The Beautiful Game 2023 Chapter 7: Football Heritage
Before continuing with the rest of the article, I join the rest of the soccer community in condemning the racist actions committed by Dante Vanzeir during the New York Red Bulls/San Jose Earthquakes game. I address it later in this article as well, but I felt that acknowledgement was important before addressing the other content I originally planned on writing about this week.
In California, the most commonly spoken languages are English and Spanish. When it comes to Football Heritage, English and Spanish speakers naturally gravitate toward the leagues where those languages are spoken. The Premier League and La Liga are arguably the two best leagues in the world. Major League Soccer and Liga MX are also popular and relatively local. However, an important part of the Beautiful Games’ Football Heritage includes two other top level leagues: The Bundesliga and Serie A. My featured matches on this week’s edition of The Beautiful Game hail from Germany and Italy respectively, and there’s a lot to keep an eye on in those leagues as the European seasons draw to a close.
Featured Matches
9:30 am Bundesliga: Hertha Berlin 0–1 RB Leipzig (40’ Haidara)
Hertha XI: Oliver Christensen; Filip Uremovic(74’ Stevan Jovetic), Marc-Oliver Kempf, Marton Dardai; Jonjoe Kenny(62’ Jessic Ngankam), Lucas Tousart(62’ Suat Serdar), Tolga Cigerci, Kevin-Prince Boateng(62’ Marco Richter), Marvin Plattenhardt(c); Dodi Lukebakio, Wilfried Kanga(74’ Florian Niederlechner)
Leipzig XI: Janis Blaswich; Mohamed Simakan, Willi Orban(c), Josko Gvardiol; Benjamin Henrichs, Amadou Haidara, Kevin Kampl, David Raum; Dominik Szoboszlai, Timo Werner, Emil Forsberg
Derek Rae said it best: Hertha Berlin gave it everything but it wasn’t enough. That’s the cold reality for this proud club based in the German capital as their nightmare season continues. RB Leipzig added to the misery winning their 7th visit in a row to the Olympiastadion. The last free kick for Hertha summed up their performance: so close yet so far. They scrapped for opportunities and to keep it 1–0 for most of the game, but when it came time to equalize, they just lacked the quality. It’s a far cry from the mid table staple that became known to American fans as the team featuring John Brooks as their rock in defense prior to his move to Wolfsburg. With Union Berlin set to qualify for the Champions League, Hertha Berlin getting relegated would be disastrous for their standing among the citywide football fandom. RB Leipzig remains in pursuit of the premier European destination to begin restoring their reputation as a threatening team (because any other positive reputation as a Red Bull team in Europe is hard to establish).
11:45 am Serie A: Lazio 2–1 Juventus (38’ SMS, 53’ Zaccagni; Rabiot 42’)
Lazio XI: Ivan Provedel; Adam Marusic, Nicolo Casale, Alessio Romagnoli, Elseid Hysaj; Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Danilo Cataldi(70’ Matias Vecino), Luis Alberto; Felipe Anderson, Ciro Immobile(c)(64’ Pedro), Mattia Zaccagni(84’ Toma Basic)
Juventus XI: Wojciech Szczęsny; Federico Gatti, Bremer, Alex Sandro; Juan Cuadrado(c)(70’ Danilo), Nicolo Fagioli(86’ Fabio Miretti), Manuel Locatelli(63’ Leandro Paredes), Adrien Rabiot, Filip Kostic(63’ Federico Chiesa); Angel di Maria; Dusan Vlahovic(63’ Arkadiusz Milik)
It feels weird saying this during Napoli’s blowout Serie A title campaign, but the last few seasons of Serie A have been some of the most interesting to follow in sometime. Juventus’s presence in this game is a reminder that scandal still plagues the Italian game, but the excellence of the Milan clubs in the prior two seasons and the rise of Napoli and Lazio in the top 2 is remarkable. Lazio could be a wildcard factor in next season’s champions league with long time staples Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic leading the charge. Juventus are still a talented team but the player chemistry and tactics leave room for improvement as Dusan Vlahovic keeps being left on an island with this current set up.
Now for a look at some other games around the world of football.
Monday, April 3rd
La Liga: Valencia 1–1 Rayo Vallecano
Rayo Vallecano had the home side on the road for most of the game at La Mestalla, but Justin Kluivert rescued a point from the penalty spot. Valencia are a shadow of their former selves but maybe they still have enough quality to just about survive the drop.
Tuesday, April 4th
US Open Cup: Oakland Roots 3–1 El Farolito
Follow this hyperlink for a complete match report on this game.
Wednesday, April 5th
Premier League: Manchester United 1–0 Brentford
It was a tight and efficient game, but right now the victory is the most important thing for Manchester United seeking any sort of form amid a busy fixture period.
Thursday, April 6th
US Open Cup: Richmond Kickers 3–2 Cleveland SC
When you don’t have a horse in the race, it’s not a bad idea to root for the coolest name. Thankfully, Richmond Kickers pulled through (after a long rain delay) and rounded out the field of Round 3 participants in the US Open Cup.
Friday, April 7th
Serie A: AC Milan 0–0 Empoli
It appears AC Milan used up all their goals for the week against Napoli. Perhaps they’re picking their battles with the Champions League return looming (hence the rotation), but a club of Milan’s size and being defending champions they’re eager to show up and show out.
Saturday, April 8th
USL Championship: Indy Eleven 0–3 Oakland Roots
MLS: New York Red Bulls 1–1 San Jose Earthquakes
Image Credit: MLSSoccer.com
Overall it was a solid road trip for the Bay Area soccer teams, and Oakland Roots turned a positive midweek into an impressive week overall. However, my enthusiasm for analyzing any other aspect of the San Jose Earthquakes game went out the window because of the unacceptable actions from Dante Vanzier.
Based on the reactions of Jeremy Ebobisse and the other players involved when it happened, it was clear to see Vanzier used a racial slur during the game. There is absolutely no place for that anywhere in society and racist actions continuing to plague soccer leagues across the world is one of the most shameful occurrences. Red Bulls Head Coach Gerhard Struber also needs to take a long look in the mirror because he had the power to protect the Black players on the field by subbing Vanzier out and he chose not to. Vanzier almost scored a goal minutes after play resumed, and that would’ve distracted from the more important action that needed to be dealt with. Professional athletes serve as role models for many children and fans and with the state of the country right now where there are sources of hate through many politically associated groups and decisions, hate needs to be extinguished whenever possible.
Jeremy Ebobisse is a loved and respected person across the San Jose Earthquakes fandom. He handled the situation as best as anyone could, but it’s important to acknowledge that Black People as well as all People of Color face these negative interactions far too often including in professional settings. Oftentimes they are in lose-lose situations where if they say nothing, they feel powerless but if they react a certain way, they are painted as angry or villainous. In order to protect our friends, family, coworkers, and community when they are targeted by such attacks, we must listen to them to ensure their safety and well being is restored as soon as possible. That is the number one priority no matter what else is going on.
Sunday, April 9th
8:30 am Premier League: Liverpool 2–2 Arsenal
Possibly the Premier League game of the season given the stakes, drama, quality of play, shifts in momentum, and anything else you would want in a game. Arsenal’s title dreams are dented but still alive and Liverpool reminded the world that Anfield is still a place to be feared.
10:30 am Bundesliga: Hoffenheim 2–0 Schalke 04
Kill or be killed was the vibe of this game. Hoffenheim boosted their survival hopes with a win and now sit at 14th, while this result pushed Schalke to the bottom of the Bundesliga barrel. Still only 2 points from 16th which at least is the Relegation Playoff lifeline, so keep an eye on the German relegation battle.
Goal of the Week
Saving the best for last was the Oakland Roots policy when they visited Indy Eleven, with Edgardo Rito providing a classy finish to the third goal in a 3–0 victory (starts at 2:30)
Games I’m Watching this Week (All Times PST)
Tuesday, April 11
UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals
12 pm Benfica vs Inter
12 pm Manchester City vs Bayern
CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals
7:15 pm LAFC vs Vancouver Whitecaps (3–0 agg)
Wednesday, April 12
UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals
12 pm Milan vs Napoli
12 pm Real Madrid vs Chelsea
CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals
7 pm Atlas vs Philadelphia Union (0–1 agg)
Thursday, April 13
UEFA Europa League Quarter Finals
9:45 am Feyenoord vs Roma
12 pm Manchester United vs Sevilla
Friday, April 14
EFL Championship: 12 pm Middlesbrough vs Norwich City
Saturday, April 15
Premier League: 7 am Everton vs Fulham
Bundesliga: 9:30 am Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Monchengladbach
Major League Soccer
4:30 pm Toronto FC vs Atlanta United
7:30 pm San Jose Earthquakes vs Sporting Kansas City
Sunday, April 16
Premier League: 8:30 am Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United
Bundesliga: 10:30 am Wolfsburg vs Bayer Leverkusen
Major League Soccer 1:30 pm LA Galaxy vs LAFC
Thank you as always for reading. Regardless of your Football or Ancestral Heritage, I hope you continue to find love and community through the beautiful game! Love always triumphs over hate.
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