Dragan Bender: The High School Project We Didn't Know We Needed

Dragan Bender is this year's unknown European draft prospect, and dude is even more unknown than usual. A vaguely athletic, tall, lanky, 18 year old question mark. While we have all had a lot of fun watching Kristaps Porzingis this past year, he did irreparable harm to the notion that all tall European draft prospects are a bunch of Andrea Bargnani clones. No longer can the articles just write themselves: tall, good-shooter, decent touch, questions about toughness, needs to put on weight, will flame out or be a stretch 4 who can't defend. Thank you Porzingis for giving us all more work.

But, when you look at Dragan Bender, the 7-1 Croatian Power Forward who is considered to be a surefire top-5 pick in next month's draft, all you see are the worrisome tropes that have plagued European draft prospects for as long as Chad Ford has been watching. First and foremost, he's 7-1 and 215 pounds. If that sounds insanely scrawny, it's because it is. There are questions over whether he can dominate at the NBA level, or even be a consistent All-Star hopeful. And while he has good vision, good touch and a good stroke, he doesn't have one elite skill or attribute at this point in his development other than "7-1."

Let's start with the good stuff. Bender is European and not named Ricky Rubio. Therefore, it is known that he can shoot. He isn't a lights-out jump shooter coming in with a reputation like Hezonja (and the jury is out on him) did last year, but he has legitimate three point range. Combined with soft touch around the basket and nifty hook shot, he's got both the mechanics of a good jump shot and the basis for a decent post game.

Most encouragingly for fans wary of another stiff looking to be on the wrong end of posters for the next decade, Bender has solid athleticism. Look, he's probably not hopping into the dunk contest anytime soon, but for a big, he's got above average lateral quickness and moves fluidly. To compare him to Porzingis, he seems to move with the same lanky-athletic gait as Kristaps, just a few inches shorter. He's quick for his size and while he won't necessarily project as an elite defender, he will most likely avoid the reputation so many other European bigs acquire of being a turnstile on defense.

Drafting European-based players is, by definition, a crapshoot. Bender is more so than most. He was not able to lock down regular minutes with Maccabi Tel Aviv and when he does play, you get a lot of this:
                                      
At first box score it seems impressive: 43 points against a European team you've maybe heard of. But watching the highlights, you can only know for certain that Bender will be absolutely fantastic at finishing uncontested layups. He's averaged 12 minutes a game for Maccabi, and almost all of his big-time action has come in youth tournaments or against weaker opposition. Compared to recent European successes like Porzingis and Mirotic, Bender just does not have as much high-level experience. While at first glance that is worrisome, much of that is due to his biggest advantage in this draft in terms of making him an attractive prospect.

He is still only 18 years old.

The NBA implemented the one-and-done rule mostly to insulate themselves from the risks of drafting talented youngsters who had not faced real competition. Investing on that much unknown information was always going to be a precarious proposition. Dragan Bender is basically a throwback to an earlier time where drafting an 18 year old without much high-level experience is exactly as unpredictable as you would imagine. The range of possibilities is wide, but the only real certainty is that Bender will not be in the running for rookie of the year next season.

Long-term, the biggest knock on Bender is his reputation as a jack of all trades. A lot of NBA players stay NBA players by being elite at one aspect of the game. This is particularly true of bigs. You don't need to have a jumpshot if you can patrol the paint, grab rebounds or block shots. Deandre Jordan is a deserved max player in the NBA, and any halfway decent high school point guard would shoot him out of a gym. The issue with Dragan Bender's game is there doesn't seem to be an aspect that is currently elite or approaching it. Most of the time a player is describe as a utility guy, it is anchored by strong defense and it remains to be seen if Bender will hit that level.

Bender has the size, athleticism and ability that makes it seem hard to imagine him completely flaming out of the league, but he doesn't seem to possess the killer ability that would make him an All-Star, which is generally a hope for a player a lot of mock drafts have going third. But in a weak draft where there are very few sure things and even those raise doubts, taking a swing at Bender might make sense in a draft without a lot of size and even less finished products.

The return of Scoops Callahan

My fellow Americans,

I'm here because I want to discuss something. That thing is the USMNT.

With Jurgen looking to shake things up from the old guard-- switching to a more attacking style of play while mixing in some "Latin flair," as he calls it-- our starting XI set to be in a state of flux for the next few months (we probably won't know his preferred XI until our first WCQ matches).

Giblinho, my friend and colleague, pointed out to me during last night's 0-1 loss to Costa Rica (USA's bogey team?) that we have an embarassment of riches in the midfield, and an embarassment of poverty in defense and attack. So I got to thinking, could we just construct an outfield team of all midfielders?

The answer, my friends, is yes:

Howard

Chandler Edu Clark Johnson

Holden Torres Bradley Shea

Dempsey Donovan

Subs: Guzan, Jones, Adu, Bedoya, Feilhaber, Kljestan, Diskerud

Timmy Chandler is generally labeled as a RM and a RB, so he makes the cut, as does Fabian Johnson at LB. Johnson has yet to nail down one specific position at village club Hoffenheim, but he has featured both in midfield and defense, specifically in the USA's problem position of LB.

Maurice Edu and Ricardo Clark are both converted DCMs, however both have had experience in the center of defense. Clark has recently been deployed as a center-back by his Frankfurt employers, while Edu at least once played as a center-back for the US against the Czechs. He wasn't particularly impressive, which makes this the biggest stretch on the list, but would he be any worse than Orozco?

Stuart Holden is forced outside simply because of his versatility. He has far greater ability to play inside but Jose Torres needs to occupy that central playmaker spot in which he excelled vs Costa Rica, while Michael Bradley will play the hardworking, defensive role he often occupied earlier in his career. At LM, Brek Shea is clearly at home and should be considered undroppable at this point.

Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan up top is something I have always wanted to see (I'm not aware of any past US game where we have experimented with this pairing). Back in the day, Donovan was a speedy striker who made a legitimate impact in South Korea 2002. He still has that breakaway speed, though whether or not he'd be effective as a striker , I don't know. Dempsey up top is nothing new, as Bob Bradley often shifted him forward towards the end of matches over the last cycle. But would pairing him with a short, speedy forward with an eye to pass in Donovan be as effective as with a bigger Jozy Altidore?

I'm well aware this is not our most effective line-up. I just wanted to point out that it is kind of amazing how many quality midfielders we have, especially when compared to our forwards and defenders-- that's 15 listed here (I refuse to include Ricardo Clark as a "quality" midfielder), and arguments could be made for Beckerman, Pontius, Rogers, and Beasley. With all of them fighting for 4, maybe 5 spots, that's an awful lot of unhappy contenders.

