Major Link Soccer: Benching Andrea Pirlo

MLS

DC United is gearing up to move into a new stadium by losing a bunch of games. One way to get some fan excitement besides winning (that seems hard) is selling a portion of the team; the 35% portion formerly owned by Will Chang. Supposedly on deck to take it, or even more, is the owner of the Capitals and Wizards, or incompetence incarnate Dan Snyder.

When Bob Bradley was the coach of the Goats there was no DP, there was no Seattle or Toronto, and the league was still struggling to make a presence. While that was MLS .75 and today is at least MLS 2.5, maybe 3.0, the former USMNT boss believes his past experiences will still help him. For what it’s worth, he is a great club coach that should do well at beating the Galaxy.

Andrea Pirlo was a great player, and the emphasis is on the was. He can still send in a beautiful free kick, but Hudson River Blue has two charts that breaks it all down for you on just how bad he’s become.

If you are attending the MLS All-Star game in Chicago this week (I know at least one person, it’s crazy I know) then here’s a city guide of what to do in the Windy City. And if you aren’t attending, here is a guide to Chicago in case you go there at another time.

Brian McBride has opinions on MLS as the league heads to his hometown for the All-Star game - yes, they’re worth reading, including his feelings on coaching the homegrown game.

USA

Offensively the USMNT hasn’t been too different, statistically speaking, under Bruce Arena than they were under Jurgen Klinsmann, but on defense the Red, White, and Blue are shining.

At one point Freddy Adu was going to be a savior and god for American soccer, but when that didn’t pan out he bounced around a bit. Now he’s unable to catch on anywhere and the clubs that bring him in for a trial call him “Frank” and “an old vacuum”.

World

Plenty of people use soccer as an escape from the daily grind, but for the people living in Kakuma, the third-largest refugee camp in the world, it is much more than that.

Former Sounder Alvaro Fernandez has found a new club. Flaco is signing with an Argentine side for the upcoming season.