Well, turns out Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey & Co. have about as much drawing power in Eastern Europe as Anvil.
For whatever the reason Friday night I decided to stay up through multiple power outages for the MLS Western Conference Final between the Galaxy and Dynamo. During the match the thought drifted into my head about Saturday's USMNT/Slovakia friendly -- why wouldn't Bob Bradley simply roll the dice, play his best XI and let the system and player evaluations be damned? Isn't that what the World Cup boils down to anyway? Finding a way to win a match, with nothing else mattering? With nothing at stake, Bradley could have toyed with an experimental lineup. How much was he really going to gather from this match against Slovakia anyway?
As it turned out, Bradley did let his hair down -- by his standards -- dropping Jonathan Spector into the center of the defense along with Carlos Bocanegra.
Other than that, this match was eminently forgettable.
Jonathan Bornstein conceded a debatable penalty, albeit on a very clumsy challenge ... and that was that.
The two best players on the field were U.S. keeper Brad Guzan and his Slovak counterpart Jan Mucha. Each made a couple fine stops on the few and far between quality chances created by each team.
If you want to take away anything from the U.S. performance, it was a total lack of creativity anywhere on the field. The only real chance the U.S. created was an excellently hit freekick by Clint Dempsey in the latter stages of the first half that Mucha punched away for a corner.
Other than that? Forwards Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Eddie Johnson and finally Jeff Cunningham didn't do much of anything, either creating chances by runs or taking shots on goal.
The influence of Landon Donovan was sorely missing, as few players ever looked capable of linking up and moving the ball around in a threatening manner.
By the same token, it's not like Slovakia flashed much brilliance either and whatever Vladmir Weiss' charges attempted, the U.S. defense was able to snuff out.
In other words, this probably should have ended 0-0 and faded away into the ether of time.
Long term, this match reiterated stuff we pretty much already knew. Bob Bradley, to his credit, has created a competent, solid, generally smart team. The U.S. can work a system and when it stays within it, it usually plays well. We've seen the strengths of the U.S. -- physicality, set pieces and the counter attack (at least when Donovan is around). For all the positives that Bradley values, creativity seems to be very low on the list.
Yet against an equally astute team like Slovakia with comparable size in the back, they end running into a brick wall. Saturday's match reminded me of those dreadful games against Guatemala a couple years ago, where they would drop all 10 guys behind the ball and the U.S. had no clue how to break it down. Slovakia didn't even play all that defensively, but it was tactically smart.
So many times, especially in International matches, the difference comes down to a moment of individual brilliance. Obviously you don't draw up a game plan -- "Hey guys, go out there, knock it around and eventually Joey over here will make an amazing play and we'll win 1-0."
Maybe I'm just jealous, as I'm typing this I have one eye on Guus Hiddink's Russia gaining some steam in its UEFA Playoff with Slovenia. (You wonder, if Andrey Arshavin were American, would Bradley play him?)
In the big picture, this is a problem endemic to U.S. soccer from the lowest levels on up. For whatever the reasons, there doesn't seem to be a collective vision, or spark in the majority of American players.
Maybe it's because I've been covering too many high school games for my day job. It seems to me the typical kid will only shoot if its on a silver platter. If I see two or three passes strung together, it feels like that Argentina goal vs. Serbia at the last World Cup.
Plenty of words and column inches have been devoted how nations across the world have a soccer identity. Slowly but surely, the U.S. has developed its team ethos. Maybe it's just hard for me to come to terms that the identity the U.S. have forged is that of a Dodge Caravan -- sturdy, reliable, (roomy), functional and not all that flashy.
Guess we can't all have a finely tuned Ferrari like Brazil.
Other stuff:
* Martin Hamsik must be a huge NBA fan. How else to explain that jarring neck tat?
* Add another tic in the loss column for the U.S. on European soil. That might be the headline, but let's not forget the next important match the U.S. will play in the Old Country comes in 2018, at the earliest.
* Another thought from the Galaxy/Dynamo game. It wouldn't be the craziest thought in the world for Bradley to pluck a relative unknown from MLS and plug him into the mix fro 2010, sort of like how Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley came out of nowhere at the 2002 World Cup.
