OK, not gonna make a new thread for this, but the CONCACAF Champions Cup has already started, San Diego FC has advanced. VAN were brutalized by Cruz Azul.
This week the rest of the 22 first round teams play their first legs.
MLS has eight teams in the tournament, an all knockout affair.
Sargent sounds a tad expensive? I am going to the Vancouver-Toronto match next Saturday so hope he plays.
Josh Sargent: Norwich City striker set to sign deal with MLS side Toronto - BBC Sport
A little young to retire.
Had I known that the LAFC-MIA match was going to be played at the Coliseum, I might have attended with the other 75K fans. As it was, I was already busy in Central and Central-Coast CA that day and night.
They should play all the El Trafico matches at the Coliseum or Rose Bowl or SoFi. SoFi is getting grass, so that might be nice. July 17 would be perfect, if not for two American-Rules football teams needing the stadium ready in August.
All nine MLS Soccer teams advanced in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. At least two will be eliminated in the Round of 16.
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The CONCACAF Cup competition puts a lot of stress on the players. Whitecaps play 9 matches in a month to start the season: recipe for injuries?
Especially on that turf, unless they’ve already converted for WC.
They should stretch those out a bit. Final in late May, like the Euro’s do.
Of course, putting The MLS Soccer League on the regular season calendar will help this a lot. They could even have Group Stages starting in Sept, finals in late May.
Or just skip the CONCACAF Cup this year since 2026 WC provides a lot of soccer excitement.
UCL is going on.
And this is a way for The MSL to show dominance over LigaMX. If they can.
Well, there is a bit more interest in UCL than the CONCACAF Cup competition!
True.
No idea who’s telecasting it.
Not Ready For Retirement Time player:
Also, fun fact: VAN play SEA in CONCACAF Champions Cup. SEA home match will be in Spokane, as it seems Lumen Field (er, Seattle Stadium) is being covered with grass at this time. SEA next play at home April 12 on grass.
Wonder when SEA try to build on old Longacres track site, a la SoFi? Sure, won’t be a 60K+ stadium for derbies and Messi. Can always move the match to Lumen for those things, a la KC, LAFC, CMH, COL, CHI, HOU, SJ, DC.
Vancouver plays a lot of home games early in the season as our grass gets put in starting April 26. Our early season W-L record will be inflated.
Assuming Home Field Advantage existing in the MLS Soccer League or VAN in particular.
I assume you have stats to back this up over the past several years?
2022 was an especially disparate record.
2023 was less so.
2024 was opposite, but by very little
2025 a little better at home.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/standings/2025/conference#season=MLS-SEA-0001K9&live=false
Wow, NO HOME MATCHES on grass! Away from 4/25 thru 7/31. Last WC match is on 7/7.
Too lazy to check historical stats but they played well last year both at home and on the road:
Home Record: 10-4-3, 34 points Away Record: 8-5-4, 29 points
He’ll probably get roasted for saying it out loud, but he’s right. MLS fans are devoted, but much of the country doesn’t care about it at all.
I have been to several matches here when Muller was playing and the fans love him. And he really seems to be having fun on the pitch. We did have over 50,000 fans for the playoff match against LAFC last fall and I have never been in a noisier crowd.
In the Vancouver market, the Whitecaps rank above all of our other professional teams in popularity. However I appreciate that soccer is not as popular in US cities. I view his comments as not a criticism of his Vancouver fans so there will be no local fallout.
Not sure how European Handball ranks in Germany. If it’s 3rd or fourth, then that is a reasonable comparison. MLS League office is now claiming that Soccer is “more popular” than baseball, by some metric unreported.
From LA Times:
And in January, the Economist released a report that showed soccer passed baseball and is the third most-popular sport in the U.S., after football and basketball.
The headline is certainly misleading. He is referring the rank in popularity, not how the game is played.
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