Out To Lunch
See you next year.
-Bruce
posted by brucio at 14:28
1 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 21, 2016
It's Day 356 of 2016.
There will be no easing into MLS for Minnesota United. They play the opening game of the 2017 season on Fri Mar 3 at Portland.
Week 1
-Fri Mar 3
Portland Timbers v Minnesota United - 8:30pm CT
Week 2
-Sun Mar 12
Minnesota United v Atlanta United - 4:00pm CT
And Minnesota will have Miguel Ibarra in uniform for those early games too! By Jeff Rueter of Fifty Five One.
One of my favorite Minnesota players Greg Jordan has signed with San Francisco Deltas of NASL. I will genuinely miss him, and thought he could have contributed to the MNUFC MLS roster.
dN
MLS 2017 Full Opening Weekend Schedule:
Week 1
-Fri Mar 3
Portland Timbers v Minnesota United
-Sat Mar 4
Columbus Crew v Chicago Fire
LA Galaxy v Dallas
Real Salt Lake v Toronto
Colorado Rapids v New England Revolution
DC United v Sporting Kansas City
Houston Dynamo v Seattle Sounders
San Jose Earthquakes v Montreal Impact
-Sun Mar 5
Orlando City v New York City
Atlanta United v New York Red Bulls
Vancouver Whitecaps v Philadelphia Union
dN
First images of the grass being laid in the new Orlando City stadium. From Total MLS.
dN
Of the 10 cities currently in the mix for 4 MLS expansion franchises these are the ones I think would be best for the league:
-Detroit
-Nashville
-Saint Louis
-San Diego
-And Tampa-St Petersburg as the 5th - a replacement for Miami if that bid ends.
dN
Chicago Fire has signed a 28 year old Hungarian striker Nemanja Nikolics who has scored 112 goals in 166 games over the past 6 club seasons in Hungary and Poland.
dN
Young American Julian Green has made a wise career choice today and left Bayern Munich to sign with Stuttgart. He will get a real chance to play, learn and grow. Stuttgart is currently in 3rd place in the 2.Bundesliga.
dN
American Fabian Johnson's coach at Monchengladbach, Andre Schubert, has been fired.
dN
Former Minnesota United goalkeeper Matt VanOekel has signed with Real Salt Lake. Great for him.
dN
du Nord Music Mix Best of 2016 Vol. 2 (download + extract)
dN
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 22
America v Tigres - 8:30pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 25
Tigres v America - 6:00pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
dN
Big game results in Europe:
-Wed Dec 21
Bayern 3-0 Leipzig - #1 v #2 wasn't even close.
dN
Arsenal with their annual faceplant. By Rory Smith of the New York Times.
The Bird Is The Word
There will be no easing into MLS for Minnesota United. They play the opening game of the 2017 season on Fri Mar 3 at Portland.
Week 1
-Fri Mar 3
Portland Timbers v Minnesota United - 8:30pm CT
Week 2
-Sun Mar 12
Minnesota United v Atlanta United - 4:00pm CT
And Minnesota will have Miguel Ibarra in uniform for those early games too! By Jeff Rueter of Fifty Five One.
One of my favorite Minnesota players Greg Jordan has signed with San Francisco Deltas of NASL. I will genuinely miss him, and thought he could have contributed to the MNUFC MLS roster.
dN
MLS 2017 Full Opening Weekend Schedule:
Week 1
-Fri Mar 3
Portland Timbers v Minnesota United
-Sat Mar 4
Columbus Crew v Chicago Fire
LA Galaxy v Dallas
Real Salt Lake v Toronto
Colorado Rapids v New England Revolution
DC United v Sporting Kansas City
Houston Dynamo v Seattle Sounders
San Jose Earthquakes v Montreal Impact
-Sun Mar 5
Orlando City v New York City
Atlanta United v New York Red Bulls
Vancouver Whitecaps v Philadelphia Union
dN
First images of the grass being laid in the new Orlando City stadium. From Total MLS.
dN
Of the 10 cities currently in the mix for 4 MLS expansion franchises these are the ones I think would be best for the league:
-Detroit
-Nashville
-Saint Louis
-San Diego
-And Tampa-St Petersburg as the 5th - a replacement for Miami if that bid ends.
dN
Chicago Fire has signed a 28 year old Hungarian striker Nemanja Nikolics who has scored 112 goals in 166 games over the past 6 club seasons in Hungary and Poland.
- That's an average of 19 goals in 28 games a year over that period. Those numbers suggest he could be very potent in MLS.
- By comparison: Krisztian Nemeth of Hungary had success in 1 season with SKC and has averaged 6 goals in 19 games per season over the past 6 years.
dN
Young American Julian Green has made a wise career choice today and left Bayern Munich to sign with Stuttgart. He will get a real chance to play, learn and grow. Stuttgart is currently in 3rd place in the 2.Bundesliga.
- Leaving a great team like Bayern cannot be easy for anyone though.
- Green joins American midfielder Joel Sonora at Stuttgart.
dN
American Fabian Johnson's coach at Monchengladbach, Andre Schubert, has been fired.
- At the Winter break Gladbach are in 14th place and just 3 points above the relegation zone.
dN
Former Minnesota United goalkeeper Matt VanOekel has signed with Real Salt Lake. Great for him.
dN
du Nord Music Mix Best of 2016 Vol. 2 (download + extract)
- Vol. 1 (download + extract)
dN
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 22
America v Tigres - 8:30pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 25
Tigres v America - 6:00pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
dN
Big game results in Europe:
-Wed Dec 21
Bayern 3-0 Leipzig - #1 v #2 wasn't even close.
dN
Arsenal with their annual faceplant. By Rory Smith of the New York Times.
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 15:30
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 20, 2016
It's Day 355 of 2016.
Minnesota United has traded newly acquired goalkeeper Jeff Attinella to the Portland Timbers for a 2018 2nd round SuperDraft pick.
dN
American fullback Timmy Chandler has signed a contract extension with Eintract Frankfurt.
dN
American Bobby Wood bagged another goal for Hamburg today, his 4th of the season. It was the game winner as they beat Schalke 2-1 at home.
dN
du Nord Music Mix Best of 2016 Vol. 1 (download + extract)
dN
Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls
Live at Day On The Green at Oakland Stadium, Oakland, CA on August 31st, 1985
With Cliff Burton
dN
Repubblica gives us their list of the 50 Worst Players in modern Serie A history. You will get a chuckle out of some of these names. Thanks to Daniele for the link.
dN
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 22
America v Tigres - 8:30pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 25
Tigres v America - 6:00pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
dN
A slide show of the images of Francesco Totti you can find in the city of Rome. From the New York Times.
dN
Tomorrow ends the first half of the Bundesliga season and luckily we have the top 2 teams facing off - Bayern v Leipzig! The pros at Deutsche Welle give us their outlook and predictions.
A preview of tomorrow's big Bundesliga battle for winter supremacy. From Reuters via The Guardian.
Big game schedule + results in Europe:
-Mon Dec 19
Everton 0-1 Liverpool - The Merseyside Derby goes to the Red side again
-Wed Dec 21
Bayern v Leipzig - #1 v #2 separated by goal difference - 1:00pm CT on FS1
dN
Alex Morgan is temporarily(?) leaving the NWSL to go play for Lyon in France. She tells us why. From the Players Tribune.
The Bird Is The Word
Minnesota United has traded newly acquired goalkeeper Jeff Attinella to the Portland Timbers for a 2018 2nd round SuperDraft pick.
Loons trade Attinella to Portland for second round draft pick, and.... https://t.co/bu2gYkoDQu pic.twitter.com/D3rwuzOCVs— FiftyFiveOne (@FiftyFiveOne) December 20, 2016
dN
American fullback Timmy Chandler has signed a contract extension with Eintract Frankfurt.
dN
American Bobby Wood bagged another goal for Hamburg today, his 4th of the season. It was the game winner as they beat Schalke 2-1 at home.
✌🏽 goals in ✌🏽 games for Bobby Wood! #HSVS04 https://t.co/ySgu0K0XvL— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 20, 2016
dN
du Nord Music Mix Best of 2016 Vol. 1 (download + extract)
dN
Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls
Live at Day On The Green at Oakland Stadium, Oakland, CA on August 31st, 1985
With Cliff Burton
dN
Repubblica gives us their list of the 50 Worst Players in modern Serie A history. You will get a chuckle out of some of these names. Thanks to Daniele for the link.
dN
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 22
America v Tigres - 8:30pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 25
Tigres v America - 6:00pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
dN
A slide show of the images of Francesco Totti you can find in the city of Rome. From the New York Times.
dN
Tomorrow ends the first half of the Bundesliga season and luckily we have the top 2 teams facing off - Bayern v Leipzig! The pros at Deutsche Welle give us their outlook and predictions.
A preview of tomorrow's big Bundesliga battle for winter supremacy. From Reuters via The Guardian.
Big game schedule + results in Europe:
-Mon Dec 19
Everton 0-1 Liverpool - The Merseyside Derby goes to the Red side again
-Wed Dec 21
Bayern v Leipzig - #1 v #2 separated by goal difference - 1:00pm CT on FS1
dN
Alex Morgan is temporarily(?) leaving the NWSL to go play for Lyon in France. She tells us why. From the Players Tribune.
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 15:24
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Monday, December 19, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 19, 2016
It's Day 354 of 2016.
Minnesota United looks set to train in Casa Grande AZ in late January/early February and play at least 1 friendly, on Jan 31 v New England Revolution.
dN
From out of nowhere we get the general layout for the 2107 Gold Cup! (It so CONCACAF that we get no warning this was coming.)
USMNT games in Group B
Jul 08 in Nashville - Nissan Stadium
Jul 12 in Tampa - Raymond James Stadium
Jul 15 in Cleveland - FirstEnergy Stadium
Group A top seed yet to be determined
Group B top seed USA
Group C top seed Mexico
Other teams qualified:
Canada
Curacao
French Guiana
Jamaica
Martinique
Five more teams coming:
Top 4 from Copa Centoamericana (Jan 13-22)
Playoff winner: Caribbean zone 5th place v Central America 5th place
Group Stage dates, groups + stadiums:
Fri Jul 07 - Group A - Harrison - Red Bull Arena
Sat Jul 08 - Group B - Nashville - Nissan Stadium
Sun Jul 09 - Group C - San Diego - Qualcomm Stadium
Tue Jul 11 - Group A - Houston - BBVA Compass Stadium
Wed Jul 12 - Group B - Tampa - Raymond James Stadium
Thu Jul 13 - Group C - Denver - Sports Authority Field
Fri Jul 14 - Group A - Frisco - Toyota Stadium
Sat Jul 15 - Group B - Cleveland - FirstEnergy Stadium
Sun Jul 16 - Group C - San Antonio - Alamodome
Knockout Round games stadiums (in alphabetical order):
Arlington - AT+T Stadium
Glendale - University of Phoenix Stadium
Pasadena - Rose Bowl
Philadelphia - Lincoln Financial Field
Santa Clara - Levi's Stadium
dN
Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the Mexican footballing hero/villain and Hunchback of the DF won an election in June to be come Mayor of Cuernavaca, but the state legislature has begun proceedings to have him impeached because they feel he is in way over his head.
dN
Minnesota United reportedly trying to bring back Miguel Ibarra. By Jeff Rueter of Fifty Five One.
dN
What is the talk among soccer fans about the new Minnesota United stadium? By Michael Rand of the Star Tribune.
dN
A great remembrance of MLS Cup 2016 from a Toronto media member. By Mitchell Tierney of Waking The Red.
dN
In my book, every free kick goal is a fantastic goal. Here is someone's list of the Top 5 from the 2016 MLS season. [VIDEO]
dN
dN
Two American's in the Bundesliga scored goals over the weekend - Bobby Wood for Hamburg and Alfredo Morales for Ingolstadt. (Hamburg lost 3-1 at Mainz. And Ingolstadt won 1-2 at Leverkusen.)
