MLS 2020: A Quarter Century of Soccer

scottyno

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Why isn't it automatically the top 3 from group A and then the remaining 3 best pverall? Seems like they get fucked over by league numbers having to be in a group of 6.
 

Titans Bastard

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LAFC have signed Andy Najar. Very nice pickup for a team that had some question marks at RB. He's still only 27(!) and should be their primary starter from the get-go.

https://www.lafc.com/post/2020/06/17/lafc-signs-honduran-international-andy-najar?utm_campaign=web&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
Seattle winger Harry Shipp has retired at age 28 to go to business school at Northwestern. He had some swagger to his game as a rookie in 2014 with Chicago, but in recent years he found himself as more of a handy bench player on a good team. It's too bad Shipp wasn't all that athletic; it really held him back.

https://www.soundersfc.com/post/2020/06/16/harry-shipp-announces-retirement-professional-soccer
 

67YAZ

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Seattle winger Harry Shipp has retired at age 28 to go to business school at Northwestern.
Gotta get him to join my summer rec team. None of us are all that athletic, either, so he’ll fit in just fine.

Feeling optimistic that the Fire can compete for 3rd in the Group A and maybe get out of the group stages. They’ll have to beat up on the expansion clubs and show a greater level of organization despite not practicing for months...but why not? Integrating Gimenez and Aliseda will provide some sparks and attacking verve.
 

Titans Bastard

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Both Atlanta and Miami announced that one of their players tested positive for COVID today.
 

Titans Bastard

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View: https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/1278756644474834954


This seems a little delusional, given that a bunch of teams already inside the "bubble" in Orlando are announcing positive tests.

Both the owners and the players' union have incentives to push through a return to the field, but I still have a healthy amount of skepticism that this "MLS Is Back" tournament will start. FC Dallas has nine guys who have tested positive already, for example.
 

Senator Donut

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Reports out of Scotland indicate Matt Polster is coming to New England for a fee of around GBP 300,000. The SPL season was abandoned and Polster hasn't played since March 12.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/07/04/report-matt-polster-depart-rangers-join-new-england-revolution-0
I'm not sure how you can read this story and think the MLS is really going to play, or any other sports for that matter.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4128727/mls-is-back-how-the-leagueplayers-are-coping-with-covid-19-concerns-in-florida
I was worried about NWSL's restart in Utah, but that has gone off with very few incidents since the Pride withdrew before the tournament. Unfortunately, both soccer leagues didn't give much lead time to get the teams down to Florida/Utah and start playing. (NBA teams will spend nearly a month at Disney before real games are played.) Events outside of a bubble will be more problematic, especially in cities that are doing a poor job of slowing the spread, but I don't think the Orlando tournament will have substantial issues once players have been there for two weeks. It seems like most existing cases can be attributed to events outside of team training activities. The positive test rate in MLS is hovering around 1.0-1.5%, below that of the general public.
 
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Jimy Hendrix

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Reports out of Scotland indicate Matt Polster is coming to New England for a fee of around GBP 300,000. The SPL season was abandoned and Polster hasn't played since March 12.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/07/04/report-matt-polster-depart-rangers-join-new-england-revolution-0

I was worried about NWSL's restart in Utah, but that has gone off with very few incidents since the Pride withdrew before the tournament. Unfortunately, both soccer leagues didn't give much lead time to get the teams down to Florida/Utah and start playing. (NBA teams will spend nearly a month at Disney before real games are played.) Events outside of a bubble will be more problematic, especially in cities that are doing a poor job of slowing the spread, but I don't think the Orlando tournament will have substantial issues once players have been there for two weeks. It seems like most existing cases can be attributed to events outside of team training activities. The positive test rate in MLS is hovering around 1.0-1.5%, below that of the general public.
It's relevant that NWSL is playing in suburban Utah (near SLC admittedly), while MLS (and the NBA) are planning to play in the epicenter of US outbreak problems, in a major tourist destination with double the metro population which happens to be the very same one in which the Pride got sick.
 

Titans Bastard

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FC Dallas just pulled out.
Yup. I was in the woods for a few days and am catching up, but I'm not surprised given their outbreak. It's getting dicey — Nashville appears to be on the brink as well.

Other teams seem to be holding it together. There are some positives, a few false positives, but there's not yet any documented spread within the "bubble" (though it may be that it just hasn't incubated yet).

Nonetheless, MLS resumes tonight. Miami vs. Orlando at 8pm ET. It's going to be weird on a lot of levels. I expect players to be relatively unfit and somewhat disjointed, but we'll see how it goes.
 

