Breakfast Links - October 28, 2022

It’s Friday everyone!! The week is over and we have another beautiful weekend of football or soccer! Let’s catch you up to speed for the weekend.

Houston

As a Dynamo fan, we are looking forward for two things: the roster decisions and the appointment of the new head coach. The wait continues on both! Hugh Perez, head coach for El Salvador, was rumored that he had talks with Dynamo but in a recent tweet from El Salvador Fan Club, Hugo was asked if he had the desire to come to MLS. With a strong no, it looks like the search continues for the head coach.

Good news for our Dash players. Nichelle Prince and Sophie Schmidt have been called up for Canada Women’s National team for the November camp to face Brazil on the 11th and 15th.

Major League Soccer

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

These past two days have been busy for MLS news before the conference finals this weekend.

There was some huge news coming from Atlanta United this week! During a tense face-to-face meeting with technical director Carlos Bocanegra, Josef Martinez was told that he will not be part of the club’s future! Since coming to MLS in 2017 from Serie A side Torino, he has been a star for Atlanta and the face of the club for the past 5 years. He won MLS Cup and became the first to be MVP in all the 3 competitions in MLS: All-Star game, regular season, and MLS Cup. We will see where he ends up.

More details have come to light about the new Apple deal, per The Athletic. Many things are in place, such as the broadcasting times and what Apple has in mind for the Whip-around show. But many unknowns are still be determined, like who will be calling the games, who will be the analysts, and who will be doing the studio coverage. There are still a lot pieces missing but they are in a race against time to get this running.

Finally, the weekend we been waiting for, the conference finals. Like Cristian says, I hope everyone loses because the Dynamo aren’t in it. On Sunday, the Western Conference Final comes first with LAFC vs Austin FC at 2PM CT at Banc of California (better LAFC wins than Austin, the lesser of two evils). Lastly, we have the tight match of Philadelphia Union vs NYCFC for the Eastern Conference Final at 7PM CT. Whatever match you are going to watch, it’s going to be an exciting weekend!

Around the World

THE CHAMPIOOO…..more like the Europa League now. So many big clubs didn’t make it to the round of 16 ub the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona, Juventus, Sevilla, Frankfurt, Ajax, and Atletico Madrid have all failed to go to the next round and all are going to the Europa League. It might be that after the World Cup, the Europa league is the competition to watch with teams like Arsenal, Roma, PSV, Fenerbahce, Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Union Berlin and Lazio all taking part.

Speaking of Manchester United and the Europa League, Cristiano Ronaldo was back in the side after his antics from last week. He started and scored the last goal in United’s win against Sheriff.

On Saturday at 3PM CT, we have the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores final of Flamengo vs Aletico Paranaense. The two Brazilian teams will battle it out for the final. Flamengo comes in as the favorites and Paranaense come in as a surprise in the tournament. This will truly be a match to watch.

The Premier League match to watch for the weekend is Manchester United vs West Ham. Both teams need points and both are trying to get back on their feet from a slow start in the season. Both come in with good form and it should an interesting match for the neutral to watch!

There is a lot of football this weekend! Let us know what we failed to mention that you are looking forward to. Enjoy the weekend and see you back on Monday!