It's very difficult for me to talk about anything else other than the Confederations Cup in South Africa. On a frigid night in Johannesburg, the final game of the tournament took place. The United States had gotten through on mainly two games; a 3-0 whooping of Egypt, and "The Miracle on Grass" 2-0 humbling of Spain (the number one ranked team). Now the Brazilians show up ready to save the "football" world by stopping the underdogs from taking the trophy home.
Now this game was the first FIFA (Federation International Football Association) final EVER by the United States Men's National Team, and despite the loss, it's the first time we've ever taken home a trophy. Ask any true fan of the USA National team and they'll tell you we deserved to win that game sunday. At 2:30 on ESPN, the underrated, underappreciated, disregarded Americans took the field for the start of the single greatest most significant game of all of their careers.
The first half was a wonderful display of American Soccer, not European Football, but American Soccer. Our formation is almost a 3-3-2-2 . We play with our heroic captain Carlos Bocanegra, with "Gooch" Onyewu and DeMerit as almost like 3 centerbacks. The unheard of Jonathon Spector valiantly dominated the right flank, while Feilhaber, and Clark added support as defensive midfielders. Donovan and Dempsey took roaming midfielder positions and showed up all over the pitch as wingers, strikers, midfielders, and defenders. Our striking pair up top consisting of the previously invisible Charlie Davies, and the always formidable ex-Red Bull Jozy Altidore.
Have you ever seen Mighty Ducks 3? The really bad sequel where the inspiring team goes to Seton Hall and beats the Varsity team there? Anyways, the coach in that movie taught them how to play a type of game that would help them win despite their opponents being superiorly skilled.
"Defense. See, unlike scoring, defense never quits. But to play great defense you need one thing above all else. Confidence. Listen, if you learn nothin' else when you're here, you learn this, all right? This is not just about hockey. It's easy to be confident when you have control of the puck. It's very, very difficult to keep that confidence when you gotta take whatever strange bounces life throws your way. Don't be careless, but don't be too careful either. You cannot be afraid to lose! That's how you gain the confidence to attack the game when the puck isn't yours. That's how you attack life... even when you think you don't have any control. And that's how you play real defense." -Coach Orion
I don't want to talk about the actual game. Dempsey got a stroke of luck with his early strike from Spector's gorgeous cross, while Donovan and Davies paired up to display the best attacking play I have EVER seen the Americans put together. Then everything went downhill. I disagree that the Brazilians won that game. They played a dirty, dishonorable, immoral, shameless match, that the referees refused to recognize. Multiple times our players were slapped, studded, held, runover, punched, beaten down, and elbowed, yet our players took these cheap shots like men and continued playing like winners. Our players were tripped up and knocked over, but they got up and ran harder. Yet, these efforts go unnoticed by the referees who still call the Brazilian's late dives, and overacted stunts. Of course we all look back on the clear penalty kick that Charlie earned inside the 18-yard box. I would have much rather lose to a more respectable team like Spain.
I must bring this entry to an end since it nears on the brink of me rambling on too much, all I can hope is that this game opens eyes to US Soccer and the players. I pray that classy European teams look into buying these fantastic American players who have proven themselves on the world stage against the best; and that US viewers continue to watch these games to improve the stability of American soccer.
Now this game was the first FIFA (Federation International Football Association) final EVER by the United States Men's National Team, and despite the loss, it's the first time we've ever taken home a trophy. Ask any true fan of the USA National team and they'll tell you we deserved to win that game sunday. At 2:30 on ESPN, the underrated, underappreciated, disregarded Americans took the field for the start of the single greatest most significant game of all of their careers.
The first half was a wonderful display of American Soccer, not European Football, but American Soccer. Our formation is almost a 3-3-2-2 . We play with our heroic captain Carlos Bocanegra, with "Gooch" Onyewu and DeMerit as almost like 3 centerbacks. The unheard of Jonathon Spector valiantly dominated the right flank, while Feilhaber, and Clark added support as defensive midfielders. Donovan and Dempsey took roaming midfielder positions and showed up all over the pitch as wingers, strikers, midfielders, and defenders. Our striking pair up top consisting of the previously invisible Charlie Davies, and the always formidable ex-Red Bull Jozy Altidore.
Have you ever seen Mighty Ducks 3? The really bad sequel where the inspiring team goes to Seton Hall and beats the Varsity team there? Anyways, the coach in that movie taught them how to play a type of game that would help them win despite their opponents being superiorly skilled.
"Defense. See, unlike scoring, defense never quits. But to play great defense you need one thing above all else. Confidence. Listen, if you learn nothin' else when you're here, you learn this, all right? This is not just about hockey. It's easy to be confident when you have control of the puck. It's very, very difficult to keep that confidence when you gotta take whatever strange bounces life throws your way. Don't be careless, but don't be too careful either. You cannot be afraid to lose! That's how you gain the confidence to attack the game when the puck isn't yours. That's how you attack life... even when you think you don't have any control. And that's how you play real defense." -Coach Orion
I don't want to talk about the actual game. Dempsey got a stroke of luck with his early strike from Spector's gorgeous cross, while Donovan and Davies paired up to display the best attacking play I have EVER seen the Americans put together. Then everything went downhill. I disagree that the Brazilians won that game. They played a dirty, dishonorable, immoral, shameless match, that the referees refused to recognize. Multiple times our players were slapped, studded, held, runover, punched, beaten down, and elbowed, yet our players took these cheap shots like men and continued playing like winners. Our players were tripped up and knocked over, but they got up and ran harder. Yet, these efforts go unnoticed by the referees who still call the Brazilian's late dives, and overacted stunts. Of course we all look back on the clear penalty kick that Charlie earned inside the 18-yard box. I would have much rather lose to a more respectable team like Spain.
I must bring this entry to an end since it nears on the brink of me rambling on too much, all I can hope is that this game opens eyes to US Soccer and the players. I pray that classy European teams look into buying these fantastic American players who have proven themselves on the world stage against the best; and that US viewers continue to watch these games to improve the stability of American soccer.
1) I love mighty ducks ... I love that speech
ReplyDelete2) I agree ... USA Players aren't all terrible ... maybe Europe will take a look at them now, because a fair few really deserve to be on a team with some great, classic players
3) I'm glad you wrote about this, because few people would. It's a shame Americans support every other sport, but soccer, which is one of the most popular sports, gets shunned.