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Well, D.C. United opens up preseason under interesting circumstances, so let’s take a peek, shall we?
Rumors about a Paul Arriola transfer to Club América continue to swirl (us): At last check, Paul, who signed a contract 18 months ago through the end of 2023, wants to go to Liga MX on a loan with an option to buy, which seems to be something he may be forcing, otherwise this wouldn’t be a loan? More to come on this, obviously.
But that’s not all on D.C.’s current Designated Players. In Peru’s friendly with Panama, Edison Flores was forced to leave in the 68th minute to a right knee injury:
Le aplican hielo en la zona del posterior a Marcos López y a Edison Flores en la rodilla. Gareca se acercó al Orejas para preguntarle cómo se sentía y Flores le indicó mientras pisaba hacia el suelo que le incomodaba la rodilla de la pierna derecha. Pronta recuperación . pic.twitter.com/TkngNtcSc9
— Camila Zapata Castillo (@zapccamila) January 16, 2022
He’ll be undergoing an MRI today.
D.C. United hopes to open training camp in better shape (WaPo): It’ll be one year tomorrow when D.C. made Hernan Losada’s hiring official, and he gets an offseason to prepare for this preseason, which he appears to have done.
Loudoun United retain Houssou, Downs for 2022 (us): I found Ryan Martin’s wording in the release of this interesting as if they might not expect to see Jeremy Garay a lot this year. Or I may be overanalyzing it, I dunno.
In AFCON results yesterday, former D.C. player Alhaji Kamara (who plays with Randers in Denmark these days) was Johnny on the spot for Sierra Leone against Ivory Coast:
UNBELIEVABLE. Ivory Coast were on their way to a 2-1 win against Sierra Leone but Sangaré loses possession of the ball and Alhaji Kamara pounces in stoppage time! 2-2! @MikeLahoud! (via @ESbeINSPORTS) pic.twitter.com/tFrnnyfDUP
— Luis Miguel Echegaray (@lmechegaray) January 16, 2022
Continuing with the former D.C. players theme, Felipe may have found a new home:
Per source: @FCCincinnati is working toward acquiring midfielder Felipe Martins. The Brazilian is currently a free agent after @dcunited declined his option. Martins has his green card. #FCCincy
— Joseph Même (not a hacker) (@ThreeDEF) January 17, 2022
The MLS eSports League suffered some controversy with D.C.’s player suffering racial abuse after his semifinal game:
Extremely disappointed of the level I showed today. The conditions were unplayable but that comes with the job.
— Mohamed Diop (@KingCJ0) January 16, 2022
I’m extremely disgusted and appalled but the comments I’ve seen after the completion of the game. No one deserves to be treated like that just for a game.
The League’s response Sunday night:
Statement on today's incident. #NoRoomForRacism pic.twitter.com/0nFbPP3vg0
— Major League Soccer | #eMLS (@eMLS) January 17, 2022
John Wilson on the Spontaneity of Filming ‘How To’ and Why New York Is the Perfect City for the Docuseries (Variety): I’ve been a fan of the HBO show since its premiere last year and found the journey through each episode a joy. This season saw it include bestselling author Susan Orlean(!) to its writing staff, but Season 2 highlights included peaks at NXIVM, energy drinks, college a capella singing, and wrapped up with a man’s quest to travel to the beach.
Anyway, let’s see how this week plays out!