Former Chivas USA Coach Preki to coach Toronto FC

Preki, the only player to be twice named Major League Soccer's most valuable player and to twice win the league scoring title, today was named coach of Toronto FC.

The move reunites the former Chivas USA mentor with Mo Johnston, Toronto's director of soccer. Preki and Johnston played together with the Kansas City Wizards and, before that, for Everton in the English Premier League.

Preki, 46, spent three years as coach of Chivas USA, taking the team to the MLS playoffs each season but failing to advance beyond the first round. He and the team parted company "by mutual agreement" last week.

"Preki has everything we are looking for, and we feel he will be a perfect fit with our club," Johnston said. "I think as a coach he is going to bring stability, discipline and his work ethic."

Preki has a 40-29-21 regular-season record as an MLS coach and an 0-3-3 mark in the playoffs. He was named the league's coach of the year in 2007. He signed a three-year contract with Toronto, financial details of which were not announced.

Chivas USA parts ways with Coach Preki

Four days after being eliminated in the first round of the Major League Soccer playoffs for the fourth year in a row, Chivas USA this afternoon parted company with Coach Preki "by mutual agreement."

The 46-year-old former MLS and U.S. national team standout said he was leaving to pursue other coaching opportunities. His contract with Chivas was due to expire at the end of the year.

"In my time here I have grown as a coach," Preki said, "and I am proud of our accomplishments. I will always have good memories of my time with Chivas USA."

He met with the players earlier today and told them of his decision.

Preki served as an assistant coach under Bob Bradley in 2006 and then took charge of the Chivas team on Jan. 17, 2007, after Bradley left to become U.S. national team coach. In his three seasons, Preki compiled a 40-29-21 record in the regular season and a 0-3-3 record in the playoffs.

"Preki has brought a great deal of success to this team and is an important part of our history," Steve Hamilton, the club's vice president of soccer operations, said in a statement released by the team. "His dedication and expertise have led us to the playoffs in each of his seasons here, and we owe him our thanks for all he has given the club."

Although there was no immediate indication of where Preki might go, there was a possibility that he could rejoin Bradley on the national team, especially since one of Bradley's assistants, Peter Nowak, left earlier this year to become coach of the Philadelphia Union, which begins MLS play next season.

Also, D.C. United has parted ways with Tom Soehn, so there is an opening there, and a number of other MLS clubs are believed to be considering coaching changes.

Chivas USA has not indicated when it will name a replacement, or who that replacement might be.

--Grahame L. Jones

Bob Bradley selects U.S. soccer roster for Slovakia and Denmark games

Bob Bradley, coach of the U.S. national soccer team, today named a roster of 22 players for friendly games in Europe against two teams that also have qualified for next year's World Cup in South Africa.

The United States will play Slovakia in Bratislava on Nov. 14 (7 a.m. PST on FSC and Galavision) and Denmark in Aarhus on Nov. 18. The latter game will be the Americans' 24th and final game of 2009.

Because the Galaxy, the Houston Dynamo, Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Fire are still involved in the Major League Soccer playoffs, the roster does not include players from those teams. It does, however, include a few surprises, most notably 2009's MLS leading goal scorer Jeff Cunningham of FC Dallas. Cunningham has not played for the national team since 2005.

Other noteworthy changes include the return of veteran goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann to the squad, as the backup to probable starter Brad Guzan, and the first call-up of FC Dallas midfielder Dax McCarty. Two Chivas USA players, Sacha Kljestan and Jonathan Bornstein, are on the roster, which features 12 European-based players and 10 from MLS.

The full roster:

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann and Troy Perkins.

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Jonathan Bornstein, Steve Cherundolo, Jimmy Conrad, Clarence Goodson, Frankie Hejduk, Chad Marshall, Heath Pearce and Jonathan Spector.

Midfielders: Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Benny Feilhaber, Sacha Kljestan, Dax McCarty and Robbie Rogers.

Forwards: Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Jeff Cunningham and Eddie Johnson.

-- Grahame L. Jones

Photo: Bob Bradley, right, watches from the sidelines during a World Cup qualifying match between the United States and Costa Rica on Oct. 14. Credit: Win McNamee / Getty Images

Chivas USA's Zach Thornton named MLS goalkeeper of the year

Zach Thornton, whose play in the nets was largely responsible for Chivas USA reaching Major League Soccer's playoffs for the fourth season in a row, today was named the league's goalkeeper of the year for a second time.

Thornton, 36, compiled an MLS-best 0.87 goals-against average in 2009, the second-lowest in league history. He also won the award in 1998 while helping the Chicago Fire win both the U.S. Open Cup and the MLS title.

"I'm very proud," he said. "To wait this long and to have gone through what I've been through and to be able to win the award again is outstanding."

Wednesday's poll: Which is your favorite local sports team?

