Some Soccer News for Jul 18, 2016

It's Day 200 of 2016.


After harsh international condemnation of the Russian Ministry of Sports, which is behind the supposed state sanctioned doping of Russia's Olympic athletes, will FIFA now respond with a SERIOUS investigation of the World Cup program being run by those same Russian authorities? No chance. In reality we are just too close to the tournament, and billions have already been spent in prep, for there to be a change now, barring natural disaster or war. You can kick Russia out of the Olympics taking place in Brazil, but trying to do something like that IN Russia is nearly impossible.

• A report was issued today showing who was behind the Russian athletic doping scandal and how widespread the program was and still is. By Rebecca Ruiz of the New York Times.

• Video from the press conference after the release of the damning report.

Russia oversaw manipulation of athletes' analytical results & sample swapping - WADA https://t.co/aoGNqroRqv

https://t.co/TRPPTVxt6U

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) July 18, 2016

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Will this week's US Open Cup match be the last straw for head coach Sigi Schmid in Seattle? The team is floundering badly right now, so will a loss in the Cup be the end of his reign?

• Sounders plays at LA Galaxy on Wednesday.

• Tomorrow we can talk about the other 3 Quarterfinal match-ups.

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Where do things stand today in the world of USA youth soccer development? We all know its still way behind. Some of the big names in the region give their opinions. By Doug McIntyre of ESPNFC.

• "We're just in the beginning stages. I think in the next five to seven years, there's going to be a lot of really good players coming out of the U.S. in world soccer." Not everyone is this enthusiastic about what they see.

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MLS News + Notes:

• A 15 year old made his debut for the Vancouver Whitecaps. 2nd youngest player in MLS history. You know who was the youngest. By Marc Weber of the Province.

• Top three goal scorers are: David Villa 13, Ignacio Piatti 11, Fanendo Adi 10.

• Dallas (on total points: 40) + Colorado (on points per game: 1.95) are still the Top 2 teams in the league. LA, NYC and Philly round out the Top 5.

• A breakdown of Week 19 is worthy reading. By Matt Doyle of MLSSoccer.com.

• This Fabian Castillo to Maxi Urruti goal is a thing of fabulous subtle skill and beauty. [VIDEO]

• Colorado has not faded away like we thought they would. They are currently 14 games without a loss.

• New York City coach Patrick Viera and his team are not satisfied with where they currently sit in MLS, even though its waaaaaaay better then most of us give them any credit for. By Doug McIntyre of ESPNFC.

MLS results - 4 games of big importance:
-Sat Jul 16
Colorado Rapids 1-0 Sporting Kansas City
-Sun Jul 17
Portland Timbers 3-1 Seattle Sounders
Montreal Impact 1-3 New York City
Phildelphia Union 2-2 Red Bull New York

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Atlanta has signed 31 year old T+T forward Kenwyne Jones from Cardiff. They plan to loan him out until January of next year when they open their first preseason camp. He spent last season on loan at At Jazira in UAE.

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Portland won MLS Cup back in December with goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey, but he got hurt earlier this year, then he couldn't win his job back, and [POOF-POW-FLASH] just like that, now he is out the door to Norwegian club Rosenborg. No word on the price paid.

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Fantastic! Over 35,000 in Cincinnati for their friendly against Crystal Palace. Beyond impressive.

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Huge congrats to Luchi Gonzalez, FC Dallas Academy director and FCD U16 head coach, as their teams won the US Development Academy championships at both U18 and U16 levels this weekend.

• The people who run the FC Dallas organization and academy program are doing the best job in the USA. So who are they and what are they doing. By Paul Tenorio of Four Four Two.

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Dennis Crowley has a vision for the future of American soccer. I like the way this guy thinks. Posted at SI's The Cauldron.

• And now he has Leander Schaerlaeckens for Vice writing about his team Kingston Stockade too.

• Minneapolis City SC has a similar visionary plan, albeit without the millionaire guy like Crowley paying the bills.

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Liga MX News + Notes on the Americans:

• Greg Garza (who has been out injured for a year) was back for Tijuana. He started and played 69 minutes as they won 2-0 over Morelia. Paul Arriola + Michael Orozco dressed but did not play for the Xolos.

• Jonny Bornstein went 90 for Querataro in a 2-0 win v Veracruz.

• Edgar Castillo went 61 min for Monterrey but he replacement saw Red and they gave up a late tying goal to end 1-1 v Puebla.

• Omar Gonzalez played the full match as Spring/Clausura Champions Pachuca picked up right where they left off, rolling 5-1 over Leon.

• William Yarborough was in goal for Leon as they were crushed 5-1 at Pachuca. Miguel Ibarra again did not suit up for Leon. Ibarra needs to get out of there.

• Ventura Alvarado on the bench for America as they beat Chiapas 2-0.

• Jorge Villafana played the entire game for Santos as they tied at home 0-0 with Tigres. Jose Torres was on the bench for the Tigers.

Liga MX Apertura opening weekend results:
-Fri Jul 15
Tijuana 2-0 Morelia
-Sat Jul 16
Queretaro 2-0 Veracruz
Monterrey 1-1 Puebla
Atlas 1-1 Toluca
Pachuca 5-1 Leon
Necaxa 0-0 Cruz Azul
America 2-0 Chiapas
-Sun Jul 17
Pumas 1-0 Guadalajara
Santos Laguna 0-0 Tigres

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NASL News + Notes:

• Minnesota United ended Indy Eleven's 13 game unbeaten streak with a 2-0 win that was over after just 6 minutes. Minn also set a new attendance record of 9460.

• Here are the Minn v Indy game highlights. [VIDEO]

• The other big result was OKC smashing the Cosmos 3-0. Is OKC going to be a force in the Fall season?

• And just 8 months after playing in the NASL Championship game, Ottawa is now the worst team in the league. Oof.

• Remember when us negativos said Joe Cole was a stupid signing for Tampa. Yeah right, eat crow Bruce:

WHAT A GOAL BY JOE COLE! ?????? pic.twitter.com/ymaOsVySgQ

— Tampa Bay Rowdies (@TampaBayRowdies) July 17, 2016

• Top three NASL goal scorers are: Christian Ramirez 10, Michel 8, Eamon Zayed 6.

NASL Weekend results:
-Sat Jul 16
Fort Lauderdale 0-1 Carolina
Tampa Bay 3-0 Puerto Rico
Minnesota 2-0 Indy
Miami 1-0 Jacksonville
OKC 3-0 Cosmos
-Sun Jul 17
Edmonton 1-0 Ottawa

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Minnesota United hosts an exhibition match against English Premier League team Bournemouth on Wed Jul 20.

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With two HUGE name coaches moving into Manchester this summer what are the biggest questions ahead for them. By Jamie Jackson of the Guardian.



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