When accomplished European or South American players outlive their usefulness in "major" leagues, they are almost immediately connected with MLS in some fashion. Soccer fans are nothing if not rumor-hungry, and the constant movement of players from club to club provides plenty of grist for the mill.

This week, we're confronted with two such old-timers who are rumored to be considering plying their trade (ending their days?) in the good old USA. One is a Dutchman of rich pedigree and multiple European cup victories, while the other is a Portuguese superstar with a Ballon D'or to his name.

Clarence Seedorf to Philadelphia Union

I'm really not sure what to make of this. While I think it's highly unlikely, I have no doubts that the club may have inquired about the midfielder's availability. The story I've linked to above states that Seedorf would immediately become the best player in MLS; while he's certainly talented enough for that to be the case, I'd have to see him in action before I would make that statement. European players, even world-class ones like Seedorf, have a tendency to struggle in MLS initially.

By the way, Seedorf is one of my favorite players, and I would love for this to happen. I'd be making plans for a Philly trip the second he signs the contract.

Luis Figo to (Pick a Team)

This is less a rumor, and more a connection made because Figo stated he would be open to offers from America. While there's less detail here than with Seedorf and Philly, it's actually much more likely we'll see Figo here. The New England rumors are bound to start up again (partly thanks to the large Portuguese population of the region), though I have trouble seeing Figo agreeing to play for the Revs with their artificial surface at Gillette Stadium. Figo was a great player, and MLS would certainly benefit from his star power, but this is too much of a retirement home situation for me to be comfortable with it. Let him go to China, where he's bound to be the biggest going.

Bottom line? I guess it's nice to see MLS in the mix for players of this caliber, and I'm always happy to see anyone of renown mention America as a possible destination; but it's hard to get excited about players well north of thirty, no matter their pedigree. But hey, if we're going to lose an older European DP to AC Milan, we might as well get one back, right?

Thoughts? Would you like to see Seedorf and Figo in MLS?

Not much going on this morning as we get closer to the first MLS kickoff of today (LIVE BLOG! Ginge Talks the Footy!), so we interrupt regularly scheduled MFUSA programming for a brief profile of a foreign player plying their trade in Major League Soccer.

Gregory Richardson had a nice writeup about him in the Stabroek News, a paper based in his homeland of Guyana.

You have to love the headline ("Coach says 'Jackie Chan' Grooving in Well in the MLS"), and the way it's written is almost more interesting than the info on Richardson.

More after the jump.

I almost forgot about this guy, and I still don't know why his nickname is "Jackie Chan", but I found the article humorous, so I thought I'd pass it on. Richardson is certainly behind Casey and Cummings on the Rapids depth chart, though he has already seen the field once this year.

If you don't remember Richardson, he's the guy that torched New England with a hat trick in the Champions League group stages while with Joe Public FC. It seems he impressed enough in that tournament to get himself an MLS job.

He's also the first Guyanese player to ever play in MLS, so there's an obvious interest in the league and the Rapids in his homeland.

Here's Richardson's player page from the Rapids official site.

Here's a bit on Guyana if you have no idea where it is.

Here's video of Richardson scoring that hat trick for Joe Pubic against the Revs last year:

In what is quickly becoming a MFUSA staple, here are some quick hitters on an ugly Thursday morning.

United stadium backlash

The first anti-stadium salvo has been fired in D.C. United's direction by Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher. This is standard operating procedure for Fisher, but expect more on this front in the not-too-distant future.

It's hard to dispute anything he mentions; the economic environment is certainly a problem for any large scale building project. My only issue with the column is the spotlight he shines on the ethnic makeup of United's fan base versus that of Prince George's County; I'm not really sure what one has to be with the other. If United can't draw from outside of the county, then there's no reason to build the stadium in the first place.

My desire to see MLS teams in dedicated soccer facilities effects my ability to empathize with the tax payers of PG County, and I think these type of projects will always have their detractors. No matter how put-together these plans might be, there will always be people on the other side deriding the use of public funds for what is essentially a private endeavor. Let's hope that United, Prince George's County, and the Maryland Stadium Authority are diligent in their planning and implementation of that plan, because there is still a lot that can go wrong before shovel hits soil in the name of the Black & Red.

Another item making the rounds related to the United stadium effort is a Q&A with Kevin Payne, the team's president and CEO.

Nakamura mulling future

Shunsuke Nakamura is considering his options with his Celtic contract set to run out in the summer. The story mentions that he may actually choose to remain with the Old Firm club, and his apparently inevitable return to Japan is mentioned several times. If Nakamura is available on a free transfer, even if it appears certain he will return to Yokohama Marinos, MLS would be crazy not to make a run at him (as I've mentioned before). Perhaps he could be enticed to play one or two years here; any investment made in the Japanese star would be justified by the international marketing return.

Galaxy win without stars

For some reason, I didn't get to sleep until late last night, so I was able to catch (endure?) most of the Galaxy's win over Oita Trinita in the Pan-Pacific Championship. There was nothing special, and nothing of import can truly be gleaned from a glorified friendly, but I will say that the Galaxy managed to control the game reasonably well. I still don't understand how Edson Buddle scores goals; he always looks so out-of-control on the ball.

I don't know what could have been expected for a pre-season match, even if Beckham was in the squad, but the emptiness of the stadium depressed me. Although those that did show up made their feelings known on the Beckham-to-Milan issue. Good for them, and I suspect we'll see this all over MLS this year, even if a deal is worked out and Beckham isn't even in the States to bear the brunt of the backlash.

Amazingly, something stupid is said on Fox News

The American soccer blogging community has been alerted to the insidious, ridiculous, and inflammatory comments by people masquerading as comedians on a Fox News show called "Red Eye". While I was not even aware of the show before this little incident, I would be shirking my duty as a promoter of soccer in the U.S. if I didn't help draw attention to what can only be described as unfunny idiocy.



Now, it is attempted comedy. I don't want to get over-excited about what is essentially a bunch of misguided American clowns playing to the soccer-haters in their audience (which I can't imagine is very large). Take from it what you will, and decide on your own if it's worth contacting Fox about, as I've been asked to do.

Relevant contact information:
http://www.newscorp.com/management/foxcablenetworks.html
President of Fox News Channel (and chairman of Fox Television Stations Group),
roger.ailes@fox.com
Management / Executives:
http://www.newscorp.com/management/index.html