Tag: Grenoble Foot

Week 7: Down the Vortex

Week 7: Down the Vortex

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Scores

Grenoble 0 – 1 AS Monaco [Cup]

Esteban Salles served up another strong showing, but it’s a little hard for a second string, second division goalie and his crew to keep up with a crew of International calibre players. Still it took a great strike from Stevan Jovetic and a lot of luck against the Grenoblois to stop the cup run.

Punjab FC 2 – 0 Chennai City

Baba Diawara opened the scoring, using his strong frame to create space for himself and easily knocking in a goal. It is becoming abundantly clear that Punjab is crafting one of the strongest attacks in the I-League with one of the leagues top goalies. They should stay in the title race all year.

FK Vozdovac 1 – 1 Indjija

Marko Gajic was the man behind the Red Dragons’ goal slamming home captain Jovan Nisic’s excellent free kick. The captain played a critical part in two other moments of the match, making a critical in box clearance to deny a scoring chance (despite Indjija’s demand for a penalty) and failing to make another clearance that led to the equalizer.

Werder Bremen 0 – 0 Freiburg [M]

There was nothing much going on in Bremen, but it keeps Freiburg in fine position before their next match with the team right behind them in the table Union Berlin

Ross County v. Hibernian

Grenoble 0 – 0 Amiens [M]

While the offense couldn’t get going against Amiens, Adrien Monfry and Jerome Mombris contained the opponent’s attack

Freiburg v. SC Sand [F]

Legon Cities 1 – 1 King Faisal

At a certain point the Royals’ defensive strategy of “let’s just have our goalie be superb” leaves something to be desired. When the woodwork finally failed to accommodate them, Legon fell behind near bottom of the table King Faisal. Fortunately the offensive strategy of “hey, everybody blast long shots and hope for a goalazo did pay off when Cephas Doku crushed a stellar shot from outside the area.

News & Notes

Polar Vortex

Freezing cold conditions have kept us cooped up in the house for two weeks now. Worse still it’s delayed games in Norway and Scotland. Plus the ladies from Freiburg must be getting extra eager to get their season restarted.

Science Lesson, courtesy of the Daily Mail

Streich 10!

Streiching Out to the future

Freiburg chose this week to reup the contract of head man and local philosopher king: Christan Streich. The fixture on the local sideline will hit a decade in the job come December 2021 and his new contract should see him safely employed until May of the next year. The consistent top half-finishes for a team of limited resources will make that well earned.

Unsavory Socializing in Punjab

Reports broke this week that Punjab FC had to step up their directions to their fan base after some racially tinged abuse directed at a Warriors’ player after this last weekend. (It sure would seem like Baba Diawara would be the target, but why you’d jeer one of your team’s top scorers I have no earthly idea). Regardless, let’s go back to our favorite phrase: Screw you systemic racism.

Player of the Week

There wasn’t a lot to choose from this week. I’m tempted to tip the hat to Jonah Attaquye whose midfield play has been a real boon to the Royals attack, but this week he was relatively invisible. Jovan Nisic’s assist and goal made him the center of Vozdovac’s draw (but also to blame for it not being a win). While they both deserve some consideration for good play as a tiebreaker going forward, it seems best to recognize the other half of of Punjab’s attacking duo: Babacar Diawara who both played well and dealt with jerks. This isn’t much but hopefully it’s something nice.

Standings Update

In an unfair consequence for going goalless this week, Grenoble dropped from second to fifth while Punjab moves into a tie for first (only trailing on average goals for)

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
SC Freiburg4221.751.91.3
Punjab FC4221.751.30.6
Legon Cities FC3321.51.30.9
Alebrijes2121.41.61.4
Grenoble Foot 384241.41.01.2
Ross County3141.31.41.9
FK Vozdovac0201.01.01.0
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
Emelec000–––
Vozdovac FK000–––
University of Montana000–––
Table Updated 2/16/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, February 17th

9:00 Vojvodina v FK Vozdovac

Thursday, February 18th

4:30 Real Kashmir v Punjab FC

Friday, February 19th

Saturday, February 20th

8:30 Freiburg v Union Berlin [M]

9:00 Bechum United v Legon Cities

12:00 Nancy v Grenoble [M]

Sunday, February 21st

1:30 Ross County v. Celtic

5:00 Atletico Morelia v Alebrijes

5:00 Emelec v Deportiva Cuenca

Monday, February 22nd

6:30 FK Vozdovac v. Rad Beograd

Tuesday, February 23rd

Week 6: God Bless the Goalies

Week 6: God Bless the Goalies

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Hamilton Academical 1 – 2 Ross County

An early own goal presaged gloom for the Staggies. But newcomer Jordan White’s goal and assist within the last 10 minutes saw the Stags to a big relegation zone 6 point win. (Worth noting that assist was a particularly blistering cross to the exact right spot in the box)

TRAU 0 – 2 Punjab FC

Apparently all it took to get Chencho Gyeltshen to score was a passive aggressive blog mention. His brace reflected how well he can capitalize on opportunities that appear. More impressively Punjab’s young defense has allowed one goal in the last four games and boosted the team to third on the table. (At times they seemed unsettled by TRAU but Kiran Limbu couldn’t be shaken, and sometimes that’s all it takes to keep a goalless streak in tact).

Legon Cities 0 – 0 Karela United

The offense might have vanished on the Royals again, but a draw against the league’s top team is never a bad result.

Valenciennes 0 – 1 Grenoble Foot [M]

Don’t look now, but Brice Mableu’s spot between the sticks for Grenoble may be in jeopardy. Esteban Salles turned in another man of the match performance. That plus a late own goal (on an unstoppable half volley) kept Grenoble close to promotion.

Vendados 2 – 2 Alebrijes

Oaxaca kept plugging away after they fell behind on a corner kick inside of 9 minutes. While that normally presages a long night for the team, this time they kept calm and notched two much needed goals in the second half: starting with a long chip to capitalize on an adventurous keeper, and a final goal on a blistering header.

FK Radnik Surdulica 1 – 1 FK Vozdovac

Serbia swung back into action and showed exactly they’re tied with Surdulica in the table, by tying them on the field. An uncharacteristic lapse from keeper Miloje Prekovic put the dragons behind . But the teams remained as contentious and aggressive as you’d expect from Serbia (a few particular forearms to the face stood out). The late equalizer came from Luka Cveticanin on a staggering top shelf volley, marking his first strike for the Red Dragons.

Freiburg 2 – 1 Dortumund [M]

Even in a down year, a match against the bright young stars of Dortmund is intimidating (all the more so because they hadn’t been Dortmund in 10 years). But Freiburg was capable of keeping pace throughout, and Vincenzo Grifo again showcased his skills to further his case for joining the Italian national team in World and European Cups in the coming months. Add to that Woo-Yeong Jeong continuing to come into his own and you have a very promising start to the end of the season.

Ross County 0 – 2 Dundee United

After Billy McKay and a Jordan White won the match on Wednesday, they got a chance to start against Dundee. Unfortunately, neither found the same rhythm and the day ended with disappointment.

Hearts of Oak 1 – 1 Legon Cities

An early goal for Jonah Attaquye, capitalizing on a flustered defense, gave the Capital City upstarts a promising start. One they held on to for most of the match despite Hearts of Oak’s near relentless pressure. Again and again Winfried Honu stood up to the onslaught, with several outstretched saves. A late equalizer (also against a flustered defense) stymied a solid effort.

Werder Bremen v. Freiburg [F]

A blustery day in Bremen ended with a postponed match.

Indian Arrows 1 – 2 Punjab FC

Punjab’s second straight win comes from the feet of Baba Diawara. The Senagalese striker provided the attacking muster to give Chencho Gyeltshen a day off. Though the defense finally ceded their second goal in 5 games. Kiran Limbu continued to look quite formidable throughout.

Alebrijes de Oaxaca 3 – 1 Pumas Tabasco

Alebrijes continues a strong turn around during the spring campaign. Most of the switch has revolved around a greater effectiveness in the box and nobody was more effective in this match than Julio Cesar Cruz who was opportunistic, effective on set pieces and just great one-on-one.

News & Notes

Griz get a go in the big house

The University of Montana has had to make do with some lousy circumstances this year. But training as a team in the U’s biggest stadium isn’t one of them. Here’s hoping for a Big Sky battle in Washington-Grizzly some time soon.

Vozdovac is Bac

Soon to be Rocking Rooftops again

The red Dragons kick off felt much less nerve racking than last year as the team nosedived towards relegation. A mid table finish is quite likely this year so hopes for further improvement rest on newcomers seeking to establish themselves.

Over the winter the team let go two strong first half performers in defensive midfielder Marko Putincanin (off to Navbahor) and winger Milos Pantovic (back to Red Star’s youth team). The two accounted for 25% of the teams fall season goals, so replacing them is key.

Their boots will be filled by two returning loanees midfielder Stefan Purtic (22) and forward Lazar Popovic (19 and my new favorite Serbian name). The team also brought in A pair of left backs (Red Star sub Stefan Hajdin, and Macva talent Nikola Ducic) and a returning hero Aleksandar Stanisavljevic (who trotted out for the Kazakh league Europa contenders).

Minnesota Black, and Blue, and Open for Business

There will be soccer in the US this summer. There are fancy shmancy business reasons, I don’t really understand them. My big take away is: hopefully we can go back to games this summer.

Player of the Week

There’s a lot of great performances to choose from and both Esteban Salles and Winifried Honsu have stepped up massively, but the decisive factor has to be that Kiran Limbu helped lead Punjab to two wins and a massive boost up the table. For that, he gets the nod as this week’s player of the week.

Khelnow.com

Standings Update

Freiburg takes their lead right back with the streak snapping victory while Punjab’s great week and Grenoble’s consistency shrink the top four. Ross County stays off the bottom thanks to Vozdovac’s debut.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
SC Freiburg4121.92.11.4
Grenoble Foot 384131.61.31.4
Legon Cities FC3221.571.30.9
Punjab FC3221.571.10.7
Alebrijes2121.41.61.4
Ross County3141.31.41.9
FK Vozdovac0101.01.01.0
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
Emelec000–––
Vozdovac FK000–––
University of Montana000–––
Table Updated 2/10/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, February 10th

7:45 Grenoble V. AS Monaco [Cup]

Thursday, February 11th

Friday, February 12th

Saturday, February 13th

4:35 Punjab FC v. Chennai City

6:30 FK Vozdovac v. Indjija

8:30 Werder Bremen v. Freiburg [M]

9:00 Legon Cities v. King Faisal

9:00 Ross County v. Hibernian

12:00 Grenoble v. Amiens [M]

Sunday, February 14th

7:00 Freiburg v. SC Sand [F]

Monday, February 15th

Tuesday, February 16th

Week 5: Ups and Downs

Week 5: Ups and Downs

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Ross County 1 – 2 Motherwell

Ollie Shaw opened the scoring to give Staggies hope for another win, and a big boost to their battle against a fellow relegation side. But a rough second half for Ross Laidlaw gave their rivals a leg up.

Alebrijes de Oaxaca 2 – 1 Tapito

Despite falling behind early, Alebrijes kept to their game plan and got a well earned reward. Julio Cesar Cruz made good on his new role as target man for all the crosses with a header and an earned/well struck penalty. Given how long it took them to get a win during the fall, we’re quite grateful.

Punjab FC 0 – 0 Sudeva

Back to back goalless draws and we’ve got to wonder what it’ll take to get Punjab back on the board.

AC Ajaccio 2 – 1 Grenoble Foot [M]

After a great last week, Grenoble fell back into inconsistency here. Mid table foes like AC Ajaccio can be major stumbling blocks in the quest for promotion. Even more so, goal keeper Brice Mableu’s departure due to injury throws more questions into a backline (though Cup hero Esteban Salles makes us feel a little better)

Inter Allies FC 0 – 1 Legon Cities FC

Don’t look now but the Royals have a winning streak! Matthew Cudjoe got his first goal of the season on a slick little nutmeg off of Francis Addo’s back heel [it’s hard to tell, and no coverage names the assist]. Throughout the second half Fatau Dauda showed up in style. The win lifts Legon to just 9 points behind league leaders Karela United who, coincidently, host Legon Wednesday.

Wolfsburg 3 – 0 Freiburg [M]

A flying Wolfsburg showed no signs of stopping against Freiburg. Florian Muller’s run of good form helped lift Freiburg to the middle of the league. His struggles (as today) sink the ship rather quickly.

Grenoble Foot 2 – 1 Guingamp

Yoric Ravet’s superb half volley tied the match, but Willy Semedo saved the day for the Alpiners. His late winner helped to boost Grenoble past Guingamp and set off a well earned celebration on the sideline.

Tlaxcala FC 2 – 1 Alebrijes de Oaxaca

Alebrijes had a great start to the game with Juan Portales giving them the lead before the half. But a chippy second half let Diego Gama score a penalty and then saw Fernando Plascencia sent off to put both teams at 10 men and let the hosts get a late winner.

News & Notes

Deadline Day

We’re rooting for you Ross (From Sunderland AFC)

Monday saw a final flurry of player moves as teams looked to adjust for the next six months.

The biggest bit of business saw Ross County say so long to Ross Stewart. The teams top scorer has long looked (let’s be frank) a little too good to stay in Dingwall long term. So a move south to join historic winners (as in the won a lot a long time ago) Sunderland seems well warranted.

Meanwhile the Staggies brought in former ace Inverness striker Jordan White who, alongside loanee keeper Joe Hilton should bolster the highlanders in the end of their campaign (a half a million for young academy grad Josh Reid is pretty helpful too)

A different kind of looming deadline

If it stays empty after the germs are gone….sigh…

While Minnesota United has done a fine job bringing in another tough to knock down defensive midfielder in US National Team member Will Trapp, the questions about how he and Ozzie Alonso will work together have been muted in the wake of a lot more furor over the possibility that they won’t see the field any time soon.

As I said a lot last year, it’s hard to have a league without fans who pay the money to pay players and owners and everybody else with the club. So team owners would like to keep costs low, but players would like to make sure they still get paid. Owners across America have made a big push to cut costs with the players. The players agreed to many requests, but asked for some benefits in return once life gets back to normal (and fans can come back). The owners would rather just cut costs and not do anything else even a few years later. If they can’t come to an agreement, owners will lock up the stadiums and players won’t be playing. (And Owen’s first match will be delayed…yet again…)

Player of the Week

The best games for Legon Cities are also the games when Fatau Dauda shows why he’s been a top choice of the Ghanaian national team for the last few years and was in the squad just last November.

Dauda does the job

Standings Update

We have our first lead change of the year as the Royals ride high into the top spot while Freiburg slips after their loss to Wolfsburg. Hopefully the returning Freiburg Frauen will boost their chances while Vozdovac kicks off this weekend too.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Legon Cities FC3021.81.61.0
SC Freiburg3121.72.21.5
Grenoble Foot 383131.41.31.6
Ross County2131.41.62.0
Punjab FC1221.00.80.8
Alebrijes de Oaxaca1021.01.01.3
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
Emelec000–––
Vozdovac FK000–––
University of Montana000–––
Table Updated 2/3/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, February 3rd

12:00 Hamilton Academical v. Ross County

Thursday, February 4th

7:30 AM TRAU v. Punjab FC

9:00 AM Legon Cities v. Karela United

Friday, February 5th

1:00 Valenciennes v. Grenoble Foot [M]

7:00 Vendados v. Alebrijes

Saturday, February 6th

8:00 FK Radnik Surdulica v. FK Vozdovac

8:30: Freiburg v. Dortumund [M]

9:00 Hearts of Oak v. Legon Cities

9:00 Ross County v. Dundee United

Sunday, February 7th

7:00 Werder Bremen v. Freiburg [F]

Monday, February 8th

Tuesday, February 9th

4:30 AM Indian Arrows v. Punjab FC

5:00 PM Alebrijes de Oaxaca v. Pumas Tabasco

Week 4: Big Time for Breakouts

Week 4: Big Time for Breakouts

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Clermont Foot 1 – 2 Grenoble Foot [M-Cup]

An absolute thriller between the two Ligue 2 sides ended with penalties and the alpiners coming out victorious. Particular credit goes to goalie Esteban Salles who stopped three penalties in the nerve racking final minutes to pull out the match.

Freiburg 2 – 2 Frankfurt

In their first match at home of the week, Freiburg looked by far the better side, with Ermedin Demirovic continuing to grow in his performance with a perfectly weighted assist to Rolland Sallai on a pitch-perfect run. Nico Schlotterback’s late own goal robbed the Griffins of full credit.

Legon Cities FC 5 – 2 Ashanti Gold

Well, that was a heck of a thing. The Royals busted out of their funk in a big old way with a bonanza of goals. The much needed win saw them finally lift off from the foot of the table. Nasiru Moro’s opening screamer was a huge boon, with Jonah Atttuquaye leading the charge and David Cudjoe getting a brace within seven minutes. Still no sign of Asamoah Gyan…I’m feeling a little foolish that the three year old’s analysis was brilliantly prescient, and I was too credulous.

Freiburg 2 – 1 VfB Stuttgart [M]

It started out shakily for Frieburg, but much like this season, as Florian Muller grew into the game, Freiburg’s fortunes improved. There’s plenty to say, as ever, about Vincenzo Grifo and Ermedin Dimrovic’s growing partnership (and even more to say about Dimirovic’s stellar back heel assist on the second goal), but it was perhaps most heartening to see Nico Schlotterback come right back from his horror show outing on Wednesday with a sterling performance in defense.

Rangers 5 – 0 Ross County

This is more what we expected after last week’s shocker.

Grenoble 2 – 0 Chambly [M]

Yoric Ravet made it two wins on the week for Grenoble off a great free kick. Equally impressive was Jerome Mombris’ goal-line save to block Chambly’s best shot. A double win on the week sees Grenoble closer to the Cup and closer to promotion.

Punjab FC 0 – 0 Mohammedan SC

And that happened…[seriously, I don’t have anything to say about 0-0 draws]. For a better summary and much more humor, take a look at Yuvraj Gurang’s summary in which the word “shithousery” is used with aplomb. (Note to the children I’m writing this for: shithousery is a valuable word, but please, use it sparingly in polite conversation)

News & Notes

Highland Derby Delayed

There was plenty of excitement at the chance for a Ross County v. Inverness Caledonian Thistle game in round three of the Scottish Cup. But ICT still has to play their second round match against Buckie Thistle, and no games are happening in Scotland for teams below the top two tiers. So it’ll be a little time to wait and see what’s next before the battle for the heights of the highlands.

Grenoble Gears up for a big one

One final note on the Grenoble Cup victory last week. The triumph has to be tempered by the knowledge that their next opponent will be Ligue 1 Titans and tumultuous team of the south: AS Monaco. A surprise win there might be enough to see les Grenobloises on to later rounds and a sense of belonging in the top tier of French football. A defeat is much more likely.

Loons Out of the Nest

Unlike most other places in the world, where coaches and teams recruit like crazy to bring in the best young talent, or scout heavily to pick out gems from other parts of the country, the United States prefers to take our amateurs and give them a grand coming out party in a Draft. This year, despite COVID cancellations of the soccer season in college, Minnesota United and the other American sides picked up a few more talented teens. This year’s crop includes midfielder Justin McMaster of Jamaica/Wake Forest, and defenders Nabili Kibunguchy of UC Davis, and Sean O’Hearn of Georgetown University.

Player of the Week

When you are a team leader you step up when things are tough. When you step up with a goal and a crucial defensive save WHILE being the leader, you get Player of the Week honors from a random guy in Minnesota talking to his kids. That’s right Jerome Mombris, it’s all about you!

Standings Update

A big win leads to a big big boost for Legon Cities as the Royals vault up to 2nd place. Meanwhile Punjab’s goalless draw leads them to stall out and slip down the stats.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
SC Freiburg3112.02.61.2
Legon Cities FC2021.51.81.3
Ross County2121.41.62.0
Grenoble Foot 382121.41.21.6
Punjab FC1121.01.01.0
Alebrijes de Oaxaca0010.00.01.0
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
Emelec000–––
Vozdovac FK000–––
University of Montana000–––
Table Updated 1/27/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, January 27th

12:00 Ross County v. Motherwell

9:05 Alebrijes de Oaxaca v. Tapito

Thursday, January 28th

Friday, January 29th

2:30 AM Punjab FC v. Sudeva

Saturday, January 30th

12:00 AC Ajaccio v. Grenoble Foot [M]

Sunday, January 31st

9:00 Inter Allies FC v. Legon Cities FC

11:00 Wolfsburg v. Freiburg

Monday, February 1st

Tuesday, February 2nd

1:00 Grenoble Foot v. Guingamp

5:00 Tlaxcala FC v. Alebrijes de Oaxaca

Week 3: Staggies Surge

Week 3: Staggies Surge

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Golukam FC 4- 3 Punjab FC

There’s nothing quite like waking up to an alarm and seeing a swath of updates about a match half way around the world. It was a wild one in the second round of India’s Hero League. Chencho Gyeltshen roared out of the gate with a first half brace to give Punjab a confident 2-0 lead (and a front runner for coolest celebration with the see/speak/hear no evil style). Rupert Nogrum added a third off Gyeltshen’s golden run before the whistle to make it 3-1. In the span of 5 minutes it all came undone as Denny Antwi and an own goal knocked in 3 goals in quick succession to unravel Punjab’s hard work. (It was especially hard after Kiran Chjempong stymied so many so many Kerala attacks, and Ashray Bhardwaj got away with a couple late tackles)

Toulouse 2 – 0 Grenoble [M]

The season’s second half continues to be a struggle for the Alpine side. This week, without talisman Jessy Bennet or most of the stalwart defense they let two goals slipped and fell further behind 2nd place Toulouse for automatic promotion.

Ross County 4 – 1 Aberdeen

The Staggies came out in a new formation with Jermaine Hylton up top and a more aggressive midfield. Sure enough it paid off with two early goals courtesy of Ollie Shaw and Charlie Lakin and two more late goals from Shaw and Hylton. The defensive line did some stout work and the offense capitalized on every opportunity they saw. A pretty great result against the #3 team in the league.

Bayern Munich 2 – 1 Freiburg [M]

Any trip to the Teutonic titans is likely to end in tears, but Nils Petersen almost got an unlikely result. A second half goal equalized once, and a late crossbar rattler nearly did again. sure it was still a defeat, but against Bayern a near tie is something to build on.

Aduana Stars 2 – 1 Legon Cities

After 767 minutes this season, Legon got a goal from open play. Francis Addo got on the end of a long ball when the keeper was MILES out of position and finished it. It wasn’t exactly a mark of talent, more just capitalizing on a MAJOR OPPONENT ERROR. But at this stage, we’ll take it. Oh, the Royals still lost.

Punjab FC 0 – 1 Churchill Brothers

Punjab reverted to a much more defensive style for this match up (shoring up the defense after seeping four goals will do that for you). While the team did vastly improve their defense, and held the opponents goalless for 85 minutes. Once again, a late winner broke their hearts.

Alebrijes 0 – 1 CD Tepatitlan de Morelos

Alebrijes is back in action at home in Oaxaca, but the results remain depressingly consistent. Once again, Oaxaca saw the home side drop a match and slide down the table

News & Notes

New Impeachment High Score

Until this week the most times any President had been impeached was 1, and the most votes any President received for his removal from his own party was 5. Wednesday Donald Trump doubled those scores! He’s been impeached twice and got 10 people to vote against him!

INCOMING!

While most teams are fine tuning in the middle of the season, others are gearing up for bigger transformations before the next season begins. Most clearly, Rosenborg who has picked up more Swedish style than a newly married couple at Ikea. First they bolstered the defense with Adam Andersson and Jonathan Augustinsson to battle for the left back spot vacated by Pa Konate. They also brought on 12 goal man Stefano Holmquist Vecchia from Sweden and brought up Ole Christian Saeter who recently racked up a hat-trick to win promotion for Ranheim.

Player of the Week

Jermaine Hylton gave us a like for his last player of the week performance. For that alone, it’s tempting to award him this again. Most of the Staggies could get a nod given their strong showing, but when it’s that much of a team effort it doesn’t feel right to single out one person. So, despite doing it in a losing effort, the sterling individual performance of Chenchyo Gyeltshen gets the nod this week.

CG7 Hears No Evil (Photo from I-League)

Standings Update

Only Alebrijes dour opener lifts Grenoble off the foot of the table (see what I did there?) while Ross County rockets up to second place.

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
SC Freiburg2012.03.01.0
Ross County2111.752.01.3
Punjab FC1021.01.31.3
Legon Cities FC1021.00.71.0
Grenoble Foot 380120.30.72.3
Alebrijes de Oaxaca0010.00.01.0
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
Emelec000–––
Vozdovac FK000–––
University of Montana000–––
Table Updated 1/20/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, January 20th

Clermont Foot v. Grenoble Foot [M-Cup]

1:30 Freiburg v. Frankfurt

Thursday, January 21st

Friday, January 22nd

Saturday, January 23rd

8:30 Freiburg v. VfB Stuttgart [M]

9:00 Legon Cities FC v. Ashanti Gold

9:00 Rangers v. Ross County

12:00 Grenoble v. Chambly [M]

Sunday, January 24th

7:30 Punjab FC v. Mohammedan SC

Monday, January 25th

Tuesday, January 26th

Week 2: Shot in the Arm

Week 2: Shot in the Arm

by scruffyrube ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Scores

Legon Cities FC 1 – 0 WAFA

Hallelujah! The Royals won a game!! And yes, again, the goal came from the penalty spot. And yes, again, there was a silly red card right before the end of the match, but as head coach Bashir Hayford said, “”If today, we won that means, Legon Cities can win matches.” Yer darn tootin’ Bashir! (And I’d wager that if they work on off ball runs and settling scoring chances in the box it’ll be a lot more matches)

Punjab FC 1 – 0 Aizawl

The Northwesterners didn’t waste much time kicking off their campaign. Their young defense was tested repeatedly by Aizawal’s attack and came up resolute. Meanwhile Chenchyo Gyeltshen came up empty on his numerous attempts. In the end the difference was Ningthoujam Pritam creating a goal out of a seemingly nothing clearance. Either way, Punjab starts out rolling.

Grenoble 2 – 2 Auxerre [M]

Les grenobloises flagging form forced Phillip Hinschberger to make some drastic moves. After ceding a penalty at two-nil down, the coach sent in 4 subs including two up top to try and rescue the side from dropping a second straight match to promotion rivals. It worked as substitute Marcelin Anani found the net after a terrifying Jerome Mombris run and assist. Then Loic Nestor nabbed the late equalizer (it helped Auxerre sun Aly Ndom was red carded two minutes after joining the fray).

Freiburg 5 – 0 Koln [M]

The offensive outpouring continues from Freiburg with Ermiden Demirovic leading the line. His two assists and a goal delivered on the promise he showed when Freiburg brought him in over the summer. The complete team play gave the Griffins their 5th straight Bundesliga Win heading into a battle with the behemoths of Bayern Munich.

Livingston 3 – 1 Ross County

Despite a strong defensive showing for much of the match, it all come undone for County in the end. Harry Paton’s blast to set up Charlie Lakin’s finish knotted the score early, but late breaks for Livvi against a bedraggled Staggies line broke highland hearts.

Venados v. Alebrijes

Postponed due to positive COVID tests among Vendados

News & Notes

Dark Days

Apparently every body has to do this now: I STAND AGAINST VIOLENT INSURRECTION AGAINST ELECTED OFFICIALS AND DESTRUCTION OF FEDERAL PROPERTY IN THE NAME OF MORONIC CONSPIRACY THEORIES.

Hopefully you boys can use that in future Social Studies Projects.

Transfer Time

Watch your Mouche (from RCFC)

John Hughes has wasted no time taking action to add players to his Ross County squad. Anthony Andreu had been without a squad this season, and will bring an attacking midfielder to the table. Meanwhile Mohamed Maouche, Andreu’s fellow Frenchman will join him in the midfield during his first sojourn in Scotland.

Meanwhile Freiburg continued to set up their players for return, moving injured LB Gian-Luca Itter off to 2nd Division Greuther Furth.

Welcome back Alebrijes

When last we saw our favorite free wheeling south Mexican side, they had freewheeled straight to the bottom of the league. That disappointment aside, the team is now set to start fresh, and as Emelecs excellent second half form showed, all it takes is one.

Unfortunately that one good half will need to come without top scorer Franco Arizala who returned to top flight Veracruzano at the new year. Replacing him are younger and untested attackers Julio Cruz and Esteban Torres, while promising Leon midfielder Fernando Morales comes in on loan.

After their first match was delayed, Alrbrijes will look to kick off next Tuesday at home.

Get Jordy Gaspar a Haircut

Sure losing 3-0 during the week was hard, but you try finding a barber in Grenoble during quarrantine! Let the man have his hat!!

Player of the Week

Try as we might to find someone other than the obvious man of the match in the biggest win of the weekend, sometimes it just makes sense to honor the obvious candidate. Bravo Ermedin Demirovic! Glad to see you finding your form!

Demiriovic pulling his Supreme stare (from SC Freiburg)

Standings Update

Punjab debuts with a dart at #2, while Legon Cities vaults past Ross County. Meanwhile Brice Mableu may be wondering why 2021 feels so much like 2020 all over again

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
SC Freiburg2003.04.00.5
Punjab FC1003.01.00.0
Legon Cities FC1011.50.50.5
Ross County1111.31.31.3
Grenoble Foot 380110.51.02.5
Rosenborg BK000–––
Minnesota United000–––
Emelec000–––
Vozdovac FK000–––
Alebrijes de Oaxaca000–––
University of Montana000–––
Table Updated 1/5/2020

What’s Next

Wednesday, January 13th

Thursday, January 14th

2:30 Golukam FC v. Punjab FC

Friday, January 15th

Saturday, January 16th

8:00 Toulouse v. Grenoble [M]

9:00- Aduana Stars v. Legon Cities

9:00 Ross County v. Aberdeen

Sunday, January 17th

8:30 Bayern Munich v. Freiburg [M]

Monday, January 18th

Tuesday, January 19th

2:30 Punjab FC v. Churchill Brothers

5:00 Alebrijes v. CD Tepatitlan de Morelos

Year 1

Year 1

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I started this blog a year ago thinking it would be a fun thing to do during the season with a little light reflection during the summer. Instead the entire world turned upside down and I found myself trying to make meaning from press releases in March and bubble tournaments in August.

Here’s how things shook out in 2020 among our favorite 11 sides on the planet.

Final Standings

TeamWDLPPGGFAGAA
Rosenborg BK2713101.881.740.96
Minnesota United13661.802.081.12
Emelec179121.581.711.03
Grenoble Foot 3810671.571.391.35
FK Vozdovac112121.401.601.64
SC Freiburg1811181.381.361.53
Punjab FC2521.221.441.33
Ross County FC115181.120.971.62
Alebrijes de Oaxaca54120.901.001.52
Legon Cities FC3880.890.631.16
University of Montana000–––
Table Updated 12/31/2020

As was becoming apparent by the middle of the summer, the longer Rosenborg’s women went undefeated, the more likely they were to win our trophy. In the end, Rosenborg’s Men struggled to finish off the season gave Minnesota United a closer chance than you might have expected in November.

Emelec wins my money this year for the best showing of a team whose jersey I didn’t own going in (but I’m seriously mulling doing something for Grenoble to shore up my fandom bonafide as they fight for *knock on wood* Ligue 1 promotion)

SC Frieburg’s struggles saw them slip to the middle of the table just above Punjab FC which has been idle for months now, and the Lady Griz must be licking their chops to finish above Asamoah Gyan and company in 2021.

Players of the Year

Rather than choose 1 best of best, given that my entire theme this year was coming together and relying on others, it only made sense to award a full team.

Up top, it should be no surprise that we chose the two most imperious scorers in our year especially given Marit Clausen’s sizzling summer and Farcundo Barcelo’s amazing autumn.

The midfield was trickier. There was no shortage of good candidates, but in the end we couldn’t ignore the excellent run of young Julie Blakstad, the superb creativity of Emanuel Reynoso, or the consistency of Vincenzo Grifo. Kristoffer Zachariassen claimed the last spot due to his goal scoring prowess and excellent control for a Europa League bound side.

We probably could have done more to recognize defenders during the season, but as center back was our own position of choice on the rough and tumble pitches of Great Falls, Montana we were proud to recognize the Grenoble tandem of Jerome Mombris and Jordy Gaspar. On top of that Dominique Heintz seemed to always be the answer to the question “how did Freiburg stop fill in the blank Bundesliga striker king from scoring?” And Alex Iacovitti provided the most iconic image of the most iconic win of the year with his delirious wheeling joy after sealing the win over Celtic.

There was no shortage of great candidates in goal either. We went with Vozdovac’s Miloje Prekovic whose arrival coincided with an excellent unbeaten run for the Red Dragons.

Our bench has two players we really struggled over putting in the top XI: Grenoble’s Jessy Benet and Minnesota’s Michael Boxall, but we know they’ll be ready to step up for a sixty or a six minute shift. We also got a chance to recognize all the other teams in our list: strikers Asier Dipanda, Luisa Espinoza, and Franco Arizala represent Punjab, Las Electricas de Emelec and Alebrijes de Oaxaca respectively. Klara Buhl will be the one we ask to fill in all over the field (the least she can do after leaving Freiburg for Munich). And Fatua Duda holds down the Legon Cities spot in the squad (the Royals may be bottom of our table, but Duda is the unquestioned leader and has kept scores low while the offense sputters).

We were sorry not to find a representative for the Grenoble women’s side (we’d love if the social media squads from Rosenborg and Emelec could show them how its done), and we hope to include more than a few Grizzlies when they finally get back on the pitch this spring.

What’s Next

I really like soccer. Like, a lot a lot.

I really like writing. Like, a lot a lot

Doing this project for a year reminded me how much I like both, and also how impossible it is to do both, and parent, and teach, and write what is burning a fire in my brain.

So here’s the plan Stans: I’m keeping this site alive. The annual fee is a small price to pay for keeping track of all the lectures you’re going to get in your life. I won’t post in it as often. (One weekly update, One monthly video with all three of us (barring tantrums), and one monthly commentary).

I’m going to work on writing other things I’m fired up about. But rest assured, I’ll always love sharing lessons with you boys and I’ll love sharing them over soccer matches too.

(Oh, and if this is being read by someone other than my sons, feel free to write a note below so they know other people are judging their dad too).

52. Lessons from 2020

52. Lessons from 2020

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A year ago, I stared this blog with the thought of how I could share life lessons and understandings that can show us what matters. An added perk of this is that, much like your uncles and I started keeping a list of lectures your grandpa was going to give us, now you have a list of my 52 lectures in 2020.

Dear Boys,

1. All our teams and how out of many, we are one

2 Legon Cities FC and appreciating new beginnings.

3 Grenoble Foot 38 and the importance of giving a fork about what you do, not over how it is received.

4 Transfer Rumors and John Fowles’ three types of people

5 Ross County, Rabbie Burns and how we want to do hard things because they are hard to do.

6 SC Freiburg and why “why” is one of the best questions you can ask.

7 Impeachment, Jersey Swaps and how gracious living is easy to do if you practice when it’s hard.

8 Minnesota United, Luis Amarilla and why, While it’s easy to fixate on the best, don’t let it distract you from the very good right in front of you.

9 Ross County and the value of playing to the whistle

10 Manchester City, Mike Bloomberg and why you ought to use your power thoughtfully, with truth and talent.

11 You can’t avoid burnout, but you can acknowledge it and select the most vital and most life giving tasks to focus on.

12 Covid Closures and why even if we’d be okay, we need to do what’s best for the others around us.

13 Rosenborg BK and how you are both a hope surpassed and a history alive

14 FK Vozdovac and why none of us are ideals

15 Diego Maradona, Macho Man Randy Savage and how to make believe safely

16 Ross County and why what you are loyal to is just as important as the loyalty itself

17 SC Freiburg and why you should keep curiosity in your mind and change in your heart.

18 Why debating all time greats is fun, but also pointless.

19 University of Montana Grizzlies and why I hope you have a fire in your heart, and a light in your eyes

20 Minnesota United and how we are stronger together than we could ever be alone.

21 Japanese Art, Freiburg and why you should appreciate what a thing is

22 Screw you systemic racism

23 Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe and why you should look inside yourselves and ask “how can I help?” as often as possible.

24 ignore those who urge you or anyone to “stick to sports”

25 Freiburg, Vozdovac, and why you should extend yourself and others a little grace.

26 Protests, FK Vozdovac Hooligans, Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo and why you should never confuse a crowd’s approval with your virtue.

27 Star Wars, Freiburg, Rosenborg, Donald Trump and why leadership without accountability is just authority.

28 Rosenborg BK and why you can’t prepare for the future by trying to recreate the past

29 Rosenborg’s Women, Ross County, Racialized Debates and why context is king.

30 American Soccer, American society and how a team of competing individuals can lose, but competitive individuals together on a team cannot.

31 Emelec and why you should leave more than you take

32 Ross County and why owning your struggles, your instabilities, your pain is the most healthy way to handle it.

33Minnesota United and why you should keep your goals within your control

34 Grenoble Foot 38 and how you are never alone in the world if you have people you can rely on.

35. Black Lives Matter

36 Julie Blakstad, Marit Clausen, and why you can absolutely do things alone, but helping someone else succeed often helps you too.

37 Pedro Martinez, the Great Falls Dodgers, Freiburg, Minnesota United and why you shouldn’t begrudge players leaving our teams behind, appreciate what they brought while they were here.

38 Alebrijes de Oaxaca and why you should enjoy what your style is.

39 Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the University of Montana, Women’s soccer and how contributions of women lead to growth

40 The Minnesota Twins, Alebrijes de Oaxaca and how learning loyalty is rewarded with loyalty of its own.

41 My least favorite coaches and why what goes around comes around.

42 Professional athletes, teachers and how everyone benefits from a break.

43 Freiburg’s Men, Rosenborg’s Kvinner, Joe Biden and why when you’re worried it will all go wrong, just try to do what you know to do.

44 Franco Arizala, Alebrijes de Oaxaca and why nothing is worth letting the whole world burn.

45 Asamoah Gyan and how we are marked by our pain, both in scars and in strength.

46 Donald Trump, Minnesota United, FK Vozdovac and why you don’t fight the fights you can win, you fight the fights that need fighting

47 Legon Cities and why when you have to face the future, you should approach it as an opportunity to seize not a challenge to be feared.

48 Diego Maradona and why it’s best to love the good in all people

49. Ross County, Rosenborg’s Kvinner and why there’s something to enjoy in both expected and the unexpected events.

50. Minnesota United & why you don’t need to worry about losing, especially when you can just enjoy living.

51. Punjab FC & how what we build, is built with others

52. So…what does all this mean for you boys, for what I think matters and what I think is important. This challenge to write over fifty posts with an eye to you boys and to what matters most.

There are plenty of overlapping themes, but the things that stand out most are simply these two: live in community with others and appreciating both the good and the bad.

And in case there needs to be one more individual lesson it’s this: know how to fold them. I love you boys. I love soccer. I can’t keep writing two posts a week. I’ll keep this site, I’ll post updates and results. But I’m going to scale back my lectures, both for my sake, and for yours.

Week 51: Out With a Whimper

Week 51: Out With a Whimper

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Scores

Niort 0 – 0 Grenoble [M]

Despite Grenoble dominating the possession, the shots, the passing, and all the attempts, Grenoble couldn’t find a way through. To be fair, it was a second string side (Bennet, Diallo and Djite, came on with about 30 minutes left) and they still did quite well to dominate a top half of the table team and pick up a point on the road.

Javor 3 – 1 FK Vozdovac

A third minute penalty was a pretty clear signal that it would be a rough day for the Vozdovac defence. Despite Marko Putincanin’s late first half equalizer, two more cases of sloppy defense undid the Dragons and saw them slip to 9th place. (4 points from their past 18 possible is a sign of the struggles)

Schalke 04 0 – 2 Freiburg [M]

There’s a whole book to be written about Schalke’s fall. Flush with Russian oil money, they’ve slowly collapsed like a bridge made out of flan. But that’s someone else’s job, our job is just to say: BRAVO ROLLAND SALLAI! Two quality goals in the second half gave the Griffins a much needed second win in a row, so things are trending up just when they are most needed.

Livingston 2 – 0 Ross County

Welp. There goes the plan to focus on the cups.

Deportiva Cuenca 2 – 1 Emelec [M]

This was a hard one. Despite being a man up for almost an hour, Emelec could not find a way through Cuenca’s defense. Diego Dorregaray managed to get two goals against the run of play including a 90th minute winner to undo Jose Cevallos’ late equalizer. The result, plus rival Barcelona’s win at the same time makes for a very challenging final match on Sunday. Emelec would need to win against Olmedo and Barcelona would have to lose to Universidad Catholica, PLUS they would need a 6 goal swing to take it (so Emelec winning 3-0 while Barcelona loses 0-3).

Sochaux 1 – 1 Grenoble [M]

Jessy Bennet again ran the show for Grenoble and set up another Moussa Djitte goal. Unfortunately, Grenoble couldn’t capitalize on a Souchaux red card and ended up ceding an equalizer before half time.

Legon Cities FC 1 – 2 Cape Coast *Mystic* Dwarfs

An early Benjamin Acquah brace was enough for Cape Coast and their Dungeons & Dragons avatar/team name. Good news: the Royals scored for the first time in 450 minutes. Bad news: it was another penalty, so in addition to Asamoah Gyan staying goalless, the team has yet to score in regular play all season.

Ross County 0 – 2 Hamilton Academical

Welp. So much for being able to focus on the league.

Bayer Leverkusen 2 – 1 SC Freiburg [W]

Despite Stefanie Sanders’ second half equalizer, Freiburg couldn’t snatch a point in Bavaria.

Freiburg 4 – 1 Hertha Berlin [M]

Meanwhile the gentlemen Griffins continued their winning ways with Vincenzo Grifo notching a goal and another assist. The result came at the expense of former Freiburg stopper Alexander Schwolow who’s done about as well as frequently fallible Florian Muller.

CS Emelec 4 – 1 Olmedo [M]

Los bombillos did their best to inject some drama in the final match of Ecuador’s season. Jose Cevallos 40 minute hat trick gave them a great start towards closing the gap against Barcelona. But as their rivals played out a goalless draw, Emelec settled in to a strong second place.

Sandefjord 0 – 0 Rosenborg [M]

In the final match of the season, Rosenborg was…uh….there? Goalless draws are never terribly noteworthy, and this one, away from home, without retiring captain Tor Reginusen, to seal a respectable but not shattering fourth place finish, was particularly inert.

Grenoble 2 – 0 Troyes [M]

When Troyes lost a man to a red card in the second half, Owen was crying bloody murder and Alex was doing anything but resting. 30 minutes later, Mamadou Dialo and Jessy Benet had both delivered goals for a great win over their top of the table rivals. At the break, Grenoble sits atop of the league on goal difference.

News & Notes

Buh-Bye Hot Boy

Kevin Molino, Minnesota United’s first big name signing announced his plan to leave the team. This might be the biggest surprise of the Loons’ Off-Season so far. Molino was a long-standing favorite of coach Adrian Heath, and he earned the fans respect too for working hard in any role he landed in. With cuts in cost across the board and a sizable offer from Minnesota, a lot of folks are wondering where he could be heading. (I know he’d be a savior in Oaxaca, but think he’d have more fun along side Yoric Ravet and Jessy Bennet in Grenoble)

Tusen Takk Tor

Rosenborg captain Tor Reginusen has retired before the end of the season walking out on his own terms and with gratitude for the club. The veteran defender was still earning caps with Norway’s national team in November,but its nice to see him exit with grace.

Slainte Stuart and Hullo Hughes

Two decisive defeats in a week was two too many for Stuart Kettlewell. After six months as solo coach, and three years as at least co-manager, the long standing Staggies man stepped aside after the loss to Aberdeen. Clearly the club wanted him to succeed (he’d done wonders with the youth team before joining the first team), but to stay afloat in Scotland it’ll take something more than he’s mustered.

County will hope that something can be unlocked by John Hughes former manager of their highland rivals, Inverdonian Caley Thistle. Hughes has led a few rescue missions for teams facing the axe, and a few cup triumphs. But he has also led some botched rescues. Here’s hoping for the best.

Player of the Week

It’s a close call between two very strong midfield mavens. With a pair of big wins and more big goals I will tip the cap to Vincenzo Grifo with his goal and assists, but note again that Jessy Benet may have been the biggest difference between Grenoble being top of League 2 or top of League 3 right now. Of course, Grifo is the difference between a comfortable Freiburg season

What’s Next

Wednesday, December 23rd

12:00 Celtic v. Ross County

1:45 VfB Stuttgart v. Freiburg [M]

Thursday, December 24th

Friday, December 25th

Saturday, December 26th

9:00 Ross County v. St. Mirren

Elves v. Reindeer [North Pole Classico]

Sunday, December 27th

Monday, December 28th

Tuesday, December 29th

Week 50: Turnabout is Fair Play

Week 50: Turnabout is Fair Play

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Scores

Independiente del Valle 0 – 3 CS Emelec [M]

For the first time in a while Emelec didn’t seem to have much of anything going for them. Worse, this loss gave loathed rivals Barcelona sole claim to the top spot in the league

Rosenborg BK 1 – 0 Mjondalen [M]

Rosenborg snapped their skid, but it wasn’t exactly convincing. Åge Hareide’s team couldn’t find a way through throughout regular time despite dominating the run of play. But Ol Piercing Blue Eyes himself Kistoffer Zachariasen saved the day with a last minute winner.

Asante Kotoko 1 – 0 Legon Cities

Against the most legendary club in Ghanaian soccer the Royals looked majestic again in name only. The defense should be commended for their resilience but now would be the time for the attack to flourish as well. (h/t Fatua Duda for winning commendations despite losing)

Freiburg 2 – 0 Arminia Bielefeld [M]

Christian Streich switched to a three man back line a month ago. In the four matches with that formation they’ve drawn twice and won once. It’s not a tremendous turnabout but it’s a big improvement from the side that drifted down the table in October. Phillip Leinhart and Vincenzo Grifo’s surge in form sure helps too.

Aberdeen 2 – 0 Ross County

Speaking of drifting down the table, the Staggies have sunk to the bottom of the premiership. They haven’t gotten a point from the league since early November, and haven’t won since two months before that. They may still have a shot at cup trophies, but their time in the top league may be done after this year.

FK Vozdovac 0 – 2 Partizan Belgrade

I’d be lying if I said I expected anything else, but kudos to the dragons for holding the league leaders scoreless for more than one half!

Grenoble Foot 4 – 0 Dunkerque [M]

Grenoble’s performance in the shadow of the Alps was nothing short of dominant. Again led by Jessy Benet and rampaging full backs Jordy Gaspar and Jerome Mombris they looked every bit the first place (yes, first place) team they have become.

CS Emelec 3 – 0 El Nacional [M]

Estadio George Capwell would have been rocking had people been allowed in. A win over bottom of the table Nacional isn’t exactly surprising, and never seemed to be in doubt., but Jose Cevallos’ brace and another clean sheet sure feels good.

Meppen 0 – 1 SC Freiburg [W]

Meppen has struggled this year, and as Freiburg grows into form they looked strong throughout. Lina Bürger’s late winner was well deserved.

Rosenborg 3 – 1 Molde [M]

A week after a red card got him an early shower, it was a day of good Dino Islamovic. It couldn’t have come at a better time. His brace against fellow top 4 side Molde went a long way to seal a shot at European soccer.

News & Notes

See You Loons

As has been the habit each year, Minnesota United celebrated the end of the season by declining a big pile of contracts.

It’s not too surprising that Kei Kamara and third string keeper Greg Ranjitsingh were let loose. Frequent role players Jose Aja, Aaron Shoenfeld, and Raheem Edwards were a little more surprising, but, without ticket sales, costs must be cut.

HAO! Rosenborg!

O’Rielly trading Stars and Stripes for just stripes?

On the BBC’s world football podcast American soccer legend Heather O’Reilly admitted that she felt tempted to come back from retirement for a shot at the European Champions League.

A year into her retirement, O’Reilly might need some time to gear up again. So she’s likely have to target the 21-22 campaign. She’s also working as a coach of younger players. So that would be a good thing to continue abroad. And if she seeks to just play in the champions league, a Scandinavian side makes sense….chances are you see where I’m going with this.

Ms O’Reilly meet Rosenborg, Rosenborg meet Heather O’Reilly. (Blakstad, Clausen, O’Reilly…I’ve got goose bumps).

Us 59 – 1 Trump

Another score from the election. This certainly looks decisive. With no time left on the clock, there’s no real chance for a comeback. But President Trump continues to insist that he’s winning and refusing to leave the field. So…not unlike games I used to play against your uncles in the backyard.

Player of the Week

Since they came back from COVID Cancellations, Jordy Gaspar has played 518 of Grenoble’s 540 minutes. In that time, they’ve allowed only two goals and scored ten. He’s been excellent on both sides of the ball, and this week his assist gives us an excuse to finally reward him.

Plus, Gaspar looks good in Pink

What’s Next

Wednesday, December 16th

11:30 Schalke 04 v. Freiburg [M]

1:00 Javor v. FK Vozdovac

1:45 Livingston v. Ross County

Thursday, December 17th

3:00 CS Emelec v. Olmedo [M]

Friday, December 18th

1:00 Sochaux v. Grenoble [M]

Saturday, December 19th

9:00 Legon Cities FC v. Ebusa Dwarfs

9:00 Ross County v. Hamilton Academical

Sunday, December 20th

7:00 Bayer Leverkusen v. SC Freiburg [W]

11:00 Freiburg v. Hertha Berlin [M]

Monday, December 21st

Tuesday, December 22nd

11:00 Sandefjord v. Rosenborg [M]

1:00 Grenoble v. Troyes [M]