Considering the U.S. is currently in the midst of its Revolutionary War (Washington, New England, Philly) tour section of the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2009 extravaganza, this post comes with a preamble -- free of charge.
Bear in mind the following truths whilst proceeding:
a) This game was watched on TeleFutura.
b) Watched following an gratifying softball victory, pushing the CARP Engery winning streak to three.
c) It's always better to get all gussied up in a Captain America suit and have the U.S. figure out a way to win 2-0 over Honduras.
Before digging in, I think I'm retiring the term 'B Team' for this current U.S. roster. Not to sound too sappy, but it's a lousy label to throw on guys, even if it bears more than a few kernels of truth. At the utmost least, the U.S. has enough guys to fill out back-to-back international tournaments and field a respective, competitive lineup.
This game was clearly -- cliche alert -- a tale of two halves.
The first 45 minutes were some of the more open, up-and-down action displayed by the U.S. in quite some time. Each team probably posted about four bona fide goal-scoring chances in the first 45 minutes -- the best from Honduras when it had the ball dance precariously through the six-yard box off about three players, prompting an animated 'Ai ai ai ai ai' from the announcer.
It was entertaining to watch, in short.
Perhaps the first half fun could be attributed to the whistle of Jamaican ref Courtney Campbell, who was stern, stern but fair ... and let just about everything go on both sides while mixing the occasional yellow card along.
As this game went on, even as the U.S. did everything in the build-up in its attack except actually scoring the ball, you figured that eventually the team would find a way especially as Honduras tired.
That said, it basically ground to a sail's pace in the second half prompting a quick switchover as Manny Ramirez hit against Francisco Rodriguez at Citi Field.
Ironically enough, unlike the Confederations Cup where the U.S. brought it supposed 'A Team', coach Bob Bradley actually had options to turn to on the bench for the Gold Cup and it changed the game. It doesn't take a genius to realize that swapping on Charlie Davies and Benny Feilhaber for Freddy Adu and Logan Pause changed the complexion of the match since it gave the U.S. both fresh legs and little more creativity attack-wise, at least the Feilhaber move.
Davies immediately spiced it up, nearly jump-blocking a ball from the Honduran keeper and into the net -- but there wasn't enough backspin to get it over the line.
Santino Quaranta's goal in the 75th came on one of the nicer displays of U.S. passing in a while. Six touches, including some nice one-twos from Feilhaber and a great layoff by Davies put it on a platter for Quaranta to rip a daisy-cutter by the Honduran keeper.
Brian Ching's goal that made it 2-0 in the 79th? Typical Ching. He throws his body at a solid cross from Steve Cherundolo and hits it with some part of his body and a teeny assist from the Honduran defender's shoulder and it goes in.
Decent enough result for the U.S. considering the competition and the opposition.
The only gripe is the lack of a killer bite to close out all the attacking movements.
Still, it's a result you can live with against Honduras on a mid-July night at RFK by a U.S. team that could have doubled for Where stage act at Bonnaroo.
Miscellania (Or, everyone loves bullet points):
* One of the advantages of a game on TeleFutura, the replay of a Honduran player sliding crotch first into the face of Quaranta. Agreed it's juvenile humor, but the network takes it to another level with it's 21st Century lazer shooting sound-effect.
Doubt ESPN is re-running that one intentionally, though it would have been fun to hear John Harkes try to deconstruct it.
* Despite his goal (turning on cynical powers) Ching remains somewhat of a conundrum for the U.S. One thought to consider, if the big Hawaiian was healthy for the Confederations Cup, wouldn't Bradley have played him over Davies and or Jozy Altidore?
By my count, Ching blocked a half-volley from Robbie Rogers inside the box and a header from Kyle Beckerman, each bound for goal. Also in the first half, Ching does all the right things latching onto a ball after a nice run from Beckerman and allows his shot to skitter along the face of goal.
Not to single out Ching, since he does bring something to the table in his physicality and ability to wear down a defense up front, which may have attributed to the U.S.'s eventual second-half goals. Yet, against quality opponents in the World Cup, those half-chances he doesn't score mean all the difference in the world.
