The offseason rollercoaster kept barreling along this week as three teams finalized new coaching staffs for 2011, the MLS Combine lurched into action and a certain English midfielder’s loan saga may or may not have came to a close.
There was also expansion talk in Florida, the untimely passing of an MLS original and growing anticipation for the 2011 SuperDraft, which kicks off on Thursday in Baltimore.
Let’s get right to it.
Cranking Up the Combine
Day 1 of the 2011 MLS Combine saw a predictably uneventful opening game as players battled nerves and got acquainted with brand-new teammates. Teams AdiPower and AdiPure muddled their way to a scoreless draw in the kickoff game.
The second game showed a marked increase in flair—and three welcome goals—as Jabulani rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat AdiZero 2-1.
Jabulani’s goals came from Konrad Warzycha (son of Columbus coach Robert), and Paolo Cardozo of Uruguay, one of handful of non-college foreign players participating in this year’s Combine.
Indeed, South American invitees put their stamp on Saturday’s second game, as Ecuadorian Victor Estupinan assisted on Cardozo’s winner, and diminutive Joao Plata, also of Ecuador, opened the scoring for AdiZero with a nice goal in the 11th minute.
The CONMEBOL players impressed, and they’ll surely have an impact on Thursday’s draft, but it was an Englishman who had the highest curiosity quotient on Day 1. That would be AdiPure attacker John Rooney, whose brother, Wayne—maybe you’ve heard of him—plays for Manchester United and England.
Rooney, who has already signed a contract with MLS, drew guarded praise for his performance in the 0-0 Combine opener. He’s only 20, and if he finds the right situation, who knows, maybe he’ll blossom.
If not, well, as Brent Gretzky, Jeremy Giambi and Patrick McEnroe (among others) will attest, it’s not easy being the brother of a superstar.
[inlinenode:325746]The Never-ending Story
For the past month, rumors of impending loan deals have swarmed around David Beckham like paparazzi.
Last week, the list of nearly a dozen clubs that had been linked to the midfielder was whittled to one, Tottenham Hotspur, whose manager, Harry Redknapp, went on the record saying Spurs were pursuing a deal.
While the Galaxy stayed mum, dubious reports and rampant speculation flew back and forth across the Atlantic. Then the matter appeared to have been settled on Sunday, when Tottenham’s website announced that there would be no loan—just a monthlong training stint at Spurs for Becks, followed by his prompt return to LA for preseason with his Galaxy teammates, on Feb 10.
Redknapp admitted the jig was up, calling the loan deal a “no-goer.”
But stop the press! Now comes an AP report quoting Redknapp in the aftermath of Tottenham’s 3-0 FA Cup win over Charlton on Sunday. “Hopefully it could still happen,” the Tottenham boss reportedly said of a loan deal for Beckham. “The situation is ongoing.”
Yes—it’s ongoing. And going and going….
So stay tuned as Becks is scheduled to start training with Spurs this week.
(Related: A report issued Sunday had Beckham’s out-of-contract Galaxy teammate Edson Buddle reaching a deal to play for 2.Bundesliga side FC Ingolstadt.)
[inlinenode:325975]Meet the New Boss(es)
One expansion team and two clubs in rebuilding phases unveiled new coaching hires this past week.
Chivas USA introduced former MLS Best XI defender Robin Fraser and Toronto FC unveiled ex-Dutch international Aron Winter as their new head coaches, while expansion side Vancouver Whitecaps inked former Chicago Fire head coach Denis Hamlett as an assistant.
Fraser was a two-time Defender of the Year and five-time Best XI selection in his 10-year MLS career. He also earned 27 caps for the US and helped the Americans to a third-place finish in the 1999 Confederations Cup.
He retired in 2005, becoming an assistant to Jason Kreis at Real Salt Lake two years later and playing a prominent role in RSL’s emergence as an MLS power.
Winter earned 84 caps for the Netherlands from 1987 to 2000 and was a midfield mainstay with Ajax, the birthplace of "Total Football." Odds are that the 43-year-old, who was also named technical director at TFC, will instill a similar philosophy at his new club.
While Fraser brought on his former Galaxy and U.S. teammate Greg Vanney as an assistant, Toronto unveiled ex-Ajax youth manager Bob de Klerk and former New England assistant Paul Mariner as Winter’s staffers.
Both Fraser and Winter have their work cut out for them. Toronto have had six coaches—and zero playoff appearances—in four years of existence, while Chivas finished last in the Western Conference with an 8-18-4 record last season.
Southern Exposure
Commissioner Don Garber visited with South Florida soccer fans on Saturday, telling a Miami supporters group that MLS hopes return to the city some day. The Miami Fusion played in MLS from 1998 to 2001, winning the Supporters’ Shield in their final year of existence.
“It’s inconceivable for a pro league not to be south of Washington, D.C.” said the commissioner, before outlining the league’s current take on the Miami market (it’s tricky, and no potential owners have as yet emerged).
Garber also offered advice on what local fans can do to speed the process: mobilize, organize and support soccer in the area, starting with the second-division Strikers (formerly Miami FC) and the Gold Cup matches coming to Florida International University in the summer of 2011.
Original Wizard
We end this week’s Postgame on a somber note, lamenting the death, apparently by suicide, of former Kansas City Wizards defender Uche Okafor, whose body was found in his Texas home this past Thursday. He was 43.
Okafor was an MLS original, playing for the inaugural Kansas City team in 1996 and sticking with the club through its 2000 MLS championship season.
A rugged defender blessed with size (6-foot-3), speed and strength, Okafor was a regular on the Nigerian national team during the 1990s, making the Super Eagles’ 1994 and ’98 World Cup teams.
When his playing days ended in 2001, he became a youth coach in North Texas and worked as African soccer correspondent for ESPN.
