Hail GFOP!

Rog writes: What a weekend. One in which Paris Saint-Germain turned the rest of the world into their Farmer's League. I don't know about you, but I am still sitting here in awe at the style of the record-breaking 5-0 obliteration of old man Inter Milan. A team who were overwhelmed by the youth, tactical nuance, and soulful football unfurled by Luis Enrique's collective. In the past, French teams have been hailed for their "Champagne football." This was Dom Perignon Brut-caliber Champagne football. The manager Enrique was the human face of victory. The courage and emotional poetry with which he has talked about the agonizing loss of his nine-year-old daughter, memorialized by the PSG ultras in their moment of glory. The geopolitics of a nation state owning a football team and throwing $2 billion at it over 14 years, hurtling through marquee names, and marquee managers, and distorting the transfer market in the process is one that Rory Smith wrote about intelligently here. The exclamation point moment of victory was the culmination of a desperate desire which matched those with which Daniel Day-Lewis wanted to drink your milkshake in “There Will Be Blood”. Liberté, Égalité, Désiré Doué. Let the lasting image of the weekend however, be Luis Enrique. Football is at its best when it transcends sports. His story, and his courage, should be the sole memory. That and the surreal Linkin Park micro-pre-game show, obvs.

More: Rory Smith and I broke down the Champions League final, with him live in the stadium in Munich. 

ii. Our attention now moves to the U.S. Men's National Team and their supreme test of a summer that lies ahead. We are proud to unveil a new member of the network who will become the face and voice of our USMNT coverage, starting this Saturday with a USMNT vs. Turkey watchalong (on TruTV and HBO Max at 3:30 p.m. ET) with NBA great Chris Paul and NFL star Cam Jordan as guests. After the self-immolation of the Nations League, and the lack of key players like Pulisic and Musah who have not reported to camp, this team must prove itself to itself with the World Cup almost at the one-year-out mark, and almost every single position still up for grabs. The Gold Cup is a tournament still trying to find its standing in the global pecking order, but my lord, rarely has it felt more important in terms of raising morale for this team, in our nation, at this crucial time. We have so much content coming out this week which will set out all you need to know about the Gold Cup teams and storylines.

iii. I spent Saturday morning in Philadelphia with Tyler Adams filming his thoughts as he opened a football pitch alongside Allstate at an elementary school in Yeadon, Pa. It was incredible to witness the kids training with him. A taste of what this nation needs to make the game go next level—accessible, affordable football in undeserved communities. I left inspired, hoping it is a preview of what the future of the game will look like across the country. 

iv. Congratulations to LAFC for tenaciously dropping Club América and grabbing the backdoor lifeline into the Club World Cup. The tournament itself remains a surreally flung together prospect. But for LAFC, the chance to represent MLS and face Chelsea, Espérance de Tunis and Brazilian power Flamengo is some prospect. I am so happy for their incredible supporters – the journey ahead feels like the stuff of fan fiction.

PS - I hate the fact there is no Premier League in our lives. This weekend, the first of 11 without, I did not know what to do with my hands. This was my highlight – a really lovely CBS Saturday film about the Atlantan soccer bar that was voted America's best in our recent Michelob Ultra nationwide search, Brewhouse Cafe. I love that place, and adore that city, and could not be prouder.  

To more, together. 

Courage,

ROG

It’s PSG’s World, We're All Just Living in It 🏆

- Written by Tommy Stewart

Paris Saint-Germain 5-0 Inter Milan 

When existentialist writer and underrated goalkeeper, Albert Camus, said “Youth is above all a collection of possibilities,” he could have been talking about Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain side. Although bookmakers favored them, the rest of the world were inconclusive on this final before it happened, with many gunning for Simone Inzaghi’s battle-worn Inter, whose experienced team had the opportunity to avenge their defeat to Manchester City on this stage two years ago. That all seems absolutely obscene now, because Enrique’s irresistible teenagers and 20-somethings instead recorded the largest margin of victory in European Cup final history, making a very good Nerazzurri side look haggard and irrelevant. 

