Alebrijes’ up and down form continued as, Julio Cruz made an impact within 2 minutes of coming on in the second half, but couldn’t get the win.
Ross County 0 – 1 Aberdeen
It’s been rough going for County this year, but that shouldn’t fall on the defense. Alex Iacovitti, Jack Baldwin and Keith Watson have created the strongest back line outside of Glasgow (and the dominant Old Firm). But their attack has been worse than everyone except Kilmarnock). They are 20 goals off of their total last year (and clearly miss Charles Regan Cook)
RB Leipzig 0 – 1 SC Freiburg (F-Cup)
It’s another Cup final for Freiburg, this one coming thanks to a victory over corporate rival RB Leipzig. It was a tense affair going all the way to the sixth minute of stoppage time, when Hasret Kayici (who else) got on the right end of a great volley to net the winner that sends die Frauen to the finals.
Emilie Joramo scored early for win. That should complete the defensive midfielder’s allotment for the year, but when it nets three points it was clearly well timed.
Minnesota 1 – 2 Orlando (M)
The Loons couldn’t seem to convert on their opportunities, but had great chances. On a normal day Bongokhule Hlongwane’s wild man unleashed style shoulda woulda given the Loons 2 goals. But news is rarely about what coulda happened, and as Orlando actually did get the goals that’s all that counts.
Punjab finally got some points in the cup, came against their fellow I-Leaguers, and unfortunately after they were eliminated. It is some consolation for Punjab to get a win in the Super Cup, even if it leaves them finishing bottom of their group, it came against their old rivals in Delhi. If we learned anything from this tournament, it’s that the Warriors have some work to do before the ISL campaign starts up in the fall. (I’m still not sure if coach Staikos Vergetis’ more defensive plan is the way to go to limit opponents, or if the best defense is a good offense)
Werder Bremen 1 – 2 Freiburg (M)
Bremen looked best during the first half but Lucas Holer and Roland Sallai were a great combo returning the benefits to one another to get the win.
Legon Cities 2 – 0 Kotoku Royals
Michael Otou’s brace against bottom of the table Royals was very valuable. (Teams 13-17 are all tied at 31 point, two of the five will be relegated…hopefully not our Royals)
Molde 1 – 1 Rosenborg (M)
Rosenborg’s best period of pressure led to an own goal and the required work for a draw.
Olympique Marseille 1 – 3 Grenoble Foot (F)
A win. On the road. Against a prestige club like Marseille. Wowza, when the ladies of Grenoble come back, they come all the way back! A double for Jade Decilap was instrumental in the result.
It remains the Miller Bolanos show in Emelec, as in, why can’t we do anything without Miller Bolanos? The talismanic midfielder’s absence was palpable again, as Los Bombillos had plenty of possession but couldn’t seem to do much with it after Jose Cevallos scored in the early going.
Grenoble 0 – 2 Saint-Etienne (M)
It was a good but not really outstanding effort for Grenoble in the shirt sponsor Derby. But the pictures of the game looked like a lot of fun
Alebrijes 1 – 0 Pumas Tabasco
Julio Caesar Cruz was the man of the night, scoring his sixth of the campaign on what can best be described as a goal by default and keeping Oaxaca in the thick of the mid table tussle.
Asane 0 – 3 Rosenborg (F)
In their second match of the week, the Troll ladies (which is a nickname I will keep using no matter that I’m the only one using it) continued their perfect start to the season. The veterans Cesilie Andreassen and Synne Hansen both scored
News & Notes
Blakstad’s Back in the Ice and Snow
Blog favorite Julie Blakstad‘s time in Manchester has been generally strong. She seems to score at every opportunity, but there are plenty of talents to employ at one of the world’s biggest clubs. So rather than giving her a richly deserved role, Julie has been loaned out to Swedish side BK Häcken. Obviously, we’d have preferred a return to the black and white of Trondheim, but if Julie’s happy, we’re happy.
Player of the Week
With multiple braces we could open an orthodonture clinic (ba-dum CHING!!). But the player who made us smile the most has to be Jade Decilap who has helped Grenoble’s Mesdames get back on track AND boasts far more swag than I do.
