Some Soccer News for Jan 31, 2018

It's Day 31 of 2018.


"Beat them with unconditional love."
Someone left a racially charged warning letter on the windshield of the coach of a Idaho youth team (Idaho Juniors Futbol Club). The coach decided to take the issue public instead of staying quiet. Michael Lycklama for the Idaho Statesman.

• They deserve our support all the way.

Now the IJFC has started an Anti-Racism campaign - please donate here if you can.

dN

Geoff Cameron plays for Stoke in England trying to avoid relegation, and has been very quiet since the USMNT was eliminated from the World Cup during qualifying. Not any more, in a very good article. By Marc Stein for the New York Times.

• It was Bruce Arena's fault.
• Klinsmann would have gotten the job done.
• Arena hints that Cameron was one the "bad eggs" he referred too a couple weeks ago.
• Credits Clint Dempsey with breaking through the English Premier League wall as an outfield player. (I would give that credit to Brian McBride.)

dN

Man City did pay NYCFC a fair market price for Jack Harrison - $6M. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

• Good business for New York.
• Thanks to Kevin Chan for the heads up.

dN

LOS LOONS - MINNESOTA UNITED

A long interview with fullback Jerome Thiesson. He has some great things to say. By Tyler Hanson for MLS Multiplex.

Preseason Friendly Schedule:
-Sat Feb 3
MNUFC v Florida International University - 1pm CT at EFSC Melbourne Campus
-Wed Feb 7
CHANGED: MNUFC v Eastern Florida State College - Time TBA at EFSC Melbourne Campus
-Sat Feb 17
MNUFC v Charleston Battery - 6:30pm CT at Carolina Challenge Cup
-Wed Feb 21
MNUFC v Atlanta United - 6:30pm CT at Carolina Challenge Cup
-Sat Feb 24
MNUFC v Columbus Crew - 4:00pm CT at Carolina Challenge Cup

dN

MLS

LAFC will not have a local TV deal, instead they will use YouTube:

Breaking: @LAFC has signed an extensive partnership with @YouTubeTV that will see the company not only be its jersey front sponsor but also its local broadcaster.

— Ian Thomas (@byIanThomas) January 31, 2018

LAFC's Egyptian signing Omar Gaber is ready to get rolling with his new team. By Chris Young for Arab News.

Dilemma: Would you rather be fired for going all in and failing, or going ultra-conservative and not succeeding? Jason Kreis and Orlando City are making lots of moves this offseason that clearly says they are "going for it" right now. By Sam Stejskal for MLS.

Orlando continued their signing spree with the addition of defensive midfielder Uri Rosell from Sporting de Portugal. He formerly played for Sporting Kansas City.

One of my favorite people in MLS is Toronto president Bill Manning. He has helped build a real winner up north and has lots more ideas. By Ridge Mahoney for Soccer America.

dN

USL

Jay Heaps has been named Pres and GM of Birmingham Legion which will begin play in 2019.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Today's games:

• Chelsea got smoked at home!
• And Man United were beat on the road by another top team.

Schedule/Results:
-Wed Jan 31
Chelsea 0-3 Bournemouth
Man City 3-0 West Brom
Tottenham 2-0 Man United

-Fri Feb 2
Koln v Dortmund
Marseille v Metz
-Sat Feb 3
Arsenal v Everton
Mainz v Bayern
Inter v Crotone
Munchengladbach v Leipzig
Burnley v Man City
Man United v Huddersfield
Lille v PSG
Levante v Real Madrid
Schalke v Werder Bremen
-Sun Feb 4
Atletico Madrid v Valencia
Espanyol v Barcelona
Juventus v Sassuolo
Liverpool v Tottenham
Monaco v Lyon
Udinese v Milan
Benevento v Napoli
Hellas Verona v Roma
-Mon Feb 5
Watford v Chelsea
Lazio v Genoa



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 30, 2018

It's Day 30 of 2018.


AMERICANS ABROAD

Steve Cherundolo has been hired as an assistant coach at Stuttgart by new head coach Tayfun Korkut. They are currently in 14th place and 3 points above relegation in the Bundesliga.

dN

LOS LOONS

The players have to be happy about being in Florida and training on actual grass.

Optimism about 2018 season is being preached here. By Alex Schieferdecker for Fifty Five One.

• Alex is a good person. I wish I was that good of a person.

The team is just waiting on the arrival of Frantz Pangop now. I am sure he has to get the work visa and all that figured out.

Preseason Friendly Schedule:
-Sat Feb 3
MNUFC v Florida International University - 1pm CT atEFSC Melbourne Campus
-Wed Feb 7
MNUFC v Jacksonville Armada - 1pm CT at EFSC Melbourne Campus
-Sat Feb 17
MNUFC v Charleston Battery - 6:30pm CT at Carolina Challenge Cup
-Wed Feb 21
MNUFC v Atlanta United - 6:30pm CT at Carolina Challenge Cup
-Sat Feb 24
MNUFC v Columbus Crew - 4:00pm CT at Carolina Challenge Cup

dN

MLS

NYCFC has let promising youngster Jack Harrison walk away and sign with Manchester City. MC has already loaned him out to Middlesborough.

• This is the flipside of the deal for Mix Diskerud. This time NYC loses a talent and gets nothing in return. Or was taking Diskerud off the books the quid pro quo?

Orlando has sold forward Cyle Larin to Besiktas in Turkey.

Everything is new again in Portland preseason under head coach Giovanni Savarese. By Jamie Goldberg for the Oregonian.

dN

NASL

Miami FC will play in NPSL in 2018.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

A poor team crushed Arsenal today. Arsenal needs a full turnover from top to bottom if they ever want to win their league again.

Schedule/Results:
-Tue Jan 30
Swansea 3-1 Arsenal
Huddersfield 0-3 Liverpool
-Wed Jan 31
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Man City v West Brom
Tottenham v Man United



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 29, 2018

It's Day 29 of 2018.


In the history of "Pulling A Fast One" in MLS this is high quality:
NYCFC has Mix Diskerud on their books and no one out there will take his contract off their hands (he is on loan in Norway), so he is eating a chunk of their salary cap. Up steps big brother Manchester City and signs Mix. But they have no intention of keeping him. They will simply loan him out. His salary is minuscule for them and no one will notice it even happened.

• Brilliant. If you can pull that move off you should.

dN

MLS officially announced that they are going to have a team in Miami.

• They admitted that as recently as 60 days ago this plan was all but dead. And that wasn't the first time it almost fell apart.
• Almost no other details were provided. No name, no logo, no colors. After 4 years of waiting you would think they could have done a little work on some of this shit.

And in a moving gesture Houston has retweed their own welcome message from 4 years ago!

Welcome back, Becks. https://t.co/leArFueDF8

— Houston Dynamo (@HoustonDynamo) January 29, 2018

dN

USMNT JANUARY CAMP

Minnesota's Christian Ramirez did not dressed for the game. A handful of other players did not dress either. A real disappointment for MNUFC fans who wanted to see Ramirez on the field. And believe me, there were time his skills were exactly what the team needed.

MY NOTES:

• Great to be back at the Town Hall Brewery in Minneapolis watching with my friends in football. Excellent tournament for a Sunday night in January.
• A dull affair, much like the coach Dave Sarachan prefers. Oof. I didn't expect more than that though.
• Bosnia + Herzegovina was definitely the better team, and would have won had there been judges scorecards.
• The USMNT had very few chances. They whiffed on most of them, and never forced the BH keepers into uncomfortable positions or make a tough save.
• Both USMNT keepers Bill Hamid in the first half and Zack Stefan in the second made key saves to keep the game scoreless.
• Jordan Morris was the most active American player on the field and created some chances.
• Walker Zimmerman had the worst game of all the USMNTers. He couldn't seem to slow anyone down without fouling them. Even giving away a penalty in the 2nd half that luckily hit a post when it was taken.
• Who else is worth mentioning? Ike Opara for key defense and Paul Arriola for some nifty passing.
• Again, let me say this, Christian Ramirez would have made a difference had he been chosen to play.

Friendly Result:
-Sun Jan 28
USA 0-0 Bosnia + Herzegovina
Stub Hub Center - Carson CA

Match reports:

• Brian Strauss for Sports Illustrated.
• Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.
• Ridge Mahoney for Soccer America.

Roster:

• G: Alex Bono - Toronto, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Cody Cropper - New England Revolution, Zack Steffen - Columbus Crew
• D: Danny Acosta - Real Salt Lake, Justen Glad - Real Salt Lake, Nick Lima - San Jose Earthquakes, Justin Morrow - Toronto, Ike Opara - Sporting Kansas City, Tim Parker - Vancouver Whitecaps, Matt Polster - Chicago Fire, Brandon Vincent - Chicago Fire, Walker Zimmerman - Los Angeles
• M: Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Paul Arriola - DC United, Russell Canouse - DC United, Marky Delgado - Toronto, Marlon Hairston - Colorado Rapids, Ian Harkes - DC United, Brooks Lennon - Real Salt Lake, Cristian Roldan - Seattle Sounders, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Wil Trapp - Columbus Crew, Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, Jordan Morris - Seattle Sounders, Christian Ramirez - Minnesota United, Rubio Rubin - no club, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union

Ramirez may be disappointed but he isn't letting any of us know that. Playing it cool:

Thankful to have been apart of the last couple weeks! Learned a lot and met some great people. Hope for many more. 🇺🇸🇺🇸Motivated and excited to get back to work w/ @MNUFC pic.twitter.com/iTHo9Gwn17

— Christian Ramirez (@Chris_Ramirez17) January 29, 2018

dN

LOS LOONS

The team is in Florida to train. It is raining.

No word from the team but pics from Florida. (Psst. They are not in Orlando like they said they were going to be. About 70 miles east in one of those horrific coastal Florida towns. Give me the willies thinking about it.)

Off Season Signings:

• Harrison Heath
• Tyrone Mears
• Frantz Pangop
• Mason Toye
• Matt Lampson

Unsigned Draft Picks:

• Wyatt Omsberg
• Carter Manley
• Xavier Gomez

Trying Out: (via Jeff Rueter)

• Jiro Barriga Toyama
• Kyle Ihn

dN

MLS

Orlando City has paid a whole bunch of GarberBucks to Columbus to acquire Justin Meram. Good move Orlando. Good windfall Columbus. Good Good = Win Win.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Danny Williams of Hudersfield got injured in the FA Cup. Don't know what or how bad yet.l But thats yet another American on the injury pile in Europe.

• Three guys playing really well though - Timmy Chandler, Tim Ream and Kenny Saief. Here's a report (skip the bad stuff.) By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

dN

AFRICA

Scouting young talent in Africa. By Tariq Panja for the New York Times.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

3 losers among the big teams this weekend:

• Valencia got blown out by Real Madrid and are now firmly irrelevant again.
• Lyon lost dropping them 11 points behind the leaders.
• Roma got beat at home.

Schedule/Results:
-Sat Jan 27
Bayern 5-2 Hoffenheim
Dortmund 2-2 Freiburg
Chievo 0-2 Juventus
Leipzig 1-1 Hamburg
PSG 4-0 Montpellier
Valencia 1-4 Real Madrid
Stuttgart 0-2 Schalke
-Sun Jan 28
Atletico Madrid 3-0 Las Palmas
Barcelona 2-1 Deportivo Alaves
SPAL 1-1 Inter
Bordeaux 3-1 Lyon
Marseille 2-2 Monaco
Milan 2-1 Lazio
Napoli 3-1 Bologna
Roma 0-1 Sampdoria

-Tue Jan 30
Swansea v Arsenal
Huddersfield v Liverpool
-Wed Jan 31
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Man City v West Brom
Tottenham v Man United



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 26, 2018

It's Day 26 of 2018.


Join Me - I am gonna be watching:

• USMNT v Bosnia+ Herzegovina on Sunday night
• Town Hall Brewery
• Minneapolis
• 8:30pm CT

Yeah, I know most of you are really not in to this, but we may get a chance to see Minnesota's Christian Ramirez play.

dN

Local Columbus investors have had talks with Columbus Crew owner/villain Anthony Precourt. By Laura Newpoff for the Columbus Business Journal.

• And proposed stadium property after property is being rejected in Austin.

dN

USMNT JANUARY CAMP

Friendly Schedule:
-Sun Jan 28
USA v Bosnia + Herzegovina - 8:30pm CT on FS1
Stub Hub Center - Carson CA

Roster:

• G: Alex Bono - Toronto, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Cody Cropper - New England Revolution, Zack Steffen - Columbus Crew
• D: Danny Acosta - Real Salt Lake, Justen Glad - Real Salt Lake, Nick Lima - San Jose Earthquakes, Justin Morrow - Toronto, Ike Opara - Sporting Kansas City, Tim Parker - Vancouver Whitecaps, Matt Polster - Chicago Fire, Brandon Vincent - Chicago Fire, Walker Zimmerman - Los Angeles
• M: Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Paul Arriola - DC United, Russell Canouse - DC United, Marky Delgado - Toronto, Marlon Hairston - Colorado Rapids, Ian Harkes - DC United, Brooks Lennon - Real Salt Lake, Cristian Roldan - Seattle Sounders, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Wil Trapp - Columbus Crew, Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, Jordan Morris - Seattle Sounders, Christian Ramirez - Minnesota United, Rubio Rubin - no club, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union

dN

Split Lip: du Nord Music Mix 152 (download + extract)

dN

LOS LOONS

The small club youth club Olney Rangers in suburban DC where Loons draft choice Carter Manly learned the game was nothing 10 years ago. They now have 7 players in the pros and are a model club. By Steven Goff for the Washington Post.

Off Season Signings:

• Harrison Heath
• Tyrone Mears
• Frantz Pangop
• Mason Toye
• Matt Lampson

Unsigned Draft Picks:

• Wyatt Omsberg
• Carter Manley
• Xavier Gomez

Trying Out:

• Shae Bottum
• Christian Volesky

Former Loon Bernardo Anor has signed with Caracas FC in his native Venezuela. Lets hope he is healthy and can still play. Best of luck to him. Always a Loon.

dN

MLS

For a second time (4 years apart) MLS on Monday will announce a new team in Miami - part owned by David Beckham.

Marky Delgado of TFC is looking to take a big step forward in his career in 2018. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

It really looks like Sporting KC ownership has loosened the purse strings a little. By Sam McDowell for the Kansas City Star.

What's behind the desire to get out of New England? Lee Nguyen wants to get paid and be respected. By Paul Tenorio for ESPNFC.

Atlanta has sold holding midfielder Carlos Carmona to Colo Colo of Chile.

dN

USMNT

Should Gregg Berhalter be the next USMNT head coach? Here is one argument for. By Sam Stejskal for Four Four Two.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Schedule/Results:
-Sat Jan 27
Bayern v Hoffenheim
Dortmund v Freiburg
Chievo v Juventus
Leipzig v Hamburg
PSG v Montpellier
Valencia v Real Madrid
Stuttgart v Schalke
-Sun Jan 28
Atletico Madrid v Las Palmas
Barcelona v Deportivo Alaves
SPAL v Inter
Bordeaux v Lyon
Marseille v Monaco
Milan v Lazio
Napoli v Bologna
Roma v Sampdoria



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 25, 2018

It's Day 25 of 2018.


Powerful women making a difference:

Thursday's front page of the Detroit Free Press. pic.twitter.com/FN0X3Bo9fd

— Detroit Free Press (@freep) January 25, 2018

dN

JONATHAN GONZALEZ FALLOUT + BOB BRADLEY GETS INTENSE + US SOCCER TURMOIL

3 recent podcasts featured the biggest topics today in American soccer, US Soccer, MLS, SUM etc:

• Extra Time Radio with Bob Bradley talking LAFC, and everything US Soccer.
• Herc + Max Podcast with Bob Bradley talking LAFC and everything US Soccer, and then Hercules Gomez with more fallout from Jonathan Gonzalez affair including damning accusations from Gonzalez father.
• Planet Futbol podcast with MLS commissioner Don Garber talking MLS, SUM, and American soccer.

Here is a transcript of Grant Wahl asking MLS commissioner Don Garber specific questions about the relationship between MLS, SUM and US Soccer. By Grant Wahl for Sports Illustrated.

