The Beautiful Game 2023 Chapter 3: Adversity
Soccer imitates life in many ways, especially when it comes to adversity. It doesn’t matter who you are, everyone will face adversity, although adversity can look different and happen more often for some than others. Life will knock you down, but what do you do next when you get back up? That’s something Erik ten Hag had plenty of opportunities to contemplate in a week of highs and lows.
Erik ten Hag’s perspective after a horrible loss to rivals Liverpool was one of hope amidst a reality check, which is fair considering one bad result shouldn’t undermine Manchester United’s overall improvement across the 2022–23 season. His feelings were validated initially by Marcus Rashford’s goal to open the scoring against Real Betis, and the overall result at the end of the night: a 4–1 victory at Old Trafford.
MUN XI: David de Gea; Diogo Dalot(Aaron Wan-Bissaka 46’), Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw(Tyrell Malacia 65’); Casemiro, Fred(Scott McTominay 81’); Antony(Facundo Pellistri 81’), Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford (Jadon Sancho 65’); Wout Weghorst
Betis XI: Claudio Bravo; Youssouf Sabaly, German Pezzella, Luiz Felipe, Abner; William Carvalho, Guido Rodriguez(Andres Guardado 65’); Luiz Henrique(59’ Ruibal), Joaquin(Sergio Canales 59’), Juanmi(Willian Jose 80’); Ayoze Perez(Borja Iglesias 65’)
Nothing is guaranteed. Just because Manchester United overcame FC Barcelona in the Round of 32 didn’t mean they had a divine right to advance past the Seville based outfit. Real Betis came into this game with confidence, holding Real Madrid to a scoreless draw on the same day Manchester United conceded 7 in Anfield. Especially when Ayoze Perez equalized in the 32’ minute, anything could’ve happened. Through a collective performance and the faith Ten Hag put in them, Manchester United responded with an emphatic second half. The goalscorers were among the most critiqued players especially in 2023: Antony, Fernandes, and Weghorst. A sign that despite a massive letdown, there is still character and belief among the Red Devils. That’s how you face and overcome adversity.
They’ll need to remind themselves of that feeling following a disappointing but hardfought 0–0 draw at home to Southampton, and they’ll have to manage without Casemiro in their next PL fixture against Fulham due to a controversial red card (San Jose Earthquakes and Roma can relate).
Season 3 Begins for Oakland Roots
Roots XI: Paul Blanchette; Emrah Klimenta, Tarek Morad, Daniel Barbir; Edgardo Rito, Joseph Nane(Irakoze Donasiyano 67’), Napo Matsoso, Memo Diaz; Lindo Mfeka, Johnny Rodriguez(Anuar Pelaez 67’), Dariusz Formella(Trayvone Reid 83’)
Subs: GK Taylor Bailey, DF Drew Murray, MF Daniel Gomez, FW Wolfgang Prentice
SAFC XI: Jordan Farr; Mitchell Taintor, Fabien García, Lamar Batista; Connor Maloney, PC, Jacori Hayes, Shannon Gomez; David Loera(Ignacio Bailone 46’), Niko Hansen(Kimarni Smith 76’), Justin Dhillon(Mohammed Abu 87’)
Bench: GK Carlos Mercado, DF Roman Holt, MF Cristian Parano
San Antonio FC are champions for a reason. Niko Hansen opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a slick move inside the box and a right footed finish. As solid as Oakland Roots have been in their first two seasons, this was a tough opening season fixture so it was more about how they could stack up against the defending champs rather than expecting a victory.
It took the Roots awhile to find their feet offensively as their first real test on Jordan Farr didn’t come until a half hour into the match. Everything changed for the worse when Lamar Batista scored a bicycle kick corner goal right before halftime.
Roots pulled one back around the hour mark thanks to Edgardo Rito setting up Memo Diaz, but San Antonio sealed the win 15 minutes later with Lamar Batista catching Paul Blanchette off his line. The bounce got away with him and the ball ended up on the back of the net.
Like with Crystal Palace against Manchester City earlier in the day, I wondered why Oakland Roots waited until they conceded goals before really pushing the intensity toward the opposition goal. There’s a learning curve for this new squad without Karlsson and Azocar and how quickly this collection of players gel, a beautiful mosaic of cultures representing 13 nationalities, will determine their potential this season.
Sunday, March 5th
Serie A: Roma 1–0 Juventus
An important test for Jose Mourinho’s Roma was passed in their pursuit of Champions League qualification. Juventus are still no slouche even with a points deduction, and despite the loss they remain motivated to finish as high as they can even if it’s ultimately mid table.
Monday, March 6th
Premier League: Brentford 3–2 Fulham 12 pm
With seven London clubs in the Premier League this season, we’ve been treated to many fireworks displays whenever any combination of these clubs meet. The Bees got the last sting though in this five goal thriller.
Tuesday, March 7th
Conference League Leg 1 Lazio 1–2 AZ Alkmaar 9:45 pm
UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Legs 12 pm
Benfica 5–1 Club Brugge (2–0 Benfica agg.)
Chelsea 2–0 Dortmund (1–0 Dortmund agg.)
CONCACAF Champions League Leg 1 Tigres 0–0 Orlando 7 pm
Wednesday, March 8th
UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Legs 12 pm
Bayern 2–0 PSG (1–0 Bayern agg.)
