by FRANCO PANIZO

If the Houston Dynamo is to continue its relative MLS success next season, it will likely have to do so without two of their most talented players.

Midfielders Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden are out of contract at season's end, and both players are unlikely to return to the club, having been strongly linked with moves to Europe during the upcoming winter transfer window.

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by FRANCO PANIZO

If the Houston Dynamo is to continue its relative MLS success next season, it will likely have to do so without two of their most talented players.

Midfielders Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden are out of contract at season's end, and both players are unlikely to return to the club, having been strongly linked with moves to Europe during the upcoming winter transfer window.

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The United States played two tough European opponents and were defeated in both matches. But we certainly learned something from both games, and thus this European Adventure has been useful for Bob Bradley.

• The US has its style: tactically Bob Bradley is modeling his team after what Carlo Ancelotti did at AC Milan.

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Houston had another strong season behind Brian Ching. (Getty Images)

Dominic Kinnear teams always compete, always and the 2009 edition of the Houston Dynamo looked very similar to the ones we've seen win league titles over the last few years. Even though the Dynamo lost their big star in the midfield in a trade to Toronto before the season started everyone knew this team would still compete.

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-According to the Dynamo, Ricardo Clark, whose contract expires next month, has no intention to re-sign with Major League Soccer as he pursues opportunities abroad.

-Brian Ching underwent surgery Tuesday to address a meniscus tear in his left knee. He suffered the injury in Game 1 of the series against Seattle Sounders FC but is expected to make a full recovery during the offseason.

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2 - Jonathan Spector 3 - Carlos Bocanegra 4 - Michael Bradley 5 - Benny Feilhaber 7 - Stuart Holden 12 - Jonathan Bornstein 13 - Ricardo Clark 15 - Jimmy Conrad 17 - Jozy Altidore 18 - Brad Guzan 19 - Robbie Rogers 22 - Frankie Hejduk 25 - Clarence Goodson 28 - Dax McCarty 32 - Jeff Cunningham 33 - Edgar Castillo 35 - Marcus Hahnemann 36 - Eddie Johnson Click to continue reading...

The U.S. men's national team plays its final match of a busy and memorable 2009 today when it takes on Denmark in Aarhus (2:30pm, ESPN Classic/Galavision/ESPN2 after Ukraine-Greece).

Both teams will be missing several key players, with the Americans playing without Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey (as well as injured regulars Oguchi Onyewu, Jay DeMerit and Charlie Davies).

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The off-season has only just begun for the Houston Dynamo, and already there are reports the team could look significantly different next year. Two of Houston's more prominent players and freshly...

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The USMNT meet Denmark, today at NRGi Park, Aarhus, 8:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. ET), and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN Classic at 2:25 p.m.

There maybe a reason for Bob Bradley's faith in Jonathan Bornstein. They both began their national careers on 20 January, 2007 against Denmark and Bornstein repaid his coach's faith by scoring the game winner.

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Montreal inches closer to a MLS expansion bid.

By now we've all seen the lovely quote from MLS commissioner Don Garber yesterday about future league expansion.

"We've had productive conversations with Montreal to be our 19th team," said Garber.

With all the issues going on with the USL/TOA crap you have to think that Montreal owner Joey Saputo is trying to figure out the best way to get his club into the top-tier league instead of a new breakaway league.

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Houston has plenty of guys worth protecting here. (Getty Images)

Today we move another day closer to the 2009 expansion draft. Now we turn our focus to the Houston Dynamo.

The Dynamo are a tough team to figure out due to the number of quality players that are both young and old.

Protected Available Exempt Corey Ashe Wade Barrett Danny Cruz Bobby Boswell Mike Chabala Geoff Cameron Ryan Cochrane Brian Ching Tyler Deric Ricardo Clark Tally Hall Brad Davis John Michael Hayden Andrew Hainault Richard Mulrooney Stuart Holden Dominic Oduro Luis Angel Landin Pat Onstad Brian Mullan Abe Thompson Eddie Robinson Erik Ustruck Craig Waibel Cam Weaver

Either way they stand to lose a good player this year.

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Edgar Castillo fue convocado de nuevo por Bradley, técnico de los Estados Unidos para el partido de éste miércoles ante Dinamarca, en Aarhus.

Edgar debió de haberse presentado ayer lunes en Dinamarca junto con Stuart Holden y Ricardo Clark jugadores del Dynamo para unirse el grupo que ya está en aquel país.

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With the Houston Dynamo knocked out of the MLS playoffs, Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden were called in for the friendly against Denmark on Wednesday. Neither are a surprise, having forced their way into the national team setup at this stage in their career. The other two call ups, Jose Francisco Torres and Edgar Castillo were a welcome sight -- though news also came out that Torres declined for personal reasons.

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An injury-riddled, star-lacking USMNT team lost 1-0 to Slovakia over the weekend. I didn't watch, so I don't have much to add.
Seems like a fair result on the road. Here's the tweaked lineup for the upcoming Denmark friendly:

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann, Troy Perkins.

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Greetings, Dynamo fans. As we are all well aware, our beloved Orange fell short of the 2009 championship. It was a valiant effort against David Beckham and the LA Galaxy. Watching from Houston, the Dynamo played well on Friday night, but early Saturday was a different story.

As midnight passed, LA took advantage of two costly fouls by Ricardo Clark.

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The USA played the first of its pre-World Cup friendlies against Slovakia on Saturday. With nothing to play for, Bob Bradley utilized the opportunity to test his team's depth. The results? Despite the 0-1 defeat, there were more positives than negatives.

