FIFA, USA & Quarters
> Before I get to the USA I have to comment on FIFA President Sepp Blatter. For some reason Blatter saw fit to apologize to both England and Mexico after the referees cost them good goals.
Excuse me?
Where was that when we were screwed not once, but twice? For us it was FIFA enjoys the human element and will not comment on blown calls. Now Sepp says “It would be nonsense to not reopen the file of technology.” Apparently when a blown call affects the English things have to change.
But as with all things FIFA they aren’t really going to address the problem. Their plan is to institute “goal-line technology” which would only deal with situations where the ball does or does not cross the goal line. To me that’s not even close to as big of a problem as on/off sides is. But Sepp doesn’t think so and said “With calls like in the Mexico game, we don't need technology.”
Oh really?
So the plan is to have replay for a scenario that rarely occurs and ignore the situation that happens all the time? Um…ok…if you say so. The solution to this dilemma is so simple I can’t even believe it’s never been broached. Just adopt the NHL model and replay every single solitary goal.
When a goal is scored in soccer there is always at least a minute break in the action while the players celebrate and the ball is placed back at midfield. In that minute 90% of replays could be done with no interruption at all since most goals are obviously good.
For the 10% that require a further look soccer already has the perfect system in place…its called injury time. If you need 10 minutes to look at the replay to determine off sides, hand ball or foul/non-foul just add 10 minutes of injury time. And while a 10 minute delay would certainly disrupt the flow of the game, no one is going to complain as long as the correct call is made.
So there you have it Mr. Blatter, I’ve solved your problem and all it will require is an extra ref or two upstairs to review the replays. No extra cameras, micro chipped balls or infrared beams. Just common sense, which I guess is in short supply at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland.
> As for the USA-Ghana match we looked tired right from the start and were out hustled for the majority of the first half. We were semi-sharp right up until we conceded another early goal (5th minute). After that tally we looked shell-shocked until about the final 8 minutes of the first half where we started to turn it on again.
In the second half we looked like our normal back to the wall selves, being aggressive and making plays all over the pitch. Then after we equalized in the 62nd minute we started to coast again and it looked for all the world to me like we were just playing for extra time.
Then when we gave up the early goal to Asamoah Gyan in extra time (a tremendous strike in the 93rd minute) we just flat out didn’t have the legs to come back again. And therein lied the problem with this team; playing from behind all the time wears you out in a tournament setting. Some of that is obviously on the refs, such as Clint Dempsey’s disallowed goal in the 21st minute against Algeria. If that one is called good (like it should have been) we can sit back and play defense the rest of the match. But against Slovenia we had no excuse, and in both instances we had to push and push to get a result and it left us dead-legged against Ghana.
I’ve generally been very complementary of Yank manager Bob Bradley, but against the Black Stars he made a major mistake starting Ricardo Clark. Clark was mostly responsible for the first goal giving the ball away at midfield and starting a counterattack. However keeper Tim Howard was also inexplicably caught out of position and definitely should have made that save.
There has been a lot of talk about how we got zero goals from our forwards, which leads me to the other big mistake Bradley made; sticking with Robbie Findley as a starter for every match he was available. Findley’s finishing touch is non-existent and Edson Buddle or Herculez Gomez offered a little more finishing polish. Big picture wise I think Jozy Altidore played very well (he set up 2 of our 5 goals) but he just had no help up top. This is where we REALLY missed Charlie Davies (car accident). Davies has Findley’s speed and a better finishing touch than Altidore. (Oh well, I guess I could mention Giuseppe Rossi here too, but I won’t).
The bottom line is we should have won that match. No ifs ands or buts about it. We dropped from 13th to 19th in the SPI and blew a golden opportunity to make it to the semifinals. But the biggest shame of all is that the team had a chance to hold the entire country’s collective attention for another six to ten days and let it slip right through their fingers.
> As for the future of USA soccer on the road to the “Brazil Invitational” in 2014 we are in decent shape but do have some questions. First is manager. If Bradley wants to be back, I’m fine with that, but I also wouldn’t mind a big international name like Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) or Ruud Gullit (Holland). In fact we might benefit from a foreign voice/view.
The biggest unknown has to be defense where our three best players (Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo & Jay DeMerit) will all be 35…or too old for the World Cup. Oguchi Onyewu and Clarence Goodson will be 32, which is borderline. That leaves the Jonathan’s (Spector, 28 & Bornstein, 29) as the only two guys from this roster who will be in their prime in 2014…uh-oh.
We will be fine in the midfield as Michael Bradley (27), Maurice Edu (28), Dempsey (31) and Landon Donovan (32) should all be ok for 2014. Even better is that Benny Feilhaber (29), Stuart Holden (29) and José Torres (26) will still be in the mix too.
Forward is a different story though. While Altidore (24) will certainly be back his running mate will still be a question. Findley (29) and Davies (28) will have their chances but Robbie has to improve a lot and Charlie may never regain his form. Who knows, maybe Freddy Adu (25) will be ready by then. As for goalie Tim Howard’s (35) spot is secure if he still wants it at that point.
> Quarterfinals…(SPI rank precedes)
4. Holland v 1. Brazil – I’m not sure the Dutch defense is stout enough to contain Kaka and company for a full 90, but I’m going with an upset here; Oranje 2-1 in extra time.
6. Uruguay v 30. Ghana – Diego Forlan and La Celeste show the USA how it’s done sending the Black Stars home 2-0.
2. Argentina v 5. Germany – There is bad blood between these two sides, and some serious cumulative talent as well, which should make for a very entertaining and intense match. I think the difference will be the defense of Die Mannschaft; Germany 2-1.
