Some Soccer News for Dec 22, 2017

It's Day 356 of 2017.


FYI: I AM GONNA SKIP OUT ON A WEEK OR TWO OF POSTS AFTER THIS ONE TODAY. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR.


Huge congrats to Copa MX champions Monterrey.

dN

FC Cincinnati feels that they are just "dotting I's and crossing T's" before they are to become a Major League Soccer team. Its in the hands of the lawyers now. By Tom McKee for WCPO Cincinnati.

• Which means it could still easily fall apart.

dN

What does Nashville need to do now to be ready to take the field in MLS? By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

dN

The two Milan teams, Inter and AC, got large investments from China in the past few years but their paths are very different on their current financial stability. By Robert Smith for the Financial Times.

• The article is thick with business and financial buzzwords.

dN

The 2018 MLS player du Nord du Not list

• (64 players currently in MLS that I don't want to see on the Minnesota United roster in 2018)

dN

Tap Water: du Nord Music Mix Vol 150 (download + extract)

dN

MLS

Q + A with Brad Friedel, new head coach of New England Revolution. By Martin Harasimowicz for Four Four Two.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Jonathan Gonzalez + Monterrey beat Omar Gonzalez + Pachuca 1-0 in the Copa MX final. Both went the full 90 minutes.

• A miserable year ends on another bad note for Omar with his mark beating him for the winning goal.

dN

MEXICO - COPA MX

Final
-Thu Dec 21
Monterrey 1-0 Pachuca - Cup winning goal by Aviles Hurtado.

dN

WORLDWIDE

A list of the 100 best footballers in the world for 2017. From The Guardian.

• The Full List: #100 - #1

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S TOP LEAGUES

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Dec 22
Arsenal v Liverpool
Espanyol v Atletico Madrid
-Sat Dec 23
Real Madrid v Barcelona
Everton Chelsea
Sassuolo v Inter
Juventus v Roma
Man City v Bournemouth
Leicester v Man United
Milan v Atalanta
Napoli v Sampdoria
Burnley v Tottenham
Valencia v Villarreal


The Boxing Day/New Years Day Extended Schedule for the Big Teams in England:
-Tue Dec 26
Tottenham v Southampton
Chelsea v Brighton & Hove
Man United v Burnley
Liverpool v Swansea
-Wed Dec 27
Newcastle v Man City
-Thu Dec 28
Crystal Palace v Arsenal
-Sat Dec 30
Chelsea v Stoke City
Liverpool v Leicester
Man United v Southampton
-Sun Mar 31
Crystal Palace v Man City
West Brom v Arsenal
-Mon Jan 1
Burnley v Liverpool
Everton v Man United
-Tue Jan 2
Swansea v Tottenham
Man City v Watford
-Wed Jan 3
Arsenal v Chelsea
-Thu Jan 4
Tottenham v West Ham



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 21, 2017

It's Day 355 of 2017.


ICYMI: MLS announced that Nashville will be joining the league in the next few years.

The Wilf family who own the Minnesota Vikings NFL team have bought a piece of the new MLS Nashville team. By Andy Greder for the St Paul Pioneer Press.

• Thankfully they didn't get their hands on the Minnesota MLS team. We dodged a bullet there.

dN

A group of people are working very hard to create a new model for a 3rd division in American soccer, and Peter Wilt is at the wheel of the company truck that is moving fast and searching for new routes constantly. By Chris Kivlehan for Midfield Press.
There is a lot to consume in this article:

• Short background on NISA.
• Update to NISA plans.
• Interview with NISA president Peter Wilt (Wilt is a friend of du Nord and always a very interesting interview - well worth your time)

dN

Is 2017 a turning point for women's soccer worldwide? This is a very good argument saying it is. By Julie Foudy for ESPNW.

dN

The 2018 MLS player du Nord du Not list

• (64 players currently in MLS that I don't want to see on the Minnesota United roster in 2018)

dN

Tap Water: du Nord Music Mix Vol 150 (download + extract)

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Des Moines Menace head coach John Pascarella joins Minnesota as the new goalkeeper coach.

Jerome Thiesson gains recognition for his play at right fulback last season. (Rated 5th best in the league.) By Ridge Mahoney for Soccer America.

dN

MLS

Miguel Almiron of Atlanta tells, in his own translated words, what his first season was like in MLS. And the rest of his life story too. For the Players Tribune.

A look at the practice facility and small stadium Real Salt Lake is building for all their teams to use. By Megan Webb and Lucas Muller for RSL Soapbox.

dN

NWSL

How ownership of Real Salt Lake went from nothing to everything in owning a NWSL team in just 15 days. By Richard Farley for Four Four Two.

dN

MEXICO - COPA MX

Final
-Thu Dec 21
Monterrey v Pachuca - 8:50pm CT on Univ Deportes

dN

WORLDWIDE

A list of the 100 best footballers in the world for 2017. From The Guardian.

• Nearing the top: #100 - #11

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S TOP LEAGUES

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Dec 22
Arsenal v Liverpool
Espanyol v Atletico Madrid
-Sat Dec 23
Real Madrid v Barcelona
Everton Chelsea
Sassuolo v Inter
Juventus v Roma
Man City v Bournemouth
Leicester v Man United
Milan v Atalanta
Napoli v Sampdoria
Burnley v Tottenham
Valencia v Villarreal



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 20, 2017

It's Day 354 of 2017.


The 2018 MLS player du Nord du Not list

• 65 players currently in MLS that I don't want to see on the Minnesota United roster in 2018

dN

Julie Ertz named U.S. Soccer Female Player Of The Year

• Sophia Smith named Young Female Player Of The Year

dN

FIFA doctor who was investigating Russian PED allegations fired by FIFA pres Gianni Infantino without warning and inquest stopped. By David Conn for the Guardian.

dN

8 official candidates for US Soccer president: Paul Caligiuri, Kathy Carter, Carlos Cordeiro, Steve Gans, Kyle Martino, Hope Solo, Michael Winograd, Eric Wynalda

• Election is Feb 10

dN

MLS

Greg Vanney of Toronto named CONCACAF Men's Football Coach Of The Year.

dN

MEXICO - COPA MX

Final
-Thu Dec 21
Monterrey v Pachuca - 8:50pm CT on Univ Deportes

dN

FIFA

A list of the 100 best footballers in the world for 2017. From The Guardian.

• NOW MORE: #100 - #41

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S TOP LEAGUES

Mid-Week Schedule:
-Wed Dec 20
Toulouse 1-2 Lyon
Marseille 3-1 Troyes
Monaco 2-1 Rennes
PSG 3-1 Caen

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Dec 22
Arsenal v Liverpool
Espanyol v Atletico Madrid
-Sat Dec 23
Real Madrid v Barcelona
Everton Chelsea
Sassuolo v Inter
Juventus v Roma
Man City v Bournemouth
Leicester v Man United
Milan v Atalanta
Napoli v Sampdoria
Burnley v Tottenham
Valencia v Villarreal

dN

BIG TEAMS IN EUROPEAN LEAGUE CUP GAMES

Today's news:

• Schalke, Arsenal and Man City all advanced in England.
• Roma has lost in Italy.
• Dortmund lost to Bayern in Germany.

DFB Pokal Round of 16
-Tue Dec 19
Schalke 1-0 Koln
-Wed Dec 20
Bayern 2-1 Dortmund

English League Cup Quarterfinals
-Tue Dec 19
Arsenal 1-0 West Ham
Leicester 1-1 Man City - MC adv 4-3 on penalties
-Wed Dec 20
Chelsea 2-1 Bournemouth
Bristol v Man United

Coppa Italia
Rd of 16
-Tue Dec 19
Napoli 1-0 Udinese
-Wed Dec 21
Roma 1-2 Torino
Juventus 2-0 Genoa
Quarterfinals
-Tue Dec 26
Milan v Inter



The Bird Is The Word

The 2018 MLS player du Nord du Not list

(65 players currently in MLS that I don't want to see on the Minnesota United roster in 2018)
(Or if you prefer, I have broken the players down, by position, below.)
Tesho Akindele
Arturo Alvarez
Quincy Amarikwa
Jalil Anibaba
Emmanuel Boateng
Deshorn Brown
Benoit Cheyrou - RETIRED
Aurelien Collin
Cristian Colman
Warren Creavalle
Cody Cropper
Christian Dean
Nick DeLeon
Tyler Deric
Clement Diop
Andrew Dykstra
Kevin Ellis
Sean Franklin
Raymon Gaddis
Luis Gil
Jake Gleeson
Marlon Hairston
David Horst
Erik Hurtado
Andrew Jacobson
Adam Jahn
Jared Jeffrey
Will Johnson
Taylor Kemp
Jon Kempin
Brad Knighton
Chris Korb
Connor Lade
Kekuta Manneh
Felipe Martins
Darren Mattocks
Jack McInerney
Roy Miller
Ashtone Morgan
Yura Movsisyan
Chance Myers
Dominic Oduro
Kofi Opare
Damien Perrinelle
Jacob Peterson
Leonardo
Dave Romney
Brian Rowe
Soony Saad
Marcelo Sarvas
Brek Shea
Harry Shipp
Luis Silva
Jay Simpson
Sunday Stephen
Daniel Steres
Cristian Techera
Russell Teibert
Chris Tierney
Maximiliano Urruti
Jared Watts
Andrew Wenger
Joe Willis
Marvell Wynne
Gyasi Zardes


----------
----------


By Position
G:
Cody Cropper
Tyler Deric
Clement Diop
Andrew Dykstra
Jake Gleeson
Jon Kempin
Brad Knighton
Brian Rowe
Joe Willis

FB:
Jalil Anibaba
Christian Dean
Sean Franklin
Taylor Kemp
Chris Korb
Connor Lade
Roy Miller
Chance Myers
Brek Shea
Chris Tierney

CB:
Aurelien Collin
Kevin Ellis
David Horst
Ashtone Morgan
Kofi Opare
Damien Perrinelle
Leonardo
Dave Romney
Daniel Steres
Jared Watts
Marvell Wynne

DM:
Warren Creavalle
Raymon Gaddis
Andrew Jacobson
Jared Jeffrey
Will Johnson
Marcelo Sarvas
Sunday Stephen

CM:
Luis Gil
Erik Hurtado
Russell Teibert

OM:
Arturo Alvarez
Nick DeLeon
Marlon Hairston
Felipe Martins
Jacob Peterson
Soony Saad
Harry Shipp
Luis Silva

F:
Tesho Akindele
Quincy Amarikwa
Emmanuel Boateng
Deshorn Brown
Cristian Colman
Adam Jahn
Kekuta Manneh
Darren Mattocks
Jack McInerney
Yura Movsisyan
Dominic Oduro
Jay Simpson
Cristian Techera
Maximiliano Urruti
Andrew Wenger
Gyasi Zardes

Some Soccer News for Dec 19, 2017

It's Day 353 of 2017.


MLS will announce Nashville as its next expansion team on Wednesday. From the Nashville Tennessean.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED PARTIAL 2018 SCHEDULE

Minnesota United will begin the 2018 season on the road:
-Sat Mar 3
San Jose Earthquakes v Minnesota United

And then play their first home game of the season on St Patrick's Day:
-Sat Mar 17
Minnesota United v Chicago Fire

I don't know if they have a bye week in between or we just don't have that part of the schedule yet.

