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…..

DC United

One of the unique qualities of Major League Soccer is that, unlike many European leagues, there are no teams that continue to dominate year after year.

At the beginning of each season, it’s almost impossible to predict who will be in the play-offs, let alone who might eventually be crowned champions.

The financial structure of the league (in particular the salary cap) helps to promote this parity, avoiding situations like the English Premier League’s ‘top four’ or the Old Firm’s iron grip on the SPL.

However, if there is one team in MLS that has enjoyed the most success it would have to be the one found in the nation’s capital: DC United

One of the original ten founding members of the league, DC won the first two MLS Cups back-to-back (in 1996/97) and also claimed back-to-back Supporters’ Shields in 2006/07.

They have also enjoyed success in the CONCACAF Champions Cup – becoming the first ever American winners of the trophy – and have won a record four MLS titles.

Last year, DC added the US Open Cup (the US equivalent of the FA Cup, known as the Lamar Hunt trophy) to their trophy cabinet, and while they have started the 2009 season slowly, head coach Tom Soehn’s new signings are still adapting to their new surroundings.

The black and reds currently play their home games at the 56,000 capacity RFK stadium, with plans for a soccer-specific stadium still underway.

When I visited the RFK, DC United defender Devon McTavish described the match-day atmosphere there:

“It’s great”, the 2007 Cosmo Bachelor of the Year entrant told me. “I think we have one of the best followings in the league….the best in fact.

“It’s tough to beat this atmosphere, and we get good attendances. I love playing at this stadium - playing elsewhere around the league remind you it’s tough to beat this atmosphere.”

Devon’s route in to professional soccer is fairly typical of an American player in the league. He grew up playing soccer with his older brother recreationally, but got more seriously interested in the sport during the USA ‘94 World Cup.

Two years later, when Major League Soccer and DC United came along, Devon realised there might be an opportunity to make a career out of the sport.

“It (MLS) came along at a good time for me age-wise, as I was 12 and starting to think a little bit about things. I started coming to home games here and realised that I would want to do this one day”.

Now 24, Devon plays a key role in the DC United defence and has big ambitions for his career. And while his feet remain firmly planted on the ground, he is aware that his generation are playing a part in shaping the future of Major League Soccer.

“The players here right now are helping to create history, and developing soccer in this nation” he said. “Some guys have to do other things to make a little more money, but that was how the NFL started too”.

Perhaps as a by-product of their college education, many of the American players in the league seem acutely aware that a career in soccer can be a short and fragile one. In MLS, it can also be a relatively low-paid one.

Devon realises this, adding: “We’re doing this right now because we love the sport, and a lot of the time it’s because we don’t want to enter the real world and get a real job!”

After visiting DC United, the final leg of my journey will see me visit New York, where I will watch the Red Bulls in action against Real Salt Lake.