First XI: Simple suggestions

Call it "free advice," or call it "bulletin board material," or call it ... well, something I cannot put in print in this space. In a nutshell, what we've got here in this week's First XI is 11 numbers (or statistical categories) that certain teams need to improve in 2009. I know, I know, there are lies, damned lies and statistics, but it seems to me, these numbers tell the truth. And the truth can hurt. Have a look:

11. The number is 8. The category is Wins.
Doesn't get any more basic than this. Winning eight out of 30 games won't get it done. Job 1 for FC Dallas, San Jose and Los Angeles is, by hook or by crook, figure out a way to get to (at the very least) double-digit wins. Just ask the Red Bulls, who snuck into the playoffs with but a 10-spot of wins at the end of the regular season, and managed to find themselves in the MLS Cup Final a few short weeks later.

10. The number is 32. The category is Goals Scored.
It was a pretty good debut season for the San Jose Earthquakes. If Year Two is going to be better, the Quakes are going to have to open up a bit. Thirty-two goals was the worst number in the league and the worst number in the Western Conference by some eight goals. Figure Frank Yallop was trying to make sure his team could defend before it could attack in their first season together. Look for a jump to the 40s this season, especially if Darren Huckerby can play something close to a full slate of games.

9. The number is 62. The category is Goals Allowed.
It might not be the Showtime Soccer some in LA have clamored for, but if Bruce Arena is going to turn things around in Los Angeles, Step One is to get the Galaxy to stop leaking goals at a rate that blows away the rest of the league. The Galaxy allowed 11 more goals than D.C. United, their nearest competitor for that dubious distinction ... and 17 more goals than the Colorado Rapids, their closest competition in the Western Conference. It all starts with organization, and Arena and assistant Dave Sarachan are up to that task.

8. The number is 1. The category is Road Wins.
We all know by now, the Red Bulls saved their road success for when they needed it most -- in the playoffs, where they won at Houston and Salt Lake, doubling their regular season road win total, on their way to the final. Still, let's not get giddy. A couple more road wins a year ago and the Red Bulls wouldn't have been sweating it out on the final day of the season, watching D.C. hit post after post against Columbus, just to get to the playoffs. If anything, Juan Carlos Osorio has to hope that his club's late success a year ago will feed his team's confidence when it travels away from the Meadowlands in 2009.

7. The number is 5. The category is Home Wins.
Note to FCD and coach Schellas Hyndman: You've got to make the home fans happy. Winning five of 15 home games in that nice new stadium in Frisco is no way to treat the good folks in the MetroPlex. Take a lesson from the note above regarding RBNY. Home success in MLS can carry you a long, long way. Pizza Hut Park, with that wide open field and the scorching heat needs to turn into a place visiting teams hate to visit. Somehow, this place needs to become a little bit more like the Cotton Bowl back in the old days.

6. The number is 0. The category is multi-goal games.
Let me be the first to admit, this is an odd statistic, because none other than the Los Angeles Galaxy were the kings of multi-goal games (Landon Donovan had six and Edson Buddle had two), but it seems pretty obvious to me that Chivas USA took a big step backward a year ago when they lost so many man-games between Ante Razov and Maykel Galindo -- two players who were always a threat to put up a two-goal game, or even a hat trick. Kansas City, New England and San Jose also fall into this category (and Taylor Twellman never goes a year without a multi-goal game) A game, or even a stretch of games where you get multi-goals from one guy is normally big.

5. The number is 293. The category is Shots Taken.
It's the oldest saying in the book. You can't score if you don't shoot. And Toronto, for a team that likes to get out on the attack, simply needs to take more shots. Dwayne De Rosario alone will add to this measly number, for sure.

4. The numbers are 429 and 178. The categories are Shots and Shots on Goal.
Of course, it helps if you can also shoot the ball with some accuracy. This stat is pretty astounding from RSL. Real took 136 more shots than Toronto but put only 41 more on target. Much as I've touted Yura Movsysian in this space, Yura is the main culprit here. I'm guessing Jason Kreis, one of the best shooters this league has ever seen, has spent some post-practice hours working with Yura on his accuracy.

3. The number is 24. The category is Goals Allowed in the last 15 minutes of the first half and first 15 minutes of the second half.
Well, they only call them clichйs when they're true. How many times have you heard coaches, announcers, fans saying how important it is to play well just before and after the team heads to the lockerroom for the break? Among the Galaxy's many woes, this team got into the deadly habit of letting up just before and after the interval. The Rapids (21 goals allowed) and Red Bulls (20) are two other teams that need to do a better job of locking things up during these critical moments in the game.

