Some Soccer News for Nov 30, 2017

It's Day 333 of 2017.


Huge congrats to Brazilian club Gremio on winning the Copa Libertadores.

dN

A Supermoon is coming on Sunday night. Are you ready to howl!

dN

MLS Semifinal 2nd Leg game on Thu night - Seattle v Houston - at 9:30pm CT
I'm gonna watch at Town Hall Brewery - Minneapolis - Seven Corners
Come hang with me

dN

Montreal's Hassoun Camara has retired early after suffering 3 concussion in the past season. He is worried about the long term affects. By Ian Holyman for ESPNFC.

dN

Gianni Infantino, FIFA, Russia 2018, future World Cups and other acts of bumbling idiocy. By Marina Hyde for the Guardian.

• Sunil Gulati's support for Infantino is another reason that Gulati should not be US Soccer president any longer.

dN

MLS

Toronto has won the Semifinal in the East and will host the Cup Final on Sat Dec 9

Tonight the semis move to Seattle, who have a 2-0 lead, and Houston is without 2 suspended starters: forward Alberth Elis and fullback Jalil Anibaba. Seattle is also without a suspended starter: centerback Roman Torres.

My Tor-Col Notes:

• That was a great tense jittery game.
• Toronto deserved the win.
• Columbus came out strong and through out the game had 3 or 4 excellent chances to score. Its all on them that they lost.
• Justin Meram was the main failure for Columbus. He had 2 glorious chances to score, fumbling on one and frantically over-hitting the ball on the other. A calmer mind would have buried both.
• Columbus had not lost a game since Aug 5.
• Late in the first half Toronto began to pick up steam and really upped the pressure.
• TFC earned a penalty kick. But the mighty Zack Steffen stuffed it.
• Jozy Altidore went down with an ankle injury in the 49th min but came back on to score the game winner in the 60th. Then he was subbed off. Huge performance.
• By the way, the hold up play by Giovinco should be taught in classrooms. It has little to do with size and strength. Magical back pass too.
• Toronto hung on as Columbus tried everything to tie the game and win the series.

Post-game Media:

• Toronto - A big night for Jozy. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.
• Columbus - The season is now over for Columbus, but a bigger battle is ahead for the city. By Michael Arace for the Columbus Dispatch.

Today's Pre-game Media:

• Seattle - The Sounders defense is in top form. By Geoff Baker for the Settle Times.
• Houston - Your basic boilerplate pregame scouting report. By Corey Roepken for the Houston Chronicle.

Gustav Svensson helped Sweden knock off Italy earlier this month and now wants to guide Seattle back to the top. By Matt Pentz for ESPNFC.

Semifinal Schedule:
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Toronto 1-0 Columbus
-Thu Nov 30
Seattle v Houston (2-0) - 9:30pm CT on ESPN

Greg Vanney of Toronto named MLS Coach Of The Year.

dN

Sugar Pills: du Nord Music Mix Vol 148 (download + extract)

dN

USL

Rochester Rhinos announced that they will not operate in 2018 in an attempt to stabilize their business. Press release from the club.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Americans Jose Torres and Lalo Fernandez were on the bench for Tigres last night as they won 0-1 in the first leg of the Liga MX semifinals.

• Jonathan Gonzalez and Edgar Castillo play tonight for Monterrey at Morelia in the other semifinal series.
• Rumors say that Castillo has already signed with Colorado Rapids for next season.

dN

LIGA MX

A road win for Tigres in the 1st Leg is big.

America can't find a goal anywhere. Just 1 scored in the last 5 games and not more than 1 goal in any game since Oct 18.

Liguilla Semfinals Schedule:
1st Leg
-Wed Nov 29
America-3 0-1 Tigres-2
-Thu Nov 30
Morelia-4 v Monterrey-1 - 7:00pm CT on Univ Deportes

dN

COPA LIBERTADORES

Gremio got a win on the road and claimed the 2017 trophy via 3-1 aggregate.

• This is their 3rd Libertadores title, and first in 22 years.

Final Schedule:
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Lanus 1-2 Gremio (0-1)

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Dec 1
Napoli v Juventus
Roma v SPAL
-Sat Dec 2
Arsenal v Man United
Atletico Madrid v Real Sociedad
Barcelona v Celta de Vigo
Bayern v Hannover
Chelsea v Newcastle
Leverkusen v Dortmund
Hoffenheim v Leipzig
Brighton & Hove v Liverpool
Monaco v Angers
Strasbourg v PSG
Athletic Bilbao v Real Madrid
Schalke v Koln
Watford v Tottenham
-Sun Dec 3
Internazionale v Chievo
Caen v Lyon
Man City v West Ham
Montpellier v Marseille
Benevento v Milan
Getafe v Valencia



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 29, 2017

It's Day 332 of 2017.


MLS Semifinal 2nd Leg games on Wed and Thu night.
I'm gonna watch at Town Hall Brewery - Minneapolis - Seven Corners

• Wed its Toronto v Columbus - at 6:30pm CT
• Thu is Seattle v Houston - at 9:30pm CT

Come hang with me

dN

Lots of great soccer on TV tonight:

• MLS Semifinals 2nd Legs
• Liga MX Semifinals 1st Legs
• Copa Libertadores Final 2nd Leg
• (see all the details below)

dN

An organization working with FIFA on the World Cup in Russia has extended a warning to gays, transgendered and dark skinned races - Russia could get messy. By Tariq Panja.

dN

MLS

The winner of tonight's game will host the Cup Final.

Media for today's game:

• Toronto - TFC says they are ready for anything and everything. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.
• Toronto - The key to winning it all is between the ear. By Cathal Kelly for the Toronto Globe + Mail.
• Columbus - Decided underdogs all the way, but with a real chance of an upset. By Andrew Erickson for the Columbus Dispatch.

Semifinal Schedule:
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Toronto v Columbus (0-0) - 6:30pm CT on FS1
-Thu Nov 30
Seattle v Houston (2-0) - 9:30pm CT on ESPN

dN

Former New Zealand head coach Anthony Hudson has been named new boss of the Colorado Rapids.
Hudson was in charge of New Zealand since Sep 2014. In 27 games here is who they beat:

• Fiji (3x)
• New Caledonia (2x)
• Oman
• Solomon Islands (2x)
• Vanuatu

(total record: 9W - 7T - 11L)

• I hope things in Colorado go better than that.

dN

Sugar Pills: du Nord Music Mix Vol 148 (download + extract)

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Ventura Alvarado was traded by Santos Laguna to Necaxa.

dN

LIGA MX

5 key players to watch for in the semifinals. By Cesar Hernandez for ESPNFC.

Liguilla Semfinals Schedule:
1st Leg
-Wed Nov 29
America-3 v Tigres-2 - 8:55pm CT on Univision
-Thu Nov 30
Morelia-4 v Monterrey-1 - 7:00pm CT on Univ Deportes

dN

COPA LIBERTADORES

Only on Fox Deportes.

Final Schedule:
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Lanus v Gremio (0-1)

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

Former Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham head coach Andre Villas-Boas resigned as head coach of Shanghai SIPG in China at the end of the season (Nov 4) to go race in next year's Dakar Rally! From the Guardian.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

All the are not in yet but we already have some big team losses: Lyon and Monaco.

Midweek Schedule:
-Tue Nov 28
Watford 2-4 Man United
Leicester 2-1 Tottenham
-Wed Nov 29
Arsenal v Huddersfield
Chelsea v Swansea
Stoke v Liverpool
Lyon 1-2 Lille
Man City v Southampton
Metz 0-3 Marseille
Nantes 1-0 Monaco
PSG v Troyes



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 28, 2017

It's Day 330 of 2017.


The draw for the World Cup is Friday. I hope this doesn't give any of you flashbacks. (9am CT)

dN

At the end of November its always interesting to see who sits in the drop zone of Europe's Big 5 Leagues:

• There is a team in Italy with no wins, no ties and therefore no points. They have scored 6 and allowed 34. How does a team that bad get into any top flight league?