They will also travel to Portland to open their stadium after they add more seats:
-Sat Apr 14
Portland Timbers v Minnesota United

dN

MLS PARTIAL 2018 SCHEDULE

All 23 MLS Home Opening Games for 2018:
-Sat Mar 3
Toronto v Columbus
Houston v Atlanta
Orlando v DC
Dallas v Salt Lake
Colorado v Chicago
San Jose v Minnesota
Philadelphia v New England
-Sun Mar 4
Seattle v LAFC
Vancouver v Montreal
Kansas City v NYC
LAG v Portland
-Sat Mar 10
Columbus v Montreal
New England v Colorado
Salt Lake v LAFC
NYRB v Portland
Chicago v Kansas City
-Sun Mar 11
Atlanta v DC
NYC v LAG
-Sat Mar 17
Montreal v Toronto
DC v Houston
Minnesota v Chicago
-Sat Apr 14
Portland v Minnesota
-Sun Apr 29
LAFC v Seattle

dN

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Two Legged Championship Bracket:
-Match dates TBA
Chivas v Cibao
Seattle v Santa Tecla
RBNY v Olimpia
Tijuna v Motagua
Tigres v Herediano
Toronto v Colorado
Dallas v Tauro
America v Saprissa

Match Date Range:

• Round of 16: Feb 20-22 + Feb 27- Mar 1
• Quarterfinals: Mar 6-8 + Mar 13-15
• Semifinals: Apr 3-5 + Apr 10-12
• Finals: Apr 17-19 + Apr 24-26

dN

MLS

Colorado has signed 31 year old American left fullback Edgar Castillo from Monterrey in Liga MX.

• Castillo only played 1 game for Monterrey in the Fall season.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Edgar Castillo has left Monterrey and signed with Colorado Rapids in MLS.

dN

WORLDWIDE

A list of the The 100 best footballers in the world 2017. From The Guardian.

• Here is #100 - #71

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

Some said coaching in the Premier League would be much harder than the Bundesliga or La Liga. Pep Guardiola probably begs to differ. By Rory Smith for the New York Times.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S TOP LEAGUES

Mid-Week Schedule:
-Wed Dec 20
Toulouse v Lyon
Marseille v Troyes
Monaco v Rennes
PSG v Caen

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Dec 22
Arsenal v Liverpool
Espanyol v Atletico Madrid
-Sat Dec 23
Real Madrid v Barcelona
Everton Chelsea
Sassuolo v Inter
Juventus v Roma
Man City v Bournemouth
Leicester v Man United
Milan v Atalanta
Napoli v Sampdoria
Burnley v Tottenham
Valencia v Villarreal

dN

BIG TEAMS IN EUROPEAN LEAGUE CUP GAMES

DFB Pokal Round of 16
-Wed Dec 20
Bayern v Dortmund

English League Cup Quarterfinals
-Tue Dec 19
Arsenal v West Ham
Leicester v Man City
-Wed Dec 20
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Bristol v Man United

Coppa Italia
Rd of 16
-Tue Dec 19
Napoli v Udinese
-Wed Dec 21
Roma v Torino
Juventus v Genoa
Quarterfinals
-Tue Dec 26
Milan v Inter



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 18, 2017

It's Day 352 of 2017.


Christian Pulisic and Dortmund have had a relatively rough Fall 2017.

dN

American midfielder Jonathan Gonzalez named to Liga MX Apertura Best 11.

dN

Alex Morgan and Keylor Navas were named CONCACAF Womens and Mens Player Of The Year.

dN

CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 Draw is Monday at 6pm CT.
Here are the teams:
(Pot 1)

• America
• Dallas
• Guadalajara
• New York Red Bulls
• Seattle Sounders
• Tigres
• Tijuana
• Toronto

(Pot 2)

• Cibao (Dominican Republic)
• Colorado Rapids
• Herediano
• Motagua
• Olimpia
• Santa Tecla (El Salvador)
• Saprissa
• Tauro (Panama)

Each round is 2 Legs
Match Dates:

• Round of 16: Feb 20-22 + Feb 27- Mar 1
• Quarterfinals: Mar 6-8 + Mar 13-15
• Semifinals: Apr 3-5 + Apr 10-12
• Finals: Apr 17-19 + Apr 24-26

All the details.

dN

Official: Giovani Savarese named head coach of Portland Timbers.

dN

What FIFA deserves more than anything is a 48 team 2026 World Cup hosted by Morocco.

• Current status of the US-MEX-CA bid. By Steven Goff for the Washington Post.

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

The Loons signed right fullback Tyrone Mears from Atlanta. He is 34 years old.

dN

MLS

Atlanta pulled off a deal to sign Darlington Nagbe from Portland. He will have his best chance ever to shine.

Toronto wisely signed centerback Drew Moor to a new 1 year contract.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Keaton Parks made his Primeira Liga debut with Benfica as a fullback, coming on as a sub in a 1-5 win over CD Tondela.

• He signed a new contract with Benfica just last week.

dN

MEXICO - COPA MX

Final
-Thu Dec 21
Monterrey v Pachuca

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

What is so impressive about Manchester City and their 15 (now 16) game winning streak? By Victor Mather for the New York Times.

Three Teams Unbeaten in the Big 5 Leagues:

• Manchester City 17-1-0
• Barcelona 13-3-0
• Atletico Madrid 10-6-0

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S TOP LEAGUES

My Notes:

• AC Milan appears to be going down the tubes. Articles about financial issues abound, and they got pummeled by Hellas Veronas.
• Inter Milan also lost (first time this season) and fell from 1st to 3rd.
• Tottenham was crushed by Man City.
• -Valencia and Leipzig lost too and might be out of the "Big Teams" list soon.

Weekend Results:
-Fri Dec 15
Saint-Etienne 0-4 Monaco
-Sat Dec 16
Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Deportivo Alaves
Stuttgart 0-1 Bayern
Chelsea 1-0 Southampton
Dortmund 2-1 Hoffenheim
Inter 1-3 Udinese
Torino 1-3 Napoli
Rennes 1-4 PSG
Roma 1-0 Cagliari
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Schalke
Man City 4-1 Tottenham
Eibar 2-1 Valencia
-Sun Dec 17
Barcelona 4-0 Deportivo La Coruna
Bologna 0-3 Juventus
Leipzig 2-3 Hertha
Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool
Lyon 2-0 Marseille
West Brom 1-2 Man United
Hellas Verona 3-0 Milan

Mid-Week Schedule:
-Wed Dec 20
Toulouse v Lyon
Marseille v Troyes
Monaco v Rennes
PSG v Caen



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 11, 2017

It's Day 345 of 2017.


Toronto are the new MLS Champions!

Tigres are the new Liga MX Champions!

