It's Official: Nashville Awarded MLS Expansion Franchise

Music City's expansion club's name, colors, logo, and inaugural season will be announced at a future date.

It will be the Volunteer State's capital city's first club in a top-flight outdoor soccer league and first based in Tennessee since the late, lamented Memphis Rogues of the original North American Soccer League (1978-80; the club moved to Calgary in 1981 and renamed the Boomers----and folded after one season in Alberta).

MLS Coming To Music City?

Hmmmmmmm, looks like it.

Gio's New Gig

Will he at least maintain anything resembling the success that Caleb Porter had with the Timbers?


Or will he be another John Spencer?

CR 7 MAKES THE DIFFERENCE AS BLANCOS REPEAT AS FIFA CLUB WORLD CUP CHAMPS

At Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates:
 
Cristiano Rolando scored the only goal of the match in the 53rd minute (shown here) on Saturday as Real Madrid repeated as FIFA Club World Cup champions after defeating Gremio of Brazil 1-0 in the championship match.  The Blancos became the first club to repeat as tournament champs.

Getty Images photo

Earlier on Saturday, also at Abu Dhabi, Franco Jara scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 60th minute as Pachuca of Mexico dominated the host country's Al-Jajira 4-1 in the third-place match.

FIFA Club World Cup: Blancos Come From Behind To Set Up Final With Gremio

At Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates:

Cristiano Ronaldo (53') and Gareth Bale (81') each scored once on Wednesday as Real Madrid came from behind to upend Al-Ain from the host country 2-1 in a semifinal-round contest in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Los Blancos will look to repeat as world champions on Saturday when they will take on Gremio of Brazil in the championship match, will is set to kick off at 9:00 AM Pacific Time at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

 

Is It Rebuilding Time In Portland?

Darlington Nagbe is now a Five Stripe.

This on top of Caleb Porter's recent departure and this past weekend's trade of Darren Mattocks to DC United.

FIFA Club World Cup: Gremio Oust Pachuca In OT, Advance To Final; Red Diamonds Take Fifth-Place Game

At Al Ain, United Arab Emirates:

In Tuesday's FIFA Club World Cup semifinal match, Everton Soares scored the winning goal in the 94th minute as Gremio of Brazil defeated Mexico's Pachuca 1-0 in overtime to advance to Sunday's final against the winner of Wednesday's Al-Ain-Real Madrid match.

In the fifth-place match contested earlier Tuesday, also at Al Ain, Mauricio Antonio scored twice (17', 59') as Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds held off Morocco's Wydad Casablanca 3-2.

MLS Expansion Draft: Wings Pluck Marco Urena From Quakes

Major League Soccer held its' expansion draft for the Los Angeles Football Club on Tuesday.

The Wings selected the maximum five players, with no more than one from any of the other clubs; the player's name, position, and former club are listed here:

Tyler Miller, goalkeeper, Seattle Sounders FC

Latif Blessing, forward, Sporting Kansas City

Marco Urena, forward, San Jose Earthquakes 

Jukka Raitala, defender, Columbus Crew SC*

Raheem Edwards, defender/midfielder, Toronto FC*

Mr. Urena and Mr. Raitala were MLS International Roster players.

The Wings will begin play next season.

*-Traded to the Montreal Impact after the draft in exchange for defender Laurent Ciman

CHALK UP ANOTHER NCAA MEN'S TITLE FOR STANFORD

At Chester, Pennsylvania:

Sam Werner scored the winning goal in overtime on Sunday as Stanford defeated Indiana 1-0 to win their third consecutive NCAA Men's Division I national championship.

Europa League Round of 32 Draw

Nyon, Switzerland was the site of Monday's draw for the Europa League's Round of 32 (set to commence on February 15) with the game one hosts listed first and the opening games to take place on February 15 and the return match on February 22, except for the Red Star Belgrade-CSKA series which starts on February 13 in Belgrade, with the return match contested in Moscow on February 21.

