Hello and welcome to the weekly L. A. football newsletter, Times. I’m Kevin Baxter, the Times football writer, and today we’re going to talk about how Giorgio Chiellini discovered happiness in LAFC, how the Galaxy is entering a long offseason, how Sacramento Republic and Todd Dunivant are proving they belong to MLS, and how Everton, England, paid tribute to a fan for his paintings on behalf of Ukrainian refugees.
But we’re starting an incredible 24-hour era in Southern California soccer, an era where 4 games in Los Angeles and in the Orange countries combined to attract a record 142,990 spectators. The Games: Seattle vs. Seattle LAFC at banc of California Stadium, Real Madrid vs. Juventus at the Rose Bowl, San Diego vs. Orange County in Great Park of Irvine and OL Reign vs. Angel City at banc of California Stadium, sold out, meaning no tickets were sold for all 4 Southern California professional games this weekend. Claimed.
The great match that the Rose Bowl fit won 2-0 against the current champions of the Champions League, Real Madrid, against Juventus, an eternal Italian power. Club game in Southern California and the largest for a soccer game in the United States since the summer of 2018, when more than 101,000 people packed up. Big House of Michigan to see Liverpool and Manchester United.
Charlie Stillitano, the man who promoted the Michigan game and, along with his partners at Relevant Sports Group, pioneered the concept of having wonderful European groups tour the United States every summer, hosted 3 games at Michigan Stadium and sold over 100,000 tickets. for everyone. These games have their calling card in the United States and Europe.
“I’d be in a taxi in Europe, and no matter what country I’m in, the guy would say’Michigan!Michigan!’ In a way, it’s mind-blowing to hear numbers like 90,000, 100,000. They just don’t happen every day.
Stillitano has not staged an attack in the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard in March 2020, limited participation in live sporting events, and kept European groups at home. But saturday at the Rose Bowl as a fan and said that the Big Turnout, which surprised the promoters of AEG, fruit of two things.
“There is a very knowledgeable fan base that needs to see the most productive players in the world. And there’s a repressed call because they haven’t been here in a few years,” he said. “But I think it’s going hand in hand with the fact that it has a football nation.
“It is no longer a country that is for football to find its place. It’s here. “
And if America is indeed a soccer country, Los Angeles and Orange counties are its capital. The Rose Bowl is one of two stadiums that have hosted two World Cup finals: the men’s in 1994 and the women’s in 1999. Add to that, the 2003 Women’s World Cup final was played at the Home Depot Center in Carson, and Los Angeles County became the only metropolitan domain on the planet to host 3 World Cup matches.
There are also two MLS groups here: the greatest success in league history on the Galaxy and the greatest success in RECENT LAFC history, and a fledgling NWSL team that sold 3 of the first seven home games in franchise history. The region is also home to part of a dozen successful school systems and more young soccer players than most other states.
As a result, Tom Braun, senior vice president of soccer, operations and progression at AEG, which hosted the Soccer Champions Tour, is optimistic about soccer markets in the U. S. USA and Southern California.
“We didn’t see it as risky,” he said of the four-city tour, which also visited San Francisco, Las Vegas and Dallas and averaged more than 56,000 enthusiasts consistent with the game. “We’ve noticed it because those groups aren’t there because of COVID. They haven’t been to Los Angeles in a long time. They did not pass to the villages where we took them.
Braun said AEG is already expanding the journey to 2023 and that Pasadena will be a logical site for some other game.
“The Rose Bowl is an incredibly special place,” Braun said. “The power that another 90,000 people create in this construction is unlike any other construction in the world. “
Carlo Ancelloti agreed. The Real Madrid coach has won a record 4 Champions League trophies in a 30-year training career that has seen him manage at some of the biggest clubs in the world, but he’s had little fun like Pasadena last Saturday.
“It’s a wonderful atmosphere. The enthusiasts welcomed us with great affection,” he said in Spanish.
Ten largest crowds in the United States this year:
1. Real Madrid vs Juventus, Rose Bowl (friendly), 93,702
2. Manchester City vs Bayern Munich in Green Bay, Wisconsin (friendly), 78,128
3. Charlotte FC vs Galaxy (MLS), 74,479
4. Seattle Sounders vs. UNAM (Concacaf Champions League), 68,741
5. Atlanta United vs Sporting KC (MLS), 67,523
6. Atlanta United vs Austin FC (MLS), 67,516
7. Arsenal vs Chelsea in Orlando, Florida (friendly), 63,811
8. Barcelona vs Real Madrid in Las Vegas (friendly), 61,299
9. Manchester City vs. Club America in Houston (friendly), 61,223
10. Mexico vs. Ecuador in Chicago (friendly), 61,104
Weekend Participation in Southern California
Real Madrid vs Juventus, Rose Bowl (friendly), Saturday, 702
Seattle Sounders at LAFC, Banc of California Stadium (MLS), Friday 22 111
OL Reign in Angel City, Banc of California Stadium (NWSL), Saturday, 22,000
San Diego Loyal to Orange County SC, Orange County Great Park to Irvine (USL Championship), Saturday, 5,177
Several reasons have been put forward for Giorgio Chiellini’s resolve to leave Italy a few weeks before his 38th birthday and end his remarkable MLS career with LAFC. championship and won nine Serie A titles with Juventus.
