Don't count them out yet: US U-20 trounces Cameroon

The US responded to their lackluster performance (0-3) against Germany with an equally (positively) impressive 4-1 win over African powerhouse Cameroon. First, I will not react to this prematurely. I saw patches of the match (30% of it, really), but what I saw today was a team vastly different from the one that played against Germany last Saturday. For all the doubters and non-believers, myself included, the team showed composed, dangerous and happy. Rookie mistakes abound and Opara's silly foul and conceded penalty is a reminder of this. They are under 20 after all.

Most notably in today's match against Cameroon was the inclusion of Bryan Arguez and Dily Duka (my favorite name right now). Both came on as substitutes versus Germany but emerged as starters today. And both showed why they should be on the pitch from now on for this team. Arguez plays his trade in Germany with Hertha Berlin, although he has been less than impressive with the Bavarian squad and mostly plays with the reserves. Duka is at Rutgers. Yes, as in New Jersey's university. I can see Arguez moving out of Hertha (perhaps on loan) and Duka also finding a good team (if he chooses to skip out on the next two years of college). Ownby and Taylor added to the score. Ownby was killed by the US soccer media and it's nice to see him respond with a goal.

In the end, they were all great goals and fun to watch. No highlights here but you can go to the FIFA site instead. Up next is difficult Korea, which tied Germany 1-1 today. Right now, as in the Olympics of last year, the US is in control of its own destiny. A win against Korea will send them through to the next round. The match should be about defense and avoiding mistakes. Korea will be looking for a win as well. It might be nice to see this modest American team shush its criticizers for once. Good luck.

USA-Nigeria: so much for the afterlife

Mistakes that cost us a trip to the history books: needles fouls, two at the end of the game versus Holland (one by Bradley to see him miss tonight's fateful game and one by Holden that set up the tying free kick), then another one by Orozco in the beginning of tonight's game that saw a red and left team USA with 10 men and zero options. Missing Adu also hurt since Kljestan was lonely in the midfield and Feilhaber was useless when he stepped in for Altidore (?). It is clear to me now that Adu and Bradley are important pieces of the American puzzle for our future outlooks, that more discipline on the pitch is needed, and that our over 23 players like Donovan, Beasley, Bocanegra, Onyewu, Dempsey and even Eddie Johnson still have a job and for pete's sake... give us something to be proud of in the qualifiers!
So last night I went to be before 10, did not sleep well and woke up around 3:30, saw a terrible game until Nigeria scored its second goal and then went back to bed. Much better now physically but hurt mentally just like Jamie Trecker's rants and Steve Goff's subtle report on the game. We, as I stated in the last post, had our hands on history and all we needed was a measly tie. It slipped away from us like the Titan's last play in the 2000 SuperBowl or the Cubbies' fateful ball [that Alou could have caught] in 2003 in the Bartman incident or like Ecuador's near-historic win in Argentina on a June 2008 night that allowed a tie the very last second of the game in stoppage time.
Today is a sad day in sports, folks. Let's carry on with everyday duties.

Olympic Dreamz

That's right, the "z" is to get people's attention because that's what this US Olympic team deserves. From Jamie Trecker's lukewarm, although generally positive overview of the game to Ives Galarcep's excitement with the realization the potential of this squad, to an impressed Spanish-speaking media liking the team's chances, the US Olympic team's 2-2 tie versus Holland in the second game of group play was nothing short of spectacular although with a sobering end. Granted, I was only able to watch 60% of the game due to DVR malfunction, I saw enough to be happy with the style of play and the lack of stage fright and lack of respect for their foe (yes, I said it). It's important for these youngsters to realize that, as Trecker put it, this isn't the famed clockwork orange that trounced World Cup finalists Italy and France. This was another U-23 team just like them. As I like to say to people when I discuss soccer comptetitions: when it's not the full national team playing all bets are off. That is why Nigeria won the Olympic tournament in Atlanta and why Mexico's U-17 won that tournament.
Back to the Americans: Flashes of glory from the Freddy Adu we all had such high hopes for back in 2003, Altidore's opportunistic brilliance, Kljestan's masterful play, Bradley's presence, Holden's quick moves, Parkhurst's steadiness, Wynne's pace, all came together in a spectacular performance. I was, thankfully, able to catch some of the highlights online even though youtube isn't allowed to broadcast. This, I feel, is one of the most important results for the national team to date. Here they have laid the groundwork for an appearance in the quarterfinals and a chance for glory on the olympic podium. It's close to what they did in 2002 when they reached the quarterfinals. Now only Nigeria remains in the horizon. This Wednesday morning at 5AM ET the game will be broadcast on USA network of the Olympic soccer HD channel if you have that. DVRs are a plus but make sure you set it correctly and allow for overtime, etc. We will be missing Bradley and Adu, the engines of our midfield, but Nigeria will be missing key defenders as well. It's time for Kljestan to show just how good he is and why he belongs in Europe. Feilhaber has a shot at redemption in what is a likely start for him. Szetela is another player to watch in place of Bradley. To me this game is like US-Mexico in 2002. So much is at stake and so much is to gain. A tie or a win sends the US to quarterfinals. Losing is not good enough unless Holland fails to win against Japan. Enjoy and succumb to your superstitions.

