Friday's soccer news starts with Major League Soccer's great white whale, aka the Concacaf Champions League. While it might be worth arguing over the importance of the regional tournament, there's no doubt it's a priority for the league. Their attempt to end run it with the Leagues Cup and the Campeones Cup only shows how important competing with Liga MX is to MLS. It doesn't matter which MLS club . . .
Does anybody really want more Champions League?
Thursday's soccer news starts with a question UEFA may have already answered. With the continual threat of a breakaway European super league, a report in The Times has UEFA planning to add four games to the Champions League in 2024. How that will work isn't clear, but the likeliest reason for those extra matchdays would be the old second group model. Like the name suggests, back in the early . . .
Jesse Marsch’s Red Bull Salzburg problem
Wednesday's soccer news starts with a UEFA decision that was never going to help the smaller clubs trying to compete in Europe. The Champions League no longer cap ties players for the entire season. Instead, the January window allows teams in the knockout round to restock their already successful squads. It's not exactly a surprise that this could come at the expense of overachieving teams from . . .
Barcelona gets no benefit of the doubt
Tuesday's soccer news starts with what is now a familiar story. An elite European club is only tied on points at the top of the table and failed to win a tournament played in Saudi Arabia. That lack of quick results means FC Barcelona is under new management. Ernesto Valverde is out as coach and Quique Setien with a short runway before Barcelona plays Napoli next month in the Champions League . . .
Holmes equalizes in Derby County draw
With the Bundesliga still on break, the USMNT abroad roundup is once again headlining Monday's soccer news. It's not just the English leagues this time, with Ligue 1 back from break, Spain playing the Copa del Rey, and Liga MX kicking off the 2020 Clausura over the weekend. We start in England's Championship with Duane Holmes equalizing in stoppage time in Derby County's 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough. . . .
USA faces a tough Olympic qualifying scenario
The soccer news starts with an interesting scenario for the USMNT U-23s as they try to qualify for this summer's Olympics in Tokyo. Concacaf has two spots in the Olympics, running the qualifying tournament from March 20 through April 1 at Guadalajara's Jalisco and Akron stadiums. The eight-team field is split into two groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the semifinals. . . .
Preview: 2020 Liga MX Clausura
The soccer news starts with the return of Liga MX on Friday and the start of the 2020 Clausura. The Apertura didn't end until late last month due to Monterrey's Club World Cup commitments, and the reigning Liga MX champions are the likeliest choice to repeat. Not at all surprising is that the team they beat on penalties on December 29 is right there with them. Club America is always the team to . . .
Manchester City takes the schedule seriously
The soccer news starts with Manchester City beating Manchester United 3-1 first-leg loss to Manchester City at Old Trafford in the first-leg of the League Cup semifinals. While it's tough to consider the League Cup as anything other than an obligation at this point in the season, Manchester City is a team that takes all of their competitions seriously. They showed this last season when they won . . .
5th through 10th in the Premier League table
The soccer news starts with a look at the Premier League table after the run of holiday games. Liverpool now has a 13-point lead over Leicester City at the top, with Manchester City a point behind Leicester. There's no flattering to deceive that there's much of a chance of a title race. Liverpool is currently walking away with the season. Chelsea in 4th has the final Champions League spot, 8 . . .
Gooch scores two in the FA Cup
The soccer news starts with a standout performance for Lynden Gooch in the Third Round of the FA Cup. Sunderland beat Lincoln City 3-1 at home with Gooch scoring twice. Tom Flanagan put Sunderland up in the 19th minute with Gooch adding goals in the 23rd and 29th. Lincoln scored in the 66th minute. "We've played well the past three or four games, Gooch said, and picked up some good points. . . .
