{"id":1110068,"date":"2019-10-09T13:41:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T12:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1110068"},"modified":"2019-10-09T13:52:59","modified_gmt":"2019-10-09T12:52:59","slug":"mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/","title":{"rendered":"Vela breaks records on Decision Day as big rival Ibrahimovic hints at MLS departure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Decision Day is done, the play-off places decided and the MLS regular season a distant memory.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The postseason is now screaming into view, with 14 teams ready to battle it for MLS Cup in some seriously mouth-watering match-ups.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"background-color: transparent; display: block; padding: 0; max-width: 700px;\" title=\"Audioboom player\" src=\"https:\/\/embeds.audioboom.com\/posts\/7383312-alisson-is-the-golden-middle-of-the-goalkeeper-venn-diagram\/embed\/v4?image_option=full\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>However, before we get into all that, we should definitely take a quick look back at what was a dramatic, record-breaking Decision Day.<\/p>\n<p>Strap yourselves in, here is everything you might have missed.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>1. Carlos Vela: Hat-trick hero and record-breaker<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>What. A. Season.<\/p>\n<p>2018 Carlos Vela was good but a little inconsistent, the 2019 version has been absolutely unplayable.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">RECORD: Carlos Vela is the first-ever player to score 32 goals in a single MLS season.<\/p>\n<p>History-maker. ? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EIDfhZNoeq\">pic.twitter.com\/EIDfhZNoeq<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Squawka (@Squawka) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Squawka\/status\/1180950671622848512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 6, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The former Arsenal forward headed into LAFC&#8217;s Decision Day clash with a very simple task: score once to break Josef Martinez&#8217;s 31-goal regular season goalscoring record. Never satisfied with the bare minimum, Vela put one in the top corner from 25 yards, bagged again with an overhead kick, then finished the job with a true striker&#8217;s finish, leaving him on 34 in 31 for the season. The 3-1 win this delivered for LAFC over Colorado Rapids meant the Black and Gold also set a new single-season points record of 72.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u26bd\ufe0f 28&#39;<br \/>\u26bd\ufe0f 31&#39;<br \/>\u26bd\ufe0f 51&#39;<\/p>\n<p>Record-breaking Carlos Vela completes a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DecisionDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DecisionDay<\/a> hat-trick. ? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1WTh34aEIB\">pic.twitter.com\/1WTh34aEIB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Play Squawka Selector for Free (@Squawka_Live) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Squawka_Live\/status\/1180962427782995968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 6, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>All of that in itself is remarkable, but coupled with the fact that he&#8217;s also provided 10 assists for the runaway Supporters&#8217; Shield winners and you really start to understand why the 2019 MVP debate isn&#8217;t a debate at all.<\/p>\n<p>After a recent slump, LAFC have rediscovered their mojo right in time for the play-offs, whoever has to face them in the Western Conference semi-finals has a monumental task on their hands.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>2. Legends bid farewell<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As much as Sunday afternoon was a load of fun for Vela and LAFC, the same cannot be said for Tim Howard.<\/p>\n<p>The 40-year-old goalkeeper was appearing between the sticks for the last time as a professional and allowing three goals in a 3-1 defeat isn&#8217;t the way he would have liked to have gone out.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, <em>that <\/em>performance for the USMNT against Belgium in 2014, 132 clean sheets in 399 Premier League games for Everton and Manchester United combined and the huge role he&#8217;s played in changing the perception of North American players mean Howard will still go out as an absolute legend.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1110091\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09122201\/PA-45701638.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5092\" height=\"3395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09122201\/PA-45701638.jpg 5092w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09122201\/PA-45701638-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09122201\/PA-45701638-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09122201\/PA-45701638-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09122201\/PA-45701638-66x44.jpg 66w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5092px) 100vw, 5092px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Howard wasn&#8217;t the only big name saying goodbye, though, as former PSV, Man City and Rangers winger DaMarcus Beasley also hung up his boots, going out on an impressive 4-2 win over LA Galaxy for Houston Dynamo, although their play-off hopes ended some time ago.<\/p>\n<p>Beasley will be underrated by many, but 126 caps for the USMNT, league titles in Holland and Scotland, as well as a host of honours in the USA should keep him in fine company during retirement.<\/p>\n<p>And arguably the biggest name of them all, former Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, announced his retirement following Chicago Fire&#8217;s 5-2 win over Orlando City on Sunday. With eight Bundesliga titles, seven DFB-Pokals, a Uefa Champions League and a Fifa World Cup crown, nobody will be questioning his iconic status any time soon.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Time has now come: I would like to thank both, you and my teams <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FCBayern?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@FCBayern<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ManUtd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ManUtd<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChicagoFire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ChicagoFire<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DFB_Team?