Some Soccer News for Oct 31, 2016

It's Day 305 of 2016.


The NASL era in Minnesota soccer is over. The team finished in 5th place and did not qualify for the playoffs for the first time in many seasons.

dN

After the game there was a lot of emotion flowing. Former player Brian Kallman shot this video and caught me looking like I was fighting back tears:

My favorite part of the night last night @MNDarkClouds the look on @dunord s face says it all! pic.twitter.com/naoQAVxT9X

— Brian Kallman (@futebolformNfit) October 30, 2016

-The St Paul Pioneer Press even wrote a lil sumthin-sumthin about the vid clip. By Andy Greder.

dN

Rayo OKC has pulled off a near miracle by qualifying for the NASL playoffs. There were left for dead and buried 2 months ago with poor management and virtually no staff to run the team. Our old Friend In Football Djorn Bucholz was pulled in to try to keep things running and much like he did with with Minnesota in 2011 got them to a place no one expected. If they do on and win this whole thing he will be qualified for Sainthood.

dN

NASL Week 28 Schedule:
-Fri Oct 28
Miami 1-0 Edmonton
-Sat Oct 29
Ottawa 0-1 Ft Lauderdale
Puerto Rico 2-1 Carolina
Minnesota 0-1 New York
-Sun Oct 30
Jacksonville 3-2 Tampa Bay
OKC 2-1 Indy

NASL Final Standings: (top 4 advance to playoffs)
65 New York Cosmos
55 Indy Eleven
53 Edmonton
47 Rayo OKC
-----
41 Minnesota United (+4)
41 Fort Lauderdale (-9)
40 Miami (-4)
40 Carolina RailHawks (-12)
39 Tampa Bay Rowdies
31 Ottawa Fury
30 Jacksonville Armada
24 Puerto Rico

dN

NASL Semifinals Schedule:
-Sat Nov 5
#2 Indy v #3 Edmonton - 2pm CT
#1 New York v #4 OKC - 6pm CT

dN

Zach Steinberger of Jacksonville Armada named NASL Player Of The Week

dN

University of Minnesota Gophers Women Soccer won their Quarterfinal game in the Big Ten Tournament:

• They are the #1 Seed

• Won 3-1 v Indiana on Sat

• NEXT: Fri Nov 4 v Michigan - 2pm CT

dN

Today I have met 2 students with great names: Lucy Pagan + Jen Barfo - neither is Halloween related. I am not making this up.

dN

MLS Playoffs - Quarterfinals Results + Schedule:

• As Sunday's games went along the fever ratcheted up!

• All 4 home teams (the lower seeds) won.

• And no road teams (the higher seeds) scored any goals that could have played big in tie breakers.

• Sets up for incredible scenes in Leg 2.

• An away goal for any team in Leg 2 will turn the seedings completely upside down.

• Montreal played some great defense against the Red Bulls.

• Both Toronto goals came from mad scrambles in the box. Doesn't matter if they are pretty or not. They count.

• NYC were too smart for their own good. Making some weird changes to the lineup and none of them helped. One was just very odd... they put in a goalkeeper for only his 2nd start of the whole season. Nothing was physically wrong with regular keeper Josh Saunders.

• NYC literally had 0 games of MLS playoff experience among its starting 11. I didn't know that was possible.

• Seattle took an electric can opener to Dallas in the 2nd half. Wow. Pried that lid clean off and poured the contents all over the floor!

• Dallas got beat because they never bothered to add more firepower in the January or August transfer windows and it finally caught up with them.

• LA was very dominant but could only get 1 goal.

• Montreal got the best goal of the weekend from Mancosu. Oh and by the way, its seems as though no TV announcers can say his name right. They all say man-COO-soh. Wrong em boyo. Its man-COH-soo.

• An analytic breakdown of all the Leg 1 games. By Matt Doyle of MLSsoccer.

1st Leg Scores
-Sun Oct 30
Montreal Impact 1-0 New York Red Bulls
-Game highlights [VIDEO]
LA Galaxy 1-0 Colorado Rapids
-Game highlights [VIDEO]
Toronto 2-0 New York City
-Game highlights [VIDEO]
Seattle Sounders 3-0 Dallas
-Game highlights [VIDEO]

2nd Leg Schedule
-Sun Nov 6
Colorado Rapids v LA Galaxy - 1:00pm CT on ESPN
New York Red Bulls v Montreal Impact - 3:00pm CT on ESPN
New York City v Toronto - 5:30pm CT on FS1
Dallas v Seattle Sounders - 8:00pm CT on FS1

dN

Matteo Mancosu and Bradley Wright Phillips are proof that you can take goal scorers from the 2nd Division of Europe's big leagues and turn them into power houses in MLS.

dN

The only MLS playoff format that truly rewards the higher seeds is to take out the home + away series and have the higher seeded team host every game. Just like the NFL does it.

• Right now the higher seeds are punished in the quarterfinals by having to make two plane trips before the two games where are the lower seeds stay at home for first game and only have to travel once, before the games.

dN

Portland Timbers are working on a plan to add 4000 seats to their stadium. By Jamie Goldberg of the Oregonian.

dN

The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:

• Standings - 19th Place, 2 Points into Relegation

• Up Next - Mon Oct 31 at Stoke City

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Tijuana Tracker:

• Results - Sun Oct 30 W 0-1 at Toluca

• Standings - 1st Place, 3 Point Lead

• Up Next - Fri Nov 4 v Tigres UANL

dN

Borussia Dortmund is attracting and developing high quality young talent at a different rate than most other clubs. American Christian Pulisic is but one of MANY. By Rory Smith of the New York Times.

dN

UEFA Champions League - Group Stage - Big Teams - Matchday 4:

• As many as 11 teams could advance to the knockout stage this in this round. Here are those scenarios. Via UEFA.

-Tue Nov 1
Manchester City v Barcelona
Atletico Madrid v Rostov
PSV v Bayern
Ludogorets v Arsenal
Basel v PSG
-Wed Nov 2
Dortmund v Sporting CP
Legia v Real Madrid
Juventus v Lyon

dN

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

dN

Its no surprise that Bayern Munich leads the Bundesliga. What is very surprising is who makes up the rest of the Top 5:
21 RB Leipzig
19 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
18 1.FC Koln
17 Hertha Berlin



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 28, 2016

It's Day 302 of 2016.


Saturday night will be the final Minnesota United game at NSC Stadium.

• Here is a little video about this last game, narrated by a familiar voice.

dN

Last game at NSC Stadium:
-Sat Oct 29
Minnesota United v New York Cosmos at 7pm

• Buy Tickets in Section 25

dN

Spending the past couple of seasons at games with my brother @geargab was not something I saw coming. It's been awesome. #NSCMemories pic.twitter.com/BZZiGhMyk6

— Bruce McGuire (@dunord) October 28, 2016

dN

My Minnesota United Notes:

• For Minnesota to claim the 4th and final NASL playoff spot they MUST win on Saturday, and then OKC MUST lose on Sunday.

• United has had a very mediocre Fall season with 6 Wins, 7 Ties and 8 Losses, putting them in 7th place.

• The Spring season was better with 5 Wins, 1 Tie and 4 Losses, good enough for 4th place.

• Overall the team has lost 4 home games which is a huge disappointment.

• But the real failure came on the road where they won just 1 time and that was way back on Apr 10 in the 2nd game of the season. Since then in 14 road games they have 7 points.

• The last opponent of the regular season is the Cosmos who have never allowed more than 1 goal in a game against Minnesota. Cosmos have allowed 6 goals in the past 10 games.

• On the memories and the end of an era at NSC Stadium:

-David La Vaque of the Star Tribune
-Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press
-Wes Burdine of Fifty Five One.
-A collection of Tweets to mark some of the highlights at NSC. By Burdine.

dN

NASL Week 28 Schedule:
-Fri Oct 28
Miami v Edmonton
-Sat Oct 29
Ottawa v Ft Lauderdale
Puerto Rico v Carolina
Minnesota v New York - 7pm CT on My29, ESPN3.com and One World Sports
-Sun Oct 30
Jacksonville v Tampa Bay
OKC v Indy - 6pm CT on ESPN3.com and Cox703

NASL Playoff race: (top 4 advance)
#1 62 New York
#2 55 Indy
#3 53 Edmonton
#4 44 OKC (+5 GD)
-----
41 Minnesota (+5 GD)

dN

The very personal story of an immigrant kid in Washington who has a chance to be a star player despite the constant struggle. By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times.

dN

MLS Playoffs - Knockout Round results:

• Of the 4 higher seeded teams only DC failed to advance, and boy oh boy did they fail. Oof. Montreal totally dominated. DC got their goals in the 90th min and in 2nd half stoppage time., Those don't count for much when you are already down by 4.

