Topic: Soccer Discussion: 1.67% Chance of Being the Best Thread on the NWR Forums

[NWR_insanolord]

Christian Pulisic signed a contract extension with Borussia Dortmund through 2020. As a Liverpool fan it would have been neat to see him go there, but he's at a big club and getting a lot of playing time so I don't blame him for staying in a good situation.

[rygar]

I read over the weekend that the European Club Association's appearance agreement with FIFA ends in 2022, which coincides with the world cup in Qatar. Unless it is moved, it will almost certainly have to be played in the northern hemisphere winter, blowing a huge hole in the domestic and continental club competitions. It is also currently the last one scheduled to feature 32 teams. Obviously, ECA members pay a substantial amount of the development costs for many of the best players in the world, and almost all of their wages. The world cup expansion is just the latest shots fired.

[rygar]

Christian Pulisic signed a contract extension with Borussia Dortmund through 2020. As a Liverpool fan it would have been neat to see him go there, but he's at a big club and getting a lot of playing time so I don't blame him for staying in a good situation.

I had written something in my post above about that, but you beat me to it before I posted so I took it out. I think this is good news for his development.

[NWR_insanolord]

Also revealed today, the long-rumored changes to the format of the CONCACAF Champions League have been formally announced.



The MLS and Liga MX teams, as well as select teams from other leagues, now won't enter the tournament until the knockout round, which has been expanded to 16 teams from the previous 8. It'll be interesting to see exactly how that round is scheduled, because under the old format the MLS teams struggled in the knockout round in part due to the first round of it starting before the MLS regular season. If they move that back a bit, or at least not require the MLS clubs to go up against Liga MX opposition before their seasons, it could go a long way.

EDIT: So it's still February-to-May, which sucks, though playing non-Mexican teams in the first round would be at least a slight improvement. Bumping it back just a month so it runs March-to-June would be so much better, though. Hopefully they get to that in the future.

[rygar]

I'd like to see CONCACAF moved later for competitive reasons, but I also wonder if it would help with exposure too. With DVR and streaming, it's competiting with UEFA. I'd likely watch it more.

[NWR_insanolord]

Fantastic news today, as Clint Dempsey has been medically cleared to return to training. He missed most of the second half of last season, including the playoffs, due to an irregular heartbeat, and as amazing as it was to see the Sounders win it all, it really hurt that he couldn't be a part of it. He's been my favorite player since I started following the sport, arguably the greatest American outfield player there's ever been, and a legend like him deserves a better ending. Also, if he can play I think the Sounders have a real shot at the first domestic treble in American soccer history.

[rygar]

Until you made your post about the treble, I never thought about the percularity of the CONCACF CL being played across two MLS seasons.

Does anyone have a league cup other than the premier league? I know United is the only BPL team to win the treble, and they didn't win the EFL cup that year. Might as well go for the first quattro in world football with the Supporters Shield.

[NWR_insanolord]

The treble in MLS is traditionally defined as winning the U.S. Open Cup, the MLS Supporters Shield, and MLS Cup in the same season. Several teams have won two of the three, including FC Dallas winning the Shield and Open Cup last year, but nobody's ever won all three. That's probably just because Bruce Arena could not give less of a **** about the Open Cup, though, or else the Galaxy would have done it once or twice. The fact that the CONCACAF Champions League is now played entirely within one season for MLS teams actually makes it easier to factor into something like that.

[rygar]

I think there is a little irony in using "traditionally" in that context, but I get it, and see why it works. Personally, I'd prefer using something like "Triple Crown" for a domestic* triple, and reserve treble for its international usage. You could even call the quattro the "Grand Slam".

*Really cross-border, but a domestic league equivalent

[Soren]

Great start to the Bruce Arena 2.0 era...

[NWR_insanolord]

I wasn't able to watch it, and I guess I'm glad of that in hindsight. I don't want to overreact to one friendly where we're missing half the starters, but yeah, not an inspiring start.

[NWR_insanolord]

This week is the deadline for bids for the next round of MLS expansion, with as many as 12 markets (Indianapolis, Tampa Bay, San Diego, North Carolina, Detroit, Cincinnati, Sacramento, San Antonio, St. Louis, Nashville, Charlotte, and Phoenix) in play for four spots.

The latest controversy is in Sacramento, where the very successful USL team Sacramento Republic FC, long considered a lock for one of these spots, seems to have been the victim of some kind of hostile takeover, with some of the new owners brought in to cover the costs of moving up submitting a Sacramento bid that doesn't involve that brand or the team's original owners.

[rygar]

Lol! The Khushrenda week shenanigans are working. I signed it to post the same story, saw the avatar, and was WTF?

Anyway, an article regarding Khushrenadalord's post: http://deadspin.com/sacramentos-mls-bid-possibly-derailed-by-last-second-ow-1791856813

[NWR_insanolord]

I don't know how they think this is going to work. Sacramento isn't that attractive of a market in a vacuum, they were frontrunners because of the organization and fan base they'd built in the USL. Throwing that away just improves the odds for bids like North Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati who were on the borderline of making it in this time around.

[NWR_insanolord]

Just got retweeted by Ted. Anytime that happens makes me immediately reconsider my position.