A big weekend for North American soccer.

dN

It's crazy to think that I joined Twitter 10 years ago today. It has changed my soccer world like nothing else ever has.

dN

MLS CUP FINAL

-Sat Dec 9
Toronto FC 2-0 Seattle Sounders FC - Tor goals by Jozy Altidore and Victor Valdez

My MLS Cup Final Notes:

• TFC earned it all. Three titles in one season: Canadian Championship - Supporters Shield - MLS Cup. No MLS team has ever done it before.
• After losing at home to Seattle last year this was the only acceptable outcome for TFC and the fans.
• Why didn't Seattle show up? At all.
• If you were supporting Seattle you had to be completely baffled as to why your team was so bad. Actually probably more angry than baffled. Irate maybe. Two years in a row your team didn't play soccer in the final. Last year they got by with it.
• Toronto never let up from the first minute to the last. They wanted this win so badly.
• Stefan Frei is the only reason Seattle didn't get blown out. He had a great game in the Sounders goal.
• The TFC midfielders seemed to stuff Nicolas Lodiero into a small sock and not let him out for 90 minutes. He was no factor what so ever.
• Neither was Clint Dempsey or Will Bruin. Where was Christian Roldan in the attack? Where were the fullbacks?
• Bradley, Delgado, Vasquez, Morrow, Osorio, Giovinco and Altidore seemed to have the ball for 75% of the game.
• Hooray to the long suffering fans of Toronto. You have been insufferable and self-righteous at times, but you have also mellowed out and become more humble and more enjoyable. Congrats to you.

Media:

• Toronto - It wasn't long ago that they were the worst run club in MLS history. By Sam Stejskal for MLS.
• Toronto - Is this TFC the best MLS team ever? By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.
• Toronto - A little redemption for Bradley and Altidore. By Joel Petterson for the New York Times.
• Toronto - Michael Bradley was a true leader on Saturday. By Scott French for Four Four Two.
• Seattle - The Sounders attack was silenced. By Geoff Baker for the Seattle Times. (Can you claim something was silenced when it never attempted to make any noise?)

dN

LIGA MX

There is a new champion in Mexico:

• Tigres UANL wins it 3-2 on aggregate in a derby match up. Fantastic stuff.
• Tigres went on the road for the 2nd Leg and pulled off an upset over a big favorite! Huge congrats to them.
• Monterrey scored just 2 minutes into the game and it felt like, uh oh, this is going to be a rout.
• Hell no! Tigres was having none of that. They fought hard, tied the game, then got the lead, and watched Monterrey completely miss on a penalty kick late in the game that would have tied the series and changed the momentum.

American Jonathan Gonzalez started for Monterrey but came out in the 80th when Mont was desperate to get more attackers on the field.

Tigres head coach Tuca Ferreti lead his team to grand victory. By Tom Marshall for ESPNFC.

Liguilla Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 7
Tigres 1-1 Monterrey
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 10
Monterrey 1-2 Tigures

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Round of 16 Draw:
1st Leg
-Tue Feb 13
Juventus v Tottenham
Basel v Man City
-Wed Feb 14
Porto v Liverpool
Real Madrid v PSG
-Tue Feb 20
Chelsea v Barcelona
Bayern v Besiktas
-Wed Feb 21
Sevilla v Man United
Shakhtar v Roma
---
2nd Leg
-Tue Mar 6
Liverpool v Porto
PSG v Real Madrid
-Wed Mar 7
Tottenham v Juventus
Man City v Basel
-Tue Mar 13
Man United v Sevilla
Roma v Shakhtar
-Wed Mar 14
Barcelona v Chelsea
Besiktas v Bayern

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

Made one move before the roster freeze for the expansion draft on Tuesday: signed the coaches son Harrison from Atlanta in exchange for a future late round draft pick.

• The spot on the roster and what they gave up to sign the player is basically inconsequential.
• I hope there is already a plan in place for him to go out on loan.
• The message it sends is pure nepotism. Not something this team needs to show its die hard fans.

Here is how the team divided up their roster in advance of the LAFC expansion draft:

I would be very surprised to see a @MNUFC player selected by @LAFC in the expansion draft, which will take place tomorrow: Tue Dec 12 at 1pm CT

This is who is available and who is protected: pic.twitter.com/jksAVZ9NKv

— Bruce McGuire (@dunord) December 11, 2017

dN

MLS

Three teams made moves over the weekend to acquire strong roster pieces:

• Vancouver bought Kei Kamara from New England.
• LAFC bought Walker Zimmerman from Dallas.
• DC United bought Frederic Brillant from NYC.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Cristian Pulisic has a new head coach at Dortmund as Peter Bosz was fired. They have not won in 9 straight games. Peter Stoger who last managed Koln is now in charge.

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

Leo Messi has 14 goals from open play in La Liga this season. Cristiano Ronaldo has 3. And Barcelona has an 8 point lead over Real Madrid. Interesting.

Four Teams Unbeaten in the Big 5 Leagues:

• Manchester City 15-1-0
• Barcelona 12-3-0
• Internazionale 12-4-0
• Atletico Madrid 9-6-0

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S TOP LEAGUES

Weekend Fallout:

• Chelsea, Man United and Dortmund were the 3 big teams to lose. And it cost them all a lot; Chelsea is now 14 pts behind, Man United is 11 pts behind, and Dortmund have not won in 9 games in all competitions and it cost their coach Peter Bosz his job.
• Manchester City already has an 11 pt lead in the Premier League and the season isn't even half over. Money wins.
• Bayern won and everyone else chasing them either tied or lost. They have an 8 point lead.
• The top 4 teams in Italy all played in scoreless games. Fuck.

