Boston versus New York. It’s a rivalry that goes back more than a century. The Patriots, Bruins and Red Sox carry the honor of their city into battle against the Jets, Rangers and Yankees. Its now time for the Revolution and Red Bulls to throw their names into the mix. Both teams earned their way […]

In retrospect, it was obvious. Houston is so good playing with an aggregate lead in the playoffs and with DC missing Chris Pontius and a fully healthy Dwayne De Rosario, the task really was impossible. But it didn't feel that way at RFK Stadium Sunday afternoon, as a crowd of over 20,000 (including 350 standing […]

Injuries, an international break, and a bevy of good matches gave MLS fans a number of games to watch Friday and Saturday. With the number of games to be played dwindling, every match-up takes on that much more importance, and this weekend the results shook up the Eastern Conference standings. On Friday, a back and […]

What do the Michigan Bucks and DC United have in common? They are the only two teams to score more than two goals against the Chicago Fire in 2012, but last night the Fire could only blame themselves (and not dodgy turf or a backup XI) for an embarrassing loss. With a loud but small home town […]

Team: D.C. United Coach: Ben Olsen Last Season: 9-13-12, 7th Eastern Conference, 13th Overall Hashtag: #DCU There is a sense of anticipation around the DC United fan base this season, a sense of anticipation that fans have not had for a few years. After missing the playoffs four straight years, the team invested in some new talent to […]

Name: Houston Dynamo Head Coach: Dominic Kinnear 2011 Record: 12-9-13, 2nd Eastern Conference, 7th overall Twitter Hashtag: #HoustonDynamo The Dynamo are the defending Eastern Conference champions, but all the talk this offseason has been about other teams. That's not to say the winter has been cruel to the team; in fact they will be opening a […]

Team: Chicago Fire Coach: Frank Klopas Last Season: 9-9-16, 6th East, 11th Overall Twitter Hashtag: #CF97 In our 2011 preview of the Chicago Fire, I predicted the Fire would either make a surprise long run in the playoffs or miss the playoffs, be stuck in neutral, and just be lost in the near future. Neither of […]

As the preseason gets into full swing and rosters begin to stabilize, it's time to take a look at the men who pull the strings and have the greatest impact on the team itself. The modern manager is part tactician, part showman, and part PR man. The best are the ones who can bring a […]

If Sporting Kansas City's season had a title, it would be "Night and Day". A tough start to the season, no doubt spurred on by the never-ending road trip, saw the team open Livestrong Park and use its great atmosphere to rocket to the top of the Eastern Conference. Although they fell in the conference […]

The Columbus Crew were certainly a surprise team last season. After cutting ties with a number of veterans and going with a roster that looked lacking on almost every part of the pitch, head coach Robert Warzycha coaxed a great season out of a sometimes combustible team. Robbie Rogers earned his way onto the U.S. men's national […]

There was only one thing DC United fans knew for sure going into the 2011 season, and that was this season couldn't be any worse than the previous one. After setting the standard for futility, the team not only climbed its way back into respectability (through its play on the field and front office dealings) […]

The New England Revolution are a team in transition this offseason. Long-time coach Steve Nicol has been fired and replaced by a man familiar to Revs fans: former player Jay Heaps. The new head man comes in at a time when the team's glory days of MLS Cup appearances seem in the distant past, which […]

As our long-time readers know, MLS Talk likes to provide serious, well-thought out news analysis mixed with offbeat and laughable soccer-related thoughts. This is the latter type of post. Prior to First Kick 2011, the MLS Talk writers got together to give some predictions for the upcoming season. At the time, we promised we'd resurrect […]

Anyone who has been looking for a new home understands the feeling of displacement that comes with it: the yearning for something new and different which you can model after your vision, while still feeling unsettled because you haven't found that perfect place yet. In June, MLS fans looked at Kansas City and either pitied or ignored […]