The Campeones Cup was too much to ask of a team that’s completely fallen apart.
Last year, Toronto FC set all sorts of records as arguably the best MLS team ever put together. The Reds added a few parts during the offseason and reached the final of the Concacaf Champions League in April, arguably the best run in the tournament ever by an MLS club.
But that was TFC then.
This is TFC now.
Diego Maradona’s debut as manager of Ascenso MX (Mexico’s second division) side Dorados FC coincided with the club earning its first win of the 2018 Apertura season, a 4-1 home victory over last-place Cafetaleros. Vinicio Angulo scored a hat-trick for Dorados, but the star of the show was obviously the 57-year-old on the touchline.
Liga MX Femenil is in its second full year of operation, but if a match this week between Tigres and Chivas is any indication, the rivalries are starting to form.
A top-of-the-table clash between UANL and Guadalajara ended with four players being sent off, two from each team. Tigres won 3-1 on Monday to push their lead to four points over Chivas in Grupo 2 of the 18-team Liga MX Femenil Apertura.
All four goals were scored in the first half. A double from Katty Martínez in the first seven minutes put UANL on the path to victory.
Here we have Club America No. 1 Agustin Marchesin facing an eerily similar situation to the one confronted by Liverpool’s Alisson against Leicester City back on Sept. 1. Alisson, of course, infamously gave the ball away while performing your grandmother’s wedding dance steps, allowing Rachid Ghezzal to pull one back.
In the 65th minute of tonight’s “friendly” between the USMNT and Mexico in Nashville, U.S. defender Matt Miazga triggered six minutes of absolute bedlam after finally getting the better of 18-year-old Mexican phenom Diego Lainez. The diminutive (5 ft 5.5 in) Club America winger was probably the highlight of an otherwise tame first half.
He absolutely diced U.S. captain Wil Trapp and feasted on him at one point. It was frightening.
36' ¡Dieeeeego Lainez volvió locos a todos!
The USMNT plays host to Mexico tonight at Nissan Stadium in Nashville for the 68th meeting between the CONCACAF rivals. Mexico leads the all-time series with a record of 34W-18L-15D, and while victory is always of the utmost importance in this historic matchup, there’s no getting around the fact that this is an encounter between two very young sides that are casting their first covetous glances towards the 2022 World Cup cycle.
Some men and women just can’t stand still. Whether it’s his drive to win or just the cocaine, Diego Maradona is one of those people.
Unlike Pelé, Maradona refuses to just sit around collecting royalty checks for doing Subway commercials. Maradona played for three decades as one of the greatest players to ever grace the pitch and has had six stints as a head coach.
On Thursday, Maradona was hired as technical director for Ascenso MX club Dorados de Sinaloa, perhaps the Argentine legend’s highest-profile gig since leading Argentina at the 2010 World Cup.
Celta Vigo sits third in LaLiga after three games on the back of a commanding 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Balaidos on Saturday. The ability of Celta’s backline to completely nullify the threat posed by Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa (Atletico didn’t land a shot on target throughout the entire match) saw its defenders marked out for individual praise, especially 27-year-old Mexico international Nestor Araujo.
Interim USMNT manager Dave Sarachan has named his 24-man roster for upcoming friendlies against Brazil (Sept. 7) and Mexico (Sept. 11), including 14 players age 23 and under. Christian Pulisic is the big name absentee after the winger suffered an injury while training with Borussia Dortmund, while 25-year-old New York Red Bulls defender Aaron Long is the only uncapped player in the squad.
PSV Eindhoven is turning into Pachuca East, or maybe the Dutch El Tri. After the incredible success of former Pachuca winger Hirving Lozano, the Erick Gutierrez PSV transfer was officially announced Thursday, the day after Chucky helped fire the Dutch club into the Champions League group stage.