Just as an example, take a guy like Sean Franklin. Suppose he were able to hack it in the U.S. pre-Cup camp. If you threw him out there, dollars-to-donuts the opposition would have no clue who is was, forcing subsequent opponents to scramble to find tape on him. There are very few surprises left in world soccer, but the majority of "power" nations probably still scoff at MLS, so maybe the U.S. ought to try to throw their haughty attitudes back in their face.
Players are players. All they need to do is have three (or more) good games.
Don't believe me? Look at the reverse. How many players have been signed off good World Cups and gone on to do nothing at clubs?
For this to work, naturally, a player with copious amounts of upside needs to be in MLS. Either way, call this the "Who the eff was that factor?"
* Benny Feilhaber did his best to add to Liverpool's misery, ripping a shot that knocked down Martin Skrtel and left him in pain.
* All things being equal, Dempsey was pretty good today since he played within the system -- mainly on the left midfield spot vacated by Donovan. He didn't do a lot, but he didn't taken anything away, either.
* Hey Brad Guzan, Ben Roethlisberger called -- he wants his neck beard back.
* Steve Cherundolo limped off in the final minute of stoppage time. Hope he didn't get hurt.
* What is it about Bornstein that he's never too far away from some kind of incident? Was it a clear penalty? Probably not, but it was sloppy enough for the ref to blow the whistle.
* Congrats to New Zealand for outlasting Bahrain in FIFA's version of the 65/64 play-in game. With the All Whites and host South Africa there are now two extremely weak teams in the mix. Suffice to say, the U.S. will not end up in either group.
Final thought:
With everything I've written, it would be foolish to put more than a little -- if any -- stock in this match. The U.S. was fine defensively and fairly meek offensively.
Maybe we ought to consider sending Donovan to a "Bubble Boy" scenario for the next seven months. If he picks up a knock between now and June, the U.S. could be in some serious trouble.
Hell, I'll even volunteer to play Trivial Pursuit with him.
For whatever the reason Friday night I decided to stay up through multiple power outages for the MLS Western Conference Final between the Galaxy and Dynamo. During the match the thought drifted into my head about Saturday's USMNT/Slovakia friendly -- why wouldn't Bob Bradley simply roll the dice, play his best XI and let the system and player evaluations be damned? Isn't that what the World Cup boils down to anyway? Finding a way to win a match, with nothing else mattering? With nothing at stake, Bradley could have toyed with an experimental lineup. How much was he really going to gather from this match against Slovakia anyway?
As it turned out, Bradley did let his hair down -- by his standards -- dropping Jonathan Spector into the center of the defense along with Carlos Bocanegra.
Other than that, this match was eminently forgettable.
Jonathan Bornstein conceded a debatable penalty, albeit on a very clumsy challenge ... and that was that.
The two best players on the field were U.S. keeper Brad Guzan and his Slovak counterpart Jan Mucha. Each made a couple fine stops on the few and far between quality chances created by each team.
If you want to take away anything from the U.S. performance, it was a total lack of creativity anywhere on the field. The only real chance the U.S. created was an excellently hit freekick by Clint Dempsey in the latter stages of the first half that Mucha punched away for a corner.
Other than that? Forwards Jozy Altidore, Conor Casey, Eddie Johnson and finally Jeff Cunningham didn't do much of anything, either creating chances by runs or taking shots on goal.
The influence of Landon Donovan was sorely missing, as few players ever looked capable of linking up and moving the ball around in a threatening manner.
By the same token, it's not like Slovakia flashed much brilliance either and whatever Vladmir Weiss' charges attempted, the U.S. defense was able to snuff out.
In other words, this probably should have ended 0-0 and faded away into the ether of time.
Long term, this match reiterated stuff we pretty much already knew. Bob Bradley, to his credit, has created a competent, solid, generally smart team. The U.S. can work a system and when it stays within it, it usually plays well. We've seen the strengths of the U.S. -- physicality, set pieces and the counter attack (at least when Donovan is around). For all the positives that Bradley values, creativity seems to be very low on the list.