The Aug. 12 game at Azteca will put this line of thinking to the test.
* To borrow a Bill Simmons line, Kyle Beckerman is officially the homeless man's Pablo Mastroeni. Beckerman is an easy target for his tragically heinous dreadlocks, but at least he plays with a little edge and is quite active in the midfield.
* As for Adu ... not his best game. It's clear Bradley won't cater to Adu and play him in the hole behind a forward, his most useful spot. Adu as a straight, two-way forward? Seems like a round peg for a square hole. Honduras was fairly tight and compact defensively so there was really no room for Adu to do very much.
At one point he had a clear 1-v-1 chance on a defender, and instead of going straight at him toward goal, he slowed it down and danced a bit, until he was out wide and took a shot at the keeper from a bad angle. Maybe he had come off a full season of playing time he'd have taken it right to the defender without a second thought. Maybe he ought to dig up some Carlos Tevez game tapes.
Stay tuned. (Though, as noted in the comments, he's left the tournament to train with Benfica.)
* I'm happy to see Quaranta score a goal in his recall to the national team, especially after his personal struggles away from the game. He put in a lot of effort and hard work, clearly throwing his body around without worrying about the consequences. Still, the U.S. has a lot of guys like that and not to naysay effort, but I'm not sure he has a refined enough game to really be considered useful for 2010. Again, great finish and tonight enjoy it even if a schmuck like myself nay-says.
It'll be interesting to see where Bradley goes for right midfield on Saturday vs. Haiti, Quaranta or Stuart Holden?
* Was it just me or could Kenny Cooper have scored three goals after coming on as a sub in the final 10 minutes? He had a shot at the top of the box he couldn't quite get off. He ran down a ball, and in a Wayne Rooney like attempt, tried to make something from nothing and almost got it on target. Then in stoppage time Davies played a nice lay-off to him, only for a Honduran defender to slide in to block at the last second.
In Bradley's book, however, Ching's hard work with his back to goal trumps Cooper's eye for goal with his front pointed toward it.
It is what it is.
* Rogers seems comfortable enough on the left midfield. And the U.S. defense threw its weight and strength around enough to compensate for some lack of communication, as Honduras played a lot of early chances from deep, mainly to Walter Martinez.
* George Welcome -- fantastico name.
Bear in mind the following truths whilst proceeding:
a) This game was watched on TeleFutura.
b) Watched following an gratifying softball victory, pushing the CARP Engery winning streak to three.
c) It's always better to get all gussied up in a Captain America suit and have the U.S. figure out a way to win 2-0 over Honduras.
Before digging in, I think I'm retiring the term 'B Team' for this current U.S. roster. Not to sound too sappy, but it's a lousy label to throw on guys, even if it bears more than a few kernels of truth. At the utmost least, the U.S. has enough guys to fill out back-to-back international tournaments and field a respective, competitive lineup.
This game was clearly -- cliche alert -- a tale of two halves.
The first 45 minutes were some of the more open, up-and-down action displayed by the U.S. in quite some time. Each team probably posted about four bona fide goal-scoring chances in the first 45 minutes -- the best from Honduras when it had the ball dance precariously through the six-yard box off about three players, prompting an animated 'Ai ai ai ai ai' from the announcer.
It was entertaining to watch, in short.
Perhaps the first half fun could be attributed to the whistle of Jamaican ref Courtney Campbell, who was stern, stern but fair ... and let just about everything go on both sides while mixing the occasional yellow card along.
As this game went on, even as the U.S. did everything in the build-up in its attack except actually scoring the ball, you figured that eventually the team would find a way especially as Honduras tired.
That said, it basically ground to a sail's pace in the second half prompting a quick switchover as Manny Ramirez hit against Francisco Rodriguez at Citi Field.
Ironically enough, unlike the Confederations Cup where the U.S. brought it supposed 'A Team', coach Bob Bradley actually had options to turn to on the bench for the Gold Cup and it changed the game. It doesn't take a genius to realize that swapping on Charlie Davies and Benny Feilhaber for Freddy Adu and Logan Pause changed the complexion of the match since it gave the U.S. both fresh legs and little more creativity attack-wise, at least the Feilhaber move.
