17 Quadrillion Flies are Wrong (or, The Yedlin “Handball”)

Scott returns with his scatalogical sense of humor. Literally. But this time he may actually have a point:

 

The first part of the title is, of course, a reference to the popular joke as to why you should eat feces – because clearly the world’s population of flies can’t be wrong about its nutritional and gustatory value.  An ironic aphorism if there ever was one, the joke, nevertheless, perfectly describes the general population’s (homo sapiens, not diptera) understanding and attitude toward the handball rule in soccer.  The second part of the title offers an excellent opportunity to illustrate my point and vent years of frustration with refs, players, coaches, fans and soccer parents — collectively “Nitwits” — who not only misunderstand the rule but also perpetuate and exacerbate myths that gain increasing credibility in some nightmarish version of the telephone game.  Where to start?

 

Perhaps with the official IFAB/FIFA Laws of the Game - Law 12 addresses handling the ball by stating, in relevant part:

 

Handling the ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the

ball with the hand or arm.
 

The following must be considered:

•  the movement of the hand towards the ball (not the ball towards the hand)

•  the distance between the opponent and the ball (unexpected ball)

•  the position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement

 

The key word is “DELIBERATE!"  In all the Laws of the Game, it is the only infraction that must be deliberate.   By way of interpretation, for the aforementioned Nitwits, that means that just because the ball hits a hand or arm, it is not necessarily a handball foul.  The contact must be intentional in order to be a foul.  To emphasize, it doesn’t matter how advantageous it was for me that it hit my arm or hand, if I didn’t do it deliberately then it is not a foul.  “But it prevented a shot on goal!”  Doesn’t matter if it wasn’t deliberate.  “But it prevented a cross into the box!”  Doesn’t matter if it wasn’t deliberate.

 

So, how do we know if the handling was deliberate?  Unfortunately, only the player him/herself knows for certain, but the Laws offer some helpful tips for consideration.  The first two considerations are obvious and logical.  The direction my hand is moving and the distance it is from the ball when it is struck are good clues as to my intent.  Where I start to froth at the mouth a bit is that last little nugget of help which has been bastardized repeatedly and beyond recognition.  Here we go…

 

On the Future of US Football....errr, Soccer

Correspomdents Ed and Scott weigh in on the fortunes of the USMNT after last night's crucial victory over regional "powerhouse" Guatemala :-/

Ed:  I watched the game last evening.  I liked our lineup better, though I still don’t understand a few things.  First of all, Guatemala is terrible; how we lost to them last week is beyond belief.  I would think a good U.S. college team could beat them.  Second, at least last night Jurgen Klinsman had people at their appropriate positions – except for Bradley, whom he insists on playing in a number 10 though Bradley can’t help himself and often fell back into the number 6 position in spite of Beckerman being there.  I still think we are a better team with Bradley at 6, Nagbe  at 8 and Nguyen (or your boy Benny Feilhaber, Scott, but for whatever reason he’s an enemy of the state) at 10, and Beckerman on the bench unless and until we need him.  I was glad to see Zusi again, though I’m not sure of Castillo – he’s like a taller, younger imitation brand of Beasley.

 

My conclusions were:  we still aren’t very good at the simple tasks of passing and receiving.  I don’t watch much US National Team but clearly these guys aren’t at BPL level as they miss a lot of passes and have some poor first touches.  While we dominated the game and score line, there were no style points for us like there are when an overmatched team in the BPL plays a lower level team, e.g., Spurs playing Sunderland.  Sunderland will have their shots but Spurs will dominate possession and the game and there will usually be chance after chance. 

Dempsey played well but he’s definitely not going to be there next world cup as the 30 thing is upon him.

Bobby Wood is okay.  Like Castillo, I find it surprising that we don’t have any better USA players at those positions considering the talent we sometimes see just in South Florida.

 

Whatever.  They won.  They were better.  Onward.

 

I should note that US Youth Soccer has dramatically increased the number of US Soccer Academies.  I don’t know if this is a Klinsman thing, but suspect it is.  In Germany he is credited in small part to the cleaning up of their malfunctioning and fractured system.  German soccer put a ton of money into training coaches to get a high number of highly qualified coaches throughout, and JK forced money into facilities for the same purpose. I  believe to be an academy you need both a highly licensed coach and a certain quantity of facilities.  I imagine this will be good for USA youth soccer in general and the development of better players than we currently have on our USA national team.  If JK’s legacy is this, then he may have earned his money as it’s probably the most important thing for USA to get better at the international game (that said, I don’t know much about all the new academies springing up).  The current players are better than he’s made them look, but they still just aren’t that good compared to their top European counterparts. 

Scott:  I agree with pretty much everything Ed said except we dominated the game so much (granted, I only watched the first half and then skimmed the second) that I’m not sure what more could have been expected.  Maybe another 2 goals but 4 is plenty.  I think we lacked style points because we simply lack the requisite number of players with deft touch.  So maybe I am agreeing with Ed on everything.  I certainly saw a lot of errant first touches – it was like watching a “highlight” reel of Fort Lauderdale over 45s.

