without a club but trained with the Impact on Mond

NEW YORK -- The newest team in Major League Soccer is doing its part to fill Yankee Stadium with stars. New York City FC introduced Frank Lampard in Brooklyn on Thursday after signing the 36-year-old former Chelsea midfielder to a two-year contract. "Why not New York? Talk about ticking all the boxes. I want to carry on challenging myself." Lampard said at a news conference . "Thats a great challenge, isnt it? City of hopes and dreams. Thats where you want to go to and play isnt it?" The club owned by Manchester City of the Premier League and the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball previously signed David Villa of Atletico Madrid. Both City and Atletico won league championships last year, meaning the expansion soccer team set to begin playing home games at the ballpark in 2015 is also bringing more champions to the Bronx than Yankee Stadiums full-time tenants have lately. The news conference was held at Brooklyn Bridge Park, where several soccer fields share space on a pier in the East River across from Lower Manhattan. A couple dozen fans, many in blue Chelsea jerseys, gathered around to listen, at times cheering and getting laughs from the dais, where Lampard was flanked by club sporting director Claudio Reyna , chief business officer Tim Pernetti, and coach Jason Kreis. Lampard, who has scored 211 goals for England and Chelsea, became the latest international star to move to MLS. Most famous was David Beckham, who joined the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007 from Real Madrid. "I think this is an incredibly exciting time for the league," Kreis said. Lampard is "a rare talent, one that scores a lot of goals from midfield, yet is also a disciplined defender and someone who reads the game brilliantly." Lampard was asked about a widely reported encounter with American travellers in 2001, shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when he and teammates were fined following reports they were behaving drunkenly and boorishly in front of the distraught Americans. "I was naive and a young boy at the time and I have some regrets," Lampard said. "I categorically didnt insult anyone, set out to insult anyone, behave badly in front of Americans or in fact anyone. Ive tried in the last 13 years at Chelsea to build up -- well, to just be a good man really and not just be a good footballer, but a good man off the pitch. ... Unfortunately it was very much misreported at the time in England and its actually a chance for me to finally say that." Lampard, speaking with the skyline behind him across the river, said he "of course" plans to visit the Sept. 11 memorial. "You visit this great city, you know what it means to New Yorkers. I think you go and pay your respects, so yes I will," he said. Kreis said the team examined the situation and considers the matter resolved. His newest player is someone with strong feelings about New York. "I want New Yorkers to hear that and see that," Lampard said. "Its up to me to show them here and prove the footballer I am and the person that I am." Cheap NFL Jerseys . "I had a pretty good year," the soft-spoken Granberg told TSN.ca with a grin from the teams annual rookie tournament in London. A fourth-round selection in 2010, Granberg is worth keeping an eye on with NHL training camps rolling around in less than a week. The six-foot-two, 200-pound defender may not possess the wow-inspiring theatrics of fellow prospect Morgan Rielly, but nonetheless has a chance to contribute with the Leafs when all is said and done this season. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . You can watch all the action on TSN and TSN GO beginning at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Minnesota dropped the first two tests of this best-of-seven set at Chicagos United Center and was outscored by a combined 9-3 margin in those setbacks. However, the Wild righted themselves at home by taking Game 3 by a 4-0 count before knotting the series at two games apiece with Fridays 4-2 triumph at Xcel Energy Center. https://www.cheapnfljerseysjustwholesale.com/cheap-nba-jerseys . This is Lowry’s third time winning the award in his career. He won the award last season and as a member of the Houston Rockets in 2011. Authentic NFL Jerseys . - A pitch clock will be used this season during minor league games at Triple-A and Double-A, but it has been ruled out for the major leagues this year. NFL Jerseys Sale . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said.MONTREAL - Montreal Impact players painted a picture of a leaderless, clique-ridden squad as they wrapped up a dismal Major League Soccer season Monday.A 1-1 draw with D.C. United on Saturday left Montreal with a 6-18-10 record and last overall in the 19-team league. It was a season that started badly and only got marginally better.There will be changes for sure, but I also believe in continuity, said coach Frank Klopas. Were not here to make a lot of changes.The team that squeaked into the fifth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot despite a second-half collapse in 2013 carried its disjointed, error-prone play into this season by posting only one win in its first 11 matches.The low points were seven straight losses in July and August and an 0-12-5 road record for the year. The positives were winning the Canadian Championship and reaching the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League.As players were brought out three at a time to meet the media, a few veterans spoke of how the loss of defender Alessandro Nesta to retirement and moving captain Davy Arnaud to D.C. left the team short of leadership needed to get through the bad times.Alessandro