Borussia Dortmund (Germany) vs. Atalanta (Italy)

OGC Nice (France) vs. Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia)

FC Copenhagen (Denmark) vs. Atletico Madrid (Spain)

Spartak Moscow (Moscow) vs. Athletic Bilbao (Spain)

AEK Athens (Greece) vs. Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine)

Celtic FC (Scotland) vs. Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia)

Napoli (Italy) vs. RB Leipzig (Germany)

Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) vs. CSKA Moscow (Russia)

Lyon (France) vs. Villarreal (Spain)

Real Sociedad (Spain) vs. FC Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)

Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) vs. FC Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)

Steaua Bucharest (Romania) vs. Lazio (Italy)

Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria) vs. AC Milan (Italy)

Astana (Kazakhstan) vs. Sporting CP (Portugal)

Ostersund (Sweden) vs. Arsenal (England)

Marseille (France) vs. SC Braga (Portugal)

UEFA Champions League Round Of 16 Draw

The draw for the UEFA Champions League's Round of 16 (which opens on February 13) took place on Monday at Nyon, Switzerland, with the respective schedules for games one and two listed below.

The game-one hosts are listed first:

Juventus (Italy) vs. Tottenham Hotspur (England), February 13 and March 7

FC Basel (Switzerland) vs. Manchester City (England), February 13 and March 7

FC Porto (Portugal) vs. Liverpool (England), February 14 and March 6

Sevilla (Spain) vs. Manchester United (England), February 21 and March 13

Real Madrid (Spain) vs. Paris Saint-Germain (France), February 14 and March 6

Skakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) vs. AS Roma (Italy), February 21 and March 13

Chelsea (England) vs. Barcelona (Spain), February 20 and March 14

Bayern Munich (Germany) vs. Besiktas (Turkey), February 20 and March 14

 

REDS AVENGE 2016 CUP FINAL DEFEAT, BLANK SOUNDERS TO BRING MLS CUP TITLE TO CANADA

At Toronto:

Jozy Altidore (67') and Victor Vazquez (90'+4) each scored once on Saturday as Toronto FC avenged their gut-wretching defeat from last year and blanked the defending MLS Cup champions Seattle Sounders 2-0 at home to win their first Major League Soccer championship to complete a domestic treble (the Reds also won the Canadian National Championship and the Supporters' Shield).

It marked the first time that a Canadian club won MLS' top prize.

FIFA Club World Cup: Pachuca, Al-Jazira Advance To Semifinals

The quarterfinal round of the FIFA Club World Cup was staged on Saturday with both games contested Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

In the opener, Victor Guzman scored the only goal of the match in the 111th minute as Mexico's Pachuca defeated Morocco's Wydad Casablanca 1-0 in overtime.

In the nightcap, Ali Mabkhout goal in the 51st minute carried the host country's Al-Jazira past Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds 1-0.

On Tuesday at Al Ain, Pachuca will face Brazil's Gremio while Al-Jazira will take on defending champs Real Madrid (from Spain, of course) in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday in the semifinal round, with the winners advancing to next Sunday's final, also in Abu Dhabi.

Europa League

Group-stage play in the Europa League concluded on Thursday with 24 games.



GROUP A:



At Villarreal, Spain:



Nick Blackman scored the only goal of the match as Maccabi Tel Aviv knocked off Villarreal 1-0 on the road in their Europa League finale.



At Prague, Czech Republic:



Marin Anacic's goal in the 39th minute lifted Astana to a 1-0 road win over Slavia Prague and a berth in the Europa League's knockout stage, ending the Czech club's European adventure. 



Final Group A Standings:



1. Villarreal (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 11)
2. Astana (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 10)
3. Slavia Prague (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 8)
4. Maccabi Tel Aviv (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 4)



Villarreal and Astana advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.











GROUP B:



At Kiev, Ukraine:



Junior Morales delivered a hat trick (21', 31', PK-78') as Dynamo Kiev won a battle of knockout-stage-bound clubs, 4-1 over visiting Partizan Belgrade and claimed top spot in Group B.



At Bern, Switzerland:



Roger Assale produced the winning goal in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time as BSC Young Boys defeated visiting Skenderbeu Korce 2-1 as both clubs said "adios" to European competition.


Final Group B Standings:



1. Dynamo Kiev (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 13)
2. Partizan Belgrade (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 8)
3. BSC Young Boys (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
4. Skenderbeu Korce (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS: 5)



Dynamo Kiev and Partizan Belgrade advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage. 











GROUP C:



At Sinsheim, Germany:



Wanderson Cristaldo Farias's equalizer in the 62nd minute lifted Ludogorets Razgrad to a 1-1 road draw with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and a berth in the knockout stage.  Philipp Ochs scored for the already-eliminated German club in minute #25.