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
This is how pathetic the haranguing of Bradley over terminology really is:
dN
After a futile trip to the Club World Cup in Japan Club America now has to regroup and play in 2 real games, the Mexican Final.
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 22
America v Tigres - 8:30pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 25
Tigres v America - 6:00pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
dN
FIFA has sanctioned one CONCACAF team and is investigating another:
dN
Nominees for The CONCACAF Awards
Male Player of the Year:
Christian Bolanos - Costa Rica + Vancouver Whitecaps
Clint Dempsey - USA + Seattle Sounders
Javier Hernandez - Mexico
Bryan Ruiz - Costa Rica
Hirving Lozano - Mexico + Pachuca
Wes Morgan - Jamaica
Keylor Navas - Costa Rica
Christian Pulisic - USA
Romell Quioto - Honduras + Deportivo Olimpia
Rubens Sambueza - Mexico + Club America
Female Player Of The Year:
Janine Beckie - Canada + Houston Dash
Shirley Cruz - Costa Rica + Paris Saint-Germain
Crystal Dunn - USA + Washington Spirit
Tobin Heath - USA + Portland Thorns
Carli Lloyd - USA + Houston Dash
Alex Morgan - USA + Orlando Pride
Mallory Pugh - USA + Real Colorado
Becky Sauerbrunn - USA + Kansas City
Christine Sinclair - Canada + Portland Thorns
Karla Villalobos - Costa Rica + Union Deportiva Moravia
-You can vote here for these 2 awards and many others.
-In classic CONCACAF fashion no date was announced for when the winners would be announced.
dN
Results from the big games last weekend in Europe:
-Fri Dec 16
Hoffenheim 2-2 Dortmund - now #3 + #5
-Sat Dec 17
Juventus 1-0 Roma - still #1 + #2 with a 7 point gap
Leipzig 2-0 Hertha - now #2 + #3
-Sun Dec 18
Man City 2-1 Arsenal - now #2 + #4
Barcelona 4-1 Espanyol - The Barcelonian Derby
Monaco 1-3 Lyon - still #2 + #4
A couple more coming up mid-week:
-Mon Dec 19
Everton v Liverpool - The Merseyside Derby - 2:00pm CT on NBCSN
-Wed Dec 21
Bayern v Leipzig - #1 v #2 seperated by goal difference - 1:00pm CT on FS1
dN
Carlos Tevez is leaving Boca Juniors in the winter transfer window to go play in China and earn $761,000 per week, or $39.5M per year.
dN
Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action. By the Guardian.
dN
The creepy-being with a sharp-bloody-axe heads for the Bundesliga Managers List, and its never pretty. By Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian.
The Bird Is The Word
Minnesota United looks set to train in Casa Grande AZ in late January/early February and play at least 1 friendly, on Jan 31 v New England Revolution.
#NERevs will play preseason matches vs. Minnesota (1/31), RBNY (2/3), SKC (2/7), RSL (2/15), Colorado (2/18), SKC (2/22) and TBD (2/25).— Jeff Lemieux (@jeff_lemieux) December 19, 2016
dN
From out of nowhere we get the general layout for the 2107 Gold Cup! (It so CONCACAF that we get no warning this was coming.)
USMNT games in Group B
Jul 08 in Nashville - Nissan Stadium
Jul 12 in Tampa - Raymond James Stadium
Jul 15 in Cleveland - FirstEnergy Stadium
Group A top seed yet to be determined
Group B top seed USA
Group C top seed Mexico
Other teams qualified:
Canada
Curacao
French Guiana
Jamaica
Martinique
Five more teams coming:
Top 4 from Copa Centoamericana (Jan 13-22)
Playoff winner: Caribbean zone 5th place v Central America 5th place
Group Stage dates, groups + stadiums:
Fri Jul 07 - Group A - Harrison - Red Bull Arena
Sat Jul 08 - Group B - Nashville - Nissan Stadium
Sun Jul 09 - Group C - San Diego - Qualcomm Stadium
Tue Jul 11 - Group A - Houston - BBVA Compass Stadium
Wed Jul 12 - Group B - Tampa - Raymond James Stadium
Thu Jul 13 - Group C - Denver - Sports Authority Field
Fri Jul 14 - Group A - Frisco - Toyota Stadium
Sat Jul 15 - Group B - Cleveland - FirstEnergy Stadium
Sun Jul 16 - Group C - San Antonio - Alamodome
Knockout Round games stadiums (in alphabetical order):
Arlington - AT+T Stadium
Glendale - University of Phoenix Stadium
Pasadena - Rose Bowl
Philadelphia - Lincoln Financial Field
Santa Clara - Levi's Stadium
dN
Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the Mexican footballing hero/villain and Hunchback of the DF won an election in June to be come Mayor of Cuernavaca, but the state legislature has begun proceedings to have him impeached because they feel he is in way over his head.
- On Saturday Blanco went on "a hunger strike" in protest of the investigation!
- Some say the impeachment is going forward because he beat the candidate from the powerful PRI party that has ruled Mexico at all levels for many decades.
- Oh, the saga continues today as the Mexican Supreme Court has struck down the impeachment attempt, and Blanco is back to solid foods.
dN
Minnesota United reportedly trying to bring back Miguel Ibarra. By Jeff Rueter of Fifty Five One.
dN
What is the talk among soccer fans about the new Minnesota United stadium? By Michael Rand of the Star Tribune.
dN
A great remembrance of MLS Cup 2016 from a Toronto media member. By Mitchell Tierney of Waking The Red.
- Thanks to Sounder At Heart for the heads up.
dN
In my book, every free kick goal is a fantastic goal. Here is someone's list of the Top 5 from the 2016 MLS season. [VIDEO]
dN
The 100 year old Palace Theater in downtown St Paul is about to re-open, managed by First Avenue. Awesome https://t.co/SwYgkXoiof— Bruce McGuire (@dunord) December 16, 2016
dN
Two American's in the Bundesliga scored goals over the weekend - Bobby Wood for Hamburg and Alfredo Morales for Ingolstadt. (Hamburg lost 3-1 at Mainz. And Ingolstadt won 1-2 at Leverkusen.)
- Morales says his main mission is to re-join the USA national team. by Stephan Uersfeld of ESPNFC.
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
- Note - another terrible road loss, and the English media unloaded on BB for saying "road game" instead of "away match" and "PK" instead of "Penalty." Oof. You can't win with these people. The fans are restless, but have been since Day 1 of of BB's tenure.
- Results - Sat Dec 17 L 3-0 at Middlesbrough
- Standings - 18th Place, 3 Points and -13 GD into Relegation
- Up Next - Mon Dec 26 v West Ham
This is how pathetic the haranguing of Bradley over terminology really is:
I watched 4+ hours of Bob Bradley pressers to see how often he uses British vs US lingo. You might be surprised. https://t.co/PeGo3uDZqF pic.twitter.com/IyLO366cmW— Joshua Robinson (@JoshRobinson23) December 19, 2016
dN
After a futile trip to the Club World Cup in Japan Club America now has to regroup and play in 2 real games, the Mexican Final.
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 22
America v Tigres - 8:30pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 25
Tigres v America - 6:00pm CT on Univision + Univision Deportes
dN
FIFA has sanctioned one CONCACAF team and is investigating another:
- "Honduras has been banned from playing at the Olympic Stadium in San Pedro Sula for one match and fined $40,000US for several incidents during the Honduras v. Panama match. The suspension will be served at Honduras’ 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica on Mar 28."
- "Procedure opened against Mexico is currently on going, involving unsporting conduct by fans, including homophobic chants."
dN
Nominees for The CONCACAF Awards
Male Player of the Year:
Christian Bolanos - Costa Rica + Vancouver Whitecaps
Clint Dempsey - USA + Seattle Sounders
Javier Hernandez - Mexico
Bryan Ruiz - Costa Rica
Hirving Lozano - Mexico + Pachuca
Wes Morgan - Jamaica
Keylor Navas - Costa Rica
Christian Pulisic - USA
Romell Quioto - Honduras + Deportivo Olimpia
Rubens Sambueza - Mexico + Club America
Female Player Of The Year:
Janine Beckie - Canada + Houston Dash
Shirley Cruz - Costa Rica + Paris Saint-Germain
Crystal Dunn - USA + Washington Spirit
Tobin Heath - USA + Portland Thorns
Carli Lloyd - USA + Houston Dash
Alex Morgan - USA + Orlando Pride
Mallory Pugh - USA + Real Colorado
Becky Sauerbrunn - USA + Kansas City
Christine Sinclair - Canada + Portland Thorns
Karla Villalobos - Costa Rica + Union Deportiva Moravia
-You can vote here for these 2 awards and many others.
-In classic CONCACAF fashion no date was announced for when the winners would be announced.
dN
Results from the big games last weekend in Europe:
-Fri Dec 16
Hoffenheim 2-2 Dortmund - now #3 + #5
-Sat Dec 17
Juventus 1-0 Roma - still #1 + #2 with a 7 point gap
Leipzig 2-0 Hertha - now #2 + #3
-Sun Dec 18
Man City 2-1 Arsenal - now #2 + #4
Barcelona 4-1 Espanyol - The Barcelonian Derby
Monaco 1-3 Lyon - still #2 + #4
A couple more coming up mid-week:
-Mon Dec 19
Everton v Liverpool - The Merseyside Derby - 2:00pm CT on NBCSN
-Wed Dec 21
Bayern v Leipzig - #1 v #2 seperated by goal difference - 1:00pm CT on FS1
dN
Carlos Tevez is leaving Boca Juniors in the winter transfer window to go play in China and earn $761,000 per week, or $39.5M per year.
- English journalists like to insult Chinese soccer by saying it is "even below the standards of Major League Soccer."
dN
Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action. By the Guardian.
dN
The creepy-being with a sharp-bloody-axe heads for the Bundesliga Managers List, and its never pretty. By Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian.
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 15:08
1 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Friday, December 16, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 16, 2016
It's Day 351 of 2016.
