Major Link Soccer: Omar Gonzalez third American to win CCL

Major League Soccer

The Kraft Group has hit a big roadblock in their search for a more Boston-y home for the New England Revolution. Talks have broken down on moving to a site on the UMass Boston campus, so the Rev’s will keep looking.

Nick Rimando’s hamstring injury means Matt Van Oekel will continue in the net for Real Salt Lake without him, and Mike Petke and Oekel’s teammates say the backup has their full confidence.

MLS continues its youth coach training partnership with the French Football Federation, sending 20 coaches to France for training in youth development and higher coaching certifications. The Sounders Chris Little represents Seattle.

We know the MLS ‘salary drop’, we love/hate the salary drop (because it’s only a partial picture and can be misleading on its own), but why does the salary drop happen? Charles Boehm interviews Bob Foose of the MLS Players Union for more info on the topic.

Speaking of salaries, ESPN had some fun creating MLS best XI’s based on salary: best value, highest paid, highest paid Americans. It’s always amazing to see what some teams are paying players. This is your reminder that Brek Shea makes close to 700k.

That’s right, the Power Ranking Averages are back, as usual, and FC Dallas are holding strong onto the top spot. The Sounders are hovering in the high single digits.

David Beckham FC has added a banker to the investment group. Hopefully this will allow them to throw more money at things until something finally works.

Seattle

Rev’s blog The Bent Musket has their preview of the weekend’s trip to CenturyLink Field. They will certainly be fighting for points after a disappointing stretch of games. Warning, the lead image may cause you to feel the sharp pang indicating the lack of Erik Friberg in your life.

Do you want to train with (and be trained by) the pros on S2? Or maybe just pay money to hang out with them and pretend to train? Five week and 10 week options are available for this summer’s S2 Technical Training Program.

Hot Time in Old Town is celebrating the Fire’s 20th anniversary by diving into great moments in the history of the club. This time it is a bright point in their awful 2014, a Harry Shipp hat trick! They were also his first goals in MLS. His maiden voyage, if you will (and the Chicago play-by-play guy most certainly will).

Megan Rapinoe will be giving a talk and discussion at Boston College today, as part of a lecture series with the marketing department. She will discuss how “marketing, diversity and authenticity helped her establish a successful personal brand.”

Laura Harvey is the last female coach in the NWSL. Why are female coaches still a rarity at the top level? Equalizer Soccer’s Jennifer Beekman dives into the issue.

CONCACAF

Miguel Herrera is back in the coaching saddle thanks to a new gig with Club Tijuana, and ‘Piojo’ has proven he’s still one of the best coaches in Liga MX.

Aron Johansson is deep on the bench at Werder Bremen, and he wants to be playing and getting USMNT callups again. It sounds like it’s time for a move, but to where?

Omar Gonzalez helped Pachuca win the CONCACAF Champions League, adding to the 28 year old’s trophy case. He’s just the third American to win that title.

How about the U17 CONCACAF Championship? Time to start hyping the new Great American Striker!

World

French prosecutors have started their own probe of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup bidding processes, and they have questioned Sepp Blatter as a witness. You can never have too many investigations when it comes to FIFA, right?