Mid-Week Fixture: Sour Grapes

So, Hope Solo is pissed, and “The Greatest Team You’ve Never Heard Of” is playing in the consolation game after, for lack of a better or more accurate phrase, getting its ass handed to them by Brazil Thursday.

In a week where Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy has received quite a bit of attention for absolutely melting down in anger at a post-game press conference, it’s only fair that ESPN would enjoy Solo’s post-game rant on head coach Greg Ryan’s decision to pull her for the semifinals in favor of the more experienced Brianna Scurry. I thought Solo’s comments were refreshing in the sense that all we get today is heavily-guarded comments from athletes, but I really would have enjoyed this more if it had been about a team I dislike - like if James Laurinaitis laid into old sweater-vest instead.

I’m not here to talk about Ryan’s decision to bench the goalkeeper who had a, no pun intended, large hand in the US women’s 50-plus game winning streak - it was certainly bizarre but there are more qualified people to handle that (oh, who am I kidding? It’s women’s soccer, of course there aren’t). Solo’s post-game comments, in addition to Julie Foudy’s in-game commentary, further proves the fact that, while they are all warm and cuddly when they are winning, they are off-putting and whiny when they aren’t. Competitiveness is an essential trait needed to compete at the highest level; cattiness is something this team could certainly do more without.

First, Foudy was going on and on about how, back in her days with the national team, they would stand united and not give up if they went through a rough patch. It didn’t seem like that when they got destroyed by Germany in the 2003 World Cup semis, all we can ever remember(or are ever reminded about) is the team gutting out ugly victories over China in 1999 and Brazil in 2004 that won them championships. I like Foudy, but sometimes her comments, on the women’s and men’s side, cross the line between objective analysis and abject homerism. Quite frankly, I don’t care how the Golden Generation did things; the US isn’t even the second-best team in the world and hasn’t been for years, let alone the best. During her average men’s World Cup studio analysis, Foudy often trumpets the accomplishment of the women’s team and belittles the men, despite the fact that the two are on nowhere near equal playing fields. Saying things like “this is where so-and-so would bail us out” is her way of bailing out of giving thoughtful analysis. Like Solo said, it’s not 2004 anymore, or even 1999.

I feel sorry for Solo more than I feel embarrassed for her. She’s been the team’s undisputed No. 1 and has played like it for years, and under no circumstance, barring injury, should she be pulled in the World Cup semifinals. So she was pissed going in, and a folly-filled 4-0 loss to Brazil couldn’t have made things better. Aside from the World Cup and Olympics, women’s soccer players have little else to play for, so the pressure and expectations for an event like this must be immense. So Ryan’s taking the rug out from under her on the eve of her biggest game must have been difficult to handle, no matter what. That said, throwing the coach and Brianna Scurry under the bus after the game was uncalled for. Refreshingly candid, yes, but immature and in the heat of the moment too. Scurry didn’t make the decision and sure as hell as more hardware sitting on her mantle than Solo does, so to rub it in by saying she knew “for a fact” she would have made all those saves is criminal. The US failed to score, so all those magical Brazilians would have had to do was make sure she couldn’t save just one of those shots.

In the meantime, we should be hailing Brazil for their Joga Bonita. The men certainly don’t play like this, and I suspect Nike misfired with that campaign a year ago and the one they laid on the US this time. Enjoy:

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Call it a hunch

These aren’t the best of times for US Soccer. With the exception of two wins over Mexico, there hasn’t been a whole lot to cheer about from the US National Team over the last calendar year. The Copa America was an unmitigated disaster and USSF president Sunil Gulati should be taken to task on why he chose to send an experimental team that succeeded only in reaffirming the world’s perception of American soccer – that it isn’t any good. Factor in an unexpected loss by the Under-20’s against Austria in the quarterfinals of a tournament we legitimately had a chance of winning and the current results from the Under-17 World Cup in Korea (4-3 loss to Tajikistan and 3-1 loss to Tunisia. Yes, Tajikistan and Tunisia), and it’s hard not to argue that US Soccer could soon be undergoing radical changes.



My stance on Gulati is well-documented – or at least I thought it was, but I seem to be missing an old post on why Gulati bit the bullet on waiting forever to not hire Jurgen Klinsmann. A brief recap: the four years in between World Cups isn’t as long as it may seem, and losing time by not hiring a coach forced the team to miss six months without any direction. Worse yet, Gulati backed into it by naming Bob Bradley as an interim coach, further showing that he had little confidence in Bradley and not hiding the fact that he wanted to make a sexy, big-name hire. And wasting another six months, so were now up to a year. Bradley ran with the job as if it were permanent, much to his credit and lack of ego (after Bruce Arena, it was a nice change), and the results and fan pressure – and the lack of interest from bigger names – meant the job was all Bradley’s. We were happy – Bradley was the right man for the job, and through the Gold Cup victory celebrations, there wasn’t any reason to complain.