The young, free and disciplined interpretation of PSG that has been moulded by Enrique used their inexperience as their greatest weapon, never once appearing phased or intimidated during this match, which began with a novel kick off that said to Inter “you’re going to play this game our way.” Their dynamic passing effortlessly bypassed Inter’s defense for Achraf Hakimi to tap the ball into an open net in the 12th minute for the first goal, setting the mood for the rest the match. While Inter drowned in their own lost lack of incision, PSG countered and 19-year-old Désiré Doué, comic book protagonist in name and supernatural ability, struck a deflected goal into Yann Sommer’s net. 

The only hope Inzaghi’s side had was half-time, and history says that a 2-0 deficit at this point of a European final is not a death sentence, but the savage nature and patterns of play in PSG’s performance only expanded in the second half. Doué got his double, adding to his first half goal and assist, becoming the first player in Champions League final history to record three goal contributions, before he was sent to bed early by Enrique, who seemingly wanted his whole side to eat as well as Rory Smith has in Munich. Georgian winger and the man your dad is still trying to pronounce the name of, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, deservedly added the fourth 10 minutes later, before Senny Mayulu made it an unforgiving five in the 86th minute. At 90 minutes on the dot, referee, István Kovács, said “Stop, they’re already dead,” negating injury time embarrassment and generously blowing his whistle so Inter could catch the next flight back to Milan. In a literal sense, it was men against boys, but the fearless, reckless abandon of youth proved to be all that mattered. 

More: PSG 2.0 have potential to dominate but young stars could be lured away

Luis Enrique’s Long, Hard Road

Even though the Champions League final is one of the most prestigious games in the football calendar, it was the subplot on Saturday night, as Luis Enrique’s late daughter was immortalized in a tifo by PSG’s fans. The former Barcelona and Spain manager, who became only the second person after his old Barca teammate, Pep Guardiola, to win the treble with two different clubs, said: “It was very emotional at the end with the banner from the fans for my family. But I always think about my daughter." He won his first treble at Barcelona, where he miraculously found a way to simultaneously massage the egos of Messi, Suarez and Neymar, but a decade on, he’s employed a completely contrary methodology to that. Egos were stripped and sold, and the prevailing ones that remained, such as the often-frustrating or unfit, Ousmane Dembélé, were controlled; he’s now become the complete footballer he always threatened to be. “I still think we’re better in attack and defense [without Kylian Mbappe],” said Enrique after the main man left for Madrid last year, and like almost every word that’s come from the manager’s mouth, and every expression that’s painted his face over the past few months, it has proven to have been true and right. 

Inter and Inzaghi Left Staring into the Void 

While it’s unfair to compare PSG and Inter when it comes to finance or history, in the semi-final of this tournament, Simone Inzaghi’s team went eye to eye with a double-winning Barcelona side that contains myriad Ballon d’Or contenders, and didn’t blink. That means they are very good at football. Around a month ago, they led Serie A, were in a Coppa Italia semi-final, and whispers of a treble became unabashed legitimate conversations between, well, everyone. They now end the season with zilch, and because of that, what were previously fine margins and granular tweaks have now become an unquantifiable disaster. Against PSG’s billion-dollar babies, funded by an apparently unlimited Qatari Amex Black card, Inter have been forced to scrimp for Facebook Marketplace freebies; they’ve lived in the red in recent years with the most expensive player in their starting XI on Saturday being Benjamin Pavard at $34 million. There was also a seismic five-and-a-half-year difference between each team’s starting XI, with Inter’s average at 30 years and 242 days, the biggest-ever age gap between two starting lineups in a Champions League final. The main issue of this performance was possibly a symptom of this vast contrast, but it was a problem Inzaghi was possibly blind to until it was truly exposed. With the money they’ve made this year, Inter must properly rebuild if they wish to compete on all three fronts again, with or without Inzaghi. 

📬 Enjoying The Raven? Check out our other Men in Blazers newsletters here.

Elsewhere in the Football World 🏟️

International Friendly: USWNT 3-0 China

After losing two of their last three games in 2025, the USWNT started the summer strong with a convincing 3-0 win against China on Saturday. For the first time in 2025, the team’s defender-in-chief and freshly minted WSL champion, Naomi Girma, returned to her inimitable role on the U.S. backline and wore the captain’s armband. Girma’s fellow WSL footballer, Manchester United keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, clocked her second cap, second start and second clean sheet in a two-save performance. Soon-to-be 18-year-old Ajax midfielder Lily Yohannes collected her fourth career start (and seventh cap) in the same place she made her debut almost a year ago. Catarina Macario continued to show her quality as she opened the scoring and notched an assist to Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey. Kansas City Current’s 22-year-old forward Michelle Cooper was commendable on the right wing, where she played a key role in the team’s attack and assisted Lindsey Heaps for the final goal of the evening. And 32-year-old Kansas City Current midfielder Lo’eau LaBonta became the oldest player to debut for the USWNT in its entire 40-year history. 

More: ‘Momma Em’ helps LaBonta make USWNT history

Women's Nations League: England 6-0 Portugal

When the immortal words “It’s Coming Home” begin to permeate through England football fans’ WhatsApp groups again, that means nature is truly healing. In her first game as England’s newly cemented number one after Mary Earps’ retirement, Hannah Hampton had little to test her ahead of the impending Euros, and that was because Sarina Weigman’s Lionesses barely left Portugal’s area in a warning performance to all comers. After already winning almost everything at club level, including the Women’s PFA Young Player of the Year, Chelsea’s 21-year-old striker, Aggie Beaver-Jones, had her “A Star Is Born” breakout England performance. In her first start at Wembley, she scored a divine hat trick that gave Wiegman a useful conundrum ahead of the tournament, with an Allesia Russo-shaped shadow waiting in the wings to return from a calf injury. Bring on Spain!

National League Play-Off Final: Oldham Athletic 3-2 Southend (AET)

Greater Manchester’s Oldham, who were a founding member of the Premier League back when “The Silence of the Lambs” was winning Best Picture at the Oscars, have suffered at the brutal hands of the football pyramid, nearly going into extinction thanks to financial turmoil and bad ownership. They faced Southend at Wembley on Saturday in front of a National League record crowd of more than 52,000, despite engineering works in the area threatening to reduce that number. The South East coastal club took the lead early through a Manny Monthé own goal, and after missing goalscoring opportunities late in the first half, Oldham’s persistent pressure led to a penalty just after half time that was casually put away by Joe Garner. Although both teams had chances to win the game, 90 minutes wasn’t enough to divide them, and so extra time became an intense microcosm of the bloody battle that came before. Southend took the lead again with a header from a goalkeeping mistake from Matthew Hudson, but his redemptive arc kept his team in the game, standing up to chances that should have seen Southend promoted. That allowed Oldham to claim the day, scoring twice in the second half of extra time. This win was Oldham’s first promotion since they reached the Premier League 34 years ago, and it marks not only a return to the football league, but a significant sea change for a club who have managed to return from the brink of death to somehow still be here. 

Concacaf Champions Cup Final: Cruz Azul 5-0 Vancouver

In an era where football finals are often a nervy anticlimax in which the fear of losing supersedes the desire to take the impetus and win, we were treated to a second 5-0 roasting in as many days, as Cruz Azul swatted aside Vancouver to win the Concacaf Champions Cup Final. The nature of their performance was so swaggering that it almost made PSG vs. Inter Milan the night before seem close, exposing the gulf in quality between Liga MX and the MLS. There was a beautiful moment of closure at the end of the match, as Cruz Azul’s manager, Vicente Sánchez dropped to his knees with his teardrops falling in the rain at Mexico City’s Estadio Olímpico Universitario. After reports that he was on the verge of being sacked from his position, it was his final game as manager of Cruz Azul, and his emotional release represented how strenuous but ultimately rewarding the pains of being a football manager must be.  

Some Absolute Weekend Worldies 🚀 🥅

There were a lot of great goals this weekend, but these three get top marks:

Mid-Week Matches to Fake a Meeting for 📺 

UEFA Women's Nations League 🇪🇺

Spain vs. England (Tuesday, 1 pm. ET, Fubo) 🇪🇸 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

It’s 2023 World Cup Final replay time, and thanks to Arsenal’s surprise slaying of Barcelona in the Champions League final the other weekend, there’s extra needle involved. After both of these sides completely dismantled their opposition last Friday, England are second and Spain are first in League A, Group 3 of the Nations League, and with only two points between them, it all comes down to this. The Lionesses still carry the scars from that World Cup final defeat in Sydney a couple of years ago, and despite the stakes being lower here, a dub would show that Sarina Wiegman’s European Champions have not remained stagnant, which is especially crucial following the sudden retirement of legendary goalkeeper, Mary Earps.

UEFA Men's Nations League Semi-Finals 🇪🇺

Germany vs. Portugal (Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, Fox Sports) 🇩🇪 🇵🇹

In the small shop window between domestic leagues and continental tournaments in Europe ending, and the Club World Cup beginning, there is still top level, tasty-looking football to keep our stomachs lined. The UEFA Nations League semi-finals offer an opportunity for football fantasists to role play as scouts and managers, dreaming through TV screens about sexy-sounding players joining their clubs, and there’s no better arena for that than Germany vs. Portugal. Liverpool fans can keep tabs on Florian Wirtz, Gunners can see if Leroy Sané’s still got it, and Manchester United supporters can emerge from dark rooms and cold sweats to watch Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes through nostalgic tears, like Matthew McConaughey in that mad library in “Interstellar.” After a relatively disappointing Euro 2024 for each country, managers Julian Nagelsmann and Roberto Martinez will see this B-roll tournament as a timely opportunity to lift silverware and win over dubious doubters ahead of next year’s party in the USA.

Spain vs. France (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET, Fox Sports) 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

In history, geography, and FC fantasy lineups, this is a match that just looks like a World Cup Final; even their second XIs could put on a dream match. Neighbors Spain and France last met in the semi-final of Euro 2024, which was the match where schoolboy Lamine Yamal had the world bow down in the realization that he is Lisan al-Gaib, and the beautifully brace-faced winger has relentlessly added pages to his frightening prophecy at Barcelona ever since. Real Betis wizard, Isco, is at the opposite end of his career to Yamal, and hasn’t represented his national side for six years, so to see him in the red, yellow and navy blue again will be a story of true romance and footballing redemption. In Kylian Mbappe, Thuram, Olise and Dembele, France boast an attacking roster with more exceptional glamor than court-side seats at a Knicks game (RIP). With each elite team’s combinations of experience and youth, led by managers who have both won international tournaments for their nations, only a win for a final against the heft of Portugal or Germany, will satisfy.

Some Non-Football to Start the Week Off Right 📖

• Is “Inland Empire” the Most 'Lynchian' David Lynch Project? (Probably)

• The Reenchanted World "There was one TV channel, two radio stations, and the newspapers were printed in black and white.” Bite your arm off to just have one TV channel again. 

• 30 years of 'Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist' Dr. Katz walked so Bob Belcher could run. 

• A surprisingly poignant interview with 'the A-ha guy' (NOT Alan Partridge) 

• Meet Hercules and Ned, the border collies fending off wildlife at West Virginia’s busiest airport. You want them on that wall (airstrip), you need them on that wall (airstrip)!

• Read this uplifting story about the enterprising teens who are going to put you (us) out of a job: They’re 15. Wait Until You Read Their Newspaper.

It’s MiB Trivia Time 🤔

It’s your weekly dose of MiB trivia.

This week’s question: Isco last played for Spain in 2019’s summer Euros qualifiers: who was their goalkeeper in those matches against Sweden and the Faroe Islands? 

Send your answers to [email protected] to win a coveted MiB patch!

Last week’s answer: Congratulations to John Cole, who quickly and correctly identified the last French and Italian teams to win the Champions League, Marseille and Inter Milan.

We thought it was Chelsea and England legend, Joe Cole initially, but the patch is in the post to you nonetheless, John!

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