Davies immediately spiced it up, nearly jump-blocking a ball from the Honduran keeper and into the net -- but there wasn't enough backspin to get it over the line.
Santino Quaranta's goal in the 75th came on one of the nicer displays of U.S. passing in a while. Six touches, including some nice one-twos from Feilhaber and a great layoff by Davies put it on a platter for Quaranta to rip a daisy-cutter by the Honduran keeper.
Brian Ching's goal that made it 2-0 in the 79th? Typical Ching. He throws his body at a solid cross from Steve Cherundolo and hits it with some part of his body and a teeny assist from the Honduran defender's shoulder and it goes in.
Decent enough result for the U.S. considering the competition and the opposition.
The only gripe is the lack of a killer bite to close out all the attacking movements.
Still, it's a result you can live with against Honduras on a mid-July night at RFK by a U.S. team that could have doubled for Where stage act at Bonnaroo.
Miscellania (Or, everyone loves bullet points):
* One of the advantages of a game on TeleFutura, the replay of a Honduran player sliding crotch first into the face of Quaranta. Agreed it's juvenile humor, but the network takes it to another level with it's 21st Century lazer shooting sound-effect.
Doubt ESPN is re-running that one intentionally, though it would have been fun to hear John Harkes try to deconstruct it.
* Despite his goal (turning on cynical powers) Ching remains somewhat of a conundrum for the U.S. One thought to consider, if the big Hawaiian was healthy for the Confederations Cup, wouldn't Bradley have played him over Davies and or Jozy Altidore?
By my count, Ching blocked a half-volley from Robbie Rogers inside the box and a header from Kyle Beckerman, each bound for goal. Also in the first half, Ching does all the right things latching onto a ball after a nice run from Beckerman and allows his shot to skitter along the face of goal.
Not to single out Ching, since he does bring something to the table in his physicality and ability to wear down a defense up front, which may have attributed to the U.S.'s eventual second-half goals. Yet, against quality opponents in the World Cup, those half-chances he doesn't score mean all the difference in the world.
The Aug. 12 game at Azteca will put this line of thinking to the test.
* To borrow a Bill Simmons line, Kyle Beckerman is officially the homeless man's Pablo Mastroeni. Beckerman is an easy target for his tragically heinous dreadlocks, but at least he plays with a little edge and is quite active in the midfield.
* As for Adu ... not his best game. It's clear Bradley won't cater to Adu and play him in the hole behind a forward, his most useful spot. Adu as a straight, two-way forward? Seems like a round peg for a square hole. Honduras was fairly tight and compact defensively so there was really no room for Adu to do very much.
At one point he had a clear 1-v-1 chance on a defender, and instead of going straight at him toward goal, he slowed it down and danced a bit, until he was out wide and took a shot at the keeper from a bad angle. Maybe he had come off a full season of playing time he'd have taken it right to the defender without a second thought. Maybe he ought to dig up some Carlos Tevez game tapes.
Stay tuned. (Though, as noted in the comments, he's left the tournament to train with Benfica.)
* I'm happy to see Quaranta score a goal in his recall to the national team, especially after his personal struggles away from the game. He put in a lot of effort and hard work, clearly throwing his body around without worrying about the consequences. Still, the U.S. has a lot of guys like that and not to naysay effort, but I'm not sure he has a refined enough game to really be considered useful for 2010. Again, great finish and tonight enjoy it even if a schmuck like myself nay-says.
It'll be interesting to see where Bradley goes for right midfield on Saturday vs. Haiti, Quaranta or Stuart Holden?
* Was it just me or could Kenny Cooper have scored three goals after coming on as a sub in the final 10 minutes? He had a shot at the top of the box he couldn't quite get off. He ran down a ball, and in a Wayne Rooney like attempt, tried to make something from nothing and almost got it on target. Then in stoppage time Davies played a nice lay-off to him, only for a Honduran defender to slide in to block at the last second.
In Bradley's book, however, Ching's hard work with his back to goal trumps Cooper's eye for goal with his front pointed toward it.
