According to reports, the 33 year old midfielder was being pursued by several European clubs, but will remain in Major League Soccer. Ljungberg will become Chicago’s second Designated Player, joining recent acquisition Nery Castillo. The Fire also recently traded Justin Mapp to Philadelphia, a move that gave them some additional salary cap room.

There is also a possibility Seattle will offer Fredy Montero, who has been attracting interest from several European clubs, a Designated Player contract to remain at the club. This is something we’re told the club are still considering, nothing concrete yet. Make sure to stay tuned to WSR for the latest developments.

No details yet on the trade itself, we’ll update accordingly as we learn more.

UPDATE: MLS have now confirmed the move.

Noone made an appearance during Philadelphia’s friendly match against Celtic FC. Details of the signing were not disclosed.

Philadelphia also announced that goalkeeper Brian Perk has been waived. Perk, 21, was drafted 49th overall in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by Philadelphia, making appearances in two friendly matches.

WSR's Ray Curren thinks it's time for Freddy Adu to return to Major League Soccer.

The kid was a prodigy, Francesca said, and he was going to become the face of American soccer sooner rather than later. Francesca was only repeating what he’d heard elsewhere, and what common sense dictated, a 14-year old that can start professionally is on his way to stardom.

By now, you know I’m talking about Freddy Adu, who scored the next day at Giants Stadium for DC United (in a 3-2 loss to the MetroStars), and played in all 30 games in 2004 for DC.

It’s been all downhill for Adu since, sadly, on a seven-year odyssey that’s taken him through Real Salt Lake, Benfica, Monaco, and mighty world powers Beleneses and Aris. Today, it was announced that Swiss club Sion, after bringing Adu in for a trial, has chosen not to sign him, leaving Adu without a club and, surely, without much confidence, either.

We could go on all day about how Adu has failed and why he’s failed and who’s responsible for his failing.

But one thing is clear to me: It’s time for Freddy Adu to come home to Major League Soccer.

There are people that think he might not succeed here, either, but – while I don’t think he’ll be a star – I think he can contribute.

He’s only 21 years old and he will be coming back to MLS with his proverbial tail between his legs, but let’s not kid ourselves about the quality of play here. It’s getting better, sure, but it’s not anything like he faced in Europe, even in Portugal and Greece, two very underrated leagues and miles ahead of MLS.

Unfortunately, where Adu didn’t really develop is where MLS really needs help, as a playmaking midfielder.

But with the pressure off, at least temporarily, in a place like New England or even back at DC United, I think – in time – he’ll be a contributor.

I would compare him to a guy like Eddie Gaven, also projected to be a big star (although not as big as Adu) when he signed with the MetroStars at the age of 16 in 2003. Like Adu, Gaven got off to a great start, but his play tailed off and after three years in New Jersey, he was traded to Columbus.

He was a contributor – if not a huge contributor – for the 2008 MLS Cup champions, but over the last couple of seasons, Gaven’s play has slowly risen, and this season is one of the shining stars for the Crew, runaway leaders of the Eastern Conference.

Gaven doesn’t turn 24 until October. Adu just turned 21 last month.

The time has come for Freddy Adu to swallow his pride, do the right thing, and come back to MLS.

It’s not as bad as you think, Freddy, it’s really not.

Call your buddy Eddie if you have to.

The two friendly matches against Tottenham and Manchester City produced our best performances in several months.  Even against KC we didn’t produce the same multitude of quality chances, and we looked good after Henry went off.  I can’t figure out why we were playing so much better, we were up against much better opposition and Backe sent out some of our second-string players.  Perhaps the players are rising to the level of Henry as I suggested above, or maybe they’re just not as bad I had thought.  A particularly nice surprise was the form of Dane Richards, who has a knack for playing well in meaningless games.  His pace is very dangerous against adventurous fullbacks and he works much better with the quicker front line of Henry and Kandji.  Kandji has looked particularly good since coming back – so much so that he’s been linked with both Spurs and City.  He looks the best bet by far to play as the third attacker, in behind Ángel and Henry, and we may get our first look at the teams in that system this weekend against Houston.