Most promising of the group were the performances of our center backs and central midfield.

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Briefly:

*The initial 36,000 tickets for MLS Cup Sunday in Seattle sold out, so another 6,000 tickets have been put on sale. Details here.

*As unlikely as the Galaxy's run to MLS Cup was, Real Salt Lake's performance was even less expected. Reaction here.

*U.S. Coach Bob Bradley called in the Houston Dynamo midfield duo of Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden and Tigres defender Edgar Castillo for Wednesday's game against Demark.

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MLS marketing mavens, your dream final is secure. Star power vs. star power as David Beckham and Kyle Beckerman will face each other next Sunday in Seattle. Ok, that concept is a bit of a stretch, as the best draw when comparing those two players is their unique hairstyle -- one consistent in his recent career, the other just bizarre.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

If the starting lineup the U.S. team fielded in Saturday's loss to Slovakia didn't look far enough away from Bob Bradley's first-choice squad, wait until you see the team we are likely to have take the field in Denmark on Wednesday.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

If the starting lineup the U.S. team fielded in Saturday's loss to Slovakia didn't look far enough away from Bob Bradley's first-choice squad, wait until you see the team we are likely to have take the field in Denmark on Wednesday.

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Bob Bradley added four players over the weekend to his roster for the upcoming friendly in Denmark. Ricardo Clark, Stuart Holden, and Edgar Castillo.

José Francisco Torres was initially called into the camp for Denmark and has since been excused for personal reasons.

Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey and Chad Marshall have been released back to their clubs after the USA's 1-0 loss to Slovakia on Nov.

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As you can see from the highlights, the US MNT's 1-0 loss to Slovakia wasn't pretty, but they hung in there, got some good chances, and only allowed a goal on a questionable penalty kick (also, good job spelling Marek Hamsik's name wrong, USsoccer.com).

There really isn't too much you can say about this match.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

U.S. men's national team midfielder Jose Francisco Torres will not play in Wednesday's friendly against Demmark after has been excused from the U.S. team's camp.

Torres was one of four new players called in to the U.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

U.S. men's national team midfielder Jose Francisco Torres will not play in Wednesday's friendly against Demmark after he was excused from the U.S. team's camp for personal reasons.

Torres was one of four new players called in to the U.

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And those words are: Western Conference Champions!

In another step in the worst-to-first journey that MLS Coach of the Year Bruce Arena has taken the team on, the Los Angeles Galaxy turned away a stiff challenge from the Houston Dynamo in 30 minutes of extra time with a 2-0 scoreline.

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Edgar Castillo, Stuart Holden, Jose Francisco Torres, and Ricardo Clark were called in. Clint Dempsey, Steve Cherundolo and Chad Marshall have been sent home.

The full squad:

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton), Troy Perkins (Valerenga)

DEFENDERS: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Edgar Castillo (Tigres), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)

MIDFIELDERS: Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)

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Bob Bradley had said there'd likely be some changes to the lineup between the Slovakia and Denmark games this week. Today we learned who was dropped and who was added to the roster ahead of the game on Wednesday in Aarhus, Denmark. Dropped from the roster was Clint Dempsey and Steve Cherundolo so that they could return to their clubs. Click to continue reading...

Edgar Castillo has been called into his first U.S. national team camp.

The New Mexico native and former Mexican national team player was one of four new players called into the U.S. men's national team camp ahead of Wednesday's friendly against Denmark.

Midfielders Stuart Holden and Jose Francisco Torres were also called in, as was Ricardo Clark.

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United States National Team coach Bob Bradley has announced changes to the US roster that will face Denmark on Wednesday. Steve Cherundolo, Clint Dempsey, and Chad Marshall have left camp. Stuart Holden, Ricardo Clark, Edgar Castillo, and Jose Francisco Torres have been added to the roster. Click to continue reading...

Major League Soccer is now just one game away from the end of the season, and this weekend the two conference Finals were played to determine the two MLS Cup finalists. The two matches were devoid of goals over 90 minutes, and while the Western winners managed to conjure up a couple in extra time, a team from the West took it all the way to penalties in the Eastern final. Click to continue reading...

The Western Conference Finals was a long, hard slog between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo. With an 8:30 starting time to accommodate ESPN2's college football schedule, two blackouts that interrupted play in each half, and a half hour of overtime, the Galaxy did not trudge off the pitch with their Western Conference trophy until almost midnight.

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The Galaxy weathered two power outages, a disallowed goal by Andrew Hainault, and a dominant Dynamo display in the second half to score two extra time goals.

Landon Donovan becomes the MLS all time leader in goals scored as he converted the penalty after Alan Gordon was brought down by Ricardo Clark in the box.

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The Galaxy has one hand on the MLS Cup

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Unless you staid up well past the bewitching hour, you didn't see the Galaxy's 2-0 win over Houston in the Western Conference final.

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This match promises to be a dogfight. The season series between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo featured exactly one goal and a lot of physical defending. If that sounds a lot like what Chivas and the Galaxy went through for the bulk of their five games this season, its not coincidence.

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Photo by ISIphotos.com

The Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo were two of the best teams in MLS all season, and on Friday night they will play for the right to play in and be the favorite in the 2009 MLS Cup Final. The Western Conference Final (11pm, ESPN2) features some of the league's best talent, and is loaded with juicy individual match-ups both on the field and on the sideline.

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