Soccer By Ives

Red Bulls sign Bouna Coundoul, waive Conway

 

                                                                            Photo by ISIphotos.com

The New York Red Bulls have completed the signing of goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul to a contract through 2012, sources confirmed to SBI on Monday. To make room for Coundoul, the Red Bulls have waived goalkeeper Jon Conway.

The Red Bulls acquired the rights to Coundoul from the Colorado Rapids for an undisclosed allocation fee before reaching a contract agreement with Coundoul on Monday. Coundoul's agent, New York-based agent Ron Waxman, confirmed the agreement.

Coundoul started for the Rapids in 2007 and 2008, compiling a 17-22-12 record with an impressive 1.16 goals-against average (the second-best career average in league history). He left the Rapids after last season when he failed to reach an agreement on a new contract.

Raised in New York, the Senegal native and Senegalese national team goalkeeper enjoyed a solid 2008, including an appearance for Senegal in the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

Coundoul, 27, is expected to eventually take over as the Red Bulls starting goalkeeper, replacing the talented but erratic Danny Cepero.

MLS Ticker: Gerba signs with TFC, Petke suspension extended and more

Toronto FC has completed the signing of Canadian national team striker Ali Gerba, the club announced on Monday. Gerba joins TFC after parting ways with English club MK Dons.

Toronto acquired Gerba's rights in a deal with San Jose earlier this month that also brought veteran defender Nick Garcia to Toronto. Gerba is expected to challenge for a starting forward role in a crowded group that already includes Danny Dichio, Chad Barrett, Pablo Vitti and Fuad Ibrahim.

Gerba, 26, will be eligible to play for Toronto FC once the transfer window opens on July 15.

Petke suspended two more games

New York Red Bulls defender Mike Petke has had his red card suspension for an altercation with a match official following the Red Bulls loss to Toronto FC on June 13. He was also fined an additional $500.

Petke's suspension, coupled with Kevin Goldthwaite's suspension for yellow card accumulation, could mean the Red Bulls are forced to start Carlos Mendes and Andrew Boyens in central defense vs. Toronto FC on Wednesday night. Boyens is back from the Confederations Cup and traveling to Toronto.

Rapids vs. Red Bulls: Match Night Commentary

The New York Red Bulls are at home tonight, hoping to snap their recent funk and hoping to turn around a season that is slowly becoming another nightmare for a snakebit franchise.

In comes the Colorado Rapids, enjoying a solid season and hoping to keep up the success against the Red Bulls they enjoyed last year, when they swept both meetings.

I will be providing commentary throughout the match so feel free to follow along here. If you will be watching, you are more than welcome to share your own thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the action:

MLS Matchday 11

Whether you like cross-country clashes, or tense reunions, this weekend's MLS schedule has something for you.

This weekend in Major League Soccer will be headlined by a battle of East vs. West as five intra-conference match-ups line the schedule. Perhaps more intriguing than those match-ups are the reunions Sigi Schmid will have with former club Columbus and Dwayne DeRosario will have with former club Houston.

Chicago already topped Chivas USA in the battle of conference leaders on Thursday, so it will be up to Houston (playing host to Toronto FC) and Seattle (playing host to Columbus) to regain some respect for the West.

You can find this weekend's full schedule of matches after the jump, along with the Best XI individual match-ups to watch:

Revolution 1, Rapids 1: A Look Back

 

                                                                               Photo by ISIphotos.com

 

By CARL SETTERLUND

The losses have stopped for the New England Revolution, at least for now, but victories are still proving extremely difficult to find for a short-handed Revs team lacking firepower.

A draw against an improved Colorado team should be taken as a modest result, but it doesn't erase the fact that New England just doesn't look very dangerous these days. The Revs fell behind for the second straight week before Steve Ralston buried an 18th-minute penalty. That makes five games the Revs have gone without a win, the lowlight a 6-0 loss at Real Salt Lake.

It might be a little early to strip New England’s “perennial contender” status, but with Matt Reis, Taylor Twellman and Chris Albright just some among the walking wounded they need to get healthy and they need to do it quickly because the offseason departure of Michael Parkhurst has left little room for error. Here are some thoughts on both New England and Colorado:

Casey named MLS Player of the Week

                                                                           Photo by ISIphotos.com

Colorado Rapids striker Conor Casey took home MLS Player of the Week honors for week three after torching the Los Angeles Galaxy for three goals in the Rapids' 3-2 victory over the Galaxy on Sunday.

Casey beat out fellow hat-trick striker Robbie Findley for the honors and made it three weeks in a row for Western Conference recipients of the award after Seattle Sounders teammates Fredy Montero and Kasey Keller took home the first two weekly awards of the season.

For those who missed it, here is Casey's hat-trick:

Morning MLS Ticker: Seattle addresses Montero absence, Rapids top Sounders and more

Fredy Montero is on his way back to Seattle.

At least that's what Seattle Sounders FC general manager Adrian Haunauer was saying late on Thursday when asked about the Colombian striker's absence.

