World Football Postulant

United States international left half/back Eddie Lewis has left Coca-Cola Championship side Derby to join the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. The Galaxy made room for Lewis by dealing Carlos Ruiz to Toronto, who have added another forward (to Chad Barrett, who they got from Chicago three weeks ago).

Lewis has been one of the more unrated contributors to the U.S. national team because of his relatively one dimensional nature. He provides service from the left but nothing much more, but his service is exquisite. It is not quite to the level of his new teammate David Beckham’s, but that’s a high standard. Lewis’s service is truly world class. Landon Donovan and Edison Buddle’s already charmed lives living on the end of Beckham’s passes just got that much easier. Let the myth that is “Landon Donovon - World Class Player” continue as he piles up goals thanks to Beckham and Lewis.

Continue Reading »

It is almost a shame that an organization in as much turmoil as the Los Angeles Galaxy can stumble onto a gem of a coach like Bruce Arena, but that’s what star power will do for you.  With David Beckham and Landon Donovan on the roster, the Galaxy were not a hard sell.

Arena has been successful everywhere he’s been (even a relative success in his short stay in New York), and there’s no reason why he won’t turn the Galaxy around.  They have absolutely nothing on defense, but they have the league’s best offense, and as long as Arena adjusts to his personnel, the Galaxy have a chance be a playoff team, especially with the scheduling benefits being the the weak Western Conference provide.

With World Cup qualifying about to star, Arena’s job is by no means easy.  With the most top-heavy roster in the league, no club is hurt more by international call-ups than the Galaxy.  They are so reliant on Beckham and Donovan that their international duties nuder the club.  The better teams around MLS - ones with depth - can deal with their international call-ups better.  For Arena, it will be a challenge.

Although the hiring is not official yet, it is expected to be announced today.  Arena should be on the sidelines when the Galaxy take on Chicago on Thursday, when he will likely be without both Beckham and Donovan.  With ten matches remaining in the regular season, Los Angeles needs to make up a point in the standings to qualify for the playoffs.  Unfortunately for Arena, every team at the bottom of MLS still has a chance at that spot, so little disadvantages like international call-ups and new coach adjustment periods can make a huge difference.

One of the seven teams sprinting for the spot is going to get hot, and with Beckham in England and Donovan in Guatemala, it’s unlikely to be the Galaxy.  If Arena can get Los Angeles into the playoffs, if would be a great accomplishment to star his Galaxy tenue.

Links
Galaxy set to announce Arena as manager
Arena tipped for Galaxy coaching role
Arena tipped to take over as Galaxy head coach
Arena attends game with Galaxy official
Galaxy face uncertain future after Galaxy exit
Beckham backs Gullit’s decision to put family first
Beckham ‘disappointed’ but backs Gullit’s decision
Galaxy face uncertain future
Galaxy face uncertain future after Gullit exit
Arena, Nowak linked to vacant Galaxy coach gig
Who Will Be Beckham’s Next Boss?
Gullit a Galaxy goner after 10 months

Rangers, less than a week after having Carlos Cuéllar move on to Aston Villa, have swooped for Toronto FC’s Maurice Edu, seemingly intent on moving him to center back full-time. The 22-year-old moves to Glasgow for £2.5 million, or roughly 1/3 of the Cuéllar money.  If you buy into the theory that Rangers need to recoup some of the money they loss because of their early Europe exit, this may be their one move with Villa’s fee.  Rangers did acquire Pedro Mendes from Portsmouth for a modest fee, but Edu’s capture could prove more influential.

For TFC, Edu has been playing as a holding mid, but in Beijing for Peter Nowak’s U.S. U23 squad, Edu played well in the middle of the back line.  Now moving to the Scottish Premier League, the timing seems to hint Walter Smith plans on him becoming a full time defender.

This is a very risky move for Rangers, who are replacing their best player with a role of the dice.  Edu is a very good player who has been slightly overlooked for over a year in both the U.S. national team and MLS, a curious statement given he has broken through with country and was gaining notoriety with club.  But Edu deserved more, because he has played at a very high level during that time.  With Toronto being a somewhat obscure team last season (bottom of the league standings, in Canada as opposed to the U.S.), Edu was often forgotten, and with Bob Bradley intent on playing his son in a holding role for the national team, he was somewhat unfairly overshadowed internationally.  Moving to Glasgow, he will no longer be overshadowed.

Rangers are a huge club, and if he can break the lineup, Maurice Edu becomes the highest profile American playing abroad.  He will have to adjust to a new role and do so for a club that will be expect to compete for league and cup titles.  If he can make the adjustment, not only will he have made a club move that only DeMarcus Beasley’s can parallel, but he will have also solved a problem for the national team.  With the pairing of Oguchi Onyewu and Carlos Bocanegra starting to look like a vulnerability, Edu at center back could be a solution for South Africa.

There is, however, the possibility that Edu stays in the midfield, becoming a holder for Rangers.  If he does not change position, I have no doubt he will succeed and become a major part of the club before the end of the season.  Edu is too smart, too athletic, and too competitive to fail under those circumstances.  Even without that position switch which might help bother club, career, and country, it is an extremely exciting move for Edu and the US-MNT.