I don't know what this is down to, really. You could say that the US's general lack of technique/foot skill explains the lack of forwards, which is probably true. But then how do you explain the dearth of quality defenders, a position in which foot skills are the least important? Shouldn't our country's emphasis on athleticism provide players who can make a read on defense, and react accordingly? This is the one thing that has always baffled me-- the US theoretically should have a plethora of rock solid defenders-- strong safeties and small forwards converted into no nonsense centerbacks. But the truth is that we just don't have them.

Until the day that we do have plenty of solid options at CB and FW, maybe Jurgy ought to look at spreading out our midfield talent into other areas of the pitch.

Game of the Week Live Diary: Manchester United vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Ah the Game of the Week running diary! If you’re wondering why this clash is the game of the week over say Arsenal Liverpool, it’s because I didn’t have to get up at 745 for this one. Speaking of which, Arsenal for the drop? I’m only joking….sort of. Anyways, I’m all set up and ready to go, coffee in hand, sprawled out on the couch. All times are EST so don’t bitch about time zone differences.

255: ESPN2 starting up the coverage. Ten minutes of pregame? YOU SPOIL ME.

255: OK, I have a small amount of guilt that I am totally focused on a football match when Gadhafi’ reign in Libya is literally crumbling as I write this, but CNN is sounding like ESPN in the two week’s prior to the Superbowl. There’s only so many ways you can say the same things. Gadhafi was a horrible dictator, his reign is crumbling, rebels have Tripoli, we don’t know where he is. This has literally been repeated 80 times an hour by every CNN journalist they can get their hands on. I have already had a good two hours of coverage today and I feel no guilt about turning away now.

255: Starting Lineups

United:
----------------De Gea----------------
Smalling-----Jones----Evans----Evra
Nani----Cleverley----Anderson----Young
-----Welbeck------Rooney-------

Tottenham:
------------Friedel-----------------
Walker---Dawson---Kaboul---Assou-Ekotto
Lennon----Krancjar----Livermore----Bale
---------------Van der Vaart-----------
---------------Defoe-----------------

OK, all of this is done while it is happening. If anything is edited, it will simply be my grammar because I don’t want to look like an idiot on a site that is all about me writing stuff. Anyways, pretty young from both sides. United’s defense is pretty devastated right now so this is what I’d expect, but Jones is very dependable and Smalling isn’t that bad. Evans I don’t have a ton of faith in as he commits a lot of shithouse tackles so we’ll see how that goes. That’s a terrifying offense though, Nani and Young have to be the best winger combo in the premiership and if they’re not, it’s Lennon and Bale. So expect long evenings for fullbacks on both sides. I think Carrick being supplanted by Cleverley is a permanent move, as he was pretty impressive last week. On Tottenham’s side, typical defense arrangement and interesting to see Friedel is already first-choice, you’d have to imagine Gomes will have to pursue a move elsewhere. The rest of the team is pretty expected, except Livermore whom I know nothing about but made Colin very upset and sad when I texted him that he was starting. So, we’ll see how that works out. No Crouch or Pavs, and just one striker, is a pretty telling lineup for Spurs.

257: Showing all the pregame walk-ins. Old Trafford is packed. Can’t believe United hasn’t lost in the last 20 league matches against Tottenham.

259: Interesting bench players. Berbatov still on the bench, Chicharito on the bench (whom I’d have to assume you’ll see come in). Crouch isn’t even on the bench, neither is Modric and seeing as Modric refused to play, it appears he’s gone and maybe Crouch is definitely gone too.

300: OK 5 minutes of pregame I was wrong. 20 seconds and already a chance for united, well saved by Kaboul, bad defending by Walker on Young.

2’: Awful ball by VDV that almost sets up a goal for Rooney, sloppy by spurs to start.

4’: Anderson and Young attack Walker, United appears to be targeting him and it appears to be working.

5’: Evans kinda looks like a scared kid afraid to fuck up when he has the ball, just gave up and kicked it back to De Gea

7’: Great ball by Walker to Bale but well defended

8’: Great shot by Cleverley from about 25m out, excellent save by Friedel, corner for United

8’: Anderson gives one of the world’s shittiest corners straight to Assou-Ekotto

11’: Krancjar gives it away. He’s had a few bad passes, but he’s like a striker who misses a few sitters than scores a wonderstrike.

12’: Holy crap what a good ball by Jones for Young down the left flank, well defended by Kaboul.

13’: De Gea just tried to beat VDV with the ball, almost gave up a goal but VDV fouled him. Absolute insanity. De Gea might be too cool to play football well, he’s playing so casually that I feel like this will absolutely bite him in the ass.

16’: Nice little run by Bale snuffed out by Jones, looked a foul but nothing called. Dracula laid on the ground for a little bit but seems fine.

17’: And a no-call on a foul on VDV, Old Trafford rules in effect.

20’: Even possession so far and the game has been even. No team has had any great chances but it’s been a decent attacking game thus far. No real identity yet to either team.

21’: Deflected shot by Dracula well-saved by De Gea.

22’: Another great cross by Nani goes wanting by no United players in the right position, really missing Chicharito right now. Neither Rooney nor Welbeck has that same poacher’s instinct.

25’: An outrageous lob attempt by VDV, that guy tries some seriously crazy shit. Granted he was alone up there and it was his only option but yeah he has been off-on so far.

27’: It’s really interesting how much Nani and Young completely switch sides on the pitch, it’s such a luxury to have such skilled two-footed wingers. God I hate this team.

28’: Great lob pass from Rooney to Young, misses the post by about 4 inches. United looking more dangerous.

29’: VDV with an awful corner that never gets in bounds. OK I’m taking the “on” part of his evaluation now. He’s been pretty shit.

30’: Young is really making this a long night for Walker, just chapeau’d the shit out of him. I think he’s done well (Walker) but that’s definitely the more active flank and it’s hard to keep Young and Evra out for that long.

34’: Livermore does well to win the ball back after losing it. He has not looked that bad, definitely not as bad Colin feared.

36’: I’ve always thought it, but Ashley Young looks a lot like Marlo Stanfield from The Wire. If you haven’t seen it, you should it’s the best show ever on television. Makes Ashley Young far more intimidating in my eyes.

I didn't make this, so clearly I'm not the first to think this.

37’: First yellow of the game, it’s for Jonny Evans but I was looking up Marlo Stanfield pictures so I missed it. My bad. Followed up by a free kick that’s easily snuffed out by Welbeck.

39’: Young and Dawson have a pretty nasty collision. Dawson down for a few moments and gets a yellow while Young stays down for awhile. Basically Dawson steamrolled Young after he had gotten rid of the ball. Not malicious just Young was too fast for him. Young still down and looking injured, like all of my fantasy team. My team is cursed so I should probably just transfer all of my Liverpool players just in case.