MLS Attendance stats week 19

Amidst constant squabbling between clubs and national sides and FIFA's position being overturned by outside forces (Sports oversight committee), I bring you a new installment of MLS attendance statistics. Hopefully Messi will be able to play with Argentina and we can have a tournament for the ages. Given that, MLS goes on and attendance numbers are beginning to lean to the positive end for more and more teams as the Becks circus visits town. DCU's faithful still show up in strong numbers (18K) and TFC enjoys the usual full house. Chicago also saw a full house with "el emperador" Claudio Suarez facing off against Blanco. The Fire's numbers have enjoyed a nice upswing this season with constant numbers and a 500+ difference from the end of last season. Adding McBride to the mix at the end of the month will keep the numbers up.

This week's emphasis will once again be a look at the medians. This time I created a plot that compares Median vs Average for the Western conference.









I'm also adding the general median numbers for both conferences in high definition (just click for a full page view) to put everything in perspective. As always, general numbers are constantly updated every week and are on the right column... just scroll and enjoy!

Another Olympic Failure*?

Amidst talks of clubs not allowing some of their players to participate in the U-23 Olympic tournament, new questions have been raised about the validity of the tournament and the relationship between the Olympic Committee and FIFA. Mainly Brazilian-based players Diego and Rafinha are affected at this point. Kaka was rotundly negated permission by AC Milan to join the Brazilian squad even though it was his personal wish to be at the tournament. Keep in mind that the Olympics are the only major tournament Brazil has never won.
Deportes de Primera radio hosts on XM Deportivo suggested that either the Olympic tournament would whither away by losing its rank in the top soccer competitions or FIFA would have to flex its muscle to intervene and make sure that teams cede their U-23 players. Such players include big names like Alexandre Pato, Lionel Messi and even our own Jozy Altidore. Another important thing to remember is that European clubs are weary of exhaustion for the players and potential injuries that would hamper a teams' chances in domestic play. In addition, teams have already dealt with the significant involvement of their more experienced players in Euro 2008 and world cup qualifying in the other confederations. Added to this is the fact that Olympic play starts near the end of summer break and at the beginning of the season for major European leagues. Jozy Altidore risks being out of contention for a spot in the first team for Villareal if he's on duty at the Olympics.
So what should the answer be? Make it official (FIFA) that all teams should cede their U-23 players for Olympic play. There are also 3 overage players that can participate in the event. I would hope those could be at a team's discretion. All that said, I hope FIFA can come to terms with this situation and we can have an enjoyable tourney. Argentina looks set to win it all as long as the players they called get to participate. Their team is absolutely loaded with the likes of Messi and Aguero leading a team that boasts overage players Juan Riquelme, Javier Mascherano and Nicolas Burdisso.
Enjoy the games (we hope).
*Olympic failure refers to Mexico's elimination at the qualifying stage. It was the term used by Mexican officials and what cost Hugo Sanchez his job. They tied Canada, lost to Guatemala and only managed +4 goals against Haiti.

Defectors

Surprise surprise. The Cuban national team has lost seven of their 18-man roster for the current CONCACAF Olympic Games qualifiers and itwo days later faced their Honduran counterparts with 10 men on the field (their 11th had been ejected in the prior game). So why all the fuss? Well, politics aside, the situation made the qualifiers very complicated in an unnecessary way. At one point you had the possibility of the team having to forfeit its games, which would given Honduras and Panama an unfair advantage of 3 points and 3 goals in favor. The US would be left with 1 point in what was increasingly being recognized as an unfair situation. Then there is the matter that the morning after the defectors left the Cuban camp, when the CONCACAF delegations got together to discuss the situation, the US contingent was nowhere to be found. I heard on XM Deportivo that the other delegations felt the US organization was up to its "looking-over-the-shoulder" ways in reference to the other (smaller) national teams. I must be fair to say that they also mentioned the FMF (Mexicans) opted for the same kind of gesture. In any case, the predicament at hand did not seem to influence USF directly, nor was any decisive action taken. Instead, the match with Honduras was allowed to proceed. In the end, however, Cuba's sports debauchery (in personal terms I can't blame the players) did not affect the final standings in group A. CONCACAF was able to go past this incident and will at least have it as a reminder/example for the future. In simple terms I don't think the Cuban team should have allowed to remain in the competition since this was detrimental to the players themselves. This is not a club tournament where we can easily scapegoat investors and technical directors and coaches alike. This was a competition with young players looking to show their capabilities in Beijing. And now we see that our final four are Honduras, Guatemala and the USA/Canada portion of the CONCACAF. Interesting. In terms of the USA having a lackluster showing and the incredible failure of the Mexican team to even get past the group stage, we're left with this question.... Regarding other teams (i.e. not USA or Mexico), are they that good or are we that bad? We'll get back to that question in the next blog.