Here are some MLS-related stories making the rounds today:
D.C. United unveils Volkswagen as new shirt sponsor
After spending the first month of the new MLS season playing with a big empty space on the front of its jersey, D.C. United announced that Volkswagen’s logo will fill that space as the German automaker is set to pay more than $14 million over five years to be D.C. United’s sponsor.
Also, MLS announced that Volkswagen will be the official automotive partner of Major League Soccer, filling the void left by Honda, which ended its sponsorship of the league last summer after 12 years as a league sponsor.
D.C. United is set to unveil its new uniform on Thursday night when D.C. plays host to the Chicago Fire. For more photos and some video of the new uniforms you can find them on the D.C. United blog, Behind the Badge.
Pickens released by QPR
Matt Pickens first stint in European soccer has ended early. The former Chicago Fire goalkeeper has been released by Queens Park Rangers after spending the second half of the season with them. Pickens failed to make a first-team appearance with the club. His contract with the club expired at season’s end and QPR declined to re-sign him (so no, he wasn’t released in the classic American sense, his contract expired and QPR declined to offer him a new deal).
What will Pickens do now? A return to MLS is not in the cards and his status as an EU passport holder means he will be free to seek out a new job in Europe this summer.
Kreis cries foul over MLS officiating
Jason Kreis is mad as heck and he’s not going to take it anymore.
No, Kreis isn’t doing a remake of Network. He’s upset with the officiating in MLS and went on an extended rant about all the calls he feels unjustly went against Real Salt Lake.
The gist of Kreis’ rant? The refs in MLS are bad. No, really, they’re not that good. Glad Kreis let us know.
In all seriousness, ranting about how bad the refs are in MLS is a better way to go than the whole, "I smell a plot to keep RSL down" overtones in Kreis’ diatribe. That conspiracy must have kicked in after last year, when RSL benefited from some suspect calls that turned a 3-1 deficit in the 90th minute into a 3-3 tie against the Red Bulls almost exactly a year ago (it’s not like it wasn’t his first match as RSL head coach).
Bad calls happen, even moreso in MLS. They balance out over time. Save yourself the fine money next time (though I have a feeling RSL will be picking up the tab for Kreis’ rant.)
What do you think of the stories (and what do you think of those new D.C. uniforms)? Share your thoughts below.
Yeah, the officiating sucks. Boohoo. It sucks for everyone most of the time so get over it. I don’t think Volkswagen United looks halfbad.
You know, I normally don’t comment on this blog, but I have to say something about these terrible sponsored kits in MLS. Seriously – I thought Chicago’s kit was terrible – glad I’m not a DCU fan especially now. Is it so difficult to do something classy? LA has the cleanest kit in the league and it just makes me want to choke. It makes me long for the days with the sleeve & back patches that said Radio Shack, US Soccer, Honda, & Snickers.
Ives,
Spot on with your comments on Kreis. I am an RSL fan (it like tell people you have a bad disease isn’t it) and was angry at the game when Kenny’s goal was called back. Why is Kreis whining? He is feeling the heat because with the talent assembled, he should be doing better. My question is where is Garth? You always know when Garth is around. Its been all quite on the Garth front.
Ives,
Please tell me that the next time the players’ union and MLS work out a deal, it will be mandated that every team sell its shirt rights to someone. I mean, DC is making from VW almost double what the salary cap is for one year. This is such low-hanging fruit, and insane not to pursue it as a league-wide policy.
best looking jersey in the league, i remember vfl wolfsburg had a similar jersey which looked almost exactly the same, minus the colors.
Chris, leave the conspiracy theories to Oliver Stone. I have nothing against Jason Kreis. I just wasn’t a fan of his approach to criticizing the league’s officiating. The whole “we’re getting it worse than anybody else” thing was a bit much.
As for me saying he’s one of the worst coaches in MLS isn’t exactly a reach, is it? He never coached a day in his life before last season and his record isn’t close to being a winning one. I know he had a lot of cleaning up to do but until I have a reason to rank him higher I will keep him low on my list of MLS coaches. It’s part of being a rookie coach. You have to earn respect.
sorry that VW is pathetic looking, it looks like they are little cars..the jersey is too plain and boring..
..next
sorry ives, why do i get the impression you don’t like jason kreis? i started thinking this when you said he was the worst coach in mls in a “your questions answered” post. i’m not even a rsl fan and i get that impression.
