The time has come again, to crown this year’s winner of the MacKenzie Cup (it’s a sippy cup…because it started when you were little kids, and I still like the joke)
Final Standings
Team
W
D
L
PPG
GFA
GAA
Montana
12
5
2
2.16
1.53
0.53
Minnesota
26
10
15
1.73
2.33
1.25
Rosenborg
37
7
25
1.71
1.68
1.16
Grenoble
26
10
22
1.52
1.60
1.12
Emelec
17
13
13
1.49
1.21
0.93
Punjab
13
5
12
1.47
1.67
1.77
Freiburg
25
15
27
1.34
1.49
1.70
Ross County
13
10
20
1.140
1.30
2.00
Legon Cities
12
5
19
1.139
0.89
1.11
Vozdovac
13
11
21
1.11
1.04
1.18
Alebrijes
6
8
14
0.93
1.04
1.93
Table Updated 12/30/24
You can read all about the end of the campaign and some general thoughts in the December recap post.
While the Griz walked away with a regular season title, and las Electricas of Emelec won their tournament and a promotion to the top tier of women’s soccer in Ecuador, several usually strong sides came back down to earth a bit. The Rosenborg Kvinner underwent a lousy end of their campaign to finish lower than they have since we started. Minnesota Aurora were knocked out earlier in the playoffs than ever before. Grenoble, Punjab, and Freiburg all went from table topping to solidly mid-table.
Hardest to watch were the teams that struggled the most. Emelec’s men side finishing last in the league, Alebrijes and Legon Cities suffering long losing streaks. And Vozdovac got demoted out of the top flight in Serbia.
Players of the Year
The best XI of the year features four returning starters. Vincenzo Grifo is fully on the road to being enshrined in the hall of fame of our minds, and for the second year in a row, Cat Rapp joins him in the midfield. Luka Macjen’s love of playing in Punjab could put him in the same spot in a few years, and Mathys Touraine was again the best corner back of the year (though his moving on to Paris may reopen a spot for Jessy Benet to return to the squad full time).
Newer players may not be here for long, The Griz are limited by graduation limits, so Charley Boone is done after this. Froya Dorsin is already off for Paris and Sverre Nypan Halseth may be in any number of bigger profile stadia within the next month or two. Likewise it’s hard to see struggling teams like Legon and Ross County hold on to strong defenders like Frank Akoto and Ryan Leak. But Kerly Corozo becomes the first Electricas player to crack the starting XI and may find a spot on the wing for many years to come.
The bench includes Alison Ochoa as another representative of las Electricas and Claudia Fabre from Grenoble hopefully creating a Charley’s Angels trio with Luka playing Bosworth. (Yes I’m making 50 year old pop culture references despite the fact that I’m only 40…) Minnesota adds in two more midfielders with Mariah Nguyen and Bongi alongside the Freiburg Frauen and defensive midfielder Samantha Steuerwald. Our Defensive bench is made up of the best of the bad lot with cellar dwelling Emelec, Oaxaca and Vozdovac each offering one body…but Dayne St. Clair should be able to handle them.
Nobel FC Most Enjoyable Outstanding Writer
The MEOW, as befits our cat-crazed house, goes to this year’s highest rated Nobel FC subject: Jean Paul Sartre. I do feel that I should note that Jaroslav Seifert and Han Kang were surprising treats. But Sartre’s vision and imagination (plus raging ego) gave him the highest rating so far (a number matched in video games by this year’s FIFA Player of the Year: Vinicius Jr.)
What’s Next
I will continue to ask people to comment, and they will continue to ignore me.
But hopefully in the coming year, I’ll be able to give more voice to my sons so that this truly becomes a space for all the MacKenzie Boys and not just me.
As we come to the end of 2024, it’s time to reveal the big winner of the season competition. Counting down from 11th place to 1st! (True, you could also just look at the image that headlines this post, but the joy is in the details as they say)
11th: Alebrijes–Between Seasons
Alebrijes had a rough 2024, and they chose to end it by dishing out the roughest endings to some reliable goalkeeper and my favorite namesake: Octavio Paz. They’ll be back in action in January with some new faces and, hopefully, a new beginning.
