Recent MLS moves

DC United has been the busiest of MLS franchises this winter adding 5 South American players to their roster for the upcoming season.  FC Dallas made a splash signing Mexican internarnational defender Duilio Davino.  Chivas USA was happy to welcome back star goaltender Brad Guzan when he was denied a work permit for the EPL and Kansas Cirty lost speedy forward Eddie Johnson to Fulham in England.

DC United busy in the offseason
Argentine midfielder Marcelo Gallardo signed with D.C. United on Monday, the biggest of five South American additions to the club within the past week.  The team also added Peruvian goalkeeper Jose Carvallo and Argentine defender Gonzalo Peralta on Monday as the team held its first preseason practice. Gallardo played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. The 32-year-old will fill the central playmaker's role previously held by 2006 MLS MVP Christian Gomez. United are expected to trade Gomez. Gallardo recently left French club Paris Saint Germain, where he was unhappy with his playing time. The 21-year-old Carvallo was playing with Universitario de Deportes in Peru's first division, while the 27-year-old Peralta was with Club Almirante Brown in Argentina's second division Carvallo has a U.S. green card so he will not count as an international player. Peralta is awaiting a work visa. Last week, United signed signing Colombian defender Gonzalo Martinez and obtained Argentine forward Franco Niell on a one-year loan from the Argentinos Junior club.

Brad Guzan returns to Chivas USA after work permit denied in England
Chivas USA announced Thursday that 2007 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Brad Guzan will return to the club for the 2008 season. The 23-year-old U.S. international had been set to join English Premier League club Aston Villa in a record transfer for an MLS goalkeeper, but Guzan's British work permit application was denied. 

Brad is a world-class goalkeeper who has attracted the interest of some of the world's best clubs, and Chivas USA is happy to have him back for another season," said Chivas coach Preki. "Although we share in his disappointment at the denial of his British work permit, we know that Brad, like the true professional he is, will continue to work hard to improve every day on and off the field with Chivas USA."

Guzan was selected by Chivas USA with its first pick in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft (No. 2 overall) out of the University of South Carolina, prior to the club's first season as an expansion team in Major League Soccer. In 2007, Guzan recorded 13 clean sheets for a Chivas USA side that finished first in MLS's Western Conference.

Philly unveils stadium package to lure MLS
Gov. Ed Rendell unveiled a $47 million state funding package Thursday to aid in the construction of a soccer stadium in this Philadelphia suburb, the latest step in an effort to attract a Major League Soccer franchise.  Rendell and state Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, announced the aid package a short distance from the the hilly, barren land that would be transformed by the $414 million project named "Rivertown." In addition to the stadium, the plan calls for offices, stores and housing in the struggling waterfront city.

"I guarantee that Chester will be one of the first class cities in Pennsylvania," Rendell said.

In the package, $25 million would go toward the stadium and is contingent on MLS awarding a franchise. That money, combined with $30 million committed by Delaware County and the city of Chester, would go toward a planned 18,500-seat stadium on the banks of the Delaware River.