2008 MLS Expansion Draft
The 2008 MLS Expansion Draft took place on November 26, 2008, and was a special draft for the Major League Soccer expansion team Seattle Sounders FC. They made 10 selections from a pool of players from the other 14 MLS clubs. FormatSource * Only one player could be selected from each team. Four of the league's 14 current teams did not have a player selected. * Teams were allowed to protect 11 players from their 28-man rosters. Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U. ... players were automatically protected, though players who are graduated from the program to the senior roster at the end of the 2008 season were not. * Teams with 4 or more international players were required to protect 3 of them. If a team had 3 or fewer international players, then it was req ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began play in 2009 as an MLS expansion team. The Sounders are a phoenix club, carrying the same name as the original Sounders franchise that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1983. The club's majority owner is Adrian Hanauer, and its minority owners are the estate of Paul Allen, Drew Carey, and 14 families from the Seattle area. Former USL Sounders coach and assistant coach Brian Schmetzer took over as head coach in July 2016 after the departure of Sigi Schmid. The Sounders play their home league matches at Lumen Field, with a reduced capacity of 37,722 seats for most matches. Along with several organized groups, a 53-member marching band called "Sound Wave" supports the club at each home match. Seattle has long ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peter Vagenas
Panayiotis Alexiou "Peter" Vagenas (born February 6, 1978) is an American former soccer player. High school and college Vagenas graduated from Saint Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge, class of 1996, where he played for coach Glen Appels and captained the team to a CIF Southern Section Championship his senior year, as well as being named CIF SS divisional player of the year. Vagenas played club soccer for Afshin Ghotbi. He played college soccer at UCLA from 1996 to 1999, leading them to the NCAA title in 1997, and finished his career there with 15 goals and 30 assists in 82 games. He was elected team MVP during his campaign at UCLA. Career Professional Vagenas was drafted by Los Angeles Galaxy in the second round of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft and subsequently spent nine years with the team, winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and 2005, and the MLS Cup in 2002 and 2005, captaining the team to the 2005 double. Vagenas missed most of 2007 and 2008 due to injury, but during ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jon Busch
Jon Busch (born August 18, 1976) is an American professional soccer coach and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. Busch is currently the goalkeeping coach for USL Championship club Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. He is best remembered for his captivating saves, despite his shorter stature for an elite goalkeeper, and spent most of his 21-year professional playing years in Major League Soccer, appearing for the Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire and San Jose Earthquakes. Busch also represented the United States at both youth and senior level. Arguably his best season was in 2008 when he was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year. As of the end of the 2015 season, Busch ranks fourth in MLS history in number of shutouts. Youth and college Busch played at Guilderland High School in Guilderland, New York, near Albany, where he was named a high school All-American. He was ranked within the top 25 best players in the nation as a senior. In college, Busch was a NSCAA First Team All-American ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Patrick Nyarko
Patrick Nyarko (born January 15, 1986) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer. Career College After coming to the United States in 2005, Nyarko was a star forward and three-time All-ACC selection for the Virginia Tech Hokies soccer team, which played in the 2007 Division I Men's College Cup, falling to Wake Forest in the National Semifinals. Nyarko, who finished his Virginia Tech career with 31 goals, was called by coach Oliver Weiss, "the most incredible player I've ever coached" and he is considered to be the best soccer player in Virginia Tech history. Nyarko first met Weiss when the coach was on a recruiting trip to Ghana. In Nyarko's freshman year, he scored the lone goal of his team's marquee win over then-#4 North Carolina. Tech rose as high as #10 in the polls and earned its second trip in school history to the NCAA tournament. Nyarko was named the Atlantic Coast Conference freshman of the year and was named to the all-ACC team. Following the 2007 season, in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cuauhtémoc Blanco
Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo (; born 17 January 1973) is a Mexican politician and former professional footballer who is the current Governor of Morelos under the coalition '' Juntos Haremos Historia''. He formerly served as the municipal president of Cuernavaca, Morelos. As a footballer, Blanco was known for his attacking ability and played most of his career as a deep-lying forward and his last years as an attacking midfielder. Blanco is considered to be one of the greatest Mexican footballers of all time, as well as one of the best penalty takers of all time. Early life Blanco was born in Mexico City, in the district of Tlatilco, but grew up in Tepito. Born to Faustino Blanco and Hortensia Bravo, he was named after the last Aztec emperor Cuauhtémoc, in which the name means "one who has descended like an eagle". Football career Beginnings Blanco started his career with América in 1992, where he won various awards, both team-based and individual, and had various loan stints ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mike Banner
