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August MLS talk

Q

qwe017

Wild-Kitten
Oct 2, 2009
61
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pirlo to NYCFC?

Women's World Cup and the gold cup occupied my summer, but now it is mls time. Catching up on some games. Watched the Orlando v NYCFC replay. Fantastic action. I have really enjoyed watching Kaka, but that was my first good glimpse of David Villa. Guy is great. Pirlo really looked smooth out there.

Sabastian Giovinco is the highest paid Italian soccer player in the world? That's shocking. First I had no clue Series A paid their stars less than MLS soccer. but even if that is the case I figured some of their stars would end up cashing in playing in Spain or England. Giovinco isn't even the top paid MLS player this season.

Really looking forward to the fall push towards the playoffs.
 
Giovinco is your leading candidate for MVP right now, the guy is just on a ridiculous tear. Toronto is a team that I could see making a big time run in the playoffs, they are solid and have star power. Great to have an international star in the MLS during the prime of his career.

Kaka and Larin (rookie who is currently tied for rookie scoring record) are carrying Orlando, but they are just too inconsistent. After a couple good games in a row, they looked like garbage at home against the Union and played to a 0-0 draw.

Union stink. They have a couple players that are worthy of getting significant time on an MLS roster -- Maidana, Edu, recently signed Barnetta -- but after that it's pretty terrible. Maybe the worst team in MLS. Surprisingly, they play in the US Open Cup semifinals against Chicago, another terrible team, tomorrow.
 
Checking out some condensed Toronto games to,see what this Giovinco kid is all about. I'm impressed.

Andrea Pirlo was Series A MVP in 2012, 2103, and 2014, and his team was in uefa champions league finals in 2015. He's a little older than Villa and Kaka, but he seems to still be playing at a decent level. Also his position is one of those where an older player can make it last a couple extra years.
 
I'm sure they can get a couple good years out of Pirlo. He's 36 (looks like he's 52) but can still play at a high level, but let's be honest, the reason he's here is because he's in the twilight of his career, can make good money, and possibly be considered a star which is no longer the case over in Europe. Also he knows playing at this level can extend his career. Same with Drogba signing with Montréal. These guys' best years are behind them but can still do it on a lower level of soccer. Same with Lampard, Gerrard, etch. I love the MLS but I'm a realist. Giovinco is a different story. 28 years old and, in my opinion, could play at a high level in any league in the world.
 
Yeah, guys like Villa and Pirlo are still very good (they each came off seasons playing big minutes for the champions league runner up prior to joining mls), but giovinco is the first transplant in his 20's to make the jump. Definitely a different type of signing then the others.

How come no other Italian soccer players are making as much as montreal is paying him? Would think Buffon or Bolatelli or someone would be making the higher salaries offered in Spain or England.

Where does Giovinco rank among the best Italian players right now?
 
MLS still lacks appeal to the mainstream "traditional" sports fans because of the past failures of the league and the current stigma that it is a "retirement tour" for aging European star. Last season I caught a few games on the game of the week (mostly Portland, Seattle, LA), how do they really push the Big 4 and become a part of the average sports fan's appetite?
 
TheJoker203 said:
MLS still lacks appeal to the mainstream "traditional" sports fans because of the past failures of the league and the current stigma that it is a "retirement tour" for aging European star. Last season I caught a few games on the game of the week (mostly Portland, Seattle, LA), how do they really push the Big 4 and become a part of the average sports fan's appetite?
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Valid points

1. The players are coming over at younger ages. Thierry Henry was great to watch. Pirlo has been the Italian league MVP in 2012, 2013, and 2014 and was a huge part of this year's champions league runner ups. Kaka is only 32, villa is only 32. The usmnt players like Dempsey and jones are plenty good.

The stigma remains, but those paying attention realize that these guys are still good. They may not be in their "prime", but most jets fans have been saying that tom Brady has been washed up for five years now.

2. The timing of their season is how they compete with the big four. They only compete with baseball for most of their season, and baseball is a dying sport. Mls will not overtake MLB anytime soon, but it can catch it over the next decade. The playoffs coincide with football, but they don't play all their games in Sunday and it's not like the demographic that enjoys Saturday football is mls' target audience.

This is my top draw to mls. If they ran an August through May schedule I would tune out (college hoops and ten champions league, they would fall by the wayside). But pairing up against baseball is perfect. Both are low scoring games, but such radically different flow for the game and some prefer soccer.
 
