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Date Title Body
How do I sign it?

How do I sign it?

"He's not a spot-up shooter …

"He's not a spot-up shooter (93% of his threes were assisted)"

Umm... doesn't that mean he probably is a spot up shooter? 

Did Warde Manuel do ANYTHING…

Did Warde Manuel do ANYTHING to try to get you to stay when you let him know the Cavs were interested in you?

Who was your favorite player to coach at Michigan? 

What was your favorite Big Ten win?

Who was the recruit that exceeded your expectations the most?

He needs to be fired anyway…

He needs to be fired anyway for almost losing Harbaugh and for losing Beilein.

Shaq Moore was great in the…

Shaq Moore was great in the Gold Cup against this level of competition, and against Mexico which was really a higher level of competition. He's gonna be absolutely fine against Panama at home. 

It has always been this bad,…

It has always been this bad, if not worse. And yeah, they should definitely do something about it.  It's crazy how common it is to have games where the margin of victory is like 6 points and the refs made a 10 point difference one way or the other.  Just ridiculous in something that generates millions of dollars, has millions of people that care passionately about the outcome, has people's livelihoods depending on it, etc.

I missed the MSU - Illinois game but I'm happy to hear MSU got screwed.

I live in Mexico and every…

I live in Mexico and every year when I'm home for Christmas I make the effort to go to at least one game (even though my family lives in Grand Rapids, which is two hours away from Ann Arbor).

With that said, I have found prices in recent years to be CRAZY expensive.  My wife and I have had to pay like $60 a ticket to see Michigan play teams that aren't expected to be remotely competitive.  The most recent game we made it to was Michigan vs UMass Lowell in 2020.  UMass Lowell finished the year #275 on kenpom and we still paid in the $50-60 dollar range on stubhub (before the extra charges, if I'm remembering right) for mediocre seats.  The year before that, it was the same deal to see Michigan play WMU The prices on stubhub are nuts.  I can't imagine what it's like for games against a decent team. 

Things have sure changed a lot since I was in the Maize Rage in college and tickets were literally free for Maize Rage members for my first year or two and were really cheap after that.

Even if I lived in Michigan, it would be too expensive to go to more than a game or two per year.  It's a shame.

Great post! Not gonna happen…

Great post! Not gonna happen, but my preference would also be Michigan - Minnesota for the Jug and the Big Ten title.

Wow, awesome job!

Wow, awesome job!

Is there a link to this?

Is there a link to this?

Not Michigan related but we…

Not Michigan related but we had a Mexico fan throw a full can of beer at our car and then run up and kick our back door putting a huge dent in it after the US beat Mexico in the 2007 Gold Cup Final in Chicago.  Also had a fair amount of beers and coins thrown our way when we were in the stadium.

On the other hand, most of the people around us (all Mexico fans) were all apologizing and saying we're not like that.  

Surprisingly enough, I was at the US - Mexico game at Estadio Azteca in 2017 (not in a US section) and the fans were the friendliest fans I've ever been around as an away fan.  It was an amazing experience. 

Also went to the 2019 USA-Mexico Gold Cup Final in 2019 and had 0 bad experiences. 

So 2007 was really the exception.

This is actually a good…

This is actually a good memory but kind of fits as it relates to very poor behavior by an opposing fan.

We were tailgating at MSU at the tennis courts before the 2007 game.  My friend is chatting up some MSU girl and they get into a conversation about which school is better.  Things started off kind of flirty but it didn't take long for the girl to get extremely upset because my friend disputed her claim that she easily could've gotten into Michigan but chose not to apply because whatever program she was in at State was supposedly #1 in the world.  Anyway, my friend kept pushing this girl's buttons and out of nowhere she just turns and takes a closed-fisted swing right at his face.  My friend dodged it at the last second and the girl literally just ran away out of embarrassment.

I was in the stadium for the game which turned out to be a classic.  Came back from a 24-14 deficit in the 4th quarter to win 28-24 on a beautiful TD pass to Greg Matthews and then a great TD catch by Manningham.  Hell of a game.

 

Great comments!!! Agree 100%…

Great comments!!! Agree 100% with all of this, other than the bit about Araujo because I haven't seen him play enough in MLS to know, but I'll take your word for it.

