My 2 way too early matches to be excited about-MLS

     The Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season schedule was recently released for the 2019 season. It is never too early to get excited for upcoming matches. I apologies for the click bate as it says 2 matches, but what I really mean is two teams I am curious to see play against the LA Galaxy. Of course the local derby between the Galaxy and LAFC is one to mark down. However, I have singled out these two teams, San Jose Earthquakes and Columbus Crew, for the back stories.

San Jose Earthquakes vs LA Galaxy
 
     The LA Galaxy will play San Jose Earthquakes twice this season, the first one away and two weeks later the second game will be played at Dignity Health Sports Park-the same stadium, but with a new name-in Carson, California. The main reason why this match up interests me is because of the two coaches in charge of the teams. Matias Almeyda will take charge of the San Jose team and attempt to make a bottom of the table team into a competitive team that can shows some life. On the other end we have Guillermo Barros Schelotto who will be tasked with rebuilding a Galaxy team that has been struggling since the departure of Bruce Arena two seasons ago.

     The California Clasico is always an intense match up between these two teams who are not too found of each other. The background of both coaches already enhances the story line. Matias Almeyda, started and finished his playing career with River Plate. Almeyda also started his coaching career with the Argentine giants. Guillermo Barros Schelotto's affiliation is with River Plate's cross town rivals, Boca Juniors. Barros Schelotto played and managed the Bueno Aires based club. I am not sure what the relationship between the two managers is and I would doubt they have a grudge or some sort of resentment for one another, but that leads to the second reason why this mini series should be circled. The back story of these two coaches adds an element to the rivalry, but they are also two coaches that are good at what they do. Almeyda had plenty of success in Mexico with las Chivas de Guadalajara. Almeyda implemented an attacking mindset at the club, he will definitely face challenges replicating that success in San Jose.

     Barros Schelotto is more organized and is a pragmatic coach who manages his team with what he has to achieve success. Which is a good fit that he landed the LA Galaxy job. In his press conference, Schelotto stated that he wants his team to attack, which isn't a bad idea except he might soon realize his defense is a mess. It is too early to accurately analyze how the two teams will be set up and play, I mean preseason has yet to commence, but if both these coaches are properly backed and given time I can see this match up as being one of the fun ones to watch. I am a strong proponent of bringing South American coaching ideology to the MLS. 

LA Galaxy vs Columbus Crew

     The LA Galaxy will visit the Columbus Crew on May 8 for the only match up between these two clubs. I circled this match for the same reason I did the previous one, the coaches. This one is not necessarily Caleb Porter, the Columbus Crew head coach, versus Guillermo Barros Schelotto, but more in the realm of Porter against the LA Galaxy organization. The Galaxy hired a new general manager, Dennis Te Kloese, to take charge in rebuilding the club and restoring it to it's glory days.There were credible rumors that the LA Galaxy were looking to hire Caleb Porter for the job. Te Kloese, Porter, and Chris Klein, the president of the LA Galaxy, were spotted sitting together at a Laker game.

     From what I read it turned out that Porter turned down the offer to accept a better offer with the Columbus Crew. I am not blaming Porter for accepting a better contract, at the end of the day everyone needs to get that bread. What I am baffled by all of this is how it left the power structure for the LA Galaxy. I am not one hundred percent sure, but I doubt Caleb Porter was Te Kloese preferred candidate for the coaching vacancy. If Porter was hired it would feel as if hiring Te Kloese was pointless and the responsibility should fall on Klein. However, at the end of the mini saga I think it all worked out for all parties involved. The match up will have Caleb Porter facing the LA Galaxy while Guillermo Barros Schelotto will be playing against the club where he achieved great success as a player winning the MLS Cup and MVP award. It will be fascinating to see the reception Barros Schelotto will get when he returns to Columbus as the Galaxy's head coach. 

   

La Liga Standings Reflection

End of the Year Standings for La Liga

              La Liga is on its two week winter break and now is an exceptional time to look and reflect on the current league standings for the 2018-19 season. La Liga has been highly competitive as FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have already suffered multiple loses. The top 4 doesn’t appear how it normally does in the past few seasons.

