Jurgen Klopp to leave Liverpool, Xavi to leave Barcelona, and more: Monday Freedom Kicks
Happy Monday, everyone. This morning, I’m totally devastated because my Detroit Lions fell just short of the Super Bowl. It’s hard to describe what it would have meant for Lions fans everywhere, but it would have been easily the greatest sporting moment of my life. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, but we’ll be back.
This weekend was filled with news, so we’ll start with Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp announcing that he will leave the club at the end of the season.
Xavi to step down as Barcelona coach at end of season (ESPN)
FC Barcelona lost yet another match and afterwards, Xavi announced he will step down at the end of the season. That will mark 2 head coaching positions that the club will have to fill in June.
Over the weekend, EAFC leaked most of the new 2024 jerseys for both MLS and the NWSL. Here’s what the DC United one apparently looks like:
Thoughts?
Emily Fox got an assist for Arsenal in their match against Liverpool over the weekend:
Also over the weekend, Canada Soccer apparently offered the men’s national team job to Hervé Renard in what was a “lucrative” offer. He reportedly rejected the offer to stay with France’s women’s national team.
Maidstone stun Ipswich as Sam Corne seals FA Cup shock for the ages (The Guardian)
Maidstone’s upset of Ipswich Town was the Cinderella story of the weekend! Maidstone advances at FA Cup.
USA Soccercast, Episode 125: US Club Soccer CEO Mike Cullina on U.S. Soccer governance (SSFC)
On my podcast, I’ve been interviewing some of the candidates for U.S. Soccer’s vice presidential election. On the latest episode, I speak with Mike Cullina, who recently withdrew from the race.
In Mexico, Brandon Vazquez had his first brace with Monterrey.
There is tons more news from the weekend, but we’ll leave it there. I’m going to go continue to sulk.
Incredible difference between the two managers leaving. Klopp seems genuinely weary of the strain of keeping up his own intense, wildly entertaining, and competitive style, and I imagine wants to leave on a relative high in order to preserve- well, everything. His rep, his spoons, his love amongst the fans.
Xavi, by contrast, having shown himself to be just a so-so manager of Barca, is now leaving apparently because the whole situation doesn’t meet his own standards… which, as a person who lobbied for the job, seems sort of git-ish. A manager should b a little self sacrificing and flexible, and Xavi just doesn’t meet those qualities.
Guess the race is on to sign Xabi Alonso, I imagine by both clubs.
I’ve got to disagree with you about Xavi. He integrated youth in to the team and got back to tapping in to the Masia. He’s had some success after a couple of down years. He’s managed the fallout of them having to let Messi go. And he’s being hamstrung by financial restraints. I think him leaving now works out well. It gets some of the critics off his back (he’s going so stop screaming for him to be fired), he’s also acknowledging that the situation may be beyond him. It’s a rare coach who says “I can’t go further, it’s best if I leave now.” I don’t mean leave because of a better offer. Or for ambitious reasons.
I think both Xavi and Klopp are weary but for different reasons. The past few years has had talk about “fixture congestion” and too many demands on players. Well, it’s there for coaches as well (though I think that’s a bigger factor for Klopp, less so in Xavi’s case).
Not wild about the DCU jersey. And I dislike the Spirit jersey. I get that Kang allegedly likes yellow as her favorite color. But it has no ties to the DC scene and some of our rivals (Penguins, Crew) are noted for wearing yellow.
And that’s too bad for Detroit. On a small positive note for the Commanders though, that means that most of their remaining short-list candidates to be head coach are now available for in-person interviews since Baltimore and Detroit have lost.
Xavi is leaving Barca in a terrible position. It was still a rebuilding project, they backed him, and they will struggle to hire another manager of sufficient pedigree under their current financial circumstances. He’s leaving cuz he doesn’t want to be associated with bad play. Which he’s largely responsible for correcting. This is not virtuous behavior, in fact, it’s pretty shitty. Like, sure, congrats on winning the league last year when Madrid was in flux and your club sold a bunch of long term assets for short term gain. Now it’s a little tough, and Xavi doesn’t want his image smeared by reality. Dude is a vain and selfish person.
Well considering how Barca insiders (read the board and powers that be) try to lead a smear campaign against Messi by posting shitty stuff about him anonymously, I always imagine working on the business side of Barca is a bit like working on a nest of vipers. Xavi gave Barca a lot of glory in his playing days and deliver the league for them last year. I don’t really see much of a problem if the dude is putting himself first. What else does he owe Barca?
