Soccer gets the Colbert Bump

Last night on the very excellent Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert discussed whether or not it was time for the US to embrace soccer. Click through the first two segments and get to the third (4:47) and fourth segments. Anyone know how to just post one segment?

Enjoy!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Soccer gets the Colbert Bump“, posted with vodpod

Confederations Cup: Close only counts in horseshoes and handgrenades

The saddest part about today’s Confederations Cup final, which finished 3-2 in Brazil’s favor, is that the US should have won the game. They got the breaks – Kaká’s header was clearly a goal on replay – and they were out in front. The problem was the Brazil outclassed them in the second half. And, even though the US didn’t really miss Michael Bradley in the first half, they missed him dearly in the second.

With all that said, close wasn’t enough.

The US played a perfect first half. They found space and kept possession. Landycakes, as he has for the entire tournament, played like a man possessed. I may have to retire the Landycakes nickname, which would be a shame. Most importantly, they made their chances count. That was a continuation of the strategies applied in the game against Spain. The problem is that in the second half, Brazil was able to both build up their attack and finish it; that was the crucial difference between Spain and Brazil.

I’m not sure what to make of the US side. One of my goals was to try to gauge exactly how good the US could be. Assuming they qualify for the World Cup, I would have to say that how far they get in South Africa next summer depends mightily on their group. Perhaps, if they get a more difficult group, they’ll come out fighting right away. The squad seems like it has multiple personalities: one when they play lesser teams and one when they play better teams. In fairness, the latter only appeared just recently.

It would be instructive to go back to the World Cup Qualifiers in March when this whole “allow a goal or two in the first 20 minutes” thing first started. It seems to me that poor marking was the problem. In the Confederations Cup, their marking improved substantially – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Onyewu and Demerit are big-time centerbacks – mainly because (a) their back line improved; and (b) the central mids tracked back. Playing Landycakes as sort of an attacking midfielder just to one side gave him the freedom to roam and really showed what he can do (no, he’s not a striker; accept it and move on). It also demanded that the two central mids track back: Michael Bradley was born for that role because he can run all day; Ricardo Clark appears set to claim the other spot. So long as the mistakes that happened in the second half today don’t happen again (i.e. center backs pushing too far up and people not realizing who they’re marking), the US can hang with Brazil and Spain and others.

Until then, though, they’ll be able to put together one half but not two. The goal for the rest of the CONCACAF qualifiers should be nothing less than total domination. I don’t care that it’s hard to play in Estadio Azteca; the US must beat a Mexico side that is, in truth, not very good. Further evaluation will come at the end of the CONCACAF qualifiers.

With all that said, congratulations to Brazil (even though they used the thoroughly despicable Daniel Alves) and congratulations to the US for putting in a good game.

Confederations Cup: Now I know why Keanu says “Whoa”

Clint Dempsey celebrates his goal v. Spain on 24 June 2009

Whoa.

Really? Spain just got beat by the US 2-0? No, you’re joking.

Holy crap! You’re not joking.

I’m not sure where to start, so let’s start with me being wrong: I picked Spain to win the Confederations Cup. I figured they’d maybe lose in the final, versus either Italy or Brazil. Then I figured Spain v. Brazil would be epic. Never did I figure that the US, even after beating Egypt, would win. So, I was wrong.

I was wrong because the US played a tactically excellent game. They counter-attacked when they could and made their chances count. Perhaps most importantly, the two center backs – Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit – were fantastic. Anyone who doesn’t think Oneywu belongs on a top club is hereby declared certifiable. Real Madrid should be signing him ASAP. Or anyone in the Premiership. Landycakes played magnificently, even though the US couldn’t find him on at least two occasions in the early second half.

Spain, on the other hand, had the build-up and the passing but not the finishing. They put constant pressure on the US, especially Albert Riera and Joan Capdevila on the left hand side, but could not finish. Fernando Torres and David Villa will not want to put this match very high on their resumes. Neither will Sergio Ramos, whose poor clearance led to the second US goal.

Where does Spain go from here? Down, most likely. I don’t think this will kill their confidence because the team enjoys playing together and gets along very well. I don’t think this will have any long-term impact on their World Cup hopes; I still think Spain can win the World Cup.

