|
|
Angry
Thursday, June 22, 2006 It's fifteen minutes after the match ended, so take this with a grain of salt. I've been a huge Arena fan for a long time. He needs to be fired. His preparation for, and managing in this World Cup has been deplorable. And still, he could've saved himself with a win today. But no, he leaves Bobby Convey and Eddie Johnson on the bench for most of the match. That is simply inexcusable. Down a goal at halftime (and yes, we got screwed on that PK, but the bottom line is this team didn't play well enough to advance), Convey and Johnson absolutely had to be on the field starting the second half. There was no playing for 1-0 anymore. We needed two goals. Is there anyone on earth who thinks the first-half lineup was scoring two goals in the second half? Bruce wasted the first fifteen minutes of the second half for no reason. I can't explain Bruce's ultra-conservative philosophy towards this World Cup. I was willing to trust him a few months ago when he kept saying, "we need at least one point in the first two games." One point? That's what we were aiming for? Well, we got it. How'd that work out for us? I was willing to trust him when I heard he was going with a 4-5-1 for the first two games. And I was willing to trust him as we were playing Ghana needing a win to advance (of course the Italians gave us all the help we could ask for). Obviously, I trust him no more. The FIRST thing this team needs in a new coach. The second thing is that we need to find a new role for Donovan. He is not a striker, he is not an attacking mid. Maybe he's a defensive mid. But whatever he is, he disappeared again today when we needed him most. He was a defensive machine against Italy. Landon Donovan for holding midfielder in 2010?? All I know is, I don't want to watch another U.S. World Cup game with Landon Donovan playing up top. OK, now that that's done, there actually were some positives today. Clint Dempsey, DaMarcus Beasley, thank you for giving me one positive memory from this day. Ben Olsen, I had no idea you were capable of playing so well. My apologies. Bobby Convey, you tried, and did more in your 15 minutes than anyone else did the entire match. I've always been planning on ending the U.S. 2006 portion of this blog by predicting the roster for 2010. Since I think it will make me feel better, I might as well take a crack at it now. Keeper: Tim Howard, Quentin Westberg, Steve Cronin Defense: Steve Cherundolo, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector, Cory Gibbs, Heath Pearce, Jay Demerit, Zak Whitbread, Marvell Wynne Midfield: DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, Bobby Convey, Clint Dempsey, Eddie Gaven, Michael Bradley, Benny Feilhaber, Ricardo Clark Striker: Eddie Johnson, Lee Nguyen, Freddy Adu, Chris Rolfe Man, I would've almost rather had that team out there for this tournament. We'll see (eventually) how many I get right. Opening match lineup in 2010??? Howard Dolo Onyewu Gibbs Pearce Donovan Dempsey Convey Beasley Johnson Nguyen That doesn't look so different, but the thing is I believe we have a lot more young talent that should be ready to step in in four years time than we had now. I think next time around we'll have 23 players that could play for a decent European side. This time, no one could argue that Conrad, Albright, Berhalter (OK, he plays in Europe, but he shouldn't), Olsen, Ching, or Wolff were at that level. Our depth should be much improved in 2010, which means we shouldn't be stuck praying for a certain midfielder to stay healthy, or resorting to an idiotic 4-5-1 because we don't trust more than one striker in a must-win game. A lousy World Cup for our boys. Too bad. Now we'll just have to sneak up on everyone once again. Thanks for reading. Post a Comment | View (20) Comments Update Thursday, June 22, 2006 I just moved my smaller TV downstairs next to the big one. It was harder than it sounds. Make it worthwhile, guys. Let's go Nats! Post a Comment | View (5) Comments It Comes Down to This Thursday, June 22, 2006 The U.S.'s World Cup hopes hinge on a victory over Ghana in ten hours, and it appears we should expect the unexpected from the U.S. lineup. Claudio Reyna was quoted today as saying there will be "a couple new players playing." I think that means there will be one fairly major surprise in the starting 11. I'm just praying it doesn't mean Ben Olsen. Here's my guess at the lineup. Keller Dolo Gooch Conrad Albright Reyna Dempsey Convey Donovan McBride Johnson If I'm wrong, it probably means Ben Olsen is indeed in the lineup playing defensive mid with Reyna, and that Johnson is still on the bench to start the match. I really hope I'm right. But more than that, "I hope we win," as Fezzik said. Thanks boys, for at least giving us hope going into the last day. Now just take it one step further. U.S. 2, Ghana 0; Italy 1, Czech Republic 0. Just keep saying it. Post a Comment | View (0) Comments Italy Report Sunday, June 18, 2006 Holy fucking crap. I wanted to take a day before posting about this game, because I really couldn't trust myself to be even close to rational for the better part of 24 hours after the game ended. Now that I've come down a little, here's what I think, in no particular order. 