MLS 2013 -- Deuces Wild

[Titans Bastard]

The opening match of the 2013 season begins in exactly three months (March 2). It's the shortest offseason ever for MLS and teams don't have any time to waste.

A few key events:

December 7 -- Re-Entry Draft Stage 1
December 14 -- Re-Entry Draft Stage 2
January 17 -- SuperDraft
~January 24 -- Supplemental Draft
March 2 -- First Kick


The Re-Entry Draft is a mechanism created for the most recent CBA as a concession from the owners to the players to compensate for the lack of free agency. In MLS, most contracts have a series of team options. If a player was out of contract or his option is declined, the team still retained his rights. In order to move to a new club, the new club would have to trade for his rights. This really screwed the fungible journeymen, who were useful squad depth, but replaceable enough that no one wanted to trade for them.

Now, players with enough age+league experience are eligible for the Re-Entry Draft. If selected in Stage 1, the drafting team basically pays the player their 2012 salary. In Stage 2, the teams can negotiate the contract down somewhat. If history is any guide, Stage 2 will be much busier.

In the end, there's never any top-line talent that passes through this draft; it's just a way to pick up a few nifty depth players.



As usual, the draft, international signings, and trades will be much more important and the latter two categories are just getting started. It's only a day after MLS Cup, but there's already a lot of stuff flying through Twitter.

* RSL is blowing it up. It looks like Jamison Olave and Fabian Espindola are going to NY for cash. Will Johnson is going to Portland for cash.

* In addition to the Johnson acquisition, Portland is dealing Kosuke Kimura to NY and has picked up Michael Harrington from KC.

* Revs(!) are the only team to make any foreign acquisitions this year. Andy Dorman, who played for NE from 2004-2007 returns from Crystal Palace. Kalifa Cisse comes in from Bristol City.

* Seattle has been going after Honduran NT defender Wilmer Crisanto, who is with Victoria in his native country



Hopefully there will be enough going on this offseason to keep me moderately entertained.

 

[soxfan121]

Is RSL gathering cash because of ownership problems or to pay a DP?

Where in the world will Omar Gonzalez end up before January 31st? After that performance - and the press to go with it - he should be moving on up somewhere.

Kaka? Frank Lampard? Rafa Marquez deported?

 

[Titans Bastard]

Is RSL gathering cash because of ownership problems or to pay a DP?

Where in the world will Omar Gonzalez end up before January 31st? After that performance - and the press to go with it - he should be moving on up somewhere.

Kaka? Frank Lampard? Rafa Marquez deported?

RSL has had almost the exact same core since they won MLS Cup in 2009. Their starting lineup is good, but they've all gotten a succession of raises as they've been with the club. Consequently, there's no room in the salary budget for much depth -- and at this point, they have some guys who are aging. Olave is 31 and increasingly injury-prone. Borchers is 31. Morales is 32. Beckerman and Saborio are 30. RSL needs youth and in particular, speed. By dumping Johnson, Olave, and Espindola, they are clearing up $625k in cap space and accumulating untold amounts of allocation money (a way to "buy down" salaries as far as the cap is concerned). I wouldn't be surprised if they decline options on a few other semi-expensive guys like Grabavoy and Braun.

They've said that this would be the last season with this core no matter what, so that they are doing this is no surprise. I see this as a real test for Jason Kreis. He's done a great job putting together the 2008-12 group, but whether he can replicate this success will show us how good he truly is.


As for Gonzalez, LA is going to need to pony up DP money to retain him. He will have options.

 

[soxfan121]

My hope is Gonzalez ends up with Everton. Working with Howard on a daily basis would be best for the NT and working with Jagielka/Distin and an excellent coach would be perfect for his development. Probably zero chance of that, but a guy can dream.

 

[SoxFanInPdx]

As a longtime Timbers season ticket holder, what is Will Johnson like? I'm always skeptical on what players have left when a quality club like RSL let players go for allocation money.

 

[Titans Bastard]

My hope is Gonzalez ends up with Everton. Working with Howard on a daily basis would be best for the NT and working with Jagielka/Distin and an excellent coach would be perfect for his development. Probably zero chance of that, but a guy can dream.

The UK is an unlikely destination for Omar because he has so few NT caps on his resume. It will be difficult to obtain a work permit. That being said, the permit office has looked more favorably on American players lately; Robbie Findley and Robbie Rogers managed to squeak through the system. Still, Findley has a WC to his name and Rogers has two Gold Cups, even if they are obviously inferior players to Gonzalez. It does help him that he's a member of a higher-profile MLS team like the LA Galaxy (beckhambeckhambeckham). If he were coming from the Colorado Rapids, he'd be screwed.

 

[Titans Bastard]

As a longtime Timbers season ticket holder, what is Will Johnson like? I'm always skeptical on what players have left when a quality club like RSL let players go for allocation money.

Very hard-working/high workrate midfielder. He's a decent passer, but isn't a flair player. He's not exceptional in any regard, but doesn't have any weaknesses either. He's a good player, it's just that he's not an outstanding value in MLS at $250k.

