Some Soccer News for Apr 28, 2017

It's Day 118 of 2017.


Omar Gonzalez celebrates Pachuca's winning the CONCACAF Champions League in style:

INCREDIBLE. I've said it before: this feeling will never get old. ??

A post shared by Omar Gonzalez (@omar4gonzalez) on Apr 27, 2017 at 7:02am PDT

Pachuca wins its 4th CCL Championship, then prepares for players to leave. Both sides of that saga. By Jon Arnold for Goal.

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Football hooligans, okolofutbola, in Russia have gone to the next level - sobriety, fitness, martial arts training, organization - but locals say there should not be a fear of them at next years World Cup. Local authorities have already let the ultras leaders know that violence will NOT be tolerated. By Patrick Reevell for the New York Times.

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FIFA is seeking to suspend CONCACAF exec Gordon Derrick for 4 years. He is currently the head of the Caribbean Football Union, a job previously held by Jack Warner, and he is also the General Secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association. He has been charged with "Conflicts of interest, offering and accepting gifts and other benefits, mismanagement of funds, abuse of position, and disloyalty."

• Thanks to Tariq Panja for the heads up.

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MINNESOTA UNITED

Deep delving examination of the Minnesota win over Colorado. By Jeff Rueter for Fifty Five One.

MN United leader Manny Lagos recalls his connection to San Jose Earthquakes. By Andy Greder for the Pioneer Press.

• Includes video of one helluva Donovan to Lagos goal!

Will MNUFC start the same 11 as the previous game for the first time in MLS? By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

Schedule/Results:
-Sat Apr 29
Minnesota v San Jose Earthquakes - 7:00pm CT on My29

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Sheer: du Nord Music Mix Vol 121 (download + extract)

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"This is more work than in my previous life. I thought it would be easier." Guess who?

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du Nord Futbol's MLS Coaches Hot Seat for Apr 28, 2017:
6 Mauro Biello - Montreal
5 Jay Heaps - New England
4 Dominic Kinnear - San Jose
3 Carl Robinson - Vancouver
2 Curt Onalfo - LA
1 Jim Curtin - Philadelphia

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MLS

Sporting KC has hired a highly accomplished Belgian as the technical director of their academy. Building that infrastructure. By Sam McDowell for the Kansas City Star.

The LA Galaxy has stumbled out of the blocks, and they are searching for good answers to turn it around. By Steve Davis for Four Four Two.

Giovanni Dos Santos is confident that LA Galaxy can turn things around. And he looks forward to his next games with Mexico. From ESPNFC.

Philadelpia is in even worse shape than the Galaxy because their off season signings haven't paid off yet. By Paul Tenorio for Four Four Two.

Week 9
-Fri Apr 28
Toronto v Houston
-Sat Apr 29
Montreal v Vancouver
Orlando v Colorado
Columbus v NYC
NYRB v Chicago
Dallas v Portland
Minnesota v San Jose
Kansas City v Salt Lake
Seattle v New England
LA v Philadelphia
-Sun Apr 30
Atlanta v DC

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CONCACAF U17 Men World Cup Qualifying and Championship:

April 21 - May 7 in Panama.

Final game of 1st group stage for USA is on Saturday evening. Tune in.

• USA has 2 wins from first 2 games.

USMNT U-17 Roster:

• G: Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos (Benfica), Justin Garces (Kendall)
• D: Christopher Gloster (New York Red Bulls), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City), James Sands (New York City), Arturo Vasquez (Golden State), Akil Watts (IMG Academy)
• M: George Acosta (Weston), Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake AZ), Christopher Durkin (DC United), Blaine Ferri (Solar Chelsea), Christopher Goslin (Atlanta United), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy), Adrian Villegas (Portland Timbers)
• F: Ayomide Akinola (Toronto), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United), Zyen Jones (Atlanta United), Bryan Reynolds Jr (Dallas), Joshua Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri) Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain)
• C: John Hackworth

Group C - USA Schedule/Results:
-Sun Apr 23
USA 5-0 Jamaica
-Wed Apr 26
USA 4-3 Mexico
-Sat Apr 29
USA v El Salvador - 5:00Pm CT
-Broadcast on Univision Deportes and Streamed live on the CONCACAF Facebook page.

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The Terrence Boyd + Torstan Frings + Darmstadt Tracker:

• Standings - Last place, despite winning 2 in a row they are still 11 points below relegation playoff and 13 points from safety - just 4 games left
• Up Next - Sat Apr 29 v Freiburg

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The Miguel Herrera + Several Americans + Tijuana Tracker:

• Standings - Retake 1st place with just 1 rounds left in the regular season.
• Up Next - Sat Apr 29 at Tigres

The rebirth of Miguel Herrera, a coach of great passion and success who also gets himself into trouble. Currently head coach of Tijuana, in case you weren't aware. By Cesar Hernandez for Four Four Two.

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With just 2 games and 6 possible points available in the Liga MX Clausura regular season 17 of the 18 teams are still officially in contention for the 8 team playoffs.

*28 Tijuana (+10) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 at Tigres
*27 Monterrey (+10) - NEXT: Fri Apr 28 at Veracruz
*26 Toluca (+2) - NEXT: Sun Apr 30 v Queretaro
25 Guadalajara (+3) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 v Leon
24 Santos Laguna (+5) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 at Chiapas
24 America (+2) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 v Atlas
23 Atlas (+4) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 at America
20 Pachuca (-1) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 v Cruz Azul
----
19 Tigres (+7) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 v Tijuana
19 Leon (-1) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 at Guadalajara
18 Morelia (-2) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 v Pumas
18 Pumas (-4) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 at Morelia
18 Veracruz (-6) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 v Monterrey
17 Cruz Azul (-2) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 at Pachuca
17 Necaxa (-6) - NEXT: Sun Apr 30 at Puebla
16 Queretaro (-3) - NEXT: Sun Apr 30 at Toluca
15 Chiapas (-11) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 v Santos Laguna
OUT 13 Puebla
*clinched a playoff spot

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BIG MIDWEEK GAMES IN EUROPE:

WEEKEND BIGGIES:
-Sat Apr 29
Espanyol v Barcelona - the Barcelona derby
-Sun Apr 30
Roma v Lazio - the Rome derby - #2 v #4
Nice v PSG - #3 v #2
Tottenham v Arsenal - big North London derby - #2 v #7

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The story behind some of the world's most interesting soccer crests. From Sports Illustrated.

• One question that pops to mind is, "What is a strawberry tree?"
• Until today I never noticed the G in the Schalke logo.
• And they missed my favorite hidden gem on the Loons logo - the 11 wings on the bird stand for the 11 players on the field.

The brand is said to be everything, right? Be careful if you tinker with it. By Jack Williams for the New York Times.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Apr 27, 2017

It's Day 117 of 2017.


Pachuca are the 2017 CONCACAF Champions League winners!

Huge congrats to them and American centerback Omar Gonzalez.

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL
2nd Leg
-Wed Apr 26
Pachuca 1-0 Tigres - Pac wins championship 2-1 on aggregate.

• Argentine forward Franco Jara scored the game winner in the 83rd min.
• Guido Pizarro of Tigres has received a red card (2nd yellow) just 5 minutes before the goal was scored.

Game winning goal:

GOAL AND YELLOW CARD Pachuca, Franco JARA No. 29 | @TigresOficial @Tuzos #SCCL @ScotiabankFC #SoyAficionado #scclfinal pic.twitter.com/dh6AqBs11p

— THE CHAMPIONS (@TheChampions) April 27, 2017

Match highlights. [VIDEO]

Omar Gonzalez sure is piling up the professional trophies!

• 2017 CONCACAF Champions League
• 2016 Liga MX Clausura champions
• 2014 MLS Cup champions
• 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup champions
• 2012 MLS Cup champions
• 2011 MLS Cup champions
• 2011 MLS Supporters Shield winners
• 2010 MLS Supporters Shield winners

Gonzalez is having a great run in Liga MX with Pachuca, after a great run with LA Galaxy. By Tom Marshall for ESPNFC.

The pundits did not want to hear about the Tuzos - they were all Tigres is the greatest! Tigres are Conca-Kings! Tigres are a team of the era! etc.

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The USMNT-U17 team beat Mexico 4-3 yesterday in the group stage of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying/Championship tourney. USA has 2 wins from 2 games. (See full details below)

• Game highlights [VIDEO]
• This is the first time a US-U17 team has beaten a Mex team.

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FIFA/WORLD FOOTBALL SCANDAL

Auditing has discovered that $129M is missing from the CONMEBOL confederation bank accounts. The money was removed from 2000 to 2015. By The Associated Press, via New York Daily News.

