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| MLS is Back Tournament final: Portland Timbers v Orlando City – live! | MLS is Back Tournament final: Portland Timbers v Orlando City – live! |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Minute-by-minute report: The teams face off in Florida to decide the winner of the midseason tournament. Join Beau Dure for the latest news | Minute-by-minute report: The teams face off in Florida to decide the winner of the midseason tournament. Join Beau Dure for the latest news |
| 5 min: Ebobisse gets acquainted with Orlando’s defense in a bit of body-slamming. Ismail Elfath declines to blow the whistle. | |
| 3 min: Free kick for Orlando, which has had the better of play so far. It’s 28 yards out to one side, whipped in and cleared. Orlando regains possession. Portland has barely seen the ball. | |
| Orlando opens with some possession. | |
| MLS veterans face off as coaches | |
| You might not find two MLS coaches who’ve earned as much respect in the league as Portland’s Giovanni Savarese and Orlando’s Oscar Pareja. | |
| Savarese, a Venezuelan who came to the USA to play college soccer at Long Island University-Brooklyn, was a fierce attacker for the MetroStars (now the Red Bulls) and a couple more MLS teams. He moved into coaching and had a successful run with the neo-NASL’s neo-New York Cosmos. Portland gave him a shot in MLS in 2018, and he immediately took the Timbers to the MLS Cup final. | |
| Pareja is synonymous with FC Dallas, the club for which he played many seasons upon his move from Colombia and for which he served many years as an assistant coach before starting a long spell as head coach. He also was one of the architects of Dallas’ renowned academy program. After a year in Mexico with Tijuana, he returned to MLS to take over Orlando. So far, so good. | |
| Game starts in about two minutes. | |
| Black Lives Matter movement | |
| MLS players and staff have taken advantage of their unusual platform here to make bold statements on social justice. The league hasn’t been playing the national anthem, but players have all taken a knee before each game, and the various T-shirts included some designed by Philadelphia’s Warren Creavalle, drawing inspiration from a blog post by a player we’ll see tonight, Portland’s Jeremy Ebobisse. | |
| And at last, ESPN turns its attention to Disney World, and perhaps we’ll find out when we’ll actually be kicking off. | |
| But first, Tim Howard narrates a piece about the bubble. | |
| Officiating news | Officiating news |
| The center ref is Ismail Elfath, but the story here is Kathryn Nesbitt, the AR who will be the first woman to officiate an MLS final. | The center ref is Ismail Elfath, but the story here is Kathryn Nesbitt, the AR who will be the first woman to officiate an MLS final. |
| The other AR is Kyle Atkins. The fourth official is Joe Dickerson, the assistant VAR is Logan Brown, and the VAR is the ubiquitous Allen Chapman. | The other AR is Kyle Atkins. The fourth official is Joe Dickerson, the assistant VAR is Logan Brown, and the VAR is the ubiquitous Allen Chapman. |
| Elfath and Chapman were in the same roles when the VAR system made its U.S. debut four years ago. | Elfath and Chapman were in the same roles when the VAR system made its U.S. debut four years ago. |
| Yes, that’s the Nani, the former Manchester United player and Portuguese international. He was superb in the Lions’ 3-1 semifinal win over Minnesota United. | Yes, that’s the Nani, the former Manchester United player and Portuguese international. He was superb in the Lions’ 3-1 semifinal win over Minnesota United. |
| English striker Dom Dwyer, the husband of U.S. women’s striker Sydney Leroux, is out injured. The man up front is Tesho Akindele, from Canada by way of the Colorado School of Mines. | English striker Dom Dwyer, the husband of U.S. women’s striker Sydney Leroux, is out injured. The man up front is Tesho Akindele, from Canada by way of the Colorado School of Mines. |
| Young American Chris Mueller has three goals in the tournament, as does Nani. | Young American Chris Mueller has three goals in the tournament, as does Nani. |
| The keeper is Peruvian Pedro Gallese. | The keeper is Peruvian Pedro Gallese. |
| The Pacific Northwest team has a lot of South Americans. Argentines Diego Valeri and Sebastian Blanco are the keys to the attack, and Colombian Diego Chara locks down the midfield. | The Pacific Northwest team has a lot of South Americans. Argentines Diego Valeri and Sebastian Blanco are the keys to the attack, and Colombian Diego Chara locks down the midfield. |
| Their leading scorer in this tournament is French-born American Jeremy Ebobisse with four goals. The Duke Alumni Association would surely want me to mention that he and I both attended that fine institution, though he was there only two years while I was there ... six years? Seven? Not sure. They never taught me to count. | Their leading scorer in this tournament is French-born American Jeremy Ebobisse with four goals. The Duke Alumni Association would surely want me to mention that he and I both attended that fine institution, though he was there only two years while I was there ... six years? Seven? Not sure. They never taught me to count. |