Titans Bastard

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Former Rev Juan Agudelo with the first goal of MLS is Back.
#swagudelo

It was a pretty nice goal for what otherwise looks and feels (and basically is) a preseason game.

One thing hasn't changed: Dom Dwyer is a dirty player.
 

mauf

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Any controversy over tonight’s (likely) outcome? Feels like Miami should’ve got at least one penalty kick late, maybe two. With a 2-1 lead, Miami plays the game differently, and Orlando’s 2nd goal doesn’t happen.
 

Titans Bastard

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Any controversy over tonight’s (likely) outcome? Feels like Miami should’ve got at least one penalty kick late, maybe two. With a 2-1 lead, Miami plays the game differently, and Orlando’s 2nd goal doesn’t happen.
It doesn't seem to have become a big talking point in the usual places where one would find MLS chatter on the internet. Perhaps the Dom Dwyer/Andres Reyes situation overshadowed penalty shouts a bit.

What's very strange to me is that I'm writing this at 8:26 AM on a Thursday and there's a game in 34 minutes.
 

mauf

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It doesn't seem to have become a big talking point in the usual places where one would find MLS chatter on the internet. Perhaps the Dom Dwyer/Andres Reyes situation overshadowed penalty shouts a bit.

What's very strange to me is that I'm writing this at 8:26 AM on a Thursday and there's a game in 34 minutes.
My son and I were debating whether that foul should have drawn a red card. (I said yes; he said no.) We both agreed it should have been at least a yellow. Not surprising the Miami players were salty about that, more so than the two potential penalties.

If I were the official and had eyes that allowed me to see the play as well as HD slow-mo replays, I would’ve let the first go but would’ve called the second — no malice, but he clearly tripped the guy with the ball in the box.
 

Senator Donut

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Former Rev Juan Agudelo with the first goal of MLS is Back.
Glad to see him on the scoresheet, especially after Champion dryly read off his goal scoring totals after coming back from Europe "seven, seven, eight, three, three"
 

67YAZ

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Props to MLS, and especially to Black Players for Change, for the powerful statements on racial justice so far. The silent, raised-fist for 8:46 was striking, and the Philadelphia Union jerseys are a step up from the generic "Black Lives Matter" patch.


It's all symbolic, but symbols are meaningful and these have been very compelling. Hopefully, this builds moment for the league and the clubs to take more active roles in racial justice efforts, especially at the local levels where they're more likely to have real influence.
 

Pesky Pole

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Props to MLS, and especially to Black Players for Change, for the powerful statements on racial justice so far. The silent, raised-fist for 8:46 was striking, and the Philadelphia Union jerseys are a step up from the generic "Black Lives Matter" patch.


It's all symbolic, but symbols are meaningful and these have been very compelling. Hopefully, this builds moment for the league and the clubs to take more active roles in racial justice efforts, especially at the local levels where they're more likely to have real influence.
Thanks for posting this. Felt good to be a Union fan today with this. Better that they didn’t ask for permission and just did it. As Jim Curtin said, “The idea behind today was action over permission, and I hope that the league understands that,” manager Jim Curtin said. “I hope that everybody can embrace that and wrap their head around that it was done to show respect, to learn, to grow, and to make our country better.”
 

Senator Donut

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This is a completely different team with Carles Gil in the XI. (He miss the first 2 matches after playing all but 8 minutes in 2019). I think the broadcasters summed it up well, when they said Montreal simply doesn’t have individual talents like Gil or Bou. I’d add in Matt Turner, who had a game-saving stop in the 96th minute.
 

Titans Bastard

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I’d add in Matt Turner, who had a game-saving stop in the 96th minute.
I literally said "welp" as soon as I saw that shot heading for the far corner. I can't believe he saved it after he started off leaning the wrong way.
 

Senator Donut

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Carles Gil created 12 chances, the most for any Revs player since Opta began player tracking in 2010
 

Titans Bastard

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5 goals scored in 4 games. It’s a World Cup style format, but they don’t need scorelines like Italia 90.
I think it will get better as the tournament goes along. Right now it's effectively preseason form and fitness, while playing games on the surface of the sun while simultaneously in the shadow of a major hotspot of the biggest pandemic in the last century.
 