And finally, this is a followup to the allegations made in Hercules Gomez's story on Jonathan Gonzalez and US Soccer. People including Dave Sarachan, Tab Ramos and Richie Williams, both coaches in the US Soccer federation, dispute Gonzalez's fathers claims. By Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

dN

LOS LOONS

The head coach talks about being way ahead of last year at this time and what he expected of his players from the start. By Andy Greder for the St Paul Pioneer Press.

Rasmus Schuller returns from a loan to Finland. By Andy Greder for the St Paul Pioneer Press.

Its time to learn what draft pick Mason Toye is all about. BY Andre Kimo Stone Guess for the Undefeated.

Off Season Signings:

• Harrison Heath
• Tyrone Mears
• Frantz Pangop
• Mason Toye
• Matt Lampson

Unsigned Draft Picks:

• Wyatt Omsberg
• Carter Manley
• Xavier Gomez

Trying Out:

• Shae Bottum
• Christian Volesky

Former Loon Kevin Venegas has signed with Indy Eleven in USL.

dN

MLS

Highlights of a conversation with commissioner Don Garber. By Grant Wahl for Sports Illustrated.

What are the underlying factors in players like Lee Nguyen wanting OUT of the New England Revolution? By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

Houston has sold under performing forward Cubo Torres to Pumas in Liga MX.

Montreal has sold 18 year old attacking midfielder Ballou Tabla (from their academy) to Barcelona.

LAFC has signed MLS veteran right Steven Beitashour from Toronto, and 24 year old Honduran goalkeeper Luis Lopez from Real Espana.

dN

USMNT JANUARY CAMP

Friendly Schedule:
-Sun Jan 28
USA v Bosnia + Herzegovina - 8:30pm CT on FS1
Stub Hub Center - Carson CA

dN

USL

The talk of USL announcing its own subdivision league, a 3rd division status league, continues to build, with USL no longer denying its arrival is coming soon and with a probable 2019 start date.

dN

NASL

with the NASL all but gone and the New York Cosmos nowhere to play this year their players are left in chaos. One player Danny Szetela feels particularly stuck in a bad place. By Michael Lewis for Front Row Soccer.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Schalke exec Bodo Menze talks specifically about the 3 young Americans at the club, Weston McKennie, Nick Taitague and Haji Wright, and the clubs philosophy toward youth. By Mike Woitalla for Soccer America.

dN

EUROPE

Jose Mourinho signed a new 3 year contract extension at Manchester United.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Schedule/Results:
-Sat Jan 27
Bayern v Hoffenheim
Dortmund v Freiburg
Chievo v Juventus
Leipzig v Hamburg
PSG v Montpellier
Valencia v Real Madrid
Stuttgart v Schalke
-Sun Jan 28
Atletico Madrid v Las Palmas
Barcelona v Deportivo Alaves
SPAL v Inter
Bordeaux v Lyon
Marseille v Monaco
Milan v Lazio
Napoli v Bologna
Roma v Sampdoria



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 24, 2018

It's Day 24 of 2018.


Mark E Smith
Leader of The Fall
Brilliant/Obnoxious Musical Anti-Hero has died
RIP Marquis Cha Cha

I was at a party in 1984. The stereo was blasting Footloose, U2, Springsteen, Huey Lewis or some such shit. My friend Nick, who was a huge fan of The Fall, marched across the room, stopped the music, pulled a cassette out of his pocket, jammed it into the stereo, hit play and turned it all the way up. It was Repetition by The Fall. Full blast. People were terrified. Before that day I thought The Fall were awful. After that day I knew they were brilliant.

• Repetition

dN

If one more person tries to tell me that Jonathan Gonzalez fell through the cracks I am going to lose it. Yes, some people screwed up and he decided to play for Mexico at the senior level. But he has been playing for the US Youth teams since he was 13. He was identified very young. It just didn't work out.

dN

LOS LOONS

How is it going so far? By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.
-Honestly though, there is nothing here.

dN

MLS

A conversation with commissioner Don Garber. And other stuff. [VIDEO] By Grant Wahl and Luis Miguel Echegaray for Sports Illustrated.

Lee Nguyen has said he will not report to training camp with New England. He wants to be traded. The team says no chance. Stalemate.

Salt Lake has resigned goalkeeper Nick Rimando.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Kenny Saief scored a late tying goal for Anderlecht at Waasland-Beveren today. 2-2 was the final. He went the full 90 and had a second goal late in stoppage time waved off.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Schedule/Results:
-Wed Jan 24
Sampdoria 1-1 Roma



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 23, 2018

It's Day 23 of 2018.


Former FIFA World Player Of The Year George Weah was sworn in as president of Liberia yesterday.

dN

Freddy Adu is getting a try out with USL team Las Vegas Lights.

dN

North America bid for 2026 World Cup has every conceivable amenity ready to go. The other bidder Morocco doesn't have Trump. The fact that its a race at all is worrisome. By Rob Harris for the Associated Press.

dN

LOS LOONS

Practice begins for 2018. By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

Currently in camp:

• 21 roster players
• 4 draft picks
• 1 try out

Not there:

• 2 missing
• 1 on loan
• 1 in the ether

Off Season Signings:

• Harrison Heath
• Tyrone Mears
• Frantz Pangop
• Mason Toye
• Matt Lampson

The 1 player getting a tryout so far is 6'2" forward Shae Bottum from local 3rd Division college St Thomas.

Former Minnesota player Ishmaila Jome is getting a try out with the New York Red Bulls. Good luck to him.

dN

MLS

Michael Bradley looks at Toronto FC 2016, 17 and 18 and thinks they can keep getting better. By Kurt Larson for Toronto Sun.

• There is also some USMNT talk at the end of the article.

dN

CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

The New York Red Bulls see nothing but chaos and confusion surrounding the 1st Leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals series against Olimpia of Tegucigalpa Honduras. Safety and stadium bans makes the location of that first game a mystery at this time. And this article is so damn confusing. By Austin Fido for Once A Metro.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

One week after knocking Manchester City from the ranks of the unbeaten Liverpool loses to Swansea. And that is why they are so far away from winning the league championship. (Currently 18 points below Man City.)

Schedule/Results:
-Mon Jan 22
Juventus 1-0 Genoa
Swansea 1-0 Liverpool

-Wed Jan 24
Sampdoria v Roma



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 22, 2018

It's Day 22 of 2018.


The Twin Cities remain perplexingly optimistic today: "MSP Airport is still open, but due to heavy snowfall and winds in the area, all four of our runways are closed."

dN

Attention lefty hipsters, another club is making a comeback just for you - Red Star of Paris. By Mark Godfrey for the Guardian.

• The founder of the club was Jules Rimet who the World Cup trophy is named for.

dN

LOS LOONS

Preseason begins today! The players are here:

¡#LosLoons de vuelta a casa! ?????? pic.twitter.com/AD3vLj9REZ

— Los Loons (@MNUFCes) January 22, 2018

FYI: MU didn't have any picks in the 3rd + 4th rounds of the MLS draft.

Off Season Signings:

• Harrison Heath
• Tyrone Mears
• Frantz Pangop
• Mason Toye - (Generation Adidas contract)
• Matt Lampson

We now wait to hear from the team who is on their training camp roster.

New signing Frantz Pangop is with Cameroon in the African Nations Championship - Group Stage:

• Gm1 Tue Jan 16 v Congo - lost 1-0 - Started and subbed off
• Gm2 Sat Jan 20 v Angola - lost 1-0 - Started and subbed off

--Eliminated from Knock Out Rounds--

• Gm3 Wed Jan 24 v Burkina Faso

dN

MLS

Its official, Atlanta spent $15 million to buy 18 year old attacking midfielder Ezequiel Barco from Independiente in Argentina. It breaks all MLS transfer buy records by a mile.

LA Galaxy has acquired Crew forward Ola Kamara in a player swap for Gyasi Zardes and up to $500k in TAM.

Slice it any way you want but #SaveTheCrew is going to be a giant presence in the 2018 Columbus Crew season:

Federico Higuaín finds it tough to talk about @ColumbusCrewSC uncertain future, "It's hard to talk about this because I like the city, because I love the club, because Im proud to be part of this club, because I like the fans - the relationship is reciprocal so it’s very hard"

— Alicia Rose DelGallo (@OSAliciaD) January 20, 2018

Galaxy announced the signing of free agent Chris Pontius. Played with PhilaUnion last season.