At Istanbul, Turkey:


Emre Belozoglu's penalty kick in the 77th minute delivered the winning goal as Istanbul Basaksehir defeated visiting SC Braga 2-1 in what turned out to be their tournament swan song.



Final Group C Standings:



1. SC Braga (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS: 10)
2. Ludogorets Razgrad (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 9)
3. Istanbul Basaksehir (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 8)
4. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 5)



SC Braga and Ludogorets Razgrad advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.











GROUP D:



At Vienna:



A 0-0 road draw with Austria Vienna was good enough for AEK Athens as the Greek club advanced to the knockout stage.



At Rijeka, Croatia:



Jakov Puljic (7') and Mario Gavranovic (47') each scored once as Rijeka exited European competition in style by blanking visiting (and already Round of 32-bound) AC Milan 2-0.



Final Group D Standings:



1. AC Milan (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 11)
2. AEK Athens (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS: 8)
3. Rijeka (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 7)
4. Austria Vienna (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 5)  



AC Milan and AEK Athens advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.











GROUP E:



At Reggio Emilia, Italy:



In a battle of the two Group E clubs that are already heading to the knockout stage, Andrea Petagna scored the winning goal in the 10th minute as Atalanta locked up top spot in the group after their 1-0 victory over visiting Lyon.



At Nicosia, Cyprus:


Ademola Lookman scored twice (21', 27') to send Everton, who suffered through a disappointing group-stage campaign, to a 3-0 road blanking of Apollon Limassol.



Final Group E Standings:



1. Atalanta (GP: 6; GD: +10; PTS: 14)
2. Lyon (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 11)
3. Everton (GP: 6; GD: -8; PTS: 4)
4. Apollon Limassol (GP: 6; GD: -9; PTS: 3)



Atalanta and Lyon advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.











GROUP F:



At Olomouc, Czech Republic:



Aleksei Miranchuk (70') and Jefferson Farfan (75') each scored once as Lokomotiv Moscow locked up top spot in Group F by blanking Fastav Zlin 2-0 on the road.



At Copenhagen, Denmark:



Pieros Sotirlou (56') and Michael Luftner (59') each scored a goal three minutes apart in the second half as FC Copenhagen snatched a berth in the knockout stage after blanking visiting FC Sheriff 2-0.



Final Group F Standings:



1. Lokomotiv Moscow (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 11)
2. FC Copenhagen (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 9)
3. FC Sheriff (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 9)
4. Fastav Zlin (GP: 6; GD: -9; PTS: 2)


Lokomotiv Moscow and FC Copenhagen advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.











GROUP G:



At Beersheba, Israel:



Lukas Hejda (28') and Tomas Horava (83') each scored once as FC Viktoria Plzen locked up top spot in Group G after knocking off Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2-0 on the road.



At Bucharest, Romania:


Balint Horava scored the winning goal in the 32nd minute as Lugano knocked off Steaua Bucharest 2-1 on the road.



Final Group F Standings:



1. FC Viktoria Plzen (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 12)
2. Steaua Bucharest (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 10)
3. Lugano (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 9)
4. Hapoel Be'er Sheva (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 4)



FC Viktoria Plzen and Steaua Bucharest advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.











GROUP H:



At Belgrade, Serbia:



Slavoljub Srnic's goal in the 22nd minute delivered a berth in the knockout stage for Red Star Belgrade as the hosts defeated visiting FC Cologne 1-0.



At London:


Six different goal scorers, starting with Mathieu Debuchy in the 11th minute, propelled Arsenal to a 6-0 home fistbeating of FC BATE Borisov.



Final Group H Standings:



1. Arsenal (GP: 6; GD: +10; PTS: 13)
2. Red Star Belgrade (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS: 9)
3. FC Cologne (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
4. FC BATE Borisov (GP: 6; GD: -10; PTS: 5)



Arsenal and Red Star Belgrade advanced to the knockout stage.











GROUP I:



At Marseille, France:



Marseille will join FC Red Bull Salzburg in the knockout stage after a 0-0 home stalemate with the Austrian club.



At Guimaraes, Portugal:



Ali Turan's own goal in the 77th minute lifted Vitoria de Guimaraes to a 1-1 home draw with Konyaspor.  Mehdi Bourabia scored for the Turkish club in the 15th minute.



