The Beautiful Game 2023 Chapter 2: Underdogs
Narratives form around the clubs that participate in the Beautiful Game, be it organically or sometimes otherwise. In the shadows of LA Galaxy, LAFC, Portland Timbers, and Seattle Sounders, both San Jose Earthquakes and Vancouver Whitecaps are the third wheels in their rivalry trios in California and Cascadia respectively. They also both suffered blown leads and opening week losses to Atlanta United (read more about that in the link) and Real Salt Lake respectively. In order to shed that stigma, the sooner they can get three points, on the board, the better. Which underdog will get the last bite this time around?
Featured Game: San Jose Earthquakes 2–1 Vancouver Whitecaps
0–1 Schopf (Gressel)
1–1 Ebobisse (Monteiro, Yueill)
2–1 Akapo (Espinoza, Ebobisse)
San Jose XI: Daniel; Paul Marie, Jonathan Mensah, Rodrigues, Miguel Trauco; Carlos Gruezo, Jackson Yueill(captain; 58’ YC), Jamiro Monteiro; Cristian Espinoza(83’ YC), Jeremy Ebobisse, Cade Cowell
Bench: JT Marcinkowski; Tanner Beason, Tommy Thompson, Daniel Munie, Carlos Akapo(63’ for Trauco); Jack Skahan, Michael Baldisimo; Ousseni Bouda, Benji Kikanovic(78’ for Cowell)
Notable Absentees: Judson (knee), Nathan (ACL surgery), Niko Tsakiris (adductor)
Whitecaps XI: Yohei Takaoka; Javain Brown, Mathias Laborda, Ranko Veselinovic(36’ YC), Luis Martins(68’ YC); Julian Gressel, Andres Cubas (41’ YC), Alessandro Schopf(69’ YC); Pedro Vite, Brian White, Ryan Gauld
Bench: Thomas Hasal; Tristan Blackmon, Karifa Yao, Ali Ahmed, Ryan Raposo; Sebastian Berhalter(76’ for Schopf), Russell Teibert(65’ for Gressel); Sergio Cordova(55’ for White), Cristian Dajome(65’ for Vite)
Notable Absentees: Deiber Caicedo (right knee, meniscus surgery)
The energy at PayPal Park for the San Jose Earthquakes home opener was uplifting, buoyed by the opening of the new and improved Supporters Section that stretches from ground level to the top of the center far end of the stadium. With flags flying feverishly and Krazy George directing the pregame cheer, the stage was set for a new season to begin, 20 years after the Earthquakes won their second of two MLS Cups.
Perhaps wary of starting this important tone setting game on the wrong foot, both teams played cautiously to begin with. Whoever took their first chance was going to dictate the tempo of this game. Whitecaps survived Espinoza and Cowell’s miss chances, and got a golden one of their own from an intercepted Gruezo pass. Julian Gressel split the defense with the entry pass and Alessandro Schopf tucked the ball into the net past Daniel. Whitecaps can sense from that moment that they have the Quakes where they wanted.
San Jose Earthquakes followed a trend that has formed in the early stages of this MLS season of teams dominating possession but falling behind. The possession and shots are encouraging but only to a certain extent until you see the ball in the next. However, it’s still early in the game and early in the season. Soccer like any sport is meant to be enjoyed so even when things are looking rough out there, finding enjoyment in the game should be prioritized. Personally, I enjoyed Jonathan Mensah, one of the new transfers, having Paul Marie’s back and standing up to Ranko Veselinovic after a foul on the French right back.
In the second half, Vancouver maintained status quo as both sides struggled to get further chances. In front of a sellout 18,000 strong crowd at PayPal Park, all that was missing was an equalizing goal. Until Jeremy Ebobisse rose to the occasion literally and figuratively, as he often did throughout the 2022 season.
Then came the completion of the role reversal from the Atlanta game, with Carlos Akapo mirroring Juan Cuadrado’s goal from earlier this week (more on that later) and the tight angled goal gave San Jose Earthquakes the lead! To have that quality of player and attacking possibility from the bench as a fullback is truly exciting for San Jose Earthquakes fans!
Whitecaps weren’t finished yet though, getting a flurry of chances including one from Russell Teibert, a member of the club since Whitecaps’s first days in MLS. These games are always hard fought and test the character of the players involved. The best players will use their qualities to see the game out, such as Jamiro Monteiro who could dribble past nearly any player when holding the ball up by the corner flag. Daniel who had received criticism already and calls for JT Marcinkowski to start from certain fans, answered the bell as well, providing a safe pair of gloves to take the momentum away from Whitecaps attacking threats. Riding the waves of the 7 minutes of stoppage time, San Jose Earthquakes as a unit demonstrated skilled game management which surely pleased Luchi Gonzalez especially since they conceded two late goals in the previous game. It would’ve been cool if Jamiro Monteiro iced the game but that was a good block by Ranko Veselinovic. Ultimately, the Quakes had done enough to win the game.
What Whitecaps players and fans are feeling right now is the dreaded sense of deja vu that those associated with the Earthquakes have felt their fair share of times too. It’s tough to let leads slip multiple games in a row. It’ll be interesting to see how they lineup and adjust with their midweek CCL matchup against Real Espana. A Champions League run is another avenue for the current Whitecaps project under Vanni Sartini can grow and reach that next level. San Jose Earthquakes will set their sights domestically with a bit more belief that playoffs is a possible goal this season. Early days still, but two solid performances and earning the win to go with the second one is something to build on. The California underdogs are here to shed that label and compete in the Western Conference, taking their Beautiful Game to the next level.
