Top 5, 07.11: Lalas Responds*; Great v. Good; Johnson Flying Away?

* To be clear, LA Galaxy GM did not, in any way, respond directly to anything written in this space...I think he only goes after the Brits...

- May as well lead with Alexi: Mark Ziegler spent some time with both Lalas and LA head coach, Frank Yallop - though probably not in the same room. Ziegler got some quotes that might explain the apparent spazzing in LA to the outside world:

“'There is the conventional wisdom that you ride the storm out and let things settle, and certainly there's a time and place for that,' Lalas says. 'But we didn't think this was the time or place for that.'"

“'We wanted to identify players who we felt would enjoy and be able to perform in a high pressure situation,' Lalas says. 'It doesn't necessarily mean it's the best player. It's a very specific type of player we need. We need players who are strong mentally, who can withstand the pressure of playing with eyes of the world on them.'”

Thanks, Alexi. We'll take that under advisement out here....still looks like spazzing....

- Speaking of LA, Jay Hutcherson of USSoccerplayers.com had a thing or two to say about how he views LA thus far (can't link to anything but the general address for Hutcherson's blog...still waiting on permalinks for the site's blogs):

"It's odd watching a team in obvious transition. The Galaxy don't play as a unit. Half the team operates as if they have no clue what to expect, and this didn't suddenly happen - the result of too many trades and an off night in Virginia."

"Maybe this is the step too far, or at least too soon, turning the Galaxy into the touring version of the Cosmos revisited minus the depth. How does this team plus added superstar concentrate on league and exhibition schedules when they can't keep it together for 90 minutes?"

This is what the Alexi-era has wrought. A good thing?

- OK, one more LA thing, then I'll leave it alone. Someone, anyone, please for the love of a god who supports things good and decent and doesn't take live puppies for sacrifice, please tell me that the logo that Mike H posted on My Soccer Blog is not the Galaxy's new, official logo. That is more than "a little Star Trek-inspired." That is a sign they'll be sporting 90s-themed body suits by 2010.

- A line written by Ken Pendleton in his celebration of Adu hits on something massive:

"Moments of inspiration are often what separates the winners from the losers at the highest level. Good tactics and hard work are not always enough. You have to have players who can do something unorthodox or unexpected, like Adu did to set up the winning goal against Brazil. He received the ball from a throw-in with his back to the goal and two defenders closing in. Most coaches would have instructed their players to make the simple pass back to the person who made the throw-in (Zizzo), or to try to win a corner by knocking the ball off one of the markers, but Adu opened up the Brazilian defense because he had the audacity to try to beat both markers by playing keepie-uppie."

This same notion has been rattling around my head for a while now and I'd take it one step farther: the simple pass is always there, or nearly always at least, plain as day to everyone in the stands; but, as much as it means to winning, the aesthetic side matters too. I mean, we watch the game to see players do these things; they're paid to play because they can do those things and that's why we pay to watch professional athletes. This stuff is huge.

On a related point, I move that we start referring to Adu simply as "Adu." I don't care whether you think he deserves it or not; we're free to crown our icons on our own terms. Who's with me! Huzzah!!

- Crap...rambling...sorry. This last one's quick: MLS Underground reported a rumor that England's Derby County (that's the right name, isn't it?) wants to sign Kansas City's Eddie Johnson. They can have him. Maybe it'll help...but I'd recommend strongly against holding your breath.

Top 5, 07.09: Ride ESPN, Adu Man-Crushes, Clavijo Watch

Since everyone else hit 'em hard, I figured I may as well hit 'em late.

- Want to see the United States' U-20s Round of 16 tilt against Old South American power Uruguay? Then join the campaign to, um, enlighten ESPN as to their self-interest in airing this game. Seeing as they finally invested in soccer broadcast rights, why not show off the young bucks on their way into the system (maybe...I know some will bolt to Europe - the good ones, especially - but we don't need to mention that...wait...shit! I just did!). Hat-tip to the LA Galaxy Offside for introducing me to this opportunity to harass a major broadcast corporation.

And if you're interesting in seeing who joined the U.S. U-20s in the Round of 16, Ives Galarcep obliges by listing the pairings. There are some good ones in there.

- Speaking of the U-20s, the man-crushes on Freddy Adu, as well as an apology or two, are coming in. Nice work, young man. Now, show them Sky Blue bitches how we play this game!! (Wow....don't know where that came from...).

- Dwayne DeRosario finally got his MLS pay-day. Naturally, us fans don't need to know the financial details...it would just worry our pretty heads. Anywhoo, good luck to you, Dwayne. In other news, the prospect of a re-awakened DeRo adding momentum to the Dynamo revival has some fans and players from the opposition a little worried...or it ought to...

- There's a fun parlor game well underway around the soccer-sphere: which hill-cresting foreign star will join Real Salt Lake and save them from the coming, pee-stained humiliation that has been 2007 (well, and 2005...arguably 2006)? RSLFM reports in a damned fine spread that Nigeria's Jay Jay Okocha is on his way. Meanwhile, The Other Football cites a report on Portugal's Luis Figo joining up. Not that I get a vote, but I'm pulling for Okocha. That cat is a hoot on his day.

- Let's wrap this up with the latest in the weird, sad tale of Fernando Clavijo. This ran in Steve Goff's Soccer Insider:

"-- I am hearing that Colorado's front office has had enough of Coach Fernando Clavijo, who has not won since late May, but that upper management really wants to avoid paying two coaches the rest of the calendar year. The way things are going for the Rapids, though, they might have to bite the bullet soon and make a move."

