The oddly obscure, yet important CONCACAF Champions League returns this week as 16 of North America's best clubs compete for a spot at the (potentially hugely revamped) 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. While the competition remains on the sidelines for U.S. soccer fans, access to watch the matches just got slightly easier.
Very rarely do you see European soccer teams playing on turf.
Still some teams that have played in the Champions and Europa Leagues this season play on turf, including Young Boys in Switzerland and Nordsjaelland in Denmark. Still, turf isn’t really a commonplace surface for professional matches in Europe.
This is the beginning of a new era for U.S. Soccer.
On Tuesday, the USSF made the change we’ve all been waiting for. No, I’m not talking abolishing pay-to-play, revamping the development academies or giving the men and women equal pay. I’m talking about something far more important.
Finally, the world makes sense.
Finally, U.S. Soccer has seen the light.
Finally, the USWNT and USMNT Twitter handles are what they should be.
Some of these 2019 MLS kits are looking pretty tasty. Given the time constraints placed on FC Cincinnati after being announced as an expansion club last May, we think the new boys still pulled off an admirable look for Year One.
Inaugural threads. What do you guys think? pic.twitter.com/v87WSUSpo5
When MLS kicked off in 1996, the league began with 10 teams trying to build on the wave of support from the 1994 World Cup. In the subsequent years markets experienced varying levels of success. For the next 11 years, the league stayed at either 10 or 12 teams. Then, in 2007, David Beckham arrived, along with increased TV time and global interest.
At this point I have to ask: Why is Wisconsin such a hotbed for American soccer overachievers? Jay DeMerit, the man from Green Bay, showed us all how it could be done, and now we have Andrija Novakovich, from Muskego, chalking up goals in the Dutch Eredivisie.
I’m not mad, I just think it’s sad that Wisconsin is leading the way — this shouldn’t be their burden to bear.
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Having been in the rumor mill for a few days and teased on social media, the Marco Fabian transfer to MLS was officially announced Friday afternoon: The Mexico international is heading to Philadelphia.
It started with Atlanta United. It continues with the Seattle Sounders. Soon we hope to see MLS fan-friendly food prices at concession stands across the league.
Atlanta United broke the mold when Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in 2017 with concession prices that were actually affordable, even lowering prices for the stadium's second season. The idea was simple: Cheaper prices for food and beverages mean more people in the seats and more people buying concessions.
The prices offered up are almost unheard of in the United States:
David Beckham will become the first player honored with a statue at a Major League Soccer stadium.
Beckham — a player with just 118 appearances in the league — is getting the highest honor a club can bestow upon a player, as the LA Galaxy are planning to unveil a statue of the midfielder before the MLS season opener against the Chicago Fire on March 2 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
In his pre-Super Bowl interview with CBS this past week, Donald Trump said he would prefer his 12-year-old son Barron to not play American football, despite the NFL and college football’s status as a leader in highest sports attendance in the United States.
It’s too dangerous, the U.S. president said, referring to the concussion rate as well as the prevalence of other types of injuries.
Instead, Trump said he’s happy with Barron continuing to play soccer (he’s currently on a D.C. United youth team).