A lot has changed this past year in MLS: Vancouver and Portland have expanded the league to 18 teams, both David Beckham and Thierry Henry are performing so well it almost justifies their astronomical multi-million dollar salaries and, thanks to Real Salt Lake, Major League Soccer has begun to steadily make its mark against regional rivals in the CONCACAF Champions League.  RSL made an unprecedented run to the finals in last year’s CCL and, although they disappointingly ran out of fire and lost out on the title to Monterrey (MEX), MLS clubs have been steadily improving their performances in the prestigious tournament.

If the crazy labyrinth that is the MLS playoffs began today, L.A., Seattle and Dallas would be in position in the West, with Columbus, Kansas City and Philadelphia in position for the East.  And the four wildcard contenders – Salt Lake, Colorado, Houston and D.C. – would be right in the mix as the race to the MLS Cup reaches its final leg.  Now, apart from the glaring absurdity that is a playoff system that sees two of its wildcard teams (Salt Lake and Colorado) with more points this season than ANY of the top three teams in the East, most of the teams in the playoff picture are not surprising and are deserving of their places.  L.A. has led the league in points for longer than anyone can remember and their consistency is the envy of the league (and the chemistry of their squad is certainly the envy of Red Bulls fans… but we’ll get to that later….).  Meanwhile, Dallas and Kansas City continue to put forth fiery performances with youngsters Brek Shea and Teal Bunbury providing the sparks, and teams like Houston and D.C. are being just consistent enough to earn the remaining, coveted playoff spots.

If this game was any indication, Jürgen Klinsmann is a man of his word.  Prior to Wednesday night’s friendly against Mexico, the new coach of U.S. Men's Soccer said he would give younger players an opportunity to get on the pitch.  He said he wanted to create competition at every position.  He said he wanted to encourage a more attacking style of play, one that would pressure the Mexican side and tire them out.  And while the first half of the match was certainly nothing to write home about for the USA, the second half saw Klinsmann's squad keep him honest.

In an impressive debut for United States manager Jurgen Klinsmann, the Americans forced a 1-1 draw in a friendly against archrival Mexico on Wednesday night.  Despite Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez’ absence for Mexico and the United States without four of their veteran starters, the match remained competitive and feisty.

What were you up to when you were seven years old?  Chances are, you were not signing a one-year contract to join the youth academy of one of the best soccer teams in the world, as Leonel Angel Coira did earlier this week.  Indeed, the Argentinian prodigy begins training with Real Madrid’s youth academy on September 6 and hopes to follow the footsteps of fellow Argentinian Lionel Messi.

Sunday’s Community Shield at Wembley Stadium was entertaining.  It was fast-paced, spirited, competitive and above all the two teams were strong.  Very strong.

Mid summer in Major League Soccer means many things, not least of which is the MLS All-Star Game, which sees the best of the league face off against formidable international competition.  This year, just like last year, a star-studded Manchester United team routed the MLS All-Stars—although it should be noted that this year the score line flattered Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

As the saying goes, third time’s a charm.  While Jürgen Klinsmann and U.S. Soccer had spoken about the national team coaching position twice in the past five years, the talks finally materialized.  In an attempt to lift themselves out of a malaise, U.S. Soccer has hired its first foreign-born coach since 1995 to replace Bob Bradley.

Hallo Klinsmann.  The news came on Thursday that Bob Bradley had been relieved of his duties as head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Soccer team, sending both journalists and fans into a frenzy of speculation as to who would replace him.  A few familiar names began to float around immediately but none were more familiar than that of the former German head coach (and player), Jürgen Klinsmann.  And Friday, the U.S. Soccer organization confirmed that Klinsmann would be taking over as head coach of the USMNT immediately, signaling a bold shift for the USA.

After an equivocal five years guiding the United States men’s national team, Bob Bradley has been relieved of his duties as head coach.

The decision was revealed on Thursday in a statement from U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati, who cited the need to “make a change.”

