Some Soccer News for Aug 22, 2016

It's Day 235 of 2016.


Next time you see Buzz Lagos remember to thank him for all of this modern Minnesota soccer love. It all begins with him.

I want to personally thank the NASL, all the league staff, the team owners former and current, and especially ex-commissioner David Downs for keeping Minnesota pro soccer alive in 2011 and 2012 when no one really needed to do that.

And a huge thank you to the National Sports Center and Paul Erickson for running the team and keeping it alive in 2010 when no one else would step up.

Last Friday night Minnesota United made it official with an announcement about their future in MLS, which will begin next March with home games to be played at TCF Bank stadium on the University of Minnesota campus, until their own stadium in the St Paul Midway neighborhood is built.

• Minnesota United will play in the MLS Western Conference.

• Put a $40 deposit down on season tickets right now.

And so the building of the future Minnesota United club takes shape. We have built a foundation, now the main event begins. By Paul Tenorio of Four Four Two.

Manny Lagos, the MNUFC technical director, has been working hard to get his team on the field ready for next year. But as usual, he keeps things pretty tight lipped on the facts. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

And while yer at it, go check out this article from 6 years ago pondering the future of pro soccer in Minnesota. Prophetic. by Jon Marthaler for SB Nation.

And finally, a good summation of where soccer in Minnesota sits at this very moment in time - great, tired, fresh, odd, exciting, flawed, backed, today, yesterday, tomorrow. All at once! By Alex Schieferdecker of Fifty Five One.

dN

11 days until the USMNT travels to St. Vincent + The Grenadines for a World Cup Qualifier - Fri Sep 2 at 2:30pm CT on beIN.

dN

Do you hear the Submarine Dive Alarms going off in du Nord Futbol MLS Coaches Hot Seat Power Rankings! There is a new name at the top and things are HOT!

du Nord Futbol's MLS Coaches Hot Seat Power Rankings:
5 Gregg Berhalter - only in trouble if the owner thinks Berhalter has totally lost it and 2015 was a fluke.
4 Mauro Biello - owner Joey Saputo has an itchy trigger finger.
3 Greg Vanney - every Toronto coach will be on this list until they become mega-successful.
2 Jay Heaps - its starting to smell bad in Massachusetts, but due to ownership's extreme cheapness there is no way the owners make an in-season move.
1 Carl Robinson - this team had visions of glory before the season. They may need an upgrade at the top. I would not be surprised to see changes come at any second now.

Stats on the current streaks for those coaches in big trouble:

• Vanc - last 10 games = 9 pts

• NER - last 10 games = 7 points

(Compared to the 2 teams that are considered the worst right now, Chicago and Houston, who both have 11 points from last 10 games.)
dN

Mark your calendar cuz its OFFICIAL:
US Open Cup Final
-Tue Sep 13
FC Dallas v New England Revolution - at 9pm CT on ESPN2 and UDN

dN

NASL Week 18 scores:
-Sat Aug 20
Jacksonville 0-0 Minnesota
Fort Lauderdale 3-1 Ottawa
Carolina 3-2 Indy
Puerto Rico 1-2 Cosmos
Tampa Bay 0-1 Edmonton
OKC 1-2 Miami

dN

My Minnesota Notes:

• Game highlights of scoreless draw in Jacksonville on Saturday. [VIDEO]

• The mid day sun killed MU in Florida, but they still should have found a way to win. Jax is terrible.

• Red Card to Ibson for a ridiculous kick to the midsection of an opponent. It was embarrassing. I love the way Ibson plays but he can be very hard to keep making excuses for.

• Minn has kept a 2nd clean sheet in a row. A good credo is, Get the defense in line and the offense will come. 1 point on the road and 4 points in 2 games is not a set back.

• But again, this team still needs to get some wins on the road.

• The next 2 games are on the road, next Sat at Miami and the following Wed at Ft Lauderdale.

• Brent Kallman was on bench for 2nd straight game. This time though he came on late in Jax to help preserve the shut out.

