Some Soccer News for Sep 29, 2017

It's Day 272 of 2017.


Maybe this hasn't sunk in yet - Chicago Fire are in the MLS playoffs with several games to spare.

• 2017 - currently in 4th place, already clinched playoff berth
• 2016 - 20th place, dead last
• 2015 - 20th place, dead last
• 2014 - 15th place
• 2013 - 12th place
• 2012 - 6th place, and last time they were in playoffs

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USMNT WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Are you starting to feel nervous? A week from today its USMNT v Panama in a very crucial World Cup qualifier. Its a MUST-WIN game.

Schedule:
-Fri Oct 6
USA v Panama - 6pm CT on ESPN2
Orlando City Stadium, Orlando
-Tue Oct 11
Trinidad + Tobago v USA - 7pm CT on beIN
Ato Boldon Stadium - Couva

The USA will probably announce their team roster on Sunday.

• Panama and the final opponent Trinidad + Tobago have already announced theirs.

T+T Roster

• G: Adrian Foncette - Police, Greg Ranjitsingh - Louisville City, Glenroy Samuel - Morvant Caledonia United
• D: Daneil Cyrus - Juticalpa, Kevan George - Jacksonville Armada, Curtis Gonzales - Defence Force, Triston Hodge - DirecTV W Connection, Alvin Jones - DirecTV W Connection, Josiah Trimmingham - Club Sando, Kevon Villaroel - North East Stars, Mekeil Williams - Colorado Rapids
• M: Neil Benjamin Jr. - DirecTV W Connection), Levi Garcia - Alkmaar Zaanstreek, Khaleem Hyland - Al-Faisaly Harmah, Joevin Jones - Seattle Sounders, Jared London - Club Sando, Kevin Molino - Minnesota United, Nathan Lewis - San Juan Jabloteh, Leston Paul - Pasaquina, Kathon St. Hillaire - St. Ann's Rangers
• F: Trevin Caesar - Sacramento Republic, Akeem Roach - Vida, Shahdon Winchester - Murcielagos

Panama Roster

• G: Jose Calderon - Marathon, Jaime Penedo - Dynamo Bucharest
• D: Felipe Baloy - Municipal, Erick Davis - Dunajska Streda, Fidel Escobar - New York Red Bulls, Adolfo Machado - Houston Dynamo, Michael Murillo - New York Red Bulls, Luis Ovalle - Deportes Tolima, Roman Torres - Seattle Sounders, Jan Carlos Vargas - Tauro
• M: Edgar Barcenas - Tapachula, Ricardo Buitrago - Juan Aurich, Armando Cooper - Toronto, Anibal Godoy - San Jose Earthquakes, Gabriel Gomez - Atletico Bucaramanga, Jose Gonzalez - Arabe Unido, Alberto Quintero - Universitario
• F: Abdiel Arroyo - Danubio, Roberto Nurse - Zacatecas, Blas Perez - Municipal, Luis Tejada - Universitario, Gabriel Torres - Lausanna-Sport

A long interview with the head coach of the struggling Trinidad + Tobago team Dennis Lawrence. By Lasana Liburd for Wired 868.

• For several years now Liburd has been the best source for T + T news.
• Lawrence chose 10 players under the age of 24 with little international experience for this upcoming roster because he is planning for the future and wants to test them.

dN

There will be a feature story on Christian Pulisic this Sunday night on 60 minutes. From CBS.

Meet Christian Pulisic, the future of American soccer. #60Minutes, Sunday. #50yearsof60 pic.twitter.com/KvAY4TxF2A

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 28, 2017

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Frrriendz: du Nord Music Mix Vol 140 (download + extract)

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MINNESOTA UNITED

Houston is another beatable team for MNUFC. But not as likely as the last two.

The Dynamo are in a slump and this is possibly why. By Corey Roepken for the Houston Chronicle.

Some Houston Stats:

• 4 games in a row they have allowed 1st goal. (sounds familiar)
• 6 games in a row without a win - 3 loss + 3 tie (including 1 tie and 1 loss at home)
• Last 2 games in a row were ties
• 14 goals for Cubo Torres (5 of those goals from the penalty spot)
• 9 goals for Mauro Manotas
• 9 goals for Alberth Elis
• 5 goals for Romell Quioto
• (Yeah, they can score goals)
• 10 assists by Alex
• Other well known players: DaMarcus Beasley, Ricardo Clark, AJ DeLaGarza, Boniek Garcia

Kevin Molino has been named to the Trinidad + Tobago World Cup qualifying roster for games on Oct 6 and 11.

Molino has also delivered the best and most consistent free/corner kicks this season for the team.

Schedule:
-Sat Sep 30
Houston Dynamo v Minnesota United - 7:30pm CT on Fox 9+

MNUFC Academy schedule this weekend:
(All games at National Sports Center Grassbowl)
-Sat Sep 30

• U13 MNUFC v Columbus Crew U13 - 9:30am CT
• U14 MNUFC v Columbus Crew U14 - 11:30am CT

-Sun Oct 1

• U13 MNUFC v Internationals U13 (from South of Cleveland) - 9:00am CT
• U14 MNUFC v Internationals U14 - 11:00am CT

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MLS

Ignacio Piatti has signed a new contract with Montreal Impact. Great move for the team.

Patrice Bernier of Montreal has announced that this will be his last season. He has been a very steady leader and sneaky-good player for the Impact.

Paul Arriolo is very happy that he signed with DC United and is excited about the future. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

Another team besides Chicago that has turned it around this season is Real Salt Lake. Although they still need to qualify for the playoffs to cement the comeback. By Maddie Lee for the Salt Lake Tribune.

Week 30 Schedule:
(19 games)
-Wed Sep 27
Atlanta 3-0 Philadelphia
Montreal 0-1 New York City
New York RB 3-3 DC
Orlando 6-1 New England
Dallas 2-0 Colorado
Houston 3-3 LA
San Jose 1-4 Chicago
Seattle 3-0 Vancouver
-Sat Sep 30
Orlando v Dallas - 3pm CT on Univision
Toronto v New York RB
Columbus v DC
New England v Atlanta
Chicago v New York City
Houston v Minnesota
Colorado v Montreal
Kansas City v Vancouver
LA v Salt Lake
San Jose v Portland
-Sun Oct 1
Philadelphia v Seattle - 12pmCT on ESPN

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MLS PLAYOFF CERTAINTIES

• IN EAST (4 of 6) - Toronto, New York City, Atlanta, Chicago
• OUT EAST (1 of 5) - DC
• IN WEST (0 of 6) - (none)
• OUT WEST (2 of 5) - Colorado, LA

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NWSL PLAYOFFS

Seeding:
49 North Carolina (#1 seed)
44 Portland (#2 seed)
39 Chicago (3 or 4 seed)
37 Orlando (3 or 4 seed)

Final Round of Regular Season Schedule:
-Sat Sep 30
Portland v Chicago
North Carolina v Orlando

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US SOCCER

An interview with Tab Ramos, USMNT U20 head coach and US Soccer mens development director. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

• Who are some of the emerging stars for USMNT? By Sciaretta.

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BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES:

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

If I was forced to pick just one: Huddersfield v Tottenham

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Sep 29
Monaco v Montpellier
Schalke v Leverkusen
-Sat Sep 30
Chelsea v Manchester City
Leganes v Atletico Madrid
Augsburg v Dortmund
Manchester United v Crystal Palace
PSG v Bordeaux
Huddersfield v Tottenham
-Sun Oct 1
Barcelona v Las Palmas
Real Madrid v Espanyol
Atalanta v Juventus
Hertha v Bayern
Milan v Roma
Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion
Newcastle v Liverpool
Benevento v Inter
Nice v Marseille
Napoli v Cagliari



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 28, 2017

It's Day 271 of 2017.


#UnitedForEachOther The 5 TV networks that simulcast Liga MX games in the USA on Tue and Wed raised over $1 Million in donations. Fantastic.

• Red Cross.

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FOX is laying out their plans for broadcasting the World Cup from Russia next summer. By Jonathan Tannenwald for Philly.com.

• More than half the games will be shown live on FOX. The rest on FS1.
• The #1 team of game broadcasters will be John Strong, Stuart Holden and Landon Donovan.

dN

Frrriendz: du Nord Music Mix Vol 140 (download + extract)

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MLS PLAYOFF CERTAINTIES

• IN EAST: (4 of 6) - Toronto, New York City, Atlanta, Chicago
• OUT EAST: (1 of 5) - DC
• IN WEST: (0 of 6) - (none)
• OUT WEST: (2 of 5) - Colorado, LA

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MINNESOTA UNITED

The coach says the players still have a lot of responsibility in the remaining games. Yes they do, their jobs and his. By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

Sam Cronin who has been dealing with a concussion for a few weeks now is still not practicing with the team. Thanks to Andy Greder for that info.

