Top 5, 06.27: Teaching the Youth; Chicago Changes

In the order in which I wrote 'em....

- It turns out us Yanks aren't the only ones worrying about turning our youth into the soccer superstars of tomorrow; the Canadians have wrung hands of their own. But I couldn't help trip over one section in a Toronto Star article on the subject:

"The hope is that a handful will one day graduate to the senior side – "the [Ajax of Amsterdam] first team" – that has won four European championships. Until that day, the on-field scoreboards will not be lit up. No goal tally is kept during their games."

"European youth soccer focuses on skills development and little else. Winning is not important. Learning the skills needed to win is."

I don't know the state of this debate so well, but I seem to recall an argument that our kids need to be put in competitive games to sharpen their game. I'm wondering if that's the case - and I've certainly read compelling pieces (can't find them now) about the corrossive effect the win-at-all-costs mentality can have on how we teach the game. And who's going to argue with Ajax in any case? (Actually, it could be fair to ask why Dutch players tend to implode on the largest of occasions; maybe they need to light up that scoreboard a little before the first team?)

- I feel compelled to note Mexico's 2-0 win over Brazil. I can't say I pull for Mexico often, but if there's one thing I always pull for, it's a Brazil loss. Can't wait to see what we do tonight (and I'm not going to let the doom bring me down, either - or a loss by fewer than, oh, four goals for that matter).

- In happier tournament news, the U-20 FIFA Cup starts this weekend (wow!). And guess what? We go first! I don't know that anyone's carrying this (doesn't look like it), so you'll have to follow this where you can. Turning again to our northern neighbors, they seem pretty stoked to be hosting the U-20s; the more interesting question - especially when future World Cup qualifying is concerned - is are they loaded with talent?

- The Chicago Fire cleared some money/international space today by shit-canning Pascal Bedrossian; they got even more help with Ivan Guerrero picking up his green card. The real question, though, is whether they've got time to help themselves before July 1? (Isn't that when rosters have to be fixed?)

- Finally - and this really pisses me off - why is it that ESPN will carry (it's in there; trust me) a dog-n-pony show like goddamn World Series of Soccer, but they won't pony up for the U.S. games for the Copa America?

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Gold Cup Porn: Last, Giddy Glimpse

As the cliche goes, it's all over but for the shouting - though there's still some of that going on. I finally did the grand tour of Gold Cup porn (e.g. all the stuff - some glowing, some more sober) on the Gold Cup final and found some interesting nuggets in a variety of places. I thought I'd post those as a kind of farewell to a happy 2007 tournament.

To begin with a personal note, how friggin' awesome was it to see a shirtless Frankie Hejduk walking onto the stage to give Sepp Blatter and other FIFA luminaries a naked, sweaty hug? He looked like a thinner David Lee Roth up there...and with hair; it was so quintessentially American.

To start with the best review I read, I'd have to give the honors to Mark Ziegler's report for the San Diego Union-Tribune. It didn't have the bits I'm lifting from the items below, but I thought he got to all the good stuff and in style. It's a personal thing...

And, speaking of good stuff, Pitchinvasion.net posted some great photos from the occasion...good to know they'll catch just about anything out of Chicago on that site.

Getting back to Hejduk, though, he threw out a good quote in the Houston Chronicle's drama-drenched write-up:

""We had 23 players standing around the cup in a circle. And everyone who wanted to see us lose were outside. We had all those thousands of people trying to get into there, doing everything they could to take the cup away from us in our own country. And we defended them all. We held them all off. The beer always tastes a little better when you do that."

Good to know beer motivates him as well...

Speaking of player quotes, it's been fun seeing multiple examples of how seriously our players take this rivalry. When asked about missing the sitter Landon Donovan provided him to ice the game, DaMarcus Beasley provided the following to the Washington Post's Steve Goff:

"If [Tim Howard] hadn't made that save, it would've been on me and I would've cried."

Another noteworthy thing to have come out of this game may (or may not) be the growing respect for the U.S. team among Mexico's players. For instance, ine can find word that Carlos Salcido swapped jerseys with Donovan - or that he shook his hand at the very least; I read somewhere (can't recall where) that Mexican 'keeper, Oswaldo Sanchez, had good things to say after the game. With the sometimes ugly commenst that followed some of our wins I looked pretty hard for any disparaging words out of the Mexican camp and, happily, the worst I found appeared in the report behind the link in this paragraph in the form of a quote from Mexico's coach, Hugo Sanchesz. Here's that:

" "I want the team that played the best to win," Mexican manager Hugo Sanchez said. "I don't want a team to win on the ref's call."

That sounds pretty sniveling - and maybe it is - but a fuller version of the same quote (from the Boston Globe's report) makes the whole thing read better:

"We were hoping the US would score on a brilliant play, plus there was one [penalty] on Omar Bravo. I would prefer that whoever wins is the better team and not the team that wins on a referee's call. Sometimes the best team doesn't win. But the US was maybe more practical and they deserved it."

On a number of levels, then, it's a little tempting to hope a corner has been turned.

