Monday, June 25, 2007

US-Mexico: Efficiency, Effectivity and Pretty Futbol

The US would kill to have a player like Nery Castillo. The US would love to field Andres Guardado. And, boy, would the US like to have Barcelona's Mexican starlets. The US would also like to have Mexico's history of playing up to its opponents: remarkable runs in the World Cup and Copa America against quality opponents. The US would love to have even an ounce of Mexico's technical flair. And, yeah, the US would love to have great club teams that can compete in Libertadores.

The Mexican National Team, however, isn't smart enough to realize that they should want a few things that the US has: level-headedness, teamwork and, above all, efficiency.

When I say efficiency, I don't mean that the US finishes its chances (although it certainly did so in February in its friendly 2-0 over Mexico). In the Gold Cup, US finishing was pretty bad. What the US does particularly well is play an ugly game but still manage to create opportunities. It does that with assembly line efficiency that would make Eli Whitney proud. Contrast this to Mexico: the seleccion Azteca is unable to generate real offense that would seem to be merited by its promiscuous show of fine football maneuvers. Guys like Guardado and Castillo should be absolutely lethal to the shakey US defense, but they seemed to think that you get points just by beating their man. You don't. They need to make final passes to men making runs in the box. Apart from Guardado's goal, where were those? Indeed, Mexico got so intoxicated with their pretty futbol that they largely forgot that the US was, despite playing pretty ugly soccer, creating dangerous chances. So when Mexico decided to open up in the second half in an attempt to pile on the US, you could feel a goal coming. Whether or not it would be from the US or from Mexico was up in the air. But all Mexico had to do was give the ball to the US and let the US try to pass out of triple teams-- something the technically challenged Yanks simply cannot do.

Instead, the Mexican team bought their own hype, once again. What's the saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. What about "fool me nine times?"

A post scripts:
Is the US the best team in the region? Well, as repeating regional champions, you'd have to say that they are. But if you had your mortgage on the line and needed to bet for a CONCACAF opponent against Brazil, would you pick the US or Mexico? I think Mexico is a better team against the world's best, but a wholly impractical one against the second tier.

How much should we make of the US's record against Mexico on American soil? I'm not sure, but how many victories do you think the US would have if the Yanks played Mexico in Azteca 10 times? I'm thinking of a whole number between zero and 0.5.

Don't get me wrong: when these two teams meet, the US should be favored to get a result. But Mexico deserves respect: their technique and talent are superior to the US, which is what makes them perennial second rounders at the World Cup. The US still can't match that.

The Road to MLS Cup XII, Week 11

1. Just when I was getting ready to annoint Chivas USA as "best of the West" (which is akin to saying they're the prettiest girl on the naval base), an undermanned Dynamo puts 4 on them. Dallas wins against Colorado in Denver (where the Rapids have really underperformed--- think of how bad they'd be if it weren't for the altitude advantage!). And then the (still) undermanned Dynamo beat Kansas City on the road. For my money, Dallas is still a paper tiger. Houston's clawed their way back to be the Team to Beat in the West.

2. Didn't I say last week how Real Salt Lake was dangerous? Although I seriously wondered if RSL was going to be able to get through the season without a single victory (the MLS equivalent of shooting the moon), I figured they had enough spark to beat United, which, even during its recent nice run, seems strangely subdued.

3. Don't look now, but the Crew have a WINNING STREAK. LA is now the team most in need of a win. Hopefully Donovan is not skipping Copa America for nothing and can go back to the Home Depot Center and lead his team.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

The Road to MLS Cup XII, Week 10

1. United looks like they're back on track. But I've still got a feeling that there might be struggles ahead: yes, they demolished both the Red Bulls and Chicago, but both teams are absolutely devastated right now by injuries and/or call-ups. Chicago started a number of players who probably will not make in MLS.

But you've got to give United credit. They can only play the teams with the players available, and it wasn't like United was missing any players either-- Boswell and Moreno are "stars". But I wonder if Moreno will be starting for United when he returns from Copa America. United's next game is against RSL, who are winless but not playing horribly. In my mind, that makes them a terribly dangerous team-- let's see how United does against a (Freddy-less) Real Salt Lake.





2. Will Fire Coach Dave Sarachan last long enough to see Cuahtemoc Blanco save Chicago's season? He can't be blamed for the injuries and the call-ups, but he's been using those same reasons for underperformance for a couple of seasons now. I think we can blame Chicago's lack of depth on the coach. The thing is, and I realize that most Chicago fans disagree, Sarachan teams can actually play good soccer. I'm just not sure that Coach Dave knows how to put together a team.



3. The top of the table clash between the Kansas City Wizards and the Red Bulls ended in a draw. Apparently the question "Who will fill Eddie Johnson's shoes?" has been answered by Yura Movsysian. Who? He wasn't as unlikely a hero as you might think: the KC sub really had shown some nice flashes here and there and was a first round draft pick (trust me: that does mean something in this league).



