Daily news roundups

Latest player salary numbers, Temple ranked No. 17, more

Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

The MLS Players Union released its latest salary numbers on Tuesday. At Union Tally, Matthew De George has a very useful breakdown of the latest numbers and summarizes the changes since the previous salary figures were released in July:

The cap hit has been reduced by just a shade less than $10k. The total outlay of base salaries for on-budget players is down nearly $250,000, while the total compensation paid out to players on and off budget has been reduced by $170k. That reflects the massive subtractions made by the departures of Rais M’Bolhi and Carlos Valdes this summer. Through that summer window, the Union have arguably strengthened the side while streamlining the wage bill. That constitutes a purposeful summer from the business side.

Recent signing Tranquillo Barnetta’s base compensation comes in at $624,000, $661,500 guaranteed. Because he is not a designated player, that means the Union are paying down his base wages by $187,750 with some combination of Targeted Allocation and regular allocation money to reach the DP threshold of $436,250. Looking at the league overall, Soccer America says the latest numbers “underscore the massive increase in spending by clubs in 2015.”

No Union players made MLSsoccer.com’s 24 Under 24 list of the of the top young players under 24.

Philly Soccer News has a profile piece on Richie Marquez, who says, “I’m very confident in my ability. We’ve lost some games in tough ways and I’ve made some plays that I’d like back. Overall, I feel like I’m learning, getting better and making strides forward. The coaching staff has been very open and honest with me about what I need to keep working on.”

Local

Temple, ranked No. 17 in latest NSCAA national poll, hosts La Salle today at 3 pm. La Salle goalkeeper Mike Kirk comes into the game after earning a A-10-best third shutout in the 1-0 win over UMBC last weekend, and being named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week, as well as being named A-10 Co-Player of the Week and Philly Soccer 6 Defender of the Week.

Penn hosts No. 21 Penn State tonight at 7 pm.

Drexel and St. Joseph’s played to a scoreless draw on Tuesday night.

Former Union Academy player and South Philly native Darius Madison scored two goals, including the game-winning penalty kick, in UMBC’s 3-2 comeback road win over George Washington on Tuesday night.

CSN Philly has a video segment on Street Soccer Philadelphia.

US Senator Bob Casey Jr. has written US Soccer urging the federation to accept the proposal to build a National Soccer Hall of Fame in the Poconos.

Things did not go as planned for former Philadelphia Independence head coach Paul Riley with the Portland Thorns this year.

MLS

Several midweek matches tonight in league play. Montreal hosts Chicago (8 pm, MLS Live), and Houston hosts Kansas City (8:30 pm, MLS Live).

In CONCACAF Champions League play, DC United, who already clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, came from three goals down to tie 3-3 with Montego Bay in Jamaica on Tuesday night. Montego Bay’s goals were the first they’ve scored in Champions League play, and the first DC have conceded in this year’s tournament.

In tonight’s Champions League matches, LA Galaxy are in Trinidad & Tobago to face Central FC (7 pm, Fox Soccer Plus). A win or a draw will see them clinch a quarterfinal spot. It’s a must-win game for Seattle when they host Vancouver (10 pm, Fox Sports 2).

Chicago Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson, and defender Eric Gehrig, will miss the rest of the season with injuries. “Gehrig was diagnosed with a navicular stress fracture while Johnson has a labral tear of the left shoulder.”

At ESPN, Jeff Carlisle writes that the firing of Chicago head coach Frank Yallop “had an Old Yeller type feel to it. On a certain level, it was difficult to watch…But it had to be done.” Carlisle believes it is unlikely Yallop will get another shot as head coach in MLS.

At ESPN, Noah Davis on how MLS is helping improve the quality of non US CONCACAF national teams.

At MinnPost, why St. Paul is all but guaranteed to be the home of Minnesota United and their new stadium. The AP reports Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton “says he’ll take an active role in advocating for law changes that could lead to a new professional soccer stadium and franchise in Minnesota.” Dayton says he’s neutral on the site of the stadium.

