Some Soccer News for Jan 31, 2017

It's Day 31 of 2017.


Minnesota United Preseason

The first preseason game was today in Casa Grande AZ:
-Tue Jan 31
Minnesota United 1-1 New England Revolution - MU goal by Eugene Starikov (39) - NER goal by Kei Kamara (78).

• The highlight of the game came in the 13th minute when new goalkeeper John Alvbage saved a well taken Penalty Kick by Teal Bunbury.
  
• I had hoped to be able to show you some video highlights by now, but they haven't been posted yet.

How did it go?

Good first performance from the squad! The Grind continues #MNUFC

— Christian Ramirez (@Chris_Ramirez17) January 31, 2017

Next preseason game:
-Fri Feb 3
Nogometni Klub Istra 1961 (Croatia)

Training camp roster:

• G: John Alvbage, Alec Ferrell, Marco Carducci (trialist), Sammy Ndjock (preseason invitee), Charlie Lyon (trialist)

• D: Francisco Calvo, Tiago Calvano (preseason invitee), Justin Davis, Vadim Demidov, Thomas de Villardi, Joe Greenspan, Ismaila Jome, Brent Kallman, Lance Laing (preseason invitee), Jermaine Taylor, Kevin Venegas, Andrew Tinari (trialist)

• M: Bernardo Anor, Raul Gonzalez (trialist), Ibson, Miguel Ibarra, Duke LaCroix (trialist), Collin Martin, Mohammed Saeid, Rasmus Schüller, Eugene Starikov (trialist), Tanner Thompson, Johan Venegas, Collen Warner

• F: Abu Danladi, David Goldsmith (trialist), Femi Hollinger-Janzen, Christian Ramirez

Photographs posted by the team show that Rasmus Schuller has now arrived in AZ too.

dN

The MLS All-Star Game will be played on Wed Aug 2 in Chicago at Soldier Field. No opponent has been named.

dN

Word from New York is that ownership groups from 12 cities have made bids to MLS for a one of 4 new franchises (potentially 5 if Miami doesn't come together):

• Charlotte

• Cincinnati

• Detroit

• Indianapolis

• Nashville

• Phoenix

• Raleigh

• Sacramento

• Saint Louis

• San Antonio

• San Diego

• Tampa

dN

So how did Sebastian LeToux end up signing for DC United? Love. By Steven Goff of the Washington Post.

• Le Toux is fluent in French, Spanish and, head coach Ben Olsen added, “some type of English.”

dN

American forward Fafa Picault and St Pauli have officially parted ways - tearing up his contract. Word from Hamburg is that he is signing with Philadelphia Union. Reported by both Jeff Carlisle and Brian Sciaretta.

Another American Rubio Rubin has been shipped out by Utrecht in Netherlands to Silkeborg in Denmark. Via Sciaretta.

dN

Looking ahead to that USMNT World Cup qualifier v Honduras on March 24 I have created this probable lineup:

• G: ???
• RFB: Yedlin
• RCB: Cameron
• LCB: Brooks
• LFB: ???
• RM: Pulisic
• DM: Bradley
• AM: ???
• LM: Johnson
• F: Wood
• F: Altidore

(can you help me fill in those empty spots?)

dN

USMNT January Camp - Final Friendly:
-Fri Feb 3
USA v Jamaica - 6:00pm CT on FS1
Chattanooga, Finley Stadium

Jozy Altidore earned his 100th USA international cap against Serbia on Sunday.

• Sebastian Lletget, Chris Pontius and Jorge Villafana all got their first USA cap on Sunday.

Here is the 21 player roster for the Jamaica game:

• G: David Bingham, Nick Rimando, Luis Robles

• D: DaMarcus Beasley, Steve Birnbaum, Brad Evans, Greg Garza, Chad Marshall, Jorge Villafana, Walker Zimmerman, Graham Zusi

• M: Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, Sebastian Lletget, Dax McCarty, Darlington Nagbe, Chris Pontius

• F: Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore, Jordan Morris

dN

Africa Cup of Nations
Semifinals:
-Wed Feb 1
Burkina Faso v Cameroon - 1pm CT on beIN
-Thu Feb 2
Ghana v Egypt - 1pm CT on beIN

Final:
-Sun Feb 5 - 1pm CT on beIN

dN

After a several year drought Inter Milan has again climbed up to the top group in Serie A. 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. by Paolo Bandini of the Guardian.

• On Sunday Juventus hosts Inter in the countries biggest derby.

dN

Biggest European matches this week:
-Tue Jan 31
Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea - #4 v #1
-Sat Feb 4
Chelsea v Arsenal #1 v #2
Bayern v Schalke - very old rivals
Dortmund v Leipzig - 34 v #2
Monaco v Nice - #1 v #2
-Sun Feb 5
Juventus v Internazionale - Derby d'Italia



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 30, 2017

It's Day 30 of 2017.