We beat the Dynamo in a fair game with a cracking finish back in June as Juan Pablo scored the winner with a brilliant free-kick in injury time at Red Bull Arena.  We were better than Houston, but not of a totally different class – Ángel in particular was off-form before his late heroics.  The Dynamo are in very bad shape at the moment, they haven’t won a League game since late May and are sitting second-bottom of the Western Conference.  Brian Ching scored in the All-Star Game against Man United, but he’s been far from his best this year and was pretty quiet in the reverse fixture at RBA.  If we play anywhere near as well as we did against Spurs or City, we should win this match comfortably.  However, we were still fairly wasteful in front of goal during the Barclays Challenge games, a recurring feature of our season and one that must be brought to an end if we are to become real contenders for MLS Cup.  This is Henry’s MLS debut, and a lot is expected of him – if not a goal, at least a solid contribution.  Juan Pablo should be back as well, so this will be as potent an attack as we have, now it’s time to see them deliver in a real match.

FC Dallas have traded Anthony Wallace to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for two future draft picks.

Wallace was acquired by Dallas in the first round of the 2007 MLS Super Draft and went on to make 15 appearances for the club, including 11 starts. The young defender has earned caps with the U-17, U-18 and U-20 U.S. squads.

The New England Revolution announced the signing of forwards Ilija Stolica(left) and Robert Linck(right) Friday.

“Our goal during this transfer window has been to bring in attacking players,” Revolution Vice President of Player Personnel Michael Burns said. “With Ilija, we’re getting a proven, veteran player who we’re expecting to come in and make contributions right away. Roberto is a younger player who we’re optimistic can help us during the second half of the season, as well.”

Stolica, 31, joins the Revolution from Montegero’s FC Budocnost. Stolica previous played in Belgium with Sint Turidense(2005-2008) and R.A.E.C. Mons, before joining OFI Crete for the second half of 2008-2009.

Linck, 21, comes to New England from Romanian club CSM Ramnica Valceam where he played during the 2010 season. Known as “Betu”, Linck played collegiately at Irvine Valley College in California after coming through the Gremio(Brazil) youth system.

Three 6 Mafia had it right when they claimed that “It’s hard out here for a pimp.“  You see, it’s easy to be a ho.  Teams like DC United, Chivas USA and New England they just lie there on the bottom and keep collecting people’s money.  It’s hard to be the pimp.  And over the first half of the MLS season the LA Galaxy have been the biggest pimps in this game.  So it was quite interesting to see, not one, but two shocking results this week that the Galaxy directly contributed to.

The 4-1 CONCACAF Champions League match and the 5-2 All Star Game are the kind of results that could really impact LA’s season.  Everyone knows that Bruce Arena has an ego the size of Carnie Wilson’s undergarments, but can even The Bruce rebound from what has to be one of the most embarrassing 24 hours of his career?

However there is an old basketball adage that if a team loses by 1 point it’s the coaches fault, but if a team loses by 10 points it is the players’ fault.  The meaning of which revolves around the idea that coaches can make the small tweaks that win a close game, but if your team doesn’t even show up, there is nothing a coach can do short of suiting up and playing the game himself.  (Is this why Bob Bradley wears track suits?)

So the question now appears to be, where does the blame lie when a team so full of talent and swagger loses big at home to a second division side in a very important regional tournament?  I think the burden falls upon the players in the Galaxy loss to the Islanders.  This is a Galaxy team whose depth has already been tested during the World Cup stretch and therefore are a squad that 1-25 should be ready to play whatever role is asked of them.  So you can make the case that Arena perhaps should have started Gonzalez and Ricketts, yet there is no reason to believe that Leonardo and Saunders shouldn’t have been able to complete the task asked of them.

The blame lies with the players.  I was there, and I watched as Eddie Lewis dropped his head and failed to run back to cover after giving the ball away in his own end in the second half.  I was there, and watched as pass after simple pass failed to find their intended target.  I was there, and watched as Leonardo headed the ball clear up the center of the field rather than away to the sidelines.  These are mistakes no coach can take the blame for, especially when over the course of four months that same team has proven themselves capable of fixing every mistake made Tuesday night.

Now assessing blame in the All Star Game?  That is a different matter entirely.  I feel Bruce Arena made a number of poor choices which affected the outcome of the game.  The principle of which was his starting defense.

