The 2017 regular season is over, which once again ushers in the fun times of the offseason. Only just a few weeks in and already there have been some big moves on and off the field.
Retirement
At one time teammates, midfielders Chris Rolfe and Justin Mapp called it careers last week. Rolfe, who played with the Chicago Fire and most recently for D.C. United, played over 200 games in his 12 year career. Mapp played with D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Montreal and most recently Sporting Kansas City in a career that spanned 15 years.
Coaching Changes
Two teams have already made moves for their coaching staff in the offseason, making a splash with some big name hires. The New England Revolution hired former U.S. Men’s National Team and Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel. The former netminder had been working as an analyst for Fox Sports 1 and had been coaching the U.S. U-19 team up until his new position.
The Montreal Impact made a move few people expected, bringing in former Lyon and Arsenal defender and Aston Villa manager Rémi Garde as their new manager. The Frenchman had a rough six months in his last job, after Aston Villa finished bottom of the table in the Premier League and he left the club by mutual consent. Garde looks for a fresh start in Canada, taking over a team with a very capable roster.
Reports on Friday morning also indicated that Caleb Porter’s time in Portland has come to an end and the club confirmed this was the case at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Rumors
With the off-season starting up, "silly season" also begins with all of the fun of transfer rumors that run from possible to downright crazy.
Over the last month, former Borussia Dortmund winger has been linked to the Chicago Fire, Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has been rumored to New York City FC and 19-year-old Uruguayan striker Diego Rossi is set to join newcomers Los Angeles FC.
On the other end of the transfers, Atlanta's Miguel Almiron has been linked to AC Milan and Newcastle United, while Kansas City's Eric Palmer-Brown is heading to Manchester City.
More and more rumors will be popping up over the next few weeks, making the off-season even more fun and interesting.