 

Interesting point he made about more academies here and that perhaps that was Jurgen’s influence in Germany.  Maybe he’s really more a director of football than a coach.

The Aftermath: Belgium 2 - USMNT 1 (Continued, Part 3/3)

photo by U.S. Department of State	via PhotoRee

 

More analysis of the reasons behind the USMNT's 2-1 loss to Belgium:

 

Ed: I think the European leagues are better, but I don't think the MLS is a bad training ground.  The problem is not training -- that's coming around pretty well in the USA -- it's just that the players aren't that good.  Deondre Yedlin is all USA and all MLS, but he's clearly a talent.  Landon Donovan was the same.  Plus there are lots of guys who didn't make our roster who've been hoofing it in Europe for a while.  Eric Lichaj pops to mind....  And how much did Sunderland help Jozy Altidore's game?

Along these lines, please remind me which basketball academy produced LeBron James and Michael Jordan, and how going to college hurt Tim Duncan's game.  (My delusional 9 year old has already told me that he was going to go to college first rather than just trying to go pro even though the latter is probably  better -- I can only imagine he overheard a Coach Mark diatribe on that one).  The idea that we need a European-style academy system for soccer has always seemed a bit silly to me.  It's too much along the lines of those people that think they could make the PGA tour if they just trained more as a kid....  Or even the coaches at the Barcelona camps that will train your kid to be as good as Xavi and Iniesta.  Come on!

I agree with the line regarding Adrian Peterson, but think that day is already here with guys like Yedlin making the team.  When we get to a critical mass with these type of guys we will become dangerous.  I would love to see Sergio Ramos try to mark Adrian Peterson (or Yedlin for that matter), or any NFL-level running back or defensive back that decided to play soccer instead.  Football youth participation is already down due to concussions; soccer is up due to TV.  TV will eventually make the difference, though for some reason I think the journey will be more fun than the destination in this case.  There's a certain charm to being an underdog that you don't get when you're expected to win.  Plus I want my kids to get playing time before all the elite athletes jump in!

Mark: The target striker issue that B* mentioned is dead on. With as many quality defenders and even midfielders (albeit defensive ones) that we have produced, we can't seem to find one good target striker out of 25 million soccer players. That's kind of nuts. In our history there has only been one true US target player that has ever played in one of the four major leagues (Brian McBride). He wasn't sensational, but he did the job even at the Premier League level. Not being able to win a ball at the forward spot was as big as issue yesterday as not having the precision playmaker.

Altidore is probably the closest thing to a target player, but he's only a hair above six feet tall and is of average pace, when most countries have a 6'2 or 6'3 guy or a guy who's just really strong and fast. Altidore has not been able to crack the Premier League yet which tells you where our best stands.

A Terrance Boyd/Altidore progression might get us there, but there are not many target choices out there at any level of US soccer. Was really surprised Boyd or Eddie Johnson didn't come as they give us at least so backup combination of size and speed up front.

On another note, the MLS is creeping up the ranks. I believe it had 37 players in the world cup which was behind The Bundesliga, English, French League, Italian and Spanish but ahead of Holland which is considered a pretty good league. The new $90 million dollar TV contract will raise level of play another notch.

The Aftermath: Belgium 2 - USMNT 1 (Continued, Part 2/3)

photo by robert.melok	via PhotoRee

Mark: When you look at it from a shots-on-goal standpoint it's easy to be dark. We spent most of the tourney on the wrong end of a shooting gallery. But that happens when you are playing counter attacking soccer. The problem was we left the only good counter attacking player in the country at home. I don't think green was the answer although he had a big play. I think we did "ok" but I think it was in spite of our coaching not because of it. My coach rank for Cups is Bruce Arena, Bora Milutinovic followed by a tie with Bob Bradley and Klinsmann,  and Steve Sampson is a distant last.

B* (Name changed to protect the innocent): I agree. No one will ever be able to convince me that Klinsmann does not regret his choice to exclude Landon Donovan. More specifically, I believe that regret flashed brightly in front of him when Chris Wondolowski missed from point blank, as Donovan buries that goal. US soccer is heading in the right direction, but we need goal scorers in a major way.

Scott: I'm still sick about the whole thing. Wondo was put in the game for exactly that reason. Feel bad for him.

I'm probably too much of an optimist, but I disagree with Mark about Klinsmann's ranking and I think he is dragging US soccer forward. The problem is, we all want it to happen faster than it is. We are light years away from 1990 and 1994, and we will only continue to improve. Just look at where our expectations are now and how disappointed we are when we get knocked out. I wish there were a way we could do it every year, because we improve every cycle and, mark my words, in another 20 years USA will be among those teams that can actually win the whole thing. Granted, I said something similar after 1994 - it's just happening slowly....

I have to agree with the comment about MLS. For us to do significantly better before 20 years from now, we need more players playing in top leagues. MLS will catch up one day (or at least close the gap enough) but until that happens it doesn't give our national team players what they need, with few exceptions.

We said all along that we would need to play our best and then get lucky to go very deep in this tournament. Well, we got lucky against Ghana and then Belgium for 90 minutes, but only Tim Howard played his best so we got bounced. And yet, it was still there for the taking with Wondo's miss and when we had them pinned to the ropes for the last 10 min of extra time.

Searching for the good, I point at those last 10 min. Quite frankly, I think it is more amazing that we didn't score during that time.

The Aftermath: Belgium 2 - USMNT 1 (Part 1)

 

The inter-office debate rages on:

Mark: Well that was a heart breaker. My random thoughts: we are back at 1994 watching "Bora Ball" and the all-heart team try to dodge twenty shots and then steal the game with a goal. That wasn't the style Klinsmann was supposed to bring in. This was a great exhibition of heart, but we got outshot and outpossessed dramatically in three of the four games. There could have been some very lopsided losses in this Cup for us.

 

Ed: That's a step too far< I think.  Klinsi didn't promise possession, just more attacking soccer.  And when we got the ball we did attack in numbers.  Plus there was no team that played a tougher four opponents.  But no, we are not as technically gifted as Belgium's golden generation or Germany.  But we were surprisingly close to Portugal on that regard.

 

Mark: Michael Bradley is the toughest player to ever play for the US national team, but should never play another game as an attacking midfielder. Klinsmann really did a poor job of casting him.

 

Ed: Completely agree.  He never looked better than when he orchestrated from the holding position in extra time.  I was reminded how solid he is back there where he should be.  He simply doesn't have the speed or creativity or desire to take on players and space in the attack.  Dempsey does, and dempsey also looked better when he returned to the number 10 spot.

 

Mark: Jermaine Jones is a beast, but like Bradley was expected to carry the team offensively and he just does not have the distribution ability.

 

Ed: Agreed again!  A tough holder who makes for a great spine.  Guys like that thrive on the premier league and his muscle made us better.  But destroyers are never also creators.

 

Mark: Kyle Beckerman is a tremendous position player, and we missed him today. The middle was far more open without him in there. Belgium had far more opportunities than German which is a stronger side. Was shocked he got pulled.

 

Ed: Can't say, really.  Cameron made Fellaini look pretty ineffective.  But Beckerman had a good tourney for a slow dude with big hair.

 

Mark: Why does it seem like we switch formations every game in the World Cup under Klinsmann?

 

Ed: I think that's called tactics and I'm okay with it.  The Dutch switched their formation at halftime against Mexico and it paid off, we can switch game to game if we have too.

 

Impossible is Nothing: Germany 1 - USMNT 0

Coach Mark and Correspondent Ed weigh in on the USMNT's advancing through the Group of Death to the Round of 16:

Mark:

So we backed into the next round. There is no sport in the world that can bring you that anti-climatic feeling like soccer. We lost, and we won at the same time. Muted high fives everywhere.

You got to like the competitiveness of this team. The team has the personality of Jermaine Jones, Michael Bradley and Kyle Beckerman, which is 100% scrappy hustle. Unfortunately it also has their offensive skill set.

Bradley has looked like a defensive mid pretending to be an attacking mid the whole tournament. Jones ended up playing target man part of the game because he's the only player on our offense who has the physical strength to compete for balls with a player on his back. We had a terrible time controlling the ball in our midfield to come into the attack.

I think Clint Dempsey's doing a good job faking the striker position. He's not fast enough to go by anybody, and not strong enough to play target, but he's got such a great feel getting in good spots and is the only guy with any precision on the team so he can survive.

I thought Omar Gonzalez was terrific today. Horribly tough spot to be put into, but he was a beast in the air, and showed a faster recovery step than Geoff Cameron. I think Cameron had a terrible game the other day, but he's a player. I would not mind seeing him sub into the defensive midfield to end a game. I thought it was kind of lousy that he got pulled after such a rough game when he was so solid during qualifying, but Gonzalez justified the decision, at least for today.

This team's Achilles' Heel is a complete lack of speed and precision on the offensive side. Dempsey and Graham Zusi (who I thought was very good today) are the only two offensive creators who have any precision on the final pass or shot. But neither of those two guys has the speed to threaten vertically.

Bradley's been just awful in front of the goal. Bedoya is basically an invisible player, and plays like a third outside fullback with a hustle-only game and Brad Davis showed why he got passed over three times for World Cups when he was in his prime. He's too slow and not tough enough on defense. It was a miracle we survived him today.

Two Points Dropped, or a Point Gained?: USMNT 2 - Portugal 2

24 hours after the Cristiano Ronaldo cross that rocked the USMNT, the crack analytical team from farlieonfootie breaks down the game and looks forward to Thursday's action.

Mark:  To revisit our pre-cup theme, did we really take Alejandra Bedoya over Landon Donovan? Bedoya apparently did not complete a single pass yesterday.

The one thing we have lacked so far is precision in front of the goal, and the most precise player in American history is making funny commercials while we are missing the goal by a foot to the left and a foot to the right.

