Instead of bringing up some more MLS guys looking for their first shot with the Nats or some guys in need of finding their form again, Bob Bradley has called on seven Confederation Cup players to fill out the additional seven roster spots for his Gold Cup roster.

Here is the list:

Jozy Altidore
Jonathan Bornstein
Conor Casey
Ricardo Clark
Benny Feilhaber
Brad Guzan
Sacha Kljestan

These seven players will not be traveling with the 23-man U.S. Gold Cup squad, but will join the team for specific games during the tournament. I honeestly don’t know how that will work but I am guessing some of the west coast guys will join the team when they play in Seattle and others will join when they are in the east coast playing in DC or in Boston.

Are you happy with these additions or wish some other guys got a shot at this tournament?

The one stumbling block in getting Brad Guzan to Aston Villa was a work permit.

Well, today he was granted that very permit.

That stumbling block prevented his move from MLS to the EPL back in January, a move that probably cost the league and Guzan millions of dollars. But after he played in a few U.S. matches this year, including both World Cup qualifiers, there seemed to be no way he would be denied. And he wasn’t.

So congrats to Brad for finally getting what he wants. Any wonder if he has sent Taylor Twellman a message to tell him how he did it.

UPDATE:Here is a little video tribute the club sent along…

Happy Monday to all here as we are a hours away from the international summer transfer window opening back up for all clubs to trade parts, find new and exciting and whatever else those clubs do with the transfer window.

But before an influx of new talent comes into Major League Soccer I wanted to spend a little time looking back at the homegrown stuff here in the States. More importantly the homegrown talent that comes out of the college ranks and what not through the league’s SuperDraft.

I am mainly looking at old drafts and thought it was worth a mention to take a look back at the last few drafts to see not only how clubs did but the players that have moved on to bigger and better things through the league. Also to talk about the players who were picked high and ended up as duds (there are more than you’d think).

For the most part the MLS SuperDraft finds us about 10 good players and about 30 or so not-so-good players. Some last in the league, others don’t make it, and some head for Europe before the first kick of their rookie season. I think the draft will continue to go on in the future but with fewer rounds before long. Once the homegrown talent from youth academies kick in we will mainly see college players go through this process. And most of those won’t come with a high profile either in my best estimate.

I’m only taking us as far back as the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. I feel like in this now-expansion era of MLS soccer, that’s a solid starting point for discussions like these. Not to mention most of those players by now are either hits or misses.

As always feel free to pipe in your own thoughts about these past drafts below.

Continue Reading…

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. I thought I would pass along some notes from regarding the keeper situation at Chivas USA now that Brad Guzan has indeed left the States for better things in the EPL with Aston Villa.

It appears that his former owner Jorge Vergara is looking to transfer in a player from one of his other clubs, Deportivo Saprissa to replace Guzan. According to this article, Vergara wants to bring in 21-year old Keylor Navas from the Costa Rican club.

Jorge Vergara, the Mexican businessman who is a part-owner of Chivas USA, confirmed Friday to the L.A. Times that Guzan was headed to England, although he failed to state the club.

“Yes, it’s true,” Vergara told the Times. “He’s leaving for Europe, to England specifically, and we’re very happy and very glad that another Chivas player is going to Europe. We’re going to replace him with a very talented goalkeeper from Saprissa in Costa Rica. A very young one but very talented.”

Keilor Navas Gamboa, 21, is believed to be the goalkeeper Vergara was referring to.

Replace one young keeper with one that is said to be a very up and coming star in Costa Rica sounds like a solid move. No word what it will cost Chivas USA but I like the sound of this move on the part that Vergara and company are looking to quickly get a piece in place to try and improve the state of the club.

Chivas fans does this sound like a nice move?

I just got word and then saw some more confirmation from Luis Bueno over at Sideline Views that Brad Guzan is indeed leaving Chivas USA to head to EPL side Aston Villa. A source confirmed that Guzan is on his way to Aston Villa in a deal that has been finalized and will see Guzan go to England effective immediately.

Update: More confirmation, Ives is reporting that the transfer fee is $1.5 million and that Villa and Major League Soccer agreed to the fee and completed the transfer today.

We all pretty much saw this coming. Guzan was extremely close to going to Aston Villa in January but the deal fell apart at the last minute when he couldn’t secure a work permit.

The league and Guzan really had only a couple options as his contract (which is owned by the league) was set to expire at the end of the year; re-sign with the league, go to Europe during the summer transfer window or leave on a free transfer in the winter. Obviously the league isn’t dump enough to just let him walk out on a free transfer so the second option was really all they could do with his desire to head abroad.

For Chivas USA, the move is a big blow. With Guzan they had a chance to return to the playoffs for the third straight season. Even with the inconsistent play this season due to injuries, Chivas was starting to make their way back up the western standings. Now, without Guzan the Goats have now number-o-uno keeper Dan Kennedy. While Kennedy isn’t terrible he is no Guzan.

There may be a reinforcement coming but Kennedy has been around long enough (since the start of the preseason) to have learned both from Guzan and the coaching staff. Also, its not shocker to Chivas who may be in the market for another keeper and will have the cash to pay for one if they decide to go for a decent name out there.

Tough blow for the league and Chivas but again I wish Guzan the best.

There may be a reinforcement coming but Kennedy has been around long enough (since the start of the preseason) to have learned both from Guzan and the coaching staff.

From the sounds of everything last night in the Honda SuperClasico, Chivas USA keeper Brad Guzan seemingly played his last game for the Red-and-White. After the 1-1 tie against the Galaxy, Guzan didn’t exactly say anything to dismiss the rumors of a possible transfer to EPL side Aston Villa in his post-match interview with ESPN’s Allen Hopkins.

“I know there’s some talks going on and obviously we’re kind of seeing what happens in the next couple of days here,” Guzan said of rumors of a potential move to Aston Villa. “I hope for the best result for everybody involved.”

But the most glaring talk came next, when Guzan opened up about this time with Chivas a bit more and of the league as well. Continue Reading…

While Brad Guzan will be heading to Spain to play with the US National team in next week’s friendly. But first he will head back to the States and play in tomorrow’s game against Columbus.

Should Guzan leave next week, Chivas will be without him for a Thursday night game in New York. Interesting point though because this will give us the first chance to see exactly what Chivas has in reserve behind Guzan. Dan Kennedy is the current back-up in place and will more than likely get the nod and could soon become the full time starter for the Red-and-White.

Last night on MLS Primetime Thursday, it was stated that Guzan still wants to go to Aston Villa and play in the EPL. We all remember his work permit problems in January and one has to wonder if that would have improved by now. The summer transfer window opens up in the coming months and you have to believe Guzan will be making the push to abroad once again.

“Hopefully there will be more interest from Aston Villa in the summer. Right now I couldn’t tell you the specifics because my focus is with the national team.

“My agent has been handling all the discussions and nothing can really happen until the window opens anyway. I am letting him deal with that and, if something comes about, then great.

“I would love to sign for Villa. When I was there a few months back, it was an absolutely brilliant time – great people, great facilities and I couldn’t say one bad thing about the place.

“When the window opens, we will see what happens. Hopefully there is some interest and we will go from there. It looks like exciting times at Villa.” – Brad Guzan

Think Chivas is ready for a Guzan departure here? I’m sure they could easily use the transfer fee cash from him this summer if he does end up leaving.