Some Soccer News for Sep 30, 2016

It's Day 274 of 2016.


NWSL Playoff - Semifinal schedule:
-Fri Sep 30
Washington Spirit v Chicago Red Stars
-Sun Oct 2
Portland Thorns v Western New York Flash

dN

USL playoff - Round of 16 schedule:
WEST
-Fri Sep 30
Swope Park Rangers v LA Galaxy II
Colorado Springs Switchbacks v Vancouver Whitecaps 2
-Sat Oct 1
Sacramento Republic v Orange County Blues
Rio Grande Valley Toros v Oklahoma City Energy
EAST
-Sat Oct 1
Rochester Rhinos v Charlotte Independence
-Sun Oct 2
New York Red Bulls II v Orlando City B
Cincinnati v Charleston Battery
Louisville v Richmond Kickers

dN

NASL Week 24 schedule:
-Sat Oct 1
Tampa Bay v Miami
Minnesota v Jacksonville
-Sun Oct 2
Ottawa v Puerto Rico
Edmonton v Indy
New York v Ft Lauderdale
OKC v Carolina

Playoff race: (top 4 advance)
52 New York (5 games left)
45 Indy (6 games left)
44 Edmonton (6 games left)
36 Minnesota (6 games left)
----
35 Tampa Bay (7 games left)
35 Miami (6 games left)
33 Carolina (6 games left)

dN

Dario Cvitanich of Miami should probably get my vote for NASL Player Of The Month, but he is a diving sniveler, so there is no chance I could place that vote.

• So I voted for Georgi Hristov of Tampa Bay Rowdies cuz the team pulled within 1 point of the plays by the end of the month. And because of spite.

dN

A very frank and in depth interview with Alberto Gallego the interim Executive + Sporting Director of Rayo OKC - explaining all the insanity he is trying to unravel. The blame is being put on the staff that was running the club day to day prior to his arriving from Spain. [AUDIO] By Neil Morris of WRAL Sports Fan.

• Gallego says the teams and league needs to improve its marketing and creativity, and actually has some ideas about how to improve the league.

• Gallego also confirms that some teams are very close to leaving the NASL.

dN

A team by team breakdown of the future of the NASL. By Wes Burdine of Four Four Two.

dN

A rocket will take people to Mars 8 years from now. I am not kidding. 8 years from now. The big big plans of Elon Musk and Space X. By Tim Urban of What But Why. Thanks to Seth Vertelney for the link.

dN

And a 2nd film from Jim Jarmusch is headed our way this Fall. Paterson. A bus driving poet from Paterson named Paterson. Trailer. Via Collider.

dN

The Bob Bradley + Le Havre Tracker:

• Standings - 6th place, 4 points out of 1st after 9 played

• Up Next - Mon Oct 3 v Sochaux

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Tijuana Tracker:

• Standings - 1st Place, 1 point lead

• Up Next - Fri Sep 30 v Atlas

dN

CONCACAF Champions League - Matchday 5:

• Advanced: Vancouver Whitecaps, Arabe Unido, New York Red Bulls

• Eliminated: Monterrey, Sporting Kansas City

• Matchday 6 takes place Oct 18-20

-Thu Sep 29
Police United 1-5 Olimpia
Honduras Progreso 1-0 W Connection

CCL Forecast:
Group A - Progreso leading, Pumas needs tie or win at home in final game to advance.
Group B - Saprissa leading, Portland goes to Sap for final game and must win to advance.
Group C - Vancouver advanced.
Group D - Arabe Unido advanced.
Group E - Pachuca leading, needs win or draw in final game on the road to advance. If Olimpia wins that last game it must win by 9 goals to advance.
Group F - New York Red Bulls advanced.
Group G - Tigres leading, must tie or win v Herediano to advance.
Group H - Dallas + Suchitepequez tied, and face off in final game in Guatemala. Dallas just needs a tie to advance.

dN

Biggest games in MLS for the rest of Week 30:
-Sat Oct 1
Red Bulls v Philadelphia
Toronto v DC
Colorado v Portland
Dallas v LA
-Sun Oct 2
Vancouver v Seattle

Race for 6th Place in MLS:
EAST
41 Montreal (3 games left) - Next: Sun at Orlando
40 DC (3 games left) - Next: Sat at Toronto
----------
36 New England (3 games left) - Next: Sat v Kansas City
34 Orlando (3 games left) - Next: Sun v Montreal
WEST
43 Kansas City (3 games left) - Next: Sat at New England
41 Seattle (12 wins) (4 games left) - Next: Sun at Vancouver
----------
41 Portland (11 wins) (3 games left) - Next: Sat at Colorado

dN

An interview with Orlando City head coach Jason Kreis who is finding his feet after previously succeeding at RSL and failing at NYC. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.

dN

You know it, you love it, the MLS Weekly Awards. [VIDEO] By Ale Moreno of ESPNFC.

dN

The San Jose Ultras are a group of supporters that I have looked down upon in the past. I am just not a fan of that type of support. However, they are in conflict with their clubs front office who went waaaay over the top to punish the supporters. Here is the story in the supporters words.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 29, 2016

It's Day 273 of 2016.


Is football too big for England's sports governing structure to handle? All the wealth and power that comes with it have long been an issue, but its growing into a very big monster. Leagues and national team are all teetering on the brink of overload on their leadership. By Owen Gibson of the Guardian.

dN

du Nord Futbol's MLS Coaches Hot Seat Power Rankings:
5 Veljko Paunovic - not really in trouble, but they have not been good. And nothing has changed throughout the season. Really though owner is too cheap to cut bait this quick.
4 Gregg Berhalter - doubtful his job is in jeopardy, but its been a large drop from 2015 and the inner-turmoil among the players has been bad.
3 Mauro Biello - Joey Saputo is his boss. He is never safe. Yes they are slightly better overall than before Biello, but this years stretch run has been poor.
2 Jay Heaps - this team seems to be going nowhere, and instead of the MLS Cup 2014 runner up being a building block it now looks like an aberration.
1 Carl Robinson - way too much attacking talent on this team for them to be this bad. And to think I picked them to win it all this year. Surely change must be coming.

dN

The Women's U17 World Cup in Jordan starts this Fri, Sep 30 and Fox Sports will show all 32 games.

• Forward Adrienne Richardson from the Minnesota Thunder Academy is on the team.

dN

Allie Long of Portland Thorns named NWSL Player Of The Month for September.

dN

The biggest questions of the moment in Liga MX all answered here. 6 rounds left in the regular season. By Tom Marshall of ESPNFC.

dN

Copa MX - Round of 16
-Wed Sep 28
Queretaro 3-1 Lobos BUAP
Toluca 4-3 Leon
America 1-0 Veracruz
Juarez 1-1 Alebrijes Oaxaxca - AO advances 5-3 in Penalty Kick Shootout

How did it go for the Americans:

• Jonathan Bornstein went the full 90 as Queretaro advanced.

• Miguel Ibarra + William Yarbrough were both on the bench as Leon was eliminated.

• Juan Ocegueda was on the bench for winners Oaxaca.

Quarterfinal Schedule:
(Oct 18-20 - exact dates TBA)
America v Chiapas
Cruz Azul v Queretaro
Puebla v Toluca
Guadalajara v Oaxaca

dN

NASL Mid-Week 24 Schedule:

• Miami got a game winning goal in the 5th min of 2nd half stoppage time to move them within 1 point of the playoffs.