On the personal level, a couple people walk away from this tournament with a bit of shine on their reputations. For instance, Bob Bradley's decision to replace Pablo Mastroeni with Ricardo Clark has drawn wide praise, up to a straight statement that this proved him most qualified for the job. Whatever you think of that particular asssertion, it's safe to say Bradley didn't hurt himsefl in the Gold Cup. And, to file under "numbers don't lie," who'd a thought Landon Donovan would tie two records in the 2007 Gold Cup? We all knew about his tying Eric Wynalda's all-time scoring record, on the way, no doubt, to setting a tough-to-top mark down the road. But how many out there knew Donovan also tied the record for Gold Cup goals? When he scored yesterday, he netted his 12th in Gold Cup play, tying Mexico's Luis Roberto "Zague" Alves.

While that's all to the good, I'll close here with some sobering points. Keeping with "the personal," it seems that a few people see this year's Gold Cup as the end of the road for Pablo Mastroeni - or at least that applies to a few people who responded to questions left by Luis Arroyanve on his Red Card blog. Writing as just about the only Mastroeni fan left on the planet, it pains me a little to acknowledge this is correct: the reality is, he's slowing down, or, no less accurately, he's being overtaken by younger players who have the incalcuable upside of being a lot younger when 2010 rolls around. He deserves a send-off, but, unquestionably, it's time to groom new people.

Finally, turning to another part of the team, as Ives Galarcep pointed out today, a basically improved performance yesterday aside, the reality is our defense still needs to improve. That can happen by improved cohesion and coordination or changes in personnel, but there's no question it needs to happen.

Ah well. It has been a fun couple weeks. It has had some very real highs and some bruising lows, but, given the happy ending, it would be churlish to call the 2007 Gold Cup anything but a good time for U.S. Soccer.

Gold Cup Campeones: Can We Play Mexico Every Day?

Knowing this is just one more stick of kindling on a bonfire of reports, commentary, rants, and celebration, I’ll (try to) keep this short - and bulleted.

- Dude, can we play Mexico every single day? They’re like the mechanical rabbit to our greyhound. Maybe it’s the green shirts; maybe we should ask all visiting teams to wear green. I don’t know. What I do know is we actually looked like the best team in the region yesterday.

- That quality went down to the micro-level: our guys played faster, smarter, and more crisply than we had in any game to this point. Whether it was a quick lateral pass by our players to get the ball out of danger and ready to head upfield at the half line, or that delightful string of quick passes at the top of the Mexican area that ended with, an admittedly feeble, shot on goal by Landon Donovan. We looked good in nearly every phase of the game to the extent that the exceptions showed as the merest of blemishes.

- Don’t get me wrong, though: winning was the important thing and I would have taken the crookedest of wins so long as things broke our way.

- Turning again to Donovan, c’mon and admit it: when he stepped up to take that PK, all y’all were waiting for a soft shot up the middle and an Oswaldo Sanchez save/shit-eating grin. So, here’s to Landon: way to step up, son.

- My man/men of the match (I have to go with two): Brian Ching and Carlos Bocanegra. The former left Mexican defenders in fits on two occasions with that spin while the latter contributed more timely interventions than any player on the field.

- And, yes, Benny Feilhaber’s goal was simply gorgeous...all the more so seeing as he missed his share of similar/easier shots in previous games.

- A special note to Jonathan Bornstein: all is forgiven; you had me at that shot on goal.

- Both 'keepers had sensational games. Sanchez kept the Mexicans alive more than once in the first half, while Tim Howard's late save on Bofo Bautista just settled onto the memory shelf of great U.S. Men's moments; it's right next to the winner Tab Ramos scored against Costa Rica way back when.

- All in all, we did remarkably well on both sides of the ball: Mexico had their chances, but we kept them down to a few (and Tim Howard mopped up the ones we let in); I’m still recovering from the shock of seeing us take the game to the Mexicans with a combination of grit, athleticism, and intelligence...it’s that last one that’s both big and not a little unusual.

- I haven’t read anything about how the Mexicans viewed the game, but can’t think of any grounds they have to complain. We done good and just beat ‘em.

Apart from noting my nearly-delirious happiness with the win, I’ll close with a couple questions (and, please, do weigh in):

1) Should the team we fielded stand as the U.S. starting eleven for the foreseeable future (allowing an exception here or there)?

2) Anyone think Hugo Sanchez might be looking for work any time soon? If not now, what would it take to lose him the job?

3) To make a bold statement: Clint Dempsey is our best field player. Anyone agree or disagree?

OK, that’s all I’ve got on this one. Can’t wait to read the gloating, moaning, general impressions that everyone else had.

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U.S. v Canada: A Final Thought

I'll deal a whole hell of a lot better with a loss to Canada tonight than I will to a loss to Mexico in the final. Hell, a loss to Guadeloupe in the final wouldn't make me nearly as cross as losing to Mexico.

There is simply nothing - nothing - worse than losing to Mexico.

What a great rivalry...

