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Around the Forest: Mike Petke draws on similarities between leading RSL and Red Bulls

Also: Jurgen Klopp not happy, USMNT to play Bolivia, Marco Farfan dealing with playing and education, Dynamo try to solve their road problem and more!

Portland

The academic challenge – and solution – Timbers defender Marco Farfan had to navigate while turning pro | Portland Timbers
Marco Farfan’s Major League Soccer debut on March 12, 2017, against the LA Galaxy vaulted him to the attention of the Portland Timbers’ supporters. Since then, the Gresham, Ore., native’s local ties have combined with his personality to make him a fan favorite. But the personal decision to turn professional at 18 years old wasn’t as straight forward as this smooth transition might imply.

Major League Soccer

Taking Some Positives Out of Opening Day - Hot Time In Old Town
Chicago Fire fans are not a particularly happy bunch at the moment. The team had a disappointing offseason, selling off a fan favorite while failing to bring in the big name player everyone was hoping for. These negative feelings only grew when the Fire lost their opening match of the season at home to Kansas City. It was a poor performance from Chicago, especially on defense, conceding four goals to a Sporting attack that didn’t score a lot last season.

Dynamo try to solve road woes in visit to DC (Mar 16, 2018) | FOX Sports
The Houston Dynamo hope to have better results this season during the road portion of their schedule, which begins against a D.C. United team that won’t exactly be playing in familiar surroundings.

Poster Boy Artur wants to score more goals for Columbus Crew SC in 2018 - Massive Report
Anytime Columbus Crew SC’s supporters enter MAPFRE Stadium, they are welcomed by several gigantic player banners that are hung on the south end of the venue. Some of the faces displayed have been hanging there for a while, such as team captain Wil Trapp, veteran midfielder Federico Higuain and Ghanaian fullback Harrison Afful.

Former Red Bulls coach Mike Petke draws on similarities in leading RSL | MLSsoccer.com
Real Salt Lake head coach Mike Petke will coach against his former team the New York Red Bulls for the first time on Saturday. With the game taking place in Utah (9 pm ET | TV & Streaming Info), Petke said there isn’t much to remind him of his years in New York, aside from the handful of people still associated with the team and the uniforms.

How Herrera, Moralez and Ring make it work as New York City's midfield trio | MLSsoccer.com
Alex Ring, Yangel Herrera and Maxi Moralez are three different players who are on the same page to form one of the most lethal central midfield units in Major League Soccer. Their differences and blue-collar mentality is the secret sauce for the Boys in Blue, according to Ring.

Toronto FC hopes Mavinga & Morrow injuries are not serious - for now
Toronto FC’s losing the left side of its defense during the second leg of a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal, made its victory over Tigres all the more impressive. The Reds were forced to substitute MLS Best XI fullback Justin Morrow early on at Estadio Universitario, and centerback Chris Mavinga followed him off shortly after

United States

U.S. men's soccer team to play Bolivia at Talen Energy Stadium on Memorial Day - Philly
It will be the men’s national team’s first trip to Chester since 2015, when they lost the Concacaf Gold Cup third-place game to Panama in a penalty-kick shootout. The Americans’ last game in the Philadelphia region was at Lincoln Financial Field last year in the Gold Cup, when they beat El Salvador in the quarterfinals.

Danny Williams out for rest of Premier League season - Stars and Stripes FC
Huddersfield Town announced on Thursday that U.S. international Danny Williams will miss the rest of the season with an injury sustained in training. A scan of William’s leg revealed a fracture to the distal fibula and it will require the 29-year-old to undergo surgery.

World

Jurgen Klopp angry as Premier League moves Merseyside derby forward
Jurgen Klopp has voiced anger at the decision to move next month's Merseyside derby from a Sunday to a Saturday after Liverpool drew Manchester City in the Champions League. Klopp said the game had been brought forward to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday April 7, from a Sunday slot, with Liverpool playing their first leg against City on the Wednesday night before.

Italy just a stop on road to Kiev for Madrid & Barca | Goal.com
The road to Kiev passes through Italy for Real Madrid and Barcelona. The two Spanish sides have won the Champions League three times apiece since 2009 and both will be considered favourites to advance to the semi-finals this time around after drawing Juventus and Roma, respectively.

Jupp Heynckes: Bayern Munich have no interest in Malcom | Goal.com
Jupp Heynckes has contradicted his previous comments about Malcom by dismissing reports Bayern Munich are interested in signing the Bordeaux forward. Malcom has been heavily linked with a move to one of Europe's top clubs in recent months, with Premier League trio Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United said to be leading the chase