MLS
So all the talk in Soccer this week has been Super League – a shame since MLS got off to a pretty good start on National TV this past weekend as over ½ million watched LA and Miami on ABC the largest since 2011. Miami just barely lost their home opener on ABC Sunday as the LA Galaxy and Chicharito retuned to formed with 2 goals by the Mexican in a 3-2 thriller over Miami. Saturday on Fox Austin looked much better than your average expansion team in giving LAFC all they could handle in a 2-0 loss in LA as over ½ million watched as well. The big news was 2019 MVP Carlos Vela being subbed early on injury when he wasn’t ready to come off in confusion. Supposedly he will be fine to return next game for LAFC. Seattle kicked things off Friday night with a solid 4-0 thumping at home of last season’s surprising Minn United. And finally Columbus and Philly tied in Columbus Sunday on FS1 – 0-0 as both teams looked tired from midweek CONCACAF Champions League wins. This weekend the biggest matchup is 4 time Finalist Seattle traveling to LAFC Saturday at 6 pm on ESPN for a battle of the top 2 teams in the West over the past 2 seasons. Hopefully Carlos Vela will be back in the line-up for Bob Bradley’s crew. Saturday At 3:30 pm on on TUDN and Univision – Carmel’s own Matt Hedges and Dallas will travel to San Jose both teams looking for their first wins, whilejust before at 1 pm on ESPN+ Cincy will travel to NYCFC. Sat at 10:30 pm on ESPN+ Indy 11 fans can watch former forward Tyler Pasher and Houston as they travel to Portland to face the Timbers.
MLS CCL
A record 5 teams are advancing to the Final 8 of the CONCACAF Champions League. Toronto FC will face Club Azul on Tues on FS1, while Toronto faces Mexican stalwart Club America. At least 1 MLS team is guaranteed into the Final 4 as Atlanta United and Philly will faceoff for a spot. Could this finally be the year MLS wins the CCL?
Super League
All the talk this week was about A New Breakoff Super League with the top teams from Spain, Italy, and England leading the group of 15 huge clubs looking to replace UCL – Champions League midweek competition with a new Super League with set teams each year. The richest, most recognizable teams in the world – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Man United, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Inter, AC Milan, Juvenus were the 12 announced teams with Germany’s Bayern Munich, Dortmund and France’s PSG expected to fill out the 15 permanent members (though they publically said no the entire time). Five other clubs would play their way in – to fill out the 20 team – (2 leagues of ten) – that would included 2 games per team in each league with the top 4 teams advancing to a playoff. While the concept of having the largest most recognizable teams in the world play each other more often is appealing. Having those 15 teams as permanent locked in members is the issue here. Finishing top 4 or top 3 so you can be in Champions League would be no more. Arsenal finishes 11th in the league but it still in? This was the fatal flaw of this concept. Champions League is just that – champions – finish in the top 3 or 4 in your league and you get to be in next year and get the rewards and windfall of money that comes with that. Interesting that this new plan comes along with Juventus, Dortmund, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham all battling for top 4 slots this year to even make next year’s Champions League. I am thrilled it blew up and very quickly at that – the fans spoke up and shamed them into backing down. It will be interesting to see if another group or these try this again in a few years – again I think having a few more of the top teams playing each other in Champions League is a great idea – obviously however – automatic membership for the big 15 teams is not the way to do this.
Indy 11 & USL
Two Weeks and Counting until the Indy 11 kickoff the home season at the Mike on Sat May 8 7:30 pm vs Tulsa. Due to stadium limitations only season ticket holders will be allowed in for the games in May – with hopes that will change in June. The 11 will travel to their first game next Sat at the Birmingham Legion on ESPN+ at 7:30 pm. The USL starts this Sat night with Louisville hosting Atlanta United 2 in their new stadium at 7 pm on ESPN+. See some season previews below and I will have more preseason previews next week when more teams start playing. USL Pre-Season Rankings
US Women
Close to 300K watched the US beat France on ESPN2 a couple of weeks back on Tuesday afternoon – not bad seeing as Champions League was going head to head against them. The Groups have been announced for the Olympics this summer and of course the US will face #5 Sweden first. The US always plays Sweden in the group stage it seems and will be looking to avenge being knocked out by them in the last Olympics in the US’ worse showing ever. The US also plays New Zealand and Australia in the group stages with the top 2 teams advancing to the next round.
