Confederations Cup … 2-nil was a bad omen
by pinella
Sitting in a lounge chair on a hot Sunday afternoon, it still made little sense to me that the U.S. lost to Brazil in the finals of the Confederations Cup.
But then I thought of what every soccer coach says: “2-nil is a terrible lead to have.” I guess they are correct. Don’t know exactly why. Maybe the leading team lets down both offensively and defensively at the same moment.
Brazil scored three goals in 38 minutes in the second half and it should have been four except a linesman was way off base in not giving Brazil another goal on a Kaka header that was clearly in the goal….
But the first thing they really need to do prior to the 2010 World Cup is to get rid of those awful, annoying horns.
Might not limit the audience, but it will certainly limit the enjoyment of the games if they don’t ban them.
Cheer, chant, scream, holler, but leave the horns in the parking lot.
Your thoughts on the U.S. effort….
When the U.S. Team closed out the first half with a 2-0 lead I was bag of mixed emotions. I thought, “Is this really happening!?” Then my nerves hit when I realized there was 45 minutes left to play and the U.S. would have to hold off the god’s of futbol. Then the second half started and an all to familiar feeling took over as Brazil systematically demolished the U.S. side in an embarrasing come from behind defeat. I am very disappointed that we lost our chance to make history but there were definetly some glaring reasons why. One, I cannot count the number of times I saw a U.S. player with the ball while nearly all of his teamates were static instead of moving to provide passing options. The U.S. will never be a world class team unless they can create multiple passing options. Teams like Brazil create a swirling, dizzying array of options that allow them to confuse their opponents and create opportunities. Coach Bradley should take note and force the team into playing at this level. Second, the midfield was nearly non-existant on offense. The only transition used by the U.S. was a hopeful long ball sent by the defense that, 9 times out of 10, was lost to Brazil. The U.S. cannot hope to consistently compete with the top teams by constantly playing defense.
That being said, I was proud to see our team in a FIFA final and I can’t wait to see their showing in the world cup next year.
Also, I would like to comment on the article in Sunday’s press democrat about the “Soccer Nazis”. I would like to congratulate the author on masterfully creating an army of straw men whom he all to easily defeated with witty arguments about French fries and broccoli. We “soccer Nazis” are not asking the media to stop covering football but to simply recognize the history made by the U.S. team in this confederations cup.
Oh…. And ban those annoying horns!
by Chris Townsend
Well the outcome was not a surprise. It was fun to watch the first half and for awhile have the fantasy that we are really a world class team…but alas the second half revealed the truth…all you had to do was watch the last few minutes when the US needed to pressure and control the ball…Brazil toyed with them and kept possession…
The US showed a lot of heart and worked extremely hard the first half, but Brazil’s individual skills and creativity took over. Until we develop kids who can go on to play in Europe against top notch competition or lure top notch talent to the states, the US team will keep hitting this wall.
by soccerfan
I’m tempted to say “what a load of crap!” just for the sake of irony, but I’ll refrain
by npoet.ru