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segunda-feira, 20 de agosto de 2018

Philadelphia Union vs. Montreal Impact | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Philadelphia Union vs. Montreal Impact
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 29
Talen Energy Stadium — Chester
Sept. 15 — 7:30 pm ET
WATCH: TVAS, ESPN+

It’s a huge six-pointer in the Eastern Conference playoff race when the Philadelphia Union host the Montreal Impact Saturday night at Talen Energy Stadium.

Fifth place in the East, the Union have four wins in a five-match unbeaten run following a 2-2 draw at Orlando on Sept. 1, while the sixth-place Impact have only lost one of their last five games and come in off a 3-0 home win over the New York Red Bulls on Sept. 1.

This is the second meeting this season with the Union claiming a 2-0 win at Stade Saputo on May 12. Cory Burke scored two minutes before halftime and Haris Medunjanin added a late insurance goal against the 10-man Impact, who saw Daniel Lovitz sent off in the 67th minute for DOGSO following Video Review.

Philadelphia Union

Philadelphia (12-11-4) were moments from a fifth straight victory, but were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at Orlando on Sept. 1.

After Dom Dwyer put the hosts in front, Burke leveled in the 32nd minute and Fafa Picault put the Union in front two minutes from full time before Scott Sutter scored the stoppage-time equalizer.

“We control our own destiny, which is a good thing,” Jim Curtin said. “But we obviously have a little bit of a break now. A perfect time to recharge some of the batteries, get some guys some treatment for injuries, take a look at some young players this week, some academy kids that are in and impressing, so overall a good time to refresh, recharge, and go into now what will be a big September for the club.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Matt Real (left knee sprain), M - Ilsinho (quad strain); QUESTIONABLE: M - Anthony Fontana (right hamstring strain), M - Borek Dockal (ankle sprain)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Andre Blake — Keegan Rosenberry, Jack Elliott, Auston Trusty, Raymon Gaddis — Haris Medunjanin, Derrick Jones — CJ Sapong, Alejandro Bedoya, Fafa Picault - Cory Burke

Montreal Impact

Montreal (11-14-3) made it two wins in three games with a decisive 3-0 victory over the Supporters' Shield-leading New York Red Bulls at Stade Saputo on Sept. 1.

Rod Fanni opened the scoring with his first MLS goal on the half-hour mark, followed eight minutes later by Bacary Sagna’s first league tally. Ignacio Piatti closed out the scoring in second-half stoppage time.

"The remaining six games will look like this one, that is, with a need to get a good result," head coach Remi Garde said. “We must put the same ingredients and the same parameters that allowed us to beat one of the best teams on the circuit, who came to Montreal with great confidence.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: M - David Choiniere (ankle surgery), D - Kyle Fisher (quad injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-3-3, right to left)
GK: Evan Bush — Bacary Sagna, Rod Fanni, Jukka Raitala, Daniel Lovitz — Micheal Azira, Samuel Piette, Saphir Taider — Alejandro Silva, Quincy Amarikwa, Ignacio Piatti

All-Time Series

Overall: Philadelphia Union 4 wins, 21 goals … Montreal Impact 7 wins, 30 goals … 6 draws
At Philadelphia: Union 2 wins, 11 goals … Impact 1 win, 12 goals … 5 draws
Last meeting at Philadelphia: Philadelphia Union 0, Montreal Impact 3 (Aug. 12, 2017)

Officials

Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Adam Wienckowski, Kevin Klinger
4th Official: JC Rivero
VAR: Ricardo Salazar

Colorado Rapids vs. Atlanta United | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Colorado Rapids vs. Atlanta United
2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 29
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park — Commerce City
Sept. 15 — 3:30 pm ET
WATCH: Univision, Twitter, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

They’re just one of two teams to have clinched a playoff spot, but Atlanta United have their eyes set on the Supporters' Shield and can move back atop the race with a win against a Colorado Rapids squad that has lost three straight games.

The Five Stripes are coming off a 3-1 loss to D.C. United on Sept. 2, while the Rapids fell to the Portland Timbers, 2-0, at Providence Park last Saturday.