However, at this point I find it unfortunately necessary to have to place this disclaimer: Yes, I know its an exhibition that doesn’t matter in the long term.  I understand that.  But my feeling is that if you are going to, as a league, schedule a game to showcase yourself then you should take it seriously.  Not going-in-studs-up seriously but at least you should structure your team in the best possible way to be competitive.

Now back to the defense.  If you are Bruce Arena and you just rested both your best defender in Omar Gonzalez and Goalkeeper in Donovan Ricketts for the Puerto Rico match the night before, they both made the trip to Houston, and both are going to play 45 minutes on the night, why wouldn’t you play them together?  And likewise if you have Olave and Rimando both at your disposal why would you not pair them together as well for 45 minutes?

Arena instead went his own direction.  The result of which was the worst flop in Houston since Tracy McGrady.

Enough with all this analysis, this is Hatin’ From Hollywood, shouldn’t there have been a dick joke by this point?

Sinkers and Floaters:

- Worst part about Manchester United Preseason tours in warm weather?  Constant threat of catching glimpses of Sir Alex’s wrinkled bean bag due to short shorts.

- Don’t fear Tally Hall if your career as a goalkeeper doesn’t work out it looks like you have a great opportunity to work as a matador.

- Attention people that criticize LA’s attendance Tuesday night but don’t live here.  You have no idea what getting to the HDC at 7:00 on a Tuesday requires from a human being.  It’s the price we pay to live somewhere that matters in the world.

- Worst crime against eyeballs at the HDC Tuesday night was not committed on the field but in the seat next to me:

Seriously guy?  You’re gonna wear Mandals in public?  And not just Mandals but with Mandals with socks?  And not just Mandals with socks, but Mandals with black socks.  Why the black socks?  Are those your church Mandals or something? Reserved for only your finest going out affairs?  Attention “Oldies” the only acceptable sandals to be worn in public don’t have heel straps and definitely are  never to be paired with foot hosiery.

From My Twitter Stream:

-Best thing about Ching goal? After scoring it, he acts like he’s been there before. No over celebration. Class…

-Hmmmm Donovan wearing light blue against Man U? Perhaps Don Garber is trying to hint subtly to Mancini…

-You can almost hear the All Stars thinking, “Oh, this is what pressuring the ball feels like.”

-Hey Bruce if you aren’t gonna start Omar tonight, can we go back in time and start him last night?

“I’m very excited to be playing in the U.S. because the football has grown a lot in the last few years and keeps getting better,” Fernandez said. “Seattle is beautiful and I think it’s the ideal place to be with my family. All these things helped in making my decision.”

“Alvaro is a versatile player who can play in a number of midfield positions,” head coach Sigi Schmid said. “He brings good energy to the game as well as World Cup experience. He can score and also set-up others.”

Fernandez most recently played on loan at Chilean club Universidad de Chile, scoring 1 goal in 11 appearances for the club. He will be eligible to play for Seattle after receiving his international transfer certificate. Fernandez becomes the 3rd Designated Played in the clubs brief history.

As WSR’s Kevin McCauley said in his recent column “Alvaro Fernandez could become the best player in Major League Soccer. No, I’m not exaggerating or using hyperbole for the sake of hyperbole.” Click here to read the rest of the article.

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The biggest storyline to come out of this game will probably be the poor job Bruce Arena has done with multiple teams over the last 24 hours.  I would go as far to say that in the past 24 hours, Bruce Arena has thoroughly embarrassed MLS.  After last night’s CONCACAF Champions League debacle against the Puerto Rico Islanders, Arena led the MLS All-Stars to the first regulation defeat in their history.  The All-Stars allowed their first goal within a minute and allowed a second just 12 minutes into the match.  The grouping of players on the field made little sense and a couple of players on the field probably weren’t deserving of a start.  However, even more shocking than those issues were the way Bruce Arena dealt with his own players.

Over the last two games Bruce Arena has managed, his decision making with players has made little sense.  His decision to start Landon Donovan against Puerto Rico Islanders and play him for 90 minutes implies that he was taking that match very seriously.  However, Omar Gonzalez, the best central defender on the Los Angeles Galaxy, did not start that match.  Most assumed that meant Gonzalez was slated to start the MLS All-Star game, but that was not the case.  Additionally, 24 hours after playing 90 minutes, Donovan was subbed into the All-Star game, which was surprisingly physical for an exhibition, when the score was 4-1.  I felt surprised to see such ridiculous management from Arena, but isn’t this his M.O.?  Long periods of intelligent decisions followed by a few moments of “What the hell is he thinking?”  Regardless of what you think of him, Bruce Arena has made some poor decisions over the last 24 hours and has to some degree negatively affected the image of Major League Soccer.

So, let’s get to the players.  The first one we have to talk about, of course, is Kevin Alston.  Why he was in the starting lineup in the first place, I have no idea.  If anyone else does, they’re either a Revs fanboy or should quickly be admitted to the nearest mental health facility.  Besides having no concept of positioning and being fairly poor at tackling for a defender, Kevin Alston managed to give away the ball that lead to Federico Macheda’s goal inside the first minute of the match.  For reasons we will never know, he continued to play in the second half and the only positive attribute he showed throughout the game was his speed.  I’m not sure why we’re supposed to get excited about Marvell Wynne with a fro.  Sebastien Le Toux was the other MLS player who had an absolute shocker.  Besides being the man responsible for Manchester United’s second goal, Le Toux was almost responsible for the third of the night when Darren Fletcher hit the crossbar and was absolutely invisible going forward.  When the initial list of 11 All-Stars was released, the player whose omission generated the most outrage was Sebastien Le Toux.  Sadly, he did not live up to the hype.

There were a couple of positives from the Major League Soccer All-Stars.  It was very nice to see Brian Ching score in his home city.  I didn’t think Ching’s performance so far this season made him worthy of an All-Star selection, but it was great to see him put one in the back of the net and give the All-Stars some hope, even if it quickly faded.  David Ferreria of FC Dallas was probably the best player on the pitch after he came on, almost certainly the biggest positive for the All-Stars.  Sadly, his performances and FC Dallas in general have flown under the radar this season.  Ferreira’s been one of the best players in the league all season and his team deserves more attention than they get.  His delivery on set pieces and activity off the ball were very impressive and I hope they encouraged people to pay more attention to him in the second half of the season.

While the first two goals from Manchester United were the result of mistakes from the MLS All-Stars, the third and fourth goals were unstoppable and Manchester United’s young players deserve praise.  Darron Gibson’s free kick and Tom Cleverley’s incredible skill were the highlights of the night for sure and showcase the ridiculous depth that Manchester United have.  When everyone is healthy, Gibson and Cleverley probably aren’t among the 23 best players on Manchester United.  When players with that kind of skill are your reserves, your depth is astounding.

The coolest part of the night, for me, was the reception that Javier Hernandez got when he entered the game, then when he scored his goal.  Was it offside?  Yes, probably, but it’s an exhibition and I’m happy that a young player got to score a goal on his debut in front of a crowd that loves him.  It will be interesting to see how Chicharito’s talents translate to the English Premier League this season.  My guess is that he will have a difficult time adjusting to the style of play, but let’s be honest, that’s kind of a tired cliche.  I’m no Man United or Mexico supporter, but I think it’s good for football in this region if Hernandez does well, and by all accounts he’s a great kid.  It was a cool moment for him, and I hope he has more.

Inevitably, the discussion that is going to stem from this game is “Are these games stupid?”  I’ll let one of my colleagues at World Soccer Reader answer that question, or Yahoo! Answers.  This game was certainly disappointing for MLS fans and was certainly a major disruption from competitive fixtures.  Right now, I’m a little too annoyed to answer that question objectively, but the question I can answer was whether or not this particular All-Star game was stupid.  The answer, of course, is yes.

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Last night, Toronto FC and the Los Angeles Galaxy played the home legs of their preliminary round fixtures in the CONCACAF Champions League.  One team took their game seriously and matched the effort of their opponents.  The other did not.  Surprisingly, at least to me, was which team brought their best and which team did not.  Toronto FC are on the fringes of an MLS playoff spot and I don’t think that they would have been criticized too harshly if Preki said that he felt he had to rest his stars for a more important competition.  LA Galaxy, on the other hand, can very easily coast to the MLS Cup playoffs.  They sit six points clear of Columbus for the Supporter’s Shield, nine points clear of Real Salt Lake for the top seed in the west, and a whopping 17 points clear of the eighth and final playoff spot with 12 games left to play.  Los Angeles have no reason to prioritize the league over CONCACAF Champions League, but that’s exactly what they did last night.

