Ben Olsen - Most popular for 2007
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Watching last night's game has me feeling a lot like right about Red Bull New York and DC United -
though more about the latter than the former. As you'll see in the (barely coherent) notes
transcribed below, I'm thinking DC is rounding into their formula. On a very basic level, the
secret of DC's success [...]
There are a lot of things going right for United. Perkins has regained his form, the emergence
of McTavish and Burch, the gold tinted boots of Emilio... but perhaps the biggest thing going right
for United right now is Ben Olsen. If I had to pick United's Player of the Year, it would be Ben.
When I first saw him on the wing against CD Olimpia, I thought it was a stop-gap measure at best, a
horrible mistake at worst.
Hey people. Sorry I've been AWOL for a bit, but with the lack of real news to report, I've been
directly my attention towards baseball, and my Washington Nationals blog. Anyway, here's a rundown
of what's happened since we were summarily booted out of the postseason.
DC United Record (W-L-T): 16-7-7; 56 GF, 34 GA Source Material: Schedule/match reports; roster
Overview Somewhere down in the mid-summer recesses of this blog, I dubbed DC United the best team
in Major League Soccer (MLS). Just to suggest, at least, that I'm not a lazy sack, I tried to
find that post.
D.C. United 3 : 1 New York Red BullsJAMIE MORENO BECOMES MLS CAREER GOALS LEADER WITH 109
Six Word Novel Recap
Record is a comma, not period.
Media, Traditional and OtherwiseThe Washington Post, Steve Goff: "Moreno's historic strike came on
a night when United (11-6-3) scored twice in the first eight minutes, endured New York's intense
pressure and Juan Pablo Angel's goal midway through the half, then secured its fourth consecutive
MLS victory to move within three points of first-place New England in the Eastern Conference.
I'm a bit pressed for time at the moment, and as I'm running about a lap shy of the rest of the
futbol blogiverse, I'll make this the condensed, quickfire highlights version of the match recap
for United's 3-1 victory over the Metrotards. To whit:
- Ben Olsen - Metrobull Slayer - Can Beninho honestly do any more to endear himself to United
fans?
A lot happened in the final 30 of the Chicago Fire's tighter-than-a-preacher's-butt win over DC
United - as much as the game as I caught after getting home from work, picking up the kids, feeding
the kids, etc. While that shortened viewing time limits my ability to speak to big concepts like
Justice (upper-case? [...]
The MLS has suspended Ben Olsen for the game @ RBNY by virtue of too many yellow cards, even though
Benny's only got four. No one knows the real reasons behind Benny's suspension and if Goff knows,
he's not telling.
Eddie Johnson still might be headed to the Premier League. Rumors have revived because Darby gaffer
Billy Davies has suddenly become outspoken with his praise for the American international.
Before we get to those players who shamefully "filled their pants" this summer for the Red, White,
and Blue, lets take a step back and take a look at the big picture. Sure we had individuals put on
some good displays, as well as some who were, shall we say, less than good - but what did we learn
about the player pool as a whole?
1. Some Surprises
Bradley made a few surprising call-ups, particularly with his Copa roster, and the results were a
real mixed bag.
For some reason Bob Bradley as I write this has yet to submit his squad for Sunday's friendly
versus Brazil at Soldier Field in Chicago. Based on recent performances in MLS two specific
National Team veterans need to get a long look from Bradley with World Cup Qualifying around the
corner next year.
Benny Olsen performance at Copa America alone should merit another call up for him.
D.C. United 4 : 1 Toronto FC
Six Word Novel Recap
Five quality goals; only four enjoyable.
Media, Traditional and Otherwise The Washington Post, The Bog Man: "After being greeted with
enthusiastic ovations from an announced crowd of 25,174 [coming on as subs in 2nd half], Moreno and
Olsen immediately created a dangerous chance, with Olsen heading Moreno's cross back in front of
the goal to Christian Gomez.
TiVo is amazing, so first let me expand on DCU's loss. (Don't kid yourselves: any time a team gives
up three goals over the course of fourty minutes, it's a loss.)
After singing his praises, Perkins let us down. His form not only regressed from last week, but it
regressed over the course of those ninety minutes.
I'll be specific: he gifted FC Dallas their first (not second) and third goals.
And lo - the Bearded Bombardier,
Will punish the legions of Frisco.
And the black-clad midfield,
Will rain goals upon their hoopéd foe.
Witness the triumph of the Crossing Machine!
Arguably the two best midfields in all of MLS met last night in Frisco, but it was the gulf in
defensive quality that turned the tide. Dallas came out strong and despite being rocked by an early
laser from distance by Benny "the Bearded Bombardier" Olsen, they carried the play for the the
majority of the first half.
It's All Saints Day, doncha know? Before getting to the good stuff - e.g. the stuff about soccer -
I've got to pass on something funny about trick-or-treating last night. In case you don't know, I
live in Hillsboro, Oregon, a suburb of Portland with a heavy Hispanic population. I did go out as
a nun [...]
