MLS Ticker: Impact add Pisanu, Rapids sign defender Calderon, and more | Soccer By Ives

The Montreal Impact dont have a head coach yet, but they have added some more firepower to the roster by landing Bologna midfielder Andrea Pisanu on loan for the 2013 season.

Pisanu, who turns 31 on Monday, is a former teammate of Montreal Impact forward Marco DiVaio and he scored six goals in 75 games in Serie A from 2004 to 2012, mostly with Parma. He has also had stints with Cagliari, Verona and most recently Bologna.

“We are very pleased to have been able to come to a loan agreement with Bologna,” said Impact sporting director Nick De Santis. “Andrea can play behind the forward or as a wide player. We are adding another player with good offensive qualities who has a good understanding of the game.

The Impact are still searching for a head coach, and are currently being led by interim head coach Mauro Biello.

Here are some other moves made by MLS teams in the past day:

Rapids sign Ecuadorian defender Calderon

The Colorado Rapids took a major step toward bolstering their back-line on Thursday with the acquisition of former LDU Quito centerback and Ecuadorian international Diego Calderon.

The 25-year-old centerback is a part of Ecuadors national team pool and has vast experience, having been a part of the LDU Quito side that won the Copa Libertadores in 2008 and Copa Sudamericana in 2009.

Calderon will be expected to step in and start in a back-line that also brings back Marvell Wynne, who signed a new deal with the club earlier in the off-season. On Thursday, the Rapids also reached a deal to retain defender Chris Klute, who had been with the Rapids on loan from the Atlanta Silverbacks.

Real Salt Lake sign Lovel Palmer

Real Salt Lake has added some depth after reaching an agreement with Re-Entry Draft selection Lovel Palmer.

The Jamaican national team defender can slot in as depth at right back as well as left back, and can also play in a defensive midfield role.

Palmer played in 19 matches for the Portland Timbers last season after being traded to the Timbers by the Houston Dynamo.

Wahl joins Crew

The Columbus Crew have added some depth at left back with the signing of journeyman defender Tyson Wahl.

Wahl spent time with the Montreal Impact and Colorado Rapids last year, but wound up in the MLS Re-Entry Draft, where the Crew selected him.

What do you think of these moves? See Pisanu helping the Impact attack? Think Calderon could make the Rapids defense a stingy unit in 2013?

Share your thoughts below.

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AC Milan’s midfielder Kevin Boateng (L)

Boateng discusses standing up to racist chants | Soccer By Ives

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U.S fans | Soccer By Ives

U.S fans.USMNT defeated Guatemala 3-1 in World Cup qualifying play at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park, Kansas City, KS.

USMNT Daily Update: A closer look at the delay in picking home venues for the HEX | Soccer By Ives

By IVES GALARCEP

Admit it. If you are a U.S. Mens National Team fan who likes traveling for big national team matches you have probably spent an irrational amount of time scouring flight prices and checking Twitter and your email repeatedly for any sort of word on just where the five home World Cup qualifiers for the USMNT will be this year.

We are now 11 weeks away from the first home qualifier for the United States, a March 22nd showdown vs. Costa Rica, and we still havent heard a word on just where the only home USA qualifier before June will be. We have heard plenty of rumors, ranging from Kansas City to more recently talk of Colorado and Utah battling it out to be the high-altitude home of a qualifier that comes just four days before the USMNT travels to Mexico City to the altitude and pollution of Estadio Azteca.

If it feels a bit like the USMNT is cutting it close, there is certainly an argument for that.

It almost seems crazy when you compare the United States to the other five participants in the Hex. All but Costa Rica have chosen the stadiums were every qualifier will be played, and Costa Ricas options are both in San Jose, either Estadio Saprissa or the modern but far less intimidating national stadium.

In other words, fans of all five other teams in the Hex already know where each home match will be played, even into October. Meanwhile, the USMNT cant even figure out the first of their five home venues.

So what exactly is the hold up?

The first thing U.S. fans should realize is that the other Hex teams either have established national stadiums, like Jamaica and Panama, or clear-cut preferences like Azteca for Mexico. Honduras and Costa Rica are both really only choosing between two options, with Honduras holding one match in the capital of Tegucigalpa, while playing the other four qualifiers in San Pedro Sula.

The USMNT, as we all know, doesnt have an established home. Instead, we have a Wal-Mart aisle worth of options to choose from. There are stadiums from coast to coast capable of hosting matches, which means Jurgen Klinsmann and the rest of the USMNT decision makers can pretty much tailor their selections to fit exactly the needs they have for those five important matches.

So why is this first one still taking so long? Good question. The easiest answer comes when looking at the calendar, and the match looming soon after that March 22nd date. The trip to Azteca to face Mexico on March 26th is vitally important for any number of reasons, and right now the USMNT is trying to figure out which March 22nd home venue works best as a launching point heading into the Mexico match.

