(Editor’s Note: See update below on Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s punishment.)
Mohamed El-Munir, LAFC’s left back, needs surgery after a love tap from Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Friday. After visiting a specialist on Monday, it was revealed the 27-year-old has a zygomatic fracture on his face.
As someone whose job is soccer all day, everyday, I like to think that I have a pretty good grip on what’s going on, why it’s going on and when it’s going on. In what I feel is a pretty damning indictment of the newfangled Leagues Cup competition, I haven't a goddamn clue on any of those fronts.
Let’s figure out what in the hell this thing is together.
Who Plays In The Leagues Cup?
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
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.
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.
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.
Last night in U.S. Open Cup play, the two remaining Cinderella clubs fell by the wayside at the quarterfinal hurdle. Saint Louis FC and New Mexico United — both of the second division USL Championship — couldn’t overcome MLS opposition, but not before issuing a firm statement on what makes the oldest ongoing competition in the United States so special.
On Wednesday, July 31, the only friendly worth watching takes place at Orlando City Stadium in Florida — it’s the 2019 MLS All-Star Game, pitting the best of MLS against Spanish giant Atlético Madrid. What’s flying under the radar is that one day before the big game, there’s going to be an All-Star Skills Challenge.
This used to be a regular feature of MLS All-Star weekend, but for some reason I’ll never understand, they put an end to it. Here’s a brief recap.
Let’s face it, women have faced inequality for as long as we have written history. Women’s soccer players are no exception.
Today, the U.S. women’s soccer team — the No. 1 women’s soccer team in the world — has to deal with the reality that if both the men and women’s teams played 20 friendlies a year, the women would earn, at most, $99,000 while the men would earn an average of $263,320. That’s just ridiculous. It seems like some kind of sick joke, but I can assure you, it’s not.