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The most thankful people in soccer

Over here at FC Yahoo, we don't need Thanksgiving to give thanks for soccer. We do so every single day. For entertaining us with its salacious stories, its scandals, its endless transfer rumors and the captivating narratives of rising and falling powers. Oh, and also for when the ball is kicked around on the field for a bit.

But since it's the time of year to profess gratitude for the harvest and other things we like, we wondered who else in soccer world should be thankful – and for what.

So between sneaking some clandestine early helpings of pie, we carved up the soccer world's appreciation and doled it out to the rightful recipients.

The United States women's national team … for winning the Women's World Cup.

The U.S. avenged its 2011 World Cup final loss to Japan in emphatic fashion. (AP Photo)
The U.S. avenged its 2011 World Cup final loss to Japan in emphatic fashion. (AP Photo)

It had been 16 years since the Lady Yanks had added a star to the crest on their jerseys, and every successive generation since the "99ers" had lived in that long shadow. But the latest incarnation of the women's national team grew into their tournament in Canada. Austere results early on were followed by a breakout 2-0 win over Germany in the semifinal and the rollicking 5-2 destruction of Japan in the grudge match final.

The Americans were deserving world champions, but their title also came as an immense relief. While questions were asked about whether their depth was overstated – and if they were merely the most famous team in soccer, rather than the best – a cohesive team performance finally landed that third World Cup. And so begins a new era in U.S. women's soccer.

Serie A fans … for their league no longer being predictable.

Mauro Icardi and Jeison Murillo have Inter Milan atop Serie A. (AP Photo)
Mauro Icardi and Jeison Murillo have Inter Milan atop Serie A. (AP Photo)

After Juventus won the title four years running, and seldom in a particularly close race – winning by 17 points, 17 points, nine points and four points, respectively – a big shakeup in its squad has made the Italian league more exciting than it has been in years. Going into this weekend, the top four teams were within three points of one another, and none of those clubs were called Juventus.

Serie A, while still beset by problems, is capturing more attention this year, thanks to this newfound parity at the top. And if it's going to be a great league again, it can't have enough of that competitiveness.

Liverpool's beleaguered supporters … for Jurgen Klopp.

Jurgen Klopp is all smiles after Liverpool's 4-1 win at Man City. (AFP Photo)
Jurgen Klopp is all smiles after Liverpool's 4-1 win at Man City. (AFP Photo)

Kloppo won't fix all of the Reds' problems overnight, if he ever does. But his team is already looking much improved, and the emphatic 4-1 away victory over Manchester City last weekend has renewed hope that the club might pull itself out of its very slow downward spiral.

Certainly, Brendan Rodgers came close to winning the first league title since 1989-90 in 2013-14, but Klopp has a track record of significant success and has delivered early results. In spite of playing Spurs, Southampton, Chelsea and City in his first five league games, he has lost just once – to Crystal Palace, weirdly.

Barcelona … for the transfer ban running out soon.

Neymar and Luis Suarez kept Barcelona afloat during Lionel Messi's injury. (AFP Photo)
Neymar and Luis Suarez kept Barcelona afloat during Lionel Messi's injury. (AFP Photo)

When Lionel Messi got injured in late September, many justifiably wondered if it would be the undoing of Barca's defense of its 2014-15 treble. And were it not for Neymar and Luis Suarez stepping up and hitting a rich vein of form, it very might have. But the transcendent form of those singular talents papered over a larger issue in Catalonia: depth.

There's a simple explanation for it, namely the transfer ban that has stopped Barca from adding any players in the winter window last January and in the past summer. When January arrives, Barcelona will finally be allowed to sign new players and register the ones it picked up over the summer but has had to leave in the stands – Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan.

Chelsea fans … for survival specialist Jose Mourinho lifting them clear of the relegation zone.

Sorry. We couldn't help ourselves.

The New York Red Bulls … for Jesse Marsch.

Jesse Marsch led the Red Bulls to the MLS Supporters' Shield. (AP Photo)
Jesse Marsch led the Red Bulls to the MLS Supporters' Shield. (AP Photo)

Never before has an MLS Coach of the Year overcome such tall odds to claim the award as Marsch did in 2015. He walked into an almost impossible job when he was hired in January. The super popular Mike Petke had been dismissed with a flimsy explanation, Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill were gone, the ownership was perceived to be giving up on its stateside investment, and New York City FC threatened to dominate a market the Red Bulls had never managed to convert.

And then he only went and posted the best regular season record in the league with a starless team playing such an attractive brand of soccer that many of the Red Bulls' past sins were instantly forgiven. In the process, he made initially embattled sporting director Ali Curtis, who had fired Petke and sold the ownership on the change of course, look like a genius.

Javier Hernandez … for escaping Louis van Gaal's Red Devils prison.

Chicharito can't stop scoring for Bayer Leverkusen. (AP Photo)
Chicharito can't stop scoring for Bayer Leverkusen. (AP Photo)

It was fairly obvious very early in his Manchester United tenure that new manager Louis van Gaal didn't rate his Mexican striker, even though he had scored 59 goals in the four seasons prior. As a short poacher, he just wasn't LvG's type.

After loaning him to Real Madrid in his first season – because Chicharito wasn't good enough for crisis-stricken United but good enough for the defending European champions, somehow – Van Gaal visibly and famously rolled his eyes to assistant manager Ryan Giggs when Hernandez missed a penalty upon his return.

A savvy Bayer Leverkusen quickly snapped him up this summer, and he has offered quite the return on the modest investment of roughly $11 million: 12 goals in 16 games.

Soccer fans everywhere … for FIFA's institutional crisis.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the FIFA indictments in May. (AP Photo)
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the FIFA indictments in May. (AP Photo)

It's been a disastrous year for the global governing body of the world's favorite game. But all of these corruption probes and indictments give the sport a chance to wipe the slate clean now that longtime president Sepp Blatter has been ousted and several cronies and men of the same ilk are likely to follow him out the door.

It's unlikely that their successors will get things right straight away. But soccer will surely be a better sport for it.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.