Part 163: Appendix: The Year in Football/Futbol/Fußball/Calcio/Soccer, 2023-2024

Appendix: The Year in Football/Futbol/Fußball/Calcio/Soccer, 2023-2024
June 8, 2024

I've decided to add labels to make it a touch easier to find specific competitions. They should break up the update and make it look like I'm not totally brainless when it comes to organizational chops.

England



It's been about two weeks since the notification that City was turfed from the Champions League over financial issues and it still brings a smile to my face. I only wish that a club other than Chelsea had been in fifth.



Our new feeders very nearly made it to the Premier League, losing in extra time in the playoff final to Burnley. Sky Shadowing should be pleased, though, once he fired Tosh all his problems were gone. Liverpool's new ownership brought them back up after only one year as well, and they kept the payroll at a gigantic £60 million pounds.



Poor Tackleford, they just can't win a promotion playoff to save their lives. They'll probably be promoted in a year or two, and then in another half decade might finally make it to the EPL.



F&#%ers.



We finally won one of these! Who'd have thought it would be easier to capture a Champions League title than a League Cup?

Europe



Big changes in Spain, as Barcelona finishes fourth again and Real Madrid crashes all the way out of Champions League qualification. That's despite Bastable tying for most goals scored in the league.



Juventus takes another scudetto, but this one comes thanks to a final day of the season victory over Cesena while Roma crashed and burned on Sardinia against Cagliari.



Leverkusen win their first ever Bundesliga title, 125 years after their founding.



I really want the PSG to get whacked with a Champions League suspension now. Their annual wage budget is the highest in the game by about £30m.



Porto helps rival Benfica secure the league, beating Sporting on the last day to give the other Lisbon team the title.



Ajax has won the Eredivise half of the time in the past decade. Them winning again is boring.



The Belgians have an odd playoff system where the team with the best record doesn't necessarily win the league. That's how Anderlecht wins the title despite Club Brugge having a clearly better season.



The Russian league has had 5 different winners since the 2014 season. Only Rubin Kazan has won more than two, while this is Rostov's first title.



None of the traditional powers in Turkey could match lowly Samsunspor, which won their first title in front of a capacity crowd of 16,480 screaming supporters.



It looks like Rangers is still some way off of restoring the Old Firm to full capacity, and Celtic won the league unchallenged.



Pity Barca, not only have they only won the league once in the last five years, they can't even win the Europa League.



I will retake what is mine, you Scottish bastard!

North America



Chivas did well, but not well enough to stop DC United from taking home the title. At least they won the Supporters Shield.



Tigres and Chivas win the apertura and clausura respectively, despite Atlas living up to their namesake and dominating the league in both halves. Meanwhile Cruz Azul gets relegated, which is surprising for what's a fairly large Mexican club.



DC United can't pull off the double, but Chivas does.

South America



It's been a long time since someone other than Palmieras, Flamengo, or Corinthians won the Brasileiro.



Velez wins both halves of the season, an impressive accomplishment for one of our pre-season opponents.



I was pulling for Penarol, which is the best club in Uruguay. Anything to see someone other than the Brazilian club win.

International



Our schedule will be a bit less busy without a trip to wherever the Club World Cup is being held.



We really should have beaten Honduras, but Uruguay would probably have steamrolled us.



Saudi Arabia? Really? Come on South Korea. Get your act together.



My first international trophy. Dos a cero, baby.



At least we lost to the winners. Just getting out of the group was a big accomplishment for our U23 squad. Hopefully the experience serves them well in the upcoming Olympics.