There will be those who will say that Spain is reverting to its pre-Euro 2008 form. That is, the disappointing team that had shown up for the previous several years. Spain is too good for that to happen to them.

What it will do is force Spain to take everyone seriously. I think they strolled through the tournament and then ran into a US team on a good run of form.

Make no mistake: Spain did not lose this game; the US won it. They deserve their win because they played so well. They beat the world’s best team. Now they get to play the winner of Brazil-South Africa for the Confederations Cup final.

Confederations Cup: One in a million

Charlie Davies scores v. Egypt (Paul Thomas/Associated Press)

To paraphrase John Harkes, if South Africa has a Powerball lottery, Bob Bradley should go buy a ticket. It was the opposite of Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events. It was, in fact, a series of very fortunate events.

The United States had the slimmest of margins to get through to the semi-finals yesterday, yet they did. Brazil beat the crap out of a really rather disinterested Italy squad by a score of 3-0. But the final goal, the one that helped put the US through, was an own goal off the foot of defender Andrea Dossena. And every Liverpool fan jumped as one and shouted, “See?!? We told you he was terrible!”

And what of the US-Egypt match? The US scored 3 goals? Really? Are they really that good? Short answer? Hell, no. Is Egypt that bad? Maybe, but I doubt it.

I’m having trouble assessing the US here. They played one good half against Italy and then got trounced by a combination of Giuseppe Rossi and Daniele de Rossi. They were completely and utterly outclassed by Brazil for 90 minutes. Hell, they were probably outclassed in the dressing room, at the pre- and post-match press conferences, and on the ride over from the hotel. The Brazilian hotel likely outclassed the US hotel. That match was a complete and utter destruction. There are no two ways around it.

At the same time, Egypt looked if not good, at least competitive where the US did not. So what happened? I think the Pharaohs ran out of gas, honestly. The one thing that really struck me about the underdogs was the lack of depth. Look at the Spanish, Brazilian, and Italian rosters (okay, Italy’s a bad example, but stay with me): the thing you notice first is that every single player would make the first XI of Egypt, South Africa, New Zealand, Iraq, and the United States. Every single one.

So how do I explain the US in the semi-finals. The easiest answer is luck. Sheer shit luck. The other answer is that they finally put together a good 90 minutes; I think that’s true. I don’t think, however, that Brad Guzan is the new starting keeper or that Conor Casey is the answer at striker. Similarly, I don’t think we’ll get any answers when the US gets annihilated by Spain on Wednesday. The US remains an enigma, one of the dominant teams in CONCACAF but nowhere near the elite on the world stage. Perhaps the next two matches will reveal some pearls of truth.

Confederations Cup: Italy v. Brazil preview

Daniele de Rossi and Giuseppe Rossi

This is the match I’ve been waiting for since the tournament started. It’s not often that two teams this good would meet in anything other than the World Cup. Which is another reason you should love the Confederations Cup.

But Italy is playing like crap, you say. And Italy are notoriously slow starters and might just get burned by it this time. And you take the time to point out that should Italy lose, it could possibly not go through into the semi-finals. And, because you’re a homer, you point out that the US is still mathematically alive.

So, in descending order of ridiculousness: first, the US will not make it into the semi-finals. I sincerely doubt they’ll even get a point against Egypt. Which means the Pharaohs will win. (I’ll go ahead and pick a score of 2-1.) That gives the Pharaohs 6 points and a plus-1 goal differential.

Which brings us to Italy. If they lose, they and their kickin’ new jerseys and brown (brown!) shorts are out. I don’t think it’s true that they’re playing like crap; I think they took Egypt too lightly and got burned. It’s also true that they’re slow starters; but that can’t be an excuse now. So, they need a win (Italy has a goal differential of plus-1, therefore any win will give them a goal differential of plus-2 at least; problems arise if Egypt lays the hammer down on the US and blows them away). If they draw, they need to hope for an Egypt loss.

So, this is win or go home. And I think Italy will win. I’d like to think that there’s some form of Italian pride. I’d also like to think they learned their lesson from taking Egypt too lightly, which means they’ll come out with both barrels blazing. Which, to me, means Luca Toni joining Vincenzo Iaquinta or Alberto Gilardino up front. Giuseppe Rossi also needs to start. I would sit Fabio Cannavaro because he looked out of shape in the last match.

If all goes well and Italy catch some breaks, they’ll win 1-0 and receive the honor of losing to Spain in the semi-finals.

Confederations Cup: Spain sets new world record

Getty Images

Spain’s 2-0 victory over South Africa this afternoon set a new world record for consecutive wins, with 15 (also, Spain has no gone 35 matches without losing, which breaks another Brazilian record). They broke the old record of 14, held by Brazil. It was, in fact, the most noteworthy thing to happen today in a lackluster day at the Confederations Cup. I will say that Spain looked good but their first real challenge will be in the semi-finals versus either Brazil or Italy (likely Italy, though my crystal ball has been off for about a year).

In the other semi-final, Iraq looked like crap while New Zealand got their first point ever in Confederations Cup competition. Gotta have something to hang your hat on, eh?

Confederations Cup: Your reputation precedes you

Watching the United States’ 3-0 loss to Brazil today, I was struck by how scared the US was of Brazil. It was as if the yellow shirts had some sort of psychological effect, as if the US players had been conditioned to fear them. That got me thinking about how reputations impact the game. Herewith are three truths from the US-Brazil match.

1. Brazil is still scary. Dunga’s team is not your father’s, nor even your older brother’s, Brazil team. Gone are the days of the exuberantly dancing, forward-pushing teams. Now we see a more prosaic, defensive-oriented – dare I say boring? – squad. There’s a reason Dunga has been criticized even though he does keep winning. People in Brazil are almost as obsessed as people in Barcelona with winning the “right way.” That is, with fun to watch, attacking soccer. Yet Brazil remain everybody’s second favorite team, largely because of its reputation.

But just because they actually consider defense as something more than what to do between offensive possessions doesn’t mean that Brazil is bad. No, they still have more than enough talent to go around. Rather than constantly pushing forward, Dunga has instituted a counter-attacking approach. Instead of Dani Alves flying down the wing all the time, Maicon picks his spots. He’s arguably more effective that way. Of course, against the hapless US, they looked like the Brazil of old.

2. The US is reckless. Ricardo Clark received a red card against Italy. Sacha Kljestan received a red card against Brazil. There have been numerous cards in World Cup Qualfying. I daresay the US is developing a bit of a reputation. Reckless challenges come from (a) a lack of preparation; (b) a lack of technical proficiency; and (c) a lack of discipline. The US midfield has displayed all three against Italy and Brazil; all of them, save Landycakes, were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. The end result was a reinforcement of their reckless reputation, leading to Kljestan’s straight red.

3. Landycakes deserves better. I never thought I’d say this, but Landon Donovan played well at both ends of the pitch. He did everything required of him – even tracking back into his own 18-yard box – even as his teammates let him down time and again. He has become a visibly better player over the last couple of years and is changing his reputation. He deserves another shot at Europe as he’s the only one who has shown up against both Italy and Brazil.

Confederations Cup: No alarms and no surprises

David Villa scoring his goal (Getty Images)

Today’s Confederations Cup action saw no surprises.

Spain 1-0 Iraq: I suppose one could be surprised by the fact that Spain only scored one measly goal. And that it took them 55 minutes to score. I suppose I could criticize David Villa for not appearing to be worth the absurd amounts of money being thrown around. But at least the goal he did score was really good.

Iraq’s tactics were clearly based on Chelsea’s tactics versus Barcelona in the Champion’s League. That is, they packed, at times, all 10 outfield players in front of the ball. The thing that sort of impressed me was that they closed the ball down quickly, unlike New Zealand, which attempted to slow the game down on Monday. It’s a credit to Iraq’s coach, legendary wanderer Bora Milutinovic, that they were able to push Spain as far as they did.

In any event, Spain is through to the semi-finals. Perhaps they’ll play someone good there. Oh, and that’s 35 straight wins, tying Brazil’s record.

South Africa 2-0 New Zealand: New Zealand are clearly the worst team in the field because South Africa is not nearly as good as they looked today. Though Bernard Parker’s goal celebrations were interesting. Anyone know where that comes from? I feel sort of bad saying this, but I’m going to anyway: Oceania’s champion should not be in the Confederations Cup. In fact, Oceania should probably be folded into the Asian Confederation because the former is not nearly competitive enough.