Be strong my friends. Be positive my friends. Be bold my friends. Help lift each other. We need each other more than ever.

dN

USMNT Friendlies:
-Sun Jan 29
USA 0-0 Serbia
San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium
Attendance: 20,079
-Fri Feb 3
USA v Jamaica - 6:00pm CT on FS1
Chattanooga, Finley Stadium

My notes:

• Good: Did anyone have a good game? A few were decent, but no one was great. Some raved about Darlington Nagbe, while I thought he showed his great skill but was not effective enough to make any difference. Nick Rimando had the play of the game making a big save late in the game. Graham Zusi was not a mistake at right fullback, and in a game like this that is a positive. Bradley + Jones had much more defined roles and were solid.

• Bad: Greg Garza was shaky, getting beat more than anyone else and looked like he's barely played a game in 18 months (only 4 times due to a serious hip injury.) Garza also should have been called for a penalty, but the referee moved the ball outside the box. Alejandro Bedoya had no such excuse, he was just invisible or ineffective. Sacha Kljestan was also mostly invisible, and he also floated in some soft fluffy set pieces that Serbia cleared easily.

• The team goal was a win. They did not get that. So I know this sounds ridiculous, but they must win on Friday.

• The USA had only 1 shot on goal and never threatened the goalkeeper with anything serious.

• A clean sheet is always good, but a better offense would have punished the USA defense. The back 4 was simple and solid but did make a couple bad mistakes - 1 each from Birnbaum and Marshall and a couple by Garza. Plus the defense gave up a lot of set pieces and corner kicks, but managed to defend them well enough.

A review of Bruce Arena's return to the USMNT bench. By Brian Straus.

Here is the 21 player roster for the Jamaica game:

• G: David Bingham, Nick Rimando, Luis Robles

• D: DaMarcus Beasley, Steve Birnbaum, Brad Evans, Greg Garza, Chad Marshall, Jorge Villafaña, Walker Zimmerman, Graham Zusi

• M: Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, Sebastian Lletget, Dax McCarty, Darlington Nagbe, Chris Pontius

• F: Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore, Jordan Morris

Released from training camp roster:
Jermaine Jones
Sacha Kljestan

The USA World Cup qualifier v Honduras on Fri Mar 24 will be played in San Jose CA at Avaya Stadium.

dN

Michael Bradley made a personal statement about the immigration choas that happened over the weekend:

A photo posted by Michael Bradley (@michaelbr4dley) on Jan 28, 2017 at 11:02pm PST

• His teammates and US Soccer backed him up. By Scott French of Four Four Two.

dN

Today the MLS Players Union followed with their own message to our countries leadership:

MLS Players Union Statement regarding the travel ban by the White House pic.twitter.com/h6Hwy5wmKf

— MLS Players Union (@MLSPlayersUnion) January 30, 2017

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Yesterday the Dark Clouds, the soccer supporters group that I belong to released a statement condemning the Presidents new immigration policy. You can read that powerful statement here: Our Friends + Neighbors Need Us

On a different supporters note, you can now become a member of the Dark Clouds for the 2017 season for just $35:

Not in the #DCMN section but want to support us? Snag your individual membership for $35:https://t.co/l2FnbpcixH pic.twitter.com/K6xrKuqI5d

— Dark Clouds ? #DCMN (@MNDarkClouds) January 30, 2017

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Oguchi Onyewu has signed with Philadelphia Union. I can't wait to see if he has anything left. Lets hope so.

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This is an intriguing list of 10 newcomers to the league that you should probably get to know. By Paul Tenorio of Four Four Two.

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Julian de Guzman who was Toronto FC's first ever designated player has announced his retirement from Ottawa Fury.

dN

Minnesota United Preseason

My Notes:

• On the current roster the Loons have 4 regular international players - Rasmus Schuller (Finland), Kevin Molino (Trinidad & Tobago), Francisco Calvo (Costa Rica) and Johann Venegas (Costa Rica). This means that if Minnesota plays a game during an official FIFA international calendar date those 4 will not be available.

• The first international dates of the year are Mar 24 + 28, and sure enough Minnesota plays at New England on the 25th - Boooooo!

• MLS gives teams the option of scheduling dates during those international weeks or not. More and more teams are choosing to sit out those weeks.

• The league will take the first two weeks off during the group stage of next July's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

• Here are all the official 2017 FIFA dates for national team matches and friendlies:

Mar 20 - Mar 28 WCQ (25 at NER)
Jun 5 - Jun 13 WCQ
Jul 7 - Jul 26 Gold Cup (19 v HD, 22 v NYRB, 29 v DCU)
Aug 28 - Sep 5 WCQ (26 at CF)
Oct 2 - Oct 10 WCQ (7 v SKC)
Nov 6 - Nov 14 WCQ

The first preseason game happens tomorrow in Casa Grande AZ:
-Tue Jan 31
Minnesota United v New England Revolution - no start time has been given

Added another player officially on Sunday - 34 year old Swedish goalkeeper John Alvbage from IFK Goteborg was signed on a 6 month loan.