18. Paraguay v 3. Spain – David Villa and company will be too much for Paraguay to handle; La Furia Roja 3-0.
Excuse me?
Where was that when we were screwed not once, but twice? For us it was FIFA enjoys the human element and will not comment on blown calls. Now Sepp says “It would be nonsense to not reopen the file of technology.” Apparently when a blown call affects the English things have to change.
But as with all things FIFA they aren’t really going to address the problem. Their plan is to institute “goal-line technology” which would only deal with situations where the ball does or does not cross the goal line. To me that’s not even close to as big of a problem as on/off sides is. But Sepp doesn’t think so and said “With calls like in the Mexico game, we don't need technology.”
Oh really?
So the plan is to have replay for a scenario that rarely occurs and ignore the situation that happens all the time? Um…ok…if you say so. The solution to this dilemma is so simple I can’t even believe it’s never been broached. Just adopt the NHL model and replay every single solitary goal.
When a goal is scored in soccer there is always at least a minute break in the action while the players celebrate and the ball is placed back at midfield. In that minute 90% of replays could be done with no interruption at all since most goals are obviously good.
For the 10% that require a further look soccer already has the perfect system in place…its called injury time. If you need 10 minutes to look at the replay to determine off sides, hand ball or foul/non-foul just add 10 minutes of injury time. And while a 10 minute delay would certainly disrupt the flow of the game, no one is going to complain as long as the correct call is made.
So there you have it Mr. Blatter, I’ve solved your problem and all it will require is an extra ref or two upstairs to review the replays. No extra cameras, micro chipped balls or infrared beams. Just common sense, which I guess is in short supply at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland.
> As for the USA-Ghana match we looked tired right from the start and were out hustled for the majority of the first half. We were semi-sharp right up until we conceded another early goal (5th minute). After that tally we looked shell-shocked until about the final 8 minutes of the first half where we started to turn it on again.
In the second half we looked like our normal back to the wall selves, being aggressive and making plays all over the pitch. Then after we equalized in the 62nd minute we started to coast again and it looked for all the world to me like we were just playing for extra time.
Then when we gave up the early goal to Asamoah Gyan in extra time (a tremendous strike in the 93rd minute) we just flat out didn’t have the legs to come back again. And therein lied the problem with this team; playing from behind all the time wears you out in a tournament setting. Some of that is obviously on the refs, such as Clint Dempsey’s disallowed goal in the 21st minute against Algeria. If that one is called good (like it should have been) we can sit back and play defense the rest of the match. But against Slovenia we had no excuse, and in both instances we had to push and push to get a result and it left us dead-legged against Ghana.
I’ve generally been very complementary of Yank manager Bob Bradley, but against the Black Stars he made a major mistake starting Ricardo Clark. Clark was mostly responsible for the first goal giving the ball away at midfield and starting a counterattack. However keeper Tim Howard was also inexplicably caught out of position and definitely should have made that save.
There has been a lot of talk about how we got zero goals from our forwards, which leads me to the other big mistake Bradley made; sticking with Robbie Findley as a starter for every match he was available. Findley’s finishing touch is non-existent and Edson Buddle or Herculez Gomez offered a little more finishing polish. Big picture wise I think Jozy Altidore played very well (he set up 2 of our 5 goals) but he just had no help up top. This is where we REALLY missed Charlie Davies (car accident). Davies has Findley’s speed and a better finishing touch than Altidore. (Oh well, I guess I could mention Giuseppe Rossi here too, but I won’t).
The bottom line is we should have won that match. No ifs ands or buts about it. We dropped from 13th to 19th in the SPI and blew a golden opportunity to make it to the semifinals. But the biggest shame of all is that the team had a chance to hold the entire country’s collective attention for another six to ten days and let it slip right through their fingers.
> As for the future of USA soccer on the road to the “Brazil Invitational” in 2014 we are in decent shape but do have some questions. First is manager. If Bradley wants to be back, I’m fine with that, but I also wouldn’t mind a big international name like Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) or Ruud Gullit (Holland). In fact we might benefit from a foreign voice/view.
The biggest unknown has to be defense where our three best players (Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo & Jay DeMerit) will all be 35…or too old for the World Cup. Oguchi Onyewu and Clarence Goodson will be 32, which is borderline. That leaves the Jonathan’s (Spector, 28 & Bornstein, 29) as the only two guys from this roster who will be in their prime in 2014…uh-oh.
We will be fine in the midfield as Michael Bradley (27), Maurice Edu (28), Dempsey (31) and Landon Donovan (32) should all be ok for 2014. Even better is that Benny Feilhaber (29), Stuart Holden (29) and José Torres (26) will still be in the mix too.
Forward is a different story though. While Altidore (24) will certainly be back his running mate will still be a question. Findley (29) and Davies (28) will have their chances but Robbie has to improve a lot and Charlie may never regain his form. Who knows, maybe Freddy Adu (25) will be ready by then. As for goalie Tim Howard’s (35) spot is secure if he still wants it at that point.
> Quarterfinals…(SPI rank precedes)
4. Holland v 1. Brazil – I’m not sure the Dutch defense is stout enough to contain Kaka and company for a full 90, but I’m going with an upset here; Oranje 2-1 in extra time.
6. Uruguay v 30. Ghana – Diego Forlan and La Celeste show the USA how it’s done sending the Black Stars home 2-0.
2. Argentina v 5. Germany – There is bad blood between these two sides, and some serious cumulative talent as well, which should make for a very entertaining and intense match. I think the difference will be the defense of Die Mannschaft; Germany 2-1.
18. Paraguay v 3. Spain – David Villa and company will be too much for Paraguay to handle; La Furia Roja 3-0.
posted by D$ at 3:43 PM
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