The U.S. Soccer Federation announced plans to submit a simultaneous bid to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups (ASN, Jan. 29, 2009).

When Major League Soccer announced it would take an unprecedented break for the World Cup this year, it was seen as an attempt to curry favor with FIFA. But U.S. hopes to host the 2018 event were dealt a blow last week when FIFA president Sepp Blatter said a deal was being negotiated with “only a European candidate.” Earlier this month USA Bid Committee chairman and U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati announced the list of candidate cities. Curiously, neither Chicago or Northern California made the list.

Sydney Leroux scored her tournament-leading sixth goal in the 87th minute to give the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team a 1-0 victory against Mexico and the title at the 2010 CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championships.

ASN's USWNT has more.

Two weeks ago last Thursday, on the eve of the Women's Professional Soccer draft, Chicago Red Stars’ front office staff were running around like their hair was on fire in a desperate attempt to acquire a replacement for starting goalkeeper Caroline Jönsson. The resulting trade of team captain Lindsay Tarpley to St. Louis Athletica in exchange for their backup goalkeeper, Jillian Loyden, stunned the WPS world and left Red Stars fans aged eight to 80 crying into their pillows that evening. In keeping with the WPS’ Corleone rules for dealing with the press (“Never let anyone outside the family know what you’re thinking!”), the Red Stars remained tight-lipped about the trade at the time.

Further details have been shed on the situation, however. Read on here.

The New York Red Bulls announced today, Jan. 29, that it had sold its top spot in the allocation order to the Philadelphia Union. The newest Major League Soccer franchise used the spot on U-23 U.S. National Team defender Michael Orozco, who will join the Union on a loan deal Mexican First Division team San Luis FC. The Red Bulls get Philadelphia’s spot, the sixth in the allocation order.

New York fans should head over to ASN’s Red Bulls site to complain discuss.

Union fans can gloat over at the ASN Philly page.

After several weeks of negotiations with a potential new ownership group fell through at the last minute, Women’s Professional Soccer discontinued operations of the Los Angeles Sol on Thursday. The rights to the 19 players currently held by the Sol will be dispersed during a special draft for the league’s eight franchises on Thursday, February 4 and will be announced later that day.

Details on the dispersal draft and more on our WPS page.

As cash-strapped as Everton may be, it's pretty clear Landon Donovan has been making an impression on the Merseyside squad and its supporters. Donovan nabbed his first goal yesterday vs. Sunderland and possibly push further ahead the brewing intentions of the Everton front office to keep him at Goodison Park permanently. What will that mean for the Galaxy? Time to go after a big fish with the beaucoup bucks you'll be getting for Donovan (especially since he signed that fat four-year contract several weeks ago). It seems to me that the new contract was simply a means for the Galaxy to get the full price and more for Donovan. Dare I say it but not more than a year or so ago, everyone was calling him Landycakes. Now, he's got the respect of us all as well as some of the harshest critics in the game.

This and more at ASN Philly.

Where there's smoke, there's (sometimes) fire. 1860 Munich have agreed to loan Kenny Cooper to Plymouth Argyle, the German club announced Jan. 28. The move follows speculation in German and English press by mere hours.

For more head to ASN's 'Over There' page.

1860 Munich striker Kenny Cooper, who has been sidelined with an injury since November, is apparently pining for a loan deal to English Championship side Plymouth Argyle. So says a report in Germany's kicker magazine. At issue is playing time--or lack of it--as the former FC Dallas striker hopes to win a spot in Bob Bradley's U.S. squad for South Africa.

ASN's 'Over There' page has more on this developing story.

Houston Dynamo midfielder Stuart Holden has signed a contract to play with Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League. The contract ties him to Owen Coyle through the end of their 2009-10 season, but judging by the language on Holden’s Web site, he does not expect to be back in a Dynamo kit anytime soon, if ever.

“I’d like to thank the fans in Houston for all the support they have given me during the past four years. This was the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my career, but at the end of the day I felt it was the right time to test myself at the highest level. I will always feel a part of the Dynamo family and I’ve learned so much playing under Dominic Kinnear and his coaching staff. I would also like to thank all my teammates for their continued support on and off the field, without them none of this would have been possible. I am looking forward to watching them win another MLS Cup this year.”

Read more at ASN’s ‘Over There’ page.

Estonian international midfielder Joel Lindpere has signed a two year contract with the New York Red Bulls, according to a Norwegian story (links to awkwardly-worded Google Translate version of report).

ASN's RBNY page has more (in English) on this developing story.