Laurent Merlin Joins Chivas

Laurent Merlin, the French forward who briefly survived the tryouts held by the Los Angeles Galaxy in February, has officially joined Galaxy rivals Chivas USA after training with the club for more than one month. With his signing, Chivas USA now has five strikers on the roster, including rookie standout Maykel Galindo and veteran Ante Razov.


Merlin will be able to play in Saturday's game against Houston, pending the approval of a work visa. He is a native of Marseille, France.

Jeff Cunningham Named Player Of The Week

Real Salt Lake's Jeff Cunningham has been named MLS Player of the Week for Week 1. He scored both of his team's goals in a two-all tie against FC Dallas.

Cunningham has been named Player of the Week nine times in his career, tied for the most-ever with the L.A. Galaxy's Cobi Jones. He was also the Golden Boot for last season, when he scored 16 goals over the course of the year, most in the league.

TJ's take: I didn't get to see any of the FCD-RSL game, but my player of the week would be Sacha Kljestan. The kid had a beautiful goal (his first goal ever) and an assist in Chivas USA's impressive defeat of Toronto FC.

Ronnie O'Brien To Miss Season's First Month

Toronto FC midfielder Ronnie O'Brien, obtained from FC Dallas in the offseason, will miss no less than the first month of the season after partially tearing a ligament in his right knee. O'Brien had perhaps his team's best performance during last week's Carolina Challenge Cup and had emerged as the squad's top midfielder before his injury.

In his absense, new signing Carl Robinson will have an increased role in TFC's midfield. Robinson broke off his contract with English club Norwich City two years early to join Toronto, and has been getting rave reviews in the pre-season. Head coach Mo Johnston says other coaches have already crowned Robinson the best midfielder in the league and calls him "a tremendous player." Says Robinson, "I'm quite happy to play under pressure because it brings out the best in me."

Toronto will open their first season this Saturday on the road against Chivas USA.

FSC To Debut New Soccer Tools

Fox Soccer Channel's telecasts of "MLS Saturday on FSC" will be featuring some new tools for U.S. viewers. Thanks to TrackVision's play analysis and revolutionary virtual tracking capabilities, soccer fans "will be able to gauge ball velocity and see dynamic virtual offside lines on their screen for controversial plays. In addition, Fox Scocer Channel's coverage will spotlight the 10-yard circule between the ball and the defensive wall during free kicks, as well as measure the distance of the ball from the goal. In total, 'MLS Saturday on FSC' will be shot using a combination of 13 cameras for on-site coverage."

The first edition of "MLS Saturday on FSC" will feature the Chivas USA vs. Toronto FC game this Saturday, airing at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

2007 Preview - Chivas USA

2006 record: 10-9-13 - 43 pts (3rd in West)
-- Lost to Houston in MLS Cup quarterfinals.

Key additions: Amado Guevara (Red Bull New York)
Key losses: Juan Francisco Palencia (UNAM Pumas), Juan Pablo Garcia (Tigres), Bob Bradley (USMNT)

Rebounding from being the worst team in MLS in 2005, Chivas USA finished a respectable third in the Western Conference in 2006, behind strong play from rookies Jonathan Bornstein and Sacha Kljestan and veteran striker Ante Razov. Joining them for the '07 campaign is former MVP Amado Guevara, swapped from Red Bull New York for Chivas' DP slot. The Honduran midfielder ended the 2006 regular season with a hat trick that sent his team into the playoffs and could regain his MVP-form

Despite his addition, the team will have to make up for the loss of Juan Pablo Garcia and Juan Francisco Palencia, who both opted to go back to Mexico to gain more national team exposure.

Even greater than the loss of those two, Chivas USA begins 2007 with a new head coach, Preki, as former head coach Bob Bradley is currently doing a bang-up job with the U.S. Men's National Team. There is a solid core of key players on the squad, but with an aging Claudio Suarez (38) anchoring the defense, keeper Brad Guzan will be tested often and will also have to fend off Preston Burpo for his starting spot.

On the bright side, people are already mentioning John Cunliffe as a potential rookie-of-the-year candidate, an honor won by Chivas' Bornstein last year.

TJ's projected finish: 4th in Western Conference, 6th overall.

Q&A Time

Okay, it's time I started answering reader questions (or at least trying to). If you have a question regarding the MLS or U.S. Soccer, send it to LA.Galaxy.2006@gmail.com and I'll take the best ones and post the replies on The MLS Zone. I'm gonna try to do this feature about once a week, so we'll see how it goes.


Marty asks: "What happened to John O'Brien?"
TJ says: John O'Brien, perhaps the brightest shining star for the U.S. in the '02 World Cup, has been hampered by patellar tendonitis since June and has also suffered various other injuries. He came to Chivas USA last year and made a reported $270,000, according to the Washington Post. Unfortunately, his injuries limited him to five, yes FIVE, minutes of playing time all year.

This year, Chivas USA has decided not to pick up the club's option on him and he is free to join any club outside MLS. If another MLS club wants to acquire him, they would have to trade for his rights.

Currently, he is un-attached to a club, but Chivas USA still owns his rights. At this point, it appears O'Brien is focusing on full recovery (if it is ever bound to happen) and not putting a timetable on his return. I think he set himself back a few months when he tried to play hurt in the '06 World Cup.

It's too bad about O'Brien - he truly was one of the best American players in recent years. He played the second half of the Czech Republic game in the 2006 World Cup, which still boggles the mind. How Bruce Arena could see him as the best option at a time when he hadn't played for several months before I'll never know. Almost a year later, he's no closer to getting back on the pitch. But if O'Brien ever does get healthy again, I'd expect him to head to Red Bull New York to team up with Arena one more time.

Bornstein Injured

Upcoming U.S. National team and Chivas USA defender Jonathan Bornstein has suffered a partial tear of his left MCL and is expected to miss six weeks. That means he won't be a part of the USMNT's games against Ecuador and Guatemala next month and his status is in question for the Chivas season opener against Toronto FC, scheduled for April 7th. His injury occurred during practice on Thursday.

Bornstein, 22, was the MLS Gatorade Rookie of the Year last year, registering 6 goals and 4 assists. He made his debut for the USMNT last month vs. Denmark, scoring the second goal in a 3-1 U.S. victory. He also played all 90 minutes of the U.S. win over Mexico earlier this month.