It's Round and It's White
This week’s bumper edition of Across the Pond introduces the Portland Timbers, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution and Real Salt Lake ahead of the 2012 MLS play-offs
Montreal Impact
Joined: 2012
Ground: Saputo Stadium, Montreal, QC, Canada
Head Coach: Jesse Marsch
As the league’s new boys, Montreal are just about to complete their inaugural season in the MLS, having joined from the NASL to make them the league’s 19th club and 3rd Canadian Club. The Impact were announced to be joining the MLS in 2010, when chairman Joey Saputo and MLS commissioner Don Garber agreed the terms for the league’s expansion. The Impact have had a relatively strong start to their first MLS season, despite failing to make the play-offs this season; though importantly, above Canadian rivals Toronto FC. Testament to the team this season has been a blend of experience in the likes of Italian Superstar Alessandro Nesta and fellow countryman Marco Di Vaio, in addition to Generation Adidas striker Andrew Wenger and US U21 International Zarek Valentin
The Captain: Davy Arnaud – the 32 year old attacking midfielder joined up with Montreal for their debut season and was made captain after making nearly 250 appearances for Sporting Kansas City from 2002-2011. Despite only 1 US Open Cup in his repertoire, Davy has a good goalscoring record in the MLS and is sure to help the Impact through a solid debut season
International Superstar: Alessandro Nesta – 3 Serie A titles, 2 Champion’s League Titles, a Club World Cup and of course a World Cup winners medal made Alessandro Nesta an extremely exciting prospect for Montreal when they signed him in July 2012. Despite his age of 36, Nesta adds some much needed experience to the squad and has certainly been a signing to inspire the supporters – especially given that he was confirmed as NOT being a designated player, meaning a salary of less than $350,000 for the year
The Italian Job: Marco Di Vaio – another Italian with plenty of experience, 36 year old Di Vaio has played for plenty of clubs in his native Italy, picking up the Serie A title with Juventus in 2003. Despite his age Di Vaio still has a good pedigree, having joined from Bologna in July – where he bagged 65 goals in 143 appearances.
Portland Timbers
Joined: 2011
Ground: Jeld-Wen Field, Portland, OR
Head Coach: Gavin Wilkinson (Interim)
After a near 5 year long saga regarding stadium arrangements, the Portland Timbers joined the MLS in 2011 as the MLS’ eighteenth team. Under debut head coach John Spencer, the Timbers acquired 5 players ahead of the the 2010 expansion draft including the retention of Steve Cronin, Bright Dike and Ryan Pore from their NASL days, as well as Eddie Johnson and Jeremy Hall. Though they are yet to reach the play-offs following 2 attempts, the Timbers managed to earn the fair play award in their debut season – though it wasn’t a solid enough foundation to build upon for coach John Spencer, who lost his job in July 2012 following a poor start to the team’s second season. Gavin Wilkinson took the reigns for the remainder of the 2012 season, but was unable to turn the Timbers’ fortunes around, leading to the hiring of Caleb Porter ready for the 2013 season
The Captain: Jack Jewsbury – drafted to the MLS in 2003 by Kansas, Jewsbury has over 250 MLS appearances to his name, as well as a US Open Cup with Kansas. In 2011, Portland were keen to add his experience as a defensive midfielder and right back, and snapped him up – making him captain for their inaugural MLS season, a berth he has kept into their second season
International Hotshot: Kris Boyd – former Rangers striker Boyd is well known around the UK, having scored over 100 times for the former Scottish giants. After a stalled spell at Middlesbrough and in Turkey, Boyd switched to the MLS in 2012 as a designated player for the Timbers to start their second season in the league
Safe Hands: Donovan Ricketts – former Bradford goalkeeper and Jamaican international Donovan Ricketts has plenty of MLS experience, winning the 2011 MLS Cup with LA Galaxy – a feat which made expansion team Montreal Impact keen to grab his services for their opening 2012 campaign. In August, he was on the move again, when Portland traded veteran goalkeeper Troy Perkins for the Jamaican
New England Revolution
Joined: 1996
Ground: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Head Coach: Jay Heaps
