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MLS Ticker: Cahill considering A-league loan; DeRo open to move abroad; and more

TimCahillNewYorkRedBulls3-NewEnglandRevolution (USATodaySports)

By CAITLIN MURRAY

In a bid to stay fit ahead of next year’s World Cup, New York Red Bulls midfielder and Aussie Tim Cahill is reportedly eying a move back overseas.

Cahill will decide in the next few weeks whether he will seek a loan to play in his homeland’s A-League or even in the English Premier League, according to some rumors.

“It’s something that probably won’t come up until mid-December, Cahill told Australian media on Saturday. “It all depends if I want to and if it works for my body – the plan has to be for the World Cup, not really for me personally.”

The Socceroos star had played eight years for Everton in Premier League before joining the Red Bulls in 2012, but told reporters he is happy playing in MLS full time.

“For me personally, playing in the MLS suits me and the international team better,” Cahill said.

Cahill finished his second MLS season earlier this month with 11 goals and five assists. He will play for Australia on Tuesday against Costa Rica in an international friendly at Allianz Stadium in Sydney. The Socceroos qualified for the World Cup last June with a 1-0 victory against Iraq in AFC qualifying.

Here’s a look at some other stories around MLS:

DE ROSARIO OPEN TO SIGNING OVERSEAS IF MLS CLUBS AREN’T INTERESTED

Canadian National Team forward Dwayne De Rosario is looking to stay in MLS after being declined by D.C. United last month – but he’s not ruling out a move overseas.

“I’ve had an unbelievable experience playing in that league and a great time there, and if it’s time to move on from there, so be it,” De Rosario told MLSsoccer.com on Saturday. “If not, then I definitely look forward to another year, two, three in Major League Soccer.”

De Rosario is the all-time leading scoring for Canada’s men’s squad and will represent the national team Tuesday for an away friendly match against Slovenia.

DESERT DIAMOND CUP IN ARIZONA EXPANDS WITH MORE MLS TEAMS

Ten MLS teams will return to Tucson, Ariz. for spring training in February, with the format for the 2014 Desert Diamond Cup changing a bit.

In a revised format, the Diamond Cup will expand from eight to 12 matches with six teams vying for the title: Chivas USA, the Chicago Fire, Real Salt Lake, the Colorado Rapids, the New England Revolution and FC Tucson.

The 15-match training schedule will run from Feb. 1 to March 1 and feature a clash between the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders, the Arizona Daily Star reported Saturday.

FC Tucson is also in negotiations with Mexican first division teams to join the training schedule.

NEW D.C. UNITED STADIUM PROJECT ALREADY BEHIND SCHEDULE

It appears the new D.C. United stadium project is already missing deadlines.

District of Columbia officials and a developer for the project had set a Nov. 15 deadline for a key piece of land to be appraised and a trade to be negotiated. But Nov. 15 came and went with no deal.

According to a report by Washington City Paper, the appraisals are done, but agreement negotiations continue and nothing is ready to submit to D.C.’s Council.

MLS PLAYERS DELAGARZA AND BROWN REPORT FOR NATIONAL TEAM DUTIES

American-born A.J. DeLeGarza made his debut for Guam on Saturday in a 1-1 draw to Laos. The Los Angeles Galaxy defender, whose father is Mexican-Guamanian, will represent Guam again next week against Cambodia.

Meanwhile, Colorado Rapids forward Deshorn Brown tallied his third international cap on Friday for Jamaica in 1-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago.

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What do you think of these reports? Do you see Cahill returning to Australia or England for a winter-loan? Do you see De Rosario staying in MLS? Do you like the growth of the Desert Diamond Cup?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

    • Maybe we’ve been thinking about this all wrong. For years we’ve been lamenting the fact that while we have benefited from having US military installations in Germany and thus gained some German-American players, we have no bases in Brazil or Argentina. Maybe the Guamians are onto something: let’s let Brazil and Argentina establish military bases HERE, and get more of that gene pool into our youth soccer infrastructure.

      Reply
      • I think we would be better off by inviting more single Brazilian and Argentine men to play in MLS. We already picked up Joel Soñora this way.

  1. How about MLS goes for the “fifa” calendar, once MLS gets miami, orlando, atl and another warm market.
    MLS would benefit from the schedule change, since MLS is already going against NFL,MLB,NHL,NBA,NCAA.
    Even during the winter break, MLS can still have this desert cup in tucson and phoenix, even add a hawaii cup and invite J-league and A-league teams. You can also have friendlies in non MLS markets like, austin, albuquerque, el paso, tulsa, oklahoma city.
    Then in the summer break, you can have all the MLS teams have their European friendlies.
    Start in August, have winter break from mid december to february, come before or the same weekend as super bowl.

    Reply
    • I’m still against this idea of switching to the FIFA calendar. I think MLS should respect the international fixture dates, but that’s about it. I rather enjoy MLS having the majority of their season only competing against MLB. In my opinion, I see attendance dropping if MLS goes full on head-to-head against the NFL, NBA, and NHL, rather than just the last two months or so in the fall.

      Reply
  2. Everyone keeps talking about this whole “staying fit” thing for MLS players. I dont really get it. The World Cup is in June, well into the MLS season. It seems like I remember many top players who were finishing their season in late may seemed to look worn out from a full campaign in previous world cups so if anything MLS players may have an advantage of being fit, but not worn out.

    Reply
    • +1,000. Starting in March is perfect for peaking in June. I htink MLS players will be just on form as their European counterparts (of the same initial quality of course) and with fresher legs. No idea why Klinsmann is pushing for loans. In my book, we have competitive advantage along with Russia whose players are all domestic

      Reply
      • Will be interesting to see how Russia does at the World Cup, they switched to a European calendar recently but obviously they have a multi-month winter break that should have them well-rested like the MLS players (but still playing in the months directly preceding the tournament)

      • He is pushing for loans, because top European leagues offer a better level of competition than MLS, which helps to prepare for the WC (which will have a higher level of competition).

      • I could see the loans, to expose the players to some top tier competition, but to make sure they are fit? If anything it will wear them out.

      • He probably wants people in form by April so he can finalize his selections. MLS players beginning the season in March may not be quite in form by April.

      • Yevgeniy,

        The last time I checked neither the US nor Russia were serious contenders in recent World Cups.

        USMNT fans are so squeamish.

        The US has always being renowned for having an excellent fitness staff going back to the Arena days and I see no reason to think this fitness staff is any less accomplished. In other words they seem to know what they are doing in this area.

        Klinsmann’s style will inevitably result in players getting injured because it is played at such a high tempo and pressure.. To put high pressure on the other team you have to put a lot of pressure on yourself.
        When you do that it means everyone needs to lot of repetitions to stay sharp and keep up.

        This means, inevitably, some players will fall by the wayside. I thought fans understood that JK was WEEDING out players.

        This is why JK has been so earnest about developing as much depth as possible. The guys who go to Brazil will be the ones who are left standing. But they should be sharp and fit.

        I don’t know why everyone is so worried about it.
        Whoever is left over should be pretty hard bitten and nasty. The US wasn’t getting very far with the “soccer mom everybody wins and plays” philosophy before so now they are trying something different, something along the lines of:

        “take a risk, put yourself out there and those that survive and prosper will play”.

        You wanted a better team? Fine, these guys will have to pay the price to get there.

      • + 1

        Well put, GW. Not so sure why this is so hard to grasp. JK has made his position well known on this very issue.

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