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 diverse team together and make it into a trophy-winning side.  Rarely can a side win an MLS Cup, Open Cup, or Supporters Shield with a mediocre or poor manager.  However, at times its the team that makes the man and only the perfect marriage of players and manager that can make a championship.  A manager is especially important in MLS, with the salary cap and built-in rules designed to promote parity.

These men are masters of the realm, the best managers in MLS today.  The following ranking is my own top five managers in MLS going into the 2012 season.  Keep in mind this is not an all time list but simply looking ahead to the 2012 season.  Agree or disagree?  Make your opinions known in the comments section.

5.  Piotr Nowak:  Maybe the restructuring going on in Philadelphia is Nowak’s way to challenge himself.  The veteran coach has taken a new franchise and by year two had made the Union into a Eastern Conference championship contender.  Building the team around a stout defense and the timely scoring of his offense, Nowak has made the club in his image and, even with the departures, Philadelphia is now a team to watch every year.  His work with DC United, leading them to their fourth MLS title in 2004, only adds to his coaching resume.  Although he does not have the large number of trophies some of the others on this list have, he is undoubtedly established himself as one of the best head coaches in the league.

4.  Schellas Hyndman:  Although at times his decisions are questionable (Brek Shea as a full back?), Hyndman is a long-time collegiate coach who finally got the right opportunity to prove his worth with FC Dallas in 2008.  His defining win was a 3-0 defeat of Los Angeles in the 2010 Western Conference finals over a team that looked like the best in the league with a healthy David Beckham.  Although Dallas lost the 2010 MLS Cup in overtime, the former SMU head coach has done a good job balancing his roster and replacing departed players, especially in the midfield.  Under his watch David Ferreira blossomed into one of the most dangerous midfielders in the league and with some promising youth coming up through the system this year, Hyndman may soon be able to chase down that elusive MLS Cup.

3.  Sigi Schmid:  For a guy who never played professional soccer, Schmid gets this league.  His uncanny ability to identify talent and his in-game ability to identify mismatches has made the former UCLA Bruin the brain behind the constantly-successful Seattle Sounders.  A team with a rich history and demanding fan base, Schmid gave the league a blueprint for how to compete in MLS from year one, a blueprint that teams as recently as Montreal are looking to emulate.  He is the most successful U.S. Open Cup head coach in the modern era and has guided the careers of many of MLS’s greatest stars.  His LA Galaxy team was also one of two MLS clubs to ever win an intercontinental cup.  He is the winningest head coach in MLS history and has the Sounders poised to challenge for the 2012 MLS Cup.

2.  Dominic Kinnear:  The coach of this year’s Eastern Conference champions narrowly edges Sigi Schmid in my rankings because since 2006, Houston has been one of the league’s most successful teams.  Besides winning back-to-back MLS Cups in 2006 and 2007, this year may have been his best coaching job, leading an arguably less talented team to the MLS Cup.  All of this is even more impressive considering the fact that the team has worked within a tight budget and a changing ownership situation.

1.  Bruce Arena:  The National Soccer Hall of Famer continues to prove that he is arguable the greatest American soccer coach of all time.  Even though he had three famous designated players, it was his work with the Galaxy’s defense that was most impressive about the 2011 Galaxy.  The keys to the defense were that the two major contributors, A.J. De La Garza and Omar Gonzalez, were Arena draftees.  Arena guided a dominant team through a dominant season, essentially staking claim to the MLS Cup early in the season and never relinquishing it.  His history is unparalleled in the U.S., but even going into the new season he is still in a class by himself and recognized by many as the best head coach out there.

Today we wrap up our “Three Questions” series with the defending MLS champions, the Los Angeles Galaxy.  By any definition, they were the best team in MLS last season: they convincingly led the Supporters Shield’s race most of the season, looked like the best team in the playoffs, and won the MLS Cup.  They did it with glitz and glamour (the three designated players) as well as grit and determination (best defense in MLS, good midfield play).  In the end, they were possibly the most complete and dominant team in “modern” MLS history.

But the page on the calendar has turned and the team is facing a new set of challenges in 2012.  Even with the good news of David Beckham’s return, there have been some dark clouds this offseason that will push the team to see if it can repeat the success of 2011.  Let’s take a look at the three questions that will define the rest of this offseason for LA:

(Additionally, use the comments section to give some feedback on the Three Questions series.  Was it something you enjoyed?  Was it something you’d like to see repeated or emulated during the season?)