Premier
10 West Ham
9 Swansea
8 Crystal Palace
---
Bundesliga
11 Freiburg
8 Werder Bremen
2 Koln
---
La Liga
7 Malaga
7 Las Palmas
6 Deportivo Alaves
---
Serie A
10 SPAL
9 Hellas Verona
0 Benevento
---
Ligue 1
14 Nice
12 Lille
4 Metz

dN

The ripples are quieter than people thought they would be, but sponsors have bailed on FIFA and not many are stepping up to fill the financial gaps. By Tariq Panja for the New York Times.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

MNUFC made roster moves yesterday.
Released:

• Bernardo Anor
• Ismaila Jome
• Justin Davis
• Thomas de Villardi
• Joe Greenspan
• Jermaine Taylor
• Kevin Venegas
• Patrick McLain
• Brandon Allen (back to NYRB)

Current Roster:

• G: Alex Kapp, Bobby Shuttleworth
• D: Michael Boxall, Marc Burch, Francisco Calvo, Vadim Demidov, Brent Kallman, Jerome Thiesson
• M: Sam Cronin, Ethan Finlay, Miguel Ibarra, Ibson, Jose Leiton (on loan until mid-July), Collin Martin, Kevin Molino, Sam Nicholson, Rasmus Schuller, Collen Warner, Johan Venegas
• F: Abu Danladi, Christian Ramirez

dN

Here are all of the MLS roster moves yesterday, listed by team. (Teams in the playoffs get extra time to decide.) From Soccer America.

dN

The 2nd annual Du Not list - coming soon.

dN

MLS

Media:

• Toronto - Giovinco, Giovinco, Giovinco - it's all about Giovinco. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.
• Columbus - The defense faces a much bigger task in the 2nd Leg. By Andrew Erickson for the Columbus Dispatch.
• Seattle - This will be the most important game the Sounders have ever played at home. By Geoff Baker for the Seattle Times.
• Houston - sadly nothing in the Chronicle this week. Its like they are resigned to losing and don't want to waste a penny covering it. Or maybe tomorrow they drop 4 articles on us.

Semifinal Schedule:
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Toronto v Columbus (0-0) - 6:30pm CT on FS1
-Thu Nov 30
Seattle v Houston (2-0) - 9:30pm CT on ESPN

dN

Tim Leiweke took a huge risk that turned Toronto FC into a real team and then walked away. In an interview he gives his thoughts on where the team stands today, and comments on another project of his - the David Beckham team in Miami. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.

dN

This new rock n roll song by Ty Segall is smokin'!!!

• My brother says that I am a sucker for punk rock saxophone. I fear he is correct.

dN

LIGA MX

Liguilla Semfinals Schedule:
1st Leg
-Wed Nov 29
America-3 v Tigres-2 - 8:55pm CT on Univision
-Thu Nov 30
Morelia-4 v Monterrey-1 - 7:00pm CT on Univ Deportes

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

Arsenal has hired one of Barcelona's top football minds to help the London team move back to the elite ranks. By Simon Burnton for the Guardian.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

Midweek Schedule:
-Tue Nov 28
Watford v Man United
Leicester v Tottenham
-Wed Nov 29
Arsenal v Huddersfield
Chelsea v Swansea
Stoke v Liverpool
Lyon v Lille
Man City v Southampton
Metz v Marseille
Nantes v Monaco
PSG v Troyes



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 27, 2017

It's Day 329 of 2017.


The Curse of Couva? Since Cristian Pulisic returned to Dortmund after the USMNT 2-1 loss to Trinidad + Tobago in Couva he has played 7 games in the Bundesliga and Champions League and not won any of them. By Paul Kennedy for Soccer America.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

This is roster decision day.

Released:

• Bernardo Anor
• Ismaila Jome
• Justin Davis
• Thomas de Villardi
• Joe Greenspan
• Jermaine Taylor
• Kevin Venegas
• Patrick McLain
• Brandon Allen (back to NYRB)

Current Roster:

• G: Alex Kapp, Bobby Shuttleworth
• D: Michael Boxall, Marc Burch, Francisco Calvo, Vadim Demidov, Brent Kallman, Jerome Thiesson
• M: Sam Cronin, Ethan Finlay, Miguel Ibarra, Ibson, Jose Leiton (on loan until mid-July), Collin Martin, Kevin Molino, Sam Nicholson, Rasmus Schuller, Collen Warner, Johan Venegas
• F: Abu Danladi, Christian Ramirez

dN

MLS

4 players suspended for 2nd Leg games:

• Artur – Columbus
• Alberth Elis + Jalil Anibaba – Houston
• Roman Torres – Seattle

The last time Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco played a game was Sun Nov 5 - that will make it 24 days between games.

Media:

• Toronto - Hard work will get them the desired results. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.
• Columbus - Being the road team in a scoreless 2nd Leg gives the Crew a true advantage. By Andrew Erickson for the Columbus Dispatch.
• Seattle - Sounders will put their roster depth on the line. By Geoff Baker for the Seattle Times.
• Houston - Will Bruin has no problem helping the Sounders beat his old team The Dynamo. By Corey Roepken for the Houston Chronicle.

Semifinal Schedule:
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Toronto v Columbus (0-0) - 6:30pm CT on FS1
-Thu Nov 30
Seattle v Houston (2-0) - 9:30pm CT on ESPN

Greg Vanney of Toronto named MLS Coach Of The Year

Bob Bradley sets about building his 2nd MLS team from the ground floor up. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

San Jose Earthquakes hired Mikael Stahre as their new head coach. He just coached Hacken to a 4th place finish in Sweden.

• Still no announcement from Colorado Rapids on their new coach.

Some people have loudly complained about the playoff games being on such irregular days of the week, but both stadiums last week were sold out and TV viewership was up 20%. Via Soccer America.

• By the way, you should subscribe to Soccer America now!

dN

USL

Dane Kelly of Reno 1868 named USL Most Valuable Player

dN

NASL

Both San Francisco and Edmonton have closed their doors. It was expected.

• The real question mark is on the future of Puerto Rico.
• North Carolina has left the league to join USL.
• That leaves just 5 teams (which I think could easily be 4) at this time for 2018.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

First, over the weekend, the Bad:

• Weston McKennie got a yellow card in the 3rd minute, then was replaced in the 33rd min (along with a teammate) as Schalke were already down 4-0 at Dortmund. Luckily for them the game ended tied 4-4. Bad game for McKennie, great save by his team.
• DeAndre Yedlin had the awful distinction of scoring an Own Goal for Newcastle in a 0-3 home loss v Watford.
• Cristian Pulisic played the whole game as Dortmund went up 4-0 in the 1st half but fell into a 4-4 tie v Schalke.

The Good:

• Matt Miazga scored the game winning goal with his head on a corner kick as Vitesse won 2-0 over ADO Den Haag.
• Terrance Boyd played 83 min and got the first 2 goals for Darmstadt as they tied 3-3 at Union.
• Fab Johnson came on at half time for Gladbach as they upset Bayern 2-1.
• Kenny Saief made his return from surgery (last summer), coming on as a sub for Gent in the 76th min as they won 3-1 v REM Mouscron.

In MX:

• Jonathan Gonzalez (Monterrey), Edgar Castillo (Monterrey) and Jose Torres (Tigres) advance to Apertura Liguilla Semifinals.

dN

LIGA MX

The seeds advanced in order 1-4. That sure doesn't happen very often.

Liguilla Semfinals Schedule:
1st Leg
-Wed Nov 29
America-3 v Tigres-2 - 9pm CT
-Thu Nov 30
Morelia-4 v Monterrey-1 - 7:30pm CT
2nd Leg
-Sat Dec 2
Tigres-2 v America-3 - 7pm CT
-Sun Dec 3
Monterrey-1 v Morelia-4 - 6pm CT

dN

MEXICO - COPA MX

Final
-Date TBA
Monterrey v Pachuca

dN

COPA LIBERTADORES

Lanus will have to overcome a 1 goal deficit at home to win it on Wed.

Sadly no American TV broadcast.

Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Wed Nov 22
Gremio 1-0 Lanus
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Lanus v Gremio (0-1)

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

Lionel Messi has signed a new 4 year contract with Barca.

Looks like human-pitbull Gennaro Gattuso is the new head coach of AC Milan.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

Bayern and Monaco were the only 2 big teams to lose this weekend, but Mon was to another big.

And France's 2nd place team Lyon has been added to the this schedule beginning with a midweek game.

Results: -Sat Nov 21
Levante 0-5 Atletico Madrid
Valencia 1-1 Barcelona
Monchengladbach 2-1 Bayern
Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea
Dortmund 4-4 Schalke
Cagliari 1-3 Internazionale
Leipzig 2-0 Werder Bremen
Man United 1-0 Brighton + Hove
Real Madrid 3-2 Malaga
Tottenham 1-1 West Brom
-Sun Nov 22
Burnley 0-1 Arsenal
Juventus 3-0 Crotone
Huddersfield 1-2 Man City
Marsielle 1-0 Guingamp
Milan 0-0 Torino
Monaco 1-2 PSG
Udinese 0-1 Napoli
Genoa 1-1 Roma

Midweek Schedule:
-Tue Nov 28
Watford v Man United
Leicester v Tottenham
-Wed Nov 29
Arsenal v Huddersfield
Chelsea v Swansea
Stoke v Liverpool
Lyon v Lille
Man City v Southampton
Metz v Marseille
Nantes v Monaco
PSG v Troyes



The Bird Is The Word

Record Shopping - Don't Even Think About Bothering Me

Stuffed

Puttin' Shrimp On The Barbie

Some Soccer News for Nov 21, 2017

It's Day 323 of 2017.


