It will be another cold February evening start for TFC with their first home game of 2019 vs.Club Atlético Independiente (from Panama) on Tuesday night February 26th. 2nd game of the two game CONCACAF Champions League opening round. They play the week before in Panama.
The MLS regular season sees TFC playing in Philly on March 2nd. TFC’s MLS regular season home opener is on St. Paddy’s Day afternoon. Oh what a party that should be.
Big change to the MLS playoffs for 2019. The top 7 teams in each division make the playoffs. The first place team will get a bye. Team 2 will host Team 7, Team 3 will host Team 6 and Team 4 will host Team 5 in one game sudden death format. After that round the conference semi-finals and finals will also be a one game sudden death format with the higher ranked team being the host.
No more two game home and home format.
And by doing it this way they will fit the entire playoffs in between the two international breaks and the MLS Cup will be done and dusted by Novmber 10 - about a month earlier.
Helps avoid the likelihood of bad winter weather impacting games plus it works for the following year when the 2020 Qatar World Cup starts on November 21.
Soccer is mafia like. Next. Controlled by Europeans even in NA who think like mafia.
Sad for the sport because the actual athletics is fantastic but the sport of soccer is so corrupt I’d be ashamed to even call myself a fan of this corruptness.
Ok, but you’re good with guys running into each other and causing brain injuries. No shame there. Yes, FIFA is a messed up organization but I think most soccer fans aren’t fans of FIFA outside of the video game. This kind of bs high ground crap though makes you look pretty foolish. You don’t like soccer that’s fine, don’t worry about it and move on.
[justify]In other MLS news things are looking up for the Columbus Crew. Their new billionaire ownership group have hired Tim Bezbatchenko as President. He had been the VP and GM of Toronto FC during the years the team was an MLS Cup champion.[/justify]
[justify]TFC in the meantime have announced a GM replacement for the highly regarded Bezbatchenko announcing Ali Curtis as their new GM. He previously built the NY Red Bulls into an Eastern Conference and Supporters Sheild Champion in his time there.[/justify]
[justify]New GM Ali Curtis can help Toronto FC transition from big three era - Waking The Red
Sold to Saudi Arabian club Ali-Hilal for a transfer fee of 2-3 million.
This will free up allot of cash now and the future as an contract extension wasn't going anywhere. He'll make more $$$ in Saudi Arabia. My understanding leagues like them will pay well for guys in the later years of their career to give the league some recognition.
Giovenco wasn't happy here anymore so it's best to part ways.
Last day of the January transfer window internationally. Biggest MLS export ever. Atlanta FC’s Miguel Almiron signed by Newcastle United of the Premier League for a reported $27 million USD transfer fee. The most that Premier League club has ever paid for a player.
This article breaks down how these fees are shared with the league and what the club gets to keep. (All rather complicated). But in the end it is estimated the club will get to keep about $23 million of that fee.
Tidy profit for the club on that young star who helped them sell a ton of tickets and win a championship.
[url=https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/players/285435/miguel-almiron][b]Miguel Almiron[/b][/url]’s league-record sale to Newcastle United FC brings with it an unprecedented financial windfall for[url=https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/teams/atlanta-united][b]Atlanta United[/b][/url]and MLS. In selling Almiron, Atlanta is proving that its system works: Buy young players with potential, even for high sums, and watch them accrue value and win you championships before selling them on.
Now that we see Atlanta’s profit in this transaction, it’s clear to see why the club has shown no hesitation to acquire players for some of the most expensive sums in league history in[url=https://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/players/296391/ezequiel-barco][b]Ezequiel Barco[/b][/url]and Pity Martinez. Barring catastrophe, these players will likely increase their values significantly playing stateside. It’s actually a lower-risk approach, if done right, then is signing older players at the ends of their careers for large sums. Aside from any marketing gains, those expenses are sunk costs. Transfer fees, on the other hand, are more like a security deposit (at worst) and ideally an asset. As MLS’s TV rights improve and expand and the league continues to improve and grow, the “shop window? will get fancier and European clubs will continue to spend for these players.
Sounds like a lot of MLS clubs could learn from Atlanta FC.
MLSE can send some grass seeds too.