Inter Miami CF will be getting all the TV network love on the week of Sept. 1-6, being the only Major League Soccer club to have two games aired on national TV in the English language. FOX Sports 1 will broadcast both of their encounters against Atlanta United on Wednesday and Nashville SC on Sunday. Moreover, FOX Deportes will boradcast the Orlando City-Atlanta United game on Saturday.
On other news, Toronto FC will look to draw the MLS record for consecutive regular season matches without defeat (19) when they face Montreal at home on Tuesday night. The Reds have not lost a regular-season game since July 2019. They remain the only undefeated team so far this season and first place overall in the league.
Another important storyline is the fact that Austin FC sold out of season ticket memberships before their 2021 MLS launch. More than 44,000 deposits were placed and 15,500 of those are now season ticket holders for a team that is yet to play its first MLS game.
And last but not least, this week’s ‘talk of the week’ will touch on how Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen, who has held the majority stake of the club since 2013, will lose it all in the next few weeks.
Match of the week: Inter Miami vs Atlanta United
Inter Miami will host Atlanta United at the Inter Miami CF Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.
Inter Miami
South Florida’s newest MLS franchise secured their first-ever league win against state rivals Orlando City on Saturday, Aug. 22. Despite Orlando taking charge of the possession game throughout the match, Miami made the best out of their chances. Inter Miami forward Julian Carranza scored the first MLS goal of his career in the 12 minute. Orlando forward Daryl Dike scored shortly after, but the Argentinian bagged in his second goal of the night shortly after to take back the lead. Midfielder Rodolfo Pizarro scored his third goal of the season and first game-winner, given Nani’s late goal to make the final score 3-2.
Inter traveled to Tennessee on a bus on Sunday to play their second match of the week against Nashville SC that evening. The home side won the game 1-0 and Miami proved to be unlucky yet again, dominating the game but not being able to secure the three points. Some calls also did not help Inter Miami, especially an instance before the half where center back Walker Zimmerman clearly saves a shot with his hand.
Inter Miami emphatically shout for a handball, which replays confirm as Zimmerman's outstretched arm blocked the shot.
— Franco Panizo (@FrancoPanizo) August 31, 2020
VAR says no handball, though.#InterMiamiCF #MLS
Player to watch – Andres Reyes
Colombian center back Andres Reyes cracked into the starting 11 after his valiant performance against DC United back in March. Since then, the 20-year-old defender became one of Diego Alonso’s go-to players, pushing center back Jorge Figal to the right-back position. Reyes has proved to be useful, given his pace, defensive awareness and will to fight to gain possession. He will need to be at the top of his game to help Inter win their second MLS game against soon-to-be rivals Atlanta United.
Atlanta United
Atlanta United enjoyed their first win since March at home on Saturday, Aug. 22, defeating Nashville SC 2-0. Next up in Atlanta’s schedule was Inter Miami, but the game was postponed to Wednesday, Sept. 9, after players chose to sit-out to protest for racial equality. Atlanta returned to action on Saturday and suffered their first-ever loss to South Eastern rivals Orlando City SC.
Argentinian forward Pity Martinez, who was key in the 2-0 win over Nashville, had a tough day at the office against Orlando. Without midfielders Ezequiel Barco and Jeff Larentowicz by his side from the start, Martinez found himself dropping deeper to areas where he is not as effective. Atlanta looked better in the second half when Barco, Larentowicz and midfielder Jurgen Damm were introduced to the game. But Stephen Glass’ side was not able to collect points despite late attacking efforts.
Player to watch – Jurgen Damm
Damm had a positive impact after being introduced in the 79 minute of the game against Orlando. The Mexican midfielder came on as a right-winger and made defender Kamal Miller’s night a nightmare. Miller, who was subbed in at the same time as Damm, was not able to contain Damn, who provided an assist from a cross just four minutes after being subbed on. It is safe to say that the new arrival deserves a start or some serious playing time against Miami on Wednesday.
.@jurgendammr25 con una asistencia impecable y @VamosATLUTD descuenta el marcador.
— MLS Español (@MLSes) August 29, 2020
#ATLvORL | 1-2 pic.twitter.com/PX6LojKcYE
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Talk of the week: Dell Loy Hansen and RSL
Majority owner of Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals and Real Monarchs Dell Loy Hansen has officially been canceled.
The Utah native expressed his distaste over his players protesting for racial equality on Salt Lake City radio station X96, one of the multiple Utah radio stations that he owns. He described his player’s decision not to play as feeling “like somebody stabbed you and you’re trying to figure out a way to pull the knife out and move forward… The disrespect is profound to me personally.”
“We’re all sitting here at an organization trying to build support and love around a team that supports the city. All I can say is they supported other issues nationally,” said Hansen. “They clearly did not support our city or organization. That’s fairly clear.”
He said this on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 26, just 13 hours after his players decided to sit-out. And by Friday, Aug. 27, a group made up of The Athletic writers, including Kristopher Kamrani, Sam Stejskal, Paul Tenorio and Meg Linehan, wrote a piece about Hansen’s history of racist comments.
The piece is based on stories from former RSL staff, players and other individuals who have had questionable experiences with Hansen.
The main source of the story is former and long-time RSL employee Andy Williams. He played for Salt Lake during its inaugural season in 2005 and served as the franchise’s head scout since his retirement in 2011. In April, RSL was the first club to furlough members of staff and Williams was one of them. To Williams, the comments Hansen made on the radio show are the latest in a long line of racist behavior. Williams, along with players, former and current, goes on to tell multiple stories, some of which include raw, explicit and unforgiving racist behaviors.
It did not take long for MLS and NWSL officials to begin investigations, and by Tuesday, Sept. 1, a wave of headlines along the lines of ‘Dell Loy Hansen will step down’ surfaced the web.
There are more men and women like Hansen around the world who have power and are openly racist. Given that, staff and players have a bigger voice now than ever and Williams’ decision to speak up should be considered an example to follow in efforts to clean up the environment.
Top transfers and trades: Aug. 24-Sept. 1
Sept. 1 – Emmanuel Reynoso – from Boca Juniors to Minnesota United FC
Aug. 31 – Gelmin Rivas – from Ankaragucu to DC United
Aug. 28 – Miguel Berry – from Columbus Crew to San Diego Loyal SC
Aug. 24 – Brady Scott – from Nashville SC to Sacramento Republic FC
