Dani Alves Reportedly Agrees to Terms With PSG

Dani Alves to PSG

The NFL isn’t the only football with big stars changing cities next season. Barcelona left back and Brazilian International Dani Alves will be headed to PSG this summer, according to reports out of Spain.

**UPDATE**

Dani Alves refuted Marca’s reports this morning on his Instagram account.

marca

alves IG

According to Google Translate:

You really believe in what they say? I’m a little tired of hearing sheep getting $h!it … I love this club so experienced and so my left to live in but if one day I have to leave, I’ll have the same eggs he has done me get to the to tell and I do not need any sheep speak for me.

 

Maybe Manchester United fans, who have seen Antonio Valencia as Van Gaal’s preferred right back all season, have fresh hope of the Brazilian landing in England next season. They are also reported to be interested in Porto’s Danilo, who many believe is destined to be the next Real Madrid right back.

 

Marca.com reports:

Marca Radio has announced that Daniel Alves has a new team for next season. The lateral Still Barcelona already has an agreement with PSG, with whom he signed for three years at a rate of 9 million gross per season.

The Brazilian signed his contract this Tuesday. Alves took two days off that gave Luis Enrique after beating Ray and traveled to Paris to close the deal with the French team.

Thus, Alves, who will have six month contract at Barça, will leave Barcelona after seven years. In Paris he will join fellow Brazilians David Luiz, Marquinhos, Maxwell Thiago Silva.

Manchester United were reportedly hopeful of signing Alves, who will take his talents to Paris this summer if these reports are true.

If You’re Reading This, You Could Probably Have Scored vs Real Madrid Today

It’s been known for some time now that (Saint) Iker Casillas might be past his prime. He had a shaky Champions’ League final against Atletico Madrid last year, a less-than-stellar World Cup, and hasn’t exactly been convincing as Carlos Ancelotti’s number one all season. But after watching some of the goals that he gave up today- it pains me to say this as a Manchester United fan- but boy are the Madridistas going to love them some David De Gea next season.

It doesn’t make much sense. Iker Casillas is only 33 years old which, in goalkeeper years, is the equivalent of Brad Pitt during the Fight Club years.

Do You Even Lift, Bro?

Do You Even Lift, Bro?

Dude should be a stud.

He should be like Jesus Shuttlesworth in He Got Game, schooling old “I’ve been incarcerated, son” Denzel Washington in that last one on one game to send his grilled cheese-ironing, Jordan XIII wearing self back to prison.

Denzel Washington Jordan XII

Do You Have These in TF?

Instead of progressing with age like so many American goalkeepers have over the years (isn’t Brad Friedel still playing, somehow?), the once untouchable Madrid shot stopper who has won ___________ (insert award here, and I’m not kidding) seems destined for a move to QPR next season.

Here are the video highlights via ESPN FC.

Schalke goal number 1- not strong enough to keep it out of the back of the net, despite the shot being RIGHT at him. Just worth noting- the goal scorer, Christian Fuchs, is listed as a defender.

Schalke goal number 2- Max Meyer is supposed to be a World-Class talent, but to give up a rebound on his shot, and then to put the rebound into the middle of your box?

Yeah. My Bad.

Yeah. My Bad.

Schalke goal number 3- 57th minute – great shot, not much he could do. Khedira didn’t close down quick enough, but watch Ronaldo as well. Not sure if he could have closed down the angle quicker than that, but either way, Real Madrid’s back line and CDM was pretty bad.

Schalke goal number 4- Huntelaar the hunter, at his finest.

Klaas-Jan-Huntelaar-is-on-002

Is Ancelotti going to make a goalkeeper change so late in the season, especially one that (already very pi$$ed off) fans would likely not approve of? I doubt it. He better hope that Khedira gets match fit and does a better job protecting his back line over the next few weeks, because if Casillas ends up being that exposed in an AWAY Champions League match (lol @ this being at home), they’re in trouble.

Weekend Roundup March 7th-8th 2015

soccer-field-snow

Mother nature did her best “stopper” impersonation in the week leading up to what was supposed to be an exciting opening weekend for MLS and US Development Academy teams, covering the Northeast in snow, sleet, and ice. And boy did she succeed, putting in a “MOTM” performance.

US Development Academy Roundup

USDA

March 7th and 8th

Many area teams were forced to cancel training sessions during the brutal winter week, struggling to find indoor practice venues and battling hazardous road conditions in the DMV. As a result, of the four area US Development Academy teams (DC United, Bethesda-Olney, Baltimore Bays Chelsea, and Richmond United), Richmond was the only team in action this weekend.

