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MLS Ticker: Galaxy release Keane for Ireland matches; Boswell suspended two games for head butt; and more

Robbie Keane

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By DAN KARELL

The last thing the Los Angeles Galaxy needed in their current three losses in four games skid is to lose their captain for an extended period of time.

This looks to be the case, as Galaxy manager Bruce Arena and captain Robbie Keane came to an agreement to allow the 32-year-old forward to play for the Republic of Ireland on four different occasions in the next three weeks.

Keane and the Ireland squad will take on England at Wembley Stadium on May 29, Georgia in Dublin on June 2, Faroe Islands on June 7 in a World Cup qualifier, and then an international friendly with Spain at Yankee Stadium on June 11.

Arena’s decision will leave the Galaxy without one of their leaders just a week after returning from injury. Keane will miss out on the Galaxy’s matches at New England on June 2 and at Real Salt Lake on June 8. In just five games this season, Keane has scored two goals but has also registered three assists.

Here are some more stories to catch you up around the league:

BOSWELL SUSPENDED ONE ADDITIONAL GAME

Major League Soccer’s Disciplinary Committee announced on Wednesday afternoon that Houston Dynamo defender Bobby Boswell has been suspended an additional game for his headbutt on Dmitry Imbongo of the New England Revolution Saturday.

Boswell was also fined an undisclosed amount, with the Committee describing the offense “violent conduct that endangered the safety of the opponent.” Boswell, who was shown a red card in the 39th minute of the 2-0 defeat on Saturday, will now sit out the next two matches for Houston; May 26 against Sporting Kansas City and June 1 against the Columbus Crew.

The 30-year-old central defender has started all 12 matches for the Dynamo this season, with Saturday’s dismissal being the first time this season that he didn’t play a full match.

D.C. UNITED TO HOST FRIENDLY MATCH AGAINST CHIVAS

Chivas Guadalajara will be making a trip north to the United States, only they won’t be playing their sister club in Los Angeles.

D.C. United announced on Wednesday that Chivas would be visiting RFK Stadium on July 12 in a friendly match that was jointly set up by Soccer United Marketing (SUM).

“Club Deportivo Guadalajara and D.C. United are among the most storied clubs in North America, and we’re looking forward to participating in what’s sure to be a competitive match against Chivas,” D.C. United Chief Operating Officer Michael Williamson said in a statement on the team’s website. “An integral component of our “Summer of Soccer,” this game will provide our fan base yet another opportunity to watch the Black-and-Red take on a world-renowned team.”

Both Chivas and D.C. United have struggled this spring, with the Goats finishing in 17th place in the 18-team Liga MX table during their Clausura season, and the MLS side sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference.

Chivas will take on Club America in a friendly match on July 3 in Las Vegas before traveling to the United States capital.

TIMBERS SIGN MCKENZIE, WAIVE KAWULOK

The Portland Timbers added more experience to their banged up defensive line on Wednesday, completing the signing of Rauwshan McKenzie, while waiving defender Ryan Kawulok to create room on the roster.

Per MLS and club policy, terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

McKenzie, a free agent, was most recently with Chivas USA, playing 25 times for the Goats in all competitions last season. Prior to his stay in Los Angeles, the 26-year-old spent two seasons on the bench at Real Salt Lake, and another two at Sporting Kansas City, the club that drafted him in 2008.

Since being released by Chivas in February, McKenzie had been training with the Timbers and had played in two Reserve League matches with the Timbers reserve squad.

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What do you make of these notes? Do you believe the Galaxy should have released Keane for the friendlies? Do you agree with the suspension to Boswell? Think McKenzie can be a good signing in Portland?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Well, we all know who the boss is in LA. I laughed when I read Arena initially telling Keane he wouldn’t be allowed to play with Ireland against England at Wembley. There is absolutely no way Keane is going to miss that game.

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  2. Interesting thing… but I guess it’s also very common that players are going to be released for world cup qualification games. Ireland is in Group C… there is also Germany, pretty strong team. Does anybody know how it works with the qualifcation games ? I mean, how many teams from one group will qualify for the Brazil World Cup 2014 ? How many matches do they have to win ?

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    • Qualifying for WC14 varies by region. In UEFA (Europe) you have to win your group to qualify outright, but the 8 top second place finishers (I think there are 9 groups) are drawn against each other and have head to head playoffs for 4 of them to qualify. For CONCACAF (our region) the top 3 teams in the hex qualify with the 4th having a home and away playoff with a team from Oceania (New Zealand I think this time) to qualify. In CONMEBOL (S. America) there is a single table where everyone plays everyone else home and away with the top 4 getting into the cup. You can find more details at fifa.com.

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  3. Club vs country is a delicate balance, but I think this is the right thing. These are big friendlies + important qualifiers.

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  4. Keane will never make it through those 4 matches without picking up a knock. So add a few more weeks unavailability on to the time he will be with Ireland.

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    • Unfortunately, you are right. Playing in the warm so. cal weather and going back to cold Europe (even in summer) does not help older athletes. Muscles tighten leading to strains and tears. Let’s hope he come through unscathed or more likely without a MAJOR injury.

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  5. Define “storied club” with a particular explanation of why DC’s COO can claim that D.C. United is one. Honest question, no hating please.

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  6. DC United should NOT be playing that game. what an absolute waste of time. no one cares for Chivas in DC. we can barley get people to MLS games because we are so bad. not to mention, this just adds another game to play when we need to get our S together.

    if it was against a big club, sure, the money would make sense. but this is Chivas. the DC area is known for its Honduran and El Salvadorian populations, not so much Mexican. idk, this whole thing seems dumb for a team struggling so bad.

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  7. It’s probably good for the Galaxy that Donovan is out of favor with Klinsmann, otherwise they could be missing OG, Keane and Donovan, Plus Villareal for for the training camp and U-20’s WC in Turkey. Add the fact that McBean will be out til July at the earliest and the Galaxy will have to depend of an all rookie strike force.

    Although the Galaxy are not playing badly, most of the losses have 1-0, they are not the league beaters they were at the end of last season. That being said, the Galaxy are in a lot better spot than they were at this time last year.

    The galay also have to be a part of the big Guinness exhibition tournament this summer. Expect the reserve to get a lot of time this summer.

    Reply

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