Some Soccer News for Dec 18, 2017

It's Day 352 of 2017.


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

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

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

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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.

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Official: Giovani Savarese named head coach of Portland Timbers.

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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.

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MINNESOTA UNITED

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

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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.

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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.

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MEXICO - COPA MX

Final
-Thu Dec 21
Monterrey v Pachuca

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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

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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