• Controversy surrounded the other game. Neither team seemed to have the attacking quality to win the game. Both were stern in defense, but Seattle needed great goalkeeping by Stefan Frei to stay in it. The difference was that both teams scored a goal by a player in an off side position, but Seattle's goal was allowed to stand.

• I would assume that when video replay comes into effect that game winning goal by Nelson Valdez would be wiped out.

• Matteo Mancosu had the best performance of anyone in the first game. He scored 2 and set up a 3rd for Montreal.

• Stefan Frei was MOTM for the 2nd game. Unreal save after save.

• Both Benny Feilhaber for KC and Nicolas Lodeiro for Sea gave it everything they had last night and made the other teams defenses struggle to contain them.

-Thu Oct 27
DC United 2-4 Montreal Impact

• Game highlights [VIDEO]

Seattle Sounders 1-0 Sporting Kansas City

• Game highlights [VIDEO]

Quarterfinals Schedule:
1st Leg
-Sun Oct 30
Montreal Impact v New York Red Bulls - 2:00pm CT on ESPN
LA Galaxy v Colorado Rapids - 4:00pm CT on ESPN
Toronto v New York City - 6:00pm CT on FS1
Seattle Sounders v Dallas - 8:30pm CT on FS1

• 2nd Leg games on Sun Nov 6

dN

A 4th member of the du Nord Futbol MLS Coaches Hot Seat has been retained by their team for next season: Jay Heaps will be given another year in New England.

• Revs team management said a surge in the last quarter of the season is what sees Heaps get another shot. By Frank Dell'apa of the Boston Globe.

• Carl Robinson, Jim Curtain and Greg Vanney are secure for next season too.

dN

What are the biggest issues facing DC United this offseason? By Steven Goff of the Washington Post.

dN

Who do I think is the favorite to win MLS Cup? I don't know. I picked Red Bulls. But never ever count out LA Galaxy.

dN

Who is gonna win MLS Cup? The Sports Illustrated staff talks it out. Via Sports Illustrated.

dN

The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:

• Standings - 19th Place, 2 Points into Relegation

• Up Next - Mon Oct 31 at Stoke City

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Tijuana Tracker:

• Standings - 1st Place, 3 Point Lead

• Up Next - Sun Oct 30 at Toluca

dN

After missing almost all of last season at Werder Bremen American forward Aron Johnannsson is still struggling to get 2016/17 on track. But it seems to be picking up steam. By Stephan Uersfeld of ESPNFC.

dN

BTW Bobby Wood has scored 4 goals for Hamburger in all competitions this season. The rest of the team has scored 1.

dN

The Guatemalan Football Federation has been suspended from FIFA for refusing to accept new FIFA imposed rules on their federation after decades of corruption. By Sofia Menchu of Reuters.

dN

Real Sociedad in Spain had discovered that a homeless man had been living outside their stadium - so they gave him a job! From Marca.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 27, 2016

It's Day 301 of 2016.


Saturday night will be the final Minnesota United game at NSC Stadium.

• Here is a little video about that last game, narrated by a familiar voice:

We say goodbye to an old friend on Saturday... pic.twitter.com/4RA1E23kh8

— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) October 27, 2016

dN

MLS Playoffs - Knockout Round schedule + results:

• Both games finished 3-1 last night but LA put on a much more dominating performance. And they did it without 3 key attackers.

• Toronto with their first playoff win in first home playoff game. The fans looked like they had a great night, and they sure did deserve with after all the garbage they have had to put up with in 10 years.

• Philly goes home with hopes for next year. They have a bunch of holes to fill.

• RSL sunk like a stone. They were done early in that game. New leadership is needed badly.

• Good: Emmanuel Boateng had a great first half for the Galaxy.

• Bad: Philly centerback Ken Tribbett will never forget the game - he made two huge mistakes in front of goal that lead to 2 goals.

• The 2 semifinal matchups that are already set are looking GREAT. Lets hope we have 4, and its the best MLS post season ever.

-Wed Oct 26
Toronto 3-1 Philadelphia Union

• Game highlights [VIDEO]

LA Galaxy 3-1 Real Salt Lake

• Game highlights [VIDEO]

-Thu Oct 27
DC United v Montreal Impact – 6:30pm CT on UniMas
Seattle Sounders v Sporting Kansas City – 9:30pm CT on FS1 + UniMas

• In the East Red Bulls will host the lower seed of the teams that advance, and NYC the higher seed.

• In the West Dallas will host the lower seed of the teams that advance, and Colorado the higher seed.

Quarterfinals - 1st Leg Schedule:
-Sun Oct 30
??? v Dallas
LA Galaxy v Colorado Rapids
??? v New York Red Bulls
Toronto v New York City

• 2nd Leg games on Sun Nov 6

dN

Wade Barrett was told yesterday that he would NOT be considered for the head coaching position in Houston. After going over the numbers I posted on Tuesday that seemed like a natural conclusion.

• Today we get this:

Wilmer Cabrera will be named the next head coach of the Houston Dynamo, sources tell @PaulTenorio: https://t.co/iWACgmTA2C #MLS pic.twitter.com/Fuae087oPG

— FourFourTwo USA (@FourFourTwoUSA) October 27, 2016

dN

I had 6 coaches on my MLS Hot Seat this week, but 3 of them appear safe already:

• #6 Greg Vanney - won their first playoff game decisively

• #4 Jim Curtin - even though they lost in the playoffs right away the talk is that GM Earnie Stewart is absolutely keeping Curtin for next season.

• #2 Carl Robinson - Vancouver had a terrible season but the team signed him to a new 4 year contract anyway.

dN

After seeing the field just a couple times this season for Columbus Crew, Conor Casey has announced his retirement at age 35. After starting his career in Germany he played the past 10 years in MLS.

dN

New Spain coach Julen Lopetegui likes what he sees of David Villa these days at New York City. By Adriana Garcia of ESPNFC.

dN

A bunch of lunkheaded fans of West Ham and Chelsea took us back to the 80s last night, throwing objects at each other, drawing blood and singing idiotic homophobic songs. So lame.

• Its not unlike the fool at the 76ers game who stood courtside giving double birds to Oklahoma's Russell Westbrook. RW just looked at him like, "Are you guy seeing this fool?" They moron got tossed from the arena. I am all for bringing more civility back to sports fandom. The freedom of speech excuses doesn't apply.

dN

U of Minnesota Women beat Maryland 6-0 last night to claim the Big Ten Title in a tie with Penn State. (I watched the two teams play to a 1-1 tie on field this season too.)

• They next host a Quarterfinal game in the Big Ten tournament, where they are the #1 Seed, against Indiana at 2pm CT on Sunday.

dN

Cigars: du Nord Music Mix Vol 102 (download + extract)

dN

Americans in Europe Mid-week:

• EFL Cup - Round of 16: Lynden Gooch came in the 87th min for Sunderland bu they lost 1-0 at Southampton.

• DFB Pokal - Round of 32: Julian Green started, went 89 min and scored the game winning goal as Bayern beat Augsburg 3-1.

• KNVB Beker - Round of 32: Matt Miazga went the full 90 for Vitesse as they beat Waalwijk 4-1.

dN

Copa MX - Apertura Semifinal results:
-Tue Oct 25
Toluca 0-0 Queretaro - Que advanced 7-8 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
-Wed Oct 26
America 1-1 Guadalajara - Gua advanced 4-3 in Penalty Kick Shootout.

Final:
-date TBA (next week)
Queretaro v Guadalajara

dN

NASL Week 28 Schedule:

• Only 2 games matter in a big way Minn at home on Sat and OKC at home on Sun. One of them will be the last playoff team.

• Montons on Fri and Indy on Sun matter for seeding.

-Fri Oct 28
Miami v Edmonton
-Sat Oct 29
Ottawa v Ft Lauderdale
Puerto Rico v Carolina
Minnesota v New York - 7pm CT on My29, ESPN3.com and One World Sports
-Sun Oct 30
Jacksonville v Tampa Bay
OKC v Indy - 6pm CT on ESPN3.com and Cox703

NASL Playoff race: (top 4 advance)
#1 62 New York
#2 55 Indy
#3 53 Edmonton
#4 44 OKC (+5 GD)
-----
41 Minnesota (+5 GD)



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 26, 2016

It's Day 300 of 2016.


Join the MLS Playoffs Bracket Challenge.

• And then enter the du Nord Futbol league (#1056)

dN

MLS Playoffs Begin Tonight!
Knockout Round schedule:

• Toronto has their first ever home playoff game tonight.

• Either Philly or Toronto will win their first playoff game ever!

-Wed Oct 26
Toronto v Philadelphia Union – 6:30pm CT on ESPN2 + UniMas
LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake – 9:30pm CT on UniMas
-Thu Oct 27
DC United v Montreal Impact – 6:30pm CT on UniMas
Seattle Sounders v Sporting Kansas City – 9:30pm CT on FS1 + UniMas

dN
Yesterday I suggested Carl Robinson was on the Hot Seat as head coach of Vancouver. Today they gave him a new contract for 4 more seasons.

dN

Justin Meram of Columbus Crew named MLS Player Of The Month for October.

• I guess the season wasn't a total disaster for Columbus

dN

The top stories of the week from MLS and a little extra spice added on top. By Steve Davis of FC Dallas.

• If nothing else go read the quote from Michael Bradley.

dN

Business wise its been a very good year for MLS. By Mark Burns of Forbes.

• Some would say this is the problem with MLS, business is a more important than the soccer. I would like to think that as the business gets stronger and more stable that the priority will shift. Maybe I am a chump.

dN

You know it, you love it - Alejandro Moreno's weekly MLS awards. [VIDEO] From ESPNFC.

dN

Cigars: du Nord Music Mix Vol 102 (download + extract)

dN

3 Americans, Cameron Carter Vickers (Tottenham), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle) and Gedion Zelalem (Arsenal), played in the English League Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday. Yedlin and Zelalem advanced.

6 Americans, John Brooks (Hertha), Timmy Chandler (Eintract Frankfurt), Fabian Johnson (Gladbach), Fafa Picault (St Pauli), Bobby Wood (Hamburger) and Andrew Wooten (Sandhausen), played in the German DFB Pokal on Tuesday. All but Picault advanced. Johnson got a goal and assist, Wood got 2 goals, and Wooten got 1 goal.

• Julian Green getting his first senior team start for Bayern today.

Matt Miazga with the full 90 for Vitesse in the KNVB Beker today. They won.

dN

Copa MX - Apertura Semifinals:
-American Jonathan Bornstein went the distance for Queretaro in a winning effort.
-Tue Oct 25
Toluca 0-0 Queretaro - Que advanced 7-8 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
-Wed Oct 26
America v Guadalajara

dN

Interesting:

Jeremy Ebobisse, considered a top prospect in the MLS SuperDraft, has trained with @MNUFC all week. United holds top pick in January draft

— David La Vaque (@David_LaVaque) October 26, 2016

dN

Carlos Alberto was the captain of the 1970 World Cup winning Brazil team. Some call them the best team ever. He passed away this week. Rest In Power Carlos. by Peter Mason of the Guardian.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 25, 2016

It's Day 299 of 2016.


In the immortal words of Bob Dylan: "I don't believe you."

dN

Two giant blasts in the world of lower division soccer in North America today:

Tampa Bay Rowdies leave NASL and go to USL:

A new journey begins...

The Rowdies are joining the @USL ahead of the 2017 season.#TampaBayIsUnited

Read more: https://t.co/K0ljkHVaCV pic.twitter.com/7MigokBAEr

— Tampa Bay Rowdies (@TampaBayRowdies) October 25, 2016

Ottawa Fury announces they are also leaving NASL for USL just 2 hours later:

A new chapter in Ottawa soccer begins...

We're joining the @USL ahead of the 2017 season!

READ ? https://t.co/sJy204lWVx #OttawaIsUnited pic.twitter.com/VhOMxDVOd3

— Ottawa Fury FC (@OttawaFuryFC) October 25, 2016

And here is the NASL statement on the announcement by two teams who are leaving the league:

As a league in North America, the NASL operates in an environment where owners are free to take their clubs wherever they choose. All we can do is acknowledge that reality and move forward with our business, which is exactly what we're doing right now. We have never had a stronger and more unified group of owners who are committed to the league's model, its structure, and its long-term vision. With a half-dozen serious expansion discussions in progress, the league looks forward to adding new owners who share in the Board's vision.
We have ambitious plans for growth, and we're proud that the flexibility of the NASL model remains an extremely attractive proposition for investors seeking to become part of an authentic, competitive soccer league. While we don't want to take anything away from what is sure to be another exciting postseason, we're focused on ensuring that, in 2017, the NASL is one of the most competitive soccer leagues around.

dN

• NASL currently has 12 teams and San Francisco is set to join in 2017, giving the league 13 teams. But Minnesota is moving to MLS, and Tampa and Ottawa are headed to USL, leaving just 10.

• There are very strong rumors that both Fort Lauderdale and Oklahoma City are headed out of NASL too, which could leave them with just 8 teams.

After the 2009 season ten teams departed USL to form a new league. (And added a new club from St Louis) For 1 year it was called USSF Division 2 Professional League.
Austin Aztex
Crystal Palace Baltimore
Carolina RailHawks
Miami FC
NSC Minnesota Stars
Portland Timbers
Puerto Rico Islanders
Rochester Rhinos
AC St Louis
FC Tampa Bay
Vancouver Whitecaps

Then before the 2011 season the league rebranded with 8 teams calling itself NASL:
Atlanta Silverbacks
Carolina RailHawks
FC Edmonton
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
NSC Minnesota Stars
Montreal Impact
Puerto Rico Islanders
FC Tampa Bay

dN

USL president Jake Edwards talked about his leagues present, progress and ideals. (Conducted well before today's inter-league madness.) By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.

dN

du Nord Futbol MLS Coaches Hot Seat Season's End Edition:

• 6 Greg Vanney - if TFC gets bounced in game 1 of the playoffs again then they need to make a change

• 5 Mauro Biello - no one is safe from owner Joey Saputo

• 4 Jim Curtin - started well for a change this season but faded baaaaaaadly

• 3 Dominic Kinnear - 2 years of nothing, and a new GM on the way could spell doom

• 2 Carl Robinson - a giant flop of a season

• 1 Jay Heaps - his team should not be this bad, but they really are bad

dN

I ran three polls on Twitter yesterday. Here are the questions and results:

Which MLS coach did the most miraculous job this season?

• 45% Pablo Mastroeni - Colorado Rapids

• 32% Brian Schmetzer - Seattle Sounders

• 17% Patrick Viera - New York City

• 6% Ben Olsen - DC United

Which MLS East team was the biggest disappointment in 2016?

• 43% Columbus Crew

• 26% New England Revolution

• 18% Orlando City

• 13% Chicago Fire

Which MLS West team was the biggest disappointment in 2016?

• 71% Portland Timbers

• 27% Vancouver Whitecaps

• 2% San Jose Earthquakes

• 0% Houston Dynamo

dN

Giles Barnes of Vancouver Whitecaps named MLS Player Of The Week

dN

MLS Playoffs - Knockout Round schedule:
-Wed Oct 26
Toronto v Philadelphia Union – 6:30pm CT on ESPN2 + UniMas
LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake – 9:30pm CT on UniMas
-Thu Oct 27
DC United v Montreal Impact – 6:30pm CT on UniMas
Seattle Sounders v Sporting Kansas City – 9:30pm CT on FS1 + UniMas

dN

Lets do this!
Join the MLS Playoffs Bracket Challenge.

• And then enter the du Nord Futbol league (#1056)

dN

Minnesota United holding midfielder Jeb Brovsky blew out his left knee in last Saturday's game at Carolina. He will need surgery and those usually take 9-12 months to make a full recovery.

dN

A couple of Americans in Action in Europe today:

• Bobby Wood got 2 goals today for Hamburg in the DFB Pokal (their league cup.) They beat Hallescher 0-3 on the road.

• Fabian Johnson has a goal and an assist for Gladbach in the Pokal tourney, and they beat Stuttgart 2-0.

dN

USMNT player yo-yo - who is up and who is down. By Doug McIntyre of ESPNFC.

dN

Oof: Portland Timbers goalkeeper Jake Gleeson got in a car wreck last night. He called teammate Liam Ridgewell to come get him. The cops showed and both guys were arrested for DUI.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 24, 2016

It's Day 298 of 2016.


Huge congrats to FC Dallas on winning the MLS Supporters Shield.

• After claiming the US Open Cup in August they are now 1 trophy away from doing the unprecedented.

dN

Another huge congrats, this one to New York Red Bulls II on winning the USL Championship on Sunday night. They beat Swope Park Rangers 5-1.