1. Will the midfield be as strong as it was last season?

Casual soccer fans know about “bend it like Beckham” but the Galaxy midfield in 2011 was a key to their ability to create offense seemingly out of nothing.  Whether it was Beckham’s storied free kicks or Juninho’s timely goals, the midfield came through in the clutch when it was needed.  That midfield will look different beginning next season.  Although there’s still a chance he may be loaned again to LA, Juninho has been recalled by Sao Paulo and will leave a gap in the “clutch goal scorer” category.  Miguel Lopez has also seen his loan end with LA and he has been called back to his home club of Quilmes.

The team has tried to replace Juninho with Marcelo Sarvas, but the 30 year old is arguably a step down offensively.  Having Beckham back does help cover this loss, but the team needs to take some steps to shore up a midfield that helps cover for a weaker forward position.

2. Can the defense do it again?

The loss of Omar Gonzalez hurts, badly, but in the “silver lining” category he will be able to return at some point for the Galaxy this season, it looks like (update: no silver lining, folks, he’s gone for the whole season).  However, the team may need to spend some money on a replacement, or focus their drafting on this position.  Bruce Arena also looked to keep key components of his defense by re-signing Sean Franklin, another defender who should be receiving more love from the USMNT.  The keeper position also lost a little depth with the expensive Donovan Ricketts moving to Montreal, but the back-up duo of Nick Noble and U-23 player Brian Perk look quality.

This defense was incredibly dominant last season, and even with Gonzalez it would have been a challenge to repeat their suffocating style.  With him gone for the first half of the season, seemingly, can the Galaxy approach the greatness they achieved last season a second year in a row?

3. How big of a role will the three designated players play this season?

Beckham is back, and he will be with the Galaxy a little longer.  But that will be contractually, and how much he is physically there is an important question for a team that already suffered a hit in midfield.  He will be playing in the Olympics and will miss time for that, as well as the usual jaunts across the pond.  With a longer schedule that adds two CONCACAF Champions League tournaments, how much will he contribute during the season?

Then there’s Landon Donovan, who is finally getting another chance to play in England.  He likes Everton, the team needs him, and we know his deal is only for a few months.  But can the best known American MLS player force a longer loan or transfer if he wants to stay?  My bet is yes.  Regardless, the Galaxy will be without his services for stretches this summer as he reports to the national team for friendlies and qualifying.

Robbie Keane looks to be enjoying his time in LA, but with a loan to Aston Villa and his Euro 2012 commitments, will his 31-year old legs be able to handle the travel and numerous competitions in which he will be competing?

With their 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo yesterday, the Galaxy reached their season-long goal of winning an MLS Cup and certain high-profile players notched their first North American championship.  Anytime a team wins a championship, writers and bloggers take to the keyboard to assess where that team or franchise fits in the pantheon of previous winners.

This writer is no different, and for the first time in a few years we have to seriously consider how the 2011 Galaxy stack up against the best of the best in MLS (albeit short) history.  The last two MLS Cup winners (RSL and Colorado) arguably slid into the championship game due to playoff format rather than on-field success, so it has been a while since we’ve had a top regular season club win the Cup.

Ultimately it is impossible to compare this era of MLS to the first few years.  With fewer teams and different rules, can the 2011 Galaxy be compared to the early DC United teams that fielded so many USMNT players, or even the 1998 Galaxy or similar successful teams?  Even Bruce Arena didn’t tip his hand, telling reporters prior to last night’s game: “Couldn’t even compare it [his DC and LA teams].  I don’t even know how you do that.”

