Olympic Soccer Coverage

Adu's post-match take on De Haan's comment from earlier in the week: "Me personally, I was pissed off. I'm not going to lie ... It gets to a point as a player where you just get a little tired of people always disrespecting the United States as far as saying we can't play, we can't do this, we can't do that. But we keep proving people wrong over and over."

 

You tell 'em Freddy. I'm with ya!!!!!!!!!! COYRWB

 

Yay, Freddy!

That match was a heartbreaker...for sure. Boys looked good, though...second-half (except for the last twenty seconds of stoppage) was a stunner.

I hope they play on a better pitch next time...that game looked like it was played on a giant, soggy beach towel.

 

A giant, soggy beach towel with holes that let way to much sand through!

 

That was painful, but so promising and exciting at the same time. From what I've read, people expect Feilhaber and Szetela to be the replacements because Jozy is apparently still not 100% from his Juan Pablo Angel induced ankle injury.

God I hope we can tie.

 

I hope we get a win. A tie makes me uncomfortable.

 

Bradley finally ceases the majority of his rash tackling and he still sees the bench for an accumulation of yellows (I still think that's a rock opera waiting to happen). My dvr failed at 58 minutes against the Dutch, so I'm hoping for some positive personal viewing karma this time around.

I really want Benny to show his skill if he is named in the first XI. The U.S. has shown good possession passing in stretches against both the Dutch and Japan and I think his skills fit nicely into that game. Obviously, I'm a big fan of the guy and would like nothing more than to see him right his ship on the Olympic stage.

I'm considering watching this one live, either staying up until the match (with all of the attendant "consequences") or "napping" beforehand. I don't know why, but I haven't been this excited for a U.S. int'l match since '02.

 

3:00 AM comes mighty early.......or is that late??

 

Eh, could be worse. Its 4am for me so I am stuck. You guys can go to bed for another hour and a half to two hours. I have to be at work at 7:30 and the game will get done at 6:15ish. Could be a long day tomorrow because I will be up to watch the game. It also doesn't help im still up at 12:30. I need some good news after the biggest athlete from my state did not win the gold...yet. Hopefully Shawn Johnson can win the all-around for gymnastics.

 

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I have yet to watch the match due to work, but I read/saw the red card issued to Orozco. Why, oh why Orozco? Cooler minds prevail once again.

 

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That's that.

My Top 5 Players (excluding McBride who has nothing left to prove. He did a great job.)

1) Marvelle Wynne - An absolute monster up and down that right flank. Nobody looked as good. Needs a little work on his lateral movement, and/or the pitch really has been atrocious.

2) Freddy Adu - Some people just aren't going to like him, and not for necessarily unfounfed reasons (passing??), but I do. Adds a whole other dimension to our squad.

3) The Catcher in the Rye - I'm a fan of Stu, and it looks like he is getting and taking tips from The Legend. Has a nack for getting stuck in and finding opportunities. Stupid, albeit accidental, foul against the Netherlands, but I forgive him.

4) Sacha Kljestan - Showing his progress well, and he can control his area when he wants to. Today, it looked like he did not want to. Nice PK, but what else did you do to leave it all out on the pitch against Nigeria?

5) Maurice Edu - Attention Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, and Pablo Mastroeni!! You are quite possibly now expendable.

WhitesBhoy raspberies go to:

Benny Feilhaber - Hey Benny try this, shut-up and play.

Brad Guzan - Son, you are NOT ready for the Premiership (good thing you'll have some time.)

Michael Orozco - I somewhat feel for you, kid. But you played pertty crappy against Japan, you DID come back against the Netherlands, and then you completely bone-headed it right out of the gate this morning. The Mexican League must be soooooo proud.

 

Oh the agony, but that is why I've been won over by soccer. Those guys gave it everything today; what a final push at the end. I have yet to see the red . . . how bad was it? It is such a shame because this team was good enough to do really well. I think they are better than Nigeria and certainly outplayed the Netherlands.

W'Bhoy, I agree about Wynne, or Marvelous as I now call him. Not only does Benny need to be quiet and play, but he needs to pass better. Gave the ball away numerous times. Also, agree about Guzan; he's had some good saves but I havent seen the PL quality. He was flat footed on Nigeria's second goal. That being said, I like him. He seems like a good guy. Gave Benny a little pat on the head after the saved own-goal.