Punjab nearly got back to the top spot on their own skills with their win of Deccan, but if we’ve learned one thing in these last years it’s to NEVER bet against the women of Rosenborg. Meawhile, Emelec’s slide continues, without Miller Bolanos they seeem to be bereft…not unlike my heart
Kotoko might be one of Ghana’s true giants, but Legon always seems up to the challenge. Alex Aso got the equalizer to keep Legon looking tough
Arna-Bjornar 0 – 1 Rosenborg (F)
The Trolljenta got another win but it took a late winner from Emilie Nautnes to snatch the points.
Freiburg 1 – 1 Hertha BSC (M)
The boys of Breisgau haven’t lost domestically in almost two months, but that’s come with a lot of disappointing draws, including this one to relegation battlers Hertha after Vincenzo Grifo got the lead
Vozdovac 0 – 1 Javor
The dragons dropped another home match. I’m not sure what would help make home cooking work for them but they have a long way to go to catch up with the top four sides in Serbia.
Grenoble 2 – 1 Armiens (M)
Jessy Bennet slotted home a first half penalty and nearly scored a very cheeky chip shot. Abdoulie Sanyang got the second half winner, but attention should also be paid to 22 year old Mathys Tourraine who has quickly become a vital cog in both defense and attack for Les Alpiners.
Delfin 3 – 2 Emelec (M)
It was a testy match in Ecuador with three spot kicks given (and all of them converted). Miller Bolaños left room for someone else (Alejandro Cabeza) to score, but he also left the match early due to an injury, which isn’t what you’d hope to see for the clear talisman of the team. Defender Fernando Leon drew a second yellow card to leave the team a man short and ultimately leaven enough room room for Delfín to keep threatening and finally snatch a late winner.
St. Louis City 0 – 1 Minnesota (M)
Both teams came into the match undefeated, but only the visitors left that way. St. Louis had control for most of the match, but when the Loons threatened, they made the most of it. Luis Amarilla smashed in the winning penalty after bottling some strong opportunities. The reinvigorated back line, especially the eternally present Michael Boxall stood tall to stop St Louis from equalizing.
Ross County 0 – 2 Celtic
Within regular time County earned a draw. But soccer also includes extra time, and that’s where Celtic scored.
Freiburg 0 – 1 Turbine Potsdam (F)
Potsdam handed the Frauen their fifth straight loss…this one turning on Meret Witje’s own goal. Ugh.
Grenoble Foot 1 – 0 Thonon Evian (F)
Good news for Freiburg the ladies of the Alps broke their own five game skid with a vital win, and one against one of the best teams in France’s second division. Goalkeeper Bolkach had an excellent game defending against Thonon’s potent attack and in a last minute counter attack Claudia Fabre picked out newcomer Florsie Joseph and Grenoble got a tremendous winner. So hey, Freiburg, there’s hope!
Bibiana Gold Stars 3 – 2 Legon Cities FC
A wild first half saw the Gold Stars take the lead, after Ebenezer Armegah and Eric Bonsu briefly gave Legon the edge. and despite their best efforts (and a reversed goal), the Royals lost and dropped firmly into the relegation zone
Bayern Munich 1 – 2 Freiburg (M-Cup)
Few teams are as dominant as Bayern Munich are in Germany, but for the third straight year Freiburg has either matched or outperformed them in the Cup.
Nicholas Hofler connected with as beautiful a goal as you will ever see to balance the books. The defensive line (especially Ginter, Gunter, and Gulde) stymied an insistent Bayern attack until they forced Bayern into more mistakes, this time with a series of fouls that allowed Lucas Holer to win it on a hand ball Penalty Kick in extra time.
To celebrate, Freiburg got to face Munich again on the weekend and will face Liepzig, the team that beat them in last year’s final, in the semi’s
Partizan Belgrade 1 – 0 Vozdovac
Partisan can be a brutal opponent. So much so that in the last 7 matches they won by an average of 3-0. So the red dragons only losing by 1 is a high water mark not seen since March of 2020.
Danubio 2 – 0 Emelec (M-South American Cup)
Danubia hasn’t been great shakes in their local Uruguayan league this year. But they had no trouble containing or attacking Emelec. The best news, Uruguayan native midfielder — had one of his best games yet for Los Bombillos.
Alebrijes 1 – 0 Cancun FC
Armando Gonzalez got an early goal off a rebound from Ernesto Reyes’ blast of a free kick. Even though Oaxaca earned 4 yellow cards in 12 minutes, and were unable to make good on several one-on-one opportunities, they withstood the pressure of Cancun.