Yeah, my starting XI would definitely have Pulisic, Aaronson, and Reyna with one of those three at an 8.  Would definitely have Miles Robinson partnering John Brooks!

Thanks for reading and for the great comments!

Yeah, I might be Beasley's…

Yeah, I might be Beasley's biggest fan, and I agree that he is definitely the US' best left back ever.  But at the club level, he was a midfielder/forward in Europe and then transitioned to wingback and then left back during his time at Puebla and Houston.  So at the club level, that's not quite the same as playing left back in the EPL. But I agree that he was an awesome left back for the US which is all that really matters.

Definitely agree that it worked out for the best for Konrad to stay in Europe! So glad to see him playing so well starting off the season in France.

So you must live near some small college in Nashville? I'm totally jealous that you've gotten to see them train before and might get to see them again.  Must be absolutely amazing.

Thanks so much for the nice…

Thanks so much for the nice comments, really glad that you enjoyed reading!!!! Aside from watching as many club games as I can, I follow the US a lot on twitter and reddit!! Thanks!

Thanks so much to everyone…

Thanks so much to everyone for taking the time to read and for all the positive comments!!!!! Much appreciated!!! Go US!!!

I think none of the people…

I think none of the people commenting on this point understand what I was trying to say.  I 100% rate DaMarcus Beasley, Carlos Bocanegra, Fabian Johnson, and Eddie Lewis above Antonee Robinson.  

But what I said was that out of guys who primarily play left back at the club level - Antonee Robinson is the best left back at the club level we've ever had.

DaMarcus Beasley is the GOAT left back for the US, in my opinion.  For the US. But at the club level, his best play as a left back was at Puebla, which does not compare to the EPL (even though I'm a huge Liga MX fan).  When he was playing in Europe he was a left midfielder / forward.  

Bocanegra was better than Antonee Robinson but he was a CB for the US and Fulham who occasionally played left back... again, not a guy who was primarily a left back at the club level.

Ditto for Fabian Johnson who mostly played right back for the US and in the Bundesliga.

Ditto for Eddie Lewis who mostly played left midfield for the US and in England.

 

So... again... if we're talking about guys that are primarily left backs at the club level... i.e. left back is their first position... who has the US had that was better at the club level than Antonee Robinson?

You're right, totally forgot…

You're right, totally forgot about that one, great catch!  Yeah, I tried to do the depth chart exactly as I suspect Berhalter sees it, but Konrad/Hoppe/Arriola was a total guess because Arriola is literally unavailable for this window and Hoppe probably would've been called in if he hadn't missed every Schalke game since the Gold Cup due to illness. 

With that said, I deferred to how these guys have looked for the US.  Tim Chandler is the most obvious example but there have been a handful of guys that have been great players at the club level and never really performed well for the national team... and Konrad looked technically gifted but definitely off the pace when he played for the US last November.  With that said, he's looked like an entirely different player in France this season and my best guess is that he'll play very well in this window and be ahead of at least Arriola the next time they're both healthy.

And you're right, I'd be surprised if Pulisic started 3 games in a row in any of these windows.

Thanks so much!!! Yeah, it…

Thanks so much!!! Yeah, it was one of the best Gold Cups ever.  Groups A and D were ridiculously entertaining and the knockout rounds were amazing.  I wasn't pleased with the decision to invite Qatar but they ended up being the most entertaining team in the tournament... all of their games were super interesting.  The US bringing its C-team arguably made the tournament more entertaining because it was the first time since I've been a big fan that we haven't been a favorite in the quarterfinal and semifinal.  In past editions those are games that you expect to win although you're not surprised if it's a close game, whereas this time I went in feeling like our chances were a little bit worse than 50/50, so pulling those games out was amazing and then winning the final was even better.  My group of friends and I woke up the entire neighborhood when Robinson put that goal in to beat Mexico... and the funny thing was that we were thinking "people probably think all this noise is related to the Olympics" because the Gold Cup isn't on most people's radars.

As for Robinson, he's far from the best LB in US history (I'd give the nod to Beasley although Bocanegra could take that spot if you count him as an LB), but Bocanegra was a career CB for Fulham and Beasley didn't play LB until late in his career when he was in Liga MX... guys like Fabian Johnson and Tim Chandler were also RBs for their clubs if I'm not mistaken, so I'm not sure what LB we've had that was better at the club level than Robinson.  I'd love to hear who you'd put ahead of him, maybe I'm forgetting someone.