The dream of a USL team in a prime section of Chicago is now a plan. By Ryan Ori for the Chicago Tribune.

• I have no idea how real this idea actually is though. Sounds like they have a lot of hurdles before they could play in 2020 (Which is just over 26 months from now.)

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

I saw MNUFC Director of Player Personnel Amos Magee today and he looked me in the eyes and said, "Yes Bruce, I know you think we need to be focused on improving our defense." (Or something like that.) Hahaha. You never know if you are being heard or not. Now I know. I love you Amos.

The first steel beams are going up at Allianz Field today!

Video shot from the "floor" of under-construction Allianz Field:

Video: A 360-degree view from field level of #MNUFC’s Allianz Field In the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul. pic.twitter.com/62rG9sYtAR

— Andy Greder (@andygreder) November 21, 2017

Jamie Watson is clearly the winner today:

I love @jamiewatson77 so much! #MNUFC #DCMN pic.twitter.com/ajqBcjv5nl

— Two United Fans ↗️ (@TwoUnitedFans) November 21, 2017

dN

MLS

REMINDER: In the last du Nord MLS Hot Team Hot List Power Rankings of the regular season this is how our 4 semifinalists ranked:

• 1 Columbus Crew
• 2 Toronto
• 5 Seattle Sounders
• 8 Houston Dynamo

Previews:

• Columbus - The Crew knows that TFC being without Altidore and Giovinco will not make the game easier. By Andrew Erickson for the Columbus Dispatch.
• Toronto - It'll be a battle of hot goalkeepers. By Kurtis Larson for the Toronto Sun.
• Houston - Three Honduran's lead the team. By Corey Roepken for the Houston Chronicle.
• Seattle - Can Gustav Svensson bring some of the magic he had in helping Sweden knock Italy out of the World Cup? By Geoff Baker for the Seattle Times.

-----
My thoughts:

• Columbus - Expecting a rowdy sold out stadium.
• Toronto - 2 wins, 1 tie and 3 losses this season without their two star forwards.
• Houston - Since Oct 1 they have given up 2 goals in 6 games. While scoring 8.
• Seattle - Have never won a game in Houston.

More Media:

• This is a chance for Columbus' Wil Trapp to shine. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.
• The long break between playoff rounds will be a factor. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.
• TFC being tested again this season. They almost failed against Red Bulls. Will that cost them now? By Steve Davis for Four Four Two.
• Can Sounders repeat as champs? By Geoff Baker for the Seattle Times.

Semifinal Schedule:
1st Leg
-Tue Nov 21
Columbus (#5) v Toronto (#1) - 7pm CT on ESPN
Houston (#10) v Seattle (#7) - 9pm CT on FS1
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Toronto v Columbus - 6:30pm CT on FS1
-Thu Nov 30
Seattle v Houston - 9:30pm CT on ESPN

Its been a very bad year for scheduling MLS playoff games. By Steven Goff for the Washington Post.

A local steps forward with a plan for a new Crew stadium in Columbus. By Mark Ferenchik for the Columbus Dispatch.

An interview of new New England head coach, and long time USMNT standout, Brad Friedel. By Kristan Hegeage for the Guardian.

dN

USL

Chris Wehan of Reno 1868 named USL Rookie Of The Year

Sebastien Ibeagha of San Antonio named USL Defender Of The Year

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Christian Pulisic and Dortmund were knocked out of the Champions League today with just 2 points from 5 games. Pulisic was not in uniform, still dealing with some sort of muscle injury.

Omar Gonzalez is not going to let huge disappointment stop him from reaching all of his goals. By Tom Marshall for ESPNFC.

Things are certainly going the right way for a lot of young American players these days. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

dN

LIGA MX

Liguilla Quarterfinals 1st Leg Schedule:
-Wed Nov 22
Toluca-5 v Morelia-4 - 7:30 CT
Leon-7 v Tigres-2 - 9:30 CT
-Thu Nov 23
Cruz Azul-6 v America-3 - 7:30 CT
Atlas-8 v Monterrey-1 - 9:30 CT

2nd Leg:
-Sat Nov 25
Tigres v Leon - 7:00 CT
Morelia v Toluca - 9:00 CT
-Sun Nov 26
Monterrey v Atlas - 6:00 CT
America v Cruz Azul - 8:00 CT
(pairings are re-seeded each round)

dN

MEXICO - COPA MX

Semifinals Schedule:
-Tue Nov 21 Atlante v Pachuca

Final
-Date TBA
Monterrey v Atlante/Pachuca winner

dN

COPA LIBERTADORES

Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Wed Nov 22
Gremio v Lanus
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Lanus v Gremio

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - GROUP STAGE

Besiktas (beating Porto, Leipzig + Monaco to the #1 seed in G) and Real Madrid are on to the next round!

• ADVANCED: Bayern, Besiktas, Manchester City, PSG, Real Madrid, Tottenham
• OUT: Anderlecht, APOEL, Celtic, Dortmund, Feyenoord, Maribor, Monaco

Matchday 6
-Tue Dec 5 + Wed Dec 6
Round of 16 Draw
-Mon Dec 11

M5 Schedule:
-Tue Nov 21
Spartak Moskova 1-1 Maribor - E
Sevilla 3-3 Liverpool - E
Napoli 3-0 Shakhtar Donetsk - F
Man City 1-0 Feyenoord - F
Besiktas 1-1 Porto - G
Monaco 1-4 Leipzig - G
Dortmund 1-2 Tottenham - H
Apoel 0-6 Real Madrid - H
-Wed Nov 22
CSKA Moskova v Benfica - A - 11:00am CT on ESPN3
Basel v Man United - A - 1:45pm CT on FS2
PSG v Celtic - B - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Anderlecht v Bayern - B - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Qarabag v Chelsea - C - 11:00am CT on ESPN3
Atletico Madrid v Roma - C - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Sporting CP v Olympiacos - D - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Juventus v Barcelona - D - 1:45pm CT on FS1

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

-Sat Nov 21
Levante v Atletico Madrid
Valencia v Barcelona
Monchengladbach v Bayern
Liverpool v Chelsea
Dortmund v Schalke
Cagliari v Internazionale
Leipzig v Werder Bremen
Man United v Brighton + Hove
Real Madrid v Malaga
Tottenham v West Brom
-Sun Nov 22
Burnley v Arsenal
Juventus v Crotone
Huddersfield v Man City
Marsielle v Guingamp
Milan v Torino
Monaco v PSG
Udinese v Napoli
Genoa v Roma



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 20, 2017

It's Day 322 of 2017.


It will be very interesting to see who Portland Timbers hire as their new head coach. This has to be one of the Top 5 primo jobs in the league. I think this will tell us a lot about the leadership of the owners.

dN

Its worse than we thought! The first of the FIFA bribery scandal trials is unearthing/corroborating an extensive amount of unsavory bullshit. By Graham Dunbar and Rob Harris for AP.

• Testimony: "22 FIFA executive committee voters took million-dollar bribes to support Qatar."
• Sadness: "Jorge Delhon (Argentine government) killed himself (by walking in front of a train) hours after the court was told he took millions in bribes."

One guy even kept accurate records of the bribery. By Ron Blum for AP.

• "including a pair of payments labeled Q2022"

dN

Christian Pulisic, wonder boy, does an interview. By Jack Pitt-Brooke for the Independent.

dN

MLS

Tuesday night - big night. I will be at Town Hall Brewery in Seven Corners, Minneapolis.

Match previews from the Armchair Analyst. By Matt Doyle for MLS.

Previews: They've had 2 weeks to prepare for 2 or 3 games. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

When Houston first signed centerback Phillpe Senderos I like many others snickered. He had the reputation as a bumbler. And we figured he was over the hill. But he has been a force down the stretch for the Dynamo. By Ben Valentine for Goal.

Semifinal Schedule:
1st Leg
-Tue Nov 21
Columbus (#5) v Toronto (#1) - 7pm CT on ESPN
Houston (#10) v Seattle (#7) - 9pm CT on FS1
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Toronto v Columbus - 6:30pm CT on FS1
-Thu Nov 30
Seattle v Houston - 9:30pm CT on ESPN

No one in MLS has currently coached the same team longer than Peter Vermes at Kansas City. By Sam Kovan for MLS.

Centerback Joao Meira will not sign a new deal with Chicago for next season. Replacing him will be a big key to the off season.

David Villa is very happy with his decision to move to America and play for NYC. By for ESPNFC.

