Association Football 2023/2024 Discussion Thread

[NewYorkExpress]

Tim Weah is heading from Lille to Juventus in a deal worth twelve million Euros.

[NewYorkExpress]

Cesc Fabregas has announced his retirement, and will become the head coach of Como's youth and B teams.

Fabregas is a decorated star, with a La Liga title with Barcelona, and more importantly, a member of Spain's 2010 World Cup winning side, as well as their Euro 2008 and 2012 Championship winning sides.

What should be interesting, as Fabregas begins his coaching journey, is whether he can climb the ranks and become a top-flight head coach. It didn't take particularly long for Andrea Pirlo to get the Juventus job, for example, and Fabregas might be able to get a Serie A or La Liga job before long. (Barcelona, for instance could be available in a couple of years, and Xavi's success this past year shows that hiring former stars who played for the team will work). For that matter, don't completely rule out the Chelsea job either, given how mercurial Todd Boehley seems to be with his managerial choices (though that's probably two to three years away, but if he can get the Como first team job and get them into Serie A, I wouldn't rule it out).

[NewYorkExpress]

Missed it yesterday, but Inter Milan has signed Marcus Thuram on a free transfer from Borussia Monchengladbach.

Good signing, but for a team that is already losing Milan Skrinar, Danilo D'Ambrosio and Roberto Gagliardini, they need to make another signing, probably a Center Back.

[NewYorkExpress]

Liverpool get the other midfielder they need, signing Dominik Szoboszlai after paying his seventy million euro release clause.

Just like the Alexis Mac Allister signing, a fantastic deal for Liverpool. The best part is they didn't get sucked into the bidding for Declan Rice, instead signing two cheaper options, who should do just as well for Liverpool.

[NewYorkExpress]

After just under twenty minutes, the United States has a great chance to not only finish atop of Gold Cup Group A, but also avoid Mexico until the final, as they lead Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 in Charlotte, and Jamaica remains locked in a scoreless draw with St. Kitts and Nevis at Levi's Stadium.

[NewYorkExpress]

Strasbourg hiring Patrick Vieria as their new manager.

Good on Strasbourg for getting a manager who has experience with other top-flight clubs (Crystal Palace, Nice). They're not a side that should expect to be able to do something like that often.

[NewYorkExpress]

Halftime in Group A at the Gold Cup, and the US holds an overwhelming advantage in getting to the top of the group and avoiding Mexico until the finals. They lead Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 behind Jesus Ferreria's hat trick, while Jamaica leads St. Kitts and Nevis 2-0 thanks to an own goal from Julani Archibald, and behind a goal from Barnsley's Jonathan Russell.

[NewYorkExpress]

The United States will finish atop group A in the Gold Cup with their 6-0 victory against Trinidad and Tobago, while Jamaica also advances with their 5-0 win over St. Kitts and Nevis.

The United States will face one of Guadeloupe, Guatemala or Canada in the Quarterfinals. Here's hoping it isn't Canada, as that would actually be a difficult opponent, while Guadeloupe and Guatemala should be easy to be beat.

[NewYorkExpress]

We had an upset in Group B of the Gold Cup, as Qatar defeated Mexico 1-0 to advance to the Quarterfinals on goal difference over Honduras.

Mexico had already clinched Group B.

Qatar's quest to become the second team to win two different continental championships (the first one being Australia), will continue against the winner of Group C, which is likely to be Panama.

[NewYorkExpress]

Newcastle United signing Sandro Tonali from AC Milan for 70 million Euros.

Tonali's been one of the brightest young stars in Serie A for the past couple of years, and this deal, which is a record transfer for an Italian, should be well worth the money.

For Newcastle, Tonali is a massive upgrade over the rest of the midfield.

I have to wonder what, if anything, AC Milan will spend the money from Tonali's sale on. It looks like I Rossenari are replacing him Reuben Loftus-Cheek, which is a downgrade, so they might need another midfielder, and I think they need a younger forward, to replace Olivier Giroud.

[NewYorkExpress]

It's not just high profile players who are heading to Saudi Arabia. High Profile Managers are as well, as Steven Gerrard is the new manager at Al Ettifaq.

Gerrard may have flopped as manager of Aston Villa, but he did win the Scottish Premiership with Rangers a couple of years back. He'll be an excellent fit for the Saudi League.

[NewYorkExpress]

Christophe Galtier sacked at PSG in the fallout over a racism episode from his time at Nice, Louis Enrique will be his replacement.

A shameful end to Galtier's career.

For PSG, they got a great replacement in Enrique, who has two La Liga trophies, three Copa del Rey trophies, a Champions League and Super Cup trophy and a Club World Cup trophy from his time at Barcelona.

[NewYorkExpress]

Forest Green Rovers become the first club to name a female manager, as Hannah Dingley was named the interim manager there.

[NewYorkExpress]

Saw my first in-person football match today, watching as NYCFC and Charlotte FC battled to a 1-1 draw.

[Lechasseur]

Saw my first in-person football match today, watching as NYCFC and Charlotte FC battled to a 1-1 draw.

Mine was Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest in the 2009-2010 Season at Selhurst Park back when both were in the Championship. It ended as a 1-1 draw iirc.

Now they're both in the Premier League.

[NewYorkExpress]

PSG signing Marco Asensio and Mlan Skrinar.

Hopefully this works out better than their last couple of transfers, but PSG really needs to sell Kylain Mbappe, as he has no interest in extending his contract.

Real Madrid signing Arda Guler from Fenerbahce.

I'm not Real Madrid currently needs another midfielder, but longterm they do, as Tony Kroos and Luka Modric won't be around for much longer. This is a good signing on those grounds.

[NewYorkExpress]

PSG has signed Manuel Ugarte from Sporting Lisbon for sixty million Euros.

[JGibson]

USWNT legend Megan Rapinoe will retire at the conclusion of the 2023 NWSL season.

https://twitter.com/USWNT/status/1677724303889162240

[NewYorkExpress]

PSG with another pricey signing, this time bringing in Lucas Hernandez from Bayern Munich for forty million Euros.

[NewYorkExpress]

Halftime in the Gold Cup Quarterfinal match between the United States and Canada in Cincinnati, and we are still scoreless, despite the United States holding a 68-32 possession advantage over Canada.

The winner of this match will face Panama on Wednesday in San Diego in the Semifinals. The other Semifinal, also taking place on Wednesday, will be between Jamaica and Mexico and will take place in the Las Vegas metro area. 

[NewYorkExpress]

We're going to extra time, and the United States and Canada are tied at 1 apiece in their Gold Cup semifinal.

[Benjamin Frank]

U.S wins 3-2 on penalty kicks.

[NewYorkExpress]

Massive Upset in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Semi Final, as Panama stuns the United States on Penalties, to advance to advance a final against the winner of tonight's Jamaica/Mexico game.

[JGibson]

Arsenal's signing of Declan Rice became official yesterday.

Inter Miami's last Messi and Busquets-free game ended in a 3-nil loss to my St. Louis City SC.

[NewYorkExpress]

With their 1-0 win over Panama tonight, Mexico are the CONCACAF Gold Cup Champions!