I'm so jealous that you're going to be at the game on Sunday.  Gonna be absolutely awesome to see our first team in action again in games that matter a ton.  Enjoy it!!

Thanks so much for reading and commenting!

Well, his stats and grades…

Well, his stats and grades were pretty good and he looked good the times I watched him, but I don't disagree with anything you're saying.  And yes, the fact that he's the best primary LB that we've ever had at the club level has everything to do with the US' lack of top-level left backs over the years.

But that was kind of my point.  We've never had a left back that was even close to being a starter in a top 5 league.  Now we finally have a guy who's done that, and people kind of forget about him because there are so many other exciting players in our pool right now.

Well, the number is either 1…

Well, the number is either 1 or it's in triple digits because this is the last day for them to get a deal done if he's leaving.  Not sure how it would work since he couldn't be in England for a physical if he's in the US.

 Relevant tweets that didn't…

 Relevant tweets that didn't embed correctly:

Matt Hoppe

https://twitter.com/s04_en/status/1431685597710753796?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1431685597710753796%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

Kellyn Acosta

 

https://twitter.com/dis_possessed/status/1422311880723505160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1422311880723505160%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

 

Agreed. I guess my point is…

Agreed. I guess my point is that the average price on stubhub is significantly higher because a lot of the people listing their tickets are people who won't be disappointed if they don't actually end up selling. And I think that's one more thing that makes people who do want to sell see that X is the average price for a certain game and they set their price accordingly. It's only one small factor in comparison to the many great points you made in the article. 

Great article. One other way…

Great article. One other way that stubhub greatly inflates prices, IMO, is that it's an outlet for people who are planning on going to the games to offer their tickets at a higher price than they think the ticket is worth "in case" anyone bites. If the only tickets on stubhub were people that definitely weren't going to the game - say for example season ticket holders who have a wedding on the day of a certain game - prices would be relatively low because the people looking to sell would be people that can't go to the game and just want to get what they can for their seats. That used to be the case for the majority of the seats on the secondary market. But now there are tons of season ticket holders - including my parents - who will buy season tickets because they know they want to go to some games, especially OSU and Washington this year, but they'll put their tickets on stubhub at above market value and basically say, if someone is willing to pay $100 for a Rutgers or Northwestern ticket, great, if not, I'll just go to the game.

So when you look for tickets on stubhub, a ton of the tickets you're seeing aren't people that are desperate to sell. They're people who are going to go to the game, unless they get offered more than they think the ticket is worth. Add onto that the fact that it has to be someone willing to pay 30% more than what the seller thinks the ticket is worth - due to stubhub's fees - and the price of tickets is inflated a crazy amount. 

Is there going to be a HTTV…

Is there going to be a HTTV this summer? It's usually out in June.  I always look forward to it, but was losing hope that there was going to be one this year.  Maybe I missed some posts about it at some point.

I agree with you 100%. Great…

I agree with you 100%. Great guitar riff.  The rest of the song is boring and doesn't fit.

Yeah, but for the lower…

Yeah, but for the lower classes who are renting and don't own the real estate there is no benefit to having their rent and the cost of living in their neighborhood increase.  So poor people are hurt most by gentrification.

I agree with this - most of…

I agree with this - most of Mexico's European based guys are a lot more established on their clubs and also further along in their development so they have less to lose by missing their clubs' preseason.

I'm with you... I think…

I'm with you... I think Aaronson and Weah could've gotten valuable experience in this tournament without it affecting their situations with their clubs that much.  Musah's a tougher call because he's desperately in need of playing time, but that's also why playing for the US would be good for his development.  Not to mention that Valencia never lets him play as an 8, but maybe if he could have a good tournament playing that position for the US he'd get more consideration there with his club.

De la Fuente just transferred to Marseille so I would not have called him in (I don't think he's done enough to earn a call up anyway) but guys like Tyler Boyd, Yedlin, De la Torre, McKenzie, EPB, CCV, Robinson, and some others could all probably have helped this team and I don't think the US would be taking a big risk by pulling them away for their clubs during the preseason.