| Another player of note is left back Jorge Villafaña, the Kelly Clarkson of American soccer. He started his pro career after winning a reality show called Sueño MLS. He played several years with now-defunct Chivas USA, moved to the Timbers, played a couple of years in Mexico with Santos Laguna, then returned to Portland. | Another player of note is left back Jorge Villafaña, the Kelly Clarkson of American soccer. He started his pro career after winning a reality show called Sueño MLS. He played several years with now-defunct Chivas USA, moved to the Timbers, played a couple of years in Mexico with Santos Laguna, then returned to Portland. |
| And a final bit of trivia -- Chara’s midfield partner, Eryk Williamson, is Queen Latifah’s cousin. | And a final bit of trivia -- Chara’s midfield partner, Eryk Williamson, is Queen Latifah’s cousin. |
| The most likely attacking player to enter the fray later is Polish striker Jaroslaw Niezgoda. | The most likely attacking player to enter the fray later is Polish striker Jaroslaw Niezgoda. |
| As with the NWSL Challenge Cup, this ad hoc tournament had a few hiccups before getting underway. FC Dallas and Nashville SC had to withdraw before the tournament started because of COVID-19 issues. But like the NWSL, MLS has managed to get through its short bubble season. | As with the NWSL Challenge Cup, this ad hoc tournament had a few hiccups before getting underway. FC Dallas and Nashville SC had to withdraw before the tournament started because of COVID-19 issues. But like the NWSL, MLS has managed to get through its short bubble season. |
| The next challenge for MLS is a resumption of the regular season, starting ... tomorrow night, when FC Dallas hosts Nashville. | The next challenge for MLS is a resumption of the regular season, starting ... tomorrow night, when FC Dallas hosts Nashville. |
| Separated by most of the continental USA’s land mass, the Portland Timbers and Orlando City have had contrasting fortunes in MLS. | Separated by most of the continental USA’s land mass, the Portland Timbers and Orlando City have had contrasting fortunes in MLS. |
| The Timbers won MLS Cup in 2015 and reached the final in 2018. The expectations of their substantial supporters are always high. | The Timbers won MLS Cup in 2015 and reached the final in 2018. The expectations of their substantial supporters are always high. |
| Orlando City has had five years of futility. You could argue that they have “home” advantage here, but the fields have been closed to fans, and Disney World really is its own “world,” anyway. | Orlando City has had five years of futility. You could argue that they have “home” advantage here, but the fields have been closed to fans, and Disney World really is its own “world,” anyway. |
| It’s August 11. | It’s August 11. |
| A first-round NHL playoff game is in triple overtime. | A first-round NHL playoff game is in triple overtime. |
| College football teams are looking at possible games several months in the future. | College football teams are looking at possible games several months in the future. |
| And a trophy is at stake in Major League Soccer. | And a trophy is at stake in Major League Soccer. |
| How appropriate that folks in Orlando have marked the occasion with a perfect representation of the rip in the space-time continuum. | How appropriate that folks in Orlando have marked the occasion with a perfect representation of the rip in the space-time continuum. |
| Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look at fans returning to MLS stadiums: | Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look at fans returning to MLS stadiums: |
| The five-month wait has been hard for Luis Dollar, president of El Matador, an FC Dallas supporters’ group. “Man, not seeing our team out there was brutal,” he said. “We miss our team.” | The five-month wait has been hard for Luis Dollar, president of El Matador, an FC Dallas supporters’ group. “Man, not seeing our team out there was brutal,” he said. “We miss our team.” |
| After the MLS is Back tournament in the Orlando “bubble” concludes on Tuesday, Dallas will host Nashville at Toyota Stadium on Wednesday and Sunday, marking the return of regular-season Major League Soccer games at club stadiums. And the return of fans in the stands. | After the MLS is Back tournament in the Orlando “bubble” concludes on Tuesday, Dallas will host Nashville at Toyota Stadium on Wednesday and Sunday, marking the return of regular-season Major League Soccer games at club stadiums. And the return of fans in the stands. |
| Dollar plans to be there for his team’s first match since March, though the choice is not without risk. At least, that’s what the 1,438-word legal waiver to enter the stadium says. It requires attendees to acknowledge the possibility of exposure to Covid-19 and to agree not to sue. | Dollar plans to be there for his team’s first match since March, though the choice is not without risk. At least, that’s what the 1,438-word legal waiver to enter the stadium says. It requires attendees to acknowledge the possibility of exposure to Covid-19 and to agree not to sue. |
| You can read the full article below: | You can read the full article below: |