Happy Thursday, everyone. We had some more U.S. Open Cup magic, so we begin with that.
Lionel Messi & Inter Miami! Open Cup final awaits after FC Cincinnati thriller (MLS)
The script continues to be written for Inter Miami. Cincinnati got out to a 2-0 lead, but someone pushed the Buffalo Wild Wings button and a last minute goal by Miami sends this to extra time. 2 more goals in extra time, and we head to penalties, where Inter Miami wins again. They advance to the U.S. Open Cup final with a chance to win another trophy in the Lionel Messi era.
Inter Miami will face the Houston Dynamo, who also had a wild game that went to extra time. But, Benny’s Boys get it done in extra time, winning 3-1. 10 years after leading D.C. United to the U.S. Open Cup title, Ben Olsen will get a chance at a second with Houston.
Hermoso, union urge Spanish federation to act after Rubiales kiss (ESPN)
There’s more backlash against Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales, with Jenni Hermoso and the players union, along with the president of the domestic women’s league all calling for the federation to fire him. We’ll see if they actually do the right thing for once.
USWNT fan survey results: How you’re feeling about the current state of the team (The Athletic)
Meg Linehan breaks down survey results on how fans are feeling about the state of the USWNT after their abrupt exit in the Women’s World Cup.
Speaking of the USWNT, it appears that U.S. Soccer might have leaked their own match announcement…by ad board?
Meg Linehan confirms that the ad boards are true. The USWNT are planning a set of friendlies during the October international window against Colombia.
Folarin Balogun: Chelsea, Inter and Monaco have enquired about Arsenal forward (BBC)
As the transfer window enters its last week, Folarin Balogun is still looking for a home. Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Monaco have all expressed interest in the USMNT forward.
Everton ownership: U.S. firm MSP Capital Sports withdraw from investment talks (The Athletic)
Everton might be in trouble trouble as their ownership talks with MSP Capital have collapsed.
Liverpool may have to continue with a reduced capacity at Anfield after some delays in their expansion project.
USWNT weren’t fully prepared at Women’s World Cup – Horan (ESPN)
There’s been a ton of postmortems about the USWNT after their loss in the Round of 16. Add captain Lindsey Horan to the list, as she said that the team wasn’t fully prepared during the tournament. Other players yesterday agreed with that assessment.
Have a great day, everyone!
It’s really unfortunate to react to stories of clear grossness and prejudice, cuz, like, don’t kiss an athlete you don’t have that kind of relationship with because she’s a woman, particularly from that power imbalance? But yeah, I hope he gets fired. The Spanish FA should probably get themselves a separate group to focus on the women’s game, one that might feature some women.
And yeah, my beloved Everton are screwed. That owner and his group have severed the club’s former identity and put it in a massive financial play hole it will not recover from, most likely. Mismanagement is what got them here in record time, I doubt they’ll be managed out of it by the same people.
That said, I think Everton the idea survives past the collapse of its current iteration.
Finally, Arsenal need to stop being miserly dicks and let Balogun go. He’ll probably be worth more than what they’re asking for soon, but pricing him out of a move away is unfair if you won’t play him.
They probably think, and rightly so at least a little, that having a USMNT player on their team will get more American audience watching their games even if they don’t play him.
I doubt that’s really the case here, though there have certainly been blatant instances of clubs buying Americans so that they’d watch extraneous cup games. Like Zach Steffen for Man City.
I just hope he doesn’t go to Chelsea. He can get paid perfectly well elsewhere and not have his career stall out on a crowded bench.
It’s hard to give away Balogun for anything less than $40 million especially when Rasmus Hojlund goes for $80 million and had worse numbers than Balogun. So I can sympathize with the club. That being said, many Premier clubs are guilty of holding onto their talented fringe players for too long without letting them make their way and develop in a stable environment (hi Matt Miazga)
Last I checked, too, Inter put in a bid around $25 million which is frankly insulting. I get Inter are cash-strapped but come on.
I don’t think 25 million is that outlandish for a striker you have shown isn’t really in the rotation even when your star is injured, but I think they certainly should add 5-10 million onto that offer, and maybe they would.
I could be wrong, I think they priced him out of a close to 40 million move by pricing him at over 60. That’s shitty.