• Game highlights [VIDEO]

dN

MLS Playoffs - Knockout Round schedule:
-Wed Oct 26
Toronto v Philadelphia Union – 6:30pm CT on ESPN2 + UniMas
LA Galaxy v Real Salt Lake – 9:30pm CT on UniMas
-Thu Oct 27
DC United v Montreal Impact – 6:30pm CT on UniMas
Seattle Sounders v Sporting Kansas City – 9:30pm CT on FS1 + UniMas

• Quarterfinals 1st Leg is on Sun Oct 30 and 2nd Leg on Sun Nov 6.

• In the East, Red Bulls will host the lower seed of the teams that advance, and NYC the higher seed.

• In the West, Dallas will host the lower seed of the teams that advance, and Colorado the higher seed.

dN

Lets do this! Join the MLS Playoffs Bracket Challenge.

• And then enter the du Nord Futbol league (#1056)

dN

FACT: No one in American likes soccer, and you would be foolish to go head to head with the NFL:

.@MLS breaks record for most fans in single day: 283,807 on #DecisionDay. And breaks record again for average attendance in season: 21,690.

— Paul Kennedy (@pkedit) October 23, 2016

dN

USWNT at the Metrodome in Minneapolis:
-Sun Oct 23
USA 5-1 Switzerland - Friendly - USA goals by Carli Lloyd (2), Christen Press, Crystal Dunn and Kealia Ohai. Swi goal by Sandrine Mauron.

• 23,400 attendance

• During the game I tweeted that the field was 59/60 yards wide, but my friend Neal pegged it at 69/70. He is better at this than I am. Of course he was right. I need to ask him who to calculate this properly.

• The Swiss actually got the first goal of the game on a nice counter attack.

• But then the USA just swept the Swiss off the field, including 2 in a row from Carli Lloyd, to take the lead and never look back.

• Late in the game we saw a debut and less than 1 minute a goal later from Kealia Ohai, Not a bad way to begin your national team career.

• This was the goal of the game. Beauty from Lloyd:

Good lord, @CarliLloyd. ?????? https://t.co/8ZZ8MOq82G

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) October 23, 2016

dN

My Minnesota United Notes:

• I'm not going to touch that game. It's just too painful.

dN

My NASL Notes:

• OKC won and took over 4th place from hapless Minnesota who lost.

• With OKC winning, the following teams were all eliminated from the post season: Carolina, Tampa Bay, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

• OKC will have to lose and Minn win in the final round for Minn to get the 4th and final playoff position back.

• Both OKC and Minn will play at home in their last game. Minn on Sat and OKC on Sun.

dN

NASL Week 27 Results:
-Sat Oct 22
Carolina 1-0 Minnesota
Ft Lauderdale 0-2 OKC
New York 4-0 Miami
Tampa Bay 1-1 Ottawa
Indy 3-0 Puerto Rico
-Sun Oct 23
Edmonton 1-0 Jacksonville

NASL Playoff race: (top 4 advance)
#1 62 New York
#2 55 Indy
#3 53 Edmonton
#4 44 OKC (+5 GD)
-----
41 Minnesota (+5 GD)
ELIMINDATED:
40 Carolina
39 Tampa Bay
38 Fort Lauderdale
37 Miami

NASL Week 28 Schedule - final round of season:
-Fri Oct 28
Miami v Edmonton
-Sat Oct 29
Ottawa v Ft Lauderdale
Puerto Rico v Carolina
Minnesota v New York
-Sun Oct 30
Jacksonville v Tampa Bay
OKC v Indy

dN

Juan Arango of New York Cosmos named NASL Player Of The Week

dN

My MLS Notes:

• By virtue of both Dallas and Colorado tying their games Dallas wins the Supporters Shield for the first time.

• Six previous teams have won the Supporters Shield and followed it up with MLS Cup.

• New England actually tied with Philadelphia on points and the first tie breaker, wins, in the Eastern Conference battle for the 6th and final playoff spot, but were 8 goals short in the second tie breaker, goal differential.

• Philly on the other hand Vikings-ed their way into the playoff. (That is when you are completely inept but the other teams are even more inept and you somehow get rewarded with playoffs.)

• First time ever that two teams who met in MLS Cup Final one year both failed to make the playoffs the next year.

• Portland finished the season without a single win on the road. They also lost their last 7 road games.

dN

MLS Week 34 Results:
-Sun Oct 23
Colorado Rapids 1-1 Houston Dynamo
LA Galaxy 0-0 Dallas
Sporting Kansas City 2-0 San Jose Earthquakes
Vancouver Whitecaps 4-1 Portland Timbers
Philadelphia Union 0-2 New York Red Bulls
New England Revolution 3-0 Montreal Impact
Seattle Sounders 2-1 Real Salt Lake
New York City 4-1 Columbus Crew
Toronto 3-2 Chicago Fire
Orlando City 4-2 DC United

MLS Supporters Shield:
60 Dallas
58 Colorado

Race for 6th Place (last playoff spot) in MLS:

EAST
46 DC
45 Montreal
42 Philadelphia (11 wins) (-3 GD)
-----
42 New England (11 wins) (-10 GD)
WEST
48 Seattle
47 Kansas City
46 Salt Lake
-----
44 Portland

dN

Bradley Wright Phillips of the Red Bulls wins the golden boot with 24 goals scored.

• David Villa of NYC had one less with 23.

dN

Sacha Kljestan of Red Bulls takes the crown for most assists with 19.

dN

Landon Donovan says he is feeling like a soccer player again, 6 weeks into his return. by Helene Elliott of the LA Times.

• On Sunday he got his 2nd Galaxy start and first full 90 minutes.

dN

The MLS regular season has concluded after a historic final day of the season. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.

dN

Both New York teams in MLS have had very successful seasons, but only one was expected. By Andrew Das of the New York Times.

• They were the top 2 teams in the East and had the top 2 goal scorers in the league. Not bad.

dN

Brad Davis has announced that he is retiring at the end of the season. He was a standout for Houston during their 2 championship seasons. He is currently with Kansas City.

dN

Brutal - After Maurice Edu missed the entire 2016 season with a broken left leg he was all set to start the final game of the year on Sunday, but in training on Thursday he broke the same leg again. He has not played since Sep 2015 when he suffered a groin injury.


dN

Americans In Germany:

• Christian Pulisc had another big game for Dortmund. He came on as a half time sub and after the team went down 3-1 at Ingolstadt he got an assist and then scored the tying goal in 2nd half stoppage time.

• John Brooks, Timmy Chandler and Fabian Johnson all played the full 90 minutes.

• Aron Johannsson came on as a sub.

• Bobby Wood was a late sub too, and his 2 goals in games 1 + 2 of the season remain Hamburgs only goals of the season so far. Awful team stat. Per Brian Sciaretta.

dN

Americans In England:

• Geoff Cameron, Eric Lichaj, Jonanthan Spector, Danny Williams and DeAndre Yedlin all went 90 minutes.

dN

The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:

• Results - Sat Oct 22 - D 0-0 v Watford

• Standings - 19th Place, 2 Points into Relegation

• Up Next - Mon Oct 31 at Stoke City

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Tijuana Tracker:

• Results - Fri Oct 21 W 2-0 v Chiapas

• Standings - 1st Place, 3 Point Lead

• Up Next - Sun Oct 30 at Toluca

dN

My Liga MX + Americans In Mexico notes:

• With 3 round left to play Tijuana has a 3 point lead at the top over Pachuca and 4 points over Tigres.

• Michael Orozco has been a regular in the Tijuana defense.

• Paul Arriola has been a consistent substitute for Tijuana.

• Omar Gonzalez starting centerback for the 2nd place team Pachuca.

• Jose Torres has started almost every game for Tigres who sit in 3rd place.

• William Yarbrough is the starting keeper for Leon who have fought back from the bottom of the table and this week grabbed the 8th and final playoff spot.

• Jonathan Bornstein is the starting left fullback for Queretaro, who sit in 15th place and 7 pts out of a playoff position.

• Jorge Villafana has lost his staring left fullback job in the last month at Santos Laguna who are struggling in 16th place.

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 21, 2016

It's Day 295 of 2016.


Once a sleazy salesman, always a sleazy salesman. Aaron Davidson of Traffic pleaded guilty to federal charges of racketeering conspiracy and wire-fraud conspiracy in the FIFA scandal. By Rebecca Ruiz of the New York Times.

• These days he is selling "botanical art installations."

dN

USWNT friendly:
-Sun Oct 23
USA v Switzerland - New Metrodome, Minneapolis - 12:45pm CT on FS1

• See you there.

dN

How in the world did Chris Seitz of Dallas become a top goalkeeper in MLS this season? By Kevin Baxter of the LA Times.

dN

An examination of five big MLS topics of the week as we head into the final week in the regular season. By Steve Davis of FC Dallas.com.

dN

Why do people say Wade Barrett has picked Houston Dynamo back up after Owen Coyle was fired? I don't see it. The numbers are barely any better. Barely. Very barely.

