Football (or call it soccer if you must) redux.

For some reason Hodge's anecdote reminds me of an old craigslist ad for a .22 calibre pistol, which proudly proclaimed that it had allowed its owner to escape a bear attack unscathed. In the actual, long-winded description, the seller explained that all he'd needed to do was shoot his girlfriend in the leg and run, and that the bear had been willing to settle for her.

There's something darkly ironic about the idea of a Major League Soccer game being played in the US in an empty stadium as a punishment.

His Royal Dorkness wrote:

There's something darkly ironic about the idea of a Major League Soccer game being played in the US in an empty stadium as a punishment.

Isn't it, though? New England Revolution do it all the time at Gillette and the Chicago Fire, who have had trouble filling half of the 20,000 seat facility in Bridgeview just announced they are moving back to Soldier Field.

The small "soccer specific" stadium was a mandate from Lamar Hunt when he massively bought into MLS and saved it from bankruptcy. Another thing is that the teams are owned by the league itself and franchised out to groups who operate them. Revenues are shared and there's a restrictive salary cap in place. For years the Sounders, with by far the highest attendance, have been financially propping up the rest of the teams. Now Atlanta United is pitching in as well. BoC and Minnesota United's stadium, while small-ish, are well located and well designed for fans.

And we have a winner folks! Sounders defeated Toronto 3-1 before nearly 70,000 fans at the CLink.

Greg Vanney's TFC side came out aggressively pressing in a 4-1-3-2 but could muster no final product through the first half as Brian Schmetzer's Sounders were content to sit back, soak the pressure, knowing they had the tools to hit on the counter. The teams went into the break scoreless with TFC holding 65% of the possession but the shots being 8 total, 2 on frame for Sounders compared to 6 total, 3 on frame, 2 of which were timid attempts from outside the 18, from Toronto. Toronto had looked the "better" team but Sounders the more efficient at what they wanted to do.

Second half got under way with more of the same for the first 20 minutes. Then in the 67th minute the Sounders counterattack paid off. Toronto was attempting to bring the ball up from their own end following Seattle corner but lost the ball just inside the Sounders half. A switching ball, one-touch passes, advancing the ball up the side without any real challenge, a cross into Kelvin Leerdam, and the Dutchman hit a shot which deflected off Justin Morrow and in. For some odd reason Leerdam was officially credited with the goal but it looked for all the world like it should have been an own goal on Morrow. Still counts the same though.

Eight minutes later Spaniard Victor Rodriguez, a former Barcelona youth product who came into the game immediately after Leerdam's goal in place of Strine left back Brad Smith, on loan from Bournemouth of the EPL and likely playing his last game in the Rave Green, collected a neat touch from Nicolas Lodeiro at the 18 and curled a shot past a diving Quenton Westberg to double the advantage.

Vanney brought in US International striker Jozy Altidore, out since the final day of the regular season with a quad strain, to provide some hope in attack, and moved centerback Omar Gonzalez, a veteran of three previous MLS Cup winning campaigns with LA Galaxy up to striker along side Altidore, but all it did was leave TFC vulnerable at the back. In the 90th minute Swedish D-Mid Gustav Svensson hoofed a speculative clearance from the penalty arc towards the Toronto goal. The only player back was 6'1" CB Chris Mavinga and even though the Frenchman had a head start to the ball he was easily beaten to it by the 5'7" Raul Ruidiaz. "The Peruvian Assassin" calmly collected and slotted it past Westberg to stick a dagger into the heart of any hope of a comeback by Toronto.

Five minutes of stoppage time, TFC got one back in the 93rd minute when Altidore headed a cross from Morrow past Stefan Frei, but much too little, much too late.

Seattle Sounders are the 2019 MLS Champions and quite likely the consensus 2010s MLS Team of the Decade.

With financially subsidizing struggling clubs through the luxury tax, hiring away great talent from other clubs, going on championship streaks, and being hated, it almost seems like you're painting the comparison not just away from the Patriots, but more toward the Yankees. Of course, neither the Yankees nor the Patriots actually accomplished much in their earliest years, but other than that.

I found some interesting stuff here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Seattle_Sounders_FC_seasons
The Sounders have never had a negative goal differential. That's impressive.

Oh, and conrats, TBC!!!

The expansion season was the only real situation where the team hired great talent away from other teams, luring Sigi Schmit away from Columbus to be the first head coach in addition to some fine talent brought in. There is always player movement within the league, most of them are role-players but sometimes you get a gem. Case in point, Chad Marshall. Probably the best defender in MLS history, although MUFC's Ike Opara might still have a few things to say about that. Very solid early career with Columbus but got into a rut after about seven or eight years in the league, the team let him go for cheap and almost immediately regretted it. He responded to the new scenery like Lazarus, won his second Defender of the Year award and later unprecedented third. He suddenly retired in the first half of this season with a degenerative knee condition which makes playing further impossible. One of the "amazing things" about winning this season is that we did it without our anchor at Centerback.

I saw a nice fluff piece on the Sounders today: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/seattle-needed-some-luck-against-toronto-fc-but-the-sounders-are-still-a-worthy-mls-cup-champion/ar-BBWyEHy

I'm don't think there's much in there that you haven't already covered, but it seemed like a link worth sharing. I learned that Macklemore is a minority owner, and i liked the bit about them being the "flagship franchise."

Congrats to you and the other fans, as well as the franchise and the players.

Congrats TBC! So, that's 2 in 4?
I only saw the highlights, showing all goals.

One other thing to take into account: The last five Western Conference Champions and their eventual finish in MLS Cup.

2015 Portland Timbers, defeated NYRB.
2016 Seattle Sounders, defeated Toronto FC
2017 Seattle Sounders, lost to Toronto FC
2018 Portland Timbers, lost to Atlanta United
2019 Seattle Sounders, defeated Toronto FC.

That's five straight Western Conference titles for Cascadia and the third MLS Cup.

Two and a half months later...

There's been the predictable movement around MLS. New teams in Miami and Nashville are set to debut. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has departed L.A. Galaxy and in his place is Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, a man who truly has the footballing gene if such a thing exists. His maternal grandfather Tomas Balcazar scored 23 goals in 346 games for an absolutely loaded Chivas side which won 8 Liga MX titles in 10 years and appeared in the 1954 World Cup for El Tri. His father, Javier "Chicharo" Hernandez scored 58 goals in 430 games combined for Tecos, Puebla, and Monarchas Morelia and was capped 28 times over an eleven year period, scoring 4 goals. So I guess if you are a footballer and you marry the daughter of a footballer and raise your kid playing football there's a fair chance he's gonna be good at it. So far, at 31 years of age, Chicharito, in a combined 308 matches for Chivas, Man Utd, Real Madrid, Beyer Leverkusen, West Ham, and Sevilla has scored 115 goals and is the all-time leading goal scorer for El Tri with 52 in 109 games. That's probably the biggest news coming into the 2020 MLS season, I'll post more later.

TBC, I'm glad you made it back in here. There's something I've wanted to post, but I've been forgetting. It's something TPTB (Mrs. Hodgepodge) commented to me maybe a year ago.

I was watching the pregame between Juventus and another team when the announcers started talking about Ronaldo. Into the room comes Kriss when she stopped and began watching the T.V. Then she announced, "I'd have his child and pay him child support." Not sure I've ever laughed that hard.  
One more thing...He is a stunning looking man!

Afraid he's never quite escaped the stigma from his early career when he garnered the reputation as a mad diver. But yes, he's quite the rake. By comparison, Lionel Messi with his scruffy beard, standing a good 5" shorter, is unimpressive. But it's the Argentine who has won the Ballon d'Or a record six times, spent his entire career with a single club, and has more titles with both club and country than Ronaldo. Of course the last category is a bit unfair. Portugal always enter the Euro quals with the expectation that they are going to make the Final Tournament, are likely going to advance to the knock-out stages, and get buzzed by one of the real heavyweights. Argentina always enter the nine-nation Copa Libertadores tournament as one of the favorites.

I'm really getting into soccer over the last couple of weeks.
Was watching the Liverpool vs. Southhamption game this morning when one of the announcers mentioned something about "Transfer fee".
TBC, can you explain the "Transfer fee", and is there a comparison with anything in American football?

In professional soccer it's rare for teams to trade players. Instead they buy and sell them, or rather their contracts. A transfer fee, simply put, is the money exchanged for the player.

A player who is not under contract can move from one team to another on a "Free Transfer" which is just like free agency. Teams are generally loathe to let a player's contract expire and have him walk away for nothing in return so what they will do is try to re-sign him with a mind towards selling the contract.

There is also the concept of loan deals, where a team who holds a player's contract signs a contract with another team to have him play for that team for a set period of time. There are specific rules involved and it's sometimes similar to but not the same as a minor league deal. For instance, a lateral loan deal, to a team in the same league, is not unheard of. In this case the player is barred from playing against his parent club, although the club does have the right to ask for the player be allowed to compete against them. The way it works, so far as I am aware, is that usually the parent club pays half the player's salary. So it's a good deal for a team to take a player on loan. Especially for a lower-level team. They get a good player they can plug in to the system, develop for the higher team, and pay him less than they would if they owned his contract outright. For a higher level team, you can buy a player, send him off to get game experience, and it will cost you peanuts compared to what a normal squad player gets. In fact, he will cost less over a season than some of your players are making in a week.

Okay! So the fee is paid by the team getting the player. Can I assume the new team pays the players salary for that season?
What are the reasons a team might transfer a player to another team? Is it only money, or could there be other reasons?

Here's something that I've wanted to ask: Give me some contract numbers ($)! Case in point - What kind of salary does Mo Salah (spl) and Christiano Ronaldo have?

According to The Sun Mo Salah has a contract which pays him £200K/week. As if that's not enough, Cristiano Ronaldo is currently getting paid £500K/week by Juventus, according to an article in The Guardian.

Q: Okay! So the fee is paid by the team getting the player. Can I assume the new team pays the players salary for that season?
A: You may. Because that how it works.
Q: What are the reasons a team might transfer a player to another team? Is it only money, or could there be other reasons?
A: Hooo boy. That's one with a lot of meat to it. Sometimes a player just wants out or is not a good fit for the current system. This can happen when there is a coaching change. It can also happen when a player gets his spot taken by a younger player or another one who was brought in. Just like in any pro sport, really. It's common for teams to buy young players they want to develop in their system and if they are not yet ready to compete for a starting spot they will be loaned out somewhere they can play regularly. I'll give you a name you will recognize...Carlos Vela. A decade ago he was a part of the "Young Guns" squad along with Nicklaus Bentner and Theo Wolcott who were impressing in Cup matches for Arsenal. If you had asked which one was better suited to challenge for starting minutes against Robin van Persie the answer would have been Vela. But he was a wuss who couldn't stand up against the physical play of the centrebacks in England (and still hates getting touched, as evidenced by the way he flailed about under the slightest contact from Kim Kee-Hee and Roman Torres in last year's Western Conference Final....he's really going to hate our new preferred CB duo of Arreaga and Andrade) and couldn't tolerate the weather so he went off on a series of loan deals to teams in Spain before one of them finally bought him.

Teams basically will buy and sell players for the same reasons that teams here trade players. It's just a different dynamic. One thing which is massively different is the concept of buying low and selling high. Some teams try to do that, but in the end it always evens out. You buy a lot of players low and sell one high and look at the net on all of them and the only thing you have done is impressed your idiot fans who are only looking at the one player.

TBC wrote:

According to The Sun Mo Salah has a contract which pays him £200K/week. As if that's not enough, Cristiano Ronaldo is currently getting paid £500K/week by Juventus, according to an article in The Guardian...

HMoG! Those are massive contracts. Is there anything in the NFL that compares?

TBC wrote:

...Hooo boy. That's one with a lot of meat to it. Sometimes a player just wants out or is not a good fit for the current system. This can happen when there is a coaching change. It can also happen when a player gets his spot taken by a younger player or another one who was brought in. Just like in any pro sport, really. It's common for teams to buy young players they want to develop in their system and if they are not yet ready to compete for a starting spot they will be loaned out somewhere they can play regularly. I'll give you a name you will recognize...Carlos Vela. A decade ago he was a part of the "Young Guns" squad along with Nicklaus Bentner and Theo Wolcott who were impressing in Cup matches for Arsenal. If you had asked which one was better suited to challenge for starting minutes against Robin van Persie the answer would have been Vela. But he was a wuss who couldn't stand up against the physical play of the centrebacks in England (and still hates getting touched, as evidenced by the way he flailed about under the slightest contact from Kim Kee-Hee and Roman Torres in last year's Western Conference Final....he's really going to hate our new preferred CB duo of Arreaga and Andrade) and couldn't tolerate the weather so he went off on a series of loan deals to teams in Spain before one of them finally bought him.

Teams basically will buy and sell players for the same reasons that teams here trade players. It's just a different dynamic. One thing which is massively different is the concept of buying low and selling high. Some teams try to do that, but in the end it always evens out. You buy a lot of players low and sell one high and look at the net on all of them and the only thing you have done is impressed your idiot fans who are only looking at the one player.

Okay, that's not much different from other sports especially the NFL.

Thanks for the backstory, TBC.

I said I would give a list of player moves around MLS. Should start with my own team.

Sounders basic formation is a 4-2-3-1. 4 Defenders, 2 "D-Mids", 3 Attacking Midfielders, 1 Forward.

Last season at the start of the campaign the preferred XI looked like this:

Keeper: Swiss-born American Steffan Frei

Back line, left to right: Aussie Brad Smith, Yank Chad Marshall, Korean Kim Kee-Hee, Surinamese Kelvin Leerdam.

D-mids: Swede Gustav Svensson, Yank Christian Roldan

Attacking mids: Spaniard Victor Rodriguez, Uruguayan Nicolas Lodiero, and Yank Jordan Morris.

And the lone striker: The Peruvian Assassin, Raul Ruidiaz.

Rodriguez was injured for much of his time here, played wonderfully when he was healthy, in his stead Morris moved to the left wing and the right was in flux until Trinibagian Joevin Jones returned from a year and a half misadventure in Germany. He's always played left back for in MLS but plays right wing for the Soca Warriors. When the Sounders re-acquired him in a mid-season deal he was able to play both spots depending on needs.

Marshall, one of the all-time great CBs in MLS history, three-time Defender of the Year, third most appearances in league history, second most by an outfield player (the two names ahead of him are Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman), was forced into retirement in mid season by a degenerative knee condition. Panamanian Roman Torres regained his starting spot and Ecuadorean Xavier Arreaga was purchased to fill the void in the roster.

Substantial playing time was had by Cameroonian Nouhou Tolo at left back, Martiniquais D-mid Jordy Delem, Kenyan winger Handwalla Bwana (who went to high school right across the street from me, practically...I can stand in my front yard and throw a baseball, land it in the school's athletic fields if it doesn't hit a power line along the way.) Yank CB-FB Saad Abdul Salaam, Yank F Will Bruin, Yank MF Harry Shipp and Yank MF-F Alex Roldan. Debuts were handed to impressive teenagers D-Mid Danny Leyva and F Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez, both products of the team's academy, neither old enough to vote. Bruin tore his ACL in practice in July and former Galaxy homegrown Justin Dhillon was signed from Tacoma Defiance to replace him on the roster, becoming the first alum of Cal Poly to play professional sports for a team in Seattle since some guy with the Seahawks back in the '70s, Jim...something or other...started with a "Z" I think...

After MLS Cup a few contracts were not renewed. Rodriguez elected to return to Spain. Kim has gone off in search of more money elsewhere, Smith was on loan from Bournemouth in the EPL and that deal has ended, he has only the balance of this season left and is on loan at a team in the Championship for it. He's probably going somewhere on a free transfer in the Summer. Torres was signed by Beckham's new Inter Miami team. Abdul-Salaam went to FC Cincy.

