TED -- Okay, occupation?
CHRIS -- Ah, paperboy.
TED -- And you're giving that up to become a male model? That's gutsy kid.
You got something down below, uh? Alright now, would you consider your build
to be musclar/athletic, trim or lean?
CHRIS -- Ah, well actually it's more like soft dough.
United States 1, Paraguay 3, Copa America Group 3 Round 2, Estadio Agustín Tovar, Barinas, Venezuela.
Knee-jerk reactions following a loss that all but eliminates the USMNT from the 2007 Copa America. There's almost no chance to advance even with a win over Colombia thanks to a now minus-five goal difference.
And who should shoulder the brunt of the blame for this pathetic, -5 record?
Kasey Keller.
Unlike in the opening game when the team was eventually outclassed by Argentina 4-1, the US had control the entire way vs. Paraguay. From the opening whistle the US played with spirit, hustle and accounted for themselves well ...albeit with numerous missed chances.
So what burns my ass is that the three goals scored by Paraguay all came against the run of play in increasingly boneheaded scenarios, with Keller unable to come up big and clean up any of the messes.
Goal No. 1 -- (30th minute) After watching the replay multiple times, this might be one of the softest goals the US has conceded in some time. It all began when Jay DeMerit strayed too far away from the goal marking Santa Cruz and was beaten down the field , who threaded a quick pass to Oscar Cardozo, who then slipped it past Jon BORN-stein (Telefutura pronunciation)/ Sacha Kljestan (unsure which) to Edgar Barreto who FELL onto his bum and still managed to beat Keller.
Again, Keller failed to commit to making a run off his line or standing his ground. From my amateur analysis, had he kept charging forward he could have plucked it off Barreto's toe before he scissor-kicked it into the net whilst falling down.
Making in all the more infuriating, aside from a corner kick that skimmed the outside post, Paraguay hardly threatened in the first 30 minutes.
Goal No. 2 -- (56th minute) This one Keller doesn't get totally faulted. The mix-up in communication from Bornstein's back-pass to Jimmy Conrad was inexcusable.
That said, Keller might have been able to again come off his line and scoop it up before Oscar Rene Cardozo slotted it into the upper-left netting instead of simply freezing. Better yet, Keller could have made a save when the ball wasn't kicked directly in front of him.
If you noticed throughout the game Keller rarely strayed from his own six-yard box. On the other end, both of Paraguay's keepers actively moved up to collect anything even close to their area. (More on them later.)
Goal No. 3 -- (90+ minute) The icing on the cake...if you're Guaraníes.
Did Salvador Cabañas place a nice free kick into the right side of the net? Yes. But upon multiple viewings it was hardly an unstoppable rocket. From the place the kick was lined up there was no way it could have sailed to the left, where Keller was positioned.
Again, the kick might not have needed to happen if not for Danny Califf absolutely mugging Cabañas on the top of the area. Whatever.
If you didn't see it vs. Argentina, you must have seen it tonight. The wheels have fallen off for Keller. I take no pleasure in writing this either. We can talk about his 102 caps and how he's played in England, Spain, Germany, etc. His year's of service. His four World Cups. Blah, blah, blah.
The ship has sailed.
Just for fun I thought I'd track Keller's ball distribution since inside the first minute he took a free kick and promptly shanked it out of bounds. Only 5 of his 15 punts did the US come away with clean possession. That's 33 percent. Hardly world class.
If you read the LA Times (or elsewhere) Keller recently said that the MLS is without question a step down for him.
Are you so sure buddy?
In the words of Tenacious D, 'You're too old to rock. No more rockin' for you."
Exhale.
As for the rest of the game?
Overall the team played well, aside from the result. They created chances, held Roque Santa Cruz (mostly) in check and deserved at minimum a draw. Call me crazy, I'm not sure who wrote this game recap for the Associated Press. They must have been watching a different game than me.
Obviously you can't erase the three miscues, otherwise it wasn't that bad. Sure, that's little consolation at this point for US fans that had their hopes raised.
The extra training showed immediately as the team looked confident in possession. Yes, there were plenty of fluffed chances, but since when doesn't the US blow at least 3-4 easy ones per game?
From the big picture standpoint, it's unsure how much Bob Bradley is going to gain from his 'evaluating' perspective. He took a provisional team, but how much will he learn in a now almost meaningless game vs. Colombia. (Ok, maybe if they win 6-0.)
Bradley only made two lineup changes from against Argentina (Drew Moor for Marvell Wynne; Kljestan for Justin Mapp) so he didn't see anything he didn't already know. Is what's now become essentially a one-off game going to tell him or us anything about Lee Nguyen, etc?
For one thing, if Brad Guzan isn't the starting keeper I'm burning my old Nike USMNT shirt, Scott Proctor style.
Player notes:
Kasey Keller, GK -- See above. (Honesty, I can't wait for his quotes blaming everyone but himself.) Ok, one thought when Aldo Bobadilla, Paraguay's backup out plays you, well, that's not so good Al. In fairness, Aldo Bobadilla is the No. 1 shirt at Boca Juniors, which is more than Keller can say right now. Maybe Velez Sarsfield would suit him or are they beneath his loftiness as well? Just a hunch, I doubt Real Madrid or Juventus are coming calling any time soon. Perhaps the Seattle Sounders would take you. That's close to home and meets your demands. (Sorry I gotta stop piling on.)
Jonathan Bornstein, LB -- Ugh. Anyone can have a gaffe like his back pass, so let's not crucify him for the rest of his career, which has longtime potential. It was a mistake. Irregardless, it's very evident he's solid in the attack but leaves plenty to be desired in defense. Prolly deserves a rest, too. (Is it me or does he sort of look like the Rhymenocerous, sans beard from Flight of the Conchords? Boom!)
Jimmy Conrad, CB -- Here, there, everywhere in the back.
Jay DeMerit, CB -- Aside from getting beat on the goal, quiet night. Came off with an injury, too. One note: cannot play with the ball at his feet.
Drew Moor, RB -- Take the good. Take the bad. Mix them up and then you have Moor's game. For a guy making his first cap didn't look out of his depth like Wynne. Had a couple of deep testing balls early and set up the lone US goal with his long range pass that Taylor Twellman chested down and pushed to Ricardo Clark.
On the flip side, in the 83ish minute, had a WIDE OPEN. WIDE OPEN. WIDE OPEN. Header in front of goal that he sent right into the stomach of the Paraguay backup. The Telefutura announcers seemed to have a laugh at his expense, too. To quote old-school Bart Simpson, "Aye Carumba."
Still, for a guy that raised everyone's eyebrows for his inclusion wasn't all that terrible.
Sascha Kljestan, LM/RM -- Blew the first chance of the night when he headed wide in the 11th minute. Lost in the miss, he did make a nice run to get open at the back post for a Ben Olsen cross. Otherwise an uneventful evening though he might have been one of the guys beaten on the first Paraguay goal. Beats me what his future prospects are.
Ricardo Clark, CM -- Thank heavens. Give the man some credit. He wasn't afraid to take his chances and nearly had two goals. He did score one, with excellent placement to the low right corner past Justo Villar. He would have had two if not for a good, not great save from Bobadilla. Since he likely won't play vs. Columbia, definitely distinguished himself as a guy to be in the 2010 and onward rotation.
Benny Feilhaber, CM -- The Austrian-born Californian can definitely pull the midfield Mozart act, but tonight he seemed a little too selfish out there. Credit him for the professional foul which earned him a yellow. Shows he's got some bite, kind of like Tyler Durden.
Ben Olsen, RM/everywhere -- No beard. No problem. My vote for US player of the match, even if he was subbed off for Mapp in the 71st. Throughout the game he was running balls down, creating chances and was right in the middle of all the action. He even gave the ol' Rochambeau treatment to Paraguay No. 3 shirt Claudio Rodríguez early on, setting off a testy scrap throughout the game. Good stuff. Too bad in a tournament that was more about looking at new players than winning games, a 30-year-old left the biggest impression.
Taylor Twellman, For. -- Although he did set up the Clark goal and flashed his would-be Captain America workrate throughout, Twellman's national team career could be summed up when he had a chance to level it at 2-2 and instead fluffed the ball off the side of his foot. He could have been the 'face' of the team, instead just doesn't have the mojo outside the cozy confines of MLS. It's a shame.
Eddie Johnson, For. -- For all the commenters calling him the US-Emile Hesky? No. First, it's a silly comparison. Eddie isn't a fat waste of space. And is there a rule somewhere in sports that players can only be compared to that look similar and are of the same race? Isn't that a tad narrow minded?
Back to the topic at hand, Eddie played his butt off tonight and seemed to be on the cusp all night. Feilhaber almost set him up midway through the second half with a nice long run, but the Paraguay defender broke it up with an all-out tackle.