Weekend Results:
-Sat Dec 9
Eintracht Franfurt 0-1 Bayern
West Ham 1-0 Chelsea
Dortmund 1-2 Werder Bremen
Juventus 0-0 Internazionale
Leipzig 2-2 Mainz
Monaco 3-2 Troyes
PSG 3-1 Lille
Real Madrid 5-0 Sevilla
Monchengladbach 1-1 Schalke
Tottenham 5-1 Stoke
Valencia 2-1 Celta de Vigo
-Sun Dec 10
Southampton 1-1 Arsenal
Real Betis 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona
Liverpool 1-1 Everton
Amiens 1-2 Lyon
Man United 1-2 Man City
Marsielle 3-0 Saint-Etienne
Milan 2-1 Bologna
Napoli 0-0 Fiorentina
Chievo 0-0 Roma
---
Midweek Schedule:
-Tue Dec 12
Huddersfield v Chelsea
Mainz v Dortmund
Wolfsburg v Leipzig
-Wed Dec 13
West Ham v Arsenal
Bayern v Koln
Liverpool v West Bromwich
Swansea v Man City
Man United v Bournemouth
Schalke v Augsburg
Tottenham v Brighton & Hove



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 7, 2017

It's Day 341 of 2017.


The USMNT annual winter camp will start Jan 10 in Carson, CA.

• Dave Saracan will again be interim head coach.
• Rumor says they will call in around 30 players.
• As in most years it will be all players who are on a break from their club season, so mostly MLS.
• Does Minnesota United forward Christian Ramirez get his shot?

Rumor: USMNT to play friendly at France on Jun 9 in Lyon.

dN

American Jonathan Gonzalez has been a key for Monterrey so far this season. And he is just 18. By Tom Marshall for ESPNFC.

• The 1st Leg of the Liga MX Apertura Final is tonight.

dN

LIGA MX

Weather could be a factor tonight as they are expecting 35 degrees and rain.

Liguilla Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 7
Tigres v Monterrey - 8:00pm CT on Univision Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 10
Monterrey v Tigures - 6:00pm CT on Univision Deportes

dN

Some great looking games from Europe this weekend. See the schedule for the top games below.

dN

MLS CUP FINAL

-Sat Dec 9
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - kickoff at 3:30pm CT on ESPN

• I will be watching the game at New Bohemia on Lake Street in Minneapolis

Media:

• Immaculate analysis - For Toronto this game means.... By Matt Doyle for MLS.
• Sounders working on building a dynasty. By Geoff Baker for the Seattle Times.
• Michael Bradley says this game is all about Toronto, not Seattle. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.
• Greg Vanney took over a lousy TFC team in late 2014 and now look where they are. By Neil Davidson for the Canadian Press via the Vancouver Sun.
• Jozy Altidore - yeah, he's playing, just try and stop him. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

Two examples that tell me the teams are ready to play:

Jozy Altidore on if his ankle will be pain-free on Saturday: "It doesn't matter." #MLSCup #TFCLive

— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) December 7, 2017

Someone asked #SoundersFC manager Brian Schmetzer about the marriage between Clint Dempsey and Will Bruin.

Schmetzer turns to Dempsey: "You guys married?"

Dempsey: "Guess so."

Yes, they're relaxed.

— Jeff Carlisle (@JeffreyCarlisle) December 7, 2017

dN

An audio interview with MLS commissioner Don Garber. Download or listen here. By Roger Bennett for Men In Blazers.

dN

A long and detailed Q + A with ESPN TV commentator Taylor Twellman on the state of American soccer. By Matt Yoder for Awful Announcing.

dN

Accord: du Nord Music Mix Vol 149 (download + extract)

dN

MINNESOTA UNITED

This early prediction for the USMNT January Camp roster includes Christian Ramirez. By Ari Creditor for Sports Illustrated.

dN

MLS

In the past two weeks there have been whispers that Columbus' effective defensive midfielder Artur would not be back as his loan from Sao Paolo had ended and no purchase deal had been completed. But today the Crew announced that a deal had been struck and they had bought Artur. Great move.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Jonathan "Haha" Klinsmann made his pro debut today as Hertha Berlin tied Ostersunds 1-1 at home in the Europa League.

• Hertha won't be advancing to the knock out stages.

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Round of 16 Draw
-Mon Dec 11

• #1 Seeds: Barcelona, Besiktas, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Roma, Tottenham
• #2 Seeds: Basel, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Juventus, Porto, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

There are still 4 unbeaten teams in the Big 5 Leagues:

• Manchester City 14-1-0
• Internazionale 12-3-0
• Barcelona 11-3-0
• Atletico Madrid 8-6-0

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

Three very big derby matches this weekend:

• Juve v Inter - #2 v #1
• Man U v Man City - #2 v #1
• Liverpool v Everton

Weekend Schedule:
-Sat Dec 9
Eintracht Franfurt v Bayern
West Ham v Chelsea
Dortmund v Werder Bremen
Juventus v Internazionale
Leipzig v Mainz
Monaco v Troyes
PSG v Lille
Real Madrid v Sevilla
Monchengladbach v Schalke
Tottenham v Stoke
Valencia v Celta de Vigo
-Sun Dec 10
Southampton v Arsenal
Real Betis v Atletico Madrid
Villarreal v Barcelona
Liverpool v Everton
Amiens v Lyon
Man United v Man City
Marsielle v Saint-Etienne
Milan v Bologna
Napoli v Fiorentina
Chievo v Roma



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 6, 2017

It's Day 340 of 2017.


The Draw for the CONCACAF Champions League knock out stage is Mon Dec 18.

• The Round of 16 begins on Feb 20.
• Five MLS teams in the tourney: Colorado Rapids, Dallas, New York Red Bulls, Seattle Sounders, and Toronto (as Canadian champs)

dN

MLS CUP FINAL

-Sat Dec 9
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - kickoff at 3:30pm CT on ESPN

• I will be watching the game at New Bohemia on Lake Street in Minneapolis

Media:

• BUZZWORD ALERT: Seattle not feeling the PRESSURE to repeat. By Matt Pentz for ESPNFC.
• BUZZWORD ALERT: Toronto is using their PROCESS to succeed in 2017. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

dN

Accord: du Nord Music Mix Vol 149 (download + extract)

dN

MLS

Philadelphia GM and former USA international Earnie Stewart sits down for an in depth Q + A. By Scott French for Four Four Two.