A French court has opened an official investigation into the awarding of the 2018 and 2020 World Cup hosting rights to Russia and Qatar, sensing something is not right. By Yann Bouchez and Remi Dupre of Le Monde. [IN FRENCH]

• Here is a summary of Le Monde's story in English. By Tariq Panja for Bloomberg.

Another guilty plea in US Court as part of ongoing Justice Department investigations into FIFA money issues. Lots of interesting details in this article. By Mary Ann Georgantopoulos and Ken Bensinger.

• Thanks to Paul Kennedy of Soccer America for the heads up.

The best of them all! Slippery Jack Warner, former CONCACAF head, and master criminal, posted an amazing rant on Facebook yesterday. This is Trumpian in its levels of bullshit and deflection. Delusion reigns in Jacks world.

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CONMEBOL is considering expanding the 2019 Copa America from 12 to 16 teams. The ten from their confederation, plus 6 more invitees.

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MINNESOTA UNITED

Player Personnel Director Amos Magee heads to Chile for scouting trip:

• By Andy Greder of Pioneer Press.
• By Megan Ryan of Star Tribune. (a few other topics included too)

Schedule/Results:
-Sat Apr 29
Minnesota v San Jose Earthquakes - 7:00pm CT on My29

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Sheer: du Nord Music Mix Vol 121 (download + extract)

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MLS

Tim Bezbatchenko is the brain power at Toronto FC in charge of finding and signing their players. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.

Former Minnesota goal keeper Matt VanOekel will get another start for RSL this weekend after Nick Rimando suffered a hamstring injury. By Austin Facer for the Deseret News.

Week 9 Schedule/Results:
-Fri Apr 28
Toronto v Houston
-Sat Apr 29
Montreal v Vancouver
Orlando v Colorado
Columbus v NYC
NYRB v Chicago
Dallas v Portland
Minnesota v San Jose
Kansas City v Salt Lake
Seattle v New England
LA v Philadelphia
-Sun Apr 30
Atlanta v DC

Standings:
EAST
15 Orl
13 Colu (+1)
13 RBNY (0)
11 Atl (+9)
11 Chi (0)
10 NYC (+4)
----
10 Tor (+3)
9 NE
8 DC
7 Mon
3 Phi

WEST
16 Por
14 Dal
13 Hou
12 KC
9 Sea (+3)
9 SJ (-2)
----
8 SL (-3)
8 Min (-11)
7 Van
6 LA
4 Colo

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CONCACAF U17 Men World Cup Qualifying and Championship:

April 21 - May 7 in Panama.

USA beat Mexico 4-3 in the 2nd game of the group stage. I have no doubt that they will meet again in this tournament.

Match summary:

• Mex took a 1-0 lead.
• USA fought back to lead 2-1.
• Mex tied it just before half time, so it was 2-2.
• USA grabbed 2 more making it 4-2.
• Mex poured it on late and got 1 back but could not get the tie.

The two wins and 6 points advances the USA to the next phase of the tournament - the 2nd group stage. (see tourney format details below)

Up next is final initial group stage game on Sat Apr 29 v El Salvador.

USMNT U-17 Roster:

• G: Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos (Benfica), Justin Garces (Kendall)
• D: Christopher Gloster (New York Red Bulls), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City), James Sands (New York City), Arturo Vasquez (Golden State), Akil Watts (IMG Academy)
• M: George Acosta (Weston), Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake AZ), Christopher Durkin (DC United), Blaine Ferri (Solar Chelsea), Christopher Goslin (Atlanta United), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy), Adrian Villegas (Portland Timbers)
• F: Ayomide Akinola (Toronto), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United), Zyen Jones (Atlanta United), Bryan Reynolds Jr (Dallas), Joshua Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri) Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain)
• C: John Hackworth

Group C - USA Schedule/Results:
-Sun Apr 23
USA 5-0 Jamaica - USA goals by Christopher Durkin, Timothy Weah, Joshua Sargent + Ayomide Akinola(2).
-Wed Apr 26
USA 4-3 Mexico - USA goals by Josh Sargent(2), Blaine Ferri + Ayomide Akinola. Mex goals by Roberto de la Rosa(2) + Jaylin Lindsey(OG).
-Sat Apr 29
USA v El Salvador - 5:00pm CT

• Games are being shown on a combination of Univision Deportes and Streamed live on the CONCACAF Facebook page.
• The "knock-out rounds and final match" will be streamed on CONCACAF Twitter. Thanks to 3rd Degree for that info.

Format:

• 1st Group stage (round robin) - 3 groups of 4 teams - top two advance.
• 2nd Group stage (round robin) - 2 groups of 3 teams - top two qualify for World Cup.
• Final - 1st place teams in each group play for CONCACAF championship.
• World Cup is Oct 6-28 in India.

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BIG MIDWEEK GAMES IN EUROPE:

DFB Pokal Semifinals -Tue Apr 25
Monchengladbach 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt - EF advances 7-6 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
-Wed Apr 26
Bayern Munich 2-3 Dortmund
Final
-Sat May 27
Eintract Frankfurt v Borussia Dortmund

Coupe de France Semifinals
-Tue Apr 25
Angers 2-0 Guingamp
-Wed Apr 26
PSG 5-0 Monaco
Final
-Sat May 27
Angers v PSG

Premier League
-Thu Apr 27
Manchester City v Manchester United - the Manchester derby + #4 v #5

WEEKEND BIGGIES:
-Sat Apr 29
Espanyol v Barcelona - the Barcelona derby
-Sun Apr 30
Roma v Lazio - the Rome derby - #2 v #4
Nice v PSG - #3 v #2
Tottenham v Arsenal - big North London derby - #2 v #7



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Apr 26, 2017

It's Day 116 of 2017.


Did you ever watch the HBO series The Wire? You should if you haven't. Its pretty much brilliant. See a trailer right here, and then go watch the episodes on demand or some streaming service. Pronto.

• Jimmy
• Bunk
• Omar
• Stringer
• Avon
• Marlo
• Carcetti
• Snoop
• Prop Joe
• Bubbles
• Brother Mouzone
• Cutty
• Lester
• Kima
• Clay Davis
• Bunny
• Prez
• Dukie
• The Greek
• Sobotka

(Did I miss anyone important?)

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Tonight!
CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

2nd Leg
-Wed Apr 26
Pachuca v Tigres (1-1) - 9pm CT on Univision Deportes

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How is Borussia Dortmund dealing with life post-bus attack? A reporter visits the team from America and looks at the reality. By Grant Wahl for Sports Illustrated.

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A look at the Top 50 paycheck earners in MLS. By Steven Goff of the Washington Post.

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USMNT-U17 team takes on Mexico today in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying/Championship tourney. (See details below)

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FIFA is proposing that a Video Assistant Referee system be used at the next World Cup.

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MINNESOTA UNITED

Minnesota has still never lost to Colorado Rapids or Real Salt Lake - The Rocky Mountain Cup competitors. Going back to 2005 Minn beat both of them in the Open Cup. In 2012 Minn again topped RSL in the Open Cup. This year in preseason MN v RSL ended in a tie. In this regular season Minnesota has a tie and win over Colorado and a win over Salt Lake. Like magic. 5 Wins - 0 Losses - 2 Ties!

Does Miguel Ibarra stay in the starting line up when Schuller and Kadrii are both healthy? By Jeff Rueter for MLS.

Some feel that head coach Adrian Heath has been over-criticized early in the season. By Paul Tenorio for Four Four Two.

Kortne Ford of Colorado Rapids has been suspended for 1 game by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for delivering an elbow to the head of Minnesota's Christian Ramirez during their game last Sunday. Here is video of that encounter. [VIDEO] From MLS.
-Ford does not think he deserved a 1 game suspension. By John Meyer and Daniel Boniface for the Denver Post.
-For the record I thought it was a foul, at the time, and deserved a yellow card.

Joe Greenspan seeing lots of playing time on loan at Pittsburgh. Could a couple more guys be heading out on loan too? By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.
-Includes a video clip of coach Heath talking about Miguel Ibarra. [VIDEO]

You certainly can't deny that the Loons have improved from the start of the season 7 weeks ago. And other team notes. By Andy Greder for the Pioneer Press.

A deeper look at the salaries being paid to MNUFC players. Info is released every year by the Players Union. By Wes Burdine for Fifty Five One.

Schedule/Results:
-Sat Apr 29
Minnesota v San Jose Earthquakes - 7:00pm CT on My29

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Sheer: du Nord Music Mix Vol 121 (download + extract)

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Djiby Fall of Cinicinnati FC has been given a 6 game suspension after he bit a player from Louisville City. Oof. By Danielle Lerner.

• This USL Disciplinary Report spells out the suspension.