-Wed Sep 28
Jacksonville 0-0 Edmonton
Carolina 0-2 New York
Puerto Rico 2-1 Ft Lauderdale
Miami 2-1 Ottawa


dN

NASL playoff race: (top 4 advance)
52 New York (5 games left)
45 Indy (6 games left)
44 Edmonton (6 games left)
36 Minnesota (6 games left)
----
35 Tampa Bay (7 games left)
35 Miami (6 games left)
33 Carolina (6 games left)

Rest of the Week 24 schedule:
-Sat Oct 1
Tampa Bay v Miami
Minnesota v Jacksonville
-Sun Oct 2
Ottawa v Puerto Rico
Edmonton v Indy
New York v Ft Lauderdale
OKC v Carolina

dN

Brian Helmick, one of the owners of NASL expansion team SF Deltas had some things to say about the future direction of the league. Including more universal partnerships among owners. (Sounds a little like MLS to me.) What happened to the free wheeling, "we have no rules," NASL that has bragged about? By Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America.

• Although thin on any details he seems to have a different way of doing things, compared to the leagues vision up to this point.

dN

Beaming: du Nord Music Mix Vol 98 (download + extract)

dN

This dude is describing the worst American golf fans, but he is close to describing the worst American sports fans. Its a brutal slagging. Its really funny. By Pete Willett of National Club Golfer.

• Example: "They need to smash the obnoxious dads, with their shiny teeth, Lego man hair, medicated ex-wives, and resentful children. Squeezed into their cargo shorts and boating shoes, they’ll bellow ‘get in the hole’ whilst high-fiving all the other members of the Dentists’ Big Game Hunt Society."

dN

American fullback DeAndre Yedlin and his Newcastle teammates pulled off one of the great comeback yesterday in the English Championship division.

• Trailing 2-3 at home to Norwich as the game went into 6 minutes of 2nd half stoppage time. At the 5 min mark Yedlin sent in a cross that a teammate headed home to tie the game, and less than a minute later Yedlin again was part of the action that saw Newc bagged another one to steal all three points, winning 4-3.

dN

Young American centerback Cameron Carter Vickers has signed a new contract with Tottenham Hotspur. He recently made his senior team debut. Article from the team website.

dN

More love and trust and belief in the game right here in the USA is needed and its OK to feel that way. Its time for the inferiority complex to go. By Charles Boehm of the US Soccer Players Assoc.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League - Matchday 5:

• Dallas choked at home (27 shots and 0 goals) and now will have to go on the road to Guatemala and get a result to advance.

• Tigres lost on the road, so their group will go down to the last game when they host Herediano in 3 weeks.

• Vancouver finished the group with a perfect 4 wins. Very huge for them.

• Advanced: Vancouver, Arabe Unido, NYRB

• Eliminated: Monterrey, Kansas City

-Wed Sep 28
Plaza Amador 1-0 Tigres UANL
Dallas 0-0 Suchitepequez
Vancouver Whitecaps 4-1 Central
Monterrey 3-0 Don Bosco
-Thu Sep 29
Police United v Olimpia
Honduras Progreso v W Connection

Carlos Ruiz made his re-debut for Dallas last night, wearing their shirt for the first time since 2007, and he put a shot off the bar and had another cleared off the line, both could have won the game. By Jon Arnold of the Dallas Morning News.

dN

Four midweek games in MLS Week 30:
(all have playoff implications)

• Only Orlando failed to help themselves in a bid for the playoffs.

• Montreal, DC and Seattle all gained.

• Seattle moved into a spot in the playoffs for the first time all season, bumping their main rival Portland down to 7th.

-Wed Sep 28
Montreal 3-1 San Jose
DC 3-0 Columbus
Toronto 0-0 Orlando
Seattle 1-0 Chicago

Chase for 6th Place in MLS:
EAST
41 Montreal (3 games left) - Next: Sun at Orlando
40 DC (3 games left) - Next: Sat at Toronto
-----
36 New England (3 games left) - Next: Sat v Kansas City
34 Orlando (3 games left) - Next: Sun v Montreal

WEST
43 Kansas City (3 games left) - Next: Sat at New England
41 Seattle (12 wins) (4 games left) - Next: Sun at Vancouver
-----
41 Portland (11 wins) (3 games left) - Next: Sat at Colorado

Biggest games in MLS for the rest of Week 30:
-Sat Oct 1
Red Bulls v Philadelphia
Toronto v DC
Colorado v Portland
Dallas v LA
-Sun Oct 2
Vancouver v Seattle

dN

You have to think its do or die on Saturday for New England Revolution! By Brian O'Connell of ESPNFC.

dN

Philly's talented midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta has announced he is leaving the team at the end of the season, and will return to Switzerland to play for his hometown team St. Gallen, to end his career.

dN

Cool story on young Red Bulls player Alex Muyl who takes the train to home games from lower Manhattan where he lives. By Kristian Dyer of Metro.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 28, 2016

It's Day 272 of 2016.


Asking a favor: If you are someone who reads newspapers, magazines, websites etc on a regular basis please find a way to contribute to them financially. Its a real slog to run those enterprises these days. They can all use our support.

dN

Clint Dempsey will not return to the field in 2016. By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times.

dN

Minnesota United owner Bill McGuire talks about plans for 2017 in MLS and the new stadium in St Paul. [VIDEO] By WCCO-TV.

• Pay very close attention at the 1:12 mark!

dN

American's in UEFA Champions League:

• Tue: Dortmund v Real Madrid

Christian Pulisic - After Dort went behind in the 68th mibn, CP came on in the 73rd min and went right into the thick of a desperate attempt to tie the game - which they did in the 87th on a goal set up by PULISIC!

• Wed: Monchengladbach v Barcelona

Fabian Johnson - Came on as a sub in the 48th min of a very close game. Gladbach lead until the 65th and then gave it away. They did hold the big three to zero goals though. No moral victory however. Those are for high school sports.

dN

UEFA Champions League - Big Teams on Matchday 2:

• Bayern gets beat!!!

• Man City gets held!!!

-Tue Sep 27
Dortmund 2-2 Real Madrid
Dinamo Zagreb 0-4 Juventus
-Wed Sep 18
Ludogorets 1-3 PSG
Arsenal 2-0 Basel
Gladbach 1-2 Barca
Celtic 3-3 Man City
Atleti 1-0 Bayern

dN

I don't think this could be put any clearer: You’d have to be crazy to manage the English national soccer team. By Simon Evans of the Washington Post.

dN

NASL Mid-Week 24 Schedule:
-Wed Sep 28
Jacksonville v Edmonton
Carolina v New York
Puerto Rico v Ft Lauderdale
Miami v Ottawa
NASL playoff race: (top 4 advance)
49 New York (6 games left)
45 Indy (6 games left)
43 Edmonton (7 games left)
36 Minnesota (6 games left)
----
35 Tampa Bay (7 games left)
33 Carolina (7 games left)
32 Miami (7 games left)
32 Fort Lauderdale (7 games left)

dN

A look at the Minnesota United roster and who might be headed with the club to MLS - The Midfielders. By Jeff Rueter and Alex Schieferdecker of Fifty Five One.

• Here was their article covering The Goalkeepers.

• Here was their article covering The Defenders.

dN

Bruno Labbadia, the head coach of American Bobby Wood's Hamburger team was fired yesterday. He has been replaced by Markus Gisdol.

• The story of Labbadia, Hamburger, Gisdol and the soap opera of a club. Plus other Bundesliga stories. By Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian.

dN

As rumors fly, a Wales newspaper trying to find out who Bob Bradley is.

dN

I watched 3 GREAT new TV shows last night:

• High Maintenance on HBO

• Better Things on FX

• Atlanta on FX

dN

Beaming: du Nord Music Mix Vol 98 (download + extract)

dN

I have been fascinated by the Israel-Palestine conflict most of my adult life. I think the best comic book ever written is Palestine by Joe Sacco. And here is a very interesting article about Israeli football teams who have set up shop in the occupied West Bank territory. The conflict resides on every level imaginable. By Peter Baker of the New York Times.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League - Matchday 5:

• New York Red Bulls advance to the knock out rounds for the first time ever.

• Darlington Nagbe scored on a perfect free kick in the 90th min to give Portland a MUST WIN decision in El Salvador.

