Anyone who has read anything on Soccer Soap Box pretty quickly sorts out that I am a US Soccer supporter (and occasional complainer.) But after the United States, the country that gets the most coverage here is undoubtedly Colombia. Colombia is, after all, my adopted-by-marriage second country.

I've also been over-sharing Colombian related ideas lately because I was recently visiting the country (my ninth such visit if my math is correct) at the same time as my local team the New England Revolution was adding two and a half Colombian players and MLS is seeing an influx of Colombian talent.

Yes, but some things never change. Like how MLS players still come to the Prem for a vacation laugh. And chicken pies.S1-2A door fasthighlights- Greg Seltzer

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 winter transfer window in Europe is set to close today, and teams are still scrambling to fill vacancies and address needs for the second half of their respective seasons.

While we don't seem likely to have any megastars making winter transfer moves, despite resurgent rumors of Carlos Tevez to AC Milan, there is still some serious talent changing addresses.

Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, the two best field players in American soccer, and two of the most popular players in American soccer history, are set to do battle today in the FA Cup (3pm, Fox Soccer Channel).

Today's Fulham-Everton clash serves as the perfect event to showcase the match-up of two players who have been U.

Thursday's Questions, and Tony finds proof of the smartest coach in MLS, wonders how Jonathan Spector's Birmingham City are doing, and would like to see MLS have things lined up before they make announcements. Will Jurgen Klinsmann's focus on fitness during the January camp help the MLS players in camp during the first part of the long season?

Last night the US Soccer's "Camp Cupcake" Team followed up Saturday night's 1-0 win over Venezuela with a 1-0 win over Panama. I admit that the "Camp Cupcake" moniker is not my favorite for the annual US Soccer winter camp that primarily gives numerous MLS players and some European journeymen an extended audition for the US National Team, but I think it's important to use this moniker in light of the apparent "every match is a live or die match" attitude that seems to dominate the most vocal of the US Soccer fan base.

Yesterday I discussed some of the basic roster rules in MLS and how it ties in with the salary cap. Hopefully the swelling in your brain has reduced sufficiently to allow you to move forward with your lessons as I attempt to help you further understand (to the best of our ability), the league's various roster mechanisms.

Buy low, sell high. It might be the oldest rule in business.

So if Philadelphia Union was ever going to sell Sebastien Le Toux, now's the time.

At 28, Le Toux is in his prime. He may never be worth more than he is right now.

Bolton has never needed to buy good players for bargain prices more than right now, as they desperately try to avoid a relegation that could devastate the club financially.

Buy low, sell high. It might be the oldest rule in business.

So if Philadelphia Union was ever going to sell Sebastien Le Toux, now's the time.

At 28, Le Toux is in his prime. He may never be worth more than he is right now.

Bolton has never needed to buy good players for bargain prices more than right now, as they desperately try to avoid a relegation that could devastate the club financially.

Sebastien Le Toux will have a week to impress the Bolton Wanderer's coaching staff, according to manager Owen Coyle. The Scot confirmed reports out of the United States that Le Toux was on his way to Bolton on a trial ahead of a possible transfer.

"We have received good reports about Sebastian, so we thought we would give him an opportunity to come into the group," said Coyle.

Hunter Jumper Selected 28th Overall by Chicago Fire in MLS SuperDraft Cavalier defender was a second-team all-region pick in 2011
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia defender Hunter Jumper (Sr., Plano, Texas) was selected by the Chicago Fire Thursday in the second round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft, held in Kansas City, Mo.

Tyler Polak could fill the Revs need at left back. (Photo Credit: Andy Mead / MLSsoccer.com)

With the 2012 MLS SuperDraft now in the books, the writers at New England Soccer Today handed out their grades for the New England Revolution's 2012 draft performance. The Revs selected UCLA midfielder Kelyn Rowe with the third overall pick and Creighton defender Tyler Polak with the 22nd overall pick.

One day into training with FC Nurnberg, Omar Gonzalez has torn his ACL. The injury was sustained in training after a collision with fellow American Timmy Chandler. Gonzalez will now return to the Galaxy to undergo treatment. The typical recovery time for an ACL tear is 4-6 months depending on treatment and the athlete in question.

After finally receiving a call up to the US Men's National Team, Omar Gonzalez has backed out of camp in order to go on loan. The LA Galaxy defender is headed to Germany to play for FC Nurnberg until mid-February. The 2011 MLS Defender of the Year will be joining the team at their training camp in Belek, Turkey.

With rumors of Cordell Cato reaching a contract agreement and Mrisho Ngassa's club still waiting for confirmation that Tanzanian international will return for another training stint with Seattle Sounders FC it could be said that Hanauer & Co went for the U-20 Trinidad player rather than the East African U-23.

It's time again for the USMNT's annual edition of Camp Cupcake, or as our friends over at The Best Soccer Show have coined it in honor of a certain German influence on US Soccer, Camp Strudel. Reserved for Scandinavian and MLS players who are just outside the core USMNT lineup, this edition of Camp Strudal [.

photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

Hammarby IF head coach Gregg Berhalter won't be the only one at the club with MLS experience next season.

Hammarby signed midfielder Baggio Husidic on Friday morning, the club announced on its website. Husidic, who has spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Fire, agreed to a two-year deal with the Swedish club.

With 2011 closing out here in the next couple weeks, all eyes on MLS are pointing towards the SuperDraft and, with that, we have a couple mock drafts that have Portland selecting defender Matt Hedges as their pick. My personal favorite mocki draft so far is WVHooligan.com's where Drew picked Hedges for Portland:

Portland was hurt by their defense one time too many in their expansion season.

