News that kicked off 2020

Soccer Report: Dynamo sign Academy prodigy, Dash trade Ohai, Ronaldo scores hat-trick

Victor Araiza
Jan 7, 2020, 7:52 am
Credit: Houston Dynamo

"The Beautiful Game" never sleeps and that was the case to kick off the new year. The Premier League took the spotlight with New Year's Day action followed by the return of La Liga and Serie A from the holiday break.

Domestically, transfer news continue to dominate the radar in Major League Soccer and the National Women's Soccer League. The 2020 MLS SuperDraft (college draft) will take place on Thursday.

Here are the top stories of the weekend:

Houston Dynamo sign Homegrown Marcelo Palomino

Reported first by Glenn Davis, the Dynamo made the signing of Academy product Marcelo Palomino official on Monday. The midfielder joined the club's youth system as an 11-year-old in 2012 and was part of the U.S. Youth National Team pool from Under-14 to Under-19, crossing paths with current Dynamo Head Coach Tab Ramos.

The three-time Dynamo Academy Player of the Year left the club over a year ago, despite having a contract offer from the Dynamo, and went on to trials in Portugal and Germany. Most recently, he was playing in Houston with the USL2 side Albion Hurricanes FC who are coached by former MLS midfielder Josh Gardner.

Signing Palomino is a win for a club that has a reputation of not producing enough professional players in a city fervent with a soccer culture. It would appear, at least on the surface, that the hiring of Ramos was the ultimate convincing factor for the player to put pen to paper.

Liga MX GK William Yarbrough no longer a target for Dynamo

The Dynamo are no longer interested in acquiring two-time Liga MX champion and former U.S. Men's National Team goalkeeper William Yarbrough, as reported by KXLN's Lester Gretsch. After failing to agree on a transfer fee for the Mexican-born keeper, the Dynamo went on to sign the Austrian-Croatian Marko Maric. The Dynamo will reportedly sign a goalkeeper in the coming weeks, according to The Athletic.

Houston Dash trade Kealia Ohai to Chicago Red Stars for defender Katie Naughton

Kealia Ohai will depart after six seasons with the Houston Dash, reportedly requesting a trade. Ohai was the club's first ever draft pick and went on to score 28 goals in 114 appearances.

"My goal is to become the very best player I could possibly be and I feel like, in order for that to happen, I need a new environment," said Ohai via her social media accounts.

Chicago Red Stars made the NWSL Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season and finished 2019 as the runners-up. The Houston Dash have never made the playoffs in their six seasons.

Dash re-sign goalscorer, FIFA Women's World Cup participant Rachel Daly

Some good news for Dash fans is the re-signing of FIFA Women's World Cup veteran Rachel Daly. Since arriving in 2016, Daly has scored 24 goals in 80 matches. The Englishwoman represented her home country at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, where the Lionesses finished as semifinalists.

The news was announced by Head Coach James Clarkson last Thursday during a fan event hosted by Keeper Notes at Pitch 25. An official announcement from the club is imminent.

Premier League

The congested scheduling continues in the Premier League as teams opened 2020 with New Year's Day action. While the league took a break over the weekend, English clubs took were active in FA Cup action.

Top six: 1. Liverpool (58), 2. Leicester City (45), 3. Man City (44), 4. Chelsea (36), 5. Man Utd (31), 6. Tottenham (30)

Bottom three (relegation): 18. Bournemouth (20), 19. Watford (19), 20. Norwich City (14)

Scoring leader: 17 - Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

Assists leader: 12 - Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)

La Liga

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are once again tied at the top after RCD Espanyol took a 2-2 result in the Barcelona derby.

Top six: 1. FC Barcelona (40), 2. Real Madrid (40), 3. Atletico Madrid (35), 4. Sevilla (35), 5. Real Sociedad (31), 6. Valencia (31)

Bottom three: 18. Mallorca (15), 19. Leganes (14), 20. Espanyol (11)

Scoring leader: 13 - Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Assists leader: 7 - Luis Suarez (FC Barcelona)

Italian Serie A

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to lead defending champions Juventus to a 4-0 win against Cagliari. Inter Milan, who picked up a 3-1 win at Napoli, remain at the top of the standings due to goal difference.

Top six: 1. Inter Milan (45), 2. Juventus (45), 3. Lazio (39), 4. Roma (35), 5. Atalanta (34), 6. Cagliari (29)

Bottom three: 18. Brescia (14), 19. Genoa (14), 20. SPAL (12)

Scoring leader: 19 - Ciro Immobile (Lazio)

Assists leader: 11 - Luis Alberto (Lazio)

Zlatan debuts in A.C. Milan return

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was back on the pitch for the first time since his final appearance with LA Galaxy in Houston last October. The Swede came on as a substitute but could not help Milan to a win in his debut. Milan and Sampdoria played to a scoreless draw at the San Siro.

2006 FIFA World Cup Winner Daniele De Rossi retires

Roma Legend De Rossi has called time on his career after a short stint in Argentina with Boca Juniors. The Italian midfielder hangs up his boots at the age of 36 with a decorated career that includes winning the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

2010 FIFA World Cup Winner David Villa retires

Spanish Legend David Villa, arguably the greatest striker produced by his country, also played has called time on his career. El Guaje left in style by picking up his 15th professional trophy after winning the Emperor's Cup with Japan's Vissel Kobe. Villa won the FIFA World Cup and EURO 2008 with Spain. At the club level, he won three La Liga titles, three Copa Del Rey titles and one UEFA Champions League.

