Two Types of Brazil

Both Spurs teams have signed a Brazil player—sort of | Some light international tournament chatter

Okay, that was a little bit longer of a gap in the Spurs Across the Pond summer schedule, but mostly because there was nothing concrete to talk about for a while there, and y'all know I'm not one to dwell too much on rumors.

But finally, we have a new signing each for Spurs Men and Women!

Transfer season continues

First up was Richarlison transferring in from Everton.

I will admit that I wasn't very excited about this transfer when it was first reported as a rumor, mostly because I personally would have preferred the other rumored player (Raphinha). Richarlison's penchant for diving kind of concerned me (and for the record, no, I don't love it when Son and Kane do it either), because to me that can signal a lack of actual attacking nous, at least in someone who seemed to resort to it as often as he did at Everton. But then I considered how crucial Richarlison was in Everton's successful escape from relegation, and that suggests a strong mentality that will help him fit in nicely with Conte's Spurs. I also read a superb article on the Athletic about his life off the pitch that reassured me that however dramatic he might be during games, he's a very decent person and will be a credit to our club in the local Tottenham community.

The main positive I see from this transfer is that we're getting a versatile player who can excel at either left winger or striker, reducing the burden on Son and Kane in what is sure to be another slog of a season, fixture-wise. We shouldn't have to suffer through the regularly scheduled Springtime Sonny Slump this year or witness Kane's brittle ankles giving out again. He's capable enough to start in place of either one of them, allowing us to rotate the lineup across the different competitions and stay nimble in our approach to different opponents' playing styles.

So yes, I have convinced myself that this is a good transfer after all. The one minor downside is that thanks to the FA being absolute spoilsports, Richarlison will be suspended for our first game due to an incident at Everton's May 1 match against Chelsea (the one where he scored the game-winner for their 1-0  home win) where he picked up a flare and threw it back into the crowd. Not the safest behavior, to be sure. It just seems a little unfair to me that because the investigation was so delayed, he'll now have to serve his one-match ban in the new season instead of closer to when it actually happened. Of course, I'm sure Everton fans are very glad he was available for selection in their last few crucial games.

Then today we got word that Ellie Brazil was signing with the club. No, she's not from Brazil like Richarlison, but her surname is a fun connection to the recent transfer theme.

Much like with Drew Spence, I wasn't super familiar with Ellie Brazil before learning about her transfer to Spurs. These are the key facts I've gleaned so far:

• She's only 23, so plenty of room to develop

• She loves to play in a high press system

• She has Champions League experience from her season with Fiorentina

• She played under Rehanne Skinner in the England youth setup

• She comes from a footballing family, with her dad being a former player and manager and her brother also in management

Ellie has had bad luck with injuries (including an ACL injury in November 2019), but hopefully she will be able to kick on at Spurs and play up to her obvious potential. This old article from Ameé Ruszkai written during Ellie's ACL recovery gives a good sense of her positive attitude and also touches on her family. It seems like Rehanne has identified her as a savvy footballer that will fit well into our squad stylistically, and probably felt confident giving her a chance since she's worked with her in the past.

Still, I would love to see a truly top-of-her-game striker come into the team before the transfer window closes. As most of those strikers are currently on international duty, we might be waiting a while yet.

Tournament football is the best football

This is the time of year when it's lucky to be on this side of the pond, because you get to experience the best of both worlds in international soccer thanks to accommodating time zones. The Concacaf W Championship (which determines both World Cup and Olympics automatic qualification, as well as entrants for the playoffs) began on Monday, and the Euros just started today.

There is also a CONMEBOL tournament, but I haven't tuned in to that one since there aren't any Spurs players to watch out for (and there are only so many hours in the day). Side note:  how annoying is it that CONMEBOL is all-caps but Concacaf is not? Typical Concacaf, just having to be different from everyone else. The other tournament I haven't watched is the Africa Women Cup of Nations, simply because I don't have beIN Sports. If they had any other league I might watch besides Ligue 1 I would consider it, but I already have too many streaming services as it is. But it should be mentioned that Rosella Ayane's Morocco are doing well, and she even scored in their last match, albeit a penalty kick.

We'll see how the Euros play out, but the Concacaf W Championship has already proven to be full of surprises. Haiti gave the US a tough contest and might have found a way back into the game if they'd converted their penalty kick opportunity. Former Spur Alex Morgan scored a beautiful brace of goals for the US! I missed the first half of Mexico vs Jamaica, but by all accounts, the first half was Becky Spencer's time to shine. She didn't put a foot wrong in the second half, either. I liked what I saw from Drew Spence, who showed great initiative getting forward and winning balls—and she was able to play the full 90, which was somewhat of a concern of mine going into the next league season since she had been getting limited minutes recently at Chelsea. The US plays Jamaica next, so I will be watching that game with extreme interest. Costa Rica look like a formidable team after their decisive victory over Panama, and it took Canada until the second half to really find their feet and put Trinidad and Tobago away with a flurry of goals. I was disappointed that Shelina Zadorsky didn't get any game time for Canada, but fingers crossed she makes an appearance against Panama on Friday.

Thanks to Ash Neville's snub for the England call-ups, I didn't feel much personal rooting interest in today's Euros match, but it was lovely to see a sell-out crowd for the tournament opener. And thank goodness for goal-line technology, eh? Still wistfully dreaming of the day that the WSL finally gets VAR—last I heard, it wouldn't be until at least the 2023/24 season.

Speaking of the Euros, one of my co-hosts from N17 Women, Abbie, shared the info for Cartilage Free Captain's fantasy league, and for the first time in my life I am going to attempt fantasy football. That league doesn't start until the second round of the group stage, but you could make your team for the general league, and I of course waited until 30 minutes before the England vs Austria kickoff, panicked, and had to try to fix my budget woes in a hurry. I don't foresee myself doing very well in the game, needless to say, but it's all in good fun, so feel free to join in. My team name is "Die Frauenschaft," so there's a hint at which team I'm supporting in the Euros (no offense, England).

We're just spoiled for exciting international football this month, and I'm 100% here for it. I'll continue to keep an eye on our Tottenham players (Tinni and Eveliina have their first Finland match on Friday!) and keep an ear to the ground on transfer business.

Elsewhere in the world of Spurs

You better believe that when I finally make it over to England, I will be making a pilgrimage to the new Sonny mural in Tottenham. You know what they say, "the streets won't forget."

And I suppose I will have to investigate the new SPURSPLAY app soon, at least before the pre-season games start next week. Have any of y'all tried it out yet? Thoughts?

COYS