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@DFB_Team<\/a> and of course <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/anaivanovic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AnaIvanovic<\/a> and my family for their support!<\/p>\n<p>Thank you! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jNSrXGNpxF\">pic.twitter.com\/jNSrXGNpxF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bastian Schweinsteiger (@BSchweinsteiger) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BSchweinsteiger\/status\/1181570718548598784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 8, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>MLS stalwarts Nick Rimando and Michael Parkhurst also made their final regular-season appearances but with Real Salt Lake and Atlanta United both making the play-offs, we may yet be seeing more of them.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>3. The Return of the King<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-week-29-play-offs-josef-martinez-atlanta-messi\" rel=\"noopener\">It was only a couple of weeks ago<\/a> that Josef Martinez was taking the field against San Jose Earthquakes looking to score for the 16th straight league match and take another step toward Lionel Messi&#8217;s 21-game record. But 11 minutes from full-time, the Venezuelan was forced off after jarring his knee in horrific fashion following a collision with team-mate Pity Martinez.<\/p>\n<p>Atlanta United fans, and likely Frank de Boer himself, were left contemplating their play-off hopes without their star man, and things really did look desperate.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1110086\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09115732\/PA-45886650.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1921\" height=\"1281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09115732\/PA-45886650.jpg 1921w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09115732\/PA-45886650-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09115732\/PA-45886650-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09115732\/PA-45886650-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09115732\/PA-45886650-66x44.jpg 66w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1921px) 100vw, 1921px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>However, just 16 days later, &#8220;the King&#8221; returned to the starting line-up for Atlanta United&#8217;s Decision Day clash with New England Revolution, a choice which De Boer admits was made by Martinez himself.<\/p>\n<p>The 26-year-old scored the Five Stripes&#8217; second and assisted Julian Gressel&#8217;s third in a 3-1 win over the Revs for the defending champions, completing the full 90 minutes in an incredible show of fitness and recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Atlanta United with Josef Martinez is a much tougher proposition for any side than Atlanta United without him \u2013 their play-off campaign begins with a re-match against the Revs on October 19.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Would You Rather Declan Rice or Se\u0301bastien Haller? West Ham Fans Quizzed\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W2Z0BLbq1BQ?start=423&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Subscribe to <a href=\"http:\/\/sqwk.at\/Squawka-Sub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Squawka\u2019s Youtube channel here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>4. FC Dallas and Timbers get it done<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Speaking of the play-offs, the Western Conference still had plenty to sort out when it came down to Decision Day, with FC Dallas, Portland Timbers, San Jose Earthquakes and Colorado Rapids locked in a four-way battle to make the final two spots.<\/p>\n<p>The game of the day was undoubtedly at Providence Park between the Timbers and the Quakes, with Giovanni Savarese&#8217;s men ending a run of five games without a win \u2013 four of which were at home \u2013 to send Matias Almeyda&#8217;s side away on their holidays with a 3-1 victory. The Quakes had done brilliantly to turn their season around after some horrendous early struggles, but Almeyda&#8217;s physically demanding, man-marking system finally took its toll, with Sunday&#8217;s loss making it six on the bounce.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1110081\" style=\"width: 1930px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLS\/status\/1180985158859706371?s=19http:\/\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1110081\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1110081\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09113809\/IMG_20191009_113502.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09113809\/IMG_20191009_113502.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09113809\/IMG_20191009_113502-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09113809\/IMG_20191009_113502-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09113809\/IMG_20191009_113502-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09113809\/IMG_20191009_113502-66x37.jpg 66w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09113809\/IMG_20191009_113502-620x350.jpg 620w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09113809\/IMG_20191009_113502-940x530.jpg 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1110081\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLS\/status\/1180985158859706371?s=19\" rel=\"noopener\">2019 MLS Cup Play-off bracket<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Things were a little more straight-forward for FC Dallas, with Luchi Gonzalez&#8217;s young side crushing Sporting Kansas City 6-0 at Toyota Stadium to seal seventh in the West, having gone four games without a win prior to that.<\/p>\n<p>As you&#8217;ve already read, the Rapids&#8217; hopes were ended with a 3-1 away defeat to LAFC, although it was always a fool&#8217;s hope anyway. Just like the Quakes, Colorado can take great heart in the fact that they made <em>anything <\/em>of their season after spending much of 2019 at the bottom of the Western Conference.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>5. Zlatan scores again&#8230; and makes more noise<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&#8220;A Ferrari among Fiats&#8221;, screaming in the face of his opposition, the self-proclaimed best-ever player in MLS. Zlatan Ibrahimovic&#8217;s time in the USA certainly hasn&#8217;t been dull.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1086846\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-zlatan-ibrahimovics-us-impact-explained\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1086846\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1086846\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/05\/01111625\/Zlatan-Villain-Hero1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/05\/01111625\/Zlatan-Villain-Hero1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/05\/01111625\/Zlatan-Villain-Hero1-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/05\/01111625\/Zlatan-Villain-Hero1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/05\/01111625\/Zlatan-Villain-Hero1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/05\/01111625\/Zlatan-Villain-Hero1-66x37.jpg 66w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/05\/01111625\/Zlatan-Villain-Hero1-620x350.jpg 620w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/05\/01111625\/Zlatan-Villain-Hero1-940x530.jpg 940w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1086846\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-zlatan-ibrahimovics-us-impact-explained\" rel=\"noopener\">Zlatan Ibrahimovic: The face of MLS or a dinosaur figurehead threatening its evolution?<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Just days after his 38th birthday, Ibrahimovic bagged <em>another <\/em>goal \u2013 his 30th of the season \u2013 although it wasn&#8217;t enough to catch Vela in the Golden Boot race. In fact, it wasn&#8217;t even enough to stop LA Galaxy falling to a fourth defeat in seven games, losing 4-2 to Houston Dynamo.<\/p>\n<p>With Ibrahimovic and Argentina international Cristian Pavon in their side, the Galaxy have the potential to match and upset anyone in the play-offs, but that brittle defence is almost certain to come back to haunt them and they&#8217;re playing like anything but champions.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, Guillermo Barros Schelotto may be more worried about the noise Ibrahimovic is making off the pitch, with the Swedish striker claiming he&#8217;d still &#8220;make the difference&#8221; in Serie A and beyond while speaking at a statue unveiling at his first club, Malmo.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1110089\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09121254\/PA-45991634.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"4751\" height=\"3165\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09121254\/PA-45991634.jpg 4751w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09121254\/PA-45991634-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09121254\/PA-45991634-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09121254\/PA-45991634-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/10\/09121254\/PA-45991634-66x44.jpg 66w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 4751px) 100vw, 4751px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh 100 per cent, I know I could still make the difference, both in Italy and in other countries,&#8221; he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.football-italia.net\/145046\/ibrahimovic-id-make-serie-difference\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019d do better than the players who are there now. My contract expires in December and I don\u2019t know what will happen after that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zlatan&#8217;s confidence will ever be the source of entertainment, while it was never likely that he would stay with the Galaxy beyond his current contract. But for him to be making these sorts of comments right ahead of the play-offs, with his side in quite horrendous, unconvincing form, will have to worry Schelotto and question just how much focus he will get from his star-man in the post-season.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, what does this all do for his MLS legacy?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Decision Day is done, the play-off places decided and the MLS regular season a distant memory. The postseason is now screaming into view, with 14 teams ready to battle it for MLS Cup in some seriously mouth-watering match-ups. However, before we get into all that, we should definitely take a quick look back at what&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":1095260,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"MLS Decision Day: Vela breaks record and Ibrahimovic puts future in doubt | Squawka","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The MLS regular season is over and the play-offs fast approaching. Before they start, here is everything you need to know from Decision Day.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"features-category":[],"squawka-category":[],"class_list":["post-1110068","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>MLS Decision Day: Vela breaks record and Ibrahimovic puts future in doubt | Squawka<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The MLS regular season is over and the play-offs fast approaching. Before they start, here is everything you need to know from Decision Day.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Vela breaks records on Decision Day as big rival Ibrahimovic hints at MLS departure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The MLS regular season is over and the play-offs fast approaching. Before they start, here is everything you need to know from Decision Day.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Squawka | EN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SquawkaFootballNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-10-09T12:52:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/06\/23154559\/MLS-weekly-round-up.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@squawka\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Jones\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dcaaeb201e0e17d78934592371278e5c\"},\"headline\":\"Vela breaks records on Decision Day as big rival Ibrahimovic hints at MLS departure\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-09T12:41:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-10-09T12:52:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/\"},\"wordCount\":1356,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/06\/23154559\/MLS-weekly-round-up.