Eddie needs to visit Apollo Creed, though. He needs to rediscover the 'Eye of the Tiger.' Go at people and through them instead of passing it back. He started doing this late on. You have it in you...I think.
Subs:
Danny Califf (65th for DeMerit) -- Yeah...nice arm tat. Must be a specialty in Denmark. Was it part of the Danny Agger collection?
Justin Mapp (71st, for Olsen) -- Ooooooh. That blistering run in the 75th. It's those flashes...man. He was probably burning too fast to lay it off to an on-running Johnson and just fired high. Damn.
I did notice that in the dying minutes he shifted to the right side and couldn't get off a cross with his right foot, opting to try to dance around three, four defenders.
Lee Nguyen (80th for Kljestan) -- Gave the ball away on his first touch on a decent US buildup. Did triggered a nice ball for Mapp later. Should start next game without question.
Bob Bradley, coach -- Credit him for playing for the win, as obvious as that sounds. His substitutions were good enough, too. The game was more compact defensively that I anticipated, so it probably wasn't the game for Boston College-scum Charlie Davies. (Sorry, nothing personal.)
Bradley fielded a lineup and coached a game that he should have walked away with at least a point. It's not his fault the one player he assumed he could count on degenerated before our eyes.
Miscellania -- What was there, one, one goddang America fan in the crowd the cameras could find? Two? ... What's the deal Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino? Were you going to a polo match or something after the game? Was the sweater around the neck necessary? Weeeeak. ... Weaker, the Venezuelan special forces. The dudes looked like Lego-men. Who would have thought Paraguay's backup keeper would be better than the No.1? ... Credit to Paraguay, Joe Jackson would approve their kits. They were that sharp. ... Final shot totals USA 14, Paraguay 12. Seems a little high for Paragauy, no? ... Any chance former Paraguay keeper Jose Luis Chilavert and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez watched the game together over some nice, warm Marxist literature? ... Any comments on Ray Hudson/GolTV feed would be nice.
Just to clarify a little bit. Here are the group standings. Two of the three third place finishers advance. The US could still finish third with a draw or tie vs. Colombia. A win is needed. This is straight Wiki here:
Final thoughts -- Mixed emotions here. Despite pretty much eliminating the team for advancement into the knockout stages, a stage Mexico locked up last night, I'm not really that mad.
Maybe I'm too wrapped up in piling on old man Keller, but if he stands up for a change and makes a big save this is a totally different game, regardless of all the missed chances in the second half.
If the US had fielded a full-squad lineup and treated this like a real tournament they were out to win, Paraguay was the team they'd likely have needed to get a result against to ensure advancement. I feel pretty confident that with the full team they could have gotten that done, assuming Tim Howard was on the team sheet.
For those disappointed that I didn't take the proverbial knives out, sorry. Read one of the roughly 423,034 soccer blogs that spring up overnight. I'm sure they can sink their teeth into a 3-1 scoreline.
Me, maybe I'm been drinking too much Billy Mumphrey juice.
It's pretty obvious the team showed progress only a few days after getting disgraced by Argentina. Had they had a full 2-3 weeks to prepare, even with this roster I think the results might have been a little different. If anything it would have tightened up the defense.
Assuming a John Monad is unavailable Thursday vs. Colombia, this is pretty much it for the Copa experiment. Again, I doubt Bradley or we fans learned too much. In a lot of ways the tournament was over before it started.
All it ended up being was three extra days in sunny Venezuela.
Let's just hope nobody gets kidnapped between the time I hit 'publish' and the flight hope. I've hit by HBO show reference count, too. Time to go.
Adios.
CHRIS -- Ah, paperboy.
TED -- And you're giving that up to become a male model? That's gutsy kid.
You got something down below, uh? Alright now, would you consider your build
to be musclar/athletic, trim or lean?
CHRIS -- Ah, well actually it's more like soft dough.
-- The Prettiest Week of My Life, "Get a Life."
United States 1, Paraguay 3, Copa America Group 3 Round 2, Estadio Agustín Tovar, Barinas, Venezuela.
Knee-jerk reactions following a loss that all but eliminates the USMNT from the 2007 Copa America. There's almost no chance to advance even with a win over Colombia thanks to a now minus-five goal difference.
And who should shoulder the brunt of the blame for this pathetic, -5 record?
Kasey Keller.
Unlike in the opening game when the team was eventually outclassed by Argentina 4-1, the US had control the entire way vs. Paraguay. From the opening whistle the US played with spirit, hustle and accounted for themselves well ...albeit with numerous missed chances.
So what burns my ass is that the three goals scored by Paraguay all came against the run of play in increasingly boneheaded scenarios, with Keller unable to come up big and clean up any of the messes.
Goal No. 1 -- (30th minute) After watching the replay multiple times, this might be one of the softest goals the US has conceded in some time. It all began when Jay DeMerit strayed too far away from the goal marking Santa Cruz and was beaten down the field , who threaded a quick pass to Oscar Cardozo, who then slipped it past Jon BORN-stein (Telefutura pronunciation)/ Sacha Kljestan (unsure which) to Edgar Barreto who FELL onto his bum and still managed to beat Keller.
Again, Keller failed to commit to making a run off his line or standing his ground. From my amateur analysis, had he kept charging forward he could have plucked it off Barreto's toe before he scissor-kicked it into the net whilst falling down.
Making in all the more infuriating, aside from a corner kick that skimmed the outside post, Paraguay hardly threatened in the first 30 minutes.
Goal No. 2 -- (56th minute) This one Keller doesn't get totally faulted. The mix-up in communication from Bornstein's back-pass to Jimmy Conrad was inexcusable.
That said, Keller might have been able to again come off his line and scoop it up before Oscar Rene Cardozo slotted it into the upper-left netting instead of simply freezing. Better yet, Keller could have made a save when the ball wasn't kicked directly in front of him.
If you noticed throughout the game Keller rarely strayed from his own six-yard box. On the other end, both of Paraguay's keepers actively moved up to collect anything even close to their area. (More on them later.)
Goal No. 3 -- (90+ minute) The icing on the cake...if you're Guaraníes.
Did Salvador Cabañas place a nice free kick into the right side of the net? Yes. But upon multiple viewings it was hardly an unstoppable rocket. From the place the kick was lined up there was no way it could have sailed to the left, where Keller was positioned.
Again, the kick might not have needed to happen if not for Danny Califf absolutely mugging Cabañas on the top of the area. Whatever.
If you didn't see it vs. Argentina, you must have seen it tonight. The wheels have fallen off for Keller. I take no pleasure in writing this either. We can talk about his 102 caps and how he's played in England, Spain, Germany, etc. His year's of service. His four World Cups. Blah, blah, blah.
The ship has sailed.
Just for fun I thought I'd track Keller's ball distribution since inside the first minute he took a free kick and promptly shanked it out of bounds. Only 5 of his 15 punts did the US come away with clean possession. That's 33 percent. Hardly world class.
If you read the LA Times (or elsewhere) Keller recently said that the MLS is without question a step down for him.
Are you so sure buddy?
In the words of Tenacious D, 'You're too old to rock. No more rockin' for you."
Exhale.
As for the rest of the game?
Overall the team played well, aside from the result. They created chances, held Roque Santa Cruz (mostly) in check and deserved at minimum a draw. Call me crazy, I'm not sure who wrote this game recap for the Associated Press. They must have been watching a different game than me.
Obviously you can't erase the three miscues, otherwise it wasn't that bad. Sure, that's little consolation at this point for US fans that had their hopes raised.
The extra training showed immediately as the team looked confident in possession. Yes, there were plenty of fluffed chances, but since when doesn't the US blow at least 3-4 easy ones per game?
From the big picture standpoint, it's unsure how much Bob Bradley is going to gain from his 'evaluating' perspective. He took a provisional team, but how much will he learn in a now almost meaningless game vs. Colombia. (Ok, maybe if they win 6-0.)
Bradley only made two lineup changes from against Argentina (Drew Moor for Marvell Wynne; Kljestan for Justin Mapp) so he didn't see anything he didn't already know. Is what's now become essentially a one-off game going to tell him or us anything about Lee Nguyen, etc?
For one thing, if Brad Guzan isn't the starting keeper I'm burning my old Nike USMNT shirt, Scott Proctor style.
Player notes:
Kasey Keller, GK -- See above. (Honesty, I can't wait for his quotes blaming everyone but himself.) Ok, one thought when Aldo Bobadilla, Paraguay's backup out plays you, well, that's not so good Al. In fairness, Aldo Bobadilla is the No. 1 shirt at Boca Juniors, which is more than Keller can say right now. Maybe Velez Sarsfield would suit him or are they beneath his loftiness as well? Just a hunch, I doubt Real Madrid or Juventus are coming calling any time soon. Perhaps the Seattle Sounders would take you. That's close to home and meets your demands. (Sorry I gotta stop piling on.)
Jonathan Bornstein, LB -- Ugh. Anyone can have a gaffe like his back pass, so let's not crucify him for the rest of his career, which has longtime potential. It was a mistake. Irregardless, it's very evident he's solid in the attack but leaves plenty to be desired in defense. Prolly deserves a rest, too. (Is it me or does he sort of look like the Rhymenocerous, sans beard from Flight of the Conchords? Boom!)
Jimmy Conrad, CB -- Here, there, everywhere in the back.
Jay DeMerit, CB -- Aside from getting beat on the goal, quiet night. Came off with an injury, too. One note: cannot play with the ball at his feet.
Drew Moor, RB -- Take the good. Take the bad. Mix them up and then you have Moor's game. For a guy making his first cap didn't look out of his depth like Wynne. Had a couple of deep testing balls early and set up the lone US goal with his long range pass that Taylor Twellman chested down and pushed to Ricardo Clark.
On the flip side, in the 83ish minute, had a WIDE OPEN. WIDE OPEN. WIDE OPEN. Header in front of goal that he sent right into the stomach of the Paraguay backup. The Telefutura announcers seemed to have a laugh at his expense, too. To quote old-school Bart Simpson, "Aye Carumba."
Still, for a guy that raised everyone's eyebrows for his inclusion wasn't all that terrible.
Sascha Kljestan, LM/RM -- Blew the first chance of the night when he headed wide in the 11th minute. Lost in the miss, he did make a nice run to get open at the back post for a Ben Olsen cross. Otherwise an uneventful evening though he might have been one of the guys beaten on the first Paraguay goal. Beats me what his future prospects are.
Ricardo Clark, CM -- Thank heavens. Give the man some credit. He wasn't afraid to take his chances and nearly had two goals. He did score one, with excellent placement to the low right corner past Justo Villar. He would have had two if not for a good, not great save from Bobadilla. Since he likely won't play vs. Columbia, definitely distinguished himself as a guy to be in the 2010 and onward rotation.
Benny Feilhaber, CM -- The Austrian-born Californian can definitely pull the midfield Mozart act, but tonight he seemed a little too selfish out there. Credit him for the professional foul which earned him a yellow. Shows he's got some bite, kind of like Tyler Durden.
Ben Olsen, RM/everywhere -- No beard. No problem. My vote for US player of the match, even if he was subbed off for Mapp in the 71st. Throughout the game he was running balls down, creating chances and was right in the middle of all the action. He even gave the ol' Rochambeau treatment to Paraguay No. 3 shirt Claudio Rodríguez early on, setting off a testy scrap throughout the game. Good stuff. Too bad in a tournament that was more about looking at new players than winning games, a 30-year-old left the biggest impression.
Taylor Twellman, For. -- Although he did set up the Clark goal and flashed his would-be Captain America workrate throughout, Twellman's national team career could be summed up when he had a chance to level it at 2-2 and instead fluffed the ball off the side of his foot. He could have been the 'face' of the team, instead just doesn't have the mojo outside the cozy confines of MLS. It's a shame.
Eddie Johnson, For. -- For all the commenters calling him the US-Emile Hesky? No. First, it's a silly comparison. Eddie isn't a fat waste of space. And is there a rule somewhere in sports that players can only be compared to that look similar and are of the same race? Isn't that a tad narrow minded?
Back to the topic at hand, Eddie played his butt off tonight and seemed to be on the cusp all night. Feilhaber almost set him up midway through the second half with a nice long run, but the Paraguay defender broke it up with an all-out tackle.
Eddie needs to visit Apollo Creed, though. He needs to rediscover the 'Eye of the Tiger.' Go at people and through them instead of passing it back. He started doing this late on. You have it in you...I think.
Subs:
Danny Califf (65th for DeMerit) -- Yeah...nice arm tat. Must be a specialty in Denmark. Was it part of the Danny Agger collection?
Justin Mapp (71st, for Olsen) -- Ooooooh. That blistering run in the 75th. It's those flashes...man. He was probably burning too fast to lay it off to an on-running Johnson and just fired high. Damn.
I did notice that in the dying minutes he shifted to the right side and couldn't get off a cross with his right foot, opting to try to dance around three, four defenders.
Lee Nguyen (80th for Kljestan) -- Gave the ball away on his first touch on a decent US buildup. Did triggered a nice ball for Mapp later. Should start next game without question.
Bob Bradley, coach -- Credit him for playing for the win, as obvious as that sounds. His substitutions were good enough, too. The game was more compact defensively that I anticipated, so it probably wasn't the game for Boston College-scum Charlie Davies. (Sorry, nothing personal.)
Bradley fielded a lineup and coached a game that he should have walked away with at least a point. It's not his fault the one player he assumed he could count on degenerated before our eyes.
Miscellania -- What was there, one, one goddang America fan in the crowd the cameras could find? Two? ... What's the deal Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino? Were you going to a polo match or something after the game? Was the sweater around the neck necessary? Weeeeak. ... Weaker, the Venezuelan special forces. The dudes looked like Lego-men. Who would have thought Paraguay's backup keeper would be better than the No.1? ... Credit to Paraguay, Joe Jackson would approve their kits. They were that sharp. ... Final shot totals USA 14, Paraguay 12. Seems a little high for Paragauy, no? ... Any chance former Paraguay keeper Jose Luis Chilavert and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez watched the game together over some nice, warm Marxist literature? ... Any comments on Ray Hudson/GolTV feed would be nice.
Just to clarify a little bit. Here are the group standings. Two of the three third place finishers advance. The US could still finish third with a draw or tie vs. Colombia. A win is needed. This is straight Wiki here:
The United States and Colombia are still mathematically alive, but, barring a large loss by Chile and an Ecuador loss in those teams' next games, one must beat the other by a significant margin in order even to have a hope of advancing as one of the two best third-place teams. Due to their better goal differential, the United States have a slightly better chance.
Scenarios for the possible advancement of either Colombia or the United States will become clearer after Groups A and B finish play, but wins by Venezuela, Peru and Mexico would be significant help to both these teams. (Of the twenty-three mathematical scenarios which might lead to such an advancement, eighteen of them involve both Venezuela and Peru victories, and twelve involve a Mexico victory.)
Final thoughts -- Mixed emotions here. Despite pretty much eliminating the team for advancement into the knockout stages, a stage Mexico locked up last night, I'm not really that mad.
Maybe I'm too wrapped up in piling on old man Keller, but if he stands up for a change and makes a big save this is a totally different game, regardless of all the missed chances in the second half.
If the US had fielded a full-squad lineup and treated this like a real tournament they were out to win, Paraguay was the team they'd likely have needed to get a result against to ensure advancement. I feel pretty confident that with the full team they could have gotten that done, assuming Tim Howard was on the team sheet.
For those disappointed that I didn't take the proverbial knives out, sorry. Read one of the roughly 423,034 soccer blogs that spring up overnight. I'm sure they can sink their teeth into a 3-1 scoreline.
Me, maybe I'm been drinking too much Billy Mumphrey juice.
It's pretty obvious the team showed progress only a few days after getting disgraced by Argentina. Had they had a full 2-3 weeks to prepare, even with this roster I think the results might have been a little different. If anything it would have tightened up the defense.
Assuming a John Monad is unavailable Thursday vs. Colombia, this is pretty much it for the Copa experiment. Again, I doubt Bradley or we fans learned too much. In a lot of ways the tournament was over before it started.
All it ended up being was three extra days in sunny Venezuela.
Let's just hope nobody gets kidnapped between the time I hit 'publish' and the flight hope. I've hit by HBO show reference count, too. Time to go.
Adios.
Labels: bald goalkeepers past their prime, Copa America, Soccer, USMNT
I have to keep reminding myself to think Big Picture. Two years down the road this pays off in depth and experience for some of the younger guys.
But when I look at each individual match, erghh... it's damn frustrating. Would have been nice to keep Argentina at 2-1 or 3-1 after playing well for 60 minutes. Then we give up 3 weak ass goals to a Paraguay side we pretty much outplayed with a b-team. So we're -5 in GD. Adios Sudamerica.
If Taylor Twelllman never puts on a USMNT jersey agaain, I'll be okay with that.
I couldn't agree more about Keller. I was really hoping for Guzan in this start...that said, the US couldn't finish to save their lives.
I think this blog has fallen into that easy trap of being forgiving to that which the media suggests is forgivable. I thought the U.S. played well for the most part tonight, but I do ask what has REALLY changed since Bruce Arena. Yes of course the lineup selection, but the same thing happened less than ten years ago, the experimental rosters, etc. Though the player pool may be the greatest explanation, I dont see how anyone could feel confident in buying a plane ticket to South Africa right now, or, to be perfectly clear, after the Gold Cup Final.
This, as a cynic, looks like built in excuses against superior competition. And give me a break about European clubs not letting their players out, because if we are counting on Beasley and Dempsey to make a significant difference, well give me a break (well maybe not Dempsey). Most frustrating for me, is the continual selection of a few players.
Obviously Keller is dead weight, he has been for a while, a nice National team service medal has been served up as he has sabotaged two and nearly three games. Eddie Johnson, who looked decent tonight, yet was again, passive, predictable, and overall a pussy and seems unable to understand the role of a striker.
Finally, Bornstein, for the love of god Cardillo, Heath Pearce is a LEFT BACK, you should never see him on the right, and I cant imagine a greater catastrophe, or greater continuity in Bruce Arena's obsessive player selection than here, Bornstein is so incredibly limited on an international level, which he has displayed again and again(tonight included), save for a nice first half against Argentina. This isn't fucking Chivas!!!! I'm sorry Bob Bradley that Heath might have undermined team spirit by confidently saying he's the best left back the U.S has. Way to carry out your vendetta and your lovely but inconsonant panegyric to the 1980 US Hockey Team. May Miracle On Ice be removed from our consciousness. Though I don't remember any skinny, wayward Jews playing perpetually recklessly in it. It's simply amazing to me, that Pearce still hasn't received a cap with this "experimental" lineup. What a fucking joke.
Also a big fuck you to GolTv, your broadcasting this tourney has so far never veered from the hyperbolic, whether sycophantic or belligerent, a true atrocity on par with what I would assume you would relate to Rwanda. The US tonight played well, but gets to go home early, but this is supposedly excusable, its nice that the only tournament in which we can play against decent competition our new coach is given a free ride in bc of his inferior player selection. Makes me feel confident about 2010, the USSF should be absolutely ashamed(for primarily supposed priorities, and their selection of a coach), a farce to core, and god willing something will change. And just a word of measure, I know we are still limited by our players, but it would just be nice to see how a different approach works, we have seen this before, count me in the something new camp.
Cynical Anonymous...
Maybe I was too easy in my writing following the game. The time for vitriol was during the build up to the Copa, not during. The mistakes happened a while ago. I can't get too mad over that game vs. Paraguay.
I definitely can understand your frustration with the overall national team program.
I'd be in a different camp if Bradley took his team selection the same way were the Gold Cup and Copa more than three days apart. No matter how you slice it, it's no piece of cake to put together two different teams and prepare for two sets of opponents in three days. And diminish the Gold Cup all you like, but you have to take care of business at home first. Until further notice the US isn't part of COMENBOL or UEFA...we're in CONCACAF.
Would you be moaning had they lost to Mexico and missed out on the Confed. Cup in 2009?
Bornstein wasn't good and hasn't shown much as a defender, I'll grant you that. No need to throw his religion into the mix when evaluating him.
As for Heath Pearce...maybe you have a better satellite than I do that gets Danish SuperLiga broadcasts. If he's such a great player as you purport, he conceivably could play on the right side, no? From a pure fatigue standpoint he likely should have gotten the call over Bornstein tonight. I have no problem with Pearce. I hope he's good for the future of the team. It's hard to fathom Bradley would be so petty as to leave him out for personal reasons...though he does have an obsession with Bornstein.
As for the something new, would Klinsmann, et al been able to hurdle the logistical scheduling nightmare of back-to-back tournaments?
In any event, thanks for the perspective and assuring me that there is still someone out there as angry at the USSF as I used to be back in January.
It was just like that Asia song, but anyways, valid point about the Confed. Cup, and also true that it was apparent there was going to be no visible difference at the moment Bradley was selected, aside from our mythical cohesion. Guess how I've transformed Gulati into a verb. Nonetheless, nothing can really be done at this point, and you are most likely right about a different coach not faring any better (though I hate capitulating to the idea that this is the way it is so make the best of it), and again, I thought the U.S did fairly well last night aside from our finishing and general blundering. I'm not so sure of the logistical scheduling argument. If you want to trot out the "B" team I once knew a group stage that was perfect for it. Also, 4 players have been able to traverse both (I refuse to recognize Keller as such), and I personally believe this is just a cop out. Though there is validity to dubiety about the "value" of this tournament.
About Heath Pearce, this was a point made mostly out of frustration, for once, the US has a natural left back, and though he could play on the right, this would be the equivalent of the shenanigans England goes into shuffling their players into unfamiliar, and diminishing roles to accomodate the travesty that is Gerrard/Lampard, except for the fact, that this is being done on our behalf for the talents of one Bornstein. Though again, I may be wrong, as I have only seen Pearce play once, but really liked what I saw, Carlsberg ignored. And for everyone out there, I am a Jew, so it makes what I said okay, but not really.
Thanks for the feedback, always great reading your perspective.
Wow, Anon is fired up.
I watched the GolTV feed and Ray Hudson was his typical self, hyperbolic and over the top and never to give too much criticism. But he did find fault with the US finishing. Paraguay has about 5 chances, three goals. US had about a dozen chances and 1 goal. The sitter for Moor was the most egregious.
Frankly, I am going to save judgment on our 2010 chances until qualifying in 2008 and the Confederations Cup in 2009.
Some of these kids will be a part, some will not.
and...deep breath.
As a former goalkeeper with a penchant of coming out too far, I have two things to say about Keller last night:
1) He could have stopped the first two goals by continuing to pressure the man on the ball. On the first goal he could have reasonably been worried about a pass, but he would have already been out of position to do anything about one. He should have kept coming. The second goal was, of course, a clusterfuck. But, as Conrad was covering, Keller should have kept coming leaving Conrad to mop up on any missed save opportunity. Take away the early shot whenever you can.
2) I've seen others say he was late on the free kick. I say he didn't set his wall correctly. He set it too far over so that he couldn't cover a looping (at the professional level) shot to the opposite corner. The wall is there to cut off easy options to one side, but it will never cover everything.
Other than that, it looks like the US may need some practice at headers. There were what, three sitters missed? That's ridiciulous.
We still have the U20 cup to look for results from this summer. It's on ESPNU, if you have that. I wasn't crazy about the tactics employed against South Korea, so we'll see how that plays out.
There seem to be separate issues here. Team selection versus on-field performance.
I have lots of questions as to the make-up of this squad - even with the Gold Cup overlap. I wonder at some of Bradley's choices, but he is certainly closer to the situation than I am, and he IS the one drawing the paycheck. That leads me into the team's on-field performance - which seems sort of inevitable based on the players actually on the squad. Young teams (which the Copa side definitely is) are inconsistent. Young players will look great one minute and terrible for the next three. Parsing out what is a flaw in their game (solved by sitting the stiff) and what is just nerves or youth (solved by more play) can be hard for any coach.
Given that the USMNT roster for the Copa – how is their performance and lack of organization/finishing a shocker? It isn’t to me. The die was set when the roster was announced. Maybe the choosers were hand-cuffed by club commitments and the Gold Cup – but they had to know that THIS kind of performance at the Copa was inevitable, no?
That being said, why play Keller? If you are going the new guy route, why not tag Guzan for the start? Especially, after the way Keller under-whelmed against Argentina, the door was open. After clicking the “youth” button all over the pitch, I would have opted for the same decision in the nets as well.
I enjoy your analysis and keep up the good work but could you please stop using 'irregardless'? Its not a word and it detracts from the overall quality of your writing. Thank you.
Re: 30f and Keller... I'm guessing Bradley was thinking something like, "I've got kids all over the pitch, if I can have a steady vet in goal, we probably won't get hammered in any one match."
You might say he should have seen the flaw in this after the pasting by Argentina, but short of Italy, Brasil, and Germany anybody could look at that Argentina side and see how a 4-1 loss is completely understandable. So he trotted Keller back out for Paraguay. D'oh.
Even with the 7 goals ceded, I'm betting Keller is in net against Columbia if we are still alive. My thinking is Bradley is thinking, Keller, with all of his experience, has got a better chance of giving us a clean sheet just in case we put in 4 goals on the offensive end. Guzan will make a mistake or two.
I don't agree with Bradley's thinking. I'm just hypothesizing. And, again, Big Picture... Next year in qualifying this experience should be very important for a handful of guys.
Also again, I hope Twellman isn't one of them.
Just sayin' since I brought it up... but I was comparing the critical comments of Johnson and how the Brits ripped Emile Heskey for years and years despite being given chance after chance and doing little for England. In retrospect, I was too harsh on Johnson who's done a Hell of a lot more for the US.
Anyone else notice that our U-20 team is playing out of their minds??
Against Colombia sit:
Sacha
Bornstein
FAILhaber
Twellman
and Keller.
Give unleash Herculez. I want to see if he can perform.