DC United win, end of an era, and more: Monday Freedom Kicks
Happy Monday everyone. We got some snow, so as we navigate the streets to get the week started, let’s look back at the weekend, which was full of news!
DC United Open Season With a Win, Knock Off Union 1-0 (DP)
DC United opened the 2026 season with a win! Tai Baribo gets the lone goal against his former team. Shoutout to PJ for the recap of the opening night win.
D.C. United downs Philadelphia Union…no, seriously: Match report (Green Line Soccer)
Also, the goat Jason Anderson has his own site going! He gives us his first match report at his new writing home.
2026 DC United season preview: What does success look like? (DP)
ICYMI, we have a season preview for DC United up. The matches have started, but you can catch up with what it’s going to take for the Black-and-Red to be successful this season on and off the field.
MLS Fantasy Focus: The End (DP)
Our man Blasian has decided to cease his weekly fantasy soccer article after 14 years. We couldn’t be prouder of the work he’s done for this site and the former Black & Red United to keep us up to date with all the fantasy ins and outs. He’ll still be around here, and we thank him for all the hard work!
We have a new Hey Spirits out, so if you haven’t listened to it, it’s a great way to start your week!
DC Power announced a schedule change, with their away match against Brooklyn FC moving up from April 18th to March 7th. March 7th just got a little bit busier.
DC United is close to getting a 4th goalkeeper, as academy goalkeeper Grant Leveille is finalizing a first team contract. He was with the team during the preseason, and clearly impressed enough to get the first team deal. It will be unclear how the team plans to give him some minutes with 3 other keepers on the roster.
Mourinho made ‘unacceptable, huge mistake’ – Kompany (BBC)
Vincent Kompany make sure Jose Mourinho knew that he made a mistake in his comments to Vini Jr. after Vini reported a Benfica player made racist comments towards him last week. Real Madrid and Benfica play the return leg this week, and UEFA needs to take action before that match takes place.
Lionel Messi apparently tried to force his way into the referees’ locker room after their match against LAFC this past weekend. Precedent for that would call for a suspension long enough to render him out of the match against DC United on March 7th in Baltimore. But, looks like the league isn’t taking any action against him and he will remain eligible to play.
Mexican league matches postponed after cartel leader killed (ESPN)
Violence surrounding the killing of a powerful cartel leader by the Mexican army prompted 4 matches around Guadalajara to be postponed over the weekend. It’s becoming a pretty sticky situation down there, and hopefully peace can prevail. Mexico’s WNT is set to play Iceland in Queretaro on Wednesday, but it’s not known yet whether it will be postponed or moved.
New York/New Jersey cancels World Cup Fan Fest (USA Today)
The Liberty State Park Fan Fest that was charging money for tickets has now been canceled. New Jersey will instead invest $5 million in community initiatives surrounding the World Cup.
James Milner breaks Premier League record with 654th career game (USA Today)
Congrats to James Milner, who has successfully completed 84 years 654 games in the Premier League! Seriously, that’s a buttload of games and a tremendous accomplishment.
Japan replace draws with shootouts and hope to avoid paying World Cup penalty (The Guardian)
The J. League is changing its schedule format in a way similar to what MLS will do next year. But they’re introducing a thing that they think could help them in the World Cup: penalty shootouts whenever there are draws after 90 minutes. They feel the extra PK practice could help their national team this summer.
As we close out, I’ve been running a series on social media where everyday during Black History Month, I’ve paid tribute to a Black hero in various areas of life. On Saturday, I paid tribute to club legend Bill Hamid:
I wrote an article way back when on Hamid’s rise to becoming the youngest goalkeeper in MLS history. You can read that and more over at Stars & Stripes FC’s Black History Month hub.
Enjoy the day, y’all.
MLS and its Messi and Miami coddling are getting to some pretty crazy extremes.
Sure, MLS, Messi just had to be restrained by Suarez (which, when that’s your protector from unhinged overreactions, get a grip) cuz he was this close to a vending machine, and soda can NOT go into that temple we call his body. 🙄
It does sorta make me wonder what MLS post Messi playing in it looks like. Is there an institutional hangover that they eventually recover from, and execs say “what did we do to our league last night? This place is filthy!”