I’m not waffling on Bradley as the guy to lead the US team – I like him, and I like his approach to leading the team. He seems to have a knack for making do with what’s in front of him. Problem is, there just isn’t a lot in front of him for him to ultimately succeed, and that’s going to be his downfall. And that’s why I have a hunch that Sunil Gulati will be using this losing skid in American soccer as an excuse to make drastic changes, beginning with the top and working his way down to the youth programs.

It’s no secret Gulati wants to make American soccer better; nobody can fault him for that. It’s also no secret that he believes we need to look beyond our borders to make that happen; nobody can really fault him for that, either. If there was a time when he could point to a couple results and make his point, now’s probably the time.

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Seriously, Bob Bradley hates Heath Pearce

Preamble
Us American soccer fans are never happy – maybe it’s the fact that none of our teams play exactly to our liking, or the game was a friendly against mediocre opposition, or the team wasn’t our strongest, or the game got zero media coverage or having to put up with comments from those that don’t know the game. So forgive me if I’m not too excited about an August 22nd friendly in Sweden, during a time in which most leagues around the world are either wrapping up their preseason or just beginning the regular season. This game will most likely come and go on the overcrowded international soccer calendar – who would have ever thought we’d be more excited about Pachuca vs. Los Angeles next week? – but when a player says the best feeling is putting on the jersey and representing his country, we have to believe that and do our best to remember that, yes, as fans, we have a very important role too. If we don’t care about the international friendly against Sweden, or Catalonia, or Switzerland…why should anybody who doesn’t care about the sport either? With that said, I’d like to introduce you to Booked, the brainchild of, well, me. I hope to provide you with thoughtful and, at the very least, somewhat interesting analysis of American soccer, and I hope you become a member of this hopefully-growing community. The ultimate goal, like playing in a World Cup, is to start a real magazine dedicated to the sport and its fans, but like friendlies like today’s and qualifiers and all those “meaningless” games, the journey is just as important. Besides, there’s always room for one more website to rip on Landon Donovan.

-B



Prematch
We’re live from Gothenburg, Sweden, as the US plays its first match on European soil during the Bob Bradley Era and first since bowing out on an overcast day last year in Nuremburg. ESPN felt that the Little League World Series was more important than this friendly, and somehow Fox Soccer Channel managed to squeeze this in between reruns of classic AC Milan games (Milan-Deportivo, 2000!) and West Ham-Bolton (an aside: while I love FSC and appreciate them to death, can we A) get Nick Webster off our television screens and, more importantly, out of our sound-range, and B) relax on the bottom-tier of the Premiership coverage? And don’t get me started on the fact that you apparently need an accent – English, Scottish, Irish, Canadian, Argentinian…it doesn’t matter – to work there.)

There’s this thing now, that’s driving me wild, I gotta see what’s up, before it gets me down: I can’t really fault anything Bob Bradley has done with this team – my main beef would be with how USSF president Sunil Gulati handled the whole situation and, worse, had the audacity to approve these. But what’s with his loyalty to Jonny Bornstein? Isn’t the first year of a World Cup cycle to see who can help the team? Judging by things, left-back seems to be our second-most iffy position (the first being forwards who can score, obviously), but we rarely get a real good look at Heath Pearce. I mean, the guy has gotten very little favor on the way up from anyone with an American passport – he was one of the last cuts on both the U-17 and U-20 teams in 2001 and 2003, respectively; he went to Denmark and, with hard work, established himself as one of the top defenders there and now starts for Hansa Rostack in the Bundesliga. Is this all worth nothing? It’s like reverse-racism going on – This American boy is no good for us!! - or at least nepotism. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I’m not sold on Bornstein, although he has shown some good things. Since we play so many games in the US these days, why not give him those and then let Pearce see the field when we’re over in Europe?

P.S. I’m rambling because I am waiting for Brazil-Algeria to finish. Algeria?? The best part is Ronaldinho is now wearing #20 for the Samba Boys, which either means Dunga hates him more than we thought or that he’s twice as good as a #10.

Bob Bradley will have the US come out in a 4-15-1 formation today. Apparently his son isn’t enough, so we need Pablo Mastroeni to make risky tackles from behind and get sent off. I love Michael Bradley and all, but Jesus Christ! Can we stop with the sweeping of the opponents’ legs while sliding from five yards behind them?