It is what it is.
* Rogers seems comfortable enough on the left midfield. And the U.S. defense threw its weight and strength around enough to compensate for some lack of communication, as Honduras played a lot of early chances from deep, mainly to Walter Martinez.
* George Welcome -- fantastico name.
Labels: bob bradley, concacaf, Freddy Adu, Gold Cup, Soccer, USMNT
Agreed with you on Freddy Adu...very disappointing, after hoping to see him for a minute or two at Confed Cup and maybe be a lightning bolt, to totally show the wrong instincts on a 1-v-1 with a Honduran defender on home turf.
To my eyes (also on Telefutura, but a bootleg internet stream of that broadcast) Adu also seemed to get in the way of some of the more spearing runs of Quaranta or Rogers. Is he a man out of position or a man without a position? At times he looked like kind of poor-man's-Ronaldinhoish, that loping, lurking centerish attacker...but without the trust of his teammates or the confidence to beat defenders or the vision to get the ball where it should be. Maybe that's too harsh.
I'm not sure why I believe in him in the back of my mind; maybe tonight's performance dissolves some fantasies.
After thinking about it is, I think the problem with Adu is he is out of form. He didn't play with his club side all year and these are his first two games for the US this year.
One would hope that if he was in form, he would have taken the space when provided and taken that one on one chance around the defender. One would hope...
And...it turns out that Adu is headed back to Benfica for preseason, now.
Does Nike make a long-sleeve Nats jersey with authentic DeMerit or Quaranta tattoos on the sleeves? With all the great ink in world soccer someone should make this happen.
I'd like to see a friendly between the Gold Cup roster and the Confed Cup roster.
It's silly to get worked up about Max Bretos but his fixation on two holding midfielders wore me out last night. Beckerman and Pause were both bothered by Honduran pressure, neither provided any support in attack, and the US didn't look good in South Africa until Ricardo Clark took over the holding role so Michael Bradley could get forward more often. Much as what happened once Feilhaber entered the game last night.
As for Freddy, I'm trying not to read too much into his performances due to his inactivity last season. At this point, for this team (which needs to play with two forwards) he might be best served to play as a wide attacker. With Cherundolo, against this level of competition, we might could get away with Freddy on the right wing as he's unlikely to track back with vigor.
Rogers has looked like a useful squad player for CONCACAF qualifying at least and Heath Pearce is giving a fine example of what Frankie Hejduk would look like robbed of his speed. Can't fault his effort but man he's slow and his crosses leave much to be desired.
1- Freddy Adu looked very weak with the ball. It sorta looked like Fifa 2008 on an easier level using circle button (shoulder tackle); the Hondurian defenders bodied him up and stipped him on 3+ occasions. Im afraid its not that he's outta form, I think hes too small/weak to play in Europe. The Tevez comparision could work if he had 30 extra pounds of muscle.
2- Until FSC goes HD this fall/winter I think its pretty simple choice to listen to Pablo Ramierez play-by-play on Telefutra. The Ai ai ai chance was fun... and his call in the 07 Gold Cup, " Demarcuuuuuuuuuuuuus, uus, uuus" after a Beasily shot off the bar was an all time great.
3- Feilhaber didnt impress me enough during the Honduras WCQ or the Confed Cup to think he has a sure spot on the WC roster but he came in last night and looked way more composed on the ball than anyone out there.
4- The one thing I cant figure out from this Gold Cup... The USMNT A. teams second and third foward options are on this roster, Davies and Ching. Who is the 2nd foward? Who works better with Altidore? ....ect?
10 min stoppage time in the Mex/Pan game tonight, with a coach tossed and 3 red cards.
Good times...
@brad
i just watched the highlights on espn deportes, total douchbaggery on all sides...
i watched the first half and was intrigued by adu's play. he knows where to get the ball and distribute it, but everyone is spot on with his ball control. i think the lack of pt and general level of form is causing it.
however, i do not believe coming back to mls, like others are proposing will solve the problem, only make it worse. it's good that he is seeing his gift for the game can only take him so far. if he can get on the pitch at benfica it will only improve his game.
although i am curious about his age?!