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MLS

Coaching is the biggest area of needed improvement in MLS and the lack of diversity is just a part of it. By Tim Froh for the Guardian.

THEY ARE PAYING FOR IT THEMSELVES: Portland shows off their plan for a 4000 seat expansion of their stadium Providence Park. From Portland Timbers.

Week 9
-Fri Apr 28
Toronto v Houston
-Sat Apr 29
Montreal v Vancouver
Orlando v Colorado
Columbus v NYC
NYRB v Chicago
Dallas v Portland
Minnesota v San Jose
Kansas City v Salt Lake
Seattle v New England
LA v Philadelphia
-Sun Apr 30
Atlanta v DC

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USMNT

Another story questioning the quality of the American goalkeeper. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

John Brooks suffered some sort of hip injury in Hertha's game against Wolfsburg on Saturday. He did play the full 90 minutes though. No word on the severity.

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CONCACAF U17 Men World Cup Qualifying and Championship:


April 21 - May 7 in Panama.

Up next is a Wednesday showdown with Mexico.

• Mex beat El Salvador 6-0 in their first game.

USMNT U-17 Roster:

• G: Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos (Benfica), Justin Garces (Kendall)
• D: Christopher Gloster (New York Red Bulls), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City), James Sands (New York City), Arturo Vasquez (Golden State), Akil Watts (IMG Academy)
• M: George Acosta (Weston), Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake AZ), Christopher Durkin (DC United), Blaine Ferri (Solar Chelsea), Christopher Goslin (Atlanta United), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy), Adrian Villegas (Portland Timbers)
• F: Ayomide Akinola (Toronto), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United), Zyen Jones (Atlanta United), Bryan Reynolds Jr (Dallas), Joshua Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri) Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain)
• C: John Hackworth

Group C - USA Schedule/Results:
-Sun Apr 23
USA 5-0 Jamaica - USA goals by Christopher Durkin, Timothy Weah, Joshua Sargent + Ayomide Akinola(2)
-Wed Apr 26
USA v Mexico - 5:30pm CT
-Sat Apr 29
USA v El Salvador - 10:30am CT
-Broadcast on Univision Deportes and Streamed live on the CONCACAF Facebook page.

Format:

• 1st Group stage (round robin) - 3 groups of 4 teams - top two advance
• 2nd Group stage (round robin) - 2 groups of 3 teams - top two qualify for World Cup
• Final - 1st place teams in each group play for CONCACAF championship
• World Cup is Oct 6-28 in India.

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AMERICANS ABROAD

DeAndre Yedlin and his team Newcastle got a win on Monday which vaults them back to the English Premier League for next season. Huge congrats to them.

Tim Chandler went the distance as Eintract advanced to the DFB Pokal Final.

• They beat Monchengladbach who were without injured Fabian Johnson.

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English Championship division promotion race:

(4 Americans involved)
(2 games left)
(Two 2 promoted automatically. 3-6 go into playoff for 1 more promotion spot)
*92 Brighton + Hove Albion
*88 Newcastle United - DeAndre Yedlin
---
79 Reading - Danny Williams - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 v Wigan
78 Sheffield Wednesday - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 at Ipswich
78 Huddersfield Town - David Wagner (coach) - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 at Birmingham
76 Fulham - Tim Ream - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 v Brentford
---
73 Leeds United - NEXT: Sat Apr 29 v Norwich
*Promotion Earned

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There is a place in football management for intellectual theorizing. Really. Vitor Frade is that person. By Rory Smith of the New York Times.

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Infamous English soccer player Joey Barton has been given an 18 month suspension by the English Football Association because he was betting on soccer games. 1260 games to be precise. And that is forbidden in England. By Paul MacInnes for the Guardian.

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BIG MIDWEEK GAMES IN EUROPE:

DFB Pokal Semifinals
-Tue Apr 25
Monchengladbach 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt - EF advances 7-6 in Penalty Kick Shootout.
-Wed Apr 26
Bayern Munich v Dortmund

Coupe de France Semifinals
-Tue Apr 25
Angers 2-0 Guingamp
-Wed Apr 26
PSG v Monaco

Premier League
-Thu Apr 27
Manchester City v Manchester United - the Manchester derby + #4 v #5



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Apr 25, 2017

It's Day 115 of 2017.


MINNESOTA UNITED

A big chance coming up next Saturday for Minnesota to grab a WIN! San Jose Earthquakes current form:

• Won first 2 games of the season (both at home)
• Have not won since (6 games)
• 3 losses and 1 tie on the road
• The road tie was 0-0 at New England
• Only scored 4 goals in those 6 winless games
• Have scored 0 goals in last 2 games
• Played 4 road games and scored 2 goals

Minn opens up an international spot on the roster:

This week, #MNUFC midfielder Ibson has acquired his green card. Ibson will no longer take an int'l spot on the roster.

— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) April 25, 2017

• Ibson news and other practice session updates. By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

Here are the salaries for the Minnesota United players:

Here are the listed salaries for the @MNUFC players via the MLS Players Union. pic.twitter.com/wYY0ykhCS3

— Bruce McGuire (@dunord) April 25, 2017

Minn head coach Adrian Heath was a guest on the Max + Herc show. BEGINS AT 19:15 MARK. [VIDEO] By Max Bretos and Hercules Gomez for ESPNFC.

Miguel Ibarra steps back into the MNUFC spotlight. The Dark Knight Returns. By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

Schedule/Results:
-Sat Apr 29
Minnesota v San Jose Earthquakes - 7:00pm CT on My29

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CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

2nd Leg
-Wed Apr 26
Pachuca v Tigres (1-1)

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MLS

Find out how much your favorite MLS player is getting paid. Info released by the Players Union.

He is not his father but Ian Harkes does have some of those qualities to go along with those unique to himself. By Steve Goff for the Wash Post.

You know it, you love it. Weekly MLS Awards. [VIDEO] By Alejandro Moreno for ESPNFC.

The Sounders moved Will Bruin into the #9 role that Nelson Valdez fulfilled so well at the end of last year and their offense took off against LA. By Geoff Baker for the Seattle Times.

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• Brian Sylvestre of North Carolina Named NASL Player of the Week
• Sebastian Giovinco of Toronto Named MLS Player of the Week
• Jess Fishlock of Seattle Reign Named NWSL Player of the Week
• Enzo Martinez of Charlotte Independence Named USL Player of the Week

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USMNT

Last week I brought up DC goalkeeper Bill Hamid who I, at one point, thought would be the next star USA keeper. But it hasn't panned out, and a bigger issue is that NO goalkeepers seem to be panning out and the USMNT is nearing crisis mode for the future. An examination of the current prospects. By Paul Kennedy of Soccer America.

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AMERICANS ABROAD

DeAndre Yedlin and his team Newcastle got a win on Monday which vaults them back to the English Premier League for next season. Huge congrats to them.

dN

English Championship division promotion race:
(4 Americans involved)
(2 games left)
*92 Brighton + Hove Albion
*88 Newcastle United - DeAndre Yedlin
---
79 Reading - Danny Williams
78 Sheffield Wednesday
78 Huddersfield Town - David Wagner (coach)
76 Fulham - Tim Ream
---
73 Leeds United
*Promotion Earned

dN

BIG MIDWEEK GAMES IN EUROPE:

-Tue Apr 25
Atletico v Villarreal - #3 v #5

DFB Pokal Semifinals
-Tue Apr 25
Monchengladbach v Eintracht Frankfurt
-Wed Apr 26
Bayern Munich v Dortmund

Coupe de France Semifinals
-Tue Apr 25
Angers v Guingamp
-Wed Apr 26
PSG v Monaco

-Thu Apr 27
Manchester City v Manchester United - the Manchester derby + #4 v #5



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Apr 24, 2017

It's Day 114 of 2017.


The Dark Knight Returns:

The Dark Knight Returns! @Migue10Ibarra @DMickCreative pic.twitter.com/oGaWPuca8L

— Bruce McGuire (@dunord) April 24, 2017

Double Diving Header!

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Schedule/Results:
-Sun Apr 23
Minnesota 1-0 Colorado Rapids - MU goal by Miguel Ibarra.

My MNUFC Notes:

• Game highlights [VIDEO]
• A necessary win at home over a badly weakened opponent in Colorado.
• Miguel Ibarra gets his first MLS goal in dramatic fashion.
• First clean sheet in MLS for the Loons is a good milestone after where they were early in the season.
• Three consecutive halves without giving up a goal is also very good.
• Played the lineup that I have been begging for since Day 1. (If they had not looked good and lost I think I would have had to shut up.)

