My Twitter evolution is gradual and slow. While most people manage to grab hundreds of followers by following random morons and being awesome people I’ve probably been way too cautions. I first followed the blogs I liked, and then when I felt like blogs were just a big dick contest I tried to just follow the people who didn’t have blogs and just followed me because they probably liked my blog. Lately I realized the best reason of all to use Twitter.
Following the Soccer Stars For some idiotic reason I’ve spaced up till now probably the best reason to use Twitter. Following the MLS stars I care about. I started by finding a few and then going through all their friends. Because the MLS players generally only friend each other, family, and strippers it’s a good way to track them all down.
Below is my list of all the MLS players and National Team players I’ve found on Twitter so far. Feel free to add the ones you know in the comments.
MLS and Soccer on Twitter International Aston Villa Brad Guzan @bguzan
What does this list tell us? Someone in Houston really liked Twitter and passed it on. Probabyl Stuart Holden.That was a lot of copying and pasting. Enjoy!
Welcome to a very special Advantage Played with three special guests, Bruce Arena, Preki, and Nick Garcia
In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.
Chivas Guadalajara will no longer be now as Guadalajara, but Chivas Mexico.
In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.
An army of robotic David Beckham’s will hold crossing camps for MLS players.
In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.
Major League Soccer will no longer allow the throwing of streamers, only the throwing of Toronto FC Fans.
In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.
The Major League Soccer players union will decide that 12 thousand dollars a year is no longer enough and will demand higher pay. In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.
In a shocking reversal, Major League Soccer will remove the salary cap and the English Premier League will impose one.
In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.
The English Premier League will decide that they are jealous of All-Star games and start one of their own. They will invite San Jose to be the first opponent.
In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.
Soccer will overtake baseball in popularity, but the shocking rise of handball will usurp them all.
In the year two thousand. In the year two thousaaaaaaaaaaand.
Don Garber will officially decide just one Don is douchy and change his name to Don Don “Don” Garber
The great thing about living in Kansas City is I can finally go to little Wizard’s promos and talk to players. Tonight I went to a combined SPCA and Wizard’s event at a sports bar that was promoting dog night at the next Wizards home game. Wizard’s long time player turned Assistant Coach Kerry Zavagnin and injured backup goalkeeper extraordinaire Eric Kronberg were sitting around chatting. I took the opportunity to ask them both a couple questions.
As with every Major League Soccer player I’ve spoken with so far (sorry about the f’ed up audio Claude Simms), they were super nice. Kerry Zavagnin
Do you like being an Assistant Coach over being a player? That’ s a though call, very different. They both have their positives and negatives but coaching was something I wanted to go into and I knew that I wanted to go into it long before I finished playing. To do it in a place I’d played for so long made the transition much easier.
Are you putting in more hours now that you’re a coach? Many more hours. The average player comes in at nine am and is out by one. Now I come in at 7am and sometimes I’m not out till seven. It’s a longer day. Eric Kronberg Are you looking forward to the Open Cup? Ya If I can play. I’m injured right now.
What did you pick up? I tore my labrum and my rotator cup in my shoulder. I’m been out the last five months or so. I’m coming back in a month hopefully.
I don’t get as much news about you. Ya you don’t hear as much about me right now, or ever.
Hey hey you were awesome in the Open Cup. I think a lot of fans appreciated your performance. It was the first time I really got to play in a competitive match with a crowd in a long time. I played for Miami FC back in my rookie year and that was really the last time I played in front of a crowd. It’s been a couple of years. It was something special to me really getting my first time with the starting team.
Do you like being a backup goalkeeper? Do I like it? Ummm. You’ve always got to put your time in. I was a backup in high school; I was a backup in college. I’m putting my time in and being patient. You’ve got to learn from the person above you and keep working at it.
Have you learned much from Kevin Hartman? What have you learned from him? Oh Absolutely. It’s the little things like positioning wise and communication and little aspects of the game. Taking a step here instead of here.
I would think it would be a really intricate position because you play in such a small area of the field. Kevin really simplifies what he does. A lot of keepers try and do too much. He really shows that you can take one step instead of three if it’s in the right spot. He knows what he’s doing, he’s been doing it for years and has all the records. It’s a great experience in my mind.
Picture this: A new stadium, a young team, a fiery young coach, the best football of their lives. It sounds like the perfect setting for a drama where a coal company tries to buy out the stadium to start a mine but the whole community comes together to fight the big company off and instill community values and love throughout the atmosphere.