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DOOP! Union will host KC in the U.S. Open Cup Final. I was one of about three or four thousand to take in the semifinal at PPL. Disappointing crowd but I guess this tournament is garbage.
 
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ChuckSullivan97 said:
DOOP! Union will host KC in the U.S. Open Cup Final. I was one of about three or four thousand to take in the semifinal at PPL. Disappointing crowd but I guess this tournament is garbage.
Click to expand...

Kindly explain this Open Cup to me. Is this some sort of tourney that MLS plays in the middle of the season? What's the significance of it?
 
wcburrs87 said:
Kindly explain this Open Cup to me. Is this some sort of tourney that MLS plays in the middle of the season? What's the significance of it?
Click to expand...
Similar type tournament to all those gr8 leagues in Europe do. It is a lesser tournament that is played during the season. Unlike football, these guys can play numerous games a week, not just 1.
 
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TheJoker203 said:
MLS still lacks appeal to the mainstream "traditional" sports fans because of the past failures of the league and the current stigma that it is a "retirement tour" for aging European star. Last season I caught a few games on the game of the week (mostly Portland, Seattle, LA), how do they really push the Big 4 and become a part of the average sports fan's appetite?
Click to expand...
CMAQwTPWwAEQzm1.jpg
 
wcburrs87 said:
Kindly explain this Open Cup to me. Is this some sort of tourney that MLS plays in the middle of the season? What's the significance of it?
Click to expand...

nardibynature123 said:
Similar type tournament to all those gr8 leagues in Europe do. It is a lesser tournament that is played during the season. Unlike football, these guys can play numerous games a week, not just 1.
Click to expand...

Yes, what nardi said. Sporting KC is good, but in general, it seems like the MLS contending/prestigious teams don't always put their best group on the field for these games, as they want to save them for the MLS games. For a team like the Union that has never won any trophy (in typical CoP fashion), it would be a bigger deal. Sort of like a consolation prize for players who have nothing left to play for team-wise in the MLS season and coaches who are on the hot seat like Curtin (Union coach, Nova guy).
 
With a win, the Union earn a spot in the Concacaf Champions League
 
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nardibynature123 said:
Unlike football, these guys can play numerous games a week, not just 1.
Click to expand...

Yea, because they're similar sports. Solid point.

If these guys are so great at playing more than once a week, then why do the better players on better teams sit out like Chuck says?
 
wcburrs87 said:
Yea, because they're similar sports. Solid point.

If these guys are so great at playing more than once a week, then why do the better players on better teams sit out like Chuck says?
Click to expand...
Good question, no need to get hurt in meaningless games.

I would say on average in competitive games, guys play around 50 games a year. Some player closer to 65/70.
 
nardibynature123 said:
Good question, no need to get hurt in meaningless games.

I would say on average in competitive games, guys play around 50 games a year. Some player closer to 65/70.
Click to expand...

I just looked at the Union schedule. They basically play 5 games a month. Impressive.
 
ChuckSullivan97 said:
They still have some ground to cover, but yeah, enough season left to make it up, especially in a weak ass Eastern Conference. Could absolutely be a dangerous playoff team. I didn't realize David Villa was only 33.
Click to expand...
Also (despite what's been said) played in the UEFA final 2 years ago, but he's washed up.
 
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ChuckSullivan97 said:
Would you consider him a top 5 player in MLS though? He's one of the top scorers, and I don't see that slowing down any time soon with Pirlo in the mix for NYC.
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Borderline. The thing about scorers is that they do something that most guys cannot do. Villa does it better than 95% of humans on earth. So hard to say, but 5-10 range, yes.
 
MLS action this weekend:

Tonight
Col @ SJ -- Colorado blows, SJ needs 3 points to get into the playoff discussion out West.

Tomorrow
Tor @ NYRB - Fun game between two teams that will be safely in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Hou @ NE - Important game as both teams are flirting with the playoff cut-off.
LA @ FC Dallas - this one is the monster, two legitimate MLS Cup contenders.
Van @ KC - another matchup of top teams, Whitecaps trying to keep their #1 spot out West.
Port @ RSL - Portland struggles on the road, trying to hold onto a playoff spot.

Sunday
Orlando @ Seattle - Which Orlando team will show up? Not easy to get 3 points in Seattle.
Chicago @ Philly - Re-match of Wednesday's semi-final. Two sh*ttiest teams in MLS.
 