But his joyful play since arriving in the United States betrayed the real reason: after two decades of betting in the stressed environment of Italian soccer, he sought to regain the joy of playing that had drawn him to the game as a young man.
“It’s my passion. And I still feel good. Good enough to play well enough to exercise every day and see this new fun,” said Chiellini, who smiled during an unusually long consultation with reporters after Friday’s 2-1 win over the Sounders. “My experience at Juventus came to an end. Because I really [said] everything I had in my body.
“But at the same time, I feel like I’m still smart in the betting season. “
LAFC general manager John Thorrington admitted to signing Chiellini, one of the most productive central defenders of his generation, to shape an organization of talented young defenders. However, so far, his biggest contribution has been a contagious enthusiasm that has swept away his new team.
“I’m very much with Giorgio,” coach Steve Cherundolo said. What I like most is how committed he is, how emotional he is to the group. And how happy he is with the group. “
“It’s like I’ve been here for five years. It’s amazing and it’s a testament to his character. “
In the first part of Friday’s match, Chiellini, who has not scored for almost 3 years, uncorked an ugly left-footed shot from more than 40 meters that deflected right at the left post. Chiellini reacted with a furtive smile that Fox TV picked up the cameras.
“If I scored, I think all my teammates and maybe all the fans would go to the field,” he said with a laugh afterwards. “I would have a fine, but it doesn’t matter. Once in my life, I take a ready-to-use [shot]. I didn’t realize what happened.
“You can see,” he added, “I like to play. “
LAFC also benefits as it has lost one game in MLS since Chiellini signed with the team six weeks ago and has a 4-0 record in the games he has played. At 15-4-3 overall, LAFC already has 3 more issues to pick up in 2021 and is poised to break the New England league record of 73 problems in a season.
Saturday’s goals came from Mahala Opoku and Carlos Vela, who scored 8 minutes apart in the first half to erase a 1-0 deficit. For Vela, the goal, on the 7th of the season, ended a streak of seven games without goals in all competitions.
LAFC did allow a shot on goal, as Seattle’s only goal came on an opposing goal alongside Jesus Murillo.
LAFC also received 27 minutes from Gareth Bale, the team’s other main European addition. It’s Bale’s longest game in 3 MLS appearances, a sign that the most productive team in the league is about to improve.
“Gareth’s quality with the ball is transparent with every touch he takes. He showed more tonight,” Cherundolo said. He is constantly running to get minutes of play. It will be gradually perfected and more prolific. “
Bale, like Chiellini, helped ease a locker room atmosphere that was strained in the past.
“Any player will tell you that if he has a smile on his face, he loves football more. You play better, with a little more enthusiasm, and life looks a little better,” Bale said in a television interview. “I need to enjoy my football again, and I feel like I’m on the right track to do it.
“I’m ahead of what awaits me. “
If LAFC flies, it turns out that the Galaxy arrives for a hard landing. With a 1-0 loss in Dallas on Saturday, the team’s fourth loss in five games, the Galaxy lost a point in the Western Conference playoff line. The team has won just twice in nine games in all competitions since returning from the short break abroad in June.
Franco Jara’s goal in the 8th minute Dallas’ only shot of the Galaxy jonathan Bond goal, who deserved more luck after making seven saves, one of his season highs. while after arriving in the 63rd minute, Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes guessed Joveljic’s penalty perfectly, diving to his right to save and maintain his consecutive whitewashing moment.
“There’s still a big component of the season left, but we’re getting to the point where we want results,” Bond said of the Galaxy (9-10-3), who have only played in the playoffs once since 2016. sought to get at least something out of the game.
“I think we deserved more than getting at least one point. “
The Sacramento Republic had hoped to play in MLS next summer, but billionaire businessman Ronald Burkle withdrew from the team’s offer, leaving it high, dry and stuck in the second-tier USL championship.
But if you can’t sign up for them, you can beat them too and the Republic went undefeated against MLS teams this year by sending the San Jose earthquakes, the Galaxy and, most recently, Sporting Kansas City to the top division. team to succeed in the US Open FINAL since 2008, and only the fourth to achieve it in the MLS era.
The Republic will face Orlando City, a 5-1 semi-final winner against the New York Red Bulls, in September in Florida after beating SKC by fallout on Wednesday in front of a crowd of 11,500 at Heart Health Grounds. the football was given to him when tickets for the game sold out less than two hours after they went on sale.
The Good Fortune of the U. S. Open CupIn Sacramento, which comes as the team ranks fifth in the 13-team Western Conference of the USL Championship, raises questions about MLS’s strength over the second-tier league. The 3 MLS clubs that the Republic beat in the tournament have record losses, and only SKC’s adjustment was indeed competitive. So is MLS much weaker than we think or is the USL championship much stronger?