This is just the second all-time meeting, with Atlanta United winning 1-0 last June at Bobby Dodd Stadium with Josef Martinez scoring the lone goal in the 67th minute.

Colorado Rapids

Colorado (6-15-6) suffered a third straight shutout defeat, falling at Portland, 2-0, on Saturday.

Jeremy Ebobisse struck just before halftime to put the hosts ahead and Diego Valeri tacked on the insurance goal 20 minutes into the second half. Both goals were assisted by Sebastian Blanco.

“On Saturday, I think it was a performance worthy of something out of the game. For large parts of it we played some really good soccer,” Anthony Hudson said. “We just want to keep getting better. The mood’s very good. The lads believe, we’ve got a good group.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Johan Blomberg
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Axel Sjoberg (knee injury), F - Niki Jackson (ankle injury); QUESTIONABLE: M - Sam Nicholson (back injury), F - Yannick Boli (hamstring injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-4-2 diamond, right to left)
GK: Tim Howard — Kortne Ford, Danny Wilson, Tommy Smith, Edgar Castillo — Kellyn Acosta, Jack Price, Nana Boateng, Dillon Serna — Jack McBean, Giles Barnes

Atlanta United

Atlanta (16-5-6) had a seven-match unbeaten streak snapped with a 3-1 loss at D.C. United on September 2.

Ten minutes after Luciano Acosta opened the scoring, Jeff Larentowicz leveled for the Five Stripes in the 30th minute. But Wayne Rooney converted from the penalty spot before Acosta added his second in the 77th minute to lift the hosts.

“I think we played well in the first half. I thought the tie was deserved at that point and there could have been even another goal difference,” Tata Martino said. “But then in the second half I think the penalty changed things. We lost a little bit of confidence, we got down on ourselves. Then we got a little disorganized and didn’t have as much control of the game.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: D - Chris McCann, D - Michael Parkhurst
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Greg Garza (shoulder surgery), M - Darlington Nagbe (right adductor injury), D - Sal Zizzo (right knee injury), D - Mikey Ambrose (right knee surgery), F - Brandon Vazquez (left foot injury), D - Franco Escobar (right leg injury), M - Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu (back spasms)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Brad Guzan — Julian Gressel, Michael Parkhurst, Leandro Gonzalez-Pirez, Chris McCann — Jeff Larentowicz, Eric Remedi — Hector Villalba, Miguel Almiron, Ezequiel Barco — Josef Martinez

All-Time Series

There is just one all-time meeting, with Atlanta United winning, 1-0, at Bobby Dodd Stadium on June 24, 2017

Officials

Referee: Sorin Stoica
Assistant Referees: Kyle Atkins, TJ Zablocki
4th Official: Baldomero Toledo
VAR: Younes Marrakchi

Lokomotiv Moscow vs Dynamo Moscow Predictions and Match Preview

Lokomotiv Moscow vs Dynamo Moscow
Russia – Premier League
Date: Friday, 14 September 2018
Kick-Off at 17:30 UK / 18:30 CET
Venue: RZD Arena, Moscow.

The reigning champions began the title defense quest in a somewhat slower fashion. They sit eighth in the league standings after six rounds of the competition and are already eight points behind leaders Zenit.

Can Yury Semin’s troops get the campaign up and running and boost up their confidence before the Champions League start on Friday when they take on local rivals Dynamo in a Moscow derby?

The visitors will come into the game higher on confidence following a 2-0 victory over Orenburg before the international break.

Evgeni Markov and Evgeniy Lutsenko notched goals for Belo-Golubye two weeks ago, helping the team overtake Lokomotiv in the league standings (they sit seventh with nine points from six games so far).

Lokomotiv Moscow vs Dynamo Moscow: Head-to-head

The momentum might give Dynamo advantage, but the H2H trend completely fancies the hosts here.

Parovozy bagged seven goals without response in two meetings with Dynamo in the previous term of Premier League.

Lokomotiv are unbeaten in last eight matches against Belo-Golubye.

The hosts bagged two or more goals in five of last six head to head affairs with Dynamo.

Lokomotiv Moscow vs Dynamo Moscow: Prediction

Dmitri Khokhlov has reasons to be optimistic ahead of the Moscow derby based on the stern defensive display his men showed against a very solid Orenburg side in the previous round.

The visitors were also quite tough to break down on travels so far in the season shipping just three goals in three games so far (two of these came away at Spartak Moscow on previous travel).

Knowing that Lokomotiv bagged the total of four games in six games so far in the season, we would not be shocked to see the visitors keeping it tight at the back here.

The Under 2.5 goals FT is the safest of betting options and it can be backed at the 1/2 (1.50) odds, while braver tipsters can shoot for Dynamo Moscow to keep a clean sheet at 3.50.

Lokomotiv Moscow vs Dynamo Moscow: Bet Tips

Under 2.5 goals FT @ 1/2 (1.50)

Dynamo Moscow to keep a clean sheet @ (5/2) 3.50.

Utah Royals FC end season with a win against the Chicago Red Stars

With the playoff spots all decided, the Royals had nothing to play for except pride.

Utah Royals FC

2 1

Chicago Red Stars

UTAH ROYALS FC: BARNHART: BOWEN, CORSIE, SAUERBRUNN, MOROS; SCOTT, JÓNSDÓTTIR; PRESS (TYMRAK, MIN. 85), STENGEL, O'HARA (LYTLE, MIN. 46); RODRIGUEZ (LABONTA, MIN. 79).

CHICAGO RED STARS: NAEHER; ELBY (BRIAN, MIN. 67), NAUGHTON, GORDEN, GILLILAND; STANTON (COLAPRICO, MIN. 75), WHITE (GREEN, MIN. 75), VASCONCELOS; YUGISATO, KERR, MAUTZ.

SCORE: 0-1, MIN. 39, KERR. 1-1, MIN. 55, RODRIGUEZ. 2-1, MIN. 64, STENGEL.

REFEREE: ROSENDO MENDOZA (USA). YELLOW CARD: GILLILAND (MIN. 17), STANTON (MIN. 25).

The National Women's Soccer League regular season ended this past weekend for Utah Royals FC and the Chicago Red Stars. Utah ended their inaugural season just missing out on the playoffs while the Red Stars have a playoff date with the North Carolina Courage coming up soon.

Chicago take control of the firts half

The Red Stars rested many of their starters but Sam Kerr was inserted into the starting lineup by head coach Rory Dames as the Australian bid to become the Golden Boot winner for this season. It worked as in the 39th minute, Arin Gilliland got forward and found Kerr with a great cross into the box and the striker nodded home her 16th goal of the season.

Sam Kerr celebrates her 16th goal of the season | Source: nwslsoccer.com

Utah tried to get something going in their attack but could not put together enough passes to trouble a makeshift Chicago backline. Even with the likes of Kelley O'Hara, Christen Press, Amy Rodriguez and Katie Stengel all on the field, Utah barely troubled Chicago's goalkeeper, Alyssa Naeher.

Utah dig deep and snap Chicago's streak

The second half was a completely different story. With Taylor Lytle coming in for O'Hara, the Royals changed their tactics and it paid off. Rachel Corsie was the first to test the Red Stars backline but her effort went over the net. That was a sign of things to come however as Utah pushed to end their season on the right note.

Katie Stengel puts Utah back in front | Source: Spenser Heaps-KSL.com — Katie Stengel puts Utah in front and ultimately wins the game | Source: Spenser Heaps-KSL.com

A good bit of play led to Katie Bowen picking out an unmarked Rodriguez inside the 18-yard area and the Royals forward watched her volley hit the post before bouncing inside the goal. Katie Stengel then scored the game-winning goal in the 64th minute, ending Chicago's seven game unbeaten streak. Lytle picked out the target forward with a cross towards the far post and Stengel headed the ball past Naeher's diving effort. Both teams continued to test the goalkeepers here and there but Stengel's goal proved decisive as Utah finished their season with a win in front of a strong crowd showing.

domingo, 19 de agosto de 2018

August Lenz and Borussia Dortmund

BVB Borussia Dortmund dominates the popular culture of the city it calls home in a way that no other Football club does. Absolutely everything, EVERYTHING, in Dortmund is black and yellow; fans have covered the city in graffiti, stickers and decorations that commemorate BVB with its iconic and striking colour scheme. The otherwise relatively humdrum town goes mad for its Football club, an organisation known the world over.

