FC Dallas

Barcelona have made back up keeper Jose Manuel Pinto’s loan move permanent. The Catalans have paid Celta Vigo half a million Euros or three hundred and ninety five thousand pounds for their new third choice shot stopper. (Marca)

Palermo have signed Fiorentina’s former Lazio midfielder Fabio Liverani on a three year deal, the Sicilian club have confirmed. (Sky Sports News)

Fenerbahce are in talks with Newcastle’s Turkish International Emre about returning to Istanbul for four million. Emre started his career with Fenerbahce’s arch rivals Galatastaray.

Rennes, Lens and Portsmouth are all interested in signing Liverpool back up keeper Charles Itandje. (The Sun)

Jose Mourinho is almost certain to take over at Inter Milan after Roberto Mancini’s sacking by the Italian club. Ironically the former Leicester and Italy International is now favourite to take over at the “Special Ones’” old club Chelsea. (The Guardian)

Fiorentina Viola have signed AC Milan’s Italy international striker Alberto Gilardino. (The Guardian)

Lyon will sign Nice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to replace the departing Gregory Coupet, who is expected to leave the Stade Gerrland this summer. (L’Equipe)

Ernesto Valverde, who resigned from Espanyol a few days ago, has been appointed Olympiakos manager on a three year contract worth four million Euros. (The Guardian)

Sam Morrowhas become the first managerial casualty of the MLS season after the FC Dallas manager was sacked last night after the club’s after the Texan clubs disappointing start to the season. (ESPN)

Former Argentina Manager Jose Pekermanhas resigned from his position as manager of Mexican outfit Toluca for family reasons. (ESPN)

Chelsea could appoint AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti as their new head coach, and then exploit his relationship with star playerKaka with a fifty million pound bid for the Brazilian superstar. (Daily Star)

Barcelona claim that Arsenal’s Belarus Captain Alexander Hleb has agreed to join them for next season, Yaya Touregoing the other way as part of the deal. The Catalans are also reportively interested in Tottenham’s Dimitar Berbartov and Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor. Although no deal for either of the front men can be made until Samuel Eto’o leaves. (Daily Star)

Reading’s Ivory Coast midfielder Emerse Fae is close to a return to France with Nice close to acquiring the player on loan with a view to a permanent two point four million pound move. The player was previously fined two weeks wages for refusing to play for the club’s reserves back in April (The Times)

Crystal Palace are facing a real war to keep hold of some of their star players. Teenage superstar John Bostock is on the verge of signing for Tottenham and fellow midfielder Ben Watson is being chased by Derby, Nottingham Forrest, Bolton, and Middlesbrough. QPR have already had a one and a quarter million pound bid turned from the eagles. (The Times)

Rangers are interested in Le Mans left back Jean Calve, and Monaco left back Jeremy Berthod. (Various)

Portsmouth are interested in Trinidad and Tobago international eighteen year old midfielder Khaleem Hyland, who will play against England on Sunday. (The Times)

Sunderland are planning a swoop for Aston Villa’s Scotland midfielder Shaun Maloney with a four million pound bid (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham will bid for twelve million pound rated Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozofrom Benfica. (Daily Mirror)

Derby, Reading and Coventry are all in the race to sign Swansea’s Dutch midfielder Ferrie Bodde this summer. (Derby Evening Standard)

Plymouth Argyle and Aberdeen will fight it out for Leicester’s former Republic of Ireland full back Alan Maybury. (Daily Record)

Cardiff City want to sign Manchester City’s young Welsh midfielder Ched Evans on loan this season. (South Wales Echo)

West Brom are considering making a move for Dundee’s highly rated midfielder Kevin McDonald. (Daily Record)

Swedish champions Djurgardens and Dundee United are bidding to take Ranger’s winger Alan Gowon loan for next season. The Tannadice club are also interested in taking Charlie Adamfrom Ibrox in a similar deal. (Various)

Celtic will rival Sunderland for the signing of Manchester city’s Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Ireland with a five million pound bid. (Daily Mirror)

Tonight, the struggling Dynamo host the schizophrenic former Burn in a Texas battle for steer-sized bragging rights.

If Houston wins, they will get back to .500 on the season and vault past Dallas in the standings despite their ugly start. If Dallas wins, they will shake the Houston monkey off their back and seize control of first place in the West.

It’s as big a game as you can get this early in the year.

At the helm for Dallas is interim coach Marco Ferruzzi, who notched a win in his first game as head manager last week. Ferruzzi has been with Dallas for years and has been embraced by his players in Steve Morrow’s absence.

I am a big fan of Ferruzzi. Why?