Titans Bastard

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67YAZ

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The Fire finally get reignited tomorrow at...8am! The extra week of practice after Nashville withdrew surely did this team some good with several key new guys to bed in - Beric, Gimenez, Aliseda, & Sekulic. All of those guys are incoming internationals who arrived in Chicago and almost immediately went into quarantine. This must feel like a wild ride, espeically for 20yr old Aliseda.

But reports from the bubble is that the team looks pretty good and guys arrived in decent enough shape, except for Pineda, who is getting rave reviews from teammates and coaches. He's a homegrown rookie who played 4 years at UNC. The hope was that he could provide emergency cover at CB, but it sounds like he might be challenging for minutes in the tournament. He also nailed a wonderous 30yd volley against Minny last week in a scrimmage (scroll over to the third pic for video).
 

shawnrbu

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The Land of Fist Pumps
DC United rallied from a 2 goal deficit against Toronto with 2 goals in the final 10 minutes. DC played the entire 2nd Half with 10. The 2-2 draw means the Revs top the group after 1 match played.
 

Titans Bastard

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DC United rallied from a 2 goal deficit against Toronto with 2 goals in the final 10 minutes. DC played the entire 2nd Half with 10. The 2-2 draw means the Revs top the group after 1 match played.
I couldn't watch this one but I read that Kevin Paredes did well in his MLS debut. He'll be one to monitor.
 

67YAZ

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Looks like MLS is co-opting the Union jersey dedications by creating their own back of the shirt space for each player to write in a dedication.

After the Union dramatically upped the bar for these kinds of statements, this feels like a half measure meant to avoid major controversies.


But shout out to Andre Reynolds for dedicating his jersey to Laquan McDonald. Reynolds is from Chicago and only 3 years younger than McDonald.
 

Titans Bastard

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“Memo” has to be the worst nickname ever. (Memo Rodriguez, Houston Dynamo.)
It's a standard nickname for Guillermo. Mexico's longtime goalkeeper is Guillermo "Memo" Ochoa.

EDIT: just saying in case you didn't know, though I couldn't tell either way!
 
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Titans Bastard

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Quite interesting to see Cameron Dunbar '02 get the start on the wing for LA Galaxy. Last year he was cut from the U17 World Cup squad, but he seems to have progressed past a few of his peers. (And hey — McKennie got cut from the U17s too.) I very much want to see the LA teams get more out of their academies.

Portland is starting five(!) American players including Jeremy Ebobisse up top.
 

mauf

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It's a standard nickname for Guillermo. Mexico's longtime goalkeeper is Guillermo "Memo" Ochoa.

EDIT: just saying in case you didn't know, though I couldn't tell either way!
You learn something new every day. (I had looked up Rodriguez’s name online and figured “Memo” was short for Guillermo, but had no idea it was a common nickname.)

Edit: Which now has me thinking about “Bill,” “Bob,” and other nicknames.
 
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67YAZ

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Pineda makes the start at CB along with Herbers up top. Looks like a 4-2-2-2, but will be interested to see how the fullbacks play. With 2 forwards on the field, there’s less room for Frankowski & Sapong to cut in. Previously, Wicky has been sending the FBs way up the wings, even going to what is thought to be his preferred 3-4-3 late in the Revs match. In any case, they look set up to play on the front foot.


Let’s go, you men in navy blue!

edit: ESPN showing the line up more like a 3-5-2.

And on the first whistle when players are supposed to kneel, Sapaong snaps to and starts to run. Oops
 
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67YAZ

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Fire definitely look rusty. Too many times in possession they’re either not showing well for each other or playing balls to no one in particular. And the touches in the final third have been poor. And the back line has been playing right on the knife’s edge with a few excellent Ruidiaz runs called barely offside.

Seattle have been more positive and organized in general. Other than Ruidiaz up top, no one has much stood out.

Edit: Morris on at the half. He changed the match completely last time these two squads played, the Fire not able to handle more direct attacks. Let’s see if they’re better organized today.

And Angel Navarro on for Borenstein. I’m very interested in this kid.
 
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67YAZ

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Beric punishes Arriaga’s mistake! Physical, direct, and calmly finished.

Ouch, now Calvo is down, looks like a hamstring.
 

67YAZ

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That was close, but Sapong looked offside there.

Mihailovic in for Herbers, should provide more options in breaking Seattle's press and more help in defense. Seattle has looked better with their subs, but their play has been plenty predictable.
 

67YAZ

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That kid Pineda! Poor from the Sounders not to clear that corner, letting bounce in the 6yd box...but the rookie taps it home. Pineda has been excellent in a couple key 1v1 tackles today, too.