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September 2, 2016 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard will start for the U.S. men's national team in a World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday in Jacksonville, Fla., the team announced Thursday.

U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann on Thursday announced a goalkeeper platoon, with Howard starting Tuesday and Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Guzan getting that call Friday against St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The U.S. can advance to the hexagonal round of World Cup qualifying with a victory on Friday in St. Vincent combined with a win by Trinidad and Tobago over Guatemala.

Howard lost the starting job to Guzan over the summer during the Copa America Centenario tournament, but strong play for the Rapids over the last two months appears to have moved him back into the picture.

Rapids midfielder Jermaine Jones, who was called in to the national team camp over the weekend, was released Wednesday from the squad so he can continue rehabbing a knee injury with Colorado.

Klinsmann told reporters this week he wanted a chance to evaluate Jones' injury firsthand.

Jones injured his LCL in a July 4 game against Portland Timbers and has not played since. Colorado is 2-2-4 since his injury.

2. Portland Timbers officially sign defender Liam Ridgewell to contract extension

By Jamie Goldberg

The Oregonian - September 1, 2016

The Portland Timbers have officially signed captain Liam Ridgewell to a contract extension.

The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported that the Timbers had inked Ridgewell to an extension Tuesday. Though the Timbers did not officially announce the length of the new contract, it has been reported as a two-year extension.

Here is the full release from the Timbers:

The Portland Timbers today announced that the club has signed defender and team captain Liam Ridgewell to a contract extension, utilizing Targeted Allocation Money at the start of the 2017 MLS season.

Currently in his third season with Portland, Ridgewell, 31, has made 63 starts in 63 appearances for the Timbers since joining the club midway through the 2014 MLS campaign, logging 5,658 minutes, three goals and two assists. During that 63-game stretch, the Timbers have recorded 20 shutouts, producing a 1.30 goals-against average.

Ridgewell, who captained the Timbers during their 2-1 victory over Columbus Crew SC in the 2015 MLS Cup, is a two-time MLS All-Star (2014, 2016), with the defender featuring in a 2-1 victory against FC Bayern Munich at Providence Park in 2014 before being selected to this year's AT&T MLS All-Star game.

In 2016, Ridgewell, a two-time recipient of Timbers Defender of the Year honors (2014, 2015), has appeared in 16 games (16 starts) for the Timbers, while also recording the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory against the San Jose Earthquakes on June 1.

Last season, Ridgewell recorded 32 starts in 32 appearances for the Timbers, anchoring the backline as Portland recorded 13 shutouts, which ranked tied for first in the league. Starting and playing in five matches of the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs - including 90 minutes in the Timbers win over Columbus on Dec. 6 - Ridgewell registered the opening goal in a 3-1 win against FC Dallas in the first leg of the Western Conference Championship on Nov. 22, 2015.

Prior to joining the Timbers in 2014, Ridgewell spent 12 seasons in the English Premier League and the English Football League Championship, recording over 200 appearances for Aston Villa, Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion. In 2011, Ridgewell won the Football League Cup Final with Birmingham City, helping the team secure a 2-1 victory over English Premier League side Arsenal F.C.

Transaction: Portland Timbers sign defender Liam Ridgewell to a contract extension, utilizing Targeted Allocation Money at the start of the 2017 MLS season.

3. Sporting KC extends deal with Chilean striker Diego Rubio through 2018 season

By Sam McDowell

Kansas City Star - September 1, 2016

Diego Rubio's stay in Kansas City won't be a short-term one after all.

Sporting Kansas City completed the permanent transfer of Rubio from Spanish club Real Valladolid on Thursday, replacing a loan deal that was set to expire at the end of the season.

The new contract will run through the 2018 season, and it includes a Sporting KC team option for 2019.

Rubio, a native of Chile, joined the club in March on a three-month loan that was later extended through the entire 2016 season. He has started six matches this year, recording two goals and one assist across all competitions while serving as the backup to striker Dom Dwyer.

