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GOALestedt
Well that is not something I had on my World Cup bingo… Our new center back being the joint top goal scorer of this competition… And let me tell you that I couldn’t be happier. This is just amazing to see, even if it doesn’t automatically mean she’ll do it during the WSL season, but wow! what a great omen.
When Rafa left, one of the things that I knew we would miss was there ability to score big goals. I didn’t know she had that in her locker until I saw her of course, but to know that an incoming player DOES have that, and she’s doing it in the biggest stage of all, is something that gives me a lot of confidence and I truly cannot wait for her to partner up with Leah and Jen.
The thing that stands out the most for me, and I might be reading way too much into it, is her smile and jovial attitude. She truly enjoys scoring and her attitude is infectious. I really think this will go a long way in the locker room, especially when she is there to replace Rafa, who we have all heard was a bright shining light in that back room. Ability is fantastic, yes, and so is worth ethic. Another great thing is activism and all that amazing stuff, and to me its also important the palpable attitude or what I would say is a palpable attitude that I can see in players… their body language, their stature and I don’t mean height.
To me, Amanda Ilestedt has that stature we need, and the stature we deserve. She’s closer to Leah than what we currently have and I’m so here for it.
Btw, I will chat more tomorrow but I am LOVING seeing Noelle as center back for Switzerland… sign of things to come?!
d ❤
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If watching from home wasn’t bad enough
We all saw Keira Walsh getting injured and not being able to walk off the pitch. Nobody wants to say out loud what we all think and I’m not gonna do that out of respect for her and her family, even though they’ll never read this… just putting the bad energy out there isn’t constructive.
But my thoughts instantly went to Leah (her best friend as far as I know) Beth and Viv. I thought about how difficult and it has to be for all of them to watch the World Cup in general while being injured. You heard them speak about it and I don’t have to paint any sort of picture you haven’t seen. They are supportive for them but wish they were there and all 3 know without a shadow of a doubt that they make any team they play in infinitely better, and I cannot think of any 3 players that do just that.
If that wasn’t bad enough, these players recovering from a massive injury have had to watch their friend and colleague suffer, in the biggest stages of them all, a horrible injury. And let’s just. say for the sake of argument that it wasn’t anything that bad and she just tweaked her knee and can’t walk on it at the moment but will be fine… the trauma those watching from home who have suffered ACL injuries can absolutely and will most likely be triggered.
Their empathy will be activated first because that’s the kind of people they are and then all this might morph into their own bodies, their minds, and in ways I cannot even begin to imagine. This is a moment for us fans to support and be there not only for Keira and her teammates but our players at Arsenal that have gone through something really bad and they relieve it daily, and in days like today it can be even worse.
One can only hope that these players getting hurt in the world stage proves what we’ve all been saying for years and the research is stepped up. Part of me thinks that people don’t believe how bad it really is and the casual World Cup viewer is exposed to it in real time and not just reading that X players are missing because they got injured during the domestic season.
d ❤
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Quick note…
The NED vs USA match was so damn intense that I can’t do a podcast AND also a blog post, but trust me I have a lot to say about it. I will talk about the match itself, the whole situation with Lindsey Horan and DVD and much more, all of which will be out in a few hours.
Today though I wanted to clarify something regarding the event I spoke at. Before I start, it’s important to note that this is all directed to very few people, as in I totally understand I have a very small number of readers and its not like there’s an expectation for me or “my brand” which isn’t a thing really. I have no power, no pull, no contacts, but I have opinions and I have instincts and I also have respect for my audience aka YOU, regardless of how many of you read what I write or listen to that I say.
For those that don’t know AFTV is a YouTube channel that, through the years, have grown exponentially and are an absolute force of nature. During the latter Wenger years they produced a lot of negative content and had a few regulars there that I felt were not cool, insulting and they were also inundated in bullying, one of their members committed suicide and another was arrested for domestic violence or something worse. This is not what AFTV are about obviously… they wanted to and have given fans a voice and it has been adapted all over the league and all over the world pretty much. This is not a defense not an insult to them, I’m just trying to express a point here. As you can imagine they divide opinion and mine has certainly been more than divided. I don’t watch their channel, I don’t subscribe to them and I also agree with a lot of what Robbie and Lee say there. Both btw were absolutely lovely folks and I had a great time chatting with them on and off the panel. They definitely love the club and care about the fans. That’s the genuine vibe I got.
