XAVI TO MLS?

A source close to the Major League Soccer has denied the speculations that the Barcelona superstar Xavi is going to make his way to USA at some point of time this year.

There have been a lot of talks in America in the last 10 days or so regarding the arrival of Xavi. These talks started when the news got flashed that Xavi’s agent is going to attend the MLS combine.

But, according to that source, MLS has actually invited the agents of various Spanish and other players for the combine so that the league becomes popular all over the world. It’s not that Xavi’s agent has received a specific invitation.

Talking to the reporters, that source said, “The agents of a large number of top quality Spanish players have come here, but, not with the purpose of interacting with a particular club. They are just here to attend the combine.”

The popularity of Major League Soccer has definitely increased in the recent times, but, it is still not as popular as some of the other football leagues going around. Organizing the MLS Combine is believed to be a step taken to make the league more known around the globe.

Quite a few big names have played in MLS in the last few years. One of those names is Thierry Henry and it’s him who was reported to be trying to convince Xavi to make a move to USA.

Xavi who is a veteran now has spent his entire career playing in Spain, but, because of the fact that he is getting towards the end of his career now, he might not get a long contract extension at his current club Barca and that might force him to consider a move to other countries.

STILL HOPE

The manager of the New York Red Bulls, Mike Petke, reckons that there is still a lot of football left in the veteran striker Thierry Henry and he will play a vital part for his team during the next MLS season.

The MLS season 2013 which has recently finished was fantastic for the Red Bulls. They won 17 out of their 34 games and ended up topping the Eastern Conference Points Table.

The Red Bulls were given the Supporters’ Shield at the end of the season as they were the team which had secured the maximum no. of points in the league. They had secured a total of 59 points which was two more than the Points tally of the Western Conference’s Portland Timbers.

Just like the 2012 season, Henry was the stand out performer for the Red Bulls in this season as well. He found the back of the net 10 times and apart from that, he also set up 9 goals.

Also, unlike the last few seasons, Henry maintained his fitness during the 2013 season and made 30 league appearances for the Red Bulls.

When asked about Henry, Petke said, “He is the skipper of our side and I think he is currently the greatest player taking part in the MLS. Till the time he leaves, he is going to be our main player.”

In total, Henry has played 92 MLS matches for the Red Bulls and has scored 41 goals.

Meanwhile, when asked about his team winning the Supporters Shield, Petke said, “We are proud of that achievement. We played like a champion side throughout the league.”

Petke also made it clear that during the off season, he will look to sign a quality midfielder who can play in an attacking role.