I was only able to watch part of the Slovenia game yesterday. I have been saying for some time
that I like Altidore, but he is not good enough to be a lone striker. In theory Klinsmann's 4-3-3
should put more guys forward, but the reality was that the wingers played more defensive roles and
Altidore was left to do the attacking work himself.
I know it was just a friendly. I know it wasn't the full team. I know it doesn't mean anything.
Yet I still found myself feeling a bit like Wesley in the Pit of Despair, torture device and
all.
The real agony is not in losing 1-0 to Costa Rica in a friendly. Nor is it Ian Darke's
insistence on referring to them as Honduras.
Sorry for the lag in postings. Been busy and away. Logging in remotely now. I had planned a
longer post on how much I liked Bradley, why I thought it was time for a change anyway, and why I
thought it wouldn't happen regardless. Guess I was wrong. US Soccer sacked Bradley yesterday and
apparently will be announcing his replacement today.
Amazing how refreshing a good cleanse can be.
Tonight's victory over Canada in the Gold Cup washes away the ugly filth of the Spanish drubbing
from the weekend. The US team that showed up tonight bore no resemblance to the ramshackle crew
assembled against Spain. Granted, Canada is far from the stiffest competition in the world (which
is precisely what Spain is), but the play of the US team tonight was inspiring, regardless of
opponent.
Saturday's game proved once again that a determined Spaniard always gets their revenge.
Grant Wahl tweeted before kick-off that Spain was resting so many starters that it was like
going to see the Beatles with Ringo doing all the singing. Well, if Spain was a Ringo-only Beatles,
the US was more like a full strength Rebecca Black.
In 2009, the US pulled an historic upset, beating Spain, the best team in the world, in a
semi-final of the Confederations Cup. Though I saw the result first-hand, what kept coming to my
mind was the inimitable Vizzini from Princess Bride saying "Inconceivable!"
In advance of the next meeting of these two teams, scheduled for this Saturday, the line that
instead comes to me is when Fezzik showed up at Miracle Max's door and said, "I'm on the Brute
Squad.
Bob Bradley announced his roster selection for the Gold Cup today. Full squad is below. Notable
exclusions include Timothy Chandler and Alejandro Bedoya. Apparently they wanted to give Chandler a
rest, but otherwise would have selected him. Bedoya apparently got passed up for Robbie
Rodgers.
I finally had the opportunity to see Tim Ream play in person when the Nerb (New York Red Bulls)
faced the Gals (LA Galaxy) at the HDC a couple of weeks ago. I was truly impressed. Unlike most MLS
defenders, he took his time distributing the ball out of the back. And he didn't just boot it or
pass it off.
MLS recently announced the signing of Benny Feilhaber from AGF Aarhus of the Danish second
division. Feilhaber has been a regular sub for the USMNT, often adding a needed jolt of energy to
the midfield late in games. He was getting some playing time in Denmark, so this move may not have
a huge impact on his role with the national team.
Here's how American players did overseas over the weekend.
Goalkeepers:
Tim Howard made four saves and earned his seventh clean sheet of the season in Everton's 3-0
victory over Wolverhampton. Brad Friedel also got his sixth clean sheet of the season in Aston
Villa's 1-0 win over Newcastle.
Every Monday, I'll be posting how Americans did in matches over-broad over the weekend.
GOALKEEPERS:
-Tim Howard played the full 90 in Everton's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. With the draw, Everton
climbed to their highest position in the league this season. Brad Guzan played the full 90 in Hull
City's 1-0 lost against Millwall.
Andy Najar is the 18-year old winger, already believed by some to be one of DC United's best
players. He had an impressive first season, making 28 appearances and scoring 5 goals. That
performance created a lot of buzz, particularly because he is a US resident on a path to
citizenship and could play for the USMNT or for his home country, Honduras.
Sorry I have not posted this sooner. I've had one of the worst weeks in terms of schoolwork.
Bradley started off the game was a 4-2-3-1 formation that was mostly ineffective. I don't know
why Bradley tries this formation. It has not worked well for us in the past, and Bradley still
hasn't gotten the starting XI right.
Hopefully Michael will give a more detailed post-game analysis. But to me there are two
takeaways from the US draw with Argentina tonight. First, that we are better off with a 4-4-2 than
a 4-2-3-1. Second, that the second half of the 2 should be Juan Agudelo.
The first half was like a bad display of catenaccio for the US.
I had the incredible opportunity to interview international superstar Tony Meola this morning.
Meola was one of the few American players to make it over to Europe in the 90s and had starting
roles for both the USMNT and MetroStars, among others.
Meola is participating in some events in advance of the Argentina game tomorrow (see details
below) and we had a chance to talk about the match.