Well, it’s not because he was a former MLS first round pick out of UNC. And it’s not because he had the cojones to bench his best player, Juan Toja, for the first game of his coaching regime.

No, it’s because Ferruzzi played for the Tampa Bay Mutiny. In fact, Ferruzzi was on the same Mutiny squad as SJE manager Frank Yallop.

Ferruzzi will likely insert Dominic Oduro into the starting lineup for tonight’s game. After all, it was Oduro who saved Ferruzzi’s hide last week. After being inserted two-thirds of the way through, Oduro took over and scored two goals to deliver Dallas the victory.

Though he played only one unremarkable season for TB (he had a measly two assists), I will root for the Burn and Ferruzzi tonight. The only other alternative is rooting for the two time defending champ Dynamo and their coach Dominic Kinnear.

Where’d Kinnear play again?

Oh, yeah…

The Mutiny.

What were they putting in the water down in T-Town?

And when is someone going to hire Valderrama?

Here are the reports from this weekend's Major League Soccer games. The highlights were the LA Galaxy’s hammering of FC Dallas, the Houston Dynamo’s second consecutive win this season and Chivas coming from behind to win a game for the first time in their history

Los Angeles 5 - FC Dallas 1
The Galaxy scored four goals - including two by Edson Buddle—within a 15-minute span midway through the first half en route to a 5-1 victory over FC Dallas. Buddle went on to complete a hat trick five minutes from the end on a header at the left goalpost off a cross from David Beckham. The win moved the Galaxy (3-3-2) into sole possession of second place in the MLS Western Division standings, while FC Dallas (2-3-3) dropped to fourth in the division with the loss.

Dynamo 2 - Fire 1
The Dynamo (2-2-4), has won twice in a row after struggling for more than a month for win No. 1. The two-time defending MLS Cup champions also won for the third time in three games at Toyota Park, and handed the Fire (5-2-1) their second loss at home this season.

Crew 0 - Toronto FC 0
Columbus (6-1-1) had a five-game winning streak ended. Laurent Robert nearly scored for Toronto in the 60th minute, drifting in from the right, beating two defenders and sending a left-footed shot past goalkeeper William Hesner and off the post. Columbus hasn’t lost in six games while Toronto (3-2-2) is unbeaten in five.

Revolution 2 - Earthquakes 0
Kheli Dube scored for New England (5-3-1) in the sixth minute, before Riley’s own goal in the 23rd. San Jose (1-5-1) only had one shot on target and four overall. Taylor Twellman didn’t play again for New England because of an injured ankle.

Chivas USA 3, DC United 1
Chivas came from behind to win a match for the first time in club history. After Marcelo Gallardo put DC ahead in the 30th minute, Chivas’ Jesse Marsch tied the match in the 73rd minute. Jorge Flores scored a late goal to help give Chivas (2-4-2) a two-goal cushion. DC United fell to 2-6 and remained winless in four road games.

Wizards 1, Red Bulls 1
Danleigh Borman’s late goal lifted the 10-man New York Red Bulls to a 1-1 tie with the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night. Borman’s second goal of the season came in the 81st minute, when he took a pass from Juan Pablo Angel and beat Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. Jimmy Conrad gave Kansas City (3-3-2) the early lead when he scored on a header in 20th minute off a corner by Carlos Marinelli. The Red Bulls (3-1-3) extended their unbeaten streak to five games.

New England Revolution beat FC Dallas 1-0, which was Dallas’ first loss of the season.

The only goal in the prime time Thursday night MLS game was in the 72nd minute as Khano Smith fired a ball from the left side of the box giving the Revs a 1-0 lead, which would be the final score. Smith received a pass from Kheli Dube and darted into the box eluding a Dallas defender and fired a shot past Dallas goalie Dario Sala.

Dallas was the last team in the MLS that had not lost a game this year. New England’s record now stands at 3-2-1 and Dallas is now 2-1-2. To make matters worse for Dallas is that they lost the game at home.

When asked after the game about his goal Smith said, “I beat (McCarty) and it actually touched his hand, but the referee let the play go on, so I was able to get in front of him and get to the ball. I was trying to go outside and he kept shoving me inside, so that’s when I got into the box and decided to have a shot with my right (foot).”

In the 85th minute is looked as if Dallas FC would be awarded a penalty kick after Dallas striker Arturo Alvarez went down in the penalty box after contact with Revs fullback Amaechi Igwe. But instead of awarding FC Dallas a penalty referee Alex Prus gave Alvarez a yellow card for taking a dive in the box. The yellow card was a surprise for Alvarez, who said about the incident, “(Prus) didn’t say anything to me. He just gave me a yellow after I got hit,” My quad is really hurting right now. It happens a lot of times, but it’s just very disappointing that I got the card. There was, for sure, contact.”

