In this week’s edition of Hinton Unleashed, Prost Amerika analyst and columnist Alan Hinton discussed Major League Soccer sides Seattle Sounders FC and NYCFC, the upcoming Champions League matchup between Juventus and Barcelona, English Premier League teams in danger of relegation and potential changes at Liverpool.
Major League Soccer
“Will (NYCFC head coach) Jason Kreis be there (for Frank Lampard’s MLS debut)?”
Hinton reviewed last week Seattle’s 2-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. He praised Sounders FC forward Chad Barrett, who replaced the injured Obafemi Martins. Barrett scored twice to lead the Sounders to their first win in Vancouver since 2011.
NYCFC is mired in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Hinton wondered if head coach Jason Kreis would survive long enough to see the debut of Frank Lampard. The former Derby County winger thought the intense Kreis may need more than Lampard to turn his team around.
Champions League Final
“You can’t write-off Juventus.”
Juventus and Barcelona square-off on June 6th in Berlin to crown the Champions League winner for the 2014-15 campaign. Hinton expects Juventus to give Barcelona a run for their money. He commented on Juventus’ defensive strength, but thought the side from Catalonia would prevail and win the Champions League trophy.
English Premier League
“Brendan Rodgers seems to have spent a lot of time on his awful signing Ballotelli…you can’t do that.”
With the EPL season concluding this weekend, Hinton speculated on the three teams slated for relegation and Liverpool’s disappointing season. He criticized head coach Brendan Rodgers for his management of forward Mario Ballotelli and midfielder Steven Gerrard that are flaming rumors of Rodgers’ potential departure from Liverpool.
