Lion Links
Lion Links: 6/2/15
Happy Tuesday. It’s the most nondescript day of the week. Other days have their claim to fame. Monday starts the work week. Friday gets a big old “thank God” attached to it. Wednesday is Hump Day, the weekend sort of speaks for itself. That leaves Thursday and Tuesday and the latter of the two loses the battle because Thursday has a ton of happy hour specials and is almost the weekend.
Regardless, every day is just a little bit better when you kick it off with Lion Links, and so here is your daily delivery:
Vote for Pedro
You know how Pedro Ribeiro destroyed a soccer ball, as well as Columbus Crew SC goalkeeper Steve Clark in the 89th minute on Saturday night? Well, MLS noticed and you can vote for Pedro now for AT&T MLS Goal of the Week. Ribeiro’s un-freaking-believable rocket in the 89th minute to salvage a point should be goal of the week, because duh. You should vote for it. You should definitely vote for it because it was awesome and spectacular and fantastic and every other superlative under the sun. Why would you not vote for it if you are of sound mind? None. None reasons.
Go vote for Pedro. These guys get it:
US U-20’s Advance to the Round of 16
If you managed to stay up until 3 a.m to watch the game, then you witnessed the 4-0 beat down that the U-20’s gave New Zealand, which guarantees the team finishes in the top two of Group A in the U-20’s World Cup. The U.S will play Ukraine on Friday at 3 a.m for their final group game before getting into the real deal next Wednesday.
Sorry, Not a Goal
Many fans were up in arms about a corner kick they thought Clark walked across the goal line for an Orlando City score on Saturday. I didn’t think it was a goal watching live, but our Kevin Mercer found a video on Facebook that gives a pretty compelling argument against it being a goal. Take a look for yourself.
Goal line video of the controversial call vs Columbus Crew.
Posted by Keith Allen on Sunday, May 31, 2015
Rochez Brace Leads Honduras Past Uzbekistan
Orlando City forward and young designated player isn’t currently with the Lions, but he’s doing lots of good work. Rochez scored two goals in the wee hours of Monday morning while you slept to lead his country to a 4-3 win over Uzbekistan in FIFA U-20 World Cup group play. His second of the night ended up being the game winner, as the Uzbekis scored on basically the final kick of stoppage time to cut a two-goal margin down to one.
U.S. U-20s Through to Knockout Stage
The U-20 USMNT team scared many with a poor showing against Myanmar, but the Americans are through to the knockout stage in New Zealand and after this morning’s convincing 4-0 win over the host nation. The boys in red, white & blue clinched a top two finish in the group and will advance to the round of 16. Paul Arriola and Emerson Hyndman each scored a goal, and Rubio Rubin had two. Star midfielder Gideon Zelalem put on a sensational performance. The U.S. plays next against the Ukraine, and a win or draw means a first-place finish in Group A. Orlando City central defender Conor Donovan did not play.
Did Blatter’s Top Deputy Transfer Bribe Money?
If so, it would shock absolutely no one, but it would put the money trail closer to Sepp Blatter than originally thought. The New York Times did some good work here. If it ends up behind their pay wall, rest assured it follows the money to FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. While it can’t connect the dots to show proof that Valcke knew the transfer was for nefarious purposes, there is a whole lot of smoke here. Oh, and here’s a fun tidbit about Valcke.
Remember, Blatter brought Valcke back into the FIFA fold; Valcke had been fired as Dir. of Marketing and came back as Blatter’s Gen. Sec.
— Sam Borden (@SamBorden) June 1, 2015
Valcke also reportedly recently canceled his trip to the Women’s World Cup but we’re sure that has nothing to do with fear of arrest, right?
As for FIFA and Blatter, well, John Oliver said it better than we can.
If you’re into online petitions (I personally don’t think they accomplish much), here’s one from Change.org calling for Blatter’s removal. Sign up, if you want.
CONCACAF Champions League Draw
The groups were set last night for the 2015-16 CONCACAF Champions League and so we know who Major League Soccer’s clubs will be playing in the group stage. Group F is interesting, as it will include both the Vancouver Whitecaps and Seattle Sounders — two Cascadia Cup rivals — along with CD Olimpia (Honduras).
LA Galaxy join Central FC and Communicaciones FC in Group D. D.C. United will play in Group H with Montego Bay United (Jamaica) and Arabe Unido (Panama), and Real Salt Lake will play in Group G with Santa Tecla (El Salvador) and Municipal (Guatemala).
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That’s all for today folks. Be sure to vote for your favorite Orlando City players for the MLS All-Star XI or angry Inchy will come for you.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Tuesday | 20 |
| Thursday | 1 |
| They are equally terrible | 6 |
| I’m sorry, Michael, but I don’t understand the question | 11 |