Mackenzie Hawkesby, Monterrey and Juventus' Supercoppa Italiana win - your women's football roundup
Happy New Year!! 2024 is already shaping up to be a really exciting year in the women’s game, with league title fights, an NWSL season featuring two new clubs and the small matter of the Olympics all to look forward to, and there will be no shortage of action over the coming months for fans to get their teeth into and to debate with each other as each week goes by.
As ever, this newsletter will be there every step of the way, bringing you all of the latest news and analysis and ensuring that you are kept fully up to date with all of the latest goings-on, both on and off the field, with each edition containing talking points from the matches and a selection of reading and listening recommendations for you to peruse through at your leisure.
3 key talking points….
Why Mackenzie Hawkesby is so key to Sydney’s title hopes
When watching Sydney last season on their route to becoming A-League Champions, it was clear that a significant reason for their success was the way that they constructed phases of play and constantly looked to be on the front foot, with everyone buying into the game plan and working hard for the good of the team.
For more on Sydney’s title win in 2022/23, have a look at my article for Total Football Analysis here:
However, as with any club, there is always one who stands out amongst the rest and Sydney’s key player was undoubtedly midfielder Mackenzie Hawkesby, who tended to act as the glue that brought everything together for them whenever they had the ball.
Given the quality of her performances last season, it was of no surprise that she attracted a number of glances and secured a move to Brighton and Hove Albion last summer, alongside teammate Madison Haley, and many fans of the Australian club would have been sad to see her go.
However, it ultimately didn’t work out and she is now back in her home country and at her former side, where she has really hit the ground running and has picked up where she left off, with her playing especially well during last week’s match against Canberra United and demonstrating why she is so important to Sydney’s fortunes.
https://twitter.com/aleaguewomen/status/1742464253142188439
She was a little quieter against Central Coast Mariners at the weekend, but that was largely due to neither team being at their best and it being a largely forgettable encounter. However, there is no doubt that she has made a really strong impression on her return to the club, and fans will now be hoping that she maintains her form over the coming months as Sydney aim to both defend their Champions crown and add the Premiers moniker to it as well.
Carlee Giammona’s absence might not hurt Monterrey as much as first feared
Monterrey became known in the 2023/24 Liga MX Apertura tournament for the pace of their passing and transitions and were a team that were largely enjoyable to watch, and one player who was central to their form was American midfielder Carlee Giammona, who tended to play between the lines and who constantly pinned everything together for the team.
However, during the spell between the Apertura and the Clausura tournaments (the latter of which got underway at the weekend), Giammona announced her departure from the team and there is no doubt that a number of fans would have been worried about their side’s prospects without her in their ranks.
Those fears would have perhaps increased at the weekend as they struggled to beat a Puebla side who played well but lacked a goal threat and who were too open at times, but there was enough in the performance to show that, with time, Monterrey may actually adjust to life without Giammona and may find alternative ways to win matches (forward Jermaine Seoposenwe looked especially dangerous and could well be Giammona’s replacement as the one that the team is built around).
“What we saw of her in the World Cup is that she is one of the players who had the most participation in goal danger plays….her professionalism, discipline and effort are very important to Rayadas.”
Eva Espejo, speaking to Rayados90 after the signing of Jermaine Seoposenwe in August 2023.
It should be remembered that they are now in a period of transition, with head coach Eva Espejo moving to a sporting director role and being replaced by former Costa Rica boss Amelia Valverde, who seems to prefer a more direct, counterattacking style of play, and so patience will be needed and some iffy results like the one at the weekend will be incurred as the squad adjusts to new methods and ideas. However, there was enough in their performance to show that they can improve and perhaps those initial fears that they would struggle may not come to fruition after all.
Juventus’ Supercoppa Italiana win could give them renewed confidence
For a long period of time, Juventus were undoubtedly the ones to beat in Italy and the side who tended to lift almost all of the silverware available, with five Serie A titles, three Coppa Italia titles and three Supercoppa Italiana titles secured between 2017 and 2022.
However, a new superpower has emerged since then as Roma have stormed ahead and now look like dominating proceedings for some time to come, with Juventus relegated to second best and constantly fighting to stay in touch with them. In this season’s Serie A, they are six points behind Roma at the halfway stage, and it does look as if they will go another season without getting their hands on the league trophy.
For fans who fear that Juventus could be without a league triumph for a while, the weekend’s Supercoppa match may help to alleviate those concerns, with Joe Montemurro’s team putting on a really strong performance and deserving to win the match, and what would have been especially pleasing is that it was a victory secured with different players standing out, with defender Linda Sembrant a constant threat at set pieces whilst Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir marshalled the midfield really well and left-back Lisa Boattin played arguably her best game of the season.
https://twitter.com/juventusfcen/status/1744320543669846497
It wasn’t as if Roma played badly either, with the likes of Manuela Giugliano and Giada Greggi really thriving in the central third and ensuring that their side were just as efficient in transition as they always are, and so Juventus did have to be at their best to break them down. Therefore, in so many ways, it felt like a really significant victory for them, and it could be worth watching when the season resumes at the weekend to see if it has any bearing on their performances during the remainder of their campaign.
Read all about it….
Alternating midfield roles in the women’s game - with this being the first newsletter of the year, it is an opportunity to highlight some of the excellent writing that was published over the festive period, and one piece that really stood out was this one by Yash Thakur on how some midfielders have changed their roles, written as a guest post on Grace Robertson’s Grace on Football Substack page.
How scouting in the women’s game differs from the men’s game - on The Athletic, Charlotte Harpur has written this excellent article looking at how women’s teams use different methods to find potential targets, source data and create transfer shortlists. This is well worth spending some time looking at.
How the women’s game is growing in Argentina - in this week’s edition of The Guardian’s newsletter, Moving the Goalposts, Júlia Belas Trindade has taken a close look at the women’s game in Argentina, including how Boca Juniors are leading the charge towards a better standard of play, the challenges facing clubs in the division and how fans are getting behind the women’s game in increased numbers.
Lend me your ears….
Steph Fairburn - with many leagues yet to return and podcasts also not yet back from their breaks, an interesting podcast that was published before Christmas that is worth listening to is this episode of The Curve Mindset with McGinley Coaching, which features coach and editor Steph Fairburn. The episode discusses many different aspects of the game and is well worth spending some time tuning in to.
As an addition, a new video-based platform has launched this week called All For Wofo, focusing on different leagues all over the world. It is well worth subscribing to on YouTube if you are interested in the wider global game.
That’s all for now - back next week!!