 

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Wynne: Agree his speed and physical abilities are quite literally second to none, but his pace masks his ability to get caught out in space. Can't see much fault in his performance. Just needs to sync better with Holden/Rogers in the future.

Freddy: Amazing player and his ability on the ball is phenominal. Can't wait to see him get more time with the senior squad.

Holden: First opportunity I've had to see him play at this level. He did well, got into space, but like everyone else in the side his service into the box needs to improve.

Kljestan: Just not as big on him as everyone else. Has talent, but seems to lack the ability to anticipate his teammates movements. Loved the goal though.

Edu: Played out of position and where the manager need him. Respect. I don't see him supplanting Gooch or Boca at this time and he nearly gave away the Japan match on his over agressiveness in the box. Two penalties could have been called on him. He was one of the tougher players in the side and stepped up when he was needed.

Orozco: Keep your head. Why, oh why would you throw a 'bow the third minute of the match. You let your side down in that respect. If that foul would have been committed against the US, I believe all of us would be calling for a red. First real glimpse at him on the national level. Interested to see how he will pan out.

Guzan: I think you'll do well in the Prem after he gets some experience. Some quality saves and I can't fault his performance for the most part.

The USMNT lets us down again. Here's to hoping we improve...

 

Feeling a sense of dread, I turned it off before the inevitable onslaught at the end - score was 1-0

I dont know how you could POSSIBLY fault Guzan for the time I watched it though. He played great. Even if he tripped over his own feet for the last one, I cant see it.

I'm pretty sure you have an overblown view of EPL keepers. He'll do just fine at Villa.

 

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With reagrds to Benny, I thought he played well in terms of maintaining possession. I noticed that if he made a bad pass, he got back and defended. Did you notice all the good passes he made? They clearly outweighed the bad passes highlighted above as well as the yellow. He was a big part of the reason we controlled the midfield in the second half.

The yellow was not the best thing, but it had little to no bearing on the outcome on this game. I thought the ref was pretty strict, and the guy did put his arm out to block the ball intentionally. My thought was that Benny was frustrated because they were a man up, and the guy intentionally blocks it with his arm. I do not like it when players are asking the ref to issue cards.

 

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I did notice Benny working his tail off on D; just think he made more bad passes than the rest. Many of these young guys (Adu, Bradley to name a few) have a habit of getting stupid cards.

No one mentioned Rogers - I thought he had a good tourny. Also, Davies was very impressive when he came in.

Finally, saw an interview with McBride, He said the result was "difficult to handle, to be honest". I have to agree considering they were only about 30 seconds away from clinching a q'final berth against the Dutch.

 

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Gutted.

 

...and very sleep-deprived.

I've got a "midnight confession": The ref was plain shit for giving that card to Orozco in the 4th minute...both players were fighting for the ball and making a lot of contact and then the Nigerian goes down like he was shot.

Orozco deserves a good wood-shedding for putting himself in that position, but that was just a shitty call.

 

As an SF Giants fan, I am genetically conditioned to deal with crushing disappointments, however this one especially stings. Trekker at foxsports mirrors my feelings right about now:

"To succeed the Americans are going to have to take the next, painful step and go outside the country for help with coaching and teaching and especially for the new ideas a fresh look would bring. Americans have been trying to tell themselves for years that we are producing coaches and administrators of quality, but it's not true. Were it, many Americans would be coaching top clubs overseas, and more teams would be looking to our nation for help improving the game.

At one point, "Americanization" was a useful fiction, but no more. U.S. Soccer is going to have to clean house from top to bottom and realize that producing raw talent isn't enough. It wasn't tonight in Beijing, and it won't be in Johannesburg.

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/Ja ... in_Beijing

 

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You dont consider Peter Nowak a foreign coach?

I have nothing against the idea of a foriegn head coach if it's the right guy, but the idea that the US needs to clean house of coaches from top to bottom is utter BS. It's a game, it's not that hard to figure out; the US is perfectly capable of coaching soccer. This US olympic team was very very good and it wasnt just 'cause of raw talent.