There was a time when Brek Shea a lanky winger from the great city of College Station, Texas — home of the Dixie Chicken and the greatest football stadium in the country — looked like the next big thing for U.S. soccer. The Cockatrice, as no one but myself calls him, had a combination of skill, panache, size and athleticism that earned him a move to Stoke City after five seasons with FC Dallas.
If you enjoyed the 2016 Copa América Centenario, you’re gonna love what U.S. Soccer is trying to do next.
U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro sent a letter to the heads of each of the 10 South American football associations on Tuesday, inviting them to join Concacaf for a quadrennial international competition in the United States, the New York Times reported.
Last time we checked in with Diego Maradona and Dorados, it was to report on the Argentine legend’s antics during his side’s Ascenso MX Apertura final defeat. After the heartbreak of that 4-3 aggregate defeat, Maradona has since returned to lead Dorados during the Clausura season.
While the club has achieved success in the Copa MX — they’ll play Liga MX side Atlas on Tuesday in the Round of 16 — the regular season has been something of a disaster for the club. After six matches, Dorados has only managed one win.
Last night, León (The Club That Landon Built) defeated Pumas 3-1 in a match that was played 10-on-10 for 20 minutes. José Juan Macías, Ángel Mena and Vinicio Angulo were among the goals for León, who stayed within touching distance of Tigres and Monterrey at the top of the Clausura table.
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano’s 14th Eredivisie goal of the season salvaged a point for PSV in a 1-1 draw with third-place Feyenoord, but the club’s lead at the top of the table was cut to just two points following Ajax’s 5-1 victory over Den Haag.
Feyenoord had Sven van Beek sent off in the 59th minute at the Philips Stadion, but the visitors still managed to take the lead through Nicolai Jorgensen in the 70th minute.
Javier Hernandez made his 150th Premier League appearance on Friday. Starting for West Ham against Fulham, the Mexico international notched his 50th Premier League goal. But the Chicharito goal vs Fulham was his first scored with his hand.
Who needs VAR?
One of two Friday night football matches in the Premier League, the West Ham-Fulham match was not without storylines.
You know what they say, ridiculous backheel flicks usually come in threes. This past weekend, we were treated to three outlandish finishes of the tacquito sauce variety — one in Amsterdam, one in Nuevo León and one in Poland.
Let’s take a look at all three in descending order.
#3. Kasper Dolberg (Ajax vs. NAC Breda)
The oddly obscure, yet important CONCACAF Champions League returns this week as 16 of North America's best clubs compete for a spot at the (potentially hugely revamped) 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. While the competition remains on the sidelines for U.S. soccer fans, access to watch the matches just got slightly easier.
Welcome to Europe, Diego Lainez.
Lainez, a diminutive, 18-year-old Mexican, moved to Real Betis from Club América in January to join club vice captain Andrés Guardado, a fellow Mexico international. He had played in five matches before Thursday with all of two yellow cards to show for it.
Juan Carlos Osorio became the latest coach to lead Mexico to the World Cup Round of 16 and no further over the summer. The 2018 tournament was the seventh straight time El Tri was knocked out at that stage.
After the 2018 World Cup, Osorio resigned from Mexico and in September he was appointed Paraguay manager. His first match with the club was a 1-1 draw with South Africa in November.