 

[soxfan121]

The UK is an unlikely destination for Omar because he has so few NT caps on his resume. It will be difficult to obtain a work permit. That being said, the permit office has looked more favorably on American players lately; Robbie Findley and Robbie Rogers managed to squeak through the system. Still, Findley has a WC to his name and Rogers has two Gold Cups, even if they are obviously inferior players to Gonzalez. It does help him that he's a member of a higher-profile MLS team like the LA Galaxy (beckhambeckhambeckham). If he were coming from the Colorado Rapids, he'd be screwed.

Seems like an easy fix - call him up publicly before January 1 even with no reason to do so. The MVP award should also help. And Cameron got approved.

Is Spain a more likely destination? What would be the ideal situation (or club) for him?

 

[Titans Bastard]

Seems like an easy fix - call him up publicly before January 1 even with no reason to do so. The MVP award should also help. And Cameron got approved.

Is Spain a more likely destination? What would be the ideal situation (or club) for him?

Cameron had started a few NT games just before his transfer. Gonzalez has enough hype that he might sneak through the process. If this were 3-4 years ago, I would have said no chance. Now, I wouldn't be surprised either way. It can't hurt that another rarely-capped (at the time) defender stumbled off the plane directly into Stoke's starting lineup.

Spain, France, and Italy are tough destinations for Americans because they have fairly strict limits on non-EU players. (Onyewu has a Belgian passport from his time at Standard Liege, btw). Germany has no restrictions, but are more frugal with in their transfer market choices because (a)their clubs (mostly) aren't run by idiots with delusions of grandeur and (b)their academies are cranking out so much domestic talent that there's no need for foreigners unless they are really good.

Let's not forget that Omar was on loan at Nurnberg when he injured his knee (by Chandler. In the first training session.)

So we'll see. I think Gonzalez is good enough to overcome some of these hurdles. He'll be worth a non-EU spot for some clubs.

 

[Mr. Wednesday]

Seems like an easy fix - call him up publicly before January 1 even with no reason to do so. The MVP award should also help. And Cameron got approved.

Not really. For one, the 75% rule only counts official competition. For two, I think there would need to be a legitimate argument that he was on the cusp of breaking into the starting lineup. Cameron had a trend in important WCQs to point to. Gonzalez would need more than just a single call-up in a Camp Cupcake (or the like) friendly.

 

[soxfan121]

Not really. For one, the 75% rule only counts official competition. For two, I think there would need to be a legitimate argument that he was on the cusp of breaking into the starting lineup. Cameron had a trend in important WCQs to point to. Gonzalez would need more than just a single call-up in a Camp Cupcake (or the like) friendly.

Wasn't there a legitimate argument that he was going to break into the team before hurting the knee that cost him half the season? He might have been called up for Russia if LA wasn't in the playoffs and he would have been called in before that if Klinsmann wasn't sensitive to the club managing his rehab/return to form.

 

[steeplechase3k]

Several moves involving Portland:

Koske Kimura (plus a draft pick) to NYRB in exchange for allocation cash and the HGP rights to Bryan Gallego:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/12/timbers-acquire-allocation-homegrown-rights-bryan-gallego-new-york-exchange-defender-ko

Eric Bruner to Houston in sxcahnge for Allocation cash:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/12/timbers-acquire-allocation-money-houston-exchange-defender-eric-brunner

Michael Harrington from SKC to Portalnd for Allocation cash:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/12/timbers-acquire-defender-michael-harrington-sporting-kc-exchange-allocation-money

And the Timbers waived/declined options on 2:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/12/timbers-decline-options-palmer-purdy


Bruner was an ok defender that gave 100%, he had struggled with some concussion issues lately and struggled with match fitness as a result, but I'll still miss him.

Purdy was a Timber well prior to the move to MLS so that side of me will hiss him, but he hadn't played in months. He did spend a lot of time with the El Salvador national team, but was never in favor for the Timbers

Paler was a square peg in a round hole for the Timbers, and he shoots WAY too much (and too poorly).

I didn't even think Kimura was still Timbers properly, I thought his contract had ended. I didn't expect him to be here in 2013.

Also Steven Smith reported on twiter that he was leaving Portland, but I don't see anything from the club yet. Apparently he would be demanding DP level pay either thoguh his existing contract or something. He's good, but not that good so I won't really miss him.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Wasn't there a legitimate argument that he was going to break into the team before hurting the knee that cost him half the season? He might have been called up for Russia if LA wasn't in the playoffs and he would have been called in before that if Klinsmann wasn't sensitive to the club managing his rehab/return to form.

The problem you are having here is that you are thinking about things too in-depth and need to look at the situation from a dumber perspective. The UK permit office isn't going to pay close attention to all the fine print or scouting reports. They'll look to see what a player has done with the NT and take into account the hype/buzz a player has going for him. You and I can sit down and say that Gonzalez is a very good player, who would have been a bigger part of the NT if he hadn't had the knee injury, and he's a special enough talent to qualify for a WP. However, it's never clear if the people who grant the WPs look into things all that deeply.

