Posted on 06/17/2014 5:36:33 PM PDT by 1rudeboy
After an extraordinary start, the World Cup saw its first day of truly mediocre soccer on Monday. It is no coincidence that Monday also saw the debut of the U.S. men's team.
Don't get me wrong. The U.S.'s 2-1 victory over Ghana was about as dramatic as they come, a fitting chapter in what has turned out to be an improbable rivalry stretching over three World Cups. Clint Dempsey scored a fine goal in the first minute, before powering through a broken nose to complete the game. John Brooks came off the bench to score the winning header just moments before the final whistle, lifting the spirit of a team that had been battered like a punching bag for a solid 80 minutes.
But good soccer this was not. The U.S. played about as badly as you could play while still winning. And yet it is impossible to escape the overwhelming sense in the American media today that Team USA's victory over Ghana was somehow a triumph.
Every World Cup we are treated to a slew of stories about how this time the U.S. team will be different, which is to say a step above its usual uninspired play. Driving the hype this time around is the U.S.'s coach, the German Jurgen Klinsmann, a gifted former player famous for his blistering speed, his ultra-competitiveness, and his penchant for soaring when he could merely dive.
Klinsmann promised a more attacking kind of football. As Matthew Futterman wrote in one of the many profiles of Klinsmann in the run-up to the tournament: "Mr. Klinsmann taught the U.S. players to see the field differently — to impose themselves on opposing defenses, and for defenders to push high into the middle of the field and even to join the attack." As Klinsmann himself said, "You want to play an open game. You want to put your stamp on the game."
Sounds good, right? And so it was with some curiosity that I tuned in last night for my quadrennial viewing of the United States team — only to find the same dull, flabby soccer that has defined America's playing style for decades.
For most of the game, the U.S. was seemingly incapable of stringing together more than three passes at a time. Michael Bradley, supposedly the linchpin of the midfield, gave the ball away every other touch. It's bad enough that the U.S.'s sole striker is Jozy Altidore, who scored all of one goal last season for his club Sunderland, but he pulled up with a hamstring injury early in the game, leaving the U.S. with literally zero offensive options.
Then there's the defense, which was as adept at keeping its shape as a Jenga tower, falling apart at the slightest offensive push by the Ghanians. John Brooks may have turned out to be a hero, but the Ghanians appeared to be running at him as if he were the weakest link in an already fragile defensive chain. More shockingly, the Black Stars won the vast majority of 50-50 balls, easily out-muscling and out-hustling an American team that should at least be as fit as its opponents.
But all these glaring flaws were largely glossed over in the glow of victory. The U.S. defense was an "impenetrable force field," according to The New York Times. USA Today praised the team's "depth" and "workmanlike defense." CBS hailed Team USA for "bossing a match when it mattered most," and for "finding a way to be economical and resourceful and cunning and alert when all is on the line against an elite opponent."
Oh, please. This is shameless propaganda. It all fits the same pattern: ridiculous overpraise that is in no way connected to the reality on the pitch, fueling outsized expectations that cannot possibly be met. Klinsmann may want to institute a regime of lively, attacking soccer, but that seems like a pure fantasy when you take into account the players on his squad.
Now, of course, the national press is bound to overstate the national team's achievements. This happens everywhere. It is World Cup mania, after all. But in case there was any doubt about the truth of the matter, it is this: the American team is not very good.
LOL, and, as a matter of fact, I am Texan, and played some mean football too. (My family calls my football stories my “last hurrah.”)
You’re just acting like an ass and you know that. It’s the smarmy, self-important attitude that liberals from Manhattan affect when they lecture those in fly-over country about how much better their view of the world is.
As a regular attendee of the San Jose Earthquakes (Go Wondo!), I have repeatedly made the same observation game after game, season after season, about the Quakes.
The problem, to me, is that the players - at least on the Earthquakes - didn't want to be the one who took the shot and missed. Therefore, nobody takes the shot; all they do is try to pass the ball to someone else to take the shot.
Ultimate what happens is that the ball is intercepted and nobody ever takes a shot.
It's very frustrating to watch the pattern repeat and repeat. If the team gets a reputation of being afraid to take the shots, then the other team can craft a defense that doesn't have to worry about defending the goal. They just have to block the midfield and wait for the Americans to pass and pass and pass...
-PJ
Great another punk-ass keyboard warrior gonna show how tough he is. What’s the matter. your boyfriend not giving you any “service” while the World Cup is on, honey? Why not try that bra and panties set you wear for him on “special days”?
One unsung hero from the game. Jonas Erikson, the referee.
He handled the scuffle between Jones and Muntari perfectly. I hope he is the ref for the final game.
Yes, for me, not a goal that was Howard’s “fault”, but he’s probably also saved more difficult shots in his career.
Patton probably made the quote while sitting on his horse anyway, so your objection does not count.
Patton hates soccer. Period.
So does God:
Isa_22:18 He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.
See? In soccer you're not supposed to use your hands and toss anything. Only football, baseball and basketball are biblical.
Good Lord [pun intended].
Ever hear of a throw-in?
Jermaine Jones - dictionary definition of the type of player you love when he’s on your team, but hate when he’s on the team you’re playing against.
I have never defiled myself by watching soccer, so I have no idea. But this is also part of the communist/satanic strategy. They always spread confusion with little things like “well they use their hands sometimes,” even though the main part of the game denies the God-given use of hands.
You’re the type of religious looney that gives conservatives a bad name - you realize that, right (you whacko)?
“Like a batter stepping out and fiddling with his dumb batting gloves even when he didn’t swing.”
I like watching soccer, but couldn’t stand the theatrics on players trying to draw a fowl. My son told me that it is more often than not done to get a quick rest (no substitutions, timeouts, etc.), and/or slow things down a bit. Makes sense, but still bothers me (but not as much!).
This is exactly what I am trying to save America from, and notice that you were thinking of that and accused me of it? It’s already in your head, subliminally. It is a fact that the rise of soccer in America coincides with the rise of the homosexual movement and communism in the U.S. Look at the date: 1913. Want to know what happened next? WWI and then women’s suffrage. Think about it.
Sure, right, sounds good (as he slowly backs away from the nutter....)
The truth hurts. People do not want to give up their drugs, cocain, homosexuality, theft, murder, and soccer. It’s at the root of all our problems as a country.
Obama probably played soccer in Indonesia you know. What does that tell you?
It is SO SAFE to take a negative position.
In sports: “They are lousy and can not win.”
At work: “Oh, that won’t work.”
In the car: “We’ll never make it in time.”
If you are right, you say “I told you so.”
If your wrong you say, “Oh, I was wrong. Isn’t that great?”
Playing it safe is for losers. Maybe, like what the US team is doing. ;o)
Quit while you’re ahead. :-)
I have a son that loves soccer and has watched games in several countries.
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