Week 10: One Happy Warrior and Ten Solemn Faces

March 9, 2023March 9, 2023 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Recaps

Tapatio 1 – 1Alebrijes

Armando Gonzalez gave us reason to hope that Oaxaca could be on to a winning streak, but a penalty in the 66th minute gave it all back. So let’s keep rooting for an unbeaten streak!

Eintracht Frankfurt 4 – 1 SC Freiburg (F)

Fresh off their stirring Cup performance, the ladies of Freiburg struggled to connect against Frankfurt and suffered a disappointing defeat. Hasret Kayici netted an equalizer, but the Griffins continue to struggle against anyone above them in the table: (better than most, not at the same level as the others)

Rajasthan United 0 – 4 Punjab FC

Punjab put it beyond all doubt in their game against Rajasthan (who, for some reason, played their game in Delhi?). An early own goal (originally attributed to Chenchyo Geltsen) gave way to more and more from the attacking trio: Luka Macjen and Juan Mera got their own and there was no doubt that the Warriors would win the match and take the title!

Borussia Munchen Gladbach 0 – 0 Freiburg (M)

Mark Flekken did everything he was asked to do and more, as Freiburg got a point on the road. Gladbach was a little extra physical, and even though they went down to ten men before the end of the game, Freiburg couldn’t capitalize.

Ross County 0 – 2 Motherwell

Eomonn Brophy followed his sterling showing without doing much of anything. And when center back Jack Baldwin saw red with twenty minutes to play, it was not terribly promising. Sure enough Motherwell brought forward more attack and got the goals they needed to deny the hosts any points.

Dijon 1 – 0 Grenoble

Les Alpiners also had a bit of a hangover from their cup trip to Lyon last week, giving up a first half goal to Dijon and being forced to chase the match from there.

Legon Cities 1 – 1 Real Tamale

Any point is a positive point for Legon Cities, but losing the lead that Samuel Armah gave them with just seven minutes to play stings. They now sit above relegation based only on goal difference. Last time things were this close, it took a major penalty to a relegation rival to survive. Fingernails are getting short in Legon.

Yzeure Allier 2 – 0 Grenoble Foot (F)

There was little to enjoy about Grenoble’s match against their neighbor in the standings. Several ugly errors cost them dearly as Yzeure grabbed three valuable points, and the offense seemed unable to do anything against one of Ligue Deux’s worst defenses.

Vozdovac 0 – 0 Vojvodina

This was a soccer match. It happened. And, it kind of didn’t.

Orense 2 – 1 Emelec (M)

Despite going a man up within 5 minutes, Emelec could not find a way through Orense. In fact, they ended up being out maneuvered by their opponents and coughing up all the points to a shorthanded opposition.

Raya2Expansion 1 – 1 Alebrijes

Oaxaca was first off the mark (again). Armando Gonzalez provided the first half goal (again). But the defense faltered (again). hmm…is there a Time Machine about?

Note: this match is not included in the standings posted below

News & Notes

Boys Weekend!

Your mom went out of town to a yoga retreat for the weekend, so it was boys time! We had a nice time watching superhero movies and you were mightily impressive at cleaning up the house and packing your bags for a sleepover with grandma and grandpa. Once we were there, Alex built some daring marble races out of my old train set, and Owen hit grandpa’s soft toss all over the house (which is more than he let me do). Then you finished your Soccer Shots training program and celebrated both having medals! (HUZZAH Medals!)

The Conquering Warriors

There will be much more to say about Punjab FC’s victory in the I-League (trust me I’ve been writing a piece about it to post later this month), but suffice to say it feels pretty darn good. And I just watch the team!

The victory comes with hardware for the trophy case, yes; but it also comes with the promise of more exciting days to come. First in April, Punjab will be guaranteed a spot in the Super Cup (an event kind of like the World Cup, but only for Indian club sides). Then, next fall, they’ll join the top flight of Indian soccer: the Indian Super League (as long as they prove that they can financially manage it).

Not So Luck of the Draw

Freiburg’s cup opponents are…uh…good. First, the men step into the last 16 of the Europa League against a little team named Juventus: a team with 3 Europa Leagues already (as well as 9 Champions League finals). Then, in the German Cup, they go into the quarter final against Bayern Munich (the team that has 9 straight League titles and twenty cup titles). And the ladies, well, they’ll face RB Leipzig’s women side in the Semi-final of their tournament (the same Leipzig organization that beat the men last year in the final).

But Freiburg did win the second division. When has Juventus done that?!? (Never, they play in Italy…but still, I’m looking for hope)

Player of the Week

It wasn’t a great week for almost all our teams, but when it was good it was down right great! So let’s give a nod to a great goalkeeper well worthy of being the first keeper named this year: Kiran Limbu of the Punjabi champions: this one is for you.

Standings

Emelec’s stay at the top was brief, but Minnesota is still blocking Punjab’s path to the top…for now. (There is a match at home, but having seen them play in sub-zero snowy weather before, I’m not eager to repeat that experience.) Next week we’ll see if Rosenborg continues the trend of strong starts as the men have their first match of the year in the Norwegian Cup.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Minnesota	1	0	0	3.00	1.00	0.00
Punjab	10	2	1	2.46	2.69	0.85
Emelec	1	0	1	1.50	1.50	1.00
Freiburg	5	3	4	1.50	1.67	2.00
Grenoble	6	4	8	1.22	1.00	1.06
Legon Cities	2	5	3	1.10	0.90	1.10
Ross County	2	3	5	0.90	1.10	1.10
Alebrijes	2	2	5	0.89	1.22	1.44
Vozdovac	1	2	3	0.83	0.33	1.67
Rosenborg–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Montana–b	0	0	0	—	—	—

Table Updated 3/8/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, March 9th

Juventus v. Freiburg (M-European Cup)

Emelec v. Deportivo Cuenca (M-South American Copa)

Friday, March 10th

Saturday, March 11th

Grenoble v. Annecy (M)

Minnesota v. NY Red Bulls

Sunday, March 12th

Radnicki Nis v. Vozdovac

Punjab FC v. TRAU

Freiburg v. Hoffenheim (M)

Saint Etienne v. Grenoble (F)

Berekum Chelsea v. Legon Cities

SGS Essen v. SC Freiburg (F)

Viking v. Rosenborg (M-Cup)

Emelec v. Tecnico Universitario (M)

Monday, March 13th

Tuesday, March 14th

Wednesday, March 15th

Alebrijes v. UDG

Week 9: Pouring Goals

March 2, 2023March 1, 2023 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Recaps

Vozdovac 1 – 1 Mladost Lucani

The Dragons staged an impressive comeback thanks in part to a great goal from youngster Mihajlo Neskovic who netted after a perfectly placed headed pass from Borisav Burmaz.

Alebrijes 4 – 0 Correcaminos

Oaxaca found their scoring shoes at last! A full 40% of their goals this term came from the second 45 minutes of play, their best showing since the first half against Dorados a little under a month ago. The best of the bunch was probably Ernesto Reyes’ volley smash, but that might leave out the sensational play of Cristian Canozales who notched the first goal and two assists on absurd little fakes that seemed to break ankles and hearts in equal measure. (We’ll post Reyes’ goal below, but enjoy Canozales’ celebration as well)

Grenoble 0 – 0 Le Havre (M)

Ordinarily I make a “and that happened” joke, but this was a pretty fraught nil-nil. Le Havre tops Ligue 2 and hadn’t lost since August. But they couldn’t get past Brice Maubleu even on a penalty chance.