• Long interview with a lot of different subjects, past and present.

dN

NWSL

A very good story of newly moved and named Utah Royals (formerly FC Kansas City and now owned by Real Salt Lake) getting their first head coach, a highly sought after Laura Harvey. By Richard Farley for Four Four Two.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Timmy Chandler is back to training with Eintract Frankfurt. He had meniscus surgery 7 weeks ago. My gut instinct says he won't play again until after the winter break.

dN

LIGA MX

We don't often get a genuine derby in the finals, but the two powerhouses from Monterrey will face off for the Mexican championship. By Luis Miguel Echegaray for Sports Illustrated.

Liguilla Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Thu Dec 7
Tigres v Monterrey - 8:00pm CT on Univision Deportes
2nd Leg
-Sun Dec 10
Monterrey v Tigures - 6:00pm CT on Univision Deportes

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - GROUP STAGE


Matchday 6

• NEWLY IN - Liverpool, Sevilla, Shakhtar Donetsk, Porto
• NEWLY OUT - Spartak Moskva, Napoli, Leipzig

• Already ADVANCED (12 of 16): Barcelona, Basel, Bayern, Besiktas, Chelsea, Juventus, Man City, Man United, PSG, Real Madrid, Roma, Tottenham
• Already OUT (13 of 16): Anderlecht, APOEL, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Celtic, CSKA Moskva, Dortmund, Feyenoord, Maribor, Monaco, Olympiacos, Qarabag, Sporting CP

-Mon Dec 11
Round of 16 Draw

Matchday 6 Schedule/Results:
-Wed Dec 6
Group E
Liverpool (12 pts) 7-0 Spartak Moskva (Out)
Maribor (Out) 1-1 Sevilla (9 pts)
Group F
Shakhtar Donetsk (12 pts) 2-1 Man City (In)
Feyenoord (Out) 2-1 Napoli (Out)
Group G
Porto (10 pts) 5-2 Monaco (Out)
Leipzig (Out) 1-2 Besiktas (In)

Seeds:

• A1 - Manchester United
• A2 - Basel
• B1 - Paris Saint-Germain
• B2 - Bayern Munich
• C1 - Roma
• C2 - Chelsea
• D1 - Barcelona
• D2 - Juventus

---

• E1 - Liverpool
• E2 - Sevilla
• F1 - Man City
• F2 - Shakhtar Donetsk
• G1 - Besiktas
• G2 - Porto
• H1 - Tottenham
• H2 - Real Madrid

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 5, 2017

It's Day 339 of 2017.


MINNESOTA UNITED

Nick Rogers has relieved of his job as President of Minnesota United. He had been the right hand of Dr Bill McGuire since he bought the team in 2012.

• I want to thank Nick for everything he has done. We have had our conflicts over the years but always moved past them. I met Nick soon after he and Dr McGuire first took in a Minnesota Stars game and began comtemplating the purchase. Its been a great road. Thank you.
• A couple more details. By Andy Greder for the Pioneer Press.

dN

Sunil Gulati will not run for another term as US Soccer president. Here is the interview that broke the story. By Sam Borden for ESPNFC.

• What does Gulati's stepping aside do to the race? By Grant Wahl for Sports Illustrated.

dN

Diego Valeri is beyond a great choice for 2017 MLS Most Valuable Player. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

dN

American soccer legend Brian McBride weighs in on the mess in Columbus and the potential of his first team moving to Austin. From the Columbus Dispatch.

dN

Russia has been found guilty of a state run doping program and banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics.

• Oddly FIFA responded by stating that they have no worries about the World Cup next summer, even though the guy who started the current doping program, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko, is the chairman of this World Cup.

dN

MLS CUP FINAL

-Sat Dec 9
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - kickoff at 3:30pm CT on ESPN

• I will be watching the game at New Bohemia on Lake Street in Minneapolis

Media:

• Upgrades all over the field for Seattle since winning MLS Cup 2016. That's how great teams act. By Geoff Baker for the Seattle Times.
• The arrival of centerback Drew Moor in Toronto was the beginning of a new day for TFC - attention to defense. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.
• Stefan Frei doesn't want this year's championship to come down to "that one big save." By Geoff Baker for the Seattle Times.

dN

MLS

NYC has signed fullback Ronald Matarrita to a contract extension. Always good to sign the talented young ones.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Meet Jonathan Amon who at 18 years old is making his name in Denmark at Nordjaelland. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - GROUP STAGE


Matchday 6

• Newly IN - Man United, Basel, Roma, Juventus
• Newly OUT - CSKA Moskva, Atletico Madrid, Sporting CP

• Already ADVANCED (8 of 16): Barcelona, Bayern, Besiktas, Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG, Real Madrid, Tottenham
• Already OUT (10 of 16): Anderlecht, APOEL, Benfica, Celtic, Dortmund, Feyenoord, Maribor, Monaco, Olympiacos, Qarabag

Round of 16 Draw
-Mon Dec 11

Key Game Schedule:
-Tue Dec 5
Group A
Man United (15pts) 2-1 CSKA Moskva (OUT)
Benfica (Out) 0-2 Basel (12pts)
Group C
Roma (11 pts) 1-0 Qarabag (Out)
Cheslea (In) 1-1 Atletico(OUT)
Group D
Olympiacos (Out) 0-2 JUVENTUS (11 pts)
Barcelona (In) 2-0 Sporting CP (OUT)
-Wed Dec 6
Group E
Liverpool (9 pts) v Spartak Moskva (6 pts)
Maribor (Out) v Sevilla (8 pts)
Group F
Shakhtar Donetsk (9 pts) v Man City
Feyenoord (Out) v Napoli (6 pts)
Group G
Porto (7 pts) v Monaco (Out)
Leipzig (7 pts) v Besiktas (In)

Seeds:

• A1 - Manchester United
• A2 - Basel
• B1 - Paris Saint-Germain
• B2 - Bayern Munich
• C1 - Roma
• C2 - Chelsea
• D1 - Barcelona
• D2 - Juventus

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

Sergio Ramos and his 24 Real Madrid red cards: a retrospective. From the Guardian.

• 24 red cards is an insane amount. Most entire teams don't get that many in the same amount of time.

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 4, 2017

It's Day 338 of 2017.


