(1) Sell-out crowds: how great was it to see sell-out crowds in LA and Toronto? And not just paper sell-outs, but real standing room only crowds with a ton of passion. And the Chivas USA
"away" fans also deserve mention: unfurling a massive, section-wide Chivas banner, provoking loud boos from the Galaxy's home crowd.
(2) Not sell-out crowds... The FC Dallas-Revs game was a little sparse, signalling that the regular season has really begun after the initial burst of energy in most markets. This isn't really a criticism (10k in a soccer stadium is better for the league in every way than 15k in an NFL stadium), more of an observation. The game seemed to be played at a leisurely pace, to fit the lazy Sunday afternoon schedule and crowd. That's ok-- MLS can withstand a few low-energy dates, but it does suggest that many of the offseason changes to the competition format (e.g. changes to how win bonuses are paid and playoff spots) might still need further tweaking.
(3) I love him. I love him not. It's as easy to forget how great Donovan really is as it is to over-hype him. Donovan's one of those players that create a weird sort of sword of Damocles effect: he is so much better than the average US player that you want to compare him to the world's greatest players. But projecting how he stands compared to Ronaldinho and Kaka is certainly a Golden Gate-sized bridge too far. So we hear constantly how overrated he is, leading us to forget what a singular talent he is. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
Donovan is the best US player. Donovan is a bee-yatch. Donovan could probably make most teams in Europe. Donovan is, however, lightyears away from starring on any of the best teams. Pretty much any opinion on Donovan that doesn't acknowledge both his talent and his weakness is simply wrong.
(4) Most improved performer. How about the production crew at Fox Soccer Channel. After a dismal broadcast during week 1 (in which Chris Sullivan and Max Bretos both looked stoned, for what it's worth), the FSC production unit had a truly great game during the LA-Chivas super clasico. The best TV moment? They showed the buildup to Donovan's excellent assist on the Galaxy's third goal: only on the replay was it clear just how much Donovan was looking around at the field while he was bobbing and weaving through players at full speed. The replay gave viewers insight into just how good Donovan's vision is-- and exactly what he was doing while running. Further kudos to FSC for catching a little bit of Donovan's bizarre pre-kick off ritual, which apparently involves pointing at the ground, and numerous hail Marys.
(5) Don't Discriminate. When the UNited Nations drafted the Declaration of Human RIghts' prohibition on discrimination, were they really thinking about not picking the small kid during pickup soccer? That seems to be what MLS's "Don't Discriminate" spots seem to suggest.
(6) Panchito Mendoza could be an MLS superstar. When Chivas USA began their first season, their roster was loaded with youth players from the Chivas B team. And these guys were awful-- it's hard to imagine that Chivas USA could take anything of value from that very frustrating season. But Mendoza was a steady contributor and, finally, last season, really started showing his stuff. He's one of the slipperier players in the league-- and maybe the most fun to watch. I find myself asking: could it really be true that the Mexican National Team can't use a guy like this?
(7) The Year of Living Dangerously. Chicago seems equally likely to play a free-flowing attacking style as they do a nasty, slow-down defensive style. When their attack gets going, on the back of a confident Chris Rolfe, they can't be stopped. But against Houston in the first half, they were hanging on by the skin of their teeth. Offensively, they looked out of ideas, although to be fair, they kept shape defensively and didn't allow Houston to take full advantage of their complete domination. And then what happens? Chris Rolfe gets the ball, makes a nice run and scores. And then Chicago does something we don't seen enough of out of MLS teams: they change tactics. They move to a pure counter-attacking style with NBA-worthy fast breaks and start racking up chances on goal. Houston still could have scored, but Chicago was giving them a completely different look to contend with. It was the kind of tactical shift that made me hopeful that MLS coaching was catching up to the rest of the world too.
But I'm also wondering if Chicago isn't a bit of a paper tiger: in at least 3 of their 4 games, they've been outplayed for long stretches. You can't quite call them "lucky" because their goals have really been a product of hard, hard work, but hard work doesn't always pay off nearly as consistently like it has been for Chicago. I love the talent on this team; I love the style they are able to play, but I am not so sure they are really one of the elite teams. Of course, that begs the question: if not them, with their 10 points, then who?
(8) Yes, who are the elite teams? Beats me. I still scratch my head at how United has struggled in MLS, despite tying Chivas and scoring on them in Guadalajara. This season, "too early to tell" is going to be a phrase heard far too often and far too long, as we wait well into the summer to see how MLS teams deal with new designated player acquisitions and fixture congestion. The first and second halves of the season could both see completely different elite teams.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
All Hat and No Horse
I like Freddy Adu. Really. I think he's a wonderful player who could have a spot on any MLS team. I don't agree with the people who have labelled him a failure (like Darren Rovell here:(http://www.cnbc.com/id/18276686 ) but I understand their frustration.
Freddy draws defenders, has great technique and is a very useful player to have on your team. He probably costs too much (his salary is upwards of 500k-- a lot by MLS standards), but he's still a nice player. He's still a teenager.