What the expansion of Portland's stadium will be all about. By Tim Newcomb for Four Four Two.

dN

USMNT JANUARY CAMP

Friendly coming up on Sunday night.
-Sun Jan 28
USA v Bosnia + Herzegovina - 8:30pm CT on FS1
Stub Hub Center - Carson CA

dN

US SOCCER

Bruce Arena saying there were a couple of "bad eggs" in the USMNT during the end of the failed World Cup qualifying run is one of the most bullshit excuses I could imagine. And other reasons for failure. By Paul Kennedy for Soccer America.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Landon Donovan started training with Leon today.

Weston McKennie suffered a knee injury playing for Schalke on Sunday. Here is the official news from Schalke on Monday evening:

?? @WMckennie suffered a partial rupture to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during #S04H96. He will be out for around 6 weeks. Get well soon, Weston! #s04 pic.twitter.com/3uU4Is21t2

— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) January 22, 2018

Lots more bits of news, both good (Chandler + Saief) and bad (Yedlin + Miazga). From Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

dN

EUROPE

Seven former youth players at Chelsea have filed racism complaints against a youth coach and a staff member. By Martha Kelner for the Guardian.

Pippo Inzaghi has raised Lazio to third place in Serie A. When was the last time they pulled that off? By Paolo Bandini.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Important weekend results:

• PSG has lost, this time to 2nd place Lyon, but the gap is still 8 points.
• Leipzig fell to Freiburg.
• Valencia lost again and are probably no longer worthy of this list, although they are still 5 points ahead of Real Madrid.
• Barcelona is still UNBEATEN: 17-3-0

Schedule/Results:
-Fri Jan 19
Hertha 1-1 Dortmund
Caen 0-2 Marseille
-Sat Jan 20
Arsenal 4-1 Crystal Palace
Atletico Madrid 1-1 Girona
Brighton & Hove 0-4 Chelsea
Freiburg 2-1 Leipzig
Man City 3-1 Newcastle
Burnley 0-1 Man United
Las Palmas 2-1 Valencia
-Sun Jan 21
Real Betis 0-5 Barcelona
Bayern 4-2 Werder Bremen
Inter 1-1 Roma
Lyon 2-1 PSG
Cagliari 1-2 Milan
Monaco 3-1 Metz
Atalanta 0-1 Napoli
Real Madrid 7-1 Deportivo La Coruna
Schalke 1-1 Hannover
Southampton 1-1 Tottenham
-Mon Jan 22
Juventus v Genoa
Swansea v Liverpool
-Wed Jan 24
Sampdoria v Roma



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 19, 2018

It's Day 19 of 2018.


LOS LOONS

MNUFC was very busy in MLS draft day. See all the details below in Los Loons section.

Picks in MLS Superdraft:

• 5th Pick - traded this pick away to Chicago. MNUFC gets $75k GAM, $100k TAM and goalkeeper Matt Lampson
• 7th pick - acquired from Montreal in exchange for $150k TAM, and MN picks Mason Toye
• 15th pick - acquired in prior trade with Chicago - Wyatt Omsberg
• 23rd pick - acquired from Toronto for $50k TAM and 2nd Rd #5 pick - Carter Manley
• 28th Pick - traded to Toronto
• 41st Pick - pick Xavier Gomez

Rounds 3 + 4 will take place on Sun Jan 21 via conference call.

• Mason Toye - 19s year old, 6'3", 180lbs, forward from South Orange NJ. From Indiana U. Generation Adidas contract that does not count against salary cap. He is considered a future project.
• Wyatt Omsberg - 22s year old, 6'4", 180lbs, centerback from Scarborough ME. Dartmouth College. Said to be strong with feet and in air. This looks a solid gamble.
• Matt Lampson - goalkeeper acquired from Chicago Fire - 28 year old, 6'3", from Cleveland Tennessee. Drafted by Columbus Crew, and played for Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Charlotte Independence. ARGH! Not someone you want to see on the team. If I had hair it would be on fire. Let Colonel Kurtz tell us what he thinks.
• Carter Manley - 21 years old, 5'11", 170lbs, right fullback. From Elkridge MD. Duke University. Manly trained with Minnesota last summer. Great recall by Megan Ryan from the Star Trib.
• Xavier Gomez - 21 years old, 5'10", 150lbs, midfielder. From Chicago and attended Univ of Nebraska-Omaha.

Words on these picks, plus details on the moves made today. By Megan Ryan for the Star Tribune.

MNUFC 2017 picks:

• Abu Danladi
• Alec Ferrell
• Thomas de Villardi
• Tanner Thompson

This years picks have more promise than last years.

By comparison there are the number of starters gathered from the past few years MLS draft:

• 2013 - 7 starters in first rd
• 2014 - 6 starters in first rd
• 2015 - 8 starters in first rd
• 2016 - 1 starter in first rd
• 2017 - 1 starter in first rd

So a few players can be picked and become a starter down the road in 3-4 years. Its not a complete waste of time.

4 days until preseason begins - as in next Monday the players start showing up for medical exams and workouts.

Off Season Signings:

• Harrison Heath
• Tyrone Mears
• Frantz Pangop

dN

MLS

Vancouver signs 29 year old Mexico right midfielder Efrain Juarez from Monterrey.

Philly acquires David Accam from Chicago for $1M in allocation money.

dN

Diagram: du Nord Music Mix 151 (download + extract)

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Schedule/Results:
-Fri Jan 19
Hertha v Dortmund
Caen v Marseille
-Sat Jan 20
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Atletico Madrid v Girona
Brighton & Hove v Chelsea
Freiburg v Leipzig
Man City v Newcastle
Burnley v Man United
Las Palmas v Valencia
-Sun Jan 21
Real Betis v Barcelona
Bayern v Werder Bremen
Inter v Roma
Lyon v PSG
Cagliari v Milan
Monaco v Metz
Atalanta v Napoli
Real Madrid v Deportivo La Coruna
Schalke v Hannover
Southampton v Tottenham
-Mon Jan 22
Juventus v Genoa
Swansea v Liverpool



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 18, 2018

It's Day 18 of 2018.


Despite the fact that the USA-Mexico-Canada World Cup 2026 bid has competition from only 1 other country, Morocco, and that country has no presented bid plan, there is still fear that it will be a hard sell to FIFA voters due to the Jackass In The White House. By Jeff Carlisle for ESPNFC.

dN

The English women's national soccer team is a giant mess. Now they want to hire a guy to be the head coach who has never managed any team at any level and didn't even apply for the job: Phil Neville. By Marina Hyde for the Guardian.

• The previous coach was fired for being a woman hater and a racist.
• Marina Hyde is one of the very best writers at the Guardian. Everything she writes is worth checking out.

dN

The Professional Referee Organization (PRO) that MLS uses to referee their games has announced that Howard Webb will replace Peter Walton as General Manager. Walton will remain a consultant to PRO.

dN

USMNT JANUARY CAMP

Christian Ramirez is training with USMNT for the first time and the road that got him here was not a normal route. By Luis Miguel Echegaray for Sports Illustrated.

Roster:

• G: Alex Bono - Toronto, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Cody Cropper - New England Revolution, Zack Steffen - Columbus Crew
• D: Danny Acosta - Real Salt Lake, Justen Glad - Real Salt Lake, Nick Lima - San Jose Earthquakes, Justin Morrow - Toronto, Ike Opara - Sporting Kansas City, Tim Parker - Vancouver Whitecaps, Matt Polster - Chicago Fire, Brandon Vincent - Chicago Fire, Walker Zimmerman - Los Angeles
• M: Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Paul Arriola - DC United, Russell Canouse - DC United, Marky Delgado - Toronto, Marlon Hairston - Colorado Rapids, Ian Harkes - DC United, Brooks Lennon - Real Salt Lake, Cristian Roldan - Seattle Sounders, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Wil Trapp - Columbus Crew, Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, Jordan Morris - Seattle Sounders, Christian Ramirez - Minnesota United, Rubio Rubin - no club, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union

Friendly Schedule:
-Sun Jan 28
USA v Bosnia + Herzegovina - 8:30pm CT on FS1
Stub Hub Center - Carson CA

dN

LOS LOONS

5 days until preseason begins

Fri Jan 19 is the MLS Superdraft in Philadelphia beginning at 10am CT. Watch it on mlssoccer.com.

