Remember Porto Alegre? One of the host cities in the 2014 Men's World Cup, the Estádio Beira-Rio hosted five matches with some of the giants playing there. Beira-Rio hosts Internacional as their club, one of three in the largest city in Brazil’s southernmost state.
Internacional is back at the top of the table after a long absence from titles – their hunt will have to wait. Brazil is suspending the league due to the massive flooding in Rio Grande do Sul and other states.
João Paulo and Léo Chú recently bore witness and asked for help for JP‘s home town, state, region and nation. Wave upon wave of cold fronts has dumped rain on the peoples in towns that are downriver from collapsing dams.
Over 150 are confirmed dead. Nearly 100 are missing. More than 82,000 people needed rescuing. The displacement impact and recovery are expected to last many months.
Soccer is the first reason I know of Porto Alegre.
Soccer is the reason I know of Om as well.
Om Arvind was a fellow blogger with SBN, writing and podcasting with Managing Madrid. He passed away last week. Managing Madrid hosted a tribute podcast to honor one of their early leaders.
His family is taking donations to help the NWSL PA.
Without soccer, a passion that led to a blog and a network that helped us, I wouldn't have known Om. I was lucky to know him, a Madrista.
Soccer is how I knew of Vegalta Sendai. After the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Aaron wrote a post about supporting the upstart team that was succeeding in the first division that needed help.
The club and our blog both held fundraisers for the region. Eventually a documentary was filmed about Vegalta Sendai's history – Sounder at Heart was a small piece of it.
Soccer was my first connection to Haiti. Their devastating earthquake was probably Sounder at Heart's first fundraiser as we joined Gorilla FC back in 2010 to help the nation that had a connection to our town through Altidore, an opponent and national team star-to-be.
Soccer is a funny thing that way. Its tendrils wrap around the world, creating connections and stories from Renton to to Butte County, California (where Megan Rapinoe's hometown burned) to Porto Alegre to Sendai to Haiti to every land where people can kick a ball.
These friendships we develop are more important than any result. They're the heartbeat of our passion for a simple game. It helps us all be a bit more global. And we all need that.
– Dave Clark
P.S. Normally I put a block here about supporting the SaH staff via affiliate links. Instead I'm going to ask you to support Om's legacy or any of the charities supporting Rio Grande do Sul's recovery (this is the one featured in the Sounders story). We're all family, no matter the hemisphere.
Catching up on Sounder at Heart
Open Cup play is coming for Sounders, again. Here's how the weekend went.
Sounders
Next match: Wednesday May 22 Seattle hosts Phoenix Rising at Starfire Stadium in their quest for a fifth U.S. Open Cup.
Reviewing the 1-1 draw with Vancouver Whitecaps
- More dropped points at home
- Postgame Pontifications: Plenty of fight, but no finish
- Sound Bite(s): Enough is enough
- Pedro de la Vega shows flashes of brilliance in return from injury
- Sounders vs. Whitecaps: Highlights, stats and quotes
- Seattle Sounders FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps: community player ratings form
Other
Reign
Reviewing the 3-2 loss to Orlando Pride
Other
Defiance and the Academy
Velocity
Spokane lost 3-0, their first loss at home.
USL 2 clubs
Ballard drew with Tacoma Stars (outdoor) 2-2. West Seattle Junction's franchise home opener was also a 2-2 draw. Midlakes United lost to Lane United 3-1. Yes, that means none of the Puget Sound amateur sides won.
Looking back at the news
Everything else you need to know
Nashville SC gave up on their coach that took them from the lower divisions to success. He and the club were struggling in 2024, so the coyotes went in a new direction. They're looking for a "new voice."
Emma Hayes, OBE, ends her run with Chelsea FC Women taking the league title, finishing runner's up in the League Cup, and making the semis in both the FA Cup and the Champion's League. Her legacy is more than a dozen major trophies and yet she's taking an even tougher job – the USWNT, where second place isn't good enough.
The five NWSL trades that changed the landscape of the league.
Private investors want the city of Cleveland to pay 90 million for a 12,500 seat women's soccer stadium.
Minnesota Aurora found new private investors to try to be selected as an expansion side – they're backed by a community that shows up for their amateur team and supports the W.
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