Dallas 0 – 1 Minnesota United

Coming into this season there was plenty of talk about how the Loons were so dependent on Emmanuel Reynoso that the Argentine’s absence would be the death knell of any Minnesota opportunities. Enter: Mender Garcia. The Colombian rampaged around Dallas’ area, providing a trap that set up one blast and hitting the rebound even harder. He might have had a second if not for a late tackle that truly looked dangerous to me. Add in Kervin Arriaga’s free kick blasts and the Loons were showing strong shots even without their talisman.

Ross County 4 – 0 Dundee United

Eamonn Brophy hasn’t exactly set Dingwall alight since he arrived on a loan in January, but this might have changed that, as two goals, an assist, and some absolute blasted attempts made the Stags look better than they have in ages over fellow relegation battlers Dundee United.

Punjab FC 8 – 0 Sudeva FC

Not to be out done, Punjab FC utterly smoked lowly Sudeva FC featuring a Juan Mera hat trick and five other goals to boost their point total and their goal difference.

Grenoble Foot 0 -2 Nice (F)

It might have been a bit of a hangover for Nicholas Delpine and his Haitian contingent coming back to a hard grinding league match after clinching World Cup qualification.

Freiburg 1 – 1 Bayern Leverkusen (M)

The Griffins always seem to struggle against Leverkusen, and with Vincenzo Grifo’s early goal to back them, they were quite happy to hunker down and soak up the pressure. Still, Bayern worked their way back into the match and split the points.

Volta Rangers 1 – 2 Legon Cities FC (CUP)

The Royals took the early lead thanks to Adu Medier, but sloppy defending gave Volta a life line in the second half. As is the way when tournament games end in a tie, they turned to Penalty Kicks and Legon got the results they needed to advance on to the next round.

Emelec 2 – 0 Libertad (M)

Miller Bolanos returned to Emelec and swiftly notched his first assist and his first goal for Los Bombillos since February 2016 (he had gotten 42 goals across Brazil, Mexico, and China in the interim.) The cheeky heel flick and the confident goal in stride made it clear, we’re going to like this going forward.

Lyon 2 – 1 Grenoble (M-Cup)

Les Grenobloises had an uphill climb to knock out the Lions of Lyon including a number of world class players. Matthais Phaeton and Jessy Benet didn’t look intimidated, but they also didn’t run the back line, and Lyon capitalized with two first half goals that led to a rare goalkeeping substitution in the second half for Grenoble. A consolation goal for Amine Sbai gave Grenoble a small lifeline, but even biased folks like me have to acknowledge the better team won.

FK Radnik Surdulica 2 – 0 FK Vozdovac

Borisav Burmaz’s second half red card turned the tide and gave Radnik the advantage it needed to push up and get not just one, but two goals to tame the dragons.

Carl Zeiss Jena FC 0 – 4 SC Freiburg (F-Cup)

The Frauen brought their A game to Jena and spread the wealth around ensuring that three different scorers (and one very ugly own goal) notched some credit in the Quarter final victory. The team’s incisive passing and clear communication gave them a big advantage on the unsteady and unsafe hands of Jena’s defense.

Punjab FC 3 – 1 Churchill Brothers

The Warriors rolled through the toughest match remaining on their schedule. Again the dynamic attack of Macjen, Mera, and Gyeltshen was formidable. Each one netted a goal, and the win vaulted Punjab even farther up the standings.

Legon Cities 1 – 1 Tamale United

Kofi Kordzi continues to have the best form of anyone on the Royals roster, but after years with with one of the best defenses in Ghana, Legon’s suspect back line has let them down. There’s nothing wrong with getting a point in a match, but it’s also disappointing after what they wanted to get.

News & Notes

Soccer Shots Shoot-out

For the first time MacKenzie boys took the field for the first time. Okay, the field was a gym and, by Owen’s account, Alex played and he hung out on the sideline dancing around. But still! You had fun, and that alone is celebration!

Immediately after that we got bombarded with snow and over the ensuing 5 day mini-vacation you discovered lots of other ways to play together, in particular fighting mummies (me) and throwing snowballs (at me). I’m awfully proud.

I-League Update

The biggest shift in the I-League didn’t come in a Punjab match. Instead, Deccan’s loss to Mohamadan SC in an absolute wild match, created a vital opening that Punjab promptly capitalized on. The monstrous 8-0 completely erased the goal difference deficit and put them firmly in the driver seat. As if that wasn’t enough, Deccan dropped more points by only getting a draw against 10 man Aizawl FC, and another win puts Punjab up by 5 points with two matches to play.

A win against Rajasthan, and Punjab can be sure of taking home this year’s trophy…set your alarms!

Electric Loons!

Emelec and Minnesota both kicked off this week, giving us 9 of the 11 teams in action. Both teams are in an unusual position to start the year. Emelec, having spent last season outside of the top tier of challengers, they have brought in a host of veterans to bolster their claim to the crown. Meanwhile Minnesota, operating without Emmanuel Reynoso, will need to try to find a way to win without having one man run the show.

Player of the Week

Jiminy Christmas! When it rains it absolutely pours great performances. Cristian Canozales, Kervin Arriaga, Eomon Brophy. But the huge week for Punjab puts them in the pole position for the award, and while I’d like to give it to Kiran Limbu’s dominance in goal, you can’t ignore the fact that Juan Mera scored as many goals ON HIS OWN, as every other team in our competition scored TOGETHER. So, Juan Mera, take a bow, and a plethora of points!

Standings

The early going of the season can often flatter folks. Emelec and Minnesota shouldn’t get too fond of their top of the table position, just ask Vozdovac who went from the top to the bottom in a few short weeks. After all, Punjab is clearly determined to top their own league, and maybe ours too.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Emelec	1	0	0	3.00	2.00	0.00
Minnesota	1	0	0	3.00	1.00	0.00
Punjab	9	2	1	2.42	2.58	0.92
Freiburg	5	2	3	1.70	1.90	2.00
Grenoble	6	4	6	1.38	1.13	1.00
Legon Cities	2	4	3	1.11	0.89	1.11
Ross County	2	3	4	1.00	1.22	1.00
Alebrijes	2	1	5	0.88	1.25	1.50
Vozdovac	1	1	3	0.80	0.40	2.00
Rosenborg–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Montana–b	0	0	0	—	—	—

Table Updated 3/1/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, March 2nd

Tapatio v. Alebrijes

Friday, March 3rd

Eintracht Frankfurt v. SC Freiburg (F)

Saturday, March 4th

Rajastan United v. Punjab FC

Borussia Munchen Gladbach v. Freiburg (M)

Ross County v. Motherwell

Dijon v. Grenoble

Sunday, March 5th

Legon Cities v. Real Tamale

Vozdovac v. Vojvodina

Monday, March 6th

Tuesday, March 7th

Wednesday, March 8th

Raya2Expansion v. Alebrijes

Week 8: History!

February 22, 2023February 22, 2023 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Recaps

Medeama SC 2 – 0 Legon Cities FC

Second only to the despair of losing to a team in mauve, will be the defensive miscues that led them there. The Royals can’t seem to pick their jaws up off the floor after they concede, and it has put them perilously close to relegation.

Kolubara 1 – 0 FK Vozdovac

The dragons responded to the beat down they got from Red Star with 80 minutes of strong defense. And then they lost anyway. They also shipped Nikola Vujnovic down the road from Minneapolis to Kansas City. But at least they have some nice gear in the team store!

Vfl Bochum 0 – 2 Freiburg (M)

Freiburg seemed to get their legs back underneath them after last week’s win. As ever it helps to have Christian Gunter and Vincenzo Grifo delivering the crosses.

St. Mirren 1 – 0 Ross County (M)

In what might have been the most frustrating game of a frustrating year for County fans, the stags ceded an early goal and then were utterly ineffective at making opportunities to equalize the game. The loss dropped them further down the table and set up a big game against fellow cellar dwellers Dundee United.

Caen 2 – 1 Grenoble (M)

A tenth minute goal by Mathais Phaeton gave Grenoble the advantage and set up a series of defensive gambits to try to preserve that lead. However, Caen simply provided too many challenges for an overtired backline and a late header gave the hosts the edge in winning the game.

Neroca FC 0 – 1 Punjab FC

Ajay Chhetri got the go ahead goal, and while we’d love to break it down more, it seems that the I-League’s highlights stream has been deleted from the interwebs. 😦 Apparently Kiran Limbu stood strong during the second half, so we’ll appreciate that.

News & Notes

Haiti (and Grenoble’s) History.

While Freiburg had players in friendly national team action for Austria, Switzerland and Germany, the real story was down in New Zealand where Nicholas Delpine, coach of Grenoble Foot 38 had several of his charges on side for Haiti’s playoff campaign to make the World Cup.

In the first match Maudeline Moreyl had a spot in the back and Jennyfer Limage and Sherly Jeudy started together in the midfield, and while Chelsea Surpris remained on the bench throughout it is hard to be dissatisfied with a 4-0 win over Cameroon.

Wednesday saw them face Chile with a berth in the Cup on the line and again saw Melchie Dumornay make the difference and while Jeudy and Limage were pretty quiet, there is no denying the joy and exhilaration that you can see on their faces as the final whistle blows.

So, all this to say, we have our new adopted team at the Women’s World Cup. Congratulations to Jeudy, Limage, Supris and coach Nicholas Delpine!

$17 and 90 minutes on the TGV?

Speaking of Grenoble, we want to plug the excellent deal that’s available for their next cup matches. That’s all it’s going to take for Grenoble fans who want to go to their side’s next matches in the Coupe de France. Both the Men and the Women have drawn Lyon (just a short ride northwest). The club that is a traditional power in French football (for both male and female divisions) will not be short of confidence heading into the matches, which will make an upset all the sweeter…even if it may come at the cost of Melchie Dumornay, who was recently signed to Lyon)

I-League Update

So, I can’t keep track of my own schedules. I’m not sure when I get tripped up on the timing of skating practice how I’ll be able to manage a whole league of balancing, but clearly I couldn’t.

What I said last week about Punjab and Sreenidi Deccan having three more matches was partly correct. They had three matches, and then they had two more that needed to be rescheduled. After each team played one this weekend, they have 4 left. One of those has yet to be rescheduled. So perhaps we should just focus on how the race is going rather than how it will go.

In that regard, not great for the guys in Orange. Their win over Neroca was good, but Deccan’s win gave them an extra goal cushion in the goal difference category. Squeaky bum time forthcoming.

Player of the Week

Tempting as it is to acknowledge Melchie Dumornay and all the historic success for Haiti, if we set the expectations that we will reward one of our 11 teams, it has to go to someone whose deserved it for a couple weeks…and years…and forever: Vincenzo Grifo!

Standings

Freiburg’s consistency has buoyed them up the standings again (Grenoble and Vozdovac’s slip-ups helped a bit) but right now Punjab continues to set a very lofty standard for everyone involved, though it’s yet to be seen if they get some hardware to go with it.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Punjab	7	2	1	2.30	2.00	1.00
Freiburg	4	1	3	1.63	1.75	2.38
Grenoble	6	3	4	1.62	1.31	1.00
Vozdovac	1	0	2	1.00	0.33	2.33
Legon Cities	1	3	3	0.86	0.71	1.14
Ross County	1	3	4	0.75	0.88	1.13
Alebrijes	1	1	5	0.57	0.86	1.71
Rosenborg–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Minnesota–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Montana–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Emelec–b	0	0	0	—	—	—

Table Updated 2/22/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, February 23rd

Vozdovac v. Mladost Lucani

Friday, February 24th

Volta Rangers v. Legon Cities FC (CUP)

Alebrijes v. Correcaminos

Saturday, February 25th

Grenoble v. Le Havre (M)

Ross County v. Dundee United

Sunday, February 26th

Punjab FC v. Sudeva FC

Freiburg v. Bayern Leverkusen (M)

Monday, February 27th

Emelec v. Libertad (M)

Tuesday, February 28th

Lyon v. Grenoble (M-Cup)

Wednesday, March 1st

Punjab FC v. Churchill Brothers

Legon Cities v. Tamale United

FK Radnik Surdulica v. FK Vozdovac

Week 7: Starting to Click

February 15, 2023February 15, 2023 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Recaps

Gokulam FC 1 – 2 Punjab FC

It took a little help from Gokulam’s defender Pawan Kumar (who likely thought Luka Macjen was offsides), but help isn’t the worst thing in the world. Macjen’s late rebound was all they needed for Punjab to get a win. And more importantly, keep pace with Sreenidi Deccan.

FK Vozdovac 0 – 6 Red Star Belgrade

Early red card to Mateja Djordjevic didn’t make it easy for Vozdovac. It did make it easy for Red Star.

Freiburg 2 – 1 Vfb Stuttgart (M)

We got a chance to watch this game on tape delay on Sunday. Owen was supremely uninterested, and Alex was so invested that he begged to know the result so that he could feel better after Stuttgart got the lead. Two penalties against Dan-Axel Zangadou (who deserves first place in the name game) gave them a valuable lifeline, but Vincenzo Grifo was the one who grabbed it with both hands and carried them to a valuable derby win.

Grenoble 1 – 1 Pau (M)

Abdoulie Sanyang had to leave early and Pau capitalized before Grenoble could reorganize. But Jessy Bennet continued to thread the vital passes to challenge and also connected on the equalizer to salvage a draw

Albi Marsacc 1 – 0 Grenoble Foot (F)

Social media gave us more insight than usual before the match kicked off but it was still terribly short of highlights (as the score shows).

SC Frieburg 3 – 1 Meppen (F)

Janina Minge got die Frauen off to a fast start inside of two minutes. After a sloppy corner kick defense let Meppen tie the game up again, Meppen got a questionable call against Samantha Steuerwald, but Lena Nuding turned it aside to prove that the ball don’t lie. Freiburg finished it off with some great connections through the air including a lashed cross from striker Giovanna Hoffman, and a well spotted corner from Janina Minge.

Samartex 2 – 1 Legon Cities FC

The Royals weren’t able to get anything going offensively against a team that I 100% will call Smart-X well past the point of it being an honest mistake. Kofi Kordzi netted a late consolation goal, but the defeat dropped Legon to just one point above relegation. After building some consistency in recent years, trouble is brewing again on the Gold Coast.

Aizawal 0 – 1 Punjab FC

It took a while and Aizawal finally coming out of their shell but Chencho Gyeltsen made the difference, just as we had always hoped he would. The win on a typical Chencho impossible angle helped the Warriors keep pace with the Delhi side, but the title increasingly looks like it will depend on goal difference. (But after Kiran Limbu’s performance, there may still be a chance)

Alacranes 1 – 1 Alebrijes

After back to back losses, Alebrijes got a result, their first road point of the season. Armando Gonzalez got the vital goal to equalize and salvage the points

News & Notes

Looking ahead

Punjab and Sreenidi Deccan both have 3 matches left. In theory, both teams have winnable games against lower level teams and one final match against a top five opponent (Churchill Brothers for Punjab and Aizawal for Deccan).