________Shuttleworth________
Thiessen Kallman Calvo Burch
________Cronin Ibson________
___Molino JVenegas Ibarra___
__________Ramirez___________

• Lots of improvement needed all over the field if they want to build on this success.
• Got lucky with score still 0-0 and Badji hit the crossbar from 6 yards out with a relatively empty net - was harder to miss than hit crossbar.
• Both teams missed a couple other good chances to score and probably should have. I would say Colorado had clearer chances.
• Brent Kallman left the game with a calf contusion that should be OK. But you never know.
• Word is also going around that Kallman is dealing with a hip injury that was bothering him when he came off the field too.
• A big part of Ibarra's game has always been his confidence and you could see what that goal did for him. His focus went up several notches immediately following the goal.
• After almost 2 years not playing much its taking time for Ibarra to re-calibrate, but its coming. I promise.
• The team is desperately thin all over the field, centerback is no exception.
• The attendance of 17,491 is really really disappointing. The organization needs to spend some real money advertising this team.
• Two home wins in a row. They have a chance to make it three next week.

Post-game Media:

• Match report. By Megan Ryan of the Star Tribune.
• Match report. By Matthew de Witt for Fifty One Fifty.
• Post game impressions. By Alex Schieferdecker for Fitty Five One.
• Match report. By Sam Gordon for the Pioneer Press.
• Match report. By Eli Hoff of E Pluribus Loonum.

Up Next:
-Sat Apr 29
Minnesota v San Jose Earthquakes - 7:00pm CT on My29
-San Jose lost 2-0 at Houston this weekend.

dN

MLS

My MLS Notes:

• Dallas beat KC in the Battle of the Best.
• Chicago and Bastian Schweinsteiger did not find life on the road nearly as pleasant as at home.
• Philly threw away a 3-0 lead at home and could only hang on to tie Montreal 3-3. Jim Curtain could be finished.
• How bad is it in Philadelphia?

238 days since the Union won a game

— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) April 22, 2017

• Atlanta played poorly at Salt Lake and still won 1-3. I will take that kinda poorly all day long.
• Orlando and coach Jason Kreis got revenge on NYC - it was a big road test and and they got an A!
• Oh boy, Curt Onalfo and LA are in deep trouble. They got smoked at home by Seattle. (LA has lost 3 of 4 home games.)
• David Villa has 46 goals in MLS.

MLS XI for Week 8. By Alexander Abnos for Sports Illustrated.

Eight from Week 8. By Caitlin Murray for Fox Sports.

The Armchair Analyst for Week 8. By Matt Doyle for MLS.

The Seattle Sounders winning ways are more and more driven by data analysis as much as anything. By Charles Boehm for Four Four Two.

Week 8 Schedule/Results:
-Wed Apr 19
New England 0-0 San Jose
-Fri Apr 21
Toronto 3-1 Chicago
-Sat Apr 22
Philadelphia 3-3 Montreal
Houston 2-0 San Jose
Portland 2-1 Vancouver
New England 2-2 DC
NYRB 2-0 Columbus
Dallas 1-0 Kansas City
Salt Lake 1-3 Atlanta
-Sun Apr 23
NYC 1-2 Orlando
LA 0-3 Seattle
Minnesota 1-0 Colorado

dN

Frank Yallop has resigned as head coach of Phoenix Rising just 4 weeks into the season, and a couple days after the arrival of Didier Drogba.

• I hope Drogba is not pulling a Beckham and bringing his own coach with him. That would be a drag.

dN

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

2nd Leg
-Wed Apr 26
Pachuca v Tigres (1-1)

dN

CONCACAF U17 Men World Cup Qualifying and Championship:

April 21 - May 7 in Panama.

USA is off to a strong start with a 5-0 win over Jamaica.

• The game was 0-0 at half time.

Up next for the USMNT is a Wednesday showdown with Mexico.

• Mex beat El Salvador 6-0 in their first game.

USMNT U-17 Roster:

• G: Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos (Benfica), Justin Garces (Kendall)
• D: Christopher Gloster (New York Red Bulls), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City), James Sands (New York City), Arturo Vasquez (Golden State), Akil Watts (IMG Academy)
• M: George Acosta (Weston), Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake AZ), Christopher Durkin (DC United), Blaine Ferri (Solar Chelsea), Christopher Goslin (Atlanta United), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy), Adrian Villegas (Portland Timbers)
• F: Ayomide Akinola (Toronto), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United), Zyen Jones (Atlanta United), Bryan Reynolds Jr (Dallas), Joshua Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri) Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain)
• C: John Hackworth

Group C - USA Schedule/Results:
-Sun Apr 23
USA 5-0 Jamaica - USA goals by Christopher Durkin, Timothy Weah, Joshua Sargent + Ayomide Akinola(2)
-Wed Apr 26
USA v Mexico - 5:30pm CT
-Sat Apr 29
USA v El Salvador - 10:30am CT
-Streamed live on the CONCACAF Facebook page.

Format:

• 1st Group stage (round robin) - 3 groups of 4 teams - top two advance
• 2nd Group stage (round robin) - 2 groups of 3 teams - top two qualify for World Cup
• Final - 1st place teams in each group play for CONCACAF championship
• World Cup is Oct 6-28 in India

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Joe Corona scored the game winner for Tijuana as they took 1st place from Toluca in a 2-0 home win! He played 87 min.

• Paul Arriola also started and went 67 min for Tijuana.

dN

The Terrence Boyd + Torstan Frings + Darmstadt Tracker:

• Results - Sat Apr 22 Won 1-2 at Hamburger
• Note - Boyd not in uniform, but Bobby Wood played the full 90 for Ham
• Standings - Last place, despite winning 2 in a row they are still 11 points below relegation playoff and 13 points from safety - just 4 games left
• Up Next - Sat Apr 29 v Freiburg

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Several Americans + Tijuana Tracker:

• Results - Fri Apr 21 Won 2-0 v Toluca
• Note - huge win to beat the league leaders and grab the top spot - game winning goal by Joe Corona. Paul Arriola played took, while young American John Requejo was on the bench
• Standings - Retake 1st place with just 1 rounds left in the regular season
• Up Next - Sat Apr 29 at Tigres

dN

Sergio Ramos and his 22 Real Madrid red cards. By Louis Richards and Lawrence Ostlere for the Guardian.

• Easily my least favorite player of this era.

dN

BIG WEEKEND GAMES IN EUROPE:

-Sun Apr 23
Real Madrid 2-3 Barcelona - #1 + #2 are now tied on points but RM has 1 game in hand.

• Scroll down through this article to see all 5 goals and hear Phil Schoen and Ray Hudson on the call. Via Sports Illustrated and beIN Sports.

Lyon 1-2 Monaco - end the weekend #5 + #1

EFA Cup Semifinals
-Sat Apr 22
Chelsea 4-2 Tottenham
-Sun Apr 23
Arsenal 2-1 Manchester City
(Final - May 27 - Arsenal v Chelsea)

Midweek:

-Tue Apr 25
Atletico v Villarreal - #3 v #5

DFB Pokal Semifinals
-Tue Apr 25
Monchengladbach v Eintracht Frankfurt
-Wed Apr 26
Bayern Munich v Dortmund

Coupe de France Semifinals
-Tue Apr 25
Angers v Guingamp
-Wed Apr 26
PSG v Monaco

-Thu Apr 27
Manchester City v Manchester United - the Manchester derby + #4 v #5



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Apr 20, 2017

It's Day 110 of 2017.


Apparently all members of the winning team got these:

El festejo del título de Chivas pic.twitter.com/UQIo2a5bto

— JORGE JAIME GALLARDO (@gallardo_cancha) April 20, 2017

• Chivas de Guadalajara won the Copa MX last night, tying Morelia 0-0 and then winning it 3-1 in a Penalty Kick Shootout.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Sam Cronin and Marc Burch will face the team they just left, Colorado, this weekend with their new MNUFC team. By Andy Greder for the Pioneer Press.

Updates on Marc Burch (possible injury), a couple others, and Baskim Kadrii quotes as he feels he is starting to get the groove of it all. By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

-Sun Apr 23
Minnesota v Colorado - 5:00pm CT on My29 + Altitude

dN

Integer: du Nord Music Mix 120 (download + extract)

dN

Sleep - Antarcticans Thawed

• I saw them perform this song last night in Minneapolis - They sandblasted the floors, ceilings and walls of the whole Mainroom at First Ave, and everything inside the heads of every person in the room. Impressive.

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Juve went to Barca and set up the good old fashioned Italiano Catanacio! Yes Barca had chances, but for whatever reason they were a mile off target on almost every one of them.

And Monaco stuck a thumb in the eye of the still wounded, from the bomb attack, Dortmund. This game was over quickly and mercilessly.

Semifinalists:

• Atletico Madrid
• Juventus
• Monaco
• Real Madrid

Semifinal draw will be held on Friday morning (European time.)

Quarterfinal Schedule Results:
Leg 2
-Wed Apr 19
Barcelona 0-0 Juventus - Juv advances 3-0 on aggregate
Monaco 3-1 Dortmund - Mon advances 6-3 on aggregate

dN

MLS

34 year old Clint Dempsey ain't done yet. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

Defense is leading the way for Sporting Kansas City's re-rise to the top of MLS. But that's not the only reason. By Scott French for Four Four Two.

I remember when I thought DC United goalkeeper Bill Hamid would be the future USMNT star keeper. But injuries and inconsistency have foiled that hype train. And he has let in some awful goals this season. Like the two he gave up to RBNY last weekend:

• Alex Muyl
• Bradley Wright Phillips

The surprise quality of Zack Steffen is one of the reasons Columbus is simply better this season. The 22 year old American goalkeeper had been in Europe for several years prior to last year. By Andrew Erickson for the Columbus Dispatch.

Week 8 Schedule/Results:
-Wed Apr 19
New England 0-0 San Jose
-Fri Apr 21
Toronto V Chicago
-Sat Apr 22
Philadelphia v Montreal
Houston v San Jose - 3:00 CT on UniMas
Portland v Vancouver
New England v DC
NYRB v Columbus
Dallas v Kansas City
Salt Lake v Atlanta
-Sun Apr 23
NYC v Orlando - 12:30 CT on FS1
LA v Seattle - 3:00 CT on ESPN
Minnesota v Colorado

dN

USMNT

USMNT U-17 team hits the World Cup qualifying and CONCACAF championship tournament this week.
April 21 - May 7 in Panama.

USA Roster:

• G: Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos (Benfica), Justin Garces (Kendall)
• D: Christopher Gloster (New York Red Bulls), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City), James Sands (New York City), Arturo Vasquez (Golden State), Akil Watts (IMG Academy)
• M: George Acosta (Weston), Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake AZ), Christopher Durkin (DC United), Blaine Ferri (Solar Chelsea), Christopher Goslin (Atlanta United), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy), Adrian Villegas (Portland Timbers)
• F: Ayomide Akinola (Toronto), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United), Zyen Jones (Atlanta United), Bryan Reynolds Jr (Dallas), Joshua Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri) Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain)

Group C - USA Schedule/Results:
-Sun Apr 23
USA v Jamaica - 12:30 CT
-Wed Apr 26
USA v Mexico - 5:30 CT
-Sat Apr 29
USA v El Salvador - 10:30am CT
-Streamed live on the CONCACAF Facebook page.

Format:

• 1st Group stage (round robin) - 3 groups of 4 teams - top two advance
• 2nd Group stage (round robin) - 2 groups of 3 teams - top two qualify for World Cup
• Final - 1st place teams in each group play for CONCACAF championship.
• World Cup is Oct 6-28 in India.

dN

The Terrence Boyd + Torstan Frings + Darmstadt Tracker:

• Note: for all intents and purposes they are fucked and going down!
• Standings - 5 games left, in Last place, still 14 points below relegation playoff and 15 points from safety
• Up Next - Sat Apr 22 at Hamburger

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Several Americans + Tijuana Tracker:

• Standings - now just 3 games left, they move up to 2nd place, 1 point behind 1st Toluca...
• Up Next - And wouldn't you know it: Fri Apr 21 v Toluca!

dN

The players in England have voted their Best 11 of the 2016/17 season. From the Guardian.

#PFAawards | The PFA Premier League Team of the Year sponsored by @OfficialPanini pic.twitter.com/eQfXZ6h5Ll

— PFA (@PFA) April 20, 2017

dN

BIG WEEKEND GAMES IN EUROPE:

-Sun Apr 23
Real Madrid v Barcelona - #1 v #2
Lyon v Monaco - #4 v #1

English FA Cup Semifinals
-Sat Apr 22
Chelsea v Tottenham
-Sun Apr 23
Arsenal v Manchester City



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Apr 19, 2017

It's Day 109 of 2017.


Fabled Mexican football star Cuauhtemoc Blanco became the mayor of Cuernavaca last year, but is now being accused of ordering an assasination. He also said he and his family are in great danger.

• Article in Spanish by Hector Raul Gonzalez for Aristegui Noticias.

dN

Its near chaos in the stands in the French Ligue 1 as fans are revolting in a big big way at several stadiums. Supporters of Bastia, Marseille and PSG are the main culprits. By Adam White and Eric Devin for the Guardian.

• Marseille supporters made tifo targeting the Ligue 1 administration, Ligue de Football Professionnel aka LFP:

⚽️ Au Vélodrome, les fans de l'OM ont un message pour la #LFP... #OMASSE pic.twitter.com/swbgSWEerB

— B3infos (@B3infos) April 16, 2017

dN

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

Pachuca took a lead in just the 3rd minute but could not hold it and the game ended tied.

Advantage Tuzos! Pachuca goes home for the 2nd Leg with a road goal and tie score.

The belief in Pachuca among the national English language press is so low that I couldn't find an article on the game.

1st Leg
-Tue Apr 18
Tigres UANL 1-1 Pachuca Tuzos - Tig goal by Ismael Sosa. Pac goal by Raul Lopez.
---
2nd Leg
-Wed Apr 26
Pachuca v Tigres (1-1)

dN

"The best meal I have ever had." AKA, What's New Pussycat? [VIDEO]

dN

Integer: du Nord Music Mix 120 (download + extract)

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

5 of the next 6 MNUFC games are at home:

• Sun Apr 23 v Colorado
• Sat Apr 29 v San Jose
• Sun May 7 v Kansas City
• Sun May 21 v LA
• Sat May 27 v Orlando

Injury update. By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

• When healthy the Schuller experiment at left midfield looks like it will continue, said Heath: "We didn't have him long enough [in that position]. It would be nice to see it longer..."

UP NEXT:
-Sun Apr 23
Minnesota v Colorado - 5:00pm CT on My29 + Altitude

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Madrid sends 2 teams to the Semifinals, whereas England sends 0.

Honestly, Bayern Munich has too many old players out there. By Stefan Bienkowski for the Independent.

Bayern and Germany star goalkeeper Manuel Neuer suffer a broken left foot near the end of the game, to make matters that much worse. He is expected to be out for 2 months, so the rest of the season and then some.

We all know that many people around the world are turned off by Cristiano Ronaldo, but why do so many Real Madrid fans dislike their star player? All he does for them is win big. By Sid Lowe for the Guardian.

Leg 2
-Tue Apr 18
Real Madrid 4-2 Bayern - RM advances 6-3 on aggregate.
Leicester 1-1 Atletico Madrid - AM advances 2-1 on aggregate.
-Wed Apr 19
Barcelona v Juventus (0-3
Monaco v Dortmund (3-2)

• The draw for the Semifinal pairings will be held on Friday morning (European time.)

dN

MLS

LAFC is out to set new standards and a new high bar for MLS teams. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

RBNY and Dallas are the two best teams in MLS at youth development. What are their philosophy's? By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

Jim Curtain of Philly Union sits at the top of the du Nord MLS Coaches Hot Seat Power Rankings right now. What does his boss Earnie Stewart have to say? By Matthew DeGeorge for Delco Times.

The best of the new young first year as a pro players in MLS. By Paul Kennedy for Soccer America.

• Some really interesting finds on this list.

What does Mexico head coach Juan Carlos Osorio think of MLS these days? By Scott French for Four Four Two.

A little more Week 7 analysis with a different angle from a familiar face to Minnesota supporters. By Jeb! Brovsky for the Howler.

Week 8 Schedule/Results:
-Wed Apr 19
New England v San Jose
-Fri Apr 21
Toronto V Chicago
-Sat Apr 22
Philadelphia v Montreal
Houston v San Jose - 3:00 CT on UniMas
Portland v Vancouver
New England v DC
NYRB v Columbus
Dallas v Kansas City
Salt Lake v Atlanta
-Sun Apr 23
NYC v Orlando - 12:30 CT on FS1
LA v Seattle - 3:00 CT on ESPN
Minnesota v Colorado

dN

Can somebody bring the Fort Lauderdale Strikers back from beyond the grave, AGAIN? By Jake Nutting for Empire of Soccer.

dN

USMNT
Who's up and who's down at their clubs for the USMNT player pool. By Doug McIntyre for ESPNFC.