Yet against an equally astute team like Slovakia with comparable size in the back, they end running into a brick wall. Saturday's match reminded me of those dreadful games against Guatemala a couple years ago, where they would drop all 10 guys behind the ball and the U.S. had no clue how to break it down. Slovakia didn't even play all that defensively, but it was tactically smart.
So many times, especially in International matches, the difference comes down to a moment of individual brilliance. Obviously you don't draw up a game plan -- "Hey guys, go out there, knock it around and eventually Joey over here will make an amazing play and we'll win 1-0."
Maybe I'm just jealous, as I'm typing this I have one eye on Guus Hiddink's Russia gaining some steam in its UEFA Playoff with Slovenia. (You wonder, if Andrey Arshavin were American, would Bradley play him?)
In the big picture, this is a problem endemic to U.S. soccer from the lowest levels on up. For whatever the reasons, there doesn't seem to be a collective vision, or spark in the majority of American players.
Maybe it's because I've been covering too many high school games for my day job. It seems to me the typical kid will only shoot if its on a silver platter. If I see two or three passes strung together, it feels like that Argentina goal vs. Serbia at the last World Cup.
Plenty of words and column inches have been devoted how nations across the world have a soccer identity. Slowly but surely, the U.S. has developed its team ethos. Maybe it's just hard for me to come to terms that the identity the U.S. have forged is that of a Dodge Caravan -- sturdy, reliable, (roomy), functional and not all that flashy.
Guess we can't all have a finely tuned Ferrari like Brazil.
Other stuff:
* Martin Hamsik must be a huge NBA fan. How else to explain that jarring neck tat?
* Add another tic in the loss column for the U.S. on European soil. That might be the headline, but let's not forget the next important match the U.S. will play in the Old Country comes in 2018, at the earliest.
* Another thought from the Galaxy/Dynamo game. It wouldn't be the craziest thought in the world for Bradley to pluck a relative unknown from MLS and plug him into the mix fro 2010, sort of like how Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley came out of nowhere at the 2002 World Cup.
Just as an example, take a guy like Sean Franklin. Suppose he were able to hack it in the U.S. pre-Cup camp. If you threw him out there, dollars-to-donuts the opposition would have no clue who is was, forcing subsequent opponents to scramble to find tape on him. There are very few surprises left in world soccer, but the majority of "power" nations probably still scoff at MLS, so maybe the U.S. ought to try to throw their haughty attitudes back in their face.
Players are players. All they need to do is have three (or more) good games.
Don't believe me? Look at the reverse. How many players have been signed off good World Cups and gone on to do nothing at clubs?
For this to work, naturally, a player with copious amounts of upside needs to be in MLS. Either way, call this the "Who the eff was that factor?"
* Benny Feilhaber did his best to add to Liverpool's misery, ripping a shot that knocked down Martin Skrtel and left him in pain.
* All things being equal, Dempsey was pretty good today since he played within the system -- mainly on the left midfield spot vacated by Donovan. He didn't do a lot, but he didn't taken anything away, either.
* Hey Brad Guzan, Ben Roethlisberger called -- he wants his neck beard back.
* Steve Cherundolo limped off in the final minute of stoppage time. Hope he didn't get hurt.
* What is it about Bornstein that he's never too far away from some kind of incident? Was it a clear penalty? Probably not, but it was sloppy enough for the ref to blow the whistle.
* Congrats to New Zealand for outlasting Bahrain in FIFA's version of the 65/64 play-in game. With the All Whites and host South Africa there are now two extremely weak teams in the mix. Suffice to say, the U.S. will not end up in either group.
Final thought:
With everything I've written, it would be foolish to put more than a little -- if any -- stock in this match. The U.S. was fine defensively and fairly meek offensively.
Maybe we ought to consider sending Donovan to a "Bubble Boy" scenario for the next seven months. If he picks up a knock between now and June, the U.S. could be in some serious trouble.
Hell, I'll even volunteer to play Trivial Pursuit with him.
Labels: bob bradley, clint dempsey, Friendlies, Soccer, USMNT
I think South Africa gets seeded as the host nation. Could you imagine landing in a group with South Africa and New Zealand?
Moops!