[Khushrenada]

Lol! The Khushrenda week shenanigans are working. I signed it to post the same story, saw the avatar, and was WTF?

Anyway, an article regarding Khushrenadalord's post: http://deadspin.com/sacramentos-mls-bid-possibly-derailed-by-last-second-ow-1791856813

Gotta say, after so many unfunny soccer jabs by Khushrenada, it's strange to see him finally turn his life around and make the smart decision of joining the soccer fandom. It's nice to have another fan on the forum but it just feels.... unnatural, I guess.

[Soren]

I don't know how they think this is going to work. Sacramento isn't that attractive of a market in a vacuum, they were frontrunners because of the organization and fan base they'd built in the USL. Throwing that away just improves the odds for bids like North Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati who were on the borderline of making it in this time around.

I mean, they're the 20th largest TV market, I think only behind Tampa and Detroit on this list of teams. So it was easy to see how their bid could have been a slam dunk had they not tried to pull a screwjob on current ownership.

[NWR_insanolord]

Fitting that the first goal of the post-Klinsmann era of the U.S. national team happened because of a really nice passing sequence involving Dax McCarty and Benny Feilhaber, two players who Jurgen consistently snubbed from the team.

A 1-0 scoreline doesn't look great, but that's the kind of game you expect when you play an opponent who's putting everybody behind the ball and playing to bunker and counter, which is also most likely how our opponents in March are going to play us in those qualifiers.

Feilhaber put together a pretty good game, and could be in the mix going forward. Sebastian Lleget and Jorge Villafana had some really nice combination play on the left side, with Villafana looking like he may be the answer at left back we've been searching for for a long time. Walker Zimmerman put in a nearly flawless performance in his first USMNT cap, though he's stuck behind a lot of other guys in our pretty stacked central defense depth chart.

This kind of 4-1-3-2 really seems like the formation the U.S. needs to be playing, at least within CONCACAF. Jozy was right (though he didn't play today), he's much better with a partner in the attack, and so is virtually every forward the U.S. has ever had. Michael Bradley thrives in a pure #6 role with Toronto FC, and he can for the USMNT as well. There are a lot of options for the attacking midfield in front of him, especially if Villafana can win the LB job and free up Fabian Johnson to play in the midfield. This formation would be very successful in the remaining qualifiers apart from at Mexico, which is a lost cause anyway.

[NWR_insanolord]

Clint Dempsey started tonight's preseason match against Portland, played 30 minutes, and looked really good. I am so happy that everything's going well for him in his recovery so far, and I can't wait to have him back in the lineup. A Dempsey-Lodeiro-Morris attacking trio could demolish this league.

Also, in slightly related news, Freddy Adu, still somehow only 28 and currently trialing with the Timbers, played the second half. He looked less good.

[NWR_insanolord]

Really wish I'd had the chance to watch today's German cup match between Dortmund and Hertha Berlin, since it sounds like Christian Pulisic and John Brooks both had great performances as Dortmund advanced on penalties. Would have loved to see the two best players in the U.S. pool right now go at it.

[Soren]

Bless (Gabriel) Jesus!

[NWR_insanolord]

I'm getting more and more into the Bundesliga. It's a really fun league. Watched Dortmund-Darmstradt this morning and saw the last place team beat one of the top clubs. Dortmund's defending seems like a huge liability every time I watch them, so what I'd love to see is them make a play for John Brooks, a proven defender for a very good Bundesliga club, and then they'd easily be my favorite European club between Pulisic and him.

[rygar]

Bless (Gabriel) Jesus!

You tease us about hyping Pulisic and then you go jinx this poor kid!

[Soren]

Bless (Gabriel) Jesus!

You tease us about hyping Pulisic and then you go jinx this poor kid!

Well, he's out for 3 months so I guess that's it for him really. City's season has been such a crapshoot that there hasn't really been much to get excited about. Having him beat a (really crappy) Swansea team by himself was a boost, but it's coming at the expense of Aguero's relationship with the team. Regardless of what he can or can't do in Pep's system, he's still their best striker. Their best keeper is playing in Torino because reasons, John Stones hasn't worked out at all, Yaya Toure has all of a sudden become a strong pillar in the midfield and our back line is a total mess.

And yet despite all that they're alone in second, 8 points behind Chelsea and with a winable game against Monaco in the Champions League next week. Sooooooooo IDK.


EDIT: Manchester City has signed Carli Lloyd to play through the Spring Series. She'll also see action in the Women's Champions League. Sweet.

[rygar]

From storming out of the gate, to coming down to earth, and then the up-and-down form since, I think it's been exciting. With 6 good teams for 4 Champions League spots, the end of season run-in should be fantastic. And as you already said, the CL tie is winnable, and one of the monsters is suddenly sitting on the brink of elimination. This is all in Pep's first year without the players he needs to be really effective.

I agree with you on Aguero being City's best striker (I think he's the best striker in England), but I think his time was up regardless. That being said, if Pep and Toure can bury the hatchet and find a way to compliment each other for the remainder of the season, I think Aguero will too. Real Madrid or Barcelona won't come calling unless he finishes strong (and they don't get Aubameyang), and the rumors I've read is that it's those two or PSG he wants to play at next year.