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2021-22-23-24 News Thread

Also worth noting when it comes to the USMNT, they will have VERY few opportunities for meaningful games heading into the World Cup so these friendly windows will be very important. There's been some noise about the US and Mexico teaming up again to host a couple of quality CONMEBOL sides in the fall window of 2024 ... specifically Brazil at this point.
 
jeffbear said:
Also worth noting when it comes to the USMNT, they will have VERY few opportunities for meaningful games heading into the World Cup so these friendly windows will be very important. There's been some noise about the US and Mexico teaming up again to host a couple of quality CONMEBOL sides in the fall window of 2024 ... specifically Brazil at this point.
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The same Brazil that lost to Uruguay yesterday and is 3rd in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying?

The noise is probably just that, at least with respect to the Fall 2024 window. CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying has 2 matches in each of the September, October and November 2024 windows. But the March and June windows are open and then Copa America starts at the end of June.
 
And Juve midfielder Nicolo Fagioli was hit with a 12 month suspension, with 5 months suspended for breaching betting rules.
 
jeffbear said:
lol ... he got cleared for this weekend, so you'll have to keep them crossed.
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Sigh, I know. He might be the most personally frustrating player we've ever had. At least with players I can't stand in the past, the rest of the fanbase also can't stand them. I feel like I'm watching a different player than the rest of the fanbase. Most of his touches end up as turnovers and everyone's just like, oh I love him, he's just been so unlucky not to have a goal yet. I also get that it's a depth issue, since if Buendia and Ramsey weren't injured, we wouldn't have added him, let alone started him. I feel like it's just been a staple for as long as I've been a Villa fan that we've never once had squad depth.
 
NWSL playoff results ...

Gotham beat Kerolin-less Courage 2-0
OL Reign beat Angel City 1-0

That sets up the semifinals after this weekend's international break ...
Portland hosts Gotham
San Diego hosts OL Reign

Firepower very much favors the hosts in both games, although it looks like Rose Lavelle is inching close to a full return, which could impact that second game.
 
I've thought about it for a bit, and I think I've come down on the side that these gambling bans are absolute trash. I can't really remember any of them happening before recently and soccer has always had a culture where the players all gambled, so this isn't a new thing. To go from not caring to handing out season long suspensions seem pretty harsh especially since teams and leagues have no issue taking money and sponsorship deals from online casinos. I know the URL gambleaware.co.uk because gambling is advertised on every soccer related thing. It's like the federations had a realization its probably a bad look that all our players gamble on soccer, let's find a few big, but not too big, names and make an example of them.
 
This is not just a soccer problem, as we've seen in the US. I feel like there's going to be a reckoning on this matter eventually, but not before something truly defining happens ... like a US college team suffering mass suspensions before a college football playoff game or an international football side losing half their squad before the World Cup. Something bigger than the stuff we've seen thus far.
 
College is where it could be more of an issue since while Tonelli is never going to talked into match fixing for some extra money, college players can and have been in the past. It's a little different though now since sports betting has become legalized and has moved online, it's not like players are in contact with a bookie. They're just doing it on an app on their phone. I dunno, I just definitely see the irony of bringing down the hammer on players now, but Villa still have BK8 on the front of their wet uniforms and while the FA is banning gambling sponsors, it isn't happening for a few years.

I just feel like there's better ways of dealing with it rather than acting like it's a brand new thing that's never happened before and just a few "bad apples." I know it's different because it's a single league with a single intake pipeline, but the NBA basically has classes for the incoming freshmen to help them deal with the pressures of being a professional athlete. I'm sure some clubs are more professional than others and have some things in place to help younger players, but most clubs I don't think do anything.
 
USWNT apparently looked absolutely lifeless in a 0-0 draw with Colombia. Another Alex Morgan PK miss, and a bunch of NWSL players who are either fresh off the end of their seasons or looking forward to the next playoff round. That plus the interim coach really renders this set of games fairly meaningless, and apparently the players took it that way. US Soccer really blew it not getting a coach named before this window. Even if the new coach wasn't ready to actually take over, it at least would have given the players someone to impress. Rebuilding the culture of this team isn't gonna be easy, I think.
 
USWNT finally found some offense in their final friendly of 2023 with a 3-0 decision over Colombia. Notably, the goals came only upon the insertion of younger players who had largely been shut out of the roster. With any luck their next coach will learn the lesson about honoring their aging legends well past the point of diminishing returns ... but this is US Soccer, so prolly not.
 
As you undoubtedly have heard by now, Liverpool star Luis Diaz' parents were kidnapped over the weekend in Columbia. Luis left the club, understandably, and fortunately his mother was found. However, his father is still missing. Columbian authorities have launched a major search for him. What's odd is that I've not read of a ransom demand, which has been common in previous such incidents. :cry:


Luis Diaz' Father Kidnapped
 
Ed H in Pasadena said:
As you undoubtedly have heard by now, Liverpool star Luis Diaz' parents were kidnapped over the weekend in Columbia. Luis left the club, understandably, and fortunately his mother was found. However, his father is still missing. Columbian authorities have launched a major search for him. What's odd is that I've not read of a ransom demand, which has been common in previous such incidents. :cry:


Luis Diaz' Father Kidnapped
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Yeah ... this SUCKS
 
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