"There are three sides to every story. My side, your side, and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently." -- Robert Evans, The Kid Stays in the Picture.
Argentina 4, United States 1 -- Copa America Group C, First Stage, Maracaibo, Venezuela.
There are probably two schools of thought on dissecting this one. (Bear with me, I watched the game at a bar and couldn't fully pay attention to each and every detail. And no, people didn't throw beer at the screens a la 'Animal House' when Flounder's picture shows up when the beautiful game replaced the NESN feed of the Pawtucket Red Sox.)
School uno is that a very green and inexperienced USMNT hung with Argentina for just over an hour before succumbing to a very talented team that snapped out of its malaise.
The second is that, if a 'junior varsity' squad could hold on that long on South American soil, what could the full national team have accomplished? Wait until 2009 Conferations Cup for that, sorry.
If you've been reading you know where I stand.
In a perfect world it would have been nice to send a full strength squad to the Copa. But with the Gold Cup, club commitments, etc. it simply wasn't going to happen.
Yes, you could point to the fact that facing a similar situation Mexico defeated Brasil 2-0 the night before without many of its European-based players.
The fact is, there's no sense speculating on what could have transpired inside Estadio Jose Panchencho Romero Thursday night. Bob Bradley chose this squad and there's no changing it now.
That said, who out there in Internet land ever imagined the US would own a lead in this game? Who cares if it came via -- a correct -- penalty call on Gabriel Milito mugging Eddie Johnson. As Prof. John Satlin would say, "Friends, you gotta play by the rules."
Too bad it lasted all of two minutes, but its still something. Overall, the US didn't even play that poorly. Were they good? Not really. Considering this team had less than a week of practice together and a slew of unfamiliar faces, hanging with essentially Argentina's World Cup team sans-Pablo Sorin is nothing to be ashamed with, despite the eventual 4-1 scoreline. You might as well toss the final 20 minutes because by then the American's spirits were broken.
Part of the credit can go to Argie coach and, as Shaquilino wisely pointed out -- Fat Tony lookalike -- Alfio Basile deciding to start three defensive-minded midfielders in Juan Sebastian Veron, Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Mascherano.
Is it any surprise that six minutes of the insertion of attacked-minded Real Zaragoza-man Pablo Aimir Argentina took the lead?
Argie fans will take little solace in it, but it was the anti-Jose Peckerman move when he took off Juan Roman Riquelme for Cambiasso against Germany in the second half of the 2006 WM quarterfinals ahead 1-0.
From an American perspective, most of the ire can be directly squarely on the shoulders of Kasey Keller, ironically a man making his 101 first International appearance, which if you throw out Ben Olsen, Taylor Twellman, Eddie Johnson and Jimmy Conrad dwarfs the rest of the US roster combined.
Keller can draw some fault for the Argentine equalizer by Herman Crespo off a plumb free-kick in front of the goal from Riquelme. It was a total collapse in man-marking by the US, which isn't hard to imagine with the unfamiliarity out there. Yet for Keller to lunge at the ball and try to punch it away, only to whiff and give a clear, open chance for a world class striker like Crespo is inexcusable. Maybe you can pull that crap against Energie Cottbus or El Salvador. Perhaps there's a reason Borussia Monchenglglglglalaalalalaladbach was relegated to the 2.Bundesliga.
Crespo's second goal was even worse.
Yes, Lionel Messi absolutely threaded the needle with an excellent weighted ball to Crespo, but Keller's positioning, reaction and eventual 'save' attempt were PDL-worthy. Isn't one of the tenets of goalkeeping to, 'make yourself big'? Keller turned at a crazy angle and allowed the ball to squirt right under him. Nauseating.
What made it worse, is that it hearkened back to Razak Pimpong's goal for Ghana in the 2006 World Cup, that eliminated the US. It would have been a difficult save on a 1-v-1 breakaway, but Keller didn't get an angle on it and gave Pimpong and entire net to shoot on.
The other two goals? Credit the Argies. Those were both class finishes, in particular Riquelme's thread to Tevez from his own half for the capper. Tip your cap and move on.
It's safe to assume the American's spirits were completely fizzled by the fourth goal. To use Mexico as an analog, El Tri's keeper Guillermo Ochoa stood on his head to deny Brasil and he was a 21-year-old kid with seven caps to his name.