I hung on after DCU v Philly to watch LAFC (on defense, my Scottish friend, Ryan Porteous helping to bag that clean sheet).
I agree. I wondered if Messi deliberately tried to get suspended to keep his DC United no show intact.
Alas, MLS clearly coddles Miami, and is considering launching new initiates to further bulk their roster. They’ll be revealed as needed, for now they are double-top secret. Stay tuned.
I relished the 3-0 pasting. Garber was chewing roll-aides.
Missed the DC game live, and was finally able to watch the replay last night. Definitely impressed with some of the new guys. Seeing the passion from Baribo was great, he looks like he really wants to succeed here and hopefully that is maintained in games where we aren’t playing Philly. Kurokawa also looks like a great pickup. I liked having Schnegg here, but Kurokawa looks like he’ll do great. It’s also nice to see that Baribo, Kurokawa, and Peglow seem to have a decent (though not perfect) understanding of each other already.
Munteanu seemed fine, but does seem like he’ll need more time to adjust. We saw some flashes from him in the pre-season games, so hopefully things click soon. I’m certainly more hopeful that he’ll be able to figure it out compared to what Flores did while here
I didn’t think Munteanu was as terrible as some people seemed to think. Granted, he doesn’t seem super quick. He definitely seemed to lack much connection with the other players, though he had a really nice dummy and turn to combine with Baribo once. I really did think he looked out of shape, but I see potential there.
I just didn’t see anything that would suggest 7 million dollars was spent. The amount of technical quality that would make up for the clear lack of physical dominance, both speed and power, was certainly not in evidence.
It’s probably fair to reserve some judgment for another five to six games, but my worry about what I saw and what being right about him would mean for the scouting process behind his acquisition… that’s tough to dismiss even in the short term here.
I will still give Munteanu a few games to see more, but Kurosawa and Helfti both looked capable in their first game. I watched on TV and thought Munteanu seemed lost and disconnected. I don’t like they gave him a DP slot and a long contract if he can’t adjust to this league. Maybe he feels some pressure of being a DP? Munteanu is a gamble. I hope it works out.
Yeah, Hefti seems serviceable and Weiler seems to have given him an interesting role in disrupting the opposition by taking up positions in possession that destabilize the opponent’s shape- an interesting tool for making the 4-4-2 less predictable.
Kurokawa’s only unfortunate moment was literally kickoff where Philly decided to long ball to his corner, and he flubbed the header in a bit of discomfort and panic. However, this seemed a boon later on, as the defense seemed to realize how much they had to cover for aerial situations so Kurokawa didn’t have to, and it worked well.
Louis… something’s up.
Will also note, for the roster, given that we didn’t have any announced out-bound loans before this weekend’s game, I think that means that Gabe Segal is occupying a senior roster spot. Otherwise, I don’t think we would have been compliant before kickoff unless we’re using that weird 31st roster spot mechanism. And if we sign that academy GK, someone will surely have to go out on loan to accommodate that
Found the solution to this. According to the league site, Hopkins got moved to a senior roster spot. With that, we have 18/20 senior spots filled (technically 19, but Kim is out on loan). Though, the league site also claims that the team has already fully signed Leveille, even going as far as to say he’s number 20 and in supplemental spots 25-28 (of which we have 5 out of 4 spots filled). So, we still have 11 supplemental guys for 10 spots
The Athletic just put out the first half of their anonymous MLS Executive survey. DC United gets only two mentions: among the contenders for “worst stadium” and the same for “worst training facilities.”
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7058062/2026/02/23/mls-anonymous-executive-survey-2026-best-worst-players-clubs-coaches/
Audi Field at Buzzard Point (in deference to the late David Rusk) is certainly not the best but it is also not the worst.
It is not, unless the anonymous execs are referring to: 1) How Spartan the suites are, they want more luxury. 2) How cramped is the guest locker room.
It’s pretty bad. The two that were voted worst are football stadiums (and artificial surfaces). The playing surface has improved, but not great. I’ll give a little pass for Sat. Night because of weather preceding, but it didn’t look great.