ADDED TO POST - Important News On Sunil Gulati:

BREAKING: Longtime U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati will not run for re-election. https://t.co/uuWa4MyYGN pic.twitter.com/gRyC1ivuZH

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 4, 2017

dN

My fellow Minnesota United fans, and Dark Clouds especially, always make me happy. Here is a small taste why:

'You know nothing Grant Wahl'

Why is soccer so great? @GrantWahl looks back at some of his botched predictions and the fans who let him hear about it ?? pic.twitter.com/t0721BmWOz

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 2, 2017

dN

Diego Valeri of Portland Timbers named MLS Most Valuable Player

• An easy choice in 2017.

dN

A couple weeks back I mentioned Italian club Benevento because at the time they had played 12 games and lost them all. Since then they went on to lose two more leaving them at 0-0-14 in Serie A. This weekend that changed: 5 minutes into second half stoppage time they trailed Milan 1-2 but got a free kick just left of the box. The Benevento goalkeeper came racing forward and then put the ball into the net with his head to tie the game and claim their first point of the season, tying 2-2 v Milan.

• More on Italian soccer from the weekend with Benevento, and a new Serie A leader in Inter Milan. By Paolo Bandini for the Guardian.

dN

Q + A with Rob Stone - one of my favorite people in American Soccer, talking World Cup and his life as a sports broadcaster. By Mike Woitalla for Soccer America.

dN

An update on a potential new soccer league in the USA, called NISA, from our friend and league commissioner Peter Wilt. Press release from the NISA.

• Not prepared to launch soon enough. I have always thought that their hope of starting in 2018 was pushing it too hard.

dN

MLS FINAL

-Sat Dec 9
Toronto FC v Seattle Sounders FC - kickoff at 3:30pm CT on ESPN

• I will be watching the game at New Bohemia on Lake Street in Minneapolis

Media:

• Clint Dempsey, Stefan Frei and solid roster moves since last season are what has gotten Seattle back to the title game. By Todd Milles for the Tacoma News Tribune.
• Money reigns in this years Cup Final. By Steve Davis for Four Four Two.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

7 games in a row without a win in all competitions for Cristian Pulisic and Borussia Dortmund.

• And outside of a Cup win against 3rd division Magdeburg the streak goes back 3 more games to a win on Sep 30th.

How did other Americans perform over the last week. A good review. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

dN

LIGA MX

Oh boy, its gonna be the battle for the soul of the city of Monterrey in the Final. A derby in a final always makes things a lot crazier. Both people I talked to who live in Monterrey (one supporting each team) are nervous about how the city will react.

Liguilla Semfinals Results:
2nd Leg
-Sat Dec 2
Tigres-2 3-0 America-3 - Tig advances 4-0 on aggregate
-Sun Dec 3
Monterrey-1 4-0 Morelia-4 - Mon advances 5-0 on aggregate

Liguilla Final Schedule:
1st Leg
-Date TBA
Tigres v Monterrey
2nd Leg
-Date TBA
Monterrey v Tigres

dN

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - GROUP STAGE


Matchday 6
-Tue Dec 5 + Wed Dec 6

• ADVANCED (8 of 16): Barcelona, Bayern, Besiktas, Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG, Real Madrid, Tottenham
• OUT (10 of 16): Anderlecht, APOEL, Benfica, Celtic, Dortmund, Feyenoord, Maribor, Monaco, Olympiacos, Qarabag

Round of 16 Draw
-Mon Dec 11

Key Game Schedule:
-Mon Dec 5
Group A
Man United (12pts) v CSKA Moskva (9pts)
Benfica (Out) v Basel (9pts)
Group C
Roma (8 pts) v Qarabag (Out)
Cheslea (In) v Atletico(6 pts)
Group D
Olympiacos (Out) v JUVENTUS (8 pts)
Barcelona (In) v Sporting CP (7 pts)
-Tue Dec 6
Group E
Liverpool (9 pts) v Spartak Moskva (6 pts)
Maribor (Out) v Sevilla (8 pts)
Group F
Shakhtar Donetsk (9 pts) v Man City
Feyenoord (Out) v Napoli (6 pts)
Group G
Porto (7 pts) v Monaco (Out)
Leipzig (7 pts) v Besiktas (In)

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

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

Unbeaten teams in the Big 5:
(6 became 4)
Manchester City 14-1-0
Internazionale 12-3-0
Barcelona 11-3-0
Atletico Madrid 8-6-0
---
Valencia - LOST this week
Paris St Germain - LOST this week

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

Lost: Napoli to Juventus, Leipzig got smoked, and PSG lost for the first time.

In Spain, of the top 4 only Atleti got a win as Barca and Real Madrid both tied and Valencia lost for the first time all season.

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Dec 1
Napoli 0-1 Juventus
Roma 3-1 SPAL
-Sat Dec 2
Arsenal 1-3 Man United
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Real Sociedad
Barcelona 2-2 Celta de Vigo
Bayern 3-1 Hannover
Chelsea 3-1 Newcastle
Leverkusen 1-1 Dortmund
Hoffenheim 4-0 Leipzig
Brighton & Hove 1-5 Liverpool
Monaco 1-0 Angers
Strasbourg 2-1 PSG
Athletic Bilbao 0-0 Real Madrid
Schalke 2-2 Koln
Watford 1-1 Tottenham
-Sun Dec 3
Internazionale 5-0 Chievo
Caen 1-2 Lyon
Man City 2-1 West Ham
Montpellier 1-1 Marseille
Benevento 2-2 Milan
Getafe 1-0 Valencia



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Dec 1, 2017

It's Day 335 of 2017.


WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE DRAW

First game: Thu Jun 14 - Russia v Saudi Arabia

The lowest ranked team in the tournament is the host - Russia. And they are in the easiest group BY A MILE!