Most of the player movement out was in the back. 26 year old Irishman Shane O'Neill was signed as a depth player at CB, but not the starter next to Arreaga which we were looking for. Finally GM Garth Lagerway made his moves. Brasilian D-mid Joao Paulo and Colombian CB Yeimar Gomez Andrade.

Paulo is signed to a DP contract, his arrival allows Roldan to play at the right winger position. This is what Matt Doyle was mentioning while Bobby Warshaw was being gagged. For the last two seasons Roldan has been one of the top "box-to-box" midfielders in MLS, but he's a versatile player who has adapted to that role in the absence of Ozzie Alonso. Paulo playing next to Svensson brings another dynamic. Both are great defenders, both are skilled passers capable of inch-perfect 40-yarders. Paulo is a bit better with ball at feet. Roldan on the right wing brings a lot of creativity to the position and his versatility allows Leerdam to bomb forward from the right back position more frequently. On the left side Morris has demonstrated that he's become very adept with his left foot. He can shoot, pass, and dribble with it. The big knock on him coming out of college was that he was "one-footed" which is not a bad thing, per se. Been a lot of great players who had magic in one foot while the other was only useful for keeping their shorts from getting dirty. It's fun watching him break down defenders on the wing now. They don't know which way he's going to go or what he's going to do. He's seriously like Magic Johnson out there.

So, as it stands now the likely starting line-up for the Sounders:

..............................................Frei.......................................

..Leerdam..............Arreaga.................Andrade...........Jones.....

.............................Paulo...................Svensson.......................

..Roldan...............................Lodeiro............................Morris..

...........................................Ruidiaz.....................................

MLS is BAAAAACK!

Not quite yet. Season starts this coming weekend. But five teams have already played first legs in their Round-of-16 Knockout Stages in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Canada gets one team and the US gets four. Montreal Impact won the Canadian Championship last season so first match under Arsenal legend Theirry Henry was a 2 - 2 draw at Costa Rican power club Saprissa.

For the US the selection order is MLS Cup Winner, US Open Cup Winner, Supporters Shield Winner (best regular season record) and then at large pecking order after that starting with the MLS Cup Runner-up. The Sounders came into their Conference Final match at Supporters Shield winner LAFC already qualified regardless of the outcome because Toronto FC, which had just beaten Open Cup winners Atlanta United, was assed out of a spot in CONCACAF in favor of Montreal.

Yeah, they whined. Said that MLS was cheating them out of a chance to play in the CCL. Excuse me? MLS had nothing to do with it. CONCACAF decreed ONE slot for a team from Canada, the CFF decided that the winner of the Canadian Champion should be that team, if you wanted to play in the CCL you should have won the Voyageurs Cup, shut your poutine hole.

So along with Sounders, LAFC and Atlanta UTD, the at-large went to Man City Yankees...Sorry...NYCFC.

NYCFC made their international bow with a 3-5 demolition of another Costa Rican side, CD San Carlos, based in the city of Ciudad Quesada. Sounds cheesy to me.

Two teams faced Honduran opposition. Motagua and Olimpia groundshare at Estadio Tuburicio in Tegucigalpa but CONCACAF deemed the surface unfit for competition so both matches were relocated to San Pedro Sula.

Atlanta came away with a 1-1 draw against Motagua and Sounders got a 2-2 result against Olimpia

LAFC faced Liga MX side Leon and got spanked 2-0 with El Tri all-time goals leader Carlos Vela getting booed ever time he touched the ball.

Second legs are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, league matches are Saturday and Sunday.

Toronto whines about everything just ignore them like the rest of Canada

I guess that was why it was so fun beating them in the rubber match on our field.

TFC was horrendous for it's first seven or eight years. One game, just to bring in fans, the team had a seat cushion give-away, and about 50-60 of the cushions wound up on the field. Not sure if the fans were throwing them at the opposing players out of general drunken douchebaggery or their own in frustration. There were print articles questioning if TFC was the worst team in professional footy. A bit of hyperbole, certainly, but in most leagues in the world a team that bad would be relegated to a level where they wold be competitive. In MLS owners who don't commit to fielding a competitive team doom their fans to perpetual gloom. It's supposed to be a "parity league" but it only works that way if every franchise owner is equally committed and capable, which is never going to happen.

New ownership came, they hired former US International Greg Vanney to coach the team, his moves included letting go of the team's best player, Canadian International Dwayne DeRosario to DC United, bringing in a pair of US Internationals, Jozy Altodore and Michael Bradley (Whose father Bob is the former USMNT coach and currently HC of LAFC), and installing a 3 CB formation, the new and trendy thing over in Europe at the time.

Some tactics discussion here. I HATE the three centreback formation. A lot of teams use it because their CBs suck. Really, it carries the connotation of "negative football". In the old "boring" 4-4-2 formation of 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 2 forwards the outside pair of midfielders are known as wingers, just like in hockey. Typically their job in attack is to cross the ball into the box from the wide areas. The two outside defenders are known as fullbacks. In defense their primary job is to guard the wide areas so they need to be good at one-on-one defending. A by-product of the 3 centreback philosophy is a hybrid critter know as a "wingback" which in the Scouser parlance, "Taint one nor th'other." In the old days a fullback who could go forward to join the attack was looked at as a bonus. Nowadays a fullback who is a capable one v one defender is at a premium.

