Soccer Players Named Thiago
Pamala
Thiago Almada was named the 2023 MLS Young Player of the Year, the league announced Monday, recognizing the midfielder's strong second year with Atlanta United. Almada, who joined the club in 2022 as a Designated Player signing, led Major League Soccer in assists (19) and goals outside the 18-yard box (six).
In 2023, Almada built off what was an impactful year for him in 2022 and took his play to the next level. This season, he made numerous statements with his play, including setting the club record for single-season assists, which he broke with five matches remaining in the regular season on September 16 against Inter Miami CF. Atlanta's "Starboy" finished the regular season with 19 assists, the most in MLS.
In addition to leading the league in assists and successful dribbles (95), Almada was also one of only a few players in MLS to tally double-digit goals and assists. The Argentine finished the regular season with 11 goals, second on the team behind only striker Giorgos Giakoumakis. At 21 years and 338 days old, Almada became the youngest player to earn MLS Player of the Month presented by CELSIUS Essential Energy honors, for February and March, since Daryl Dike in 2020.
Almada's standout campaign comes on the heels of a memorable year in 2022 in which he was a late replacement to the FIFA World Cup roster for the Argentina men's national team. Argentina lifted the trophy in Qatar, winning the nation's third World Cup, making Almada the first active MLS player to ever win the FIFA World Cup. He joined a short yet impressive list of players to both win the World Cup and play in MLS.
As one of the most talented players in MLS, Almada is also excellent for Atlanta United off the pitch. For such a young and talented player with loads of potential, Almada is frequently praised by coaches and teammates for his humility. That was evident earlier this year when, for his goal celebration, Almada revealed underneath his kit a T-shirt with the words "Fuerte Apache," a tribute to his home neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The 2023 recognition follows a brilliant introduction in his first professional season in MLS. Last season, Almada was named No. 2 on the 22 Under 22 List presented by BODYARMOR. Almada also made his senior international debut for Argentina on Sept. 23, 2022 in an international friendly against Honduras where he earned praise from world-class star, Argentina captain and now Inter Miami player Lionel Messi.
Monday's announcement marks Almada's first year-end award of the season and the second so far for Atlanta United. Last week, Giakoumakis was named the 2023 Newcomer of the Year, beating out Messi for the honor. Almada won the same award in 2022, giving Atlanta United the league's top newcomers in back-to-back years.
Almada, along with Giakoumakis, led this season's list of year-end awards for Atlanta United. Of the seven Atlanta United players nominated for awards, Almada and Giakoumakis received three nominations each, the most for the club. They were also two of three players, along with teammate Miles Robinson, to be announced finalists.
Almada is also a finalist for 2023 Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player and Robinson is a finalist for Comeback Player of the Year. Both winners will be announced at a later date. A full list of finalists can be found here.
AJ Tracey, who features on 'Thiago Silva' alongside Dave, put out a track in 2017 titled 'False', a song crammed with footballing references and dozens of namedrops, particularly of Tottenham players, who the London rapper supports.
The full list of players mentioned in that track are: Carlos Puyol, Eric Dier, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Luis Figo, Christian Eriksen, Luka Modric, Isco, Didier Drogba, Mario Gotze, 'Costa' (which Genius believes to reference both Douglas Costa and Diego Costa), Joshua Onomah, Nathan Oduwa and Hugo Lloris.
Whilst there are plenty more mentions in the music world to the likes of Ronaldo, Messi, Beckham and other legends of the game like Maradona and Pele, there aresome very bizarre namedrops out there too.
Houston Dynamo Academy product Alex Dixon (above), a University of North Carolina alum, made his senior debut for the Dynamo last Saturday and played all 120 minutes in the club's Open Cup match Wednesday night. Dixon's name may sound familiar to long-time MLS fans, as a different player named Alex Dixon saw action for the MetroStars nearly a decade ago. The first Alex Dixon, a Panamanian forward, made three appearances for the Metrostars in the 2001 Copa Merconorte but did not see any regular-season action.
Jorge Flores, the original Sueo MLS winner, made his debut for Chivas USA in 2007. But before him, there was the Jorge Flores who played for Dallas from 1996-98 and was capped once by the US national team. Though to be fair, it was in the infamous Peru game in October 1996, where replacement players were used.