“We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five years,” said Gulati. “During his time as the head coach of our Men’s National Team he led the team to a number of accomplishments, but we felt now was the right time for us to make a change. It is always hard to make these decisions, especially when it involves someone we respect as much as Bob. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Bradley’s tenure with the national team had its share of ups and downs. Although rumored to have been a second choice to Juergen Klinsmann when hired as manager, Bradley led the team to the 2007 Gold Cup title in his first year on the job. Two years later, the squad would shock the world with a second place finish in the Confederations Cup. It was during this tournament that the team earned one of its most impressive victories during the Bradley era: a 2-0 shutout in the semifinal match against Spain, the number one team in the world at the time, which was coming off a 35-game unbeaten streak and 15-game winning streak.

However, uncertainty began surrounding Bradley’s position after the national team’s early exit from the 2010 World Cup. Despite winning their group, the team was subsequently knocked out in the Round of 16 with a 2-1 extra time loss to Ghana, a disappointing result for fans, as well as U.S. Soccer.

The turning point appears to have been the team’s performance in the 2011 Gold Cup, which included a loss to Panama in the group stages and, more importantly, a stunning 4-2 defeat in the final to Mexico, after earning an early 2-0 lead.

Bradley departs with an all-time record of 43-25-12 with the national team.

The announcement to oust the manager came after a meeting between Bradley, Gulati and U.S. Soccer CEO Dan Flynn.

U.S. Soccer will have a further announcement on Friday, in which Bradley’s replacement could likely be disclosed.

According to Martin Rogers of Yahoo! Sports, Klinnsmann is the “clear favorite” to take the helm. Supporting the speculation is Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl, who was told by a U.S. Soccer insider, “You’re not going to be surprised” by the identity of the new coach.

Indeed, Klinnsmann, who lives in California, has been linked to the U.S. position multiple times thus far. Klinnsmann, who led the German national team to the semifinal of the 2006 World Cup, was tied to the American job immediately after both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups. If hired, he would be the first foreign-born coach of the national team since 1995.

Rogers also revealed that other rumored replacements include Marcelo Lippi, who coached the 2006 Italian World Cup champions; Marcelo Beilsa, former coach of the Argentina and Chile national teams; Dutch soccer legend Marco Van Basten; and several homegrown MLS coaches.

Last Thursday (21/07/11), FC Barcelona confirmed the signing of Chilean winger Alexis Sanchez from Udinese in a deal worth 26m, rising to 37.5m Euros. Sanchez has been one of the world’s top performers for both club and country over the past two seasons, and his addition to Barcelona’s already formidable attack is frankly quite scary. The front line of Pedro, Messi and Villa combined for approximately 98 goals in all competitions last season. Now they add to this a player with great pace, trickery and the work ethic to press from the front, as Barcelona do so well. Remember playing soccer video games and editing the stats of your players to make them unbeatable? By making this signing, the Catalan club are edging closer to that level of invincibility. And that, perverse as it may seem, is why Cesc Fabregas should not join Sanchez amongst their ranks. Not this summer.

In what was perhaps one of the exciting matches for U.S. Soccer in recent memory, the U.S. Women's National Team put in a fantastic performance against Japan in the 2011 Women's World Cup Final.  It was a triumph for the beautiful game; the referee officiated competently and stayed largely out of sight, both teams played cleanly and with immense heart and there wasn't even a caution for misconduct until 97 minutes into the match.

The U.S. Women's National Team defeated France on Wednesday to earn their place in the 2011 World Cup Final. They will face Japan on Sunday, the first time the U.S. women have achieved a spot in the final since 1999, when the USA won it all against China.

What is it with U.S. Soccer and last-minute, nail-biting dramatics on the pitch?  Last year, USA fans suffered all the way into stoppage time to see Landon Donovan finally put the ball in the back of the net for a critical win over Algeria in group play to keep the U.S. Men’s National Team in the World Cup.  On Sunday, the U.S. Women’s National Team blew that victory out of the water with a stunning victory over Brazil in Dresden, Germany that saw the USA play most of the game with 10 players and struggle through questionable officiating to boot.