• "it was more than three years ago when I made the decision to come here and every day I am more convinced that it was the right decision."

dN

USL

Diego Restrepo of San Antonio named USL Goalkeeper Of The Year

Mark Briggs of Real Monarchs named USL Coach Of The Year

dN

NWSL

Today the league closed down FC Kansas City and transferred all players to the new club in Salt Lake City.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Jonathan Gonzalez went the full 90 for Monterrey on Saturday night as they claimed the #1 seed for Liga MX Liguilla. He has had one helluva debut season.

Shaquille Moore got his 1st start for Levante on Sunday, playing right fullback. He went the full 90 and they won 0-2 at Las Palmas. Fantastic for him.

DeAndre Yedlin set up the games first goal for Newcastle, but then Manchester United rattled off 4 straight. Oof.

dN

LIGA MX

A review of the 5 top story lines from the last week of the Apertura. By Tom Marshall for ESPNFC.

The Last Round Of Apertura Season.

Final Standings:
IN-37 Monterrey
IN-32 Tigres
IN-30 America
IN-29 Morelia (+8)
IN-29 Toluca (+3)
IN-27 Cruz Azul
IN-26 Leon
IN-25 Atlas
---
OUT-24 Necaxa
OUT-23 Lobos
OUT-21 Tijuana
OUT-19 Pachuca
OUT-18 Guadalajara (-2)
OUT-18 Santos Laguna (-3)
OUT-16 Puebla (-6)
OUT-16 Queretaro (-8)
OUT-15 Veracruz
OUT-12 Pumas

Liga MX final round Results:
Puebla 0-1 Lobos
Atlas 1-1 Pachuca
Cruz Azul 1-0 Veracruz
Quertaro 1-1 Pumas
Monterrey 2-0 Tigres
Leon 0-2 Guadalajara
Necaxa 1-2 Morelia
Toluca 3-1 Tijuana
Santos Laguna 0-1 America

Liguilla Quarterfinals 1st Leg Schedule:
-Wed Nov 22
Toluca-5 v Morelia-4 - 7:30 CT
Leon-7 v Tigres-2 - 9:30 CT
-Thu Nov 23
Cruz Azul-6 v America-3 - 7:30 CT
Atlas-8 v Monterrey-1 - 9:30 CT

2nd Leg:
-Sat Nov 25
Tigres v Leon - 7:00 CT
Morelia v Toluca - 9:00 CT
-Sun Nov 26
Monterrey v Atlas - 6:00 CT
America v Cruz Azul - 8:00 CT
(pairings are re-seeded each round)

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - GROUP STAGE

• 
  
• ADVANCED: Tottenham, Manchester City, PSG, Bayern
• OUT: Feyenoord, Celtic, Anderlecht

Matchday 6

• Tue Dec 5 + Wed Dec 6

Round of 16 Draw

• Mon Dec 11

M5 Schedule:
-Tue Nov 21
Spartak Moskova v Maribor - E - 11:00am CT on ESPN3
Sevilla v Liverpool - E - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Napoli v Shakhtar Donetsk - F - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Man City v Feyenoord - F - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Besiktas v Porto - G - 11:00am CT on FS2
Monaco v Leipzig - G - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Dortmund v Tottenham - H - 1:45pm CT on FS2
Apoel v Real Madrid - H - 1:45pm CT on FS1
-Wed Nov 22
CSKA Moskova v Benfica - A - 11:00am CT on ESPN3
Basel v Man United - A - 1:45pm CT on FS2
PSG v Celtic - B - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Anderlecht v Bayern - B - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Qarabag v Chelsea - C - 11:00am CT on ESPN3
Atletico Madrid v Roma - C - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Sporting CP v Olympiacos - D - 1:45pm CT on ESPN3
Juventus v Barcelona - D - 1:45pm CT on FS1

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

I think the Dortmund head coach Peter Bosz has to be in his last legs with the club. After a fast and prosperous start to the 17/18 season they lost again this weekend and are now sitting on 2 wins in the last 10 games in all competitions (and 1 of those was against 3rd division team in the league cup.)

The president of the Italian FA has resigned today after they failed to qualify for the Mens World Cup. The same should have happened in the USA.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

4 biggies got beat - a rare occurrence:

• Dortmund lost yet again.
• Tottenham lost to another big team.
• Milan lost to another big team.
• Juventus lost.

Schedule:
-Fri Nov 17
Stuttgart 2-1 Dortmund
Amiens 1-1 Monaco
-Sat Nov 18
Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham
Atletico Madrid 0-0 Real Madrid
Bayern 3-0 Augsburg
Leganes 0-3 Barcelona
West Brom 0-4 Chelsea
Leverkusen 2-2 Leipzig
Liverpool 3-0 Southampton
Leicester 0-2 Man City
Man United 4-1 Newcastle
Napoli 2-1 Milan
PSG 4-1 Nantes
Roma 2-1 Lazio
-Sun Nov 19
Inter 2-0 Atalanta
Sampdoria 3-2 Juventus
Bordeaux 1-1 Marsielle
Schalke 2-0 Hamburger
Espanyol 0-2 Valencia



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 17, 2017

It's Day 319 of 2017.


Li Yonghong stepped forth with lots of money to save AC Milan from a terrible financial situation. It turns out he probably doesn't have the money either. And things are getting very messy - literally. From the New York Times.

dN

Has the World Cup money machine gone too far? By Barney Ronay for the Guardian.

dN

A friend from Puerto Rico (now a soccer coach) is trying to build a database of all current soccer players in the world with a Puerto Rican background. Please help spread this around.

dN

MLS

Caleb Porter has walked away from Portland Timbers. He has been the head coach since 2013. By Jamie Goldberg for the Oregonian.

Christian Roldan of Seattle Sounders moves up the ladder toward MLS star. By Matt Pentz for ESPNFC.

Why does Earnie Stewart keep supporting head coach Jim Curtin in Philadelphia? By Jonathan Tannenwald for Philly.com.

• Hint: Its a fairly weak answer.

With no Altidore + Giovinco in the 1st Leg Toronto will need Victor Vazquez to step up. By Jeff Rueter for ESPN.

Semifinal Schedule:
1st Leg
-Tue Nov 21
Columbus (#5) v Toronto (#1) - 7pm CT on ESPN
Houston (#10) v Seattle (#7) - 9pm CT on FS1
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Toronto v Columbus - 6:30pm CT on FS1
-Thu Nov 30
Seattle v Houston - 9:30pm CT on ESPN

dN

Lemon Scented: du Nord Music Mix Vol 147 (download + extract)

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Who is this latest teen sensation Josh Sargent? By Charles Boehm for Four Four Two.

dN

LIGA MX

This will be the last round Of Apertura season.

• IN PLAYOFFS - Monterrey, Tigres, America
• OUT OF PLAYOFFS - Queretaro, Pumas, Veracruz, Guadalajara, Puebla, Santos Laguna, Pachuca, Lobos

Standings (1 round remaining):
IN-34 Monterrey (+15)
IN-32 Tigres (+14)
IN-27 America (+4)
26 Morelia (+7)
26 Leon (+6)
26 Toluca (+1)
24 Necaxa (+5)
24 Atlas (+4)
---
24 Cruz Azul (-1)
21 Tijuana (-4)
OUT-20 Lobos
OUT-18 Pachuca
OUT-18 Santos Laguna
OUT-16 Puebla
OUT-15 Guadalajara (-4)
OUT-15 Queretaro (-8)
OUT-14 Veracruz
OUT-12 Pumas

All Liga MX final round games on TV:
(only 2 of the 9 games have NO playoff implications)
-Fri Nov 17
NO IMPL - Puebla v Lobos - 6:30 CT on UniDep
Atlas v Pachuca - 9:00 CT on UniDep
-Sat Nov 18
Cruz Azul v Veracruz - 5:00 CT on UniDep
NO IMPL - Quertaro v Pumas - 5:00 CT on Gala
Monterrey v Tigres - 7:00 CT on Univ
Leon v Guadalajara - 7:00 CT on Gala
Necaxa v Morelia - 8:00 CT on UniDep
-Sun Nov 19
Toluca v Tijuana - 11:30 CT on Univ
Santos Laguna v America - 6:00 CT on UniDep

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

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

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

Schedule:
-Fri Nov 17
Stuttgart v Dortmund
Amiens v Monaco
-Sat Nov 18
Arsenal v Tottenham
Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid
Bayern v Augsburg
Leganes v Barcelona
West Brom v Chelsea
Leverkusen v Leipzig
Liverpool v Southampton
Leicester v Man City
Man United v Newcastle
Napoli v Milan
PSG v Nantes
Roma v Lazio
-Sun Nov 19
Inter v Atalanta
Sampdoria v Juventus
Bordeaux v Marsielle
Schalke v Hamburger
Espanyol v Valencia



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 16, 2017

It's Day 318 of 2017.


Columbus Crew ownership, MLS, and Columbus city leaders met on Wednesday and could not find any common ground to keep the team in Columbus. By Andrew Erickson for the Columbus Dispatch.

• The city is very unhappy with how it went down. Team ownership says the city brought nothing to the table.
• Its just keeps getting uglier:

Were both of the parties involved at the same meeting??? If so, somebody must be lying!!! #SavetheCrew pic.twitter.com/H4RZ4g13Cz

— Alejandro Moreno (@AleMorenoESPN) November 16, 2017

• The home playoff game next week is supposedly sold out.

This is what I think is going on in Columbus:

• It seems like it comes down to corporate sponsorship and ticket sales.
• And owner Anthony Precourt seems to be convinced that sponsorship dollars & ticket sales are maxed out in Columbus, and have a big upside in Austin.

dN

CONCACAF

As if the CONCACAF Gold Cup wasn't hard enough to take serious, CONCACAF will announce another confederation tournament called the Nations League. By Simon Evans for Reuters.

• Great for the small and medium teams, not so hot for the big teams.

From Brian Straus: "None of the top 10 CONCACAF WCQ scorers are going to the World Cup."

dN

WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Peru is the last team in!

• They join Australia, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sweden, Switzerland, and Tunisia in the World Cup next summer.

Final elimination rounds Results:

-Wed Nov 15
Peru 2-0 New Zealand

The World Cup Group Stage draw will be held on Fri Dec 1.

The 32 World Cup Teams:

• CAF (5): Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia
• AFC (5): Australia, Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea
• CONCACAF (3): Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama
• CONMEBOL (5): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay
• UEFA (14): Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden

dN

A friend from Puerto Rico (now a soccer coach) is trying to build a database of all current soccer players in the world with a Puerto Rican background. Please help spread this around.

dN

Lemon Scented: du Nord Music Mix Vol 147 (download + extract)

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Michael Boxall and New Zealand were eliminated from World Cup qualifying last night by Peru.

dN

MLS

Clint Dempsey has agreed to a new 1 year contract with Seattle Sounders.

dN

Tim Melia of Sporting Kansas City named MLS Goalkeeper Of The Year

dN

USL

Its official - North Carolina has left NASL to join USL for the 2018 season.

dN

NWSL

Real Salt Lake will launch a team for next season.

• Rumor has it that they bought FC Kansas City, but there has been no official word on that.

dN

US SOCCER

"The US Soccer Presidential Election will take place on Sat Feb 10, in the morning."

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Jonathan Gonzalez started for Monterrey last night in the Copa MX Semifinals, but he was taken off on a stretcher in the 58th minute with an unknown leg injury. Monterrey won on PKS. He will need to recover quickly as Liga MX playoffs begin next week.

dN

LIGA MX

1 Round Left in Apertura Liguilla Race:

• IN - Monterrey, Tigres, America
• OUT - Queretaro, Pumas, Veracruz, Guadalajara, Puebla, Santos Laguna, Pachuca, Lobos

Standings (1 round remaining):
IN-34 Monterrey (+15)
IN-32 Tigres (+14)
IN-27 America (+4)
26 Morelia (+7)
26 Leon (+6)
26 Toluca (+1)
24 Necaxa (+5)
24 Atlas (+4)
---
24 Cruz Azul (-1)
21 Tijuana (-4)
OUT-20 Lobos
OUT-18 Pachuca
OUT-18 Santos Laguna
OUT-16 Puebla
OUT-15 Guadalajara (-4)
OUT-15 Queretaro (-8)
OUT-14 Veracruz
OUT-12 Pumas

All Liga MX final round games on TV:
(only 2 games have NO playoff implications)
-Fri Nov 17
NO IMPL - Puebla v Lobos - 6:30 CT on UniDep
Atlas v Pachuca - 9:00 CT on UniDep
-Sat Nov 18
Cruz Azul v Veracruz - 5:00 CT on UniDep
NO IMPL - Quertaro v Pumas - 5:00 CT on Gala
Monterrey v Tigres - 7:00 CT on Univ
Leon v Guadalajara - 7:00 CT on Gala
Necaxa v Morelia - 8:00 CT on UniDep
-Sun Nov 19
Toluca v Tijuana - 11:30 CT on Univ
Santos Laguna v America - 6:00 CT on UniDep

Apertura top 5 goal scorers:

• 11 Mauro Boselli - Leon
• 10 Aviles Hurtado - Monterrey
• 9 Julio Furch - Santos Laguna
• 9 Julian Quinones - Lobos
• 9 Enner Valencia - Tigres

dN

MEXICO - COPA MX

Monterrey heads to the final after beating America on Penalty Kicks. America's PKs were a regular clown show.

Semifinals Schedule:
-Wed Nov 15
Monterrey 0-0 America - Mon adv 3-0 on Penalty Kicks
-Tue Nov 21
Atlante v Pachuca

Final
-Date TBA
Monterrey v Atlante/Pachuca winner

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

Schedule:
-Fri Nov 17
Stuttgart v Dortmund
Amiens v Monaco
-Sat Nov 18
Arsenal v Tottenham
Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid
Bayern v Augsburg
Leganes v Barcelona
West Brom v Chelsea
Leverkusen v Leipzig
Liverpool v Southampton
Leicester v Man City
Man United v Newcastle
Napoli v Milan
PSG v Nantes
Roma v Lazio
-Sun Nov 19 Inter v Atalanta
Sampdoria v Juventus
Bordeaux v Marsielle
Schalke v Hamburger
Espanyol v Valencia



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 15, 2017

It's Day 317 of 2017.


Briana Scurry will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Huge congrats to her.

dN

The LAFC expansion draft is coming on Tue Dec 12: "Clubs may protect up to 11 players. LAFC may select up to 5 players. Only 1 player can be drafted from a club."

dN

USMNT

My USMNT Notes:

• I know most of you didn't care, much less watch. So I am your surrogate. I always care and always watch. If you feel that makes me an idiot, well I don't think its anywhere near the top of the list of what makes me an idiot.
• I will take a tie score against #3 ranked Portugal.
• USA created 7 or 8 solid chances.
• Weston McKennie was the best player for the USA.
• McKennie scored a great goal in the 21st min. With a nice move past a defender and a great low near post strike that fooled the keeper.
• Tyler Adams, while good, was not nearly as fast or quick as I thought he was.
• Ethan Horvath with a horrendous botch that allowed the Port-u-goal.
• Cameron Carter-Vickers was strong at the back.
• The USA defense allowed only a couple clear/clean chances for Port.
• Both teams traded sustained pressure. Entertaining to watch.
• Danny Williams was the USA captain, but was not very impressive, again. (OK, he was fine, but like I said, not impressive.)
• Kellyn Acosta had his best game for the USA since Mexico City in June. He didn't have a great season in MLS or many other strong showings with the USA in 2017.
• Good Game: Brooks, Carter-Vickers, Lichaj, McKennie, Acosta
• OK Game: Hamid, Yedlin, Miazga, Villafana, Williams, Adams, Bedoya, Agudelo, Gooch, Sapong, Dwyer
• Bad Game: Horvath
• For Portugal - I thought 23 year old forward Goncalo Paciencia looked great. Poised and powerful. He is currently on loan from Porto to Vitoria.

Media:

• Match recap. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.
• A first step forward by the USMNT. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.
• Who is Weston McKennie and where did he come from? By Travis Clark for Four Four Two.
• USMNT turning the page in Portugal. By San Lehr for the Guardian.

Friendly Schedule:
-Tue Nov 14
Portugal 1-1 USA - USA goal by Weston McKennie.
Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa, Leiria

Game highlights:

To new beginnings ????

Relive the #USMNT's 2017 finale away to Portugal » https://t.co/JYT0oWKUTd pic.twitter.com/ljrJ2szscp

— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) November 15, 2017

USA Roster

• G: Jesse Gonzalez - Dallas, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Ethan Horvath - Club Brugge
• D: John Brooks - Wolfsburg, Cameron Carter-Vickers - Sheffield United, Eric Lichaj - Nottingham Forest, Matt Miazga - Vitesse, Tim Ream - Fulham, Jorge Villafana - Santos Laguna, DeAndre Yedlin - Newcastle United
• M: Kellyn Acosta - Dallas, Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Alejandro Bedoya - Philadelphia Union, Lynden Gooch - Sunderland, Weston McKennie - Schalke, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Danny Williams - Huddersfield
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union, Josh Sargent - St. Louis Scott Gallagher
• C: Dave Sarachan

Some people are very very upset that Bruce Arena was on Fox Sports yesterday as a pre and post game analyst. I honestly don't care either way. I always like to hear him speak. But many do not want him to come out of a deep dark cave for a very long time. I understand that.

dN

WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

If you think people in the USA are pissed off about missing the World Cup next summer you should see the inferno raging in Italy. By Rory Smith for the New York Times.

Australia + Denmark advance while Honduras + Ireland recede.

Australia, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sweden, Switzerland, and Tunisia have qualified for the World Cup.

• Only 1 spot left that will be filled on Wed night.

Final elimination rounds Schedule/Results:

Inter-Federation
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 15
Australia 3-1 Honduras Aus advances to WC 3-1 on agg.
Peru v New Zealand (0-0) - 8:15pm CT on beIN

UEFA
-Swi qualifies for World Cup
-Cro qualifies for World Cup
-Swe qualifies for World Cup
-Tue Nov 14
Ireland 1-5 Denmark Den advances to WC 5-1 on agg.

dN

The owners of FC Cincinnati have said they will pay for their new stadium in full, but are asking the city to upgrade roads and infrastructure around the stadium. By Paul Daugherty for the Cincinnati Enquirer.

dN

Lemon Scented: du Nord Music Mix Vol 147 (download + extract)

dN

MLS PLAYOFFS - SEMIFINALS

Toronto tried to appeal the red card suspension of Jozy Altidore from the 1st Leg of the Semifinals and were denied. As it should be.

Games return next Tuesday.

dN

MLS

Atlanta United will have their own USL team next season, playing out of a baseball stadium in Gwinnett county (northeast of Atlanta.)

dN

USL

Harrisburg City Islanders has a new name and image - Penn FC.

• The logo is a bit confusing. Is that a P? An R?.
• There is also a new component to the team owners ship with worldwide youth academy Rush Soccer buying a piece of the team.

dN

MEXICO - COPA MX

Semifinals Schedule:
-Wed Nov 15
Monterrey v America - 6:30pm CT on UniDeportes
-Tue Nov 21
Atlante v Pachuca



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 14, 2017

It's Day 316 of 2017.


Huge congrats to Louisville City on winning the USL Championship last night.

dN

El Chelis is back baby! He was at Chivas USA. And now the new head coach of Las Vegas Lights! Ka-boom!

• What makes him so special you ask? One time he compared coaching to sticking his head in a barrel of feces. Sweet!

dN

These 6 countries are going to the NIT next summer:

• Chile
• Cote D'Ivoire
• Ghana
• Italy
• Netherlands
• USA

dN

USMNT

What might we see today as the USA takes on Portugal? By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

There are a lot of things that can be accomplished in a game like this. By Matt Doyle for MLS.

Friendly Schedule:
-Tue Nov 14
Portugal v USA - 2:45pm CT on FS1
Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa, Leiria

USA Roster

• G: Jesse Gonzalez - Dallas, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Ethan Horvath - Club Brugge
• D: John Brooks - Wolfsburg, Cameron Carter-Vickers - Sheffield United, Eric Lichaj - Nottingham Forest, Matt Miazga - Vitesse, Tim Ream - Fulham, Jorge Villafana - Santos Laguna, DeAndre Yedlin - Newcastle United
• M: Kellyn Acosta - Dallas, Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Alejandro Bedoya - Philadelphia Union, Lynden Gooch - Sunderland, Weston McKennie - Schalke, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Danny Williams - Huddersfield
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union, Josh Sargent - St. Louis Scott Gallagher
• C: Dave Sarachan

Portugal Roster

• G: Anthony Lopes - Lyon, Beto - Goztepe, Jose Sa - Porto
• D: Antunes - Getafe), Edgar Ie - Lille, Kevin Rodrigues - Real Sociedad, Joao Cancelo - Inter, Luis Neto - Fenerbahce, Nelson Semedo - Barcelona, Pepe - Besiktas, Ricardo Ferreira - Braga, Ricardo Pereira - Porto
• M: Bernardo Silva - Manchester City, Bruno Fernandes - Sporting, Danilo Pereira - Porto, Joao Mario - Inter, Manuel Fernandes - Lokomotiv, Ruben Neves - Wolverhampton
• F: Andre Silva - Milan, Bruma - Leipzig, Eder - Lokomotiv, Gelson Martins - Sporting, Goncalo Guedes - Valencia, Rony Lopes - Monaco
• C: Fernando Santos

dN

WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

3 spots left that will be filled on Tue and Wed.

Final elimination rounds Schedule/Results:

Inter-Federation
1st Honduras (CONCACAF) 0-0 Australia (Asia)
1st New Zealand (Oceania) 0-0 Peru (CONMEBOL)
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 15
Australia v Honduras
Peru v New Zealand

UEFA
1st Denmark 0-0 Ireland
-Tue Nov 14
Ireland v Denmark (0-0)

dN

MLS

Brad Freidel has a plan for turning the New England Revs around again. By Kyle McCarthy for the Boston Herald.

dN

USL FINAL

Schedule:
-Mon Nov 13:
Louisville 1-0 Swope Park

• Winning goal scored by Cameron Lancaster in the 88th min.

dN

US SOCCER

As John Lydon once said, "Anger is an energy." The USMNT now needs to take their failure and turn it into fuel. By Steve Davis for Four Four Two.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 13, 2017

It's Day 315 of 2017.


How great is my life? I got to visit the Minnesota United stadium site today and tour the grounds! Work boots - check. Hard hat - check. Bright yellow vest - check. Protective eye wear - check. Got to spread a little concrete for a photo-op. Walked through the dirt and rock, and into the concrete caves forming on the south end where the big trucks will drive in and lots of storage and stadium systems will be housed. Even got a glimpse into where the lockers room will be. Those cranes you can see in the sky are massive! Finally, we were standing right at midfield! Its gonna be glorious.
-Thanks to Nick Rogers and Greg from Mortenson for the tour.

During my shift today at @MNUFC's Allianz Field I worked on pouring concrete for the west side stands.#DethloonRising#Midway#CloudCity pic.twitter.com/IM1RzlvPXJ

— Bruce McGuire (@dunord) November 13, 2017

dN

Hope Solo says former FIFA president Sepp Blatter sexually assaulted her backstage at a FIFA awards ceremony. From Reuters.

• No one doubts that Blatter is a horrible human being, but this is a whole new low for that creep.

dN

I will be watching Tuesday's USMNT friendly against Portugal at Town Hall in Seven Corners, Minneapolis.
-Tue Nov 14
Portugal v USA - 2:45pm CT
Come and join me if you can.

dN

Christian Pulisic tells his own story, from how lucky he was to have a European passport, to his obsession with winning. From the Players Tribune.

dN

WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
Croatia, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sweden, Switzerland, and Tunisia have qualified for the World Cup.

• 3 spots left that will be filled on Mon, Tue and Wed.

Italy is OUT of the World Cup for the 1st time since 1958.

• Do you think the Italian version of the Tinfoil Tweekers are baying for the whole Federation and Serie A to be burned to the ground?

Final elimination rounds Schedule/Results:

Inter-Federation
1st Honduras (CONCACAF) 0-0 Australia (Asia)
1st New Zealand (Oceania) 0-0 Peru (CONMEBOL)
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 15
Australia v Honduras
Peru v New Zealand

UEFA
1st Northern Ireland 0-1 Switzerland
2nd Switzerland 0-0 Northern Ireland

• Swi qualifies for World Cup

1st Croatia 4-1 Greece
2nd Greece 0-0 Croatia

• Cro qualifies for World Cup

1st Sweden 1-0 Italy
2nd Italy 0-0 Sweden

• Swe qualifies for World Cup.

1st Denmark 0-0 Ireland
-Tue Nov 14
Ireland v Denmark

Africa
Group A
Tunisia 0-0 OUT-Libya
DR Congo 3-1 OUT-Guinea

1. Tunisia qualifies for World Cup

Group B

• Nigeria already qualified

Group C
Ivory Coast 0-2 Morocco

• Morocco qualifies for World Cup

Group D
South Africa 0-2 Senegal

• Senegal qualifies for World Cup

Group E

• Egypt already qualified

dN

NASL FINAL

In their first and probably last season as a team San Francisco Deltas have won the NASL championship. Huge congrats to them.

-Sun Nov 12
San Francisco Deltas 2-0 New York Cosmos

dN

USL Final tonight - see details below.

dN

USMNT

Another friendly has been announced:
-Sun Jan 28
USA v Bosnia + Herzegovina - 6:30pm CT on FS1
Stub Hub Center in Carson CA

Friendly Schedule:
-Tue Nov 14
Portugal v USA - 2:45pm CT on FS1
Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa, Leiria

DeAndre Yedlin finds himself in the role of veteran leader at age 24. By Paul Kennedy for Soccer America.

Who will step forward to claim the #1 goalkeeper position? By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

• My guess is that if there was a big game today that Brad Guzan would get the start.