“Owe” is not a word I used. But if Ben Olsen had left DC United in the same situation, I would have thought less of him than I do today. He could have stayed with the club’s backing to try to, you know, coach a team that needs coaching? His own quotes smack of perfectionism getting in the way of doing a job.
Ouch
Xavi isn’t the one that got Barcelona into the financial mess that it’s in. Those are from long term bets that went south long before he got there. I’m not sure any coach could do better, except maybe Ben Olsen.
Over the weekend the US men’s and women’s Eagle 7s rugby returned to action at the Perth Sevens.
The men swept pool play with wins over Australia 19-14, Ireland 26-7, and Great Britain 17-10. The Aussies got their revenge in the quarterfinal match defeating the US 31-7. The US would then beat Spain 27-12 in the 7th place playoff. They won 4 out of their 5 matches over the weekend and saw the return of most of the senior players to the squad.
https://eagles.rugby/news/big-improvements-for-usa-mens-sevens-despite-seventh-place-finish-at-perth-svns-2024128
The women had a more up and down weekend, but finished 4th in their side of the tournament. They went 1-2 in pool play losing to Ireland 19-14, then beating Japan 33-5, and rounding out pool play with a 24-7 loss to New Zealand. Then they beat France 21-5 in the quarterfinal round but fell to hosts Australia 24-7 in the semifinal. They finished the weekend with a loss in the bronze medal match to Great Britain 24-10.
https://eagles.rugby/news/usa-womens-sevens-finish-fourth-at-perth-svns-2024128
All of these games are great practice for both squads heading into the Olympics in Paris this summer as both teams are qualified.
Steve Goff is reporting that DCU has signed Matti Peltola. He will head to SA for training camp and will be signed as a Young DP. That would mean we are out of DP slots, but would have room for 2 more U-22 initiative players.
https://twitter.com/SoccerInsider/status/1751986421747904859?s=20
I’m a little bewildered they’re planning to play him as a DM. He’s got some experience there, but I believe most of his playing time has been as a CB. And it would seem that putting him there either pushes Canouse to the bench, or Klich to the wings. It doesn’t seem like they’d be putting three of their better players in their best positions, but who knows?
I’m glad to get talent. It’s good to get young talent, too. I’ve been pushing all offseason for a Young DP signing, so while I’m surprised that this is that, I can’t be too harsh about it. The other half of my push was to maximize U-22 signings, so let’s hope they have a plan to do that, too. If Peltola isn’t a CB, then we need more CB depth. If he is a CB, then we need more CDM depth. We still need help on the wings, especially right back, and another scoring option.
I think Peltola is a good player, but there’s much more to be added on the playing side.
First, I’m not sure this pushes Klich to the wing. If Lesesne decides to play with a back 3, I think we go with 2 DMs and Klich as sort of box-to-box guy or maybe still as the A-mid with a pair of shuttlers. And the question then would be–what role is TKDP in–a second forward next to Benteke? Or playing alongside Klich (so it’s a 3-2-2-2-1)?
Yeah, I want to sit down and try to map out a position/depth chart. I’m not quite sure where everybody goes.
I think we might not see all three of them on the field at once, at least not for every game. There’s just no proven depth behind them.
So no XDC on the front of the kit? If so, that’s a HUGE step forward.
I think that deal expired at the end of this past season. No word on whether we’ve landed another sponsor, if we’re renewing with XDC, or if we leave it blank for now
I’m still planning the fastest jersey purchase in my life if the Cherry Blossom kits don’t have any sponsor to start the year. I already have a pair for my wife and I with XDC, but a blank one would require another pair to assure we’d have Cherry Blossom kits for the rest of our lives.
One of my best purchase was a blank jersey before Liados was announced. The DCU shop even offered to put it on after it was announced and I passed on that.
Same. I sped down to RFK to pick that one up.
I might go for a new Cherry Blossom jersey under those circumstances, as I had mine customized. “TAXI.” If anyone knows how to fix that….
taxidermist
FanDuel
#BigChee
Let’s go for classy….
Sulk not DW2. The Lions proved they belong. The ball just didn’t bounce the way you (and my departed dad from Port Huron) would have wanted. Let Gratiot Avenue flow with the colors of the Lions….Pride
Always One Pride! It was the greatest Lions season of my lifetime, and just like you, I was thinking about everyone I know who had passed who would have loved to see this…most especially my mom. We’ll be back…this ain’t the same Detroit Lions anymore!
That’s the spirit DW2! My dad would have loved you!
So, assuming all reporting is true, we have our DPs at striker, central midfield (or possibly on the wing), and CDM, and one U-22 player at CM (ostensibly a playmaker). The team can sign two more U-22 players. Where would you want to have them?
