Welcome back to Footy Fix, delivering you the best news and stories in the world of American soccer!
This week, we got more juicy stories— such as former USMNT and MLS players coming out of retirement, Bay FC’s coaching staff being investigated, a new soccer stadium in Cleveland, and much more.
Plus, Geoff Cameron called out bad attitude and cockiness from young players he saw in Cincinnati. So let’s dive in!
This week’s stories
Former USMNT and MLS players will play for Des Moines Menace in the U.S. Open Cup.
Bay FC coaching staff being investigated by NWSL for toxic culture and bullying.
Inter Miami defender Noah Allen speaks about switching to Greece from the U.S.
USMNT legends Landon Donovan and Tim Howard called out New England Revolution’s poor attendance.
Sergiño Dest talks about returning to playing after 11 months.
Taty Castellanos touches on the gap in quality between MLS and Europe.
Sporting Kansas City have lost 10 games in a row.
Cleveland unveiled updated plans on new soccer stadium.
Geoff Cameron calls out bad attitude and cockiness from young players at Cincinnati.
Sacha Kljestan Join Former Pros in Des Moines Menace Comeback Tour
USL League Two club Des Moines Menace released their home and away kits for this year, and they’re absolutely sick 🔥
What’s even more sick is they got former USMNT and MLS players coming out of retirement to play for them in the U.S. Open Cup 👀 Former USMNT players Sacha Kljestan, Dax McCarty, Benny Feilhaber, and Matt Hedges— alongside former MLS players Bradley Wright Phillips, Justin Meram, Ozzie Alonso, Víctor Ulloa, and A.J. DeLaGarza will all suit up for the Menace as they hunt for a trophy 🏆
They take on Sporting Kansas City II on March 19th.
Feilhaber was actually coaching Sporting Kansas City II from 2022 to 2024, so he will be playing against the players he coached just last year in a competitive game.
Kljestan also came out of retirement briefly last year to play for Menace, captaining them to beat Capo in the first round but they lost to Union Omaha in the second round.
NWSL Launches Investigation Into Bay FC Coaching Staff
A year ago, Bay FC kicked off their inaugural season in NWSL and it was a really exciting time. But not all is well.
Last week, NWSL launched investigation into Bay FC coaching staff after complaints of toxic culture and bullying. The complaints seem to be over head coach Albertín Montoya, a Cuban-American coach who doesn’t have much experience in coaching professional soccer.
Four former employees and two former players specially told newspaper San Francisco Chronicle that they left the team because of Montoya.
Additionally, three players left after requesting trades, two retired instead of returning, and one left through free agency.
Just a year later they kicked off, eight players are no longer with the team from that original 2024 squad.
Before NWSL launched investigation, Bay FC also investigated after receiving a complaint about Montoya, but they said they found no wrongdoing.
Former USWNT players Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner are founding board members of Bay FC, with Wagner also serving as a co-chairperson.
Inter Miami’s Noah Allen Chooses Greece Over USMNT in International Switch
Noah Allen recently filed a one-time switch from the U.S. to Greece and he spoke about it to reporters 🇬🇷🗣️
“Obviously I was cap-tied to the U.S. I was going with them. But there’s been no communication since then [the last time he got a U.S. U-20 call up],” Allen said.
“Greece is very fond of me. They’re close to my heart as well. My mother is very Greek, my grandfather was born there.”
“It’s something talked about since I was young. Growing up, U.S. soccer wasn’t as big back then, but Greek soccer was. It was kinda close to home, so it was always a dream when I was younger.”
“So it’s pretty cool now that there are discussions and stuff.”
“Do I speak Greek? Barely, but I’m learning. I have to learn now [laughs].”
“I’ve been there when I was younger but now I don’t have much time to go.”
“Do I have a team I like in Greece? In the city my family is from, there is PAOK. They’re in the Europa League I think.”
Now 20 and capable of playing both as a left-back and center-back, Allen has earned a starting position at Inter Miami.
Landon Donovan and Tim Howard Sound off on New England Revolution’s Woes
USMNT legends Landon Donovan and Tim Howard called out New England Revolution’s poor attendance on their podcast Unfiltered Soccer 🗣️
“If you watched the Columbus - New England game, it looked like a preseason game in the middle of nowhere. There might’ve been 200 people on one side of the stadium,” Donovan said.
“It’s not good. The team is poor, they look all out of sorts and when you see what’s going on in the stadium, I don’t know what’s going on.”
Howard then chimed in.
“They announced the attendance and I’m using air quotes. ‘22,000.’ But you saw what I saw,” Howard said.
“You read things online that it’s cold. You know where else is cold? Buffalo. You ever heard of Buffalo Bills? Let me tell you something, show me a football fan in the world, you can’t stop them from going to their team’s home opener.”
“That’s one game they’re so desperate for all season. So New England fans who live in that weather are gonna say it’s because of the tempts?”
“I looked at it and I remembered MLS 1.0 because I was a product of that. I was with the MetroStars playing at the old Giants Stadium. It looked exactly like that.”
