As we count down to 2020, TSN.ca looks back over some of the most interesting stories of 2019. They won't necessarily be the best of the year, per se, but memorable games, moments and events that are worthy of reflection.

On Sunday, it's 2019 in soccer.

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Megan Rapinoe takes on Donald Trump and the world

“I’m not going to the f---ing White House.”

These are the now famous words said by United States women’s national soccer team forward Megan Rapinoe after she was asked if she was excited to go the White House in the event the USWNT won the Women’s World Cup.

U.S. President Donald Trump fired back at Rapinoe in a series of tweets, which included:

Rapinoe’s response was to turn in a clutch performance at the World Cup for the USWNT. In the knockout stage, Rapinoe scored both goals for the U.S. over Spain and would do the same in the quarter-finals against France. She would later score the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands and, at age 34, she became the oldest women to score in a World Cup final and was named player of the match.

She picked up more tournament accolades when she was awarded the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the tournament with six goals and earned the Golden Ball award as the best player.

Rapinoe is one of 28 players who sued the United States Soccer Federation three months before the World Cup, alleging institutionalized gender discrimination. Rapinoe, along with USWNT teammates Alex Morgan, Becky Sauerbrunn and Carli Lloyd, were appointed as class representatives.

The USWNT star continued to make waves off the field, winning major awards and calling out racism, sexism and homophobia.

When she won the Ballon d’Or Feminin award, she challenged male stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to join her fight against racism and sexism in soccer. At the FIFA ceremony where she accepted the world’s best female player award, she gave shout-outs to Iran’s Blue Girl Sahar Khodayari, LGBTQ players, the anti-racism campaigns of fellow soccer players Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly, and the battle for equal pay.

To end 2019, Rapinoe was named the Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year, the fourth woman in the award’s 66-year history to win it unaccompanied. - Brianne Spiker

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Liverpool back atop the summit

Before fans at Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid had settled into their seats and those viewing at home found their most comfortable spot on the couch, Mohamed Salah was firing the Champions League-winning goal into the net for Liverpool.

A penalty awarded 25 seconds after referee Damir Skomina had blown to start the game and converted 106 seconds into the action set the Reds on their way to a sixth European triumph and is the highlight of what turned out to be a transformative 2019 season for the club.

The road to Liverpool’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham on June 1 was the culmination of an incredible run through the knockout stage.

After dispatching Bayern Munich and Porto in their first two games, Liverpool ran into a buzzsaw in Barcelona. Thanks to a Lionel Messi first-leg brace, they left Camp Nou with a 3-0 deficit.

It was clear that Liverpool was up for the comeback when Divock Origi opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes of the second leg.  After pulling even on aggregate before the hour-mark, it was a quick-thinking corner from Trent Alexander-Arnold, converted by Origi, that allowed them to complete the improbable victory and earn their place in the title game.

The Champions League victory was Jurgen Klopp’s first trophy as Liverpool manager, but success was a long time coming and the sky might just be the limit.

When Klopp replaced Brendan Rodgers as manager of Liverpool, the former England and European powerhouse team was 10th in the table, 11 games into the 2015-16 season.

Liverpool finished eighth that season, improving to fourth in both 16-17 and 17-18 as they returned to Champions League play.

Klopp led them to the 2018 Champions League final, though they fell short on that night at the hands of Real Madrid, it was clear that things were different at Anfield.

The Champions League was not the only hardware they brought home in 2019.  Winning Europe’s top competition earns you a place in two subsequent tournaments and they captured both.

They topped Chelsea on penalties to win the UEFA Super Cup on August 14 and then knocked off Flamengo in extra time to capture the Club World Cup, thanks to a Roberto Firmino 99th-minute goal.

In 2019, Liverpool also finally re-established themselves as one of the top domestic teams in England.

On January 3, they lost to Manchester City 2-1 in a game at Etihad Stadium. It would turn out to be Liverpool’s only loss during the 2018-19 season and still stands as the only Premier League game the current leaders dropped in the entire calendar year.

While that defeat was enough to cost them the title, they are perfectly poised to finally top the Premier League in 2020 and end a 30-year drought that has tormented their fan base since the last time Liverpool finished as champions of the top flight of English football. - Ken Rodney

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Zlatan and Rooney wave goodbye to MLS

The last time Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney shared the pitch as teammates, the duo celebrated Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Ajax in the 2017 Europa League Final.

Neither man had any impact on the match. Rooney came in as a 90th-minute substitute in what proved to be his final appearance in a United shirt, while Ibrahimovic’s season had ended the previous month with a knee injury incurred during a Europa quarter-finals tie against Anderlecht.

The pair would become linked again this past fall when both European superstars took their finals bows in Major League Soccer within days of one another.