• This is how you win a game:

GOAL Portland Timbers, Darlington NAGBE No.6 | @CDDragonOficial @TimbersFC #SCCL #SoyAficionado pic.twitter.com/IIZGUCW28z

— THE CHAMPIONS (@TheChampions) September 28, 2016

• Portland will host Saprissa on Oct 19 with advancement on the line. Sap will only need a draw to move on. Port must win that one.

• Dallas plays at home tonight for the group lead with 2 games left to play.

• Tigres can seal their group on the road tonight with a win.

• Who has Advanced: Vancouver, Arabe Unido, NYRB

• Big names that are out: Monterrey, Kansas City

-Tue Sep 27
Antigua GFC 0-0 New York Red Bulls
Dragon 1-2 Portland Timbers
-Wed Sep 28
Plaza Amador v Tigres UANL
Dallas v Suchitepequez
Vancouver Whitecaps v Central
Monterrey v Don Bosco

dN

Four midweek games in MLS Week 30:
(all have playoff implications)
-Wed Sep 28
Montreal v San Jose
DC v Columbus
Toronto v Orlando
Seattle v Chicago

Tyson Wahl of the Columbus Crew is being forced to retire due to ongoing concussion symptoms. This is very sad.

Can Gerardo Martinez be a success as head coach of Atlanta? Lots of questions need to be answered, but some feel the proper response is "Yes." By Paul Tenorio of Four Four Two.

Wade Barrett stepped in as interim head coach for Houston Dynamo several months ago and has not let the organization down. Will he be appointed as the full time replacement? By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 27, 2016

It's Day 271 of 2016.


Happy Birthday to Bill Groundhog Day Ghostbustin' Ass Murray.

dN

Oof! England coach Sam Alardyce was set up by some bored "journalists" and said some really stupid shit and HAS NOW RESIGNED. He lasted 2 months and coached 1 game. What a fucked up football world the English live in.

• The Telegraph went undercover to entrap him and write this story.

dN

Every time 2 or more Minnesota United fans come together the question is always raised: "Who from the current MNUFC roster could/will make the MLS club?" And yesterday that same question was asked in the comments section of this blog by "Interested Sounders Fan."

• So here we go, this is my list of players on the current roster who I think will get a shot:

Jack Blake
Jeb Brovsky
Danny Cruz
Justin Davis
Ibson
Ismaila Jome
Greg Jordan
Brent Kallman
Lance Laing
Sammy Ndjock
Stefano Pinho
Christian Ramirez
Ben Speas
Kevin Venegas
Jamie Watson

• The impossible to answer question is, "Who will make it?" I think it could be as high as 12 and as low as 5.

My Credo: Minnesota MUST focus on building their defense first and foremost if they want any chance of success to start in MLS.

dN

MU centerback Damien Lowe has been called up to the Jamaican National Team for a match on Wed Oct 5 v Suriname in a Caribbean Cup qualifier.

dN

Minn United owner Bill McGuire spoke to St Paul residents today - Fred Melo of the St Paul Pioneer Press live Tweeted the talk. Lots of interesting little facts and ideas.

dN

His Name is Alive
Patterns of Light
11.11.16 pic.twitter.com/EhlQcFR2yN

— xoxo war (@hisnameisalive) September 27, 2016

dN

Allie Long of Portland Thorns named NWSL Player Of The Week.

Mauro Manotas of Houston Dynamo named MLS Player Of The Week.

Trevin Caesar of Orange County Blues named USL Player Of The Week.

dN

By popular demand:
The Miguel Herrera + Tijuana Tracker:

• Standings - 1st Place, 1 point lead

• Up Next - Fri Sep 30 v Atlas

dN

NASL Mid-Week 24 Schedule:
-Wed Sep 28
Jacksonville v Edmonton
Carolina v New York
Puerto Rico v Ft Lauderdale
Miami v Ottawa

dN

CONCACAF Champions League Matchday 5:

• Red Bulls can advance tonight, and all they need to do is draw on the road.

• Its a MUST win for Portland tonight, a draw or loss will hand the group to Saprissa.

-Tue Sep 27
Antigua GFC v New York Red Bulls
Dragon v Portland Timbers
-Wed Sep 28
Plaza Amador v Tigres UANL
Dallas v Suchitepequez
Vancouver Whitecaps v Central
Monterrey v Don Bosco
-Thu Sep 29
Police United v Olimpia
Honduras Progreso v W Connection

dN

UEFA Champions League - Big Games of Matchday 2:
-Tue Sep 27
Dortmund v Real Madrid
Dinamo Zagreb v Juventus
-Wed Sep 18
Ludogorets v PSG
Arsenal v Basel
Gladbach v Barca
Celtic v Man City
Atleti v Bayern

dN

Four midweek games in MLS Week 30:
(all have playoff implications)
-Wed Sep 28
Montreal v San Jose
DC v Columbus
Toronto v Orlando
Seattle v Chicago

dN

Atlanta United has hired Tata Martino as their first head coach. He formerly coached Barcelona and Argentina, the last 2 of his 11 head coaching jobs prior to Atlanta.

• How did AU get their man hired? Club pres Darren Eales lays it all out for us. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 26, 2016

It's Day 270 of 2016.


FIFA pulled a George W Bush today and broke out the MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner. For what? The End Of Racism! Yes racism is dead. FIFA has declared that there is no more racism in soccer. Gone. Done. Finito. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? By Rob Harris of the AP.

• The head of the anti-racism committee is Constant Omari from Congo who never called a single meeting!!!

dN

Two Mexican clubs Xolos and Santos are using their marketing skills to attract English speakers as new fans. By Cesar Hernandez of ESPNFC.

• Go check out the Tigres Twitter page and see who is pictured at the top.

dN

Standings of Americans in Mexico after 11 rounds:

• Michael Orozco - Tijuana - 1st place

• Paul Arriola - Tijuana - 1st place

• Jose Torres - Tigres - 2nd place

• Omar Gonzalez - Pachuca - 3rd place

• Jonathan Bornstein - Queretaro - 14th place

• William Yarbrough - Leon - 15th place

• Jorge Villafana - Santos Laguna - 17th place

dN

Miguel Herrera did an autograph signing at a Carl's Jr. in Tijuana today, but the team did not send any pics of him eating Carl's Jr.

— Jon Arnold (@ArnoldcommaJon) September 23, 2016

dN

My Minnesota United Notes:

• Game High(low)lights [VIDEO]

• That is now 3 losses in a row for Minnesota. And 2 games in a row losing to Ottawa. Minnesota had the lead, again.

• Jamie Watson scored for the 2nd game in a row, and put in one helluva performance. Constantly dangerous, and worked his ass off.

• Everyone else on the team gets a D for effort.

dN

NASL Week 23 results:
-Fri Sep 23
Miami 0-1 Puerto Rico
-Sat Sep 24
Fort Lauderdale 1-4 Tampa Bay Rowdies
Ottawa Fury 3-1 Minnesota United
Jacksonville Armada 1-1 Rayo OKC
Carolina RailHawks 1-0 Edmonton
Indy Eleven 3-0 NY Cosmos

NASL playoff standings: (top 4 advance)
49 New York (6 games left)
45 Indy (6 games left)
43 Edmonton (7 games left)
36 Minnesota (6 games left)
----
35 Tampa Bay (7 games left)
33 Carolina (7 games left)
32 Miami (7 games left)
32 Fort Lauderdale (7 games left)

dN

Georgi Hristov of Tampa Bay named NASL Player Of The Week.

dN

NWSL playoffs start later this week. 4 teams enter. 1 team wins.

• Semifinal schedule:

-Fri Sep 30
Washington Spirit v Chicago Red Stars
-Sun Oct 2
Portland Thorns v Western New York Flash

The NSWL Golden Boot winner is Lynn Williams of Western who scored 11 goals in 19 games.

dN

USL playoffs will begin this week too:

• WEST:

-Fri Sep 30
Swope Park Rangers v LA Galaxy II
Colorado Springs Switchbacks v Vancouver Whitecaps 2
-Sat Oct 1
Sacramento Republic v Orange County Blues
Rio Grande Valley Toros v Oklahoma City Energy

• EAST:

-Sat Oct 1
Rochester Rhinos v Charlotte Independence
-Sun Oct 2
New York Red Bulls II v Orlando City B
Cincinnati v Charleston Battery
Louisville v Richmond Kickers

USL post season awards:

• Golden Boot: Sean Okoli of Cincinnati with 16 goals.

• Golden Glove: Tomas Gomez of Rochester Rhinos.

• Most Assists: Villyan Bijev of Portland Timbers 2 with 10.

dN

Dario Benedetto of Boca Juniors, before that he was at Tijuana and America, with the goal of the weekend! Howitzer! [VIDEO]

• When I was a kid I saw Ace Ntsoelengoe hit a goal like that for the Minnesota Kicks and its what made me want to stop being a defender and become a midfielder!

dN

UEFA Champions League - Big Games of Matchday 2:
-Tue Sep 27
Dortmund v Real Madrid
Dinamo Zagreb v Juventus
-Wed Sep 18
Ludogorets v PSG
Arsenal v Basel
Gladbach v Barca
Celtic v Man City
Atleti v Bayern

dN

Three teams still off to a perfect starts to the season in the Big Euro Leagues:
(how many games with no losses, no ties)

• 7 Feyenoord

• 6 Man City

• 5 Bayern Munich

dN

Dortmund has played 7 competitive matches in all competitions so far this season. And they have scored 25 goals! Averaging 3.6 goals per game. Outstanding.

dN

Biggest games of MLS Week 29:
-Sat Sep 24
Toronto 1-1 Philadelphia
DC 4-1 Orlando
Salt Lake 0-0 Dallas
-Sun Sep 25
LA 2-4 Seattle

My MLS Notes:

• New York Red Bulls, Toronto, New York City all clinched a spot in the post-season. They join Dallas. 4 of 12 spots are now taken.

• DC got a big win and took 6th place away from New England in the playoff race.

• Somehow Columbus is back in long-shot-contention for the final playoff position in the East.

• Ale Bedoya got his first ever goal for Philly. And the Union got a big road point in Toronto.

• Seattle came from a goal down to wipe LA off the field in the 2nd half. Not even LD could save LA.

• Jordon Morris showed off excessive pace for 1 goal against LA and infinite poise for the 2nd.

• It was LA's first home loss of the season.

• Colorado is the only team in the league without a home loss.

• 2 unsung forwards had big weekends for their team: Ola Kamara for Columbus and Patrick Mullins for DC.

• The best individual performance of the week came from a player that I bet you have never even heard of: Mauro Manotas. Which team? Houston. What did he do? Hat trick! Dynamo beat the Timbers.

The best analysis of the weekend in MLS. By Matt Doyle of MLS.

dN

du Nord MLS Coach Of The Year Candidates:

• Jesse Marsch

• Pablo Mastroeni

• Oscar Pareja

• Greg Vanney

• Patrick Viera

dN

The Chase for 6th Place - the final spot in the MLS playoffs:

• EAST:

38 Montreal (4 games left) - Next: Wed v San Jose
37 DC (4 games left) - Next: Wed v Columbus
-----
36 New England (3 games left) - Next: Sat v Kansas City
34 Orlando (4 games left) - Next: Wed at Toronto
32 Columbus (5 games left) - Next: Wed at DC

• WEST:

43 Kansas City (3 games left) - Next: Sat at New England
41 Portland (3 games left) - Next: Sat at Colorado
-----
38 Seattle (5 games left) - Next: Wed v Chicago
35 Vancouver (3 games left) - Next: Sun v Seattle
34 San Jose (5 games left) - Next: Wed at Montreal

dN

And the battle for the MLS Supporters Shield:
53 Dallas (3 games left) (1.71 ppg) (15 wins) (+8 gd)
48 Colorado (5 games left) (1.66 ppg) (12 wins) (+5 gd)
48 Toronto (4 games left) (1.60 ppg) (13 wins) (+12 gd)
48 LA (3 games left) (1.55 ppg) (11 wins) (+15 gd)
48 New York Red Bulls (3 games left) (1.55 ppg) (13 wins) (+13 gd)
48 New York City (3 games left) (1.55 ppg) (13 wins) (+2 gd)

dN

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



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 23, 2016

It's Day 267 of 2016.


$360
The price of a 2017 Supporters Season Ticket for Minnesota United
Go here
Use the code: DARKCLOUDSFOLLOW
Put down your $40 deposit
Expires 9/23 - Today is the last day!

dN

A concise timeline of the NASL teetering on the edge of coming apart at the seams. Includes links to all the key stories from the past few months. By Paul Kennedy of Soccer America.

• Also has a statement from the North American Soccer League that says almost nothing and was released at 11pm on Thursday night.

dN

And now Fort Lauderdale has gone and done this:

@lcuccat1 announces on the show that Pascal Millien and Junior Sandoval will be signed for $1 each to play for the @FTLStrikers

— The Tailgate Show (@TheTailgateShow) September 23, 2016

Sad that these players would do this.

dN

NASL Week 23 schedule:
-Fri Sep 23
Miami v Puerto Rico
-Sat Sep 24
Fort Lauderdale v Tampa Bay Rowdies
Ottawa Fury v Minnesota United
Jacksonville Armada v Rayo OKC
Carolina RailHawks v Edmonton
Indy Eleven v NY Cosmos

dN

The year long recovery from knee surgery of Minnesota United winger Jamie Watson, who is back to top form. By Jeff Rueter of Fifty Five One.

Last Saturday Ottawa came to Minnesota and got 2 goals after the 80th minute to grab a 2-3 win. This weekend the roles are reversed and Minnesota plays at Ottawa with nothing but revenge on their minds. Who is stronger willed?

dN

NASL playoff Battle: (top 4 advance)
49 New York (7 games left)
43 Edmonton (8 games left)
42 Indy (7 games left)
36 Minnesota (7 games left)
----
32 Miami (8 games left)
32 Tampa Bay (8 games left)
32 Fort Lauderdale (8 games left)

dN

The NWSL Playoffs start next week. 4 teams enter. 1 team wins.

dN

Tributary: du Nord Music Mix Vol 97 (download + extract)

dN

Learn a little something about the young American Caleb Stanko who is making a name for himself in the Swiss 1st Division and was recently capped for the USA. By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.

dN

Important win today!
Bob Bradley + Le Havre Tracker:

• Results - Fri Sep 23 W 0-1 at Auxerre

• Standings - 6th place, 4 points out of 1st after 9 played

• Up Next - Mon Oct 3 v Sochaux

dN

Biggest games of MLS Week 29:
-Sat Sep 24
Toronto v Philadelphia
DC v Orlando
Salt Lake v Dallas
-Sun Sep 25
LA v Seattle

dN

Sebastian Giovinco is doing his thing in a big big way, and he is extremely happy with his choice to play for Toronto. By Kurt Larson of the Toronto Sun.

dN

Sacha Kljestan just keeps getting better and better for the New York Red Bulls, and now he is finally getting a 2nd shot a the US national team. By Filip Bondy of the New York Times.

• Reflective words from Kljestan: "I played 46 games [for the USMNT], and I feel a lot of them I was pretty anonymous on the field and didn’t leave my stamp on the game. But now I’ve gotten a new chance, and I want to make every one count."

dN

Its very close to do or die for San Jose Earthquakes in the 2016 season. By Eliott Almond of the San Jose Mercury News.

dN

The Chase for 6th Place:

• EAST

38 Montreal (5 games left) - Next: Sat at Red Bulls
36 New England (4 games left) - Next: Sun at Columbus
-----
34 DC (5 games left) - Next: Sat v Orlando
34 Orlando (5 games left) - Next: Sat at DC

• WEST

41 Portland (4 games left) - Next: Sat at Houston
40 Kansas City (4 games left) - Next: Sat at San Jose
-----
35 Seattle (6 games left) - Next: Sun at LA
34 Vancouver (4 games left) - Next: Sat v Colorado
34 San Jose (6 games left) - Next: Sat v Kansas City

dN

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend. By Barry Glendenning, Michael Butler and Alan Smith of the Guardian.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 22, 2016

It's Day 266 of 2016.