GAMES to WATCH This Week
Of course Champions League Semi Finals with Man City vs PSG Wednesday and Real Madrid hosting Chelsea and American Christian Pulisic on Tuesday both on CBS Sports Network at 3 pm lead off the big games this week. With pregame shows starting at 2 pm and post game right after on CBSSN as well. Great to see these games on TV – instead of just paramount plus (hopefully they are simulcasting on both for those that just have PP.) Saturday a huge top 4 EPL battle between West Ham and Chelsea with Champions League next year at stake on NBC at 12:30 on Saturday. Sat AM a German battle of American’s battling for top 4 slots as #3 Wolfsburg and John Brooks host #5 Dortmund and Claudia Reyna at 9:30 on ESPN+. Sunday its League Cup finals and a chance for American GK Zack Steffan to raise a trophy with Man City as they face Tottenham (sans Jose Marino who was relieved of the head job) at 11:30 am on ESPN+.
GAMES ON TV
Fri, Apr 23
3 pm NBCSN Arsenal vs Everton
4 pm bein Sport Barcelona (Dest) vs Getafe
7:30 pm FS1 Sporting KC vs Orlando City
10 pm FS 1 Tijuana vs Necaxa
Sat, Apr 24
7:30 am Peacock Liverpool vs Newcastle
9:30 am ESPN+ Wolfsburg (Brooks) vs Dortmund (Reyna)
11 am beIN sport Metz vs PSG
12:30 pm NBC Chelsea (Pulisic) vs West Ham United
1 pm ESPN+ NYCFC vs Cincy MLS
3:30 pm Univision, TUDN San Jose vs Dallas (Matt Hedges) MLS
3 pm beINSport Real Madrid vs Real Bettis
6 pm ESPN LAFC vs Seattle Sounders
7 pm ESPN+ Louisville vs Atlanta United 2 USL
10:30 pm ESPN+ Portland Timbers vs Houston (Pasher) MLS
Sun, Apr 25
9 am NBCSN Leeds United vs Man United
10:15 am beIN Sport Villareal vs Barcelona (Dest)
11:30 am ESPN+ Tottenham vs Man City (Steffan) (League Cup Final)
2 pm Cock Aston Villa vs West Brom
2:30 pm ABC Forentina vs Atalanta – Italy
3 pm beINSport Athletic Club vs Atletico Madrid
6 pm FS 1 La Galaxy vs NY Red Bulls
Tues, Apr 27
3 pm CBSSN Real Madrid vs Chelsea (Pulisic) Champions League Semis
8 pm FS1 Atlanta United vs Philly CCL
7 pm Para + Washington Spirit vs NY/NJ Gotham FC
10 pm FS1 Toronto vs Cruz Azul CCL
10 pm Para + OL Reign vs Red Stars NWSL
Weds, Apr 28
3 pm CBSSN PSG vs Man City Champions League Semis
8:30 pm FS2 Columbus Crew vs Monterrey CCL
10:30 pm FS1 Portland vs America CCL
Thurs, Apr 29
3 pm CBSSN? Para+ Villarreal vs Arsenal Europa Final 4
3 pm CBSSN? Para+ Man United vs Roma Europa Final 4
Sat, May 1
7:30 pm ESPN+ Birmingham Legion vs Indy 11
7:30 pm CBSSN North Carolina Courage (Lynn Williams) vs Orlando Pride (Morgan)
Sun, May 2
9 am ? New Castle vs Arsenal
11:30 am NBCSN Man United vs Liverpool
12 pm ESPN+ Udinese vs Juentus (McKennie)
12:30 pm Paramount + NY/NJ Gotham FC vs Racing Louisville FC (NWSL)
1 pm ESPN Nashville vs Inter Miami
2:!5 pm Peacock Tottenham vs Sheffield United
3 pm beIN Sport Valencia vs Barcelona
7:30 pm Paramount + Houston Dash vs Portland ThornsFC (Dunn, Horan, Sauerbrunn, Smith) NWSL
9 pm FS1 Seattle Sounders vs LA Galaxy
MLS Schedule
USA
Gold Cup sites include six stadiums in Texas
U23 Men’s Debacle Debrief – SI –
USWNT to face rivals Sweden at Tokyo Olympics
Man United’s Heath returns to U.S. with injury
Ahead of Man City-Chelsea showdown, Dahlkemper details life across the pond
SuperLeague Debacle
Super League cabal have spectacularly failed to read the room– Mark Ogden
Will New Super League Destroy Global Soccer? – Yahoo
How to Fix Super League Issues and make it Work – Harry Bushnell Yahoo Soccer
Klopp not Happy with new Superleague
Defiant UEFA announce new Champions League – Mark Ogden
Are there Real Problems in Soccer that the Super League could help solve? 538
Champions league Semi-Finals Tues/Wed
Defiant UEFA announce new Champions League – Mark Ogden
Champions League talking points: Man City, Real Madrid the teams to beat?
