The Daily Dirt, July 11: Villalba, Ronaldo, and more

The DSS crew has been on high alert since news broke of Hector Villalba’s possible transfer to Atlanta United. To catch everyone up, it appears that he has left San Lorenzo’s preseason training camp in Costa Rica and is returning to Argentina to sign a contract with Atlanta. He did not play for San Lorenzo in their 4-2 win over Costa Rican powerhouse Saprissa last night, but was at the stadium with the team.

Villalba has also been retweeting posts from fans wishing him well:

We will keep you posted as soon as more is known. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.

Cristiano Ronaldo can be infuriating, especially if he is scoring goals against your team. Anyone who has played the game had to feel for him after his early injury in yesterday’s Euro 2016 final. Portugal has relied on Ronaldo to get them this far and this could have been their last chance to win a trophy in a long while. Full credit to him to try to play through it, but it was just impossible. You could tell on the last run he made through the middle of the field, he took 3 steps and passed the ball off because he just could not do it.

I’m sure it was heartbreaking for him, but full credit to the rest of Portugal’s team and their coach Fernando Santos. No, it was not pretty. This match was for a trophy though, judges were not awarding style points. Using his last sub to bring on Eder, and especially when he did it, was a brilliant move. Yes, they were playing conservatively. However, Eder gave them a #9 who could pose a threat if he had the opportunity. He made the most of the chance that came his way, ripping a shot into the lower corner and taking Portugal to the trophy.

America

Portland and the Red Bulls draw 0-0 (Stumptown Footy)

NYCFC’s winning streak comes to an end in Kansas City (The Blue Testament)

Steve Birnbaum wants to leave, DC United wants him to stay (Stars and Stripes FC)

Diego Fagundez could be on the move from New England, Palermo reportedly interested (The Bent Musket)

John Harkes takes a look back at 1994 (The Players’ Tribune)

World

Catch up with Bayern’s young American Julian Green (Goal)

Chivas qualifies for a playoff to earn a Copa Libertadores spot (ESPN Deportes)

The Guardian thinks that the England manager vacancy will come down to Sam Allardyce or Jurgen Klinsmann (The Guardian)

Atlanta

Braves unlikely to deal Julio Teheran now (Talking Chop)

Will the Falcons improve, worsen, or be the same in 2016? (The Falcoholic)

Former Georgia Tech star Jarrett Jack signs with the Hawks (Peachtree Hoops)