Recaps
Legon Cities FC 1 – 1 Karela United
It took a second half equalizer from Ahmed Rahman to salvage Legon’s final match of 2022. There was a clear break down for Karela, but part of the challenge is taking advantage when those moments come up.
Grenoble 0 – 1 Metz (M)
Grenoble was unable to pick a path through Metz, and ended up paying the price as they slipped farther away from promotion spots.
Adventure Bay 4 – 3 Foggy Bottom (Paw Patrol Derby)
The soccer match you were most invested in was a random one in a Paw Patrol episode you got to watch over the weekend. I’m not very clear on how well anyone understands the rules of the game…but Rubble the Bulldog managed to score a pair of goals with his Rocket kick, and Foggy Bottom’s strategy of cheating and using robots made the game closer than it looked.
Aberdeen 0 – 0 Ross County
While I usually laughingly leave these recaps at on sentence, I have a few more things to say this time. First, Aberdeen actually gave our old Minnesota United pal Christian Ramirez a start even though he didn’t get anything too dangerous around the goal, and Alex Iacovitti shut down almost everything (crosses, goal line taps…everything.
News & Notes
Bring in the reinforcements
When January starts so does the time for clubs to restock their rosters. There hasn’t been too much movement for the teams that are in the middle of their seasons, but Minnesota United has done quite a bit to fortify their side (even if it doesn’t seem like anybody they added was a true game changer) with winger Cameron Dunbar, center back Doneil Henry and right back Zarek Valentin most likely to fill in gaps.
Rosenborg to look overseas to build up their case for an overdue title in Trondheim. Ulrik Yttergard Jennsenn has been in Denmark (and started in the lofty heights of Lyon), and Morten Bjorlo knows the league after joining from HamKam. But the big name is the young and gifted Finnish midfielder Santeri Vaananen, who has been lighting up his local league and is only 21.
Freiburg faces an unusual challenge, up at 2nd place in the league, trying to solidify their spot, but still sending out strong players for deals they know they need to do. So, Keven Schlotterbeck is off to relegation battling VfL Bochum to get more playing time and Kevin Schade is off to Brentford in the premier league to get more money.
Other teams are busy as well: Vozdovac lost a reliable defender but gained three foreign attackers; Emelec has been frantic, but bringing in older domestic veterans to bring leadership (including Miller Bolanos, and Brayan Anguelo who started with Emelec and now return with a world of experience under their belt)
Alebrijes Anew
Alebrijes had a tremendous Clausura in the spring of 2022 and may be hoping to “spring” a similar surprise and vault themselves into the competition for the Expansion title (even if that’s the only reward that they can get).
The squad did say goodbye to three strong performers from the fall with Hedgardo Marin and attacking machine Alfonso Tamay packing up for Cancun, while second stringer Alonso Hernandez headed off for Leones Negros. Meanwhile they brought back loanee Julio Cruz from a middling return to Costa Rica (he did score two goals in his last match) and added another veteran in Jorge Mora (the 31 year old is certainly in the substitute stage of his career). The younger additions (Left Back, Edson Santos; and Midfielder, Emmanuel Quezada) are more development projects than well-prepped starters. So it seems likely that Oaxaca will require another big showing from forward Armando Gonzalez to provide the goals and Octavio Paz to stop them (and maybe write some great poetry).
Player of the Week
We could make it the last player of 2022, but let’s think about what’s to come and give it to the best player of 2023, even though there’s only one team that qualifies, and given the way it turned out, really only one candidate. But don’t worry Alex Iacovitti, there’s plenty of celebration to bestow on you.
Standings
Our first table of 2023 sees Ross County invert the table to go from worst in the last week of 2022, to best in the first week of 2023. They are also the only team to play so far in 2023…but standings are standings.
| Team | W | D | L | PPG | GFA | GAA |
| Ross County | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Punjab | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Grenoble | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Alebrijes | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Legon Cities | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Rosenborg–b | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Minnesota–b | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Freiburg–b | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Vozdovac–b | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Montana–b | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Emelec–b | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
b–Team is between seasons
What’s Next
Thursday, January 5th
Atlante v Alebrijes
Friday, January 6th
Grenoble v Nimes (M)
Saturday, January 7th
Accra Lions v Legon Cities
Ross County v Livingston
Sunday, January 8th
Punjab v Neroca
Grenoble v. Thonon Evian (F–Cup)
Monday, January 9th
Tuesday, January 10th
Pau v Grenoble (M)
Wednesday, January 11th
Alebrijes v Celaya
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