"Fredy Montero traveled to South America to complete some personal administrative details that required the player's attention prior to the start of the MLS season," Hanauer told the Seattle Times on Thursday. "The player's contract is finalized and there are no open issues.

Fredy is en route back to Seattle and we look forward to his participation in training later this week and on opening night."

Rapids top Sounders

The Seattle Sounders lost their final tuneup match ahead of next week's MLS season opener, falling to the Colorado Rapids, 1-0, in a closed-door match.

Conor Casey converted the penalty kick he drew after being taken down in the area by an unidentified Seattle defender.

The Sounders were without Colombian strker Fredy Montero and No. 1 overall pick Steve Zakuani.

MLS News & Notes

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that the Columbus Crew is close to a deal with the New York Red Bulls for defender Eric Brunner, who the Red Bulls still have the MLS rights to. ... The Rapids added a defender on Thursday, signing former Rochester Rhinos left back Scott Palguta. A two-time trialist with the New York Red Bulls, Palguta is a left-footed defender who is more equipped to play in central defense in MLS than left back. ...Chivas USA added a striker on Thursday, signing Mexican forward Eduardo Lillingston, who had been with The Goats all of pre-season. ...D.C. United completed the signing of goalkeeper and 2009 MLS second-round draft pick Milos Kocic. ...The Kansas City Wizards are likely to start the 2009 season without forward Adam Cristman, who has been sidelined by a foot injury. The Wizards are also still awaiting the paperwork of Argentine midfielder Santiago Hirsig to go through before he can officially become part of the Wizards roster. ...

That's all for now. What do you think of these stories? Are you relieved to hear that Montero is expected back with Seattle soon? Will you believe it when he's actually on the field? As a Crew fan are you glad to see Eric Brunner potentially joining Columbus?

Share your thoughts below.

MLS Pre-season- A look around the Western Conference

The 2009 MLS Season is now just two weeks away so it's time to start making the rounds in MLS for a sense of the happenings in MLS pre-season.

Here is a look at what the teams in the Western Conference have been up to in the past week:

Houston Dynamo

The Dynamo received some awful news on Wednesday when veteran defender Eddie Robinson was sidelined indefinitely after having knee surgery. The injury, which could keep him out up six week, likely means that newly-acquired defender Julius James will have to be thrust into the starting lineup alongside Bobby Boswell.

D.C. United brings back Gomez in blockbuster trade

 

                                                 Photo by ISIphotos.com

Christian Gomez is once again a member of D.C. United.

A year after being traded to Colorado in a mega-deal for the Rapids Designated Player slot, Gomez is on his way back to D.C. in a major trade that is easily one of the biggest of the MLS off-season.

D.C. acquired Gomez, goalkeeper Mike Graczyk, an international roster spot and salary cap considerations and traded the Rapids a package that included its own Designated Player slot, Ivan Guerrero and second-round pick in the 2010 MLS Draft.

The deal re-unites Gomez with the club he won an MVP and MLS Cup title with and puts an end to United's disappointing attempt to replace Gomez with Marcelo Gallardo.

Colorado certainly made out in the trade, landing what has to be considered an impressive haul considering the trade market for Gomez looked extremely thin after spending months trying to unload the Argentine playmaker.

What do you think of the deal? Think D.C. paid too much? Think Colorado should have tried to get more? Are you pretty sure D.C. regrets ever trading Gomez in the first place?

Share your thoughts below.

Colorado acquires rights to Matt Pickens

The Colorado Rapids have parted ways with goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul, but have found a replacement in none other than former Chicago Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens.

The Fire traded Colorado the rights to Pickens in the trade that saw them swap second-round picks and acquire Baggio Husidic. The Fire also secured an allocation in the trade.

Pickens, who spent part of the 2007/2008 season with Queens Park Rangers, has signed with MLS and is expected to step in and be the Rapids new starter.

According to Coundoul's agent, Ron Waxman, Coundoul turned down a contract offer from Colorado, and is now pursuing options in Europe.

Waxman, who also represents Pickens, confirmed that Pickens has already signed his new deal with MLS, a little more than a year after leaving MLS for Queens Park Rangers.

What do you think of Colorado acquiring Matt Pickens? Think the Rapids should have kept Coundoul?

Share your thoughts below.

Greetings from St. Louis (MLS News & Notes)

 

Good evening folks. I am coming to you from St. Louis, which is experiencing downright Arctic conditions right now (at least it feels that way after four days in sunny Florida).

Tonight is the night when most of the big trades surrounding the MLS Draft will take place and there are few scenes more entertaining than the one at the league's hotel bar on the night before the draft. That is where team officials from throughout the league will gather to negotiate and, in some cases, finalize deals.

It sounds as though Sigi Schmid and Seattle are stealing Mo Johnston's thunder a bit heading into the draft. As you have known for a while, Toronto FC has been looking to shop the No. 2 and No. 4 picks in the draft, but now that Seattle appears to have decided to try and shop the No. 1 pick, the whole game has changed.

