Charlie Davies: American Hero

It suffices to say that by now the American soccer community is aware of Charlie Davies' medical struggle. "Chuck D" suffered a car accident during the early hours of October 13th that included an unfortunate fatality. He underwent six hours of surgery for fractured bones in his right leg, left elbow and cheek bones, added to a lacerated bladder. US Soccer staff and the doctors involved were unable to project a timeline for recovery and if and when Davies would get back on the pitch.

This story has really hit home for me on a very personal level. I too was involved in a catastrophic accident and pulled out of it through sheer act of will and help from family and friends. My injuries were neurological and thus less efficiently treated. I can only hope that Charlie's injuries remain musculoskeletal in nature. He is an athlete and is more than capable of fighting through injury. Added to this is the significant amount of rehab he has access to as a professional soccer player. And friends and family and fans in America, Sweden, France, the world will be with Charlie.


We will miss him on the pitch in South Africa. We will miss his happiness with the ball, his fighting spirit, his lighting pace, his resilient nature, his patented smirk, his one-two punch with Jozy, his stanky leg. But he will return, rest assured. We will see him play in Brazil in 2014. He will score the goals that will get us there. He will be our stallion on the field. He will be our American hero.

To win away from home

It's tough. No doubt about it. And Wednesday's matches for the last chance to be in South Africa presents must win situations away from home for a plethora of teams. Most important, and with interesting consequences, are the Conmebol games involving Ecuador, Uruguay and Argentina. The latter two play in Montevideo in a game that could result on either one missing out on next year's tournament. This, along with Ecuador's game versus Chile, will decide the fourth and fifth places for South America. A win by Ecuador in Santiago would push the loser of the first contest out of South Africa. A tie between Ecuador and Chile means that a draw between Uruguay and Argentina is enough for them to qualify. A loss by Ecuador has the same consequences regardless of the outcome of the Argentina game. Further, both teams are looking for the direct route to the African continent by bypassing the playoff with Concacaf (Costa Rica or Honduras).

The story does not stop there. For Honduras and Costa Rica, winning away from home in hostile environments will decide the final Concacaf spot and could pair the lower seed against mighty Argentina in order to book their ticket to the World Cup. Honduras is headed to El Salvador (unbeaten at home but already eliminated) and Costa Rica makes the trip to our nation's capital to take on an already-qualified USA. El Salvador will not escape the opportunity to end the tournament on a high note after having had memorable games (and wins) in the Estadio Cuscatlan. The US, on the other hand, are looking to win the Concacaf group and claim the title of the region's top team.

But this predicament is not isolated to the American continent. In Africa, for example, a duel between Algeria and Egypt will decide one of the final spots for the African region. Algeria can clinch its first appearance in a World Cup with a draw in Cairo. Egypt is looking to return to the tournament after a 20 year absence. Elsewhere in Africa, both Cameroon and Gabon need wins at Morocco and Togo in order to qualify.

Let's not forget Europe. Israel (vs Switzerland) and Ukraine (vs Andorra) and Croatia (Kazakhstan) all need results away from home to advance into the tournament. Finally there's lowly Bahrain taking on New Zealand for the last Asian/Oceania spot.

Winning away from home requires discipline, an ability to ignore and silence the crowd, the poise to withstand the onslaught of the home team, the courage to withstand the psychology of the rival squad, and always, always, always... a bit of luck.

A triumph: USA qualifies for South Africa

It was a triumph on the pitch in San Pedro Sula tonight. A triumph because it meant reaching the World Cup with a game to spare. A triumph because they showed why they share the top of Concacaf with Mexico. A triumph because they won a game away from home to a team that had not lost at home. A triumph because the boys played smart, attractive soccer and chose not to hunker down in front of an enemy hungry for goals. A triumph because we chose to watch the game at a bar or cinema or a computer screen once the American media failed to secure rights to the Honduras game. A triumph because we didn't resort to a "savior coach" as Mexico and Argentina did. A triumph because Bob Bradley can once again silence his critics. A triumph because Altidore, Davies, Holden and Bradley Jr will see playing time on the biggest soccer stage there is. A triumph because we got lucky and Pavon had a bad night. A triumph because Donovan showed up once more with a screamer of a free kick. A triumph because there weren't more yellow cards aside from Bornstein. A triumph because Holden stood in remarkably well for Dempsey. A triumph because Conor Casey proved us all wrong by scoring two of the most important goals in the history of this qualifying cycle. A triumph because the US back line stood together and frustrated the Honduran attack. A trumph because they remembered how to win against the odds. A triumph because they remembered how to play.

Ecuador vs Uruguay: Time's up

History is tough to swallow sometimes. Historically, Uruguay has always been better than Ecuador. Better leagues, better players, and better world cups. The "charruas" won two of the first four editions of the ecumenical tournament, and although they have been inconsistent this time around, a win in Quito was just what they needed.

Inconsistency is the key word during these qualifiers. Ecuador and Uruguay define it. How else does one go from losing to Peru in Lima to winning in Quito? And how else does one go from beating Argentina to losing at home in Quito the way Ecuador did today?