43’: Typical VDV. Played liked shit all game and nearly scores a fantastic goal on a quick turn on the edge of the box.

43’: Just found out two things. One, John Obi Mikel’s father has been found unharmed and that’s great news. I can’t even imagine how awful that situation must have been for him. Two, Kyrgiakos has transferred to Wolfsburg from Liverpool. If you don’t know Soto, he was the crazy Greek guy with the big hair who we signed for like 700k back when we had no money and I loved this dude. Not a good defender but he tried hard and was always entertaining. Scored a few great goals too. So YNWA Soto and best of luck at Wolfsburg.

45’: Big argument between Kaboul and Nani. Nani is such a punk that I have to assume he is wrong. But looking at it, Kaboul is kinda being a bitch here. Basically Nani clipped him slightly on the foot going for the ball. Both were fine and the game continued but Kaboul pulled him aside to have a little hissy fit.

45’+2: Defoe has acres of space and takes an open shot and….misses and scuffs it. Ah well.

FIRST HALF THOUGHTS:
Well, for a game with so much space and so much open play, there hasn’t been one amazing chance. There has been plenty of good shots from half-chances that came close. Great defense on both sides, particularly by Jones and Kaboul for the respective teams. VDV has been rather anonymous, while Welbeck and Rooney haven’t been anonymous but haven’t really impacted the game strongly with the notable exception of a couple good passes from Rooney. Young and Nani have been influential but with no end-product, while Lennon and Bale have been active but not to the same degree. As I said, I thought Walker was being targeted to a degree, but he has held up well but also because Dawson and Kaboul have provided excellent cover. I’m not totally surprised by the lack of goals because frankly the final third has been very disappointing for both teams. Friedel’s save on Cleverley was really the only true action either keeper has seen, with the rest being routine. Here’s to hoping the game opens up in the second half.

Start of the second half:
First off, I may be the world’s greatest Angry Birds player. Has any game spawned this feeling more? Everyone feels like he is fucking Zeus with this game. Someone has finally made the video game equivalent of the cult of self esteem. Now everyone is a boss because they fling some birds and wreck some pig’s poorly constructed hideout. Also, aren’t the birds suicide bombers? A little fucked up if you ask me.

45’: Corluka replacing Kyle Walker. Can’t say I’m surprised, Walker was being assaulted all night and you need more experience there.

48’: Young alone in front of Friedel but drilled right at him. Great buildup play despite a blatant handball by Cleverley. Good start for United.

48’: Darke just made the exact comment from earlier in the game with a different player. Earlier “Niko Krancjar is one of the rare Tottenham players who knows what’s it like to win at Old Trafford, he did it with Portsmouth.” Replace NIko Krancjar with
Brad Friedel and Portsmouth with Aston Villa and that’s what he just said.

49’: Bad ball by Cleverley ruins a promising attack.

50’: Dracula takes a shitty shot instead of releasing Defoe, this game has really picked up. Already very exciting.

50’: HOLY FUCK. Lennon has days of time alone on the touchline in the box but for whatever reason does not pass to a WIDE OPEN VDV in front of goal. Eventually just blasts it off of Evans. Terrible and Darke and McManaman use it as an example of why he doesn’t play for England. Ouch.

51’: VDV would literally kill a child right now and not just because he’s a gypsy.
Just screaming into his jersey.

52’: Still can’t believe that fuck-up. Wow.

55’: Smalling just owned Assou-Ekotto but a bad cross as an end result.

57’: FK for United, Young looks to whip it in to the box from the left side, and nevermind it’s an awful ball.

58’: Damn, Marlo one-times a volley from a flick-on header by Welbeck but just a bit high.

59’: A foul against VDV and he is completely pissed off right now. I don’t know if he’s the type of player who plays better in that mindset, but you’d have to hope he is. Just took a shot from a good 40m out and shockingly enough does not trouble De Gea with it.

60’: I think VDV reminds me somewhat of a less-talented but harder-working Arshavin, which is actually a huge compliment. I think Arshavin is one of the most talented players on the planet but he is a lazy fuck, wait hold that thought.

61’: GOAL GOAL GOAL DANNY WELBECK. A great cross by Cleverley which Welbeck turns into the far corner. NO chance for Friedel. Just a classic goal. You can’t say it wasn’t coming.

And OK, back to Arshavin/VDV. I like both players a lot, but I like VDV more because I do think he is supremely talented, just not to the same degree as Arshavin. But because he works hard unlike Arshavin, he is a much more effective player. But both players can go anonymous for awhile before doing something amazing, it’s just VDV works for it while Arshavin can miss whole games from anonymity. VDV is always battling to get back into the game, it’s just his style of play isn’t stamped on the game for the whole match but he makes up for it with his numerous moments of brilliance.

64’: Foul by Krancjar on Evra JUST outside of the box, direct FK.

65’: Young bitched about the wall position. Rooney places it PERFECTLY but an absolutely amazing save by Friedel. He has been fantastic this game, Gomes better get used to the bench.

66’: Decent long distance shot by Rooney, all United now looking bad for Spurs.

67’: Jones took a run all the way to the opposite box, love his attacking verve for a center-back.

68’: Welbeck tries a bicycle kick but straight into Friedel, Berbatov is another person who should get used to a bench.

70’: Evans volley saved by Friedel, other than spilling out a bad Nani shot a couple minutes ago, simply flawless by him so far.

71’: Huddlestone and Pavs warming up to come on for Spurs. I’d guess Defoe and Livermore off? Or Krancjar and Livermore and move VDV a little further back. Spurs have looked flat and they need the change or the game is going to be real over real soon. It’s interesting to note that they simply look tired and maybe the week off/not proper training in the preseason is hurting them here. Mind you, I have no clue what they did in the off/preseason but they really just look beat. Defoe just gave the ball away in a promising attack (73’)

73’: ESPN bottomline talking about Albert Haynesworth’s “misdemeanor sexual assault.” How is sexual assault ever a misdemeanor?

74’: Subs time, Krancjar out for Pavs, Livermore out for Huddlestone, so I see that my VDV further back behind Pavs and Defoe was the correct guess. I’d assume they’ll play like a 4-1-2-1-2 with VDV in the hole behind the strikers and Huddlestone in the CDM role.

76’: Good play by Spurs in the final third but no end result, also Corluka is playing absurdly far forward.

76’: GOAL GOAL GOAL ANDERSON. Another really well-worked goal by United. Rooney to Anderson who played a give and go with Welbeck who played a brilliant backheel that left Anderson alone in front of goal and he made no mistake. Welbeck is the real deal, nevermind Berbatov Rooney and Chicharito have to watch their places.

