Photo: Daniel Studio
What do PBS and PSP have in common? Fund drives. Ours is cooler, of course, and only once a year. Please head over to our Patreon page and make a donation. Your generosity helps keep the lights on. . . .
Philadelphia Union
MLS and Philly Sports Network both look at the match against Toronto this weekend.
SBI previews the Union’s upcoming season.
For those of you who have asked, Sergio Santos is healthy for the season opener.
— Joe Tansey (@JTansey90) February 26, 2019
New podcasts out this week:
- The Scuffed Podcast interviewed Mark McKenzie
- The Union Soccer Podcast
- It’s Always Soccer in Philadelphia
- Philly Soccer Show (recording tonight)
Marco Fabian has not yet spoken with Mexico boss Gerardo “Tata” Martino but affirmed his commitment to the team should he be called up.
Bethlehem Steel signed midfielder Issa Rayyan, an 18-year-old Michigan native who had a killer freshman season at Duke.
Sebastien Le Toux will play with Starfinder alumni and other special players for a celebrity soccer match tonight at 7 in Manayunk. It won’t be a full-length game, but more of a 15- to 20-minute scrimmage.
Local
Recap of the U9 girls and U12 boys in the Eastern Pennsylvania Indoor Cup.
Vanessa Kara, who played three seasons at Drexel and redshirted the 2018 season due to injury, signed with the University of Florida as a graduate transfer.
MLS
Toronto FC’s 1-1 draw with Club Atletico Independiente failed to help their cause in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL); while Houston’s 2-1 victory over Guastatoya means they advance to the quarterfinals.
The six ways to build an MLS squad.
Goal.com‘s rankings of MLS teams (the Union are #11).
Looks like fans are digging the Sounders’ new secondary jersey. Nothing like trolling Beckham’s Inter Miami.
MLS remains mum on Robert Kraft as graphic affidavits come to light.
NWSL
The Orlando Pride have traded the rights to midfielder Christine Nairn to the Houston Dash in exchange for a 2019 international roster spot and the Dash’s natural third and fourth round picks in the 2020 draft.
U.S. Soccer
In case ya forgot, the SheBelieves Cup kicks off today in Chester with England and Brazil at 4 PM, followed by the U.S. and Japan at 7 PM.
The Union sat down with JP Dellacamera to discuss the USWNT.
The U.S. Soccer Federation has proposed a joint CONCACAF-CONMEBOL tournament for 2020.
Around the globe
A soccer pro at 13? Olivia Moultrie will give it a try.
Will Ferrell will play Chuck Blazer in a HBO film about the FIFA scandal.
The Football Association are reported to investigate Manchester City over alleged payments to Jadon Sancho’s agent.
Agent Willie McKay is facing serious new questions over the death of Cardiff’s Emiliano Sala.
That Olivia Moultrie article is interesting. Great for her. I wish there was more infrastructure to guarantee she gets consistent playing time at her age. Hopefully the age restrictions get dropped so she can play professionally with the women.
I wish she would just chose to be ordinary.
.
HA!
Call me a cynic, but I fear anything Nike is involved in. I’m just hoping that 10-15 years from now, she’s viewed as the next great US Women’s Nat’l Team player and not the female version of Freddy Adu.
I can’t argue the Nike point. I hope she becomes the first female Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane. I think a female superstar world’s greatest player would go much further to promote female sports than any women’s team being backed by a Man U., Barcelona, or Bayern Munich. Though I think expecting this of her, instead of hoping it for her, is a sure fire way to make it a disaster.
I’m somewhat amazed at how many previews seem to believe Ray Gaddis will be the starting right back and not Olivier Mbaizo. Maybe I’ve had the wrong impression all along, but Gaddis could barely function in the fullback role the Union used last year, and Tanner seems to want/expect a lot from the fullbacks this year. I see Gaddis as a depth piece and not consistent starter. *shrug*
It’s the same reason everyone is saying Wagner will be starting, because they got most of the starts in preseason. This completely ignores the fact that both Real and Mbazio have had minor injuries that the team has been cautious with. Now maybe those injuries and the lost time will cause them to start on the bench (Santos too), but the plan all along has been for Real and Mbazio to start.
The “plan” has been for Gaddis not to start for awhile now…for all the good it did.
In other news, Steel have signed a Jamaican midfielder.
.
https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/bethlehem-steel-fc/post/2019/02/27/bethlehem-steel-fc-acquires-midfielder-chavany-willis
Union scouts: Can I get two weeks paid vacation?
Union Front Office: Vacation? You’re lucky you get a paycheck. You do know how much we paid for Fabian, right?
Union scouts: ok.
Comes back later:
Since Burke and Blake do so well for us, I’d like to go to Jamaica for two week scouting trip…
Thanks for the podcast updates!