Doug McIntyre – Page 3 – Football Scout

MLS got it right with Van Damme, but flaws in appeals process were exposed

The FC boys have no sympathy for David Guzman’s diving antics in the Portland Timbers’ 1-0 win over the LA Galaxy.

Diego Chara’s early goal stood up as the winner as Portland earned three points on the road against 10-man LA Galaxy.
A thorough review of the facts leads to a simple conclusion: The MLS disciplinary committee’s (DisCo) response to last weekend’s controversial Diego Chara-Jelle Van Damme incident was correct.
But the episode, which contributed to LA Galaxy defender Van Damme’s suspension for this weekend’s match against Real Salt Lake and earned Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Chara a retroactive fine for diving, did expose flaws in the league’s review and appeals processes, in particular how MLS handles…

Borussia Dortmund have taken the lead against Sportfreunde Lotte thanks to Christian Pulisic’s excellent finish.

After being sidelined with a serious heart condition, Clint Dempsey returned to the field, and had an immediate impact.

Sebastian Salazar and Herculez Gomez recap the return of Tim Howard in Colorado’s 1-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls.
The first part of Bruce Arena’s selection process for next Friday’s critical World Cup qualifier against Honduras and another in Panama City four days is nearly complete, with the U.S. coach to name his roster for both games on Wednesday afternoon.
The second part, of course, requires Arena to settle on a lineup for the match against Los Catrachos in San Jose, California. With just one more weekend of club games left for him to assess the sharpness of his players, here’s a look at how 14 candidates…

Houston Dynamo buy down Mauro Manotas’ designated player contract

Mauro Manotas, center, is no longer a designated player for Houston.
Houston Dynamo forward Mauro Manotas will no longer count as a designated player after the club bought down his salary budget charge with targeted allocation money.
The Dynamo also acquired the 21-year-old Colombian’s future sell-on rights from hometown club Uniautonoma, where Manotas began his professional career before moving to MLS in 2015.
Manotas, a former Colombian under-20 international, failed to score in nine substitute appearances that first season with the Dynamo. He had six goals in…

‘Influential’ Clint Dempsey nearly back to his best – Brian Schmetzer

With both teams coming off an opening weekend loss, the Montreal Impact host an inter-conference matchup at Stade Olympique against the reigning MLS Cup champions, Seattle Sounders FC, in a clash of MLS heavyweights.
MONTREAL — Seattle Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer sees United States striker Clint Dempsey “rounding back into form” after missing eight months because of a heart ailment.
Dempsey has gone the full 90 minutes in each of Seattle’s two games of this MLS season. The three time World Cup veteran scored against the Houston Dynamo last weekend in his first appearance since August, when the team’s medical staff discovered an irregular heartbeat and shut him down for the remainder of the Sounders’ championship-winning…

Conservative Minnesota, free-spending Atlanta seek their first points in MLS

Brian McBride breaks down the good and the bad following the MLS debuts of Atlanta United and Minnesota United.

Miguel Ibarra and Christian Ramirez share how their friendship grew in Minnesota on and off the field.

Atlanta United began life in MLS last weekend in front of a raucous crowd in Georgia’s capital.

This Sunday it’s Minnesota United’s turn, as the Loons play their home opener against the fellow expansion side (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2/WatchESPN) just over a week after losing their inaugural match 5-1 in Portland.

The score line against the Timbers was ugly. Several factors probably played a part in the lopsided result, however: it was a typically cold, wet March night at Providence Park — home of the…

LA Galaxy make offer to Man United for Zlatan Ibrahimovic – source

The LA Galaxy have extended a contract offer to Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic that would make the 35-year-old Swede the

U.S. Hot List: Clint Dempsey returns to action, Aron Johannsson struggling

ESPN FC’s Alejandro Moreno breaks down the best in MLS with his weekly awards.

Max Bretos and Herculez Gomez discuss all the events from MLS opening weekend and are joined by Carlos Bocanegra.

MLS is back, and so is the U.S. men’s national team Hot List.

With Bruce Arena expected to name his 23-25-man roster for this month’s pivotal World Cup qualifiers against in the middle of next week, the U.S. coach will have just one more round of games (in Europe, Mexico and in the domestic league) to decide which players he will call up and put on the field in the matches against Honduras and Panama.

So which Americans are helping their case the most based on their recent club performances?…

Atlanta United condemns homophobic chant heard at debut MLS game

Atlanta looked as if a win was in the cards for their inaugural MLS match, until the Red Bulls second-half comeback.

Sebastian Salazar and Herculez Gomez preview brand-new Atlanta United and discuss whether they can shake up MLS in their first season. MLS expansion club Atlanta United strongly condemned a homophobic slur allegedly chanted by some of its fans during its nationally televised debut game on Sunday.
Atlanta’s 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls drew 55,000 spectators — the third most for an expansion team’s curtain-raiser in MLS history — to Bobby Dodd Stadium, Georgia Tech’s venue that Atlanta United is using until its permanent home, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, opens this summer.
The atmosphere was electric, and the overwhelming majority…

Impressive show from Atlanta United despite loss to New York Red Bulls

Yamil Asad celebrates after scoring the first MLS goal in Atlanta United’s brief history.
ATLANTA – Three quick thoughts after New York Red Bulls overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit to beat Atlanta United 2-1 in the MLS expansion team’s debut match.
1. Atlanta exciting despite the defeat
Atlanta United’s roster looked good on paper, with exciting young designated players like Miguel Almiron, Josef Martinez and Hector Villalba alongside proven MLS veterans such as Jeff Larentowicz, Tyrone Mears and captain Michael Parkhurst. And under “Tata” Martino, the former coach of Barcelona and the…

Orlando’s community work fostering thriving, organic relationship with fans

Taylor Twellman says Orlando City’s opener vs. NYCFC is important to establish a home field advantage in their new stadium.

If Orlando City SC’s success story is among the greatest tales in MLS lore, it’s also possibly its most curious.

How did a market that the expansion-happy league didn’t originally covet, in a state that had seen both of its previous MLS teams shut up shop after only a few seasons, come to host one of the circuit’s most relevant and best-supported clubs?

Before the Lions’ birth as a third-tier mom-and-pop shop six years ago, Orlando had no grand tradition of supporting the professional game…

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