By DAN KARELL
After months of waiting, Marcelo “Loco” Bielsa is set to make his Ligue 1 debut on Saturday.
The legendary Argentine coach took his first job outside a Spanish-speaking country in July when he signed on with Marseille, who kick off their season with a visit to Bastia. Midfielder Andre Ayew is coming off World Cup disappointment with Ghana and Bielsa will have to rely on veteran forward Andre Pierre Gignac to carry the goal scoring load again this season.
While Ligue 1 begins this weekend, Major League Soccer and Liga MX continue this week, with plenty of high profile match-ups. D.C. United, who are on pace to complete the greatest one-year turnaround in league history, hit the road to face the consistently good Real Salt Lake, and the Columbus Crew look to extend their three-match unbeaten run when Toronto FC comes to town.
In Mexico, Club America travel north to Nuevo Leon to face Tigres UANL, while Chivas de Guadalajara pay a visit to Pachuca.
Elsewhere in action, Tottenham play in their final friendly match before the start of the English Premier League season, the Women’s Under-20 World Cup continues with Mexico taking on England, and the North American Soccer League and National Women’s Soccer League each have matches to watch this evening.
If you will be watching today’s action, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the action (Today’s soccer viewing schedule is after the jump):
SATURDAY
12:15 p.m. – Ipswich Town vs. Fulham – beIN Sports Connect
12:30 p.m. – Tottenham vs. Schalke 04 – beIN Sports USA/beIN Sports en Español
1 p.m. – England vs. Mexico (U-20 Women’s World Cup) – ESPNU/Univision Deportes
3 p.m. – Bastia vs. Marseille – beIN Sports USA/beIN Sports en Español
3 p.m. – Montpellier vs. Bordeaux – beIN Sports Connect
5:30 p.m. – Criciuma vs. Cruzeiro – ESPN3
6 p.m. – Cruz Azul vs. Puebla – Univision Deportes
7 p.m. – Philadelphia Union vs. Montreal Impact – MLS Direct Kick
7:30 p.m. – Columbus Crew vs. Toronto FC – MLS Direct Kick
7:30 p.m. – Carolina RailHawks vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies – ESPN3
8 p.m. – Tigres UANL vs. Club America – Univision Deportes
9 p.m. – FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids – MLS Direct Kick
9 p.m. – Santos Laguna vs. Queretaro – Azteca America
9 p.m. – Pachuca vs. Chivas de Guadalajara – Telemundo
9 p.m. – Houston Dash vs. Sky Blue FC – ESPN3
10 p.m. – Real Salt Lake vs. D.C. United – MLS Direct Kick
10 p.m. – Chiapas vs. Club Leon – Univision Deportes
10:30 p.m. – Portland Timbers vs. Chivas USA – MLS Direct Kick