Said event was filmed and I didn’t really know. The chat is on their YouTube channel and again, I had no idea it was going to go on there. I’m not mad nor did I expect them to ask me for permission but it would’ve been nice to at least be told it was a possibility. Not because I don’t what I said to be out on the internet, but because I respectfully don’t want to be part of that brand, or any brand for the time being until a lot of things fall into place for me in many years to come.
The growth on podcasts and such is a very interesting thing. More on this at some other point.
Stay tuned for that podcast later today.
d ❤
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Katie being Katie
Before I chat about McCabe I have to say that I’m gutted, absolutely gutted for Ruesha, for Louise Quinn, for Denise O’ Sullivan, for Ireland… Like most of the people watching, I was so damn confident that Ireland was going to get a win. They looked so good, poised, dominant. But things changed and they have been eliminated from the tournament with one match to go.
There are a few things that I could mention about the match, some players, tactics, subs and all that but I think it’s best to focus on the positives, and I think there are so many. However, the most positive of positives was what we all expected and wished would happen which is that Katie McCabe absolutely balled. I’m so happy that the whole entire world got to see first hand what Arsenal, Ireland and WSL fans get to see all the time… and let’s face it, even if fans from other teams don’t like her, its pretty objective that she is a fantastic footballer.
I’ve blogged about her before, I’ve watched her play in person twice and I’m just very happy that she scored THAT goal which, beyond it being stellar, it was historic. I can type that “nobody deserves it more” than her but that would be very ignorant. They all deserve it and specially all the female players for Ireland that came before and blazed the trail for Katie and Co to be able to live this glorious and heartbreaking experience.
I can’t speak highly enough about her display… her tenacity, her passing, her vision. All the usual stuff but to see it on the world stage again, with the millions upon millions of eyes and the fate of a whole nation… and to see her embrace that responsibility on top of emotions, personal life, jet lag and who the hell knows what else. It’s truly special and historic. Not just her but every player in this tournament.. but ok her specially.
One thing that was very interesting, that most of you definitely didn’t experience was the Spanish language commentary here in the USA. What was interesting and also kinda alarming, was how impressed they were by Katie, like they couldn’t believe it… they also said she played a lot as a holding midfielder at arsenal so yeah, that’s interesting too I guess haha.
As far as the NED vs USA match, I did a preview on my latest podcast which you can listen to HERE…:
d ❤
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Teammates & Rivals
There is an infinity of things that, as hard as I try, I could never understand about being a female footballer. I don’t know what it’s like to be a woman, I don’t know what it’s like to be a professional/elite athlete. I can try to be as empathetic as possible yet I know there’s just no way for me to not only understand what they go through, but I also cannot understand a lot of things adjacent to the sport and so on.
Among those things that I cannot understand, and this is about football and sport in general, is having to face your friends. Now, of course I understand what it is and can be to play a sport and have a friend or even family member play in an opposing team… something like a pick up footy game with friends, or tennis, or whatever. That’s not hard or difficult to comprehend.
What I have issues understanding is when it gets to be a physical encounter… like you’re not gonna harm anyone playing tennis, but having to go in on a 50/50 tackle, in a World Cup final, against your best friend at club level, or someone you’re emotionally attached to, etc… this is nuts. Like I said, I try to understand it and I get the elite mentality where the opponent is just that: an opponent. I just don’t know that I have a brain that is fast enough to compartmentalize and not see someone I care about as the rival they should be, and I’d tackle the living lights out of them.
It’s one of those things were its just a given that elite players just overcome that and they have blinders on and fight whoever is front of them, yet I thought about it today, as I often do, and its just jaw dropping to me. Imagine an Australia vs England final were, hypothetically Beth Mead would play against Steph… hard fouls, or nutmegs, etc… or Leah having to tackle Caitlin… it’s just insane to me. It truly is.
