U.S. soccer pioneer and long-time coach John Kerr Sr. pass away yesterday at his home in North Carolina.  For newer soccer fans this name may mean nothing but for long-time American soccer fans, Kerr was a pioneer who was a mainstay in the American soccer landscape up through the early days of MLS.

Kerr was born in Scotland and began his soccer career with Scottish club Patrick Thistle before moving with his mother to Canada.  In 1968, he joined the Detroit Cougars of the NASL and the next year signed with the Washington Darts, who at the time were a second division club.  He helped lead his team to the first division before bouncing around American soccer for the next decade with stints with the New York Cosmos (1972, 1973-1975) and the Washington Diplomats (1976-1977).  He was a key contributor to the Cosmos’ 1972 championship.  Between his stints for the Cosmos, he was acquired by Club America and was one of the early U.S. soccer league stars to be coveted by an international power.  He had ten caps with the Canadian national team but never played in a World Cup.

After his playing days were over, he spent many years as a youth and professional coach in the DC metro area.  He led the amateur Fairfax (VA) Spartans to the 1986 Amateur Cup and remained on as head coach when the team rebranded to become FC Washington and the Washington Stars in the American Soccer League.  Two of his most high-profile pupils in the youth ranks were U.S. forward Bruce Murray and his son John Kerr Jr., who played in England for years.  In 1993, he became the head coach of the Richmond Kickers and remained there for two years.  Throughout his career he was a passionate supporter of player’s rights and was involved in the creation of the NASL, Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), and MLS player’s unions.

Kerr was named to the Virginia-DC soccer hall of fame in 2005 and is considered a local legend.  Even though he was a Canadian from Scotland, his impact on U.S. soccer was immense and long-lasting and his memory should be honored.

It was an admittedly slow week in American soccer as the American sports scene shifted to Dallas and the American football Super Bowl.  Within the soccer world some amazing results and goals from the English Premier League overshadowed almost all the other soccer news.  But nevertheless there were some noteworthy happenings in MLS this past weekend; as usual, share your thoughts and anything I missed in the comments section.

• The Chicago Fire are adding more fire-power (sorry, couldn’t resist) by signing Uruguayan forward Gaston Puerari.  The 25 year-old South American has scored eight goals the past two years with the Montevideo Wanderers.  I do not know much about the Uruguayan professional leagues, but I do know the signing helps Chicago in an area of need.
• In other signing news, New York inked Brazilian Marcos Paullo to a contract following a trial with the club last season.
• New Eastern Conference club Houston has announced the groundbreaking for a new stadium.  Expect an MLS Talk post on this subject soon.
• For those curious about Charlie Davies recovery and trial with D.C. United, I have included a released video above this post so you can take a look at his progress.  I don’t know about you, but seeing an MLS club in action put a smile on my face.
• Speaking of Davies, MLS has updated the allocation list for its teams and explains why DCU gets first crack at signing Davies.
• And finally, I had initially missed this part of the MLS call last week but the Wall Street Journal shares Don Garber’s comments on the 20th club.  He acknowledges the Cosmos are an option but says MLS is speaking to other ownership groups as well.  No surprises here.

As MLS prepares to begin its first season with 18 clubs, the recent talk on the Internet has focused on its possible 20th team.  Recent talk on this site has centered on Don Garber traveling to Miami to meet with Miami soccer fans; if you have not read The Gaffer’s article on the meeting then definitely check it out.

But Miami will be in a tough race for that 20th slot, as one familiar name and one new name seem to be their biggest competition.

The famed New York Cosmos, who have been maintaining operations in the hope of becoming an MLS franchise in 2012, made news this week by hiring a familiar name as its associated director of soccer – former U.S. national Cobi Jones.  As Jeremiah Oshan notes, this looks to be a serious move at making the jump to a top-flight professional team unlike many of their rumored moves.  Currently the owner of a uniform and development academies, the “team” still has a way to go before it is ready for MLS play, but with the names it is gathering it could only be a matter of time before Don Graber announces it as the next expansion team.

But the Cosmos may be squeezed out by a new contender whose infrastructure suggests it is ready to make the jump to MLS.  San Antonio’s new NASL team unveiled its new name and plans for its own stadium with the stated goal of entering MLS…. by 2012.  San Antonio Scorpions FC will play in the 5,400 seat STAR complex which will have the ability to expand to 18,000 if the call-up is made for the club.

Of course there are other NASL, USL PRO, and imagined clubs that are yearning for MLS status, but these three markets seem the most viable right now for expansion.  All three also have their pros and cons.  Miami is a huge media market with a long soccer history, but that history includes one failed MLS franchise so far.  The Cosmos have the name and the history, as well as the country’s largest media market, but would also share their city with an established MLS franchise.  Plus, the Cosmos have an affiliation with the old NASL, a time in history that MLS would probably not like to relive.  San Antonio is another market that demographically and geographically makes sense for MLS; the soccer supporters group the “Crocketteers” numbers in the hundreds without a club to support.  However, in addition to the Scorpions the ownership group of the San Antonio Spurs is establishing their own USL Pro franchise with plans to move up to MLS eventually.

What city do you think will get the 20th franchise and why?  Answer in the comments and in the poll.

Update: RSL Soapbox has some intriguing option for expansion as well.

With all of the recent discussion about the NASL being reformed in the United States, I thought I’d share a very interesting video with you which is the first ten minutes of the 1976 NASL game between Tampa Bay Rowdies and New York Cosmos.

The above video is interesting for several different reasons, some of which include:

• How commentator Mario Machado and co-commentator Paul Gardner went to extra lengths to explain basic rules of the game such as throw-ins and corner kicks,
• It seems the game was shown live on CBS Sports. One unnerving point in the video is near the end where Machado shouts “We’ll be back” hinting that the coverage was going to break for a commercial, which then didn’t happen,
• The sheer noise from the Tampa Bay crowd before the game began and whenever Pele had a good opportunity to score,
• The slow tempo of the game, which was probably more to do with the heat than tactics,
• And lastly, the pass backs to the goalkeeper which look so out-of-place these days.

What jumped out for you as interesting? Click the comments link below and share your feedback.