Rangers'Edu likely to miss Old Firm derby

AMSTERDAM - A persistent knee issue will likely keep Rangers midfielder Maurice Edu from taking part in this weekend's Old Firm visit from Glasgow nemesis Celtic.

The US international was not expected to be out for long after being pulled with a knock from their early November loss to Hibernian, but frustratingly remains on boss Walter Smith's shelf.

"The manager ... stated that Mo was still in doubt for the Old Firm match,"a Rangers spokesperson told MLSsoccer.com on Thursday.

Despite continued coaching staff claims that the American was close to returning to action, Edu has yet to rejoin his teammates for full training.

"He's doing his workouts in the gym,"the club spokesperson added."It's just one of those niggling injuries."

Rangers, who stand a point behind leaders Celtic with two games in hand, can reclaim the top spot with a win over their arch rivals on Sunday.

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Countdown of top 25 stories of 2010: #13-#8

Our countdown of the top 25 stories in 2010 continues with the third installment of our series, featuring stories 13-8 as determined by the editorial staff of MLSsoccer.com.

The third installment of our series highlights the rise of San Jose'sChris Wondolowski, a hot start and the Supporters' Shield the for theLA Galaxy, Clint Dempsey's wonder goal to lead Fulham past Juventus in the Europa League, a historic season forFC Dallas, the announcement of a MLS franchise in Montreal in 2012 and the influx of Designated Players into the league in 2010.

The video below takes us from No. 13 through to No. 8. Check back tomorrow as we work our way to the No. 1 story of 2010.

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MLS in contact with Celtic regarding De Rosario

TORONTO— MLS andTFCare now working with Celtic to secure the proper paperwork to allowDwayne De Rosarioto train with the Scottish giants.

However, both the league and the club stress that they were not made aware of the trial prior to De Rosario taking part in a training session yesterday.

MLSsoccer.com confirmed on Tuesday that the league spoke to Celtic about De Rosario for the first time Tuesday morning.

“We talked with Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell this morning and he indicated that Celtic had been told by both the player and his agent that they had permission,” a league source said.

Toronto FCinterim General Manager Earl Cochrane remains adamant that no such permission was granted.

“I was contacted a little more than a month ago by Dwayne and his representative—asking if we would entertain a loan or training stint,” Cochrane said. “We said we would but would need assurances and final sign off on it—that an agreement would need to be in place that we were comfortable with.”

The signing of an official training agreement is standard throughout the world whenever a player under contract goes on trial with another club. Such agreements protect the player’s home club if the player is injured while on trial.

Cochrane says the De Rosario camp was aware that such an agreement was needed.

“They understood that completely,” he said. “I have not received anything official from Dwayne or his agent or Celtic. MLS will reach out to Celtic to clear up this situation and will do what is best for Toronto FC.”

That process has already begun. “When we are told that by a club like Celtic we are inclined to not move towards a legal action and instead work with them to secure the proper paperwork,” the league source said. 

De Rosario will not be permitted to train with Celtic until an agreement is in place that satisfies both TFC and MLS.

De Rosario did not respond to a request to be interviewed for this story.

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Toronto FC quash reports of DeRo Celtic trial

TORONTO--Toronto FC interim GM Earl Cochrane is denying a Scottish report that has linked Dwayne De Rosario to Celtic.

“Dwayne is not going on trial with Celtic or any other club,” Cochrane told MLSsoccer.com. “We have not received word from anyone and expect him to be withTFCwhen training camp opens next month.”

The Glasgow Evening Times reported that De Rosario was”in line to spend time at Lennoxtown {Celtic’s training center} to let them see if he might be worth signing.” Although Celtic boss Neil Lennon was careful to suggest that a deal was far from being in place, De Rosario would be given a fair look.

“He’s a player who has been put to me. I’ve not had time to see much of him. But hopefully today I will get the chance to view some footage of him to see what I think,” Lennon told the Evening Times.

Cochrane said he’s not surprised to see De Rosario's name being linked to European teams. He suggested that the player's agent may be responsible for the rumor.

Late last season De Rosario was involved in a public dispute over his salary. Although he eventually apologized for a goal celebration in which he pretended to sign a check while facing the BMO Field box of club owners MLSE, he has said that he is interested in re-negotiating his contract.

De Rosario did not respond for a request to be interviewed for this story. However, last November he told MLSsoccer.com that contract negotiations with TFC were ongoing and“positive.” 

As per league policy, Cochrane would not comment on contract negotiations. But he did say that he expects De Rosario to be back with the Reds in 2011. 

“Dwayne is currently under contract with us and is a very important player for us moving forward,” Cochrane said.

