As spoken by Robert Evans in the amazing 'The Kid Stays in the Picture' -- "There are three sides to every story, yours, mine and the truth."
The way you want to look at the USMNT's 1-0 win over Cuba Saturday night in Havana falls somewhere in that middle.
On the one hand, the result is the result. It's three points in the bank and puts the U.S. on the verge on moving on to the next road on qualification for South Africa 2010. In that vein, the game was played on a sub-par, narrow field in high heat and humidity amidst a strong rain.
That's the positive, pro-U.S. spin.
A more critical look yields that the U.S. did next to nothing creatively against an inferior opponent -- again -- and could have walked away in a 1-1 draw if not for a fingertips save by Tim Howard in the final minutes.
Taking a little bit of an abstract view, let's consider the situation in England. Yes, I loathe to make comparisons between the two teams, but this one is valid to a degree. Look how the England fans have essentially turned on their team and nothing short of a performance out of the 1970 Brasil team -- every game -- will satisfy their appetites.
Where the comparison gains a little more credence (no, not Creedance tapes) is that in England the Three Lions seem to draw their most ardent support from people that support the lesser clubs of the world. Say you're Manchester United 'til you die. Sure, Rooney Tunes scoring for England against Croatia is nice, but you'd rather see him save it for a hypothetical match against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
From an American standpoint, there are a lot of people such as myself that only feel a true passion or connection to the USMNT. Try as we might, the MLS just doesn't do it viscerally for the most part. That's why we sort of want every U.S. showing to be a blinder, even if the matches happen so infrequently. (Of course, in England the team is a national obession so all the players walk on eggshells. In America, nobody takes notice except for us, so Bradley & Co. can act without impunity.)
Now all that said, Saturday night's match basically played the script the national team has written in Bob Bradley's tenure -- right down to his son Michael picking up a yellow card. Mainly that script entails a conservative 4-4-2 approach, the main attack either from the fullbacks attempting to get forward and or set plays. In short, capable enough to get a result, but bland enough to make you forget what happened.)
The Nats weren't exactly great, but neither were they poor. It was depressing that Cuba -- which didn't exactly hunker down with 10 behind the ball -- went toe-to-toe with the U.S. The U.S. didn't play ball possession with confidence, opting to hoof it down for long balls. This wasn't a replay of Guatemala, either. The Cubans didn't try to bait the U.S. into silly fouls in a game of anti-soccer. There was room to maneuver. (Again, the touchy, narrow field is a built-in excuse.)
From almost any scenario you can think of, the U.S. was better than Cuba, but for whatever the reason didn't want to show it. Now, I'm not asking for the bravado of Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders charging up San Juan Hill, but would it have killed the team to string more than two passes together?
So I guess this is the purgatory of the U.S. soccer fan. We want our team to dazzle the spirit and lift the mind, meanwhile forgetting the simple mantra that three points is three points.
It is, sadly, what it is.
Other stuff:
** Good deodorant -- Hard to knock a guy that scores the game's only goal, but once again Clint Dempsey wasn't very effective on the right midfield. Bob Bradley keeps hammering into that spot and other than a nice run in the first half -- and poor finished shot -- there wasn't much to show for it. At some point soon Bradley has to either come up with a system that best suits his talent or a talent that best suits the system. Still, Dempsey at least had something to show for himself on the score sheet, unlike Landon the Invisble, who couldn't find any safe pocket to operate.
** Eating my words -- Looks like Oguchi Oneyewu might have gotten over whatever funk he'd been in the last year or so. His long ball set up the only goal -- via nice bounce off a Cuban defender -- and he was solid enough defensively all night. Also, I don't think I wrote down captain Carlos Bocanegra's name once on my notepad. Brian Ching should get some credit for a nice knock down to Dempsey on the goal.
** Child abuse -- Please Bob. Please. I know he's your son, but give Michael a game off Wednesday against Trinidad. Your boy is running on fumes. There is so much promise in the youngster, we fans don't want him to become a husk of a player by the time he's 23.
** Que? -- Okay, I understand that Pedro Gomez is Cuban and ESPN assigning him to the game was a natural, but in the future can we get someone with a soccer background. Seeing the house Gomez' father grew up in is all well and good, but how about some game analysis? Would that kill anyone? I'll be nice and forget Gomez mentioned "DaMarcus Bradley" since he immediately corrected himself.
** Stars of the night -- Some people who were inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, the brave U.S. fans (with bandannas) that attended the match. Big ups to you. It's a safe bet the State Department wasn't watching.
** Final thought -- With the poor lighting (and lack of stadium clock) this game looked like it was played -- and shot -- in the 1970s. The only difference was the lack of short-shorts.
The way you want to look at the USMNT's 1-0 win over Cuba Saturday night in Havana falls somewhere in that middle.
On the one hand, the result is the result. It's three points in the bank and puts the U.S. on the verge on moving on to the next road on qualification for South Africa 2010. In that vein, the game was played on a sub-par, narrow field in high heat and humidity amidst a strong rain.
That's the positive, pro-U.S. spin.
A more critical look yields that the U.S. did next to nothing creatively against an inferior opponent -- again -- and could have walked away in a 1-1 draw if not for a fingertips save by Tim Howard in the final minutes.
Taking a little bit of an abstract view, let's consider the situation in England. Yes, I loathe to make comparisons between the two teams, but this one is valid to a degree. Look how the England fans have essentially turned on their team and nothing short of a performance out of the 1970 Brasil team -- every game -- will satisfy their appetites.
