I’m sorry, Madison WI doesn’t count as a fashion trend setter. Anyway I meant among the players. I don’t recall seeing any player walking into a game or a flight with anything but their little handbags.
I predict that Miami will win the Supporter's Shield. They dominated NYFC in New York tonight, they're already tied for 2nd in PPG and they have a very easy schedule from here on out. At Toronto, home against Chicago, NE, and Atlanta. Their only challenging game is the last day of the season in Nashville. To add to that, as if they didn't already have enough depth, they've added 2 more good young Argentinian players, Silvetti and Rodriguez. Rodriguez scored tonight. Even their defense looked good tonight. NYCFC couldn't get much of anything going. And if they have home field throughout the playoffs they'll be the favorite to win MLS Cup, though you never know. Atlanta slapped them down last year.
Well, the Gals didn't do us any favors. They went ahead early 1-0 against Dallas but wound up losing. They're missing Pec, Reus, and Yoshida. And Dallas plays them again next week. :-( San Diego beat Houston, which means we're now guaranteed to finish 11th or higher!! Pellegino had a goal, 2 assists, and drew a PK. Basically he figured in all 4 of San Diego's goals. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I take it back. Houston can still finish ahead of us if they win their last game and we don’t win either of our last 2. But they are eliminated from the playoffs. There are 4 teams competing for the last 4 spots - RSL, Dallas, CO, and us. Our postseason probability is still around 32% despite some results not going our way (especially Gals Dallas).
He had a good game for them. At least, it looks that way from the highlights. Good for him. Just don't do it against us. Go Quakesfans!!
Monday, October 6, 2025 A special reunion: The USA’s 1994 World Cup team gathering will honor the past and help build for the future by Dan Woog USA's World Cup starters against Brazil on July 4, 1994. Top (L-R): Meola, Sorber, Stewart, Lalas, Balboa, Perez; Bottom: Ramos, Caligiuri, Dooley, Jones, Clavijo. The countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup is on. From now through kickoff on June 11, soccer fans across the country will focus on the 23rd edition of the planet’s most popular sporting event. Except on May 8. On that day, all eyes will be on the 1994 U.S. men’s national team. Most of the players from that squad will gather in San Jose, for a World Cup Legacy Gala. Their coach Bora Milutinovic will be there too, along with former U.S. Soccer president Alan Rothenberg. There are two reasons for the backward look. One is to raise funds for America Scores Bay Area. That’s the local chapter of America Scores, an after-school program in over a dozen cities that combines soccer, poetry and service-learning. The other reason is to honor a groundbreaking group of players, coaches and administrators. Without 1994’s soccer story, there would be none in 2026. The ’94 team was both a pioneer and an anomaly. The United States had been awarded the World Cup six years previously — on July 4, 1988 — but there was no established domestic league. A few players competed overseas, but most had no professional opportunities. So for nearly two years the bulk of the national team trained in Mission Viejo, California. They lived, ate and worked together, forming bonds as teammates and friends. Grouped with Romania, Switzerland and Colombia — the latter picked by Pele to win the entire tournament — few observers expected much from the Americans. But with a strong run — including a stunning 2-1 victory over Colombia, in front of 93,869 Rose Bowl fans — the USA advanced to the round fo 16 for the first time since 1930. Eleven million Americans watched the USA-Brazil match on July 4, an all-time high for soccer at the time. Though the Brazilians won 1-0 — and went on to capture the entire World Cup — the most successful event in FIFA history laid for the foundation for soccer’s growth in this country. MLS launched in 1996. Three decades later, the World Cup will return to North America. But in the 30 years since the men’s national team scattered, there has been no full-scale reunion. There has been no formal recognition of the role the 1994 team played in the history of soccer in this country. Until now. The impetus for the reunion and gala came from Terry Fisher. The America Scores board member, and longtime American soccer leader, realized that the upcoming World Cup would be a vehicle to honor the ’94 squad’s important contributions — and raise money for the next generation of players. He and Bill Nuttall, the U.S. Soccer Federation’s general manager from 1991 to '94, began tracking down players, coaches and other key personnel. They are all over the world, from the U.S. to Vietnam (Thomas Dooley). Reaction was swift, and positive. John Harkes and Tony Meola, and assistant coaches Timo Liekoski and Steve Sampson are in. Some may not make it. Earnie Stewart is busy as soccer director of PSV Eindhoven. Brad Friedel is in the middle of the Turkish season, working for a soccer analytics company Three key members of that era — U.S. Soccer Federation secretary general Hank Steinbrecher, assistant coach Sigi Schmid and left back Fernando Clavijo — have died. They’ll be remembered on May 8. The weekend includes a gathering the night before the banquet. Rothenberg and Alexi Lalas will deliver keynote addresses. MLS has not yet released its schedule, but if San Jose has a