"This is good news for both the club and for Diego," Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. "I give a lot of credit to our staff, which did its due diligence to get the original loan deal for Diego done. That gave us ample time to see how he would integrate within our system. We were pleased with what we saw and look forward to his continued progression with our club."

4. Sounders midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro voted MLS Player of the Month

By Matt Pentz

Seattle Times - September 1, 2016

Sounders midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro has been voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Month after scoring two goals and adding six assists in August.

Lodeiro's arrival in late-July as a Designated Player signing from Boca Juniors helped spark a five-match unbeaten run, and Seattle is 3-1-2 since his acquisition.

The Uruguayan international dished out two assists in the 3-1 win at Orlando on Aug. 7 and two more versus Portland on Aug. 28. He had both a goal and assist against Salt Lake in the middle of the month and rescued a point with a last-minute strike in Houston.

"He came in and really kick-started our team," interim Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said Thursday. "He had some really good games. ... I think it's deserved.

"Let me back-track, though: Well-deserved. But it is a team sport. All of the guys helped Nico, and he would be the first one to say that. He wasn't expected to be a savior. ... Nico helped make everyone around him better, but it goes both ways."

With more than 45 percent of the vote, Lodeiro edged out New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips (21 percent) as well as D.C. United's Patrick Mullins and Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore of Toronto FC.

5. TFC's Vanney still fighting against history of the club

By John Molinaro

SportsNet.ca - September 1, 2016

Has there been a manager - whether it's one you played under, or talked to, or admired from afar - that you've used a reference point during your time as TFC coach? Do you have any managerial influences?

Greg Vanney: I played under Sigi [Schmid] for a long time, and for me Sigi always creates a really competitive environment where guys work hard every day and that's the expectation; you were competing for your position and you were competing for your job, and I think that's important, and that's how he's been so successful as a manager.

There's Bruce [Arena] who I played for as well, who I think is a very good 'man manager.' He's fairly even-keeled about his day-to-day work. He allows the players some space and to be themselves, and has done a good job over the years of helping guys, and when he took over the U.S. national team he created an environment where there was fresh blood and everybody felt truly invested in the national team. I think he does a good job of that - wherever he goes, people feel their importance in terms of the club.

So, I've taken those parts from Sigi and Bruce, and I had a manager in Gerard Gili [at French club Bastia] who was a very, very good tactician. We played a number of different systems under him, but we were a small club in a big league, and in order to stay in the first division year after year you have to be well organized because from a roster standpoint we were nowhere near PSG, Lyon and Olympique Marseille. Every week we had to prepare for the game from a very tactical approach, so a lot of how he prepared the team on a week-to-week basis, I use some of those things.

Within all of that, though, it's important to stay true to who you are as a person. I care about the players, and I want them to feel invested and feel that they matter, so you have to stay true to that and not try to be someone you aren't. So I've taken pieces I've learned from managers I played for along the way, but as a personality, I try to stay true to who I am. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. [laughs]

The playoff loss last year was pretty disappointing and embarrassing. The media took you and the team to task, and fans were baying for blood. Bill Manning had just been hired as the new club president, and the easiest thing he could have done from a PR move would have been to fire you and hire Jason Kreis. But he didn't. He kept you on as coach. Why did he stick with you?

Vanney: When people come into our building now and interact with our people, what you realize is that this cub is a real community, and everybody is working together, which is the culture change that we wanted. There was a foundation here, and I think there was this general feeling that success was going to come; it's just a matter of continuing, sticking to the process, being clear about the next steps and adding the right pieces along the way. I'd be speaking for Bill here, but I firmly believe that that's what he saw, and that he felt our staff and myself were the people who could get us there.

When you look back at Real Salt Lake [where Manning served as club president before coming to Toronto], one of the reasons for their success was the continuity of their group. It's never change, and change and change that ever gets you to anywhere successful. It's continuity and building upon the building blocks that you put down, and not constantly changing things. There was a solid foundation here, and I think Bill picked up on that.