Richmond United

Richmond United U-13/14 hosted NJCSA on Saturday, coming out on top with a 4-1 win. Goals were scored by Ryland Maragh, Luke Mega, Miles Peay and Jacob Thomas. NJCSA’s Matthew Leon kept Richmond from earning the clean sheet. (official match report here)

Richmond United’s U-15/16 team had a double-header this weekend, facing off against NJCSA on Saturday and NY Red Bulls on Sunday, both games being held at home at Ukrop Park. Richmond was able to put up a 5-1 victory over NJCSA, led by a Julian Ngoh hat trick and a brace by Brandon Perdue. (official match report here)

However, Sunday proved to be a far more difficult task, with NY Red Bulls coming to town and earning a 3-0 victory. Red Bulls goals were scored by Omir Fernandez and Brian Saramago. (match report)

In U-17/18 action, Richmond United earned a 3-1 victory over NJCSA on Saturday. Goals were scored by Jesus Duran Reyes and Keenan O’Shea (who also saw red in the match, official match report here).

On Sunday, however, New York Red Bulls came to town and put up five goals in a 5-0 victory against Richmond United’s U-17/18 team, with goals from Wesley Wade (2), Juan Sebastian Sanchez, Gideos Metrikin, and Malcolm Dixon. (match report)

DC United

DC United’s US Development Academy Teams are scheduled to play in the following matches this upcoming weekend (March 14th and 15th, 2015):

DC United U15/16 at HOME vs PDA (Players Development Academy) U15/16 – Saturday, March 14th at 5:15pm – Prince George’s Sport and Learning Complex

DC United U17/18 at HOME vs PDA (Players Development Academy)  U17/18 – Saturday, March 14th at 11:00am – Evergreen SportsPlex – Field 4 (Turf)

Bethesda-Olney

Bethesda-Olney’s US Development Academy Teams are scheduled to play in the following matches this upcoming weekend (March 14th and 15th, 2015):

Bethesda-Olney U13/14 HOME vs Soccer Association of Columba (SAC) U13/14 –Saturday March 14th at 2:30pm – Richard Montgomery High School

Bethesda-Olney U15/16 AWAY vs New York Red Bulls U15/16 – Sunday March 15th at 2:30pm – Red Bulls Training Facility

Bethesda-Olney U17/18 AWAY vs New York Red Bulls U15/16 – Sunday March 15th at 12:00pm – Red Bulls Training Facility

Baltimore Bays Chelsea

Baltimore Bays Chelea’s US Development Academy teams are scheduled to play in the following matches this upcoming weekend (March 14th and 15th, 2015):

Baltimore Bays U13/14 AWAY vs Lehigh Valley United U-13/14 – Saturday, March 14th at 1:00pm – Whitehall High School

Baltimore Bays U15/16 AWAY vs NJCSA U-15/16 – Sunday, March 15th at 2:30pm – St. John Vianney High School

Baltimore Bays U17/18 AWAY vs NJCSA U-15/16 – Sunday, March 15th at 12:00pm – St. John Vianney High Schol

MLS Roundup

Opening Weekend Attendance

orlando sc crowd

Orlando City SC and New York City FC both made their MLS debuts this weekend, ending in a 1-1 draw. Goals were scored by Kaka and Mix Diskerud.

Over 60,000 people attended the match, making it the 9th highest attended game in MLS history and the 2nd most successful opening match (in terms of attendance) since the Los Angeles Galaxy’s opening match back in 1996 at the Rose Bowl which saw just under 70,000 fans attend (official attendance: 69,225).

For more information on opening day MLS attendance numbers, check out Steven Goff’s Washington Post article MLS Draws a Record Crowd on Opening Weekend.

DC United

With a disappointing number of fans coming to DC United’s Home and season opener on Saturday at RFK Stadium (only 11,549 fans in attendance, an alarmingly low number for a franchise that finished 1st in the Eastern Conference last season, and which was once among the league’s elite teams in terms of supporters), the Black and Red were able to secure a 1-0 victory against a visiting Montreal Impact team which finished dead last in the Eastern Conference last season.

Jairo Arrieta, who DC United acquired from Orlando City SC after he was picked up in the 2014 MLS Expansion draft, opened his 2015 scoring account early, scoring the game’s loan goal in the 58th minute.

DC United will play again in two weeks, when they travel to New York to face the Red Bulls on March 22nd.