Interviews with 2 new MNUFC players - goalkeeper Alvbage - and - centerback Vadim Demidov. Both by Megan Ryan of the Star Tribune. -Ryan also answers lots of viewer mail, and attempts to aussage some fears.

The Loons still have 3 open roster spots. These are MY priorities, in order: 1. Defensive Midfielder, 2. Left Fullback, 3. Right Fullback

The story behind Minnesota's big money signing of Kevin Molino. By Paul Tenorio of Four Four Two.

dN

Americans playing in foreign leagues - highlights:

The Terrence Boyd, Coach Torsten Frings + Darmstadt Tracker:

• Results - Boyd started and went 74 minutes, but they got destroyed 1-6 at home by Koln.

• Note - They are the worst team in the league by far. It will take a miracle to save them from relegation.

• Bundesliga Standings - 18th Place, 7 points from safety

• Up Next - Sun Feb 5 at Eintracht Frankfurt

Emerson Hyndman got his first start at Rangers and made it count - setting up the first goal and scoring the 2nd in a 2-0 win over Motherwell.

Paul Arriola went the full 90 and set up the games only goal as Tijuana beat Cruz Azul 1-0.

• Tijuana is in 1st place after 4 rounds.

Julian Green got his debut at Stuttgart, starting the game but coming off at half time. They won 0-1 at St Pauli.

dN

Africa Cup of Nations

Quarterfinals:
-Sat Jan 28
Burkina Faso 2-0 Tunisia
Senegal 0-0 Cameroon - Cam advances 4-5 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
-Sun Jan 29
DR Congo 1-2 Ghana
Egypt 1-0 Morocco

Semifinals:
-Wed Feb 1
Burkina Faso v Cameroon - 1pm CT on beIN
-Thu Feb 2
Ghana v Egypt - 1pm CT on beIN

Final:
-Sun Feb 5 - 1pm CT on beIN

dN

Southern California has a very popular local soccer team, and that team is Los Xolos de Tijuana. By Michael Snyder of the New York Times.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 27, 2017

It's Day 27 of 2017.


USMNT game on Sunday afternoon. I will be watching the game at Bunny's new location in Northeast Minneapolis. Join me.

Friendly schedule:
-Sun Jan 29
USA v Serbia - 3:00pm CT on ESPN2
San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium
-Fri Feb 3
USA v Jamaica - 6:00pm CT on FS1
Chattanooga, Finley Stadium

Here is the 23 player roster for that game:

• G: David Bingham, Nick Rimando, Luis Robles

• D: DaMarcus Beasley, Steve Birnbaum, Brad Evans, Greg Garza, Chad Marshall, Jorge Villafaña, Walker Zimmerman, Graham Zusi

• M: Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, Jermaine Jones, Sacha Kljestan, Sebastian Lletget, Dax McCarty, Darlington Nagbe, Chris Pontius

• F: Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore, Jordan Morris

Released from training camp roster:
Taylor Kemp
Keegan Rosenberry
Brian Rowe
Wil Trapp
Chris Wondolowski
Gyasi Zardes (injury)

dN

Atlanta United has moved into the #2 position in MLS for season ticket sales - they are at 27,000!

dN

A potpourri of American soccer hot topics get addressed by one guy. By Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated.

dN

Jeb Brovsky played for Minnesota United last season and as the year wound down he blew out his knee and sent his career into question. And there were worse things too. So how does he overcome that? By Andy reder of the Pioneer Press.

dN

The Terrence Boyd, Coach Torsten Frings + Darmstadt Tracker:

• Bundesliga Standings - 18th Place (aka Last Place), 7 points from safety

• Up Next - Sat Jan 28 v Koln

dN

Africa Cup of Nations Quarterfinals
-Sat Jan 28
Burkina Faso v Tunisia - 10:00am CT on beIN
Senegal v Cameroon - 1:00pm CT on beIN
-Sun Jan 29
DR Congo v Ghana - 10:00am CT on beIN
Egypt v Morocco - 1:00pm CT on beIN



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 26, 2017

It's Day 26 of 2017.


Minnesota United Preseason:

Hottest rumor in the land today is that Minnesota has paid big $ for Kevin Molino from Orlando:

Orlando City getting $650k total (450 GAM/200 TAM). GK Patrick McLain also going to Minn. Will have full story up ASAP

— Alicia Rose DelGallo (@OSAliciaD) January 26, 2017

And the starting goalkeeper John Alvbage is on a plane from Sweden as I type.