$360
The price of a 2017 Supporters Season Ticket for Minnesota United
Go here
Use the code: DARKCLOUDSFOLLOW
Put down your $40 deposit
Expires 9/23

dN

Minnesota United technical director Manny Lagos is headed to Scandinavia on a scouting trip. Everyone in town is covering it:
Fifty Five One - By Wes Burdine
Pioneer Press - By Andy Greder
Star Tribune - By David La Vaque (this one has the most words from Lagos)

dN

Minn United has 8000 season ticket deposits for next year.

• I have no idea if that is good, bad or in the middle. I would love to hear that its double that number on Jan 1.

dN

Tributary: du Nord Music Mix Vol 97 (download + extract)

dN

Bob Bradley + Le Havre Tracker:
-Standings - 11th place, 6 points out of 1st after 8 played
-Up Next - Fri Sep 23 at Auxerre

dN

Lets see how other countries are doing with their trial runs of the Video Assistant Referee system. Let's try the Netherlands. From Reuters via the Guardian.

dN

Young American centerback Cameron Carter-Vickers made his debut with Tottenham yesterday in a League Cup game, a 5-0 win over Gillingham. Here are CCVs post game comments. By Dan Kilpatrick of ESPNFC.

dN

NASL Week 23 schedule:
-Fri Sep 23
Miami v Puerto Rico

dN

A new team, Minneapolis City, just completed their first season in business and posted an article describing how it went, and even laying out the basics of their budget. Congrats to them on surviving. Anytime people set out on missions like this its inspiring. By Dan Hoedeman (team chairman) at Fifty Five One.

dN

Has Jose Mourinho lost his Wizard's hat, cape and wand? He does not seem to be the same coach he was previously. By Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 21, 2016

It's Day 265 of 2016.


$360
The price of a 2017 Supporters Season Tickets for Minnesota United

• Go here

• Use the code: DARKCLOUDSFOLLOW

• Put down your $40 deposit

• Deal expires 9/23

NOTE: If you already made your deposit then you are all set. Nothing to see here. Your ticket rep will call you when tix go on sale at this price.

dN

This is such a great story. A kid with inoperable brain cancer got to see his favorite team Seattle Sounders, hang out with his favorite player Clint Dempsey, and meet the rest of the squad. Wonderful. From the Sounders. [VIDEO]

dN

Brutal. It looks like the Fort Lauderdale Strikers Brazilian owners are pulling out of funding the team, effective immediately. By Neil Morris of WRAL.

• Bill Edwards, owner of Tampa Bay Rowdies, has shown his good side and has been loaning Fort Lauderdale money so they can continue paying some of their bills.

dN

Bob Bradley + Le Havre Tracker:

• Standings - 9th place, 5 points out of 1st after 7 played

• Up Next - Tue Sep 20 v Brest (1st place)

dN

Its a good day for American midfielder Perry Kitchen:

pic.twitter.com/Fpjc0URNpT

— Heart of Midlothian (@JamTarts) September 21, 2016

dN

Young American Lyden Gooch is getting a shot in the starting 11 at Sunderland early this season and he is not failing. By Chris Young of the Guardian.

dN

American Fabian Johnson scored a goal today for Monchengladbach as they tied 1-1 at Leipzig.

dN

In the wake of guys like Christian Pulisic being given such a huge chance to play at Dortmund the question gets asked more and more, are MLS teams doing their youth justice on the field? By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

• The answer is no.

Another player getting rave reviews is 18 year old Cameron Carter-Vickers at Tottenham. (Article is about another player so you have to scroll down a ways for CCV mentions.) By David Hytner of the Guardian.

• CCV made his Tottenham 1st team debut today in the League Cup. He played the full 90 and they won 5-0 over Gillingham.

• Thanks to Brian Sciaretta for the heads up. Follow him for the very best on Yanks Abroad.

dN

The Chase for 6th Place!

• Who is gonna grab the last spot in MLS Playoffs in each division:

EAST
38 Montreal - Next: at Red Bulls
36 New England - Next: at Columbus
-----
34 DC - Next: v Orlando
34 Orlando - Next: at DC

WEST
41 Portland - Next: at Houston
40 Kansas City - Next: at San Jose
-----
35 Seattle - Next: at LA
34 Vancouver - Next: v Colorado
34 San Jose - Next: v Kansas City

MLS goals leaders:
20 Bradley Wright-Phillips
17 David Villa
16 Sebastian Giovinco
15 Fanedo Adi
14 Giovani Dos Santos
14 Ignacio Piatti
14 Cyle Larin
14 Dom Dwyer

MLS assists leaders:
16 Sacha Kljestan
13 Sebastian Giovinco
11 Steven Gerrard
11 Mauro Diaz
11 Giovani Dos Santos
11 Joao Plata
10 Andrea Pirlo

dN

In the wake of Columbus Crew's horrible season everyone seems to have forgotten about their great young midfielder Wil Trapp. He continues to improve. By Paul Tenorio of Four Four Two.

dN

The 2017 MLS team logos ranked. By Fox Sports.

dN

UEFA announced the 12 cities that will host Euro 2020 games. I had to look one of them up cuz I had never heard of it and had no idea where it was: Baku.

• Here are all the details on the host cities and qualifying.

dN

Real Madrid's perfect start to the season ended in Game 5 as they tied Villarreal 1-1 at home. -And Hertha Berlin were beaten in Round 4 by Bayern to end their perfect start.

Perfect starts to the season in the Big Euro Leagues:
(how many games with no losses, no ties)
6 Feyenoord
5 Man City
4 Istanbul Basaksehir
4 Bayern Munich



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 20, 2016

It's Day 264 of 2016.


Aron Johannsson has a new (interim) head coach at Werder Bremen. Viktor Skripnik was winless in 3, with 2 goals scored and 12 allowed, and got fired on Monday.

• They host Mainz on Wednesday.

• BTW, ArJo's suspension for swearing at the ref is 2 games. Take that potty mouths - Germany does not approve.

dN

Who is rollin' and who is stallin' for the USMNT right now. By Doug McIntyre of ESPNFC.

dN

John Brooks has been battling a back injury for quite a while now. Lets learn more about it. By Stephan Uersfeld of ESPNFC.

• Its a real drag for Brooks to be hurt now cuz his team Hertha is tied at the top with Bayern Munich at 3-0-0 and the two teams face off on Wednesday in Bavaria.

dN

Will update when score comes in later today
Bob Bradley + Le Havre Tracker:

• Standings - 9th place, 5 points out of 1st after 7 played

• Up Next - Tue Sep 20 v Brest (1st place)

dN

Different American players develop at different speeds and levels. There is no magic wand. Its all legit depending on circumstances. By Steve Davis of Four Four Two.

dN

When it comes to #USAvMEX in #TheHex, there’s no place like Columbus! Look back on the first 4 #DosaCero contests: https://t.co/hFyKeFtw3w

— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) September 19, 2016

The Hex - Game 1
USA v Mexico
Fri Nov 11
MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus OH
FS1 + Univision
Time TBA

• Due to the anticipated high demand for tickets to the match, U.S. Soccer will use a lottery system to allocate tickets among those who apply.

The #USMNT-Mexico World Cup qualifier will officially be in Columbus on Nov. 11. Will the streak continue? pic.twitter.com/XOEL1G4hwK

— Paul Carr (@PCarrESPN) September 19, 2016

dN

Do you support or follow a NWSL team or at least pay attention? This is an update on where the league stands and how the future looks. By Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly.com.

