USWNT win gold medal, MLS considers its own women’s league, and more: Monday Freedom Kicks
Happy Monday everyone. The Olympics are now over, and I have to get back to the routine of figuring out what to watch on TV to get through the day. This weekend, EPL and La Liga begin their seasons, so we got some soccer to look forward to real soon! In the meantime, here’s what happened over the weekend.
Paris 2024 football: USWNT wins incredible fifth Olympic gold over Marta’s Brazil (Olympics)
The USWNT did it! They win their 5th Olympic gold medal with a 1-0 win over Brazil. It helps put them back towards the top of the heap of the best teams in the world, and for Emma Hayes, she considers is the “greatest moment” in her career. You can see how much it means to her to win it and especially for this team.
That’s our coach!
Exclusive: MLS planning launch of women’s league after 2027 Women’s World Cup (Scarves & Spikes)
This is a wild article, but the report is saying that MLS is planning its own women’s league. This really feels like the worst idea for the league and for women’s soccer in this country.
Massive news out of Chapel Hill as Anson Dorrance resigns suddenly just 4 days before UNC begins their season. Something must be going down…
Post-Match Facts | #DCvMZT (DCU)
DC United is out of Leagues Cup after a 2-1 loss to Mazatlán. Mazatlán will use Audi Field for its next match against Cruz Azul on Tuesday. I hope it doesn’t affect the field too much for the Spirit’s upcoming matches.
Man City beat Man United on penalties to win Community Shield (ESPN)
It was another Manchester derby for the Community Shield. Man City won this one on penalties for the unofficial kickoff of the EPL season.
Brazil’s ‘queen’ Marta unlikely to play for country again (BBC)
Saturday’s match may have been Marta’s final one for Brazil. If so (and she’s retired a couple of times before only to come back to help her team), a silver medal ain’t half bad. True legend in the sport and I hope we see more of her in some capacity in 2027.
Sheff Wed fans in fake shirts may be ‘asked to leave’ (BBC)
No knockoff jerseys when you head to a Sheffield Wednesday match. They’re trying to take steps to eliminate them, asking fans who wear them to the stadium to leave. Seems harsh when the price of jerseys are sky high.
Drake Helps Raise $40 Million for Italian Soccer Club to Avoid Bankruptcy (Billboard)
First off, I didn’t realize that Venezia was on the verge of imminent bankruptcy. Second, wild random that Drake is who stepped in to save them. The team will also be outfitted by Drake’s Nike line, Nocta.
USMNT goalkeeper Slonina joins Barnsley on loan from Chelsea (Pro Soccer Wire)
Donovan Pines is about to get some company, as Gaga Slonina will head to Barnsley on loan. Slonina needs some playing time and hopefully there’s an American connection on defense.
USMNT’s Aaronson scores equalizer at the death on Leeds return (Pro Soccer Wire)
The Championship started this past weekend, and Brenden Aaronson already has a goal on the season. This one helped give Leeds a point against Portsmouth.
Sauerbrunn on USWNT: That chapter of my career is over (Pro Soccer Wire)
Becky Sauerbrunn is in the twilight of her career, as much as we don’t want to admit it. When asked about her national team prospects moving forward, she indicated that her time on the national team is likely done. I know it had to come eventually, but I still am not ready for it.
Wayne Rooney at Plymouth: A final chance to build a lasting managerial career? (The Athletic)
Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth got torched in their season opener by a 4-0 scoreline, and it may be his last chance to show he has a future in this coaching biz.
Kevin Paredes absolutely does not deserve any of the death threats and racial abuse being sent his way…and over stuff he actually didn’t say. People need to realize how dangerous spreading misinformation can be. Goes without saying, we all love KP and got his back.
Enjoy your Monday, everyone. And remember…4 years to the 2028 Olympics in LA. Everyone needs to get ready!
Great job, Donald, well done!
Congrats to the USWNT and Emma Hayes–well-done ladies, well-done!
I thought the red card to Stroud was deserved but not a “heat of the moment/lost control” kind of thing–just unfortunate. He was being grabbed and he tried to push him off but his back was turned so he couldn’t see he was getting the face. And then DCU came back and not only grabbed a goal but were very close to equalizing at the end there. Argh!
Glad that Slonina is going to get minutes. Because right now, the GK situation for the USMNT is very unsettled.
I’d take this with a massive grain of salt as the story author is a 16-year old and the site has broken zero news outside of local Atlanta stories. There is a lot of speculation, lots of reaching out for comment, and very little set of facts or quotes from sources. This can turn out like the MLS is buying the NWSL stories that were floating around a couple of months ago that amounted to nothing in the end.
He might be right, but he also seems like a weird person to break such a story even if the MLS was trying to leak it. Also there is the matter of logistics as the USWNT has said they’re only assigning players to the NWSL and not having those players means there is no reason to wait until 2028 for your first season and waiting 4 years puts the new league in even a weaker position vis a vis the NWSL.
I saved this for a separate post because I think it’s a meaty issue: MLS and a women’s league. First, this (MLS fielding women’s teams and academies) was a no-brainer given how many teams have their own stadiums. That way, instead of monster truck rallies and XFL games, you’re putting your women’s team in the stadium. Double the number of events (and concessions and parking). Just dumb, dumb, dumb not to have acted on it previously.
