It looks like the MLS has signed Conor Casey. But Toronto FC has not announced Casey's signing as of yet. So there is some speculation as to why this is. From the Toronto Sun's article it would appear that it's a matter of which allocation Toronto will need to use to bring Casey into the fold. What I'm wondering is how soon Toronto needs to finalize this before other teams get a chance to use their allocation to bring him in.
Boleiro takes a nice look at player's loyalty to a team in the Brazilian game. He points out how players like Magrão play for one team, swear they'll never play for a rival and yet turn around and do so. It brings to mind Matthew Le Tissier who played 444 leagues games (162 goals) for Southampton FC. Saints were the only club he ever played for and a move to a bigger club would have likely brought him in to English national team picture more than the 8 caps he earned. Is this why players move? Is it just money or also for a change for more glory with their country?
I really need to expand on the things done by FIFA president Sepp Blatter that demonstrate how he's a walking soap opera. There were the moves to push out folks trying to investigate corruption in FIFA itself. There was the flap over him commenting that women's soccer would be more popular if they wore tighter uniforms. Recently Blatter showed his lack of leadership skills in saying that Columbia's bid to host the 2014 World Cup was a publicity stunt. I can understand the leader of an organization hinting that a bid is unlikely to succeed. But to just come out and say something like this isn't the sort of behavior I'd expect of someone leading an organization like such as FIFA.
Congrats to DC United and Houston for their wins tonight. Houston won 2-0 over Puntarenas FC to advance on 2-1 aggregate. DC United beat Olimpia of Honduras 3-2 at RFK to advance on a 7-3 aggregate. DC United will play Chivas Guadalajara in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-finals and Houston will face Club de Futbol Pachuca. The only bad news tonight was for DC United with their goalkeeper Troy Perkins, last year's MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, going off injured in the 67th minute.
A few days ago Soccer By Ives reported that Agustin Delgado was indeed a designated player (DP) target for New York Red Bulls (NYRB). NYRB fans be disappointed. Their team's thin in talent and experience when it comes to strikers. But in the case of Agustin "El Tin" Delgado they may have been worse off. During Delgado's stint at Southampton was an odd one. In 2 years he only played for his club 15 times. Yet he seemed to somehow be healthy enough to play for his national team Ecuador. Surely there are at least 1,000 players just as talented and, more importantly, with more of a professional approach to the game than Delgado. I think NYRB dodged a bullet and thanks to FIFA's ban on Delgado playing avoided bringing in a Clint Mathis type player (lots of talent, little production).
