End of the affair: Bradley fired as US coach

Photo credit: AP

Bob Bradley was fired as coach of the US national soccer team today. When the referee called full time at the 2011 Concacaf Gold Cup with the Mexico team up 4-2 on the United States, some of us out there thought his days were numbered. But nothing happened. Days passed and international friendlies were announced (versus Mexico on the 10th), Copa America started and the US ladies made it to the final.

But today was different. A day after the thrashing of the MLS All-Stars at the hands of Manchester United, a symphony of news flashes gave us word that US Soccer had severed ties with Bob Bradley. But why not sooner? Time for searching and hiring a new man for the job? And yes, it seems they have Bradley's successor already with a "further announcement" on Friday.

Let's reflect a bit on today's events. What were the pros and cons of Bob Bradley? To start, his record was 43-25-13, winning a Gold Cup title, finishing in second place at the Confederations Cup and in the final 16 at the World Cup after winning the group over England. Also to his credit: the blossoming of Donovan and Dempsey, solidification of Michael Bradley, Onyewu, Howard and Bocanegra, and the addition of game-changers like Altidore, Agudelo, Jermaine Jones, Bedoya and Timmy Chandler. All in all, quite the resume.

Conversely, the national team has become quite stale after the World Cup and a 5-4-4 record this year. There is no inventiveness on the pitch and his tactics have been eviscerated by opposing squads. Do credit Mexico on their win, however. Their "golden generation" has come to life and, somehow, a run at the World Cup semifinals in 2014 isn't out of the question.

But back to Bradley. In reality, second term coaches (1 term being a world cup cycle) never quite do well in their reprisal as managers of national teams. A national soccer team is a completely different animal from club competition in soccer and, for that matter, other sports. There are only limited times in which you have your players each year and individuals that are central to the national team may not be playing at all for their club sides. Just the length of time alone does away with continuity. There's no "rebuilding season" or even "relegation battle." Other examples abound: Bruce Arena (2003-2006, early exit from 2006), Marcelo Lippi (Italian champions in 2006, eliminated in group stage in 2010), Sven Goran Erickson (English team became stale and lost flair in 2006).

So it's a new beginning for US Soccer. Who will be our coach? Juergen Klinsmann? Guus Hiddink? Sigi Schmid? Jason Kreis? Carlo Ancelotti? Marcelo Lippi? Claudio Reyna? All good candidates but my preference is a foreign coach right now. Someone that understands the larger scale of things. Jason Kreis is food for thought but I'd like him to have a few more titles and seasons with Real Salt Lake. Right now is too soon for the international arena. Collegiate experience, such as Arena had as a coach in college soccer, can only take us so far since a vast majority of our players are now in world-renowned teams and leagues. Arena and Bradley took this style of coaching to its very limit and with pleasant results. But a new line of thinking is needed.

So, we bid you adieu, Coach Bradley. You made us proud and made us believe. You brought us exhilaration, consolation and fantasy. We thank you for your hard work and we know you'll succeed wherever you go. No hard feelings either. Sometimes you just have to say "time's up."

La Celeste wins the Copa America

Photo credit: Reuters

An unlikely final, perhaps. Uruguay and Paraguay would decide where the South American crown would go today. Uruguay won it with style, grit, passion and golazos. When the score is 3-0 you know something special happened.

For Uruguay it was Luis Suarez, perhaps one of the best forwards in the world, that really won the tournament for them. Behind him is Diego Forlan, a classy player and top scorer at last summer's World Cup in South Africa. This tandem, coupled with players like Lugano and Perez and with a solid goalkeeper in Muslera, comprised the most complete team in the 2011 Copa America.

The match was thoroughly controlled by Uruguay from start to finish. A near miss in the first 5 minutes where a Paraguayan handled the ball on the goal line brought back memories of Luis Suarez's game-saving handball against Ghana in last year's World Cup. But Suares is a different person now. His speed, agility and soccer intelligence brought the first goal after he unmarked himself from the defender and sent a shot past Villar. He also had a hand (a head, actually) in setting up Diego Forlan's final goal with a superb pass.

This final was also Diego Forlan's return to the big stage. And he did so in style. Two goals to finish Paraguay and give Uruguay its 15th Copa America title. Forlan was a master in midfield today and his goals came with power (first) and simple placement (second).

The always physical Uruguay defense had a similar foe today in Paraguay (South America's Italy). Perez again showed his knowledge of the defense to break up plays and intimidate the opponent. Arevalo and Caceres were pivotal in their roles and, along with Lugano, prevented Paraguay from settling into a rhythm.

Congratulations, Uruguay. You deserved the Copa America today. You also showed us that South America isn't just about Argentina and Brazil, Messi and Robinho, Neymar and Huguain. Uruguay made the semifinals of the World Cup 2010 for a reason and today they showed why they are the top team in Conmebol. Let's not forget that they won the first World Cup in 1930 and defeated Brazil in 1950. Somehow, the feeling of another "Maracanazo" is quite palpable. They already beat Argentina at their Copa America. Right now, with the way they are playing, this Uruguay team could top Brazil in 2014.

MLS 2011 Attendance Statistics Game Week 19

Generally good attendance has been the norm for the past couple of weeks. The only exceptions would be Houston last week (12047) and San Jose (8122). Never mind the unyielding heat east of the Rockies. People are coming out to the games.

I thought I would look at another interesting piece of data. I do a lot with "relative attendance" (actual/capacity) in addition to mean and median. The relative attendance is usually for the mean. But what about the median relative attendance? This week I look at the Eastern Conference. We see that, on any given week, DCU is at 61% capacity as well as New England (65%). Lowest here are Houston (56%) and Columbus (52%). Do note, however, that Houston's capacity far exceeds most of the Eastern Conference (27000). KC (100%), TFC (87%) and Philadelphia (99%) are the highest.

Falling Stars: Brazil and Chile exit the Copa America

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No Argentina in the semifinals due to a penalty kick decision versus Uruguay. Okay. It happens. It's Uruguay, the 4th place team from the 2010 World Cup. Colombia gets upset in the quarterfinals by Peru. Big surprise but, again, it happens. But Chile loses to Venezuela? And Brazil exits prematurely in penalty kicks against Paraguay? Okay, now we're onto something.

Craziness. Plain and simple. But give credit to the "smaller nations" of South America. Peru has been in the sidelines for decades. It's about time they rekindle their 1970s form. Then there is Venezuela. The country heavily favors baseball over any other sport. Same goes for the US, but this is South America, football continent. And yet, if you look at the different players in this Venezuela side you come across names like Cichero (Newell's, Argentina), Arango (B. Moenchengladbach, German Bundesliga), Vizcarrondo (Once Caldas, Colombia), Giancarlo Maldonado (Atlante, Mexico). These are quality players in good leagues. They are bound to have good fortune in international tournaments.

The question then becomes: is parity that much closer in South America? Do big teams like Argentina and Brazil still exist? The answer is yes and no. Yes, because these teams have stars like Messi, Robinho, Neymar, Huguain. No, because their winning formula can no longer be intimidation due to name. Bolivia will find a way to close spaces on Messi if they man-mark him. Argentina becomes just another team with big stars. Brazil can have goal leads in their games erased by poor goalkeeping and spotty defending in a tournament that they feel they already own. Not anymore. Big names in the defense don't mean much if the players don't confront a game in a professional manner. This is true international football. The opposing squads no longer fear the "big teams" because they have their own "big players." It's a new kind of mano-a-mano.

And what of Chile? Once Argentina and Brazil went down, many of us out there thought this might be Chile's tournament to win. But the Suazo - Sanchez tandem couldn't score more than 1 goal on Venezuela. And the "vinotinto" found a way to score two. Just like that.

It's wide open now. Even though critics like Andres Cantor may feel the current top 4 in South America aren't worthy candidates to the title, it's clear to say the he, along with most of us in soccer world, have been taught a lesson. Respect. Plain and simple.

Meant to be: Japan wins Women's World Cup

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Meant to be. Not meant to be. Those were the shades of fate today at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. Heartbreak. Emotion. Redemption. Japan walked out as world champions for the first time, and deservedly so.

Not meant to be for the US soccer team. The chances came and went throughout the first half. What could have been a score of 2-0 ended up tied scoreless. Alex Morgan's goal midway through the second half was almost enough. But not today.

Not meant to be for the defense today. Alex Krieger and Buehler didn't compact themselves enough and their casual clearance of an impressive Japanese attack was what gave way to the tying tally.