 

[steeplechase3k]

And one more:
Will Johnson to Portland for .... Allocation cash:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/12/timbers-acquire-midfielder-will-johnson-real-salt-lake-exchange-allocation-money

 

[Titans Bastard]

Several moves involving Portland:

Koske Kimura (plus a draft pick) to NYRB in exchange for allocation cash and the HGP rights to Bryan Gallego:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/12/timbers-acquire-allocation-homegrown-rights-bryan-gallego-new-york-exchange-defender-ko

Eric Bruner to Houston in sxcahnge for Allocation cash:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/12/timbers-acquire-allocation-money-houston-exchange-defender-eric-brunner

Michael Harrington from SKC to Portalnd for Allocation cash:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/12/timbers-acquire-defender-michael-harrington-sporting-kc-exchange-allocation-money

And the Timbers waived/declined options on 2:
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/12/timbers-decline-options-palmer-purdy


Bruner was an ok defender that gave 100%, he had struggled with some concussion issues lately and struggled with match fitness as a result, but I'll still miss him.

Purdy was a Timber well prior to the move to MLS so that side of me will hiss him, but he hadn't played in months. He did spend a lot of time with the El Salvador national team, but was never in favor for the Timbers

Paler was a square peg in a round hole for the Timbers, and he shoots WAY too much (and too poorly).

I didn't even think Kimura was still Timbers properly, I thought his contract had ended. I didn't expect him to be here in 2013.

Also Steven Smith reported on twiter that he was leaving Portland, but I don't see anything from the club yet. Apparently he would be demanding DP level pay either thoguh his existing contract or something. He's good, but not that good so I won't really miss him.

Interesting about Smith, I wondered if he might be gone when I heard about the Harrington acquisition. No surprise about Palmer and Purdy as they are both mediocrities.

The intriguing thing to me here is the Kimura deal. In particular, that New York traded HG rights to a college player. Bryan Gallego is a CB who came through RBNY's academy and who just finished his sophomore year at Akron. He's a definite MLS prospect and while I'm not sure if he's going pro this winter, the fact that his HG rights were traded would make it seem likely. Also, it's no coincidence that Portland traded for his rights in particular with the Caleb Porter connection.

Anyway, the Development Academy is now in its sixth season. Homegrown signings aren't just about getting 17 year old raw projects anymore. Enough time has passed that MLS academy alumni have filtered all through college now, so we are going to start seeing more and more players with at least some college experience bypassing the draft and signing directly with clubs via the HG rule.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Non-Portland trades today --



CB Jamison Olave and FW Fabian Espindola go from RSL to NY for truckloads of cash.

RSL also shipped FW Justin Braun to Toronto for Dorchester's own CB Aaron Maund. Braun has turned into such a journeyman that it's hard to believe he got invited to a January camp once.

FW Atiba Harris is traded from Vancouver to Colorado for an international roster spot.

DC declined options on the contracts of CB Emiliano Dudar, LB Mike Chabala, CM Stephen King, and FW Maicon Santos.

And in the least relevant transaction of the day, KC declined its option on RB Korede Aiyegbusi.

 

[Mr. Wednesday]

Wasn't there a legitimate argument that he was going to break into the team before hurting the knee that cost him half the season?

There was an argument that he should have been getting looks, but there's been an argument that a lot of guys should have been getting looks going back to basically when Klinsmann was hired. I wouldn't say never, but I would figure that it would be a tough sell to the work permit folks without him at least getting 90 in a friendly.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Full list of out-of-contract and option-declined players eligible for the Re-Entry Draft. There are actually some decent players this year, as long as they come at the right price.

* After dumping their backup keeper, RSL signed Jeff Attinella to replace him. Attinella was originally drafted by Salt Lake two years ago, but he didn't make the team and went on to start for the Tampa Bay Rowdies for two seasons, where he was named to the league Best XI in 2012. There's something to be said for getting playing time in the minor leagues if you aren't a GK who is close to MLS-ready as guys like Hamid, Johnson, Meara, or MacMath.

* FC Dallas re-signed George John. John has a Greek passport and was expected to leave for Europe at this juncture. However, he's already had two transfers fall through when teams were scared off by his ankle. Looks like he's going to be an MLS lifer, which is nice for Dallas.

* Meanwhile, Matt Besler re-signed with Kansas City. I've heard that he had a successful trial in Belgium, but that in the end he wanted to stay with his hometown team.

* Philly is sending 17 year old midfielder Zach Pfeffer on loan to Hoffenheim for all of 2013. They seem to have some sort of partnership, with Hoffenheim having loaned one of their players to the Union in 2012. Pfeffer has trained with Hoffenheim a couple of times before and will probably play with their U-19 team. I'm always a little wary of players at clubs who don't have an incentive to develop them, but playing in the German youth system is definitely better than the meager MLS reserve league.

 

[Titans Bastard]

It looks like Christian Wilhelmsson won't come back to the Galaxy. He was a good addition, but LA probably viewed him as an overly expensive luxury. He's no spring chicken, either (about to turn 33). If Donovan doesn't come back, LA sure does have a lot of work to do.

There hasn't been an official announcement, but Arena talked about how LA will be signing a defender from their academy, 18 year old Oscar Sorto. Arena has also been bringing along attacker Jose Villarreal and target forward Jack McBean, who had some promising moments in 2012. LA really should be crushing it with their academy considering the kind of talent in SoCal.

New York has re-signed Sebastien Le Toux, apparently, with the intent of trading him. Only in MLS...

In other news, Portland's Steven Smith reportedly is leaving. He may have been the best of a pretty sorry group of fullbacks from last season...they are pretty much all gone now. Smith, Wallace, Chabala, Palmer, Purdy, Kimura.