Marquinhos among PSG trio back in training before Champions Legaue semi
Gundogan: New UCL format ‘just the lesser of two evils’; ‘more and more and more games’
Indy 11 and USL
USL Starts Sat Night
2021 PREVIEW – Eastern Conference, Central Division
2021 PREVIEW – Eastern Conference, Atlantic Division
2021 PREVIEW – Western Conference, Mountain Division
2021 PREVIEW – Top Five Forwards in the Championship
Louisville City Player Remembers his first Game
PRESEASON RECAP – INDY ELEVEN 3 : 0 FORWARD MADISON FC
INDY ELEVEN 2021 BROADCAST SCHEDULE SET
INDY ELEVEN ACQUIRES MF PATRICK SEAGRIST ON LOAN FROM MLS’ INTER MIAMI CF
EPL
Man City’s De Bruyne fit for League Cup final, PSG clash
De Bruyne, Aguero, Kane injury updates ahead of League Cup Final
Guardiola backs USMNT’s Steffen, confirms League Cup spot
Iheanacho fires Leicester into FA Cup final on fans’ return
Jose Mourinho: from ‘Special One’ to trophy-less Tottenham tenure
Tottenham fires manager Jose Mourinho after 17 months
Rodgers pleads for Leicester to stay focused on Champions League race
WORLD
Depleted Real can’t keep pace with Atletico
Advantage Atletico after patched-up Real Madrid held by Getafe
Juve’s Champions League at risk, Inter edge towards title despite Napoli draw
Bundesliga: Brooks’ Wolfsburg, Reyna’s Dortmund win to set up huge tilt
Goalkeeping
Costa Rica and PSGs GK Keylor Navas (the Puma) Saves
Great Saves from International Break
At 44 Buffon still one of the Best
Ter Stegen VS Manuel Neuer Who The Best Goalkeeper Of Germany?!!
USWNT to face old rivals Sweden at 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Apr 21, 2021ESPN
The United States women’s national team have been drawn against old rivals Sweden as well as Australia and New Zealand in Group G for the Tokyo Olympic football tournament, it was announced on Wednesday.
Great Britain will face Canada and Chile as well as hosts Japan in Group E, while European champions Netherlands were drawn against Brazil, China and Zambia in Group F.
The USWNT are seeking to become the first women’s side to win a World Cup and an Olympic gold medal back-to-back.”After waiting an extra year for this Olympics, the draw represents a real milestone in our journey and helps us focus in even more on our preparation and what we need to do to achieve our goals,” USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski said.”We have great respect for all three of our group opponents and we know this tournament will push us to our limits both mentally and physically, as well as challenge us every game technically and tactically, so we will do everything we can in the next three months to prepare for success.”There will be a new winner in the women’s tournament, with 2016 champions Germany failing to qualify.Great Britain will be led by former Olympic gold medallist Hege Riise at the tournament.”There is no doubt we have been drawn in a very exciting group. The host nation Japan are an extremely talented team and have been a strong force in women’s football for many years,” she said in a statement.”Canada are another very good physical team, as we saw earlier this month when England and Wales both faced them at home in the April FIFA window. Chile are not a team I know quite as well, but they put in a very impressive performance against Cameroon to secure their place in this summer’s Games for the first time in their history.”Riise will name her 18-player squad — which will feature players from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — at the end of May.The men’s draw saw Rio 2016 Olympic men’s champions Brazil being drawn against Germany, Ivory Coast and Saudi Arabia in Group D.
