D.C. United sign Badji, Giráldez arrives in Washington, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday! It’s going to be a real scorcher of a weekend, which honestly makes me a little nervous for the soccer players we get together to talk about. Hopefully, they get plenty of rotation and hydration to stay healthy in this weather.
Steven Goff is reporting that D.C. United has signed Dominique Badji, in addition to the previously-reported David Schnegg. Badji may not be the kind of player fans were hoping for, it’s got to be worth something to get some more healthy players on the roster, right?
Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez arrives in DC following historic success in final season with FC Barcelona Femení (Washington Spirit)
After months of waiting, Giráldez is finally here. It’s sooner after the end of his season with Barcelona than I expected, but he will be easing into the head coaching role and will likely not serve in that position for this weekend’s game against Gotham FC.
Source: FC Cincinnati makes bid for USMNT star McKennie (Pro Soccer Wire)
This would be a pretty surprising move, I think.
The Athletic’s Full Time podcast did a Washington Spirit double feature earlier this week in celebration of Juneteenth. First, Tamerra Griffin spoke with Croix Bethune about the importance of black culture in soccer and her own game. Then, Griffin heard from VP of Community Development RaShauna Hamilton about the planning of Washington’s Juneteenth night:
The trend of long-range Euro 2024 goals owes to good technique – and a good ball (The Athletic $)
This article looks at the history of the long-ball, in addition to its prevalence in this year’s Euro matches and how the ball they’re using has impacted that.
England hit new low with dire performance too bad to be boring (The Guardian)
Continuing today’s Euro check-in, sometimes it’s fun to read a long lament into one bad game. I know the play wasn’t anything to write home about, but come on! At least they still tied!
Herrera claims Mexico national team ignores MLS players (Pro Soccer Wire)
I mean, doesn’t everyone? Or is that becoming an outdated stereotype?
Before we wrap things up, here’s a TikTok video (presented via Reddit) from an MLS camera operator. I thought it was really interesting to learn a bit more about how they shoot games.
And now, our schedule of events for the weekend. As you can see, the extreme length of the name “Alexandria Rough Diamonds” is really throwing off the tidy appearance of my chart.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria Rough Diamonds vs. Virginia Dream | Fri., June 21 at 7 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | – |
| Loudoun United vs. Miami FC | Sat., June 22 at 7 p.m. ET | University Park, FL | ESPN+ |
| VB City FC vs. Alexandria FC | Sat., June 22 at 7 p.m. ET | Norfolk, VA | – |
| DMV Elite vs. Annapolis Blues | Sat., June 22 at 7 p.m. ET | Bladensburg, MD | – |
| D.C. United vs. Houston Dynamo | Sat., June 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | Apple TV |
| Old Glory DC vs. Miami Sharks | Sat., June 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Fort Lauderdale, FL | MNMT |
| Washington Spirit vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC | Sun., June 23 at 1:30 p.m. ET | Harrison, NJ | ESPN |
| FC Frederick vs. Alexandria Rough Diamonds | Sun., June 23 at 7 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | – |
| Grove Soccer United vs. Virginia Dream | Sun., June 23 at 7 p.m. ET | Glen Allen, VA | – |
Have a good weekend, everyone! And try to stay cool!
Haters of MLS players? Switzerland doesn’t. Ask Scotland.
It’s really nice to have guys like Benteke, Klich, and Herrera come to the States and continue playing at a high level. Excluding certain Floridians for petty reasons. They raise the level of all the players around them and hopefully set a standard for the young guys to follow even after they leave.
Sorta surprised no one is talking about Jesse Marsch and Canada against Argentina, not just because he belted the Canadian National Anthem like a lumberjack from Winnipeg.
It looked like a very un-Jesse coached performance in some good ways. The first half, they sat in a midblock judiciously pressing and keeping things compact. Argentina eventually wrestled them down and won 2-0, they just have way more quality and soccer IQ, and every moment Canada didn’t maintain a certain level, things got dangerous. Canada had a few good opportunities, especially a point blank header, but weren’t able to convert. Still, I think this was an A- coaching job, based on the squads, and well above the average score I’d give Berhalter with a much better roster
Focusing on Argentina for a moment, it is very unusual in the modern game to have such an elite team that lacks a true runner, the average top speed of Argentina is quite low. Di Maria might well be the fastest player who started, and he’s fallen off due to age considerably. But they’re so good with the ball at their feet, are so smart, and so physically competitive that it doesn’t seem to matter. Also helps when Messi is creating for you.
Why weren’t they wearing their pink jerseys?
Aside from the individual skills of the players on their roster, what makes Argentina such a strong team is the fact that they are in fact a team. They compete for every ball, all of them, in every position, they have each other’s backs, they can play the beautiful game but they can also be super physical when needed. I know that Scaloni has a great roster but I think he’s a major part of why they are successful, he has being able to create a true unit out of all of those individuals. Argentina has always had great players (the 2014 team was also really good) but could never land on the right coach, until Scaloni came along. It will be interesting to see how he does when he’s finally able to coach at the club level. He’s never done that before.
I agree, Scaloni deserves a lot of credit for his tournament coaching. Argentina has often been top heavy in the past, and burned by more physical, defensive teams that can hang with them. Under the other Lionel, they’re getting a lot of progress by submission.
That said, not entirely sure how his methods would translate to club football. Maybe it would be great, but clogging the field is usually more successful in international play than the length of a season, in terms of winning a league. Perhaps I’m being reductive, but it may just be he’s the right man in the right job at the right time rather than the sport’s next genius
I think the signing of Dominique Badji is fine, and potentially quite good if his green card is still in effect and he only has an option for next season. But it really kind of says something when a team that is stocked to the gills with talent like Cincinnati is targeting Weston McKennie, and United is going after old Cinci guys that would up in the Turkish second division.
I know there’s a lot to the story and the circumstances, and that Ally Mackay has the huge task of cleaning up all the organizational rot and is still basically on step 1, but yeesh. And places like Cincinnati and Miami are coming off of recent histories of horrible seasons, mismanagement, and league sanctions in Miami’s case. But they have ambitious owners, good GMs, and didn’t let the people that got them into such a mess hang around on the payroll.
#FireKasper
I’m excited for tomorrow. Either United wins and I’m happy, or Ben Olsen wins and I’m happy for him (though still grumpy that United lost). Or they tie, and then that’s just kind of okay.
I’d like for us to score, though.
Looking at how hot it will likely get tomorrow, I was seriously thinking of not going to the game but then I remember that Ben will be home and well, I’ll be there. And, it might be the first time that I’m conflicted about who I’m supporting. For me, DCU=Ben Olsen=DCU. It is going to feel weird having him there and being part of a different team.
Sounds like Jackson Hopkins is doing a little worse than predicted, and won’t be back for a couple of weeks. Kristian Fletcher is probably out for another week too.
Another week of a 16-17 man roster.
Our bench is gonna be stupidly thin
I thinkbthe question this season has been when isn’t our bench stupidly thin?
Since it’s Throwback Night, do you think Houston will bring Will Bruin out of retirement for a one time appearance?