Yes, Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle started for Los Angeles.  Yes, Puerto Rico Islanders keeper Bill Gaudette was good last night.  It doesn’t change the fact that Omar Gonzalez and Donovan Ricketts were rested and everyone other than Landon Donovan appeared to show minimal heart.  The likes of the aforementioned Buddle, Juninho, Alan Gordan, and Chris Birchall didn’t look like the players we see week in,  week out in MLS play.  They looked lethargic.  They looked like it was just a run out, not a competitive fixture.  Backup keeper Josh Saunders had a shocker.  LA got downright embarrassed in front of a downright embarrassing crowd, and they managed to do so with their best two attacking players on the pitch.

With LA having virtually nothing to play for in the league, Omar Gonzalez and Donovan Ricketts should have been on that field last night.  We know they’re healthy, they were both available off the bench last night.  Los Angeles should have promoted this game to their supporters as important, they should have played a first choice XI, and they should have rested all of their stars against Chicago on the weekend if necessary, simply because they can afford to mail in games in league play.  LA has built up such a massive lead that they could have rested most of their star players in the league for the remainder of the year and still had a fantastic shot a league and continental double.  Now LA have dug themselves such a massive hole that they are likely to be bounced out of Champions League without putting up much of a fight.  Thanks to LA, all of the momentum that MLS gained from the Thierry Henry signing and the friendly defeats of Manchester United and Manchester City have been quickly stopped by the massive brick walls that are Bruce Arena, Bill Gaudette, and Josh Saunders.

Thankfully, one MLS team that played last night gave a damn.  Toronto FC were only able to defeat Motagua of Honduras 1-0 at BMO Field, leaving a tricky away leg, but they put everything they had into that game.  Both Dwayne De Rosario and Julian De Guzman were spotted literally everywhere between the 18 yard boxes for 90 minutes.  Preki brought Bastos and Mista off the bench when he felt he needed another goal.  Toronto could have easily said that qualifying for the playoffs domestically was their priority, but they came out like the game meant something to them and they should be applauded for it.

Toronto may not be the only MLS team that takes the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary stages seriously.  Seattle Sounders play tonight, and we have every reason to believe they’ll want to make some noise in this competition.  After all, they’re the only MLS team that takes the U.S. Open Cup completely seriously.  Even if they haven’t played first choice starting XIs in all of their games in that competition, they’re at least willing to bring the big boys off the bench if they’re in trouble.  I expect to see Seattle throw everything they have at this game, and if they don’t, they deserve to be scolded.  I don’t know about you guys, but I’m very sick of MLS being referred to as Mickey Mouse and Mexico’s bitch.  I think a healthy, first choice Los Angeles side could give the likes of Cruz Azul and Santos Laguna a run for their money, and it’s a shame they had no desire to find out if that’s true.  Seattle hasn’t been their best in the league, but maybe they can be our hope in CONCACAF Champions League, especially if the rumors of them adding Uruguayan international Alvaro Fernandez are true.

Speaking of Alvaro Fernandez, I watched Universidiad de Chile play Chivas de Guadalajara to a 1-1 draw last night in Copa Libertadores.  After watching La U’s performances earlier in the competition, I was surprised by their lack of a fast counter-attack.  I then realized how much of their counter-attacking went through Alvaro Fernandez, whose loan at La U has expired.  Fernandez is widely believed to be close to signing with the Seattle Sounders, a move which would be contingent on Freddie Ljungberg either being sold or traded.  After watching the massive difference in La U’s play with him and without him, I realized what an important player he was to their side in Copa Libertadores.  It was already a big deal for MLS to sign a 24 year old full international who had appeared in a World Cup, but last night I realized how potentially massive this signing could be.  Alvaro Fernandez could become the best player in Major League Soccer.  No, I’m not exaggerating or using hyperbole for the sake of hyperbole.  The noticeable drop-off in La U’s ability to counter down the right side and quickly get the ball from a defender who won a tackle to the strikers without using a long ball was staggering.  Seattle Sounders supporters shouldn’t be the least bit disappointed about exchanging Freddie Ljungberg for Alvaro Fernandez.