Recent Bill Urban Articles
MLS The Only Loser From Szetela's Move To Spain
by Bill Urban (Analysis | US National Soccer Players Association - September 6)
The bare facts are these: Danny Szetela last week moved from the Columbus Crew to Racing Santander, signing a three-year contract in exchange for a transfer fee of $150,000. But of the four different parties involved in Szetela’s move from Major League Soccer to La Liga -- Szetela himself, the Crew, his new Cantabrian employers Santander, and the collective entity Major League Soccer – who benefited the most? more details | go to article

Low-Pressure MLS No Training Ground For Copa
by Bill Urban (Commentary | US National Soccer Players Association - July 3)
With a second defeat in two games, the Copa America experience is certainly providing the intended learning opportunities for young US players. more details | go to article

Live: USA - Paraguay
by J Hutcherson and Bill Urban (Blog Entry | US National Soccer Players Association - July 2)
Hi everybody. Once again it's J Hutcherson and Bill Urban with the running commentary for tonight's Copa America Group C clash between the United States and Paraguay - aka the group C leaders after knocking off Ecuador by five goals. more details | go to article

Live: USA - Canada
by J Hutcherson, Bill Urban and Ian Plenderleith (Blog Entry | US National Soccer Players Association - June 21)
Live blog commentary of CONCACAF Gold Cup Semifinal more details | go to article

MLS Suddenly Full Of South American Promise
by Bill Urban (Analysis | US National Soccer Players Association - May 14)
Three talented and long-anticipated South American players made their full MLS debuts this past weekend. more details | go to article

Urban Opinion: Ten Little Coaches
by Bill Urban (Analysis | US National Soccer Players Association - July 21)
And then there were ten... The MLS version of "the Dance of Coaches," normally a slow waltz, slipped into a mid-season, showy tango, with Thomas Rongen and Greg Andrulis fired before mid-season. more details | go to article

Urban Opinion: The 20's - Merely A Big Win...
by Bill Urban (Commentary | US National Soccer Players Association - June 13)
In their opening fixture in the FIFA World Youth Championships in Enschede, the US beat Argentina 1-0. Writing such a simple sentence to describe such an important victory seems a bit shallow and unjust, but simplicity hides an important truth. more details | go to article

Urban Opinion: Justice For The 96
by Bill Urban (Commentary | US National Soccer Players Association - May 31)
And since 1989 when hooligans rioted at a game in Sheffield and left 96 dead. The above sentence was part of a Chicago Tribune article, entitled "Embrace Your Inner Hooligan," intended to introduce American fans to the supposedly pervasive hooligan soccer culture in England. more details | go to article

Gracie
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Urban Opinion: Say What?
by Bill Urban (Commentary | US National Soccer Players Association - May 15)
Although it's the end of the school year for most students, let's enroll all Urban Opinion readers in a short, MLS Analysis 101 course, with the entire curriculum to be taken from the primary source quote by Beasley, DaMarcus, esq. Cutting class to attend matches is strongly encouraged. more details | go to article

MLS Broadcast Super Farce-ico, Or Where Was Waldo?
by Bill Urban (Commentary | US National Soccer Players Association - April 25)
A derby with a sponsor, specifically, The Honda "Super-Clasico." If whichever group of suits that makes what are supposed to be intelligent marketing decisions for the league wanted to use a sponsor for a fledgling soccer derby, Viagra would have been the much more logical choice, and a nice tie-in to approximately 75% of the commercials shown on Fox Soccer Channel. more details | go to article

How The Fire Got Burned
by Bill Urban (Analysis | US National Soccer Players Association - April 13)
"What is really important at the end of the day is the team, the players and the badge." - ex-Chicago President/GM Peter Wilt. Unfortunately for Wilt, Section 8 and the Chicago Fire supporters, and fans at other MLS clubs, the suits at Anschutz Entertainment Group have an entirely different vision for the future of American professional soccer. more details | go to article

Urban Opinion: Donovan Does The Double
by Bill Urban (Profile/Interview | US National Soccer Players Association - April 11)
Sometimes, the most eloquent of responses is to say nothing at all... At the center of an unprecedented American media storm after his decision to return to MLS and the Galaxy in the wake of his departure from Bayer Leverkusen, Landon Donovan gave the lie both to his bitter detractors who labeled him a failure for coming back to MLS and to the legion of apologists who sprang to his defense with elaborate justifications of the player’s Prodigal Son-like return, by producing three moments of pure class in the Galaxy’s 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake Saturday night. more details | go to article

Urban Opinion: Week One
by Bill Urban (Analysis | US National Soccer Players Association - April 6)
MLS Week 1: The Way it Was... Without a doubt, FC Dallas will be the most entertaining team in MLS this season, although the jury remains out in judgment of their new uniforms, the horizontal red stripes calling to mind unfortunate images of Ronald McDonald trying to play soccer. Also: analyses of the rest of the week one MLS games. more details | go to article

Urban Opinion: MLS Allocations Demystified And Augmented...
by Bill Urban (Analysis | US National Soccer Players Association - March 28)
MLS released a statement on Thursday, March 24th, which outlined the rules governing MLS transactions in the League’s tenth season. And there was much rejoicing... At least among those with far too much leisure time unspent and a passion for the minutiae of MLS rosters and transactions. more details | go to article

Urban Opinion: Chivas USA - Coming Apart At The Seams
by Bill Urban (Commentary | US National Soccer Players Association - March 7)
”Sometimes if you don't have the quality, you might have to say 'Listen, let's just see if we can be sound defensively.’” - CD Chivas USA coach Thomas Rongen after a 2-0 exhibition loss to Atlante. Being sound defensively. So the commitment to attacking soccer from Thomas Rongen did not even last until the regular season began. You don’t say. more details | go to article

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