Hosts Japan will face Mexico, South Africa and France in Group A while two-time Olympic champions Argentina will play Spain, Egypt and Australia in Group C.
Group B consists of New Zealand, South Korea, Honduras and Romania.
The football tournament at Tokyo will take place from July 21 to Aug. 6 in six cities across Japan.
Men’s Olympic draw
Group A
Japan, South Africa, Mexico, France
Group B
New Zealand, South Korea, Honduras, Romania (would have been US)
Group C
Egypt, Spain, Argentina, Australia
Group D
Brazil, Germany, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia
Women’s Olympic draw
Group E
Japan, Canada, Great Britain, Chile
Group F
China, Brazil, Zambia, Netherlands
Group G
Sweden, United States, Australia, New Zealand
Debacle Debrief: Inside U.S. Soccer, Stewart’s Response to a Qualifying Failure
The U.S. U-23 men’s national team’s failure to qualify for the Olympics isn’t American soccer’s first big setback, but it is the first one to be assessed by U.S. Soccer’s new technical setup.
BRIAN STRAUS APR 21, 2021 SI
It’s quite possible, if not probable, that the players who would’ve helped the USA finally qualify for the Olympic men’s soccer tournament were in Belfast, 5,000 miles away from the action.It was the evening of March 28, and the senior U.S. national team had just beaten European opposition on European soil for the first time in nearly six years. The late-night celebration took place in one of those bland, beige hotel meeting rooms, where staff and players gathered to watch their U-23 compatriots face Honduras in Guadalajara. The winner in Mexico would qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, the draw for which was held on Wednesday morning.Fifteen of the players on the senior squad that defeated Northern Ireland that day—a result that helped vault the USA into FIFA’s top 20 for the first time since 2014—were Olympic eligible (and that doesn’t include the likes of Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Timothy Weah, who weren’t in camp). Yet thanks to FIFA regulations that limit access to players for junior events, the only contribution they could make toward the Olympic cause was to watch on a pull-down screen and hope. And they went to bed disappointed. Their colleagues in Guadalajara were second-best all evening, just as they’d been second-best for most of Concacaf’s qualifying tournament.The senior U.S. men have failed to qualify for one of the past eight World Cups, and it took an almost incomprehensible array of bad decisions to make that happen. The U.S. U-20s have failed to qualify for one of the past dozen U-20 World Cups. The U.S. U-17s have missed out on one of the 18 all-time U-17 World Cups. American failure happens, but it’s been largely the exception at the regional level. Yet the U-23s have now missed out on three straight Olympic tournaments. What is it about that age group, or that event, that has so bedeviled U.S. Soccer?Perhaps the answer this time is simple: The men who could’ve ended the streak and taken the USA to Tokyo just weren’t present. But there’s a counterpoint: By now, shouldn’t U.S. Soccer and MLS have produced more than 20 U-23 players who can beat Honduras? The timing and conditions surrounding Concacaf’s qualifying tournament certainly weren’t helpful. The U.S. men were still in preseason—many had gone three months without a competitive game—while their opponents were deep into their domestic campaigns. Combine that lack of match fitness with the heat and altitude of Guadalajara, and you have a recipe for poor passes, missed traps and heavy legs. But then again, maybe those are just excuses—feeble attempts to justify failure by those unwilling to do the hard work and face hard truths.The Olympic elimination touched a nerve, perhaps unearthing some U.S.n soccer PTSD left over from the 2017 disaster in Couva. There was a lot of frustration. But this failure is different from that one, and from the two prior Olympic disappointments, in one crucial way. This time, U.S. Soccer has the full-time technical people in place to evaluate it and make possible changes.There was no more engaged viewer last month than Earnie Stewart, U.S. Soccer’s sporting director. His position didn’t exist in 2017. Before Couva, the federation president was the driving force behind the hiring and firing of national team coaches, with a rubber stamp from the board of directors. Following World Cups, U.S. Soccer’s various departments would prepare reports and evaluations and share them with the rest of the federation. The national team’s coaches would critique the soccer performance. Conclusions or recommendations would emerge from that collective effort.Those days are gone. U.S. Soccer has overhauled its technical structure since Couva and has hired soccer people to make soccer decisions, for better or worse. Stewart, who reports to CEO Will Wilson, is supported by two full-time general managers: Brian McBride on the men’s side and Kate Markgraf on the women’s. All three are decorated former