• Swedish article on the move: This article says Minnesota has completed a loan deal for Goteborg goalkeeper John Alvbage.

That leaves 4 open spots left on the roster. Here are my priorities:

1. DESTROYER!
2. Left Fullback
3. Right Fullback
4. Forward (most likely in the summer)

Finally, this bit of news from Sam Stejskal who works at MLSsoccer.com and seems to have a pretty good line inside Minnesota United's front office:

Amos Magee told me today that MN won't sign a DP before season. Will build core of TAM guys, add DP based on need in summer/next winter.

— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) January 26, 2017

Training camp roster:

• G: Alec Ferrell, Marco Carducci (trialist), Sammy Ndjock (preseason invitee), Charlie Lyon (trialist)

• D: Francisco Calvo, Tiago Calvano (preseason invitee), Justin Davis, Vadim Demidov, Thomas de Villardi, Joe Greenspan, Ismaila Jome, Brent Kallman, Lance Laing (preseason invitee), Jermaine Taylor, Kevin Venegas, Andrew Tinari (trialist)

• M: Bernardo Anor, Raul Gonzalez (trialist), Ibson, Miguel Ibarra, Duke LaCroix (trialist), Collin Martin, Mohammed Saeid, Rasmus Schüller, Eugene Starikov (trialist), Tanner Thompson, Johan Venegas, Collen Warner

• F: Abu Danladi, David Goldsmith (trialist), Femi Hollinger-Janzen, Christian Ramirez

dN

Canary: du Nord Music Mix Vol 109 (download + extract)

dN

This is how two grownups reacted while sitting in a room with Jimmy Page and he picked up a guitar and played the riff from Whole Lotta Love.

dN

I will be watching the USMNT game on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis at the brand new Bunny's Northeast on 13th Ave.

Former MLS, Liga MX and USMNT player Herculez Gomez is very articulate and has some things to say about the current state of the Men's National Team. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

• Others who played under Arena give their thoughts on his chances of succeeding a 2nd time with the National Team. By Doug McIntyre of ESPNFC.

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 25, 2017

It's Day 25 of 2017.


RIP Mary Tyler Moore - Minneapolis' sweetheart.

• Husker Du - Love Is All Around

A fitting tribute.

dN

USMNT Friendly on Sunday:
-Sun Jan 29
USA v Serbia - 3:00pm CT on ESPN2
Qualcomm stadium, San Diego

Left fullback Jorge Villafana has been called into the USMNT training camp - he posted a note on Instagram breaking his own news. He currently plays for Santos Laguna in Mexico. He has not been in the starting 11 for any Liga games this winter.

What are the USA's real weaknesses that need to be addressed in the big picture, and more importantly for the March World Cup qualifiers. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

• Carlisle also Tweeted that Geoff Cameron is going to begin training again with Stoke after being out several months with an ankle injury.

dN

The Terrence Boyd, Coach Torsten Frings + Darmstadt Tracker:

• Bundesliga Standings - 18th Place, 7 points from safety

• Up Next - Sat Jan 28 v Koln

dN

Canary: du Nord Music Mix Vol 109 (download + extract)

dN

MLS Signings:

• The Vasectomy has landed - Chad Barrett signs with Real Salt Lake.

• Orlando has signed American defender Jonathan Spector from Birmingham in England's 2nd division.

• Atlanta got good and bad news today - they have signed goalkeeper Brad Guzan. But he won't join them from Middlesbrough until the Summer transfer window opens.

• Atlanta has also signed right fullback Tyrone Mears from champions Seattle.

• DC United has signed highly underrated attacking midfielder Sebastian Le Toux from Colorado. (I really would have loved to see him with Minnesota.)

dN

Minnesota United Preseason

Whats the story on the goalkeeping situation? By Megan Ryan of the Star Tribune.

• LATE EDITION NEWS: This article says Minn has a completed a loan deal for 34 year old Swedish goalkeeper John Alvbage from Goteborg. (Thanks to the DANNO for the link)

Training camp roster:
G: Alec Ferrell, Marco Carducci (trialist), Sammy Ndjock (preseason invitee), Charlie Lyon (trialist)
D: Francisco Calvo, Tiago Calvano (preseason invitee), Justin Davis, Vadim Demidov, Thomas de Villardi, Joe Greenspan, Ismaila Jome, Brent Kallman, Lance Laing (preseason invitee), Jermaine Taylor, Kevin Venegas, Andrew Tinari (trialist)
M: Bernardo Anor, Raul Gonzalez (trialist), Ibson, Miguel Ibarra, Duke LaCroix (trialist), Collin Martin, Mohammed Saeid, Rasmus Schuller, Eugene Starikov (trialist), Tanner Thompson, Johan Venegas, Collen Warner
F: Abu Danladi, David Goldsmith (trialist), Femi Hollinger-Janzen, Christian Ramirez

dN

Its always interesting to check in with Tijuana coach (and former Mexico national team coach) Miguel Herrera. By Tom Marshall of ESPNFC.