Tyler Adams gets his first look with the USMNT senior team, and he has tremendous momentum behind him from this season with New York Red Bulls. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

Several players will get a chance to make a mark against Portugal tomorrow. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

You know that with the USMNT not going to the World Cup people are going to go looking for any positive repercussions they can find. Accelerated youth advancement anyone? By Sam Stejskal for Four Four Two.

USA Roster

• G: Jesse Gonzalez - Dallas, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Ethan Horvath - Club Brugge
• D: John Brooks - Wolfsburg, Cameron Carter-Vickers - Sheffield United, Eric Lichaj - Nottingham Forest, Matt Miazga - Vitesse, Tim Ream - Fulham, Jorge Villafana - Santos Laguna, DeAndre Yedlin - Newcastle United
• M: Kellyn Acosta - Dallas, Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Alejandro Bedoya - Philadelphia Union, Lynden Gooch - Sunderland, Weston McKennie - Schalke, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Danny Williams - Huddersfield
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union, Josh Sargent - St. Louis Scott Gallagher
• C: Dave Sarachan

Portugal Roster

• G: Anthony Lopes - Lyon, Beto - Goztepe, Jose Sa - Porto
• D: Antunes - Getafe), Edgar Ie - Lille, Kevin Rodrigues - Real Sociedad, Joao Cancelo - Inter, Luis Neto - Fenerbahce, Nelson Semedo - Barcelona, Pepe - Besiktas, Ricardo Ferreira - Braga, Ricardo Pereira - Porto
• M: Bernardo Silva - Manchester City, Bruno Fernandes - Sporting, Danilo Pereira - Porto, Joao Mario - Inter, Manuel Fernandes - Lokomotiv, Ruben Neves - Wolverhampton
• F: Andre Silva - Milan, Bruma - Leipzig, Eder - Lokomotiv, Gelson Martins - Sporting, Goncalo Guedes - Valencia, Rony Lopes - Monaco
• C: Fernando Santos

dN

MLS PLAYOFFS - SEMIFINALS

Toronto is hoping to get Jozy Altidore's red card overturned. They blame the whole thing on the Red Bulls. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.

• What they seem to forget is that it was Altidore who started the whole mess.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Michael Boxall and his New Zealand team tied Peru 0-0 in their home leg of their World Cup qualifying series. -Boxall played the full 90 and received a yellow card in the 75th minute. He also used a bicycle kick to clear a ball off their goal line.
1st Leg
-Sat Nov 11
New Zealand (Oceania) 0-0 Peru (CONMEBOL)
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 15
Peru v New Zealand

dN

USL FINAL

Schedule:
-Mon Nov 13:
Louisville v Swope Park - 8:00pm CT on ESPNU

dN

SOUTH AMERICA

Brazil has a no-name no-nonsense coach bringing them back to prominence, and his name in Tite (pronounced CHEE-chay). By Jon Cotterill for the Guardian.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 10, 2017

It's Day 314 of 2017.


Stefano Pinho of Miami named winner of NASL Golden Ball
-Huge congrats to him.

dN

NASL Final on Sunday, and USL Final on Monday.
(see below for details)

dN

du Nord Futbol's 2017 MLS Awards:

MVP: Diego Valeri

Newcomer: Josef Martinez

Rookie: Julian Gressel

Coach: Veljko Paunovic

Best 11:

• G (1) Tim Melia
• D (4) Tyler Adams, Roman Torres, Ike Opara, Justin Morrow
• M (4) Diego Valeri, Michael Bradley, Romain Alessandrini, Victor Vazquez
• F (2) David Villa, Josef Martinez

dN

I was the guest on a podcast this week, talking MNUFC and many other hot topics, hosted by two slightly askew guys - The Dave's I Know. Download or listen here.

dN

For those people who want the MLS season to move to the so-called "international" calendar here are the teams that are in cities with REAL winter:

• Chicago
• Colorado
• Columbus
• Minnesota
• Montreal
• New England
• New York City
• New York Red Bulls
• Salt Lake
• Toronto
• Vancouver

That's half the league. If MLS is going to get closer to the calendar many leagues follow then they will have to get creative. Real creative. Anyone running for US Soccer president who just says "we have to move to the international calendar" is short sighted and lazy. Its not doable. Lets get smart.

dN

WORLD CUP QUALIFYING

Morocco looking to return to football magic and the World Cup. Its been about 20 years since the heyday of the great Mustapha Hadji lead the team. By Ed Aarons for the Guardian.

Weekend Schedule/Results:
-Thu Nov 9
Northern Ireland 0-1 Switzerland
Croatia 4-1 Greece
-Fri Nov 10
Honduras v Australia
Sweden v Italy
South Africa v Senegal
-Sat Nov 11
New Zealand v Peru
Denmark v Ireland
Tunisia v OUT-Libya
DR Congo v OUT-Guinea
Ivory Coast v Morocco
-Sun Nov 12
Switzerland v Northern Ireland
Greece v Croatia

dN

Picnic: du Nord Music Mix Vol 146 (download + extract)

dN

MLS

Two long time American MLS veterans retired yesterday - Chris Rolfe and Justin Mapp. A hearty thanks to both of them, and good luck in the future.

Some quality coaches are in the American minor leagues and MLS should be giving them chances. By Paul Tenorio for Four Four Two.

• The two obvious candidates are Marc Dos Santos and Giovanni Savarese who I have thought were great head coaches for years now.

dN

USL FINAL

Schedule:
-Mon Nov 13:
Louisville v Swope Park - 8:00pm CT on ESPNU

dN

NASL FINAL

The league final is on Sunday. After a messy ride since the day the league was reformed could this be the last game? By Jeff Rueter for the Guardian.

-Sun Nov 12
San Francisco Deltas v New York Cosmos - 7:00pm CT on beIN Sports

dN

USMNT

Schalke's young American Weston McKennie is a talker. And a good soccer player. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

Friendly Schedule:
-Tue Nov 14
Portugal v USA - 2:45pm CT on FS1
Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa, Leiria



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 9, 2017

It's Day 313 of 2017.


du Nord Futbol's 2017 MLS Awards:

MVP: Diego Valeri

Newcomer: Josef Martinez

Rookie: Julian Gressel

Coach: Veljko Paunovic

Best 11:

• G (1) Tim Melia
• D (4) Tyler Adams, Roman Torres, Ike Opara, Justin Morrow
• M (4) Diego Valeri, Michael Bradley, Romain Alessandrini, Victor Vazquez
• F (2) David Villa, Josef Martinez

dN

I made a podcast appearance with two slightly twisted guys last night - The Dave's I know. Download or listen here.

dN

Landon Donovan is not running for US Soccer president but he has a lot to say about the future of American soccer. By Grant Wahl for Sports Illustrated.

dN

Picnic: du Nord Music Mix Vol 146 (download + extract)

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Michael Boxall and his New Zealand teammates will take on Peru in a 2-legged series with the winner advancing to the World Cup.
1st Leg
-Sat Nov 11
New Zealand (Oceania) v Peru (CONMEBOL)
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 15
Peru v New Zealand

dN

MLS

Its official - Brad Friedel is the new head coach of New England Revolution.

The director of MLS's VAR program, Howard Webb, gives his thoughts on how it has gone so far. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

On Montreal's new head coach Remi Garde. By Stu Cowan for the Montreal Gazette.

dN

Ike Opara of Sporting Kansas City named MLS Defender Of The Year

dN

NASL FINAL

2017 Best 11

• G Daniel Vega - Miami
• D: Reiner Ferreira - San Francisco Deltas, Mason Trafford - Miami, Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville Armada, Connor Tobin - North Carolina
• M: Emmanuel Ledesma - New York Cosmos, Nazmi Albadawi - North Carolina, Richie Ryan - Miami, Dylan Mares - Miami
• F: Vincenzo Rennella - Miami, Stefano Pinho - Miami

Final Schedule:
-Sun Nov 12
San Francisco Deltas v New York Cosmos - 7:00pm CT on beIN Sports

A clear view of and possible immediate repercussions of the NASL lawsuit against US Soccer. By Neil Morris for SBNation.

dN

Marc Dos Santos of San Francisco Deltas named NASL Coach Of The Year

dN

MEXICO - COPA MX

American Omar Gonzalez and Pachuca took out Americans Ale Guido, Michael Orozco and Tijuana in the last Q-finals game.

