“More of a battle than a soccer game” says RSL coach about cold-weather CCL in Columbus 23 Feb 2011 Football in February. It’s rare in Ohio. And for good reason. With the temperature clocking in below the freezing mark, the 10-man Columbus Crew and nine-man Real Salt Lake battled to a first-leg 0-0 draw in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals in extreme conditions at Crew Stadium.
Previewing the all-MLS CCL quarter-final 21 Feb 2011 Columbus hosts Real Salt Lake Tuesday night in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final. Tuesday’s weather forecast for Columbus? A chilly -2 C with a chance of snow — maybe just a tad colder than it was for last year’s MLS Cup in Toronto.
Whitecaps do the double over Champions League participants 8 Feb 2011 For the second time in three preseason Arizona games, the Vancouver Whitecaps faced CONCACAF Champions League opposition. And, just as the Whitecaps beat Real Salt Lake 2-1, they triumphed over the Columbus Crew by the same score on Tuesday.
RSL gives Johnson the green light to play for Canada in Greece 23 Jan 2011 ]Even though coach Jason Kreis has just four weeks and three days to get Real Salt Lake prepared for its first competitive game, he wouldn’t dream of asking Will Johnson to skip Canada’s Feb. 9 friendly in Greece. Kreis and Johnson confirmed at the opening of Real Salt Lake training camp Saturday at the University of Utah that the Canadian midfielder will be part of Stephen Hart’s squad that will go to Greece.
Re-Entry Draft, Round Deux: Proof that the owners won the CBA battle 15 Dec 2010 Eleven of the 32 players available, just more than a third, were selected in phase two of the MLS Re-Entry Draft Wednesday afternoon. If all of the 11 players chosen today come to terms, that means a grand total of 13 out-of-contract players were able to find work. Only two — and both were minor deals — were taken in the first round, where players are guaranteed to make in 2011 at least what they did in 2010. The other 11 will likely all go for less money than they did in 2010.
Failed MLS Re-Entry Draft leaves bad PR smell 8 Dec 2010 Two players. That’s the grand total of eligible out of-contract players who got new deals with new clubs during Wednesday’s first-ever MLS draft. And neither was what you would call a marquee name — striker Joseph Ngwenya was taken first overall by D.C. United — and defender Aaron Hohlbein, who spent time in second-division soccer last season with Miami FC, was taken by Columbus Crew. The star names, like Designated Player Juan Pablo Angel, were left untouched. Actually, pretty well everyone was left untouched through Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Draft, where teams are required to at least match what the players made last season.
The MLS Re-Entry Draft: How it affects the Crew and Real Salt Lake 3 Dec 2010 e Dec. 5 MLS Re-Entry Draft is a straightforward process, but there will be a couple of considerations for Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey and Columbus Crew GM Mark McCullers. The Crew and Real Salt Lake will meet in the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals; the first leg of their aggregate two-game series will go Feb. 22, while most teams are in the midst of their training camps.
“What does Toronto FC want to pay” for Bas Ent, asks DDL exec 30 Nov 2010 Bas Ent could be in Toronto FC colours next season. Ent, a 23-year-old from Zaandam, Holland, has received serious interest from TFC, who gave the pacy winger a 45-minute trial in a friendly with EPL side Bolton Wanderers earlier this year. Dutch media has reported that Ent has already signed with the MLS club but there are plenty of details to work out before he officially goes to Toronto. “He is not eligible until we let him go,” says Mike Mossel, co-owner of Dayton Dutch Lions FC, the USL Premier Development League team that Ent played on last season. “The question is what does Toronto want to pay for him and how much do we want for him?”