Gold Cup Quarters, Sid Lowe in Barcelona, Aimar Retires

Suerte, Pablo...

Hey now! And another week bites the dust. It's Gold Cup Quarterfinal time this weekend. Here are some previews to prepare you for the action. The U.S. play Cuba tomorrow in Baltimore at 5:00 p.m. EDT on FOX.

2015 Gold Cup Quarterfinals Preview

USA vs. Cuba: Preview I

USA vs. Cuba: Preview II

Liviu Bird: CONCACAF powers USA, Mexico find frustration

Joe Tansey: Mexico Have Plenty to Fix Ahead of Gold Cup Quarter-Final 

The other action on the pitch this weekend takes place in what they call Major League Soccer. Here's a preview. Here's another. Just so you know, MLS All-Star Frank Fatpard probably won't play on fake grass and MLS All-Star Stevie G probably will play against San Jose.

It's election time in Barcelona. Juan Laporta wants to be El Presidente. Again. Sid Lowe followed him around for a day and filed this report.

The Mill. Plus One. Plus Plus One.

About time! There's a Joy of Six to enjoy this week. We feel like it's been ages since we've had one. Anyway, it's...Pre-season and all that. Do it.

Can Man Utd's Memphis Depay emulate great Eredivisie imports to Premier League? That's a fine question. Will he be as good as Van Nistelrooy, Robben, Stam, van Persie, Overmars, et. al?

Backheel Breakfast

Most of the SSN staff were big fans of Pablo Aimar back in the day. He could dance, dribble, shoot, and pass better then almost anyone else we'd ever seen. Alas, injuries curtailed his career, and he has decided to put up his boots at the age of 35. Paul Wilson takes a look at the Argentine Number 10.

And finally...here are 10 Reasons Why Germany Will Win Euro 2016.

Onward!!

-SSN

nbcsoccer.com

T&T and Mexico Thriller, Di María, Benteke, Víctor Valdés, Vidal, dos Santos, Scott Murray on Gerrard

Why, hello there. The Gold Cup offered up plenty of crazy last night in Charlotte. Mexico went up, T&T came back, Mexico went up, and T&T grabbed a late draw amidst lasers and trash. Check the rhyme:

CONCACAF Gold Cup: Wednesday's Day 9 Takeaways

Mexico 4 - 4 Trinidad & Tobago: Three Observations

Kevin McCauley: 8 goals, a 94th minute equalizer and fans throwing trash

Kevin Draper: Trinidad & Tobago Draw Mexico With Last Second Goal

What does it all mean? This. You've got the quarterfinals in Baltimore and the Meadowlands this weekend. Saturday it's USA vs. Cuba and Haiti vs. Jamaica. Sunday it's T&T vs. Panama and Mexico vs. Costa Rica. We'll have previews and prep tomorrow.

The FA announced on Thursday that neither the Scot nor Cardiff’s then head of recruitment, Iain Moody, would face disciplinary action...

The silly season continues apace, friends. It looks like Liverpool really want Christian Benteke. But wait! So do Manchester United. It looks like LVG is pissed at Víctor Valdés and wants him gone. It looks like Ángel Di María will also be allowed to depart Old Trafford. And it looks like everyone's favorite Chilean DUI-er Gore Arturo Vidal is set to sign for Bayern Munich. Check the insanity...

The Mill. Plus One. Plus Plus One.

Scott Murray's got another piece on U.S. stuff, don't you know? It's all about Stevie G. Jeff Carlisle also has a U.S. focus and it's set on Jozy Altidore. What's his future with the national team?

Backheel Breakfast

Jonathan Wilson has a couple of articles out. Both involve transfers that did not go too smoothly. Iker Casillas and Raheem Sterling.

And finally...this is incredibly depressing.

Onward!!

-SSN

nbcsoccer.com

Jamaica Advance, Mexico vs. T&T, Tim Vickery in Argentina, Freddie Adu is 26 and Just Joined His 13th Club

The guy on the left is 26. The guy on the right is 23.

Happy Hump Day! It's all a bit quiet, though. In the Gold Cup last night, pathetic Canada were eliminated after their draw with Costa Rica, and Jamaica managed to advance on the back of a 1 - 0 win over El Salvador. Here are your Takeaways from Day 8 of the tournament. Tonight you're looking at Cuba vs. Guatemala and Mexico vs. Trinidad/Tobago. The Mexicans need at least a draw to advance. Come on, T&T!! Here are Five Things to Watch in that match in Charlotte, along with a Preview.

As for the U.S., it's buh bye Jozy Altidore, Greg Garza and Alfredo Morales, and welcome DaMarcus Beasley, Joe Corona and Alan Gordon.

The Mill. Plus One. Plus Plus One.

Would The Zlatan return to Milan? Gasp! James Horncastle is pondering that question. Also in Italy, Sam Tighe is looking at Juventus. Specifically, new signing Paulo Dybala. With Tevez and Pirlo gone, is Paulo the new face of The Old Lady?

We've been following the writings of Uli Hesse for years. He's been a Bundesliga expert since the early days of SSN. Today, he's worried about schedule meddling and the effect on traveling supporters. Enjoy.

Backheel Breakfast

Looks who's down in Buenos Aires. Why, it's Tim Vickery. He took in the Copa Libertadores match between River and Guarani and filed this report.

Meanwhile, out in L.A., it looks the the assGalaxy will add Gio Dos Santos to their already glistening roster. Barf.

That'll do.

Onward!!

-SSN

nbcsoccer.com

USA and Panama Draw, Haiti Advance, Ranieri in at Leicester, Casillas Send-Off II, La Liga Schedule

Welcome to Leicester!

Party People. How are we this morning? Good. The U.S. managed to grab a draw against Panama last night thanks to a Michael Bradley goal. The weather was hot and sticky in Kansas City, and the Yanks were cold and indifferent yet again. They really need to get their act together now that the Group Phase has ended. In the other match, Haiti surprised Honduras to advance to the quarters. Here's your lot from last night's Gold Cup fun:

CONCACAF Gold Cup: Monday's Day 7 Takeaways

USA 1 - 1 Panama: Jeff Carlisle in Kansas City

USA 1 - 1 Panama: Three Thoughts

USA 1 - 1 Panama: Three Thoughts II

Graham Parker: Bradley on target as off-color USA claim point against Panama

Player Ratings

Lessons from USA's Gold Cup group stage

As noted yesterday, Manchester United had a couple of big signings over the weekend. Here's more on those two dudes. We can begin with this: One is French and the other is German. Now this...

Morgan Schneiderlin at Manchester United: The Key Questions

Raphael Honigstein: Why Bayern sold Schweinsteiger

Mark Lovell: United taking a gamble on Schweinsteiger

Oh, boy. Claudio Ranieri is back in the Premier League. How long will he last at Leicester? We don't think it's going to be a very good match for the Italian gaffer.

Dude. Real Madrid. Really?! These are Iker Casillas's honors:

La Liga: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12

Copa del Rey: 2010–11, 2013–14

Supercopa de España: 2001, 2003, 2008, 2012

UEFA Champions League: 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2013–14

UEFA Super Cup: 2002, 2014

FIFA Club World Cup: 2014

Intercontinental Cup:1998, 2002

And you shove him out the door? El Sid reported on his horrible send-off yesterday. Apparently, the club tried to make amends with another send-off. And, as you might imagine, it just made it worse. Here's El Sid once again.

The Mill. Plus One. Plus Plus One.

MLS. Power Rankings.

And finally...here are your 2015-2016 La Liga Fixtures.

Onward!!

-SSN

nbcsoccer.com

United Secure Schneiderlin & Schweinsteiger, City Finally Snare Sterling, Gold Cup Catch-Up

And a fine start of the week to you! Apologies for the absence on Friday - we were engaged in some SSN outreach with key followers at an undisclosed location discussing the virtues of the Backheel Breakfast. We're back now, and ready for action. We should probably begin with the Gold Cup. The U.S. (yet again) looked far from convincing in their win Friday against Haiti. Yes. Haiti. We must give credit where credit is due, though. The Haitians were organized and quick and counter-attacked with intelligence and structure. The victory means the U.S. are in the Quarterfinals. Joining them are T&T. Mexico could only draw with Guatemala last night, so they need a result on Wednesday to advance. Here's more on all of that!

Gold Cup: Sunday's Day 6 Takeaways

Gold Cup: Saturday's Day 5 Takeaways

Gold Cup: Friday's Day 4 Takeaways

Mexico 0 - 0 Guatemala: Three Observations

Doug McIntyre: U.S. attack less dependent on Altidore

USA vs. Panama: Preview

USA vs. Panama: Five Questions

So, a couple of club icons have departed for pastures new. Bayern Munich no longer have Bastian Schweinsteiger and Real Madrid no long have Iker Casillas. Let's go to some of the top German and Spanish scribes to see what's up with the departures:

Raphael Honigstein: Schweinsteiger’s exit robs Munich of a Bavarian football god
Sid Lowe: No fanfare for Real Madrid legend Casillas as he leaves for Porto
Graham Hunter: Casillas doesn't get a clean break but is still a club legend

Backheel Breakfast

Backheel Breakfast (From Friday)

Major League Soccer is a bit of a mess right now. The Gold Cup, International Champions Cup, and U.S. Open Cup are all going down and it's hard to know what the hell is going on. At least we learned Five Things over the weekend, along with a Weekend Review. Giovinco! Wow!

The Mill. Plus One. Plus Plus One.

That's that!

Onward!

-SSN

nbcsoccer.com