Some Soccer News for Feb 21, 2017

It's Day 52 of 2017.


I have always thought that current Club America coach Ricardo LaVolpe was a bit of a lunatic and a villain, and this pretty much seals it: On Saturday he wandered onto the field and intentionally tripped a Chivas player, then played dumb. From Soccer America. (with video)

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A man who has said that he doesn't believe there is any racism in Russian football has been put in charge of investigating racism in Russian football. Classic. From the AP.

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More and more people are raving about American DeAndre Yedlin's current season at Newcastle. This article asks if he is the best right fullback in the English Championship (2nd div.) By Peter Bowler of London's HITC.

• The Sunderland to Newcastle move is one aspect of the story that is fantastic.

• Newcastle is currently in 1st place by 1 point, which would give them automatic promotion at seasons end.

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UEFA Champions League

The man who put Chile on the international map is now taking Sevilla to new heights - Jorge Sampaoli. By Miguel Delaney of the Independent.

14 freakin' goals scored today in the 2 matches! Wow! And half of them were "away" goals. Love it!

Round of 16 Matches:
1st Leg
-Tue Feb 21
Man City 5-3 Monaco
Leverkusen 2-4 Atletico
-Wed Feb 22
Sevilla v Leicester - 1:45pm CT on FS1
Porto v Juventus - 1:45pm CT on FS2

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MINNESOTA UNITED PRESEASON

This article from Switzerland says MNUFC's new right fullback signing Jerome Thiessen is waiting for his work visa and probably won't arrive before the season begins on Mar 3. No reason is given for that conclusion. From 4-4-2. [text in German]

• Also includes video of him getting into the attack and scoring a goal.

In Orlando for the final 2 preseason games:
-Wed Feb 22
MU v Toronto
-Sun Feb 26
MU v San Antonio (USL)

Training camp roster (30):

• G: John Alvbage, Marco Carducci (trialist), Patrick McLain, Bobby Shuttleworth.

• D: Francisco Calvo, Tiago Calvano (trialist), Justin Davis, Vadim Demidov, Joe Greenspan, Alvin Jones (trialist), Brent Kallman, Jermaine Taylor, Kevin Venegas, Thomas de Villardi (unsigned draft pick)

• M: Bernardo Anor, Joshua Gatt, Raul Gonzalez (trialist), Ibson, Miguel Ibarra, Ismaila Jome, Bashkim Kadrii, Collin Martin, Kevin Molino, Mohammed Saeid, Rasmus Schuller, Eugene Starikov (trialist), Tanner Thompson (unsigned draft pick), Collen Warner

• F: Abu Danladi, Christian Ramirez, Johan Venegas

Are these unsigned draft picks and trialists still with Minnesota United?

• T Thompson - Yes
• R Gonzalez - Yes
• T Calvano - ?
• M Carducci - ?
• A Jones - ?
• E Starikov - ?
• T de Villardi - ?

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If you have an interest in falling in love with a writer of amazing books that have been made into movies and TV shows then read this about the brilliant writer Phillip K Dick. By Joshua Sky of Tor.com. Thanks to Bill for the link.

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Diego Valeri's embracing of the city of Portland is what makes him extra special. By Jamie Goldberg of the Oregonian.

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New DC United signing Ian Harkes brings a big family name back to the club. By Charles Boehm at Four Four Two.

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Conor Casey returns to Denver and Colorado Rapids as an assistant coach, where his soccer life began. By John Meyer of the Denver Post.

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The story of Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer, who knows its going to be very difficult to win MLS Cup again this season. By Matt Pentz for the Guardian.

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CONCACAF Champions League

Quarterfinal Matches:
1st Leg
-Tue Feb 21
Saprissa(6) v Pachuca(3) - 8:00pm CT
-Wed Feb 22
Red Bulls(8) v Vancouver(1) - 7:00pm CT
Tigres(5) v Pumas(4) - 9:00pm CT
-Thu Feb 23
Dallas(7) v Arabe Unido(2) - 7:00pm CT
-All games on Univision Deportes



The Bird Is The Word