Deep inside the MLS expansion draft room of Minnesota United. By Paul Tenorio of Four Four Two.
dN
Bruce Arena disclosed a few of his USMNT January camp invitees during a Facebook Q & A today:
dN
MLS announced their plan on how they will expand from 24 teams to 28 teams by 2022.
Cincinnati
Detroit
Nashville
Raleigh-Durham-Cary
Sacramento
St Louis
San Antonio
San Diego
Tampa-St Petersburg
dN
Shaka Hislop gives his opinion on MLS and what this expansion mean for American soccer. With Dan Thomas of ESPNFC. [VIDEO]
dN
Does this one break new ground? Here is the semi-regular "I can fix the MLS playoffs" article. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.
dN
dN
After 2 seasons in exile American midfielder Joe Corona is back with Tijuana. Good for him.
dN
Why does everyone in Germany hate RB Leipzig? By Simon Evans of the Washington Post.
dN
Pure-bred Roman - Its year 23 at Roma for Francesco Totti and he is not ready to be done. By Rory Smith of the New York Times.
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
Standings - 18th Place, 3 Points and -8 GD into relegation
Up Next - Sat Dec 17 at Middlesbrough
dN
Nominees for The CONCACAF Awards
Male Player of the Year:
Christian Bolanos - Costa Rica + Vancouver Whitecaps
Clint Dempsey - USA + Seattle Sounders
Javier Hernandez - Mexico
Bryan Ruiz - Costa Rica
Hirving Lozano - Mexico + Pachuca
Wes Morgan - Jamaica
Keylor Navas - Costa Rica
Christian Pulisic - USA
Romell Quioto - Honduras + Deportivo Olimpia
Rubens Sambueza - Mexico + Club America
Female Player Of The Year:
Janine Beckie - Canada + Houston Dash
Shirley Cruz - Costa Rica + Paris Saint-Germain
Crystal Dunn - USA + Washington Spirit
Tobin Heath - USA + Portland Thorns
Carli Lloyd - USA + Houston Dash
Alex Morgan - USA + Orlando Pride
Mallory Pugh - USA + Real Colorado
Becky Sauerbrunn - USA + Kansas City
Christine Sinclair - Canada + Portland Thorns
Karla Villalobos - Costa Rica + Union Deportiva Moravia
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Fri Dec 16
Hoffenheim v Dortmund - #4 v #6 - 1:30pm CT on FS1
-Sat Dec 17
Juventus v Roma - #1 v #2 - 1:45pm on beIN Sports
Leipzig v Hertha - #2 v #3 - 8:30am CT on FS1
-Sun Dec 18
Man City v Arsenal - #4 v #3 - 10:00am CT on NBCSN
Barcelona v Espanyol - The Barcelonian Derby - 1:45pm on beIN Sports
Monaco v Lyon - #2 v #4 - 1:45pm no USA TV
-Mon Dec 19
Everton v Liverpool - The Merseyside Derby - 2:00pm CT on NBCSN
The Bird Is The Word
Deep inside the MLS expansion draft room of Minnesota United. By Paul Tenorio of Four Four Two.
dN
Bruce Arena disclosed a few of his USMNT January camp invitees during a Facebook Q & A today:
- Juan Agudelo, DaMarcus Beasley, Benny Feilhaber, Matt Hedges, Kekuta Manneh, Dax McCarty, Darlington Nagbe, Chris Pontius, Keegan Rosenberry, and Walker Zimmerman
dN
MLS announced their plan on how they will expand from 24 teams to 28 teams by 2022.
- The current Top 10 cities for potential expansion:
Cincinnati
Detroit
Nashville
Raleigh-Durham-Cary
Sacramento
St Louis
San Antonio
San Diego
Tampa-St Petersburg
dN
Shaka Hislop gives his opinion on MLS and what this expansion mean for American soccer. With Dan Thomas of ESPNFC. [VIDEO]
dN
Does this one break new ground? Here is the semi-regular "I can fix the MLS playoffs" article. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.
- I prefer a single leg bracket with higher seeds hosting each game. IE: The top 4 (2 in East + 2 in West) get a buy in Rd 1 while teams 3-6 in East + West playoff for 4 spots again with the higher seed hosting. Then with 8 teams left we get E1 hosting the lowest E seed left etc. This rewards regular season records.
dN
In the year 1100AD, yes 1100, E St Louis had a giant pyramid and 30,000 residents! https://t.co/ko3VF8xBVH— Bruce McGuire (@dunord) December 15, 2016
dN
After 2 seasons in exile American midfielder Joe Corona is back with Tijuana. Good for him.
dN
Why does everyone in Germany hate RB Leipzig? By Simon Evans of the Washington Post.
dN
Pure-bred Roman - Its year 23 at Roma for Francesco Totti and he is not ready to be done. By Rory Smith of the New York Times.
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
Standings - 18th Place, 3 Points and -8 GD into relegation
Up Next - Sat Dec 17 at Middlesbrough
dN
Nominees for The CONCACAF Awards
Male Player of the Year:
Christian Bolanos - Costa Rica + Vancouver Whitecaps
Clint Dempsey - USA + Seattle Sounders
Javier Hernandez - Mexico
Bryan Ruiz - Costa Rica
Hirving Lozano - Mexico + Pachuca
Wes Morgan - Jamaica
Keylor Navas - Costa Rica
Christian Pulisic - USA
Romell Quioto - Honduras + Deportivo Olimpia
Rubens Sambueza - Mexico + Club America
Female Player Of The Year:
Janine Beckie - Canada + Houston Dash
Shirley Cruz - Costa Rica + Paris Saint-Germain
Crystal Dunn - USA + Washington Spirit
Tobin Heath - USA + Portland Thorns
Carli Lloyd - USA + Houston Dash
Alex Morgan - USA + Orlando Pride
Mallory Pugh - USA + Real Colorado
Becky Sauerbrunn - USA + Kansas City
Christine Sinclair - Canada + Portland Thorns
Karla Villalobos - Costa Rica + Union Deportiva Moravia
- You can vote here for these 2 awards and many others.
- In classic CONCACAF fashion no date was announced for when the winners would be announced.
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Fri Dec 16
Hoffenheim v Dortmund - #4 v #6 - 1:30pm CT on FS1
-Sat Dec 17
Juventus v Roma - #1 v #2 - 1:45pm on beIN Sports
Leipzig v Hertha - #2 v #3 - 8:30am CT on FS1
-Sun Dec 18
Man City v Arsenal - #4 v #3 - 10:00am CT on NBCSN
Barcelona v Espanyol - The Barcelonian Derby - 1:45pm on beIN Sports
Monaco v Lyon - #2 v #4 - 1:45pm no USA TV
-Mon Dec 19
Everton v Liverpool - The Merseyside Derby - 2:00pm CT on NBCSN
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 14:49
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 15, 2016
It's Day 350 of 2016.
Next years schedule for the USMNT is starting to take shape. Here is what we can piece together so far.
Friendly:
-Sun Jan 29
USA v Serbia
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
Friendly:
-Fri Feb 3
USA v TBA
TBA stadium
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier:
-Fri Mar 24
USA v Honduras
Avaya Stadium, San Jose
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier:
-Tue Mar 28
Panama v USA
Estadio Rommel Fernandez, Panama City
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier:
-Fri Jun 9
USA v Trinidad + Tobago
Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Denver
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier:
-Tue Jun 13 - looking like the date is being changed to Sun Jun 11
Mexico v USA
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
dN
You will enjoy listening to this - Stefan Frei's huge save in MLS Cup as called by announcers in 12 different countries. [AUDIO] From Sounders.com.
dN
Ethan White of NYCFC was in attendance at MLS Cup in Toronto. Why was a guy who was not on either team in the Final in attendance at the big game? By Ethan White for the Players Tribune.
dN
So why haven't we heard anything in the past week about the future of the NASL? Here's one possible reason why, money. By Wes Burdine of Fifty Five One.
But the NASL is still fighting for its future, and want an 8-10 team league for 2017. By Dave Martinez of Empire of Soccer.
dN
SLEEP
Minneapolis - First Avenue
Wed Apr 19
Ticket go on sale Fri Dec 16 at noon
dN
Trifecta: du Nord Music Mix Vol 108 (download + extract)
dN
The sad story of Freddy Adu goes looking for another chapter - not offered a new contract by Tampa Bay Rowdies. By Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
dN
American centerback Matt Miazga scored his first goal for Vitesse, the game winner, in a 4-0 win v Jodan Boys in the KNVB Beker Round of 16.
The Bird Is The Word
Next years schedule for the USMNT is starting to take shape. Here is what we can piece together so far.
Friendly:
-Sun Jan 29
USA v Serbia
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
Friendly:
-Fri Feb 3
USA v TBA
TBA stadium
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier:
-Fri Mar 24
USA v Honduras
Avaya Stadium, San Jose
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier:
-Tue Mar 28
Panama v USA
Estadio Rommel Fernandez, Panama City
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier:
-Fri Jun 9
USA v Trinidad + Tobago
Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Denver
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier:
-
Mexico v USA
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
- NOTE: Only the game against Serbia has been made official.
dN
You will enjoy listening to this - Stefan Frei's huge save in MLS Cup as called by announcers in 12 different countries. [AUDIO] From Sounders.com.
dN
Ethan White of NYCFC was in attendance at MLS Cup in Toronto. Why was a guy who was not on either team in the Final in attendance at the big game? By Ethan White for the Players Tribune.
dN
So why haven't we heard anything in the past week about the future of the NASL? Here's one possible reason why, money. By Wes Burdine of Fifty Five One.
- A visual aid:
BREAKING: Livestream from NASL. pic.twitter.com/ZUKSuki79c— Wes (@MnNiceFC) December 15, 2016
But the NASL is still fighting for its future, and want an 8-10 team league for 2017. By Dave Martinez of Empire of Soccer.
dN
SLEEP
Minneapolis - First Avenue
Wed Apr 19
Ticket go on sale Fri Dec 16 at noon
dN
Trifecta: du Nord Music Mix Vol 108 (download + extract)
dN
The sad story of Freddy Adu goes looking for another chapter - not offered a new contract by Tampa Bay Rowdies. By Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
dN
American centerback Matt Miazga scored his first goal for Vitesse, the game winner, in a 4-0 win v Jodan Boys in the KNVB Beker Round of 16.
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 15:17
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 14, 2016
It's Day 349 of 2016.
Minnesota United updates on Christian Ramirez, Johan Venegas and Jeremy Ebobisse. By Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
dN
A big hearty Thank You to David_LaVaque for his years of Twin Cities soccer coverage in the Star Tribune. There haven't been many people from local newspapers who covered this team for any longevity and David has always been a very good guy.
dN
Jacksonville Armada has released ALL players from contract. Looks like they are going down in flames too. NASL RIP.
dN
Tobin Heath named US Soccer Female Player Of The Year.