KC picked up Josh Gardner from Montreal after the left back's option had been declined by the Impact. Gardner is useful LB/utility depth for KC, who just traded Michael Harrington to Portland and who need to stock up for a CCL run next fall.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Le Toux was traded back to Philadelphia for Josue Martinez in a swap of underperforming players. Le Toux hasn't been the same since he left Philly the first time and it remains to be seen whether he'll get his mojo back. Martinez did well in Costa Rica but never got any traction for the Union last season and then totally fell off the radar after Nowak got fired and Jack McInerney started playing well.

Philadelphia also picked up Jeff Parke from Seattle. Parke is a pretty decent CB at the MLS level although he's getting older. The Sounders need to make some moves to open up cap space. The Union already have Carlos Valdes (who has recently broken into Colombia's starting lineup), Bakary Soumare, and Amobi Okugo. The acquisition of Parke means that they might move Okugo back to defensive midfield, which would be disappointing because I think he has more upside as a CB. The last thing we need is another okay DM.

Chicago made the only selection of the first phase of the Re-Entry draft by taking Maicon Santos. The Brazilian forward is becoming the quintessential MLS journeyman; the Fire will be his fifth MLS team in the five years he's been in the league. There will be significantly more players drafted in phase two, when clubs are allowed to negotiate down salaries.

Some of the "options declined" players have re-signed with their clubs after taking a paycut. It's like signing your own non-tendered player. Gonzalo Segares (Chicago), Tony Tchani (Columbus), Rodney Wallace (Portland)

Montreal cleaned out some deadwood -- they released Bernardo Corradi, one of their ancient Italians. They also cut Miguel Montano and Bryan Arguez, a pair of youngsters who didn't do much for the Impact.

 

[Billy R Ford]

Benny Feilhaber traded to Sporting KC for money and draft picks.

http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/news/2012/12/revs-trade-feilhaber-kansas-city

I would've hoped for a player in return; Revs don't have a great history with utilizing allocation money.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Benny Feilhaber traded to Sporting KC for money and draft picks.

http://www.revolutionsoccer.net/news/2012/12/revs-trade-feilhaber-kansas-city

I would've hoped for a player in return; Revs don't have a great history with utilizing allocation money.

The Revs had already declined his option and everyone knew that they were trying to trade his rights. They didn't have much leverage, so they weren't going to get anyone of significance from KC. It's probably better to take the picks and the money and have them available to use on a wider array of options than simply the squad players in Kansas City.

KC is trying to figure out how to cope with the loss of Espinoza and Julio Cesar from their midfield. Feilhaber isn't a direct replacement for either of them because he is a different type of player, but he's a nice pickup as long as he isn't eating up too much cap space. The question for KC now is the defensive presence in the midfield. They have Paulo Nagamura, who is okay. They also have Uri Rosell, a 20 year old they picked up from Barcelona B last season, who looked good in limited time but is inexperienced.

FC Dallas signed Peter Luccin, a French DM who played on some big clubs long, long ago. This doesn't look very impressive -- he's old and hasn't done anything in quite some time. Apparently he had been training with FCD for a bit, so perhaps they aren't totally wasting their time. If the Revs did something like this, I'd be killing them for it (after Didier Domi, Ousmane Dabo, Edgaras Jankauskas, and so on).

Some new homegrown signings today: LA signed 18 year old fullback Oscar Sorto. New York signed a pair of 17 year olds -- GK Santiago Castano and FW Amando Moreno. I expect to see more homegrowns coming into the league from the college ranks later this month.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Besler officially re-signed with Kansas City today. Per Ives, he turned down offers from QPR, Birmingham City, and Gent. Retaining Besler is really huge for KC.

 

[Billy R Ford]

Per Ives, he turned down offers from QPR, Birmingham City, and Gent. Retaining Besler is really huge for KC.

Wow, he must really like his hometown to turn down an offer from an EPL club. QPR's starting centerbacks the past few weeks have been 35-year-old Ryan Nehlson and 34-year-old Clint Hill, Besler would definitely have a clear shot to break into the line-up.

Maybe he doesn't think 'Arry can save them from relegation and doesn't want to pull a Ream. Doesn't mean he's never going to Europe (I believe Cameron signed a similar deal at the same age, and he still moved)... but still, I'm surprised he turned this down.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Wow, he must really like his hometown to turn down an offer from an EPL club. QPR's starting centerbacks the past few weeks have been 35-year-old Ryan Nehlson and 34-year-old Clint Hill, Besler would definitely have a clear shot to break into the line-up.

Maybe he doesn't think 'Arry can save them from relegation and doesn't want to pull a Ream. Doesn't mean he's never going to Europe (I believe Cameron signed a similar deal at the same age, and he still moved)... but still, I'm surprised he turned this down.

Who doesn't love KC?

It would have been difficult for Besler to get a work permit to play in the UK. He has zero national team caps and although Americans and MLS players have had better luck in the last 3-4 years, that's a tough sell. Winning MLS Defender of the Year helps, but I just don't think that has enough cachet to compensate for the zero caps.