and Davy leaving left a big void for sure, said goalkeeper Evan Bush. Looking forward, thats something that definitely needs to be addressed, as far as which guys will step up in leadership roles.A guy like (captain) Patrice Bernier, maybe its not his character to be the vocal one, but he leads in other ways. There are other guys who lead by example as well, but you also need guys that step up when things are going poorly and kind of right the ship in the locker room by saying things as well.That the Impact had no one take charge may stem from the other problem — cliques.The club has its Americans, a French-speaking Canadian contingent mostly from the teams academy, Latin Americans and Italian stars Matteo Ferrari and Marco Di Vaio, who retired after the final regular-season game.Most MLS clubs have players from around the world, but Montreals squad is especially diverse. The team has actively sought an international flavour and style of play rather than the more physical American game preferred by many of its opponents.The challenge in that approach is maintaining unity.Were always going to be a cosmopolitan team, said Bernier. Players hang around with guys from their own country.In tough moments, its not easy because youre always asking questions. And when you lose, people say you have cliques. The ethnicity of this team is what makes it what it is. Montreals always going to be compared to other clubs as a team with a lot of foreign backgrounds.Its going to have to be worked on from the beginning so players coming in feel at home here and feel like theyre part of the project.Last years Swiss coach, Marco Schallibaum, was big on team-building exercises, doing things not necessarily related to soccer away from the pitch. The Greek-American Klopas isnt so much.Canadian midfielder Issey Nakajima-Farran, acquired in midseason from Toronto FC, said it should be part of next seasons program.Theres a lot more diversity in this group of guys than in any group Ive ever dealt with, which is 10 or 12 teams, the veteran said. Thats definitely something well have to work on for next year because what happens in the changing room and training field is what happens on the pitch.There was a lot of controversy throughout the season that weve got to address. Were not as colleective as we should be.ddddddddddddThings like that take team activities, things outside the training ground.Of course, the natural leader would be Ignacio Piatti, the designated player from Argentina who arrived in August on a three-year contract. Piatti made it clear from the start with his play that hell be one of the most gifted and entertaining players in MLS.However, Piatti speaks Spanish and Italian but not English so locker-room speeches may be a problem. Same for midfielder Andres Romero, an Argentine who was named the teams player of the year.Romero, who was dreadful last season, was one of Montreals best and most consistent attacking players. He was also one of the few midfielders to stay healthy, unlike Justin Mapp, who had a strong start, or striker Di Vaio.Bernier, a native of Brossard, Que., is one of four players whose contracts are up. The others are defenders Heath Pearce and Futty Danso and goalie Troy Perkins.Klopas said he wants the 35-year-old Bernier back but added the players salaries will be part of the decision on which are signed.Hed like to keep Perkins and Bush as a goaltending tandem but salary may come into play. That bodes poorly for Perkins, who was the starter for the first half of the season but then lost his job to Bush, who has the added bonus of being much less expensive.First off, I wouldnt want to return to a place Im not wanted, said Perkins. I didnt think I deserved the blame for what happened in the first part of the season and I think it was put on me.Nakajima-Farran didnt like being used sparingly either, although minutes were scarce with a glut of attacking midfielders.Its always up to the coach and hes always going to have his preferences, but with the season we had I felt there should have been a lot more experimenting, he said. It was the same kind of lineup and it made it predictable what we were going to do, which a lot of teams also saw and took away the points from.The central defence will be looked at closely. The Impact were caught short when Nelson Rivas did not shake off his chronic injury trouble and Spaniard Adrian Lopez suffered a second season-ending ailment in as many years.That left Ferrari with inexperienced partners for most of the season, which is partly why the Impact repeatedly gave away points on late goals.Help may come from Gege Soriola, a Nigerian signed late in the season who has yet to play a match, and Adam Straith of Victoria, who is currently without a club but trained with the Impact on Monday.They also need to replace Di Vaios skill and experience at striker. Jack McInerney, acquired from Philadelphia early in the season, will be the first choice but Montreal will likely go outside to seek depth at that position.Despite the losses, there were players who stepped up their game this season, including Romero.Calum Mallace, all but forgotten his first two seasons, emerged as an imposing defensive midfielder and Dilly Duka, acquired in midseason from Chicago, proved to be a decent playmaker.The focus at training camp in January will be preparing for a Champions League tie with powerful Pachuca of Mexico. But Montreal doesnt want another weak regular season.I feel this was a year of transition, said Ferrari. We changed the coach, we changed a lot of players.Its difficult to find all the right things. After a while, we started to play better. Piatti helped us a lot. So next year we should have momentum to start better. ' ' '