• I admit I know little about the league. I should know more. Here is my chance.

dN

A documentary film has been made about Mexican club Tijuana Xolos. By Alexander Abnos of Sports Illustrated.

• The movie is called Club Frontera. This is the official trailer.

• Check out the website.

dN

Matt VanOekel of Edmonton named NASL Player Of The Week.

Kelyn Rowe of New England Revolution named MLS Player Of The Week.

Villyan Bijev of Portland Timbers 2 named USL Player Of The Week.

dN

Bernardo Anor trained with Minnesota United today for the first time since early June when he suffered a broken ankle.

dN

All the latest scuttlebutt on Toronto FC and the Canadian soccer federation is right here. By Kurt Larson of the Toronto Sun.

dN

Frank Lampard of NYC has jacked up his other calf (not the one he hurt in the Winter) and will be out for a month.

dN

Joey Barton must be a really good player because he can't keep his mouth shut yet teams keep signing him. Who is he really? By Donald McRae of the Guardian.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 19, 2016

It's Day 263 of 2016.


Americans were in a big game south of the border:
-Sat Sep 17
Pachuca 2-2 Tijuana

• Omar Gonzalez v Michael Orozco + Paul Arriola

• All 3 played, the first two going the full 90 and Arriola played 3.

• Now in 4th and 2nd respectively.

Americans clashed in the Bundesliga too:
-Sat Sep 17
Monchengladbach 4-1 Werder Bremen

• Fabian Johnson v Aron Johannsson

• Both set up goals for their teams.

• Johannsson came on as a sub at half time, but after setting up the goal in the 73rd min he was Red Carded in the 80th. He was ejected after he got in the referees face and screamed "That was a fucking handball," in English. Off you go.

• Werder who are 0-0-3 to start the season.

Christian Pulisic had an OK weekend as he went 90 in the league game for Dortmund, a 6-0 win v Darmstadt - he scored 1 goal and also got 2 assists.

• He turned 18 years old on Sunday too.

Timmy Chandler and Eintracht Frankfurt were leading Leverkusen 2-1 late in the game when Chandler was called for a foul in penalty box. Luckily for him and his team Chicarito (who had already scored once in the game) hit the post on his PK attempt and the score stood for a EF win.

William Yarbrough was in goal for Leon as they shut out America 2-0. -Afterward America fired head coach Ignacio Ambriz.

dN

Looks like DeAndre Yedlin will be given every chance to prove himself at Newcastle. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

dN

Bob Bradley + Le Havre Tracker:

• Standings - 9th place, 5 points out of 1st after 7 played

• Up Next - Tue Sep 20 v Brest (1st place)

dN

And the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy goes to... Louie Anderson, “Baskets.” (Loud rawkus cheering!)

dN

November the 6th of next year (2017) has been set for trials in the FIFA/CONCACAF/CONMEBOL bribery cases. Aaron Davidson is a part of this. By Nate Raymond of Reuters.

• 18 people have already pleaded guilty in this case.

dN

NASL Week 22 schedule:
-Sat Sep 17
New York 0-0 Edmonton
Puerto Rico 3-3 Jacksonville
Indy 2-1 Miami
Tampa 1-0 Carolina
Minnesota 2-3 Ottawa
-Sun Sep 18
OKC 1-1 Fort Lauderdale

My Minnesota United Notes:

• Game Highlights [VIDEO]

• The Loons took a 2-1 lead into halftime, then gave up goals to the Fury in the 84th and 88th to throw away 3 points.

• Jamie Watson put in a huge effort on the first goal which at initially appreared to be his 1st goal of the season, but on replay was shown to be an own goal. Never the less he beat the keeper and 2 defenders to force the goal. Impressive play.

• Once the 2nd half started Ottawa were unrelenting, running very very hard after each and every ball.

• One time very late the Loon pressed up very high and wreaked havoc on the Fury. As the play fizzled out a loud chant of More Of That came from the from the supporters. There would be NO more of that from the Loons though.

• Minn defensive midfield of Brovsky and Pitchkolan (who moved to centerback) had a bad game.

• This is the 3rd time this season that Minn has lost 2 in a row.

• Damien Lowe was not in uniform for Minn due to a hamstring strain. It is said to be not serious.

NASL Playoff Standings:
49 NYC
43 Edm
42 IE
36 MU
----
32 Mia
32 TBR
32 FLS

dN

Biggest games of MLS Week 28:
-Sat Sep 17
Seattle 1-0 Vancouver
New York City 2-2 Dallas
-Sun Sep 18
Kansas City 2-2 LA
Toronto 3-3 Red Bulls

My MLS Notes:

• Another big collapse for the Red Bulls - this time they lead 0-2 and then 1-3 and gave up the tying goal in the 86th minute. At this point its like watching Charles Barkley golf. [VIDEO]

• Dallas is the first team in the Western Conference playoffs this season.

• Jozy Altidore has scored 8 goals since Aug 1. Toronto will really need him to be hot 6 weeks from now in the playoffs.

• Landon Donovan came on as a sub in the 74th min and less than 2 minutes later tied the game in KC with his first goal since un-retiring. [VIDEO]

• Bradley Wright-Phillips became the 1t player in league history to score 20 goals or more in back to back seasons. As a matter of fact, I don't think any single player has scored 20 or more goals twice, ever, period, much less back to back.

• Nic Lodeiro and Jordan Morris teamed up for a tasty goal to give Seattle a desperate win. [VIDEO]

• New England finally started Juan Agudelo, Diego Fagundez, Kei Kamara, Lee Nguyen and Kelyn Rowe all on the field at the same time. It produced a big road win in Montreal.

• Montreal has just 1 win in 7 games and is falling falling falling down the Eastern standings, getting ever so close to the crashing out of the playoffs.

• Orlando has to be one of more baffling teams this season. After getting a new head coach they still keep making the same dumb mistakes - and now losing at home 1-4 to Columbus one of the worst teams in the league.

dN

The best MLS weekly recap - Essential reading. By Matthew Doyle of MLSsoccer.

dN

Statement:

Landon Donovan has more MLS goals than Nelson Valdez this season.

— Total MLS (@TotalMLS) September 18, 2016

dN

Playoffs - 6th place cut off line:

• East

36 New England
-----
34 DC
34 Orlando

• West

40 Kansas City
-----
35 Seattle
34 Vancouver
34 San Jose

Chase for the MLS Supporters Shield - the 4 leaders (all tied this weekend):
52 Dallas (30 Played) (1.73 points per game) - Next: at RSL
48 LA (30 Played) (1.60 points per game) - Next: v SS
47 Colorado (28 Played) (1.68 points per game) - Next: at VW
47 Toronto (29 Played) (1.62 points per game) - Next: v PU

dN

In Italy's biggest derby Juventus took the lead at Inter Milan in the 2nd half, but the home team stormed back with 2 late goals and handed Juve a rare league loss. (Only 5 losses in all of last season.)

dN

Perfect starts to the season in the Big Euro Leagues:
(how many games with no losses, no ties)
6 Feyenoord
5 Man City
4 Real Madrid
4 Istanbul Basaksehir
3 Bayern Munich
3 Hertha Berlin

dN

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

dN

Bundesliga Matchday 3: Top five talking points. From Deutsche Welle.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 16, 2016

It's Day 260 of 2016.