I think Besler is wise to avoid a sinking ship like QPR, which is a total quagmire even if it's an EPL gig for the time being. And are Birmingham City (19th in Championship) and Gent (11th in Belgium) really any better than Sporting Kansas City? I think if Besler really wants to go for it in Europe, he'd go to Gent (I don't know their specific situation, but usually they are much stronger than 11th) and use it as a springboard to something bigger. But it looks like he just values playing in his hometown.

 

[Titans Bastard]

More happenings...

* Chivas USA named Jose Luis Sanchez Sola as their manager. He's mostly known for a successful stint with Puebla, but he's since managed a couple other Mexican teams. He's going to be entertaining whether he's successful or not. (It's Chivas USA, who are back on their "let's pick up third-rate FMF rejects" kick, so he probably won't be.)

* New York and Rafael Marquez have mutually terminated Marquez's contract. Textbook example of addition by subtraction.

* Portland continues to be active on the trade market. They acquired FW Ryan Johnson and GK Milos Kocic from Toronto in exchange for their third GK Joseph Bendik and the #3 overall draft pick. They also swapped places on the Allocation Order with Chivas USA from #3 to #2, which is what is used to assign returning USMNT players to teams. They must have also gotten a handshake agreement with Toronto (who are #1 in the allocation order) to pass on a certain player, because...

* Per Ives, Portland is "lining up a move" for Mix Diskerud. He's out of contract at Rosenborg. I totally didn't expect him to go to MLS, but he and Porter are familiar with each other from the Olympics. Fascinating if true, because MLS is rarely able to compete for upwardly mobile US players who are already in Europe.

* KC picked up CB Ike Opara from San Jose. I always thought he was overrated as a prospect, but he's good as depth. They also signed a young Cameroonian right back, Yann Songo'o. He's been at several Spanish clubs and was on Cameroon's U-20 team at the '11 youth WC. More depth.

* Columbus signed Akron's sophomore CM Wil Trapp as a homegrown player. They have other HG guys they will sign this winter, but Trapp is the crown jewel. I've seen him play a few times and been really impressed. I'm glad he's moving onto the pros now.

 

[dirtynine]

I wrote up a little thing on baseball identities as soccer teams. One of the goofier things I've ever written about soccer but it got a pickup on UniWatch so I got some eyeballs. It's a US-collides-with-soccer-culture kind of thing, hence this thread (though I only tangentially reference MLS).

In other news, Benny, we barely knew ye. If the Revs had an activated fanbase (urban stadium, owners who care, la la la) this would have been a fairly important sports story around here. I'm not saying he was integral to a rebuilding team on the field, but as a personality Feilhaber could have really connected here. He has the skills and looks to be a crossover / ambassador kind of guy for MLS.

But all the fans who care about the Revs are clustered on a few message boards, so it's not a story at all.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* The second phase of the Re-Entry draft was on Friday.

Toronto -- Danny Califf
Los Angeles -- Colin Clark, Will Hesmer
New England -- Chad Barrett, Hunter Freeman
Philadelphia -- Conor Casey
Colorado -- Eric Avila
Dallas -- Stephen Keel
Vancouver -- Paulo, Jr.
Salt Lake -- Lovel Palmer
San Jose -- Dan Gargan, Ty Harden, Bryan Jordan
D.C. -- John Thorrington

All of these players are still out of contract and will have to sign with their new clubs. I believe only Califf has done so thus far.

Conor Casey could be a steal for Philly if he stays healthy, but he hasn't been his old self since his ACL injury. I actually like the Revs' picks as depth. Freeman is badly needed help at either fullback position. Barrett is a limited player, but he's a bit underrated as forwards who do subtle things well but are terrible finishers tend to be.

* New York signed Juninho Pernambucano (of Olympique Lyon fame). He's an absolute fossil at age 37. This could be another classic NY signing, although it's been speculated that this is part of the groundwork to signing Kaka.

* Colorado traded for Edson Buddle. Buddle hasn't been good since 2010 and at 31 he's not likely to improve. I hope for the Rapids' sake they aren't depending on him too much.

 

[BrazilianSoxFan]

* New York signed Juninho Pernambucano (of Olympique Lyon fame). He's an absolute fossil at age 37. This could be another classic NY signing, although it's been speculated that this is part of the groundwork to signing Kaka.

He IS very old, but his technique is still amazing. He should probably only play 1/2 to 3/4 of each game, but he can make a difference when on the pitch. A great weapon at free-kicks.

He played for my team this last season (Vasco da Gama) and it's a shame that we couldn't resign him.

 

[Titans Bastard]

He IS very old, but his technique is still amazing. He should probably only play 1/2 to 3/4 of each game, but he can make a difference when on the pitch. A great weapon at free-kicks.

He played for my team this last season (Vasco da Gama) and it's a shame that we couldn't resign him.

If Vasco wanted to re-sign him, that's a good sign. Elite players who are somewhat over-the-hill can still be quality players in MLS, but they do have to be fit and they do have to care. The Euro/SA oldies who come in and coast rarely do well. If Juninho still has the ability and fitness to be wanted in the Brasileirao, perhaps he can give NY a good year or two. Still, he is older than guys like Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Guillermo Barros Schelotto were when they left their clubs in MLS.

Do you know anything about Pipico? Dallas just signed him; it looks like he was a fringe player at Vasco da Gama.


