"Fate is so strange. I don't really want to go back to Mexico. I want to stay here."

-- Juan Manuel, one of five Mexican fans who came to Yekaterinburg, Nestled beneath the Ural mountains on the edge of Siberia, for the Mexico-Sweden game at the 2018 World Cup but stayed to help launch Viva Mexico, a Mexican-themed bar that opened at the end of November. World Cup ticket holders were granted visa-free travel in Russia for the duration of the tournament and then had their visa waivers extended until the end of the year. Viva Mexico's owners are now seeking business visas. (Reuters)

Man. United vs. Paris SG (Feb. 12 & March 6)
Roma vs. Porto (Feb. 12 & March 6)
Ajax vs. Real Madrid (Feb. 13 & March 5)
Tottenham vs. Bor. Dortmund (Feb. 13 & March 5)
Liverpool vs. Bayern Munich (Feb. 19 & March 13)
Lyon vs. Barcelona (Feb. 19 & March 13)
Schalke 04 vs. Man. City (Feb. 20 & March 12)
Atletico Madrid vs. Juventus (Feb. 20 & March 12)

"The Bundesliga is a top league in the world so that's taken into consideration when you consider a player's performance. For us to be a top team in the world we need players performing in top leagues in the world, so that's one of the issues we're faced with. This is a high-level program and if you can perform here that means you're a high-level player."

-- New U.S. national team coach Gregg Berhalter on tour in Germany in an interview offering his assessment of national team players Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Haji Wright, Josh Sargent, Bobby Wood and John Brooks. (Bundesliga.com)

Houston. Acquired DF Chris Duvall from Montreal for 3rd-round pick in 2020 SuperDraft.
New England. Re-signed forward Juan Agudelo.
Philadelphia. Re-signed DF Fabinho, MF Warren Creavalle and FW Kacper Przybylko.
Toronto FC. Exercised option to buy DF Auro from Sao Paulo (BRA).

1. The third class, consisting of 12 coaches, completed the U.S. Soccer Pro License on Friday. Paul Riley, who led the North Carolina Courage to the 2018 NWSL title, is among the graduates of the year-long program. The rest the class, all men, included head coaches in the NWSL (Vlatko Andonovski) and USL (Mike Munoz, Anthony Pulis, Ian Russell and Steve Trittschuh) and MLS assistants (Kenny Arena, Brian Callaghan, Robin Fraser, Junior Gonzalez, Ezra Hendrickson and Sean McAuley).

2. Brad Evans announced his retirement at the age of 33. He won MLS titles with Columbus and Seattle and finished his career with Sporting KC, where he did not play an MLS game in 2018. He won MLS Cup and the Supporters' Shield with Columbus in 2008 before moving to Seattle with head coach Sigi Schmid for its 2009 expansion season. In addition to MLS Cup 2016, Evans won four U.S. Open Cups (2009, 2010, 2011, 2014) and one Supporters' Shield (2014) with the Sounders. His one goal in 27 games for the USA was the late winner in a 2-1 win over Jamaica in World Cup 2014 qualifying.

3. Toronto FC has signed 14-year-old Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty to a USL contract. The young forward will play for Toronto FC II in the new USL League One. He leads the Development Academy's U-15 age group with 20 goals in 12 games for TFC's academy team.

"We're not here to talk about the never-never land. Within the next 10 years it's possible. It's quite feasible, absolutely. And it should be. If we do this right. I'm sure there will be promotion and relegation, but you've got to give it time and we've got to get our product better and better."

-- Paul Lederer, chairman of Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League, on promotion and relegation in the Australian league, one of the few pro leagues without pro/rel. The A-League will expand to 12 clubs over the next two seasons with new teams based in western Melbourne and southwest Sydney. (Sydney Morning-Herald)