Happy birthday to my great brother Bill.

dN

Americans in a big game south of the border:
-Sat Sep 17
Pachuca v Tijuana

• Omar Gonzalez v Michael Orozco + Paul Arriola

dN

Americans clash in the Bundesliga too:
-Sat Sep 17
Gladbach v Werder

• Fabian Johnson v Aron Johannsson

dN

The once prodigious American Joshua Gatt has come back from multiple surgeries on his left knee over the past 3 years. What's it like being back on the field for Molde? He is still only 25. By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.

dN

Bob Bradley + Le Havre Tracker:

• Standings - 9th place, 4 points out of 1st after 7 played

• Up Next - Fri Sep 16 Lost 2-1 at Bourg en Bresse

• Things not going so smoothly at HAC.

dN

What if Mexico bailed on Azteca for World Cup qualifiers? Could happen. By Paul Kennedy of Soccer America.

dN

Oh My!

• London Town

A movie about The Only Band That Matters - The Clash

dN

The "War On Drugs" has been a presence in my life since the 70s. Its a bigger joke than ever. [VIDEO]


dN

Grasshopper: du Nord Music Mix Vol 96 (download + extract)

dN

CONCACAF Champions League group stage Matchday 4 schedule:

• NYRB has advanced to the knock out stage!

• Red Bulls grab a very late goal to get the win.

• Huge upset in Honduras as Pumas loses. 2 Mexican teams in get beat in the same week. Very rare.

• Matchday 5 begins on September 27th.

-Thu Sep 15
New York Red Bulls 1-0 Alianza
Honduras Progreso 2-1 Pumas UNAM
Herediano 2-0 Plaza Amador

dN

NASL Week 22 schedule:
-Sat Sep 17
New York v Edmonton
Puerto Rico v Jacksonville
Indy v Miami
Tampa v Carolina
Minnesota v Ottawa
-Sun Sep 18
OKC v Fort Lauderdale

dN

Minnesota's opponent this weekend is Ottawa:

• Have only allowed 13 goals in their last 14 games.

• Only allowed 3 goals in past 5 games.

• Tied their 5 previous games and lost the 3 that preceded that.

• Have not won a game since Jul 30

• Their leading goal scorer is Carl Haworth with 7. But none since Aug 21.

Minnesota United on the other hand:

• Have only scored 9 goals in 9 games since Aug 1. Oof.

• They have 2 wins 4 draws and 3 losses in that same time period.

• The good news is that they are playing excellent defense. Since they gave up 4 goals to Miami on Aug 6 they have only allowed 3 goals in 7 games. That's impressive.

• This weeks notes from the Loons practice field, and words from the new guy Chris Klute. By Jeff Ruetter of Fifty Five One.

And lets end the Minnesota section with words from GM Manny Lagos. By Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.

dN

Biggest games of MLS Week 28:
-Sat Sep 17
Seattle v Vancouver - 3pm CT on MLS Live
New York City v Dallas - 6pm CT on MLS Live
-Sun Sep 18
Kansas City v LA - 1pm CT on FOX.
Toronto v Red Bulls - 4pm CT on FOX.

Chase for the Supporters Shield - the 4 leaders:
51 Dallas (29 Played) (1.76 points per game) - Next: at NYC
47 LA (29 Played) (1.62 points per game) - Next: at SKC
46 Colorado (27 Played) (1.70 points per game) - Next: v SJE
46 Toronto (28 Played) (1.64 points per game) - Next: v NYRB

dN

More from former head coach Steve Nicol's forthcoming book: The crashing end with the New England Revolution. Via ESPNFC.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 15, 2016

It's Day 259 of 2016.


Even the women who are drawn in to work for FIFA are idiots! I had hoped they were smarter than the men:

Europe's new female rep on the FIFA Council not exactly promising with her quotes here. https://t.co/RrXVXREUlP pic.twitter.com/bM6BpyJK6l

— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) September 15, 2016

dN

MLS covets that Hispanic and Latino market. The players are arriving in droves. by Luis Miguel Echegaray of the Guardian.

dN

The Loons are supposedly looking for a new head coach for next year. Anyone got a barf bag handy? By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

• The two names listed in the article would make worse head coaches then having me do the job.

dN

Interview with MLS commissioner Don Garber. Covering many topics. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.

• He tells the story of why Minnesota remained United.

dN

A reminder of my MLS Preseaon Predictions: (CURRENT REMARKS)

• Champion: Vancouver Whitecaps - NOT GONNA HAPPEN

• MVP: Mauro Diaz - Dallas - VERY VERY POSSIBLE

• Golden Boot: Kei Kamara - Columbus Crew - HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

• Breakout: Gonzalo Veron - Red Bull New York - MOVING ON

• Newcomer: Shkelzen Gashi - Colorado Rapids - NOT BAD BUT NOT WINNING

One out of the five is close. Right?

dN

Minnesota MLS Players No Go List:
(These are players currently in MLS that I don't want to see anywhere near a Minnesota United roster next Spring.)
Jalil Anibaba
Mehdi Ballouchy
Chad Barrett
Marc Burch
Bobby Burling
Hassoun Camara
Servando Carrasco
Brian Carroll
Conor Casey
Nick DeLeon
Conor Doyle
Andrew Dykstra
Eric Gehrig
Ned Grabavoy
Connor Hallisey
Michael Harrington
Atiba Harris
Jordan Harvey
David Horst
Andrew Jacobson
Adam Jahn
Jack Jewsbury
Jon Kempin
Brad Knighton
Daigo Kobayashi
Jeff Larentowicz
Abdoulie Mansally
Darren Mattocks
Jack McInerney
Tyrone Mears
Ashtone Morgan
Chance Myers
Paulo Nagamura
Dominic Oduro
Jacob Peterson
Alvaro Saborio
Josh Saunders
Chris Schuler
Bobby Shuttleworth
Nathan Sturgis
Steven Taylor
Nelson Valdez
Zarek Valentin
Tyson Wahl
Collen Warner
Je-Vaughn Watson
Joe Willis
Chris Wingert
Ben Zemanski

dN

Grasshopper: du Nord Music Mix Vol 96 (download + extract)

dN

Two of Stanley Kubrick brilliant movies are returning to the movie houses starting this weekend! Dr Strangelove kicks it off. I got my ticket thanks to Bill.

• Next month is Kubrick's The Shining.

• And also next month is Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver! (Just in time for the election.)

dN

My declaration of the day: Kellyn Acosta must play the defensive midfield role for USMNT. He is a freakin pitbull.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League group stage Matchday 4 schedule:

• Oh! Monterrey got picked off last night in Panama. Upset City. Tigres fans are overjoyed! Mighty Monterrey is OUT of the competition!

• Portland went to the Purple Monster's Cave and had the usual done to them. They scored first by still lost.

-Thu sees Red Bulls (home) and Pumas (away) in action.
-Wed Sep 14
Arabe Unido 2-1 Monterrey
Saprissa 4-2 Portland Timbers
-Thu Sep 15
New York Red Bulls v Alianza
Honduras Progreso v Pumas UNAM
Herediano v Plaza Amador

dN

NASL Mid-Week 22 schedule:
-Wed Sep 14
Miami 1-0 Carolina
Edmonton 0-0 OKC

NASL Up To Date Standings:
48 New York Cosmos
42 Edmonton
39 Indy Eleven
36 Minnesota United
-----
32 Miami
31 Fort Lauderdale
30 Carolina RailHawks
29 Rayo OKC
29 Tampa Bay Rowdies
23 Ottawa Fury
17 Jacksonville Armada
10 Puerto Rico

dN

Biggest games of MLS Week 28:
-Sat Sep 17
Seattle v Vancouver - 3pm CT on MLS Live
New York City v Dallas - 6pm CT on MLS Live
-Sun Sep 18
Kansas City v LA - 1pm CT on FOX.
Toronto v Red Bulls - 4pm CT on FOX.

dN

Dallas got jealous of LA making a splash with Landon Donovan, so they hooked a fish of their own - they brought back Guatemalan super-villain Carlos Ruiz:

Welcome back Pescadito! #DTID pic.twitter.com/LyXtHSAkbc

— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) September 15, 2016

dN

3 Americans in a big game south of the border this weekend:
-Sat Sep 17
Pachuca v Tijuana

• Its Omar Gonzalez v Michael Orozco + Paul Arriola

dN

Bob Bradley + Le Havre Tracker:

• Standings - 8th place, 4 points out of 1st after 6 played

• Up Next - Fri Sep 16 at Bourg en Bresse

dN

Leicester starts off the Champions League the right way, with a strong win. They aren't off to the best of starts in English Premier League, so this give hope for a turn around. By Rory Smith of the New York Times.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 14, 2016

It's Day 258 of 2016.