Why? Well, Seattle is different from Toronto because as an expansion team the Sounders can benefit from acquiring more picks in what almost every head coach and GM I spoke to last week is calling a storng draft. Toronto doesn't need picks and therefore had been limited to trying to acquire players and allocation money for its picks. Suddenly teams have become more interested in talking trade with the Sounders because now all those picks some teams have can go toward moving up.

Here are some other news tidbits from the evening:

MLS Hot Stove: Seattle ready to deal, Revs eyeing Gomez and Red Bulls finalize more deals

Good morning folks. It is the day before the 2009 MLS Draft, which generally goes down as the busiest day of the year for transactions. With draft pick trades, and deals for veterans flying, the chances are very good that your team will look very different two days from now.

This is what we have been hearing in the past day or so:

Seattle is openly courting offers for the No. 1 overall pick. So who might be in play for the pick? Sources tell SBI that Toronto has already made an offer while D.C. United and FC Dallas are also interested.

D.C. could be the most intriguing of the potential trade partners for Seattle. Currently holding the 6th and 7th picks in the first round, as well as 21 and 26 in the second round. D.C. covets Omar Gonzalez and could be tempted to package the No. 6, No. 7 and No. 21 for No. 1 and No. 16.

FC Dallas can offer Seattle the no. 5 and any one of its several young prospects, including Dax McCarty.

Another team looking to move up is Chivas USA, which desperately wants California goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Chivas USA could be tempted to dangle fullback Jonathan Bornstein in order to secure a high enough pick to draft the best goalkeeper available. If and when Chivas USa does deal Bornstein, they could wind up dealing for LA's Ante Jazic or Toronto FC's Todd Dunivant as a replacement.

Now, onto some non-draft news:

USMNT Training Camp: New defenders added, Holden interviewed

The U.S. men's national team added a pair of defenders on Tuesday to cover for the absences of Clarence Goodson and Cory Gibbs, and it was a pair of defenders you might not have expected to see.

San Jose fullback Jason Hernandez and Colorado central defender Ugo Ihemelu were called in by U.S. coach Bob Bradley to take part in the U.S. national team camp at Home Depot Center.

Were these convenience call-ups, with both players having resided in the area? Or were they next on Bradley's radar? Bradley and Hernandez have ties, with Hernandez having played for Bradley in New York and with Chivas USA. Ihemelu is a former LA Galaxy defender who has earned call-ups in the past.

Perhaps the more surprising development regarding the latest call-ups was the fact that KC defender Jimmy Conrad wasn't one of them.

MLS Cup: Shaking the MLS grapevine

Good morning folks. It is the day after the 2008 MLS Cup and, as always, the MLS Cup weekend provided a great environment for stories to emerge, rumors to surface and the future plans of MLS teams to take shape.

Here are some of the highlights of what I heard from Major League Soccer's movers and shakers during the past five days in Los Angeles:

Chad Marshall is looking like a good bet to move abroad. The 2008 MLS defender of the year and Columbus Crew playoff hero is out of contact and European clubs have already expressed interest. The Crew would be hard-pressed to pay Marshall a salary that would make him pass on the golden opportunity to enter the European market as a free agent. For those of you who haven't seen it, here is my story on Marshall for ESPN.com.

After Sunday's MLS Cup final victory, Columbus owner Clark Hunt said he believes the Crew will be able to re-sign Sigi Schmid as head coach this off-season. While that is certainly a possibility, Columbus will have to show Schmid the money in order to keep him from taking the Seattle Sounders FC job, which Schmid is a candidate for.

Even if Schmid stays in Columbus, Seattle has a very good candidate in New England assistant Paul Mariner, who sources tell me had a good interview with the expansion group.

Right man for the job, or another Rapids mistake?

                                                                            Photo by ISIphotos.com

According to multiple MLS sources, the Colorado Rapids are set to name Gary Smith as the team's new head coach in a press conference later today. The hiring doesn't come as much of a surprise, but it raises the question of whether the Rapids are making their second poor coaching hire in a row.

Smith took over for Fernando Clavijo, who left the team for personal reasons, and compiled a 4-4-2 record as interim head coach (he also won a game as coach in Clavijo's absence the week before Clavijo stepped down). Players commended Smith's approach to the game and credited him for the team's improved late-season form.

What remains to be seen whether that improvement had more to do with Clavijo's departure than Smith taking over the team.

Real Salt Lake at Colorado Rapids: Match Night Commentary

Real Salt Lake is set to take on arch-rival Colorado tonight in a match that will see the winner clinch a playoff berth and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, as well as the first-round playoff meeting with Chivas USA that comes with it.

Real Salt Lake has never made the playoffs while the Rapids missed the post-season last year. RSL needs just a tie to reach the playoffs while the home team Rapids must win to move on to the playoffs.

I am doing a running commentary throughout the match. If you plan on watching tonight's match, please feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions on the match in the comments section below.

Enjoy the match.