By JOSE M. ROMERO
The final score, a 1-0 road victory for the Seattle Sounders Friday night, hardly mattered in
the grand scheme of things.
Steve Zakuani, one of the up-and-coming talents in MLS known for his ability to make things
happen on offense with blazing speed on the wing, suffered what looked to be a broken leg or ankle
in the third minute of Seattle's match against the Colorado Rapids.
In the 3rd minute of tonight's MLS match between the Colorado Rapids and Seattle Sounders, Brian
Mullan offered Steve Zakuani an ugly challenge that sent one to the locker room and the other to
the hospital. The pop is loud and clear and Zakuani's leg immediately goes to mush. Reports are
that he fractured both his tibia and fibula and will require immediate surgery.
My standard game review is coming tomorrow, but i wanted to get my comments on what happened to
Steve Zakuani down before MLS makes its ruling. This is a long post, so settle in. Anyone who
watched the game or any other MLS game this weekend has heard (or seen) what happened. In the 3rd
minute Brian Mullan went in two-footed on Steve Zakuani and got his leg, breaking the tibia and
fibula (both lower leg bones).
Colorado midfielder Brian Mullan's reckless tackle of Seattle winger Steve Zakuani was the talk
of the weekend in MLS, with Zakuani sidelined with a broken leg and Mullan facing a stiff
suspension.
There has been plenty of talk about what sort of punishment Mullan should receive. Some believe
it should only merit the usual suspension for a red card, while plenty feel a harsh punishment
(some believing a season-long suspension) is justified.
When Brian Mullan first made his statements about having done such a tackle many times before it
was a "non-apology apology" that seemed disingenuous. Seattle Sounders fans were quick to criticize
not just Mullan, but Sigi Schmid for his statements supporting his former player. Today though we
learn that Mullan is distraught over the tackle of Steve Zakuani and its resulting
double fracture.
Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan has been suspended 10 games and fined $5,000 for his
tackle that broke Steve Zakuani's leg in two places last Friday night.
The Major League Soccer Disciplinary Committee added nine games and $4,750 onto the automatic
punishment for receiving a red card by determining that "Mullan's challenge was reckless,
egregious, and showed utter disregard for the safety of his opponent," according to a statement
released by the league.
Should coaches be held responsible for horrific fouls? Paul Gardner feels so, and after Colorado's
Brian Mullan's 10-game suspension for his vicious tackle on Seattle's Steve Zakuani, is the main
topic of his column in Soccer America.
So now we know. Brian Mullan, for his horrific foul on Steve Zakuani, gets a 10-game
suspension.
This is the fifth, and likely final, season of David Beckham with the LA Galaxy, and as the MLS
leaders arrive in Colorado to take on the Rapids, this Saturday night may be the final chance for
the midfielder to flash his famous right-footed free kicks at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
If he produces something positive for the Galaxy in the thin air at Commerce City, it will be a
sea change for the superstar who has been either absent or a nonentity in Colorado since joining
the league in 2007.
Photo by Brad Smith/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
We've seen the last of Santino Quaranta as a professional soccer player.
Quaranta has called it a career after 11 seasons in MLS, according to the Washington Post.
Feeling that there's nothing left to accomplish, Quaranta ends his time as a player with 27 goals
and 29 assists in 180 MLS matches and 15 caps and one goal for the U.
Found At soccerchris.com
TEAM: Colorado Rapids
COACH: Gary Smith (ENG)
2010 LEAGUE RESULTS: 46 pts (12-8-10), 5th Western Conference, MLS Cup
Champions
2010 REVIEW: In 2010, the Colorado Rapids became the 9th team to capture the
MLS Cup.
For the entire 2010 MLS season, Philadelphia Union coach Peter Nowak used a formation that is
widely referred to as a 4-2-2-2. The normal back four was utilized along with two forwards; in the
midfield, two players would sit back and focus more on breaking up the opponent's possession while
the other two midfielders would support the two forwards.
Steve Zakuani is going to miss next week's game after suffering an absolutely horrific break of
his fibula and tibia following a stupid and reckless tackle by Brian Mullan. Zakuani is going to
miss the match after that. In all likelihood, he's going to miss a bunch more after that too. Right
now, it seems callous to even talk about the result, a not-entirely-insignificant 1-0 win over the
Colorado Rapids.
It's a pretty sad day all around. The weather here in the Sound is rainy and gloomy which
matches my mood on this Monday morning. I'm sure I'm not the only soccer fan of the same mindset as
it was a brutal weekend for fans of the beautiful game. The league has lost two of its most
dynamic, creative players to severe injuries.
