The Daily Dirt May 18, 2018: Where’s Barco?

Well, well, well, lookie what we have here. Our old friend Jay Riddle is featured in the story of an Arsenal hipster who saw the light and finally decided to follow an MLS team when Atlanta United came around.

Jay is part of what makes Atlanta United so much fun to follow - the team has developed a sense of community around it and brings people together. Aside from the profile of Mr. Riddle, the article is a deep dive into how Atlanta has found success since it was founded.

Anyway, onto the Dirt...

Domestic

MLS released the list of players that Ezequiel Barco would beat for rookie of the year this year if he was eligible, which because of rules he is not. I’d like to congratulate Mac Steeves for his standout rookie campaign, he’s earned this one.

Not that I’ve ever been guilty of this or would ever change my mind even if I was, but over on Stars and Stripes FC, there’s a piece about BioBranding and how US Soccer will implement it that one of our writers put together after realizing his original take on the topic was wrong. It is a really good bit of work and I’m fully giving it the Daily Dirt stamp of approval. (Also, check back at SSFC around 9AM for something new I’ve got going on there).

Submitted without comment:

Speaking of the next great hope for American soccer players - MLS has a profile on Darlington Nagbe who is low key having the best season of his career. He’s stepped in for Carlos Carmona without missing a beat and is a big, though quiet, part of why the Five Stripes have been so good this year.

International

Since everyone really enjoyed reading about transfer roomers yesterday, here’s a round up of them from ESPN. It gives a rating to the possible ones that could happen this summer. No word on if Falcao to Atlanta is going to happen or when Christian Pulisic could be headed to England.

Gianluigi Buffon plays his last professional game for Juventus on Saturday. The MLS All Stars will miss out on playing him, but before his last game he talked to Copa 90 about his career. Let’s hear it from the GOAT:

Goal

You should maybe listen to...

Or read Bundyville about the Bundy family of Oregon anti-government standoff fame. Draw whatever conclusions you want about it, but the story says a lot about America and where we are as a country.