Neal Thurman over at the American Soccer Daily (a reputable read; I enjoy it) have just published
an article explaining how Houston's phenomenal depth is one of the keys to its recent success. I
read three paragraphs into this article and before I knew it, I was back here, composing a
retributive post.
I feel goaded.
Thurman compares today's Houston to the DCU of old, that oft-heralded squad which has established
DC United as the gold standard of MLS prestige.
Who expected that? DCU has been hot as of lately, the team finally showing some awareness of one
another, and Perkins has been perfectly good. But against an FC Dallas side in sore need of a win,
at their home stadium, with Denilson just waiting to make a big impression... I didn't dare dream
we'd notch our biggest road win since 1998. What a shutout.
You may be thinking "Conor Casey called up to the US Men's National Team?" and I can't blame
you. But that's what Kartik over at Major League Soccer is calling for, Ben Olsen and Conor Casey
to be called up by the USMNT coach Bob Bradley. I don't have a problem with Olsen. I have 2 issues
with Conor Casey being called up.
The first issue is the quality of play, or lack of it, that we've seen out of Casey.
Despite all of the possession, all of the chances created, and a generally impressive outing from
the "B" squad, the US manages to lose again by a significant margin. And why? Because we seem to
have a squad-wide case of finishing-itis, with Ricardo Clark being the only one seemingly immune to
the disease. With the loss, the US is all but guaranteed another three-and-out in a major
tournament as they will have to absolutely punish Colombia by a big margin (unlikely given the
state of US shooting) and hope for favorable results elsewhere in order to advance.
Tickle
- US U-20's drop six on Poland. Six goals! By a US side in an international competition! And it's
not the women! There were some real gems as well - maybe they could teach the senior side a thing
or two about finishing?
- Speaking of quality goals, there were some beautiful "bulges in the ol' onion bag" in the
Uruguay-Spain match as well.
"I don't know. There wasn't a lot of controversy today. D.C. won."
- classy New England forward Taylor Twellman speaks the truth
"...Kenny had won the ball and was about to move on and Olsen kicked his back leg. It was clear as
day, but the ref moved on."
- punk-ass Revolution thug...sorry - defender - Jay Heaps (of Manure) making excuses as
usual
Just a few things that stuck to my admittedly well-lubricated brain yesterday:
At its worst, last night's Eastern Conference semifinal between DC United and the Chicago Fire
looked like a pugnacious midfield scrum in which every ball seemed 50-50, not unlike an endless
series of drop-balls put in play by an angry god. Think a lower-tier game in the English Premier
League, but without the skill. [...]
Beckham's first goal was a bit of magic. Everyone in that stadium read him to be kicking the
classic Beckham swinger: over the wall, curving gently, just brushing the near post in it's short
journey to the top corner. Not so, said Beckham, and the ball flew the other way and into the goal.
Not much anyone could do about that, except prevent conceding the free kick in the first place.
I'll get to Golden Balls in a bit. First let's do a proper United Recap shall we? GOD DAMN OUR
FINISHING DISEASE!!! Seriously. Benny and Emiligol both had wide open chances in the first 15
minutes and failed to put them on frame. We should have been 2-0 up and cruising at that point. The
real shame is that we weren't getting enough shots on goal as Emiligol showed that good things
happen when you put the keeper under pressure.
For some reason Bob Bradley as I write this has yet to submit his squad for Sunday's friendly
versus Brazil at Soldier Field in Chicago. Based on recent performances in MLS two specific
National Team veterans need to get a long look from Bradley with World Cup Qualifying around the
corner next year.
Benny Olsen performance at Copa America alone should merit another call up for him.
from Because I Think Way Too Much About Soccer...
D.C. United 2 : 1 CD GuadalajaraDC United leads 2-1 on aggregate after first leg.
Six Word Novel Recap
Down a man, up a goal.
Media, Traditional and Otherwise The Washington Post, The Bog Man: "Despite playing a man down for
the second half, United held off an unrelenting Chivas attack to emerge with a 2-1 advantage in
front of a split crowd of 21,022.
Vous avez lu l'histoire du diable?
Comment il joué, comment il a-t-il marqué?
Ca vous a plus hein vous en d'mandez encore
et bien ecoutez l'histoire de Benny et Clyde.
Alors voila Clyde et l'arrière droit vétéran:
Il a une barbe et son surnom c'est Olsen.
a eux deux ils forment le gang unie
leurs noms Clyde, Christian, Fred et Benny.
RFK was rockin' as DC United managed a 2-1 victory in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie with
Big Papa Chivas in the Copa Sudamericana. United managed to win despite going a man down in the
first half as Marc Burch saw his second yellow under questionable circumstances. At the time,
United was up 1-0 on a laser from distance by the Bearded Bombardier.