I mean what's the point of having Tyler Boyd in the player pool if we can't call him in over Gioacchini or Lewis in a situation like this?  He's not likely to ever play for the US in a World Cup anyway and he's already 26... he could've helped us in this tournament and it's not like we'd be risking the health/development of a future World Cup starter even if he did get hurt or lose playing time with his club.  I think that description fits a number of guys we have over in Europe that we didn't call in.

Yeah, I think there's a good…

Yeah, I think there's a good chance that Gioacchini and Hoppe both play some out wide.  Otherwise it makes no sense that we'd bring 4 strikers and only 2 wingers.

I totally agree on Jonathan Lewis... no idea how he made this team ahead of guys like Cowell and Mueller.

Yeah, I would love for Sands…

Yeah, I would love for Sands to end up being a standout and starting ahead of Yueill for example.  Or if he turned out to be our best CB on the roster, that would be awesome.  I tried to make a "starting XI" based mostly on where I think these guys stand with Berhalter but it would be great to see some younger players beating out some of the older players.  

JMo's list of guys is a…

JMo's list of guys is a pretty good list.  You can also look at the US' Nations League roster from a couple of weeks ago which was basically Berhalter's first 23 at the time.

That roster included:

Forward - Sargent, Pefok

Winger - Pulisic, Reyna, Weah, Aaronson

M - McKennie, Lletget, Adams, Acosta, Yueill, Musah

LB/RB - Dest, Yedlin, Robinson, Cannon

CB - Brooks, McKenzie, Ream, Miazga

K - Steffen, Horvath, Ochoa

In reality, Matt Turner is probably ahead of Ochoa as our third keeper.  Chris Richards and Aaron Long were both out injured or else they would've been battling to partner Brooks as our #2 CB.  Daryl Dike is definitely in the running for our starting striker.  But that's pretty close to our first 23.

I think most US fans think Acosta, Lletget, Yueill, and Ream are some of the first guys that could easily lose their place in that 23 as younger guys develop and pass them.

Yeah, I'm always absolutely…

Yeah, I'm always absolutely as excited for the Hex (or in this case the Octagonal) as I am for the Gold Cup.  I guess the main difference (in terms of my fan experience) is that for the Gold Cup I'm excited to watch all the games, even the ones that don't involve the US or Mexico.  Whereas during the Hex, a lot of those games are at the same time as our game, since they're all on the same day, and a Honduras-Panama WCQ isn't necessarily even on TV in the US.

But it probably was an oversight not to mention World Cup Qualifying, because I definitely get as excited for our qualifiers in the final round of qualifying as I do for our Gold Cup games. 

Thanks! Yeah, I basically…

Thanks! Yeah, I basically got the same comment twice and was heading out the door, LOL, so I just copy and pasted the response. 

Nothing your saying is wrong…

Nothing you're saying is wrong, but it's not a "throwaway tourney" for any of the other countries that are participating, including Mexico.

As for the US, I don't blame Berhalter for his decision, but the tournament actually matters a lot for the FIFA rankings in fact it counts quite a bit more than the Nations League did.  That's significant because we're currently right on the edge of being a 2 or 3 seed in the 2022 World Cup (assuming we make it), and in a 4-team group the difference between being a 2 or 3 seed is huge.  Especially because it's not set up where the worst 2 seed plays the best 3 seed; it's just random.

One other thing is that it's really important for the US to stay in the top 20 of the FIFA rankings because it makes a huge difference for getting a work permit in England.  For example if we're in the top 20, any MLS guy who plays one or two games for the US can get a work permit.  If we drop below 20th, suddenly you need to have played like 7 or 8 games for the USMNT (it's based on a formula) which makes it a lot harder for American players to get work permits in England which makes it harder for us to develop talent.

FWIW, I probably would've rested Pulisic, Adams, McKennie, Dest, Brooks and maybe a couple of others but I would've called in a stronger squad than what we called in.  Excited to watch this group, though.

Exactly, I'm the same way!…

Exactly, I'm the same way! It's nice to read I'm not the only one.  I love the Euros, Copa America, Champions League, etc, but I'm not a true fan of any of those teams.

