USA-Colombia

I was all excited about USA’s Friendly soccer match against Colombia today after Saturday’s match against Poland was on Fox Soccer Channel, which we no longer get.

Then…the game happened.

I haven’t seen a game that boring in a long, long time.  Both sides were lackluster and there was absolutely no hint of a goal.

Four More Years! Four More Years!

That’s right, it’s four more years for Bob Bradley and US Soccer.  His old contract ran through December and while both the US Soccer Federation and Bradley did their fair share of posturing with Juergen Klinsmann and Aston Villa, respectively, I don’t think anyone was shocked with the extension.

I’ve had kind of a love/hate relationship with Bradley over the last four years.  I don’t necessarily dislike him and I don’t love him.  I’ve questioned many of his personnel decisions but I don’t hate the results…usually.

We’ve won games we shouldn’t have (Spain) and lost games we should have (Ghana) so why not keep on that road?

USA-Brazil Friendly Action

I briefly forgot about this game after the Cards and Reds had their little dust up in the first inning.  I think those fireworks have ended, so I’ll settle for Yahoo updates.  Brandon Phillips is 0/7 in the series.  Just sayin’.

Right now, the US is 0-0 with Brazil….now it’s 1-0 Brazil.  Perfect timing for them.

Anyway, we’re kind of sending out our World Cup team one final time before we turn our eyes toward 2014.  Brazil is fielding a young side, but as with all Brazilian sides, they’re very, very skilled.

Stop and Read This

It’s a tad long, but it’s worth it.  This argument is old, stupid, and finally put to rest.  Thank you, Patrick Hruby.  Thank you.  Click here to read this masterpiece.

Coming to Terms

I’m not going to write much about this game because quite frankly, I’m tired and I’m still pissed off about it.

The US lost to Ghana, blah blah blah.

Shouldn’t have happened.  Period.  Outside of the first 15 minutes and the only chance they got in extra time, Ghana did not threaten the US goal.  The difference in the game was that they capitalized on their chances while the US did not.  Anyone who tells you that the US was outplayed, outclassed, or out anything else’d in this game is just wrong.

World Cup Predictions

I didn’t  get to this before the Cup started and I’m barely making it here since Uruguay-South Korea has already started.  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for our intents and purposes) the game is frozen with the Koreans about to take a free kick in the 4th minute.

Anyway, it’s time for some predictions because everyone loves them even if none of them are right.

Let’s get started

Watch This

USA Marches On!

Today, USA defeated Algeria 1-0.  Today, USA also defeated all the doubters, naysayers, and nonbelievers. All the English fans who weren’t worried about us, all the national pundits who slammed the US team, all the referees who blew calls against us:  Defeated.  And it was so sweet.

Landon Donovan’s 92nd minute strike was the best moment I’ve had as a US Soccer fan, and I’ve been alive for some great ones.  Up until now, that honor went to John O’Brien for his early strike against Portugal in the 2002 World Cup.  Today blew that away.

I was at Tigin Irish Pubs (the official US Soccer bar in St. Louis) for the match and there was red, white, and blue everywhere.

Biggest Disappointment Ever?

With today’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of South Africa, France’s dismal World Cup run has come to an end.  The only reason this makes me sad is because of the insane drama they brought to this year’s edition of the World Cup.  Sending home a star striker?  Refusing to train the next day?  Having the head director of team quit and fly home early?  Having the President of the country call the team out publicly?  Yeah, that’s drama.

But first let’s start at the beginning.  The French team struggled through qualifying, finishing second in UEFA Group 7 to Serbia.  Then, they only secured a qualification through Thierry Henry’s double handball during the playoff against the Republic of Ireland.

USA Gets Robbed

My plan today was to DVR the USA-Slovenia match, avoid all forms of media, and then watch it when I got home after the game.  That idea went out the window when the game was on the scoreboard at Busch Stadium while I worked with a young baseball team.  There was no audio and it was hard to follow, but I got to watch it nonetheless.  I’m about to watch the replay so I can get a better idea of what went down but I’m still going to write a post about the game.

The first thing that I want to mention is the horrid marking that occurred Slovenia’s first goal.  Valter Birsa had days to line up his fantastic strike from just outside the penalty area.  Michael Bradley had stepped up to take away the initial ball carrier when he laid it off to Birsa.  From there, I don’t know where Jose Torres was and I don’t know why Oguchi Onyewu didn’t step up and at least act like he was putting pressure on the ball.  Birsa punished them for their terrible marking.