Ashley Sanchez named US Soccer Young Female Player Of The Year.
dN
Bruce Arena's 1st game with the USMNT will be Sun Jan 29 v Serbia at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego - 3pm CT on ESPN2
Taylor Twellman reports on Twitter that Bruce Arena's USA coaching staff will be his former LAG staff:
dN
A weird article about the LA Galaxy hiring Curt Onalfo as head coach. They call the hire underwhelming. I can't disagree, but the article is a little odd. By Dylan Hernanez of the LA Times.
dN
A round up of all the tip top topics in MLS this week. By Steve Davis for FC Dallas.
dN
Trifecta: du Nord Music Mix Vol 108 (download + extract)
dN
A review of the 2016 MLS season from England. By Graham Parker of the Guardian.
dN
Colorado has signed head coach Pablo Mastroeni to a contract extension.
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
The Bird Is The Word
Minnesota United updates on Christian Ramirez, Johan Venegas and Jeremy Ebobisse. By Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
dN
A big hearty Thank You to David_LaVaque for his years of Twin Cities soccer coverage in the Star Tribune. There haven't been many people from local newspapers who covered this team for any longevity and David has always been a very good guy.
dN
Jacksonville Armada has released ALL players from contract. Looks like they are going down in flames too. NASL RIP.
dN
Tobin Heath named US Soccer Female Player Of The Year.
Ashley Sanchez named US Soccer Young Female Player Of The Year.
dN
Bruce Arena's 1st game with the USMNT will be Sun Jan 29 v Serbia at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego - 3pm CT on ESPN2
Taylor Twellman reports on Twitter that Bruce Arena's USA coaching staff will be his former LAG staff:
- Dave Sarachan
- Matt Reis
- Pat Noonan
- Kenny Arena
dN
A weird article about the LA Galaxy hiring Curt Onalfo as head coach. They call the hire underwhelming. I can't disagree, but the article is a little odd. By Dylan Hernanez of the LA Times.
- By the way, I don't things are going to go well for the Galaxy and Onalfo.
dN
A round up of all the tip top topics in MLS this week. By Steve Davis for FC Dallas.
dN
Trifecta: du Nord Music Mix Vol 108 (download + extract)
dN
A review of the 2016 MLS season from England. By Graham Parker of the Guardian.
dN
Colorado has signed head coach Pablo Mastroeni to a contract extension.
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
- Note - the road is a very bad place for Bob + The Boyz.
- Results - Wed Dec 14 L 3-1 at West Brom
- Standings - 18th Place, 3 Points and -6 GD into Relegation
- Up Next - Sat Dec 17 at Middlesbrough (1 spot above them in the standings)
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 15:54
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 13, 2016
It's Day 348 of 2016.
2016 MLS Expansion Draft Picks:
Minnesota United
1 TRADED: Chris Duvall - Red Bulls - $63k
2 Collen Warner - Houston - $177k
3 Mohammed Saied - Columbus - $120k
4 Jeff Attinella - Salt Lake - $95k
5 Femi Hollinger-Janzen - New England - $52k
Atlanta United:
1 TRADED: Danny Toia - Montreal - $68k
2 Zach Loyd - Dallas - $222k
3 TRADED: Clint Irwin - Toronto - $107k
4 Mikey Ambrose - Orlando - $52k
5 Alec Kann - KC - $63k
Minn United immediately traded its Chris Duvall and $GAM to Montreal Impact for 28 year old Costa Rican Johan Venegas.
I want to see Attinella and Saied make the Minnesota roster. The other 3 selection are not that important to me. Maybe Hollinger.
Atlanta trades Toia to Orlando for #8 pick in 2017 Superdraft.
dN
dN
I am not a fan of expansion teams trading away defense for offense.
dN
Minnesota United new stadium updates - images and video. From the club.
dN
Its official - Curt Onalfo is new head coach of LA Galaxy.
dN
Fox, Univision and TSN all had record viewership of MLS Cup Final. Always good news.
dN
A message from Clint Dempsey for Portland. [VIDEO]
dN
Seamus O'Brien, New York Cosmos chairman breaks his silence on the Cosmos future. By Dave Martinez of the Guardian.
dN
IIIEEEEEE - Fabian Johnson has a strained Achilles tendon and will be out at least until the Bundesliga returns from winter break on Fri Jan 20.
dN
Norwegian-American forward from Heart Of Midlotian Bjorn Johnsen named Scottish Premier League Player Of The Month.
dN
Cristiano Ronaldo named FIFA Player Of The Year.
dN
Liga MX is starting a professional women's league in Mexico! By Eric Gomez of ESPN.
dN
The Bird Is The Word
2016 MLS Expansion Draft Picks:
Minnesota United
1 TRADED: Chris Duvall - Red Bulls - $63k
2 Collen Warner - Houston - $177k
3 Mohammed Saied - Columbus - $120k
4 Jeff Attinella - Salt Lake - $95k
5 Femi Hollinger-Janzen - New England - $52k
Atlanta United:
1 TRADED: Danny Toia - Montreal - $68k
2 Zach Loyd - Dallas - $222k
3 TRADED: Clint Irwin - Toronto - $107k
4 Mikey Ambrose - Orlando - $52k
5 Alec Kann - KC - $63k
Minn United immediately traded its Chris Duvall and $GAM to Montreal Impact for 28 year old Costa Rican Johan Venegas.
- If the Venegas who shows up for Minn is the one who tore apart the USMNT last month in World Cup qualifying then I will be very happy.
I want to see Attinella and Saied make the Minnesota roster. The other 3 selection are not that important to me. Maybe Hollinger.
Atlanta trades Toia to Orlando for #8 pick in 2017 Superdraft.
- Atl has also shipped Clint Irwin BACK to Toronto for defender Mark Bloom and $GAM.
dN
— D.C. United (@dcunited) December 13, 2016
dN
I am not a fan of expansion teams trading away defense for offense.
dN
Minnesota United new stadium updates - images and video. From the club.
- The ground breaking event that the team held on Monday was really great. Those things usually feel hokey to me, but I could tell that it meant a lot to many other people and from them the joy seeped into my cold and dead heart. I talked to a lot of fantastic people, and if time had permitted would have talked to many many more. It was interesting to see fans, team executives, league officials and civic leaders mingling so freely. Yes it was very cold outside, but the spirits were high, and in reflection I am very glad to have been there. Looking forward to the next event to keep the heartbeat pumping.
dN
Its official - Curt Onalfo is new head coach of LA Galaxy.
- Have you ever had old falafel?
dN
Fox, Univision and TSN all had record viewership of MLS Cup Final. Always good news.
dN
A message from Clint Dempsey for Portland. [VIDEO]
dN
Seamus O'Brien, New York Cosmos chairman breaks his silence on the Cosmos future. By Dave Martinez of the Guardian.
dN
IIIEEEEEE - Fabian Johnson has a strained Achilles tendon and will be out at least until the Bundesliga returns from winter break on Fri Jan 20.
dN
Norwegian-American forward from Heart Of Midlotian Bjorn Johnsen named Scottish Premier League Player Of The Month.
dN
Cristiano Ronaldo named FIFA Player Of The Year.
dN
Liga MX is starting a professional women's league in Mexico! By Eric Gomez of ESPN.
- "...eventually, every franchise in the men's pyramid must have a women's team as a requirement for first division play."
dN
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 16:12
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Monday, December 12, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 12, 2016
SPECIAL NOTE: Minnesota United will hold an official groundbreaking ceremony for the new stadium in St Paul today at 2pm CT.
It's Day 347 of 2016.
MLS Season 21 is over. Seattle is the champion. Huge congrats to the Sounders.
MLS Cup - Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC 0-0 Seattle Sounders FC - SS wins it 5-4 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
dN
Game highlights [VIDEO]
dN
My MLS Cup Notes:
dN
Sounders fans greeted the team at the airport when they arrived home on Sunday. By Seattle Times.
dN
Heartbreak in Toronto. By Kurt Larson of the Toronto Sun.
dN
A long Q + A with MLS commissioner Don Garber. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.
dN
Minnesota sent a supplemental round draft pick to Colorado Rapids for centerback Joseph Greenspan. He has made very few pro appearances for the Rapids or on loan spells to USL teams.
The building process of the team and organization is a long slow one. By David LaVaque of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Next season Minnesota United will play at the University of Minnesota's football field TCF Bank Stadium Here is one persons pros and cons of that facility. By E Pluribus Loonum.
dN
Atlanta made several moves to add players to their roster including a shrewd move to sign centerback Michael Parkhurst from Columbus Crew.
dN
Sean Johnson from Chicago to Atlanta to NYC in one day.
dN
The expansion draft will be held on Tue Dec 13 at 1pm CT.
dN
LA Galaxy will name their new head coach on Tuesday. Strong suggestion is that its LAGII head coach Curt Onalfo. He has coached in DC before this.
Rhymes with Awful
Curt Onalfo
Old Falafel
dN
A sit down interview with Alexi Lalas, one of the lightning rods of American soccer, and a TV personality with an opinion on most everything. By Andrew Das of the New York Times.
dN
ESPN has stolen soccer reporter/host Julie Stewart-Binks away from FS1.
dN
2016 du Nord Futbol MLS Best 11:
G: Luis Robles
RFB: Harrison Afful
CB: Walker Zimmerman
CB: Jelle Van Damme
LFB: Justin Morrow
DM: Dax McCarty
CM: Mauro Diaz
RM: Sacha Kljestan
LM: Ignacio Piatti
F: Bradley Wright Phillips
F: Sebastian Giovinco
Look, I understand if you have different players who you think should be on this list. I would love to know who they are, why you think they should be on this list, and MOST IMPORTANTLY who they would replace from my 11.
dN
New York Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese has no team to coach any more, but he is still under contract from the still not finished club, so he is out trying to find homes for all of his players. Still a leader! By Dave Martinez of Empire of Soccer.
dN
"Ottawa Fury FC and the Montreal Impact today announced a partnership that will see the Fury become the official USL partner of the Impact."
dN
"...Wired868.com reported that (Trinidad + Tobago FA president) David John-Williams supposedly spoke to Jurgen Klinsmann [about the T+T head coaching position), who wasn't available... because he had already agreed terms to coach in China."
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Sun Dec 11
Torino 1-3 Juventus - the Turin derby was won in the usual manner.
Man United 1-0 Tottenham- both are still stranded in 6th and 5th place though.
PSG 2-2 Nice - #3 could only tie the surprise #1 team and still trail them by 4 pts.
-Mon Dec 12
Roma v Milan - #2 v #3
Villarreal v Atletico Madrid - #5 v #4
dN
Leipzig lost for the first time this season, 1-0 at Ingolstadt, and Bayern goes back to the top of the Bundesliga via goal differential. Cliched normalcy is restored for now.
dN
Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action. By the Guardian.
dN
The draw was made this morning for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16:
PSG v Barcelona
Bayern v Arsenal
Real Madrid v Napoli
Porto v Juventus
Leverkusen v Atletico
Man City v Monaco
Benfica v Dortmund
Sevilla v Leicester
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
dN
Timmy Chandler was the only American in Europe to make a mark last weekend - He got sent off for his 2nd yellow card in the 82nd min of a 0-0 tie for Frankfurt v Hoffenheim.
dN
NCAA Soccer Championships:
Women's
USC 3-1 West Virginia
Men's
Stanford 0-0 Wake Forest - Stan wins 5-4 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
The Bird Is The Word
It's Day 347 of 2016.
