GOAL US writers discuss the craziness of the football calendar, including MLS, Pepi, Reyna … and stuffing?
Happy Thanksgiving! It's that time of year again, but while many Americans will be celebrating the holiday, the soccer calendar ticks away. There are now no European international breaks until (March. Welcome to the beginning of the festive period. For some, this is merely a period of protecting hamstrings and trying to pick up points (looking at you, Gio Reyna.)
But there is football to analyze. Reyna is back for a mightily struggling Borussia Dortmund. Milan-Juventus was one of the more miserable games in footballing memory – seriously, there's talk that it could be the worst game ever. Is that too harsh? USWNT's Yunus Musah, who put in a rather fruitless shift, couldn't do much to redeem it – while Christian Pulisic made little impact when introduced with 20 mins remaining.
And on the domestic front, MLS is reaching a gripping climax. Conference finals are this weekend, and Inter Miami being out has blown this thing wide open – or at least potentially paved the way for the LA Galaxy to win their first title in 10 years. Finally, there is Ricardo Pepi. Suddenly, there's a footballer here… or maybe there always has been? After his hat-trick on the weekend, the USMNT striker scored a late Champions League winner for PSV on Wednesday.
GOAL US writers break it all down – with some Thanksgiving chat added for fun – in the latest edition of… The Rondo.
IMAGNWho is the favorite heading into MLS's Conference finals?
Tom Hindle: LA Galaxy, and by some distance. They're the best attacking team remaining by far – something they showed in battering Minnesota Sunday. Defense is going to be a real issue, but you'd honestly just back them to simply outscore whoever they're playing against. Even a rugged Seattle side probably won't stop them, and no one coming out of the East can, either.
Jacob Schneider: Emil Forsberg and the New York Red Bulls are a fun story – just two games from potentially lifting their first MLS Cup, and one game away from making an appearance the MLS Championship game for the first time since 2008. But the answer has to be the LA Galaxy. Their goal-scoring form at the moment is absolutely unreal, and the 'Three P's' of Puig, Pec and Paintsil are wreaking havoc. It is their's to lose.
Ryan Tolmich: The LA Galaxy, clearly. The Three P's are the most dangerous unit left in the playoffs, and arguably the most dangerous in the league aside from Inter Miami. The Sounders will be a tough match, for sure, but can they withstand Pec, Paintsil and Puig? It's a big ask, especially after a grueling win over LAFC.
Alex Labidou: Hate to be redundant, but I don't think there's any team that can match the Galaxy in a playoff format. Galaxy have five legitimate attacking threats in Riqui Puig, Joseph Paintsil, Dejan Joveljić, Gabriel Pec and Marco Reus, making them almost impossible to defend in this postseason.
AdvertisementGettyWhat does Gio Reyna's return mean for him, Dortmund?
TH: Not sure. If he manages to stay fit for more than about five days, then we might learn something. Reyna is an immense talent – that much is clear by now – but his injury record is just shambolic. A solid run of fitness off the bench for a poor Dortmund side could be good for him, and the USMNT more broadly. Let's see if his hamstrings can handle a few months of consistent football before we make any sweeping declarations. A fit Reyna would be immense for Mauricio Pochettino and the USMNT, though. Can't help but think he needs to be somewhere other than Dortmund for a fresh start.
JS: Honestly? Not much. He still needs to push for a loan or permanent move away in January if he is to continue the upward direction of his career path. He won't break into BVB's XI at the moment, and right now, he needs to be playing regularly.
RT: TBD! Being back is great, but he needs to play so, so badly. It's been years since we've seen both a fit and confident Reyna, and that's the version of him we need to see again, ASAP. If not, he'll face a fight to get back into the USMNT. If he does get going, though, what a present that will be for Pochettino, who will have a fantastic player to count on in this World Cup cycle.
AL: It's a step in the right direction, but Reyna desperately needs to find a situation where he can be featured again. With Pochettino publicly sharing he's open to playing to guys in playing in MLS if it's the right fit, maybe its time for the 22-year-old to seriously consider a move back stateside?
Getty ImagesWhat's next for Ricardo Pepi, now atop the Golden Boot race in Netherlands?
TH: For now? Keep scoring for your club. Next season? Probably a mid-table Bundesliga side. He's proved that he should start for PSV, but probably won't dislodge Luuk de Jong – such is the striker's connection to the club. We expect a lot out of American players, especially strikers. But the reality of this sport is most footballers need a few stops on the way to get to the top. Jude Bellingham, for example, had to go to Dortmund before he could make it at Madrid. This is not to say that Pepi is going to compete for the Ballon d'Or – rather, that he needs to prove it in a more competitive league before we start thinking about big, big clubs. He's got time, and American soccer would do well to remember that.
JS: He needs to be the regular in their XI – he needs to be starting ahead of De Jong. Transfer links are starting to surface, but January still feels a bit too soon. If he can push for 20+ goals with PSV this season across all competitions, that is a success.
RT: Starting minutes. Insanely, he's doing all of this scoring despite a limited run, which really shows how absurd his goal-per-minute ratio is. If he can translate that to more minutes played, that'll be a huge leap. Can he chase down Jozy Altidore's AZ numbers? If so, big things will be ahead for the American striker.
AL: Pepi is good enough to be starting for PSV, De Jong's legacy or not. If he's not going to start, then he needs to find the right situation to continue scoring. If he jumps for just the sake of it, he could put himself in a situation in which his form doesn't carry over. And that would be costly for both him and the USMNT.
Getty ImagesWas Milan vs. Juve the worst game of all time? If not, what was?
TH: Oh behave! Scoreless draws are no fun, but some people have never watched Coventry nil, Scunthorpe nil on a crap pitch on a wet Saturday lunchtime and it shows.
JS: It was dreadful, but expected to be honest. Neither team went for it, and with Christian Pulisic on the bench for Milan and no Vlahovic for Juve, things were trending downward from the start. Recalling boring matches is hard, because there's usually something exciting at least. But the one that comes to mind is Man City vs Arsenal in the 2023-24 Premier League season. It was a 0-0 draw where Arteta just parked the bus and Pep was content just playing in the midfield. A hyped-up match turned out to be a dreadful affair.
RT: Can specifically remember one gloomy NYCFC-Chicago Fire match from a few years back, but that may be tilted by me because of how cold it was. Milan-Juve was a disappointment, but not also an atypical game for two teams that were both somewhat desperate heading into it. Both need points to stay in the title race, and they each got one. For them, the result was fine, even if it really stunk to watch as a viewer.
AL: It was bad, but was as it bad as recent MLS All-Star games have been? The past two – in which the "MLS All-Stars" lost by a combined 9-1 to Arsenal and Liga MX All-Stars – were painful to watch.