There are many variables, the stakes are indescribable and when you have worked so long for something, its easy to assume no emotional connection with your rival can be an obstacle, but I can’t think of a bigger one than that.
d ❤
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Spreading The Love
Yesterday was a very special day here in LA for us Arsenal fans, as the lovely folks at Arsenal Los Angeles, LA Gooners and Gooners vs Cancer organized a great event to raise money and celebrate all things Arsenal. Yours truly had the privilege of being a guest as a speaker on a panel and my role was pretty much to chat about Arsenal Women. This of course, its something that is very humbling, and I always cherish whenever I get a chance to speak about our beloved squad, specially to fellow gooners that might not be fans of the women’s team.
Here’s a little back story… when I first moved to LA in 2007 I bought a car which had a manual transmission. I didn’t know how to drive said type of car and I bought it not only to learn, but it was the only car I could afford and I needed transportation. So I would wake up around 4am every day and practice in the streets by my house, but only just a couple of blocks around me. Parallel to this I had done some research as far as where I could watch Arsenal matches and found a pub about 5 miles away. I made it a point to learn how to drive well enough to get there within a few days and I eventually made it to the legendary Fox & Hounds. Man I loved that place. I was there every weekend for a couple of years.
At some point though, I felt things had changed in the arsenal community. I noticed a lot of new fans that I felt had just randomly picked arsenal as their team and I had heated arguments with a few people when we disagreed about very objective referee decisions that fairly went against us. Anyway, the bottom line is that I was a gatekeeping douche who became very judgmental and I decided to walk away from that lovely place for a long, long time. Yesterday was the first time in 12 years I had been there for anything Arsenal related and the wait was absolutely worth it.
I learned a lot last night about some of my assumptions, my expectations and about the fluid nature of being an Arsenal fan. More importantly, it was great to meet all the lovely people there.
Shoutout to Taylor, Magic Mike, MK and all involved, plus special shout out and love to Sophie Nicolaou, my dear friend and host of The Highbury Squad.
d ❤
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Solid Display
I don’t usually say up late… I struggle with that and I much rather wake up super early any day but today’s match was sorta in the middle. Kickoff was at 12:30am Los Angeles time and I’m usually asleep by 10pm or so. When I have to wake up for WSL matches at say 3am, I would normally be totally cool with that since I would’ve had maybe 5 or 6 hours of sleep, but the 12:30 thing meant I really couldn’t sleep before the match. I feared I would struggle to stay awake but HELL NO.
That was a great match in my opinion. Of course I’m biased and for the most part I love watching this team but overall I thought it was solid. I didn’t love certain things which I will get into in a second. The highlights for me were Daphne being reliable and her kicks distribution were outstanding. Dom and VDG didn’t put a single foot wrong… DVD was lively and I think she’ll only get better.
I don’t think Spitse, Pelova or Brugts were good and I don’t see how they are the answer to whatever question the coach is trying to address. But that’s just me and he clearly knows much better. I don’t think Pelova or Brugts’s decision making was good at all and they looked so young and naive whereas some of the young Americans, Haitians and more, look way more confident. I worry and I will not not worry. Heat maps and twitter hype doesn’t translate into intelligent and efficient playing.
I have to run now but I should be able to do a podcast tomorrow morning.
🦁 🧡
d ❤
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NED vs POR
As I warned you a few days ago, this blog will be heavily focused on the Oranje Leeuwinnen for the time being. But don’t worry, I will always have something AWFC related. Nothing could be more related to Arsenal than one of our players playing for them tomorrow vs Portugal, but that’s actually not what I’m here to focus on. People absolutely love Pelova and they are on her hype train full stop. By now, you know that I am not one of those people and I think there are plenty of stronger options both in the AWFC squad and the dutch squad, yet has has recently shown lots of positive qualities playing right fullback. With that said, I wouldn’t start her, but she most likely will.
Today’s post has to do mostly about how this match has to be a show of strength and we have to establish control and dominance, ruthlessly and very, very early in the game. Everyone in this country assumes that the USA are the favorites to win the whole thing, which I think is absolutely silly, but lots of people will be watching this match to see what they will be coming up against. It’s a great opportunity to intimidate the hell out of the Americans and show the world that we should’ve been in the “favorites” conversation all along.
Portugal are basically SL Benfica… last time I checked they had like 7 players from that one club. This in theory implies that they are used to playing together which in turn implies cohesion and communication on and off the pitch. This is precisely why I think starting strong will be very important. They are a very respected side and they have Jessica Silva, a relentless powerhouse… but you know who is a powerhouse too? DOM JANSSEN.