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Features\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/\",\"name\":\"MLS Decision Day: Vela breaks record and Ibrahimovic puts future in doubt | Squawka\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/06\/23154559\/MLS-weekly-round-up.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-10-09T12:41:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-10-09T12:52:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"The MLS regular season is over and the play-offs fast approaching. Before they start, here is everything you need to know from Decision Day.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/06\/23154559\/MLS-weekly-round-up.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/06\/23154559\/MLS-weekly-round-up.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"MLS-weekly-round-up-playoffs\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Squawka\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Features\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Vela breaks records on Decision Day as big rival Ibrahimovic hints at MLS departure\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Squawka | EN\",\"description\":\"Football News, Stats, and More...\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dcaaeb201e0e17d78934592371278e5c\",\"name\":\"Chris Jones\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1629af3d80ca046be2a55c38052128018b2b9c196ce8d6314bdff7d7ce9f366e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1629af3d80ca046be2a55c38052128018b2b9c196ce8d6314bdff7d7ce9f366e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chris Jones\"},\"description\":\"Gold Standard NCTJ-qualified sports journalist from England. Covered Major League Soccer, USMNT, Premier League and more since 2018, with a focus on data-driven content. Previously published at: CaughtOffside , Tifo Football\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/author\/chris-smith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MLS Decision Day: Vela breaks record and Ibrahimovic puts future in doubt | Squawka","description":"The MLS regular season is over and the play-offs fast approaching. Before they start, here is everything you need to know from Decision Day.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Vela breaks records on Decision Day as big rival Ibrahimovic hints at MLS departure","og_description":"The MLS regular season is over and the play-offs fast approaching. Before they start, here is everything you need to know from Decision Day.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/","og_site_name":"Squawka | EN","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SquawkaFootballNews\/","article_modified_time":"2019-10-09T12:52:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/06\/23154559\/MLS-weekly-round-up.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@squawka","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Jones","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dcaaeb201e0e17d78934592371278e5c"},"headline":"Vela breaks records on Decision Day as big rival Ibrahimovic hints at MLS departure","datePublished":"2019-10-09T12:41:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-10-09T12:52:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/"},"wordCount":1356,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/06\/23154559\/MLS-weekly-round-up.jpg","articleSection":["Features"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/","url":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/","name":"MLS Decision Day: Vela breaks record and Ibrahimovic puts future in doubt | Squawka","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/06\/23154559\/MLS-weekly-round-up.jpg","datePublished":"2019-10-09T12:41:00+00:00","dateModified":"2019-10-09T12:52:59+00:00","description":"The MLS regular season is over and the play-offs fast approaching. Before they start, here is everything you need to know from Decision Day.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/06\/23154559\/MLS-weekly-round-up.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/en\/2019\/06\/23154559\/MLS-weekly-round-up.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"MLS-weekly-round-up-playoffs"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/mls-decision-day-vela-record-ibrahimovic-transfer-playoffs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Squawka","item":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Features","item":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Vela breaks records on Decision Day as big rival Ibrahimovic hints at MLS departure"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/","name":"Squawka | EN","description":"Football News, Stats, and More...","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dcaaeb201e0e17d78934592371278e5c","name":"Chris Jones","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1629af3d80ca046be2a55c38052128018b2b9c196ce8d6314bdff7d7ce9f366e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1629af3d80ca046be2a55c38052128018b2b9c196ce8d6314bdff7d7ce9f366e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chris Jones"},"description":"Gold Standard NCTJ-qualified sports journalist from England. Covered Major League Soccer, USMNT, Premier League and more since 2018, with a focus on data-driven content. Previously published at: CaughtOffside , Tifo Football","url":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/author\/chris-smith\/"}]}},"yoast_title":"MLS Decision Day: Vela breaks record and Ibrahimovic puts future in doubt | Squawka","yoast_description":"The MLS regular season is over and the play-offs fast approaching. Before they start, here is everything you need to know from Decision Day.","yoast_keyword":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/1110068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/features"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features\/1110068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1095260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1110068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1110068"},{"taxonomy":"features-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/features-category?post=1110068"},{"taxonomy":"squawka-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/squawka-category?post=1110068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}