78’: Welbeck plays Nani right in front of goal but he’s closed down by Friedel and has no chance.

78’: Best chance for Spurs yet, crossed in by Corluka, Pavs keeps it alive and with De Gea completely missing the ball Defoe tries to one-time it in but hits the woodwork. Not encouraging by De Gea but Spurs should have probably scored there. That might be it for them to get a result here.

80’: Fantastic tackle by Kaboul on Welbeck he has been impressive.

80’: Giggs, Chicharito and Park are all warming up to come on for a probable triple sub.

81’: And here it is, those three on, Welbeck, Cleverley and Young off. Standing ovation for Welbeck and well-deserved he has been fantastic. Now here’s to hoping Chicharito scores so I get some fantasy points (or VDV).

83’: Terrible ball by VDV straight into Anderson, VDV has completely checked out of this game.

83’: Terrific cross by Nani that both Chicharito and Rooney should have finished but no one gets a touch on it.

84’: God I forgot how huge Huddlestone is how does that man play professional football?

85’: Play is getting real sloppy by Spurs, this mental checking-out can’t be encouraging for the campaign. Nani plays a ball a bit too far for Rooney otherwise it was a goal.

85’: A couple long shots from VDV that both go straight at De Gea.

87’: GOAL GOAL GOAL ROONEY. Well that does it. Another cross, this time by Giggs, straight to Rooney who simply heads in from 3 yards out. Just poor defending, United could walk it in if they wanted to now.

89’: Brilliant set-up pass by Pavs to VDV but he takes a ridiculous one time shot instead of taking a touch or two. Just wasteful, Spurs just want to leave.

90+1’: Rather bullshit yellow card for Defoe. De Gea spills outs a long range Huddlestone effort and tries to finish it as De Gea jumps back on it. Thought it was pretty fair on both parts, overreacting by United though I guess no one likes to see their goalie kicked.

90+3': And that's game!

Thoughts:
Well, United looked great. That's the biggest takeaway. They looked absolutely excellent. There only drawback....yes De Gea. I hate to pile on this guy but he just did not inspire any confidence. He was weak on crosses and long-distance efforts. He didn't have any howlers and he did keep a clean sheet, but otherwise no real confidence in him. Welbeck looks fantastic and he was their man of the match, Cleverley and Anderson bossed the midfield, and then the rest of the players up front, Rooney Young and Nani were excellent. Really no weak point, and Phil Jones already looks brilliant for them. Damnit.

On Tottenham, this was their first competitive game while it was United's third, but they did just look flat and disinterested in the second half. They were decent in the first half, but just completely outclassed in the second. I'd be most worried about the lack of a finishing touch and most importantly, the mental aspects. Some absolute brainfarts by Lennon and others that ruined some attacks, and then once they were down 2-0 they completely gave up. Just no desire or belief. I thought VDV had a pretty bad afternoon and he'll definitely need to step it up when Modric leaves. Worrying start for Tottenham but let's see if they can right the ship against some less impressive competition

Analysis of Jurgen's First Squad

So, the squad for the game against Mexico has been announced, and so we finally get a solid first look at his selection process. There is the obvious caveat of the fact that this game happens a few days before many leagues kick off, and so certain players (Dempsey most notably) are already in their club mixes. But anyways, let's take a look.

The Usual Suspects
Tim Howard (Everton)
Carlos Bocanegra (St Etienne)
Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach)
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04)
Steve Cherundolo (Hannover)
Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Maurice Edu (Rangers)

OK, so no one here is a surprise. If anyone seriously played up any doubt about Bradley being here is completely foolish. He's our best pure midfielder and will always at least be in the squad. He can be a little...abrasive but that's mostly to the media and I doubt that will spill over on Klinsmann. He never thought he'd spend his entire career coached by his dad by USA and he knows how this works. The rest are as the name implies. I'd say Edu is the one to watch out of anyone, he really came into his own with Rangers this past year and I think he could challenge Bradley and Jones, particularly if Klinsmann favors only one defensive midfielder.

The Prodigal Sons
Jose Torres (Pachuca)
Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake)

Say hello to the two happiest Americans after the announcement of Klinsmann! There was no real fall from grace for either in terms of club play, as both have had distinguished careers in Mexico and MLS respectively but both were pushed out of the national team during the Bradley era in ways due to their style of play. Both are creative midfielders with an eye for the pass, and I have always been impressed with Beckerman whenever I've seen him play. Due to his age, it will probably be Torres who wins out, but it's good to see both here. Obviously Torres played himself out of the team with the Slovenia game in the World Cup, but he is a talented player who deserves another shot. Great to see both in here.

The Reclamation Projects
Freddy Adu (Benfica)
DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla

Look, Freddy Adu deserves to be here. He played out of his mind in the Gold Cup and in his defense, he has almost always delivered when representing the national team. What has submarined him has been his inability to get anyone outside of the country to believe in him. If he can get regular football anywhere (COUGH MLS COUGH) he should go. There is no shame in coming back Freddy. None. Now, I think Klinsmann rightfully sees plenty of talent (and history) with Beasley that points to him possibly catching lightning in a bottle as Bradley with Adu. I hope so, but I gotta say it's unlikely. Beasley has just been awful for a few years now and he went from one of our most central players a few years ago to having played himself completely off the squad. With the loyalty of Bradley, that is no easy feat. Even Adu couldn't pull that off. I think the Adu Renaissance will continue but I don't harbor high hopes for Beasley.

The Young Gun
Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls)

He could be put on the usual suspects list already because everyone would be shocked if he does not get included in squads at this point. He is our most talented and promising youngster and while he had a mediocre (at best) Gold Cup, you've gotta hope he will just continue to improve.

The Groans
Clarence Goodson (Brondby)
Heath Pearce (Chivas USA)
Edson Buddle (FC Ingolstadt)

Goodson some would disagree a bit on, but I cannot get remotely excited by anyone here. If anyone of these guys starts, it just showcases a lot of the mediocrity that we have to deal with as a shallow talent pool. Pearce has had so many shockers that I literally cannot believe he has been capped 32 times and Buddle is really just a striker of complete last resort. There's not much to say here as these are three players who are not particularly young (Pearce at 26 is the youngest) and so probably not getting much better. These guys won't be starting in Brazil in three years so there's nothing for me to get myself all worked up about seeing as we don't have a trophy to play for until 2013 but yeah these guys are the groaners.

