News of the Week

Welcome our daily briefing on the latest news across the football world! From scores to major stories, we publish two to four of the top headlines every day of the week below!

Last Week’s News

Monday, May 13

A new boss in Canada — Jesse Marsch was hired as the Canadian men’s national team head coach. The American returns to Canada, where he coached his first professional club in then named Montréal Impact in their expansion season in 2012. Since then, he managed to win a Supporters’ Shield with New York Red Bulls in 2015 and completed coaching stints at Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig and Leeds United, from which he was sacked in February 2023. Marsch hola particular the job title — MLS Canada Men’s National Team Head Coach — courtesy of philanthropic contributions by owners of Canada’s three MLS clubs to the Canadian Soccer Association to help Marsch obtain the job.

San Diego moves — After Hirving Lozano, American journalist reports that soon-to-be Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion club San Diego FC are in advanced talks to sign Sevilla FC defender Sergio Ramos. The Spaniard would join a lineup of former La Liga stars joining MLS, particularly clubs located in cities that can offer similar weather to Spain year-round. Beware MLS supporters, according journalist Graeme Bailey San Diego are also reportedly pursuing a Kevin de Bruyne signing!

Inching closer to Champions League — Aston Villa erased a 3-1 deficit to draw level 3-3 with Liverpool FC, which officially dropped out of the Premier League title race. Owing in large part to forward Ollie Watkins's late brace, the club are one point away from a long-awaited return to the UEFA Champions League, a competition they won in 1982 during which it was named the European Cup.

Last Week’s News

Tuesday, May 7

UEFA Champions League — Borussia Dortmund became the first club to qualify for the 2023-24 UCL final after doubling their advantage and defeating PSG by a 1-0 score (2-0 on aggregate), courtesy of a 50th-minute goal scored by defender Mats Hummels. The Black and Yellow advance to a third UCL final and a first appearance in 11 years; Dortmund will seek their second UCL title, which they last won in 1996-97 against Juventus FC by a 3-1 score.

Bombshell in Montréal — CF Montréal drew against Canadian Premier League (CPL) club Forge FC 1-1 during a match that was strangely played at 11:00 EDT. Former Montréal forward David Chonière scored the first-half opener for Forge, whereas half-time substitute Bryce Duke level the score several minutes into the second half. As well, club Sporting Director Olivier Renard reportedly announced his resignation in abrupt fashion, leaving the club without a sporting director barely halfway into the 2024 season. Amid alleged friction between Renard and Saputo, the club once again faces a major front office dilemma, which is highlighted by constant changes in management. Hired in October 2019, Renard oversaw the hiring of Thierry Henry as manager in 2020, a consecutive Canadian Championship title in 2021 and a historic 2022 season that saw Montréal finish the regular season with 20 wins and a total of 65 points, both of which constitute club records.

Wednesday, May 8

UEFA Champions League — In Spain, Real Madrid rallied from a 1-0 deficit (3-2 on aggregate) against Bayern Munich, with forward Joselu scoring two late goals to win the semifinal second leg match by a 2-1 score (4-3 on aggregate). In a match marred by controversial calls and no-calls, Madrid prevailed and reach their sixth final within the last 10 years. Should they defeat Dortmund at Wembley on June 1, Madrid would win their sixth title in as many final appearances during the 10-year period and claim a record 15th title.

Canadian Championship — In addition to CF Montréal’s 1-1 draw against Forge FC on Tuesday, the first leg matches of the Canadian Championship quarterfinals concluded with three entertaining matches. First, on Tuesday evening, Vancouver Whitecaps defeated CPL club Cavalry FC by a 2-1 score at ATCO Field in Calgary. On Wednesday, Atlético Ottawa and Pacific FC duelled to a 0-0 draw in the nation’s capital. Finally, Toronto FC grabbed a 3-0 away victory against CS Saint-Laurent in what was a historic match for the Montréal-based club. The second leg matches of the competition’s quarterfinal stage will be played next week at Stade Saputo (Montréal), BC Place (Vancouver), Starlight Stadium (Langford, for the Pacific-Ottawa match) and BMO Field (Toronto), respectively. It is worth noting that away goals count as a tie-breaker in this competition.

Thursday, May 9

A worldwide celebration — The United Nations declared May 25 as World Football Day. This date marks the first football match played in an official international competition: the 1924 Summer Olympic games, which were held in Paris. This year, Paris will once again host the Summer Olympics, a perfect occasion to celebrate a centennial that brought so many memories for football fans across the world.

UEFA Europa League — The second leg matches of the UEFA Europa League (UEL) semifinals concluded in a 3-0 Atalanta victory against Marseille and a 2-2 draw between Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma, respectively. Entering Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo level 1-1 on aggregate, Atalanta dominated their way to their first European final in club history. They will face Bayer Leverkusen, which scored two late unanswered goals to extend their unbeaten run to 49 matches, eclipsing SL Benfica’s record for the longest unbeaten streak among all European clubs. Leverkusen are now a couple of wins away from a treble and potentially an undefeated one. The final will be played at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.

UEFA Europa Conference League — The second leg matches of the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) semifinals concluded with a 1-1 draw between Club Brugge and ACF Fiorentina and a 2-0 Olympiacos victory against Aston Villa. Heading to Bruges with a 3-2 advantage, Fiorentina secured a consecutive berth to the UECL final. The Italian club will look to win their first European title against Olympiacos, which will appear in their first European final after defeating Aston Villa 6-2 on aggregate. Olympiacos will undoubtedly have most of the crowd on their side, with the final will be held in Athens at OPAP Arena, the home ground of AEK Athens.

Confirmed Departures — CF Montréal officially announced the departure of Sporting Director Olivier Renard, who was at the helm since October 2019. In addition, the club’s Assistant Sporting Director, Vassili Cremanzidis penned his resignation with immediate effect. The club is now without a sporting director and an assistant sporting director as it nears the halfway mark of the 2024 season.

Friday, May 10

A heartfelt goodbye — Kylian Mbappé confirmed his departure from PSG via a heartfelt video message posted on his social media accounts. Mbappé thanked the club’s supporters their welcome to his home town. Having played seven season following his arrival in summer 2017 from then defending champions AS Monaco, the French superstar will play his final match at Parc des Princes on Sunday against Toulouse FC; he will play his final match in PSG colours on Saturday, May 25 in the Coupe de France final against Lyon. The Frenchman is linked with a move to Real Madrid, his favourite club growing up in suburban Paris.

History in the making — On Friday, Serie B club Como won promotion to Serie A, a league in which they will feature for the first time since 2002-03. Managed by former superstar player Cesc Fàbregas, the Northern Italian club will host some of Italy’s finest squads in their stadium situated along the iconic Lake Como. The club played in Serie D — Italy’s fourth division — as recently as the 2018-19 season.

Guess who’s back, back again — On that same day, French club AJ Auxerre clinched the Ligue 2 title with one match to spare, thus gaining promotion back into Ligue 1. Angers SCO and AS Saint-Etienne — two former Ligue 1 clubs — will compete for second place, which also guarantees promotion to France’s highest division; the third place club will compete against the 16th-place Ligue 1 club in a two-legged promotion playoff round.