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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

dN

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

dN

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

dN

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.

dN

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.

dN

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.

dN

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.

dN

USMNT

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

dN

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

dN

EUROPE

Two Teams 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

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