World Soccer XXX: We Have Men Too!

[Kepler]

Columbus won their third MLS Cup title on Saturday with a win over LAFC. They move into third on the all time list behind DC United (4) and the LA Galaxy (5)

Seattle with 3?

Edit: 2

[Jimjamesak]

Seattle with 3?

Edit: 2

Yeah 2. New England 0 for 5 though.

[Jimjamesak]

Also, we got the final entrants for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

MLS with a whopping ten teams: Columbus (MLS Cup Winners) and Inter Miami (Leagues Cup Winners) get first round byes with Pachuca (Liga MX winner), Alajuelense (Costa Rica/Central American Cup Winner) and Robinhood (Surinam/Caribbean Cup Winner). Vancouver (Canadian Cup Winner), Nashville, Philly (both Leagues Cup), Houston (US Open Cup Winner), Cincinnati (Supporters Shield), St. Louis (Western Conference), Orlando and New England will enter in round one.

[Kepler]

Saw that. I love the team with the most US titles of all time was a bunch of Jews from LA.

[Kepler]

Also, we got the final entrants for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

MLS with a whopping ten teams

Good god, what's the field? 64?

[Jimjamesak]

Good god, what's the field? 64?

27. 16 of the spots go to either Liga MX or MLS teams, 6 each for Liga MX and MLS (well, one of the US spots is the Open Cup Winner so that one could theoretically go to a non-MLS team), 3 from Leagues Cup (which MLS got all three this year), plus the Canadian Cup winner (which, again, could theoretically be a non-MLS team). The Caribbean gets 3, Central America gets 6, and, because the President of CONCACAF is Canadian, the Canadian Premier League gets 2.

[Jimjamesak]

Saw that. I love the team with the most US titles of all time was a bunch of Jews from LA.

Depends on the definition of “US Titles”.

US Open Cups? Yeah, they’re tied with Bethlehem Steel.

If you include National League Titles then Bethlehem Steel has them dwarfed with 5 Open Cups and 9 American Soccer League titles. Seattle comes close if you include their A-League/USL titles (4) with their Open Cups (4), MLS Cups (2) and Supporters Shield (1). The Galaxy come close too (5 MLS Cups, 4 Supporters Shields and 2 Open Cups).

[Jimjamesak]

MLS announces sporting initiatives for 2024 Season.

Off-Field Treatment Rule

The Off-Field Treatment Rule allows medical professionals with time to assess and treat players off the field of play in a less pressurized environment.

If a player with a suspected injury remains on the ground for more than 15 seconds, the referee will stop play and wave the medical crew onto the field to evaluate the player. When safe, the player will be removed from the field and remain off the field for a minimum of two minutes for further assessment and treatment.

First implemented in MLS NEXT Pro midway through the 2022 season and continued through the entirety of the 2023 season, the Off-Field Treatment Rule has allowed medical staffs time to treat players, while also allowing match play to resume quickly.

Exceptions to the Off-Field Treatment Rule include instances of potential head injury, goalkeeper injuries, serious medical events, and fouls resulting in yellow or red cards.

Timed Substitution Rule

Maximizing effective match time, the Timed Substitution Rule requires that a substituted player exit the field within 10 seconds. Failure to exit from any point on the field within the 10 seconds will cause the incoming player to wait for a 60-second holding period, before entering the game at the next stoppage. During the holding period and prior to the substitute entering, the team will play down a player. Exceptions to the rule include injury and goalkeeper substitutions.

Enacted in MLS NEXT Pro during the 2023 season, 99.7% of the more than 3200 substitutions were completed in 10 seconds or less.

In-Stadium VAR Announcements

Pending International Football Association Board (IFAB) approval, VAR decisions will be announced by the referee to fans in stadium and viewers at home.

The off field treatment rule is something that I wish would be implemented by IFAB.

[Jimjamesak]

So MLS has announced that it will be having the developmental MLS Next Pro teams participate in the US Open Cup instead of the first teams.

Naturally the soccer press and the vocal parts of the fanbases are upset. Meanwhile the other 75% are saying “US Open what? Tennis? Golf?”

Yeah, it sucks, I don’t like it. But also, it’s not like the USSF has done a great job marketing the tournament either (seriously, off the top of your heads name who has the broadcasting rights and how to watch a game). And these reporters that are upset usually don’t bother with it until the final, if that. Sounds like MLS is playing hardball to enact some changes.

[SonofSouthie]

Europa League group draw was yesterday. Brighton in Group B with Ajax, Marseille, and AEK Athens. Don't know too much about European soccer but this looks like the group of death.

https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/draws/

Brighton topped Group B. Surprised to say the least.

[Spartanforlife4]

So MLS has announced that it will be having the developmental MLS Next Pro teams participate in the US Open Cup instead of the first teams.

Naturally the soccer press and the vocal parts of the fanbases are upset. Meanwhile the other 75% are saying “US Open what? Tennis? Golf?”

Yeah, it sucks, I don’t like it. But also, it’s not like the USSF has done a great job marketing the tournament either (seriously, off the top of your heads name who has the broadcasting rights and how to watch a game). And these reporters that are upset usually don’t bother with it until the final, if that. Sounds like MLS is playing hardball to enact some changes.

I misread this at first and thought MLS Next were also going to be competing, so it would be like NHL and AHL teams playing in a tournament together, which seemed cool. But only having the Next teams play is lame.

[Spartanforlife4]

Luton Town-Bournemouth abandoned after Luton's captain Tom Lockyer collapsed from cardiac arrest in the second half. It's his second time collapsing during a game, as he suffered Afib in May during the Championship play-off.

https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/new...at-bournemouth

[Spartanforlife4]

Liga MX final is wild. America vs UANL. Late second half a UANL player gets a straight red for a no look slap to the face of an America player. Now the UANL goalie just got his second yellow and sent off for taking out an America player near midfield on a long ball, so they're down to 9. He just spent five minutes screaming at every official on the field and is now hiding under a tarp behind the ribbon boards on the field to avoid getting hit with items being thrown.

[Jimjamesak]

Liga MX final is wild. America vs UANL. Late second half a UANL player gets a straight red for a no look slap to the face of an America player. Now the UANL goalie just got his second yellow and sent off for taking out an America player near midfield on a long ball, so they're down to 9. He just spent five minutes screaming at every official on the field and is now hiding under a tarp behind the ribbon boards on the field to avoid getting hit with items being thrown.

UANL (Tigres for those who don’t know) added another red card in OT. Honestly, it seems like it was a standard Liga MX Final. And they do it twice a year.

Club America wins for the first time since the 2018 Apertura. Doesn’t sound like much but remember that Club America is probably the biggest club in the hemisphere. Like, imagine the Yankees but they’re owned by Disney and every Yankees game was on ABC while the rest of MLB was buried on ESPN2. That’s what goes on with CA, Televisa and Liga MX.

[Jimjamesak]

The last few days have been very telling of the US Soccer media landscape. The amount of articles and videos about MLS’ decision with the US Open Cup, talking about how MLS is “an unserious league” or “ruining American soccer”, even though 99% of the people churning out the content have never watched an Open Cup match in their life.

It’s almost like they have an agenda against MLS and were just looking for an excuse to make more negative content about it.

And people wonder why the league doesn’t market itself to these people…