Throwback moment: Dynamo Head Coach Tab Ramos reflects on being first MLS signing

January 3rd marked 25 years since Houston Dynamo Manager Tab Ramos became the first ever signing in Major League Soccer history. Attached is a clip of his thoughts on the matter, the full interview with Glenn Davis can be seen here.

Ratings bit: Liga MX final draws top spot

TV listings (All Times CT):

For full info on soccer TV listings and streaming services in the United States, visit worldsoccertalk.com

Tuesday, January 7

2:00 p.m. - [English League Cup] Manchester United vs. Manchester City (ESPN+)

Wednesday, January 8

1:00 p.m. - [Spanish Supercopa] Real Madrid vs. Valencia (ESPN Deportes)

2:00 p.m. - [English League Cup] Leicester City vs. Aston Villa (ESPN+)

2:00 p.m. - [Coupe de la Ligue] PSG vs. St-Etienne (beINSports)

Thursday, January 9

11:00 a.m. - 2020 MLS SuperDraft (Twitter)

1:00 p.m. - [Spanish Supercopa] FC Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid (ESPN Deportes)

2:00 p.m. - [Coppa Italia] Torino vs. Genoa (ESPN+)

Friday, January 10

1:45 p.m. - [Ligue 1] Rennes vs. Marseille (beIN Sports)

2:00 p.m. - [Premier League] Sheffield United vs. West Ham (NBC Sports)

9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Monarcas Morelia vs. Toluca (TUDN)

9:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Tijuana vs. Santos Laguna (FOX Deportes)

Saturday, January 11

6:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Crystal Palace vs. Arsenal (NBC Sports)

8:00 a.m. - [Serie A] Cagliari vs. AC Milan (ESPN+)

9:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Chelsea vs. Burnley (NBC Sports)

11:00 a.m. - [Serie A] Lazio vs. Napoli (ESPN+)

11:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Tottenham vs. Liverpool (NBC)

1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Inter Milan vs. Atalanta (ESPN+)

5:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Cruz Azul vs. Atlas (TUDN)

7:00 p.m. - [Liga MX] Guadalajara vs. FC Juarez (TUDN)

Sunday, January 12

8:00 a.m. - [Premier League] Bournemouth vs. Watford (NBC Sports)

10:30 a.m. - [Premier League] Aston Villa vs. Man City (NBC Sports)

11:30 a.m. - [Spanish Supercopa] Real Madrid vs. Valencia vs. FC Barcelona/Atletico Madrid (ESPN Deportes)

1:45 p.m. - [Serie A] Roma vs. Juventus (ESPN+)

manchester united machester city arsenal tottenham liverpool chelsea premier league napoli serie a juventus roma inter milan cristiano ronaldo ac milan soccer report

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

THE LEFT TURN

NASCAR: Toyota Owners 400 preview, predictions

Martin Truex Jr. won his 2nd race of the season last week. Photo via: Wiki Commons.

NASCAR returns to the Commonwealth of Virginia for the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. This is the first of two races here at this track as they will race on Sunday afternoon. This will be different from the normal night race they usually have here as this will definitely affect the racing surface considering how much the sun could make the track slick. It should be a fun race come Sunday.

Last week, Martin Truex Jr. passed Denny Hamlin to capture his second win of the season after rain moved the race to Sunday. He became the first driver to win multiple races after a fierce battle with his teammate Denny Hamlin. The race was filled with tons of wrecks including a fifteen car pileup including Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. It was one of the better races of the season as there was lots of beating and banging.

The race was not without controversy but not the kind you would expect. Early in the race Rick Ware Racing teammates Cody Ware and James Davison were involved in an altercation. The two were battling towards the back of the pack when Ware decided to drive through his teammate in turn four. The race got much worse for Cody Ware as he was involved in three more cautions all throughout the race. Many people around the sport were quite perturbed by his antics including broadcaster Mike Joy as he was audibly annoyed after Ware spun out later in the race. Many have questioned if the fifth-year driver should even be in the car and overall I can understand why some of those people think that. In his five years of driving, he has finished on the lead lap one time. I hope that he is able to figure it out and find success in the future, but this was not a good look.

The slump continues for two-time champion Kyle Busch

Throughout the race, Busch was running okay for the most part but towards the closing laps of the race he and Chris Buescher got together triggering a fifteen car pileup. Despite all this, he was able to rebound to a respectable tenth place finish. This has been more than likely the toughest stretch of his career since his championship in 2019. Many would say that the omission of Practice and Qualifying has really affected his performance. Whatever the issue is, this team really needs to find some speed, or he could be in danger of missing the playoffs. I look for this team to bounce back considering how talented he is.

Prediction

The driver that I have winning this week is Kyle Larson. This has been an incredible rebound season for Larson as he currently sits fourth in points. He is also second in laps led only to Denny Hamlin. Richmond has been a great track for him as it fits his driving style perfectly as he can run the outside line and find grip where others can't. This track is also rather sentimental to him considering he won his first pole award here during his rookie season in 2014. While he may not have the results he would want he has always been extremely fast here and even won back in 2017. I look for him to capture his second victory of 2021 come Sunday.

Related Articles Around the Web
nascar racing auto

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome