Rivalry Week Crowds
Major League Soccer scheduled a weekend of early season games between teams with special rivalry attractions. Nine games averaged 23,140, the highest weekly average this season. Portland vs. Seattle attracted 40,150, which was the Sounders’ seventh biggest crowd ever. The Canadian matchup in Montreal between the Impact and Toronto FC drew 37,896. Any professional league in the world would be happy with those numbers.
D.C. United at the Red Bulls, and Colorado vs. Real Salt Lake attracted 22,022 and 20,370, respectively and Chicago at Sporting Kansas City was close to 20,000 at 19,868.
The Home Depot’s two residents, defending champion Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chivas USA drew 19,117, which according to some reports was a disappointment that it was not a sellout. However, the Galaxy no longer has David Beckham and Landon Donovan has yet to return from his extended vacation, and Chivas USA was a disaster last year.
And which teams pulled the lowest attendance figures? That would be Houston at FC Dallas, seen by a crowd of 15,623.
Beating The Tax Man
So what do you do with a salary that is destined to be taxed at the highest rate in Europe. If you are David Beckham, you give it to charity and essentially play for free.
Beckman considered a number of offers all over the world after leaving the Los Angeles Galaxy and Major League Soccer. He chose the French club Paris St. Germain, owned by a group from oil-rich Qatar.
They have reportedly spent $340 million putting together a very competitive roster. Beckham is reported to be getting $3.4 million for a five-month contract. Good work if you can get it.
And Beckham gets it. He was signed the day before the transfer window closed.
By declaring London his official residence, and signing a short term contract, Beckham avoids a 1.5 per cent wealth tax on his entire personal wealth that would have kicked in had he lived in France for a year.
He will get only $3,031.80 a month from PSG. His $1.06 million-a-month pay check will go to a Paris children’s charity. He avoids paying the 75 per cent income tax rate, or the three percent surchrge on income over L450,000 a year. How about that!
Seattle Sounders’ First
The Seattle Sounders have another “first” by becoming the first Major League Soccer team to eliminate a Mexican opponent in the CONCACAF Champions League knockout rounds. The Sounders won the two-game quarterfinal against Tigres UALN, 3-2 on aggregate, after trailing at one point in the series by two goals.
The Sounders won the deciding game 3-1 in front of 20,520 crazed fans at CenturyLink Field.
Each of Seattle’s three goals was spectacular, but the triumph was highlighted by a once-in-a-lifetime strike by defender Djimi Traore in the 60th minute. The sensational left-footed blast from about 35 yards away — which sent the social-media world aflutter and ranked #2 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays — tied the series at two goals apiece. Forward Eddie Johnson put the finishing touches on the comeback in the 75th minute, sneaking in a tight-angled shot past goalkeeper Jorge Diaz De Leon.