TORONTO — Toronto FC named Bob Bradley as head coach and sporting director on Wednesday in hopes one of the most successful coaches in the history of North American soccer can help turnaround the struggling Major League Soccer club.

Bradley, the father of Toronto captain Michael Bradley, mutually agreed to part ways with Los Angeles FC last week after having served as the only coach in the expansion club's four-year history.

You can’t win without scoring. I heard that a few times from Fox announcers on Tuesday night, both in the early match in which Nashville remained unbeaten at home by topping Orlando City and in the later match in which one of the favorites to win the MLS Cup, the Seattle Sounders, hosted Real Salt Lake. 

The adage is certainly true in normal contexts, but this is playoff soccer now. Real Salt Lake showed you can survive and advance without even bothering to attempt a shot all game.

Major League Soccer Golden Boot winner Valentín Castellanos scored his first MLS Cup playoff goal in the 49th minute to lead NYCFC to a 2-0 home victory in Sunday's first-round clash against Atlanta United at Yankee Stadium.

The 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs began this weekend, rendering all other sports and leagues entirely meaningless over the next two weeks. If the snob in you says “no, I want to watch Liverpool stick four past Arsenal” or the masochist points you in the general direction of the Detroit Lions, let Saturday’s opening two games serve as a lesson.

Kansas legend and former USMNT center back Matt Besler announced his retirement on Wednesday. Besler made a club-record 348 appearances for Sporting KC, but we’ll always remember him for one night in Manaus. And one Instagram post, but we’ll get to that later.

Besler recorded 47 caps for the USMNT, including four starts at the 2014 World Cup. He made his retirement plans official with a tweet on Wednesday morning. 

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