Who thinks that Donovan misses that tap in that Bradley missed yesterday. I don't think Donovan has ever missed on of those. That would have been Donovan's spot yesterday.

It's a real shame because we seem to have a real team here, except that we need a second forward or wing player. And we left the best one in the history of the country at home.

Scott:  I’m still in denial. It can be a cruel game. But then you can make it even worse by not hanging onto the ball for another 30 seconds. At least twice in the last couple of minutes I saw times we could have easily bled off 15 seconds or so, but instead we gave it right back to them so CR7 could have his one moment. A botched clearance, a missed open net, and inability to waste 30 seconds… I wish I could go back to bed.

Mark:  I think this is hard to let go of because we know this is going to come back to haunt us. In American soccer it always does. There are never happy endings. It's like what happens to the Central American teams. Some how even when they should win, they lose, usually by some call where the ref gives the game to Argentina or Germany because they are the teams that are supposed to advance. I am hoping Portugal wins. I don't have a lot of confidence that we can take Germany. I think we are capable of a devastatingly close loss to them, but not a win.

The one thing I am happy about is that US soccer is clearly better than Portugal and that's no small feat, and Costa Rica is better than a lot of people so our group now has some respect.

Convergence: USMNT 2 - Ghana 1

The farlieonfootie staff, including sometime-contributor and USMNT expert, Coach Mark, converged on a local sports bar to quaff craft brews and cheer on the USA, along with 100 or so other players, parents and coaches of Fort Lauderdale Select FC.  With the exuberance of USA’s victory now faded (even if only slightly), a sober (literally and figuratively) assessment was inevitable.  With the Bossman headed to ground zero in the Amazon, the minions started chirping:

 

Mark Gets Things Going

So my take on the game yesterday is that the more things change in US soccer the more they stay the same. It was an extremely gritty victory, and I have to give Klinsmann credit in that he wins a lot, and he probably wins more games that we should lose (or tie) than any coach in American history. He's either really lucky and his luck will run out, or he’s really smart and just knows how to win, regardless of how unimpressive it might be.

 

My concerns going in was that this team had no counterattacking speed and few offensive threats. I was concerned we would not score a goal this tournament, but thanks to some individual magic by Dempsey and a lost man mark we got two. I think we scored two on something like three shots. I think Ghana had about twenty shots.

 

The team is playing with three defensive midfielders. While that worked against weaker qualifying competition, they couldn't maintain any possession yesterday (but they defended well). Bradley is a defensive mid at the highest level of play, not an offensive mid. Beckerman did a great job of clogging the middle and is always in the right spot, and Jones is a reckless, destroying machine. But that's a tough lineup to hold the ball with, let alone score. Bedoya is another hustle player, but offensively there is nothing there.

 

We like to attack with our backs, but it exposes the flanks and yesterday Ghana had 30 crosses (7 more than the next highest team in the cup).

 

Many people think this team is better than our last two teams. I just don't see it. Claudio Reyna, Brian McBride, and then a young Donovan, Beasley, and Dempsey were a lot more dangerous than anything I feel we have in this cup. Cherundolo and Bocanegra were career European 1st division talents, that have been replaced by younger players without their polish.

 

I feel like this team is more comparable to the Bora teams where it's just ugly gritty hustling American soccer. Really looking forward to Portugal to see if Klinsmann can pull a rabbit out of his hat.

 

One thing I like about Klinsmann is he's a fun coach. He has great sideline celebrations and most of the players genuinely seem to like him.

 

And one thing that has improved is our game watches. From six people to 100 is real progress. If the talent on the field can improve 5% as fast we are in good shape.

 

Scott Responds

I agree with all you said with the slight tweak that I think we are better than we used to be.  It was gritty yesterday but we are capable of real possession soccer, unlike in years past.  We just couldn’t pull it together that way yesterday due to Ghana’s consistent pressure and our inability to not give the ball away.  I still think Bradley dictates how this team will do (barring luck like yesterday) and he was very poor at holding up play and possessing.  Plus, at 1-0 up, why were we surging forward every time we won the ball, only to give it away again within seconds?  Why not switch it back and forth, get our breath back, make them run even more and then look for holes?  I was disappointed with that.

 

Klinsmann is fun to watch and I think it is a little of him being good and motivating players (previous tactical point notwithstanding) and a little luck too.  We knew we would need some luck to advance, but who knew we would need so much of it against Ghana? 

 

Against Portugal and Germany, we will need more of that luck and also need Bradley to find his footing, Dempsey to not clock out after his moment and the whole rest of the team to remember the importance of possession – especially in the heat and humidity of Manaus.

 

The US Fan's Perspective: From Cringing to Leaning Forward

Correspondent Scott is especially prolific lately:

I know it's not the World Cup yet, but USA's 2-1 victory over Nigeria in Jacksonville has convinced me that US Soccer has finally, truly arrived. I'm not saying they are going to win the World Cup, but I think it is safe to say that we can now play with anyone and play the game well - maintain possession, utilize quick, one-touch passes, create opportunities and counter.

Let's face it, it wasn't that long ago that as a fan I would lean back and cringe a little at how we might keep the ball or make a technical error (anybody remember Jeff Agoos against Jamaica?).  Fast forward a couple World Cups and now I lean forward each time we have the ball, in anticipation of what we might create.

Yes, there were still a few cringe-worthy moments, usually defensively, but even those are far fewer than a decade ago.  Quite frankly, there's no way a Jeff Agoos even makes the team now. To be clear, I mean no disrespect to Mr. Agoos, who gave his all for our National Team.  He is just a dusty example of when our all wasn't nearly enough. But now, playing our best and not making any mistakes, we really do have a chance to beat the best in the world. And with the formation change yesterday that left both Beckerman and Jones providing cover for the defense, allowing Bradley to create going forward, we might have found our best chance of escaping the Group of Death.

Defending Donovan

Scott still is not over 'The Omission":

Landon Donovan not on the US National Team?  And not on a self-diagnosed curative walkabout?  Blasphemy!  And the wrong decision.

 

First of all, everybody needs to get over their hurt feelings from when Donovan went MIA for a couple months and missed some qualifiers. When a seasoned professional, who has arguably given more to US Soccer than any other individual, says their body and mind need a break, we should trust that professional. And when said professional returns and the coach says he needs to earn his place back in the squad, we should support that coach. Donovan humbly applied himself again, working his way back into the lineup and then leading the team to a Gold Cup Championship last summer while garnering MVP honors along the way. So let's just put all that in the past - he took a break, people were disappointed, he came back, earned his spot, excelled and led - 'nuff said.

 

Now to the present. Should Jurgen Klinsmann have included him among the final 23 to go to Brazil?  Absolutely!  Why?  Because he has a surfeit of the 2 qualities you look for when it comes to the World Cup: Experience and Rising to the Occasion.  There is no doubt that Donovan has the experience.  He is a veteran of 3 World Cups and has more international appearances than any American except Cobi Jones (and, let’s face it, due respect to Cobi but he got a lot of those back when the US was pulling from a much smaller talent pool and playing a lot of kickball).  Plus, Landon has scored more goals than anyone else for the US by a long shot, 57 compared to the next best of 36.  But he doesn’t just score goals either.  He also has 58 assists which is similarly miles ahead of the next best of 22.  Experience counts at the World Cup.  When nerves are rattled by playing in front of 50,000 plus in attendance and a billion or so television viewers, teams need a player like Donovan who has not only been there before, but also excelled.

 

Which brings us to the next quality.  Some players, despite a solid supporting cast around them, never rise to the occasion of the World Cup.  As evidence, consider that Donovan has the same number of World Cup goals as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robin Van Persie…..COMBINED.  While not in the stratosphere where you can find Miroslav Klose and the former Ronaldo, Donovan’s total of 5 World Cup goals is more than respectable – it’s damn good.  And as further evidence of stepping up when it matters, consider the small matter of a lung-busting 60 yard run, in the final minutes, to turn in the winning goal against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup, without which, the US would have been eliminated.  There is no doubt – Donovan is a gamer.

 

Inexplicable

Ed is not amused:

o Let's not kid ourselves, the Landon Donovan omission is a disaster for the US team.  I like Jurgen Klinsmann, but there is no explanation as to why he would leave the best soccer player in US history off the team.  The explanation he gave -- that the other players at his position were just a little tiny bit better -- isn't good enough.  If it's close, you take the guy who has more world cup goals than Lionel Messi.  Donovan played great as recently as the 2013 Gold Cup, and I take him at his word that he did well in the recent tryouts.  I think it's clear, punctuated by the odd tweet by his son, that Klinsmann didn't like him.  It is impossible to arbitrate that dispute.  However, good coaches deal with players like this and get the best out of them.  See, e.g., Harry Redknapp (I cannot imagine Landon Donovan is tougher to manager than Emmanuel Adebayor).  Win or lose at the World Cup, this decision was a stinker for the team and for US soccer.

o Spurs have just hired former Southampton Coach Mauricio Pochettino.  The Argentinian guided Southampton to new heights.  That said, he had talent on that team -- Lallana, Rodriguez, Shaw, even Lambert, were all excellent players.  Southampton's style seemed to be similar to that of Pep Guardiola's.  The team pressed high on defense and possessed the ball on offense.  Similar, but not the same, as the possession wasn't as obsessive as Barcelona's.

Chile Con Carnage: Footballing Thoughts on England and the USMNT

            Photo by gkdavie on Flickr

Ed is not optimistic about Brazil:

Watching England battle Chile was sad at first.  They just don't seem to have the players.  Big guys with strong arms against small guys with quickness and footwork.  Not a fair fight.  Chile's players just seemed better at the sport, and ended up dominating in a 2 to 0 win that the English tabloids described as "Chile Con Carnage."  Even Wayne Rooney, who looked the most dangerous of England's players, seemed a distant second to Alexis Sanchez.  Sanchez had everything and reminded of a smaller but no less dangerous Sergio Aguero.  I've never seen much of Sanchez on Barcelona -- it always seems that Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta outshine him.  But perhaps it's more a question of there being only one ball, because even against Brazil last night he seemed the most dangerous and effective player on the pitch.