I don't think we're going to lose tonight...but, with the way my year is going, losing to Mexico would be like one giant bow...made of poop.

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Can Mexico Win Without Ref?

Alternately, is there a Spanish word for “shame?”

Courtesy of Mexico’s 1-0 win over Costa Rica, I spent Sunday afternoon yelling phrases containing the words, “you,” “cheating,” and “bitches” at my television. I haven’t read much on the game to this point - I can recall only Luis Bueno’s wrap up for Sports Illustrated - but read enough to know that the referee was American, Terry Vaughn. Bottom line: I have never seen a ref get played like Vaughan did on Sunday. That dude is blind, gullible, or corrupt - or some combination of all three.

Libel laws being what they are, I’ll shy away from the last of those.

Some observations on the game:

- What is missing from the Mexican game? They move the ball well enough, find and utilize space, and generally get themselves in dangerous places. The Mexican defense stands up well enough and, shockingly given what happens on the other side of the ball, plays fairly clean. So, why did it take them nearly 100 minutes (if not more) to break down a Costa Rican side that defended well, if a little desperately, while not causing too much trouble at the other end? The answer, off the top of my head, is trouble with the dreaded “final ball.”
- There’s also a predilection among Mexican players for dicking around with the ball - e.g. a flank player (say, Medina) will chase a ball down the flank and instead of playing a first-time ball, he’ll pull up, twist and turn in the corner for a while (prelude to sleeping?), pull up, putz around a little more....then drop the ball back down the line to another player. So much momentum went down the Mexican flanks only to die.
- I can’t put my finger on the moment when the Mexicans stopped playing soccer to focus on conning the ref, but that might have come not long after Vaughn ejected a Costa Rican player (Aleman) for DISSENT?! Look, nothing short of producing a photo of his mother fucking a horse while his grandmother spanks her butt should bring Vaughn to a second yellow. And given the way he allowed players from both sides to crowd and hector him all day, I can’t imagine why Aleman’s behavior stood out...barring that photograph, that is.
- While looking into how to spell Terry Vauhgn’s name, I came across an article featuring Costa Rican coach Hernan Medford suggesting a conspiracy to get the U.S. and Mexico to square off. Well, Hernan, can’t say I blame you. I was a neutral and I'm struggling to find an explanation for Vaughn's officiating.
- In any case, the Mexicans proceeded to milk Vaughn’s bottomless gullibility/vision impairment for all it was worth. Is it any friggin’ wonder American refs don’t go to the World Cup? Would you want Terry Vaughn calling your game? Are you fucking crazy?
- In terms of the worst bit of Mexican fakery, I’m torn between the player who play acted a head-butt from a Costa Rican - which, naturally, Vaughn and the linesman bought - and Cuauhtemoc Blanco parlaying the slightest touch to his shoulder to the Hammer of Thor smiting on his face. I think I’ll go with the head-butt, seeing as that resulted in the second sending off for Costa Rica.
- Whether they deserved it or not, I was praying for a Costa Rican equalizer, then rout. Simple justice demanded no less.
- Not surprisingly, I’m hoping that Guadeloupe not only pounds the holy, humiliating shit out of Mexico in the semis, but that every Mexican players’ shorts simultaneously fall to their ankles at or around the 65th minute.
- I’m expecting neither to happen, but would gladly take a Meatballs-style shorts-rip and would pay (in installments) any resultant fines leveled against Guadeloupe.

Gold Cup Quarters Set + Some Thoughts on 'Em

A week ago Tuesday, I took a stab at predicting the quarterfinals for the Gold Cup. Here's what I came up with:

Costa Rica v. Guatemala
U.S.A. v. Canada
Mexico v. El Salvador
Haiti v. Panama

So, how'd I do? Here's what how things panned out:

Canada v. Guatemala
U.S.A. v. Panama
Honduras v. Guadeloupe
Mexico v. Costa Rica

Obviously, I missed a few, especially when it came to who would face whom. Then again, I got - let's see - six of the eight teams placed...not so hard, I suppose, given only twelve teams in the hat.

Seeing as my first stab at predictions went so swimmingly, I'll just confine myself to some observations. Taking it by bullet points:

- I don't envy Canada the game against Guatemala. Still, I hope our neighbors to the north beat the Central Americans. It's not that I'm nervous about meeting the latter again, so much as I'm not relishing the idea of watching a second U.S. v. Guatemala (which, unless I'm misreading things - again - is what would happen; but semifinal #1 pits the winner of quarterfinals #1 and #2, right?).

- Speaking of, Panama won't be a walk in the park either. But I'm thinking it will be a good game.

- Honduras looks hot, or at least that's one possible reading of the 5-0 drubbing they meted out on Cuba in their final group game. Guadeloupe looked a lot better after the win over Canada than they do after letting a seemingly lackluster Costa Rica into the quarters.

- It's this last detail that makes me think Mexico got the biggest kiss for the quarters.

All right, then. Nothing to do now but peruse some previews and wait for the weekend's action. Good stuff.

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