At present Sreenidi Deccan has the lead on goal difference. That difference is four goals…which is the same number the Delhi-wallahs won by when they hosted Punjab earlier on in 2023. There’s plenty of pressure on Punjab who will need a big result to catch up and earn promotion to the top of India’s league system.

Losing a Loon

Emanuel Reynoso has been instrumental in the Loons trips to the playoffs…he has led the team on the field and occasionally been the only functioning part of the midfield. He has a nice new contract, but he still hasn’t shown up to train for the next season despite the fact that Minnesota has been in both Florida and California to prepare (not exactly dealing with the sleet). Some are suggesting that this has to do with some nasty business a few years ago when Reynoso was accused of assaulting a teenager. Whatever the case, the team and the league aren’t having it and Reynoso (and that nice new salary) have been suspended.

On the plus side, Minnesota did add a veteran attacker from Liga MX in Miguel Tapias!

Player of the Week

It was a very good week for Freiburg, with the Cup win right before we published last week, the comeback win for the men and the dominant showing for the women. It makes sense to reward a Freiburg player, and we feel like Janina Minge is the most worthy. Wunderbar Janina!

From dfb.de (The German Federation Website)

Standings

Both Grenoble and Vozdovac settled down a bit this week allowing the consistently strong Punjab to build their lead at the top of this table.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Punjab	6	2	1	2.22	2.11	1.11
Grenoble	6	3	3	1.75	1.33	0.92
Vozdovac	1	0	1	1.50	0.50	3.00
Freiburg	3	1	3	1.43	1.17	2.83
Legon Cities	1	3	2	1.00	0.83	1.00
Ross County	1	3	3	0.86	0.86	1.00
Alebrijes	1	1	5	0.57	0.86	1.71
Rosenborg–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Minnesota–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Montana–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Emelec–b	0	0	0	—	—	—

Table Updated 2/15/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, February 16th

Friday, February 17th

Medeama SC v. Legon Cities FC

Saturday, February 18th

Vfl Bochum v. Freiburg (M)

St. Mirren v. Ross County (M)

Kolubara v. FK Vozdovac

Caen v. Grenoble (M)

Sunday, February 19th

Monday, February 20th

Neroca FC v. Punjab FC

Tuesday, February 21st

Wednesday, February 22nd

Week 5: Clicking or Sputtering

February 8, 2023February 9, 2023 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Recaps

Nimes 0 – 2 Grenoble (M)

All hail the conquering hero of Jessy Benet whose return to the Alps has bolstered Matthais Phaeton in the midfield led to a more organized Grenoble side. With new confidence in their approach, the Alpiners are 3 points off of promotion to the top flight of French football again.

FK Radnicki 1923 0 – 1 FK Vozdovac

Our boys in Belgrade made their return to the field this weekend, and despite a shift in their defensive corps, they remained solid at the back in pushing back an insistent and aggressive Radnicki. The dragons didn’t have many chances, but Milos Pantovic converted the penalty after a foolish foul and that was all they needed.

SC Freiburg 0 – 4 VfL Wolfsburg (F)

Ouch…well hopefully the men did…

Dortmund 5 – 1 Freiburg (M)

Ooof….never mind. There are still only 6 points between Freiburg and the top of the table, but they’ll need to get some things sorted out (particularly in the defense) if they’re going to challenge instead of fade away.

Rangers 2 – 1 Ross County

Jordan White gave the Staggies a glimmer of hope against the mighty ‘Gers in Glasgow, but it was snuffed out in the end. The Stags have a promising spine in White, Dhanda and Kenneh, but where the rest of the midfield goes remains a question (especially after Eamonn Brophy was dropped after a miserable first half).

Sudeva FC 1 – 1 Punjab FC

It was a heart breaker, with Luka Macjen putting the warriors ahead courtesy of Chenchyo Geltsyen’s incisive pass it took a last second goal from Sudeva to drop the points. Worse, the tense and chippy atmosphere led to a post whistle red card for defender Huidrom Singh. With 5 matches left, Punjab is in a dead heat with Sreenidi Deccan, and promotion will be on the line.

Legon Cities FC 3 – 1 King Faisal

We have to say, there are few things as fun as Legon Cities in fine form, and that’s what we finally got to see against King Faisal this last weekend. Jonah Attaquye got the first from a solid free kick opportunity just outside the box. The Royals kept the pressure high through the next half until the frenetic final 10 minutes including a Felix Hammond chip and a mammoth free kick from Nasiru Moro. It was a wild but joyous pile on for the Royals, and while it might be expected against a relegation area side in King Faisal, they’re all valuable.

Grenoble Foot 3 – 3 Montauban (F)

The ladies of Grenoble got back in business as well. The were strong right out of the gate with a goal from Jade Decilap straight away after kick off. They held firm and added two more to have a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes to play. Then a poor challenge from defender Elsa Domenjoud gifted Montauban a penalty and reduced the ladies to 10 players. It still took a desperation shot at the end of the match for Montauban to get the draw and spoil the return. Still, hope is high for further progress among the Grenobloises

Sandhausen 0 – 2 Freiburg (M-Cup)

Sandhausen opted to bunker down and absorb everything that Freiburg could throw their way, and it almost paid off with a big cup win. Notice, I said “almost”.

Despite the long defensive slog thrown up by the second division side, Freiburg finally broke through with Phillip Leinhart’s goal that bounced off a Sandhausen defender. After a great block by Lucas Holer, they got another from super sub Nils Peterson to put it beyond doubt, and so, for the second time in two years: Freiburg is headed to the quarterfinals of the Cup.

Vierzon FC 0 – 1 Grenoble (M-Cup)

More surprising, the same can be said about the Alpiners! Grenoble has reached the final 8 of the Coupe de France (albeit by beating the underdog darlings of Vierzon FC…not to be confused with Verizon FC…which has marginally less coverage than the third division French side). Loic Nestor delivered the winner after Grenoble besieged their opponent’s goal, and the triumph will put them into a conflict with slightly more prestigious sides.

Alebrijes 0 – 3 CD Tepatitlan de Morelos

An early red card was enough to put Oaxaca at a disadvantage, but two more in stoppage time is true commitment to recklessness.

This result is not reflected in the standings

News & Notes

Your Uncle Simon bests me in golf (both real and imaginary)

Your Uncle Simon is about to be a dad in his own right, so he and I had our own brother bonding time, not unlike yourselves…only with less headlocks that lead to someone running into their room and slamming the door.

An accomplished video game player and golfer, he had a clear advantage in Mario Golf. Still, it was good fun just to joke with him in a game. And I even beat him (on one hole…by one stroke…because the game had a glitch)

Jet-Setting

The biggest club competitions in the world are kicking off again. The Club World Cup in Morocco pits the continental champions from each part of the world against one another. And given that Minnesota United lost to Seattle twice last year, I think it’s fair to say that we’ probably have lost in the Semi-finals just like Seattle did.

And Europe’s elite club competitions (The Champions, Europa, and Conference Leagues) will also kick back into gear this month. Freiburg is our only side still in the hunt (as they have been since last fall) so let’s all knock on some wood.