The Top 4

              The top four teams in order from first to fourth are FC Barcelona (37pts), Atletico Madrid (34), Sevilla (32), and Real Madrid (29). Real Madrid has played one game less than the three teams that currently sit above them in the table due to their participation in the FIFA Club world cup. Real Madrid won the international club tournament. Which is a nice moral boost to a team that is not doing well in the league especially by their standards. The galacticos have already lost 5 times this season, last season the team suffered 6 loses and finished third. And in the previous two seasons before that Real Madrid didn’t even reach 5 losses in each of their league campaigns. Based on these numbers, if Real Madrid wants to seriously compete for the league title, they will have to go on a near perfect run in the second half of the season.

              FC Barcelona just acquired Jeison Murillo on loan from league rivals Valencia CF. The defender will compete and fill in the defensive duties due to injuries from Samuel Umtiti and Thomas Vermaelen. Vermaelen has been hurt since he joined the Catalan club. For the very high standards that is expected from Barcelona I would say that they aren’t playing at their best and have issues as well. Messi is phenomenal and Demebele is performing productive performances even with the hiccups off the pitch. Sitting at the top of the table while their arch rivals are in 4^th is a nice holiday gift Barcelona can give to their fans.

              Atletico Madrid are in second place and are quietly performing better as the season progress. Los colchoneros have only lost once this season in La Liga by the hands of Celta de Vigo. Atletico drew against Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, but that should not be a real surprise as Atletico Madrid have the most ties (7) among the top 4 teams. Which is a reason why they are in 2^nd instead of 1^st during the break. To me, they are the most credible challengers to Barcelona for the league title.

              Sevilla are in 3^rd and play a style that is attack minded and score goals. The Andalusian side has 30 goals scored as a team, second only to Barcelona’s 48. The team is well balanced and coached well. If Real Madrid continues to struggle, they will finish not only behind Barcelona and Atletico, but to Sevilla as well.

Relegation Battle

              The bottom of the table of La Liga is not too much of a surprise as newly promoted from the Segunda (second division), are holders of the last two places in the table. Huesca sits at the bottom of the table with 8 points and Rayo Vallecano is in 19^th with 13 points. Those two club will need a good run of games in the second half of the season with a few other factors to get out of the relegation zone.

              The surprise this season, in a shocker rather than impressive, is Villareal in 18^th with 15 points. They are in 18^th and final position that sends a team to the Segunda. Last season Villareal finished 5^th earning a spot in the Europa League competition. They do have a game in hand and are only one point away from safety. The team above Villareal is Athletic Bilbao. The Basque team is one of three teams to have never been relegated to the second division. The other two are FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. However, unlike the two heavy weights, Athletic Bilbao has not had the same success and has been accustomed to playing for survival in the last season. Bilbao is a side that normally fights for a top 5 finish, but has been giving their fans anxiety as they have bobbled around the relegation zone this current and last season instead of chasing for a spot in a European competition.

My Favorites

              Valencia CF jumped from 15^th to 8^th on their last game before the winter break. Los che have 10 draws, 10! They are tied with Athletic Bilbao for the most ties this season, and Bilbao is in a relegation battle. The difference is that Valencia has 4 wins and only 3 loses. They have less defeats than the teams above them except for the top 3 teams. Last season the team performed well securing the 4^th and final UEFA Champions League position with games to spare. This year has been average in almost every aspect. Hopefully in the second half of the season Marcelino’s side perform a lot better.

              Real Betis is a fun team to watch. I am not necessarily a fan of the team but do enjoy watching them play and have followed their captain, Joaquin, from his younger days when he was marked as the next golden boy for Spain. Their coach, Quique Setien, coaches his side to play an intelligent attacking style. His philosophical approach to the game can be described as the opposite of Diego Simeone from Atletico Madrid. Betis defeated Barcelona at the Camp Nou which put Setien in an exclusive category. He has defeated both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at their stadiums. Real Betis defeated Real Madrid last season, they have yet to play in the 2018-19 campaign. Real Betis currently sit in 6th place, same position they finished last season. The way this season has gone Betis could push for a UEFA Champions League position. 

Saturday Soccer Thoughts

Saturday Soccer Thoughts #1 (12/22/18)

               I watch too much soccer, which is not a real thing, but based on how many hours and my effort to plan my daily life around to watch football matches I needed a way to outwardly express some thoughts on what I just witnessed. Why? The main reason, pretty much the only reason, is that I do not have enough friends to talk about how passionate I am about soccer without potentially losing the limited number of human contacts I already possess.

