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Posts Tagged ‘US Men’s National Team’

Orange you glad matches are 90 minutes – USMNT great for 5 min

March 3rd, 2010

The US played…”nice” for 85 minutes. “Safe.” You’d feel comfortable letting your daughter go out with that team. They even looked spiffy in their new blue kit with the white sash.

The team that played the last 5 minutes was lock your doors dangerous. If not beautiful, at least brutally effective.

Basics

For 85 minutes we never looked dangerous in the attack, save one shot. Torres made a nice turn and put a shot on goal that drew an “oooh” from the crow, the only time in the first 85′ our offense elicited such a response for the Dutch masses.

Beasley turned the tide with a glorious free kick that Bocanegra did not waste, putting it the back of the net. This unleashed some slightly crazy but very fun play by the US that saw them nearly equalize several times.

The US capitalized on uncharacteristic poor ball control by the Dutch defense in the 89th minute. Pedoya played an excellent give and go with Bradley and earned a penalty just outside the box. Beasley’s ensuing free kick left something to be desired.

To be fair, we are missing Dempsey and Davies, two key components of our attack. Altidore is not yet a player who can create all on his own. He needs to collaborate, and Findley was floundering before being replaced in the second half. Nonetheless some good play from our subs found us a goal and several good chances at equalizing, including another great effort by Altidore in the waning moments of the game.

Bummer

The refereeing was bizarre, especially in the first half. At times in the first half it seemed if the US came inside a 1 meter bubble of a Dutchman we were blown for disturbing personal space. Then we got the gift of a no-call for a blatant Bornstein handball in the box. Then a severe, late tackle that ended Stuart Holden’s night didn’t garner the much-deserved yellow card.

We can’t complain too much about the PK called on Bornstein with today’s football climate. However,  the brilliant Wesley Sneijder made the most of it and easily could’ve completed the play. I sure get tired of all the flopping in European Football.

Stock went down:

  • MLS: not a great showing for our boys playing club ball in the US
  • Bornstein. I’m sure he’s a great human being but geez he makes me nervous every time the ball is withing 5 yards of him
  • Findley: looked out of his depth. He’s young, but he’s not ready

Bonus

Sans Bornstein we were solid in defense. His needless PK gave up the first goal, then he was unlucky to have the 2nd deflect off his torso and go past a wrong-footed Howard. If we can get Gooch back in the center, shift Spector to the left, and leave Bornstein on the bench where he belongs, we have a solid defense.

If Gooch doesn’t get better…I have visions of Bornstein pulling down Torres or Tevez in the box.

Beasley put out a good showing and in my opinion earned himself at least a spot on the World Cup side.

Stock went up:

  • Maurice Edu showed good signs of composure on the ball
  • Beasley played solid
  • Pedoya showed signs of being dangerous
  • Bradley was steady


Backtalk

1. What did the US show you today? Did their energy at the end indicate positive things to come, or was it the last gasp of a disjointed team?

2. Whose stock went up, and whose went down?

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Please someone clone Xavi for #USMNT and the Rapids

November 29th, 2009
Xavi (pre-cloning)

Xavi (pre-cloning)

In the 90’s human cloning was extremely controversial. I think fans of the Colorado Rapids and/or the US Men’s National Team could agree an exception should be made.

Watching Xavi play this weekend versus Real Madrid, he was the spoke around which the Catalan wheel rotated. Even when they went a man down he directed the flow of play.

The Rapids have a powerful striking duo up top with Casey and Cummings. We have a less potent but still fairly dependable back line with the likes of Moor and Baudet.

What Colorado really lacks is a a creative presence like Xavi, a turret in the middle of the field firing balls forward.

With the US Men’s National Team the need for a Xavi-clone is one of possession. We lack a strong presence in the middle of the field that can absorb passes from the back, choose passes without cheaply giving up possession, do it repeatedly throughout all 90 minutes. Instead, at times, we sprint around like a track team defenders like Gooch fire optimistic balls downfield and hope one of our front men can get onto it.

These are not newly diagnosed issues. Surely the only option is to clone Xavi and get him ready for 2010.

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Top 5 reasons Tim Howard is the best US soccer player. Period.

October 9th, 2009

Disclaimer #1: I realize that this is a Colorado Rapids and MLS blog, not USMNT.

Disclaimer #2: I realize I have a man crush (based on all 3 criteria) on Timmy and am hopelessly biased.

That being said, going into a huge USMNT weekend, it is time to establish once and for all that goalkeeper Tim Howard is the best US Soccer player. Period. I give you the top 5 reasons this is the case

  1. He is the unquestioned #1 for club (Everton) and country
  2. He is among the 2 players on the USMNT whose loss would have the greatest effect on our performance (I’d say Donovan is the other clear choice on this list)
  3. He has performed in the best league in the world (EPL) and distinguished himself as one of the top keepers in Europe (reference: David Moyes)
  4. He has excelled in the Europa league in UEFA, the finest regional association in the world
  5. He is an absolute rock, a consistent leader whether we are playing T&T at home or Mexico at the Azteca

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In search of a team identity

July 21st, 2009

In evaluating the Rapids form at this point in the season, I think of the US Men’s National Team. There was a carousel of players in and out, different formations, different styles of play, and inconsistent results. Once Bob Bradley arrived at a final 11 and somewhat of an identity, the results at the Confederations Cup were staggering. I believe the Rapids have yet to find that identity.

One of the first areas this shows up is the lack of a default starting 11. Read more…

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From skipping class to Class VI – Interview with Mark Bodmer of NoFanAlone.com

May 6th, 2009

Mark, thanks for taking a moment to chat with CRF!

First off, tell us about when and how your passion for the Rapids began.

I’ve been around since the beginning.  In high school, my teammates and I were skipping classes to watch the 1990 World Cup, so our principal finally gave in and put a TV in the cafeteria Read more…

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Rapids lock in 2 Internationals – Ihemelu, Cummings

February 18th, 2009

Rapids Media just released that we have signed Ugo Ihemelu and Omar Cummings to new multi-year deals. I’m very pleased to hear this news, as both players are making a solid contribution to the Rapids and are beginning to contribute on the international stage. Read more…

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Kljestan’s Hat Trick carries US over Sweden

January 25th, 2009

A cocktail of the US MNT training camp and a week with Scottish champions Celtic proved to be a potent combination for Sasha Kljestan. With a big ol’ goose egg in previous international appearances, Sasha sizzled with 3 goals Read more…

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Altidore catches the eye of the EPL

January 10th, 2009

In the US vs. Guatemala game at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, young Jozy Altidore caught my eye. It wasn’t that one phase of his game was overly dominant, he just seemed to do everything well and be in the right place at the right time.

Apparently the Toffees have taken interest as well, though Villareal has rejected Everton’s loan offer. Read more…

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Gibbs withdraws from US Camp, Ihemelu his replacement

January 7th, 2009

Following up on a previous article about Rapid’s defender Cory Gibbs, he has withdrawn from camp and is being replaced by Ugo Ihemelu. Hopefully this bodes well for our defense this season, to have two defenders on Team USA.

Ihemelu has one cap versus Norway, and clearly has better hair than Gibbs. Nonetheless Gibbs’ withdrawal is puzzling.

Read the full article at the Rapids site

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