So is England really that bad?  No, but they're not that good, either. Ultimately, England doesn't have too many players that can just beat you with the ball in the final third.  While there are poachers and strikers that can beat you without -- Robert Lewandowski and Robin Van Persie come to mind -- those that can just run at players make an enormous difference.  See, for example, Luis Suarez, Aguero, and of course Messi.  England's best at this is the newcomer Andros Townsend.  And perhaps there's Theo Walcott, whose speed makes up for his lack of skill and allows him to get past defenders.

What about the USA?  Well, more of the same problem.  Sadly, I still think we are more or less a dumbed down version of England.  This isn't so bad and is much better than it used to be.  But in the game against Scotland the team really struggled with creativity in passing, and until Breck Shea and his ridiculous haircut came onto the field no one seemed dangerous or able to beat anyone.  A great coaching instructor commented that he believed that every country had a style of play, and for the USA it had to do with our conditioning.  Even at the very end of a long game against Angola game four years ago Landon Donovan was able to make a 70 yard run at full sprint and finish a goal.  But I'm not so sure of that.  I think we're still finding our style.  And I expect the US style to be something that contains a little bit of every other element, except our players are going to be bigger and faster than yours.

De Nada

Photo by Horia Varlan

Correspondent Scott expects some thanks, at the very least:

"De Nada."  

That was the two word text I sent immediately after the USA improbably beat Panama by scoring 2 goals in stoppage time to condemn the valiant Marea Roja to another cycle without World Cup action.  Which condemnation simultaneously offered a reprieve to our struggling neighbors to the south who were unceremoniously dispatched by Costa Rica at the same time.  My text, of course, was to a Mexican friend who was actually in that country on business when he replied with his appreciation.  And the next day he forwarded a picture of a fictional Mexican National Team jersey boasting sleeves bespangled with stars and stripes to accompany the familiar green.

Is it fair to say, if the situation were reversed, that Mexico would have stopped playing long before the final whistle?  I think probably yes.  Credit must go to Jurgen Klinsmann who is stamping a winning attitude on the USA team by demanding more and making it clear that nobody is guaranteed a spot in Brazil – it is all about performance on the pitch.  So what else was Graham Zusi to do but score with his forceful header?  And can you blame Aron Johannsson for deftly touching the ball to his right before sublimely finishing in the bottom left corner from outside the 18 yard box with literally the last kick of the game?  Given that a ticket to Brazil was on the line, I think not.

My Favorite Uncle Sam

Ed weighs in on the U.S.'s Cup Clincher:

It was a pleasure to watch the good ol' US of A beat up on Mexico.  Apparently there are no Mexicans in Columbus, Ohio, which makes games there seem like home games as opposed to games in other parts of our country.  I've never been much of a fan of people who cheer for the team of their country of origin over their country of citizenship.  But I guess it's a changing world....

The USA put together a win with many of their B-team in the field.  Kyle Beckerman wasn't outstanding but played one of his best games as a pro.  Clarence Goodson looked, well, good.  Eddie Johnson showed that he was a different level of athlete, and Tim Howard seemed to erase all notions that he isn't the USA number one.

The first thirty minutes of the game Mexico poured it on and the US players looked terribly mediocre.  It seems sometimes that Jermaine Jones takes at least that long for his touch to become something other than wooden.  He's a tough enforcer, but I question how effective he is in light of his giveaways, penalties -- another close one in the box -- and yellow cards.  Sometimes I think all of the US players, with the exception of maybe Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, need more Coerver drills.

I can't say I started out as the biggest fan of US Coach Jurgen Klinsmann, but he has delivered and brought many new players into the mix.  I think he has more talent than coaches prior to him, but he also has the team playing with enthusiasm rather than scared.  Ultimately the test will be the World Cup and how well he does.  But this start couldn't be better and for that he deserves lots of credit.

Choices

photo by Auntie K	via PhotoRee

Jurgen Klinsman's got some choices to make, and not just the obvious ones -- like whether to play 4-5-1 with a lone striker or play a 4-4-2 that involves more of his midfielders in attack. No, instead we're talking about the elephant in the room: Tim Howard. At fault for Costa Rica's third goal on Friday night, Howard has been off the top of his game for several months now. He's still an excellent 'keeper, mind you, just not the best the US has to offer now. We're not advocating for Nick Rimando, but instead talking about Aston Villa's own Brad Guzan. Surviving the baptism of fire that was the Villans' relegation battle last season -- not to mention a massive barrage of shots -- Guzan grew in both skill and international stature. The time may finally be here to give him a shot at the number one kit. 