MLS Season 21 is over. Seattle is the champion. Huge congrats to the Sounders.
MLS Cup - Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC 0-0 Seattle Sounders FC - SS wins it 5-4 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
dN
Game highlights [VIDEO]
dN
My MLS Cup Notes:
- I don't know how Seattle pulled this off.
- Toronto sure didn't deserve to lose the championship game, but that they did. They dominated the game at several points, and limited Seattle's attack to almost nothing, yet Penalty Kicks killed them.
- Both teams smothered the others creative players: Altidore, Giovinco, Morris and Lodeiro all had little impact on the game at all.
- There was no real midfield play to speak of. A lot of the game was just one team roaring from one end to the other and then not being able to do anything, so the other team took the ball and raced back the other direction. Oof.
- Seattle keeper Stefan Frei was the Man Of The Match. He made several key saves, but one stood out as the key play in the entire game:
- The giant Sounders centerback Roman Torres scored the championship winning Penalty Kick. His hair reminds me of Godzilla's spine and tail.
- Michael Bradley had the worst Penalty Kick attempt of anyone. It was soft, slow and only slightly to the left of the keeper. He is going to have many sleepless nights after that one.
- On the other hand Bradley controlled large parts of the game, breaking up Seattle and pinging long passes all over the field.
- Toronto's defense was really good. How good? Seattle registered ZERO shots on goal.
- How in the world did Toronto not win? I think a lot of people will be pondering that for a long time to come.
dN
Sounders fans greeted the team at the airport when they arrived home on Sunday. By Seattle Times.
dN
Heartbreak in Toronto. By Kurt Larson of the Toronto Sun.
dN
A long Q + A with MLS commissioner Don Garber. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.
dN
Minnesota sent a supplemental round draft pick to Colorado Rapids for centerback Joseph Greenspan. He has made very few pro appearances for the Rapids or on loan spells to USL teams.
The building process of the team and organization is a long slow one. By David LaVaque of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Next season Minnesota United will play at the University of Minnesota's football field TCF Bank Stadium Here is one persons pros and cons of that facility. By E Pluribus Loonum.
dN
Atlanta made several moves to add players to their roster including a shrewd move to sign centerback Michael Parkhurst from Columbus Crew.
dN
Sean Johnson from Chicago to Atlanta to NYC in one day.
dN
The expansion draft will be held on Tue Dec 13 at 1pm CT.
- A list of available players should be posted on Monday afternoon.
- Here are the official 2016 Expansion Draft Rules and Regulations
dN
LA Galaxy will name their new head coach on Tuesday. Strong suggestion is that its LAGII head coach Curt Onalfo. He has coached in DC before this.
- An unnamed supporters group once sang:
Rhymes with Awful
Curt Onalfo
Old Falafel
dN
A sit down interview with Alexi Lalas, one of the lightning rods of American soccer, and a TV personality with an opinion on most everything. By Andrew Das of the New York Times.
dN
ESPN has stolen soccer reporter/host Julie Stewart-Binks away from FS1.
dN
2016 du Nord Futbol MLS Best 11:
G: Luis Robles
RFB: Harrison Afful
CB: Walker Zimmerman
CB: Jelle Van Damme
LFB: Justin Morrow
DM: Dax McCarty
CM: Mauro Diaz
RM: Sacha Kljestan
LM: Ignacio Piatti
F: Bradley Wright Phillips
F: Sebastian Giovinco
Look, I understand if you have different players who you think should be on this list. I would love to know who they are, why you think they should be on this list, and MOST IMPORTANTLY who they would replace from my 11.
dN
New York Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese has no team to coach any more, but he is still under contract from the still not finished club, so he is out trying to find homes for all of his players. Still a leader! By Dave Martinez of Empire of Soccer.
dN
"Ottawa Fury FC and the Montreal Impact today announced a partnership that will see the Fury become the official USL partner of the Impact."
dN
"...Wired868.com reported that (Trinidad + Tobago FA president) David John-Williams supposedly spoke to Jurgen Klinsmann [about the T+T head coaching position), who wasn't available... because he had already agreed terms to coach in China."
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Sun Dec 11
Torino 1-3 Juventus - the Turin derby was won in the usual manner.
Man United 1-0 Tottenham- both are still stranded in 6th and 5th place though.
PSG 2-2 Nice - #3 could only tie the surprise #1 team and still trail them by 4 pts.
-Mon Dec 12
Roma v Milan - #2 v #3
Villarreal v Atletico Madrid - #5 v #4
dN
Leipzig lost for the first time this season, 1-0 at Ingolstadt, and Bayern goes back to the top of the Bundesliga via goal differential. Cliched normalcy is restored for now.
dN
Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action. By the Guardian.
dN
The draw was made this morning for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16:
PSG v Barcelona
Bayern v Arsenal
Real Madrid v Napoli
Porto v Juventus
Leverkusen v Atletico
Man City v Monaco
Benfica v Dortmund
Sevilla v Leicester
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
- Note: first time with a clean sheet and big home win, albeit over the new last place team in the league
- Results - Sat Dec 12 W 3-0 v Sunderland
- Standings - 18th Place, 1 Point and +2 GD into Relegation
- Up Next - Wed Dec 14 at West Brom
dN
Timmy Chandler was the only American in Europe to make a mark last weekend - He got sent off for his 2nd yellow card in the 82nd min of a 0-0 tie for Frankfurt v Hoffenheim.
dN
NCAA Soccer Championships:
Women's
USC 3-1 West Virginia
Men's
Stanford 0-0 Wake Forest - Stan wins 5-4 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 11:52
3 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Friday, December 09, 2016
Presenting the 2016 du Nord Futbol MLS Best 11
One of the most prestigious awards in American soccer:
2016 du Nord Futbol MLS Best 11
G: Luis Robles
RFB: Harrison Afful
CB: Walker Zimmerman
CB: Jelle Van Damme
LFB: Justin Morrow
DM: Dax McCarty
CM: Mauro Diaz
RM: Sacha Kljestan
LM: Ignacio Piatti
F: Bradley Wright Phillips
F: Sebastian Giovinco
Look, I understand if you have different players who you think should be on this list. I do. And I would love to know who they are. But you have to tell me why you think they should be on this list, and MOST IMPORTANTLY who they should replace from my best eleven.
And I also know that my best 11 could wipe the field clear of the official MLS Best XI, cuz they only had a couple guys playing defense, and no wide players at all.
2016 du Nord Futbol MLS Best 11
G: Luis Robles
RFB: Harrison Afful
CB: Walker Zimmerman
CB: Jelle Van Damme
LFB: Justin Morrow
DM: Dax McCarty
CM: Mauro Diaz
RM: Sacha Kljestan
LM: Ignacio Piatti
F: Bradley Wright Phillips
F: Sebastian Giovinco
Look, I understand if you have different players who you think should be on this list. I do. And I would love to know who they are. But you have to tell me why you think they should be on this list, and MOST IMPORTANTLY who they should replace from my best eleven.
And I also know that my best 11 could wipe the field clear of the official MLS Best XI, cuz they only had a couple guys playing defense, and no wide players at all.
posted by brucio at 09:06
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Thursday, December 08, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 8, 2016
It's Day 343 of 2016.
For the first time one of the highly regarded members of the American soccer media is calling for Sunil Gulati to make way for someone new to lead US Soccer. By Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
dN
MLS says they plan to start testing the Video Assistant Referee in the first half of next season and then using it in the 2nd half of the season. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.
dN
MLS Cup - Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
Watch MLS Cup in Minneapolis with fellow fanatics:
Nomad Pub
501 Cedar S
West Bank
7pm CT
See you there!
dN
One year ago Jordan Morris was leading Stanford to the NCAA title, now he tries to do the same for the Sounders in MLS. One year in the life... By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times.
Brian Schmetzer became head coach of the Sounders with 2/3 of the season complete and the team in the tank. Getting to the Final is a big deal for the guy who still teaches high school science in his spare time. By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times. (that teacher part is a lie)
Sigi Schmidt was the Seattle coach who got fired which opened the door for Schmetzer, so what does he think of this run to the Final. By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times.
Michael Bradley came to Toronto FC for exactly this moment. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.
TFC went from the bottom to the top of MLS in 10 years, and in reality the last 3. (throw out those first 7) By Kurt Larson of the Toronto Sun.
Learning from the mistake of signing Jermaine Defoe could be the key to how Toronto FC has finally prospered. By Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star.
TFC coach Greg Vanney surrounds himself with familiar faces. By Neil Davidson of the Globe and Mail.
Toronto FC also fights for the honor of soccer in Canada in the Final. By David Rudin of the Guardian.
dN
Manuel Lagos and Amos Magee are running the soccer side of Minnesota United these days. They grew up together. By Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
dN
All the hot topics around MLS this week are addressed. By Steve Davis at FC Dallas.
dN
Current NASL teams and where they stand for the future:
Minnesota United - MLS
Tampa Bay Rowdies - USL
Ottawa Fury - USL
Carolina RailHawks - new name and USL???
Indy Eleven - USL???
Jacksonville Armada - USL???
Miami - conflict with MLS, so USL or...???
New York Cosmos - fold
Fort Lauderdale Strikers - fold???
Rayo Oklahoma City - fold???
Puerto Rico - limbo/no word
Edmonton - holding out for NASL
dN
Tom Fath, owner of FC Edmonton, is not happy about everyone trying to stomp out the NASL, and remains bullish on the future. But he is saying NOTHING. By Steven Sandor of The 11.
dN
Person: du Nord Music Mix Vol 107 (download + extract)
dN
Simon Evans who writes great soccer stuff for the Washington Post and Reuters has started a podcast - The Soccer File. Check it out now on iTunes. Ep 3 is about the implosion of the NASL.
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Sun Dec 11
Torino v Juventus - the Turin derby
Man United v Tottenham - big teams trying to keep pace but stuck in 6th + 5th.
PSG v Nice - #3 hosts the surprise #1 trailing them by 4 pts.
-Mon Dec 12
Roma v Milan - #2 v #3
Villarreal v Atletico Madrid - #5 v #4
The Bird Is The Word
For the first time one of the highly regarded members of the American soccer media is calling for Sunil Gulati to make way for someone new to lead US Soccer. By Steven Goff of the Washington Post.
- Lots of criticism of Jurgen Klinsmann in this article too. Pulling no punches.
dN
MLS says they plan to start testing the Video Assistant Referee in the first half of next season and then using it in the 2nd half of the season. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.
dN
MLS Cup - Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
Watch MLS Cup in Minneapolis with fellow fanatics:
Nomad Pub
501 Cedar S
West Bank
7pm CT
See you there!
dN
One year ago Jordan Morris was leading Stanford to the NCAA title, now he tries to do the same for the Sounders in MLS. One year in the life... By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times.
