The Minnesota United are off to the worst start of any expansion side in MLS history, but fellow debutants Atlanta United are acclimating just fineYou only get one chance to make a first impression. That’s rather unfortunate for Minnesota United, who have made the worst first impression of any expansion side in Major League Soccer history, conceding 11 goals in their first two games, including six in Sunday’s humiliating home opener defeat to fellow expansion side Atlanta United. Somebody did make a rather good impression at a freezing TCF Bank Stadium, though. Miguel Almiron arrived in MLS with a hefty reputation, even if few had watched much of the Paraguayan before signing with Atlanta. Now, however, there’s already enough evidence...
The Loons start their first season in MLS on Friday and their head coach believes loyal fans and tough conditions can forge a strong identityIn his first press conference the Minnesota United head coach, Adrian Heath, referred to his team as the “Newcastle of MLS,” as well as expressing his desire to find players who specifically wanted to play for the Loons. Now that he’s been in the job for a few months, Heath is able to see how that may play to his side’s benefit as they approach their first ever game in MLS, a meeting with the 2015 champions, Portland Timbers, on Friday night.“They’re some of those places that are out of the way,” Heath says about both...
Premier League referee’s come-and-get-me plea to the MLS or China displays all the hallmarks of being dictated by his agent, and after lunch at thatFunny to think that Mark Clattenburg inking a sponsorship deal while still a serving referee once felt like a harbinger of the endtimes. O Premier League, what hath you wrought? These days, alas, you get an altogether more worrying class of harbinger. Take the starstruck member of Donald Trump’s gopping Floridian private members club, Mar-a-Lago, who spent the weekend filling his social media with insanely revelatory posts about the presidential entourage. “This is Rick … He carries the ‘football’. The nuclear football (also known as the atomic football, the president’s Emergency Satchel, the button, the black...
This week marks the deadline for the next round of MLS expansion bids. But many cities are questioning whether clubs should use public fundsAlderman Samuel Moore represents Ward Four in St Louis - one of the poorest areas of the city. During a committee meeting last Thursday he held up photographs of dilapidated housing in his local area and announced: “This is what I live every day”. Moore and other aldermen were considering a request by a group called SC STL that hopes to bring Major League Soccer to the Missouri city. The request? SC STL wants the city and its taxpayers to approve $60m of public funding (an initial request for $80m was rejected) for a new stadium that...
In the face of the lavish salaries in the Chinese Super League, MLS clubs might have to pump the brakes on ageing stars. But that could prove to be a blessingA giant is rising in the east, intent on disrupting world football’s consensus. The Chinese Super League, with its many cash-rich clubs owned by various billionaires, has been rampaging through recent transfer windows, prying away star players from the old guard in Europe.And it’s happened quickly: Oscar, Axel Witsel, John Obi Mikel, Carlos Tevez, Ramires, Alex Teixeira, Jackson Martinez and others have moved to China recently for outlandish transfer fees, many of which have dwarfed the financial standards set in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. Related: US...