Mike Banner (born October 20, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player who is currently retired. Career College Born in Washington, D.C., Banner attended Gonzaga College High School and began his collegiate soccer career at Georgetown University in 2002. He played in 18 matches during his freshman season for the Hoyas, starting 13 games, but transferred to Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville the following season. After sitting out a season he went on to play three more seasons for the Cougars, appearing in 56 matches during his career, scoring 18 goals along the way, and being awarded first team NCAA All-American. Professional Banner was drafted in the third round, 34th overall, by the Chicago Fire in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. He stayed with Chicago for five seasons. In January 2012, the club announced that Banner would not return for the 2012 season. He later signed with the Illinois Piasa indoor soccer team. In March 2012, Banner signed a two-yea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. The team is currently operated by an ownership group led by the Haslam family (also owners of the Cleveland Browns and Pilot Corporation) and former team physician Pete Edwards. The Haslam/Edwards group is the third ownership group in club history. The franchise was founded in 1994. Its stadium is Lower.com Field, opened in 2021. From 1999 to 2021, the Crew played home games at Historic Crew Stadium (formerly Mapfre Stadium and Columbus Crew Stadium), the first soccer-specific stadium built for an MLS team, with a seating capacity of 19,968 as of the 2015 season. From 1996 to 1998, the Crew played its home games at Ohio Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. In 2014, the team set club atten ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brad Evans
Bradley Ray Evans (born April 20, 1985) is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Born in Phoenix, Evans was drafted out of University of California, Irvine in the second round of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft by the Columbus Crew, where he stayed for two seasons before being selected in the Expansion Draft by the Sounders in 2008. He won "Player of the Week" honors in October 2012 for a two-goal performance against FC Dallas. Evans has appeared five times for the under-20 national team in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, and 27 times for the senior national team, including the 2009 Gold Cup. Early life and career Evans was born to Tom and Dawn Grippando in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was raised with his brother and two sisters. Evans attended Mountain Pointe High School and played 4 seasons for the school's team, scoring 54 goals. He was named all-state and team captain during his junior and senior seasons. He also played 10 seasons for t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chicago Fire S
(''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State , subdivision_type2 = List of counties in Illinois, Counties , subdivision_name1 = Illinois , subdivision_name2 = Cook County, Illinois, Cook and DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage , established_title = Settled , established_date = , established_title2 = Municipal corporation, Incorporated (city) , established_date2 = , founder = Jean Baptiste Point du Sable , government_type = Mayor–council government, Mayor–council , governing_body = Chicago City Council , leader_title = Mayor of Chicago, Mayor , leader_name = Lori Lightfo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stephen King (soccer)
Stephen King (born March 6, 1986) is a former American association football, soccer player. Career Youth and high school King attended Shawnee High School (New Jersey), Shawnee High School where he was a four-year starter (2000–03) under coach Brian Gibney. He led the Renegades to a 99–5–3 record during his tenure, including 2001 and 2003 Group IV state championships. During the latter title run, King's senior year, he recorded 24 goals and 27 assists. King was named the New Jersey Gatorade and NSCAA Player of the Year. He was also selected as a ''Parade (magazine), Parade'', EA Student Sports and NSCAA/adidas All-American. Additionally, King was named a USYSA Inter-Regional All-American and finished his prep career with 46 goals and 56 assists. King was selected to play for the Region I Olympic Development Program team from 1999 to 2004 and participated as a U–16 national pool player. During his earlier years he was the captain of the U–15 national team and also playe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise began play in 1996 as one of the charter members of the league. The Earthquakes took part in the first game in MLS history, defeating D.C. United 1–0. The Earthquakes have won two MLS Cup titles (2001, 2003) and two Supporters' Shields (2005, 2012). In 2002, the team played in its first CONCACAF Champions Cup (now called the CONCACAF Champions League), making it to the quarterfinals. The team holds a fierce rivalry with the LA Galaxy known as the ''California Clásico''. In 2005, the then-owner of the Earthquakes, Anschutz Entertainment Group, announced plans of the team relocating to Houston due to failing efforts to secure a soccer-specific stadium in San Jose. The organization in Houston would be considered an expansion team by t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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James Riley (soccer)
James Riley (born October 27, 1982) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender. Riley previously spent eleven seasons in Major League Soccer (MLS) with the New England Revolution (2005–2007), San Jose Earthquakes (2008), Seattle Sounders FC (2009–2011), Chivas USA (2012), D.C. United (2013), LA Galaxy (2014), and the Colorado Rapids (2015). Riley served as the captain of the Cascadia National Team in the 2018 ConIFA World Football Cup. Playing career College and Amateur Riley played college soccer at Wake Forest University, and in the USL Premier Development League with both Carolina Dynamo and his hometown team, Colorado Springs Blizzard. Professional New England Revolution drafted Riley in the second round of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, and he acquitted himself well in his rookie season, playing various positions and scoring a goal. He continued to keep himself in the mix in defense, starting the majority of the games in 2006 and 2007. Riley was selected b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |