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The Daily Dirt is back from it’s business trip and brief vacation Down Under, I know you missed me - I missed everyone dearly. A lot went on last week and I was mostly blissfully unaware of the news as I was far, far ahead of the news in the States. In any event, here are the news and notes to get started for your day today...
Did I get over tired from jetlag and run out of gas when I needed to write the lede for this? Yes. Yes I did.
Anyway, onto the dirt...
Domestic
The most popular soccer team in the US is... the Mexican National Team, imagine that. Steven Goff of the Washington Post has a look at why the team is so popular in it’s northern neighbor and why the motto “two nations, one team” rings so true.
Despite failing to reach his goal of leading the US to finishing 4th place in the World Cup, Jurgen Klinsmann has things to say about the failure of the US in qualifying for the tournament. He also noted that he is more of a knockout round style coach, what a guy.
It was an exciting weekend in NWSL and the Courage will be back at it on Wednesday. Here is a quick roundup of all of the matches from the weekend by Backline Soccer.
International
Andres Iniesta is moving to a new league. Sadly, it won’t be MLS as he will be joining former Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano in China. It isn’t clear which team he is going to, but he will make his move come the summer.
The World Cup may be missing the USMNT and will be fraught with politics and international intrigue it seems like, but the potential for the classic mix of bears and soccer should help keep things in perspective:
Meanwhile, in the Russian third division... pic.twitter.com/NyWEBweN0d
— LateTackleMagazine (@LateTackle) April 16, 2018
Is it international if an MLS team in Canada is playing a LigaMX team in Concacaf Champions League? Yes, yes it is. Today is a huge game for Toronto FC as they host Chivas de Guadalajara at BMO field. The game features a bunch of former coaches from Chivas USA taking on the mothership and will be a chance for Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore to further enrage USMNT fans by being much more successful for their club than country.
Goal
Man buns get a lot of disrespect, but Andy Carroll wouldn’t be able to do things like this without his to be honest...
WHAT A FINISH. Take a bow, Andy Carroll! #WHUSTK pic.twitter.com/A8xmoFPzcV
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) April 16, 2018
You should listen to...
A soccer related podcast episode of How Did This Get Made about the classic film Ladybugs which is a lot more problematic looking at it 25+ years later.