Stadium
Montréal inaugurait ce samedi soir la version 2.0 du stade Saputo, et la fête fut accompagnée d’une victoire 4-1 contre Seattle aux relents sud-américains.
L’ouverture du score était signée par le Brésilien Felipe, bien servi par Bernier. Ce dernier a donné la passe du 2-0 à Justin Mapp, mais c’est vraiment le buteur qui a fait tout le travail, en slalomant dans l’arrière-garde visiteuse (de loin ça pouvait sembler « Maradonesque » mais la défense adverse l’a laissé passer comme dans du beurre).
Bernier a ensuite joué les Brésiliens en enchaînant deux contrôles majestueux afin de lancer Wenger vers le troisième but. Et Neagle a complété la soirée d’un autre effort individuel victorieux. On attendait les Rosales et autre Montero, mais ce sont bien les Montréalais qui ont enflammé la foule.
Les 17112 supporters qui se sont déplacés ne s’y sont pas trompés et ont pu admirer une équipe à la hauteur du « nouveau » stade dont Seattle est reparti avec 4 buts dans les valises, autant que lors de tous ses déplacements depuis le début de la saison. Les supporters de l’Impact attendent déjà le prochain match à domicile avec impatience !
One of the best stories in US soccer this year has been the rapid ascent of the San Antonio Scorpions of the NASL. The first-year expansion club has a roster filled with former MLS players, an owner who cares and a crowd that turns out rain or shine.
They're averaging more than 11,000 per game, best in the second flight, and now they have plans for what looks like a pretty sweet soccer-specific stadium that'll be expandable to more than 18,000 capacity.
It's years away, and they're very careful to say that additional seats will be added only if attendance continues to impress.
But the fact that a second-flight team is even considering such things says quite a bit about how far soccer's come in the last 10 years. Even when it's deep in the heart of football country.
Dans les semaines à venir, la Major League Soccer sera riche de deux nouveaux stades, à Houston et Montréal.
Au Texas, le BBVA Compass Stadium accueillera son premier match officiel ce samedi 12 mai : Houston – DC United. L’inauguration officielle de la nouvelle enceinte a eu lieu, les joueurs ont déjà pu s’y entraîner, et tout le monde attend la grande fête lors de laquelle les 22 000 places du stade devraient être occupées.
À Montréal, les travaux vont bon train au stade Saputo, déjà utilisé par le club les saisons précédentes, mais auquel on ajoute une tribune, des coins, un toit, pour arriver à une capacité dépassant les 20 000 places. Ceux qui suivent le chantier via webcam remarquent des changements notables jour après jour : et pour cause, tout doit être prêt pour la venue de Seattle le 16 juin.
It doesn't get much better than this for soccer fans in Houston -- well, until BBVA Compass Stadium actually opens its doors that is.
Just a month remains until the Dynamo become the latest MLS side to play in their own venue, which is looking better and better by the day.
Check out this local news report to get a glimpse of the club's new locker room and a handful of the views that Houston fans can look forward to on May 12 against D.C. United. Safe to say there is going to be a lot of envious fans out there.
If you were one of the 47,568 fans at the Rogers Centre for the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal between LA Galaxy and Toronto FC, you better hope you weren't picking your nose or making an awkward face at the wrong moment. If you were one of those unlucky few, don't be surprised if your technologically savvy friends give you some grief in the next few days.
That's because there was literally nowhere for fans to hide last Wednesday as their side jumped out to an quick 2-0 lead against LA before coming back down to earth and settling for a 2-2 draw. You can thank Toronto FC for that. The club set up a camera that captured a high-resolution, 360-degree photo of the scene inside the Rogers Centre.
Not only can you zoom in on just about any section of the stadium, making out faces and everything else as clear as day, but fans can also tag themselves, commerating what was a historic night for the club and its supporters. Needless to say, this is pretty awesome technology, and it really gives you an idea of what the stadium looked like on gameday.
Spend five minutes playing with it, and I guarentee you won't be disappointed. You may want to be on your best behavior at matches from now on, however. You never know who's watching.
With 45K expected to be in the house for tomorrow night's massive CONCACAF Champions League match between Toronto FC and the LA Galaxy, they're rolling out the red carpet at the Rogers Centre.
Or should I say the green carpet?
Despite an expected temperature of 59 degrees on Wednesday tomorrow night's match will be played indoors, a rare soccer match in the home of MLB's Toronto Blue Jays. If you can't make it to downtown T. Dot for the game FOX Soccer has got you covered (kickoff is at 8pm ET). And if you're not up on the current storylines surrounding the game just know these two things: Bruce Arena is feeling confident and Aron Winter is prepared.
Construction pushes ahead at Houston's BBVA Compass Stadium. We'll dig the orange accents, he'll dig in the dirt.