New England Revolution are one of the MLS old boys, having joined in the league’s inaugural 1996 season as one of the charter franchises. Despite returning national team members such as Alexi Lalas, who had become inspired by their new domestic league, the Revolution missed out on the first play-offs in the first season of the MLS, and departed in the first round of the second season. With players and managers coming and going, the team brought some much needed stability in 2002 with the hiring of Steve Nichol, who stayed with the Revs until the 2011 season – having only failed to qualify for the play-offs once in that period, in 2010. The Revs enjoyed instant success under Nichol, winning the conference and finishing as MLS runners up in his first season as head coach. Despite consistently high finishes and play-off performance, the Revs are still to win the league, though finished as runners up in 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2007 – the year in which the club won it’s only major silverware, the US Open Cup. After a decline in fortunes since 2010, the club has since taken Jay Heaps as head coach, who has been unable to stop the rot, with the Revs languishing at the long end of the table. The Boston faithful will be hoping there’s more to come from the Revs in the future
The Captain: Matt Reis – aged 37, Matt has been with the Revs since 2003 after a 4 year spell as second choice at LA Galaxy. Matt enjoys cult status amongst his home fans as the short, shaven, shot stopper. Though yet to win a league title, Matt has achieved a US Open Cup and North American SuperLiga in his time with the Revs, as well as being a runner up for the league 3 times from 2005-07
International Hotshot: Jerry Bengston – Honduran national team striker Jerry Bengston joined the Revs in July 2012 as a designated player shortly before taking part in the 2012 London Olympics – where he bagged 3 goals, including a winner against Spain. Jerry is set to add some much needed clout to the Revs’ forward line, following a near 1 in 2 goal ratio in the Honduran top flight for Motagua
Brief Spell in England: Benny Feilhaber – US National team player Feilhaber only had a season’s stint in England with Derby County during their 11 point Premier League season, but has since played for AGF in Denmark and then the Revs since 2011. Feilhaber has 39 caps for the US national team, and is a known performer in any midfield position he is placed in
Me: Michael Roach – namesake of R&W MLS editor Michael Roach, the 23 year old American midfielder is yet to start an MLS league game, but played in a US Cup tie in 2012
Real Salt Lake
Joined: 2005
Ground: Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, UT
Head Coach: Jason Kreis
Real Salt Lake joined the MLS as it’s 12th franchise in 2005, with naming inspiration coming from Spain in the use of the word ‘real’ meaning ‘royal’, with the club establishing a link with Spanish giants Real Madrid early in their history, with hopes of the Spaniards loaning young players to the franchise. The team’s first ever player was current coach Jason Kreis, who has been in charge since 2007, when he took over from John Ellinger – under whom the club had a poor start. Kreis brought about change to Real when he was retired as an active player and promoted to coach, adding the likes of Kyle Beckerman, Robbie Findley, Javier Morales, Nat Borchers and Jamison Olave. The club shot to their first MLS title in 2009 when they beat LA Galaxy in the final in Seattle, and since became the first ever MLS team to reach the CONCACAF Champion’s League Final in 2011, losing to Monterrey 3-2
The Captain: Kyle Beckerman – 4 time MLS AllStar Beckerman is one of the best known names in the MLS, with a reputation as a leader in the middle of the park. He joined Real in 2007 after 5 years and nearly 150 appearances for the Colorado Rapids. Despite joining mid season he quickly established himself as a leader, leading him to gain the captaincy in 2008. He was a key cog in the side that beat LA Galaxy to the 2009 MLS Cup.
International Hotshot: Javier Morales – former Arsenal player of 2 stints joined Real in 2007 where he continues to be a key playmaker in the midfield. Morales was part of the 2009 MLS Cup winning team along with Beckerman, as well as a selection in 2009 and 2010 for the AllStar team. He has also enjoyed spells in his native Argentina with Lanus, Newell’s and Instituto
Safe Hands: Nick Rimando – also joined in 2007 and part of Real’s MLS Cup victory in 2009. Goalkeeper Rimando also won the title with DC United back in 2004, where he made just under 100 appearances. Nick is a regular in national team rosters, but finds himself unlucky to have only gained 6 caps since 2002 – mainly due to his status as backup to national team stalwart Tim Howard
To those expecting this last week I can only apologise, however I was tied up with other commitments – check back next time when you’ll find introductions to San Jose Earthquakes and New York Red Bulls