Well it wasn’t quite that, there was a mining company but they sponsored the stadium instead of turning it into a huge pit. I’m speaking of course of the Real Salt Lake vs. New England Revolution
The Beat Down of a Life Time Six goals. One half. Saturday night Real Salt Lake played the best football of the team’s young life. This is what new stadium are built for. An almost full stadium cheered on the hero’s as RSL starts to come of age.
It wasn’t just a culmination of soccer culture in Salt Lake, it was a culmination of Jason Kries hard work. Kries has brought together a diverse group of players and taught them to believe in themselves. Kyle Beckerman was a steal from Colorado that I’m sure Jason Smith would love to have back. Yura Movsisyan moved disgruntled and upset from Kansas City to a team and supporters that gave him a second chance.
Clint Mathis looks like his old self. Disparaged in the media, Mathis is bringing it hard. He is transforming yet again into the playmaker of yor. Beautiful passes, hard strikes, Kries has given the old charge renewed energy and ferocity.
New England: Down and Out Could New England have played any worse? Remember when New England was going to the playoffs no matter what? Well they sure don’t look like that team anymore. New England looked miserable and without hope in the high altitude.
The only players who looked decent were the always stalwart pair of Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz . With Taylor Twellman out possibly forever, will New England find a way out of this slump? Making it all the harder is lack of commitment by their team owner, who would rather go see an NFL game then New England in the Championship.
The Offside rules showcased two great adverts for Virginia Mason Medical Medical Center featuring the Seattle Sounders. They are too good for me not to forward. I hope these aren't currently breaking Advantage Played, but if so I do apologize.
Power Rankings: A Call for Responsibility The MLSnet Power Ranking Team
What do all Major League Soccer blogs (even MLSnet.com) have in common? Power rankings. You’ll find them everywhere. Hell it’s fun to make a list. Put teams in order depending on Power. But what exactly is a power ranking? What exactly is power? It could be:
A list of Power
A list of longevity
Teams with the most points
Teams with the most potential
Teams with the best players
Whatever the hell Ives want it to mean
All of the Above Ives hard at work on his Power Rankings Really a power ranking is all of the above. Most of all it’s an arbitrary ranking of teams for fun. It’s hard to take any power ranking seriously because they are put together based on bias and personal opinion. Which Power Rankings are the most accurate? It’s hard to tell.
Is there some kind of secret formula? If there is it’s based on the same formula that turns any metal to gold. The middle ages brought us the same formula that powers the Power Rankings.
You want me to take your rankings seriously? Let’s see some transparency. Tell me who your favorite team is and how it figures into your list. Give me your formula. I want to see your rubric.
That’s right, the favorite tool of teachers everywhere can apply to Power Rankings.
A Proposed Rubric To prove I’m not all bluster and fire with no talk to back it up I’ve developed my very own rubric and point system that is will provide the ultimate Power Ranking. Use as follows:
Points earned is starting number
+1-7 points for conference ranking
+10 points for community shield leader
+2 points for every win in a row
+1 point for every shutout
-2 for every loss in a row
-1 for each tie in a row
+50 for your favorite team
There. A fool proof Power Ranking system. Go forth bloggers and put my incredible system into use.
I really do. But a new job requires working outside of work and that's what I have to do. I hope you won't forget about Advantage Played as I try to get my life in order.
This past week it came to light that sexual assault charges have been filed against Fredy Montero by a female in the greater Seattle area. I’m not going to include music or video today, that’s too lighthearted. I’m just going to give the facts. What We Know Here is what we know so far. This information comes from an April 2nd report:
On April 2nd the police began investigating when a woman said Montero was stalking her
She reported that he had sexually assaulted her on the 22nd
Police declined to confirm if Montero is under investigation
There were two alleged dates, the 15th and the 23rd
When the woman saw Montero he was with his host family returning from a high-school soccer game
Montero had been under investigation before the stalking complaint
I’m not going to make a judgment. We don’t know all the details. No charges have yet to be filed against Montero.
According to Montero’s agent Montero fell into a trap when he rejected a woman who randomly showed up at his apartment for a sexual tryst. News Articles
Beep Beep Da Deep Da Bleep Bleep Bleep Bleep There is no "I" in Bruce Arena
Good evening. This is Bruce Arena live from the Advantage Played headquarters in the Chilie con Caso center the moon. Last weekend’s action was totally exciting and in your face. There were some great goals scored. Oh you didn’t see them? Losers. I guess that’s why the fantastic talent at Advantage Played hired me, Former National Team Coach Bruce Arena, to guide you through, The Weekend That Was.
