Weekly Soccer Column: MLS undermines product as it ignores world soccer calendar

BradleyStubHubMIA MLS: Toronto’s Michael Bradley is one of more than 50 players who will miss games this weekend while on national team duty. (Daily Breeze file photo).

If MLS insists on moving forward with a full slate of games despite all the missing stars, shouldn’t they provide discounts to their loyal fans this weekend?

Like that’s going to happen, even if league officials know they are putting out a sub-par product:

Read this week’s 100 Percent Soccer column here.

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Last-minute gift ideas for the soccer fan: FC Santa Claus gear

santafc

FC Santa Claus — a real club based in the capital of Lapland — has its jerseys and other gear sold this year through WorldSoccerShop.com for the first time ever.

Here’s more on the club from the website’s press release:

FC Santa Claus is located in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, has a population of 65,000, and is said to be the home of Santa Claus.

Rovaniemi is just six miles south of the Arctic Circle with an annual average temperature of 33F degrees; snow covers the ground 175 days a year, which means soccer cannot be played between the months October and April.

But, the midnight sun can be seen from June 6 to July 7, which means soccer could be played for 768 hours straight in the daylight; the lowest temperature ever recorded in Rovaniemi was minus 54F degrees; the mercury in thermometers freezes at temperatures below minus 40F degrees.

The team gained promotion to the Finnish second division in September. Each July, FC Santa Claus organizes a midnight sun tournament for youth teams called the Santa Claus Cup. In February 2015, they will play in the open snow tournament, the Santa Claus World Cup.

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Holiday Gift Guide: Tickets to Xolos-Club America friendly in Carson

clubamericaxolosMexican league runners-up Club America take on Liga MX 2012 champion Club Tijuana three days after Christmas in Carson.

The Xolos roster includes several Americans including former Galaxy striker Herculez Gomez, defender Edgar Castilla and midfielder Joe Corona.

Club America, meanwhile, is led by former Club Tijuana coach Antonio Mohamed.

Tickets are selling out fast, however, with some price points already gone. For more information, click here.

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Holiday Shopping Guide Part 1: Would you buy underwear from this soccer star?

Because with the Galaxy season now over, there are bigger questions to be asked (sort of) like: What do you buy the soccer fan who has (almost) everything for whatever seasonal holiday you celebrate?

How about a pair of Cristiano Ronaldo’s undies (well, not literally, but you get my drift).

RonaldosknickersRonaldo is well-known for his massive, um, ego so perhaps it should be no surprise the Real Madrid midfielder would take a page out of David Beckham’s, um, book and release his own line of underwear (I’ll leave it to the reader to insert obligatory Ronaldo anatomy joke, here).

The CR7 underwear line comes in basic, fashion and luxury and retails and ranges in price from $22 to $30. And, don’t forget to tell mom, there are socks, too.

They’re available at Freshpair.com.

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