2. The number is 17. The category is Goals Scored at Home.
C'mon TFC! You've got amazing fans. Time you scored 'em more than a goal a game. It's Year Three for The Reds, and it's high time they turn that energy at BMO Field into more attacking play and goals for the home fans.

1.The number is 0. The category is Wins When Allowing the First Goal.
A team cannot have a truly successful season if it NEVER overcomes giving up the first goal to win a game. Toronto, Kansas City, San Jose and Colorado all failed to win a single game last year when they surrendered Goal One. Coaches call it "responding." These four teams all need to respond a little better to adversity in the coming year.

Galaxy react to Beckham speculation

CARSON, Calif. -- Los Angeles Galaxy coaches and players reacted to the news that David Beckham may not be returning from AC Milan until mid-July with a sense of resignation on Tuesday.

No agreement has been finalized, but the organization is ready to move on without their 33-year-old midfielder. At least until the summer.

"I think the best thing we can do is prepare as we have been," veteran Chris Klein said. "Go with the guys we have right now. That's kind of how we've looked at it the whole preaseson. We'll continue to do that and prepare for the regular season the best we can."

The ongoing drama involving Beckham, the central figure in a much-publicized tug of war between the Galaxy and AC Milan over a loan agreement due to expire next week, has not been a daily concern, according to head coach/general manager Bruce Arena. He said he addressed Beckham's loan and a similar deal involving Landon Donovan and Bayern Munich about three or four weeks ago.

"And that's the only discussion we've had in 40 days being together," Arena said.

It was reported that Beckham will finish the Serie A season with the Italian club and not return to the Galaxy until mid-July. Milan officials have made no secret of their desire to keep the English standout on a permament basis but reportedly balked at the Galaxy's asking price, believed to be at least $10 million. Milan was said to have been willing to pay $3 million.

Arena continued to insist any agreement between the parties would be in the best interests of the Galaxy.

"The bottom line is we need to do what's right for this organization," he said. "Obviously over the months there have been a lot of issues that have clouded this process and everything else. We want to make a decision that's in our best interests and also the player's. We're not so far out there that the concerns of the players are not important either.

"It would be great if we could accomplish both."

Arena also said the give-and-take between the Galaxy and AC Milan, one of the biggest clubs in the world, has not been a distraction -- to the players anyway.

"More to me than the team," he said. "They're going on with the business of preseason, trying to earn positions on the team and getting better. Players on loan have nothing to do with what they're doing. They haven't asked me one question.

"Where did we have Landon Donovan going 60 days ago? We had him gone as well. You simply can't worry about it."

Veteran defender Tony Sanneh said he has had his own concerns -- he is making a comeback at age 37 -- but he did admit there have been a few lockerroom discussions about their overseas teammates. Beckham in particular.

"Obviously from a professional standpoint you always want to see a player be happy and do what he wants," Sanneh said. "And as part of this league and this organization, I think he helps us marketing-wise. Who wouldn't him on your team?

"Obviously we'd like to have him here from day one, but in this league there's a playoff system, so ultimately you'd rather have him at the end than at the beginning."

Midfielder Dema Kovalenko said Galaxy players respect Beckham's wishes to continue playing at the highest level, even if that leaves Los Angeles short of one of the world's finest performers.

"At the end of the day, the guy has to do what's best for him and what makes sense for him," Kovalenko said. "Right now we have to understand that. To be honest, it would be nice to have him here because he's a great player, but all we can do is get ready for the season."

FC Dallas get their wish with Ferreira

FRISCO, Texas -- It has been a busy offseason for FC Dallas and the club has filled many of its needs heading into the winter months. However, one big need remained, finding a new central attacking midfielder. With the addition of 29-year-old Colombian David Ferreira from Brazilian side Clube Atletico Paranaense, FCD finally got their wish.

Ferreira most recently played in Dubai for Al-Shabib between February and June of last year. He played in 13 matches for the eventual United Arab Emirates league champs. He has played for CAP since 2005 and has 38 goals and 42 assists in 175 games for FCD's South American partner.

"We first saw David in 2007, when we conducted our first preseason training at Atletico Paranaense's world class facilities down in Curitiba, Brazil and played against him in the first leg of the USA/Brazil Challenge," said FCD president and general manager Michael Hitchcock. "At that time, we identified him as a very special player and a player of interest. We're very fortunate to have finalized the deal to bring David Ferreira to FC Dallas."

Head coach Schellas Hyndman was equally ecstatic about the signing.

"He is an outstanding player," he said. "This is a special player who reminds me of Oscar Pareja. He's very agile, quick and has got a great soccer brain. Technically, he's very strong. I think this is a player that will be a difference maker for FC Dallas."

The FCD boss sees Ferreira as bringing plenty of positives to his roster.

"I see his style as a two-way player who will work on defense," Hyndman said. "He's a very active player. He's not a player that's going to run at the big defenders, but he has the quickness, speed and intelligence to always get into space. We brought him in to be our No. 10, central attacking midfielder with the qualities of scoring goals, unbalancing the opposition and dribbling and passing abilities with penetration. I think you'll see our strikers feeding off of his quality services and passing ability. I think we will have one of the best strike forces in the league."

Adding Ferreira, who will join FCD while they are in Brazil for the next 10 days, means that Dax McCarty, who has been manning the No. 10 spot during much of preseason, could be shifting over to the right flank, especially since Andre Rocha, who was slated to start there, is an issue.

"The first thing we have to do is get Ferreira into the team to see how well he can adjust to the structure of the team," Hyndman said. "There is no doubt he has all the technical ability, the work ethic and experience. But at the same time, because we have worked so hard on the structure, he's got to be able to work with us in that structure.

"Dax (McCarty) has done a tremendous job for us this preseason. We have been very pleased with his attitude, his work ethic and his success on the field. Andre (Rocha) just came back a few weeks ago and he is not playing his best soccer right now because of inactivity for the last 6-7 weeks. If he's not 100 percent, then we could be going to Ferreira as the No. 10 and Dax could find himself on the right side. I think we have some flexibility there."

The signing of the Colombian international has only reinforced Hyndman's goals for his 2009 squad.

"I think the immediate goal would be to find success on the field, to be successful at home, to find the points we need on the road so that we can compete for an MLS championship," he said. "I think with the quality of players that we have here that should be a realistic goal for us."

Hyndman said he has been very pleased with how well his team has been preparing for the upcoming campaign.

"The players are committed and focused," he said. "I don't think preseason could have gotten much better. Right now, it's not only getting the quality players on the field, it's getting players who understand their roles and responsibilities on the field and to have good team chemistry where players want to play for each other. I am very committed and I think you will find this team is very committed to bringing a championship to Dallas."

Preseason roundup: Saturday success

Major League Soccer clubs enjoyed some success against teams from the United Soccer Leagues First Division on Saturday, with the New England Revolution defeating the Austin Aztex 2-0 in Austin, while the Houston Dynamo edged the Montreal Impact 3-2 at Robertson Stadium in a meeting of CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinalists.

And in Argentina, the Seattle Sounders played CED Rosario to a 1-1 draw.

New England Revolution 2, Austin Aztex 0: Michael Videira struck in the fourth minute and the New England Revolution capitalized on a second-half own goal in a 2-0 victory against the Austin Aztex in the club's opener of a three-match preseason schedule at Nelson Field in Austin, Tex.

Kenny Mansally found Kevin Alston on an overlapping run down the left and the rookie out of Indiana turned toward goal. His threaded pass in the box deflected off an Austin defender and onto Videira's path. The former Duke standout knocked the ball into the lower right corner of the net to give the Revs an early lead.

New England nearly doubled its advantage in the 12th minute when Chris Albright played Sainey Nyassi into space on the right. The Gambian youth international, cut inside and beat the Aztex goalkeeper with a 12-yard blast. But the ball caromed off the crossbar and out of touch.

The Revs did get an insurance goal in the 57th minute when an Austin defender, trying to clear Mansally's in-swinging corner kick, sent a diving header into his own net.

Houston Dynamo 3, Montreal Impact 2: Brian Ching had a brace and Chris Wondolowski added a goal for the Dynamo in a 3-2 win against the Montreal Impact Saturday morning at Robertson Stadium.

Wondolowski put the Dynamo, coming off a disappointing 1-1 draw against Atlante in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday, ahead on nine minutes. Kei Kamara took advantage of a Montreal defensive miscue and fed Wondolowski, who beat Impact goalkeeper Matt Jordan to give Houston a 1-0 lead.

After Joey Gjersten hit a shot off the crossbar in the 17th minute, Montreal, which defeated Santos Laguna 2-0 in the Champions League, equalized in the 37th minute. Taking a perfect pass from Felix Brillant, Roberto Brown easily beat Tally Hall.

Ten minutes later, Ching scored the first of his two goals, when his first-time strike from a Corey Ashe cross beat Montreal goalkeeper Srdjan Djekanovic. Four minutes later, Ching scored what proved to be the game-winner when he knocked in a pass from Mike Chabala at the far post.

The friendly got heated in the 56th minute when Brown was shown a straight red card for an elbow to Houston's Eric Ustruck. Both benches cleared to midfield, but no punches were thrown and calm was restored. Montreal's Peter Byers scored the final goal of the game in the final seconds when beat Hall high into the net in the 70th minute.

