Notes and Sighs

photo by jake.auzzie	via PhotoRee

We always had more than a sneaking suspicion that Correspondent Ed followed Justin Bieber's every move....

 

• It was nice to see the USA A-team beat the German B-team (or maybe C-team) in last week's friendly, especially in light of what Germany did to Ecuador in their prior friendly at FAU in Boca Raton (Nice stadium, by the way). But in another way, the top tier German players missing in that game -- Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Muller, Goetze, just to name a few -- show the enormous distance in ability between these two countries. Put more simply, the USA's best player, Clint Dempsey, would likely not make the German team. Egads, that has to change. You've got your work cut out for you, USA soccer clubs.

• I'm somewhat over Spurs' fifth place finish, one point behind Arsenal, in this year's BPL. It's also looking more likely that Gareth Bale may stay another year. But don't confuse "more likely" with "likely." If AVB is able to keep him for another year and somehow build on the squad with some depth at midfield and striker, that would be all a Spurs fan could ask. Hopefully, what seems to be a close personal relationship between the manager and the player will triumph. That said, a Real Madrid team with Bale on one side and Ronaldo on the other would look similar too and potentially even more dangerous than that Bayern team with Ribery on one side and Robben on the other. What would Bale go for on the market today? Is $70MM crazy?

• I'm disappointed that Neymar is bringing his "My Little Pony"™ hairdo to Barcelona, not because he won't be fun to watch there, but rather because I'd prefer to see talent such as his play week in and week out against the tougher competition of the BPL or the Bundesliga. He will certainly prosper there, but I expect it will take him time to fit in to the system -- a system that Cesc Fabregas has repeatedly described as complex. Certainly Barca can use Neymar, but can't they use some defensemen more? And what was with the Alex Song pickup? Song is decent but I never put him at the Barca level. He clearly isn't meant to replace Xavi (who will, by the way?). Is he intended for use in those league games that matter less?

Mouthing Off: Belgium 4 - USMNT 2

Just a few comments on the USA - Belgium game from Correspondent Scott...

What's the deal with Lexi Lalas sounding as if he is in a huge argument every time he comments, daring someone to disagree?  Lighten up Big Red. You're wrong sometimes just like the rest of us - like when you insisted Geoff Cameron pushed off on his goal and that the Belgians were up in arms.  Neither did he push off (it was a nudge at best in the context of a professional soccer game), nor did the Belgians complain.  Just because you don't have anything to say doesn't mean you get to make things up - and try to make us believe it by saying it with a snarl.

And while Taylor Twellman at least called out Lalas a bit on his comment, and made a few insightful observations throughout, his ability to banter and wittingly fill a conversation void falls well short of the mark yet.  Ian Darke (who needs his eyes checked if he really thought Romelu Lukaku was offside even with the yellow line on the monitor) must have felt like he was playing verbal pitch and catch with a one-armed two-year-old.  Maybe he had a bad night but it was enough to make me wonder what kind of a job Gus Johnson would have done. Yikes.

The display on the field wasn't much better.  While the final possession statistic was close to 50/50, and the US did create a few nice chances, Belgium dominated the game more or less from start to finish.  Throw in a dash of horrendous defensive lapses and you have a recipe for a 5-1 drubbing.  That the score was only 4-2 was due to the magnanimity of the referee who waived off a pretty clear handball on Damarcus Beasley in the box at one end (the hand lingered and was too far away from the body not to call it) but then punished a Belgian defender at the other end when he was struck on his arm tucked firmly into his body.