Freiburg 0 – 1 Bayern Munich (M)
Munich got their win back in the domestic league, capitalizing on the early departure of Manuel Gulde to bedevil the back line and batter the Freiburg net to the tune of 3.5 expected goals. In that light, even losing by one is a bit of an accomplishment for Freiburg. (Not one they’re going to put in their hall of fame, but something at least)
St. Johnstone 0 – 2 Ross County
The Staggies returned to action and got a win for the first time since February! Jordan White made a major nusiance of himself and set up Simon Murray (who came on for the injured Eamonn Brophy) for the first goal on an absolute banger. Then rarely used midfielder David Cancola made the most of his moment getting one of his own on a scrambled ball into the box.
Kerala Blasters 3 – 1 Punjab FC (Cup)
Punjab’s first effort against a Super League side left a little something to be desired. Kerala was able to control the match despite Punjab rolling out a broader midfield than usual, which did slow down Kerala for the first half, until a penalty gave the Blasters the lead. A half time swap of midfielder Maheson Singh for attacker Krishnananda Khundongbam paid off with Punjab’s goal, but the more expanded midfield was easier for Kerala to get past (leading to two more goals and the win)
Laval 0 – 1 Grenoble (M)
Mathais Phaeton got the early goal thanks to a scintillating through ball from (who else) Jessy Bennet and Brice Mableu was able to shut down Laval for the rest of the match to seal a win.
Chicago Fire 2 – 1 Minnesota United
Kei Kamara took two early goals for Chicago, and by the time your mom and I tuned in after you were tucked in at last, we were at the desperate crosses situation for the Loons. Kervin Arriaga got one, but despite many fine chances and amazing efforts, Bongokhule Hlongwane couldn’t score the vital equalizer.
Aucus 2 – 1 Emelec (M)
Emelec’s struggles continued with another loss, bouyed only by Jose Cevallos’ injury time consolation goal. The team that lives by Miller Bolanos, also dies by Miller Bolanos (at least when Miller Bolanos is out of the match with an injury, but even then we will still write Miller Bolanos’ name so many times that we summon him to Minnesota).
Rosenborg 1 – 0 Viking (M)
Rosenborg started their campaign with a revenge win against the team that knocked them out of the cup (kind of like the reverse Freiburg experience). Ulrik Jennssen was a pest in defense, and Adrian Pereira celebrated his first start since August of last year with the winning goal off of a half volley in the middle of nothing.
Danilo Teodorovic scored first, but Topola came back with a vengeance. We would be upset, but any team that breaks up the Partizan/Red Star duopoly is okay in our books.
Punjab FC 0 – 2 Bengaluru FC (Cup)
Again Punjab set up in a defensive posture which…again worked for the first half, and then, when they got a little more aggressive in the second half, Bengaluru capitalized and took the lead. Huidrom Singh’s second yellow card didn’t help matters and let Bengaluru seal the win.
News & Notes
Jonah Attuquaye off to Latvia
We’ve made no mistake about it, Jonah Attuquaye is one of our all time favorite players during this project. He almost single handedly lifted up the Royals from their lowest ebbs and kept them consistently fresh when they desperately needed to be. But, all things must come to an end, and a player of Jonah’s caliber deserves a fresh challenge and opportunity. Last month (far below the radar of all the news I was following) he got that opportunity with a move to FK Auda in Latvia (which my former students say is lovely).
I truly hope he excels in Europe and maybe, in a season or so, there’s room for him in Rosenborg or Ross County.
Indian Super Cup Starts…and Ends
It was a pretty brief break for Round Glass Punjab as they spent a month celebrating their championship in the I-League, but the Super Cup provides them with a chance to prove themselves before the Super League starts next fall. They did draw a dangerous group, featuring two ISL playoff teams (Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC) and a fierce I-League rival (Sreenidi Deccan…you know…the team they were fighting for the trophy for months). We love a new competition, and we love Punjab, but the results from the first week of action made the next steps moot as the two losses show they are already eliminated…(Chenchyo Geltsyen’s absence was palpable.)
Spring Break! woo.
I love you boys. I love your mom and her family. I love travel.
This was hard.
We spent 6 days in Los Angeles, where the weather was lovely and I felt completely exhausted regardless. You guys had great fun seeing all the science and sunshine that LA could offer and playing happily with your Auntie, random kids at a scenic playground and a variety of newly adopted stuffies and Dino toys. You also did not understand time differences and insisted on waking me up at 4:30, and only going to bed at 8:30 PM…though the easy access to massive cakes and jelly beans may not have helped things.
