Wednesday Freedom Kicks: Rooney was never going to Everton, Klich has his visa, and more

Feb 1, 2023 - 12:30 PM

Happy February, folks. This is the month in which MLS kicks off! The real secret is if it’s the month we’ll see our first snowfall of the winter.... I’m happy to finally have a date in which we’ll see the new cherry blossom kit. It’s much later than seems reasonable (9 days before the season opener), but nevertheless, our eyes will be treated on February 16! To the kicks!

Wayne Rooney says Everton never reached out regarding coaching job (Washington Post): I admit a part of me wanted to see the chaos that would be Rooney leaving D.C. for Everton. I didn’t really expect him to leave though. I am, however, surprised to see that he was never contacted in the first place.

Also in that WP article is a wealth of other tidbits:

• Rooney wants another acquisition or two before the transfer market closes.
• Klich is arriving with his work visa
• The goalkeeper starter is up in the air
• Ravel Morrison may be looking for a transfer
• ...and more. Seriously, there are so many tidbits in this Goff piece.

Mohanad Jeahze, an Iraqi Swede now discovering America, arrives for D.C. United (Washington Post): Get to know Mo, D.C. United’s latest left back.

MLS Season Pass kicks off today on Apple TV (BRU): I personally haven’t used my Apple ID in about 8 years. Looks like that’s about to change today.

Loudoun United announced their preseason matches. They are closed to the public.

We’ll be getting the USWNT roster today for the SheBelieves Cup. Stay tuned to see what Spirit players will undoubtedly be called up.

Because I tend to only pay attention to American soccer, I periodically like to check in with Europe’s biggest leads to see if they’re still devoid of parity. Here’s where they stand:

1. EPL: Arsenal with a 5-point lead and a game in hand over Man City. 11 points ahead of 3rd.
2. La Liga: Barcelona with a 5-point lead over Real Madrid. 9 points ahead of 3rd.
3. Serie A: Napoli with a 13-point lead over Inter Milan. 15 points ahead of 3rd.
4. Ligue 1: PSG with a 3-point lead over Lens. 5 points ahead of 3rd.
5. Bundesliga: Bayern Munich with a... wait a second... that’s a 5-point lead over 6th-place Frankfurt. Union Berlin, RB Leipzig, Dortmund, and SC Frieburg are all sandwiched in the middle.

All-in-all, I am shocked to see Bundesliga’s tight race. I’d like to keep up with that. Meanwhile, PSG are underperforming lately to keep that race close. The other leagues I think have stabilized their races for the champion.

The Rolex 24 kicked off the higher-profile motorsports season last weekend. This is a multi-class race with 5 classes. This more-or-less equates to 5 races happening simultaneously on the track. After 24 hours, the LMP2 class came down to the line with this exciting finish:

That’s all for today. Thank you all for participating in our survey to help us maneuver into our next chapter of D.C. soccer coverage. If you haven’t, well, the link is right there. Get kicking in the comments!