o Could we please, please, please give the January transfer rumors a rest for at least a couple of months?  No sooner does the summer transfer window slam shut than the new rumors heat up: Gundogan, Ronaldo and Herrera have all been linked --  or re-linked in all three cases -- with United in the last 48 hours.  Call us skeptical, but if United wanted all three of those guys so badly, what would have been wrong with signing them last week...?

o And meanwhile, the United front office has been in major damage control all week, claiming it's outrageous that a club of their stature wouldn't understand complex tax issues, that they never tried to sign Wesley Sneijder -- not to mention a bunch of other silliness. Facts or not, the behavior of the club bordered on the bizarre during this last window, and that can't be argued. We're willing to give the new crew a one-time pass on this one, but we hope it's been made clear: this type of effort will not suffice going forward. 

o And if true that United turned down the opportunity to sign Mesut Özil, we're still scratching our heads. Sure, we've got (a clearly unsettled, although possibly not unhappy) Shinji Kagawa and (a clearly unsettled and possibly still unhappy) Wayne Rooney. But we're of the Bill Parcells school of team management, which goes something like this: sign the best available athletes no matter their position. World class athletes pick themselves, and Özil is one of the best attacking midfielders in the world at the current time. People who say he wouldn't make United a better team are missing the forest for the trees. 

This is farlieonfootie for September 9. 

Here Come the Americans! USMNT 4 - Bosnia-Herzegovina 3

photo by *Micky	via PhotoRee

Remember the bad old days?  Apparently, neither does Correspondent Scott:

Now let's not jump to conclusions here, but that was a quality performance against a quality team. Getting the errors out of the way early, the US then settled down in the second half, maintained possession more and created chance after chance for an on-fire Jozy Altidore. Credit must also be given to Jurgen Klinsmann's tactical change and apparent pep talk at half time. And all without Clint Dempsey or Landon Donovan.

A demerit must be given to ESPN who mistakenly listed Bosnia-Herzegivina's Asmir Begovic in goal for the Americans on the pregame graphic. Come on, guys!  Everybody on staff should have been able to realize that the Bosnian-sounding name had erroneously usurped the perennial American 'keeper with the American name, Tim Howard.

If I was excited to see Altidore ply his trade in the BPL again before, I'll now be losing sleep until Sunderland's first kickoff.

Eddie Johnson's lackadaisical care for the ball just outside his own 18 was to blame for the home side's first goal, despite Howard's first-shot heroics. Although both central defenders are also to blame for beseeching for offside rather than hustling to cover their goal line.

The next error that led to the 2-0 halftime score line is one that DRIVES ME NUT!  On set pieces, you have to mark closely until the ball is COMPLETELY CLEARED. Second chance crosses that find now-open opponents will kill you every time!

But boy does 20 minutes getting spoken to harshly with a German accent make a difference (just ask every team our friend Olaf has coached)!  Although possession was starting to swing to the US toward the end of the first half, clear scoring opportunities were lacking. But that all changed with a revamped formation and a little more hunger. Although the US Haters have been flooding the internet with how BH "called off the dogs" when they made three subs to start the second half, I don't believe that for a second. Only one of the three subs was critical - one was inconsequential and the last involved trading out a defender so flummoxed by Altidore that he had to pick up a yellow. And when two more subs were made after the Americans pulled within one goal, I can guarantee you that their coach was more concerned about maintaining his home unbeaten streak than about reining in canines. And it's not like Edin Dzeko called it an early night.

Golden

photo by Muffet	via PhotoRee

Scott is always good for some thoughts on the beautiful game, but never more so than when he's writing about the US Men's National Team:

It may be cliché to call USA's Gold Cup championship bittersweet due to Stuart Holden's injury, but clichés persist because of their aptness.  When I think about the fact that my disappointment is only a shadow of what that young talent is experiencing, despite the brave words he tweeted, I am crushed.  After taking the reins of the US team at the 2009 Gold Cup, the trajectory of his career seemed certain.  But a broken leg courtesy of Nigel de Jong followed by a gash and torn ACL courtesy of Johnny Evans led to over 2 years of rehabilitation.  He was just getting back into the national team and I believe his performance would have gotten him more looks with the "A" team and, ultimately (in my opinion) a place in Brazil.  I am crushed.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, someone who crushed it in the tournament is Landon Donovan.  His stats were gaudy as he flitted about looking as if he hadn't taken a single day away from the sport.  Just asked Panama's Quintero who was more than just a little shocked when the veteran was able to track down the speedster.  Donovan will be in Brazil. And he will be fundamental to our success.  Will he start against Costa Rica in Sept?  I don't know for sure but I would guess that he will be there but start on the bench.  Landon Donovan coming off the bench in the 60th minute would be a scary thing for all in San Jose.

I am guilty, like most people, of not saying anything when officiating is good but chiming in when it is poor.  So I'm happy to report that I thought the referee did a very good job in the Final.  He certainly did a better job than the semi-final referee who allowed open season with tackles.  On the contrary, he reined in players as appropriate, kept his cards in his pocket unless needed, and did a very good job with the advantage rule.  Interesting that it was the same guy who officiated the Snow Bowl game between Costa Rica and the US.