• Minnesota holds the 5th, 28th + 41st picks in the first two rounds.
• Rounds 3 + 4 will take place on Sun Jan 21 via conference call.

dN

MLS

Q + A with LAFC general manager John Thorrington on building a team from the ground up and prep for year 1. By Ridge Mahoney for Soccer America.

Chicago has signed Sebastian Schweinsteiger to a new 1 year contract.

Philly has given goalkeeper Andre Blake a new 3 year contract. Great move.

DaMarcus Beasley signs a new deal with Houston, presumably for 1 year again.

dN

Diagram: du Nord Music Mix 151 (download + extract)

dN

A great interview with American author Phillip Roth. By Charles McGrath for the New York Times.

dN

US SOCCER

The federation has set up a new beginners coaching course called Grassroots Coaching Module, that is free, open to everyone and done online. Every true fan should at least take this class.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Schedule/Results:
-Fri Jan 19
Hertha v Dortmund
Caen v Marseille
-Sat Jan 20
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Atletico Madrid v Girona
Brighton & Hove v Chelsea
Freiburg v Leipzig
Man City v Newcastle
Burnley v Man United
Las Palmas v Valencia
-Sun Jan 21
Real Betis v Barcelona
Bayern v Werder Bremen
Inter v Roma
Lyon v PSG
Cagliari v Milan
Monaco v Metz
Atalanta v Napoli
Real Madrid v Deportivo La Coruna
Schalke v Hannover
Southampton v Tottenham
-Mon Jan 22
Juventus v Genoa
Swansea v Liverpool



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 17, 2018

It's Day 17 of 2018.


FYI: The 2017/18 Russian season started on Jul 15 and ran until Dec 11, then will restart on Mar 2 and end May 13.

dN

Ronaldinho has made his retirement official now. (He hasn't played in 2 years.) What a ridiculously talented guy he was. By Sid Lowe for the Guardian.

• A unique look too. I loved watching him play.

dN

MLS

Awesome! Alberth Elis of Houston uses his own money to set up a computer lab for the kids in San Juan de Tela in Honduras. By Corey Roepken for the Houston Chronicle.

dN

Diagram: du Nord Music Mix 151 (download + extract)

dN

USMNT JANUARY CAMP

Some players on this roster have the skills to make an impact. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

• I agree on all but one of these players. You figure out who it is.

Roster:

• G: Alex Bono - Toronto, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Cody Cropper - New England Revolution, Zack Steffen - Columbus Crew
• D: Danny Acosta - Real Salt Lake, Justen Glad - Real Salt Lake, Nick Lima - San Jose Earthquakes, Justin Morrow - Toronto, Ike Opara - Sporting Kansas City, Tim Parker - Vancouver Whitecaps, Matt Polster - Chicago Fire, Brandon Vincent - Chicago Fire, Walker Zimmerman - Los Angeles
• M: Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Paul Arriola - DC United, Russell Canouse - DC United, Marky Delgado - Toronto, Marlon Hairston - Colorado Rapids, Ian Harkes - DC United, Brooks Lennon - Real Salt Lake, Cristian Roldan - Seattle Sounders, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Wil Trapp - Columbus Crew, Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, Jordan Morris - Seattle Sounders, Christian Ramirez - Minnesota United, Rubio Rubin - no club, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union

Friendly Schedule:
-Sun Jan 28
USA v Bosnia + Herzegovina - 8:30pm CT on FS1
Stub Hub Center - Carson CA

dN

USL

US Soccer has designated USL as the American division 2, effectively replacing NASL at that level. (No further announcements have been made about NASL which currently has 4 teams.)

dN

EUROPE

Javier Tebas, the president of Spain's La Liga division, sees big financial trouble in the near future for European football. From Sports Illustrated.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Schedule/Results:
-Tue Jan 16
Marseille 2-0 Strasbourg
Monaco 2-2 Nice
-Wed Jan 17
Guingamp 0-2 Lyon
PSG v Dijon



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 16, 2018

It's Day 16 of 2018.


I still can't quite believe that Landon Donovan has signed with Leon in Liga MX. Wow. Did not see that coming. Great for him.

• He was introduced by the team last night in front of 8000 fans.
• He will wear number 20.
• Leon has won both games to start the Clausura season.
• No word on when he will play, but here are the next few games:

-Tue Jan 16
Cafetaleros de Tapachula v Leon - Copa MX
-Sat Jan 20
Cruz Azul v Leon - Liga MX
-Sat Jan 27
Leon v Necaxa - Liga MX

What is behind this move for Donovan? By Grant Wahl + Brian Straus for Sports Illustrated.

LD got quite the welcome from the Leon fans on Monday night. By Tom Marshall for ESPNFC.

Donovan's goal is the championship. By Tom Marshall for ESPNFC. By Tom Marshall for ESPNFC.

dN

Fuck Carlos Tevez. Seriously! He was paid $40 Million to play for Shanghai Shenhua in China, then barely performed, whined the whole time about wanting to go home, but still took all the money. By Kristian Heneage for Unibet.

• No one has any sympathy for Tevez.
• The club were fools for signing a guy like that in the first place.
• He played 16 games and scored 4 goals.

dN

LOS LOONS

7 days until preseason begins

dN

MLS

RSL has signed Kyle Beckerman to a new contract.

dN

USL

Indy Eleven has hired Martin Rennie as they new head coach.

• He lead Carolina RailHawks to success in 2009-11.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Cameron Carter Vickers loan by Tottenham to Sheffield United has ended. He is back in London.

dN

EUROPE

Barcelona is now the ONLY UNBEATEN team left in the 5 Big Leagues: 16-3-0

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Key weekend results:

• Manchester City is no longer unbeaten. They almost pulled off a tie at Liverpool, but time ran out on their perfect season.
• Yet another loss for Real Madrid. Last three league games have been: Loss, Tie, Loss. They are 19 points behind Barcelona.
• Valencia falls further off the pace with another loss in Spain.
• Schalke lost to fellow Big Team Liepzig.
• Arsenal falls to 6th place wiht a 6th loss of the season.

Schedule/Results:
-Fri Jan 12
Leverkusen 1-3 Bayern
-Sat Jan 13
Eibar 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Chelsea 0-0 Leicester
Liepzig 3-1 Schalke
Rennes 0-3 Marseille
Montpellier 0-0 Monaco
Real Madrid 0-1 Villarreal
Tottenham 4-0 Everton
Deportivo La Coruna 1-2 Valencia
-Sun Jan 14
Bournemouth 2-1 Arsenal
Real Sociedad 2-4 Barcelona
Dortmund 0-0 Wolfsburg
Liverpool 4-3 Man City
Lyon 1-1 Angers
Nantes 0-1 PSG
-Mon Jan 15
Man United 3-0 Stoke
----
-Tue Jan 16
Marseille 2-0 Strasbourg
Monaco v Nice
-Wed Jan 17
Guingamp v Lyon
PSG v Dijon



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 12, 2018

It's Day 12 of 2018.


MLS

Atlanta has set a new MLS record for transfer fee paid. They are signing 18 year old Ezequiel Barco from Independiente in Argentina for $15 Million. Wow.

Orlando City announced that they will NOT field a team in division 2 USL this season. The team, Orlando City B, will go into moth balls and be reevaluated at a later time.

Chicago Fire forward Niko Nemanja was named the Hungarian Best Player Of The Year award.

Chicago has also signed Dax McCarty to a new contract.