From the BBC: “David Beckham says his proposed Major League Soccer franchise in Miami is ‘looking very positive’ and he is living out a childhood dream by building his own football team…Beckham says he is being ‘very patient’ but that the project is ‘moving along.'”

New USL side Cincinnati FC, set to debut in 2016, has added a new owner. Stephen Hightower says, “It may be years before we realize the success of a Major League Soccer team, but I put my money on the best possible team to make it happen.”

The Guardian has a good read on the 2005 MLS All-Star Game against Real Madrid — in Madrid.

US

Univision Deportes president Juan Carlos Rodriguez with some more background on what’s holding up the Copa Centenario being staged in the US:

The complicated part is getting out of the contract with the guys in South America, the Datisa guys, and lawyers will be helpful. And U.S. Soccer, and I have to respect them for this, they have been very clear that until all the threats are tightened they won’t be hosting the event. They are asking for a transparent and very fair operation.

I would say 99% of the things are aligned now, except for the Datisa part. We don’t have to be very smart to know that nobody wants to deal with them. If they come to the U.S., U.S. companies will not deal with them because of their background now. So they need to either clean their show or get out of the middle. Or lose a lot of money because it won’t happen for them.

Datisa, you will recall, involves Traffic Sport, the South AMerican sports group that pled guilty to bribery as part of the FIFA corruption investigation.

From Soccer America: “Sunday’s USA-Haiti women’s match in ESPN3 averaged just 173,000 viewers, marking the lowest viewership on the 2015 Victory Tour.”

Elsewhere

Holy freaking Robert Lewandowski!!! Said Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola of the Polish international’s goal explosion of five goals in nine minutes (8 minutes and 57 seconds, actually), “I can’t really understand it. Five goals. Neither as a coach nor as a player did I ever experience something like this and I can’t really explain it.” Video here and here and here and here and here (and here and here and here ). ESPN rounds up reaction from the German press.

From Reuters: “FIFA presidential candidate Zico believes that the rules for electing the head of soccer’s governing body are unfair, outdated and subject voting federations to outside pressure.”

The AP reports, “FIFA’s African vice president Issa Hayatou said Tuesday he is not publicly backing a candidate in the election to succeed Sepp Blatter.”

7 Comments

  1. I’ve read a bunch about Street Soccer USA and it is a truly beautiful organization. Hopes and prayers for all those associated with Ready, Willing and Able. Good stuff. Thanks for covering CSN Philly.
    .
    The Robert Lewandoski Day yesterday was absurd. There are simply no words for how rare and exotic that game was… one gol after another seemingly more beautiful than the one before. I was sitting in a Chili’s crushing a spicy shrimp taco watching the highlights in disbelief. Not much in professional sports can compare.

  2. Regarding the 24 under 24 last, it was obvious that a Union player was not going to make the list; however, I was curious how high the panel ranked them – particularly Marquez and Ayuk. Both players I can see having a large impact next season. Matt Doyle never responded to my question on twitter, so if anyone from PSP could reach out, that would be interesting. Mostly to hear his opinion at least.

  3. Old Soccer Coach says:

    In a high school game between two good sides I saw a 20 minute natural hat trick once. That was amazing. Five in nine minutes is stranger than fiction, as the saying goes.

  4. Not related to anything here, but I wonder if Catic got any meaningful playing time this year? Sort of the anti-Richie Marquez who got a full year to adjust to a pro lifestyle and jump in competition from D-III to pro players and we are reaping the benefits now. Bit of a lost year for Catic, unfortunately. I guess the Lehigh Valley team will take care of that next year.

  5. OneManWolfpack says:

    “No Union players made MLSsoccer.com’s 24 Under 24 list of the of the top young players under 24.” — Since we don’t spend money… shouldn’t this be our priority?!? I know the list isn’t a be all, end all… but it would be nice to be recognized – assuming we deserve to be – which brings me back to my point.
    .
    I don’t think I’ll ever see 5 goals in 9 mins again in my life. That was absolutely tremendous and a complete joy to watch. Beyond impressive. Wow.

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