Major League Soccer revealed today that German star Bastian Schweinsteiger will wear the captain’s armband when the MLS All-Stars take on Real Madrid in Chicago on August 2. Schweinsteiger beat out Tim Howard and David Villa for the honor in a Snapchat vote.
On one hand, preseason friendlies definitely do not matter. On the other hand, preseason friendlies between teams like Chelsea and Bayern Munich definitely matter.
Not for any competitive reason, of course. When Bayern and Chelsea met in the International Champions Cup Tuesday, Munich's 3-2 win wasn't predictive of anything. No, the Chelsea-Bayern friendly definitely mattered because we hadn't seen elite soccer in a while and missed players doing things like what Thomas Muller did.
Fans flocked to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California to watch 12-time European champions Real Madrid play three-time winners Manchester United with talents like Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial on display.
But the script was flipped when Ronald McDonald was seen leading the players from both squads onto the pitch, and the McDonald’s clown provided the summer’s best moment by staying alongside the referees and shakings hands with the players.
Watch out Pogba and Lukaku, there’s a new Manchester man with a magical touch around. During a preseason session in LA, Spanish shot-stopper David de Gea showed that he’s just as skilled with his hands as he is with his feet. Poor Joel Periera finds himself on the wrong end of a nutmeg from his fellow keeper.
Love that from @D_DeGea pic.twitter.com/o6qdLuXlyG
AC Milan have confirmed that they’re currently in talks with Bayern Munich regarding a possible two-year loan deal for 19-year-old Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches with the option to sign him permanently for €40 million.
On Monday, Romelu Lukaku showed the world that he can still do goals by doing one against Real Salt Lake, but the real story of the night was the raring, caged animal that is Jose Mourinho. The Mind Games Master was exquisite during and after the match, foretelling of a season that will either end with him winning the treble or getting sacked by December. There are no other logical outcomes.
It didn't take Christian Pulisic long to show his new boss what he can do with the ball at his feet. In Borussia Dortmund’s first match of the International Champions Cup against renovated AC Milan in China, Pulisic had two assists and drew a penalty as the Germans cruised to a 3-1 win.
New Dortmund coach Peter Bosz will likely have few complaints with the 18-year-old American, who was subbed off in the 74th minute. Bosz was brought in from Ajax in June after guiding the Dutch team to the Europa League final.