Group A - 43.75 Avg FIFA Rank

• 1 Russia - 65
• 2 Saudi Arabia - 63
• 3 Egypt - 30
• 4 Uruguay - 17

Group B - 23.25 Avg FIFA Rank

• 1 Portugal - 3
• 2 Spain - 8
• 3 Morocco - 48
• 4 Iran - 34

Group C - 19.75 Avg FIFA Rank

• 1 France - 7
• 2 Australia - 43
• 3 Peru - 10
• 4 Denmark - 19

Group D - 21.00 Avg FIFA Rank

• 1 Argentina - 4
• 2 Iceland - 21
• 3 Croatia - 18
• 4 Nigeria - 41

Group E - 18.25 Avg FIFA Rank

• 1 Brazil - 2
• 2 Switzerland - 11
• 3 Costa Rica - 22
• 4 Serbia - 38

Group F - 26.00 Avg FIFA Rank

• 1 Germany - 1
• 2 Mexico - 16
• 3 Sweden - 25
• 4 South Korea - 62

Group G - 23.50 Avg FIFA Rank

• 1 Belgium - 5
• 2 Panama - 49
• 3 Tunisia - 28
• 4 England - 12

Group H - 23.75 Avg FIFA Rank

• 1 Poland - 6
• 2 Senegal - 32
• 3 Colombia - 13
• 4 Japan - 44

Pre-tournament and on paper I think the toughest group is E.

My favorite match from each group:

• A - Egypt v Uruguay - Fri Jun 15
• B - Portugal v Spain - Fri Jun 15
• C - France v Peru - Thu Jun 21
• D - Argentina v Croatia - Thu Jun 21
• E - Brazil v Costa Rica - Fri Jun 22
• F - Germany v Mexico - Sun Jun 17
• G - Belgium v Panama - Mon Jun 18
• H - Poland v Colombia - Sun Jun 24

Tournament Timeline:

• Group stage: Jun 14 to Jun 28
• Round of 16: Jun 30 to Jul 3
• Quarterfinals: Jul 6 to Jul 7
• Semifinals: Jul 10 to Jul 11
• Final: Jul 15

dN

The amount of ugliness surrounding the World Cup in Russia never lets up and none of the negative stories have gone away since day 1: kick backs, doping, racism, anti-homosexuality etc etc. By Tariq Panja for the New York Times.

• The NYT addressed the Putin sports ministers directly and held their ground in their allegations.

dN

MLS

Seattle will travel to Toronto for a repeat of last year's final. And both teams are better than they were last year!

My Sea-Hou Notes:

• Before the game there was a question posed on Twitter asking if this was a game to show a newbie. I replied: Two words - Clint Dempsey. And he delivered.
• Dempsey was great scoring the 2nd goal, but was off the field when the 3rd and final goal went in.
• Will Bruin with a little flick to Rodriquez for the opening Sounder goal was a thing of beauty.
• And then Bruin with some SPEED and then a subtle chip for goal 3.
• Seattle seemed to have every base covered and in control from minute 1-90.
• Vicente Sanchez was the only threat that Houston could muster. He was good, but he had no help at all.
• The Dynamo really missed Alberth Elis up top. He can make things happen out of nowhere.
• Joevin Jones was the only weak link for the Sounders - he is fast but doesn't really have the 1 on 1 skills to beat someone and his decision making is so poor - he almost has to stop running, collect himself, and then decide what to do with the ball. On the other hand his cross went to Dempsey for goal 2.
• Frei had another strong game in goal for the winners.
• Six shutouts in a row for Seattle.
• Two of Seattle's star players weren't even dressed for the game: Roman Torres (suspended) and Oswaldo Alonso (injured).
• I think the Final is going to be tight again this year, but the Sounders clearly have the edge with their offense clicking.

Post-game Media:

• Seattle - A very dominant performance from a red hot team. By Geoff Baker for the Seattle Times.
• Seattle - Everything is working perfectly. By Larry Stone for the Seattle Times.
• Houston - They never stood a chance. By Corey Roepken for the Houston Chronicle.
• Houston - You can't pass up post game comments from DaMarcus Beasley. By Corey Roepken for the Houston Chronicle.

Finals Opponents Comparison over the last 6 games:

• Toronto - 6 Goals For - 4 Goals Against
• Seattle - 14 Goals For - 0 Goals Against

We get an exact rematch of the 2016 Final. By Grant Wahl for Sports Illustrated.

Semifinal Results:
2nd Leg
-Wed Nov 29
Toronto 1-0 Columbus - Tor advances 1-0 on aggregate.
-Thu Nov 30
Seattle 3-0 Houston - Sea advances 5-0 on aggregate.

Final Schedule:
-Sat Dec 9
Toronto v Seattle - 3:00pm CT on ESPN

In other MLS News: Atlanta has signed Mitch Hildebrand, former keeper for Cincinnati and Minnesota.

Official 2017 MLS Best XI

• G: Tim Melia - Sporting Kansas City
• D: Justin Morrow - Toronto, Ike Opara - Sporting Kansas City, Kendall Waston - Vancouver Whitecaps
• M: Miguel Almiron - Atlanta United, Victor Vazquez - Toronto, Diego Valeri - Portland Timbers
• F: Sebastian Giovinco - Toronto, Josef Martinez - Atlanta United, Nemanja Nikolic - Chicago Fire, David Villa - New York City

This team is gonna have to score 5-6 goals a game to be anyone with so little defense behind them. A 3-3-4 formation. Very unrealistic best 11.

dN

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

dN

LIGA MX

The two favorites have 1 goal leads and are headed home for 2nd Leg games this weekend.

Liguilla Semfinals Schedule:
1st Leg
-Wed Nov 29
America-3 0-1 Tigres-2
-Thu Nov 30
Morelia-4 0-1 Monterrey-1
2nd Leg
-Sat Dec 2
Tigres-2 v America-3 (1-0) - 6:00pm CT on Univision
-Sun Dec 3
Monterrey-1 v Morelia-4 (1-0) - 5:00pm CT on Univ Deportes

dN

EUROPEAN NEWS

Six unbeaten teams in the Big 5:

• Manchester City 13-1-0
• Paris St Germain 13-2-0
• Barcelona 11-2-0
• Internazionale 11-3-0
• Valencia 9-4-0
• Atletico Madrid 7-6-0

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPES TOP LEAGUES

Napoli opens up our weekend by losing for the first time this season, to Juventus, who are just 1 point behind Napoli at the top now.

Weekend Schedule:
-Fri Dec 1
Napoli 0-1 Juventus
Roma 3-1 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