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Kansas City's woeful, city-hopping start to 2011 concealed a very fundamental truth about Peter Vermes' bunch: there is a ton (and I mean a ton) of attacking talent here. The front line of the 4-3-3 might as well be a brick wall with quick legs. Rookie of the Year C.J. Sapong, Kei Kamara and Teal Bunbury are all big and fast, and all are 27 or younger. If KC has the cap sense to not overextend and the front office to continually attract players with any kind of defensive sense, those three will be ripping the guts out of defenses for years.
No Short Corners: Handicapping the MLS offseason: The Eastern Conference, Part I
The lottery to allocation Lee Nguyen to an MLS team is set to talk place tomorrow. Rumor is that all the teams in the league have applied to be in the lottery. For those that don't know, the lottery is based off of a team's record over the last season. That being said, with Sporting KC finishing 5th in the regular season last year, their chances are not great. The best chance goes to the Vancouver Whitecaps who finished with the worst record last season, followed by New England.
Playing their second game in less than 24 hours, the Generation adidas squad concluded their tour of the Netherlands with a 2-0 loss on Wednesday to Dutch second-flight side Almere City FC. Almere started quickly, and for the first time in the three games, the GA team conceded first. Rihairo Meulens got open in the midfield and slotted a perfect through ball to Jonathan Roberson, who beat Zac MacMath to his left with a low driven shot.
Generation adidas falls 2-0 at Almere City in tour finale | MLSsoccer.com
Changeover at ESPN and Arlo White being hired to be the new voice NBC Sports soccer coverage has raised some interesting discussions on just what exactly makes for a good television announcer in Major League Soccer coverage. Debates over what matters, how credibility is earned and why an accent can make a difference have all been waged. The most interesting aspect of these discussions is that nearly all of the views have merit.
Player of the Year- He didn’t dominate any of the statistical categories, but the influence and impact of North Carolina’s Billy Schuler on the national champs can’t be matched anywhere in the nation. Whether it was with his clutch goals – including a game-winning goal against Indiana in the tournament and his scrappy equalizer against UCLA – or his ability to hold the ball up, Schuler edges out the rest of a very talented field this year.
UNC, Creighton dominate MLSsoccer.com's year-end awards | MLSsoccer.com
José Francisco Torres is 100 percent fit and hoping for a swift return to the US national team. The Longview, Texas, native was on form for Pachuca and a regular in Jurgen Klinsmann's first three US squads before a broken bone he suffered in his left foot in September ended his season. US Soccer has been in contact with Torres about his recovery, but the Tuzos midfielder has no doubts that it is up to him to recapture his form and earn a return to the US team.
Gringo Report: Torres hoping for swift return to USMNT | MLSsoccer.com
Paris Saint-Germain's pursuit of Galaxy midfielder David Beckham is "95 percent complete," French sports daily L'Equipe reported Monday, citing inside sources at the club. Neither Beckham nor his representatives made mention of such a deal, and the English superstar hinted during the Australian leg of the Galaxy's postseason tour that he wouldn't be making a decision until after Christmas.