players, and Stewart earned administrative experience at NAC Breda, AZ Alkmaar and the Philadelphia Union before moving to Chicago in the summer of 2018. The soccer side of U.S. Soccer now is in their hands, and they’re the ones charged with crafting the evaluation and response to an outcome like the one in Guadalajara.There’s a routine in place. Stewart meets with the two GMs every week, and then with the two senior national team coaches, Gregg Berhalter and Vlatko Andonovski, every other week. In addition, Stewart heads the federation’s Internal Technical Board, which gathers twice a month to discuss big-picture topics. The ITB includes Stewart, the GMs, director of technical development Barry Pauwels and director of sport development Dan Russell. Pauwels, who is Belgian, joined the USSF as the director of coaching education in early 2018 and now oversees the federation’s big-picture technical plan and the implementation of principles of play across different age groups. Russell has been in Chicago since 2013 and is the administrative lead in charge of initiatives like coaching education, talent identification and referee development. https://7e486f2bd90cbedbba10f21b5f6e4c96.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html It’s that group, and not just the coaches, who are now responsible for camp and competition debriefs and soccer policy. Only Russell, who worked in coaching education back in 2017, was at the USSF before Couva. The ITB also occasionally reports into the Technical Development Committee, which is a subset of federation board members that keeps track of on-field developments. The board and federation president don’t make soccer decisions, but they can weigh in on a prospective hire (especially where salary is concerned) or dismiss Wilson, the CEO.What happened in Guadalajara wasn’t U.S. soccer’s first setback. But it is the first to be evaluated and addressed by a modern, in-house technical structure. Stewart, who departed Mexico after the first two group-stage games, decided on this occasion to let the situation breathe a bit before diving in. He elected to have a detailed debrief with U-23 coach Jason Kreis and Berhalter on April 8, more than a week after the defeat to Honduras. The conclusions from that call would then be brought to the ITB. “I don’t react to reactions. That doesn’t help me in my daily job, so I don’t do that for the most part. That’s a waste of time. But my first reaction is it’s disappointment,” Stewart said of the furor that followed the immediate aftermath of the loss. “In this case, first I made sure that everybody could have their moment for themselves. After that, we actually had the debrief and talked about those elements that could make it better for the future.“If I hear it correctly, the banter—and it goes back to three years ago and what happened [in Couva] and the, ‘What are they doing?’ and all that kind of stuff, I guess the expectations were still the same for this group—which is fine,” Stewart added. “That was the group that was there. That was the group that was available. And unfortunately, we didn’t perform up to par. And that’s what we spoke about on [April 8]. What are the things that we could’ve done? We looked at camps. We looked at programming. There were a couple opportunities—two players we could’ve brought in inside the FIFA window [at the end of the Olympic qualifying tournament]. Would that have been something we should’ve thought [more] about? But we made choices.”They made choices in terms of the coaches who were appointed (the U-23 gig isn’t full-time, and Kreis has now returned to his job at Inter Miami) and in terms of the roster. There was criticism of Kreis’s team when it was released. Concerns that it lacked sufficient heft at the attacking midfielder and striker positions arguably were supported by the results. But Stewart told Sports Illustrated that, considering the refusal of European clubs to release players for Olympic qualifying (he revealed that Barcelona wouldn’t let Konrad de la Fuente go, even though he’s not part of their first team)—heck, Atlanta United even prevented three players from going to Guadalajara—they were content with the roster they had.“They were rightfully there in that place and didn’t perform to the standard that there was. Even if we’d brought in [different players], they would’ve been in the same situation as well,” Stewart argued. “They’re also players that hadn’t played and hadn’t played games for a longer period of time. [Outsiders believe that] the players that are not there are always better than the players that are there and don’t qualify. … No, those players were the ones that were chosen to represent us and bring us to the Olympics and unfortunately it didn’t happen.” Having concluded that the individual players and manager weren’t the primary problem, insofar as they were the best available, Stewart and the USSF’s new technical setup are left to address the big-picture issues. After three Olympic misses in a row, the federation has to find a way to make those available players better. FIFA isn’t going to change its rules governing releases for youth competitions. Concacaf has offered no indication that it plans to move the tournament away from the early spring, and MLS certainly is in no mood to change to a winter schedule. Odds are that when the 2024 qualifying competition comes around, U.S. Soccer will be sending a squad of young MLS players just exiting their offseason. The challenge is to put them in position to overcome those obstacles. Those hurdles may be reasons. They may be excuses. But they’re probably not going away.One way to address the issue is to make the U-23 team a more constant fixture. That would include a full-time, permanent coach and additional camps and games. U.S. Soccer tried to do some of that during the most recent Olympic cycle and staged a half dozen U-23 camps throughout 2019. The pandemic put a stop to that early last year, however. Stewart said continuity and familiarity are crucial at every age level, and he hinted he’ll be asking the federation to expand the budget to handle even more U-23 initiatives going forward.“The programming that got put in place for U-23 was actually a step up from anything we had done in the past. Every FIFA window we would have the group together. That actually happened in the year leading up before COVID,” Stewart said.“If there’s one thing I’ve learned over all these years, no matter if you’re in a club environment or you’re in youth national teams, you need platforms for talents to play as much as possible at the highest level that there is. Adding that programming is good and if you add programming, that means you’ll have full-time coaches that are always there.”Kreis was named U-23 coach in March 2019, in time for the first U-23 camp of the cycle and just one year ahead of the originally scheduled Olympic qualifiers. Appointing one much earlier, and getting a prospective player pool up and running further in advance, sounds like something that might address some of the USA’s issues at the age group. But Stewart can’t just snap his fingers and make it happen, he said. There are budgets and competing priorities, and the board would have to decide that the U-23s and the Olympics, whose importance on the men’s side remains debatable, are worth the investment. At least there’s someone in Stewart’s position to advocate for change.“All coaches should be full-time,” Stewart said. “I would say that is something internally that we need to discuss with U.S. Soccer, because my wishes are not the only wishes that there are. We have a lot to do when it comes to soccer in the United States and what we do for membership, and then what we do for programming as well. And that all has to fit. I’m a huge proponent of having full-time coaches in every position and having as much programming as possible.”
All Stewart can do now is plan for the future and try to put the next generation of Olympic hopefuls in position to reverse a troubling trend. He knows U.S. Soccer likely will have to rely solely on MLS players, and he knows those players—barring an MLS overhaul—probably will be less match-fit than their counterparts come qualification. The only way to overcome that is through chemistry and quality, and that is now the federation’s mission. The group sent to Guadalajara simply wasn’t good enough to handle that obvious adversity. It’s also true that a few years ago, there’s no way a selection of players in their early 20s would’ve been good enough to beat Northern Ireland in Belfast, or to find their way to a bunch of Europe’s leading clubs. The U.S. player pool is improving. That hotel meeting room was evidence. U.S. Soccer and MLS just haven’t reached the point where they’re producing enough players to do both. Stewart and his colleagues must now see if they can accelerate that process while maintaining focus on their top priority, which is developing players for the senior team. It’s an opportunity and responsibility that hasn’t been available at U.S. Soccer before, and their solutions will be a valid test of the federation’s new technical structure.“The really good part is actually that we have a group of I’d say, 20 to 25 U-23 players that are performing at a really high level. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you want to look at it, they’re all in Europe and they would not be released,” he said. “I’d say the player pool from two years ago until today has gotten bigger, more players, younger players, so that part is positive. But it’s not that a player pool grows from whatever it was 2.5 to 3 years ago and now all of a sudden you have 50 or 60 that all have the same level. That’s not where we’re at.”Stewart continued, “I think we can make a huge huge step in the United States because we have a lot. We really have a lot. But at the same time, I think there’s extra steps that we can take and once we take those steps, I’m sure in 5 to 10 years from now, we can actually talk about it that way.”
The Ole BallCoach 