The Official Major League Soccer Thread

[LittleOzzy]

Denver to serve as host city for 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game on July 29

The AT&T MLS All-Star Game is headed back to the Mile High City.

Major League Soccer announced on Wednesday that Denver will serve as the host city for the league’s annual summer showcase, which will take place at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City on Wednesday, July 29 (9 pm ET on Fox Sports 1, UniMas, TSN, RDS2).

Colorado Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni – who played for the MLS All-Star team when Denver last hosted the event in 2007 – will serve as the head coach of the All-Stars against an elite international club to be named at a later date.

“Colorado has become a destination for marquee soccer events, and we are thrilled to bring the AT&T All-Star Game to the region,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a league statement. “Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is a tremendous stadium, and we know the enthusiastic support of Centennial 38 and other Rapids fans will provide a great home-field advantage for the MLS All-Stars.”

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... -star-game

I know it's a major North American sports thing, but I wish MLS would just get rid of the All-Star Game.

It serves no purpose, and really isn't a ratings grab for MLS anyway.

[skywalker33]

Thought this was a forum about the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association

[LittleOzzy]

Thought this was a forum about the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association

Nope, it's the soccer forum.

[J-Mezzy]

Yeah I don't know how he thought this was the Nuggets forum lol. That was pretty random.

[LittleOzzy]

Yeah I don't know how he thought this was the Nuggets forum lol. That was pretty random.

I was doing some cross promotion, and linked the soccer forum on the Nuggets board.

He should have noticed it linked to another forum though.

[LittleOzzy]

Impact signs centre back Laurent Ciman to multi-year-deal

The Montreal Impact announced on Thursday that the club has come to terms with central defender and Belgian international Laurent Ciman on a three-year contract. The deal will become official upon receipt of his international transfer certificate (ITC) and his medical test. Despite his profile, Ciman will not have a designated player status. As per MLS policy, details of the contract were not disclosed.

Ciman, 29, has spent his entire career in the Belgian first division, playing a total of 286 regular season games, including 269 starts, for more than 20,000 minutes played from 2004 to 2015.

"I'm very excited to join the Montreal Impact and MLS. This will be a new adventure for me and my family,” said Laurent Ciman. “It is also an opportunity for my daughter, so that she could have the proper support and instruction. I would like to thank the president, my agent and all the staff of the club for this new challenge. I can't wait to meet my new teammates, the city and the fans.”

“We are very pleased to acquire a player of Laurent’s quality and we are very excited that he has decided to continue his career with our club,” said Impact head coach and director of player personnel Frank Klopas. “We were looking for a quality centre back with a lot of experience. He is a key addition to our defence and will be a leader within the group.”

In the Belgian League, Ciman successively wore the colours of Royal Sporting Charleroi, Club Brugge, KV Kortrijk and Standard de Liège. He tallied 10 goals and 11 assists in his career.

http://www.impactmontreal.com/en/news/2 ... rent-ciman

[edfmx86]

All star game in Denver seems a little bizarre.

[skywalker33]

Thought this was a forum about the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association

Nope, it's the soccer forum.

Then WHY is in the Denver Nugget thread too ?

[LittleOzzy]

Columbus Crew SC sign veteran Argentine defender Hernan Grana from All Boys

Columbus Crew SC announced the signing of Argentine defender Hernan Grana on Friday, pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa.

Officially tabbed as a Discovery Signing, Grana joins the Black-and-Gold after most recently playing with Argentine giants Boca Juniors on loan from All Boys. The 29-year-old fullback boasts seven seasons of experience in his home country's professional system, including stints with Belgrano, Quilmes (2011) and Lanus. He also helped Boca Juniors to a second-place finish in the 2013-14 Torneo Final.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... a-all-boys

Chicago Fire set to sign Scottish international Shaun Maloney from Wigan on Designated Player deal

It seems the Chicago Fire's extended courtship of Shaun Maloney has paid off.

