Happy Thursday, everyone. Last night, I was at Audi Field for the annual Congressional Soccer Match, which is always good for some bad soccer and incredible laughs. There were plenty of DC United alumni participating in the match: John Harkes, Dwayne DeRosario, Bill Hamid was in goal, and Tony Sanneh coached the Dems. And of course, it helps raise awareness for the U.S. Soccer Foundation. Definitely encourage people to come out next year, as tickets are free!
Now, to the news from yesterday…
In U.S. Open Cup action, NYCFC II beat the Colorado Springs Switchbacks to advance to the Round of 16, and as the furthest advancing Division III team, they get $25K!
In late night action, New Mexico United dropped Real Salt Lake in the Cupset. As of the time of writing, LAFC and Seattle were still playing, so you’ll have to check the scores there.
Real Madrid reach Champions League on ‘dream’ night for Joselu (ESPN)
Alphonso Davies gave Bayern Munich the lead with about 20 minutes left, but 2 goals from Joselu were the difference as Real Madrid advanced to the Champions League final. The game had some controversy in the final seconds as Bayern thought they had the equalizer but it was waved off due to an early whistle for offside.
It’s Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on June 1st.
The USL Super League team in Dallas will play at the Cotton Bowl. The team, who will reveal their team name today, were approved to play in the 92,100-seat stadium for their first two seasons. The league gets started in August.
It’s possible that we will learn the name of the DC Super League team today as well. Stay tuned to their social media.
Ex-RFEF prez Rubiales to stand trial for unsolicited WWC kiss (ESPN)
Former Spain federation president Luis Rubiales will go to trial for kissing Spain player Jenni Hermoso without consent and for coercing her to say it was consensual. Former Spain coach Jorge Vilda, sporting director Albert Luque, and head of marketing Ruben Rivera will also stand trial for coercion.
World’s 50 Most Valuable Soccer Clubs 2024 Ranking (Sportico)
20 MLS clubs are in the top 50 most valuable soccer clubs list, according to Sportico. They’re led by LAFC, who are 15th at $1.15 billion. Atlanta United, Inter Miami, LA Galaxy, and NYCFC also make the top 20. DC United sits at 29th with an estimated value of $720 million.
The top 5 most valuable clubs: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich.
Amnesty International presses FIFA for 2022 WC labour report (ESPN)
Amnesty International is putting the full court press on FIFA to release the 2022 World Cup labor report that was promised at the end of the tournament. FIFA has balked at calls to release it even after they, unsolicited, promised to release the report at the end of the tournament.
Stateside Cup 2024: Schedule, tickets, stadiums and more (Pro Soccer Wire)
Crystal Palace Baltimore used to be a thing, and now Crystal Palace will return this summer to re-establish their football in the DMV. They will play Wolves at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on July 31st, which would give fans a chance to see Chris Richards in action.
Enjoy the day today.
Hooray for New Mexico United! They dumped MLS West Division leader Real Salt Lake 4-2 at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque last night. Though RSL controlled possession (61%), New Mexico United matched RSL in shots (10) and had more on goal (5-4).
FWIW, New Mexico United has a great shirt sponsor — Meow Wolf.
Great night for New Mexico soccer. Worthy of the pioneer Immortal New Mexico Chiles.
It was galling to watch the lack of VAR on Bayern’s possibly leveling goal in the waning seconds of an incredible competition. To be fair, I don’t really know if deLigt was on or off. The announcers (who would never stoke controversy /s) claimed he was on.
I do think that Madrid’s momentum would have more likely carried them in extended periods, if not PKs, as they made Bayern quite tired. Excellent crowd, especially once uncorked by Madrid’s equalizer. I could have made bank selling antacids prior to that moment, even if they were produced in Bavaria. A dropped pin would have made a din after Davies scored against the run of play.
Best wishes to Dortmund and Real Madrid for a scintillating final.
Charles Boehm mentioned that Patrick Mullins was also on the pitch last night for the Congressional Soccer Whatever. Glad that he’s still local (and coaching at Loudoun, right?)!
He was! I didn’t seem him up close but saw he was there and failed to mention that. Me and Bill were able to chat for a bit though.
So round of 16 teams get $25K to split among 30 guys and the technical staff?
No wonder the MLS players don’t want to bother. If you want major league talent, you need to pay major league purse money. I’m sure the Leagues Cup is 10x that amount.
I think that’s just the award given to the last standing team from a given level of the soccer pyramid in the tournament. Like NYCFC II is the last third division club still in the competition, so they get a $25,000 bonus.
For an MLS-affiliated club (and City Football Group affiliated club beyond that), it might not mean that much. But for some of these other smaller clubs, it’s a nice reward.
Bingo. If you provide purses that are great for a third division team then you should only expect third division teams to want to participate.
The awards are just for the best amateur, and D3 teams to advance. I believe the best D2 team also gets a higher award and of course, the team to win gets a 7-figure award. The MLS teams’ participation is not affected by the D3 or amateur payout.