Man U youngsters stun MLS All-Stars
A sellout crowd of more than 70,000 and seven goals provided MLS with the atmosphere and excitement it wanted for the All-Star Game, won by Manchester United, 5-2, Wednesday at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Here’s what we liked and didn’t like about the 2010 MLS All-Star Game …

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Summer Tours: Less than Meets the Eye
The temptation to stick it to the Eurosnobs — again — is bubbling within me. I shall resist it. Or I shall try, though I might as well point out that I have just finished watching the Kansas City Wizards beat Manchester United. The Wizards playing all the second half with 10 men, also needs mentioning.

While I’m about it I might as well tell you that earlier this afternoon (Sunday, that is) I ventured into deepest New Jersey — oddly, that’s where you have to go should you want to see the MLS’s New York team — and saw the Red Bulls beat Manchester City 2-1.

All of which sounds great for MLS — but which is actually not as great as it sounds. Because these games are not what they profess to be, certainly not what they’re advertised as. It’s hardly a secret that both Manchester teams are on tour without their best players.

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Henry’s arrival stirs memories — but scarves in summer?
After the upheavals to personal lives and routines imposed by the World Cup, things are getting back to normal. What a relief that must be to those poor guys up at ESPN — Chris Fowler, Mike Tirico and Bob Ley, the studio hosts who had to spend a whole month pretending they were English.

It didn’t quite reach the stage where they got dressed up in bowler hats and said Pip! Pip! all the time, but it was bad enough. Someone in the upper reaches of ESPN, one of their soccer geniuses, it might have been the executive producer Jed Drake, decided that they must use English, rather than American terms. Why? Anyone have an answer to that question, one that makes any sort of sense , I mean?

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Hello, New York
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To get us started, I’m going to kick it over to David Gill for some opening comments.

DAVID GILL: Thank you. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a great pleasure to be here to announce the club’s tour of North America. My thanks to Dan and MLS and CAA that have made this event, by extension, this tour possible.

Exactly 60 years ago yesterday, the club’s first touring site of the continent, beat a New England All-Star Team 2-0 in Massachusetts. Not everyone knows that, but that’s a fact. I’m not sure what Alex would think if we proposed to repeat that tour this year. It lasted for six weeks and involved no fewer than 12 games after the follow-up visit in 1952.

So while we are playing fewer games this year, tours have changed markedly in their purpose. No longer wait for the team finishing the season and having a bit of a holiday, they are a vital part of a top team’s pre-season preparation. There is all-important match fitness for players returning from their summer breaks. For Manchester United, they play three very other important roles. They allow us to bring the team to fans that would otherwise not be able to see them.

In North America, as you saw in the video, our research shows we have around nine million followers. They also give us the opportunity to visit our increasingly global family of commercial partners in local markets.

That’s key to their relationship with the club.

In the case of this year, it gives us a chance to meet key partners and our new shirt sponsor E.On on home soil. Especially in E.On’s case, their global headquarters are in our first stop, Chicago, then we move on to our first game in Toronto.

They also allow us to engage in the cities which we play in the Manchester United Foundation, our charitable arm, which does great work in the uniting communities and inspiring children to fulfill their potential. But above all, the preseason has prepared the team for the rigors of a 50-plus game season involving obviously the premiere league, hopefully the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League, and also long runs in domestic cup competitions. We also see from our experience the training facilities in North America are excellent. There’s one reason that we are returning to Philadelphia, which was a main training venue during our visits in 2003 and 2004. We’re absolutely delighted to be playing the Philadelphia Union in their debut season in the MLS. I believe there’s an encouraging sign for soccer in the U.S. that there are great growth prospects for MLS, two teams coming on board next season and then Montréal in 2012.

But as a former board member of England’s 28th World Cup bid, you’ll forgive me if I don’t play up the health of the game here too much as you are rival bidders for those particular competitions.

We also know, a couple of players said it in the video, that the crowds are knowledgeable and there’s an appetite for coming to see the European teams in action. The crowds in 2003 and 2004 were exceptional.

Again, we are very pleased to be playing MLS teams in two of the venues and obviously the All-Star Game.

But it’s clear as I’m sure one of our old boys David Beckham would agree, the game here is on the up. We’re actually honored to be part of the All-Star’s future. We’d like to be the first visiting team to beat the All-Stars this year.

Houston is a place the club never visited before. For us, we’re not on visits for as long as those visits in the ’50s and ’60s, it’s great to be able to break new ground and we thank the MLS for their kind invitation.

We hope in the World Cup year’ the U.S. do very well, after the first game, of course. Alex may disagree, but he’ll have a few comments in a minute.