That said, South Africa looked good. They might qualify for the semi-finals but they’ll need New Zealand to win or draw against Iraq. I doubt it, though. So South Africa really needs to hope the Kiwis allow fewer than 2 goals.

Hating Rossi is pointless

Giuseppe Rossi goal in the Confederations Cup (AP)

I’m talking to you, US fans. Those of you who have spewn venom at him, especially in light of his brace against the US yesterday, are crying over milk that has been spilled for 9 years. And it’s time for you to stop.

News flash: Giuseppe Rossi never intended to play for the US. Ever. Not when he was 10, not when he was 15, not when he was 18 and most definitely not when he 22. He never, ever played the US system for a fool: he was never part of the youth setup therefore he never used resources that could have gone to someone else. In fact, he and his father left the country when he was 13 so he could play professionally in Europe. And that’s the key: he never wanted to play for the US even though he was born in Clifton, NJ. He always wanted to play for Italy. How can you hate someone for following their dream? Other than being completely and totally irrational, that is.

Ives Galarcep, who run an excellent blog, wrote today that the US losing Rossi is different from, say, Germany losing Jermaine Jones because the US doesn’t have the talent Germany does. Factually, all of that is true. It is my opinion that the US is overrated in the FIFA rankings (currently 14th, likely lower after the Confederations Cup unless they beat Egypt). It is my opinion that Jermaine Jones might help the US but he won’t put the team over the top. Rossi, on the other hand, is better than Clint Dempsey and would offer far more in the attacking third of the pitch with Jozy Altidore and Landycakes. But does that justify hatred?

Ives doesn’t come down on one side or the other. He writes:

If you are a U.S. fan who hates Rossi, I won’t tell you not to, but I will say that you can feel free to take some of that energy and spend it on the American players who wore the USA shield on Monday.

He seems to want to have it both ways, which is his perogative. But that’s not my opinion. In my opinion, US fans would be far better off if they let it go and cheered on the players who want to pull the US jersey on. Rossi never has and never will play for the US. He’s made his choice and it can’t be un-made. It’s time to let that go and quit acting like the stalker girlfriend who won’t take no for an answer.

Confederations Cup: What the hell just happened?

I am, of course, talking about this: Brazil 4-3 Egypt. What the hell?

I can appreciate that Egypt is an underrated team, especially by me. I had them firmly in the underdog category a couple of days ago. But they played well today. They bounced back agaisnt one of the best teams in the world. And they scored 3 goals! Take a look, New Zealand: that is how you go about challenging a top team. It took a Kaká PK to finally seal the deal. The United States should be very, very afraid and probably wishing they had a time machine to go back and be drawn into Group A.

Side note: Brazil and Egypt have two of the plainest kits I’ve ever seen. Although Egypt has, hands down, the best team nickname: The Pharaohs.

And then, of course, there’s the WTF feeling the US must be having after losing 3-1 to Italy. After having Ricardo Clark red carded (I thought he deserved a yellow, but not a straight red) and going down to 10 men (seriously, will the US ever field a full 11-man squad versus Italy?), Landycakes scored on a PK to put them up 1-0. Everything was fine until Giuseppe Rossi showed up. He proceeded to score not once but twice. The first, it must be said, was spectacular.

One of my goals this week is to try to gauge exactly how good the United States is. I think, at number 14 in the FIFA rankings, they might be a tad overrated. Then again, they could just be going through a rough bit of form. They were lethargic against Italy until Clark got red carded; then Landycakes turned it on played like a man possessed. That’s two straight world-class performances for him, for those of you keeping track at home.

Bob Bradley’s tactics were acceptable, though they could have been better. Charlie Davies is overrated by the US hierarchy and should not have been subbed in for Jozy Altidor. What he should have done was put in another defender – perhaps someone to play a sweeper role – or a defensive midfielder. Benny Feilhaber and Michael Bradley provided nice offensive options at times but once the lead was their and they were down to 10 men, defense becomes the priority. I’m not saying they should have collapsed into a shell because that puts too much pressure on the keeper.

Hopefully the lesson was learned for what looks like two difficult encounters coming up.