Fútbol chatter

[Bruce]

Atlanta has broken the MLS single-match attendance record, which it had set in October.

https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/972973767063494657

Also of note: all three MLS teams in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League managed to win their first legs. That includes the Red Bulls playing in Tijuana, Toronto hosting Tigres (the Liga MX champions), and the Sounders hosting Chivas.

[Alps]

Atlanta has broken the MLS single-match attendance record, which it had set in October.

https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/972973767063494657

Also of note: all three MLS teams in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League managed to win their first legs. That includes the Red Bulls playing in Tijuana, Toronto hosting Tigres (the Liga MX champions), and the Sounders hosting Chivas.

Wow, surprising Seattle does not hold this record. Tough for them to beat since they don't have a large enough stadium.

[Bruce]

Wow, surprising Seattle does not hold this record. Tough for them to beat since they don't have a large enough stadium.

Seattle was never able to break the original record (set in 1996) because the stadium didn't hold enough people. The Sounders did, however, take up the lion's share of >60K matches.

[MisterSG1]

Both Red Bull New York and Toronto FC move on to the semis.

As for Toronto FC, they advanced on away goals rule in a game they should have clearly "won"  tonight. They advanced but it doesn't really feel like a victory tonight.

[Bruce]

The first ever "El Trafico" derby between the LA Galaxy (actually from Carson) and Los Angeles FC was played today and was quite a thriller.

LAFC took a 3-0 lead in the first half and the Galaxy were playing sluggishly.

The Galaxy took a gamble and substituted on their new superstar, Zlatan Ibrahamovic, and it paid dividends.

https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/980184040362860544

https://twitter.com/MLS/status/980186716060315649

[english si]

I think Zlatan will love the MLS - the attritional physical game of the EPL was perhaps too much for him. He 'only' scored 17 in 33 appearances for Man U (though his Barca record is similar), whereas at Galaxy he can go back to the nearly a goal per game average that he got at PSG!

I think they should be docked points. Mostly as Southampton are dangling over the drop zone, and having West Ham below them and providing a cushion would be very welcome.

It doesn't matter now - West Ham have come together after the fan unrest and look as if they will get the points to take them out of trouble. Southampton have given up. Hopefully they don't end up in League 1 like last time (when they got relegated in 2005).

Why did Soton hire Mark Hughes? He'd not long been sacked from Stoke for leaving the other red-and-white striped team slightly below Southampton in great danger of being relegated. At least we ended League 1 leaders Wigan's cup run that saw them beat Man City, West Ham and Bournemouth, but a cup semi-final is going to be a distraction.

And David Moyes won't take two teams out of the EPL while still in his initial Man U contract period.

[Bruce]

I think Zlatan will love the MLS - the attritional physical game of the EPL was perhaps too much for him. He 'only' scored 17 in 33 appearances for Man U (though his Barca record is similar), whereas at Galaxy he can go back to the nearly a goal per game average that he got at PSG!

MLS is a fairly physical league, in the sense that there's little emphasis on midfield control and more on end-to-end counterattacks. Pirlo complained about this when he was at NYCFC and some older European players have struggled.

I think Zlatan will thrive in MLS, thanks to his willingness to work and stay fit. Plus his personality will be a huge hit with the American sports media, even if they do eventually butt heads.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Dang it, I wanted to watch a local match, only to arrive and find the pitch in bad condition, causing the match to be postponed. Well...

[MisterSG1]

I think Zlatan will love the MLS - the attritional physical game of the EPL was perhaps too much for him. He 'only' scored 17 in 33 appearances for Man U (though his Barca record is similar), whereas at Galaxy he can go back to the nearly a goal per game average that he got at PSG!

MLS is a fairly physical league, in the sense that there's little emphasis on midfield control and more on end-to-end counterattacks. Pirlo complained about this when he was at NYCFC and some older European players have struggled.

I think Zlatan will thrive in MLS, thanks to his willingness to work and stay fit. Plus his personality will be a huge hit with the American sports media, even if they do eventually butt heads.

I notice you're awfully quiet since you've been knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions League.....shall I remind you that we are in the final?

[Bruce]

I think Zlatan will love the MLS - the attritional physical game of the EPL was perhaps too much for him. He 'only' scored 17 in 33 appearances for Man U (though his Barca record is similar), whereas at Galaxy he can go back to the nearly a goal per game average that he got at PSG!

MLS is a fairly physical league, in the sense that there's little emphasis on midfield control and more on end-to-end counterattacks. Pirlo complained about this when he was at NYCFC and some older European players have struggled.

I think Zlatan will thrive in MLS, thanks to his willingness to work and stay fit. Plus his personality will be a huge hit with the American sports media, even if they do eventually butt heads.

I notice you're awfully quiet since you've been knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions League.....shall I remind you that we are in the final?

Yeah, I heard. I wrote up the Wikipedia entry for the final in the hour after the second leg, and will be rooting for you guys to take down Chivas.

It never hurts to be beaten by the best MLS team ever in the cup final, then the second-best team on the continent in the Champions League. Especially when you've had injury problems through both competitions!

[english si]

MLS is a fairly physical league, in the sense that there's little emphasis on midfield control and more on end-to-end counterattacks.

But it's nowhere near as attritional as the EPL which couples that with a relative lack of restbite between games, and few easy games.

[Bruce]

MLS is a fairly physical league, in the sense that there's little emphasis on midfield control and more on end-to-end counterattacks.

But it's nowhere near as attritional as the EPL which couples that with a relative lack of restbite between games, and few easy games.

I think this gets cancelled out by MLS's travel schedule. An away stand can absolutely drain teams, who have to fly in coach (including layovers and such for some smaller markets) and play in some fairly diverse conditions. One weekend you could be playing at altitude and snow in Colorado, the next under the sun in California or Florida.

[english si]

True, but as a Man U player, Zlatan had (OK, first class) trips around Europe for Europa League. Thursday games in Istanbul, Luhansk and Rostov (Rotterdam, Brussels and Vigo are a bit easier than far-flung fringes), followed by weekend games is not a pleasant schedule. Add in they played a lot of domestic cup games, further adding to the fixture problem. He wasn't at his best there, not that being the top scorer for a Man U who won two competitions is anything to be sniffed at - MLS will allow him to get back to goal-a-game stuff.

And it's not like Man U can hide behind travel for their fact they gave West Brom what is only their second win since August yesterday - their last match was in Manchester (even though it was away) and a week ago. Yet this top (well second-top) team looked tired. The EPL is draining - you end up playing a minimum of 40 games (2 cups + 38 games) and maybe into the 60s with mid-week games more often than not if you do well in the Cups/Europe - and you can never assume an easy game (even lower-league teams in the cup - City lost to League 1's Wigan and no team likes going to non-league side and playing on a terrible pitch and facing a team who trade in crunching tackles).

[Bruce]

...Well that was heartbreaking. Toronto managed to play well despite the condition of their team (with a makeshift backline and gassed players), only to lose on two misplaced penalties. I feel like Bono could have saved one or two of Chivas's shots...or Delgado could have scored that goal.

The MLS curse will continue for yet another year. I think this new format is going to allow teams to make deeper runs, especially if teams decide to sacrifice the early weeks of the season in pursuit of continental glory.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

It's now official: SD Huesca has promoted to La Liga for the first time ever!!! They have just defeated Lugo 0-2, and since Sporting lost this means SD Huesca will play in the top flight the next season with two matches to go. Real Madrid, Barça and others will visit my hometown next year.

[Bruce]

MLS is set to announce Cincinnati as its next expansion team, to join next season.

https://www.si.com/soccer/2018/05/24/fc-cincinnati-mls-expansion-berth-announcement-2019-start

[english si]

So the biggest (financial) game in club football (world sport in fact) has just finished with Fulham regaining Premier League status and getting a minimum reward of $213 million dollars for winning that game vs losing that game.

Now for the biggest (prestige) game in club football... I guess Liverpool would be preferable to Real, as then Southampton get a few more million off Liverpool in bonuses relating to the many ex-Saints players in their line up - but otherwise I'd be cheering for both to lose.

[Bruce]

What a final. I feel bad for Karius, who blundered on two goals. Also feel bad for Salah, who is questionable for the World Cup now...

Highlights (without commentary):

Bale's first goal:

[english si]

https://twitter.com/SouthamptonFC/status/1000479573451173888

Saints also turned Mane (and half the Liverpool squad) into the players they are... 


I feel most sorry for Sergio Ramos - he's so insecure he has to try and get players of the other team booked by diving as if shot if there's a slight bit of contact even with his team ahead and on course for a third consecutive Champions League trophy. I mean its not as if his plans to take the other team's best player out of the game by fouling him lots, and to spook their weak-link keeper with a cheeky elbow to the face, weren't even more effective than he had dreamed. I guess if you have that much going for you, you might as well see if you can milk the referee for all you can get. I hope he's booked a nice holiday to Egypt this summer - the cheating ass...

[Bruce]

In the next hour, MLS is expected to announce FC Cincinnati as its next expansion team. Rumor has it that they will begin play next season alongside Nashville.

[JMoses24]

In the next hour, MLS is expected to announce FC Cincinnati as its next expansion team. Rumor has it that they will begin play next season alongside Nashville.

Yep. They'll start in 2019, initially playing at Nippert Stadium (their current home). Eventually, a purpose-built stadium is slated to go in the West End neighborhood near downtown.
http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/3512103/fc-cincinnati-to-join-mls-as-expansion-team-next-season

[Bruce]

A very MLS highlight: a team sends up their goalkeeper for a last-minute corner in a critical playoff-jockeying match, it gets punted back and is left to an aging European star to work some magic.

https://twitter.com/MLS/status/1028827728298954752

[english si]

an aging European star

Aging? He's 32.

Though perhaps I'm in denial as he was in the same school year as me.

[Bruce]

an aging European star

Aging? He's 32.

Though perhaps I'm in denial as he was in the same school year as me.

I always manage to forget his age, given his looks and how long he's been a professional. But he's definitely past his peak and fits the narrative of the MLS retiree (though he seems to be one of the good ones who puts in a lot of effort, unlike some of the other English imports).

[CNGL-Leudimin]

La Liga has already quicked off, and thus far Huesca is the only team that has never lost a match in the top flight (They have only played two matches so far, though, they won against Eibar and drawn against Athletic). However they are visiting Barça next match day. They are yet to play a home match in the top flight, as their home ground is being expanded in order to meet minimum capacity requirements.

A little known fact: Back in 2004 a very young Messi, then in the reserve team of Barça, played (and lost) against Huesca, which back then was in Segunda B (the 3rd tier).