Joe Greenspan has been loaned back to Pittsburgh for 1 game, will be back with Minn for 2 games, and then head back to Pittsburgh one last time before season ends.

Schedule:
-Sat Sep 30
Houston Dynamo v Minnesota United - 7:30pm CT on Fox 9+

MNUFC Academy schedule:
(All games at National Sports Center Grassbowl)
-Sat Sep 30
U13 MNUFC v Columbus Crew U13 - 9:30am CT
U14 MNUFC v Columbus Crew U14 - 11:30am CT
-Sun Oct 1
U13 MNUFC v Internationals U13 (from South of Cleveland) - 9:00am CT
U14 MNUFC v Internationals U14 - 11:00am CT

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MLS

Colorado forward Kevin Doyle retired today due to repeated concussions and worrying about his future health.

MY MLS Notes:

• A big night on Wednesday for playoff implications.
• Both Atlanta and Chicago clinched playoff berths on Wednesday night.
• New England got absolutely smoked 6-1 at Orlando. Brutal.
• New England is the only team in the league without a road win this season.
• You know what though - KC only has 2 road wins this season. Not very good for a team that wants to be a contender.
• Atlanta is a joy to watch. Their supporters must be nearing rapture.
• But Atlanta's dominance is a bit of a foggy situation. In the past 16 games they have only played 2 teams in current playoff contention. (Beaten Columbus twice. Tied Kansas City.)
• Dallas won for the 1st time in 11 games.

A player truly on the rise is RBNY's Tyler Adams. He still lives with mom and dad. By Noah Davis for ESPNFC.

• I have watched entire Red Bulls games just to watch Adams. He was their best player in the Open Cup Final.
• And on Wednesday he went out and scored 2 goals.

Armchair Analyst - special Wednesday match recap edition. By Matt Doyle for MLS.

Current estimates have DC United playing the first 1/3 of next season on the road. That can't be good. Minnesota needs to avoid that in 2019.

Toronto has lost some of their glitzy glimmer in the past few weeks - Here are 10 questions the team must answer headed to the playoffs. By Kurt Larson for Toronto Sun.

NYCFC desperately needs to get out of Yankee Stadium - here is their latest attempt. By Andrew Das for the New York Times.

Sigi Schmid plans for rebuilding the Galaxy. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

• This is assuming he has a job. The whole management team could be gone soon.

Does Seattle have what it takes to repeat as MLS Cup champs? By Matt Pentz for ESPNFC.

Week 30 Schedule:
(19 games)
-Wed Sep 27
Atlanta 3-0 Philadelphia
Montreal 0-1 New York City
New York RB 3-3 DC
Orlando 6-1 New England
Dallas 2-0 Colorado
Houston 3-3 LA
San Jose 1-4 Chicago
Seattle 3-0 Vancouver
-Sat Sep 30
Orlando v Dallas - 3pm CT on Univision
Toronto v New York RB
Columbus v DC
New England v Atlanta
Chicago v New York City
Houston v Minnesota
Colorado v Montreal
Kansas City v Vancouver
LA v Salt Lake
San Jose v Portland
-Sun Oct 1
Philadelphia v Seattle - 12pmCT on ESPN

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NWSL PLAYOFFS

In an odd twist, the 4 teams who are qualified for the plays will be matched up against each other in the final round of the regular season on Saturday.

Seeding:
49 North Carolina (#1 seed)
44 Portland (#2 seed)
39 Chicago (3 or 4 seed)
37 Orlando (3 or 4 seed)

Last Games Of Regular Season Schedule:
-Wed Sep 27
Houston 0-4 North Carolina
-Sat Sep 30
Portland v Chicago
North Carolina v Orlando

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NASL

The attorney for NASL is an infamous lawyer who goes after sports leagues. Here is his plan. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

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USMNT WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Jimmy Conrad gives his 2 cents on what its going to take for the USMNT to qualify. From FIFA.

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BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES:

Bayern has fired coach Carlo Ancelotti after getting beaten badly by PSG in the Champions League yesterday.

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Sep 29
Monaco v Montpellier
Schalke v Leverkusen
-Sat Sep 30
Chelsea v Manchester City
Leganes v Atletico Madrid
Augsburg v Dortmund
Manchester United v Crystal Palace
PSG v Bordeaux
Sevilla v v Malaga
Huddersfield v Tottenham
-Sun Oct 1
Barcelona v Las Palmas
Real Madrid v Espanyol
Atalanta v Juventus
Hertha v Bayern
Milan v Roma
Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion
Newcastle v Liverpool
Benevento v Inter
Angers v Lyon
Nice v Marseille
Napoli v Cagliari



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 27, 2017

It's Day 270 of 2017.


I'm going to the LA Galaxy v Minnesota United game on Sun Oct 15. If you want to join us in the special MNUFC section hurry up and get your tix cuz sales of them ends on Oct 1.

dN

I get more upset by the day when I see what is happening to the great people in Puerto Rico!

• The clowns who run our government are literally doing everything they can to slow down all aid.
• Not allowing foreign ships to dock.
• Not allowing our politicians to go to PR to help.
• Openly criticizing Puerto Rican politicians for the way they do business. ("You owe money to Wall Street! How do you plan to pay that back?") Who gives a shit right now!

Please give if you can: Hurricane Maria Community Recovery Fund

dN

Today 2 more Liga MX games will be simulcast in English and Spanish on 7 channels to raise money for Earthquake relief efforts in Mexico City.

TV Networks:
UniMas
ESPNEWS
ESPN Deportes
Fox Deportes
Univision Deportes
Azteca America

Schedule:
-Wed Sep 27
Leon v America at 7:00pm CT
Pachuca v Cruz Azul - 9:00pm

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

For a team that is in 19th place, with no chance at the playoffs (yeah yeah yeah, there is a mathematical chance, but get real), struggling all year to win a few games, making some horrible roster decisions, and at times playing really uninspired soccer (on a home field is a major eye sore), there is a stunning amount of positity in the air. Fans are excited. Fans are showing up to games in bigger numbers every home game. The general outlook of the whole thing is impressing other fans and pundits across the league. Impressive. Even to this majorly cynical mind.

Schedule:
-Sat Sep 30
Houston Dynamo v Minnesota United - 7:30pm CT on Fox 9+

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MLS

Even the worst teams in MLS have some pretty great players. By Scott French for Four Four Two.

So the Galaxy have 1 bad year and lots of people stop going to games? Seriously? Support your team? The people who always go, win or lose, and the best of the best.

Almost every game tonight has playoff consequences!

Week 30 Schedule:
(19 games)
-Wed Sep 27
Atlanta v Philadelphia
Montreal v New York City
New York RB v DC
Orlando v New England
Dallas v Colorado
Houston v LA
San Jose v Chicago
Seattle v Vancouver
-Sat Sep 30
Orlando v Dallas - 3pm CT on Univision
Toronto v New York RB
Columbus v DC
New England v Atlanta
Chicago v New York City
Houston v Minnesota
Colorado v Montreal
Kansas City v Vancouver
LA v Salt Lake
San Jose v Portland
-Sun Oct 1
Philadelphia v Seattle - 12pmCT on ESPN

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NWSL PLAYOFFS

A win for NC tonight secures them the #1 seed.

Battle for Seeding:
46 North Carolina (1 or 2 seed)
44 Portland (1 or 2 seed)
39 Chicago (3 or 4 seed)
37 Orlando (3 or 4 seed)
Regular Season Schedule:
-Wed Sep 27
Houston v North Carolina
-Sat Sep 30
Portland v Chicago
North Carolina v Orlando

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US SOCCER

Bruce Arena says we should not expect any surprises in his next roster for World Cup qualifying. By Ives Galarcep for Goal.

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AMERICANS ABROAD

Weston McKennie has signed a new contract with Schalke.

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - GROUP STAGE
PSG makes their mark! And Chelsea wins on the road. Barca & Juve did exactly as expected.

Matchday 2 - Big Game Schedule:
-Wed Sep 27
PSG v Bayern
Atleti v Chelsea
Sporting v Barcelona
Juventus v Olympiakos



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 26, 2017

It's Day 269 of 2017.


Please help our friends in Puerto Rico! Our insanely fucked up government is stalling.
Give if you can: Hurricane Maria Community Recovery Fund

dN

On TV Today + Tomorrow:
5 Liga MX games simulcast in English and Spanish on 7 channels.
To raise money for Earthquake relief efforts in Mexico City.

