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Hello, everyone!
To end the week, we have head coaches Juan Amoros and Karen Hills, and the back of forward Lucy Quinn.
Ramble of the Day
Today, I bring to you a classic story about football in the United States. This time, it is about the often discussed experience of some of the world’s best and most famous footballers get to go under the radar in North America.
The Athletic’s Pablo Maurer wrote a terrific article about people running into Wayne Rooney in Washington, D.C. while he was a D.C. United player. I encourage you to read the whole thing, but this is a most important excerpt that I absolutely need to share:
American University professor Nancy Kidder has her own lasting memories of Rooney after a particularly special encounter just days before he left.
Walking into southwest D.C. bar Whiskey Charlie around midnight on October 11th, Kidder and her husband assumed they’d be in for a lowkey nightcap, just one more celebratory drink after watching the Washington Nationals win Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. Kidder, though, got far more than she bargained for. Over the next three hours, she and her husband ended up sharing drinks and conversation with one of soccer’s most high-profile megastars. [...]
hough Kidder is a self-professed sports fan, she did not recognize Rooney at first, despite having attended several United matches earlier in the year. She did identify his Scouse accent though, which gave her a natural lead-in while making conversation with this random stranger.
“I asked him where he was from,” Kidder recalls. “When he told me, I was like — ‘oh my gosh, have you heard of this story, the whole ‘Wagatha Christie’ thing?’”
“Are you serious?” Wayne Rooney replied in disbelief. Kidder shrugged, nodding in confirmation. “That’s my wife!”
Maybe it’s a few more words than you’re interested in on a Friday when you’re still thinking about Mauricio Pochettino being replaced by José Mourinho. I naturally had to share the tale, though, because this has to be a place where as much Coleen Rooney appreciation as is normal should exist.
tl;dr: A story about a stranger asking Wayne Rooney if he knows about Wagatha Christie.
Links of the Day
The Dutch men’s first and second divisions will protest racism by players standing still for the opening minute of each match this weekend.
Former Korean international Yoo Sang-chul has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Diego Maradona has decided not to quit as the Gimnasia coach.
MLS’ Chicago Fire has rebranded and announced a new crest.
U.S. national team players Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger will star in and executive produce a reality show based on Israel’s GirlStar.
Today’s longer read: Donald McRae interviews Vincent Kompany on adversity, coaching Anderlecht, and working under Pep Guardiola for The Guardian