dN

Lets get an update on the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, as the group stage completes and the knock out rounds begin on Saturday.
-Title defenders Ivory Coast has been eliminated from Group C
-Algeria has been eliminated from Group B.
-The host country Gabon has been eliminated from Group A.
Group A
1 Burkina Faso
2 Cameroon
Group B
1 Senegal
2 Tunisia
Group C
1 DR Congo
2 Morocco
Group D
1 Egypt
2 Ghana

Quarterfinals Schedule:
-Sat Jan 28
Burkina Faso v Tunisia - 10:00am CT on beIN
Senegal v Cameroon - 1:00pm CT on beIN
-Sun Jan 29
DR Congo v Ghana - 10:00am CT on beIN
Egypt v Morocco - 1:00pm CT on beIN



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 24, 2017

It's Day 24 of 2017.


Great news: Clint Dempsey medically cleared to begin preseason training with Seattle Sounders!!

dN

Three signings for Minnesota United today:

• Starting with 25 year old Finnish defensive midfielder Rasmus Schuller from Hacken in Sweden. He has 14 caps for his national team.

• Also signed MLS journeyman defender (can play all 4 spots across the backline) Jermaine Taylor from Portland Timbers. He has 84 international caps for Jamaica.

• And finally they re-signed 28 year old Venezuelan attacking midfielder Bernardo Anor who was with Minnesota in NASL last season on a loan deal from Sporting Kansas City.

• This puts the team at 21 players officially, and 2016 NASL rostered player Ismaila Jome is expected to be announced at any time taking them to 22.

• That leaves 6 spots still open: They only have 1 goalkeeper (who is injured,) so they will need 2 more of those, leaving only 3 places available. Meaning ALL THREE need to be impact players.

And here we have the full MNUFC training camp roster:

• G: Alec Ferrell, Marco Carducci (trialist), Sammy Ndjock (preseason invitee), Charlie Lyon (trialist)

• D: Francisco Calvo, Tiago Calvano (preseason invitee), Justin Davis, Vadim Demidov, Thomas de Villardi, Joe Greenspan, Ismaila Jome, Brent Kallman, Lance Laing (preseason invitee), Jermaine Taylor, Kevin Venegas, Andrew Tinari (trialist)

• M: Bernardo Anor, Raul Gonzalez (trialist), Ibson, Miguel Ibarra, Duke LaCroix (trialist), Collin Martin, Mohammed Saeid, Rasmus Schüller, Eugene Starikov (trialist), Tanner Thompson, Johan Venegas, Collen Warner

• F: Abu Danladi, David Goldsmith (trialist), Femi Hollinger-Janzen, Christian Ramirez

6 names of interest on that roster: 3 NASL Minn United 2016 players, Sammy Ndjock, Tiago Calvano and Lance Laing. Plus 3 others:

• Marco Carducci - 20 yr old keeper from Vancouver Whitecaps brought in by coach Rovde.

• Duke LaCroix - 23 yr old from Indy Eleven who killed MN last year and was one of the leagues best.

• Eugene (aka Yevgeni) Starikov - 28 yr old Russian Ukrainian-American who at one time was given a shot in a USMNT training camp. At Chornomorets in Ukraine last year.

First Loons preseason game is a week from today - Tue Jan 31 v New England Revolution.

dN

Some fascinating players in training camps around MLS:

• Oguchi Onyewu is in preseason camp with Philadelphia Union.

• Gale Agbossomounde is in preseason camp with Seattle Sounders.

• And Freddy Adu is in preseason camp with Portland Timbers.

dN

Tyrone Mears has been shipped from Seattle to Atlanta. No details have come to light yet. But that is a solid starting right fullback.

dN

What does Jack Black think about the guitar playing of Tom Morrello?

how FUCKING cute iz jack?

A video posted by NINJA (@zef_alien) on Jan 22, 2017 at 5:07pm PST

dN

A deeper dive on the CONCACAF Champions League changes that were announced yesterday - what does it really mean? By Brian Straus of Sports Illustrated.

dN

American Terrence Boyd has left Liepzeig on a transfer deal to Darmstadt.

• And don't forget that Torsten Frings is the coach!

dN

American Gedion Zelalem has signed a new contract with Arsenal and then loaned to VVV Venlo in Netherlands 2nd division.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 23, 2017

It's Day 23 of 2017.


Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. Hopefully my health stands up again. I hadn't been sick in almost two and a half years and I thought I had put all that behind me. But no.... Hopefully, this time. Right now I am just happy to be out of bed and posting this.

dN

CONCACAF has announced a new Champions League format! Now to sift through the rubble and see if its any good. By Jeff Carlisle of ESPNFC.