Player of the Week

At the risk of making this space a Grenoble Appreciation segment, the truth is les Grenobloises are in a groove and its hard to ignore their strong work. This week, we’ve got to tip the hat to Matthaias Phaeton for leading the attack both with distribution and delivery.

Standings

Vozdovac is at the top! (Well they only have 1 match under their belts, so there’s a limited sample size) but even though Punjab has faltered, Grenoble has tied them and has to hope that the ladies give them an added boost.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Vozdovac	1	0	0	3.00	1.00	0.00
Punjab	4	2	1	2.00	2.29	1.29
Grenoble	6	2	2	2.00	1.50	0.90
Legon Cities	1	3	1	1.20	0.80	0.80
Freiburg	2	1	3	1.17	1.17	2.83
Ross County	1	3	3	0.86	0.86	1.00
Alebrijes	1	0	4	0.50	1.00	1.60
Rosenborg–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Minnesota–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Montana–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Emelec–b	0	0	0	—	—	—

Table Updated 2/8/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, February 9th

Golukam FC v. Punjab FC

Friday, February 10th

Saturday, February 11th

FK Vozdovac v. Red Star Belgrade

Freiburg v. Vfb Stuttgart (M)

Grenoble v. Pau (M)

Sunday, February 12th

SC Frieburg v. Meppen (F)

Samartex v. Legon Cities FC

Albi Marsacc v. Grenoble Foot (F)

Monday, February 13th

Aizawal v. Punjab FC

Tuesday, February 14th

Wednesday, February 15th

Alacranes v. Alebrijes

Week 4: The Big 4 – 0

February 2, 2023February 5, 2023 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Recaps

Punjab FC 2 – 0 Real Kashmir

We don’t take enough time to appreciate Brandon Vanlalremdika the little magician who manages to make a whole heap of Punjab’s surging attack possible. He got a goal and continued to thread expert passes throughout Punjab’s latest win, all the more impressive when you see how physically manhandled he was by their north-western rivals.

Legon Cities 1 – 3 Bechem United

Things started out well for the Royals with Alex Aso’s first goal for the club, but the normally formidable back line became too leaky and Bechem capitalized

Freiburg 3 – 1 Augsburg (M)

Freiburg got back on track with a stirring showing at home, and they were led by a strong showing from their Austrian contingent. Michael Gregoritsch scored the opener, and Phillip Leinhart offerd both lock down defense and a strong head to convert the finishing goal in the 85th minute.

Ross County 3 – 0 Kilmarnock

The Staggies found their scoring shoes before this game and suddenly looked like a team transformed. They developed a clearer game plan built on break aways and crosses (boosted by a slightly staggered Killie defense). It also helped that Nohan Kenneh, newly arrived from Hibernian managed to connect the dots for two different goals as Jordan White and Yan Dhanda started to synch up in their attack.

Grenoble 0 – 1 SC Bastia (M)

Grenoble will rue their missed opportunities on the day, as their nine shots produced nothing of note, and a late winner from SC Bastia cost them very winnable points.

Grenoble 1 – 0 Quevilly (M)

Which is why it is so gratifying to see them come back and get all the credit against Quevilly. While the shorthanded squad fielded a lot of reserves, they did send out returning favorite Jessy Benet and (quelle surprise) he scored the winner. As the rest of the attacking force comes out there will be high hopes to keep climbing the table.

Ross County 1 – 1 Hibernian

The Staggies got another positive result against the surging Hibs in Dingwall. Hibs controlled much of the game and at times the County midfield and defense looked over run (particularly when the back line made a particularly poor decision that gifted Hibs their goal). But all it takes is one sterling moment, and that’s exactly what they got when Yan Dhanda lashed a gorgeous corner kick that befuddled everyone and levelled the score.

Kenkre FC 3 – 3 Punjab FC

It wasn’t looking brilliant for the Punjabi Warriors against lowly Kenkre. They gave up two early goals and were suddenly chasing the game. But then, they absolutely ran their opponents down into the dirt with Chenchyo Geltshen and Luka Macjen in fine flow together at the top. An own goal gave them the lead…but then they promptly gave it back and played out the rest of the match in a stale mate.

Hearts of Oak 0 – 0 Legon Cities

The Royals can count this as a moral victory after playing much of the second half down to 10 men. But moral victories aren’t quite as valuable in the table as actual ones (Legon only has 1 in their last 8 matches)

Tlaxcala 3 – 1Alebrijes

Julio Cesar Cruz got the lone goal after Tlaxcala got out to a fast start. It’s shaping up to be another arduous campaign for Oaxaca.

News & Notes

Your Dad is getting Old

I turned 40 last week. And I felt great. Then, while arranging a fight between Captain America (Alex), Moana (Owen), and a dragon (me) I slipped on the stairs and crashed down a whole flight of them. So, I feel lots of pain, and suddenly 40 isn’t quite so great.

USA-USA-USA Update

Samuel Rogers got 18 minutes worth of time with the US Men’s National Team, which is 18 more than almost everyone else in the country. He connected all ten of his passes, but wasn’t able to take the ball away from Colombian opponents. It wasn’t quite announcing his presence with authority, but he can keep working himself into the conversation as time goes on.

Transfer Tips

The transfer window closed for the winter on Tuesday, with only a few more minor moves of note: County added another pair of strikers in Eamon Brophy and Simon Murray (both of whom are quite familiar with the Scottish league) and brought on two less familiar faces in loan deals with Wigan Athletic with attacker Josh Stones and defender Gwion Edwards respectively.

The Loons also brought in a new player in Sweden’s Mikael Marques, a young defender. I’m not sure how much he’ll actually play having made the jump from the second tier of Sweden into the top US League, but we’ll be happy to see him all the same.

Dragons Take Wing Again

This weekend sees the kick off of the Serbian Primere League’s season. There will be three more months of matches and then, hopefully, Vozdovac will be in the championship play off looking towards the next stage of qualification for a European tournament. But to get there they’ll need to grow more as a team and learn to live without iron man defenders Stefan Hajdin, and Milos Milovic. In their wake has come former local starlet Damjan Danicic, back to his roots, and younger attacker Haris Kadric

Player of the Week

We might have been open to some debate before, but the corner kick sealed it beyond any doubt: Yan Dhanda, take a bow!

Standings

Much as we admire Freiburg, this was not the ideal week to kick off their 2023, as they slide in below even the equally unsteady Ross County and Oaxaca. Meanwhile, despite their defeat, Punjab continues to show serious strength at the top of the table (even if they are no loner perfect)

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Punjab	4	1	1	2.17	2.50	1.33
Grenoble	4	1	2	1.86	1.29	0.86
Freiburg	1	1	1	1.33	1.33	2.67
Ross County	1	3	2	1.00	0.83	0.83
Legon Cities	0	3	1	0.75	0.75	0.75
Alebrijes	1	0	4	0.50	1.00	1.60
Rosenborg–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Minnesota–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Vozdovac–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Montana–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Emelec–b	0	0	0	—	—	—

Table Updated 1/12/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, February 2nd

Friday, February 3rd

Nimes v. Grenoble (M)

Saturday, February 4th

FK Radnicki 1923 v. FK Vozdovac

SC Freiburg v. VfL Wolfsburg (F)

Dortmund v. Freiburg (M)

Rangers v. Ross County

Sunday, February 5th

Sudeva FC v. Punjab FC

Legon Cities FC v. King Faisal

Grenoble Foot v. Montauban (F)

Monday, February 6th

Tuesday, February 7th

Sandhausen v. Freiburg (M-Cup)

Wednesday, February 8th

Vierzon FC v. Grenoble (M-Cup)

Alebrijes v. CD Tepatitlan de Morelos

Weeks 2-3: Guess Who’s Back!