The Young Hopefuls
Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls)
Edgar Castillo (Club America)
Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
Michael Orozco Fiscal (San Luis)
Timmy Chandler (Nurnberg)
Bill Hamid (DC United)

And the rest. Hamid won't start, might get on the field to get cap-tied. I don't know if he is a dual-citizen, it just tends to be a safe assumption with American players. Hell, if I was good enough I'd have to be cap-tied too it just makes sense. Ream has already had a handful of caps and while he hasn't been great I think he has the makings of at least a solid central defender. It is of note that we have one goalie, one attacker and four defenders here. Defense is clearly our weak point and so the point where we need fresh thinking. Castillo should be decent, similar to Ream but I'm really excited about Chandler. A natural successor to Cherundolo and his Bundesliga crosses....everything we need in the team. Every team needs an exciting wingback and we've been hurting for a truly exciting one after Hejduk. Granted, Cherundolo is better than Hejduk in my opinion but he doesn't have the same pizzazz. Orozco Fiscal isn't exactly young (25) but he fits into Klinsmann desire to get a more Latin flair into the team. I honestly know nothing about this guy. He plays for a Mexican team whose name isn't super familiar to me and he played one season with the Union. And I guess he was on our last Olympic team. Alright then. Shea is the only relatively new guy in an attacking role, and he has been legit for Dallas thusfar and it will be exciting to see him start to feature for the national team, but given our glut of midfielders I don't expect to see him on Wednesday.

Well, that's the team. A lot of regulars, a lot of borderline players called up in replacement of missing players and then a handful of chances. I don't expect to see too much shaken up, but if there were to be something, maybe just one defensive midfielder. Given how Clark, Edu, Jones and Bradley aren't the world's most creative destroyers, you could be looking at just one of those on the pitch. I still think you'll probably see both of Jones and Bradley.

But in all honesty, there's some real quirks with this squad. It first off has one striker, and that striker is Edson Buddle. That is crazy. Donovan and Agudelo will probably be some weird forward combination upfront, but neither is a true striker. Agudelo is closer to one, but I think he is a better foil at this point. So we could be playing one striker up top (Agudelo), play both Donovan and Agudelo up top or in some way have Edson Buddle in the team. All of those options sound awful to me. Now, if Donovan is going to go a bit further back and placed on the right wing, we could replace Donovan in the second striker role with...Adu! I would be pretty excited with this, I want to see more Adu! Now if we put Donovan on the right, that would mean Beasley or Shea on the left...with which I would always want to see the young talent of Shea playing there. While I'd like to see Torres or Beckerman in the lineup, I'm so Bradley-fied that I can't imagine not seeing Bradley Jones in there, but I'd love to see Bradley Torres. For defense, Cherundolo on right, Bocanegra on left, and Ream and Castillo in the center, with Howard in back. I don't see the point of Pearce or Goodson as I really don't see either of them making any serious squad in the future so the future is now. So, something like this

Agudelo
Adu
Shea Bradley Torres Donovan
Bocanegra Ream Castillo Cherundolo
Howard

The final question is that of subs. Look, this isn't your usual friendly. This is against Mexico. This is one of the biggest soccer rivalries on Earth, particularly with national teams. There are no friendlies. I want to win this game no question. Way more than the usual friendly, I won't be happen with encouraging progress. I want a statement of intent. So, I don't know how much tinkering you should really expect to see. If my lineup is correct (highly unlikely), I'd like to see Edu and Jones see some action, along with Chandler and Beckerman. Granted how we named six central midfielders, all of whom have real potential to start for the national team, it's hard for me because I like all of them. Outside of the players I named in the lineup, Chandler is the only other player I'd really like to see. Maybe some Orozco Fiscal so I can get a better gauge on him as well. Either way, the only thing I know is I don't know care who starts, what is most important here is trying to get the win. USA!

It's Jurgen Time!

Look, I've always felt the strong push for Klinsman was a little unnecessary. He is not the only great coach on this Earth and the fact that he lives in California should not mean we send the whole kitchen sink trying to get him. Either way, he is an exciting coach to have and while my optimism is absolutely tempered, I'm looking forward to the new era. Grant Wahl posted an article Klisman himself wrote for the BBC about how England can revamp their own team, and it is the best way for us to really get a glimpse into how his philosophy is structured. The article in full is here:

Let's break it down:

Germany had to rebuild after the disaster of the 2004 European Championship in Portugal. We did not win a game and failed to get out of our group.

I got the chance to decide on the direction we took when I agreed to take over as Germany coach that summer, with current manager Joachim Loew as my assistant.

'Jogi' and I began the whole regeneration process by trying to give our national team an identity.

We eventually decided to go down an attack-minded route, passing the ball on the ground from the back to the front line as quickly as possible using dynamic football.

Ok, this is stuff I like. Identities are good. Brazil has always had one, Spain has one, Italy has one. These things tend to work out. Attack-minded football would always be welcome but I particularly like this next bit...

Every nation has its own culture and specific environment as well as its own footballing identity. England have to develop their own vision and decide how they should play.

As I found, making that vision work is not an easy process. It will take time and England's results might not be positive while it takes effect.

OK....this is where there might be more of a disconnect. I'd love for us to have the German attack-minded identity, but is he equipped if our team plays to different styles? And would he survive if our team started to struggle mightily pre-World Cup?

England will also need the help of the Premier League. Every club coach will have their own philosophy but I tried to work with those in the Bundesliga to build something together.

There are a lot of foreign players and managers in England but that should not make a difference. You simply have to explain to them what the style of play is that you want to develop and be prepared to persevere.

Huh? Well first off, we are in a totally different perspective in that we would be in a world of trouble if we only selected players from our national league. But I can see the importance I guess in regards to an overall culture. But still, what the hell is he smoking here? He went around to coaches in the Bundesliga and they all played more attack-minded because he wanted them to? Did this actually work and if so, why hasn't he already called every MLS coach? In all honesty, I think this a totally bullshit statement as every club IS different and I don't think the fact that Real Madrid plays counter-attack and Barcelona plays possession has hurt the national team at all.

The German Football Association (DFB) helped us by putting a lot of pressure on all the first and second division teams in the Bundesliga to build academy programmes and ensure talented young players were coming through but we still had to decide on our playing style.

To do that, we quizzed everyone we could.

We held workshops with German coaches and players, asking them to write down on flip charts three things: how they wanted to play, how they wanted to be seen to be playing by the rest of the world and how the German public wanted to see us playing.

If we could define all of that, we thought we could lay out how we wanted to work and then, from there, sort out the training and paperwork behind the scenes.

What we ended up with amounted to 10 or 12 bullet points laying out our proposals. We then announced that it was our intention to play a fast-paced game, an attacking game and a proactive game.

Yet again, sorry to be so cynical but would you expect any different? Does any player really WANT to play a Stoke City style of play? Of course if you ask the players how they want it done they'll want a fast-paced attacking game. Of course that's what people want to see. I do like this whole national identity thing though, and he does go on about how he wanted it implemented on every level.