• Season total 33 points from 33 games

• Under Owen Coyle - 11 points from 12 games (0.92 ppg)

• Under Wade Barrett - 22 points from 21 games (1.05 ppg)

Conclusion: The team is fractionally better, approx 2.5 points better for the whole season under Barrett, which in my book is nothing. They need a whole new coaching staff, pronto.

dN

Jermaine Jones is back baby! After a long pause on the shelf due to a secret knee injury he is healthy just in time, and we all know he is a true difference maker. By John Meyer of the Denver Post.

dN

MLS Week 34 Schedule:

• All 10 games kick off at the same time - 3pm CT

• ESPN 2 will have a whip-around broadcast also starting at 3pm CT

-Sun Oct 23
Colorado Rapids v Houston Dynamo - Supporters Shield + seeding
LA Galaxy v Dallas - Supporters Shield + seeding - on FS1
Sporting Kansas City v San Jose Earthquakes - playoff survival + seeding
Vancouver Whitecaps v Portland Timbers - playoff survival
Philadelphia Union v New York Red Bulls - playoff survival + seeding
New England Revolution v Montreal Impact - playoff survival + seeding
Seattle Sounders v Real Salt Lake - playoff survival + seeding - on ESPN
New York City v Columbus Crew - seeding
Toronto v Chicago Fire - seeding
Orlando City v DC United - seeding

MLS Supporters Shield:

• Tie Breakers: Wins, Goal Differential, Goals Scored

59 Dallas (17 W) (+10 GD)
57 Colorado (15 W) (+7 GD)

Race for 6th Place in MLS: [Wins is the first tie breaker]

• Tie Breakers: Wins, Goal Differential, Goals Scored

EAST
46 DC (10 wins)
45 Montreal (11 wins)
42 Philadelphia (11 wins) (-1 GD)
-----
39 New England (10 wins) (-13 GD)

WEST
46 Salt Lake (12 wins) (-1 GD)
45 Seattle (13 wins) (0 GD)
44 Kansas City (12 wins) (-1 GD)
-----
44 Portland (12 wins) (-2 GD)

dN

Minnesota United will need a RADICAL change of fortune if they are to get a very important road win at Carolina this Saturday. They have won only 1 time on the road this season, and that was on April 10. In 8 road games since Aug 1 they have 5 draws and 3 losses. They need 3 points BADLY on Saturday.

• Not to mention that if they make the playoffs they will have to play both games on the road to win it all.

dN

NASL Week 27 Schedule:
-Sat Oct 22
Carolina v Minnesota
Ft Lauderdale v OKC
New York v Miami
Tampa Bay v Ottawa
Indy v Puerto Rico
-Sun Oct 23
Edmonton v Jacksonville

NASL Playoff race: (top 4 advance)
$59 New York
*52 Indy
#50 Edmonton
41 Minnesota (+6 GD)
-----
41 OKC (+3 GD)
38 Tampa Bay (0 GD)
38 Fort Lauderdale (-8 GD)
37 Miami (-1 GD)
37 Carolina (-12 GD)
*Won Spring Season, automatically in playoffs
$Won Fall Season, automatically in playoffs
#Clinched a top 4 finish and a playoff spot

dN

CONCACAF Champions League - Big Games on Matchday 6:

• Dallas got a big win and advance. They went down 2-0 on the road and came back to win 2-5. Huge.

• An even bigger a win for Pumas, although no nearly as dramati. They won 8-1 to grab the #4 seed in the knock out stage.

• The 8 to Advance: Arabe Unido, Dallas New York Red Bulls, Pachuca, Pumas UNAM, Saprissa, Tigres UANL, Vancouver Whitecaps

• Big Teams Eliminated: Sporting Kansas City, Monterrey, Portland Timbers

• That ends the group stage.

-Thu Oct 20
Suchitepequez 2-5 Dallas
Pumas UNAM 8-1 W Connection

Pairings for the knockout stage:
#1 Vancouver v #8 Red Bulls
#4 Pumas UNAM v #5 Tigres UANL
-----
#3 Pachuca v #6 Saprissa
#2 Arabe Unido v #7 Dallas

• Quarterfinal games begin the week of Feb 21-23

dN

USL Final Schedule:
-Sun Oct 23
New York Red Bulls II v Swope Park Rangers - 7pm CT on ESPNU at Red Bull Arena

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Tijuana Tracker:

• Standings - 1st Place, 3 Point Lead

• Up Next - Fri Oct 21 v Chiapas

dN

The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:

• Standings - 19th Place, 0 Points and -4 Goal Differential into Relegation

• Up Next - Sat Oct 22 v Watford

dN

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend. From the Guardian.

dN

Former LA Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has recently bought French club Marseille. What's he plannin' to do? From Sports Illustrated.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 20, 2016

It's Day 294 of 2016.


Post season awards and travel to Carolina are the topics of the day for Minnesota United. By Jeff Rueter of Fifty Five One.

• Bernardo Anor will travel with Minnesota this weekend for the first time since breaking his ankle very early in the season.

• Lance Laing will not go to Carolina due to an unspecified injury.

dN

NASL Week 27 Schedule:

• Everything that could have gone right last night for Minnesota did. Again!

• Tampa lost.

• Miami lost.

• And now all the teams have 2 rounds left to play.

-Wed Oct 19
Jacksonville 3-2 Miami
Tampa Bay 2-3 Indy
-Sat Oct 22
Carolina v Minnesota
Ft Lauderdale v OKC
New York v Miami
Tampa Bay v Ottawa
Indy v Puerto Rico
-Sun Oct 23
Edmonton v Jacksonville

NASL Playoff race: (top 4 advance)
$59 New York
*52 Indy
#50 Edmonton
41 Minnesota (+6 GD)
-----
41 OKC (+3 GD)
38 Tampa Bay (0 GD)
38 Fort Lauderdale (-8 GD)
37 Miami (-1 GD)
37 Carolina (-12 GD)
*Won Spring Season, automatically in playoffs
$Won Fall Season, automatically in playoffs
#Clinched a top 4 finish and a playoff spot

dN

Teem: du Nord Music Mix Vol 101 (download + extract)

dN

Coming soon: The Lou Reed box set - the 14 albums he released on RCA + Arista after leaving the Velvet Underground. By Randall Roberts of the LA Times.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League - Big Games on Matchday 6:

• A tie game in Portland sent Saprissa into the knockout stage and the Timbers back to the woods.

• A wild one in Honduras finished with 8 goals scored and Pachuca advancing over Olimpia.

• Now there are just 2 spots left and both will be settled tonight in Guatemala and Mexico.

• Dallas just needs a tie to advance tonight.

• A tie will suffice for Pumas too.

• Advanced: Arabe Unido, New York Red Bulls, Pachuca, Saprissa, Tigres UANL, Vancouver Whitecaps

• Big Teams Eliminated: Sporting Kansas City, Monterrey, Portland Timbers

-Wed Oct 19
Portland Timbers 1-1 Saprissa
Olimpia 4-4 Pachuca
-Thu Oct 20
Suchitepequez v Dallas - For Advancement
Pumas UNAM v W Connection - For Advancement

dN

MLS Week 34 Schedule:

• All 10 games kick off at the same time - 3pm CT

• ESPN 2 will have a whip-around broadcast also starting at 3pm CT

-Sun Oct 23
Colorado Rapids v Houston Dynamo
LA Galaxy v Dallas - on FS1
Sporting Kansas City v San Jose Earthquakes
Vancouver Whitecaps v Portland Timbers
Philadelphia Union v New York Red Bulls
New England Revolution v Montreal Impact
Seattle Sounders v Real Salt Lake - on ESPN
New York City v Columbus Crew
Toronto v Chicago Fire
Orlando City v DC United

MLS Supporters Shield:

• Tie Breakers: Wins, Goal Differential, Goals Scored

59 Dallas (17 W) (+10 GD)
57 Colorado (15 W) (+7 GD)

Race for 6th Place in MLS:

• Tie Breakers: Wins, Goal Differential, Goals Scored

EAST
42 Philadelphia (11 wins) (-1 GD)
-----
39 New England (10 wins) (-13 GD)
WEST
46 Salt Lake (12 wins) (-1 GD)
45 Seattle (13 wins) (0 GD)
44 Kansas City (12 wins) (-1 GD)
-----
44 Portland (12 wins) (-2 GD)

dN

The final day of the MLS regular season is Sunday and it has been dubbed Decision Day - there is a lot on the line. A preview from Yahoo Sports.

dN

A player that I had hoped Minnesota might be able to snag in the expansion draft was Marky Delgado of Toronto, but he signed a new contract with the team yesterday, so I doubt he will be available.

dN

The first professional season for Jordan Morris of Seattle has been interesting and successful despite big hurdles. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.

dN

USL Final Schedule:
-Sun Oct 23
New York Red Bulls II v Swope Park Rangers - 7pm CT on ESPNU at Red Bull Arena

dN

The draw for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations was held yesterday in the host country of Gabon:

• The draw and a review. By Ed Aarons of the Guardian.

The Draw (with FIFA rank)

• Group A (76 FIFA Avg)

Gabon (110)
Cameroon (59)
Guinea-Bissau (69)
Burkina Faso (67)

• Group B (54 FIFA Avg)

Algeria (35)
Senegal (32)
Zimbabwe (110)
Tunisia (38)

• Group C (58 FIFA Avg)

Cote d'Ivoire (31)
Togo (93)
Morocco (60)
DR Congo (49)

• Group D (55 FIFA Avg)

Ghana (45)
Uganda (72)
Egypt (46)
Mali (58)

• The tournament begins Jan 14, 2017.

dN

Yesterday's crunching beat down of Manchester City by the feet of Barcelona left the Man City players like many who had come before them, "sad." by Rory Smith of the New York Times.

• Since Luis Suarez debuted for Barcelona in Oct of 2014, he, Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr have combined to scored 281 goals. Oh! My! God!

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 19, 2016

It's Day 293 of 2016.


FIFA Scandal Update: Aaron Davidson will plead guilty this week. Davidson was the Head of Traffic, a Brazilian soccer marketing company, in the USA. He was also chairman of the board of the NASL and Traffic was the owner of the Carolina RailHawks. Bribery was his game. From Reuters.

• I met Aaron Davidson several times, and he could not have been nicer. A good guy as we would say. But there was always something about him that made me wary.

dN

Have you voted yet? https://t.co/795yUZQP4Y pic.twitter.com/v3lZr0T5s0

— Dark Clouds ? #DCMN (@MNDarkClouds) October 19, 2016

dN

USWNT friendly on Sunday in Minneapolis.
-Sun Oct 23
USA v Switzerland - 12:45pm CT on FS1 - US Bank Stadium

dN

Teem: du Nord Music Mix Vol 101 (download + extract)

dN

Mountain Singers - Spider Song

Spider Song ??#MountainSingers ?? #Eurorack????????#modularsynths #eurorackmodular #synthisizer

A video posted by Billy McGuire (@bill_mcguire) on Oct 17, 2016 at 2:46pm PDT

dN

Many of you know their is a strong connection between Surley Brewing and the soccer fans of Minnesota, and today we got the news that my friend and Surly brew master Todd Haug has left the company.

dN

The 3 Finalists for USL Coach Of The Year are very interesting names:

• Marc Dos Santos, Swope Park Rangers

• John Harkes, FC Cincinnati

• John Wolyniec, New York Red Bulls II

dN

Some of the credit for Pep Guardiola's coaching abilities is given to a short period he spent in Mexico. By Rory Smith of the New York Times.

dN

NASL Week 27 Schedule:

• Huge night for Miami, Tampa and Minnesota. Again.

-Wed Oct 19
Jacksonville v Miami
Tampa Bay v Indy

The race for NASL 4th Place:
41 Minnesota (+6 GD) (2 games left)
-----
41 OKC (+3 GD) (2 games left)
38 Tampa Bay (+1 GD) (3 games left)
38 Fort Lauderdale (-8 GD) (2 games left)
37 Miami (0 GD) (3 games left)
37 Carolina (-12 GD) (2 games left)
*Won Spring Season, automatically in playoffs
$Won Fall Season, automatically in playoffs
#Clinched a top 4 finish and a playoff spot

dN

Tonight is a big one for Portland Timbers. They host Saprissa in the CCL and must win to advance.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League - Big Games on Matchday 6:

• Tigres won big last night at home and advance from Group G.

• 4 of 8 spots in the knock out stage are still up for grabs over the next two nights.

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

• Eliminated: Sporting Kansas City, Monterrey

-Tue Oct 18
Tigres UANL 3-0 Herediano - For Advancement
-Wed Oct 19
Portland Timbers v Saprissa - For Advancement
Olimpia v Pachuca - For Advancement
-Thu Oct 20
Suchitepequez v Dallas - For Advancement
Pumas UNAM v W Connection - For Advancement

dN

UEFA Champions League - Big Teams on Matchday 3:

• The really big clubs rolled, and I mean with extra steam, at home today!

-Wed Oct 19
Arsenal 6-0 Ludogorets
PSG 3-0 Basel
Barca 4-0 Manchester City
Rostov 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Bayern 4-1 PSV

Americans in the UCL:

• Fabian Johnson - was not in uniform due to an unspecified injury as Gladbach won 0-2 at Celtic. Huge win though.

dN

Who from the USMNT is on the rise and in decline. I always find this list to be weirdly lacking. By Doug McIntyre of ESPNFC.

dN

With Mauro Diaz out with a torn Achilles Dallas is in big trouble. Supporters Shield on the line this weekend, and then MLS playoffs. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

• It also hurts them greatly that they didn't anticipate the departure of Fabian Castillo and have any one to replace him, and they never went out and found that killer forward they really needed to put them over the top. They are basically entering the playoffs without 3 of the most key roles on a soccer team.

dN

du Nord Futbol MLS club Hot List:

• No bias

• No previous placement

• No preconceived notions

• Just the run of form in the last 5 games:

01 DC United
02 New York Red Bulls
03 Colorado Rapids
04 Portland Timbers
05 New England Revolution
06 Seattle Sounders
07 Dallas
08 Montreal Impact
09 LA Galaxy
10 New York City
11 Columbus Crew
12 Sporting Kansas City
13 Vancouver Whitecaps
14 Chicago Fire
15 Orlando City
16 San Jose Earthquakes
17 Houston Dynamo
18 Toronto
19 Real Salt Lake
20 Philadelphia Union

My Notes On The Hot List:

• Never thought we would see DC in this spot at seasons end.

• Dallas is in trouble with the injury to Diaz.

• Despite high placement New England is all but out of the playoff hunt.

• Salt Lake is backing in the playoffs in really bad shape.

• Philly is trying to Vikings their way into the postseason, and are stinking badly.

dN

MLS Goal Scoring Leaders:
23 Bradley Wright-Phillips
22 David Villa
17 Ignacio Piatti
16 Sebastian Giovinco
16 Dom Dwyer
16 Fadendo Adi



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 18, 2016

It's Day 292 of 2016.


Here is the 2016 USL All-League First Team
G:
Mitch Hildebrandt - FC Cincinnati
D:
Harrison Delbridge - FC Cincinnati
Amer Didic - Swope Park Rangers
Aaron Long - New York Red Bulls II
Hugh Roberts - Richmond Kickers
M:
Danny Barrera - Sacramento Republic FC
Villyan Bijev - Portland Timbers 2
Enzo Martinez - Charlotte Independence
F:
Brandon Allen - New York Red Bulls II
Jack McBean - LA Galaxy II
Sean Okoli - FC Cincinnati

dN

USWNT friendly on Sunday in Minneapolis.
-Sun Oct 23
USA v Switzerland - 12:45pm CT on FS1 - US Bank Stadium

• 19,500 tix reportedly sold. Via Steven Goff of the Washington Post.

dN

Liga MX will hold their first ever All-Star Game next summer with their league's best players taking on a big named European opponent, just like the MLS All Star Game.

dN

My NASL Post Season Award Votes:

• NASL Young Player Of The Year: Pape Diakite - Edmonton

• NASL Coach Of The Year: Tim Hankinson - Indy Eleven

dN

The guy's reporting is usually right on the money:

Per multiple sources, @naslofficial readying for 9-team 2017, minus MNU, TBR, Ottawa, and ROKC, plus SF. 16-game spring season + 16 fall.

