Major Link Soccer: Holy Draft! New Sounders

Seattle

There are three new Seattle Sounders. Garth, Adrian and crew had some luck and spent some money, and the player they wanted will stay in Seattle and trade purple for green.

Though it may have cut into his starting salary, Generation Adidas draftee Cristian Roldan is happy he dropped far enough to go to his ideal destination in the Sounders. Seattle traded up to take RSL's spot, and down in Utah they seem satisfied with the results as well.

Not done wheeling and dealing, the Sounders traded Sean Okoli's rights to New England to get their top-rated keeper Tyler Miller. Finally, Oneil Fisher, taken at the 40th pick, will compete for time at right back.

Also, this happened, and it will go down in history:

Despite losing Okoli and some allocation cash, the Sounders had a very successful draft. Where does Seattle's grade on draft day stack up against the rest of the league?

We've had BeastQuake, yes, and even KamQuake...but what about ObaQuake, or perhaps DeuceQuake? Can Sounders fans out-quake the Seahawks?

Major League Soccer

You can add St. Louis to a list that includes Las Vegas, Sacramento, and Minneapolis. Expansion gets expansiony-er, according to Don Garber.

Also, "it could have been handled better." Yes, he's talking about Lampard/NYCFC/MCFC.

It's been a long, long time coming, and it will be a while before the dream is realized, but DC United fans can finally celebrate the final approval and plans for the new stadium at Buzzard Point.

Over in Red Bull land, things aren't so cheery. A digital #RedBullOut billboard will greet drivers at the Lincoln Tunnel entrance in response to the firing of Mike Petke. RBNY is throwing an old fashioned town hall meeting for the rabble-rousers, and Once a Metro would like the angry mob to be a little bit civilized.

Schellas Hyndman's new home is Grand Canyon University, where he will head the men's soccer program.

US Soccer

Waiting to find out where you'll be travelling to watch the Gold Cup final? Philadelphia is looking like your best bet. July 26th, 2015.

Jozy Altidore is jumping on the bandwagon and returning to MLS, after mixed success in Europe. Was he just not good enough for the Premier League, even on a lower-half team?

Here's a nice recap of Lee Nguyen's up and down career so far (I know what you're going to ask, and yes, there are lots of "Nguyen/Win" puns, don't worry).

Curious about Klinsmann's unusual January Camp roster? Well, it's complicated.

This wide-ranging interviewwith Tony Lepore, the US Soccer Development Academy's director of scouting, is worth your read if only for the reason that the writer uses the word "comprises" correctly.

In the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championships, the US dropped 8 goals on a hapless Aruba.

World

Don't miss this SB Nation piece on German football behind the Berlin wall.

Also, the story of the inventors of the "Magic vanishing free kick spray" is more intriguing than you think. No, it's not Barbasol.

Where are they now? The very first american soccer draft pick, Alain Maca, tells his story. What's he doing now? Oh, he's the president of JFK International Terminal 4.

Tim Cahill is what you'd call accurate when kicking a soccer ball: