2021 in Soccer: A Year in Review

What a year! From the lens of the football/soccer world let's talk about the biggest news stories from 2021 as the year comes to an end.

Topics Covered:

NWSL Coaches and Owners Controversies + Washington Spirit win NWSL Championship
Qatar World Cup/Newcastle United/Sports washing
Underdogs win major leagues (Lille, Atletico, Inter, Rangers)
Chelsea win the UCL, Villarreal win the UEL
Messi gets his 7th Ballon d’Or, Lewandowski got robbed? (Lewa most Bundesliga goals in a single season - 41)
Super League Fiasco + Biennial World Cup
USMNT beats Mexico 3 times in 1 calendar year
Barcelona, Juventus, Dortmund, Lyon, Manchester United struggle
Italy wins at the Euros, Argentina win Copa America, France Wins Nations League, and Algeria win their first FIFA Arab Cup, CanWNT wins gold at the Olympics
Christian Eriksen and Sergio Aguero: the Footballing world refocuses on player health
Ronaldo and Messi make big transfers, Sancho to United, Grealish nets the largest transfer fee for an English player, Lukaku returns to Chelsea, Insigne to Toronto (MLS transfer record)
Manager Shuffle - Mourinho to Roma, Ancelotti to Real Madrid, Xavi to Barcelona, Rangnick to MUFC, Tuchel to Chelsea, Allegri to Juventus, Rose to Dortmund, x Nagellsman to Bayern, Conte to Tottenham, Hansi Flick to German National Team (Mourinho, OGS, Koeman, Zidane, Pirlo out)
COVID-19 Affects competitions
NYCFC/NE Revs win MLS honors - MLS CBA, Columbus Crew Rebrand, Austin FC’s expansion season
USMNT Breakout stars: Hoppe, Pepi, Turner, Miles Robinson, Musah, Chris Richards, Pefok, Scally, Aaronson
USMNT failed to make the Olympics for the third consecutive time.