Zlatan Ibrahimovic is coming to MLS. After previously stating that his aim was to eclipse Napoleon by crossing the Atlantic and conquering the States, the Swedish striker is now en route to Los Angeles and aiming for a spectacular debut on March 31 against LAFC (“El Tráfico”) at an already sold out StubHub Center.
Giovani dos Santos will not be excited to learn that his fellow Major League Soccer players think he's the most overrated player in the league.
In an anonymous survey conducted by ESPN, 11 percent of MLS players surveyed said they thought the LA Galaxy forward was the most overrated player in the league. Also voted to be overrated were Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Gyasi Zardes, Paul Arriola, Benny Feilhaber and Tim Howard. Discerning readers will notice that those are, with the exception of dos Santos, who plays for Mexico, all United States internationals.
For the last two months, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has reportedly been on the verge of joining Major League Soccer. For the last two months, he has not. However, with less than four months remaining on his Manchester United contract and with Jose Mourinho more than obliging with regards to letting the Swede go, it’s only a matter of time until we see Ibrahimovic in MLS (the Los Angeles Galaxy being the ultimate destination).
Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ana Ivanovic have welcomed their first child, reportedly a boy alleged to be named Luka, into the world in Chicago this weekend.
Welcome to the world our little boy! We are so happy. @AnaIvanovic pic.twitter.com/j5Kp6u0CiJ
— Basti Schweinsteiger (@BSchweinsteiger) March 19, 2018
D.C. United could go from playing in front of the largest MLS attendance to playing in front of the smallest MLS attendance in league history in the span of a week.
The Black and Red lost 3-1 to Atlanta United on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The match set a new MLS attendance record with 72,035 fans.
,
Chivas defeated the Seattle Sounders 3-0 at the Estadio Akron Wednesday night in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal, comfortably overturning a 1-0 first leg deficit by the 55th minute. Oswaldo Alanis, Eduardo Lopez and Jose Godinez scored the goals to complete the semifinal bracket: it’s Chivas vs. the New York Red Bulls on one side and Club America vs. Toronto FC on the other.
After a thrilling 3-2 Tigres win in Monterrey pulled the Liga MX club level with Toronto FC on aggregate in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals, the defending MLS Cup champions advanced to the semifinals over the Liga MX Apertura Champions on away goals.
Toronto FC needed a lucky Tigres own goal, some Sebastian Giovinco magic (he scored a free kick, as per usual) and a little more luck to withstand a late Tigres rally in order to advance, but advance they did.
The New York Red Bulls struck a blow for MLS pride in the early Concacaf Champions League match Tuesday when they beat Liga MX's Club Tijuana 3-1, 5-1 on aggregate, to advance to the semifinals.
The Red Bulls cut Tijuana with intricate movement in the final third, which is not a thing one normally associates with Major League Soccer. It's a brave new world.
While the U.S. president continues to fight for a wall between the countries, Mexico and the U.S. (plus Canada) continue to grow closer through soccer. A week after the joint 2026 World Cup bid reshuffled its leadership for a more united front between all three countries, Liga MX and MLS announced an unprecedented partnership on Tuesday, highlighted by the Campeones Cup, a new annual competition pitting the best team from each league against each other.
With 102 appearances, 18 goals and as a veteran of two World Cups, history is on Giovani dos Santos’ side. However, his play on the field over the last year and a half makes his inclusion in Mexico’s 2018 World Cup squad, by Juan Carlos Osorio’s own stated standards, a real doubt.
When Dos Santos arrived in MLS in 2016, his initial return of 14 goals, 12 assists and a place in the MLS Best XI seemed to fully justify a Designated Player salary of $5.5 million per year.