There are a lot to choose from, and most are fans of more than one local team, but if you had to choose only one team to follow, who would you choose? Vote now and let your voice be heard, then leave a comment letting us know why you voted the way you did.

-- Houston Mitchell

Major League Soccer announces its playoff schedule

Major League Soccer today released its playoff schedule, with the league's top eight teams beginning  competition Thursday. The playoffs culminate with MLS Cup 2009 on Nov. 22 in Seattle.

The full schedule (all times Pacific):

Thursday

Houston Dynamo at Seattle Sounders ( 7 p.m., ESPN2, ESPN Deportes)

Saturday

Chicago Fire at New England Revolution (1 p.m., FSC, FSE)

Columbus Crew at Real Salt Lake (3 p.m., regional)

Sunday

Galaxy at Chivas USA (2 p.m., ESPN2, ESPN Deportes)

Weekend's television soccer fare is worth a squint

Now that the 2010 World Cup qualifiers are out of the way for a month, it's back to the club teams, and there are several matches this weekend that, as the saying goes, are worth a squint.

SATURDAY

Aston Villa vs Chelsea (4:30 a.m. Pacific, ESPN2)

It's going to take a really dedicated fan at this hour, but the game offers the chance to see if one of Villa's two Americans goalkeepers, Brad Friedel or Brad Guzan, can thwart the Blues.

Hamburg vs Bayer Leverkusen (9:30 a.m., GOL TV)

Germany's top two, both unbeaten with 6-0-2 records, try to sort out who rules the Bundesliga roost for the next week or so.

Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein gets invitation from Honduras' leader

Jonathan Bornstein's dramatic last-minute goal for the U.S. against Costa Rica on Wednesday night has earned the Chivas USA defender an invitation from the de facto president of Honduras to visit the Central American country as an honored guest.

After declaring today a national holiday in celebration of Honduras qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Roberto Micheletti said Bornstein would not even need a visa to visit.

"We'll bring this gringuito who scored on the header," Micheletti told reporters in Tegucigalpa, the capital. "He doesn't need a visa to come here to Honduras. We'll thank him."

Micheletti said he would take Bornstein on a free trip to the Islas de la Bahia (Bay Islands) in recognition of his goal, which not only earned the U.S. a 2-2 tie at RFK Stadium in Washington but also secured Honduras its first World Cup place in 27 years, at the expense of Costa Rica, which was only seconds away from qualifying.

No word on what the president of Costa Rica has in mind for Bornstein.

-- Grahame L. Jones

Photo: Jonathan Bornstein celebrates after scoring the tying goal in USA's World Cup qualifying victory over Costa Rica on Wednesday. Credit: Win McNamee / Getty Images

Missing one magician, Mexico turns to another

The man who for so long has pulled the strings for Mexico, the puppet master supreme, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, is likely to miss Saturday's crucial World Cup qualifying match against El Salvador at Azteca Stadium.

Blanco suffered a pulled hamstring while playing for the Chicago Fire against the Columbus Crew on Sept. 20 and, while he has been working hard to recover in Mexico City, he is not believed to be 100% fit and likely will not play.

Mexico Coach Javier Aguirre has turned to a former Major League Soccer favorite, Francisco "Paco" Palencia, to fill the void. The ponytailed Palencia, who sported blue fingernails and a rock star persona during his time with Chivas USA, now plays for the UNAM Pumas in the Mexican league. His inventiveness and unpredictability make him the perfect replacement.

Soccer was Palencia's thing. Heavy metal was his other thing. He's 37 now and still rocking.

Meanwhile, Blanco recently drew exceptional praise from a rare quarter. Galaxy and former U.S. national team coach Bruce Arena said he would have absolutely no hesitation in taking Blanco to South Africa if he were Mexico's coach and El Tri qualifies for the World Cup, as expected.

Latest U.S. World Cup qualifying roster ignores MLS top goal scorer

Coach Bob Bradley has unveiled the 22-player roster he will employ in the final two U.S. qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa -- away to Honduras on Oct. 10 and against Costa Rica in Washington on Oct. 14.

There are few, if any, surprises, but there is one notable name absent from the list, probably with good reason but absent nonetheless.

FC Dallas forward Jeff Cunningham (pictured at left after scoring last month against the Galaxy) has been on a tear this MLS season. On Wednesday night, in an upset win over D.C. United, Cunningham scored his league-high 16th goal. That's one more than the Colorado Rapids' Conor Casey, who is on the roster, and six more than the Galaxy's Landon Donovan, last season's top MLS goal scorer.

No one is suggesting that Cunningham, 33, replace either in the American squad, but if Bradley could call up the powerful but ponderous Kenny Cooper, why not give a nod of recognition to Cunningham, who has speed to match that of Charlie Davies and is obviously red hot at the moment?