Major League Soccer faces pressure to shift its season calendar to align with Europe's in order to maximize playoff exposure and synchronize with global transfer windows.
MLS and Ecuador midfielder Marco Angulo dies from car crash injuries at 22
- Player had been placed into artificial coma
- Midfielder was married with a young son
Ecuador and FC Cincinnati midfielder Marco Angulo has died from his injuries sustained in a car crash that also killed his former youth team teammate Roberto Cabezas, the Ecuadorian Football Association said on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old Angulo was a passenger in the car that crashed into a metal barrier on the Rumiñahui highway southeast of Quito on 7 October. The driver and Cabezas, who played for Independiente Juniors, were killed in the incident.
Continue reading...FC Cincinnati’s Marco Angulo dies from injuries sustained in October car crash
The 22-year-old Angulo was on loan to Ecuadorian side L.D.U. Quito this season.
Galaxy and LAFC vying to host MLS Cup now that Inter Miami has been ousted
While MLS and its Apple broadcast partners were deeply invested in Lionel Messi leading Inter Miami to the MLS Cup, parity has again leveled the field.
Where do Lionel Messi and Inter Miami go from here?
Inter Miami heads into a pivotal 2025 season with a Club World Cup spot, potential roster upgrades hindered by MLS restrictions, and the ticking question of whether Messi will stay beyond his current contract.
Lionel Messi’s shock playoff defeat was great for drama but a problem for MLS
The league has made the Argentinian star the crux of its push for growth. But now that his season is over will neutral fans bother to watch?
Everyone loves an underdog story, although an iPad may have been angrily thrown across the room in the Garber household as Atlanta United shocked Inter Miami on Saturday evening. Tim Cook might have reacted in a similar way after posting how “excited” he was to watch Lionel Messi and Co in the MLS playoffs. He won’t be watching any more of him this year.
These were the Messi playoffs. The league’s entire postseason marketing focused on the GOAT, pre-empting a predicted march to MLS Cup glory after Miami had set a regular-season points record. Messi was everywhere: on billboards, in social media promos and TV ads. They even aired Inter Miami’s first playoff game in Times Square. MLS had been building to this moment ever since Messi arrived in Florida.
Continue reading...Messi’s Inter Miami toppled by Atlanta United in seismic MLS Cup playoff upset
- Inter Miami ousted by Atlanta with 3-2 Game 3 loss
- Jamal Thiaré double sparks massive playoff upset
- Miami will play in 2025 Club World Cup despite flop
There will be no MLS Cup for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami this year. Atlanta United saw to that with a massive upset, sending the game’s most decorated player and biggest-spending team home earlier than anyone imagined.
Jamal Thiaré scored twice, Bartosz Slisz’s header in the 76th minute was the winner, and Atlanta United stunned Inter Miami 3-2 on Saturday night to win their best-of-three first round MLS Cup playoff series in three games.
Continue reading...Lionel Messi, Inter Miami flop out of MLS playoffs, stunned by Atlanta
Inter Miami lost a second consecutive game to Atlanta United, and crashed out of the MLS playoffs in the first round.
Mateusz Bogusz lifts LAFC past Vancouver and into conference semifinals
Mateusz Bogusz scored in the 62nd minute as LAFC survived and advanced in the playoffs by defeating Vancouver 1-0 to return to the conference semifinals.
LAFC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps score, result: Mateusz Bogusz lifts L.A. with second-half goal
LAFC’s 2024 season will continue after a chess match against the Vancouver Whitecaps in Los Angeles on Friday night.
Does anyone like the MLS playoff format? Players, coaches weigh in on controversial best-of-3 structure
The MLS' best-of-three format in the first round has been unpopular with some fans, players and coaches.
‘We didn’t give Mauricio the credit he deserved’: Hugo Lloris on Pochettino, Levy, Spurs and the USA
Former Tottenham and France captain discusses ups and downs at Spurs, Ange Postecoglou and his new life in LA
Hugo Lloris lived in the intense pressure cooker of international football and the Premier League for so long that there is lightness and even relief as he describes how today began for him in Los Angeles. “I woke up this morning and had breakfast with my kids,” he says with a grin as he chats away happily at home. “I then took them to school and obviously the weather is amazing. Just before our interview I went for a walk and I was still in shorts and a T-shirt … in November.”
Lloris laughs in mild disbelief. We speak on Monday, the day before America goes to the polls, and the 37-year-old goalkeeper says: “Tomorrow is the big day and what’s really surprising when I am walking around the neighbourhood is seeing that people are not afraid to show who they’re voting for. You see the signs outside their houses. We are more private in Europe.”
Continue reading...LAFC faces a tough out in Vancouver Whitecaps, a reflection of coach Vanni Sartini
Vanni Sartini, manager of the Vancouver Whitecaps, is a socialist and an atheist, attributes that are oddly relevant in his team's MLS playoff game with LAFC on Friday.
US sports owners make huge political donations. Which party does your team’s give to?
Nearly 95% of total contributions from owners across America’s major sports leagues went to Republicans. See how your team fared in our database
Sports team owners in the major North American leagues have donated at least $132.1m in federal elections since 2020, with nearly 95% of those contributions going to Republican campaigns, candidates and Super Pacs, according to research conducted by the Guardian.
Nearly all of the owners of the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, NWSL and WNBA franchises were active political donors in the election cycles since 2020. A minimum of $124,806,435 (94.5%) was designated for candidates or committees with Republican leanings, while at least $5,215,693 (3.9%) went toward Democratic causes, according to Federal Election Commission disclosures and data compiled by the nonprofit OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks campaign finance spending. About 2% of contributions went to bipartisan or unaffiliated recipients.
Continue reading...Premier League title race heats up, MLS playoff shock & Rachel Kundananji embarrasses defender
Christian and Alexis react to a wide open Premier League title race. Then, the guys discuss the MLS playoffs including a couple of big upsets. Later, Christian and Alexis break down Rachel Kundananji’s insane skills.