Travelling with you is a privilege…it’s also a big responsibility. But you’re so darned cute.
BootRoom Book Review
From Madani’s Best Game by Fran Pintadara illustrated by Raquel Catalina
To save room in my backpack (and also because I’m forgetful), we didn’t bring bed time books along with us on this trip. So we turned to the thing that all humans turn to for answers these days: a smart phone. Soon enough, the St Paul library gave us access to several nice books including one appropriate for this blog Madani’s Best Game
The story of a star player in an anonymous neighborhood was a fine bit of soccer lore. It had clear pictures of the action, a great sense of the role of a team, and an appropriate level of drama building up to the final match.
But really the story was less about soccer, and more about a kid’s love for his mother. Much as you guys like a soccer story, you love to love your mom.
Players of the Weeks
Jessy Bennet must be acknowledged. The midfielder has managed to pilot les bleus to certainty and security in the second league, which has been in short supply since his departure after 2021.
Also worth noting is Ernesto Reyes, whose leadership and defense has continued to help Oaxaca out of their traditional funks.
Standings
The Super Cup did a real number on Punjab’s position atop the table. It can happen when you get twice as many defeats in one span as you had in the past three months. As a result, Rosenborg, returned to the top spot this year as both the men and women are undefeated in the league so far this young season. (The one loss was in the cup.) Meanwhile, the difficulty in getting decisive results has taken its toll on Freiburg and Vozdovac.
Fresh off their biggest win in quite a while, Alebrijes looked a little tired. Even though Jair Cortes got them off to a strong start, the defense buckled and Atletico was soon able to take a lead that they kept for the rest of the match, breaking Oaxaca’s unbeaten streak.
Rosenborg 3 – 0 Staebek (F)
RBK has been near the top of the Toppserien ever since they joined the Rosenborg family. But they’ve yet to win one. Clearly, they started out this season looking to break through and grab the big trophy. Cesilie Andreassen, who may be the longest serving RBK alum we know, started the affair to get Rosenborg flying high. Synne Skinnes Hansen and Anna Langas Josendal added their own to kick off the new campaign in style.
Minnesota 1 – 1 Vancouver (M)
There is no other word for it: this was brutal. The Loons got a lead through sheer grit and determination. The Loons held on to that lead with a great showing from back up goal keeper Clint Irwin. I got to watch the debut of a Emmanuel Iwe who seemed to breathe fresh life and excitement into everything he did. They held on to the lead for all of regulation time and stoppage time…and then…the refs gave Vancouver one more chance. The Whitecaps scored. I cursed. Your mom shushed me. And heads hung low. You know a Minnesotan sports event.
My new fave: Mr .Ewe
Bayer Leverkusen 2 – 0 Freiburg (F)
Leverkusen led the way through the midfield and left die Frauen flabbergasted. Janina Minge was able to give the best showing on a bleak day.
Great Olympics 1 – 1 Legon Cities
I’ve had a hard time tracking down any news from this match. The big equalizer came from my fellow Thursday born: Kwabena Adu Medier.
Toulouse FC 3 – 0 Grenoble Foot (F)
The bad news kept on coming for the ladies of Grenoble. Reports suggested that they did not look cohesive or united. They gave up a goal in the first minute and didn’t seem to threaten after that.
Cimmarones 0 – 0 Alebrijes
This happened. It also began a new unbeaten streak for Alebrijes!! (More importantly it kept them very close to the playoff spots as the season’s second half winds down to a close.)
News & Notes
March Madness Corner
It’s rare that the drama is out of the basketball tournament this early, the title is still up for grabs and this year’s final four features a host of unlikely candidates. But for our purposes it really is all over.
Your mom followed her heart and picked owls and huskies to do well, so she’s the only person with two final four teams left. Give her all the credit in the world and know that I’ll be looking at Owl related teams should any of our other favorites have to disband.
Spring Break! WOO!
On Saturday, we fly out to visit your Auntie Julianna at her new home in Los Angeles. I fully anticipate that we will have some memorable moments and some frustrating ones as well, and as such, I’ll be present watching you be you, rather than watching the scores of distant soccer scores
Player of the Week
As the grand dame of the Kvinner (and the only person to help lead a team to victory this weekend), we have to tip the cap to Cesilie Andreassan (even though part of me wants to pick Emmanuel Iwe just because he was so fun to watch)
Standings
We were in a rush to pick you guys up from preschool so these aren’t up to date.
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.
Splashing Contest…
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
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)
It was a forgettable start to the spring campaign for Alebrijes. Without a number of their attacking options and defensive veterans, they struggled to contain the fall champions and ended up with the very fuzzy end of the lollipop.
From Midilibre (Stephane Pillaud)
Grenoble 1 – 0 Nimes (M–Cup)
Loic Nestor jammed up the defense and delivered a crucial assist in the 88th minute to Abdoulie Sanyang in a tightly contested match that Grenoble will proud to win. The victory moves them on the final sixteen of the international club tournament La Coupe de France (which ties in teams from every sector of the country)
Accra Lions 3 – 1 Legon Cities
The Royals were under heavy pressure from Accra throughout the match, but managed to hold strong until the dam burst. The Lions went ahead in the 77th minute and added two more leaving Legon Cities reeling.
Ross County 0 – 2 Livingston
The midfield was overrun for the Staggies and the Defense didn’t stand as stout as it had against Aberdeen the week before. The loss was County’s 7th at home this season…which is an awfully sad sentence to write.
Punjab 3 – 1 Neroca
Lucka Macjen and Brandon Vanlalremdika connected within three minutes of each other to give Punjab a strong lead in that beautifully cold north Indian winter. They held fast for the rest of the match to keep themselves just two points off the top of the Hero League leader board (though they’ve played one fewer match than current leaders–and next Tuesday’s opponent–Sreenidi Deccan).
Grenoble 2 – 3 Thonon Evian (F–Cup)
Les Alpines made a solid attempt at a come back, but couldn’t match the men’s advancement in the Coupe De France.
Pau 0 – 0 Grenoble (M)
After the rush of the Cup, Grenoble was wiped out and mustered a very lackluster showing against Pau, making a mere two points from their last four matches.
Legon Cities 0 – 0 Dreams FC
This game also happened. From the summaries I see, Legon Keeper Sylvester Sackey made several solid saves to preserve the point.
Alebrijes 0 – 1 Celaya
Despite being down to ten men for most of the match (Luis Moret’s early double booking takes the blame for that), Oaxaca held on gamely until finally conceding in the last 7 minutes of regular time.
News & Notes
Soccer Shots remains dominant in the basement
At Alex’s request we have been playing frequent soccer matches in the basement, each time with Alex representing himself and his friends on The Soccer Shots team, while I play as various people that amuse me. For a good v. evil battle Alex has had me play as Russia’s national team, and since I don’t know many Russian players I have been name checking Russian writers, poets, philosophers and the occasional educational psychologist (all of whom perform well but sneer at coach Vladmir Putin’s machinations).
And yet, Alex has won the last two games 15-13 and 15-8 (shooting directly at goal while I’m putting a point on the scoreboard may have an effect on that–also Alex insists that games must be played to 15 rather than for a specific length of time…)
Transfer Tips
Literally as I was writing this, Casper Tengsedt, fresh off his record setting run at Rosenborg made a move to the much more prestigious Portuguese club of Benfica. Hard to blame him taking a shot at a Champions League level squad, but it will be a darn shame for the Norwegian league. Replacing Tengsedt (possibly) is Isak Snaer Thorvaldsson who joins from Icelandic side Breidablik.
While there weren’t many other notable moves made we thought we’d take a minute and profile the winter changes we do know about for the other teams that are in action right now: Punjab, Grenoble, Legon Cities, and Ross County…or rather, I would but they haven’t made any real moves of note
Adios, Muchachos
This Sunday we are heading out on a vacation to Puerto Vallarta to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa MacKenzie’s 40th anniversary. As such we’re going to try to leave the technology behind a bit and focus in on the people at hand. Rest assured we’ll summarize the matches we missed (and hopefully, in the case of Alebrijes, watched on local tele) and even see if we can capture something of the magic of you boys playing against your uncles
Player of the Week
While Punjab got more of the goals (and Lucka Macjen’s hair and beard combo have me feeling like I’ve found a lost brother–hence his spot at the top of this post) Loic Nestor provided more of the heroics. Let’s make it four years running of appreciating Loic Nestor!
Standings
After several more teams took the field in 2023, Ross County slid down the table. Alebrijes’ awful week sees them at the bottom, and Punjab’s big win takes them to the top.
Team
W
D
L
PPG
GFA
GAA
Punjab
1
0
0
3.00
3.00
1.00
Grenoble
1
1
1
1.33
1.00
0.00
Legon Cities
0
1
0
1.00
0.00
0.00
Ross County
0
1
1
0.50
0.00
1.00
Alebrijes
0
0
2
0.00
0.00
2.50
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 1/12/22 b–Team is between seasons
What’s Next
Thursday, January 12th
Friday, January 13th
Guingamp v. Grenoble (M)
Saturday, January 14th
Punjab FC v. Kenkre FC
Motherwell v Ross County
Sunday, January 15th
Monday, January 16th
Nsoatreman v. Legon Cities
Tuesday, January 17th
Sreenidi Deccan v. Punjab FC (Top of the table on the line!)
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.
Emelec’s Homecoming Duo
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
From NVI Noticias
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.
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.
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.
Legon grabbed the lead in the first half as Michel Otou converted a penalty and Atte Youssifou got his first in the black and blue and orange (particularly impressive given the absolute blitz that this ball is on).
Minnesota 1 – 1 LA Galaxy
It took a very late equalizer from Robin Lod to save the day for the Loons who were on the verge of shuffling farther from playoff contention with their recent run of form. Increasingly the question is being asked: why do the Loons hire really expensive strikers when they don’t play and the Finnish midfielder scores the most goals?
Palmeiras 1 – 0 Emelec [M- Continental]
Again, it wasn’t much of a surprise to find that Palmeiras cruised to victory, they didn’t need much and it showed against Emelec.
Verdal 0 – 6 Rosenborg [M-Cup]
Verdal plays in the 4th division of Norwegian soccer, so this would be a little like a major league baseball team like the Twins having a game against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. An upset was possible, but not likely. Fortunately some rarely seen players did well in their first action of the year: two claps for the two goals from Marius Broholm!
Freiburg 1 – 2 RB Leipzig [M–Cup Final!]
In what was an absolutely wrenching 2.5 hours of soccer to watch: Freiburg had the lead and seem to land fortunate break after fortunate break. And still, foreboding sense of impending doom could not be erased. Every Mark Flekken cover, every Nico Schlotterbeck save, every Rolland Sallai run into space, every ounce of it seemed tantalizing, and yet, doomed. At one point, my stomach in knots, Alex said to me: “I’m not worried. We always win.” My sweet summer child, nothing could be further from the truth. Freiburg didn’t do anything badly, but they were second best on the day.
Emelec 0 – 1 Universidad Catolica [M]
Emelec continues to struggle as they near the end of the league’s first stage. Being torn between domestic and continental competitions definitely does not help.
Quito FC 2 – 0 Emelec [F]
Half way through the season, las electricas are struggling to get any form of momentum together
Red Star Belgrade 3 – 1 Vozdovac
Nemanja Milojevic netted the last Red Dragon goal of the campaign to cap a solid 5th place showing for the boys from Stadion Mall. They might be frustrated to have wound up two points outside of European qualification, but facing the Duopoly of Belgrade in your last two games leaves absolutely no room for error….so let’s focus on the good and applaud the best season we’ve seen yet from the Red Dragons.
Avaldsnes 1 – 3 Rosenborg BK [F]
The Trolljenta aquitted themselves well on the road. Midfielder Emilie Bragstad continues to be the iron woman of the side, having played every moment of all 10 matches, and netting twice during this game to make the difference.
Bechem United 0 – 0 Legon Cities FC
Rather than recall this match, I just want to take a moment to shout out Pebbles Candies. A Ghanaian treat that would utterly crush peanut M&Ms in a head to head contest.
HamKam 1 – 1 Rosenborg [M]
An overloaded midfield helped to stymie HamKam for much of the day, but it didn’t do a heck of a lot for Rosenborg’s lackluster offense. The best bit of this is that American Samuel Rogers was the goal scorer, so WOOT for Americans in Trondheim.
Dallas 1 – 2 Minnesota United
The Loons grabbed all three points against an awfully talented Dallas team, courtesy of some stout defending and an absolutely blast from fullback DJ Taylor who also led the Loons in tackles and helped to hold off many Dallas attacks.
ASPTT Albi 0 – 2 Grenoble [F]
It was a fine way for les Grenobloises to end their season. Claudia Febre connected with Sherly Jeudy for the first goal. And a strong set of defensive substitutes shut down the opponent in the second half, and set up a late headed goal to put the win (and sixth place) on ice.
Emelec needed a win to advance to the next round of the Copa Libertadores, a win they were clearly banking on given their showings in recently league games. But boy did they ever get that result Tuesday night. Petrolero has struggled this year in Bolivia, and Emelec only compounded the pain with Alejandro Cabez and Sebastian Rodriguez each grabbing a pair of goals. The knockout rounds await, and fingers crossed, Emelec can make a run for it.
News & Notes
Aurora Dawning
It’s time for another team to debut on our page, this time it’s Minnesota Aurora, representing our state (and hopeful college kids across the mountain/midwest) in the USL-W. They’ll play their first match this week and we can’t wait to shout them out as they go along.
Last glimpse of Europe
Don’t worry, it’s not sinking into the sea or anything, but with most of the European leagues shutting down for the summer months, it seemed wise to look back on how teams fared in our competition.
Obviously, Freiburg has much to be proud of, in addition to a strong showing in the Cup final, they did qualify for the Europa League meaning they’ll have some fancy foreign affairs to handle next season. But they weren’t alone in contending for continental glory.
FK Vozdovac and Ross County were both able to keep themselves in the conversation for the old continent’s biggest competitions until the very end of the season. That may not seem like much, but given that we’ve spent the first two years of this blog worried about their survival, it was awfully nice.
Emelec will continue to look for glory in South America, but our other major club title to watch for is Rosenborg’s next crack at going for Champion’s League football at the end of August.
Player of the Week
There were plenty of big wins and noble defeats this last week. Amongst all the chatter, we want to take a moment for Emilie Bragstad, who has been invaluable to Rosenborg all year long.
That was not exactly a thrilling week. Outside of the Guyaquil derby, my fun day at home and Rosenborg’s Syttende Mai celebration, there was a whole lot of losing going on. It’s a bitter way for several teams to start their summer break, here’s hoping that Grenoble’s ladies and Freiburg can end their seasons with a win.
Team
W
D
L
PPG
GFA
GAA
Alebrijes de Oaxaca–b
10
5
3
1.94
1.3
0.7
Freiburg–b
15
8
7
1.77
2.1
1.5
Rosenborg
9
4
6
1.63
1.5
0.9
Legon Cities
8
5
5
1.61
1.3
0.7
Minnesota
6
2
5
1.54
1.2
1.0
Punjab–b
7
4
6
1.47
1.8
1.7
Emelec
8
7
8
1.35
1.6
1.4
FK Vozdovac–b
5
5
5
1.33
1.2
1.0
Ross County–b
6
5
8
1.21
1.1
1.4
Grenoble–b
9
4
13
1.19
1.1
1.4
University of Montana–b
—
—
—
—
—
—
Table Updated 5/18/22 b–Team is between seasons
What’s Next
Wednesday, May 25th
Minnesota v. Union Omaha [M-Cup]
Rosenborg BK v. LSK Kvinner [F]
Thursday, May 26th
Rosenborg v. FK Haugesund [M]
Minnesota Aurora v. Green Bay Glory [F]
Friday, May 27th
Saturday, May 28th
Valerenga v. Rosenborg BK [F]
Legon Cities v. Bibiani Gold Stars
Minnesota v. NYCFC [M–and the first game I can actually attend in person]
Raise your hand if you’re surprised by that result…good news, I’m not writing some creepy blog that watches you through your camera so I have no idea if you raised your hand or not, but rest assured, it’s not at all surprising.
Barcelona SC 1 – 1 Emelec
This was a biggie. The stadium was the most crowded one I’ve seen for any of our highlights and the mood was tense. The biggest match in Guyaquil ended in shared points…but Barcelona and Emelec hate sharing as much as two brothers with a Paw Patrol brand squirt pack. This match was almost as testy with Emelec using a lot of physicality to hold off Barcelona’s attacks, and capitalizing on occasional miscues (as with Alexis Zapata’s goal).
Minnesota 2 – 1 Colorado [Cup]
In a game played over 18 hours (with a tornado warning in between), the Loons managed to pull off a solid win despite losing the lead and playing the last ten minutes without center back Brent Kallman. Credit goes to Emmanuel Reynoso who again proved that asking him to play the hero isn’t a bad strategy when he has his hero boots on.
