The USSF has launched its bio-banding initiative. The search for the American Messi is buoyed by widespread support for an increased scouting budget. And despite the U.S. team's absence this summer, World Cup fever will clear sporting goods stores of adidas Predators as surely as Brood X cicadas will reemerge in 2021.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic did it again. In his first MLS start, the big Swede scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory for the LA Galaxy over Bastian Schweinsteiger and the Chicago Fire on Saturday in the Windy City.
Zlatan scored in first-half stoppage time, using his head again to nod home a cross from Ashley Cole for the game’s only goal.
Cole Zlatan #CHIvLA
Hurley dropped a collection of board shorts of countries who are going to this year’s World Cup just in time for the upcoming summer. I’m not going to lie, I might have to buy a pair myself considering how nice they look. The range includes board shorts for England, France, Nigeria, Australia, Portugal and two different designs for the USA.
Last week, U.S. Soccer announced its first youth initiative since the USMNT’s World Cup failure. Bio-banding was presented as a new way to encourage technical development in youth players big and small. It was an idea put forth by the U.S. Soccer High Performance Department. But it turns out, U.S. Soccer should have just asked Facebook, because scores of our readers responded and apparently every single one of them knows exactly how to fix U.S. soccer.
We just couldn’t help ourselves. With just over 60 days to go until the release of the most anticipated book since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we had to celebrate Bruce Arena’s magnum opus, What’s Wrong with US?: A Coach’s Blunt Take on the State of American Soccer After a Lifetime on the Touchline (so blunt), by revisiting the former USMNT manager’s favorite dilemma — the MLS cohort versus their "hotshot" European counterparts.
Toronto FC are in the final of the Concacaf Champions League, where they will face Chivas Guadalajara, after fighting Club America to a 1-1 draw at Estadio Azteca to brush past the Mexican powerhouse 4-1 on aggregate.
Despite an early injury to Jozy Altidore that caused the striker to leave the game, Toronto struck first via Jonathan Osorio.
An extremely strong contingent of Guadalajara supporters inside Red Bull Arena watched their side hang on for the narrowest of victories on Tuesday night, Chivas doing just enough to retain their 1-0 first leg advantage over New York in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals despite being outshot 20-1 in the second.
In a certain light, Shaq Moore could be looked upon as a blueprint for young Americans looking to develop careers in professional soccer. The 21-year-old fullback spent time in the IMG Academy and the FC Dallas Academy before moving to Spain, where he rose through the reserve divisions and currently plays for Levante in the Primera Division. He has even appeared against Barcelona.
However, to hear him tell it, there is no blueprint.
Please slow down, all of you. Be patient. Lower your expectations for a bit. You will be happier in the long run, I promise.
Americans spend a lot of time talking about how we are going to unearth the next Messi and be rocketed to soccer-superpowerdom. The reality is, even if the next Messi existed and was eligible for the USMNT and was convinced to play for the USA, the team would probably not be a soccer superpower.