Wednesday's soccer news starts with USMNT players in the Champions League. Sergino Dest's Barcelona had no trouble at home against Ferencvaros, winning 5-1 despite going a man down midway through the second-half. Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a 27th minute penalty and Ansu Fati doubled the lead in the 42nd. Philippe Coutinho made it 3-0 Barca in the 52nd. Gerard Pique saw red in the 68th . . .
The Champions League on US television
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Oct 19, 2020) US Soccer Players – The UEFA Champions League is the world’s biggest club competition. The tournament’s rebranding in 1992 brought with it more clubs from each country, a revamped format featuring more games and an injection of TV revenue. The planet’s best players want to take part in the Champions League, the de facto world championship for club . . .
2-0 win for Leipzig at Augsburg
Tyler Adams's RB Leipzig won 2-0 at Augsburg. Angelino opened the scoring in the 45th minute with Yussuf Poulsen doubling the lead in the 66th. Peter Gulacsi kept the clean sheet. "We were the better team and deserved to win," Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann said. "Looking ahead, playing really well is sometimes less important as long as we are picking up the points to achieve our goals. Every . . .
English soccer pushes for the return of fans
By J Hutcherson (Oct 6, 2020) US Soccer Players - Last week, something interesting happened as Mexico was getting ready to fly out for two games in the Netherlands. The Dutch government decided to take a step back from allowing fans into stadiums. For one of the leagues that called off its 2019-20 season rather than resuming, the return of fans so quickly was a surprising move. This Eredivisie . . .
USMNT players in Portugal
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Oct 5, 2020) US Soccer Players – Mention American players and Portugal, and what instantly comes to mind is the 2002 World Cup. It was at that tournament that the United States defeated Portugal 3-2 to open the group stage. That victory helped the USMNT to ultimately reach the quarterfinals, the program's best finish since 1930. Portugal has been a destination for . . .
Dest subs on for Barcelona
The roundup of USMNT players in Europe and Mexico starts in La Liga. Sergino Dest capped his high profile move from Ajax to Barcelona with playing time. Dest subbed on in the 75th minute of Barca's 1-1 home draw with Sevilla. Trailing from an 8th minute goal, Philippe Coutinho equalized for Barcelona in the 10th minute. "Sevilla are a great team," Coutinho said. "They gave us a lot of problems. . . .
Dest makes his move to Barcelona
Thursday's soccer news starts with another marquee move involving a USMNT player. Sergino Dest is now a member of FC Barcelona, completing his transfer from Ajax for a $24.6m transfer fee that could rise to just over $30m. Barcelona also added a $460m buyout clause to a deal that runs through the 2024-25 season. Dest becomes the latest Ajax player to switch to the Spanish giants, a regular . . .
David Wagner moves on from interesting times at Schalke 04
By J Hutcherson (Sep 29, 2020) US Soccer Players - Until Sunday, David Wagner was the American coaching at the highest level in Europe. Wagner's run in charge of Schalke 04 ended with the club's winless streak continuing into this season. Schalke last won a Bundesliga game on January 17, turning from a European contender into a club trying to stop a run of bad results that at times made no . . .
Two goals for Johannsson
The roundup of USMNT players in Europe and Mexico starts in the Allsvenskan with Aron Johannsson scoring twice in Hammarby's 3-1 win at Falkenberg. Down a goal from the 32nd minute, an own-goal leveled the score in the 60th. Johannsson put Hammarby up for good in the 66th, also converting a stoppage time penalty. In the Bundesliga, Tyler Adams's RB Leipzig drawing 1-1 at Bayer Leverkusen. Emil . . .
Big wins for LAFC, Colorado, and Chicago
Thursday's soccer news starts with another round of lopsided shutouts in MLS. The biggest margin of victory may indicate a turnaround for one of the league's more interesting stories. LAFC got it together at home against Vancouver, winning 6-0. Dejan Jakovic opened the scoring in the 2nd minute with Bradley Wright Phillips adding goals in the 5th and 11th. An own-goal made it 4-0 LA in the 14th. . . .
