World Soccer Roundup: October 2019

USA

MLS fans have witnessed a historic season that saw records broken and paradigms shift, and the playoffs has just begun!  The regular season gave us a breathtaking goal race between Carlos Vela and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic, whose performances on the pitch astoundingly kept pace with his 24-carat gold off-pitch interviews, went toe-to-toe all season long with Mexican striker Vela.  The race to take the goal-scoring crown came down to the last day of the regular season, where Vela emphatically took the crown with an absolute master class hat trick.  In the end, Vela ended his season for the ages with 34 goals, 4 more than his Swedish counterpart.

Vela’s season was the main reason that his team, Los Angeles FC, broke records this year as well.  The team ended the year with 72 points, which broke the previous all-time high of 71 points, set by Red Bull New York in 2018.

LAFC LOOK TO COMPLETE THEIR DREAM SEASON

The excitement is just getting started in the States, as this weekend the MLS Playoff Cup will begin.  In the East, NYCFC and Atlanta United should be considered co-favorites to reach the finals.  While in the West it is impossible to look past the aforementioned LAFC.  Although a possible mouth watering second round “El Trafico” match-up between them and LA Galaxy could present a huge challenge for the young LAFC team.

ENGLAND

The
English Premiership is a global league.  It attracts the biggest
international television audiences, has the most casual fans from non-traditional
football markets, and of course, is a magnet for the biggest soccer stars in
the world.  Thus, it is under the microscope more than any other league in
the world; quality and excitement must be delivered week in, week out. 
The season is only 8 games old, but so far, the Premiership has lived up to
expectations.

HOT START FOR LIVERPOOL

To summarize the first part of the season one must start with Liverpool.  They have a perfect 8-0-0 record and are currently 8 points clear of the second place.  Sadio Mané has started brightly with 5 goals, with teammates Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino not far behind with 4 and 3 respectively.  More than their offensive prowess, though, it has been their defensive resilience that has marked the difference this year compared to others.  They have only allowed 6 goals thus far, the fewest of any team in the league.

Surprisingly, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City has had a couple of slip-ups in the early stages.  They are aforementioned 8 points behind the leaders thanks to a couple of shocking losses to Norwich and Wolves, as well as a draw to Tottenham.

Young
and dynamic Arsenal, managed by Unai Emery, along with first-year manager Frank
Lampard at Chelsea have their teams a little off the pace, but still positioned
nicely in the top 5. 

The
early-season surprise has to be Leicester City, managed by Brendan Rodgers. The
Northern Irishman has his squad playing breathtaking football and is currently
4^th in the table. 

The biggest disappointment without question has been Manchester United.  They are currently in 12^th place and have won only 2 of 8 games this year. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must surely be feeling the heat right now.

SPAIN

The Spanish La Liga has a familiar look to it.  Real Madrid are the current leaders, followed by FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid.  Only 3 points separate all three teams.

Real,
as usual, have had more than their share of drama and controversy, even after
only 8 games.  Manager Zinedine Zidane seemed to be under pressure early
in the campaign, after a couple of poor performances.  He also does not
seem to fancy Welsh attacking winger Gareth Bale.  Bale has quietly gone
about his business and carried the Madrileños on his back on more than one
occasion.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS

Over
in Catalunya, Barcelona, after losses to Bilbao and Granada, seem to have
righted the ship.  It is impossible to deny, however, that Barcelona
continue to look frail when forced to defend.  Messi, Suarez, Dembele, and
new wonder kid Ansu Fati have all been injured at some point.  With the
team finally getting somewhat healthy the heat on Madrid may start to intensify
as they look to get back on top. The two Spanish giants will lock horns in
“El Clasico” in less than two weeks.

Atlético Madrid is in 3^rd place.  But it must be said that they have been rather uninspiring to start the year.  The team has won but 4 of 8 games, having scored a paltry 7 goals in the process.  Diego Costa has not impressed and is a divisive figure among the fans. Young starlet Joao Felix has shown flashes of brilliance but has not yet been able to perform well consistently, save for his Champions League game versus Lokomotiv Moscow.

The biggest shock to start the year has to be Granada.  They are in fourth place, ahead of more powerful sides like Sevilla and Valencia, have lost only twice and have a healthy +5 goal difference in 8 games.  Even if they do end up dropping down the table, nobody can dispute they are full value for their top five place.

SCOTLAND

Fans
of the Scottish game know that there are 2 teams that dominate the headlines,
and indeed divide the country: Rangers and Celtic.

This is one of the fiercest rivalries in world football.  But at least to the neutral observer, this polarizing derby has in recent times lost its luster. For readers who are unaware, in 2012 Rangers were liquidated and forced to re-start their team in the 4^th division due to financial mismanagement.

With their age-old enemies in the lower rungs of Scottish football, Celtic had a clear path to the league title; no other team stepped up to provide a serious challenge.  Celtic is in the midst of an 8-year victory parade.  If they are to win again this year, they will equal the “9 in a row” feat first accomplished by them in the 1960’s which Rangers themselves also did in the 1990’s.

The pressure is on Rangers to stop Celtic’s run of dominance.  They have fantastic Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos leading the charge and made some key additions in the off-season to help “El Bufalo”. 

Celtic, for their part, added French defender Christopher Jullien from Toulouse and a few younger players with great potential. However, it is tough to imagine that any of the incoming players will be able to mitigate the loss of blossoming star left back Kieren Tierney, who was sold to Arsenal in the summer.

Rangers
are in 1^st place at the moment, 2 points ahead of their cross-city
rivals.  It is early days but this season promises to be much closer than
previous ones.  With the teams looking even on the pitch, it may come down
to a chess match between Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and Celtic manager Neil
Lennon.

MEXICO

The
only thing that can be predicted about the Mexican Liga MX is that it is
unpredictable.  If you are new to Liga MX, the setup can be a little
confusing.  Unlike European football, there are two seasons each year –
Apertura and Clausura – each lasting roughly half a year.  After the
Apertura or Clausura there is a playoff system known as “Liguilla” in which the
top 8 teams play home and away until a champion is decided. 

One of the principal benefits of the aforementioned system is that it keeps most teams in the playoff picture, hence making games meaningful and exciting. To date, the “Apertura 2019” has gone exactly as planned: nobody knows what will happen from week to week.

CHAMPIONSHIP UP IN THE AIR

There
is a little more than a month left in the season. Based on form to date, the
favorites to be crowned champion have to be Santos, Necaxa, and
Querétaro.  Of these teams, only Santos could be considered to be a team
with a winning pedigree.  It has been a season for the underdog. 

Be that as it may, the powerhouses of Mexican football are not far off the pace.  Defending champion Tigres from Monterrey, last year’s runner up Club León and perennial contender Club América from Mexico City are all comfortably in a playoff position.

To
further show how topsy-turvy the league is, seven of the nineteen managers have
been fired; an incredible number considering it is only week 13 of the season.

Looking forward, it is going to be a dash to the finish line.  But to predict what could happen would be foolhardy.  The roller coaster nature of the competition has made this season very entertaining.  If you don’t currently follow this league then you are missing out!

A FINAL THOUGHT….

Much like a referee, this article will do its best to be mostly correct, though it will miss big things from time to time.  If there is anything that was missed then please call on VAR for any complaints, comments, or suggestions.  Similarly, you can drop a line on Twitter to @a_ligamx to make sure your team is included in the next roundup.