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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…
und der Meister ist…Bayern Munich!!!
After 93 minutes of fast-paced action between the two giants of Germany, and the world this season, Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund by the final score of 2-1 to hoist the most sought after cup in European club football: The Champions League trophy. From the first whistle, the Bundesliga rivals were locked-in to attack each others’ defenses in the hopes of scoring first and setting the tone in the stunningly massive Wembley Stadium in London.
An insightful pass from Frenchman Franck Ribéry got to the perfectly cutting Dutchman Arjen Robben who, after dribbling just past the goalkeeper, while simultaneously dancing towards the baseline, was able to cross the ball in front of the goal and past a defender where Croatian Mario Mandžukić was waiting for the bouncing kick-in.
GOAL!
1-nil Bayern Munich in the 59th minute.
Just a mere nine minutes later, Bayern Munich defender Dante, in a very ill-advised move, raised his cleats to the stomach of Marco Reus. A rightly deserved penalty kick followed and Ilkay Gundogan of Borussia Dortmund guessed correctly and easily scored the equalizer for the men in black and yellow.
GOAL!
1-1 in the 68th minute.
In the closing moments of regulation, with the game level at 1-1, an advantageous pass into the feet of the offensively charging Ribéry at the top of the eighteen quickly evolved into a perfectly timed touch to the charging Robben. Following a touch of control, he split a couple defenders and led the goalie to his strong foot: his left. At the last gasp of his attack, Robben, ever so eloquently, cut the ball back across the goalie’s body for a slow-moving, yet definitive, game winning goal.
GOAL!
2-1 Bayern Munich in the 89th minute.
The goal was as stunning as a robin itself on a perfect spring day. If only for a moment, indulge me:
The primary color of Bayern Munich is red. A robin’s feathers are a red-orange mix. The beautiful game winning goal for Bayern Munich was scored by Dutchman (primary national team color is orange) Arjen Robben, who was wearing his club’s power color red.
Just saying…
There was terrific offense, with quite a few goals that were left just begging. The goalies made their share of spectacular saves. The defenses were tough and tireless as well. The 2013 UEFA Champions League Final saw the two best teams in Europe this season for the first-ever German versus German championship. Es war fantastisch!
After Bayern Munich’s record-breaking season, holding up the club’s fifth (third most all-time!) Champions League trophy was fitting. Jupp Heynckes will forever be a treasured name with the Bayern Munich faithful. This year’s win may very well set-up a Barcelona-like era of dominance in wins, trophies and admired style. But, regardless of the future, this year’s squad will be remembered and celebrated for many years to come, most especially throughout the second-half of 2013.
The final was redemption for Bayern Munich in the Champions League after recent final defeats in 2010 and 2012 (in Munich). The final was redemption and pure joy for Jupp Heynckes after being “forced” to retire at the conclusion of this season’s campaign. The final solidified a European and global power-shift of defining the world’s best club from Barcelona to Bayern Munich. The final officially relocated the capital of club soccer for the world from Catalonia to Munich.
Bayern Munich is the best football club Europe and the world. They are unequivocally #1.
Be sure to check out a video showing Bayern Munich’s go-ahead goal in the “Amazing” section of this blog!
After experiencing so many personal nightmares in the past three years with his club and national team, this was one of Man of the Match Robben’s reactions post-game.
“This is a dream,” he said.
und der Meister ist…
Bayern Munich v. Borussia Dortmund
The 2013 UEFA Champions League Championship Game is this Saturday, May 25th at 2:45 p.m. EST in the grand and mystifying Wembley Stadium. It is not only the first German versus German club final, but is also the third title game for Bayern Munich in the past four years. FC Hollywood lost the past two, including last year in Allianz Arena, literally on their home field. The feelings of disappointment are still raw and they are surely anxious to erase the past two with a triumphant victory against Bundesliga-foe Dortmund.
There are many dynamics for this championship game, including the all-German aspect, possible big-game redemption for Dutch winger Arjen Robben, watching how Dortmund reacts to constant 90-minute pressure from Bayern Munich, the injury and absence of Dortmund star, but soon to be on Bayern Munich, Mario Götze and so forth.
The moment these two German clubs qualified for the final by each slaying the two Spanish, and global, giants in Barcelona and Real Madrid, a consensus was uniquely reached that the two best teams in the world had indeed made it to Wembley. In many ways, this is the championship fans wanted. And come this Saturday, the footballing needle of dominance could officially begin a significant shift from Spain to Germany. This will be more true with a Bayern Munich victory considering their pure dominance throughout this season, complimented with the arrival of tika-taka maestro Pep Guardiola in a matter of weeks.
Most importantly though, Bayern Munich has been led by Jupp Heynckes this season. With a win at Wembley tomorrow, he could cap off his illustrious career with one of the best and most dominating seasons by a football club in recent memory.
The UEFA 2013 Champions League Final will be spectacular. The winner can potentially claim not only that they are the best club in Europe, but also the best football club in the world.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 