Wednesday Freedom Kicks: Exclusive Frédéric Brillant interview, All-Star game coming to town, and more

Folks, with Summer officially here, it looks like Mother Nature is trying to follow suit. We may not have a weekend like last weekend again until this Fall. All I ask is that Thursday and Friday cooperate as my wife and I look to celebrate our anniversary with little day trips to Harpers Ferry and Havre de Grace (Haver duh Grace? Haver di Graysee? ‘ahv de Grahs?). In the meantime, there are kicks for you!

Exclusive: D.C. United assistant coach Frédéric Brillant on the transition to his new role, what he learned from Emmanuel Abreu and Patrick Vieira, and more: Do you like exclusive interviews with Black & Red United? Because I do. This is a particularly fun read with a French accent, because all things are better with French accents, including Brillant.

Voting open for 2022 MLS All-Star Game: We can now vote for who we want to take on Liga MX in the MLS All-Star Game. Now’s your chance to stuff the ballot with D.C. United players... or don’t so players have less opportunities for injury. Up to you!

MLS Expected to award 2023 All-Star Game to Audi Field: Rumors that D.C. will get to host next year’s All-Star game intensify as a formal announcement looks to be on the schedule for tomorrow (definitely the anniversary present my wife wanted).

USMNT to face Japan and Saudi Arabia in final preparation matches before the World Cup: The US National Team will be heading to Spain to play these friendlies against fellow World Cup contenders in what I think is the last set of matches before this winter’s World Cup. We’re obviously going to win the World Cup of course because it’s in MLS’ offseason. Wait, the team may not have any MLS players on it? Opportunity to coast to victory wasted! Put Paul Arriola in and he’ll win us the Cup!

Loudoun United with two Team of the Week players: Turns out, winning games (with four goals scored to boot) increases your odds of making Team of the Week status. Congrats Abdellatif Aboukoura and Sami Guediri!

McLaren introduced their new GT4 race car, and it’s a beauty. GT4 is often considered the entry level for GT racing. These cars appear as a sort of tuned up version of the car you can, with a little will power and a little more money, own and drive on the road; this contrasts to the more expensive and heavily modified GT3 sportscars driven professionally by the best drivers and teams in the world.

With that, I’m off to prepare for our anniversary excursions! I know nothing of Harpers Ferry or Havre de Grace, so use this Freedom Kicks not as an opportunity to discuss soccer (as it most definitely should be used), but as an opportunity to guide me and my wife around these towns so that I may impress her, thereby keeping this marriage alive!