* Kansas City continued their stellar offseason with the acquisition of Claudio Bieler. He comes from LDU Quito, where he's put up big numbers over two stints. He won Copa Libertadores with LDU in 2008 and scored a goal at the Club World Cup later on. He was the top scorer in the 2009 Copa Sudamericana. The one negative is that he hasn't done as well in the Argentine Primera. KC has apparently been tracking him for years now and I think they had to cough up a decent transfer fee to land him this time. He's 28 with a solid pedigree in South America. This is the type of signing teams need to be making.

* Portland picked up Mobi Fehr in a weighted lottery. CB/DM who was on the last U-17 team. People thought he was one of the better guys on the team, but the future development of U-17s is unpredictable.

 

[Titans Bastard]

December 20 is young player day in MLS.

* After trying for about a year, LA finally landed FW Gyasi Zardes on a homegrown deal. They tried to sign him after his sophomore year at Cal State Bakersfield, but he turned them down. If eligible for the draft, he'd be one of the top prospects available. Along with Villarreal and McBean, LA is developing a promising core of young attackers.

* FC Dallas signed South Carolina junior and former FCD academy forward Bradlee Baladez.

* Erstwhile CB prospect Gale Agbossoumonde signed with MLS and was placed in a weighted lottery. He wound up in Toronto.

* Ives Galarcep reports that the Generation Adidas class for the 2013 draft is starting to take shape. Underclassmen signed so far, apparently, are CB Andrew Farrell, CB Walker Zimmerman, FW J.J. Johnson, and FW Kekuta Manneh. It looks like we could get 3-5 more, too, which would be nice considering the league was talking about signing only 5 or 6 earlier.

* There are rumors of a serious partnership between MLS and USL Pro (third division) in which MLS teams would farm out a number of players to local clubs or even field a full-time reserve team in the league. The details are not yet clear, but playing a regular D3 schedule would be much better than a 10-game MLS reserve league.

 

[BrazilianSoxFan]

Do you know anything about Pipico? Dallas just signed him; it looks like he was a fringe player at Vasco da Gama.

Practically nothing. I did not follow soccer very closely this year and Pipico was really a fringe player, with only 7 appearances, all of them (form what I can gather) as a substitute.

He was the top goalscorer of the Campeonato Carioca, the Rio de Janeiro State championship, playing for Macaé, a small club that nationally plays in Série C.

It doesn't seem like he left a good impression on the fan base. From an article about his leave:

O atacante defendeu o Vasco em apenas sete ocasiões. Com um cartão vermelho e nenhum gol, Pipico não agradou aos torcedores cruz-maltinos e ficou sem ser relacionado para boa parte da campanha desempenhada pelo clube no Campeonato Brasileiro deste ano.

Roughly translates to:

The forward defended Vasco in only seven occasions. With a red card and no goal, Pipico didn't please the supporters and wasn't dressed for a good chunk of the club season on this year Campeonato Brasileiro.

http://www.supervasc...las-157514.html

P.S.: On that article, there is not a single comment complaining about the fact that he is leaving. Most think that he was a waste of time, that he "chickened out" when he got to a big club.

 

[steeplechase3k]

* There are rumors of a serious partnership between MLS and USL Pro (third division) in which MLS teams would farm out a number of players to local clubs or even field a full-time reserve team in the league. The details are not yet clear, but playing a regular D3 schedule would be much better than a 10-game MLS reserve league.

This could be really huge for developing younger players.

It was something that drove me crazy with the Timbers last year was the lack ok real game time for two players that were on the Timbers PDL team for years and are now both on the big club. Ryan Kawulok, and Brent Richards. They were both great players in college (and University of Portland and University of Washington), but have played something like 0 and 50 MLS minutes. That is no way to develop.

Plus it means more soccer to watch!

 

[Turrable]

Getting dissed by Sepp Blatter is always fun

"There is no very strong professional league (in the U.S.)," Blatter said. "They have just the MLS but they have no professional leagues which are recognized by the American society."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1283006/blatter-chides-mls-as-%27struggling%27-to-take-hold?cc=5901

 

[Titans Bastard]

Getting dissed by Sepp Blatter is always fun



http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1283006/blatter-chides-mls-as-%27struggling%27-to-take-hold?cc=5901

Perhaps if MLS players wore shorter, tighter-fitting uniforms they would be more successful.

 

[SoxFanInPdx]

For those of us in the know, which are few on this site...anything Sepp says is nonsense. Boggles my mind the position he has with the sport and that reporters actually print his bullshit. Dude can't die soon enough.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* The Revolution signed Portuguese defender Jose Goncalves on loan from FC Sion. He looks like a journeyman, but a guy who can play CB and LB will be handy.

* The Revs also signed a second homegrown player, Braintree native and Akron senior MF Scott Caldwell.

* The Rapids have dumped a lot of players this offseason and they made another move before Christmas, sending Omar Cummings to Houston for Nathan Sturgis. Cummings had a great year in 2010 but has otherwise only been okay. Sturgis joins his sixth MLS team at the age of 25.

* Colorado announced the signing of LB/CB Diego Calderon, the latest player to come to MLS from LDU Quito. It looks like Calderon recently broke into Ecuador's national team.

* LA signed Carlo Cudicini on a free from Tottenham and are apparently also signing Re-Entry Draft pick Will Hesmer. Not a good sign for the incumbent GK Josh Saunders, who will surely be dumped soon.

