Chilean legend Salas to Chicago?

International Chilean striker Marcelo Salas, who hasn't played since leaving Universidad de Chile in a dispute with a court-appointed bankruptcy official in December, will have a trial with the Chicago Fire.

The 32-year-old Salas, who also has played with River Plate of Argentina and Lazio and Juventus of Italy, already is in the United States and if he signs with Fire, would pair with Mexico's World Cup veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who is to join the Chicago club in July.

Marcelo Salas career stats:

Senior clubs
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993–96 1996–98 1998–2001 2001–03 2003–05 2005–06	Universidad de Chile River Plate Lazio Juventus River Plate Universidad de Chile	110 (74) 51 (26) 74 (41) 14 (2) 43 (7) 37 (16)
National team
1994–2005	Chile	65 (35)

Figo to MLS - perfect fit!

Breaking news from Portugal claims that Luis Figo is pulling out of the multi-millionaire deal he had arranged with a Saudi Arabian club.

Here's a quick breakdown of what happened:

In December 2006, Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad reported Figo would transfer to the club in January 2007. Figo traveled to Saudi Arabia to sign a contract, but after talks with Inter Milan owner and President Massimo Moratti, Figo remained in the club and renewed his contract until the end of the 2007-08 season. Thus, a statement made on January 3, 2007, on the official Inter website declaring: "There are no negotiations for the transfer of Luis Figo to another club. The recent news of a possible transfer of the Portuguese midfielder is, therefore, completely groundless." Despite this statement, on January 5th, 2007, it was announced on the website of La Gazzetta dello Sport, that Figo had signed a contract in Saudi Arabia, starting on July 1st, 2007. On August 30 Figo said that he is still considering in staying Inter for 2007/08. He was deeply touched by the love of the Inter fans and need of him for president Massimo Moratti. On 29 May 2007, It was said that Figo will not join Ittihad on July 1 2007 because they didn't respect terms of contract.

Now I think that makes Figo a free agent. I think he would be a perfect fit for MLS. I could see Figo having a good impact on the field - similar to Juan Pablo Angel. Let's see what happens with Figo in the months to come.

Luis Figo's career stats:

Senior clubs
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1989-1995 1995-2000 2000-2005 2005-present	Sporting CP FC Barcelona Real Madrid Internazionale	137 (16) 172 (30) 165 (36) 066 0(7)
National team
1991-2006	Portugal	127 (32)

All-European starting lineup against China

U.S. coach Bob Bradley will likely use an all-European starting lineup against China, with players from Chivas USA, the only idle MLS team, on the bench.

I look forward to seeing the roster.

Copa Sudamericana Draw

As reported earlier DC United has been invited to join Copa Sudamericana tournament. As promised here is update on the draw. DC United will be playing Chivas de Guadalajara home and away first during what amounts to be the round of 16.

The list of Participating Teams by country is:

Argentina	Boca Juniors, River Plate, San Lorenzo and Estudiantes de La Plata
Bolivia	Jorge Wilstermann and Real Potosí
Brazil	São Paulo FC, Vasco da Gama, Figueirense, Goiás, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Botafogo, Atlético Paranaense
Colombia	Atlético Nacional, and Millonarios
Ecuador	El Nacional
Mexico	Pachuca, América, and Chivas Guadalajara
Paraguay	Libertad and Tacuary
Peru	Coronel Bolognesi and Universitario
Venezuela	Zamora FC, and Carabobo FC
CONCACAF	DC United (USA)

National Team Roster Analysis

Take a look at ESPN's Jeff Carlisle's analysis on the National Teams roster for the Gold Cup. It's an interesting read.

New/Old MLS Team in 2008

According to CNNSI's Jonah Freedman, Major League Soccer is close to making its return to the Bay Area in time for the 2008 season. The league is negotiating a deal to allow Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff to operate an MLS franchise sooner than anyone expected, even without a new stadium deal in place.

Wolff's previous agreement with the league stipulated that he complete a deal for a soccer-specific stadium before MLS would allow him to exercise his option for an expansion team. But the league is eager for a 14th team to begin playing as soon as possible to balance the uneven schedule, the source said, and Wolff's team is the furthest along of the handful of possible expansion projects nationwide.

SFUSA's Take: MLS needs a team back in San Jose, but I would want to make sure that a stadium is on it's way before giving them a new team. It's just asking for the same problems that Anschutz Entertainment Group had. I'm sure MLS can wait another season before evening out the schedule to make sure the team has the chance to succeed in the long term.

US Team for the Gold Cup

Coach Bob Bradley has picked his team for the Gold Cup. Its half from Europe and MLS. It looks like a feisty bunch.

The U.S. team will open the 2007 Gold Cup on June 7 at 9 p.m. ET against Guatemala at The Home Depot Center. They will follow that match two days later when they take on Trinidad & Tobago at 5 p.m. ET. The group stage will end for Bradley's team on June 12 (7 p.m. ET) vs. El Salvador at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. All three U.S. group matches will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel and TeleFutura.

ROSTER BY POSITION
Goalkeepers (3) - Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC), Kasey Keller (Borussia Moenchengladbach)

Defenders (8) -Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham FC), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Frank Simek (Sheffield Wednesday), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United)

Midfielders (8) - DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven), Michael Bradley (SC Heerenveen), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham FC), Benny Feilhaber (Hamburger SV), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Steve Ralston (New England Revolution)

Forwards (4) - Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards),Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution)