It’s official: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not be joining AC Milan or some other European power come January — instead, the Swedish striker will focus entirely on the 2019 MLS season with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
“MLZ (Major League Zlatan) Im not done with you yet,” said Ibrahimovic on Twitter, putting to bed some rumors that the striker himself has continuously distanced himself from since the close of the regular season.
FC Cincinnati will make its Major League Soccer debut in 2019. While reasonably successful in the United Soccer League the last three years, MLS will present a far greater challenge for the Orange and Blue. Fortunately for fans in the 66th largest city in the U.S., a number of recent FC Cincinnati signings this week have the club trending in the right direction.
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.
The 2019 Women's World Cup schedule was set with the group draw on Dec. 8. The tournament will kick off on June 7 and run through the final on July 7.
The USWNT was given a fairly favorable group, but it’s not an easy draw given the knockout-round matchups.
The 2019 MLS season is behind us. Atlanta United capped off an amazing first two years as an expansion club. But such as things are in sports, the page turns quickly looking ahead to the next season. The MLS free agency period kicked off this week and a number of experienced vets across the league are now available to make moves.
According to Showbuzz Daily, the 2018 MLS Cup Final averaged 1.5 million viewers on FOX, making it the second-most-watched final in league history behind MLS Cup ’97 (which garnered an audience of 2.2 million people thirsting for Marcelo Balboa). Atlanta United beat Portland 2-0 in front of a record crowd for an MLS match on Saturday.
Newcastle United wingback DeAndre Yedlin was sent off for the first time in his 73-match Premier League career on Sunday during Newcastle’s crushing 2-1 defeat to Wolves. With the score level at 1-1 in the 57th minute, a terrible touch from the USMNT defender allowed Wolves’ Diogo Jota to charge through on goal, and Yedlin’s tactical foul outside the box resulted in a straight red card as the last defender.
Take a bow, Atlanta. You earned this.
Atlanta United defeated the Portland Timbers 2-0 in the MLS Cup final on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. As much as the Five Stripes earned their victory with thrilling offensive play and some heroic defending when needed, this MLS Cup championship is really all about the fans in Atlanta.
You can debate all you want about the necessity of singing the national anthem before a sporting event. But after watching Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja bring down the house with her MLS Cup anthem, you can’t debate the chills.
Tjandrawidjaja, a 7-year-old, absolutely crushed it with an awesome rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. Just watch.