Tuesday, January 19, 2016

2015-16 Champions League Roster Moves

We're just over a month away from the start of the CCL Quarterfinals with four MLS clubs getting set to take the field against their Mexican counterparts. Let's take a look at the offseason moves for each of the four to see how they're setting themselves up for a deep tournament run:

Seattle Sounders - Seattle has parted ways with a number of veterans this offseason losing Chad Barrett, Leonardo González, Troy Perkins, Gonzalo Pineda, Andy Rose, Lamar Neagle, Michael Azira and Marco Pappa. That said, they return the glut of their core contributors including last season's midseason additions Erik Friberg, Andreas Ivanschitz, Nelson Valdez and Román Torres. A solid 2015 Draft Class that includes Cristian Roldan, Oniel Fisher, Andy Craven and goalkeepers Tyler Miller and Charlie Lyon will help the transition phase, as will the addition of the versatile Joevin Jones from Chicago.

D.C. United - Bill Hamid is out for several months with a knee injury, so for the second year in a row, United will enter the CCL Quarterfinals without their starting netminder. While United has added some veterans into the mix in Lamar Neagle and Patrick Nyarko this offseason, Neagle won't be a help in the CCL as he's cup-tied to the Sounders. Additionally, United has yet to make any moves that will offset the loss of midfield stalwart Perry Kitchen.

Real Salt Lake - RSL will be bringing back striker Yura Movsisyan who helped them win an MLS Cup title in 2009 in an effort to bolster their attack. That aside, they've been relatively quiet this offseason, and still have to make up for the losses of Elías Vásquez, Chris Schuler, Luis Gil, Luis Silva and Sebastian Saucedo.

LA Galaxy - By far the busiest club of the four Champions League hopefuls, the Galaxy have added a new starting keeper in Dan Kennedy, veterans in Jeff Larentowicz and Mike Magee from the Chicago Fire, and a young stud in Ghanaian Emmanuel Boateng. They've also been linked to Europeans Ashley Cole, Jelle van Damme and Nigel de Jong. With their only significant offseason departures being Omar Gonzalez and Juninho, the Galaxy look to be pretty good shape.

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