One of the major criticisms of this team is that it relies too much on Sebastian Giovinco; that if you take him away, TFC would be an average side. Is that a fair critique? Do you feel you get enough credit for whatever role you've played in the team's success?

Vanney: As far as Seba goes, I think when you have the best player in the league and he's the most exciting player in the league, people are going to naturally gravitate towards that and say, 'or course TFC is doing so well.' But do they say the same thing about the LA Galaxy? When the LA Galaxy don't have Robbie Keane, they don't win many games. But does that mean Bruce Arena isn't a very good coach and that anybody could coach that team? I don't think it does.

I was listening to a podcast the other day that was very interesting and [applied to] MLS in that it was about how you spend your money. The guy was talking about soccer being a 'weakest-link' sport compared to basketball - in basketball you can have one great player and that great player can go get the ball on the inbound and take it all the way down the court and score a bucket because it becomes a one-on-one game and they have much more greater influence on the game. So his point was you can have one great player but that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be a good soccer team because in soccer you need to have far more links in order for that one great player to have an impact on the game than you do in other sports - that's what he meant by soccer being a 'weakest-link' sport.

It's important that all of your other pieces are in sync so that that one great player can be successful as well - get him the ball in the right spaces at the right time. So that's how I look at it. Now, obviously Seba is the best player in the league. Does he help us win games? No question. But winning games also requires other things. Last year we didn't win that many games because we gave away too many goals, and that's not something that Sebastian necessarily has much influence over, but the rest of our team has to be solid enough to do those kinds of things.

So I'd make the case that having one great player doesn't necessarily make you a great team. You still need to have a very good foundation and a group of players who are capable of supporting and working with that great player for that great player to be successful. That's where I think coaching comes into play, along with bringing in the right types of players, along with putting them in the right types of systems that leads the group to be successful.

TFC has a very engaged and passionate fan base. The fan support, for the most part, is positive. But there's a pretty vocal minority of supporters who don't like you; that no matter the results on the field, they simply don't think you're a good coach. I appreciate that you say you're not really tuned in to what is being said about you on social media, but what about your family? Are your kids on social media, and do they tell you what's being said about you? Or even your wife? How tuned is she to what's being said and written about you?

Vanney: I know there's pressure from the fans, and I know being in this position there's always going to be people that like you and people who hate you. I'm perfectly fine with that.

My kids aren't really on social media, and really only my [11-year-old] daughter would be at the age where she's on it regularly, but she's so involved in gymnastics that I don't think she even has the time to do much of it.

My wife picks up on it, though. If I hear about that stuff, most of the time it will come from her. It's not easy because she takes it to heart. She'll feel uncomfortable and say to herself 'here we go, we could be moving again,' or 'who are these people? And do they really think this? How many people think this? And does the club think this?' So it becomes a bit of an issue. More times than not I have to ease her fears in many ways.

Sometimes people have their opinions on a fraction of the information, and sometimes the information doesn't matter - they just don't like me. They're totally entitled to those opinions. For me, when it upsets my wife, I just try to calm things down with a level head and remind her that one of these days is going to be our last day [in Toronto], we don't know when that day is going to be, but in the meantime I believe in what we're doing and the direction we're headed in. We just have to trust that. So no doubt it's hard on her, but my wife loves it here, and she doesn't want to move, and the kids are very happy.

I can't imagine there was much of a media presence at games when you were an assistant coach at Chivas USA. By MLS standards, TFC gets a lot of media attention and press coverage. What's it been like for you dealing with us? Do you feel much pressure from the media?

Vanney: Oh, you can't even compare. There's way more media attention in Toronto than Chivas. [laughs]

I try to treat the media like I treat my players. I feel the media is important and I want people who I come into contact with to feel like they're important. I genuinely feel that way. With you guys, I'll be honest about what I think; sometimes I can't be 'all-the-way' honest because we can't have everything that's going on at the club reported. [laughs] But I try to be as forthright as I c

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