The typical defensive formation is two banks of four in lines abreast with the forwards moving side-to side at the top. The defenders line up along the 18-yard line because it is an easy reference for keeping everyone even for the offside trap. But if the winger moves the ball closer to the end line then the defenders have to move closer as well because the location of the ball is now the offside line. So here's where things get tricky...Winger brings the ball to within a couple of yard of the end line, defenders run back, winger passes the ball to his fullback who is outside the 18, the defenders start to run back to the 18, fullback makes a pass behind the defenders who are heading the wrong way right in the path of the striker who started making his run as the defenders started moving up, clear shot on goal. You have a much better chance of pulling off this trick if there are 3 centerbacks and 2 wingbacks than you do if there are 2 centrebacks and 2 fullbacks because with the former there is a much greater chance that someone is going to be tardy getting up and will keep the onrushing forward onside. And this is true for any situation which requires maintaining the onside trap. But it takes practice to beat it, and since TFC were the only team in MLS deploying it they were successful with it. The reason that they lost the first MLS Final against the Sounders at BMO was that on attack all three centrebacks stayed in their own end and Bradley, playing the holding mid, never left the center circle, leaving them only six players to try to score against the Sounders whole team. They had most of the possession but only two shots on goal from inside the penalty box, one a weak looping header by Altidore which gave Frei enough time to get a glove to it for the "Save of the Century".

Speaking of the MLS...TBC, what does the addition of "Chicharito" do for the Galaxy? Also, take into consideration the loss of Zoltan in reference to the team.

Zoltan???

Zlatan. Which means "Golden" in Serbo-Croatian. Or so I was informed by a Croat woman back at L-TV who went by the name "Zlata" and was a huge Mira Furlan fan. In case you didn't know, Mira is Croatian. She moved to Belgrade, married a Serb, and became established in the Yugoslav film industry. But with a couple of above-the-title roles on her resume the break-up of Yugoslavia started, she couldn't stay in Belgrade and her husband couldn't go to Croatia so they came to the US together.

As for you question...

Zlatan is a great goal scorer. He's also a shitty excuse for a human being. Over the last six seasons there has been a glaring weakness in defense with the Galaxy. Most of it has to do with them signing attacking players who don't defend. Robbie Keane was probably the best player ever to wear a Galaxy kit. He could create space for himself and score if you gave him half a yard inside the box, create shots for others, and most importantly he would track back and provide defensive cover. A lot of times you would see him working just outside the penalty arc to disrupt opponent's passing game or even dropping into the box to use his height to defend against crosses. That's a central attacker doing that stuff, and he was in his mid-30s at the time.

As for Chicharito, I can not say what he's going to bring. He had a great season at Leverkusen and then faded, couldn't get on the pitch at Sevilla after a failed spell in East London. I don't know where his skills are at. He could score 30 goals or he could wind up exiled up 101 to Buellton as Split Pea Soup.

Thanks for that, TBC.  

Got a chance to watch the highlights from the CONCACAF match between LAFC vs. Leon.
LAFC was down 2-0 on aggregate, and came back to defeat Leon 3-0. Which allows them to move on.

Okay, I love their uniforms, but that's not the only reason I've decided to become a fan. This game did it for me. There was no quit in any member of the team. That shows me a lot about their character.

LAFC, forever!      

OMG Hodge is a Galaxy fan. 

Now now...Galaxy and LAFC are two completely different species of duck. Galaxy have a long and storied history that traces all the way back to the founding of the league in...1996. (Seattle Sounders originally established 1974, if anyone asks.) LAFC per se are embarking on only their third season as a team. I say "per se" because it is actually the old Chivas USA franchise put in cold storage and rebranded after several years with a new star-powered ownership group. It's like buying an old Ford coupe, parking it in your garage, waiting a few years, giving it a new paint job, interior, engine, tranny, and selling it to Billy Gibbons who promptly names it "The Eliminator" and puts it on his band's latest album...it's still a POS old Ford. Okay, maybe not the best example, but it's close. The league took a failed concept and turned it into an eye-catching winner.

So, CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16. All of the MLS teams advanced....except the Sounders. 4-4 aggregate and lost 2-4 in PKs. It's like a dagger right here...

But the league play starts today and tomorrow. Let's get the 2020 MLS season under way, lads. And welcome, Miami and Nashville.

I appreciate the clarification! I was officially established in 1974 too btw.

Well...results are in. Chicharito is officially a flop, having failed to score in his Galaxy debut against Houston Dynamo.

Seriously, he looked good.

The big result to my mind pitted the winningest active (and second all time) MLS coach Bruce Arena's New England Revolution against Montreal Impact coached by Thierry Henry, making his MLS coaching debut with only a failed spell at A.S. Monaco (which some might argue was a doomed effort from the start) on his resume. Impact came away 2-1 winners on the day. The former France International and all-time leading goal scorer in Arsenal history has now tasted success in both Continental and League coaching, as Impact beat Saprissa on away goals in the Round of 16.

In today's games Columbus Crew host NYCFC, Sounders host Chicago Fire with their redesigned logo, universally panned, Red Bulls host FC Cincy, or the Stabby Cats, as some call them due to their club badge which is a winged lion brandishing a sword. LAFC host debutants, David Beckham's Inter Miami, and Portland host Minnesota Utd.