Where the comparison gains a little more credence (no, not Creedance tapes) is that in England the Three Lions seem to draw their most ardent support from people that support the lesser clubs of the world. Say you're Manchester United 'til you die. Sure, Rooney Tunes scoring for England against Croatia is nice, but you'd rather see him save it for a hypothetical match against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League.
From an American standpoint, there are a lot of people such as myself that only feel a true passion or connection to the USMNT. Try as we might, the MLS just doesn't do it viscerally for the most part. That's why we sort of want every U.S. showing to be a blinder, even if the matches happen so infrequently. (Of course, in England the team is a national obession so all the players walk on eggshells. In America, nobody takes notice except for us, so Bradley & Co. can act without impunity.)
Now all that said, Saturday night's match basically played the script the national team has written in Bob Bradley's tenure -- right down to his son Michael picking up a yellow card. Mainly that script entails a conservative 4-4-2 approach, the main attack either from the fullbacks attempting to get forward and or set plays. In short, capable enough to get a result, but bland enough to make you forget what happened.)
The Nats weren't exactly great, but neither were they poor. It was depressing that Cuba -- which didn't exactly hunker down with 10 behind the ball -- went toe-to-toe with the U.S. The U.S. didn't play ball possession with confidence, opting to hoof it down for long balls. This wasn't a replay of Guatemala, either. The Cubans didn't try to bait the U.S. into silly fouls in a game of anti-soccer. There was room to maneuver. (Again, the touchy, narrow field is a built-in excuse.)
From almost any scenario you can think of, the U.S. was better than Cuba, but for whatever the reason didn't want to show it. Now, I'm not asking for the bravado of Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders charging up San Juan Hill, but would it have killed the team to string more than two passes together?
So I guess this is the purgatory of the U.S. soccer fan. We want our team to dazzle the spirit and lift the mind, meanwhile forgetting the simple mantra that three points is three points.
It is, sadly, what it is.
Other stuff:
** Good deodorant -- Hard to knock a guy that scores the game's only goal, but once again Clint Dempsey wasn't very effective on the right midfield. Bob Bradley keeps hammering into that spot and other than a nice run in the first half -- and poor finished shot -- there wasn't much to show for it. At some point soon Bradley has to either come up with a system that best suits his talent or a talent that best suits the system. Still, Dempsey at least had something to show for himself on the score sheet, unlike Landon the Invisble, who couldn't find any safe pocket to operate.
** Eating my words -- Looks like Oguchi Oneyewu might have gotten over whatever funk he'd been in the last year or so. His long ball set up the only goal -- via nice bounce off a Cuban defender -- and he was solid enough defensively all night. Also, I don't think I wrote down captain Carlos Bocanegra's name once on my notepad. Brian Ching should get some credit for a nice knock down to Dempsey on the goal.
** Child abuse -- Please Bob. Please. I know he's your son, but give Michael a game off Wednesday against Trinidad. Your boy is running on fumes. There is so much promise in the youngster, we fans don't want him to become a husk of a player by the time he's 23.
** Que? -- Okay, I understand that Pedro Gomez is Cuban and ESPN assigning him to the game was a natural, but in the future can we get someone with a soccer background. Seeing the house Gomez' father grew up in is all well and good, but how about some game analysis? Would that kill anyone? I'll be nice and forget Gomez mentioned "DaMarcus Bradley" since he immediately corrected himself.
** Stars of the night -- Some people who were inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, the brave U.S. fans (with bandannas) that attended the match. Big ups to you. It's a safe bet the State Department wasn't watching.
** Final thought -- With the poor lighting (and lack of stadium clock) this game looked like it was played -- and shot -- in the 1970s. The only difference was the lack of short-shorts.
Labels: bob bradley, concacaf, Soccer, USMNT, world cup qualifying
Your comparison of the England side and the EPL teams in the analysis made me realize that the plodding/underperforming play of the USMNT is exactly why the MLS doesn't get much traction here media-wise.
It's one thing to squeeze out a 1-0 win if you are facing a comparable squad. But the USMNT play minnow after minnow and make each game a freeking struggle.
At least the Irish are top of the table now and a bit energized after Staunton years.
Loved that movie too btw. I wanna party with that dude.
ESPN did a great job with Euro 2008, then they took a step back, or maybe sideways, with Harkes/JP as the Road To WC team.
Then they decided to piss in the face of every soccer fan in America by sending Gomez to Cuba. I hope Allen Hopkins is pissed.
What's wrong with Harkes/JP? I think they do a good job. And at least ESPN is actually sending them to the games now
I can't take much more of playing two defensive midfielders against teams that aren't very good. There is no need for both Edu and Bradley to be in there. Try a 4-1-3-2 if you're so worried about shielding the defense. Last night's formation was much closer to 4-5-1 than it was to 4-4-2 because Donovan kept dropping back Rooney style to get the ball.
Your argument about Gomez going to Cuba being equivalent to piss in the face is way off because he was in Austria/Switzerland for their Euro 2008 coverage which you liked. Which is it? Either Gomez was a part of the great job with Euro 2008 or he's piss. Harkes/JP are the best we're going to get for games that aren't part of a major tournament. ESPN isn't going to be bringing in Andy Gray for games against Cuba.
Hey that is a very interesting post, thanks!