Yeah, it's going to be a…

Yeah, it's going to be a really challenging tournament for sure.  On paper, the US still probably has the second best team (a distant second, behind Mexico) in terms of what clubs these guys play for but obviously that's not how soccer works.  It's going to be tough because all these other countries' first teams are used to playing together and our group isn't.

Even in the group stage, our opponents are not pushovers. 

Our first game will probably be against Haiti, who won their group last time (going 3-0 in a group that included Costa Rica), and then they knocked Canada out in the quarterfinal and took Mexico to extra time in the semifinal. 

Our second opponent, Martinique, is the 4th best team in the group on paper but has taken 3rd in their group the last two tournaments.  In 2017, they were in our group and we needed a late goal to beat them 3-2.  They also lost a tough game to Mexico 3-2 in 2019.  They're not a strong candidate to make a deep run, but they're a lot better than the typical weakest team in a group in past Gold Cups.

The third game is against Canada who was in our group in the Nations League.  Our first team beat them at home and lost to them on the road.  They feature Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies who might be worth more in the transfer market than our entire roster.

I think the US could make a deep run and if you make it to the final, anything can happen.  But assuming that Haiti wins its play-in games and is in our group, none of our opponents are pushovers and every group game is going to be extremely competitive.  And then like you said, teams like Honduras, Costa Rica, Jamaica, etc, are going to be huge tests for what is essentially our third team.  Hell, our first team needed a last minute goal to beat Honduras in the Nations League a few weeks ago.

Anyway, I agree with your point and I'm writing this comment partly for the benefit of anyone who clicks on this thread and doesn't have a good feel for the competition level in this tournament.

Yep, Mexico called their…

Yep, Mexico called their European based players into the Nations League and the Gold Cup.  We could've done the same thing but chose not to.  It's probably smart to give many of our guys a rest but there are also probably 10 or so European based guys that could've made this roster a lot stronger and we could've called in without risking guys like Pulisic and Adams that are really, really important to the long term future of the team and need some rest.

Yeah, I get Berhalter giving…

Yeah, I get Berhalter giving the guys a rest and I get it.  If we're looking at this as a 6-year project building towards 2026, the long term health of guys like Tyler Adams and Pulisic is way more important than one Gold Cup.  And I was aware that Luca de la Torre asked not to participate.  With that said, de la Torre isn't even in our first 23 and I wish that we would've encouraged him to use this as an opportunity to play his way into our first 23.  Mexico also has a bunch of guys playing in Europe and they still called them into the Nations League and the Gold Cup.

Yeah, I’m a huge soccer fan…

Yeah, I’m a huge soccer fan in general but the only teams I’m a true fan of are the USMNT and León in Liga MX.  I get what you’re saying about the quality being way higher in some other tournaments, but I like that this is our tournament and it’s filled with guys from MLS, USL, Liga MX, Liga de Ascenso, and the CONCACAF Champions League.  I know that sounds crazy, but I’ll also watch a Rutgers – Penn State basketball game over an NBA game or a Purdue – Minnesota football game over a game like USC – Oregon.  I’d rather watch an OK-White high school football game over an NFL game.  Or I’d rather watch a fishing show about catching walleye in Michigan than a fishing show about catching marlin.  It’s just personal preference.  But I still love the Euro Cup, Copa America, Champions League, EPL, etc, and I watch a lot of that stuff. 

My close circle of friends and I have watched the Gold Cup religiously, even the games that don’t include the US or Mexico, since about 2007 and it’s a blast.  We even do our own fantasy league where the only stat that counts is goals. 

 

There’s one other thing that I love about the Gold Cup.  I think we all know that feeling we get when you wake up on the day that the US plays in the World Cup or Michigan plays OSU or plays in the Final Four in basketball.  It’s an incredible feeling of anticipation and excitement.  Well, for other countries in our region, the Gold Cup is like that for them.  If you’re from Guatemala and you make it to the Gold Cup quarterfinal once a decade, that’s a huge day for you.  If you caught the videos of the celebrations in Port-au-Prince when Haiti knocked off Costa Rica and Canada last time… we’ll let’s just say it was a site to see… so to me it’s a really special tournament even if the competition level is not the same as in the Euro Cup or Copa America.