Sunday of opening weekend was even more exciting than Saturday. NYCFC CB Maxime Chanot got the day off to a bright start by setting a new league record for the quickest sending off to start a season when he clipped the heels of the Crew's Lucas Zelarayan, through on a breakaway chasing a lobbed pass over the top, with 2:12 elapsed. Referee Ramy Touchon went to his back pocket without hesitation, sending the Frenchman to the showers for denial of an obvious goal scoring opportunity. Crew went on to be the bunkered-in Cityzens 1-0 with Zelarayen himself providing the winner. This year's version of the Stabby Tabbies looked just as bad as last year's, Red Bulls had two goals before FCC had two shots, 3-2 the final but it wasn't that close.

Out to games on the West Coast...After a scoreless first half the Sounders conceded within the first minute of the restart and then won on a brace by Jordan Morris, the second coming in the 4th of 6 added minutes. A sublime chip from 19 yards out over the fingertips of Inter Miami keeper Luis Robles (no relation to Master Xan) by the Maestro himself, Carlos Vela, was all LAFC needed to send Beckham's side home from their debut ball empty handed. And at the PeePee the Timbers picked up right where they left off last season, choking in front of the home fans (I can never resist an opportunity) falling 1-3 to the Loons. New DP Yimmi Chara, brother of Diego, the team's long-serving D-Mid, played 69 minutes before being subbed off. 1 shot,1 on frame, 4 fouls suffered, goose eggs everywhere else in his stat line. That's not gonna cut it considering what he's being paid.

TBC wrote:

...Out to games on the West Coast...A sublime chip from 19 yards out over the fingertips of Inter Miami keeper Luis Robles (no relation to Master Xan) by the Maestro himself, Carlos Vela, was all LAFC needed to send Beckham's side home from their debut ball empty handed...

What a great goal it was!

That's a goal scored by a great goal scorer. To give you a comparison I went looking for a video of Obafemi Martins from six years ago when he chipped San Jose keeper Jon Busch from an impossible angle. What I found was the MLS Soccer dot com GotW video, Martins is the first up, but the second goal is also worth watching because it is Robles getting chipped from 25 yards by Federico Higuain of Columbus.


One of the greatest things about Oba's goal is Busch's reaction. There are other videos show it better. The man had an 18 year professional career, was one of the top keepers in MLS at the time, and he just stood there for about 5 seconds completely shocked.

TBC wrote:

That's a goal scored by a great goal scorer. To give you a comparison I went looking for a video of Obafemi Martins from six years ago when he chipped San Jose keeper Jon Busch from an impossible angle...

One of the greatest things about Oba's goal is Busch's reaction. There are other videos show it better. The man had an 18 year professional career, was one of the top keepers in MLS at the time, and he just stood there for about 5 seconds completely shocked.

Jesus H Christ TBC, that goal by Obafemi was something to behold. And you're right, the goal keepers reaction was worth watching.

Isn't it though? There was another time...

I doubt I will be able to find any clip of it so I'll have to describe it. Sounders were playing FC Dallas, it was Oba's final season with the team. Marco Pappa and Gonzalo Pinieda, who is now the assistant coach were the regular starters in the midfield along side Clint Dempsey. On this one play Clint and Oba were both lurking at the Dallas defensive line, which was supposed to be set up at the 18. The team moved the ball around as they were bringing it up so Dallas didn't have a chance to get set up properly. Pinieda advanced it and then kicked it laterally to Pappa as Deuce and Oba moved up to the 18 to force Dallas to set the line. Pinieda ran to about 5 yards away from the 18 and awaited the pass from Pappa. As soon as it got to him he flicked it beyond the defenders.

Both Deuce and Oba had made the run while all the Dallas back line were flat footed. Poor Bobby Shuttleworth, standing there dead while Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins bore down on him.

Got another question for you, TBC.

I'm a big fan of the women's game. I just love our National team.
Why does Andonovski always start Carli Lloyd instead of one of the younger Midfielders?  
I know she's great and all, but she's 37yrs-old.
I was watching the SheBelieves Cup, and she always looked a step slow.

Don't know what to say. I don't know what is going on between Andonovski's ears. The She Believes Cup is an unofficial competition, it could just be that he is using it to give her a last run-out before she retires.

I am still trying to figure out how the FA roped Phil Neville into taking EWNT job. He was one of the brilliant youngsters of the early 1990s at Man U along with his brother Gary, people like David Beckham and Michael Owen. Gary spent his entire career at Man U, Phil was traded after a decade to Everton where he spent another decade playing the #6 aka central defensive midfielder role. It sure looks to me like the FA wanted a "name" in the position, and they did get that, but whether he's a capable coach is up in the air. Make a list of the people who played for Sir Alex Ferguson for a long time who went and got their coaching badges, it would take me a while to do the research but I would give you one. Narrow that down to people who were actually successful, that's a lot smaller list. Mark Hughes is probably the one with the most wins in his managerial career but that is because he spent a lot of years coaching teams which were just good enough to get to the Prem and stay bottom half for 4 or 5 seasons...so he also the one with the most losses.

A huge Bravo Zulu to Leeds United FC. 1-0 victory over Barnsley at Elland Road on Thursday combined with 2nd place West Bromwich Albion falling 2-1 at Huddersfield Town clinched them one of the two automatic promotion slots for a return to the Premier League for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

Leeds were the champions in the final season of the old First Division, before the EPL was founded in 1993, and maintained a steady place in the top half of the table for the Prem's first decade. In 2002 they were competing in the Champions League but over-spending to do so. By the start of the 2003-04 season the team was heavily in debt and the players went unpaid for the last 2 months of the season while the team was relegated. The penalty assessed by the FA for overspending was a further drop in tier, down to League One, and a 30 penalty, meaning that the team started the season 30 points in arrears on the table. In order to pay the debts the club had to sell the stadium and training facility, meaning they were tenants in their own facilities, which further increased the financial hardship over the following seasons.

Sounders just made a huge deal for the team. They re-signed Socceroos left back Brad Smith to a multi-year contract with the club. Smith, a former Liverpool product, was originally signed on a 1 year loan spell from Bournemouth, then in the Prem, summer before last. He turned out to be the perfect replacement for Trinibagian Intl. Joevin Jones, who had departed for Fortuna Dusseldorf of the 2. Bundesliga.

He managed to form a great partnership on the left side with Jordan Morris in attack while strengthening his defensive game under the tutelage of another former Liverpool man, Djimi Traore. All the while Bournemouth were treating him like persona non grata. In the middle of the season last year they extended the loan through the rest of the MLS season. The return of Jones, who'd had a bad experience in Germany, did not quite lead to a logjam at the left back spot. Instead it provided much needed depth as Smith was hampered by a mild knee sprain for a couple of months. Exciting, but sometimes unpredictable Cameroonian Nouhou Tolo is a more defensive minded young left back and Jones plays mostly at the right wing for the Soca Warriors.

Smith's presence in the last months of the season and the playoffs was one of the big factors in the team winning MLS Cup. In the Conference Final he completely shut down LAFC winger Diego Rossi, prompting Bob Bradley to shift Rossi to the left side midway through the first half. Of course that just meant the for the rest of the contest he was getting shut down by Surinamese RB Kelvin Leerdam.

Following the MLS Cup victory he was returned to Bournemouth, and then promptly loaned out to Cardiff City. In half a season with the Bluebirds he was limited to just three appearances, all as a sub. Bournemouth made no attempt to sign him to a new deal, nor to deal him away, so became free property as soon as his contract with the Cherries lapsed.

He loved it here, his wife, a Liverpudlian ("she talks funny") loved it here, the fans loved him, so a return, this time as a proper member of the team, was probably always on order.

Diego Maradona passed away in his native Argentina this past Wednesday. He had recently turned 60 years old. His death is considered suspicious and there is an inquiry underway.

It's also a huge blow to the international futbol community. He was widely beloved and amazingly accomplished.

I remember when Ian was whining about an un-called handball by Thierry Henry leading to a goal by Patrice Evra which knock Ireland out of the running for World Cup. It was completely unintentional, as he said: "The ball popped up and hit my hand, I didn't hear a whistle so I kept going." I wanted to post the video of Maradona's "Fist of God" goal v England and tell him to shut the fuck up. But, ya know, that would have been un-modly of me.

So the field for MLS Cup 2020 is set. It's going to be Columbus Crew v (yawn) Seattle Sounders.

There's been chatter on MLSSoccer dot com since before the playoff started on whether this Sounders team rates the "Dynasty" banner. Some have said "Yes", others insisting that another championship is required. So far this will be the team's fourth trip to the MLS Final in five years, and if that doesn't speak loud enough, well, they will just have to win a third title to shut up the haters.

One thing you may find, as a fan of a genuine professional sports dynasty (or LeBron James), is that the haters never really shut up. It is possible that their voices become fewer and less strident, though.

His Royal Dorkness wrote:

One thing you may find, as a fan of a genuine professional sports dynasty (or LeBron James), is that the haters never really shut up. It is possible that their voices become fewer and less strident, though.

The Timbers Army is never going to shut up.

Some off-season changes going on with the Sounders. Swedish D-Mid Gustav Swensson and Surinamese RB Kelvin Leerdam are unsigned free agents, apparently opening the door for Homegrowns Danny Leyva and Alex Roldan to move into their spots in the starting XI. Jordan Morris has been loaned out for the balance of the 2020-21 season to Swansea City, currently sitting in second in the LC. Former Revs MF Kaelyn Rowe, born and raised in Federal Way, returns home and stands to get good time at the left wing slot vacated by Morris.

MLS Season starts this weekend.

Sounders will be without Jordan Morris, who tore knee ligaments AGAIN while on loan to Swansea. One player they will have back is Fredy Montero, the darling of the early years of the club, still the team's top scorer all-time, and at 33 years old, still has gas in the tank. Schmetz has been working on a two-up-top formation, possibly with three centerbacks.

Notable events around the league: Expansion team in Austin. As usual, nobody is expecting much. Charlotte appears to be on track to debut next season, but the Sacramento bid hit a snag when the top financial backer pulled out of the deal. They are trying to find someone else as we speak.

David Beckham's Pink Flamingos (Inter Miami) are promising to be more competitive this season, likewise with the Stabby Cats (FC Cincy) after being new levels of horrid thier first two seasons in the league. Galaxy looks to be mediocre again, DC United hired some guy (serious...hired him right off he street) to replace Ben Olson, who has spent the last decade plus leading a squad of chronic underachievers.