First I have to say what an incredible performance it was by the young guys on my team. Gee golly did they step up and fight. Two late goals by my Landycakes himself brought us above the previous season’s best home result. If Beckham would have been there I could only imagine what the score would have been. Probably at least 1-2 instead of 2-2. And the fans would eat it up. Suckers.
But that’s not the only surprising result. In fact, the Commissioner has informed me that more than one game was played last weekend. Using my giant head and numerous face scrunches I’ve managed to go through the numbers with the same comb I use on my luscious locks to bring you the analysis you just can’t get from those know-it-alls on Extra Time. The Weekend That Was: Away Wins The big story, besides the victory at our SS stadium that is also used for dirt bike racing, is that this season it is more advantageous (or as we hear at AP like to say, “More advantage playedous”) to be the away team this opening weekend. Let’s go to the Big Board and look at the results.
The Big Board OK Big Board, show us the teams that won away from home -Chicago v FC Dallas: 3-1 -Toronto v KC: 3-2
That means only Seattle and Chivas USA captured three full home points. I knew there was no way DC could beat us since we were missing Beckham, but I was almost reminded of my National Team days while we were losing.
What happened to the home team being the most dominate? I know that LA didn’t win because of all of those people who bought season tickets and then for some reason failed to show. What about the other cities?
After a vast amount of concentration with both a magic 8 ball and a snow globe I’ve decided to place the blame solely at the many whims of fate. And that fact that early in the season, home dominance must be started all over again. After a long preseason the rust is still covers the ignition despite the shiny chrome additions of new players. Time to Step Up The players must be confident in their home support and field. Us home teams get to eat pasta in bed before a game if we want. We can hop in our 02’ Ford Rangers with only 60 thousand miles and drive to the stadium instead of flying thousands of miles.
The damage is done to Dallas, KC, San Jose, Houston, and LA. The advantage has been played to the away winners. They are granted increased confidence and a sense of accomplishment while the losers feel the opposite. If they can’t win on their first day of play at home, how can they be expected to win away?
Now is the time for men to be men. The away winners must build on their success and make no assumptions next time they play at home. The losers, well, I know that our underwear model overlords will be back to make it right soon.
This has been Bruce Arena bringing you The Weekend That Was. See you soon.
You probably figured it out by now, but this is going to be my regular Friday feature. It takes a whole lot less creativity on my part, I get to spread the love around to different sites, and you get some news updates. Everyone wins.
I'm putting every blog that doesn't link to me on notice. Shiver your timbers.
We all know that the rules of Major League Soccer are convoluted and hard to figure out. Thankfully you have me! Months ago I went on a secret spy mission toMLS headquarters. I have just now returned from my mission. Pretending to be a developmental player petitioning to receive seven dollars and hour instead of six, I snuck into Don Graber’s office and read the secret tome of knowledge. Here are the secrets contained within.
The Mutiny Desk As I made my way through the labyrinth that is MLS headquarters I watched interns and men without shirts scurry through marble halls. MLS headquarters is both expansive and intimate. Large TV’s continually broadcasting FSC’s Fox Football Fone-In cover every wall. As I walked passed vast cubical farms chatter floated through the air.
“40 million per expansion team” “Pucker up” “David Beckham and Blanco on the same team” "More rainbows on shirts" “Grandfathers” “Poplar Point” “More national team players on TFC”
I scooted down the hall and came to large mahogany double doors. I pressed my ear to the door I couldn’t hear a thing inside. I turned the knob and stepped inside the door. Inside was an exact replica of the oval office. There in the center of the room was a large desk made out of Tampa Bay Mutiny equipment. The legs were sold goalposts. The top was a solidified mass of Mutiny Jerseys rolled together like a dung beetle rolls shit.
I knew my mission. I walked over to the desk and began pulling out desk drawers.
5
1
9
7
4
Click! A secret compartment rose from the desk.
Franky Hejduk’s birthdate. The key to any room or safe in MLS headquarters.
The Book of Secrets As I opened the book wind filled the air, shaking the room. I opened the book to expose the deeply guarded secrets:
Any underwear model has the option to buy a MLS team
Developmental players are cheap slaves
The purpose of MLS is to build stadiums which will later be used for a new Major League Rugby League
The DB rule is actually named after Deutsche Bank AG the secret rulers of MLS
Loaning players out is done through the Office of Witchcraft and Wizardry
There is a shortage of chicken livers to examine
Every team must have a sister club but only FC Dallas can use their connections
TFC is financed by a Ponzi scheme
Don Garber likes his coffee cold
Silly string are the new streamers
Throwing things at Craig Waibel is encouraged
A developmental player reality series is in the works
Maykel Galindo is the narrator
The Escape Just then I heard bells ringing and a loud shuffling sound. It had to be the Don and Blanco. I shut the desk and bailed out the window and took the book with me. As I ran backwards through the cornfield I heard the screams coming from MLS headquarters.
