Spirit players up for multiple awards, Real Madrid rack up airline points, and more: Tuesday Freedom Kicks
Morning everyone! Another rough week for my 30+ indoor rec soccer league team. We lost this one 8-2. I promise we’re good guys! Anyways, here’s your roundup for this Tuesday’s Freedom Kicks!
Real Madrid travel 4,000 miles east for Champions League match (ESPN)
A nice little write up about this wounded Madrid making the 10 hour flight to Kazakhstan. They will be looking to bounce back from their worst derby defeat in decades. Surely Almaty cannot hold back the flood gates…or can they?
Shrader hits hat trick as OL Lyonnes crushes former side PSG (PSW)
USWNT player, Korbin Shrader (née Albert), tormented her former employers with a hattrick and an assist in first start for OL. USWNT teammate, Lindsey Heaps, and DMV native, Lily Yohannes, also got on the scoresheet.
FIFPRO still waiting for FIFA to discuss World Cup heat woes (ESPN)
The player’s union released a 51 page report titled “Overworked and Under-Protected — The Player Health and Performance Impact” covering the 2024-25 season, focusing on the impact of workload, rest and the effects of playing the month-long Club World Cup in June and July.
Pulisic is probably playing the best football of his career right now and helped Milan to the summit of Serie A. He got a goal but to me the assist was even more stunning:
Moving on to local soccer, Gift Monday is up for player of the week so go and vote!
Sofía Cantore is up for goal of the week as well. I feel like this second half of the season, the Spirit is dominating the individual weekly awards thanks to a passionate (and always online) fanbase!
‘Soul gone’ from Man Utd – Rooney has ‘no faith’ in Amorim (BBC)
I feel like I keep hearing more Rooney quotes lately. Seems like he has a lot of free time since getting fired from Birmingham…
Clippers PG Chris Paul buys stake in NWSL club Angel City FC (ESPN)
Angel City continues to collect investors like Pokémon cards. Anyone with cash to burn seems to be investing in womens sports and I am here for it!
A preview for Wednesday’s W Champions Cup game in Philly from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Could an NWSL team play here in the future?
Finally, the USYNT started off their u20 World Cup campaign in Chile with a thumping of New Caledonia. The standout performance was Inter Miami midfielder, Benjamin Cremaschi, scoring a hat trick. Next game is Thursday against France.
Alright folks, make sure to take an extra long lunch today to watch those Champions League games! Peace out!
I’m glad the Spirit fanbase is flexing their muscle. For those of you who haven’t been around for ages, DC United used to always be a shoo-in for Goal of the Week because they a) scored goals; and b) the fanbase was large and very online. Everything that Seattle fans became, then Atlanta fans, and so on… we were first, back in the 2007-8 days.
It happened!
For whoever was asking about the supporters situation, the latest RFK Refugees has an interview with Paul Kent talking about that. Worth a listen.
I saw you asked some good questions towards the end!
They paint the same dreary picture that I do. Ugh….
It’s still weird to me that Gotham can claim the Philly territory and play matches there. I would think that area would be prime expansion territory.
Exposure of the league in general and testing/priming the market for future expansion.(?)
Definitely testing to see if they can get enough supporters for a Philly NWSL team
Couple of random thoughts.
1) For Pulisic, it’s almost as if a summer off might be helping him play well so far.
2) Jet lag didn’t seem to be a problem for Real Madrid.
The test of Pulisic is not whether he’s an effective star for AC Milan, it’s whether he carries over any of that commitment and form to the national team ahead of and during the World Cup.
I agree no one should care about the Gold Cup decision, though the bickering and PR conflict with Poch was another indication he’s got a lot of room to mature.
The ship has sailed on Pulisic being a likable, galvanizing figure for the US. He can still be a star and difference maker on the field. If he’s not gonna do that, he’ll go down as a massive disappointment.
Quinn Sullivan who went down injured early in the DCU vs Philly game is done for the season with a torn ACL.
Homegrown Quinn Sullivan to miss remainder of 2025 season | Philadelphia Union https://share.google/gK2vtXHuMNuAO1ahc