But now? NWSL hasn’t exactly covered themselves in glory–what with the coaching scandals. For my barely informed perspective, the best women’s teams in the world aren’t in NWSL but NWSL is the best women’s league in the world (they just don’t have a team like Barcelona or Lyon or maybe Chelsea–yet). Trying to form a women’s league now? It smacks of “oh, now that this would probably be profitable, let’s do it.” I think it also depends upon what the intent of the league is supposed to be. Will it be like the USL (and a league to give PT for players who skipped college but aren’t NWSL ready or maybe players who are a notch below NWSL)? I think MLS really missed the boat on this one. 3 years ago they could have approached NWSL and say “join under our umbrella. You’ll get training facilities, stadiums, expansion, more financial stability, and an established brand to be part of.” Now, I think it’s more likely to be a competition between MLS and NWSL. And to say nothing of the league that Fred Brilliant is coaching (DC Power?) that has delayed their season at least once and is pretty much invisible.
To avoid that you need to be serious about and serious about cleaning it up. A league that is adjunct to a men’s league is likely not going to have the level of focus to do that on a consistent basis. The NWSL has worked hard to fix their issues and prevent them from reoccurring, a new league will need to be very, very focused on that.
That Sheffield Wednesday story is bonkers
I just got back from a week in Nags Head. We went to one restaurant that had a big Jailbreak Brewing sign over the bar (about a mile from my old house in Laurel!), and I’m pretty sure the bartender was wearing a DC Defenders hat.
We were there with the kids and they were getting pretty antsy, so I didn’t get an opportunity to go over and check out the bar more thoroughly, but it was cool to have those DMV connections there, in North Carolina of all places.
Olympic comments:
1) that Sifan Hassan could even run a marathon after running and winning bronze in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m in the previous two days was incredible. Then to put on that finishing sprint and win gold was beyond belief.
I used to rate Secretariat’s Belmont win and Michelle Akers playing flat out in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome as the two greatest athletic achievements that I ever watched.
But Siran Hassan’s marathon may top those.
2) all hail the USWNT! Wonderfully done.
3) With hindsight (always 100%), Emma Hayes’ big mistake was not picking Croix Bethune rather than Rose Lavelle for the 18 for the tournament. I think that, as with Alex Morgan, we’ve seen the last of Rose Lavelle on the USWNT. A great career but time to pass the torch.
4) the Triple Espresso all need to learn how to dunk the keeper on breakaways a la Messi. Dinks scored Spain’s last two goals in a scintillating 5-3 final over France.
Leagues Cup comments (I was at Buzzard Point in person):
1) Whereas Jared Stroud’s red card wasn’t as thoughtless as Tim Weah’s, the effect was the same: lost the match and eliminated from the competition.
2) must be super careful when playing Mexican teams. Their players act as if they’ve been mortally shot after even the slightest touch.
3) Referee was weird. I’ve never seen a player yellow carded and then banished to the sideline for several minutes. Plus many other strange calls and non-calls.
4) Whereas it would have been nice to have another Leagues Cup match or two for team building, I thought that there were still a lot of positives. Though we were totally outplayed the first half, with only ten men we won the second half. But for a fingertip save, Murrell’s 96th minute shot would have tied score and sent match to penalty kicks.
5) I like what I’ve seen of David Schnegg, Badji, and (for his debut) Boris Enow. Hopefully, we’ll now make a run for the playoffs.
Hopefully this tournament gave some guys some confidence. Stroud got a couple really nice goals, Dajome, Klich, and Ku-DiPietro were able to score, and Benteke kept his hot streak rolling. Alex Bono was able to keep a clean sheet. The new guys, as you say, are gelling pretty nicely.
I was also kind of surprised that the team did so well on their spot kicks. Ironically, the only one to take a bad kick was Klich, who is generally our PK taker if Benteke isn’t on the field.
Another game would have been nice, especially since United hasn’t won an elimination match against a top division side since (I believe) 2019 in the Open Cup. Before that, it was the play-in game against New England in 2015. For a team that wants to win trophies, they need to get that experience of winning single elimination matches again.
But at least now they’ve got two weeks off to try and get everybody healthy, and incorporate Schnegg, Badji, and Enow a little bit more. There’s a few more days in the transfer window, but I’d be surprised if they bring in anybody else. They were said to be up against the salary cap limit, and Schnegg basically took Jeahze’s spot and Enow took Birnbaum’s. Unless they move someone else (Tyler Miller?), they’re not getting anybody else.
Oh, and one guy that I wanted to see moved, Martin Rodriguez, has really done well to integrate himself into the team and providing attacking opportunities from both central midfield and set pieces. That has been sorely needed!
I agree fully with all these comments, including about Martin Rodriguez.
Yep, Rodriguez may end up effectively being our A-mid. He hits some nice passes and thru-balls, he hustles, he fights for balls.
My thought entirely.
Imagine if we’d had him last season instead of losing him to a season ending injury in the preseason….gah I love his performances, but it makes me wonder what might’ve been…