We need some depth at right back, but I’d rather get a winger with some scoring potential, and maybe a center back (ironically, a Peltola type). The team is kind of flush with young center backs at the moment (Tubbs, Akinmboni, Sargis), so maybe another striker would do, or more of a pure playmaker than Pirani is?
I don’t know. We need help all over. Where would you target?
Wing. Blistering wing play is sorely needed. Both sides if possible.
I saw some guy on YouTube doing a Football Manager season with DC United, and Martin Rodriguez was really good for him. So… I have stupid hopes that he might turn out all right on the left. But in all likelihood, we probably need someone else.
I think we should have found a right wing DP with speed, dynamism, and a right footed cross to find Benteke more consistently.
That was my preference as well. But Herrera and Jeahze are both good crossers of the ball, so I think that might be the primary source of crossing.
Assuming Jeahze is healthy — I could see the team lining up in a flat four, with a double pivot of Canouse and Peltola, and a midfield of Klich, Pirani, playing in front of them, feeding Benteke and either Rodriguez or Ku-DiPietro. A 4-2-2-2. It won’t be blistering, lacking speed on the wings and through the spine. Could also see 4-2-3-1, with Rodriguez on the wing, joining Klich and Pirani. Leaving TKDP as the odd-man out.
Could be a back 3 — Herrera would be good in that, but I’m not sure they have someone to play the other outside slot in a back 3. Jeahze seems better suited to winger, wingback or outside back. If he is the 3rd, he’ll be vulnerable defending I imagine.If Bartlett or Sargis can do it, maybe Jeahze moves up to 5 man midfield with little defensive responsibility? Or maybe he and Herrera are wingbacks — and maybe Rodriguez sits?
Dunno… I think none of the options are great, and this isn’t the sort of team Lesesne wants to field. That will have to wait for 2025.
There are at least a couple of games in mid-July when it appears Brazil will want Pirani for their Olympic team. Rodriguez might have to take his role then…or Klich…but not clear where they’ll line-up when Pirani is here, so….
The team has a post on Facebook with the squad numbers for this season
Miller: 1Bartlett: 3Jeahze: 5Canouse: 6Santos: 7Stroud: 8Pirani: 10Dajome: 11Rodriguez: 14Birnbaum: 15Tubbs: 16Murrell: 17Garay: 18Benteke: 20Ku-DiPietro: 21Herrera: 22Bono: 24Hopkins: 25Crockford: 26Fletcher: 27Sargis: 30Klich: 43Akinmboni: 45Zamudio: 5624 guys on the roster, how many slots does that leave open? The international transfer window closes in a couple days.
The roster can be 30 guys. I know Ryan Keefer is usually on top of Senior Roster slots and such, but I have no idea how those are going. Matti Peltola should bring us up to 25, and I think that will leave us with one free international slot (Jeahze, Rodriguez, Benteke, Klich, Pirani, Dajome, Peltola).
United could theoretically go above 30 by loaning some guys to Loudoun, and there are a LOT of candidates for that (Garay, Sargis, Hopkins, Murrell, Crockford, etc.), but right now our depth is so limited, we basically need all hands on deck.
Mackay has done a good job of clearing out players, and has done a good job of bringing in talented youngsters to form an emerging core (and can REALLY solidify that if he makes two more U-22 signings), but we need some competent depth now.
I don’t think Benteke is using an international slot. I’ve written about that here before.
He is listed only as a “Designated Player,” which is different from Klich, who is listed as a “Designated Player, International.” Benteke did arrive here 6 months before Klich did.
So, that would mean we only have 6 internationals…except…Jeahze’s status is listed as “Season Ending Injury.” That may just be left over from last season, but is worth exploring, if anyone here has press credentials and can ask questions of the DCU front office.
I acknowledge the club roster on the team’s website is a mess. The Jeahze status might be some leftover business which needs to be updated, if he’s available to play this year — but Pirani’s status has been updated to “U22 Initiative,” so somebody is sometimes updating that page. They haven’t added Murrell, Crockford or Peltola, though — and haven’t updated jersey numbers from last year.
The international transfer window does not close in a few days for MLS teams. So the close of the European window might open up opportunities. Actually, the transfer window for MLS clubs OPENS on Wednesday, and runs through April 23rd.
I’m a tad mystified by reported transfers so far this month, and how they are already practicing and playing with their teams. MLS writes this:
Those players don’t have an ITC yet. Maybe that’s not even needed for practices and practice matches?