They were lost without the book. Now color and emotion would slowly seep back into their world. They would learn what love, pain, war, and joy really is. Sigi Schmitd would have to guide them. As I ducked through the bushes with the book strapped to my bike I stopped for a second but kept going. Days past. Months. Slowly the planes came less and less.
One day as I came out of the mountain the book yelled "Plane, plane!" I threw myself into the bushes but couldn't hear the buzzing. I looked to where the book was looking. It was a bird. We were back to civilization.
On Friday of last week I talked with Kevin Souter and tried to understand a little about him and where he is going on this crazy ball of dust. It was a great talk; Souter is a friendly guy. It is imperative that you read his words in a Scottish accent.
Kevin Souter in the Beginning What is your first soccer memory? My actual first soccer memory was when I was really really small. As soon as you started walking [in the UK] you were going to be kicking a ball. I remember being over at my grandparents. I’d be in a hallway in his house just kicking the ball back and forth with my grandpa. We’d do it for a long, long time. Just him kicking the ball and kicking it back to him. It’s something I always remember.
Then I remember playing outside. There was a little parking lot we used to play in. I must have been three years old during that time.
You were in Scotland, how did pick Graceland out of all the American colleges? Well something I’ve always had an eye on is soccer in the states. My high school PE teacher always said there is opportunity to go and play soccer in the states and get a scholarship and do some schooling over there. So from high school I’d always had it in the back of my mind.
When I was in high school I was picked up by a Scottish Premier League team Aberdeen and I was on their books as an academy player. I was with their youth team growing up. I never really thought about education. I’d always hoped I’d make it with Aberdeen.
That was my dream and boyhood team. As I progressed through there, [some of the] coach’s thought I was doing well with the younger team and the reserves but the head coach didn’t think I was progressing as much as I should have been and decided to part ways.
I took a little knock there and was pretty disheartened and went and played for some part time soccer team and did a college course back home. After a while I thought “I really do love soccer and I want to get back into it and continue with my education as well.”
A guy I was playing with had been over and was at Harvard University, a NCAA school. I talked to him and his coach contacted me and we talked a little bit. By that time he couldn’t get me over so the plan was to go to another school for a year and then transfer as long as my grades were good.
Graceland University contacted me. The coach that called me was the assistant woman’s coach, a goalkeeping coach. His son (Josh Wagenaar) was the goalkeeper at Harvard University. By this point I was ready to go anywhere. So I took the chance right away.
I had never seen the place, never heard of it, and it was an eye opener for sure. The people there were great, the coaching staff was great, and we had a lot of success. I grew a lot as a player and as a person and I have a lot of respect for the organization and the coaching staff there.
Playing in NAIA How competitive do you think NAIA is? I was pleasantly surprised by the standard of competition. Our strength was we were a hard team to beat, a hard working team. We played several teams that were better technical with guys from Brazil or South Africa, but our team was very hard to break down. We got goals off of set pieces - breakaways. Wherever it was we worked for it.
In terms of the league we played William Jewel, Benedictine, and Mid America. There was a lot of good team we would consistently play. Then going to the National Tournament as well, there were a lot of good players.
To be honest I think the NAIA is underrated. All the hype is about Division I and NCAA and during the draft all the players come from there, but there are a lot of good players in NAIA who are seemingly overlooked which is a shame but that’s the nature of it.
Current players in NAIA still talk about how good you were. Do you think you were better than the pack? When I first came I probably lacked self belief. The coach was getting his doctorate in sports psychology and besides the team side of stuff he was probably working on sports psychology stuff. That really helped my game as a player and my confidence. I had experience in the past, professional experience, coming through a youth setup and seeing how it was done so I knew I had ability.
He gave me a license to take charge and the confidence to be a leader on the team and to take games by the scruff of the neck and be in charge. I felt I was a strong competitive player in the league. It’s a testament to the team, we’d go to some teams who’d been scouting us and they’d put two guys on me. That’s says something about me right?
We were a team so if two guys were on me we’ve got one guy spare. I loved my three years at Graceland and I’d never change them. I love the league and I had some great times there and it was defiantly great competition.
I put my head down and worked every spring and summer time. The coach would give me things to work on and I’d work on them and improve on them by the following season. It’s all about progression. MLS Season One How do you feel about your first Major League Soccer Season? It was unexpected to be honest. Going into open tryouts I had that self belief in myself. I got picked up after the tryouts and went to Argentine with the team. As soon as I got myself adjusted to the team and the speed of play I started to understand a bit more what I could do and the potential I had. The coaches liked it and signed me up for the year. My targets for the year was to continually work hard and progress and that meant putting in all the extra time in the gym or after practice.
It was a long road getting to where I was. I wasn’t going to give it up that easy. I was going to do all that extra work. Stick around after practice working on certain things and implement them in the games. I was trying to get to the reserve team for starters. As I got more and more minutes there I would start to show a bit more and hopefully at the end of year to come away having earned a senior roster spot. That’s what I did. On top of that I got to make the A team and play a few games and I made my debut against my long time hero David Beckham.
You stole the ball from him with your first touch didn’t you? Yeah. That was special. I went in on right side. I figured he’d be on the opposite side. Beckham was on my side for whatever reason and I think it was a corner. He took a bad touch and the ball got away from him and I got in there.
I have a picture sitting up in my room of me shaking hands with him after the game. That’s something I’m going to cherish for a long, long time.
After that things just took off. I got starts. I got a goal the following week when we played Toronto. It was a lucky hit but the records show it was mine so I’m taking it.
I started in Chicago and managed to keep myself in the lineup right through the playoffs. My task is to build off that this season.
2009 Preseason You just got back from Guadalajara, what is it like? Well the hotel was nice. We trained at Atlas’ facilities which were nice. They were very hospitable and we went and watched one of their games which they won 2-0. In terms of the city itself there are some nice areas and some rundown areas.
A few of us got a couple of taxis and went to a market. It was very nice and cool to see, a big market, a lot of stuff in there. We did a little sightseeing.
Guadalajara is kinda the same altitude as Colorado. In terms of training we were breathing heavy. Coming back the last couple days everyone is doing great.
No one was cut from the Wizard’s roster. How did that affect the preseason? For the most part we had meetings before we left and got an idea of where we stood. The coach has enough confidence in all the players here. Certain spots have more depth but we got the majority of the guys back from last year. We didn’t add too much, just a little more depth. The guys like myself, John Leathers, Chance Myers, Marquess, the second year guys gained a lot of experience. Roger Espinoza with the Honduras National Team.
Guys are gaining more experience and on top of that we got a couple good acquisitions, the first year guys, Graham Zusi, and Beasler. We’ve got a pretty solid team. We have 24 but we still have Chance and Kronberg who are injured reserve right now. They are probably going to be added to the team too.
We went down to Florida and saw several teams down there with a lot of players, 40, 50, and it must be hard trying to get them all minutes and assessing all those players. We had maybe 25-30 guys and it was a lot more manageable. We could get straight to business and make more of the preseason this year than we did last year.
Thoughts on the 2009 Season How will the Wizards do in the upcoming season? I thought we finished really strong last year and I don’t think it will be any different this year. Our goal is to keep a really good home record which puts us in good stead and pick away at away games and try to get some wins away from home.
The squad is more than capable of getting results. Other teams have been adding to their squads and getting strong as well but I think we’ve got good balance and are gaining more experience. The coach has trust in the guys from last year.
There are no wholesale changes. In practice we’ve been working more on defensive movement and more offensive movements as well. As we play more as a team, we fight as a team, we win as a team. I think it’s going to show this year.
Our goal again is to make the playoffs and we want to win the conference and take it from there.
Do you think you will continue starting? I know you made a strong run at the end of last season. It’s hard to say. This preseason has been kinda up and down for me. I feel like I started slower in the preseason but it has come around; I feel like I’m really getting sharp again. Again we’ve got so much competition in these spots. The acquisition of Hirsig, he’s been playing on the right in some preseason games, Zusi has been playing well along with Herculez who’s just come back from injury.
I feel I am starting to show more of the potential I have, getting sharper again and back to normal. There are plenty of options and it really depends who the coach decides to go with at the time. I’m always striving for a starting spot and whether it happens the first game or not I’m going to continue working.
This update is not about Aki Riihilahti. He’s not going to San Jose. I’m just a worthless rumor monger, but I blame the 1906 Ultras for making me so.
Graham (that’s me): Down and Out and Bored This lady is also bored and will talk to you for 5.99 a minute
It’s been a while since I felt the fire of soccer burning within me (no I don’t have herpes). So far this off season I’ve been:
Following the David Beckham situation and pretending not to
Cheering on the Wizard’s Graham Zusi because he has my first name
Setting up Google News alters to compensate for no DuNord
Learning just how many MLS blogs there are (at least 20)
Knowing hardly anything about RSL’s team
Watching Match of the Day
Watching Match of the Day 2 while falling asleep on my couch
Twittering download links to Mininova and wondering if it breaks the TOS
You get the picture. It hasn’t exactly been drunken clowns at a birthday party fun. More like watching a Harry Potter movie on mute while reading Pride and Prejudice as Kei Kamara tries to engage you in a rap battle fun.