Photo by ISIPhotos.com
BY ADAM SERRANO
The early season has not been kind to the San Jose Earthquakes.
The Earthquakes fell to Chivas USA on last Saturday, giving up an early lead and allowing the
Rojiblancos to earn their first victory of the season.
The rain continues for the Seattle Sounders and Major League soccer as injuries continue to
mount. Both Brad Evans and Mauro Rosales were scratched before the Columbus Crew game due to
injuries. An undermanned and a very tired Sounders team managed to squeak by Columbus 1-1 to secure
a valuable point from their two game Eastern Road trip.
The Columbus Crew's first-team offensive outburst was apparently contagious.
A day after the Crew broke out for three goals in a 3-3 draw with Chivas USA, the Crew's
reserves posted six unanswered goals in a 6-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Monday.
Rookie Bernardo Anor and Academy player Chris Davis each scored twice, and rookies Justin Meram
and Cole Grossman each found the back of the net for Columbus (3-1-0).
By CALEB SONNELAND
TUKWILA, WA -- A month and a half after being on the receiving end of a leg-breaking tackle at
the hands of Colorado's Brian Mullan, Seattle Sounders midfielder Steve Zakuani finally opened up
about the experience of his horrific injury for the first time since the April 22nd game against
the Rapids.
As you all saw I missed last week's Power Rankings while I was out on vacation. In a way this is
a combination of week 13 and 14.
A decent amount of movement in the middle and the bottom in this week's rankings. The Eastern
Conference continues to make matters complicated here in the rankings as it is full of clubs just
bunched together here.
(Editor's note: This is part three of a series looking at how the Rapids will fill out an
expanded roster for 2011.)
The Rapids won an MLS cup with a team that relied on a midfield built to challenge balls,
disrupt attacks and allow little room for opponents.
Colorado midfielders spent a lot of energy.
(Editor's note: This is part three of a series looking at how the Rapids will fill out an
expanded roster for 2011.)
The Rapids won an MLS cup with a team that relied on a midfield built to challenge balls,
disrupt attacks and allow little room for opponents.
Colorado midfielders spent a lot of energy.
By MIKE NASTRI
The Houston Dynamo came away as the big winner on draft day taking Kofi Sarkodie and trading up
to select Will Bruin.
Sarkodie, the dynamic right back from Akron, fell a few spots lower than expected on draft day.
Houston took the best player available with the seventh overall pick in Sarkodie despite just
recently signing a right back in Hunter Freeman,.
The undermanned Rapids played Fake Salt Lake even for 92 minutes. Then the refs got involved and
the Rapids were out-manned 15 to 11 which resulted in a 1-0 loss.
The weather was as bad as we've seen it in years, cold, wet, window, and snow at the end. This may
have been an equalizer for the teams as the Rapids were missing 3 starters (Casey, Mastroeni,
Wallace) and lost two more players to injury during the game (Amarikwa, Smith).
Ex-Dynamo Brian Mullan reckless challenge on Sounder's Zakuani
First: Do not watch the video unless you can stomach nasty broken legs, please. Second, I've
never been one to question Brian Mullan's actions on the field. He plays with a lot of heart, but
damn that was nowhere near called for. Sounders fans are already calling for a long Mullan
suspension, and the prognosis on Zak's leg isn't good -- possibly season-ending
Seattle Sounders star Steve Zakuani looks set to miss the rest of the 2011 season after
suffering a horrific broken leg early in Friday's Colorado-Seattle match.
Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan broke Zakuani's leg when he raced in on a reckless challenge just
seconds after being involved in a sequence where he felt he was fouled.
Houston Dynamo (2-1-2) at Chicago Fire (1-3-1) Toyota Park - Chicago, IL - 7:30pm CT
BROADCAST INFORMATION
KHOU 11.2 (ENG TV) SportsTalk 790 (ENG Radio) La Ranchera 850 (SPN Radio)
Dynamo Notes:
- The Dynamo enter Saturday's game on a five-game road unbeaten streak, dating back to a 3-1 win
at D.
Brian Mullan will miss multiple matches for his reckless challenge on Seattle's Steve Zakuani, but
the exact length of his suspension will likely depend on past precedent.
Disciplinary committee faces challenge as it contemplates Mullan suspension.
