USA Soccer Recap

The FIFA Confederations Cup, which is being held in South Africa at the moment, was always going to be a big test for the US. Coach Bob Bradley seemed to be looking at it as a dress-rehearsal for the World Cup next year, as the competition is pretty stiff. We're in a group with the defending World Cup champs Italy, Brazil, who we all know is always excellent, and Egypt, a nation on the rise in soccer. Well, after our first two games against Italy and Brazil, and with the US effectively being eliminated from the competition (they need a miracle in order to progress to the semi-finals) due to being embarrassed in both matches, I thought it a good time to look back on the two games and see where it all went wrong.

Game 1: Italy 3 - USA 1

I actually thought the scoreline flattered the Italians in this game, as the US put in a really good effort. Jozy Altidore had a golden chance in the 29th minute after Landon Donovan had sent him through on goal, but he decided to pass it to a player wearing blue instead of take a clear shot. Unfortunately for the US, the Italians were the team wearing blue. Oops! Then it got worse in the 33rd minute, when Ricardo Clark was shown a straight red card for a tackle on Gennaro Gattuso that the Italian clearly embellished. I thought it was a ridiculous call by a referee on a power-trip, as Clark hadn't even been warned up until that point. Nonetheless, the Americans were down to 10 men, and things were looking very bleak.

Despite the fact that the US was playing a man down, they actually continued to play very well, and even took a 1-0 lead on a Donovan penalty kick right before the half after Jozy had been taken down in the box. Things were looking up even though they were short a man, and I even had some hope that they might get a good result out of the match. Good thing I didn't hold my breathe.

Shortly after the restart, the Italians brought on Giuseppe Rossi from their substitutes bench, and he completely changed the game, scoring two beautiful goals as the 10 Americans got very tired and Italy began to run around them. I hate Rossi. Hate him with a passion. Why, do you ask? BECAUSE HE WAS BORN IN AMERICA. Specifically, CLIFTON, NEW JERSEY. A guy who was born in the US, brought up in the US school system, and played soccer as a kid in the US, chose to represent Italy internationally because his parents are from there. YOU ARE A DICK. YOU WERE BORN IN AMERICA. PLAY FOR AMERICA. I DON'T CARE IF YOUR PARENT'S SKIN IS LITERALLY GREEN, WHITE AND RED AND THEY POOP ITALIAN SAUSAGE, YOU PLAY FOR AMERICA. AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I'm sure part of this hate is born out of the fact that the US desperately needs him, as we have absolutely no attack or goalscoring prowess whatsoever and Rossi is exactly the kind of player we need. But still. He's a JERK.

Game 2: Brazil 3 - USA 0

This game was so bad, that during the first half my roommate Rory commented that it looked like the US still were down to 10 men from the previous game, as Brazil were completely dominant and running circles around them. Brazil scored in the 7th minute to set the tone for the match, then continued to play keep away from the Americans for the duration. We could not get a thing going in what was truly a pathetic display, albeit against one of the world's elite teams.

Most of the team played like crap, but none moreso than DaMarcus Beasley, who was absolutely awful in the first half. He was the sole reason for Brazil scoring their second goal, as he couldn't control a simple pass from Donovan that was no harder than a pass my grandma would give him. And it hasn't been just this game. He has been terrible for a long while now, and I can't think of a reason why Bradley keeps sticking him in there. He's hurt all the time, he never plays for his club, and when he plays for the US, he plays like dog doo. GET HIM OUT.

The US, of course, finished this game with 10 men as well, as Sasha Kljestan was the second American in the two games in this tournament to see red, though this time I thought it was somewhat justified. Where's the discipline? Meanwhile, Clint "Too Cool for School" Dempsey was too busy trying his stupid little parlor tricks to play any sort of effective soccer, and Conor Casey was jogging around at the same speed my fat ass goes on a treadmill instead of actually putting any pressure on the Brazilians up front. AND WHAT THE HELL DOES BRADLEY HAVE AGAINST FREDDY ADU?!?!? JUST PUT HIM IN THERE FOR CHRIST'S SAKE! It was a truly terrible display, and we were lucky that it didn't finish 6-0.

Verdict: Uh oh!

Hopefully the US can save some face against Egypt on Sunday, though I highly doubt it since Egypt so far has scored 3 against Brazil, and actually beat Italy on Thursday. With the way the Americans performed in this tournament, as well as how recent World Cup qualifiers have been going, this looks to be a team that is moving backwards. Not so long ago, the feeling was that the US was an emerging soccer nation, and shortly would be able to compete with the world's best. The 2002 World Cup was a big step as we made it all the way to the quarterfinals and were unlucky to lose to Germany at that stage. Progress had been made afterwards, but then the US put forth that stinker in the '06 World Cup, and they've been stagnant ever since. I think the biggest problem is that so many Americans are moving abroad to play in more competitive leagues than MLS, but they aren't getting any playing time. Jozy Altidore, for example, is 19 years old and needs to be getting game time, but he's firmly planted to his club team's bench. It's a big problem, and it's one that needs to be solved quickly, or else we'll be looking at another letdown of a performance at next summer's World Cup. That is, if they even make it there.