San Jose and Vancouver have the potential to be the matchup of the weekend. (Getty Images)

Whew. Last night was quite a night in Major League Soccer. One game had eight goals, while the other two combined for five. Crazy night really when you throw in the two Amway Canadian Championship to the mix.

Now it is time to focus on the weekend ahead, all clubs that were involved in games last night have second games this weekend. So lots of double-dips here in Week 9.

Nine games are on tap this weekend starting tomorrow night in LA with Chivas taking on the Chicago Fire all the way until Sunday evening in Frisco when FC Dallas hosts the Colorado Rapids. Busy, busy weekend ahead.

Here are a few stories I will be following this weekend as MLS gets rolling further into a new month.

1. What do we know about the Fire? Honestly, the Chicago Fire may be the one club that I know the least about at this point. Blame the unbalanced schedule if you want but it is the truth. We’ve seen them the least (same can be said about Houston but that is for other reasons since their stadium is being built), and really there is so much to be asked of this club. Their young players, the speedy attack, their midfield. Each time I see them I like them a little more but I do feel that one big element is missing out of them. Someone that centralizes the attack or that main striker (no offense to Dominic Oduro or anything here).

They head to LA tomorrow to face a struggling Chivas USA club that can’t seem to get anything right at the moment, especially at home. Chicago has to come out early with their attack and dictate the pace from the start. Their open style of attack has to get an early start or the Chivas defense will get comfortable and possibly get a draw out of this one.

2. Any breakthrough for Toronto? Worst start in club history, tied for the worst in league history. The Reds have to have some bit of luck before long. Aron Winter probably doesn’t have a ton of time left either as his club didn’t exactly do well yesterday in Montreal in the opening semifinal leg of the ACC.

The attack is slowly coming together for this side, as we saw last week in Salt Lake but at some point a full 90 minute effort has to happen. So far this season they haven’t been able to put together more than 20 minutes of quality soccer at a time together. That has to change or else we could be staring at some very ugly history.

Toronto hosts D.C. United, a fiery offense lead by former Red Dwayne De Rosario. You know DeRo’s track record against his old clubs, so you have to expect a goal from him in this one. It is just a matter of can Toronto match him? I don’t know if they really can at this point.

3. Defensive battle in British Columbia. Vancouver and San Jose battle once again for the second time this season. Earlier San Jose dominated the Caps 3-1, showing that Vancouver’s defense was not as great as they had previously shown in the first four games (four shutouts in their first four games). Still the Caps have earned two more shutouts since that loss and are looking better and better. Offensively things are slowly working their way into form as Omar Salgado showed well last night in the ACC match with Edmonton. He, Sebastien Le Toux, Camilio, Eric Hassli, and the rest of that crew have to get going against the Quakes and their tough defense.

You have to love what the Quakes are doing at the moment, shredding everyone’s defense with their attack and coming up strong with their midfield and defensive group. Last night was a bit different though as D.C. United got three by this group, a first of this season. Still this one could become more of an offensive showing than a defensive one if things go the way they did last night. I’d love to see it really.

4. Stars lacking in MLS showcase game. No Thierry Henry or Rafa Marquez make the LA-NY game a little less interesting. The Galaxy held David Beckham and Robbie Keane out of last night’s loss in Seattle and given the form of these two clubs, I don’t think this is really a game the league can hang their hat on here this season. But hey, they’re going to try to. LA has to bounce back here after the loss in Seattle. They’ve not shown their offense as much as I would have liked to this season but going against a banged up Red Bulls squad, the time is now. I think an attack right down the heart of this Red Bull team is exactly what LA needs to do. Teams that have run at New York have seen great success this season and LA has just the attack that can do that.

5. The something has to give game in Portland. Between the Portland Timbers and the Columbus Crew, their meeting on Saturday night is in my mind the Something Has To Give Game. Neither team has shown well this season and for the Timbers, this game is an absolute must. While I don’t see John Spencer getting fired any time soon here, one has to believe another home loss would firmly place him on the hot seat.

Columbus on the other hand is still going through some growing pains in my mind. Talent is there but not enough of it to do anything of note this season.

This one really has to give something to one of these clubs in for form of points. Each need them badly as they are both tied with seven and are at the bottom of the league pile (just in front of Toronto of course). Kris Boyd has been good for Portland but at some point he has to show his worth with Kenny Cooper lighting things up over in New York.

6. 2010 MLS Cup rematch in Frisco. Yeah, I hate calling it that but for now on when Colorado and Dallas met, its a talking point. But really this one is about the return of Oscar Pareja to Frisco. Pareja was a major link for Dallas in the reserve game and into South America. So far he’s been able to use his connections in South America for the Rapids and slowly but surely they are paying off for him.

Neither club has done great so far this season but both are in the thick of things so there is something to be said about that. Colorado plays a little more open under Pareja while Dallas will try to play to their strengths on the wings with Brek Shea and Jackson.

This game has the makings of being fast and very open. A nice way to close the week out in my opinion.

RSL and TFC hope to end some winless runs this weekend. (Getty Images)

Midweek games here in Dallas never cease to amazing me at how much it breaks up my week. Normal weeks have me doing the same old thing but a game smack dap in the middle of the week is a nice break.

Last night’s RSL-FC Dallas game was a good one to get the new week started in Major League Soccer too. Even though both clubs were missing key players in big spots and neither truly looked like taking a hold of the game from the other, it got us going this week.

Now we head into the weekend where we see nine games on Saturday. You read that correctly, nine games. Big stinkin’ weekend.

Five of the nine are East v. West matchups while the others are good ol’ conference clashes. Unfortunately we don’t have any big time rivalry games to really get us in the mood this weekend but New England-New York on NBC will be solid enough to hold us over on the rivalry front.

With plenty of games there will be plenty to talk about as well. 

1. The Big O getting some Timber. It may not be the sexiest match on the weekend slate but Montreal hosting the Portland Timbers has plenty to offer. For one, the Timbers are finally off the mark after a four-game losing streak and are hoping to find their way offensively against a defense that has had plenty of issues against quality attacks. Kris Boyd is loving life in Portland according to some, and is finally getting use to MLS defenses.

The Impact on the other hand have had a little time off here to get their act together. This group has the talent. After seeing them in person I can say there is plenty of it across the field but Jesse Marsch hasn’t found the right combination of that talent to get quality results out of the door. Either it is a combination of not having a big-time go to scorer or the fact that their midfield is probably missing a link on the creativity side or something else entirely, Marsch and the Impact still have a long way to go here.

2. Red Bulls down defensively. Just about every quality name that Hans Backe has on defense will be missing this weekend against New England. So what will he have to do instead? Hope to the soccer Gods above that Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper can run up the score to make up for it. Rookie keeper Ryan Meara has been good but given how many goals he’s given up this season, I’d almost be wiling to go ahead and say he isn’t the answer for them yet. But at the same time it is hard to say it when his defense is just standing still so much when quality attackers come down on them.

The Revs have a chance here to get going offensively in a game like this. New York showed last weekend in D.C. that they aren’t good at handling quick attackers with decent ball skills. New England does have a few guys that know how to dribble and a couple that have really good pace. Backe has a lot of work to do if Saer Sene, Kelyn Rowe and Lee Nguyen come down on them with pace.

It isn’t at all out of the question that this could be a 4-3 game.

3. Quakes show on the road. All the talk earlier in the week was about the San Jose Earthquakes. Writers like myself wrote about what a pleasant surprise they are and just how good they’ve been this season. They hit the road this weekend to face a Philadelphia Union squad that may give them trouble. Confidence is slowly building with the Union after two straight wins. Frank Yallop’s group has been so strong defensively this season on the road but an East Coast trip is always tricky for Western clubs.

San Jose just needs to keep it simple and effective. While their style of play isn’t at all sexy, their results are speaking for themselves here. The run and gun attack with Chris Wondolowski is still as effective as ever and with a couple missing links on the Union this weekend (due to suspension), he may have a little more room to be his dangerous self.

4. Sounders back in action. Hey remember the Sounders? Yeah, it feels like it has been weeks since we saw this club play last. Their Week 8 opponent knows exactly how they feel. The Chicago Fire have been on and off a couple times this season but are finally getting into the meat of their spring schedule. Both Seattle and Chicago have only played five games thus far here.

One thing will be clear, whoever can take a hold of this game will get the points. Chicago loves to play an open style where they find Dominic Oduro in space to run at defenders. We saw how effective they were last week in Toronto when Oduro and Patrick Nyarko were open and were running at defenders. Grant it Toronto’s defense is no where close to the same quality that Seattle has in the back but the Sounders will have to stay grounded in the midfield and now allow the open space that the Fire will be searching for. On the flip side the Sounders need to get Fredy Montero and Eddie Johnson going here. While Johnson had been hurt to begin the season, he did play in their last game against Colorado. Each player needs goals here to get this team where most believe they can go, a MLS Cup.

5. Winless in three against winless in six. Yeah something will have to give Saturday night in Salt Lake. Either Real Salt Lake will end their three game skid (they did pick up a point in Frisco last night but no wins are no wins here) while Toronto is just hoping for points period here. At some point Toronto’s front office will have to look and decide if Aron Winter is the guy for the job. I thought he was, and so did plenty of other people. But when you don’t win a single game after nearly two months of play, plenty of questions have to be asked.

I don’t like the Reds chances though in this one. RSL looked hungry last night in Frisco and could have gotten three points easily. I don’t believe RSL has gone winless in four games under Kreis, and I wouldn’t expect it to happen this season either.

All eyes will be in SKC-RSL but SJ-NY could be just as good this weekend. (Getty Images)

Just as we mentioned yesterday, this weekend we have a full slate of games in Major League Soccer. Eight games tomorrow and one on Sunday to be exact. There are actually plenty of good games this weekend for a change, including one massive showdown in Kansas City.

One thing is for sure, after this weekend we should know a lot more about how the Supporters’ Shield race will lineup this season and whether or not teams like the LA Galaxy or Portland are actually going to be the thick of things like we had originally thought going into the season.

Here are my predictions for the weekend, feel free to leave your own at the bottom.

Saturday

Columbus Crew at Philadelphia Union – A national TV match for the league this weekend, no offense to either club but I don’t believe the league front office is too happy about this one being the showcase game for them this weekend with SKC-RSL only being on local TV. But anyways, this one will still be interesting as we’re still finding out what these two sides are really going to be here this season. Columbus looked decent up until their 4-1 loss last weekend against New York, while Philadelphia has been rather pathetic all season long. Something tells me the Crew put up a fight in this one but the Union squeak out a goal late to get three points.

WVH Prediction: Philadelphia 2, Columbus 1

D.C. United at New England Revolution – All the talk this week was about Shalrie Joseph’s retroactive suspension that was handed down to him. Whatever the case may be this one doesn’t have a ton of appeal to the casual viewer. New England has some quality about them that I got to see here in Dallas last week but I don’t think they match up very well against the likes of Dwayne De Rosario and company. Knowing these two clubs though this one will end level.

WVH Prediction: New England 1, DC 1

Colorado Rapids at Seattle Sounders FC – The Brian Mullan return to Seattle here is one of the league’s top story lines of the weekend. The Rapids are an interesting club as it is under Oscar Pareja and I’d expect them to give Seattle a handful. Seattle needs to get their offense going early in this one if they want to get the points. This one feels like it could remain close but I give the edge to the Sounders in this one.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, Colorado 1

Chivas USA at Toronto FC – Is the Toronto FC that we all expected to be this season ever going to show up here? Winless, pointless and just dreadful so far but they at least get a west coast team visiting this weekend. The only thing in that they get the one west coast team that can win anywhere in the Goats. This one feels like a draw, nothing more.

WVH Prediction: Toronto 1, Chivas 1

San Jose Earthquakes at New York Red Bulls – The Red Bulls have not looked well against good defenses this season and the Quakes have one of the better ones in the league so far this season. San Jose has to find a way to shut down Kenny Cooper and Thierry Henry in this one, which is always easier said than done. This will either be a game that we see New York continue their offensive scoring ways or they crash back down to reality. I don’t think either come out of this with three points.

WVH Prediction: NY 1, SJ 1

Montreal Impact at FC Dallas – Will there be any more lineup shuffles for Montreal in this one? Same goes for Dallas too. The Impact are coming off their first win in MLS but going on the road to Dallas is never an easy trip for an expansion club. Dallas typically does very well at home against expansion teams and this one should be no different with Fabian Castillo running all over the Montreal defense.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 2, Montreal 0

Real Salt Lake at Sporting KC – The game we’ve all been waiting this entire week for. The top two clubs in the league going head-t0-head here. Just a shame it isn’t on national TV. The collection of talent on the field for this one is ridiculous, which should make for an entertaining contest. While I tend to side with RSL in this one based on talent and coaching you have to think that Peter Vermes and his SKC squad do have what it takes to get three points. They have the momentum and if they can get a late goal again in this one, I see them moving on with three points. However, this one is too damn close to call.

WVH Prediction: SKC 1, RSL 1

Portland Timbers at LA Galaxy – It’s been a rough month or so for both sides. Neither team is where we thought they’d be so far. While I believe Portland will put a good fight into this game I just feel this is one that the Galaxy take control of from the start and get three simple points out of it.

WVH Prediction: LA 2, Portland 0 

Sunday

Houston Dynamo at Chicago Fire – Oh yeah, these two clubs. Both have only played three games so far this season. This one has a draw written all over it though based on the time off these two have had and the fact that neither have shown that they have a strong enough offense yet to make any serious headlines.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 1, Houston 1

Sporting KC and RSL square off in the biggest match of 2012 - so far. (Getty Images)

What else can you say about the upcoming weekend in Major League Soccer? It’s damn full. Nine matches, eight of them on Saturday. Tons of interesting matchups across the board that should have everyone’s attention.

This could be the start of where we begin to see how teams will go for the rest of the season. Six weeks in and we know a good amount about each club but it always seem that once those first few games are out of the way that teams begin to separate themselves from one another at this stage. This season should be no different really.

I have a few items I will be looking at heavily this weekend, and here they are:

1. Getting off the mark. For both the Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC, this is a big weekend. Both have win-able home games against clubs that they should beat. Toronto gets Chivas USA, a club making the cross country trip while Philadelphia welcomes in the Columbus Crew, a team fresh off a 4-1 drubbing last week from the hands of the New York Red Bulls.

Even though it is still early, this could easily be a make-or-break kind of weekend for Aron Winter and Peter Nowak. Both of their clubs have been dreadful thus far this season and neither have found their way.

Toronto has to find a way to get their offense going with Danny Koevermans, while making sure that this gritty Chivas team doesn’t make it three straight on the road. Saying that Chivas is a pushover can’t be true anymore after wins in Portland and Salt Lake this season but a long trip to Toronto could be tough for Robin Fraser’s club. Toronto has to find their game and take it to Chivas early or else they could be staring at yet another loss.

For Philadelphia – the plan is simple – find the attack and make it happen against the Crew. Whether it be Danny Mwanga, Gabe Farfan, or someone even like Freddy Adu stepping up…someone has to take over for the Union attack.

2. Reaction to Mullan. It has been nearly a year since the dreaded tackle from Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan on Seattle’s Steve Zakuani. With Mullan’s return to Seattle set for this weekend, the reception of the veteran wing could be some must-see TV. To me, I hope the Sounder fans keep it classy when dealing with Mullan. I’m not saying they should shower him with praises and roses or anything like that but I do hope that the faithful there realizes that holding a grudge against a player that has already been forgiven for too long could come back to haunt them.

My guess it will end up being mostly boos from the crowd each time Mullan touches the ball. Thankfully most fans do get bored with booing the same guy over and over for 90 minutes.

3. Can the Quakes quiet the Red Bulls? Who would have thought six weeks ago that this could be an interesting match? I certainly did not with the way the Red Bulls started the first two games of the year. Now as we enter Week 6 you have one of the top offenses squaring off against one of the best defenses.

San Jose has done well so far this season at quieting quality offenses like Seattle and Vancouver while finding ways to get Chris Wondolowski the ball. Their style and pace on the wings has come alive with Marvin Chavez and Shea Salines but for me what is so impressive is their defense. Victor Bernardez and Justin Morrow have quietly become a force in the middle of the defense. They’ll certainly have their hands full with Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper, two of the hottest strikers in MLS.

The Red Bulls come into this match scoring 13 goals in the last three games, with Cooper and Henry doing most of the damage. So far this year the Red Bulls have been quieted by good defenses in Dallas and Salt Lake, while running all over Colorado, Montreal and Columbus. How they handle another quality defense like in San Jose will answer a lot about this team. If they can run up the score yet again this weekend, New York will certainly be a force to deal with for the rest of the season. If not, then we’ll know their kryptonite.

4. What formation does Schellas Hyndman put out this weekend? For most of the season FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman has used the 4-1-4-1, a trusty formation that really works best with a healthy David Ferreira. But last week against the New England Revolution, he switched it all up going to a 4-4-2. The speed of the wings with guys like Brek Shea and Carlos Rodriguez doubled with the speed of Fabian Castillo up top made it tough for the Revs to deal with at times. This move was made to counter suspensions to Jair Benitez and Daniel Hernandez but with their returns you have to wonder what Hyndman will go to next.

Typically Hyndman doesn’t like to make too many changes from game to game if he doesn’t have to but with the injury to Ricardo Villar, he may have to make a switch again when they host the Montreal Impact on Saturday. Replacing Villar in a 4-4-2 setup isn’t that difficult, seeing how he wasn’t that involved in last weeks game. But in the 4-1-4-1 setup, it proves to be a tougher challenge.

5. Battle at 15 points. Real Salt Lake head to the midwest to battle Sporting Kansas City, in the battle of the top two sides in the league. Each team has 15 points so far and SKC is undefeated after five games. Two extremely strong teams here, really no edge either way in my book as to which way this one leans.

Sporting will want to assert their speed and skill up front early in this one but so far this season they haven’t seen a defense quite like RSL. Jason Kreis’ club always plays tough against quality offenses like Sporting’s and this one will certainly come down to who blinks first.

I’m sure somewhere some executives at MLS are wishing this has been a national TV game for the league. IT would have been a great one to showcase.

6. Dreadful Timbers and Galaxy square off. John Spencer said recently that this last month has been hell, well I am paraphrasing him with that. I’m sure Bruce Arena is thinking the same thing about his club’s performances over the last six weeks as well. Both sides only have a win to bank on up to this point and neither look like the clubs most expected them to be at the start of the season.

Both teams need points but more importantly each need a big performance out of their defense in this one. Neither has shown up well this season and while you could make the point about their offenses not stepping up to the plate as well, it is the defenses that really win in this league.

7. Oh yeah, Houston and Chicago. Man I hate the unbalanced schedule for reasons like this one. Both the Houston Dynamo and the Chicago Fire have been on and off all year not because of poor play on the field but because of the schedule. Both teams have played just three games so far. Yes just three. How insane is that?

Hopefully this match will shed a little more light on just how good the Fire will be this season. I think what we’ve seen so far is they have some quality around the pitch but someone else has to step up offensive other than Dominic Oduro. The same can be said in a way for the Dynamo as their offense has to have some form of life here too.

LA hopes to stop Kei Kamara and Sporting KC this weekend. (Getty Images)

Happy Good Friday to you all here. Major League Soccer is off for the day but tomorrow will be full of action as Week 5 finishes up with seven games – including two big rivalry games.

So far Week 5 has already given us two Western Conference wins over Eastern Conference sides. Neither were too pretty by Real Salt Lake or FC Dallas but three points are three points.

Here is how I see things shaking up for the weekend, feel free to leave your picks below as well.

Toronto FC at Montreal Impact – Neither club had a good midweek match on the road but you’d have to think Toronto will be emotionally drained coming into this one after losing in the CCL semifinals the way they did on Wednesday down in Mexico. The Reds hit the road for this one and honestly, it sets up nicely for the expansion Impact. If Jesse Marsch can find a way to get his offense going in this one with Justin Braun (who’s had some success in the past against TFC) or with guys like Justin Mapp, they could sneak out with some points. I would call this an upset but neither team are playing that well here. I’m going with the Impact to get their first win.

WVH Prediction: Montreal 1, Toronto 0

New York Red Bulls at Columbus Crew – This one will certainly be watched by many. Can the Red Bulls keep up this amazing run with their attack? Thierry Henry and company haven’t really faced a good defense in the last two weeks (Colorado was missing players and Montreal is well…and expansion team). Columbus is a little more tough in the back and will pose a different challenge to the Red Bulls. Shutting down Henry will be one thing but also containing Kenny Cooper and the rest of the Red Bulls midfield will be another thing. I think Columbus keeps it tight but it is hard to go against a team that is scoring as much as the Red Bulls are.

WVH Prediction: New York 2, Columbus 1

LA Galaxy at Sporting KC – This one thankfully is on national TV. KC goes for their fifth straight win to open the season out while the Galaxy are just hoping for something positive here. This one will not be easy for the Galaxy on the road, in the Blue Hell of LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. KC’s speed and skill up front will cause a lot of problems for the Galaxy. If LA can somehow get their offense going with David Beckhanm, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and Edson Buddle all being on the same page than it could be close. I’m going with form though over stars, KC has proven a lot over the last four weeks and I think they get number five.

WVH Prediction: SKC 1, LA 0

Vancouver Whitecaps at San Jose Earthquakes – Two extremely tough defenses square off in this one. They’ve combined to give up ONE goal this season. Yes just one, it was San Jose back in week 2 on a PK. Both teams have quality players in the attack but the defenses will be on display in this one. The shorter field favors San Jose more but Vancouver has the talent to handle it. This one feels like a draw.

WVH Prediction: San Jose 0, Vancouver 0

Seattle Sounders FC at DC United – The mini Open Cup rivals square off in RFK Stadium. I have to admit this is one of the more intriguing matches of the weekend card. DC looked great last week in their 4-1 win over Dallas while Seattle dropped a game at home to San Jose. The Sounders need to find their offense in this one or else DC will have an advantage with their guys up front. This one looks like it has a draw written all over it given  but I wouldn’t be shocked to see another DC win here.

WVH Prediction: DC 1, Seattle 1

Colorado Rapids at Real Salt Lake – Oh the Rocky Mountain Cup. I do enjoy these matches as they are intense. No doubt RSL will want to play better than they did on Wednesday at home. Its possible they were looking ahead to this match more and nearly overlooked Montreal. The two games in a week thing shouldn’t hurt RSL that much for this one. They are the deeper squad as it is. Colorado has played well this season and has proven they can score goals in bunches. This will be a midfield battle which I think gives the edge to RSL. Typically in this series the home team comes out on top so I’m going that route.

WVH Prediction: RSL 2, Colorado 1

Chivas USA at Portland Timbers – Two teams in desperate need of points already. Chivas is the lowly bunch in the West while Portland cannot afford to drop any more points at home. The Timbers have the better attack going into this one and defensively should be able to shut down the Goats. Chivas does have one win away from home this season and their only goal did come on the road. I don’t see that same magic/luck happening in Portland though.

WVH Prediction: Portland 2, Chivas 0

Agudelo was scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday.

It’s pretty likely that even when Agudelo returns to action for the Red Bulls that he’ll find himself back on the bench. Kenny Cooper and Thierry Henry are clearly the best choice at the moment for the club in the attack and Agudelo has never truly been in the good graces of manager Hans Backe.

It will be interesting to see if – and when he returns – as to just how much Backe will play him. One has to think that by that time the club should have Luke Rodgers back from his visa issues which means he’ll clearly be further down the depth chart. Not a good situation for a young striker that clearly needs playing time to progress here (gosh never thought I’d be writing that about an US player in MLS).

Kenny Cooper is moving east to New York. (Getty Images)

The draft day is here and the trades are starting to come in. This one, thanks to Fox Soccer, says that the Portland Timbers and the New York Red Bulls have struck a deal.

New York will acquire Portland Timbers forward Kenny Cooper. Separate Fox Soccer sources report the deal will send a 2013 first round draft pick and a large amount of allocation money to the Timbers.

With New York not picking until the latter part of the second round, the club had to make some deals to be active today. It is surprising to see them go out and get a striker like Cooper though with the likes of Juan Agudelo, Thierry Henry and Luke Rodgers on the team. I think this puts a greater emphasis on the fact that Hans Backe has little-to-no faith in Agudelo here and he could be gone for most of the season anyways with the U23 team.

New York trading another first round pick shows just how little they care about the SuperDraft as well.

Kenny Cooper is returning to MLS with Portland.

After a couple weeks of speculation and rumors former FC Dallas striker Kenny Cooper has left German side TSV 1860 Munich to join the MLS expansion side Portland Timbers.

The 26-year old transferred to 2.Bundesliga (second division) side 1860 Munich in 2009 after four seasons in MLS with FC Dallas. In Dallas, he tallied 40 goals and 10 assists in 90 regular-season matches and was named to the MLS Best XI and an MLS All-Star in 2008.

“I am really excited to be returning to MLS and joining the Portland Timbers for their inaugural MLS season,” said Cooper. “It is a great privilege to come to Portland, where there is a long-standing tradition and a deep passion for the team and the game. It is also extra special to be in the hometown of my adidas family. I am appreciative for the belief that owner Merritt Paulson, coach John Spencer and Gavin Wilkinson have shown in me. I am looking forward to wearing Timbers green, and I hope to make the Timbers Army and all those associated with the club proud.”

You have to admit that Portland already looks pretty good offensively on paper with the addition of Kenny Cooper alongside rookie Darlington Nagbe, Bright Dike, Eddie Johnson and Ryan Pore. As long as they find a creative cog in the midfield to lead their offense I think John Spencer’s club will be in every match this season.

Cooper never got going in Europe which is reason for me to believe that he’ll fit in well with Portland as he always found ways to score in MLS. I thought moving to Europe was the right thing for him at the time when he did but it was obvious pretty quickly that it wasn’t the right fit for him as he bounced around between Germany and England as he struggled to find playing time in Munich.

Its good to see Cooper back in MLS too, he was always one of the nicer guys to interview in Dallas and hopefully he’ll do well in Portland.

What do you make of this move for Cooper and the Timbers?

Kenny Cooper could be coming home this summer to Dallas. Take note in the emphasis.

A couple different outlets are reporting that the former FC Dallas striker could be set to leave Europe and head back home to MLS. A move that wouldn’t shock me in the least bit if it goes down.

The thing is getting Cooper back in Dallas won’t be easy. He’ll likely require a transfer fee from 1860 Munich, not to mention it will also require the club to move to the top of the allocation order (they currently sit at number four).

Cooper failed to impress overseas. He scored three times in 14 appearances for 1860 before being sent on loan to English Championship side Plymouth in January. While with Plymouth, Cooper was limited to just seven substitute appearances and failed to find the net.

A move back to MLS is one that would do Cooper a bit of good in my opinion. But getting out of his contract in Munich won’t be easy as it runs through 2012 and is guaranteed. 1860 could buy him out which would be the best case scenario. I doubt MLS or even the Hunts would be willing enough to buyout his contract to get him back here.

Then the issue will come down to how much would FCD be willing to pay Cooper? Its something that Cooper would have to probably take a pay cut to do if he really wants to play here again.

Just as I began writing this the club said on Twitter that the rumors with Cooper have no truth to them. Honestly I don’t buy that but we’ll see.

Blanco and Kljestan Grace FIFA Soccer 10 Cover

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Cuauht�moc Blanco of the Chicago Fire and Sacha Kljestan of Chivas USA will be featured on the front packs of FIFA Soccer 10. Anyone excited? Yeah, I’m honestly not. I use to be a big FIFA guy but I honestly haven’t bought the game in a couple years. The combo of Blanco and Kljestan is an odd one for EA if you ask me. I guess EA is trying to pick up on the Latin market a little more this year? Beats me. At least EA was wise enough to go with Frank Lampard too.