On the Major League Soccer side of the coin, a team like Toronto can never truly afford to lose quality players, and in a league where midfielders can dominate, it seems like a big loss on paper.  With Toronto on the edge of the playoffs, it could be the difference between postseason play and an early offseason.  TFC, however, has a reasonable amount of depth in midfield, and the punch acquired when the club dealt the rights to Brain McBride for Chad Barrett might offset Edu’s loss.

Links
Smith Confirms Maurice Edu Link
Rangers on verge of USA star Edu
Gers confirm Edu arrival

The Los Angeles Galaxy have tried to transcend the limits of Major League Soccer since engineering David Beckham’s acquisition last year. Whether it’s their continued (rumored) circumvention of the league’s salary cap, the league working with them to go beyond player allocation rules, or their on-field approach which seems to deny the need for defenders, the Galaxy have created a league of one, apart of Major League Soccer. It’s the type of approach that sees them make the CNN news ticker whenever something noteworthy comes from Home Depot Center, speaking to their breaking through U.S.’s football ceiling. It’s too bad for the team’s management such feats have no effect on the standings.

Thanks to what is by far the league’s worst defence, the Galaxy are on the verge of missing the MLS playoffs, something only six of fourteen league teams will do. They are giving up more than two goals per game, a total which compliments the actual efficacy of their defence. Having allocated all their salary cap resources to their offense, Los Angeles’s defence is (and has been) worst in the league. While their offense has leveled-out as the season’s progressed, the back line’s just gotten worse.

That former head coach Ruud Gullit was held accountable for this is unfair. With his resignation this weekend, Gullit was (effectively) dismissed for not being able to perform a miracle. The team was clearly formed with the idea of playing open, “exciting” football. As a consequence of having so much money going to Beckham and Landon Donovan, they had no means by which to acquire defense. Is that Gullit’s fault? Given the team had the best offense in the league (by a good distance), it seems the Dutchman’s merely worked with what he was given. That hardly seems worthy of an involuntary resignation.

President Alexi Lalas is a little more difficult to defend if you assume he had a great role than Gullit in the roster’s construction, but a team does not bring in players like Beckham and (to a lesser extent) Donovan without ownership being intimately involved. These are players whose benefits and compensation packages extend beyond that pitch to places only owners can reach. To some extent, Lalas has had most of the team’s salary room obligated to him. That he and his team were not able to foster better goal prevention may be no more his fault than Gullit’s.

So who is to blame? AEG president Tim Leiweke, the executive appointed by owner Philip Anschutz? Given that he has helped raise the profile of the team and the league, it’s difficult to throw much blame his way. If you want to blame him to what Los Angeles has done on the field, so be it, but that’s only part of his job. And the same can be said for Lalas.

There really is nobody to “blame” in Los Angeles. For a while, this will be a team that should not be judged by wins and losses. If the banner of MLS climbs, it will likely be on the exposure Beckham and the Galaxy garner the league, and the club will deserve credit when that happens. For a sport that’s main problem in this country has been economic viability, it would be a bigger win than any three points the club could win on the pitch. For that reason, it’s hard to see why Lalas and Gullit are now without jobs.

In that way, the Galaxy have already become bigger than their MLS profile. Like the big clubs in places like Brazil, they are spuriously dismissing management at the first sign of trouble. The club is certainly transcending something, though it may be reason, perspective, or prudence.

Quotes
“In truth, it has proved a lot more difficult than I anticipated for my family to settle in the area and the club has been very supportive and understanding of my decision.” - Gullit
“Both parties have agreed on mutually agreeable terms to part company.” - Leiweke
“With Ruud moving on, we believe that this is the right time to make more sweeping changes throughout the organization.” - Leiweke
“It is an amicable arrangement and we appreciate and respect the issues that Ruud has highlighted with the club and are very grateful for all the hard work he has contributed while with the organization. Hopefully, he has laid the foundations for future success for the Los Angeles Galaxy.” - Leiweke
“Unfortunately, you can’t fire 22 players. I think they’re all responsible. I have told them: ‘Now no one has any excuses.’ I eliminated all excuses.” - Leiweke
“Now it’s up to (interim coach) Cobi (Jones) to straighten it out with the team and on the pitch and for us to make a decision on how we structure this organisation going forward so we no longer have the split we clearly have.” - Leiweke
“We are stepping up and doing what we need to do to straighten this thing out.” - Leiweke
“There are two good people that for different reasons aren’t part of this organization today, and that’s a shame. The fact is, the players have to look deep inside themselves and understand they have to be responsible for some of this.” - Leiweke
“Am I angry we find ourselves in the situation we find ourselves in? Yes. This is not a fun week. The Galaxy hasn’t made the playoffs for a couple years. Punting on this season is not acceptable. It starts Thursday.” - Leiweke

