Austin FC name Borrell as sporting director
Austin FC have hired Rodolfo Borrell as their new sporting director. Borrell joins the Texas club after serving as assistant manager at Manchester City. The Barcelona, Spain, native first joined Manchester City as their global technical director in 2014 before becoming an assistant to legendary first-team manager Pep Guardiola in 2016.
Portland Timbers sign center back Araujo from FC Emmen
The Portland Timbers have signed center back Miguel Araujo from Dutch side FC Emmen. The 28-year-old Peruvian international joins through the 2025 MLS season with a club option for 2026. He will be eligible to debut once the league's Secondary Transfer Window opens on July 5.
Vote now to decide the 2023 MLS All-Star Team captain
Voting for the MLS All-Star Captain Fan Vote presented by Captain Morgan is underway.
Soccer Saturday
Y’all know the drill at this point. Another full Saturday of MLS on the way. You’re welcome.
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As always, it’s a stacked weekend in MLS. Here are two big storylines - one in each conference - to keep an eye on.
The game of the weekend is, of course, FC Cincinnati hosting the New England Revolution. The top teams in the Supporters’ Shield standings will meet at TQL Stadium tonight at 7:30 pm ET. And there’s a chance by about 10:30 pm ET, the Supporters’ Shield race could be something close to wrapped.
That’s a bit dramatic on my end, but stay with me. If Cincy win tonight - a genuine possibility considering, ya know, they’ve won every single game at home this season - they’ll have 46 points with 14 games to go. Which… real quick, dear God, they’re basically above the final Audi MLS Cup Playoff line and we’re a little over halfway through the season. They could just quit and still make the playoffs. Anyway: 46 points, 14 games left.
If Nashville lose or draw tonight against D.C. United - a genuine possibility since D.C. thumped FC Cincinnati last week and, like we keep telling you, they’re actually a pretty good soccer team - and if Philly lose or draw with Atlanta - a genuine possibility because MLS - then the weekend will close with FC Cincinnati 10 points out in front of the next-closest team. At that point, we’re looking at a combination of a total nosedive from Cincy and heckuva run from one of the many teams behind them to even make this close.
Say Cincy plummet to a rate of 1 point per game over their last 14 games. They’d end the year with 60 points. That would mean the Revs would need to stay at a 1.71 points per-game pace the rest of the way just to catch up. That’s if Cincy suddenly turn into Toronto for the rest of the season.
Let’s say Cincy drop to a more realistic, Seattle/Atlanta level of 1.45 points per game. They’d end the year with 66 points. The Revs would need 30 points over the last 14 games to catch up, a 2021 Revs-esque rate of 2.14 points per game.
If I did the math right (caveat: liberal arts degree), we really could be looking at something close to done at the end of the weekend. If New England are on their A+ game tonight though, they may have a chance to shape the rest of the season towards something more cinematic. I can think of a few teams besides the Revs who would be very appreciative of that.
Y’all checked the standings in the Western Conference lately? It’s a mess. Spots 3-12 are separated by eight points and it doesn't feel like anyone in the conference is particularly good right now. Which is how we’ve ended up with a Seattle-Houston game that suddenly has huge ramifications.
The Dynamo have rocketed to the top of the standings in the West after beating LAFC in back-to-back games and picking up another huge win over San Jose last week. Naturally, due to the laws of the Western Conference, they got clobbered by Austin in their last game. But still, they’re in fourth place and have a chance to jump into third with a win tonight.
They’re also just two points out of ninth place.
Telling y’all. Mess.
But it is an interesting mess. Houston-Seattle is the big one, of course, but Dallas-LAFC, Sporting KC-Vancouver, Minnesota-Portland, Inter Miami-Austin, and the Cali Clasico at Stanford Stadium all have stakes this weekend. At some point, folks will have to separate themselves one way or another from the pile. With everyone nearly in the home stretch of the season, every game is going to feel critical the rest of the way. Teams will have to escape the gravity in the middle of the West’s standings somehow. Either that, or we’re heading for an all-timer of a Decision Day.
Minnesota United sign midfielder Iwe from MLS NEXT Pro: Minnesota United have tapped into the MLS NEXT Pro-to-first team pipeline for the first time, announcing Friday the signing of MNUFC2 midfielder Emmanuel Iwe. The 22-year-old's historic deal runs through the 2023 MLS season, with club options for 2024-26.
Good luck out there. This timeline is weird but some of it is good.
