, I wrote a column praising New York City FC’s signing of Frank Lampard. Except now, more than five months later, it’s unclear if NYCFC ever really signed Lampard in the first place. What we have here is a con for the ages. NYCFC unveiled a player that, in reality, signed with a […]

The MLS expansion draft never goes how anyone expects, nor does any one team do exactly what any other team would do. With the fluidity and communication between teams in MLS greater than in any other American sports league, the Expansion Draft is often a mechanism for teams to complete trades, send players out on […]

NBC broadcasted their final MLS game, the second leg of the Eastern Conference Final between the New York Red Bulls and New England Revolution. It was a fittingly great game for a network that raised the bar of MLS coverage to go out on. The care, professionalism and quality of NBC’s presentation of the league […]

The LA Galaxy defeated the New England Revolution 2-1 in extra time at the StubHub Center in Carson, California on Sunday afternoon, following an all-too-familiar script to win their fifth championship and deny the Revolution in the final for the fifth time. Here are five thoughts. 1. Landon Donovan Retires A Champion – Said the […]

The MLS Playoffs begin Wednesday, and whether you like the playoff system or not, it's an opportunity to make the most of it. The ten-team knockout tournament that will be played for the next month across the United States – and possibly Canada too – will be filled with drama, an unusual amount of farewells, pageantry, and pressure. It’s […]

It’s fair to say that Landon Donovan and the US soccer public have always had a complicated relationship. When he burst onto the scene all those years ago, everything about Donovan screamed insecure. He was talented – very talented – but every time he ripped off his shirt in a goal celebration, showed up with […]