The World Cup always helps to build enthusiasm for the game. The real catalyst is having a successful performance by the national team. I’m sure that enthusiasm will spill over into these games and create a bigger sense of occasion and atmosphere.

So to finish, we’re actually delighted to be coming back to America. It’s a place, as you saw in the videos, is a place the players enjoy coming to. We’re looking forward to the courtesy that is always extended in this part of the world around we’re hoping to give our nine million fans from top quality football to cheer.

So, again, thanks for coming here today. We do appreciate that. Again, very warm thanks to the MLS for making this possible.

With that, I’ll ask Alex to say a few words from his perspective.

SIR ALEX FERGUSON: That’s the longest plug I’ve ever heard (laughter). It should be pointed out in 1950, we went by boat, we traveled by boat in 1950. How long it must have taken, that whole trip. Now we take advantage of flying, and our own charter, it makes it much easier for us to keep the players in good shape.
As I said four years ago when asked about the progress of football in North America, I made the point that you have so many kids playing and being coached all over the country, there has to be somewhere they have to go to when they reach that point of leaving college, whatever. And they find themselves going to Europe.
For instance, at the moment you have six, seven, eight players playing in England, four goalkeepers, which is quite remarkable, I feel. We had one of them, of course, Tim Howard, and young Jonathan Spector, who is doing very well.

So the point we’re seeing now within MLS soccer, MLS teams, it’s also a challenge to see the progress you are making. Obviously, we won’t be taken serious because at the stage we are now, at this particular time, we have to get the show on the road, and that means a concentration, a tempo, a rhythm of a game. It’s got to be found quickly after the disappointment of last season. It’s always difficult to maybe go for our trophies in a row, but we felt we could have done it.

The challenges, again, aren’t just to bring that trophy back. It’s an important trophy because of the competition in England is so fierce now, we can’t dismiss it in terms of the season. That and the European Cup is always important. Hopefully you’ll see us at our very best. Whether it’s Scholes, Giggs, Neville, will all be there, Fletcher, Van der Sar, Berbatov. There’s a good collection of players for your supporters to see.
So hopefully they enjoy it.

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MONTREAL, QC — MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo announced Friday Montreal’s acquisition of a 19th Major League Soccer team, which is the first division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The team will begin play in the 2012 season, at Saputo Stadium, which will be expanded to more than 20,000 seats.

“We are proud to welcome Montreal, the second largest French-speaking city in the world and a multicultural metropolis whose residents are deeply passionate about the world’s game, to Major League Soccer,” Commissioner Garber said.

“Joey Saputo and his family are a committed ownership group that truly loves the game and will provide extensive knowledge to MLS based on their years of involvement in the sport. We believe that both Saputo Stadium and Olympic Stadium will provide a world-class soccer environment for supporters in Montreal and throughout the province of Quebec.”

Joey Saputo spearheads a group of investors, composed of family members who represent their different holdings. For the past 30 years, the Saputo family has played a frontline role in the development of soccer in Canada. First as a sponsor of the Montreal Manic in the North American Soccer League (NASL), it moved on into the 1990s to become owner of the Montreal Impact. The Saputo family has also contributed to the construction of Saputo Stadium.

“After 17 history-making years, our team and sport have reached a new summit today,” declared Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo.

“Our team has evolved and our sport is now major. As a Montrealer, I am extremely proud of the acquisition of an MLS team. This is what Montreal deserved: a great league within a great city.”

Throughout the years, the Montreal Impact has become one of the most decorated teams in the United Soccer Leagues, with three championships, namely in 1994, 2004 and 2009. The Impact has also left its mark on the national and international scenes. It captured the Canadian championship title in 2008 and participated in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Montreal becomes the third Canadian team to join MLS after Toronto, in 2007, and Vancouver, which will start its activities in 2011. In its fourth season in the league, Toronto FC has sold out every home game and in 2010, the team has capped season tickets at 16,000.

SAPUTO STADIUM EXPANDED
To meet MLS criteria, Saputo Stadium, the current home of the Montreal Impact, a soccer-specific stadium situated in Olympic park, will be expanded from 13,034 seats to more than 20,000 seats by 2012.

With a natural grass surface, Saputo Stadium was inaugurated in 2008 and constructed at the cost of $17 million. A sum of $7.5 million was offered by the Saputo family, while $9.5 million were financed over a 25-year span.

The expansion project will be financed by the Government of Quebec, which granted the sum of $23 million. This represents a 60% contribution on the entire construction cost, which will amount to $40 million.

“By supporting the expansion of Saputo Stadium, the Government of Quebec contributes significantly to having Montreal move into Major League Soccer (MLS). We are happy to be a major partner in what we can call a success story for Montreal and Quebec,” declared the Minister of Finances and Minister Responsible of Montreal, Mr. Raymond Bachand.