1) The ref did fine for most of the game, but the Mastroeni red card was a really bad mistake, in my opinion. I was actually pretty amazed to see that a sizeable minority of people on internet message boards thought the red card was legitimate. I've always been told that red cards have to include an intent to injury. Pablo clearly didn't intend to injure anybody, he was going for the ball and got there a split-second late. Furthermore, there has to be consistency. Even if by some weird rule first contact with the ankles in a violent manner is supposed to be a red card, the fact is it's never called that way. If every foul similar to Pablo's were a red card foul, all games would end 10-on-9, or even less. For once, I agree with Balboa--Pablo's red card was a make-up call. 2) Our boys played a tremendous game and showed tremendous heart. They were dominating Italy with the score tied and down a man. It was really quite a spectacle. The Most Improved from the Czech Game awards go to Oguchi Onyewu and Landon Donovan. But everyone, with the exception of Pope, improved. Speaking of Pope... 3) Both of Pope's yellows were justified. Often that second yellow isn't called as easily because there's an unwritten rule that refs should avoid sending off players for run-of-the-mill tackles. Needless to say, this ref wasn't following that rule. Pope completely botched his marking of Gilardino on the Italian goal, and he was forced to commit two bad fouls when he was beaten on other occasions. Honestly, I don't think we're going to miss him much against Ghana. And furthermore... 4) I don't think we'll miss Pablo much either. He's a great player and a great competitor, but I really believe that Bruce's plan all along was to go super-offensive against Ghana, and that Pablo probably wasn't going to start. Now we just know for sure that he won't start. 5) Ghana, meanwhile, has to play the next match without Asamoah and Muntari. This is huge, as those guys are probably two of their three most important players. Essien can't do everything. With Asamoah and Muntari out, we should really be expected to win the next match. We had a built-in excuse in the first two matches, in that we weren't expected to get any points from them. Now we're supposed to get three. No excuses. 6) On that note, I will consider this a successful World Cup if we beat Ghana. We got a tie against Italy in a World Cup match on European soil, while playing most of the match with a man down. That's just huge. It's probably a bigger accomplishment than anything we did in Korea. But it will be for nothing if we don't beat Ghana. 7) Obviously I'd love to advance, but I'll be happy if we just win. Then, if Italy beats Czech, great. If we get four points and still go home, that's fine too. Four points in this group is nothing to sneeze at. 8) We still need someone to finish. If Eddie Johnson doesn't start on Thursday, I am going to be very displeased. 9) I don't understand why Bruce chose not to use his last sub. I guess he was afraid that if anyone got injured we'd be down to eight men, and we'd really be in trouble. To me, that risk would've been well worth it to get some fresh legs on the field, or even just to stall for time in the closing minutes. 10) What a game, what a freaking game. Thanks for getting over the shell-shock, guys. 11) U.S. 2, Ghana 0. Italy 1, Czech Republic 0. One time. Post a Comment | View (14) Comments Italy Looms, Like it or Not Friday, June 16, 2006 I've been out of town for a few days (and missed some of the best matches, dammit--though that Ivory Coast-Holland match today was an absolute beauty), and I've only just caught up on all the quotes, gossip, etc. surrounding the Czech match over the past few days. A few random thoughts. 1) Several posters have said, upon viewing the game a second time (freakin' masochists, these people), that indeed the US didn't play that bad, and indeed if you didn't watch the goals, the match looked pretty even and the US actually had more possession. They added that to say this team played without heart, as many are doing, is completely unfair. Convey, Reyna, Johnson, and Wolff in particular were running at people the entire team they were in, trying to make something happen. Finally, there is speculation that the U.S. announcers made the US performance seem worse than it actually was. Hmm, where have I heard that before... 2) The guy who had the worst match was Beasley, as everyone knows. The guy who had the second-worst match was Arena. His players did not have clearly defined roles, Onyewu in particular should've been told about a million times to stick to Koller (a point I've made in comments on this blog), and Landon clearly had no kind of game plan for playing as a withdrawn striker. It was as though he wasn't a midfielder, and he wasn't a striker, so he played neither position. More importantly, Arena didn't have them mentally ready for a World Cup match. I won't kill him over the formation choice, but still, it was obviously a bad one. Our head coach is supposed to be the one who knows best what will and won't work for our team. He looked like a genius inserting Beasley, Donovan and Mastroeni into the lineup four years ago. He looks like a fool for picking the players he picked Monday. Obviously he's no fool, but it's becoming clear he's no genius either. What's different is that now, unlike in past years, a lot of people care, and there's actually pressure on our national team coach! If the Nats don't play inspired soccer tomorrow, Bruce will be out of a job. 3) We've got to play for three points tomorrow. A draw will make it almost impossible to get out of the group. If we go down playing for a win, and playing well, I will be satisfied. So let's see Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey in the starting 11, and let's show those Italians some youth and some speed. 