There’s a lot of different opinions as far as what the actual lineup will be… I gave you my preferred lineup but I think he’s gonna do something like this:
As usual, players will interchange positions. I do expect Jackie to be more of a holding midfielder than Sherida.
What I do know is that I have been waiting 4 years for this and I can’t stand having to wait a few more hours.
d ❤
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I Forgot To Mention So Many Players…
Not only have I mentioned a few times that I’m not an expert or an authority on women’s football, but I continue to prove it in so many ways, every single day. I mispronounce names of players, forget what teams they play for and also learn in real time that X player plays for X nation. Yesterday was a perfect reminder that I know absolutely nothing about this sport compared to you all. I did a little preview post / podcast which I thought was pretty thorough and watching the matches the last couple of days proved the opposite.
I never mentioned Lacasse or D’Angelo for Canada… I also didn’t mention Noelle even though I clearly know who she is hahaha. I also forgot to mention Engen, Buchanan, Bachman, Oshoala, maybe even Carpenter… criminal to have omitted them but it wasn’t on purpose. So, I have to apologize for not reviewing and doing better research for you, not that you need me as a reference but I know at least 2 people read this and were curious haha. This is all such a great learning experience for me and its data that proves that said data needs to be more robust. I need to be way more on top of this and at the very least read up more on the players, coaches and so on.
I love learning, I love finding that I should be more invested in teams that I wasn’t. Canada is great example… because I totally forgot about our players there, maybe because I just don’t have any attachment to them whatsoever, I was not invested at all other than wanting them to not win so that Ireland would have a better chance at getting out of the group, which I still think will happen. Curious what other “surprises” are in store for me.
Lastly for today, even though I hinted at it yesterday, I have to mention how amazing it is to be an AWFC fan and seeing 3 players already captain their sides… obviously its just luck of the draw and there aren’t many more to see do this but it was absolutely amazing. Had Leah and Viv been there we could’ve had two more.
Hope you are enjoying the tournament as much as I am!
d ❤
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They All Shone 😭
I expected that Australia vs Ireland was going to be a tough watch but I have to say, it was tougher than I expected. Obviously I’m NOT talking about the quality on the pitch, which was stellar. I’m talking about how torn my heart was between these two squads. And actually, to the first point regarding quality I do have to say that I was expecting much more nerves and apprehension from all 4 teams that debut but I was pleasantly surprised at the high level, no howlers and just overall tenacity of the players… especially one Katie McCabe.
It’s very difficult for me as a fan to pick a side (except when the dutch play against any team including Venezuela or even if the team they were facing was my mom, sister, my niece, etc… I would want the oranje to absolutely demolish them, I don’t care who it is) and when you have 3 players on each side that I actually care about its very very very very difficult to not be a ball of nerves. If Australia win I’m happy and I’m sad, if Ireland win I’m happy and I’m sad. It’s wild.
I do know that it also depends on who is playing. For instance, let’s say that England play vs Australia, well since Beth and Leah aren’t playing I don’t really care, but then there’s Jordan Nobbs… so it’s like who do I root for? It’s mental not backing a team which is what I’ve usually done 98% of the games I’ve ever watched but so is life as a woso fan and one of the most amazing things about being an Arsenal Women fan.
Why? because our players are so good that they represent their teams, and a lot of them captain their teams which shows what a massive club we are, how the quality of our players transcend a domestic league and how they continue to be historic figures that are shaping the way this sport is being played from London Colney to Auckland and beyond. We’re so lucky and spoiled and gives us a reason to be arrogant and I love it.
Arsenal players are sorta the first layer, and then you have players that you like a lot. For me they are Louise Quinn and Ruesha Littlejohn… add to that Denise O’Sullivan and Sheva, whom I all went to see a few months ago in St. Louis. But then there is Ellie Carpenter, Alana Kennedy and Lydia Williams… I mean… how the hell do I choose?
It was a magical match and such an intense one for me that I cannot even being to comprehend how Katie, Steph, etc felt when singing those national anthems.
And that’s just ONE match!!!!!
BTW I’m back doing podcasts (audio only) and you can listen to the latest one here:
I’m so ready.
d ❤
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A very subjective look into AWFC 