Pseudo Corner Kick

Nothing Earth shattering here, but it is nice to see that Gulati is not piling on:

I think it’s fine to criticize the results of the team and the performance — that’s part of sports and Bruce is the head of the team, that goes with the territory — but to challenge his experience, his ability, his know how, his decision-making, is, just to me, not credible given his record over the last eight years with our team and his record in general.

Well said. I am glad to see that there is serious thought being given to taking part in the Copa America. I think it has become evident that the MNT needs something more challenging than beating up on Aruba during qualifiying.

Watching the first 55 minutes I thought Germany was done. But they aren’t and here’s how:

In the first half Argentina controlled the game and really played Balboa’s “knock it around” style of play. They eventually scored off a corner kick right after halftime with a great header by Roberto Ayala in the 49th minute. After that goal Germany seemed to put them on their heels and eventually equalized with a Miroslav Klose’s goal in the 80th minute. After two 15 minute overtime sessions amounting to not much Jens Lehmann stopped two penalty kicks to lead Germany to the win in the shootout.

After Lehmann stopped the last kick to win the shootout a melee broke-out between Argentina and Germany with Argentina going after assistant coach Oliver Bierhoff. I’m not so sure what that was about. I’m going out so I’ll have to find out what happen with that later.

Michael Ballack seemed to be on his last leg in the overtime sessions and the German team in general didn’t play that well. They will have to step it up if they want to beat Italy or Ukraine and win it all. Ref wasn’t that bad today. Amazing!

First off, a HUGE thank you to Barbara and Lauren for keeping the site afloat while we were gone. My originial hope was to basically have some fresh content during the group stage, regardless of the quality. What we got was some excellent insight and game recaps, far above and beyond what was hoped for. Again, many thanks.

Thanks to Bobby and David for going along on this crazy thing. Crazy fax machines, confident about getting tickets, getting waitlisted, getting tickets at the last minute, it has been quite a roller coaster ride. Our side trips to Normandy and Rome were outstanding.

I really don’t know what to say about the games that hasn’t already been said. Bobby’s analysis is the best I’ve read so far, even among ’serious’ commentators and analysts. I would like to say though that it truly makes me sad to see the way Bruce Arena is being treated. The ingratitude shown to a man who has done so much for US Soccer is appalling. You can think he should go, you can think he should be fired, these are legitimate opinions, but please, at least have a shred of respect for the man. I think will save my Bruce rant for another post.

I look forward to keeping the site going. Many other soccer blogs may fade away now, but PCK has been around for a year and we hope to be around for many more. I still have some projects I would love to get done for the site. I think PCK has a voice in the soccer blogosphere right now, and until I feel otherwise, I will be dedicated to keeping the site going.

Some thoughts on the players and coaches…

1 Tim Howard- Didn’t play, didn’t complain. I hope he learned a lot and is ready to be the number 1 in 2010.

2 Chris Albright- Injury replacement for Frankie Hejduk. Didn’t play. Would Frankie have made a difference?

3 Carlos Bocanegra- Played well against Italy slightly out of position at left back. Was decent but inconsistent against Ghana, his inability to deal with a long ball leading to the decisive penalty kick. Overall, play was better than what I had anticipated before the World Cup started.

4 Pablo Mastroeni- Up until his red card against Italy, was one of the best players for the US (may not be saying much). I was even impressed with his offense (see his long range shot against Italy). Eventhough it was a harsh send-off, he needed to be smarter with his challenge against 10 man Italy.

5 John O’Brien- Waste of a roster spot. Just about every game called for the O’Brien of old, but he had the injured O’Brien. One of the biggest disappointments had to be O’Brien and his inability to play.

6 Steve Cherundolo- Was adequate defensively. Worked hard to deny Italy and combined well with Clint Dempsey. Surprised he was subbed out twice considering he is a decent crosser of the ball, and was supplying width on the right side against the Czech when DaMarcus Beasley continued to cut inside.

7 Eddie Lewis- Inexperience at left back showed as he was out of position for the Czech’s first goal. Showed better at left midfield against Ghana, but his crossing needed to be better throughout the tournament.

8 Clint Dempsey- One of two players who wasn’t afraid of the ball. Added some much needed attacking flair in his two starts. Solved our right midfield problem. One of a very few US players to walk away with their reputation enhanced. Thank You Deuce!

9 Eddie Johnson- Hyped up before the World Cup, he never reached the form of 2004-2005. Thought he played well in garbage time against the Czechs and deserved a start against Italy. I also thought he should have come on earlier against Ghana, but did little when he did come on.

10 Claudio Reyna- Up until his horrible giveaway against Ghana, was far and away the best US player at this World Cup. Along with Dempsey, was not afraid of the ball. Had a shot ring off the post against the Czechs that would have tied the score at the time.

11 Brian Ching- Didn’t even get a chance to play.

12 Gregg Berhalter- Injury replacement for Cory Gibbs. Didn’t play. Now Gibbs would have definitely helped.

13 Jimmy Conrad- One of two players I never expected to see any time, Conrad played extremely well in his game and a half. Thought Ghana’s speed would pose a problem for him, but Conrad dealt well. Play exceeded my expectations.

14 Ben Olsen- The other player I didn’t expect to see, played decently as Reyna’s sub against Ghana. Didn’t have enough of an impact though.

15 Bobby Convey- Thought he attacked well down the left flank against The Czechs and Italy. Was too easily dispossessed of the ball, and his service into the box needed to be better. Not sure he deserved to benched against Ghana though.

16 Josh Wolff- 1 game, garbage time versus the Czechs. Like O’Brien, not the player of old.

17 DaMarcus Beasley- What can be said about Beasley that hasn’t already been said about Paris Hilton? He sucked. In poor form leading up to the World Cup, Beasley never reached the form we are all accustomed to. In his defense, played out of position against the Czechs (right midfield) and Ghana (central midfield)…he only plays well for the US on the left wing. Did decently tracking back defensively most of the tournament, but I was less than impressed with his lack of hustle against Italy when the US was down a man. He should have been running his ass off.

18 Kasey Keller- Honestly, not sure how to assess his performance. While I can’t really blame him for any of the goals, and he made two nice saves at the end of the Italy game, I was looking for something more. A game changing save perhaps. I don’t think some of the goals were completely unsaveable. How about a penalty kick save (Brad Friedel)?…I’m probably too harsh on that one. His distribution was undeniably awful however.

19 Marcus Hahnemann- Didn’t play, didn’t complain. Seems like a good teammate.

20 Brian McBride- As always, the true professional gave his all every game. Would have liked to see some more offense/shots towards goal from him, but I guess it’s hard when you are stranded alone up top in a 4-5-1.

21 Landon Donovan- What can be said about Donovan that hasn’t already been said about our Mexican border? He was invisible. In my previous posts, I wondered if he had ever gotten off the plane. Virtually invisible against the Czechs as a forward, was just as invisible for most of the Italian game as a midfielder. Showed some heart when the US played much of that match short-handed. Once again mostly invisible against Ghana as a midfielder. Even when Reyna left, he was nowhere to be found. A moment that defined his tournament…cut in towards the Ghana box from the right, with a ton of space in front of him, and instead of attacking the goal and getting behind the defense or curling a shot far post, he laid the ball off to Olsen (of all people) to fire a shot straight into a defender. Seemed afraid of the ball most of the tournament. His set pieces were absolutely awful all tournament. What happened to the Donovan of World Cup Qualifying? How can Donovan really have not scored in 18 some odd international matches? Can that be possible? He may be able to dominate CONCACAF, but Donovan is just not a big game player.

22 Oguchi Onyewu- I thought Gooch had a decent tournament. Was amongst those at fault for the first Czech goal. Though he played well against big Jan Koller and Luca Toni. Eventhough he gets the short end of the stick on most foul calls because of his size, Gooch needs to learn how to play against smaller guys (and the refs) and stop using his hands so much. Penalty call against him, like many calls this tournament, was an absolute farce. Dominated the air most of the tournament, but was never really a threat on set pieces. How could we not utilize this guy’s size better on set pieces (Landon)?

23 Eddie Pope- Had a poor tournament. Can take much of the blame for the Czech’s first goal, and all of the blame for Italy’s first goal. Played decently at other times, and I thought he was harshly sent off against Italy.

Coach Bruce Arena- The team seemed unprepared and uninterested in the game against the Czechs. I had little problem with the formation or subs in that game. Surprised to see a 4-5-1 against Italy and Johnson on the bench, but glad Dempsey got a start at Beasley’s expense. USA seemed much more prepared for this game and showed the heart it didn’t have against the Czechs. Shocked to see a defensive 4-1-4-1 against Ghana when we lacked offense the entire tournament. Shocked to see Beasley return (in central midfield no less) and Convey sent to the bench. Like the third game in 2002, with the pressure on, the US failed miserably. I thought Arena waited too long to make some offensive subs in this game. As I said in other posts, Arena had always been lauded for his ability to put players in a position (literally and figuratively) for them to be successful. This World Cup, The Bruce did not do that. The team was unimpressive throughout, and Arena was never able to address the offensive problems.

The Swiss allow no goals in the World Cup and yet are out of the tournement?

Just watched Italy beat Australia in extra time with a completely wrong penalty kick called. Italy was a man down from a red card. I can’t help but feel that more games are decided by the refs than by the players. Terrible Call by the ref. I know the refs can make mistakes but  I feel for Australia but more importantly I want to know what will be done about the refs after the World Cup. The Portugal v Holland game was crazy too. I understand that the refs are humans and make mistakes but maybe a few too many mistakes this World Cup? We’re only in the round of 16 and there have been more yellow cards then ever. I dunno.

Seconds after the US was eliminated from the 2006 World Cup, it began…the pointing of fingers, people calling for this player’s head or that coach’s head, fans jumping off the deap end, and of course, Eric Wynalda’s lunacy. A few days removed from USA’s final match, I try to bring some calm and actual analysis of what happened, what went wrong, and what he could have done better.

The Draw- Years of hard work in qualifying for the World Cup, and your Cup dreams could be over in the few moments it takes for your ball to be pulled from a pot and placed into a group. Having missed out on being a ranked team, you knew it was going to be a tough draw for the US. The longer the draw carried on without the US being placed in a group, it became more and more obvious that USA’s group would be extremely difficult. I remember seeing one group that had yet to draw a team from our Pot and hoped against hope that we would not be drawn into that group. That group? Italy, perhaps the strongest non-ranked team in the Czech Republic, and perhaps the strongest African team in Ghana. Of course that’s where we would end up! Even way back in December, the most optimistic of US fans had to admit we were up against it, and as bad as it sounded, getting out of the group stage would indeed be a success.

The 23- USA’s roster has been analyzed time and again, but a few hindsight comments: The US lacked a true left back. While most people were content with the Eddie Lewis experiment, I thought that he was never really tested against a quality opponent, and his inexperience showed in the Czech Republic game. Cory Gibbs could have helped, while Carlos Bocanegra was excellent in the Italy game, but inconsistent against Ghana. It was also obvious the US lacked a right sided midfielder. I had often heard that one of Bruce Arena’s strengths was that he always put people in a position (both literally and figuratively) to be successful. Unfortunately, in playing DaMarcus Beasley on the right, he was setting Beasely up for failure. Beasley has never played well for the US anywhere but as a left winger. Clint Dempsey, while not a true right winger, showed the most at that position for the US. As much as I appreciate his qualities, I wonder why John O’Brien was brought. In just about every World Cup game I thought there was a situation that called for O’Brien, but he only appeared against the Czechs. I’m assuming there was some injury issue. Either way, what a waste of a roster spot. The lack of a strike partner for Brian McBride/true goalscorer was a problem. Eddie Johnson seemed to be that guy, but Arena was reluctant to play him. And let’s be honest, Brian Ching and Josh Wolff don’t strike fear into the hearts of our opponents. Finally, can I stop hearing about what a mistake it was to not bring Taylor Twellman? Twellman, much like McBride, relies on good service to be successful. That service was mostly not there, and I find it laughable that Twellman would have done any better or made a difference for the US.

Friendlies- I remember in 2002 people saying what a difference the quality of opponents the US played in the Send Off Series (Uruguay, Jamaica, Holland) made in preparing the team for the World Cup as compared to the opponents in the lead up to 1998 (Macedonia, Kuwait, Scotland). This time around, the quality of opponents was once again lacking (Morocco, Venezuela, Latvia). Sadly, the US lost once and could only manage 3 goals in those games. Goals were scarce for the US in games early in the year as well…(going backwards from the Send Off Series) 1 goal against Jamaica, 1 fluke against Germany, 1 against Poland. The lack of goal scoring was one of several signs the US ignored, or couldn’t remedy.

Czech Republic- The US came out in the lineup most people expected, but who actually showed up (Claudio Reyna)? The players showed very little heart and seemed confused and argued with each other…all things I’ve never seen before from the USMNT. The early goal stunned the US (Lewis is as responsible as Eddie Pope and Oguchi Onyewu), and the second strike before half time killed them. I thought the US controlled much of the possession, but lacked the imagination in the final third of the field and were awful crossing the ball. What seemed like a theme during the World Cup, the US lacked any offense, mustering only 1 shot on goal. The Czechs had a game plan and stuck to, while the US looked uninspired and uninterested. Hey Landon Donovan and Beasley, the World Cup has started, want to join in?

Italy- Coming out in a defensive 4-5-1 (glad to see Dempsey in, but didn’t Johnson deserve a start as well?), the US once again went down to an early first half goal. In a glorious few moments, the US tied the game off an own goal and saw Italy go down to 10 men! 3 points seemed within our grasp, but things got bad just as quickly as they had gotten good. Pablo Mastroeni and Pope were both (harshly) sent off, and the match was now being played 9 men to 10. The US held off the Italians to tie 1-1, and showed the heart and determination that was missing in the first game. Once again, the US offense was awful, only scoring off a freak own goal and registering very few shots. Where is Donovan?