But the impressive run for the Galaxy demands we place them in a historical context.  So are the 2011 Galaxy the best team in MLS history?  A few points to consider:

• Their 67 regular season points is the most ever in a post-shoot out season and they finished 5-0 in the playoffs.  They allowed fewer goals than games played (28 total)
• Arguably the Galaxy have the best MLS player ever on its roster, as well as the best international (I’ll define that as non-North American) ever to play in MLS.  With his fourth MLS Cup, Landon Donovan joins an elite group of players with four rings and if he continues to play in MLS and score the way he has, he will eclipse Jeff Cunningham as the league’s all-time leading scorer.  And while Beckham has been rightfully criticized for his lack of commitment to the league based on his salary and expectations, when healthy and committed he has been an unstoppable force for LA.
• While the three designated players get the press, it’s the role players that really propelled this team.  The stout back line led by future USMNT call-up (right?) Omar Gonzalez was a key to the Galaxy being able to play their cobra-like quick strike and down offense.  Juninho was a quality acquisition who gave them some game-winners during the season.  And forwards like Mike Magee and Chad Barrett while not world beaters were the roll players that any successful team needs to be, well, successful.
• The travel.  With 18 teams in the league and a balanced schedule, the Galaxy faced more travel than any previous MLS winner within the league.  Outside of the league, the Galaxy faced even more mileage with the competitive CONCACAF Champions group stage, meaning this veteran team spent a lot of time in the air traveling.  This certainly makes it harder to play at a high level on the road and while other MLS champions have also booked lots of mileage, few I wager would have put in the travel of LA.
• Statistically, the Galaxy’s season makes a strong case.  According to Grant Wahl’s stat work, LA had the third best points-per-game season ever in MLS, behind two teams that did not win an MLS Cup (LA ’98 and San Jose ’05).  The metric is the number of points for the season divided by number of games played, with Wahl adjusting for shoot-outs in the early years.  So according to this metric, a regular season that ended with the Supporters Shield looks even better.

Leave it to MLS to miss a slam dunk.  As part of their daily unveiling of award winners leading up to the MLS Cup (an idea that I like that they do), the league announced the winners of the Comeback Player of the Year and Coach of the Year.  One of these awards was a no-brainer while the other one had reasonable arguments for all of the candidates, but strong arguments in favor of one of the finalists.  So MLS of course went with the biggest names and announced that David Beckham and his coach Bruce Arena had won Comeback Player and Coach of the Year, respectively.

The problem was that neither was the most deserving of this award, and in Beckham’s case it wasn’t even close.

Before I explain the error of MLS’s ways I want to make two critical points.  The first is that I acknowledge that these votes have multiple components, with front offices and players being involved in the voting.  When I say “MLS” I am also criticizing those elements of the vote.  Secondly I acknowledge the fact that some of you may criticize my perspective because I am an avowed DC United fan when I am not professionally covering events.  I won’t be able to convince some of you otherwise except to say that my opinion is shared by non-DCU writers.

On to the awards, and I’ll start with Comeback Player of the Year.  The three finalists for the award were Dominic Oduro (poor 2010 season), David Beckham (2010 Achilles injury), and Charlie Davies (2009 car accident, missed 2010).  Beckham edged out Davies for the award in the weighted vote with Oduro trailing by a decent percentage.  This is an absolute sham.  Statistically speaking, Beckham had a better season than Davies; Beckham was a key midfielder for a team that won the Supporters Shield and almost led the league in assists.  Davies tailed off after a great start to the season and by October there were questions as to whether he would even be brought back by DC United.  Beckham was the league’s first international superstar, Davies has a great story but by the end was making some questionable PR moves.

That aside, this is not a Player of the Year or Most Photogenic award, this is a comeback award, and it is hard to argue that Davies does not deserve this over the rest of the field.  His 2009 car wreck was so horrific his life was in danger potentially and his career certainly was in doubt; he visibly carries the scars with him.  The fact that he scored eight goals and carried DC briefly before the De Rosario trade when the prior year he didn’t even play professional soccer is incredible.  Granted, he isn’t back to where he was but he has come a long way and his comeback is mighty impressive.  Beckham also made a comeback from injury, but that was an Achilles injury probably due to playing overseas plus repeated travel.  Some have claimed that Davies did not deserve to win because he did not play in MLS last season; Beckham was hurt playing in Serie A and openly angling for an overseas loan.  If prior MLS playing time was a criteria (and it should be stated if so), Geoff Cameron deserves this award.  But to give it to Beckham over Davies is a terrible mistake.

