In the week Robbie Keane made his much needed return from
injury and Didier Drogba announced his interest in playing in Major League
Soccer, here are the five things we learnt this week...
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| Keane assisted Galaxy's winner on his return from injury |
1) Keane is still
Galaxy’s MVP
It won’t surprise anyone that Robbie Keane’s return to the
LA Galaxy side heralded a return to winning ways for Bruce Arena’s team. Last
season’s MLS MVP is the key player for Galaxy, even more so now that Landon
Donovan has retired. He produced a wonderful delivery to find Alan Gordon for
yet another late winner, and his fitness record could define LA’s 2015 season.
Steven Gerrard’s July arrival will help fill a gaping hole in the Galaxy
midfield but until then, all eyes will be on Keane.
2) Schmid solving cup
woes
With Seattle Sounders set to face Portland Timbers in the
fourth round of the US Open Cup, Sounders’ boss Sigi Schmid has suggested the
competition be reformatted. Schmid, who has won the Cup five times, believes
that a move from the current regional system to match the set up of England’s
FA Cup would improve the standard of the competition. Certainly the lure of
Cascadian rivals meeting in the finals could attract big crowds, and Don Garber
won’t be adverse to an all-New York semi-final – it might just be something to
think about...
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| Drogba has been linked with NYCFC |
3) Big names arriving?
MLS has taken big steps since David Beckham’s arrival in
2007 and now some of world football’s biggest names have announced their
intentions to coach in the USA. In the past fortnight AC Milan legend Alessandro
Nesta and former Premier League manager Michael Laudrup have signalled their
interest in a move to MLS. With stars like Andrea Pirlo and Didier Drogba also
announcing an interest, it is clear that the league is making steps towards its
goal of competing with the best in the world by 2020.
4) New kid on the
block in Kansas
Last season Dom Dwyer set Sporting Park alight, but this
time round Peter Vermes’ star have a new star and his name is Krisztian Nemeth.
The Hungarian international has five goals from eight starts since arriving in
the close season and was the difference as Sporting KC ended New England
Revolution’s nine-game unbeaten run last Wednesday. The former Liverpool
striker couldn’t make the breakthrough in England but is making a huge impact
on MLS. A star of the future.
5) League more even
than ever
A third of the way through MLS 2015’s regular season, seven
points separate the top 12 teams in the overall standings - further back the
next six teams are divided by just three points. DC United are the latest side
to sit on top of the overall standings in the most competitive season to date.
Last weekend only two of the top ten ranked teams won, continuing a pattern of
upsets that has run throughout the season. New York City aside, the fight for
play-off positions looks set to run until the final day, and everyone is in
contention.
Images courtesy of Bay Area Bias and Bongarts, with thanks.
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