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A Magical Finish For Sure
A tale of two halves in the most explicitly literal sense.
Bosnia-Herzegovina owned the first half and darted two goals past the frustrated American pipe-master Tim Howard for a 2-nil lead (the worst lead in soccer…).
The United States of America owned the second half where competent and creative ball movements by Michael Bradley led to great finishes, three of which from the man who has been on a hot streak of goal scoring this summer: Jozy Altidore. A hat trick is always a nice souvenir. The U.S. won the game in surprising fashion 4-3.
Who saw that coming after halftime? Actually, perhaps Bosnia-Herzegovina should have been more perceptive to this possibility after they substituted half of their team (six players) with slightly slower and slightly weaker replacements. Regardless, a valiant effort on the part of the USMNT.
For the game’s analysis, a short list has been created that details the highlights and lessons from last night’s comeback victory in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina:
-There needs to be “A Bradley Touch Tracker” as a graphic on the television screen (when he touches the ball, good things tend to happen).
-On a similar note, there should be “A Donovan GPS Tracker” (Just so the coaches and viewers can confirm he’s still on the field for those big games when he disappears for 15 minutes or so. “Oh, there he is! Yes, he’s still out there somewhere over there…”)
Important Note: Landon Donovan was not there last night and I’m a fan, but this would still be very useful
-The USMNT did not (and has yet to) start a back-line that can successfully play a staggered defense where the two outside defenders can frequently go forward, mostly due to the lackluster performance of Cameron and Brooks together in the middle.
-Brad Evans: once again, good job.
-More time and more touches for Aron Johannsson, please!
-Jozy Altidore: keep shooting and flexing your muscles for 90 minutes.
-Spread the field from sideline to sideline with outside midfielders who will attack with vigor!
-As Taylor Twellman said, the real ticket to buy is the one for Jürgen Klinsmann’s halftime speeches: wow! Plus, Klinsmann continues to be a master of substitutions. Gut gemacht!
One constant that is becoming increasingly apparent is that the USMNT will be a second half, come from behind squad. The challenge is that most of the top teams in the world are well-versed in the “two halves of soccer” strategy. And most will not take off their best players after 45 minutes…
Just as I wrote about “Fool’s Gold” regarding the Gold Cup, there are still some smoke and mirror effects going on with these recent results. The head coach has yet to put the 11-men onto the pitch who will amaze an audience for 90+ minutes without those very same spectators being skeptical and wondering what the catch was afterwards.
Klinsmann can no doubt work his magic towards something potentially historic, but the fans are still stuck watching the mistake-prone rehearsals with the “big show” less than a year away…
The Crew 2.0
According to thecrew.com, San Francisco’s Anthony Precourt of Precourt Sports Ventures, LLC has become the new owner of the Columbus Crew. Remarkably, Preourt is only the second owner of “America’s Hardest Working Team” since its 1996 inception as a Charter Member of Major League Soccer. Yesterday marked not only the transition from the legendary Hunt Sports Group, but also represented a seismic shift in the operations and management of the Columbus Crew.
Ceremonial jubilation aside, a significant dynamic has been created. After Precourt was handed the keys to America’s first soccer-specific stadium, he and his company just may have turned the front office of the Columbus Crew into an up-and-coming venture capital start-up…with 18 years experience and championships on the shelf, including 2008’s MLS Cup.
Throughout the Crew’s long history, patience has been a cornerstone of the organization. There are several instances of when this has been a tremendous asset. This degree of trust is a unique quality in today’s fast-paced world. Conversely, if things started to go poorly, at least in the eyes of the dedicated fans, the front office has been quite glacial to make any drastic and necessary changes. A prime example of this mentality is the fact that Robert Warzycha is still the head coach.
However, successful businesses do not operate with this much elasticity. Data points are constantly analyzed and debated, with necessary adjustments made when appropriate. Precourt, and this is only from an initial impression, appears to be of the mindset that success does not occur when one is losing. Again, Warzycha is still the head coach. Spending the past five seasons watching the same movie on repeat has gotten old and frustratingly predictable.
