Loudoun United merges with VA Revolution, the mafia in Inter Milan ultras, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Happy Friday, everyone! We had some big news in local soccer yesterday and hopefully plenty to chat about today.
Loudoun United FC and Virginia Revolution Soccer Club merge to create Northern Virginia’s premier soccer powerhouse (Loudoun United)
Big changes are (hopefully) coming to Loudoun United, as owners Attain and D.C. United merge the first-placed club with Virginia Revolution.
Bad turf, cold showers, wash your own kit: life at the top of US minor league soccer (The Athletic $)
Hours before the merger was announced, this article about the dire situation at Loudoun came out. It sounds like ownership has really not done right by the team, and they badly need more investment to turn things around.
DC United draws Charleston Battery in U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 (The DP)
The teams will play in Buzzard Point on May 6.
2025 nwsl week 4: xG race charts & g+ pass networks (Beyond the Vaudvillian Cane)
Your weekly dose of NWSL analysis from André Carlisle.
Canada midfielder Quinn scores first goal in Northern Super League history (Pro Soccer Wire)
Canada’s Northern Super League played their first matches this week, and the first ever goal was scored by CANXNT (and former Seattle Reign) midfielder Quinn via penalty kick. I’m interested to see how this league develops and whether we’ll see more Canadians leaving the NWSL to play at home.
They are the die-hard fans of Milan’s soccer teams — and mafia-controlled (Washington Post $)
I know soccer culture is bigger in Europe, but this is wild. When their previous mafia-linked leader was murdered, the Inter Milan group actually voted to bring in a new mobster to strengthen their mafia ties.
Free agents MLS teams should target this summer (Give Me Sport)
We know D.C. United are interested in Kevin De Bruyne, but is there anyone else they should be looking at?
Finally, your schedule of events for the weekend. It’s looking like a beautiful one.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC Power FC vs. Tampa Bay Sun FC | Fri., Apr. 18 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Washington DC | Peacock |
| Loudoun United FC vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | Sat., Apr. 19 at 4:30 p.m. ET | Leesburg, VA | ESPN+ |
| Washington Spirit vs. Orlando Pride | Sat., Apr. 19 at 5 p.m. ET | Orlando, FL | Ion |
| Old Glory DC vs. Miami Sharks | Sat., Apr. 19 at 5 p.m. ET | Boyds, MD | ESPN+, MNMT |
| D.C. United vs. Red Bull New York | Sat., Apr. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET | Harrison, NJ | Apple TV |
| DC Defenders vs. San Antonio Brahmas | Sun., Apr. 20 at 5 p.m. ET | Washington, DC | Fox |
Annie. I’m pretty sure that your first schedule listing should be DC POWER FC vs Tampa Bay Sun FC.
Maybe United just want a little warm up before they go to New Jersey!
Goff is on the Pitch/Pass podcast this week, talking about our trainwreck of a season. I haven’t finished it yet, but hoping it gives me hope.
…what is hope when it comes to DCU?….I don’t know if I’ll have hope again till we get some owners that actually care…
“Owners that care” really is the thing here. As we saw with the Loudoun piece that came out yesterday, just because you get new owners (Attain in their case) it doesn’t mean things get better, they can actually get a lot worse. That’s part of the reason I’m always hesitant to say the DC owners need to sell. New owners could help a lot, sure. But it could also just as easily make things far worse (thinking about Percourt buying the Crew and then trying to move them to Texas shortly afterwards)
I am going to Loudoun game tomorrow. I wonder if I can dig up scuttlebutt……
🎵 What is hope? DC don’t hurt us, don’t hurt us no more…
What is hope? Get us some owners, some owners who care… 🎶
(Mournful head bopping commences)
I am really interested in learning more about this statement about the Loudoun merger:
The hype about Segra was that DC United would be building a first class ‘state-of-the-art’ training facility. I certainly had my doubts… Nothing about DC United is cutting edge or state of the art.
Are they just saying that these are amazing facilities for kids in a development program? Or will Loudoun United be training there? If so, is it better than what’s available at Segra, or is it that the DC United Segra Field training complex is just for DCU and not Loudoun?
Also curious about how this fits into the DC United Homegrown program. Will the youth programs be aimed at providing talent for Loudon to tap, or will the aim be to provide a pathway for DC United to skim the cream?
Per Pablo’s story: “We don’t see (D.C. United), we don’t talk to them,” said one club source. “I know last year, the club used their facility at times. We don’t even use it now to stay out of their hair. There are always complications. We just train at our game field, and if we use their training facility we have to wait until their entire first team is gone. They don’t want any cross-contamination.”
“or is it that the DC United Segra Field training complex is just for DCU and not Loudoun?”
The article this week in The Athletic about Loudoun’s travails clarified that while Loudoun has some limited access to use the DCU training facilities, it is not in affiliation with or contemporaneous with any use by DCU. The article mentioned a policy of no ‘cross-contamination,’ if I recall the term correctly.
It sounded like Loudoun often ends up training at Segra, if I understood it correctly.
For me, this drove home the point that while they are close to each other, Segra Field and the DCU training facility are separate entities and locations.
According to Tom Bogert, the Charleston Battery are signing Rubio Rubin. He was with RSL for awhile, and has repped the US national team. Adds another little wrinkle to our Open Cup match.
Various soccer writers (such as Matt Doyle at http://www.mlssoccer.com) have been suggesting recently that DCU could use more talent.
I’m starting to mentally reach the stage where I’m going to be upset if we don’t make a cash trade for Julian Gressel by Wednesday.