The final stretch

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Since I last posted, MLS has continued to claw its way in to the sports pages of British papers and other media, albeit not quite making its mark on the very back pages.

Beckham's been on the move again, though his short stint at Tottenham will disappoint anyone hoping to see him turn out in the Premier League again. Insurance issues and a niggling injury meant Spurs weren't willing to fork out for him to play in just a handful of games, and he'll return to MLS and the Galaxy later this month.

Rooney has moved to New York Red Bulls. Unfortunately for NY fans, it's not Wayne but in fact his little brother, John, who will be scrapping for a place up front with Thierry Henry.

And in the pre-season, clubs have been busy filling their rosters with draft picks and free agents left, right and centre. Some of the higher profile movers and shakers have been Juan Pablo Angel's switch to Beckham's LA Galaxy Former Newcastle defender Didier Domi has moved to New England Revs, while 39 year-old Colombian national team goalie Faryd Mondragon, who signed for Philadelphia Union.

John Spencer, who I interviewed in Houston, has signed Arsenal defender Kerrea Gilbert as well as ex Man Utd and FC Dallas striker Kenny Cooper for his debut season as Portland Timbers' head coach. And New England signed Diego Fagundez who, at 15 years of age, is the youngest player to sign an MLS contract since Freddy Adu.

With all this movement it looks like exciting times ahead for MLS, who welcome Portland and Vancouver to the league this year.

'So what about the book?', I hear you cry. Well, with time rolling on, I am happy to report that I've been making excellent progress with my writing. I feel I am now in the 'pre-season training' stage of the process (though I am perhaps not yet quite fully match fit!) and hope to finish the project in the coming months. Once it is finished, you will be the first to know!

Under construction....

Since arriving back in the UK from my trip round Major League Soccer, MLS has continued to hit the sports pages on these shores, and is gaining an increasing amount of coverage despite several British players leaving the league.

This may be in part due to David Beckham's return from his loan spell at AC Milan, together with the very public criticism of him by Galaxy team-mate Landon Donovan in the Grant Wahl book 'The Beckham Experiment'.

The cause also been helped by the excellent performance of the US national team in the Confederations Cup this summer, where a win over European champions Spain raised a few eyebrows, before they let a 2-0 lead slip against the much-fancied Brazil in the final.

But while Danny Dichio (Toronto FC) and Darren Huckerby (San Jose Earthquakes) announced their retirement in recent weeks, and Rohan Ricketts (Toronto FC) and Ian Joy (Real Salt Lake) returned to Europe to continue their careers, it's clear there is still a strong British following for Major League Soccer despite a lack of British players.

The performances of Houston Dynamo's Scottish-American midfielder Stuart Holden have seen him earn his first caps (and goals) for the US national team, while Beckham's performances, despite a couple of blips including an incident where he confronted angry Galaxy fans, and a red card against Seattle, have seen his club mount a serious title challenge. Even Fabio Cappello has been impressed, including him in the last two England squads.

But there is plenty more to look out for in the MLS than Brits. Seattle's Colombian wizard Fredy Montero was recently linked with a move to Everton in the Premier League, after an explosive start to his career in MLS; last season's MVP Guillermo Barros Schelloto continues to defy his age and keeps banging in the goals for reigning champions Columbus; and US internationals Landon Donovan and Jeff Cunningham
have had no trouble finding the net either. Speaking of the net, you can even spot the ever-green Kasey Keller in goals for Seattle.

So with plenty to talk (and write) about, I'm going to carry on with this book. I'll keep you posted with how it's going...

New York

With one final Major League Soccer team to visit, there are worse places to end this trip than New York City.

But is there are a worse team name than ‘Red Bull New York’……?

The latest incarnation of New York’s soccer team took their name from their Austrian energy drink sponsors/owners, but were previously known as the ‘Metrostars’.

The Red Bulls play in New Jersey, at the Giants stadium (home of American football team the New York Giants), though work is in progress on their own, soccer-specific ‘Red Bull Arena’ in Harrison, NJ.

Despite several hold-ups, the club recently held a ‘topping off’ ceremony to celebrate placing the final piece of over 7,100 tons of steel at the stadium, and it’s hoped the Arena will be ready for the start of next season.

Many of the ‘home’ fans at the Giants stadium still sing the Metrostars songs, refusing to acknowledge the new name and still hoping that, in time, they will get their Metrostars back.

New York’s had a long love affair with soccer, and was the home of the now legendary Cosmos of the North American Soccer League in the 1970s. That glamorous era saw the likes of Carlos Alberto, Franz Beckenbauer and Pele wear the famous Cosmos jersey (which itself was fairly glamorous, designed by Ralph Lauren from 1979) ply their trade at the Giants stadium.

The stadium also hosted seven World Cup 1994 games, including Ireland’s famous 1-0 win over Italy courtesy of Ray Houghton’s magnificent looping shot over Gianluca Pagliuca.

With over 75,000 fans packed in to see Houghton’s goal, the atmosphere must have been superb. But given the Red Bulls’ average attendance this season of just under 10,000, it is always going to be difficult for them to create an atmosphere anywhere close to that.

Their game against Real Salt Lake was no exception, aside from the area just above the tunnel where Section 101’s ‘Empire Supporters Club’ make almost enough noise for everyone.

I joined some of their members for the pre-match tailgate, and enjoyed some of the cuisine on offer from their chef Leon. Grilled sausage, caramelised onions and kraut with some excellent German potato salad; not exactly your typical soccer grub – but very good!

It wasn’t the biggest turn-out the ESC had ever seen, but then an early season game against Salt Lake may not hold the lure of, say, a derby against DC United – an event the ESC members told me made for a pretty special atmosphere.

“Sometimes we get around 50 people here, others I have cooked for almost 600”, Leon told me over the make-shift grill at the back of his car. “That’s how many I catered for at the USA-Argentina game last year, and it ranges from pulled-pork BBQ to a Greek gyro to perhaps a Cuban sandwich Latino tailgate.”

With food and drink flowing, there was a pretty eclectic mix of supporters – both within the ESC, as well as in the other supporters groups.

I met Argentine, Brazilian, Mexican, American…….even an Egyptian, who claimed he could have been playing soccer at MLS level, but for an injury at college. He raised suspicion, however, by refusing to show the evidence – a scar on his ankle. “You would be too disgusted”, he said…..

After the tailgate, the supporters made their way in to Giants stadium to see the Red Bulls produce a decent display, beating Real Salt Lake 2-0. And former Aston Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel, the Red Bulls designated player and captain, got his name on the score-sheet.

With players like Angel, and fellow striker Macoumba Kandji, the Red Bulls may have the opportunity to challenge for honours this season. And if the ESC can continue to spread their enthusiastic support at the Red Bull Arena, with its 25,000 capacity, there’s every chance that New York’s MLS experience could rival any other.

But surely there’s something they can do about that name…..