Seattle Sounders FC 1, CED Rosario 1: A second-half goal by guest player Diego Ferrerya helped the Seattle Sounders FC forge a 1-1 draw with CED Rosario at the Argentinos Juniors training grounds on Saturday afternoon in the club's second exhibition game of its Argentine tour.

The midfielder, who plays for local club Tigres, scored less than eight minutes after coming on at halftime. He put a 15-yard shot into the upper left corner after taking a squaring pass from Colombian striker Fredy Montero. Stephen King started the scoring sequence by playing the ball up the right side to Montero.

CED Rosario equalized in the 53rd minute on a penalty kick.

Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, who arrived from Colombia on Wednesday, played his first match for the Sounders and Chris Eylander played the entire 70-minute match in goal, diving to his left to make a diving save in the 16th minute and the made a full-stretch stop to his right in the 63rd.

Elly Allen, who was waived by the Los Angeles Galaxy, arrived in Buenos Aries about four hours before kickoff on the red-eye from the West Coast. The midfielder, who played at the University of Washington, replaced Montero for the final 16 minutes.

Dynamo focusing on task at hand

HOUSTON -- In less than a month, the Houston Dynamo will take the field in their much-anticipated MLS season opener against the Columbus Crew at Robertson Stadium.

Yet well into training and getting ready for their fourth season in the Bayou City, the Dynamo have two very important matches ahead of them before they officially take the field for the first time.

In the next two weeks, the Dynamo will play Atlante in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals. The two-leg series alone is enough to make head coach Dominic Kinnear forget about the Crew, the team that now holds the MLS title after beating New York last season in MLS Cup.

"We are not really thinking about MLS just yet," said Kinnear. "I think we are looking pretty good health-wise so far. Right now, all we want to do is play as many games as possible against good opponents to get us ready both mentally and physically.

"After that, we'll see where we're at."

In between matches against Atlante, the Dynamo will play host to the Montreal Impact on Saturday, Feb. 28. After completing the series with the Mexican outfit with a trip to Cancun on March 3, the Dynamo will close out the preseason portion of their schedule against the USL-1 Austin Aztex in central Texas.

The Champions League matches and the preseason finales will give Kinnear and his Orange enough to worry about for now.

"Right now, I think we are doing pretty good results-wise," Kinnear said. "We have a couple of wins, a couple of ties and a loss, so that is not too bad for our first couple of games. There have been a few good individual performances and the team has been going pretty good too."

The Dynamo were unbeaten in their first three preseason matches against FC Dallas and Los Angeles. They did not allow a goal until San Jose scored twice in a 2-0 win against the Dynamo on Feb. 15.

Kinnear is happy with how things are progressing, especially defensively.

"In one of the periods against San Jose last week, there was a little bit of a lapse in concentration," said Kinnear. "That led to a couple of the goals, but it's really good to see the guys, for the most part, playing good on both sides of the ball this early in the season.

"Everyone has been very professional and has coming in ready and in shape. So far, everyone seems mentally sharp, and as always the motivation to do well is very high."

The Dynamo will be playing fewer games this season, and that should help the team down the stretch when the goal will be getting the MLS championship trophy back to Houston. They will be playing in regular season competition and the U.S. Open Cup as well as the 2009-10 version of the CONCACAF Champions League, though not participating in SuperLiga for the first time.

Other than mentioning that the players were aware of the number of games, Kinnear said the team wasn't worried about a potential benefit, especially short-term.

"The message isn't out there that we are playing a certain number of games," said Kinnear. "I think so far the guys are pretty level headed and they are not thinking too far ahead, and they are not took worried about what is behind them so they can always focus on the next thing in front of them.

"Right now that is Atlante on Tuesday night."

Chivas' Jazic ready for competition

CARSON, Calif. -- At the start of his 12th year as a professional soccer player, Chivas USA newcomer Ante Jazic is as eager to set out on the 2009 campaign.

"Preseason has been great," he said. "But I'm excited for it to die down so we can finally start the season."

The Canadian-born Jazic comes to the Red-and-White by way of a trade with the Los Angeles Galaxy that sent Chivas USA's second round draft pick (19th overall) to their fellow Home Depot Center residents. With Claudio Suarez's future with the Red-and-White still undetermined, and second-year man Bobby Burling recovering from ankle surgery, Chivas head coach Preki will be glad to have the experienced defender as an option.

Jazic began his professional career in Croatia with stints at NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac and Hajduk Split. He went on to four years with Austrian outfit and UEFA Cup participant Rapid Vienna, followed by two years with Russian Club FC Kuban Krasnodar. He has also made 25 appearances for the Canadian national team.