The other half of that was the physical space. Have to agree with that. North side has no cover in stands and almost none in concourse, with some pop-up food stands beyond the team store. The east side is that insane huge cavern referenced in the survey. I will say that at least it’s wide enough for a lot of foot traffic. The South stand has no cover and the concourse is not quite wide enough — but it is better than the almost impossibly too narrow to navigate concourses I see in some stadiums like Philly’s, where fans are just gridlocked at halftime.
But mostly that east side is just an incredible waste of space — both horizontally and vertically. It would be an interesting space to bring lots of food trucks easily, but they were noticeably absent Saturday night. I hope that will be addressed by the next home game. It’s always been a little inconstant and unpredictable, but usually that’s where I go to eat. La Tingeria often has 2 set-up (east and north), but they weren’t there on Saturday.
While the lack of permanent food stands around the stadium just feels cheap (lack of work space and kitchens), I will say it allows for things and vendors to be easily swapped and moved around. Still, I imagine it’s a net negative for vendors trying to cook there.
That cavern would be a good staging area for dirigibles and other inflatables for a parade… or maybe to store snowplow trucks and road salt during the winter months…Other than that I don’t know why it looks the way it does. Maybe it’s because there’s no underground to use for storage and loading trucks. It seems less like a stadium and more like a roadway / warehouse. It’s certainly not elegant. Maybe it’s more functional.
My favorite seats are actually the veritable “nose bleed” seats that are covered and are, in fact, a perfectly excellent vantage point that is not really that far removed from the field in terms of distance.
I have on a few occasions been up there in the past, and sat basically right next to the professional camera operator.
He said in no uncertain terms those who designed and then built the stadium didn’t talk to, much less heed, the needs of the broadcast crews that would need to shoot from somewhere. At the time, I could basically see they’d removed what was clearly intended to be a seating area and the camera was just on a concrete slab.
And, again, I could converse with this guy pre-match without leaving my seat.
Side not- it was the era of the equal pay movement by the USWNT and their lawyers, and he was pretty incoherently opposed to that idea. Still, no denying the unfortunate camera realities that was his actual job.
I absolutely agree with this. DCU management have really dropped the ball on making the East Side into a fan friendly open space. It is quite large and could have food trucks, games, playground for kids, a sound sage and more. When I went to the Bayern Munch (2022?) the East Side was popping with music, beer, brats and games.
Instead, they want to tack away the space from the fans and crowd the space with a non-descript building that mimics all the rest of the apartment buildings at Buzzard Point.
I saw multiple food trucks on the East ground level concourse down by the South stand on Saturday. I didn’t see if there were any near Gate A since I did not go that way.
I came in Gate B, because the lines were INSANELY long at Gate C (never seen them like that, even when there was only the one set of metal detectors in the center), and at Gate A, too. But I guess I turned the wrong way once I came in — headed to where the Peruvian and Roaming Rooster trucks normally are by Guest Services. If the security lines hadn’t been so long, I would have had more time to explore.
Curious if others have thoughts on why the security lines were so long.
Bottom tier training facility and bottom tier stadium and yet the Spirit find a way.
Think the Spirit do alright with training and staff relative to most of the other NWSL clubs.
These owners don’t even want to spend to the cap on salaries sometimes, I imagine there’s some pretty unfortunate standards off the field that aren’t talked about a ton in the media.
Hmmm the NFLPA survey is always a fun read from the perspective of players. I can’t recall if the MLSPA does one of their own. I definitely remember something of the sort being reported a few years ago, but it would certainly be a good read now. Bobby Boswell’s account of DCU training vs Atlanta was definitely eye-opening.
I think thats the difference. Spirit will pay to get good players. They have a good roster.
The training facility is a big problem. Even Loudon United went looking for better.
BILL HAMID BILL BILL HAMID
Any chance the inter-confederation playoff games scheduled to be in Guadalajara next month get moved to the US? It’s a really terrible situation in Mexico right now and I hope they are able to sort it out before the World Cup proper in a few months.