              Arsenal defeated Burnley by a two goal margin, 3-1. Unai Emery’s men won the match after previously losing two consecutive to Southampton and Tottenham. Burnley was not happy with the match officiating but the creativeness of this Arsenal side was too match either way. My takeaway was that Mesut Ozil played the full match and was effective. Speculation around the London based club that Emery did not see Ozil in his plans, but it seems that those speculations have been put to rest for the moment, after all he started the German against a smaller club, no disrespect to Burnley.

              Crystal Palace shocked the football world by defeating Manchester City 3 goals to 2. Townsend with the goal of the year, it was a beautifully struck volley that gave the City goalkeeper no chance on reaching the well struck ball. This means that Liverpool now have a 4 point lead against Manchester City. Chelsea also experienced a set back with a 0-1 defeat to Leicester City.

              Manchester United scored 5 goals in the teams first match since the firing of Jose Mourinho. Cardiff City is not necessarily a premier league powerhouse, so one should not raise the expectations too high over the 5-1 result, but it is a free feeling that United fans and players should enjoy.

In La Liga, Real Betis drew against Eibar which will keep the Andalusia club in the Europa League position for now. Atheltico Madrid won their match against Espanyol to keep the pressure on FC Barcelona. The Catalan club also won their match against Celta de Vigo, 2-0, with goals from Dembele and Messi. Real Madrid where across the globe in the FIFA Club World Cup final against Al-Ain. Real Madrid came out victorious winning the tournament with a final score of 4-1.

              Bayern Munich defeated Frankfurt 3-0 to close the gap to 6 points on Borussia Dortmund who were also victorious from their Friday night match. Dortmund defeated Borussia Monchengladbach in a 1^st vs 2^nd place teams. The defeat drops Monchengladbach to 3^rd place in the Bundesliga and Bayern Munich moves up into second. RB Leipzig won 3-2 to keep pace with the top 3 clubs. Fortuna Dusseldorf have won their third league game in a row and are steadily moving away from the relegation zone.

 In the Serie A Inter Milan earned a point away from home against Chievo Verona, 1-1. Napoli won their match. AC Milan lost to Fiorentina by a score of 1-0, which could see Milan fall out of a European position if AS Roma defeat Juventus later on today in their match. Lazio won their match which makes them the sole possessor of the 4^th and final spot for the UEFA champions league group stage.

Let them Leeave

Opinion 

     The myth that stadiums will bring economic prosperity is just that, a myth. The local economy doesn't generate profits, in fact, if the local government gave subsidies to the team owner to build or upgrade the stadium the city participated in cooperate welfare. The ticket sales and all the profits that go along with a team's stadium is meant to profit the owner not the city.

     I do not have an issue with taxpayers knowingly and willfully participating in helping out via public funds to build a sports stadium. The issue I have is that most owner's at the professional sports level demand assistance to fiance the stadium where their team will play and the owner will profit. In the majority of the cases the public does not get a say when city councils decide on making the subsidies available. 

     Team owners who are heavily in the business world understand that the amount of funding they receive from the city does amount to local economic prosperity. Any report or finding that claims to find any growth usually is focused on the stadium and not local business where the substitution effect is the reason for the economic 'growth'. The substitution effect is an explanation of what would happen if the stadium was not there, for the most part the money would still be circulating, but instead of going to the stadium it would go to other businesses. The point is that 'growth' is not an accurate way to describe stadium prosperity.

    If the city wants a team so be it. Plenty of people enjoy sports for leisure and a way to unwind after a long day from work. However, these hard working people should not be threatened by team owners when it comes to their beloved hometown team. Owners of a team will threaten to leave is the city does not provide some sort of public funding assistance, a hand out. This normally shifts in favor of the team owner and fans become angry at the city for allowing their sports team to leave. 

    The team owners are seen as the positive good guy while the city becomes this negative bureaucratic entity that hates the people. This is a simple con job by the team owner using the emotion of fear to get what they want. The people, for the most part, do not know that the funding the city provides to the team owner is their own tax dollars. 