While on the subject of names, 75 of the top 100 most common surnames from the 2000 US census have been represented among the more than 1,500 MLS players who have played in a competitive game since 1996, including all of the top 40. The top five last names not yet represented are Hill (41), Campbell (43), Carter (46), Turner (49) and Collins (52). Hill was close to being knocked off last year, as onetime US international Kamani Hill trained with the San Jose Earthquakes but was not signed.
All won the three finals with the team listed, except for Ibsen, who won the Open Cup with Chicago and the MLS Cup with San Jose. Ibsen is also the only one who never played on a Supporters' Shield winner.
The manager might arguably be the most important person at any soccer club, but only a handful of them can be considered household names. However, if you take a look at the dugouts around the Champions League, Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and Primeira Liga, you'll see a whole crop of coaches who could one day be the next world-famous figureheads of elite teams.
Some have already won league titles and major trophies with their current clubs, while others have shown they can compete with, and even beat, the traditional powerhouses despite working with less-heralded players and fewer resources. They might have taken all the knowledge and wisdom gleaned from the world's best coaches during glittering playing careers and applied it successfully to their own managerial styles, or they could have soaked up all they know from the sideline having failed to make the grade on the pitch.
But all of them have put themselves in the conversation for a job at one or more of the biggest clubs in Europe whenever they make their next moves. Who will replace Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich this summer? Or fill the shoes of Carlo Ancelotti when he inevitably steps down as Real Madrid boss?
Arne Slot will be the first cab off the rank. Sources have told ESPN that the 45-year-old is close to taking over for Jrgen Klopp at Liverpool a year after winning the Dutch Eredivisie with PSV Eindhoven.
Here is a look at Slot and 10 other managers who could soon be joining him at football's top table, with details on their signature styles of play, their biggest achievements to date and which clubs they have already been linked with.
Biggest achievement to date: Have you watched Leverkusen this season? Alonso & Co. won the Bundesliga title this year with a few games to spare in his first full season as a manager. His team is also in the German Cup final and the Europa League final later this month while still unbeaten in 50 games so far this season.
Clubs linked with: Liverpool and Bayern Munich wanted him badly, while Real Madrid eye him as the successor of Carlo Ancelotti when he will decide to leave. But Alonso chose to stay at Leverkusen for at least another season.
Since Pep Guardiola, we have never seen a manager be so successful in his first full season at a top club. While Guardiola had Lionel Messi and a stellar squad to call upon at Barcelona, Xabi Alonso pretty much had to do it all himself. He took over at the Bayer Arena from Gerardo Seoane when the team was 17th in the table in October 2022 and in crisis. Prior to joining, he'd only managed the Real Sociedad reserve team by then (with mixed results and an average points per game of 1.5 and a 40% win ratio), though his reputation and stock were both sky-high.
When you were one of the best players of your generation with one of the highest football IQs, and you'd been coached by Rafael Benitez, Jos Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti during your career, you may have seemed destined to becoming a top manager like Mourinho himself tipped Alonso to be. And it's fair to say he's already making history with this incredible 2023-24 season.
His team plays an exciting style of football that he has perfectly implemented with his squad. His recruitment (Victor Boniface, Ale Grimaldo, Granit Xhaka, Nathan Tella, to name just four) has been great, and he's drilled into his squad the same spirit that Alonso himself displayed when Liverpool won the Champions League in Istanbul back in 2005. Leverkusen have been the kings of late goals and late comebacks this season thanks to the mentality instilled by their fantastic manager. -- Julien Laurens
Style of play: Amorim is committed to a 3-4-3 system, anchored at the back by former Liverpool defender Sebastin Coates, with wing-backs expected to cover the entirety of their flanks. In midfield, Amorim deploys two box-to-box midfielders behind a front three led by a traditional No. 9. This season, Sweden forward Viktor Gykeres has helped to deliver the Portuguese title with 27 goals and 10 assists in 32 games.
Biggest achievement to date: Amorim ended Sporting's 19-year wait for a domestic title in 2020-21 and broke the Benfica-Porto duopoly in the Primeira Liga. He has backed that up by winning the title again this season.
Amorim is a strong character all too willing to defy authority. During his playing days at Benfica, he clashed with coach Jorge Jesus over team selection and refused to train with the nonplaying squad. During his first coaching job at third-tier Casa Pia, Amorim was given a one-year suspension by the Portuguese Football Federation for giving match instructions without having the coaching qualifications to do so; although the suspension was subsequently lifted, he resigned from his post.
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