This week's SBNation.com/soccer MLS Power Rankings are out, and a majority of writers have left
the Seattle Sounders in Tier Two, as they were last week. Considering the record and the perceived
strengths of the team this is not a large surprise. The Colorado Rapids dropping from Tier One has
nothing to do with Brian Mullan, and everything to do with the team not winning.
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 29, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Maybe it's kizmet that only a
month into a season in which League officials set out to clean up some of the more physical nature
of the MLS game, two of it's brightest creative stars were lost to injury. Steve Zakuani broke two
bones in his leg as a result of a Brian Mullan tackle in Colorado, and FC Dallas' David Ferreira.
Morning all, bank holiday festitivies over (until next month), 3 day weeks a thing of the past,
back to the grind this morning. Feels good, eh?
Two players who represent the most promising side of our future on the agenda this morning,
starting with Aaron Ramsey who spoke about his goal against United:
Scoring the goal was a special moment for me.
Fine line between physical and dirty
Jeremiah talked to Alexi Lalas, Jay Demerit, Davy Arnaud and Patrick Ianni about that line and
how one moment redefined Brian Mullan's career.
The New England Revolution will look to exorcise the demons of their humiliating 3-0 loss to
Chivas USA Saturday night when they host the Colorado Rapids in Foxboro. The defending MLS Cup
champs are coming off a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo, but are still attempting to deal with
the loss of experienced winger Brian Mullan for another nine matches to suspension.
Violent tackles and serious fouls have taken center stage during the early weeks of the 2011 Major
League Soccer season, and Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America writes of the task facing the MLS
Disciplinary Committee.
The case of
Marcos Mondaini sidelining
Javier Morales with a
vicious tackle has prompted comparisons to the
Brian Mullan-Steve Zakuani
incident, and though the circumstances are different there are important issues to be weighed.
Photo by Nathan Forget
Looking back on Earl's preseason preview of the Colorado Rapids, you will see the following
players listed as anticipated starters:
Pickens (10)
Kimura (10) - Wynne (8) - Moore (10) - Wallace (5)
Mullan (5) - Larentowicz (10) - Mastroeni (8) - Smith (9)
Casey (2) - Cummings (6)
With pretty much the entire team coming back from last year's MLS Cup winning side and the key
additions being for depth, this team was expected to compete again for a championship.
By CALEB SONNELAND
TUKWILA, Wash. -- The Seattle Sounders prepare for another Cascadia derby at Qwest Field this
Saturday — only this one isn't going to carry the same venom as the previous one.
The Vancouver Whitecaps, with new manager Tom Soehn, will make their way down Washington's coast
to put the Sounders' 3-2-2 home record to the test this Saturday (10:30 p.
Back when June started, we noted the Gold Cup that drew down some rosters and helped the Seattle
Sounders to a 4th place standing by points per match, 2nd by raw points. While July also has some
Copa America action, the roster lightening isn't as significant. What is meaningful is that July
will have the opportunity for runs in several trophies to be made.
Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com
By THOMAS FLOYD
With the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City and Club America now touring
the country, one might forget there is another packed slate of MLS action lined up this
weekend.
Can Omar Bravo and Sporting Kansas City get back on the winning track in Houston? (Getty
Images)
Even with a day off from work I'll probably be fairly light today on here (have family in from
out of town, they're kind of important to me). It will be a busy weekend in Major League Soccer
though, all but two teams are in league action, only one is truly off (Toronto).
Photo by Rick Osentoski/ISIphotos.com
The U.S. women's national team is a win away from completing its mission.
With a win over Japan on Sunday, the U.S. women would capture their first World Cup championship
since 1999 and third overall. Sunday's final of the Women's World Cup highlights this weekend's
slate of soccer across the world, which also includes the Copa America quarterfinals, the World
Football Challenge and a full complement of Major League Soccer matches.
An offensive explosion the likes of which the Colorado Rapids haven't produced in three months
proved to be not quite enough on the road against the Seattle Sounders.
Wells Thompson and Jeff Larentowicz scored in the first half to put the Rapids up 2-1 at the
break. Seattle came back with three second-half goals and held on after a late Caleb Folan strike
to win 4-3 on Saturday.
Brian Mullan hasn't had much to celebrate individually this season, but that all changed in a
big way Friday night.
While Mullan's tackle that broke Steve Zakuani's leg will likely remain his defining moment of
the season, his long-range goal against the Columbus Crew was the defining moment of the match,
unlocking a scoreless game and lifting the Colorado Rapids to a 2-0 victory at Dick's Sporting
Goods Park.