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Timbers plaster town with ads featuring locals

PORTLAND, Ore.– The most talked-about billboards in Portland feature individuals clutching logging implements and wearing game-face expressions of determination and focus. Words are scarce, but the images say everything: The Timbers are coming.

The billboard campaign is the latest marketing strategy by Portland’s new Major League Soccer franchise to remind and inspire the city’s soccer fans what’s around the corner in 2011.

“It’s the biggest campaign we’ve done yet,” Timbers owner Merritt Paulson said. “It’s about who we are.”

Head coach John Spencer has seen the billboards and offered a ringing endorsement:“I think they’re fantastic,” he said.

Portland Timbers

The ads feature Eugénie Frerichs (above), a blond woman in a blue T-shirt holding a large ax; Katie Dober (right), a brunette with steel-blue eyes holding a saw behind her back; and Abe Goldman-Armstrong, a member of Timbers Army grasping axes that criss-cross behind his back.

All three are locals of the City of Roses and are die-hard soccer fans. In the case of Dober, she has a real attachment to the logging industry: Her family owns a construction company that carves logging roads out of the Douglas fir forests west near Forest Grove, Ore.

Paulson said authenticity– including that of the axes and saws, which, in some cases were borrowed from display cases that tell the story of Oregon’s logging heritage – is central to the campaign.

The attention-grabbing billboards are catching on and, while only three are currently up, the Timbers are ready with about 12 more. By late January, all of the billboards will be visible on almost every prominent arterial in and out of the city.

The images come from Jelly Helm, a former ad director at the renowned Wieden + Kennedy agency. They are designed to generate buzz, and that’s exactly what they’re doing.

“We’ve gotten more feedback out of the first three billboards than anything else we’ve ever done,” Paulson said.

And that’s saying something. In September, the Timbers took the provocative step of placinga billboard announcing the Timbers’ MLS arrival to “Portland, Oregon: Soccer City, USA 2011”– and placed it near Qwest Field, the home of rivalsSeattle Sounders.

“We got 10 times the return in terms of media value,” Paulson said of the Seattle billboard, which came down recently. “The rivalry is a great thing for Seattle, and for us. It was pouring a little gas on the fire, but our fans loved it.”

The new billboards feature real fans, and the Timbers website has started profiling the individuals in the pictures.

“{The billboards are} about paying homage to our core, to our fans,” Paulson said.

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Poll: Which MLS team could use Gómez?

US international striker Hérculez Gómez said he’d like to flex his muscles in MLS again after a see-saw year in Mexico that saw him win a share of the Golden Boot with Puebla but be relegated to a substitute role with Pachuca.

With MLS teams rebuilding for the 2011 season, which squad could use the World Cup veteran’s services?

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'Caps fan favorite Knight waiting for his chance

OXNARD, Calif.– Vancouver Whitecaps FC offseason training camp is an exciting time for players looking to impress the coaching staff, something that’s been frustrating for the injured Wes Knight.

The fan favorite has had to sit back and watch while he recovers from a fractured shoulder that he suffered during the first round of the USSF D-2 playoffs last season.

“It’s coming along slower than I had anticipated,” Knight told MLSsoccer.com. “As a competitor, you want to be out there, but you have to think longevity. There’s really no reason to rush back, so I’m just preparing for January.”

Though Knight remains in good spirits, he’s found it tedious sitting on the sidelines.

“Especially when you have all these trial players in,” said Knight of not being able to participate in training. “There’s guys that are wanting to take my spot and there’s not much I can do about it.”

Knight, though, need not worry about his place on the roster. The 24-year-old signed his first MLS contract with Whitecaps FC two weeks ago after spending the last two seasons playing with the Vancouver D-2 side.

“This has been the goal all along,” said Knight. “Some place that I could become familiar with the coach, with the city, with the organization, then to make the jump up with them and to be prepared. I think that that’s going to be the best way for me to make an immediate impact in this league.”

After seeing friends such asBlair GavinofChivas USAmake it into the league, Knight is pleased to finally get his own chance.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Knight. “I can remember the gutter, how terrible it felt when I didn’t get picked in the 2009 MLS Draft. It’s great to be on the other end of the stick now, to see how it feels to be secure at this point in time. Now it’s just time to refocus and to look atthe other goals that I placed for myself.”

The South Carolina native was an MLS fan as a youngster and hopes to follow in the footsteps of players that he grew up admiring, like Clint Dempsey.

“I watched him at Furman and I was close to playing against him had he not left early,” said Knight. “Clint was such a great player and was able to go on and play overseas, and I think that that would be something that I would like to do as well.”

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L'ville, Akron, Michigan book College Cup berths

Thrilling comebacks, last-second winners and penalty kicks. The final three games of the NCAA quarterfinals had it all, with heart-racing action that saw Akron, Louisville and Michigan join North Carolina to round out the four teams in the College Cup.

Saturday’s three games saw a total of 20 goals hit the back of the net, as teams faced do-or-die elimination.

The day began with an upset. Upstart Michigan, riding an eight-game win streak, traveled to College Park to tussle with Maryland. Two of the best offenses in the league battle back and forth, with Michigan native Casey Townsend scoring against his home state school to give Maryland a 1-0.

With the three-headed monster of Sooney and Hamoody Saad and Justin Meram to contend with, other Wolverines had to step up to force the upset. And that they did– Jeff Quijano tied the game early in the second half, before setting up Meram to give Michigan the edge just 10 minutes later.

Courtesy of Univ. of Michigan

A Jason Herrick goal leveled the score with just 12 minutes to go, pushing the game into sudden-death overtime. And it was another unsung hero for Michigan, as Fabio Pereira scored in the 104th minute to advance the Wolverines to their first-ever College Cup.

The second game of the day featured 2009 runners-up Akron clashing with California. The Golden Bears took the lead in front of a hostile crowd, as Anthony Avalos tallied in the 31st minute. But as they’ve done all season, the Zips struck back in waves, as Michael Nanchoff and Scott Caldwell both scored to put Akron in front just before halftime.

After a wild first half, the second stanza was even more frenetic. Cal equalized through Tony Salciccia, before Perry Kitchen grabbed what could have been a came winner. But John Fitzpatrick tied things up with just over a minute to go, and after 20 minutes of overtime, the game went to penalties tied at 3-3.

Enter Akron‘keeper David Meves. One of the least heralded of the Zips’ superstar squad, the sophomore stuffed two consecutive Cal attempts, setting the table for defender Kofi Sarkodie (pictured at top) to smash home the winning penalty.

Even after two wild games, the best was yet to come. No. 1 seed Louisville put its 20-game unbeaten streak on the line against UCLA, escaping with a monstrous 5-4 come-from-behind victory.

Disaster loomed for the Cardinals on home turf after just 35 minutes. A rampant UCLA attack pinned Louisville back 3-1. Eder Arreola, Kelyn Rowe and Chandler Hoffman did the damage for the Bruins, as Colin Rolfe mustered the lone response for Louisville.

But a Charlie Campbell goal for Louisville before the half meant it was 3-2 at the break, restoring hope and confidence in the No. 1-ranked side. And the Cardinals continued to battle, as Rolfe tied it right after the half. Eight minutes later, Nick Deloen gave Louisville an unlikely lead.

Just when the Bruins looked buried, another freshman star, Victor Chavez equalized in the 80th minute. But it was be heartbreak at the end of the day for UCLA, as Aaron Horton scored with only seconds left to avoid overtime and cap a nine-goal thriller in Kentucky.

The final four schools will head to Santa Barbara, Calif., for next weekend’s College Cup. Louisville will take on UNC in the semifinals on Friday, Dec. 10, while Akron will face Michigan. The winners meet in next Sunday’s final.

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The Throw-In: 9 underrated moments of 2010

Alright everyone, enough with the moping. The US didn’t get the 2022 World Cup. Let’s move on.

In case you forgot, MLS is just fine. More than fine. We just wrapped one of the more memorable seasons in league history, including crowning a new champion after an MLS Cup Playoffs filled with unprecedented quality. We had a summer break for the first time to watch seriously thrilling dramatics at the World Cup. And the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League were arguably the most entertaining we’ve ever seen.

So I’m not crying. I’m remembering what we saw over the past nine months. It wasn’t always a victorious, triumphant moment that caught my eye – there were a lot of ends of eras in 2010. And those are just as memorable. What follows isn’t a best-of list. Here’s my nine favorite underrated moments of the year. Nine's such an underrated number, don't you think?

A nation of millions

We couldn’t possibly have another sellout at Qwest Field for a second consecutive First Kick, could we? Yes we could. And we did. An army of 36,241 filled the Sounders’ home venue (above) to watch their team rattle off another opening-day win, 2-0 over Philadelphia.

Those same fans helped their team weather some midseason doldrums to finish strong, with a second consecutive MLS Cup Playoffs appearance and back-to-back US Open Cup triumphs. And oh yeah, top 1 million in home attendance in just two seasons. Well done, Emerald City.

Always a McBridesmaid...