Now to Coach of the Year, and this one is less cut and dried.  Bruce Arena is undoubtedly a great coach, there is no doubt about that, and to bring this team of immense egos to the finish line in the regular season is a tremendous accomplishment.  Phil Jackson was coach of the year in the NBA for a reason.  However, on a team where you could solve your striker problem by shedding one designated player to sign another three million dollar a year international, that should count as a strike against your candidacy.  That’s not a coaching skill, that’s a competitive advantage.

Let’s now consider the candidacy of Peter Vermes, a coach I put on my hot seat early in the year.  For the first few months of the season, Sporting Kansas City did not have a home stadium, and rather than drift down into the bottom of the league the team survived to finish first in the Eastern Conference.  There was certainly talent on the team due to some shrewd signings like Omar Bravo, but it was the team’s growth around some young players like C.J. Sapong and Teal Bunbury that really pushed it over the top.  Graham Zusi is now being discussed as a potential USMNT call-up and Omar Bravo, while a proven international talent, could have struggled more in integrating himself to MLS like so many others have before him.  This was a team that made a lot out of not as much proven talent as LA and Seattle, but still clinched the first seed in the competitive East.  Were they a better team than LA and Seattle?  No but they made do with less, and that should be a major consideration for Coach of the Year.

Last night I laid out the pros and cons of Dwayne De Rosario winning the MLS MVP award.  Everyone on each side of the argument can agree that a De Ro MVP would be unprecedented, as he would be the first MVP in any sport to have been traded twice in-season.  But what about the other candidates?  Who out there deserves the award the most right now?

Now I recognize that there are a few weeks left in the season and how the playoff race shakes out could determine the MVP.  That said, I think it’s important to establish a benchmark now and see if peoples’ opinions change between now and the end of the season.  So vote in the poll below and sound off in the comments section: who today deserves to be the MLS MVP?

Photo by Fergal of Claddagh

The Los Angeles Galaxy, looking at its rivals for the MLS Cup and seeing them focus more on acquiring American players overseas and trading amongst themselves, decided to make the big-named signing by acquiring Irish international Robbie Keane from Tottenham.  The cost of the contract is huge, rumored to be roughly $9.75 million over two years with the Galaxy sending about £3.5 million in transfer fees.  Obviously, this means Keane will be a designated player, which I will discuss below.

Keane’s resume is spectacular, and I would encourage all Barclay’s Premier League rookies to take a look at his extensive resume on Wikipedia.  He’s in the top-10 all time in league goals scored, captain of the Irish national team, and has played for some of Europe’s biggest clubs.  The transfer is also historic because (as LAG Confidential points out) this is the first time an MLS team has paid a transfer fee to a BPL club for a player.

So where does Keane fit in?  Obviously one of LA’s designated players has to go, and unless I am missing a team dynamic here, that player will be Juan Pablo Angel.  The former Aston Villa striker and Red Bulls terror has been an absolute failure in LA, so he will be looking to reinvigorate his career elsewhere.  Initially the rumor was that Philadelphia would try to grab him but now the hot rumor is Chivas USA is his destination, if for no other reason than the Goats has refused to sign anyone else this season.  The trade, reported by Fox Soccer’s Ives Galarcep, has yet to be officially announced but is likely to be soon and we can then share what exactly LA will get for him.

Is Keane the magic bullet for LA to win the MLS Cup in a year when the game will be played on their home turf?  Keane is certainly an upgrade over Angel if for no other reason than Angel contributed nothing.  But to assume Keane solves all of LA’s problems is delusion.  Playing for West Ham last season Keane contributed little, scoring two goals in nine appearances for the relegated club and failing to be the offensive threat the Hammers thought they were acquiring.  Spurs had been shopping him but received little interest except from Leicester City, so the Galaxy’s offer was certainly a welcome one.  This is not to say Keane does not have some goals left in him – he is only 31 and scored 16 times for Celtic just two years ago.  But fans expecting a thoroughly dominating player may be disappointed.

This transfer however does have two very interesting subplots for the Galaxy and MLS. The first is that this deal is the first between the Galaxy-Spurs soccer partnership.  If you remember back in February, the two teams discussed a new partnership that would allow players to potentially move back and forth between the two as well as provide some cross-marketing opportunities.  This is the first player move between the two, and I had thought at the time that this could potentially lead to young Galaxy players going across the Atlantic more easily.  We will see if this will lead to young Galaxy players getting a chance in London to play at a higher level, and what impact such a swap system would have on MLS.