Look at Portland-Seattle Success in American Soccer

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If you haven’t taken the time to visit Pitch Invasion, do so and fast. Its a quality site with plenty of good material to read. Today we get a great look at the Portland-Seattle rivalry and its successes over the years. There is a reason why MLS will be great in two years, and this rivalry (along with Vancouver in the three-way rivalry) will be just the reason. Do yourself a favor and read all about these two clubs.

Ty Harden’s Track Back To MLS

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This was one of those stories a couple years ago that no one really understood but we all sort of respected the person involved for doing it. Ty Harden retired from soccer before the 2008 season, just out of no where, to focus on school and volunteering. It caught everyone with the LA Galaxy and throughout the league off guard since it wasn’t a retirement for injury purposes like we see with most young players. Harden did what he wanted to do and we should all respect him more for it. Now he is back with the Colorado Rapids after getting the itch to compete again. Good for him too.

Kyle Martino’s Story

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Here is a story from the Connecticut Post on ESPN’s B-team broadcaster Kyle Martino. Martino is one of those guys that deserved more love as a player and now deserves more as a broadcaster.

Cooper Scores In Munich Debut

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It took 17 minutes for Kenny Cooper to set his mark on his new club. The goal also ended up being the game-winner, as 1860 Munich defeat TuS Koblenz 2-0. The former FC Dallas striker was subbed off in the 72nd minute and was given a loud ovation from the 1860 Munich supporters.

Adu To Denmark?

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Could we finally see Freddy Adu get some real PT? It’s possible as Steve Goff is reporting that Adu is in final negotiations with Odense on a one-year loan from Portuguese club Benfica. Odense finished second in the Danish Superliga last season and will face Genoa in a Europa League playoff later this month.

Odense isn’t a big name club and Denmark isn’t a high profile destination at this point for Adu but let’s be honest as long as the kid gets some playing time it won’t matter where he is at. Denmark has plenty of American’s playing there right now so the move wouldn’t be the worst thing for him at this point.

Red Bulls New Project?

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Jack Bell over at the New York Times dicusses the possible resurrection project for New York. Again I will say, they need to take mold after some other MLS clubs and get some quality young American talent mixed in with some gritty MLS veterans. The MLS veterans are key because right now this club has veteran players but none are quality and most are over the hill foreign talent.

It still comes down to management and their lack of knowledge of the game. Bell runs down the list of talent that this club has missed on over the last year:

Agoos has always been quick to point out that constructing a team in M.L.S. takes a certain kind of alchemy. He is not wrong, and bad choices can be deadly: Juan Pietravallo, Diego Jimenez, Oscar Echeverry, Carlos Johnson, Gabriel Cichero, Jorge Rojas, Khano Smith, Dominic Oduro represent more misses than hits. Before the current season, the Red Bulls gave away Dave van den Bergh, ultimately for nothing in return. The team allowed their most consistent, albeit unflashy, defender Jeff Parke walk away.

Bad choices lead to a terrible record. In a league with pairity it doesn’t take much to suck. Talent wins and bad talent gets you fired or at least we thought it did.

Beckham Linked To Chelsea?

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England manager Fabio Capello has told David Beckham to leave the US as soon as possible if he wants to be a part of next year’s World Cup squad. Now we all know Beckham will end up back in Europe but with clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham eyeing the midfielder it may be end up being a battle for his transfer rights. Then again it may end up being another ugly loan from LA.

Collection of US-Mexico Links

Instead of commenting on each, here is just a simple hype list for Wednesday’s game against Mexico.

USA Roster Breakdown (Avoiding The Drop)
USA-Mexico Update (Soccer Insider)
Guardado: “Of Course We Will Win” (SBI)
Five factors favor the US as it looks to break curse in Azteca (SI.com)
USA-Mexico behind tennis on Extra Mustard event for the week (SI.com)
US Players Like Their Chances at Estadio Azteca (ESPNSoccernet)