TV Networks:

• UniMas
• ESPNEWS
• ESPN Deportes
• Fox Deportes
• Univision Deportes
• Azteca America

Schedule:
(I have seen 3 different listings for these games, so don't kill me if this is wrong.)
-Tue Sep 26
Chivas v Lobos BUAP - 7:00pm CT
Veracruz v Morelia - 9:00 CT
Tijuana v Tigres - 11:00 CT
-Wed Sep 27
Leon v America at 7:00pm CT
Pachuca v Cruz Azul - 9:00pm CT

dN

When Decibel Bellini takes the to the mic at Napoli's Stadio San Paolo you know it, you hear it and you feel it. By Rory Smith for the New York Times.

• Gon! Za! Lo! - Hi! Gua! In!

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MINNESOTA UNITED

Abu Danladi has scored his 7 goals in 6 MLS games this season.

• In those 6 games Minnesota has won ALL of them. (Minn has 9 wins total.)
• In those 6 wins Danladi has scored the game winner in FOUR of them:

Sep 17 at Montreal
Aug 27 at Chicago
Jun 22 v Portland
May 07 v Kansas City

Is goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth having the best season of his pro career? He is certainly enjoying it. By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

A breakdown in the subtly changing MNUFC tactics. By Alex Scheiferdecker for Fifty Five One.

Schedule:
-Sat Sep 30
Houston Dynamo v Minnesota United - 7:30pm CT on Fox 9+

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MLS

You Know It, You Love It - Weekly MLS Awards. [VIDEO] By Alejandro Moreno for ESPNFC.

More sensible raving for SKC coach Peter Vermes. By Steve Davis for Four Four Two.

Week 30 Schedule:
-Wed Sep 27
Atlanta v Philadelphia
Montreal v New York City
New York RB v DC
Orlando v New England
Dallas v Colorado
Houston v LA
San Jose v Chicago
Seattle v Vancouver

dN

• Devon Sandoval of San Francisco Deltas named NASL Player Of The Week
• Patrick Mullins of DC United named MLS Player Of The Week
• Lindo Mfeka of Reno 1868 named USL Player Of The Week
• Adriana Leon of Boston Breakers named NWSL player Of The Week

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NWSL PLAYOFF PUSH

Four playoff teams are set - but seeding is not complete.

Standings:
46 North Carolina (1 or 2 seed)
44 Portland (1 or 2 seed)
39 Chicago (3 or 4 seed)
37 Orlando (3 or 4 seed)

Regular Season Remaining Schedule:
-Wed Sep 27
Houston v North Carolina
-Sat Sep 30
Portland v Chicago
North Carolina v Orlando

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US SOCCER

Interview with USMNT U17 head coach John Hackworth who's team begins World Cup play on Oct 6 in India. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

Eric Wynaldo is considering taking a run at Sunil Gulati's job - President of US Soccer. By Matthew Hall for the Guardian.

• Should he? Why the fuck not.

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AMERICANS ABROAD

Which American's are cookin' and which one's are floatin'. By Arch Bell for ESPNFC.

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - GROUP STAGE
Christian Pulisic did not enter the game until late for Dortmund, and they didn't have nearly enough to compete with Real Madrid.

Matchday 2 - Big Game Schedule:
-Tue Sep 26
Dortmund 1-3 Real Madrid
Man City 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
-Wed Sep 27
PSG v Bayern
Atleti v Chelsea
Sporting v Barcelona
Juventus v Olympiakos



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 25, 2017

It's Day 268 of 2017.


Puerto Rico is in dire need. Please give if you can: Hurricane Maria Community Recovery Fund

dN

The owners of the New England Revolution, Robert + Jonathan Kraft, continue to embarrass their fans, their players, the league, and all of American soccer, with their horrific looking and playing field, their lack of any real plan to build for the future (no stadium, no plan for a stadium, no real academy, no youth movement) and no management team worth its salt. The league needs to put some pressure on the free loading Kraft's. They stink to high heaven.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

For the first time in MLS the Loons have won 2 games in a row.

And it sounds like there has been an airing of grievances and a resolution inside the club for Miguel Ibarra. By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

MNUFC announced late Sunday night that they had fired goalkeeping coach Marius Rovde who the hired away from Vancouver last winter. The team gave no indication as to why the coach was fired.

Results:
-Sat Sep 23
Minnesota 4-1 Dallas

My MNUFC Notes:

• Game highlights [VIDEO]
• Match report. By Andy Greder for the Pioneer Press.
• The stadium was very boisterous again. That sure makes it fun being in the stands.
• The game was a lot closer than the scoreline would indicate.
• First 20+ minutes of each half were completely dominated by Dallas.
• And like in so many games this season (See below) Minn have up an early goal - this time in the 14th min, after a 9th min goal was for Dallas was waved off due to interfering with the goalkeeper.
• The biggest moment of the game happened in the 68th min when Shuttleworth saved a PK by Mauro Diaz. Minn was on their heals at that moment and it seemed like Dallas was about to tie the game at 2-2. Jeebus makes the save and 2 minutes later Finlay scored for Minn to make it 3-1 - game over:

Bobby! #MINvDAL https://t.co/5P4O9eweGD

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 24, 2017

• Ramirez with big offensive contributions - 1 goal and 2 assists.
• The interplay with Ibson, Ramirez and Ibarra for goal #2 was exactly what was starting to happen 2+ years ago when Minn sold Ibarra to Leon.
• Watch this clip about 5 times and look at the run Ibarra makes - it start with him nearing the middle of the field headed back toward his own goal:

Does anything beat a first time volley?

2-1 @MNUFC #MINvDAL https://t.co/EIk3cZAYmL

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 24, 2017

• Dallas defender Maynor Figueroa is one the leagues top HACKS! Watch him fake an injury when he gets torched by Danladi for goal #4. Yes, he faked it:

There it is.

Danladi makes it four for @MNUFC. #MINvDAL https://t.co/5lloypAVKB

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 24, 2017

• Finlay has scored 3 goals since his trade from Columbus.
• Thiesson is becoming more and more prone to guys sliding past him to the back post - his partnership with Boxall is not a good one.
• Martin was lucky to stay on the field after getting a yellow and committing a foul for the PK.
• Good game: Shuttleworth, Ibson, Finlay, Ibarra, Ramirez, Danladi
• OK game: Boxall, Calvo, Molino, Warner, JVenegas
• Bad game: Thiesson, Burch, Martin
• This game was only the 3rd time the Loons have lead at halftime all year.
• Last 5 games the Loons have 3 wins, 1 tie and 1 loss.
• If they had done even halfway decent in the summer when they played 7 out of 8 games at home they could be a legit playoff hopeful. Instead they are dead and buried no matter what anyone says. In that time they earned just 8 of 21 points. (2 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses.) Damn.

Schedule:
-Sat Sep 30
Houston Dynamo v Minnesota

Minn has given up a ton of early goals this season - a trait that started in game 1 and continues to this day:
14th min - Dallas
9th min - Montreal
9th min - Vancouver
5th min - Philadelphia
10th min - Seattle
16th min - Red Bulls
17th min - Vancouver
14th min - Houston
4th min - Salt Lake
4th min - New England
18th min - Colorado
3th min + 13th min - Atlanta
14th min - Portland

Academy teams went to Chicago to take on Sockers last weekend:
U13: Sockers 3-3 MNUFC
U14: Sockers 5-0 MNUFC
-Another road trip without their first win at either age level.

New Loons CEO Chris Wright did an interview with Ian Thomas‏ for SportsBusiness Journal - but its behind a pay wall which I can't access. Here's the link if you have a subscription.

• Thomas did post this on Twitter though:

New @MNUFC CEO Chris Wright said org is interested in owning a club in NWSL, but only after USL/reserve & academy teams are developed.

— Ian Thomas (@byIanThomas) September 25, 2017

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MLS

My MLS Notes:

• DC and San Jose were scoreless at the half - then Patrick Mullins went nuts, scoring all 4 DC goals! 57th min, 60th min, 68th min and 88th min. Incredible.
• NYCFC only tied but still clinched a spot in the playoffs.
• Diego Valeri has now scored in 9 games in a row!! He got 2 in the Portland win. He is now the 1st midfielder in MLS history with 20 goals in a season. And he also leads the Golden Boot race too.
• Atlanta has won 4 of the past 5, they tied that one and gave up the only 3 goals of the 5 game run. The 4 wins have a combined score of 16-0.
• Of all the team currently in the playoff positions the most shocking to me is Salt Lake. Bringing Mike Petke in as head coach sure changed their previously miserable fortunes. They are looking like a lock yet though.
• Since Red Bulls beat Cincinnati in the Open Cup Semifinals on Aug 15 they haven't won another game.
• Toronto keeps resting guys and losing - 2 in a row.

Armchair Analyst for Week 29. By Matt Doyle for MLS.

The MLS XI for Week 29. By Avi Creditor for Sports Illustrated.