Quarterfinals Results:
-Wed Nov 8
Pachuca 4-0 Tijuana

Semifinals Schedule:
-Dates TBA
Atlante v Pachuca
Monterrey v America

dN

FIFA

World Cup Qualifying - Elimination Round Schedule:

UEFA
1st Leg
-Thu Nov 9
Northern Ireland v Switzerland
Croatia v Greece
-Fri Nov 10
Sweden v Italy
-Sat Nov 11
Denmark v Ireland
2nd Leg
-Sun Nov 12
Switzerland v Northern Ireland
Greece v Croatia
-Mon Nov 13
Italy v Sweden
-Tue Nov 14
Ireland v Denmark

Inter-federation
1st Leg
-Fri Nov 10
Honduras (CONCACAF) v Australia (Asia)
-Sat Nov 11
New Zealand (Oceania) v Peru (CONMEBOL)
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 15
Australia v Honduras
Peru v New Zealand

Africa
Group A
-Nov 11
Tunisia v OUT-Libya
DR Congo v OUT-Guinea
13 Tunisia (+7) 10 DR Congo (+5) Group B
Nigeria already qualified from this group
Group C
-Nov 11
Ivory Coast v Morocco
9 Morocco (+9) 8 Ivory Coast (+4) Group D
-Nov 10
South Africa v Senegal
-Nov 14
Burkina Faso v Cape Verde
Senegal v South Africa
8 Senegal (+4) 6 Burkina Faso (0) 6 Cape Verde (-4) 4 South Africa (0) Group E
Egypt already qualified from this group



The Bird Is The Word

du Nord Futbol's MLS 2017 Best 11

The MLS Best 11 from du Nord Futbol for 2017:


Goalkeeper (1)

Tim Melia


Defenders (4)

Tyler Adams
Roman Torres
Ike Opara
Justin Morrow


Midfielders (4)

Diego Valeri
Michael Bradley
Romain Alessandrini
Victor Vazquez


Forwards (2)

David Villa
Josef Martinez

Some Soccer News for Nov 8, 2017

It's Day 312 of 2017.


Looks like 2 of the 3 MLS teams currently without a head coach are about to change that:

• Montreal has hired Frenchman Remi Garde.
• New England is hiring former USA star Brad Friedel.
• That leaves Colorado as the only team currently looking for a head coach. They are still searching. By Daniel Boniface for the Denver Post.

dN

CONCACAF is lining up a 3rd international tournament for its members - World Cup Qualifying, Gold Cup and now Nations League. By Simon Evans for Reuters.

• Its a pure cash grab.

dN

Univision has signed a 3 year deal to air Bundesliga games and a weekly highlights show.

• Sharing games with Fox Deportes, which is a channel I swear that no one gets.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Not sure if I made this official but the MNUFC Academy U14 team beat their cross town rivals Minnesota Thunder 0-4 last Sunday.

• The U13 + U14 teams will conclude their Fall season on Sun Nov 19 at Indiana Fire Academy.

As most people figured Julian Gressel has been named MLS Rookie of the Year, with Abu Danladi coming in 2nd place:

Results of MLS rookie of year voting

1. Julian Gressel, ATL
2. Abu Danladi, MIN
3. Jack Elliott, PHL
4. Nick Lima, SJ
5. Ian Harkes, DC
6. Jake Nerwinski, VAN

Gressel won in landslide

— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) November 8, 2017

dN

Picnic: du Nord Music Mix Vol 146 (download + extract)

dN

MLS

Check out my 2017 PRESEASON Coaches Hot Seat list:
(I believe I posted this around March 1st)

• 7 Curt Onalfo - OUT
• 6 Jay Heaps - OUT
• 5 Veljko Paunovic
• 4 Jeff Cassar - OUT
• 3 Jim Curtin
• 2 Dominic Kinnear - OUT
• 1 Carl Robinson

4 of the 7 got fired. And I am stunned Curtin is still in his position.

dN

Julian Gressel of Altanta United named MLS Rookie Of The Year

dN

USL

USL names their 2017 Best 11:
2017 USL All-League First Team

• G: Diego Restrepo - San Antonio
• D: Paco Craig - Louisville City, Harrison Delbridge - Cincinnati, Sebastien Ibeagha - San Antonio, Forrest Lasso - Charleston Battery
• M: Marcel Schafer - Tampa Bay Rowdies, Sebastian Velasquez - Real Monarchs SLC, Chris Wehan - Reno 1868
• F: Chandler Hoffman - Real Monarchs SLC, Dane Kelly - Reno 1868, Enzo Martinez - Charlotte Independence

dN

• Jack Blake of Jacksonville Armada named NASL Young Player of the Year
• Austin da Luz of North Carolina named NASL Humanitarian of the Year

dN

MEXICO - COPA MX

Quarterfinals Schedule:
-Wed Nov 8
Pachuca v Tijuana

dN

FIFA

World Cup Qualifying - final elimination rounds:

• Inter-Federation

1st Leg
-Fri Nov 10
Honduras (CONCACAF) v Australia (Asia)
-Sat Nov 11
New Zealand (Oceania) v Peru (CONMEBOL)
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 15
Australia v Honduras
Peru v New Zealand

• UEFA

1st Leg
-Thu Nov 9
Northern Ireland v Switzerland
Croatia v Greece
-Fri Nov 10
Sweden v Italy
-Sat Nov 11
Denmark v Ireland
2nd Leg
-Sun Nov 12
Switzerland v Northern Ireland
Greece v Croatia
-Mon Nov 13
Italy v Sweden
-Tue Nov 14
Ireland v Denmark

• Africa

Group A
-Nov 11
Tunisia v OUT-Libya
DR Congo v OUT-Guinea
13 Tunisia (+7) 10 DR Congo (+5) Group B
Nigeria already qualified from this group
Group C
-Nov 11
Ivory Coast v Morocco
9 Morocco (+9) 8 Ivory Coast (+4) Group D
-Nov 10
South Africa v Senegal
-Nov 14
Burkina Faso v Cape Verde
Senegal v South Africa
8 Senegal (+4) 6 Burkina Faso (0) 6 Cape Verde (-4) 4 South Africa (0) Group E
Egypt already qualified from this group



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Nov 7, 2017

It's Day 311 of 2017.


USMNT

The USA roster for next weeks friendly in Portugal has been released. (see below for list)

• Many young players
• Few older players
• No Pulisic, Wood or Morris
• No players still in MLS Playoffs
• No Christian Ramirez either - MNUFC fans are not happy
• No Jonathan Gonzalez - a highly touted 18 year old central midfielder at Monterrey

MEDIA:

• Sorting out this new USA roster. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.
• The youth movement begins. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.
• Now is the time to experiment. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

Friendly Schedule:
-Tue Nov 14
Portugal v USA - 12:45pm CT on FS1

USA Roster

• G: Jesse Gonzalez - Dallas, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Ethan Horvath - Club Brugge
• D: John Brooks - Wolfsburg, Cameron Carter-Vickers - Sheffield United, Eric Lichaj - Nottingham Forest, Matt Miazga - Vitesse, Tim Ream - Fulham, Jorge Villafana - Santos Laguna, DeAndre Yedlin - Newcastle United
• M: Kellyn Acosta - Dallas, Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Alejandro Bedoya - Philadelphia Union, Lynden Gooch - Sunderland, Weston McKennie - Schalke, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Danny Williams - Huddersfield
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union, Josh Sargent - St. Louis Scott Gallagher
• C: Dave Sarachan

dN

MLS

Robbie Rogers of LA Galaxy forced to retire due to ankle injury that he never came back from.

The Galaxy also released several players that came up through their academy system but failed to make a lasting impact on the senior squad.

Vancouver has released long time starting goalkeeper David Ousted.

Minnesota's Ibson will be a part of my 2017 MLS Best 11 list because of this skill - I call it pick pocket defense. I bet he swiped the ball off people more than 50 times this season. Remarkable at this trick:

Puro #crack. ??????

Es día de celebrar a uno de los jugadores más creativos de @futbolMLS. pic.twitter.com/e90cCjkQKG

— MNUFC en español (@MNUFCes) November 7, 2017

dN

NASL FINAL

Stefano Pinho of Miami named NASL Golden Boot Award winner

• He had 17 goals

The last 4 years of NASL Golden Boot winners has looked like this:

• 2014: Christian Ramirez (Minnesota United, 20 goals)
• 2015: Stefano Pinho (Fort Lauderdale Strikers, 16 goals)
• 2016: Christian Ramirez (Minnesota United, 18 goals)
• 2017: Stefano Pinho (Miami, 17 goals)

I think someone should be in MLS next year - hint, hint
dN

The Mexican Football Federation has been fined 11 times by FIFA in the last 24 months for fans homophobic chants - 160,000 Euros in total. It does not appear as though FIFA is going to do anything serious about this problem. At one point the fines were increasing each time, but the last 4 fines all went way back down.

• Numbers via FIFA.

dN

FIFA

How did Northern Ireland change their systems and mentality to make strides in world football? By Andy Hunter for the Guardian.



The Bird Is The Word