But even with all that experience, Jazic still has to earn his stripes with Chivas USA.

"I'm still trying to find my role," he said. "We have a lot of veteran leadership and a lot of new guys, but it's a great group and I'm excited for the season."

Jazic will see his first MLS competition in a Chivas USA jersey Wednesday, when the Red-and-White take on the San Jose Earthquakes in a preseason scrimmage at 10 a.m. PT on University Field 2 at The Home Depot Center. He can't wait.

"We've been working hard to defend with all eleven players and attack the same way," he said after Tuesday's practice. "As long as the team sticks together, I think we'll be fine."

Preki sees the scrimmage as another opportunity to tinker with his lineups before Chivas USA's upcoming season opener against Western Conference foe Colorado Rapids.

"We're trying everybody in different spots," he said. "We have a lot of different options and we want to see those options."

Much of Preki's preseason experimentation has been defensive. Carey Talley, Shavar Thomas, Gerson Mayen, Jonathan Bornstein, Jorge Flores, Jim Curtin and trialist Leo Bautista have all seen time on the backline.

Wake Forest draft pick Michael Lahoud could soon join that list. Already having played at both central and outside midfield, the young rookie spent Tuesday morning's practice session at right back.

"We'll see some of the guys in different spots and hopefully we'll have a good game," said Preki. "That's the focus right now."

Cameron carries momentum into 2009

HOUSTON, Texas -- One of the biggest surprises in 2008 for the Houston Dynamo came in the form of rookie Geoff Cameron. Making more than 30 appearances in all competitions at seven different positions, the rookie's versatility was a huge part of Houston's success last year. In 2009, Cameron hopes to build upon his success of last year and push for a starting position.

Cameron was drafted in the third round of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Rhode Island and went on to garner consideration for Rookie of the Year. In his second league game and his first start in MLS, he scored what many consider to be the goal of the year for Houston, a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer against in-state rival FC Dallas that also gained recognition as one of five finalists for MLS Goal of the Year.

Cameron went on to play 23 games in MLS league play for Houston, and he started an additional 11 games in the U.S. Open Cup, SuperLiga and in CONCACAF competitions. Still, the lengthy season took its toll on Cameron.

"It was tough. We stayed here until the 26th of November, then I flew home on Thanksgiving day," Cameron said. "We didn't have that long of a break for your body to rest and recuperate. But I wouldn't rather be doing any other job. It's a dream of mine."

The hard work Cameron put in through the year was noticed by Bob Bradley as he was invited to the U.S. national team camp in January ahead of the friendly against Sweden. However, Cameron's time with the national team was cut short when he suffered a hamstring injury early in the camp.

"I felt good going in but for some reason my body didn't hold up. It was a real big disappointment," he said.

Cameron hopes that it won't be his only look with the national team.

"My goal is to have another good year this year and try to get another look," he said. "If that is this year or in a few years, that's my goal and I am going to do what it takes to get there."

For the Dynamo though, Cameron's goals are a little simpler -- earn as much playing time as possible and try to work his way into the starting lineup. With battle-tested MLS veterans at just about every position Cameron plays, he knows it isn't going to be an easy task.

"I want to become a starter," Cameron said. "But obviously we have a great group of guys in front of me, veteran guys who have been playing in the league 8-9 years."

Even if he were to gain a place in the first XI, the biggest question for both Cameron and for the Dynamo coaching staff is finding a position for him. In his rookie season, he saw playing time at center back, outside back, three different positions in midfield, and even some time at forward. Equally remarkable is that he performed well at each position.

So which position does he like best?

"I can't answer that question," Cameron said, laughing. "It doesn't matter where I play. I just want to be on the field like anyone else. I think it's an advantage for me to play all those different positions because it helps me become a better player and hold different roles on the team. Hopefully that gives me an upper hand on more playing time since I am more versatile. I just want to be in the starting XI and play 90 minutes."

With no starting position, Cameron is left trying to impact games off the bench. While he wants to impress the Dynamo coaching staff whenever he is on the field, he knows that the team comes first.

"It's frustrating because you want to be out their playing with the first team. But it gives me motivation to get on the field and when I do get on the field to make use of my time," he said. "... If I get an opportunity to take advantage of the other team then I will try to do that. But I don't want to go out of my way. I want to keep the team [first]."

While the hamstring injury he suffered with the U.S. team has put him a little behind schedule, Cameron is now getting healthy. The time he saw off the bench this week against Atlante in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal is the first step in what Cameron hopes to be a successful and busy 2009.