Week 29 Schedule:
(13 games)
-Wed Sep 20
Atlanta 4-0 LA
Toronto 3-5 Montreal
-Sat Sep 23
New York City 1-1 Houston
New England 2-1 Toronto
DC 4-0 San Jose
Philadelphia 3-1 Chicago
Columbus 3-2 New York RB
Minnesota 4-1 Dallas
Salt Lake 2-0 Seattle
Vancouver 2-1 Colorado
-Sun Sep 24
Kansas City 2-1 LA
Atlanta 2-0 Montreal
Portland 3-0 Orlando

48 goals in 13 games = 3.7 goals per game.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

USMNT World Cup qualifying roster watch from the weekend:

• Geoff Cameron - out with hamstring
• Timmy Chandler - played 90 minutes
• Ethan Horvath - played 90 minutes
• Fab Johnson - played 72 minutes
• Eric Lichaj - on the bench
• Matt Miazga - played 90 minutes
• Christian Pulisic - played 64 minutes
• Tim Ream - played 90 minutes
• Bobby Wood - played 90 minutes
• DeAndre Yedlin - played 90 minutes

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES:

4 of the big teams lost (Schalke, Sevilla, Milan + Monchengladbach), and 3 got ties (Bayern, PSG + Lyon). That leaves 15 big team winners.

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Sep 22
Bayern 2-2 Wolfsburg
-Sat Sep 23
Alaves 1-2 Real Madrid
Girona 0-3 Barcelona
Juventus 4-0 Torino - The Turin derby
Manchester City 5-0 Crystal Palace
Southampton 0-1 Manchester United
Dortmund 6-1 Monchengladbach
Stoke 0-4 Chelsea
Roma 3-1 Udinese
Montpellier 0-0 PSG
West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
SPAL 2-3 Napoli
Hoffenheim 2-0 Schalke
Leicester 2-3 Liverpool
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Sevilla
Lyon 3-3 Dijon
-Sun Sep 24
Sampdoria 2-0 Milan
Inter 1-0 Genoa
Marseille 2-0 Toulouse
-Mon Sep 25
Arsenal 2-0 West Brom



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 22, 2017

It's Day 265 of 2017.


Puerto Rico needs our help badly. The damage from Hurricane Maria is extreme.

• I asked for suggestions on where to donate money and this is the consensus choice: Hurricane Maria Community Recovery Fund.
• Thank you to Rafael, Javier and Paul for helping us find this fund.

dN

The Mexican football league -LIGA MX - has suspended all games until further notice.
The earthquake in the country is so devastating that no one has soccer on their mind.

• Donations to the Brigada de Rescate fund are very appreciated.
• Thanks to Pancho Villa's Army for the suggestion of this fund.

dN

UEFA will do away with ALL international friendlies start in 2018 after the World Cup. Any open dates on the FIFA national team's calendar will be filled with a European tournament called The Nations League. No more friendlies against European opponents for the rest of the world.

• Here is what the "league" will look like.
• These games will have NOTHING to do with Euro Championship (or qualifying) or World Cup (or qualifying.)

dN

After several years of underwhelming, unexciting or even poor teams is Jose Mourinho and his Manchester United back to his old high quality ways? By Jonathan Wilson for the Guardian.

• No matter what he does or says you won't ever get to me to say anything bad about Mourinho. I think the guys in brilliant.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

People are finally catching on to what I have been saying for over 3 years - Ibson is really freakin good. By Andy Greder for the Pioneer Press.
The Loons have built a solid fan base in Year One. By Chip Scoggins for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Saturday's opponent Dallas has been baaaaaaaaaaaaaad for the past 2 months. What is going on with a team that most predicted would be great this season? By Peter Welpton for Dallas Sports Day.

Dallas stats:

• Have not won in past 9 games going back to July 22. 5 losses and 4 ties.
• 7 scored in that time.
• 19 allowed in that time.
• Last game was 0-0 tie at home against Seattle on Sep 16. At least they got a good game from their defense.
• Maxi Urruti has 12 goals
• Roland Lamah has 8 goals
• Jesse Gonzalez is their prodigy goalkeeper
• Kelyn Acosta is their prodigy midfielder
• Since Acosta, Uruti and Michael Barrios were denied Summer transfers this team hasn't been the same.

Schedule:
-Sat Sep 23
Minnesota v Dallas

The MNUFC Academy teams travel to Chicago to take on Sockers next weekend.

dN

Curious: du Nord Music Mix Vol 139 (download + extract)

dN

MLS

If New England wants to step up their game and hire a head coach that isn't coming out of the same pile so many teams in MLS pick from then here are some interesting ideas. By Steve Davis for Four Four Two.

Week 29 Schedule:
(13 games)
-Wed Sep 20
Atlanta 4-0 LA
Toronto 3-5 Montreal
-Sat Sep 23
New York City v Houston
New England v Toronto
DC v San Jose
Philadelphia v Chicago
Columbus v New York RB
Minnesota v Dallas
Salt Lake v Seattle
Vancouver v Colorado
-Sun Sep 24
Kansas City v LA - 1pm CT on FOX
Atlanta v Montreal
Portland v Orlando - 7pm CT on FS1

dN

COPA LIBERTADORES

Wilstermann was a great story while it lasted but last night River Plate made sure there would be no return, winning 8-0!

• Lanus from Argentina advanced on PKS.

Quarterfinals Results:
Leg Two
-Thu Sep 21
River Plate (Arg) 8-0 Wilstermann (Bol) - RP advances 8-3 on aggregate
Lanus (Arg) 2-0 San Lorenzo (Arg) - series ends tied 2-2, Lan advances 4-3 in Penalty Kick Shootout
-Wed Sep 20
Santos (Bra) 0-1 Barcelona (Ecu) - Bar advances 2-1 on aggregate
Gremio (Bra) 1-0 Botafogo(Bra) - Gre advances 1-0 on aggregate

Semifinal Schedule:
-Dates TBA
River Plate v Lanus
Barcelona v Gremio

Final Schedule:
-Dates TBA
2 Semifinal Winners

dN

NASL

My latest theory: Could it be possible that the rebirth of the NASL originated with Traffic & Aaron Davidson who behind the scenes were looking for yet another entity to sell TV rights for and take more kickbacks.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Huddersfield has announced that Danny Williams suffered a broken foot. No word yet on how long he will be out of action.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES:

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Sep 22
Bayern v Wolfsburg
-Sat Sep 23
Alaves v Real Madrid
Girona v Barcelona
Juventus v Torino - The Turin derby
Manchester City v Crystal Palace
Southampton v Manchester United
Dortmund v Monchengladbach
Stoke v Chelsea
Roma v Udinese
Montpellier v PSG
West Ham v Tottenham
SPAL v Napoli
Hoffenheim v Schalke
Leicester v Liverpool
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla
Lyon v Dijon
-Sun Sep 24
Sampdoria v Milan
Inter v Genoa
Marseille v Toulouse
-Mon Sep 25
Arsenal v West Brom



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 21, 2017

It's Day 264 of 2017.


It is BAD in Puerto Rico. And they aren't getting nearly the love Texas and Florida got. Fellow Americans, you do know this is a USA Territory right?

• The damage from Hurricane Maria is extreme. From the New York Times.
• The island is 100% without power. 100%!
• Please help me find a great organization coming to the aid of Puerto Rico where I can direct donations.

dN

US Open Cup

Final Schedule:
-Wed Sep 20
Sporting Kansas City 2-1 Red Bull New York

KC won the Open Cup for the 4th time. Huge congrats to them!

Let's be honest though, that was not a very good game. Ugly hacking. Ugly diving. Ugly whining.

Happy for my friends in KC on another trophy. Its quite the accomplishment.

Sympathy for my friends in NY on losing another Final. Its hard to imagine the futility.

The trophies are starting to pile up. By Sam McDowel for the Kansas City Star.

No joy in Harrison, again. By Mark Cannizzaro for the New York Post.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Got a report from the team today: The MNUFC Academy teams played their 3rd and 4th games, and 1st ever on the road. The results were not as flattering as the first weekend at home, as it ended with 3 losses and 1 tie.
-U13
Crew SC Academy Wolves 2-1 MNUFC
Vardar 2-0 MNUFC
-U14
Crew SC Academy Wolves 2-2 MNUFC
Vardar 3-2 MNUFC

• They travel to Chicago to take on Sockers next weekend.

dN

Curious: du Nord Music Mix Vol 139 (download + extract)

dN

MLS

My MLS Notes:

• 12 goals scored in 2 games last night.
• Atlanta just clobbered the Galaxy.
• How bad is LA? They lost to Toronto at home last weekend with TFC leaving Altidore + Giovinco at home. Then last night Montreal beat TFC in Toronto, who was still without their 2 stars.
• How bad is LA pt 2? Seemed to me that Jermaine Jones kicked an Atlanta player just so he could get kicked out of the game. His wish was granted.
• How bad is LA pt 3? They were trailing Atlanta 4-0 at half time and Atlanta just pulled over the car over to the side of the road, shut the engine off, left the radio on, left all 4 doors and the trunk open, walked away, and LA still couldn't steal anything at all.
• Montreal got a huge win they desperately needed, over their big rival, and on the road. That is a triple threat victory.