So after watching the first leg of the Houston vs AtlanteChampions League quarterfinal (1-1); I was excited to see if Houston could make MLS history and pull out a win away from home.
Houston: Down and Out in Mexico
I had reason to hope it might happen. The first leg, although disappointing, featured good play by several Houston players. Kei Kamara fought hard for the ball and had several good shots on goal. They outplayed Atlante at times. They got a great goal off a corner and had a total of a bazillion corners. Could they still win without Ol’ Dwayne?
So last night I turned on Veetle (best streaming service ever) and tuned into FSC at 9pm sharp. There they were, the drums beating, the crowd half filling the stadium, the Dynamo proud in their cute little kits with baby blue sleeves.
“If they come out halfway decent and dominate the first 15 minutes maybe they can win” I told myself.
“I know it’s preseason but the first performance was encouraging.”
And then it began. The Dynamo proceeded to:
Lose EVERY SINGLE BALL in the air
Forget how to pass
Forget that the first touch is important
Forget that it is possible to shoot from outside the box
Get drawn into Atlante’s dirty mind games (involves a donkey named Kinky Kelly)
The Fire Burns Deep Within Then the slow motion lighter hit the gas station. Kei Kamara ran down the left side of the field with the ball. He danced past one defender. Houston crashed the box. And Kamara hit the cross. Up. Up. Up. And all the way back across the fucking track into the stands.
I stood up and yelled “FUUUUCK YOUUUUU.” I was furious. Every horrible touch made me burn inside. Every missed header made me flinch.
I was involved in the game. I wanted Houston to win. All of a sudden I was angry at the shit Houston was trying to pass of as the beautiful game. I was angry at the ref for not giving Atlante red cards. I was really angry when Ching missed from point blank range.
The days of watching Match of the Day half-asleep on the couch are almost over.
I know I usually do focused updates but today I am going to take you around the league. Come with me on a magical journey as we explore the latest fun happenings in Major League Soccer
Americans in Europe American soccer fans follow their heroes in Europe. Whole sites are dedicated to covering the every move and step of these heroes as they do battle in far off lands. Recently, a man who was born in South Africa, raised in England, and lived in America for 15 years has gone back to England to do battle. No he’s not a field player, but after 15 years of working as the Deputy Commissioner of Major League Soccer, Ivan Gazidis has now been the CEO of Arsenal since January 1st.
Our Adopted Friend Ivan is not American but after his time helping MLS he deserves our respect and gratitude. He has negotiated hundreds of salaries and has fundamentally shaped the how we view MLS. In 1994 Ivan joined the founding management team of Major League Soccer. While the other Americans had the required business brains Ivan brought more to the table. Ivan felt soccer and knew soccer in a way that Americans did not. He had grown up living the dream, and he had big ideas about how to regulate soccer so it would succeed in America.
Don’t Feel Ashamed Major League Soccer often looks at the European leagues and feels ashamed. They have better players who get paid 100 times the salary of the biggest MLS star. The stands are packed full of fans, and worldwide TV licensing rights bring in millions of pounds.
As MLS fans stare uncomfortably at their feet or raise their middle fingers at Eurosnobs they forget that life in England and the European leagues looks better than it really is. We cheer on stars that often get paid less than a supermarket manager. In Europe they pay millions of pounds for almost every footballer on the pitch. We cheer for stars that represent us; who live in a style that we can relate to. Fans in Europe worship stars who live far beyond reality, in a fantasy world that European fans can only dream of. America brings the hard working real soccer stars.
Europe Looks to MLS While MLS fans look to Europe, Europe is looking back at us for leadership. The lack of a salary cap is driving clubs to pay incredible amounts for one footballer. They wallow farther into debt in hopes of one day achieving the status and support that will result in a return on their investment. European clubs face continual debt, takeover bids, and large player salaries. The owners and managers of European clubs are now looking at the Major League Soccer business model for support and inspiration.
Major League Soccer is set to weather the current economic storm. With a strict salary cap, low player wages, investors with deep pockets, and a culture of the working man in place, MLS will survive. While attendance in European leagues are slowly declining as jobs are lost and tickets prices rise, MLS ticket sales remain steady. Indeed, Seattle has sold over 20,000 season tickets. It is through the careful and prudent planning of Ivan Gazidis that MLS will live on while the economic crisis will inevitably level and destroy some of the European clubs.