But I roll my eyes every time I see a few quotes from Adu: "My role had always been being the guy, scoring the goals, and I got away from that."
"Now I'm trying to get it all back. It's weird. How did I get so far away from doing all that? I'm a completely different player now. Now, I might be overdoing it on the field sometimes, but I'm trying to get back to where I was." (from Arroyave's excellent blog here: http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/soccer_redcard/2007/04/adu_trying_to_g.html )
Get back to where you were? Where was that? What was the last time Freddy was really THE go-to guy on a team? On the U-17s? Adu is nostalgic for a past that never really existed. Adu doesn't need to "get back"-- he needs to "move ahead". The fact that he doesn't understand that suggests a fundamental reason why he hasn't improved as much as we all thought he would.
He's already a very good player-- he'll have a long career **somewhere** even if he never improves on what he's already got. But his problem isn't that coaches have played him out of position-- it's that he's not in that upper echelon of players from whom we'll tolerate various antics. He's not good enough to play central mid over the league MVP Christian Gomez (which was the problem he ran into at DC United). He's not good enough to justify not ever playing defense (which is one of the problems at Real Salt Lake). He's not good enough to be the go-to guy. Maybe he'll respond to more responsibility, but I think responsibility starts at home. Freddy's got to understand that.
Freddy draws defenders, has great technique and is a very useful player to have on your team. He probably costs too much (his salary is upwards of 500k-- a lot by MLS standards), but he's still a nice player. He's still a teenager.
But I roll my eyes every time I see a few quotes from Adu: "My role had always been being the guy, scoring the goals, and I got away from that."
"Now I'm trying to get it all back. It's weird. How did I get so far away from doing all that? I'm a completely different player now. Now, I might be overdoing it on the field sometimes, but I'm trying to get back to where I was." (from Arroyave's excellent blog here: http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/soccer_redcard/2007/04/adu_trying_to_g.html )
Get back to where you were? Where was that? What was the last time Freddy was really THE go-to guy on a team? On the U-17s? Adu is nostalgic for a past that never really existed. Adu doesn't need to "get back"-- he needs to "move ahead". The fact that he doesn't understand that suggests a fundamental reason why he hasn't improved as much as we all thought he would.
He's already a very good player-- he'll have a long career **somewhere** even if he never improves on what he's already got. But his problem isn't that coaches have played him out of position-- it's that he's not in that upper echelon of players from whom we'll tolerate various antics. He's not good enough to play central mid over the league MVP Christian Gomez (which was the problem he ran into at DC United). He's not good enough to justify not ever playing defense (which is one of the problems at Real Salt Lake). He's not good enough to be the go-to guy. Maybe he'll respond to more responsibility, but I think responsibility starts at home. Freddy's got to understand that.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Why Do Yanks Call It the "EPL"...
...if no one in England calls it that?
A few English acquaintances of mine always ask this. I actually think it's a stupid question. We call it the English Premier League so people know we're not talking about, for example, the Scottish Premiership. Obviously, in England, there's no need to make clear that it's the English Premier League because no one there gives a shit about Scotland (they've even got a line in their national anthem about smiting rebellious Scots or something like that). So it makes perfect sense that, in the US, where our tastes in soccer are a little more cosmopolitan, we need to make clear which premier league we're talking about.
It's just another illustration that there's no need to assume everyone else is an idiot if they do things slightly different than you do. Calling the "EPL" the premiership makes sense in England, but it's not quite good enough in the US.
On a similar note, the most tired observation by non-Americans is that, yes, we call it soccer. Some especially ambitious wags will even attempt a phonetic version of the word with an American accent: "sawker". Trust me: this was pretty funny the first time, but, like the various plays on the word "Adu", it long ago lost any trace of cleverness. Every time you note that Americans call it "sawker", an English child is forced to drink fluoridated water while eating fresh fruit instead of meat pies. Don't let that terrible fate happen-- simply drop the tired observations about Americans and sawker.
A few English acquaintances of mine always ask this. I actually think it's a stupid question. We call it the English Premier League so people know we're not talking about, for example, the Scottish Premiership. Obviously, in England, there's no need to make clear that it's the English Premier League because no one there gives a shit about Scotland (they've even got a line in their national anthem about smiting rebellious Scots or something like that). So it makes perfect sense that, in the US, where our tastes in soccer are a little more cosmopolitan, we need to make clear which premier league we're talking about.
It's just another illustration that there's no need to assume everyone else is an idiot if they do things slightly different than you do. Calling the "EPL" the premiership makes sense in England, but it's not quite good enough in the US.
On a similar note, the most tired observation by non-Americans is that, yes, we call it soccer. Some especially ambitious wags will even attempt a phonetic version of the word with an American accent: "sawker". Trust me: this was pretty funny the first time, but, like the various plays on the word "Adu", it long ago lost any trace of cleverness. Every time you note that Americans call it "sawker", an English child is forced to drink fluoridated water while eating fresh fruit instead of meat pies. Don't let that terrible fate happen-- simply drop the tired observations about Americans and sawker.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Andy Herron doesn't like the New England Revolution
I think Luis Arroyave (the Chicago Tribune's excellent soccer columnist) had a piece before the Fire-Revs match talking about how the rivalry had died down a little because so many players had moved on. One of the them was Andy Herron, who probably lost a spot on the 2006 Costa Rican World Cup team because of his eight game suspension following a temper tantrum in the Fire's playoff ending loss to the Revs in 2005. The Tico forward has since moved to Columbus, but Andy hasn't forgotten-- after a physical foul by Jay Heaps denied Herron a goal-scoring opportunity, Herron decided to smack Heaps in the nose with his elbow. The refs didn't catch it, but Herron is guaranteed a multiple game suspension.
Other thoughts from the game:
(1) Speaking of Heaps, he's really developed into a solid defender, relatively late in life. It was only a couple of years ago that a small contingent of Revs fans were jeering his every move. I haven't been back to the Razor since then, but I doubt they're doing it now. Incidentally, doesn't former pretty boy Heaps now look a lot like Bruce Cambell of Evil Dead and Bubba Ho-Tep "fame"? After seeing the vicious look the former Duke baller shot Herron following the foul, I can believe that Heaps would cut off his own hand if it had been possessed by demons.
(2) Do Hejduk and Ngwenya form the fastest right tandem in MLS? Watching Ngewnya torch Avery "only slightly less rash than Anand" John was fun too.
(3) Folks often focus on Twellman's ability to win headers and knock down balls, but what really stood out for me in this match was his ability to poke the ball around the ground in tight spots. There are a bunch of reasons why Twellman scores goals-- but I think this aspect of his game is relatively unnoticed.
(4) How fitting was it that (a) Grabavoy scored Cbus's first goal of the year given his absolutely fantastic form so far and (b) that the first goal was off of a deflection, which also sums up Columbus's finishing woes so far.
(5) It's also the second game where the Crew started brightly, but was largely bottled up by tactical changes in the second half. Yes, they did tie it up, but they looked like world beaters in the first halves against RSL and the Revs and then... nothing. Maybe the lack of depth on the bench has something to do with it. That's not to say that the Revs looked great in the second half-- what happened to Dorman?
Other thoughts from the game:
(1) Speaking of Heaps, he's really developed into a solid defender, relatively late in life. It was only a couple of years ago that a small contingent of Revs fans were jeering his every move. I haven't been back to the Razor since then, but I doubt they're doing it now. Incidentally, doesn't former pretty boy Heaps now look a lot like Bruce Cambell of Evil Dead and Bubba Ho-Tep "fame"? After seeing the vicious look the former Duke baller shot Herron following the foul, I can believe that Heaps would cut off his own hand if it had been possessed by demons.
(2) Do Hejduk and Ngwenya form the fastest right tandem in MLS? Watching Ngewnya torch Avery "only slightly less rash than Anand" John was fun too.
(3) Folks often focus on Twellman's ability to win headers and knock down balls, but what really stood out for me in this match was his ability to poke the ball around the ground in tight spots. There are a bunch of reasons why Twellman scores goals-- but I think this aspect of his game is relatively unnoticed.
(4) How fitting was it that (a) Grabavoy scored Cbus's first goal of the year given his absolutely fantastic form so far and (b) that the first goal was off of a deflection, which also sums up Columbus's finishing woes so far.
(5) It's also the second game where the Crew started brightly, but was largely bottled up by tactical changes in the second half. Yes, they did tie it up, but they looked like world beaters in the first halves against RSL and the Revs and then... nothing. Maybe the lack of depth on the bench has something to do with it. That's not to say that the Revs looked great in the second half-- what happened to Dorman?
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
20 Questions
The title refers to the Red Bulls' roster. On one hand, the team is absolutely loaded. I'm not sure any MLS team has ever had this much potential (note that I started writing this before the Wynne trade-- more on that later). But along with potential comes uncertainty-- no MLS team has ever faced so many questions at nearly every position on the field.
You can start with the Headline News questions that almost everyone is asking:
1. Will Reyna stay healthy?
2. Will Juan Pablo Angel fit in MLS? Ironically, since he got bad service in Villa during at least part of his time in the prem, you wonder if getting balls from Schopp, Mathis, Reyna and van den Bergh is actually going to be an improvement.
3. Is Altidore the next Eddie Johnson (circa 2005) or is he the next Eddie Johnson (circa 2006)? Apart from Johnson, I can't remember any US player being built up so much so quickly. Scoring against Dallas is the first step toward proving the naysayers wrong-- and Josy will definitely benefit when Angel takes away the glare of the spotlight. But expectations for the kid are still probably higher than he can realistically fulfill right now.
4. Cleetus. Pretty much everyone agrees-- Mathis still has it. But he hasn't been able to show it consistently since he mentally checked out of MLS months before he left for Hamburg. His devastating showing against Dallas might be his only dominating performance of the year.
But the questions don't end there-- who are the known quantities on the roster? You won't find them among the European imports:
5. It says a lot when the most can't-miss player on the roster was a late season addition to another team: the only real question about Dave van den Bergh is whether he's going to be an MLS star along the lines of Christian Gomez. The guy's got one of the best shots in the league and seems to put the ball in good spots for others.
6. Who is Markus Schopp? We didn't see much of him at all. He's been pencilled in as a starter when he returns from injury, but the fact is that the guy's MLS career is less than 200 minutes old.
7. I am the Walrus? Jamie Trecker wondered if Waterreus is an improvement over Tony Meola. I have a tough time with that one: Waterreus had one bobble in game 1 and left early in game 2 due to feeling a little chilly, but the guy looks great to me. But he is old...
And what about the Bulls' defense?
8. Question 8 would have been what Arena was going to do with Captain Marvell-- last year's attacking back of the future. The thing about the Bulls' backline is that, while they're considered pretty thin, they've actually got a ton of decent players-- any of which could do well on any MLS team. But they don't seem to have that one steadying force-- Wynne might really excel at a team like that where his technical limitations won't be as important. Unfortunately for him, Toronto is not that place. Incidentally, some people feel like getting a second-rounder and a partial allocation isn't enough value for a former #1 pick. Taj Jakins was a #1 pick. Leo Cullen was a #1 pick. Jason Moore was a #1 pick. Steve Shak was a #1 pick. Chris Carrieri was a #1 pick. Nik Basagno was a #1 pick. Wynne is probably better than each of those guys-- but getting a little bit of allocation play money, cap space and a near first round pick sounds like a good deal to me. I get why Metro fans are upset: Wynne is an exciting player with real potential, but the Bulls will be fine without him.
9. Can Dunivant stay injury-free and be the force he could be?
10. Is Jeff Parke's Cinderella run coming to an end? The guy went from being Mister Irrelevant (the last player picked in the draft) to being a solid starter. Some fans were envisioning a national team career. While Parke hasn't been consistently bad, no one's looking at him as anything more than a useful player with a little bit of size. Arena doesn't seem real high on him either.
11. Can Carlos Mendes put together another great season?
12. Is Hunter Freeman all that?
And what about some of the forgotten men on the roster?
13. Can Woly ever put together another 2004? The guy looks funny, has limited skill and has more white hair than the abominable snowman. I love him-- his work ethic is second to none and he consistently scores goals. He just doesn't score many of them.
14. Whenever fanboys on BigSoccer start talking about how certain players absolutely NEED to get capped NOW, I always think about Mike Magee. He's never matched his rookie season when he had everyone thinking that the US national team's scoring woes were done (see also Kyle Martino, Eddie Gaven and, oh yeah, even Josh Wolff, who's obviously done fine but could never live up to his early hype).
15. Can Dema stay on the field? I always think Kovalenko's grossly underrated-- here's a guy that played in the Bundesliga (granted, only briefly and for a very bad team) but who consistently plays on good teams-- there's a reason for that. He doesn't score like he used to in Chicago, but the Bulls have real depth with him.
And what about the kids?
16. Dane Richards--damn. He's pretty fast. Can he do it again?
17. Sinisa Notgonnaplaymuch. I'm excited to see- he sounds like a great talent, but he's probably not going to get on the field much given the talent ahead of him.
You can start with the Headline News questions that almost everyone is asking:
1. Will Reyna stay healthy?
2. Will Juan Pablo Angel fit in MLS? Ironically, since he got bad service in Villa during at least part of his time in the prem, you wonder if getting balls from Schopp, Mathis, Reyna and van den Bergh is actually going to be an improvement.
3. Is Altidore the next Eddie Johnson (circa 2005) or is he the next Eddie Johnson (circa 2006)? Apart from Johnson, I can't remember any US player being built up so much so quickly. Scoring against Dallas is the first step toward proving the naysayers wrong-- and Josy will definitely benefit when Angel takes away the glare of the spotlight. But expectations for the kid are still probably higher than he can realistically fulfill right now.
4. Cleetus. Pretty much everyone agrees-- Mathis still has it. But he hasn't been able to show it consistently since he mentally checked out of MLS months before he left for Hamburg. His devastating showing against Dallas might be his only dominating performance of the year.
But the questions don't end there-- who are the known quantities on the roster? You won't find them among the European imports:
5. It says a lot when the most can't-miss player on the roster was a late season addition to another team: the only real question about Dave van den Bergh is whether he's going to be an MLS star along the lines of Christian Gomez. The guy's got one of the best shots in the league and seems to put the ball in good spots for others.
6. Who is Markus Schopp? We didn't see much of him at all. He's been pencilled in as a starter when he returns from injury, but the fact is that the guy's MLS career is less than 200 minutes old.
7. I am the Walrus? Jamie Trecker wondered if Waterreus is an improvement over Tony Meola. I have a tough time with that one: Waterreus had one bobble in game 1 and left early in game 2 due to feeling a little chilly, but the guy looks great to me. But he is old...
And what about the Bulls' defense?
8. Question 8 would have been what Arena was going to do with Captain Marvell-- last year's attacking back of the future. The thing about the Bulls' backline is that, while they're considered pretty thin, they've actually got a ton of decent players-- any of which could do well on any MLS team. But they don't seem to have that one steadying force-- Wynne might really excel at a team like that where his technical limitations won't be as important. Unfortunately for him, Toronto is not that place. Incidentally, some people feel like getting a second-rounder and a partial allocation isn't enough value for a former #1 pick. Taj Jakins was a #1 pick. Leo Cullen was a #1 pick. Jason Moore was a #1 pick. Steve Shak was a #1 pick. Chris Carrieri was a #1 pick. Nik Basagno was a #1 pick. Wynne is probably better than each of those guys-- but getting a little bit of allocation play money, cap space and a near first round pick sounds like a good deal to me. I get why Metro fans are upset: Wynne is an exciting player with real potential, but the Bulls will be fine without him.
9. Can Dunivant stay injury-free and be the force he could be?
10. Is Jeff Parke's Cinderella run coming to an end? The guy went from being Mister Irrelevant (the last player picked in the draft) to being a solid starter. Some fans were envisioning a national team career. While Parke hasn't been consistently bad, no one's looking at him as anything more than a useful player with a little bit of size. Arena doesn't seem real high on him either.
11. Can Carlos Mendes put together another great season?
12. Is Hunter Freeman all that?
And what about some of the forgotten men on the roster?
13. Can Woly ever put together another 2004? The guy looks funny, has limited skill and has more white hair than the abominable snowman. I love him-- his work ethic is second to none and he consistently scores goals. He just doesn't score many of them.
14. Whenever fanboys on BigSoccer start talking about how certain players absolutely NEED to get capped NOW, I always think about Mike Magee. He's never matched his rookie season when he had everyone thinking that the US national team's scoring woes were done (see also Kyle Martino, Eddie Gaven and, oh yeah, even Josh Wolff, who's obviously done fine but could never live up to his early hype).
15. Can Dema stay on the field? I always think Kovalenko's grossly underrated-- here's a guy that played in the Bundesliga (granted, only briefly and for a very bad team) but who consistently plays on good teams-- there's a reason for that. He doesn't score like he used to in Chicago, but the Bulls have real depth with him.
And what about the kids?
16. Dane Richards--damn. He's pretty fast. Can he do it again?
17. Sinisa Notgonnaplaymuch. I'm excited to see- he sounds like a great talent, but he's probably not going to get on the field much given the talent ahead of him.
Monday, April 16, 2007
The Road to MLS Cup XII Week Two
A few thoughts from the weekend:
1. Chicago is unbeaten, but...
Chicago played about 20 minutes of fantasy football during their match against New England, then they never really got into the game against Colorado, even going down a goal after Colorado had been playing a man down for nearly the entire match. Yes, they eventually got a late equalizer and Chicago is unbeaten. But based on their on-field performances, they can't get too confident. This team could go either way this year.
2. What's good for Freddy is good for Real?
Freddy Adu was apparently pretty happy that, even though he's stuck out on the wing, he wasn't going to be saddled with defensive responsibilities like he was with United. We watched what happens when your winger doesn't play any defense against a speedy attacking back: Frankie Hejduk absolutely ruled the roost on the wing during the RSL-Crew match. Hejduk probably needs ten crosses to get one on target, but it looked like RSL was determined to let him try and get them. The Crew didn't score, but you wonder how RSL will do against a team with a little more firepower if they're basically going to concede the wing so as not to trouble Adu.
3. It's easy to beat up on DC's defense, but what's different this year?
After a few disasterous games, a number of fans are asking whether DC should play with only three men in the back. And, sure, Erpen has been terribly erratic, but I think one of the major problems have been breakdowns in the midfield. United's simply not as good at holding onto the ball as they were last year. A number of people have pointed to Brian Carroll, which is fair, but even Gomez and Moreno seem to be coughing up the ball more. I think switching the a four man backline might mask the problem a little but not if the midfield continues to struggle.
4. Toronto's defense...
Combined MLS experience: 0 minutes. Some of the guys are rookies, some of the guys were playing in Europe in decent leagues, but none of them have played in MLS. I honestly didn't think they looked so bad in the first game, but letting in four goals? Brutal.
5. Officiating standards
The game is called different ways in different countries. For example, the England national team always seems to suffer when playing with international referees who don't let quite as much go as the premiership refs. But smart players should know how to adjust their game accordingly. In MLS, the slightly peculiar standard is that you need to caution players for challenges that look bad (think Shalrie Joseph in the 2006 series against Chicago). Roberto Brown found out the hard way with his early challenge in Colo-Fire. Although Brown says he didn't intend to injure, he still received his walking papers-- he should take notes from Carlos Ruiz about how to foul without drawing the ref's attention. Ruiz gets a lot of flack for his diving, but his ability to create space seems to have a lot to do with little pushes and elbows thrown.
1. Chicago is unbeaten, but...
Chicago played about 20 minutes of fantasy football during their match against New England, then they never really got into the game against Colorado, even going down a goal after Colorado had been playing a man down for nearly the entire match. Yes, they eventually got a late equalizer and Chicago is unbeaten. But based on their on-field performances, they can't get too confident. This team could go either way this year.
2. What's good for Freddy is good for Real?
Freddy Adu was apparently pretty happy that, even though he's stuck out on the wing, he wasn't going to be saddled with defensive responsibilities like he was with United. We watched what happens when your winger doesn't play any defense against a speedy attacking back: Frankie Hejduk absolutely ruled the roost on the wing during the RSL-Crew match. Hejduk probably needs ten crosses to get one on target, but it looked like RSL was determined to let him try and get them. The Crew didn't score, but you wonder how RSL will do against a team with a little more firepower if they're basically going to concede the wing so as not to trouble Adu.
3. It's easy to beat up on DC's defense, but what's different this year?
After a few disasterous games, a number of fans are asking whether DC should play with only three men in the back. And, sure, Erpen has been terribly erratic, but I think one of the major problems have been breakdowns in the midfield. United's simply not as good at holding onto the ball as they were last year. A number of people have pointed to Brian Carroll, which is fair, but even Gomez and Moreno seem to be coughing up the ball more. I think switching the a four man backline might mask the problem a little but not if the midfield continues to struggle.
4. Toronto's defense...
Combined MLS experience: 0 minutes. Some of the guys are rookies, some of the guys were playing in Europe in decent leagues, but none of them have played in MLS. I honestly didn't think they looked so bad in the first game, but letting in four goals? Brutal.
5. Officiating standards
The game is called different ways in different countries. For example, the England national team always seems to suffer when playing with international referees who don't let quite as much go as the premiership refs. But smart players should know how to adjust their game accordingly. In MLS, the slightly peculiar standard is that you need to caution players for challenges that look bad (think Shalrie Joseph in the 2006 series against Chicago). Roberto Brown found out the hard way with his early challenge in Colo-Fire. Although Brown says he didn't intend to injure, he still received his walking papers-- he should take notes from Carlos Ruiz about how to foul without drawing the ref's attention. Ruiz gets a lot of flack for his diving, but his ability to create space seems to have a lot to do with little pushes and elbows thrown.
Monday, April 9, 2007
The Road to MLS Cup XII, Week One
With the benefit of one week of results, here are some initial thoughts about the off-season moves by MLS teams.
(1) Goals? A number of writers fretted about Chicago's septagenarian defense. I wonder how they'll score goals after losing Jacqua and Herron. Rolfe and Mapp are two of my favorite players in the league, but Rolfe seems to wilt in the spotlight despite his obvious talent. And Mapp? Bless the boy-- I think he might already be an elite US player-- but with his finishing, you don't want to rely on him to score goals. Maybe Blanco will be the answer-- I don't think you can count on Logan Pause to score every week...
(2) Goals? Part II I was also wondering how Chivas USA would do without the Loco and Paco Show. I mean, Palencia's a legend in Mexico, right? And Loco Garcia's a fringe national teamer. These guys were good in MLS-- Palencia, in particular, had a great rapport with Ante Razov, helping the moody US striker have a banner year. Why doesn't anyone seem too concerned about losing them? I got one hint from Jesse Marsch: "We'll be better with the ball [without Loco Garcia]. Loco was dynamic in terms of creating some decent [scoring] opportunities, but his turnover rate was much higher than Amado's is going to be." http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-chivas7apr07,1,4863834.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-sports
Interesting, right? The MLS guy-- Guevara-- is better with the ball than the Mexican league guy...
Still, it remains to be seen if Razov and Galindo will partner consistently well-- but the first Chivas goal, created with Galindo's speed, has got to be a good sign for the Goats.
(3) Who needs Dempsey when you've got Dorman? Seriously. Dempsey was the best player in the league for large stretches last year. Dorman looked good last year, especially when Dempsey went down, but his performance at the Fire has got to make Revs' fans hopeful of another chance at MLS Cup.
(4) RSL might not be so bad after all. Yes, the last minute goal was horrendous (is Rimando ever going to get his mojo back?), but I think Adu and Ballouchy are going to create some great opportunities and Jeff Cunningham is going to finish them. Some folks might find it funny that Adu got traded from a Supporters Shield team to a non-playoff team and still isn't good enough to start in the middle. I think it's probably more a question of Ellinger getting his best 11 on the field. Yes, you would always want Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno with the ball over Adu, but I think the early returns show that Adu will do fine with the extra responsbility.
(5) This guy must be good-- he played in Australia! I watched the A-League Championship (what's the official name again? The Grand Final?) and was impressed with Fred. But I'm not sure why everyone assumed he'd be the answer for DC United. MLS is simply a different league (note, I didn't say it's better-- these things are tough to judge from a distance and nothing annoys me more than MLS fans bitching about not getting enough respect, while at the same time spouting off things like "Saprissa? Who the **** are they?") Some players simply are better fits in certain leagues (Diego Forlan anyone?) It's too early to tell with Fred, but he hasn't been a game changer so far. Let's try to save the hype next time.
(6) Claudio ******* Reyna. I've been waiting for Reyna to play in MLS for years so that his detractors could see him compared to MLS talent. Reyna's vision and passing stood out for the Red Bulls in the first half- he was clearly the best player on the field, true to form. Of course, also true to form, he picked up a knock and was limited in the second half...
(7) Speaking of European talent... Waterrreus was pretty good. Some folks have said that the Red Bulls got rid of one aging keeper only to go out and get another one. That's true, but Waterreus looks like a huge upgrade over a struggling Tony Meola. MLS has always been deep with goalkeepers, but watching Waterreus's positioning, I got the sense that European keepers still might bring an added dimension. Or maybe it was just the hair.
(1) Goals? A number of writers fretted about Chicago's septagenarian defense. I wonder how they'll score goals after losing Jacqua and Herron. Rolfe and Mapp are two of my favorite players in the league, but Rolfe seems to wilt in the spotlight despite his obvious talent. And Mapp? Bless the boy-- I think he might already be an elite US player-- but with his finishing, you don't want to rely on him to score goals. Maybe Blanco will be the answer-- I don't think you can count on Logan Pause to score every week...
(2) Goals? Part II I was also wondering how Chivas USA would do without the Loco and Paco Show. I mean, Palencia's a legend in Mexico, right? And Loco Garcia's a fringe national teamer. These guys were good in MLS-- Palencia, in particular, had a great rapport with Ante Razov, helping the moody US striker have a banner year. Why doesn't anyone seem too concerned about losing them? I got one hint from Jesse Marsch: "We'll be better with the ball [without Loco Garcia]. Loco was dynamic in terms of creating some decent [scoring] opportunities, but his turnover rate was much higher than Amado's is going to be." http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-chivas7apr07,1,4863834.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-sports
Interesting, right? The MLS guy-- Guevara-- is better with the ball than the Mexican league guy...
Still, it remains to be seen if Razov and Galindo will partner consistently well-- but the first Chivas goal, created with Galindo's speed, has got to be a good sign for the Goats.
(3) Who needs Dempsey when you've got Dorman? Seriously. Dempsey was the best player in the league for large stretches last year. Dorman looked good last year, especially when Dempsey went down, but his performance at the Fire has got to make Revs' fans hopeful of another chance at MLS Cup.
(4) RSL might not be so bad after all. Yes, the last minute goal was horrendous (is Rimando ever going to get his mojo back?), but I think Adu and Ballouchy are going to create some great opportunities and Jeff Cunningham is going to finish them. Some folks might find it funny that Adu got traded from a Supporters Shield team to a non-playoff team and still isn't good enough to start in the middle. I think it's probably more a question of Ellinger getting his best 11 on the field. Yes, you would always want Christian Gomez and Jaime Moreno with the ball over Adu, but I think the early returns show that Adu will do fine with the extra responsbility.
(5) This guy must be good-- he played in Australia! I watched the A-League Championship (what's the official name again? The Grand Final?) and was impressed with Fred. But I'm not sure why everyone assumed he'd be the answer for DC United. MLS is simply a different league (note, I didn't say it's better-- these things are tough to judge from a distance and nothing annoys me more than MLS fans bitching about not getting enough respect, while at the same time spouting off things like "Saprissa? Who the **** are they?") Some players simply are better fits in certain leagues (Diego Forlan anyone?) It's too early to tell with Fred, but he hasn't been a game changer so far. Let's try to save the hype next time.
(6) Claudio ******* Reyna. I've been waiting for Reyna to play in MLS for years so that his detractors could see him compared to MLS talent. Reyna's vision and passing stood out for the Red Bulls in the first half- he was clearly the best player on the field, true to form. Of course, also true to form, he picked up a knock and was limited in the second half...
(7) Speaking of European talent... Waterrreus was pretty good. Some folks have said that the Red Bulls got rid of one aging keeper only to go out and get another one. That's true, but Waterreus looks like a huge upgrade over a struggling Tony Meola. MLS has always been deep with goalkeepers, but watching Waterreus's positioning, I got the sense that European keepers still might bring an added dimension. Or maybe it was just the hair.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Waldo had it right the first time.
Eric Wynalda, the all-time leading scorer for the US national team (at least until the next time the US plays a true CONCACAF minnow and Donovan scores 5), is an asshole.
And I say that in the best sense of the word.
He's full of hot air and half-baked ideas, but he at least speaks his mind. Although he was sometimes a dominant player, more often he was a malcontent-- a locker room cancer. Which makes him a great pundit, regardless of whether he's right or wrong.
But once in a while, he gets something just right:
"Jim Rome can suck my dick. And he should be very afraid, because I'm the kind of guy, if I get too many drinks in me, I will club his ass."
Bravo, Waldo.
Unfortunately, Waldo decided this was a little over the top and apologized to Jim Rome. Rome, a soccer "hater" (in quotes because I assume Rome really just enjoys the attention he gets from hyperventilating soccer fans), is a brash, over-the-top, personality. In other words, the kind of guy that would, in the real world, merit a beat-down.
Of course, Waldo wouldn't really club Jim Rome's ass. And Jim probably wouldn't suck Waldo's dick either. Wynalda's simply responding to Rome in a manner appropriate to Rome's own tone. To me, that deserves applause rather than an apology.
And I say that in the best sense of the word.
He's full of hot air and half-baked ideas, but he at least speaks his mind. Although he was sometimes a dominant player, more often he was a malcontent-- a locker room cancer. Which makes him a great pundit, regardless of whether he's right or wrong.
But once in a while, he gets something just right:
"Jim Rome can suck my dick. And he should be very afraid, because I'm the kind of guy, if I get too many drinks in me, I will club his ass."
Bravo, Waldo.
Unfortunately, Waldo decided this was a little over the top and apologized to Jim Rome. Rome, a soccer "hater" (in quotes because I assume Rome really just enjoys the attention he gets from hyperventilating soccer fans), is a brash, over-the-top, personality. In other words, the kind of guy that would, in the real world, merit a beat-down.
Of course, Waldo wouldn't really club Jim Rome's ass. And Jim probably wouldn't suck Waldo's dick either. Wynalda's simply responding to Rome in a manner appropriate to Rome's own tone. To me, that deserves applause rather than an apology.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
The Soft Bigotry of High Expectations
It always shocks English soccer supporters when they find out that they are perceived as "arrogant".
"How can we be arrogant," they ask "when we think our team is complete shit?"
And indeed, they're telling the truth: they hate their own national team with vim, vigor and a shot of vinegar. Their managers are inept. Their heroes are overrated. Indeed, it wouldn't appear that they would have much to be arrogant about.
But their disappointment in their team is a product of one thing: sky-high expectations that betray their true feelings about their team. They expect to win every game-- even games against superior opponents. And when it doesn't happen, it's always someone's fault. David Beckham. David Seaman. That slut Sven (or Rooney-- take your pick). They expect to win games away, when no other team has won in the past six. That was the case when England travelled to the outskirts of Tel Aviv to take on Israel. While England are undoubtedly far superior, player by player, to the Israelis, Israel is hardly a minnow. For years, they've played reasonably compact football-- and have earned some very good results. A great team like England should play for a win in Israel, but no one should have been shocked when Israel, as they often do, pulled out a result.
I repeat: no one should have been shocked. But as soon as the match ended, I knew the hate and recriminations would begin. Yes, it was a bad performance by England-- they were profligate with their chances. But ultimately only arrogance- an unwarranted assumption of superiority given the circumstances- can explain why expectations were so high in the first place.
I expect futbol fans to love their teams. I expect them to want their teams to win. And if they display hubris and talk shit, well, it comes with the territory. But what do we do with the English who hate their own team and, frequently it seems, want them to fail? Yes, they think England is awful, which would be comical if they didn't believe the rest of us are even worse. To me, this dishonest arrogance is a greater insult that anything the rest of us can come up with.
"How can we be arrogant," they ask "when we think our team is complete shit?"
And indeed, they're telling the truth: they hate their own national team with vim, vigor and a shot of vinegar. Their managers are inept. Their heroes are overrated. Indeed, it wouldn't appear that they would have much to be arrogant about.
But their disappointment in their team is a product of one thing: sky-high expectations that betray their true feelings about their team. They expect to win every game-- even games against superior opponents. And when it doesn't happen, it's always someone's fault. David Beckham. David Seaman. That slut Sven (or Rooney-- take your pick). They expect to win games away, when no other team has won in the past six. That was the case when England travelled to the outskirts of Tel Aviv to take on Israel. While England are undoubtedly far superior, player by player, to the Israelis, Israel is hardly a minnow. For years, they've played reasonably compact football-- and have earned some very good results. A great team like England should play for a win in Israel, but no one should have been shocked when Israel, as they often do, pulled out a result.
I repeat: no one should have been shocked. But as soon as the match ended, I knew the hate and recriminations would begin. Yes, it was a bad performance by England-- they were profligate with their chances. But ultimately only arrogance- an unwarranted assumption of superiority given the circumstances- can explain why expectations were so high in the first place.
I expect futbol fans to love their teams. I expect them to want their teams to win. And if they display hubris and talk shit, well, it comes with the territory. But what do we do with the English who hate their own team and, frequently it seems, want them to fail? Yes, they think England is awful, which would be comical if they didn't believe the rest of us are even worse. To me, this dishonest arrogance is a greater insult that anything the rest of us can come up with.
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