Birnbaum out indefinitely, USL Super League media deal, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
It’s finally Friday! It’s been a long work week for me, and I’m looking foward to a weekend of nothing to do except watch and write about some Washington Spirit soccer. There’s plenty of other soccer going on to help fill the time, so let’s take a look at some of it.
D.C. United captain Steven Birnbaum out indefinitely with left knee issue (Washington Post)
Steve Birnbaum had knee surgery before the season started and played in six games but continues to have problems with his left knee. Troy Lesesne reported Birnbaum will probably not need more surgery, but there is no set timeline for his return.
Memphis 901 FC’s Marlon Santos voted USL Championship Player of the Month (USL Championship)
Marlon Santos beat out Loudoun United goalkeeper Hugo Fauroux, despite the latter winning the fan vote. Consequently, Loudoun decided to give Fauroux his own title.
Washington Spirit official sign Manchester City defender Esme Morgan. Here’s what to expect (The DP)
In case you missed it yesterday, Washington Spirit have officially signed England and Manchester United centerback Esme Morgan to a four-year contract. André Carlisle gives us some details about her playing style and skills.
USL Super League and Peacock ink multiyear media rights agreement as part of new and expanded NBCUniversal streaming & technology partnership (USL S)
This seems like a pretty good deal for the fledgling league, which will see all of its games streamed on Peacock.
Where to Watch Euro 2024, Copa America in DC (Washingtonian)
With the Euros starting today and Copa America later this month, some of you may be interested in this list of local bars showing (some of) the games. I’m always on the hunt for a good sports bar in the city, so I might check some of these places out myself.
Euro 2024: Complete guide to all 622 players (The Guardian)
In case you want to do a really deep dive into the tournament.
And my final piece of Euro-related content today, this Adidas ad:
Soccer – and life – through the eyes of the U.S. deaf women’s national team (ESPN)
An inside look at the USDWNT as they prepared for what would be an 11-0 victory over Australia. I thought this was really helpful for understanding the differences and challenges of playing football as a deaf person.
Messi set to dazzle at Commanders Field as Argentina faces Guatemala this Friday (WLJA)
Embarrassingly, I saw several small children running around town in Messi jerseys before I figured out he and the Argentina NT were in town.
Finally, here’s our schedule of events for the weekend. Hope it’s a good (and relatively cool) weekend for everyone!
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loudoun United FC vs. Las Vegas Lights | Fri., June 14 at 7 p.m. ET | Leesburg, VA | ESPN+ |
| Alexandria Rough Diamonds vs. DMV Elite | Fri., June 14 at 7 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | – |
| Old Glory DC vs. Dallas Jackals | Fri., June 14 at 8:30 p.m. ET | Arlington, TX | FS2 |
| Washington Spirit vs. San Diego Wave FC | Sat., June 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | Ion |
| D.C. United vs. Charlotte FC | Sat., June 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Charlotte, NC | Apple TV |
| Annapolis Blues vs. FC Frederick | Sun., June 16 at 5 p.m. ET | Annapolis, MD | – |
| Alexandria Reds vs. Grove Soccer United | Sun., June 16 at 5:30 p.m. ET | Alexandria, VA | – |
| VB City FC vs. Virginia Dream | Sun., June 16 at 7 p.m. ET | Norfolk, VA | – |
Just watched that Jude Bellingham ad, and it’s as good a time as any to remember that England have never beaten the USA in the World Cup.
Uno a Cero! 1950! Belo Horizonte, Brazil!
1-1 2010 in South Africa!
0-0 Dubai
We dominate them.
The Old Glory DC vs Dallas Jackals game is on FS2 tonight.
Thanks! I couldn’t find tv information for that game. I’ll update the chart.
For future reference just look at the schedule on the MLR site it’ll tell you where all the games are televised/streamed. https://www.majorleague.rugby/schedules/
Matt Hummels is a free agent now. Not a player for the future, but if we wanted to try and make a push for the cup this year maybe….
Pass, I’m sure one of the league-favored teams will make an attempt though. We should be thinking more like Dortmund and avoiding aging CBs (who seem to have public disagreements with their coach).
I got reminded the other day that the reported rules changes (that haven’t really made any noise since they were reported by the Athletic) is that the teams can have three full DPs and three U-22s, or two full DPs, four U-22s, and $2 million GAM. I think it would be pretty easy to convert Matti Peltola to a U-22 for these purposes.
Hummels would theoretically be the third senior DP in that case, but I feel like this front office would be more inclined to take the $2 million GAM. And honestly, that would probably be the way to go.
United is riding Benteke and Klich, and they’ve probably both earned their options being picked up. But then you can ride Peltola and Pirani (sigh), plus two other actually good (Peltola or better level) U-22s, and $2 million to help give you some room to maneuver around Rodriguez, Dajome, and Birnbaum’s salaries.
That’s definitely what we should be looking to do if the league lets us. Even just one more U22 player would put us in a better position (ideally a fullback who can play on either side).
Well, we’re supposedly getting David Schnegg from Austria, who is basically taking Mohanad Jeahze’s roster spot, field position, international slot, and possibly salary. But yeah, we have NOBODY behind Herrera, and the other left backs are Santos and Dajome, neither of whom I’d expect to be on the roster next year. So, a promising young backup for the flanks is a good thing!
Getting a left winger or a central playmaker would also be pretty nice.
