When Neymar made his record-breaking transfer from Barcelona to PSG, his former Brazilian club Santos, with which he played from the age of 11, received a windfall of nearly $16 million as a solidarity payment.
In a couple of days, it will officially be the winter silly season. But that doesn’t mean the silliness can’t start a little early, as with the latest Christian Pulisic transfer rumors.
According to German tabloid Bild, Chelsea will purchase Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund for $57 million in the summer.
BVB fordert Millionen-Ablöse - Pulisic einig mit Chelsea! https://t.co/Zv6sQ3zrQN
In some respects, 2018 was a marvelous year for U.S. Soccer. The USWNT went unbeaten, won its 500th game and qualified for the 2019 World Cup with ease.
In many other respects, 2018 was a poor year for U.S. Soccer. The USMNT didn’t record a single win of note and both the U-20 and U-17 women’s national teams flamed out in the group stage of their respective World Cups. Plus, U.S. Soccer had a divisive presidential election campaign, eventually settling on Carlos Cordeiro.
In an unexpected announcement, Sigi Schmid, an incredibly important figure in American soccer, passed away at the age of 65 on Tuesday. It was reported that he was admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center due to a heart-related condition.
Just looking at the USMNT rosters from the past year, it’s clear Gregg Berhalter needs to find a consistent striker. With the retirements of Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan — joint-top goal scorers all time for the U.S. — in the last four years and Jozy Altidore’s inconsistency, the team lacks that out-and-out goal threat. But looking at the recent Josh Sargent stats, the 18-year-old redhead might be the No. 9 of the future.
A month ago Sargent couldn’t even get into a Bundesliga match with Werder Bremen. Now he can’t stop scoring.
PSV Eindhoven keeps increasing its footprint in North America. The Dutch club has been home to a number of Mexico internationals over the years, notably Hirving Lozano and Erick Gutierrez currently. DeMarcus Beasley once kept chalk on his boots on the wings at PSV in the Eredivisie and Champions League. PSV added one more American to the ranks on Friday: 18-year-old Richard Ledezma.
Ledezma, a Phoenix native, made his move official on Friday, though it’s been known for some time he’d be making the move during the winter transfer window after he turned 18 in September.
Gregg Berhalter has made his first public decisions as U.S. men’s national team coach, picking the 2019 USMNT roster for the January camp. Berhalter, hired on Dec. 2, named 27 players based entirely in MLS for the annual three-week January training camp, which will culminate in friendlies against Panama and Costa Rica.
America took over the Bundesliga for a brief moment during the Schalke-Bayer Leverkusen match on Wednesday in Gelsenkirchen. Weston McKennie, 20, soared above everyone on the pitch to get his head to a corner kick, which was then turned in for a Haji Wright goal, the 20-year-old’s first in the Bundesliga.
How can the U.S. ever expect to win a World Cup when its star player can’t even grasp Concacaf-rules football?
Christian Pulisic, the 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund who is already perhaps the USMNT’s best player, was a part of the FIFA 19 World Tour with a new video that dropped this week. Pulisic faced off against BVB teammate and FIFA 17 cover boy Marco Reus in a no-rules match of FIFA 19.
No rules means just what you’d think: no offside, no fouls, no bookings.
After being officially unveiled as the next manager of the USMNT on Dec. 2, Gregg Berhalter went on a whirlwind media tour where he was asked how he’d fix U.S. Soccer and deliver the 2022 World Cup by recreating the style of play American fans have come to expect when watching Manchester City play from their couch on Saturday mornings.
Berhalter handled himself in a refreshing manner after the fool’s paradise of Jurgen Klinsmann and warbling smugness of Bruce Arena, although that obviously won’t placate exceptionalists who demand he be named Zinedine Zidane.