Brian Schmetzer became head coach of the Sounders with 2/3 of the season complete and the team in the tank. Getting to the Final is a big deal for the guy who still teaches high school science in his spare time. By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times. (that teacher part is a lie)
Sigi Schmidt was the Seattle coach who got fired which opened the door for Schmetzer, so what does he think of this run to the Final. By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times.
Michael Bradley came to Toronto FC for exactly this moment. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.
TFC went from the bottom to the top of MLS in 10 years, and in reality the last 3. (throw out those first 7) By Kurt Larson of the Toronto Sun.
Learning from the mistake of signing Jermaine Defoe could be the key to how Toronto FC has finally prospered. By Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star.
TFC coach Greg Vanney surrounds himself with familiar faces. By Neil Davidson of the Globe and Mail.
Toronto FC also fights for the honor of soccer in Canada in the Final. By David Rudin of the Guardian.
dN
Manuel Lagos and Amos Magee are running the soccer side of Minnesota United these days. They grew up together. By Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
dN
All the hot topics around MLS this week are addressed. By Steve Davis at FC Dallas.
dN
Current NASL teams and where they stand for the future:
Minnesota United - MLS
Tampa Bay Rowdies - USL
Ottawa Fury - USL
Carolina RailHawks - new name and USL???
Indy Eleven - USL???
Jacksonville Armada - USL???
Miami - conflict with MLS, so USL or...???
New York Cosmos - fold
Fort Lauderdale Strikers - fold???
Rayo Oklahoma City - fold???
Puerto Rico - limbo/no word
Edmonton - holding out for NASL
dN
Tom Fath, owner of FC Edmonton, is not happy about everyone trying to stomp out the NASL, and remains bullish on the future. But he is saying NOTHING. By Steven Sandor of The 11.
dN
Person: du Nord Music Mix Vol 107 (download + extract)
dN
Simon Evans who writes great soccer stuff for the Washington Post and Reuters has started a podcast - The Soccer File. Check it out now on iTunes. Ep 3 is about the implosion of the NASL.
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Sun Dec 11
Torino v Juventus - the Turin derby
Man United v Tottenham - big teams trying to keep pace but stuck in 6th + 5th.
PSG v Nice - #3 hosts the surprise #1 trailing them by 4 pts.
-Mon Dec 12
Roma v Milan - #2 v #3
Villarreal v Atletico Madrid - #5 v #4
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 16:26
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Wednesday, December 07, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 7, 2016
It's Day 342 of 2016.
Oh Manchester, so much to answer for:
dN
MLS Cup - Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
dN
Matt Hedges has signed a new contract with Dallas.
dN
Landon Donovan has re-retired. I suspect its permanent this time.
dN
North Carolina FC (formerly Carolina RailHawks) and Tampa Bay Rowdies both announced their desire to become MLS teams yesterday.
dN
Fort Lauderdale Strikers posted a short message on social media today saying the team is preparing for the 2017 season. That means they aren't going away, but it does not say what league they will play or who will actually own and operate the team.
dN
Person: du Nord Music Mix Vol 107 (download + extract)
dN
Trinidad + Tobago has hired journeyman head coach Belgian Tom Saintfiet to take over their squad, beginning with the next round of World Cup qualifiers. Their next two games are Mar 24 v Panama and Mar 28 v Mexico.
dN
The genius in charge of FIFA wants to make more money for them by adding 16 teams to the World Cup. It would be lined up as 16 groups of 3. What this would mean is that 48 teams would spend a shit load of money to prepare for the WC and after 2 games 24 of them would go home. Right now you get a minimum of 3 games.
dN
Josh Perez has become the 3rd American to play in the modern era of Serie A, debuting recently for Fiorentina. How is it going? By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.
dN
A thing of beauty! This is the way you score on the counter and steal the UCL Group from the big boys:
dN
UEFA Champions League - Group Stage - Big Teams - Matchday 6:
Bayern 1-0 Atletico
Man City 1-1 Celtic
Barca 4-0 Gladbach
Basel 1-4 Arsenal
PSG 2-2 Ludogorets
-Wed Dec 7
Juve 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid 2-2 Dortmund
Americans in the UCL:
The Bird Is The Word
Oh Manchester, so much to answer for:
"Greater Manchester police confirmed a Celtic fan had been arrested in Piccadilly Gardens for throwing a hamburger at a police horse."— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) December 7, 2016
dN
MLS Cup - Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
dN
Matt Hedges has signed a new contract with Dallas.
dN
Landon Donovan has re-retired. I suspect its permanent this time.
dN
North Carolina FC (formerly Carolina RailHawks) and Tampa Bay Rowdies both announced their desire to become MLS teams yesterday.
- Add them to the following cities that have investors groups who have officially declared that they are making a run at MLS: Miami, Sacramento, San Antonio, St Louis, Detroit, and Cincinnati. (there are also many more cities that have shown interest.)
dN
Fort Lauderdale Strikers posted a short message on social media today saying the team is preparing for the 2017 season. That means they aren't going away, but it does not say what league they will play or who will actually own and operate the team.
dN
Person: du Nord Music Mix Vol 107 (download + extract)
dN
Trinidad + Tobago has hired journeyman head coach Belgian Tom Saintfiet to take over their squad, beginning with the next round of World Cup qualifiers. Their next two games are Mar 24 v Panama and Mar 28 v Mexico.
dN
The genius in charge of FIFA wants to make more money for them by adding 16 teams to the World Cup. It would be lined up as 16 groups of 3. What this would mean is that 48 teams would spend a shit load of money to prepare for the WC and after 2 games 24 of them would go home. Right now you get a minimum of 3 games.
- There is nothing wrong with the 32 team format they currently use. Nothing.
- This is simply a way to get higher TV rights money out of 16 more countries, and all those extra tickets that will be sold to sponsors and rich people.
- The plan will also make World Cup qualifiers worth very little.
dN
Josh Perez has become the 3rd American to play in the modern era of Serie A, debuting recently for Fiorentina. How is it going? By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.
dN
A thing of beauty! This is the way you score on the counter and steal the UCL Group from the big boys:
Mor ➡️ Aubameyang ➡️ Reus for the record! Dortmund's 21st goal this group stage clinches Group F over Real. #UCL https://t.co/IAFnCDkxGE— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 7, 2016
dN
UEFA Champions League - Group Stage - Big Teams - Matchday 6:
- The group stage is now over and the seeds are set for the Round of 16 Draw which will take place on Mon Dec 12.
- Advanced as #1 Seeds: Arsenal (A), Napoli (B) Barcelona (C), Atletico Madrid (D), Monaco (E), Dortmund (F), Leicester (G), Juventus (H)
- Advanced as #2 Seeds: PSG (A), Benfica (B), Manchester City (C), Bayern Munich (D), Leverkusen (E), Real Madrid (F), Porto (G), Sevilla (H)
Bayern 1-0 Atletico
Man City 1-1 Celtic
Barca 4-0 Gladbach
Basel 1-4 Arsenal
PSG 2-2 Ludogorets
-Wed Dec 7
Juve 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid 2-2 Dortmund
Americans in the UCL:
- Fabian Johnson - Monchengladbach - Tue Dec 6 L 4-0 at Barcelona - came on a as a sub in the 59th minute but they got pole axed in Catalonia, failing to advance.
- Christian Pulisic - Dortmund - Wed Dec 7 D 2-2 at Real Madrid - started and played 61 minutes as they tied 2-2 in Madrid, and won the group.
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 16:46
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Tuesday, December 06, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 6, 2016
It's Day 341 of 2016.
LATE ADDITION
Minnesota United Stadium Groundbreaking
Mon Dec 12 at 2:00pm CT
415 Pascal St N, St Paul, MN 55104
In attendance:
MN United Owner Dr. Bill McGuire
MLS Commissioner Don Garber
St Paul Mayor Chris Coleman
And me
And you
dN
David Villa was named MLS 2016 Most Valuable Player.
dN
MLS Cup - Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
dN
The city of Toronto, like Cleveland before them, is desperate for a winner. By Arch Bell of ESPNFC.
dN
Sounders inspired by championship won by bitter rival Portland last year. By Graham Parker of ESPNFC.
dN
Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei got his pro start with Toronto FC. By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times.
dN
What is the Minnesota United on-field brain trust up to right now? Scouting for players. By Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
dN
Atlanta United seems to be going for it from the start. By Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.
dN
Former long time Minnesota Thunder player Freddy Juarez has been promoted by Real Salt Lake from head coach of their USL Monarchs team to an assistants position on the senior team.
dN
I placed my vote today:
2016 Futbol De Primera Player Of The Year
dN
And there are the nominees for US Soccer's Player Of The Year:
MALE
Jozy Altidore
Michael Bradley
Geoff Cameron
Clint Dempsey
Bobby Wood
FEMALE
Crystal Dunn
Tobin Heath
Carli Lloyd
Alex Morgan
Becky Sauerbrunn
YOUNG MALE
Andrew Carleton
Cameron Carter-Vickers
Jordan Morris
Christian Pulisic
Josh Sargent
YOUNG FEMALE
Emily Ogle
Kaleigh Riehl
Karina Rodriguez
Ashley Sanchez
Andi Sullivan
dN
Carolina RailHawks have officially changed their name to North Carolina FC.
dN
NASL 2016 Teams:
Carolina RailHawks
Edmonton
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Indy Eleven
Jacksonville Armada
Miami
Minnesota United
New York Cosmos
Ottawa Fury
Puerto Rico
Rayo Oklahoma City
Tampa Bay Rowdies
dN
UEFA Champions League - Group Stage - Big Teams - Matchday 6:
Bayern v Atletico
Man City v Celtic
Barca v Gladbach
Basel v Arsenal
PSG v Ludogorets
-Wed Dec 7
Juve v Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid v Dortmund
Americans in the UCL:
The Bird Is The Word
LATE ADDITION
Minnesota United Stadium Groundbreaking
Mon Dec 12 at 2:00pm CT
415 Pascal St N, St Paul, MN 55104
In attendance:
MN United Owner Dr. Bill McGuire
MLS Commissioner Don Garber
St Paul Mayor Chris Coleman
And me
And you
dN
David Villa was named MLS 2016 Most Valuable Player.
- The other two finalists were Sacha Kljestan and Bradley Wright-Phillips.
- Villa was great this season.
- I voted for Mauro Dias of Dallas.