26 for Copa America
First, I’m bummed about Birnbaum. Individually for him and his history with the team. But also because we need some experience at CB. McVey was big here, so is Birnbaum. Not requiring surgery–not sure what this means. It could mean it’s just a matter of rest and PT. It could be something like a sprain (again, rest and PT) but if it was something like an MCL sprain, we’d have heard that and what grade of sprain it was. What I truly fear is that it’s a more serious issue and Birnbaum is opting to give it some rest and see if things get better rather than go the surgery route and run the likely option of being out the rest of the season. Lords knows we’ve had plenty of players who opted for rest and then when that didn’t cut it, had to go with surgery.
Second, I’m very happy to see Morgan. I know she hasn’t played a lot for ManCity lately but that club has a history of misusing or driving out good players. For instance (to cite just one obvious example), LaValle went there and couldn’t get playing time. I’ve read a couple of comments from Morgan on this and I think what’s motivating her is a chance to get back in to the England side by (a) getting more PT in a good league and (b) playing for a coach with a great rep.
The Athletic has an interesting article about all MLS sides ranked by how entertaining they are to watch as a neutral observer (and they also consider stuff like supporters, stadium, etc.). DCU came in 10th. The arguments were: a forward who is dominant but also crafty is always fun to watch and Benteke is historically dominant this season. And Lesesne has the team playing high pressure but avoiding the wrecklessness and bumper car approach of a lot of high pressure systems–some attractive possession, going forward constantly, attacking, and going for the gusto. I’d agree with that sentiment.
Finally, I’ve been thinking about how Lesesne uses players and I have a thought I’d like to share. Some have argued that perhaps he doesn’t use subs enough. Or even if he didn’t favor Rodriguez or Jeahze, when your bench is 14 field players, you have to give them a shot. My take is this: Lesesne seems to have a profile of what he wants in roles and from his players. You may not have pedigree or a great rep but if you seem to be a fit or a close fit to a precise role, then he’ll play you. And that’s true even if you’re not in-form or you previously couldn’t buy PT–if he sees you as fitting a role or system of play, he’ll give you a shot. And if you don’t, you won’t get a whiff of time. And I don’t think that’s about age, cap hit, rep, experience, or even form. For instance, he plays Teddy KDP (who has been mostly out of form this season). Jackson Hopkins disappeared last season. During WW2, the German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) has a doctrine that said at the unit level, it was better to have no leader than a bad or mediocre one. To explain, this meant that (whether you agree or not with this approach), if they didn’t have someone they felt was fit for a Staffel leadership role or had the clear potential for that role, they’d leave it empty (and have no squadron commander and just muddle through until they found a good candidate) rather than ask someone to do stuff they felt they weren’t a good fit at. Well, I think Lesesne is that way. He expects, trains, and then plays players to play a specific way. If your high pressure play ignores his specific triggers, you’re viewed as a liability. If you can’t exercise good judgement on when you go forward, you’re viewed as a liability. If you drift in and out of games (I’m looking at you Gabe Pirani), you’re viewed as a liability. Lesesne would rather play shorthanded (few subs, few bench options) than play someone who would be inconsistent to his system of play. Now you can argue that means he’s overly dogmatic. Or you can argue that has produced a team that punches far above its weight (as DCU has done this year) because the starters don’t have an example of a teammate on the field who is not doing what they’re supposed to do. But I think that explains why Lesesne does what he does with his roster, his subs, and his bench.
I agree completely that The Athletic article ranking MLS clubs by watchability is a great read. Our non-playing rating (e.g. stadium quality, atmosphere, etc. ) is rated a 6; NYCFC – Yankee Stadium a 1; Portland a 10 (as I recall). We need to fill Buzzard Point to real-life capacity and as neighboring blocks continue to build up with apartments, bars, restaurants, etc. I’ll bet that our rating comes up.
Next, I always value your analysis above any other Commentariat’s (except DBU) but I never imagined that I would be reading about a Luftwaffe analogy!!! But your analysis makes great sense in terms of what we’ve seen. It also helps explain the Jeahze mystery.
Scotland getting hammered by Germany 3-0 and they picked up a red before the pk 3rd goal.
Old Glory DC and Dallas are fighting for playoff positioning in the 2 conferences tonight. As it sits before game start both teams are in (Dallas in West, DC in East). OGDC scores a try in the 2′ with a successful conversion in the 3′.
Dallas responds in the 7th minute with a try. DC we’re penalized twice for illegal collapse of the maul. Legally stopped the 3rd and after multiple phases of play Dallas punches it in. Dallas have the 2nd most tries scored in the league. They have the highest possession into points rate at 34%. However, Dallas is the 2nd most carded team in the league and the 3rd most penalized. Hence why they don’t have more wins.
Damn watching this game with the football lines on the field from the UFL is driving me batty. They put the rugby lines down in yellow.
OGDC scores a pk goal to take us into the 1st half hydration break at 10-7 to Old Glory.
Holy crap OGDC win it with the last play of the game a rolling maul off the lineout from 5 meters out. Final OGDC 36 Dallas Jackals 34. If Miami loses tomorrow Old Glory clinches a playoff berth with 2 games left.
3 Old Glory players have been selected to the 30 man roster for the USA Eagles for the summer test series: Jack Iscaro, Jameson Fa’anana-Schultz, and Tommaso Boni (former Italian international).