The Week in Review
Monday, February 27th
La Liga: Villarreal 2–1 Getafe
MLS: Portland Timbers 1–0 Sporting Kansas City
Borja Mayoral nearly had a wondergoal to equalize but hit the crossbar. Portland won thanks to David Bingham having his best game in years but Evander sure didn’t look like he had fun. A lot will be expected of the Brazilian to aid the Timbers attack this season.
Tuesday, February 28th
Coppa Italia Quarterfinals: Cremonese 2–1 Roma, Juventus 4–2 Torino
Cremonese have rarely won this season, but when they have it’s come up against Italian giants. Taking out Napoli and Roma in a Coppa Italia run is no easy feat, especially given their difficult Serie A campaign. Cremonese sit 9 points from safety at the time of writing with 14 games left to play, but that has the makings of a great underdog story if they can pull it off. Fireworks were rampant in the Derby della Mole with Juventus coming out on top 4–2 and both sides hitting the crossbar too.
Wednesday, March 1st
FA Cup: Manchester United 3–1 West Ham United
Winning one domestic cup hasn’t quelled the desire to win another for Manchester United. David Moyes’ side looked the stronger at times, but there was no revenge game to be had for the ex Red Devil boss as Manchester United dumped West Ham out of the cup in Fergie Time Fashion.
FA Cup Quarter Final Draw
Brighton vs Grimsby (massive upset over Southampton)
Manchester City vs Burnley
Manchester United vs Fulham
Sheffield United (impressive win over Spurs) vs Blackburn Rovers
I have a gut feeling that the Manchester clubs are due for a cup clash, but Vincent Kompany and Marco Silva of Burnley and Fulham respectively will have something to say about that before it could potentially happen.
Thursday, March 2nd
Copa del Rey Semifinal Leg 1: Real Madrid 0–1 FC Barcelona
An Eder Militao goal sets up Barcelona nicely to inflict even more domestic pain to Real Madrid this season, while Xavi continues to get more and more outspoken as the weeks progress. The second leg will play out on Wednesday April 5th at Camp Nou.
Friday, March 3rd
Double Screen Feature
Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund 2–1 RB Leipzig
Serie A: Napoli 0–1 Lazio
Heavyweights clashed in Germany and Italy with Dortmund keeping their title race chase going and Lazio ending Napoli’s winning streak to strengthen their bid for Champions League qualification. Napoli fans are already getting Scudetto tattoos but despite their massive lead, they still have to win a few more games to make it official.
Saturday, March 4th
Premier League: Chelsea 1–0 Leeds United 7:00 am USA
Wesley Fofana scoring the lone goal for Chelsea continues to highlight their offensive struggles in the battle of two frustrating PL teams for USMNT fans to watch. Honestly I wished I watched the Arsenal comeback win over Bournemouth the whole way through instead.
Premier League: Southampton 1–0 Leicester City 9:30 am NBC/Peacock
Southampton is becoming a more popular pick for relegation as the season progresses, but they’re starting to pick up points. The most important 3 points of their campaign so far came up against Leicester City. The Premier League relegation battle rages on…
La Liga: Atlético Madrid 5–1 Sevilla 12 pm ESPN+
This Atlético Madrid side looked nothing like the apathetic on offense outfit we’ve seen from them most of the season, but then again we know Sevilla have been poor too.
MLS: LAFC 3–2 Timbers 1:30 pm
Portland Timbers made LAFC sweat when they took LAFC’s 3–0 lead to 3–2 in the second half, but ultimately the defending MLS champs start their title defense with a win.
Feat of the Week
Kylian Mbappe became PSG’s all time top goalscorer at 24 years old, scoring his 201st goal in PSG’s win over Nantes. A remarkable achievement for one of the world’s best player, and you’ll need a calculator to try to guess how many goals he’ll score when it’s all said and done.
https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/1632136265263980548?s=20
Goal of the Week
Many people forget that Juan Cuadrado started his career as a right midfielder, but he showed flashes of that offensive firepower and instinct with his positioning and finishing to score the first of Juventus’s 4 goals in their Derby della Mole victory.
https://twitter.com/CBSSportsGolazo/status/1630661198726176810?s=20
What I’m Watching Next Week
Sunday, March 5th
Premier League: Liverpool vs Manchester United 8:30 am Peacock/USA
Serie A: Roma vs Juventus 11:45 am Paramount Plus
Monday, March 6th
Premier League: Brentford vs Fulham 12 pm
Tuesday, March 7th
UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Legs 12 pm
Benfica vs Club Brugge (2–0 Benfica agg.)
Chelsea vs Dortmund (1–0 Dortmund agg.)
Wednesday, March 8th
UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Legs 12 pm
Bayern vs PSG (1–0 Bayern agg.)
Tottenham vs Milan (1–0 Milan agg.)
Thursday, March 9th
UEFA Europa League Round of 16 First Legs
Roma vs Real Sociedad 9:45 am, Manchester United vs Real Betis 12 pm
Friday, March 10th
Liga MX: Pachuca vs Chivas de Guadalajara 7:05 pm
Saturday, March 11th
Double Screen 9:30 am Window
Premier League: Crystal Palace vs Manchester City and Bundesliga: Schalke 04 vs Dortmund
MLS: San Jose Earthquakes vs Colorado Rapids 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 12th (Daylight Savings Time)
Premier League: Manchester United vs Southampton 7 am
Bundesliga: Wolfsburg vs Union Berlin 11:30 am
MLS: LAFC vs New England Revolution 7:30 pm
What did you think of the games I featured in this article? Whether your club is as underdog or an overachiever, you’d be surprised how quickly the narrative can change. As long as your connection to that club you ride with remains strong, that’s what counts!
What games are you watching this upcoming week?
Let me know below or on Twitter @IvanOrnelas2. If you are a San Jose Earthquakes fan, consider following @TectonicTakes as well! Until next week, keep on watching and living the Beautiful Game!
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