Hans Backe wants to go for it all. (Getty Images)
File this under "we've heard this before".
New York Red Bulls manager Hans Backe made a sweeping declaration yesterday to reporters while
in Mexico. He plans to go all-in this season.
"I say we should go for it all: the Open Cup, the Shield, the MLS Cup," Backe told reporters in
a conference call on Thursday from Mexico, where the Red Bulls are training.
A piece I wrote for FCDallas.com is up. I examined the depth the club has at center back and the
challenges they face at the right wing spot. Check it out.
Ching squared off against his old club yesterday. (Photo via Montreal Impact)
As bad as it was back in November, both Brian Ching and the Houston Dynamo are ready to move
past the whole expansion draft fiasco.
Ching now a member of the Montreal Impact played the Dynamo yesterday in a preseason
scrimmage.
The Portland Timbers have released a few billboards across the Rose City. I have to say, most
are on par with last year's bunch. Check the rest out here.
Juninho proved to be a handful for most MLS sides in 2011. (Getty Images)
I said a few weeks (or maybe just a couple weeks) back that the biggest thing that the LA Galaxy
needed to replace this winter was Juninho.
Well, what better way to replace him than with him.
The LA Galaxy announced on Tuesday that the club has reached an agreement with Brazilian club
São Paulo FC that will allow midfielder Juninho to return to the Galaxy on loan for the 2012 MLS
season.
Sometimes items from Soccer America can be a total miss but check out today's MLS Confidential
on the Galaxy. For anyone out there that couldn't get how the LA Galaxy was able to squeeze in
Edson Buddle to their salary cap, check this article out.
By bringing back Edson Buddle into the fold, even if he costs slightly more
than the $178,488 salary he earned in 2010 before leaving for Germany, the Galaxy probably hasn't
crunched its salary cap to any great extent, because of player departures as well as amassing
allocation money.
Go ahead and say it. You think this is pretty. Well you aren't the only one. The orange seats
are going in as we speak and the grass will soon be installed. Happy times indeed in Houston.
(Photo via @hapykappy7)
The Montreal Impact announced on Friday that more than 25,000 tickets were already sold for the
home opener at Olympic Stadium, March 17, against the Chicago Fire.
The Impact are hoping to create a new record for attendance at the Olympic Stadium with
additional sales leading up to the home opener.
Yeah, I've been getting beat up a bit on Twitter and through email today about my team grades
for this winter. Again, I'll revisit those later on to have a final grade.
Obviously this kind of news will impact it. The Portland Timbers announced on Friday that
forward José Adolfo Valencia will undergo surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his left
knee.
Portland and Vancouver have done well in preparing for their sophomore seasons. (Getty
Images)
Yesterday I took a look at the 10 clubs from the Eastern Conference in how they've done so far
this winter. Naturally right after the post was put up one of those clubs went out and signed a
DP.
Today, we'll look at the nine clubs from the Western Conference to see how they've been doing so
far this winter.
A fantastic story by Grant Wahl on Seattle Sounders midfielder Steve Zakuani. Just read it. That
is all.
Toronto and Kansas City have faired pretty well so far this winter. (Getty Images)
Many clubs are a few weeks into their pre-seasons and now that the international transfer window
has shut, it is a good time to look at how each MLS side has done so far this winter. (Note: the
MLS window doesn't close until April, which means players who failed to land new jobs in Europe can
still head to MLS.
Edson Buddle is back. (Getty Images)
Edson Buddle is back in a LA Galaxy uniform. The deal to bring back one of the league's all-time
best goal-scorers happened today.
Buddle rejoins the Galaxy after being released from his contract with FC Ingolstadt 04 on
Tuesday. Los Angeles maintained his MLS rights following his free transfer to Ingolstadt last
January.
Wowzer. There is a lot to this story but man that line at the end really jumps out at you. This
was such a sticky situation at least for Le Toux it was.
Charles Renken is now a Timbers. (John Dorton/ISI)
It has been one of those days. First the Sebastien Le Toux trade now these two stories.
First up is former US youth phenom Charles Renken has been signed by the Portland Timbers. The
Timbers got the youth star off of waivers somehow.