Kansas City has signed both Tim Melia and Ike Opara to contract extensions.

dN

The USMNT is just finishing up a youth camp down in Florida featuring over 150 players at all of their team age levels. Here are some of the standouts. By Ives Galarcep for Goal.

dN

USMNT JANUARY CAMP

Roster:

• G: Alex Bono - Toronto, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Cody Cropper - New England Revolution, Zack Steffen - Columbus Crew
• D: Danny Acosta - Real Salt Lake, Justen Glad - Real Salt Lake, Nick Lima - San Jose Earthquakes, Justin Morrow - Toronto, Ike Opara - Sporting Kansas City, Tim Parker - Vancouver Whitecaps, Matt Polster - Chicago Fire, Brandon Vincent - Chicago Fire, Walker Zimmerman - Los Angeles
• M: Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Paul Arriola - DC United, Russell Canouse - DC United, Marky Delgado - Toronto, Marlon Hairston - Colorado Rapids, Ian Harkes - DC United, Brooks Lennon - Real Salt Lake, Cristian Roldan - Seattle Sounders, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Wil Trapp - Columbus Crew, Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, Jordan Morris - Seattle Sounders, Christian Ramirez - Minnesota United, Rubio Rubin - no club, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union

Friendly Schedule:
-Sun Jan 28
USA v Bosnia + Herzegovina - 8:30pm CT on FS1
Stub Hub Center - Carson CA

dN

LOS LOONS

10 days until preseason begins

Off Season Signings:

• Harrison Heath
• Tyrone Mears
• Frantz Pangop

Key dates ahead:

• Thu Jan 11 - Wed Jan 17 draftable player combine in Orlando
• Fri Jan 19 college draft in Philadelphia

dN

Top 25 Tracks Of The Year: du Nord Music Mix (download + extract)

dN

EUROPE

Just Two Teams Remain Unbeaten in the 5 Big Leagues:

• Manchester City 20-2-0
• Barcelona 15-3-0

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Schedule:
-Fri Jan 12
Leverkusen v Bayern
-Sat Jan 13
Eibar v Atletico Madrid
Chelsea v Burnley
Liepzig v Schalke
Rennes v Marseille
Montpellier v Monaco
Real Madrid v Villarreal
Tottenham v Everton
Deportivo La Coruna v Valencia
-Sun Jan 14
Bournemouth v Arsenal
Real Sociedad v Barcelona
Dortmund v Wolfsburg
Liverpool v Man City
Lyon v Angers
Nantes v PSG
-Mon Jan 15
Man United v Stoke



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 11, 2018

It's Day 11 of 2018.


CONTINUING JONATHAN GONZALEZ FALLOUT

This interview with Brad Rothenberg about young Latino players in the USA is very enlightening, and frankly a gut punch. By Mike Woitalla for Soccer America.

USMNT Youth Technical Director Tab Ramos defends US Soccer and says he did everything he possibly could to make Jonathan Gonzalez feel wanted in the USA international set up. The rest is up to the player. By Ives Galarcep for Goal.

Mexican national team technical director Dennis te Kloese discusses their successful recruitment of Gonzalez. By Tom Marshall for ESPNFC.

dN

In a surprise to no one, Christian Pulisic has won the 2017 Player of the Year Award from American radio network Futbol de Primera.

• They have been handing out the award for 27 years, and I believe this year was the easiest choice ever.
• Landon Donovan won the award 7 times, and Clint Dempsey 3.

dN

LOS LOONS

11 days until preseason begins

Apparently we are all supposed to hold up our scarves today.

dN

Top 25 Tracks Of The Year: du Nord Music Mix (download + extract)

dN

MLS

The Red Bulls have been in player shedding mode for 3 or 4 years now, going back to the departures of Cahill, Marquez and Henry, and not replacing them. Then last year it was Dax McCarty, and this year Sacha Kljestan. At this rate MLS teams need to be ready to pounce cuz that would make Bradley Wright Phillips and Luis Robles next. What is the master plan behind all this? By Sam Stjeskal for Four Four Two.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

Josh Sargent becomes the "51st American national to play for a Bundesliga club." From the Bundesliga.

• Here is more from the Bundesliga on Sargent joining Werder last week.
• He doesn't turn 18 until Feb 20 so technically he can't sign with the club or play in official senior team games yet.

dN

OH CANADA

The men's national team has another new head coach. A real revolving door. This time Octavio Zambrano didn't even last a year. Their women's national team coach John Herdman is the new hire, and he has been given orders to streamline the whole program. By Kurt Larson for the Toronto Sun.

2018 Canadian Championship Schedule:
First Qualifying Round (1QR)
1st Leg
-Jun 6
Blainville v Oakville Blue Devils
2nd Leg
-Jun 13
Oakville Blue Devils v Blainville
---
Second Qualifying Round (2QR)
1st Leg
-Jun 20
1QR Winner v Ottawa Fury
2nd Leg
-Jun 27
Ottawa Fury v 1QR Winner
---
Semifinals
1st Leg
-Jul 18
2QR Winner v Toronto
Montreal Impcat v Vancouver Whitecaps
2nd Leg
-Jul 25
Toronto v 2QR Winner
Vancouver Whitecaps v Montreal Impact
---
Finals
(two legs)
-Aug 8 + 15

dN

EUROPE

Former Disney chair Michael Eisner has bought old, worn out English team Portsmouth and with a slow and steady approach wants to make another triumphant sports story. By Rory Smith for the NY Times.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Schedule:
-Fri Jan 12
Leverkusen v Bayern
-Sat Jan 13
Eibar v Atletico Madrid
Chelsea v Burnley
Liepzig v Schalke
Rennes v Marseille
Montpellier v Monaco
Real Madrid v Villarreal
Tottenham v Everton
Deportivo La Coruna v Valencia
-Sun Jan 14
Bournemouth v Arsenal
Real Sociedad v Barcelona
Dortmund v Wolfsburg
Liverpool v Man City
Lyon v Angers
Nantes v PSG
-Mon Jan 15
Man United v Stoke



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 10, 2018

It's Day 10 of 2018.


Christian Pulisic talks USMNT World Cup qualifying heartbreak. By Raphael Honigstein for ESPNFC.

dN

USMNT JANUARY CAMP

A hamstring injury has forced Dom Dwyer out of the camp.

Q + A with head coach Dave Sarachan on the camp and the state of US Soccer. By Ridge Mahoney for Soccer America.

Possible highlights that could come from this camp. By Avi Creditor for Sports Illustrated.

Roster:

• G: Alex Bono - Toronto, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Cody Cropper - New England Revolution, Zack Steffen - Columbus Crew
• D: Danny Acosta - Real Salt Lake, Justen Glad - Real Salt Lake, Nick Lima - San Jose Earthquakes, Justin Morrow - Toronto, Ike Opara - Sporting Kansas City, Tim Parker - Vancouver Whitecaps, Matt Polster - Chicago Fire, Brandon Vincent - Chicago Fire, Walker Zimmerman - Los Angeles
• M: Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Paul Arriola - DC United, Russell Canouse - DC United, Marky Delgado - Toronto, Marlon Hairston - Colorado Rapids, Ian Harkes - DC United, Brooks Lennon - Real Salt Lake, Cristian Roldan - Seattle Sounders, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Wil Trapp - Columbus Crew, Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, Jordan Morris - Seattle Sounders, Christian Ramirez - Minnesota United, Rubio Rubin - no club, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union

Friendly Schedule:
-Sun Jan 28
USA v Bosnia + Herzegovina - 8:30pm CT on FS1
Stub Hub Center - Carson CA

dN

LOS LOONS

Assistant coach Ian Fuller scouted new signing Frantz Pangop and shares some thoughts with three reporters:

• Fifty Five One - Wes Burdine
• Pioneer Press - Andy Greder
• Star Tribune - Megan Ryan

12 days until preseason begins

Off Season Signings:

• Harrison Heath
• Tyrone Mears
• Frantz Pangop

dN

Top 25 Tracks Of The Year: du Nord Music Mix (download + extract)

dN

MLS

Vancouver has pulled off a deal to sign 29 year old Mexican right fullback Efrain Juarez from Monterrey. He had kinda lost his starting role with Rayados. Good move.

MLS is currently holding a 3 day scouting combine in Fort Lauderdale for young players from the Caribbean. The 22 invited players are from 16 countries and age 18-21.

A person unknown to me named Tutal Rahman has posted a lengthy Tweet thread about MLS budgets, how they work, and how they can be best utilized.

• You will learn something by reading this.

dN

USL

Indy Eleven has joined the tied of NASL defectors and will play in USL in 2018.

• Some feel that Jacksonville Armada is right behind them.
• USL now has 35 teams for the 2018 season.

dN

NASL

Down to 4 teams:

• Jacksonville
• Miami
• New York
• Puerto Rico

Slated to join next season:

• California United
• San Diego 1904

dN

EUROPE

Benevento, the Serie A team that started the season with 17 losses and 1 tie has won its last 2 games in a row. They are still 9 points away from relegation safety, but who knows. Any chance? Highly unlikely, but for a while I was wondering if they would ever score 10 goals.



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 9, 2018

It's Day 9 of 2018.


