Zip_ME87

Thanks for this find @TennZip... Official: New York Red Bulls II sign David Najem ...Speaking of Adam Najem, David's signing hints the younger Najem may be on his way to New York soon. The Akron midfielder, regularly called the best midfielder in college soccer, went abroad in the winter on trials with European clubs looking for a professional contract after turning down a deal from New York. The European excursion ended fruitlessly as Najem has returned to Akron and looks to be playing his senior season at Akron in the fall. Adam is currently playing in the PDL with the Michigan Bucks, but will return to New York to train with the club later in the summer. With David's return and fences apparently mended, a Najem duo between the first and second team could be gold for the Red Bulls.

Americans on loan: The best and worst through the years Read more at http://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/best-worst-usmnt-loans-donovan-dempsey-yedlin-altidore#:Yex2Vz1itb48_A#cKqRMJzLlAQIjSMa.99 THE SEVEN BEST AMERICAN LOANS 1. DeAndre Yedlin to Sunderland There have been some really good loans for American players but this one really stood out for many reasons. First, it showed that Yedlin is Premier League quality. Other successful loans like Landon Donovan at Everton only confirmed what everyone knew -- that he was a good player. This loan really revealed a lot about Yedlin. Second, that he could handle the extreme pressure of a Premier League relegation battle. That is one of the toughest stages for a young player and Yedlin handled it very well. Finally, it might have proved to Klinsmann that Yedlin is ready to take the right back job for the U.S. team, a position proven difficult to fill since Steve Cherundolo’s retirement. So far, Klinsmann had primarily used Yedlin on the wing. His performance at Sunderland perhaps eliminated any doubt about Yedlin’s defensive ability. ...

Great find! I had no idea; he's not listed on their roster on the website, but here's an article from their May 11th match where he's listed getting a caution in 90+ http://www.indyeleven.com/news/2016/05/11/elevennpsl-recap-051116vcdl Last, I knew, Thomas was living in Indianapolis; so, this would make sense. Good for him. It appears there is more than 1 Indy Eleven. Thomas plays for Indy Eleven NPSL http://www.indyeleven.com/npsl-roster

SEASON IN REVIEW: DEFENDERS - US Soccer http://ussoc.cr/1TglhnE

Randy Lerner just dumped, for $87.5M, the EPL team that has been relegated for the first time in their history under his ownership. I'm sure Aston Villa fans are as happy to see him go as Browns fans were, but at least the Browns are still in the NFL. http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/85/england/2016/05/18/23684742/lerner-agrees-to-aston-villa-sale?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

$2.89 million would likely help those Spurs more than another right back with their current depth at that position.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/05/17/exports-sunderland-reportedly-set-make-transfer-bid-deandre-yedlin ...Sunderland are reportedly set to make Yedlin's club, Tottenham, a $2.89 million offer to acquire Yedlin on a permanent basis. ...

It's about time you did some work. The £2m bid is to Tottenham, not a salary offer to DeAndre, correct?

Yes, I'm happy for Richie, but that was the Canadian U23's, which I don't understand. I believe Mexico and Honduras are the CONCACAF reps to the 2016 Olympics. What is the purpose of a U23 team when qualifying is complete until the 2020 cycle, and you aren't going??? By 2020, these U23's won't be U23's.

Klinsmann Calls 22 Players for Transition Camp and Friendly vs. Puerto Rico GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Colorado Rapids), Zack Steffen (SC Freiburg) DEFENDERS (7): John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest), Matt Miazga (Chelsea), Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana), Tim Ream (Fulham), DeAndre Yedlin (Tottenham) MIDFIELDERS (7): Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Perry Kitchen (Heart of Midlothian), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt), Caleb Stanko (SC Freiburg), Danny Williams (Reading) FORWARDS (5): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Fabrice Picault (FC St. Pauli), Amando Moreno (Club Tijuana), Bobby Wood (Hamburg) ...DeAndre Yedlin capped off a successful loan spell at Sunderland by helping the Black Cats retain their place in the Premier League. Having spent 237 days in the relegation zone, the team secured another year in the top flight on the second-to-last matchday of the season. ... ...Perry Kitchen made the most of his winter move to Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premier League, appearing in all 10 of the club’s league matches following his arrival in March.

Edit: Just realized you have to subscribe to read the article. Still, I like this one-liner and the picture on twitter. Go Zips! #2ndStar2016

and Goncalo Soares. http://www.uslpdl.com/roster/show/2353336?subseason=278141

From Ontario to Orlando, Cyle Larin and Richie Laryea are living the dream. Best friends since they were nine years old, the Canadian duo played together with youth club Sigma FC growing up, then went their separate ways for college, with Larin heading to UConn and Laryea attending Akron. ... http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/05/12/cyle-richie-mls-insider-presented-adidas?autoplay=true

Not worth it to me on this one, but let me know what you find if you do.

