As the preseason gets into full swing and rosters begin to stabilize, it's time to take a look at the men who pull the strings and have the greatest impact on the team itself. The modern manager is part tactician, ...
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Photo Credit: Alfonso Jimenez via Wikimedia Commons
Ever since Amado Guevara was shown the door, I've been clamoring for an actual #10 Creative Midfielder for our team - to absolutely no avail. That genius Bruce Arena (besides destroying our pretty good backline in 2007) saddled us with the perenially injured Claudio Reyna, who (as a defensive midfielder) was absolutely not the creative player we needed.

The beginning of the 2012 Major League Soccer season is right around the corner and the folks over at MLS Soccer have released their first preseason power rankings. As expected the LA Galaxy are on top, while the New England Revolution get no love, as MLS Soccer ranks them below the expansion side Montreal Impact.

As if the defending MLS Champions needed any more offensive firepower, the LA Galaxy announced today that Edson Buddle would be rejoining the Galaxy after terminating his contract with FC Ingolstadt by mutual consent.

Buddle's addition gives LA the league's best forward tandem, as he and Robbie Keane will lead a line that should feast on the service provided by Landon Donovan and David Beckham.

Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Philadelphia Union both made their fair share of headlines this week, so it is only appropriate that they combined for another one.

Los Angeles acquired central midfielder Kyle Nakazawa and a second-round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft from Philadelphia Wednesday in exchange for an international roster spot.

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.

Photo: Paul Rudderow

Le Talk

Yesterday he's going, today he is staying. An article from sportinglife.com suggests that Le Toux "did not impress sufficiently" at Bolton. Owen Coyle is quoted in the article, "Sebastien came in for a couple of days, and to be fair to him he hadn't trained for four or five weeks.

Richie Williams has been a winner at every level he's competed at as a player - winning national championships as a youth player and collegian; winning MLS Cups with DC United; capped by the full US National team. He's coached at all levels in our country - as a youth coach with the US Under-18 national team; as a collegiate coach at the University of Virginia; as an MLS assistant and interim head coach.

Chalk up another win for the Los Angeles Galaxy

Only this one wasn't just for them, it perhaps was an important win for MLS as well. Despite massive offers from numerous European clubs, David Beckham officially chose to remain in the United States, agreeing to new multi-year contract with the Galaxy that keeps the famed midfielder in Los Angeles through the 2013 MLS season.

Photo by David Bernal/ISIPhotos.com

BY ADAM SERRANO

LOS ANGELES --It is official, David Beckham will be returning to MLS and it appears that he may be staying for quite some time.

The Los Angeles Galaxy presented Beckham before a group of reporters on Thursday to announce his new two-year-deal with the club.

....

•More for Moyes

A budding Prem player?

Edson Buddle set for a trial with Everton. Good move all around.

Buddle was going nowhere with Ingolstadt and neither was Ingolstadt. In fact, he was a liability in the compensation department.

The former Galaxy man didn't get secured at West ham and now moves on to Everton looking to go for a ride (either on the pine or the pitch) until the end of the campaign.

Stadiums function a great deal like shoes. Wear a pair for too long and the shoelaces begin to fray, the outer sole wears thin, and the inner sole starts to emit a smell generally acceptable at the bottom of a rubbish bin. Change them out for new shoes that fit too snug, and walking around becomes a right pain in the heel with ingrown toenails forming from the compression.

Today we wrap up our "Three Questions" series with the defending MLS champions, the Los Angeles Galaxy. By any definition, they were the best team in MLS last season: they convincingly led the Supporters Shield's race most of the season, ...
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First, let us be among many, but hopefully not the last, to wish all our readers a Happy New Year. We wish you blessings, good fortune and health in 2012. We begin a comprehensive look at the Men's U-23 Olympic Team this week, and we're very excited about those pieces given our background as a [...]

The Sigi-bunker is in a worse state of disrepair than usual. TV screens looking down from the rafters flicker on and off. The screen showing a loop of Kasey Keller smashing into a goal post is the only screen 100% functional.

A computer terminal shows the disfigured face of Bruce Arena in mid-edit in Final Cut.

Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

Ives Galarcep reports at Fox Soccer that Freddy Adu is heading to with Spanish side Rayo Vallecano for a two-week training stint. The report notes, "Rayo Vallecano is also a club that had been in talks with Adu about signing him last summer before Adu settled on a return to MLS.

For the first time since its soccer-specific stadium opened in 2005, FC Dallas won't be playing at Pizza Hut Park.

Instead, the club will play at the temporarily named FC Dallas Stadium while it searches for a new sponsor.

Pizza Hut is reportedly dropping its sponsorship of the stadium, effective after the Football Championship Subdivision title game is held there on Jan.

When 2011 started, LA Galaxy defender Gregg Berhalter set out to work on his life after soccer. Turns out, the season he spent as a player-assistant coach was the best transition possible.
Berhalter hit the ground running on his post-playing days, as he was named manager of Swedish club Hammarby IF on Monday.

Paris Saint-Germain have offered David Beckham an 18 month contract worth $18.7 million. Club officials on Monday told French sports newspaper L'Equipe that a deal to acquire Beckham is "95 percent complete." The Galaxy, Tottenham and Queens Park Rangers also reportedly have made offers to Beckham.

Landon Donovan has agreed to join Everton on a two-month loan from MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy.

The agreement, which was reached on Thursday following recent discussions between Everton, LA Galaxy and Major League Soccer, is pending paperwork that needs to be finalised.

Once that is completed, Donovan is set to join Everton over the Christmas period and would be eligible to face Bolton on January 4.

Landon Donovan has agreed to join Everton on a two-month loan from MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy.

The agreement, which was reached on Thursday following recent discussions between Everton, LA Galaxy and Major League Soccer, is pending paperwork that needs to be finalised.

Once that is completed, Donovan is set to join Everton over the Christmas period and would be eligible to face Bolton on January 4.

Mendes: Le Dernier MetroCarlos Mendes, the last squad member to have played for the New York MLS franchise as a MetroStar, was selected by Columbus Crew in phase one of the MLS Re-entry draft this afternoon. Mendes, Arturo Alvarez and former Red Bull Danleigh Borman were the only three players taken in the first round, when teams are on the hook for the full amount of players' contract options.

Legendary coach Manny Schellscheidt has been a pioneer in American soccer for decades, and on Monday he retired from his long-time profession, stepping down as Seton Hall head coach after 24 years.

Schellscheidt spent nearly a quarter century in charge of the Pirates, but he had already established an impressive coaching resume even before that.

Philadelphia Union

This Vancouver blog attributes Nizar Khalfan's inability to become a regular starter with the Whitecaps to being away on international duty and being on the outs with then head coach Tommy Soehn. "Frankly, I think the Whitecaps should have kept him, and my feeling is the loss of the Vancouver Whitecaps is the Philadelphia Union's gain.

With a day to digest it all, here are 10 final points from the L.A. Galaxy's win Sunday at the Home Depot Center.

• LA Galaxy was the best team in Major League Soccer wire to wire, as I've said, before. They are a deserving champion. As for these questions of whether the Galaxy 2011 is the best club in MLS history?

Los Angeles Galaxy won its first MLS Cup with a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo. The championship was secured by Landon Donovan's goal in the 72nd minute on pass from Robbie Keane.
Beckham was brilliant throughout the postseason: "We've been through a lot this season," Beckham said.

By JOSE M. ROMERO

CARSON, Calif. -- Make it three MLS championships for 60-year-old Bruce Arena, and no coach in the has more since the inception of the league in 1996.

Just another feather in the cap for the 2011 MLS Coach of the Year, who appeared to letting it all soak in as he sat down to speak with reporters after his Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the Houston Dynamo 1-0 Sunday night for the MLS Cup.

Their Words A forward like that, you give him one opportunity, he puts it away. You shut him down all game and all of a sudden he gets an opportunity and puts the ball in the back of the net. Houston defender Geoff Cameron on MLS Cup MVP Landon Donovan. Other Sources LA Galaxy shines in win over Houston - from ESPN.

Eric Giardini takes a look at where some MLS players might fit in Serie A

Beckham, no surprise, leads the list...

With the end of the MLS playoffs and the beginning of the January transfer window upon us sooner than we realize, this seems as good a time as any to put together a list of current MLS players I think could play, and even flourish, with a move to Serie A.

Jeez, get a roomThere are still a few negative types out there in North American football who claim that David Beckham's five-year affair with Major League Soccer was a failure. Long before he raised the MLS Cup last night - this simply wasn't the case. Did he play his best football with LA Galaxy, far from it.

The 2011 MLS Cup Final was won in a dream fashion. The LA Galaxy capped off an incredible season where they won the Supporters Shield, achieved success in the CONCACAF Champions League and impressed everyone with their quality throughout. With the 1-0 win over a resistant Houston Dynamo the Galaxy secured their third MLS Cup and did so in front of 30,281 screaming fans who weathered the rain.

With their 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo yesterday, the Galaxy reached their season-long goal of winning an MLS Cup and certain high-profile players notched their first North American championship. Anytime a team wins a championship, writers and bloggers take ...
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LA wins 2011 MLS Cup. (Getty Images)

For five years the suits in the Major League Soccer front office and the guys with the big time pocket books have been waiting for this moment. They came close in 2009 in Seattle. Some expected it to happen last year in Toronto only to see the LA Galaxy upstaged by a better FC Dallas team in the conference finals.

LA wins 2011 MLS Cup. (Getty Images)

For five years the suits in the Major League Soccer front office and the guys with the big time pocket books have been waiting for this moment. They came close in 2009 in Seattle. Some expected it to happen last year in Toronto only to see the LA Galaxy upstaged by a better FC Dallas team in the conference finals.

The rain falling in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon must have given Bruce Arena and his players an ominous feeling. Arena and the LA Galaxy were planning a parade, and... Read more »

Landon Donovan scored a clinical decisive goal to guide the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Final at a sold-out Home Depot Center.

Galaxy, who led the MLS with 19 wins and 67 points from their 34 matches, were worthy winners as they controlled the match from start to finish on their turf.

Landon Donovan scored a clinical decisive goal to guide the Los Angeles Galaxy to a 1-0 win over the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup Final at a sold-out Home Depot Center.

Galaxy, who led the MLS with 19 wins and 67 points from their 34 matches, were worthy winners as they controlled the match from start to finish on their turf.

The second try turned out to be the charm for Bruce Arena and his Los Angeles Galaxy. Landon Donovan's outside right-foot finish past Tally Hall in the 72nd minute put the Galaxy on top for good. Keane picked up the ...
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CARSON, Calif. -- No Major League Soccer team with a Designated Player had won an MLS Cup prior to Sunday night.

In one moment, three DPs combined to buck that trend.

Landon Donovan finished off a pass from Robbie Keane in the 72nd minute to break a scoreless deadlock and deliver the MLS Cup to the Los Angeles Galaxy following a 1-0 result over the Houston Dynamo in front of 30,281 at the Home Depot Center.

Ladies, gentlemen, we have now entered the last 24 hours of the 2011 MLS Season. It's been a good one, perhaps one of the best, and, as we prepare for the final in LA, I'm sure we all have our bets on which team will take the cup. But first, let's catch up on the results of MLS's annual awards.