Donovan understands the ownership needs to do better to bring in fans.
“There’s nuance to this. Robert Kraft along with Phil Anschutz and the Hunt family kept Major League Soccer afloat for a long time and they deserve credit for that,” Donovan said.
“But now we are 30 years in and the stadium is an hour from downtown, there’s nobody there. They’re playing on turf, they don’t spend on the team. It’s just a nightmare.”
“By the way, you had a really damn good coach [Bruce Arena] who started to turn things around. You didn’t stand by him in a tough situation and he ended up being let go. It’s just a mess.”
Sergiño Dest is back
Sergiño Dest spoke after his long awaited return 🗣️
“The fans were already clapping when I was warming up. When I came in, I felt goosebumps,” he said after the game.
“It’s been a difficult period. But this is just part of my career. I’m going to remember this, but it’s a mental learning process. Now I’m back and looking forward.”
After 11 months since his ACL injury, the USMNT defender returned to action during the weekend.
He came in at 67th minute for Richard Ledezma, who was also his teammate for the U.S. in the 2019 U-20 World Cup.
Taty Castellanos on MLS vs. Europe: The Key Differences in Level
Valentín “Taty” Castellanos, former NYCFC striker who now plays for Lazio, spoke about his transition from MLS to Europe 🗣️
“Soccer in MLS is much lower than in much of Europe, but there are players who stand out,” Taty said in an interview with DSports.
“I noticed the jump from NYCFC to Girona, but I was prepared. I got into it fully and physically well, which helped me.”
Taty was with NYCFC from 2018 to 2022, scoring 58 goals in 124 games. He won the MLS Golden Boot in 2021, as well as the MLS Cup.
The Argentine joined La Liga side Girona on a season-long loan in 2022, where he scored 14 goals in 37 games— including scoring four goals in the game against Real Madrid.
Taty became the first player since 1947 to score four goals in a single game against Real Madrid in La Liga.
In 2023, he moved to Serie A side Lazio for a reported €15 million fee. The forward has 18 goals in 76 games so far. His form led to a call-up to Argentina.
Sporting Kansas City’s Struggles: Is It Time for a Change?
From September 21 to March 9, Sporting Kansas City played 10 games. They’ve lost every single one of them 😳
Although they reached the U.S. Open Cup final last season, they failed to qualify to the MLS Cup playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
Peter Vermes has been the head coach since 2009 and has a contract until the end of 2028. He’s won one MLS Cup and three U.S. Open Cups in 16 years.
But it seems like the magic has run out.
Is it time for him to go and a new chapter to begin at Children's Mercy Park? 👀
Cleveland’s New Soccer Stadium: What We Know About the $50M Project
Last week, Cleveland Soccer Group unveiled updated stadium renderings.
If approved, the $50 million stadium will be built in the downtown Cleveland area, with initial capacity of 10,000 seats. It can be expandable to 20,000 in future phases.
The stadium will be home to men’s and women’s professional soccer teams. Cleveland landed an MLS NEXT PRO team and despite unsuccessful NWSL bid, they announced they have also secured a women’s professional team.
It’s an exciting time to be a soccer fan in Cleveland. Other cities in Ohio such as Columbus and Cincinnati already have modern soccer stadiums and professional teams, now it’s Cleveland’s turn.
Geoff Cameron Calls Out Cincinnati’s Young Players for Bad Attitude
Former USMNT defender Geoff Cameron called out bad attitude and cockiness from young players he saw at FC Cincinnati 😳
“I’ll never forget it. I come back from England, I’m at Cincinnati and this young kid comes into the dressing room,” Cameron said on The Ground Training Club instagram page.
“He walks around saying good morning and he’s like nonchalant, like put his hands out [Cameron gestures the looking away motion with his head]. Like he’s too cool to say good morning to the staff.”
“These young kids are like ‘Hey! I want three pairs of socks.’ Not like ‘Hey, can I get a couple of socks please?’. And [they don’t say] thank you.”
“And he walks around like he’s the big shot. You’d think he played like 200 games in MLS and you’re like, who are you?”
“He comes in and you see him at training, he’s just standing around. Not helping out with the gear after. The first one off the pitch.”
“You have great ability, but your work ethic is sh*t. Change your mindset, change your attitude.”
“If you change your attitude and your application in training session, your coaches will see it. But you care more about your style when you’re walking into a stadium and you’re not even dressing for the 18.”
Cameron turned professional with Houston Dynamo, and was signed by Stoke City after four years. He spent a nine years in England— six years in the Premier League with Stoke and three years in the Championship with QPR.
The defender then came back to MLS in 2021 with Cincinnati and retired in 2023. After a long time playing at a top level, he was disappointed to see how young players were behaving in MLS.
Cameron played 55 games for the USMNT, including games in the 2014 World Cup. Since retirement, he teamed up with Brek Shea to start The Ground Training Club— which brings professional training facilities and informed training to the U.S. communities.
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