August 28th Edition

With the Women’s World Cup concluding and summer coming to end, it is now time that we turn the calendar to fall footy.

With that comes the start of the European season, and playoff time here in North America. Montréal and Vancouver are currently in playoff spots in Major League Soccer (the less said about Toronto FC the better).

The Canadian Premier League, meanwhile, is in the midst of the most exciting playoff race in league history with four teams currently tied on 32 points between 2nd and 5th.

All this and more, in this week’s edition of The Northern Pitch 🍁

⚽️ With the European season kicking off, we take a look at some of the ballers to watch on the continent this season. We mostly focused on players who are perhaps not mainstays with the national teams at this point, but who could benefit exponentially from moves them made during this season.

🤔 This is especially true as some of the biggest moves expected this window don’t seem like they are going to pan out. Specifically, it looks like Jonathan David is more than likely staying at Lille this year with an eye toward a move next summer. Teams being patient in the transfer window? Didn’t know that was allowed.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Cloé Lacasse, Arsenal
After multiple seasons of running the show in Portugal, Lacasse got a high profile move to WSL side Arsenal this offseason. The season doesn’t kick off until October 1, with Arsenal hosting Liverpool, but after being the biggest fish in a smaller pond, this is a chance for Lacasse to prove that she can do it at the highest level. We would say on a rainy day in Stoke but… Stoke’s women’s team is kind of rubbish so unless they meet in the FA Cup probably other places for Lacasse to prove her baller status.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Iké Ugbo, Cardiff City
After a tough season last year in France, Ugbo has absolutely been balling out in the Championship since his move to Cardiff City. The 24-year-old has scored three goals and added an assist in four matches with the Bluebirds. After not featuring at all over the summer for Canada, this kind of form should have Ugbo heavily back in the conversation to get minutes up top come matches this fall.

🇮🇹 Evelyne Viens, A.S. Roma
After a dominant season in the Swedish league, Evelyne Viens is joining fellow Canadian international Julia Grosso in Italy this upcoming year after signing with A.S. Roma. Having won the Italian League last season, Roma will be involved in Champions League this year, giving Viens a chance to test herself against some of Europe’s best.

🇨🇭 Theo Corbeanu, Grasshopper
One of the most hyped prospects in the Canadian system, Corbeanu has had mixed results after a number of different loan opportunities from his parent club, Wolves. The latest move, to Grasshopper in the Swiss top division, looks to be reigniting his confidence. The talented 21-year-old already has three assists in four matches for his new club. Could a return to CanMNT be next?

🇵🇹 Olivia Smith, Sporting Lisbon
Having just turned 19 earlier this month, Olivia Smith announced that she has signed with Portuguese club Sporting. With Viens leaving the country, it is time for another Canadian to dominate the league and Smith has all the potentially to immediately make a splash while continuing to push into the senior Canadian women’s team.

🇳🇱 Charles-Andreas Brym, Sparta Rotterdam
After a dominant season in the Dutch second division on loan, Brym is back in the top flight this season and the 25-year-old is off to a great start with Sparta Rotterdam. He scored a brace last week agianst rivals Feyenoord, as Sparta Rotterdam are currently top of the table through three matches. Brym hasn’t always put it together in a Canada shirt just yet, but another solid year in the Netherlands would do a world of good for his confidence.

⬇️ CanWNT dropped in the world ranking. After an early exit in the World Cup group stages, CanWNT dropped from seventh to tenth place—an understandable decrease from the Olympic gold medallists. The last time Canada failed to make it out of the group stage was in 2011.

📝 CSPA clarified the statement made on the interim deal regarding pay and funding women’s camps. On July 28th, the Canadian Soccer Players Association released a statement regarding the situation with the interim leadership of Canada Soccer. The statement released was seemingly interpreted as a “net-zero” choice between compensation or funding for women’s camps based on the financial limitations of Canada Soccer. This time, the CSPA wanted to clarify the previous statement by informing people that the players would continue to be paid but wanted all the available money to go into the program. A full story with a comprehensive explanation can be found in this link.

📈 Kamal Miller is rated as the most valuable Canadian in MLS. Transfermarkt evaluated Canada’s CB at 5 million euros. Since leaving MTL for Miami, Kamal has been enjoying nothing but upgrades. Life is good with Messi, Busquets, Jordi Alba, and a Leagues Cup trophy. The second most valuable Canadian in MLS is Jacob Shaffelburg at 3.5 million euros, followed by Maxime Crépeau at 3 million, then Jonathan Osorio at 2.8 million. Fifth with an evaluation of 2.5 million is a four-way tie between Joel Waterman, Richie Laryea, Mark Anthony-Kaye and Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty. Colorado Rapids’ Moïse Bombito is the biggest increase, with a 1900% upgrade. The evaluation increased from 50k to 1 million. Bags. Ali Ahmed also enjoyed an increase, going from 1.25 to 1.5 million euros. Young Canadians on the rise in MLS.

🧊 Jonathan David is still a target for Tottenham. Fabrizio Romano, GOAT of transfers, believes that Tottenham Hotspurs are still interested in acquiring Jonathan David. Romano described the JD as a “very expensive” option for the North London club he also said that the JD transfer may be a last-minute acquisition. The question, at the moment, is whether Tottenham are ready to spend 60 million euro on the Canadian striker. We say yes, do it. The Kane money ought to be spent.

