Photo: Nicolae Stoian

Philadelphia Union

Look for part one of our Union roundtable later today.

Carlos Valdes says of the departure of Faryd Mondragon, “Faryd taught me a lot of things. His experience was very important for us. Maybe now we are more motivated.”

Local

Penn Live have a Q&A with former Union player Morgan Langley, who has returned to Harrisburg City Islanders.

West Chester United defeated Salone FC 1–0 in the Eastern PA US Open Cup qualifier. Dom Popolizio scored the goal, assisted by Andrew Kummerer. They now advance to the USASA Region I finals. One USASA team will advance to the Open Cup.

The St. Jo’s women’s team left on Friday for a ten day trip to Spain that includes games against the Espanyol and Barcelona women’s teams.

MLS

Carlos Bocanegra and Alejandro Bedoya could be axed by Glasgow Rangers today. Wonder where they will land?

Vancouver defeated Toronto 1–0 to claim the Disney Pro Soccer Classic title. Le Toux did not play. But he did play in the fourth annual Hilton Garden Inn Durham Southpoint Community Shield (that’s a mouthful) with Carolina Railhawks the next day, as did several other former Union players, including Nick Zimmerman for Carolina, and Brad Knighton and Jordan Harvey for Vancouver. The game finished 2–2, including a goal from Zimmerman, and went to PK’s. Knighton was among the Whitecaps who missed to give Carolina the win.

LA began their trophy quest by defeating New England Revolution on PKs in the Desert Diamond Cup final after a scoreless 90 minutes. Former Union goalkeeper Brian Perk made two stops in the shootout. Kyle Nakazawa did not play.

Chivas USA was thrashed 5–0 by San Jose in their final preseason game.

Impact head coach Jesse Marsch thinks his team is ready.

The Guardian previews the Western Conference.

Goal.com says initiatives to improve the quality of play and protect star players have taken precedence ahead of the start of the new season.

Disney and MLS have asked the Florida legislature for $1 million to be distributed to MLS teams that hold their preseason training in Florida.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune talks to MLS Executive VP of Communications Dan Courtemanche about the possibility of expansion into that city.

Drew Carrey describes what it’s been like owning Seattle Sounders. “The guy that owned the basketball team moved to Oklahoma City. That helped us a lot. It was like meeting a hot girl that had an abusive boyfriend.”

Women’s Pro Soccer

On the eve of the 40th anniversary of Title IX on March 8, this article looks at how the paucity of women’s sports coverage is related to the lack of paying fans in the bleachers.

This isn’t pro soccer, but the France women’s team defeated the England women 3–0 in the Cyprus Cup. They will meet Canada in the final on Tuesday.

US

A study by ESPN shows that among Americans aged 12–24, soccer is second to the NFL in popularity, slightly ahead of the NBA.

The USWNT faces Japan today for the first time since the Women’s World Cup final in the final group stage game of the Algarve Cup. A win or a tie will see the US through to the final. You can follow the game on US Soccer’s Match Tracker from 9:10am.

Clint “The Truth” Dempsey scored two goals for Fulham on Sunday to move to seventh on the EPL top scorers list. I love him.

Jozy Altidore and Herculez Gomez also scored over the weekend.

The USWNT U-20 team defeated Cuba 6–0 at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Panama on Sunday to earn a spot in the semifinals.

Sporting News breaks down the changes Jurgen Klinsmann is making with the USMNT in terms of style, depth, and fitness.

Karfi Sarkodie talks about being with the USMNT U-23s.

Brad Friedel relates how he owes his career to a missed flight.

The New York Times looks back on last week’s games and more and says it was a good week to be a US soccer fan.

The LA Times says the US Soccer Development Academy is ruining high school soccer. The Chattanoogan agrees.

Elsewhere

Brazil doesn’t want to deal FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke after he criticized the country’s behind schedule preparations for the 2014 World Cup, saying, “You have to push yourself, kick your ass.” More on the hilarity here.

Jose Mourinho is the favorite to replace André Villas-Boas, who was sacked as manager of Chelsea on Sunday.

46-year-old Arquimedes Nganga is suing the Baptist Church for £10 million. He claims the the 19 years he spent as a “fervent evangelist” ruined his chances of playing for Manchester United.