January: HOME v. Mineros, AWAY v. Cancun,
10th Vozdovac– 3 W – 0 D – 0 L; GF: 4/ GA: 0
After a rough start, Ivan Kurtusic did put together a pretty great December with 3 wins from 3 matches and 3 clean sheets to boot! (Granted they were facing two of the lowest teams in the division, but wins are wins and the Dragons are in no position to complain). Midfielder Vukasin Braunovic saved the day with a stoppage time header from Milan Kolarevic against Sloboda Urizce, then notched another against Traya, and while Braunovic orchestrated the attack, Nenad Filipovic continued to reel off clean sheets
Kurtusic’s reward for this excellent showing: the exit door, as Dejan Djuricic took over as coach and has a month to help the squad prepare before they return to the field.
January: On Break
9th Legon Cities–0 W – 0 D- 3 L; GF: 0/ GA: 6
A turn around in December could have put the Royals in position to get my annual jersey purchase. But that was not what happened. Three ugly losses kept them frozen at the bottom of the table on a scant 11 points and built the losing streak to 4 in a row. Worse, they haven’t scored a goal in 412 minutes (that’s over 6 hours…I could barely go 6 hours without plantains when I was in Ghana, and I wasn’t even paid to make them). The lousy strike system sank Cities to the worst offense of our top 11.
January: AWAY v. Hearts of Oak, HOME v. Dreams FC and Bibiani Gold Stars
8th Ross County–1 W – 1 D-4 L; GF: 7/GA: 15
The Staggies were always going to struggle in two matches against the Glasgow Duopoly, and a combined 8-0 certainly fit the brief. Goalkeeper/Aptonym Ross Laidlaw’s first half exit against Celtic only compounded the difficulty. With the top half slipping away, Don Cowie’s men seemed to buckle under the pressure, coughing up points against more manageable opponents in Hibs and St. Mirren without finding a consistent line of attack amid injuries (though it was nice to give up a goal to our old Dark Arts Instructor: Alex Iacovitti).
But the Stags turned a corner against Dundee FC with a great showing by midfielder Noah Chilvers who racked up a goal and an assist, while Don Cowie brought in the right substitutes who chipped in another two goals in a rare romp. While Hearts first flash seemed to undercut hopes of another win, the Staggies stormed back with a highly unlikely (but welcome) pair of last minute goals in a complete muckfest of a rainy highland night, that led to a thrilling draw. The stags are still a long way from the title picture, but they seem ready to put it in a lot of effort to avoid the relegation playoffs this year.
January: AWAY v Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, HOME v. Celtic, Livingston (Cup), Hibernian (ON BURNS DAY!)
7th Freiburg–3 W – 1 D – 3 L; GF: 12/GA: 14
M: 2 W – 1 D- 2 L; GF: 9/GA: 12
Freiburg’s inconsistent form has dropped them out of the top tier in the Bundesliga and into the meaty middle. 2 Wins are the difference between 3rd and 11th, so there’s plenty of competition to come, now without any additional distractions after the Breigsau Boys lost their Cup chances to Beilefeld.
Again they looked strong in matches against their fellow rivals in the meaty middle, with standout performances from Michael Gregoritsch in midfield and attack, and some excellent outings from Mathias Ginter and the two Lukas-es: as both Holer and Kubler bagged doubles in the league victories. But the 5-1 shellacking from last year’s champions in Leverkusen show that there’s still a ways to go.
January: HOME v Holstein Kiel, AWAY v. Frankfurt & Stuttgart, HOME v. Bayern Munich.
F: 1 W – 0 D – 1 L; GF: 3/GA: 2
Shekiera Martinez shone against Werder Bremen as the dynamic and scintillating scorer that invited West Ham to sign her away from Germany last summer (before promptly sending her back on loan). However, those spoilsports in Leverkusen rained on the Freiburg parade again to keep the squad on the outer fringes of European ambitions. We’ll see if things are better at home in die Frauen’s first match of the new year.