Wouldn’t that be great!?? I would
Love to go and see my country (Bolivia) try to join the party (World Cup)….
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7065718/2026/02/23/prestianni-banned-uefa-real-madrid-racism-vinicius-jr/
The player who is accused of racially abusing Vincius Jr. has been provisionally banned for 1 match without prejudice by UEFA.
Mistake. We’re going to see a relative proliferation of abuse meant to get in the heads of players where the only mask is a strategic mouth covering.
A mistake to ban, or, I think you’re saying a mistake to give him just 1 game? If you want to be able to argue you’re not abusing other players, don’t hide your mouth from lip-reading.
Oh, they needed to make this a long, tough ban and a fine. Parallel suspensions in all available competitions for club and country. Not enough to end his career, but to show anyone else who wants to try this tactic and be so obviously guilty that it will not stand, and will be punished.
One game is a joke.
So Benfica is appealing the decision and there is an ongoing investigation into the accusation. If the accusation is sustained and proven then it’ll result in a minimum 10 game suspension. That’s buried further down in the article.
Listened to a podcast where one of the people, an Athletic writer, expressed dismay with the vaunting of Milner’s record.
Basically, his point was that, while Milner has been a great teammate with impressive longevity and consistency over the years, his appearance record pales in comparison to those who har featured in the over a century of English play. There’s goalkeeper who played over 900 times, an outfield player who made 800. His argument is that the “we only care after ‘92” is a disservice to the history, and what got the league to the opportunity it had to become the EPL.
MLS, while only boasting a modest fraction of that history in terms of years existent and games played, has a similar issue. When Henry entered in his twilight, he was instantly dubbed the best player ever in MLS, the GOAT before he kicked a ball. Same with Messi.
And that’s deeply unfair to the players like Jaime Moreno and Landon Donovan who came before. The ones who featured before the commercial success or the financial possibility of such players as Henry and Messi, who kept us engaged, whether we rooted for them or not.
I do wish there was more perspective and respect.
Tradition <<< Darth Garber
While that’s true, it’s a different league, and longevity is much more impressive not, given the greater competition for roster slots.
Think of it like baseball — there are all sorts of ‘records’ from the 19th Century, but baseball history just focuses on the so-called ‘modern era.’ Post-war, and especially post-racial desegregation is far more relevant to me. American football — there were players who dominated in the old days, but Bronko Nagurski? Jim Thorpe? Even Jim Brown, Sid Luckman and Johnny Unitas played largely in an archaic league. Achievements in the pre-Super Bowl era just aren’t the same.
As for MLS, Henry was probably the best to kick a ball at that time (though Etch, Donovan, Keane, etc had set the standard before. Vela was pretty special for a time. Messi is next level, but Bounga and Son are the dominant pairing in ways like Keane and Donovan were, but in a less talented era. Fans will remember their favorites and especially the cream from the bygone years, but Bobby Boswell? Played a lot of games, but hopefully the league advances to the point where someone at his level is a depth piece.
I do think that Athletic survey had a really interesting observation about how MLS might be in a low point for goalkeeping. Maybe slightly overstated (I think the quality was really mixed early on), but not by much.
Yeah, it’s kind of a changing of the guard at GK as far as the “elites” go. Frei is no longer starting, Blake is getting older, Johnson (gasp) is also getting older, and Freese I think is the steadiest of the younger crop. I don’t think DSC, in spite of being quite a good shot stopper, has all the tools a high-level modern GK is expected to have. Not even Turner, honestly. It’s too early to say if the standard has really fallen though.
I share this point of view. Messi is without doubt the most talented player to ever play in the league. Henry, Zlatan, Rooney, Son, Villa, clearly very talented. But as far as the best, that continues to be Moreno and Donovan. No doubt. They have not only the numbers in goals and assists but the titles to prove it. They led the only two real dynasties the league has seen. They were not mere players on those championship teams, they led them.
Baribo makes the bench for Team of the Matchday: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/team-of-the-matchday-bouanga-lafc-delight-against-mls-cup-champs
If he is able to usually put in more chances like the crossfield ball Peglow made in the second half, he’ll make the 11 a few times.