Columbus are looking even better than last season. Atlanta have Josef Martinez back from an ACL tear, but it's a question whether he will even help them to a play-off spot. Plus a lot more happening. As usual, watch this space.

Four weeks in. Brian Schmeltzer has the Sounders ticking, leading the Supporter's Shield race with 10 points, 3W-0L-1D. San Jose and Galaxy are a point back, both at 3-1-0. In the Eastern Conference NYCFC is leading the Revs on goal differential, both on 7 points, 2-1-1. The biggest surprise is that Minnesota is yet to gain a result, 4 losses in 4 games, after so much hype and promise in the off-season.

Loons started well for the first half of the season opener, going into the locker scoreless at Seattle, but conceded 4 in the second half, a brace by Raul Ruidiaz and the first goal in Rave Green in 9 years for Sounders all-time top scorer, Fredy Montero. This last weekend they took a 0-2 lead into the half at Colorado only to leak in 3 unanswered in the second half. I don't know the reasons for the poor start, not sure HC Adrian Heath does, but he'd best get it sorted and sooner rather than later.

So why the great start from Sounders? All down to the new 3-5-2 formation with Nouhou Tolo converted from left back playing the left of the three-centreback formation, Shane O'Neil in the middle, Yeimar Perez-Andrade, and Xavier Arreaga platooning on the right side. Brad Smith and Alex Roldan are now "wing-backs", a hybrid winger/fullback position. Playmaker Nicolas Lodiero has been absent for most of the action, so Cristian Roldan has been playing the #10 role with youngster Josh Atencio and long-time Rev Kelyn Rowe sharing time next to Joao Paolo in the 6/8 hybrid slot he normally occupies. Will "The Dancing Bear" Bruin and Peruvian assassin Ruidiaz are up top and working fantastic together. The net result so far is 10 goals scored and only two conceded, both on free kicks just outside the 17 yard box going in directly.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez leads all scorers with 6 of the Galaxy's 8 total and Ruidiaz is one goal behind.

Congrats to Rangers FC and head coach Steven Gerrard for completing an undefeated season in the Scottish Premier League. It was a decade ago that the team was heavily sanctioned by the Scottish FA, to the point where it was destroyed and a new team had to start at the bottom level of the country's football structure. Crosstown rivals Celtic had won every league title since then. Face it, with only one Glasgow team in the league it's a one-horse race.

Often, in L-TV's footy thread, I would lump Gerrard, then playing for Liverpool, with Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, calling them "The Ards". This was especially reserved for when either Sven-Goran Ericksen or later on Carlo Ancelotti would rightly call them up for England and play them together. The problem is that the play the same position, namely attacking central midfield, but neither is a true No. 10. The result was that they would just get in on another's way on the pitch because they were both looking for the same spot on the field.

The par were so much contemporaries that when Gerrard left the EPL for MLS, signing with the Galaxy, Lampard was right behind him in the next BA transatlantic to JFK, signing with NYCFC. After their playing careers ended they both got head coaching gigs, Gerrard in Glasgow, where he's been a winner, and Lampard back at Stamford Bridge, even though he should have known better than to go to work again for Abramovich. He didn't even last a calendar year before being show the door. Most secure job in England is the guy who paints the signs that hang on the door of the HC's office for Chelsea. Almost as good as whoever had the job at Yankee Stadium back in the 70's and '80s.

Meanwhile, on this side of the Pond there's plenty afoot (NPI). FC Cincinnati have a brand new home ground and the same shite product playing on it. Maybe they will grow into it. After four straight defeats to start the season Minnesota United have won two in a row to get off the foot of the table in the Western Conference. That spot is oddly being held by LAFC, who have largely missed the services of Carlos Vela through their first six games. Can't blame that fact, though. Sounders have Jordan Morris gone for the season and have only had Nico Lodiero for 24 minutes of one game and just completed the rare feat of picking up 9 points in 8 days, that last 3 at the expense of LAFC.

Leagues Cup. Not "League Cup", but "Leagues", plural, those leagues being MLS of the US and Canada and Liga MX of Mexico. it's an eight team tournament, four from each league, with the first round featuring MLS vs Liga MX matchups.

This was the econd year of the competition, the first round games were Sounders vs UANL Tigres, Sporting K.C. vs Leon, NYCFC vs UNAM Pumas, and Orlando vs Santos Laguna. Sounders were the only MLS side to win their first round match. Second round they faced Santos Laguna while Pumas and Leon faced off in the other match, contested in Houston's BBVA Compass Stadium.

Game scores: SKC 1 - 6 Leon, Sounders 3 - 0 Tigres, NYC 1 - 1 Pumas, 2-3 on PKs, Orlando 0 - 1 Santos Laguna, Sounders 1 - 0 Santos Laguna, Leon 2 - 0 Pumas.

Finale is tonight, Sounders v Leon at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, 7:00PM Pacific time.

Harsh loss for the Sounders. 2 - 3.

So, the Leagues Cup is getting revised. Next year it will be the same format, top 4 teams from each league to not make the CONCACAF Champions League, but in 2023 it will be greatly expanded. Both leagues are going to take August off from league play, the tournament will be 16 teams from Mexico and 17 from MLS, group stages followed by elimination games. Personally, I am not expecting it to work out.