Major Link Soccer: Arrests, Work Stoppage in Brazil

Sounders

Although Seattle has failed to get 3 points in its past two matches, the Sounders tied their second longest MLS unbeaten streak with the draw against New York, according to Joshua Mayers of the Seattle Times. The streak is the longest active unbeaten streak in MLS.

DeAndre Yedlin participated in a live chat with fans on the Seattle Times website yesterday. Some of the highlights included who his closest friends are on the team, which Sounder is best at FIFA, what it was like to play for Caleb Porter and who his favorite soccer player is and why. After the live chat concluded, the Times posted a behind the scenes video from the chat.

In an interview on Tuesday night, Jurgen Klinsmann indicated that Yedlin is on his radar, but there are no immediate plans to call him up to the national team.

When the Sounders travel to Portland on October 13th, Sigi Schmid will probably have a few interesting conversations on the touch line, with Ricardo Salazar assigned to the match as the fourth official. This marks the first time that Salazar will be involved in a Sounders match since the June 1st match at Chivas USA, in which he handed Obafemi Martins a controversial red card that was later rescinded.

Unsurprisingly, Seattle's chances of winning the Supporters Shield took a bit of a hit after settling for the draw against New York last weekend, but they are still the overwhelming favorites to win the Shield.

After two consecutive years of nightmarish defensive performances in the playoffs, the fact that Jhon Kennedy Hurtado is in possibly the best form of his career has to come as welcome news to Sigi and to Sounders fans.

MLS

After Simon Borg mentioned the missed offside call prior to Tim Cahill's goal last weekend, which led to a post here on Sounder at Heart, Once a Metro is already tired of hearing about it.

Now that the NHL season has begun, Montreal Impact fans are being reminded of how easily their games are cast aside for the sake of the higher ratings of NHL games north of the border. As a result, two of Montreal's remaining games will be broadcast on RDS Info, which seems to be roughly the equivalent of ESPN News.

David Beckham has been thought to be the most likely owner of a MLS expansion franchise in Miami. It now appears that another ownership group is interested in a Miami franchise.

Jeff Bradley interviewed Taylor Twellman for MLSsoccer.com on the MLS scoring record, how he deals with having never won a MLS Cup and how expansion could be hurting quality on the field.

Burgundy Wave notes that the experience of traveling to Dick's Sporting Goods Park is likely to improve in the future, as the area near the stadium is developed and mass transit options improve.

US Open Cup

Big D Soccer has a few ideas about how to fix the US Open Cup.

Perhaps what needs to be fixed most immediately is to get the tournament on a channel that most people could at least potentially get. The only way for someone in the Seattle area to get Gol TV is to purchase a Spanish language package on DirecTV. Comcast and Dish Network don't carry it at all.

USMNT

There were few bright spots at the U20 World Cup in Turkey for the United States. DeAndre Yedlin and Luis Gil were probably the most notable. Colorado Rapids defender Shane O'Neill was another player who looks to have a bright future with the national team. The only problem with that is that he was born in Ireland, and is also eligible for their national team. This week, he seemed just as interested in playing for Ireland as the United States.

After originally indicating that he would name the roster for the final two World Cup qualifying matches, Jurgen Klinsmann is keeping an eye on some injuries this weekend before naming his USMNT roster.

Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell escaped punishment by FIFA for the dive that got American defender Matt Besler suspended from the game against Mexico.

Other National Teams

St. Louis soccer fans have been lucky enough to have access to some high profile exhibitions this year that have included Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid. It now looks like Lionel Messi will make an appearance in St. Louis, with Bosnia and Argentina set to face each other in St. Louis in a friendly on November 18th, conditional on Bosnia qualifying for the World Cup.

Do you know a Mexico fan feeling stressed or even depressed about their performances this year? Tell them to cheer up, because US-based fans of El Tri now have a song that's just for them.

Brazil

The already behind schedule 2014 World Cup in Brazil has hit yet another snag. A labor judge in Brazil has ordered a halt to construction of one stadium for the World Cup over concerns for the safety of workers.

If you want to see the progress of the construction of the stadia in Brazil for yourself, FIFA just published updated photos of each of the 6 stadia that will host the World Cup next year.

10 police officers in Rio de Janeiro are being charged with the torture and murder of a resident of a favela (shanty town). The man's death sparked protests, partially due to the government's attempt to "pacify" the favelas ahead of the World Cup next year and the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Qatar

With FIFA expected to move the 2022 World Cup to the winter, the organizers of the World Cup in Qatar are sticking to their claim that they could host the tournament in the summer or in the winter.

After some investigative reports from the Guardian unearthed the severity of how poorly migrant workers are being treated in Qatar, victims groups and the UN are calling on FIFA to take action to prevent the deaths of workers.

The Guardian isn't showing any signs of letting up. There are new stories from Qatar emerging daily. Now, they have begun to share the stories of some individual migrant workers, like Bhupendra Malla Thakuri from Nepal. According to Nepali migrant workers like him, a big part of the problem lies in recruitment agencies in Nepal.

It appears that the World Cup is part of Qatar's strategy to use sporting events to make a name for itself. The strategy included Barcelona's first ever for profit shirt sponsorship.

FIFA

Did FIFA turn down England's bid for the 2018 World Cup because of news reports in the UK that were unfavorable to the organization? According to Hugh Robertson, the UK's Minister for Sport, that's exactly what happened.

The New York Times has a feature on FIFA President Sepp Blatter that focuses on how his political skill has shaped FIFA during his tenure. Another article examines how FIFA has changed since the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

United Kindom

Pro Soccer Talk's Joe Prince-Wright gives us a behind the scenes look at OPTA's headquarters in London and tells us how its rise has changed the Premier League and the game itself.

Former Manchester United forward Eric Cantona is set to play a starring role in a French erotic film.

Glasgow Rangers has reported an operating loss of £14 million as of June, which the club says is "in line with its five-year strategic plan".

The chairmen of several non-league clubs blasted the FA for failing to act against match-fixing involving 3 Conference South clubs last season.

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas was also critical of the FA for its decision not to hand out further discipline to Chelsea's Fernando Torres for scratching Jan Vertonghen in the face last weekend.

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson appeared on Charlie Rose's show on PBS on Tuesday and revealed that he once was offered the Chelsea job. He also defended David Moyes as the right manager for Manchester United.

UEFA

The lawyer who won the Bosman ruling (which allowed players in the EU to leave on a free transfer after fulfilling their contract) is now targeting UEFA's financial fair play rules.

Basel could be disciplined by UEFA after its Champions League match with Schalke was interrupted by Greenpeace protesters.

When he came on as a substitute against Shakhtar Donetsk yesterday, Ryan Giggs passed Raúl González for the most career appearances in UEFA Champions League, with 145 appearances over 20 years.

TV

If you're interested in watching some soccer on TV today, there are several Europa League matches on ESPN3 and Fox Soccer 2Go, starting at 9:00 AM. The game to watch tonight is a matchup with probably more Sounders Academy alumni on the field than any college game has seen, when Washington takes on Stanford on Pac12 Network at 7:00 PM.