match, the team will be honored there. There’s a silent auction too, along with performances by America Scores’ “poet all-stars,” and a DJ dance party. Marcelo Balboa will be there. Best known to young players today for his television commentary, the National Soccer Hall of Fame member was a key defender on that 1994 squad. And although he keeps in touch with former teammates like Meola, Tab Ramos and Eric Wynalda, he has not seen others like Mike Lapper, Joe-Max Moore, Cle Kooiman, Mike Sorber, Cobi Jones, Roy Wegerle and Dooley in years. “It will be a special reunion,” Balboa says. “Living, eating, training together — this group did what no one had ever done. We didn’t have an MLS, or the chance to play with AC Milan. It was a brotherhood, man — a family.” In 1994, he adds, “we proved to the world we could host the biggest event. And that we could compete with anyone. Dean Linke was not a player or coach. But the longtime sports broadcaster was closely involved in those World Cup days, as U.S. Soccer’s senior press officer. He lived in Southern California with the athletes, and shared their lives. “That experience changed my life,” he says simply. “The camaraderie was great. We were together every day. I was young — an Ohio bumpkin around elite athletes — but they treated me respectfully, and made me feel special. Thirty years later, they still take my calls.” Dean Linke (far right) with the USA’s 1994 World Cup team during Ted Koppel's locker-room visit. Linke’s job was to help tell the men’s national team story to the media, and to fans. The players on that team understood their assignment, and were always ready to help Linke do his. Linke looks especially forward to seeing Milutinovic, the Serbian former head coach. “He was such a charismatic, interesting man,” Linke recalls. “The media loved him. He made it his focus to connect and care. He always put a smile on my face.” As Linke, Balboa and so many others are making plans to reunite, organizers are planning for 750 guests. With no advance publicity, several tables of 10 have already been sold. Funds raised will fuel America Scores Bay Area’s partnerships with school districts, and other organizations that share its mission of using soccer to create community impact beyond the ’26 World Cup. Partners include the Bay Area Host Committee, San Jose Earthquakes, Bay FC and the San Jose Sports Authority. Today, America Scores Bay Area is in 180 schools. They serve nearly 6,000 “athlete/poets.” Gala proceeds will help America Scores “ride the wave” of the World Cup, says Colin Schmidt, executive director of Bay Area Scores. That’s a far cry from the five schools Bay Area Scores started with in 2001, in San Francisco’s Bayview and Mission districts. Some of the seed money came from the U.S. Soccer Foundation — created in the aftermath of the ’94 World Cup. The Bay Area Legacy Task Force (including Clay Berling, the founder of Soccer America) liked what America Scores was doing, and donated all the money raised in 1994 — $600,000 — to the non-profit. Berling, and other members of that Task Force like Peter Bridgwater and Anne Warner Cribbs, will also be honored on May 9. The World Cup Legacy Gala will “honor the folks who brought the World Cup here in 1994, and build on it for years to come,” Schmidt says. “I am more motivated than ever in my 25 years here to do this work, and bring this magic combination of soccer, poetry and service learning to kids who deserve it. We give them the opportunity to be on a team, with a caring coach, and get a jersey. That’s huge for them. “We have momentum. But sadly, the need for a program like this is bigger than ever. The kids are not all right, especially in poor areas.” Thirty-two years after helping kick-start the modern American soccer era, the 1994 World Cup team will continue to do what it can to help. (For more information about the World Cup Legacy Gala, including ticket purchases, click HERE) The America SCORES Soccer Legacy Gala
Ah yes, back in the days when I thought Alexi Lalas was a cool anti-establishment American icon soccer player, and not whatever this is (corporate shill, I guess, for starters).
What's the over / under on Alba magically "unretiring" and playing another year or 2 in Europe? Not sure how FIFA regs play into that. He may just want to get the heck out of Miami. He had signed thru 2027. "Retiring" is an easy way out of the contract. He must really not like it very much if he doesn't want to stick around one more year for the new stadium opening.
Both Busquetts and Alba are quitting or retiring together so they may have other options in Spain. Not sure if it will be in coaching or administration.
USMNT looked pretty good against Ecuador in a 1-1 tie.Looked like the better team, and played most of the game w/o Pulisic. And Antonee Robinson and Dest also not there. Ecuador is no slouch. Gruezo was not with them. I think his nats days are over. I don't see how he'd fit on that team - they were swarming around pressing, and all looked pretty fast.
RSL and Dallas both lose and suddenly our playoff hopes are not so dismal. Remaining games relevant to us are: Colorado - LAFC Vancouver - Dallas St. Louis - RSL Quakes - Austin If we beat Austin, we end up 8th if all three other teams lose. If we beat Austin, we'll make the postseason also if Dallas loses and CO doesn't win. Dallas has to play in Vancouver, and Vancouver will be trying to win the conference, and they will be missing Musa and Farrington due to red card or yellow card accumulation.