Links
Galaxy face uncertain future
Roundup: Earthquakes drop Galazy to end winless streak
Galaxy given stiff ultimatum
Gullit leaves LA Galaxy
Gullit resigns as Los Angeles Galaxy coach
Gullit resigns as Galaxy coach; Lalas out as well
Galaxy coach Gullit quites; Lalas heads out
Galaxy coach Gullit resigns; president/GM Lalas out, too
In L.A., It’s Time to Say Goodbye
Gullit and Lalas exit LA Galaxy
Galaxy plan shake-up after Gullit resignation
Galaxy coach Gullit resigns
Gullit goner after 10 months

Former Chivas USA and second choice United States national team goaltender Brad Guzan has cleared the final hurdle in his move to the Premiership.  Today, Guzan was granted his work permit, clearing the way for him to sign his previously agreed-to contract with Aston Villa and join Martin O’Neill’s side after the Olympics.  Guzan is currently with the United States’ Olympic team preparing for the Beijing games, where he was selected as one of the squad’s three over-age players.

Guzan and Villa had agreed to a move in January that was canceled because of the inability to secure a work permit.  England typically only issues work permits to players who are regulars on their country’s senior national team.  In the intervening months, Guzan made more appearance’s for Bob Bradley and the national team, helping to secure his work permit.

In his three plus seasons with Chivas USA, Guzan played in 82 regular season matches and won an MLS Goaltender of the Year award.  He had a very shakey start to this MLS season, letting in a couple of howlers, but has recovered to again assert himself as one of the league’s best and Bradley’s choice behind Everton’s Tim Howard. 

For Aston Villa, he will have an opportunity to learn from fellow American Brad Friedel, who just transferred to Villa Park from Blackburn. Friedel signed a three year deal, over which he is expected to transition his starting job to Guzan.

Quotes

“I am going to go in there and work as hard as I can, learn as much as I can and try and become a better player and help the team in any way I can.” - Guzan
“Whether that is as a number two or competing for a number one, I am going to be pushing to make myself better or pushing to make the person who is playing to play better.” - Guzan
“As my very first professional club, Chivas USA will always have a special place in my heart.” - Guzan
“We trust that Villa supporters will soon see what Chivas USA fans have known for some time: that this is a very special young man with the potential of becoming one of the great goalkeepers in the international game.” - Shawn Hunter, president, Chivas USA

Links

Villa Get Guzan Green Light
Villa-bound Guzan granted permit
Villa Given Guzan Work Permit
Guzan given green light to move
Guzan gets work permit

I am belligerent when it comes to Brian McBride.  While there are various arguments for best out-field American of all time, I subscribe to McBride’s (an under-represented view) and am somewhat intolerant in defending it.  He’s the only American to play so well at such a high level of club competition, and if you want to make an argument centered around national team contributions, consider the trouble the United States has had replacing him relative to the ease with which they replaced players like Claudio Reyna, Eric Wynalda, Tab Ramos, John Harkes, and Eddie Pope.

Excuse me if I missed somebody from that list.  As I mentioned at the onset, I’m intolerant in this conversation.  McBride, in my mind, is the best out-field player the United States has produced, and I really don’t spend too much time thinking about it (note:  please, let’s not start a Landon Donovan debate).

McBride retired from Premiership football in May, leaving the captaincy of Fulham behind after his return to health was critical in saving Roy Hodgson’s side.  In 140 league matches for Fulham, McBride scored 32 goals and consistently provided strong play in the air and the ability to push the back line.  It’s not a spectacular record, but it’s notable in its longevity and level.  No other American has been able to sustain such performance.

At 36, McBride returns to Major League Soccer to finish his career.  Today, the league finalized McBride’s move to Chicago, a controversial assignment in that Toronto had the rights to the acquire McBride as the team at the top of the allocation list.  It seems the league, after two months of haggling between the teams, has finally fostered a resolution that puts McBride with Chicago, his home state team.  Toronto will get Chad Barrett, a fine player who will slot into Toronto’s lineup and help develop more of a cutting edge for the upstart club.

McBride will join the Fire after the Olympics, where he will represent the U.S. as one of the team’s overage players.

That it took this long for an American legend like McBride to get allocated to an MLS team is a huge indictment of the way MLS incorporates players from other leagues.  Yes, McBride complicated matters by insisting he go to Chicago, but at 36 years old, he is at a point in his life where it’s not worth it to him to play that far away from home.  At the same time, getting a high profile American back into the league is a minor boon for Major League Soccer, a development that should have been better fostered.  Now resolved, the issue ends up being yet another piece of evidence in the single entity debate.

At least us McBride fans will get to see him play in the domestic league.  Finally.  Still, I’m not sure how good a fit McBride is for the league, at this time.  Physically breaking down, McBride re-enters a league where rough play is too liberally allowed by unskilled players as a means to even the playing pitch.  McBride has also become heavily reliant on a kind of service that I don’t see anybody on the Fire able to provide him.

But if nothing else, he will be a force in the air, a draw at the box, and have at least one final season playing close to home, in a league in which he was a crutial player at its onset.

Links

McBride finally heading to MLS’ Fire
McBride to lead US Olympic charge