From the Seattle Times:

 Seattle Sounders FC made its first-ever draft pick Thursday morning, selecting University of Akron forward Steve Zakuani with the first overall pick of the 2009 Major League Soccer SuperDraft in St. Louis.

Zakuani, a 20-year-old under classmen who signed an MLS contract before his college eligibility was complete, was born in the Congo in Central Africa before moving to England at age 4. He played for the Arsenal youth team there before an ACL injury in 2003 ended his opportunity to advance through that club’s system. He landed in Akron when a scout noticed him.Steve Zakuani went to the Seattle Sounders FC first overall

image:seattle times

(December 19, 2008) – The Kansas City Wizards announced Friday that retired midfielder Kerry Zavagnin will join the coaching staff for the 2009 season as an assistant coach. Zavagnin, 34, joined the Wizards in 2000 and helped lead the team to its first-ever MLS Cup championship. He was an integral part of the club’s midfield for the next nine seasons, during which time he was named to the MLS All-Star team and the MLS Best XI in 2004. In the same year, Kansas City won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Zavagnin’s primary duties as an assistant will include: scouting, developing the Wizards younger players, breaking down film and assisting with training sessions, among others.

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Big thanks to Unbiased for making sure that we saw Bumpy Pitch represented over at the Kansas City’s Wizards’ blog Hillcrest Road with my boy Josh Wolff.

Wolffy and I go all the way back to 1997 and the US Under - 20’s, experiencing 6 months at the ARCO Olympic Team Training Center in San Diego, the 2000 Sydney Olympics and some truly great experiences under the best coach and person I ever played under, Clive Charles.

Peep Clive in his heyday after the Jump…..

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