Andre Rocha had two chances to tie the game but missed from only 10 years out in the 87th minute and was just wide only seconds later.

New England head coach Steve Nicol said after the game, “We knew we had to keep it tight because they do throw men forward. So it was important that we didn’t leave any holes. The objective was to come here and be solid. We wanted to find our feet in the game and get forward. I think we did that.”
The first half saw very few scoring opportunities for both teams, as FC Dallas only had 1 shot on goal, while New England had 3. In the second half both teams had a few chances to score but Smith’s goal was the only ball that found the twine.

FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow said about the game, “We needed to get the ball in quicker at times, especially in the first half. We got a lot of good spots in the last third of the field and should have had a goal on a cross into the box. We talked about it at halftime, and I think we did better in the second half. We’ve had a good start (but) we’re disappointed to give up our unbeaten run here at home.”

".....went down like he was shot. His face contorted with pain as he grabbed at his shins.  Never mind, that he was hit in the head."

You could fill in any name you wish to begin the above mock quote.  For critics who want to shame the game of soccer you can always count on them to bring up the image of a player going down with little contact; writhing on the ground in mock pain.  

For fans of the game it is one of the most shameful experiences.  We have no defense.  It is a tragedy in the sport that this behavior exists and continues.  It is embarrassing.  

MLS has a good share of these players.  Carlos Ruiz usually comes up as example number one.  Young Ciaran O'Brien's tackle on him in the Rapid's opening game looked bad, but it actually surprised many people when it turned out Ruiz was not faking the injury. "The fish that howled wolf" seems like an apt title for the story of his career.  Carlos is not the only offender, but the totality of his gamesmanship puts him on another level than most. 

This is why the play of Omar Cummings has been so refreshing to watch.  Omar plays an honest game. 

On opening day, Omar was brought down in the box by Abel Xavier.  He immediately jumped up and took possession of the ball looking to pass to a teammate.  Abel was called for a penalty kick and Christian Gomez knocked it in for the Rapids second goal. 

L.A. felt robbed by the referee.  A few commentators even pointed to mentioned Omar's continued play as an indication that even he did not think it was a penalty.  The expectation being that a fouled forward would do his best death roll after going down.  That's just not how Omar plays.

Against Kansas City, Omar was again brought down as part of a pile up in the box.  He once again jumped up and regained possession.  There was no foul called on this play.  Instead DiRaimondo came crashing through, took the ball off of Omar's foot, and punched it home.  Had Omar stopped playing the play would have ended.

In last weeks win at New England Omar collected the ball near the left corner flag.  Once again he was fouled. Once again he jumped up and had possession. This time the referee called the foul.  Jose Burciaga then took the free kick a few yards from the end line.  His swerving ball found the head of Nick LaBrocca, who put it in the back of the net.

In each instance the knee-jerk reaction of many MLS forwards in each of these situations would have been to lie on the ground.  Maybe the forward would glower at the ref, and get up slowly as the play moved on.  Each time Omar kept the ball alive, not putting the game in the hands of the referee.  

I applaud Omar's honest play in these situations.  MLS and the world game of soccer needs more of his kind.  Sometimes a player is rewarded for the play acting, but more often they are not.  So far Omar's shown us that just keeping the ball alive will get results.  Let the ref make the calls, and the players play the game.

Looking ahead to San Jose the Rapids are starting to feel confident.  They beat a good New England team in a game where they relied on a single goal followed by forty minutes of clock kill.  It was ugly, but effective.  They now face a weak team that they should beat.

I have advocated for the maintaining the same lineup for the first three games.  I continue to think this is Clavijo's best bet for Saturday when the Earthquakes come to town. 

The play in midfield has been too good, too well coordinated for the team to give up on DiRaimondo and LaBrocca.  The defense has shown once again that it is solid, and that only Jimmy Conrad really knows how to beat it.  The veterans will get their chance after these three games the veterans will have to earn their spots back.

After praising Omar I regret that the forward situation has me a little concerned.  Christian Gomez appears to miss having Jaime Moreno as a second player maker.  Omar has shown that his game is about speed, and he has done a credible job holding the ball as multiple defenders cover him.  Too often he has been alone in front of the goal. 

The solution to this may be for Gomez to play a little higher.  Or, Omar needs to discover a quicker more accurate shot within himself.  The Rapids will soon begin to see a carousel of forwards until one of them starts scoring.  The solid defenses of Kansas City and New England made it tough.  A home game against San Jose should be the opportunity for one of the forwards to step out from the pack.

