World Cup 2014 Thoughts

• That Belgium match was one of the most entertaining of the tournament, right up there with Costa Rica-Uruguay, US-Portugal, Ghana-Germany, and most Colombia matches.
• The future looks kind of bright? I would think that the best indication of that would be the performance of the U-23 (aka Olympic) team in the next cycle - those guys have not been great recently - and of the U-20 team, which has had some mixed success in recent years. If those teams aren't getting into at least the quarterfinals of their tournaments, I'm not sure it's realistic to expect that the Senior MNT will do better in Russia. The potential young stars - Yedlin, Green, Brooks - are already here, but those junior teams will provide the depth that we simply don't have right now.
• I could have added Altidore to the list above - he can get better, and even though he's seemingly been around forever, he'll turn 25 in November. I didn't add Johannsson because he showed very little in Brazil. And I think Diskerud is still on the team, but can't be too sure.
• I would agree with Klinsmann, college soccer may be retarding development here in the States; I wonder if the NCAA's upcoming legal losses will change this. If they have to end up paying athletes, are these 'new' employees going to be allowed to "major" in their sports, such that the practice restrictions are done away with - or at the very least, loosened up quite a bit - and college programs become more like lower-level clubs or academies? One would think that this model could then filter down to the high school level (eventually).
• I'm pulling for Costa Rica (I've been there, it's beautiful and friendly, they're on the same continent, et cetera) and Germany (my mom's family heritage, plus they're very tall and fast) from here on out.
• I know it's a dry heat in Qatar, and they're planning on adding A/C to their stadiums; let's hope it works. I can't imagine that extra time will look pretty in 120F heat, if the A/C goes down. Then again, maybe it won't be an issue because the 2022 competition will be closer to home.

United, They Fall

I cheered on the home side, D.C. United, at what turned out to be their final game of the season, a 2-2 draw with Chicago in round one of the MLS playoffs. Since they lost the first game of the home-and-home series 0-1, they lost on aggregate and the Fire advance. It was a game that United deserved to lose after what can only be described as lackluster play over the first sixty-plus minutes. The last twenty-five minutes were another story entirely, with United seemingly finding themselves, and playing at a much faster pace and with great urgency. The crowd was delirious when Christian Gomez put one in during added time to make it 3-2, comeback complete! But the goal was waved off because of a marginal handball by Gomez that was pretty clear on replays. D.C. just didn't get it going in time, period. Still, a thrilling and entertaining end to the season for United, even if they didn't get the desired result.

Maybe He IS Worth All That Money....

In a SuperLiga match against United out in L.A., David Beckham played for over an hour, scored a goal on a free kick, and also assisted on a Landon Donovan goal. So he does actually play the sport - and plays it well - and doesn't just pose for magazine covers!

Becks in DC

Yesterday evening we were at RFK to see David Beckham's MLS debut against D.C. United. And despite his tender ankle, he did debut, much to the delight of the crowd - especially the ladies! [Yes, it was his MLS debut, because his first game was merely an exhibition, against a non-league team] . Here's the Post photo gallery, and here's a great photo of the Man of the Hour that Jenny took from the "cheap" seats, one row from the very top of the upper deck, where we were sitting.

I was a bit surprised that Beckham actually played because earlier in the second half, before he subbed in, it was raining, making the field a bit more treacherous (not torrential rain, as mentioned in the Post article - is everything associated with this guy hyperbole?) . But RFK has a natural grass field, and there are apparently a handful of MLS fields (4 out of 13) that use artificial turf. I'm convinced that the problems I have with my knees are from playing and refereeing soccer on a turf field at U of MD, so I completely understand Beckham's dislike of artificial turf. I don't think it matters how much padding is underneath the playing surface, that padding does break down over time and eventually it's like running on concrete. The previous link's turf-defenders point to lower injury rates on turf when compared with grass fields, but that doesn't take into account the chronic effects on the body, the wear-and-tear.

Back to the match! D.C. had the edge in possession and played a much better all-around game than the Galaxy, although they missed several good opportunities late in the first half and early in the second with some horrendous passing. Their passing looked sublime, however, compared to that of Los Angeles, which as a team looked much slower and was unable to spread the field much at all. Beckham's 21 minutes of play were uneventful, but he did have a few nice passes downfield, and a beautiful free kick that was on-target for the forwards to get a head on.

Who knows, maybe years from now we'll be able to tell our kids that we were at Becks' MLS debut, and they'll be awestruck that were were witnesses to the event that launched MLS into a elite global league. Of course, it's probably just as likely that they'll say "David who?" or "what's MLS?" or "soccer? Don't they still play that in Europe?"

Today's Amazing & Amusing Links

An Irish company is wondering if it has a perpetual motion machine on it hands. And it's not beer/whiskey powered - suspicious.

This guy is enjoying the Washington, D.C. Mall way more than most tourists.

And finally, a World Cup-related link; the super-authentic Cristiano Ronaldo action figure!

Last Football Post for a While

I promise, this is the last one. After this, I'm back to full-time blogging about the trite & inane, and other stuff besides politics, too!

Germany coach Klinsmann is stepping down - somewhat surprising after the love-fest between him and Germany's players and fans, but he wants to spend more time with his family in Collyfornia. Does this mean the U.S. has a shot at him? We shall see. This guy was a first-time head coach; for his next gig he could be even better, having learned from his mistakes with Germany (if, in fact, he made any).

Over on the winning side, Italy coach Lippi is also resigning. No surprise there, he did his job, and is going out on top. Now that he's set the bar as high as possible, there's no reason to stick around and potentially fail to live up to those expectations.

Zidane: The French Word for 'Thug'?

If Zidane's career indeed ended with this final, then he got exactly what he deserved. His head-butt had to have been one of the ugliest scenes in this tournament, and he managed to sabotage his team's chances of winning a second World Cup. An utterly disgraceful end for a talented and accomplished player.

It's a shame that an otherwise solid, if unspectacular match, came down to penalty kicks. But Italy is certainly a worthy champion; just enough offense throughout the Cup, and a defense that was far superior to any other team's. They now join the very top tier of world football powers, just one title below Brazil.

Third Place for Germany

Germany takes care of business in the third place game, vanquishing the side nobody seems to like, Portugal, by a final of 3-1. An exciting second half, with Bastian Scweinsteiger accounting for the first and third goals, and having a hand in the second, an own-goal off of his free kick. Both of Schweinsteiger's goals, from just outside the 18', were rockets. Kim Jung Il wished his missiles worked half as well.

Not the game Germany wanted to be in at the conclusion of the Cup, but a solid finish nonetheless. This is a young squad that's should be dangerous in South Africa (or Australia?) in 2010.

World Cup Blues

I'm not sure it's that I'll miss it when it's over, or that both semifinal games were a bummer, compared with some really nice round of 16 and quarterfinal games. A few thoughts on the semis:

Germany-Italy: I don't think Germany went away from its attacking style, but it just ran into an excellent Italian defense. Also, I've seen a lot of Germany's matches, and the yellow card suspension of Frings definitely hurt them. Sad to see them not make it to the finals, but hopefully they'll crush those whiny bitches from Portugal tomorrow. Italy, meanwhile, played uninspired ball for the first ninety minutes, then looked like a different - exciting! - team in the overtime. The game-winning goal by Grosso was a thing of beauty, right up there, in my opinion, with my other favorite goals of the Cup: Maxi Rodriguez' long-range volley for Argentina against Mexico, Joe Cole's long strike versus Sweden for England, and Oliver Neuville's baseball-style slide against Poland for Germany (in extra time!! still my favorite). By the way, all the goals in the tourney are on the FIFA web site.

Portugal-France: I was pulling for France because the Portuguese take football drama to whole new, obnoxious levels, and because Zidane and the French midfield had played spectacularly in its prior two matches. Portugal should watch more game tape of Argentina or Italy, teams that know how to take dives; Portugal players just look ridiculous out there, flopping around on the field like there's a competition for 'dive that looks most like a seizure'. France played beautifully in beating Spain and Brazil, but unfortunately stunk it up in this match, one of the uglier games in the tournament. But yes, that was a foul on Henry, and should have been a penalty kick (I know plenty of people would argue otherwise, but I officiated this sport for five years, and it was an easy call).

France-Italy: I honestly don't care who wins at this point, I just hope it's a good match. I'd have to give the edge to Italy though, their back line is just too strong, and they have speed up front that should be able to beat the French defense at least once.

Copa Mundial Procrastination

I was all set to head out to a few stores (grocery store, Lowe's) this morning after my morning run, but there was a problem: Germany v. Sweden. Fortunately, Deutschland scored twice in the first 12 minutes, so at the 30 minute mark I hit the road. With the U.S. out, Germany is my team now, and boy are they easy to root for. They play an exciting form of football, not at all like England's matches thus far, which have been some of the most boring in the tournament. With the capricious nature of goals, why hang back and wait for opportunities? Keep attacking, like Germany does! It's not only an entertaining form of football, but I think it's sound strategy as well. I was actually quite surprised that the final was 2-0, and that the home side didn't tack on a few more goals. Their defense - what I saw of it - looked solid as well. Next match versus Argentina won't be so easy (have I mentioned that I don't give Mexico much of a shot?).