• Jeb Brovski is helping the defense at right fullback for 2nd straight game in place of Kevin Venegas. Playing much better out there then Damien Lowe did.

dN

Scores from Big Matches in MLS Week 24:
-Sat Aug 20
New York City 1-0 LA Galaxy
Philadelphia Union 1-3 Toronto
Real Salt Lake 1-0 Dallas
-Sun Aug 21
Seattle Sounders 3-1 Portland Timbers

dN

My MLS Notes:

• Toronto is beginning to shed all of the past debris off their shoulders. Maybe the only thing left to accomplish is playoff success and then they will be fully formed. Big win on the road over a fellow contender this week.

• LA suffered its first loss since Jun 18. Both losses were 1-0 on the road. If I were them I would be OK with that.

• Chicago won on the road for the first time in nearly 2 years. Yes, they celebrated.

• No answer from Portland on why Fanendo Adi didn't start against Seattle. He came on late and made a difference, but the game was already over by that point. I hope the punishment handed down by the coach was worth the loss.

• Seattle is now just 2 points behind Portland, with a game in hand, for the last playoff spot in the West. And the two face off again next Sunday in the Rose City. YeeHaw!

• For the 4th time in the past 6 games the Red Bulls gave up a lead and ended up tied. That's 8 points dropped. And in this weeks game at DC, like previous games against LA and Philly they gave up 2-0 leads and tied 2-2. That is gonna cost em big time come the playoffs.

• KC ground Vancouver further into the dirt.

dN

A breakdown of the best details and key moments from Week 24 of the MLS season. By Matthew Doyle of MLSsoccer.com.

dN

22,000 season tickets have been sold in Atlanta!

dN

The owner of Houston Dynamo Gabriel Brener writes a letter to the fans telling them that the club is doing everything in its power to improve and succeed. Good to see.

dN

A Q + A with former great Eric Wynalda on soccer philosophy for American players, and some of the bright young talent from this country today. By Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com

dN

An interview with Jason Kreis the new head coach of Orlando after a month on the job. By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League group stage Matchday 3 schedule:

• Vancouver and KC face off in a huge game on Tuesday night.

• Viewing options: Univision Deportes and Facebook.

-Tue Aug 23
Alianza v Antigua GFC
Vancouver Whitecaps v Sporting Kansas City
Pachuca v Police United
(more games coming on Wed and Thu.)

dN

Americans In Europe:

• Brad Guzan got his shot at Middlesbrough, with Victor Valdez injured, and they won 2-1 in the big derby match against Sunderland. Great for him.

• Lynden Gooch got his 2nd start in a row for Sunderland, and although it was another loss he was named his teams Man Of The Match.

dN

Americans In Mexico:

• Jonathan Bornstein scored a goal for Queretaro but they lost 2-1 at Leon.

• Omar Gonzalez was pulled from the Pachuca game in the 55th min after Andre Gignac of Tigres twice wrung him out like an old sweaty t-shirt. Oof. Tuzos lost 4-2.

• Jose Torres went the full 90 for Tigres in their big win.

• William Yarbrough and Leon got a vital win, their first of the season, probably saving their coach Luis Tena's job. They beat Queretaro 2-1.

• Michael Orozco played the whole game for first place Tijuana as they tied 1-1 at Necaxa.

dN

Olympic Tournament Finals Match Schedule:

• Congrats to the German women and Brazil men on winning the Gold Medal.

Women's
Sweden 1-2 Germany

Men's
Brazil 1-1 Germany - Bra wins 5-4 in Penalty Kick Shootout.

dN

Atletico Madrid thought they stole the 3 points on opening weekend in Spain by scoring 3 minutes into 2nd half stoppage time, but newly promoted Alaves was having none of that and scored 2 minutes later for the tie. Welcome to La Liga you Babazorros.

dN

Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action. By the Guardian.

dN

Goals Per Game this weekend:
4.4 MX
4.1 La Liga
3.2 Serie A
2.5 Ligue 1
2.2 EPL
-----
2.4 MLS
2.7 NASL



The Bird Is The Word