Deep (but Mediocre)

photo by JennyHuang	via PhotoRee

 

 

It's not like Ed to make snap judgments and all, but check out the last paragraph -- a highly uninformed opinion!:

 

o Watching the USA B-team paste the El Salvador B-team was enjoyable. Well, the US team did have 'A' players such as Landon Donovan and a few others, but still it's nice to see. I think unlike years gone by, the US actually has some depth. Granted, the teams they are playing in the Gold Cup are poor, but what better way to handle that then to absolutely crush them?

 

Players that impressed me from the roster included Mix Diskerud and Joe Corona. Both were good on the ball, though Corona was the better of the two. Obviously Donovan and Eddie Johnson appeared to be athletes of a completely different level, but it was still nice to see Klinsmann get time for the next team and have them perform. While this is just a small part of what he will ultimately be judged on, it's hard not to be happy with the direction of the US program right now. I must admit I had my concerns (and still do) when I heard (and continue to hear) that tactics aren't something he has worked on. But to a large extent personnel is policy as can be seen by the adjustment against El Salvador to spread them out with Eddie Johnson, a player that I had yet to see much from on the international stage.

o How much did PSG pay for Cavani? $84MM?? The amount seems outlandish until you consider how much we've been paying these families in the Middle East over the years. Well, it still seems outlandish. If it does anything it may actually slow down the exchange of top tier players as everyone thinks they should get that amount now. Was he worth it? Not unless he gets them a Champions League victory.

On Why We're Angry and Confused

photo by Arturo J. Paniagua	via PhotoRee

You think Wayne Rooney is angry and confused?  Here's a couple of things we've been dying to clear up, as well:

o David Luiz plus any amount of cash as a makeweight for Roo?  Please.  We'd rather see Luis Suarez walk through the tunnel at Old Trafford every week than be forced to cheer for Sideshow Bob.  If we're going to take a horse's ass, at least let's take one who knows how to play football.

o Did the Special One become so unhinged in Spain that he thought he could get one over on his rivals by publicly unsettling a player curently under contract?  Credit to David Moyes and the new press-friendly Manchester United PR department for leaking the inclusion of Juan Mata or Luiz in the proposed deal.  True or not, Moysie returned Chelsea's aggressive serve with a bullet aimed directly at Mou's ankles.

o Hmmm, let's see: Cristiano or Fellaini?  Thiago....or Fellaini....?  Fabregas.....OR Fellaini....?  ANYONE or Fellaini??!!  Why can't Moyes just admit he wants his former fro-laden hitman to follow him to Old Trafford?  Perhaps it's because he knows this now highly-likely move will be greeted with a massive sigh of resignation from the club's worldwide fanbase.

The USMNT Has Some MOMENTUM

photo by eschipul	via PhotoRee

The tide has turned. It wasn't that long ago (1 year) that people were reporting complaints from the US camp about Jurgen Klinsmann while Mexico was sauntering through their pre-hex group, after winning the Gold Cup for the second consecutive time. But now the US has spanked two minnows and Mexico can't seem to buy or even borrow a goal, going down to Panama in a recent outing.  Not that Panama isn't a worthy opponent, it's just that this latest defeat is yet another point on the downward spiral that will inevitably see Chepo ousted.

And what to make of Canada's latest humiliation - a 1-0 defeat to the Caribbean powerhouse known as Martinique?  Any time you lose to an overseas territory of France with a fort as its capital, it's time to shift gears. I mean, I know Canada isn't actually as big as the Mercator projection on my map would have you believe, but population does matter and Canada's is 85 times bigger than their islander opponent's.  When the pool is that much bigger it should be a cinch to field a better team and win. Must be too much lugeing going on north of our border. 

Against Belize, Wondolowski took full advantage of Herculez Gomez' forced rest due to artificial turf by notching a hat trick before half-time. Being in the right place at the right time certainly helped, as did some sloppy defending, but one has to wonder if finally translating his MLS goal-scoring proficiency to the international game will help Wondo to a roster spot in Brazil. 

I watched the Belize game in Spanish, which is always fun. The commentators are just like Gus Johnson but with even more enthusiasm and 10 times more knowledge. And you gotta love that they call Torres "El Gringo Torres."

Other things I love are Landon Donovan and Stuart Holden. The former, before being money (as always) on an undeserved penalty, set up the latter, whose composure on the ball is impressive and very welcome, for a goal that will surely boost the returning midfielder's spirits and prospects.

I had to keep reminding myself that this was only Belize as we looked awesome - winning the ball back quickly, defending well, passing well and creating and converting chances. 

Maybe it's a trend - we also looked pretty good against Guatemala.  My Alpharetta friend, Steve, not even a huge soccer fan unless he is betting on the game, was impressed by Damarcus Beasley's play in that game. Calling the slight defender "My Guy" throughout, Alpharetta Steve liked his explosiveness and commented that "anything can happen" when he gets the ball.