January: HOME v Bayer Leverkusen
Other News: It’s a little underwhelming to win something even when you lose…but Freiburg will be the next jersey buy as we hit 8 of 11 in the new year.
6th Punjab– 1 W – 0 D – 3 L; GF: 4/GA: 9
The Shers were hit a bit of a stumble at the beginning of the month, starting with an injury to center midfielder Filip Mrzljak. After that, the team lost leads and matches in back to back to back games. The toughest pill to swallow was probably giving up four against a lower table side in East Bengal including a rare clunker for goal keeper Ravi Kumar. Losing the lead to top of the Table Mohun Bagan was more predictable, but equally frustrating. As if dropping in their own league wasn’t enough, Punjab also fell from 4th to 6th in ours
Key Players: Despite the rough showing we should appreciate Ravi Kumar’s strong work at the back, and the Lion King himself: Luka Macjen) have focused the squad in the absence of Mrzljak.
January: HOME v. Kerala Blasters, AWAY v Northeast United FC, HOME v Mumbai City, HOME v Jamshedpur
5th Emelec–W 2 – D 0 – L 2; GF: 7/GA: 5
M: W 0 – D 0 – L 1; GF: 1/GA: 2
I have yet to find evidence of Emelec ever finishing in last place for even a half of the season. But that’s what happened this fall, as the team managed a paltry 9 points with 3 wins, 3 draws, and 3 lost points from not paying their debts. Fortunately, the Electrics did well enough in the Spring to avoid relegation.
F: W 2 – D 0 – L 1; GF: 6/GA 3
I was a little worried about the semi-final tie against Aucus, and the first leg proved me right with a 3-2 defeat in Quito. In the second leg at home, Alison Ochoa got the winner and Carol Suarez added one for safety to send the Electricas through to the final.
Against Orense, the final was a lot of tension, staying scoreless until the final 20 minutes. Sindy Medina normally puts in her shift in the midfield supporting everyone else, but this year she was the one who broke the deadlock. When Kerly Corozco added her own, as everyone could have predicted, the trophy was in the bag.
It was a well-earned title for Las Electricas and, as usual we’re thrilled to see them thrilled. Now, in addition to the trophy, comes the squad’s return to the women’s top league.
4th Grenoble–3 W – 0 D – 3 L; GF: 15/GA: 9
Men–1 W – 0 D – 3 L; GF: 7 /GA: 8
The defensive mentality that has served GF 38 for several years seems to have cracked in full over the past two months. A strong September has slipped into distant memory as the alpiners have one win in their last ten matches (that win over 4th tier side Isetres may not hold up to very close scrutiny). Beset by injuries, they have increasingly struggled to find a cohesive corps in defense, with Gaetan Paquiez, Loris Mouyokolo and goal keeper Mamadou Diop having rough outings. There seems to be a little hope as Shaquil Delos and Theo Valls seem to have started building a more consistent spine. But the offense remains Pape Meissa Ba or bust.
January: HOME v. Bastia, AWAY v. Caen, HOME v. Martigues, AWAY v Caen
Women 2 W – 0 D -0 L; GF: 8/GA: 1
Grenoble continues to look every inch the division 2 team, but as long as Lyon remains impregnable, Grenoble will have to hold out, wait and hope. December saw long standing team leaders Candice Charbonet and Roman Pilot, but equally strong were Laurine Braga and Nehla Sadiki, who each hit the net twice. The good form comes at a fine time as 2025 kicks off with a top of the table clash against Olympique Lyon at home.
January: HOME v. Olympique Lyon B, HOME v. Clermont
3rd Rosenborg–1 W – 0 D – 0 L; GF: 4/GA: 0
In the last game of their season, the men of Rosenborg racked up an impressive 4-0 victory over Kristiansund that showcased the youthful talents of the squad, with a special shout out to left back Ulrik Yttergard Jennsen with multiple assists.
The good news for RBK is that their final result gave them the points they needed to clinch a spot in European competitions next year, just in time to compensate for Kvinner’s coming up short this season.
