Photo of Taylor Twellman at Union’s 2011 home opener by Earl Gardner.

Philadelphia Union

Deportivo Saprissa president Juan Carlos Rojas has confirmed in an interview with a Costa Rican radio station that the Union has been in contact with the club about Josue Martinez, saying “I would not go into much detail but there has been interest from Philadelphia [in Martinez]. ” Rojas also said negotiations are “very advanced” and an offer could be made as soon as Sunday. You can read a crappy translation of a report on the interview here.

Taylor Twellman confirmed on Thursday that he will no longer be the color man during broadcasts of Union games as he makes the move to ESPN to replace John Harkes for their soccer coverage. Twellman’s replacement for Union games will be announced at a later date.

Twellman was full of praise for the Union, Union fans and Philadelphia in this interview with MLS Reserves:

“Well, I’d put this up against anyone. Philadelphia’s games were amazing. That place is rocking. The Philly fans are great. Haha, I knew the back story to those fans too. They made sure that the New England Revolution fans knew that Taylor Twellman was the Jim Kelly [former Buffalo Bills quarterback] of MLS. Then I become their team commentator haha, I’d love to hear their thoughts on that. But they made me feel like family and they still do. Whether it is texting me or tweeting me, it’s awesome and it’s shown how cool it can be.

“Philadelphia is selling out soccer in the Northeast and we’ve heard you can’t do that. If you now go to soccer specific stadiums and the t-shirts, the branding are cool…you sell your product. It’s not looked at as the stepchild of sports. You walk around Philly and they’ve got Union gear around. That’s cool, it’s awesome. So I think it’s not getting the recognition that it deserves the way Seattle and Portland have pulled together.”

The Union announced on Friday morning that Zac MacMath, Jack McInerney, Danny Mwanga and Amobi Okugo will be part of the Generation adidas tour of the Netherlands Dec.5–15. The squad will be coached by Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes and his staff.

John Hackworth describes the benefits of having players train in Europe, but notes there’s a fine line between training too much in the offseason and not taking time to rest. He also says that if players want to make the move to Europe, “Then it becomes truly for the individual and for our club—you have to make sure it’s right for both parties.”

Philadelphia Independence

The Independence will be holding open tryouts on Dec. 8-9 at United Sports in Downingtown.

Independence forward Danesha Adams will be on hand for the United Sports Holiday Open House on Saturday, Dec. 3.

MLS

Goal.com says to expect few teams to make moves in Monday’s first stage of the Re-Entry Draft. Clubs are more likely to wait until the second stage on Dec. 12 to make better deals

Steven Goff reports in the Washington Post that DC United has declined the option to purchase Charlie Davies’ rights from Sochaux. Whether Davies will remain in MLS or return to Europe is unknown.

Montreal's new kit was released on Thursday.

Here are parts one and two of an interview that NBC’s new voice of the MLS, Arlo White, did with Sounders at Heart.

Orlando City owner Phil Rawlins is hopeful that Orlando will be an MLS expansion city. “We’ve signed a non-disclosure agreement with them and we’re looking at the business models. We’re looking at what the numbers look like to bring MLS soccer to Central Florida.”

Ivan Gazidis, one of the founding executives of MLS and now the CEO of Arsenal, says, “It would be a mistake to think that MLS must replicate or try to replicate or even try to aspire to what exists over here. MLS should aspire to its vision of soccer in the United States, which may be very, very different. MLS is stronger than it realizes and better than it realizes sometimes. I’m not a big believer in MLS looking to Europe for its answers. Does that mean it can’t learn? Absolutely not. I think there are a lot of things that MLS can learn from football around the world. But I also think there are a lot of things that football around the world can learn from MLS.”

Tony Evans, the editor of the football section of the Times of London, says, “It’s only a matter of time before the USA is a genuine world power in football, even if the domestic league is unlikely to displace American football, baseball and basketball in the affections of the sporting public.”

Changes to the algorithm that powers Google searches include the addition of live scores from MLS. I guess we’ll have to wait until March to confirm that.

US

US Soccer has confirmed the USMNT will have two friendlies in January. They will host Venezuela on Jan 21 in Phoenix and play Panama in Panama City on Jan. 25.

Elsewhere

UEFA president Michel Platini will back a winter World Cup in 2022 in Qatar. He explained, “If we play in winter it will be not a problem. Instead [of stopping the season] in May you play until June, and then stop in December. Where is the problem?” He also confirmed he voted for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.

David Conn writes in the Guardian, “The anti-corruption organization Transparency International’s refusal to saunter down Sepp Blatter’s ‘road map’ of reform unless FIFA’s murky past is investigated poses a bold challenge to world football’s disgraced governing body.”

The Ukrainian women’s rights group Femen staged a topless protest against what they say is pressure from UEFA to legalize prostitution in the country during Euro 2012. The draw for the tournament will take place today (12pm, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes).

Diego Maradona on Pele’s suggestion that Neymar is better than Messi: “He took the wrong pill. Instead of taking the pill for before bedtime, he took his morning pill. He got confused and he doesnt know what he’s saying… I suggest that next time he takes the right medication before he starts to speak, and that he changes his doctor.”