4) The optimistic prediction: With Landon back to his attack midfield role, and Dempsey, Convey, and Johnson causing havoc, the team actually puts an attack together and scores an early goal. They hang on for dear life while Toni, Gilardino, Nesta, Pirlo, and Totti, all hit the post at some point. U.S. 1, Italy 0. As we Mets fans say, Ya Gotta Believe. Let's go Nats! It's now or 2010. Post a Comment | View (2) Comments Saddenz Monday, June 12, 2006 A disaster of a start. I'm too depressed to write a whole lot. But really quickly: 1. We didn't play nearly as badly as the American announcers made it sound. 2. That said, there are some things clearly not working (Beasley at right mid, Landon at striker are the most obvious ones) 3. Mental lapses are killer. One mental lapse in the first five minutes haunted us for the rest of the match. 4. If Reyna's potential equalizer is two inches to the right, the entire complexion of the match changes. 5. Czech Republic was very impressive, congratulations to them on playing the most complete match of any team in the tournament so far. Let's get a result against Italy, huh boys? Post a Comment | View (13) Comments Calm Before the Storm Monday, June 12, 2006 With hours to go before we face the Czech Republic, there is nothing left to say. Nothing, except, we're going to win this game. We have a healthier, better-trained, and better-coached team than the Czechs. We also have a better defense. Four years ago, Marc Connolly wrote on the eve of the Portugal match that the U.S. should be satisfied with a one-goal loss. Four years ago, my biggest poker accomplishment was finishing 39th in a $2,000 buy-in tournament. Today, nothing should surprise anyone. United States 2, Czech Republic 0. Let's go Nats!! Post a Comment | View (4) Comments Germany-Costa Rica, What Did We Learn Friday, June 09, 2006 In no particular order... The German attack is strong, and will only get stronger when Ballack returns. At the same time, there is a reason Michael Umana didn't succeed with the LA Galaxy. The German coaches are stubborn (is this really news?). Despite clear evidence that the offside trap was not the way to go, the Germans stuck with it until the bitter end. It cost them two goals, and almost cost them the win. The German backline is highly suspect. The only test they faced in this match was, "can we execute an offside trap?" They failed miserably. On both Costa Rica goals, there was one person on the German backline who didn't step up in time. In fact, it might've been the right back (Metzelder?) on both occasions. In neither goal was Wanchope clearly onside or clearly offside, even after watching the replays. So they were close. When it's close, the flag is supposed to stay down. In my opinion, both Costa Rica goals were legitimate, and the officials did a good job keeping their flags down. The ref did a good job in general. My only criticism is that the refs were supposedly given instructions to be quicker in handing out yellow cards. Given that, there were definitely a couple of fouls that should've been cards that weren't. That said, I don't really want to see more cards, personally. I just find it odd that the ref seemed to ignore his instructions from FIFA, and I worry a little that the officiating throughout the tournament might be inconsistent. Dave O'Brien and Marcelo Balboa, the American announcers, were pretty bad. Balboa seemed nervous and spoke way too fast on several occasions. Also, he was insistent on the offside calls (for or against) after seeing the replays, when I thought he would be much better served saying something like, "this play was very close and you can't really fault the ref one way or the other--the blame for this goal goes to the German defense more than anyone else." And finally, why did he have to go nuts about the ball (and by that I mean the actual, physical ball) after that brilliant strike to seal the game? It was a great goal that had little or anything to do with the ball. I wonder if anyone, anywhere watching the match on some other network, saw that last goal and had the reaction, "man, they really are using a live ball this year!" Come on Marcelo, soccer balls bend when they're struck well. What was so different about that strike that it merited commenting about the ball over the skill of the player involved? O'Brien knows nothing about soccer, but at least he didn't actively take anything away from the experience. (Although I could've sworn Wanchope was pronounced "One-Cho-Pay" not "One-chop"--can anyone confirm or deny this?) I just can't believe these two clowns are calling every US match. Despite getting off to a shaky first few minutes, the Ticos held it together fairly well. I'm hoping they can get some kind of result in their next two matches. We'll have a better idea of how feasible that is after this next game. Enjoy it. Post a Comment | View (5) Comments On the Eve of the Finals Friday, June 09, 2006 It's about time. Germany and Costa Rica kickoff at 11:55 a.m. eastern (ESPN2). We follow it up with Poland-Ecuador and 2:55 p.m. On paper, the tournament opener should be a blowout. Not only are the Germans ridiculously more talented than Costa Rica, but they're playing on their own soil, which is historically a monstrous advantage all by itself. And did I mention Germany has a huge edge in talent? I read somewhere that the guy who'll be marking Miroslav Klose is Michael Umana. Umana couldn't cut it for the Los Angeles Galaxy and had to return to play domestically in Costa Rica. By contrast, Klose scored five goals in the last World Cup. Luckily soccer isn't played on paper. And things aren't all rosy for the Germans, as superstar Michael Ballack was ruled out for this first match because of an injured right calf. Anything less than a resounding victory in this opener will cause a full-blown panic for the host nation, which means this match has plenty of potential to be entertaining. Poland-Ecuador is one of the less appealing matches on tap for the early rounds. In fact, all six games happening over the weekend look better than this one. But it's the World Cup, and you never know which side will come out of nowhere and put on one of the best shows (see Turkey, Korea, Senegal, United States, circa 2002). So, of course, I'll be watching this one hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Enjoy the tournament, readers, and thanks for following along with me these last six months. Whether I've indoctrinated you into U.S. soccer fandom, or just provided you with someone else to disagree with, it's been a ton of fun so far. I'll try to update as often as I can over the next 30 days. Kickoff is here. Let's go Nats. Post a Comment | View (0) Comments Three Days Away Tuesday, June 06, 2006 Here's what's happened recently. 1) Claudio Reyna has been deemed healthy and ready to go. 2) We beat Angola yesterday in a closed-door scrimmage 1-0, behind a goal by Brian McBride. Four years ago, in our last match before the World Cup, we beat Costa Rica 1-0 in a closed-door scrimmage, behind a goal by Brian McBride. Things aren't all rosy though, as Angola played the last 60 minutes down a man and we still only managed a 1-0 victory, but since I wasn't actually allowed to see what happened, I'm not going to get too stressed about it. 3) There are all kinds of rumors, guesses, and hopes about who will start for us on Monday. Here is the one I believe will come to pass. Keller Cherundolo Onyewu Pope Lewis Mastroeni Beasley Convey Reyna Donovan McBride Potential subs: O'Brien for Mastroeni, Dempsey for Beasley, Johnson for Convey or McBride One thing is for certain--the 14 players mentioned above will be getting the bulk of the playing time. Or is it? I've heard rumors that Bocanegra will start at left back, rumors that Keller is secretly injured (though Bruce insists everyone is healthy), and rumors that Dempsey will make a surprise start as our attacking midfielder. I have no idea what to believe anymore. I'm ready for this thing to start! I haven't written much about the Czech team, because I don't know much about them. But here's what we should be facing on Monday, if what I've read is to be believed. World-class strikers Milan Baros and Jan Koller. Three great attacking midfielders: Karel Poborsky, a veteran formerly with Manchester United, Tomas Rosicky who just transferred to Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund, and the recently un-retired Juventus star Pavel Nedved. They have a lethal attack, although Baros, Koller, and Rosicky have all been battling injuries. If the Czech Republic has a weakness, it is its defense. Based on what I've read, I'd take Pope and Gooch in the middle over the Czech centerbacks, although perhaps someone more informed than I could chime in on this. Finishing against this team will be crucial, however, as Petr Cech minds the nets for the Czech Republic. He's the Chelsea keeper, and one of the best in the world. Anything less than great striking of the ball will not get it done. This match has real potential to be a 3-2 shootout much like the Portugal match four years ago (which airs Thursday at 2 p.m. eastern on ESPN Classic). Let's hope for the same result. Some final things before I preview Germany-Costa Rica on Thursday... 1) Anyone know a good place to watch the games in downtown Brooklyn and/or lower Manhattan? Musts include a high-definition television, enthusiastic crowd, and ability to serve beer before noon. 2) If you want to join my $20/person World Cup pool, shoot an email to jacksup@mattmatros.com 3) There's only one Claudio Reyna. 60 hours until Germany/Costa Rica. Post a Comment | View (2) Comments  December 2005 | January 2006 | February 2006 | March 2006 | April 2006 | May 2006 | June 2006 | |
Copyright
© 2004-2005 by Matt Matros | All Rights Reserved |