2nd Minnesota–Between Seasons
The Loons and Aurora are both off, as you ought to be in the winter in Minnesota. But they put in a great shift this year with the usual plethora of Aurora goals, and a big improvement for the Loons defense that got them into the playoffs.
The only major bit of news was the announcement that Allianz Field will host Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the Spring.
The Griz aren’t even allowed to practice so they can focus on the whole “final exams” thing, but the made some time to celebrate the graduation of several student athletes. The future isn’t all about the next big game, it’s also about the next chapter for the human beings who have interests on and off the field. So cheers to you December Grads! And double cheers to you Back-to-Back MacKenzie Cup Winners!
Quick Points Update: Han Kang was not on any of my lists for this years Nobel FC Draft. But She still gets the full star treatment here.
Background
Winner Han Kang as a young girl (2nd from left, not making wild face) From Kang’s Father (Han Seung-Wong far Left) and reprinted in the Korean Times
Han Kang was born in a literary family in the Korean city of Gwangju to a family that survived several traumatic childbearing experiences. That difficult experience that marked her context before birth appears throughout her writing.
So too does a love of literature as her father is both a novelist and a professor. Kang has said she grew up thinking of books as though they were “half-living beings” and to read her work is to see the ideas grow and develop and carry with them tragedy and hope in one fell swoop. (Likewise her hometown became the site of a brutal attack by a dictator against pro-democracy activists creating another trauma to grow through.) Growing up with migrane headaches, she was not very physically active, and so she built a long standing love of reading and literature.
Kang’s first work was published as poetry, though she grew into more complex and frequently meditative literature which focused on ideas, feelings, and impressions rather than plot. When she was awarded the Nobel Prize (“for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life”) she quickly became one of the youngest people to ever win as well as the first Asian woman.
Works
Swaddling Bands, white as snow are wound around the newborn baby. The womb will have been such a snug fit, so the nurse binds the body tight, to mitigate the shock of its abrupt projection into limitlessness.
Person who begins only now to breathe, a first filling-up of the lungs. Person who does not know who they are, where they are, what has just begun. The most helpless of all young animals, more defenceless even than a newborn chick.
The woman, pale from blood loss, looks at the crying child. Flustered, she takes its swaddled self into her arms. Person to whom the cure of this crying is yet unknown. Who has been, until mere moments ago, in the throes of such astonishing agony. Unexpectedly, the child quiets itself. It will be because of some smell. Or that the two are still connected. Two black unseeing eyes are turned towards the woman’s face – drawn in the direction of her voice. Not knowing what has been set in motion, these two are still connected. In silence shot through with the smell of blood. When what lies between bodies is the white of swaddling bands.
–“Swaddling Bands” The White Book
“The feeling that she had never really lived in this world caught her by surprise. It was a fact. She had never lived. Even as a child, as far back as she could remember, she had done nothing but endure.”
—The Vegetarian
Message
Far be it from me to read two stories and claim to be an expert…except that’s exactly the premise of these posts. If I were to name a theme in Kang’s work it would be that pain has a beauty all its own and pushes us to question what we fear. In both The Vegetarian and The White Book she explores the nature of human endurance and suffering and yet remains open to and appreciative of it in a way that confounds rigid societal expectations around her and her genre of the moment. The Nobel emphasized that trauma and fragility and to me this is very much akin to that notion, but far more appreciative and less dour.
Position: #8 Midfielder
For the second straight year the Swedish Academy opted to go with a stream of conscious adjacent writer. And just like with Jan Fosse last year, I’m declaring that good enough for me to see Han Kang as a box to box midfielder, capable of both a cutting pass and a crunching tackle. She also gets bonus points from me to move her ahead of Fosse in the Starting XI because she was more comprehensible than Fosse was.
I really liked Han Kang, but I really didn’t like the delay that held me back from finishing this post for two months. Still, here it is and you can argue with me below.
Next Time (Rewind the Clocks, it’s time to start on the ’05s) 1905 Honoree–Henryk Sienkewicz
MacKenzie's Boot Room 