Some Soccer News for May 27, 2016

It's Day 148 of 2016.


Liga MX Clausura Laguilla Finals:
1st Leg

• A brief game synopsis and video highlights. From Soccer America.

• Omar Gonzalez went the full 90 for Pachuca.

• Edgar Castillo was on the bench but did not see the field for Monterrey.

• Pachuca put a lot of pressure on the Monterrey keeper and I am sure they wish they had gotten more than 1 goal in their home leg.

• It was a real flashback to see Aquivaldo Mosquera on the field for Pachuca. He was a monster in the defense for them 10 years ago when they won multiple domestic and regional championships under Enrique Meza.

-Thu May 26
Pachuca 1-0 Monterrey - Pac goal by Franco Jara.
2nd Leg
-Sun May 29
Monterrey v Pachuca (0-1) - 8:30pm CT on Univision

dN

FIFA went all candy-assed on its anti homophobia stand: "FIFA fines the Mexico and El Salvador federations $35K each and Honduras’ federation $40K for cases of homophobic chants in stadiums." From Jonathan Tannenwald.

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UEFA Champions League Final
-Sat May 28
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol v Club Atlético de Madrid - 1:45pm CT on FOX

• Stadio Giuseppe Meazza aka San Siro, Milan, Italy

• El Derbi Madrileno at the pinacle of Europe for the 2nd time in 3 years - won by Real Madrid 4-1

• Real v Atletico

• RM v AM

• Los Merengues v Los Colchoneros

• Los Blancos v Los Rojiblancos

• Vikingos v Atleti

• North Central Madrid v Southeast Madrid

• Santiago Bernabeu v Vicente Calderon

• Mar 6, 1902 v Apr 26, 1903

• 10 times winners v 0 times winners

• Zidane v Simeone

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Previews of UCL finalists: Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid. Fernando Torres and Atletico Madrid. By Sid Lowe of the Guardian.

• To me its almost shocking that a player as famous as Zinedine Zidane is coaching Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Final cuz it so rarely happens.

dN

Read this and learn something about the UEFA Champions League trophy. By Sam Borden of the New York Times.

• It weighs 16 1/2 pounds!

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USMNT pre-Copa America friendlies:
-Sat May 28
USA v Bolivia - 7:00pm CT on FS1, UniMas, UDN

dN

Geoff Cameron is healthy, Timmy Chandler is not, and the latest word on the USA roster. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

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Timmy Chandler has been dropped from the USA Copa America Centenario roster due to injury. Edgar Castillo has been added to the roster. Chandler suffered a right quadriceps strain while playing for Eintracht Frankfurt. Castillo is still involved in the Liga MX Clausura playoffs with Monterrey and will join the team after the series ends on Sunday. At least Castillo's an actual left fullback.

dN

USA Copa America roster:
G: Guzan, Horvath, Howard
D: Besler, Birnbaum, Brooks, Cameron, Castillo, Johnson, Orozco, Yedlin
M: Beckerman, Bedoya, Bradley, Jones, Kitchen, Nagbe, Pulisic, Zusi
F: Dempsey, Wondolowski, Wood, Zardes

Copa America Centenario Group Stage games:
-Fri Jun 3
USA v Colombia - Santa Clara
-Tue Jun 7
USA v Costa Rica - Chicago
-Sat Jun 11
USA v Paraguay - Philadelphia

dN

A USA team preview. By Scott French of Four Four Two.

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Copa America Centenario begins in a week with one game on Fri Jun 3 and three more on Sat Jun 4.

• See the full match schedule right here.

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10 lesser known (and non-USA) players to keep your eyes on in the Copa. By Arch Bell of ESPNFC.

• Unfortunately the very first player on this list have already been replaced due to injury.

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Came across these odds to win Copa America Centenario:
Argentina: 9/4
Brazil: 5/1
Chile: 7/1
Uruguay: 10/1
USA: 10/1
via MyTopSportsBooks

• Many people have asked me who the 5000/1 long shot is (ala Leicester.) Maybe it should be the USA.

• And I my pick to win the tournament is Mexico. Place your bets on them.

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Minnesota United Reserves play their first game of the season and in a brand new league, Premier League of America, on Saturday night at Cedar Rapids Rampage. The teams head coach is Andy Seidel.

• First home game is the next day - Sun May 29 vs Croatian Eagles (Milwaukee) at 4:00pm CT at East Ridge High School stadium in Woodbury MN.

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Some details and drawings of the supporters section in the new Minnesota United stadium. By Adam Jarvi of Fifty Five One.

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NASL Week 9
-Fri May 27
Ottawa v Fort Lauderdale
-Sat May 28
Jacksonville v Indy
New York v OKC
Minnesota v Tampa Bay
Miami v Edmonton
-Bye: Carolina

dN

MLS Week 13
-Wed May 25
Orlando 2-2 Philadelphia
-Fri May 27
Kansas City v DC - expect the game to be delayed for a few hours due to weather tonight.
-Sat May 28
Vancouver v Houston
Red Bulls v Toronto
Columbus v Salt Lake
New England v Seattle
Montreal v LA
Chicago v Portland
Colorado v Philadelphia
San Jose v Dallas
-Sun May 29
New York v Orlando

New York Red Bulls v Toronto looks like it could be the tastiest of all the weekend treat.

dN

The odds are stacked against Jose Mourinho having big success at Manchester United. By Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian.



The Bird Is The Word