Lots of international action overlapping with the slate of three Wednesday games in MLS. No PBP here for the int'l games, but we won't enforce a prohibition of mentioning scores etc. - if you're here to chat about MLS while avoiding the US-Mexico, Canada-T&T, or some other score, you're out of luck. All game times are listed in EDT, and all games are broadcast on MLS Live and Direct Kick unless otherwise noted. Wednesday 15 August Los Angeles at Columbus, 7:00, NBCSN Portland at Toronto, 7:30 Dallas at Vancouver, 10:00 Saturday 18 August Vancouver at Seattle, 4:00 Kansas City at Toronto, 4:30 San Jose at Montreal, 7:30 New England at Chicago, 8:30 Dallas at Salt Lake, 9:00 Chivas USA at Colorado, 9:00 Sunday 19 August Philadelphia at DC United, 5:00, NBCSN Portland at New York, 7:00, Galavision Columbus at Houston, 9:00 Is BBVA hosting something on Saturday? Seems odd to push a home game to Sunday with no tv otherwise. Everyone plays at least once; Portland and Dallas both travel twice this week, with TFC home for a pair. RSL is gearing up for a Saturday-Tuesday-Friday run (MLS-CCL-MLS/H-H-A). As always, keep it friendly here in the neutral PBP thread.
Agreed. And it's "odd" (or it could be considered so for a first division league that may/does have players regularly called up for international duty) that there would be any league games on a FIFA date. MLS set their schedule (overall and with NBCSN specifically) several months before the date/time were confirmed for this US friendly. (And admittedly, MLS stated they did their best in 2012 to avoid as many FIFA dates/windows as possible.) Having said that, MLS knew they were scheduling 3 league games on this Aug 15 FIFA date, and NBCSN could have been hoping for an earlier or later start time for the likely/possible US game.
Not that odd, looking at today's schedule the following top leagues and Cup competitions have games scheduled: Denmark - Danish Cup South America - Copa Sudamericana Brazil - Campeonato Brasileiro Chile - Clasura Colombia - Clasura Honduras - Apertura There are more games scheduled in Denmark and Brazil than in MLS. Certainly most leagues aren't playing, but is that because its a FIFA date or because its a Wednesday?
Yes, depending on one's definition of "that odd." Good info. And I'd especially agree with the point that "Certainly most leagues aren't playing." If I were to guess it would be because of both factors (midweek and FIFA date). Will be interesting to look at the global scheduling of leagues during the FIFA weekend dates upcoming in Sept and Oct. I know MLS has tried, as best possible, not to use those dates. Also fair to note that Cup competions =/= D1 league play. (And in the Danish Cup and Campeonato Brasileiro there are more than MLS's 19 teams, right? So it is not incredibly surprising that since they're playing games today, they are playing more of them.) Fwiw and not that it is the definitive source, http://soccernet.espn.go.com/scores?cc=5901 lists 37 international friendly matches today, and 14 D1 league matches (3 of them in MLS) for Aug 15, 2012. And of those 14 club games today, how many of those 28 clubs are missing player(s) due to NT call-up. In MLS, it is just Shea and Donovan who are missing a league game, correct?
Clearly there are more than just the US players who are unavailable for their MLS clubs today. According to the league's preview match preview links, all of these guys are away from their club today to be with their respective national team: INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: LA: Landon Donovan (USA) TOR: Terry Dunfield, Doniel Henry (Canada); Dicoy Williams, Ryan Johnson (Jamaica) ... POR: Lovel Palmer (Jamaica); Steve Purdy (El Salvador) VAN: Russell Teibert (Canada); Etienne Barbara (Malta); Darren Mattocks, Dane Richards (Jamaica); Carlyle Mitchell (Trinidad & Tobago) ... DAL: Brek Shea (USA); Julian de Guzman (Canada)
Campeonato Brasileiro has 20 teams, so essentially the same. The Danish Cup is their FA Cup so every registered team in Denmark is playing in it.
This FIFA date is getting the axe next year, or so I've read. Also missing for FCD is Rodriguez with Panama.
Do all Danish clubs enter the cup competition at the same point, or are the early round matches (today) just for the lower-division clubs? As for the comparison of MLS to the Campeonato Brasileiro, 19 and 20 are "essentially the same" save for the fact that one league can schedule 10 (and not just 9) matches on any single match date for the league. Next year, or next cycle to remove the Aug and Nov mid-month/mid-week FIFA friendly dates? Good info, thanks. (So, you're saying a league preview link had wrong/incomplete info? Shocking!)
This isn't an okay place to ask the question (and not get vilified)? Before posting the question here, I did a bit of searching on the googles and wiki (but I don't understand the language and couldn't find anything on the current edition), and I am uncertain if Danish D1 clubs are playing today. You brought the Danish Cup into this thread as a comparison point so I thought you or someone else reading here may have some additional info that would be of some relevance to the direction this thread has initially taken ahead of the CLB/LAG match tonight. If not, then don't post solely to attack someone for asking a question. Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_Cup http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011–12_Danish_Cup fwiw, it looks like only the bottom 2 of the Danish Superliga teams play in the first round, as it looks like the top 10 Superliga teams have traditionally entered in the 2nd or 3rd rounds later in Aug or Sept (and apparently not on FIFA dates).
I have a bad feeling about the game today. The back line is too green to hold off Mexico if Dos Santos and their fowards are playing tonight. It will probably be a 4-0 loss. As for the MLS games, I would predict a 2-2 draw for Vancouver-Dallas, a 3-0 win for LA over Columbus, and a 1-0 win for Portland over Toronto.
The USMNT was the reason I got into soccer in the first place nearly 20 years ago, and now it just bores me, don't know why. MLS, CCL, stadium building, expansion, new talent that comes into the league--these things interest me far more nowadays. I'll be watching the MLS games tonight. The Crew game is going to be incredibly emotional and how that is channeled onto the field and does/doesn't sustain for 90 minutes will be interesting.
This. Outside of the World Cup and Qualifying the only Nats games that interests me now is the inevitable Mexico-U.S. Gold Cup finals. (OK, Confederations Cup games if we qualify). Maybe if we play a friendly against an unusual opponent I might turn in (If we were to ever play Cameroon or Cote d'Ivorie for example).
Maybe you're like me. The USMNT treading water (or even backsliding) is boring -- or maybe that's not the right word: discouraging. But what's happening in MLS is encouraging. It's discouraging to watch the USMNT, it's encouraging to watching MLS. Yeah, I still watch the USMNT and worry and all the rest. I support them. But it's not fun and it's just draining.
I agree. I first started following soccer because of a US national team friendly in 2007 after being one of this country's soccer haters. It has been disheartening seeing Mexico have it's golden generation and the talent for the Nats not being able to keep up with Mexico. Seeing MLS growing when many of the other leagues in the US going into decline because of the economy is something to warm the heart up.
@ColumbusCrew: #Crew96 Starting XI: Gruenebaum, Miranda, Marshall, Mendes, Williams, Duka, Grossman, Birchall, Mirosevic, Gaven, Arrieta @LAGalaxy starting XI: Saunders; Franklin, Gonzalez, DeLaGarza, Dunivant; Jimenez, Juninho, Sarvas, Stephens; Magee, Keane