My Notes:

• The Caribbean and Central American teams will playoff from August to October.

• That winner will join teams from Liga MX (4), MLS (4) and champs from Canada, Caribbean Cup, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and El Salvador in a 2nd playoff from Feb to May.

• The tournaments will most likely be set up bracket style, with each pairing featuring a home and away match.

• But I am guessing that there will be a draw before each round to decide the adversaries.

• This format does nothing to fix the MLS team's issue of being in preseason form when the key games kick off in February.

CONCACAF expands club competition field, implements new Champions League format https://t.co/B1BKeN6u8Y#SCCL #CONCACAF @TheChampions pic.twitter.com/5LJsYHgpsm

— CONCACAF (@CONCACAF) January 23, 2017

dN

USMNT January Camp:

Brian Rowe replaced the injured Bill Hamid and Stefan Frei in the goalkeeper pool.

Kellyn Acosta (ankle), Matt Hedges (knee) and Kekuta Manneh were all released from the roster to deal with injuries and/or to get back to their clubs for MLS preseason.

Roster (28):
G (4)- David Bingham, Nick Rimando, Luis Robles, Brian Rowe
D (9)- DaMarcus Beasley, Steve Birnbaum, Brad Evans, Greg Garza, Taylor Kemp, Chad Marshall, Keegan Rosenberry, Walker Zimmerman, Graham Zusi
M (10)- Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, Jermaine Jones, Sacha Kljestan, Sebastian Lletget, Dax McCarty, Darlington Nagbe, Chris Pontius, Wil Trapp
F (5)- Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore, Jordan Morris, Chris Wondolowski, Gyasi Zardes

Friendlies:
-Sun Jan 29
USA v Serbia - 3:00pm CT on ESPN2
San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium
-Fri Feb 3
USA v Jamaica - 6:00pm CT on FS1
Chattanooga, Finley Stadium

dN

Landon Donovan says the USMNT has more talent then ever RIGHT NOW, but want's to see if they have that true deep-hearted spirit that other teams have shown. By Doug McIntyre of ESPNFC.

dN

Sure its Pipe Dream City but this is how Bruce Arena and Sigi Schmid envision the USMNT winning the World Cup. By Scott French of Four Four Two.

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Young American dandy Christian Pulisic has signed a new contract with Dortmund.

dN

18 year old American forward Haji Wright is moving up with pecking order at Schalke and could make his debut soon. By Chris Brase of Bundesliga Fanatic.

• Defensive midfielder Weston McKennie has also been turning heads at Schalke.

dN

American midfielder Emerson Hyndman has gone from Bournemouth to Rangers on loan until the end of the season.

• He set up the late game winning goal against Motherwell this weekend after coming on as a sub in the 72nd min.

dN

American Paul Arriola is having a great start to the Clausura season for Tijuana. -Set up the game winner at Chivas this weekend. (Americans Michael Orozco and Joe Corona also started for Tijuana in that game and all 3 played the full 90 minutes.)

• Scored game winner and set up 2 more v Puebla.

• Xolos are in 2nd place in Liga MX after 3 rounds.

dN

DeAndre Yedlin had what some describe as his best professional game, setting up 2 in a 4-0 Newcastle win v Rotherham.

• Newcastle is in 1st place in the English Championship (2nd division) and has an 8 point lead in the 2 automatic promotion spots.

dN

Dom Dwyer from Sporting Kansas City is due to get his USA citizenship next month. Should he be considered for the USMNT? Is he good enough to make the team and added firepower? Who knows. By Chris Young of the Guardian.

dN

In case you missed it: Jermaine Jones did officially sign with the LA Galaxy.

dN

Imagine a Chicago Fire midfield with Dax McCarty and Juninho playing behind Nemanja Nikolic. That could be great.

dN

After helping build the Colorado Rapids team that was the surprise of MLS last season technical director Paul Bravo has been fired. He also held that role when the won MLS Cup in 2010. Damn.

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USA & DC United legend John Harkes' son Ian has signed with DC United after growing up in the their academy.

dN

The local NBC affiliate in San Diego is pretty confident that their city will land a MLS team. A little over confident if you ask me.

• And sharing a stadium with a college football team has a horrid stench to it.

dN

How did the NASL avoid the electric chair, and what is the plan for building toward a strong future? By Richard Farley of Four Four Two.

• Looks like Sunil Gulati was instrumental is making this happen.

dN

Minnesota United have completed a deal for Finnish midfielder Rasmus Schuller and are just waiting for his work visa to be processed. He played last season for Haken in Sweden.