Match Report: Dillon Serna's game-winner gives Rapids 1-0 win over Sporting KC On a side note, the Rapids will be in Columbus this Saturday.

In case anyone is interested, unfortunately Detroit City FC advanced on PKs 4-3 (score 0-0 at the end of 120 minutes). Adam Najem, the only Zip to take a PK in this match, made his.

Wil Trapp: The next evolution of the American holding midfielder ...By the end of the match Trapp had spent as much time in Dempsey’s face as Dempsey had in his. This was not Dempsey using another player to fire his own engines. It was a fire... ...If we have learned anything from Gregg Berhalter’s time in Columbus (and from Trapp’s formative time at Akron, where he played a similar role) it is that Americans are capable of playing the modern style of the game if given ample opportunity and the correct operators. Trapp is unquestionably, for me, the one piece that Berhalter has to have for this to work like he wants. For whatever Berhalter gained from his quiet moments under Bruce Arena, his real crowded hour was at Hammarby, where he developed the base to become MLS’s first truly American-European coaching innovator. ,,,

Sunderland 3 - 0 Everton - Player Ratings DeAndre Yedlin – 9 Real threat going forward with his electric pace. Solid at the back

DeAndre Yedlin helps Sunderland dodge relegation from Premier League ...“DeAndre … has got very little experience at this level,” Allardyce told the Independent. “He has got a lot of qualities but without that experience, it’s a massive ask to perform at the consistent level that you need to at this stage of the season, under the pressure that we’re all under.” Yedlin is expected to feature prominently for the USMNT in next month's Copa America Centenario, having been named to Jurgen Klinsmann's 40-man preliminary roster. The Yanks' final list will be announced later this month.

Tonight's USOC2016 match Michigan Bucks v Detroit City FC

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/sunderland-vs-everton-live-score-7514157 Mannone 6 - Rarely troubled by toothless Everton until it was 3-0. Yedlin 7 - Pacey right-back was quietly effective. Kaboul 7 - Solid in defence, one remarkable mazy run and shot Kone MOM 8 - Surprise two-goal hero and commanding at the back. Van Aanholt 7 - Bent home the all-important opener, enterprising down the left. Kirchoff 8 - Outstanding in anchor role, especially when it was tense and goalless. M’Vila 7 - Assist for the second, neat in midfield. Cattermole booked 7 - Tireless workrate and crunching tackles, as always. Khazri 8 - Excellent dead-ball delivery from the winger. A fine January signing. Defoe 7 - Alert, sharp, denied a deserved goal by clearance on line. Borini 6 - Not as effective as the rest but plenty of sweat and puff.

So happy for DeAndre. Great experience working to avoid relegation, I'm certain. The atmosphere at the Stadium of Light today had to be beyond fun.

The best Homegrowns MLS ever signed Written by Will Parchman ...Top 5 All Time... 4. Wil Trapp, Columbus Crew I’ll fight push-back on this pick, because I genuinely think Trapp is the best defensive midfielder the Homegrown initiative has ever produced. Trapp is not the Makelele Role midfielder who sits and destroys, which I think is primarily why he’s such an interesting case. In the U.S., we’re plenty used to that figure, but we’ve done a more incomplete job of pushing along Pirlo types who prefer to sit deeper and spread the ball. That’s where Michael Bradley used to be king, before Vanney and Klinsmann had him running all over creation. Thankfully, Gregg Berhalter has allowed Trapp – when he’s healthy – to sit deep and build. Thanks to Opta, we know definitively that Trapp is among the most efficient midfielders in the league. Thanks to our eyeballs, we know he’s one of the best, too. 3. DeAndre Yedlin, Seattle Sounders Yedlin’s struggles to find consistent playing time in England and his continual deployment as a right midfielder in Jurgen Klinsmann’s system has perhaps guided us to forget how good Yedlin can be when, 1.) he’s in a holistic system that’s engineered at least in part around his overlapping, 2.) he’s actually played at right back. The first is important because teams need to plan around Yedlin’s blinking defensive form. The second is important because he is, in fact, a right back. This is what Yedlin’s capable of when he’s hit his stride. That is Eden Hazard. Yedlin might already be robbed of his true fullbacking potential, because he can’t seem to find consistent minutes there since leaving Seattle after the 2014 season. But don’t let that cloud how good Yedlin’s been – and how good he could still be. ...