It pains me to type this, but since no one in the national media will, and even if I'm some schmuck blogger typing in my proverbial underwear, it's time for Keller to gracefully step aside. Sure, he had two or three fine stops, including a full-extension knock away of a Vernon bullet, but it's time to exit stage right (or left).
Goalkeeper is the one position America doesn't need worry about. Tim Howard is a fine No. 1 choice who can be supplemented with Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann, Matt Reis and maybe even Chris Seitz down the road.
That's really the one concrete thing you can take from this game, too.
From what I could tell no one really stood out. Benny Feilhaber had his moments, but was almost on an island by himself in the midfield. Everyone wants to get out the anointing oils...not just yet. Give him some time. He can't dominate a game by himself yet, let alone vs. a team like Argentina.
Jimmy Conrad also showed his defensive ability, marshaling the box with aplomb. Believe it or not, Jonathan Bornsetin didn't seem to much out of his element at left back and even picked Messi clean once or twice.
It just goes to show how good players like Donovan, Beasley, Dempsey, Bocanegra, et al actually are. I keep harping on Brasil/Mexico, but look at Brasil without Kaka and Ronaldinho, etc. No, the US isn't Brasil, but it shows that even the mighty five-time world champs struggle without their top guns.
The rest of the roster? Quick impressions before bed.
Eddie Johnson, For. -- Hard to naysay a performance when he drew and scored a penalty. Still, for some reason he plays too passive. It's one thing to hold up the ball when Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are out there, another when you're the No. 1 attack option. Can't recall him touching it in the second half.
Taylor Twellman, For. -- This might be the most irrefutable statement I've ever written here -- there's a slight, albeit slight difference between Roberto Ayala and your standard MLS center half. Slight.
Justin Mapp, Left mid. -- See above. It's one thing to rush past a guy making 13K per year, another when you're dealing with Argentina. (In fairness, not many can run through the Argies. Crunch.)
Ricardo Clark, Mid. -- It was a pinpoint, textbook header that nearly tore through the net, but Clark was the guy running with Aimar and kind of just stopped. One minute you're up, the next...
Ben Olsen, ? Mid. -- Tell me if I'm wrong but did he start on the outside? Good to see the beard at least.
Jay DeMerit, CB -- Again, wasn't watching intently enough to get a read on him. Seemed okay.
Marvell Wynne, RB -- Youngster made absolutely zero attacking impact on the right flank, though he was thrown into the deep end of the pool tonight.
Subs: Jesus...was Eddie Gaven hanging out with Butchie Yost the last couple weeks? He, Kyle Beckerman and Herculez Gomez came on too late to make any impact.
Bob Bradley, coach -- He popped his cherry in the loss department national team head coach tonight. No shame in losing to Argentina. He's probably the most important figure in this game other than Keller. I can write and rant with what I saw on the television and give some knee-jerk (emphasis on jerk) reactions.
Bradley is on the field and can judge body language, morale, the little things. He's in the locker room. He's clearly stated this tournament is a learning experience and a chance to evaluate players. If at the end of this sojourn to South America, Bradley has identified three, four players that can join the 'core' team that's probably better in the long term than winning a game or two.
Final thoughts: Is it a moral victory to hang with the Argies for an hour? Not really. It's better off to just toss this one and chalk it up to the outside factors, especially the lack of practices as a unit prior to kickoff.
That said, all these half-excuses and justifications go out the window the next two games. Paraguay might have thumped Colombia 5-0, but the US should be able to hang with them on Monday. Paraguay isn't a slouch, but they're no Argentina either. If the team unravels down the final 30 minutes vs. los Guaraníes, well, then they're some concern and hand-wringing Roque Santa Cruz or not.
It would have been nice to get Argentina third in the group stage, just to let this unit build up some cohesion. Clearly, dropping 11 guys onto the field against a world-class squad isn't going to work for any nation, not just the US.
Cosmetically 2-1 would have been better, but it is what is it. Let's just move on. No one out there is delusional to think the US is in the same league as Argentina, even at full strength.
Well, perhaps Alexi Lalas.
If we gave a grade tonight incomplete is that only thing appropriate.
Last word: Kudos to my man Suppe for correctly guessing the 4-1 scoreline before kickoff. Kudos.
Fire away and pick some hole in my arguments. If anyone has a comment on the GolTV presentation, please let me know.
Friday morning update -- Here are the postgame US quotes. Nothing really useful. Hard to think any American media actually went down there to grill them, Keller especially.
Argentina 4, United States 1 -- Copa America Group C, First Stage, Maracaibo, Venezuela.
There are probably two schools of thought on dissecting this one. (Bear with me, I watched the game at a bar and couldn't fully pay attention to each and every detail. And no, people didn't throw beer at the screens a la 'Animal House' when Flounder's picture shows up when the beautiful game replaced the NESN feed of the Pawtucket Red Sox.)
School uno is that a very green and inexperienced USMNT hung with Argentina for just over an hour before succumbing to a very talented team that snapped out of its malaise.
The second is that, if a 'junior varsity' squad could hold on that long on South American soil, what could the full national team have accomplished? Wait until 2009 Conferations Cup for that, sorry.
If you've been reading you know where I stand.
In a perfect world it would have been nice to send a full strength squad to the Copa. But with the Gold Cup, club commitments, etc. it simply wasn't going to happen.
Yes, you could point to the fact that facing a similar situation Mexico defeated Brasil 2-0 the night before without many of its European-based players.
The fact is, there's no sense speculating on what could have transpired inside Estadio Jose Panchencho Romero Thursday night. Bob Bradley chose this squad and there's no changing it now.
That said, who out there in Internet land ever imagined the US would own a lead in this game? Who cares if it came via -- a correct -- penalty call on Gabriel Milito mugging Eddie Johnson. As Prof. John Satlin would say, "Friends, you gotta play by the rules."
Too bad it lasted all of two minutes, but its still something. Overall, the US didn't even play that poorly. Were they good? Not really. Considering this team had less than a week of practice together and a slew of unfamiliar faces, hanging with essentially Argentina's World Cup team sans-Pablo Sorin is nothing to be ashamed with, despite the eventual 4-1 scoreline. You might as well toss the final 20 minutes because by then the American's spirits were broken.
Part of the credit can go to Argie coach and, as Shaquilino wisely pointed out -- Fat Tony lookalike -- Alfio Basile deciding to start three defensive-minded midfielders in Juan Sebastian Veron, Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Mascherano.
Is it any surprise that six minutes of the insertion of attacked-minded Real Zaragoza-man Pablo Aimir Argentina took the lead?
Argie fans will take little solace in it, but it was the anti-Jose Peckerman move when he took off Juan Roman Riquelme for Cambiasso against Germany in the second half of the 2006 WM quarterfinals ahead 1-0.
From an American perspective, most of the ire can be directly squarely on the shoulders of Kasey Keller, ironically a man making his 101 first International appearance, which if you throw out Ben Olsen, Taylor Twellman, Eddie Johnson and Jimmy Conrad dwarfs the rest of the US roster combined.
Keller can draw some fault for the Argentine equalizer by Herman Crespo off a plumb free-kick in front of the goal from Riquelme. It was a total collapse in man-marking by the US, which isn't hard to imagine with the unfamiliarity out there. Yet for Keller to lunge at the ball and try to punch it away, only to whiff and give a clear, open chance for a world class striker like Crespo is inexcusable. Maybe you can pull that crap against Energie Cottbus or El Salvador. Perhaps there's a reason Borussia Monchenglglglglalaalalalaladbach was relegated to the 2.Bundesliga.
Crespo's second goal was even worse.
Yes, Lionel Messi absolutely threaded the needle with an excellent weighted ball to Crespo, but Keller's positioning, reaction and eventual 'save' attempt were PDL-worthy. Isn't one of the tenets of goalkeeping to, 'make yourself big'? Keller turned at a crazy angle and allowed the ball to squirt right under him. Nauseating.
What made it worse, is that it hearkened back to Razak Pimpong's goal for Ghana in the 2006 World Cup, that eliminated the US. It would have been a difficult save on a 1-v-1 breakaway, but Keller didn't get an angle on it and gave Pimpong and entire net to shoot on.
The other two goals? Credit the Argies. Those were both class finishes, in particular Riquelme's thread to Tevez from his own half for the capper. Tip your cap and move on.
It's safe to assume the American's spirits were completely fizzled by the fourth goal. To use Mexico as an analog, El Tri's keeper Guillermo Ochoa stood on his head to deny Brasil and he was a 21-year-old kid with seven caps to his name.
It pains me to type this, but since no one in the national media will, and even if I'm some schmuck blogger typing in my proverbial underwear, it's time for Keller to gracefully step aside. Sure, he had two or three fine stops, including a full-extension knock away of a Vernon bullet, but it's time to exit stage right (or left).
Goalkeeper is the one position America doesn't need worry about. Tim Howard is a fine No. 1 choice who can be supplemented with Brad Guzan, Marcus Hahnemann, Matt Reis and maybe even Chris Seitz down the road.
That's really the one concrete thing you can take from this game, too.
From what I could tell no one really stood out. Benny Feilhaber had his moments, but was almost on an island by himself in the midfield. Everyone wants to get out the anointing oils...not just yet. Give him some time. He can't dominate a game by himself yet, let alone vs. a team like Argentina.
Jimmy Conrad also showed his defensive ability, marshaling the box with aplomb. Believe it or not, Jonathan Bornsetin didn't seem to much out of his element at left back and even picked Messi clean once or twice.
It just goes to show how good players like Donovan, Beasley, Dempsey, Bocanegra, et al actually are. I keep harping on Brasil/Mexico, but look at Brasil without Kaka and Ronaldinho, etc. No, the US isn't Brasil, but it shows that even the mighty five-time world champs struggle without their top guns.
The rest of the roster? Quick impressions before bed.
Eddie Johnson, For. -- Hard to naysay a performance when he drew and scored a penalty. Still, for some reason he plays too passive. It's one thing to hold up the ball when Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are out there, another when you're the No. 1 attack option. Can't recall him touching it in the second half.
Taylor Twellman, For. -- This might be the most irrefutable statement I've ever written here -- there's a slight, albeit slight difference between Roberto Ayala and your standard MLS center half. Slight.
Justin Mapp, Left mid. -- See above. It's one thing to rush past a guy making 13K per year, another when you're dealing with Argentina. (In fairness, not many can run through the Argies. Crunch.)
Ricardo Clark, Mid. -- It was a pinpoint, textbook header that nearly tore through the net, but Clark was the guy running with Aimar and kind of just stopped. One minute you're up, the next...
Ben Olsen, ? Mid. -- Tell me if I'm wrong but did he start on the outside? Good to see the beard at least.
Jay DeMerit, CB -- Again, wasn't watching intently enough to get a read on him. Seemed okay.
Marvell Wynne, RB -- Youngster made absolutely zero attacking impact on the right flank, though he was thrown into the deep end of the pool tonight.
Subs: Jesus...was Eddie Gaven hanging out with Butchie Yost the last couple weeks? He, Kyle Beckerman and Herculez Gomez came on too late to make any impact.
Bob Bradley, coach -- He popped his cherry in the loss department national team head coach tonight. No shame in losing to Argentina. He's probably the most important figure in this game other than Keller. I can write and rant with what I saw on the television and give some knee-jerk (emphasis on jerk) reactions.
Bradley is on the field and can judge body language, morale, the little things. He's in the locker room. He's clearly stated this tournament is a learning experience and a chance to evaluate players. If at the end of this sojourn to South America, Bradley has identified three, four players that can join the 'core' team that's probably better in the long term than winning a game or two.
Final thoughts: Is it a moral victory to hang with the Argies for an hour? Not really. It's better off to just toss this one and chalk it up to the outside factors, especially the lack of practices as a unit prior to kickoff.
That said, all these half-excuses and justifications go out the window the next two games. Paraguay might have thumped Colombia 5-0, but the US should be able to hang with them on Monday. Paraguay isn't a slouch, but they're no Argentina either. If the team unravels down the final 30 minutes vs. los Guaraníes, well, then they're some concern and hand-wringing Roque Santa Cruz or not.
It would have been nice to get Argentina third in the group stage, just to let this unit build up some cohesion. Clearly, dropping 11 guys onto the field against a world-class squad isn't going to work for any nation, not just the US.
Cosmetically 2-1 would have been better, but it is what is it. Let's just move on. No one out there is delusional to think the US is in the same league as Argentina, even at full strength.
Well, perhaps Alexi Lalas.
If we gave a grade tonight incomplete is that only thing appropriate.
Last word: Kudos to my man Suppe for correctly guessing the 4-1 scoreline before kickoff. Kudos.
Fire away and pick some hole in my arguments. If anyone has a comment on the GolTV presentation, please let me know.
Friday morning update -- Here are the postgame US quotes. Nothing really useful. Hard to think any American media actually went down there to grill them, Keller especially.
Labels: Copa America, Soccer, USMNT
I agree that Keller must go. In addition to poor keeping, his goal kicks are atrocious. He seems to just boot the ball down field and pray. It seemed like most went out at the sides or rolled all the way for an Argentine goal kick. He was just giving away possession all night. If you can't distribute the ball well from a goal kick, pass it to your defenders.
Was hoping you had watched with the sound on because would have been worth writing about. The announcers were the normal hacks who broadcast GolTv games but this time they were wearing their USA Cheerleader uniforms. They started counting down the minutes in the first half and then kept talking about moral victories. Just awful. Whatever happened to Jack Edwards?
As much as I love watching him kick the ball to Argentina's keeper Keller needs to be on the first plane home.
Other frustrations: Every set play, the US failing to ever goal down the sides and playing everything through the middle, Eddie Johnson not knowing what to do, Taylor Twellman being himself.
I don't care if this is the B or C Team, I thought they looked awful.
Good players: Bornstein, Conrad, Olsen (seemed to be all over)
Bad players: Keller, Gaven (way too soft on Messi that led to the 2nd goal), Twellman, Feilhaber, Mapp
Did they play: Clark, demerit, wynne.
Bornstein did a lot more than pick Messi's pocket a few times; he basically shut him down for the entire first half. You could see Messi's demonstrative frustration. He even flipped sides near the break b/c he wasn't getting anywhere down the right. He played a pretty good second half as well in my opinion. Big ups to the Chivas man.
Great review.
I considered myself to be pretty optimistic going into this one. That being said, I expected the scoreline to be 3-nil.
While it was great to see EJ draw that penalty, and finish it -- I also wished he had more selfishness out there.
We needed Keller to play a blinder, and he just looked old. If he cleaned up the mess on that first goal, I would've liked to think that our guys could've built more confidence. Since ARG was hell bent on getting that equalizer, the counter might've been even more effective.
Agreed that Wynne looked out of depth out there. But I couldn't complain about DeMerit/Ralston.
I would've liked to see Charlie Davies replace Twells at 60.
Bob Bradley coached teams usually have the stamp of high workrate and determination. I want to see more of the latter in the last two games.
Cardillo - I thought you were just bitching about Keller to just bitch about something since we lost but man he fucking SUCKED BALLS in that game. The first and second goals what the fuck was he thinking?! Didn't he get nutmegged on the second goal? I just saw the highlights and I am sick to my stomach. Fucking useless.
When we went up 1-0 on that penalty, I said "If we can even hold a draw I'll be happy."
When the defense just shut down on the free kick and Crespo put home a total Crespo goal, I said "Honestly, if we can lose only 2-1 I'll be happy."
I thought the first 60 minutes of action were pretty well played for the green-gos, but yeah, you're not going to hold on and play with that team with a B Squad. Still, I take away a lot more positives from a 4-1 match than any other 4-1 match in our history.
Meanwhile, Crespo looks about 10 years younger with short hair, no?
Dude, this is the first place I go every morning after USMNT games, thanks for writing so quick.
I agree with the incomplete grade, let's see if anybody steps up and identifies themselves as good enough to join the 'A squad.' I think that's the best (and perhaps most important) thing that will come out Copa America. Keep the faith.
On GolTV, Hudson was over the top in his praise for the Americans, but his essential points, that Bradley did well to prepare the team to play a (sensibly) defensive but not utterly callow style and that the American players on the pitch were playing toward the top of their individual ability, were generally true.
The difference in the rosters was so great it's almost impossible to predict much going forward. The U.S. couldn't adequately replace Ben Olsen. Argentina brought on Aimar and Tevez for the last half-hour.
Eddie Johnson played better than he did in the Gold Cup but seemed to get struck by fear anytime he had a chance to attack the goal. That includes the penalty he drew.
It was far and away Bornstein's best game. Sending him out there repeatedly (in the absence of better options) may pay off yet.
I've been wanting to see Keller put to pasture for years. The gushing, out-of-date hyperbole used to describe his modest, over-the-hill talents during WC '06 made me, through not fault of Keller's, actively dislike him. Gladbach was relegated. Everton, Blackburn, and Reading were not. This is not complicated.