It's saddening for a nation that has become accustomed to being a player on the big stage for the past 9 years. Maybe it's the wake-up call they need. Vizuete did a good job as coach but somehow I think a seasoned Argentine would make things more interesting for the Tricolores. Time will only tell. Now they have 2011 Copa America to look forward to, a tournament in which they have continuously failed ever since 1993. It's also sad for up-and-coming players like Chirstian Benitez and Joao Rojas, as well as for experienced world stars like Valencia, Mendez and Castillo.

So, take a bow, Ecuador. It's time to leave the number 5 spot to a better team... and today that team was Uruguay.

Every journey has a first step: The October qualifiers

It ends on the 14th. Sort of. World Cup qualifying will, for the most part, end next Wednesday as all conferences play their final games. All that will remain after the epic contests of Saturday and Wednesday will be the play-in games: one between Concacaf-Conmebol and the other as a play-off between second-placed UEFA sides. It is well known in the soccer communities that at least five of the biggest names in soccer may not be present in South Africa next summer. Included in this list is Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Ibrahimovic, Eto'o and Adebayor. Most blatantly obvious is the fate of CR9 (Portugal) and Ibra (Sweden) as they are both in the same group, which is dominated by Denmark. Messi may have the least to worry about since Argentina host bottom-dwellers Peru on Saturday. Adebayor (Togo) and Eto'o (Cameroon) are both in the same group... and only one can remain. Oh, and try to catch the Oceania-Asia playoff, Bahrain - New Zealand. Should be entertaining, no?

Perhaps one of the juiciest contests is Germany-Russia in Moscow. A win would probably book a trip to the cup for either team. Germany needs a draw to be in, assuming both teams win the subsequent games. Sweden needs travels to Copenhagen in search of a win. Portugal has it easier hosting both Hungary and Malta. France will have only itself to blame if it can't produce a result at home versus Austria and Faroe Islands. Kudos to Bosnia for being on the verge of their first World Cup. The Italian champs are also near the finish line. A draw versus Ireland will suffice (note that the Irish have a knack for beating the Italians in important games.... think back to 1994). The match is in Dublin.

Back to Amerigo Vespucci's continent we come: Mexico and the US can both seal their ticket to South Africa with wins on Saturday. Mexico has it easier in a game versus almost-eliminated El Salvador. The US has to visit San Pedro Sula to take on Honduras (8-0-0 at home this round of qualifiers[no TV for this game]). With Dempsey out injured, DeMerrit sidelined with a freak eye injury, and a weak left back option (no Castillo due to injury), it will be difficult to avoid a loss, if not a catastrophic result by a three goal margin. Things are bleak indeed. Look for Holden to get the nod in place of Dempsey and Bornstein to suit up at left back. Added to the calamities are the possibilities of yellow card accumulation for the following match against Costa Rica for just aboud everyone in the team. Yes, it could all come down to RFK stadium on Wednesday 14th of October. A win at home versus T&T will put Costa Rica at 15 points, 1 less than the US. This means the winner of the contest on Wednesday would get the automatic spot in South Africa... and the loser? Argentina? Sort of...

Down south we travel. Somehow, Maradona, the savior, did not have the "hand of God" as coach and the "albiceleste" is in 5th place behind Ecuador for the playoff spot versus Concacaf 4th . With a mix of results, they may breathe easier by Sunday morning if they are able to take care of Peru. Chile is looking for its first appearance in a World Cup since 1998. A tie will suffice for at least the playoff spot. They are facing a hungry Colombia in Bogota that require all three points to stay alive., although a tie and a mix of results keeps their chances on mathematical life-support. As for Ecuador, their fate is in their hands. Twice it has come down to this contest against Uruguay at home in Quito. Twice they drew level and were propelled to the World Cup. A tie won't quite be enough this time, however. Things will still come down to Wednesday when they travel to Chile. Cheering for the "Araucanos" when they take on the "Cafeteros."

There you have it, boys and girls. The end is in the beginning and the next five days will decide the fate of many in the soccer world. From 200+ countries when this started 18 months ago to just 32 in next year's contest. Surely the biggest spectacle on Planet Earth.

More of the same: MLS vs Mexican teams

Wow. Now that's 0-6 for three separate MLS squads versus their Mexican counterparts. All three teams, DCU, Columbus and Houston have failed to score a victory or even a tie against their Mexican rivals. Why is this so? Clear dominance. Bad luck. No reserve league. Call it whatever you want but the sad truth is MLS just cannot cut it against their Concacaf rivals these days.

Our two sentinels, Houston and Columbus Crew, both with impressive home records and en route to a possible MLS cup final, were outscored by a combined 0-10. Columbus, our current champs, were thumped 5-0 by Cruz Azul in Mexico and went down 0-2 in Columbus (the home field for the American national team). I wouldn't feel so bad if it weren't for other teams in Concacaf like Arabe Unido (Panama) and Marathon (Honduras) winning their respective home matches against Mexican teams. Both have put DCU and Houston in very precarious positions. Houston might have a better chance assuming Pachuca can take care of business at home versus a Panamanian side that spanked them 4-1 earlier in the tournament. For DC United, despite their impressive multi-goal wins against Jabloteh and Marathon, need a result whilst visiting mighty Toluca.

That's my rant for today. No real answers and too many questions. There are more important questions and problems with MLS, yes. Team pride, credibility for the league, and international recognition are just as important as marketing and big stars in world football. Perhaps this is what upsets so many fans. Then again, could it be that there are American fans that don't care about their team's games outside of MLS? An interesting question .

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.