Ives, you missed Tom Soehn’s best quote about the new sponsorship: “Vith Volkswagen as der sponsor DC vill rise HIGH on der table! Sieg heil!!!”
smits:
the three stripes were an adidas trademark. they refused to keep them on the new united kits if united were going to look for a sponsor, which they expressed interest in. because of this conflict, DCU lost their stripes, and gained and old car from a commercial sitting in the north-end pit of RFK stadium. whoopdee-doo.
Perhaps someone needs to remind Kreis that the only reason he scored all of those goals in MLS was because of the same crappy refs he is currently complaining about.
Everyone knows what the three stripes are, and since Adidas is MLS’ biggest sponsor I am sure they would not want to share space either.
DCU’s front office has already said they wanted to keep the stripes but there was no way to do that without Adidas being the one and only sponsor.
three stripes doesn’t necessarily mean adidas the eagle wings on the shield have three “feathers” just say it goes with that… but besides adidas’ logo is on the uni anyway so what the big deal to keep the stripes it’s a cool/unique uniform feature like the liberty bell on the Phillies leggings or the 4 stripes on the NY Islanders sweaters.
Here’s a link to a picture I made showing some ideas on improvements.
Laziness sake!?!
You are not in marketing are you…
Adidas was getting free advertising. I liked the stripes too, but how can you ask one company to pay for space and then say that you are going to overlap another companys logo over it at no charge to them?
Seems to me like they could have kept the three stripe chest marking AND got the VW logo and appeased everyone. All you have to do is put three stripes on either side of the logo, OR you could have the top and bottom stripe going around the logo, OR you could have the stripes higher up behind the sheild. All good comprimises, but they just dumped ’em for laziness sake.
In the LA-RSL game, Donovan (he’s as chippy, dirty a player as Ruiz) should have had at least 3 yellow cards for fouls, most of them deliberate, but got none. After seeing him live, I lost any respect I had for him before. And the refs definitely gave him preferential treatment.
In the three games I have gone to (RSL) this year, the refereeing was almost univeresally appauling. The Fire-RSL game was widely commented on for its lack of any kind of management.
“Those uniforms look great. DC’s kit looks like it belongs in Europe, which is great. And the fact that the team isn’t named Volkswagen makes it even better.”
If– assuming the Macfarlane scheme to plunder the District of Columbia for land for his developmment plans fails– Volkswagen were to offer to build them a $250 million stadium and a practice facility and god knows what else, I have a hard time believing they wouldn’t figure out a name to work the car company into the team name.
I’m sure DC fans will disagree, but they don’t have to lose money hand over fist.
Mario, who said the $14 million over five years was chump change? That’s a great deal.
Sublicon, my original attempt at sarcasm regarding Kreis and that 3-3 game failed, I have since clarified.
Rory, speaking out after a game and facing the brunt of the punishment is one thing. Coming out in a staged way several days later, in a story with no other source (like say an MLS official or the league’s head of officiating), came off as a bit staged and phony. Bad calls deserve to be ripped, the whole “we’re getting every bad call against us” theory is a bit much.
And yes, I spelled Volkswagen wrong. So much for that six weeks I spent in Germany.
I just think the VW on the DC kit looks a lil boring, maybe if they kept the original 3 stripes and managed to put the VW somewhere else or spelled out across the shirt it might have looked better but to me it just looks to plain , Chicago Fire’s has to be the worst tho ! lol
DCU w/o stripes reminds me of MJ when he wore #45. It’s just not the same. Is the VW logo gonna make up for it? Not really.
Scott A hit right on. DCU needs the stripes back. C’Mon Adidas, figure out of way to make it work. I Hate DCU and I’m saying this.
Ives you’re a little harsh on JC. Kreis and any MLS coach is totally justified to be angry. Every team has had bad calls against them. MLS refs need to step up. The LA RSL replays show the 2nd Deuchar goal was totally legit.
I like the way the VW looks on the D.C. jerseys. Even so, I still think they should have the three stripes the way they used to, even with the sponsor.
The golden rule of shirt sponsorships: Alcohol sponsors trump everything
How phat would it be if RBNY had a vodka for the shirt sponsor?
Coach complains about refs? *yawn* Wake me when it’s over …
As a Red Bulls supporter, I think that DC kit actually looks pretty classy.
Whether Kreis is actually right or justified in his complaints of the refs isn’t the point.
The point is he showed his players and RSL’s fans that he’s willing to risk a scolding and a fine from the league to go to bat for his team.