I agree that $60 million is too much, but given the striker market this window, a young striker that scored a lot of goals in the French league for $40 million is reasonable. Then again, things are only worth what people will pay, as they say, so you’re probably right.
I certainly think he’s a valuable striker, and I think if he was owned by a French League club who wanted to start him, they should get the money they can. This is a different scenario, Balogun wants a permanent move away from the club that owns him, and the club that owns him has shown no interest in playing him this season. Factor in that he hasn’t gotten minutes when Jesus went down, and have Trossard as an option long term, Arsenal are not in a strong bargaining position, all they can do is price him out and piss him off more. It might be unfortunate for Arsenal that they can’t immediately sell him for 60 when, with a successful season in a top flight, he might be worth 80 million+, but I have no sympathy for the way they’ve treated the situation. If he’s valuable, play him. If he’s expendable, how to the buyer.
Interesting read about soccer players and retirement: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/38215697/soccer-retirement-david-thompson-karen-bardsley-nedum-onuoha-joe-thompson-john-okane
Well, the USSF gets another smack on the kisser regarding USWNT. I do, however, find it hyperbole that ESPN found it “shocking” that we lost to Sweden in PKs. That’s poor reporting, and arrogant. I think Horan is right, the preparation was not optimal and (although she did not state it in publication) the coaching was pathetic.
Also, the Spanish Federation looks like clowns with the clearly BS statement issued “by the player” when this kiss-gate was blowing up, trying to minimize the insult/assault. This creep has a history. Adios, Senor.
I read two articles about that podcast. I think Horan is vague and people can read in to it what they’re preconceived to read in to. For instance, some people say she’s diplomatically saying the coaching sucked–maybe. You could also take it as the team needed to play better competition (New Zealand?) prior to the WC. You could also take it as the team was too “raw” and not enough of the old guard was there (she was wrong about that if that’s the case). Anyway, a number of people are now coming out with criticism of one sort or another.
To me, the most insightful comment I’ve seen is from Julie Foudy. And she said that no USWNT has ever played with the degree of possession and ball skills that she saw from Spain this WC. And she’s right.
A preconceived answer!
:^) /s
See you Saturday at Buzzard Point.
US Open Cup Final: Ben vs Tata. I clearly remember that one time Tata refused to shake Ben’s hand after a United victory and Ben just laughed. I am not sure if Tata hated losing against DC or against Ben but I hope that on September 27 he loses against Ben again.
DC going 3-0 against high-flying Atlanta in their inaugural season (and United having one of their dumpy seasons) was really something. Benny knows how to beat Tata… and RSL, apparently.
I remember that non-hand shake. Hilarious.
I am pulling for you Bennie.
FIFA have opened a disciplinary case against the Spanish FA Chief: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/38249304/fifa-opens-disciplinary-case-spain-fa-chief-rubiales
Looks like the San Diego Loyal are folding after this season. I don’t know if there’s more to it than “MLS is coming to town,” but it’s a bummer nonetheless. They had built a good identity, and had connected strongly with their fans and community. I believe that former DC homegrown Collin Martin has been with them for their entire existence.
I was hoping that MLS expansion would go somewhere else, and maybe involve a team that was trying to move up a level (I really wanted Sacramento), but this is the unfortunate situation. Bummer for the club. Not sure if DC wants to put feelers out to Landon Donovan as a coach if/when Wayne leaves, but he’ll be looking for a gig.
Landon Donovan as a coach strikes me as a thoughtful and compassionate human being. The way he handled the Colin Martin issue showed real class. He is therefore unqualified to work for the DC United FO. Kasper & Co. have already broken Wayne Rooney, they would drool at getting the same opportunity to go after the guy the MLS MVP Award is named after.
The MLS group moving really just sank them. It’s unfortunate that the Mansour led group was so standoffish to them. Really a loss for the MLS San Diego right out of the gate.
Heya, writers, I’ve had a consistent issue editing posts recently. I can comment rapid fire in separate posts, but when I try to edit one for typos, the site blocks me saying I’m commenting too fast. I’d like to be able to edit for more accuracy and to counteract autocorrect, and I don’t know where this new thing came from.
Oh good I thought that was just me.