USA Olympic Squad

Sorry guys, had to watch American Idol with the wife, but I should be able to catch the next game. (I DVRd this one and will watch it this week).

 

Usually, I would say you could skip the second half, Andy, but these matches are really good for judging possible up and coming talent. Second half is entertaining for that at least.

 

It sounds like I didn't miss much last night except yet another game where we outperform the opposition but fail to capitalize...

I was to busy watching my Blackhawks play their way out of the playoffs after getting all of Chicago's hopes up...oh well at least the Hawks get another chance tonight and the qualifying for our boys continues on Thursday night...

 

Overall, we dominated the game, but there were several times where the mental lapses kicked in. I like Adu in the attacking mid role - allows for his creativity. We need to put teams like this away. It should have been 3-1 in the first half. Individually, here is what I thought:

Edu wasn't involved enough - I thought he would dominate.

McCarty played well - solid play - smart passing and strong on the ball.

Klestjan is going to get more looks - nice possession play

Adu - maturing every game, and like PCB said - MOM

Outside backs - questionable defending - decent attacks from Hill. Freeman may be embarrassed that his one shot shanked for a throw in (yikes).

Sturgis and Ianni seem solid in the CB spots, but they should not have given up that goal. That ball should not have gotten through.

Davies - nice speed and potential deft touch, but that is all negated with the diving. It was pissing me off. Where do these guys learn this crap?

Findley - need to get more involved in the game - use that speed - disappeared.

Altidore - strong - muffed his one opportunity - commands respect from the D right away. That Cuban striker, Linares, is a monster size wise too.

Gaven - made some nice attacks down the left side - looked better than he has in a long time.

 

Very disappointing result IMO. Makes me wonder if olympic qualifying is even much of a priority. Altidore did not look himself. I thought they didnt adjust to Cuba's second half defense very well. They were putting no pressure on the ball so our guys really needed to attack more on the dribble. Have to wonder if the passing game isnt being overly emphasized at the expense of knowing the right thing to do in a given situation. Cuba did what an inferior team will do and the US couldnt adequately adjust for the win.

Adu was fun to watch!

 

Only really watched the first half so based on that...The last few matches Jozy has played internationally (Austria in the U20-WC, and last night), the opponents have decided to take the "if we can't beat him, we'll just beat him up" approach, hope one of these kids doesn't seriously hurt him.

Freddie was great, finally a USMNT player that might be a threat on a free kick (sick and tired of seeing zero hope on freekicks just outside the box).

Don't want to pile on the kid Davies, but if I was Novak I'd tell him the next time he goes to the ground there better be blood or a bone sticking out.

I concure w/Mo about wondering about the priority given to this. Was it arrogance not to call up Benny (unless Derby said no, which I doubt)? Spector has been on the bench at least so you knew he wasn't coming. Let's see how the boys respond.

 

I watched the first half last night.

I agree - Adu was MOM and Altidore did not seem quite himself.

The 2 wingers were useless.

I liked Dax - he's the reason Benny is not on the team.

I'm still not sold on Edu - to me, he's the poor man's Bradley. He's ok defensively, but doesn't have Bradley's work rate or his passing ability. IMO, he makes life harder for this CM partner.

We need some real FBs.

I'm looking forward to the 2nd half - it sounds like Sacha might have the makings of a classic #10 i.e., the replacement for Reyna. The question is whether to pair him with a Bradley-type or a Benny-type player in CM. Perhaps watching the 2nd half will give me a better idea.

 

The Games are in August this time around. The first soccer games are played on the 6th and 7th. Opening Ceremonies are on the 8th.

Kaka is apparently going to play for Brazil, or has asked to play.

I have no problem bringing 3 top players along with the younger players. The team is, ipso facto, a U-23 team and 3 older players won't change that. So Tim Howard or whoever else would be great.

Being in August though means missing pre-season in Europe and the first few weeks of the league schedule. A lot of teams may not want to release top players for the Games.

 

I will probably miss most of the first half of tonights game but plan on being in the chat room for at least the second half. Hope to chat with a few of you then!

 

Okay so the Olympic games start the 8th...when does the CCC start??? Dempsey could certainly miss a game or two. Now Howard may have more important games to compete in...

 

Line up

Seitz

Wynne - Sturgis - Edu - Orozco

Kljesten - McCarty - Holden

Adu - Gaven

Altidore

 

Good result tonight for sure. I agree we were lacking that final pass or piece of skill. We seem a bit hesitant when get into or near the box. Hopefully it's just guys getting used to each other and the system of play, and we'll start to see it working itself out as soon as saturday.

 

Don and Roddy good points...but I don't think you noticed we were playing F***ing Panama!!! Oh my God we have to do better than that...what happens when we play against teams like Italy or Brazil...

Although we show numerous flashes of individual brilliance from almost everyone, especially Adu and Jozy, we don't seem to be able to play as a team which I guess is understandable since they never really play together.

I just think we need to link more passes together and get on the same page in the final 1/3 of the field so when we do play the Mexicos the Argentinas the Portugals we can improve upon our U20 WC run...

 

Ah, the curse of not having FSC. I can read about the match but can't form my own opinions of the way they played....... bummer.

 

I posted some thoughts on the match on my blog if anyone wants to give it a read:

http://roddyssoccerblog.blogspot.com/

 

I really like Edu as a Center Half - he could be the CH of the next generation. I think its a much better fit for him than DM.

Holden impressed me.

 

Overall I thought we played well in two-thirds of the pitch. The insertion of Edu into our back four seemed to be a good move as he added some pace and toughness that were missing against Cuba. Orozco and Wynne played fine on the defensive end with Orozco having a couple of very nice tackles. The midfield of Kljestan, McCarty and Holden did a nice job of transitioning the ball from the defensive end to the offensive end of the pitch. McCarty was once again calm on the ball and provided a nice lynch pin in the middle of the field. Adu once again showed some nice flair and his passing was one of the few bright spots on the offensive end.

My dissappointment with this team has come in the offensive third. Outside of Freddie we seem to lack the ability to make the final pass to put anyone in a dangerous position. When Jozy did touch the ball it seemed to be well away from the goal. Freddie seemed to be playing from the middle of the pitch to wide right and we consistenely took the ball up the left side limiting Adu's touches. Seems to me that since Freddie has clearly displayed that he is playing at a level above everyone else on this squad we should be trying to maximize his touches.

A little about the others:

Sturgis - I almost didn't notice he was on the field. Perhaps on the defensive end that is a good thing.

Holden - Very active and took one nice free kick that almost beat the goalie. Needs to polish his passing some but overall had a nice game.

Kljestan - Nice pass to Jozy to set up the penalty. Much like Adu he seemed to disappear at times because the ball went up the left so often.

Thanks to Don and Lyle for the company in the chat room.

 

I just wish Fulham could put that many men forward...It was like we were only playing with two defenders since Edu and Wynne played half the game on Panama's side of the halfway line. I loved that aspect of it...but we still only got one goal...and on a PK to top it off.