At that point, I told them I did not have the time to implement the strategy at all levels because I only had two years to prepare for the World Cup, so I asked for Germany's Under-21 team to adopt it and that was it.

I brought in a former international team-mate of mine, Dieter Eilts, to run the under-21s and said they had to play the same way as the senior team because they would be a feeder for it.

I was always looking long-term but I knew our plans would be measured by our success at the 2006 World Cup.

There was a lot of negative media at the start. Everybody agreed German football had to change after 2004 but nobody actually wanted to adopt our proposals.

For example, we told the Bundesliga teams and coaches that their players needed to be fitter to play the kind of football we wanted to play.

And, yet again, I just can't believe he held or attempted to hold that kind of sway with the club coaches. Just insane to me. If he can do it, power to him, but I'm just very skeptical of this being able to work in the US.

That was crucial because, no matter what your job is, you need to identify yourself with the work that you are doing and be happy.

I was happy because, as a former striker, I liked the style we intended to play. I could never coach a team that played defensive-minded football.

The most important quote in the whole article. Obviously things change but it looks pretty damn likely he is going to try something similar. He feels vindicated by his success in Germany and wants to replicate in the US, and he says himself he could not coach a defensive team. I'm down with that. Look, I know I sound skeptical here but it's because I don't like getting my hopes up. I don't want to run off and celebrate that we have Klinsman who followed up his Germany triumph with an absolutely horrid campaign with Bayern Munich, followed by sunbathing in California for a few years. I like that he emphasizes stylish, attacking play (what a change of pace!) and that he genuinely seems focused and interested in the future and development of players. If those two mantras hold, then he is a great hire for the job. Our talent pipeline is currently running pretty under-capacity and we have no real identity. I'd say the things that define US soccer are resilience and athleticism, because honestly, what else would there be to say? Resilience is a great thing, and one we should cherish, and yes our country produces some exceptional athletes. But there is nothing really else to identify us. We batten down the hatches and try to get a few good attacks and finish, despite not being an elite defensive team. We play route-one despite not having a decent striker. We seem to do a lot of things oddly and without consistency and I think a strong identity and ethic could do wonders. I hope this all works, I really do. Just don't expect to jump on the bandwagon just yet.

An Ode to Bob Bradley

So, I've felt for quite a while (like many US fans) that the useful period of the Bob Bradley era was done. He was both overrated and underappreciated, but such is the way with fickle national team fans. His entrance into the team could not have been worse. Gulati was salivating over Klinsman and his refusal to give Klinsman total control over the machinations of the national team was a good, principled team that prevented us from looking like a weak and desperate federation. Regardless, when someone is introduced as a caregiver, gets a couple effective results in friendlies and is then given the full-time position, it does not produce the wonder or fanfare of an All-Star appointment. But we need to look at Bob Bradley objectively, to see if he truly was a good manager for the national team. As has been much publicized in his departure, he went to four finals in his six appearances. And the two times he did not reach a final, it was the World Cup and the Copa America where his best player was either Feilhaber or Clark, but either way they were his two best players by a country mile (unless you count a Charlie Davies before he really leaped to a new level of play in 2008 and 2009). That's nothing to complain about, but obviously no one is going to win fans by blowing 2 goal leads in two of the finals, one where it is against our most hated rival and another when it is against Brazil in the biggest match in USMNT history (I will hear arguments for USA-Germany in 2002). In any case, I believe virtually all coaches grow stale in a second world cup cycle, and should be changed anyways. Capello will get even worse for England by my reckoning and if he doesn't then he is merely an exception. Bruce Arena gave the US its greatest cup run in modern history and then followed it up with 1 point and 1 goal scored by an American in group play in 2006. It was all just a matter of time. I'm going to give Bob Bradley grades on his tournaments and the other aspects that make a successful national team coach.

2007 Gold Cup Grade: A


Look, you can't win a tournament and not get an A grade. The US skated through the group stage without conceding a goal, and then 2-1'd their way through the knockout stages to the final. This wasn't a tournament without drama however. The USA-Canada game was marred by the fact that Canada was wrongfully denied an equalizer in the dying minutes of the match and in all honesty looked the better team in those closing minutes. It is never a good sign when Julian de Guzman and Iain Hume are killing you. USA advanced and then faced Mexico, where Benny Feilhaber reached his highest heights in the national team with this cracker of a goal:



In the end, it was a workmanlike solid tournament that got the desired goal. This was Mexico in an off-period and us in a peaking one, so I would have been surprised if we had not won. We didn't have the all-stars of the tournament (Donovan or Dempsey didn't even make the best XI) but we had cohesion and an indomitable spirit that made us all think maybe Bradley knew what he was doing after all.

2007 Copa America Grade: F



Look, there isn't much to say here. Clearly we did not prioritize this tournament. This was right after the Gold Cup, held no real importance from a pragmatic standpoint and for these reasons we sent a B team. However our B team sucked then and sucks now. It is a big achievement for our team to go to competitive tournaments and simply show up and play well, so going to one of those tournaments not ready to compete is going to produce what happened in Venezuela. We were outscored 8-2 en route to 4-1, 3-1 and 1-0 losses in the group stage. We held a lead for all of 2 minutes in the tournament via a 9' Eddie Johnson penalty vs Argentina which was quickly erased by an 11' equalizer by Hernan Crespo. I think that sentence says all you need to hear about how well we stacked up. Sure, it may be harsh to give this team an F but in terms of results it could not have gotten worse. We had 0 points and -6 goal differential. That would put us 12th in the tournament and there were 12 teams. You can't fault Bradley once he got there too much as his team really sucked, but I'm not going to give him credit for that sort of performance.