Top 10 MLS loan stars your club could sign: Donovan, Henry, Shea, Ream and more

Click on the arrows to see which MLS players could join your club in the new year

View the full story here: Talksport

A news article on 2011-12-17 09:01:00 from: Talksport

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Montero leading scorer across all competitions

DeRosario may have won the Golden Boot, but he was not the leading scorer across all competitions involving MLS players. Montero won that distinction. According to MLS this is only the fourth time this has happened.

Photo by Bill Barrett/ISIphotos.com

Omar Bravo's time in MLS is up.

Sporting Kansas City and top-flight Mexican club Cruz Azul agreed to a deal that will see the Designated Player return to his native country after one season in MLS. No terms of the deal were disclosed.

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

The tradition of holding a January camp for mostly MLS players looking to break through into the U.S. naitonal team is going to be maintained during the Jurgen Klinsmann era and the German manager will be putting together his first January camp very shortly.

STARTERS
You can now go buy your own copy of the movie Rise & Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story on DVD.
dN
The whole city of Manchester has been dark for over 24 hours now. Pitch black. Are they all dead. They probably want to be as both United and City were bounced from the Champions League yesterday.

You'd think footballers have it all, but as Santino Quaranta's salary surprisingly reminded us, pay scales weren't created equal and thus, MLS players probably don't have it all.

When it comes to everyday household items like whisks and serving trays, 'ballers everywhere should leave the heavy clicking to their better halves, just like New England's Benny Feilhaber seems to have smartly done with his fiancé, Michele.

Photo: Courtesy US Soccer

Philly Soccer Page

Today marks the return of one series and the start of another. First, fresh on the heels of our series of raves, we begin our series of season reviews of every Philadelphia Union player who saw more than ten minutes of action in 2011 (sorry Morgan!

The wave of young MLS players heading to train in England continues to grow, with New York Red Bulls striker Juan Agudelo the latest to take the trip across the pond.

Agudelo will spend two weeks training with Liverpool FC. Ron Waxman, Agudelo's New York-based agent, confirmed the training stint on Wednesday.

Soon to be heading in the same directionToronto FC got into the holiday shopping mood on Tuesday with the acquisition of defender Jeremy Hall. The 23-year old Florida native arrives from FC Dallas after previous MLS stops with Portland and New York. Primarily a right back, Hall was the 11th overall pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft and provides The Reds with a little more depth on the corners of their back line.

Major League Soccer's Re-Entry Draft is a quirky thing. There are a lot of rules and not every player who has their option declined enters the draft. Rather than post the list of players available along with the rules, I'm breaking it up to make it more digestible. Re-Entry Rules & Timeline and Re-Entry Player Eligibility are after the break.

The last few weeks have been pretty brutal for Seattle Sounders fans. Finally, it appears as if some good news is on the way. Multiple sources have confirmed that Mauro Rosales' extension has essentially been finalized and that it could be announced very soon. The contract is expected to pay Rosales somewhere in the neighborhood of Alvaro Fernandez and Fredy Montero, but it is unclear whether or not he will count as a Designated Player.

Philadelphia Union midfielders Amobi Okugo and Zach Pfeffer are currently training with Bundesliga clubs, according to multiple reports.

Okugo, a first round SuperDraft pick by the Union in 2010, was today revealed to have flown to Germany today to train with Bundesliga relegation zone side SC Freiburg.

By JOEY SAMUEL

When he took the job as head coach of the US national team, Jurgen Klinsmann urged players in Major League Soccer to keep playing at a high level throughout the offseason.

It appears as though they are listening.

Amobi Okugo became the latest American to earn a training stint at a European club on Monday when he joined SC Freiburg, sources told SBI.

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.

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.

-by Chris Ballard
You might remember that way back in March, Keith, Jason and myself all put forth some predictions regarding the 2011 MLS season. Usually when these things happen it becomes convenient to later forget to revisit them; because it invariably proves that we - as much as anybody else - know pretty much nothing.

A cynic might note that a genuine, actual, 27,000 capacity crowd for Sunday's Galaxy-Houston Dynamo MLS Cup final is why the Home Depot Center and club have shifted into "heavy traffic and congested streets are anticipated around the stadium for this event" so please-arrive-early mode.

The club is asking fans to arrive for the 6 p.

By JOSE M. ROMERO

CARSON, Calif. -- His career already full of accomplishments, Dwayne De Rosario was nevertheless humble in accepting his 2011 MLS Most Valuable Player trophy Friday afternoon at the Home Depot Center.

Playing for three different teams in one season clearly had an effect on his perspective.

Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com

A few more U.S. national team players will be extending their trips to Europe.

Real Salt Lake's Kyle Beckerman and the Columbus Crew's Robbie Rogers have had training stints arranged with Bundesliga club Kaiserslautern by U.

Photo by Brett Sarsfield/ISIphotos.com

Juan Agudelo will be the latest MLS-based U.S. men's national team player to get a training stint overseas with a top-level club.

Agudelo will be training with Bundesliga outfit VfB Stuttgart -- one of U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann's former teams -- agent Ron Waxman wrote on his official Twitter account.

Congratulations to Jay Heaps, who appears to be the new Head Coach of the New England Revolution.
The former Duke University and New England Revolution standout would succeeds Steve Nicol, as reported in the Boston Globe.
Last Wednesday, Revs president Brian Bilello revealed to MLSsoccer.