    Which I will say this to all the fan bases in the world and urban developers, let them leave! Take their bluff, force them to find another town that will put up with their traffic jams and closed road due to hosting events. Let them leave to find another city that will give them handouts. An excellent example is the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). The people voted to deny the city from giving over 100 million dollars to the Charger's owner for a new stadium.

     The owner then decided his bluff was called and forced a move to Carson, California where the team shares a 27,000 capacity stadium with the LA Galaxy professional soccer team. I am not advocating for people to hate their teams or for city's to prevent construction projects on stadiums. All I ask for is transparency for the people of the city.        

        

Arsenal is in top 4 hands

     Arsenal lost their first two games of the season against Sarri's Chelsea and Pep's Manchester City, two teams that are in realistic contentions to win the league this season. Since those two defeats Arsenal has won 7 straight matches in all competitions, they went undefeated for the month of September. Arsenal are in good hands.

     I had a few friends, Arsenal supporters, ask me about Unai Emery. I responded with a stereotypical safe answer "That he is a good coach and will play more structured than his predecessor, Wenger. To expect more emphasis on wins and points over style." I was asked, I am assuming, because most of my inner soccer circles know that I support the Spanish club Valencia, and wondered who Emery really was. I reassured them that he is good coach that can work within limits and punch above his team's weight every season.

     A quick Recap on Emery's career, he started coaching Almeria who he took to the first division in Spain and finished in the top 10 the following season. Valencia hired him as the club needed fresh ideas and a coach that would not burden their already dire financial situation. In his four seasons leading the helm in Valencia Emery finished 3rd three times following a 6th place finished in his first season.

     Why does this matter? Because there a similarities that might bring hope to Arsenal fans. Take a historical note for some context, when Emery was in charge of Valencia for those four years (2008-2012) it was during Pep's dominance with Barcelona and Real Madrid's acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo. This means that Emery with a cash restricted budget and forced to sell players such as David Villa, David Silva, and Mata guided Los Che to win the "other league"- the Spanish Media dubbed the 3rd place team as the "other winner" due to Barcelona and Real Madrid's dominance.

     The similarities I see with Arsenal are clearly mental fabrications with the only focal point being Unai Emery, but humor me. The English Premier league at the moment has two really good sides in Pep's Manchester City and Klopp's Liverpool, with Sarri at Chelsea having a really good start to the season as well. But the first two are the one's who have had time to mold their team and anything less than winning the league will be considered a failure. Where does this leave Arsenal? Well to Emery, in a very familiar situation.

     I am not disregarding Emery's other past work, in fact he replicated his understanding of coaching in La Liga when he returned from a horrible Stint in Russia to lead Sevilla to Europa League dominance while finishing in the top 5 in two of his three full seasons in charge. His time at Paris Saint-Germain is what probably exposed him to the rest of the footballing community that didn't follow La Liga aside from Barcelona and Real Madrid. I considered his time at PSG as an enigma due to the ridiculous expectations of a club attempting to splash their way to a Champions league with no real soccer foundation to sustain it.

    Arsenal will definitely not go undefeated for the rest of the year, but I wont be surprised if they can clinch a top 4 finish. At the start of the season, I was excited for the English Premier league more than usual due to the top 6 teams' managers. Pep at Manchester City, Klopp at Liverpool, Sarri at Chelsea, Pochettino at Tottenham, and Mourinho at Manchester United. In my mind Emery at Arsenal was the biggest improvement in relative terms as I consider him a top manager.

     Unai Emery doesn't have the budget restrictions at Arsenal he has had in Spain or the over the top expectations implemented at PSG. He acquired two young center midfielders that fit his approach to the game. Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi, who will work hard in the midfield of the pitch and that is what Emery wants. Emery is meticulous in his approach to managing the game and expects his team to work just as hard. With this approach Arsenal may not be the same free flowing stylistic team most fans associate with the badge, but they will be in the top 4 competing every year Emery is in charge.

    I know this may not be good enough for some Arsenal fans, but believe me when I say, it is better to have a ship navigated by a captain that can complete the voyage than a captain that will sink that ship to the depths of the ocean pretending to know where shore lies. Still not good enough? (Please see Manchester United.)         