I agree with school uno. There is no really arguing squad selection (as far as who is called) once the game starts. The young team hung around and I thought Eddie Johnson was very good in the first half.
Keller was off, and this makes two games in a row where he doesn't seem himself. He doesn't look right.
I like the attacking style of play that we employed.
2 things:
As I thought the final would be 5-0 or so, 4-1 is not so bad. Argentina definitely brought their top squad, something even Brazil did not do. The last 2 goals, especially were painful to watch though.
I do not have GolTV or Telefutura on my cable system. I did get to watch the second half because, previously inbeknownst to me, Univision puts them up live in their website. This was the website last night, perhaps it will be the same for other matches: http://www.univision.com/contentroot/uol/30deportes/content/jhtml/copa_america/NOMETA_partidosEnVivo.jhtml
It beats having to fight others for viewing space, and the Spanish speaking announcers really get into the proninciation of names, providing first and last for every American player.
Keller's been past it since he was at Rayo Vallecano. He was a backup at Spurs and since then has been first choice for a team that has finished 10th and 18th in the Bundesliga.
Mapp and Gaven couldn't take on an Argentinian grand-mom, never mind Zanetti and Heinze. Twellman will never be an international class center forward, so why take him on a squad you're developing for 2010. If he wasn't good enough for 2006 squad....how is he going to be good at 32 in 2010? Makes no sense.
What was worse was Hudson's hyperbolic praise of a mundane US-performance against an aging Argentinian team, who usually start slowly in tournaments. I hate Ray Hudson with a passion that can only be described as now verging on the psychotic. He is clearly deranged. Never before in a footie game that was emminantly watchable have I felt compelled to turn the sound off, losing the atmos but also losing his baleful voice.
For my fellow TeleFutura viewers of last night's game, I have just word:
"Booooooorn-stain"
Crespo may have appeared to be everywhere, but alas, the SilverStars will bounce back.
You Gotta Believe.
I just wish we could have had more than two minutes to celebrate being ahead of Argentina. I didn't even get finished celebrating before they scored again.
Now that we can all agree on Keller's washed-up status, I'll look forward to seeing how Guzan plays in front of the goal.
I was just happy to hear NESN is still showing PawSox games!! Things like that warm this New Englander-in-Chicago-exile's heart.
The GolTV presentation wasn't bad. They had that fantastic Scottish guy screaming his head off about "Little Messi." My stomach was in knots when we went up 1-0, as then it was just a matter of time before I knew we would crumble. Ai yi yi.
If Brian McBride had been there, we would've whupped 'em! (And maybe Marty Barrett.)
I was totally surprised to go into half 1-1 - but not surprised that it fell apart so quickly.
I agree with the comments here - Booorn-Stein did a good job defensively on Messi - Messi switched sides and totally torched "Chico Maravilla" - he came inside and passed to Crespo for GW goal and then there was an overlap that Marvell was unable to catch up to.
As for everyone else - I can't seem to remember too many positives - Olsen working hard, Conrad/DeMerit in the middle.
I do have a few gripes -
Mapp - he *tried* to go at Zanetti (I think it was Zanetti) at least twice - both times he tried to go outside on him, both times Zanetti calmly stepped in front of Mapp and cleanly dispossessed him. It was like you are playing your younger brother in basketball and you don't even have to jump to swat the ball back into his mug. Oh well, I guess he was the only one to try to take someone on one v. one.
EJ - What is all this run on to the ball and hold it up as 2 or 3 defenders swarm you shit? Take the ball to the goal son!! Ives at Soccer by Ives had a drinking game - every time EJ passes back or tries to pull the ball back rather than taking it to the defense, drink. I would have gone through a 12 pack last night.
KK - the keep that shares my initials has got a fork in his back, the thermometer says its overcooked and dried out.
I hope we can improve and see Lee Nguyen and Davies rather than *gag* Gaven.
Did Friedel actually retire from the national team? Because if not, why the hell has Keller been favored over him the past few years? Friedel is still a consistently quality(and sometimes superlative) keeper for a decent Premiership side, while Keller has just totally lost it, and is(was) playing for a Bundesliga bottom-feeder. Those highlights were brutal, but his play in the World Cup wasn't really much better. And of course there are Howard and Hahnemann to choose from as well, since Friedel is pretty old at this point too. But if we had to go with an elder-statesman keeper last World Cup, why the hell wasn't it Friedel? Bah.