Professional soccer player in Belgium, MLS youth academy product, Jersey guy, columnist? Either way you look at it, Nicholas (Niko) Gkionis makes for an interesting case study. His recent guest column in this space attracted a lively debate. Now ASN delves a bit deeper with this Q&A, querying the 24-year old on everything from national [...]

It was draft day and Brian Perk stepped out of his hotel to meet up with his father. Waiting for the rendezvous, Perk was blindsided by a cohort of chanting Philadelphia Union supporters–over 200 strong. Even with this omen, however, Perk says landing in Philadelphia didn’t even cross his mind. “Philly is probably one of the last places I thought I’d end up because of the two [goalkeepers] they already had.” he told ASN Philly.

ASN tracked down Real Salt Lake defender Chris Wingert and found him more than willing to talk about his experience in MLS Cup 2009. Even better for us, he was willing to write the whole thing down himself! The result is a truly remarkable first-person account of the biggest game in RSL franchise history. Update: Read Part II!

With things starting to get hectic for the Union’s inaugural SuperDraftees, ASN Philly had to settle for an introductory Q&A this time with Amobi Okugo, the #6 pick and 18-year old defensive midfielder out of UCLA. While #1 pick Danny Mwanga is in Portland tying up loose ends, Amobi and Jack McInerney are in Mexico [...]

FC Dallas selected University of California forward Andrew Wiedeman with the No. 21 overall pick last Thursday, Jan. 14, at the 2010 Major League Soccer SuperDraft in Philadelphia. The San Ramon, Calif., native should have no problem fitting into his new head coach’s system. Wiedeman’s college coach Kevin Grimes played for Schellas Hyndman for four [...]

When David Estrada was announced as the Seattle Sounders’ first round pick in last week’s Major League Soccer Superdraft, came as a bit of a surprise to fans and, it turns out, player alike. Estrada told his hometown newspaper, the Salinas (Calif.) Californian, that he didn’t even plan to watch the first round of the [...]

2009 was a breakout year for Columbus Crew defender Jed Zayner. The 25-year old had appeared in just two Major League Soccer games coming into the season but emerged as a bonafide heir apparent to Frankie Hejduk at right back. He recently signed a four-year contract extension with the Crew. ASN caught up with the [...]

New York Red Bulls midfielder Luke Sassano completed his second season with the organization in 2009. In his first guest column he got us caught up on what he had been doing since the team’s last game of the season. In this, his second piece, he relates his own experience from Major League Soccer’s Combine [...]

Mike Seamon, Villanova Wildcat attacker and 2010 MLS Combine participant was voted first team Big East this season in a tough conference. Seamon’s five goals and seven assists led the Wildcats, the fourth time in his career that he has led the team in scoring, a testament to his value in the Villanova squad. The [...]

New York Red Bulls midfielder Luke Sassano completed his second season with the organization in 2009. It was, in his own words (which follow after the jump) a disappointing campaign. An eternal optimist (our label, not his) the UC-Berkeley graduate nevertheless took several initiatives to improve himself on the pitch and off it. In this first of what we hope will be a series of guest columns, Sassano gets us caught up on what he’s been doing since the team’s last game of the season.