Some Soccer News for Nov 17, 2016

It's Day 322 of 2016.


Rumor spread this morning the Jurgen Klinsmann was going to Chicago to meet with US Soccer honchos to talk about his future as head coach. Later in the day word went out that Klinsmann was in Germany, not Chicago. False alarm.

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Now is the time to fire Jurgen Klinsmann, or stick with him through this cycle of qualifying no matter what happens. By Steven Goff of the Washington Post.

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I heard a sports psychologist say that if you are going to make a change in your tactics you need at least 4 months training to implement that, but 1 year is preferable to achieve desired results.

• See: USMNT shifting to 3-5-2 against Mexico as a prime example of what NOT to do. If this was a serious consideration then they should have started this process right after Copa America and stuck with it till they got it right.

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Soccer in the United States, from top to bottom, is the soft option. Hmmmmmmm. By Matthew Hall of the Guardian.

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Enter Sandman [VIDEO]

• You will really like this. I know I did.

• No, its not a Bernie Sanders thing.

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Vines: du Nord Music Mix Vol 105 (download + extract)

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The beautiful and powerful Chicano Park is San Diego is in line to become a National Historic Landmark. From the San Diego Union Tribune.

• I visited this park 2 years ago and the giant murals blew me away.

• Here are many picture people have taken in the park.

• There was a park in the city that was mainly used by Latinos and in the 60s the city decided to build a freeway right through it.

• The citizen took it upon themselves to not let the park die or divide them.

• They used the giant pillars that supported the freeway as their mural and told their stories in vibrant colors.

• It is a beautiful place to visit. I highly recommend you check it out.

• A huge thanks to Sasha who first took me there.

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Three college basketball players from University of Wisconsin talk politics, race, athletics and more. By Marc Tracy of the New York Times.

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Interview with Victor Montagliani, president of CONCACAF. We still know very little about him and what his ideas are for the region. [VIDEO] From Leaders.

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Andre Blake of Philadelphia Union has been named MLS Goalkeeper Of The Year.

• Other finalists were Tim Howard and Luis Robles.

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Zac MacMath gets his job back in Colorado after Tim Howards injury ended his season, and boy oh boy are they ever lucky to have kept him. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

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It looks as though Benny Feilhaber was very close to leaving Sporting Kansas City but a last minute intervention stopped that from happening. He signed a new deal to stay with SKC yesterday. By Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star.

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This is exciting: Dallas has signed 15 year old Jesus Ferreira as their latest player from their academy to turn pro.

• He is the son of former Dallas star and league MVP in 2010 David Ferreira.

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San Jose Earthquakes owner Lew Wolff has sold his stake in the Oakland A's baseball team to his business partner John Fisher, and Earthquakes president Dave Kaval has been promoted to president of both the A's and Earthquakes. From the AP. Thanks to Joe for the heads up.

• I don't know if that means Wolff sold his share of the Earthquakes too.

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Dave Sarachan, long time assistant coach under Bruce Arena at LA Galaxy, has left his job to pursue a head coaches position.

• Sarachan was the head coach at the Chicago Fire for several years.

• Him leaving LA leads me to believe that the Galaxy job is not being offered to him and Bruce Arena is likely going nowhere.

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DC United has completed the purchase of attacking midfielder Luciano Acosta from Boca Juniors. He played in DC on a loan deal last season and became better and better as the season wore on.

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Keepin em all in house I guess: Portland Timbers have hired just retired player Jack Jewsbury as Director of Business Development.

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The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:

• Standings - 19th Place, 6 Points into Relegation

• Up Next - Sat Nov 19 at Everton

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The Miguel Herrera + Tijuana Tracker:

• Standings - 1st Place, 3 Point Lead

• Up Next - Fri Nov 18 at Veracruz - Final game of regular reason

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Liga MX - last game of the Apertura regular season.

• Already qualified for the playoffs: Tijuana (33), Pachuca (30), Tigres (30), Guadalajara (27) and America (27).

• 3 more playoff spots are still open, and these teams are vying for them:

25 Necaxa - NEXT: Sat Nov 19 at Guadalajara
24 Pumas UNAM - NEXT: Sun Nov 20 at Puebla
24 Toluca - NEXT: Sun Nov 20 v Santos Laguna
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23 Leon - NEXT: Sat Nov 19 at Cruz Azul
22 Monterrey - NEXT: Sat Nov 19 at Morelia

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USWNT in Women's U20 World Cup group stage:
-Mon Nov 14
USA 0-0 France
-Thu Nov 17
USA 3-1 New Zealand
-Mon Nov 21
USA v Ghana

Group Stage Standings
4 USA
3 New Zealand
2 France
1 Ghana

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The EPL has signed a TV deal in China worth $700M over 3 years. Insane.

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Five great choices this weekend for big European club rivalry matches:
-Sat Nov 19
Manchester United v Arsenal - 6:30am CT
Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich - 11:30am CT
Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid - 1:45am CT
-Sun Nov 20
Fenerbahce v Galatasaray - 11:00am CT
AC Milan v Inter Milan - 1:45pm CT



The Bird Is The Word