Wow. Too cheap to pull the trigger. That's something of a new low in leadership. If I were a Rapids fan, flaming bags would be appearing on the front steps of Rapids' corporate.

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"Phenom"-onology

Laurie, who keeps me so entertained with the Los Angeles Galaxy Offside, wrote something in the comments to a last-gasp, wise-crack post I wrote on Freddy Adu after his hat-trick against Poland. Here's her comment:

"Did you ever think that Adu should have been, simply, a U-20, rather than the great hope of American soccer? Do you think he would have been happier that way?"

I wrote something different in response, but here's a more blunt version: Oh, hell yeah and on both counts.

There's something almost pervasively corrosive in the mania for crowning sporting "phenoms." I only say "almost" because, when it pans out, the child-star gets adulation, more money than God has, and a beautiful, if often failed, actress out of the bargain. But too often, especially here in the States where quality and temperament ain't what they are in the rest of the world, everyone loses in the wake of these public, semi-conscious/half-voluntary coronations: the player labors under a load of publicity and expectation too few seem willing (Landon Donovan) or able (Adu) to shoulder; fans get set up for glory, only to suffer disappointment that mutates into this a perverse form of bitterness they unload on the player - in other words, what amounts to a complete stranger becomes someone you kind of loathe for reasons that should be sort of embarrassing. The cycle ends with the player's paycheck shrinking along with their cache. Fans and pundits just wait around for the next kid's life to ruin.

So here's a new deal: let these kids play and let their achievements speak for their quality; let no one be "The Real Deal" till they prove it on the field and against grown-ups.

Is this even realistic? Of course not. If we weren't crowning the next savior, what the hell would we talk about all day?

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Adu

How many people will be kissing his ass tomorrow, after he turned in what reads like a commanding performance for the U.S. U-20s? I followed the game on MatchTracker and, to be honest, couldn't believe how many times his name came up.

Anyway, the chatter ought to be something.

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If I Was Kreis

As everyone now knows, Jason Kreis has now retired and taken up the coaching reins on the wayward stagecoach that is Real Salt Lake (which is still, presumably, rushing toward a cliff). Commentary is pretty easy to come by (random sample, and one I like), but there's not a lot out there yet about the changes Kreis could make to the starting line-up. The Salt Lake Tribune finally stirred themselves and did well to start this effort, even if they left it with a question.

After a quick look at RSL's roster, here's what I'd do:

GK: Nick Rimando....kidding! Chris Seitz. Go with Seitz.
D: Chris Lancos, Daniel Torres, Eddie Pope, Willis Forko (gulp.)
M: Mehdi Ballouchy, Freddy Adu, Carey Talley, Chris Klein
F: Jeff Cunningham...Jeff Cunningham...are any of the other guys either fit (Andy Williams) or not fat (Luis Tejada)? Hell with it, re-try the Atiba Harris experiment.

Anyway, the key piece here is Freddy Adu; throw him out there and say, "Awright, golden boy, get out there and win the damn game. You've got central midfield."

In all seriousness, I'm cracking on Adu for fun. He's got a hard road and it just got harder; cobbling a starting XI out of this bunch proved harder than I figured. Adu will be lucky to retain half his value before this trade plays out. Between that team and a first-year coach I'm thinking Toronto FC will have someone to fight for the distinction of living in the league's basement.

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Fans Crowning Saviors

""In America too many people are in a hurry to anoint the 'American Pelé.' We saw that to some extent with Bobby [Convey]."
- Kevin Payne, DC United GM, ESPN, 4.22.07 (LINK)

If that statement applies to Convey, think of what it meant to Freddy Adu (who's already getting called out (hat-tip: Offside Rules) and accused of failing to notice the existence of his right foot) or what it means now to Josmer Altidore.

Being the cautious sort (except when it comes to making miles-off-target predictions), I do try not to go in for this. And, in the fantasy space that is my head, I somehow believe I don't. Taking a more realistic line, though, I'll assume I do - and that takes one to the next question: Why? Why is it so easy to get sucked into hype, whether it's about a player or this year's hot-shit team (think DC United)? More specifically, what's the dominant impulse that allows it - the fan or the amateur scout?

I can only answer the last one for myself: it's the amateur scout for me and the impulse grows from nothing more than wanting to seem "wise" (as in, "in the know"; this is why I dub Houston "paper tigers" after just three games). I came across a great example of the "fan impulse" today; an admirably excited Chivas fan already expects Maykel Galindo's player of the week honors to translate to player of the year. Personally, I think Galindo's doing great and wish him the best with that...but I'm not counting on it based on him making Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC look foolish.

The most remarkable thing is how quickly it strikes: for instance, Juan Pablo Angel has just arrived and, before he's kicked a ball in MLS, he's already the missing piece that will make Red Bull New York overnight contenders (for example); a muted version of the same mania struck DC fans when Fred was signed - damn shame about the defense rendering all that irrelevant.

Where am I going with this? I'm not 100% sure. It's just a peculiar thing, that's all. But on a fairly simple level, it's just kind of fun getting sucked in. But there's also something about waking up without immediately assuming that every freakin' day is Christmas that keeps one grounded. On the flipside of that metaphor, I imagine that the players we all hype would appreciate not feeling as if they spoiled Christmas every time they leave the field without sending fans into orgasm.

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