Photo by Mike DiNovo/USA Today Sports
By AARON CRANFORD
After a rocky ride, Rais M’Bohli is no longer a member of the Philadelphia Union.
The Algerian national team goalkeeper and Union mutually agreed to part ways Monday, and M’Bohli was introduced as the latest signing of Antalyaspor, a top-flight Turkish team.
Head coach Jim Curtin benched the goalkeeper in early April after a string of poor performances, and M’Bohli didn’t do enough to make the leap back into the starting lineup.
The Union have had a goalkeeping dilemma in 2015, using Andre Blake, John McCarthy and Brian Sylvestre interchangeably throughout the season. The Union also loaned Zac MacMath to the Colorado Rapids for this year’s campaign.
Despite not having a consistent goalkeeper, the Union are only one point behind the Montreal Impact, who hold the sixth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
Here are some more notes from around MLS this Monday:
ATLANTA UNITED TO PLAY IN MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM
Atlanta United FC is still two years away from taking the field in its new downtown stadium, but Monday, the club announced that the stadium now has a name.
Atlanta United’s new home will be Mercedes-Benz Stadium after the car company signed naming rights agreements, which will stretch until 2042 according to Sports Business Daily.
“Soccer is the biggest global sport and we are a global brand,” president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA Steve Cannon said of the deal. “We are thrilled to embrace (Atlanta United).”
The first professional match in the new stadium will be the MLS team’s first game in March 2017, as the football season does not start until later that year.
REVOLUTION RESIGN GOALKEEPER BOBBY SHUTTLEWORTH
After seven years with the New England Revolution, Bobby Shuttleworth is going to stick around for just a bit longer.
Monday, the team announced that the netminder had re-signed with the team.
“Bobby’s development as a goalkeeper has grown tremendously during his time in New England,” Revolution general manager Michael Burns told the team’s website. “We are very pleased he has decided to re-sign with MLS to continue his career in New England”
The 28-year-old goalkeeper has made 97 appearances for the Revolution since joining the team in 2009 from the Austin Aztex.
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What do you think about the Union and M’Bohli parting ways? Like Atlanta United’s stadium name?
Share your thoughts below.
During his time with Philly, it seems most people blame him for their results and overall bad vibes around the team. I honestly don’t think he had a chance. He shouldn’t have been signed to begin with, but that’s on the front office. With regard to articles and sentiment from the players and locker room, it seems that he was not very welcomed by the other players, especially in light of MacMath being shipped off after he clearly proved he should have been the keeper of choice. It would be hard for even the best players to perform adequately under those circumstances. Anything less than perfection was always going to result in his departure.
I’m not saying he had no contribution whatsoever to his exit, but I’m of the opinion that he unknowingly came into a very terrible situation. It’s not as if the Union upper management had a sterling track record prior to his arrival…
Stupid signing to begin with. Unless there’s an absolute stud of a keeper who is not from the US, if there’s one position that MLS does not need to scour the world for, it’s keepers. Plus, MLS teams can get US players cheaper
Really Philly shouldn’t be surprised. He’s never spent more then a year at any club since he was a youth player.
…….Way to free up $350,000 getting rid of Rais M’Bohli , especially since Blake is being paid $123,000!!! Use that to get a star playmaker
I’d settle for a LB…