Punjab FC 3 – 3 Neroca FC
It was hard to watch the Warriors squander a lead like they did…fortunately I didn’t find any clips of it so I didn’t have to watch it happen. Still, it’s a rough ending to what started out to be a promising campaign for Punjab. Clearly Kurtis Guthrie can’t do it all the same way Emmanuel Reynoso can (please don’t take that as a suggestion anyone)
Bayern Leverkusen 2 – 1 Freiburg [M]
While Freiburg started great guns this year they didn’t finish that way. Leverkusen showed their endurance all year and did it again by winning in stoppage time here. Still, no need to cry for Freiburg there’s still European competition next year and a trophy to play for next weekend.
Ross County 1 – 2 Dundee
From Fitba on Twitter
The Tangerines denied County any comfort of coming close to European soccer by beating them at home, and also throwing stuff on the field. (Granted it was an inflatable palm tree and beach ball…but who brings that stuff to a match? Other than Dundee people for some reason.)
Paris FC 2 -0 Grenoble [M]
A year ago, Grenoble and Paris were in a pitched battle for playoff survival. This year, Grenoble just gave them a game to warm up for the playoffs. Sigh…I still miss Jessy Bennet.
Nanas 2 – 0 Emelec [F]
Pleae don’t leave us Hasret!
Something may need to change for las Electricas. 1 point per match isn’t dreadful (they’re still solidly mid-table) but it seems like they’re being passed up by other sides
FC Koln 0 – 0 SC Freiburg [F]
Freiburg wrapped their women’s season too. There were great scorers emerging this year, here’s hoping they stay. (Looking at you Hasret!)
Seattle Sounders 3 – 1 Minnesota United
The Loons seem to turn in their worst performances in Seattle. Maybe because Seattle is the best team in North America, or maybe because the Loons are secretly 11 pumpkins who revert to gourd form when they get too close to Starbucks: come back to Caribou boys!!
Orense 2 – 0 Emelec
In a rarity los Bombillos never looked a threat in this one. Rarer still they were outclassed despite Orense being a significantly softer side. Perhaps thoughts of Palmeiras mid-week were overwhelming
Rosenborg 3 – 0 Sandefjord [M]
Stefano Holmquist Vecchia came thorugh big time for Rosenborg. The front of the troll’s attack hasn’t been awe inspiring this season, but abrace from Vecchia and some good interplay with Noah Holm up top was good enough to get Rosenborg their first win in 4 tries. (Not a bad way to kick off Syttende Mai/Norwegian Independence Day)
Vozdovac 0 – 3 Partizan Belgrade
Vozdovac definitely got the fuzzy lollipop from the schedule makers. Their last two matches come against Partizan and Red Star, the Serbian duopoly, and teams they have only scored two goals against in the 7 combined matches since the pandemic started. Worse, with European leagues expanding, Vozdovac is hitting the hardest stretch just before they had a spot clinched.
The newest team in our galaxy of stars took the field to begin practicing this week. Minnesota Aurora has started to prepare for the upcoming season. It won’t be long, but it should be fun, and in the end. That’s what matters.
Trophy Alert!
There’s a big opportunity awaiting Freiburg this weekend, but it’s one that most folks have written off. The DFB Pokal is one of the most prestigious and longest running tournaments in Europe, and Freiburg has looked good in the run up to the final. However, in the final they’ll meet RB Liepzig, the highly funded squad with several stars and a history of coming close. The season saw a pair of 1-1 draws with Phillip Leinhart and Nico Schlotterbeck stopping the Liepzig attack before it could get going. They’ll need to do it again on a bigger stage this weekend if they’re going to grab Freiburg’s first trophy as a top division team.
Self-Care
Entertainment!
The recent surge in COVID cases, and the vicious bout of cold I came down with did come with a small consolation: I was able to get a treat of a lunch with spicy Nashville Coop Chicken and watch two matches simultaneously! You didn’t get to…but I promise if there’s a point where I can get you a treat like this, I absolutely will.
Player of the Week
Maybe Norwegian Independence has me in a mood, maybe absolutely no one else distinguished themselves, but this week’s honors will go to Stefano Holmquist Vecchia. And I’m ok with that.
Standings Update
That was not exactly a thrilling week. Outside of the Guyaquil derby, my fun day at home and Rosenborg’s Syttende Mai celebration, there was a whole lot of losing going on. It’s a bitter way for several teams to start their summer break, here’s hoping that Grenoble’s ladies and Freiburg can end their seasons with a win.
MacKenzie's Boot Room 