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Seattle
Fredy Montero's National Team door may have finally opened with the injury of Radamel Falcao. Falcao went to the turf for Monaco this week, and the word is that it might be serious. Enter Montero, putting the finishing touches on a remarkable season in Portugal and who has been loitering with intent around Colombian manager Jose Pekerman's office for the better part of six years.
Jalil Anibaba is the subject of this article, expressing his excitement at joining the "closest thing MLS has to a superclub".
Depending on where your allegiances lie, you may find Clint Dempsey under your pointer finger the next time you pick up a can of Cola. Dempsey is one of 19 players joining Pepsi's international "team", who will all presumably be drinking some other beverage while shooting their mass commercial for the World Cup.
Don't look now, but Ives isn't a big fan of Seattle's draft. The Sounders haul was ranked 17th out of the 19 clubs, mostly for picks which were considered reaches.
Stefano Rijssel, (autocorrect just crashed) one of the later picks of Seattle's draft, will come train with the Sounders despite not having a long-term plan with MLS. He's still part of a Caribbean team as of now.
MLSsoccer's March to the Match podcast may be trolling a little bit: Their front headline asks "Who is winning the offseason? (not Seattle)" Don't know about you guys, but with the exception of one move I'm quite happy with how this winter has played out.
It appears to be a day for former Seattle favorites: Michael Gspurning chimes in from Austria, answering questions both about the Sounders and Seahawks. He'll be rooting hard for the hometown Gridironers in less than two weeks.
MLS
Speaking of eggball, Dynamo Theory wonders if MLS would benefit from having a "Richard Sherman-type" player, who in their definition is a "Villain". There are no men like Richard. Only Richard. (Wow, now that I think about it, Jaime Lannister is actually a fitting comparison.)
It'll be a big week for USL partnerships, with Toronto announcing their new affiliation with Wilmington Hammerhead, and Sacramento's announcement forthcoming. That announcement is expected to involve the Portland Timbers.