Crew fans are very cognizant that Warzycha was the head coach that directed the team that won the MLS Cup in 2008 under head coach Sigi Schmid to a squad that couldn’t win a playoff game in 2009.
The point is that Precourt and his business partners appear interested in obtaining success while simultaneously appealing to and growing the incredible fan base in Ohio’s capital city. It’s potentially an adaptation of the European football culture: treating the team, roster and results like a business, while engaging fans, creating a fun atmosphere and generating a lovable brand. He said in a recent interview that success begins on the pitch.
And I can safely assert that every Crew fan hopes he intends to begin with the field located in Columbus Crew Stadium.
Fool’s Gold
The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) defeated Costa Rica last night 1-nil on a counter-attack goal courtesy of Brek Shea in the 83rd minute that started with a beautiful over-the-top service from Landon Donovan and concluded with a decent enough finish to rattle the net. With the result, the United States won their group in the Gold Cup. They will face El Salvador next in one of the quarterfinal match-ups this Sunday.
A good result with a good goal sequence. One certainty for the USMNT is that Landon Donovan knows how to counter-attack, when he doesn’t disappear for fifteen or so minutes every once in a while during the most important games…
But was the result really good enough?
The question during the Gold Cup and the World Cup qualifying in the CONCACAF group is not whether or not the USMNT wins games, but it’s how they win and play. Do they have a reliably dynamic style that meets world-class standards? Let’s be candid: CONCACAF is not overly difficult and wins should consistently be achieved on the road and should definitely be achieved at home. During the home matches, there should be an abundance of spectacular goals and stellar performances from the goalkeeper up to the forwards. At this point, these games should not require a counter-attack goal after the 80th minute to secure a narrow victory at home. At this point, the USMNT should be running circles around the Gold Cup and CONCACAF competition with consistent 3-0-like victories.
Have the recent results really been good enough?
The teams from the Gold Cup and CONCACAF represent the weakest competition they will potentially face in the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. Does the team that struggles to defeat Costa Rica at home and other similar competition have the roster, style, toughness, talent, strategy, resilience and intelligence to defeat or compete with Spain? Brazil? Germany (their first team)? The Dutch? Portugal? England? Argentina? Belgium? Uruguay? Ghana?
Frustratingly, each time the USMNT roster is announced, there is a steadily uneasy feeling that half of the selected players should not even be there…especially one year out from the World Cup.
However, don’t paint me as a pessimist. I am an eternal believer in the “glass is half-full” mentality. I have long said Jürgen Klinsmann has the intelligence and insight to coach a USMNT that wins a World Cup. But, sadly, that team has not come very close to being organized on the field during his tenure thus far. Amazing things can happen in games that are predicted otherwise. Unlikely players show up and can change a game in an instant. Upsets happen and the USMNT has pulled off a few magical ones. They undoubtedly have the potential.
Yet, I am also a realist and am cognizant of the talent level of the aforementioned teams. There is a distinct difference between qualifying and playing in a World Cup and qualifying and competing for a World Cup.
It’s less than a year from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and it needs to said that 90 minutes is a long time, especially when you’re having to chase a ball while simultaneously climbing a mountain of goals against.
P.S. The U.S. v. Mexico game at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on September 10th will once again be epic! Importantly, it will reveal the talent and overall readiness of the USMNT going forward…
Regardez de plus près …
The French are known for romance, sumptuous foods, wines, relaxed attitudes, cafés, music and the list goes on and on like a peaceful late afternoon stroll through the historic city streets. Paris is beautifully nicknamed, “La Ville de Lumière,” which translates to “The City of Light.” For anyone who has visited the picturesque capital of France, the description is indéniable.
Of course, one of the staples of Paris, and France in general, is the fashion industry. The models wear clothes and attitudes like it’s their, well, job. And one of the avenues used to bring a particular style to the public is creating a storefront window display in a popular cross-section of shoppers and tourists.
There was one storefront display that caught my eye with its acute attention to detail in its mesmerizing recreation of a French footballer.
Vraiment magnifique! Et il semble si réaliste…
Jimmy's Daily Planet 