Final Group I Standings:



1. FC Red Bull Salzburg (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 12)
2. Marseille (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 8)
3. Konyaspor (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 6)
4. Vitoria de Guimaraes (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS: 5)



FC Red Bull Salzburg and Marseille advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.











GROUP J:



At Lviv, Ukraine (due to ongoing war-like conditions in eastern Ukraine):



Aritz Aduriz (70') and Raul Garcia (86') each scored once as Athletic Bilbao won Group J after their 2-0 road win over Zorya Luhansk.




At Berlin:


Peter Pekarik's equalizer in the 61st minute lifted Hertha BSC Berlin to a 1-1 tournament-ending 1-1 home draw with Ostersund.  Sotirios Papagiannopooulos scored for the knockout stage-bound Swedish club in the 58th minute.



Final Group J Standings:



1. Athletic Bilbao (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 11)
2. Ostersund (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 11)
3. Zorya Luhansk (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 6)
4. Hertha BSC Berlin (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 5)



Athletic Bilbao and Ostersund advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.


NOTE:  Athletic Bilbao had a win and a draw against Ostersund.











GROUP K:



At Waregem, Belgium:



Aaron Leya Liseka scored the game winner in the 83rd minute as SV Zulte Waregem knocked off visiting Lazio 3-2.



At Arnhem, Netherlands:


Luc Castaignos scored the only goal of the match as Vitesse Arnhem knocked off visiting Nice 1-0.



Final Group K Standings:



1. Lazio (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS; 13)
2. OGC Nice (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 9)
3. SV Zulte Waregem (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 7)
4. OGC Nice (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 5)


Lazio and OGC Nice advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.











GROUP L:



At Skopje, Macedonia:


Nicklas Bentner's equalizer (PK-45'+2) lifted Rosenborg to a 1-1 road draw with Vardar in the tournament swan song for both clubs.  Ytalo scored for the Macedonian club in the ninth minute.



At San Sebastian, Spain:


Branislav Ivanovic scored the winning goal in the 64th minute as Zenit Saint Petersburg locked up the Group L title 3-1 on the road against Real Sociedad as both clubs had already locked up knockout-stage berths.



Final Group L Standings:

1. Zenit Saint Petersburg GP: 6; GD: +12; PTS: 16)
2. Real Sociedad (GP: 6; GD: +10; PTS: 12)
3. Rosenborg BK (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 5)
4. Vardar (GP: 6; GD: -17; PTS: 1)



Zenit Saint Petersburg and Real Sociedad advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.

 

FIFA Club World Cup: Al-Jazira Oust Auckland City, Get Shot At Urawa Reds

At Al Ain, United Arab Emirates:

In Wednesday's opening contest of the FIFA Club World Cup, Romarinho scored the only goal in the 38th minute to carry Al-Jazira, representing the host nation to a 1-0 victory over Oceania representatives Auckland City from New Zealand to advance to Saturday's quarterfinal match against Asian champions Urawa Red Diamonds from Japan, to be played at Abu Dhabi---that game will be for the right to face defending champs Real Madrid in next Wednesday's semifinal, also at Abu Dhabi.

UEFA Champions League, Group H: Wins For Spurs, Blancos; Dortmund To Europa League

Action in Group H of the UEFA Champions League concluded on Wednesday with two games.

At Madrid:

Lucas Vazquez scored the game winner at 81 minutes as Round-of-16-bound Real Madrid defeated visiting Borussia Dortmund 3-2.  The German club will play in the knockout stage of the Europa League.  It was just another night at the office for the Blancos' Cristiano Ronaldo as he became the first player to score at least once in all six Champions League group-stage contests (that's him celebrating with Marcelo after scoring another history-making Champions League goal in the 12th minute).

Associated Press photo by Paul White

At London:

Fernando Llorente (20'), Son Heung-min (37'), and Georges-Kevin N'Koudou (80') each scored once as Tottenham Hotspur, who'd already locked down Group H, ended APOEL FC's European adventure by dominating the visiting Cypriot club 3-0.  Here's ol' Georges-Kevin, trying to score once past APOEL goalkeeper Nauzet Parez.

Associated Press photo by Frank Augstein

Final Group H Standings:

1. Tottenham Hotspur (GP: 6; GD: +11; PTS: 16)
2. Real Madrid (GP: 6; GD: +10; PTS: 13)
3. Borussia Dortmund (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 2)
4. APOEL FC (GP: 6; GD: -15; PTS: 2)

Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid advanced to the Champions League's knockout stage while Borussia Dortmund qualified for the Europa League's Round of 32.