Not meant to be for Abby Wambach. She tried and pushed and got the go-ahead goal in the second period of extra time. Header. Perfect. But not enough. Japan tied the score with 4 minutes to go thanks to a misplaced bounce off our star goalscorer. 2-2. Penalties.

Not meant to be for Hope Solo either. Our superb goalkeeper wasn't tested enough by Japan for most of the game. This would have an impact as the game wore on. A slight injury in the overtime occurred right before Japan's tying goal. Her usual resolve was tested in the penalties and today she let one slip past her that could have made things interesting. She's only 29. Expect her at the Olympics and at Canada 2015.

Meant to be for Japan. Yes, today you could sense it. They were the lovable underdogs with a special cause. It was hard to imagine how the world wouldn't be cheering for the "blue samurais" today. Their country has seen such pain and agony this year. And they dedicated their fighting spirit, their resolve, their goals, and their title to the nation they love. And we applaud them for it.

Congratulations, Japan. Today the world cheered with you. It was simply meant to be.

Messi's not enough: Argentina crashes out of Copa America

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If Messi was to finally break through with the Argentine national team and solidify his place as the true heir of Diego Maradona, he will have to wait a bit longer. Argentina was stopped flat today by an Uruguayan side that never let up. In the end, it was ultimately Muslera that gave Uruguay the win, even though it had to be through the penalty spot.

Things looked difficult for Argentina from the start. Uruguay attacked with conviction and defended with man-marking to such an extent that the first yellow was given to Perez within the first 5 minutes. He would score in a nice follow-up to a great header thanks to a perfectly-placed Diego Forlan free kick.

Argentina rebounded. Fast and secure. It would be another magical play by "la pulga" Messi to serve Higuain for a solid header past Muslera. But then the Uruguay defense woke up. And when it comes to defenses in South America only Paraguay can claim to top them. It's also true that Uruguay can be very physical and this serves to break up the short-pass plays of Messi, Mascherano, Di Maria and Aguero.

But there were several missed opportunities. Mostly in the overtime. And at least one that Messi should have put away. He knew it when he crashed onto the grass with his face down in partial psychological agony.

The penalty shootout would be about Muslera once more. He had come up with wondrous saves and this wore down on the Argentine kick takers. Messi wouldn't fail but Pastore and Tevez weren't resolute in their chances. For Pastore, the ball miraculously bounced in. For Tevez, Muslera guessed correctly and sent Uruguay to the semifinals.

Now it is obvious that this Argentine side lacks the defense to stop players with significant talent. This is clearly evident when one of your starters, Gabriel Milito, doesn't see the pitch as much with his club team--Barcelona. Is Messi really enough for Argentina? Maybe the team requires more than just Di Maria. Clearly there is a lack of depth in the attacking midfield to complement Messi's considerable talent. In Barcelona he has Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets. Mascherano, Gago and Pastore don't quite measure up. So yes, Messi's not enough for Argentina. And until they build a structure around him, he won't have the international success that Diego Armando Maradona enjoyed.

Yes we can: USA advances to World Cup Final

Courage. Resolve. Class. Teamwork. Relentlessness. The US women's national soccer team advanced into the Germany 2011 World Cup final with a thrilling victory over France. A precious gift to American soccer fans in such dire need of a victory. For the ladies, it is self-respect and recognition that they are one of the better sides in women's soccer.

Today it Cheney, Wambach and Morgan scoring. The old guard giving way to the new. Abby ruled the air as she so often does and scored the game-winner with style. Cheney started things off early, much like the Brazil game. But France pressed and eventually tied the score in the second half. After Wambach's score it was a little bit of magic from Rapinoe to Morgan. The youngster had a flash of genius and chipped the ball over the French goalkeeper.

For the second game in a row, Wambach showed us why she's the go-to player for clinching goals. Today their defense was stout with Krieger and Boxx. Hope Solo always an asserted general in the background. Rapinoe provided the second half spark that every supersub has to bring.

Up next is the enigmatic Japan. The Japanese have knocked off two soccer powers in Germany and Sweden. They have also lost two matches to the US in warm-up friendlies before the World Cup. But this is the final and they will be carrying the hearts of a nation that has seen so much pain in recent months. The key will be concentration and possession.

This is to thank the ladies for giving us a bit of fantasy with every play. Thanks to you, US Soccer is back in the final with a chance to win it all for the third time in history.

We believe.