According to reports in the British media, the Wigan Athletic playmaker has turned down a move to English Premier League side Leicester City in order to join the Men in Red ahead of the 2015 MLS season.

In fact, the deal could even be done in time for Maloney to join his new teammates as they report to Toyota Park for the opening of preseason activities on Sunday.

We've agreed terms with Chicago Fire for Shaun to leave imminently, so that is something that is going to be happening in the next day or so,” Wigan manager Malky Mackay told BBC Radio Manchester on Friday.

Maloney, who turns 32 on Saturday, is a diminutive attacking dynamo with 37 caps and four goals for Scotland. He is reportedly set to ink a Designated Player deal with the Fire, which would make him the third DP on Chicago's roster alongside fellow newcomers David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike, both of whom signed last month.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2 ... wigan-desi

[TyrusRose2425]

As a kid I had season tickets to the Fire. I have been disconnected from the team for the past decade, but I attended my first game since then during the summer and their ticket rep guy convinced me to get season tickets, primarily because they are dirt cheap. $20 per month.

[LittleOzzy]

As a kid I had season tickets to the Fire. I have been disconnected from the team for the past decade, but I attended my first game since then during the summer and their ticket rep guy convinced me to get season tickets, primarily because they are dirt cheap. $20 per month.

Well I think you picked a good year to jump back on board. MLS going into their 20th season should be very exciting. The game has clearly grown in the States, and the product on the field is so much better.

How to do think the Fire will do this season? And what teams are you looking forward to seeing in Chicago?

Hope you stick around the soccer board too, to give us updates on the team.

[TyrusRose2425]

As a kid I had season tickets to the Fire. I have been disconnected from the team for the past decade, but I attended my first game since then during the summer and their ticket rep guy convinced me to get season tickets, primarily because they are dirt cheap. $20 per month.

Well I think you picked a good year to jump back on board. MLS going into their 20th season should be very exciting. The game has clearly grown in the States, and the product on the field is so much better.

How to do think the Fire will do this season? And what teams are you looking forward to seeing in Chicago?

Hope you stick around the soccer board too, to give us updates on the team.

I honestly know nothing about the Fire now. I can tell you everything about the teams with Damani Ralph, Kovalenko, Razov, Stoitchkov, Wolff, Beasley, Bocanegra, Thornton, Nowak teams, but I'll be entering this season as a complete noob. The general perception from other Fire fans that have kept following are that the owner is cheap and doing the bare minimum. Many things the club has built over the years has been ruined by him.

As for teams I look forward to the most, I'm sure the same as the others. NYCFC, Seattle, Orlando, and whoever ends up signing Klose.

[Droseisthe1]

I find it funny this thread hasn't reached 100 pages in 3 years. Melo threads in the summer were spitting out 100 pages in 12 hours!!


Anyway, the Premier League is where it's at!!

[LittleOzzy]

As a kid I had season tickets to the Fire. I have been disconnected from the team for the past decade, but I attended my first game since then during the summer and their ticket rep guy convinced me to get season tickets, primarily because they are dirt cheap. $20 per month.

Well I think you picked a good year to jump back on board. MLS going into their 20th season should be very exciting. The game has clearly grown in the States, and the product on the field is so much better.

How to do think the Fire will do this season? And what teams are you looking forward to seeing in Chicago?

Hope you stick around the soccer board too, to give us updates on the team.

I honestly know nothing about the Fire now. I can tell you everything about the teams with Damani Ralph, Kovalenko, Razov, Stoitchkov, Wolff, Beasley, Bocanegra, Thornton, Nowak teams, but I'll be entering this season as a complete noob. The general perception from other Fire fans that have kept following are that the owner is cheap and doing the bare minimum. Many things the club has built over the years has been ruined by him.

As for teams I look forward to the most, I'm sure the same as the others. NYCFC, Seattle, Orlando, and whoever ends up signing Klose.