2009 Confederations Cup Grade: A-





Look, I don't get as excited about this tournament as others do. In a nutshell, we got creamed by Italy and Brazil, crushed Egypt, had a fluke shocker over Spain and then got outclassed by Brazil in the final. So we had 2.5 good games out of 5 if you want to count the first half of the final. That's not a good batting average. We went through the group stage only on one of those multi-layered combinations of things that must go right and thankfully they all did. If Brazil didn't cream Italy that bad, we would not have gone through. The tournament started out horrendously, with Rossi destroying us in the first match which really twisted the knife. Brazil then completely outclassed us in the second game and it really seemed all dead and gone. Then, to everyone in the team's and most importantly Bradley's credit, the team rallied, crushed Egypt and made it to the knockouts. This two-game stretch of Egypt and Spain is in my opinion the peak of Bradley's career. Getting blown out by both Italy and Brazil is not terribly unexpected for our team and Egypt is an African powerhouse so beating them is always impressive. The Spain game was an incredible soul-affirming moment, but any American fan who tells you that we were true 2-0 winners that day are kidding themselves. Altidore's goal was great for the turn (Casillas I'm sure feels he could have done better) and gave us all the hope we needed in him. Spain then unleashed the armada and fired shot after shot but our defense (and Howard) were unbelievable and pulled us through. Dempsey then put in the clincher using the strongest law in soccer physics: If the ball stays in the box too long, it's going to go in the net. Just outhustled the Spanish defense to the ball and kept his cool. The final against Brazil was as heartbreaking as the win against Spain was euphoric. Great counterattacking put us in a great position to win at half-time, but the first minute of the second half was punctuated by Luis Fabiano's clinical finishing and we all knew it was probably going to end poorly. They were a far better team and no one can truly complain but the way it turned out was just so heartbreaking. Howard and Dempsey made the Best XI, with Dempsey getting Bronze Ball and Howard getting the Golden Gloves. This is the tournament that made the US feel the most like a real competitive team. We beat Egypt and Spain, qualified ahead of Italy and lost 3-2 in the final. Our goalie was named the best of the tournament and best outfield player got the bronze ball behind only Kaka and Luis Fabiano. It was a moment when you really felt the team had turned the corner.

2009 Gold Cup Grade: D


Another case of second-tournament B-team syndrome. In the group stage, we killed Grenada (expected), solidly beat Honduras (impressive) and tied Haiti 2-2 (pathetic). Oh wait, Honduras sent a B team as well? Well nevermind then. We had to have extra time to beat Panama and then we beat Honduras B again on our way to the final with Mexico. I should point out that this is as well mostly a Mexico B. Sure Gio dos Santos is there, but the only four players who played in both the 2009 and 2011 final for Mexico are dos Santos, Torrado, Suarez and Castro. Granted, that's compared to 0 for the US, but still, the 5-0 drubbing was horrendous. It gave Mexico renewed confidence in their matches against us and signaled the end of our CONCACAF dominance. We all hoped it meant nothing but it clearly did. On the flip side, no player wants to play two international tournaments in one summer, and so you can't blame Bradley again for the fact that our B team is awful. His best players were Holden (MLS-version), Beckerman and Rogers. Rogers is injury-riddled now so it's unfair to judge but you have 2 career MLSers as arguably your best performers. There was not an impressive win in this tournament (as I stated, I'm not impressed beating Honduras B, Grenada or Panama) so to have only this 5-0 drubbing is a huge stain on the tournament.

2010 World Cup Grade: B+

Alternatively, I'm not as low on this tournament as others are. Look, we won our group with England in it, tied England and Slovenia and beat Algeria in the group stage. That's as close to a best-case scenario ahead of time as we probably could have had. The loss to Ghana is not as ridiculous as some members of the media made it out to be. It's just seeing that your lineup would be Ghana, Uruguay, Netherlands to the final IS one of the least intimidating ways to make a World Cup final, but we would have been underdogs in each of those games. This is not a huge upset or a shocker of a win. Ghana's best player, Gyan, was and is better than our best player, Dempsey. Let's go over the tournament though. We were, in all honesty, as good if not better over the course of the match with England. The Green howler is all anyone will ever remember from that match, but after that the wind was sucked out of England's sails and we really were the better team. Against Slovenia, we were poor in the first half and got punished, but got a deserved tie and this match will always be remembered for the wrongfully disallowed goal. So, I can understand the fan's frustrations when two probably-should-be-a-win games are ties and it takes a miracle in the 91' minute to beat Algeria and win us the group. We had a great group stage, and the fact that two ties should have been wins is immaterial if you get through. The loss to Ghana was....deserved. Sorry but they were better. I mean, Gyan, Asamoah, Boateng, Mensah....that is a good team. Their players play for better clubs and many of them ARE better. The US should have beat England because England collapsed after a goalkeeping error, the US should have beat Slovenia because Slovenia wilted under high-pressure tactics after going 2-0 up and the US should have beat Algeria because they may have been the worst team in the tournament. Only one of those games should we have won because we are definitively the better team. The other two because we were mentally tougher but in all honesty probably worse technically. This is a testament to a mentality instilled by Bradley but people need to understand that on paper we are underdogs in most games in non-Gold Cup tournaments. Against Ghana, we started Bornstein, Findley, Demerit and Clark. Those are not even good players on a world scale, probably not even average. I think this tournament was a bigger success for Bradley in some ways than even the Confederations cup because he did well for the entire tournament.

2011 Gold Cup Grade: C-

Look, the US looked like shit throughout this whole tournament. I even read other blogs talking about how they almost wanted the US to lose because they knew if we won, everyone would say all is right and none of the problems would be addressed. And I cannot say I totally disagree with that. This is the tournament, along with some poorly played friendlies, that did Bradley in. We never looked that good in this tournament, at any point. Our most impressive victories were either a solid win over Canada or 90%-as-solid win over Jamaica. Panama beat us and looked like they deserved at least a draw against us in the knockout stage, and I felt lucky that we beat Guadeloupe in normal time (despite a STUNNER from Altidore). The team was just so dull and lacked imagination and inspiration. I knew we would get up and play for Mexico because we always do because that is how rivalries work. The reason the only tournament I put a non-US picture is this one is because no matter how you cut it, this tournament cannot be made about the United States. This was Mexico's tournament and Mexico had all the storylines. Our only possible angles were that of a dull, aging team with nothing coming down the pipeline. Agudelo was mediocre at best, and there was simply nothing to say about the team. They didn't deserve to be champions and they weren't. Mexico, on the other hand, inherited virtually every single CONCACAF crown the US had in this tournament. Best player in CONCACAF? I'm sorry Donovan but Chicharito has that crown. Best Team? Clearly Mexico. Best Future? Again, Mexico. Best Attack? Again. Most Resilient? Most Mentally Strong? Most Balanced? Even Howard looked shaky in the tournament and while I'm not ready to say his title of best keeper in CONCACAF is gone it is surely up for grabs on current form. This loss hurt so much worse than almost any other I can remember because of all the implications. For years, USA beat the technically-superior Mexicans with superior tactics, organization and mental toughness. All of those advantages are gone. The talent pendulum has swung absurdly into their direction. The US needs a new golden generation and FAST if they want any chance to reclaim the Kings of CONCACAF title anytime soon and until then, expect to see Hernandez smiling as widely as he is right here every time he steps on US soil.