The signings of Ibrahimovic and Rooney by the LA Galaxy and DC United, respectively, were born of a mindset that has become less and less prevalent in MLS in recent years and belongs to a prior incarnation of what the league believed itself to be.

Teams would use their Designated Player spots to attract big names from Europe who were past their primes and saw MLS as nothing more than one last big paycheque before hanging them up. Think of the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Rafa Marquez unconvincingly plying their trades in North America. Bigger (names) doesn’t always mean better when it comes to DPs in MLS. Look no further than the success of DPs like Ignacio Piatti, Diego Rossi and Josef Martinez, players still very much in their primes with much to offer on the pitch.

That is not to say that Rooney and Ibrahimovic were failures in MLS. They absolutely weren’t, but the trophies they racked up in Europe didn’t follow them to MLS.

Over two seasons with DCU, Rooney made 52 appearances across all competitions, scoring 25 times, on a club that made the playoffs during both campaigns.

Perhaps Rooney’s finest moment in MLS came in the summer of 2018 against Orlando City at Audi Field. With Orlando City on 10-men and the game tied 2-2 in stoppage, DC sent ‘keeper David Ousted up to attack with United set for a late corner and the chance for a winner. City was able to clear off the line and spring Will Johnson forward with nobody to beat in the DC net. Rooney got on his horse, though, chasing Johnson down with a superb tackle to dispossess the Canada international at midfield. Quickly turning the other way, Rooney launched a cross into the area from 40 yards that was met by a Luciano Acosta header to give DCU the 3-2 victory.

While Rooney’s tenure in MLS was more workmanlike, Zlatan brought his trademark swagger and flash. The former Sweden international immediately announced his arrival with the Galaxy, helping his new club overturn a 3-0 halftime deficit against LAFC in his first El Trafico and maiden game in the league. Zlatan tied the game with a sensational one-touch volley from 40 yards out before sealing the three points with a late header. It was a sign of things to come from Ibra, who ended up finding the net 53 times in 58 matches.

Trophies would ultimately elude the duo in MLS and in October, both men would close the books on their MLS tenures – or more accurately, have the books closed on them.

DC United would visit Toronto FC in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, where Rooney couldn’t buy a goal against Quentin Westberg and was robbed on a number of occasions.

With TFC nursing a 1-0 lead, Lucas Rodriguez struck in stoppage to force extra time. If you thought momentum would be on the side of the visitors in extra time, you would be very, very wrong. The Reds exploded like a supernova in extra time to the tune of four goals with a shell-shocked DCU going home after a 5-1 defeat. Rooney would head straight from BMO Field to the airport and back to England where he will suit up for Championship side Derby County in January when the transfer window reopens.

Five days later, it was curtains for Zlatan. Though the Galaxy were able to win their first-round match against Minnesota United, a playoff edition of El Trafico would prove to be a bridge too far. In their five regular-season dates against their crosstown rivals, the Galaxy were undefeated against LAFC, so confidence was high. But two first-half goals from Carlos Vela – the man who pipped Zlatan to the MLS MVP Award – gave LAFC a 2-0 lead. Cristian Pavon pulled one back for the Galaxy before the half and Zlatan tied the game shortly after the restart, but it wasn’t meant to be. LAFC would go on to a 5-3 victory, ending the Galaxy’s season and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s time in Los Angeles.

With the loss, Ibrahimovic would fail to win a trophy with a club for the first time in his illustrious career. In November, Zlatan would officially say goodbye to LA in a way only he could.

After leaving MLS, it's back to Serie A for Ibrahimovic. On Dec. 27, Milan announced that the man who helped them win the 2011 Scudetto would be returning to the San Siro when the transfer window reopens. - Mike Beauvais 

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A famous win for the CMNT

It’s possible that you still don’t know what the CONCACAF Nations League actually is, but on Oct. 15, Canada’s men’s national soccer team etched it and themselves into history with a famous 2-0 victory over their American rivals.

The full time whistle on that night at BMO Field in Toronto brought a 34-year drought without a victory over the Americans to an end. It’s a stretch that encompassed 17 games since Canada’s April 2, 1985 win over the U.S. in Vancouver.

The fact that Canada won the game was important, but the manner of victory was as much a part of the story as the ending of the streak.

It was very clear from the opening kickoff that the Canadians were the hungrier of the two squads, continuously winning battles in the midfield and easily breaking up American attacks before they became dangerous in the final third of the pitch.

Prior to the match Canadian head coach John Herdman said that it would come down to having the will to get the job done, not backing down from the massive challenge of defeating their North American rivals. His players responded.

In fact, American head coach Gregg Berhalter credited the effort of his opponents for turning the tide of the game.

"I think the first thing that stands out to me was desire, [the] desire of Canada," Berhalter said after the match. "Give them credit. But having said that, the minimum we expect is to match that. I wasn't happy with the desire that we displayed tonight to win the soccer game. Too many 50-50 balls we lost and that hurt us."

The Americans were also hurt by Canada’s youth and speed up front. Teenage strikers Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies started the game and piled on the pressure throughout the first half and into the last 45 minutes of the game.

It was 18-year-old Davies that fired the Canadians into the lead when he turned a Scott Arfield cross into the opening goal of the game.

"When the ball went into the net, I couldn’t believe it,” Davies said after the game.  “[I felt] millions of emotions running through me on that goal.”

The emotions would soar through the roof both in Toronto and across the country in stoppage time when Lucas Cavallini got on the end of a pass from Jonathan Osorio and fired the ball into the net, securing the victory for Canada.

“It’s only one step,” Herdman told reporters after the game. “It’s only one little drop in the ocean of what I’m hoping for this team. There’s more to come,”

As far as the CONCACAF Nations League is concerned, a 4-1 loss to USA on Nov. 15 would leave Canada second in their group, good enough to qualify for the 2021 Gold Cup, but bring an end to their participation in the competition.

Heading into 2020, Canada needs to pass El Salvador in the FIFA rankings to earn a spot in “The Hex”, their most direct route to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

2019 is the year Canada scored a famous victory, they will hope to ride that confidence and success into what they hope is a very bright future. - Ken Rodney

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Canada's women disappoint at the World Cup

Heading into the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Canada wasn’t the favourite to win it all, as that title belonged to the eventual champion United States.

However, for Canada to not qualify for the quarter-finals was a disappointment. Canada went 2-1 in group play, beating Cameroon and New Zealand but losing to the eventual tournament runner-up in the Netherlands. Canada would be ousted from the tournament in the knockout stage in a 2-1 loss to Sweden, finishing sixth.

Other than the CONCACAF Championship qualifying tournament, this was the first major tournament under head coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller, who took over after John Herdman departed in January 2018. Under Heiner-Moller, Canada allowed just three goals at the World Cup.

It was offensively where Canada struggled, mustering just four goals. No player had more than one goal as Christine Sinclair, Jessie Fleming, Kadeisha Buchanan and Nichelle Prince were the goal-scorers for Canada. Janine Beckie (one assist) struggled to find her game throughout the tournament and came under fire for accepting Sinclair’s offer to take a potential game-tying penalty kick instead of her. The kick was stopped on a strong save by the Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl as Canada lost.

This was arguably one of the most talented teams the CWNT had fielded for a tournament, despite the loss of veteran defender Diana Matheson to injury.

For Sinclair, this was possibly her last Women’s World Cup as she will be 40 years old when the next one rolls around in 2023. She remains two goals away from besting American Abby Wambach for most career international goals scored by a soccer player.

The expectations were understandably high for Canada to go far in the Women’s World Cup but the lack of offence was their downfall and it leaves the team with even more questions heading into an Olympic year in 2020. - Brianne Spiker

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TFC returns to relevance

When Toronto FC’s season began with a 5-1 aggregate loss at the hands of Panamanian side Independiente, not many were predicting that the campaign would end with them contesting the MLS Cup Final.

While they weren’t successful in their third trip to the MLS’ championship game, the road they took to get to Seattle was still impressive.

On Aug. 3, in a game where they scored an own goal and had a player sent off, Toronto FC fell to New York Red Bulls 2-0.

Two draws followed that loss ahead of a pivotal game against Montreal Impact.  On that night, TFC earned a 2-1 victory that allowed them to move past their rivals and into the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

"You hope tonight was one of those domino games," head coach Greg Vanney said after the win. "You get the group together, you get some energy in the group, and you build from it.”

Toronto FC would do exactly that, finishing the regular season on a 10-game unbeaten streak, good enough to earn them a home game in the opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Perhaps determined to never do things the easy way, Toronto FC would need extra time to eliminate DC United after conceding a late tying goal.  In the extra-frame, TFC would explode for four goals to cruise to a 5-1 win.

Toronto FC then dispatched New York FC, the best regular season team in the East, who were forced to play at Citi Field due to a New York Yankees playoff series.

That victory put them in the Conference Final against the defending MLS Cup champions Atlanta United and, on the strength of a Nick DeLeon laser into the top corner, TFC captured their third Eastern title.

TFC advanced to face the Sounders for the third final in four years and after splitting the first two meetings in Toronto, the Western Conference champions were victorious, ending Toronto’s unbeaten run at 13 games and denying them a second MLS Cup trophy.

After the season, Toronto FC announced a new three-year deal with captain Michael Bradley, giving them the stability of leadership while also adding the flexibility of adding another designated player.

Something else to build from for TFC. - Ken Rodney