One of my biggest pet peeves is when people refer to their favorite team as "we." You know the comebacks, "How many minutes did you play?" "How many points did you score?" etc. Well, it's acceptable to make an exception when you are talking about your country's national team. Today, every American sports fan watched along as if they were on the sidelines or on the field as the US battled Brazil.
We were finally going to get that groundbreaking win for US Soccer.
We were so close.
We had it in the bag.
We let it slip away.
The United States came out and did what they needed to do against Brazil. They attacked in the first half and played with their now trademark fire and passion. In fact, to the surprise of most watching they had a 2-0 lead at halftime through goals by Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. Alas, the skill and poise of the Brazilians came through in the second half as Luis Fabiano scored 2 goals to tie the game and Brazilian captain Lucio (pictured above) won it with a goal off a corner late in the game.
It will take a while to realize the impact of the Confederations Cup on the US Soccer scene. It's too soon to grasp the scope of this tournament on US Soccer going forward and the support that the sport gets here at home. One thing is for sure, this US team should take a bow for the effort and the heart displayed in the last 3 games of this tournament. The loss against Brazil will be tough to swallow, and in all honesty they should have held on for the win. However, take nothing away from what the US Soccer team showed in this tournament as they gained a multitude of fans for the US team, and the sport.
2 comments:
Fearless Spiritual guide,
Though I would hesitate to label the US' tenacity/spirit/passion/vigor (whatever) in the last three games as Trademark, I wholeheartedly agree that this tournament has been a great way for the US to get their feet wet, to learn, and to grow. This tournament has shown the US, if anything, that they can play to the level of ANY opponent, and that means the good and the bad. We need to play at our best against the "weaker" teams, and we need to play a whole game against the "stronger" teams. However, the US has really picked it up in the last three games, and they are showing signs of promise for fans anticipating South Africa next summer.
In my (professional) opinion, the US needs to needs to limit unnneccessary fouls (and stupidreds, deserved or not), and be more consistent in the second half, obviously. Spain made changes in their second half that forces us to pack it in the box more and block some shots. Brazil was able to learn from this and ended up drawing us out more, spreading us out, and penetrating, though they did score mostly off the set pieces. I think one of our main problems for a while has been a lack of defensive pressure from Jozy Altidore up top. The kid is young, and talented, but when the ball ended up getting stolen, it takes him 5 seconds to recover and rejoin play. It's like when the players on in the FIFA 2005 video game are stunned after a tackle, having to shake off the experience. On a positive note, a lot of players showed up to win. Donovan was all over the field, and his high pressure ended up making a lot of stuff happen this week. Tim Howard played like a champion as well in the past few games, as did a few other players. Overall, the promise of this week (beating Spain, nearly beating Brazil) and lessons we have learned show that the US will be a contender for the World Cup next year. Let's just hope they peak at the right time, which they are looking to do.
Well, I hate to say I told you so, but the U.S. came up empty in the end against the mighty Brazil. While it feels great to be right, again, I do have to say I was more proud of "our boys" than ever. They showed great guts and determination in finally standing up to Brazil, even going up 2-0. But, the cream rose to the top in the 2nd half and the U.S. couldn't stop the onslaught.
Although showing massive improvement in this tourney, it will mean nothing if the U.S. gets bounced in the 1st round of next year's World Cup. They have to build on this experience and continue to improve, both as players and as a a coaching staff. If not, this brave showing will be all for naught.
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