* Dallas sent their homegrown LB Moises Hernandez on loan to Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica. He had been on loan to Comunicaciones in Guatemala -- Comunicaciones' manager jumped to Saprissa and brought Hernandez with him.

* A pair of Re-Entry Draft picks signed with their clubs: Lovel Palmer (RSL) and Tyson Wahl (Columbus)

* There's a lot of talk in the Argentine press that Lanus midfielder Diego Valeri is coming to Portland on a one year loan. If this goes through, it looks like a very impressive signing.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Montreal acquires 30 year old Italian winger Andrea Pisanu from Cagliari on loan. More 30-something Italians for the Impact...

* Dallas signs the awesomely-named London Woodberry to a homegrown contract. Woodberry is well-regarded fullback who spent four years at Maryland.

* MLS announced the first four underclassmen Generation Adidas signings for the draft:

Andrew Farrell (Jr., Louisville, CB)
Jason Johnson (Jr., Virginia Commonwealth, FW)
Mikey Lopez (So., North Carolina, CM)
Walker Zimmerman (So., Furman, CB)

 

[Titans Bastard]

Grant Wahl weighs in with another edition of his MLS Ambition Rankings.

The Revolution move up one spot from 19th to 18th!

18. New England Revolution (+1)

In some ways, the Ambition Rankings are a classification of MLS owners, and the Kraft family continues to show that it cares little about the Revolution (especially in comparison to their New England Patriots). While several MLS teams were announcing exciting new player signings in December, the Revs stopped the presses by announcing a new Twitter hashtag for the team. Talk of building a soccer stadium closer to Boston sounds more like a pipe dream than anything real, and I still get more correspondence from New England fans angry at their ownership than from any other team's supporters. The only reason New England moved up one spot from last year is due to the absolute meltdown at Chivas USA.

Exciting times at Gillette stadium.

 

[steeplechase3k]

Schedule is out

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Toronto announced that Ryan Nelsen will be their next manager. Except...he's still under contract with QPR and they aren't sure when exactly he'll be able to come to Toronto to officially take over. In the meantime, their assistant coach will take over. The assistant's last port of call was head coach of a DIII school -- Bowdoin. Oh, although Nelsen was a very well respected player at D.C. United and Blackburn, he has no coaching experience, badges, or licenses.

Paul Mariner has been fired and the MLS draft is one week away.

Classic TFC.

* Montreal hired a new manager as well, Marco Schallibaum. You haven't heard of him unless you are familiar with club-hopping Swiss coaches. This is his first gig outside of Switzerland. Montreal's Europhile experiment continues.

* Philly inked Conor Casey, who will be a good pickup if he isn't hampered by injury too much

* New York traded Joel Lindpere to Chicago

* Portland signed a homegrown player, MF Steven Evans of the University of Portland.

* D.C. picked up a 20 year old Brazilian forward named Rafael from Bahia on loan.

* Columbus signed their second homegrown player of the offseason, CB Chad Barson from Akron.

Some potential and confirmed departures:

* Andy Najar is going on loan to Anderlecht for a month. It looks like DC is already having problems holding on to him.

* Graham Zusi (KC) and Juan Agudelo (Chivas USA) are on trial at West Ham.

* Carlos Valdes is apparently heading back to Independiente Santa Fe on loan for the year. He's one of the better CBs in MLS and recently broke into Colombia's starting lineup, so something's up -- there's no way that Philadelphia wants to get rid of him.

* Fredy Montero is also going on loan to Colombia. Seattle has a bloated payroll and they need to shake things up. Montero was highly paid and while he produced, he was inconsistent and very disappointing come playoff time.

 

[steeplechase3k]

The Timbers finally announced what has been in the rumor stage for a month or more:
They signed Diego Valeri
http://www.portlandt...er-diego-valeri

Also:
The Timbers Army, Emerald City Supporters and Southsiders today announced the formation of the Cascadia Cup Council, which owns (or has applied for) the US Trademark right to the term "Cascadia Cup", they are also in the process of fighting MLS' attempt to get the Canadian Trademark, and will do everything in their power to gain control of the Canadian trademark.

http://timbersarmy.org/cascadia-supporters-groups-jointly-oppose-major-league-soccers-claim-of-ownership-of-cascadia-cup-trademark

 

[BrazilianSoxFan]

* D.C. picked up a 20 year old Brazilian forward named Rafael from Bahia on loan.

The general consensus seems to be that he is a good young player that needs first-team experience. Bahia is a "small big", always on or around Série A, that will rarely compete for the title (won two times, 59 and 88) but won't fight relegation most years. On the Bahia State Championship, it's one of the two big clubs (Vitória is the other) that will always be fighting for the championship (won 44 times).

 

[Titans Bastard]

The general consensus seems to be that he is a good young player that needs first-team experience. Bahia is a "small big", always on or around Série A, that will rarely compete for the title (won two times, 59 and 88) but won't fight relegation most years. On the Bahia State Championship, it's one of the two big clubs (Vitória is the other) that will always be fighting for the championship (won 44 times).

My understanding is that he is a target forward. If so, his competition on D.C. is pretty weak and if he pans out, he'll be a big addition for them. D.C. has some very good attackers like Dwayne De Rosario, Chris Pontius, and Nick DeLeon, but they really struggled to find a quality #9 in 2012.