The US actually comes out with a 4-4-2, according to FSC, but come on, we all know it’s really a 4-5-1 (even a 4-6-0 since we lack a true forward!). Dempsey and Donovan start up top on the graphic, but hopefully Landon drops to right midfield like where he’s been playing with the Galaxy. Who will play attacking midfielder? I’m guessing this will be our biggest downfall.

1st Minute: And, finally, we’re under way! Say what you want about MLS crowds, but there’s nobody in the stands tonight in Gothenburg either. The US is in all- white, Sweden in all-blue. No yellow?

2nd Minute Sweden nearly scores. After a giveaway by Bradley, Zlatan Ibrahimovic sets up his teammate who fires wide from the top of the box. Tim Howard is understandably upset.

3rd Minute What I’m about to say will surely be a surprise, but….Beasley misses the open net! While he didn’t blast it over this time, he does push the ball just wide after a great combination down the right flank by Dempsey and Feilhaber. One day, we’re going to have a replacement for Beasley that will be 10 times the player, and we’ll all giggle about the 7-8 years that Beez was the main man. Mark my word.

4th Minute He may be the cockiest dude on the planet, but Ibrahimovic is really, really good. And my god is he tall. He just played a one-touch ball down the line that was so simple and smooth, then appeared on the back post for the cross that was cleared away by Onyewu. It’s going to be great to see how Bocanegra and Gooch handle this guy. Max Bretos says he’s already “got his fangs out.” Um, okay.

7th Minute It’s not Cher-ooon-dolo, Max!

11th Minute My forecast that the US would be unable to hold the ball in the middle of the field has thus far rung true.

13th Minute The Swedes are respecting the US height in the middle of the defense. Already, three crosses of theirs have been driven low and hard. I think this is intentional.

14th Minute Ibrahimovic wrestles past Onyewu and has his first attempt stopped by Howard, then the second attempt towards an open net gets cleared by Gooch. Unreal. I mean, I know he’s good, but given my distaste for Italian soccer, I never see him anymore. He just tossed aside Bocanegra and Gooch with what I’d describe as “slippery strength.”

16th Minute Landon rips one from 30 yards out right at the Swedish keeper. Either he genuinely thought he could score from there (it was a hard, low shot on target, so I can’t fault him) or he’s been drooling too much over Beckham the last few weeks.

19th Minute You know, for all the negative reputations that Northern European teams get, these Swedes sure are fun to watch. They move the ball around well and, most importantly, quickly.

20th minute The US puts together a good string of play around the top of the box, but Bradley’s through ball doesn’t fall right for Feilhaber. Encouraging stuff.

22nd Minute My mom has my grandma call home every night to check in to make sure she’s okay – so she calls after every Tigers game finishes. Tonight, she was none too happy, as the Tigers lost to Cleveland 11-8. “Up and down, up and down!” she says. Is that cool or what?

27th Minute After Feilhaber’s golazo against Mexico, every US player thinks they can do the same. First, Bradley tried, now Beasley tried after a cleared corner. To his credit, Beasley’s effort was pretty good, it just ran into all kinds of bodies in front of it.

29th Minute Great, quick counter from the US. Beasley sends in a good, low cross that’s cleared, but settles for Bradley, who successfully smashes it wide. Max Bretos got excited and called him “DempseyBradley!” The last few minutes have been very positive for the US – good crosses, good movement and Landon has had a few opportunities out on that right wing. Playing up top, my ass!

31st Minute Timmy! Howard stuffs Ibrahimovic in a one-v-one, then later Zlatan recovers and then jumps over Cheroondolo (sic) and heads a cross off the crossbar, literally seconds later. I know I shouldn’t gush over a player who should have scored twice in five seconds on two different plays, but man is he good. Moments later, Kallstrom gets the games first booking. Booked! Unfortunately I can’t find the dots over the letters to do this guy’s name justice.

38th Minute Beasley runs the tightrope for what seems like 100 meters before he gets fouled. As he’s getting up, Bornstein plays the quick restart right to him, so Sweden gets a quick counter-attack. This time, Gooch does well against Zlatan and the US gets out of trouble. It’s stuff like this that goes unnoticed but changes games all the time.

40th Minute I’m really impressed by the high level of play from these two teams. It seems like there’s a corner kick every two minutes and there’s little mucking up in the middle of the park. Good excitement/

42nd Minute Cheroondolo gets away with a decision that could have gone either way, quite frankly. He chases down the last man and gets his body between the man and the ball. If this was a World Cup, Cheroondolo would have been sent off and there would have been a PK.

45th Minute Christopher Sullivan says this game will “open up” in the second half. Christ, it’s already a track meet. He also says the Swedes play direct, which to me always sounds like a backhanded compliment. They aren’t firing up long balls to the forwards, but that’s what “direct’ always sounds like. A lot of times, I wish announcers (especially ones who are watching on TV, just like us) would

Halftime If you think I’m worried that MLS has started a new magazine, think again. I would have bought it at Borders the other day, but the cover used two inks, black and cyan, while the inside was in full color. As a graphic designer, I was appalled, and have set my sights on destroying it.