Week 29 Schedule:
(13 games)
-Wed Sep 20
Atlanta 4-0 LA
Toronto 3-5 Montreal
-Sat Sep 23
New York City v Houston
New England v Toronto
DC v San Jose
Philadelphia v Chicago
Columbus v New York RB
Minnesota v Dallas
Salt Lake v Seattle
Vancouver v Colorado
-Sun Sep 24
Kansas City v LA - 1pm CT on FOX
Atlanta v Montreal
Portland v Orlando - 7pm CT on FS1

dN

COPA LIBERTADORES

Barcelona of Ecuador and Brazilain club Gremio move into the semi finals. -A review of the situation. By Tim Vickery for ESPNFC.

Quarterfinals Schedule:
Leg Two
-Wed Sep 20
Santos (Bra) 0-1 Barcelona (Ecu) (1-1)
Gremio (Bra) 1-0 Botafogo(Bra) (0-0)
-Thu Sep 21
River Plate (Arg) v Wilstermann (Bol) (0-3)
Lanus (Arg) v San Lorenzo (Arg) (0-2)

dN

USMNT

The U17 World Cup is 1 month away. And the USMNT announced their roster today:
USMNT U17 World Cup Roster:

• G: Alex Budnik - Sockers, Carlos Joaquim Dos Santos - SL Benfica, Justin Garces - Atlanta United
• D: Sergino Dest - Ajax, Christopher Gloster - New York Red Bulls, Jaylin Lindsey - Sporting Kansas City, James Sands - New York City, Tyler Shaver - New York City, Akil Watts - Portland Timbers
• M: George Acosta - North Carolina, Taylor Booth - Real Salt Lake, Christopher Durkin - DC United, Blaine Ferri - Solar, Chris Goslin - Atlanta United, Indiana Vassilev - Unattached
• F: Ayo Akinola - Toronto, Andrew Carleton - Atlanta United, Jacobo Reyes - Monterrey, Bryan Reynolds - Dallas, Joshua Sargent - St Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri, Tim Weah - Paris Saint-Germain
• C: John Hackworth

-17 of the 21 players are with pro academies or senior teams.

Group stage schedule:
-Oct 6
USA v India (host country) - 9:30am CT on FS2 + Universo
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium - New Delhi
-Oct 9
USA v Ghana - 6:30am CT on FS2 + Universo
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium - New Delhi
-Oct 12
USA v Colombia - 9:30am CT on FS2 + Universo
Dr. DY Patil Stadium - Navi Mumbai

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES:

Hoooo hoooo! Real Madrid has already lost 2 games in La Liga in just 5 played. They also lost their string of scoring in 73 consecutive games.

The other six favorites all won.

Mid week Schedule:
-Wed Sep 20
Real Madrid 0-1 Betis
Juventus 1-0 Fiorentina
Bilbao 1-2 Atletico Madrid
Benevento 0-4 Roma
Lazio 1-4 Napoli
Milan 2-0 SPAL
Sevilla 1-0 Las Palmas

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Sep 22
Bayern v Wolfsburg
-Sat Sep 23
Alaves v Real Madrid
Girona v Barcelona
Juventus v Torino - The Turin derby
Manchester City v Crystal Palace
Southampton v Manchester United
Dortmund v Monchengladbach
Stoke v Chelsea
Roma v Udinese
Montpellier v PSG
West Ham v Tottenham
SPAL v Napoli
Hoffenheim v Schalke
Leicester v Liverpool
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla
Lyon v Dijon
-Sun Sep 24
Sampdoria v Milan
Inter v Genoa
Marseille v Toulouse
-Mon Sep 25
Arsenal v West Brom



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 20, 2017

It's Day 263 of 2017.


Mother nature is really letting us know that we are messing with the wrong planet!

• I hope the best for everyone in Puerto Rico.
• And my heart is heavy for everyone in Mexico and CDMX.

dN

I want to express several truck loads of gratitude to Jim Oliver for everything he has done in leading and building Dark Clouds supporters group over the past 5-6 years.

• Jim's resignation as DCs President was announced today.
• Excited for new leadership to take it in the next direction. Support interim president Abe Opoti and his crew.

dN

US Open Cup

Sporting Kansas City goes for their 4th championship. By Sam McDowell for the Kansas City Star.

• SKC is going for their 7th major trophy tonight.
• The previous 3 have ended in PKs.
• KC has also won a Supporters Shield, an Open Cup and a MLS Cup as the Wizards.

Some feel this game might be the biggest in Red Bulls history. By Brian Lewis for the New York Post.

• Red Bull has won 2 Supporters Shields, but lost in their only appearances in MLS Cup and Open Cup Finals.

A comparison of the two challengers. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

Final Schedule:
-Wed Sep 20
Sporting Kansas City v Red Bull New York - 8pm CT on ESPN2

dN

du Nord MLS Hot Team Hot List Power Rankings:
(Based solely on science using the 5 previous games, with no bias for prior standing or projections - just results.)
(As of Tue Sep 20)
1 Toronto
2 Vancouver
3 Portland
4 Salt Lake
5 DC
6 Columbus
7 Atlanta
8 New York City
9 Chicago
10 Kansas City
11 San Jose
12 Minnesota
13 New England
14 Seattle
15 Orlando
16 Colorado
17 LA
18 Houston
19 Montreal
20 New York Red Bulls
21 Philadelphia
22 Dallas

dN

Yet another inquiry into FIFA and their corrupt ways. By Tariq Panja for the New York Times.

dN

17 year old American forward Josh Sargent from St Louis has signed with Werder Bremen. He will play for the USMNT U17s next month at the World Cup in India and then head for Germany.

• He is one of the most highly regarded American youth players of all time. And was the USMNT's top striker at the U20 World Cup earlier this year.

dN

This is the best breakdown I have read of the NASL lawsuit against US Soccer that was filed yesterday, the tangled history of the modern NASL, and the history of US Soccer and lawsuits. By Paul Kennedy for Soccer America.

• Right now there is very little sympathy for the NASL at this time in the world of American soccer.

dN

MLS

Landon Donovan has been a TV commentator for several USMNT games now, but this week he will do his first MLS game on Sunday - Kansas City v LA at 1pm CT on FOX.

The firing of Jay Heaps doesn't solve New England's problems. By Paul Tenorio for Four Four Two.

No Giovinco or Altidore tonight for Toronto against their rivals Montreal.

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

Week 29 Schedule:
(13 games)
-Wed Sep 20
Atlanta v LA - 6pm CT on ESPN2
Toronto v Montreal
-Sat Sep 23
New York City v Houston
New England v Toronto
DC v San Jose
Philadelphia v Chicago
Columbus v New York RB
Minnesota v Dallas
Salt Lake v Seattle
Vancouver v Colorado
-Sun Sep 24
Kansas City v LA - 1pm CT on FOX
Atlanta v Montreal
Portland v Orlando - 7pm CT on FS1

dN

• Ciaran Kilduff of Jacksonville Armada named NASL Player Of The Week
• Josef Martinez of Atlanta United named MLS Player Of The Week
• Kenney Walker of Cincinnati named USL Player Of The Week
• (Sorry I haven't heard from NWSL this week)

dN

COPA LIBERTADORES

Quarterfinals Schedule:
Leg Two
-Wed Sep 20
Santos (Bra) v Barcelona (Ecu) (1-1)
Gremio (Bra) v Botafogo(Bra) (0-0)
-Thu Sep 21
River Plate (Arg) v Wilstermann (Bol) (0-3)
Lanus (Arg) v San Lorenzo (Arg) (0-2)

dN

USMNT

Christian Pulisic is getting serious consideration from the media OUTSIDE the USA now. by Raphael Honigstein for ESPNFC.

Weston McKennie (also 19 years old) got his first start for Schalke in the Bundesliga. He went 57 minutes in a tough losing effort 0-3 at home to Bayern.

dN

US SOCCER

Tab Ramos has signed a contract extension as Director of the Men's programs for the national team.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES:

It didn't take Neymar long to capsize the boat at PSG. Ego isn't always used properly. By Jonathan Wilson for Sports Illustrated.

• But remember, winning covers all wounds.

Mid week Schedule:
-Wed Sep 20
Real Madrid v Betis
Juventus v Fiorentina
Bilbao v Atletico Madrid
Benevento v Roma
Lazio v Napoli
Milan v SPAL
Sevilla v Las Palmas



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 19, 2017

It's Day 262 of 2017.


MINNESOTA UNITED

The story on the new Minn United CEO Chris Wright.

• Plus a little info on scouting.

Loons Schedule:
-Sat Sep 23
Minnesota v Dallas

dN

New England has fired head coach Jay Heaps. Here is a statement from owners Robert & Jonathan Kraft.

• More on the firing of Heaps. By Kyle McCarthy for the Boston Herald.
• This does no good unless they replace the people above him who gave the coach no game changing players to work with. The ownership has to make a genuine commitment and put together a modern staff for modern players.
• Heaps is the 4th coach fired from the du Nord MLS Coaches Hot Seat Power Rankings after Cassar, Onalfo and Mastroeni.
• Tom Soehn has been named the interim head coach for the Revs.

dN

France is hosting the 2019 Women's World Cup.

• I didn't know this. Very exciting.

dN

NASL has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against US Soccer for decertifying their league from Division 2 status.

• Despite missing out on almost every criteria for being a 2nd Division league for the previous 7 years these arrogant/ignorant fucks think they are in the right. Believe me, I have no biased toward US Soccer, but the way NASL has been run from the start has been pretty damn poor.

dN

US Open Cup FINAL

-Wed Sep 20
Sporting Kansas City v Red Bull New York - 8pm CT on ESPN2

dN

MLS

Not that its helping any right now, but the LA Galaxy now have their own garden at the Stub Hub center and they grow food for feeding their players and academy youth. By Natalie Compton for the Los Angeles Times. -They have bees and chickens too!

• Senior team member Baggio Husidic is on the act and growing his own beets.

Week 29 Schedule:
-Wed Sep 20
Atlanta v LA
Toronto v Montreal

dN

• Ciaran Kilduff of Jacksonville Armada named NASL Player Of The Week
• Josef Martinez of Atlanta United named MLS Player Of The Week
• Kenney Walker of Cincinnati named USL Player Of The Week

dN

COPA LIBERTADORES

Quarterfinals Schedule:
Leg Two
-Wed Sep 20
Santos (Bra) v Barcelona (Ecu) (1-1)
Gremio (Bra) v Botafogo(Bra) (0-0)
-Thu Sep 21
River Plate (Arg) v Wilstermann (Bol) (0-3)
Lanus (Arg) v San Lorenzo (Arg) (0-2)

dN

USMNT

With World Cup qualifying pending in just 2 weeks lets see how of our players abroad as coping. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES:

Mid week Schedule:
-Tue Sep 19
Barcelona 5-1 Eibar
Schalke 0-3 Bayern
Bologna 1-1 Inter
Monchengladbach 2-0 Stuttgart
-Wed Sep 20
Real Madrid v Betis
Juventus v Fiorentina
Bilbao v Atletico Madrid
Benevento v Roma
Lazio v Napoli
Milan v SPAL
Sevilla v Las Palmas



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 18, 2017

It's Day 261 of 2017.


Minnesota United announced that they have hired Chris Wright as their new Chief Executive Officer.

• He was previously President of Minnesota Timberwolves (NBA) and Minnesota Lynx (WNBA).

dN

It was great to see Minnesota beat on old rival (Montreal), even if almost none of you recognize it as such. I sure as hell do.

• You wanna know what losing to the Loons at home when you are trying to make the playoffs does to an owner? I give you Joey Saputo of Montreal Impact.
• Yeah I know its not directly about Minnesota, its about their failure all season long. But I want to think its about MNUFC, and so it is.

Beating the following teams means more to me than other MLS wins:

• Montreal
• Portland
• Seattle
• Vancouver

dN

70,425!

• A new MLS single game attendance record.
• Set by Atlanta United in their 2nd game in the new stadium.
• Breaks a record of 69,255 that was set by LA Galaxy at the Rose Bowl in their first game ever, during the league's opening weekend more than 21 years ago.
• More on that record and a new USL attendance record on the same night in Cincinnati. By Steve Goff for the Washington Post.

dN

Speaking of Atlanta, I need to take us back to March 20th here on the du Nord Futbol blog and recall something I wrote at that time:

• "Josef Martinez of AU is the real deal. I haven't seen a new player in the league be this explosive since Carlos Ruiz showed up. Maybe the heyday of Jaime Moreno. And he is probably better than both of them. He is 24 years old and from Venezuela. He came to Atlanta from Torino in Italy. Don't take your eyes off this player."
• Martinez has only played in 14 games due to injuries. But he has 16 goals in those 14 games. I thought he might be really special, but I didn't think he would be this good.

dN

Christian Pulisic has turns 19 today.

• I was still a virgin on my 19th birthday.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Results:
-Sat Sep 16
Montreal Impact 2-3 Minnesota - MU goals by Molino(PK), Ramirez + Danladi.

My MNUFC Notes:

• "They are ripe for a Minnesota picking." That's what I wrote on Friday.
• Game highlights. [VIDEO]

Abuuuuuu! The late goal from Danladi was a monster.

What a winner. #MNUFC pic.twitter.com/kcug1tZCCv

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 17, 2017

He's Danladi and he'll score if he wants to, score if he wants to, score if he wants to. You would score too if your name was Abu!" Lyrics by Wes Burdine. To the tune of It's My Party by Leslie Gore.

• To come from behind twice and then win with a 3rd goal is an incredible feat for this Minnesota team in MLS. It had fans on their feet going nuts!
• The Loons have cracked the 1 Point Per Game average! They sit at 1.04. Three teams are worse off. (DC, LA and Colorado.)
• Shuttlworth earned his pay in saving a PK attempt from Ignacio Piatti. It was a very poor shot from Piatti, but the only thing that matters is the save in the end.
• Ibson created a beauty of a goal by flicking the ball up and across the goal box to the back post for Ramirez to head home for goal #2.
• Molino converted another PK. Well done. Now score some more goals.
• Minn used all 3 subs!!!!!
• Brilliant volleyed goal by Dzemaili of Montreal.
• And in CLASSIC Montreal Impact fashion they had a meltdown on the field after losing to Minnesota! I love it. And I can't tell you how many times I have seen this from them, their boorish owner, their boorish management, and their boorish players. Both Cabrera and Romero lost their shit and started swinging fists, grabbing, shoving, and screaming. Their GM Adam Braz has taught them well.
• Good game: Ibson, Shuttleworth, Molini, Ramirez, Danladi
• Ok game: Thiesson, Boxall, Calvo, Burch, Nicholson, Warner
• Bad game: Finlay, Ibarra, Martin
• The next opponent Dallas is ripe too. But not in the same way Montreal was. And may not be pickable.

Schedule:
-Sat Sep 23
Minnesota v Dallas

dN

MLS

My MLS Notes:

• Diego Valeri has scored in 8 consecutive games! Incredible. I didn't think he could get better. He has.
• Toronto left Altidore and Giovinco at home and still crushed the Galaxy 0-4! That is true confidence.
• Chicago's defense gets healthier and they are winning again. Hmmmm.
• Philly keeper Andre Blake is awesome. But you already knew that.
• Can Salt Lake pull off a playoff place? They are in right now, but have 2 games in hand. They will have to play nearly perfect to pull it off.

Media review of the past week in MLS:

• Armchair Analyst for Week 28. By Matt Doyle for MLSsoccer.
• The MLS XI for Week 28. By Avi Creditor for Sports Illustrated.

Long term is the way Philadelphia GM Earnie Stewart chooses to focus for real success. By Matt Pentz for ESPNFC.

Week 28 Results:
(13 games)
-Wed Sep 13
Atlanta 7-0 New England
Vancouver 3-0 Minnesota
-Sat Sep 16
Atlanta 3-3 Orlando
Vancouver 2-2 Columbus
Montreal 2-3 Minnesota
Dallas 0-0 Seattle
Chicago 3-0 DC
Kansas City 3-1 New England
Colorado 1-1 New York City
Salt Lake 2-1 Portland
LA 0-4 Toronto
San Jose 1-0 Houston
-Sun Sep 17
New York RB 0-0 Philadelphia
42 goals scored in 13 games this week = 3.2 goals per game.

Top teams in MLS by Points Per Game:
2.14 Toronto
1.76 New York City
1.66 Chicago
1.61 Vancouver
1.59 Atlanta
1.57 Kansas City
1.52 Seattle
1.50 New York Red Bulls

dN

USMNT

Bob Ley and Co dissect the rant Alexi Lalas directed at the USMNT last week. [VIDEO] From ESPN.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Does Stan Kroenke count as an American Abroad? He does own Arsenal. And some Arsenal fans hate his cheap-ass ways. (Just like with the Colorado Rapids.) By Rory Smith for the New York Times.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES:

Its almost not fair. Almost. Hahahahahaha. Get real. Its not fair. The only one of the big name teams in Europe that did not win this past weekend was Lyon and that's because they lost to PSG.

Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action. From the Guardian.

Results:
-Sat Sep 16
Watford 0-6 Manchester City
Bayern 4-0 Mainz
Getafe 1-2 Barcelona
Liverpool 1-1 Burnley
Tottenham 0-0 Swansea
Werder Bremen 1-2 Schalke
Leipzig 2-2 Monchengladbach
Crotone 0-2 Inter
Roma 3-0 Hellas Verona
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Malaga
Monaco 3-0 Strasbourg
-Sun Sep 17
Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal
Sassuolo 1-3 Juventus
Real Sociedad 1-3 Real Madrid
PSG 2-0 Lyon
Manchester United 4-0 Everton
Dortmund 5-0 Koln
Milan 2-1 Udinese
Napoli 6-0 Benevento
Girona 0-1 Sevilla
Amiens 0-2 Marseille

Mid week action ahead:
-Tue Sep 19
Barcelona v Eibar
Bologna v Inter
Monchengladbach v Stuttgart
-Wed Sep 20
Real Madrid v Betis
Juventus v Fiorentina
Bilbao v Atletico Madrid
Benevento v Roma
Lazio v Napoli
Milan v SPAL
Sevilla v Las Palmas



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 15, 2017

It's Day 258 of 2017.


USMNT

Bobby Wood missing Hamburger's game today against Hannover due to a lingering knee injury. The USA does not need another injured forward with Jordan Morris already out.

The story circulating is that the USMNT's World Cup Qualifier in Trinidad + Tobago on Oct 10 will be played in the the small town of Couva instead of the capital Port Of Spain! The local Ato Boldon Stadium is generally used for track and field and only holds 10,000. T+T league team Central FC plays its home games there. Its is about an hour sound of Port Of Spain.

• US Soccer always waits to announce these things until every contract has been signed and its a done deal. Which this is not, yet.

Lets check in with those injuries. By Avi Creditor for Sports Illustrated.

dN

NASL

The NASL has a "secret" board meeting next week that could determine their future fate. All speculation from inside source and a credible journalist. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Schedule:
-Sat Sep 16
Montreal Impact v Minnesota - 6:30pm CT on FOX29

Francisco Calvo flew to meet the team in Montreal. The new dad already back out bringin home the bacon.

No word on what kind of shape Brent Kallman is in, or what the injury that took him out of the last game was. We shall see. If I was guessing I say he doesn't play. He keeps coming back ASAP from injuries.

Not that I expect to see any these guys in Minnesota, but these 11 MLS players will all be free agents after this season. By Paul Tenorio for Four Four Two.

• I am not sure I would take any of them. Would you?

Meet Montreal's newest top notch player Blerim Dzemaili. By Stu Cowan for the Montreal Gazette.

Montreal stats and shit:

• Their undoubted top player is Ignaccio Piatti who can make any team in MLS look really bad at any time.
• Piatti leads the team with 15 goals.
• Anthony Jackson-Hamel is the 2nd best goal scorer with 7.
• Dzemaili is next with 6 goals.
• Matteo Mancuso has 4 goals.
• Dzemaili also has 8 assists.
• They also have a ton of speed with Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla and Dominic Oduro.
• The Impact have lost 3 in a row including the first two of those at home.
• They are ripe for a Minnesota picking.
• Stade Saputo holds just over 20,000.

dN

Asking: du Nord Music Mix Vol 138 (download + extract)

dN

MLS

The all-time attendance record for a MLS game was set on opening day of the league in 1996 - LA Galaxy drew 69,255 to the Rose Bowl. Well folks, that record is about to change. Atlanta has already sold more ticket then that for their home game this Saturday against Orlando.

Week 28 Schedule:
(13 games)
-Wed Sep 13
Atlanta 7-0 New England
Vancouver 3-0 Minnesota
-Sat Sep 16
Atlanta v Orlando
Vancouver v Columbus
Montreal v Minnesota
Dallas v Seattle
Chicago v DC
Kansas City v New England
Colorado v New York City
Salt Lake v Portland
LA v Toronto
San Jose v Houston
-Sun Sep 17
New York RB v Philadelphia

dN

COPA LIBERTADORES

A shocking upset on Thu night as huge underdogs Wilstermann blew out River Plate 3-0. That 2nd leg at El Monumental should be a doozy.

Quarterfinals Schedule:
Leg One
-Wed Sep 13
Barcelona (Ecu) 1-1 Santos (Bra)
Botafogo (Bra) 0-0 Gremio (Bra)
San Lorenzo (Arg) 2-0 Lanus (Arg)
-Thu Sep 14
Wilstermann (Bol) 3-0 River Plate (Arg)

dN

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

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES:

-Sat Sep 16
Watford v Manchester City
Bayern v Mainz
Getafe v Barcelona
Liverpool v Burnley
Tottenham v Swansea
Werder Bremen v Schalke
Leipzig v Monchengladbach
Crotone v Inter
Roma v Hellas Verona
Atletico Madrid v Malaga
Monaco v Strasbourg
-Sun Sep 17
Chelsea v Arsenal
Sassuolo v Juventus
Real Sociedad v Real Madrid
PSG v Lyon
Manchester United v Everton
Dortmund v Koln
Milan v Udinese
Napoli v Benevento
Girona v Sevilla
Amiens v Marseille



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 14, 2017

It's Day 257 of 2017.


RIP Grant Hart.

A talented and troubled guy who helped make Husker Du one of the greatest underground rock bands of all time.
There will be many heavy hearts in the Twin Cities and around the world today. A lot of people knew Hart. And yes he created almost all of his brilliance, demons, unpredictable thrills and bad luck.
I always saw his songs along the same lines as Mick Jones from the Clash - he wrote those songs you immediately turned toward because they were just more traditionally tuneful. Over the long haul Bob Mould and Joe Strummer balanced it out to make those two bands in particular so great, but Hart and Jones were equally as key to the story.

Here is a playlist of some of my favorite Husker Du songs written by Grant Hart:

• Pink Turns to Blue - from the album Zen Arcade
• Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely - from the album Candy Apple Grey
• Diane - from the EP Metal Circus
• Never Talking to You Again - from the album Zen Arcade
• Standing by the Sea - from the album Zen Arcade
• The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill - from the album New Day Rising
• Books About UFOs - from the album New Day Rising
• Green Eyes - from the album Flip Your Wig
• Statues - from the 7" single

Remembrance from Hart's Husker Du band mates.
Bob Mould:


Greg Norton:


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Owners of the teams in NASL have a lot of decisions to make in the next few weeks. The future of their league turn on what they choose. And there are no easy answers. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

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MINNESOTA UNITED

Results:
-Wed Sep 13
Vancouver Whitecaps 3-0 Minnesota

My MNUFC Notes:

• And it wasn't nearly as close as just 3-0.
• Game highlights [VIDEO] - Nah!
• Thumbs up to Warner who had his best game for Minnesota last night.
• Francisco Calvo did not travel with the team to Vancouver after his wife gave birth on Tuesday. Congrats to the whole family.
• Atlanta was truly awesome last night!
• Last Saturday against Philadelphia we saw JVenegas subbed into the game in the ? minute and proceed to give us one of the worst professional performances I have ever seen. Not, "disaster" horrible, but "I couldn't care less or put out less effort" horrible. And what does coach Adrian Heath due to JV? He starts him in the next game and lets him play the whole 90 minutes. Unreal. No punishment whatsoever. This tells JV that he can be as shitty as he wants to be and there will be no consequences for his actions. Remember early in the season when JV walked out of practice and then skipped the next day over some issue with his contract? His punishment for that was to go with the team on the road and come on as a sub. Again, no punishment at all, just reinforcing to JV that he can do whatever he wants and the coach will not punish him for letting his teammates down.
• Vancouver did not even start their #1 goal scorer Fredy Montero.
• Again Minn used only 2 subs, and 1 was due to injury. With 3 games in 8 days you need to give guys a rest whenever you can and not run them into the ground.
• Molino was "sick" and didn't dress for the game.
• Yes, Minn dominated the possession, but it was almost all in the middle of the field.
• The Loons put in cross after cross with seemingly little plan to do anything with those crosses. Plus Vancouver swept them all aside like fruit flies.
• Kallman had a particularly bad game. Watching Whitecaps run right past him for the first two goals and then getting injured and having to come out of the game.
• Greenspan who replaced Kallman wasn't any better.
• Boxall moved away from Shea who scored the 3rd VW goal right before the cross came in. Boxall had him marked, then left him wide open 7 yards in front of goal.
• Good game: Warner
• OK game: Shuttleworth, Thiesson, Boxall, Ibson, Finlay, Nicholson, Danladi, Jome
• Bad game: Kallman, JVengas
• If Cronin, Calvo, Kallman and Taylor all miss Saturday's game in Montreal then Minnesota is once again doomed.
• And if JVenegas starts in Montreal, I might lose it completely.

