he discussion has intensified around stars such as Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, especially as the growing global influence of Lionel Messi in Major League Soccer continues to reshape the sport’s profile in North America.

For your viewing pleasure, above is the video of Juan Agudelo scoring the goal of the year so far in Major League Soccer. Every time there is a story or interview saying Americans should temper their enthusiasm for him and hold off on predicting greatness, he does stuff like this. Enjoy him while you can […]

The United States lost a promising national team player today when Andy Najar officially announced he would represent Honduras in the 2011 Gold Cup and thus be eligible to play for their national team. Najar, the 2010 Rookie of the Year in MLS, comes from the Central American country but has lived the past few […]

While the MLS transfer window is still open for another three months, the international transfer window closed Monday. If you are a fan of an international league, you know how crazy this January transfer window was with money and players being tossed about in a dizzying fashion. And while no American got over £70 million […]

Earlier this offseason, I posted a poll and question about what EPL teams you would like to see do a tour of the United States. Since then we have seen Barcelona confirm a three-stop tour of the U.S., where they will be playing both Manchester United (DC) and AC Milan (Miami). But with as large […]

A select few matches each season define the league in terms of pecking order and/or overall footballing ability. Obviously, the two editions of El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona usually determine the fate of La Liga's crown. More specifically, in the past five seasons, the team that won the most points in El Clásico […]

Bob Bradley went against conventional wisdom with his squad for the South Africa match next week and picked a good number of young players to make the squad. Three young MLS players and three international professionals will have the chance to earn their first international cap next week in Cape Town. What's interesting about the […]

The first year of the post-Manuel Pellegrini era commenced with a startling thud, as through seven rounds last season, Villarreal propped every other Primera División team up at the bottom of the table. This smooth, plucky team from the Valencian Community had not felt such futility since they made their maiden voyage to La Liga […]

Italy boss Cesare Prandelli announced his 23 man squad for the friendly against the Ivory Coast which will take place on Tuesday in England. Many of the names chosen by Marcello Lippi were dropped. Prandelli made some expected changes following the World Cup disappointment with Fabio Quagliarella the only striker remaining from the team selected […]

As I always say when I write about transfers, please take this post with a grain of salt – there are so many transfer rumors out there that will never pan out. That being said, Rafa Benitez should acquire Giuseppe Rossi with the money he acquires from transferring Mario Balotelli. It is one of the […]

Heading into this World Cup, no team should be looking for any extra motivation. After all, this is the World Cup , where the world's best will be gathered for one big battle royal to decide who takes home the title, World Champion! Never will these teams ever again experience the spectacle or pageantry that will be apart […]

The name "Giuseppe Rossi" makes American soccer fans shake their head in disgust and Italian fans smile in anticipation. The 23 year old striker has made the Italian national team provisional roster and, even if he is only a reserve in this World Cup, he will likely star on future Azzurri clubs that will need an infusion […]

A festive atmosphere enveloped the Camp Nou on Saturday evening as the boys of the Blaugrana celebrated their unprecedented six-trophy year with their Barça faithful. Villarreal was a mere afterthought as the Barcelona players deservedly received their plaudits for a year of literal perfection. Even Villarreal showed them respect before the match when they created […]

This past week it was officially announced that Vincenzo Bernardo had opted out of his contract with Italian Serie A club Napoli and is now a free agent. For some weeks there has been speculation that the New Jersey native, who joined Napoli’s primavera squad in 2006, would be coming to Major League Soccer; however, […]

One positive to come out of Italy’s disastrous Confederations Cup adventure was the emergence of Giuseppe Rossi. Having been on the fringes of the Azzurri squad for some months, he finally made his breakthrough against the nation of his birth, putting himself firmly in the shop window this summer. Having begun his career in the […]