Brotherly Game Daily Links: MLS announces 2021 start date

Philadelphia Union News

A decade after Freddy Adu joined the Union, he admits he didn’t work hard enough
Ten years ago this summer, the Union shocked American soccer by bringing former teenage phenom Freddy Adu back to MLS. 

MLS News

34-game MLS season to kick off April 3-4
Details of how many games will be played against opponents — like whether the Union will play every conference opponent twice and eight of the teams in the Western Conference once — were not announced.

Brian Schmetzer officially extends contract
Schmetzer’s new contract will extend one of the longest relationships in North American soccer history to at least 20 years, having begun in 2002 when he was first hired as head coach of the USL team. Along the way, Schmetzer has delivered four league titles — two in USL and two in MLS — and taken the Sounders to four MLS Cup finals. 

NYRB attacker Caden Clark reportedly headed to RB Leipzig in 2022
The Athletic is reporting that Clark will indeed head to Germany in 2022. The outlet notes that the deal sending him to the Bundesliga club is somewhere in the $2-3 million value.

Who is new Red Bulls signing Wikelman Carmona?
After serving as the captain of the U-16 team, Carmona played with the Venezuela U-17 national team at the 2019 U-17 South American Championship. His standout performance came in a 5-3 win over Bolivia. The midfielder had a goal and an assist in 24 minutes of play, a standout match that likely convinced the Red Bulls to pursue his signature.

Austin FC announces new stadium name — Q2 Stadium
On Monday, the club announced its naming rights will go to the Austin-based, global software company for banking and finance as the 2021 debut season inches closer to kickoff. The club says the agreement is a multiyear naming rights partnership for the $260 million stadium.

Rest of the World News

Frank Lampard sacked as Chelsea manager; Thomas Tuchel lined up as replacement
Lampard, 42, leaves Chelsea ninth in the Premier League, 11 points behind leaders Manchester United having been appointed in July 2019. He succeeded Maurizio Sarri and inherited a team reeling from the loss of talisman Eden Hazard to Real Madrid and a FIFA transfer ban that rendered the club unable to buy players during his first transfer window at the helm.