• The name Christian Ramirez makes an appears!

dN

Small but sorta-famous London club Leyton Orient has been run into the ground by current owners and the employees (who haven't been paid in a while) have released this statement about the current atmosphere of the organization:

Please read and share this statement by the staff at Orient..they need all the help they can get. #lofc pic.twitter.com/24uYgfQoTH

— James Masters (@Masters_JamesD) April 19, 2017

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Apr 18, 2017

It's Day 108 of 2017.


Tigres UANL v Pachuca Tuzos

• TONIGHT - Are you ready???
• CONCACAF Champions League Final 1st Leg
• (see more below)

dN

NEWS: The Loons Aug 13 road game in Atlanta will need to be rescheduled. New Atl stadium was supposed to open the week before that, but it will not be ready. And AU's temporary home at Georgia Tech University is already booked for college football.

• Delays are pushing back and back and back the opening of Atl's new home. By Jeff Schultz for the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

dN

Most glaring needs for MNUFC: The Spine (in priority order)

1. Starting goalkeeper
2. High quality Backup/Starting centerback
3. Box to box midfielder
4. A true #10 playmaker

dN

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL

Tigres can secure their crown as the best team in recent CONCACAF history, by a mile, if they win this title. By Tom Marshall for ESPNFC.

Tigres is chewing through the competition in all competitions. By Cesar Hernandez for Four Four Two.

No one appears to be giving Pachuca any chance of winning this series.
-I know who I am cheering for now!

1st Leg
-Tue Apr 18
Tigres v Pachuca - 9pm CT on UnivDeportes
---
2nd Leg
-Wed Apr 26
Pachuca v Tigres

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

This interesting stat crossed my screen this morning - in Houston the Loons BLOCKED 7 shots. That is effort!

Rapids lineup this weekend will have a very depleted defense and give a lot of non-regulars their chance to make a mark. They will be missing: Tim Howard - G (suspension), Jared Watts - CB (suspension), Axel Sjoberg - CB (injury), and Nana Adjei-Boateng - D-Mid (injury).

NEXT:
-Sun Apr 23
Minnesota v Colorado - 5:00pm CT on My29 + Altitude

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Leg 2
-Tue Apr 18
Real Madrid v Bayern (2-1)
Leicester v Atletico (0-1)
-Wed Apr 19
Barcelona v Juventus (0-3) - 1:45pm CT on FS1
Monaco v Dortmund (3-2) - 1:45pm CT on FS2

dN

MLS

Since this is always a hot topic - Top 5 fullbacks in MLS right now. By Scott French for Four Four Two.

• In my 2016 Best 11 I had Harrison Afful of Columbus at RFB and Justin Morrow of Toronto at LFB.
• In my 2015 Best 11 I had Tony Beltran of Salt Lake at RFB and Kemar Lawrence of RBNY at LFB.

A tale of one game and the destiny of two teams:

• Toronto Down. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.
• Columbus Up. By Andrew Erickson for the Columbus Dispatch.

Week 8 Schedule/Results:
-Wed Apr 19
New England v San Jose
-Fri Apr 21
Toronto V Chicago
-Sat Apr 22
Philadelphia v Montreal
Houston v San Jose - 3:00 CT on UniMas
Portland v Vancouver
New England v DC
NYRB v Columbus
Dallas v Kansas City
Salt Lake v Atlanta
-Sun Apr 23
NYC v Orlando - 12:30 CT on FS1
LA v Seattle - 3:00 CT on ESPN
Minnesota v Colorado

dN

Haley Kopmeyer of Seattle Reign Named NWSL Player Of The Week

Nemanja Nikolic of Chicago Fire Named MLS Player Of The Week

Djiby Fall of Cincinnati Named USL Player Of The Week

Matt Fondy of North Carolina Named NASL Player Of The Week

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Several American's involved in the English Championship division promotion race:

• (3 games left in the regular season)
• (1 + 2 automatically promoted)
• (3, 4, 5 + 6 in playoffs for 1 promotion spot)

92 Brighton + Hove Albion
85 Newcastle United - DeAndre Yedlin
---
79 Reading - Danny Williams
78 Huddersfield Town - David Wagner (head coach)
75 Sheffield Wednesday
73 Fulham - Tim Ream
---
73 Leeds United

dN

Carlos Hermosilla, one of the biggest stars in the history of Cruz Azul, has been blocked by the team on Twitter because he has been publicly criticizing them:

Yo ni les escribo y estoy bloqueado jajajajajaja pobres ridículos que no saben lo que es Cruz Azul, sigan destruyendo su prestigio pic.twitter.com/nFU1ZNvzQK

— Carlos Hermosillo (@CHermosillo27) April 18, 2017

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Apr 17, 2017

It's Day 107 of 2017.


There was a lot of talk over the weekend about the 3 game suspension that MLS gave to Colorado keeper Tim Howard for 2 supposed altercations with fans in KC during a Week 6 game. Three games is pretty damn harsh, and a lot of the debate has been centered around that. What we don't really know is the totality of what went down. There is video of 1 incident with fans heckling Howard and him firing off a "fuck your mother" in retort. OK, pretty dumb of Tim. The other is said to be Howard grabbed a fan as he was leaving the field. No idea what that one is really all about. Here is the why I think Howard got the 3 games though: He is one of the faces of the league, and is a focal point of their "Don't Cross The Line" anti-discrimination campaign. Whether you agree with the 3 games or not is perfectly debatable. But I see why he got 3.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

A very important comeback tie for MNUFC. Vital.

Head coach Adrian Heath: Heath said. “Are we getting better? Yes. Have we got a long way to go? Definitely.”

• Keep up the hard work.
• And correct those mistakes in the lineup before kickoff.

For the 1st time this season MNUFC went a full 45 minute half without giving up a goal - the 2nd half at Houston. More please!

Schedule/Results:
-Sat Apr 15
Houston Dynamo 2-2 Minnesota United - HD goals by Mauro Manotas + Alberth Elis. MU goals by Christian Ramirez + Johan Venegas.

My MNUFC Notes:

• Game highlights [VIDEO]
• Luck played a big part in this road point for MNUFC.
• They were down 2 goals and 2 injured players in the first half.
• So they had to come out in the 2nd half and make things happen.
• They sure did!
• Within 90 seconds of the start of the 2nd half Minn got on the scoreboard with Molino putting a corner kick to the back post where Ramirez leaped over the out-matched Boniek to head the ball in powerfully.
• 12 minutes later Minn hit Hous on the counter with Molino driving down the right wing all the way to the end line then trying to cut the ball back to middle of the field. The Hous defense got a deflection on the ball but it bounced right into the path of the late arriving JVenegas who first timed a high bouncing ball into the left side of the net!
• Molino set up BOTH goals with his sheer-will to make things happen.
• When Kallman hit the field to start the game MNUFC fans gasped, "He cut his hair?!?!?" He did look sharp, but we hoped it would not be a Samson moment. It was his most challenging game of his 5 MLS starts, but he stood just strong enough to dispel any myths.
• For some odd reason Schuller started on the left hand side of midfield. I thought we learned this lesson in Week 2 when Saied started out there and we got toasted.
• There is no mistaking what happened when Ibarra came on for Schuller - the offense kicked up into the next gear.
• Cronin and Warner both starting together is not a positive. Again. We only need 1 of them, and then someone in the other spot to jump start the offense.
• Ramirez missed 3 very good chances at goal, twice in the 1st half and once in the 2nd, and on top of that he earned a deserved penalty call. He cannot miss all those chances. On a better team that would cost him his starting job.
• Injuries forced 2 first half subs, Schuller went out with a hip injury in the 43 min replaced by Ibarra, and moments later Shuttleworth went out with a head injury in the 45th replaced by Alvbage.
• Minn did not use its 3rd sub until the 89th min when Danladi replaced Molino. Turns out:

If he doesn’t use the third sub Heath gets a free large Curly Fries at @Arbys #HOUvMIN

— Bill McGuire (@geargab) April 16, 2017

• I would have put Danladi in the game in the 80th min for Molino who was obviously exhausted (he gave the ball away on 4 consecutive attempts,) and told the team to hoof the ball over the top and have Danladi run his ass off to track it down or at least harass the Dyna defenders. Stretch the damn field and kill off the game!
• Houston continuously had 5-6-7 players attacking the Minn goal
• Minnesota usually only had 3, until after they fell behind 2-0 (just like last week in Dallas,) and then finally pushed a 4th and a few times a 5th or rarely a 6th player into attack.
• Would someone, preferably a teammate, tell Johan Venegas to STOP DIVING. He is not getting the calls, and now when he does get fouled the refs think twice about giving him the correct call. KNOCK IT OFF JOHAN!
• Iron Skillet Time: Elis of Houston scored on 2 set pieces late in the first half and both times he was completely unmarked. Luckily for Minn the first one was erroneously called back for offside. So why wasn't the issue fixed immediately? Minutes later Elis was free again and scored for good this time. To make things worse on that play Elis knocked goalkeeper Shuttleworth out of the game with an inadvertent blow to the head. Then there were the 2 throw-ins by Hous that lead to a terrific shot (awesome save by Shuttle) and the first goal of the game. WTF? Terrible marking, terrible concentration, terrible team effort.
• Both teams were denied a goal scoring opportunity by the referees:
-Ramirez was hauled down from behind in the box on a breakaway, but no foul was called. Should have been a PK, and a red card to Houston centerback Machado.
-Elis scored a header goal on a set piece but saw it waved off by the assistant referee who said he was offside. He was not.

