Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

Ives Galarcep reports at Fox Soccer that Freddy Adu is heading to with Spanish side Rayo Vallecano for a two-week training stint. The report notes, “Rayo Vallecano is also a club that had been in talks with Adu about signing him last summer before Adu settled on a return to MLS. The upcoming stint with Vallecano is not a trial though.” Vallecano is in Madrid, which is on a plateau, but it remains unconfirmed whether Madrid is on the plains of Spain or if the winter wet season means Adu, who will arrive by plane, will mainly train when it rains.

Peter Nowak is excited by the offseason moves he’s made so far. (I should hope so!) “We now have a great mix of youngsters and experienced guys. We don’t need much [more], but we need to be active and be set to go. We know it takes time for these players to come in and get settled, but when preseason starts we want to get to work.”

Jack McInerney knows he was the third youngest player on the recent roster for the USMNT U-23 training camp ahead of Olympic qualifiers. “Sometimes it’s in the back of my mind. But it doesn’t really matter about age right now. I know it’s something that’s there, but I just can’t think too much about it.” In the end, he says, “You’ve just got to make the team and do what you can to help.”

Levi Houapeu’s signing with the Union makes this list of the the T0p 10 sports stories of the year in Montgomery County, MD.

I just came across this but here is  2011 Philadelphia Union Highlight Reel by Brian Scully from Vimeo. Scully shot the footage over three months of interning for the club.

Philadelphia Independence

That game-halting squirrel at the WPS championship final between WNY Flash and the Philadelphia Independence made this Australian websites Best of YouTube roundup for 2011.

Local

Yardley Makefield Soccer coach Albert Prickett has been named the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Competive Coach of the Year for boys soccer.

MLS

Following Arsenal’s frustrating draw with Wolves on Tuesday, Arsene Wenger remains tight-lipped about whether Thierry Henry will go on loan to the club. “There is no story and if we sign anybody we will inform you. I am 15 years in England. I have never told before I sign somebody the name of who I will sign.”

Bruce Arena says Landon Donovan’s loan to Everton doesn’t worry him.

The Daily Mail reports that Bolton are preparing to offer the Energy Drinks £2 million (a little more than $3 million) for Tim Ream.

This article looks at the impact of Colombian players for MLS, and how the league has become an important path to the Colombian National Team for Colombian players.

US

The Union Dues begins a new series entitled “Building the Pyramid” which will seek to “give some background information, provide some context both statistical and cultural, and make the case for setting up a STABLE, COHERENT, Soccer Association that includes teams from the Top Professional to Amateur levels.” (Thanks for the shout out in the intro, Murph.)

Steve Davis writes that timing and politics cloud Caleb Porter’s personnel decisions for the US U-23 squad for the 2012 Olympics.

The Wall Street Journal says the USWNT run at the World Cup proves “that what sports fans rally around are great games, not marketing gimmicks or phony hype.”

ESPN has 12 points to ponder about the US national teams as they head into 2012.

MLSsoccer,com names Clint Dempsey the top US Export of the Year. Yep. Dempsey gave Fox Soccer an exclusive interview that was published on Christmas Day.

Carlos Bocanegra talks about today’s Old Firm match.

Elsewhere

A Swiss court has ordered FIFA to release the documents relating to the collapse of its former marketing partner ISL.

SI has a list of the Top 10 Soccer Stories of 2011.

The Dutch FA has announced that the Ajax v AZ Alkmaar Dutch Cup match that was suspended after the Alkmaar goal was ejected from the game when he kicked a fan who attempted to assualt him after running on to the pitch will be replayed on January 19 behind closed doors. The Guardian reports that the Dutch FA said in its announcement,  “it ‘would be unreasonable’ to resume the match in the 37th minute because AZ would have to play with 10 men due to the Costa Rica goalkeeper’s red card.”