Milena pointed out that for my group play predictions, I was three for eight. Not too bad, but I was hoping for at least fifty percent. What was I thinking with the U.S. and Iran picks?!? I should have known better than to pick the Great Satan and a member of the Axis of Evil to advance out of group play.

New blog links to your right - Aunty Milly and the Calscape.

Give 'em the Boot

The U.S. World Cup squad, that is. I'm not going to comment much on the game, since I didn't get to see even a minute of it, but I think it's telling that the guys who have done well attacking the goal are guys that don't normally start for Bruce Arena - Eddie Johnson had several nice chances in the Czech game when he came in late, and Clint Dempsey started the last two games after seeing no action in the first, and scored the only goal for the U.S. (not counting the Italy own-goal) in three games. The U.S. entered the World Cup with nothing to lose, and played with a timidity that indicated otherwise. Maybe with a new coach, and with the most aggressive and creative players starting, the U.S. will have a better result in South Africa in 2010. There will be plenty of new blood then, since mainstays Reyna, Pope, McBride, and Keller will (should?) all be retired from national team play by then.

Still plenty of World Cup left though, now that the U.S. and other weak sides have been eliminated. For what it's worth, weekend matches that I'm looking forward to are Holland-Portugal and Germany-Sweden. Also, England-Ecuador smells like an upset, but I'm doubting that Mexico will give Argentina many problems.

Finally, my mom sent me this amazing futbol-related video, here's the originating web page (it's a blog, but one that actually entertains!). The video she sent me was from this guy's 2 June entry. As my friend Neal used to stay - and probably still does - mad skillz.

U.S.-Italy Relations

The U.S. earned a point by drawing with Italy yesterday in what was an even more physical game than Germany-Poland (which was one of the best matches of the tournament thus far; Germany won 1-0 on a spectacular late goal). I didn't get to see the first half - we were driving down to Cal's surprise 30th birthday party, and yes, he was surprised - but by its end, both teams were playing with 10 men as a result of two red cards. In the opening minutes of the second half, defender Eddie Pope received an undeserved yellow, which, coupled with a first-half caution, meant ejection. The U.S. played 9 to Italy's 10 for the remainder of the match. I didn't see either of the goals (both came in the first half), but the officiating was certainly suspicious, especially in light of the fact that the referee was suspended back in 2002 for unspecified irregularities. Hmmm. Anyway, the U.S. still can advance, but they obviously must been Ghana on Thursday.

A quick thought on Cup coverage; I think ABC/ESPN is doing an admirable job, but the lack of coverage from other outlets is discouraging. Get this - on our way down to Cheverly yesterday Jenny and I managed to find an Italian language broadcast of the match (on AM station 730), but not an English broadcast.

Cup Update v2.5

We wheeled our office's TV out today to catch some of the USA-Czech match; we managed to tune in a somewhat fuzzy but watchable Univision signal, and saw most of the first half. At the half, the USA seems simply outgunned by a much bigger Czech side. The Czechs bring so many people foward, and almost all apear to be taller and/or stronger than the Americans marking them. I would guess that the US wants to try to use its speed more in the second half, and create some opportunities with fast counters.

The two Czech goals came on a perfect header from the 6, and a perfect strike from about 20 yards out. Meanwhile, the best chance for the US came on a pretty shot by Claudio Reyna that hit the post and rebounded back into play - no US player was nearby, though.

Cup Update, Part Zwei

Caught 2 more games, and halves of two others, since the last update. I'd have to say that Holland has been the most impressive team I've seen thus far, while the Eurotrash team award has to go to Serbia & Montenegro (with Sweden a very close second) - lots of half-shaven guys, a few mullets as well.

Sweden 0, Trinidad & Tobago 0: What can you say about the T&T effort. Last-second GK change, playing a man down in the second half - a fabulous defensive effort. Keeper Shaka Hislop, who played in college at Howard, was phenomenal. Sweden demonstrated the importance of finishing, a lesson that group leader England also needs to learn, and quickly. They dominated possession (60/40), were up a man for nearly half the match, and didn't get it done.

Netherlands 1, Serbia & Montenegro 0: Like I mentioned earlier, Holland looked sharp. I'd be surprised if there were a better passing team (other than Brazil, of course) in the tournament. I only saw the first half, and was somewhat surprised that Holland didn't score in the 2nd half. Also, I dig the all-orange look. The S&M defense was very good, but the one lapse was all the Dutch needed.

Mexico 3, Iran 1: I only saw the 1st half of this one as well, but Mexico looked really good. I was unsure if they'd make it out of the group, because they historically haven't played well in Cups hosted in Europe. But they look tough, and Iran was no pushover. Mexico kept the pressure on constantly in the first half, and was awarded a ton of free kicks. When I saw the final a bit late in the day, it wasn't too surprising. After seeing the Portugal match (see below), I'd say that Mexico should win its group.

Portugal 1, Angola 0: Another inspiring performance by an African squad, another mediocre performance by a heavily-favored European squad (see: England, Sweden). Portugal seems to have a ton of talent, but other than the first 20 minutes, didn't really do a whole lot. Yes, Angola's defense was solid - as solid as their attack was ineffectual - but still, Portugal had plenty of chances that they didn't convert. Maybe John Harkes is right, some of these favored teams seem to be easing into group play, not trying to do too much. Not what I'd call a winning strategy, but hey what do I know.

One final thought; I dig Harkes' commentary much more than his former teammate Marcelo Balboa's. Harkes brings some interesting insight, is obviously better-researched and more familiar with the top Euro-leagues, and stays positive and entusiastic. Balboa, while knowledgable, dwells on negatives and doesn't add much, in my oh-so-humble opinion.

Cup Update, Part 1

I've managed to catch two of the three matches played thus far, Poland/Ecuador and England/Paraguay. Impressions:

Ecuador 2, Poland 0: Poland looked terrible on defense against Ecuador, and while their players in front looked capable, they really didn't demonstrate that until the last 10 to 15 minutes. Ecuador, meanwhile, was aggressive but also picked their spots well. They sure took advantage of the Polish defenders, who were often just standing around.

England 1, Paraguay 0: A Beckham free kick lead to a Paraguay own-goal when Gammara tried to clear with a header. He ended up helping the ball into the corner of the net. It seemed as though the keeper probably could have gotten to Beckham's kick otherwise. England played relatively passively throughout much of the remainder of the match. Watching this match made me wonder what would happen if Beckham played in the middle - every time he touches the ball, there's the potential for something fantastic to happen, but he often doesn't touch the ball that much because he plays so wide on the right.

World Cup Predictions

There's some large international sporting event starting today, with that in mind here are some predictions for standings at the end of the group round, just for fun, as if I know what I'm talking about (teams in bold move on, 3rd and 4th teams, better luck in South Africa). I would add commentary and defend these choices, but who am I kidding, most are just based on hunches anyway; I have no real in-depth knowledge of any of these teams. Although I'd be a happy guy for never again reading anything about Wayne Rooney's foot. Surely England isn't the only nation hyperventilating about its team, um squad, er...side - it just has the greatest concentration of tabloid/football press available to cover it, unfortunately.

A: Germany, Ecuador, Poland, Costa Rica
B: Paraguay, England, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago
C: Netherlands, Argentina, Ivory Coast, Serbia & Montenegro
D: Portugal, Iran, Mexico, Angola
E: Czech Republic, USA, Italy, Ghana
F: Brazil, Japan, Australia, Croatia
G: Switzerland, France, South Korea, Togo
H: Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia

FA Cup: Democracy in Action

Last Saturday morning at 10 o'clock, I met Jay and his wife Val at Slainte in Fell's Point, to catch the FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham. And even if it hadn't been an incredible match that, unfortunately, had to end in penalty kicks, it still would have been a good time. Four of the six goals scored in regular time were nothing short of amazing (the other two goals, eh, not so great). And if Liverpool's Steven Gerrard isn't the best midfielder in Europe, he's surely in the top five.

But even if the match had really stunk, it was still a fantastic atmosphere: full pub, 10 am on a gorgeous, sunny day, a view of Thames Street and the harbor, a nice corned-beef Irish omelette, four - yeah, four - pints of Guinness, all before noon! OK, the last pint was ordered before noon and consumed afterwards, during extra time, but still, a nice way to start one's Saturday. Although I was dragging a bit come midday, it was worth it!

647 teams entered this year's FA Cup, these are clubs from all levels of English football, and the draws are completely random (no seeds). This year, as in many years, two Premiership teams made it to the final. But the idea that the little guys can go up against the giants of the sport, such as Liverpool, is pretty much a foreign concept with any other sport but soccer. Maybe that helps to explain its globabl popularity; lots of team sports are skill-based, but I can't think of any that rely less on the sheer size of the players than does soccer. So why hasn't the sport caught on as much in our corner of the world?