4. So Juan Pablo Angel has scored 8 goals in his first 7 matches. Insane. That's got to be a record. Some folks are going to be bummed that a premiership sub is tearing it up in MLS. (a) Don't be. The prem is still a world better than MLS; (b) I really think players without tons of speed but with great soccer brains can succeed in MLS (or other warm weather leagues) when they can't succeed in the prem. Even if MLS had unlimited money, I think we'd still find some very good players on the benches of the prem who were no longer able to get the job done in the hurly burly of England's top flight.

5. FC Dallas: the paper tigers of the west? Seriously, we've all figured out that the Toronto FCers weren't as bad as they first seemed. But you'd expect Dallas to handle them on the road. Instead, they get their tails handed to them by the FCers. Incidentally, Maurice Edu has really impressed me.

6. Abel Xavier's first major contribution to LA? Ball-watching while Chris Brown (!) marches in on Joe Cannon's goal and scores. Xavier later gets an assist on Edson Buddle's goal, but man, the guy is paid to defend. Incidentally, Chris Brown doesn't score many goals, but he's got to have some of the best goals from a career sub. He and John Wolyniec could put together the All-Journeyman Highlight Reel and it wouldn't look bad at all.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

The Road to MLS Cup XII, Week 9

I was out of the country this weekend, so I didn't see any of the games. But the results confirm a couple of trends...

(1) Chicago needs Chris Rolfe and Justin Mapp. Love how they pass. Hate how they finish.

(2) Is Fred going to actually work out on the flank for DC? Pundits assumed that Fred, who prefers the center of the midfield, would slot in seemlessly out wide. He didn't. While his play isn't really the cause of United's slow start, their lack of width has allowed other teams to neutralize Moreno, Emilio and Gomez. But in DC's 4-2 victory against the Red Bulls, Fred got on the score sheet, as did Emilio. I'm assuming this means United actually opened up the field.

(3) Will Dallas drop like a rock without Cooper, who's out for two months due to injury? They are in first place in the west, but haven't convinced.

(4) And New York? Who we all decided was the real deal? They've put in a few ugly performances in a row. The team is really struggling with injuries, but I like their depth. Frankly, I think they should be doing better.

Sunday, June 3, 2007

The Road to MLS Cup XII, Week 8

1. Don't be a hater. China didn't do too well against the US's European B team, but don't assume they're not improving. Yes, I know. They lost to Thailand. Some folks think they're worse than in 2002. Just remember that many of the same reasons that US fans like to think the US team has a great future (e.g. large population, commitment to sports, great sports infrastructure) apply equally, if not more, to China.

2. Clint Mathis is back to his old self. That means he's both scoring and getting red cards. He simply demands scrutiny from the ref. I didn't see his red card for throwing an elbow but heard that it was at least somewhat soft. But regardless, Mathis still hasn't learnt that jawing at refs is a good way to make sure that these kinds of calls will always go against him.

3. EJ is really back. Back to back hat tricks? Are you kidding? This is the guy we all left for dead months ago.


4. Two nil-nil draws on the same day. I didn't watch more than a few minutes of RSL's latest draw, but I tried to watch the late show between LA and DC. DC looked more like a real team (and should have been given all of the absences from LA's first team). LA, however, had supremely dangerous changes (that's what happens when Donovan is on your team). But overall? I fell asleep at the half. Did I miss anything?


5. Back to the US v China: I always like to remind people that, just because someone is playing on a reserve side in Europe, that's no reason to believe that they're national team material. Watching US v China, though, I could be forgiven for wanting to back away a little bit from that statement. Feilhaber's goal was sweet. And you had to like those few moments when Charlie Davies opened up. And that one sweet run from Lee Nyguyen... Just don't get too enamored of them-- they do need more work. Fans irrationally deplore failure, so they even more irrationally love new players who they haven't yet seen fail.


6. Nate Jacqua is really snakebit right now. I actually count myself as a fan and think that he's underrated. No, his skills aren't the best, but they're good enough given his size. But man, it's hard to keep on supporting the guy when he gets open in the box about six yards to the left of the goal and decided to shoot... straight ahead. Man, Nate, it doesn't look good.

7. Chad Barrett's goal against Columbus. Ok-- so little bulldog Chad Barrett pounces on a botched Columbus kick at midfield and realizes he's got nothing between him at the goal but about 50 yards of grass. The Crew's recent substitute, the lithe Kei Kamara, is presumably a lot faster than the stubby little Fire player and races after him. But Barrett pulls a Formula 1 move and somehow positions himself between Kamara and the ball for the entire sprint. The result? A cool finish for the game-winning goal. You've got to think that Kamara could have done a little better here somehow because I'm still scratching my head as to how Barrett pulled it off.

8. Hope he doesn't get paid by the hour. RSL's Ritchie Kotschau comes into the Revs-Real game in the 81st minutes. And gets red carded in the 82nd. The guy's been out of the league for a couple of years-- you wonder if he's wondering if he made the wrong decision to come back...