David Villa is the third straight European to win MLS MVP, after no Europeans won in the first 18 @MLS seasons.— Paul Carr (@PCarrESPN) December 6, 2016
dN
MLS Cup - Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
dN
The city of Toronto, like Cleveland before them, is desperate for a winner. By Arch Bell of ESPNFC.
dN
Sounders inspired by championship won by bitter rival Portland last year. By Graham Parker of ESPNFC.
dN
Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei got his pro start with Toronto FC. By Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times.
dN
What is the Minnesota United on-field brain trust up to right now? Scouting for players. By Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
dN
Atlanta United seems to be going for it from the start. By Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.
dN
Former long time Minnesota Thunder player Freddy Juarez has been promoted by Real Salt Lake from head coach of their USL Monarchs team to an assistants position on the senior team.
dN
I placed my vote today:
2016 Futbol De Primera Player Of The Year
- 1st Place: Jozy Altidore
- 2nd Place: Bobby Wood
- 3rd Place: Christian Pulisic
dN
And there are the nominees for US Soccer's Player Of The Year:
MALE
Jozy Altidore
Michael Bradley
Geoff Cameron
Clint Dempsey
Bobby Wood
FEMALE
Crystal Dunn
Tobin Heath
Carli Lloyd
Alex Morgan
Becky Sauerbrunn
YOUNG MALE
Andrew Carleton
Cameron Carter-Vickers
Jordan Morris
Christian Pulisic
Josh Sargent
YOUNG FEMALE
Emily Ogle
Kaleigh Riehl
Karina Rodriguez
Ashley Sanchez
Andi Sullivan
dN
Carolina RailHawks have officially changed their name to North Carolina FC.
- Future plans include starting a NWSL team and pushing for MLS.
- They also have a plan for a new stadium.
- Rumor has the team playing in in the USL for the 2017 season.
- Here is the story from a local perspective. By Ian Pierno of the Charlotte News Observer.
dN
NASL 2016 Teams:
Edmonton
Indy Eleven
Jacksonville Armada
Miami
Puerto Rico
dN
UEFA Champions League - Group Stage - Big Teams - Matchday 6:
- Advanced to the knock out rounds: Arsenal (A), Atletico Madrid (D), Barcelona (C), Bayern Munich (D), Dortmund (F), Juventus (H), Leicester (G), Monaco (E), PSG (A) and Real Madrid (F).
Bayern v Atletico
Man City v Celtic
Barca v Gladbach
Basel v Arsenal
PSG v Ludogorets
-Wed Dec 7
Juve v Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid v Dortmund
Americans in the UCL:
- Fabian Johnson - Monchengladbach - Tue Dec 6 at Barcelona
- Christian Pulisic - Dortmund - Wed Dec 7 at Real Madrid
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 14:31
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Monday, December 05, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 5, 2016
It's Day 340 of 2016.
MLS Cup - Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
dN
Official MLS 2016 Best XI:
G
Andre Blake
D
Matt Hedges Jelle Van Damme Axel Sjoberg
M
Sacha Kljestan
Maruo Diaz
Ignacio Piatti
F
Giovanni Dos Santos
Bradley Wright-Phillips
David Villa
Sebastian Giovinco
My Best XI Notes:
dN
Coming later this week: The 11th annual du Nord Futbol MLS Best 11.
dN
Cristian Roldan is one of the Sounders unsung heroes in 2016. Who is he, how has he done it and what is his future? by Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.
dN
Atlanta United has made a huge investment in a little known player from Paraguay, Miguel Almiron who played for Lanus. Shit is changing fast in MLS. By Paul Tenorio of Four Four Two.
dN
The US Soccer Federation has big meetings in New York today and tomorrow. Expect to hear some news about something.
dN
The future of the NASL seems to be changing by the day, and could blow up at any minute. A round up of what we know so far. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.
dN
Bruce Arena was in Germany over the weekend and he met with at least Christian Pulisic and Fabian Johnson. Probably more.
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
dN
Little known American (with duel Norwegian citizenship) Bjorn Johnsen scored his 5th goal of the Scottish Premier League season this weekend. (In 14 games.) The forward plays with fellow American and team captain Perry Kitchen. They are currently in 3rd place of the 12 team league.
dN
Another little known American forward, Andrew Wooten, plays in the German 2nd division at Sandhausen and has 8 goals in 14 games this season.
dN
Alejandro Camargo of Universidad de Concepcion in Chile scored the most stunning half field side volley goal I have ever seen. [VIDEO]
dN
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Semifinals Schedule:
-Sat Dec 3
Tigres(3) 2-1 Leon(8) - Tig advances 3-1 on agg. Tig goals by Andre Gignac + Lucas Zelarrayan. Leo goal by Luis Montes.
-Sun Dec 4
America(5) 2-0 Necaxa(7) - Ame advances 3-1 on agg. Ame goals by Willian da Silva + Oribe Peralta.
Performance of the Americans in Liga MX Liguilla:
Due to a conflict with the FIFA Club World Cup the Final series has been pushed back 2 weeks to Dec 21 + 24.
dN
UEFA Champions League - Group Stage - Big Teams - Matchday 6:
Bayern v Atletico
Man City v Celtic
Barca v Gladbach
Basel v Arsenal
PSG v Ludogorets
-Wed Dec 7
Juve v Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid v Dortmund
Americans in the UCL:
Draw for the Round of 16 is on Mon Dec 12.
dN
Shock Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig has won 8 games in a row, and not lost a single game this season.
dN
Paris Saint-Germain got smoked 3-0 at Montpelier and dropped to 3rd place. Yes, Zlatan is that good.
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Sat Dec 3
Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea - Chelsea opens up a gap at the top!
Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid - RM retains their 6 pt lead.
-Sun Dec 4
Lazio 0-2 Roma - Rom trying to keep pace with Juve but still 4 back of the leaders.
dN
Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action. By the Guardian.
The Bird Is The Word
MLS Cup - Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
dN
Official MLS 2016 Best XI:
G
Andre Blake
D
Matt Hedges Jelle Van Damme Axel Sjoberg
M
Sacha Kljestan
Maruo Diaz
Ignacio Piatti
F
Giovanni Dos Santos
Bradley Wright-Phillips
David Villa
Sebastian Giovinco
My Best XI Notes:
- Nothing against any of those players. All excellent.
- But apparently they are gonna line up in a 3-3-4
- No fullbacks
- No defensive midfielders
- Only 1 wide player
- Two attacking midfielders
- That is a clusterfuck of a line up
dN
Coming later this week: The 11th annual du Nord Futbol MLS Best 11.
- I promise I will name an 11 that is capable of taking the field as a full team. And we would whip the donkeys ass of the MLS Best list in FIFA.
dN
Cristian Roldan is one of the Sounders unsung heroes in 2016. Who is he, how has he done it and what is his future? by Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.
dN
Atlanta United has made a huge investment in a little known player from Paraguay, Miguel Almiron who played for Lanus. Shit is changing fast in MLS. By Paul Tenorio of Four Four Two.
dN
The US Soccer Federation has big meetings in New York today and tomorrow. Expect to hear some news about something.
dN
The future of the NASL seems to be changing by the day, and could blow up at any minute. A round up of what we know so far. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.
- Details seem to come up constantly at this point, with this report saying NASL only has 4 confirmed teams for 2017 at this time. By Brian Quarstad of Fifty Five One.
- Cosmos players received notice today that their contracts have been terminated. Well, that certainly seems like that's it - its all over. By Dave Martinez of Empire of Soccer.
dN
Bruce Arena was in Germany over the weekend and he met with at least Christian Pulisic and Fabian Johnson. Probably more.
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
- Note: Bad. Yeesh. Bad. Yeesh. Bad. Yeesh. Bad. Yeesh. Bad. Yeesh. Bad. Yeesh. Bad. Yeesh. Bad. Yeesh.
- Results - Sat Dec 3 L 5-0 at Tottenham
- Standings - 20th Place, 3 Points + -1 GD into Relegation
- Up Next - Sat Dec 12 v Sunderland
dN
Little known American (with duel Norwegian citizenship) Bjorn Johnsen scored his 5th goal of the Scottish Premier League season this weekend. (In 14 games.) The forward plays with fellow American and team captain Perry Kitchen. They are currently in 3rd place of the 12 team league.
dN
Another little known American forward, Andrew Wooten, plays in the German 2nd division at Sandhausen and has 8 goals in 14 games this season.
dN
Alejandro Camargo of Universidad de Concepcion in Chile scored the most stunning half field side volley goal I have ever seen. [VIDEO]
dN
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Semifinals Schedule:
- It will be a repeat of the 2011 Apertura Final with Tigres v America.
-Sat Dec 3
Tigres(3) 2-1 Leon(8) - Tig advances 3-1 on agg. Tig goals by Andre Gignac + Lucas Zelarrayan. Leo goal by Luis Montes.
-Sun Dec 4
America(5) 2-0 Necaxa(7) - Ame advances 3-1 on agg. Ame goals by Willian da Silva + Oribe Peralta.
Performance of the Americans in Liga MX Liguilla:
- William Yarborough - Leon - played the whole game in a losing effort.
- Jose Torres - Tigres - came on as a sub in the 3rd minute of stoppage time to kill off the game as they won and advanced to the Final.
- Ventura Alvarado - America - went the full 90 at right fullback as they advanced. Who saw this coming?
Due to a conflict with the FIFA Club World Cup the Final series has been pushed back 2 weeks to Dec 21 + 24.
dN
UEFA Champions League - Group Stage - Big Teams - Matchday 6:
- Advanced to the knock out rounds: Arsenal (A), Atletico Madrid (D), Barcelona (C), Bayern Munich (D), Dortmund (F), Juventus (H), Leicester (G), Monaco (E), PSG (A) and Real Madrid (F).
Bayern v Atletico
Man City v Celtic
Barca v Gladbach
Basel v Arsenal
PSG v Ludogorets
-Wed Dec 7
Juve v Dinamo Zagreb
Real Madrid v Dortmund
Americans in the UCL:
- Fabian Johnson - Monchengladbach - Tue Dec 6 at Barcelona
- Christian Pulisic - Dortmund - Wed Dec 7 at Real Madrid
Draw for the Round of 16 is on Mon Dec 12.
dN
Shock Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig has won 8 games in a row, and not lost a single game this season.
- They will face Bayern Munich on Wed Dec 21 on the road.
dN
Paris Saint-Germain got smoked 3-0 at Montpelier and dropped to 3rd place. Yes, Zlatan is that good.
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Sat Dec 3
Manchester City 1-3 Chelsea - Chelsea opens up a gap at the top!
Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid - RM retains their 6 pt lead.
-Sun Dec 4
Lazio 0-2 Roma - Rom trying to keep pace with Juve but still 4 back of the leaders.
dN
Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action. By the Guardian.
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 16:20
2 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Friday, December 02, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 2, 2016
It's Day 337 of 2016.
NEXT WEEK
MLS Cup Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
dN
DC United has signed centerback Steve Birnbaum to a new contract.
dN
The new director of the Chicago Fire academy program came from Paris Saint-Germain. What is his vision? By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.
dN
After a turbulent week in NASL business the owners have met and progression is their goal. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.
dN
The president of US Soccer Sunil Gulati has been involved in the discussions with the NASL. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.
dN
An ankle ligament injury which may require surgery will keep young American Lyden Gooch of Sunderland out for 3 months. Oof.
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
dN
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Semifinals Schedule:
-Wed Nov 30
Leon(8) 0-1 Tigres(3) - Tig goal by Andre Gignac.
-Thu Dec 1
Necaxa(7) 1-1 America(5) - Nec goal by Felipe Gallegos. Ame goal by Willian da Silva.
2nd Leg
-Sat Dec 3
Tigres(3) v Leon(8) (1-0)
-Sun Dec 4
America(5) v Necaxa(7) (1-1)
Former MLSer Fabian Espindola started and went 64 minutes for Necaxa.
