...for the US MNT.
First off, every good blogger admits when they're wrong...and in June 30th's preview of the Gold Cup, well, I was wrong. "how far can the US advance? Will we see another US/Mexico final? Well, not likely." Just to be fair, though, SoccerJunkie never picked the US to win this tournament...of course, I never picked Mexico either.
Sunday's 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Mexico unveiled every weakness within the US roster. The lack of experience was glaring, as the US started pushing forward at fever pace immediately after Mexico put in the penalty to take the lead early in the second half---if it weren't for Troy Perkins making 3 nearly impossible saves, the US would've allowed 6 goals in that 13-minute span instead of 3. The US needed regroup, stay patient, understand that they still had more than a half-hour (Torrado's penalty came in the 57th min.) to claw back into the match, and remain confident that their play to that point was strong enough to allow them to do so---while they gave up plenty of opportunities, they also earned a few of their own.
Should Bob Bradley have called in some of the extra 7 players at his disposal for the final? Certainly not. There are a lot of arguments out there that he should have, and considering the score, you can understand why...but this is about the bigger picture. First off, World Cup qualifying is back on in just 2 weeks time---and the US has a crucial game at the Azteca in Mexico City on Aug. 12th. These players need to be healthy and available---something club teams may be reluctant to agree to if you're taking them away from their club teams during the preseason (which is a far more vital stage than most people realize---this is the time where the mold for the team (the style of play, the formations, set plays, etc) is formed). Add on top of that the fact that the 7 extra players all participated in the Confederations Cup in South Africa in June, and you're risking having some of your key A-teamers burn out at the most crucial time of all---the World Cup. These players would have competed in World Cup qualifying last summer, played with their clubs (mostly in Europe) from August through mid-May (some, such as Tim Howard (who finished up with Everton at the FA Cup final on May 30th), even later if they advance in various competitions), gone to the Confederations Cup in South Africa for all of June, spent July zig-zagging the US for the Gold Cup, only to return to their club teams through May, then off to the World Cup in South Africa in June. Yes, these are pro athletes...yes, they're built and take care of themselves like finely-tuned performance machines...but they're human. The mental and physical rigors of the sport take their toll in just one year---it's why there is an offseason (and why they refer to it in Europe as a "holiday"). The World Cup is far, far, far, FAR, FAR, FAR more important than the Gold Cup---especially in a year where the winner doesn't qualify for the Confederations Cup---and Bob Bradley simply emphasised that point. And all this doesn't even mention the fact that these B- and C-teamers got you all the way to the final (a game they really had to earn in this tournament), and it would kill their growing confidence to say "Thanks for getting us here, but you're not good enough to win it, so I'm going to call in people that are."
All of this said, the US really showed some guts in this tournament. As a group that has rarely trained or played together, this young squad came together, played some gritty, hard-nosed soccer, and earned themselves a lot of respect. Advancing out of the group stage came as no surprise, but fighting for a come-from-behind win (a game in which they showed patience after giving up the goal) in the quarters, and fighting out a win in the semis showed the great depth this country possesses.
At this point, I'd normally say that the wheels have also fallen off for the New York Red Bulls...but the wheels fell off long ago. New York is nothing more than an embarassment at this point. Not to beat a dead...Bull...but the Red Bulls have a regular season record of 11-26-14 during Osorio's tenure, including a 1-19-7 record on the road. There isn't another sport in all the world where a coach would hold his job with this kind of a record.
WPS is drawing to a close, and the schedule is finally starting to balance itself out (something for the league to work on for next year?). Washington currently sits in a tie with Sky Blue for the 4th and final playoff spot, though Washington has a game-in-hand (3 left vs. 2 for Sky Blue). That doesn't mean much though, as only 4 points separate 2nd-place St. Louis and 5th-place (based on games played) Sky Blue...and the remaining schedule for those 4 teams sets up a fevered finish: St. Louis has the easiest schedule, facing 3rd-place Boston before finishing the season against the bottom 2 teams (Chicago and FC Gold Pride)...Boston faces Washington and St. Louis before closing against LA (who has clinched a spot in the inaugural WPS Championship)...Washington faces Boston and FC Gold Pride, and Sky Blue face FC Gold Pride, before the final Saturday features what could be a playoff-deciding match between Washington and Sky Blue at the Maryland SoccerPlex. Hold onto your pants folks, this could be a wild ride.
Some (mostly) international news:
--The global economic slowdown may have found another victim...and opened people's eyes to a large problem in the sport. Argentina is set to delay the start of the Apertura (originally scheduled to begin Aug. 14th) because of the large debts held by clubs. The reason clubs are facing these larger debts? Players aren't deferring any payments on their large contracts as they did in the past. It used to be that players were assests of the club, and many would defer payment as a means of building a retirement fund (remember, most professions don't retire in their mid-30's). However, as more players are "owned" by their agents (some of whom take a 30+% stake in each client), the players are requesting a larger percentage of their contract in each payment in order to pay their agents and still have money left over to live on.
--Tottenham's Darren Bent, now considered surplus on White Hart Lane after the arrival of Peter Crouch, was hauled off the team plane yesterday after Spurs agreed a fee with Sunderland for the English striker. Bent had already taken his seat before having to deplane his luggage on the tarmac...only to find out that Tottenham now has a decision to make, as Hull and Aston Villa have both pledged to match the 14 million Pound valuation that the Black Cats were set to pay. And the waiting game begins...
--In a related story, the Odd Couple are back, now that Peter Crouch has put pen to paper with Spurs. Just seeing 5'7" Jermaine Defoe along side lanky 6'7" Crouch as the Tottenham strike pairing (they played side-by-side last year at Portsmouth) is just a sight you rarely see in pro sports...
picture courtesy of daylife.com
--Tomorrow's MLS All-Star Game (against Tim Howard and EPL side Everton in Sandy, Utah) will feature a 39-year-old MLS rookie. Of course, it's hard to consider an American legend, who has had one of the most stories careers in US Soccer history, a "rookie" at all...but that is a distinction Kasey Keller does carry. While hardly showing his age (2nd in the league with a 0.80 GAA, to go with his 6 shutouts for Seattle), this game will be a passing-of-the-torch of sorts, as Keller will see Howard in the opposite goal---one US legend passing the torch to the man who's following him in the US nets.
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