And “The Clash of Champions” is September 9th in Chicago, in case you didn’t know. In addition to over-selling the event, when a simple “Brazil will play soccer in the United States!” would suffice, can we stop this tradition of naming events like they were exhibition tennis matches?

I could watch Zlatan play (and botch sitters) all day, but I hope he’s done after the first half. Honestly, this cat is out of control. He could have scored three in the first half alone, but as it stands, we’re still knotted up at nil-nil. He’s really the only Swede of note (and he’s Bosnian!) today, but he’s a one-man wrecking crew. How was Sweden, with him and Henrik Larsson, not do any better than they did???

46th Minute Beasley is now on the right, presumably because Feilhaber had a completed pass-to-turnover ratio of 1:8 in the first half. Meanwhile, Swedish television refused to announce to us that Bobby Convey is in the game, but for who? Hip-Hip-Hooray! We love Bobby! Good to see you back, Bobby! (I’m not being sarcastic – I really like Bobby and love the way he attacks defenders. It’s a rare trait in American players)

49th Minute Zlatan settles in the box but has his back to goal, so lays it back for Andersssssson, who nails it in the corner of the goal. Oh wait! Timmy Howard snared that, improbably. Great save. Back the other way, Sweden’s keeper does the same trick on Dempsey.

53rd Minute Unintentional Comedy Line of the Game: Chris Sullivan just calls Sweden “ethnic.”

55th Minute Meanwhile, Max Bretos says the attendance is just over 20,000 and “the place is packed.” We get it, Max, you aren’t broadcasting this one live from Sweden.

56th Minute GOAL! Out of nowhere Kim Kallstrom (Ajax, baby!) rips one past Howard. On the assist was #9, who does the old two-handed shove to clear away Cheroondolo and gets away with it you’d think about as well as he gets away with his comb-over. Sketchy no-call, as it clearly aided the shot. The US not winning nor getting calls in Europe…weird.

61st Minute Reason #1,543 why Landon Donovan shouldn’t play forward: He is always the guy, admirably, making a great run into the box, then gets a great cross that’s….a foot over his head because he’s too short.

64th Minute Jonathan Spector and Kamani Hill come in for Landon Donovan and Bornstein. Bretos almost nails the foreshadowing by mentioning how long Donovan will be able to play just seconds before the substitution happens. Moments later, Zlatan dances and plays an almost perfect ball into the middle of the box that the US just barely wins. And just like that, that’s the last we’ll see of this breathtaking player, as he’s substituted for Peter Forsberg (presumably)…my man-crush can officially subside. Actually, he’s replaced by a former Ajax guy, Markus Rosenberg, who probably isn’t much Swedish either.

76th Minute Jay DeMerit and Sal Zizzo (first cap) enter the game. Did you know Jay DeMerit was an unlikely success story, climbing through the ranks of English soccer and hit the big-time last year?! Me neither. Zizzo was an intriguing player at the U-20 World Cup in Canada, but I think I speak for everyone when I say I’d rather see Jozy Altidore out there out of anybody from that team. But Zizzo now plays for Hannover, so good for him. Getting a spot on a European team is great news for everyone when it comes to playing for the USA. Oh, except if your name happens to be Heath Pearce.

79th Minute I’m fading fast – live-blogging is hard work. Plus, I’m at close to 2,500 words! And this half has been decent, but not as exciting as the first half.

84th Minute DeMerit gets caught forward and, seconds later, is chasing a forward back. Luckily, the Swede misses the net.

90th Minute Kamani Hill and Cheroondolo work hard to keep possession on the right flank, a series that ultimately ends with Cheroondolo getting fouled. On the ensuing free kick, Convey’s ball is glanced towards Shabaan (sp?) by Bradley, and the keeper fumbles it but reclaims it just before Jay DeMerit sends the ball along with the Swede’s teeth into the net. Close one for the US.

Wrap-up
As I said in the intro, we American soccer fans are never happy. Sportswriters (and ESPN.com) will focus on the fact that the US losing streak has reached four games overall and is now up to 77 on European soil, but there were plenty of positives to glean from this one. The team didn’t bunker in and played in a very entertaining game, and created chances. But, as usual, they didn’t do much with those chances. Still, after the disappointing Copa America, it was nice to see a team that was competitive. Moral victories, or moral draws, aren’t worth much – except in international soccer friendlies! Bravo, lads! Bravo, fans!

Final: Sweden 1, USA 0

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