UEFA Champions League, Group G: Dragons Dominate Monaco To Join Black Eagles In Group Stage; RB Leipzig To Europa League

With two games on Wednesday, action in Group G of the UEFA Champions League came to a conclusion.

At Leipzig, Germany:

Talisca scored the winning goal in the 90th minute as Besiktas, who already laid claim to top spot in Group G, knocked off RB Leipzig 2-1 on the road, relegating the German club to the knockout stage of the Europa League, this despite this goal by the hosts' Naby Keita in the 87th minute.

Associated Press photo by Michael Sohn

At Porto, Portugal:

Vincent Aboubakar scored twice in the first half (9', 33') as FC Porto locked up a knockout-stage berth after their 5-2 home domination of AS Monaco.  No, that's not referee Jonas Erikkson demonstrating the Nazi salute; he's showing a red card to the Dragons' Felipe (center) and Monaco's Rachid Ghezzal as both players were ejected.

Final Group G Standings:

1. Besiktas (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 14)
2. FC Porto (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 10)
3. RB Leipzig (GP: 6; GD:  -1; PTS: 7)
4. AS Monaco (GP: 6; GD: -10; PTS: 2)

Besiktas and FC Porto advanced to the Champion League's knockout stage while RB Leipzig qualified for the Europa League's Round of 32.

UEFA Champions League, Group F: Shakhtar Knock Off Citzens To Join Manchester City In Group Stage; Napoli To Europa League After Losing To Feyenoord

Action in Group F of the UEFA Champions League closed on Wednesday with two games.

At Rotterdam, Netherlands:

Jerry St. Juste's winning goal in the opening minute of second-half stoppage time enabled Feyenoord Rotterdam to avoid going pointless in group-stage play by knocking off visiting Napoli 2-1.  Here's the Dutch club's Tonny Vilhena dejectedly leaving the pitch after being ejected via a red card during the game's second half.

Associated Press photo by Peter Dejong

At Kharkiv, Ukraine (due to ongoing war-like conditions in eastern Ukraine):

Ismaily Goncalves dos Santos scored the winning goal in the 32nd minute as Shakhtar Donetsk held off visiting Manchester City 2-1 to clinch a berth in the knockout stage, joining the English club.  Here's a reaction from the Citizens' Bernardo Silva.

Associated Press photo by Efrem Lukatsky

Final Group F Standings:

1. Manchester City (GP: 6; GD: +9; PTS: 15)
2. Shakhtar Donetsk (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 12)
3. Napoli (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
4. Feyenoord Rotterdam (GP: 6; GD: -9; PTS: 3)

Manchester City and Shakhtar Donetsk advanced to the Champions League's group stage while Napoli qualified for the Europa League's Round of 32.

UEFA Champions League, Group E: Reds, Sevilla Advance To Round of 16; Spartak Moscow To Europa League

Group-stage play in the UEFA Champions League concluded on Wednesday with eight games, two of them in Group E.

At Maribor, Slovenia:

Paulo Henrique Ganso's equalizer in the 75th minute lifted Sevilla to a 1-1 road draw with NK Maribor, good enough for the Spanish club to clinch a berth in the Champions League's knockout stage.  Marcos Tavares scored in the 10th minute for the Slovenian club, whose European adventure came to an end.  In this photo, we see Sevilla's Pablo Sarabia (right) shooting the ball past Maribor's Jean-Claude Billong.

Associated Press photo by Darko Bandic

At Liverpool, England:

Philippe Coutinho produced a hat trick (PK-4', 15', 50') while Sadio Mane added a double (47', 76') as Liverpool annihilated visiting Spartak Moscow 7-0 to win their group and advance to the Champions League knockout stage while relegating the Russian club to the Europa League's Round of 32.  Here, we see the Reds' Alberto Moreno (center) receiving medical care.

Associated Press photo by Rui Vieira

Final Group E Standings:

1. Liverpool (GP: 6; GD: +17; PTS: 12)
2. Sevilla (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 9)
3. Spartak Moscow (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS: 6)
4. NK Maribor (GP: 6; GD: -13; PTS: 3)

Liverpool and Sevilla advanced to the Champions League's knockout stage while Spartak Moscow qualified for the Europa League's Round of 32.