Podcast Episode Details
Back to Podcast Episodes
Champions League quarterfinals today, Sir Second Alexander Castle, & more- Morning Espresso 4.8
Welcome in for another edition of the Morning Espresso from the SDH Network, brought to you by Oglethorpe University, Atlanta's premier undergraduate learning experience and soccer powerhouse.
UEFA Champions League quarterfinals start today, and today's matchups are the more tightly contested ones. According to Opta's prediction module, Arsenal-Real Madrid is the toughest quarterfinal to predict. It gets started in London today. Very little history between the two, Thierry Henry led the Gunners to a win in the Round of 16 over the Galacticos in 2006, but that's it. Madrid's defensive woes will be the focus for Mikel Arteta's attack, especially with Bukayo Saka back in action for Arsenal.
Bayern host Inter today as well, two of the best defensive teams in Europe this season. However, Bayern are missing Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upemecano to injury so that defense is nowhere near full-strength.
Tomorrow's quarterfinals see Barcelona heading to Borussia Dortmund and PSG hosting Aston Villa.
In the second legs of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals tonight, Cruz Azul hosts Club América while the LA Galaxy have to go to Monterrey to face Tigres. Gabriel Pec is back for the Galaxy, but it's a big ask to get past Tigres considering LA has only won one match in ten in 2025.
Tomorrow, Pumas will host Vancouver while Miami hosts LAFC.
Your Copa Libertadores match to watch tonight is Barcelona SC, led by the dashing Sir Second Alexander Castle (Segundo Alejandro Castillo for newcomers to the Morning Espresso), traveling to Buenos Aires to face River Plate. Can't wait to see what Castillo wears on the touchline, but there won't be any fans in the building to see it as River has to play behind closed doors due to punishments from CONMEBOL dating back to the 2024 Libertadores semfinal that saw many rules violations from the club (fireworks, etc) and racist behavior from the stands.
It was reported yesterday that Inter Miami holds the discovery rights to Kevin De Bruyne. However, they don't have a Designated Player slot for him, so he would have to take a maximum TAM deal to sign for the rest of the 2025 season (around $870K). Will he take a deal for that to get a DP deal next year? Lots still to sort out.
Big time congrats to Soccer America as they begin their 55th year of publication today. It was on this date that their first edition was published in 1971. The work done by Clay Berling and so many others to cover the game in this country, and what is now being continued by Paul Kennedy and Mike Woitalla and their team, is unmatched and has been essential to growing the game in this country. Soccer America is a must for anyone in the sport in this country. We're not here without them. Thank you to everyone who has ever been associated with SA!
More Espresso coming on Thursday on the SDH Network, presented by Oglethorpe University.
Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago