After suffering through the dark ages in ya over the past 6 years, I thought I would list my stories of the year. 1) Mckennie is the first pro player to show solidarity with blm. While, I believe he was one of the first players to restart after corona, he was a 21 year old who didn't ask for permission from Schalke and got a yellow card for his arm band. A Continent would follow the next day. 2) Matazarro. I still don't know how to spell this 10$ bottle water name, but, lol, however, he is a genuine american who speaks with an american accent in bayrisch. Imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking alabamese. That's how he sounds when he speaks german... Totally absurd, lol. Played 4-5th division soccer. Was chosen to lead Stuttgart to div 1 and now sits on a Europa League position with the second youngest team in the Bundesliga. He had no pedigree, no on field talent, couldn't speak the language. There is a joke by bill burr about arnold schwarzenegger And screwing a Kennedy. It's about the same level. 3) Our kids became leaders. Reyna, mckennie, adams, sargent, Dest ect. All took on starting roles in champions league teams. At no time has there been such riches and youth in y.a. 4) the known unknowns. There is a dearth of undecided dual national and I only hope they choose usa because it is in their heart (e.g. sanogo). I don't want any chandler's. 5) the perfect yanktrick, where reyna,. mckennie and pulisic score on one day. I believe to be the first usmnt time. 6) adams goal in quarters to kick psg out. 7) Jesse Marsch. Good things come from red bull. 8) pulisic injuries. Is it time to leave england for spain? 9) how much did mckennie/Dest genuinely open up southern european interest to y.a./mls players. 10) the ghosts of the forgotten. Iceman, wright, tatigue, freddy and a lot of others are having comebacks. Where will they be in 2021?
Nearly won them the FA Cup were it not for his injury. That was huge! Also, his goal vs City which secured the title for my Reds!
Quick correction. He didn't get a yellow for armband. After the game there was all sorts of talk about potential sanctions. This was in the context of no politics in sports. To what degree the sancho's and thurams were a sign of support for Mckennie vs blm is an open question.
Love your post But I love Wes more I wouldn't change your list, but I'll add MLS openly becoming a selling league - because they have players people actually want to buy! - is pretty important for YA land.
Yep, my bad! This time I can't blame my handy or autocorrect German . The thing I want to emphasize or more specifically, I believe mckennie deserves a footnote, not just in ya history, but as a soccer leader in Europe. I don't have time at the moment to collect all the links and youtube videos, but there was... Genuine concern he -could- be sanctioned. He took the personal risk. Not another player; black, white, american, african, or German, etc. on that day. Once people saw the negative commentary coming at him, instead of the expected 100% support, it raised questions. The next day sancho and thuram provided support. I -simply- wonder how much negative commentary led all of europe where it is today. Trust me, i understand this has been along year and people may forget. To me, his move (and secretly doing so) was a watershed moment in soccer history. Of course mckennie should not be -The Story- in racism in soccer, but he def needs a big footnote, for it's reaction, instead of being cast with -all- players against racism.
The biggest thing to me this year is that, on a macro scale, this is far and away the most respected American soccer has been. In one year, we went from having 1 guy playing at a high level and not really being a key player for Chelsea to having, like you said, a full handful of players playing at the highest level. People who watch really soccer (not just the casual Liverpool fan) think of the US as a hipster team. We've got young guys who are all extremely exciting. Even our defensiveish midfielder at Juve is a joy to watch play from his personality. We went from dogsh*t to cool in a matter of months, it seems like. And not too far down the road from cool is good. Not good as in I expect to win the Gold Cup, but good as in when an average guy from rural Hungary knows that there's a small yet realistic chance the US takes a World Cup. Good as in the federation has to try to join Copa America because players don't want to play in the Gold Cup since it's a waste of time to spend a month playing shit teams. Good as in US players have such a high reputation that English teams are trying to poach players before signing in MLS like they do in the Netherlands, and that the cream of the crop is getting sold for exorbitant sums to Barca and Madrid each year like Brazilians on the sole potential of promise. And I can't freaking wait.
I really respect your openness and reaction to McKennie's decisions to stand up for social justice and you're absolutely right in my book on Weston leading the way.