The other subplot is that LA is again falling back on their model of team building by signing the big name.  This site has not been shy in criticizing the Beckham model for team building and how the Galaxy have not won an MLS Cup with their English superstar.  Most teams, lacking the pizazz and money of LA, have turned their international player acquisitions to Latin America, U.S. national team members, or, in the case of the Philadelphia Union, both.  The results have been telling – Los Angeles and New York (who also likes to make sexy international signings) have not won an MLS Cup since they went acquired their big name international stars.  If Los Angeles fails to win an MLS Cup with Keane, does it further signify that MLS is a league that eschewed star power?  But what if this is the signing that leads the Galaxy to an MLS Cup?  Does that change the championship-winning business model and force other teams to try and sign their own big names to keep up with LA?

Sounds off with your Keane and Galaxy thoughts below.

Photo by Ramsey Moshen

With David Beckham in the final year of his ground-breaking MLS contract, speculation has turned to whether the 36 year-old midfielder will resign with the LA Galaxy and the league, or continue his quest for another international cap elsewhere.  In an interview with the press, Garber talked about the MLS All Star’s impact on the league, and as expected painted it as a perfect partnership.  His comments, however, reveal a disconnect between the league office and the casual fan.

To do justice to his comments, I want to take each statement individually as reported by The Sun and enter my own comments.  Agree or disagree? Sound off below.

“David has been a game-changer for us, on and off the field.”

He’s right in regards to how the league is perceived off the field.  The Beckham acquisition brought attention to MLS from the international and domestic press, as well as Hollywood and the New York ad agencies.  He became the face of the league to some Americans who are casual-to-non-soccer fans, and in the first year that impact led to higher ticket sales.  On the field, however, his impact to this point has been much less.  After years of constant injuries and loan deals, he is finally this year showing how well he can play.  Case in point – he is among the league leaders in assists.  But to say one year (and no MLS Cups) of quality play justifies his salary is absurd.

“We love him. It has almost been five years and now is very established in our country. He has become this larger than life figure and he happens to play in our country for one of our great teams.”

Don Garber loves him, the MLS owners love him, but who else really loves the MLS version of David Beckham? Based on the constant loan deals and yearning to return to England, not David Beckham.  Fans will come to see him play and buy his jerseys, but ask opposing fans and see how much they care for Beckham.  And I would take issue that he is established in this country when, for the first three years, he was injured or playing on loan in Europe.  The dream of Beckham appearing constantly in endorsements and on TV has failed.  The promised reality TV shows never materialized.  He may still be a name guy in Los Angeles and New York, but if you mention him outside of the coasts he is not really known.  I am sure most people can say he plays soccer, but can they talk about him beyond that?  And if the league wanted to just make him a name in these two markets, it is incredibly short-sighted.

“There is no question that it was a good financial deal for David and the league but you don’t hear about the money anymore.”

The Sun article begins by mentioning the £128m Beckham has supposedly made during his time in the States.  Sports articles on Beckham have down to the game how much money he makes, even now.  The money still matters, especially since the league’s best paid player still hasn’t won an MLS Cup.

“He really cares about the league. He wants to build the sport and he wants to give back to the community.”

The Beckhams are very charitable and do a lot of good community work, so I won’t disagree with that.  But it is hard to take it seriously that he cares about the league when just this offseason there were rumors of a move to Tottenham (as reported on this site).  This wouldn’t be a big deal except for (a) the previous season-long loan moves and (b) the fact he flees to England as often as possible.

“There is something for David in trying to be the person, like Pele was decades ago, who can be a real pioneer for our sport.”

What was Pele’s impact on American soccer?  He certainly was a mythical figure who, while he didn’t save a league, established that Americans love star power even in soccer and the sport can sell out large venues.  His impact on the game itself in America is debatable, but he did add to the mythos of soccer in America.  What will Beckham’s impact be?  I doubt that years from now it will be revered as Pele; in fact it may be more negative due to the money spent and the lack of playing time for most of the contract.

“I am not sure what his future is or what his plans are but it would be great to have him in MLS for years to come.”

And that is the big offseason question – will he or won’t he? And should it matter?

