Quick Debrief
Several fall-spring UEFA leagues kicked back off, including Switzerland, Poland, Denmark, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, and more. Most spring-fall leagues in cooler countries & the Americas have already started back up after World Cup breaks as well.
I watched 4 of the 5 Swiss Super League games to celebrate biting the bullet and subscribing to their streaming service. Very high quality, covers Super League & Challenge League… although it’s expensive.
Lee Kang-in finalized his move to Atlético Madrid on Friday.
Wisła Kraków had their first game back in Ekstraklasa, the Polish top flight, since being relegated in 21/22. Over 31,000 fans saw them beat GKS Katowice 2-1 in a cracking game. Atmospheres at these big Ekstraklasa stadiums are second to none, and Wisła spearheaded a bumper weekend for the fast-growing league.
Selected Match Report
The best game I watched this weekend was Lugano’s 2-1 win over Super League newcomers Vaduz (who are from Liechtenstein and actually can’t even win the league… the Swiss team in 2nd would win the title in that case).
This was also Lugano’s first match in their gorgeous new stadium, an almost 9,000-seat stadium in the Alps. But the football was even better!
Fluid possessions, high-tempo, one-twos, third-mans, constant line-breaks up the middle and runs in-behind… I was really impressed at the quality Vaduz brought to the game to basically match Lugano’s high quality play. Lugano finished 3rd last year and have been in the top 4 every season in this decade. Vaduz are back in the top flight after 5 seasons in the Challenge League.
Both of Lugano’s goals came from corners in the first half, though. Their strong possession play didn’t directly result in a goal, and it showed Vaduz’s weakness in this area. Mistakes on set pieces at this level will be punished.
Vaduz deservedly scored a goal, although they might be bummed not to have scored 1 or 2 more. I think a loss is an unfair result for them to be honest.
I gave this game a remarkable 9/10 on my extremely subjective scale. Mostly down to both teams playing a style of football that matches my preferences and the way I would have my teams play if I was a director of football. I’m very excited to keep watching both these teams throughout the season.
Weekend Notes
Lee Kang-in moved from PSG to Atlético Madrid, bringing him back to Spain after 3 years in Paris. Below is his radar from Ligue 1 last season, highlighting how much of an impact he has on his team’s creativity. It will be interesting to see him in a Diego Simeone side, but it will also be thrilling to finally see him in one of the top teams in La Liga.
Loudoun United in the USL Championship, the “2nd tier” of US soccer, picked up their first league win since May 10th, and their first win period since beating in-state rivals from the 3rd tier, Richmond Kickers, in a Cup game on June 7th. They beat Indy Eleven 1-0 in Indianapolis, which is actually one of the hardest away trips in the US this season: Indy had won 6 and drew 1 in their 7 home games prior to this match.
Finally, thank you for reading the first-ever edition of the Weekend Review. As you can see, the aim is to provide just a few highlights that I’ve seen during the weekend. A few quick bullet points, an interesting game to call out, and then a few paragraphs with some more info. This format will probably evolve as this website develops
— Ben