The Weekend That Was - 1/30/17

Welcome to The Weekend That Was, where we look at the big stories from the weekend in MLS and around the world.

Men’s National Team forget about friendly

In Bruce Arena’s second first match in charge of the United States Men’s National Team, the Americans appeared to have forgotten that they had to play match on Sunday.

The Americans looked, for lack of a better word, flat. The USMNT had their chances, but failed to convert any of the inviting balls that were provided for them.

However, there is some good to come out of this match. The roster for Sunday’s match featured exclusively MLS players, and the likes of Darlington Nagbe, Jozy Altidore and Jermaine Jones showed why they deserve to be regulars with the team.

With all of this in mind though, American fans should be a little disappointed. A veteran and proven United States team failed to beat, what was essentially a U23, Serbian team.

The game finished 0-0.

Lincoln City, Sutton United march on in FA Cup

32 teams entered the fourth round of the world’s oldest cup competition this weekend, but only 16 advanced to the FA Cup fifth round. Among these 16 teams were two very unlikely sides to be making it through, Lincoln City and Sutton United.

Lincoln City and Sutton United are both non-league, fifth-division teams in England, and both go to play host in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The Red Imps of Lincoln City downed championship side Brighton and Hove Albion (favorites to return to the Premier League next season) 3-1 on Saturday, and did so in style. The non-leaguers went behind early, but came roaring back to put three past Brighton and advance to the next round.

However, the story was rather different for Sutton United. The Amber and Chocolates held Leeds United at bay in the first half, and then got off to a good start in the second 45 grabbing their winning goal in the 53 minute.

The draw for the fifth round proper will take place on Monday afternoon, and both teams will look to continue to stir the pot and advance in the competition.

Chicago Fire announce signing of ninth Homegrown player

Chicago announced on Friday that 18-year-old Djordje Mihailovic had signed for the first team after playing with the Fire’s Academy and PDL sides.

The Lemont, Ill., native brings a unique skill-set to the Fire’s first team. Mihailovic can distribute the ball well, dazzle with foot skills and even pick out a fine finish from time-to-time. However, he appears to one for the future, as Fire General Manager considers Mihailovic to be “a bright talent.”

I hope he owns a big suitcase, though, because he will certainly be sent packing to Chicago’s USL affiliate Tulsa Roughnecks for the 2017 season.

We had Payet, Dimitri Payet

Finally, among the weekend’s news is that French star Dimitri Payet will join Marseille after going on strike at West Ham United.

The Réunion native was apparently over his time spent in London, despite the fact that he signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract last winter, and forced his way out of the club.

This comes as a blow to many West Ham United fans, as their love for the Frenchman grew after he led them to a record-best season last year. However, those who now call the Olympic Stadium home have seemed to already moved on—Irons have already rewritten “We Have Payet,” and many videos have surface online of supporters trampling Payet jerseys.

This just goes to show how much say players have in their careers, and how powerless clubs can seem at times