"None of our MLS players are regular starters, and there's no reserve league," he said. "We go from full-time residency to a black hole. ... That's the reason we are erratic from game to game. There's no game sharpness, there's no game fitness, and no game rhythm."

At the end of the 2008 season, the MLS decided to scrap their reserve league.  I’m not the biggest supporter of the MLS, for reasons I won’t mention here, but I was happy to see the implementation of the reserve league back at the start of the 2005 season.  I believe in the European model of professional football, and the reserve league in Europe allows for injured players to regain their fitness, and allows fringe players to continue to improve.  For three seasons, MLS started to get the picture.  But, through bad management and poor funding, the reserve league folded at the end of the last MLS season.

Click here to read more

Oct7

This is a featured article. Please scroll down, for all the latest on FC Barcelona.

Johan Cruyff writes a weekly column in Spanish newspaper, El Periodico. In this edition, Cruyff analyses the extension of Lionel Messi’s contract. You can find the piece after the jump.

Standout midfielder Sebastian Lletget is now playing full-time with the West Ham United youth program in London. The 17-year-old, who starred for the U.S. U17 Men’s National Team at the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Tournament earlier this year in Mexico, has left Bradenton Residency for this opportunity. I’ve had the chance to watch and talk with Sebastian since he was a member of the U15 Boys’  National Team and a club player at Santa Clara Sporting in Northern California. He’s a winsome young man and a dedicated soccer player.

Recently I had the chance to pose some questions to Sebastian from across the Atlantic, thanks to the kind help of his sister Valeria. The following is what he had to say:

Click here to read more

LONDON — MLS commissioner Don Garber will tell European clubs this week that adopting U.S.-style financial controls could safeguard their futures and make for more competitive leagues.

Click here to read more

While it could be considered unrealistic to continue to expect the US to make runs in the U-20 World Cup, the US had advanced out of the group stage of the last six U-20 World Cups, and the last nine that we had qualified for.

During the tournament the Americans were terribly outplayed, and also demonstrated a lack of discipline and composure. This has become more symptomatic of the US program than many would like the admit.

Click here read more

As Hugo Perez sits down at his kitchen table, he looks like a contented man. And why not? He lives in a beautiful two-story house in the sun-splashed Northern California town of Vallejo. He's happily married, has five children, and earns a comfortable living as a full-time scout and technical advisor for the U.S. Soccer Federation's Development Academy.

Click here to read more

I wasn't terribly surprised when the USA under-20 team, a squad where many members do not see regular playing time (partly as a result of MLS having no reserve league right now), had its worst performance of the World Cup against a South Korea team known for speed and fitness.

Click here to read more

This is the first part in a series of columns analyzing the current climate of college soccer—its role in the development of the sport in America, its drawbacks and limitations, and the future of the game amidst a growing trend towards youth professional development.

Part 1: Where does college soccer fit in the landscape of American player development?

Click here to read more