Good news for Fire fans... games will now be available on CSN.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DFBJeff/status/559744591453511681[/tweet]

[EArl]

Iker Casillas reportedly interested in joining the MLS.

"I have no problem of saying that I would like to play in the U.S.," Casillas told The Wall Street Journal, although he didn't indicate any timetable for his departure. "This has been a tough past year and a half, but it has made me tougher mentally."

Casillas is signed at Real Madrid through 2017.

"At the club level, Real Madrid winning lifted a huge burden," he told WSJ. "We'd been 12 years without winning [Champions League] and we're lucky that we've won many titles recently when there had been 30 or so years when Real Madrid hadn't won. That took the pressure off us and helped us move forward."

[SunKing]

What I'm still wondering with the MLS is why still the league system same as north americans sports...

If it was a free/open market system like the rest of FIFA it would be an amazing league... Great cities, great salary, decent to great stadiums much more great players so then better players would make the jump earlier...

But I guess it's in your guys culture... IMHO that's kind of a waste because potentially it could be great.

[Merc_Porto]

How random would be if the MLS teams (maybe 2 for now) could enter the Copa dos Libertadores ?

I do not know if the sports culture in America (USA) would be prepared for something like that (crazy fans for example), but that would be really cool.
Surely that would bring more competition and attention to the US Soccer.

[LittleOzzy]

How random would be if the MLS teams (maybe 2 for now) could enter the Copa dos Libertadores ?

I do not know if the sports culture in America (USA) would be prepared for something like that (crazy fans for example), but that would be really cool.
Surely that would bring more competition and attention to the US Soccer.

MLS already competes in CONCACAF Champions League so they are used to the crazier fans down south. We need to focus heavily on beating Mexico in that tournament to gain respect around the Americas.

Do that first and I think a lot of new doors will open for the league. Let's hope one of Montreal or D.C. can make it to the finals this year.

[Merc_Porto]

How random would be if the MLS teams (maybe 2 for now) could enter the Copa dos Libertadores ?

I do not know if the sports culture in America (USA) would be prepared for something like that (crazy fans for example), but that would be really cool.
Surely that would bring more competition and attention to the US Soccer.

MLS already competes in CONCACAF Champions League so they are used to the crazier fans down south. We need to focus heavily on beating Mexico in that tournament to gain respect around the Americas.

Do that first and I think a lot of new doors will open for the league. Let's hope one of Montreal or D.C. can make it to the finals this year.

Yeah, but let's face it, nobody knows what is that (CONCACAF Champions League).
I did not know.

And the Mexico fans are crazy, but i don´t think you can compare Mexico fans with for example, Brasil or Argentian fans.
But that doesn´t matter.

My point is:
I think This competition (Libertadores) would benefit the US Soccer so much.

[LittleOzzy]

How random would be if the MLS teams (maybe 2 for now) could enter the Copa dos Libertadores ?

I do not know if the sports culture in America (USA) would be prepared for something like that (crazy fans for example), but that would be really cool.
Surely that would bring more competition and attention to the US Soccer.

MLS already competes in CONCACAF Champions League so they are used to the crazier fans down south. We need to focus heavily on beating Mexico in that tournament to gain respect around the Americas.

Do that first and I think a lot of new doors will open for the league. Let's hope one of Montreal or D.C. can make it to the finals this year.

Yeah, but let's face it, nobody knows what is that (CONCACAF Champions League).
I did not know.

And the Mexico fans are crazy, but i don´t think you can compare Mexico fans with for example, Brasil or Argentian fans.
But that doesn´t matter.

My point is:
I think This competition (Libertadores) would benefit the US Soccer so much.

I wouldn't say nobody knows about it. It's the same qualifier to the Club World Cup as the Copa Libertadores. Both winners go to the same tournament.

Just because it's not as old as other competitions from around the world doesn't mean that MLS should just latch onto someone else tournament. Champions League is an important tournament for North American teams. In fact Mexico's top teams play in it, while they send lesser teams to Copa Libertadores.