Performance of the Americans in Liga MX Liguilla:
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Sat Dec 3
Manchester City v Chelsea - 6:30am CT on NBCSN
Barcelona v Real Madrid - 9:00am CT on beIN Sports
-Sun Dec 4
Lazio v Roma - 8:00am CT on beIN Sports
dN
You can have your Messi, Xavi, Henry, Zlatan, Eto'o and today Neymar and Suarez, but the real sparkle in Barcelona's long haul has been Andres Iniesta. By Jonathan Wilson of Sports Illustrated.
dN
Zinedine Zidane has Real Madrid playing very well. They want to put Barcelona under their heel on Saturday. By Sid Lowe of the Guardian.
dN
Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend. From the Guardian.
The Bird Is The Word
NEXT WEEK
MLS Cup Final:
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
- Sadly I will not be there this year. I'm bummed. I love going to this game.
dN
DC United has signed centerback Steve Birnbaum to a new contract.
dN
The new director of the Chicago Fire academy program came from Paris Saint-Germain. What is his vision? By Brian Sciaretta of American Soccer Now.
dN
After a turbulent week in NASL business the owners have met and progression is their goal. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.
- As I wrote a couple of days ago, if you want to stay on top of this moving target these are 3 people I suggest you check out on Twitter (you don't need Twitter to read them, just a web browser):
dN
The president of US Soccer Sunil Gulati has been involved in the discussions with the NASL. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.
dN
An ankle ligament injury which may require surgery will keep young American Lyden Gooch of Sunderland out for 3 months. Oof.
dN
The Bob Bradley + Swansea City Tracker:
- Standings - 19th Place, 2 Points + -5 GD into Relegation
- Up Next - Sat Dec 3 at Tottenham
dN
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Semifinals Schedule:
- If Tigres and America advance then the Final will be a repeat of Apertura 2014.
-Wed Nov 30
Leon(8) 0-1 Tigres(3) - Tig goal by Andre Gignac.
-Thu Dec 1
Necaxa(7) 1-1 America(5) - Nec goal by Felipe Gallegos. Ame goal by Willian da Silva.
2nd Leg
-Sat Dec 3
Tigres(3) v Leon(8) (1-0)
-Sun Dec 4
America(5) v Necaxa(7) (1-1)
Former MLSer Fabian Espindola started and went 64 minutes for Necaxa.
Performance of the Americans in Liga MX Liguilla:
- Ventura Alvarado - America - went the full 90 at right fullback as they came from behind and got that precious away goal.
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Sat Dec 3
Manchester City v Chelsea - 6:30am CT on NBCSN
Barcelona v Real Madrid - 9:00am CT on beIN Sports
-Sun Dec 4
Lazio v Roma - 8:00am CT on beIN Sports
dN
You can have your Messi, Xavi, Henry, Zlatan, Eto'o and today Neymar and Suarez, but the real sparkle in Barcelona's long haul has been Andres Iniesta. By Jonathan Wilson of Sports Illustrated.
dN
Zinedine Zidane has Real Madrid playing very well. They want to put Barcelona under their heel on Saturday. By Sid Lowe of the Guardian.
dN
Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend. From the Guardian.
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 16:08
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
Thursday, December 01, 2016
Some Soccer News for Dec 1, 2016
It's Day 336 of 2016.
dN
MLS Playoffs - Semifinals:
Colorado Rapids 0-1 Seattle Sounders - SS advances 3-1 on aggregate - SS goal by Jordan Morris.
-Wed Nov 30
Toronto 5-2 Montreal - Tor advances 7-5 on aggregate - Tor goals by Armando Cooper, Jozy Altidore, Nick Hagglund, Benoit Cheyrou + Tosaint Ricketts. MI goals by Dominic Oduro + Ignacio Piatti.
Final
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
dN
Finally, after 9 years of futility, TFC gets it right this season. By Dough McIntyre of ESPNFC.
dN
Oscar Pareja of Dallas named MLS Coach Of The Year
dN
Kevin Venegas + Justin Davis are officially the first players announced for the MNUFC MLS roster.
dN
Minnesota United will again take part in the Portland preseason invitational tournament:
-Thu Feb 9
Minnesota United v Vancouver Whitecaps – 5:00pm PT
Portland Timbers v Real Salt Lake – 7:30pm PT
-Sun Feb 12
Vancouver Whitecaps v Real Salt Lake – 2:30pm PT
Minnesota United v Portland Timbers – 5:00pm PT
-Wed Feb 15
Minnesota United v Real Salt Lake – 5:00pm PT
Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps – 7:30pm PT
dN
Comparing new Minnesota head coach Adrian Heath to Atlanta's Gerardo Martinez. By Haris Kruskic of Dirty South Soccer.
dN
Five of the hottest topics around MLS, and more, reviewed. By Steve Davis at FC Dallas.
dN
Refreshments: du Nord Music Mix Vol 106 (download + extract)
dN
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Semifinals:
1st Leg
-Wed Nov 30
Leon(8) 0-1 Tigres(3) - Tig goal by Andre Gignac.
-Thu Dec 1
Necaxa(7) v America(5) - 9pm CT on Univision Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sat Dec 3
Tigres(3) v Leon(8)
-Sun Dec 4
America(5) v Necaxa(7)
Performance of the Americans in Liga MX Liguilla:
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Sat Dec 3
Manchester City v Chelsea - 6:30am CT on NBCSN
Barcelona v Real Madrid - 9:00am CT on beIN Sports
-Sun Dec 4
Lazio v Roma - 8:00am CT on beIN Sports
dN
Today I saw someone refer to Tinfoil Ted as Fred Phelps. Perfect.
The Bird Is The Word
Chapecoense was supposed to play Atletico Nacional now. Fox Sports in Brazil airing a black screen with a hashtag "90 minutes of silence" ?? pic.twitter.com/QbBw5XWp8v— Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) December 1, 2016
dN
MLS Playoffs - Semifinals:
- The 2016 Final will be played in Toronto!
- What do you want me to say? Epic. Nuts. Nerve wracking. Bonkers. Brilliance.
- Benoit Cheyrou and Tosaint Ricketts, both subs, scored for Toronto in Added Extra Time to break the 5-5 aggregate tie.
- And Jozy Altidore was a monster! He has now scored in 6 consecutive playoff games for Toronto.
- Montreal had the lead when the game started. Pushed it further with the first goal. And again with a goal to start the 2nd half. But the pressure seemed to have caught up to them and they folded down the stretch.
- When Sebastian Giovinco went out injured early in AET how many of you thought TFC was done?
- Where did Ignacio Piatti go to after about the 80th minute? He vanished.
- You know who didn't vanish for Montreal? Marco Donadel! Holy smokes did he leave it all on the field or what? I love that guys tenacity.
- The fans support in Montreal, Seattle and Toronto was just fantastic. I am not going to dump on Colorado but it just wasn't even close to the same level of passion.
- Attendance for the two legs in the East was 98,000!
- Toronto pure joy. By Ryan Wolstat of Toronto Sun.
- Toronto finally wins a big one. By Cathal Kelly of the Globe And Mail.
- Montreal Heartbreak. By Stu Cowan of Montreal Gazette.
- Toronto and Montreal produced a classic. By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.
- The analytics of the game tell all. By Matt Doyle of MLSsoccer.
Colorado Rapids 0-1 Seattle Sounders - SS advances 3-1 on aggregate - SS goal by Jordan Morris.
-Wed Nov 30
Toronto 5-2 Montreal - Tor advances 7-5 on aggregate - Tor goals by Armando Cooper, Jozy Altidore, Nick Hagglund, Benoit Cheyrou + Tosaint Ricketts. MI goals by Dominic Oduro + Ignacio Piatti.
Final
-Sat Dec 10
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - 7:00pm CT on FOX
- Sadly I will not be there this year. I'm bummed. I love going to this game.
- Toronto is the favorite to win it all.
dN
Finally, after 9 years of futility, TFC gets it right this season. By Dough McIntyre of ESPNFC.
dN
Oscar Pareja of Dallas named MLS Coach Of The Year
- Other finalists: Pablo Mastroeni of Colorado Rapids and Patrick Vieira of New York City.
dN
Kevin Venegas + Justin Davis are officially the first players announced for the MNUFC MLS roster.
dN
Minnesota United will again take part in the Portland preseason invitational tournament:
-Thu Feb 9
Minnesota United v Vancouver Whitecaps – 5:00pm PT
Portland Timbers v Real Salt Lake – 7:30pm PT
-Sun Feb 12
Vancouver Whitecaps v Real Salt Lake – 2:30pm PT
Minnesota United v Portland Timbers – 5:00pm PT
-Wed Feb 15
Minnesota United v Real Salt Lake – 5:00pm PT
Portland Timbers v Vancouver Whitecaps – 7:30pm PT
dN
Comparing new Minnesota head coach Adrian Heath to Atlanta's Gerardo Martinez. By Haris Kruskic of Dirty South Soccer.
- They rate Martinez a mile ahead of Heath. Natch.
- But like the Golden Ball or the Group Of Death, you can only analyze this one after the fact. Not before.
dN
Five of the hottest topics around MLS, and more, reviewed. By Steve Davis at FC Dallas.
dN
Refreshments: du Nord Music Mix Vol 106 (download + extract)
dN
Liga MX Apertura Liguilla Semifinals:
- Tigres got the road win and the road goal. Will be hard to keep them out of the Final.
1st Leg
-Wed Nov 30
Leon(8) 0-1 Tigres(3) - Tig goal by Andre Gignac.
-Thu Dec 1
Necaxa(7) v America(5) - 9pm CT on Univision Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sat Dec 3
Tigres(3) v Leon(8)
-Sun Dec 4
America(5) v Necaxa(7)
Performance of the Americans in Liga MX Liguilla:
- William Yarborough - Leon - played the full 90 as they lost at home. He did his best on the 1 goal that was scored against him.
- Jose Torres - Tigres - on the bench but did not play in the winning effort.
dN
Coming up this weekend in Europe:
-Sat Dec 3
Manchester City v Chelsea - 6:30am CT on NBCSN
Barcelona v Real Madrid - 9:00am CT on beIN Sports
-Sun Dec 4
Lazio v Roma - 8:00am CT on beIN Sports
dN
Today I saw someone refer to Tinfoil Ted as Fred Phelps. Perfect.
The Bird Is The Word
posted by brucio at 16:33
0 Comments From Mental Giants Like Me & You (Click to add yours here Muchacho!)
HOME
= = = = = = =
Bringing The News
Since 2005
= = = = = = =
Bruce McGuire
Editor
Minneapolis
= = = = = = =
bruce[]dunordfutbol[]com
= = = = = = =
du Nord Music Mixes
= = = = = = =
du Nord on Twitter
= = = = = = =
Bruce's Amazon Wish List - Be a dear and send him a gift!
= = = = = = =
Minnesota United FC
The Hometown Heroes
= = = = = = =
Composte Pile
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- July 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