Ghana- The players and coaches all said we were in the position we wanted to be in going into the third game, but did anyone really fancy this? Ghana had just beaten the team that destroyed us, but even with a win, we would still need Italy to beat the Czechs. Needing a win, the US again came out in a defensive 4-1-4-1. The US looked the stonger of the 2 teams, but a Reyna blunder would lead to another early goal. A US player would finally score, but again, a disastrous referee decision would turn the tide. A phantom penalty kick called against Onyewu just before the half killed USA’s momentum and the players would not be able to cover from this blow psychologically. For the third straight game, the offense was awful…crossing was poor, and actual shots on target were non-existent. Why did it take Johnson so long to come on? Why did he do nothing when he did come on? Did anyone see Donovan? Did he arrive from the States yet? Maybe Beasley is with him?

As much as we all want to blame this on the refs (they made some AWFUL and more importantly game changing calls), no diehard USMNT fan can look back on our games and honestly say our team deserved to advance out of the group stage. In short, our play was the play of a team that didn’t deserve to win a game, and we got exactly what we deserved.

Look for my player and coach grades coming soon!

A day after the USA was eliminated from the World Cup, captain Claudio Reyna officially announced his retirement from international soccer. Not a surprise due to his age, Reyna could soon be joined in retirement by Kasey Keller and Brian McBride.

Reyna, at least in my time, has been one of the most polarizing figures in terms of how fans view him. You either love him for his poise and control or hate him because he slows up the attack. Count me amongst the pro-Reyna crowd. Aside from attacks on my favorite players, nothing infuriated me as much as attacks on Reyna. Mind you he was far from perfect (as the last game proved), but no player brought to the field what Reyna did…poise, control under pressure, control on the ball, and superior passing. No US player I’ve seen had the ability to dribble the ball when pressured like Reyna. I think he suffered from public perception…he was not an attacking midfielder as he was billed…he was an excellent holding midfielder, a midfield general. While he may have “slowed down the attack,” I had more confidence in a US team that fielded Reyna than one that didn’t.

Claudio, I’d like to thank you for your years of service and commitment and bringing to the pitch what no other player could. I’d like to apologize for all the Claudio-haters. I wish you luck in the future (especially with the injuries), and I wish it didn’t have to end so badly.

The USA was bounced out of the 2006 World Cup today in a 2-1 loss to Ghana. Needing a win and an Italian victory over the Czech Republic to advance out of the group stage, the US got the help it needed from the Italians but could not help itself. In what was called the Group of Death before the tournament started, Italy and darkhorse Ghana advance with the Czechs just missing out and the US finishing in last.

The US came out in a 4-1-4-1, which led many fans to believe our chances were over before the game even started. As expected, Jimmy Conrad replaced Eddie Pope along the backline. Claudio Reyna dropped back into a defensive role behind Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley. Eddie Lewis replaced Bobby Convey on the left side of midfield.

The US came out the stronger of the two sides, but as was common in this tournament, did little with its possession. Ghana struck first when Reyna made an un-Reyna like play and tried to dribble out of the back. The Ghana player picked his pocket, walked in alone on Keller, and scored. Reyna injured his knee on the play (looked like knee on knee collision, but not a foul because the takeaway was pretty clean) and later had to be subbed off for Ben Olsen.

The US tied the game when Beasley, finally doing something offensively, intercepted a pass and sent a nice ball across the box for Clint Dempsey to rifle home. The game, and USA’s World Cup hopes took a turn for the worst when Carlos Bocanegra fooled around with the ball at the back, Oguchi Onyewu was forced into an awkward but clean header which was judged to have been a foul in the box! Penalty kick! The Ghana player confidently took his penalty to put Ghana up for good just before the half. Trying to put all bias aside, there was no way that was worthy of a penalty kick.

In the second half, the US controlled most of the game again, but rarely looked threatening. Passing in the final third was poor, with the crosses usually landing in the hands of the opposing keeper. Arena waited too long to bring on Eddie Johnson, but he did little when he was in the game. The other sub, Bobby Convey, brought some speed but his crosses were also lacking. Where was John O’Brien? I’m assuming he must have a knock of some sort, otherwise he should have been on the field.

Where was Donovan? Where was Beasley? Non-existent once again, although Beasley did some decent work on the defensive end.

I repeat that I honestly don’t remember the goalie having to make a save in this game. How can we go three World Cup games with so few shots on goal? The offense had little imagination, resorting to crosses from the wing. Little offense came up the middle…I’m glad you are supposed to be such a superstar Landon.

Anyway, it was an extremely disappointing end to an extremely disappointing World Cup for the US. In a position to advance, they failed miserably. While much of the talk will and should surround the referee’s poor call in giving away a penalty kick, let’s not forget how poor the US played for most of the game.

Once this game has worn off, I will return with a review of the entire disappointing US performance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.