JONATHAN GONZALEZ

Thomas Rongen has always had a fine eye for soccer talent, and he is currently a scout for US Soccer. (Hired after Klinsmann was fired.) Actually he is the ONLY scout for the men's program. (Along with some part timers.) He is on fire today on Twitter.

• FYI: The amount of online rhetoric being spewed on the Jonathan Gonzalez story is beyond idiotic.

A look at how Jonathan Gonzalez decided to switch national teams from USA to Mexico. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

dN

This pretty much confirms that Gianni Infantino's FIFA reform talk has been all bullshit. By Tariq Panja for the New York Times.

dN

USMNT JANUARY CAMP

Christian Ramirez of Minnesota United talks about fulfilling his dreams. By Ryan Tolmich for SBI.

Roster:

• G: Alex Bono - Toronto, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Cody Cropper - New England Revolution, Zack Steffen - Columbus Crew
• D: Danny Acosta - Real Salt Lake, Justen Glad - Real Salt Lake, Nick Lima - San Jose Earthquakes, Justin Morrow - Toronto, Ike Opara - Sporting Kansas City, Tim Parker - Vancouver Whitecaps, Matt Polster - Chicago Fire, Brandon Vincent - Chicago Fire, Walker Zimmerman - Los Angeles
• M: Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Paul Arriola - DC United, Russell Canouse - DC United, Marky Delgado - Toronto, Marlon Hairston - Colorado Rapids, Ian Harkes - DC United, Brooks Lennon - Real Salt Lake, Cristian Roldan - Seattle Sounders, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Wil Trapp - Columbus Crew, Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, Jordan Morris - Seattle Sounders, Christian Ramirez - Minnesota United, Rubio Rubin - no club, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union

Friendly Schedule:
-Sun Jan 28
USA v Bosnia + Herzegovina - 8:30pm CT on FS1
Stub Hub Center - Carson CA

Roster Breakdown By Age: (I think that under 23 is young, 23-28 is veteran, and over 28 is older.)

18

• Tyler Adams

20

• Danny Acosta
• Justen Glad
• Brooks Lennon

21

• Rubio Rubin

22

• Paul Arriola
• Russell Canouse
• Marky Delgado
• Ian Harkes
• Cristian Roldan
• Zack Steffen

23

• Alex Bono
• Marlon Hairston
• Nick Lima
• Jordan Morris
• Brandon Vincent

24

• Cody Cropper
• Tim Parker
• Matt Polster
• Wil Trapp
• Walker Zimmerman

25

• Juan Agudelo

26

• Christian Ramirez
• Kelyn Rowe
• Gyasi Zardes

27

• Dom Dwyer
• Bill Hamid

28

• Ike Opara

29

• CJ Sapong

30

• Justin Morrow

dN

LOS LOONS

MN has signed 24 year old Cameroonian midfielder Frantz Pangop from Union Douala. Press release from MNUFC.

• Very little is known about the player.
• He was a sub for Cameroon in 2 World Cup qualifiers. (They had already been eliminated.) In game 5 of 6 he came on as sub in the 87th minute, and immediately scored a goal in the 88th!
• He is not list on the current Doula roster, so its hard to know when he left there.
• Here are two Youtube collections of his highlights for club and country: ONE - and - TWO

One thing we learned last night at the Dark Clouds annual meeting is that Todd Johnson of Johnson Brothers liquor distribution of St Paul, one of the top beverage distributors in the country, owns a piece of MNUFC.

13 days until preseason begins.

Off Season Signings:

• Harrison Heath
• Tyrone Mears
• Frantz Pangop

Key dates ahead:

• Thu Jan 11 - Wed Jan 17 draftable player combine in Orlando
• Fri Jan 19 college draft in Philadelphia

A little Allianz Field update. By Nick Woltman for the Pioneer Press.

dN

Top 25 Tracks Of 2017: du Nord Music Mix (download + extract)

dN

MLS

Atlanta United announced their own USL team for 2018 called ATL UTD 2. The team will play in Gwinnett County which is about 40 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

LAG has signed Perry Kitchen, returning to MLS from stints at Hearts in Scotland and Randers in Denmark.

Houston has signed AJ DeLaGarza to a new contract. Good move.

Rapids finally made it official with a loan deal to acquire Edgar Castillo from Monterrey.

dN

AMERICANS ABROAD

A nice review of some strong performances by Americans last weekend. By Brian Sciaretta for American Soccer Now.

dN

BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

My predictions for winners of the Top 5 - really easy seeing as 4 of them are already over.

• Ligue 1 - Its already over: PSG
• La Liga - Its already over: Barcelona
• Bundesliga - Its already over: Bayern
• Premier League - Its already over: Man City
• Serie A - Napoli has a 1 point lead now, but Juventus will win it again

The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 8, 2018

It's Day 8 of 2018.


Barcelona just spent $142 Million dollars, (with incentives could go to $193M), on 25 year old Brazilian attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool. Absurd by any standard. Huge congrats to Coutinho. Take your share of the money and run.

dN

Happy Birthday to:

• David Bowie
• Shirley Bassey
• Elvis Presley

And:

• Larry Storch
• Soupy Sales
• Stephen Hawking
• Ray Misterio

dN

USMNT has invited 30 players into a training camp starting Thu Jan 11 that will end in a game on Sun Jan 28 v Bosnia + Herzegovina.

• Christian Ramirez of Minnesota United gets his first ever call up. He is the only forward without prior experience at the international level.
• Some words from Ramirez on receiving the invite. By Andy Greder for the Pioneer Press.
• Other first timers are: Alex Bono, Cody Cropper, Zack Steffen, Danny Acosta, Justen Glad, Nick Lima, Ike Opara, Tim Parker, Matt Polster, Russell Canouse, Marky Delgado, Marlon Hairston, Ian Harkes and Brooks Lennon.
• All but 2 are on MLS rosters.

Full Roster:

• G: Alex Bono - Toronto, Bill Hamid - Midtjylland, Cody Cropper - New England Revolution, Zack Steffen - Columbus Crew
• D: Danny Acosta - Real Salt Lake, Justen Glad - Real Salt Lake, Nick Lima - San Jose Earthquakes, Justin Morrow - Toronto, Ike Opara - Sporting Kansas City, Tim Parker - Vancouver Whitecaps, Matt Polster - Chicago Fire, Brandon Vincent - Chicago Fire, Walker Zimmerman - Los Angeles
• M: Tyler Adams - New York Red Bulls, Paul Arriola - DC United, Russell Canouse - DC United, Marky Delgado - Toronto, Marlon Hairston - Colorado Rapids, Ian Harkes - DC United, Brooks Lennon - Real Salt Lake, Cristian Roldan - Seattle Sounders, Kelyn Rowe - New England Revolution, Wil Trapp - Columbus Crew, Gyasi Zardes - LA Galaxy
• F: Juan Agudelo - New England Revolution, Dom Dwyer - Orlando City, Jordan Morris - Seattle Sounders, Christian Ramirez - Minnesota United, Rubio Rubin - no club, CJ Sapong - Philadelphia Union

This team could really use a few more veterans to lead the way.

dN

The US Soccer technical staff screwed this one up pretty bad. Gonzalez has been on US youth teams for 5 years and at this critical junction he was stolen from right under their noses:

According to @UnivisionSports, Jonathan Gonzalez has decided to play for Mexico and will be called up to the Jan. 31st friendly. He must file a one-time switch with #FIFA. https://t.co/S3XFh4YHYY

— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) January 8, 2018

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MEXICO - LIGA MX

The new season has begun:

• Champions Tigres open with a loss.
• Runners-up Monterrey giving up a tying goal in the dying seconds at home.
• Other favorites America with a road win.

Week 1 Results:
-Fri Jan 5
Puebla 2-1 Tigres
Atlas 1-2 Leon
-Sat Jan 6
Cruz Azul 0-0 Tijuana
Monterrey 1-1 Morelia
Pachuca 2-3 Pumas
Necaxa 0-0 Veracruz
-Sun Jan 7
Toluca 1-1 Guadalajara
Querataro 0-1 America
Santos Laguna 4-2 Lobos BUAP

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LOS LOONS

Brandon Allen has signed with USL team Bethlehem Steel FC (owned by Philadelphia Union.)

14 days until preseason begins.

