Some Soccer News for Mar 2, 2016

It's Day 62 of 2016.


This looks good:
Minnesota United will go to Mexico for more preseason training, March 7-17. They will train Mar 7-12 at Pachuca's home, Universidad del Futbol y Ciencias del Deporte, and Mar 13-17 in Mexico City at Cruz Azul's La Noria.

• Matches:
• Mar 9 v Pachuca Reserves
• Mar 12 v Mexico U20
• Mar 16 v Cruz Azul

dN

NASL season begins Sat Apr 2.

dN

USL season begins Fri Mar 25.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League - Quarterfinals 2nd Leg: (all games on FS2)
-Tue Mar 1
DC United 1-1 Querataro - Que advances 3-1 on aggregate.
Santos Laguna 4-0 LA Galaxy - SL advances 4-0 on aggregate.
-Wed Mar 2
America v Seattle Sounders (2-2)
Real Salt Lake v Tigres UANL (0-2)

• Yesterday I said it would be very hard for any of the 4 MLS teams to advance. And after the first two series deciders the scene has not changed. DC was held in check at home, and LA was punked on the road. Tough to take. but completely predictable.

• LA spent a lot of money this off season to look quite bad for 90 minutes.

dN

Interview with Michael Bradley, talking about his formative days with players like Chris Armas around him all the time. By Kurt Larson of the Toronto Sun.

dN

Kei Kamara gets a new contract and big raise from Columbus Crew. Great for him.

dN

Did Chicago Fire get the right head coach this time around? Its not been easy since Bob Bradley left. Veljko Paunovic is that man. By Liviu Bird of Sports Illustrated.

dN

During Colorado Rapids media day coach Pablo Mastroeni was asked a straight forward question, "Why should fans care this season?" He gave a long and thoughtful answer. John Patrick Rosch of Burgundy Wave transcribes the whole thing. Thanks to Alexi Lalas for the link.

• Unfortunately for Mastroeni his answer actually shows why he should not have been hired in the first place.

dN

Major League Soccer coaches and execs give their ideal playoff formats. [VIDEO] By Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.

dN

A feature writer from a major European newspaper giving MLS props (and respects the league.) But too much of the article complains that others use the "American lifestyle" too often as a reason to play here rather than the soccer. The title lead me to believe this article would be about the game on the field. But it wasn't. By Marina Hyde of the Guardian.

dN

Its not often that I will comment on the personal life of someone in the soccer world, but Hope Solo strikes me as a pretty awful person. Here is her latest abuse. By Cindy Borden of the Washington Post. Thanks to Steven Goff for the link.

dN

The worst drought in 900 years helped spark Syria's civil war. Ugly but important stuff. From Mashable.

dN

Great to see DeAndre Yedlin back in the good form that earned him a contract in England in the first place. In the starting 11 for Sunderland for 3 consecutive games in which they earned 4 points. He is making vital contributions to a team that is fighting to avoid relegation.

dN

And Geoff Cameron has returned from his injury to start at centerback again for Stoke.

dN

Fab Johnson has been adding plenty to the Gladbach attack this week with a goal over the weekend and an assist today. Gee, do you think he might be a good fit at fullback?!?!

dN

Will the USA bid on the 2026 World Cup, and what would it take to host it? US Soccer president Sunil Gulati lays out the basics. By Nathaniel Vinton of the New York Daily News. Thanks to Soccer America for the heads up.

dN

Guillermo Barros Schelotto is the new head coach of Boca Juniors. He became a star there! Very cool.



The Bird Is The Word