• Down the stretch Houston had several decent chances to win the game, but took bad shots badly.
• Alvbage made a couple solid saves and timely clearances in this return.
• The Minn defenders also made some nice clearances at the end.
• In the second half of the game MNUFC kept a clean sheet for 45 minutes for the time this season. Hooray! Huzzah!
• Good: Kallman, Calvo, Cronin, Molino, Alvbage, Ibarra
• So-So: Burch, Warner, JVenegas, Ramirez, Thiesson, Shuttleworth
• Bad: Schuller (not his fault he was used in such a poor spot in the lineup and got hurt)
• The team is in 21st place in the league on Points Per Game at 0.71. Philly is last at 0.33. Colorado, who they play next Sunday is in 20th at 0.80 ppg.

Post game Media:

• Match report. By Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
• Match report. By Tom Dart for the Star Tribune.
• Match report. By Chris RB of Fifty Five One.
• A look ahead to Colorado's visit on Sunday. By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

NEXT:
-Sun Apr 23
Minnesota v Colorado - 5:00pm CT on My29 + Altitude

Is veteran centerback Vadim Demidov already on his way out of the team? This article makes the case, but says there is no plan in place. By Jeff Rueter of Fifty One Fifty.

dN

MLS

More entertaining to watch than John Terry in MLS:

1. Take $2M
2. Blend with water
3. Drink
4. Piss it down the drain

This week 3 road teams got wins and 1 got a tie. Better than average for the away team.

My MLS Week 7 Notes:

• Wow! Villa with the mighty 50 yard chip!
• Schweinsteiger, McCarty, Nikolic are getting it done for the Fire.
• Petke is 2 for 2 as head coach of RSL.
• That KC defense is great - Melia, Opara, Besler, Sinovic, Medranda, Zusi, Espinoza, Feilhaber, Ilie!
• Orlando steals one at the end.
• Vancouver wins another Cascadia Cup game.

9 highs and lows from Week 7 action. By Caitlin Murray for Fox Sports.

All the weeks top analytics. By Matt Doyle of MLS.

XI moments for Week 7. By Alexander Abnos for Sports Illustrated.

Week 7 Schedule/Results:
-Fri Apr 14
Philadelphia Union 0-2 New York City
Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Seattle Sounders
San Jose Earthquakes 1-1 Dallas
-Sat Apr 15
Montreal Impact 2-1 Atlanta United
Orlando City 2-1 LA Galaxy
Chicago Fire 3-0 New England Revolution
New York Red Bulls 2-0 DC United
Columbus Crew 2-1 Toronto
Houston Dynamo 2-2 Minnesota United
Colorado Rapids 1-2 Real Salt Lake
Portland Timbers 0-1 Sporting Kansas City

Hot Stats:

29 goals in 11 games = 2.6 goals per game. (You want at least 3.)
---
Goals scored:

• 16 Portland
• 14 Atlanta
• 13 Houston
• 12 Minnesota
• 11 Columbus

---
Goals allowed:

• 24 Minnesota
• 11 Houston
• 11 Philadelphia
• 11 Vancouver
• 10 DC
• 10 LA

dN

USMNT

Its official:
Friendly
-Sat Jun 3
USA v Venezuela - 9:00pm CT on FS1 + Univision
Sandy UT, Rio Tinto Stadium

• NOTE: Minnesota United plays that day at KC - 4:00pm CT kickoff

dN

Former USA assistant coach and Olympic head coach Andi Herzog has plenty to say about Jurgen Klinsmanns relationship with MLS and US Soccer. From ESPNFC.

• On several things he is not wrong.
• On several things he is not right.

dN

USMNT U-17 team hits the World Cup qualifying and CONCACAF championship tournament this week.

April 21 - May 7 in Panama.

USA Roster:

• G: Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos (Benfica), Justin Garces (Kendall)
• D: Christopher Gloster (New York Red Bulls), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City), James Sands (New York City), Arturo Vasquez (Golden State), Akil Watts (IMG Academy)
• M: George Acosta (Weston), Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake AZ), Christopher Durkin (DC United), Blaine Ferri (Solar Chelsea), Christopher Goslin (Atlanta United), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy), Adrian Villegas (Portland Timbers)
• F: Ayomide Akinola (Toronto), Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United), Zyen Jones (Atlanta United), Bryan Reynolds Jr (Dallas), Joshua Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri) Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain)

Group C
-Sun Apr 23
USA v Jamaica - 12:30 CT
-Wed Apr 26
USA v Mexico - 5:30 CT
-Sat Apr 29
USA v El Salvador - 10:30am CT
-Streamed live on the CONCACAF Facebook page.

Format:

• 1st Group stage (round robin) - 3 groups of 4 teams - top two advance
• 2nd Group stage (round robin) - 2 groups of 3 teams - top two qualify for World Cup
• Final - 1st place teams in each group play for CONCACAF championship.
• World Cup is Oct 6-28 in India.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Emerson Hyndman Baby!!! Set up another one for Rangers as they beat Partick Thistle 2-0:

⚽ | @emersonhyndman and Jon Toral combined wonderfully to score one of the best #SPFL goals of the weekend 👏 Goal of the Month contender? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/DnhreQhjvA

— SPFL (@spfl) April 17, 2017

Christian Pulisic never gives up on a play, and set up Marco Reus for a beauty, as Dortmund win 3-1 over Eintracht:

Pulisic with the hustle and Reus with the cheeky finish. 🔥🔥

What a way to start the game! #BVBSGE #Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/euX2FYaIyI

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 15, 2017

DeAndre Yedlin returned to the field this weekend for Newcastle after 6 weeks out.

• On Fri he played the last 6+ minutes of a 1-1 tie v Leeds.
• Today he started and went 78 min as they lost 3-1 at Ipswich.
• With 3 games to go they are in 2nd place and have a 6 point lead on an automatic promotion spot.

dN

The Terrence Boyd + Torstan Frings + Darmstadt Tracker:

• Results - Sun Apr 16 Won 2-1 v Schalke
• Note - Huge win, but still not nearly enough to matter in the long run, plus the teams they are chasing (Augsburg + Mainz) both won. Boyd not in uniform
• Standings - 5 games left, in Last place, still 14 points below relegation playoff and 15 points from safety
• Up Next - Sat Apr 22 at Hamburger

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Several Americans + Tijuana Tracker:

• Results - Sat Apr 15 Won 1-2 at Chiapas
• Note - big big win, with Arriola going 90 and setting up the game winner and Corona starting and playing 56 min. Orozco still injured
• Standings - now just 3 games left, they move up to 2nd place, 1 points behind 1st Toluca...
• Up Next - And wouldn't you know it: Fri Apr 21 v Toluca!

dN

BIG WEEKEND GAMES IN MEXICO:

No there are only 3 rounds left in the regular season! And not a single team has been officially eliminated from the play off race.

-Sat Apr 15
Pachuca 0-0 Guadalajara - remain at #8 + drop to #3
-Sun Apr 16
Toluca 1-1 Monterrey - staying #1 + falling to #4

dN

BIG WEEKEND GAMES IN EUROPE:

-Sat Apr 15
Inter 2-2 Milan - the Derby della Madonnina, Inter led 2-0 until 83 and 2-1 until 90+7, remain #7 + #6
-Sun Apr 16
Manchester United 2-0 Chelsea - but stay #5 + #1. Big win for Mourinho gained nothing for his team.

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Leg 2
-Tue Apr 18
Real Madrid v Bayern (2-1) - 1:45pm CT on FS1
Leicester v Atletico (0-1) - 1:45pm CT on FS2
-Wed Apr 19
Barcelona v Juventus (0-3) - 1:45pm CT on FS1
Monaco v Dortmund (3-2) - 1:45pm CT on FS2

dN

Very sad news to end the day: Panamanian player Amilcar Henriquez of Arabe Unido was murdered on Saturday. Very few if any details are known.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Apr 14, 2017

It's Day 104 of 2017.