Key dates ahead:

• Draftable Player Combine on Thu Jan 11 - Wed Jan 17 in Orlando
• College Draft on Fri Jan 19 in Philadelphia

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MLS

After 3 years NYCFC says they are turning their ship towards a youth movement. By Kyle Schnitzer for the NY Post.

• Pirlo leaving probably cut their average roster age by 10 years.

DC United signed goalkeeper David Ousted from Vancouver Whitecaps.

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WE ARE ALL JUST KIDS

Thrilling! Jozy Altidore visited a youth soccer club in Cayman Islands and imparted his wisdom, and even taking part in a scrimmage! Its a great feeling as a kid when someone so elite shows up at your practice session. By Mark Muckenfuss for Cayman Compass.

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AMERICAN SOCCER

Amid all the rank negativity: More than 25 new expansion teams entering the top divisions of American soccer in 2018. Incredible growth amidst the chaos. By Nathan Reynolds for MLS Multipex.

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US SOCCER

An interview with Phil Wright who is Chairman of the Board of Directors of U.S. Club Soccer, one of 4 youth programs in the country. I enjoy reading all these different perspectives on the American soccer system. By Mike Woitalla for Soccer America.

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USMNT

A little update on the coaching staff for the January camp. By Steven Goff for the Washington Post.

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AMERICANS ABROAD

Eric Lichaj had the biggest performance of his life this weekend as he scored 2 goals, one a golazo, in leading Nottingham Forest to a 4-2 win over Arsenal in the FA Cup:
-

?? Where did THAT come from, Eric Lichaj?! https://t.co/uxEr55dJGU

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) January 7, 2018

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EUROPE

Two Teams Unbeaten in the 5 Big Leagues:

• Manchester City 20-2-0
• Barcelona 15-3-0

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BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Results news:

• With another tie Real Madrid has fallen 16 points behind Barcelona, with 1 game in hand. 20 games left in the season.
• Inter continues to drop, with another tie they go to 9 points out of a lead they once held. 4 games without a win.
• And Roma lost.

Schedule/Results:
-Fri Jan 5
Fiorentina 1-1 Inter
-Sat Jan 6
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Getafe
Milan 1-0 Crotone
Napoli 2-0 Hellas Verona
Roma 1-2 Atalanta
Cagliari 0-1 Juventus
Valencia 2-1 Girona
-Sun Jan 7
Barcelona 3-0 Levante
Celta de Vigo 2-2 Real Madrid



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 5, 2018

It's Day 5 of 2018.


MEXICO - LIGA MX

The new season starts tonight! Let the Clausura begin!

• The champs from Nuevo Leon start us off at 7pm CT on Univision Deportes. They travel to struggling Puebla.

Lots of American's playing in Liga MX this Spring - here is a preview. By Paul Kennedy for Soccer America.

Week 1 Schedule:
-Fri Jan 5
Puebla v Tigres
Atlas v Leon
-Sat Jan 6
Cruz Azul v Tijuana
Monterrey v Morelia
Pachuca v Pumas
Necaxa v Veracruz
-Sun Jan 7
Toluca v Guadalajara
Querataro v America
Santos Laguna v Lobos BUAP

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LOS LOONS

In case you missed it yesterday, here is the Loons 2018 schedule.

We knew this 2 weeks ago, but today Minn announced the loan of Johan Venegas to Saprissa.

17 days until preseason begins.

Two new preseason games addded - at EFSC Melbourne Campus
-Sat Feb 3
MNUFC v Florida International University - 1pm CT
-Wed Feb 7
MNUFC v Jacksonville Armada - 1pm CT

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MLS

The Philadelphia Union offseason is still void of adding starting talent to the roster, but other moves show signs of a long term plan. By Jonathan Tannenwald for Philly.com.

A roundup of the most important off season moves in MLS so far. By Sam Stjeskal for MLS.

• There are some impressive deals in the list.

Following in the footsteps of a countryman NYC has signed a true #10 to hopefully lead the team where Andrea Pirlo was not able to. By Luis Miguel Echegaray for Sports Illustrated.

Don Garber is in the last year of his MLS contract as commissioner. Where are we, and what happens next? By Beau Dure for Four Four Two.

• And for those of you who hate the guy, I think you are dead wrong, there would be no MLS without him. And American soccer would not be recognizable without the growth of MLS.

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AMERICANS ABROAD

Gent has loaned Kenny Saief to Anderlecht for the rest of the season. Brian Sciaretta with the news.

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BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Schedule/Results:
-Thu Jan 4
Tottenham 1-1 West Ham
-Fri Jan 5
Fiorentina v Inter
-Sat Jan 6
Atletico Madrid v Getafe
Milan v Crotone
Napoli v Hellas Verona
Roma v Atalanta
Cagliari v Juventus
Valencia v Girona
-Sun Jan 7
Barcelona v Levante
Celta de Vigo v Real Madrid



The Bird Is The Word

Some Soccer News for Jan 4, 2018

It's Day 4 of 2018.


USMNT January camp roster coming next Monday at 11:00am. Training starts Thu Jan 11.

• And I fully expect Christian Ramirez on Minnesota to be on that list.

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MINNESOTA UNITED

18 days until preseason begins.

Justin Davis has signed with Nashville FC in USL. Wishing him good luck this season.

Here It Is! The Whole Minnesota United 2018 MLS Schedule:
Mar

• Sat 3 at San Jose
• Sat 10 at Orlando
• Sat 17 v Chicago tbd
• Sat 24 at Red Bulls

Apr

• Sat 1 v Atlanta 1pm
• Sat 14 at Portland
• Sun 22 at Seattle
• Sat 28 v Houston 7pm

May

• Sat 5 v Vancouver 1pm
• Wed 9 at LAFC
• Sat 12 v San Jose 1pm
• Sat 20 v Kansas City 1pm
• Sat 26 v Montreal 7pm

Jun

• Sun 3 at KC
• Sat 23 at Colorado
• Fri 29 v Dallas 7pm

Jul

• Wed 4 v Toronto 6pm
• Sat 7 at Houston
• Sat 14 v Salt Lake 7pm
• Wed 18 v New England 7pm
• Sun 22 v LAFC 6pm
• Sat 28 at Vancouver

Aug

• Sat 4 v Seattle 7pm
• Sat 11 at Galaxy
• Sat 18 at Dallas
• Sat 25 at KC

Sep

• Wed 12 at DC
• Sat 15 at Salt Lake
• Sat 22 v Portland 7pm
• Sat 29 v NYC 7pm

Oct

• Sat 6 at Philadelphia
• Sat 13 v Colorado 1pm
• Sun 21 v Galaxy 11am
• Sun 28 at Columbus

5 game road trip in Aug - Sep = LAG-Dal-KC-DC-RSL

Home games:
Wed - 2
Fri - 1
Sat - 12
Sun - 2
---
11am - 1
1pm - 5
6pm - 2
7pm - 7

Loons will be on American national TV twice: at Sea - Apr 22 on ESPN, and at KC - Jun 3 on FS1.

• They will be on Canadian national TV thrice.

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MLS

Benny Feilhaber is sold by SKC to the new LAFC. Good move for both.

DC will start the season by playing 12 of 14 games on the road. New stadium is supposed to open in Mid-July.

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USMNT

Mexico is supposedly going to make a hard run at American Jonathan Gonzalez and try to get him to change federations. By Tom Marshall for ESPN.

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MEXICO - LIGA MX

Let the Clausura begin!

Week 1 Schedule:
-Fri Jan 5
Puebla v Tigres
Atlas v Leon
-Sat Jan 6
Cruz Azul v Tijuana
Monterrey v Morelia
Pachuca v Pumas
Necaxa v Veracruz
-Sun Jan 7
Toluca v Guadalajara
Querataro v America
Santos Laguna v Lobos BUAP

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BIG TEAMS + GAMES IN EUROPE'S 5 TOP LEAGUES

Schedule/Results:
-Thu Jan 4
Tottenham v West Ham
-Fri Jan 5
Fiorentina v Inter
-Sat Jan 6
Atletico Madrid v Getafe
Milan v Crotone
Napoli v Hellas Verona
Roma v Atalanta
Cagliari v Juventus
Valencia v Girona
-Sun Jan 7
Barcelona v Levante
Celta de Vigo v Real Madrid



The Bird Is The Word