Kaka has that "it" factor going for him. When the ball goes to him he does things I don't expect. Really excited to see Orlando develop around him.

It's not like Pirlo wasn't mvp of the Italian league in 2012, 2013 and 2014. So yeah, I guess in 2015, after taking his team to the champions league finals, he sucks. Reminds me of jets fans saying brady has been washed up for the past half decade.
 
The Pirlo to villa connection looked good Thursday. I like the other frontman, poku, for NYCFC. Mix is solid as well. I like that Pirlo wears the hiked up shorts. Real classy.

What's up with Lampard? Hard to even remember he is on the team at his point.
 
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qwe017 said:
The Pirlo to villa connection looked good Thursday. I like the other frontman, poku, for NYCFC. Mix is solid as well. I like that Pirlo wears the hiked up shorts. Real classy.

What's up with Lampard? Hard to even remember he is on the team at his point.
Click to expand...


keeps getting knocks in training. He still knows when to make a rain but he's as rusty as a trombone.

Poku has been a Godsend for this team.
 
Galaxy v NYCFC oozes star power today

Setting up a mls fantasy team for the home stretch. This time of year is great for mls
 
Giovinco's goal at the 56 minute mark against Orlando very nice off a set piece. That kid is awesome.
 
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If the best mls teams were to compete in an a western hemisphere club tourney similar to the champions league, how would they do? I know there is sort of a half ass version of this event (at least I think there is), but if they actually went all out against river plate, boccas, and the good Mexican teams, how would the galaxy do?
 
qwe017 said:
If the best mls teams were to compete in an a western hemisphere club tourney similar to the champions league, how would they do? I know there is sort of a half ass version of this event (at least I think there is), but if they actually went all out against river plate, boccas, and the good Mexican teams, how would the galaxy do?
Click to expand...
Probably get to the semi's. MLS teams don't seem to have much success in those tourneys.
 
MLS teams focus on domestic play over international competition. The teams just aren't deep enought to do both.
 
Looks like a pretty significant playoff line has been drawn in the Eastern Conference with NYCFC, Orlando, Philly, and Chicago all on the outside looking in. Montreal is sitting there in the #6 spot with only 28 points, but they have played 3-4 less games than the teams around them -- they should be safe. Red Bulls continue their quest for the #1 seed in the East tonight with a game @ Chicago.

The West appears to be more up in the air with San Jose, Houston, and Real Salt Lake still having a fighting chance to sneak in there. Houston needs 3 points tonight in Colorado.
 
It was this time last year that New England went from borderline olayoff to playing the best soccer in the hemisphere. There is time for a team like NYCFC to come around.
 
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Somewhat surprising results last night although both home teams won:

Fire 3, Red Bulls 2: Giving up 3 goals to Chicago is inexcusable, tough loss for the Red Bulls who got a goal and an assist from Kljestan.
Rapids 2, Dynamo 1: This was a a huge opportunity for Houston, and they blew it. Could Colorado make a run at the playoffs? Unlikely, but everyone in the West still alive.
 
Bad loss for NYCF today. How can their defense be so bad?

David Villa is awesome. Mix is solid. Not sure why poku wasn't on the pitch (going to hurt my fantasy team). Pirlo has been burned a couple times since arriving. He was not a liability for juventus, why is he sloppy now? Did Lampard even play? No clue, certainly didn't hear his name all day. I like Angelino, he has some solid dirt dog qualities to him.
 
Awful loss for NYCFC yesterday. It's time to fire the manager. Last night, Montreal fired their manager, Frank Klopas.

Lampard played very well in the First Half. He still looks rusty. Pirlo needs to play in a formation that protects him defensively. They did that in the first half. In the second half, the manager made some head scratching moves.
 
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Drogba was awesome, he's going to add some excitement to the Eastern Conference playoffs. His first goal was incredible, he just overpowered that dude.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...ll-three-beautiful-goals-his-montreal-impact-

Union got 2 late goals from Conor Casey, who came on as a sub, to beat San Jose 2-1 last night. They deserved the win after getting hosed on two no-calls that should have been Philly penalties. Technically it brought Philly to within a point of a playoff spot, but Montréal has played 4 less games and they have Didier Drogba, so they're not going anywhere. The game had bigger playoff implications for San Jose, who blew a huge opportunity. They could have climbed back into a playoff spot with a win, or gotten closer with a tie. The loss leaves them still on the outside looking in for now. Can't lose to one of the worst MLS teams when you're at home.
 
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