— Neil Morris (@ByNeilMorris) October 18, 2016

dN

NASL Mid-Week 27 Schedule:
-Wed Oct 19
Jacksonville v Miami
Tampa Bay v Indy

dN

How a rising star in the American white power movement broke free and learned to love everyone. By Eli Saslow of the Washington Post.

dN

Michel of Rayo OKC named NASL Player Of The Week

Bradley Wright Phillips of New York Red Bulls named MLS Player Of The Week

dN

The Drogba Sag(b)a:

Montreal Impact statement on Didier Drogba refusing to suit up last match after being dropped from starting line up. pic.twitter.com/WHjlSsfs7L

— Bruce McGuire (@dunord) October 18, 2016

dN

Rough week ahead for Portland Timbers with 2 games and both probably needing wins to advance: CCL game v Saprissa on Wed - AND - MLS at Vancouver on Sun.

dN

New York Red Bulls midfielder Alex Muyl has emerged this season as a solid starter with big time potential, so much so that the team offloaded Sam Lloyd at mid-season. Lets learn more about the local player from Manhattan. By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.

dN

This is the story of a very good dude:
I will always remember the emails I shared with an unknown American goalkeeper in Norway. Short and simple notes back and forth. Just two guys talking soccer. Then Steve Clark signed with Columbus Crew and had some really good seasons and American soccer fans learned who he was. He has always done things his own way. By Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch.

dN

He still seems like a kid to me.... but after 13 seasons the Notorious N.E.D. Ned Grabavoy has announced he is retiring.

dN

An interesting group of teams will be involved in the draw for the African Cup of Nation being held on Wednesday in the capital of the host country of Libreville, Gabon. But political unrest has cast a shadow and some doubt over next January's tournament. The main cause of the turmoil is an August presidential election that got violent and is still being challenged. Soccer story by Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian. Political story by Ruth Maclean of the Guardian.

dN

Desert Fire: a 25 minute documentary film on football in Kurdistan. Directed by Sebastien Rabas and Jack Losh for the Guardian.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League - Big Games on Matchday 6:

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

• Eliminated: Sporting Kansas City, Monterrey

-Tue Oct 18
Tigres UANL v Herediano - For Advancement
-Wed Oct 19
Portland Timbers v Saprissa - For Advancement
Olimpia v Pachuca - For Advancement
-Thu Oct 20
Suchitepequez v Dallas - For Advancement
Pumas UNAM v W Connection - For Advancement

dN

UEFA Champions League - Big Teams on Matchday 3:
-Tue Oct 18
Sporting 1-2 Dortmund
Real Madrid 5-1 Legia Warszawa
Lyon 0-1 Juventus
-Wed Oct 19
Arsenal v Ludogorets
PSG v Basel
Barca v Manchester City
Rostov v Atletico Madrid
Bayern v PSV

Americans in the UCL:

• Christian Pulisic - played the full 90 for Dortmund as they won 1-2 at Sporting on Tuesday.

• Fabian Johnson - Gladbach at Celtic on Wednesday.

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 18, 2016

It's Day 292 of 2016.


Here is the 2016 USL All-League First Team
G:
Mitch Hildebrandt - FC Cincinnati
D:
Harrison Delbridge - FC Cincinnati
Amer Didic - Swope Park Rangers
Aaron Long - New York Red Bulls II
Hugh Roberts - Richmond Kickers
M:
Danny Barrera - Sacramento Republic FC
Villyan Bijev - Portland Timbers 2
Enzo Martinez - Charlotte Independence
F:
Brandon Allen - New York Red Bulls II
Jack McBean - LA Galaxy II
Sean Okoli - FC Cincinnati

dN

USWNT friendly on Sunday in Minneapolis.
-Sun Oct 23
USA v Switzerland - 12:45pm CT on FS1 - US Bank Stadium

• 19,500 tix reportedly sold. Via Steven Goff of the Washington Post.

dN

Liga MX will hold their first ever All-Star Game next summer with their league's best players taking on a big named European opponent, just like the MLS All Star Game.

dN

My NASL Post Season Award Votes:

• NASL Young Player Of The Year: Pape Diakite - Edmonton

• NASL Coach Of The Year: Tim Hankinson - Indy Eleven

dN

The guy's reporting is usually right on the money:

Per multiple sources, @naslofficial readying for 9-team 2017, minus MNU, TBR, Ottawa, and ROKC, plus SF. 16-game spring season + 16 fall.

— Neil Morris (@ByNeilMorris) October 18, 2016

dN

NASL Mid-Week 27 Schedule:
-Wed Oct 19
Jacksonville v Miami
Tampa Bay v Indy

dN

How a rising star in the American white power movement broke free and learned to love everyone. By Eli Saslow of the Washington Post.

dN

Michel of Rayo OKC named NASL Player Of The Week

Bradley Wright Phillips of New York Red Bulls named MLS Player Of The Week

dN

The Drogba Sag(b)a:

Montreal Impact statement on Didier Drogba refusing to suit up last match after being dropped from starting line up. pic.twitter.com/WHjlSsfs7L

— Bruce McGuire (@dunord) October 18, 2016

dN

Rough week ahead for Portland Timbers with 2 games and both probably needing wins to advance: CCL game v Saprissa on Wed - AND - MLS at Vancouver on Sun.

dN

New York Red Bulls midfielder Alex Muyl has emerged this season as a solid starter with big time potential, so much so that the team offloaded Sam Lloyd at mid-season. Lets learn more about the local player from Manhattan. By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.

dN

This is the story of a very good dude:
I will always remember the emails I shared with an unknown American goalkeeper in Norway. Short and simple notes back and forth. Just two guys talking soccer. Then Steve Clark signed with Columbus Crew and had some really good seasons and American soccer fans learned who he was. He has always done things his own way. By Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch.

dN

He still seems like a kid to me.... but after 13 seasons the Notorious N.E.D. Ned Grabavoy has announced he is retiring.

dN

An interesting group of teams will be involved in the draw for the African Cup of Nation being held on Wednesday in the capital of the host country of Libreville, Gabon. But political unrest has cast a shadow and some doubt over next January's tournament. The main cause of the turmoil is an August presidential election that got violent and is still being challenged. Soccer story by Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian. Political story by Ruth Maclean of the Guardian.

dN

Desert Fire: a 25 minute documentary film on football in Kurdistan. Directed by Sebastien Rabas and Jack Losh for the Guardian.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League - Big Games on Matchday 6:

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

• Eliminated: Sporting Kansas City, Monterrey

-Tue Oct 18
Tigres UANL v Herediano - For Advancement
-Wed Oct 19
Portland Timbers v Saprissa - For Advancement
Olimpia v Pachuca - For Advancement
-Thu Oct 20
Suchitepequez v Dallas - For Advancement
Pumas UNAM v W Connection - For Advancement

dN

UEFA Champions League - Big Teams on Matchday 3:
-Tue Oct 18
Sporting 1-2 Dortmund
Real Madrid 5-1 Legia Warszawa
Lyon 0-1 Juventus
-Wed Oct 19
Arsenal v Ludogorets
PSG v Basel
Barca v Manchester City
Rostov v Atletico Madrid
Bayern v PSV

Americans in the UCL:

• Christian Pulisic - played the full 90 for Dortmund as they won 1-2 at Sporting on Tuesday.

• Fabian Johnson - Gladbach at Celtic on Wednesday.

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Oct 17, 2016

It's Day 291 of 2016.


USA Women have a friendly on Sunday in Minneapolis.
-Sun Oct 23 - 12:45pm CT on FS1 - US Bank Stadium

• The big names on the roster:

Kelley O'Hara
Becky Sauerbrunn
Morgan Brian
Tobin Heath
Lindsey Horan
Carli Lloyd
Allie Long
Crystal Dunn
Christen Press

dN

My Minnesota United Notes:

• Game highlights [VIDEO] Loons played one of their most complete games of the season.

• Went down a goal early after a big mistake in the wall lead to a shot which Sammy Ndjock bobbled and the Eddies buried.

• Christian Ramirez grabbed 2 goals and Stefano Pinho 1 goal.

• Ramirez now has 50 goals for MNUFC in 93 games.

• Good games also from Ibson, JC Banks, Kevin Venegas, Justin Davis, Brent Kallman and Damien Lowe.

• First time the Montons had given up 3 goals in a game this season.

• Goalkeeper Matt VanOekel did not play for EDM cuz of a hamstring injury.

The assists on all 3 Minnesota goals (top notch finishing too) were great:

1. Ibson passed to Banks to set up Ramirez
2. Venegas passed to Ibson to set up Ramirez
3. Ramirez passed to Speas to set up Pinho

Almost everything went exactly right for Minnesota United this weekend in the battle for the final playoff position:

• Minnesota won

• Miami + Tampa tied

• Carolina lost

• The only imperfect thing was OKC + Ft Lauderdale both also won

• Minnesota and OKC are tied on points but Minnesota has a +3 in goal differential.

• There are 2 weeks left in the season.

