That's On Point: The Web Site

Posting up like Chris Partlow at Jessup...

** Liverpool 3, Inter Milan 0. Great job by the boys in Red, but egads Inter Milan laid an all-time level Cleveland Steamer. To say nothing of the red cards (Nic Burdisso, please, enough. Go home.) the Italian giants were abysmal over 180 minutes against a fourth-place in the Premier League Liverpool team.

The biggest question to arise out of this is, how on earth are Inter runaway leaders of Serie A? How have they lost only one game? Guess it's time to cash out all my Fiat stock. (As usual, they can moan about the officiating, Tuesday by the amazingly-named Tom Henning Øvrebø .)

Perhaps call it the curse of Julio Cruz. The Argentine forward essentially screwed Argentina at the 2006 World Cup when he came on as a sub against Germany in the quarterfinals and cost Jose Peckerman his job. Against Liverpool Cruz did next to nothing, while David Suazo and Hernan Crespo (yeah, he's up there with Methuselah) sat on the bench.

Also, the fork sticking out of Patrick Viera's back could be seen from Rigel Seven.

Then again the biggest turd at the San Siro had to be Zlatan Ibrahimović. It's one thing to tool on the dregs of the Ersedivise or Serie A, but on the big stage the big , ugly Swede/Bosniak came up empty. His one chance he fluffed worse than a SoCal porn extra, failing to pass to a wide-open Cruz for a tap in, though the Argentine probably would have missed.

For all the Inter trashing, Liverpool gets a lot of credit for surviving an important game with Sami Hyypia and Martin Skrtel in the center of defense. That in and of itself is like Sisyohus finally pushing his rock over the hill.

From a Liverpool standpoint, here's some of an email I got from No. 1 USA Kop fan, Slade Sohmer:

As for Liverpool's form, it's no coincidence that this club has been on fire since Rafa reverted to his preferred 4-2-3-1 shape from the Valenthia days (even though it was highly modified today due to the need for a clean sheet). It really works for Liverpool -- shit, it's even turned Kuyt into a pretty solid winger. Masch, as usual, was everywhere, in the way that Lucas was nowhere. I know Xabi was off being a
dad today, but Rafa needs to restore him to the Starting XI as soon as possible. Lucas will be a great player in that jersey soon, but for now, let's pair
Xabi with Masch in that sub-midfield twosome and get some passing out of the center of the pitch. If you can figure out how to go down the center from the back through Alonso to Gerrard to Torres, the openings for the wingers will be everywhere.

Carragher was fantastic again in that right-back role, and jumbo-sized kudos bar to Pepe. He wasn't tested often but he was tested nonetheless, and if that low, hard stirke in the 8th minute goes in, the entire match changes. Sometimes, even as a fan of the guy, you forget how world-class he can be.

And lastly but not leastly, what more can you say about The Kid? Just a beautiful goal. That's it, plain and simple. The guy oozes "professional striker." But seriously, dude, cut that greasy fucking Giambi-like sweaty 'do. Can't the guys haze him and shave his head like the Browns did for Brady Quinn?

Liverpool got all the breaks in these 180+ minutes, from the cards to the Skrtel giveaway to Zlatan being stoned or whatever he was on today. A true test for Liverpool and they knocked out the club that many people thought would win, as Major League's Jake Taylor would put it, "the whole fucking thing." On to the quarters...can't wait to see the draw.

** Now, this morning everyone in the Premier League is taking bows for being the 'best league in the world.' While, with four team in the final eight of the Champions League its hard to argue that fact it does also show another thing -- C.R.E.A.M. Excluding Arsenal, the other three quarter finalists spend money like a drunken sailor on shore leave. There's nothing against that, but when you have the most money to spend because of your television contract, you should have great teams.

As good as the 'Big Four' are, the better indication of the overall strength of the league is probably the UEFA Cup, since it pits the second-tier teams against each other. This is purer indication of the actual sporting aspect of the game, not who has the biggest checkbook.

Of course, Everton/Fiorentina; Bolton/Sporting Lisbon and PSV/Tottenham don't have the juice of Arsenal and Liverpool thumping both halves of Milan up-and-down.

Don't get me wrong, the Premier League is probably the strongest league -- at the top. If you were to put all the relegation candidates -- Derby, Fulham, Reading, Birmingham, Middlesbrough, Bolton, Newcastle, Sunderland etc. -- against their counterparts in Spain or Italy, I'd favor the teams of the continent.

Then again, this is all room for another debate which really has no bearing on anything tangible. It's like debating which NCAA basketball conference is the best.

Again, the Premier League is probably the most entertaining and fun league to watch, but all its self-aggrandizement gets a little much.

And watch the four English teams get paired off in the quarters, anyway. (God save us from Liverpool/Chelsea.)

** CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying, USA 1, Cuba 1 -- It's been a long time since I've seen as frustrating a game. The U-23s came out like Gangbuster against the Flying Fidels, and could have been up 3-0 within the first 20 minutes. Freddy Adu gets the team on the board with a long range strike into the opposite corner midway through the half and then ... the team loses the plot and allows Cuba to tie it up minutes before the half.

Strange, strange game. It featured an out-of-form Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies apparently playing on ice skates and a diving cap (figures, he went to Boston College) and coach Peter Nowack playing Kamani Hill (a striker/midfielder) at right back.

From a talent standpoint, the lineup assembled was top tier. It was even nice to see a 4-5-1 formation, with Altidore up top and Davies and Rob Findlay on the flanks. Of course, it didn't much work with Altidore running out of gas and being subbed off at the half.

Naturally, Adu looked amazing every time he touched it and hit the post within the first minute and just missed another goal from a freekick near the death. Going out on a limb, the boy is good.

Also impressive, Hill at rightback and Dax McCarthy in central midfield.

On the flip side, Altidore, Findlay and Davies all missed great 1-v-1 spots on the Cuba keeper. Jozy went low to the near post, when the rest of the goal was gaping open. Findlay rushed his chance and took a shot on a bounce, from a beautiful feed from Adu. Davies, went down after a little contact from the Cuba No. 1, when he had acres of space.

The super-compact qualifying schedule means the team plays again tomorrow night and then in another two days. They should advance to the next round, but it'll be close.

The matches highlight? FSC's Max Bretos comparing Eddie Gaven's look to a "young Gordon Lightfoot."

** Bonus Prem midweek picks: Portsmouth 1, Birmingham 1; Aston Villa 2, Middlesbrough 0; Derby -100, Chelsea 8 (Also tonight, CONCACAF Champions Cup, with Houston Dynamo and DC United in action on FSC.)

Labels: champions league, Premier League, Soccer