The Old Trafford woes continue

     Manchester United and the Spanish side Valencia finished in a 0-0 draw. The red devils hosted the match, which their bus happen to be late arriving to, at Old Trafford. Either side could have taken 3 points, but at the end of the match a draw was what both teams could muster and deservedly so. Valencia in the first half attacked down the left flank with the Guedes and Gaya connection, but wasted plenty of crosses and build up play for the majority of the match.

     Manchester United did not have a clear idea when it came to the attack, relying heavily on the long ball. Their most dangerous moments seemed to come via dead ball, whether it be from a corner or free kick. Pogba did what he could to deliver dangerous and effective passes, but the team as a whole seemed out of sync. So much that I forgot Alexis Sanchez was on the pitch.

     Neto, the Valencia goalkeeper had a decent night with a few saves for the night. I enjoy the center back pairing between the Argentine, Garay, and the Brazilian, Paulista. I think when fit that is the best defensive pairing for Los Che. Garay was solid winning long balls in the air and putting his body in front of the ball to prevent any Manchester United player shot from reaching his Keeper.

     Gaya, the left back, had an excellent game on both ends. Completed his defensive duties as well as timing his runs forward effectively overlapping Guedes where the two seem to play well off one another. Guedes had a mediocre game for his standards. From what I saw last year, this looked like Guedes has some preseason rust on him still, but was the most threatening player on the pitch for both teams when it came to attack in open play.

     As a whole the Valencia side were much better in the build up attack and noticeably had a plan on moving the ball forward and attempted to control the midfield via passing than using the long ball approach. But, overall the team was wasteful in the final aspect of the attack. plenty of crosses from beautiful build up wasted. However, this Valencia side looked better than the way they started this season's campaign. If this can build off this performance moving forward they can easily challenge for a spot in the knockout stages of the UEFA  Champions League tournament. At the end of the day a point at Old Trafford is not a bad result even given how poor the home side's  form as been. 

What the Heck is a UEFA Nations League?

     Yesterday the first games of the UEFA Nations league kicked off. Gareth Bale scored a stunning goal for Wales as they dominated a an Irish side that was not at their best. The UEFA Nations league is a new international soccer (football) tournament with a format that seems simple enough, but complications quickly follow when attempting to address qualifications for the Euro 2020. The 55 teams and members of the UEFA confederation are split into four leagues, A, B, C, and D. 

      

      League A and B both have 12 teams that are divided into 4 groups of 3 national teams. League C is made up of 15 teams that are broken down into 3 groups of 4 teams and 1 group of 3 teams. And League D is made up of 4 groups that consists of 4 teams in each. The teams were placed in each league based on their UEFA rankings. For example, the top 12 teams are in League A and the next 12 teams are in League B and so forth. 

     There will be teams that are promoted and other teams that will be relegated. The last teams in League A get relegated to B, the last placed teams in B get relegated to C, while the top teams in League B, C, and D will get promoted to the respective leagues above them. In League C the worst 3rd placed team will be relegated to League D. Each team will play their opponents in their group twice, home and away. 

League Finals is a 4 team knockout tournament that consists of 2 semifinal games, a 3rd place game and a Final to determine 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place. 

 

    Jonathan Wilson presents perhaps a better explanation than myself as I attempt to really communicate at a simplistic level.

Teams are in the current groups and leagues, but the positions teams are in their group is random as most teams have not played a game. Teams in promotion and relegation spots are not concrete. 

 

League A
Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
France	Belgium	Portugal	Spain	Qualify to League Finals
Germany	Switzerland	Italy	England
Netherlands	Iceland	Poland	Croatia	Relegated to B
League B
Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
Ukraine	Russia	Austria	Wales	Promoted to A
Slovakia	Sweden	Bosnia & Herzegovina	Denmark
Czech Republic	Turkey	Northern Ireland	Republic of Ireland	Relegated to C
League C
Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
Scotland	Hungary	Norway	Romania	Promoted to B
Albania	Greece	Bulgaria	Serbia
Israel	Finland	Slovenia	Montenegro	Possible Relegation to D
	Estonia	Cyprus	Lithuania	Relegated to D
League D
Group 1	Group 2	Group 3	Group 4
Georgia	Belarus	Azerbaijan	Macedonia	Promoted to C
Latvia	Luxembourg	Faroe Islands	Armenia
Andorra	Moldova	Malta	Liechtenstein
Kazakhstan	San Marino	Kosovo	Gibraltar