The Timbers finally announced what has been in the rumor stage for a month or more:
They signed Diego Valeri
http://www.portlandt...er-diego-valeri

This guy looks like the business.


* Strong rumors that Robbie Findley is coming back to Real Salt Lake

* Seattle signed their first homegrown player, RB DeAndre Yedlin. Another Akron guy, who just finished his sophomore year. He's the fourth HG signing from Akron this winter.

* D.C. also signed a homegrown player, 16 year old forward Michael Seaton. He was born on May 1, 1996 which -- I think -- means that he is the first player born after MLS began play to sign with the league.

* Dallas signed Peruvian goalkeeper Raul Fernandez. It looks he starts for Peru, but he was also the backup at OGC Nice, so who knows.

* Houston's Canadian defender Andre Hainault has signed with Ross County in the SPL. He had been pushed out of the Dynamo's lineup at RB by Kofi Sarkodie.

* Vancouver purchased CB Brad Rusin from HB Køge in Denmark. Martin Rennie managed him when they were both with the Carolina RailHawks, so not much surprise that he landed with the Whitecaps.

 

[Titans Bastard]

Draft day is today. Interesting news from the Revs -- they traded the #4 overall pick and allocation money to Toronto for the #1 overall pick. This will be the first time they've ever picked first, which is somewhat surprising considering how much they sucked in the 1990s and in the past four years or so. Anyway, it is expected that Andrew Farrell, who is a center back who left Louisville after his junior year, will be the top overall pick. The most plausible alternative is Walker Zimmerman, another center back who signed with the league after his sophomore year at Furman.


* Toronto FC has signed Julio Cesar. Not the GK, the defensive mid who played for Kansas City last year. He's a solid #6 who KC determined was a little overpriced. They reportedly tried to bring him back as a coach, but I guess he's not done yet.

* LA signed Juninho permanently after a series of loans from Sao Paulo. That's a nice pickup for them, as Sao Paulo considered bringing him into their team last year.

* Carlos Valdes' loan to Independiente Santa Fe is now official. That's a big loss for Philly, although they do have cover.

* Robbie Findley official signed with RSL, who had to give Portland a little cash for his rights.

* Colorado traded DM Jeff Larentowicz to Chicago for a draft pick, allocation money, and an international slot

* The Rapids also signed a 22 year old Chilean winger named Kevin Harbottle from Universidad Catolica.

* Portland traded Concord, MA native Mike Fucito to San Jose for a low-round pick. Fucito is turning into a real journeyman, but if he washes out of the league he'll always have the Harvard degree to fall back on...

 

[steeplechase3k]

Nothing from the Timbers yet that i see, but they have apparently negotiated and end to Kris Boyd's contract: http://www.soccerbyives.net/2013/01/breaking-timbers-part-ways-with-boyd.html

 

[dirtynine]

The Revs have picked Andrew Farrell, D, Univ. of Louisville - the consensus #1.

 

[dirtynine]

Here's his bio. He may not be the flashy scorer it would take to wake people up in this market, but he could vastly help the team stabilize. A very respectable pick.

 

[steeplechase3k]

Also:
The Timbers Army, Emerald City Supporters and Southsiders today announced the formation of the Cascadia Cup Council, which owns (or has applied for) the US Trademark right to the term "Cascadia Cup", they are also in the process of fighting MLS' attempt to get the Canadian Trademark, and will do everything in their power to gain control of the Canadian trademark.

http://timbersarmy.org/cascadia-supporters-groups-jointly-oppose-major-league-soccers-claim-of-ownership-of-cascadia-cup-trademark

Wow. Garber is clueless:
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/01/17/garber-mls-has-work-do-cascadia-trademark-tussle

The Cup was started in 2004, MLS has zero right to claim it.

 

[Titans Bastard]

* Fredy Montero is officially going on loan to Millonarios now. The end of an era for the Sounders.

* Mexican midfielder Pavel Pardo has retired

* Colorado signed Akron MF Dillon Serna to a homegrown contract. Serna is the fifth Akron player to sign a homegrown deal this winter. By my count, that's 17 Akron players who have signed with MLS since Steve Zakuani was the #1 overall pick in 2009. We'll see what happens to the program now that Caleb Porter is gone, though...

* Philadelphia signed a young Trinidadian left back, Damani Richards. They also signed a big forward named Aaron Wheeler, who was last seen with a poor strike rate in the Finnish second division. Not sure what they are thinking here.

* LA dumped erstwhile starting GK Josh Saunders, as well as David Lopes and Dan Keat, two backups.

* Chicago dumped former Mexico forward Guillermo Franco -- that didn't last long.

* Columbus MF Milovan Mirosevic is returning home to Chile. The Crew have had a pretty bad offseason, lots of departures and not much in the way of replacements yet.

* Portland signed a fullback, Ryan Miller. Miller had been cut from the league a few years back, but did well for Halmstad BK in Sweden and will now get a chance as a backup.


A few high-priced European disappointments were cleared out:

* Portland bought out Kris Boyd's contract

* Barry Robson and Vancouver mutually terminated the midfielder's contract

* D.C. is trying pretty hard to get rid of Albanian striker Hamdi Salihi