Results
Hoffenheim 1 – 4 Freiburg [M–Cup]
After the shellacking against Dortmund, Freiburg delivered one of their own to march on into the DFB Pokal quarter finals. (A contest that actually WON’T be won by either Bayern Munich or Dortmund, for a change.)
Vincenzo Grifo showed up in a big way for the Griffins. He struck the first goal, converted a hand ball penalty and held the line firm for Freiburg as Hoffenheim couldn’t convert their in league success into a win in the Cup.
Alebrijes de Oaxaca 1 – 1 UDG
Oaxaca remains unbeaten in 2022 grabbing a draw against the Black Lions. The biggest boon has been a more assertive attack that isn’t confined to blasting away from distance. The Alebrijes have managed to make some incisive runs and support each other on set pieces. Edson Santos’ run into the area is a beautiful thing to behold, as is Ernesto Reye’s blooping pass to set up Jorge Sanchez’s goal. All in all, another strong night for our side in Mexico.
Legon Cities 5 – 0 Real Athletico [Cup]
In the northern city of Tamale, the Royals had no trouble pushing past the doubly Spanish sounding Real Athletico. The team’s showing included two goals from Hans Kwofie, another one from Croster Obour, and two more from Hamza Nassiru. Things are likely to get much more difficult as the tournament goes on.
Freiburg 2 – 0 VfB Stuttgart [M]
Stuttgart was out flanked and out run by Freiburg. Kevin Schade and Vincenzo Grifo created happy hell for the Griffins and got a valuable win to stay in the thick of the hunt for Europe.
Livingston 1 – 0 Ross County [Cup]
The Stags saw cup hopes crash out against Livvie. The stout defense gave up an uncharacteristic penalty and couldn’t find an equalizer.
Grenoble v. Niort [M] Postponed
Sigh…there’s that COVID postponement we almost thought we had dodged. Sadly the positive cases in Grenoble have further slowed the start to the Alpiner’s 2022.
Bibiani Gold Stars 2 – 1 Legon Cities FC
The Royals went up on a first half goal from Osman Amadu. But they couldn’t hold on to the lead away from home.
Grenoble v. Yzeure Allier [F] Postponed
And as if the men’s team wasn’t enough, the sides that train together contract COVID together. Best wishes to all the front line responders in the French Alps. The true MVPs of this whole Pandemic shenanigans.
News & Notes
Comings and Goings
Long standing Ross County defender Tom Grivositi has seen his playing time decline, so it’s not terribly surprising that he packed up and left for a team where he’ll be able to show his skills more openly. Still, he helped get the Stags to the Premiership, and his efforts for the club should not be forgotten.
As one of the teams between seasons, it makes sense that Rosenborg both lost and added players this last week. The loss is a tough one with young attacker Emil Konradssen Ceide heading out of town. We really like Emil, but the chance to play in Italy’s top league (with Sassuolo) is too good to pass up. He’ll be replaced by a athletic young defender, Tobias Borkeeiet, who should be ready to run anywhere and everywhere.
Left Winger Bruno Pitton will bring a wealth of experience from Argentina’s top flight to Emelec. He has struggled of late, but with 120 caps he should be ready to build los Bombillos attack. As an added bonus: We Get to talk about Bruno!
African Cup of Nations/Corrections
Our last/only rep
Lots of Great Women’s News
Though they aren’t officially linked with Minnesota United, if we take that idea of United at value, and we respect the tonnage of our fellow United fans who own shares of the new Minnesota Women’s Soccer team, then we need to be every bit as excited about the newest representative of the women’s game in our league. SO: This Thursday, we’ll have a new local favorite: Aurora, Arctic, Firefox. This is gonna be fun.
Oh…last thing…
I’m 39 now…so all the sleepiness all the time makes sense.
Player of the Week
No two ways around it: Vincenzo Grifo gave it his all and boosted Freiburg just at a moment when they needed it most. Many many thanks to Vincenzo for leading the way, making himself something close to Mr. Freiburg.
Standings Update
The early stage of the season has once again shifted the leaderboard, Freiburg now takes top honors, though Legon Cities squandered their shot with that last loss.
| Team | W | D | L | PPG | GFA | GAA |
| Freiburg | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.8 | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| Alebrijes de Oaxaca | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| Ross County | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.0 |
| Legon Cities | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.6 |
| Grenoble | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| University of Montana–b | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rosenborg BK–b | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Minnesota United–b | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FK Vozdovac | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Emelec–b | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Punjab FC–b | — | — | — | — | — | — |
b–Team is between seasons
What’s Next
Wednesday, January 26th
Dundee United v. Ross County
Raya2 Expansion v. Alebrijes
Thursday, January 27th
Friday, January 28th
Saturday, January 29th
Ross County v. Rangers
Alebrijes v. Atletico Moreila
Sunday, January 30th
Legon Cities FC v. Eleven Wonders
Le Puy v. Grenoble Foot [F]
Monday, January 31st
Tuesday, February 1st
Ross County v. Aberdeen
CD Tepatitlan de Morelos v. Alebrijes
MacKenzie's Boot Room 