By JOHN BOSCHINI
After a tumultous reign as the head coach of D.C. United, Curt Onalfo is headed back to work.
The Los Angeles Galaxy announced that Onalfo, 41, will join the club as an assistant where he will be reunited with Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena, under whom he served as an assistant for the U.S. National team. Onalfo spent two and half seasons as the manager of the Kansas City Wizards (now known as Sporting Kansas City) before being dismissed. He was then hired as the head coach at D.C. but was let go after only eight months in August of last year.
Onalfo, who will also become the head coach of the reserve team, will replace Cobi Jones, who left earlier this month to join the New York Cosmos.
Here are some more stories to wrap up your Thursday.
VAN DER SAR RETIRING AT THE END OF THE SEASON
Just a few days after aging Manchester United stars Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs made announcements about their futures with the Red Devils, long-time goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar said that he will retire at the end of the season at the age of 40. The former Dutch international has made 174 appearances for Manchester United after joining the Red Devils from Fulham in 2005. The keeper said he made the decision to spend more time with his family, including his wife, who suffered a brain hemorrhage more than a year ago.
Reports out of England suggest that Maarten Stekelenburg of Ajax, German international Manuel Neuer and Atletico Madrid's David de Gea are being eyed as possible replacements.
EGYPT SUSPENDS WEEKEND FIXTURES
The Egyptian Football Federation has decided to postpone this weekend's premier league matches due to rising political unrest. The announcement comes just 13 days before the United States is due to travel to Cairo to take on Egypt in an international friendly but neither federation has announced any plans to cancel the match.
BUSQUETS SIGNS BARCELONA EXTENSION
Sergio Busquets has signed an extension with Barcelona that will keep the midfielder at the Camp Nou until 2015. The move comes a few days after reports emerged that a number of clubs were interested in the 22-year-old's services. The contract includes a buyout clause of 150 million euros.
INTER PREPPING MASSIVE BID FOR BALE
Gareth Bale's days with Tottenham could be numbered as The Guardian reports that Inter Milan is preparing a 40 million pound summer bid. The Welsh international has seen his stock skyrocket over the past 12 months and it is rumored that Real Madrid is also interested. If the bid is made for the 21-year-old, it would be a record for a British player.
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What do you think of tonight's stories? Can Onalfo help the Galazy? Will you miss seeing van der Sar in goal for Manchester United? Worried about the future of the USA vs. Egypt friendly?
Share your thoughts below.
yeah i think the whole african national think only applies to the france
The problem with this theory of you could buy “8 VDVs or Tevez plus a few others” is that those were bargain buys and to base a transfer on assumption is terrible.
Spurs don’t need the money, why sell when they are on the brink of becoming a true power house in the EPL? Bale is worth more to them in the next 10 years than 40 million pounds.
Amen to this! I’m tired of us scrapping the bottom of the barrel, trying to attract any player with any tie to us.
Let’s spend our efforts developing in house and revamp our youth setup. That way we don’t have to keep saying “German born”, “Canadian born”, etc. Maybe 20 years ago it was fine, now we need to stand up on our own two Uncle Sam feet.
lol u caught him.
But the guy isn’t American. He said so himself. Jeez, will the day ever come where people don’t clamor to naturalize any player with a pulse and an ounce of potential?
Similar to NYRB denying the ZeRoberto rumor.
He lived in London from 1992 to 2007. I’m sure he already has a UK work permit.
40 M Pounds (~60 M USD) is a lot of money to turn down. They would be crazy not to accept it. You could buy Tevez and have spare change leftover for a good (not spectacular like Bale) left back as Wayne Bridge.
If those figures are true, they wil sell him for sure. Look how shrewd their dealings have been over the past few years; bought Robbie Keane on the cheap, sold to Liverpool for good profit, and got him back for less than they sold him. LOL. They made good $$$ from sales of Carrick and Berbatov too. Even they came out ahead on buying/selling Darren Bent. 🙂
Are you taking notes MLS? You should have sold Donovan right after the World Cup. Might have been able to buy him back cheap similar to Keane to/from Liverpool.
Spurs has been my team away from the Yanks for a few seasons now… I’ve been following Bale since his first start.. I would be so disappointed if he took off. Let’s hope he stays and continues to help sides like Spurs shake up the balance of power a little bit!
also easier to get international call ups .. im guessing as I don’t know much about the Congo National Team.
if he becomes an African international wouldn’t it be easier to gain an EU work permit.. assuming that he one day wants to play in Europe?
But you can only buy 1 Gareth Bale
Zakuani is really a special player. Not unseating anyone right now but he’s young, fast, and can finish. The fuss is about his talent and potential.
Have you watched him enough to really know? The kid is getting better and better each season. Nobody said he would be starting on the USMNT right now, his potential is off the charts.
Is Zakuani really any better than our other options? Sure, he’s decent, but I don’t see what all the excitement is about.
I had no idea busquets was so young. Also: great news about Zakuani. I can’t imagine he’ll be with the Sounders for long, so I’d love to be able to cheer him on in the red white and blue. Not saying it’s a done deal, but it’s nice to have that be an option. Add him to the Najar, Mwanga list.
Sorry for your loss, LA.
The Inter Milan bid story isn’t true, Inter denied it
(SBI-A denial HARDLY means a story isn’t true.)
Great news on Busquets!
ZAK story
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/soundersfcblog/2014054821_zakuanis_international_future.html
No news about Zakuani indicating that the USMNT isn’t out of the picture?
Timothy Matthew Howard to Manchester United (again)?
haha! Its Bouna Time
With all of these bids coming in for Spurs top players, it will be interesting to see whether they sell any of them or try to hold all of these guys for a long time as the core of the team. With 40 million pounds, you could buy five Van Der Vaarts!
you forgot to mention Bouna Coundoul for the Man U goalkeeping spot. I guess they are keeping their interest quiet to prevent other teams from poaching.