“I would like to thank the provincial government for its support,” added Joey Saputo. “Without their financial support, the acquisition of an MLS team would have been impossible. This is an exemplary partnership, which we are very proud of. I’m convinced that the arrival of MLS will have positive consequences in various levels for Quebec, notably from an economic and sports perspective, as well as for the province’s international visibility.”

Located at a stone’s throw of Saputo Stadium, the Olympic Stadium will also serve as an alternative to present soccer events yearlong and to host major celebrations.

A number of international soccer events were presented at Olympic Stadium in the past two years, including the Impact’s quarterfinal match in the CONCACAF Champions League (attendance: 55,571) and the French Champions Trophy (attendance: 34,068). Montreal will also host on a natural surface installed at Olympic stadium, one of the greatest clubs in the world, AC Milan, June 2, 2010.

REGARDING TICKETS
The details regarding ticket reservation for MLS 2012 were also unveiled on Friday. It is possible to reserve seats now or alternatively, to register online on a priority list at montrealmls2012.com. The best way to obtain a season ticket for MLS 2012 is by purchasing an Impact season ticket. All 2011 Impact season subscribers will get priority over their seats for the 2012 season in MLS.

For all non-Impact season ticket holders, there will only be 5,000 seats available on presale. Registration on a priority list will be required and a $50 deposit will be requested per ticket. Registered individuals will be able to reserve their seat prior to the general public sale. However, their orders will be processed after season ticket holder reservations and in chronological order, on the basis of registration date on the list. This deposit is applicable on the payment of each ticket but is non-refundable.

“We are here because we have always been an accessible sport and team,” declared Impact President Joey Saputo. “A major league will not change this philosophy, which is very important for our fans.”

“Impact supporters have waited for this moment for a long time and the enthusiasm for MLS tickets is already clear,” declared Richard Legendre, Executive Vice President of the Impact and Saputo Stadium. “The best option to secure a seat in 2012 is to purchase an Impact season ticket in 2011. The priority list also guarantees a spot and remains an interesting and immediate option, but hurry because there are only 5,000 seats available. We have capped the number of seats available to offer superior choice to Montreal Impact season ticket subscribers and to individuals registered on the priority list, so that they can benefit from a better seat selection.”

For further information on the reservation procedure or to register on the priority list, visit Montreal MLS 2012.

Canada: discuss
Welcome to the morning Montreal becomes the nineteenth franchise in Major League Soccer.

L’Impact – or whatever other name emerges – will join North America’s premier non-Mexican soccer league in 2012. With Toronto FC already there, and the Vancouver Whitecaps launching next spring, Canada will have a sealed and significant place at the highest available level of pro footie.

All of this was all-but-utterly impossible five years ago. Canadian soccer was a perpetually struggling minor-league venture back then. Talk of an all-Canadian league had crashed and burned horribly, one last time.

Let’s be clear on a couple of key points:

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Well kept secrets
Turns out that Ben was right.

The Montreal Impact are moving on up it would appear. This is good news, of course, if not at all shocking. We might be preparing to welcome them next March if it wasn’t for Joey Saputo’s ill-advised game of chicken with Don Garber during the last round of expansion.

Although there will be those that disagree with me — strongly — Montreal is likely to struggle the most of the three Canadian teams out of the gate. They don’t have the advantage of going first like Toronto, or the history of Vancouver to fall back on. The Impact’s academy is likely the weakest of the three clubs — it’s more of a farm team now — and the expansion market is watered down.

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Toronto, having played a tough non-league match during midweek, elected to start with key players Dwayne De Rosario, Julian de Guzman, Sam Cronin and O’Brian White on the bench. The defense-first mentality, however, meant they rarely ventured into RSL’s end during the first half.

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More MLS Results & Highlights
New York 2 DC United 0
New England 1 Dallas 1
Chicago 1 Chivas 1
Houston 3 Kansas City 0
Seattle 1 Columbus 1
Los Angeles 3 Philadelphia 1
San Jose 1 Colorado 0

Six thoughts from MLS Week 5
Maybe it’s taken a while for the goalkeepers to find their form this season; after numerous gaffes resulted in goals the first four weekends, more than a few keepers played top-notch stuff. Goalkeeper heroics are one of the six thoughts we take from Week 5. …

GOALIE GLORY. Stefan Frei stymied Brad Evans and Nathan Sturgis on a one-v-ones, and preserved TFC’s 2-0 home win over Seattle by repelling a thunderous Fredy Montero blast in the final minutes.

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