I’ll admit that my own excitement over last night’s MLS All-Star Skills Challenge led to disappointment for the better part of an hour. The Shooting Challenge round — kicks from the spot aimed at targets in goal — was turgid and tedious as all hell, and then I sank even lower after the Touch and Volley round, which I’d likened beforehand — in my own head — to be soccer’s equivalent of the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest.
In recent years, Major League Soccer has gone up against numerous big-name European clubs in a friendly to help showcase both the talent in MLS as well as international talent of clubs vying for more market presence in the U.S. The MLS All-Star Skills Challenge is part of that ploy. So, here’s some helpful information to know before you watch it.
Jordan Morris scored his fifth goal of the season against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. The goal ended up being the match-winner, bringing the Seattle Sounders to an 11-5-6 record and second place in the Western Conference.
The goal itself, which took a fair amount of skill and strength from the USMNT winger, ended up being much more controversial after the match than during it.
When whoever’s in charge of the worst competition ever created sits down to look at their social media numbers, they’ll see that the most liked/shared/commented/engaged with post of the 2019 Leagues Cup was a cat. Hopefully they’ll then decide to make the 2020 edition strictly cats.
You see, it’s a helluva fine boi.
(Editor’s Note: See update below on Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s punishment.)
Mohamed El-Munir, LAFC’s left back, needs surgery after a love tap from Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Friday. After visiting a specialist on Monday, it was revealed the 27-year-old has a zygomatic fracture on his face.
As someone whose job is soccer all day, everyday, I like to think that I have a pretty good grip on what’s going on, why it’s going on and when it’s going on. In what I feel is a pretty damning indictment of the newfangled Leagues Cup competition, I haven't a goddamn clue on any of those fronts.
Let’s figure out what in the hell this thing is together.
Who Plays In The Leagues Cup?
In another fiery edition of “El Trafico,” Zlatan Ibrahimović played spoiler again by netting a perfect hat trick in a 3-2 win against Los Angeles FC, which has yet to beat its crosstown rival in four meetings now.
Ibrahimović told ESPN on Thursday that he was a superior player to LAFC’s Carlos Vela despite the latter’s impressive start to the season. He backed it up with Friday’s performance.
James Harden, the 2018 NBA MVP with the Houston Rockets, is expanding his profile in the Bayou City.
Harden bought into a minority share of the Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash and BBVA Stadium on Thursday.
. @HoustonDynamo pic.twitter.com/mKZ15cR4du
— James Harden (@JHarden13) July 18, 2019
Tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. CT on ESPN, the LA Galaxy hosts Los Angeles FC in the fourth edition of El Tráfico. The early days of the Los Angeles Derby have been largely dominated by two players: LAFC’s Carlos Vela is the rivalry's top scorer with four to his name, but the Galaxy’s Zlatan Ibrahimović is right behind him with three, including that unforgettable brace on his MLS debut.
FC Cincinnati has been playing its inaugural MLS season at Nippert Stadium and will do so for the next year or two. While it's not the prettiest stadium to play in, it’s still a stadium nonetheless.
A lot of new MLS teams have outlined their plans for a new soccer-specific stadium as they integrate into MLS, Austin being one and Inter Miami being another. Cinicinnati also outlined its plans for a downtown stadium and the initial plans looked very promising. Tuesday, FC Cincinnati and MLS revealed the final plans.
It's called The West End Stadium, and it's class.