Swedish reports have also confirmed that Rasmus Schüller is headed to #MNUFC, pending the international paperwork. https://t.co/NdfEPYEYH9

— FiftyFiveOne (@FiftyFiveOne) January 23, 2017

dN

The Loons also signed two more players from their NASL roster to the MLS update: Brent Kallman and Ibson. I am happy about both moves.

dN

New MNUFC TV color commentator Kydra de St Aubin talks about her new job. By Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated. (interview starts around the middle of the long column, and is titled 2A.)

• "[Soccer is]... pretty much the only sport where every single rule and aspect of the game is the same for women and men—the ball, the field, the length of the game, the substitutions, the rules, everything. I love the sport and I respect everything about it."

dN

MNUFC preseason games:
In Casa Grande
-Jan 31 v New England Revolution
-Feb 3 v NK Istra 1961 (Croatia)

In Portland
-Feb 9 v Vancouver Whitecaps
-Feb 12 v Portland Timbers
-Feb 15 v Real Salt Lake

In Orlando
-Feb 22 v Toronto
-Feb 26 v San Antonio (USL)

dN

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

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The strain of trying to keep up with the big boys in Spain has turned on Valencia who have not had much success if several year and are now facing a financial crisis as well. by Rory Smith of the New York Times.

dN

How about Sevilla though!! After snapping up former Chile head coach Jorge Sampaoli they have gone on a great run, beating Real Madrid 2 weeks ago and putting themselves into 2nd place just 1 point off the top. Amazing.

dN

Trinidad + Tobago can't win a game since they qualified for the Hex, and now can't hire a coach. What a disaster this federation is, all backwash from Jack Warner. By Lasana Liburd of Wired 868.

• They finally did get Dennis Lawrence as the head coach on Saturday after some difficult days.

• I still have great fears of that Oct 10 game at T + T who would love nothing more than to enact revenge for 1989 and knock the USA out of the World Cup.

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Sick Leave

See ya soon. Doctors orders.

Some Soccer News for Jan 5, 2017

It's Day 5 of 2017.

Homecoming... @christianramirez_21 & @migue14ibarra return to #MNUFC. More info at MNUFC.com.

A photo posted by Minnesota United FC (@mnufc) on Jan 5, 2017 at 9:27am PST

Batman + Superman are back together in Minnesota again! Today MN United announced the return of Miguel Ibarra and the new contract for Christian Ramirez.

• This is a big big deal for long time supporters of this club, and more important for spirit and atmosphere then even play on the field.

Ibarra was sharp on all fronts - suit, bow tie, shoes, hair. His Spanish was lightning fast. His English had a whole new Mexican accent. Was told his fitness is off the charts. He is ready to go. Like, now!

And Ramirez looked very happy to be married and get the deal done with the team during his honeymoon! Haha.

Some more words on today's announcement and quotes from the 2 players. By Brian Quarstad of Fifty Five One.

dN

USMNT January Camp Roster:

• G - David Bingham, Stefan Frei, Bill Hamid, Nick Rimando, Luis Robles

• D - DaMarcus Beasley, Steve Birnbaum, Brad Evans, Greg Garza, Matt Hedges, Taylor Kemp, Chad Marshall, Keegan Rosenberry, Walker Zimmerman, Graham Zusi

• M - Kellyn Acosta, Alejandro Bedoya, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, Jermaine Jones, Sacha Kljestan, Sebastian Lletget, Kekuta Manneh, Dax McCarty, Darlington Nagbe, Chris Pontius, Wil Trapp

• F - Juan Agudelo, Jozy Altidore, Jordan Morris, Chris Wondolowski, Gyasi Zardes

Are there any players not on this list that you think should be?

• I will fill in a couple obvious ones for you: Matt Besler had ankle surgery, and Clint Dempsey is still not cleared by doctors.

• Many thought Christian Roldan from Seattle would get a look.

• And for a team that is desperate for fullbacks its quite interesting that Arena did not give Robbie Rogers a shot.

Analysis of this roster and the training camp/friendlies via two of my favorites guys named Brian:
Scriaretta
Straus

My 1 negative about this roster is that more and more these days International soccer is about young players making the difference. They are usually faster, stronger and more willing to take big risks where a veteran player might take the safer route. Would have liked to see more young guys here to gain experience.

dN

San Jose Earthquakes has hired Jesse Fioranelli as their new General Manager. He has a lot of experience in his native Italy as a development and analytic manager at both Lazio and Roma.



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Some Soccer News for Jan 4, 2017

It's Day 4 of 2017.


