Kick Off: Bradley move to Santos "80 percent" complete

There are new developments this morning as Bob Bradley nears a deal to become manager of Mexican side Santos Laguna.

Bradley met yesterday with Santos president Alejandro Irarragorri on Monday and had lunch with club officials with one article stating that negotiations are “80 percent complete.”

MedioTiempo.com indicates that today will either see a deal get done or the Mexican club will move in a different direction as they face an upcoming match against Chivas de Guadalajara this weekend.

Santos assistant coach and current interim Eduardo “Lalo” Rergis, is leading Santos practices and met with Bradley on Monday, stating that: “I exchanged words with him and he’s immersed in Mexican soccer, so much so that he has the intention of coming to coach in Mexico. … He has followed Mexican soccer, identifying the clubs, so he’s not lacking information, from what I was able to understand.” (SPANISH)

Meanwhile, Bradley’s former employer, the US national team, looks to recover today following Friday’s 1-0 loss to Costa Rica. After that first loss, new USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann demanded “determination,” “greed” and “nastiness” from his squad.

The additions of a handful of players for this afternoon’s international friendly against Belgium will help in that regard, including Steve Cherundolo, Kyle Beckerman and Clint Dempsey, who will make his debut under Klinsmann (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

With all the talk of formations after the setback at the Home Depot Center a few days ago, don’t expect Dempsey to play at forward: “Ideally, I don’t want to be a target striker. I want to be more of a playmaker. … As long as I’m in the attack, I’m happy.”

Canadian fans will likely be happy with nothing less than a win when the Canadian national team travels to Puerto Rico in Group D CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tonight. Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Terry Boss will not play in the match for Puerto Rico after suffering what reports indicate was a concussion during Friday’s qualifier. (SPANISH)

In MLS action, the story from the 2-2 draw between Sporting Kansas City and the LA Galaxy on Labor Day Monday wasn’t the “perfect goal” by KC’s Júlio César or the brace by LA’s Sean Franklin. Instead, for the Kansas City Star, the turning point hinged on a decision by referee Ricardo Salazar, who called back a header goal by Aurelién Collin for offside.

Sporting manager Peter Vermes, who feels “it’s us against everybody” given what his team feels is a string of calls that have gone against them, did not mince words when it came to Collin’s strike: “There’s absolutely no chance that he’s offsides. To take away a world-class goal like that is unacceptable.”

Watch the 84th-minute play here and judge for yourself.

Although the LA Galaxy weren’t complaining about the referee, they had plenty to say about the grass surface at Livestrong Sporting Park, with both Landon Donovan and David Beckham chiming in: “Obviously, it wasn’t just for us, but it was like playing in sand,” Beckham said.

No complaints from LA manager Bruce Arena, who feels his team dropped two points in the end. His explanation is simple: "Our most experienced players were making lousy plays and we almost lost the game."

The Seattle Sounders, who figure to be one of the challengers to the Galaxy for the Supporters’ Shield, got back to work on Labor Day after a five-day break. Forward Michael Fucito was still seen sporting nine stitches above his eye for what he called a “dirty play” by FC Dallas captain Daniel Hernandez during a recent US Open cup semifinal: "I think that's the type of player he is in general."

Fucito wasn’t the only Sounder sporting a new look upon returning to practice. Fan favorite Roger Levesque, known for his scruffy hair and beard, came back a new clean-shaven man on Monday. Here’s the video proof.

Things are going so well in Seattle, that they’ve already put together an “Arlo White Top Goal Calls” for 2011. (VIDEO)

While Seattle get back to work with an eye to the MLS Cup playoffs, the 4-11-11 New England Revolution are dismissing any postseason talk. “I know a lot of people are still saying playoff run here and playoff run there. … But I don’t see the point about thinking about playoffs right now when I don’t remember the last time we won a game,” said Revs midfielder Benny Feilhaber.

The Philadelphia Union are hoping that their chase for the postseason is not affected by the loss of goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón to a finger injury. The Colombian, who has played every minute in goal for Philly this year, tweeted out news of the of the time he’s expected to miss but the team will make nothing official until a procedure is carried out later today. Philly’s next game is against the Revs tomorrow.

Read it and believe it. D.C. United all-time leading scorer Jaime Moreno is coming out of retirement. He has reportedly reached an agreement to play for Sport Boys, capitalizing on a holiday jaunt in Bolivia. (SPANISH)

Nowhere near retirement is the Galaxy’s new Designated Player signing Robbie Keane, who tells a British outlet that “I still think I’ve got another five years left in me.”

Reports out of Mexico say that Chivas USA are bringing in a former Atlante reserve player, José Antonio Coutiño, who is already talking about his eagerness to leave an impression on the Goats coaching staff. (SPANISH)

International soccer is a lot more manageable when you have a passport. Ask Portland Timbers defender Steve Purdy, who is reportedly forced to miss El Salvador’s CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against the Cayman Islands today for that very reason. (SPANISH)

Purdy’s club teammate, Rodney Wallace, will have a different story to tell as he’s already been announced as a starter for Costa Rica’s friendly against Ecuador in Quito. His goal off the bench sank the USA on Friday in LA. (SPANISH)

Staying in Ecuador, the San Jose Earthquakes can’t shake themselves of this Edmundo Zura story. The forward, who is back in his native country, has spoken to local radio about how he expects the MLS team to fulfill his contract. (SPANISH)

ESPN Deportes has the most televised action from Euro 2012 qualifying as the Netherlands meet Finland (1:30 p.m. ET), Spain travel to Liechtenstein (4 p.m. ET) and France battle Romania (7 p.m. ET). The marathon of matches on ESPN Deportes also features Argentina vs. Nigeria from Bangladesh (9:30 a.m. ET).

Fox Soccer and Fox Deportes carry the England vs. Wales Euro qualifying matchup (2:30 p.m. ET).

Lastly, let’s hope the referees are more professional in Bangladesh today than they were in India, where one of the assistant referees was shoving a camera into Lionel Messi’s face for a photo but the Argentine star wasn’t biting. (VIDEO)

MLSsoccer.com Must-Reads:

Bradley: Klinsmann has more options at left back than he thinks

MLS Cup playoff standings: If the postseason started today

WATCH: Sean Franklin, Bruce Arena and Peter Vermes speak about 2-2 draw between LA and Sporting