Photo by kleinnick

Wednesday night is quietly becoming a great night for MLS.  Over the past few weeks the league has put some very good matches on with some compelling story lines.  This week is no different, as tonight we will see two teams with drastically different styles face off as they try to continue their climbs up the table.  This game has all the excitement of the past weekend’s matches, plus a European star, a few players making questionably high salaries, and a struggling offense on the road trying to break down a stubborn defense.  I of course speak of the FC Dallas/Toronto FC match.

However, I doubt that this is the match most soccer fans are excited to watch.  The Philadelphia-Los Angeles clash tonight at 7:30 PM ET on DirectKick features top two teams from each conference.  Philadelphia is coming off a tough loss to Portland, where their defense held the Timbers at JELD-WEN until a second half goal did them in.  Regardless, they are playing the best defense in the league, only allowing three goals in seven matches, and doing just enough to have secured second place in the East.

The Galaxy, meanwhile, are coming off their emotional game against New York, which ended in a 1-1 draw.  The days after the match have seen various snips in the media from Galaxy players (see Daniel’s take on our site) about uncalled fouls against them.  Regardless of what’s called or not, Los Angeles is ahead of RSL for first in the Western Conference and at 16 points is your early leader for the Supporters’ Shield.

Their last meeting is a good guide to tonight’s match.  On April 2nd, a Leonardo header off a Beckham free kick in the 33rd minute was the difference as the Galaxy won 1-0.  Overall the Galaxy have never lost to the Union, having outscored them 5-1 in the three times they’ve met.  The lineups will likely be similar for both teams except last game’s goal scorer is out with “a knee” for the visitors [and Beckham will miss the game due to Bruce Arena giving him the game off].  And if you are looking for more subplots, Carlos Ruiz will face his former team for the first time with the Union; he played for the Galaxy from 2002-2005 and again in 2008.

This game will be low scoring, take that to the bank.  Here are some keys for who will likely come out ahead with that critical one goal:

• Both teams are coming off of emotional games on national television, so the team that is more focused will certainly have an edge.
• Philadelphia has to be careful with fouls and try not to give up corner kicks or free kicks on their half of the field.  Everyone knows the beauty of Beckham’s service, but set plays have been the best scoring option for the Galaxy recently.  Landon Donovan has scored the last four goals for the visitors over three games, and the most recent one was off a Beckham corner.  Los Angeles is struggling to score in open play, so allowing them set pieces is playing into their offense.
• The Portland strategy will not work for the Union this week, even though they almost escaped with a point last weekend.  Peter Nowak The Union staff  [note: Peter Nowak will miss tonight's game] needs to find ways to get the ball to Carlos Ruiz in the offensive half.  This team cannot simply absorb the Galaxy’s pressure, LA is too good to not find a way to score.  And you can bet Andrew Chapin has heard the complaints in the media and will award penalties on close plays.
• The key to this game will be Brian Carroll.  The midfielder has a tough task to disrupt the Galaxy midfield, the strength of their attack.  Playing in the middle, he has to prevent Juninho from finding space to shoot from outside the box as well as disrupt any long balls from Beckham to Donovan, Magee, and the forwards.  If Philadelphia can clog the middle successfully and grab a goal, they’ll win.

Because of the number of games played during the week, this weekend’s schedule is evenly distributed between Saturday and Sunday.  The Saturday evening spotlight match is DC United visiting BMO Field and Toronto FC, as seen on Fox Soccer Channel.  The Sunday game on Telefutura is Chicago hosting the Beckham- and Donovan-less Los Angeles Galaxy.  Although there isn’t that BIG match this weekend (that was Wednesday’s lineup) there are some intriguing match-ups that will make for some good matches.