• Miami + Tampa play 3 times, everyone else in the race just twice.

dN

NASL Week 26 Results:
-Fri Oct 14
Miami 2-2 Tampa Bay
-Sat Oct 15
Ft Lauderdale 2-0 Puerto Rico
Jacksonville 2-4 New York
Indy 3-0 Carolina
Minnesota 3-1 Edmonton
-Sun Oct 16
OKC 3-1 Ottawa

NASL Playoff race: (top 4 advance)
$59 New York (2 games left)
#50 Edmonton (2 games left)
*49 Indy (3 games left)
-----
41 Minnesota (+6 GD) (2 games left)
-----
41 OKC (+3 GD) (2 games left)
38 Tampa Bay (+1 GD) (3 games left)
38 Fort Lauderdale (-8 GD) (2 games left)
37 Miami (0 GD) (3 games left)
37 Carolina (-12 GD) (2 games left)
*Won Spring Season, automatically in playoffs
$Won Fall Season, automatically in playoffs
#Clinched a top 4 finish and a playoff spot

dN

NASL Week 27 Schedule:
-Wed Oct 19
Jacksonville v Miami
Tampa Bay v Indy
-Sat Oct 22
Ft Lauderdale v OKC
New York v Miami
Carolina v Minnesota
Indy v Puerto Rico
Tampa Bay v Ottawa
-Sun Oct 23
Edmonton v Jacksonville

NASL Week 28 Schedule - final round:
-Fri Oct 28
Miami v Edmonton
-Sat Oct 29
Ottawa v Ft Lauderdale
Puerto Rico v Carolina
Minnesota v New York
-Sun Oct 30
Jacksonville v Tampa Bay
OKC v Indy

dN

‭Minn supporters Dark Clouds have their year end awards coming up and here is the ballot. Please vote.

dN

Its not often we get 3 stories on 1 weekend that fit so perfect...

• The Good:

El Pescadito with a game winning classic! [VIDEO]

Chills...

?????? pic.twitter.com/M07drlCJP1

— X - FC Dallas (@FCDallas) October 17, 2016

• The Bad:

You gotta be kidding me! Mauro Diaz is out! Torn Achilles. He will most likely miss 6-8 months. Devastating injury for him and Dallas. He is was my pre-season and post-season pick for MLS MVP.

• The Ugly:

Oh, Drogba! When Montreal head coach Mauro Biello told Didier Drogba that he would not be in the starting lineup for Sunday's game Didier responded by saying he didn't not want to be on the game day 18 man roster at all if he wasn't starting. Booooooooooooooo. That is the opposite of a team player.

dN

MLS Week 33 Results:

• Supporters Shield down to two - Dallas can tie and be champs.

• The East is pretty much set, only seedling left to sort out.

• DC and Montreal both clinched their playoff spots in the East.

• Technically New England is still in the hunt a playoff spot, but they are 3 Points and a -12 Goal Differential behind Philadelphia. It would take a miracle.

• In the West KC and Portland are tied on Points and Wins but KC is 1 better in Goal Differential.

• Bradley Wright Phillips got 2 goals on Sunday bring his season total to 23. (To go along with 17 last season and 27 the season before that.)

• BWP has 68 regular season and 6 post season goals.

• By comparison Landon Donovan is the all time league leader with 145 regular season and 25 post season goals.

• By the way, Landon Donovan started his first game for LA, and played 63 minutes.

• Analysis of Week 33. by Matt Doyle of MLSsoccer.

-Sun Oct 16
Chicago Fire 2-1 New England Revolution
DC United 3-1 New York City
Montreal Impact 2-2 Toronto
New York Red Bulls 3-2 Columbus Crew
Philadelphia Union 0-2 Orlando City
Dallas 2-1 Seattle Sounders
Houston Dynamo 0-1 LA Galaxy
Portland Timbers 1-0 Colorado Rapids
Real Salt Lake 0-0 Sporting Kansas City
Sans Jose Earthquakes 0-0 Vancouver Whitecaps

dN

MLS Supporters Shield:
-Tie Breakers: Wins, Goal Differential, Goals Scored
59 Dallas (17 W) (+10 GD)
57 Colorado (15 W) (+7 GD)

dN

Race for 6th Place in MLS: [Wins is the first tie breaker]
-Tie Breakers: Wins, Goal Differential, Goals Scored
EAST
46 DC (10 wins)
45 Montreal (11 wins)
42 Philadelphia (11 wins) (-1 GD)
-----
39 New England (10 wins) (-13 GD)

WEST
46 Salt Lake (12 wins) (-1 GD)
45 Seattle (13 wins) (0 GD)
44 Kansas City (12 wins) (-1 GD)
-----
44 Portland (12 wins) (-2 GD)

dN

MLS Week 34 Schedule:

• Its the last round of MLS and every single games has consequences for the playoffs.

• All 10 games kick off at the same time - 3pm CT

-Sun Oct 23
Colorado Rapids v Houston Dynamo
LA Galaxy v Dallas
Sporting Kansas City v San Jose Earthquakes
Vancouver Whitecaps v Portland Timbers
Philadelphia Union v New York Red Bulls
New England Revolution v Montreal Impact
Seattle Sounders v Real Salt Lake
New York City v Columbus Crew
Toronto v Chicago Fire
Orlando City v DC United

dN

Atlanta won the Expansion priority selection coin toss over Minnesota. Which means:

• Atlanta gets the pick in the Expansion Draft, Allocation order, Waiver + Reentry Draft

• Minnesota gets the pick in SuperDraft, USL/NASL Priority, Discovery Player

• Watch the coin toss and picks here. [VIDEO]

dN

Some details have emerged on the Minnesota United rental of the U of M's TCF Bank Stadium for 2017 and however long it takes to build their own stadium beyond that. By Josh Verges of the St Paul Pioneer Press.

• I was told the seating capacity next season will be 22,000 per game with the possibility to expand.

dN

USL Playoffs - Semifinals Results:
WEST
-Sat Oct 15
Swope Park Rangers 3-0 Vancouver Whitecaps 2
EAST
-Sun Oct 16
New York Red Bulls II 1-1 Louisville - NYRBII advance 4-3 in Penalty Kick Shootout.

USL Playoffs - Final Schedule:
-Sun Oct 23
New York Red Bulls II v Swope Park Rangers - 7pm CT on ESPNU

dN

The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:

• Results - Sat Oct 15 L 3-2 at Arsenal

• Standings - 19th Place, 0 Points and -4 Goal Differential into Relegation

• Up Next - Sat Oct 22 v Watford

dN

3 Americans in Europe made an impact for their club this weekend:

• Matt Miazga got his first start at Vitesse where he is on loan from Chelsea. They tied 2-2 at AZ.

• Eric Lichaj scored for Nottingham Forest on Friday in a 3-1 win v Birmingham.

• And Danny Williams scored again for Reading. They tied at Queens Park Rangers 1-1.

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Tijuana Tracker:

• Results - Sat Oct 15 L 1-0 at America

• Standings - 1st Place, 3 Point Lead

• Up Next - Fri Oct 21 v Chiapas

dN

Liga MX News:

• 4 rounds left in the Apertura season.

• Tijuana leads by 3 over Pachuca.

• Tigres, Guadalajara, America, Pumas, Toluca and Necaxa hold the other 6 playoff spots.

• Leon were left for dead in 17th place at one point in the season, fired their coach and now sit in 9th just 1 point out of the playoffs.

• Monterrey is 2 points out

• Cruz Azul is 3 points out

dN

CONCACAF Champions League - Big Games on Matchday 6:

• This is it. Final round of the Group Stage.

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

• Eliminated: Sporting Kansas City, Monterrey

-Tue Oct 18
Tigres UANL v Herediano - For Advancement
-Wed Oct 19
Portland Timbers v Saprissa - For Advancement
Olimpia v Pachuca - For Advancement
-Thu Oct 20
Suchitepequez v Dallas - For Advancement
Pumas UNAM v W Connection - For Advancement

dN

UEFA Champions League - Big Teams on Matchday 3:
-Tue Oct 18
Sporting v Dortmund
Real Madrid v Legia Warszawa
Lyon v Juventus
-Wed Oct 19
Arsenal v Ludogorets
PSG v Basel
Barca v Manchester City
Rostov v Atletico Madrid
Bayern v PSV

Americans in the UCL action:

• Christian Pulisic - Dortmund at Sporting on TUE

• Fabian Johnson - Gladbach at Celtic on WED

dN

Three Big Club Games Around Europe This Weekend:
-Fri Oct 14
Dortmund 1-1 Hertha - drops Dor to 5th and Her to 4th.
-Sat Oct 15
Napoli 1-3 Roma - moves Rom up to 2nd and drops Nap to 4th.
-Mon Oct 17
Liverpool 0-0 Manchester United - remain in 4th v 7th

dN

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



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