I understand professional sports are full of trash talk and bravado; the unnecessary and macho behavior is everywhere. But there is a time and place for such brashness, and following a heavy defeat is certainly not one of them. That said, the Zlatan vs Vela rivalry is becoming one of the best reasons to watch MLS this season.
In another fiery edition of “El Trafico,” Zlatan Ibrahimović played spoiler again by netting a perfect hat trick in a 3-2 win against Los Angeles FC, which has yet to beat its crosstown rival in four meetings now.
Ibrahimović told ESPN on Thursday that he was a superior player to LAFC’s Carlos Vela despite the latter’s impressive start to the season. He backed it up with Friday’s performance.
James Harden, the 2018 NBA MVP with the Houston Rockets, is expanding his profile in the Bayou City.
Harden bought into a minority share of the Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash and BBVA Stadium on Thursday.
. @HoustonDynamo pic.twitter.com/mKZ15cR4du
— James Harden (@JHarden13) July 18, 2019
We all know that money is changing things in the world of soccer, and it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. It has changed the transfer fees for players and also the contracts those players are awarded. This can lead to some issues for clubs around the world. Here are some prime examples of contract mismanagement.
Alexis Sanchez | Manchester United
For Mexican midfielder Héctor Herrera, finalizing a transfer this summer was at the forefront of his mind. That announcement was finally reported during the Gold Cup, and it was a big reason why Herrera ignored Tata Martino’s call-up and didn’t make the trip to the United States for the tournament.
Tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. CT on ESPN, the LA Galaxy hosts Los Angeles FC in the fourth edition of El Tráfico. The early days of the Los Angeles Derby have been largely dominated by two players: LAFC’s Carlos Vela is the rivalry's top scorer with four to his name, but the Galaxy’s Zlatan Ibrahimović is right behind him with three, including that unforgettable brace on his MLS debut.
Atlanta United set all sorts of Major League Soccer attendance records in its second year in the league, from highest average attendance to biggest MLS Cup crowd. It was impressive to see more fans at the 2018 MLS Cup final in December than the Super Bowl at the same stadium two months later. But how does Atlanta stack up to the highest attended soccer matches in U.S. history?
FC Cincinnati has been playing its inaugural MLS season at Nippert Stadium and will do so for the next year or two. While it's not the prettiest stadium to play in, it’s still a stadium nonetheless.
A lot of new MLS teams have outlined their plans for a new soccer-specific stadium as they integrate into MLS, Austin being one and Inter Miami being another. Cinicinnati also outlined its plans for a downtown stadium and the initial plans looked very promising. Tuesday, FC Cincinnati and MLS revealed the final plans.
It's called The West End Stadium, and it's class.
Before MLS, the NASL was a popular competition in the United States, pulling in players like Pele, George Best and Johan Cruyff. NASL clubs mainly played in American football and baseball stadiums, and after the league went broke and MLS succeeded the NASL in the next decade, MLS clubs did not have stadiums of their own starting out.
The Seattle Sounders hosted Atlanta United in a much-anticipated matchup this past Sunday, and the two sides did not disappoint.
The match ended in Seattle's favor following a 2-1 win over the reigning MLS champions, but the major highlight was the first goal of the game.
Raúl Ruidíaz, making his first Sounders start since returning from Peru's deep Copa América run, showed Seattle fans just what they'd been missing with this incredible solo goal.