Some Soccer News for Aug 7, 2017

It's Day 219 of 2017.


The Dutch have won the UEFA Women's Championship. Huge congrats to them.

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A great explanation (and example) of how/why/when the VAR can work and be very useful. By Doug Marshak for Fifty Five One.

• Marshak is the Minnesota State Director of Referee Instruction.

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MLS Hot Teams List as of Mon Aug 7, 2017:
(based strictly on results over last 5 weeks - no credit for prior or speculative results)

1. Seattle Sounders
2. New York Red Bulls
3. Atlanta United
4. Vancouver Whitecaps
5. Dallas
6. San Jose Earthquakes
7. Portland Timbers
8. New York City
9. Philadelphia Union
10. Chicago Fire
11. Montreal Impact
12. Toronto
13. Houston Dynamo
14. Real Salt Lake
15. New England Revolution
16. Columbus Crew
17. Sporting Kansas City
18. Colorado Rapids
19. Minnesota United
20. Orlando City
21. LA Galaxy
22. DC United

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MINNESOTA UNITED

My MNUFC Notes:

• After a 4 win over DC last week the Loons fell into a dry well and lost 0-4 to Seattle.
• Two questions emerge; 1) Where did the team from the week before go to? And 2) How bad is DC?
• Game highlights [VIDEO] via Minnesota
• Game highlights [VIDEO] via Seattle
• In the first 20 minutes both teams had good energy and good scoring opportunities. The problem was that Seattle finished 2 of their 4 while Minnesota missed on all 3 of theirs with out forcing the keeper to make any saves.
• Overall it was pretty painful to watch.
• The Loons had a few chances, but only threatened the Seattle keeper 1 time - on a nice shot from Nicholson. On the 2nd Seattle goal one of the best headers of the ball in MLS history, Chad Marshall, is left completely unmarked at the back post, and of the best American goal scorers of all time, Clint Dempsey, runs completely free to the opposite post to head the crossed ball into the net. How is this possible?
• I could dissect all 4 Seattle goals pretty easily and show you what went wrong, but I am tired.
• Clint Dempsey had 2 goals. He is good.
• Jordan Morris is fast. He is good.
• Danladi had chances. But he is lacking the final pieces of the puzzle.
• Molino had chances. He can be a lazy player on too many occasions. One minute good, one minute bad.
• Nicholson had chances. The jury is out, but I doubt he is better than what they already had on the roster.
• There was a good 15 minute period in the 2nd half with the score still 0-2 that Minnesota applied a ton of pressure in their offensive third. The only problem is that they only got off 1 decent shot in that time and the Seattle keeper made a strong save. Otherwise the Loons looked unprepared to breakdown the opponent. There looked to be no apparent philosophy, strategy or plan.
• Heath appears to not enjoy the play of Ibarra. He took him off in the 68th minute with team down 2. Five minutes later they were down 4.
• Heath made that change, bringing on JVenegas, looking for an immediate difference. He got it - no more defense from his midfield. Instant shit.
• Taylor must be sitting on the Minn bench wondering what he did wrong? "Boxall gets the start over me?"
• Taylor had a solid Gold Cup starting every game at centerback for Jamaica who went to the Final, but he returns home to [whisper] NOTHING.
• JVenegas. Wow, were his 22 minutes on the field worthless or what?
• Calvo was OK.
• Thiesson got burned more than once. Get some sleep Jerry.
• Jome. Yeah.
• Ibson cannot be allowed to take any more set pieces. Its a waste of time.
• Cronin. Did he play?
• Ibarra. Back to too much chicken with his head chopped off. Hustle it one thing. Running for no reason is another.
• No one in the league got beat worse than Minn's 0-4 at home. Only New England also gave up for goals, but they scored 1 and were on the road.
• The two biggest home crowds of the season have produced losses of 1-6 and 0-4. WTF? Maybe they should play in front of much smaller crowds.
• But calling the game a sellout is pretty lame. Selling out the lower bowl is great. Only the 2nd time its happened in 14 games. But at 22,000 in attendance its only 44% of the stadium capacity.

Results:
-Sat Aug 5
Minnesota 0-4 Seattle

A little more clarity on why those U of M logos are on the United field most of the time. By Andy Greder for the Pioneer Press.

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MLS

Diego Valeri of Portland is a special player and a special person in many ways. By Matt Pentz for ESPNFC.

The leagues assessment of how VAR went in its first week of use. From MLS.

There are only 2 teams averaging less than 1 point per game: DC at 0.83 and Minn at 0.96.

Media:

• A breakdown of all the weeks games. By Matt Doyle for MLS.
• The best XI of the week. By Alexander Abnos for Sports Illustrated.

My MLS Notes:

• VAR made its debut and canceled two goals that should have been canceled. 2 for 2. Perfect. Thank you very much.

-A review of how VAR worked, the back story, and the potential. By Graham Ruthven for the Guardian.

• David Villa - just a hat trick over the rivals. His first MLS hat trick too. He is good.
• Dallas is in a bit of stumble bum mode. Diaz is not the same as before. Zimmerman is out. Acosta wants out. That's not a good combo for success.
• Chicago has all the pieces working - talented players all over the field. So impressive after the past 6 years.

Week 22 Schedule:
(11 games)
-Sat Aug 5
DC 1-1 Toronto
Philadelphia 3-1 Dallas
Montreal 2-1 Orlando
Minnesota 0-4 Seattle
Chicago 4-1 New England
Colorado 2-2 Vancouver
Salt Lake 0-0 Houston
San Jose 2-1 Columbus
-Sun Aug 6
Portland 3-1 LA
NYC 3-2 NYRB
KC 1-1 Atlanta

36 goals in 11 games = 3.3 gpg.

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USMNT

With the next World Cup qualifier 25 days away (Sep 1 v Costa Rica) the USA fullback corp is in trouble. By Paul Kennedy for Soccer America.

What are Bruce Arena's plans for the 2 big qualifiers headed his way? By Steven Goff for the Washington Post.

A Q + A with Steve Cherundolo! He is currently the U17 coach at his his long time club Hannover. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

• Cherundolo does a great job of describing what makes Bruce Arena a successful head coach.

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Abdoulaye Diakite of Edmonton named NASL Player Of The Week

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AMERICANS ABROAD

Tijuana with Paul Arriola, Michael Orozco, Joe Corona and Ale Guido all getting regular minuets has started the new season with 3 straight losses. New coach Eduardo Coudet will soon be in deep deep trouble if things don't change.

Omar Gonzaelez and Pachuca aren't looking any better at 3 losses in 3 games in Liga MX.

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GUARDIAN 2017-18 PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM PREVIEWS:

• Manchester United
• Manchester City
• Liverpool
• Liecester City
• Huddersfield
• Everton
• Crystal Palace
• Chelsea.
• Brighton + Hove Albion
• Burnley
• Bournemouth
• Arsenal

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All of my columns for 1500ESPN.



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