DON’T KICK
WILSON
LAFC have many celebrity
fans, including some in the
club's ownership group, but
none may be bigger than Colin
Hanks. The veteran actor has
been ingrained with the club,
attending its first-ever home
game, and he says that the
environment is what drew
him to the club and made him
a supporter. The son of Tom
Hanks was raised in Sacramento
but always dreamt of a soccer
club that he could experience
first-hand. He attended five or
six matches during the 2019
season, including LAFC's win
over the LA Galaxy in the Audi
MLS Cup Playoffs.
TEXAN NUMBER 10
Houston Texan wide receiver DeAndre
Rashaun Hopkins was present in MLS’s
kit unveiling event to launch the Houston
Dynamo kit. Hopkins, who has a history
with soccer from his playing days as a kid,
is someone who helps bring soccer to
underserved communities in Houston. The
three-time All-Pro member also revealed he
wears the number 10 jersey for the Texans is
an ode to the soccer world and Lionel Messi in
particular.JOSEF AGAINST THE WALL
Josef Martinez is feeling the love from Atlanta United fans, having spotted a mural
of his goal celebration on the side of an Atlanta building. With arms stretched, the
2018 Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player now covers nearly an entire wall
of a busy street. The love is mutual between the Venezuelan forward and the Five
Stripes faithful, with Martinez showering the praise on Atlanta last winter when he
signed a five-year contract extension. The ex-Torino entered the new MLS season
with 77 goals and 11 assists in 83 regular season games.
WE’LL CALL YOU
David Beckham has joked that he has a contract in place
to bring Neymar to Inter Miami in "10 years' time". The
ex-Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder recently
sat down with Neymar for the YouTube channel Otro, and
proceeded to add the Brazilian to his list of future targets. A
number of top players across Europe have been linked with
the new franchise, including Edinson Cavani, David Silva
and Antoine Griezmann, with co-owner Beckham heavily
involved in the "vetting" process.MISERY INDEX
New England Revolution
are the only MLS side
who have been named
in the top ten of ESPN
FC Misery Index. ESPN
FC Misery Index puts
together a list of soccer
teams around the world,
whose fans have had
little to cheer for in
recent years as their
teams had performed way below expectations. Eighteen
Major League Soccer franchises have won either an MLS
Cup, a Supporters' Shield or both. The New England
Revolution are not among them.SAFETY FIRST
Four more stadiums have introduced safe standing zones for their fans this season
in the MLS. LA Galaxy, Inter Miami, New York Red Bulls, and DC United are latest
clubs to install safe standing zones in their arenas after San Jose Earthquakes and
Orlando City.BIG BRAD APPLE
New York City FC CEO Brad
Sims said New York City FC are
“making significant progress”
to building a privately-financed
soccer-specific stadium in
the Bronx. The New York
Times reports the proposed
stadium is part of a $1 billion
development project that
includes affordable housing,
a new school, a hotel and
retail stores. The 25,000-
seat stadium would be built
on the site of an old Yankee
Stadium parking garage and
the adjacent GAL elevator
parts factory on East 153rd
Street, from River Avenue to the Major Deegan Expressway. The report also says
construction would not begin until 2022 at the earliest and the team wouldn’t likely
move in until at least 2024.LONG ODDS FOR NANI
Orlando City SC forward Nani sat down with Extratime host Andrew Wiebe in
preseason to discuss his path in the soccer world. The 33-year-old who hails from
Amadora, a poverty-stricken district on the periphery of Lisbon, explained the long
odds he had to beat to become a successful footballer.WHO DREW?
Seattle Sounders minority
owner Drew Carey made
sure to give a plug for
his club's 2019 MLS
Cup title during a guest
appearance on FOX
reality show The Masked
Singer. Carey, who
unveiled himself to the
panel after performing
in a llama costume,
informed judge Ken
Jeong in short order that
he "owns part of the
Seattle Sounders soccer
team — that recently won
the MLS championship,
by the way."GAME NINJA
The preeminent name in gaming and streaming, Tyler "Ninja" Blevins has done it
all in popular games such as Fortnite among others. EA Sports' FIFA, though, is
something he played when he was younger. Ninja was talking to reporters after
premiering the New York Red Bulls kit in New York Fashion Week. Part of Ninja's
successes, which include a Fortnite session with Drake, is a partnership with Red
Bull, paving the way for the gamer to present the New York Red Bulls' 2020 kit.NASHING AT THE BIT
Upon high demand, Nashville SC had to release
additional tickets for their first ever MLS
game on February 29. After getting incredible
response from local
fans, the MLS expansion
side decided to unveil
Nissan Stadium’s 300
level seats so that more
Nashville SC fans could
get the opportunity to
see their team in action
for the very first time.- With the
signing of Javier
Hernandez,
three of
Mexico's top 5
all-time scorers
have been
members of the
LA Galaxy. - Since the start
of last season
and including
the MLS Cup
Playoffs, only
two players
have scored
more than six
goals against a
single opponent- Zlatan
Ibrahimovic
against LAFC
(eight goals)
and Carlos Vela
against the
Galaxy (seven).
- Zlatan
- Since joining
the league
in 2018 and
including the
playoffs, LAFC
has lost just
three home
matches – the
fewest of any
MLS club. - Two of
Alejandro
Pozuelo's
four career
multi-goal
games have
come against
NYCFC. Both
have come with
one goal from
open play and
other from the
penalty spot. - Only Pablo
Mastroeni (225)
has made more
regular season
appearances
than Drew Moor.
DID YOU
KNOW?