Landon Donovan is back. Landon Donovan is back. Wake up Lost Boys, like the Pan, the Golden Boy is back. He’s 35 now and this might be a jersey selling gimmick, but IDGAF. What was once dismissed as a hoax is now reality: Club Leon are saying it. Landon Donovan is saying it.
FC Porto defeated Moreirense 2-1 in the Taca de Portugal (the country’s premier knockout competition) with Mexico internationals Hector Herrera and Miguel Layun providing the goals. Porto haven’t won the Cup since 2011, but they’ll now play fierce rivals Sporting CP in a Dragões vs Leões semifinal.
Herrera scored the game’s opening goal in the eighth minute after a fine run from Tiquinho. The midfielder applied the finish with a lovely dink over the keeper.
The fallout from Jonathan Gonzalez’s switch from the United States national team to Mexico has been expectedly fierce, especially so when coupled with the current state of U.S. Soccer. Here was a California native who’d progressed through the U.S. youth system, including run-outs at the U-17, U-18 and U-20 levels, who joined Mexican club side C.F. Monterrey in 2014 “bleeding red, white and blue.”
Aged 31, Mexico international Andres Guardado recently told FIFA.com that he now prides himself more on bringing “balance to the team” rather than being the “box-to-box player” of old, so the Real Betis midfielder is probably less than pleased with the club’s defensive record this season — they’ve allowed 34 goals in 18 matches, third-worst in La Liga.
As first reported by Univision and subsequently confirmed by ESPN FC and the Washington Post’s Steven Goff, 18-year-old Monterrey midfielder Jonathan Gonzalez, having represented the United States at the U-17, U-18 and U-20 levels, will request a one-time switch of allegiance from FI
UEFA, you may be a bit late to the party. The European soccer governing body released a list of 50 players to watch in 2018 on Friday, an index of rising stars who could become household names in the coming calendar year. By naming Mexico’s Hirving Lozano one to watch, UEFA is basically admitting it didn’t pay attention to the last half of 2017, when Chucky tore up the Eredivisie with first-place PSV Eindhoven.
According to Club America coach Miguel Herrera, the opportunity to land 27-year-old Dutch international and current PSV Eindhoven striker Luuk de Jong “has been laid on the table.” America and Herrera are looking to land an international player to rival Tigres’ Andre-Pierre Gignac (“a player with a bigger name than Gignac,” according to Herrera), and De Jong is the player the club and coach have landed on.
Tigres winger Jurgen Damm has turned himself into an example of how not to play with fireworks after suffering first-degree burns on the right side of his face in a New Year's Eve fireworks accident. Damm will be out for around two weeks, the club announced.
As we near the end of 2017, few American soccer fans will look back on the year with any sort of fondness after the USMNT failed to qualify for the World Cup. Same for Dutch, Italian and Chilean fans, plus anyone who as ever rooted for Sunderland. So instead of focusing on 2017, let’s turn our attention to how much 2018 will suck. Here are 18 horrible 2018 soccer predictions.