Yeah, I’m a huge soccer fan…

Yeah, I’m a huge soccer fan in general but the only teams I’m a true fan of are the USMNT and León in Liga MX.  I get what you’re saying about the quality being way higher in some other tournaments, but I like that this is our tournament and it’s filled with guys from MLS, USL, Liga MX, Liga de Ascenso, and the CONCACAF Champions League.  I know that sounds crazy, but I’ll also watch a Rutgers – Penn State basketball game over an NBA game or a Purdue – Minnesota football game over a game like USC – Oregon.  I’d rather watch an OK-White high school football game over an NFL game.  Or I’d rather watch a fishing show about catching walleye in Michigan than a fishing show about catching marlin.  It’s just personal preference.  But I still love the Euro Cup, Copa America, Champions League, EPL, etc, and I watch a lot of that stuff. 

My close circle of friends and I have watched the Gold Cup religiously, even the games that don’t include the US or Mexico, since about 2007 and it’s a blast.  We even do our own fantasy league where the only stat that counts is goals. 

 

There’s one other thing that I love about the Gold Cup.  I think we all know that feeling we get when you wake up on the day that the US plays in the World Cup or Michigan plays OSU or plays in the Final Four in basketball.  It’s an incredible feeling of anticipation and excitement.  Well, for other countries in our region, the Gold Cup is like that for them.  If you’re from Guatemala and you make it to the Gold Cup quarterfinal once a decade, that’s a huge day for you.  If you caught the videos of the celebrations in Port-au-Prince when Haiti knocked off Costa Rica and Canada last time… we’ll let’s just say it was a site to see… so to me it’s a really special tournament even if the competition level is not the same as in the Euro Cup or Copa America.

Reading the comments above,…

Reading the comments above, it sounds like a lot of people literally think that call was incorrect.  Which is ludicrous.  And to the guy asking, he did gain an advantage because if he was six inches behind where he was, he may not have gotten to that ball and put it in.

Would it be a better rule if you anyone who was overlapped counted as onside? Sure, I'd like that since it's a slight change that would lead to more goals.

But I am shocked that anyone thinks that call was actually incorrect.

The people complaining sound like someone watching an NFL game and complaining that it was a complete pass because the receiver got one foot inbounds.

It sounds like you haven't…

It sounds like you haven't watched a lot of soccer the last few years.  I agree that pre-VAR, overlapping usually counted as "even" which was considered onside. Since VAR was instituted 3 years ago, it's always been offsides if any part of the body that can play the ball is ahead of the last part of the defender that can play the ball.

Just kind of surprised that anyone is surprised by this in 2021.

I disagree.  I can see what…

I disagree.  I can see what's happening, but I can't necessarily tell which guy is which when it's not a close up.

And Ian Darke also does say what's happening a lot.

Yeah, I'm surprised reading…

Yeah, I'm surprised reading these comments.  I wasn't rooting for Italy, but the dude was obviously offsides. By only 6 inches or a foot, but still obviously offsides.  I like that there's finally a level of precision in what counts as offsides (and I wish they'd do the same thing handballs, but that's a discussion for another day).

Just curious, were any of you guys whining when Mexico's goal got disallowed for being 3 inches offsides in the Nation's League final? I sure wasn't.

It's funny that people complain so much about VAR, but would it really be better to have these games decided by clearly incorrect calls?  It's like VAR gets 4 out of 5 calls right and people want to get rid of it because 1 out of 5 calls is arguably wrong.  When it used to be 50/50 at best.

May 9 Update
We are less…

May 9 Update

We are less than three weeks away from the Champions League Final, where Christian Pulisic will become the first USMNT player to see the field in a Champions League Final. He'll face off against Manchester City who will have Zack Steffen as its back up goalkeeper. Pulisic and Chelsea also face Leicester City next Saturday in the FA Cup final.

The US has games coming up against Switzerland (friendly - May 30), Honduras (Nations League Semifinal - June 3), Mexico or Costa Rica (Nations League Final or 3rd place game - June 6), and Costa Rica (friendly - June 9). Pulisic and Steffen will surely miss at least the Switzerland game because of the previous day's Champions League Final. Daryl Dike could miss that game as well if Barnsley makes it to the EFL promotion final (to ascend to the EPL). Sargent could also miss that game if Werder Bremen ends up in the Bundesliga playoff to avoid relegation - currently they're in 15th place - ahead on goal differential of 16th which is the spot that goes to a playoff (17th and 18th are automatically relegated).