The Mexican Liga MX Clausura season begins on Friday!
-Fri Jan 6
Veracruz v Queretaro
-Sat Jan 7
Cruz Azul v Necaxa
Morelia v Tijuana
Tigres UANL v Santos Laguna
Leon v Pachuca
Guadalajara v Pumas UNAM
-Sun Jan 8
Toluca v Atlas
Puebla v Monterrey

• Club America is getting an extra week off after playing in the Club World Cup. Atlas is off too then.

dN

Meet Minnesota United's 2 new Costa Ricans - Johan Venegas and Francisco Calvo. By Jeff Rueter of Fifty One Fifty.

dN

Bruce Arena's USMNT coaching staff officially announced:

• Dave Sarachan, Pat Noonan and Kenny Arena - assistants

• Matt Reis - goalkeeper

• Thomas Rongen - scouting

Upcoming USMNT Friendlies:
-Fri Feb 3
USA v Jamaica - 6pm CT on FS1
Finley Stadium in Chattanooga
-Sun Jan 29
USA v Serbia - 3pm CT on ESPN2
Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego

Expect the USMNT January Camp roster to be released on Thurs or Fri. Training starts on Tue Jan 10.

dN

Mike Magee has retired. Helluva player. Classic goal poacher. Goalkeeper one time. Great stories. 2 MLS Cups. 1 MLS MVP. Congrats and bon voyage. New York, LA and Chicago were his MLS stops.

• And Magee had a star turn like no other in the history of MLS - as Ferris Bueller. [VIDEO]

dN

Orlando City has signed a player very familiar to NASL fans, 22 year old Brazilian attacking midfielder PC from Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Bay Rowdies.

dN

Portland has signed inconsistent 32 year old Costa Rican left fullback Roy Miller from Saprissa. He played for New York Red Bulls for several years and is known to have some of the biggest howlers in club history.

dN

What is driving this incredible spending on players in China? The government. By Chris Buckley of the New York Times.

dN

Another boss at Chelsea with an emphasis on the mental aspects of the game - Antonio Conte and his connection to the players. By Rory Smith of the New York Times.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 3, 2017

It's Day 3 of 2017.


Zinedine Zidane took over as manager of Real Madrid on Jan 4 2016. Since then the team has only lost 2 games. Impressive for a guy who had never been a head coach before.

dN

In case you missed it: Minnesota United signed Costa Rican centerback Francisco Calvo from Saprissa.

• It feels like Saprissa may have sold their whole team to MLS clubs in the past couple of weeks.

dN

On Tuesday MNUFC acquired 22 year old midfielder Collin Martin in a trade for a future lower round draft pick with DC United. Martin played under new Minn DPP Amos Magee in DC. (is that enough initials for you?)

• Steven Goff of the Washington Post, the leading journalist covering DC United, referred to Martin at "oft-injured."

dN

Minnesota United players Johan Venegas & Francisco Calvo are in the Costa Rica squad for the Central American Cup tournament that runs Jan 13 - 22.

• So they will miss the start of pre-season training camp.

dN

The New York Cosmos have apparently not paid their players for 3 months now, staff members too. By Dave Martinez of Empire Of Soccer

dN

Just announced - A 2nd friendly for USA Men:
-Fri Feb 3
USA v Jamaica - 6pm CT on FS1
Finley Stadium in Chattanooga

• This will be the end of the January camp, which begins on Jan 10

• Capacity is 20k and the surface is fake turf. (No word on if they are laying grass over it.)

To go along with the previously announced:
-Sun Jan 29
USA v Serbia - 3pm CT on ESPN2
Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego

dN

Bob Bradley lasted just 85 days and 11 games as manager of Swansea. The owners should be ashamed of themselves. If they weren't going to give him time then they shouldn't have hired him.

• Bradley won't be out of a job long, and then we can revive this:

The Bob Bradley + ??? Tracker:

dN

Columbus has signed 26 year old Ghanaian centerback Jonathan Mensah from Anzhi in Russia. -Do not cofuse him with 34 year old centerback John Mensah who played against the USA in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

dN

Cubo Torres is going to get another with Houston Dynamo. He went from Chivas Gaudalajara to Chivas USA to Houston back to Chivas Gaudalajara and then Houston again to Cruz Azul and now back to Houston for a 3rd shot. Good luck Cubo.

dN

How a struggling and lonely teenager found unique soccer fandom and what it brought to their life over the decades. By Angela Roemelt of Unusual Efforts.

• Thanks to Richard Deitsch for the link. Its part of his 150 best articles to read from 2016. A great list.

dN

Last call:
du Nord Music Mix Best of 2016

• Vol. 3 (download + extract)

• Vol. 2 (download + extract)

• Vol. 1 (download + extract)

dN

A preview of Americans in Liga MX for the 2017 Clausura season. By Cesar Hernandez of ESPNFC.

dN

Young American goalkeeper Ethan Horvath has left Molde in Norway and signed with Club Brugge in Belgium.

dN

Mike Petke has replaced Freddy Juarez as head coach of Real Monarchs.

• Former Minnesota Thunder player Juarez is now an assistant coach with the senior team.

dN

Congrats to Tigres UANL on winning the Liga MX Apertura championship!

dN

Africa Cup of Nations begins on Sat Jan 14.



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