Write this one down, file it away and see if it comes true in a couple months.
Call me crazy, but when CONCACAF World Cup 2010 qualification begins for the U.S. there's pretty good chance that Ante Razov is considered for some matches. Normally I'm against recalling old players (Razov is 34), but after watching the current Chivas USA forward play he could be useful as a stopgap measure to fill the hole the national team has at forward.
Thursday night he scored a top-class, first-rate goal on a once-touch feed from outside the box against the Galaxy. Razov struck it with his left foot and bent it into the upper left corner past Steve Cronin, who had no chance.
Before you kill me, consider these facts.
1. Razov is a natural left footed player.
2. Razov has played for USMNT coach Bob Bradley at three stops in MLS.
3. Razov is theall-time second all-time leading MLS scorer.
Knock the level of play of MLS all you like, but goals are goals. It's not exactly like countries like Cuba and Gautemala are known for their cultured defenses. Razov can at least poach a couple goals against packed-in opposition and has shown the ability to put the ball on frame from dead ball situations.
This isn't to say Razov is a long-term answer. Since Brian McBride isn't returning and the forward pool is pretty lacking, unless Jozy Altidore develops into the monster many of us hope he will become, Razov could have some use in the build up to South Africa. Look, he's got a better chance to score than Brian Ching. At the very least Razov isn't afraid to try shots from distance and make things happen.
If Razov's balky ankles hold up, I'd be surprised if he's not in Bradley's initial squad before the Aug. 20 match with Guatemala. Then again, since MLS doesn't cease on International dates, it's not that cut-and-dried.
A couple other MLS thoughts after watching all of the Superclasico between the Hollywood Beckhams and Chivas, which was fairly entertaining.
* Aesthetics have a lot to do with watching MLS. Presented in HD on ESPN2, the Los Angeles match at the Home Depot Center looked appealing. Lower down the dial earlier in the night, the RBNY v. Kansas City match at a minor league baseball stadium was unwatchable. It looked worse than public access. It would behoove the league to set some uniform broadcast standards.
Not sure if that's going to cover up some of the other ugliness associated with the league, i.e. gridiron lines on some fields. It's sort of like Japanese Baseball being played on 1970s era astroturf, no matter what Bobby Valentine says people aren't going to be compelled to watch it because it looks second-rate.
* ESPN's broadcasts are pretty good and keeping the graphics in the top bar is unobtrusive. One critique on John Harkes, just wondering, do you have a medical degree? Twice players went down and twice Harkes speculated immediately they were MCL injuries. Let's leave that to the pros, please.
* Do we need to use a British idiom, 'derby' to describe this match or can we couple up with an American term? Or does it even matter?
* Sascha Klejstan might be playing out his mind right now, but the combination of bad facial hair and headband make it look like he ought to be playing bass in some crappy punk-pop band instead of winger on Chivas.
* David Beckham and the Galaxy are mighty ineffective when he lines up in the center of the midfield. (For one game Landon Donovan was no where to be found.)
* Brad Guzan, who's halfway out the door to Aston Villa, is great at catching crosses and also likes to say 'obviously' a lot.
* The signage listed the next home game for the Galaxy as Aug. 21, how is that possible?
* MLS All Stars...yawn. Oh wait, who doesn't want to see West Ham United stars Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Green!?
* Is there going to be a player who plays for all 13 MLS teams? Does anyone know what the record is right now?
Call me crazy, but when CONCACAF World Cup 2010 qualification begins for the U.S. there's pretty good chance that Ante Razov is considered for some matches. Normally I'm against recalling old players (Razov is 34), but after watching the current Chivas USA forward play he could be useful as a stopgap measure to fill the hole the national team has at forward.
Thursday night he scored a top-class, first-rate goal on a once-touch feed from outside the box against the Galaxy. Razov struck it with his left foot and bent it into the upper left corner past Steve Cronin, who had no chance.
Before you kill me, consider these facts.
1. Razov is a natural left footed player.
2. Razov has played for USMNT coach Bob Bradley at three stops in MLS.
3. Razov is the
Knock the level of play of MLS all you like, but goals are goals. It's not exactly like countries like Cuba and Gautemala are known for their cultured defenses. Razov can at least poach a couple goals against packed-in opposition and has shown the ability to put the ball on frame from dead ball situations.
This isn't to say Razov is a long-term answer. Since Brian McBride isn't returning and the forward pool is pretty lacking, unless Jozy Altidore develops into the monster many of us hope he will become, Razov could have some use in the build up to South Africa. Look, he's got a better chance to score than Brian Ching. At the very least Razov isn't afraid to try shots from distance and make things happen.
If Razov's balky ankles hold up, I'd be surprised if he's not in Bradley's initial squad before the Aug. 20 match with Guatemala. Then again, since MLS doesn't cease on International dates, it's not that cut-and-dried.
A couple other MLS thoughts after watching all of the Superclasico between the Hollywood Beckhams and Chivas, which was fairly entertaining.
* Aesthetics have a lot to do with watching MLS. Presented in HD on ESPN2, the Los Angeles match at the Home Depot Center looked appealing. Lower down the dial earlier in the night, the RBNY v. Kansas City match at a minor league baseball stadium was unwatchable. It looked worse than public access. It would behoove the league to set some uniform broadcast standards.
Not sure if that's going to cover up some of the other ugliness associated with the league, i.e. gridiron lines on some fields. It's sort of like Japanese Baseball being played on 1970s era astroturf, no matter what Bobby Valentine says people aren't going to be compelled to watch it because it looks second-rate.
* ESPN's broadcasts are pretty good and keeping the graphics in the top bar is unobtrusive. One critique on John Harkes, just wondering, do you have a medical degree? Twice players went down and twice Harkes speculated immediately they were MCL injuries. Let's leave that to the pros, please.
* Do we need to use a British idiom, 'derby' to describe this match or can we couple up with an American term? Or does it even matter?
* Sascha Klejstan might be playing out his mind right now, but the combination of bad facial hair and headband make it look like he ought to be playing bass in some crappy punk-pop band instead of winger on Chivas.
* David Beckham and the Galaxy are mighty ineffective when he lines up in the center of the midfield. (For one game Landon Donovan was no where to be found.)
* Brad Guzan, who's halfway out the door to Aston Villa, is great at catching crosses and also likes to say 'obviously' a lot.
* The signage listed the next home game for the Galaxy as Aug. 21, how is that possible?
* MLS All Stars...yawn. Oh wait, who doesn't want to see West Ham United stars Freddie Ljungberg and Robert Green!?
* Is there going to be a player who plays for all 13 MLS teams? Does anyone know what the record is right now?
Labels: David Beckham, LA Galaxy, MLS, Soccer, USMNT
JP blathering about Beckham having "lots of experience in derbies" amused me whether it exhibited a lack of understanding the term itself or an unfamiliarity with Man City's league position in the late 90s-early 00s.
(For one game Landon Donovan was no where to be found.)
i think you just described Donovan's entire international career
I'll only watch Ljungberg if there's some generic trance music playing.
/Euro'd
That game was awful to watch but Razov's strike was sweet. So calm, so precise, he didn't hit it all that hard, he just put it in an unstoppable place. He can finish that cooly at the int'l level, play him, old or not.
Who else do we have?
Thanks for agreeing with my point on the uneven video quality.
It's not like it's some start-up network doing these games. It's freeking FOX. They have 20 sports channels alone. How can they allow that crap on the screen?
I vote for "derby". The more we can do to assimilate with the world version of the game, the better it is for the sport in this country.
Jaime Moreno of DC United is the all time leading goal scorer of the MLS with 118. Razov is second with 113.