Recent USMNT news:

Pulisic with a goal and an assist over two games as Chelsea advances to the Champion's League final.

Chelsea [2] - 0 Real Madrid [3-1 on agg.] - Mason Mount 85'

streamgg.com streamgg.com


Brenden Aaronson has pretty much been killing it in Austria. Two nice goals today. He also had a really nice goal the other day in the Austrian Cup Final.




Tim Weah and Lille moved a game closer to winning Ligue 1 in France. If they win their last two games, they take the title and end PSG's run of 3 titles in a row (and 7 of the last 8). Weah came on as a sub in the 67th minute.

Matt Miazga scored a last minute equalizer for Anderlecht.


Kellyn Acosta scored a golazo for the Rapids.


Caden Clark (17) and Cade Cowell (17) have been on fire in MLS. Clark has scored 3 goals in 4 games this season including a goal this weekend. Cade Cowell has 2 goals and 3 assists in two games. 4 of the 5 goals scored by these guys have been pretty outstanding individual efforts. Gianluca Busio (18) and Moses Nyeman (17) are two other teenagers that have been starting and apparently playing well in MLS. Busio already has one goal in three games this year. Any other notable MLS teenagers I'm missing?

Bryan Reynolds started for Roma in Serie A. It sounds like Reynolds played left back today and had his best game so far for Roma. The US has a lot less depth at LB than RB, so it would be a nice development if Reynolds were a guy that could play at either spot. It will be interesting to see how Reynolds does next season with Jose Mourinho taking over as Roma's coach. He has a reputation for freezing out some players, even young players, if they test his ego but also showing a ton of belief in young players and giving them lots of chances if they'll execute his game plan and follow his directions. A good relationship with Mourinho could be great for Reynolds' career. Next season will be interesting.

Weston McKennie starting today for Juventus against AC Milan in a huge game (currently down 1-0). Pulisic started yesterday for Chelsea. Gio Reyna started yesterday for Dortmund against Leipzig (Tyler Adams was out with a minor injury for Leipzig). Sergiño Dest started Barcelona's massive game yesterday against Atlético. John Brooks and Josh Sargent started in the Bundesliga (for Wolfsburg and Bremen). Matt Hoppe came off the bench for Schalke in the Bundesliga. Antonee Robinson and Fulham play tomorrow in the EPL. Yunus Musah was on the bench for Valencia. I think that covers most of the notable USMNT players in top 5 leagues that see regular playing time and are currently in the USMNT picture.

- Pulisic had a nice pass in the buildup to one of Chelsea's goals.

Manchester City 1 - [1] Chelsea - Hakim Ziyech 63'

streamgg.com streamgg.com


Justin Che played 90 minutes for Bayern 2. He's still 17. I'd love for the US to try to bring him in for the Gold Cup although I realize there are a lot of guys in the picture at CB but he's a dual nationality guy who it would suck to lose.

DeAndre Yedlin returned to the pitch for Galatasaray after being out injured for a few weeks and played 90 minutes.

- I read the other day that Luca de la Torre is one of only 2 players in the Dutch Eredivisie completing over 80% of his passes in the attacking third.


Daryl Dike was named a finalist for player of the month in the EFL and Barnsley are in the promotion playoffs along with Bournemouth (Cameron Carter-Vickers).

https://www.thepfa.com/thepfa/pfa-fans-player-of-the-month
- It was announced that Jesse Marsch has been promoted from being head coach of Red Bull Salzburg in Austria to head coach of Red Bull Leipzig in Germany (where he'll coach Tyler Adams and Caden Clark). That makes two Americans who will be coaching in the Bundesliga next season, along with Pellegrino Matarazzo.

Yep, he's had an awesome…

Yep, he's had an awesome start to the season and I've been paying attention.  But the OP was written before any of his goals or assists.  Love his potential! 

Did not know Hoffenheim have…

Did not know Hoffenheim have been playing 2 CBs, lately. That's great to hear for Richards' development.  Thanks for the info!

I actually appreciate your…

I actually appreciate your comment.  It's interesting to get an idea for how much the general public follows soccer and it's different for everyone! 

Not negworthy, IMO.

Thanks a ton!!!

Thanks a ton!!!