We may not know soccer but we know business. Recent articles featuring Ivan Gazidis and his work Recently there have been some great articles about Gazidis:
Come with me on a magical journey across time and space as we learn and watch videos about Preki. He came from a foreign land and brought happiness, trophies, and great coaching to Major League Soccer.
Preki Is Born Preki was born in Belgrade. Amidst the old world architecture he lived and dreamed of football. As a young man he started out brilliantly, playing for Red Star Belgrade and dreaming of moving on to bigger and better things.
Even though he was with Red Star when they won a championship, Preki was eager to move out of the country and find a better financial opportunity.
To Major Indoor Soccer League So when the opportunity came for Preki to go to MISL he jumped at the chance. Preki arrived in America with a few articles of clothing and almost no money but went on to spend seven season playing in MISL. He spent time with both the Tacoma Stars and the St. Louis Storm and, amazingly, was named MVP every single season in the league. Preki will always be a legend of MISL, scoring 332 goals and 332 assists.
Off to England At 29, Preki had had enough of indoor American soccer and took his considerable talents with him back across the Ocean to England. At Everton, Preki was played wide left, not his usual position. After 46 appearances and five goals for Everton, Preki moved to Portsmouth where he spent a season, scoring 5 goals in 40 games.
Back to MLS After his time in England, Preki returned to MLS where he dominated. He became an eight-time all-star, two-time MLS Most Valuable Player (including 2003 at the age of 40) and two-time MLS Golden Boot winner. Perhaps most memorable was the 2000 season when he guided the Wizards to a MLS Championship.
While in MLS he destroyed building by wearing rainbows and kicking a ball
Into Coaching Now, Preki stands at the helm of Chivas USA. In 2006 he was an assistant coach to Bob Bradley, so when Bradley got the National Team call Preki stood up and stood firm. He guided his 2007 team to a conference championship and claimed the 2007 Coach of the Year Award.
National Team Oh ya he played with the US National Team too.
The San Jose Earthquake became the 11th team in Major League Soccer to reel in a jersey sponsor Tuesday when they secured Amway as their official sponsor. To celebrate their (well mostly the leagues) new found money I am ranking the sponsors and team. My ranking is based on three qualities, each with 5 possible positive and negative points: • Company Reputation • Money involved • Logo Design (includes how well it works with the kit)
The Top 11 1. Seattle Sounders: 4 million annually XBOX 360 LIVE Company Reputation: 5 Money: 5 Logo Design: 5 Total Score: 15 Seattle scored big when they brought Microsoft and XBOX 360 LIVE in as a sponsor. It is hard to get a bigger company than Microsoft. Seattle and Microsoft work great together because Seattle has a great tech industry. The young and technological savvy crowd that Major League Soccer attracts is a great fit for Microsoft. Microsoft bring the money, and they brought top dollar to the deal with the Sounders.
The design works too. The Sounder’s colors fit the XBOX and the XBOX’s colors fit the Sounders. It’s the perfect match.
2. DC United: 3.1 to 3.7 million annually Volkswagen Company Reputation: 5 Money: 4.5 Logo Design: 5 Total Score: 14.5 DC United is a very close second to Seattle. Volkswagen is a top company that everyone immediately recognizes. Not only do they support DC, but Volkswagen is a main sponsor of the league itself. Every time you see the logo you have to think of DC, even if you are at a RSL vs Colorado game.
The Volkswagen logo looks classy on both the home and away jerseys. The white and black negative spaces are simple and clear. I love the round design; eons better than “Volkswagen” splayed across the kit.
3. New York Red Bulls: Part of a 100 million dollar deal Red Bull Company Reputation: 4 Money: 5 Logo Design: 5 Total Score: 14 Metrostars fans might hate me but I like Red Bull as a sponsor. The jerseys look great. The Bulls on front give off the brand without the company name yelling out who they are. The money is wonderful as well. Red Bull has brought increased press, a new stadium, and an improved commitment to the league.
Red Bull has always been a great sponsor of athletes, without them many fringe sports and athletes could not succeed. I admit to having yelled that Red Bull tastes like piss and then drinking a free can. They are good for the community.
4 (TIE). Chicago Fire: 2 to 4 million annually Best Buy Company Reputation: 4 Money: 3.5 Logo Design: 3 Total Score: 10.5 Best Buy is another great sponsor for Major League Soccer. The nationally known logo fits well with the Chicago Fire’s all red jerseys. I hate fighting the crowds in Best Buy, but I wouldn’t mind at a Fire game. The brand recognition is instantaneous; the white tag against the red background stands out and looks slightly garish. Did they only give the designer paint.NET? “Well I have the select a box tool, I don’t know how to change off white and black, and I have a paint can tool.”