It became commonplace to seeBrian McBridecoming off the bench for the Fire this season– not exactly the fairytale ending for the greatest striker in American history. But maybe McBride saw the writing on the wall on April 17 at RFK Stadium.

Carlos de los Cobos benched him in favor ofCollins John. And though McBride scored the icer in a 2-0 win overD.C. United– off a header, of course – he never again was a regular starter in Chicago’s lineup as de los Cobos tinkered the rest of the way. This may have been the moment McBride started to see his future laid out in front of him.

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Juan to watch

Conor Chinnwas the star of the night as the rookie’s brace led the Red Bulls over Philadelphia in Open Cup play on April 27. But history may tell a different story. Quietly, a young 17-year-oldJuan Agudelomade his pro debut, too. Six months later, The Kid was starting next toJuan Pablo Angelin a playoff game, then scored a goal in his first US cap last month. Reminds me a little of anotherRBNYkid who made his pro debut in an Open Cup game four years ago– Josmer something-or-other…

Chivas’ changing of the stripes

The game wasn’t much to write home about – a last-gasp 1-0 loss at Columbus in May. But it was the last timeSacha KljestanandJonathan Bornsteinever shared a pitch in Red and White shirts. A week later, Bornstein was off to US national-team camp. By the time he returned, Kljestan had left for Anderlecht and Jonny B’s departure was announced soon after.

Since being drafted byChivas USAin 2006, the duo had become the young faces of the club. This quiet defeat marked an equally quiet end of an era.

Bring the boys back home

There were fireworks after the game at the Home Depot Center, but they paled next to the pyrotechnics in the game itself. The Galaxy punched holes through Seattle on July 4, winning 3-1 in front of a standing-room only crowd of 27,000. And all of them went wild every timeLandon Donovantouched the ball, a moving show of appreciation for the national-team star, who was playing his first game since his heroic turn in South Africa.

Interestingly, it was his US teammate,Edson Buddle, who actually scored a goal that night. He got a nice ovation, too– but it was clear who the LA crowd favored after the World Cup.

KC’s sporting chance

OK, forgive the rebrand pun. But what’s more thrilling than watching the highlights of the former Wizards’ amazing comeback on Houston on Sept. 22 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark?

Kansas City rattled off three straight second-half goals– includingJosh Wolff’s winner deep into stoppage time – to turn a 3-1 deficit into an incredible 4-3 victory. For a couple weeks, at least, the Wizards’ playoff hopes were still very much alive. AndDavy Arnaud’s rugby-style takedown of Wolff is still hilarious.

Getty Images

It’s Wondo’s World – we’re all living in it

Before this one at home against Chivas USA,Chris Wondolowskiwas a great story line to 2010, somehow keeping pace in the race for the Golden Boot. By the time the final whistle had blown, the San Jose attacker had spectacularly caught up to Edson Buddle with his 15th, 16th and 17th goals of the season.

A hat trick– as a substitute. One goal was poached, one was on a PK and one was a clinical finish. All told, the night was a microcosm of Wondo’s entire season. The next week, the lifelong substitute clinched the Boot.

Bald is beautiful

Conor Caseyrarely scores a pretty goal. And that’s just fine for the big Rapids striker. His most important goal of his MLS career was perhaps the ugliest – the equalizer that put Colorado on the board in MLS Cup.

Jamie Smith’s cross in the 57th minute was swallowed in a three-man diving scrum of Casey andFC Dallas’Kevin HartmanandJair Benitez. With the ball still loose, a prone Casey had the awareness to throw his right foot at it, and the Rapids had their goal. The Beautiful Game it was not. But goals like that were what carried Colorado to their first-ever title.

Downpour in el DF

I’m hard-pressed to think of a more entertaining soccer game involving an MLS team in the last three years that was as entertaining as this CONCACAF Champions League group-stage match in October. In a torrential downpour,Alvaro SaborioandReal Salt Lakewere ticks away from doing the unthinkable: finally beating a Mexican team on Mexican soil.

Their 3-1 lead at Estadio Azul didn’t stand – Cruz Azul scored four times in the final 15 minutes, even negatingWill Johnson’s would-be point-saver in extra time. It just wasn’t to be. But this gorgeous display of chaos in some of the worst conditions you’ve ever seen made this an instant classic. And in the long run, it madeRSLstronger.

Raise your hand if you believe Garth Lagerwey’s claim that the CCL crown may be bigger than MLS Cup. Yeah, my hand is up, too. I can’t wait for spring.

Jonah Freedman is the managing editor of MLSsoccer.com.“The Throw-In” appears every Thursday.

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