Maybe that will be repeated in next month’s final. For now, let’s applaud what Sacramento and Todd Dunivant, the former Galaxy defender, president and general manager of the club, have achieved.
The hero of the victory faced SKC goalkeeper Danny Vitiello, who never played a minute above the USL Championship. He faced 31 Sporting KC shots and made 8 saves over 120 minutes without a goal before winning the penalty shootout with a save on the former U. S. national. U. S. team player Graham Zusi.
However, the hero of the Sacramento franchise is Dunivant, a four-time MLS Cup winner with the Galaxy. Dunivant, who has a title in stanford economics, not only kept the Republic in combination after the sadness of the MLS expansion fiasco, but propelled the club into the net (Sacramento’s average attendance of 10,436 last season was the third-highest in the USL championship) while putting a winning team on the field.
“For our fan base, of course, MLS continues. Questions continue to arise about it. And we that. We’re still exploring features there,” he said.
“But to realize we have something wonderful here with or without MLS, we celebrate it. We don’t have to wait. We can get things done. It will be very important for our city to show who we are. “
If Dunivant was able to build a winning team in and out of the box in a league with an average payroll of around $1. 5 million and in a city larger than what seven existing MLS groups call home, he creates what he could do in a giant MLS. Market, where individual players are six or seven times the AVERAGE usL?
At just 41 years old and only seven seasons retired from his playing career, expect Dunivant to become a star product this summer and fall. Atlanta United, for example, lost chairman Darren Eales to Newcastle United in the Premier League two weeks ago and the search because his replacement can set off a chain reaction across the league, creating several hot openings in the front office.
Winners of the semifinals of the lower department of the US Open Cup (MLS era)
1996: Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-League) 3, Colorado Rapids (MLS) 0
1999: Rochester Raging Rhinos (A-League) 3, Columbus Crew (MLS) 2 (Rochester won the final by defeating Colorado 2-0)
2008: Charleston Drums 1, Seattle Sounders (USL) 1
(Charleston Battery 4-3 on penalties)
2022: Sacramento Republic FC (USL Championship) 0, Sporting KC (MLS) 0
(Sacramento FC 5-4 on penalties)
Source: Fútbol América
Paul Stratton thought he had the position in space for Everton’s pre-season friendly with Ukrainian club Dynamo Kiev last week, a charity suitable for increasing budget and awareness of war-like relief efforts.
What he didn’t know was that his place on the Everton bench and the Everton kit he had won had been fixed through “Michael McIntyre’s Big Show”, a BBC programme. The show’s producers chose Stratton, a staunch Supporter of Everton, in the popularity of his paintings. helping Ukrainian refugees in whom he traveled several times to Poland to deliver aid.
What he wasn’t told was that coach Frank Lampard was going to update him with former England foreigner Dele Ali to kick a penalty in front of a crowd of 30,000 at Goodison Park, who stood up to greet Stratton.
Stratton buried his shot, which came out slightly deflected, helped in large part by the fact that the Dynamo goalkeeper never moved. After the goal, Stratton ran – talking – towards the goal line, knelt consciously and celebrated as Everton’s players surrounded him.
Anyone’s members applauded.
A former police officer who now works for Liverpool City Council as a fraud investigator, Stratton and his brother first made the 2800-mile circular to Przemyśl, Poland, in the first days after the Russian invasion to help evacuees.
“I couldn’t here and do nothing,” he told the Liverpool Express.
On this first trip, the brothers met with the mayor of Przemyśl and asked him what else they could do.
“He looked at us and said, ‘Just buy chocolate for the kids. That’s what makes them smile,” Stratton said.
So they emptied the local supermarket buying $200 worth of chocolate bars. They left in two minutes.
(Watch the video here)
When Tobin Heath, a two-time World Cup winner with the women’s national team, returned from Arsenal earlier this year, the smart cash had him signed by Christen Press with Angel City. But the team had little interest and last month Heath signed with Reinado OL.
Heath showed up at Angel City and his fans with remorse on Saturday as he came off the bench with seven minutes to play and scored the winning goal six minutes later in a 3-2 Reign victory. The goal is the first in the NWSL since September 2019 and capped a comeback after a 2-0 halftime deficit.
With the loss, Angel City (5-5-2) lost two playoff-line problems with 10 games to play. The Reign, who did not see Megan Rapinoe due to a red card suspension, are 5-3-5.
Don’t miss my weekly podcast on the Corner of the Galaxy online page with co-host Josh Guesman and I talking about the galaxy every Monday. You can listen to the latest podcast here.
“It’s a position where other people don’t see those clubs much. The stadiums are full. The effects of those games don’t have much influence. [But] we also want it to be a lovely show.
Juventus’ new midfielder Angel Di Maria explains what European clubs’ summer friendlies in the United States are like.
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Kevin Baxter writes about football and other things for the Los Angeles Times, where he has worked for 24 years. He has covered five World Cups, 3 Olympic Games, six World Series and one Super Bowl and has contributed to 3 Pulitzer Prize-winning series for The Times and Miami Herald. An essay he wrote in fifth grade was voted the most productive in the class. He has a great dog.
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