Mexico City plays at altitude, but it is unclear just how prepared for that altitude the national team can get in the week or so lead-up to that match. If Klinsmann decides a week at altitude in Colorado can help the Americans when they go to Azteca, then Colorado just might make sense (and based on what Im hearing, Utah is sounding less and less like a leading candidate for the March home qualifier).

Waiting so long to pick a venue hasnt been too popular with U.S. fans, especially ones who are forced to hold off on making travel plans, but the decision is too big to rush and the USMNT is probably willing to lose out on some traveling fans if it means getting that decision right.

And the rest of the year? The sense I get is that we will hear about the two June home venues relatively soon, at least soon in the sense that it is very likely to come more like 3-4 months before the actual match, as opposed to less than three weeks beforehand.

With Columbus looking more and more likely to host the Mexico qualifier in September, that leaves only the October 11th qualifier against Jamaica as a home match U.S. Soccer wont likely rush to book a venue for. Just where that match is played will depend largely on how the United States is doing in qualifying at that point. If the Americans are cruising, the U.S. could choose to play it in a large market in order to have a big payday at the box office.

And if the U.S. is struggling and in dire need of a result? You can bet Klinsmann will take his time and consider bringing the team back to a venue like Livestrong Sporting Park, the same place the Americans booked their place in the Hex.

Unfortunately for U.S. fans, all of this means that you are just going to have to keep waiting, and have to keep checking flight prices and Twitter and your email for the news. Waiting isnt ideal for U.S. fans eager to make travel plans, but if picking the right venue helps the team win in March, it is safe to say U.S. fans arent going to care about how long they had to wait to make those plans.

JoelLindpere2 (ISIPHotos.com) | Soccer By Ives

Colorado Rapids v New York Red Bulls

Joel Lindpere (20) of the New York Red Bulls. The New York Red Bulls defeated DC United 3-2 during a Major League Soccer (MLS) match at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ, on June 24, 2012.

Fire land Lindpere from Red Bulls | Soccer By Ives

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By IVES GALARCEP

The Chicago Fire were in the market for some help in central midfield and they have just found it in a player who is leaving a team that didnt seem to value him in a central role.

The Fire have acquired Joel Lindpere from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for an international roster spot for the 2013 season, sources with knowledge of the deal confirmed to SBI on Friday.

Lindpere should compete for a starting role as a central midfielder, where he thrived for New York early in career. He struggled with the Red Bulls in 2012 playing in a wide midfield role he just didnt look comfortable playing.

The move frees up salary cap space for the Red Bulls (Lindpere is due to make in the neighborhood of $200,000 in 2013), while also giving them an extra international roster spot, which is valuable for a team that is sure to have a strong international feel to it once the team is done building its roster.

The Red Bulls are far from done shaping their roster. Colombian defender Wilman Conde is expected to be cut loose at some point in the off-season, which should free up even more salary cap space, while forward Kenny Cooper could still be traded this off-season.

So who is the winner in this trade? The Red Bulls could make out if they use the salary cap space and international slot for an impact starter, but they also might have helped give a conference rival a vital piece the Fire were missing, a tireless central midfield option with good attacking qualities.

What do you think of this development? See Lindpere succeeding in Chicago? Think the Red Bulls let him go too cheaply?

Share your thoughts below.

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Puncheon eager to discuss new terms at Southampton | Transfers | Tribal Football

Jason Puncheon is keen to discuss new terms at Southampton.Puncheon declared last night that he wants to be back at Saints next season. Jason Puncheon is keen to discuss new terms at Southampton.Puncheon declared last night that he wants to be back at Saints next season.“I’m hoping to be, I’m happy here, and that’s the most important thing,” he said.Puncheon would not disclose whether negotiations had begun, adding: “I can just say that I’m happy here and that’s all I can say, and what will be dealt with will be dealt with internally.”

John Carew: I'd play for Aston Villa for FREE! | Transfers | Tribal Football

John Carew says he’d be prepared to play for Aston Villa for FREE!Carew has been without a club since his release by West Ham United last season and is currently doing some acting. John Carew says he’d be prepared to play for Aston Villa for FREE!Carew has been without a club since his release by West Ham United last season and is currently doing some acting.”Football, you should not ignore the fact that it becomes relevant again,” Carew told Dagbladet, “Right now I’m very busy with other things, but I’m well trained and physics are in order, so there is no question that something is happening again in the future.”But I would love to play for free for Villa, if I had time, even if this was something I said a little loose there and then. Aston Villa is my club there, and I still have a very good relationship with the club and the fans.”I try to communicate with them and keep in touch, but there are probably a number of practical obstacles in the way of a free trip to Villa.”I will be here to film a month. I cannot say much about it until the project has been a bit longer, but it’s a thriller/action movie. I think I have it and they say it in the film industry at least. We’ll see, it has certainly gone well so far.”