Fado Irish Pub, a staple in downtown’s Brickell area and home to Miami Arsenal Supporters Club and American Outlaws supporters groups, closed permanently after Monday night’s last call.
The UPSL fall season is in full swing and the fixture computer finally threw up an all-Miami clash on a Saturday evening. Florida Soccer Soldiers faced Union Deportivo Miami at the Orange Bowl Field at Ives Estates Park.
Chad Johnson, the high-profile NFL wide receiver known as “Ochocinco”, returned to the world of competitive athletics Sunday, taking the field with Boca Raton FC’s Florida Gulf Coast League side.
For the second time in as many months, world class soccer action returns to Hard Rock Stadium. The Magic City will be in the spotlight again tonight as yet another “Clasico” takes place with the Clasico del Pacifico. Chile will take on Peru in what could be an epic revenge match after the CONMEBOL qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
Throughout the 2018 World Cup Qualifying campaign, Peru and Chile were constantly jockeying for South America’s playoff spot in hopes of reaching Russia. When the dust was settled, it was Peru that just narrowly edged Chile in goal differential to earn the 5th spot in the table. To make matters worse, Chile’s last loss in qualifying (0-3 to Brazil) crushed their dreams and allowed Peru to qualifying for the tournament for the first time since 1982.
This fixture has caused nightmares for Peru as Chile’s high flying attacking, featuring the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, has been a thorn in the side for years. The last time Peru earned a result against Chile was in 2013 during the 2014 World Cup Qualifying. These matches have been undoubtedly testy, with four of the last six matches having a member of the Peruvian squad sent off the pitch early.
Peru exited the 2018 World Cup on a high note by beating Australia after dropping their first two fixtures against France and Denmark. The September friendlies didn’t pan out well for the selection as they dropped matches to Germany and Netherlands by a goal each. Peru will turn to Orlando City’s Yoshimar Yotun and Seattle Sounders’ striker Raul Ruidiaz to lead the way and be the spark to the offense.
Chile hasn’t fared much better since missing the World Cup tournament. The last time the Chilean national team tasted victory was against Serbia in a friendly going back to June 4th. The raw talent favors Chile coming into this match as the European pedigree is seen all around the roster. The aforementioned Sanchez and Vidal will join defenders Gary Medel and Mauricio Isla in hopes of keeping the dominant streak over Peru. Should Alexis score in this contest it would be his 40th goal for his country, Vidal would notch number 25.
Peru’s Selection:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Patricio Álvarez (Sporting Cristal), José Carvallo (Universidad Técnica de Cajamarca), Pedro Gallese(Veracruz/MEX)
DEFENDERS (8): Luis Abram (Vélez Sarsfield/ARG), Luis Advíncula (Rayo Vallecano/ESP), Miguel Araujo (Talleres/ARG), Nilson Loyola (Melgar), Johan Madrid (Sporting Cristal), Christian Ramos (Al-Nassr/KSA), Anderson Santamaría (Puebla/MEX), Miguel Trauco (Flamengo/BRA)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Pedro Aquino (Club León/MEX), Cristian Benevente (Royal Charleroi/BEL), Horacio Calcaterra (Sporting Cristal), André Carillo (Al-Hilal/KSA), Christian Cueva (Krasnodar/RUS), Edison Flores (Morelia/MEX), Paolo Hurtado(Konyaspor/TUR), Andy Polo (Portland Timbers/USA), Renato Tapia (Feyenoord/NED), Yoshimar Yotún (Orlando City SC/USA)
FORWARDS (3): Jefferson Farfán (Lokomotiv Moscow/RUS), Yordy Reyna (Vancouver Whitecaps FC/CAN), Raúl Ruidíaz(Seattle Sounders FC/USA)
Chile’s Selection:
Goalkeepers (3): Gabriel Arias (Racing), Fernando de Paul (Universidad de Chile), Lawrence Vigouroux (Swindon Town)
Defenders (8): Gary Medel (Besiktas), Mauricio Isla (Fenerbahce), Eugenio Mena (Racing), Enzo Roco (Besiktas), Paulo Diaz (Al-Ahli), Guillermo Maripan (Alaves), Igor Lichnovsky (Cruz Azul), Alfonso Parot (Rosario Central)
Midfielders (7): Arturo Vidal (FC Barcelona), Felipe Gutierrez (Sporting Kansas City), Pablo Hernandez (Independiente), Erick Pulgar (Bologna), Lorenzo Reyes (Atlas), Diego Valdes (Morelia), Victor Davila (Necaxa)
Forwards (6): Alexis Sanchez (Manchester United), Nicolas Castillo (Benfica), Junior Fernandes (Alanyaspor), Angelo Sagal (Pachuca), Angelo Henriquez (Universidad de Chile), Ignacio Jeraldino (Audax Italiano)
Tickets are still available for the match scheduled to kickoff at 8PM from Hard Rock Stadium.
It was the type of atmosphere that you would expect for a clash between two rival nations. This much just so happened to take place in the most “perfect” neutral setting possible. Miami is home to a huge population of Colombians and Venezuelans. Venezuela would get the first laugh but ultimately Colombia would get the last.
The spoils continue to fall for Hard Rock Stadium and the Miami soccer community. With Relevent Sports partnering with CMN Sports, the Magic City will be in the spotlight again tonight as two national rivals take the pitch in Colombia and Venezuela. Two of the biggest immigrant populations in South Florida will get a chance to see their colors represented in a match for bragging rights.
It was a blip on the radar of one of the most significant careers in American soccer history. But Ron Newman, who passed away Monday at age 82, had an active six months with the Miami Americans in 1980. His time in the Magic City is instructive in how far the sport has gone, but also reminds us that if the history of the game in the United States doesn’t repeat itself, it tends to rhyme.
Legendary American soccer manager Ron Newman, best known as the coach of the dynastic San Diego Sockers of indoor soccer but remembered in South Florida as the manager of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the original North American Soccer League and the short-lived leader of the Miami Americans, died Monday morning. The news was first reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune.
In a tectonic shift for the world of international soccer, LaLiga announced Thursday morning that it intends to bring league matches to North America as part of “LaLiga North America,” a partnership between the league and the Miami-based Relevant Sports. While no announcements of specific cities has been made, it’s virtually a certainty that Miami will host some of these games.
Hard Rock Stadium announced Monday that the Perú and Chile national football teams will face off in Miami Gardens on Oct. 12.