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This will keep you busy until late tonight when Sporting KC travel to face Real Salt Lake at 9 PM CT.
Kansas City
(The Blue Testament) Speaking of the #RSLvSKC game, here is our preview.
(MLS) If you haven’t read about Sporting KC technical coach Michel Ribeiro yet, you really should. He was a coach for Belgium stars Kevin De Bruyne, Thibault Courtois and Yannick Carrasco as well as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Serbia, Kalidou Koulibaly and Kara Mbodj from Senegal and Wilfred Ndidi from Nigeria in the past and now he’s helping all levels of the SKC system from the Academy to the first team.
“Everybody was surprised that I go to the United States because I had a few big, big teams in Europe that were interested in me, but the pathway from the academy was never there. I needed a job or a project that is similar to the things I did in Genk, and that was to help kids make it to the first team and I saw that at Sporting KC,” said Ribeiro.
(SKC YouTube) Brad Evans takes a ride with Nate Bukaty and they talk travelling (sounds like this guy may about to be retiring), coffee, not loving soccer as a kid and about some of his teammates.
- After watching that video, this gem came up. The first ever Brad Evans show with guests Mike MaGee and Matt Besler. And they even talk about now former SKC man Benji Joya.
(Sporting KC) If you haven’t seen the series already, “Anything But” is a worthwhile read to learn about those SKC teenagers. Here are the most recent three:
(MLS) Bobby Warshaw has his midseason awards and Sporting only have Graham Zusi on the list for Best XI starting right back.
(MLS) Speaking of Bobby, he and Matt Doyle broke down what is and isn’t working for each team in MLS.
GOOD: [Warshaw] Passing. SKC use the ball to move around opposing defenses and then attack the gaps after they’ve been opened. Sporting lead the league in passes completed per 90, as well as passes into the attacking third and passes within the attacking third.
BAD: [Warshaw] Dealing with crosses from the wide areas. Even though they’ve conceded the third-fewest goals in MLS, they have been susceptible when crosses come in with runners attacking from the top of the box.
(Mid-Season Awards) The Blue Testament crew gave theirs out earlier in the week and now Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star is chiming in as well.
(Sporting KC) Beyond the Boxscore has SKC’s recently snapped nine game unbeaten streak as tied for the fourth longest in club history.
Around the World
(MLS) FC Dallas just got a lot worse as they transferred star midfielder Mauro Diaz to Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai FC of the UAE Arabian Gulf League. Terms weren’t available but as with any transfer to a club in the middle east, it’s probably for a ton of money (see: Nemeth, Krisztian). In his time with Dallas he scored 23 goals, added 44 assists and just generally was the playmaker that created for his team. Sporting KC fans will rejoice not to play him anymore.
(MLS) In more Dallas news, they had signed Chris Richards (18) to a Homegrown contract but while working on his one-year of Academy service he’s instead getting loaned out to Bayern Munich. You may have heard of them.
(Dallas News) Because Dallas have Blue in their colors too and this is called Blue Links, we’ll throw in another one. After Anton Nedyalkov transferred to Bulgarian club Ludogorets, they may be close to signing Marquinhos Pedroso, another left back. Pedroso played for Figueirense in Brazil and was loaned out frequently over the years. Most recently to Turkey and Hungary.
(Yahoo Sports) The LA Galaxy are chasing USMNT defender Geoff Cameron still. Recently relegated Premier League side Stoke City rejected an offer but are still negotiating. The Galaxy offered $1 in salary to Cameron who also rejected that. He only made 21 appearances in the 2017-2018 season due to injury and he’s 33-years-old.
(Orlando City) It’s a bit of old news from last week, but Orlando City SC already have their third coach (we have to keep tabs on our former USL affiliate). This time it’s James O’Connor, head coach of USL’s defending champion Louisville City FC. O’Connor previously played for Orlando City in the USL and was an assistant coach for them as well. Former Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter reportedly turned down the job.
(The Athletic) In other news you probably saw but are stunned by, Dave Sarachan will continue to coach the United States Men’s National Team until the end of the year. Let’s just keep delaying that rebuild guys.