One of the more interesting articles I have read about US Soccer in quite a while:
US Soccer has hired Englishman James Bunce as its first ever Performance Director. And according to him they have huge aspirations and the energy and resources to attempt to pull it off. By Simon Austin for the Guardian.

MINNESOTA UNITED

Schedule/Results:
-Sat Apr 15
Houston Dynamo v Minnesota - 7:30pm CT on My29 in Twin Cities.

Abu Danladi is pushing himself very hard to become a starter. By Andy Greder for the Pioneer Press.

• Absorption. Osmosis. Training.

The benching of team captain Vadim Demidov cannot be an easy move for player or coach. By Andy Greder for the Pioneer Press.

Looks like Houston will have productive forward Romell Quioto back from a shoulder injury. He was great in the first few games before being knocked out.

• 2 starting defenders, centerback Leonardo and fullback AJ DeLaGarza, are both out with injuries this weekend.

dN

What to watch out for on Bundesliga Matchday 29. From Deutsche Welle.

• Relegation race: (bottom 2 teams go down and a 3rd plays series v #3 in Bundes2 for a final pro/rel spot)

33 Hamburger (-23) - NEXT: Sun at Werder Bremen
30 Wolfsburg (-15) - NEXT: Sat v Ingolstadt
29 Mainz (-11) - NEXT: Sat v Hertha
-----
29 Augsburg (-19) - NEXT: Sat v Koln
-----
28 Ingolstadt (-16) - NEXT: Sat at Wolfsburg
15 Darmstadt (-37) - NEXT: Sun v Schalke
dN

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

• The EPL relegation battle. From the Guardian.

dN

Funny Business: du Nord Music Mix Vol 119 (download + extract)

dN

MLS

Its harder than ever for American's to find their way on to the field in MLS. Taylor Twellman talks about whether that is good, bad, both or neither? By Noah Davis for ESPNFC.

Toronto centerback Drew Moor has been pulled out of training and games due to the discovery of a heart issue. Lets hope for the best.

Mike Petke is bringing his attitude and ethic to Real Salt Lake. By Chris Kamrani for Salt Lake Tribune.

Week 7 Schedule/Results:
-Fri Apr 14
Philadelphia Union v New York City - 6pm CT on ESPN
Vancouver Whitecaps v Seattle Sounders
San Jose Earthquakes v Dallas - 10pm CT on UniMas
-Sat Apr 15
Montreal Impact v Atlanta United
Orlando City v LA Galaxy - 1:30pm CT on FOX
Chicago Fire v New England Revolution
New York Red Bulls v DC United
Columbus Crew v Toronto
Houston Dynamo v Minnesota United - 7:3pm CT on My29
Colorado Rapids v Real Salt Lake
Portland Timbers v Sporting Kansas City

dN

USMNT

Former USA-International and current Philly Union GM Earnie Stewart about the growth of American soccer. Its all good. [VIDEO] From ESPNFC.

dN

The Terrence Boyd + Torstan Frings + Darmstadt Tracker:

• Standings - With 6 games left they are in Last place, 14 points below relegation playoff and 15 points from safety
• Up Next - Sun Apr 16 v Schalke

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Several Americans + Tijuana Tracker:

• Standings - with 4 games left they are still in 4th place, 3 points behind 1st
• Up Next - Sat Apr 15 at Chiapas

dN

BIG WEEKEND GAMES IN MEXICO:

Just 4 rounds left before the playoffs in the Clausura season!

-Sat Apr 15
Pachuca v Guadalajara - #8 v #2
-Sun Apr 16
Toluca v Monterrey - #1 v #3

dN

BIG WEEKEND GAMES IN EUROPE:

-Sat Apr 15
Inter v Milan - the Derby della Madonnina and #7 v #6
-Sun Apr 16
Manchester United v Chelsea - #5 v #1



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Apr 13, 2017

It's Day 103 of 2017.


Borussia Dortmund was not one bit happy about having to play a Champions League game 24 hours after being targeted by a terrorist bomb:

Dortmund played less than 24 hours after three explosions hit the team's bus.

Thomas Tuchel isn't happy with UEFA. https://t.co/Eki6lM9sw5 pic.twitter.com/cCYtYW3QqN

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 12, 2017

Nuri Sahin, player for Dortmund, tells us exactly how hard it was to play that game:

Nuri Sahin (@nurisahin): – It's hard to find the right words.@JanAageFjortoft pic.twitter.com/KTMPF3PTNI

— Viasat Fotball (@ViasatFotball) April 12, 2017

dN

Interview with former Minnesota United player Lance Laing, now with North Carolina, where he talks about his career, and eventually they get around to the 2016 season in Minnesota. (Starts at the 1 hour 13 minute mark.) By Neil Morris for the Inverted Triangle podcast on WRAL Sports Fan Radio. [AUDIO]

• Very interesting hearing from a player that I always was a big fan of, but really struggled last year. At first he says he doesn't really want to talk about Minnesota, but after a bit of prodding he opens up.

dN

Big Boss Man Bruce Arena talks about upcoming (June) World Cup qualifiers, and the USA bid to host the tournament in 2026. By Steven Goff for the Washington Post.

• Note on Fabian Johnson: His recovery from a hamstring injury is going slower than expected. Not good.

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Dortmund got the score close in the end, but 3 away goals for Monaco will be hard to overcome.

Monaco was lead by 18 year old Kylian Mbappe. Scoring 2 goals. Remember that name.

A missed penalty kick and a red card doomed Bayern.

Atleti lead by the slimmest of margins after game 1.

2nd Leg matches are next week. And then we will be down to just 4.

Quarterfinals Schedule/Results:
Leg 1
-Wed Apr 12
Dortmund 2-3 Monaco
Bayern 1-2 Real Madrid
Atletico 1-0 Leicester
Leg 2
-Tue Apr 18
Real Madrid v Bayern (2-1)
Leicester v Atletico (0-1)
-Wed Apr 19
Barcelona v Juventus (0-3)
Monaco v Dortmund (3-2)

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED
Going back to the tape on Loons game at Dallas. Trying to sort it all out. By Jeff Rueter for Fifty Five One.

Centerback Joe Greenspan made his first start for Pittsburgh, he is there on loan from Minn, going 90 minutes but losing 1-2 v Saint Louis.

Schedule/Results:
-Sat Apr 15
Houston Dynamo v Minnesota - 7:30pm CT on My29 in Twin Cities.

How has Houston performed at home this season:
(HINT: almost perfectly.)

• Mar 4 Win - 2-1 v Seattle
• Mar 11 Win - 3-1 v Columbus
• Apr 1 Win - 4-1 Red Bulls
• The players who scored against them are 3 of the best in the league: Clint Dempsy, Ola Kamara and Bradley Wright Phillps.
• Erick Torres has scored 5 home goals, and at least 1 in each of the 3 home games.
• Houston has made only 4 changes to its starting lineup over the 3 home games.

dN

Funny Business: du Nord Music Mix Vol 119 (download + extract)

dN

It really happened! Didier Drogba has signed to play for Phoenix in the USL. Seriously:

Can confirm...
.
.
.
.
.
The legend @didierdrogba is coming. https://t.co/YUPv5WRbNc
#RisingAsOne #Drogba2PHX #RaiseYourGame" pic.twitter.com/NPrBpBph2A

— Phoenix Rising FC (@PHXRisingFC) April 12, 2017

dN

MLS

As if Fanedno Adi of Portland wasn't already enough of a menace to defenses, he is still getting better. By Matt Pentz for Four Four Two.

Andrea Pirlo - good or bad for NYC? By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

John Thorrington who is leading the building of the LAFC team, is yet another former player who has moved into management to come from the Alex Ferguson tree. Will Ferrell story too. By Chris Young for the Guardian.

Week 7 Schedule/Results:
-Fri Apr 14
Philadelphia Union v New York City - 6pm CT on ESPN
Vancouver Whitecaps v Seattle Sounders
San Jose Earthquakes v Dallas - 10pm CT on UniMas
-Sat Apr 15
Montreal Impact v Atlanta United
Orlando City v LA Galaxy - 1:30pm CT on FOX
Chicago Fire v New England Revolution
New York Red Bulls v DC United
Columbus Crew v Toronto
Houston Dynamo v Minnesota United - 7:3opm CT on My29
Colorado Rapids v Real Salt Lake
Portland Timbers v Sporting Kansas City

dN

The Miguel Herrera + Several Americans + Tijuana Tracker:

• Results - Wed Apr 12 Won 0-1 at Queretaro
• Note - A much needed win. Joe Corona (58 min) and Paul Arriola (full 90) both started. Micahel Orozco is out injured
• Standings - with 4 games left they are still in 4th place, 3 points behind 1st
• Up Next - Sat Apr 15 at Chiapas

The Bird Is The Word