Yet, as you repeatedly pass Schwaz-Gelb lampposts, park benches, shopfronts and fire hydrants, you begin to notice an odd pattern. Many Borussia Dortmund fan stickers and decorations feature a common stencil design of a young man in a single pose. The more time you spend in the city, the more you notice this face, as if the owner is in some way following you, the visitor, as you stride through his manor. The Unity, BVB’s leading Ultra group, uses this image constantly in their work. Their members are probably the individuals responsible for reproducing this design that you see so frequently. The owner was a gentlemen who went by the name August Lenz, and he is a key figure in the history of Borussia Dortmund.

Born in Dortmund itself on the 29th of November 1910, Lenz was a keen Football player for much of his youth though only at amateur level, playing often for unofficial and unrecognised teams. Fans and Football historians only partially joke about his propensity to play for a case of beer prior to finally being given his chance at Borussia. Although originally a goalkeeper, Lenz was instructed to replace the injured striker Hannes Jakubowitz for a competitive match against local club TBV Mengede. While being considered a strange decision on the day, it proved to be an inspired one. Lenz scored between 7 and 11 goals (sources vary) on the way to a 14-0 victory (the final result is certain). The transition to striker was made permanent, and in 1936 Lenz was a key member of the BVB squad that achieved promotion to the Westphalian “Gaulliga” for the first time. It was 1949 before Lenz finally decided to draw the curtains on an astonishing striker career at the age of 38, having competed in over 1000 matches for BVB Borussia Dortmund; the only professional club he ever represented.

In the 30’s, BVB Borussia Dortmund was nowhere near the power it was to become in the 1990’s and the 21st century. Perpetually in the shadow of its neighbourhing rivals, the club did not consistently challenge for titles the way it does today. However, it was in this period that August Lenz became the first ever BVB player to represent the German National XI. The date was the 28th of April, 1935, in a match against Belgium. The scoreline tells the story. A 6-2 victory, with none other than Mr Lenz scoring a brace on his international debut. Lenz continued his international career, making a total of 14 appearances and scoring 9 goals. This may not sound like extraordinary success in our day, particularly when you compare this feat to the recent accomplishments of die Mannschaft, but Lenz’s breakthrough into the national side remains a source of great pride for BVB fans.

However, it is Lenz’s relationship with Borussia’s most bitter of rivals that has probably contributed to his club-hero status more than any other act. In the 1930’s, FC Schalke 04 were the dominant team in German Football, having won the national championship 5 times in 7 years. They stood a clear head-and-shoulders above Dortmund in this era, and the animosity between Schalke and BVB, the two contenders of the Revierderby, was strong even then. The Blau-Weiß Trikot of Schalke would’ve been the choice shirt to wear for pretty much any German Football player at the time. Yet Lenz allegedly snubbed the more successful club. Club legend tells the story that in 1938, Schalke player Ernst Kuzorra tried to persuade club chairman Fritz Unkel to sign Lenz from Dortmund, but Lenz showed no interest in joining the Blau-Weißen, choosing to continue his career with Borussia instead of switching to their biggest rival. This would become something of an annoyance for Schalke; on the 14th of October 1943, Lenz’s solitary goal would prove the difference in the Revierderby.

This is the defining moment in the sporting career of August Lenz that has culminated in his status as an iconic figure within the Borussia Dortmund fan culture. The man turned his back on what Dortmund fans consider to be their greatest enemy at the very height of their powers, choosing to stick with the club of the city he was born in. Almost a century later, it is still his face that fans are reproducing and distributing in the form of banners, stickers and graffiti. A building that sits on Strobelallee right outside the club’s stadium has been named after Lenz himself, and there is an “August-Lenz-Straße” in Dortmund. The German reverence for tradition and morality becomes fantastically obvious in this story, as Dortmund fans choose to honour the noble August Lenz instead of former or current Dortmund players who have achieved far greater things on paper.