Who will the forward be?  I am pulling for Omar.

Photo of Omar Cummings courtesy of Mark Bodmer. 

  

Only one week has passed for new LA Galaxy manager Ruud Gullit and he already finds himself with a mountain to climb. Following a shocking 4-0 away defeat in Colorado, Gullit suffered a slough of setbacks through the injury of key striker Carlos Ruiz and the sending off of Portuguese center back Abel Xavier.

The absence of Ruiz will definitely hurt the Galaxy's chances of making the post-season as the team currently lacks the depth necessary to make a strong bid for the MLS Championship. With three players in David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Carlos Ruiz holding 'Designated Player' type salaries, Gullit has been forced to field a rather inexperienced team under a 2.3 million MLS cap salary.

The decisions to let Kevin Harmse, Chris Albright and Joe Cannon could potentially come back to haunt the Galaxy as draft picks Ely Allen and Sean Franklin will most likely be called into action despite possibly not being ready for the pressure that a full Major League Soccer season will bring. Losing the reasonably price players have brought question marks as the overpaid Edson Buddle still finds himself donning the blue and yellow.

It certainly doesnt help matters when a player of Carlos Ruiz's calibre are out for 4-6 weeks or when David Beckham travels across the pond to play a friendly match or two with his international team. Landon Donovan, himself, will be involved with a number of American internationals as there will be friendlies and CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying rounds to attend to. 

While the three lucrative salaries are causing the Galaxy depth problems amongst the squad, management has tried to do something about it during the offseason. Former Chelsea and Newcastle fullback Celestine Babayaro was signed on a free transfer but left shortly after playing only half a game for Gullit's men. 

Last Saturday's match could be an indication to a long and tough season for David Beckham and Co. With all the lofty expectations that comes about from being a former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, Beckham's teammates will need to show better composure if they are to remain potential title contenders in a somewhat weakened Western Conference. Landon Donovan had no right to be putting a hand to the Ciaran O'Brien's throat after a hard challenge resulted in Ruiz's injury. The phantom penalty call against Abel Xavier didn't do the club any better and the club eventually secummed to an embarassing 4-0 defeat.

However, the LA Galaxy are not to go down without a fight. Bringing in a man with extensive experience with prestigious clubs such as Newcastle and Chelsea, Gullit will be expected to help his club overcome adversity. Now moving abroad to a different country, he'll need to show his quality as manager--this time for the LA Galaxy, a club already riddled by injuries and a lack of depth.

Colorado Rapids

Key Acquisition(s)

Rafael Gomes, Christian Gomez, Jose Luis Burciaga Jr. 

Key Loss(es)

Nicolas Hernandez, Zach Thornton, Jose Cancela, Brandon Prideaux 

 Last season was a rough one offensively for the Rapids, they had a pretty good year at the back all things considered, it comes down to this if Gomes, and Gomez and Gomez,  can score goals, if they can the playoffs will follow, if not then another long season awaits.

Prediction

playoffs, 8th overall

FC Dallas

Key Acquisition(s)

Danny Davino, Andre Rocha, Josh Lambo 

Key Loss(es)

Carlos Ruiz, Chris Gbandi, Clarence Goodson, Denilson

Dallas, last year was a sturdy back-line away from the a semi finals birth. Now however they are going to be a more balanced side, but one that will be worse for wear. Kenny Cooper will be looked to, as they begin life without Carlos Ruiz. Watch out for Ray Burse to overtake Dario Sala later this season. 

Prediction

no playoffs, 9th overall  

San Jose Earthquake

Key Acquisition(s)

Joe Cannon, Ryan Cochrane, Ned Grabavoy, Gavin Glinton, Kei Kamara, Shea Salianas, Nick Garcia 

Key Loss(es)

N/A  

Frank Yallop returns to San Jose to man the Earthquake, the expansion franchise i think will play very well, but there lack of any sort of depth, with just a 14 man roster as it currently sits will keep them from being overly competitive.

Prediction

no playoffs 12th overall 

Kansas City Wizards

Key Acquisition(s) 

Claudio Lopez, Ivan Trujillo, Chance Myers, Roger Espinoza 

Key Loss(es)

Eddie Johnson, Nick Garcia, Jose Luis Burciaga Jr

With the loss of Eddie Johnson, If the Wizards are going to go back to the playoffs its going to be on the back of Claudio Lopez the former Racing, and America(MEX) player will have to be the taker of many of Eddie's goals, Seally and Conrad will have to contribute more, this will most likely be an adjustment year for KC.

Prediction

no playoffs, 13th place