The money is right too. I could not find clear figures so the Fire misses 5 points for money. A varied figure means they get a slightly lower score and miss out on fourth place by .5 points.
4 (TIE). Houston Dynamo: 1.785 million annually Amigo Energy Company Reputation: 3 Money: 2.5 Logo Design: 5 Total Score: 10.5 Amigo Energy is a local company that the South is familiar with but it does not hold the brand recognition that the top 4 have. While it doesn’t have the recognition it connects locally and bring recognition to a team that doesn’t always have the respect it deserves from the local government. At 1.785 million annually, Houston has secured enough money to put themselves right at the medium for sponsor money.
The logo is unique to the area and culture. It’s got flavor baby. The Amigo Energy logo is about more than just the company, it also talks about the culture in Houston, Texas.
5. Columbus Crew: 1 million annually Glidden Company Reputation: 4 Money: 1 Logo Design: 5 Total Score: 10 Columbus Crew, the 2008 MSL Cup Champions are getting the short end of a stick shoved somewhere nasty. At 1 million annually they are tied with Real Salt Lake as worst negotiators (was it really was to appoint Steve Sampson to take care of it?). However, they stick at fifth place because Glidden has done more than pay their 1 million dollars and walk away.
The Glidden logo looks professional and cool on Columbus’ jerseys. The rounded logo, reminiscent of the Volkswagen design stands out and melds well with the kit. Glidden also has put more money into sponsoring MLS and they have a sweet line of paint at Home Depot where you can order custom MLS colors. Never done it, but I think it’s cool.
6. Toronto FC: 1 to 1.5 million annually BMO Company Reputation: 4 Money: 1.5 Logo Design: 3 Total Score: 8.5 At 1 to 1.5 million, Toronto FC isn’t getting anything spectacular from a bank. Toronto may excel at giving goals away but BMO isn’t quite as generous. BMO is a solid bank relatively free from the credit crisis but it doesn’t help that BMO is only accessible to those in Canada and Chicago. The brand recognition isn’t there.
The logo design is bland. The black BMO stands beside some kind of emoticon typed by a Japanese adolescent girl.
7. Chivas USA: 2 million annually Comex Company Reputation: 3 Money: 2.5 Logo Design: 2 Total Score: 7.5 The Comex group is the other paint company in MLS sponsor world. They want you to buy their paint and industrial smoothing products and proceed get all colorful and shit but the logo doesn’t tell me that. It says, “We sell white paint and if you paint an X, it will be in a totally sweet font. Schwing!”
While the money is right and the culture connection with South and Central America is there, the rest just got stabbed in Tijuana.
8. LA Galaxy: 4 to 5 million annually Herbalife Company Reputation: -5 Money: 5 Logo Design: 3 Total Score: 3 Oh Galaxy, when will you stop being so easy to pick on? Let’s get the positive out of the way. Hey um, HERBALIIIIIFE, you paid out some good money and I like the little plant design but I think it is missing a couple of leafs. The only way the Galaxy aren’t last in this list is the great money they are getting.
But Herbalife? Inappropriate business practices, running a pyramid scheme, many lawsuits, Herbalife has paid out 50 Million in lawsuits over the years. Do I need to say anymore about how sleazy life is in Herbalife?
9. Real Salt Lake: 1 million annually XanGo Company Reputation: -2 Money: 1 Logo Design: 2 Total Score: 1 XanGo. Interesting name. If I stare at the name long enough and say it over and over in my mind it means I’m supposed to take some Xanax and Go somewhere exotic? RSL isn’t exactly making bank on this deal. Sure when they signed it they were in a horrible stadium with bouncy turf action but 1 million is pretty low.
The logo is sufficient but if that’s the kind of creativity XanGo inspires
10. San Jose Earthquakes: 2 to 3 million annually Amway Company Reputation: -6 Money: 3 Logo Design: 3 Total Score: 0 Amway, meet your neighbor pyramid Herbalife. Nice of you to sponsor a California team too. The two rivals have something in common; they will sell you stupid shit. Amway, I get your connection with California, they had riots and you caused riots in China! You are illegal in India and tried to get away with tax evasion in Canada! You are pure class. At least you are paying decent money and were willing to change their logo color so it matches the Earthquake color scheme.
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Here is a great shot of a converted trailer a Columbus crew fan brought to the game last year. Too bad it was super hot out and not many people wanted to go inside!