January 25, 2023January 27, 2023 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Recaps

Guingamp 2 – 4Grenoble (M)

It was a barn burner for the Alpiners, who fell behind on an ugly give away, came back, took the lead, lost it, and then scored twice in the last ten minutes to win the game. Jordan Tell had two goals but substitute Pape Meissa Ba assisted on the last two goals to ensure the victory.

Punjab FC 3 – 0 Kenkre FC

Juan Mera scored twice and Luka Macjen had the last one to break Kenkre pressure as Punjab cruised to the top of the table before their big match with Sreenidi Deccan.

Motherwell 1 – 1 Ross County

It’s good that a team comes alive when they have to, but unfortunate they wait that long. Once County fell behind they pushed hard for an equalizer. Jordy Hiluwa got it for them, but the Stags need more wins more quickly.

Nsoatreman 0 – 0 Legon Cities

The Royals have nothing but draws so far this year…and have no goals in the last 197 minutes. (Oof)

Sreenidi Deccan 4 – 0 Punjab FC

We’ll that didn’t go as planned.

Punjab was in prime position to expand their lead over their closest rivals, only to get punched in the kisser. worse, the potentially formidable front line duo of Macjen and Gyeltsen got nothing going…still with a game in hand they may be able to take the top of the table yet.

Venados 2 – 1 Alebrijes

Alebrijes got their first goal of the campaign, but it was small consolation in a losing effort.

Wolfsburg 6 – 0 Freiburg (M)

Let us never speak of this again

Hamilton Academical 1 – 0 Ross County

The Scottish FA Cup match ended in a shootout, and it was unfortunate that Jordan White, the Staggies most consistent striker was the first to falter (in the opening kick of the shootout no less).

Mohammedan SC 0 – 4 Punjab FC

Punjab came roaring back into action on the weekend with Juan Mera and Luka Macjen each scoring twice. Better still, seeing a fully integrated Chenchyo Geltsen getting in on the action is mouthwatering to say the least. (Well, it is in Punjab; other teams would be excused if things are more pants-wetting)

Stade Plabennec 0 – 1 Grenoble (Cup)

Granted, Stade Plabennec is not exactly a mighty rival for Grenoble (they are currently eighth in the Bretagne section of the fourth division), but still Grenoble should be proud to get the win they need when they need it, with Amine Sbai getting the winner early and the defense and midfield standing strong the rest of the match.

Freiburg 1 – 1 Frankfurt (M)

Freiburg continues to scuffle in 2023. The draw dropped them from 2nd to 5th, and while there’s still plenty of season to show off and reclaim their dream campaign momentum is not on their side. Things don’t get much easier with Borussia Dortmund and a DFB Pokal Octa-final to come.

Alebrijes 3 – 0 Dorados

Alebrijes’ 3 goal explosion, tripled their goal total for the season so far and finally got them some points. Julio Cesar Cruz struck twice with a pair of absolutely mind-boggling goals and the team blitzed Dorados for all their goals within a scant 15 minutes. Now they challenge will be to do it again.

News & Notes

50th to the MacKs Fun in the Sun

We had a wonderful time at your Grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary, though it was a little short on soccer time (it didn’t seem right to skip a dinner to see if I could figure out how to watch Alebrijes on tv). But there was still a lot of great competition.

Alex learned the ropes of Mario Kart and boosted himself from consistent 12th place finishes on easy mode, to consistent 3rd place finishes on easy mode! He also became a dunk machine in water basketball (though it might have helped to be standing outside the pool rather than swimming in it). And Owen learned that twirling constantly isn’t exactly the best strategy in hot potato.

Setting aside all the competition things. Just being yourselves was a beautiful thing to behold.

Transfer Tips

JESSY BENNET IS BACK!! Our favorite Grenoblois midfielder has rejoined the Alpiners for the last stretch of the season, and I’m utterly delighted. He chipped in the assist to put them over Plabennec and we can only hope that he brings additional strength to a midfield that could use it. And what’s more…

CHENCHO GYELTSEN IS BACK!! The Bhutanese master striker has returned to Roundglass Punjab for the stretch run of the I-League campaign. Promotion is in the offing and Chencho is out to get it done! Double dragon fire power ahead for Punjab!! (I mean if you ignore the 4-0 drubbing against Sreenidi Deccan)

In less fun news Bikash Yumnam, the highly touted 19 year old defense prospect has left Punjab for the greener fields of the Indian Super League. We’re still excited to follow his journey on major news site the Athletic, and will never forget his roots.

USA-USA-USA

While we certainly invested in the American’s performance during December’s World Cup, it wasn’t exactly memorable or thrilling to see. But we have new found reasons to watch with the National Team Call Up of Rosenborg’s Samuel Rogers! Rogers will be the first American player we follow to have a run out for the national team (assuming he doesn’t get stuck on the bench during matches of little consequence…which, frankly, sounds kind of rude).

Players of the Week

We get to give out two awards this week and there’s no doubt that one has to go to Luka Macjen, who has been threatening to break through for a while but with three goals and multiple assists he left no doubt this round.

For the other recognition, we’re going to turn to someone we haven’t talked a lot about, but who comes highly recommmended: Yves-Franck Bambock from Grenoble’s Midfield. Bambock was a pivotal cog in both of les Alpiners wins providing strong defense and consistent support in the attack and we’ll gladly take the opportunity to shout his praises (especially alongside Jessy Bennet)

Standings

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Punjab	3	0	1	2.25	2.50	1.25
Grenoble	3	1	1	1.60	1.00	0.60
Legon Cities	0	2	0	1.00	0.00	0.00
Alebrijes	1	0	3	0.75	1.00	1.75
Ross County	0	2	2	0.50	0.25	1.00
Freiburg	0	1	1	0.50	0.50	3.50
Rosenborg–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Minnesota–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Vozdovac–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Montana–b	0	0	0	—	—	—
Emelec–b	0	0	0	—	—	—

Table Updated 1/12/22
b–Team is between seasons

What’s Next

Thursday, January 26th

Friday, January 27th

Punjab FC v Real Kashmir

Legon Cities v Bechum United

Saturday, January 28th

Freiburg v Augsburg (M)

Ross County v Kilmarnock

Grenoble v SC Bastia

Sunday, January 29th

Monday, January 30th

Tuesday, January 31st

Grenoble v Quevilly (M)

Ross County v Hibernian

Wednesday, February 1st

Kenkre FC v Punjab FC

Hearts of Oak v Legon Cities

Tlaxcala v. Alebrijes

Week 0: What was old, is new again

January 4, 2023January 4, 2023 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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	—	—	—

Table Updated 1/4/22
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

Year 3

January 1, 2023December 31, 2022 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Last year I thrilled at how I was able to have a normal-ish routine through this writing….then I absolutely lost all sense of routine. Still and all, I’m glad to look back on the year that was and the fates of our favorite 11 sides on the planet.

Final Standings

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Rosenborg BK–b	36	11	17	1.86	2.23	1.2
Minnesota–b	28	8	15	1.80	1.84	1.27
Freiburg–b	26	14	14	1.70	2.41	1.54
Punjab	12	6	7	1.68	1.52	1.36
Alebrijes–b	14	14	8	1.56	1.28	0.83
Vozdovac–b	14	9	12	1.46	1.03	1.14
Montana–b	7	7	6	1.40	1.25	0.85
Legon Cities	12	14	10	1.39	1.06	0.61
Grenoble Foot	21	10	22	1.35	1.25	1.19
Emelec–b	17	13	18	1.33	1.50	1.27
Ross County	13	9	21	1.12	1.12	1.46

Table Updated 12/31/22
b–Team is between seasons

None of our favorite teams won any hardware this year, but while no one hit the heights of last year, there was some impressive consistency up and down the table.

Rosenborg takes home this year’s sippy cup, built on a consistent run from both the men and the women. Minnesota came close to matching them, but the Loons couldn’t maintain their mid-summer surge leaving Aurora carrying the load for our local sides.

Freiburg and Punjab put together great runs as well, and the Griffins came away with the most heart breaking outcome of the year losing the German Cup on penalties to more of a money bag team. Punjab’s rotating managers and star players makes it a little hard to build consistency, but clearly they have a strategy that has worked well for them.

Alebrijes de Oaxaca had the greatest improvement from the last year, jumping half a point per game, while Montana had a disappointing turn dropping from dominant to merely good. Still with the Griz seeing tremendous showings from a lot of underclassmen, the future is bright again.

At the bottom of the table, Emelec had a great showing in the Copa Liertadores, but couldn’t keep the same form in Ecuador, meanwhile the ladies became the first team we follow to be relegated out of their division after a dismal campaign, Even so, they still out showed Ross County whose strong finish to the 2023 season has been washed away in an underwhelming fall.

Players of the Year

Coming back with another year of favorite players was again difficult, but we’re noticing that there are some players who are pretty much always on the team sheet. Hats off to Romario Caicedo, Hasret Kayici, and Jonah Attaquye for being in the starting line-up two years running, and welcome back Vincenzo Grifo.

Grifo’s former defensive teammate, Nico Schlotterback, also made the starters. Even though he moved to Dortmund during the summer, his showing with Freiburg left no doubt that he was deserving. The only other team to get multiple players in the starting XI, was Minnesota Aurora off their undefeated regular season with Mackenzie Langdock, and Sarah Fuller.

Antonio Portales’ captaincy and leadership of the vastly improved Alebrijes made him their first starter, and Sarah Kanutte Forness took the Julie Blakstad endowed chair in the midfield (I’m going to bring up Julie Blakstad once a year, so help me goodness).

And at the front of the attack, we put Casper Tengstedt, who led Rosenborg, despite only playing for them for half the year, and the golden boot winner in Scotland: Regan Charles Cook.

We also expanded our bench (if 9 subs is good enough for the World Cup, it’s good enough for us!). This helped us to find spots for every team in our list including Laliz Tenorio for las Electricas, and our favorite Haitian international: Sherly Jeudy. Allie Larsen reps the Grizzlies, while Milos Pantovic, and Kurtiss Guthrie get the nods for Vozdovac and Punjab. Minnesota United also contributed two members to the bench as Robin Lod and Dayne St. Clair had great years, but not quite great enough to take starting jobs from the others.

What’s Next

I can and will be more consistent in writing, and after the fun of having you boys contribute ideas and messages to the videos after matches, I want to plan on taking you to more games (Minnesota Aurora for sure, maybe we can find a plac eon our family vacation in Mexico.

Last year I also tried to set a standard of talking to reps from each team, but only got two done before the move consumed my life. We’ll try again this year.

What’d we Miss?

December 15, 2022 by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

It was a regular year, until it wasn’t.

Not in a world shaking, business shuttering, economy crashing, global pandemic way.

But it was a hefty change in the way we lived and the work that was needed.

We bought a house.

My waking hours shifted from leisurely repair projects punctuated by writing inspiration, to an incessant to do list of packing, repacking, scheduling, painting, rescheduling and suddenly recalling undone tasks.

I had hoped that when we moved in, I could return to writing more. I neglected to notice how the minor house issues you put off become a lot more vital once you move in.

I’m under no illusions now. This project sits firmly to the side on my list of hustles (in the non-profitable category). But I remain dedicated to that idea, that if you show the world how you play, it will show the world who you are.

If we look at and cheer for eleven teams around the world, it can show us how to live. This year, we cheered more than we watched. But we can still see how to live.

How did they do, while life forced us to make other plans? What can we learn from it all…here are their results and our thoughts

Rosenborg

Women’s Record: 9 W-2 D-6 L// 30 GF-20 GA

Men’s Record: 16 W-4 D- 5 L//75-GF 38-GA

Story: as has been the routine, Rosenborg has all kinds of attacking strength. They spent most of the summer pouring in goals. Émilie Nautnes and Sara Kanutte Forness led one line while mid season acquisition Casper Tengstedt set the other one on fire (15 goals in 14 matches…yikes!)

But each side also faced some serious challenges. The men couldn’t seem to hold a defensive shape, scoring and ceding goals in droves en route to another distant third place finish. Meanwhile the troll kvinner got knocked down by Real Madrid’s ladies side and seemed to end an otherwise stellar season in a rotten funk losing three of their final four to miss out on another crack at the Champions League next year.

Lesson: balance yourself, neither your strengths nor your struggles define you.

Minnesota

Women’s Record: 13 W-1 D-1 L//39 GF-10 GA

Men’s Record 9 W-4 D-9 L//34 GF – 41 GA

Story: Locally we had some absolutely marvelous moments this summer. I say that not only because I had you boys with me at a few matches, but because the quality of the games was superb.

For a stretch, no one was playing better soccer than Minnesota United. Dayne St. Clair was stopping everything hit his way, Emmanuel Reynoso was connecting with everyone around him. Robin Lod had made me look utterly foolish by becoming someone people around the world were eyeing hopefully.

It all came undone of course. The Loons ended up squeaking into the playoffs and then bowing out quickly, but it was still wonderful while it lasted.

Likewise the first season for Minnesota Aurora was practically perfect. The team went unbeaten throughout the regular season and combined superb defense with a dynamite attack. Sarah Fuller anchored the defense in the goal, and Morgan Turner poured in the goals, and the team became a vital part of the larger community connecting players, fans, coaches, and staff. Even though it ended in defeat at the final hurdle (seems to be a theme for our favorites), it was a marvelous way to spend a summer.

(As an added bonus, the youngest member of Aurora, Bayliss Flynn, signed to join the Montana Grizzlies, so she is the second athlete to play for two of our favorites)

Lesson: There’s no place like home.

Freiburg

Men’s Record 15 W – 5 D – 3 L// 42 GF- 22 GA

Women’s Record 6 W – 1 D – 3 L// 25 GF- 14 GA

Story: Janina Minge has emerged as a leading innovator offensively for die Freiburg Frauen. But, they have continued to lack a decisive element that would vault them up into the Bundesliga’s top tier alongside Wolfsburg, Bayern, or Frankfurt. (Maybe they could use some of Minnesota Aurora’s squad…just saying)

But that’s exactly where the men’s team has found a new stride. Christian Stretch’s steady presence has been a model for players who bring out their best every week, even with an extra competition in the Europa League to challenge them, the Griffins are having another tremendous season, with Mathias Ginter and Christian Günter leading the defense, and newly adopted Ritsu Doan joining Vincenzo Grifo to lead the attack.

Lesson: much as we want the shiniest trophies, being your best, regardless of the result can be the greatest reward

Round Glass Punjab

Record: 4 W- 1D-1L//7 GF-5 GA

Story: While most of the world turned their attention to the World Cup in Qatar, Punjab’s season got started, but with a different look than usual. Gone is last year’s dominant scorer Kurtiss Guthrie (off to play in Scotland against Ross County), in are a host of eastern european veterans. Gone are the run of British coches, in is Greek manager Staikos Vergetis. But best of all, Nepali keeper Kiran Limbu Chempjong (though, he hasn’t been as unbeatable this year as he was in his previous run with the club).

Still the special winter season on the subcontinent has a long way to go before we’re done, so we’ll sit back and enjoy what is rather than wonder about what was.

Lesson: Whatever else you focus on, life carries on.

Alebrijes de Oaxaca

Record: 4 W-9 D-5 L//22 GF-18 GA

Story: Alebrijes closed out the spring season with a sterling showing. They seemed to have everything well handled in attack and defense. But then they were undone in the playoffs, and come the fall campaign seemed to have lost all their mojo. The departure of Juan Portales made the defense less stable, and the crucial finishing touch to turn draws into victories. And then they lost in the playoffs.

Lesson: what seem like your best days and hardest days all end in the same place.

Vozdovac

Record: 9 W-4 D-6 L//17 GF-22 GA

Story: The Red Dragons continue to methodically build their team and their identity the hard way. Match by match, game by game, step by step. After saying goodbye to a raft of their regular talents, the team got significantly younger during the offseason, bringing in a raft of under 21 talent to nurture and grow on their own. Even though the team still hasn’t hit the top of the table (thanks again Partizan and Red Star), they are consistently a team to challenge you, and Milos Pantovic has proven himself (at only 20 years old) to be a dynamic scorer. (I’m still hoping for some more break out showings by Bogdan Jocic, and Borisav Burmaz.)

Lesson: Hope is a thing with dragon wings.

Montana

Record: 7 W-7 D-6 L//25 GF-17 GA

Story: The years we’ve kept track on this blog have been a consistent study in the excellence of the Griz. So much so that it started to seem like a forgone conclusion. The Griz were certainly prepped to bring another conference title home after holding their own against non-conference opponents (including ties against much more prestigious schools including Creighton and close defeats to Pitt and Portland).

But every year is different, and it seemed as though the other teams found a path through the vaunted Griz defense, or at least that there was more pressure than usual on Camilla Xu. Maysa Walters and Delaney Schorr were a solid goal scoring combination, but ultimately there was more depth and diversity in attack from Northern Arizona and Idaho (whose goalies also managed to stop more shots than Xu). The Griz did what they do well, other teams just did it better.

Lesson: Game Recognizes Game.

Grenoble

Women’s Record: 4 W-1 D-5 L//18 GF-13 GA

Men’s Record: 7 W-5 D-3 L//16 GF-12 GA

Story: The records don’t tell the whole story for the Alpiners. Nicolas Delpine’s side continued to showcase the skills and talents of Sherly Jeudy week in and week out, but (as we’ve seen before) the defense has been more suspect, giving up about three goals per game. But, things have turned around well the last couple of weeks and the team heads into the break with two wins in a row (three if they win in the Cup this Sunday)

Meanwhile, the men dusted themselves off after a lackluster previous season and are well positioned to, once again, put themselves in contention for promotion during the season’s second half. The team has been on a seven match unbeaten run with a trio of new attackers leading the charge. Pape Meissa Ba, Jordan Tell, and Abdoulie Sayang are all new to the squad in the year 2022, and they have led the scoring. But the team has been Matthias Phaeton, the Guadeloupe player who has featured in every match as a sub or a starter and has bopped everywhere there’s grass in pursuit of the game. Add this to our beloved backline squad and you have a strong team that may just get stronger in the spring.

Lesson: Never underestimate the element of surprise

Legon Cities

Record 3 W-8 D-5 L//8 GF-8 GA

Story: I love Legon as much as I love Nkatekwan, and as you boys seem to have inherited my zeal for all things peanut buttery, I think you’ll know that’s a lot of love. Legon loves Jonah Attaquye as well. He’s only 22 and he has fast become their talisman. And yet, Jonah can’t do it all on his own. The increasing pressure of carrying the load for the team, distributing the ball to scorers who struggle to connect and running the show. This season, he and defender Suleman Mohammed have missed a total of 5 minutes across all their games.

Lesson: Love is Love, but dependency is dangerous.

Ross County

Record: 7 W-4 D-10 L//25 GF-31 GA

Story: A year ago, the fall campaign was anything but kind to the Staggies. The team looked to be every bit as shaky as it was when it faced relegation, but then the ship was righted and they got their best final table position in about a decade.

But that was with Reagan Charles Cook playing chef du’jour. With his departure for Belgium, County had to try to fill in with a raft of other players to match his same creativity and finishing. While midfielder Yan Dhada brings an impressive resume and strong creativity, we’ve yet to see either Jordy Hiluwa or Jordan White dominate the game the way Regan did. So it’s a lot like last season…but that turned out pretty well so lets be patient.

Lesson: Enjoy the comfort food of home cooking while it lasts.

Emelec

Women’s Record: 1 W-1 D-4 L//4 GF-11 GA

Men’s Record: 7 W-5 D-5 L//23 GF-17 GA

Story: Los Bombillos and Las Electricas had a little less productive campaign than in prior years. The goals seemed to dry up and there was no clear answer in goal. Laliz Tenorio, the woman who is older than your Uncle Simon and twice as powerful, led the attack (as best she could). Unfortunately, things were so ineffective, that Emelec was dropped out of the top Women’s League in Ecuador and will now need to earn promotion again. I’ve been looking for where I can find coverage of the amateur women’s leagues in Ecuador, but I may not be able to find it…hopefully we’ll see Las Electricas again soon.

Likewise, the men who offered such dominance in prior years, could not break through to the upper echelon of the league. In the past they might have been able to pull some surprises against opponents in knock-out stages, but this year it was only the champion of each half of the season. The team did break through into the knock out stages of the big continental battle of the Copa Libertadores, bowing out to former Brazilian boss “Hulk”. Even though his career in Guyaquil looks to be over, Sebastian Rodriguez closed out his three year career with the club as a leader and definitive goal scorer. And as ever, Romario Caiceido continues to be the air raid master in his dangerous balls.

Lesson: Part of the journey is the end, and that’s beautiful too.

Standings

There are two more weeks of relevant matches, but the standings are pretty clearly set. Grenoble and Legon Cities could reach the mid-table and Punjab could climb as high as 3rd. But Rosenborg BK has set themselves up for their second Sippy Cup in three years.

Team	W	D	L	PPG	GFA	GAA
Rosenborg BK–b	36	11	17	1.86	2.23	1.2
Minnesota–b	28	8	15	1.80	1.84	1.27
Freiburg–b	26	14	14	1.70	2.41	1.54
Punjab	11	5	7	1.65	1.61	1.48
Alebrijes–b	14	14	8	1.56	1.28	0.83
Vozdovac–b	14	9	12	1.46	1.03	1.14
Montana–b	7	7	6	1.40	1.25	0.85
Grenoble Foot	21	10	21	1.40	1.25	1.19
Legon Cities	11	13	10	1.35	1.00	0.62
Ross County	13	9	18	1.20	1.13	1.45
Emelec–b	17	13	18	0.67	1.50	1.27

Table Updated 12/15/22
b–Team is between seasons