World Football Roundup

English Premier League

Harry Kane vs Tottenham

There was only one EPL match this weekend- Tottenham Hotspurs vs QPR. Harry Kane continued his impressing recent scoring form, bagging a brace for the visitors as they saw off QPR 2-1.

In FA Cup Action, Aston Villa beat West Brom 2-0 on Saturday in a match which saw fans raiding the pitch and the FA preparing to step in and investigate.

Reading and Bradford drew 0-0 on Saturday, as did Liverpool and Blackburn on Sunday (0-0).

Roy Keane vs Patrick Vieira

Hopefully today’s marquee FA Cup matchup, Manchester United vs Arsenal, produces more action than this weekend’s rather boring scorelines.

La Liga

Lionel Messi vs Rayo Vallecano

Lionel Messi scored a hat trick on Sunday in Barcelona‘s 6-1 THRASHING of 10-man Rayo Vallecano. Luis Suarez scored a double, with Pique also getting in on the action. The win sees Barcelona take over LA Liga’s top spot, one point ahead of Real Madrid. For video highlights of the match visit Yahoo!’s recap here.

And be sure to check out Neymar’s reaction. The Brazilian was forced to serve a suspension over the weekend for yellow card accumulation.

Real Madrid dropped points against Althletic Bilbao this past weekend, losing to the 8th place LA Liga side 1-0. You can find a more in-depth match report here via BBC.

Real Madrid will prepare to face Schalke tomorrow in Champions League action, going into the match with a 2-0 aggregate lead.

Ronaldo

One interesting piece of news coming as a result of Real’s weekend loss, 32% of Real Madrid fans say Cristiano Ronaldo should be dropped! Maybe those fans were dropped on their heads at some point, but it still remains to be seen how Cristiano and Gareth Bale can co-exist, with Madridistas becomming more and more infatuated with Isco.

Bundesliga

Bayern Munich now have an 11 point lead in the Bundesliga, defeating Hannover 3-1 on Saturday. Muller was impressive throughout the match for Bayern Munich, who prepare to take on Shakhtar this week in Champions League action.

See Goal.com’s Bundesliga team of the week here.

Champions League Preview

This week’s Champions League Round of 16 matchups will see some World-Class clubs eliminated from the competition.

PSG travel to London to face Chelsea on Wednesday. The first leg finished 1-1, with Chelsea scoring the away goal.

Bayern Munich and Shakhtar Donetsk played to a 0-0 draw in the first leg, and will settle things on the pitch in Munich on Wedsnesday.

Real Madrid will attempt to see off Schalke on Tuesday, with Real playing hosts after beating the Bundesliga side 2-0 in the first leg.

And finally, Tuesday will see Basel and Porto determine which side will move on and ultimately play the underdog of the Round of 8. The two clubs battled to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, with Porto grabbing the away goal.

Yanks Abroad

For a recap of how Americans playing in Europe and other parts of the world fared in this weekend’s action, check out Steven Goff’s Americans Abroad recap.

Also be sure to check in on Yanks Abroad for news relating to Americans playing the beautiful game overseas.

 

And finally, congratulations to Richie Williams and the US U-17 National Soccer team, who defeated Guatemala last week to win the CONCACAF U-17 Championship.

 

 

 

U14 Academy: Baltimore Bays 3 – Richmond Strikers 2

Sat, November 2, 2013

Richmond, VA

The Baltimore Bays’ Chelsea U13/U14 US Academy team registered their first win of the 2013-2014 season on Saturday after defeating the Richmond Strikers’ U14 Academy team 3-2. Richmond opened the scoring in the 7th minute thanks to a goal by Luke Mega, but Frank Assaro‘s Bays were able to equalize later in the half after Olufela (Fela) Osifeso worked his way free on the right side and found Brady O’Connor who finished with a well-placed side netting shot. The Bays were able to score one more goal before half after first-half substitute Cannon Buechley was able to beat the Strikers’ defender and goalkeeper with a solo effort to put Baltimore up 2-1 before half.

Baltimore got on the board once again in the second half after a Brady O’Connor corner kick found Nicolas Haskins for an impressive upper-90 finish, putting Baltimore up 3-1 in the 67th minute. Richmond’s Luke Mega was able to secure his second goal of the game in the 74th minute, but Baltimore was able to hold on for the remainder of the second half despite a red card being issued to second-half substitute Nnayereugo Nnadozie.

The away victory was the first win of the season for the Baltimore U14 Academy team, who improves 1-3-4 and will travel to Richmond once again next weekend to take on The Richmond Kickers.

Photos:

[flickr_set id="72157637348108164"]

 

 

 

 

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