So, what does all this mean? In only one tournament did Bradley take seriously did I give him a bad grade (the last Gold Cup) and fittingly his poor performance in it cost him his job. It's hard to truly evaluate either the 2007 Copa America or 2009 Gold Cup because simply put, it's unfair on players to call them to two different tournaments. Either they play in Europe where you are now dooming them to a summer break that is completely filled with competitive soccer or they play in MLS where they miss half the season. I think the problems there are systemic. Personally, I think CONEMBOL and CONCACAF should combine into one conference and have one quadrennial tournament like UEFA, but if it weren't to happen, the Gold Cup itself should be quadrennial as well. And why not have it the same summer as Euros? That way if CONCACAF teams want to play in the Copa America, they don't have to send U23 squads. But more on that in later posts. My point was, it's really harsh to judge him too strongly on those two tournaments. So I won't.

On the other ones, there really could be no complaints about his performance pre-2011. He won the Gold Cup, lost in the final of the Confeds Cup and in the round of 16 in the World Cup. I think very few (realistic) American fans would be upset with that payoff. In competitive matches, he beat Mexico, Spain, Egypt and drew England. His team got stale and dull after the full cycle but so do most coaches, just look at World Cup-winning coach Lippi with Italy. You could say he relied too much on the same guys and did not do enough youth development but what else could he really do? It's not like the national team is the place for serious development of players. The national team cherry picks the best possible team of the available players. You don't want to have your eventual players to be unseasoned in international football, but those blaming Bradley for not bleeding in new guys are delusional. Not only did he take some serious risks with players but he HAD to. We simply aren't that deep. The only players who were truly undroppable were Howard, Bocanegra, Bradley, Donovan and Dempsey. And would anyone disagree with that? Those were our five best players over the last cycle. I understand that everyone was initially skeptical over the nepotistic choice of his son for CM, but he IS our best CM. Altidore started game after game because who else would you put there? Findley failed, Ching failed, Casey failed, Cooper failed, Gomez failed and so did everyone else but Altidore and Davies. Altidore and Davies were legitimately good as a one-two punch before Davies's horrific car crash. And even though Altidore isn't very good on a global scale (yet?), he is without a doubt our best current striker. The problem is he isn't a natural goal scorer the way a Chicharito is and he is better in the Heskey mold of striker, which means you need someone else up there with him. But after Davies, no one else is close to good enough. Bradley put in Agudelo and ADU in the last Gold Cup, both of which were bold choices and the inspired choice of Adu really should put to rest any idea that he was not a creative coach. His love of 2 CDMs may have made us dull, but you can't argue with his results during the last cycle, you really can't. He didn't bleed in new guys because they all sucked. Holden would have been in but he always got seriously hurt at the worst times. Because of that, he is really the only American player who is playing so well that you're saying why isn't a regular for the national team? Bradley's job was to take finished products more or less, and make a great team out of them. He tried so many different options to see who could work but the fact is, most of them couldn't. Klinsman has his work cut out for him, as his best players are getting older and older and there does not seem to be any hope breaking through the youth ranks. Bradley was a great coach for the USMNT, and one who I really hope history is kind to. Judging him on the 2010 World Cup cycle, he did fantastically well. I realize he was never the most popular choice, but he really did a great job and one that all US fans should acknowledge and appreciate. Thank you Bob Bradley.

Musings

So, I watched a lot of soccer yesterday. By a lot, I mean a shit ton. I have the good fortune to work as a bartender, which means that on slow days (like yesterday), I may be poorly paid, but I get to watch whatever sport I want all day. I was able to watch both Womens World Cup semi-finals and both Copa America matches, along with the New England Revolution against Manchester United in a friendly. A quick aside before some thoughts however. I watched the Seattle-Portland match from last weekend, and I have to say, as a normal detractor of MLS, the match was fucking awesome. It was a nail-biter with passion flowing forth from every inch of the pitch. Just completely revolutionized my idea of what the league is and where the league is going. Onto the games:

USA 3 France 1
Whats there to say? This is probably the only game of the five that was widely watched (of the five I watched that is) and the only one I watched completely front to finish (I was at home for this one). I have to say, France were definitely the better team in the first 2/3 of the game, it was just down to goalkeeping for why the US won. Simply put, you need an elite keeper to win a tournament. I don't care what tournament, if you have a better keeper than everyone else, you've got a hell of a shot to win. Howard's dominance (this year notwithstanding) has been the difference for the USMNT to dominate CONCACAF and Hope Solo is why the women's team is still in the tournament. She is way better than whoever was in goal for the French team, who really should have down better with both the second and third goals. The second goal was simply timid goalkeeping, while the third one was poor positioning. Either way, very much looking forward to the final.

Japan 3 Sweden 1
In all honesty, saying I watched this is somewhat of a fiction. I was opening and had some business so I really watched the highlights. Both teams had one cracking goal while Japan also had 2 shit ones. We lost to Sweden so I guess it's good we face Japan? or we're doubly screwed. I really know nothing about the relative strength of the world's female teams.

Paraguay 3 Venezuela 3
HOLY SHIT. I still cannot believe Paraguay blew this. Venezuela outplayed them pretty solidly in the first half and scored off an inexplicable defensive meltdown. I realize one is afraid of passes that lead to someone being alone on goal, but why would you let someone be alone on goal by leaving them to defend the pass? The defender LEFT the main with the ball on the 18 and Venezuela duly capitalized. I thought Paraguay settled and had a somewhat flattering scoreline (but a deserved lead) but then all hell broke loose and Venezuela just annihilated them in injury time. If you didn't hear about the game, Paraguay was up 3 1 going into the final 3 minutes of injury time when Venezuela scored twice and tied the match (and in turn won the group). Paraguay had completely checked out and were duly punished.

Brazil 4 Ecuador 2
First things first, how the hell did Brazil let this happen? A must-win group stage match in a tournament where only one THIRD-placed team gets eliminated at the group stage? Unbelievable. Anyways, Ecuador got two very-against-the-run-of-play equalizers at 1 1 and 2 2 which made me salivate over the idea of what the tiebreaker would be if Brazil tied 3 3 (giving them the same points, goal differential, goals scored, goals allowed as Paraguay). However, Brazil was much better and Pato is really good, and Ecuador is really quite shit, so it was just a matter of time. And it was. Neymar and Ganso impressed as well so even though this appears to be one of the weakest Brazil teams ever fielded, the front 3 of Pato Neymar and Ganso is going to haunt everyone's dreams for the next decade. By the way, I looked up the tiebreaker. For FIFA (and presumably CONEMBOL) they....draw out of a hat. Yes, yes they do. That would have been FANTASTIC.

Manchester United 4 New England Revolution 1
What is there to say? Of course they fucking won. Micky Owen scored a goal but fuck him anyways. Ashley Young looked pretty good but Robbie Rogers looks pretty good against the Revs too so I'll say the jury is still out.