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- 220104 ASU Newsletter
220104 ASU Newsletter
HAIL GFOP!
This is a turbulent time for US Soccer, with news breaking yesterday about investigations involving manager Gregg Berhalter. It is an increasingly complex story with so much we do not know. For our take on that, please listen to Rog’s AMP yesterday HERE. We will continue to follow this developing story via social and again today on AMP at 5 p.m. ET after the Premier League fixtures. JOIN US HERE.
But in this newsletter - our first American States United of the new year - we want to focus on what has been a ray of joy for American football fans: US Internationals taking the field in the world’s biggest leagues and proving, in the words of Brenden Aaronson, “Americans can play football, too.”
And with that, we newsletter:
Puli Up:
It’s been an encouraging post-World Cup return to the Premier League for Christian Pulisic 🏴. After finding minutes tough to come by with Chelsea over the opening months of the 2022-23 campaign, CP10 has now started in back-to-back league matches for the first time all season, and has looked bright on all accounts. Granted, he doesn’t have any goal contributions to show for his efforts — unless you count hockey assists (WATCH), or chalked-off goals (WATCH) … ones he didn’t even need to score with his downbelows — which means that there’s still some tension around his play. But Graham Potter’s Chelsea grabbing 4 points out of their last 6 is an improvement over the 3 of 15 they managed pre-World Cup. And Cristiano has certainly contributed to that.
That said, we still don’t know where he’ll be at the end of the January transfer window. Or where he wants to go. Or which teams might want to bring him in. But it’s all still fascinatingly complex, and certainly worth watching.
Heat Map Jesuses Return:
Tyler Adams 🏴 and Brenden Aaronson 🏴 have picked things up right where they left off in Leeds. Adams had to miss the first match back due to a pre-World Cup red card against Spurs, a 3-1 loss to Manchester City in which Tyler was dearly missed. But in their second-straight showdown against a Top 4 turbocharged oil-money squad, Wappinger Falls’ Finest helped his club grind out a hard-fought draw with Newcastle United.
Adams was back to his old, highly-effective ways against Toon, doling out crunching tackles (WATCH: Minimizing Saint-Maximin) and engaging in some upstate-NY pool hall shithousery (WATCH: Football as Billiards) in helping Leeds get a result against the EPL’s third-place side.
ALSO DON’T FORGET that Tyler will be joining Rog on the pod later this week to answer all of your burning questions! Call us at 646-450-9472 📞 with your question for the USMNT Captain and you could hear your voice on the next episode! 🇺🇸🦅
Fulhamerica’s Finest:
The Fulhamaissaince continues down by the river, as the Cottagers have won three straight matches coming out of the World Cup, lifting them all the way up to seventh place in the Premier League. Tim Ream 🏴 and Antonee Robinson 🏴 have played every minute of those three matches, with Missouri Maldini even scoring his first-ever Premier League goal (WATCH: Mizzou Zizou Highlights) in the first win against Crystal Palace. Fun fact: In 2023, 35-year-old Tim Ream will turn 34.
Baby Eagle Rejoins Eagles:
More good news out of London, as Chris Richards 🏴 returned to action for Crystal Palace after being out for four months due to injury. The promising 22-year-old center back from Birmingham, Ala., who missed out on a World Cup roster spot due to his leg injury, managed a 30-minute substitute appearance against Fulham on Boxing Day. Now a larger role looks like a strong possibility. “Now he is fully fit and I expect him to challenge the players we have at the back and to help the team be more strong,” said Palace manager Patrick Vieira. “He has had a really good couple of weeks, played a couple of games and been doing really well in training.”
News and Notes:
Daryl Dike 🏴 is doing it all for West Brom. From scoring his first-ever goal at the Hawthorns (WATCH) to shedding defenders like a five-star Sooners running back (WATCH), the 22-year-old striker from Edmond, Okla. has led the Baggies to five wins in their last six league matches since returning from injury
Monday’s Old Firm derby featured Americans on either side of the pitch, as Cameron Carter-Vickers 🏴 started for Celtic, while Malik Tillman 🏴 was in the XI for Rangers, and James Sands 🏴 came on as a second-half substitute. The match finished a 2-2 draw, meaning Celtic remain atop the Scottish table, with Rangers trailing nine points behind in second place.
Auston Trusty 🏴 showed some serious springs to get his first assist of the season for Birmingham City (WATCH). The 24-year-old CB from Media, Pa. already has three goals, and has played every Championship minute for the Blues so far this campaign.
More from Spain, as Luca de la Torre 🇪🇸 got his first start of the season for Celta Vigo in their Copa del Rey extratime loss at Espanyol.
ICYMI Yunus Musah 🇪🇸 popped up on the Valencia socials doing his best Chad Powers impersonation to sell some shirts at the club shop (WATCH).
Parting Shots:
With three wins and two draws in their last six matches, erstwhile Serie B strugglers Venezia FC have embarked on the tough climb out of the automatic-relegation spots in Italy’s second tier, and this is due in no small part to the contributions made by a trio of Americans Abroad. Tanner Tessmann 🇮🇹 (21; Hoover, Ala.), Gianluca Busio 🇮🇹 (20; Greensboro, N.C.), and Andrija Novakovich 🇮🇹 (26; Muskego, Wis.) have all played in Venezia’s last six games, with Tessman starting all of them, even curling in a free kick on Dec. 11 against Cosenza (WATCH).
The club does have a recent history of American ownership, as American attorney Joe Tacopina purchased the team in 2015 before eventually handing the reins over to current chairperson Duncan Niederauer, which could explain some of the stateside connections. But it’s still impressive to see young US players making significant contributions to the recent uptick in form — Ball Don’t Lie, after all. Moreover, there are two additional Baby Eagles on the roster, in Jack De Vries 🇮🇹 (20; Dayton, Ohio) and Patrick Leal 🇮🇹 (19; Newton, Mass.) Godspeed, Little America.