`The CONCACAF Champions League's return has fully kicked off now, will all eight matchups in the Round of 16 through the first leg. Earlier in the week, Toronto FC embarrassed in Panama by Independiente, while the Houston Dynamo and New York Red Bulls both won their games and kept clean sheets.
The 2019 MLS season is right around the corner, and the buildup to it has been filled with news of growth: new MLS teams, new exciting young players and the new kits they’ll be wearing.
Mixed with the old and the new of MLS is the stadia. In MLS, a good portion of the league's teams now have their own soccer-specific stadiums. Some clubs are currently going through the process of building a stadium, some are renovating and others are still waiting to leave their baseball fields behind.
Here’s a roundup of new stadiums coming to MLS this year and a few years down the road.
In 2017, Toronto FC won the MLS Cup, Supporters Shield and Canadian Championship. That year, Club Atlético Independiente won promotion to the top flight in Panama.
Just over a year later the two sides met in the opening match of the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League. It was Independiente's first time in the tournament and the club's first time to represent Panama in an international tournament. After Tuesday night, it's safe to say Toronto FC and MLS fans will remember the name.
Legendary American wide man DaMarcus Beasley began his 20th year as a professional on Tuesday, and the 36-year-old started with an almighty bang.
The oddly obscure, yet important CONCACAF Champions League returns this week as 16 of North America's best clubs compete for a spot at the (potentially hugely revamped) 2019 FIFA Club World Cup. While the competition remains on the sidelines for U.S. soccer fans, access to watch the matches just got slightly easier.
After preaching the verb “compete” as one of the mantras of his new leadership, Gregg Berhalter began his reign as USMNT manager with a 3-0 victory over Panama on Sunday night. The first starting eleven of Berhalter’s tenure included five players making their international debuts, and three of them — Real Salt Lake’s Corey Baird, Chicago’s Djordje Mihailovic and San Jose’s Nick Lima — played huge roles in the opening two goals.
The third was created and finished by two more players making their international debuts — NYCFC's Jonathan Lewis and LAFC's Christian Ramirez.
Hirving Chucky Lozano added one more honor to his stellar 2018 year — Concacaf Male Player of the Year, announced Tuesday as part of the Concacaf Awards. Alex Morgan joined him with top honors, taking home Concacaf Female Player of the Year for the third straight year and fourth overall.
We’ve suspected as much since late October, but Mexico has finally unveiled former Atlanta United manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino as boss. Martino is fresh off being named the 2018 MLS Coach of the Year after guiding Atlanta to the MLS Cup in only its second year of existence.
Martino’s club experience also includes stints in charge of Newell’s Old Boys and Barcelona, while at the international level he’s previously managed Paraguay and Argentina.
In an unexpected announcement, Sigi Schmid, an incredibly important figure in American soccer, passed away at the age of 65 on Tuesday. It was reported that he was admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center due to a heart-related condition.
Soccer in Canada has never been better.
The country hosted a wonderful Women’s World Cup in 2015 and will be a co-host for the men’s World Cup in 2026. Christine Sinclair, 35, is one of the best women’s players of her generation and Alphonso Davies, 18, might be one of the best players of his future generation.