Schedule:
-Sat Sep 16
Montreal Impact v Minnesota - 6:30pm CT on FOX29

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Simply put:

MLS Expansion Team Midweek Update

MIN: 2 shots on goal in a 3-0 shellacking, 10th place

Atlanta: Scored 7 against NE, 3rd in stacked East

— Jon Marthaler (@jmarthaler) September 14, 2017

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Asking: du Nord Music Mix Vol 138 (download + extract)

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MLS

A spectacular night for Atlanta United. Holy Moly!

• A 7-0 demolition of New England.
• Game highlights. [VIDEO]
• Josef Martinez scored in the 2nd minute, and added 2 penalties before the 40th.
• Kouassi (16th) and Milnar Delamea (38th) both got Red Cards for New England.
• I fear for Minnesota's safety when they visit Atlanta on Oct 3. (Many MU and AU big name players will be away for international duty.)

The league has over turned a red card given to Seattle Sounders' Roman Torres last Sunday.


Week 28 Schedule:
(13 games)
-Wed Sep 13
Atlanta 7-0 New England
Vancouver 3-0 Minnesota
-Sat Sep 16
Atlanta v Orlando
Vancouver v Columbus
Montreal v Minnesota
Dallas v Seattle
Chicago v DC
Kansas City v New England
Colorado v New York City
Salt Lake v Portland
LA v Toronto
San Jose v Houston
-Sun Sep 17
New York RB v Philadelphia

dN

More new music from Burial today - Rodent. The quixotic Londoner always gives us something interesting in the way of bedroom dancefloor music.

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COPA LIBERTADORES

San Lorenzo was the only winner in the 3 games last night. 1 more first leg game today.

Quarterfinals Schedule:
Leg One
-Wed Sep 13
Barcelona (Ecu) 1-1 Santos (Bra)
Botafogo (Bra) 0-0 Gremio (Bra)
San Lorenzo (Arg) 2-0 Lanus (Arg)
-Thu Sep 14
Wilstermann (Bol) v River Plate (Arg)

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - GROUP STAGE
Big wins on Wednesday: Real Madrid and Manchester City both rolled over opponents and Tottenham beat a Dortmund team that looked superior in most ways. (And 1 of those 2 or Real Madrid will not make it to the knockout rounds. Sorry APOEL.)

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BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES:

-Sat Sep 16
Watford v Manchester City
Bayern v Mainz
Getafe v Barcelona
Liverpool v Burnley
Tottenham v Swansea
Werder Bremen v Schalke
Leipzig v Monchengladbach
Crotone v Inter
Roma v Hellas Verona
Atletico Madrid v Malaga
Monaco v Strasbourg
-Sun Sep 17
Chelsea v Arsenal
Sassuolo v Juventus
Real Sociedad v Real Madrid
PSG v Lyon
Manchester United v Everton
Dortmund v Koln
Milan v Udinese
Napoli v Benevento
Girona v Sevilla
Amiens v Marseille



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 13, 2017

It's Day 256 of 2017.


FIFA pres Gianni Infantino has been accused, by his former ethics committee members (who he dismissed), of interfering with investigations (and ultimately shutting them down) of FIFA executive committee member Russian Vitaly Mutko who is the head of their World Cup committee. By Rob Harris for AP.

• Mutko has long been tied to real scum bags including the people who ran the doping scandal that got the whole Russian team tossed from the Rio Olympics. So why is Infantino protecting him? What is there to hide Gianni?

I've said it many times before, NOTHING at FIFA changed when Sepp Blatter and his henchmen were ousted - they just changed the name plates on the doors, business continues the same as it always has.

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MINNESOTA UNITED

Tonight will be the 1st time our team has traveled to Vancouver for a game since 2010. Glad we are returning.

Do you think tonight's game isn't all the that important? Wrong-o. With a win Vancouver goes to the top of the Western Conference!

Sam Cronin and Jermaine Taylor are both out of the MN lineup with concussions.

Van's main threats:

• Fredy Montero with 11 goals
• Christian Bolanos with 7 assists
• Cristian Techera has 6 goals and 5 assists.
• Brek Shea, Alphonso Davies and Kendall Waston are other players of note on their squad.
• David Ousted is a solid goalkeeper.
• Their midfield destroyer Mattias Laba blew out his knee last month and will not be back this season.

Match preview with Vancouver quotes. By Jim Morris of the Canadian Press via Vancouver Sun.

Schedule:
Two games coming this week:
-Wed Sep 13
Vancouver Whitecaps v Minnesota - 9pm CT on FOX29
-Sat Sep 16
Montreal Impact v Minnesota - 6:30pm CT on FOX29

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Asking: du Nord Music Mix Vol 138 (download + extract)

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MLS

Surveying the leagues most important topics this week: TFC domination, MVP race, Western race, Atlanta's continued success, and FC Dallas disaster. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

Being declared the leagues best team isn't making things any calmer in Toronto. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.

Week 28 Schedule:
(13 games)
-Wed Sep 13
Atlanta v New England
Vancouver v Minnesota
-Sat Sep 16
Atlanta v Orlando
Vancouver v Columbus
Montreal v Minnesota
Dallas v Seattle
Chicago v DC
Kansas City v New England
Colorado v New York City
Salt Lake v Portland
LA v Toronto
San Jose v Houston
-Sun Sep 17
New York RB v Philadelphia

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COPA LIBERTADORES

Quarterfinals Schedule:
Leg One
-Wed Sep 13
Barcelona (Ecu) v Santos (Bra)
Botafogo (Bra) v Gremio (Bra)
San Lorenzo (Arg) v Lanus (Arg)
-Thu Sep 14
Wilstermann (Bol) v River Plate (Arg)

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AMERICANS ABROAD

Cameron Carter Vickers scored the game winning goal in his first game for Sheffield United where he is on loan from Tottenham. He started and played the whole 90.

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - GROUP STAGE
Big wins on Tuesday for Barcelona over Juventus, and then all the usual's: PSG, Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern.

Wednesday games feature: Tottenham v Dortmund, and Real Madrid, and Manchester City.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Sep 12, 2017

It's Day 255 of 2017.


Serious construction going on in St Paul's Midway for the new @MNUFC stadium!!!!!

Watch this video...

Then close your eyes and imagine yourself standing at the halfway line of @Allianz Field.#MNUFC pic.twitter.com/5Z6SL9kcez

— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) September 12, 2017

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The group stage of the UEFA Champions League begins today.

• Barcelona v Juventus is the big game of the day.
• Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, PSG, Chelsea and Bayern all play today too.

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MINNESOTA UNITED

Goalkeeper to Goalkeeper: An interview with new Loons goalkeeper Alex Kapp (currently on loan to Pittsburgh.) By Alex Schieferdecker for Fifty Five One.

Schedule:
Two games coming this week:
-Wed Sep 13
Vancouver Whitecaps v Minnesota - 9pm CT on FOX29
-Sat Sep 16
Montreal Impact v Minnesota - 6:30pm CT on FOX29

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MLS

Houston Dynamo and Dash in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. By Arch Bell for ESPNFC.

How much has NYCFC improved since Patrick Viera took over? By Christian Araos for Four Four Two.

Week 28 Schedule:
-Wed Sep 13
Atlanta v New England
Vancouver v Minnesota

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• Jaime Chavez of Miami named NASL Player Of The Week
• Jozy Altidore of Toronto named MLS Player Of The Week
• Sunny Jane of Richmond Kickers named USL Player Of The Week
• Whitney Church of Washington Spirit named NWSL Player Of The Week

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The number of young English players taking a chance at professional football via the USA is growing, and has some success. By Jeff Rueter for the Guardian.

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COPA LIBERTADORES

A Quarterfinals preview, and the big underdog Wilstermann of Bolivia. By Tim Vickery for ESPNFC.

Quarterfinals Schedule:
Leg One
-Wed Sep 13
Barcelona (Ecu) v Santos (Bra)
Botafogo (Bra) v Gremio (Bra)
San Lorenzo (Arg) v Lanus (Arg)
-Thu Sep 14
Wilstermann (Bol) v River Plate (Arg)

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US SOCCER

A youth soccer administrator from Boston says he is going to run for US Soccer President, with the election to he held in early February. By Steve Goff for the Washington Post.

• His quote about the USA paying Klinsmann too big of a buy out clause to terminate the contract comes off as naive. Every pro coaching contract in every sport these days has a buy out clause. You don't get to hire a big name coach without one.
• This is the 1st person to announce that they are running for the position.

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USMNT

How bad is Jordan Morris's hamstring injury? By Grant Wahl for Sports Illustrated.



The Bird Is The Word