Now for what else happened this week:

• The Washington Post broke the story that the New York Red Bulls have been invited to participate in the Emirates Cup, one of Europe’s best pre-season tournaments.  The Emirates Cup is hosted by Arsenal and, last season, saw the Gunners participate with AC Milan, Lyon, and Celtic.  Obviously the reason for the invitation is Thierry Henry, but not one wants to confirm the invitation.  Still, if it is true and happens, this would be the first time a non-European team participated in the tournament and would pit the Red Bulls against some very good opponents.
• Speaking of international friendlies, Manchester City have been confirmed as the next participant in the World Football Challenge and will play Vancouver on July 18.  More matches are soon to be announced.
• Portland signed their first designated player this week, nabbing Colombian midfielder Diego Chara.  The twenty-five year old midfielder is a threat on offensive but can drop back and serve as a holding midfielder.  He had played at Deportes Tolima in Columbia and was a teammate of current Timber Jorge Perlaza.
• More information has come out about Landon Donovan’s injury: it’s a knee.  He is recovering from a knee inflammation and will likely miss this weekend’s match against Chicago.  Meanwhile, his teammate David Beckham is going increasingly public in his complaints against MLS referees.  In an interview, Beckham complained about the officials making themselves the center of the action and ruining the players’ preparation for games.  ”I’ll probably get in trouble, but it’s gone on too long,” he said.  ”We want that consistency to be there, and we want to keep our players on the field.”  While the officials have been poor recently in MLS, and while Beckham has been the target of some aggressive fouls, he’s also been fortunate to have not been red carded a couple of times this season.
• For your entertainment and in honor of Portland’s first home game last night, the video above is the Portland promotional video for their season.  It’s… different.

Photo by Onkelshark

Fabian Espindola knocked in a loose rebound late in stoppage time to give Real Salt Lake a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids and a leg-up in the 2011 Rocky Mountain Cup.  Espindola also gave MLS fans the only goal of the evening, as the other match between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Toronto FC ended 0-0.

Colorado was again without Conor Casey and Pablo Mastroeni, and while the midfield was able to play well against the home team, missing both of these players is obviously a problem for the Rapids.  Colorado created few chances this match, mainly relaying on hitting RSL on the counter using the speed of Omar Cummings and Caleb Forlan.  But with Cummings coming off in the 64th minute for Quincy Amarikwa, and Amarikwa coming off five minutes later with an injury, the Colorado attack was hampered throughout.  Their best chance of the match may have been Nate Borchers early in the first half who was unmarked on a header but his angle put the shot wide of the goal.  Jamie Smith had a good chance the minute prior, as his looping shot outside the box befuddled the RSL defense but was easily handled by Nick Rimando.

Espindola had seemingly put Real Salt Lake ahead in the first half scoring on a free kick but he was ruled offsides.  RSL dominated possession in the first and had numerous scoring chances.  Credit to Matt Pickens and the Colorado fullbacks for keeping RSL off the scoresheet; Colorado played a high line that led to eight offsides’ calls on Real and when they got behind the line Pickens made some great saves.   In stoppage time, Javier Morales lined up a great free kick that was initially saved by Pickens but he was unable to punch it clear.  It landed in front of a mostly empty net and after a brief scramble Espindola kicked it home.

The win keeps RSL’s perfect start to the season just that – still perfect.  Hats off to the teams for finding a way to win against a good opponent in bad weather.  Hats off as well to the Rapids, who despite missing two starters had a pretty good game plan and almost escaped Rio Tinto with a point.  However, without Conor Casey to compliments Omar Cummings and Caleb Forlan, and with Pablo Mastroeni to provide some defense in the midfield, this team needs to find ways to win.

MLS was minutes away from having possibly their three best teams play on the same night and score zero goals, as the earlier match in the double-header ended in a scoreless draw.  For the second time in a week, higher-than-normal home crowds came out to see David Beckham and the Galaxy, and what they saw was Beckham pick up his fifth yellow card on the year, meaning he will sit the next Galaxy game.  They also saw the Galaxy hit the post three times this game and have more scoring chances than the home team.  But the best chance to break the scoreless draw may have been Danleigh Borman’s free kick that found an unmarked Joao Plata in front of Donovan Ricketts.  Plata, however, could only weakly head the ball into the keeper’s arms.  Overall both teams had excellent chances to win this match but saw their opportunities missed or denied by the pole.

For Toronto, this is a good result and fans should have been thrilled to see Julian De Guzman back in the starting lineup.  The more and more I see of the Reds, the more and more I think they could make a late run at a playoff spot once they get everything together.  As for the Galaxy, the team really needs to find a finisher.  Mike Magee had another chance to score off a Beckham corner but unlike in DC, he missed the shot.  Maybe it is missing Landon Donovan, but LA needs someone to either step up (Angel, Magee, Barrett) or find a forward who can finish in front of the net.