🔵 CF Montréal in vital late season with “ten finals.” CFM currently sits in eighth place, but they have been hovering in and out of the playoff positions. It’s going to be a tight end of the season. To solidify a playoff spot, MTL will treat their last ten games as finals. This season, Montréal seems to thrive under pressure and welcomes the task. Luckily, six of the last ten matches will be at Stade Saputo. However, they will have away games at NYCFC, ATL, Orlando and Columbus. It’s going to be a wild end of the season for MTL.

⚽️ Alphonso Davies picks up another assist against FC Augsburg. Davies has effectively replaced Son as Kane’s dynamic duo. Phonzy assisted Harry Kane for Bayern Munich’s third goal against FC Augsburg. This chemistry can grow big if both players continue to find each other on the pitch. Love to see it.

🟥 Casey Stoney receives a “unique” red card in the NWSL. When we say unique, we mean weird. The San Diego Wave manager receives a red card for displaying a bit of tekkers while sitting on a cooler. As a result, she kicked the ball away from Orlando’s Adriana. The referee interpreted the situation as unsportmanlike conduct and intentional time wasting. Despite Stoney’s protest, the red card was handed out. On the bright side, SD Wave won 2-1 against Orlando Pride.

🍁 Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan see UEFA Conference League action. Lille won against Croatian side Rijeka 2-1 at home, with JD assisting the equalizing goal. Buchanan’s Club Brugge picked up a 2-1 win away at Northern Spain versus Osasuna. Big wins for both sides in Europe’s third-tier competition.

This past weekend in MLS, Toronto took an L away from home, MTL walked away with a last-minute three points, while Vancouver walked out of Providence Park with three points against Cascadian rivals.

🔴 Toronto travels to Columbus to face Wilfried Nancy and the Crew. This season’s recaps for Toronto FC are becoming brutal to write. It has been a consistent theme of L’s. In this game seeing Columbus Crew defeating TFC 2-0. Understandably, TFC needs to ride out the rest of the season and look to rebuild in the off-season. The most important factor, keep Berna-boy-Deschi. Also, former Toronto FC academy lad and Canadian international Jacen Russell-Rowe scoring late had to hurt a little extra.

🔵 As stated above, CF Montréal must treat the next ten games as finals. The match against New England at a sold-out Stade Saputo definitely gave the vibe of a cup match final. CFM started seven Canadian players, with the entire midfield being comprised of Québecois ballers. It was a tight affair which both teams approached with caution. The game ended with a 1-0 win for MTL. One final done, nine more to go.

🌊 On the West Coast, it was the Cascadia darby between Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps. In this matchup, Sam Adekugbe and Richie Laryea started on the wings for the ‘Caps. Let’s cut to the chase: this was a match worth indulging in. As with any Cascadia darby, the game offered a high scoreline, a penalty, and immaculate vibes from the Portland fans. Much to their chagrin, Vancouver walked away with a 3-2 win from one of MLS’s more historic venues.

Meanwhile in the CPL, business as usual.

🍻 York United hosted Vancouver FC at York Lions Stadium, Vancouver took the lead and kept the pressure on the home side. Alas, a penalty and solid half-volley goal by Austin Ricci confirmed three points for York United, with the game ending 2-1.

⚓️ Valour FC paid a visit to the fortress that is Wanderer’s Ground. Halifax continued their donimance at home, however, with a 3-0 win in the Maritime rain. Daniel Nimick, remember the name.

🏟️ Going to the Capital, Atletico Ottawa hosted Forge FC. Unfortunately, not much happened as the game ended in a nil-nil draw.

🐎 In cowboy country, Cavalry hosted league rivals Pacific FC at ATCO Field. This game was tense as the top two league leaders fought for Canadian supremacy. A win for Pacific would bring them in first place with two points cleared from second, while a win for Cavalry would mean a four-point lead at the top. It would be the Cavs in the end of a controversial penalty decision who are now four points clear at the top of the CPL table.

Sekou Thornell is a Creative Football Strategist and front-runner for Kitboys Club, “a creative label that emphasizes footballing culture.

📚 What to read

When I’m watching TV you can usually find me watching episodes of Atlanta and Snowfall. Also big up Filthy Fellas, their podcast is pure comedy and I tune in every week, an absolute must.

📺 What to watch

Been swapping back and forth between the Go Giver and the Four Agreements. Mindful books always help the creative process. Usually I keep one with me at all times.

🎧 What to listen to

Man, it’s been a good year for music. You can usually catch me in between Larry June and Curren$y on the daily. Gunna and J-Hus been getting a lot of spins over the summer. Shout out to Dave and Central Cee for that EP too.

✅ Who to follow

Here is where I shamelessly plug in all the homies who inspire me. Lucas & Jared at @virginiadreamfc, Max at @NeighborhoodSportsClub and Raheem at @hyphenatecreativeco. A few other IG staples are @Whatsculture, @liljupiterrr, @hidden.NY, @undercoverosh and @vvvvvitesse.