Loudoun bolsters their squad, Transfer Deadline Day in Europe, and more: Tuesday Freedom Kicks
Morning everyone! We finally got above freezing yesterday, but this snowcrete ain’t going anywhere any time soon. I’ve basically spent the last week and a half indoors and out of sheer boredom I caught the Grammys on Sunday night for the first time ever (this is relevant further down). I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining it was (or maybe my threshold for entertainment has been so whittled down) and the political messaging from so many artists.
Anyways, let’s jump into some footy news!
Loudoun United acquires Jack Panayotou on loan from New England Revolution
Seems like Loudoun just acquired a fairly decent player with USL experience.
Benzema to Al Hilal, Chelsea face rejection – Transfer deadline day as it happened (ESPN)
January transfer window can bring us some interesting transfers especially 6 months before a World Cup. A few moves happened, but probably the most noteworthy one was Benzema to Al Hilal which is related to…
Cristiano Ronaldo and an argument at Al-Nassr that doesn’t make sense (The Guardian)
CR7 went into full Prima Donna mode and refused to play in his team’s game today. His gripe is that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and several other Saudi League teams such as the aforementioned Al Hilal, is not spending enough money on his team. Could this be the beginning of the end for his time in the Middle East?
What it’s like to move on transfer deadline day: My first-hand account ($The Athletic)
Speaking of transfer deadline day, former DCU striker, Charlie Davies, recounts his own experience from his playing days on one of soccer’s most stressful days. It is pretty crazy how he mentions that he can feel stable and settled on one team and then whoosh suddenly you’re jettisoned away to a new city, new team, new everything.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino calls for Russia ban to be lifted (USA Today)
“Infantino has previously expressed his support of Russia, saying at UEFA conference last April that he wanted to bring Russia back ‘in the football landscape because this would mean that everything is solved.'” Yeesh. Also, he doubled down on awarding Trump the FIFA Peace Prize…
A wide variety of sentiments ranging from ‘The price was high but that’s reality for North American sports’ to ‘They’re not getting a cent of my money’.
Inter Miami have reloaded for 2026 in a way no other MLS team could have (The Guardian)
Dayne St Clair. Sergio Reguilón. Germán Berterame. The reigning champs enter the new season arguably stronger than last season (thanks to some funky accounting I’m sure).
Goff takes stock of the USMNT hopefuls. The team is slowly, but surely coming into focus and we are starting to narrow it down to a few bubble players. Does Gio Reyna get onto the World Cup roster? Sound off in the comments!
I think we are entering a new phase of Trin’s career. It sure seems like it at least from this interview. I really liked how she recounted calming down USWNT debutant Ayo Oke before her first game. It’s astounding that she is a veteran at 23. What will this new era bring for Trinity, the Spirit, and the USWNT?
Finally, DC Sports Grammys! I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say that the Spirit had a year not too dissimilar to Bad Bunny. Wepa!
I’m predicting that Reyna will make the WC roster unless he’s injured, leaving one of the otherwise better-performing midfielders or wide forwards off the team. Luna, Zendejas, Morris, one of the Aaronsons? Who knows. The online chatter will be fun.
Brenden is 💯 going. He’s probably the most in form attacking player in the top leagues right now. Poch adores Luna, and his commitment is infectious (cough, Weston, cough)
I’m not so sure Gio goes. He needs to prove he’s not jelly. He’s just not able to sustain health, let alone form, and at some point, you need some robustness to go with skill.
Especially if we keep the 3-4-2-1 formation going, he could easily be crowded out of the 10 spots. Weston I don’t think is even being considered for the central roles, so he’s part of that depth chart. Add in Pulisic, Brenden, Luna, and Tillman, he actually has a high bar of performance, durability, and commitment to meet.
I’m also waiting to see what role Weah is being appraised for at this point.
Reyna may not even be healthy when camp comes around.
I really hope CR7 manages to do the impossible and maneuvers himself single-handedly out of the Portugal squad. No one in the federation has the stones to do it already when he’s a constipating factor in the attack- he’s just there for the tap in glory at this point, and won’t take responsibility on or off the field for underperformance. But if he just doesn’t play for a bit, maybe it provides a worthy out?
Probably not, but one can dream. The howls of dismay from the worst soccer fans on earth would be worth it alone, and not all of these Portuguese stars will have another cycle to make it count.
That basically happened at the last World Cup with CR7 being benched later in the tournament. But Martinez is going to play Ronaldo no matter what.
Yeah, Martinez is not a good coach, baffling he ever got the Belgium job with what they had at the time
MLS has made sure that Miami will ascend to new heights. Ridiculous.
Based on a story posted today by Pablo in the Guardian, it seems like the situation with the Whitecaps might be looking even more dire, and moving the team really seems like a possibility. I do wonder, if they do end up moving, especially after the divisions are established, if that would cause the divisions to get re-aligned or not. Pablo mentions Sacramento as an option, which I think would still work with the divisions, but he also mentions Detroit and Indy, both of which would certainly be a stretch to be in a division with Seattle and Portland.
I know MLS doesn’t care because of money, but I hate those options. Not because I think there are issues with the cities (DW please don’t hunt me down :D), but rather because all three have established USL Championship clubs. I don’t think it’s fair to Whitecaps fans, the team, or the Indy Eleven, Sacramento Republic, or Detroit City FC.
I know previously Las Vegas and Phoenix have also been floated as options, which I think just boils down to “cities that have shown interest in having an MLS team in the past.” Depending on how the relocation goes, I could see a situation where the USL team gets “promoted” like Cincy did when they came into the league, which I don’t mind. That’s certainly a better option than what happened with San Diego Loyal and SDFC
Its just Inter Messi math that’s all there is to their accounting.