Clint Dempsey trained with Seattle today for the first time since undergoing diagnostic testing for an irregular heartbeat. By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times.

• UPDATE:

Dempsey has been cleared to return to training in a limited capacity but has not been cleared to play

— Matt Pentz (@mattpentz) September 14, 2016

dN

A long interview with Loons boss Manny Lagos. By Ryan Tolmich of SBI.

• Word on the street is that Damien Lowe is battling a slight hamstring thingy. Prognosis unknown.

dN

US Open Cup Final:
-Tue Sep 13
FC Dallas 4-2 New England Revolution

• Huge congrats to FC Dallas, fans and staff.

• NER got a fantastic early goal by Juan Agudelo, created by high pressure and quick decisions.

• FCD stormed back and eventually had a 3-1 lead at half time.

• FCD came at the Revs from every angle in the last 30 minutes of the half.

• NER had to make 2 injury subs in the first half, and seemed to have no answer to the Dallas outside attackers.

• Dallas added a 4th late, and NER got another from Agudelo for the final score.

• Mauro Diaz was incredible for Dallas. What a player!

• I believe the last time Dallas won a trophy was 1997. I'm not kidding. Here's the story of last night's big win. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.

dN

Its been discovered that Franz Beckenbauer who was the VOLUNTARY head of the 2006 World Cup Committee was given $6.2 Million (by one of the FIFA event sponsors) for his role. Was that unaccounted for money payment for the job he did, or something else all together? The scheisse is getting deep in Germany. Via Deutsche Welle.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League group stage Match Day 4 schedule:

• Vancouver has advanced to the knock out stage. The first team to do so. They have the full 12 pts with 1 game to play.

• 15 year old Alphonso Davies got the game winner for Vanc.

• Kansas City has been eliminated from the tournament. Just 1 point from 3 games. Oof.

• And Police United got their collective ass BLISTERED by Pachua. Wow.

• 11 goals for Pachuca! 11!

• Monterrey goes tonight.

• And the juicy Saprissa v Portland game.

-Tue Sep 13
Sporting Kansas City 1-2 Vancouver Whitecaps
Police United 0-11 Pachuca
Real Esteli 1-1 Suchitepequez
-Wed Sep 14
Arabe Unido v Monterrey
Saprissa v Portland Timbers
-Thu Sep 15
New York Red Bulls v Alianza
Honduras Progreso v Pumas UNAM
Herediano v Plaza Amador

dN

UPDATED: UEFA Champions League group stage - Big teams in action:

• Barca + Bayern put up big big numbers.

• Messi(3), Suarez(2), Neymar + Iniesta. Good luck beating them when they do that.

-Tue Sep 13
PSG 1-1 Arsenal
Barca 7-0 Celtic
Bayern 5-0 Rostov

• Dortmund ran up the score in Poland.

• Kun Aguero bagged 3 as Man City skewers Gladbach.

• Juve did a faceplant at home.

-Wed Sep 14
Man City v Gladbach
Real Madrid v Sporting CP
Legia v Dortmund
Juve v Sevilla

Christian Pulisic went the full 90 today and grabbed a nice assist for Dortmund in the UCL.

Fabian Johnson lasted the whole 90 for Gladbach playing a day late in the UCL at Manchester City after biblical rain canceled Tuesdays game. Yeah, they lost badly.

dN

The rule book UEFA hands out to every participating club in the Champions League is in depth, important and a little weird. By Rory Smith of the New York Times.

dN

Interesting reading about the restaurant critic at the New York Times, Pete Wells, including some infamous run-ins with David Chang and Guy Fieri. By Ian Parker of the New Yorker.

dN

Mountain Singers live at Little Canada Bingo!

Wednesday gets its grind on! #eurorack #modular #synth #MountainSingers

A video posted by Billy McGuire (@bill_mcguire) on Sep 14, 2016 at 12:37pm PDT

dN

Samantha Kerr of Sky Blue named NWSL Player Of The Week.

dN

Ale Moreno's Weekly MLS Award Show. From ESPNFC. [VIDEO]

dN

You remember Steve Nichol don't you. Long time coach of New England who lost 4(!) MLS Cups Finals. Oof. Anyway. He has written a book and ESPNFC has printed a little of it. Get a little taste of potatoes, Niger night bugs and Clint Dempsey.

dN

NASL Mid-Week 22 schedule:
-Wed Sep 14
Miami v Carolina
Edmonton v OKC

dN

Its chaos off the field for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. By Bryan Kay of the Guardian.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 13, 2016

It's Day 257 of 2016.


MLS Expansion Draft news:

• Minnesota and Atlanta will each get to pick up to 5 players from current MLS teams. Those teams will lose no more than 1 player. Draft will take place on Dec 13.

UPDATE: "The 20 current MLS clubs will have the ability to protect 11 players from their rosters."

• Thanks to Grant Wahl for the details.

dN

US Open Cup Final
-Tue Sep 13
FC Dallas v New England Revolution - at 9pm CT on ESPN2 and UDN

• Prediction: I am going to go with the home team Dallas in a Penalty Kick Shootout.

• A preview of the championship game. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.

• Team by team match primer. From US Soccer.

Yesterday I ran a poll on Twitter:
Who ya got in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Final?
86% Dallas
14% New England

dN

Dario Cvitanich of Miami named NASL Player Of The Week

Giovani dos Santos of LA Galaxy named MLS Player Of The Week

Irvin Herrera of Saint Louis named USL Player Of The Week

dN

The amazing triple spiral. [VIDEO]

dN

NASL Week 22 mid-week schedule:
-Wed Sep 14
Miami v Carolina
Edmonton v OKC

dN

CONCACAF Champions League group stage Match Day 4 schedule:

• Desperation time for SKC against VW. Its probably the biggest game of the round. SKC must win or they are getting KTFO! Vanc has 6 pts to KCs 1.

• Pachuca has an important game tonight too, on the road in Belize.

-Tue Sep 13
Sporting Kansas City v Vancouver Whitecaps
Police United v Pachuca
Real Esteli v Suchitepequez
-Wed Sep 14
Arabe Unido v Monterrey
Saprissa v Portland Timbers
-Thu Sep 15
New York RB v Alianza
Honduras Progreso v Pumas UNAM
Herediano v Plaza Amador

dN

Measuring the current form of potential USMNT players. Hot > Cold. By Doug McIntyre of ESPN.

dN

American winger Josh Gatt returned to the field last Sunday and played the last 35 min for Molde in a 0-0 tie v Haugesund. Gatt has been on the shelf for the better part of 3 years with knee injuries.

dN

The only American in the UCL this season is Fabian Johnson of Monchengladbach. Today they travel to Manchester City.

• NOTE: This game was postponed due to heavy rain in Manchester flooded the field. No word on replay date. How about tomorrow?

dN

UEFA Champions League group stage begins today as well. Here is the full schedule.

Big teams in action:
-Tue Sep 13
PSG v Arsenal
Barca v Celtic
Bayern v Rostov
-Wed Sep 14
Real Madrid v Sporting CP
Legia v Dortmund
Juve v Sevilla

dN

Perfect starts to the season in Euro Big 8:
(how many games with no losses, no ties)
5 Feyenoord
4 Man City
4 Sportin CP
3 Juventus
3 Real Madrid
3 Istanbul Basaksehir
2 Bayern Munich
2 Hertha Berlin
2 Genoa



The Bird Is The Word