Breakfast Links - February 15, 2023
(image via Houston Dynamo FC/Twitter)
We hope everyone had a good Valentine’s Day! Here is your midweek update to get your morning going with our Breakfast Links.
Houston
It’s been a busy week for the Houston Dynamo and today they will face Columbus Crew, continuing with their preseason in Fort Lauderdale. In more local news, Houston is set to unveil the long anticipated home jersey today. Also, the club announced on Tuesday the reorganization of the club’s player pathway, designed to develop more professional players from the Houston community. Lastly, on Monday the Dynamo announced a multi-year agreement with James Beard Award-winning chef Hugo Ortega, who will collaborate with Levy, hospitality partner of the Club. Together they will elevate the food and beverage experience at Shell Energy Stadium and feature local restaurants, purveyors, and eclectic flavors from Houston’s culinary community.
In his first major international competition, Dynamo midfielder Juan Castilla helped guide host nation Colombia to a third-place finish in the CONMEBOL U-20 Championships, punching the nation’s ticket to the U-20 World Cup this summer in Indonesia.
The Houston Dash signed defender Courtney Petersen to a two-year contract through the 2024 season, the team announced today.
Make sure you check out the latest episodes of the Bayou City Soccer Podcast, available everywhere you get your podcasts.
Major League Soccer
On Tuesday, Austin FC rewarded Sebastian Driussi by extending the his contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. In his first year and a half at Austin FC, the Argentine midfielder scored 30 goals and provided 12 assists across 54 total MLS appearances – including an astounding 22g/7a during the club's 2022 campaign as they reached the Western Conference Final in their second year of existence.
Real Salt Lake have added a second Colombian player before the 2023 MLS season, announcing Monday they’ve acquired defender Brayan Vera from Colombian top-flight side América de Cali.
Journeyman MLS defender Jalil Anibaba, a veteran of 12 seasons with seven different clubs in the league, announced his retirement from professional soccer on Monday. The 34-year-old will immediately transition to an off-the-field role, joining former team Nashville SC as the organization's first-ever club ambassador.
What was long suspected got confirmed by FIFA on Tuesday: the United States, Canada and Mexico will auto-qualify as co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup. The decision leaves Concacaf with three remaining qualification spots, leading to six regional representatives in the expanded 48-team field for the North American tournament. Historically, the men's World Cup contains 32 nations.
Around the World
The saga of Jesse Marsch continues in the Premier League as Southampton are close to appointing Marsch as their new head coach. Southampton is currently sitting at the bottom of the table, fighting to stay up.
The Champions League is finally back! As the round of 16 takes off, Bayern was able to pull off a 1-0 win at Parc des Princes and the Italian side AC Milan took the lead with the same scoreline against Tottenham. Champions League continues today as Dortmund take on Chelsea and Club Brugge face Benfica.
The top two teams in the Premier League finally face each other after a long postponement as Arsenal will host Manchester City. Arsenal are three points clear of City at the top of the table heading into their crunch clash at Emirates Stadium. The match was originally scheduled for October and postponed, meaning this is the first time the top two have faced one another in the league this season, though they did face off in the FA Cup fourth round last month, with City winning 1-0.