August Lenz died on the 5th of December 1988 at the age of 78, but the ubiquity of his face and name in the city of Dortmund ensure that his legacy will live on for a long time.

Gerd Müller at 70: Part 2

On 3 November, FC Bayern München legend Gerd Müller turns 70. To mark the occasion, bundesliga.com looks back on Der Bomber's remarkable career in a two-part tribute.

While Müller's uncanny knack for finding the net earned Bayern trophies, they also brought him his very own slice of Bundesliga history with his record-breaking 1971/72 season when he plundered a mammoth 40 goals to set a mark that still stands today.

An inauspicious start to the campaign barely boded of what was to come. Sluggish out of the blocks with just a single goal in the opening three matches, it was not until February Müller eased into overdrive. His first career five-goal haul in the 7-0 defeat of RW Oberhausen on 19 February took him onto 23 goals from 21 games, and proved the catalyst for the record, the goals for which came – incredibly – from just 19 games.

After finding the net regularly in the following weeks, Müller reached the 40-goal barrier in the 6-3 dismissal of Eintracht Frankfurt. "I would sell two Franz Beckenbauers for one Gerd Müller," said opposition coach Erich Ribbeck, while Der Kaiser himself stated: "There's no more dangerous a striker in the world."

International breakthrough

His talents were also recognised by Germany coach Helmut Schön, who – following defeat to England in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final – was seeking fresh blood. With the legendary Uwe Seeler ageing, Müller was the obvious replacement, being dubbed by Schön himself no less as "a centre-forward born for modern football".

Müller made his Nationalmannschaft debut in Turkey in October 1966, but after a listless display, did not appear for his country's senior team again until six months later. This time, the critics were silenced by a four-goal salvo in a 6-0 defeat of Albania, laying the foundations for an international career that would lead to him being dubbed 'The Nation's Bomber' by Bildnewspaper.

His habit of scoring late, important goals endeared him still more to his country, though his staggering ten goals in six appearances at the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, including the extra-time winner against reigning champions England in the quarter-final, earned him iconic status. It also made this stocky, unathletic-looking goal machine a household name worldwide. "We didn't know who he was," admitted Mexican newspaper El Universal. "We took him for a salesman who sat behind a desk too much, didn't move enough and who ate too much."

'Gold-plate his legs'

A Ballon d'Or followed as did 14 international goals in a remarkable 1971/72 campaign, which took him past Seeler as Germany's all-time record scorer, as well as securing the 1972 European Championship with four of Die Nationalmannschaft's final round goals. "They should gold-plate his legs," then-Belgium coach Raymond Goethals stated in admiration.

Two years later, Müller's strike two minutes before half-time turned the European champions into world champions as the Netherlands were vanquished in Munich. Appropriately, the scene of his amazing club exploits was also that of the last of his 68 international goals, which came in just 62 international appearances, as Müller astonished team mates and fans alike by announcing his retirement from international football.

His Bayern career ended less auspiciously, however. His last appearance came on 3 February, 1979, when he was substituted against Eintracht Frankfurt. He then signed a two-and-a-half year deal with Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the NASL, but after a relatively unsuccessful spell in Florida, he brought down the curtain on his career in a friendly against Greek side Olympiacos, which – ironically – ended goalless.

It was a low-key finale to a spectacular career that brought a staggering 533 goals in 585 competitive appearances for Bayern, a breathtaking feat that led to Müller being named the Bundesliga's all-time MVP by the DFL in 2003. "Gerd Müller is one of the greats of world football," said another Bayern legend and current Executive Board Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. "Without his goals, FC Bayern and German football would not be where it is today."

Gerd Müller at 70: Part 1

On 3 November, FC Bayern München legend Gerd Müller turns 70. To mark the occasion, bundesliga.com looks back on 'Der Bomber's' remarkable career in a two-part tribute.

Müller was born in 1945 in Nördlingen, a small town some 120 kilometres north-west of Munich, just a few months after the end of the Second World War. Like most children his age, he started out playing football in the streets, often using a tin can instead of a ball. A shy, humble character, Müller was initially reluctant to join a football club, and when he finally gave in to the demands of one of his friends, Peter Kraus, and went to training, he was ridiculed by team-mates because of the holes in his shoes.

Transfer to Bayern

He responded as he would always do later in his career – with goals. The young Müller is reported to have scored a hat-trick on his debut for TSV Nördlingen, while the club archives also show that years later he once hit the net 26 times in a single game, a 31-2 victory over SV Holzkirchen on 2 March 1963.

By summer 1964 his goalscoring exploits caught the eye of Munich’s big teams, FC Bayern and TSV 1860. As the latter were playing in the newly-formed Bundesliga at the time and Bayern were not, the ever-modest Müller, like Franz Beckenbauer before him, opted for Bayern. After much negotiating, TSV Nördlingen received 4400 Deutsch Marks as a transfer fee.

Inauspicious start

Still considered a minor - you were not legally of age until 21 at the time in Germany – Müller's mother had to sign his first contract. And so in July 1964, Müller quit his day job as a welder and joined Bayern in a move that would go on to shape the futures of both the player and the club.

Nevertheless, Müller's career in Munich got off to a slow start. Head coach Tschik Cajkovski was unimpressed with the newcomer's physique: standing at 176 centimetres and weighing close to 90 kilograms, the striker did not look much like an athlete. "His stomach and thighs were as one," recalls Dieter Brenninger, Bayern's left-winger at the time.

Breakthrough

Marginalised by the coach, Müller was ready to give up and go home. However, his fortunes changed after club president Wilhelm Neudecker insisted that Cajkovski finally put him in the side. He duly did on 18 October 1964 in Freiburg, where Müller scored the first of his 398 league goals for Bayern in an 11-2 victory. Over the course of his career at the club, he netted over 1000 goals in all competitions, although statisticians disagree on the final tally. According to an official book published by Bayern in 2010, it is 1335, but other sources put it at 1289.

Either way, his goal haul is hugely impressive, as is the fact that in the subsequent 15 years, Müller was never a substitute in a competitive game for Bayern. Every new coach had faith in his extraordinary abilities as a nimble two-footed forward with superb reactions and an even better eye for goal. Wearing the number eight shirt, Müller scored 33 goals in 1964/65 – the season Bayern were promoted to the Bundesliga. In the maiden campaign in the top-flight, Müller, Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier and Co. won the DFB Cup and kept Bayern in the title race until the final day of the season.

Milestone

Bayern have not stopped winning silverware ever since – both domestically and on the international stage. The 1968/69 season was a particularly fruitful one for Müller: new coach Branko Zebec forced him to wear two shirts under his training jacket in summer an effort to lose weight. Now six kilograms lighter, the striker won the league and cup double with Bayern and also finished as top scorer and player of the year.

The 1971/72 campaign was equally memorable. Bayern won the Bundesliga crown and scored a record-breaking 101 goals along the way, with Müller contributing an astonishing 40 of those. Even today that return stands as the largest single-season haul in Bundesliga history. In October 1972, he became the first player to surpass the 200-goal milestone, prompting renowned football magazine Kicker to write: "He will probably get to 300 before anyone else makes it to 200."

Bundesliga MVP

Goals and trophies continued to flow until Müller underwent a ligament operation in 1977, which marked the beginning of the end of his Bayern career. He nevertheless managed to finish as top scorer one final time in 1977/78 with 24 goals, but increasingly struggled to keep pace with the game.

He made his final Bundesliga appearance on 10 February 1979, having scored 365 times in 427 games. After a stint in the USA, Müller was welcomed back into the Bayern family as a coach. As Beckenbauer put it, "without him, we'd still be getting changed in a wooden cabin." His incredible achievements were also honoured by the DFL in 2003 when he was named "Most Valuable Player in Bundesliga History".