From a coaching perspective, this is a good thing with little to lose but something that can galvanize a group and create an us-against-them mentality that can help a mediocre team over the proverbial hump.
It’s not a revolutionary coaching tactic by any means, but still a good one for a young coach.
Thanks for the update, Jason “Captain Obvious” Kreis! But in all fairness to him, that offsides call against Deuchar in the LA game was atrocious.
Those uniforms look great. DC’s kit looks like it belongs in Europe, which is great. And the fact that the team isn’t named Volkswagen makes it even better.
Ives why do some teams not take advantage of the shirt sponsor? Is it because of the lack of an offer, the lack of a good offer, or just a refusal to take advantage of this?
Fred and Clyde Simms pose for a picture after doing their best Ronaldo impression and picking up and Argentine transsexual prostitute.
What?
Sorry, thought it was another caption contest.
Ives – wasn’t that Red Bulls game Kreis’s first match as head coach??
Ives, over 3Mil a year is not chump change for an MLS team. A number of the other team also have sponsors. What about an article on what the MLS finances look like at this time? I’m hoping they can begin spending more on salaries, not allot, just able to compete with the Scandinavian second division teams.
I’m about to hop in my lil’ VW convertible commuter-mobile and head home. I dig VW as a sponsor for DCU. Certainly cooler than Red Bull (who names their team after a drink made from steer testicles, anyway?) and LA’s Herbalife logo.
That said, I thank DC for letting Carroll get away and always glad whenever Columbus can beat them. GO CREW!
Kinda wished they kept the classic three stripes on the front. They became synonymous with DCU so why take a way one of the few traditions that MLS actually has? Couldn’t they have just made the VW logo a tiny bit smaller and stayed true to their (very young) roots?
Posted by: Seisco | May 06, 2008 at 04:17 PM
The three stripes are an adidas trademark, and adidas refused to let DC keep them on the front of the jersey if they wanted to add another sponsor.
Being a fire supporter, i can appreciate the new DCU kits, I dont think the fire kits look horrible, but this is what a corporate sponsor should look like. Really, I think all the MLS sponsored kits look pretty good, minus Red Bull’s, sorry guys
Is there ever going to be some sort of initiative in MLS to get better referees?
Kinda wished they kept the classic three stripes on the front. They became synonymous with DCU so why take a way one of the few traditions that MLS actually has? Couldn’t they have just made the VW logo a tiny bit smaller and stayed true to their (very young) roots?
LOLOL Volkswagen. Second rate car company for a second rate team.
not a dc fan, but have always liked their kits and think the vw logo works on the jersey, unlike the awful best buy logo on the fire’s jersey.
At least the uniforms will look sharp – even if the players don’t. Hopefully this will mean progress in getting another designated player (defense please) and a stadium.
On board with PJ,….I think the VW logo looks great and makes the DCU uniform the sharpest in the league. Leave it to DC. Sorry Red Bull supporters,….it is not even close. Great stuff DCU.
Welp, I know now I will never own a Volkswagen.
Someone should welcome Kreis back to 1996 when the rest of us realized how awful the officiating in this league was.
Pickens should go to Scandinavia in my opinion. Why the heck not? But let’s face it, he’s pretty good, I wouldn’t be worried about him. He’ll find a job quick enough, still making more money than he made here.
DC play the Fire Thursday night so their not farfromlosin.
I slay me.
I agree with PJ. I spent my youth being driven around in VW Beetles and Rabbits – very cold in Midwest winters, the heaters in bugs were about as effective as lighting a match – and I drove a powder blue VW bug to my prom. I like the logo. It’s much sharper than the RBNY jersey, or the huge Best Buy that’s splashed across Chicago’s jerseys.
But, don’t worry, I don’t like DCU any more because of it.
VW>Red Bull as a sponsor.
i respectfully disagree, Trex. i’m the furthest thing from a DCU supporter, but i think the new kit looks sharp. and VW is some great name recognition – nationally/internationally-known brands are good news on jersey fronts.
Shame they didn’t do a smaller logo with “Volkswagen” next to it – I saw a mock up that way and it looked muuuch better.
I’m sure perkins will latch on somewhere.. he is a good keeper..
dc sponsor .. yawn..
Kries is cry baby, and a terrible coach.. i hope never gets canned.
As much as people laugh and mock the Red Bulls for being named after a company, I sure as heck would rather have the team’s own logo across the jersey than a big VW. That looks awful.
Ives – you may want to correct the spelling for VW
It’s Volkswagen, with an “-en” not “-on” on the end…