By J Hutcherson (Dec 1, 2020) US Soccer Players - Toronto FC can now add a coaching change to its disrupted 2020 season. The 2019 MLS Cup finalists played out the remainder of the 2020 season in Connecticut due to border restrictions. That ended with a playoff loss to Nashville on November 24. Now, the club is looking for a new coach. Greg Vanney didn't leave courtesy of that MLS cliche of a . . .
The situation in the Eastern Conference
By J Hutcherson (Nov 19, 2020) US Soccer Players - Coming up with a problem where the only answer was a convoluted solution, Major League Soccer kicks off its Eastern Conference play-in round on Friday. After realigning the conferences to restart the season, MLS felt it had no choice but to reset playoff expectations in the now-14 team Eastern Conference. Instead of advancing the top eight . . .
The Red Bulls way forward
By J Hutcherson (Nov 10, 2020) US Soccer Players - The New York Red Bulls finished sixth in the Eastern Conference, taking the final automatic playoff place and with a sizeable lead over the rest of the clubs in the play-in round. Given that the club fired a coach and shouldered significant criticism over its squad this season, it's a success of sorts. Points per game gave them the edge over three . . .
Barcelona opts for change
By J Hutcherson (Oct 27, 2020) US Soccer Players - FC Barcelona is a super club by design, intent, and personality. Not winning defeats their broadest purpose. When it occasionally happens, there's no expectation but change. That played out on Tuesday, with club president Maria Bartomeu and the board of directors announcing their resignations the day before Barcelona plays Juventus in the . . .
2020 doesn’t need a Super League rumor
By J Hutcherson (Oct 20, 2020) US Soccer Players - Last week's brief Project Big Picture debate lasted just long enough to remind everybody how generally annoying revamp ideas have gotten. There's always someone or some group that knows that they can do things better. Then there's the current stakeholders insisting on holding onto what they have. That's been an ongoing them in European soccer . . .
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 . . .
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 . . .
UEFA’s Super Cup
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Atlanta United regroups without Pity Martinez
By J Hutcherson (Sep 8, 2020) US Soccer Players - With it now official that Pity Martinez is no longer a member of Atlanta United, the club has doubled down on what has become standard operating procedure. Given the right deal, Atlanta management will make the choice to move on. "We want to thank Pity for his contributions to our club for the past two years," Atlanta technical director Carlos . . .
Waiting on the Leagues Cup
By J Hutcherson (Sep 1, 2020) US Soccer Players - In an era where a few days can feel like a few weeks, it might seem like a long time ago when Liga MX officials began to talk seriously about eventually merging with Major League Soccer. That idea is nothing new, with Liga MX accounting for the highest club soccer TV ratings in the United States and leading the list for most popular clubs in the . . .
