MLS Rundown: Rejoice! Man Finally Turns Up For Work

mls

NGUYEN BACK IN TRAINING

Rundown has had a standoff or two with a belligerent colleague in its time but never to the level of wantaway midfielder Lee Nguyen in his battle with New England Revolution.

Nguyen appears to have conceded round one to his employers and joined his teammates for preseason training.

Last month, Nguyen had told ESPNFC that he wanted to move on from the Revs after spending six seasons in Foxborough, believing the club owed him the opportunity for a new challenge after an extended run of service. But before camp began, New England coach Brad Friedel insisted the creative midfielder would not be traded and was in his plans.

That difference of opinion led to Nguyen’s staying away from the early stages of preseason camp. Now he appears to have returned but there’s still a chance Nguyen could be dealt within the league before the MLS primary transfer window ends, or later this summer when the secondary window opens up.

CARLOS CORDEIRO ELECTED PRESENT OF US SOCCER

Carlos Cordeiro was elected as the new president of US Soccer on Saturday morning at the annual US Soccer Annual General Meeting in Orlando. The election took three rounds and while Cordeiro led all three ballots, he achieved the winning majority (50 percent plus one) in the third round with 68.6 percent of the vote.

Cordeiro will take over for Sunil Gulati, who has served as the federation’s president since 2006. A longtime executive at Goldman Sachs, Cordeiro has been the acting US Soccer vice president since 2016 and a member of the US Soccer Board since joining the federation in 2007 as an independent director.

“This is incredibly humbling.” Cordeiro said in his remarks after winning the election. “I want to thank all the candidates for a spirited campaign.

“To those of you who didn’t vote for me, I’m going to work to earn your trust and your support over the next four years. I promise you I’m going to work together with all of you to bring us together as one united soccer community. Let’s all leave this room today with that in mind.”

SHARP TO MAKE RAPID TRANSFER?

Colorado Rapids have made several signings from the British Isles this offseason with Scottish defender Danny Wilson, English midfielder Jack Price and defender Tommy Smith, all arriving from British teams. English writer Peter O’Rourke reports that the Rapids ‘are interested’ in Sheffield United forward Billy Sharp.

Sharp, 30, is a striker, who has spent his entire career to date in the English leagues. He has played for eight teams in his career, but began his career at hometown side Sheffield United and is currently in his third stint at the club. Sharp scored 30 goals last season to help the Blades win promotion to the English Championship.

Rundown would suggest that at present with the Blades looking to push for promotion to the Premier League this season, manager Chris Wilder will be heavily reluctant to part with any member of his squad.

NEW ENGLAND MAKE CASE FOR DEFENCE

New England Revolution have stiffened up at the back with the additions of two players, announcing the signings of MLS veteran Jalil Anibaba and rookie Nicolas Samayoa. Both players trialled with the club during preseason and now officially join the squad.

Anibaba, 29, joins the Revolution from Houston Dynamo, where he spent two seasons. Capable of playing at both centre back and fullback, Anibaba has made 166 MLS regular season appearances since entering the league in 2011, playing for the Chicago Fire, Seattle Sounders, Sporting Kansas City and Dynamo. He won the Supporters’ Shield with the Sounders in 2014 and won a U.S. Open Cup with Sporting in 2015.

Samayoa was selected in the fourth round, No. 78 overall, by New England in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. The 22-year-old played collegiately at Florida Gulf Coast University, playing in 66 matches. He was a first-team Atlantic Sun Conference selection his junior year, and a United Soccer Coaches All-Southest Region First Team selection following his senior year. Born in Guatemala, Samayoa has dual citizenship with the United States, and has represented Guatemala at U-20 level.

Any Other Business…

Landon Donovan made his Liga MX debut for Club Leon over the weekend, coming on for the final seven minutes of the club’s 2-1 home win over Puebla… Vancouver Whitecaps have secured the signature of fullback Jake Nerwinski to a contract extension. The deal runs through the 2019 season, with options for 2020 and 2021… Minnesota United’s new home kit features alternating monochromatic grey, while San Jose Earthquakes’ second kit sports sublimated grey print in the style of Quakes’ iconic impact pattern representing fault lines. Rundown is not proud, nor ashamed, to admit looking up what the word ‘monochromatic’ means.