Tottenham 0–0 Milan (1–0 Milan agg.)
Continental competitions are where some of the biggest statements are made. Coming up next week will be my Round of 16 elimination analysis for the Champions League clubs where I’ll go into more depth. Elsewhere AZ Alkmaar and Orlando City got impressive results on the road.
Thursday, March 9th
UEFA Europa League Round of 16 First Legs
Roma 2–0 Real Sociedad
Roma continued their impressive form with a convincing victory against the biggest over performers in La Liga. Things got sticker over the weekend with a 4–3 loss to Sassuolo, but Roma remain one of the most fun Italian clubs to follow this season.
Friday, March 10th
Liga MX: Pachuca 1–0 Chivas de Guadalajara 7:05 pm
3rd place Chivas vs 14th place Pachuca turned out to be a trap game for the Jalisco based club. Not a great time to slip up when arch rivals America are next on the schedule, and Las Aguilas took down Tigres in their last fixture.
Saturday, March 11th
Double Screen 9:30 am Window
Premier League: Crystal Palace 0–1 Manchester City and Bundesliga: Schalke 04 2–2 Dortmund
In this double game set, we saw one club with proven title winning credentials grind out a result while the unproven title challenger stumbled. Granted it was a derby game against Schalke, but with Bayern beating Augsburg, the stage is set for the inevitable Bayern surge 11th edition. Overcoming adversity is a mental endeavor, but it also helps when you have Manchester City’s budget.
MLS: San Jose Earthquakes 1–0 Colorado Rapids 7:30 pm
A Cristian Espinoza golazo, a solid team performance, and a clean sheet. Sounds like an ideal game! Until you see Jamiro Monteiro get a soft red card. San Jose Earthquakes can’t have all nice things, but they earned back to back wins and are looking better than most fans expected them to at this stage of the season. For the Bay Area’s team, adversity comes in the form of a first ever trip to St. Louis City SC. The expansion side has MLS on notice with 3 wins out of 3. As good as Atlanta United are, the newcomers figure to be San Jose’s toughest test yet.
Sunday, March 12th (Daylight Savings Time; Times Shifted for this Week)
Bundesliga: Wolfsburg 1–1 Union Berlin
MLS: LAFC 3–0 New England Revolution
Wolfsburg and Union Berlin each had their chances but ultimately converted one a piece in a competitive draw. LAFC’s title defense continued on a strong foot taking down an ambitious Eastern Conference foe. Denis Bouanga is proving himself an MVP candidate in his own right, teammate of Carlos Vela or not. This isn’t a Batman and Robin situation: these are two members of MLS’s Justice League.
What I’m Watching This Coming Week
Tuesday, March 14th
Champions League Round of 16 2nd Legs 1 pm
Porto vs Inter (Inter leads 1–0)
Manchester City vs RB Leipzig (Tied 1–1)
Wednesday, March 15th
Champions League Round of 16 2nd Legs 1 pm
Napoli vs Eintracht Frankfurt (Napoli leads 2–0)
Real Madrid vs Liverpool (Real Madrid leads 5–2)
Tuesday’s ties are finely balanced, but I think Napoli and Real Madrid have done enough in the first legs to finish the job here. Stranger things have happened though. Did Liverpool use up all of their goals against Manchester United. Signs after a 1–0 loss to Bournemouth point to yes.
Thursday, March 16th
Europa/Conference League Round of 16 2nd Legs
10:45 am Europa League: Real Betis vs Manchester United (Manchester United leads 4–1)
1 pm Europa League: Arsenal vs Sporting CP (tied 2–2)
Manchester United and Arsenal both expect to win the Europa League, but how much the Red Devils rotate will be interesting to follow as they try to make up ground in the Premier League in the weekend. Arsenal have to focus on Thursday because Sporting CP, typical of the Portuguese big three in European competitions, are a tough out.
Friday, March 17th
12:30 pm Bundesliga: Borussia Monchengladbach vs Werder Bremen
Both sides are even at 30 points in midtable, but I expect a bounce back effort from the home side after RB Leipzig took them down 3–0.
Saturday, March 18th
Premier League
8 am Southampton vs Tottenham Hotspur
10:30 am Chelsea vs Everton
La Liga 1 pm Atlético Madrid vs Valencia
MLS
5:30 pm St. Louis City FC vs San Jose Earthquakes
Liga MX
8:10 pm Super Clasico Chivas vs America
This Saturday is jam packed with great matches, but the one I’m looking forward to most is the Super Clasico. If Chivas can find a way to beat America, then they’re for real this season. This is a huge test for Guadalajara.
Sunday, March 19th
PL
7 am Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
FA Cup
9:30 am Manchester United vs Fulham
1 pm El Clásico Barcelona vs Real Madrid
5 pm USL Championship Rio Grande Valley FC vs Oakland Roots
Arsenal and Manchester United are busy once again this week, and their depth will be tested and stretched against London opposition. Oakland Roots are staying in Texas for another week and hope to pick up at least a point before their home opener.
What better way to finish the European slate than El Clasico? Real Madrid and Barcelona have flashed some highs reminiscent of the Ronaldo and Messi days, but regardless of the players the expectation and desperation to win is ever present.
What did you think of the games I featured in this article?
What games are you watching this upcoming week?
How is your club facing and overcoming adversity this season?
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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